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MM Septet
Brass Quintet Charts
Mark J Miller .net
Big Band Charts
"Your Smile" for Big Band by Mark Miller ***PDF for INSTANT DOWNLOAD***
“Your Smile" -- composed & arranged by Mark Miller.
An uplifting gospel-pop song at a medium tempo that leaves the audience breathless. It features Trombone 2 (melody and improv solo), *Alto 1 (melody and improv solo),and Piano (or Guitar) playing an a cappella cadenza. The piece is in two large sections with the cadenza in between. The first section is in 4/4 (trombone) and the second is in 3/2 (sax solo).
*It is also available in a version that features Tenor 1 instead of Alto 1. Please let me know if you’d prefer that version & I’ll email it to you.
Written for: 2 alto saxes, 2 tenor saxes, baritone sax, 4 trumpets (with flugels in all parts), 3 trombones (2 tenors & 1 bass bone), piano, bass, drums
Approximate length: 8 minutes Difficulty level: 5
PDF for INSTANT DOWNLOAD
"Go" -- for Big Band by Mark Miller ***PDF for INSTANT DOWNLOAD***
"Go" -- composed & arranged by Mark Miller. An edgy, up-tempo, hard-bop blues with an Art Blakey style Latin-swing beat. It features Alto 2, Trumpet 3 & Drums.
Written for: 2 alto saxes, 2 tenor saxes, baritone sax, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones (2 tenors & 1 bass bone), piano, bass, drums.
© Mark J Miller 2008
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Why Baz Luhrmann has Jay-Z producing 'Gatsby' soundtrack
Now Baz Luhrmann's judicious use of Jay-Z's music in the "Great Gatsby" trailers makes even more sense.
The rapper/industry mogul is going to produce the soundtrack to Luhrmann's film, slated to bow in the U.S. May 10 before it opens the Cannes Film Festival on May 15.
Technically, according to a statement, Jay's an executive producer on the adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic. His job includes "procuring, performing, producing and arranging for a soundtrack featuring some of the world's top musical artists."
The rapper's efforts to that end coincide with those of composer Craig Armstrong, who crafted the movie's score.
The statement also reveals that Jay and Luhrmann were introduced by "Gatsby's" Leonardo DiCaprio, who portrays the "Great" character at the center of the tale.
"As soon as I spoke with Baz and Leonardo, I knew this was the right project," Jay said. "'The Great Gatsby' is that classic American story of one's introduction to extravagance, decadence and illusion. It's ripe for experimentation and ready to be interpreted with a modern twist. The imagination Baz brought to 'Moulin Rouge' made it a masterpiece, and 'Romeo + Juliet's' score wasn't just in the background; the music became a character. This film's vision and direction has all the makings of an epic experience."
To give the film a "1920s"-meets-the-present spin, Jay's also contributing original music to the soundtrack. In order to infuse the film's music with the essence of what Fitzgerald put on the page, Jay and writer/producer/director Luhrmann spent two years collaboratively working to "capture, translate and contrast the feelings of Fitzgerald's decadent era with that of our own, using hip-hop and jazz, music contemporary and period, to bring two distinct American moments to simultaneous life," the statement said.
In Luhrmann's eyes, having Jay in this capacity was a "natural fit."
"Fitzgerald was a pioneer, famed and controversial for using the then-new and explosive sound called jazz in his novels and short stories - not just as decoration, but to actively tell story using the immediacy of pop culture. He coined the phrase 'the Jazz Age,'" Luhrmann said. "So, the question for me in approaching 'Gatsby' was how to elicit from our audience the same level of excitement and pop-cultural immediacy toward the world that Fitzgerald did for his audience? And in our age, the energy of jazz is caught in the energy of hip-hop. Not only is Jay-Z a great artist, full stop, but I had heard that he was a great collaborator. Leonardo and I were lucky enough to be present in a recording session over two years ago as Jay-Z was recording 'No Church in the Wild,' and the collaboration grew from there."
Filed under: Celebrities • Jay-Z • movies • Music
Next entry »Miley Cyrus was getting her engagement ring fixed, guys
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QueenVelveetaJamimaLaqueetaTelmaColenderDaKeeshaaLaWafflez
Dat Jayz be ugli, he gotz a two car nose!
March 20, 2013 at 12:22 pm | Report abuse | Log in to Reply
i am white...let's have some fun!!!!
March 20, 2013 at 10:05 am | Report abuse | Log in to Reply
THIS IS A WHITE AND ONLY WHITE MOVIE – let the blacks out of it enough of them
Leroy J
JayZ sucks monkey dick.
March 20, 2013 at 2:03 am | Report abuse | Log in to Reply
Goranesh
I just got paid $6784 working off my laptop this month for doing extra easy tasks from this one cool site! Whoever needs extra cash can do it this way, and best of all, to be paid weekly!!! This is so easy to do that even a 10 yr old kid can do it. You won't forgive yourself if you don't check this out! Rich45.com__
March 18, 2013 at 7:16 pm | Report abuse | Log in to Reply
I just got paid $6784 jerking off at my laptop this month for doing extra sleazy tasks from this one cool site! Whoever needs extra cash can spoo away, and best of all, to be paid weekly!!! This is so easy to do that even a pervy 10 yr old kid can do it. You won't forgive yourself if you don't whip it out and check this out! Rich45.com__
NextRheaGreenCrapDive
If you want us to begin to analyze all the imposters...
between twit, you tube and cnn there are 100% who do not use their REAL names....
see? your not good at it.
QueenVelveetaJamimaLaqueetaTelmaColenderDaKeeshaNene
Oh lord lordy my name be realz!
IMPOSTER123
MOST OF THESE BLOG NAMES DO NOT BELONG TO ANY OF YOU....WHAT ARE YOU REAL NAMES....
M.A.P. (Mothers against poo)
Wow Jay Z is kinda shocking to look at. I mean Beyonce is supposed to be the hottest b!tch and this guy's her husbs? He must have a gigantic schlong.
S.commmmmm
wow...like agreed...ha
that's why he left the stage...
fun day ahead
first 2 want me as their gf's..but not ready yet...fun day ahead..
PeaceDownsideDummie1
voted: no class, complete and utter embarrassment to her boyfriend...
thanks again gracie for fone...gotz to rest up for tomorrow..pls deliver cake 1 hour early...grazie
Time to take a large steaming dump in the shower.
TriumphTheInsultComicDog
Fill that drain with your rectal warriors!
Oh that was yours!? I fingered it down the drain. God that stank – what did you eat??
The result of a large meal of Mexican food. Used my toe to work it down the drain...now there's a corn niblet stuck under my toe nail.
sweetie my toes are called diva by mac
your ringing goes to another area now called happy 123
NOT HIM...
he gets katy
MaryAnne Past Performances...
on mommy and daddy phone..
Nobody On Da Phone Gosselin
just her.
WTHH
Fitzgerald is rolling over in his grave.
after all the crap she pulls how does she get away with it.
God is she gullible...
18 800 service hangups at the house..
Hacked into all parents calls.
Great so now it will not only be painfully boring to watch but it will be unlistenable as well.
she's not good at it...
Yeah, more like 'The Gross Shatsby'
We find her gross also
Too Bad Daz Life
and that's the way it will go...
its just a joke
Inappropriate choice...
they will be friends...
Don't watch...
No it it is not a bad idea and it never was a bad idea...
they WILL be friends...they are NOT going to be mean to each other anymore-the mean stuff is the influences on both sides - my side is cooling down now and the junk is over...
its a bad idea....its a bad idea...
How long have these two been dating?
springsTeen is the boss...whatever he wants as long as its low key and his work ethic and responsibilites are first.
daz it...
its not a good idea....its a bad idea...
These two guys make a cute couple. I hope they will have a long happy relationship.
I think he asked him because he is stupid. And an embicile.
Rap Sux
Only an imbecile spells imbecile wrong. What a dumba$$.
you calling me rap
its is not a bad idea....its a good idea...
Seems like a really bad idea. Now I am having second thoughts about this film.
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Gene repair improves memory and seizures in adult autism model
by The Scripps Research Institute
Scripps Research doctoral student Murat Kilinc and his mentor, neuroscientist Gavin Rumbaugh, Ph.D., collaborate on autism research at the institute's Jupiter, Florida campus. Credit: Scott Wiseman for Scripps Research
A new study challenges the presumption that people born with developmental brain disorders such as severe autism will benefit from medical interventions only if treated during a narrow window in infancy or early childhood.
Writing in the journal eLife, an open-access scientific journal, the Rumbaugh lab at Scripps Research in Florida reports improvement in measures of seizure and memory in adult mouse models of a genetic cause of autism, called SYNGAP1 disorder.
Children born with only one working copy of the SYNGAP1 gene don't make enough of the critical SynGAP protein. Two broken copies is lethal. Depending on the extent of their deficit, these children can develop a range of developmental challenges as they mature. This may include intellectual disability, autism-like behaviors, disordered sensory processing, and epileptic seizures that don't respond to medication. The disorder likely affects one to four individuals per 10,000, similar to the frequency of Fragile X syndrome, says Gavin Rumbaugh, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Scripps Research in Florida. However, patients can only be discovered through genetic tests. As a result, only a small fraction of patients with this disorder have been discovered.
To study whether treatment of SYNGAP1 disorder in adulthood could be beneficial, Rumbaugh's team genetically restored levels of the mice's SynGAP protein to normal. The treated adult mice showed multiple improvements. It suggests that having one broken copy of the gene not only harms the brain as it develops, but it also has effects in the adult brain, Rumbaugh says. There may be reason to treat at any stage of life once options become available, Rumbaugh adds.
"Our findings in mice suggest that neurodevelopmental disorders' disease course can be altered in adult patients," Rumbaugh says. "We can correct brain dysfunction related to seizure as well as memory impairments after restoring SynGAP protein levels in the adult animals."
Significantly, the paper offers a path to measure the effectiveness of potential medications or other therapies for neurodevelopmental disorders going forward. Electrographic spikes between seizures is an indicator of epilepsy. In their paper, the scientists looked at human EEG data collected from a SYNGAP1 disorder patient registry and found that the appearance of these spikes were much more likely to occur during sleep. Similar findings were observed from mouse models of SYNGAP1 disorder, offering a useful endpoint. Establishment of biomarkers that predict generalized improvements in brain function will be a critical step in advancing treatments for people with severe neurodevelopmental disorders, Rumbaugh says.
The need for a treatment option is clear, Rumbaugh says. Seizures typically become more frequent as children with SYNGAP1 disorders mature, and for many patients, those seizures do not respond to anti-epilepsy drugs.
"Getting to know families affected by this severe disorder has been invaluable, and drives us to develop treatments that will improve the lives of both children and adults," Rumbaugh says. "It is encouraging that gene therapy techniques that increase pathologically low protein levels for other types of brain disorders are showing promise in the clinic now."
Uncovering secrets of how intellect and behavior emerge during childhood
More information: Thomas K Creson et al, Re-expression of SynGAP protein in adulthood improves translatable measures of brain function and behavior, eLife (2019). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.46752
Journal information: eLife
Provided by The Scripps Research Institute
Citation: Gene repair improves memory and seizures in adult autism model (2019, April 26) retrieved 22 January 2020 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-04-gene-memory-seizures-adult-autism.html
Scripps Florida scientists pinpoint how genetic mutation causes early brain damage
Scientists move closer to a personalized treatment solution for intellectual disability
Study shows a solitary mutation can destroy critical 'window' of early brain development
Geneticists identify molecular pathway for autism-related disorder
Single gene linked to host of abnormalities during neurodevelopment
Scientists develop test that will help prevent glaucoma-related blindness
Algorithm turns cancer gene discovery on its head
Cardiac and visual degeneration arrested by taurine supplement
New tumor-driving mutations discovered in the under-explored regions of the cancer genome
Why we differ in our ability to fight off gut infections
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Interview an IU School of Medicine Expert
Schedule an interview with an IU School of Medicine faculty member or receive material and resources about a specific area of medical research and education by contacting the Communications team.
Office of Strategic Communications
The IU School of Medicine Dean’s Office of Strategic Communications provides internal and external communications services, including public and media relations, marketing, and branding. The team also oversees digital communications for the School, including platform strategy and stakeholder management for the IU School of Medicine website, social channels, email messaging and more.
This office seeks to unify communications for IU School of Medicine and deliver clear, consistent messages at a statewide level for all core audiences, including current and prospective faculty, students, staff, alumni, donors, community members and industry partners.
To improve communications and make schoolwide information easily accessible on a digital platform, the Office of Strategic Communications initiated and oversaw the production of IU School of Medicine’s first limited-scope intranet, MedNet, which launched in the spring of 2016.
Communications Initiatives
Brand Compliance
The Office of Strategic Communications is responsible for developing, implementing and providing resources that enable consistency in digital, print and promotional materials that support the IU School of Medicine brand. These guidelines and resources are detailed in the IU School of Medicine Identity and Style Guide.
The IU School of Medicine Office of Strategic Communications manages media relations for the school and shares announcements, arranges interviews and facilitates other work with media and the School’s medical education and research experts. Media should contact Holly Vonderheit, Director of Strategic Communications, IU School of Medicine, at 317-278-3676 or by email at hvonderh@iu.edu.
The Office of Strategic Communications at IU School of Medicine is in the process of consolidating the various legacy websites containing information about the school, its work and programs. The website consolidation and rebuild project is expected to improve content discovery and user experience to audiences seeking information about the school and provide a more integrated and modern digital experience. With bold images of school faculty and students, the new website also conveys a collaborative working and learning environment at IU School of Medicine. Until the full migration is complete, the IU School of Medicine website will feature both new pages and legacy site pages.
Visual Media Services
As part of the Office of Strategic Communications, the Visual Media team provides graphic design, medical illustration, photography, and poster production services.
Follow us on our social media channels:
The Office of Strategic Communications oversees school-wide internal communications, including InScope, the school’s internal weekly newsletter; a schoolwide calendar system; and MedTV an internal digital signage system at the IU School of Medicine Indianapolis campus.
IU School of Medicine | Office of Strategic Communications
410 W. 10th Street | HITS 3080 | Indianapolis, IN 46202 | iusm@iu.edu
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Gastronomic Offerings
360° Panorama View
Non Existing Page
+49 (0) 211 / 89 - 97 733
info(at)mitsubishi-electric-halle.de
Contact us: we are at your service.
Go to the form
Home Directions Car
We strongly recommend that you travel to the venue via public transportation. Your event admission ticket is also valid as a ticket for the VRR system, second class, for travel to and from the event.
Should it be necessary for you to travel by car, please calculate plenty of time for arrival and departure. Experience tells us that there is increased traffic volume on event days, leading to longer traffic jams in the area, especially when leaving the car park. The parking fee is 7 euros.
GPS input data:
Siegburger Str. 15
From Wuppertal:
Take the A46 towards Düsseldorf-Neuss until the Wersten junction (1st exit in the tunnel) until you reach the traffic lights, then turn left, after approx. 2 km you will reach the Mitsubishi Electric HALLE on the left.
From Neuss:
Take the A46 towards Wuppertal until the Wersten/Oberbilk junction, turn left at the traffic lights and follow the signs pointing you towards Oberbilk, after approx. 2 km you will reach the Mitsubishi Electric HALLE on the left.
From Essen:
Take the A52 until the motorway ends (Mörsenbroicher Ei/ARAG-Hochhaus), proceed on the northern feeder road to the left, then take the 2nd exit on the right hand side into Brehmstraße (following the signs to Düsseltal), then proceed for approx. 4 to 5 km until you reach Oberbilker Markt (you will see Woolworth on the left corner), then turn left into Kölner Straße, follow the road until you reach Mitsubishi Electric HALLE.
From Krefeld:
Take the A57 towards Cologne until you reach the Neuss-Süd junction, then take the A46 towards Wuppertal until you reach the Oberbilk / Wersten junction, turn left towards Oberbilk at the traffic lights, after approx. 2 km you will reach the Mitsubishi Electric HALLE on the left.
From Cologne/Leverkusen:
Take the A57 towards Düsseldorf/Krefeld, then take the A46 towards Wuppertal until you reach the Oberbilk/Wersten junction, turn left towards Oberbilk at the traffic lights, after approx. 2 km you will reach the Mitsubishi Electric HALLE on the left.
Take the A59 towards the Düsseldorf Süd junction, then take the A46 towards Düsseldorf/Neuss, exit at the Wersten junction (1st exit in the tunnel) and turn left at the traffic lights, after approx. 2 km you will reach the Mitsubishi Electric HALLE on the left.
From Oberhausen:
Take the A3 coming from Cologne or Oberhausen until you reach the Hilden junction, then take the A46 towards Düsseldorf/Neuss until you reach the Wersten junction (1st exit in the tunnel), turn right at the traffic lights, after approx. 2 km you will reach the Mitsubishi Electric HALLE on the left.
The Mitsubishi Electric HALLE offers approx. 900 parking spaces in its direct vicinity. Please note that there may be traffic obstructions before and after popular events. We therefore recommend that you should schedule sufficient time for your journey (in particular during rush hour).
Please be considerate to the residents living in the vicinity of the Mitsubishi Electric HALLE and only use parking spaces belonging to the hall or other public parking spaces.
Optionally, you can reach the hall by train via S-Bahn lines S1 and S6 from our nearby Park&Ride parking areas. Park&Ride parking facilities are for example available for the stops Eller-Süd, Benrath and Garath along the S6 line as well as at the stops Eller, Hilden and Hilden-Süd along the S1 line. From there, you will reach in the S-Bahn station Düsseldorf-Oberbilk after max. 4 stops and can exit in the direct vicinity of the hall.
Starting 1 February 2013, our extended green zone also encompasses the premises of the Mitsubishi Electric HALLE. This means that only vehicles with a green environmental badge are permitted to access this area. Violations against this rule may be charged a fine of up to 80 euros. For detailed information, please visit the website of the Road Traffic Office of the State Capital of Düsseldorf.
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Posts Tagged ‘Fireflies’
Official synopsis of Dekh Tamasha Dekh, Chenu, Oonga, Filmistaan, Fireflies
Posted: April 4, 2013 by moifightclub in cast & crew, cinema, film, Indie, News, Story / Plot / Synopsis
Tags: Aadya Bedi, Alok Rajwade, Alyy Khan, Anand Tiwari, Apoorva Arora, Arjun Mathur, Chenu, Dekh Tamasha Dekha, Devashish Makhija, Feroze Abbas Khan, Filmistaan, Fireflies, Ganesh Yadav, Gopal Datt, Inaamulhaq, Kumud Mishra, Manjeet Singh, Monica Dogra, Nandita Das, Nitin Kakkar, Oonga, Priyanka Bose, Rahul Khanna, Salim Kumar, Satish Kaushik, Seema Biswas, Sharad Ponkshe, Sharib Hashmi, Shivani Ghai, Tanvi Azmi, Vinay Jain, Vipin Sharma
Most probably you haven’t heard about any of these titles mentioned in the header of the post. But they seem to be interesting films, and hopefully we will get to hear more about them in the coming months. So here’s the official synopsis of all these films.
DEKH TAMASHA DEKH
Away from any media attention, Feroze Abbas Khan has completed his next film titled Dekh Tamasha Dekh. He had earlier directed Gandhi, My Father.
Synopsis : The story revolves around the search for the religious identity of a poor man crushed under the weight of a politican’s hoarding. A social and political satire, the film explores the impossible India, where bizarre is normal.
Directed by Feroze Abbas Khan.
India 2012, 108 Minutes, Hindi with English subtitles.
Cast: Satish Kaushik, Tanvi Azmi, Vinay Jain, Sharad Ponkshe, Ganesh Yadav, Apoorva Arora, Alok Rajwade
Manjeet Singh’s directorial debut Mumbai Cha Raja did a good round of film fests and now he is working on his next film titled Chenu. It has been selected for the 9th edition of L’Atelier organized by the Cinéfondation of the Cannes Film Festival.
Synopsis : Chenu, a low caste Dalit boy living in rural North India, is drawn into an ongoing war between the extremely violent leftist “Naxal” militia and the fascist landlords’ gang. One day his younger sister Chano’s fingers are chopped off by landlord Teer Singh for plucking mustard leaves from his farm. When Chenu’s family is denied justice, the Naxals come to their rescue. They huntdown Teer Singh forcing him to take refuge under the protection of Bhagwan Sing, the leader of a landlord gang who has just cremated a cart full of dead relatives killed by the Naxals. The Naxals then involve Chenu in their operations and he comes to know where their weapons are hidden. When physically beaten by the rich village kids for playing on their turf, Chenu learns to fire a handgun himself. Meanwhile Bhagwan Singh, in thirst of revenge, consolidates other landlord gangs to form a powerful private army. A bloody cycle of violence unleashes, engulfing Chenu’s innocence while setting him on the cours of his own journey.
OONGA
I have been hearing about Devashish Makhija for a long time. Good to know that he is ready with his debut feature.
Synopsis : Little Oonga missed his village school trip to the faraway big city Lohabad to see a play called ‘Ramayan’. Unable to handle the pressure of being the only kid around who has not seen the fantastic warrior-king ‘Rama’, Oonga runs away. He goes on a perilous journey across forest, river, mountains and roads – bigger than any he’s ever seen, and valleys lain to waste by the mining industry… until he reaches the large, cold, chaotic, blinding city. When he emerges from the play he believes he has become Rama! But he is now returning not to the warm confines of his little village, but to a battlefield where the ‘company’ will do anything to take the adivasi’s land away from them. Only, Oonga doesn’t know it yet.
Directed by Devashish Makhija.
India, 2012, Feature Film, 98 Minutes, Hindi and Oriya with English subtitles.
Cast – Alyy Khan, Anand Tiwari, Nandita Das, Priyanka Bose, Salim Kumar, Seema Biswas, Vipin Sharma
FILMISTAAN
2012 was a good year for Bollywood. But beating all those films, Nitin Kakkar’s debut feature Filmistaan bagged the National Award for the Best Feature Film in Hindi Language. And if you read the synopsis, you might know why. It sounds delicious.
Synopsis : This National Award winning movie is set in Mumbai where, affable Bollywood buff and wanna-be-actor Sunny, who works as an assistant director, fantasizes on becoming a heart-throb star. However, at every audition he is summarily thrown out. Undeterred, he goes with an American crew to remote areas in Rajasthan to work on a documentary. One day an Islamic terrorist group kidnaps him for the American crew-member. Sunny finds himself on enemy border amidst guns and pathani-clad guards, who decide to keep him hostage until they locate their original target. The house in which he is confined belongs to a Pakistani, whose trade stems from pirated Hindi films, which he brings back every time he crosses the border. Soon, the two factions realize that they share a human and cultural bond. The film shows how cinema can be the universal panacea for co-existence.
Directed by Nitin Kakkar.
Cast – Sharib Hashmi, Kumud Mishra, Gopal Datt, Inaamulhaq
Synopsis : ‘Fireflies’ is the story of two estranged brothers – Shiv and Rana. Shiv, a successful banker, lives in the superficial glitter of corporate Bombay. The younger brother, Rana, is a law school dropout who lives by the day. Though worldly experiences and illusions briefly illuminate the brothers’ journeys, a tragedy that befell them fifteen years earlier seems destined to repeat itself, just in new incarnations. Flames suddenly extinguish again, in an eerie heartbeat. The journey ahead echoing with voices and visions from the past, and the magic realism of the years gone by, beckons the brothers to find each other again. And the picture in the puzzle that was scattered so long ago. Fireflies come out in the night, just to light up the darkness. They live as long as the glow lasts. Even if it is a lifetime, being lived in a day.
Directed by Sabal Singh Shekhawat.
India, 2012, 102 Minutes, Hindi & English.
Cast – Arjun Mathur, Monica Dogra, Rahul Khanna, Shivani Ghai, Aadya Bedi
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Creative Writing - Original & Fanfiction
Fanfiction ► Memories are [NOT] Resolute
Thread starter Dari
All's End
Beyond the Final Destination
Memories are [NOT] Resolute
[3 year precursor story to Trust is [NOT] Resolute]
Memory Fragment: The First Encounter [ALL]
This is awkward.
None of them are talking.
"OKAY!"
The grasslands were vivid in color, a lush green landscape coasting from the slightest feel of the breeze. There were thirteen men in coats, each with a person standing behind them. One of those men was also wearing a coat behind a much taller man. Eyes were spinning a circles, stopping at a woman in a helmet and she shirked nervously. A hand fell on her shoulder from the cloaked man and he uttered "Easy now." to keep her nerves steeled. In a circle, this was the promised day, the day he would bring his resolutes in contact with each other for the first time. But was it really the first time?
"Some of you are usually so chatty. Whats'a matter? Don't tell me the heartless got your tongue."
"Crickets eh? Fine. Strangers stand shoulder to shoulder when their in danger so lets fire up the engines!"
The thirteen men in coats escorted themselves towards the middle of the circle. All thirteen merging into a single person. His hands rose up, stretching and making odd noises as his muscles were pretty stiff having come full circle. A slight shirk, he move with a sense of uh-oh in next set of movement. He walked in a circle and spoke, wagging his finger and dropping it at the headcount of twelve others.
"Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Moe. Catch a tiger by the toe. If he hollers let him go. My mother said to pick the very best one. And. You. Are...It."
His finger stopped on a boy who was cloaked like him.
"State your name and your number. Go on now, don't be shy, the group is sharing."
"My name's Luxu. My number is Perfect Zero or Infinity. I come from the lost world of Daybreak Town. The master has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I had others I knew, but they've long since vanished, it's been I in the master for many...many years now. Also, I like strawberries. Who's next?"
A finger moved dauntingly over to the chap next to him in a clockwise motion.
"My name is Ã, but call me Eth. My number is Zero, Untouchable. I'm Twenty-Five. I don't have much to say really, I came from leading a sage-like life of almost complete solitude and isolation outside of the master being by my side for a good amount of it. This is the most human interaction I've had...in ever. This umbrella that I carry around, its dear to me. The only memento that I have of my mother and I take it with me everywhere, rain, snow, wind, and sun."
The guy next to him, raised an eyebrow, that was pretty specific for someone that isolated themselves.
"Saebyeolbe. My name means "Morning Star Rain" and I am Number 1, The Scarred. I'm Twenty-Four. I used to be insecure about it, but my body is completely covered in scars. I'm a traveler that seeks to bring peace to each area that I visit. The master's been a dear friend of mind and teacher for many years. I'll always be steadfast to bare the burden of pain for the cause that I feel is just."
Fascinated, the woman next to him found the master's gaze, his finger, and the other's eyes with due interest on her.
"Shiki's the name, Twenty-Four. I am Number 2, The Whisper. My life has been a violent storm and sonnet of many misgivings and loss. I've carried the grief of family, comrades, and those dear to me for many years. Almost convinced, that even with all of you, it too shall be the same. The master entered my life only in the last couple of years, and it is due to his cryptic messages and mischief that I am here today. It's a pleasure to meet you all, I should want nothing but your survival."
"W-w-well your just all doom and gloom aren't you!" A voice broke out next to her, it was the woman in the bright red suit and helmet. "Call me Try, I'm 21, did I mention my birthday is in December? Double the gifts please. I'm Number 3, The Echo. I see all of you s-s-staring! No I will not be taking the helmet off thanks, only the man thats deserving of my love and respect gets that honor. The Master's a cool guy I guess, when he's not being a tease...shame on you sir."
The woman sitting next to her smirked for a moment, then the master's finger moved to her.
"Cool, someone else here with a spine. My name's Lucrecia, you can call me Recia for short. I'm also Twenty-Four like a couple of you. My number is 4, The Monochrome. I can be pretty uptight and haughty at times, I generally like to follow some form of order. I was the daughter to a military family so I had a pretty strict upbringing, none that I completely agreed with. If theres anything that I respect more than anything it's a person's commitment to something, it reminds me of myself and when I rebelled against my parent's wishes to travel with the Master of Masters. Lets build something great here, from the few of you that have spoken, you sound extremely determined and I like you already."
There was a yawn that caused her head to jerk, the man next to her had been laying down in the grass stretched out with his elongated body.
"Oh? I'm sorry, you were boring me."
"You try being interesting curly hair, who are you anyway?"
He proceeded to sit up as the master moved his hand to him next.
"No where near as interesting or as majestic as some of the stories i've heard coming from the mouths of the few. My name's Komaeda, but you can call me Nagito if you'd like. I'm Twenty-Four, and my birthday is ALSO in December like Try's. Just...no gifts please, great gesture and all but I think I'm undeserving of such kindness. I'm Number 5, The Harbinger. I think that the light and the realm we inhabit now is the epitome of beauty, and good will. I aspire to bring out the light even in others, no matter the method I choose to do it, nothing is more important to me. I've been called a fanatic, but it comes at the price of being so damn devoted you know? The master understands me, and thats why he's been an inseparable part of my life for a while now."
Practically a baby compared to the rest of them, there was an extremely young person next to Komaeda and they were next.
"This isn't a party...all this talking, sharing information, you aren't afraid someone's going to go against you..?" He said skeptically, "Ugh...whatever. It's Jay, I'm 18, and my number is 6, Crossroads. We done here master? Can we leave now?"
"Now now, show the others some respect Jay, we're not finished here. Just be patient."
The other man stood erect and propped up his dragon glider.
"Call me Iontis, nothing else. Hmph. I'm Twenty-Two and my number is 7, The Skyward. I don't know any of you, and I don't really care to get familiar. Our common thread here is the master of masters. I prefer to work by myself if and whenever possible, you'd just slow me down if you were with me. I'm an active person, a real go-getter, so sitting around sharing like this is not my scene. Hope thats sufficient Master."
The gentleman next to him rolled his eyes and placed his hands in his pockets mumbling for a second.
"And I thought number 6 was rude. You sound like a goddamn drag to be around." He took a puff from his lit cigarette. "Yamato. Twenty-Three, bit on the crazy side when it comes to a good fight. I'm number 8, The Savage. We got a code 'round these parts, honor above everything else. I don't like cheaters and I don't like whiny little bitches, disassociate yourself with me if you're either. Anyone that wants to spar or challenge to get their determination from me, your welcome to any time."
"Oh?? Your in luck Yamato! I'll take you on after this meeting!"
"Yeah? And you are?"
"Glad you asked!!!" He jumped up in his child form and a poof of smoke revealed he was an adult. "Reforge Seru. I'm Twenty-Eight and awesome, duh. My number is 9, The Eloquent. I know exactly Two-Thousand four-hundred and Seventy-Three different spells, as of this conversation. I'm a wanted criminal on the world of The Cul-De-Sac for linked to a world-breaking incident that happened in recent months. The master was a teacher at our academy and a respected alumni prior, he's been the relief in the hell I've endured transitioning from the world, still wanted to becoming a traveling educator. And here I am! Great to meet you all, lets have some fun and learn from each other kay?"
"That leaves us with just one to go. Go on now, tell us about yourself."
"I'd rather not give my name at this time, but I'm twenty-four in age. My Number is 10, Harbored Destiny. Um...if it's ok just call me Ten for now." this person adjusted their hat slightly to the right, suspiciously. "I come from a world that is known for it's docks and trade ports, my family were herald as some of the finest merchants. There was no materials we couldn't get our hands on, a bit about myself? I'm not for the merchant life, just not for me, but I can appreciate crafting things from scratch, I'm a pretty decent sculptor from wood, stone, and marble alike. If theres anything you need to know about crafting or even bargaining, I'll be glad to help you."
"Ding ding. I'm proud of you young kids for putting your nervousness to the side and spilling the beans. So then, now that you all know a little bit about each other, lets go over the reason your all here."
The master snapped his fingers and the ground produced chairs and pulled them towards him about six feet from his position.
"I'm taking you all on as my students. From here on out, the thirteen of us, will be dubbed Resolutes. You will each use your resolves for a specific purpose but beyond that do as you like. Each person around you, like yourself, has a resolve. Not just power that i've bestowed upon you, but a form of conviction or belief that they uphold stronger than anything. Everyone of you has that level of conviction, and that is why you were chosen to inherit a part of Omni. I'm here to prepare you for a dark future ahead of you, but the solution rests on your shoulders. Try not to kill each other alright? Lets be friends."
The master waked around in a circle clock wise and proceeded to brand each an every single one of them with a roman numeral or symbol somewhere on their body at complete random.
"So long as you bare this brand, you are acknowledged as Resolute. This brand will also serve as your trump card in a dire situation. You need only touch it once and it will activate a fifteen second limit-break, over-clocking your skills or if you were barred from them, to use them temporarily. Be wary, the limit breaker is your last resort, and once you activate the brand it will not be accessible for an entire year. Sounds rather insane, but it collects your power and separate it to the brand over time. So think about it yeah? Goody! I'll take you to your dorms now."
With that being said the master opened the world to the other twelve resolutes, but this was just the beginning.
Memory Fragment: 0.1 [Eth, Shiki, Saebyeolbe]
Location: The Dorms; Kitchen
[HR][/HR]
The sound of running water was nothing new to any of them. The master's words echoing with vivid imagery through their minds.
"You three drew the shortest straws. Dish duty tonight, one wash, one rinse, one dry. Did I forget to mention they better be spotless? Hop to it now."
Saebyeolbe chose to wash, the suds of the plates everyone shuffled at dinner time were drowning the sink, billowing over. Next to him, Shiki to his right, Eth to the far right, and both of them were casually point a glance at his arms, clearly visible and covered in scars. With a sponge in hand, Saebyeolbe smiled and proceeded to scrub the plates, he was aware they were staring and certainly wasn't shy.
"That one's from The Dark Emperor. It's extremely long, but it's only because he was such a formidable opponent." He said with a smile. "I didn't quite end up doing as I had promised for the people who's lives he's dramatically impacted, but I was sure to remove him as a threat."
Eth's eye winced and he stopped drying as Shiki's hands also stopped moving, breaking their rhythm.
"Don't you think picking fights against rulers is a bit dangerous...reckless even? Especially if you're concerned about your success being less than definite?"
Saebyeolbe let his hands sink in the water.
"You said it yourself when we met earlier. Most your time was spent in isolation and solitude, sometimes you need to make decisions that can dramatically affect other people's lives, to ignore it or to do nothing...you may as well be sending them to their deaths." There was a sharp glint in his eyes as he continued. "My plans execution goes only as far as I was willing to take it Eth, whether I knew I'd be successful or not does not stop me from seeing things to their conclusion, and as a result of my actions, lives were spared. I can rest soundly in their safety."
"Is it truly worth your life to bare your sins, as well as others Scarred?" Shiki came to life in the conversation as there was a slight turn of her head to meet his gaze. "If you perish because you go into the fray without plan, then you'll be putting your life in danger and letting people down. Be more mindful of your lack of prudence as well as regard the safety of your well-being a bit...better."
"Then I won't allow myself to be killed. I'll raise my body's resilience until it can weather several keyblade wars and then some."
Eth sighed.
Shiki's brow raised curiously.
"Can we...just finish the dishes please...?"
"Oh sorry, you were both staring and I felt I needed to say something about it." he passed Shiki the next plate, "If you ever want to share stories or even ask me anything, pleas don't hesitate."
"You come across as an extremely reckless fool, but I'm not much better. Maybe i'll hear more of that recklessness Scarred."
"Sae is fine, Shiki."
"The dishes. Sae. Shiki." Eth shook his head.
Memory Fragment: 0.2 [Try, Reforge]
Location: The Dorms; Lobby
Reforge sat on one of the many couches it was fairly late that night. You could hear the sound of water, chattering, and glass plates being handled from the kitchen. Drawing straws was a small trivial matter that the master like to do when throwing chance and luck into a bet. He sat on the couch and tucked in his legs, reverting to his child form. There was a book in his hand, it read Welcome To Arcadia. A yawn escaped him as there was a thud of footsteps coming from down the hall.
When he raised his head, to turn over the couch, no one was there. A question mark physically appeared above his head and when he went to turn back around, he saw bright red sitting across from him in the circle of couches. Spooked, Reforge jerked back into the couches pillows and held his chest, feeling a pulse and pick up in his heart.
"You get a kick out of scaring little kids??" he protested, but without a way to see the woman's face he could only read her voice.
"Your suspicious...verrrrry suspicious Reffles." her paranoia wouldn't leave her mind, though there was a gleam of cheerfulness. She hugged the couch with both arms and crossed her legs.
"Reffles...?" He had a misleading tone, "Loooove it. Can I nickname you too?? I can give it a Try or too."
He could hear faint chuckling, this was what he believed to be a good sign. What better Pun-ishment to inflict for terrifying him than with good ol' fashioned punchlines. He leaned forward and curled his feet in the chair again, sitting like a good little child.
"Your a wanted Criminal Reffles. I don't know why you would tell us that-"
"Lets cut to the chase then, yes, lets talk about my background for a moment to put this paranoia of yours to rest yes?" Reforge sighed and rolled his eyes, when he pulled back he was in adult form. Crossing his leg over just as she did, but ankle over ankle. "Home world fell to a dismantled state, during the chaos the keybladers from my home some older than I was at the time banded together despite being natural rivals from other factions. In old days they called them dandelions...well we were factions."
He released a weighted sigh.
"My life was...extremely complicated. I was being controlled at one point and lost my way, during that time I killed two of my friends to which murders where pinned to my name. No matter how I explained the situation in the aftermath, we pulled the world back together but my brother gave up his life for it all be possible. I became shunned by my old crew and the other factions, going so far as to blame me for my brother's sacrifice despite his delivery stating he did so for the good of our home, but people are ungrateful...emotional...angry, and the witch hunt began. So I fled and it was then I met the Master, years passed and I'd never returned home since and here I am."
Her helmet tilted down a bit, and there was a disturbing silence for a while.
"Your...a little less suspicious Reffles, thanks for c-clarifying."
"Oh yeah?? Well show me your face whenever your ready, til then i'm heading to bed. Goodnight Try." he removed himself from the couch and proceeded to climb the stairs.
Memory Fragment: 0.3 [Luxu, Yamato, Iontis, Jay/Jaz, Lucrecia, Ten]
Location: The Dorms; Divided Bath
His silver hair was little to be inspired by, a young man but it had implications of old age. One side of the wall he said, drenched in hot water, on several of the others. You could see Jay awkwardly debating which side of the bath ton enter, a blush was overtaken by a turn suck of the teeth before entering the women's side.
"Damn, who'd of thought the master really had an entire private dormitory here." Yamato said releasing a long breath filled with relief. "He certainly didn't speak a word 'bout it. Must have his own honor code to reveal things in time. Aye, respect."
He couldn't help but draw his eyes on Luxu who was in the spring of hot water, with his coat on.
"You cannot be serious...should I even ask if at all..?" Iontis protested with a snort that shortly followed.
"Discretion friends. No judgements here, but-" he proceeded to remove all parts of the coat save for his hood. "This will do for now, erm, at least I'd hope so."
"Wild. You the master's mini-me or sumthin'? Yer the only fella I seen dressing like'm 'round here. You'll never catch me in all that black, it's just not my scene, too drab."
"Are you an idiot Yamato...those coats protect you when traveling through dark corridors, extremely rare!"
"If ya hadn't noticed, my resolve ain't exactly being 'afraid o'no darkness." his stomach churned, wildly and a rock behind Iontis was chomped into by a small zone of space. "Like that, don't let that be you high n' mighty boy, Skyward? Whatever."
They were shooting daggers at each other as Luxu was nervously scratching the back of his hood. "Lets change the subject, I heard about this world that makes the best strawberry cheesecake you'll see for 3 lifetimes."
As the guys began to commence amongst themselves about strawberries, cheesecake, and the master, on the other side the "girls" weren't too far off from them. It was a bit quieter, Jaz awkwardly looking down, skepticism was something that came naturally to Jaz. Ten released a relaxed breath, while Lucrecia broke the silence after she blew the loose bang from her face.
"I don't know about the rest of you, or how long you've known the master either, but know that there will be darker times ahead." she sighed, "I just want you to know that i'll keep you all on the up and up. Can't exactly work besides resolutes that aren't as equally motivated as myself."
"You sound so sure of yourself...of us even...can you even really-" Jay broke Jaz's words with, "-say that anyone will cooperate, or even trust each other? Take nothing on faith, better to see it first hand right?"
Ten sat and listened. Curled up in the towel, and the hat remained stationary to their head completely unbothered by the water. They twitched, holding onto something to say regarding both Jaz and Lucrecia's points. Their eyes were soft and they smiled, to still the nerves.
"The master really just showed me theirs more to this world than crafting and a merchant's life. And while worrying about me is downright gallant, don't forget yourself...Recia was it? And you...Jaz. Don't be reluctant around your comrades, when they're showing you genuine altruism. Makes us feel as though you feel you don't deserve it if you're so adamant on walling us out."
Jay's hands moved frantically, "Oh no! Thats not what I meant to say, not at all...but a lot's happened and, time will tell the rest. It's not yet time to get the skeletons out of my closet yet...so, I am sorry."
Recia's eyes narrowed for a split second, but she had a slight upturn of her lip. "Someone else with backbone other than One and Eight. We'll get along well enough, Ten yeah? Same to you, tell me your name, we'll keep it between us three."
"You'd really trust me with your name...? Aren't you afraid??"
"Living a cynical life while also being paranoid, sounds like something you'd love to Try huh Jaz?" She shook her head.
"I...actually have several names, but we'll stick with Midna for now. I'll let the others know it too, you certainly know how to inspire courage Recia." the glint in Midna's eyes were severely less tense.
"Starting off as friends, Midna, Jaz. Lets keep it going alright?" a more authentic smile emerged this time.
They'd continued talking amongst themselves.
Memory Fragment: 0.4 [Master of Masters, Komaeda]
Location: The Dorms; Master's Study
Fate would be the adjucator in this game of the mind and wits. The two were locked in a battle that began on a checkered board holding their pieces and motions at the ready. The clock on the wall, ticked in slow motion, faint sounds from multiple bodies talking lingering from the kitchen, the lobby, and divided bath. Heres h the master and young Komaeda tuned this all out, their focus as only on their game. Komaeda carefully had both eyes open.
"So master. Why did you finally decide to bring each person you apprenticed together? Got any plans for those exceptionally talented others?" Komaeda asked with a bit of excitement, moving his piece forward one move.
"The game lucky pants, focus on the game." He moved his piece forward. "Plans? Hmm...now that you mention it, I should probably put together a curriculum for you lot."
Komaeda blinked blankly, "Wait, you mean you just did it on a whim?" he leaned forward over the board, before feeling a hand press his chest back into his seat.
"Be patient. The game, Komaeda." he cleared his throat, and followed the harbingers hands and eyes closely. "No cheating, both eyes open, I saw that wince!"
Komaeda folded his arms and shuddered as he often did to express his excitement. "Will you please answer my question master..? Please?"
"Ahhhh, and your open! I'll take that!" his next move, he collected his rook. "You really ought to pay more attention to whats happening to you rather than worry about the future several steps ahead of you. Don't know, too much prudence and you miss everything happening right now." The master wagged his finger and pointed at his head.
"Komaeda, this was a necessary thing to happen, gathering you twelve and myself, makes thirteen. Thirteen Resolutes. The twelve who shall serve as the branches from the great tree Yggdrasil, who basked the world of light with omni. When the tree bares flowers to bloom from it's branches, so too shall those flowers carry on the legacy once the Yggdrasil is no longer necessary."
The master pulled a book out from under his desk and placed it just to the right of the game board.
"So it's been seen. On the day that the great tree vanishes, the flowers that remain will be left to fill the hole in the tree's absence. Only one can be entrusted, the others are to follow. At least, thats what this book i've been reading for who the hell knows how long says. Can you believe this author? No footnotes or anything, really doesn't want you to know for sure what the hell he's talking about, the nerve!"
Komaeda was doing mental gymnastics. A tree...? His first thought was that him and the others were fruit and not seeds? How the hell did that make any sense! He scuffled his messy hair into an even bigger mess, the swirls in his eyes were bred with confusion as the master was as cryptic and circle as ever.
"Master." Komaeda spoke briefly
"After your move lucky pants." he retorted staring at the board waiting impatiently.
Komaeda made a move that even surprised the master, and the master's head left it's position. "Whatever the reason is really. Know that I trust it will be for the betterment of us and by extension mankind. I do so love the long game Master...it makes me feel alive and that I have a light to seek out and hope for."
"Well then, if it's light you seek, then maybe shift that emphasis and make the lights gathered here stronger. Each of you is resolute, rest assured, but let me tell you something about what that truly means." The master studied the board carefully and he made his next move. "Unwavering, but also stubborn to a fault. Your obsession with the light will only blind you to how others interpret your means. You've proven more than a little unruly, bare that in mind, Resolute."
Komaeda moved his next piece. "Part of the fun is the unpredictability of it all master. Consider me the X-factor that disrupts whatever future you've seen, and I'll be sure to spread that unpredictability to the others like a disease and even you'll have a hard time trying to anticipate what happens next!" he let out a brief chuckle before the master move his final piece.
"Looks to me like you may want to cheat next time. Check mate, dear Komaeda." his piece sat in front of the king, taking it from his side. "You may very well do just that, in fact....I hope you do surprise me. For all your sakes."
The conclusion to their game, hand shakes were exchanged and the master sent #5 off to bed.
"When the darkness finally arrives, I truly hope all of you are prepared. Contingencies are already in place if you fail...to think one of you will betray the rest. And it will take that traitor to surmount a war against your very extinction. And on that land, darkness will prevail and light expire...deja vu~"
Memory Fragment: Late Night[mares] [Shiki, Lucrecia, Saebyeolbe]
Location: The Dorms; Shiki's Room
It was the dead of night, the sun had long since faded and the moon hung high. The resolutes returned to their rooms, to their fatigue and time to collect themselves, a reprieve awaited. The daunting hours of the night did pass, roughly hanging round three in the morning, there was a surge of faint talking.
"Eliot...why..." a disgruntled and struggling set of words, laced with a harshened tone.
"Just...listen to me...Eli...your better than this~!"
She pulled slightly to the dismay of her bitter dreaming, a nightmare in which Shiki found herself recalling the pain of remembering. Slightly contorting to the right, her nails began dig into the side of the sheets. There was an image the formed in her mind, while unconscious, and a sensation of weight pressed heavy against her chest. Emotion, such repression would wither one's sanity, and her eyes had sprang a leak.
Elsewhere...
There was a twitch from his ear, he could hear it well enough. He sat at the edge of his bed doing a count of his body's scars, and repurposing his resolve as he did every night. There was a voice that was writhed with pain, and it was coming from across the hall. Sliding from his bed, shirtless, he moved over to the door. Strangely enough it was cracked..?
'Did someone enter or leave..?'
He cracked the door, and he discovered Lucrecia hovering over Shiki as she twitched. Confused by the whole thing. He watched quietly, it looked like she hadn't taken notice to him at the given moment, but she was drying Shiki's tears and she stroked her head.
"The past will weigh heavy on our hearts...but we must resolve to bare that history...I'm sure you'll find that pea-"
Shiki's eyes came alive, awake to immediately spot Lucrecia hovering over her. There was a jump in her heart, a feint blur that was the fourth resolute, swiped with a knick to the face from the sharpened end of a thread-like chain, thin as a pin. Shiki's eyes came back, her awareness rounded and she could feel the trickle drop onto her face of Lucrecia's blood.
Lucrecia smiled.
"Sorry for the intrusion Shiki, I could hear you moaning uncomfortably from my room and you sounded...like your heart was hurting." There was a glint in her eye as she stroked her cheek, it felt like a paper cut but it sure smarted all the same. "My family was military, my dad cared for his comrades like they were family and for you I'll do the same. I don't know who this Eliot is, but I'll say this...your among many people that have lost or left things behind by the looks of things, you can confide in us."
There was a serene sense of warmth, dimly lit behind her eyes, faint but it existed even now. Her hand rose from under the blanket and cupped Recia's face, a thumb to strum just under where Shiki had cut her. "...I'm...Sorry..."
Recia twinged from the touch but held her hand close to her face. "It's a process, we'll get there together."
Through the door Saebyeolbe smile and slowly moved away leaving it in Recia's hands.
"What, no hello? How long have you been standing there anyway?"
There was an orb hovering just behind Saebyeolbe and bumped into him and the other pushed the door open.
"Whoa..."
"!!!!"
He came staggering through the door, though not losing his balance. The girls got a decent look at Saebyeolbe's body, for what it was worth he was used to it. He held up his hands and exposed his arms as well, littered with a tattered cuts, marks, scabs, and sealed wounds.
"I could hear you from across the hall, and it seems like Lucrecia here, I came out of concern. Are you alright, reckless fool?"
There was the slightest smirk made at that comment, echoing what she'd said earlier that day. "It's Shiki, Sae, and fool not to think a little more of the others concern."
Lucrecia shrugged her short shoulders, "We just met, these things take time, and you two made a sound impression on me."
Saebyeolbe scratched the tip of his nose, "I think if Shiki has another nightmare, I'll know to leave it in your hands. Recia?" he uttered the shortened version of her name as a familiar, a bit nervously.
"I'll be around, try to rest who knows what the master's gonna have us do tomorrow. Good night to both of you." Lucrecia removed herself from the side of Shiki's bed, and she moved along humming a song, before singing it.
"Breath, should I take a deep
Faith, should I take a leap
Taste, what a bittersweet
All my, All my life"
Vanishing into the hallway. Saebyeolbe was fixing to turn and do the same with a wave and nod of the head his foot about to cross the threshold of the door.
"Sae. Wait." Shiki said sitting up in her bed. "What is your resolve really?"
"To know that I suffered for the good of others. To carry myself and shoulder, often times not alone, the burdens of those I strive to help to bring them relief. No matter how thankless it may seem, the lives I am able to preserve is resolve enough. My light is by nature powerful and will cast a shadow equally as menacing, but vigilance. humility. kindness are all things to push me further forward, eh, Shiki?"
He left her with the thought to ponder on, wishing her a good night and heading to bed himself.
Memory Fragment: 0.8 [Try, Komaeda]
Location: The Dorms; 2nd Floor Nook
Komaeda was making his way from the master's study and he found himself in the nook. Try was here, it was already pretty late and she seemed, well, it was hard to tell what she seemed exactly. Komaeda folded his arms, a brow raised and he ponder for a small moment. As he released a breath, he finally spoke.
"Spending a little time alone this late at night?" he rest a single finger on his chin.
As if she tried to pretend he wasn't there, she continued to turn the page of a book she was reading. A bead of sweat dropped from Komaeda's brow. He was far from a conversationalist, but he proceeded to walk forward and raised his hand to hers.
"It's Komaeda. Pardon my rudeness, but why are you up here so late? Shouldn't you be re-"
"I see my silence isn't enough of a hint." her helmet's visage shifted and fell upon him. The book slammed shut and she unfolded her legs and stood. Tall, around if not already, six feet, unusually tall for a woman. Komaeda himself only about two inches taller give or take. She eyeballed scanned him from top to bottom. "Try. What do you want Komaeda?"
Komaeda's waved his hands somewhat frantically as both eyes were shut briefly, "Oh, nothing. I finished a game with the master and was heading to bed, I was tasked with sending everyone off to bed."
"Hmph. If thats all you wanted, then i'll be down shortly. You can go ahead of me." she turned on a heel.
"Thats not the only reason I'm here Try..." Komaeda said and her footsteps stopped instantly.
"I may be the Echo, but I won't repeat myself, so lets hear it." she folded her arms and kept her distance.
He moved slowly behind her and leaned down to her ear. "Once your resolute, you've earned my undying devotion. I came to tell you personally, that I shall be forever your devotee."
One thing was certain, the inside of the helmet was foggy. He wondered how she breathed properly wearing it, a sharp tremble of her body. Was this a sense of desire? Being valued? To fault herself for this vulnerability she'd pay in droves later, but a comrade...could she call him that? Any of them comrades after the things she's experienced without these people.
"If you need a moment to process, I can leave as you asked, I've stated my peace Try." Komaeda smiled, her back was still to him and he turned on his heels and started down the winding hall.
"Komaeda was it?" Try spoke, still not facing him. "I'll...remember what you said. As I said before, I'll be down shortly, please, leave now." She seemed a little less cold, a teeny bit less to Komaeda anyway and he nodded and proceeded to walk towards the stairwell.
Memory Fragment: 0.9 [Master of Masters, Luxu]
Location: The Dorms; The Master's Study
The master and his pupil sat in two chairs, a cherrywood desk and two swivel chairs. Just to the right, something that was not there during Komaeda's game, a black box emblazoned with a red crystal in the center. The master ran his hand across the box and looked down briefly.
"You've been taking good care it all this time huh?" The master spoke with delight in his voice. "I knew I had made the right decision when appointing you as my successor!"
Luxu sat there, hooded and all, clenching both of his fists. "Whats the story with the numbers? Perfect Zero? Sounds more original than infinity..."
A staggering prick at his heart, he released an exasperated "ACK!" noise. "Hey hey hey, everything has a purpose and a place kiddo. Buuuuuuut since you asked, allow me to explain."
Luxu leaned forward and listened closely.
"Its because they're the most broken of the lot..." The master's voice sounded dry and dead as he spoke.
"!!!!" Luxu gripped his seat, "What do you mean...broken..?"
The master stroked the box one more time before his fist balled and slammed into the chest. "Broken means broken Luxu. The terrors they've seen, the horrors they've lived, but ultimately they've resolved. Understand, that pain teeters on the razors edge with darkness and the light. How quickly the hopes can be dashed and they be driven mad, and how that pain can generate a resolve to forge them in light. But..."
There was a long pause as the master spoke.
"But...what Master?" Luxu leaned forward even closer now.
"Buuuuuuuuut, do you think it's that simple?" he wagged his finger, "Pain makes the heart weary of trust. Distrust breeds what dear Luxu? Betrayal. Each of them is capable of said betrayal, and the betrayer is the only one worthy to succeed you. I've seen the future Luxu...and on that day, keyblade in hand twelve of you will stand present, but only one of you be crowned the traitor. It isn't you Luxu, but Eth, Saebyeolbe, Shiki, Try, and Lucrecia."
Luxu pondered for a moment, "What about the other one?" he inquired. "I can't put my finger on them, but they just stand out...like what was said this morning during introductions...'I aspire to bring out the light in others no matter the method in which I choose to do it'...dangerous words master."
The master flicked his hand haphazardly, "Pffft sheesh, you've got a wild imagination on ya kiddo. That one a traitor? Puh-leaaaaaaase. Someone that dedicated to light to such an extreme level is likely the key to exposing the Traitor under the right circumstances. It's why numbers five through ten even exist. Checks and balances dear Luxu, it's all about risk management, call it insurance in case the top dogs fall out of line."
The master shrugged and pat Luxu's hood.
"I sure hope you're right about them Master...I really don't want to call any of my friends...a traitor..."
Memory Fragment: 1.0 [ALL]
Location: The Dorms; Dining Hall
Time: 9AM
Light shone on the hall was magnificent. The decorum of the room felt greater than the thirteen deserved, each sat at the table in no specific order contrary to everything being numbered for them on the premises. The master spearheaded himself at the very end of the table, and everyone looked down his way. The master was a patient man, and it was time.
"Resolutes, thank you for attending. I know these aren't the ideal circumstances any of you were expecting, but lend your ears and your understanding."
He took a deep breath, "Before our first meeting yesterday I spoke with each and every one of you one on one. I trust you remember what I told individually? That much hasn't changed, as I spoke of others, you can see for yourself the men and women in the room around you are those people I spoke of. The people are your comrades because an impending tragedy will take the worlds in roughly a year and a half."
There was a disturbing level of quiet that cast across the entire hall. They looked at each other, some with the notion expecting "treachery" in one another, and the others with a glint of hesitation to hope for the rest. Trust was a bridge that took much time to build and within an instant that bridge could be shattered. Friendship, Companionship, Camaraderie? There eyes were uncertain and then the silence was broken.
"Okay." the tenth resolute spoke and stood up. "Okay, I understand Master. Let me push that a step further, I didn't mean to be imposing or secretive, but my name one of many, is Midna. I am number X, Harbored Destiny and it's a pleasure to meet you all. I mentioned that I was a merchant's daughter with an alchemic background, that much is true. Lets make our time under his direct tutelage a meaningful one."
Eth stood up and moved himself away from the table and quietly started to walk out of the room when the master tapped him on the shoulder.
"The moniker of solitude is no longer necessary Eth, give them a chance eh?" the master leaned down and whispered in his ear.
The resolute sighed, "You'll have to pardon my rude behavior everyone...as I said, I've lived in isolation for a pretty long time. In a pretty...interesting place I can get to using time." he resumed his seat and the master strummed back to the head of the table.
"Now where was I...oh yeah. Starting today you will be reporting to me directly and each of you will be assigned a partner. Over time you'll be carrying out tasks in smaller groups of two. Later projects will require more of you to work together. Three days out of the week, special lessons will be held at the Keyblade Academy located on the world of the Cul-De-Sac. You'll be disguised to avoid attention Reforge, so fret not. Effectively these are the teams."
The master opened a book, and pulled an inked feather pen to stroke the pages.
"Eth &Luxu. Saebyeolbe & Shiki. Try & Reforge. Lucrecia and Jay. Komaeda & Yamato. Iontis & Midna." he wrote it all down and slammed the book shut and placed it on the table. "Arrangements will be made shortly and we'll get things underway. Concert with your partner, they're gonna be your rock from here on out. You'll come to understand soon enough, dismissed."​ portals of light purged from each of their chairs and they vanished from the table.
"What you do in the aftermath of the end is what will define the road for the future that even I cannot see. So...overcome that distress and wary nature. And start over, as comrades, with something to hold onto." the master said at the tone of a whisper.
Memory Fragment: 4.1 [Yamato, Komaeda]
Location: Arcadia; Castle Town Marketplace
Arcadia was a powerful symbol of light, home to a variety of different species from all walks of life. Magic was especially powerful here, and today Yamato The Savage and Komaeda The Harbinger were sent here on an errand from the master. His instructions were as follows.
"Travel to Arcadia and collect a philosophers stone for Midna." the note read, "What the hells a philosopher stone..?"
Yamato, young, up to snuff and on the vulgar side. He scanned the note one more time, before crumpling it up into a ball and tossing it into the trashcan behind him. It pinged just off the side of the can, and washed over into a lit cigarette butt, rolling into the center groove of the can before dropping in, and the entire receptacle caught on fire.
"Huh??" Yamato shrieked nervously looking over at Komaeda who'd nodded off. "Damnit! Wake up dumbass, thanks a lot!" he said shaking Komaeda's frame violently eventually purging him from his sleep.
"Hmm? Is that you Try..?" he said wearily with a yawn released, of peppermint in Yamato's face.
"HELL NO!" he sucked his teeth, eventually seeing that Komaeda was moving on his own. "Honor above everythin' else Komaeda. The light here is right up yer alley, don't want ta miss out I'm guessing?"
Komaeda became starry-eyed, filled with an illustrious hope. The most painful part of the process, was the time it took to get all the way to this place and he fell asleep. As he yawned again, and proceeded to stretch his arms to further wake up his body. Keeping the right eye open, he scanned the area.
"Theres more to light than meets the eye Yamato, why do you think it's such a treasure?" He said with a rather subtle grin, "You need only know where the direction it casts it's shine to find what your looking for..."
Komaeda stood still and snapped his finger, there was a slight shift in the marketplace. A table near him had a leg snap causing a jar to roll off the table, hitting the leg of another table. The top of which shook, hitting a bar that sent a small rock catapulting towards Komaeda. He simply held up his hand and caught it. A small violet colored rock with shades of crimson that swirled around.
"All it takes is a little light, a little faith, and a little luck and you'll discover abolishing the unrest that plagues your hearts can vanish." Komaeda smiled wide and tossed the stone to Yamato.
"I just get the weirdest partners...but great job Nagi."
"Nagito or Komaeda, don't tease me with nicknames. They sound weird when a guy says it to me." He puffed his cheeks.
"Yeah yeah, whatever ya say NAGI."
"Heeeey, now your taking the wind out of my sails YAMI!"
Laughter broke out between the two in the marketplace and it was clear this marked the beginning for them.
Memory Fragment: 4.2 [Midna, Iontis]
Location: Radiant Garden; Cistern
"You didn't have to come you know, I already told you guys and the master, I prefer to work alone." Iontis said starkly and clear cut. Propping up his dragon glider, he and Midna stood at the cistern. The old refinery part of the castle, much larger than they'd anticipated. The place was dated, beaten down but research from previous eras was conducted here. They said that the ruler of this world had vanished without a trace, a group of renegades filled the void until they no longer could.
"Hey, I'm here to help Iontis." she said, adjusting her hat, something she did rather frequently. "The master said there was a heartless that dwelled here and we're here to take it out. You can't do it by-"
"I wouldn't be resolute if I couldn't hold the line, or order Midna. Can we cease the small talk?"
Iontis turned and stopped dead in his tracks, he stood with his long black hair to shoulder length, and swept his bangs to the right. His overcoat was sleeveless, a midnight blue in color banded with black straps to tighten the hold over his body. His right arm had a tattoo placed from the shoulder down, a celtic spiral. On the same right arm, he wore a stress band fastened with a white bandaging to cover his forearm. His pants where of a jean material, but cut fitted, and bracers could be found at his upper thighs. A combat centric emphasis was placed on his boots, made for trudging through any environment.
Lifting his head he rotated his eyes around the Cistern and extended his arm to Midna.
[cue music]
"Looks like we're not alone..." he whispered, and like a switch his keyblade armor's first phase. A collection of shadow heartless started to appear in droves, one after the other as if where nothing more than the pureblood looking for a skirmish to satisfy their hunger. "Shadows...? Waste of time."
Iontis tapped his glider and it transformed into his Bahamut Arc keyblade. He took a single step and swapped the air directly in front of him to cast a multi-targeting fira spell acting as a homing attack. The fireballs traveled at a moderate pace and leveled the heartless in one swing. Behind the visor of his helm, he'd almost looked, disappointed in how quickly they were dispatched and frowned unseen to Midna.
"I don't think thats the real one Iontis!" Midna shouted purging a magnificent keyblade of pure silver purged into her hand. It possessed the sigil of a transmutation circle at the end of the blade, she was an alchemist after all. Tapping the end of the keyblade. "Come! Cedo!"
A white ring of light covered her and Iontis in a ring slowly moving into the shape of a dome about fourteen feet high and the circle roughly twelve feet in length. She began to utilize her spell knowledge, and cast two defensive spells, five seconds apart from each other, barrier and reflect buffs to mitigate physical and magic based damage to be carried out over time. Iontis scoffed, and held position as the shadows pulled together forming a type of heartless neither of them had seen before.
"What the hell...is THAT?" Iontis uttered beneath the armor.
A violent tornado of heartless came about from the multiple shadows pulling together. "It's almost like they're a towering tornado? Can we call it...a demon tower?"
"Whatever you want Midna, your the scientist here. It needs to be put down to ease the master's nerves, fall in line. Two pronged attack when it dives us."
"Ahem, alchemist Iontis!" She held stance as was about to drop the circle that was protecting them. "Here it comes, get ready to move dropping the circle in....NOW!"
The two of them dispersed left and right and slammed two pristine and accurate slashed into the Demon Tower. As Midna landed she slammed her hand into the ground, and lit up the circle again with light, barring the tower from burrowing underground through a dark portal. The heartless frocked sloppily to the sides, some being expunged into the light, and other scattered and thumbed outside of the circle. Iontis with eyes on the tower's core, slung his Bahamut Arc over his shoulder and morphed the keyblade into a canon where he began charging an attack.
"Flare!" releasing a relatively paced attack, it moved just fast enough to hit the core and send a ripple in a radius that expanded horizontally. Midna and Iontis respectively jumping backwards, with Midna going over the edge accidentally, and catching her hold on the railing below. Iontis darted around the very edge of the explosion nimbly enough, and dropped off the side of the edge, and picked her up shifting his dragon glider with her to ride behind him.
"Try to ignore my example of being reckless next time alright?" he said with a hint of being high and mighty but there was a softness to his voice.
"I'll take that as a thank you for helping me out Midna." she said sticking out her tongue as the two flew towards the innermost part of the town.
Memory Fragment: 4.3 [Luxu, Eth]
Location: Keyblade Graveyard; Badlands
Two of them were walking adrift the land, it was barren and seemed to stretch endlessly. Eth and Luxu were walking for some time upon landing on the world and Luxu came to a crossroads where he stood still and turned his head to his back.
"I've been meaning to ask you this since the first day Eth, but wheres your keyblade?" Luxu inquired holding out an empty palm, as Eth stared at his back.
"To be completely honest with you, I simply don't have one."
Luxu paused, and he turned his entire body this time looking at Eth from behind his hood. He raised but a single finger and swatted it left to right in a cutesy fashion imitating his master. "The master chose a resolute he numbered Zero, that doesn't even have a keyblade? As if."
Luxu sighed, "I'll tell you what Eth. I'll give you mine for now. I'm not much of a dual wielder any how. Not with blades anyway. You can borrow it for now, you'll return it to me one of these days." he chuckled.
As Luxu extended his hand he purged a beautiful keyblade, it was translucent at first, but the eye that illuminated from the center gave it's chatter white and silver winding finish. From blade to hilt, it possessed something of a sharp edge. "I call her 'Ethernal' a beaut ain't she? That key blades pretty shy when I'm not around, so others won't be able to see it if I'm not within about seven meters of her. Devilish little chameleon of mine, she'll blend into any environment long as that eye is open at the end of the blade."
Eth held out his hand and took the grip of the keyblade feeling the weight in his hand for the first time. He reeled his arm back and swung once to get a feel, Luxu ducked to avoid contact. "It's light, much lighter than I was expecting, but why are you giving me your keyblade Luxu?" Eth inquired adamantly.
"The Master told me you were the only one that didn't have one, just letting you borrow it for now, no big deal, besides I'm not defenseless. Got another one."
He snapped his finger, and and flailing from the winds, the gazing eye crashed into the dirt in between them. "One of master's gifts to me. Sometimes I lose track of the damn thing, figured Ol' Ethernal could see it from here and she was right. Pain in the ass this thing." He plucked the black keyblade, with a blue eye emblazoned at it's end from the dirt.
"We need to talk Ethy, just you and me. I've got a few things to share with you, that stay between us. If master says I can trust ya, then lend me your ears for a bit won't ya?" Luxu scratched the back of his hood.
"More talking...but if the master says it's important, i'll hear you out Luxu. Go on." Eth said holding Ethernal to his side from the left hand.
"He talked to you before bringing you here didn't he. About a traitor among you, didn't say who, didn't give any details, he just warned you guys that one of you is a mole, whether you know it or not. Well, I was told to tell you specifically that you are the going to be the scapegoat for Master's exit." Luxu raised his finger and pointed at Eth.
"Me...why me..?" Eth placed his right hand over his heart.
"Seal those lips. Don't say anything. I was told when the master finally disappears, that I was to take off too, watch you all, but I have my own role to fill too. I'll see to it that each of you stays the course of your destiny, the master isn't interested in you trying to fight the prevention of the darkness coming, it's bigger than you, than any of us and it will happen and the end of days will follow shortly after. Whats more interesting is what you will do once the end has come, how you will fair as a team of Resolutes in the aftermath. Even I'm semi-excited to see what you guys come up with, it's fitting to tell the one who's job is to find the answer to reverting the worlds from their harrowed states."
Luxu's eyes winced and he spoke cautiously and slower than had up until that point. "I can't quite put my finger on it...but I feel like I'm forgetting something. thats not you screwing around right? The master told me about your mother. Power over memories, now thats dangerous....extremely dangerous Ethy. You could screw around and someone like Reffy wouldn't be able to remember any of those 2k spells he has under his belt. The cut of your jib is too valuable to not give you this info, and that keyblade your borrowing is a fine start. Ethernal will serve you well friend, anything you want to say?"
Luxu finally stopped monologuing and Eth stood there, eyes to the ground spaced out for a few moments that passed before they locked onto Luxu.
"Show me your face." Eth said looking directly at him.
"WHAAAAAAT? I give you secret intel and the only thing you want is to see my goddamn face?? As if, man thats wild." Slowly, Luxu dropped his hood and Eth marveled as a tear dropped from his face.
"...You...you're...!"
The cast of silence washed over the graveyard of keys and the wind filled it.
Memory Fragment: 4.4 [Lucrecia, Jay/Jaz]
Location: The Cul-De-Sac; The Chapel
The sun hung over in the distance. The World of The Cul-De-Sac always seemed to be slated at high noon when most outsiders came to visit the world.
"What are we doing here Lucrecia, there was yellow tape plastered all over the door! We're not supposed to be here, clearly!" Jay prattled on with a yip and whimper from his voice.
"They say that you can get into the realm of darkness from this chapel. The master possesses the power to travel there, as does Luxu." Recia laid her hand to rest on the golden handle and slid up to the massive lock. "Reforge talks about this door in his sleep, he has nightmares when he's in his child form."
"Okay...way to personal for me. I'm going to just bail meet-"
"Jay." Recia said running her hand over the wood one more time. "What are you so afraid of?" she said turning around and looking him in the eyes, dead center.
"This. All of this. Why am I even here? I don't know any of you, let alone why would the master say you're a person of interest, whats so special about you anyway Recia?" Jay slammed his foot, and a tail poofed from his rear and he fell forward harkening the form of a wolf, briefly before releasing a sharp howl and shifting back to his human form.
"If you're so afraid of the darkness thats eventually coming a little over a year from now...resign as a resolute." Recia sighed, her two orbs hovering close to her shoulders as she pat them both. "I'm disappointed in how fickle and hesitant you are to do anything for yourself Jay. Living on distrust makes for a lonely life, one which dashes the hopes of connecting with others and making new relationships."
She turned and folded her arms with a slight tilt of her head, before walking towards him. "Am I supposed to be your mother now too? Master what in the foretellers where you thinking pairing me with-"
There was a brief clattering of foot steps and before she knew it, Jay had wrapped her arms around her with some means of embrace. A faint drop of precipitation hitting her collar bone at the exposed part of her v-neck. Trembling in her arms, she was just a kid, might as have been a baby compared to the age difference in the rest of the group. Master wouldn't chose lightly, but knowing you'll have to fight a war in a short amount of time must be terrifying for one that doesn't come from that kind of background.
"So you really are afraid...fine, you'll find solidarity if you work close with me." Recia, normally haughty with a likeness to flare up at this much vulnerability, simply smiled and stroked Jay's head.
Jay simply nodded, and rubbed into the draping sleeve, taking a look into Lucrecia's eyes.
"Their will come a day when we have to come back here together Jay, I'm gonna need you to be steel your nerves. We may have friends trapped inside the realm of darkness and if the master really will leave us one day, this will be the only way telo reach them. Our resolve belongs to the realm of light, not darkness...but that doesn't mean we can't reach it from here. The master said, cracking the door will show you a glimpse of whats beyond it, but opening it in it's entirety will take you to the intersection between the realm of darkness weakest seams of reality, the dark margin."
"If we cross over...will we be able to come back..?" Jay asked as she looked up.
"Once you step through once, you'll gain the power to come here at will. Key is getting the door to open, that much the master wasn't very clear on, but it should respond to our resolve. Though you never truly lose the power to traverse worlds...but you can forget all the same."
Lucrecia released a small breath and took Jay's hand. "The darkness doesn't stand a chance."
Memory Fragment: 4.6 [Shiki, Saebyeolbe]
Location: Twilight Town; The Sandlot
Time: Twilight
Twilight Town had to be one of the more calm worlds this side of the ring. A breath escaped the two young resolutes though one seemed to be more familiar here than the other. Saebyeolbe was familiar, he'd come here from time to time with the master in the past. With struggle bats in hand, there were children here with fire in their eyes.
"I find it hard to believe you've never heard of Struggle." Saebyeolbe flicked his wrist pointing at the kids flailing with bat in hand.
"You'll come to realize I've known more struggles than this sport."Shiki was leaning over on the fence post watching the kids.
"Oddly chilly thought, but for the reason we're here." Resting his hands on the post, he'd reached over his hip to his small box. Revealing two blue bars. "Here." Sae said smiling handing her one of the two bars of ice cream.
"We're here for this?" Shiki's brow furrowed some, she watched as Sae bit into the bar.
"The master said we were fairly high strung and guarded, a day off seemed appropriate. Said Twilight Town had this phenomenal ice cream that we must try out. I couldn't tell what was going through his head." Sae raised the bar to his lips and took another bite as he was eyes focused on the children.
Shiki took a look around, briefly a thought permeated in her mind. To think that all this peace and sensible living stayed true, but for fear of an extended stay they'd suffer. Her face communicated the subtle a subtle opposite, despite being littered with questions and skepticism of this temporary truce with misfortune that seemed to follow her around everywhere.
Saebyeolbe flicked her forehead, to her brief window of shock. "Even reckless fools like us deserve some manner of peace. You still with me? Your ice cream's melting Shiki." Sae's voice seemed almost surreal to her, as if she was casting the image of a dear friend briefly in his place.
She took a bite, and more than the freeze, the initial taste was sour. Further inspection, it mellowed into a softened and sweet taste and she looked at the ice cream holding it a ways from her face. How can two opposing tastes work together so flawlessly?
Taking a walk from the Sandlot and through the market place, seems like they finally fixed the hole in the wall which forced Saebyeolbe to change directions. Using the underground network, he came out of the storm doors, leading them into the woods. Even the trees here, the color of the grass, and the light that seemed to titivate over the world to one shade was a marvel on it's own. Stopping in front of the mansion doors, Sae looked up to the top left window on the second floor.
Folding his arms behind his head, he yawned. He walked up to the wall and sat down against it.
"You know Shiki, the master told me a pretty long time that I had two major obsessions that I needed to balance out. This incredible desire to save people accost my own safety, and the other has been the desire in those and other scenarios, to persist without rest until I am the winner."
Shiki stood, her shadow cast over him.
"Who would you protect? Save? Feel the suffocating need to defeat?""
"To save people like those kids and to defeat...the Traitor among us..."
Shiki fell silent, but she could understand, it appears the master shared that information with more than just her.
Location: Radiant Garden; Underground Caverns
"Your listening is shameful Reforge."
"Oh?? I don't see you shelling out any bright ideas for this predicament!" Reforge shouted in between his panting.
The two of them were hand over foot, pacing at the speed of a sprint to conserve energy. The corridors that wrapped and twisted underneath Radiant Garden where known as the Cavern of Remembrance. Unfortunately the current predicament wasn't one to sneeze at, a heartless in the shape of a divine beast was rampaging through the underground. The red eyes, better known as a Dark Hide, and it was armored unlike it's normal aberration so spells reflected off it when cast.
"Can't you just bounce the beast back or something??"
"It doesn't work like that, that thing's heavier than a moving wrecking ball, it needs to be slowed down before I can hit it after hitting me."
"Ugh, fine!"
"What are you thinking, some reckless spell casting again? Don't be an idiot Reforge!"
Reforged turned and snatched Try by the hand and pulled her in. The heartless roared as it thumbed along without any hesitation whatsoever. The eloquent started to chant slowly underneath his breath and spoke almost inaudibly. A small ring surrounding himself and Try. Reforge called upon his Aura skill, and amplified both himself and Try, bolstering their defensive and attack applications beyond their normal parameters.
"Now hit him!"
"You better be right about this!"
The two reeled back and with closed fist, sunk each into the respective claws of the Dark Hide. The friction created from it's abnormal weight and armored body was almost enough to press them further into the dirt. Reforge opened his palm and started to channel his magic into a spell cast.
"Your officially CRAZY Ref!"
"Wouldn't be the first time someone's said that about me!!!" he proceeded to chant and the light grew thicker, electrifying in his hand.
"THUNDAJA!"
Lightning hit from the top of the heartless with so much power and force it shattered the armor, and substantially cut the weight of the heartless down. Reforge took his other hand and reeled it back collecting power in his fist.
"This time from the top Try, lets get rid of this thing!"
The force traveling between two points, Rebound adding a second burst of the borrowed heartless physical force. Her closed fist plunged forward delivering the force back at what felt like 275% with Reforge's assistance. Both fists burrowed into the heartless and the hit of a wrecking ball, smacked the heartless through the roof of the cavern.
"It's time to go Reforge, don't gawk at that things, move it!" Try shouted beneath the helmet as she had already pulled ahead towards the path to exit the caverns.
"Nah nah nah nah nah nah!" Just like that Reforge reverted to his child form mocking the heartless and turning to run behind Try to escape the caverns.
Memory Fragment: 4.8 [Master of Masters]
"Looks like the kids should be back about any minute now, gotta hand it to them they've been a handful." The Master took pause as he sat his desk.
His hand rested on a book, a tome rather, known to him as the book of prophecies. One to which he'd spent an fair portion of his youth crafting page for page as he peered into a future. The tome itself detailed the sources of many aberrations, appearing in the form of light, darkness, the dawn the dusk, and even manifestations of time, space, and negative emotions. There was a passage on the keyblade in here he often taught when commissioned by the academy to do special lessons.
"Kingdom Hearts" the master uttered, "The Xabat, better known as χ-blade is the key forged from the alignment of the clash of thirteen darknesses and seven lights. In other scripts, thirteen lights where said to take on the world to be sieged by an insurmountable darkness, one in which would corrupt and consume the hearts of worlds themselves and leave them as empty shells, called Harrowed Ends."
The master turned the page and sighed, it was littered with his chicken scratch and a myriad of symbols. Omni was written as a footnote here.
"The wielder of the all encompassing power of Omni was to appear before humanity and chose twelve among them, upon the twelfth chosen, he'd become mortal and join them as thirteen. This these thirteen would be bound to an inescapable and awful fate in which they'd be placed against the insurmountable darkness as civilization and the balance of the worlds shifts heavily in favor of the darkness. The end of he world by no means could be prevented, but not even the passages speak in detail of what happens once the darkness arrives."
He turns the page to the very last page and reads the passage aloud.
"It is said that the darkness will find invitation through the seeds of doubt that spring forth in the hearts of even the most stalwart of them all. A kind of doubt that can only be inspired by a betrayal of trust that is the magnum opus of pretense. The kind of doubt that would bring forth the incentive to fight and change fate. The Betrayer would inherit the Gazing Eye and The Box will open. It is unknown what will happen, this is the only part of the tome that isn't definitive and is open to multiple different interpretations."
The master closed his book and looked at the pictures, headshots he'd taken of everyone he'd had under his tutelage. He divided the photos into three groups. His picture and Luxu's were at the top. Below he moved Eths, Saebyeolbe's, Shiki's, Try's, and Lucrecia's. Followed by the a single row, with Komaeda's picture alone. The next row held Jay's, Iontis, Yamato's, and Reforge's pictures. Finally the last isolated image was of Midna at the very bottom.
"I didn't name any of you carelessly, the broken among you will realize much later what your other names are." he recollected them in brief before he spoke.
"Defiled. The Benevolent. The Harmony. The Undying. Iridescence. The Ultimate. and The Desire."
He tapped the desk and stared at the photographs before being alerted to the sound of the first pair of foot steps. Tiny feet, must be Reforge with Try prompting their return first. He chuckled gathering their photos and placing them across his desk next to the picture he'd taken with all of them as a group on the first day. He was fully aware the game had already started long ago, and this time he wouldn't be around for how it played out.
"I truly love each and every one of you as my own. I'll trust your call when it's all said and done, but you must never know the full extent or else you'll just come looking for me while everything around you falls to ruin. What life that remains is always going to be more important, because even darkness can be salvaged...and you'll disagree, you'll fight, you'll even perpetuate your beliefs against one another and generate your own conflicts beyond my sights, but the commonality exists. Love. Your methods will raise questions, but questions in dire need of being asked, because you'll grow stronger from challenging what you believe, and a miracle will happen."
The Master shrugged, placing the book in his drawer and exiting his study.
[Author's Pow Wow]
Break from a small story component to explain what a few things are thus far that's being touched on in the memories, this is more for the role-players to get an idea of where a lot of these things come from in the roleplay that is live as of right now. It's much easier for me to explain it here with live references as seen in the memories themselves.
We'll start of with the important stuff.
What is the time period?
The story is written on an AU to the original timeline except we're going a very long time into the future.
Who is The Master of Masters?
This story's master acts as a man who is otherworldly, master, father-figure, teacher, and participant in a gambit against an unnamed enemy. The Master serves a role of ushering the power known as "Omni" to 12 exceptionally gifted people. His goal was to divide his power up until he himself became human, to name himself the 13th among that group of exceptional people, IE: Resolutes.
What are the Master's intentions?
As you can tell by reading, the master's ultimate intent is to see his 12 remaining resolutes succeed after the world has ended. His goals are to inspire good faith, to embolden and empower them. While attempting to foster bonds between the group as a whole, he is primarily focused on bringing people together into pairs of two, they should act as the other's rock or moral and combat support to challenge and question their resolve as well as decisions they make well after the master's inevitable departure.
What is Omni?
As the master is, or at least was "otherworldly" or even divine you could say, so was Omni. Omni is a power born from countless human hearts, and it only forges and functions to those with hearts bound in an extremely powerful sense of conviction to themselves, to a cause, to an ideology or philosophy. The master was originally an incarnate/manifestation of Omni itself, encompassing "All". All aspects of convictions, beliefs, and acted as a shepard to stray hearts. Guiding them in passing to the true kingdom hearts. Upon enacting his Gambit, the master has divided his power omni to 12 worthy hearts, bound by fierce resolve. Resolutes.
As the memories play out, I will explain two more components to Omni that will also come into fruition in the roleplay itself.
Who are the Resolutes?
The Resolutes where humans with powerful sets of convictions thats the master deemed worthy to pass an aspect of Omni to. In total there are 13 aspects of Omni's Conviction.
Almighty - The Master of Masters
∞. Continuum - Luxu
0.Time - Eth
I. Indomitable Will - Saebyeolbe
II. Divine Protection - Shiki
III.Rebound All Opposition - Try (name unknown)
IV. Nullification - Lucrecia
V. Hope & Despair - Komaeda, Nagito
VI. Paradigm - Jay/Jaz
VII. Growth & Evolution - Iontis
VIII. Insatiable Hunger - Yamato
IX. Knowledge & Linguistics - Reforge
X. Desire - Midna
Each resolute embodies an aspect of Omni and that resolve defines them as the 13 Resolutes.
When will Try ever remove her helmet???
As soon as Piercing Light ever draws her face, til then, NOPE.
The master smiled. This was the loudest you could hear the table had been in the past couple of days. The table was set, twelve of them were seated and the master was hanging over as the entree's were set over with silver dishes. Each releasing steam as they had a prepared meal, as eyes shifted to Try whom sat there in a complete state of motionlessness talking to Reforge.
Eth twiddled his thumbs as he looked over at Luxu across from him, these two where the closest to the master at the head of the table. Luxu making a gesture to zip it, as in not disclose the contents of their conversation and Eth simply returned with a nod as his fork was buried into his plate.
Saebyeolbe sighed, staring at the plate briefly and thinking he might've spoiled his appetite from the ice-cream. He could only think about the idea of their being a dishonest fool among them. Rolling his eyes he was determined at the very least to eat something. Shiki was collectively in the same mode, albeit taking more of a quiet tenderness to how much energy was in the room. Only a few days, and it appeared that everyone was coming alive, it brought a smile to her face, a rarity in some of the tragic things she's experienced between then and now.
"Be sure you eat the greens as well." Lucrecia said to Jay, almost sounding motherly.
"R-right." Jaz responded, her ear's twitched like that of a foxes. Taking in the steam, her nose crinkled and her snout protruded briefly before shifting back. Releasing a long sigh, Jaz began to eat occasionally looking up at Recia as an example of proper etiquette.
"Shoulders off he table Jaz." Lucrecia enforced, soft but firmly as she smiled.
"Someone's starting to lean towards the motherly side." Komaeda interjected and chuckled, "Fitting for a powerful light worth following to the ends of the earth."
Recia merely gave Komaeda the thumbs up and continue to eat.
"Now now, we're all friends here aren't we? I want us to grow together, elevate one another." His smiled seemed to twist just a tad.
"Nagi." Yamato said across from him. "Leave Recia be, just eat, everyone's winding down." he said pointing at Iontis, Midna, Try, and Reforge. "Theres nothing I value more, than honor and respect. Show some for your mates workin' hard alright?"
On the other end of the table, Reforge sat in his child form talking to Try rather excitedly.
"You were AMAZING back there! Can you teach me how you did that??" Reforge said, starry eyed and hyper.
"It's not something I can exactly teach Reffy, ugh. Please don't make me repeat myself, i'm sure you know a reflect spell or two." She sat there with her arms folded.
"Hmm?" Reforge looked at her dish was still with the lid on. "Aren't you gonna eat anything??" his light bulb over his head went off, visible to everyone at the table. "Wait a minute. How are you supposed to do that with that helmet on?? Come to think of it, you didn't take it off during breakfast this morning either!"
Reforge pouted and puffed his cheeks.
"Ugh, this is why I'm not sure about children right now, can we talk as adults Reffy? Leave the matter alone, I like my privacy." she briefly, stood up and picked up the dish to then proceed to leave the room with it.
"Try has got the right idea." Iontis said with a light sigh as he tapped the side of his plate. "Great work today Midna, remember what I said, don't follow my reckless example."
"Hey look at you!" Midna said rather cheerful, "Your learning, you actually remember my name this time. Hah, i'm only teasing, but thanks, i'll try not to get knocked off a platform next time."
Iontis simply gave her a look, and what looked like the slight upturn of a smile before excusing himself in the same fashion that Try did.
It's been a bit of a ride today, but it was definitely evident that everyone was tired. The master sat and ate with his resolutes that remained and tasked two that left the table to do the dishes alongside Komaeda.
Memory Fragment: Dish Duty pt. 2 [Try, Komaeda, Iontis]
"How did I get conned into doing the dishes again...?" Iontis groaned scrubbing the plates.
"Ah, rotten luck as always, nothing new for me." Komaeda said with a grin as he rinsed the ones handed to him.
"I'll starve before I eat in front of you guys. This chore is just a price paid for privacy." Try's slight flex of strength cracked a dish she was drying. You couldn't see it, but she felt it was a bit unnatural a fracture.
"You've certainly got everyone curious about your face, as well as your name." Iontis proposed "It's as if you don't quite know yourself about either, my question is, why?"
Try placed the last dish on the rack and the one Komaeda gave her to the side. "If there aren't any dishes...there wouldn't be a conversation about my face. I see what your doing here."
"You sound utterly ridiculous right now, what do you mean 'if there aren't any'?" he was getting irritated now, but noticed she turned and the keyblade was in her hand. "Are you listening to me? What are you going to do with that?"
She raised her hand and there was a loud thwack sound.
"Oof." Komaeda grunted rubbing his head where Try's keyblade was buried, in the forest that was his tangled bush of white hair.
"What are you mental woman?? You just hit him directly in the head, and why would you move in the way you idiot??"
"Don't get in the way if you don't want to get hurt. Isn't it obvious? Move Komaeda, i'll rid us of the dishes, permanently."
"I seriously cannot believe what I'm hearing...you deal with this Komaeda."
Try moved her keyblade over to Iontis. "Don't go telling the master Ion. It's not like I did anything to him"
"Ion..? We're doing pet names now? You're so strange Try...fine. But if you don't want that, then do me a solid here. Wash the dishes, don't break them, we'll stop asking about the damn helmet too."
The keyblade vanished as well. She took a step forward nonchalant and picked up the last dish that she put down. All the while Komaeda rubbed his head, feeling a lump there to no one's surprise. Iontis sighed, and proceeded to pass the dishes to his right until they were gone. As he drained the water from the sink he leaned against it.
"We're in luck, I don't think she's going to break anything...this time." Komaeda said with a bit of a frown.
"Lets keep this between us three." Iontis said with a sigh. "You're definitely weird to me, but you're not so strange that you'd do either of us substantial harm."
Iontis placed his hand on her helmet. "Midna is gradually changing my opinion about being here, and about all of you, unique is an understatement if there ever was one. Feels like theres a lot we your peers have to teach you Try, for starters...lets not break things...please?"
Try merely gave a casual nod, parsed with a cloth in hand, and dish nearly pressed but not cracking this time. Room for improvement to be sure.
Memory Fragment: Training Begins
Location: The Dorms; Training Field #1
The conditions were to the extremes that you would expect from the Master. He was a hard read, you couldn't tell if he was being heartlessly cruel or too kind. Teetering on the very brink of either when he wasn't being a cryptic shark among others. The called for à to approach, and sure enough, the number 0 approached.
"Keyblade?" the master questioned.
A powerful stream of light radiated from his hand, and Eth brandished Ethernal to his hand. Luxu looked from the group with a glint in his eye, sure enough the blade wasn't visible to anyone there given the distance between him and the key. Admiration appeared in the Master's voice, to say he'd foreseen this day would be an understatement.
"Looks like you found that aforementioned keyblade I said you would Ethy. Good good. Show me something else."
Eth looked at the master with a slight of his head, "Something else?" he shuffled on the back foot as the master took a step towards him.
"Resolve. Dear Eth. Show everyone your Resolve!"
The field colluded with a powerful pressure, gravitation that could be felt pulsing through the grassy fields. The Master's apprentices stood present, the scarred and whisper erecting a dome to guard against the master's actions.
"But they'll...just forget as quickly...fine."
Eth raised his hand and pressed against his chest. The thought of his mother crossed his mind, those fleeting moments, the image of her pieced together his resolve. How could he avoid this happening again, often a question he asked himself invariably. A small breath of air left his lips, the pressure cracked and blew upward forcing several pieces of grass to scatter. Eth had cut the pressure, he emitted a blue radiance which perpetuated a warm feeling.
"Resolve or no Master...I'm not ready for any of you to see it..."
"You wouldn't...No no not that, the other thing!" The master took steps of panic before the dandelion he plucked slipped from his hand. "Uh-oh." he then and vanished into a portal of light.
Eth turned on the group standing behind the dome, and the light washed over all of them. The blue luminescent glow was pure, warm, and inviting, but it marked a small gap in time. The memory mixed with a rewind was put in place. Eth opened his eyes and the master's words repeated.
"Keyblade...wait...deja vu? Ugh, you did it again you scoundrel. Fine! Take a seat Untouchable! Moving on..."
The master rubbed the side of his head before he clasped his hands loudly.
"Resolute. You know why you're all called that right? Any one care to guess, oh! Show of hands, c'mon!"
The master looked into the crowd, each of them glimpsing at each other, uncomfortable, awkward. One of them raised their hand, like the master, hooded.
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Russia Breaks Huge Story: ISIS is Supported by the U.S. and Nato Allies, Detailed Evidence Of ISIS-Turkey Oil Trade
It's well known in awakening circles that the terrorist group known as ISIS or ISIL is an American financed and led organization. This was conclusively demonstrated in a recent full length investigation by David Wilcock which you can read here.
Recently, Russia held a ground breaking press conference presenting even more evidence ISIL is being funded by oil production in Turkey and else where. Further, that military forces in countries presently fighting ISIL have said that they could defeat the terrorist group if it were not for the support of the US and it's allies. In other words, the biggest hurdle to defeating ISIL is the US.
This is a damning indictment for the false war on terror propagandized in western media. It's even being reported covertly by some mainstream outlets such as News Week:
Russia’s defense ministry on Wednesday accused Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan and his family of being involved in the Islamic State militant group’s (ISIS) illegal oil trade, as the war of words between Moscow and Ankara continues over Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane near the Syrian border in November.
“The main consumer of this oil stolen from its legitimate owners, Syria and Iraq, is Turkey,” Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov told journalists in Moscow, AFP news agency reported. “According to available information, the highest level of the political leadership of the country, President Erdogan and his family, are involved in this criminal business.” - News Week
This is a huge development which needs to go viral so as to help awaken those duped into thinking the war on terror is a legitimate effort.
Below is a list of related links to this story, followed by the we are change video and an article detailing the ISIS-Turkey oil trade. A full translation of the statement made by Anatoly Antonov the Russian Deputy Defense minister is also included at the end of this article.
Related 6 Truths About the War on Terrorism Everyone Should Know
Related The Symbolic Meaning of ISIS And The Statue of Liberty (Isis) | Mother of Wisdom, Numerology, Kabballa, Freemasonry and Occult Meanings
Related BREAKING: Turkey Shoots Down Russian Warplane Near Syrian Border | Putin Says "serious consequences for Russian-Turkish relations.”
Related "US Led ISIS Coalition" Connections to John McCain | Did CNN Just Admit The US is Helping ISIS?
Source - A Tree of Light
I'm still in the thick of an editing job that needs to be finished, so there won't be much writing or posting for me for another couple days...
In the meantime, however, I needed to share the video below immediately. There is a massive shift happening on the world stage - official U.S. government lies are being exposed to such an extent that the whole establishment is quickly losing any and all credibility with the rest of the world. It seems highly feasible to me that Russia will become a sort of "world leader" like America has been for so many decades... Is this a good thing, or is it a bad thing?
Either way, all I can say is that the most capable and ethical leaders in history cannot do a damn thing with a complacent and ignorant public. Perhaps we should stop waiting to grow our gardens and restore trust in our communities and in our relationships? Perhaps we should collectively build the infrastructure we need to take care of all basic needs for everyone in a transparent manner? I promise you, it can be done. There is nothing truly stopping us save for mass complacency and ignorance.
If we don't do it, I doubt that any force in the entire universe will magically show up and do it for us...
(P.S. Please check out We Are Change - this video is their work and they deserve some good traffic and funding!)
https://youtu.be/WMnl0nO-oCk
Source - Zero Hedge
Russia Presents Detailed Evidence Of ISIS-Turkey Oil Trade
On Monday, Turkey’s sultan President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said something funny. In the wake of Vladimir Putin’s contention that Russia has additional proof of Turkey’s participation in Islamic State’s illicit crude trade, Erdogan said he would resign if anyone could prove the accusations.
Now obviously, conclusive evidence that Ankara is knowingly facilitating the sale of ISIS crude will probably be hard to come by, at least in the short-term, but the silly thing about Erdogan’s pronouncement is that we’re talking about a man who was willing to plunge his country into civil war over a few lost seats in Parliament. The idea that he would ever “step down” is patently absurd.
But that’s not what’s important. What’s critical is that the world gets the truth about who’s financing and facilitating “Raqqa’s Rockefellers.” If a NATO member is supporting this, and if the US has refrained from bombing ISIS oil trucks for 14 months as part of an understanding with Erdogan, well then we have a problem. For those who need a review, see the following four pieces:
The Most Important Question About ISIS That Nobody Is Asking
Meet The Man Who Funds ISIS: Bilal Erdogan, The Son Of Turkey's President
How Turkey Exports ISIS Oil To The World: The Scientific Evidence
ISIS Oil Trade Full Frontal: "Raqqa's Rockefellers", Bilal Erdogan, KRG Crude, And The Israel Connection
Unfortunately for Ankara, The Kremlin is on a mission to blow this story wide open now that Turkey has apparently decided it’s ok to shoot down Russian fighter jets. On Wednesday, we get the latest from Russia, where the Defense Ministry has just finished a briefing on the Islamic State oil trade. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Turkey may be in trouble.
First, here’s the bullet point summary via Reuters:
RUSSIA'S DEFENCE MINISTRY SAYS RUSSIA'S AIR STRIKES IN SYRIA HELPED TO ALMOST HALVE ILLEGAL OIL TURNOVER
RUSSIA'S DEFENCE MINISTRY SAYS TURKISH PRESIDENT AND FAMILY INVOLVED IN BUSINESS WITH ISLAMIC STATE OIL
RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY SAYS WILL CONTINUE STRIKES IN SYRIA ON ISLAMIC STATE OIL INFRASTRUCTURE
RUSSIA'S DEFENCE MINISTRY SAYS KNOWS OF THREE ROUTES BY WHICH ISLAMIC STATE OIL IS DIRECTED TO TURKEY
RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY SAYS TO PRESENT NEXT WEEK INFORMATION SHOWING TURKEY HELPING ISLAMIC STATE
That’s the Cliff’s Notes version and the full statement from Deputy Minister of Defence Anatoly Antonov is below. Let us be the first to tell you, Antonov did not hold back.
In the opening address, the Deputy says the ISIS oil trade reaches the highest levels of Turkey's government. He also says Erdogan wouldn’t resign if his face was smeared with stolen Syrian oil.Antonov then blasts Ankara for arresting journalists and mocks Erdogan’s “lovely family oil business.” Antonov even calls on the journalists of the world to "get involved" and help Russia "expose and destroy the sources of terrorist financing."
"Today, we are presenting only some of the facts that confirm that a whole team of bandits and Turkish elites stealing oil from their neighbors is operating in the region," Antonov continues, setting up a lengthy presentation in which the MoD shows photos of oil trucks, videos of airstrikes and maps detailing the trafficking of stolen oil. The clip is presented here with an English voice-over. Enjoy.
After loading up with oil, a truck convoy in east Syria heads toward Turkey in direction Al-Qamishli:
October 18: in the Drer-ez-zor region a satellite imagte reveals 1772 oil trucks:
November 14: in the Tavan and Zaho regions, in the zone where coalition forces are active, one can see a gathering of oil trucks:
November 28: in the region Kara-Choh on the territory of an oil refinery one can see 50 oil trucks:
The routes of alleged oil smuggling from Syria and Iraq to Turkey:
A substantial part from east Syria enter a refinery in Batman, Turkey (100km from the Syria border):
Video: an oil truck enters Turkey unhindered:
#СИРИЯ #НовыеДанные #ВИДЕО беспрепятственного пересечения тур.границы автофургонами с нефтью https://t.co/ME4LKeGWq2 pic.twitter.com/One7hhRW1z
— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) December 2, 2015
And here's the latest video of Russia destroying Islamic State oil infrastructure:
Oh, and for good measure, Lieutenant-General Sergey Rudskoy says the US is not bombing ISIS oil trucks.
Full statement from Anatoly Antonov (translated)
At a briefing for the media, "the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the fight against international terrorism. The new data "
International terrorism - is the main threat of our time. This threat is not illusory but real, and many countries, primarily Russia, knows this firsthand. The notorious "Is Islamic state" - the absolute leader of the terrorist international. This is a rearing monster of international terrorism can be countered. And you can win. Over the past two months, Aerospace Russian forces is clearly demonstrated.
We are firmly convinced that victory over LIH need to deliver a powerful and devastating blow to the sources of its funding, as repeatedly mentioned by President Vladimir Putin. Terrorism has no money - is a beast without teeth. Oil revenues are a major source of terrorist activity in Syria. They earn about $ 2 billion. Dollars annually, spending this money on hiring fighters around the world, providing them with weapons, equipment and weapons. That's why so LIH protects thieves oil infrastructure in Syria and Iraq.
The main consumer of stolen from legitimate owners - Syria and Iraq - the oil is Turkey. According to the data entered in this criminal business involved the highest political leadership of the country - President Erdogan and his family.
We have repeatedly talked about the dangers of flirting with terrorists. It's like that stokes. The fire from one country can spill over to others. This situation we are seeing in the Middle East. Today, we present only part of the facts, confirming that the region has a team of bandits and Turkish elites stealing oil from the neighbors.
This oil in large numbers on an industrial scale, for the living pipelines from thousands of oil tankers entering the territory of Turkey. We are absolutely convinced today present you the hard facts about what the final destination of the stolen oil - Turkey. There is a large number of media representatives, and Our briefing will see more of your colleagues. In this regard, I would like to say the following. We know and appreciate the work of journalists. We know that in the journalistic community, many courageous, fearless people honestly do its job.Today, we have clearly shown you how the illegal trade in oil, the result of which - the financing of terrorism. Provided concrete evidence that, in our opinion, may be the subject of investigative journalism.
We are confident that the truth with your help will, will find its way. We know the price to Erdogan. He has already been caught in a lie again Turkish journalists who opened Turkey delivery of arms and ammunition to militants under the guise of humanitarian convoys. For this imprisoned journalists.
Do not resign Turkish leaders, particularly Mr. Erdogan, and did not recognize, even if their faces will be smeared by oil thieves. I might be too harsh, but at the hands of the Turkish military killed our comrades. The cynicism of the Turkish leadership is unlimited. Look what they're doing ?! Climbed to a foreign country, it shamelessly robbed. And if the owners interfere, then they have to be addressed.
I stress that Erdogan's resignation is not our goal. It is - it is the people of Turkey. Our goal and the goal to which we urge you, ladies and gentlemen, - joint action to block the sources of funding for terrorism. We will continue to provide evidence of robbery by Turkey of its neighbors. Maybe I'll be too straightforward, but the control of these thieves in business can be entrusted only to the most close people.
No one in the West, I wonder, does not cause the issue that the son of the President of Turkey is the leader of one of the largest energy companies, and son-in-appointed Minister of Energy? What a brilliant family business!
This, in general, may elsewhere? Well, once again, of course, such cases can not be charging anyone, only the closest people. Votes this fact in the Western media we do not see much, but it sure can not hide the truth. Yes, of course, dirty petrodollars will work. I am sure that there are now discussions about the fact that everything you see here, - falsification. Well. If it did not - let be allowed in those places that we showed journalists.
It is obvious that today the publicity was devoted only part of the information about the monstrous crimes of the Turkish elites who directly finance international terrorism. We believe that any sane journalist should fight this plague of the XXI century. The world experience has repeatedly argued that the objective journalism is able to be an effective and formidable tool in the fight against various financial corruption schemes. We invite colleagues to investigative journalism on the disclosure of financial schemes and supplies oil from the terrorists to the consumers. Especially since the oil produced in the controlled militants territories in transit through Turkish ports shipped to other regions. For its part, the Ministry of Defense of Russia will continue to disclose new evidence on the supply of terrorists oil to foreign countries and to talk about the conduct of aerospace forces of Russia operations in Syria.Let's unite our efforts. We will destroy the sources of financing of terrorism in Syria, as you get involved in the kind of work abroad. "
http://atreeoflight.blogspot.com/2015/12/breaking-geopolitical-seismic-shifts.html
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-02/russia-presents-detailed-evidence-isis-turkey-oil-trade
Found @ http://sitsshow.blogspot.com/2015/12/russia-breaks-huge-story-isis-is.html
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June 07, 2018 • Jeb Taylor
After spending a week driving across Spain and Portugal seeking out record shops of the various cities in that part of the world, I'm now back in Barcelona to hit up the Primavera Sound down by the waterfront. Opening night is a reduced version of the festival but still features a decent array of artists. I made an attempt to get there to watch Spiritualized but a combination of slow bus trips and having to pick up accreditation meant I arrived pretty much as their last song rang out.
Next up over on a stage that faces across a nice grass amphitheater, Wolf Parade are on stage. A number of years back, actually more like over a decade ago, I really like their record 'Apologies to Queen Mary' but had lost touch with what they are doing since. It appears a lot of the crowd that had gathered were the same as any songs off that record were met with rousing receptions, while the response to the rest was pretty lukewarm. Belle & Sebastian, a band who I have loved for ages but never seen before follow them and totally bring the vibe straight away. The sound is amazing and they shred through an hour long set littered with hits from their lengthy back catalogue, 'Boy With The Arab Strap' and 'Another Sunny Day' are probably the highlights of the Scottish collectives set. It is first night and nothing else essential I need to see, knowing the next few days will be huge, I retire back to my hotel room.
Thursday kicks off with a journey into the middle of the day for the Primavera Pro Aussie BBQ. Free drinks, hanging out with a bunch of great crew and lots of afternoon beers with Link from The Meanies who now lives in this part of the world means the day is already big well before sunset. Music wise I witness solid sets from Alex The Astronaut, Didirri, Client Liaison and Confidence Man. Didirri does incredibly well to hold a slightly noisy crowd with just him and his guitar, while Client Liaison struggle a little with less of a show than we've got used to back in Australia. Confidence Man totally bring the party though, leaving the people that don't know them equally entertained and confused.
Next up it is back down to the waterfront for the first night of the Primavera Sound program proper. I arrive just in time to catch The War On Drugs, a lot of people have already gathered early and I have a spot with a pretty nice view across to the stage and great sound. The War On Drugs deliver a pretty great set as has become pretty that I'm sure anyone who has seen them in recent years will be well aware they do.
As I arrive at the Apple Music stage Unknown Mortal Orchestra are kicking off, I've had a long affinity with this band. I remember a lot of years ago, my friend Aaron from Spunk Records was running a little record/surf shop in Stanwell Park, I dropped in to visit and he played me a new artist he was releasing soon in Australia, it sounded amazing and it turned out it was a few songs off what was the first UMO album. A year or two later Aaron and myself put on New Years day show at Anita's Theatre in Thirroul the UMO headlined, since then they have continually grown around the world. While not being totally across their new album yet, they run through a solid set featuring tracks from previous efforts as well as some new material.
Next up is Fever Ray, while I'm a big fan of The Knife I've never listened to much of Fever Ray's solo output, aside from odd songs that have popped up here and there. Sounding amazing and delivering a pretty spectacular set, it quickly becomes my Primavera highlight so far. Back to the main two stages and Bjork has started her set by the time I get there, I'm not even going to try and describe a Bjork show in any detail, it's a beautiful experience that everyone should experience at least once in their life.
Up the other end of the main stage complex, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds kicks in. After seeing a really special performance last time they were in Australia, I'm unsure how it will translate on a festival stage but quickly realise not matter what stage Nick Cave is on he'll command the crowd. And the sets highlight involves the crowd as Nick invites a bunch of front row fans up on stage while they rip into 'Stagger Lee'. They play an epic set and it is well into the am, as I head towards the entrance, Client Liaison are playing a set on the Night Pro stage right beside the ocean and they look way more at home in the dark of the am than they were a bunch of hours earlier in the sunlight. They plough through the favourites from 'Diplomatic Immunity' and smash out their new single 'Survival In The City'.
That's two days down, two more epic days to follow.
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Students serve community at NYC
NCN News Staff
| 18 Jul, 2019
More than 8,000 teenagers spread out across Phoenix, Arizona, to serve during the USA/Canada Region’s Nazarene Youth Conference, held 10-14 July. The teenagers served at dozens of locations across the city, carrying out the event’s theme, “Love God, Love Others.”
These community service projects were diverse, ranging in both location and topic. Projects were organized into six categories: community engagement, church support, child development, compassionate response, education aid, and hunger relief.
Some students served at local elementary schools, painting a mural or getting gardens ready for the start of school. Others packed food at organizations addressing food insecurity or helped organize letters to sponsored children.
Cecily, a student from Texas, served at Feed My Starving Children, where the students packed boxes of food.
“All 239 of us in a room packing food for kids, all together — that’s just so impactful,” Cecily said.
Community is a unique part of service and something that the conference helped to cultivate. By loving others together, students were able to become part of something larger than themselves.
Claire, also from Texas, felt that community aspect in more ways than one. Her group’s project was to play games with veterans; this was an opportunity for the group to chat and connect with them. She said that it was important to spend that time together.
“Before you go and say, ‘I’m a Christian, and Jesus loves you’ — before you do that, you make a connection first,” Claire said.
Part of the challenge of hosting NYC in the summer is finding service projects that aren’t exclusively outdoors. This is particularly true in Phoenix, where temperatures regularly exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit in July. Several districts completed their service projects in the Phoenix Convention Center, organizing school supplies, creating emergency food kits, and more.
The students’ compassionate acts addressed a small piece of local and global needs, but they also impacted each student, who will take home the concept of loving others.
“It’s really fun because you’re doing just a small part of it, but it still gets done,” Claire said.
Conference attendees also gave an offering of nearly $33,000 to support the Southwest Native American District in Arizona, Appalachia Reach Out in Kentucky, and The Sharing Place in Toronto, Canada.
--Nazarene Compassionate Ministries
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Category: Civil War
The regimental muster.
SOME SOUTHERN HISTORY.
Mr. Hamlin Writes Interestingly About the Olden Days In The Past.
Mr. Editor:
As indicated in my last communication the camp-meeting was pre-eminently the religion-social gathering in the days of yore and the only general gathering marked by the presence of ladies. The presence of the mothers with their daughters of the best families enlivened, restrained and dignified the occasion. … The boys, as a general rule, didn’t attend. The regimental muster, coming in May and held in the field fronting Capt. Killian’s dwelling, now the Mills property, was largely attended by those of 18 to 45 years of age by law, the elder ones by choice. Harry Guinn, a free colored man, furnished ginger-bread and beer. Some whiskey, only a few jugs, and pure, was at all these places. It made men funny but not vicious. A fisticuff was rare. Uncle Joe Dunn played the fiddle with his left hand and four or five elderly men danced. …
Brevard News, 7 December 1921.
Smith goes above and beyond.
Felix Smith, a free man of color of this County, generously stepped forward and contributed Twenty dollars towards equipping and uniforming the Yanceyville Grays, at a late meeting held for that purpose. It was suggested that Smith was too liberal for his means, but he insisted that the whole amoung should be taken, and was willing to give more and fight for Southern rights too, if necessary. Most of the free people of color in the Southern States are acting with a patriotic loyalty that some of the whites would do to imitate. With regard to the slaves we could raise several companies in Caswell who would esteem it a pleasure to fight old Abe and his minions to the death. Our Cook would whip him out of his shirt and then hang him for a dog as high as his brother old John Brown danced in the air. We’ll stand a wager that she can lick Abe and Scott thrown in, in a fair fight.
The Milton Chronicle, 24 May 1861.
In the 1850 census of Caswell County: Mary Coile, 102, white; Felix Smith, 38, black, farm laborer, born in Caswell County.
In the old times and old Country.
State of Indiana, Marion County }
Reuben Lawhon of the age of 50 years and George Lawhon of the age of 20 years both of the County of Park and State of Indiana being duly sworn – They testify that they have been well acquainted with Primus Tyler for all the lifetime of the affiant George Lawhon also with his son Shepherd Tyler all his lifetime and with Betsey or Elizabeth Tyler in her lifetime – She was the mother of the said Shepherd Tyler – Shepherd died unmarried – He was a good and faithful son He supported his Father and Mother in her lifetime – Primus Tyler was a slave in Green Co North Carolina – his family were free and came to Indiana and raised money through the Friend Quakers to buy him – which they in 1851 when he came here to this state and leased and rented some land in the quaker settlement in Park Co Indiana for some three years or more – this said same Shepherd Tyler working for his parents during this time – Then Primus Tyler rented a small farm from Thomas Harshman which was about ten years ago – they lived on that for one year when his wife and children purchased the far – 158 acres and gave about $4000.00 for it – on which his children still owe about $1300.00 and he now lives with his children on that place – His said son gave him $100.00 Bounty when he enlisted and his son was killed before he was again paid – since which he has collected the arrears of pay and Bounty – Primus Tyler is old and feeble and has long been disabled from rheumatism — affiants have not interest in this matter. Reuben X Lawhon, /s/ George W. Lawhorn
[Witnesses] Ben D. House, William Saulsberry
State of Indiana, County of Parke }
Ephraim Cook aged Sixty years and Walden Russell aged 41 years residents of the County and State aforesaid being duly sworn upon their several oaths declare that are well acquainted with the family of Primus Tyler and were acquainted with his wife Elizabeth Tyler in her lifetime who departed this life July 6th 1861 and they further declare that the said Primus and Elizabeth Tyler were the parents of Shepherd Tyler late Co C 28th Regt US.C.T. who was killed at Chickahominy Swamp June 1864.They further declare that they personally know that the said Primus and Elizabeth Tyler were married in Green Co N.C. in the year 1827 the said Primus being at that time a slave and the said Elizabeth free and that the said Elizabeth Tyler thereafter bought the said Primus Tyler affiant’s knowledge of these matters is derived from an intimate personal acquaintance with all of the above mentioned parties and a consequent personal cognizance of the matters testified of and they have no interest in this matter. /s/ Ephraim Cook, Walden Russel
Catlin Station Ind. Mar 24th 1869
Mr Harlan Hamlin, Indianapolis
Dear Sir, Inclosed you will please find a bill of sale conveying me from Elizabeth Edwards of North Carolina to James Siler of Indiana and on the same bill under the hand of the said Siler is a writing relinquishing all claims and demands on me to Elizabeth Tyler my wife showing conclusively that the facts was known & recognized by those of that day familiar with the class With regard to living witness I don’t suppose I can produce any from they being advanced in age. I have outlived all those that was present at the time I was married according to the manor and custome of such persons in the old times and old Country which was simply to prepare a supper invite in the friends and at the proper time the groom & bride took their places at the ends of the table facing each other after supper the parties was considered duly married and was recognized by the law when not conflicting with the interest of the masters. Inclosed you please find a postage stamp with which to return the inclosed bill and I trust you will let me know immediately whether it will do any good or not if it wont do I want to know so I may look in some other direction /s/ Primus Tyler
From the file in the Pension Application of Shepherd Tyler, deceased (by his father Primus Tyler), #171234, National Archives and Records Administration.
In the 1850 census of Greene County, North Carolina: Elizabeth Tyler, 40, with children Shepherd, 11, Sally, 1, and Nancy, 5.
In the 1850 census of District 85, Parke County, Indiana: Reuben Lawhorn, 36, Eiza, 25, Oliver, 5, Alice, 2, George, 9 months, all born in North Carolina; plus George, 24, Nancy, 20, Hymerick, 18, Elizabeth, 17, Primus, 16, Avy, 14, and Moses Tyler, 13, all born in North Carolina.
In the 1860 census of Raccoon, Parke County, Indiana: at #386, farm laborer Reuben Lohorn, 40, Eliza, 36, Oliver, 15, Alice M., 13, George, 11, Susan, 8, Alfred, 4, Martha A., 3, and Elias, 3 months. Reuben, Eliza and the oldest two children were born in North Carolina; the remaining children in Indiana.) At #387, Primus Tyler, 60, Betsey, 45, Richard, Arcada, Primus, Moses, 18, Elizabeth, 20, Shepherd, Nancy B., Sally A., Edward F., Elwood, and Matilda J. (Note: Arcada, nee Artis, was Richard’s wife. He, too, enlisted in the Union Army, and his widow applied for a pension. In the 1850 census of District 85, Parke County, Indiana: Micajach Artis, 50, Beaty, 40, Arcada, 17, Eliza, 14, Burket, 4, and Henriette, 1; all born in North Carolina except Henriette, born in Indiana. Burkett Artis gave minor testimony in support of Primus Tyler’s application. Micajah is listed as a head of household in the 1830 census of Nash County NC and the 1840 census of Wayne County NC. A Micajah Artis married Rilly Eatmon in Edgecombe County in 1826. The three counties were contiguous at the time.)
In payment of Confederate taxes, no. 4.
Form of the estimate and assessment of agricultural products agreed upon by the assessor and tax-payer, and the value of the portion thereof to which the government is entitled, which is taxed in kind, in accordance with the provisions of Section 11 of “an Act to lay taxes for the common defence and carry on the government of the Confederate States,” said estimate and assessment to be made as soon as the crops are ready for market.
Rice — Quantity of gross crop. — 5 bush. Quality — #2. Tithe or one-tenth. — 1/2 bush. Value of one-tenth. — $2.00
Cured Fodder — Quantity of gross crop. — 700 lbs. Quality — #2. Tithe or one-tenth. — 70 lbs. Value of one-tenth. — $280
Ground peas — Quantity of gross crop. — 7 1/2 bush. Quality — #2. Tithe or one-tenth. — 3/4 bush. Value of one-tenth. — $4.50
I, Durant Dove of the County of Onslow and State of N.C. do swear that the above is a true statement and estimate of all the agricultural products produced by me during the year 1863, which are taxable by the provisions of the 11th section of the above stated act, including what may have been sold of consumed by me, and of the value of that portion of said crops to which the government is entitled. /s/ Durant X Dove
Sworn to and subscribed to before me the 28th day of November 1863, and I further certify that the above estimate and assessment has been agreed upon by said Dove and myself as a correct and true statement of the amount of his crops and the value of the portion to which the government is entitled. /s/ F. Thompson, Assessor.
The Confederate Papers Relating to Citizens or Business Firms, 1861-1865 (NARA M346), often called the “Confederate Citizens File,” is a collection of 650,000 vouchers and other documents relating to goods furnished or services rendered to the Confederate government by private individuals and businesses.
The “Citizens File” was created by the Confederate Archives Division of the Adjutant General’s Office from records created or received by the Confederate War and Treasury Departments that were in the custody of the U.S. War Department. The Citizens File was created to aid in determining the legitimacy of compensation claims submitted for property losses allegedly inflicted by Union forces. The records were used by the Treasury and Justice Departments, Southern Claims Commission, Court of Claims, and congressional claims committees to determine whether the claimant had been loyal to the Union or had aided the Confederate government and thus not eligible for compensation.
Willis Dove, Confederate cook.
Comments on additional muster rolls indicate that Dove, a corporal, “has no horse” in January-February 1864 and deserted the Confederate Army on 5 April 1864.
In the 1850 census of Lower Richlands, Onslow County: Hosea Baisden, 50, wife Nancy, 60, and Willis, 13, Hull, 12, and Rilly Dove, 5.
In the 1860 census of Southern Division, Duplin County, Willis Dove, 23, wife Mary Dove, 20, and daughter Mary Jones Dove, 4, plus B.J. Hall, a white schoolteacher, 18.
Negro candidates, their pedigrees and general character.
NEGRO CANDIDATES.
We requested our friends, a few days ago, to send us, from all parts of the State, the names of negro candidates in the State for the several offices, their pedigrees and general character. These statements begin to come in. A friend in Fayetteville sends us the following:
“NEGRO CANDIDATES IN CUMBERLAND: For House of Representatives, Isham Swett, free mulatto of old issue; Barber by trade; went with 1st Regt. N.C. Vols. (Confederate) in the capacity of a servant.
John Leary – free mulatto, old issue; Saddler by trade. His father, also free mulatto, formerly owned slaves and sold them. One of his brothers was in the raid with John Brown and was killed at Harper’s Ferry.”
If our friends will comply with our request as above, we shall have an interesting chapter of the practical working and character of Radicalism.
Semi-Weekly Raleigh Sentinel, 18 April 1868.
Cooking was just as necessary.
A Veteran of the Civil War.
Henry Locus, 70 years of age, a subscriber to the Times, and a worthy colored man living near Bailey, N.C., was in to see us today and knowing that he was the cook with the company of volunteers raised by Captain Jesse Barnes, we had an interesting conversation. The company took with them two cooks, Henry and his brother Nathan. Nathan is dead but Henry is well and hearty and the father of 19 children, the youngest thirty.
To the question, “How many grand children have you?” Henry replied: “Lord, I couldn’t begin to tell. Some of them has as many as nine already and some of my children are way down South and others are somewhere else, and I just can’t keep up with them.”
Henry informed us he staid with the command for two years until “grub” became scarce and hard to get and “I signed by position” and came home to work in the iron mine in the upper edge of this county.
Henry thinks he is entitled to a pension, and when we suggested that he was not a soldier, he replied that cooking was just as necessary as fighting. [Remainder of article missing.]
Wilson Daily Times, 10 April 1911.
In the 1850 census of Nash County, Lucy Locust, 25, and children Nathan, 12, Henry, 8, Goodson, 6, Nelly, 4, and Mary J., 5.
[Sidenote: A hat tip to J. Robert Boykin III, who transcribed this article for the May 2014 issue of Trees of Wilson, the excellent journal of the Wilson County Genealogical Society. Boykin noted that the “company of volunteers” was known as the Wilson Light Infantry and mustered in as Company F, 4th Regiment, North Carolina State Troops.]
I received no bounty.
In the 1850 census of Greene County, Lemmon Lyntch, 32 year-old white farmer, and William Conner, 18 year-old mulatto. William was likely an apprentice.
In the 1860 census of Hookerton, Greene County, William Conner, 28, and Argent Conner, 50, both mulatto.
2 Cav. U.S.C.T. William Conner. Co. A, 2 Reg’t. U.S.C.T. Cav. appears on Company Descriptive Book of the organization named above. Description: age, 33 years; height, 5 feet 8 inches; complexion, tawny; eyes, dark; hair, black; where born, Green County, NC. Enlistment: when, 22 Dec 1863; where, Newberne; by whom: Capt. Hourd; term, 3 years. Remarks: Promoted to Company Farrior 1 Nov 1864.
Image of letter to Freedmen’s Bureau supplied by Conner’s descendant, Trisha Blount Hewitt, whom I thank for bringing Conner to my attention. [Sidenote: According to Hewitt, Conner initially served as a “laundress” in Co. A, 3rd N.C. Infantry, Confederate Army.]
Release him from any further cull.
It appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that Noah Mitchel a free person of color is a blacksmith by trade and without his services the farming interests of the County must be materially impaired. It is therefore ordered by the Court that the proper authorities be requested to release him from any further cull of the free negroes from the County to perform labor for the Government. [15 February 1864]
Minutes, Superior Court of Sampson County.
Mathew Aldridge
Cured Fodder Quantity of gross crop. — 1000 Tithe or one-tenth. – 100 Value of one-tenth. — $3.00
I, Mathew Aldridge of the County of Wayne and State of North Carolina do swear that the above is a true statement and estimate of all the agricultural products produced by me during the year 1863, which are taxable by the provisions of the 11th section of the above stated act, including what may have been sold of consumed by me, and of the value of that portion of said crops to which the government is entitled. /s/ Mathew X Aldridge
Sworn to and subscribed to before me the 3 day of December 1863, and I further certify that the above estimate and assessment has been agreed upon by said Mathew Aldridge and myself as a correct and true statement of the amount of his crops and the value of the portion to which the government is entitled. /s/ J.A. Lane, Assessor.
Confederate Papers Relating to Citizens or Business Firms, 1861-1865, National Archives and Records Administration.
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Home2019May20 (Monday)
Harvard Law Professor Representing Harvey Weinstein Is Removed as Faculty Dean
May 20, 2019 CNN 2
Professor Ronald Sullivan will no longer be faculty dean of Winthrop House. The reason is that the professor was part of the legal team defending former movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein, whose downfall helped launch the #MeToo movement.
Illegal Alien from Kenya Charged with Murder of 12 elderly Women, Suspected in 750 More Deaths at Senior Living Facilities
May 20, 2019 Daily Caller 1
His arrest record includes two drunk-driving incidents, domestic assault against his girlfriend, and criminal trespass. In spite of this record, police never reported him to immigration authorities. That’s because not reporting illegal aliens who commit crimes has been the official policy in numerous cities in Texas.
US Representative Tulsi Gabbard Says She Is Running for President in Order to Serve the American People
May 20, 2019 Joe Rogan 1
When she was elected to Congress six years ago, the new candidates were separated between the two parties and she was told to vote only for bills that strengthen the Democrat party and reject all bills proposed by Republicans.
G. Edward Griffin and Jake Morphonios Explain Red Pill Expo – Event of the Year for Truth Seekers
May 20, 2019 G. Edward Griffin 1
Jake Morphonios, a featured speaker at the upcoming Red Pill Expo, interviews G. Edward Griffin, creator of the Expo, who explains the origin and purpose of the upcoming event. It’s much more significant than you might think.
2020 Will Have Lowest Solar Activity in 200 Years – Severe Earth Cooling is Predicted
Geospatial Tracking Monitors Everything that Moves – Including You
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Real Madrid sack Julen Lopetegui as manager
Julen Lopetegui, down and out
Real Madrid have sacked Julen Lopetegui as manager after four and a half months in charge at the Bernabeu.
The Spaniard succeeded Zinedine Zidane in June but the crushing 5-1 El Clasico defeat by Barcelona on Sunday was their fifth loss in six games.
Real, Champions League winners for the past three years, are ninth in La Liga after their worst start since 2001-02.
The 52-year-old will be “provisionally replaced” by ex-player Santiago Solari, coach of B team Castilla.
Lopetegui took a training session on Monday but his fate was confirmed following a board meeting.
A club statement said “there is a great disproportion between the quality of the staff of Real Madrid” and “the results obtained to date”.
Santiago Solari
Eight of the current Real squad are on the 30-man shortlist for the 2018 Ballon d’Or.
Solari has a favourable run of fixtures for the start of his tenure, beginning with a Spanish Cup match against Segunda Division B Group 4 side Melilla on Wednesday.
Real then play Valladolid – sixth in La Liga – on Saturday, Group G’s bottom side Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League on 7 November, and the mid-table Celta Vigo the following Sunday.
It is the second time Lopetegui has been sacked this year having been dismissed by Spain two days before the World Cup.
That sacking came after it emerged the Spanish football federation was unaware he was in talks to take the Real job after the tournament.
Real have 14 out of a possible 30 points in the league this season and have taken only one from their past five matches – their worst run since they went pointless in the final five games of 2008-09 under Juande Ramos.
They are now six points above the Spanish top flight’s relegation places, and seven behind leaders Barcelona.
The favourite to replace Lopetegui in recent weeks had been former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, who has been out of management since being dismissed by the Blues in July after finishing fifth last season.
But negotiations with the Italian are reported to have stalled and 42-year-old Solari has been given an opportunity, mirroring the appointment of former boss Zidane, another popular ex-player who had been in charge of Castilla.
Zidane took charge after Rafael Benitez was sacked in January 2016 and the Frenchman guided Real to three successive Champions League titles, before stepping down in May.
Former Real and Argentina midfielder Solari replaced Zidane as coach of Castilla, who are fifth in Segunda Division B, three points behind leaders Ponferradina.
Under Spanish regulations, an interim coach can be at the helm for a fortnight – but must be appointed officially after 15 days, or not at all.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho – who won La Liga and the Copa del Rey during his three years at Real from 2010-13 – and former Everton boss Roberto Martinez, who led Belgium to the World Cup semi-finals, have also been linked with the post.
Julen Lopetegui
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Unearthed Arcana Review: Rune Knight Fighter
Five Signs Your Story Is Sexist
February 5th, 2016 by Chris Winkle
In Dune, a Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit tortures the main character.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if making a story sexism-free was as easy as not being a misogynist jerk? Unfortunately, living in a patriarchal society means that sexism feels normal to most of us. If you want to prevent sexist tropes from getting into your work, you have to learn about them. You can start with these common signs of sexism against women.
1. Powerful Women Are Threatening to Men
Many people mistakenly assume that if a story depicts powerful women, then it empowers them. While depicting strong women can certainly help a work, what message that work sends about powerful women is more important. In your story, do female leaders feel normal, or are they a threatening deviation from the natural order?
The Wheel of Time and Dune both depict the latter. Each one has a powerful order that is exclusively women. In each story, this order is a menacing presence the male Chosen One must face. Dune opens as Paul is pulled out of bed to be tortured by a powerful Bene Gesserit member. In The Wheel of Time, the largest group within the Aes Sedai is the Red Ajah. The members of this group are often portrayed as man-hating lesbians bent on hunting down the hero. While neither order is 100% bad, they reinforce the stereotype that women are manipulative. Ultimately, this sends the message that women should not be leaders.
That doesn’t mean that having powerful female villains or incompetent female leaders is always sexist. For instance, in season three and four of The Legend of Korra, the tyrannical queen of the Earth Kingdom is replaced by a tyrannical female dictator. This isn’t problematic at all. That’s partly because The Legend of Korra has a well-rounded cast with plenty of positive female figures, but it’s mostly because the power and villainy of these tyrants isn’t tied to womanhood.
The Wheel of Time and Dune do just the opposite. In The Wheel of Time, magical energy is segregated by gender. Whereas men gain magic by metaphysically grappling with it, women fill themselves with magic by surrendering to it. Of course, their power is weaker than male magic. During the time of the story, male magic has been poisoned, so only women can use magic and join the Aes Sedai. In Dune, the Bene Gesserit are a breeding cult: their goal is to breed the perfect man who will surpass them. Your depiction might not be so overtly sexist, but if you tie an antagonist’s traits to their gender, you’re signing up to send sexist messages, whether you want to or not.
Powerful and threatening women also appear in these common tropes:
The overbearing wife: Have you noticed stories often have hen-pecked husbands but not hen-pecked wives? That’s because when the husband leads, it’s considered normal. Labeling concerns or direction from women as “nagging” is just another way of casting women who aren’t submissive in a negative light.
The femme fatale: Like the Aes Sedai and Bene Gesserit, the femme fatale is a villain with threatening traits that are tied to womanhood. These characters are usually designed to be attractive to a male audience.
Punitive matriarchal leaders: In speculative fiction, matriarchies often have comically exaggerated attitudes towards men. Yes, a matriarchy is not a fair system, and men would suffer. However, think of all the medieval fantasy stories you’ve read with male leadership. Were some of the kings depicted as good leaders despite being part of a sexist system? Did they constantly talk about how women are lowly, or did they simply assume that women would do as they asked? Don’t make your matriarchy over the top. If you do, you’re sending the message that female leadership is scary.
If you want to add positive depictions of powerful women, your female characters should be powerful on their own terms. Princesses are technically powerful, but that power is usually granted by their father, the king. Glorifying their role as princess also glorifies patriarchy.
2. Male Heroes Talk Down to Women
In The Princess Bride, the hero not only accuses his love of lying but also threatens to hit her if she does it again. Yes, Wesley is mad at Buttercup at the time, but do you really think it’s acceptable for men to threaten violence against their wives, girlfriends, or ex-girlfriends when they’re angry?
You might think your male heroes are innocent, but your idea of what is appropriate for men to say to women is probably skewed by, again, patriarchy. For instance, let’s take a typical scene with the aforementioned overbearing wife and her hen-pecked husband; The Princess Bride even has a pair. In scenes like these, it’s likely the husband will say something like:
“Leave me be, woman.”
This exchange will be presented as the cute bickering of an old couple. But that’s not cute; that’s misogyny. If you doubt me, read that line again and ask yourself what tone of voice the word “woman” is in. Or ask yourself if you’ve ever heard a line like this:
“Leave me be, man.”
Unlikely. What you might have heard is this:
“Leave me be, boy.”
That’s because calling someone a “man” isn’t derogatory, but calling them a “woman” or “boy” is. The husband says it because he’s trying to put his wife in her place.
It can get much worse. In Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land, every male character (except the Martian, because he was raised on Mars) refers to the female lead with names like “dimples,” “honey lamb,” and “baby girl.” Those are endearments when addressed to a character’s love interest or child, but condescending when addressed to any other woman.
Luckily the use of pet names has mostly passed out of today’s fiction. But we still have an epidemic of male heroes casually giving women orders. Once you pay attention, you’ll be surprised at how often male characters tell women what do to. While storytellers make most characters with authority male, it happens even when the male character has no official authority or even special expertise to offer. For instance, take this innocent-looking snippet from The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare.
Suddenly all business, Simon squared his shoulders. “I’ll get one of the security guards. You stay here.” He strode away, pushing through the crowd.
Simon is the heroine’s best friend. I think Clare intended to depict Simon as socially awkward but probably not domineering or sexist.
Unfortunately, this dynamic also rears its head in romances. Too many romances feature a male character who knows what’s best for the female lead. These stories portray his commands, manipulation, or even kidnapping in a positive light. By contrast, we rarely see a serious romantic pairing between an experienced woman and an inexperienced man.
3. Female Bodies Are Casually Violated
In the show Angel, pregnancy is forced on female characters no less than three times, and two out of three are even fatal to the character. Often known as the “mystical pregnancy,” this damaging trope is most common in speculative fiction. In real life, forcing pregnancy on someone usually involves rape. But when there’s magic, storytellers can use it to skip the rape and just go right to the involuntary pregnancy. In Angel, the vampire Darla gets pregnant after having consensual sex with another vampire. Vampires are infertile; she had no reason to think sex would result in pregnancy. Not only does a mysterious force ensure that she gets pregnant, it also forces her to bring the anomalous vampire offspring to term.
Forced pregnancy is a sickening violation of a person’s body. If your story is not dark enough to include rape, then it is not dark enough for this. But in almost every case, forced pregnancies are not treated as the horrors they are. Shows using the trope ignore the lasting trauma that anyone would experience after having control of their body taken away from them. In some cases, such as with Darla’s violation, it’s even framed as a good thing.
Too many stories have some form of sexual coercion or assault thrown in casually. Rape isn’t necessary to prove that a character is a villain or to put a damsel in distress; storytellers can use many other harmful behaviors. Inserting sexual assault where it isn’t needed is not only insensitive to real people who have dealt with it, but it also normalizes the behavior. That’s why even small instances of inappropriate grabbing or unwanted kisses should be left out. Even a theoretical mention of sexual assault isn’t something to insert in your story without a good reason. Take this line from Ron L. Hubbard’s Battlefield Earth:
Terl could not have produced a more profound effect had he thrown a meat girl naked into the middle of a room.
The implied abuse in this sentence has no purpose other than flavor. Hubbard seems to think that being stripped naked and put on display is something to joke about. Readers who’ve had anything like that happen to them probably disagree.
Sexual assault can be appropriate in fiction. But unless you’re willing to invest in researching all the thorny issues surrounding it and its appearance in stories, I recommend just leaving it out.
4. Women Live to Serve Others
Spoiler Notice: Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
In Warbreaker, two princesses named Siri and Vivenna are thrust in the center of an escalating conflict between their home kingdom and a powerful neighbor. As two of the three primary characters, they’ll save the day, right? Nope. Siri is married off to the puppet ruler of the powerful kingdom. She tries to save him but only messes up. Instead, he saves her and the kingdom. Vivenna makes an even bigger mistake than Siri, but luckily for her, a male character I’ll call Stealth Mary Sue takes her in and gets her straightened out. He saves the day even more, and Vivenna fetches his sword for him. As the story ends, both princesses dedicate their lives to their respective men.
One of the most common stereotypes used by well-intentioned storytellers is that of the female nurturer. Examine your female characters: Are they best characterized as mothers, wives, nurses, or supportive lovers and friends? Are the women who don’t fit this role shamed or villainized? In Warbreaker, the next most important female character is an independent thinker who *gasp* wants to have sex for her own pleasure. Like the other women, the story reveals she was tricked by the villains, and she also gets a pointless death.
Mother characters suffer the most under the nurturing stereotype. In countless stories, they are long dead. The storyteller assumes that if they were alive, they would provide emotional support that the main character shouldn’t have. Dead mothers are invariably described as “beautiful,” “loving,” and “kind.” Pleasing other people with their attractive appearance and caring behavior was their entire life. They were not an inspiring leader, they were not of the chosen lineage, and they did not invent a mysterious machine no one knows how to operate. They were just kind and pretty.
Mothers are rarely allowed to be distant and judgmental the way fathers are. When they are, they’re considered terrible people. Fathers are allowed to be flawed parents without being condemned. Everyone assumes men just don’t get all that child-rearing stuff, because why not be sexist against guys too?
5. Women Are Missing
In Underworld, all vampires, werewolves, and other immortals are descended from Alexander Corvinus. He had three sons: a vampire, a werewolf, and a mortal. Did this family with four dudes include any women? If so, the writers didn’t think it was worth mentioning.
During the story, a werewolf scientist tracks the mortal descendants of the Corvinus line, hoping to find a human that has a special dormant gene. However, in tracking the family lineage, he somehow forgets that women exist. His cork board shows no matrilineal descendants and no female cousins, sisters, or aunts of the chosen Michael Corvin. Sure, this could have a scientific explanation: the gene is on the Y chromosome. But the only reason to make inheritance work that way is to exclude women.
I’m not even done with this movie yet. The vampires have three important elders – rulers that alternate between sleeping and leading. The first elder, Viktor, is the antagonist of the film and has a big battle against the protagonists for the film’s climax. Marcus, the second, is one of the original three sons of Alexander Corvinus. He’s left as the antagonist of the next film. Last is Amelia, the only female elder. The movie has one brief shot of her being in danger and another brief shot of her being held down and drained of her blood. Then she’s just dead. If she had an epic fight, it was off screen.
Patriarchy conditions us to think of men as normal and women as special exotic creatures. That’s why in many stories, particularly stories written by men, characters are only women if the storyteller thinks they have to be. In other words, only love interests are women. That’s why the main character of Underworld is a woman. She’s the love interest of Michael, the audience stand-in. She’s clearly designed to be attractive to a male audience.
Women are even more absent when the characters are of a species that is considered masculine. Underworld shows us female vampires in the background but not a single female werewolf.
Because most of us have a very skewed sense of what ratio of men to women is normal, the only way to ensure equal representation is to actually count them up and tally the total. Then you have to rate each character’s presence in the story in order to make sure your male characters aren’t disproportionately important. It’s okay if most of the characters you invent are male to start with; what matters is that you change their gender as you develop your story.
One of the best tests of gender depiction is to think through a gender reversal. Imagine all the men in your story are women and vice versa. What if that order of female, breeding cultists was an order of male-only, breeding cultists? What if a kind and beautiful mother was a kind and beautiful father? If your characters feel funny or weird once you change their gender, ask yourself why.
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Sean Brodrick
Strongly disagree with point #1. So women can’t be batsh*t-crazy villains or femme fatales? Right … another word for the book you want is boring.
Reply to Sean Brodrick
Omestes
I don’t think this is an issue of “can’t”, but of “overused”. These are overused tropes. Also, they can be sexist, and people should be aware of this before they use them. Often people inject things like this just because they can be cool tropes, without thinking of what they actually say.
That said, I think that using the Bene Gesserit and ” attractive to a male audience” in the same sentence is a bit off. Herbert did gender a bit better than most of his peers (with Heinlein being the certified misogynist pig, writing thinly veiled Libertarian manifestos… he would have fit into Reddit culture just fine). While the Bene Gesserit did use sex to control, they were rather complex. They weren’t just about that. And being a female order, and being manipulative, while being a sexist trope in most books, wasn’t in Dune. Since EVERY group was equally manipulative and vile. Also, sex was pretty much a means to the end (space eugenics), it wasn’t their only form of power, it was merely a single tool in a giant box.
Jessica falls into the nurturing trap though. As does, later on, Chani.
Reply to Omestes
Chris Winkle
I meant that the femme fatale is designed to be attractive to men, not the Bene Gesserit. Although, in actually the Bene Gesserit is designed to make male readers happy, just in a completely different way. They validate the superiority of the male hero.
I am deeply amused by the idea that any work that doesn’t specifically include a crazy female villain (which I don’t recall mentioning) or a femme fatale is boring.
Reply to Chris Winkle
I’m still not sure, since the Bene Gesserit is about the same as every other faction in the Dune universe. I suppose I can see where you’re coming from a bit though, since they are the most gendered of all of them.
Putting some thought into this, your point would be much strong if you used the Honored Matres… They very much embody sexist tropes far better than the Bene Gesserit.
Darryl R Taylor
Using your suggestion of reversing the gender in Dune, it would make the Bene Gesserit more horrifying and the protagonist more to be empathized with.
The psychically gifted men who have been breeding for the perfect woman for generations have a member of their order creep into the room of the young woman who may be the one that they seek in order to “test” her by making her prove that she is human?
She is forced to flee with her father after the family nurse betrays them as part of a scheme by the paranoid Empress colluding to supplant their family’s position with the vile and corpulent Baroness Harkonnen, and her niece (who is also a product of the Bene Gesserit breeding program and would have been bred to Pauline Muad’ib if she had been born a male as had been planned).
I’m not going to take the reversal to ridiculous extremes, but within the context of what has already been outlined, the hero’s dominance and subsequent riding of the sand worms would be a Freudian nightmare, and every feminist in North America would likely have been calling for the public emasculation of Herbert shortly after the release of the novel.
Reply to Darryl R Taylor
I agree. The Bene Gesserit are nothing but a bunch of wasted potential. They’re really cool, but they were introduced poorly, and just as they’re finally get to do their stuff, they’re overshadowed by Paul’s Traumatic Super power Awakening and their entire plot line got derailed. Plus it doesn’t help that the three Bene Gesserit introduced are a bitchy old woman, an offscreen damsel in distress, and a smart mom with an idiotic back story
Reply to Kieran
Brenden1k
I think the point is crazy people can be quite fun in fiction, I am not sure female fatale works as well as a guy which may be a sign of sexism but saying batshit crazy villains have to be guys is kind of sexism. A good rule for avoiding sexism is do not do anything more to women than you do to guys without a good explanation why. The joker or master villains work no matter what gender they are. Do you hear the sound of drums.
Reply to Brenden1k
Femme Fatale works for the same reason the bad boy works, it is the combination of fear and taboo in a safe fantasy. The fact that this article is so gender myopic is telling.
Unquabain
Was Herbert much better than his peers?
Remember in Dune Messiah, he replaces the Bene Gesserit with the Tleilaxu who want the same thing as the Bene Gesserit. They’re basically interchangeable with the Bene Gesserit, but they’re more formidable villains because they aren’t tempted by Paul’s manly manness to become his mother/wife. Basically, women aren’t scary enough, so he replaces them with transgendered villains.
Reply to Unquabain
SamBeringer
Firstly, while I agree there can be batshit-crazy female villains (only because there are batshit-crazy male villains), I disagree with the notion about femme fatales. Because when`s the last time you saw a male villain who relied on their sex appeal to get what they wanted?
Secondly, your statement implies that the only interesting female villains are batshit-crazy or femme fatales. To which I would point out that Azula from the Last Airbender is neither (well, until the end at least. But her mental degradation makes her less of a threat rather than more). And yet many fans find her compelling and more interesting of a villain than the Fire Lord himself.
Finally, while the two categories you mentioned aren`t bad in of themselves (Harley Quinn is my favorite DC villainess, even though she qualifies as batshit-crazy. And while Madalena from Galavant is an excellent villain and a great subversion of the damsel in distress archetype, she definitely has shades of the femme fatale), it becomes a problem when those are the only options offered for female villains. Male villains can be cunning, intimidating, monstrous, and/or loads of other things. Female villains, meanwhile, must either be insane or rely on sex appeal, reducing the potential for more interesting female villains and excluding great villainesses like Azula or Nurse Ratched (and just to give an idea of how rare this is, I spent half an hour sitting here and thinking through the notable female villains I know of who weren`t femme fatales or crazy aside from Azula). That, to me, is truly boring.
Reply to SamBeringer
That isn’t the point at all. It’s not that all depictions of things like femme fatales are bad, its more bad when most of the female characters fall into roles opposing the hero in that fashion and there is little diversity. It also comes down to how said femme fatale manipulates those around her. For two interesting examples, look at Nikita(2010) or Leverage. While the various characters on those two shows frequently dressed in revealing outfits and used sex appeal to their advantage, it was never portrayed as the only means through which they could get results. Sophie on Leverage was extremely manipulative in every possible way, as were the heroines of Nikita. On the antagonist side, Amanda on Nikita was manipulative through almost every means other than sexual.
For an even better example, Veronica Mars entirely gender inverts the concept with Logan fulfilling the role and not really having a female character fit said role. Nikita also had secondary protagonist Alex also seduced by a male character. It helps when stories also have women as viewpoint characters, as was the case in both of those scenarios.
As for the crazy point, where was that mentioned?
Onto the actual blog post, the issue with princesses is another that is somewhat problematic. One of the only heroic queens I can think of in fiction is Amidala in the Star Wars prequels, and she was elected(not to mention wholly falling into the mother role). Leia even described her using exactly the same adjectives you did.
What is ironic about #5 is that maternal DNA that is only passed by mothers is far easier to track than paternal bloodlines. Interestingly parasitic cuckoo birds do something like you mention, but that the Y chromosome is female rather than male(as it is in all birds). The knowledge of how to lay their eggs in the nests of other birds is on the Y chromosome, such that a female cuckoo bird will lay her eggs in the same type of nest she was born into.
That idea of reversing gender with my characters is something I do somewhat frequently. As a side note, I have a much easier time coming up with names for female characters than male, not really sure why. Though this then leads to another issue, that of the Ms. male character. That is a character that has no traits that are associated with femininity, the idea that showing emotion and compassion rather than stoicism and aggression is less effective.
There is another related issue that I have been wondering about lately. Should stories deal with the physical strength divide between men and women? Is it better to just ignore it, as the overwhelming majority of action stories do, or is it better to address it in some fashion while still having women in such roles? There actually was an interesting moment in the first Avengers movie that almost portrayed this. After Banner Hulked out, he chased Black Widow through the helicarrier and she was saved by Thor. While the demigod and unstoppable rage monster fought, she was largely helpless.
Reply to Adam Reynolds
That’s a good question about physical strength. First, keep in mind that the difference is only on average and isn’t as big as we often assume. Any individual woman could still be stronger than an individual guy she comes across, particularly if she’s had physical training. If you incorporate superpowers, the superpowers are definitely the bigger factor. For that reason, if you want to just forget it you can. However, if you want to dig into the details there, you can incorporate how female and male bodies are different, the key is not to focus on the simplistic stronger vs weaker theme. I was at a panel at a con with woman veterans, and here’s what one of them, Ana Visneski, said:
“It does come up that men’s and women’s bodies are different. That is absolutely correct; our bodies are different. The way they carry weight is different. The ways we do things is different. That does not mean a woman is incapable of carrying a 70lb rocket. It means she balances different while she does it.”
Jack Kaplan
I would offer that it’s less important whether or not you explicitly address strength differences than how you portray strength in general. What I mean by that is that strength is intimately tied to body mass. If you are a stronger person you are going to have a larger body and, generally, the larger person is the stronger person. A huge portrayal problem, especially in film, is that women who are suppose to be strong and physically capable are given bodies that are more akin to runway models.
Black Widow in the Avengers movie is a perfect example of how not to do physically capable women. The actress Scarlett Johansson is a tiny woman in her Black Widow roll, yet she is seen overpowering men three times her size. If you are going to have a women beat the shit out of a bunch of men you are going to need to close that size gap substantially, either make her much larger and more muscular or make them much smaller and more lean. That doesn’t mean that the men have to be paper thin wimps or that the women has to be a burly beefcake. If Scar Jo had marginally more muscle tone and had beat the shit out of a bunch of guys of Hawkeye’s build that would make a tremendous amount more sense.
Reply to Jack Kaplan
speaking from half a decade of wing tsun practice, it is not absolutely necessary to close the gap in size and weight you mention. There are martial arts, that do not rely on strength – e.g., aikido – or offer relatively “flexible” options, if the opponent is stronger than oneself. Think of it as: “That punch is too strong to block? Well, give way.” or as the difference between fire and water bending in the Avatar series. That does not mean, that the more flexible style is weaker or stronger, it simply is adapted to the person that performs it.
Furthermore – in my experience – strength is the crucial factor, only if two people have the same experience and equally good technique. If that is not the case, the person with better technique and more experience will usually win. (I know, the latter was not your point, but I wanted to mention it for the sake of completeness.)
Coming back to big productions there are usually two problems with the fighting scenes:
1) The actors are not martial artists, which makes the scene look quite unrealistic per se. If you are interested in the difference, you may have a look at “Forbidden Kingdom”, which features both.
2) The fighting style is – as far as I know – not too much a “proper” style, but rather a mixture of “looks good” and “makes the actor look good”.
So, in my opinion, it is not so much about strength or in the broadest sense body type, but rather the technique. As far as I remember Rodriguez and Jovovich did a good job in Resident Evil, even though Jovovich actually is a model.
Nonetheless, I would very much like to see other body types cast.
Reply to Katja
Cay Reet
There are several videos (elevator cams, other regular cameras) of men who tried to steal from or assault slender, girlish women who got the shit beaten out of them by their intended victim, because the victim happened to know martial arts. My favourite one so far was of a young woman in hijab who beat up two men in an elevator at the same time after they tried to steal her purse.
Reply to Cay Reet
Kara Harkins
I was perplexed by the same thing. The simple test I use is whether a scene would be the same if you changed the gender of anyone in it. I can pretty much guarantee that *anyone* would be threatened by *anyone* holding a gom jabar to their neck unless they experienced pain without trying to get away from it.
Reply to Kara Harkins
Only a minor point, but at the end of #1, you mention a princess as being empowered through her father, the king. Both history and fiction also allow for her to be powered through her mother, the queen, which would then mean she’s not empowered by patriarchy, but merely by being a member of a ruling bloodline. There have been a lot of ruling queens not ruling because of a system of matriarchy, but simply because their husband was missing, dead, or in war … or because the succession laws allow for the oldest daughter to take the throne.
I agree there’s a lot of sexist topics in fiction and it’s hard to find a female villain who is not either depicted as crazy or as someone using their sexuality to gain power. This is itself a sexist topic: women can use their sexuality and their looks, because they are judged by how sexually attractive they seem. This is the true reason why there’s no homme fatal, only a femme fatale.
#5 is what is wrong with Lord of the Rings. Barely any women at all. It is a world full of men and very little women. Even as a child I could never like the series because it was all boys, boys, boys. To this day I still feel the same way. Awful lot of men, very little women.
Reply to Me
LoTR was written as a tribute, or a memorial to Tolkien’s experiences on World War 1.
Not a lot of women in the trenches, but a lot of male camaraderie in the face of horror.
The female characters he did include were powerful, respected, and wise. Good traits for anyone and not gender based at all.
Reply to Paul
Oren Ashkenazi
If you think about that argument for a moment, you’ll find it doesn’t make any sense. There weren’t many hobbits, dwarves, elves, or Wring Wraiths in WWI either. Tolkien certainly wasn’t terrible on the representation front, considering the time he wrote in, but if someone feels like there weren’t enough women in it for them to enjoy, saying it’s because there weren’t many women in the source material doesn’t make sense.
Reply to Oren Ashkenazi
It makes 100% sense. The book was a fantasy fictionalization of how Tolkien viewed his experiences and how he viewed the industrialization of war. It’s an entirely valid observation, and it does nothing to speak against why someone else doesn’t like a thing. It only clarifies why something is the way that it is.
So Tolkien could reimagine the people in the trenches as dwarves, hobbits, elves, etc. but imagining them as women was a step too far?
I’m afraid not, Jack. I very much doubt Tolkien viewed his war experience as being filled with elves and and hobbits. He added those later, either because he thought it would make the story more interesting or to distance himself from the actual experience, we’ll never know.
It does the man a disservice to assume his imagination was incapable of including women in his fantasy scenario. Instead, he was held back by social views of a woman’s place that permeated his culture and to a certain extent still permeate ours.
3Comrades
I saw this and had to add that Tolkien was very adamant that his story was NOT about his war experiences and once said that if it was, both sides would use Hobbitts, and would compete over how much damage they could do with the ring.
As much as Buffy or Rey are enjoyable characters, the problem I have with portraying female characters just as physically strong is that it thus seems to claim that women should act like men with different anatomy as opposed to having different ways of dealing with problems. Ways that are often superior when used in reality. This then gets into the issue you point out with the Heroine’s Journey. Which of course does offer interesting story possibilities.
It was an issue that Anita Sarkeesian pointed out in her review of True Grit, that having a female character that excels in a male dominated world doesn’t make her a feminist icon. Showing the feminine perspectives of cooperation and emotional expression as equal or superior to stoicism and aggression would be a far better feminist icon that a young woman who adopts to the male standard rather than challenging it.
The other issue is with regard to populations and overall numbers. While there are women more than capable of handling themselves in situations like combat, as has been shown in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan(and in a smaller example, the mixed gender crew of the USS Cole was more than adequate when it came to damage control, despite the fact that naval fire fighting was often considered something women would have been inferior at), there will always be far less women who are both capable and interested of trying to compete in those areas. As a reasonable example, the US Army’s Sapper school has had women directly competing with men, with a failure rate no higher. Though that is with the percentage of women entering the course less than 10%.
So that would imply that the percentage of women in such a role be extremely small.
I think it is essential have to female heroes that retain feminine characteristics AND have female heroes that adopt masculine characteristics (not to mention heroes that do both). The former is to raise the status of feminine roles, and the later is to break down gendered stereotypes and allow people to exist outside the gender binary if they want to. I think Anita is right that there is a disproportionate amount of “strong female characters” adopting masculine roles, but to some level we need that. If you want to show how non-violence is better at solving problems, consider writing a male hero that fills a very feminine role. How often do we see that?
I don’t think it’s fair to say “there will always be far less women who are both capable and interested of trying to compete in those areas” – we don’t know that yet. Everything from exposure to women in various occupations, to encouragement or discouragement from family, to wanting to be among similar people, affects a person’s choice about career. All the little ways society discourages woman from entering traditionally male professions adds up to a huge impact. If we ever lose our gender binary, then we will know if women are naturally less inclined toward combat roles. Right now, we don’t.
That’s a good point you raise, Adam. You immediately made me think of the differences I had noticed in female authored crime novels vs male authored crime novels. Recently I read one that had a male protagonist, but his boss was female. She had a network of friends who would call on one another to grease wheels on an investigation. In male authored crime novels the protagonist is just about always a loner and may have trouble with getting favours.
We should be thinking about skill-sets and differences that could be adventitious, as well as interesting from a narrative perspective.
Reply to Tyson Adams
A good book to read is “The Sexual Paradox: Men, Women, and The Real Gender Gap” by Susan Pinker. It is a fascinating, well-written book that includes a lot of analysis of solid statistical research studies on what career choices women make when they have the option to choose. While it does anything BUT confirm the idea that women all gravitate toward certain roles, it DOES establish that there are certain tendencies that differ between the sexes, tendencies that Pinker hypothesizes as having some foundations in average testable differences (such as empathy. Women, on average, have higher empathy than men, and Pinker hypothesizes that this, on average, leads to different choices). While some of her conclusions or theories may offend some, she backs them up with facts, and she isn’t advancing roles. In other words, she is far more descriptive than prescriptive. If I was to sum up the feel of the book it would be: “On the whole, men and women ARE a little different from each other, and this is a good thing.”
The book also has some equally fascinating information on traits like dyslexia and autism, which are far more common in men than in women, which would be of use to anyone trying to get a better picture of how THOSE function and express in the population and in individuals.
Reply to Charles Olson
Point of order: It’s actually quite difficult to say for certain what the sex bias of conditions like dyslexia and autism might be, because women with those conditions are almost certainly under-diagnosed. I don’t know if Pinker accounts for that in her book.
I would also caution that we not read to much into the broad trends that books like hers talk about. While some of them may be true (and I say may because its really difficult to completely isolate biological factors from social ones), they are only broad trends. Broad trends don’t tend to matter very much at the individual level.
Example: In broad trends, men make more money than women, but it would hardly be unbelievable to have a female character in your story who’s richer than the male characters.
Whenever someone tells me about this awesome non-fiction book that provides research proving X, I always think, “So, couldn’t stand up to peer review hey?”
Anyway, I haven’t read Susan Pinker’s work, but from what I understand it is the usual pop-psychobabble that you see in all of these sorts of books. They have a conclusion and offer up a polemic of cherry picked and misrepresented evidence to convince the reader their conclusion is correct. In other words, unscientific rubbish. Martin Gladwell has gotten famous and rich doing this crap.
This review has a brief summary of what I’m talking about: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/mar/30/society.politics
An example of the erroneous claims Pinker is making there (yes, I’m being presumptuous since I haven’t read it) is that autism rates in men are higher. Well, that’s not necessarily the case. We don’t actually know what the autism rate is in girls because they are usually undiagnosed or misdiagnosed because they tend to have different symptoms.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/allinthemind/why-autism-spectrum-disorders-are-under-diagnosed-in-women/6570896
And besides all of that, it still doesn’t get past the point that the researchers on the gender pay gap have accounted for a lot of things and there still exists a gap. Sure, the larger gap has lots of factors involved, but there is still discrimination playing a part. It is also not a very compelling argument that social conditioning explains it, therefore no big deal. Changing that social conditioning is part of the wider discrimination reversal needed.
Oh heh, I knew I recognized the name Pinker from somewhere. I head her bother, Steven Pinker’s book a while back, and while it had some good stuff in, it largely assumed that because discrimination is mostly illegal now, social pressures aren’t really a very big deal.
Anon Adderlan
I’m actually surprised Dune doesn’t get more flack in this political climate. In addition to the issue you mention, there’s also superiority through eugenics and faux-muslim jihadists. The reason I think it gets away with it is because of the depth of execution, and were it the product of a lesser writer it would have already been skewered by now.
As for science…
“Sure, this could have a scientific explanation: the gene is on the Y chromosome. But the only reason to make inheritance work that way is to exclude women.”
So if the trait was passed down through mitochondria, the only reason would be to exclude men?
Can we just stop with the ‘scientific explanations in fiction have a political agenda’ thing? Science in the real world has no agenda, regardless of how many people use it to validate their political leanings. It can only answer questions about empirical true and false, not ethical right and wrong, and it isn’t always ‘fair’, because fair is an ETHICAL concept.
So why should science in fictional settings be any different, especially when based (however tenuously) on real world phenomena?
Reply to Anon Adderlan
Daniel Taylor
I feel you’re rather missing the point here.
The issue isn’t with science *as science*, or as a concept.
Story science – when made up for the story – is NOT real world science. It’s made up for the benefit of the narrative. And it’s subject to critique, on the grounds of sexism or any other grounds, in the same way as anything else the author made up.
If the author made, for example, magic only usable by men – that’s a choice. It’s subject to critique on the grounds of sexism. And saying something like “but there’s solid science in the world for that – it’s Y-chromosome-linked” is sadly extremely common – but it’s *not* a defence. This isn’t the real world, where the author was constrained by actual facts – they *made up* the Y-chromosome-link. They could equally easily have invented something different.
There’s a pretty hideous example of this in the latest Metal Gear, where the game designer insisted “no, there’s a really good reason why the female sniper is nearly naked all the time”, and triumphantly revealed: “she’s a lab project who breathes through her skin”.
The trouble is – that’s a pathetic excuse. The *effect* is still that the female character is near-naked and the male ones are fully clothed, and that was a choice by the author. The fact that the author bothered to come up with an in-universe excuse afterwards doesn’t change the fact that the did it *because he wanted an excuse for the female character to have no clothes on*. It doesn’t free him from responsibility for the choice.
So no, fictional science (when invented for narrative reasons) is not immune to critique, any more than fictional sociology or geography is.
Reply to Daniel Taylor
The Metal Gear reference is particularly amusing because they’ve had a character who did something similar before, a wrinkly old man. And yet he never went around in a tiny bathing suit on combat missions.
I’m rather sure I know the reason for that…
You see the same one in every MMO RPG … male armour is meant to make the wearer look more imposing and intimidating, all hugh shoulder pieces, big boots, and sculpted breastplates. Female armour is usually as few pieces of metal as are possible. Practically speaking, all those female characters should be dead within five minutes into their first mission.
And of course, the males of a fantasy race look like big, imposing monsters, the females look like sexy human women with a color swap.
Except the Tauren. Tauren are cool.
Amniote
You say that having a character be naked all the time, being justified by that character breathing through their skin, is bad. What if that that character was had frog powers, but also had frog weaknesses, such as finding it hard to lift their legs?
Reply to Amniote
One big problem with this character is that there’s a second character with the same trait in the game, only this one is an old man and, surprise, never seen in skimpy clothing. If we were talking ‘planet of people who breathe through the skin,’ things would be different.
I’m not sure about the frog powers, but I don’t see where finding it hard to lift a leg is sexist.
I meant that the person I replied to said justifying nakedness with the excuse that the character breathes through skin is bad, because the writer made up the skin breathing. I was asking if that justification would be better, if the character was based on a real creature that breathed through skin, as the writer would be choosing whether to use the fact, rather than creating it.
‘She breathes through her skin’ was precisely the justification given for the character’s skimpy clothes, but, as I pointed out, it didn’t even hold in-game, because another character who also breathed through the skin, but was an old man, was clad normally. That is what makes it sexist to say ‘this well-shaped female characters is almost naked, because she breathes through her skin.’ Because it’s obviously just an excuse to have this character in little clothing to be oggled. Had the old guy dressed in a similar way, it would still have been weird, but it would have at least be logical in-game.
Lizard with Hat
I think it is important to establish early and clearly that Worldbuilding is the reason why your fantasy-Folks choice of cloth – but still: skimpy cloth might have a reason but the society we live in has a clear view on naked skin as sexy and that is very hard to work around.
I think it can and should be done, because the western sense of modesty isn’t universal but it often is used as a weak excuse and so even genuine example might be seen as that.
I hope this makes some sense ^^’
Reply to Lizard with Hat
SunlessNick
Mitochondrial DNA wouldn’t exclude men; men do have mitochondrial DNA. It would only mean that heridity was matrilineal.
Reply to SunlessNick
Kiden
I question whether you actually READ the Wheel of Time series, because frankly, if you did, you sure as hell read a different version than the ones sitting on my bookshelf. You see, in the ones -I- read, the Aes Sedai are a powerful force in the world, and many of them actually HELP the hero, including some of the red ajah. There is a faction among the aes sedai, namely the BLACK ajah, aka the ones who are EVIL who want to hunt him down. There are also some among the red who want to control him, but not because he’s a man, but because they think that that’s the only way they can see to protect the world. This is what’s known as ‘character development’. One more thing…where, EXACTLY, did you get the idea that they were all man hating lesbians? There is not a single character in the ENTIRE SERIES that is described as gay or straight. They have relationships, and that’s it. Some have relationships with men, others with women, and still others with both. That goes for both men and women. As for man hating…no. In fact, the line used in the book is that because the red ajah’s job is to hunt men who can channel, for good reason, they tend to become jaded against all men. You know, kind of like cops tend to become jaded against anybody who has ever been arrested, regardless of whether or not they have turned their life around. There are even members of the red ajah that are quite friendly with men, including actually wanting warders. So, before you bitch about a series, how about you actually READ IT? And not just looking for things to prove your points, but looking at everything as a whole.
Reply to Kiden
I found the Wheel of Time books very sexist. The male perspective parts were written wonderfully. The three main males were complex, interesting, and just really fun to adventure with. The women were just flat out terrible for the most part. While the women could be powerful, most of the women (with the original author) were one of two type of women
– the gentle lady who did what the men wanted
– the bitch who told the men they were doing the wrong thing, then the men ignore them
When you were reading the books, did you ever just skip through the women’s point of view chapters? Ask yourself why, when the men’s were written so beautifully.
Reply to Ginny
I found myself wanting to a few times, no question. You and I had similar thoughts, Ginny.
Those two categories are not remotely a description of any significant character in Wheel of Time. Of the three main characters, one, Elayne, MIGHT be construed as “the gentle lady who did what the men wanted” except she never, ever does what a man wants. Mostly she worries about what her female superiors want. She is not really gentle, but she prefers diplomacy & conflict resolution to arguing and demanding her way, and yet the other characters, including her friends, think of her as possessing a haughty demeanor. She also, in spite of her diplomatic proclivities, proves a capable military leader when necessary. Her relationships with men consist of her love interest, towards whom she is somewhat deferential at the beginning of their relationship, but only as a seduction tactic, and later it is inferred that her own reticence causes him to misapprehend her investment, so it’s not like the narrative is rewarding the demure approach. She has a hard deadline for the time they have together, because she has a mission coming up, and when her friends wonder which commitment will take priority, she says the job, no question. Later, when she takes a position of political power, Elayne finds her constituency opposed to her love interest’s political influence, and she promptly publically repudiates him. He hears the news and is hurt and assumes it means she’s also rejecting him personally, while a mutual female friend mocks him for his hurt feelings and insists he talk to her in person instead of sulking. When they do meet face to face, he comes out of the encounter having accepted Elayne’s perspective on the situation, and withdraws his involvement from her sphere of action. In Elayne’s stream of consciousness, she is very much in love with him, and makes a lot of counter-intuitive life choices based on that love, but it’s not ever because of what he wants, it’s in response to circumstances. She also has an avuncular relationship with one of her mother’s former lovers, whom she recalls from when she was a toddler, and he helps her education in political intrigue, but when they are traveling and working together, she is the one in charge, in spite of his efforts to protect her, and it is repeatedly made clear that her powers mean she really is more capable than he (he has white hair and a physical disability and no preternatural powers, but still thinks he should be protecting her).
The other two main characters, while capable of gentility, are not remotely interested in doing anything a man wants, even when in a few cases, the man is right. Neither are they portrayed as “bitches.” The cases where the men ignore them are because of character reasons, and sometimes sexism on the men’s parts, but not because the narrative says ignoring women is the right call or that men should not have to listen to women. For one thing, the messianic hero protagonist’s inner circle consists almost entirely of female advisors, most of whom have their own agendas, and are advising him because his position dictates that’s the best way to serve their vocations or agendas.
Another main male character, Perrin’s arc consists in large part of learning to listen to his wife. He’s a commoner, she’s a runaway noblewoman, and when he is thrust into a leadership position, she becomes frustrated with his unwillingness to perform in his role. Part of it on his part, is sexist or classist assumptions that his wife can’t possibly understand how the commoners think or feel better than he himself, until he starts receiving independent confirmation, and also learns that his deference to his wife is considered condescending in her culture and he should treat her like an equal and like a soldier, rather than put her on a pedestal, and he also has to start following her lessons, because people are relying on his leadership. She becomes a prisoner of war, and while Perrin’s part of the story is his efforts to rescue her, in the meantime, she is rallying a resistance movement among her fellow enslaved refugees, and extricates herself just as he arrives, and promptly takes charge of the situation, including rebuking her husband’s desire to personally punish a traitor, by showing that the traitor belongs in the jurisdiction of the (female) White Tower.
Anyway, back to the other two female protagonists, Egwene & Nynaeve. They seldom “tell the men they are doing the wrong thing” because their stories do not revolve around their interactions with men, but rather navigating the politics of an organization (Hogwarts as an all-female Vatican). Their differences of opinion with various men are just that, and while sometimes they are wrong, it’s because they are human, not bitches. Well, Egwene’s an awful person, but it’s not in a gendered way, it’s because of her ambitions and selfishness and narrow-minded focus on herself over everything else. She is often in conflict with the main character, but that is built up to a head as the climatic conflict between the good guys prior to the ultimate battle with the forces of evil, and is portrayed as a consistent issue between the two of them. Very often, Egwene is shown up by her female companions or associates who do better at persuading men, not by submissiveness or docility, but by positive approaches, rather than negative. By demanding reciprocity and holding people to standards, rather than “I want” or “you’re stupid”. Nynaeve, generally perceived as the most abrasive, has established and demonstrated reasons for coming on strong all the time. As she grows in strength and power, she learns to perform conventional femininity in many ways she had previously cut herself off from, but becomes no less intimidating to other point of view characters, does not soften or become “nicer”.
Reply to Cannoli
Ben Atherton-Zeman
Thank you so much for this wonderful article! As a lifelong fantasy fan and reader approaching his 50th year, this is the piece I’ve been waiting for without realizing it.
I especially love point #3. I’ve spend my adult life working to stop men’s violence against women – having sexual violence casually thrown in ruins a book for me.
Again, thank you so much!
Reply to Ben Atherton-Zeman
Have to disagree with the reference to Angel. Spoilers.
The picture you have of Cordy is of an episode where (and I freely admit it has been a while since I’ve seen it) the men are shown as predators serving a demon. She is never questioned about wanting to sleep with the attractive man. She is asked if she used protection but that was just in the gathering of facts. No one questions it or anything like that.
She is shown as distraught and her male friends are nothing other than supportive in every way shape and form they can be.
Darla was a rapist over her centuries and to her the biggest violation was that the, human, baby had a soul and so she started to feel remorse and love.
And I think Cordy’s second pregnancy had as much to do with Charisma Carpenter’s real life pregnancy and the show runners working with that.
Reply to Andrew
The reason why this seems okay to you is that you are underestimating the seriousness of forced pregnancy. As I said, it is a sickening violation along the likes of rape, and only a patriarchal culture makes people think differently. The show writers clearly weren’t okay with having Cordy or Darla raped in either of those situations (I’m not getting into the origins of Cordy’s other forced pregnancy) so clearly a forced pregnancy was inappropriate for the tone of their show.
Sure, Cordy is unhappy for all of one episode. We don’t watch her deal with PTSD or other serious emotional consequences for the rest of the season, and that’s the least that this demanded.
Regardless of what Darla did in the past, violating her body in that manner is clearly an inappropriate punishment. You wouldn’t watch in vindictive joy if she got raped as punishment for past crimes, would you?
Please remember that being forced into becoming pregnant and then being forced to carry that pregnancy term is a real thing that real people suffer through. Not treating it with the seriousness it deserves adds both insult and injury.
Not to mention that the ultimate consequence of Darla’s pregnancy was to be killed off so that the worst character in the series could be born. That rape pregnancy sucked from start to finish.
With Darla it was almost like it is supposed to be a horrible world with horrible people in it? And Connor ended up being a nice, nomalish person.
I disagree that she got over it. She just wasn’t played as being overly emotional about it. It subverted a sexist sterotype. But, she does date a lot before that and very little after. That betrayal of trust did damage part of her nature.
The writers (although this was on Buffy) also included two instances of women raping men. Faith raping Xander and Buffy raping Spike.
In Angel, Connor was raped by Jasmine (as Cordy) and a pregnancy was the result of that. She was also abusive to the point you could argue he had stockholme syndrome.
I’m not saying the mystical pregnancy to avoid rape isn’t a thing and it isn’t a problem. You just really picked the wrong TV series and writers.
It does not make you sexist if you hit a woman. It makes you sexist to think it is sexist to hit a woman. Now whether or not you are a prick who solves problems with violence is a different matter.
Reply to Dennis
NelC
If one is also hitting men, and the context for hitting men and women is the same, then, no, that’s not sexist violence.
If you’re hitting the men because they’re trying to hit you, and you’re hitting the women because, say, they didn’t make your dinner to your satisfaction, then I think a case may be made for sexism.
Reply to NelC
So just let me start by saying I think Point #3 is the best point and absolutely spot on. Too much use of women’s bodies to further a story is an issue we have not yet solved as storytellers both male, female, and across the gender spectrum.
Point 0 – The article only scratches the surface of any of these points and uses specific examples that paint a picture (and not always an accurate picture) of writing without taking writing in general as a whole. Additionally all of these examples have some age on them, except the Sanderson book. Could one not find more contemporary literature that exhibits these examples? I think you could. Also, where are the examples of literature or movies or television done right or is the point that no entertainment has yet managed to do it?
#1. This is just an example of picking out very specific examples to prove your point, but I think you chose very poorly. You completely ignore the Council of Women and the other Aes Sedai, the Aiel, and a number of female rulers who are written with great agency. You also do not point out that the subtext commentary on men is that “Men cannot be trusted with power”. So perhaps if there is specific commentary, it is leveled at both of the sexes/genders? In Dune the Bene Gesserit are a powerful and complex society who have developed in opposition to a male dominated group of rivals. You also ignore Chani, Irulan, and Jessica and that is just the characters in Dune, the first book. You may find individuals or individual groups to be offensive or tropes, but that does not make the writing or the work as a whole sexist.
#2 Let me address romances, as I am friends with several (erotic) romance writers who are feminist and whose judgement I have always found to be sound. They have taught me a little bit about the genre and in their own way are trying to change some of the tropes involved. Still a great many romance readers desire this kind of writing, whether it be sexist or not and since it is mostly women (not entirely) writing for mostly women (though not entirely) I think it is important to examine the genre and judge it on that point. If the readership enjoys it and the writers write it, does that make them all sexist? Is there an acceptable level of sexism? Can male lead dynamics in romance be stories be written in a non sexist way, while still retaining the thing that makes them what the readers want? I suspect the answer is yes.
Do I think its acceptable for men to threaten violence? No of course not, but should we only write things that are “acceptable”. Wesley threatens to strike her, but doesn’t and in reality Buttercup is not at all intimidated by this man. It is a scene that should make us feel uncomfortable. Are scenes like that overused? Of course they are and overuse robs it of its potency and doesn’t make us think about it critically like we should.
#4 Here again, this argument does not seem to hold up under scrutiny. You pick and choose and generalize all in the same set of paragraphs. I have not read the book in question and cannot speak about it, but by way of example I can point out any number of books where the male only lives to serve or is forced to serve or manipulated into serving. So many male characters lack agency that I would characterize this as poor writing as opposed to sexist writing. I also worry that you are creating a no win scenario for any writer or movie maker or fan there of, by narrowing down the possible female character types to a few or one. That is not realistic or good writing, for writing not to be sexist it has to create a menagerie of female characters, some good, some bad, and some who fit stereotypes.
I personally love the Belgariad and I love Polgara, but I also hate Polgara. She almost, but not quite, comes off as the typical woman who is always right because men are stupid boys trope. What redeems her is that Polgara is the only one who takes this stuff as seriously as it should be taken. She runs a tight ship, maybe sometimes too tight, and still manages to fall in love with a black smith who adores her. The series is not perfect in regard to women, but I feel like it makes great strides in that regard.
#5. I think the point of Underworld OR perhaps the point we can take away is that these bad people, while complex, are indeed narrow minded and very sexist. To their extreme detriment and indeed, to their own destruction. A layer of mothers, sisters, and wives with agency would have saved them no doubt, but they were too busy being jerks to notice. I think that is intentional, though not knowing the mind of the writers and directors I cannot say for sure. It comes off to me as intentional.
But let’s talk about bad writing again. How often is the father absent in stories? If he died that seems to be the kindest cut. More often than not he is emotionally distant, abusive – sometimes sexually, and / or a liar and cheat. Or Drunk. The list goes on and I admit that angle is over used, though I think it mirrors our society’s obsession with blaming it on our parents.
And why does every story need women? Is a story about Waterloo improved if we make up some kind of love interest or woman with agency? Will that explain Napoleon’s poor decision making or the timing of Blucher’s arrival? In fact, adding a love story to the movie Pearl Harbor was a detriment to the film, not an improvement. Does that make me sexist? Honestly I think just the opposite as both that character and Arwen in the LoTR movies (and the inclusion of a non existent female elf in the Hobbit movies) is just pandering to female viewers. They are poor attempts to shoe horn characters into a story just to “get women to come to the movie”. That to me actually seems VERY sexist. Women were going to go see LoTR and The Hobbit anyway. Both have huge female audiences.
Again though perhaps this is a no win situation: jamming a female character into a story just to have her there is sexist, but not having one is also sexist. I find that kind of thinking counter productive at best, anti intellectual at worst.
So I suppose I really have an issue not so much with the points but how they are presented. There is also no mention of people getting it right, authors both male and female who are shining examples of how to write a female character. I also find some of it disingenuous. You are a Buffy fan, so where was the Buffy critique? One could make a cogent argument that Buffy )the show) not only emasculates its male characters, but also its female characters are dull sexist tropes. Including the main character who needs a man, Xander, Giles, Angel, and of course Spike, to save her time and again either literally or emotionally or figuratively. Also, where was Buffy’s dad? Oh the deadbeat? That’s not a stereotype, at all.
Except for #3, which as I stated is spot on and brilliant, I do not find much else compelling, complete, or necessarily accurate.
Reply to Sean
Not having any female werewolves, although there are female vampires, is telling, though. Werewolves can propagate normally, unlike vampires who are dead and thus infertile. Logic dictates the pack should have about as many females as it has males. Yet since the 1990s, there have barely been any female werewolves in movies or fiction (safe for the three Ginger Snaps movies). The 1980s had the “Howling” series which included female werewolves.
The werewolf is more brutal than the vampire and thus the writers obviously feel very uncomfortable with portraying female werewolves hunting and killing like their male counterparts. Female vampires are more commonly accepted, although most don’t act like Selene, but rely on seduction instead. Underworld could have and should have provided a female equivalent of her among the werewolves, especially as the human male lead turns into a werewolf first and into a vampire second. What about an alpha female of the pack taking up the mantle after the alpha male is killed? That would have made sense.
justadunefan
“What if that order of female, breeding cultists was an order of male-only, breeding cultists?”
Yeah, they are called the Bene Tleilax.
Maybe you should read the books.
Reply to justadunefan
Reply to Shayla
They don’t have time to actually read,just skimming for sexism.
Reply to Gary
Jencendiary
It’s not our fault your critical thinking and analysis is turned off by default.
Reply to Jencendiary
Steve Turnbull
I know you mean well (and are not wrong to mention these things) but, for example, quotes are taken out of context with no reference to the nature of the narrator.
If the narrator is misogynist (or indeed alien) they’re going to express things in misogynistic (or alien) ways. You cannot demand all characters are “PC”, ‘cos people just ain’t.
Also judging past works by the standards of today is always a flawed approach.
The gender reversal trick might not work for my books – all those female characters becoming male … does that make me sexist?
Reply to Steve Turnbull
Is it really judging past works, or simply looking at them with a critical eye? You can love books/series and admit they have flaws.
Yes, you can demand that all characters are treated with respect and dignity. That’s all “PC” is.
Also, you *can* judge past works by the standards of today. That line of argument prevents people from making any judgements about works that don’t exist in the present day. People-average readers or historians-judge historical works all the time. No, what you’re saying is ‘don’t judge historical works through the lens you’re using’. That’s not reasonable either. The standards of today that you’re decrying also existed back then.
Reply to Tony
I was done when I heard the explanation of the Bene Gesserit. Their goal was NOT to breed a perfect man. There was a prophecy that a man would be born to their order, which is why they didn’t want Jessica to marry the duke and why they were super pissed that she didn’t destroy the child as soon as she found out she would give birth to a son. Paul was their undoing and the Reverend Mother knew it. Just…wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
And guess what: women can, in fact, be manipulative just like men.
The goal of the Bene Gesserit was to breed the super being, and it was Jessicas ambition to bare it. The reverend mother’s reason for reproving Jessica for her arrogance, was that with a male child, there would now be no way of sealing the two seperate, refined bloodlines, namely to marry an Atreides daugther to a Harkonnen son and thus ensuring another more refined generation, one that would have a much higher likelihood of being the quisatz haderach.
Reply to Martin
You know you are all arguing over non sense that dosnt matter,right?
This is a horrible article.
A sexist character does not make a book sexist. There are horrible people and horrible things in the real world and writing a story that is all unicorns and happy fun candy is a damn lie to the reader. There are also good people that do bad things and bad people that do good things. Including characters like this in a story can make it more interesting.
All this being said anything written into a story needs to have a reason to be there, or it’s just wasted ink on paper. If I’m going to have a horrible woman hating man in my story, there is going to be a reason for it. You, as the reader, may not like the character. And if that happens, … good. I succeeded in stirring your emotions.
The positive portrait of one or more sexist characters, though, makes a story sexist. Just as having a villain in a story doesn’t make the story evil, it’s a matter of context for sexism or racism, too.
If you have a sexist superior who makes the female lead’s life harder than it has to be … like a sexist editor who gives all the good stories to male reporters and sends out the female one to cover gossip stories or fashion shows, although she asks for different assignments … then you don’t have a sexist story. You put a sexist character up as an obstacle for the protagonist to overcome. She will sneak her way into the murder investigation or manage to interview the new superhero in town or come up with the top story about the newest political scandal and nothing her boss does can stop her.
If you write a story where the male lead commands the female lead around, although she is just as competent as he is and never show it as something wrong, then your story might just be sexist. If you reduce the female lead to mere arm-candy, even though she’s a scientist with two different doctorates, or make her so utterly stupid she obviously has never heard of common sense, your story is sexist, unless you have a very, very, very, very good reason.
You should credit that use of the painting by Dan Dos Santos, the one used to illustrate point #4. http://www.dandossantos.com/extras/wallpaper_dds_warbreaker.jpg
Reply to Kelley
This is the most ridiculous article I’ve ever read.
As a woman, I find it completely offensive that you’d even consider the idea of censoring real story because “powerful women are threatening to men” and matriarchies are scary. Matriarchies ARE scary, just like patriarchies.
ANY extreme is bound to cause a reaction, and pandering to audiences who can’t deal with that is wrong.
Femme fatales? I never felt undermined whilst encountering a story where a woman was portrayed in that role.
What you’re suggesting here is fascism in storytelling. Awful.
Reply to T.
I think you forgot to actually “think” while reading the article, T…. also your logic is flawed: being yourself a woman doesn’t make you the ultimate judge of what is sexist and what isn’t. You need actual argumentation. You never felt undermined by femmes fatales? Big deal ! You need to give some thoughts on the topic. A femme fatale who is only an empty shell of attractiveness with no other agenda, is sexist.
Reply to Rally
A couple of points to the recurrent questions I hear when these things come up:
0. No, you aren’t legally required to have perfectly gender representation in every work of fiction you write. Things like this are thought provoking questions, not orders from the Matriarchs of Lyrane.
1. If you’re writing a fantasy story and are starting to talk about some biotruths about how women couldn’t be knights or whatever, stop yourself for a moment. It’s a FANTASY story. You’re making things up. In my opinion you should ask yourself “How come I’m including sexism in a situation where it is not necessary?” If the sexism isn’t doing anything for your fantasy story, how come it’s there? (If it’s the point, then fair enough, and don’t beat yourself up over small unexamined things that slip in – everyone’s living in this ambience.)
2. Same deal with science fiction.
3. If you’re writing historical fiction, know your period. There were probably more important women around than you think. Even if you’re writing something set in a situation where there wouldn’t be many women around (a tall ship a la Master and Commander, a Civil War regiment) there would be SOME, and you should treat these characters with thoughtful respect and avoid stereotyping. The matriarchs of Lyrane will not appear and make you include 50% women in disguise in your Civil War company. (Though you can if you want.)
Reply to M
Out of curiosity M, are the Matriarchs of Lyrane product of your own imagination for from a work I haven’t read?
They’re from EE Smith’s Lensman series, a really old space opera, and a really quite sexist work altogether.
The Matriarchy of Lyrane are a race of more-or-less normal human aliens that the protagonist has to work with at some point. They are 99% female, 1% male, and the female Lyranians hold the males in utter contempt, and by extension all males everywhere. Still, the Matriarch (ruler of Lyrane) eventually comes to admit that maybe the protagonist is worthwhile, for a man.
The other notable sexism of the series is that there’s a magical psychic booster called the Lens, which enables telepathy and other powers, but only to the truly worthy. For some reason, only men are ever awarded them, until late in the series, when the protagonist’s girlfriend gets one.
There’s a whole bunch of WTFery in the series, though, and might be worth reading if you want to have that whole “the past is a foreign country” experience. Also, there’s some great space battles. (Maybe start with Galactic Patrol, skipping the first couple of books, which were published later.)
Good article, it has many painfully true insights about Wheel of Time and Warbreaker. (These are the only works I’m familiar with from the examples.)
Reply to Vilya
Since I’m fresh off a re-read of the Wheel Of Time series, I’ll comment on that much at least; there are a huge number of times at which a character of one gender dismisses the entirety of the other gender as ‘soft’ (in both directions) or generalizes them as ‘dangerous’. Ultimately, though,
one of the primary revelations which builds up through the series and is inescapable at its culmination is that neither one can stand alone, and they must be in balance, working together, in order to win the day. Most of the characters – whether strong male or strong female characters, since the series has both aplenty – who fail to realize this fact also do not survive the series.
If anything, I would argue that one of the predominant subtexts of the series is the changing of those biases for the better. As such, that series is a particularly poor example of what you attempt to illustrate.
Nevertheless, there is certainly value in a lot of the points you make – but as things which should be considered for ways which will best serve the plot, not as things which should be avoided for fear of being ‘sexist’.
I would strongly urge writers to consider all of these points, but ultimately to do what feels right for any given character, because the attitudes of particular characters can be important story elements for the subsequent development of those characters. Likewise, there is no value added to a story by introducing a character of another race or gender just so as to have one in there; I don’t want to have a ‘token female’ in a scene which doesn’t actually benefit from having a female character; I would rather have other scenes in which female characters play a valuable role.
If it doesn’t feel right to the creative process, don’t force it. Write what feels right for the story that’s unfolding in your head.
Reply to Oliver
Sometimes great literature transcends any particular “ism.” Imagine reading sanitized, revised versions of Tom Sawyer, Anna Karenina, or Taming of the Shrew.
We cannot deny who we were any more than we can deny who we are now.
Reply to Beekeeper
Devlin Blake
I hate sexism in fiction too, but we do live in a sexist world. Wesley’s world was based off of real middle ages England, like most sword and sorcery is. (at least, back then)
Since he never DID hit Buttercup, he might have said it because he grew up in a world where he thought he was SUPPOSED to say it. People aren’t perfect, and characters should never be. Pretending the world he lived in wasn’t sexist (Humperdink basically wanted Buttercup for a pawn and trophy after all,) isn’t doing justice to the story.
I LOVED Buffy, and thought it was VERY empowering for women. Yes, Cordy gets a forced pregnancy (or nearly) in every season, and that got kind of old. However, many stories in Buffy were about not being in control of your own body or mind. The men went through it too, just in a different way.
One of my favorite scenes in Buffy was the night of the prom and she had to go off and fight the Master. She spent a good part of the night worried about her dress. Yes, it’s a little vain, but I thought it also showed you didn’t have to give up ‘being a girl’ to be strong.
That’s what I always hated about Xena. She was just a guy in a woman’s body.
And if you’re looking for great female villains, read Gone Girl. Amazing Amy could beat even the early season Azula.
Reply to Devlin Blake
Another thing that was notable about Gone Girl was just how many women were featured in it. Nick as the protagonist was surrounded by women in various roles. So even with a female character in a villainous role, there were enough diverse roles that it didn’t feel representative.
Well said Devlin.
Reply to Heather
Tuckerscreator
He did hit Buttercup in the book, though. Interesting thing, though, is that the author seems to be aware that Wesley’s behavior was unkind. In a later postscript to the book where he interviews the characters, he asks Buttercup if she thinks his treatment of her (not just the hitting, but also insulting comments) like that was abusive (she dismisses it with “love isn’t alway pretty”, but he isn’t entirely convinced.) There’s also a Study Guide section with questions written by him that ask the reader if they think Wesley’s treatment of Buttercup was abusive. It’s unclear whether this aspect is something Goldman always intended to be anti-heroic or if it’s something he’s retroactively come to regret, but it’s at least good that he’s not content with just dismissing it and inviting the readers to question the story.
Reply to Tuckerscreator
POVisPOV
To you, perhaps, and you are certainly entitled to your POV. However, to many of us who are actually women, she definitely came across as authentically female. Oh! – Perhaps I have been terribly mistaken; somehow failing to realize that *I* am also “a guy in a woman’s body”! Certainly this would be news to my husband and kids… :p
Reply to POVisPOV
I agree. Xena was a very realistic woman in her job … for a fantasy series that is. A female soldier or even war leader would be supposed to be on the taller side and definitely look athletic. After all, we talk about a time when fighting with swords or spears was still standard. She was very strong, yes, but we’re talking about a spin-off to a series called “Hercules.” The whole series wasn’t that grounded in reality, but it did its female leads, both Xena and Gabriella extremely well.
Lynx Firenze
You unironically used the word patriarchy several times. I’m heavily disinclined to take you seriously as a result. That aside you seem to be pushing for arbitrary quotas which is never good.
Reply to Lynx Firenze
So it is an arbitrary quota to have roughly equal representation for half of the members of our species?
It’s funny in the one instance that women are excluded in genealogical research – the matrilinial lines are excluded – and the search was for a Y chromosome.
The irony here is that the Y chromosome has very few genes on it, and the majority of male characteristics (if I remember correctly) are on the X chromosome to be expressed. Most likely a sex – linked trait is on the X chromosome, and it is essential to check the female lines to find heterozygous alleles on the two X chromosomes.
For instance, sickle cell anemia appears in two ways:as full – blown anemia, and as sickle cell trait. The difference is whether you have one or two of the same allele (homozygous expressions of a gene) or only one gene with that allele (heterozygous) and the other gene has the normal allele or characteristic. The heterozygous person has sickle cell trait, and she or he might never show anemia at all. But they still pass the gene in to the next generation.
Same with sex – linked genes. A normal allele paired with the sought – for allele may both appear in the genes, and the normal allele might interfere with expression of the one you seek: by recessiveness or by relative repeated copies of the gene (in both cases you had BETTER look in the female lines) or by the presence of a gene very close to the normal gene on the chromosome that suppresses the expression of the gene you look for. In all of these cases, the chromosome you seek should have no more that 25% chance of expression in the next generation, and in the case of having a close suppressor gene, perhaps not even one percent, because the genes would be almost impossible to separate during meiosis. (The closer the genes are to each other, the less chance they will be separated when chromosomes exchange genes.)
Reply to Virginia
Ram L
#1 is the one I struggle with the most. I was a boy raised in a lesbian separatist and Dianic Wiccan household. As I grew older, the local neopagan community nominally became more gender neutral- but the power structures were still largely vestiges of the womyn’s spirituality movement of the 80s/90s, so my masculinity made me a threat to some of the leadership.
I try to temper my tough women with moral ambiguity, and they range anywhere from villains to heroes, but almost all of them have axes to grind… and tend to be more domineering than the men.
The one bit that’d I’d interject about the article is in response to the samples in #1:
One of the main reasons we don’t see the hen-pecked wives more is because when the same ‘nagging’ behavior is inflicted on women, we are better able to identify it as being abusive. It feels like a separate category when it’s against men because we minimize its severity: the author is right in that it *is* a trope that can be used to dismiss the agency of non-submissive women, but it can equally be used to minimize violence against men. That particular sword that cuts both ways.
Reply to Ram L
Sam Victors
Thank you for this. Its great.
I recently ordered a book by a Valerie Estelle Frankel, called “From Girl to Goddess; The Heroine’s Journey through Myth and Legend” I find it a much better and, IMO, an updated version of Maureen Murdock’s Heroine’s Journey (I thought it was a little dated). I would strongly recommend it as it shows that the Heroine does not always need a sword or any phallic weapon, but usually normal or magical talismans/tools of perception and information. Though some weapons that are considered feminine are the bow, whip, distance weapons, etc. The book also explains that the Heroine is on a battle for identity and security, to rescue her loved one, to confront the patriarchy, to venture into the Underworld to face her Shadow Self in the form of the Ruthless Mother figure, and to have power over life and death. Her archetypes consist of Maiden, Mother, Crone, Seductress, Queer woman, Warrior woman, Trickster, Destroyer, Spirit Guardian, etc.
I would strongly recommend this book.
Sorry for the spoilers
Reply to Sam Victors
Brigitta M.
I sometimes wonder why people comment on articles at the exact moment they’re riled up. I then I ponder the phrase “ego defense mechanisms” and mutter something about “trolls will be trolls.” A lot of hate for a five point article. Some basic advice to be had, some points to re-ponder, but nothing world-changing… just one author’s advice to other authors on how to potentially avoid sexism.
Kinda. Sorta. Because sexism is a dual-edged sword (as was touched on in this article) and really, it hurts everyone. But fighting against it isn’t easy.
Because, y’see, one thing that I consistently see underappreciated in our society is the single father. Sure, he might be well-represented in sheer numbers, but fathers in general, in our society are often presented as distant or doofuses. Incompetent compared to their female counterparts.
So, I take a character-type and base my story around it. In this case, the half-demon child. Subvert the trope of the mother was raped (ick… honestly, because I don’t wanna write it or about it) and make the mom the demon. Oh brother…now I’ve stumbled into evil and powerful woman. Whatever, I’ve got a cool guy, he’s pretty laid back, takes stuff in stride, socially awkward, but hey, this half-demon girl becomes his world. He literally transforms his life around her.
Dads can be self-sacrificing too and it’s much more than “parent sacrificing for kid” because kid has powers…. like teleportation from 5yo… and an aversion to all things biblical.
Is she evil? No. Takes after dad. No angsty stuff either. Another trope subverted.
But… still… hanging over my head is that the most powerful female in my book is also the most evil creature in the book.
Are there other demons? Yeah, but the half-demon gal I spoke of is the main character and she never really gets to know them. Are there females in power in the book? Kind of, but “in power” in this case is “supervisor at a homeless shelter” the highest rank any human has from the narrator’s perspective.
Oh, did I forget to mention that my narrator is a male, and being 100% human, he’s not reacting well when he finds out that his bff (the half-demon gal) is loaded to the gills with powers he doesn’t understand? Yeah, he comes to term with them, and who she is as a character of agency in her own right (including being ace…that’s one thing I didn’t decide about her, she told me) but when he first finds out he’s a bit of a jerk about it.
Because he’s human.
Not that she’s much better. She literally vanishes right after she tells him. Because she is, in the end, more human than anything else.
And while I may have slammed into tropes and cliches while trying to avoid others, what it comes down to is that we have to tell real stories and not avoid what really happens between people because sexist things do happen we just have to hope the larger story is seen but….
Chances are it will be nitpicked.
And that, oddly enough, is a good thing.
Reply to Brigitta M.
While I agree with most of what you said, I don’t agree with the exclusiveness of it all. If these principles are abused, then sure, you get a sexist angle, like that horrid Wheel of Time where the author had to die for me not to read about his sexual obsession with spanking braided women anymore. But if we indeed live in a patriarchal society, it would be downright weird to try to appeal to your readers by eliminating what is natural to them. Not unless you want to get free publicity for your work from the feminist forums.
For example for your first point, you seem to consider sexist when women are displayed as powerful, yet threatening, but that is a very quality of power: it threatens. It may be sexist if it threatens males only, but that can hardly be said about Dune. Poor Jessica got the wrong end of the stick and by the end of the books there was full on war between female factions. Incidentally, they were looking down on men, as inferior untrained puppies that can be easily manipulated and/or seduced. It feels strange to call that sexism directed toward women.
An observation that I want to make is that even if we consider sexism bad and political correctness good nowadays, it is by no means a guarantee that this will hold for the future or that the bias won’t go either way. I can well imagine futures where one sex is generally abused by another and see no relevance between that fiction and your current feelings about reality. You want to see a bad implementation of trying to seem progressive and failing miserably, try the Ancillary series, by Ann Leckie. Moderation in all things, is my point.
Reply to Siderite
Lost me at “IF we indeed live in a patriarchal society”….
Next you’ll be trying to convince people we don’t breathe oxygen.
If I had a braid, I’d yank it pointedly and raise my chin at you.
No, but seriously, this post made me laugh. Robert Jordan was obsessed with spankings and awkward, girl-on-girl “pillow friends.” There’s no two ways around this. There was the occasional nod to the idea that this form of discipline was merely something favored by the White Tower (e.g. IIRC, there is a scene in Book IV where one of the novices threatens to inform on Gawain and Galad, to see if Siuan’s warder “has a strong an arm as the Mistress of Novices,” or some such nonsense.) But you get it everywhere: men spanking women, women with braids spanking boys, women with braids being spanked, women with braids spanking women, women in power…well, you get the idea.
I loved the Wheel of Time. I loved it so much I could rationalize away a lot of the focus on lesbian relationships as indicative of an exclusively female institution paralleling similar institutions which were exclusively male. But if I’m being honest (feel free to stop reading here because I used the word “if”), the author literally had to die before we saw even one gay male character so much as mentioned to the readers, and the man had a peculiar spanking fetish that often leaked through his work at the worst moments.
I still loved it, though. I gave my heart to that series, and the ending left a bad taste in my mouth, but at least we got an ending.
Reply to Lucid
Theophania
It is important to remember that sexism goes both ways – and nobody wins.
It’s sexist when:
1. Your male characters were at the front of the queue when washboard abs were handed out, but behind the door when it was time to issue the personality. “Arrogant jerk” is not a personality, when every male character is exactly the same.
2. Your female characters are always nicer, smarter, more diplomatic, etc, than your male characters (and/or your male characters are one step above Ug the Barbarian). Not all women are nice, or diplomatic. My husband does the being-nice-to-people-diplomatic stuff; I do algebra. This works much better than the other way around. I wanted to be Xena when I was a girl. Does that make me a man in a woman’s body? Or, maybe, I’m just a person with her own opinions and tastes.
3. The phrase “all women are A” or “men are all B” could be used to describe all or most of your characters. People are individuals. Thinking of a person as gender first, person second, is a good way to introduce sexism.
4. All your male characters instantly fall in love/lust with your female protagonist. The male brain IS situated in the cranium; it’s demeaning to the male characters to make them do their thinking with their genitalia, and it’s demeaning to the female character to be lusted after by people who don’t know her as a person. Or, of course, the other way around. Objectification is objectification, no matter who’s doing it to whom.
5. The reader can reproduce the tick-list you have used to get your “diversity credentials” with a minimum of effort. Done properly, including a variety of characters is good because you get different perspectives, which can increase conflict and tension. Done badly, it just comes off as silly or unbelievable – and as if you were working down a list, without considering what each character would bring to the story. It’s worth considering that in normal life, people group together either by common origin (family, culture) or common purpose (job, hobby). Why and how did your bunch of people end up together, if they’re all very different? That alone could make a good story. This also avoids “token X” problems.
It all comes back to treating your characters as individuals, rather than as representatives of a gender. If you think, “X is angry, so X will…” you’re more likely to avoid unfortunate isms than if you start “X is female/male, so X will…”
To go back to one of the examples above, about Wesley and Buttercup in the Princess Bride: the incident alluded to is actually sexist to both characters. Buttercup is stuck being the weak woman being dominated by her man, but Wesley is equally stereotyped as the borderline-abusive male.
Reply to Theophania
I think you’re terribly off base with the Wheel of Time. The Red Ajah are *perceived* as “man-hating lesbians,” but once you actually read from the perspectives of women who belong to the Red, it’s pretty clear that this is a deliberately false characterization. They are women, just like every other member of the Aes Sedai, with fears and hopes and dreams.
The segregated nature of magic in the Wheel of Time was part of what made the setting so wildly fascinating. Here you have a world where women have political influence similar in scope and nature to that of the Catholic Church. Women are *generally* weaker, but they’re also *generally* more capable of weaving complex magic. Those rare men who were cursed with the One Power cannot link, yet women can exponentially increase their power by banding together.
It quickly becomes clear to the reader that the One Power was never meant to be used explicitly by one gender, because the greatest achievements of the Age of Legends were performed in tandem. Men are cursed because of the Dragon’s pride, in turn a result of the inability of men and women to cooperate. Had it not been for the Aes Sedai, the world would have been broken beyond repair. Hell, you could even argue that the “taint” of the male half is a kind of analog for “toxic masculinity.”
The Wheel of Time holds a special place in my heart. It was my intro to fantasy. The gendered nature of its magic and the authors perceptions regarding the fundamental differences between men and women, all while paralleling fictional women to historical men, was a significant part of what made it so rich and enjoyable growing up.
M. D. Ireman
The premise that authors ought to be building ideal worlds as opposed to realistic ones is flawed.
Reply to M. D. Ireman
Given that wasn’t the premise at all, your point is moot.
Also, your example of a banned book is poor. Book challenges have always been an issue in society, especially society with groups of religion influenced loudmouths. To Kill A Mockingbird was originally challenged in 1977 for the use of the words “damn” and “whore lady”. Again in 1980 for being a “filthy trash novel”. It has been challenged for using profanity, as well as racial slurs, as well as being racist.
This article isn’t the sort of thinking that leads books to be banned at all. It is lazy thinking like yours that does.
By your own admission, To Kill a Mockingbird was challenged as being racist. The fact that it was also challenged for other reasons by different groups of people, equally authoritarian and ignorant, is irrelevant.
Any charge that To Kill a Mockingbird is racist is laughable and sad. The root cause of that type of idiocy is the inability to distinguish between content and condonation. Just because a book is chock-full racist or sexist content does not mean the book is racist or sexist. The inability to understand that does not make one a powerful thinker.
Ahh, I’m seeing your problem, you keep missing the point. Which only emphasises my point about lazy thinking.
S.D. Miller
Actually, building ideal worlds does seem to be the point. This is opening sentence of Chris’ essay: “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if making a story sexism-free was as easy as not being a misogynist jerk?”
Really? Sexism-free? Her second sentence: “Unfortunately, living in a patriarchal society means that sexism feels normal to most of us.”
No argument there. Chris is spot on. Her third sentence: “If you want to prevent sexist tropes from getting into your work, you have to learn about them.”
I will argue that sexist tropes do belong in our stories. It’s not a matter of preventing them, but controlling them. Chris’ fourth sentence closes out her opening paragraph and leads us into the remainder of her essay: “You can start with these common signs of sexism against women.”
Perhaps Chris didn’t mean that stories should be free of sexism, but that is what she wrote.
Sexism, racism, and other -isms do belong in our stories. Those -isms are a part of the human condition. The problem comes about when we authors become blind to them in our writing because, as Chris pointed out in her second sentence, the society we live in has desensitized us. We need to recognize the -isms and take control of them.
Reply to S.D. Miller
When I write articles like these, I don’t put including bigotry in your world in the same bucket as having a story that is actually sexist. The difference is that the former is aware that it portrays bigotry and depicts it as harmful, while the latter often does not intend to portray bigotry and packages harmful behavior as constructive. This second thing is what I meant when I said “sexist tropes.” It will always be valuable to have stories that comment on the problems we face in real life. Though right now, I also think we need more stories that show us a world without bigotry.
Excellent. I’d hoped that was the case.
Because of a lifetime of living in a particular society, we pick up the biases of that society. It’s good to step back from our own writing and examine if the biases have crept in.
I hope you’re not proposing we use “sexism” (or “racism”) to mean an accidental bias, and “bigotry” to mean a purposeful bias. That is too confusing to the uninitiated. Besides, sexism has a specific meaning while bigotry does not, meaning you’ll need adjectives anyway. I prefer “accidental sexism” and “purposeful sexism” (or “the character’s sexism”) rather than “sexism” and “sexist bigotry” (confusing to new readers).
So how about that John Norman fellow? (Author of the “Planet of Gor” series.) Wiki implies the attitude displayed in his novels is not accidental: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Norman#Themes I was exposed to Gorean ideas several years ago and was astounded that anyone could believe that 50% of the human population might be so weak and/or emotionally underdeveloped as to exist in a permanent child-like state. Bees or anglerfish maybe, but not humans.
Take care, and keep writing.
And it is the type of thinking that leads to books like To Kill a Mockingbird being banned as racist.
Yes, female characters ought to play a significant role in the plot, and be more than love interests, however, that doesn’t mean Moby Dick is sexist. Well, except for the title, of course…
Trish Mercer
Thanks for these insights! As a middle-aged woman, I’m always looking for female characters playing untypical parts. They’re hard to find.
I’ve been writing a book series where a mother is the most dangerous woman in the world, setting into motion the downfall of an oppressive government because she won’t conform. She’s also a school teacher, and while her husband is the colonel of the village, her quest for truth–and her inability to keep her mouth shut in public–eventually leads to a civil war. It’s been great fun to write, because I don’t see anyone else doing this with motherly characters.
Her finale, at the end of the series (book 8; book 5 will be coming out soon) is one that I’m so excited to get out there. As a sweet, great-grandmother, she’s gonna be shocking!
Reply to Trish Mercer
That sounds wonderful. Good for you!
Some of these points can only be made by the context of the story. Writers sometimes use these points but in reverse. Men are sometimes depicted as dumb ass, beautiful surfer boys or simply asses who are handsome while the woman was ordinary but the protagonist. To sum things up in such a general way doesn’t work. Some I do agree fullheartedly (about the rape topic and the carelessness authors use when broaching the idea), and that is important to educate others about.
Reply to Romy
I don’t agree with some viewpoints in this post. All fiction requires honesty and women are placed in many roles and situations that are unwanted, harmful, and even devastatingly painful. Writing can and should reveal truths thay are still prevalent all over the world today. You can’t erase reality over someone else’s over-sensitivity. Fiction depicts all types of characters that are based on real personalities, disorders, struggles, major character flaws, and strengths, as it should. Abuse happens…to women, children, men, animals in real life. It is not sexism to portray real life, even when they are ugly truths.
Sophie the Jedi Knight
One thing that I laughed about in this post was #2 – the one about a man hitting a woman. I completely agree with you; that is abuse plain and simple. And the fact that it seems okay is worse.
But what was comical to me was that when a man hits a woman, it’s assault and sexist and terrible. When a WOMAN hits a MAN, it’s suddenly being sent all over Facebook as the greatest gif of our time and everyone is calling it “A punch in the face of patriarchy.”
Take the Hermione-Draco punch in the Harry Potter movie Prisoner of Azkaban. (In the book it’s a slap, which I think was more appropriate.) Basically, Draco is making some mean jokes and is responsible for the death of a hippogriff. Hermione then punches him in the face, causing him to bleed and run off. Harry and Ron praise Hermione for “standing up to” Draco, and all over Pottermore are raving about the punch. IT’S BULLYING! Draco never even physically lays a hand on any of them; and why do all the detail about “never dropping down to a villain’s level” in Order of the Pheonix when that rule was already abandoned? I hate the punch so much, but everyone else loves it. It’s bullying. Can we stop acting like this gender-swapped punch is so cool? Please?
Reply to Sophie the Jedi Knight
I think in case of Hermione and Draco, a few important points are
1) female teenagers also sometimes lose against their hormones, so Hermione simply lost the fight against her better side and hit him (I agree the slap in the novel is far more appropriate and far more like Hermione than an outright punch)
2) Draco has constantly bullied Hermione for years at that point, simply because she’s both a know-it-all and a muggle-born – it’s not too hard to construe this as a reaction not just to what he did at that moment, but as a culmination of all things she had to endure because of him (also see point 1 for this)
3) Hermione cares a lot for Buckbeak (she’s on a ‘protect magical creatures’ crusade for quite some of her teenage years) and it’s 100% Draco’s fault Buckbeak is supposed to die – he was warned to approach the hippogriff respectfully, but didn’t do so – and at that point, he’s even joking about the death of another being
I do agree, however, that a punch is never cool, no matter whether a man punches a woman or the other way around. There are situations, though, in which the circumstances can lead to a hit or a punch.
Responding to Cay Reet:
I can understand where you’re coming from, I just still see it as bullying. Yes, Draco bullied them, but aren’t the good guys supposed to go above that? Especially outright punching them. My main problem is how glorified it is because Hermione did it. If Harry or Ron had punched Draco, it would have gone over much worse.
Though I understand how much he deserved it with Buckbeak, I love the slap much better. I love imagining Hermione slapping Draco and just yelling vague insults at him in the book. It’s just that the punch did seem too extreme. If Hermione had actually broken Draco’s nose, she could’ve gotten expelled. Remember when Ron got angry at Draco for insulting Molly Weasley, and McGonagall told Ron that there was no excuse for violence? In the book world, Hermione would have gotten some punishment for the punch. In the movie world, it’s “brilliant.” Though Draco deserved something, I think that the punch seemed too extreme. Imagine a kid today doing that to someone in school.
If swapping the genders or modernizing a situation makes it not okay, then it is not okay. That’s my rule of thumb for most situations.
Were you ever bullied in your life? In your teens? Because I was and I often dreamed of getting one up the people who tormented me.
I said the punch wasn’t like Hermione in my book, either and that I don’t think women hitting men is any better than men hitting women, but it can happen.
“When a WOMAN hits a MAN, it’s suddenly being sent all over Facebook as the greatest gif of our time and everyone is calling it “A punch in the face of patriarchy.”” and then “I hate the punch so much, but everyone else loves it. It’s bullying.”
I take issue with this statement. As Cay Reet outlines in their post, Hermione has been bullied by Draco for years. When you look at our society, and particularly domestic violence, the street is pretty much one-way. So oppression and physical violence of women (and minority groups) is the norm throughout much of history. This means that Hermione’s punch/slap, and any push-backs against male violence, are the exact opposite of “bullying”.
Responding to Tyson Adams:
I understand what you’re saying. It’s not that I have a problem with a woman standing up to a man, it’s that I have a problem with the woman doing something to a man that would be bad if he did it to her. If Harry or Ron punched Draco, it would all go to hell.
Here’s a better example I like in literature of a woman standing up to a man. I love the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu. One of the protagonists in it is June Iparis, and she is very smart. When she is 12, she attends a 16+ school. On her first day, an older boy purposely pushes her around. She stands up for herself and then criticizes him amazingly – by saying how his hair looks “too long to pass inspection.” (She’s a great observer.) He tries to punch her, but June dodges his punches until a teacher breaks them up and threatens to punish June as well. June stands up for herself and says she never threw a punch. The teacher is so impressed she recommends June for a higher class. That’s the kind of woman-against-man interaction I like.
Sophie, your example from the Legend trilogy (I confess I haven’t read that series), actually has a few issues. The first issue is that while the character stood her ground and was a strong character, it didn’t counter or stop the abuse. That required an external force. Which brings me to the second problem, it means the character lacked ownership of the situation. Sure, she benefited from her stance, but it wasn’t through her actions alone that she overcame the foe.
I get that you are derided violence. I like James SA Corey’s quote on violence being the thing we do when we run out of good ideas. But we are also talking about manifesting conflict in a novel (or whatever) and overt displays of physical violence are ways to do this.
Tyson has a point in his answer. In the first novel I wrote, I have my main character (who is female) taking down a guy with words, ridiculing him in front of his friends and others from the same level of society, so it will be through gossip for quite a while. But for my character, there’s a choice. She’s a female secret agent and could just as well have beaten him up. She chooses not to, because it wouldn’t be the right way to handle the situation, since the guy didn’t physically attack, either. That doesn’t mean she wouldn’t beat someone up who physically attacked her first.
What you describe here only works because an outside force comes to her assistance … that can work, but it’s not an answer in the long run with bullies. Sooner or later, you have to draw the line into the sand yourself and, if the bully is relying on physical powers, that might require getting physical yourself to prove you’re not an easy target.
Perhaps #2 should rather be ‘violence against a weaker person’ instead of ‘man beating woman’ … even though women usually are the weaker ones in such a constellation.
I really enjoy all the feedback coming from my post. I admit I was rude in stating my views.
My singular problem with the punch is this: would you still admire it if Ron had punched Draco?
@Sophie
Ron punching Draco would have fallen into the same basic situation, since he is bullied for being poor and from a line of ‘blood-traitors’ by Draco as well. Honestly, by the way Draco is usually acting (at least up to book 5, his situation changes gravely in 6 and 7), everyone who punches Draco could be admired.
Within the narrative, however, two boys of probably equal strength getting into a fight is something else than the usually sensible girl suddenly getting furious and punching the guy who made her life hell. Ron and Draco face off before, too (in the second book when Ron tries to curse Draco and that curse backfires on him because of the broken wand).
we don’t live in a patriarchy.
Reply to randell
In Star Trek, at least in the ’09 reboot, as a kid, Spock is bullied for being half-human and half-alien. Although Kirk did that to be captain, he’s not really a racist since he’s flirted w/ a green alien lady AND Uhura. Heck, he even stared at a naked Carol Marcus in the second movie, Into Darkness.
Is this comment on the right Article?
Oops. You can move that comment. Kirk is pretty flirtatious, but he’s not racist. And Uhura IS, after all, a kickass Starfleet Officer. She’s a lieutenant AND communications officer. Beat. That.
Vazak
This was a fantastic article, insightful and well written its given me some really great ways to describe certain persistent issues I have encountered that I lacked the language or examples to to previously convey.
Reply to Vazak
This post is very silly. Things happen to women all the time in real life, all the things you enumerated here. There are no rules that this or that thing must not be depicted in a novel or it’s “sexist”. Seriously, Dune is “sexist” now? That’s just as ridiculous as when Tom Sawyer was censored for the use of the word “nigger”. That’s just hypocrisy, One can write a novel about Nazis ruling the world (see Man in the High Castle) and nobody will be harmed in any way.
Reply to tomcat
Yes, horrible things happen to women all the time – because they seem so normal. But think about it: do you want the same things to happen to you? And do you see the same things listed here happening to men? Because if some stuff only happens to one gender, because they’re that gender, then it’s what we call ‘sexist’, you see.
When Tom Sawyer was written, the word was perfectly normal to use, but language evolves (and the word was never a positive one). Yes, they could have gone another way and instead added a 200 page essay to the novel to explain the use of the word then and why we don’t use it today (unless we’re racist).
And you might have realized that Man in the High Castle is more about the negative aspects of the Nazis ruling the world for everyone who is not a Nazi, which is what the story is all about.
And, honestly, comparing those two things to the list here is far from being logical.
Sedivak
The article gives many interesting ideas to think about – but I cannot agree about Warbreaker.
The failures (if they can even be caled failures) of the two viewpoint characters are not a result of them being female or exhibiting female stereotypes but their extremely sheltered life prior to the events of the book. And the one female who dies is really a case of Bad Things Happen To Good People Too – and is narrated as a tragedy.
If we changed the genders in the whole story it would still work.
Reply to Sedivak
Sometimes it’s in the little details. The following examples stick in my mind a lot:
Return of the Jedi: Luke is rescuing Leia from Jabba’s sail barge. Before they leave, Luke tells Leia to use the cannon to destroy the barge. The scene would have been better if it were Leia’s idea.
Star Trek (original series) Episode “Mirror Mirror”: Evil Bearded Spock is Mopping up Kirk, Scotty and friends in a fistfight. Lt Uhura hands Kirk a vase and he smashes it over Evil Spock’s head, finishing the fight. The scene would have been better if Lt Uhura did the smashing herself.
Neither of these things would have been difficult to implement.
Elias Spain
Thank you for another excellent article. Where else could anybody get that type of information in such an ideal way of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I am on the look for such info.
Reply to Elias Spain
LiliesAndRoses
I also wonder about shape-shifting. What do you think of idea of male character turning into female one? (voluntarily/involuntarily, reversible/irreversible)
Reply to LiliesAndRoses
By itself, there is nothing wrong with this concept. However, if using it in a story you’ll have to be careful because the need to dramatize it could lead you into problematic territory. Someone changing biological sex or gender shouldn’t be a big deal. But writers who do this often make the character become a gender stereotype after the change – because they get more novelty and tension out of the transition by doing that. For instance, DS9 has an incredibly trans-misogynistic episode where Quark is temporarily changed into a female. Quark gets all “hormonal” and it’s supposed to be funny when another character tries to sexually assault Quark.
In addition, it’s critical to avoid language that equates the biology of the character with their gender identity. I recommend looking for some genderfluid people you can hire to consult with you in early stages and then later look over your draft. If done right, a character like that could feel like positive representation for them.
SD Miller
Chris, I noticed you used Quark’s name after the switch rather than a personal pronoun. Of course to switch gender on the pronouns for such a short bit of text would have been confusing.
I’ve been kicking around a scene where my youngish heroine (Blackfeet, northwest Montana) is introduced to a two-spirit named Robyn from the Blood tribe (south-central Alberta). The heroine is confused and intrigued by Robyn but doesn’t know what to call him/her. She eventually asks and Robyn suggests “they”.
I got a chance to visit with Steve B who (at the time) was the head of the Montana Two-Spirit Society. Steve was adamant that “Gay is gay and two-spirit is something else.” This is in contrast to some native Americans on YouTube who define two-spirit as any queer Indian (queer is a poor sort of word; it’s come mean so many different things to different people that it doesn’t mean much of anything at all). Anyway, I liked Steve’s definition: A two-spirit is a person who contains both male and female spirits, which gives them a special insight into human understanding.
So “they” as a personal pronoun for Robyn is perfect. And it satisfies my heroine. Robyn’s sex isn’t apparent from dress, mannerisms, or appearance. Eventually the heroine is comfortable enough to ask. They reply, “Do you wish to become my lover?” Of course the heroine is embarrassed and agrees that she went too far. What’s between Robyn’s legs is irrelevant.
After Robyn’s assessment of the heroine they proclaim that she has the body of a woman, the appetite of a woman, the spirit of a woman, but the heart of a man. This upsets the heroine who cries, “I’m not gay!” Robyn has to explain that what they meant is that she has the heart of a warrior, manly rather than tenderhearted.
Well, to get it right, balanced, and not too wordy is tough. I’ve let the scene percolate for a few weeks. I should go back for another editing pass.
Reply to SD Miller
Hi, so I don’t know a super lot about most of what you said, but there was one thing which struck me wrong:
“After Robyn’s assessment of the heroine they proclaim that she has the body of a woman, the appetite of a woman, the spirit of a woman, but the heart of a man. This upsets the heroine who cries, ‘I’m not gay!’ Robyn has to explain that what they meant is that she has the heart of a warrior, manly rather than tenderhearted.”
I would call this sexism, because it states that a woman needs to have a “man’s heart” to be brave or be a warrior, and implies that a man needs a “woman’s heart” to be tenderhearted. In other words, it says that men are naturally brave warriors and women are naturally tenderhearted. Which plays into some icky gender roles – like women being confined to the household because they’re more “suited to it” or something, or not being allowed to fight because of their gender, and males being naturally cold and unable to emote, or being required to prove themselves through shows of strength (which is a concept that feeds heavily into toxic masculinity). These roles leave very little wiggle room.
And saying that a woman who wants to fight has a “man’s heart” isn’t much better, because it’s making it so that a woman can’t fight as a woman, she has to have something about her that’s “manly.” Likewise, a man who doesn’t want to fight can’t be a man who doesn’t want to fight, he has to have something about him that’s “womanly.” And these concepts are damaging for the reasons listed above.
Men and women are not “naturally” one way or another. That’s important. Can’t your character say she’s got a “strong” heart or a “bold” heart? Now, I don’t know a lot about your story, or the circumstances in which it takes place, or whether you’ve addressed this already. So I’m just putting this out there.
Reply to Bunny
The phrase “heart of a man” or “heart of a woman” is not meant to be a precise psychological assessment, but a shorthand description for one of many aspects of personality. Where I’ve failed is in my brief explanation of what that phrase might mean.
The phrase “heart of a woman” comes from a late 19th-century story written by a white man who was living with the Blackfeet at that time. While on a hunting trip with 2 of his Blackfeet buddies he witnessed an old buffalo bull being devoured alive by a pack of wolves. He chased the wolves away and shot the bull in the head. When he returned to his companions one of them looked him in the eye and proclaimed, “You have the heart of a woman.”
So, when Robyn says that the heroine (a 21st century 17-year-old girl, who grew up in the white mans world, and has lived the last year on the reservation) has the heart of a man. He means she has a warrior’s sensibility to do what must be done, without thought or hesitation, to protect herself or those she loves. Yes she loves, she nurtures, she prefers peace, but she can also kill in the blink of an eye. This warrior sensibility is inherent to who she is.
The Bloods and Blackfeet are 2 of a 4-member alliance of tribes collectively known today as the Blackfoot. They share a common language, customs, history, spiritual beliefs, freely intermarry, and have fought side-by-side in war. The reservation system has separated them and widely scattered them across Alberta and Montana.
Aw darn. I messed up a personal pronoun for Robyn. Binary thinking is hard to escape.
Yeah, because of the problems with the episode and confusion it could cause, it was just safer to skip pronouns that time.
I’m not an expert in two-spirit, but from what I understand that term is an English translation that is meant to encompass all the varying terms each tribe has. So I would research whatever terms the Blood tribe your character is from used, and go with that definition.
As Bunny mentioned, equating having a man’s heart with being a warrior does sound like gender stereotyping, but if that’s something the Blood tribe really says than I might go with it anyway.
Every Native American tribe is different, when depicting Native characters it’s important to be tribe-specific.
I also wonder about voluntary unrestricted shapeshifting. What piece of advice would you give for writing unrestricted shapeshifters (assuming they have no “default” form) so it wouldn’t be sexist?
How can a being not have a default form, even if it is ‘a cloud of particles?’
Overall, it comes very much down how you handle a shift, I’d say. Do you work with stereotypes for one (or more) genders? Do you make it clear that the character stays the same, no matter what shape they’re in (even if a shape can give specific skills, I’d imagine)? Or does your character become someone completely different every time they shift – a stereotype?
silverscar
I think that example from the TMI is a bit of an exaggeration,Clary is constantly saying is almost like a brother to her, being a year older than her (or 2 can’t remember) he’s simply being the protective best friend that he’s supposed to be. If the roles were switched and he said that saw 2 men caring knives in a crowded club, Clary would do same for him
Love the article, I just don’t think this example deserved to be here
Reply to silverscar
Solace 024
This is a helpful article. I will go back over a scene that came to mind while reading and make it clearer that it is not because she is a female that her suggestions are quickly discarded, but that she is a person doubtfully posessing any actual battle strategy experience. Which is true for all with exception of the proto, and he has other issues besides.
Reply to Solace 024
Азалия Смарагдова
What advice could you give for portraying genderless characters, like in Houseki no Kuni? How to avoid sexism if characters have no gender (and maybe don’t understand what it is)?
Reply to Азалия Смарагдова
Can you even be sexist in a work where gender is not a thing?
Theoretically, yes. I think someone pointed out that even if gender is not supposed to exist in your world, if the characters are nevertheless are “coded” as a certain gender and act in stereotypical ways, that counts as a sexist work. So avoid that – for instance, don’t have everyone who wears a skirt be entirely emotional rather than logical in your story, among other things. Also, arguably even worse is portraying a naturally genderless species as being worse off for their lack of gender and wanting to have genders. Not only is it offensive to real-life people who don’t identify with a gender, it also doesn’t make much sense because a species that naturally doesn’t have a gender would find that state entirely normal. It would be like, say, humans wishing that they had hundreds of mating types like some fungi do, which no one (or at least incredibly few people) does.
Reply to Bubbles
“Princesses are technically powerful, but that power is usually granted by their father, the king. Glorifying their role as princess also glorifies patriarchy.”
Also, wonder about “The Land of the Lustrous” (yes, again!). The main characters, the Gemstones, are genderless, but female-coded, and their society is governed by male-coded Kongo-sensei, who is extremely powerful and nearly unbreakable. Later in manga it is revealed that Kongo-sensei isn’t Gemstone. Can such gender-coding of characters be problematic?
That’s a very good question. I’ve never thought of it before.
Reply to Tifa
Bram de Lorijn
Paul isn’t tortured by the Reverend Mother but tested if he is capable of controlling himself.
Reply to Bram de Lorijn
Y Mi
Can anyone recommend a book, movie or TV show that features a strong, independent, female leader who is moral (for example, doesn’t condone torture)?
Reply to Y Mi
Aliens.
Star Trek Voyager.
Of cause, independence is frequently overrated.
You don’t have to read too far into your bible (Genesis chapter 2) to find that God says “It is not good for man to be alone.”
So the fact that Captain Janeway has a crew under her should not automatically make her seem like she fails to be independent enough.
Reply to Michael Campbell
Allistair Reynolds, Pushing Ice (novel) – And she is the main character as well. A great book btw.
Other examples are not 100% but perhaps Star Wars (Amidala) or Allistair Reynolds’ Revelation Space saga (Volyokova)
Star Wars (Leia)
“Into the garbage chute, fly-boy.”
Another example of a female leader main character could be in Chrales Stross, The Annihilation Score (novel) but while I liked the other books in the series, I did not like this one all that much. Also it’s the n-th book in a series of otherwise male-protagonist-centered books.
I’ve heard good things about David Weber’s Honor Harrington series but I haven’t read it myself, so I don’t know if it fits.
Stargate Atlantis had a female leader for the first three seasons but in my opinion she did not get that much focus.
Hellsing (anime) had a strong female leader – not as a main character – but it’s debatable if she was moral (I’d say she was).
Kill six billion demons (webcomics) has a strong female main character (after much much character development) but It’s debatable if she is a leader. Same with e.g. Prague Race (webcomics).
Frankly, I was surprised how few of the works I know would fit all the criteria. Really, the only one where I’m certain it fully meets all you have asked for is Pushing Ice as I wrote above.
On the whole, I’d rate Integra (the female leader in Hellsing) as moral. Not necessarily nice to people, but moral.
I would probably rate her so as well overall, but in some cases it’s really on the edge – like the “do anything necessary” order in the engagement between Allucard and the Dandy Man that lead to heavy human casualties on the side of the local police. It could be argued that there was a more important goal to be achieved and that the leaders of the police force were corrupt, but still…
Integra does make hard choices – which is something a lot of leaders have to do and which is often supposed to be the weakness of women (because they are too emotional, to cite your regular ‘women can’t lead’ person). There are borderline cases, in which she has to weight the possible outcomes of her decision and, sometimes, that means risking the lives of people (in that case not innocent ones). Had she made the same choice withthe human victims being kindergarten kids, it would have been different. Destroying powerful vampires ranks higher for her, because they present a long-time danger to humanity. I still think she would not make the choice to sacrifice real innocents to the cause – otherwise, she might have insisted that Seras has to be killed, because she became a vampire. But since Seras had no choice in the matter and had not killed humans so far, she was allowed to stay.
2. Butterup does use violence, though. She could have killed him.
Lee Jones
[“In Angel, the vampire Darla gets pregnant after having consensual sex with another vampire.”]
It was Angel who had impregnated her.
Reply to Lee Jones
I’ll be sure to check each of these points, thanks.
Although some of them are obvious.
Reply to Quentin
Valknut
Warbreaker isn’t sexist. The simplified summary is an easy way to label it as such, but It never casts the situations in question in a light that suggests at all that it happened because of gender. Siri and Vivenna are both realistic characters.
Aside from the original point, Vasher isn’t a Mary Sue unless you categorize any surprisingly powerful character as such.
Reply to Valknut
MoonLaughter
I wonder about male damsel in distress (or “distressed dude”) trope — can it be sexist, and how?
I’m thinking of adding this trope to my work, but I also think of not just having the heroine save the captured character by herself, but with collaboration with capture (she reaches him and then shares some of her magical powers with him to fight the villain). What do you think about it?
Reply to MoonLaughter
The classic damsel character is someone with no agency who could, technically, be replaced with an object without much rewriting. Not every character who gets themselves caught is a damsel, therefore.
A lot of characters, like friends or relatives of the hero/heroine, can be captured at some point. If your distressed dude has an agency and follows it, he’s not a male damsel in the classic sense and you can have him in your story. I would like to know, however, why she has to share some of her power with him. Can’t he fight on his own? Is her power so immense she can’t control all of it? In the second case, I can see it working, but in the first case, he shouldn’t be in a fight and you might want to change his skill sets slightly. Even a fighter can be captured and locked away so well they can’t get out by themselves (just don’t let your henchwomen guard a guy named Lancelot – doesn’t work, trust me).
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10th Most Anticipated Game of 2010: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
GUCommander|3672d ago |Preview|0|
2D Castlevania games have always been ranked among the top games of their generation, but the same can't be said for 3D Castlevania games. That may change in the newest Castlevania game hitting shelves in 2010. Coming in as Explicit Gamer's 10th most anticipated game of 2010 is Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.
Apparently the URL has changed:
http://www.explicitgamer.com/blog/2010/01/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow PS3 Xbox 360 explicitgamer.com
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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Walkthrough/FAQs - PS3
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Cheats/Codes/Tips - PS3
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Engagement of the OX-40 receptor in vivo enhances antitumor immunity
Andrew D. Weinberg, Martin Muy Rivera, Rodney Prell, Arden Morris, Trygg Ramstad, John Vetto, Walter J. Urba, Gregory Alvord, Campbell Bunce, John Shields
The OX-40 receptor (OX-40R), a member of the TNFR family, is primarily expressed on activated CD4+ T lymphocytes. Engagement of the OX-40R, with either OX-40 ligand (OX-40L) or an Ab agonist, delivers a strong costimulatory signal to effector T cells. OX-40R+ T cells isolated from inflammatory lesions in the CNS of animals with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis are the cells that respond to autoantigen (myelin basic protein) in vivo. We identified OX-40R+ T cells within primary tumors and tumor-invaded lymph nodes of patients with cancer and hypothesized that they are the tumor-Ag-specific T cells. Therefore, we investigated whether engagement of the OX-40R in vivo during tumor priming would enhance a tumor- specific T cell response. Injection of OX-40L:Ig or anti-OX-40R in vivo during tumor priming resulted in a significant improvement in the percentage of tumor-free survivors (20-55%) in four different murine tumors derived from four separate tissues. This anti-OX-40R effect was dose dependent and accentuated tumor-specific T cell memory. The data suggest that engagement of the OX-40R in vivo augments tumor-specific priming by stimulating/expanding the natural repertoire of the host's tumor-specific CD4+ T cells. The identification of OX-40R+ T cells clustered around human tumor cells in vivo suggests that engagement of the OX-40R may be a practical approach for expanding tumor-reactive T cells and thereby a method to improve tumor immunotherapy in patients with cancer.
Journal of Immunology
Myelin Basic Protein
Autoimmune Experimental Encephalomyelitis
Weinberg, A. D., Rivera, M. M., Prell, R., Morris, A., Ramstad, T., Vetto, J., ... Shields, J. (2000). Engagement of the OX-40 receptor in vivo enhances antitumor immunity. Journal of Immunology, 164(4), 2160-2169.
Engagement of the OX-40 receptor in vivo enhances antitumor immunity. / Weinberg, Andrew D.; Rivera, Martin Muy; Prell, Rodney; Morris, Arden; Ramstad, Trygg; Vetto, John; Urba, Walter J.; Alvord, Gregory; Bunce, Campbell; Shields, John.
In: Journal of Immunology, Vol. 164, No. 4, 15.02.2000, p. 2160-2169.
Weinberg, AD, Rivera, MM, Prell, R, Morris, A, Ramstad, T, Vetto, J, Urba, WJ, Alvord, G, Bunce, C & Shields, J 2000, 'Engagement of the OX-40 receptor in vivo enhances antitumor immunity', Journal of Immunology, vol. 164, no. 4, pp. 2160-2169.
Weinberg AD, Rivera MM, Prell R, Morris A, Ramstad T, Vetto J et al. Engagement of the OX-40 receptor in vivo enhances antitumor immunity. Journal of Immunology. 2000 Feb 15;164(4):2160-2169.
Weinberg, Andrew D. ; Rivera, Martin Muy ; Prell, Rodney ; Morris, Arden ; Ramstad, Trygg ; Vetto, John ; Urba, Walter J. ; Alvord, Gregory ; Bunce, Campbell ; Shields, John. / Engagement of the OX-40 receptor in vivo enhances antitumor immunity. In: Journal of Immunology. 2000 ; Vol. 164, No. 4. pp. 2160-2169.
@article{906d36a549aa497b99407ca1a973100e,
title = "Engagement of the OX-40 receptor in vivo enhances antitumor immunity",
abstract = "The OX-40 receptor (OX-40R), a member of the TNFR family, is primarily expressed on activated CD4+ T lymphocytes. Engagement of the OX-40R, with either OX-40 ligand (OX-40L) or an Ab agonist, delivers a strong costimulatory signal to effector T cells. OX-40R+ T cells isolated from inflammatory lesions in the CNS of animals with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis are the cells that respond to autoantigen (myelin basic protein) in vivo. We identified OX-40R+ T cells within primary tumors and tumor-invaded lymph nodes of patients with cancer and hypothesized that they are the tumor-Ag-specific T cells. Therefore, we investigated whether engagement of the OX-40R in vivo during tumor priming would enhance a tumor- specific T cell response. Injection of OX-40L:Ig or anti-OX-40R in vivo during tumor priming resulted in a significant improvement in the percentage of tumor-free survivors (20-55{\%}) in four different murine tumors derived from four separate tissues. This anti-OX-40R effect was dose dependent and accentuated tumor-specific T cell memory. The data suggest that engagement of the OX-40R in vivo augments tumor-specific priming by stimulating/expanding the natural repertoire of the host's tumor-specific CD4+ T cells. The identification of OX-40R+ T cells clustered around human tumor cells in vivo suggests that engagement of the OX-40R may be a practical approach for expanding tumor-reactive T cells and thereby a method to improve tumor immunotherapy in patients with cancer.",
author = "Weinberg, {Andrew D.} and Rivera, {Martin Muy} and Rodney Prell and Arden Morris and Trygg Ramstad and John Vetto and Urba, {Walter J.} and Gregory Alvord and Campbell Bunce and John Shields",
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publisher = "American Association of Immunologists",
T1 - Engagement of the OX-40 receptor in vivo enhances antitumor immunity
AU - Weinberg, Andrew D.
AU - Rivera, Martin Muy
AU - Prell, Rodney
AU - Morris, Arden
AU - Ramstad, Trygg
AU - Vetto, John
AU - Urba, Walter J.
AU - Alvord, Gregory
AU - Bunce, Campbell
AU - Shields, John
N2 - The OX-40 receptor (OX-40R), a member of the TNFR family, is primarily expressed on activated CD4+ T lymphocytes. Engagement of the OX-40R, with either OX-40 ligand (OX-40L) or an Ab agonist, delivers a strong costimulatory signal to effector T cells. OX-40R+ T cells isolated from inflammatory lesions in the CNS of animals with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis are the cells that respond to autoantigen (myelin basic protein) in vivo. We identified OX-40R+ T cells within primary tumors and tumor-invaded lymph nodes of patients with cancer and hypothesized that they are the tumor-Ag-specific T cells. Therefore, we investigated whether engagement of the OX-40R in vivo during tumor priming would enhance a tumor- specific T cell response. Injection of OX-40L:Ig or anti-OX-40R in vivo during tumor priming resulted in a significant improvement in the percentage of tumor-free survivors (20-55%) in four different murine tumors derived from four separate tissues. This anti-OX-40R effect was dose dependent and accentuated tumor-specific T cell memory. The data suggest that engagement of the OX-40R in vivo augments tumor-specific priming by stimulating/expanding the natural repertoire of the host's tumor-specific CD4+ T cells. The identification of OX-40R+ T cells clustered around human tumor cells in vivo suggests that engagement of the OX-40R may be a practical approach for expanding tumor-reactive T cells and thereby a method to improve tumor immunotherapy in patients with cancer.
AB - The OX-40 receptor (OX-40R), a member of the TNFR family, is primarily expressed on activated CD4+ T lymphocytes. Engagement of the OX-40R, with either OX-40 ligand (OX-40L) or an Ab agonist, delivers a strong costimulatory signal to effector T cells. OX-40R+ T cells isolated from inflammatory lesions in the CNS of animals with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis are the cells that respond to autoantigen (myelin basic protein) in vivo. We identified OX-40R+ T cells within primary tumors and tumor-invaded lymph nodes of patients with cancer and hypothesized that they are the tumor-Ag-specific T cells. Therefore, we investigated whether engagement of the OX-40R in vivo during tumor priming would enhance a tumor- specific T cell response. Injection of OX-40L:Ig or anti-OX-40R in vivo during tumor priming resulted in a significant improvement in the percentage of tumor-free survivors (20-55%) in four different murine tumors derived from four separate tissues. This anti-OX-40R effect was dose dependent and accentuated tumor-specific T cell memory. The data suggest that engagement of the OX-40R in vivo augments tumor-specific priming by stimulating/expanding the natural repertoire of the host's tumor-specific CD4+ T cells. The identification of OX-40R+ T cells clustered around human tumor cells in vivo suggests that engagement of the OX-40R may be a practical approach for expanding tumor-reactive T cells and thereby a method to improve tumor immunotherapy in patients with cancer.
JO - Journal of Immunology
JF - Journal of Immunology
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Sex biology contributions to vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease: A think tank convened by the Women's Alzheimer's Research Initiative
Heather M. Snyder, Sanjay Asthana, Lisa Bain, Roberta Brinton, Suzanne Craft, Dena B. Dubal, Mark A. Espeland, Margaret Gatz, Michelle M. Mielke, Jacob Raber, Peter R. Rapp, Kristine Yaffe, Maria C. Carrillo
More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) today, and nearly two-thirds of Americans with AD are women. This sex difference may be due to the higher longevity women generally experience; however, increasing evidence suggests that longevity alone is not a sufficient explanation and there may be other factors at play. The Alzheimer's Association convened an expert think tank to focus on the state of the science and level of evidence around gender and biological sex differences for AD, including the knowledge gaps and areas of science that need to be more fully addressed. This article summarizes the think tank discussion, moving forward a research agenda and funding program to better understand the biological underpinnings of sex- and gender-related disparities of risk for AD.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2016.08.004
Sex Characteristics
Sex biology
Snyder, H. M., Asthana, S., Bain, L., Brinton, R., Craft, S., Dubal, D. B., ... Carrillo, M. C. (2016). Sex biology contributions to vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease: A think tank convened by the Women's Alzheimer's Research Initiative. Alzheimer's and Dementia, 12(11), 1186-1196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2016.08.004
Sex biology contributions to vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease : A think tank convened by the Women's Alzheimer's Research Initiative. / Snyder, Heather M.; Asthana, Sanjay; Bain, Lisa; Brinton, Roberta; Craft, Suzanne; Dubal, Dena B.; Espeland, Mark A.; Gatz, Margaret; Mielke, Michelle M.; Raber, Jacob; Rapp, Peter R.; Yaffe, Kristine; Carrillo, Maria C.
In: Alzheimer's and Dementia, Vol. 12, No. 11, 01.11.2016, p. 1186-1196.
Snyder, HM, Asthana, S, Bain, L, Brinton, R, Craft, S, Dubal, DB, Espeland, MA, Gatz, M, Mielke, MM, Raber, J, Rapp, PR, Yaffe, K & Carrillo, MC 2016, 'Sex biology contributions to vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease: A think tank convened by the Women's Alzheimer's Research Initiative', Alzheimer's and Dementia, vol. 12, no. 11, pp. 1186-1196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2016.08.004
Snyder HM, Asthana S, Bain L, Brinton R, Craft S, Dubal DB et al. Sex biology contributions to vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease: A think tank convened by the Women's Alzheimer's Research Initiative. Alzheimer's and Dementia. 2016 Nov 1;12(11):1186-1196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2016.08.004
Snyder, Heather M. ; Asthana, Sanjay ; Bain, Lisa ; Brinton, Roberta ; Craft, Suzanne ; Dubal, Dena B. ; Espeland, Mark A. ; Gatz, Margaret ; Mielke, Michelle M. ; Raber, Jacob ; Rapp, Peter R. ; Yaffe, Kristine ; Carrillo, Maria C. / Sex biology contributions to vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease : A think tank convened by the Women's Alzheimer's Research Initiative. In: Alzheimer's and Dementia. 2016 ; Vol. 12, No. 11. pp. 1186-1196.
@article{9d4e7c0107e6423faabb2591d7affc3b,
title = "Sex biology contributions to vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease: A think tank convened by the Women's Alzheimer's Research Initiative",
abstract = "More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) today, and nearly two-thirds of Americans with AD are women. This sex difference may be due to the higher longevity women generally experience; however, increasing evidence suggests that longevity alone is not a sufficient explanation and there may be other factors at play. The Alzheimer's Association convened an expert think tank to focus on the state of the science and level of evidence around gender and biological sex differences for AD, including the knowledge gaps and areas of science that need to be more fully addressed. This article summarizes the think tank discussion, moving forward a research agenda and funding program to better understand the biological underpinnings of sex- and gender-related disparities of risk for AD.",
keywords = "Alzheimer's disease, APOE, Estrogen, Hormones, Neurodegeneration, Risk factors, Sex biology, Women",
author = "Snyder, {Heather M.} and Sanjay Asthana and Lisa Bain and Roberta Brinton and Suzanne Craft and Dubal, {Dena B.} and Espeland, {Mark A.} and Margaret Gatz and Mielke, {Michelle M.} and Jacob Raber and Rapp, {Peter R.} and Kristine Yaffe and Carrillo, {Maria C.}",
doi = "10.1016/j.jalz.2016.08.004",
journal = "Alzheimer's and Dementia",
T1 - Sex biology contributions to vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease
T2 - A think tank convened by the Women's Alzheimer's Research Initiative
AU - Snyder, Heather M.
AU - Asthana, Sanjay
AU - Bain, Lisa
AU - Brinton, Roberta
AU - Craft, Suzanne
AU - Dubal, Dena B.
AU - Espeland, Mark A.
AU - Gatz, Margaret
AU - Mielke, Michelle M.
AU - Raber, Jacob
AU - Rapp, Peter R.
AU - Yaffe, Kristine
AU - Carrillo, Maria C.
N2 - More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) today, and nearly two-thirds of Americans with AD are women. This sex difference may be due to the higher longevity women generally experience; however, increasing evidence suggests that longevity alone is not a sufficient explanation and there may be other factors at play. The Alzheimer's Association convened an expert think tank to focus on the state of the science and level of evidence around gender and biological sex differences for AD, including the knowledge gaps and areas of science that need to be more fully addressed. This article summarizes the think tank discussion, moving forward a research agenda and funding program to better understand the biological underpinnings of sex- and gender-related disparities of risk for AD.
AB - More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) today, and nearly two-thirds of Americans with AD are women. This sex difference may be due to the higher longevity women generally experience; however, increasing evidence suggests that longevity alone is not a sufficient explanation and there may be other factors at play. The Alzheimer's Association convened an expert think tank to focus on the state of the science and level of evidence around gender and biological sex differences for AD, including the knowledge gaps and areas of science that need to be more fully addressed. This article summarizes the think tank discussion, moving forward a research agenda and funding program to better understand the biological underpinnings of sex- and gender-related disparities of risk for AD.
KW - APOE
KW - Estrogen
KW - Hormones
KW - Neurodegeneration
KW - Risk factors
KW - Sex biology
KW - Women
U2 - 10.1016/j.jalz.2016.08.004
DO - 10.1016/j.jalz.2016.08.004
JO - Alzheimer's and Dementia
JF - Alzheimer's and Dementia
10.1016/j.jalz.2016.08.004
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Check out that body: A community awareness campaign in New York City
Amy Bleakley, Cheryl Merzel, Peter Messeri, Tom Gift, C. Kevin Malotte, Susan Middlestadt, Nancy VanDevanter
Urban Initiative
The authors evaluate the effectiveness of the small media campaign in raising community awareness about the importance of going for a health check up. Data were collected over time from 535 respondents ages 15-30 years using cross-sectional surveys in two low-income, predominantly African-American communities in New York city. Regression analyses indicated campaign material recognition at 15 months was significantly higher in the intervention community relative to the comparison community. There were no significant changes in social norms, attitudes, or beliefs. Media campaigns aimed at adolescents and young adults on a community-wide level are an effective means of gaining material recognition. Editors' Strategic Implications: This research illustrates the effect of a public health media campaign on awareness, but it also serves as a reminder to public health officials that awareness is not necessarily sufficient to promote attitudinal or behavioral health changes.
The Journal of Primary Prevention
Community-based participatory research
Small media campaigns
Bleakley, A., Merzel, C., Messeri, P., Gift, T., Kevin Malotte, C., Middlestadt, S., & VanDevanter, N. (2008). Check out that body: A community awareness campaign in New York City. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 29(4), 331-339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-008-0141-0
Check out that body : A community awareness campaign in New York City. / Bleakley, Amy; Merzel, Cheryl; Messeri, Peter; Gift, Tom; Kevin Malotte, C.; Middlestadt, Susan; VanDevanter, Nancy.
In: The Journal of Primary Prevention, Vol. 29, No. 4, 07.2008, p. 331-339.
Bleakley, A, Merzel, C, Messeri, P, Gift, T, Kevin Malotte, C, Middlestadt, S & VanDevanter, N 2008, 'Check out that body: A community awareness campaign in New York City', The Journal of Primary Prevention, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 331-339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-008-0141-0
Bleakley A, Merzel C, Messeri P, Gift T, Kevin Malotte C, Middlestadt S et al. Check out that body: A community awareness campaign in New York City. The Journal of Primary Prevention. 2008 Jul;29(4):331-339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-008-0141-0
Bleakley, Amy ; Merzel, Cheryl ; Messeri, Peter ; Gift, Tom ; Kevin Malotte, C. ; Middlestadt, Susan ; VanDevanter, Nancy. / Check out that body : A community awareness campaign in New York City. In: The Journal of Primary Prevention. 2008 ; Vol. 29, No. 4. pp. 331-339.
@article{a3f8db60e3524066863a16b156916e92,
title = "Check out that body: A community awareness campaign in New York City",
abstract = "The authors evaluate the effectiveness of the small media campaign in raising community awareness about the importance of going for a health check up. Data were collected over time from 535 respondents ages 15-30 years using cross-sectional surveys in two low-income, predominantly African-American communities in New York city. Regression analyses indicated campaign material recognition at 15 months was significantly higher in the intervention community relative to the comparison community. There were no significant changes in social norms, attitudes, or beliefs. Media campaigns aimed at adolescents and young adults on a community-wide level are an effective means of gaining material recognition. Editors' Strategic Implications: This research illustrates the effect of a public health media campaign on awareness, but it also serves as a reminder to public health officials that awareness is not necessarily sufficient to promote attitudinal or behavioral health changes.",
keywords = "Community-based participatory research, Preventive health care, Small media campaigns",
author = "Amy Bleakley and Cheryl Merzel and Peter Messeri and Tom Gift and {Kevin Malotte}, C. and Susan Middlestadt and Nancy VanDevanter",
journal = "Journal of Primary Prevention",
publisher = "Kluwer Academic/Human Sciences Press Inc.",
T1 - Check out that body
T2 - A community awareness campaign in New York City
AU - Bleakley, Amy
AU - Merzel, Cheryl
AU - Messeri, Peter
AU - Gift, Tom
AU - Kevin Malotte, C.
AU - Middlestadt, Susan
AU - VanDevanter, Nancy
N2 - The authors evaluate the effectiveness of the small media campaign in raising community awareness about the importance of going for a health check up. Data were collected over time from 535 respondents ages 15-30 years using cross-sectional surveys in two low-income, predominantly African-American communities in New York city. Regression analyses indicated campaign material recognition at 15 months was significantly higher in the intervention community relative to the comparison community. There were no significant changes in social norms, attitudes, or beliefs. Media campaigns aimed at adolescents and young adults on a community-wide level are an effective means of gaining material recognition. Editors' Strategic Implications: This research illustrates the effect of a public health media campaign on awareness, but it also serves as a reminder to public health officials that awareness is not necessarily sufficient to promote attitudinal or behavioral health changes.
AB - The authors evaluate the effectiveness of the small media campaign in raising community awareness about the importance of going for a health check up. Data were collected over time from 535 respondents ages 15-30 years using cross-sectional surveys in two low-income, predominantly African-American communities in New York city. Regression analyses indicated campaign material recognition at 15 months was significantly higher in the intervention community relative to the comparison community. There were no significant changes in social norms, attitudes, or beliefs. Media campaigns aimed at adolescents and young adults on a community-wide level are an effective means of gaining material recognition. Editors' Strategic Implications: This research illustrates the effect of a public health media campaign on awareness, but it also serves as a reminder to public health officials that awareness is not necessarily sufficient to promote attitudinal or behavioral health changes.
KW - Community-based participatory research
KW - Preventive health care
KW - Small media campaigns
JO - Journal of Primary Prevention
JF - Journal of Primary Prevention
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Posts Tagged ‘Lara
Categories: All Photos, All Videos, Articles and Michelle Obama
Tags: 60 Minutes, Barack Obama, Benghazi, Food Stamps, issa, Lara, Lara Logan, Mental Health, new orleans, Obama, obamacare, obamacares, Political And Funny Tweets, port, President, snap, tweets
On This Day: President Barack Obama reads in the Rose Garden of the White House, Nov. 9, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
The Week Ahead:
Today: President Obama departs Miami (3:25 EDT), arrives at the White House (5:55 EDT)
Sunday: The President has no public events scheduled
Monday: The President and First Lady host a breakfast for veterans from across the country. Later in the morning, the President will travel to Arlington National Cemetery where he will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony and deliver remarks there
Tuesday: The President will attend meetings at the White House
Wednesday: The President will address the 2013 Tribal Nations Conference
Thursday: The President will travel to Philadelphia where he will participate in a campaign event for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Friday: The President will attend meetings at the White House
@sdtilock
WH.gov: The Affordable Care Act: Making A Difference In Our Neighborhoods
Community Health Centers enable people to receive health care in the neighborhoods where they live so they can get high-quality care close to home. That’s why the Affordable Care Act builds on this model of care, by making critical investments in new facilities, doctors, nurses, and staff. This week, HHS announced new primary care sites in 236 communities for 1.25 million additional patients, made possible by the Affordable Care Act. These investments will make an enormous difference in people’s lives by increasing access to the care they need, where they need it.
As you can see from the media coverage in states around the country, these types of primary care investments are critical for families who need care. Here’s just a sample of the coverage:
AZ – Arizona Daily Star: New U.S. grant to pay for Sierra Vista community health care A new community health clinic will be operating in Sierra Vista by February, due to an unexpected federal grant of nearly $1 million. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Director Kathleen Sebelius announced Thursday that $150 million in Affordable Care Act funds will be going to 236 health programs in 43 states. LINK
CA – Recordnet.com: Grants awarded for health center The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday awarded a $691,667 grant to Community Medical Centers Inc. to help it establish a new health center service delivery site. LINK
“But you said if I like my umbrella I can keep it!” #Obamacare pic.twitter.com/qcQmpvM7jN
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) November 8, 2013
Steve Benen: Mental Health Parity
That this health care breakthrough is a long time coming doesn’t detract from its significance:
The Obama administration on Friday will complete a generation-long effort to require insurers to cover care for mental health and addiction just like physical illnesses when it issues long-awaited regulations defining parity in benefits and treatment.
The rules, which will apply to almost all forms of insurance, will have far-reaching consequences for many Americans. In the White House, the regulations are also seen as critical to President Obama’s program for curbing gun violence by addressing an issue on which there is bipartisan agreement: Making treatment more available to those with mental illness could reduce killings, including mass murders.
…. It’s easy to grow weary with unprecedented obstructionism blocking legislation on Capitol Hill, but once in a while, we’re reminded that progress is still possible.
RT if you agree: 50M Americans with disabilities and 5.5M disabled vets deserve the same rights abroad as anyone else. #DisabilitiesTreaty
— Samantha Power (@AmbassadorPower) November 8, 2013
NYT: Cut In Food Stamps Forces Hard Choices On Poor
For many, a $10 or $20 cut in the monthly food budget would be absorbed with little notice. But for millions of poor Americans who rely on food stamps, reductions that began this month present awful choices. Mr. Simmons’s allotment from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called food stamps, has dropped $9. He has already spent the $33 he received for November.
Food stamps are likely to be cut more in the coming years if Congress can agree on a new farm bill, which House and Senate negotiators began tackling this week. The Republican-controlled House has approved cutting as much as $40 billion from the program over 10 years by making it harder to qualify. The Democratic-controlled Senate is suggesting a $4 billion cut by making administrative changes. “We’ll be on our last $3 at the end of the month,” said Rafaela Rivera, 34, a home health aide who earns $10 an hour.
@I_Karumba
Media Matters: Former 60 Minutes Producer Mapes: Benghazi Story Aimed At “Obsessed” Right-Wing Audience
Former 60 Minutes producer Mary Mapes, who was fired for her role in a controversial 2004 story about President Bush’s service in the Air National Guard, accused CBS News of pandering to a right-wing audience with her former program’s recent Benghazi report, for which the network has been criticized and forced to retract.
“My concern is that the story was done very pointedly to appeal to a more conservative audience’s beliefs about what happened at Benghazi,” Mapes said by telephone from her Texas home. “They appear to have done that story to appeal specifically to a politically conservative audience that is obsessed with Benghazi and believes that Benghazi was much more than a tragedy.”
Lindsey Graham: “I have been saying for months someone is lying about #Benghazi. Today, I can reveal that it’s me” http://t.co/RKHcCkW067
— The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) November 8, 2013
Ed Kilgore: Supply Meets Demand On Benghazi
…. the reporter, Lara Logan, has long expressed righteous anger that the killing of Ambassador Chris Stevens hasn’t been avenged. So Logan had a personal agenda that nicely merged with her personal interest in getting a big “scoop”.
…. Lara Logan brought the supply and Lindsey Graham brought the demand and a bill of goods were sold. Graham and other Republicans, of course, can now simply argue the dubious report “raised questions,” and that’s all they need for more wallowing in the “story.” An apology from their supplier isn’t enough.
Benghazzziiiiii Grifter book disappeared from Amazon? Awww http://t.co/0DYmcU2e8x pic.twitter.com/CpQJVpvwC9
— zizi2 (@zizii2) November 8, 2013
UPDATE: Simon and Schuster pulling book by the security officer who claimed to be present at Benghazi attack thkpr.gs/1iRFGr8
ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) November 08, 2013
Charles Pierce: My Profession Steps On A Rake
It seems that Senator Aqua Buddha has been shitcanned by the ghost of Sun Myung Moon just in time to get hired by the ghost of Andrew Breitbart. This is a remarkably straight career path into the manure bin for the formerly rising young champion of the brogressive Left, especially those who don’t want to be droned before they score with that cute barista. (Guess what? The champion of human freedom voted against ENDA because liberty!)….
And then there’s 60 Minutes.
Oy. Also, vey.
I held off for a while on this because history tells us that jumping ugly early can have very unfortunate results on stories like this but, Jesus H. Christ on tour with Iron Maiden, does it look like the show screwed the pooch on its big scoop regarding Benghazi, Benghazi!, BENGHAZI! ….
Obama Admin. to pass regulations that requires insurance to cover mental health/addiction like physical illnesses. nytimes.com/2013/11/08/us/…
Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) November 08, 2013
#ObamaCare Works: $150M will be allotted to 236 health programs in 43 states, for expanded community health clinics. whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/11/0…
Business Insider: Here’s The Real Reason People Hate Their Individual Market Health Insurance
Unlike people on Medicare, Medicaid and employer-based insurance, people who buy coverage in the individual market know exactly how much they’re paying for it. A plan that you would only rate “fair” when you have to pay $5,000 for it might merit an “excellent” if its apparent cost to you were only $1,000. Almost all of us should be dissatisfied with our health plans, because the American health care system involves paying twice as much as people in other rich countries do to achieve similar health outcomes.
People love their employer-provided coverage because they have no idea how much it’s costing them. One of the reasons I like the disruptions created by Obamacare, and wish there were more of them, is that many of them involve exposing the true cost of American health care to consumers.
The law requires employers to start reporting the cost of employer-sponsored insurance on W-2 forms, so people know how much of their compensation is eaten up by health insurance. Successful health reform should bring that transparency to other parts of the market. That will make the public angry — not because they’re being made worse off, but because they’re finally realizing how bad they’ve had it all along.
Text of remarks here
The thing Netanyahu isn’t going to like about any peace deal is the “peace” part.
— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) November 8, 2013
Igor Volsky: Oversight Chairman Accused Of Leaking Misleading Information About Obamacare Implementation
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are accusing Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) of selectively leaking misinformation about HealthCare.gov in an effort to portray administration officials as misleading the public about the implementation of Obamacare. On Thursday, Issa appeared on Fox News and claimed that he had obtained documents proving that contractors working on Healthcare.gov believed that the site could only handle 1,100 users before launch.
U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney had publicly stated that the administration believed that the site could handle 60,000 concurrent users. But in a letter to Issa, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the ranking member on the Committee, pointed to an interview Issa’s own staff conducted with Henry Chao, the Deputy Information Officer. Chao explained that the 1,000 figure were “the results of a much smaller testing environment” and were not conducted “with final production testing of the system at full capacity.”
On the way home from the White House today ran into the vice prez. doing the same. Always dug this guy!!! pic.twitter.com/VLlStsIsGO
— Whoopi Goldberg (@WhoopiGoldberg) November 8, 2013
President Obama offers a toast during the state dinner hosted by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Istana Negara State Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Nov. 9, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)
First Lady Michelle Obama winks at another guest at the head table as she participates in a state dinner for her husband President Obama at Istana Merdeka
By Chipsticks 167 Comments
Tags: a, approved, baby, Barack, baseball, Basketball, batting, bicycle, bike, bill, blink, bo, body, bodysurfing, Boehner, Boxer, boy, Brazil, Brian, britain, bumper, Callie, cameron, canoe, captions, car, chess, child, Clinton, cow, Cricket, cute, cycling, David, dodgem, dodgems, dog, don't, easter, egg, Egypt, enda, England, fencing, fish, fishing, fly, football, funny, golf, good, gym, gymnastics, hat, hawaii, hilarious, house, hurdle, hurdles, hurdling, hurl, hurling, in, Ireland, irish, japan, japanese, john, karate, kayak, kenny, kids, Lara, leaned, leaning, leans, left, Malia, Michelle, minister, nascar, Obama, ping, playing, pong, pool, President, prime, pull, pullups, punch, punching, quarterbacking, river, roll, running, saliling, Sasha, Shell, snow, soccer, sport, sports, stick, surfing, swatting, swimming, swims, table, tennis, the, ups, white, wrestling
NASCAR:
Gymnastics:
Cycling:
Quarterbacking:
Prize Fighting:
Pretend-golf:
Mind-reading:
Cow-taming:
Juggling:
Dancercise:
Aerobics:
International Ping Pong:
Trans-Atlantic paddling:
Orienteering:
Rodeo:
Stone-flinging:
Karate Chopping:
Long Distance Running:
Chess:
Ice-skating:
Hurdling:
Wave-riding:
High-Jumping:
Backwards Tennis:
Cricket:
Really Big Fish Catching:
Saber-swinging:
Soccer ball juggling:
Tiny ball-whacking:
Pocket Battleships:
Batting:
Ball-potting:
Weight-lifting:
Left-leaning (a popular sport in Communist Europe):
Snow-ploughing:
Hurling:
That ‘don’t-blink’ game:
Thumb-Wrestling (thank you gobrooklyn for the reminder about this great sport):
General Wrestling:
Fly-swatting:
‘michelle o’
Categories: All Photos, Articles and Michelle Obama
Tags: article, Ireland, irish, Lara, marlowe, marriage, Michelle, Obama, times
Irish Times: ….Some observers wondered whether Michelle Obama, who as vice-president of Chicago University Medical Center earned more money than her then senator husband, could adapt to life in the White House. But the president’s aides needn’t have worried about her reputation for frankness. Obama’s first 13 months as first lady have been virtually flawless.
Laura Bush tended to fade into the wallpaper, while Hillary Clinton gave the impression of chafing at the subaltern post of first lady. Obama has embraced the function with a joy and enthusiam not shown by her predecessors.
…When Barack Obama entered politics in 1995, standing for the Illinois state senate, Michelle told him: “I married you because you’re cute and you’re smart. But this is the dumbest thing you could have ever asked me to do.” She nonetheless became his most ardent supporter.
….“That’s the beauty of living above the office: Barack is home every day. The four of us sit down to eat as a family. We haven’t had that kind of normalcy for years. And now I can just pop over to his office, which sometimes I’ll do if I know he’s having a particularly frustrating day.”
At a luncheon for journalists last month, Obama divulged one source of their happiness: “We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and laughter is the best form of unity I think in a marriage.” It’s not unusual to see the first couple kiss or hold hands. While they waited for heads of state and government to arrive at a reception at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, the President playfully called called her “Flotus”. They exchanged whispers and flirted like teenagers.
“I’m so proud of him,” Obama told Winfrey. “He has never disappointed me. First and foremost he’s my husband, my friend, and the father of my children.
“That didn’t change with his hand on the Lincoln Bible. But it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the gravity of what he’s doing. The way I can honour that is by working by his side and adding value to what he’s doing in any way that I can. That’s my part in this. I am supporting the president of the United States.”
picture perfect: no 30
By Chipsticks 5 Comments
Categories: All Photos and Picture Perfect
Tags: america's, Barack, bat, Brian, Caribbean, Cricket, Lara, Obama, of, President, summit, the, trinidad
Brian Lara (West Indies cricket legend!) gives President Barack Obama a cricket lesson during the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad, April 2009. Photo by Pete Souza.
For Donna, Hachikō, Perry, Joy, Kamisi – and everyone else with Caribbean roots 😉
See all the ‘Picture Perfect’ photos here
By Chipsticks Closed
Tags: Barack, bat, Brian, Cricket, indies, Lara, Obama, President, west
World-famous cricket legend Brian Lara shows President Obama how to properly swing a bat on April 19, 2009. April 20, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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Headsails: Gennakers, Screechers and Reachers… Oh My!
Last Updated on September 8, 2019
Figuring out what kind of sails your boat needs is not always a straight-forward and simple question. All sailboats need sails, right? But each sailboat may have a different set of needs. Most cruising boats come standard with a small headsail and a mainsail.
The cruising route of 95% of circumnavigators is a downwind trade winds circumnavigation, which means we need to be set up for downwind sailing. And while it would be quite nice, there is no one sail that a boat can use in all downwind situations.
Our previous catamaran (a Maine Cat 30) only had a self tacking jib. This sail is small and doesn’t allow for a lot of adjustment, especially when going downwind. We’ve chartered boats with larger genoas and I’ve done racing on beach cats with asymmetric spinnakers, but those setups are quite different from what we have on Starry Horizons.
Table of Contents - Click to Jump
Types of Headsails
What We Have For Our Circumnavigation
Pictures of Our New Sails
For my own sanity, let’s take a look at the major categories of sails.
Sail Terminology
For those of you who may need a refresher of (or an introduction to!) sail terminology, hopefully this diagram will help. Study it, memorize it, so that when you join us on Starry Horizons you’ll know what I mean when I say we need to attach the head of the sail to the halyard!
The jib is a headsail where the clew (bottom corner of the sail not attached to any standing rigging) does not come aft of the mast. It can either be self tacking, like our previous boat, or use jib sheets running aft which are worked when the boat changes tacks. These sails are typically on a furler, which means they can be reefed simply by rolling up the sail a bit.
Starry Horizons with her genoa.
Also referred to as the “genny”, this sail is very similar to a jib, except that the clew comes back aft of the mast and overlaps the mainsail. Genoas are rated on a percentage, based on their area relative to the 100% foretriangle which is the area created by the forestay, the mast, and the deck. Starry Horizons has a genoa from the factory, and its a great sail for downwind when the winds are high.
Spinnaker Introduction
Hold on to your hats ladies and gentlemen, cause this is where it gets complicated. In general these sails are used for points of sail all the way from reaching to dead downwind, with some categories even capable of being used on a tight reach. You may hear general terms such as a “kite” or “chute” being used in reference to spinnakers, and that’s because they somewhat look like a parachute out in front of the boat. These sails are typically used in conjunction with a “sock” (aka snuffer) that makes deployment and retrieval relatively easy. Some asymmetrics can even be fitting with a furling system, top down or regular, that will allow it to be furled similar to our genoa.
So now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s take a high level look down at the two main types of spinnakers, asymmetric and symmetric.
Asymmetric Spinnakers
These sails seem to be the most confusing as each sail maker can use different terms for the same sail. Asymmetrics do seem to be separated by code from 0 – 6, which help classify them for racing purposes, but is helpful to differentiate among the sails. Thanks to Wikipedia, here is a bit more about the code classification:
Code 0 The code 0 asymmetric is a tight reaching sail, the most upwind capable of the asymmetrics. The luff is as straight as possible, and the sail is flatter than other spinnakers. Due to the flatness of the code 0, it is usually made with a wire luff for strength, and of a heavier, less stretchy fabric than normal for a spinnaker. Due to the tight luff and flat cut, the code 0 can be fitted for roller furling.
Code 1 The code 1 is a light air reaching sail, where the apparent wind angle at low speeds has a significant effect to create angles of less than 90 degrees.
Code 2 The code 2 is a medium air running sail, used for apparent wind angles over 90 degrees.
Code 3 The code 3 is a medium air reaching sail, used for apparent wind angles near 90 degrees.
Code 4 The code 4 is a heavy air running sail, used in the heaviest winds normally expected.
Code 5 The code 5 is a heavy air reaching sail, used in the heaviest winds normally expected.
Code 6 The code 6 is a storm sail, for running in storm conditions.
Codes 1, 3, and 5 are reaching sails, and codes 2, 4, and 6 are running sails; the Code 0 is a hybrid of genoa and spinnaker, designed to work like a genoa but classified under racing rules as a spinnaker. Clear yet? Wait, it gets better. North Sails has a line of sails called “gennakers” which are based off the Code 0 classification, while other manufacturers call their Code 0 sails “screechers” (for upwind use) or “reachers” (for downwind use). Yeah, my head hurts too…
Starry Horizons has a bowsprit so that we can easily rig an asymmetric spinnaker. Fountaine Pajot offers a gennaker as an option, and our dealer advised us that if we’re going to go with only one additional sail for our boat, that a Code 0 would be the way to go. It was enough to make my head spin.
Symmetric Spinnaker
As you might guess from the name, these sails are symmetrical, and are typically stabilized using a spinnaker pole, which helps keep the sail on the proper side of the boat. The beams on catamarans are wide enough that we wouldn’t need one. In general, these sails are a bit trickier to use when shorthanded as you have additional lines that must be set, and the sail doesn’t seem all that forgiving, meaning it can dramatically open or close with gusts of wind, leading to nervous moments trying to handle the sail.
Parasailor/Wingaker
I’m throwing this one in here as its own category because I’m not quite sure where else to put it. Parasailors and Wingakers are brand names of sails designed for short-handed sailing crews, seem extremely forgiving and have self-trimming features that would allow you to leave the autopilot on. It definitely is interesting as a downwind sail, and could even be used to on dead downwind run. I’ve found several blogs of people who have them, and they all seem to have high praise for the sail. Pairing this with a Code 0 would give us a good variety of sails that could be used in all kinds of conditions. The Parasailor uses a sock, which means we wouldn’t have to continually swap it out with the Code 0. All in all, it’s a very intriguing option.
We knew from the start that we were going to want to supplement the sails that come with a Helia and even chose the optional bowsprit and gear option from Fountaine Pajot in order to set up the boat for additional sails. After lots of research, here is what we’ve decided on:
Top Down Furling
This was a decision we struggled with for a while. The traditional way to set and douse a spinnaker is with a “sock” that slides up the sail as it’s being deployed and gets pulled back down over the sail in order to douse it. This method requires someone to go forward on deck and can require some wrestling with the sail if the winds have picked up. That’s not entirely ideal and part of the reason we like the Helia 44 so much is that almost all control lines are lead to the helm, meaning we don’t have to leave the helm in order to control the boat.
Our dealer introduced us to top down furling, which is used specifically for spinnakers. Screechers (or Code 0’s) are flat enough that they can be furled normally. Top down furlers are really unique systems that have a swivel attached to the furling drum at the tack of the sail, and a “torque rope”, designed to prevent twisting, that the sail actually furls around. When pulling on the furling line, the swivel lets the tack of the sail swing free, while the head of sail begins to furl. Eventually when there is enough tension on the sail, the tack of the sail will begin to furl as well. It’s a bit tough to describe, so here is a video:
There are lots of different companies that offer these sort of systems, and we’re creating almost a ‘franken-rig’ combining favored components from each company.
Profurl: We chose the Spinex Top-Down Spinnaker Furler with anti-twist cable to be the “torque rope” for our spinnaker. This is a very interesting concept that allows the sail to furl faster and easier, as the bearings have a greater diameter than a typical rope, which also prevents the spinnaker from being wrapped too tightly. As part of this, we also use the Profurl swivel, which can be used with our furling drum.
Karver: We went with a Karver KF2 Furling Drum. This drum has a unique locking feature that will help prevent the sail from unfurling when we don’t want it to, which is kind of critical in my opinion. We also rigged up some additional hardware to prevent this from happening, but more back up is always appreciated. Another feature I really like is we can use the same drum with multiple sails simplifies sail changes and reduce costs. All that’s need are separate torque ropes.
We worked with a Doyle sail loft that had a relationship with our dealer. After determining which type of additional sails we wanted, I went around and got quotes from several different lofts. It was a great learning experience in talking to all the different lofts, but in the end Doyle came in at the right price and has a great reputation as a sailmaker.
Screecher
Starry Horizons with her screecher up.
This is a fairly all-purpose type sail. It doesn’t fit in the traditional racing definition of a Code 0, but since Starry Horizons likely won’t be competing professionally anytime soon, that was okay with me. The sail is 864 square feet, with a Tri Radial design, made from 5.5oz Dacron and has a white UV Dacron protective layer along the leech and foot. There were additional options, such as a laminate material instead of Dacron, or square-weave Dacron, or even different weight Dacron, but I felt that the combination of a Tri-Radial design and the 5.5oz weight would give us a fairly good combination of sail performance and shape longevity.
Our contact at Doyle said we should be able to use this sail in light airs up to about 15 knots AWS (apparent wind speed) to keep things comfortable, and should be able to go from about 50 degrees AWA (apparent wind angle) to perhaps 120 degrees. In real world use, we don’t go much higher than 55 AWA as we have to sheet the sail in so tight it rubs on the cap shroud.
Our fastest passages to date have been where we’ve used our screecher. Ideally, for our highest speed performance, we sail at 90 degrees on the beam, with winds close to 15 knots. We can average 200 nm days this way if the wind holds up.
Additionally, we’ve found this sail to be incredibly useful in more complex downwind sailing configurations. We’ve used it to go wing on wing with our genoa and even moved the tack over to the windward bow to let us sail as deep as 145 degrees!
Asymmetric Spinnaker
For reaching and downwind performance, a spinnaker should be the way to go. We chose to go with an asymmetric spinnaker, since it works with the top down furling system. It also should allow for better reaching performance than a symmetric spinnaker. Doyle calls our sail the Asymmetrical Power Cruiser, and it is made with Contender Nylite 90, a nylon-based fabric. One of the cool (to us at least) features of this sail is that you get to choose from a rainbow of colors (with multiple colors and patterns being an option) and could also have a graphic inlaid in the sail. It was very tempting to have the Starry Horizons logo put on, but in the end we decided to be true to the logo itself, and went for a dark blue spinnaker.
As for the performance of the sail, Doyle lists a range of 85-165 degrees AWA and 5-25 knots AWS.
All that being said, we’ve had a hard time with our spinnaker. We’ve ripped it three times, one of the times pretty much in half. The sail is very fickle and requires a close eye on it.
Additional Rigging
The Bowsprit and Gear package from Fountaine Pajot includes an additional winch on the port side of the cockpit to handle sheets, and we rearranged our winches in Palmetto to add an additional winch on the starboard side to make handling the sheets easier and clear up lines being lead to the helm across the deck. I’ve drawn up a (really) rough diagram of how the rigging is run.
Rigging Diagram
Continuous Furling Line: The line that fits around the furling drum that we use to furl in the sails.
Turning Block: Takes the furling line from the furling drum and redirects it down the side of the boat.
Harken Double Lead Turning Block
Ratchet Block: Used on the part of the continuous furling line that actually furls the sail, a ratchet block helps maintain tension on the line.
Harken Ratchet Block
Stanchion Mounted Lead Block: Helps guide the furling line along the stanchions and reduces friction.
Harken Stanchion Mounted Lead Block
Stanchion Mounted Cleat: Allows for the furling line to be cleated off and prevent accidental deployment of the sails.
Winches: We have one on each side of the stern to control the sheet of the bigger headsails, which allows us to unfurl the sail, as well as control sail shape.
Harken Winch
Before packing up the sails, the loft was kind enough to send us some pictures of the sails.
Asymmetric Spinnaker Clew
Asymmetric Spinnaker Tack
Spinnaker Head
This sail is 1,397 sq ft which means its bigger than my first two apartments. That fact is what puts it in perspective for me. You can see the furler in the picture of the tack, and that picture also gives a pretty good visual of the Spinex Sail Bearings.
Screecher – Pic 1
The screecher is 864 sq feet so it is not small by any means. Unlike the spinnaker with the Sail Bearings, the screecher has the torque rope sewn into the luff so it is a part of the sail itself.
Downwind Sail Configurations for a Cruising Catamaran
Planning a Route to Sail Around the World
Mike November 12, 2017 at 9:26 am Reply
Thanks. I am about to buy either an asymmetric top down furler or parasailer for a catamaran. Can anyone help me?
She Said November 23, 2017 at 6:45 am Reply
We wish we had a parasailor.
Mike gahn November 23, 2017 at 7:29 am Reply
That’s really useful. Thanks. What did you go with?
We have an asymmetrical too down fueling spinnaker. It’s complicated to use, we’ve ripped it three times and we often pull it to the windward bow anyway.
Tim Armstrong November 8, 2013 at 7:27 pm Reply
We chose the North no 5 asymmetrical in Contender Stormlite 250weight. We use a sock. Whilst it took a little bit to get a handle on it my wife and I now often only put that up with nothing else on long downwind runs in everything from 150 to 70 deg angles in winds up to 22knots actual. All good for us, but Gordon in hull no. 12 has a para sailor and swears by it. I just though I would confuse you further.
Tim & Sandy
S/V 1 Giant Leap ( Helia Hull no. 7)
He Said November 8, 2013 at 8:08 pm Reply
Thanks for the extra confusion! I’ve been studying the North website quite a bit and the no. 5 looks like an interesting option. How is your light wind performance with the sail?
We’re getting the factory bowsprit and if we can find the right combo of a Code 0 (or whatever you want to call it!) we can leave on a furler and something like parasailor for more downwind sailing, that’s probably the way we’ll go.
It's Tough To Sail When There Is NO WIND! - Ep. 131
2 ANNOUNCEMENTS - Shirts for Sale and a Brief Hiatus
Buy your OCS tees!
Choosing our Trampoline
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Tag Archives: vt-4
November 15, 2010 · 23:44
Wings of Gold: U. S. Navy Carrier Aircraft 1935-1941
Curtiss BF2C Goshawks (US Navy Photo)
As the United States Navy built up its Carrier Force in the mid to late 1930s it continued to develop aircraft specifically designed to operate from aircraft carriers. It continued its development of fighter, dive bomber and torpedo bomber aircraft. In 1935 the Navy was operating the Grumman FF-1 biplane fighter which it had began using in 1933 and the Curtiss F11C and BF2C Goshawk. The Curtiss aircraft were built in fighter and bomber variants and while initial aircraft had an open cockpit and fixed landing gear later aircraft had an enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear. They had top speed of 157 miles an hour and due to limited success and were retired from service by 1939. The Goshawk was operated against the Japanese by Nationalist China and also served in a number of air forces including Thailand where they were used against the French and Japanese.
Grumman FF-1 (US Navy Photo)
The Grumman FF-1 was a two-seater that had a enclosed cockpit with retractable landing gear and a top speed of 201 miles an hour. The FF-1 was faster than any naval aircraft of its era, a follow-on variant designated the SF-1 followed and 120 aircraft were built. Most of the operational aircraft served aboard the USS Lexington CV-2 in a fighter and scouting role. The FF-1 and SF-1 were withdrawn from first line service and placed with the reserve as well as being used in aviation training commands. The aircraft was manufactured under license by the Canadian Car and Foundry Company and served in the Canadian Air Force until 1942 as the Goblin and 40 of the Canadian aircraft were used by the Spanish Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War.
Grumman F2F-1 (US Navy Photo)
The FF-1/SF-1 was followed by the Grumman F2F a single-seat model with improved speed and maneuverability over is predecessors. 54 F2F’s were ordered in 1934 with the production models being delivered between April and August 1935. The aircraft were armed with 2 .30 machine guns mounted above the cowl and had a top speed of 231 miles an hour and maximum range of 985 miles. The aircraft would remain in service until they were replaced in 1939 with the Grumman F3F. However they remained in service as utility and training aircraft until retired from service toward the end of 1940.
Grumman F3F (US Navy Photo)
The Grumman F3F followed the F2F with 157 production models. It was more aerodynamic and had a more powerful engine that the F2F which enabled it to achieve a top speed of 264 miles an hour. It was operated by seven Navy and Marine Corps Squadrons and entered service in 1936 and would serve aboard carriers until replaced in late 1941. It continued with 117 aircraft being stationed at naval air stations and used for training until 1943.
F2A Brewster Buffalo (U.S. Navy Photo)
The first monoplane fighter developed and placed in service by the Navy was the F2A Brewster Buffalo. The Buffalo served with Navy and Marine Corps squadrons and was purchased by Great Britain for service in the Royal Australian and Royal New Zealand Air Forces which received 202 Buffalos. They would also serve with the Royal Navy. The Royal Netherlands Air Force received 144 most of which served in the East Indies. The final nation to receive the Buffalo was Finland which received 44 aircraft. Buffalo was underpowered and the addition of armor and added fuel capacity further diminished the speed and performance of the aircraft. The Navy placed its Buffalo’s in advanced training squadrons in early 1942 and one of the two Marine Corps squadrons (VMF-221) operated it at the Battle of Midway where they endured fearful losses at the hands of Japanese Zero fighters.
Brewster Buffalo 239s of the Finnish Air Force
Despite the lack of success in U. S. service the Buffalo performed in a heroic manner for the Finns destroying over 500 Soviet and German aircraft and producing 36 Buffalo Aces. The highest scorer was Captain Hans W. Wind with 39 of 75 victories flying a Buffalo. British Commonwealth and Dutch aircraft did not fare as well as the Finns as the tropical climate degraded the aircraft considerably.
Martin T4M over Lexington or Saratoga (US Navy Photo)
The Navy also developed aircraft for bombing missions as well as that could launch aerial torpedoes. The first aircraft built were dual purpose in that they could be used in level bombing and torpedo missions. In 1935 the primary aircraft of this type was the Martin T4M which had entered service in 1928 and replaced the Douglas DT and Martin T4M aircraft. The T4M was a biplane with a crew of three that had a maximum speed of 114 miles an hour (I have driven much fast than this on the German Autobahn but I digress) and it could carry a torpedo or bombs. 155 were purchased by the Navy and the Marine Corps between 1928 and 1931. They were operated from the Lexington and Saratoga until 1938 as no replacement aircraft offered enough improvements for the Navy to purchase and were instrumental in the development and demonstration of the capabilities of naval air power. They were finally replaced by the Douglas TBD Devastator.
TBD Devastator (US Navy Photo)
The TBD which first flew in 1935 entered service in 1937 and at the time was possibly the most modern naval aircraft in the world and was a revolutionary aircraft. It was the first monoplane widely used on carriers and was first all-metal naval aircraft. It was the first naval aircraft with a totally enclosed cockpit, the first with hydraulic powered folding wings. The TBD had crew of three and had a maximum speed of 206 miles an hour and carried a torpedo or up to 1500 pounds of bombs (3 x 500) or a 1000 pound bomb. 129 were built and served in all pre-war torpedo bombing squadrons based aboard the Lexington, Saratoga, Ranger, Yorktown, Enterprise and Hornet with a limited number embarked aboard Wasp. The Devastator saw extensive service prior to the war which pushed many airframes to the end of their useful service life and by 1940 only about 100 were operational. They were still in service in 1942 as their replacement the TBF Avenger was not ready for service. They performed adequately against minor opposition at Coral Sea and in strikes against the Marshalls but the squadrons embarked on Yorktown (VT3), Enterprise (VT-6) and Hornet (VT-8) were annihilated at Midway with only 6 of 41 surviving their uncoordinated attacks against the Japanese Carrier Strike Force. They were too slow, had poor maneuverability, insufficient armor and defensive armament. Only a few were able to launch their torpedoes as the Japanese Combat Air Patrol tore through them. Their sacrifice was not in vain as the Dive Bombers arrived facing no opposition and sank three of the four Japanese carriers getting the fourth later in the day. After Midway the remaining aircraft were withdrawn from active service in the Pacific. The Ranger’s VT-4 operated them until September 1942and Wasp’s VT-7 operated them in the Atlantic until she was transferred to the Pacific in July 1942. By 1944 all remaining aircraft had been scrapped.
Vought SBU Corsair
In the mid 1930s the Navy began to develop Scout and Dive Bombers for use in carrier scouting (VS) and bombing (VT) squadrons. The first of these aircraft types were biplanes. The Grumman SF-1 was used in a scouting and bombing role and was joined by the Vought SBU Corsair in 1935 and by 1937 both were being replaced by the Curtiss SBC Helldiver, a biplane with a 234 mile an hour maximum speed, retractable landing gear, enclosed cockpit which could carry a 1000 bomb.
Curtis SBC Helldiver
However the era of the biplane was drawing to a close and the Helldiver would be relegated to training squadrons based in Florida. Although they had a brief service career they were instrumental in develop dive bombing tactics at which the U.S. Navy excelled and which were copied by the German Luftwaffe with the Junkers JU-87 Stuka and the Japanese with the Aichi 99 Val naval dive bomber. 50 aircraft were transferred to the French and served aboard the carrier Bearn but due to the French surrender in June of 1940 saw no action and spent the war rotting in Martinique.
Vought SB2U Vindicator
The Helldiver’s were joined by the first monoplane dive bomber in U.S. service the Vought SBU2 Vindicator in 1937. The Vindicator was used by the Navy and the Marine Corps serving aboard the Lexington, Saratoga, Ranger and Wasp. They would remain in service until September 1942. The Marine aircraft equipped two squadrons VMSB 131 and VMSB-241, VMSB 241 suffered heavy casualties at Midway as the aircraft were underpowered and were limited to glide bombing missions. After they were taken out of the operational squadrons the Vindicator served as a training aircraft until retired in 1945. A French Naval Air Squadron was equipped with the Vindicator but they served ashore against the German invasion. Most were lost to enemy action. The Douglas SBD Dauntless was introduced in 1940 and 1941 but I will cover that aircraft in the World War II aircraft article that will follow this in a week or two.
These aircraft helped pave the way to aircraft that would be the mainstays of the Navy in the Second World War, aircraft with names such as Dauntless, Helldiver, Avenger, Hellcat and Corsair. Naval aviation earned its “wings of gold” in these early years wings that continue to shine in the 21st Century.
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Filed under aircraft, Military, US Navy, world war two in the pacific
Tagged as aichi 99 val, battle of coral sea, battle of midway, brewster buffalo finnish air force aces, brewster f2a buffalo, curtiss bf2c goshawk, curtiss f11c goshawk, dive bombing, douglas dt torpedo bomber, douglas tbd devastator, finnish air force Brewster buffalo, french navy carrier bearn, glide bombing, grumman f2f, grumman f3f, grumman ff-1, grumman sf-1, junkers ju-87 stuka, martin t3m, martin t4m, naval aviation, russo-finnish war, sbc helldiver, sbu corsair, sbu2 vindicator, spanish civil war, tbf avenger, US Navy, uss enterprise cv-6, uss hornet cv-8, uss lexington, uss ranger, uss saratoga, uss wasp, uss yorktown cv-5, vmf-221, vmsb-131, vmsb-241, vt-3, vt-4, vt-6, vt-7, vt-8, wings of gold, world war ii
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Anisotropia
A Frozen Piece Of Music
Anisotropia is based on Klavierstück I, a composition for piano. The piano piece uses a twelve tone row which is repeated and altered by the different voices, in order to create complex rhythmic patterns.
Anisotropia becomes the physical manifestation of Klavierstück I, a frozen piece of music. The installation is based on a simple strip morphology instead of a twelve tone row, which creates the structure, openings and rhythm within itself, its repetition happening in space instead of time. Layers of the strips form the wall system, and the shifting and alteration of these patterns results in the formation of complex architectural rhythms which are used to control the light, view and shading properties of the structure. The system has also been used for our design proposal for Busan Opera House.
Shifting Tones
Klavierstück I uses a twelve tone row which starts with the lowest key of the piano. After its first cycle the row gets repeated, though shifted up by a halftone. However rather than translating up every tone by a halftone, only the lowest tone of the row is translated up by one octave. Like this the row remains the same, but its range has been shifted.
In the next repetition this shift continues, but the range now also gets reduced in its size: The lowest tone gets translated up by one octave again, and the second lowest tone gets dropped out, so that only the remaining eleven tones of the row are played. Instead of the twelve tones the range now only covers eleven tones, and also its length is reduced accordingly.
The range of the twelve tone row continues to be reduced and shifted upwards until only one tone is left in each repetition of the original row. Then the range grows again, and still moving upwards goes through further modulations: The different voices of the piece are starting to separate, the size of the different parallel ranges starts to diverge, they move around each other, until finally they grow together again, still moving up and their range fading out with the highest key of the piano.
Piano Piece No.1 is based on a simple row of the twelve tones, but by shifting and translating its range of influence, complex and continuously evolving rhythmic patterns are generated and turned into a floating field of sound.
Structure And Light
The proposed façade system becomes the physical manifestation of Klavierstück I. It uses parallel bamboo lamella which are creating the rhythmic structure. The basic unit of two strips is creating form into two dimensions, and becomes a straight extrusion into the third dimension. Like this it gets multiplied into the first two dimensions, where it develops and gets modified in the same way in which the twelve tone row gets repeated and modified in time.
The extrusion in the third dimensions allows for a horizontal modification during the development of the wall, which is used in a linear direction similar to the continuous upwards movement of the piano piece. In the piano piece always only the upper few tones of each twelve tone row are audible and create the floating field of rhythmic transformations. Similarly in the installation, only the peaks of each strip become visible and create a floating field of structure, shadow and light.
Project Credits
Designed by: Orproject and Xin Wang
Project Team: Shuai Yang, Duan Duan, Haobin Lee
Photographs: Zhang Lu
Busan Opera House
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Love Live! is a multimedia project co-developed by ASCII Media Works, Dengeki G’s Magazine, music label Lantis, and animation studio Sunrise. The project tells the story of fictional high school girls who start an idol group in order to save their school from closing down. The series launched in the August 2010 issue of Dengeki G’s Magazine and has gone on to encompass anime adaptations, manga adaptations, music releases, video games, and more. To date, the franchise has received two anime adaptations and a movie directed by Takahiko Kyogoku, written by Jukki Hanada, and produced by studio Sunrise: Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!, and Love Live! The School Idol Movie.
The Love Live! School Idol Project anime is the first in the franchise and its two seasons aired on Tokyo MX, TVA, and BS11 from Jan. 6, 2013 to June 29, 2014. Its story follows main character Honoka and members of the newly formed idol group μ's as they try to save their school, Otonokizaka Academy, from shutting down and follow their dreams of winning the Love Live idol competition and becoming full fledged idols. The anime spans 26 episodes total.
μ's Members:
Honoka Kosaka (CV: Emi Nitta) - The main character of Love Live! School Idol Project. She has a bubbly, cheerful personality and is the leader of μ's.
Kotori Minami (CV: Aya Uchida) - Honoka’s childhood friend who’s a bit airheaded. She is the wardrobe designer and choreographer of μ's.
Eli Ayase (CV: Yoshino Nanjo) - The Otonokizaka Academy student council president who is friends with Nozomi. She excels at sports and academics and is the choreographer of μ's along with Kotori.
Hanayo Koizumi (CV: Yurika Kubo) - A shy and quiet girl with poor self-esteem prior to joining μ's who later becomes president of the Idol Research Club.
Umi Sonoda (CV: Suzuko Mimori) - Honoka’s childhood friend who has expertise in kendo, koto, nagauta, shodo, and nichibu, and is the lyricist of μ's.
Rin Hoshizora (CV: Riho Iida) - A tomboy with an athletic and cheerful personality who is best friends with Hanayo.
Nico Yazawa (CV: Sora Tokui) - An idol superfan and founder of the Idol Research Club. She is the wardrobe designer of μ's along with Kotori. Her catchphrase is “Nico Nico Nii!”
Maki Nishikino (CV: Pile) - A talented singer and pianist, Maki is the main composer and vocal coach of the group.
Nozomi Tojo (CV: Aina Kusuda) - The big sister of the group who is demure with a mischievous side and acts as the group’s spiritual leader. Her hobby is fortune-telling.
The members of μ's are also divided into three mini groups. BiBi is comprised of Eli, Maki, and Nico, and their singles include "Diamond Princess no Yuutsu" and "Cutie Panther." Printemps is comprised of Honoka, Kotori, and Hanayo, and their singles include "Love Marginal" and "Pure Girls Project." The third group, Lily White, is comprised of Umi, Rin, and Nozomi, and their singles include "Shiranai Love*Oshiete Love" and "Binetsu kara Mystery."
The second anime, Love Live! Sunshine!! began airing on Tokyo MX, Sun TV, KBS, BS11, TVA, SBS, TVQ, and TVh on July 2, 2016. It tells a very similar story to Love Live! School Idol Project - girls banding together and forming an idol unit to save their school from closing - but its setting shifts to Uranohoshi Girls' Academy with a new lineup of characters who form the idol group Aqours. Its opening and ending themes are "Aozora Jumping Heart" and "Yume Kataru yori Yume Utao." Thirteen episodes of the anime are planned.
Aqours Members:
Chika Takami (CV: Anju Inami) - The main character of Love Live! Sunshine!! who has a complex about being too ordinary and looks up to μ's which leads her to form a school idol group of her own.
Riko Sakurauchi (CV: Riakko Aida) - A modest, down to earth transfer student and the group’s composer.
Kanan Matsuura (CV: Nanaka Suwa) - Chika’s childhood friend who takes care of her injured grandfather and has a hard time attending class.
Dia Kurosawa (CV: Arisa Komiya) - The Uranohoshi Girls' Academy student council president, Dia is prideful and joins the group after losing a bet to Chika. She is also a diehard fan of μ's.
You Watanabe (CV: Shuka Saito) - Chika’s childhood friend who has an energetic, positive personality. Her catchphrase is “Keep her steady!”
Yoshiko Tsushima (CV: Aika Kobayashi) - Yoshiko joins the group in an attempt to try and overcome her chunibyo. She refers to herself as Yohane, a fallen angel.
Hanamaru Kunikida (CV: Kanako Takatsuki) - A ditzy, talented singer whose family runs a local temple.
Mari Ohara (CV: Aina Suzuki) - A bright go-getter whose favorite music is industrial metal.
Ruby Kurosawa (CV: Ai Furihata) - Dia’s timid crybaby sister who has long dreamed of becoming an idol and has androphobia (the fear of men).
Just like μ's, the members of Aqours are also divided into three mini groups. The first, CYaRon!, is comprised of You, Ruby, and Chika, and their first single is "Genki Zenkai Day! Day! Day!" Azalea is comprised of Dia, Kanan, and Hanamaru and their first single is "Torikoriko Please!!" Yoshiko, Riko and Mari make up the third group, Guilty Kiss, whose first single is "Strawberry Trapper."
Being an idol franchise, there is a main focus on music. A total of 46 singles have been released for Love Live! School Idol Project including the first season opening and ending themes "Bokura wa Ima no Naka de" and "Kitto Seishun ga Kikoeru," the second season opening and ending themes "Sore wa Bokutachi no Kiseki" and "Donna Toki mo Zutto," and μ's final single “Moment Ring.” Other notable μ's singles include "KiRa-KiRa Sensation! / Happy Maker!," "Korekara no Someday / Wonder Zone,” "Susume→Tomorrow / Start:Dash!!," and “Snow Halation.” There have also been 14 original song CDs including those released with the Blu-ray volumes, 20 character albums, and 7 video albums of concerts including μ's final concert “μ's FinalLoveLive! 2016: μ'sic Forever.” Nine singles have also been released for Aquors, the idol group from Love Live! Sunshine!!, including "Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiteru Kai?" and "Koi ni Naritai Aquarium" with their latest being "Yume de Yozora o Terashitai/Mijuku Dreamer," two insert songs used in the anime.
Aside from anime and music, the franchise also spans a wide range of other media. Three manga written by Sakurako Kimino have been published so far by ASCII Media Works in Dengeki G’s Magazine and Dengeki G’s Comic - these include Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Anthology, and Love Live! School Idol Diary. A novel also titled Love Live! School Idol Diary written by Sakurako Kimino that remixes the anime series and is told from the perspective of different μ's members is published by ASCII Media Works and includes 11 volumes to date. Love Live! School Idol Festival, a collectable card and rhythm action game for the iOS and Android, was released by Bushiroad in Japan on April 16, 2013 and worldwide May 11, 2014. The game has since spawned the School Idol Festival Thanksgiving Festival, a competition held yearly in Japan since 2015 looking for the best School Idol Festival player. There have also been three rhythm action video games released on the PS Vita under the title Love Live! School Idol Paradise on Aug. 28, 2014, developed by Dingo Inc. These include: Vol. 1 Printemps, Vol. 2 BiBi, and Vol. 3 Lily White. There is also a board game called Love Live! Board Game: Fan Acquisition, School Idol Great Operation!, and radio web shows that include Love Live! µ's Public Relations Department ~NicoRinPana~ and RADIO Animelo Mix Love Live! ~NozoEri Radio Garden~. Love Live! characters have also appeared in four Bushiroad trading card games: Victory Spark Booster Pack "Baby Princess & Love Live!", Weiss Schwarz Love Live! School Idol Project, Fiveqross, and Love Live! School Idol Collection.
Love Live! Sunshine!!, Love Live!, First Live: with You
Chika Takami, You Watanabe, Nico Yazawa, Mari Ohara, Riko Sakurauchi, Yoshiko Tsushima, Umi Sonoda, Hanamaru Kunikida, Nozomi Tojo, Eli Ayase, Kanan Matsuura, Ruby Kurosawa, Rin Hoshizora, Dia Kurosawa, Maki Nishikino, Kotori Minami, Hanayo Koizumi, Honoka Kosaka, Nijigasaki Academy School Idol Club, Saint Snow, Leah Kazuno, Sarah Kazuno
Sorry, there were no matches in the Love Live Series Merchandise category.
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SOTU 2019 and American Medicine
ppjg families, HEALTH, The PPJ Gazette American Medicine, democrats, families, free enterprise versus government controls, freedom versus socialism, HEALTH, Healthcare, late term abortion, medical care, MSM, Pelosi, republicans, SOTU, The PPJ Gazette, Trump 1 Comment
by: Jane M. Orient, M.D.
While President Trump called for unity and cooperation in his 2019 State of the Union address, the views of the audience showed a sharp and bitter divide, especially on issues affecting the health and medical care of Americans. Most striking was the solid bloc of Democrat “suffragettes” clad in white like Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
When the President congratulated women for their increased representation in Congress, this bloc rose to its feet to applaud uproariously, as if the home team had scored the winning touchdown in the high-school championship game.
Otherwise, the women mostly sat sullenly with arms crossed, or even displayed overt and in-your-face derision. They sat, as did Speaker Pelosi, while Sen. Bernie Sanders scowled eloquently, during the standing ovation for the President’s promise that America would never become a socialist country. The President had just observed that Venezuela, once the richest country in South America, had become a pit of abject poverty and despair under socialist rule. No sign of compassion have Democratic Socialists shown for women rooting through trash seeking food for their children, and no trace of concern about the refugees fleeing into Colombia and other neighboring countries.
These congresswomen in white are blind to the White Ladies of Havana, Cuba, who march in silence every Sunday after church to protest the communist regime on behalf of their fathers, brothers, and sons who were jailed and tortured by the Castro brothers’ totalitarian regime for their anti-communist beliefs. A naturalized American citizen (a legal immigrant) who grew up in Communist Romania, Ileana Johnson, is dismayed that Americans have elected socialists to rule over our lives. Bernie Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez’s mentor, has praised Fidel Castro for educating and bringing healthcare to Cuban children, and “totally transforming” society. More
So congress read the Constitution: Well, isn’t that special
ppjg Constitution, corruption Boehner, congress, Constitution, Democrat, House members, oaths, Pelosi, Republican 22 Comments
Marti Oakley (c)copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved
“While this reading of America’s most historical and profoundly important document was read, congress men and women chatted with one another and I believe a few might have napped.”
I tried watching the swearing in of the new House for the 112th Congress. I couldn’t stand it. Standing on the steps outside the House, was one of the greatest collections of career liars,thieves and thugs ever publicly assembled, sprinkled with a few new-comers who probably believe they are actually going to affect a change in the District of Criminals.
By the end of January, these newbies will have been thoroughly indoctrinated and will have had the law laid down to them about how things really work in the District. The newbies will resurface along about February with their talking points memo’s in hand and will dutifully be spouting the party line and will have totally dismissed any notions they may have had about “changing” the way the District does business. More
Betrayed again: S.510 fake food safety loaded into government funding resolution
ppjg Uncategorized acts of treason, agriculture, congressional corruption, corruption, exports, food control, HR 2749, imports, Pelosi, Police State, Reid, S 510 10 Comments
“The intent is to derail the conversation from one of actual food safety, to one of “that’s not fair!”.
The argument is being put forward that it is not fair to exempt small farmers and ranchers from the corporate machine that would wipe them out. I find it strange to hear the word “fair” applied to this obviously staged conversation.” More
Welcome to the “House” that Corporations Built
ppjg corruption, Government Boehner, CORPORATIONS, Harry Reid, house, obamacare, Pelosi, Sarah Palin, senate 7 Comments
Ok! We’ve gone from blue to red. What an event! Why! It is positively historic! It’s a mandate! A landslide! A big steaming crock of BS the likes of which we will probably never see again….at least until 2012. What is it all you sheeple out there think you changed? Now we will effectively convert from a full headlong rush into socialism, to a full body tackle of corporate fascism. Yippee! Instead of dirty backroom deals perpetrated by the Democrats, we will now have even bigger dirtier deals perpetrated by the Republicans. The K-Street parasites have a raft of new-found friends and bags of corporate money to pass around and the wholesale sell-off and sell-out of America and her people will go on as if nothing happened; and actually nothing did. We just changed who gets to mug for the camera first; who gets to stare into the camera with all the fake honesty and sincerity they can muster and tell us another big fat lie. I could just cry with joy…..wonder if Glenn Beck has any Vicks left over?
This election has seen Sarah Palin morph from being former governor of Alaska, to “Christian Woman!”; able to leap across tall stacks of bibles as she pretends she knows what words with more than three letters mean! Although she has no idea what is in the Constitution, she can say that great big word! TaDA! She doesn’t know anything but she doesn’t have to. She is really pretty and she is now “Christian woman!” and they pay her big bunches of money to show up at meetings and recite the big words someone told her to say. More
Traitors in Our Midst
ppjg corruption audit the fed, banking cartels, Dodd, food, healthcare reform, income taxes, insurance giants, mortgage, Pelosi, Reid, taxes, traitors 1 Comment
J. Speer-Williams (c) copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved
Are Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and Joe Lieberman all as insane as they look and sound?
In case you have not yet been alerted, the above gang of pretended public servants are either truly insane, or they are working for some source other than that from which they draw their constitutional power.
But then again, the lawmakers in congress who heed Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence – that our government should rule “with the consent of the governed” – are so few as to nullify the good and wise intentions of our founding fathers. May God help us
It is the democratic leadership (of Pelosi, Reid, Dodd, Lieberman, Frank, and many others) that remains steadfast in its support of the draconian healthcare deformity, known as Obamacare, while recent polls show only 34 percent of those polled still supported the Healthcare “Reform” Act.
Requiring Americans and small businessmen to bear the cost of buying into the expensive, corporate health “care” plans of the Monetary Cartel’s mega-insurance giants, and into the ever-sliding quality of American medicine, all under the pain of huge fines and prison time, does not sit well with most informed Americans and could be the death knell for the American small business sector, and our middle class as well. More
Our “Leaders” Work for the Enemy
ppjg corruption congressional mobsters, consent of the governed, consumer purchases, corporate healthcare, Lieberman, Pelosi, public servants, Reid Leave a comment
But then again, the lawmakers in congress who heed Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence – that our government should rule “with the consent of the governed” – are so few as to nullify the good and wise intentions of our founding fathers.
It is the democratic leadership (of Pelosi, Reid, Dodd, Lieberman, Frank, and many others) that remains steadfast in its support of the draconian healthcare deformity, known as Obamacare, while recent polls show only 34 percent of those polled still supported the Healthcare “Reform” Act. More
Fools in April #2 House Speaker Nancy
Lynn Swearingen Uncategorized finance, Fools of April, HEALTH, insurance industry, Pelosi Leave a comment
by: Lynn Swearingen (c) copyright 2o10 ALL RIGHTS RSERVED
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s mouth issued the following during an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer.
Well, you know, some people will do anything for the insurance companies,”
Pelosi said of Boehner in an echo of the bitter fight over the health care bill.”
Apparently her brain did not engage or she might have remembered this strange little fact from OpenSecrets.org:
The largest Industry contribution to Madame Speakers campaign in the 2009 – 2010 cycle came from the “Health” sector with “Finance, Insurance and Real Estate” arriving a not so distant second.
Why not just return the donations raised by the evil “Lobbyist” from United Health Care last fall as the moral thing to do with the Health Care Bill before her?
Just as Speaker Nancy Pelosi begins to back away from the public option, the insurance industry holds a fundraiser for her. See David Sirota’s column republished at http://www.prosperityagenda.us/node/1775. Steve Elmendorf, a registered lobbyist for United Health, sent invitations to a Pelosi fundraiser at his home for this Thursday. The asking price: $5,000 for PACs and $2,400 per individual – the legal maximum for each.
Wonder where the Public Option went? I suppose “some people” will, well you know, do anything for the insurance companies.
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Tag: Ajit Pai
Feds to South Florida robocaller: Pay all of record fine, Abramovich
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, in a statement of considerable length, says a South Florida robocaller’s arguments don’t wash and he should pay every penny of a record $120 million fine.
As The Palm Beach Post reported, the FCC found Adrian Abramovich of Miami “is the perpetrator of one of the largest — and most dangerous — illegal robocalling campaigns that the Commission has ever investigated, making nearly 100 million robocalls in just a three-month period.”
The calls disrupted emergency lines, tying up a medical paging company among others, and misled consumers to think they were getting deals from companies like TripAdvisor, Expedia, Marriott and Hilton, officials said. Instead, consumers were directed to a discount-travel call center not affiliated with those firms, according to investigators.
Officials say making prerecorded telemarketing phone calls to people without prior consent is prohibited, and so is making them to emergency lines and deliberately falsifying caller ID to disguise identity with the intent to harm or defraud consumers.
Here’s the full statement from FCC chairman Ajit Pai issued Thursday:
“After the FCC proposed fining Adrian Abramovich $120 million last year for allegedly engaging in a massive spoofed robocall scheme, we gave him the chance to contest the allegations. Mr. Abramovich did in fact respond to our Notice of Apparent Liability. That response is more notable for what it doesn’t say than what it does.
Specifically, Mr. Abramovich doesn’t dispute that he was responsible for placing 96,758,223 robocalls during a three-month period in 2016.
He doesn’t dispute that all these robocalls were made without the recipient’s consent.
And he doesn’t dispute that all these robocalls were accompanied by inaccurate caller ID information, making it appear as though they were coming from the same community as the party being called, a practice known as ‘neighbor spoofing.’
What Mr. Abramovich does have to say in his defense isn’t very convincing. For example, he asserts that he had ‘no intent . . . to defraud, cause harm or wrongfully obtain anything of value.’ But if so, why did he include fraudulent caller ID information with each and every one of his 96 million robocalls? Friendly visitors don’t wear disguises to mask who they are. And why did the recorded messages indicate that the calls came from well-known travel or hospitality companies such as Marriott, Expedia, Hilton, and TripAdvisor, even though they were attempting to sell vacation packages at destinations unrelated to those named companies?
Moreover, Mr. Abramovich didn’t just have the intent to defraud or cause harm. He actually caused harm. Just ask his victims—a number of whom are elderly—who were duped into purchasing travel deals under false pretenses. Or ask Spōk, a Virginia-based medical paging service whose emergency communications services were disrupted by a flood of robocalls attributed to Mr. Abramovich’s companies.
Mr. Abramovich also claims that the consumers who received these robocalls were only harmed if the calls lasted for at least five minutes. So he says he should only be penalized for calls that long or longer. With all due respect, this is a ridiculous argument. I haven’t met a single American who likes getting these kinds of robocalls, regardless of length. And in any case, our rules against caller-ID spoofing certainly don’t permit spoofed robocalls so long as they string you along for 4:59 or less.
Tough enforcement is a key part of the FCC’s robust strategy for combatting illegal robocalls, and this Forfeiture Order represents a big step forward in our enforcement efforts. This is the largest illegal robocalling scheme that the FCC has investigated to date, and we are appropriately imposing a $120 million forfeiture in response. This is the largest forfeiture in the history of the FCC. Our decision sends a loud and clear message: this FCC is an active cop on the beat and will throw the book at anyone who violates our spoofing and robocall rules and harms consumers.
We would not have arrived at this result without the hard work of the Enforcement Bureau’s dedicated staff. They spent countless hours combing through the evidence and pulling investigatory threads together. I want to thank Vilma Anderson, Tamara Baxter, Jonathan Garvin, Lisa Gelb, Rosemary Harold, Richard Hindman, Lisa Landers, Latashia Middleton, Nakasha Ramsey, Stacy Ruffin Smith, Michael Scurato, Daniel Stepanicich, Kristi Thompson, Kimbarly Taylor, Kim Thorne, Melanie Tiano, Bridgette Washington, and Lisa Williford. You will continue to have our support as you seek to bring to justice the scofflaws and scammers who for too long have been bombarding Americans with unlawful robocalls.”
Attempts to reach Abramovich or an attorney were not immediately successful.
Author Charles ElmorePosted on May 11, 2018 May 23, 2018 Categories Federal Communications Commission, robocallsTags Adrian Abramovich, Ajit Pai, FCC, mobile breaking business, news, newsfeed, pbpmobile, pocket, robocallsLeave a comment on Feds to South Florida robocaller: Pay all of record fine, Abramovich
Senate toughens spoofing laws as robocaller fined $81M
Update 5 p.m.: The U.S. Senate unanimously approved legislation Thursday to crack down on spoofing, or falsifying caller ID.
The bill whose sponsors include Florida Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson aims to strengthen a 2010 law that prohibits scammers from altering caller ID information on calls made in the U.S. The legislation expands that ban to spoofing using text messages, calls made over the Internet and calls originating from a foreign country.
“Fighting scam artists is like playing a game of Whac-A-Mole,” Nelson said. “Once you think you’ve stopped them, they find other ways to continue to carry out their scams. This bill will better enable the government to punish fraudsters who use new technologies to pray on unsuspecting victims.”
The House passed a similar but not identical version in January. The Senate bill now heads to the House where they can opt to take it up and send it to the president or choose to go to conference on it, Senate aides said. Given that the House is now in recess, nothing can happen until they return in September.
Original post: An illegal robocaller pitching health insurance got handed a proposed $81 million fine for faking caller ID numbers to hide who was really behind more than 21 million automated sales calls, federal officials said Thursday.
That comes on the heels of a record $120 million fine for a South Florida robocaller hawking travel deals announced in June.
The target of Thursday’s action, Philip Roesel and his company, Best Insurance Contracts Inc. doing business as Wilmington Insurance Quotes, acted with evident “gall,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in a statement.
Pai said, “The record shows that he instructed his employees which consumers to pick on: ‘the dumber and more broke the better.’ He was even quoted as repeatedly bragging and ‘joking’ to co-workers that his actions were minor legal violations, akin to driving above the speed limit. But today, the whole operation hits a big speed bump.”
WHY COMPLAIN ABOUT ROBOCALLS? NEW CRACKDOWN IS WHY
Roesel did not immediately return a call to what a company website says is his cell phone number.
His North Carolina-based firm targeted “elderly, infirm and low-income families,” U.S. officials said. A company website refers to generating leads for Medicare supplement coverage and other products, many aimed at seniors.
Robocallers have often found Florida an attractive target, with the nation’s highest share of residents over 65, many on fixed income.
ILLEGAL ROBOCALLS TRACED TO SOUTH FLORIDA DRAW RECORD FINE
The law prohibits “spoofing,” or deliberately falsifying caller ID information, to disguise a caller’s identity with the intent to harm, defraud consumers, or wrongfully obtain anything of value, according to the FCC.
Roesel’s company made more than 200,000 robocalls a day and 21.5 million in all, agency officials said. They subpoenaed call records from last October to January.
Spoofed calls can make it appear a call is coming from a local number or an ordinary person, not a telemarketing company using a fixed number that consumers may wish to block or avoid. In other cases, scammers have even faked caller IDs that seem to be from the IRS, Microsoft or the local sheriff’s office.
“Consumers rely on caller ID information to make decisions about what calls to accept, ignore, or block,” an FCC statement said. “Accurate caller ID information is a vital tool that consumers use to protect their privacy, avoid fraud, and ensure peace of mind.”
Author Charles ElmorePosted on August 3, 2017 August 3, 2017 Categories robocallsTags Ajit Pai, Best Insurance Contracts, Bill Nelson, Federal Communications Commission, mobile breaking business, news, newsfeed, pbpmobile, Philip Roesel, robocalls, spoofing, Wilmington Insurance QuotesLeave a comment on Senate toughens spoofing laws as robocaller fined $81M
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Johnny Thunders - Live at the Speakeasy 18th Feb 1978
Posted by Alabaster Jones at 13:04
Johnny Thunders - Live in Stolkholm 18th June 1984...
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Johnny Thunders gigs from now until New years eve!...
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Our future security relies on protection from cyber threats
“Cybersecurity is crucial for the protection of society and for its prosperity and the sooner citizens comprehend this the better,” executive director of the recently formed Cyprus Cybersecurity Organisation (CyCSO) Executive Director Constantinos Tsiourtos told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).
“As our daily lives and our economy are increasingly dependent on digital technologies, our exposure to cybercrime risks is also growing. Malicious cyber-activities do not only threaten our economies and our progress towards digital single market, but also the very function of our democracy, freedoms and values. Our future security depends on adapting our capacity to protect the EU and the member states from cyber threats, our critical infrastructure is based on digital systems,” he said.
CyCSO was founded only a month ago and aims at informing companies and citizens of the risks to and vulnerability of their privacy. It is a private initiative led by the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Continue reading at source Cyprus Mail
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Why can't there be an error correcting code with fewer than 5 qubits?
I read about 9-qubit, 7-qubit and 5-qubit error correcting codes lately. But why can there not be a quantum error correcting code with fewer than 5 qubits?
AdexAdex
A proof that you need at least 5 qubits (or qudits)
Here is a proof that any single-error correcting (i.e., distance 3) quantum error correcting code has at least 5 qubits. In fact, this generalises to qudits of any dimension $d$, and any quantum error correcting code protecting one or more qudits of dimension $d$.
(As Felix Huber notes, the original proof that you require at least 5 qubits is due to the Knill--Laflamme article [arXiv:quant-ph/9604034] which set out the Knill--Laflamme conditions: the following is the proof technique which is more commonly used nowadays.)
Any quantum error correcting code which can correct $t$ unknown errors, can also correct up to $2t$ erasure errors (where we simply lose some qubit, or it becomes completely depolarised, or similar) if the locations of the erased qubits are known. [1, Sec. III A]*. Slightly more generally, a quantum error correcting code of distance $d$ can tolerate $d-1$ erasure errors. For example, while the $[\![4,2,2]\!]$ code can't correct any errors at all, in essence because it can tell an error has happened (and even which type of error) but not which qubit it has happened to, that same code can protect against a single erasure error (because by hypothesis we know precisely where the error occurs in this case).
It follows that any quantum error correcting code which can tolerate one Pauli error, can recover from the loss of two qubits. Now: suppose you have a quantum error correcting code on $n \geqslant 2$ qubits, encoding one qubit against single-qubit errors. Suppose that you give $n-2$ qubits to Alice, and $2$ qubits to Bob: then Alice should be able to recover the original encoded state. If $n<5$, then $2 \geqslant n-2$, so that Bob should also be able to recover the original encoded state — thereby obtaining a clone of Alice's state. As this is ruled out by the No Cloning Theorem, it follows that we must have $n \geqslant 5$ instead.
On correcting erasure errors
* The earliest reference I found for this is
[1] Grassl, Beth, and Pellizzari.
Codes for the Quantum Erasure Channel.
Phys. Rev. A 56 (pp. 33–38), 1997.
[arXiv:quant-ph/9610042]
— which is not much long after the Knill–Laflamme conditions were described in [arXiv:quant-ph/9604034] and so plausibly the original proof of the connection between code distance and erasure errors. The outline is as follows, and applies to error correcting codes of distance $d$ (and applies equally well to qudits of any dimension in place of qubits, using generalised Pauli operators).
The loss of $d-1$ qubits can be modelled by those qubits being subject to the completely depolarising channel, which in turn can be modeled by those qubits being subject to uniformly random Pauli errors.
If the locations of those $d-1$ qubits were unknown, this would be fatal. However, as their locations are known, any pair Pauli errors on $d-1$ qubits can be distinguished from one another, by appeal to the Knill-Laflamme conditions.
Therefore, by substituting the erased qubits with qubits in the maximally mixed state and testing for Pauli errors on those $d-1$ qubits specificaly (requiring a different correction procedure than you would use for correcting arbitrary Pauli errors, mind you), you can recover the original state.
Niel de BeaudrapNiel de Beaudrap
$\begingroup$ N.B. If you've upvoted my answer, you should consider upvoting Felix Huber's answer as well, for having identified the original proof. $\endgroup$ – Niel de Beaudrap Nov 30 '18 at 11:26
What we can easily prove is that there's no smaller non-degenerate code.
In a non-degenerate code, you have to have the 2 logical states of the qubit, and you have to have a distinct state for each possible error to map each logical state into. So, let's say you had a 5 qubit code, with the two logical states $|0_L\rangle$ and $|1_L\rangle$. The set of possible single-qubit errors are $X_1,X_2,\ldots X_5,Y_1,Y_2,\ldots,Y_5,Z_1,Z_2,\ldots,Z_5$, and it means that all the states $$ |0_L\rangle,|1_L\rangle,X_1|0_L\rangle,X_1|1_L\rangle,X_2|0_L\rangle,\ldots $$ must map to orthogonal states.
If we apply this argument in general, it shows us that we need $$ 2+2\times(3n) $$ distinct states. But, for $n$ qubits, the maximum number of distinct states is $2^n$. So, for a non-degenerate error correct code of distance 3 (i.e. correcting for at least one error) or greater, we need $$ 2^n\geq 2(3n+1). $$ This is called the Quantum Hamming Bound. You can easily check that this is true for all $n\geq 5$, but not if $n<5$. Indeed, for $n=5$, the inequality is an equality, and we call the corresponding 5-qubit code the perfect code as a result.
DaftWullieDaftWullie
$\begingroup$ Can't you prove this by no-cloning for any code, without invoking the Hamming bound? $\endgroup$ – Norbert Schuch Nov 23 '18 at 23:12
$\begingroup$ @NorbertSchuch the only proof I know involving cloning just shows that an n qubit code cannot correct for n/2 or more errors. If you know another construction, I’d be very happy to learn it! $\endgroup$ – DaftWullie Nov 24 '18 at 6:17
$\begingroup$ Ah, I see that’s the point of @NieldeBeaudrap’s answer. Cool :) $\endgroup$ – DaftWullie Nov 24 '18 at 6:56
$\begingroup$ Thought that was a standard argument :-o $\endgroup$ – Norbert Schuch Nov 24 '18 at 12:11
As a complement to the other answer, I am going to add the general quantum Hamming bound for quantum non-degenerate error correction codes. The mathematical formulation of such bound is \begin{equation} 2^{n-k}\geq\sum_{j=0}^t\pmatrix{n\\j}3^j, \end{equation} where $n$ refers to the number of qubits that form the codewords, $k$ is the number of information qubits that are encoded (so they are protected from decoherence), and $t$ is the number of $t$-qubit errors corrected by the code. As $t$ is related with the distance by $t = \lfloor\frac{d-1}{2}\rfloor$, then such non-degenerate quantum code will be a $[[n,k,d]]$ quantum error correction code. This bound is obtained by using an sphere-packing like argument, so that the $2^n$ dimensional Hilbert space is partitioned into $2^{n-k}$ spaces each deistinguished by the syndrome measured, and so one error is assigned to each of the syndromes, and the recovery operation is done by inverting the error associated with such measured syndrome. That's why the number of total errors corrected by a non-degenerate quantum code should be less or equal to the number of partitions by the syndrome measurement.
However, degeneracy is a property of quantum error correction codes that imply the fact that there are classes of equivalence between the errors that can affect the codewords sent. This means that there are errors whose effect on the transmitted codewords is the same while sharing the same syndrome. This implies that those classes of degenerate errors are corrected via the same recovery operation, and so more errors that expected can be corrected. That is why it is not known if the quantum Hamming bound holds for this degenerate error correction codes, as more errors than the partitions can be corrected this way. Please refer to this question for some information about the violation of the quantum Hamming bound.
Josu Etxezarreta MartinezJosu Etxezarreta Martinez
I wanted to add a short comment to the earliest reference. I believe this was shown already a bit earlier in Section 5.2 of
A Theory of Quantum Error-Correcting Codes
Emanuel Knill, Raymond Laflamme
https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9604034
where the specific result is:
Theorem 5.1. A $(2^r,k)$ $e$-error-correcting quantum code must satisfy $r \geqslant 4e + \lceil \log k \rceil$.
Here, an $(N,K)$ code is an embedding of a $K$-dimensional subspace into an $N$-dimensional system; it is an $e$-error-correcting code if the system decomposes as a tensor product of qubits, and the code is capable of correcting errors of weight $e$. In particular, a $(2^n, 2^k)$ $e$-error-correcting code is what we would now describe as an $[\![n,k,2e\:\!{+}1]\!]$ code. Theorem 5.1 then allows us to prove that for $k \geqslant 1$ and an odd integer $d \geqslant 3$, an $[\![n,k,d]\!]$ code must satisfy $$ \begin{aligned} n \;&\geqslant\; 4\bigl\lceil\tfrac{d-1}{2}\bigr\rceil + \lceil \log 2^k \rceil \\[1ex]&\geqslant\; \bigl\lceil 4 \cdot \tfrac{d-1}{2} \bigr\rceil + \lceil k \rceil \\[1ex]&=\; 2d - 2 + k \;\geqslant\; 6 - 2 + 1 \;=\; 5. \end{aligned} $$
(N.B. There is a peculiarity with the dates here: the arxiv submission of above paper is April 1996, a couple of months earlier than Grassl, Beth, and Pellizzari paper submitted in Oct 1996. However, the date below the title in the pdf states a year earlier, April 1995.)
As an alternative proof, I could imagine (but haven't tested yet) that simply solving for a weight distribution that satisfies the Mac-Williams Identities should also suffice. Such a strategy is indeed used
Quantum MacWilliams Identities
Peter Shor, Raymond Laflamme
to show that no degenerate code on five qubits exists that can correct any single errors.
Felix HuberFelix Huber
$\begingroup$ Excellent reference, thanks! I didn't know the Knill--Laflamme paper well enough to know that the lower bound of 5 was there as well. $\endgroup$ – Niel de Beaudrap Nov 30 '18 at 10:51
$\begingroup$ Thanks for editing! About the lower bound, it seems they don't address that five qubits are needed, but only that such code must necessarily be non-degenerate. $\endgroup$ – Felix Huber Nov 30 '18 at 11:05
$\begingroup$ As a side not, from the quantum Singleton bound also $n=5$ follows for the smallest code being able to correct any single errors. In this case, no-cloning is not required (as $d\leq n/2+1$ already), and the bound follows from subadditivity of the von Neumann entropy. C.f. Section 7.8.3 in Preskill's lecture notes, theory.caltech.edu/people/preskill/ph229/notes/chap7.pdf $\endgroup$ – Felix Huber Nov 30 '18 at 11:15
$\begingroup$ Unless I badly misread that Section, it seems to me that they show that no error correcting code exists for $r \leqslant 4$; it seems clear that this also follows from Theorem 5.1 as well. None of their terminology suggests that their result is special to non-degenerate codes. $\endgroup$ – Niel de Beaudrap Nov 30 '18 at 11:17
$\begingroup$ Sorry for the confusion. My side-comment was referring to the Quantum MacWilliams identity paper: there it was only shown that a single-error correcting five qubit code must be pure/non-degenerate. Section 5.2 in the Knill-Laflamme paper ("a theory of QECC..), as they point out, general. $\endgroup$ – Felix Huber Nov 30 '18 at 11:21
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged error-correction or ask your own question.
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Microsoft Unveils Upcoming Windows 7 VDI and Security Options
A Microsoft official briefly noted on Thursday that Microsoft is planning two new options for IT organizations using Windows 7 -- but the catch is that Software Assurance (SA) licensing needs to be in place.
One of the additions will be thin-client virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) technology for Windows 7 that Microsoft plans to roll out in the first quarter of this year. The company also is planning a new way for IT pros to manage BitLocker disk encryption, a feature available to users of the Windows 7 Enterprise or Ultimate editions.
The BitLocker management capability will be called "Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring." MBAM, as its known, will be designed to "help simplify BitLocker provisioning and deployment," according to Gavriella Schuster, general manager for Windows commercial business, in a blog post. Windows 7 customers with access to the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, a benefit of SA licensing, will be able to use MBAM.
Microsoft plans to roll out an MBAM beta in March through its Microsoft Connect portal, and those interested can sign up to be notified here (requires a Windows Live ID).
The upcoming thin-client VDI technology is called "Windows Thin PC," or "WinTPC," according to Schuster. She described WinTPC as "a smaller footprint, locked down version of Windows 7, designed to allow customers to repurpose their existing PCs as thin clients."
Microsoft already sweetened the deal somewhat for SA licensees back in July, when it extended VDI use rights as part of SA licensing benefits. At the same time, Microsoft also announced a Windows Virtual Desktop Access (VDA) subscription for those using thin-client devices. The VDA license is an extra cost because the use of thin clients for VDI deployments isn't included as a benefit of SA licensing.
Schuster clarified that future users of WinTPC technology won't have to buy a VDA license: "PCs with WinTPC will not require the VDA license that regular thin clients will need to access VDI desktops," she explained in the blog.
Veteran Microsoft watcher, Mary-Jo Foley, received an update from Microsoft indicating that a public beta of WinTPC will be released via the Microsoft Connect portal. However, no release date for the beta was indicated.
Microsoft also provided Foley with some clarifications about the confusing licensing details, and explained that WinTPC follows in the tradition of Microsoft's Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (WinFLP), which is a thin-client OS said to be based on Windows XP Embedded that's offered through SA licensing.
"WinTPC is the next revision to WinFLP," a Microsoft spokesperson explained. "WinFLP is based on the Windows XP SP3 platform, whereas WinTPC is based on the Windows 7 platform. However, WinTPC is not related to VECD. Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop (VECD) is very different from WinTPC. VECD was a software license that enabled licensed devices to access a Windows VDI desktop. WinTPC is a Software Assurance benefit and a locked down, smaller footprint version of the Windows 7 OS that is designed to help repurpose PCs as thin clients."
Microsoft did announce this week that Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 were released to manufacturers. SP1 contains cumulative updates for Windows 7, but not much more. However, a Windows blog did indicate that the service pack "includes client-side support for RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory which are two new virtualization features enabled in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1."
RemoteFX technology will enable thin clients to remotely access graphics-intensive applications using Remote Desktop Services and Windows 7 desktop virtualization on thin-client devices. However, whether or not users licensed to use RemoteFX technology will need WinTPC technology or licensing wasn't made clear in Schuster's brief comments.
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Elocution Lessons
by J. William Patrick
Dear Hubby of Mine
by Diane Phelps Budden
by Nidhi Kaur
Banzai's Unexpected Voyage
Powerful As F*ck
by Morgan Field
Poetica Erotica
by Tim Cross
Stuart Duffelmeyer and the Masters of Plagues
by Dewey B Reynolds
The Greatest Magician
by Elena Paige
by Maggie Aldrich
Curse of the Murderous Dummy
by Michael Ray Laemmle
Arias Archer & the Shadow Cloak
by Hamzah Malik
Mr. Moonbeam and the Halloween Crystal
by Ryan Cowan
The Art Flogger
by C. Edgar North
Hurricane Warning
by Matthew Ryan Defibaugh
Rooms of Ruin
Blood of the Isir Book 2
by Erik Henry Vick
Contact Author - Erik Henry Vick
Erik Henry Vick is an author who happens to be disabled by an autoimmune disease (also known as his Personal Monster™). He writes to hang on to the few remaining shreds of his sanity. His current favorite genres to write are dark fantasy and horror.
He lives in Western New York with his wife, Supergirl; their son; a Rottweiler named after a god of thunder; and two extremely psychotic cats. He fights his Personal Monster™ daily with humor, pain medicine, and funny T-shirts.
Erik has a B.A. in Psychology, an M.S.C.S., and a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence. He has worked as a criminal investigator for a state agency, a college professor, a C.T.O. for an international software company, and a video game developer.
He'd love to hear from you on social media:
Blog: https://erikhenryvick.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BerserkErik
Facebook: https://fb.me/erikhenryvick
Amazon USA: https://ehv4.us/amausa
Amazon UK: https://ehv4.us/amauk
Goodreads Author Page: https://ehv4.us/gr
BookBub Author Profile: http://ehv4.us/bbub
Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite
Rooms of Ruin is the second entry in the Blood of the Isir series by Erik Henry Vick, an epic fantasy packed with action, fast-paced, and set against the backdrop of an exciting imaginary world. A wicked queen, a curse from a cunning god, a traitor, and a trap that could end it all. A courageous man, Hank Jensen has proven that he still has what it takes to save his family. After battling powerful creatures and eluding the evil queen, he and his family are trapped in Osgarthr, and there is only one way out — journey to the rooms of ruin to reopen portals that connect the two worlds. But it’s what the evil queen has anticipated and she’s laid a trap for them. With a traitor among his friends, can Hank escape a grim fate?
Erik Henry Vick is a wonderful storyteller. He begins the story in the midst of scheming on the part of the evil ones. Readers get an idea of the severity of the crisis and understand that the protagonist could be walking into the jaws of death with his family. Hank is a compelling character and readers will enjoy following him as he struggles with a rare illness, a curse from a god, which continually weakens him. There are themes of friendship, family, and magic that are well developed, giving the story a sense of reality that enriches it. The chapters are designed to offer readers an engaging reading experience, each ending with an intelligent invitation to move on to the next one. The author is a master at creating suspense, developing subplots in the story that leave readers suspended, wondering what could happen next. This is a work of great imagination and I couldn’t help but be pulled in by the world building. The setting is a magical world with unique elements, the conflict is phenomenal, and the plot is well imagined and executed with brilliance. This novel is a great escape for fans of fantasy — hugely entertaining and infused with realism.
Romuald Dzemo
Rooms of Ruin is the second book in the Blood of the Isir series by Erik Henry Vick and it is compelling, well-written, and a gorgeous treat for fans of epic fantasy. Hank Jensen is a man cursed by a powerful god and punished with a rare disease. But that’s not all there is about his pain. After battling powerful mythical creatures and beings to rescue his wife and son, his family gets trapped in Isir, and as the days pass his curse gets worse, ravaging his body. Now with the help of friends, he must travel to the distant Rooms of Ruin to reopen the pathways of the two worlds. Hank and his newfound friends will not only meet with dire obstacles on the way, but there is a traitor among them who dances to the tune of the Dark Queen and is just waiting to do her bidding. Even worse is what awaits them at the journey’s end — the very labyrinth of the trap! Can they press on through the danger and outwit one as cunning as the Dark Queen?
I loved, loved, and loved this novel! It’s so well-plotted and driven by a conflict that is enormous, a conflict not only between persons and beings, but one between worlds. The world building is impeccable and readers will feel as if they are navigating a mythical landscape filled with mystery and deadly traps. I enjoyed the deft handling of the theme of family, friendship and adventure. You know a great author when they can create an extraordinary character and make you believe in the character, feel close to the character, and that is what Erik Henry Vick has done. The writing leaps majestically off the pages and the conversations feel so real, without losing the relevance of the setting. Rooms of Ruin is fast paced, tightly plotted, and filled with stuff to entice fans of the genre.
Grant Leishman
Hank Jensen, his wife, Jane, and their son, Sig, were at some time in the past scooped up from their quiet life at home in western New York and transplanted into a weird and frightening multiverse, ruled over by the Dark Queen. Hank and his disparate group of followers and friends must somehow find a way home, whilst avoiding the infamous Dark Queen whose sole purpose seems to be to destroy the Jensen team, a group that includes her own sister. In Rooms of Ruin (Blood of the Isir Book 2) by Erik Henry Vick, they are searching for a way to the Rooms of Ruin, where it is possible they can restart the process that brought them to this place originally. The Dark Queen, however, will harry them every step of the way with every conceivable trap, a traitor, and some horrifyingly gruesome creatures under her control. Hank and his friends are in a race for their very lives.
There are epic fantasies and there are hugely epic fantasies. Rooms of Ruin (Blood of the Isir Book 2) by Erik Henry Vick is definitely in the category of hugely epic fantasies both in terms of its length and its depth. I am not a big fantasy reader, but despite not having read the first book in this series, the author drew me in immediately and the pages of this novel just flew by. There is a little adjustment to be made, as a reader not having read the first book, to grasp the situational reality of the setting for this novel, but the warmth, the humanity and the subtle use of sarcasm and wit by the author just draw you in and keep you reading. The fight scenes are violent and vivid, but for me the best parts of this book are the dialogues between the members of the team, especially the interaction between the wives and their husbands; this had me chuckling continually at the lines. The imagination of and the world created by the author has to be admired. I am always in awe of excellent fantasy authors and Vick is definitely in that category. I highly recommend this book and, by association, this series.
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Home > Trains > Trans-Siberian travel guide > Trans-Siberian Guide > Trans-Mongolian-Train-003-004
Train 003/004 – life onboard the Trans-Mongolian train
Matthew Woodward shares his first hand experiences on board the only train that connects the 4735 miles between Moscow and Beijing via Mongolia each week.
Train 003 leaves Beijing westbound for Moscow each Wednesday morning, whilst train 004 travels east from Moscow each Tuesday evening, arriving in Beijing six days later. The route offers an interesting mix of Siberia, the Gobi desert and the mountainous region of Inner Mongolia. Moscow and Beijing are amazing cities to be able to travel between by rail.
003/004 is a Chinese train, pulled by local locomotives throughout its journey. As the line across Mongolia is not electrified it uses a mix of diesel and electric engines. For this reason the carriages are heated by coal fires rather than air-conditioned, and coal is taken on board two or three times each day as part of the routine.
The bulk of the train is made up of Chinese first and second class carriages, with additional local carriages (including the restaurant) added and removed on the Mongolian and Chinese borders. The wheel sets of the whole train are removed and replaced on the Chinese border to allow switching between the different gauge rails.
First class is quite different to second class on board this train. Each two-berth compartment has a shared sink and shower between the adjoining cabins - there are locking doors on both sides. The configuration is a lower and an upper berth, and a single seat on the other side of a small table. These coaches have thick carpets, wood effect paneling and silk seat covers.
In second class the feel is a little more spartan. Layout is more conventional with four berths to each compartment and no sink/shower room.
The berths are a good size throughout, with comfortable mattress pads on top of the berths. Cotton sheets and blankets are provided. The ride can be a bit bumpy at times, owing to the age of the carriages and accumulation of ice under the train in the winter.
Each compartment has central lighting and reading lights. First class compartments have their own 230v power sockets, whereas in second class there are just one or two sockets in the corridor. The voltage can vary quite a lot so be careful with sensitive equipment.
The compartments all have luggage space beneath the berths and also up top over the corridor. There is a metal box beneath the lower bed, so you can lift the seat and keep valuable belongings secure in here - access is only possible by lifting the bed. You can fit in a bag approximately 40 cm high and 70 cm deep and additionally up top there is room for smaller bags – up to 30 cm tall by 65 cm deep.
The carriages have fully opening windows in the corridor (for the summer), but those inside the compartments are sealed shut. These are fitted with extractor fans in the summer that are designed to keep the dust from the Gobi desert entering the train. The carriages can vary a lot in temperature, and often this is down to how regularly the guards add more coal onto the fire that heats the train.
There are two bathrooms, one at each end of the coach. There is no difference between classes, just the number of people who will share them. The western style toilets flush directly onto the tracks (using hot water to stop them freezing in winter). This means that they are always locked before arrival at stations and also at borders. Don't be surprised by the shot of steam that can materialize when the hot water meets the freezing temperatures outside! Overall the facilities are simple, sometimes clean, but always fully functional.
Security is generally good with doors that can be locked and double locked from the inside of the compartment. You should always use both locks, as the key that opens the carriage from the outside is widely copied. The guards will lock your compartment if you ask them to, for example when you get off at stops or visit the restaurant carriage.
Although, technically, smoking is no longer permitted in the Russian Federation, the end of the carriages by the train doors is often used for this purpose without complaint.
On this train you get to sample three restaurant carriages (but not all at the same time!) – always supplied by the country you are travelling in. The position of the restaurant in the train will vary, so it is worth asking before discovering it has moved to the opposite end of the train.
There is an interesting mix of tourists, travellers and cross border traders on this train. The restaurant will often be busy with European travellers, and this makes the atmosphere quite lively at times. Traders and locals tend to be in hibernation much of the time, and are rarely seen outside of their compartments.
Is this a good train to choose
This is a really good route for travellers, and as a result it is very popular - especially in peak summer season. The scenery is amazing and varies significantly throughout the journey. The train itself is quite well worn, but there is nothing in particular that presents a problem. The first class compartments are very comfy and worth considering if your budget permits. Don't let your decision be swayed by the en suite sink/shower though – the supply of water can be very limited and in winter plumbing problems often cause minor floods. Along with the fine views, the mix of travellers and different restaurant carriages really adds to the experience and makes the train an excellent choice.
Trains 003/004 on the Trans-Mongolian railway
Matthew Woodward is a rail adventurer, and the author a number of books about travelling from Europe to Asia along the Trans-Siberian railway. His books are available now in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.
Next: What to pack
Previous: What train and route to select
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Does it Matter That British Teen Suspected of Stabbing Teacher to Death Played Violent Video Games?
Matthew Feeney | 4.29.2014 12:01 PM
(smademedia/Foter)
Credit: smademedia/Foter
The Daily Mail is reporting that the teenager in England who is suspected of recently stabbing a teacher to death in front of students played "ultra-violent video games," "experimented with drugs," and threatened to commit suicide after he complained about bullying. The Mail also mentions that the 15-year-old boy's peers regarded him as a loner who mostly did well in school but "seemed increasingly troubled in recent months." The Grand Theft Auto series and Dark Souls are all mentioned as games played by the suspect in the Mail's reporting.
Most readers will remember that after the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in December 2012 it was reported that Adam Lanza enjoyed violent video games such as those in the Call of Duty series. In March 2013 The New York Times reported that according to one witness Lanza was a "shut-in and an avid gamer who plays 'Call of Duty,' amongst other games." According to The Daily Mail, Lanza also played Gears of War.
However, while it might be the case that many of those who commit violent crimes also played violent video games it is not clear that there is a causal relationship between playing violent video games and violent crime.
In the March 2014 issue of Reason Jacob Sullum points out that Lanza played Dance Dance Revolution every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in the months before the Sandy Hook massacre. No one is suggesting that Lanza's obsession with dancing as being causally related to his murder of 27 people.
Reason's Jesse Walker notes in the June 2014 issue of Reason that in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre there was support for action to be taken against video games across the political spectrum, with Donald Trump tweeting "Video game violence & glorification must be stopped—it is creating monsters!" and Vice President Joe Biden proposing a tax on video games.
It was not only Lanza's penchant for violent video games that some thought could in some way be linked to his violence; others pointed out that he had Asperger syndrome although, as Sullum points out, The New York Times noted that "there is no evidence that people with Asperger's are more likely than others to commit violent crimes."
Last year, Kotaku published an article on what 25 years of research on violence and video games has come up with. Kotaku notes that, "While there are no documented scientific links between video games and criminal violence, the question of whether violent video games lead to aggression has been hotly debated."
The article goes on to point out that "there have been two major meta-analyses" done on data relating to video games and violence and that the two groups that did studies on the data came to different conclusions.
Scientists such as Brad Bushman and Craig Anderson believe that there is "a definitive causal link between games and aggressive behavior." The Kotaku article notes that there is a distinction between aggression and criminal violence:
That distinction between criminal violence and aggression is critical. Science has yet to show any links between video games and violence, but violent games may have a more subtle effect on children: for example, they could make a child more inclined to bully or spread rumors about his peers.
However, researchers Chris Ferguson and Cheryl Olsen, who examined the same data as Bushman and Anderson, believe that there is no conclusive evidence between violence and video games. Ferguson told Kotaku:
I think anybody who tells you that there's any kind of consistency to the aggression research is lying to you, quite frankly… There's no consistency in the aggression literature, and my impression is that at this point it is not strong enough to draw any kind of causal, or even really correlational links between video game violence and aggression, even, no matter how weakly we may define aggression.
For more from Reason on video games click here, and be sure to check out Reason's June 2014 video game-themed issue.
NEXT: Gene Healy Says Obama Is Right on Clemency for Non-Violent Drug Offenders
Matthew Feeney is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute.
Video Games Violence
Dr Fallout
Dayz or Rust? Can’t decide which one to buy.
JPyrate
DayZ is fun. Its a challenge. It still needs a lot of work. (Beta) I never got Rust to work right so I don’t know whether or not to recommend it. Oh yeah in DayZ stay off the railroad tracks if you do not want to get robbed, stripped, handcuffed, and forced to eat rotten fruit. =)
That is precisely why I want the game!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bE0evRTuZU
That is some of the finest entertainment I have ever witnessed.
Honestly DayZ is an interesting social experiment. The “Regulators” are just as shitty as the “Bandits”. The Bandits will just shoot you, or torture you and take you stuff. The Regulators will take your weapons, and a few items, and leave you defenseless against the Bandits. When you do find a few individuals that are “Friendlies”, or at least won’t shoot you on sight. Most of the time some sort of mutual aid, or trade happens.
Agammamon
Planet Explorers.
Or, if you absolutely have to have zombies, 7 Days To Die.
SusanM
Rust. It’s still a little rough around the edges but DayZ needs Arma2 and a couple of it’s expansions to work so it’s a bit of an investment.
The *mod* version of DayZ does – there’s a standalone in development that does not, and uses an updated engine.
Beat me to it. =)
I heard he liked PB&J sandwiches.
No. Pretty much no non-American likes PB&J sandwiches.
Restoras
Next post, please.
it is not clear that there is a causal relationship between playing violent video games and violent crime.
It *is* clear, Matthew!
Commission of a violent crime causes the media to report that the perp played violent video games.
Does anyone NOT play violent video games anymore? I mean, I’ve been playing the shit out of TW: Rome II with the gore on. That probably counts for them. (“Playing the shit out of” now means about 3 hours total on the weekends and maybe 3 more hours on the weeknights.)
UnCivilServant
There are some people who don’t play “video games” but can’t put their smartphones down…
It’s mostly violent games. Gaming is a huge industry. Therefore, violent people play violent games along with nonviolent people playing violent games.
mad.casual
Does it matter? There’s a growing body of evidence that the challenge of games rather than actual content leads to aggression.
I bet total-rage and average-rage-over-time for games like Tetris, Bubble Bobble, Angry Birds, and Candy Crush far exceeds games like Call of Duty, Halo, or Titan Fall.
I think the more important question is being overlooked; regardless of whether Gears of War played a part in the homicide Lanza committed, did DDR play a part in his suicide?
Personally, the greatest rage I’ve felt for video games was in cases that were real-life or were meant to mimic the natural forces of real life.
Hundreds of hours of questing to have a player eradicated or the partition they’re stored on corrupted is more personality-warpingly frustrating than any of the violent content.
did DDR play a part in his suicide?
What? East Germans are still at work? (Reminds me of the pilot episode of “The Tick,” in which Tick and Arthur must stop Red Square, a robot created by the Soviets to kill Jimmy Carter, who had been president at the time the robot was built.)
Clearly you haven’t experienced the netcode of BF4.
wwhorton
I still love the game, but the “fix” seems to have just changed the problems rather than fixing them.
Warty
I’ve been playing the shit out of TW: Rome II
The only violence Rome 2 encourages is against its developers. You must be the only person who wasn’t hideously disappointed by it. “You want us to include magically-appearing transport fleets that are more powerful than the navies the player spent a shitload of denarii on? Good idea!”
I’m more annoyed that I can’t just split off units without a general, or expand a garrisson without one. My primary method of reinforcement of a failing front in earlier games was to sweep garrisons forward in an inexorable tide of small units that refilled (or replaced) the field armies before the whole side of the empire collapsed.
Yes, it does take some adapting. I hated this for a while, too. I’m good now.
“You want us to include magically-appearing transport fleets that are more powerful than the navies the player spent a shitload of denarii on? Good idea!”
You know, that is pretty much what the Romans did to defeat the Carthaginians. Just drafted sailors and put legions on boats. But I’ve been playing as the Pontics and rampaging around Turkey and the Black Sea. So far, no encounters with the Romans. But yeah, I didn’t like the main campaign.
Malkavian
^This. I gave up on Rome II after a few hours, and went back to Europa Universalis IV. Which also feels blander than predecessor (monarch points are not a very exciting dynamic). But at least fleets are not magic.
There are some mods that fix most of the most-glaring problems. I used one for a while, but then the game updated and it broke the mod and I haven’t bothered with it for months. At least I bought the game on sale, so I only wasted $30 on it.
The answer isn’t EU4, it’s CK2. Murdering children = great fun.
Yeah? Well, I just re-downloaded Gal Civ II.
God, I’m old.
CK2 is great fun. I’m running through EUIV using a save game converter, and hoping I can get my EU4 save into Vic3 and HoI4 eventually. Grand roleplay game – start with a single illiterate Norwegian dude in 868 and end up a superpower in 1950’s or whenever.
Ultra-violence? Did he like Ludwig van and the old in-and-out as well?
only when drinking velachrome.
Welly-well, my little droogies!
No time for the old in-out, love; just came to read the meter.
So, no regard for the millions of purveyors of violent videogames who never commit any crimes? (Aside from the manditory three a day due to contradictary laws, I mean real crimes.)
Yes, but according to concerned mothers, if just one commits a crime, then we should ban all games.
Obviously the solution is to ban mothers.
Or, rather, employ them in the underground monocle mines.
You fool, naturally mined monocles are not the most efficient means of production. A monocle mine isn’t going to maximize your returns unless you find a segment of the market that can be suckered into believing that the flawed products dragged from the ground are somehow superior to the manufactured artificial variety due to their rareness and not because they’re generally crap and hard to extract. Take a look at DeBeers for some inspiration.
“most efficient means of production”
What are you, a dirty, dirty capitalist? 😉
The goal is it employ the busy-body mothers (think of the poor children I am saving).
I like Venn diagrams. Certainly there is going to be some overlap between violent pyschopaths and video game players.
Any thoughts on the effects on violent crime rates that might be precipitated by a ban on violent video games?
I’ll speculate they would be unchanged or rise slightly.
Heroic Mulatto
Well, Great Britian, if you’re going to pretend that immersion in the doctrines of radical jihadist Islam had nothing to do with the decapitation of Lee Rigby, then you can’t pretend that immersing oneself in the world of Grand Theft Auto leads to real-life violence. That is, you can’t unless you want to be viewed as a fucking hypocrite.
Lady Bertrum
The hole in your reasoning is that the Brits, like many people, have little trouble being viewed as fucking hypocrites.
They also have little trouble with being viewed as fucking sheep.
In what sense? Deference to authority, or high quality webcam, fast internet, and attractive sheep?
Your post isn’t cryptic enough to be malkavian.
Deference to authority – the British Isles don’t have fast internet so they don’t have webcam shows of their sheep shenanigans.
Can an island be a hypocrite?
I know they are pretty far gone over there, but have they reached the point of thinking with one mind?
And yes, I know what metonymy is.
Please, video game banners, please keep making the argument that video games are causing this, we will keep showing that Violent video game sales coincide with drop in violent youth crimes.
I’m not a gamer. (I do sometimes kill aliens with Emily Grace.)
But it is interesting that what I understand was the first, first-person shooter, Doom, premiered in 1993. 1993 was also the year the U.S. crime rate quit rising and started to drop.
Vice President Joe Biden proposing a tax on video games.
Is there anything Joe Biden doesn’t want to tax? Actually, I could do a correlation between things Joe Biden wants to tax and violence, and then argue that Joe Biden taxing things causes violence, thus we must stop taxing things. For the children!
“No one is suggesting that Lanza’s obsession with dancing as being causally related to his murder of 27 people.”
“No one” asked me.
Like I said, I think the more important point is being missed;
If a couple more hours of DDR had caused him to commit suicide about 5 min. earlier no one would be asking about his Gears of War habit.
Notorious G.K.C.
I certainly don’t think gaming leads to real-world violence.
But depending on the game, as with any form of art, it can either uplift or degrade. The games where you save the princess or the world from evildoers are great – the games where you score points for running down pedestrians may well cultivate a certain indifference to suffering which, if it doesn’t turn players into killers, could let people be less likely to empathize.
Do any gamers want to chime in?
Dances-with-Trolls
I think it’s far more likely that giving people a safe space to engage in such power fantasies is likely to reduce it’s occurrence in the real world. Why take a risk when a safe, consequence free ego boost is just a joystick away? I suppose if one delights in wanton violence, plays obsessively, and, particularly, anti-socially, then perhaps that could speed up a trend that was, in all probability, in existence already. Or perhaps it could slow it down through the aforementioned dynamic. At heart is the neverending desire for people to make sense out of the senseless, or at least, the impossibly complex to make themselves feel safer and secure in the fantasy of an ordered world. Video games are just another target on an endless list.
I play violent online FPS games 4 or 5 days a week, I’m an introverted misanthropic prick, and I’ve yet to go postal despite the fact that I read Reason daily. I think the evidence speaks for itself.
“I’ve yet to go postal”
which wasn’t my point
Did you actually have one then? If the consequence of indifference to suffering caused by video game violence isn’t going postal then who gives a shit?
Again, I don’t mean *all* video game violence. I refer to the attitude communicated by the violence – it matters whether you’re defending the world against zombies (a Good Thing, let me emphasize) or stealing a car and running people over.
And I’m not advocating a ban – just discussing possible effects of the legal behavior.
And, as PM pointed out, it *has* no effect on his legal behavior. As such, who cares if his heart is hardened to the suffering of others – he doesn’t hang out with other people anyway.
I’m not a gamer, but it seems to me that any game is mostly about mastering skills and solving puzzles far more than anything uplifting or degrading.
As far as I am concerned, Super Mario World is the pinnacle of video game goodness and the saving the princess aspect of it is completely irrelevant to my enjoyment of the game. But maybe the actual plot has more to do with enjoying these big fancy games all the kids are into these days, I don’t know.
I’ll chime in.
Short answer: video games don’t affect one’s ability to empathize with other humans any more than movies, tv, literature, or music. Sociopaths will remain sociopaths no matter how often they watch Schindler’s List or play Nintendogs; no amount of GTA will make an otherwise normal, healthy person develop a penchant for cruelty, sadism, or narcissism.
As Dances says, games of all sorts where the player identifies with the main character does offer an opportunity to experiment with different behaviors in an environment without real consequences. Even then, many players make choices consistent with their personal morality. It’s very much like paper-and-pencil RPGs; people do certainly play characters that are totally different, but many people find it hard to behave in a way that isn’t consistent with their personal code of conduct even in a fictional setting where it’s encouraged.
Besides which, what exactly is the mechanism by which a normal child plays video games and transforms into a sociopathic murderer? So far, the explanations all seem like a variation on osmosis, and I’m not buying it.
Random cooperative online games that require high degree of coordination. Play World of Tanks for a while, and watch your faith in humanity diminish.
Save a princess from evildoers? What are you, twelve years old?
You are aware that this is a discussion about video games, right?
Exactly – who the hell plays games like that?
I don’t think I’ve seen a ‘rescue the princess’ game in decades and all the ‘save the world’ games comes with stupid moral choices where either your a doormat or you eat live kittens in front of kindergarteners. If anything, *those* games push you towards evil just so you can maintain a little self-esteem.
“Hero! You must take these shoes over to that guy 100 yards away and give them to him! Then he will give you slightly better shoes that you will bring back to me! The fate of the world hangs in the balance! No I won’t give you the important quests now! I don’t trust you enough yet! But if you do enough menial tasks for me I will!”
Gindjurra
Actually, going by crime rates, playing violent games has the opposite effect. Gamers as a demographic group have about one tenth the violent crime rate that the general public does. Generally, exploring violence in the game reduces the likelihood of exploring it out on the streets.
flye
I hear Donald Sterling played Bioshock Infinite and chose to throw the ball at the interracial couple at the raffle.
Taking his coffee black these days, is he?
The quote that keeps on giving today…
You know why Rifkin was a serial killer? Because he was adopted. Just like Son of Sam was adopted. So apparently adoption leads to serial killing.
Most young men play violent video games. Most violent crimes are committed by young men, and have been since long before there were video games. Why would anyone think that the video games have any causal role here?
The plural of “post hoc ergo propter hoc” is now “causation”.
Agreed, Richard ‘The Iceman’ Kuklinski grew up largely before the video game era. By his own recollection he is to have been involved in or committed between 100 and 250 murders over his 40 yr. career. He was convicted of 3 and died in prison. Depending on how much fiction you want to wade into and believe, he’s hardly outstanding in his field (see Whitey Bulger).
Lanza killed 26 in the span of five minutes.
If video games motivate people like Lanza to do what they did, it could easily be perceived as having made serial killers less motivated, less organized, and less innovative.
What’s schadenfreude is that, you can highlight equally valid traces between Sandy Hook, Columbine, Oklahoma City, and Ruby Ridge/Waco but nobody’s doing any studies on how oppressive state action motivates these incidents second and third-hand.
I suspect he also breathed aur, drank water and ate food. So did every other murderer in history.
Argh, AIR (not gold, heh). We have to login to post, why can’t we have an edit button?!?
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Home / News / 2017 / Redland Saxon Blue Takes The Woad North
Redland Saxon Blue takes the woad north
Aesthetically attractive and simple to install, Saxon 10 Slates from Redland were a straightforward choice when it came to roofing a ground-breaking £6.2 million care facility for those with dementia.
“The blue slates contrast particularly well with the red facing bricks and pleased both the planners and the client,” said architect Steve Howmans of the award-winning Coachhouse 8 practice. “They’ve attracted a lot of favourable comments from everyone including the roofers, who said they were easy to install.”
Built for Newcastle-based charity Eothen Homes, the 60-bed home, is recognised as the first of its kind in the North East, because it has been designed using research into the needs of people living with dementia. Eothen says the venue will provide a family environment where quality of life is at the top of the agenda and a key part of the design is “freedom, security and space”.
There are four households, each providing accommodation for 13 people, and every household has its own kitchen, dining and lounge areas to encourage everyone to live a life as close as possible to the one they did before. There are also eight apartments ideal for spouses whose partners are being cared for plus a guest room.
Manufactured with a riven surface, cut back interlock, thin leading edge and chamfered side edges, Saxon 10 Slates mimic quarried slate but have features that only machine-made tiles can deliver, such as single nail fixing and no requirement for eaves or top slates.
The 1,275m2 roof is at a pitch of 30º, though the slates can be laid at a minimum pitch as low as 17.5º, which extends the possibilities for designing distinctive roofscapes. The project also employed Redland ridge and verge components.
“I’ve been specifying Redland slates and tiles for 20 years and never had any issues – they’ve always been delivered on time and I had no reason to change so I gave the client the choice of four samples, but with a bias towards Saxon,” Mr Howmans commented.
Two vibrant, rich colours are available: A Black that matches the black-grey slate of Scotland; and Blue, which is based on the blue-grey slate quarried in Snowdon. The slates have a high quality acrylic-coated paint finish, creating a rich and consistently coloured roofscape.
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February 23, 2019 por Nat Alison
We’re excited to announce an ongoing effort to maintain official translations of the React documentation website into different languages. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of React community members from around the world, React is now being translated into over 30 languages! You can find them on the new Languages page.
In addition, the following three languages have completed translating most of the React Docs! 🎉
Spanish: es.reactjs.org
Japanese: ja.reactjs.org
Brazilian Portuguese: pt-br.reactjs.org
Special congratulations to Alejandro Ñáñez Ortiz, Rainer Martínez Fraga, David Morales, Miguel Alejandro Bolivar Portilla, and all the contributors to the Spanish translation for being the first to completely translate the core pages of the docs!
Why Localization Matters
React already has many meetups and conferences around the world, but many programmers don’t use English as their primary language. We’d love to support local communities who use React by making our documentation available in most popular languages.
In the past, React community members have created unofficial translations for Chinese, Arabic, and Korean; by making an official channel for these translated docs we’re hoping to make them easier to find and help make sure that non-English-speaking users of React aren’t left behind.
If you would like to help out on a current translation, check out the Languages page and click on the “Contribute” link for your language.
Can’t find your language? If you’d like to maintain your language’s translation fork, follow the instructions in the translation repo!
Hi everyone! I’m Nat! You may know me as the polyhedra lady. For the past few weeks, I’ve been helping the React team coordinate their translation effort. Here’s how I did it.
Our original approach for translations was to use a SaaS platform that allows users to submit translations. There was already a pull request to integrate it and my original responsibility was to finish that integration. However, we had concerns about the feasibility of that integration and the current quality of translations on the platform. Our primary concern was ensuring that translations kept up to date with the main repo and didn’t become “stale”.
Dan encouraged me to look for alternate solutions, and we stumbled across how Vue maintained its translations — through different forks of the main repo on GitHub. In particular, the Japanese translation used a bot to periodically check for changes in the English repo and submits pull requests whenever there is a change.
This approach appealed to us for several reasons:
It was less code integration to get off the ground.
It encouraged active maintainers for each repo to ensure quality.
Contributors already understand GitHub as a platform and are motivated to contribute directly to the React organization.
We started off with an initial trial period of three languages: Spanish, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese. This allowed us to work out any kinks in our process and make sure future translations are set up for success. I wanted to give the translation teams freedom to choose whatever tools they felt comfortable with. The only requirement is a checklist that outlines the order of importance for translating pages.
After the trial period, we were ready to accept more languages. I created a script to automate the creation of the new language repo, and a site, Is React Translated Yet?, to track progress on the different translations. We started 10 new translations on our first day alone!
Because of the automation, the rest of the maintenance went mostly smoothly. We eventually created a Slack channel to make it easier for translators to share information, and I released a guide solidifying the responsibilities of maintainers. Allowing translators to talk with each other was a great boon — for example, the Arabic, Persian, and Hebrew translations were able to talk to each other in order to get right-to-left text working!
The Bot
The most challenging part was getting the bot to sync changes from the English version of the site. Initially we were using the che-tsumi bot created by the Japanese Vue translation team, but we soon decided to build our own bot to suit our needs. In particular, the che-tsumi bot works by cherry picking new commits. This ended up causing a cavalade of new issues that were interconnected, especially when Hooks were released.
In the end, we decided that instead of cherry picking each commit, it made more sense to merge all new commits and create a pull request around once a day. Conflicts are merged as-is and listed in the pull request, leaving a checklist for maintainers to fix.
Creating the sync script was easy enough: it downloads the translated repo, adds the original as a remote, pulls from it, merges the conflicts, and creates a pull request.
The problem was finding a place for the bot to run. I’m a frontend developer for a reason — Heroku and its ilk are alien to me and endlessly frustrating. In fact, until this past Tuesday, I was running the script by hand on my local machine!
The biggest challenge was space. Each fork of the repo is around 100MB — which takes minutes to clone on my local machine. We have 32 forks, and the free tiers or most deployment platforms I checked limited you to 512MB of storage.
After lots of notepad calculations, I found a solution: delete each repo once we’ve finished the script and limit the concurrency of sync scripts that run at once to be within the storage requirements. Luckily, Heroku dynos have a much faster Internet connection and are able to clone even the React repo quickly.
There were other smaller issues that I ran into. I tried using the Heroku Scheduler add-on so I didn’t have to write any actual watch code, but it end up running too inconsistently, and I had an existential meltdown on Twitter when I couldn’t figure out how to send commits from the Heroku dyno. But in the end, this frontend engineer was able to get the bot working!
There are, as always, improvements I want to make to the bot. Right now it doesn’t check whether there is an outstanding pull request before pushing another one. It’s still hard to tell the exact change that happened in the original source, and it’s possible to miss out on a needed translation change. But I trust the maintainers we’ve chosen to work through these issues, and the bot is open source if anyone wants to help me make these improvements!
Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to the following people and groups:
All the translation maintainers and contributors who are helping translate React to more than thirty languages.
The Vue.js Japan User Group for initiating the idea of having bot-managed translations, and especially Hanatani Takuma for helping us understand their approach and helping maintain the Japanese translation.
Soichiro Miki for many contributions and thoughtful comments on the overall translation process, as well as for maintaining the Japanese translation.
Eric Nakagawa for managing our previous translation process.
Brian Vaughn for setting up the languages page and managing all the subdomains.
And finally, thank you to Dan Abramov for giving me this opportunity and being a great mentor along the way.
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Recycling Initiative Supports United Way Program
BY GENE STOWE, FOR NDWORKS
A recycling initiative at the Morris Inn has delivered some 125 pounds of unused shampoo and 86 pounds of soap – gathered one little bottle or bar at a time – to a United Way program that distributes the goods to local food pantries.
Organizers hope to boost collections during football season and eventually spread the project to other local hotels. Housekeepers simply drop leftover toiletries they collect from rooms into a bucket rather than into the trash.
“We collected used shampoos and conditioners and used bar soaps,” says Sheila Breining, housekeeping lead at the Morris Inn. “It’s at least one five-gallon bucket per month. I’m anticipating with October being busy like it is, it might be two buckets.”
When the bucket is full, Breining calls Andy Boes, a junior political science major from Seattle, Wash., who is hall president at Dillon Hall.
Boes, who interned with United Way of St. Joseph County last spring and is interning again this fall, launched the project to support the agency’s People Gotta Eat initiative with a group of area food pantries.
“One of the needs is these non-food necessity items,” says Boes, who was on a panel that reviewed grant applications for basic needs. “The food pantries are starting to distribute things like that. I was made aware of this need for non-food necessity items.”
Last year, Boes ran a program that encouraged students to use their expiring flex points to purchase such goods at The Huddle. Then he arranged to start the program at Morris Inn.
“Dillon Hall is collecting the items and delivering them so United Way doesn’t have to pick them up,” he says. “They call m e once the buckets are filled. I pick it up and it’s still in the bottles.
“Some of the food pantries that get it in the end combine bottles. The end user that picks it up from the pantry hopefully would recycle the plastic.”
Karen Sommers, United Way’s vice president of community investment, says the goods address a growing need in the community, where 20 percent of people coming to food banks have not used the services before.
“You can’t use food stamps for personal care products, and if you’re low on money and trying to pay your rent or utilities, it is often something that is put on the back burners,” she says.
Of the 17 food pantries collaborating in People Gotta Eat, the Food Bank of Northern Indiana AIDS Ministries, Catholic Charities, Church Lady and Friends, Share Your Blessings and Southgate Food Pantry have signed a memorandum of understanding with the university to receive the goods.
The program started in May. To support it across the summer, Erin Hafner, sustainability program manager in the Office of Sustainability, arranged for interns to handle the pickup and delivery.
“We’re real excited to be involved,” says Hafner, who met with Boes and Jessica Brookshire, associate director for public affairs, to set up the summer work.
“What we’re doing for our office is tracking the weight of these products that we’re removing from the Morris Inn that would typically go into our waste. We’re including it in our recycling number.”
Boes, who hopes to have a career in the nonprofit field, plans to use the numbers as he markets the initiative to other local hotels to boost supplies for People Gotta Eat.
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View PDF VersionPrevious ArticleNext Article
DOI: 10.1039/C7RP00014F (Paper) Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2017, 18, 441-456
Cooperative learning in organic chemistry increases student assessment of learning gains in key transferable skills†
Dorian A. Canelas *a, Jennifer L. Hill b and Andrea Novicki c
aDepartment of Chemistry, Duke University, Box 90346, Durham, NC 27708-0346, USA. E-mail: dorian.canelas@duke.edu
bTrinity College Office of Assessment, Duke University, Box 104819, Durham, NC 27708, USA
cCenter for Instructional Technology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0198, USA
Received 11th January 2017 , Accepted 10th February 2017
First published on 10th February 2017
Science and engineering educators and employers agree that students should graduate from college with expertise in their major subject area as well as the skills and competencies necessary for productive participation in diverse work environments. These competencies include problem-solving, communication, leadership, and collaboration, among others. Using a pseudo-experimental design, and employing a variety of data from exam scores, course evaluations, and student assessment of learning gains (SALG) surveys of key competencies, we compared the development of both chemistry content knowledge and transferable or generic skills among students enrolled in two types of large classes: a lecture-based format versus an interactive, constructive, cooperative learning (flipped classroom) format. Controlling for instructor, as well as laboratory and recitation content, students enrolled in the cooperative learning format reported higher learning gains than the control group in essential transferable skills and competency areas at the end of the term, and more growth in these areas over the course of the term. As a result of their work in the class, the two groups of students reported the most significant differences in their gains in the following areas: “interacting productively to solve problems with a diverse group of classmates,” “behaving as an effective leader,” “behaving as an effective teammate,” and “comfort level working with complex ideas.” Our findings clearly show that cooperative learning course designs allow students to practice and develop the transferable skills valued by employers.
Many of the essential skills cited by employers (Carnevale et al., 1990) are best characterized as soft, generic, or transferable skills which are often not explicitly addressed or assessed in introductory science or engineering courses. One study's conclusions emphasized the “importance of the combined technical-soft skill set” (Bailey and Mitchell, 2007). This finding arose from analyses of interviews with top level supervisors, senior managers, and CEO's, revealing that “of the 23 skills identified as the most critical by 75 percent or more of respondents, 57 percent were technical and 43 percent were soft skills” (Bailey and Mitchell, 2007). Examples of these highly valued skills include oral communication and listening: both are clearly key aspects of effective performance in most professional job settings. Other desirable employee characteristics, such as cultural competency, teamwork, and leadership, enhance the ability of individual contributors to function as part of a diverse group. When compared to specific chemical content knowledge often explicitly targeted in course learning goals, these are examples of “skills which are more holistic, and which need to operate across wide ranges of contexts” (Taber, 2016). Without a doubt, many times “soft skills predict success in life,” (Heckman and Kauz, 2012) so we therefore have a duty as leaders of the technical professions to make certain that students are given many opportunities to develop these skills as part of their formal coursework.
Calls for colleges and universities to focus more on ensuring that science and engineering students are trained with parallel development of technical content knowledge and generic core competencies for the non-academic workplace have resounded for more than a decade (Kerr and Runquist, 2005; Martin et al., 2005; Shuman et al., 2005). Graduates cited feeling well-prepared for the technical aspects of their jobs – such as problem solving and readiness for life-long learning – but they also lamented weaknesses in formal training in terms of their readiness to effectively participate on teams or lead/manage interdisciplinary teams (Martin et al., 2005). Although this gap in transferable skills has been well documented for many years, researchers find that disparities continue to exist between targeted student competencies in the classroom environment and the full set of actual skills needed in technical professions. As an illustration, authors of a study focused on outcomes for undergraduate chemistry students note that “Some employers find chemistry graduates lacking written- and oral-communication skills, critical-thinking skills, group-work skills, as well as the ability to efficiently analyze data and retrieve chemical information” (Ashraf et al., 2011). Self-ratings of proficiencies reveal that the “ability to effectively work in a team” is a poorly rated skill in the college setting by students who have not yet started their careers (Baytiyeh, 2012). This skill is highly valued by both employers and students, but recent college graduates express greater confidence in their skills than employers report is warranted (Hart Research Associates, 2015). Perhaps most importantly, this same skill has the highest rating for necessity on the job (higher than all of the technical skill indicators) when ranked by those who are surveyed after they have been working for some time as technical professions (Baytiyeh, 2012). Similarly, recent chemistry graduates in the UK gave transferable skills higher “usefulness” rankings than chemical knowledge and skills (Hanson and Overton, 2010). Yet, when the same graduates were asked about the development of these transferable skills in their degree programs, they provided relatively low ratings for their development (Hanson and Overton, 2010). This assertion of a misalignment of the skills developed in the classroom setting and the interactive nature of true scientific discourse outside of the classroom environment is supported by a study that classified industrial chemists as transitional in their problem solving skills (Randles and Overton, 2015). Indeed, practicing chemists in industry occupy the process skills space between novice student learners and seasoned academics well-versed at open ended problem solving and intellectual discourse (Randles and Overton, 2015). A question then arises: can chemical educators improve the development of generic skills that industrial chemists need for high level functioning in the multidisciplinary teams often associated with the most complicated problem solving through revision of the curriculum or classroom environment?
The importance of generic or transferable skills has led to them being codified in the accreditation requirements for degree programs by organizations such as the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), American Chemical Society (ACS), and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) (ACS, 2015; ABET, 2016; RSC, 2016). As an illustration, for institutions to maintain accreditation of their bachelor's degree programs, RSC key requirements list transferable key skills for undergraduates such as “oral communication” and “an ability to interact with other people” (RSC, 2016). Similarly, the ACS committee on professional development's guidelines for bachelor's degree programs notes that institutions should provide “opportunities for students to learn to interact effectively in a group to solve scientific problems and work productively with a diverse group of peers” (ACS, 2015). The ABET expects programs to meet student learning criteria in three categories: technical, personal, and interpersonal skills (Baytiyeh, 2012). For the latter category, expected student outcomes include “An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences” and “An ability to function effectively on teams that establish goals, plan tasks, meet deadlines, and analyze risk and uncertainty” (ABET, 2016).
Since there is a mismatch in students’ perceptions of their own levels of competence with generic skills and employer reports (Hart Research Associates, 2015), what should undergraduate programs do to improve student outcomes in these areas? Some institutions endeavor to answer this question by developing a new course specifically focused on generic or transferable skills rather than on chemical content knowledge (Ashraf et al., 2011). Most chemistry departments, on the other hand, prefer to keep all courses that count towards the major focused primarily on technical skills and content knowledge. With this in mind, researchers have demonstrated that undergraduate science students can increase their proficiency in communication and teamwork skills through active learning pedagogies and curriculum innovation (Pontin et al., 1993; Bailey et al., 2012; Mittendorf and Cox, 2013; Whittington et al., 2014). Many science professors will point to the laboratory portions of courses as a place where skills such as collaboration and communication are practiced (Lowery Bretz et al., 2013). Indeed, laboratory experiences can be used and are often used to satisfy accreditation requirements for transferable skills. Moreover, laboratory classes have been explicitly shown to enhance development of soft skills for science students, especially when the instructor regularly and actively rotates the roles exercised by students in groups (Lategan, 2016). This is certainly a step in the right direction, but given the data reported by graduates of science and engineering programs, are laboratory experiences alone truly sufficient for developing students’ generic skills?
We aimed to aid and assess the development of both chemistry concept knowledge and students’ generic or transferable skills during their first year of college. We did this by employing inquiry-based, small group learning activities in an intentionally interactive, constructive, cooperative learning classroom format, and then comparing students’ learning outcomes in concept knowledge and generic skills to those of students enrolled in a lecture-based, or more passive, course. In this way, we could evaluate which types of knowledge and skills are most enhanced by the different types of classrooms.
This work is grounded in the ICAP theory (Chi, 2009; Chi and Wiley, 2014), which employs direct, overt observations of student behaviour during their learning opportunities as a proxy for varying levels of cognitive engagement. Observed behaviours are categorized into modes: Interactive, Constructive, Active, and/or Passive (ICAP). According to Chi and Wiley, “The ICAP hypothesis predicts that as students become more engaged with the learning materials, from passive to active to constructive to interactive, their learning will increase” (Chi and Wiley, 2014). Indeed, a large-scale, double-blind, randomized study supported the theory that student-centered, active-learning approaches improve science content learning when compared to teacher-centered approaches such as lecturing (Granger et al., 2012). While some recent studies have shown that organic chemistry content knowledge improves for undergraduate learners when they are in active learning classrooms as opposed to lectures (Hein, 2012; Conway, 2014), other studies have shown no differences in measured content knowledge outcomes (Dinan and Frydrychowski, 1995; Bradley et al., 2002; Chase et al., 2013; Rein and Brookes, 2015). We hypothesize that moving along the ICAP continuum toward the more interactive and constructive modes of learning in the classroom space will preserve acquisition of content learning while simultaneously improving learner confidence with important transferable skills such as teamwork, leadership, and collegiality.
To avoid confusion with terminology, and recognizing that frequently used words sometimes mean different things to different scholars, our use of language for describing the two types of classrooms in this study must be careful and deliberate. When describing our work, we will use the terms “control” and “lecture” fairly interchangeably. We will also use the word “experimental” and the phrase “cooperative learning” fairly interchangeably. In the latter case, the consistent language we have chosen here will be employed throughout the text to encompass the classroom format and/or students enrolled in the classroom format that involves the kinds of learning and activities that scholars in the field might refer to using many other words and phrases, such as student-centered, flipped, constructive, active learning, activity based, process oriented, inquiry guided, small group or team learning. We choose to clarify terminology here because we drew from a variety of traditions in developing the cooperative learning organic chemistry classroom format.
We present results from a case study that involves using the ICAP strategy for increasing student development of generic, transferable skills during the first semester of introductory organic chemistry in a large enrolment environment. Outcomes for students in the two cooperative learning sections were compared to outcomes for students in two traditional lecture sections of approximately the same size. Both formats were taught by the same instructor. Assessments of these student populations were conducted in three areas: psychological affect as a function of time (previously published) (Barger et al., 2015, 2017), formal summative assessments via assigned work and exams worth points in the course, and students’ self-reports of learning gains. For the latter purpose, which is the focus of this contribution, a Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) survey instrument (Seymour et al., 2000; Jordan, 2012; Vishnumolakala et al., 2016) was developed and employed for comparison of the outcomes for students in the two types of classroom environments. Results for analyses of these surveys, student course evaluations through the established college system, and comparisons of results on graded course tests and assignments are presented herein.
Objectives and description
The primary learning objective was to teach students to routinely use inquiry, analysis, critical thinking, and the basic principles of scientific reasoning via the content of organic chemistry. In the cooperative learning sections of the course, this objective was developed through small-group constructivist, interactive group problem solving sessions during class. The instructor clearly conveyed expectations that the students would individually complete the assigned pre-class work on a regular basis as preparation for higher level problem solving with peers during class (flipped classroom). We intended to assess their learning and affect in comparison with that of students in a more traditional lecture setting. In the context of organic chemistry, we aimed to increase student comfort with constructing their own knowledge, which is an important skill for all professionals. Because teaching methods in organic chemistry and other gateway science courses are frequently cited by students who decide to leave STEM (Seymour, 1995; Seymour and Hewitt, 2000; Daempfle, 2004) or pre-health tracks (Barr, 2010; Barr et al., 2010), the study also intended to explore the way innovations in class format and learning activities might influence students’ perceptions of science instruction.
Description of course sections, pedagogy observations
Four sections, two lectured-based and two activity-based, were taught in the spring semester at a private, mid-size university in the southeastern United States. All sections were defined as large classes by the university (≥60 students); enrolments for sections included in this study ranged from 132 to 158 students. All sections met in the same classroom: a sloped, theatre-style lecture hall with central and side aisles and forward facing seats. The instructor presentation space included one large central presentation screen, two periodic tables on side walls near the front, chalk boards, and a bench top suitable for chemical demonstrations at the front of the classroom (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 Photograph taken from near the centre of the classroom.
Course registration process. During the initial registration period prior to the beginning of classes, students were not alerted that the sections would be taught in different formats. However, announcements about class formats were made during the first week of class as learners in the active-learning classes were assigned to their initial groups. All sections had open seats in the registrar's system during the add-drop period; per university policy, individuals had the option to move freely from one section to another during the first week of the term without instructor permission (add-drop period). The small incidence (<5%) of student movement between sections prior to the administration of baseline SALG survey was not actively tracked by researchers. No students requested instructor permission to change sections during the second week of classes; at the end of the second week, rosters were frozen and students could no longer change their class schedules without a formal course withdrawal (incurring a “W” for the term).
Class time and resources. All sections met for an equivalent amount of class time per week with the instructor of record (150 minutes), and all students had identical labs and discussion (recitation) meetings, which were staffed by teaching assistants. The same instructor led all sections, and identical problem sets and final exams were given to both the control and experimental groups. Students completed graded homework problems online via Sapling Learning, and they were also encouraged to complete ungraded textbook exercises on their own to enhance concept understanding. In addition, both course formats used the same course webpage so that all of the supportive resources were identical for all students. In summary, every student had access to the same exercises, worksheets, resources, and a comprehensive set of video lectures broken into short segments. For example, students in the control group attended traditional live lectures during class time, but they also had access to all of the in-class worksheets completed by the experimental group in real time if they wanted to complete those on their own or with a study group. On the other hand, students in the experimental group completed worksheet-based activities in small groups during class time, but they also had access to both PowerPoint slides from the control group lectures and short video lectures if they wanted to watch lectures outside of class. All sections used a personal response system (clickers) so that students could submit individual answers in real time to multiple choice questions and review examples during class.
All sections worked through the same amount of material: concepts covered in the first thirteen chapters of the required textbook for the course (Loudon, 2009). The only difference was how class time with the instructor of record was employed. More details about this difference are described in the following subsections. The overall structure of the gateway chemistry curriculum at the institution in this study have been previously published (Hall et al., 2014; Canelas, 2015; Goldwasser et al., 2016).
Numerous resources were available to students during their study time. Besides the instructor of record office hours, each graduate student teaching assistant was assigned to work two hours per week in the “Chemistry Resource Room.” The schedule for the Chemistry Resource Room was posted near the beginning of the term, and any student could drop in during any of the open times. The university also supported nine hours of evening and weekend “Walk-in Tutoring” which was staffed by undergraduates who had previously earned an A grade in the class. No appointments were needed for any of these resources, and attendance at these times for learning was not tracked by name on an individual student basis.
Assessments and grading. Every section was assessed by three in-class tests (mid-term exams), which were spaced roughly evenly throughout the semester. The mid-term exams were different for the different sections, eliminating the chance that students taking the test later could receive unauthorized information about the specific problems, but similar material and concepts were covered. All students took a uniform, comprehensive common final exam at the end of the term. The 300 point final exam was comprised of twenty multiple choice questions (worth 100 points), and a free response section with nine questions that involved writing mechanisms, predicting products, explaining concepts via essay, interpreting spectral data to deduce unknown structures, and devising retrosynthetic analysis schemes (worth 200 points). A more widely used, standardized exam, such as one from the ACS exams institute, was not used due to a previously observed ceiling effect with this type of exam in our courses. These mid-term tests and the final exam accounted for the majority (67.5%) of the available points towards the overall course letter grade. Another large amount of available points (25%) were earned through completion of the laboratory portion of the course, which was part of the overall course grade and not a separate grade. The remaining 7.5% of the points were earned from the assigned Sapling online homework for the control group and split between the assigned Sapling online homework and graded in-class group activities for the experimental group.
Description of control classroom. Lecture classes were taught in a “traditional” lecture format using a combination of oral presentation aided with PowerPoint slides and the instructor writing mechanisms or working examples on the chalk board. In addition to the interpolated clicker questions to check understanding, the instructor employed cold-calling. This involved randomly drawing names from a cup in real time so that a few students each class provided oral responses. On some occasions, such as when clicker responses showed that many students did not select the correct answer on their first try, students were asked to talk to neighbouring classmates prior to re-polling, but formal groups were never assigned.
Description of experimental classroom. Cooperative learning classes (experimental group) relied heavily on students working through concepts and application problems in class through small, cooperative peer teams (4–6 students per group) while the instructor and TAs circulated between the groups. As previously described (Barger et al., 2017), during the active learning sessions, students worked in small groups on activities drawn from the Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) (Moog and Spencer, 2008; Moog et al., 2009), Student Centered Activities for Large Enrollment Undergraduate Programs (SCALE UP) (Oliver-Hoyo and Beichner, 2004; Oliver-Hoyo, 2011), and problem manipulation (Siburt et al., 2011) traditions while the professor and teaching assistants circulated to engage in the discussions. Teams were initially assigned randomly using decks of cards – a process that was transparent to the students. Then, after each in-class test, teams were reassigned based upon the test scores so that each team included a mix of relatively high, medium, and low performers. This method of group assignments has known advantages and disadvantages. Advantages included balancing teams in terms of class performance and content knowledge as well as exposing students to the challenge of working with a larger, more diverse group of peers over the course of the semester. The process had disadvantages in terms of logistics (for example, some class time needed for students to find their new team and meet new teammates after each test) and overall group dynamics, as long-term teams are well-known to be the highest functioning. Most of the in-class activity worksheets for the cooperative learning class were drawn from material published at that time (Straumanis, 2009) or unpublished at the time (Ruder, 2015), but used with the permission of the author in a beta-test environment. Some of the more advanced application activity worksheets were composed by the instructor (see Barger et al., 2017 for an example).
Various types of active, cooperative, small-group learning classroom environments for undergraduate organic chemistry have been previously reported in the literature (Dinan and Frydrychowski, 1995; Bradley et al., 2002; Tien et al., 2002; Hein, 2012; Chase et al., 2013; Conway, 2014; Fautch, 2015), so this work drew from the successes and lessons learned by examining the prior work. The instructor of record for the sections in this study had been teaching general chemistry classes in a cooperative learning classroom format with small, interactive student teams for several years, so basic challenges related to logistics and handling student teams during class time had been thoroughly addressed. In addition, a small section (36 students) using the cooperative learning format and group activities in this specific organic chemistry course was piloted by the instructor in the year before the experimental sections studied herein, so it was not the maiden voyage of the activities or classroom format for the course.
Classroom observations. Each semester, the amount of active learning in a classroom was assessed by direct observation via unannounced classroom visits at least four, usually five times per semester. The first week of classes and exam periods were avoided, but other dates were selected randomly through a random number generator. The instructor was unaware of the visit date before class, and the observer took an unobtrusive seat to avoid calling any attention to their presence.
The observer sat in the back of class and noted what the instructor and students were doing during class every 5 minutes. These observations were converted to percentages of time spent in active learning. For the purposes of this study, “active learning” during class is defined as anything course-related that all students in a class session are instructed to do other than simply watching, listening and taking notes (Felder and Brent, 2009). For the current study, a time point was scored as active learning only when all students were engaged in a learning activity. Active learning results are expressed as a percent of the total observations.
Student course evaluations. Students in all sections had the opportunity to complete formal, end-of-term course evaluations via a link located on the Student Information System website. This questionnaire evaluated overall course experience, course dynamics, and Likert-scaled estimations of progress toward College-level learning objectives. It also provided spaces for free-response comments. Students were assured that these responses remained completely anonymous to the instructor and were not available until after all final grades were officially recorded by the University. These course evaluations were collected and compiled by the College's Office of Assessment.
Survey procedure and methodology
Following SENCER-SALG standard procedure (Jordan, 2012), surveys were provided to students electronically outside of class time through a link sent by email and included in announcements on the course webpage. Students were informed that the instructor would not see any results until after grades were submitted, and that their names would not in any way be associated with their responses. A SALG baseline (pre-survey) was collected at the beginning of the term right after the add-drop period ended (week 3). In the last week of the term, students rated their own gains in competencies and perceptions of learning on a SALG instrument (post-survey). Students in every section were offered the opportunity to complete these online surveys at the two time points during the semester. The response rate ranged from 78.3% to 97.5% of the students in each of the sections completing the surveys. Students were provided a very small amount of extra credit (3 bonus points; there were 1000 total points possible in the course) for completing each survey, and this surely contributed to the high response rates. To ensure that participants felt comfortable responding frankly to survey items, individual survey responses were kept confidential (not available to the instructor during the term), and students were informed in advance that this would be the case. In addition, each participant had the option to skip survey items if he or she did not want to answer for any reason, so n-values experience some variation between the survey items.
For each survey item, the differences in the responses of the control and experimental groups were assessed by Student's t-tests; a p value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Reported numerical error values are the standard error of the mean (σM).
Description of sample
All participants were full time undergraduates who enrolled in the first semester of a two semester course sequence of introductory organic chemistry during the spring semester (please see the previous section for content and pedagogy details). From the total population of students enrolled in the class sections in this study (N = 567), approximately half were in the control group (traditional lecture sections, n = 270) and the remainder of the students were in the experimental group (activity-based learning sections, n = 297).
Demographics. Both groups of students were similar in terms of gender composition and other key demographics (Table 1). Students who self-identify as Asian/Pacific Islander were slightly over-represented in the lecture classes (control group), as were women. Caucasians and men were slightly over-represented in the cooperative learning sections (experimental group).
Table 1 Description of the sample: demographics
Control group
Experimental group
n Students
% Students
Female 169 63 176 59
Male 101 37 120 40
Unknown gender 0 0 1 0
African-American 34 13 39 13
American-Indian/Alaskan native 3 1 1 0
Asian/Pacific Islander 106 39 103 35
Caucasian 100 37 121 41
Hispanic/Latino 20 7 28 9
Native Hawaiian 1 0 1 0
Other race/ethnicity 6 2 4 1
First generation 24 9 31 10
Non-first generation 246 91 266 90
Student predictions of future majors and careers. On both of the surveys described in the previous section, students responded to a small number of items relating to college major plans and career goals (Table 2). Because the institution does not allow students to formally declare their majors and minors during their first year of study, we were happy to learn that 16 ± 3% of the students enrolled in the course, all sections, planned to become chemistry majors. Undergraduates planning chemistry majors were slightly over-represented in the experimental group. We were also happy to discover that the percentage of students predicting a chemistry major declaration did not decline during the semester regardless of the format of the course.
Table 2 Future career and potential college major interests reported by students in the baseline SALG survey
Affirmative (yes) responses to the following items
a n ranges pre: control 219–224; expt. 254–261. b n ranges post: control 196–203; expt. 244–247.
Baseline (pre) surveya
I plan to major in chemistry (n = 479) 13 18
I plan to attend a health-related professional school (medical, dental, vet, pharmacy, etc.) (n = 485) 76 85
I plan to attend graduate school in the natural sciences (n = 476) 37 42
I plan to gain employment as an engineer (n = 475) 8 8
Post surveyb
I plan to gain employment as an engineer (n = 442) 10 9
The majority (76–85%) of the participants in both types of sections self-reported to be planning a pre-health course of study, indicating that they hoped to attend medical, dental, veterinary, or pharmacy school in the future. In these professions, which often involve extensive patient contact and require working in diverse teams of professionals, interpersonal skills are deemed especially important, and practice with these skills is considered an essential part of curricula (Makoul et al., 1998; Noble et al., 2007; Murdoch-Eaton and Whittle, 2012).
Approximately one third of the students answered “yes” to the item “I plan to attend graduate school in the natural sciences.” Apparently some of the students planned a future MD/PhD. The pre/post survey showed small declines (3–5%) in student future plans to attend health professional school or graduate school over the course of the semester. Eight to ten percent of the enrolled students planned to gain employment as an engineer.
Factor analysis and statistical methods
Researchers, most notably Vishnumolakala et al. (2016), have established the SALG as a psychometrically sound measure of core learning objectives in undergraduate STEM education. As a technique, factor analysis often is used to identify the central constructs underlying a complex dataset and around which survey items cluster (Fabrigar et al., 1999). However, in addition to its base questionnaire, the SALG permits local customization of supplemental question sets, thus complicating any replication of or comparison with the findings from similar studies. Like Vishnumolakala et al., this study deployed an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to detect latent commonalities among the survey items under review. However, our SALG administration included 97 items, compared to Vishnumolakala et al.'s original 62. EFA allowed us to draw “bigger picture” conclusions about domains of student learning across individual questionnaire items.
Since both studies involved introductory organic chemistry courses, one reasonably might expect to observe the same four factors as Vishnumolakala et al. However, EFA was conducted for all of the questionnaire items concurrently, regardless of their likely categorization, thus producing a factor structure that is an authentic representation of the item associations and groupings that may be unique to this analytic sample. The present factor analysis was conducted using SAS Software, version 9.4, and specifying the promax option for oblique rotations (Cureton and D'Agostino, 1983; Gorsuch, 1983; Fabrigar et al., 1999), and it reveals three of the four constructs previously reported by Vishnumolakala et al.: process skills, concept learning, and active learning. The latter factor we have elected to describe using the term “interactive learning” herein (rather than active learning), since that phrase seems to fit our items better. We observed a fourth construct as well, but the questions loading onto that construct generally do not represent “resources”, as observed by Vishnumolakala et al. Rather, the pattern of factor loadings suggests that the fourth factor in this study represents “chemical modeling.” The labeling or categorization of factors requires interpretive discretion by the analyst, and given that many SALG questions could be attributed to multiple learning objectives, these deviations from Vishnumolakala et al.‘s findings are not unexpected. Table 3 displays the alignment of SALG items with each of the four observed factors, including the factor loadings (representing the strength of the association between the item and the observed factor).
Table 3 Factor loadings for the SALG post-tests (n = 154)
SALG item number
Factor loadings
Concept learning
Chemical modeling
Process skills
To illustrate face validity (Nevo, 1985), Table 4 provides examples of the SALG items attributed to each of the factors/constructs. The questionnaire items loading onto each of the detected factors/constructs are reasonable and intuitive.
Table 4 Factor analysis constructs and sample items
Examples of SALG items in that construct
Interactive learning How much did interacting with the instructor during class help your learning?
How much did working with peers during class help your learning?
Concept learning Presently, I understand how to plan workable multi-step sequences of reactions that convert simple starting compounds into complex organic products using my knowledge of functional group reactions.
I can list several common synthesis methods for, as well as several common reactions of: alkenes.
Process skills Presently, I can interact productively to solve problems with a diverse group of classmates.
Presently, I am in the habit of using systematic reasoning in my approach to problems.
Chemical modeling Presently, I understand how to predict 3-D shapes and polarity of molecules.
Presently, I understand orbitals, including atomic, hybrid and molecular.
Table 5 lists summary statistics that endorse the overall factor structure. Calculating percent of variance enables an estimation of the proportion of variance in the 57 survey items captured by the four selected factors. Cumulatively, the four constructs represented by these factors account for 77.5% of the variance. This high proportion likely is due to the large number of SALG questions loading onto the factors representing constructs “concept learning” and “process skills” (18 and 27 questions, respectively). Eigenvalues often are used to determine how many factors should be retained in the EFA. Because an eigenvalue of 1.0 means that the factor has the same explanatory power as a single variable in the analysis, higher eigenvalues represent greater explanatory power for that construct (Kaiser, 1960; Kim and Mueller, 1978). The factor representing the construct “process skills” has the most explanatory power, followed by “concept learning”. Cronbach's alpha (α) is a frequently employed and well-regarded estimate of internal reliability: the internal consistency among the questionnaire items attributed to the composite construct (Cronbach, 1951). Low alpha coefficients indicate high error, however the study results’ alpha coefficients all exceed 0.70, the commonly-accepted threshold for construct reliability (Nunnally, 1978). This study confirms, like Visnumolakala et al., that the SALG instrument measures essential, core learning objectives in undergraduate STEM education, and does so with a high degree of internal reliability and demonstrable construct validity.
Table 5 Summary results of the exploratory factor analysis and associated check of internal reliability
Percent variance 12.55 24.65 9.88 30.42
Eigenvalue 5.78 7.59 3.68 35.25
Cronbach's alpha (α) 0.9521 0.9573 0.8806 0.9670
Classroom format and content knowledge
Data analysis from the direct observations and recordings of overtly passive versus overtly active learning in the classrooms revealed large differences in the classroom environments. For the control group, an average of 18% of class time was spent on active learning tasks using the criteria described in the methods section; remaining time was spent on passive tasks such as listening and taking notes. In contrast, for the experimental group, an average of 66% of class time was spent with all students engaged in active learning tasks.
In spite of these large differences in the amount of time spent on passive versus active learning, students in both types of classroom formats performed similarly in terms of demonstrated application of content knowledge in chemical problem solving on the final exam. On a final exam with a maximum score of 300 points, the control group's mean score was 192.6 ± 2.8, while the experimental group's mean score was 191.8 ± 2.8 of (p = 0.846; for students who took the final exam: control group n = 258, experimental group n = 287). Indeed, no statistically significant difference was found when the overall final exam performance when these group were compared, and there were also no statistically significant differences in performances on the multiple choice portion of the exam. This finding is not surprising given that the exam focused on individual problem solving and content knowledge since the same content was provided to both groups. In addition, even the “lecture” format course employed a personal response system (clickers) and contained some shorter periods of intentionally interactive learning, so this could have contributed to the lack of difference in our summative assessment results.
These results confirm similar findings by several research groups who reported that changes in organic chemistry classroom formats did not significantly affect outcomes on summative assessments (Dinan and Frydrychowski, 1995; Bradley et al., 2002; Chase et al., 2013; Rein and Brookes, 2015). Interestingly, a pre- and post-test study for flipped versus lecture general chemistry classes (Reid, 2016) revealed that the “exam performance in the two sections is statistically different only for the bottom third, as measured by pretest score or percentile rank” (Ryan and Reid, 2016). Relatively weaker students were also found to benefit more than their stronger peers in terms of outcomes on tests in a flipped organic chemistry context (Fautch, 2015). On the other hand, our results offer a counterpoint to most other reports on college learning, which show a general trend of superior performance by students in flipped, inquiry-based, and/or other types of cooperative learning classroom environments (Freeman et al., 2014; Weaver and Sturtevant, 2015; Hibbard et al., 2016; Warfa, 2016). As an illustration, two recent studies specifically in organic chemistry revealed test performance benefits for learners in student-centered, active-learning organic chemistry classrooms (Hein, 2012; Conway, 2014).
Our study did not reveal a difference in exam performance for the groups in the two different conditions, perhaps because there were no real chemistry content knowledge learning differences, or perhaps because of confounding variables that mitigated any differences. On the latter point, even our passive, lecture classroom did include some active learning, which may have impacted the student outcomes for this condition on the summative assessment. In addition, our student population is from a highly selective university in terms of undergraduate admissions standards, similar to that reported by Bradley and coworkers (Bradley et al., 2002), who also did not see significant effects of classroom format on test scores. The interplay between students’ personal epistemologies and classroom formats may also have played a role, since students with authority-based justifications of knowledge tend to prefer and perform well in lecture format classes (Barger et al., 2015, 2017). Finally, the difference in format may have had a differential impact on a segment of our student population which was not revealed by our analysis. We did not examine the differential impact of active learning on different student populations (by demographics, previous grades, or pre-matriculation standardized test scores, for example), which may have revealed useful information similar to previous findings in studies which looked at student preparation distribution aspects in the analyses (Fautch, 2015; Reid, 2016; Ryan and Reid, 2016).
Results from the SALG survey items on course content knowledge gains are mixed. For each of the four factors (multi-item constructs), t-tests were used to explore possible differences in ratings between the groups, illustrated in Table 6. SALG items have a range of 1 to 5, where 5 is high. The analysis finds no statistically-significant overall differences in student self-evaluation of learning on items associated with the constructs chemical modeling and interactive learning but do show moderate and statistically-significant differences in the constructs concept learning and process skills (Table 6). Given the variety of learning outcomes included in the concept learning construct, and noting that not all questionnaire items associated with that construct show statistically significant differences across course formats, it is possible that the broad inclusivity of the SALG's concept learning construct masks specific, item-level learning outcomes. Item-level results presented in Table 7 suggest no statistically significant differences in a number of items attributed to the concept learning construct (such as how to draw the stereoisomers of chiral compounds, and how to identify the stereochemical relationship between structures) which may be better analytic matches for the performance tasks required by the course final exam. The analytic utility of Tables 6 and 7 are described in greater detail in the following section.
Table 6 Comparison of construct indexes for each of the two classroom formats: means, standard errors, and t-test results. Construct indexes have a 5-point range, where 5 is high
σ M
** Pr |t| < 0.01. * Pr |t| < 0.05.
Interactive learning 152 3.34 0.10 226 3.56 0.10 0.2206
Concept learning 205 4.25 0.06 263 4.38 0.06 0.1339*
Chemical modeling 205 3.65 0.05 263 3.58 0.04 −0.065
Process skills 205 3.43 0.06 258 3.68 0.05 0.2527**
Table 7 SALG post survey mean values, standard deviations, and t-test results: comparing control and experimental group construct index item responses for interactive learning, chemical modelling, and concept learning. SALG items have a 5-point range, where 5 is high
How much did each of the following aspects of the class help your learning?
**** Pr |t| < 0.0001. *** Pr |t| < 0.001. ** Pr |t| < 0.01. * Pr |t| < 0.05. σM = standard error of the mean.
Interacting with the instructor during class 3.18 0.14 3.61 0.11 0.434*
Interacting with the instructor during office hours 3.25 0.15 3.48 0.12 0.233
Working with teaching assistants during class 2.66 0.20 3.20 0.15 0.543*
Working with teaching assistants outside of class 2.83 0.22 3.26 0.17 0.436
Working with peers during class 2.72 0.25 3.10 0.20 0.383
Working with peers outside of class 2.50 0.24 3.11 0.19 0.610*
Walk-in tutoring 3.37 0.13 3.69 0.10 0.318*
As a result of your work in this class, what gains did you make in your understanding of each of the following?
How to use resonance, when it is present, to predict the reactivity of a given compound 3.67 0.08 3.63 0.07 −0.041
How to draw Lewis dot structures 3.56 0.09 3.42 0.08 −0.142
How to assign formal charge 3.83 0.08 3.65 0.08 −0.177
How to predict 3-D shapes and polarity of molecules 3.73 0.08 3.87 0.07 0.139
Orbitals, including atomic, hybrid and molecular 3.45 0.08 3.35 0.07 −0.101
How to recognize the difference between conformations, constitutional isomers, and configurational isomers, including enantiomers 4.27 0.06 4.38 0.05 0.106
How to identify chiral molecules 4.44 0.05 4.52 0.04 0.088
How to draw the stereoisomers of chiral compounds 4.43 0.05 4.45 0.05 0.013
How to identify the stereochemical relationship between structures 4.32 0.05 4.34 0.05 0.016
How to explain the mechanisms of uni- and bimolecular substitutions and eliminations 4.30 0.06 4.27 0.05 −0.027
How to identify nucleophiles and electrophiles and predict reactions between them 4.22 0.06 4.20 0.05 −0.023
How to write a proper reaction mechanism for a given reaction with known products 4.35 0.06 4.28 0.06 −0.069
How to write mechanisms to predict outcomes for a half dozen types of addition reactions 4.37 0.06 4.31 0.06 −0.063
How to determine whether or not a reactive intermediate will rearrange its internal structure prior to further reaction 4.29 0.06 4.25 0.06 −0.043
How to identify all the functional groups present in a given organic chemical 4.34 0.06 4.38 0.05 0.042
How to propose and predict the outcome of acid–base reactions 4.17 0.06 4.04 0.06 −0.134
How IR, NMR, and mass spectroscopy work & how I can use each kind of spectrum to identify structural facets of an unknown molecule 4.12 0.07 4.32 0.05 0.196*
How to plan workable multi-step sequences of reactions that convert simple starting compounds into complex organic products using my knowledge of functional group reactions 4.01 0.07 4.31 0.05 0.304**
(I can) list several common synthesis methods for, as well as several common reactions of:
Alkyl halides 4.43 0.06 4.65 0.05 0.226**
Alkenes 4.44 0.07 4.75 0.05 0.307***
Alcohols 4.38 0.07 4.58 0.06 0.206*
Ketones and aldehydes 4.08 0.07 4.29 0.06 0.203*
Carboxylic acids and their derivatives 3.99 0.08 4.30 0.06 0.304***
Transferable skills development
The most compelling results in this study were large differences found between the groups in the students’ perceptions of their development of transferable skills (Table 8). Reviewed in concert with Table 7, t-test results for individual SALG items, there is compelling evidence that students in the experimental group felt that they achieved higher levels of interpersonal and group learning skill development (soft, generic, or transferable skills) than their peers in the control group.
The biggest overall differences between the groups on the SALG post survey were the student responses to the following three items, all of which were prompted with “As a result of your work in this class, what gains did you make in the following skills?”
• Behaving as an effective team member
• Behaving as an effective leader
• Interacting productively to solve problems with a diverse group of classmates
All three of these items had highly statistically significant results in terms of differences observed between the groups (p < 0.0001 in all cases), with the experimental group reporting greater gains than the control group (Fig. 2 and Table 8). In contrast, skills that were not affected by the difference in classroom formats, such as skills related to the laboratory work, revealed no differences between the groups. For example, no statistically significant difference was found in participant's responses to the item “As a result of your work in this class, what gains did you make in the following skills: finding published data I need for lab work and report writing” (p = 0.6525). This item's lack of statistically significant differences between the groups completely makes sense, because all students were in the same format of laboratory. In fact, student assignment to a lab section had no correlation to the assignments in a specific classroom section of the course, so students from both groups were frequently in the same lab sections.
Fig. 2 Student assessment of learning gains in key transferable skills: control versus experimental groups. Skill 1: finding published data I need for lab work & report writing. Skill 2: critically evaluate debates in the media about issues related to science involving organic chemistry. Skill 3: interacting productively to solve problems with a diverse group of classmates. Skill 4: behaving as an effective leader. Skill 5: behaving as an effective teammate.
Table 8 SALG post survey mean values, standard deviations, and t-test results: comparing control and experimental group construct index item responses for process skills. SALG items have a 5-point range, where 5 is high
As a result of your work in this class, what gains did you make in the following
**** Pr |t| < 0.0001. *** Pr |t| < 0.001. ** Pr |t| < 0.01. * Pr |t| < 0.05.
Connecting key ideas and reasoning skills that I learn in my classes with other areas of my life 3.13 0.09 3.46 0.08 0.324
Using systematic reasoning in my approach to problems 3.73 0.08 3.97 0.07 0.244
Determining how each piece of new information or knowledge fits into the pattern of my existing knowledge 3.83 0.08 4.09 0.06 0.261*
Critically analyzing data and arguments before I make an action plan 3.61 0.08 3.85 0.07 0.243*
Developing testable hypotheses 2.86 0.09 3.14 0.08 0.282*
Designing and executing experiments 3.10 0.10 3.26 0.08 0.157
Finding published data I need for lab work and report writing 2.78 0.09 2.84 0.08 0.055
Critically evaluating debates in the media about issues related to science involving organic chemistry 2.41 0.09 2.61 0.09 0.204
Identifying patterns in data 3.30 0.08 3.25 0.08 −0.048
Recognizing a sound argument and appropriate use of evidence 2.89 0.09 3.05 0.08 0.159
Writing documents in the style and format appropriate for chemists 3.07 0.09 3.27 0.08 0.202
Behaving as an effective team member 3.22 0.09 3.94 0.07 0.713****
Behaving as an effective leader 2.97 0.10 3.74 0.07 0.776****
Interacting productively to solve problems with a diverse group of classmates 3.11 0.09 4.02 0.07 0.903****
Analyzing chemical models and draw appropriate conclusions 3.83 0.08 4.08 0.06 0.246*
Enthusiasm about learning organic chemistry 3.55 0.09 3.97 0.07 0.413***
Your comfort level working with complex ideas 3.66 0.08 4.08 0.06 0.410****
Working on example problems given on the blackboard 4.31 0.07 4.33 0.06 0.024
The number and spacing of tests 3.78 0.08 3.84 0.08 0.052
The fit between class content and tests 3.78 0.08 3.94 0.07 0.157
The mental stretch required by tests 3.54 0.09 3.68 0.08 0.135
The feedback on my work received after tests or assignments 3.41 0.09 3.68 0.08 0.276*
Explanation of how the class activities, reading and assignments related to each other 3.66 0.08 3.85 0.07 0.184
Explanation of why the class focused on the topics presented 3.47 0.09 3.64 0.08 0.171
The instructional approach taken in this class 3.95 0.08 3.70 0.09 −0.242*
How the class topics, activities, reading and assignments fit together 3.85 0.08 4.02 0.07 0.168
The pace of the class 3.18 0.09 3.33 0.09 0.143
Students in the experimental group expressed high levels of awareness that their interactions with peers, teaching assistants, and the instructor aided their learning (Table 7, Interactive Learning construct). Interestingly, interactions with peers outside of class was given higher ratings by students in the experimental section, and this result was statistically significant. Perhaps gaining comfort with classmates during in class activities led to improved student perception of transferable skills and richer out of classroom studying opportunities with peers? Dialog about scientific concepts and problem solving with peers and mentors serves as important practice for the process of scientific discourse and is crucial to the process for transitioning from a novice to an expert in a field. This is because discourse with peers allows learners to progress in the resolution of misconceptions (Kulatunga et al., 2013). This dialogical process is analogous to the professional practice of debating new ideas and explanations among practicing scientists (Osborne, 2010). In addition, peer discussions during complex problem solving both inside and outside of class provide important practice in the collegiality and teamwork needed in professional environments. Along these lines, Repice and coworkers observed small groups working to solve chemistry problems and note, “students engage in joint decision-making by taking turns, questioning and explaining, and building on one another's ideas” (Repice et al., 2016). Clearly, students in our experimental group could see the value in the practice of professional skills with peers in enhancing their learning.
When compared to the control group, students in the experimental group also assigned higher average ratings to helpful learning from working with teaching assistants during class. Recall from the description of the courses that all students (both control and experimental groups) had one discussion section per week led by a teaching assistant. Students in the experimental section gained additional classroom exposure to all of the teaching assistants, not just their own discussion section leader, because of their circulation during the active learning activities. So, it makes sense intuitively that the experimental group felt they learned more from the teaching assistants during class. Students in the experimental group also rated higher learning gains from the walk-in tutoring resource that was available to students in both groups. One explanation for this could be that exposure to a wider range of learning mentors during class time led to greater comfort levels with teaching assistants and peers, which in turn led to corresponding greater help seeking behaviour by the experimental group. Or, perhaps the experimental group just realized on a more regular basis that they were confused and not fully understanding all of the material in each class? We do not know, however, if students in the experimental group were more likely to attend the Chemistry Resource Room, walk-in tutoring, or instructor office hours.
End-of-term student course evaluations
To explore perceptions of the two groups regarding general course dynamics and learning, we conducted t-tests and compared results from aggregate end-of-term, College-administered course evaluation data. Note that students in the experimental group rated their overall experience lower than their peers in the control group for key indicators of quality of instruction and course dynamics such as clarity of requirements, encouraging participation, and instructor enthusiasm and access. Since these types of items are used by departments and upper-level administrators in decisions about faculty promotion and tenure, faculty may be justifiably concerned about the potential negative impact of student course ratings. For example, students in the experimental group rated the overall quality of instruction as lower, and they rated the instructor as less enthusiastic, and these were highly statistically significant results (Table 9). But, paradoxically, students in the experimental group also rated the course as less difficult despite the fact that outside of class homework and graded assessments were the same (availability of instructor open office hours was also identical). Moreover, among the common concerns instructors of flipped or student-centred classrooms hear from college students is the perception of excessive time requirements for outside-of-class preparation. These data, however, suggest that students in each course type perceive that they spend about the same amount of time preparing course materials and studying for tests outside of class meetings. For most items there is no statistically significant difference in students’ reports of progress toward core college-level learning objectives. An important exception is students in the experimental group reporting greater progress toward the development of two key transferable skills: oral and written communication skills (Table 9), which also happen to be among the professional skills emphasized by the Royal Society of Chemistry accreditation requirements (RSC, 2016). Such results support the study's original hypothesis that primary content learning can be preserved whilst promoting and improving confidence in and mastery of lifelong transferable skills.
Table 9 t-Test results comparing students’ ratings of the overall course experience, reported on end-of-term evaluations. Ratings on a 5-point scale, where 5 is high
Quality of course 4.24 0.03 4.13 0.05 −0.109
Quality of instruction 4.49 0.04 4.07 0.06 −0.419****
Effort/work 4.58 0.04 4.44 0.04 −0.140*
Difficulty of subject 4.41 0.04 4.08 0.05 −0.326****
Intellectual stimulation 4.47 0.04 4.45 0.04 −0.017
Instructor enthusiasm 4.88 0.02 4.50 0.05 −0.385****
Instructor access 4.43 0.03 4.25 0.06 −0.179**
Participation encouraged 4.37 0.04 4.15 0.07 −0.224**
Clarity of requirements 4.58 0.04 3.93 0.08 −0.651****
Quality of feedback 4.08 0.04 4.10 0.07 0.022
Fairness of grading 4.07 0.05 4.15 0.06 0.089
Progress toward
Factual knowledge 4.40 0.04 4.37 0.05 −0.024
Fundamental concepts 4.41 0.04 4.40 0.05 −0.011
Applying concepts 4.33 0.04 4.32 0.05 −0.016
Analyzing ideas and points of view 3.30 0.06 3.27 0.09 −0.030
Synthesizing knowledge 4.33 0.04 4.22 0.06 −0.104
Conducting inquiry w/ methods of the field 3.87 0.05 3.69 0.08 −0.179*
Evaluate merit of ideas 3.11 0.06 3.00 0.09 −0.105
Oral expression skills 2.28 0.06 2.94 0.09 0.656****
Writing skills 2.52 0.06 2.92 0.08 0.400****
Time spent outside of class 3.53 0.03 3.55 0.04 0.017
From the course evaluation written comments, very few students in the experimental group appeared to be fully aware that they were learning both organic chemistry and useful career skills. In fact, numerous students expressed hostility towards the cooperative learning classroom structure in their written comments, and these students appeared to believe that they could only learn by lecture. This could possibly be because the students are at an early stage in their college career, but it might also possibly arise from these individual students having a personal epistemology with an authority-based justification of knowledge (Barger et al., 2015, 2017). Such comments corroborate the numerical differences in perceptions of course quality, quality of instruction, instructor enthusiasm, and instructor accessibility. For example, one student commented:
It is extremely hard especially when you are in the flipped section and not the lecture section. There is never any actual instruction.
However, other course evaluation free response comments illustrated that some students in the experimental group did recognize that they were learning the course content at a deeper level, as well as gaining significant practice in important skills. For example, two different students commented:
Organic chemistry involved a lot more reasoning and critical thinking than I expected. This is a very logical course rather than just sheer memorization that most science courses (bio/general chemistry) tend to be.
The “backwards” classroom style definitely suited the course material. It promoted cooperation and problem-solving as opposed to memorization.
To evaluate whether there were notable differences in students’ perceptions of their skills, competencies and attitudes at the start of the term, which might influence our interpretations of post-test data, the study conducted t-tests on data collected via the baseline/pre-course SALG (Table 10). With respect to questions the EFA designates as interactive learning or process skills, there are no a priori differences in students’ self-reported competencies. The only statistically significant differences in baseline survey data occur among concept learning questions (see ESI†). Example items include:
Table 10 t-Test results comparing students’ results for the SALG baseline or pre-course administration. Ratings on a 5-point scale, where 5 is high
**** Pr |t| < 0.0001.*** Pr |t| < 0.001.** Pr |t| < 0.01.* Pr |t| < 0.05.σM = standard error of the mean.
How to use resonance, when it is present, to predict the reactivity of a given compound 4.58 0.04 4.55 0.04 −0.04
How to draw Lewis dot structures 4.51 0.04 4.44 0.04 −0.07
How to assign formal charge 4.52 0.04 4.45 0.04 −0.07
How to predict 3-D shapes and polarity of molecules 3.83 0.06 3.78 0.05 −0.05
Orbitals, including atomic, hybrid and molecular 3.54 0.06 3.55 0.06 0.01
How to recognize the difference between conformations, constitutional isomers, and configurational isomers, including enantiomers 2.46 0.07 2.26 0.06 −0.19*
How to identify chiral molecules 1.40 0.06 1.42 0.06 0.01
How to draw the stereoisomers of chiral compounds 1.42 0.06 1.37 0.06 −0.04
How to identify the stereochemical relationship between structures 1.70 0.07 1.43 0.06 −0.28**
How to explain the mechanisms of uni- and bimolecular substitutions and eliminations 1.60 0.07 1.52 0.06 −0.07
How to identify nucleophiles and electrophiles and predict reactions between them 1.81 0.07 1.52 0.06 −0.29**
How to write a proper reaction mechanism for a given reaction with known products 2.38 0.08 2.02 0.07 −0.36***
How to write mechanisms to predict outcomes for a half dozen types of addition reactions 1.79 0.07 1.63 0.07 −0.17
How to identify all the functional groups present in a given organic chemical 2.36 0.07 2.31 0.07 −0.06
How to propose and predict the outcome of acid–base reactions 2.54 0.07 2.43 0.06 −0.11
How IR, NMR, and mass spectroscopy work & How I can use each kind of spectrum to identify structural facets of an unknown molecule 1.47 0.06 1.56 0.06 0.09
How to plan workable multi-step sequences of reactions that convert simple starting compounds into complex organic products using my knowledge of functional group reactions 1.57 0.06 1.48 0.06 −0.09
Alkyl halides 1.73 0.07 1.42 0.06 −0.31***
Alkenes 1.90 0.08 1.57 0.06 −0.32***
Alcohols 1.53 0.06 1.48 0.06 −0.05
Ketones and aldehydes 1.30 0.05 1.30 0.05 0.00
Carboxylic acids and their derivatives 1.38 0.06 1.36 0.05 −0.02
Develop testable hypotheses 3.36 0.06 3.46 0.06 0.10
Design and execute experiments 3.18 0.07 3.35 0.06 0.17
Find published data I need for lab work and report writing 3.22 0.07 3.28 0.07 0.06
Critically evaluate debates in the media about issues related to science involving organic chemistry 2.57 0.07 2.60 0.07 0.03
Identify patterns in data 3.48 0.06 3.43 0.06 −0.05
Recognize a sound argument and appropriate use of evidence 3.53 0.07 3.55 0.06 0.02
Write documents in the style and format appropriate for chemists 2.94 0.07 3.01 0.07 0.08
Behave as an effective team member 4.16 0.05 4.18 0.05 0.02
Behave as an effective leader 3.90 0.06 4.05 0.05 0.15
Interact productively to solve problems with a diverse group of classmates 3.95 0.06 4.03 0.05 0.08
Analyze chemical models and draw appropriate conclusions 3.00 0.06 3.12 0.06 0.13
Enthusiastic about learning organic chemistry 3.50 0.07 3.50 0.07 0.00
Comfortable working with complex ideas 3.23 0.06 3.38 0.06 0.15
• how to recognize the difference between conformations, constitutional isomers, and configurational isomers, including enantiomers
• how to identify the stereochemical relationship between structures
In these instances, students in the experimental sections had lower mean self-ratings of concept mastery at the beginning of the course. That the differences in content learning are neutral (course final exams) or positive (select SALG items) suggests that the experimental pedagogy mitigates these differences and improves content learning over time. Likewise, the parity among course formats in interactive learning and perceived process skills at the beginning of the term, compared to the clear positive perceptions of learning outcomes for students in the experimental group (expressed by the SALG post-course data), suggests that cooperative learning is a viable innovation in undergraduate STEM education for reasons beyond gains in technical skills or content knowledge.
Direct classroom observations lead to the conclusion that we successfully implemented two different classroom environments in terms of the amount of time spent on active learning versus passively listening to lecture. Data from SALG survey administration indicate that classroom structures promoting cooperative learning are associated with greater perceived development of concept mastery, generic skills such as the ability to work collaboratively in a team and demonstrate leadership in a problem-solving task, and transferable process skills such as the ability to work with complex ideas, recognize valid sources of data, and draw conclusions on the basis of evidence. Course evaluation data reveal no difference in the reported amount of time required outside of class, suggesting that the cooperative learning format is a sustainable practice even in large-sized class sections, at least in terms of students’ workload. Both the SALG surveys and the course evaluations provide indirect evidence of student gains and behaviour; future research efforts would benefit from collection of direct evidence that demonstrates acquired transferrable skill use outside of the classroom setting. In addition, adding a journal or portfolio assignment to the active learning setting could be another key future innovation that allows students to reflect upon and articulate their own transferable skills gains over the course of the semester.
One may argue that the process skills evaluated by the SALG instrument represent essential 21st century learning objectives including critical thinking (Stein et al., 2007), information literacy, inquiry and analysis, problem-solving, and others (Maki, 2015). The SALG instrument also explores transferable skills accreditation requirements for degree programs by organizations such as the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), American Chemical Society (ACS), and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) (ACS, 2015; ABET, 2016; RSC, 2016). Innovations in pedagogy and curriculum design, as well as companion evaluative methodologies, are an essential response to these learning mandates, and the present study provides evidence of a workable approach to interactive, collaborative learning in an introductory science course. Without a doubt, flipped classrooms and other cooperative learning formats constitute viable innovations in undergraduate STEM education for important reasons beyond simply gains in technical skills or content knowledge.
Like all education research experiments, this study has limitations that should be considered and discussed. Most importantly, whenever indirect data such as self-reports of learning are employed in an analysis, one must bear in mind the possibility of reporting bias. The SALG instrument design and informed consent procedures employed in this study sought to minimize reporting bias by ensuring students that their responses remain anonymous. As Jordan notes, “the [SALG] system provides an environment in which students can express their genuine opinions without any apprehension of negative consequences” (Jordan, 2012). Previous work has demonstrated that the SALG instrument is both valid and reliable for measuring students’ perceptions of their learning in active learning chemistry classroom (Vishnumolakala et al., 2016). We assessed development of skills by asking both groups of students if they improved as the result of this course. This is significantly different than directly measuring the skills, which we did not do. As we noted, students are reportedly overconfident in their assessment of their own transferable skills. We have assumed that students in both of our groups would be overconfident by similar amounts. Since our results are based on student reports (an indirect measure of transferable skills), further studies are needed to more directly measure transferable skills in cooperative learning classrooms. In general, indirect measurement of transferable skills development is a limitation of this study.
This study was relatively small in scope and sample size and was limited to a single institution in an American educational context. The student population studied was fairly homogeneous both in terms of age and enrolment status: >90% of enrolled undergraduate students at the institution are traditional college age (under 24 years old) and carrying a full time course load. In addition, because the study was conducted at a highly selective institution in terms of undergraduate admissions, the students in this study may not constitute a representative sample of the global population of all students planning to pursue STEM or health professions. Most students in this study neither worked full-time during the academic year nor served as the primary caregiver to others. Due to the characteristics of the populations studied herein, caution must be exercised in attempting to extrapolate the findings to populations with more non-traditional students who are older, work full time, and/or serve as the primary caregiver to children or elderly parents. To protect individual confidentiality, and due to the modest number of participants, results in this study cannot be disaggregated by gender, race, ethnicity, or other demographic factors.
The work reported herein was conducted following the guidelines set forth by Duke University's Institutional Review Board (Approved IRB Protocol number B0487: Learning in Organic Chemistry).
The first author thanks Professor Suzanne Ruder for allowing the use of her organic chemistry POGIL activities prior to their publication. Molly Goldwasser and Kim Manturuk are thanked for coding and administering the survey via Qualtrics software as well as tracking student completion lists for the instructor. Richard MacPhail is thanked for helpful comments on the draft. We are grateful for seed monies from the Paletz Innovative Teaching grant program and the Dean of Arts and Sciences minigrant program. A portion of the work described herein was supported by grants from the Duke University Arts and Sciences Faculty Assessment Committee and the Duke University endowment.
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), Accreditation Policy and Procedure Manual (APPM), 2016–2017, http://www.abet.org/accreditation/accreditation-criteria/accreditation-policy-and-procedure-manual-appm-2016–2017/, accessed September 25, 2016.
American Chemical Society (ACS), Undergraduate professional education in chemistry: ACS Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures for Bachelor's Degree Programs, http://https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/about/governance/committees/training/2015-acs-guidelines-for-bachelors-degree-programs.pdf, accessed September 15, 2016.
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† Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Appendix 1: SALG baseline survey. Appendix 2: SALG post survey. See DOI: 10.1039/c7rp00014f
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Home Tag Archives: Spurs
Tag Archives: Spurs
Mauricio Pochettino Sacked By Spurs After Five Years In Charge
Michael Corry November 19, 2019
Mauricio Pochettino has been sacked by Tottenham Hotspur after five years in charge of the North London club. Spurs have won just five games so far this season with club chairman Daniel levy saying that a change had to be made in the best interests of the club. Before then, however, Pochettino was viewed as quite a popular manager. In …
“He’s Still Young So He Has A Lot To Learn But He’s A Good Lad.”
Oisin McQueirns November 18, 2019
Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen has praised his Tottenham teammate Troy Parrott as the two prepare to do battle in tonight’s crucial Euro 2020 qualifier at the Aviva Stadium. Parrott won his first cap for the Irish senior team in the 3-1 victory against New Zealand last week and despite not finding the net, the 17-year-old looked comfortable leading the line …
Deep Dive: Troy Parrott Showed Qualities That Could Lead To Breakthrough Season
Oisin McQueirns July 22, 2019
On Sunday, 17-year old Irish striker Troy Parrott made his first-team debut for Tottenham in their International Champions Cup game against Juventus in Shanghai. Having impressed with Spurs’ underage sides last season, Parrott was included in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad for the pre-season tour with a host of reports outlining that the Tottenham manager has big plans for the striker ahead …
Troy Parrott Involved In Spurs Opener As He Impresses In First Start
17-year old Irish striker Troy Parrott was in the thick of the action in the first half for Tottenham in his first start for the senior side as they faced Juventus in the International Champions Cup. Parrott was named in the Spurs starting XI for the first time by Mauricio Pochettino for the game against the Italian giants as he …
Tottenham’s Remarkable European Run Has Shed “Spursy” Tag For Good
Oisin McQueirns May 9, 2019
There have been a fair few bumps in the road throughout the course of this remarkable season for Tottenham. Domestically they challenged very briefly for the top two at the beginning of the season, but fell comfortably into third, before they, like the teams below them, got dragged into the near-farcical battle for the top four. 13 defeats in a season …
A Selection Of Broadcasters Losing Their Minds Following Late Spurs Goal
It was another unbelievable night of action in the Champions League on Wednesday as Spurs advanced to June’s final in the most remarkable of games in Amsterdam. 1-0 down after the first leg and 3-0 after the first half, thanks to goals from Mattijhs de Ligt and Hakem Ziyech, Spurs staged one of the most dramatic comebacks in Champions League history …
Emotional Pochettino Brought To Tears Following Incredible Spurs Victory
On Wednesday night, Tottenham followed in Liverpool’s footsteps as they completed a remarkable second-half comeback to defeat Ajax by 3-2 and advance to the Champions League final. 1-0 down after the first leg and 3-0 after the first half, thanks to goals from Mattijhs de Ligt and Hakem Ziyech, Spurs staged one of the most dramatic comebacks in Champions League history …
Lucas Moura Heroics Send Spurs Into Champions Final
Cillian Cunningham May 8, 2019
Lucas Moura bagged a hattrick to give his Tottenham Hotspur side an incredible win over Ajax to earn their spot in the Champions League final. After Mauricio Pochettino’s side were all-but-nullified in the opening matchup against Ajax in London, there was, of course, the sense that something major would need to change if Spurs were going to proceed into their …
Liverpool’s Unthinkable Comeback & Six Of The Craziest CL Games Ever
Last night, Liverpool did the unthinkable as they defeated Barcelona by 4-0 to advance to the Champions League final. Klopp’s men had to overturn a three-goal deficit at Anfield without two of their key players in Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah but completed the most remarkable of turn arounds thanks to a double from Divock Origi and Gini Wijnaldum. The …
Ireland Name U17s Squad With Talks Over Parrott Inclusion Still Ongoing
Oisin McQueirns April 29, 2019
Ireland U17s coach Colin O’Brien has named his squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championships, which kick off on home soil on Friday, May 3. O’Brien has named a 19-man squad ahead of the tournament with one player’s inclusion up in the air as the manager is still in talks with Tottenham Hotspur over the possibility of playmaker Troy …
Strengths, Weaknesses & Key Men: Analysing CL’s Last Four
With the Champions League’s last four decided we analysed each of the teams vying for European glory this season. _____ Liverpool How They Got Here: Liverpool did excellently to negotiate a difficult group containing PSG, Napoli and Red Star Belgrade. The Reds finished second, just ahead of the Italian side on goals scored. They won three games, beating each team …
11 Quickfire Conclusions As Late OG Keeps Liverpool’s Title Hopes Alive
Oisin McQueirns March 31, 2019
Liverpool left it very late to grab a stoppage-time own goal as they saw off Spurs at Anfield to keep their title hopes alive. Roberto Firmino opened the scoring for Liverpool in the opening 15 minutes following a beautiful Andy Robertson cross from the left-hand side. The home side dominated the first 45 minutes but couldn’t snatch a second goal …
The Run-In: Analysing The Title Contenders’ Remaining Fixtures
Oisin McQueirns February 7, 2019
On Wednesday evening, Manchester City returned to the top of the table for the first time since December following a victory over Everton at Goodison Park. Guardiola’s side overtook rivals Liverpool on goal difference, although the Reds still have a game in hand over their Manchester counterparts. The victory also took City five points clear of third place Tottenham who have …
Five Of The Best Last Minute Deals As January Deadline Day Approaches
Oisin McQueirns January 30, 2019
Transfer Deadline day is always one of the most frantic days in the football calendar, whether it be Winter or Summer. Twice a year, every year, clubs scramble to try and pick up some last minute bargains or big money deals in a bid to bolster their squad midway through the season. January, in particular, has seen it’s fair share …
More Penalty Woes For Spurs As They Exit Second Cup Competition
Chris Kelleher January 27, 2019
Tottenham Hotspur suffered their second defeat in English knockout football to a London rival in a matter of days as they lost 2-0 to Crystal Palace in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday. Connor Wickham gave the unfancied Eagles, 29 points adrift of Spurs in the Premier League, a ninth-minute lead before a penalty by former Tottenham …
Chelsea Win Carabao Cup Penalty Shootout After Dire Dier Miss
Chelsea will meet Manchester City next month in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley after seeing off Tottenham Hotspur in the semi final. Spurs led 1-0 heading into the second leg, but with Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Heung-min Son missing for the visitors, they still faced a difficult task to advance at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea, who have faced striker …
Winks Strikes Late But Vital Spurs Victory Comes At Cost Of Alli Injury
Harry Winks’s first goal since 2016 handed Tottenham a last gasp 2-1 victory at Fulham on Sunday, but at a cost with Dele Alli joining a lengthy injury list for Mauricio Pochettino’s men. Already shorn of Harry Kane until March with ankle ligament damage and Son Heung-min away at the Asian Cup with South Korea, Alli’s absence for a packed …
Kane Injury Could Be ‘Massive Problem’ For Spurs, Says Pochettino
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino says he fears a “massive problem” after Harry Kane limped off the Wembley pitch with an apparent ankle problem following his side’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United. Kane was hurt after clashing with United defender Phil Jones in the closing seconds of the match as the visitors dug deep to protect their 1-0 lead at Wembley …
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Thelonious Martin “Guidelines” (Feat. Mac Miller)
by PhillyCustoms August 20, 2018 5:11 pm
Listen to “Guidelines” by Thelonious Martin featuring Mac Miller
Thelonius Martin is hard at work on a new album. Today, he releases a new track titled “Guidelines” featuring Mac Miller. Peep the song below.
Thelonious Martin
88-Keys “That’s Life” (Feat. Mac Miller & Sia)
88-Keys releases the new single “That’s Life” featuring a posthumous appearance from Mac Miller and singer Sia. Stream the track below.
Mac Miller Found Dead From Apparent Overdose
According to TMZ, Mac Miller was found dead on September, 7th, 2018 around noon in his San Fernando Valley home. He was only 26…
1 year ago by PhillyCustoms
Mac Miller’s 2018 NPR Tiny Desk Concert Featuring Thundercat (Video)
Supporting SWIMMING, Mac Miller and Thundercat stopped by NPR’s offices for a Tiny Desk Concert. Peep what went down in the video above.
Mac Miller “Come Back To Earth” (Official Music Video)
Supporting his new album SWIMMING, Mac Miller follows up the album’s release with a visual. Peep “Come Back To Earth” above and stay tuned…
Mac Miller “Swimming” (Album Stream)
After a very public breakup with Ariana Grande and a battle with addiction, Mac Miller returns with his most personal project to date, SWIMMING….
Mac Miller “Inertia” (Official Music Video)
Mac Miller plays instruments and shows off his multiple talents in the new video for “Inertia.” Mac Miller made the beat, Thundercat played the…
Mac Miller “Self Care” (Official Music Video)
After announcing earlier today that his new album SWIMMING is dropping on August 3rd, Mac Miller releases a new single and video titled “Self…
2 years ago by Steve
Mac Miller “Programs,” “Small World” & “Buttons”
Fresh off a highly publicized break up with Ariana Grande, Mac Miller returns with “Programs,” “Small Worlds,” and “Buttons” Peep the Pittsburgh emcee’s new…
2 years ago by PhillyCustoms
2018 Smokers Club Fest: Kid Cudi, Wiz Khalifa & Schoolboy Q To Headline
The 2018 Smokers Club Fest will be headlined by Kid Cudi, Wiz Khalifa and Schoolboy Q it has been announced. The festival takes place…
DJ Kay Slay – Cold Summer (Feat. Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, Kevin Gates & Rell)
Legendary DJ Kay Slay brings together Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, Kevin Gates, and Rell on the new single “Cold Summer.” The song appears on…
Mac Miller – Cinderella (Feat. Ty Dolla Sign) (Official Music Video)
Supporting The Divine Feminine, Mac Miller debuts the visual for “Cinderella” featuring Ty Dolla Sign. Directed by Bo Mirosseni. Mac Miller explains why the…
Thundercat – Hi (Feat. Mac Miller)
Thundercat’s new album Drunk hit stores last week and now today we get the Mac Miller-assisted bonus cut titled “Hi”.
Mac Miller – My Favorite Part (Feat. Ariana Grande) (Official Music Video)
Following up last month’s video for “Stay”, Mac Miller is back with “My Favorite Part” featuring his girlfriend Ariana Grande. The song appears on…
Mac Miller – Stay (Official Music Video)
Supporting his The Divine Feminine album, Mac miller takes to the beach in a visual for “Stay“.
Mac Miller – God Is Fair, Sexy, Nasty (Feat. Kendrick Lamar)
Kendrick Lamar joins Mac Miller on The Divine Feminine track “God Is Fair, Sexy, Nasty“. Like what you hear? Mac’s new album is available…
Mac Miller – Cinderella (Feat. Ty Dolla Sign)
Mac Miller teams up with Ty Dolla Sign on “Cinderella” from The Divine Feminine, available on iTunes.
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Data from: High intra-ocean, but limited inter-ocean genetic connectivity in populations of the deep-water oblique-banded snapper Pristipomoides zonatus (Pisces: Lutjanidae)
Jason Kennington (Creator)
Peter W. Keron (Creator)
Euan Harvey (Creator)
Corey Brion Wakefield (Creator)
Ashley J. Williams (Creator)
Tuikolongahau Halafihi (Creator)
Stephen Newman (Creator)
MtDNA haplotype frequencies of Pristipomoides zonatus:
An excel file with mtDNA frequencies and sequences.
Microsatellite data for Pristipomoides zonatus:
Excel file containing microsatellite genotype data.
While many studies have investigated connectivity and subdivision in marine fish occupying tropical, shallow water reef habitats, relatively few have been conducted on commercially important deep-water species in the Indo-Pacific region. Here, we examine spatial and temporal genetic variation in the deep-water oblique-banded snapper Pristipomoides zonatus, collected from eight locations across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. A total of 292 individuals were screened for genetic variation at six nuclear microsatellite loci and the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) gene. There was evidence of low, but significant genetic differentiation between ocean basins (FCT = 0.009) and no significant divergences between sites within oceans. The lack of population structure within ocean basins suggests P. zonatus has a long pelagic larval duration with high levels of connectivity between populations over large geographical distances (>2000 km). There was no evidence of temporal variation in allele frequencies within populations. However, ephemeral genetic divergences between sites were detected, along with a significant reduction in genetic diversity at one site, suggesting there may be low effective population sizes (Ne). Our results suggest that localized declines in genetic diversity could be offset by gene flow from other locations within ocean basins, though predicting the broader impacts of localized stock depletions requires further understanding of recruitment dynamics and life history characteristics of the species.
Dryad Digital Repository
Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean
Pristipomoides zonatus
Kennington, W. (Creator), Keron, P. W. (Creator), Harvey, E. S. (Creator), Wakefield, C. B. (Creator), Williams, A. J. (Creator), Halafihi, T. (Creator), Newman, S. (Creator)(15 May 2017). Data from: High intra-ocean, but limited inter-ocean genetic connectivity in populations of the deep-water oblique-banded snapper Pristipomoides zonatus (Pisces: Lutjanidae). Dryad Digital Repository. 10.5061/dryad.f207f
Winn Kennington
10.5061/dryad.f207f
Dryad Repository record
High intra-ocean, but limited inter-ocean genetic connectivity in populations of the deep-water oblique-banded snapper Pristipomoides zonatus (Pisces: Lutjanidae)
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Responsible-Investors
Responsible Investment Trends
Responsible Investing basics
Sustainable Frontier
RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT BASICS
City of Melbourne hits 100% renewable energy
Melbourne the second most populous city in Australia is kicking off 2019 with the news that 100 % of the its operations are now powered by 100 % renewable energy – an Australian first.
“Every light on our streets, every treadmill in our gyms and every barbecue in our parks is now powered by renewable energy,”
“We are immensely proud to be the first Australian capital city council powered by 100 per cent renewable energy,” said Deputy Lord Mayor Arron Wood in a statement. The council’s success was driven by the Melbourne-led bulk buy renewables project, built around a consortium of 14 of leading local universities, cultural institutions, corporations and Councils. The ground-breaking Melbourne Renewable Energy Project (MREP) paved the way for development of Pacific Hydro’s 80.
“We have led the nation in responding to climate change, securing a sustainable energy supply for the future and have shown a great example of how a major city with a $92 billion economy can influence positive outcomes in our regional towns.”
Click here to view full article City of Melbourne hits 100% renewables as 80MW wind farm comes online
Principles for Responsible Banking launched with 130 banks holding US$47 trillion committing to climate action and sustainability
The Principles for Responsible Banking have officially been launched by leading banks and the United Nations, with 130 banks signing up to
Enel issues first SDG-linked bond and raises US$1.5 billion
Enel, a leading private electricity company in the world by renewable installed capacity, has launched a “sustainable” bond for institutional investors on
Energy-smart companies save US$55millions while driving down emissions
Using energy in smarter ways can save companies a lot of money even for large multinational companies, such as UltraTech Cement, Hilton
Green bond market reaches AU$15.6bn in Australia in 2019
Climate Bonds launched two Australian focussed research reports outlining the opportunities and state of the market for green finance in Australia. Green
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Unprecedented emissions targets set across iconic critical infrastructure assets
Investors worth $1.3tn increasing appetite for climate investment
QIC raises AU$300m in green bonds to upgrade retail portfolio
$3 billion boost for Indigenous businesses in Australia
Samsung and UN partner to support the Global Goals
EUR 10 billion to support the Circular Economy in the EU
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The Kaiser Baas 'hoverboard' makes me look like stupid
Mark Serrels | December 15, 2015
Click here to read this on smh.com.au
My neighbour rolls past in his car, en route to Woolworths. A portly chap, middle-aged. He takes one look at me, brings his car to a halt. The window rolls down with a hum. He peeks out smugly. "You're gonna kill yourself on that thing," he says, before driving off into the vanishing point, towards Woolworths, groceries and the rest of his life.
You know the type. The kind of guy who tries talk you out of doing anything. The same guy who warned me when my son started trying to climb trees. The same guy who told me I shouldn't go for a jog because it looked like it might rain.
This time he might have a point. Maybe.
With the Revo Glider, I'm the good type of wanker. That arrogant, aloof type that people hate but secretly want to impress.
I'm zipping around on a Kaiser Baas Revo Glider. Or, in the common parlance of concerned parents and Current Affairs hosts: a 'hoverboard'. Despite the fact it isn't a board. Despite the fact that it doesn't actually hover.
or the sake of this article (and my sanity) I'm going to call it a 'Glider'.
Yes, I like that. A Glider.
The Kaiser Baas Revo Glider.
This little Glider of mine: it's the Clockwork Orange of harmless traversal gadgets. It's Manhunt. It's mainstream media panic. It can't move faster than any able-bodied person can run but it's banned everywhere.
Technically it's illegal for me to use it, in this moment, on this street in this sleepy, enclosed cul-de-sac — a homely space so safe I allow my almost three-year-old free reign on weekends. The cars drive slowly, no-one really comes in or out. If my two-year-old son can dart about this area unsupervised on his scooter without Johnny Law chucking him in a cell, surely I – a 'responsible' adult — should be allowed to stuff around for a bit on my stupid Glider.
Heavy, overpriced, mostly useless bliss.
This Glider is banned on the street. It's banned on my street. It's banned in my goddamn office for christ's sake, after a 'risk assessment' deemed it too 'risky'; after ex-Gizmodo Editor Luke Hopewell gave himself a concussion trying to cross an intersection.
I haven't fallen off yet. Not really. Not in any serious way. You can probably tell. The above paragraphs ring with the hubris of a man whose early confidence has transformed into a warped bulletproof conviction in his own ability to pilot this thing at tremendous speeds. I'm spinning round in tight arcs, darting forwards, zipping backwards. I am from the future. I am an accident waiting to happen.
My portly, middle-aged neighbour comes back from Woolworths. He doesn't say anything this time, he simply makes eye-contact then gently shakes his head. I know what he's thinking.
"He's gonna kill himself on that thing."
The Kaiser Baas Revo Glider has been a central part of my life for the last two weeks.
People ask me about it. A lot. Friends, family — they all want to try it. It's one of those toys, a water cooler thing. An expensive Furby, essentially. Everyone has an opinion on it.
I tell people I hate it. It's overpriced, it's stupidly heavy. In a lot of ways it's completely useless. Legalities aside, you can't take it on the streets really. I wouldn't ride it in the city. I wouldn't ride it downhill for a sustained period of time and it doesn't necessarily have the horsepower to move uphill either. It's not good for exercise. I guess you sort of use your core to navigate the thing, but nah — you'd burn more calories walking.
You'd probably move faster walking too, especially at a brisk pace. I beat my two year old on his scooter last weekend, but it was an embarrassingly close race.
You can't go over major bumps. The wheels are too small and feedback affects your footing, which in turn affects your speed and direction, which in turn has the disturbing potential to send you flat on your arse (or worse: your head).
And it's expensive. Ludicrously expensive. $799 at JB Hi-Fi might be the best price you'll find at retail. You could buy a decent bike at that price, or three longboards. Both are far speedier, practical means of traversal on just about any possible surface you could imagine.
So yes, I tell people I hate the Kaiser Baas Revo Glider.
But I secretly love it.
I made a race track inside my house. This is my record lap time!
The Kaiser Baas Revo Glider makes you look like a wanker. It's fairly difficult to argue otherwise.
Glide around on this thing and you're one step removed from wearing sunglasses indoors. You're driving your convertible top-down in a bus lane during peak hour traffic. You're in that ball park.
But it's the good kind of wanker. I'd make that argument. You're walking that fine line. That arrogant, aloof type of wanker that people hate but secretly want to impress.
I zip effortlessly up and down my street and my son's friends make chase, desperate for a turn. Desperate for a go. Supervising parents stand stoic, repressing that same urge. There's a tacit understanding at play — I am a flash bastard and this device is getting all the attention. I am a wanker. In my peripheral vision I imagine my portly next-door neighbour, peering through the shutters, shaking his head in disdain.
"They're gonna kill themselves on that thing".
It's another barrier to entry. If you want to use the Kaiser Baas Revo Glider you must be at peace with your own inner wanker. You have to embrace it. You're also going to have to have to shed a layer of ego in anticipation of looking stupid — because your first try is going to be clumsy. You're gonna look drunk and/or stupid. You are Bambi on ice. The worst part — your reward for time spent looking stupid? Looking like a wanker. Prepare to go from barnyard-hobo-clown to banker-wanker-Bono in one fell swoop. There's no in-between here.
But children don't think like that, they only want to surrender themselves to the sublime experience of effortlessly gliding over concrete, and that's the key here: your ability to enjoy and embrace the Kaiser Baas Revo Glider is almost entirely dependent on your ability to think like a child. To value play for play's sake.
There's almost a tactile, video game charm to the whole experience. When I think about the best video games I think about the subtleties of simple movement, the ability to find pleasure in the most basic activities: jumping like Mario, firing a Battle Rifle like Master Chief, swinging a sword in Dark Souls. I think of that base pleasure: the stickiness of movement and the ability to revel in it. Playing video games isn't going to get you to work faster and it isn't going to replace your daily commute, but play is central to the human experience and it's important to experience it.
And that's why I hate the Kaiser Baas Revo Glider, but secretly love it. The acquisition of this useless skill, the practice of it, the rush of going faster and faster and faster. It's useless — it's absolutely useless on every possible level, but it's so much bloody fun.
So you're essentially left with one of two choices: live your life as a wanker: sunglasses on, hipster-scarf blowing in the humid breeze of a 43 degree day, or a life spent peering through the window of an air-conditioned car, shaking your head en-route to Woolworths.
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More Dickens than Kubrick: Interstellar
[Image Source: Wikipedia]
I went into Interstellar with a bad attitude. I wanted to hate this movie. It’s three hours long. It stars swaggering/ posturing Matthew McConaughey, an actor I find as irritating as sand in my shoe. It has Anne Hathaway who is not that far behind McConaughey in the line of annoyingly self-satisfied celebs. It is directed by Christopher Nolan, who seems to have gotten more ponderous and more pretentious with every successive flick. Hell, it has a score by Hans Zimmer, who has gotten so lazy that most of his latter-day scores seem like they were composed on auto-pilot by a drum machine.
I’m an ass. And I was wrong.
I loved this movie.
It is, in fact, too long by half and, yes, is a bit ponderous and pretentious. All of the aforementioned annoying attributes of cast and crew are apparent. And the score does sound like a drum machine having a nervous breakdown … a really LOUD! nervous breakdown. Yet, it all works so beautifully.
The film has been billed as Nolan’s version of 2001, but I found the movie more Charles Dickens than Stanley Kubrick. Yes, the narrative involves slow-moving, quietly-haunting, ethereally-staged space travel with the future of all mankind at stake, but at its heart, this is a film about the devastating impact of time’s passage and of well-intentioned decisions that unfortunately drive wedges between family/friends. There are moments, especially toward the film’s gonzo, fever-dream denouement that I thought I was watching A Christmas Carol … if staged by Twyla Tharp. That’s a compliment, by the way.
The older I get, the more I realize what an underrated gem Dickens’ holiday novella is. “Underrated” may seem like a strange word choice for something so widely known, but A Christmas Carol is often viewed as a lesser literary work or as a holiday novelty or as both. What Dickens captures so elegantly/efficiently, though, is that, with each year, we add layers and layers of memories – good and bad – and all the regrets and heartaches that accompany … like an ever-expanding box of ornaments gathering dust in the attic.
This is the psychological murk in which Interstellar traffics. Space exploration is but a metaphor for our unyielding pursuit of some brief, crystalline moments of unadulterated joy amidst all the sadness life brings.
The film is set in a disturbingly near-time future, a Ray Bradbury-esque Earth, where all of our selfish consumption has reduced our planet to a cruel, barren dustbowl in which the only remaining growable crop is corn. The world no longer needs engineers or scientists or professors – rather just people willing to grow corn with the aid of mindless robotic farm implements.
America appears to have been reduced to one continuous farm town (blink and you’ll miss the New York Yankees, now quite literally a farm team, playing ball in a sad little cornfield), and, periodically, the citizens have to set fire to the latest round of blight-infested crops. The only upshot I could see is that these circumstances finally force everyone to go vegetarian/vegan. 🙂
Nolan’s great gift is how he uses fantasy as metaphor for present-day turmoil. (See Dark Knight Rises for his take on the 1% ruling class). Interstellar is no exception. His muted gray yet epically widescreen cinematography creates some of the most indelible images in recent memory of our ongoing environmental crisis.
In the midst of this ecological upheaval, and in one of the film’s seemingly more nonsensical moments, McConaughey’s “Cooper” and his beloved daughter “Murphy” stumble across a hidden cadre of space scientists who decide that Cooper (yes, he just happens to be a former astronaut himself!) is our only hope to pilot the last remaining rocket ship off the planet, in order to find a new (less angrily dusty) world for us to inhabit.
If this movie weren’t so purposeful, so moving, and so well-acted, I would have lost it right there and been forcibly carried out of the theatre, racked by a convulsive giggle fit.
McConaughey and Hathaway are surrounded by top-shelf talent like Jessica Chastain, John Lithgow, and Michael Caine, all exhibiting gravitas and heartache in poignantly compelling spades. There’s a surprise cameo that I won’t spoil, but said unnamed actor (whom I typically find a bit boring) does a marvelous job in a pivotal role as an appropriately dubious explorer.
Heck, we even get some subtly funny voice work from delightful Bill Irwin as robot companion TARS, a sleek automaton who bears more than a passing resemblance to a giant, walking/talking deck of cards. Humor? In a Nolan film? Crazy talk! That alone should tell you this is a (sort of) different direction for him. Sort of.
There is a lot of gobbledy-gook pseudo-science talk: singularity! relativity! event horizon! There are a lot of epically dreamy long-shots of planets and cosmic gases and spinning spacecraft. There are a lot of lines that are trying so hard for deep poetic thought that they sounds stilted and just darn goofy. And, yes, there is a lot of furrowed-brow, sweaty-faced ACTING!
Eventually, though, our intrepid spacefaring crew do end up on other worlds, most of which are as deadly as the one they left behind. I don’t want to ruin any of the surprises (or the movie’s more head-scratchingly kooky moments), but, in essence, humanity prevails … quite literally. The film, in total, is an argument for our innate goodness, even when we aren’t sure of it ourselves. Whether today or tomorrow, we will help each other and we will care.
This is a more hopeful message then we typically see in a Christopher Nolan production, and the optimism suits him.
Reel Roy Reviews is now a book! Thanks to BroadwayWorld for this coverage – click here to view. In addition to online ordering at Amazon or from the publisher Open Books, the book currently is being carried by Bookbound, Common Language Bookstore, and Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea Room in Ann Arbor, Michigan and by Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, Michigan. My mom Susie Duncan Sexton’s Secrets of an Old Typewriter series is also available on Amazon and at Bookbound and Common Language.
Posted By: Roy Sexton (Reel Roy Reviews) Category: Action, Americana, Film Review, Must See, Thriller Tags: 2001, anne hathaway, bill irwin, charles dickens, christmas carol, christopher nolan, cooper, dark knight rises, Film, film review, hans zimmer, holiday, interstellar, jessica chastain, john lithgow, matt damon, matthew mcconaughey, michael caine, movie, Movie review, murphy, new york, ray bradbury, reel roy reviews, Review, roy sexton, space, stanley kubrick, tars, twyla tharp
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16 thoughts on “More Dickens than Kubrick: Interstellar”
lindacbrin
Love the movie reviews! Your articles are scheduled into mid December now! Miss you at GBN, Try and come sometime. Sell you books!
Linda Brincat Get Out And Live, Inc. http://www.getoutandlive.me http://gaybusinessnetworking.com http://womenoutandabout.com http://singoutdetroit.org http://artisticwomensentertainment.com 248-943-2411
Roy Sexton (Reel Roy Reviews)
thanks so much, Linda! appreciate the support – definitely on my calendar – just been a difficult fall for getting to morning meetings, but I will soon!
Amy Reese
The analogy to Dickens is brilliant. I hadn’t thought of that. I enjoyed this film. It’s a fascinating exploration of time. The scene of that stacked bedroom, you know the one I mean? That was really cool.
thanks, Amy! yup, I know the exact scene – that’s where the Dickens thing REALLY took hold for me. MC Escher too!
On Wed, Nov 19, 2014 at 12:35 PM, Reel Roy Reviews wrote:
murphysmission
you are brilliant! this is absolutely beautiful…you should be employed by the film industry…you even have me wanting to go see MATTHEW? that is quite a feat…I cannot tolerate that guy. cast notwithstanding, the idea of filming a meaningful story would be the story itself…sounds like that happens in this case…been awhile since that’s happened in contemporary cinema! how promising…a great review by a real writer about what appears to be a real script for a change!
thanks! you are wonderful – you taught me everything. I agree with you about Matthew 110% – and, don’t get me wrong, this is still a slog (and has a few too many moments like “Inception” where you wonder if they’ve totally jumped the rails) but I thought it had a lot of interesting points to make. I also left this out, but there were a few too many moments where the dialogue was a bit hard to decipher/hear, which bugs me to pieces.
On Wed, Nov 19, 2014 at 2:31 PM, Reel Roy Reviews wrote:
what an amazing review. not sure i am wanting to devote a whole afternoon to this film, but after reading your stellar review, i may be willing to give ‘interstellar’ a chance.
thanks, Beth – it’s a very intriguing film – I wasn’t bored for a minute, but it could have been 45 minutes shorter to be sure!
mikeyb @ screenkicker
You’ve summed it up beautifully Roy and the Dickens comparison is genius!
thank you, Mikey! appreciate that very much!
"gobbeldy-gook?!" I am disappoint
“Gobbeldy-gook pseudo-science talk?”
Relativity and its cousin, gravitational time dilation, are real things that happen in the real world. A Singularity is the core of a black hole, which is formed when a ginormous star goes supernova and the core collapses in on itself so much that it basically can’t stop collapsing. The Event Horizon is the point of no return on a black hole, where nothing, not even light, can escape its gravitational pull.
Bro, they followed real physics as much as possible in that movie. They consulted a prominent astrophysicist who’s spent his life studying black holes and had him doctor both the script and the special effects. He actually helped develop equations for the CGI used in the black hole and wormhole scenes and they ended up being so accurate that they actually made a few new discoveries on how gravitational lensing works (gravitational lensing is the distortion that appears around massive bodies in space, because its mass is so huge that its gravity bends light around it. It’s a real thing.)
…This is why we need more STEM majors in this goddamn country. Or people who pay attention to goddamn science class in high school.
Thanks – appreciate the clarification!
Thanks, Susie!
Pingback: “It has been seven days since I ran out of ketchup.” The Martian (2015 film) « Reel Roy Reviews
Pingback: Review Of The Martian | BOOKGLOW
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KISS Sodas
Franchise Benefits
Franchise Facts
Rocket Fizz candy shop coming to downtown Asheville
Source - Citizen-Times
Published - March 17, 2016
If you've found yourself in the market for some sweet-corn soda, your wait is nearly over.
Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop, a candy shop with 118 locations as of December, is coming to Battery Park Ave. in downtown Asheville.
The store, which will be located next to Zapow Gallery, is the largest and fastest-growing soda pop and candy shop franchise brand in America, according to company info.
Rocket Fizz specializes in limited-production candies and far-out soda flavors, like buffalo wing, ranch dressing and bacon soda.
There's even Stalinade (which is red, of course) and Fidel Castro's Havana Banana, with a label imploring would-be drinkers to "taste the revolution."
A location in Raleigh carries 500 glass-bottled sodas, 106 kinds of saltwater taffy and more than 2,000 kinds of candy, according to the News & Observer.
According to the store's website, Rocket Fizz stores are "fun and nostalgic" and filled with "hundreds of retro and gag gifts, and concert posters and movie posters, and tin signs too. The inventory is always expanding, just like outer-space."
Rocket Fizz gained greater recognition last year when its president Robert Powells appeared on Undercover Boss on CBS, where it was revealed that Powells originally financed his candy company by selling fake dog poop.
There's no word yet on when the store will open, but signs on the window indicate the location is in the process of hiring.
The Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shops Official Website © 2008-2018
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Megan Henwood
Head, Heart, Hand
Dharma Records
DHARMACD21
Gorgeous Folk songs for the open-minded music fan
One time winner of the prestigious BBC Young Folk Award alongside brother Joe in 2009; this is Megan Henwood’s second album and will go a long way to pushing her along the road to fame (and fortune).
Thankfully; from my point of view Megan Henwood mixes up her musical styles along the way, starting with Love/Loathe which; while still Modern Folk has a soft-Rock beat that will make it very radio-friendly; if such stations still exist.
Chemicals is a touch simpler; but reminiscent of several singer-songwriters in my collection and Megan’s slightly scarred but still sweet voice is delightful as she recounts a fragile story of a recent relationship break up.
A couple of personal favourites are the 70’s infused No Good No Sun and Puppet & The Songbird. Perhaps it’s me, but I couldn’t help imagining Megan wearing a flowing maxi-dress, afghan waistcoat and big floppy hat as she channels Judie Tzuke, Kirsty MacColl and Joan Armatrading as she sings both songs.
Along the way Megan Henwood’s warm voice is complimented by guitars, a cello, a viola, electric guitars (and bass), a Hammond organ and on the incredibly personal Painkiller The Catweazel Choir at the Ashmolean Museum.’
Head, Heart Hand is a gorgeous addition to my record collection and bodes well for the young singer’s future as it will appeal to not only die-hard Folk fans but also music fans of all persuasions who appreciate a good song, well sung.
http://www.meganhenwood.com
Released UK July10th 2015
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Get the ultimate experience Download our app now
Inzaghi fired up for revenge against Milan
Obinna Echi April 23, 2019 6:37 pm
Simone Inzaghi has warned Milan that Lazio will be out for revenge ahead of their Wednesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final second leg at San Siro.
Both sides drew blank in the first leg of the tie but Milan has enjoyed a fair share of the wins in recent meetings.
Lazio have lost three of their last five Serie A games, among them a 2-1 defeat to Chievo.
“There’s been so much talk about our bad performance on Saturday,” Inzaghi told Lazio Style Channel and cited on Football Italia.
“Tomorrow we’ll have a lot to play for. The game will be very tight. We want to reach the Final and we’ll try to do our talking on the pitch. There’s a desire for payback.
“We’re facing a great team. We’ve seen it over the years, all our games have been tight.
“We must be able to play proactively and direct incidents in our favour. We’re playing for so much.
“We’ve been preparing well for the game. We want to reach the Final in 90 minutes. We want to do that at all costs.
#TIMCup #MilanLazio 🔜
📸 Quattro scatti dalla partenza dei biancocelesti pic.twitter.com/UGOYCZ26UU
— S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio) April 23, 2019
“I’ll make some important changes: our key players are crucial, but so are those who will come in.”
The last meeting between Milan and Lazio ended in a 2-1 win for the Rossoneri who has a decent home record against their opponents.
Simone Inzaghi
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Home dads homework help Hedgehog syndrome
Hedgehog syndrome
Presentation[ edit ] Typically, the nose is either missing or replaced with a non-functional nose. This deformity called proboscis usually forms above the center eye or on the back, and is characteristic of a form of cyclopia called rhinencephaly or rhinocephaly. Although cyclopia is rare, several cyclopic human babies are preserved in medical museums e. In such cases, the nose and mouth fail to form, or the nose grows from the roof of the mouth obstructing airflow, resulting in suffocation shortly after birth.
He constantly tries to fight every Hedgehog syndrome on his own for fear that if he allowed anyone to help, they may get hurt on his behalf.
This is especially prominent in Saber's route, where even though she was summoned with the express purpose of protecting him, he will always try his damndest to take the hits for her, and will often not even call upon her to help unless his life is in immediate, and we mean immediate peril.
Though, this does eventually earn him the perk of winning Saber's heart by the end of it, at least. Yaegaeshi Taichi from Kokoro Connect. It gets to the point that others actually get pissed off at him for trying to save everyone.
Every One-Shot Character with a problem that he encounters gets his help. Unless in the case of older pretty girls, Brock beats him to it. Even when Team Galactic is not affiliated to them in any way, he still wants to stop their Evil Plan.
Team Touden from Delicious in Dungeon will always stop to Hedgehog syndrome other adventurers in distress despite the fact they're on a severe time limit of getting back to the Red Dragon in time to save Falin before she is digested.
HMSN with CNS or Cranial nerve involvement
Goku from Dragon Ball. Every time someone, human or animal is in danger, be it genocide by evil alien overlord, a man trying to find water for his village, or a storm threatening to crush some dinosaur eggs, Goku has Hedgehog syndrome help.
This eventually rubs off on his son Gohan. Every Gundam protagonist ever. All Super Robot series protagonists with varying degrees. Tenma in Monster will not ignore any chance he sees to apply his medical skills for another's benefit, even if he's a fugitive on a manhunt.
To the point where in the end he saves the life of the man he's been trying to kill for the entire series.
This is the SECOND time he's saved his life, the first time being his first encounter with Johann and the reason he felt he had a duty to kill him.
Similarly to the above, the eponymous protagonist of Jin always stops and helps when someone's in need within earshot, even when ordered to keep low profile.
Sometimes, it feels like he charges for his services only because he's expected to. Yuuri Shibuya of Kyo Kara Maoh! Mytho in Princess Tutu has not a great case of this.
He literally loves everyone, and wants to protect them—so much that he shatters his heart to seal away the Raven. After he does this, he's an emotionless shell and an Extreme Doormatwandering lifelessly and completing any orders given to him Then he suddenly becomes the prince he once was and rushes to save them with no thought to his own safety.
This includes jumping out of a window to save a baby bird and injuring his ankle to catch a clumsy girl who tripped. Trigun 's resident pacifist Vash the Stampede. To the point that when someone kills a spider to let the butterfly it was going to eat go free, he flips out at them: He doesn't know how to respond when it's immediately pointed out that he can't because the spider will have to kill eventually or else starve to death.
Played for drama in later episodes as this former Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass with Improbable Aiming Skills gradually becomes incapable of saving anyone. Even if he just met them, he will go out of his way to help them even though he will gain nothing from it and will usually end up in the hospital.
All of Touma's stories involve him saving someone in some way, and without even realizing it he amasses a collection of people across the globe on the science and magic sides who would throw themselves into a war for his sake whether it be out of gratefulness or romantic interest.
To a lesser extent, Shiage Hamazura.
Actress Jacelyn Tay announces divorce on Instagram, deletes post, then reinstates post. Singapore actress Jacelyn Tay announced on Sunday (18 Nov) that . Chronic Hero Syndrome is an "affliction" of cleaner heroes where for them, every wrong within earshot must be righted, and everyone in need must be helped, preferably by Our Hero themself.. While certainly admirable, this may have a few negative side-effects on the hero and those around them. What is Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome? Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome (WHS) is a degenerative disease affects the nervous system of both African pygmy (Alterix sp) and European (Erinaceus europaeus) hedgehogs.
Lampshaded by Birdway later in the series, as she points out that Hamazura may not want to help her out, but his nature means he's going to anyway. Mikoto Misaka is also a sufferer of Chronic Heroine Syndrome. Deconstructed on a personal level— when it's her who really needs Chronic Heroes to solve her situation such as during Sisters arcshe won't let anyone jump into it.
Chadsometimes bordering on All-Loving Hero. As time goes on and the series undergoes its Genre Shiftdarker sides begin to emerge. It turns out Medaka has had this kind of complex since she was two years old. On the positive side, it gave her a purpose in life and kept her from becoming a Nietzsche Wannabe or raging egotist like most Abnormals.
On the negative side, she considers helping people her only reason for existing and can't imagine anything else, which helped make her unable to relate to most ordinary people.Welcome to The Hedgehog Welfare Society Even as hedgehogs gain in popularity as pets, there is a surprising lack of information about their proper care.
The Hedgehog Welfare Society hopes to help you have a better relationship with your happy, healthy hedgehog. A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family attheheels.com are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found through parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction.
There are no hedgehogs native to Australia and no living species native to the Americas (the extinct genus Amphechinus was once present in North.
Genetics PMP Gene mutation types Duplication of one PMP gene (3 total copies of PMP): Types. Segmental duplication in gene area. Due to unequal crossing over of chromosomes during meiosis; Trisomy of short arm on chromosome 17 (17p): Mosaic. The villainous archnemesis of Sonic the Hedgehog has never looked so cute before!
This plushie of the lovable villain Dr.
Eggman resembles the good doctor in his 16 . What is NOT Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome Quite a bit of attention has been given to Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome (WHS) in recent years. WHS is a chronic, progressive paralysis that typically starts with the hindquarters and progresses until the hedgehog is completely incapacitated.
The acrocallosal syndrome is an autosomal recessive mental retardation syndrome with brain abnormalities such as corpus callosum agenesis and/or Dandy-Walker malformation as well as dysmorphic features, postaxial polydactyly of the hands, and preaxial polydactyly of the feet (Schinzel and Schmid, ).It is considered a ciliopathy (Putoux et al., ).
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A plot summary of rebecca gilmans play boy gets girl
What is NOT WHS
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RWI-70
Raoul Wallenberg
Mission in Budapest 1944
Disappearance & Fate
Holocaust in Hungary
Soviet prison system
The Wallenberg Case in Russia
Enforced disappearances
Official review 2012
The Swedish catalogue
The Russian catalogue
Von Dardel vs. USSR
Raoul Wallenberg Databases
Buxus Stiftung
Fritz Bauer Bibliothek
Fritz Bauer Blog
Fritz Bauer Kolleg
Documents are of central importance to our project and to the history of the Wallenberg case – from the Swedish diplomatic passport that was issued to Raoul Wallenberg in June 1944 which gave him the necessary official status to carry out his humanitarian mission in Hungary; the historic “Schutzpass” (Protective Passport) Wallenberg and his Swedish diplomatic colleagues issued to thousands of persecuted Jews; to the so-called Smoltsov Report of July 17, 1947 – the note supposedly signed by A.L. Smoltsov, head of the Lubyanka Prison Medical Department, and sent to the Soviet Minister of State Security Viktor Abakumov, informing him of Wallenberg’s death in Moscow’s Internal (Lubyanka) Prison.
Most of the documents turned over by Russian authorities during the 1990s and 2000s remain heavily censored. The RWI-70 works to obtain access to these documents in their original form, uncensored and in the original context. We also to seek the release of additional, still classified documentation in Russian and other international archives.
In this section, we will try to display or provide links to as many relevant documents, including official reports, as possible, in order to facilitate discussion and exchange among experts.
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Most types of Salmonella live in the intestinal tracts of animals and birds. Prior to the 1970s, fecal contamination of eggshells was the primary source of Salmonella infection associated with eggs. In the 1970s, however, procedures for cleaning and inspecting eggs were implemented and the number of Salmonella infections associated with fecal contamination of eggshells is now extremely rare.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, researchers discovered that Salmonella enteritidis has the capability to infect the ovaries of otherwise healthy hens and contaminate eggs before shells have formed. Studies have shown that Salmonellaenteritidis can be found inside intact and disinfected grade A eggs. St. Louis, et al. reported in 1988:
From 1976 to 1986, reported Salmonella enteritidis infections increased more than sixfold in the northeastern United States. From January 1985 to May 1987, sixty-five foodborne outbreaks of S enteritidis were reported in the Northeast that were associated with 2119 cases and 11 deaths. Twenty-seven (77%) of the 35 outbreaks with identified food vehicles were caused by Grade A shell eggs or foods that contained such eggs.*
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only a small number of hens are infected at any one time, and an infected hen lays contaminated eggs only sporadically. Estimates are that one in 10,000 eggs produced in the northeastern United States may be internally contaminated with Salmonella enteritidis. Eggs from other parts of the US have lower contamination rates.
A nationwide Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak was traced to eggs produced by Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms in 2010. At least 1,609 Salmonella cases were documented across the country, and the two companies recalled a total of 550 million eggs for potential Salmonella contamination. The eggs had been distributed to retail outlets and restaurants, and several Salmonella outbreaks originally associated with restaurants were later determined to be caused by the contaminated eggs. See Wright County Egg Salmonella Lawsuits and Litigation
In 2003, a Salmonella enteritidis outbreak in southeastern Washington State was traced to the consumption of fried ice cream served at a banquet held at Bogey’s Restaurantin Clarkston, Washington. The Washington Department of Health (WDOH) investigated the outbreak, and concluded that over 58 people had become ill with Salmonellainfections after attending the banquet. The environmental investigation revealed that in the preparation of the dessert, scooped ice cream was dunked in an egg mixture that had been pooled the day before and stored in a five gallon bucket. Prior pooling of eggs is a violation of the Washington State Food Code. WDOH ultimately stated that undercooked, “pooled” eggs used in the making of fried ice cream were the cause of the Salmonella outbreak, but did not rule out the possibility that an infected food handler could have been the source. See Quality Inn Salmonella Outbreak Lawsuits.
Unpasteurized eggs should only be considered safe if they have been cooked to a temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Eating eggs prepared with a runny yolk is a risk factor for Salmonella infection. Undercooked egg whites and yolks have both been associated with Salmonella enteritidis infections.
The CDC recommends following the below food safety procedures to prevent Salmonella infection from contaminated eggs:
Keep eggs refrigerated.
Discard cracked or dirty eggs.
Wash hands and cooking utensils with soap and water after contact with raw eggs.
Eat eggs promptly after cooking.
Refrigerated unused or leftover egg-containing foods within 2 hours of cooking them. .
Avoid eating raw eggs in foods such as homemade ice cream or eggnog. .
Avoid restaurant dishes made with raw or undercooked, unpasteurized eggs, such as Caesar salad or hollandaise sauce.
* St. Louis ME, Morse DL, Potter ME, et al. The emergence of grade A eggs as a major source of Salmonella Enteritidis infections: new implications for the control of salmonellosis. JAMA 1988;259:2103--7.
Hepatitis Sources
Eggs Related Cases
Wright County Egg Salmonella Lawsuits and Litigation
In August, 2010 eggs contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis were linked to thousands of Salmonella illnesses nationwide. Marler Clark filed four Salmonella lawsuits in connection with the outbreak. After a Congressional...
Baker Street Restaurant Salmonella Outbreak 2010
An outbreak of Salmonella that sickened 30 patrons of a restaurant in Kenosha, Wisconsin has resulted in a lawsuit filed by Marler Clark. It was later amended to include Wright...
Quality Inn Salmonella Outbreak Lawsuits
Marler Clark's Salmonella lawyers represented victims of a 2003 Salmonella outbreak traced to the Quality Inn restaurant in Clarkston, Washington.
Adrift Restaurant Salmonella Lawsuits
The Salmonella lawyers at Marler Clark represented two women in claims against Adrift restaurant. Health officials determined that the women had become ill with Salmonellosis after eating crab cakes that...
Beaches Sandy Bay Jamaica Salmonella Outbreak Litigation
The Marler Clark Salmonella lawyers represented two couples who became ill with Salmonella infections after staying at the Beaches resort in Jamaica. 70 people from the United States were confirmed...
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ShellE / December 31, 2015
All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records, Mark Z. Danielewski, and Vienna Teng.
November 1, 2015 All Things Must Pass
From a night full of the stories of failures that led to success at The Best Worst, our next big event was an amazing documentary film about the major success and ultimate failure of Tower Records. The screening at the Embarcadero Landmark Theatres was attended by Russ Solomon, the legendary founder of Tower Records and Darrin Roberts, who was responsible for editing together an extremely compelling and emotionally provocative film out of the rise and fall of one of the largest record store chains in the world. The interspersing of archival footage and interviews with the people that brought Tower Records to life and were there through its dying days was fantastic and being able to meet Solomon and Roberts after and thank them both for what they did was a great treat as well.
All Things Must Pass was definitely my favorite film going into December from this year and I’ve seen a bunch of movies in the theater. I’m really glad we had the opportunity to go and watch this film in a theater full of dedicated Tower Records fans and music lovers. I’m still very sad that the Tower brand has been reduced to ashes here in the United States but very happy that it lives on in Japan.
We got to meet the man that made the stores that made our music collection what it is today.
A post shared by @ exej on Nov 1, 2015 at 6:53pm PST
November 7, 2015 Mark Z Danielewski Reading The Familiar Vol 2 at Books Inc Van Ness
For the first leg of Mark Z. Danielewski’s touring behind his epic series, The Familiar, we headed to Georgia and Oklahoma. For the second leg, we headed on BART to Civic Center and walked up Van Ness to Books Inc.
Mark’s tour routing conflicted with our Vienna Teng shows so this was to be our only experience seeing him on The Familiar Vol. 2 tour.
We headed first to Berkeley and dropped off our computer and gear for the Vienna Teng webcast we would be producing that evening. Then we took BART to the city and got to the bookstore around an hour and a half before the reading was set to begin.
We went to Peet’s Coffee in front of the book store and I ordered a peppermint hot chocolate that was a lot more mocha coffee tasting than hot chocolate tasting, but whatever.
Once they allowed seating, we sat and for around half an hour were the only ones really sitting there. We decided to try using Periscope to live stream the reading and a few minutes in learned that my phone overheats pretty quickly when broadcasting to Periscope. Oops.
Mark read first from The Familiar Vol. 1, then from Vol. 2, selecting to read The Reunionist, a poem from one of Astair’s chapters and another Astair chapter as well. I dislike Astair’s character a lot, so his selections kind of bothered me but I do realize that this book was really focused on the Ibrahims and you can’t really focus on them without her being a part of the focus.
A post shared by Michele Santiago (@michelevr5) on Nov 7, 2015 at 3:01pm PST
After a somewhat lively Q&A, we jumped to the front of the line and greeted Mark and got our book signed. He mentioned a couple of places he hopes to go to on the next tour in Summer 2016 and we headed back across the bay to Berkeley for Vienna Teng soundcheck.
We’ve known Mark for a long time now, and I am excited for the road we all take next year with another couple of volumes of The Familiar and some more travel to places we’ve been and maybe never expected to return to.
View our photos on Flickr
November 7, 2015 Vienna Teng at Freight and Salvage
What I posted to VT.com:
Thanks Faix for posting the setlist!
I know a lot of folks were at the show on Saturday night and some others got to experience the show through a mysterious portal that opened up a few minutes before the show to the internet and closed shortly after the after-show set ended.
I wanted to post a bit about the journey that The Fourth Messenger went through over the years from the eyes of the silent observer sitting in the audience and not really doing any work and a little bit about the process that went into the web broadcast that happened for the show.
We first got to experience an early draft of The Fourth Messenger, then titled Sid Arthur, in late January 2009. By that point, Tanya Shaffer had already been working on the project for a number of years and Vienna had begun work adding music to the words that Tanya had written. The first version we got to experience in a staged reading where the show focused a lot on Mama Sid and her teachings and a reporter named Conseula threatened to expose a shocking secret from Sid’s past. A good chunk of the songs were unfinished. Those parts were extended monologues carried by the wonderful Cathleen Riddley who in that incarnation of the show played the role of Mama Sid. There was also an interesting bit of what I would call “early Vienna Teng experimentation in GarageBand” to close out the first act.
Since then, we’ve been to multiple readings, saw the show a few times during its theatrical premiere at the Ashby Stage and been able to see the evolution of the show and now its soundtrack recording and the very special shows that followed. We’ve grown attached to seeing amazing actors like Cathleen Riddley, Anna Ishida and Robert Brewer who have been with the production since as far back as that very early 2009 reading. We’ve been astonished by the stellar performances by Reggie D. White, who no matter what role he is playing seems to have a knack for bending the audience’s emotion in the direction it needs to go. We’ve seen characters excised and retooled, cut and brought back, songs rearranged and replaced and by the time the show premiere in 2013, an actual Broadway caliber show emerged from those early drafts.
Director Matt August somehow took all of those parts and formed the next big story that played out to sold out audiences for five weeks at the Ashby Stage. Vienna’s music was turned into a theatrical score played by a band live as the actors took us through the adventure and we were all able to celebrate the culmination of the journey that started with collaboration from Tanya and Vienna and grew into The Fourth Messenger.
Except the journey wasn’t over yet.
Earlier this year, we got to visit the recording studio and see a bit of the soundtrack album, which is available tomorrow at http://thefourthmessenger.bandcamp.com being made. Vienna was now Mama Sid and Tanya and Matt were now directing a studio recording.
The album includes some of the changes that were made after the first theatrical run and even some things cut long ago if you grab the bonus audio or the digital edition.
This weekend, we got to see the happy reunion of folks from multiple versions of The Fourth Messenger, taking the stage in support of the soundtrack and the show and putting a ton of effort into conveying a story without props or set dressing. The cast, which for night one included Noe Venable playing Vienna’s character’s mother and for night two included Cathleen Riddley reprising her role as “the hag”, was outstanding. Seeing everyone on the stage bringing the soundtrack and the musical back to life was a sight I was happy to be able to experience, and also a sight I was happy to be able to share with others.
For the webcast, Michele and I have been recording video and audio of Vienna Teng shows for 13 years (seriously, our first show was 13 years ago today) and Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse has given us unprecedented access to their venue. We’ve had a lot of practice there over the years and it has been noted that Concert Window has caused a bit of anxiety for fans that can’t attend in person over the years. We worked throughout the last week testing out a setup that would give viewers what we see with our single camera video recordings but live as it happened, with just a 20 second or so delay as it bounced to YouTube and onto your screens.
We used a powerful laptop computer, tied to an M-Audio MobilePre plugged into the (sorry it is mono but it’s accurate) crisp soundboard feed from the Freight and Salvage. That was all connected to another box, an Elgato Game Capture HD, which was connected to our video camera positioned in front of the soundboard in the center of the audience.
I manned the computer while Michele manned the camera. You got to see what we saw just as we filmed it and I was happy to see so many of you commenting and happy with the quality of the stream.
The stream is still available via the Vienna Teng YouTube channel and The Fourth Messenger soundtrack will be available for purchase tomorrow and features a lot of new Vienna Teng vocals and an outtake that Vienna performs on piano and vocals in the digital extras. Do yourselves a favor and pick it up, won’t you?
The Fourth Messenger set
0. Drive (co-wrote with Alex Wong)
2. Pebble in a Lake
3. The Truth Must Come Out (David Rodwin as Sam)
4. Monkey Mind [context: This Story is Mine]
5. The Human Experience (original/reprise)
6. Bois Riche (David Rodwin as Sunny) [context: Four Messengers]
7. You’ve Got a Glow (Pierce Peter Brandt as Andy)
8. Knock Knock
9. Force of Nature
10. The Real Thing (Reggie D. White as Delilah; Helen Laroche as Hag)
11. I Will Not Rise [context: Look to the Thought]
12. Sid’s Temptations (Reggie D. White as Bread; Tanya Shaffer as Glass of Water; Noe Venable as May; Barnaby James as Yasha)
13. It Was You
14. What About Me?
15. You Are There
16. Aren’t You Ashamed? [context: This Story is Mine Final Reprise]
17. As Long As I Am Living
18. Look to the Thought Reprise (Reggie D. White because why not!)
Request Set
1. Never Look Away
2. Cannonball (Damien Rice cover)
3. Eric’s Song
4. Flyweight Love
5. The Hymn of Acxiom [sans robots]
6. Pencil Sketch
7. Both Sides, Now (Joni Mitchell cover)
8. Goodnight New York
9. Ain’t No Sunshine/Lose Yourself (Bill Withers / Eminem Mashup)
10. Harbor
11. Antebellum
12. Landsailor
13. Soon Love Soon
November 8, 2015 Vienna Teng at Throckmorton
Thirteen years and counting.
Today marks the anniversary of the first Vienna Teng show that Michele and I attended. November 9, 2002 was the CD release celebration for the Virt Records version of Waking Hour and we got to meet a couple of great fans as well as Vienna and her mother that afternoon. We ended up at the next show the next day and our journey began.
The Throckmorton show started with Whatever You Want, a song with the third line being “thirteen years and counting.” I’ve decided to do a review of the songs Vienna selected from her catalog and provide some of the ways I personally have connected to them. You all know her performance was stellar. It always is. Here’s a different spin on things.
That one song that reminds me of Office Space. The connection here was more the 13 years than anything else on this particular night.
My Medea
The first Vienna show we attended was focused on Waking Hour and had an encore of Green Island Serenade and Anna Rose, two songs that would later appear on Warm Strangers. The second show was double the length and among many other songs that were yet unreleased was this dark and dramatic. For the Throckmorton show, she played this one by request from Eryn Allen and it fit in very well with the dramatic performance of The Fourth Messenger that was about to follow. From yesteryear, this was one of the songs that I really connected with and it helped keep us coming back.
An avalanche of Kickstarter fulfillment and an 8-bit remix that I’ve dreamed up but never worked on are the two things I think of first when I think of this one. I really love Aims as a whole and Level Up was a great single and has a really creative video as well.
Grandmother Song
While recording Grandmother Song for Inland Territory, we did some multimedia work that eventually went to Rounder to be used for press kit materials. We were in a slightly haunted house with Vienna, Alex, Eddie, the three talented women from Charming Hostess and a group consisting of the homeowners and some of their friends. It was there that I learned that I have no idea how to keep rhythm and instead of being featured on the track as a clapper or table slapper, I got to press space bar to start the recording in Pro Tools. 2nd Engineer for a Vienna Teng song is probably a better title than “guy who made it so we had to record 25 takes”.
Gravity (Braid)
Gravity, in one of its original forms, I can’t remember if it was Lake or River, was the first song we ever heard from Vienna Teng live. A friend had mentioned Vienna when we were visiting Los Angeles earlier in the year and her name was unique enough that we remembered it. Gravity was the standout track for me at that first performance and still one of my favorites today. I’ll never forget that first performance or the one January 20, 2003 that I watched on tape delay as she performed live with accompaniment from Paul Shaffer and the Late Show band when she performed on David Letterman’s show. I thought that then was going to be her big break and I’d never have the opportunity to help her load in her PA system or keyboard into a coffee shop or club again. I’m happy we’re still sort of doing that today but with a lot more than a few people at a Starbucks watching and enjoying her performances.
Feather Moon
Another one that debuted for us at the epic second show Michele and I attended. My favorite performance of Feather Moon was actually one with aborted side project Estonia (Jim Batcho, John Given, Nate Query and Vienna), Alan Lin, Marika Hughes and Odessa Chen from The Independent on December 16, 2004. It was the second ever “Special Holiday Show” for Vienna Teng and her talented musician friends, a project that was once a doodled out fantasy from me that I shared with Vienna and The Animators after a show earlier in the year. The doodle included pretend sets from Kyler England, The Animators and Vienna Teng with a big cover tune encore at the end.
They say it’s your birthday, okay, it wasn’t mine. Happy birthday guy whose birthday it was.
Blue Caravan
My mom and sister were at the show that happened the day this song was “finished” and performed for the first time in soundcheck and was eager to gloat to me that she’d heard something by Vienna Teng that I hadn’t heard yet. It wasn’t until years later that I got to experience actually getting into a legitimate blue Dodge Caravan and joined Vienna and Alex on tour for a few dates. Blue Caravan helps connect me back to my family through a song and there are so many roads we have all traveled on this Vienna Teng music map journey thus far that I could spend hours going into explicit detail and boring all of you.
The Short Story Players, a band consisting of Marika Hughes, Shahzad Ismaily and Dina Maccabee accompanying Vienna worked out an amazing arrangement of this song that included a dance number. For the Live at World Cafe DVD taping, which was to mark the FINAL performance of that dance number, Dina took the “lay down and die” line a bit too extreme and almost injured herself. I passed by City Hall on both Saturday and Sunday and the song is always my internal soundtrack when I’m walking in San Francisco’s civic center.
Ain’t No Sunshine/Lose Yourself
Vienna had been threatening to learn Lose Yourself for quite a while and this mashup first premiered on StageIt during the “rarities” show she did a few years back. I tended to stay away from the web broadcasts but this one brought me over to Michele’s computer screen. The blend of Withers and Mathers with Vienna is an unexpected mixture that really works and I’m glad to see that lots of other fans like it too.
Decade and One
It is funny to listen to this one, written when Vienna was twenty, looking forward 11 years. We met her a few years later and can now look back 11 years or forward 11 more. I’m thankful for all of those I’ve met and connected with over my time as a fan and the people that Vienna brings in to both accompany her on songs and those that line up and sell out shows around the world. It is rare to be able to form a lasting friendship with someone who you went to see in concert at a library one day and then sorta kept showing up to see again and again. It is even rarer to form those lasting friendships with those who also showed up at one show and then kept showing up again and again. Thanks to all of you for being those people.
Harbor (messed with) mashed up with In Your Eyes
Harbor debuted in a soundcheck at Freight and Salvage unexpectedly for us one day. Wait, Waking Hour (the song, not the album) has lyrics now? I think next time the request bucket comes out, I’ll be requesting “Waking Hour, but with lyrics”.
For those attending the show, incorporating some Peter Gabriel into the “messed with” version of Harbor probably seemed like a bit of spur-of-the-moment impromptu genius from Vienna. Yes, it was, but it has been an oft-requested cover that she may have tricked me and Michele into believing she has now satisfied. That early doodled “Vienna Teng and Friends Extravaganza” plan that I drew up that sort of became the traditional holiday concerts ended with Vienna, The Animators and Kyler joining together for a cover of In Your Eyes. Michele requested it with a smiley face this year in hopes it would get onto the requests only setlist and there it was, plain as day, to mark the end of our twelfth year as fans. That said, Vienna cheated as she didn’t even get to the chorus, so we’ll be requesting it again someday.
Lullabye For A Stormy Night
As we put another year to rest, this gentle lullaby. Since we won’t have holiday shows, I’ll take the time now to wish everyone a happy and joyous holiday season.
Songs From The Fourth Messenger
Pebble in a Lake
The Truth Must Come Out
The Human Experience (deluxe version, original plus reprise)
Bois Riche
You’ve Got a Glow
I Wil Not Rise
You Are There
Aren’t You Ashamed
As Long As I Am Living
Look to the Thought Reprise
Team VT have concluded our broadcast year
A post shared by @ exej on Nov 9, 2015 at 12:10am PST
December 31, 2015 in Books, Movies, Music.
The Tale of the All New Rookie Evil
Stephen Tobolowsky and Groundhog Day on Groundhog Day at the Roxie (Sketchfest 2015)
← October 2015
December 2015 →
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Night Will Fall (DVD) Night Will Fall (DVD)
This eloquent, lucid documentary by André Singer (executive producer of the award-winning The Act of Killing) tells the extraordinary story of the filming of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps
When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened.
Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman and, Hitchcock as treatment adviso. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums. This eloquent, lucid documentary by André Singer (executive producer of the award-winning The Act of Killing) tells the extraordinary story of the filming of the camps and the fate of Bernstein’s project, using original archive footage and eyewitness testimonies.
• Original trailer
• Oświęcim (1945, 22 mins): Russian propaganda film about the Auschwitz concentration camp
• Death Mills (Hanuš Berger and Billy Wilder, 1946, 22 mins): US propaganda film recording the horrors Allied forces encountered at the Nazi concentration camps they liberated
• Belsen Death Camp Leaders Meet Justice (1945, 2 mins): short newsreel about the trial of Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg
• Night Will Fall – Panel Discussion (2014, 13 mins)
• An Interview with Dr Jeremy Hicks at Auschwitz Concentration Camp (2014, 24 mins)
• An Interview with Professor Rainer Schulze at Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp (2014, 28 mins)
• An interview with Professor David Cesarani at Buchenwald Concentration Camp (2014, 25 mins)
• An Interview with Caroline Moorehead (2014, 13 mins)
• Stills gallery
• Illustrated booklet with full credits and essays by Nick James, André Singer, Toby Haggith and Patrick Russell
BFIV2022
a film by Andre Singer
Singer, Andre
UK, Germany, France, Israel, USA, Denmark
multi-aspect ratio
Colour, B&W
Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio
optional English subtitles, English hard-of-hearing subtitles, and audio description track
English, Hebrew and Russian
Shoah: BFI Film Classics
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Administration services and support
Capital funding for schools
The following information is for headteachers and governors about possible sources of funding available for capital schemes.
Basic Need (BN)
This funding is to provide essential additional school places in areas of population growth. Whilst allocations are made to local authorities, the Department for Education (DfE) expect that the funds should be used to provide places in any type of school (including all types of maintained schools, academies and free schools) in order to ensure sufficient places.
Basic need resources are allocated to local authorities on the basis of 'relative need'. For this purpose 'need' is measured in terms of forecast pupil growth for the period (provided by local authorities through the school capacity returns).
Weightings are applied to take account of whether places are in primary or secondary schools and are also adjusted to reflect the relative costs of building work in different regions across the country.
The basic need allocation for Derbyshire for 2020 - 2021 was £6,283,771.
Officers make recommendations of basic need projects for inclusion in the capital programme to elected members based on an analysis of school net capacity assessments, current and projected numbers on roll together with knowledge of any future housing development within normal areas.
Capital Maintenance (CM)
The capital maintenance funding provides resources for authorities to improve and upgrade the condition of schools inline with priorities set out in local asset management plans.
This funding is allocated on the basis of 'relative need'. For this purpose 'need' is measured in terms of schools and pupils (for those schools which expected to be maintained by us as at 1 April).
Weightings are applied to take account of whether or not schools have been modernised. Allocations are also adjusted to reflect the relative costs of building work in different regions across the country.
This funding is for voluntary controlled, community and foundation schools. Allocations for Voluntary Aided (VA) schools are calculated and administered separately. The DfE retains a separate budget for academies’ capital maintenance needs.
The capital maintenance allocation for Derbyshire in 2019 - 2020 was £7,681,922.
Officers make recommendations of projects suitable for funding from this allocation to elected members on a priority basis according to building condition. Officers are supported by advice from colleagues in our property section.
For further Information and advice on basic need and modernisation grants please contact your development contact officer or Sue Pegg, Head of Development, tel: 01629 536040 or email: sue.pegg@derbyshire.gov.uk
Joint Matched Funding (JMF) initiative
The JMF initiative allows schools to bid for 50% funding towards condition related projects between £10k and £30k.
For further information and advice on the JMF initiative, including how to apply for funding and types of eligible projects, please contact your development contact officer or Jill Beacham, Development Manager, tel: 01629 536549 or email: jill.beacham@derbyshire.gov.uk
Locally Controlled Voluntary Aided Programme (LCVAP)
This grant funding is to enable governing bodies to carry out improvement schemes in voluntary aided schools. Priorities will be determined in consultation with the diocesan authorities.
The LCVAP allocation for Derbyshire in 2019 - 2020 was £506,797.
For further information, please contact Jill Beacham, Development Manager, tel: 01629 536549 or email: jill.beacham@derbyshire.gov.uk
Devolved Formula Capital
This grant funding is devolved directly to schools to address their own priorities or to contribute to capital projects funded by us.
The Education Funding Agency (EFA) administers the grants via local authorities to voluntary controlled, community and foundation schools. Voluntary aided schools receive their grants directly.
The Devolved Formula Capital (DFC) can be used to fund improvements to buildings and other facilities including IT. Schools however are expected to concentrate this funding source on their most pressing capital priorities as identified in their AMP, with the highest priority always being given to condition type works especially those that have an impact on health and safety.
DFC funding is allocated by formula with an amount per school and an amount per pupil. (For VA schools these are adjusted for each governing body’s contribution and eligibility for VAT).
Table to show the DFC formula for schools
DFC Formula for 2019/2020
Local authority school
Voluntary aided school
Per school £4,000 £4,320
Per primary school pupil £11.25 £12.15
Per secondary school pupil £16.875 £18.23
Per special educational needs, boarding or pupil referral unit pupil £33.75
For further information, please see our Devolved Formula Capital (DFC) page.
Section 106 funding
This is a source of funding from developers which can be used to provide and/ or enhance educational facilities. Applications to secure such funding are made by the development section through district councils and are based on the identification of the number of primary and secondary pupils generated by a proposed development.
The multipliers for 2019 - 2020 are:
£16,812.24 per pupil
£ 4,034.94 per house
Secondary without post 16
£5,066.58 per house
Secondary with post 16
£673.42 per house
Income from section 106 will be notified to the development section who will review the need for development in line with the requirement of the agreement and schools’ circumstances.
Discussions will be held with the school(s), an appropriate scheme will be identified and the necessary elected member approval will be obtained.
Income from section 106 will vary in size. It is likely that the larger projects will require architectural support and will be managed by officers from the development team, the smaller amounts may be used to support school identified and self managed projects.
Schools Access Initiative
This is funding towards minor capital improvements in schools in order to allow individual disabled or SEN students to have equal access. Requests for funding normally come via the physically impaired, visually impaired or hearing impaired services.
For further information and advice, please contact Jill Beacham, Development Manager, tel: 01629 536549 or email: jill.beacham@derbyshire.gov.uk
Bids for funding
The development section plays a key role in advising schools on bids for capital funding. For further advice, please contact Sue Pegg, Head of Development, tel: 01629 536040 or email: sue.pegg@derbyshire.gov.uk
Related documents to download
Joint Matched Funding for schools - Guidance for headteachers and governors 2019 - 2020
18 July 2019 - 41.8 KB
Children's services development
The development section has responsibility for all matters concerning school places planning in addition to managing the children's services capital building programme.
Contact details of the development team.
Devolved Formula Capital (DFC)
Guidance and advice for headteachers, staff and governors about Devolved Formula Capital allocations and use of this grant funding.
Net capacity of schools and published admission numbers
Net capacity assessments of school buildings and published admission numbers (PANs) guidance for headteachers.
Potential impact of housing development
The likely impact of housing development within a school's normal area.
Project approvals
Our requirement to agree capital works on school sites.
Pupil forecasting
Information for headteachers about the pupil forecasting service provided by the development section.
Schools Access Initiative (SAI)
Certain individual pupils may have a disability which requires specific improvements to a building or site in order to meet their needs and thus enable full access to the school and its facilities.
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Art & Design NPR explores the visual arts including design, photography, sculpture, and architecture. Interviews, commentary, and audio. Subscribe to the RSS feed.
Vase of White Lilacs and Roses, 1883 Dallas Museum of Art hide caption
What A Way To Go: Even As He Died, Manet Made Life-Affirming Art
January 10, 2020 • In his last years, as he was dying of complications from syphilis, artist Édouard Manet was in agonizing pain — but you'd never know it from his exquisite flower bouquets and vibrant portraits.
Stickers designed by Grebet depict a local musician (left), and a woman wearing a traditional head scarf. O'Plerou Grebet hide caption
O'Plerou Grebet
Goats and Soda
The Emoji Designer Who's Bringing African Culture To Smartphone Keyboards
January 8, 2020 • O'Plerou Grebet, a graphic design student from Ivory Coast, created over 360 emojis depicting different facets of African life, from the djembe drum to a henna-dyed hand.
Malaka Gharib/NPR
Making Art Is Good For Your Health. Here's How To Start A Habit
January 7, 2020 • Professional artists aren't the only people who can make art. In this episode, learn how to weave art into your everyday life. Because whether you're doodling, making pottery or embroidering, creativity is good for you and your health.
The Picture Show: Picture Show
The Aftermath Of Iran's Missile Attack On An Iraqi Base Housing U.S. Troops
Haiti In Ruins: A Look Back At The 2010 Earthquake
Conservator Felicitas Klein, right, traveled from Germany with Villas at Bordighera, an 1884 painting by Claude Monet. She inspects the painting at the Denver Art Museum, along with senior paintings conservator Pamela Skiles. Kendelyn Ouellette hide caption
Kendelyn Ouellette
How Do You Move 100+ Monet Masterpieces? Very, Very Carefully
January 5, 2020 • Some 120 paintings by French Impressionist Claude Monet are on display at the Denver Art Museum. They're on loan from all over the world — and getting them from place to place is a lot of work.
Listen · 3:53 3:53
Travis Fullerton/Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
1 Night In An Edward Hopper Hotel Room? It's Less Lonely Than You Might Think
January 2, 2020 • It isn't hard to imagine yourself inside a Hopper painting (say, having a coffee at a late-night diner) and now, for $150 a night, you can sleep in a re-creation of his 1957 work, Western Motel.
Claire Harbage/NPR
Favorite Videos And Interactives Of 2019
December 31, 2019 • This year, NPR's interactives and videos focused on everything from teens' relationships with guns to rapid migration in Mongolia. For some joy, Big Bird and friends performed at the Tiny Desk.
A horn player (left) in this detail from a 1694 altar carving by Francesco Antonio d'Alberto in Piedmont, Italy, clearly has a swollen neck that signifies goiter, medical historians say. The thyroid condition was a sign of poverty in those days. Renzo Dionigi hide caption
Renzo Dionigi
Shots - Health News
Why Certain Poor Shepherds In Nativity Scenes Have Huge, Misshapen Throats
December 24, 2019 • In some historical Nativity scenes, the shepherds have grossly enlarged thyroid glands — also known today as goiter. It's an apparent symbol of their poverty and iodine-deficient diet.
Façade of Chicago's first and only Hanukkah-themed pop-up bar in Wrigleyville. Nolis Anderson for NPR hide caption
Nolis Anderson for NPR
In Chicago, Hanukkah Now Has Its Own Pop-Up Bar Experience
December 22, 2019 • The two creators of the new Hanukkah-themed bar saw a void in the pop-up scene. Neither is Jewish, but they did enough research to be able to serve up matzo ball soup, latkes, and boozy jelly donuts.
Ricardo Nagaoka
The Picture Show
A Glimpse Of Paraguay's Japanese Community
December 17, 2019 • During a trip back to Paraguay, photographer Ricardo Nagaoka documents the Japanese diaspora he grew up in.
The Mayor, a green cube with a top hat, goes "kaboom" in Wattam. Funomena/Annapurna Interactive hide caption
Funomena/Annapurna Interactive
Meet 'Wattam,' The Newest Absurd Video Game Playground From Keita Takahashi
December 17, 2019 • From the designer of Katamari Damacy and other cult favorites comes a new work — one just as eccentric and earnest as his past games.
Two editions of Maurizio Cattelan's Comedian, a banana duct-taped to a wall, have reportedly sold for more than $100,000. Cindy Ord/Getty Images hide caption
Cindy Ord/Getty Images
Opinion: This Art Is Bananas
December 7, 2019 • A banana taped to a wall was sold for $120,000 as a piece of art. NPR's Scott Simon wonders how it makes people think about the passage of time.
Socks on display in the NPR gift shop. Petra Mayer/NPR hide caption
Petra Mayer/NPR
Sock It To Me: In Praise Of An Evergreen Holiday Gift
December 7, 2019 • It's the Christmas gift for when you can't think of what else to give — socks! And they're having their fashion-world moment, says Steven Frumkin, a dean at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Becky Harlan/NPR
Not A Regular Reader? 4 Strategies To Make Reading A Habit
December 5, 2019 • If you've given up on reading, for whatever reason — you feel slow, distracted or like you're not enjoying the books you tried — don't give up! These four reading strategies will help make reading a little easier and more fun.
Tai Shani, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock and Oscar Murillo pose for photographs after their names were announced as joint winners of the 2019 Turner Prize. Stuart C. Wilson/Stuart Wilson/Getty Images for T hide caption
Stuart C. Wilson/Stuart Wilson/Getty Images for T
All For One And One For Four: Turner Prize Finalists Decide To Split Honor
December 4, 2019 • The award is typically given to just one visual artist born or based in the U.K. But this year, its four politically committed finalists asked to make a "collective statement" — and got their wish.
When Leonardo da Vinci arrived in France in 1516, he brought three of his own paintings with him — "Virgin and Child with Saint Anne" (left), "Saint John the Baptist" (right) and the Mona Lisa. RMN-Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre)/René-Gabriel Ojéda (left) Michel Urtado (right) hide caption
RMN-Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre)/René-Gabriel Ojéda (left) Michel Urtado (right)
500 Years After Leonardo Da Vinci's Death, France Celebrates His Life And Work
November 29, 2019 • A new exhibition at the Louvre includes Leonardo's sketches, drawings and 11 paintings. "You can really get into his brain and try to see how he thought," says biographer Serge Bramly.
Somayeh, from Blank Pages of an Iranian Photo Album. Courtesy of Newsha Tavakolian/Magnum Photos hide caption
Courtesy of Newsha Tavakolian/Magnum Photos
'My Iran' — A Show Of Photography And Video By 6 Women — Contrasts Memory And Reality
November 29, 2019 • Photographs and video created by six Iranian women are now on view at the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Hayv Kahraman in her Los Angeles studio. Mandalit del Barco/NPR hide caption
Mandalit del Barco/NPR
Iraqi American Artist Hayv Kahraman Is 'Building An Army Of Fierce Women'
November 27, 2019 • Repeating female images, geometric 3D wood cutouts and acts of violence: They're the semi-autobiographical signatures of a refugee, a survivor of war and domestic violence, and a busy artist.
The Baltimore Museum of Art will buy only works by women next year, as part of a yearlong series exhibiting art by women. Amy Sherald's Planes, rockets, and the spaces in between (2018) is among the 3,800 works by women in the museum's collection. The Baltimore Museum of Art hide caption
The Baltimore Museum of Art
Baltimore Museum Of Art Will Buy Works By Women Only Next Year
November 19, 2019 • A 2019 study of major U.S. art museums found that 87% of artists in their collections are men. The Baltimore museum's chief curator calls the initiative "re-correcting the canon."
Iran's Lake Urmia has shriveled because of water mismanagement. Photographer Maximilian Mann traveled to northwest Iran to document life in the region. Here, a man walks in what used to be a river to the lake, now just salt. Maximilian Mann hide caption
Maximilian Mann
The Death And Life Of Iran's Lake Urmia
November 12, 2019 • The massive lake has dried out because of water mismanagement. Photographer Maximilian Mann traveled to northwest Iran to document the disappearing body of water and the people who depend on it.
Howard Weistling created his comic book A Western out of cigarette wrappers and flattened soup cans while he was a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II. Morgan Weistling/Morgan Weistling hide caption
Morgan Weistling/Morgan Weistling
'Like Getting My Father Back': WWII POW's Art Returned To His Family
KJZZ
November 10, 2019 • Howard Weistling dreamed of becoming a great comic strip artist, but he felt compelled to enlist in the Army Air Corps during WWII. He eventually created a comic while a prisoner of war in Germany.
People march along the Mississippi River levee in Louisiana on Friday as they perform in a reenactment of the 1811 German Coast Uprising. Gerald Herbert/AP hide caption
Gerald Herbert/AP
Hundreds March In Reenactment Of A Historic, But Long Forgotten Slave Rebellion
November 9, 2019 • Artist Dread Scott organized the 26-mile trek to New Orleans as a tribute to the men and women who protested their enslavement in the German Coast Uprising of 1811 by re-imagining a different outcome.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Not My Job: We Quiz 'Hamilton' Star Leslie Odom Jr. On Ben Franklin
November 9, 2019 • Leslie Odom Jr. originated the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton and we were curious to find out: How much does he know about founding fathers who weren't in the hit Broadway musical?
Nesma (left) and Anys are Algerian siblings who came out to each other at a party. They live in Paris, and both identify as queer. "It now makes us stronger and committed together for the queer and Algerian causes," Anys says. Mikael Chukwuma Owunna hide caption
Mikael Chukwuma Owunna
'Un-African'? Photos Challenge Notions Of LGBTQ Identity In The African Diaspora
November 2, 2019 • Mikael Owunna's new book captures the stories of LGBTQ African immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers reconciling their identity and their heritage.
More from Art & Design
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Is Rio 2016 the Pettiest Olympics Ever?
Ryan Lochte celebrated after winning gold in 4x200M Freestyle Relay Final.
Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
There are those who live for the grand drama of sports — the spirited battles, the storied rivalries, the photo finishes, the come-from-behind victories, the agony and the ecstasy in all its guises. The type of drama that the Olympics is supposed to celebrate.
Then there are those who prefer to bake the drama until it's a few shades pettier, racing with blinders on into silly feuds, scams, and international incidents by lying to police about drunken behavior. You know, that kind of thing.
While the 2016 Games in Rio provided a dose of the former, it certainly seemed to excel even more at the latter. Here are all those who medaled in pettiness in Rio 2016.
Ryan Lochte: The Ugly AmericanSure, there were always signs that Ryan Lochte was a bit of a — hmm, no use parsing words now — douche, but at least he was America's douche and a harmless one at that. In those innocent times, we met his calls of "jeah" and bottle-bleached hair with, "Aww, how adorable."
And then he discovered the line between harmless and harmful.
Lochte and three teammates first claimed that they had been robbed at gunpoint while out on the town celebrating the end of the swimming competitions and Lochte's gold in the 4x200m relay. Upon further investigation, local police determined that the U.S. swimmers had indeed gotten into a confrontation at a gas station, but only after vandalizing a bathroom and urinating on the floor.
Lochte's teammates eventually confessed that the bleached one's original story — in which he came off as the brave American on foreign soil — was a complete fabrication, and the ex-golden boy has since admitted to "over-exaggerating the story." Lochte has managed to keep his sponsorships with Speedo and Ralph Lauren... for now. Update: Lochte was officially dropped by both sponsors today.
https://twitter.com/hopesolo/status/756322142128594944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Hope Solo vs Zika and Hope Solo vs SwedenThe biggest winner of Lochtegate? Hope Solo.
The American goalkeeper seemed poised to emerge from these Games as our biggest villain in the Rio Olympics — at least to the rest of the world. First she poked fun at Brazil's Zika crisis on Instagram, which prompted local fans to chant "Zika" whenever she took the field. Then, after the U.S. was ousted from play by Sweden, she dubbed the Swedes "cowards," a petulant show of bad sportsmanship that even has Solo's teammates ruffled.
“That’s not our team, that’s not what this team has always been, that’s not what this team will be in the future," teammate Megan Rapinoe told USA Today. "We’re gracious, we’re humble and we play the game a certain way — whether we win or lose."
(Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
Germany Roasts Its Own Twin Athletes For Crossing the Finish Line Holding HandsAnna and Lisa Hahner, two blonde twins from Germany, both made the nation's marathon team, and when they crossed the finish line they did so holding hands. If they were American, perhaps we would have gone wild over the idea. Imagine the Facebook video headlines: "These Twin Olympians Crossed The Finish Line in the Most Heartwarming Way." But the Hahners are German. The Germans come to win, and win the Hahners did not. They came in 81st and 82nd, and their time was 15 minutes behind their personal best.
"It looked as though they completed a fun run and not [an] Olympic [race]," German Athletics Federation director Thomas Kurschilgen said to reporters.
The German public has criticized the pair, claiming that they staged the moment to raise their profile and provide publicity for future endeavors. The Hahners, however, say that the moment happened purely by chance and that they had received very little funding from the German Athletics Federation in the first place.
(Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
The Brazilian Diving Team Sex ScandalThe Brazilian team faced their own marathon scandal of sorts, centering on what the media has dubbed a "marathon sex session."
Ingrid Oliveira and Giovanna Pedroso came to compete as a synchronized diving team, but the night before their event, Pedroso claims that Oliveira banned her from the pair's shared room in the Olympic village. Oliveira wanted the room so she could hook up with Brazilian canoeist Pedro Goncalves, and Pedroso ended up snitching her out to team officials. The next day, the pair came in last in their event.
According to reports, the drama was the final straw in a partnership that had already grown tense, and the pair decided to go their separate ways after the embarrassing performance.
Angry Wrestling Coach Strips in ProtestMongolia's Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran was on his way to securing a bronze medal for wrestling, but then he got hit with a penalty for celebrating his victory too early. The loss in points ended up handing the medal to his opponent Uzbekistan’s Ikhtiyor Navruzo.
Mandakhnaran was understandably upset, but it didn't compare to his coaches' outrage. The coaching team took the mat to stage an impromptu Magic Mike set in protest, incredibly.
Guys, leave the Olympic stripping to U.S. gymnast Danell Leyva.
Watch W's most popular videos here:
Ryan LochteOlympicsHope Solo
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9-Day Self drive tour to lake Bohinj & Bled, Ljubljana the capital and Slovenian Riviera
Created: Wednesday, June 6, 2018
You are invited to enjoy the most naturally diverse and culturally rich country in Europe – Slovenia. Book this self drive 8-nights/9-days tour and enjoy an array of privileges. In association with SelectSlovenia partners the trip includes a diverse program of activities, to make your stay truly memorable. Prepare to discover Slovenia's stunning landscapes, taste gourmet delights and experience the country's top sights.
Themes: Romantic Family Beach Nature History City Relax Slovenian Icons Incredible Views SPA & Salon Slovenian Classics 7 - 10 days
Your travel package includes
Accommodation nights 8
estimated per person
BOOK ONLINE NOW Terms and conditions apply
Your day to day
Many visitors to Slovenia say they’ve never seen a more beautiful lake than Bled…that is, until they’ve seen Lake Bohinj, just 26km to the southwest. We’ll refrain from weighing in on the Bled versus Bohinj debate other than to say we see their point. Admittedly, Bohinj lacks Bled’s glamour, but it’s less crowded and in many ways more authentic. It’s an ideal summer holiday destination. People come primarily to chill out or to swim in the crystal-clear, blue-green water, with leisurely cycling and walking trails to occupy them. There are lots of outdoor pursuits like kayaking, hiking and horseback riding if you’ve got the energy, and the charming villages to the lake’s northeast, remarkably, have remained faithful to traditional occupations like dairy herding and farming.
Bohinj ECO Hotel
At 0.9 km from the center
Triglavska cesta 17, 4264 bohinjska bistrica, Bohinjska bistrica 4264
Property Location With a stay at Bohinj Eco Hotel, you'll be centrally located in Bohinj, within a 10-minute drive of Lake Bohinj and Bohinjsko Jezero. This 4.5-star hotel is 12 mi (19.3 km) from Lake Bled and 13.9 mi (22.3 km) from Bled Castle.Rooms...
Twin/Double Room - Superior (1)
2 Accommodation nights
Opel Mokka aut. or similar
15. Sep 2018 12:00
No transport selected
The most recognizable symbol of the lake is the Church of the Assumption with its long and diverse history, however the lush greenery also hides other interesting island buildings, like the bell-tower, church, chaplain's house, provost's house, small hermitage and some mysterious legends. The most renowned symbol of the island is the Church of the Assumption which demands a climb up the 99 stone-step staircase. In case you visit the island in just the right time, make time to witness a wedding in the romantic environment. As far as the wishing bell is concerned. Don't just watch it. Ring it.
Vila Bled
Cesta svobode 18, 4260 bled, Bled
Property Location Located in Bled, Hotel Vila Bled is on the waterfront, within a 5-minute drive of Lake Bled and Mala Osojnica. This 4-star hotel is 0.9 mi (1.5 km) from Church of Sv Marika Bozja and 1.9 mi (3 km) from St. Martin's Parish Church.Ro...
Standard Room Single Beds (1)
Bled Castle and Vintgar Gorge Half Day Trip
day 3 - Bled Castle and Vintgar Gorge Half Day Trip
Enjoy your stay in Bled and discover two of Slovenian's favorite tourist attractions in one day. See the famous Vintgar Gorge and Bled Castle on a self-guided tour. Your driver will pick you up from your hotel or from a meeting point in central Bled and bring you up to number one sight in Bled - the Bled Castle, where you will have the chance to have a drink, learn something about Bled and its surroundings in the museum and enjoy stunning views, before your driver takes you through an interesting landscape to Vintgar Gorge, where you will see amazing and beautiful nature.
About the activityEnjoy your stay in Bled and discover two of Slovenian's favorite tourist attractions in one day. See the famous Vintgar Gorge and Bled Castle on a self-guided tour. Your driver will pick you up from your hotel or from a meeting point in central Bled and bring you up to number one sight in Bled - the Bled Castle, where you will have the chance to have a drink, learn something about Bled and its surroundings in the museum and enjoy stunning views, before your driver takes you through an interesting landscape to Vintgar Gorge, where you will see amazing and beautiful nature.
Bled, Bled, Upper Carniola Region
Bottle of water , Transportation to/from attractions , Entry/Admission - Bled Castle (Blejski Grad) , entrance fees Bled castle and Vintgar gorge , Entry/Admission - Vintgar Gorge
hotel pickup and drop-off (5 EUR per person) , Guide , Gratuities
The maximum number of people to participate in the activity is 15 per booking . The minimum age to participate in this activity is 4 years .
At first glance, Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, seems almost too good to be true. Tucked up against the town’s e-topped hill, the baroque and folk-painted buildings of the old town are like something out of a fairytale. In fact, Ljubljana is very much a part of the real world; industry and the arts flourish here, and commerce is booming lively, lovely, and oh-so-easy for the foreign visitor, modern, sophisticated Ljubljana may well be one of the most pleasant city in Europe. Ljubljana has plenty of places to visit whether they be the city's castle which offers great views over the area from its hill top position, the fine museums and art galleries or taking in the local culture with good local food and drinks, especially beer. The hill with Ljubljana castle is situated in the city centre and narrow river Ljubljanica is slowly circulating around it. The old city centre is situated below this hill on the banks of Ljubljanica River. The focus of the city is Preseren square with its 3 bridges, Tromostovje. From there walk down Stritarjeva street to reach old Ljubljana and Ljubljana castle. Stroll down Copova street to reach Tivoli Park, a gorgeous park, famous for its boulevards, its flower garden and lake. Inside the park we have the International Centre of Graphic Arts. But to really enjoy Ljubljana walk along the Ljubljanica river banks in the evening, listen to the street music, sit in one of the numerous restaurants and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere.
InterContinental Ljubljana
Slovenska cesta 59 : ljubljana, 1000, slovenia, Ljubljana, slovenia
<p><b>Category</b><br/>Official Category: 5, Recommended Category: 5</p><p><b>Sports / Entertainment</b><br/>Gym: 1, Pool Indoor: 1</p><p><b>Hotel Facilities</b><br/>...
SUPERIOR ROOM (NON-REFUNDABLE) (1)
Guided Walk and Funicular Ride to Ljubljana Castle
day 4 - Summer 2018
In the company of a guide, you will take a walk through the historical city centre of Ljubljana, get to know the city's history, art, architecture, and way of life in the past and present through its major sights, and take a funicular ride to Ljubljana Castle.
About the activityIn the company of a guide, you will take a walk through the historical city centre of Ljubljana, get to know the city's history, art, architecture, and way of life in the past and present through its major sights, and take a funicular ride to Ljubljana Castle.
Mestni trg 1, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Local guide , Snack , Funicular Ride to Ljubljana Castle
Hotel pickup and drop-off , Gratuities
The maximum number of people to participate in the activity is 15 per booking .
Taste Ljubljana Culinary Tour
day 4 - Taste Ljubljana Culinary Tour
Meet your guide in central Ljubljana at midday — just as you start to feel hungry. Set off into the city to begin your culinary walking tour. Ljubljana is a city where the old and the new collide, and the cuisine is a reflection of that. Many popular dishes can be traced far back into the city’s history, while others are the result of modern-day culinary creativity.
During your tour, visit five restaurants and taste a different dish at each stop — all accompanied by a beverage. Along the way, gain insight into the diverse ingredients at play and learn of their origins in Slovenian cuisine.
Explore the Central Market, where busy buyers and sellers trade in fresh produce, then head on to Krakovo — an area of gardens and parkland traditionally occupied by the local vegetable-growers.
See historic sites around the city center where food trading took place during centuries passed, and take a trip to the top of Nebotičnik — once the tallest building in Central Europe — for fine views over Ljubljana.
After three hours of exploring Ljubljana and tasting the delicacies on offer, your tour will come to an end near the city center.
Infant meals not included
Tour returns to central Ljubljana.
About the activityMeet your guide in central Ljubljana at midday — just as you start to feel hungry. Set off into the city to begin your culinary walking tour. Ljubljana is a city where the old and the new collide, and the cuisine is a reflection of that. Many popular dishes can be traced far back into the city’s history, while others are the result of modern-day culinary creativity.
Central Ljubljana
Guide , Five food-tastings with beverages , Entry/Admission - Taste Ljubljana Food Tour , Entry/Admission - Regular Ljubljana City Tour , Entry/Admission - Visit Ljubljana , Entry/Admission - Central Market , Entry/Admission - Ljubljana Walking Tour and Funicular Ride
Hotel pick-up and drop-off , Gratuities
Portorož/Portorose is an Adriatic coastal town in the Municipality of Piran/Pirano in south-western Slovenia. Its modern development began in the late 19th century with appearance of first health resorts. In the early 20th century it became one of the grandest seaside resorts in Central Europe, along with Opatija/Abbazia, Lido and Grado, then as part of the Austrian Littoral. Part of Italy from 1918 and 1947, it is now one of the country's major tourist areas. Located in the centre is the Hotel Palace, once one of the most important resorts for the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, and currently one of the finest hotels between Venice and Dubrovnik.
Kempinski Palace Portoroz
Obala 45, 6320 portoroz, slovenia, Portoroz, slovenia
This 5 star hotel is located on the coastline of Portoroz and was established in 2008. It is a short drive away from the Piran Old Town. The Hotel has 3 restaurants, a bar, an indoor swimming pool, an outdoor swimming pool and a fitness centre/gym. A...
Park View Superior Double Room (1)
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9-Day Slovenian Riviera, Ljubljana the capital and Dolenjske SPA resort
8-Day Self drive tour to lake Bohinj & Bled, Ljubljana the capital and SPA relax
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8-Day Self drive SPA & Lake Bohinj tour with complimentay half board
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Venom 29.7
Posted on October 3, 2013 by wildbow
It wasn’t the most comfortable journey. I could handle uncomfortable. Uncomfortable was better than being upstairs and staring down the bastard that was exterminating humanity.
The opening of the tunnel had ridges, bumps and uneven edges that scraped past me with enough speed and force that I worried it would damage my costume. Probably intentional, giving traction to the ones who weren’t digging. But we passed that area and we hit smoother metal. Traction was harder to come by, the tunnel almost a winding waterslide.
I slid, as the others were doing, bracing my feet against the sides to slow my descent. The bugs I’d planted on my teammates let me track the turns and drops, angling and bracing myself as I ran into steeper drops, sharp turns and outright ten foot drops.
It reminded me of an anthill, in a way. Winding tunnels, irregular, exploratory, treacherous and impossible to navigate.
Cuff slid down and hit the end of the tunnel. A dead end, with a person there. She didn’t slow, instead using her power to hammer her way through, splitting the steel apart and driving herself and the individual at the end through the resulting hole.
The instant Cuff was through into the room on the other side of the tunnel, she and the individual she’d collided with were attacked. Lung was the next in line, followed by Canary, and they were ambushed as well. Lung was pinned against a wall, Canary liberally tossed back into a crowd that waited to disable her.
With Golem behind me, I didn’t want to stop and get my bearings, but I was plunging towards a situation I couldn’t fully grasp. Bugs I’d planted on my allies spread out, but it was too few to get a good picture of who and what was waiting for us.
I didn’t have Defiant’s knife. Floret had encased it in crystal. I could drag it here, maybe, or use relay bugs and wait for the crystal to expire before carting it my way, but that didn’t help me here. I called for my bugs to bring the knife anyways.
Rachel had paused before entry, getting herself sorted out with her pets, meaning she was only just arriving. Her reactions were fast, the commands to her canines quick and efficient.
They swelled as they put themselves between her and the waiting group, growing in size and manifesting their natural weapons. It was fast enough I suspected she’d been starting their growth as she approached the literal light at the end of the tunnel. Bastard’s changes were more fluid, faster, and more symmetrical than Huntress’, but he was younger, just a little smaller.
A group advanced on the canines without fear. Two people to Huntress, two to Bastard. Young men, if my swarm-sense was correct. The animals weren’t as big as they could get, but they were about as large as a couch. Yet the men didn’t show any fear.
They moved fluidly as the animals lunged, snapping and biting. Confident movements. Two caught Huntress’ head, wrenched it to the side, while the others avoided snapping jaws to catch Bastard’s forelimbs, bodily hauling him up and then throwing him to the ground.
The two animals were brought down in as many seconds. Pinned, as inexplicably as Lung was pinned. Except this wasn’t sheer strength. They were strategic, targeting body parts, one of the young men leveraging his whole body between Bastard’s forelimbs, forcing them apart in a way that the dog’s musculature couldn’t combat.
It was like holding a crocodile’s mouth shut. Jaw strength aside, the crocodile wasn’t built to force it’s mouth open. The wolf wasn’t built to draw its legs together against its chest, but couldn’t get feet under it to stand without dislodging the offending attacker. The other had his head caught and twisted to one side.
Huntress, for her part, was caught by the head alone, which had been forced down. The woman who had Lung pressed up against the wall had one foot on the dog’s muzzle, and was holding it down.
They made it look so easy it was almost effortless. A fifth boy approached Rachel, now disarmed of her dogs.
I forced myself to slow down as we approached a flatter spot. Theo’s heavy metal boots hit my shoulders.
We were still sliding down, but slower. Only seconds before we were through.
“Ambush below,” I managed.
No response. Whoever had dug the tunnel had been digging down when they reached the edge of the room. I supposed they’d stopped when they reached a layer made of a different material, going up to check. Our entry was a straight drop into one end of the room, and I landed flat on my back, nearly colliding with Rachel.
A boy. A teenage boy, clean-shaven, if he even needed to shave, wearing a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up the forearms, his blond hair slicked back, and black suit pants. He backed away a step as Golem and I appeared.
His appearance, the way they’d fought… like Contessa?
Each of the boys were identical.
Lung and Huntress were pinned by Alexandria. Or by Pretender wearing Alexandria’s body, in a way. Lung was changing, the canines swelling in size, and yet she didn’t look worried. Bastard was still on the ground, one of the boys looking as unconcerned as one could look while holding down a half-ton animal.
Behind the boys, a small crowd had gathered.
Doctor Mother, a Manton with the Siberian… or a Manton clone with the Siberian, a claw pressed to Gully’s throat. There were three more case fifty threes, all burly, all bound with heads hanging. Rounding out the group was the Number Man, who had a pen pressed tight against Cuff’s jugular, her costume already torn open at the throat to expose flesh. His foot was propped up on a sphere.
I could see the resemblance between the Number Man and the boys in dress shirts. Twenty or more years of difference, and the Number Man was dressed in a full suit, which somehow made him more imposing, pocket protector or no, but they were too similar to be anything but related.
Was Cauldron cloning? Another contingency plan?
At the very back of the room, separate from the group, were two pale young men, laid out on desks that sat on either side of a reinforced door. A twenty-something guy with flat skin stretched over where his eyes should be, and a guy that was maybe ten years older, with enough bloody bandage around his head and face that I couldn’t make out his features. Doormaker, I could assume, based on what I’d heard upstairs, along with the clairvoyant the Doctor had mentioned in the past.
The boy in the suit closed the distance, and Rachel struck out. He batted her fist aside. She kicked, and he casually caught it and leveraged it to throw her off balance, tossing her to the ground.
Maybe a little harder than he had to.
I saw how she fell, saw her back arch, the way she held her arm as she rolled over. She didn’t cry out, didn’t make any sounds of pain, but the degree of pain was clear.
A lot harder than necessary. Had she broken something?
He turned his head towards Golem and I, and he smiled a little. A tight, narrow, mocking smile.
“I’m not your enemy,” I said.
“You came out fighting,” Alexandria-Pretender said. She looked down at Rachel. “Or she did.”
“Bastard was acting like there was fighting going on, ears, hackles up. You attacked us.”
The Number-Man clone kicked her. Casually cruel.
I tensed, but I didn’t act. The fall had knocked the wind out of me. Catching my breath, then-
“Disable her,” the Doctor said.
The young man closed in. Still smiling. Fuck me, was that smug smile irritating. I felt a moment’s sympathy for people who’d had to face down Tattletale. I sicced my swarm on him.
He moved through the incoming insects, eyes open and unblinking as he closed the distance to me. Only a few landed, and they landed in spots where they couldn’t target more vulnerable areas.
That he wasn’t closing his eyes was telling. I used my bugs to try and blind him, to keep him from seeing how I was moving, and I reached behind my back, going for the pepper spray.
He blocked my wrist with his palm, keeping me from aiming at him. Not just sight. Or his sight was more acute than I’d realized. Hearing? Something else?
Be unpredictable.
Pepper spray killed bugs. I didn’t aim for him, but for the pair of us, spraying into open air, into my swarm.
I’d hoped to make him back off, but he didn’t. He ducked low, simultaneously bringing one foot up, catching me in the chest. In the same movement, he rolled to one side, getting away from the mist of pepper spray that was still hanging in the air and simultaneously avoiding Golem’s reaching hand of concrete.
For just an instant, my feet left the ground. I landed, but I landed with one foot on Rachel’s calf. I fell.
Too much like fighting Contessa. Everything winding up positioned just right. Damn it.
On my back, I was vulnerable, but Golem was covering me. This kid with the dress clothes was slippery, efficient, but the way his movements played out… maybe not quite on Contessa’s level. Contessa would have found a way to attack and defend at the same time, instead of being stuck evading Golem’s power.
I tried to haul air into my lungs and coughed instead. If they killed us before we got far enough…
Stupid, all of this, so stupid.
“Stop,” I spoke through my swarm.
The kid drew knives from his pockets. Small knives, with blades no longer than a finger.
Still confident, still sure of his victory.
A connection formed in my head. I knew, in an instant. Harbinger.
Cauldron had collected some of the remaining clones from Jack’s army.
The Number Man used to be in the Slaughterhouse Nine?
No, couldn’t get distracted. I was up against a kid with an analysis power that was off the charts, he’d dodge whatever I threw at him.
I used my pepper spray again. This time, I aimed at the two boys who had Bastard pinned. Opponents who couldn’t dodge, not without giving up an advantage. They moved out of the way, and in the process they let Bastard climb to his feet. He was half-again as large as he had been, a ridge of stegosaurus spikes along his spine, more spikes and barbs framing his face. He growled, and it wasn’t a dog sound. It wasn’t a wolf sound either.
Bringing two more of the kids into the fight, but now I had Bastard for backup.
Up until Alexandria-Pretender grabbed Huntress and hurled her at us. Me, Golem, Rachel, and Bastard were slammed into the far wall by Huntress’ bulk.
Lung was still growing, still changing, and his throat was broad enough now that she couldn’t do more than dig her fingertips into the front of it, but he still couldn’t break free of her grasp.
He opted for a second option, leveling a hand at the Doctor, Manton, the Number Man and the crowd of boys. Fire erupted forth. A half-second’s worth, before Alexandria threw him down and kicked him full-force into the wall beside us.
No use. The Siberian had saved them with her ability to grant her own invulnerability effect. Thankfully. If he’d torched them, all of this would have been for nothing.
Had to account for Lung’s behavior. Keep it in mind. He had a kind of pride, and it had nearly fucked us on two occasions so far.
“We’re-” I started to speak.
But Lung roared, drowning me out as he pulled free of Alexandria’s grasp. Not breaking her grip, but rending his own throat, tearing jugular and vein, windpipe even, in his furious attempt to get free.
Alexandria turned as Lung fell into a fighting stance. Less a martial artist’s stance than an animal, low to the ground, chest heaving to pull air through the gushing wound in his throat, a glare leveled at his opponent.
“Stop!” Imp called out.
It took me a second to place her. Behind the Doctor, a knife pressed against the Doctor’s throat. She pulled the Doctor back, away from Siberian. “If any of you move, I cut. This is-”
The Number Man fired something from hip level. A spark marked the bullet’s contact point at the mouth of the hole we’d come through. The weapon flew from Imp’s hand.
“-pointless,” Imp finished.
The Siberian crossed the distance, then stopped beside the Doctor. She put a hand on the Doctor’s shoulder.
More fighting. I clenched my fists. Stupid.
“Scion’s here,” I said, taking advantage of the momentary pause in the fighting.
Two and a half words to cut through the tension. I could see the change in the Doctor’s demeanor, the Number Man, even the Manton clone. One of the most powerful groups in the world, in every sense of the word, in raw powers, in political power, influence, knowledge, and they were spooked.
I hadn’t wanted to win, only to buy a chance to talk. Now this was it, and I had to get them to listen. Simpler was better. Straight to the point.
“We don’t have reason to trust you,” the Doctor said. “We’ve interacted, Weaver, I have a level of respect for you, but that doesn’t extend to equal measures of trust. You’re dangerous, and I can’t rule out that this is an assassination attempt.”
Translation: pure denial. You don’t want to believe me.
“He’s upstairs and he’s coming now,” I said.
“That-” the Doctor started. She paused, as if reflecting, taking in the implications, then shook her head a little. “That doesn’t change anything. I still can’t take your word for gospel.”
That sounded less like pure denial and more like outright suspicion. A step forward, I was pretty sure.
The whole structure rattled. I felt things sway a touch.
The Doctor looked up, then looked down at me, her gaze level, eyes narrowed slightly. It was the first time I’d seen her with her hair down, rather than pinned up with chopsticks or some ornate pin.
“I don’t know what to say, except that things are pretty fucking dire,” I said. “Satyr’s dead, for one thing.”
Alexandria flinched as though I’d slapped her and she had felt it.
I looked at her. “His team, dead. The prisoners you guys had on the second, third and fourth floors, all dead or dying as we speak. Read my expression, use Alexandria’s power, tell me I’m wrong.”
When Alexandria replied, the voice wasn’t quite Alexandria’s. “I’m afraid I haven’t had the chance to study that in depth to the degree she did.”
“It’s fine,” the Doctor said. “I’m willing to believe it, if this is an assassination attempt, I’ll take the risk.”
“If it was an assassination attempt,” Imp said, appearing at the far end of the room, “I’d have offed you.”
The Doctor glanced her way. “And you are?”
Imp sighed.
“We’ll make our way downstairs,” the Doctor decided. “William, please rotate the column while our… guests pick themselves up.”
Manton approached a computer terminal set into the wall and began typing.
Pick ourselves up. As if they hadn’t just bludgeoned their way through us.
Manton’s work at the computer produced results. The swaying feeling I’d experienced a moment ago hit me again. Everything I could see was still, but for people trying to catch their balance, but my non-parahuman senses told me we were moving.
It faded. Rachel ordered her dogs to stand, and the pile of us got ourselves sorted out. Lung was just at the midway point between human and monster, covered head to toe in overlapping metal scales, his neck a little too long, his shoulders too broad, had a claw pressed to the bleeding throat wound. By all rights, he should have been dead, but regeneration and an inhuman constitution went a long way.
Huntress got out of the way, and I made my way to my feet. I could feel the dull pain where bruises would emerge. If I lived that long.
There was another rumble, and a feeling like I was swaying, my sense of balance not quite right. Not Manton, so it had to be Scion. Had the steel column moved a fraction? Had it been intentional on Scion’s part, or a result of the action upstairs?
The Number Man gave Cuff a hand in standing, and she began folding up the metal around her neck, repairing the armor. She withdrew the wickedly sharp spikes at the knee and the base of her wrist, where she’d been shaping weapons in case she needed to fight her way free of his grip.
He only smiled, tapping one spike with his pen before it slipped into her costume. Cuff’s expression, where her lower face was visible beneath the layered visor she wore, wasn’t the slightest bit amused.
The boys with suits tended to the three prisoners and the two wounded. Alexandria tore off a thick metal table leg and wound it to bind Gully’s hands behind her back, before hoisting the unconscious case fifty-three up, carrying her.
“I’m sorry,” the Number Man said, to Rachel. “For the behavior of my clones. They’re inaccurate, based on hearsay and speculation more than fact. I was more polite, back then, more efficient.”
Rachel just gave him a funny look and shrugged her way past him.
I was tense. It wasn’t just the fight we’d left behind. Here, we had answers available, but so little time.
I held out my hands. Floret’s crystal with my knife inside dropped from the hole in the ceiling.
The Doctor typed a code into a keypad at the end of the room, and the Siberian opened the door beside it, turning a wheel to unlock it, then pushing the thick metal door open with a disconcerting ease. Clone or not, she was still the Siberian in power.
With the door now open, we were faced with a corridor, wide enough for my group to walk side by side, the Doctor’s group leading the way in front of us. Vials lined the walls around us, set into an arrangement of metal wires that kept them lined up, multiple vials of the same color lined up beside another arrangement of vials. Except nearly every vial was empty. There was only glass, no fluid inside. Where fluid did exist, the light filtered through and cast dark blotches of color on the gray walls behind.
But if I counted them, if I used my bugs to note the ones that had contents…
One or two hundred, maybe, with fluid still inside.
“Our stock,” the Doctor said. “Nearly depleted. We gave the formulas out for free, in hopes of turning out parahumans that could do damage to Scion. We retained only the volatile ones.”
“Volatile can be good,” I said. My eyes noted the sheer number of vials. Tens of thousands, even, virtually covering the walls on either side of us.
“Volatile can kill three quarters of the people who ingest it,” the Doctor said. “Or generate case fifty-threes we can’t use.”
“Right,” I said. “Nevermind, then.”
Each was marked with a combination of letters and numbers, and a title. I read the names of the ones that still had fluid inside.
Abel. Abbatoir. Access. Ace. Aegis. Air. Alchemy. Alias. Alpha. Amaze…
“So many,” a voice said.
The ball with Sveta inside.
“Quite a few,” the Doctor said.
“All tested on people?” Sveta asked.
“Yes,” the Doctor said.
“I remember, you know,” Sveta said. “I dream of home. I was a fisherman’s daughter. There were these beautiful little huts with flat roofs, orange clay brick against gray mountains, with green-blue grass and ocean. It was cramped, and I had to share space with my family, my siblings… but I was okay with it. There weren’t any boys my age to marry, and I didn’t want to move to another town to look for a husband, so I just stayed by myself. I’d draw, and there was a peace in it. I still like to draw, I find it helps me relax… but it’s hard because my tendrils break the brushes and pencils. And then I don’t feel relaxed anymore.”
“We’ve caused you difficulties,” the Doctor said, not even looking at Sveta. She walked quickly, her eyes roving over the rows and columns of vials.
“I can’t remember my mother tongue, Doctor. I can’t remember my daddy’s face, or my mommy, or either of my brothers. I’ve just got the faces I see in dreams. Every morning I was in the asylum, I would wake up and I scramble to draw something, to put words in a diary, and I’m so excited and panicked and desperate I’d break things.”
The Doctor wasn’t reacting.
“I know I used to draw, but I can’t find the style I used to draw in. I dream about the night you took me, you know.”
“Not me, surely. I sent others.”
“You sent people like me to take me. Case fifty-threes. Branded. Abominations. Demons. There’s names for us all over the world. It was storming, I was delirious, and they came, they grabbed me, and I all I could think was that the old stories were true, and I said something I can’t remember. You took me to a lab and you unraveled me with that drug of yours, and then you dropped me in the middle of nowhere, with just enough memories to know that I should be human.”
“We gave you a second chance.”
“I didn’t ask for one.”
“It’s very possible your town stood to be destroyed by a storm-”
“If you’d asked, I would’ve wanted to weather it.”
“Or by plague, starvation. It could be the cause for your delirium.”
“I would’ve stuck it out. You’re not listening to me, Doctor.” A flare of anger. The ball bucked with the movement inside.
“There are more immediate problems to focus on,” the Doctor said. “I understand where you’re coming from, but this isn’t the time to play ‘what if’.”
“I’m not playing,” Sveta said, and the anger was gone, just as fast as it had appeared. “I’m- I’m telling you that if you’d asked, at any point along the way, I’d probably have told you I’d rather be dead. I’d rather be dead than live this new life you gave me, where I spent years killing people by accident, unable to sleep, killing stray animals for food because my body decides when I eat, not my mind…”
“I understand,” the Doctor replied. She sounded a little impatient. “Then damn me. Curse me. Tell me I will go to hell for what I did. At the end of this, I will face any and all punishment that I’m due, alive or dead. For now, we see our way through this.”
“You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to get off with… words and sentiment. Gully told me she’d break down in tears all the time, because moving her arms, being strong enough to break things, it reminded her of what she is, every time she did anything. Her power reminded her, being constantly aware of the ground around her. Weld… he told me once that he felt like he was going crazy. All he had was music. It was the only human thing he could enjoy, because he couldn’t taste. He couldn’t feel, even when I squeezed him hard enough to dig into him. And Gentle Giant-”
“Are you going to run down the entire list?” The Doctor asked. Her voice was a little harder. “Do you want an apology? You said you don’t want words. Would a gesture do? Should I take a scalpel to my face? Carve myself up so I could experience what you have?”
“It wouldn’t even be a fraction of what any of us have experienced,” Sveta bit out the words. “Because you’d have had the choice, Doctor. The choice to do that to yourself. Because we’re all going to die when Scion comes down here and you would live minutes like that, instead of years.”
“Then what do you want from me?” the Doctor asked, and the hardness in her voice had become anger.
The structure rumbled.
The rumble was followed by a heavy crash. With my bugs, I could tell it was in the room we’d just vacated. A virtual waterfall of debris, of metal slag and concrete.
There was no order, no signal, but we broke into a run.
“I want my name, Doctor,” Sveta said. She wasn’t running, so her voice was level, free of panting or anything of the sort. “Not even my old name, from before you wiped my memory. Tell me the name you gave me, after you sent me to the fourth floor. Because you do that for the ones you think are worth studying, right? Or tell me the name I took after you released me into the wild, as some kind of smokescreen for Scion. It starts with ‘S’, if that helps.”
We should be strategizing, I thought.
But I didn’t interject.
“You wipe our memories when you send us down to the third floor, Shamrock told us, so I just had a number for a while. Tell me you remember my number, even. Tell me that what you did to me had some merit, that you did all this for some purpose, and turning me into a killer with a triple-digit body count mattered enough for you to remember!”
The Doctor huffed out the words, panting as she ran, “You can’t have any successes without failures. There was nothing of use in your case, nothing memorable but your durability, but it was one formula we could rule out.”
“That’s not good enough!”
The Number Man spoke, “He-”
“Not you!” Sveta hissed. “You remember, probably, but-”
“He’s here,” the Number Man said, talking over her.
We stopped, turning.
A golden light at the entrance to the corridor. A figure stood in the middle of it, darker in contrast to the light surrounding it..
Scion.
He advanced on foot. One step, then another.
His eyes moved to the vials.
He touched one, gentle, almost inquisitive.
“Oh fuckballs,” Imp whispered the word.
We backed away, slowly.
Scion reached out and cupped his hands around the vial. I could see fragments of the wire that held the vial upright falling to the ground, glowing gold where his power had burned through the edges.
He cupped the vial in his hands, staring down at it.
“What are they?” Golem asked. “The vials?”
“Powers,” the Number Man said, unhelpfully.
Scion stared, his eyes roving over the rows of vials. He reached out for a patch of empty vials, without any color behind them, but he didn’t touch them.
Sensing the traces of what they’d once contained, maybe?
Nowhere to go. Gully might have been able to dig an escape route, but she had a hole in her shoulder I could have put my arm through, and she wasn’t conscious, let alone coherent. Either the impact with Cuff or the fight with the Doctor’s people had disabled her.
She’d been with the group that had tried to lynch the Doctor, so maybe taking her out of action had been a preventative measure.
The Doormaker, none of it worked.
“Doctor,” I said. “You don’t have powers, right?”
“I don’t,” the Doctor said. “But I have a corona pollentia.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “You have the potential for power?”
“I do. I could theoretically trigger. If someone has the potential and takes the dose, there is a higher chance of deviation.”
“But you were fine with doing it to others,” Sveta murmured.
“Natural powers tend to fall more in line with the subject’s nature,” the Doctor said, ignoring Sveta. “Complimentary to their personality, their needs, and so on. Better to leave that door open, in case it comes down to it, or to retain the ability to take a vial at a crucial juncture.”
“I believe,” Lung growled, his voice strangely thin despite his size, with his partially healed injury, “this would be a good time.”
“He’s not moving,” Canary said.
“His attention is consumed,” the Number Man said. “We’re insignificant, compared to… this.”
“A healing power,” I said. I watched as Scion reached out for another vial. He held it next to the one he’d already retrieved.
I could almost sense something from him. Confusion?
“There aren’t any healing powers,” the Doctor answered. We continued backing away. “When they crop up, it’s a fluke, pure chance, an extension of another ability with a different focus.”
“A tinker power,” I said.
“A tinker power would take time,” Cuff said.
“A tinker power would be flexible enough to cover multiple bases,” I said. “One of which could potentially get us out of here.”
“Perhaps,” the Doctor said. “But I would like to remind you all what happens when someone undergoes their trigger event, natural or induced. You would be rendered comatose.”
“My dogs can carry us,” Rachel said.
“Point conceded,” the Doctor replied. We were moving faster now, with Scion not making a move. “But there is another concern. The trigger event might draw his attention.”
Which would spell out our deaths, I thought.
“Let us put some distance between ourselves and the being,” the Doctor said. “One thousand feet seems like the safest bet.”
A thousand feet, I thought. “Is this safehouse even that big?”
“Certainly,” the Doctor said. “William.”
“Doctor,” Manton said.
“I’m going to ask you to position Siberian up here. We’ll see if she can do any damage.”
“Yes,” Manton agreed.
The Siberian stepped forward.
Manton leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Out of sync. Doesn’t fit. Like Number Man was complaining about with his clones.
But I was happy to have someone expendable standing guard.
We turned to leave, and I used my bugs to watch the scene, perching them around the Siberian, turning their cloudy, distorted senses on the golden man.
I could infer, rather than see, that he dropped a vial. It hit the ground and shattered, the contents splashing out onto the ground and the walls. He reached for another.
He held it for only seconds before letting both of the vials in his hands fall and shatter on the concrete floor. He rose in the air to float over the mess, reaching out for more vials.
“Here,” the Doctor said, as we reached the next floor. “These were the vials we were trying to find. I sent Contessa to find recipients for each of them. I kept only three.”
There was a table with the vials set in what appeared to be a centrifuge. The liquid inside was nearly black..
“Why these?” I asked.
“There is a foreign agent in them. The entity altered each power he granted to give them certain restrictions. No power would be able to truly affect him, no power would cross the boundaries he set in dimension, or in affecting other powers. There are no alterations to the elements in these, only to the accompanying abilities, or complimentary powers. The powers granted from these vials don’t cause the recipients to forget the visions they see. Eidolon was one such case. The extreme deviant cases on the special containment floor make up much of the remainder.”
“Extreme deviants,” Sveta said.
“I’ll need to dilute this, or I’ll be no use to anyone. The Balance formula, Number Man?”
“Where?” he asked.
“The fridge,” she said. She leaned over the table, gazing at the vials. “Extreme deviants. Some had only a trace of the foreign element, which we discovered later, others had known quantities. Others… perhaps they received some and we weren’t aware or able to check after the fact. Deviants like our friend in the ball here-”
“Sveta,” Sveta said. “Garotte was the name you gave me, when I refused to take one for myself. I was recipient one-six-one-six. And I’m not your friend, Doctor. I like to think the best of people, but I think you’re far, far gone.”
“-Sveta,” the Doctor said. “Deviants like Sveta are a rare thing, particularly with the Balance formula in the mix. Extreme deviants form a subset within a subset, with physical mutations that go well out of bounds of any solid reference point we have here on Earth.”
“Why?” Golem asked.
The Doctor took the vial from the Number Man. It was clear. She used a funnel and tongs to pour the contents of the clear vial into the darker vial. Though both vials were nearly full, the mixture didn’t cause any overflow. The color found a middle ground. A deep red.
She turned it around, then clamped it in between two rubber bumpers. She hit a button on the side of the table, and it began shaking, like a paint machine. “Two minutes. Best freshly shaken, so the layers don’t separate. William? Status?”
“He’s floating down the hallway, knocking the vials to the ground.”
“Time?”
“Rate he’s traveling… I’d say a few minutes. Three or four.”
“We’ll finish the mixing and then run,” the Doctor said. She stared at the vial. “This may be the closest you get to your revenge, Sveta. I’m left with no choice, and chances are good I’ll change physically, even with the Balance formula.”
“You keep referring to that,” I said. “What is it?”
“I’ve come to believe it’s the opposite of what we had with the foreign agent. One power, or a collection of powers, calibrated in advance by the entity, with humans in mind. By mixing it into other vials, we borrow this particular quality, at the cost of having more physical changes with any such power we grant. We retain humanity more easily, safeguarding against deviant cases.”
“You found a way to collect powers,” Golem said.
“In a sense,” the Doctor said. She sighed heavily. “You came for a reason.”
“I did,” I said. “We did. For answers, for insights on the entity, and because we need Doormaker if we’re going to win this fight against Scion.”
The Doctor looked at Doormaker, who was being held by two Harbingers. “We’d hoped to use Doormaker in conjunction with Khonsu, for a mobile force that could safely pressure the entity. A last measure.”
“You had an awful lot of plans,” I said.
“We did. I can tell you about them, or I can answer your questions. What information do you desire, Weaver? What insights on the entity could win this for us?”
“Second Triggers,” I said.
The Doctor frowned. “Too many people have come to me about that. It’s a promise of more power that manifests just often enough to tantalize, infrequently enough to leave countless disappointed.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“When powers manifest, they come with safeguards. The same programmed safeguards that I seek to circumvent or ignore with these foreign agents.” She tapped the desk. “The agent, the power, seeks to protect the host, so it prevents the host from harming itself. It’s a crude measure, one the agent applied with broad, general strokes. Not every agent can receive individual attention, and the ones that do, I believe, were more hampered than not. With the second trigger, the agent reaches out, makes contact with others, networks and draws on collective information to refine the restrictions and save its host.”
“Is it always around other parahumans, then?”
“Not always, but frequently. Circumstances tend to mirror the original trigger event. The resulting power ignores restrictions that were previously set.”
The shaking of the machine began to slow.
“You’re involved with a lot of powerful parahumans,” I said. “Do you have a means of causing second triggers?”
“We’ve done it for several clients in the past, with varying degrees of success. Because of the time it takes, and the arrangements involved, we put a high premium on it. We’ve had more clients die trying to collect the funds for this premium than we’ve had clients go through with the procedure,” she said.
“A catch twenty-two, if you will,” the Number Man said. “If you’re powerful enough to have the necessary funds, then you don’t need a second trigger to thrive. If you need a second trigger, you lack the funds.”
“I get the feeling you didn’t devote much attention to this,” Golem said. “Why not?”
“Because reducing the restrictions that are in place only gives us a power that has less restrictions, when we need powers with none. We needed to luck into a formula that had an applicable power as well as a whole, untainted foreign power within, and we needed it in a vehicle we could use, an individual without crippling mental, psychological, emotional or physical deviations. Eidolon was that, and Eidolon had a fatal flaw in the end.”
I nodded, biting my lip.
“We should go,” the Doctor said. “Where is Scion?”
“Still upstairs,” Manton said, pointing at the ceiling, off to the right. “He’s gone still. He’s got vials in his hands again.”
The Doctor nodded. “This way. Just a little further down, and I’ll ingest this. With luck, we’ll have a weapon or a way out.”
“What about these vials?” I asked.
“The powers wouldn’t help.”
“If they’re special, if they could give us an answer-”
“The powers are poor,” the Doctor said. “Foreign, yes, but poor. When we tested these, we got a defensive power utilizing warped space and a power that allows one to take over a nearby parahuman’s mind, body and powers automatically on death. The one I hold should have attack or mover capabilities, if not both.”
She input a code by the door, and William Manton set about opening it. Another wheel-lock.
“What would happen if a person with powers drank one?” I asked.
“Nothing at all,” the Doctor said. “Believe me, we’ve tried hybridizing natural and Cauldron capes. You might as well drink water, for much the same effect.”
I nodded, but I didn’t take my eyes off the table.
“You hoped for a way to increase your powers? Or the powers of everyone here?” The Doctor asked.
“Downstairs,” she said. “We’ll see.”
I nodded. I used my flight pack to travel down the stairs more quickly.
Ever downward. Descending.
“He’s coming,” Manton said. “There’s nothing left between us to slow him down. I’m- the Siberian will fight now.”
The Doctor nodded.
I could sense the two meeting. The Siberian dashing forward. Scion apparently uncaring.
The Siberian cleaved deep. The way her body intersected Scion, it was like ghosts fighting.
Tattletale says he closes wounds as fast as they appear, so fast our senses can’t perceive it.
If that was so, the Siberian was doing horrific amounts of damage. She passed bodily through him, and glowing motes followed her as she emerged on the other side, landing and wheeling around.
“Intersect him,” I said. “It’ll burn through his reserves.”
Manton nodded.
“Number Man,” the Doctor said. “The-”
“EM readers?”
“EM readers.”
The Number Man ducked into a side corridor.
“This is it,” the Doctor said. She pointed down. “The last room. Lowest room in the complex.”
I could see it, a flight down. A heavy door, vaultlike.
“Then it is a dead end,” Lung rumbled.
“Fuck,” Imp said. “Fuck it, fuck damn shit.”
We reached the door, and Lung set his claws on the wheel to open the door. He’d just started turning when the Number Man appeared, a paddle-like wand in each hand.
Manton took one of the paddles.
The Siberian was standing in the middle of Scion, their bodies overlapping. If her presence tore into him, then every passing fraction of a second was a good one-hundred and some pounds of flesh being eaten away. Depending on how fast he regenerated, it could be vast quantities. Turning a strength into a weakness.
But he didn’t seem to care. He floated there, his back turned to the doorway we’d used to travel to the next floor down, staring at the rows of vials. Uncaring about the Siberian’s sustained assault.
“He doesn’t care,” I murmured.
The Doctor and the Number Man looked up from the paddle the Number Man had in hand. He was apparently calibrating it.
“Scion doesn’t care that Siberian’s tearing him up,” I clarified.
“Of course he doesn’t,” the Doctor said. “He’s alien. He doesn’t have human feelings.”
“He’s a force of nature,” Number Man said.
I shook my head. “No. Human feelings are why he’s a danger. Without them, he’d be some nebulous threat, three hundred years in the future. But he’s lashing out, trying to find himself, and that’s why he’s dangerous.”
The Number man waved the wand around my head, then frowned. He waved it around his own head, read the digital display, then tried the Doctor. He tried waving it at Lung, but Lung swatted at it.
“He’s alien above all else. Abstract.” the Doctor said. Her eyes fell on the vial. “It’s through alien, abstract methods we’ll defeat him, if it’s even possible.”
“The door is stuck,” Lung said.
“The way the column has settled may have put undue stress on this part of the architecture,” Number Man said. “If you’d let me-”
“I know,” the Doctor said. “If I’d let you have a hand in designing this… but you were new to the team. I didn’t yet trust you with sensitive matters.”
Number Man nodded, taking it as something matter-of-fact.
Lung heaved on the door, putting all of his superhuman strength behind it. It barely budged.
“Take her,” Alexandria said.
Lung took Gully’s body.
Alexandria pushed. A crack appeared in the ceiling, dust showering down on top of us.
“Structural,” Number Man said. “If we open it, it’ll cave in on us.”
“This does not concern me,” Lung said. “Stand back, and I will push my way through.”
Golem shook his head. “Eventually, but what about the time it takes to burrow through? We can’t afford it.”
The Doctor was looking down at the vial.
“If we’re going to win this,” I said, “I want it to be because of our strength, not an abstract one. And I know that sounds corny.”
“A nice sentiment,” the Number Man said. “But I’m afraid that power you’re digging for is out of your reach, Weaver.”
I looked at him.
“Or it’s already in your reach. You can’t have a second trigger because you already had one,” he said.
“Given the signature, it’s very possible you had two trigger events in quick succession. Not uncommon. The horror of manifesting your power, it prompted another trigger.”
“No,” I said. “There’s got to be something.”
“If there is, a second trigger event isn’t it,” the Number Man said. “I can check your allies, but we can’t do much more. We used to rely on Contessa’s power to determine the exact event needed for a second trigger.”
I nodded numbly.
“I’m sorry,” Imp said.
I shook my head. I’d staked hopes on this, despite promises to myself that I wouldn’t.
Beside me, the Doctor removed the black rubber cork from the vial.
The Siberian appeared beside us in the same instant. Manton spoke, “He finally took action and struck my Siberian.”
I could sense Scion above. Staring at the corridor with the vials.
He reached out, and a golden light flared. It was like a flicker of the lights, and it was so vivid I thought for a second I was seeing it with my own eyes.
The vials each shattered simultaneously.
Glass and fluids rained down onto the floor. My bugs were swamped all along the corridor.
Scion moved, killing my bugs on contact as he headed down to the next floor.
With my bugs, I could sense Number Man letting the wand go. It clattered to the stairs below him. “Broken.”
Broken?
Lung created flame for us to see by.
The Doctor stood there, her hands mangled where she’d been holding the vial, bleeding wounds at her throat.
“Your hands,” Manton said.
She shook her head. “S- superficial.”
“Did you drink any?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Barely any.”
I looked down at the stairs. Lap it up?
No. Something Skidmark or Newter had said, once upon a time. My first introduction to the vials.
And she’d said she needed a whole power. Would a partial dose only give half a power? A distorted one?
I could only guess.
“Okay,” I said. “Siberian… make us a path around the door.”
Manton nodded, as if I’d talked to him. Siberian walked into the wall, her power crushing stone. The rest of us moved up the stairwell, closer to Scion.
“Guys,” Imp said.
Lung had to move to cast the light on her.
She held Sveta’s sphere. Fractures marked the entire surface, and they spread with every passing second.
I withdrew my crystal-encased knife. “Lung?”
He took hold of it with one hand, nearly singing me with the heat of the flame that had surrounded the limb moments ago. He crushed it, winced as the knife ate through the claw at the end of his thumb.
I gingerly took hold of the knife, switched the settings to remove the disintegration effect, then started it up again.
It took a full four seconds. The calibration was off, stuff clogged. Not a big surprise.
“Halfway,” Manton said. “No sign of collapse.”
Scion appeared at the top of the stairs.
Leaving us without a place to even run to.
“A third trigger event,” I said. “Is it-”
“No,” the Doctor said.
“There has to be a way.”
“There isn’t one,” she said. “You have the power you have, nothing more.”
“Okay,” I answered.
“Hey,” Imp said, “Your power isn’t the only one that’s shit in this circumstance.”
The orb bucked, the fracturing doubling in quantity.
Then it broke.
Sveta hit the ground, and then unfurled. Tendrils extended up the stairs, encircling Scion.
“Focus on him,” she said. “Oh god. Focus on him. It’s him and me, we’re the only people here.”
The others were disappearing into the tunnel. Rachel, Imp, Canary, the Doctor’s group…
“Can’t…” Sveta said.
The Doctor headed into the tunnel.
A tendril encircled one of the Doctor’s ruined hands.
The Doctor screamed. I could hear bone breaking, see blood welling around the thin tendril of living razor wire.
Sveta’s tendrils continued to extend, stretching out.
Each one chose the Doctor as the mark.
“Had to pick someone,” Sveta whispered. “Couldn’t focus on him alone. I’m sorry, but you’re the best choice.”
The tendrlis found points closer to the Doctor’s midsection, crushing.
The Doctor’s screams became strangled.
Sveta coiled around the Doctor, burying the woman beneath overlapping tendrils, until there was a cocoon and a girl’s face, curled up on the stairs. Blood pooled beneath them.
Scion continued his approach.
I held my ground, forming swarm-decoys. They hadn’t worked last time, but-
Nothing. He walked past them.
I held my knife, waited as he closed the distance, standing in his way. I slashed at his throat, dragged the blade along his chest.
Smoke rose, billowing in quantities I couldn’t have imagined.
He pushed me aside.
Walking towards the door.
I realized what was about to happen. My mind was all noise as I screamed out a warning using my swarm, telling the others to get away.
I reached out and grabbed Sveta’s face, the point from which all the tendrils extended. An action carried out in panic. I felt a tendril or two wrap around my forearm. Hand and arm obliterated.
I just got a new one, I thought, almost dazed.
Scion pushed his way past the door. The door that was bearing the load of the ceiling above us.
Sveta dropped the doctor, and I felt the tendrils brush past me, ensnaring bugs. Then they snapped out, grabbing the door at the top of the staircase.
In the next instant, we were pulled to the door, virtually thrown. I used my flight pack to try and break the fall, to stop from being turned into a smear, but Sveta caught the brunt of the impact, webbing out to ensnare our surroundings.
The ceiling came down. A whole section of the substructure, apparently damaged, cracked by the fall or by some native impurity.
The dust settled.
And I saw what Scion had come for.
His partner.
363 thoughts on “Venom 29.7”
Cut it pretty damn close with finishing this one. Wanted to expand the end, but I’m sort of okay with it being damnably vague, on a level.
Thanks for your support, guys. Just yesterday, Worm broke 26,000 views. Beat 23,000 for the first time, by a considerable margin.
And thanks for reading. Please vote on Topwebfiction, if it’s no trouble.
En on October 3, 2013 at 04:21 said:
That’s a lot of hits. Congratulations.
C’mon Wildbow, take a screenshot of some stats and publish it somewhere. You’re allowed to gloat some more 😉
Don on October 3, 2013 at 14:49 said:
I, ehmmm… I have a confession to make. I’ve been voting for “A Grey World”, since it’s much newer than Worm and needs the support – and it’s an amazing story too. Wish topwebfiction allowed multiple votes, or tiered votes even. Every time I see you mention topwebfiction I’m reminded to go vote for him.
BUT I only do that because you have hundreds and he usually has like 10 votes. Which I think is a crime; it’s such a good story, it deserves better. (He had 30 today, so I voted for you.) Otherwise, you’re first in my heart. ^_^
acediamonds on October 3, 2013 at 16:25 said:
Rejoice Don, for topwebfiction does in fact allow multiple votes. Now you can support all the cool webserials you read.
I know for a fact that this wasn’t true a month ago. I voted for ‘A Grey World’, then for Worm. A Grey World went UP one vote, then DOWN one vote.
You might be able to do it now (I haven’t checked yet) but as of september topwebfiction only counted your latest vote.
eduardo on October 3, 2013 at 19:14 said:
I vote for Worm, Legion of Nothing, Starwalker and Tales of the Big Bad Wolf. You can do multiple votes.
Well, hell, if anyone wants to toss a vote my way…well, if they can even find it on there. I think it’s supposed to be eligible over there, but I wouldn’t be surprised if certain people award me negative votes for every joke regarding the human anus. Butt maybe I’m just over anal-yzing things in assuming they’re that cheeky.
Jerden on October 4, 2013 at 18:29 said:
I’d vote for you if it were on there.
But it isn’t, although I do keep checking. I worry that your jokes may have rectal your chances of getting on the site though, they may feel that they’re a little crude.
(What? Am I supposed to let him have all the fun with butt jokes? Heh heh. Fun with butt jokes.)
agreyworld on January 15, 2014 at 11:41 said:
A (very) late thank you for voting for me, haha
Charles Borner on October 3, 2013 at 00:02 said:
This is the typo thread.
Drop typographical errors and instances of awkward grammatical usage in here.
randomsoul2 on October 3, 2013 at 00:18 said:
“I saw how she fell, saw her back arch, the way she held her arm as she rolled over. She didn’t cry out, didn’t make any sounds of pain, but”
Line cuts off.
Sengachi on October 3, 2013 at 01:26 said:
“Pinned, as inexplicably as Lung was pinned.”
Is it supossed to be “as inexplicable as it was”?
quintopia1 on September 20, 2014 at 13:08 said:
“I called for my bugs to bring the knife anyways.” I’ve been willing to ascribe previous uses of “anyways” to the idiolects of the characters who were speaking it, but this one isn’t in dialogue. I’d like to think that Taylor is well-educated enough that she’d used the more standard “anyway” when writing down her story, but maybe her hatred of her english teacher led her to hate standard grammar as well?
“Canary liberally tossed ” Literally? Though the mental image of her being liberally tossed in a nice vinaigrette IS hilarious…
“a Manton with the Siberian” Should that be just “Manton” and not ‘a’ Manton, since she corrects herself?
Matt Nordhoff on October 3, 2013 at 07:37 said:
> “Because reducing the restrictions that are in place only gives us a power that has less restrictions, when we need powers with none. …
*twitch*
Philippe Saner on October 3, 2013 at 08:25 said:
Every morning I was in the asylum, I would wake up and I scramble to draw something, to put words in a diary, and I’m so excited and panicked and desperate I’d break things.
I think that “I’m” should be in the past tense. “I’d be” or something like that.
Asmora on October 3, 2013 at 16:49 said:
Or Garotte is slipping tenses because the memories of those frantic mornings are so vivid they seem like the present.
“and I all I could think was”
Adaon on May 10, 2014 at 17:50 said:
“Jaw strength aside, the crocodile wasn’t built to force it’s mouth open.”
Should be ‘its mouth’.
“I’m willing to believe it, if this is an assassination attempt, I’ll take the risk.”
The first comma should be a period.
“The Number man waved the wand around my head”
“man” should be capitalized.
He floated there, his back turned to the doorway we’d used to travel to the next floor down, staring at the rows of vials. Uncaring about the Siberian’s sustained assault.
Uncaring –> he doesn’t care feels a bit repetitive. Maybe “Ignoring the Siberian’s sustained assault.
para on March 10, 2015 at 08:09 said:
*fewer*, not less
Olivebirdy on July 11, 2015 at 17:17 said:
The liquid inside was nearly black..
-extra period
Skitter, really. I’m pretty sure you’ve beaten out Anakin Skywalker for number of limbs lost at this point.
Also, I find the dynamic between the various Cauldronites to be lovely.
Also also, Sveta is awesome.
theant87 on October 3, 2013 at 00:30 said:
Just the thought that runs in her head as she loses the arm was funny. Damned it not again! Forget biological, go with Defiant cyberware. Cyber up.
negadarkwing on October 3, 2013 at 08:11 said:
Or hell, let Riley give you the good stuff. It can be here Christmas gift if she’s a good girl.
Someguy on October 3, 2013 at 00:33 said:
Heh. The Doctor died for the same reason she chose people to experiment on, Wildbow really like to give characters ironic fates.
chrnno on October 3, 2013 at 08:08 said:
Indeed, I wonder if that thought crossed her mind.
flame7926 on October 3, 2013 at 13:12 said:
And why would she actually be dead?
Because Sveta doesn’t grab people just a little bit. By the time Wildbow’s talking about a “cocoon” of tendrils, DM’s long dead. Her only way out would’ve been to trigger, and there was no vision, so she’s dead.
greatwyrmgold on October 3, 2013 at 09:03 said:
Let’s see…I count four limbs Taylor has lost. Maybe three, if we’re not counting limbs lost multiple times. Did I miss any?
Landis963 on October 3, 2013 at 09:12 said:
I think that’s right. She lost two or three from the oil rig fight (the narration gets a little confusing there), and lost a third (or fourth) here from Scion.
She lost her legs and one arm. Well, about half of one arm and about half of her torso, but I’ll call that a whole arm to save on the bookkeeping.
So yeah, four limbs.
She also lost all the bonus limbs she got at the oil rig if you want to count those…
Reveen on October 3, 2013 at 17:04 said:
Okay, Taylor has no excuse whatsoever for not getting a cool cyborg arm this time.
throwaawy on October 3, 2013 at 00:23 said:
ding, dong, the Doctor’s dead~
the Doctor’s dead, the Doctor’s dead. Ding dong the Doctor Mother’s Dead~
notes on October 3, 2013 at 00:27 said:
Clearer than ever that brute force won’t answer.
DM’s comment that an abstract means is the only way to victory; Taylor’s comment on Scion’s human emotions; Taylor’s comment that she wants to win with what they have; DM’s comment that they already have whatever power they’ll have – all fragments of foreshadowing, clearly laid out to be tessellated into elegant sense. The shape formed is hauntingly familiar, but beyond my comprehension thus far.
Remain tentatively convinced that this will end with a proposal, possibly a suicidal action, mirroring the Scion interlude.
The vials, specifically the three critical vials, are seemingly off the board. Won’t be certain they truly can’t come into play for some time.
Inutterably delighted by the Number Man’s fussy yet sincere regret that Bonesaw’s reliance on rumor led to impolite Harbinger clones.
DM’s story arc – if this is its end, a fact of which I am in no way certain – closed well and indeed poetically; the conversation with Sveta and the finish both were fitting. Still… her natural trigger potential plus the exceedingly stressful situation she’s presently in, the bits of formula she drank, some further contingency… any or all of these could put her right back into this.
Echinda 2.0? It’s an answer every rpg player knows. How do you kill an eldritch abomination? Another eldritch abomination.
Or a spike formed from nanites programmed to go all grey goo on the thing they get stabbed into.
fghjconner on October 3, 2013 at 00:41 said:
If Siberian mass obliterating Scion didn’t do anything, I doubt that will do much better.
The difference is exponential growth. Siberian’s badass, but she doesn’t have that.
If you can get the nanites to leak over into his real body, then you’ve got a chance. As it is, I’m pretty sure Siberian was doing as much damage as is possible against Scion’s golden boy body.
Paranoid Android on October 3, 2013 at 00:44 said:
The only thing is no matter who wins you still haven’t solved you eldritch abomination problem.
You have, if you can’t kill the winner while it is weakened from the fight create another eldritch abomination and drop upon it. If whoever winner is weakened enough then kill it if not create another one, at one point you gotta get lucky. Or horribly unlucky.
Or the other RPG Players answer. Figure out how to turn a couple of low level spells and a harmless item into a city destroying nuke. I see a contrast here. Doctor Mother is looking for that one big abstract power that will stop Scion. But Taylor is someone who finds ways to use powers in unexpected ways, and combinations. Doctor Mother is hoping for someone who is a high end nuker wizard. But what we may need is a bard or thief with the right support.
Nah, the former is too straightforward and the latter is rather boring. I prefer my Eldritch Abomination infinite spawn.
thehiddensage on October 3, 2013 at 14:11 said:
Ohh, Mass Eldritch Abomination wins points for style without a doubt. But I’m frankly not sure the Wormverse can handle too many more giant monsters running around.
Besides, didn’t we already try throwing the Simurgh at Scion, to no effect?
AMR on October 3, 2013 at 14:25 said:
Well we still have to see what tha blowgun did. Somehow I doubt that it only ruffled Scion’s hair.
Jurily on October 3, 2013 at 14:26 said:
Nethack players would start dipping bugs into vials at this point.
Vials went ker-splodey, remember? Scion shattered them all.
Grant Moxham on October 3, 2013 at 16:08 said:
something similar to a bomb of barrakuada’s design, detonated in whatever demiplane of exodimensional location zion’s REAL body occupies? all anyone’s been able to do is fight his/its projection. tinker tech or Doormakers ability, set something and catastrophically distorts reality right next it? makes up down and north upwards, green purple and gas vaccume? i figure no matter how bizarre your environment is by the standards of baryonic life, something distorting the livening shit out of the bit of space-time ( or equivalent) you occupy would HAVE to be distracting ,especially if you’d never had anyone actually attack your actual BODY before..
I’m not sure they can get to Scion’s dimension. He specifically limited powers so that they couldn’t break through to where his body was. Their best bet may be the portals that were Part of Eve’s body, but its unlikely that the two entities have their bodies in the same location.
I suspect their best link to the core body is through Scion somehow.
I don’t think she drank enough formula to become Oliver 2.0, let alone Echidna 2.0
senevri on October 4, 2013 at 11:24 said:
Maybe we’re lucky and the formula got directly into the bloodstream via the injured hand?
I doubt it. Most would have splashed over the floor. Besides, if DM got a power, she would have used it.
She’s too fascinating to die now, we barely know anything about her or what she wants… damn. I don’t really like her but she seemed interesting.
So Sveta just killed the doctor, maybe. So Skitter DID have a 2nd trigger and that’s why she looked so powerful to Chevalier. The Vault doesn’t sound that big, so I’m guessing his partner is a projection like Scion’s body. Still find it odd that the number man can dodge bugs as a baseline human. Contessa I could believe it because she could just portal away if surrounded, but in this situation the bugs should have encircled and swarmed him. He can see it coming, but he has human reflexes, and there shouldn’t be any space to dodge. But other than that good chapter and we can add more sadness to Sveta and the case 53’s. I don’t think we added both of Cuff’s parents being killed either to the tropes page.
tieshaunn on October 3, 2013 at 00:32 said:
I totally called Taylor having had a 2nd trigger event back in the locker several arcs ago X-P
So sad though for all the other predictions. No turning into a swarm or monster, no ironic Tinker power, no thinker power, no giant bugs, no lazerbreath, or freeze vision.
Oh god, Taylor as a bug tinker. Come to think of it, if Taylor got a chance to really sit down and get some help from Bonesaw or Panacea she could be even more fucking terrifying.
Naeddyr on October 3, 2013 at 01:37 said:
“If [something], she could be even more terrifying” is basically what every discussion about Taylor’s development as a cape turns into. Especially with Panacea.
Taylor + Panacea inevitably devolves into “And now Skitter is the Queen of Blades!”
will408914 on October 3, 2013 at 11:04 said:
Isn’t that what Bonesaw tried to do?
Skychan on October 3, 2013 at 11:18 said:
I have to say that Taylor already is a Thinker. Maybe not a high end one but she’s definitely a thinker. She can controll every bug in her range individually. She reads books how fast? The PRT even classed her as thinker 1 I believe. It’s fairly obvious she’s already a thinker, the only question is if shes a really really powerful one or not.
@will: I think so, but I think she also tried removing Skitter’s free will. And that just won’t fly.
Skitter just needs to get Panacea to work on patching up a few of her weaker areas. FIre-proof bugs, bugs capable of dealing heavier hits (big bugs? explosive bugs? containment foam bugs?), EMP bugs (take that tinkers), capsaicin-producing bugs…
JN on October 3, 2013 at 01:53 said:
I’ve always hated Number Man/Harbinger’s power. Eventually if you throw enough numbers at him, he should have to divide by zero. I didn’t like Contessa’s, but at least she was basing what she needed to do on advance warning through foreknowledge, as opposed to present knowledge and really good predictions.
And what’s to say he can’t divide by zero? Using alien space-maths?
hitherbydragons on October 3, 2013 at 02:37 said:
> Still find it odd that the number man can dodge
> bugs as a baseline human.
I suspect that as long as there’s a relatively unfeeling person nearby like Doctor Mother or the Siberian, he’s going to be inherently resistant to bug stings and irritants in general, which gives him more leeway. Because as cold to human emotion as Doctor Mother might be, and as physically unfeeling as the Siberian is, he is, of necessity, number.
Jesus Christ. That is the worst pun. The worst pun in the world. I am suffering because I read that.
And since you’re here…I used some panels from your webcomic in a video I made. You okay with that?
PS: I’m pretty sure that the Number Man can’t actually dodge bugs very well. He can run through a swarm to attack Taylor, but if he ever got attacked properly by a full-size swarm that’d be it for him.
I had to read that twice to get the pun.
*smacks hither*
Nobody can dodge bugs for very long.
*a bunny pops out of the ground near Cauldron, chewing on a carrot* Eeeeeh. What’s up, Doc?
tiffuh on March 27, 2018 at 00:53 said:
This. This was a work of art.
It brought me to tears. /applaud
Wut What?
just… blown away, kind off.
I hope this isn’t the last we get to see of Doctor Mother. And I still hope that Contessa shows up again
Considering Contessa’s power this is one occasion where I won’t believe it till we see a body despite Wilbow’s fondness for offscreen death. Doctor Mother could go either way.
In the butt.
I knew you would make that joke.
At least I’m not the butt of this joke.
endgame on October 4, 2013 at 15:42 said:
Can I butt in on this conversation?
Butt of course
you’ve become predictable, PG
your reign of terror and disgust is finally over!
As anyone who follows said reign of terror and disgust can tell you, it’s a chocolate reign.
ShawnMorgan on October 3, 2013 at 01:03 said:
and when you mix that sentence with one about Butts, it;s time to break out the Immodium…
dragonus45 on October 3, 2013 at 02:48 said:
Please, i’ve only been here a month and even i saw that one coming.
And I think we can all agree the whole setup was nothing but a load of…salsa.
Arcman on October 3, 2013 at 00:34 said:
Damn it Sveta.
Hey, it’s not like she wanted to. Her body just went for the person that stressed her most, and she went with it as it was the best way to keep from murdering everyone.
Even if she did it on purpose, can you really blame her?
And frankly, better D-M than, well, anyone else there.
Except Scion, but what’s the chance that would do anything?
She was already attacking Scion, and her tentacles couldn’t focus on just one person. So she diverted some of them to D-M and hoped that would suffice. (Apparently it did, at least for long enough that the others could get away).
She could’ve grabbed Alexandria. I guess the Siberian was out of reach, and Lung would’ve been unhealthy to grab, but Alexandria should’ve been able to take it.
True, but I doubt she was thinking that clearly.
Alex on April 22, 2018 at 10:39 said:
Hey, it had to be someone! Doc would agree, I’m sure.
Perfect time for Scion to pick out Shatterbird’s power of all things.
MisterTeatime on February 2, 2016 at 14:37 said:
Sometimes you really need to kick some glass.
Damn, so my mentioning of “The perfect is the enemy of the good” and that fallacy where people don’t even try because it’s not the perfect solution had something to do with all this after all.
And Dr. Mother’s utter discounting of human emotion says a hell of a lot more about why they’re all in this situation. She doesn’t realize by now that she’s the alien abstract being with no conception of human emotion, and she’s failed against Scion while being such. And the thing about the powers is her entire schtick write miniature. She does something contradictory to her stated goals by watering down the closest thing to absolute power even though she thought 2nd and 3rd triggers were useless to purse as only powers with less restrictions instead of no restrictions. She waits fucking forever to use her plan and it gets wrecked easily by Scion when he wasn’t even intending to mess with it. And she gets her ass attacked because of her human experimentation.
I’m more curious about how she simply doesn’t get Taylor’s point about how different Scion is because of emotion. Did they not check the former most powerful man in the world? Or why the apocalypse is happening 300 years early?
They are Cauldron. Taylor’s silly questions are of no consequence when compared to their grandiose master plan! Because they are Cauldron: the smartest people in the graveyard.
In the face of Cauldron’s actions and consequences throughout the entire story so far, that makes perfect sense.
Scolopendra on October 3, 2013 at 15:59 said:
And then Scion manifests Grey Boy’s power and hits her with it.
Well, that was weird. I was responding to an entirely different comment with that post.
In light of this chapter’s friendly tendril-monster woobie getting some revenge, I say we dedicate a song to the event!
“Doctor, Doctor, give me the noose, I’ve got a bad case of crushing you!”
Hell, Doc Mom was so out of touch with her own emotions, she didn’t even trigger while being crushed to death.
Well that was bad noose for her wasn’t it?
No noose is good noose as far as she’s concerned.
Well we could find out next chapter that DM did trigger… And that her power is that she can’t no matter how badly injured she is. Unfourtunatly she can’t heal either.
No vision: no trigger event.
Trigger events were specifically Scion handing out shards, though. (well, lobbing them at people to hit at moments of emotional stress, but you get the picture). I’m fairly certain that ship has sailed.
Trigger events are when shards Scion previously handed out find a hoast. He doesn’t need to send out new ones, they are already in play. Untill all the Shards he spread get used the potential for more triggers exists.
Point, but I’m still fairly certain that ship has sailed.
Trigger events happen when a person with a latent shard reaches a moment of appropriate stress. DM just finished talking about the fact that she knows she has a latent shard. She had the potential to trigger right up until Sveta squeezed her into sociopath juice.
Maybe Doctor Mother should have been less skilled at staying calm in stressful situations.
He handed stuff off in the past. He hasn’t been handing them off ever since he’s been seen on Earth in the 80s. They still have been hitting, though, so it’s possible, just unlikely.
If people triggered from mere mortal peril, there would be a lot more capes.
And it’s also possible that Scion has the ability to exert some control over when shards are handed out.
I think it’s been mentioned before that people do trigger from mere mortal peril. The vision either stalls them enough or the power is insufficient to actually get them out of mortal peril, though. If a car’s about to hit you, all the super freezing powers in the world aren’t going to save you if your face gets planted halfway through the radiator while you’re daydreaming about giant space jellyfish.
I think the trigger would happen after the car crash, though. I’m specifically thinking of Chevalier, here, as it specifically stated that he triggered while left alone in the car.
Tom_D on October 3, 2013 at 00:43 said:
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnggg!!!!!!!
Things just got worse….. Again.
Are you surprised?
This…. Is…… WORM!!
Worm: It gets wetter…with blood.
Incidentally, I was just reminded of a clip somewhat reminiscent of Scion’s take on Cauldron, humans, parahumans, pretty much most groups.
youtube.com/watch?v=C3Ks59XGThg
chungsim on October 3, 2013 at 00:47 said:
OK, I think the Doctor’s dead now. It’s not as poetically just as a death as I expected. All the requirements are there and there’s a nice explanation but it’s not exactly awe-inspiring author cruelty on the level of the Slaughterhouse 9 (and Darkfriends in the Wheel of Time, Galina and Carridan were fun). I can’t expect much when they’re in a combat zone and everything is ending, however.
Well, Doctor Mother was taken out by a Case 53 (strike one) with a truly horrific transformation (strike two) who would have turned it down had they asked in the first place (strike three). Anything poetically just-er would have involved that formula. And Scion wouldn’t allow that to happen.
Moreover, she was killed as the result of a (somewhat) impersonal decision in which someone had to be picked, and logic dictated that she would be the ideal candidate. Just like picking Sveta to become a test subject because she was probable to die anyway, Sveta picked DM because her tendrils had to hit someone and DM was the only one there without powers that might have helped against Scion.
Veloren on October 4, 2013 at 13:30 said:
I suspect she’s only mostly dead. She did get a sip of that vial, after all. Who wants to bet she didn’t get any balancing agent?
One ironic death and one ginormous cliffhanger ready to be served! I bet next chapter is an interlude.
My god, Doctor has lost any complete understanding of human behaviour. She was as alien as Scion here. Maybe even more, seeing how Scion is killing because he’s trying to emulate humans. And I think Sveta killing her, without even being malicious about it, is very fitting.
Nothing else to say except that Number Man apologising for his clones’ behaviour because they were built on hearsay was hilarious. It’s always Bonesaw’s fault.
Number Man is cool dude.
Were I less modest I’d point to you my ode to Number Man in the comments to 29.1. As I said modesty prevents me from doing so 😉 .
* we’re not were. Stupid autocorrector.
Fixed. 😀
I love that your typo-fixing sprees extend to the comments.
Althalus on October 3, 2013 at 01:18 said:
Hopefully the warranty is still good on her arm, though Amy might get fed up and get Bonesaw to fix it just to give Taylor further incentive to not get it mangled again.
“I don’t remember this much chitin being on my arm before…”
*tweaks* There, now you remember it being that way. All fixed!
TinkerTailor on October 3, 2013 at 02:02 said:
There are some chapters of Worm that literally get me at the edge of my seat, leaning right into my monitor. The end of this was one such moment. Dayum, can’t wait until saturday.
Anyway, I’m not feeling the “Yay~ the Doctor’s dead~” vibe others seem to be getting. It was a horrific way to go that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
I wonder what Taylor’s power was in the few seconds she had before she triggered again? Presumably it was the multitasking Thinker ability that got added during the second, brought about by the sensory overload. Maybe her original power was like Aidan’s, broadcasting general directions rather than absolute control.
Oh sure it’s a horroble way to die but if the Doctor had showed some sympathy for Sveta, made, I dunno, a heartfelt spology or something, instead of going ” I don’t know you, I don’t care”, then maybe Sveta epuldn’t have gone all “I’m sorry but someone will die for sure so it might as well be you”.
*wouldn’t not epuldnt (?). Typing from the smartphone is a pain inthe ass.
I agree with you there, although in with Sveta’s mental state I doubt that would have really stopped her from picking the Doc.
Also, that would have given us some vestige of sympathetic emotion for D-M as opposed to the *checks threads* fourth thread being a filk rendition of “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.”
It’s not so horrible.
Being crushed by super-strong razor tentacles doesn’t seem any worse than being shot or stabbed or run over by a bus to me.
It’s a quick violent death like any other quick violent death. There are much worse ways to go.
Honestly my reaction to Doctor Mothers death? Goddammit Cauldron, you fucked up again!
packbat on October 3, 2013 at 09:44 said:
Mine is similar, but more, “Goddammit, she was about to spill the beans!“
Same here, combined with “Argh! What would her power have been?!?”
Kyte on October 3, 2013 at 02:03 said:
So does the 2nd Entity have a spear through its chest? :V
Terminal Dogma?
TanaNari on October 3, 2013 at 10:38 said:
Neon Genesis Evangelion.
You’re either very old, or very young.
Or very not into watching anime. Or Gainax anime. Or just never got around to watching that one. Eva is hardly a universal experience for persons of a certain age. It’s not Star Wars or something.
Asmora got it right. Not a big anime fan.
I’m old… and feeling it when i remember I saw Star Wars and before it got retitled A new Hope at that…
I had far younger friend introduce me to anime and like everything else there are good bad and meh ones. Liked NGE until the ending…
same friend can’t stand star wars…at all.
Dripping formula down into a bit pool? I could see it.
Evangelion reference?
Wouldn’t be the first time parallels were drawn =P
Reminding me of Eva… Thanks for depressing me. Sigh, why did I have to be a Shinji/Rei shipper.
Oedipus complex?
No, I started Shipping before that particular plot twist. And every damn version they keep leading you on, giving you a sense of hope before taking… Fuck Jack Slash is on the writing staff.
Yes agreed. Until 4.0 comes out I refuse to admit that Rei from 2.0 is gone. That was an amazing example of love by the end. Damn 3.0 for utterly corrupting it!
You are not alone friend. I also ship Shinji and Rei. Asuka is toxic. Misato is okay but slightly squicky and really too broken to be good for him. Rei while biologically partly his mother does not have her soul and also is one of the only people to show a legitimate amount of feeling for Shinji. Plus he was ultimately the person who pulled her out and brought her to action both when she was half a soul and when she was complete. Rei and Shinji are one of the only healthy relationships in that entire show. Which is exceptionally weird and sad.
Seriousy?you read Worm and NGE depresses you?lolwut.
slider214 on May 4, 2015 at 23:27 said:
Worm may be mega dark (ESPECIALLY now) but at least the characters mostly still have a sense of humor. The only humor present in NGE was…um…Pen-Pen? Maybe…yeah…I’ve having a hard thinking of anything funny in that series honestly lol.
With the mention of Cauldrons experiments with 2nd Triggers is it possible that Grey Boy was the result of them and is the reason why they written it off because of the inherent mental instability seen in all 2nd trigger capes along with the lack of restraints needed to fight someone like Scion?
Hold on, what?
I think Gray Boy was a Cauldron cape, but either way their reason for not using him on Scion was one part “It doesn’t work when Scion cares” and 3-5 parts “Both the original and the clone are quite firmly dead”.
I think he’s speculating that Grey Boy was some sort of Caudron’s experiment that went wrong ( they do say they sold him powerS, plural) and that they stopped pursuing that lead when they saw what they had created.
Cauldron’s plan is kind of odd.
If I’m following it right, it boils down to “The only plan that could work is to throw all kinds of stuff at Scion and hope something sticks. We are the best at throwing all kinds of stuff at Scion, so we’re in charge. There’s no point in planning for everybody dying, so when we’re not coming up with new stuff to throw at him, we’ll plan on how to rebuild.”
It’s not even . . . *bad,* really, for a God-killing plan, I mean, aside from “maybe try it with less atrocities?” I can’t actually think of a better one myself.
But usually for someone so certain they should be in charge you’d expect them to have a *thing* that they expect to work.
Alathon on October 3, 2013 at 03:11 said:
The thing that’s always struck me as profoundly shortsighted about Cauldron’s conduct is that they even felt a need to go to involuntary experimentation. Every one of those kidnappings could have been serviced in some less evil, coercive, and enemy-making fashion. People will do that shit for free just hoping for powers, never mind powers-and-maybe-my-cancer-is-cured. Shit, as many people as die of cancer every year, Cauldron could have serviced their needs out of that pool of desperate humans alone.
I dunno. Maybe with the way powers worked, Cauldron figured secrecy was the only defense that could ever work, keep their organization intact over the years? But that’s mighty thin.
Robert on October 3, 2013 at 03:22 said:
They did, at least partially, draw from dying people: Newter was a war casualty, for instance, recovered by Alexandria and gave at least an uninformed agreement. The problem is they (imperfectly?) wiped their memories so no-one remembered agreeing to the process, or what they were saved from (and according to Sveta not everyone even agreed).
Reading this chapter? They drew wholly from dying people and volunteers (sometimes dying volunteers). I don’t know if Daniel has caught up yet, but he’s convinced me: the problem with Cauldron is that they weren’t nice, not that they were evil. Doctor Mother monofocus on defeating Scion distracted her from the fact that she needed allies, not assets.
Shit, all she had to do was provide support for the Case 53s instead of dump them like garbage, whether they wipe their memories or not. That angry mob that came after her? That could have easily been a loyal army.
And to build on you two, the best armies are those that are voluntary rather than those who are conscripted. Even if they agreed in sound mind, and it doesn’t sound like Sveta did, then erasing their memory keeps them from knowing it was voluntary to any degree to be worth a damn.
This update is kind of like if the general who was behind their conscription was in the field alongside his involuntary soldiers and one of them fragged him while the North Vietnamese attacked.
Correction: *one of them fragged him (for cowardice in the face of the enemy) while the North Vietnamese attacked.
nohat on October 4, 2013 at 12:03 said:
The problem is: they had Contessa. They had who knows how many other thinkers and precogs. What’s more they actually used them well. So we really can’t criticise anything Cauldron did because the alternative was apparently worse.
Pandemonious Ivy on October 4, 2013 at 12:13 said:
Also, if you recall, Weld tried the “loyalty and respect to the 53s” thing. They ripped him apart.
The problem with saying that anything else they did would have been worse is that part of their plan was getting random powers. Ones that they did not know what would occur. If Countessa was really THAT powerful she would know which vial and formula exactly needed to be given to who, when where and how. There wouldn’t have been any guessing.
In regards to the Case 53’s that means the only ones out there would have been intentional. In fact it makes everything every single itty consequence of Cauldrons actions an intentional effect. But because Cauldron hasn’t known what might work, what will come of their efforts etc, that means that Countessa’s power is inherently limited.
If she really is dead as seems likely, then thats one more piece of evidence that she has not seen clearly the path to victory, that other powers do affect her even if she would like to think or claim that they do not. We already know that her abilities can come with drawbacks.
The conversation convincing Eidolon to stop taking power up shots. Yes, the ‘path to victory’ there was for her to remain silent and she knows that. But even Eidolon knew that another path would have been for Contessa to talk to him and convince him. Still a victory, but with negative long term results.
Victory can come in many forms. Phyric being one of them. Who is to say that her power leads to the ‘best’ victory, not just the easiest or even a random one. How well can she choose to define just what victory is before seeing the path?
Skychan:
Good points about the restrictions on Contessa’s power. It’s definitely odd that should could see around the blindness caused by the endbringers and scion and still pull off her victories (some of which only come about because of what those blind spots do eg bonesaw handing over control keys). It seems like Mantellum might have a better blindness power than Scion. It actively forces powers to ignore him, so they can’t route around the damage so to speak. The fact that her power worked at all when mantellum existed, and his influence radiated outward causally… well perhaps it just indicates some other limitation on Mantellums power, or perhaps that the only path to victory included her death, or that she hid so she would survive scions attack. Regardless we know she can choose victory to mean a pretty wide range of things, and apply it to far in the future. So Cauldrons choice to mind wipe case 53’s seems pretty secure.
I’m pretty sure the big problem is limited to the imperfect mind wipes.
That, and the general secrecy.
Lets face it as much as most Case 53’s lives suck, they would have had a number turn on them. Sure we see them grabbing dying people and asking them if they want to live. But a lot of Case 53’s would probably aurgue afterwards they would have rather died then live these sucky freak lives, and then gone revenge anyways.
But hell a lost of issues are cropping up with Cauldron’s methodology.
I was referring to specifically the major issue with Cauldron’s 53-management policy.
Actually, there’s kind of a beautiful moment here re: the mind-wiping and all that. I don’t even think that the problem is whether they were nice enough, or whether they imperfectly mind-wiped people or had too much secrecy going.
The problem is a bit of a loop.
Imagine the following:
Extra-Dimension Conspiracy Auditor #1:
“Okay Dr, thank you for joining us. You’re dealing with a class Purple-Z threat, so tell me about your plans for fighting back”
Dr. Mother: “Well, it’s multi-pronged and relies on precognition, pericognition, petercognition, experimentation, hope and . . .stuff. We’ll prepare several approaches for dealing with the apocalypse, some of which involve setting up redundant societal infrastructure and others which will ensure the continued existence of the human species”
#1: “Interesting, let me make a note here. You mentioned experimentation?”
Dr. Mother: “Yes. We need to unlock the properties of powers, so we’re using human experimentation to gradually tests which powers work and provide us with abilities to fight the Entity. As a side note, we’ve discovered that the the powers we provide give a certain meta-physical defence against discovery, aiding us more.”
#1: “Excellent. You are dealing with a creature that appears to be nearly omniscient, secrecy is important. Human experimentation is a bit of an ethical problem, though – it skirts some guidelines”
Dr. Mother: “Not to worry, Auditor! We’re relying on informed consent. Our formula provide small bits of host optimization when they take root, and many people suffering will accept the aid when stacked against death or suffering”
#1: “Huh, indeed. Good call. But how will you preserve secrecy, if many people know you’re handing out vials?”
Dr. Mother: “There’s a bit of a lucky break there. We’ve got the ability to selectively remove memories, so after the subjects agree to our procedure, we’ll remove their memories if neccesary”
[Auditor tilts head gradually, blinking in confusion]
#1: “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
Dr. Mother: “It obviously will not do for multiple cases of deviant parahumans running around providing clues to our general existence, so removing the memories of our involvement offers us the greatest long term protection”
#1: “Removing their memories include, say, removing the memories of their lives prior to Cauldron intervention?”
Dr. Mother: “Naturally. They would die otherwise. We offer them a chance to live”
#1: “Indeed. Would I be correct in surmising that you would also remove their memories of granting informed consent along with the natural circumstances that lead them to granting you this?”
Dr. Mother: “I’m not sure where you’re going with this, Auditor”
#1: “Just wondering out loud.”
Dr. Mother: “It provides us the best chances and protection”
#1: “Mhmhm, yesyes. Say, once this rag-tag band of deviant parahumans gather in a horde and demand vengeance for you twisting them into demented mockeries of nature, would you have an answer for them?”
Dr. Mother: “Obviously. They granted consent to our procedure–”
#1: “I’m just going to interupt, sorry, look – they granted consent based on circumstances, events and lives they no longer remember”
Dr. Mother: “We’ve all given more than just memories in this fight”
#1: “Possibly, but I’m going to think it’ll be a little hard to convince an angry group of parahumans who no longer remember giving you permission to experiment on them that you explicitly asked for permission first. It’s also probably going to be harder to explain why their lives prior to their memories being removed is more important than all the suffering and despair they’ve gone through afterwards. Pain caused in part by your experiments, those experiments being the only mutual thing they all clearly remember as a traceable root for their present agony. ”
Dr. Mother: “They gave us their lives. We gave them continued life, a new existence, a new identity, a motive for fighting.”
#1: “They might still be upset?”
Dr. Mother: “No, we’re relying on the honour system to ensure they don’t do something rash. I’m a believer in the graciousness of the human spirit. I’m sure their gratitude will win out over any latent animosity. People are basically inclined to forgive incredibly violations of their very humanity based on spurious reasoning they don’t remember consenting to, yeah?”
#1: “I’m absolutely certain that will not possibly backfire in some hideously ironic way what-so-ever. I’m green-lighting this plan. Go ahead.”
I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone accusing Doctor Mother of being intelligent lol. There are many words for that woman but the “i” one is not normally mentioned in her orbit. Well, an “i” word is…but not that one ;).
stevebot7 on October 3, 2013 at 03:18 said:
Also, whatever happened to Smurf’s dartgun? Didn’t she hit Scion with it, or did he deflect it or something?
I like that Lab Rat apparently is a more practical evil scientist than Doctor Mother is. He at least prepared for plans going awry, whereas DM completely dropped the ball. But I guess, even at the end of it, she was only human after all. It would have been too convenient for there to be a handy big red button to hit and automatically blend a martini as soon as the golden fool showed up.
She hit him with it alright. We just haven’t seen any effect yet. But it’s the Smurf; long term sneaky planning his her thing.
John Campbell on July 9, 2015 at 17:01 said:
It was her hair dryer, apparently. She was protecting it because it’s a vital part of the hair-care routine that keeps her looking like a shampoo commercial.
a power that allows one to take over a nearby parahuman’s mind, body and powers automatically on death.
Pretender or Glaistig Uaine? Or someone else entirely?
peter o on October 3, 2013 at 05:56 said:
Butcher, with out having to share.
Ooh yes, that fits. I was thinking “on others’ death” not on your own.
My first thought was Butcher, too.
Regent maybe
Regent is a known natural cape.
Nardia Kelly (@indigodecay) on October 3, 2013 at 14:19 said:
Cauldron’s powers are taken from the Thinking Entity(?), right? While natural powers are given by Scion. Both of them retain many of the same shards in their whole forms, with some adjustments to orient them to their specific tasks as partners. So it’s entirely possible similar powers could have emerged from both, but with different spins on them.
Regent could jump to another body, but ultimately the host still has freedom of the mind. Whereas a cape like Butcher was able to influence the mind, but not the body. (Small detail though because after sharing a headspace with Butcher most seemed to merge with that personality and the new/old “Butcher” would come to agreements about how to use the body.) Same power for both entities, or something like that, just geared to different purposes.
At any rate it’s well known Imp had no problems sharing her body with him so jumping into it would have been easy for him at a dire moment, IF that was a logical progression of his talents.
Perhaps all the clues pointing to his potential survival are nothing but teasing coincidences, but I feel we’d be remiss as readers to dismiss the possibility completely.
Natural powers are not limited to Scion. There is at least one known instance of a natural-powered cape with a Counterpart shard: the first cape ever.
Regent didn’t have the ability to jump bodies ala Pretender, he had the ability to remotely take control of another person and push their consciousness into the background.
I second the people who say this sounds a lot more like Butcher’s schtick…
Of course this is useless. Without limitations it couldn’t possibly cause someone to merge with Scion and if not gain control of him at least temper his actions with the morality and or knowledge and experience of a fully grown person.
Emotion seems to be key here. Scion is looking for it and DM doesn’t have it and so discounts it. What if all we really needed was a way to bridge that gap between ignorance and knowledge in Scion and getting someone who drank that killed with Scion the only recipient has a potential to do that.
“Useless” she calls it. While I see at LEAST one possible path to success through it. That’s avoiding the possibility that it could recreate an Eidolon through attrition as the new ‘butcher’ could run at scion, die, pick up more powers and a new body, run at scion die, lather rince repeat until we have a new worm. A being with just as many shards as scion does.
Doctor Mom is quite blind.
Eh… there was a LOT of stuff in this one.
Dr. Mother is … not exactly a parahuman. Or at least not yet. In theory it should be the candidate for an howdyshard, except Contessa does not have one, nor a zombieshard.
I guess we’ll have her in a desperate situation to trigger. Like having every plan of her shattered, Scion confronting the counterpart, dying of serious injury. Something like that.
Good job not even remembering Sveta’s serial number btw, how very human of you.
Skitter already got her second trigger, this answer an important question: why Aidan’s shard sucked so much compared to hers. It was not because he was separated from her.
I guess the administration shard was really crippled a lot btw.
As a side note, Wildbow did promise no new second triggers for main characters.
You know what’s a good way to boost nanites? Have other kinds of nanites helping them, they’re very synergistic if you know what you’re doing.
You know what’s a good way to deliver nanites? With an air gun.
Sure, to get the synergy just right you probably need to see the future or something…
Things are picking up. The last few updates were a little… tired? This one is much more lively.
*** You know what’s a good way to boost nanites? Have other kinds of nanites helping them, they’re very synergistic if you know what you’re doing.
Sure, to get the synergy just right you probably need to see the future or something… ***
That’s a VERY interesting theory.
Has Simurgh spent any significant amount of time near Bonesaw, by chance?
Because I was just thinking, what if Scion’s human side was sufficiently vulnerable to some sort of bacteria capable of getting into a human brain and messing with its ability to recognize people and allowed someone else to masquerade as the second entity as far as Scion knew?
You’re thinking THIRD trigger aren’t you?
Patrick Reitz (@dreamfarer) on October 3, 2013 at 10:22 said:
You know, there is one thing that strikes me as odd about Taylor’s shard – Scion “cripples and largely destroys it”, meaning (I presume) functionality is flat out lost from it, irretrievably so. My question is wouldn’t Scion eventually kinda need those Administrator abilities again once he re-merged with his partner?
In fact crippling any of the shards is a little odd in that the reason for passing them out is, ostensibly, to let them gestate and grow more powerful. I can see suppressing some of the functionality so the hosts can’t use it against you, but destroying it seems counterproductive (unless its functionality you have no interest in retaining anyways).
If a shard is too scary to let into the hands of a host because they might work around the suppression then the answer would seem to be “don’t give it out in the first place”.
That may also point to one of the limitations in the entities. They don’t take risks. Scion selected a reality where he couldn’t see any chance of the “hosts” defeating him, but that had to come at the expense of realities where there was a tiny chance the hosts could defeat him and a larger pay off in terms of shard growth if they didn’t.
Presumably, the shards can all be un-crippled when they get them back. Maybe they end up with the equivalent of the flu when they get all the shards back.
Un-cripple, maybe, but un-“largely destroyed”? That seems much tougher.
Unconceivable!
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
You’ve committed one of the classic blunders, only the most famous of which are never get involved in a land war in Asia and never go in against a Scicilian when Death is on the line. Slightly less well known is that you should never engage with Psycho Gecko in a battle of wits.
To ^AMR:
Unless you’re me. Check the last time Gecko tried to snark me. Or the one before that, or the one before that… My favorite – Don’t know where it was at in the chapters, but my comment was something about villainous monologues. He cut in and tried to roshambo, I cut off his hand. He grew it back, clearly, but I wasn’t out for blood anyway so I’m fine with just collecting style points.
That said, endgame’s comment was, I think, misapplied. If he *is* going to step up to p. gecko, I hope he’ll at least try to use his memes correctly – if I were Gecko, I wouldn’t even bother with this, it’s like beating up a kitten trying to chew your Playstation power cord.
I read that as “cripple a lot”.
Well. The Entities can *uncripple* the shards as well. So there’s nothing irretrievable. Except with Scion blasting them all. That’s fatal *even to shards* as shown by GU’s losing of powers thanks to him.
He’s still using something to control himself. Presumably there are aspects unique or primary to the administrator shard (mass-control, fine-control, or something similar) and aspects not unique (control of shards, or perhaps interdimensional range). Mass fine-control of shards is too dangerous, so he removes the ‘shards’ part and can reintroduce it later (after the shard has improved/reproduced) by copying from another similar shard.
We know the ‘controls shards’ part isn’t unique due to Glaistig, Grue and whatever Scion himself is using, but I don’t think we’ve seen anyone with Taylor’s level of mass simultaneous control and precision. Even Glaistig could only summon three simultaneous shades, and Eidolon could hold about as many powers.
This would also explain why he could cast off Taylor’s shard, and why he did it last: he needed it to control his full body, but not the smaller (a ten-thousandth of a percent of their original size, according to Scion’s interlude).
Of course Aiden’s copy is a bit weird in that respect, but there’s a chance he didn’t inherit everything from the original shard as they were separated so quickly and for so long.
Loki-L on October 3, 2013 at 04:23 said:
So after everyone in the comments has clamoured for Taylor to get bigger powers through a second trigger event for ages, we finally get word that not only won’t she ever have one, but also that perhaps no amount of powers, natural or otherwise will be the key to defeat scion.
They will need to come up with a clever solution targeting the parts of him that are human. Perhaps influencing him with words or something.
On a different note, Scion coming face to face with his partner, feels a lot like an Angel breaking into Terminal Dogma to come face to face with a crucified Adam/Lilith.
Also I just got a new one upon having your arm crushed says a lot about the character and the situation they are in.
I’ve wondered that maybe the only way to beat Zion may not be powers, but words since those seem to be the only things that humans have that can affect and influence him, look at Norton & Jack, their words shaped his outlook and actions. So maybe Taylor talks him into committing suicide?
Curtis on October 3, 2013 at 10:56 said:
It was mentioned at some point that the existence of healing powers changes the way people (capes more specifically) think about their injuries. Taylor is now a great example of that.
I’d like to take a moment here and deny your heinous accusations. I NEVER pushed for a second Skitter trigger (I did inquire, but more out of a fatalistic dread.)
I’ve always wanted Skitter to just get more creative with her sciencing. So many things bugs can already do… she’s yet to use the power of termites, for example, and their so many and myriad symbiotic affiliations with fungi and bacteria and all the wonderful hair-raising horror-movie-inspiring chemist-boner-inspiring things some termites do to fuck up the day of anything that crosses their path… and that’s just ONE example.
Another one: I think Wildbow has been conservative in his estimates of how quickly and efficiently insects can strip a creature to its bones if they’re really trying – in real life, I’ve estimated that a horde of insects the sizes he’s describing could strip a fully grown man in less than 10 minutes. (Comparison: a colony of army ants 1/100th the size of one of Taylor’s swarms can do it to a 400-lbd. animal in 10 minutes… and the rest the foliage for yards around, for that matter… credit where it’s due though, army ants are horrifying.) I get that he’s going for believability, but sometimes insects are just flat-out unfuckingbelievable. Add Taylor’s ability to coordinate and trade out full insects for hungry ones at a near-perfect efficiency, and you have a recipe for a truly awe-inspiring display of insect-themed disintegration, a la The Mummy scarabs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSkC2Pjj-pE
I think, honestly, that Taylor is capable of more than she’s given credit for, and she’s given credit for a LOT by this point. Just by virtue of the fact that, despite everything, the insect kingdom is STILL being underutilized and underrepresented. She could create clouds of poisonous gas AT WILL if she knew the science… she could heat up an area for acres around into a blast furnace with the right bugs (some generate ridiculous amounts of heat) or use hive-bugs like termites, roaches (yes roaches – look up their closest entomological relatives), bees and wasps to create her own ‘containment foam’ practically instantaneously…
As an in-story example, with the number of bugs she was supposed to have access to, she could have rendered Jack Slash and Bonesaw into bone fragments and newly-homeless cybernetic implants, or rendered she could move earth at a rate faster than a bulldozer, hell almost as fast as Golem can create one of his giant hands… but for purposes of plot, the real-world capabilities of bugs have been downplayed. I’m okay with that, but it needs to be recognized, she does not and never has NEEDED a second trigger.
Bugs are just really that fucking dangerous already.
Hell, I think with the right plan she could have held her own against an Endbringer DIRECTLY. Think: if she ever figured out that she could breed LOCUSTS… anybody remember how fast those fuckers breed, and just how dangerous they are? They’re in the Bible for a reason, Chuckles.
Loki-L, your allegations against me are baseless and libelous. That is all. ^_^
Well if she survives this Taylor could get a degree in entemology. Oh wait, their probably aren’t any colleges or entimoligests left.
TeaSpoon on October 3, 2013 at 04:51 said:
Didn’t Noelle have three triggers in sequence right after she took her potion? Oliver did too, I think, and he drank from the same vial. Maybe Cauldron was working on a formula that granted multiple trigger events. Or maybe drinking only part of a vial has weird effects.
the13thversifier on October 3, 2013 at 09:34 said:
no clear description if Noelle got more than one trigger event(s), all we know back then was a very lengthy mumbo jumbo alien sight, so lengthy Krouse had to hold ground for them before they teleport somewhere safer
Patrick (@patbrry) on October 11, 2013 at 04:41 said:
i think the vial had seperated – the balance formula spillting from the stuff that Noelle drank.
Oliver got a tiny bit of the transform power and a full dose of balance, hence his very subtle ability.
The Sandman on October 3, 2013 at 06:52 said:
I think I just figured out what Cauldron’s problem really is.
They’ve spent all this time following Contessa’s “path to victory”, right?
Well, apparently they never figured out that the one whose victory this was a path to was Scion.
Not Scion’s. The Third Entity’s. It has been my personal headcanon since we’ve found out that Contessa’s shard is alive and unknown to Scion.
I’m sorry, I’ve not been keeping up with the comments: what’s the basis of the Contessa-is-a-third-entity’s-power theory?
It’s this line from the 26.x Interlude:
“It looked at the female, and it saw a shard that wasn’t its own, but wasn’t dead.”
That was in reference to Countessa. So her shard isn’t from Scion (its own) or his partner (dead) that doesn’t leave a lot of other viable sources aside from the 3rd Entity. At least not that we’ve been introduced to.
*checks*
Aha! Thanks muchly!
Aaand that freudian typo (CoUntessa) now gets us a Harbinger->Contessa connection. 😛
Unmaker on October 3, 2013 at 10:41 said:
Scion’s episode. He identifies Contessa as having a living shard that is not his. By inference, since the partner is dead, this leaves the third entity.
Thanks! Yes, Contessa being a third-entity shard seems probable. I’ll go edit TV Tropes.
The other possibility is that not all of the second entities shards died. It could have begun the process of releasing them and some died, some lived, and some were warped. At least that’s the impression I got. It is Sions lack of recognition that makes me supportive of the third entity theory.
Reworded the TV Tropes page to be less speculative, but that makes sense.
Teruzi on October 3, 2013 at 07:01 said:
Oh Sveta, you are sweet even as you mangle and crush the people all around you. What a great chapter. Did all the others that went into the chamber were crushed by the ceiling? Did only Taylor and Sveta survive the collapse? Also, the other entity lives! or is a dead body or something, next chapter may be as trippy as Scions interlude.
I wonder if a dead space-worm can have an interlude…
Alternatively I’m going either with Pretender (to understand what the heck the Vegas team was talking bout) or Contessa (she ain’t dead until they find her corpse and Lung rips her head off her shoulders to be sure).
Maybe it’s only mostly dead. (Big difference between mostly dead and all dead. If they’re all dead there’s only one thing left to do.)
any1 notice where shadow stalker have gone out to? KIA??? Out of commission?
last time she’s just barely said goodbye to taylor, has she??
She ran last chapter. Little miss crossbow (as PG put it) bolted for the exit once Taylor made it clear there was no exit further down.
Of course, the fact that she ran doesn’t mean that she made it … or that she didn’t turn around and come back….
I vote “didn’t make it”. Scion is not known for mercy.
Scion is also so close to his counterpart that he probably wouldn’t give a damn about some fleeing low-level cape.
I don’t think he noticed said counterpart at the time. I’m not sure, though.
They were in the middle of a facility that was part of multiple dimensions at once with some sort of column there that caused Doctor’s room to swap to another dimension as well.
Who knows where Shadow Stalker wound up by now?
In a more traditional story Shadow Stalker would pull a Han Solo and turn around to play cavalry at the decisive moment and they would be friends ever after. In a slightly darker story she would still turn around and make a difference but gain her redemption through sacrificing her own life.
Here? She probably got killed offscreen either running away or to the rescue, but in either case she died alone knowing that nobody would ever know or care about her fate despite what she had been told earlier.
So. A thought occurred to me today.
What happens to the stuff shredded by the nano-thorns? Doesn’t it sever all atomic bonds, leaving behind a bunch of carbon, hydrogen, etc atoms?
farmerbob1 on October 3, 2013 at 15:06 said:
If it shreds all atomic bonds, anything it touched would explode with energy equal to mc^2. It does seem to shred all chemical bonds though.
Atomic bonds as in bonds between atoms not bonds within nuclei. Not breaking the nucleus of a atom just the chemical bonds between the atom and its neighbor.
Possibly it only shreds covalent bonds (or their counterpart in non-polar molecules). I think that’s what he was going for.
Shredding covalent bonds still creates a lot of free atoms, seeing as that is pretty much all that holds together most of the human body, molecules in the air, etc.
Sveta’s body count is in the triple digits? Damn, I figured a few dozen. I guess the PRT did just keep sending them in. Also her body decides what she grabs to eat, so she ended up eating a lot of things that she never would have. And I imagine a lot if not all the case 53’s have problems like that. And the women (or men) of kleenex issue is in full force for them. And Doctor Mother is completely indifferent to it.
She wasn’t based in America at the outset, so the PRT had no involvement for some time.
Okay, that makes sense. Man I can imagine the horror that must have been. To the people in whatever area Sveta was in, this terrifying monster comes through, just killing anything that gets near it. It seems to be made of razorwire, with this girls face stuck in it, begging them to run. And poor Sveta… You know I can see her body sometimes after dealing with a mob or something deciding it’s time to eat, and there’s some freshly squeezed right at hand….
Thank god, if the PRT were handling things her body count would be in the quadruple digits.
DasNiveau on October 4, 2013 at 05:24 said:
Or a lot lower. Sveta vs Glory Girl or Alexandria … a cought Sveta.
I’ll give you Alexandria. But Glory Girl? She’d probably try to handle it like a normal supervillain fight and end up punching Sveta into a crowded office or something.
Not to mention Glory Girl’s invulnrabilty wasn’t so good. Remember, a good hit and it briefly goes down. Something Crawler was able to exploit to horrific degrees.
Yup yup. Sveta has a *lot* of good hits handy…
sarah penguin on October 3, 2013 at 12:53 said:
Oh wow. This is going to be interesting.
Drakeneisen on October 3, 2013 at 13:08 said:
To summarize much of the dialog in this chapter:
Dr. Mother: “For you, the day when mutated parahumans kidnapped you from your village and brought you to our extradimensional base where you were turned into a monster was the most important day of your life.
For me, it was Tuesday.”
After that, is anyone surprised by the ironic supervillain death?
Bison was way cooler than Dr Mother (and the only good thing in that film).
For us, the day we saw Raoul Julia play M. Bison was just another day watching a bad videogame-based movie.
But for him, it was what he let his kids pick out as his last film role while his health was failing.
Well, let’s see. Plans inside plans inside plans. How planned were the events leading to Doctor Mother’s apparent death.
Let’s see, she happens to carry a special container of the potentially unlimited power juice with her down to the one place in all of existence where Scion might actually be counted on to perhaps lose himself in thought, or perhaps even waste some absurd amount of energy to try to resurrect his mate.
He’s been expending a lot of power, but not too much. But he can’t use his predictive powers against his mate, or he would never have been surprised about her no-show, or confused in any way about where she was.
So here he has been using all this power to defeat the humans, and there is his mate. How much power to resurrect her?
How much of this is planned? Who planned it?
And now for the fridge logic moment.
Where did Doctor Mother drop the dose? On the stairs. Where did Sveta to the boa constrictor trick with constantino wire on Doctor Mother? On the stairs.
So, Doctor Mother is being sliced and diced and crushed to death while being asphyxiated and probably going into brain death due to blood loss. This is at the same time that her blood is pooling and mixing with the contents of the vial.
It appears as if Doctor Mother has access to the entire vial despite Scion’s actions. Additionally, it appears as if she gets to absorb the vial’s contents at the same time that she would be highly likely to be experiencing a “natural” trigger.
So what happens when a natural trigger occurs at the same time that an induced trigger happens? She had already started to be exposed to the artificial trigger’s effects before Sveta gave her a good excuse for a natural trigger.
So… First trigger event, exposure to a vial with few limits. Second trigger event reduces limits even further. The second trigger event is a physical brutalization, a mind altering event due to blood loss in the brain, and even a sensory deprivation event due to being cocooned, so the chances of physical resilience, mental abilities, and travel power manifestations are extremely possible.
And she is allowed to have this potential double trigger event at the one time when Scion might not be paying close attention to everything occurring around him. This might have been part of the plan, but I doubt she was expecting the “opportunity” to double-trigger via Sveta.
So what DO you have hidden in that fridge anyway, Wildbow?
dpara on October 4, 2013 at 15:20 said:
Well if we are in the WAG field.
Who says Doctor Mother did not pick the “take over a cape after death” vial?
(and Dr. Mother is now Sveta…)
to slow.. should read all the comments before posting xD
The problem is that we didn’t have one of those trippy sequences that happen when someone triggers around other capes.
Stop on October 3, 2013 at 16:44 said:
*croak*
“Hello, my baby
Hello, my honey
Hello, my ragtime gal
Send me a kiss by wire
Baby, my hearts on fire
If you refuse me
Honey, you’ll lose me
Then you’ll be left alone
Oh baby, telephone
And tell me I’m your own”
what I was thinking at the end.
“So that’s why Scion was so sad. His partner…she croaked.”
Did he have the soup or the special?
Clearly he had the special soup.
Roths on October 3, 2013 at 16:46 said:
I’ve caught up at last! Now I’m in the same boat as everyone else with waiting for updates.
If Taylor triggered twice in quick succession what is the extension to her power? I was expecting her to trigger further down the line and unleash her full administrator potential.
Wildbow, I’ve spotted minor typos throughout but I’ve enjoyed the story too much to bring them up. Going to go back over and pick them all out if that’s ok? It depends how polished you need/want this to be.
I think that bug control is the original power, and the second one was the ability to perceive their senses. If she hadn’t triggered twice in the locker she would probably have had to play everything by eye and wouldn’t be able to order the really precise tasks.
Wartooth on October 3, 2013 at 19:28 said:
That…makes entirely too much sense.
I agree with Reveen on this one, especially in light of Wildbow just saying “Aiden”
This. Me too.
I agree, but the other way around.
The way I see it “being able to sense bugs without controlling them” seems more terrifying than “controlling bugs without sensing them”.
I sighed, “It’s hard to explain what it’s like, having a new sense open up, but you can’t understand it all. Every sound that they heard was bounced back to me at a hundred times the volume, with the pitch and everything else all screwed up as if they wanted to make it as unpleasant and painful to listen to as possible. Even what they were seeing, it’s like having my eyes open after being in the dark for a long time, but the eyes weren’t attached to my body, and what they were seeing was like looking into a really dingy, grimy kaleidoscope. Thousands of them. And I didn’t know how to turn any of it off.”
Taken from 4.3. So I think she had her second trigger from the stress of sensory overload from sensing all the bugs and got multitasking/processing powers to be able to handle it.
I think her multitasking isn’t a second power per-se, but a side effect to make using the power easier like Rachel’s thing with dogs. Second triggers usually give an extension of the power rather than something needed to properly use the original.
letseveryonemorality on October 3, 2013 at 22:44 said:
Which makes me suspicious that we either haven’t seen what her second trigger actually did yet, or the effect has been so subtle that it’s hard to actually notice it.
I’m thinking it’s either going to be related to Taylor’s ability to control insects even while unconscious, or it’ll be related to her ability to assess the properties of powers.
If it’s the first option, it might actually be flat out control of shards, she’s just never been close enough to one to know she has this control, while her connection to her own shard would bypass some of her range limits, giving her limited control of it in this way when her normal control fails.
All I’ll say is, ‘Aiden’.
I’m not sure if this means that we should look at the differences between Taylor’s shard and Aiden’s (and why would Taylor’s shard pass on restrictions it no longer had?) or if Aiden’s shard is Taylor’s second trigger (and DM/NM don’t quite understand second triggers as well as they think).
Hrm wasn’t there a mention at one point that a passenger, when it learns enough, can either reproduce if the host is not stressed OR trigger a second event in the host if the host is stressed sufficiently? Taylor never had a real second trigger, her passenger simply reproduced, and the child passenger is capable of controlling more complex animals than Taylor.
There was also a mention, by Scion I think, that the child and parent passengers can learn from each other? He seemed a bit disappointed that Taylor’s passenger and her passenger’s offspring were not in proximity to each other.
Kessler on October 4, 2013 at 11:14 said:
I wonder if Weaver can control Aiden’s birds, like he is a relay. Or anything that Shards split from hers can control.
Welcome to the boat. Try to mind the rum while you’re here. You’re not alone. There be many a crewman and crewwoman aboard. We take anyone who makes the crew cut. It’s a slow-moving ship, but it’s nearing the end of its voyage as we follow along our route.
While you’re here, perhaps we can tie you to a mast and force you to listen to us sing? Not because we’re sirens and will drive you onto the rocks, no, we’re just not very good singers.
Or mayhap you’d like to sit and watch the ships? We’re in a very active shipping lane. According to other people around here, the USS Taylor works well with just about any other vessel you could find. Even the USS Imp, which is best known for its association with the Regent until the Regent was lost to lightning in a storm on the Indian Ocean.
If all you want to do is go over the manifest and critique the spelling errors, that’s fine too, but know that we’re all up here, partying away, sharing the booty *points to a treasure chest with the word “Bootay!” written on it* and waiting to see who next gets their spotter yanked out of the crow’s nest and their cargo gutted by a sharp-witted administrator.
Welcome, Roths, to the comments section.
In that case just show me where the rum is and I’ll be on my merry way! Glad to be aboard! It’s been a hard swim.
That’s right kiddies, it’s time to play…
GUESS. THE. POWER!!!!
To start the ball rolling, here’s what they suggest to me:
Abel: Presumably as in “Cain and…”. “Cain” in this context would suggest some power that fed off of ferocity, while “Abel” could be any number of things having to do with being the victim. Regeneration, to aid in shrugging off stab wounds. Danger sense, to aid in knowing how to evade an attack. Presumably breaker-esque powers.
Abbatoir: Something to do with cutting or blood. Was Crimson a Cauldron cape or a natural trigger? Striker or brute.
Access: Mover or shaker a la Shuffle (or the guy who can change the rooms of a building around. Maybe also a lockpicking tinker.
Ace: Definitely Blaster-style. Maybe Gambit-style object empowerment?
Aegis: We’ve seen this one before, as a protective measure on Sundancer’s power.
Air: Mover – blaster, having to do with wind. That hypothetical power that Weaver gave that one kid who complained about getting bad luck.
Alchemy: Tinker power, possibly having to do with chemistry. NEXT!
Alias: ability to disconnect one’s name from one’s actions? Definitely sounds stranger-ish.
Alpha: My mind immediately jumps to “Alpha male” connotations, which presumably means its a Master power. Possibly like Bitch, possibly like King, possibly something along the lines of “attention control.”
Amaze: Blaster, possibly Leonid’s formula.
Any other takers?
Abel: something about working with animals or directing them in some way, maybe even like Bitch with strengthening them. Able was a shepherd.
Abbatoir: powers where you have to kill someone for it, like Moord Nag (however it’s spelled) or Glaistig.
Access: Stranger powers that allow you to influence people.
Ace: Trump stuff where you could wind up with a really good power, or a really bad power.
Aegis: yeah, probably protective or a shield.
Air: One-fifth of the powers necessary to summon a benevolent Scion-like creature with blue skin and green hair who claims to want to protect the planet. Alternatively, something involving gas like the Slaughterhouse Nix or Nyx or whatever, or that guy who turned into smoke from the gang of mighty whiteys.
Alchemy: The ability to turn lead into gold, or the ability to alter metals. Possibly changing one substance to another.
Alias: the ability to fuck up a decent spy drama by relying on Nostradamus-style gizmos and mythology. Alternately some ability, like Stranger or shapeshifting, to alter what one looks like. Could refer to something like what Vista could do where it distorts things given its use with digital imaging. Possibly some projection as well given the term’s use in computing.
Alpha: The ability to go “ayayayayay!” while a robot. Can’t think of many powers having to do with being first.
Amaze: something to shock and stun people, make people unable to react, or to construct a confusing layout, perhaps in some sort of cornfield as Halloween approaches.
Vial names aren’t for one classification of powers. They are a summarization of what is in common in all cases where that vial has been taken. A vial named “Jupiter” produces: 1) powerful blackhole esque effect that can be applied to different surfaces, 2) freezes everyone within range, I.e. prevents them from moving, 3) case 53 that is basically a core with a loose amalgam of “parts” orbiting it, can touch something and subsume it into the orbit /shoot things accurately from it, 4) switches the effects of gravity between two objects (gravity treats a stick as if it were as heavy as a tree, for example). Just made up examples, so yeah, recognize that the titles represent the core of each result, and major deviances can be found in everything else.
But puzzling out the common denominator is kind of the point.
Sooooo, is it bad that I imagined Looney Tunes sound effects while Frau Doktor was getting splattered? Pfftt, no of course not!
That said, there are going to be a few problems now that she’s gone. First thing is that we don’t know if the Number Men and Pretendria are going to be co-operative, or if they can figure out how to use Doorman to get the hell out of dodge. Sveta loose will be a problem but they might be able to use the Number Kids to play patty-cake with them until they find out a way to keep her calm. Oh, and the giant dead inter-dimensional monster thing, that’s somehow the least of their problems.
Is there some kind of fucked up anthro-centrism going on with Cauldron? She seemed pretty adamant that the Case 53s could not be part of their main plans.
There’s a lot of f**ked-up things with Cauldron. Starting with the anthrocentrism and ending somewhere along the lines of “kept an eldritch abomination in the basement for years and neglected to tell anyone because ‘It’s classified’ or ‘You didn’t ask.'”
We never did actually find out if Eidolon created the Endbringers. Also, assuming this is the final confrontation (it seems that way, since this is the last arc), the Endbringers aren’t actually relevant in said confrontation, with the possible exception of the payoff of whatever the Smurf did with her puff of air.
Why in the hell did Contessa allow all these formulas to be stored in GLASS? When you have an incredibly important liquid, you store that shit in a nigh-impervious container, not one that’s vulnerable to dropping. Unless, of course, the path to victory required all those formulas to spill and mix together on the floor?
No, there were 30 arcs in Wildbow’s original plan, which may or may not have changed since Drone, IIRC.
And as for the glass vials, it’s probably a matter of mass production. Any tinker-made material would be difficult to mass-produce, especially on the kind of scale Cauldron requires (well, required).
My bet is that Cauldron made and released them to give Eidolon the challenge that Scion said he needed. The sacrifice of millions of civilians would be worth it, in Cauldron’s eyes, if Eidolon figured out his power and was able to fight Scion effectively, saving what’s left of humanity in the process.
We know this isn’t possible thanks to the Doctor Mother Interlude. She didn’t know bupkiss about the Endbringers or how they think before she used the capes Teacher provided.
Also, there’s an INCREDIBLY important question still unanswered, which we could totally still get an answer to: How jiggly are invincible boobs? When you see most invincible people getting hit, their flesh usually doesn’t react at all. Cheeks and noses and other soft tissue remains just as undisturbed as muscular areas. Yet every instance I can think of where we see this, it’s a male character. Superman, Juggernaut, etc. What about Alexandria? We know she can’t actually be HARMED by most physical force, but does that invlunerability result in the world’s strongest breasts being stiff and unmoving, or can they be moved by incidental forces? Does her costume have built-in support? Were there websites (before the internet was blown up) devoted to gifs of footage of her jiggling in response to impacts from Endbringers?
Inquiring minds want to know!
And the award for my favorite comment goes to Asmora. You may pick up your award after the ceremonies conclude, in the alley in the back. There will be a Gecko in a trenchcoat. Beware the Grues that will eat you in the dark, unless you’re into that sort of thing.
Who’s to say it wasn’t Gorilla Glass or some other incredibly hard variant. Shatterbird power doesn’t care.
Should have used a plastic bag, clearly. Or, just metal.
Stephen R. Marsh on October 3, 2013 at 19:29 said:
So, thirty arcs, we are at about the end of 29.
We know that second trigger = breaking limits set by the worms on powers. That is interesting. Wonder what limit Taylor broke.
The dead worm’s body is a perfect cliff hanger. I gather the first time DM saved the world was when Cauldron killed the first worm. Wonder if that was with or without help from the third entity. Lots of questions there. But with Worms as a plague spreading through space you have to wonder if someone is trying to contain them.
Nope. As I understand it, the entities really crippled some shards, but the second triggers are not the shards healing themselves.
When a shard bonds with a human trough a passenger the new power must have restrictions that avoid it from damaging the host. This previously programmed restrictions are quite generic and a second trigger is a refinement, it is the shard doing a fine tuning and eliminating unneeded restrictions.
Stephen M (Ethesis) on October 3, 2013 at 22:35 said:
Amazing that DM did this without powers and from a virtual zero start point.
Also wondering where the capes from India are. Was it all just smoke about another war?
Some of the Indian capes were presumably with the Elite when they got wiped out by Leviathan, since they were noted as working with “some of the less savory Thanda”. Likely most are minding their own portal / refugee world.
I think he was referring to the “bad” Thanda (or better the ones that opposed Phir Se’s Thanda), the ones that disappeared into a portal after Contessa talked with them, as soldiers in another war whot will never be seen in Bet ever again.
Something else I noticed about Cauldron vs. Taylor as far as mindset is that Taylor’s staying very much true to how she’s been ever since the beginning. Thinking up new and creative uses for limited power, making use of allies, strategy, and tactics. Cauldron, though, seems to believe that you’re only ever going to get as much power as you’d ever get.
You know, that’s kinda why they’ve been so far behind here. Sure, they’re getting traditionally strong powers in people who can predict all kinds of crazy shit or generate an army or whatever, but they bank too much on power alone being useful.
Just think about the Slaughterhouse 9000 mess. The biggest parahuman conflict not involving Scion or the Endbringers involved Jack Slash (communication and transmission of knifeblade powers) versus Weaver (bug control).
That was who made such a powerful group possible that Cauldron had to steal his leftovers and that’s who found a way to assemble a small army of Endbringers. Yeah, sure, the power you have is all the power you’ll ever get? Cauldron, feel free to die if you haven’t been paying attention.
Just some random thoughts.
There aren’t any healing powers. When they crop up, it’s a fluke, pure chance, an extension of another ability with a different focus.
Then what the heck is Panacea? OK, she can change others in addition to healing them, but does that mean that her living-being-warping power is somehow perverted when it is used to heal?
I think it is pretty obvious at this point, based off of Doctor Mother’s comments on second triggers, but I never believed second triggers were the same as the shards reproducing.
a defensive power utilizing warped space and a power that allows one to take over a nearby parahuman’s mind, body and powers automatically on death
The first sounds vaguely like Gray Boy, but the second is a dead ringer for Butcher.
Doctor Mother, after surviving a vicious group of deviations that wanted to kill her, was killed by a deviation that didn’t actually want to kill her. Irony, anyone? Actually, Asmora said this even better.
Given the title of the series, does the counterpart look like a mass of worms? I guess we will find out. That would make the formulas worm juice.
Still wondering why the heck the Simurgh parted Scion’s hair with the air gun. En has an interesting idea on this, but the better way to deliver nanites is in massive quantities, not in doses so small they are not visibly different from air. Although … is the link to Scion’s regenerative reserve two way? If it is, then Simurgh may be trying to infect Scion’s reserve, which might be the only way to kill him. The only other time we have seen similar tubes is cloning chambers, but those were filled with nutrients, not air.
Interesting theory farmerbob1. Technically, Doctor Mother did get her close encounter with the contents of the vial she had chosen, just a bit differently than she had planned. But I am still betting on dead – no-one but Weld (or an equivalent invulnerable) could survive Sveta’s full intentions for more than a second. Her tendrils break bone immediately so it only takes one tendril through the skull to whip brains into a useless mush.
And now for the completely off-the-wall thought: Taylor tells Scion to make her into another worm so that Taylor can become Scion’s mate.
The glass tube in the Simurgh’s air gun wasn’t a part of the guns mechanism, she was hiding it in there. The point of the air gun was to distract Scion. The glass tube is for something else.
We should be worried, did the Smurf make that with Bonesaw & Lab Rat nearby?
Bonesaw, yes. As far as I recall, Lab Rat is missing, presumed dead after the oil rig debacle, but Taylor *did* help him get his mystery device over the edge of the cliff, so who knows…
That is an interesting read on it. Thanks.
Yes, Panacea’s healing power is not ‘healing’ so much as ‘complete biological control and inherent understanding of biology’. Much like Bonesaw’s biological tinkering, it can be used to fix or to warp. I wouldn’t call it ‘perverting’ it when it’s used to heal, but it’s not completely accurate to call it a ‘healing power’ either.
Lizardtail is an actual Cauldron-source healing power (we never saw him do anything else, did we?), and so might be more interesting than Panacea. I wonder what kind of power that elixir is normally associated with. Something to do with area effects, I expect.
Lizardtail’s power is probably some sort of temporal or dimensional manipulation that just happens to close/heal/remove wounds rather than anything like a devoted healing power, because apparently shards don’t do healing powers.
Actually both Panacea and Bonesaw’s both explicitly have biological-manipulation powers that can also be used to heal. Now Lizardtail is interesting since his only power seems to be wide-area regeneration.
“a defensive power utilizing warped space” sounds more like Vista than Gray Boy to me.
DM took the death-body-swap formula, and is now inhabiting Sveta. You’re welcome.
Except there was no “freeze every para humans nearby” trigger vision.
That may be different with both vision sources virtualy “next door”.
Hmm, the dead entity MAY change something but everybody still got the vision when Clubs second-triggered fighting Scion.
And one of Dr Mother’s reason to not take the vial was that all the others would be rendered comatose.
It looks like the resident troll Axel is back at it. He’s creating alt accounts on TV Tropes and other forums to generate reviews. I have no idea why he has worked up such a vendetta here.
Really i think at this point it’s just better if we have a laugh at his antics and ignore him.
You’re probably right, but at the same time, I have trouble wrapping my mind around why he is doing this. That’s what vexes me.
Figured out who the troll actually is irl. It’s hilarious. This explains so much.
wait, you actually know him? Small world…
No, I don’t know him, and as much as I dislike the guy’s posts, I’m not about to post any personal information on him. About the only thing I’ll reveal is this: hilariously bad neckbeard.
Don’t worry, I wasn’t asking you to reveal personal info.
As for the neckbeard the only guy that comes to mind is Alan Moore. But while it would make SOME sense, I don’t think thats it.
No, Alan Moore’s beard is a sapient entity all on its own. I dare not criticize it for fear it may actually come after me. That said, I do not fear that the scruff on this guy’s thick neck will be coming after me. It looks to be firmly glued into place.
I don’t think they are all sockpuppets. I think it’s more that my readership has increased a great deal in a short period of time, 31,000 views/5k unique views yesterday) and a lot of these readers are coming from the Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality community. I won’t say that the people in that community are bad people – they most definitely aren’t -, but it’s a community built around picking one popular story to pieces and figuring out a better way to do things in that story. On a level, I suspect it’s a community where finding possible flaws in a work (and being willing/able to argue your point) is more meaningful than being accurate in identifying those flaws.
Ergo, a lot of new people going through Worm’s comments, and among them are a few people like RMCD or Daniel or whoever else that go through the comments with what appears to be atrocious reading comprehension. Too busy looking for stuff that’s wrong to actually see where the answers are provided, or jumping to conclusions. They’re finding plot holes that were filled from the get go and barreling through, arguing with everyone that responds to them. And with any influx of new readers, you also get the people who aren’t the intended audience, but are entitled enough/shortsighted enough to miss that fact, expecting the story to cater to them/their tastes explicitly, and deeming it a failure when it doesn’t get that far.
Which isn’t to say Worm’s perfect. It’s not. I wrote it, in the end, to be the kind of story I’d want to read. I’m validated to see that there’s this many people who have similar tastes. But it’s first draft stuff and it’s niche-ish. Some people won’t like it. That’s fine.
Here’s the thing. I’m going to start deleting comments that reference the more problematic guys. I’ve been cleaning up comments where they go overboard, being overlyvulgar or vitriolic in their criticism, or where arguments aren’t going anywhere and it’s causing more negativity than good for the community. Comments from loyal readers get the same treatment.
If you want to combat the ‘trolls’ (and I don’t think they are trolls – or only one of them are) then support worm. Post reviews if you haven’t already (TV tropes, webfictionguide), rate the story (webfictionguide), vote (Topwebfiction), and don’t respond to their reviews (it brings it to the top of the page in TV tropes) unless it’s to mark it as unhelpful, provided you view it that way. I don’t want to push you guys to give any particular rating or review, except the one you feel is accurate.
Some people won’t like the story. Some people won’t like the story to unreasonable, irrational degrees. That’s fine. I think it’s a decent-ish story, and I know that there’s more people who like the story, and more people who like it to unreasonable, irrational degrees. So long as you guys speak up and make your voices heard, Worm will get the visible reviews it deserves, and the ratings will average out to put it in a decent spot.
I’d appreciate it if you didn’t pay attention or give mention to any of these individuals, unless it’s by email or such to let me know of something particularly problematic. If any of them are trolling, then it’s only validating them. It’s negative, affecting the mood of the comment section, and I’m going to start deleting comments for that reason (which takes time and energy I’d rather devote to writing).
I’ll probably post something on the subject after tomorrow’s chapter.
Wildbow, if I may, while I have no doubt that your readers are becoming more numerous and that this means that criticisms will, if only because of statistics, also increase, there are certain posts that are so similar up to the exact wording and of so coincidental timing, that they can’t really be anything else but sock-puppets. Daniel, who at least, from what i’ve seen, tends to be polite in his criticisms is almost certainly not a sock-puppet, kikallin (who only appeared to post about “Triumph’s rape”), well…
It is the same guy, actually. I don’t really care.
That’s hilarious. Per your advice, I won’t inadvertently bump the reviews he has been posting on TV tropes, but I would like to point out that the last exchange I had with him had him vehemently denying using alts as sock puppets, saying I had no proof. Thanks for validating what we all already knew, but could not conclusively prove. Both of his reviews are flagged for moderation, but I don’t know how long it will take for TV Tropes to deal with them.
Censored parts of emails and IP addresses to protect everyone involved, but it’s telling enough.
…are you freaking kidding me? I cannot facepalm hard enough at that. That’s the laziest effort at creating a sockpuppet ever. I mean, he could have taken 5 minutes to set up a throwaway email at least, but he couldn’t even be bothered with that. Does this guy have any idea how the internet even works? But then again, he does seem to have some sort of obsession with that username everywhere he posts.
Wait, he din’t change his email? Hahhaha. I’m one of the less savvy people around internet-wise and even I know not to make that blunder.
I’m not touching you-know-who with a ten foot pole anymore, but I think the mindset behind this sort of thing is a knee-jerk reaction against a perceived attack against the genre. You see this every so often with an “edgy” or or critical superhero comic like the Boys or half of Mark Millars work or such. If something breaks the moral “rules” or is negative about superheroes some people will probably rush in to act outrage over that.
Not to say that there aren’t good reasons to not like the Boys or Millar (ESPECIALLY), but some people just get huffy when something doesn’t treat the superhero genre the way they think it should be treated. Which annoys me because let’s face it, superheroes as a concept are problematic as fuck, and I’m grateful to WIldbow for embracing that fact.
Too bad the Internet wasn’t around when Watchmen first came out. It would be interesting to see the resault.
RazorSmile on October 4, 2013 at 09:32 said:
Any second now, Chekov’s Airgun will reveal its true colors and it will be hilarious.
Still waiting for Saturday.
I have a question: Which is more fatal to a character in Worm: having an interlude written from their PoV, or having Krustacean draw them? If you look at the list of interludes in the table of contents, you’ll notice that the vast majority of the list are about characters who met gruesome ends.
The fact that Krustacean didn’t draw DM is enough to make me suspect that she is still alive.
coming soon, scion interlude 2 the drawn by Krustacean version and touted to be played in alive action film by Eddy Murpy… that should end the bugger…
Nourjan on October 4, 2013 at 19:41 said:
{sigh}
I finally decide to not give My Worm reading a sabbatical and ending up so busy in real life that I miss an entire week worth of Worm episodes(and I blazed through the first 26 arcs of Worm in under 6days!).I even failed to participate in my own conversation lines(even the ones that I started.) How typical!
BTW, wasn’t this Siberian Projection supposed to be a male with stripes on his body?
I think there’s one clone that has a male projection but the rest of the Manton clones had female projections.
Reread Interlude 26b. Jack must have either switched Siberian after leaving Ellisburg or that particular Manton is capable of both projecting both the male and the female Siberian(not at he same time, obviously)
Took a peek at Interlude 26b, the Siberian in that chapter is mentioned as female. The one Jack left Ellisburg is male. I guess I wouldn’t be surprised if that Manton can switch between male and female Siberians.
Rhodesian on October 4, 2013 at 21:52 said:
random thought. Eidolon from the greek means (Phantom, Spirit) and Glastig Uaine now has his spirit or phantom. That worked out nicely.
Other possible meaning for that name is that he doesnt really have a personality outside of his powers and so he’s similar to an extremely powerful spirit.
Also meant to add that word in greek also implies deception or trickery which is interesting in regard to eidolon being “dead”
Daniel on October 5, 2013 at 17:25 said:
” I’m telling you that if you’d asked, at any point along the way, I’d probably have told you I’d rather be dead. I’d rather be dead than live this new life you gave me”
Then you really should just ask to be killed or kill yourself if you can.
The good Doctor DID give you a choice. One where you had none before. Before you were doomed to die, now you can choose to die or to live as a monster.
I hope someone mentions this argument at some point, it’s obvious enough.
She can’t kill herself, or she would have, it’s obvious enough. Her body would react and destroy external threats, even ones she’s trying to leverage against herself.
I meant to say “please delete my long winded post about Taylor’s second trigger” not my much much earlier post.Sorry for all that.
Syphon on December 23, 2013 at 14:13 said:
Taylor really likes pointing out how Bastard’s transformation is my fluid and symmetrical than Bitch’s other dogs. Every single time.
Also, tags are missing.
Dev Null on January 2, 2014 at 10:36 said:
Hi! Since this is my first comment, I should say that I’m just working my way through the whole story now, having discovered Worm when HPTMOR linked it awhile back. Very much enjoying the story; excellent work.
I don’t know how much you’re interested in editorial suggestions, but for what its worth, I had trouble following the transition to talking about second triggers at the end of this chapter, at this line:
‘”You can’t have a second trigger because you already had one,” he said.’
I had no idea why he was bringing them up. Then I went back and re-read the previous few bits and remembered the EM readers. So I’m guessing that he actually brings this up in response to something he reads on the device? A quick transition – something like “Number Man finished waving the EM reader around my head and said ‘Actually Weaver,…” would have made it more clear.
But again: minor quibble; great story.
greatwyrmgold on January 30, 2014 at 22:46 said:
…Why wasn’t Cauldron cloning people?
The Siberian had saved them with her ability to grant her own invulnerability effect.
Even the Manton clone? Who can’t be given invulnerability?
The Doctor glanced her way. “And you are?” Imp sighed.
Man, for such an awesome power, it sure must be annoying.
And since I’m here…is it odd that I’ve always pictured The Number Man as being ambiguously brown?
(Reference: tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AmbiguouslyBrown )
Vernon on October 11, 2014 at 18:56 said:
Typo: tendrlis instead of tendrils
Okay so is it bad that I have a bit of a sentimental attachment to that knife? It’s a physical symbol of the advances in communication and attachment that Colin and Taylor have both made both apart and together. I feel like she shouldn’t lose the knife because it’s like losing a part of the humanity that is still left in this craptastic situation. I’m glad she managed to get it back. And yes I know the knife isn’t intended to mean any of that but that’s how it feels to me.
Also I find it rather funny how the Number Man is rather annoyed that his clones are sadistic assholes.
“Not me, surely. I sent others.” God I can’t believe this woman is on humanities side. There is simply being unfeeling and then there is lacking any capacity for empathy whatsoever. Regent fits the former mostly while this woman is a glaring example of why humanity sucks so much. I definitely see why she never triggered. The dumb bitch has no concept of the despair and terror needed to naturally trigger.
Huh so no natural native healing powers; all healing is just a secondary required power made into the primary effect due to its usefulness. Interesting. Makes sense I guess, healing isn’t really all that useful for conflict purposes besides Panacea’s potential offensive “healing”.
The Balance formula makes much more sense now. Sweet. It’s also very interesting to find that second triggers are basically networking assists between the shards who then fine tune their settings. So Taylor has canonically second triggered either in the locker or the hospital. That is both awesome and sucky. Lends a lot more credence to my earlier guess that Aiden was what Taylor would be without a second trigger; able to either experience or move bugs but not both at once.
It is also entertaining to see Imp descending back into less than stellar vocab when she gets really upset.
Doc finally got what she deserved. About time. I’m amazed that Sveta survived her brief conflict. Good for her? I mean yeah I like her but the poor girl really doesn’t have all that much of a life to be perfectly honest. And Taylor going up against Scion with a disintegration knife…um…um…I’m trying to decide whether this counts as a last ditch attempt at a third trigger, a suicidal depression fueled last stand, an attempt to distract him from her friends or some combination of all of the above. Either way…um…
Sigh, oh Cauldron. Locking up dead giant Multi Dimensional Entities really doesn’t ever end well. Of course the partner is going to come looking for her at some point. Sigh.
Cauldron, you are the worst at tactical intelligence.
Locking up one of the entities and using it to make powers? Fucked up, maybe, but a good idea for protecting humanity.
Not telling anyone you did that, when the other entity turns on you? Moronic, and hardly justifiable. Sharing that secret isn’t going to make you any more enemies than you already have. Keeping it is going to lead to… this happening.
Ok,if Contessa’s planis not to either manipulate Cauldron,or,in a way,requiring all that shit,then they might have been better without her power.
Hmm. Didn’t Shatterbird say something about “the men who bought my power” in Hookwolf’s interlude? I know the Nine are hardly trustworthy, but if she’s a Cauldron cape, then her powers are from the dead entity, not from Scion.
So then… maybe he’s approximating the other entity’s trick instead of reusing it? And that’s why his version is accompanied by light instead of sound?
In any case, the dawning horror/awe upon realizing that the good guys just got screwed over by a move from almost twenty arcs ago was fantastic. Excellent work.
I just devolved into shouting random curses and otherwise incoherent things. THIS is why the entity’s companion went missing?! FUCKING CAULDRON.
At least that’s what I’m getting from the last sentence.
The entity2 died before arriving on Earth. It’s in Scion’s interlude.
It might have died because the third entity took too many of its shards when it passed them before arriving on Earth.
I think of Doctor Mother as the greatest hero in the story so far. She’s the only one who abandoned all selfish interests and values in order to save humanity. She did what maximised their chances, and she was hated by all for it. RIP.
Letouriste on January 29, 2018 at 09:09 said:
She was a secretive asshole who didn’t managed to do anything at all and caused massacres,torture and horrors for billions of sentients being.her goal was worthy but she is worst than scion.all her actions were pointless at the end because All will depend of people not related to cauldron.her only achievement is the creation of monsters
And at last I am freed from the cliffhangers and tension requiring me to continue reading. Not because this wasn’t a cliffhanger or tense of course. It is simply a cliffhanger so epic it *demands* I stop reading and sit in agonized tension for awhile, a level of tension epic enough I can be content to wait.
Wow the doctor has been even more useless I thought she would be.
I wonder if Taylor didn’t miss an opportunity here:I would have asked if bugs could have powers,if bugs could drink parts of the vial on the ground.they would die in a few month at most so the after effect would not matter on the bugs.she could controle a little army of power not limited by scion
“By mixing it into other vials, we borrow this particular quality, at the cost of having more physical changes with any such power we grant. We retain humanity more easily, safeguarding against deviant cases.””
Seems contradicting….
And did they now go into the doorway what the Siberian made or not? There is no description about that. Only that suddenly Weaver is alone.
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Crowd funding platforms rush to Sebi for alternative investment fund tag
MUMBAI: Top crowd funding platforms lined up to register themselves as alternative investment funds (AIFs) after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) pulled them up for not following private placement norms. All major crowd funding platforms, including One Crowd, Let’s Venture and Angel List, have registered with Sebi as (AIFs) in the last few months, said two people privy to the development.
This brings a major part of early start-up funding under market regulator Sebi’s purview and places serious restrictions on the ability of these platforms.
Sebi registrations will impact the freedom of these platforms that typically cater largely to smaller start-ups. For instance, as an AIF, these platforms will be able to pool money only from those individuals who have a minimum liquid networth of Rs 2 crore. Further, the minimum size of investment has to be Rs 1 crore.
Restrictions also apply on companies where these platforms can invest money. As a registered AIF, crowd funding platforms can only make investments in companies that fall under the definition of startup prescribed by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). Also, only those investors with proven experience in the early stage funding are allowed to put money through such vehicles.
“The compliance burden on the crowd funding platforms has also gone up as we are expected to file term sheets, pay various registration costs,” said the founder of a Mumbai-based crowd funding platform. “But we had to toe the line after Sebi sent us notices for violating fund raising norms.”
In 2016-17, Sebi had sent show cause notices to several crowdfunding platforms, including technology providers such as LinkedIn, for facilitating fund raisings that are in violation of Sebi rules.
As per the Companies Act, a company can allot securities to not more than 200 people in a financial year through private placement. If the number crosses 200, such issuance would be deemed as public offer and Sebi’s fund raising norms shall have to be followed. The crowdsourcing platforms often collect money from hundreds of angel investors but do not follow the public placement norms.
“The bigger concern was that the crowdsourcing platforms facilitate and execute the transactions and hence their activity could be construed as equivalent of a stock exchange,” said the founder cited above. “In such a scenario, we will be mandated to meet all the norms applicable for stock exchanges including minimum networth of Rs 100 crore.”
Another source cited above said Sebi’s intention was not to restrict the freedom of such newage platforms but only to create accountability if anything went wrong. “The platforms were raising public money and investing in unlisted companies. There is an inherit risk of fraud in such transactions,” he said.
“AIF rules are anyway light touch and give sufficient freedom for the entities.” Sebi had proposed special regulations for the crowd funding platforms in 2015. In 2016, the market regulator released a discussion paper proposing draft norms. However, Sebi dropped the idea subsequently due to multiple factors. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had released a set of rules of crowdsourcing firms in peer to peer (P2P) lending. This brought a significant number of crowd funding platforms under the central bank’s purview. There were also views within the government that the new-age platforms should not be over burdened with regulations.
[“source=economictimes.indiatimes”]
March 2, 2019 Blake
Fundalternative , Crowd , for , fund , funding , Investment , platforms , rush , Sebi , tag , To
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Inbox Reporting on Surveillance
By Robert L. Deitz *72
In Response to: Reporting on Government Surveillance: Q&A - Barton Gellman '82
With respect to your interview with Bart Gellman ’82 on the Edward Snowden leaks (Q&A, Jan. 8), a couple of points:
First, Gellman seems to have had little concern about publishing information that is classified at the highest level. Why? He claims that he thought through “what the public interest is ... .” Fair enough. But in our political system, the president, who is elected by the people, is charged with determining how and if government information is classified. Bart was not elected by anybody. Moreover, he has few, if any, qualifications for determining what the public interest is. His notional “public” well might conclude that keeping the nation safe is more important than revealing information that is certainly of great interest — to our enemies.
Second, Gellman claims to have “st[uck] to the letter and the spirit of the law ... .” Puhleeze! By his own admission, Snowden committed a number of felonies. Under at least some theories of the law, Gellman was an aider and abettor.
Third, Gellman tries to turn Snowden into a folk hero because he “believed he was witnessing an out-of-control surveillance state.” Had Snowden really felt that way, there were numerous outlets, wholly legal, that would have given his views a full and sympathetic airing: the National Security Agency and Defense Department inspectors general, the Department of Justice, the Hill intel committees, and the U.S. attorney’s office. But they would not have afforded him what he apparently desperately wants: the ego stroke that going public provides. It is worth at least asking the question whether an honorable person would violate an oath of office to keep secrets that have been entrusted to him.
Finally, to be sure, “transparency serves the public good” in many contexts. But transparency with respect to the conduct of intelligence may be incredibly costly. It might have been worthwhile for your interviewer to ask Gellman what price he is willing to pay for telling our adversaries the sources and methods we employ for obtaining intelligence.
Robert L. Deitz *72
Join the conversation by sending a letter using our online form.
Related Inbox Letters
Reporting on Surveillance
Jim Diorio ’73
Whistle-blowing and Security
Randolph Hobler ’68
Michael Mantyla ’93
Charles W. McCutchen ’50
Andrew J. Lazarus ’79
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Tag Archives: Morang
Anti-Christian Sentiment Marks Journey for Bhutan’s Exiles
Posted on March 1, 2010 by particularkev
Forced from Buddhist homeland, dangers arise in Hindu-majority Nepal.
KATHMANDU, Nepal, February 23 (CDN) — Thrust from their homes in Bhutan after Buddhist rulers embarked on an ethnic and religious purge, Christian refugees in Nepal face hostilities from Hindus and others.
In Sunsari district in southeastern Nepal, a country that is more than 80 percent Hindu, residents from the uneducated segments of society are especially apt to attack Christians, said Purna Kumal, district coordinator for Awana Clubs International, which runs 41 clubs in refugee camps to educate girls about the Bible.
“In Itahari, Christians face serious trouble during burials,” Kumal told Compass. “Last month, a burial party was attacked by locals who dug up the grave and desecrated it.”
Earlier this month, he added, a family in the area expelled one of its members from their home because he became a Christian.
Bhutan began expelling almost one-eighth of its citizens for being of Nepali origin or practicing faiths other than Buddhism in the 1980s. The purge lasted into the 1990s.
“Christians, like Hindus and others, were told to leave either their faith or the country,” said Gopi Chandra Silwal, who pastors a tiny church for Bhutanese refugees in a refugee camp in Sanischare, a small village in eastern Nepal’s Morang district. “Many chose to leave their homeland.”
Persecution in Bhutan led to the spread of Christianity in refugee camps in Nepal. Though exact figures are not available, refugee Simon Gazmer estimates there are about 7,000-8,000 Christians in the camps – out of a total refugee population of about 85,000 – with many others having left for other countries. There are 18 churches of various faiths in the camps, he said.
“Faith-healing was an important factor in the spread of Christianity in the camps,” said Gazmer, who belongs to Believers’ Church and is awaiting his turn to follow five members of his family to Queensland, Australia. “A second reason is the high density in the camps.”
Each refugee family lives in a single-room hut, with one outdoor toilet for every two families. The Nepalese government forbids them to work for fear it will create unemployment for local residents.
Life was even harder for them before 2006, when Nepal was a Hindu kingdom where conversions were a punishable offence.
“When I began preaching in 2000, I had to do it secretly,” said Pastor Silwal of Morang district. “We could meet only surreptitiously in small groups. I used my hut as a make-shift church while many other groups were forced to rent out rooms outside the camp.”
A fact-finding mission in 2004 by Brussels-based Human Rights Without Frontiers found that police pulled down a church structure built by Pentecostal Christians in the Beldangi camp by orders of Nepal’s home ministry. The rights group also reported that Hindu refugees ostracized the Christians, who had proceeded to rent a room outside the camp to meet three times a week for worship services and Bible study.
When the Jesus Loves Gospel Ministries (JLGM) organization sent officials from India to the Pathri camp in Morang in 2006, they found that local residents resentful of the refugees had taken note of a baptism service at a pond in a nearby jungle.
“In August, we were planning another baptism program,” JLGM director Robert Singh reported. “But the villagers put deadly poisonous chemicals in the water … Some of the young people went to take a bath ahead of our next baptism program. They found some fish floating on the water and, being very hungry – the refugees only get a very small ration, barely enough to survive on – they took some of the fish and ate them. Three of them died instantly.”
Singh also stated that poisoned sweets were left on the premises of the refugee school in the camp. They were discovered in time to avert another tragedy.
Life for Christian refugees improved after Nepal saw a pro-democracy movement in 2006 that caused the army-backed government of Hindu king Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah to collapse. The king was forced to reinstate parliament, and lawmakers sought to curb his powers by declaring Nepal a secular state.
Though Christian refugees are now allowed to run churches openly in the camps, ill will toward them has yet to end. When Pastor Silwal asked camp authorities to allow him to open a church in 2006, Hindu neighbors protested, saying it would cause disturbances. Camp authorities allowed him to open a tiny church in a separate room on the condition that its activities would not disturb neighbors.
Earlier in his life in Bhutan, said the 40-year-old Pastor Silwal, he had been a stern Hindu who rebuked his two sisters mercilessly for becoming Christians. He forbade them to visit their church, which gathered in secret due to the ban on non-Buddhist religions in place at the time. They were also forbidden to bring the Bible inside their house in Geylegphug, a district in southern Bhutan close to the Indian border.
“I became a believer in 1988 after a near-death experience,” Pastor Silwal told Compass. “I contracted malaria and was on the verge of death since no one could diagnose it. All the priests and shamans consulted by my Hindu family failed to cure me. One day, when I thought I was going to die I had a vision.”
The pastor said he saw a white-robed figure holding a Bible in one hand and beckoning to him with the other. “Have faith in me,” the figure told him. “I will cure you.”
When he woke from his trance, Silwal asked his sisters to fetch him a copy of the Bible. They were alarmed at first, thinking he was going to beat them. But at his insistence, they nervously fetched the book from the thatched roof of the cow shed where they had kept it hidden. Pastor Silwal said he tried to read the Bible but was blinded by his fever and lost consciousness.
When he awoke, to his amazement and joy, the fever that had racked him for nearly five months was gone.
Pastor Silwal lost his home in 1990 to the ethnic and religious purge that forced him to flee along with thousands of others. It wasn’t until 1998, he said, that he and his family formally converted to Christianity after seven years of grueling hardship in the refugee camp, where he saw “people dying like flies due to illness, lack of food and the cold.”
“My little son too fell ill and I thought he would die,” Silwal said. “But he was cured; we decided to embrace Christianity formally.”
In 2001, Bhutan4Christ reported the number of Bhutanese Christians to be around 19,000, with the bulk of them – more than 10,500 – living in Nepal.
When persecution by the Bhutanese government began, frightened families raced towards towns in India across the border. Alarmed by the influx of Bhutanese refugees, Indian security forces packed them into trucks and dumped them in southern Nepal.
Later, when the homesick refugees tried to return home, Indian security forces blocked the way. There were several rounds of scuffles, resulting in police killing at least three refugees.
Simon Gazmer was seven when his family landed at the bank of the Mai river in Jhapa district in southeastern Nepal. Now 24, he still remembers the desolation that reigned in the barren land, where mists and chilly winds rose from the river, affecting the morale and health of the refugees. They lived in bamboo shacks with thin plastic sheets serving as roofs; they had little food or medicine.
“My uncle Padam Bahadur had tuberculosis, and we thought he would die,” said Gazmer, who lives in Beldangi II, the largest of seven refugee camps. “His recovery made us realize the grace of God, and our family became Christians.”
The plight of the refugees improved after the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stepped in, receiving permission from the government of Nepal to run the refugee camps. According to the UNHCR, there were 111,631 registered refugees in seven camps run in the two districts of Jhapa and Morang.
Though Nepal held 15 rounds of bilateral talks with Bhutan for the repatriation of the refugees, the Buddhist government dragged its feet, eventually breaking off talks. Meantime, international donors assisting the refugee camps began to grow weary, resulting in the slashing of aid and food. Finally, seven western governments – Canada, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand, Australia, the United States and the Netherlands – persuaded Nepal to allow the refugees to resettle in third countries.
The exodus of the refugees started in 2007. Today, according to the UNHCR, more than 26,000 have left for other countries, mostly the United States. A substantial number of the nearly 85,000 people left in the camps are ready to follow suit.
Although they now have a new life to look forward to, many of Bhutan’s Christian refugees are saddened by the knowledge that their homeland still remains barred to them. So some are looking at the next best thing: a return to Nepal, now that it is secular, where they will feel more at home than in the West.
“I don’t have grand dreams,” said Pastor Silwal. “In Australia I want to enroll in a Bible college and become a qualified preacher. Then I want to return to Nepal to spread the word of God.”
Posted in Australia, Belgium, Bhutan, Buddhism, Canada, Christianity, Denmark, Hinduism, India, Nepal, Netherlands/Holland, New Zealand, Norway, Queensland, United Nations, USA | Tagged 1988, 1990, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, activities, affecting, aid, alarmed, allow, allowed, amazement, anti-Christian, Anwana Clubs International, apt, area, arise, army-backed, assisting, ate, attack, attacked, Australia, authorities, avert, awoke, bamboo, ban, bank, baptism, barred, barren, based, bath, beat, beckoning, become, becoming, began, Beldangi, Beldangi II, believer, Believers Church, Bhutan, Bhutan4Christ, Bhutanese, Bible, Bible College, Bible Study, bilateral, blinded, blocked, book, border, breaking, bring, Brussels, Buddhism, Buddhist, Buddhists, bulk, burial, burials, camps, Canada, cause, chemicals, chilly, Christian, Christianity, Christians, church, churches, citizens, clubs, cold, collapse, condition, consciousness, consulted, contracted, conversions, converted, copy, countries, country, cow, create, curb, cure, dangers, deadly, death, decided, declaring, Denmark, density, desecrated, desolation, diagnose, die, died, director, discovered, distric coordinator, district, disturb, disturbances, donors, down, dragged, dreams, dug, dumped, during, dying, eastern, educate, embarked, embrace, enroll, ethnic, exiles, exodus, expelling, experience, face, fact-finding, factor, failed, faith, faith-healing, faiths, families, family, fear, feet, fetch, fever, figure, fish, flee, flies, floating, follow, food, forbade, forbidden, forbids, forced, forces, formally, found, frightened, gathered, Geylegphug, girls, God, Gopi Chandra Silwal, government, grace, grand, grave, groups, grow, grueling, Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, harder, hardship, health, hidden, high, High Commissioner for Refugees, Hindu, Hinduism, Hindus, holding, Home Ministry, homeland, homeless, homes, homesick, hostilities, Human Rights Without Frontiers, hungry, hut, illness, important, improved, India, Indian, influx, inside, insistence, instantly, international, Itahari, Jesus Loves Gospel Ministries, Jhapa, JLGM, journey, joy, jungle, Kathmandu, kept, killing, king, Kingdom, knowledge, lack, land, largest, lawmakers, leave, left, life, living, locals, lost, Mai, majority, make-shift, malaria, marks, medicene, meet, members, mercilessly, mission, mists, morale, Morang, movement, near-death, nearby, neighbors, Nepal, Nepalese, Nepali, nervously, Netherlands, new, New Zealand, non-Buddhist, Norway, note, offence, officials, openly, orders, organization, origin, ostracized, outdoor, packed, Padam Bahadur, Parliament, party, pastors, Pathri, Pentecostal, people, permission, Persecution, persuaded, planning, plastic, plight, poisonous, police, pond, powers, practicing, preacher, preaching, premises, priests, pro-democracy, proceeded, program, protested, pulled, punishable, purge, Purna Kumal, qualified, Queensland, raced, racked, ration, read, realize, reason, rebuked, receiving, recovery, refugee, refugee camps, refugees, registered, reigned, reinstate, religions, religious, remembers, rent, repatriation, resentful, resettle, residents, resulting, rights, river, Robert Singh, roof, roofs, rooms, rose, rounds, rulers, run, saddened, Sanischare, school, scuffles, secret, secretly, secular, security, segments, sent, sentiment, separate, serious, services, serving, shacks, shamans, shed, sheets, Simon Gazmer, single-room, sisters, slashing, small, Society, son, sought, southeastern, southern, spread, started, state, stepped, stern, structure, Sunsari, surreptitiously, survive, sweets, talks, thatched, thin, thinking, third, thrust, tiny, toilet, towns, tragedy, trance, tried, trouble, trucks, tuberculosis, UN, uncle, uneducated, unemployment, UNHCR, USA, various, verge, village, villagers, vision, visit, water, weary, West, western, white-robbed, winds, woke, Word, work, worship, young | 2 Comments
NEPAL: CHRISTIANS LITTLE CONSOLED BY ARREST IN CHURCH BOMBING
Posted on June 7, 2009 by particularkev
Militant group threatens more attacks unless non-Hindus leave country within month.
KATHMANDU, Nepal, June 2 (Compass Direct News) – Vikash and Deepa Patrick had been married for nearly four months before the young couple living in Patna in eastern India managed to go on their honeymoon here. The decision to come to Nepal for four days of fun and sight-seeing would be a choice the groom will rue the rest of his life.
Vikash Patrick’s 19-year-old bride died while praying at the Assumption Church in Kathmandu valley’s Lalitpur district, the largest Catholic church in Nepal, in an anti-Christian bombing on May 23, the day they were to return home. Claiming responsibility for the violence was the Nepal Defense Army (NDA), a group wishing to restore Hinduism as the official religion of Nepal.
Patrick and two of his cousins also were injured in the explosion that ripped through the church, where nearly 400 people had turned up for a morning service.
A dazed Sun Bahadur Tamang, a 51-year-old Nepali Christian who had also gone to the church that day with his wife and daughter, pieced together the incident while awaiting treatment in a private hospital.
“We were in the prayer hall when a woman who looked to be in her 30s came and sat down next to my wife,” Tamang told Compass. “Then she got up and asked us where the toilet was. We said it was near the entrance, and she left, leaving her blue handbag behind. A little later, there was a stunning bang, and I fell on my daughter. People screamed, there was a stampede, and I couldn’t find my wife. I also realized I had lost my hearing.”
Deepa Patrick and a 15-year-old schoolgirl, Celeste Joseph, died in the explosion while 14 others, mostly women and teenagers, were injured. Another woman, Celeste’s mother Buddha Laxmi Joseph, died of a hemorrhage yesterday.
In the church hall, police found remains of the handbag as well as a pressure cooker. From 1996 to 2006, when Nepal’s underground Maoist party fought a guerrilla war against the state to overthrow monarchy and transform the world’s only Hindu kingdom into a secular republic, pressure cookers became deadly weapons in guerrilla hands. Packed with batteries, a detonator, explosives and iron nails, pressure cookers became lethal home-made bombs.
Also found scattered in the hall and outside the church were hundreds of green leaflets by an organization that until two years ago no one knew existed. Signed in the name of Ram Prasad Mainali, a 38-year-old Hindu extremist from eastern Nepal, the leaflets claimed the attack to be the handiwork of the NDA.
“A day after the explosion, a man called me up, saying he was the vice-president of the NDA,” said Bishop Narayan Sharma of the Protestant Believers’ Church in Nepal. “Though he was polite and expressed regret for the death of innocent people, he said his organization wanted the restoration of Hinduism as the state religion.”
Soon after the phone call, the NDA sent a fresh statement to Nepal’s media organizations with a distinctly militant tone. In the statement, the NDA gave “Nepal’s 1 million Christians a month’s time to stop their activities and leave the country” or else it would plant a million bombs in churches across the country.
“There is fear in the Christian community,” said Chirendra Satyal, spokesman for the Assumption Church. “Now we have police guarding our church, and its gates are closed. People coming in are asked to open their bags for security checks. It’s unheard of in the house of God.”
Suspect Arrested
An unexpected development occurred today as last rites were performed at the church on Joseph, the mother of the 15-year-old girl who also died in the explosion.
“At around 3 a.m. Tuesday, we arrested the woman who planted the bomb in the church,” Deputy Inspector-General of Police Kuber Rana told Compass.
Rana, who was part of a three-member police team formed to investigate the attack, identified the woman as a 27-year-old Nepalese, Sita Shrestha nee Thapa. Thapa allegedly confessed to police that she was a member of an obscure group, Hindu Rashtra Bachao Samiti (The Society to Save the Hindu Nation), and had planted the bomb inspired by the NDA.
The NDA made a small splash in 2007, a year after Nepal’s last king, Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, who had tried to seize absolute power with the help of the army, was forced to step down after nationwide protests. The cornered king had to reinstate a parliament that had been dissolved several years ago, and the resurrected house promptly decided to end his pretensions as the incarnation of a Hindu god by declaring Nepal to be a secular country.
Soon after that, a man walked into the office of a Nepalese weekly in Kathmandu and claimed to have formed the NDA, a group of former army soldiers, policemen and victims of the Maoists. Its aim was to build up an underground army that would wage a Hindu “jihad.” The man, who called himself Parivartan – meaning change – also claimed the NDA was nurturing suicide bombers.
According to police, Parivartan is the name assumed by a 38-year-old man from Morang district in eastern Nepal – Ram Prasad Mainali. The NDA began to acquire a reputation after it set off a bomb in 2007 at the Kathmandu office of the Maoists, who had laid down arms and returned to mainstream politics. In 2008, it stepped up its pro-Hindu war, bombing two mosques in southern Nepal and killing two Muslims at prayer.
It also targeted a church in the east, a newspaper office and the interim Parliament on the day the latter officially announced Nepal a secular republic.
Though police began a half-hearted hunt for Mainali, the NDA struck again last July, killing a 62-year-old Catholic priest, the Rev. John Prakash, who was also the principal of the Don Bosco School run in Sirsiya town in southern Nepal by the Salesian fathers.
“Extortion and intimidation are the two prime motives of the NDA,” said a Catholic church official who requested anonymity for security reasons. “Father Prakash had withdrawn a large sum of money to pay salaries as well as for some ongoing construction. Someone in the bank must have informed the NDA. It has good contacts, it knows who we are and our phone numbers.”
Small churches in southern and eastern Nepal, which are often congregations of 40-50 people who worship in rented rooms, have been terrified by threats and demands for money, said representatives of the Christian community. Some congregations have reportedly paid extortion sums to avert attacks from the NDA.
“Though the NDA does not seem to have a well chalked-out strategy, its activities indicate it receives support from militant Hindu outfits in India,” said Bishop Sharma of the Protestant Believers’ Church. “It has been mostly active in the south and east, in areas close to the Indian border. Bellicose Hindu groups from north India are likely to support their quest for a Hindu Nepal.”
While Thapa has been charged with murder, Rana said police are also hunting for NDA chief Mainali. And the arrest of Thapa has not lightened the gloom of the Christian community nor lessened its fears.
“There have been instances galore of police arresting innocent people and forcing them to confess,” said Bishop Sharma. “Look at the case of Manja Tamang.”
Tamang, a Believers’ Church pastor, was released this week after serving nine years in prison for murder that his co-religionists say he did not commit. Tamang staunchly protests his innocence with his church standing solidly behind him, saying he was framed.
Posted in Christianity, Hinduism, India, Nepal, Roman Catholicism | Tagged absolute, acquire, active, activities, aim, allegedly, announced, anonymity, anti-Christian, arms, army, arrest, arrested, asked, assumed, Assumption Church, attack, attacks, avert, awaiting, bags, bang, bank, batteries, behind, bellicose, bishop, blue, bombing, bombs, border, bride, Buddha Laxmi Joseph, build, called, case, Celeste Joseph, chalked-out, change, charged, checks, chief, Chirendra Satyal, choice, Christian, Christianity, Christians, church, churches, claimed, claiming, closed, co-religionists, commit, community, confess, confessed, congregations, consoled, construction, contacts, cornered, country, couple, cousins, daughter, dazed, deadly, decision, declaring, Deepa Patrick, demands, Deputy Inspector General of Police, detonator, development, died, dissolved, distinctly, district, Don Bosco School, down, east, eastern, end, entrance, existed, explosion, explosives, expressed, extortion, extremist, fathers, fear, fears, forced, formed, former, fought, found, framed, fresh, Fun, galore, gates, geath, gloom, God, good, Green, groom, group, guarding, guerrilla, Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, half-hearted, hall, handbag, handiwork, hands, hearing, help, hemorrhage, Hindu, Hindu Rashtra Bachao Samiti, Hindus, Hinuism, home, homemade, honeymoon, hospital, house, hunt, hunting, identified, incarnation, incident, India, Indian, indicate, informed, injured, innocence, innocent, inspired, instances, interim, intimidation, investigate, iron, Jihad, John Prakash, Kathmandu, killing, king, Kingdom, Kuber Rana, laid, Lalitpur, large, largest, last, last rites, leaflets, leave, leaving, left, lessened, lethal, life, lightened, little, living, lost, mainstream, man, managed, Manja Tamang, Maoist, Maoists, married, meaning, media, member, militant, monarchy, money, Morang, morning, mosques, mother, motives, murder, nails, name, Narayan Sharma, nationwide, NDA, nee, Nepal, Nepal Defense Army, Nepalese, Nepali, newspaper, non-Hindus, north, numbers, nurturing, obscure, office, official, officially, ongoing, open, organization, organizations, outfit, overthrow, packed, paid, Parivartan, Parliament, party, Pastor, Patna, pay, people, performed, phone, phone call, pieced, plant, planted, police, policemen, polite, Politics, power, prayer, praying, pressure cooker, pretensions, priest, prime, principal, prison, private, pro-Hindu, promptly, Protestant Believers Church, protests, quest, Ram Prasad Mainali, realized, reasons, regret, reinstate, released, religion, remains, rented, representatives, Republic, reputation, requested, responsibility, rest, restoration, restore, resurrected, return, returned, Rev, ripped, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholics, rooms, rue, salaries, Salesian, scattered, schoolgirl, screamed, secular, security, seize, service, serving, sight-seeing, signed, Sirsiya, Sita Shrestha, small, soldiers, solidly, southern, splash, spokesman, stampede, standing, state, statement, staunchly, step down, stepped, strategy, struck, stunning, suicide bombers, sum, sums, Sun Bahadur Tamang, support, suspect, targeted, team, teenagers, terrified, Thapa, The Society to Save the Hindu Nation, threatens, threats, toilet, tone, town, transform, treatment, tried, underground, unexpected, unheard, valley, Vice President, victims, Vikash Patrick, violence, wage, walked, War, weapons, weekly, wife, wishing, withdrawn, woman, women, worship, young | Leave a comment
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SF Insider > san francisco festival > What is the Ramen Festival in San Francisco Called?
What is the Ramen Festival in San Francisco Called?
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Authentic ramen is a soul-satisfying experience. It’s deeply flavorful, instantly attractive and the perfect combination of chic and rustic. San Francisco is no stranger to this legendary Japanese import, with endless ramen shops scattered around Japantown and far beyond. Normally, checking them out involves traveling from one end of the city to the other, but for one weekend a year, the tasty bowls all hang out in a single spot. Enter the eclectic and irresistible J-Pop Summit, the one-and-only music, sake and ramen festival in San Francisco. Here’s why it’s an essential part of any foodie’s calendar.
Welcome to the J-Pop Summit
Anyone who loves Japan or any part of Japanese culture needs to be here. Not only does this festival celebrate the eponymous J-Pop — a broad term that basically includes anything from Tokyo’s rock scene to hip hop — but also upcoming video games, new tech gadgets, foreign film, anime and, of course, food. The big names in San Francisco’s ramen crowd are present, along with special guest chefs from Japan and other areas of the United States.
The venue changes from year to year, but is always located in or around Japantown. Ramen bars serve their wares all weekend long, featuring the signature dish that sets them apart. That gives them the opportunity to let huge batches of ramen stew for hours on end, giving them incredibly intense flavors.
Ramen aficionados have a pretty good idea of what kinds of ramen they want to experience even before heading inside. Newcomers are in for a real treat, since even in Japan, no two ramen recipes are exactly alike. There are four main kinds of ramen in Japan, each with their own flavor profile and texture.
Shio ramen is a deliciously salty broth that contains sea salt and pork or chicken stewed forever and paired with seaweed.
Tonkotsu ramen is all about pork. It’s thick and creamy, with a hint of tart ginger.
Shoyu ramen focuses on soy sauce and tangy umami flavors. It’s light and refreshing, but with multiple layers that one peels back by snacking on the cooked meats, veggies and curly noodles.
Miso ramen is a sweet favorite that let’s its broth do all of the talking. This kind of ramen is virtually impossible to stop eating, with repeat visits being pretty common.
Don’t eat before arriving. Local San Francisco ramen masters at the Ramen Summit don’t make their ramen for profit only; it’s also a matter of pride. Servings are very generous here as each chef attempts to win the biggest smile of satisfaction from attendees. Giving compliments on the aromas can have several happy perks. Make sure to bring along enough cash to try a few different styles and arrive early to avoid lines as much as possible. Don’t forget to grab some yakitori on the way out.
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Shakhtar in Switzerland: rest under workloads
Shakhtar’s training camp is gradually nearing its completion. The players are under severe workload. Tiredness has accumulated. Therefore, on July 8, Mircea Lucescu gave the team free time. After having a rest, the players had a theory session – they analysed yesterday's match with Sion. Then, the players proceeded to the evening training session.
The session involved a few groups training. Those players, who a day earlier played with the Swiss side for 70 minutes and more, were training for an hour. The rest were training for half an hour. The only exception was made for Alex Teixeira, who played almost the entire match with Sion. That is why today the midfielder of Shakhtar performed only the running work with the team. And then, he just watched the teammates training.
In addition, Bernard, who returned a few hours earlier, was also training in accordance with an individual plan. The Brazilian returned from holidays later because he needed time to recover after surgery.
We would like to remind you that on July 9 Shakhtar will face the Swiss side Basel in the Valais Cup. Kick-off - at 20:00, Ukrainian time. Follow the news on our website.
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Home / Action, Strategy, Top 50 / Super Bomberman 4
Action Strategy Top 50 SNESlive 30 Jun , 2016 0
Super Bomberman 4 is an action game in which players lay bombs to destroy enemies or other bombermen. Other than laying bombs, the game includes a number of power-ups, which allows players to increase the range of a bomb's explosion, punch or kick bombs already on the ground, or pick them up and throw them at another player. The explosions of the bombs can harm anyone on the field, including the bombermen who left the bomb in the first place. There are two game modes, Normal Game (the campaign, which can be played with two players), and the Battle Game, which has three separate modes. New to the game are a wide range of creatures which are enemies to the player, but when defeated, they turn into eggs. When the player picks an egg, they can use the creatures, which come in two types, organic and mechanical. Players can pick additional eggs to store more creatures, but only of the same type of creature that they are riding. Certain stages contain cages with trapped allies inside. When freed, allies move around the stages mostly destroying the soft blocks. Stages also have secret warps which transport the player to a number of bonus stages. This warps can only be accessed when two players play the game together, and one player, using the Power Glove item, tosses the other player to the warp. Play Super Bomberman 4 online. Sneslive is the best place to play Super Nintendo games online. Enjoy our SNES games flash emulator and have fun! More info: Wikipedia
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Bonnie D. Ford Biography
ESPN Columnist
“The first word that came to mind after Richard Gasquet confirmed his positive test for cocaine — a venal sin he denies committing — was a French word, although it gets a pretty good workout in English.
How banal. Hard on the heels of the Manny Ramirez suspension and set alongside the doping cases involving major stars in baseball, cycling and track over the past few years, Gasquet’s alleged offense seems relatively mundane, a throwback to the old days when athletes abused Scotch and cigarettes rather than steroids and EPO.
The World Anti-Doping Agency code treats cocaine and other ‘recreational’ drugs with a certain ambivalence. Coke is not considered an effective performance enhancer because its boost is so short-term and the inevitable crash that follows so counterproductive. But it is a stimulant, and it is illegal…
So WADA splits the difference. If an athlete tests positive for cocaine in an out-of-competition control, it’s not deemed a doping offense. A positive test during a competition, however, is treated like a regular violation, which means Gasquet could face up to a two-year suspension…
It would be careless, at the very least, to risk having cocaine in your system during a major competition. And sadly, that thought is not terribly surprising where Gasquet is concerned.”
“Pressure Too Much for Gasquet,” ESPN.com, May 11, 2009
ESPN Columnist, Sep. 2005-present
Head Tennis Writer, ESPN.com
Board member, International Tennis Writers Association
Former sports writer, Chicago Tribune
Former sports writer, Boston Globe
Published many articles under her maiden name, Bonnie DeSimone
Twitter handle: @Bonnie_D_Ford
ProCon.org. (2009, July 30). Bonnie D. Ford. Retrieved from https://sportsanddrugs.procon.org/source-biographies/bonnie-d-ford/
ProCon.org, "Bonnie D. Ford," ProCon.org. last modified July 30, 2009. https://sportsanddrugs.procon.org/source-biographies/bonnie-d-ford/.
ProCon.org, "Bonnie D. Ford." ProCon.org. 30 July 2009, sportsanddrugs.procon.org/source-biographies/bonnie-d-ford/
ProCon.org. "Bonnie D. Ford." ProCon.org. Last modified on July 30, 2009. Accessed January 22, 2020. https://sportsanddrugs.procon.org/source-biographies/bonnie-d-ford/
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Cemetery Address
986 Wilson Ave., North York, ON M3K 1G5 (E. Keele & Wilson, N. side)
Cemetery Description
Outside handwashing station
Open weekdays & Sundays
Closed Shabbat & Holydays
Jewish Customs at Cemeteries
Basic respect should be shown. Refrain from eating, shouting, singing. Try to avoid walking on the graves if possible.
A visit may evoke words of Psalms or the El Maleh Rahamim memorial prayer. Sephardic liturgy’s Hashkaba prayer is said in hope of a peaceful rest for the departed. Syrian Jews read the lines of long acrostic Psalm 119 that spell out the Hebrew name of the deceased. This psalm expresses loyalty to the word of God and hope for salvation. The words that come to mind are also prayers if only written in the prayer book of the heart.
With minor exception you can visit a cemetery or grave on virtually all weekdays. Visitation are customarily not made on chol ha’moed–the middle days of Passover and Succot–nor on Purim, as these are holy days of joy. While visitation of the grave is permitted at almost any time, excessive visits are discouraged. “The rabbis were apprehensive that frequent visiting to the cemetery might become a pattern of living thus preventing the bereaved from placing their dead in proper perspective” (The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning, Maurice Lamm, p. 192).
Because contact with a dead body is considered a defilement, Kohens are not allowed into a cemetery except in the case of a very close relative, because they would then be unclean and unable to perform their priestly function. For the rest of us, the mitzvah (blessing) of performing these services for a departed person outweigh the defilement of being made unclean.
Transitions in Jewish life are often accompanied by water. A body is bathed in a poignant, dignified ceremony before burial. Jews-by-choice mark their entry into the Jewish people by immersing themselves in mikveh waters. Similarly, hands are washed after a cemetery visit to mark the departure from the surroundings of death to an attachment with life. Many of the cemeteries in the Toronto area have hand washing stations, many of which have been built by Steeles Memorial Chapel
When visiting Jewish graves the custom is to place a small stone on the grave using the left hand. This shows that someone visited the gravesite, and is also a way of participating in the mitzvah of burial.
Leaving flowers is not a traditional Jewish practice.
Click for printable PDF map
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Library Services Alert
St George's Library blog
libraries week
Libraries Week 2019: Celebrating Liaison Librarians
October 11 2019 October 11 2019 stglibrary
Libraries Week takes place between 7th – 12th October 2019. This year’s campaign is focused on celebrating the role of libraries in the digital world. Over the course of the week we’ll be introducing you to different teams within the Library and explore how they use technology to support our community.
To round-off this year’s Libraries Week celebrations we’d like to highlight the work of our Library Liaison team and how they can help you connect with the right digital resources at the right time to grow your learning and, ultimately, improve your grades, practice or research.
For each of our distinct user groups – students, academic staff and researchers and NHS practitioners – you will find dedicated Library Liaison staff, available throughout the year to provide specialist help and support with the Library’s resources, in print as well as online.
Your Liaison Librarians for SGUL students, staff and researchers are:
Zena Ali zali@sgul.ac.uk
Beth Jackson eljackso@sgul.ac.uk
Your Liaison Librarians for Faculty of Health and Social Care students, staff and researchers are:
Anna El-Jouzi aejouz@sgul.ac.uk
Anne Binsfeld abinsfel@sgul.ac.uk
Your Liaison Librarians for NHS staff, researchers and placements students are:
Karen John-Pierre kjohn@sgul.ac.uk
Stephen Reid sreid@sgul.ac.uk
The team provides one-to-one support for staff and students and offers innovative, practical teaching sessions for all on a range of topics such as online literature searching for your assignments or evidence-based practice and managing your references.
How do we support our users?
For each course or trust clinical workforce group, Liaison Librarians have developed online Subject Guides curated by the relevant Librarian. These guides outline the key high quality digital resources (think literature search databases, websites, search engines and evidence-based tools) for your bespoke area and are a great launch pad to start your resource exploration.
Liaison Librarians also design and run curriculum-embedded and open information skills courses to help you use these digital tools efficiently and find the best available evidence. Users can also make an appointment to see one of the team or drop in to our Research Enquiries Desk for advice.
Evaluating Information
In this era of fake news and health scams, how do you know you can rely on the information you find online? Liaison Librarians can empower you with useful frameworks to help you be more discerning when looking for academic information for your assignment. Liaison Librarians also know about the best checklists to use to critically appraise the quality of scientific papers and we’re happy to share this knowledge with you during one of our training courses.
Managing Information
To keep information overload at bay and assist you in keeping track of your references, ask your liaison librarian about tools like RefWorks or Mendeley. These tools allow you to create personalised databases of references which can be integrated into Microsoft Word, saving you time when writing up assignments or research manuscripts. They can also introduce you to Cite Them Right, the online bible for formatting citations for a whole host of material ranging from academic journal articles to tweets.
Get connected, get creative and learn new skills
If you want to brush up on your searching or referencing skills, there are plenty of opportunities to get face-to-face help from the Liaison team
Visit the Research Enquiries Desk (RED)
When? Monday to Friday 11am – 2pm (subject to change)
Where? Small, quiet study area towards the rear of the Library
Book on to our Information Skills workshops
See the Training pages of the website for course information and our booking form.
Book 1-2-1s or bespoke group training
By emailing liaison@sgul.ac.uk
Library @ IMBE
Zena Ali runs office hours on the 6th floor of Hunter wing and the 2nd floor of Jenner wing. Upcoming dates include:
Hunter:
Thursday 7th November 1pm – 4pm
Tuesday 3rd December 1pm – 4pm
Jenner:
Thursday 17th Oct 1pm – 4pm
Tuesday 19th Nov 10am – 1pm
Thursday 19th Dec 1pm – 4pm
We hope you’ve find this brief introduction into the range of work and support our liaison team carry out informative and inspiring. To find out more, visit our new website where you will find audience-focused pages that highlight what’s on offer for students, teaching staff, researchers and NHS staff, as well as contact details for your Liaison Librarian.
Information Literacy, Referencing, Staff Profile, Teachingdigital literacy, digital skills, information literacy, liaison librarian, liaison librarians, libraries week, literature searching, LW2019, referencing, Research Enquiries, subject guides
Libraries Week 2019: Celebrating Digital Skills Training
October 10 2019 October 8 2019 stglibrary
Today’s post focuses on the Library’s role in developing the digital skills of staff and students across the University and the Trust. Read on to find out more about the range of training on offer in the Library.
Meet the trainer
Fiona Graham is our IT Trainer and has over 18 years experience in delivering training for St George’s University staff and students as well as St George’s Trust staff.
Her aim is to provide hands-on training and guidance for various Microsoft Office applications and equip our community with the practical digital skills needed in the workplace. From helping students draft essays in Word, to supporting staff with plotting data in Excel, Fiona plays a vital role in improving the digital literacy of the St George’s community.
Free Microsoft Office 365
St. George’s Information Services has made Office 365 and Microsoft Office 2016 available free for all students and staff to use on personal devices.
Office 365 is an online set of apps designed to allow you to work anywhere on multiple devices. As it is cloud-based, you can upload, access and edit your work quickly and easily, share your work with others and collaborate using the various apps in one place with internet access. It can be used on Microsoft Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices for all your study and communication needs, with 1 TB of storage space.
As well as well-known applications like Word and Excel, Office 365 also provides access to collaborative tools like Planner, Yammer and Teams that are perfect for sharing in the workplace, or for group assignments and case-based learning
All current SGUL students and staff can download free copies of the desktop version of Microsoft Office 2016 on up to 5 personal devices, with access provided for the duration of their course or employment at St George’s. See our Microsoft Office FAQs here for download instructions.
Improving digital literacy
Providing access to these tools is just the first step, we also want to support you to use them effectively, and transform the way you work, learn and teach.
As we mentioned in our introductory post, digital literacy skills are vital in a digital world. Research shows that people with good IT skills earn 3-10% more than those without and that digitally competent and confident citizens are far more likely to lead healthier, happier, more productive and satisfying lives.
To help you get the most out of MS Office, there are a whole suite of training sessions are available to all St George’s students and staff, including the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education. Sessions can also be arranged for NHS Trust staff.
Find out more by visiting the IT Training and Digital Skills pages of the Library website or contact Fiona Graham directly:
Phone: 020 8725 5662 (ext. 5662)
Email: ittraining@sgul.ac.uk
Besides our bookable sessions, there are other opportunities to get face-to-face support with Microsoft Office
Visit the MS Office Drop-in Clinic
When? Tuesdays and Thursdays 11am – 1pm
Where? Main computer room, 1st floor Hunter wing
Book 1-2-1s or group training
Email ittraining@sgul.ac.uk for more information
Online Training for Office 365
If you can’t make it to a session, or prefer to learn at your own pace, there are a number of useful online resources to help you get started with Microsoft Office:
Office 365 Basics – video training
Office 365 Training Portal
Office 365 Training Centre
Information Literacy, Staff Profiledigital literacy, digital skills, digital skills training, information literacy, libraries week, LW2019, microsoft office, office 365
Libraries Week 2019: Celebrating our Content and Digital Infrastructure team
October 9 2019 October 7 2019 stglibrary
Today’s post features a contribution from our Content and Digital Infrastructure Team and will be highlighting what goes on behind the scenes to facilitate user access to our physical and digital resources.
In terms of connecting our library users to content, digital has transformed the parameters of our service and brought many benefits to our users, but with it has also come additional complexities and challenges. The Content and Digital Infrastructure team work together closely to meet these challenges and facilitate the opportunities offered by digital innovations to better meet the information needs of our users.
Lawrence Jones, our Content and Digital Infrastructure Manager, oversees the library’s activities in this area and has particular responsibility for systems such as our Library Management System and our library search tool Hunter – these integrated systems enable all the core activities around the library from access to the library space itself through to finding and accessing articles online.
Clementina Sanchez, our Acquisitions Librarian, supported by Georgina Coles, Information Assistant – takes care of the purchase, processing and cataloguing of books and e-books to ensure our book stock is kept current and in good condition – ready for when you need it!
Verity Allison, our Journals and E-resources Librarian, supported by Hilary Garrett, Information Assistant – manages the journals that the library subscribes to along with other specialist e-resources such as healthcare databases like Medline, and audio-visual resources such as Acland’s Video Atlas of Human Anatomy.
Interlibrary Loans Team – AKA Jane Appleton and Hilary Garrett, Information Assistants, locate books and articles from outside our collections on those occasions when we just don’t have the item you’re after.
Further information about using our resources can be found on the Using the Library webpages and on our Help with Library Resources webpages.
How do we use technology to support our users?
Using the benefits of digital to enhance our physical services
The move from print to electronic journals has had a fairly dramatic impact on the physical layout of the library. With most journal subscriptions now online, we no longer require the rows and rows of shelving to accommodate print copies and can offer far more study spaces, which is of real benefit to our users today. The slideshow below shows before/after images of our silent study section after our last refurbishment:
In addition to this, recent upgrades to our Library Management System, Entry Gates and the installation of RFID self-service machines have made it easier than ever for our library users to self-manage their library accounts and borrowing activities, enabling the library to offer extended 24-hour opening. As long as users have their ID/Library access card with them they can access study spaces in the libraries and computer rooms 24 hours a day, borrow and return books throughout the day or night. Given the 24-hour nature of healthcare this facilitates better access for both our students and NHS trust users, as access to the library and our resources can be accommodated around any shift or study pattern.
To further support continuity of access for our users, our collection development policy supports where possible the purchase of e-book copies in supplement to print copies for reading list materials – so even if a physical copy of the book is not available, or if you are unable to be onsite, the content remains available.
Using the benefits of digital to enhance online access
The Library now manages access to thousands of journal titles, far in excess of what we ever could have accommodated physically in print, giving staff and students at St George’s access to far more content than before, with the added convenience that in most cases it can be accessed from anywhere and at any time.
However, with online journals the Library typically licenses the content for a specific period of time, whereas with print journals we owned the volumes and issues of the journals we purchased. The Journals and e-resources team negotiate the terms and conditions of these licences with our suppliers each year, making these transactions far more complex, but giving us the opportunity to ensure the licence enables us to use the content in ways that meet our needs in the ever changing Digital context. For example, in recent years we have seen improvements in licence terms around the use of content in VLEs (Virtual Learning Environments – such as Canvas, used at St George’s, University of London) to better support teaching and learning, and improvement in terms around data-mining to support research activities.
Supporting access to online subscriptions also requires maintaining a number of key systems, such as our link resolver, in addition to the more conventional library catalogue – which is also completely digital these days. The upgrades to our Library Management System and Library Search Tool – Hunter, implemented over the last two years have now integrated the functionality of the library catalogue and link resolver in to a single search tool, Hunter, enabling users to search in one place for books, journals, articles and more with live holdings information for all books and links through to the full text of articles that we have access to. These full text links are also integrated in to our other healthcare databases, and popular free tools such as Google Scholar (some set-up steps required, see below) and PubMed – look for the ‘Find it @ SGUL’ links to check for availability via St George’s Library.
Use our library search tool Hunter– it is designed to search on material that St George’s University of London owns/subscribes to, focusing your search on the high-quality information resources selected by St George’s academics, researchers and librarians that you will be able to access with your university login.
Set up ‘Find it @ SGUL’ links in Google Scholar – for easier access to the full text of your search results where available via St George’s Library:
Click on the menu at the top left of the Google Scholar home page
Select ‘Settings’
Select ‘Library links’
Search for ‘st george’
Select ‘St George’s University of London’
Bookmark the Library’s PubMed link: this link is customised to our holdings so that you will see ‘Find it @ SGUL’ links in for your PubMed search results, giving you easier access to the full text where available via St George’s Library.
Check for access via your local library:
At St George’s Library we manage a highly specialist collection – occasionally we get requests for resources which are just too general for our service but these can often be accessed for free via your local library. Wandsworth Libraries provide online access to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Oxford Dictionaries Online, and Press Reader (offers instant access to over 4000 newspapers and magazines) and more…why not register online today?
We can provide help and support in person from the Library’s Helpdesk and Research Enquiries Desk, or if you have a query for a specific member of the team contact us on journals@sgul.ac.uk
Digital media, e-resources, Information Literacy, Journals, Staff Profiledigital literacy, digital skills, e-resources, ebooks, hunter, information literacy, journals, libraries week, LW2019, online access
Libraries Week 2019: Celebrating Research Support
Today’s post features a contribution from our Research Support Team and will be highlighting:
How the Library supports our researchers with making their publications and data findable and accessible online so it can be used by others
How we work to preserve these important digital research assets for the future.
So how does research take place?
This diagram gives a birds-eye view of what researchers are doing at various stages of their work – how ideas are tested, what is recorded, and how results are written up and shared.
Once shared, the research can be used by others – for example, other researchers, policy makers and health professionals – to further medical knowledge and clinical practice.
How is the Library involved in the research process?
The Library is involved in supporting SGUL researchers throughout their research process, from the early stages when they apply to medical and other funders to make a case for grant funding for their research projects, right through to the long-term availability and preservation of the research that they produce.
Meet the Research Support team
Michelle Harricharan, our Research Data Support Manager, works with our research teams to help them to create, manage, share and preserve high quality digital data that is findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) – and in line with funder and publisher data policies.
Jennifer Smith Research, Research Publications Librarian and Jenni Hughes, Research Publications Assistant, help researchers understand how they can make their research papers freely available online via our publications repository, SORA, and advise researchers on the fast moving world of open access publishing.
We all are available for face to face meetings with researchers, we provide guidance on our webpages and blogposts, and can be contacted by phone or email (see below).
The Library also procures and manages a range of software systems to help provide our services to researchers.
Making research papers freely available
The government allocates funding to universities based on the impact and reach of their research out in the wider world. As part of the next assessment by the government, known as REF, any research papers SGUL wishes to use as evidence of our research impact will need to be freely available online.
Our researchers can track and record their publications in our Current Research Information System (CRIS), which uses Symplectic Elements software. The CRIS captures and records detailed information about the research publications, such as how often their research is picked up and referred to by other researchers, and allows researchers to upload their publications to be made open access in our repository. Publications information from the CRIS is also transferred into researchers’ public profiles on the SGUL website.
The CRIS links to our institutional database for publications, St George’s Online Research Archive (SORA) which is hosted and supported by Cosector. This repository uses open source software, and information about the papers in SORA is picked up by indexing services such as Google Scholar, CORE, and Unpaywall, and many of our researchers’ papers are also freely available in the big medical databases PubMedCentral and Europe PubMed Central.
Both systems show Altmetric scores, which visualise how many times the research has been referred to in traditionally non-scholarly places such as news media, social media, public policies and so on.
Having the research findable and accessible in so many places helps ensure there are as few barriers to reading and re-use as possible. To date we have over 3,700 papers freely available online via SORA – with downloads currently averaging 3,600 per month from all parts of the world.
Research Data Infrastructure
In 2016 the university partnered with Jisc on the Research Data Shared Service project. This allowed us to establish the foundations for a state of the art digital data infrastructure at our Library.
In mid-2017 we launched our figshare-based research data repository which is a digital archive for discovering, storing and sharing research data (and wider research outputs) produced at St George’s. Since its launch we have shared some 45 outputs from a range of SGUL research and collected hundreds more that are publicly available via PLOS. To date, our 45 public items have been viewed more than 20,000 times and downloaded almost 4,000 times, a testament to the contribution open research can make to enabling public access to high value digital research.
Together with Records Management and Archives, we are also in the process of implementing a digital preservation system, Preservica, to ensure continued access to our valuable research data assets (as well as our unique institutional records). Digital content are fragile; they can quickly become inaccessible as the hardware and software to open them become obsolete. By continually migrating digital files to their latest formats, Preservica will ensure that our digital content remains accessible and usable for the long term.
The following websites are a useful starting point if you would like to know more:
Understanding Health Research
If you are trying to make sense of health research, this website was funded by the MRC to guide you through some steps to help you read scientific papers and think about the value of the evidence or conclusions made.
A course for those who wish to understand more about how to publish open access – some of the terminology that is often used and funder expectations are explained.
Jisc Research Data Management Toolkit
A curated portal with up-to-date resources on research data management, data sharing and preservation.
If you have any questions about open research, get in contact with the team using the information below:
CRIS & Deposit on acceptance: sora@sgul.ac.uk
Open Access Publications: openaccess@sgul.ac.uk
Research Data Management: researchdata@sgul.ac.uk
Michelle Harricharan, Research Data Support Manager
Jenni Hughes, Research Publications Assistant
Jennifer Smith, Research Publications Librarian
If you are interested receiving updates from the Library on all things open access, open data and scholarly research communications, you can subscribe to the Library Blog using the Follow button or click here for further posts from us.
Information Literacy, Open Access Publishing, Research, Scholarly Communication, SGUL Open Research, Staff Profiledigital literacy, digital skills, information literacy, libraries week, LW2019, open access, research data management, Scholarly Communication
Celebrating Libraries Week: 7th-12th October 2019
If you didn’t already know, next week is Libraries Week! This year’s campaign is focused on celebrating the role of libraries in the digital world. Whether they are helping individuals, local businesses or community groups, libraries are at the forefront of developing information skills, encouraging digital inclusion and supporting health, wellbeing and education.
Between the 7th-12th October, Libraries across the country will be showcasing the ways in which they support people of all ages to get connected, get creative and learn new skills. But why are digital literacy skills so important?
Research shows that people with good IT skills earn 3-10% more than those without. Libraries are at the forefront of developing digital literacy skills by providing access to digital resources, training and support.
Increasing digital literacy helps people to make better lifestyle choices that can prevent health problems. Many public libraries work with health professionals and health librarians to improve public access to reliable, accessible health information.
Digitally competent and confident citizens are far more likely to lead healthier, happier, more productive and satisfying lives.
Public Libraries help to reduce inequality by providing safe, civic spaces open to all: part of this offer is access to computers and the internet. Communities that have access to timely and relevant information and to the internet are better positioned to eradicate poverty and inequality and support people’s health, culture, research, and innovation.
The critical importance of libraries in supporting digital inclusion and skills development continues to grow, with nearly half of public libraries reporting an increasing number of customers request this kind of help.
St George’s Library is no different – we play a vital role in identifying and supporting the information needs of our complex and diverse user base. From students to academics and researchers to NHS professionals we offer a variety of training, support and resources centred around digital inclusion and information skills.
So, to celebrate Libraries Week and mark our contribution to our community, over the course of the week we’ll be publishing a series of blog posts featuring different teams across the Library and Archives services.
Each post will introduce a different team and explore what they do to support our users and how they use technology to do so.
If you’ve ever wanted to know what goes on behind the scenes, or see how we support the University and Trust beyond the Library Helpdesk, our featured posts this week will give you a closer look at what Library staff do.
Source: https://www.cipfastats.net/news/newsstory.asp?content=23379
You should also join us over on Twitter next week, where we’ll be sharing local Libraries Week events and our favourite celebrations from Libraries across the UK. Follow us @sgullibrary or keep up with the conversation here: #LibrariesWeek
As October is also Black History Month, we’ll also be sharing our favourite reads from our BHM Book Collection over on Instagram: follow us @sgullibrary for great book recommendations.
Inspired to explore other libraries? If you live in London, you’re spoilt for choice!
A top-tip for medical and healthcare students is to check out the Medical Museums website as several member museums have library and archive collections that are accessible to the public. Terms of use will vary, so make sure you check with the institution before you visit.
If you are local to Tooting, why not join your local library? See the Wandsworth Libraries website for a list of their locations.
Information Literacy, Library Newsdigital literacy, digital skills, information literacy, information skills, libraries week, LW2019
St George’s Library Then & Now: 1998
Libraries Week takes place between the 8th – 13th October 2018. Over the course of the week we’ll be exploring our Archives to look at how the library has – and hasn’t! – changed over time.
In this final retrospective look at the Library, we’ve delved into a really interesting commemorative brochure produced by library staff to celebrate 21 years of being based in Tooting.
Back in the early 1990s staff were singing the praises of their “several CD-ROM machines, word processing facilities and a scanner” which warranted instating an enquiries desk where library staff could be on hand to answer IT related questions.
It’s interesting to note that even with the differences and improvements in technology over the past 20 years, many of the enquiries that helpdesk staff answered back in 1998 will be very familiar to users and helpdesk staff today!
Needless to say the type of enquiries facing the library staff are mainly computer related. The most common ones are
‘My Printer is not working’
‘The printer has stopped printing half way through’
I can’t open my file on the computer’
The rest of the commemorative brochure makes for an interesting read: it captures a pivotal point in the development of modern academic libraries as the way we access information began to rapidly change. Technology has streamlined many library services whilst also generating new challenges – especially over the two decades that have passed since the publication of this brochure.
For example, the move from print to electronic journals has had a fairly dramatic impact on the physical layout of the library. With most journal subscriptions now online, we no longer require the rows and rows of shelving to accommodate print copies and can offer far more study spaces, which is of real benefit to our users.
However, with online journals the Library typically licenses the content for a specific period of time, whereas with print journals we owned the volumes and issues of the journals we purchased. Our Journals team must negotiate the terms and conditions of these licences with our suppliers each year, making these transactions far more complex.
Supporting access to online subscriptions also requires maintaining a number of key systems, such as our link resolver, which generates the links through to the full text of articles we have access to; either from search results in Hunter or our other healthcare databases.
The Library also needs to manage the process of authentication: whereby journal sites identify a user is from St George’s and entitled to access that particular resource. The Journals team work hard to make this process as smooth as possible and provide the necessary support for users where difficulties arise. Responding to the pace of change as technologies develop is a real challenge for library staff and will undoubtedly continue to shape the academic library of the future.
On a final note, the brochure also offers interesting snippets of social history too. Present day staff thankfully have much more input over their own sartorial choices!
…and female staff are now permitted to wear trousers for the task.
If you are interested receiving updates from the Library and the St George’s Archives project, you can subscribe to the Library Blog using the Follow button or click here for further posts from the Archives.
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In this exploration of the Archives, we’re looking at some of the physical incarnations of the Library throughout St George’s illustrious history. Today the hospital and medical school are located in Tooting, but until the 1970s were situated in central London at Hyde Park Corner.
The Library at Hyde Park had many traditional features: lots of dark wooden furniture, high shelving, and books behind glass cabinets. There also appear to be desks perched very precariously on the balcony below the lovely domed ceiling, which today might cause all manner of health and safety headaches.
As St George’s moved to Tooting in 1976, the Library settled into a more modern looking space. These photos, from 1977, give us a sepia-toned glimpse into the Library as it was then: slightly more accessible shelving, hundreds of print journals, much lower ceilings and a slightly sterile looking staff office. That said, the black and white image in the slideshow below shows a much brighter, wider study space that isn’t that dissimilar to the library back in 2012, before our last refurbishment.
Do you have any pictures taken in or around the library from your time studying at St George’s? Whether it was last year or 20 years ago, we’d love it if you could share them with us!
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Genre:FICTION
SubGenre:Fantasy / Short Stories
Series title:Curtis Chameleon Boy Wonder
Series Number:1
Curtis Chameleon Boy Wonder
The First Amazing Adventure
by S.M. Bryant
Curtis Chameleon: The First Adventure is a story about whiz-kid Curtis Allforms who loves science and making weird formulas to entertain his family and friends. One day, Curtis creates the most special formula of all. This formula is life-changing and world-shattering in a most extraordinary way.
Curtis Chameleon Boy Wonder is a story about Curtis Allforms, a whiz-kid who loves to create formulas. He gets a science kit for his birthday and decides that he wants to change his color and shape. He develops a special formula, and then amazing things begin to happen that take him on the first of many very special adventures. Curtis discovers his new ability and the adventures of a life-time begin in this first book which is the introduction to the "Curtis Chameleon" Boy Wonder Series. What happens? What can Curtis do? How does his special ability work? Read to find out more about this special kid.
S.M. Bryant is a teacher and writer who loves fantasy stories. She wrote the “Curtis Chameleon” stories for her nephew and her students. They liked the first story so much that she was encouraged to keep writing. Before she knew it, she had written 15 stories. Enjoyment for the “Curtis Chameleon” stories spans all age groups and categories. Parents, teachers and principals also loved reading the “Curtis Chameleon” stories. Readers’ enthusiasm for this series was a strong indicator that other readers would enjoy the stories as well, and this is what influenced her to publish the stories and make them accessible to a wider audience. Read Real History and Shelbees’s Blog on her website: curtischameleon.com for the factual and fantasy stories about how “Curtis Chameleon” stories came into being.
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Khwaja Khidir and the Fountain of Life in the Tradition of Persian and Mughal Art
From Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, “What is Civilisation” and Other Essays, (Cambridge: Golgosova Press, 1989) pp. 157-167.
In India, the Prophet, Saint, or Deity known as Khwaja Khizr (Khadir), Pir Badar, or Raja Kidar, is the object of a still surviving popular cult, common to Muslims and Hindus. His principal shrine is on the Indus near Bakhar, where he is worshipped by devotees of both persuasions.
In western Asia, Moslem or Hindu symbolic art shows the Saint, Al Khizr, dressed in a green coat being carried on top of the water by a fish which conveys him over the river of life.
The cult is however hardly less widely diffused in Bihar and Bengal. In the Hindu cult, the Khwaja is worshipped with lights and by feeding Brahmans at a well, and alike in Hindu and Muslim practice, by setting a float in a pond or river a little boat which bears a lighted lamp. Iconographically Khwaja Khizr is represented as an aged man, having the aspect of a faqir, clothed entirely in green[1] and moving in the waters with a ‘fish’ as his vehicle.
The nature of Khwaja Khizr can be inferred from his iconography as outlined above, and also from the Indian legends.
In the ballad of Niwal Dai, which is localized at Safidam[2] in the Panjab, Niwal Dai is the daughter of Vasuki, the chief of the Serpents. The Aryan Pandava Raja Pariksit has encountered Vasuki, and forced him to promise his daughter to him in marriage, though from Vasuki’s point of view this is a disgraceful misalliance. Vasuki is then stricken with leprosy, owing to a curse pronounced by the Priest Siji[3] whose cows have been bitten by the Serpents. Niwal Dai undertakes to obtain for his healing the Water of Life (amrta), from the closed well which she alone can open, but which is in the domains of Raja Pariksit.[4]
When she reaches the well, which is covered over by heavy stones, she moves these by her magic power, but the waters sink down out of reach; this is because Khwaja Khizr, their master, will not release them until Niwal Dai, whom none but her own parents Vasuki and his queen Padma have ever yet seen, permits herself to be seen; when Niwal Dai showed herself, then Khwaja Khizr ‘sent the waters up bubbling’. Raja Pariksit, aroused by the sound, gallops to the well, and though Niwal Dai hides in her serpent form, forces her to put on her human aspect, and after a long argument at the well, convinces her that she is bound by the previous betrothal, and in due course marries her.[5]
The scene at the well may also have been the original theme of the composition represented in a number of seventeenth and eighteenth century Mughal paintings, where a prince on horseback is shown at a well, from which a lady has drawn up water.[6]
The motif of a dynasty originating in the marriage of a human King with a Nagini is widely diffused in India, and in the last analysis can always be referred back to the rape of Vac, the Apsaras or Virgin of the Waters whose origin is with the powers of darkness and whom the Father-Creator has not ‘seen’ before the transformation of darkness into light, in principle; in this connection it is noteworthy that in the ballad, Niwal Dai has never seen the Sun or Moon, and has been kept hidden in a whirlpool (bhaithri) until she comes forth to uncover the Well at the World’s End, in which are the Waters of Life.[7] That she assumes a human form is her ‘manifestation’. It will be realised, of course, that just as in the European parallels, where a mermaid, or the daughter of a magician, marries a human hero, so in the later Indian folk tales and romances the redactor may not have always fully ‘understood his material’.
The Shrine of Khawaja Khizr, near Bukkur fort, 1838
Identified by Jackson as a view of ‘Hajee Ka Tau, an island just above the fort of Bukkur on the Indus’, the sketch would appear to be of the tomb of the river saint Khwaja Khizr, regarded as having been built in 925 A.D. (A.H. 341). According to the legend recorded in the Shachnama, the tomb was built in gratitude by a Delhi merchant Shah Husain who, traveling down the Indus with his pretty daughter on their way to Mecca, was called upon by Dalurai (the Hindu ruler of Alor) to surrender the daughter. In her anxiety to avoid such an impious alliance, the girl prayed to Khwaja Khizr for deliverance and as she and her father sought to escape in a boat, the saint diverted the course of the Indus towards Rohri bringing the harassed father and daughter to safety. Khwaja Khizr, known also as the Jinda or living Pir, is said to be particularly protective of travelers.
Look also: Khwaja Khizr: The saint who ‘saved’ Rohri, Sukkur and Lansdowne Bridge during the 1965 War
The main sanctum is bordered by small walls and adorned with colourful paper streamers. There is a raised platform in the middle, which is believed to be Khwaja Khizr’s takiya or gaddi (throne or seat), and is embellished with large alams (flags or signs), which are a testament to Shia influence nowadays.
Khwaja Khizr appears again in another Indian folk tale of a very archaic type, the Story of Prince Mahbub (note: The story of Prince Mahbub is essentially the relation of an achievement of the Grail Quest by a solar hero, the son of a widowed mother, and brought up in seclusion and innocence of his true character, as in the Perceval cycle. Mahbub corresponds to Vedic Agni and Surya; Kassab to Indra).
The king of Persia has a son by a concubine, who, in the absence of any other child, becomes the heir apparent. Subsequently the true queen becomes pregnant. The first prince fears that he will be displaced, invades the kingdom, slays his father, and usurps the throne.
In the meantime the true queen escapes, and is cared for by a farmer; a son is born, who is called Mahbub, and the ‘Darling of the World’. Later he goes alone to court, and becomes the victor in athletic contests, particularly as an archer. The people recognise his likeness to the late king.
On his return home his mother tells him of his birth, and both set out on their travels in order to avoid the usurper’s suspicion. Mother and son reach a desert land, and there in a mosque beside a mountain they meet a faqir who gives them bread and water that are inexhaustible, and two pieces of wood, one of which can serve as a torch, the other possessing this virtue, that within a radius of fourteen cubits from the place where it is held, the deepest sea will become fordable, and no more than a cubit in depth.
As mother and son are then wading through the sea knee-deep, they meet with a ruby-bearing current.
They cross the sea and reach India, where they sell one of the rubies at a great price. It comes into the hands of the king of that country. He finds out its source, and seeks the hero, who has in the meantime built a new and great palace by the seaside. Mahbub undertakes to procure more of the same kind. He sets out alone, lights the torch (this shows that he is about to enter a world of darkness), and aided by the rod traverses the sea till he reaches the ruby current. He follows it up until he finds its source in a whirlpool. He jumps in and falls down the black watery chimney until he touches solid ground and finds the waters flowing out from an iron gateway of a conduit.
Passing through this he finds himself in a wonderful garden, in which is a palace. In this palace he finds a room in which is a freshly severed head, from which drops of blood are falling into a basin, and are carried out as rubies with the current into the conduit and so to the whirlpool and up into the sea.
Twelve paris (Apsarases; Grail maidens) then appear, take down the head, bring forth the trunk, lay the parts together, and taking up burning candles execute a dance round the couch, so swift that Mahbub can see only a circle of light. Then stooping over the bed, they wail ‘How long, O Lord, how long? . . . When will the sun of hope arise on the darkness of our despair? Arise, O King, arise, how long will you remain in this deathlike trance?’ ( The ‘wailing women’ and ‘deathlike trance’ of the Fisher King are essential features of the Grail myth).
Then from the floor of the palace there rises up the form of the faqir previously mentioned, and now clad in garments of light. The pans bow down to him, and ask ‘Khwaja Khizr, has the hour come?’ The faqir, who is indeed none but the immortal Khwaja Khizr, explains to Mahbub that the corpse is his father’s, who had been murdered by the usurper Kassab; Mahbub’s ancestors have all been magi;[11] all have been buried in the under-water palace, but Mahbub’s father has remained unburied, for none had performed his funeral rites;
Mahbub, as son, should now do this- Mahbub accordingly makes prayer to Allah on behalf of his father’s soul.
Immediately the head is joined to the body, and the dead king rises up alive.[12] Khizr vanishes, and Mahbub returns to India with his father, who is thus reunited with the widowed queen. When the king of India comes for the rubies, Mahbub pricks his own finger, and the drops of blood falling into a cup of water become the required gems, for as Mahbub now knows, every drop of blood that flows in the veins of the kings of Persia is more precious than rubies.
Mahbub marries the princess of India. An expedition to Persia dethrones the usurper Kassab, and his head is taken and hung in the underground palace, but every drop of blood becomes a toad.
The true nature of Khwaja Khizr is already clearly indicated in the two stories summarised above, as well as in the iconography. Khizr is at home in both worlds, the dark and the light, but above all master of the flowing River of Life in the Land of Darkness: he is at once the guardian and genius of vegetation and of the Water of Life, and corresponds to Soma and Gandharva in Vedic mythology, and in many respects to Varuria himself, though it is evident that he cannot, either from the Islamic or from the later Hindu point of view be openly identified with the supreme deity. We shall find these general conclusions amply confirmed by further examinations of the sources of the Islamic legends of al-Khadir.
In the Qur’an (Sura XVIII, 59-81) occurs the legend of Musa’s search for the Ma’jma ‘al-Bahrain,[13] which is probably to be understood as a ‘place’ in the far west at the meeting of two oceans;
Musa is guided by a ‘servant of God’, whom the commentators identify with al-Khadir, whose abode is said to be upon an island or on a green carpet in the midst of the sea?
This story can be traced back to three older sources, the Gilgamesh epic, the Alexander Romances, and the Jewish legend of Elijah and Rabbi Joshua ben Levi.[14]
In the Gilgamesh epic the hero sets out in search of his immortal ‘ancestor’ Utnapishtim who dwells at the mouth of the rivers (ina pi narati), like Varuna whose abode is ‘at the rivers’ source’, sindhunam upodaye. Rg Veda, VIII, 41, 2; his object being to be informed with respect to the ‘plant-life’, prototype of the Avestan haoma, Vedic soma,[15] whereby man can be saved from death.
In the Alexander Romances Alexander sets out in search of the Fountain of Life, which is accidentally found, and significantly ‘in the land of darkness’, but cannot be found again. A recension of this legend occurs in the Shah Nama, where Alexander sets out in search of the Fountain of Life, which lies in the Land of Darkness beyond the place of the setting of the Sun in the western waters; Alexander is guided by Khizr, but when they come to a parting of the ways, each follows a different path, and Khizr alone accomplishes the quest. Those of Alexander’s followers who bring back with them stones from the Land of Darkness find on their return that these are precious stones.[16]
The story is retold at greater length in Nizami’s Iskandar Naama, LXVIII-LXIX; here Alexander learns from an ancient man (probably Khizr himself in human form) that ‘of every land, the Dark Land is best, in which is a Water, a life-giver’ and that the source of this River of Life is in the North, beneath the Pole Star.[17] On the way to the Dark land, in every arid land the rain falls and grass springs up, ‘Thou wouldst have said: “The trace of Khizr was on that road; that verily, Khizr himself was with the king”.[18] They reach the northern limit of the world, the sun ceases to rise, and the Land of Darkness lies before them.
Alexander makes the prophet Khizr his guide, and Khizr ‘moving with greenness[19] leads the way, and presently discovers the fountain, from which he drinks, becoming immortal. He keeps his eye on the spring, while waiting for Alexander to catch up with him; but it disappears from sight, and Khizr himself vanishes, realising that Alexander will not succeed in his quest.
Folio from a Shahnama Book of kings by Firdawsi 1020 recto Iskandar encounters the Angel Israfel verso text Iskandar crosses the Land of Darkness removes the ruby Iskandar constructs a wall to defeat Gog and Magog
Nizami goes on to relate another version according to the ‘account of the elders of Rum’; here the quest is undertaken by Ilyas[20] and Khizr, who sit down by a fountain to eat their repast, consisting of dried fish; the fish falling into the waters, comes to life, and thus the seekers are made aware that they have found the Fountain of Life, from which both drink.
Khizr and Ilyas at the Fountain of Life. Amir Khusrau, Khamsah Ilyas and Khizr sit down by a fountain to eat their repast, consisting of dried fish; the fish falling into the waters, comes to life, and thus the seekers are made aware that they have found the Fountain of Life, from which both drink.
Nizami then proceeds to the Kur’anic version, and interprets the Fountain as one of Grace, the true Water of Life being the Knowledge of God. A similar interpretation of the ancient material occurs in the New Testament, (John, 4).
Note: John –4″: Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. 4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Nizami attributes Iskandar’s failure to his eagerness, whereas in the case of Khizr ‘the Water of Life arrived unsought’, with reference to the fact that it is revealed indirectly by its effect on the fish, when Khizr has no suspicion that he has already reached it.
The finding of the Fountain by Ilyas and Khizr occurs in Persian art as the subject of miniatures illustrating the Iskandar Nama.[21] One of these, from a late sixteenth century manuscript belonging to Mr A. Sakisian, is reproduced in colour as frontispiece to his La Miniature persane, 1929, and in monochrome by L. Binyon, Persian Painting, 1933, PI. LXIa; here the two prophets are seated by the Well in a verdant landscape, two fish are seen lying on a platter and a third, evidently alive, is in Khizr’s hand; it is clear that he is pointing out to Ilyas the significance of the miracle. Ilyas is robed in blue, Khizr wears a green robe with a brown cloak.
In another, and unpublished version of the seventeenth century, belonging to the Freer Gallery the arrangement is similar, but only one fish is seen on the platter. A third example, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and or late fifteenth century date, is reproduced in Ars Asiatica, XIII. PI. VII, no. 15; Ilyas and al-Khadir are seen in the foreground beside the stream, in darkness; Alexander and his followers above, as in the Freer Gallery example, where the arrangement of the darks and lights is reversed. The Freer Gallery example seems to be the more correct in this respect, inasmuch as the whole quest takes place within the Land of Darkness, but the immediate vicinity of the Fountain of Life is understood to be lighted up by the sheen of its flowing waters. The Finders of the Well are both nimbate.
In the Syrian Lay of Alexander, and in the Qur’anic version, the fish swims away, and in the latter is said to reach the sea. A connection with the story of Manu and the ‘fish’ may be predicated in the Manu myth (Satapatha Bramana, I.8.i); the ‘fish’ (jhasa) is from the beginning alive, but very small, and precariously situated, for it comes into Manu’s hands when he is washing, and asks him to rear it. Manu provides it with water, and after it has grown great, releases it in the sea; and when the Flood comes, it guides the Ark through the Waters by means of a rope attached to its horn.
A noteworthy variant of the Manu legend, with a closer parallel to the Alexander and Qur’anic versions with respect to the dessication of the ‘fish’ occurs in Jaimimya Brahmana, in. 193, and Pancavimsa Brahmana, xiv. 5. 15; here Sarkara, the ‘sisumara’, refuses to praise Indra, Parjanya therefore strands him on dry land and dries him up with the north wind (the cause of the desiccation of the fish is thus indicated). Sarkara then finds a song of praise for Indra, Parjanya restores him to the ocean (as does Khizr, though unintentionally, in the Qur’anic version), and by the same laud Sarkara attains heaven, becoming a constellation.
There can be no doubt that the constellation Capricornus, Skr. makara, makarasi, is intended. Makara, jhasa, and sisumara are thus synonymous;[22] and this Indian Leviathan clearly corresponds to the kar-fish, ‘greatest of the creatures of Ahuramazda’, who swims in Vourukasha, guarding the Haoma tree of life in the primordial sea (Bundahis, XVIII; Yasna, XLII. 4, etc.); and to the Sumerian goat-fish, the symbol and sometimes the vehicle of Ea, god of the waters (Langdon, Semitic Mythology, pp.105-6).
That in the late Indian iconography Khizr’s vehicle is an unmistakable fish, and not the crocodilian makara, need not surprise us, for other instances of the alternative use of makara and ‘fish’ could be cited from Indian iconographic sources; in some early representations, for example, the river-goddess Ganga is shown supported by a maker, but in the later paintings by a fish.
In the Pseudo-Callisthenes (C) version of the Alexander legend, Alexander is accompanied by his cook, Andreas. After a long journey in the Land of Darkness, they come to a place gushing with waters, and sit down to eat; Andreas wets the dried fish, and seeing that it comes to life, drinks of the water, but does not inform Alexander. Subsequently Andreas seduces Alexander’s daughter Kale, and gives her a drink of the Water of Life (of which he had brought away a portion); she having thus become an immortal goddess is called Nereis, and the cook is flung into the sea, becoming a god; both are thus denizens of the other world. There can be no doubt that Andreas here is the Idris of Qur’an, Sura xix, 57ff. and Sura xxi, 85, whom Islamic tradition identifies with Enoch, Ilyas, and al-Khadir. From the account of Idris in Ibn al-Qifti’s Tarikh al-Hukama’a (c. 1200) it appears that he plays the part of a solar hero, and is immortal.
Al-Khadir also presents some point of resemblance with Saint George, and it is in this connection and as patron of travellers that we meet with a figure which is probably that of al-Khadir in carved relief over the gateway of a caravanserai on the road between Sinjar and Mosul, of the XI nth century; the figure is nimbate, and is thrusting a lance into the mouth of a scaly dragon.[23]
The figure of a man seated on a fish occurs apparently as a Hindu work built into the bastion of the fort at Raichur, in the Deccan; it is stated to have a ‘crown of river-serpent hoods’, and has therefore been called a ‘naga king’, but these hoods are not clearly recognisable in the published reproduction.[24] Mediaeval Indian art affords numerous examples of Varuna seated on a makara.
A brief reference may be made to European parallels similarly derivative in the last analysis from Sumerian sources. Khadir corresponds to the Greek sea-god Glaukos (Friedlander, loc. cit. pp. 108 ff., 242, 253, etc., Barnett, loc. cit. p.715). Khadir belongs to the Wandering Jew type.
Parallels between Glaukos and Vedic Gand-harva are noteworthy; the Avesran designation of Gandarva as zairipasna ‘green-heeled’ tends to a connection of Gandharva with Khadir. Gandharva, as suggested by Dr. Barnett, may correspond to Kandarpa, i.e. Kamadeva, and in this connection it may be observed that the erotic motif common to Glaukos and Gandharva-Kamadeva appears in connection with Khizr in the Niwal Dai ballad, where Khizr will not release the waters unless he has sight of Niwal Dai; as might be looked for if we think of him as the Gandharva, and of her as the apsaras or Maiden (yosa) of the Waters, or equally if we correlate Khizr with Varuna, cf. Rg Veda, VII. 33. 10-11 where Mitra-Varuna are seduced by the sight of Urvasi, as is emphasized in the Sarvanukramani, 1.166 urvasim apsarasam drstva . . . reto apatat, and Sayana, retas caskanda evidently following Nirukta, v. 13.
The same situation is implied in Rg Veda, VII. 87. 6 with respect to Varuna alone who descends as a white drop (drapsa) and is called a ‘traverser of space’ (rajasah vimanah) and ‘ruler of the deep’ (gambhira-sansah), epithets that might well be applied to Khizr.
It remains to be observed that in Christian iconography the figure of the river-god Jordan,[25] commonly found in representations of the Baptism of Jesus, bears a certain likeness to the conception of Glaukos and Khizr.
In some cases the Baptism was thought of as taking place at the junction of two rivers, Jor and Danus. Sometimes there is found a masculine river-god, and a feminine figure representing the sea; both riding on dolphins, like the numerous types of Indian dwarf Yaksas riding on makaras.
Note: the River Jor-Dan
All these types in the last analysis may be referred back to prototypes of which our earliest knowledge is Sumerian, in the concept or Ea, son and image of Enki, whose essential name Enki means ‘Lord of the Watery Deep’. Ea was the ruler of the streams that rose in the Underworld, and flowed thence to fertilize the land; precious stones are likewise his.
In iconography, Ea has the goat-fish, and holds in his hands the flowing-vase, the source of the ‘bread and water of immortal life’.
Ea has seven sons, of whom Marduk inherits his wisdom and slew the dragon Tiamat.
Another son was Dumuziabzu, the ‘Faithful Son of the Fresh Waters’, the Shepherd, the Semitic form of whose name is Tammuz, well known as the ‘Dying God’ of vegetation; comparable in many respects with Soma, and as ‘Lord of the Realm of the Dead’ with Yama.
The further Sumerian parallels are too many and too close to admit of adequate discussion here.[26] It suffices to have demonstrated the wide diffusion and ancient origin of the figure of Khwaja Khizr as it occurs in Persian and Indian iconography. In connection with Mughal art may be cited the remark of H. Goetz, who in discussing the sources of Mughal art speaks of a ‘teils absolute Identitaet teils engste Verwandschaft mit solchen der grossen altorientalischen Kulturen, und zwar zu gut Teilen schon der klassischen sumerischen Zeit’.[27] That the figure of Khizr comes into independent prominence precisely in Mughal art of the eighteenth century—all the Indian examples that I have seen are in the ‘Lucknow style’— when considered in connection with the adoption of the fish as royal emblem by the rulers of Oudh, seems to show that some revival of the cult took place at this time and in this area.
[1] In accordance with the meaning of al-Khadir, the ‘Green Man’.
[2] Safidam, probably a corruption of sarpa-damana, ‘Quelling of the Serpent’. For the legend of Niwal Dai see Temple, Legends of the Punjab, I, pp. 414, 418-19.
[3] Usually Sanja (perhaps for Skr. Samjna). This priest (Brahman) who serves Vasuki, but acts against him, suggests Visvarupa who in Taittinya Samhita, LI. 5. 1 is called the Purohita of the Angels, and Usanas Kavya who in Pancavimsa Brahmana, VII. 5. 20 is the Purohita of the Titans, but is won over to the side of the Angels.
[4] A location of the Well in the domains of the human Pariksit is hardly ‘correct’, (it is really on the borders of both worlds, in a forest equally accessible to Vasuki and Pariksit), but it will be observed that the waters are not merely protected by the heavy stone covering, but also subject to Khizr’s will, they- are not ‘flowing’. Vedic equivalents for the ‘heavy stone’ which hinders access to the waters are abundant, e.g. IV. 28. 5 aphitani asna, VI. 17. 5 adrim acyutam, IV. 16. 8 apah adrim, IV. i. 15 drdhram ubdham adrim, IV. 18.6 paridhim adrim, and when the stony obstacle is broke?, then “the waters flow from the pregnant rock”, srnvantnv apah . . . babrhanasya adreh, V. 41.12; cf. Satapatha Brahmana IX. 1.2.4 in connection with the baptism of the fire-altar, which begins ‘from the rock’, because it is from the rock that the waters come forth, asmano hy apahprabhavanti. Vasuki in the ballad corresponds to Ahi, smitten by Indra, but ‘still waxing in sunless gloom’, Rg Veda, v, 32. 6.
[5] In the theme condensed above it is easy to recognise the Vedic creation-myth of the conflict between Angels and Titans (Devas and Asuras), Indra and Ahi-Vrtra; the abduction of Niwal Dai is the rape of Vac, (Rg Veda, i. 130, where Indra vacam musayati); Khwaja Khizr, the master of the waters, the Vedic rivers of life, is Varuna.
[6] E. G. Blochet, Peintures hindoues de la Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, 1926. Pls. V and XXIII.
[7] The world under water, the home of the serpent race (ahi, naga), Varuna’s ‘watery origin’ (yonim apyam, Rg Veda, II, 38, 8), ‘in the western gloom’ (apacinc tamasi, ib. VI, 6, 4), is not lighted by the Sun, it is ‘beyond the Falcon’ (Jaiminiya Brahmana, III, 268), but the shining of the Waters is everlasting (ahar-ahar yati aktur apam, Rg Veda, II. 30.1).
[8] Shaikh Chilli, Folk Tales of Hindustan, Allahabad, 1913, pp. 130 ff., with a modern picture of Khwaja Khizr as an old man blessing Mahbub, PI. XXXIII. The story of Prince Mahbub is essentially the relation of an achievement of the Grail Quest by a solar hero, the son of a widowed mother, and brought up in seclusion and innocence of his true character, as in the Perceval cycle. Mahbub corresponds to Vedic Agni and Surya; Kassab to Indra.
[9] Apsarases; Grail maidens.
[10] The ‘wailing women’ and ‘deathlike trance’ of the Fisher King are essential features of the Grail myth.
[11] Equivalent to Skr. mahin, ‘magician’, a designation especially applicable to the Titans and, secondarily to the premier Angels, particularly Agni, the ‘ancestors’ represent the solar heroes of former cycles.
[12] The Grail Quest is achieved.
[13] Bahrain, an island in the Persian Gulf, has been identified by many scholars with the Sumerian Dilmun, where dwelt the gardener Tagtut after the flood: see Delitzsch, Wo lag das Parodies, p.178, and Langdon, Sumerian Epic, pp. 8ff.
[14] For Islamic legend, other parallels, and further references see Encyclopedia of Islam, s. v. Idris, al-Khadir and Khwadja Khidr; Warner, Shah Nama of Firdausi, VI, pp. 74-8 and 159-162; Hopkins, ‘The Fountain of Youth’. JAOS. XXVI; Barnett, ‘Yama, Gandharva, and Claucus’, Bull. School Oriental Studies, IV; Grierson, Kihar Peasant Life, pp. 40-3; Garcin de Tassy, Memoire sur des Particularites de la Religion Musalmane dans l’Inde, pp. 85-9; Wunsche, Die Sagen voin Lebensbaum und Liebenswasser, Leipzig, 1905; Friedlander, Die Chadhirlegende und der Alexander-Roman, Leipzig, 1913.
[15] Cf. Barnet, loc. cit., pp. 708-10.
[16] Cf. Rg Veda, VII. 6. 4 and 7, where Agni is said to bring forth the Maidens (rivers of life) eastward from the ‘western darkness’ (apacine tamasi) and to bring back ‘treasures of earth’ (budhnya vasuni) ‘when the Sun rises’ (udita suryasya).
[17] Al-Khadir’s realm, known as Yuh (also a name of the Sun), where he rules over saints and angels, is situated in the far North; it is an Earthly Paradise, a part of the human world which
remained unaffected by the Fall of Adam and the curse (see Nicholson, Studies in Islamic Mysticism, pp. 82,124).
[18] According to ‘Umarah, Khizr is ‘Green’ because the earth becomes green at the touch of his feet.
[19] Khazra, either ‘verdure’ or ‘sky’.
[20] The prophet Elias, with whom Khizr is often identified.
[21] Cf. Iskandar Nama, LXIX. 57, ‘verdure grows more luxuriantly by the fountain’. Ibid. 22, (he spring is described as a ‘fountain of light’, and this corresponds to Vendidad, Fargad xxi, where light and water proceed from a common source; cf. also Vedic Soma as both light and life, a plant and a fluid (amrta, the Water of Life, cf. Barnett, loc. cit., p. 705, note 1).
[22] In Bhagavad Gita, X. 31, Krsna is jhasanam makarah, the makara is therefore regarded as the foremost amongst the jhasas, or monsters of the deep. The word makara occurs first in Vajasaneyi Samhita, XXIV. 35; simsumara in Rg Veda, I. 116. 18. For a full discussion of the makara in Indian iconography (especially as vehicle of Varuna and banner of Kamadeva) see my Yaksas, 1931,11, p. 47ff. and further references there cited. The ‘fish’ vehicle, of course, implies the rider’s independence of local motion in the unbounded ocean of universal possibility; just as wings denote angelic independence of local motion in the actual worlds.
[23] Sarre und Herzfeld, Archaeologische Reise im Euphrat-und Tigris-Gebiet, Vol. I, pp. 13, and 37-8, Berlin, 1911.
[24] See my Yaksas, 11.
[25] For example, in the Baptistry at Ravenna (Berchem and Clouzot, figs. lii and 220); Jordan here holds a vase from which the waters are flowing.
[26] For the Sumerian deities see S. H. Langdon, Semitic Mythology, Ch. 2; for the flowing vase etc. Van Buren, The Flowing Vase and the God with Streams, Berlin, 1933, and as regards India, my Yaksas, 11. For the iconographic link between me Asiatic full vase and Christian Grail vessel see Gosse, Recherches sur quelques representations du Vase Eucharistique, Geneva, 1894.
[27] Bilderatlas ziir Kulturgeschichte Indiens in der Grossmoghul-Zeit, 1930, p. 71. ‘An in part absolute identity and an in part very close Kinship with the sources of the great cultures of the ancient East and even to a considerable extent with the sources of the classical Sumerian period.’
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Statutory right of withdrawal
The buyer has the statutory right to withdraw from the agreement and to return the ordered product during a trial period of 14 days after having received the product, without having to state a reason for the withdrawal (the statutory right of withdrawal).
The statutory right of withdrawal only applies in the case that the product and its original packaging can be returned in the same state as when received. The buyer is only allowed to unpack and/or to use the ordered product as far as is needed to be able to determine whether he/she wants to keep the product. The right of withdrawal does not apply to customized products (i.e. Rosey) and products that are not suitable for return due to hygiene reasons (i.e. earrings).
Please note that: in case the product was delivered in a damaged or incomplete state, the buyer has the obligation to inform Rosefield Support Team thereof and await further instructions (see art. 6.2. and 6.3).
The buyer is responsible for the return shipment of the product and bears all the risks related to the return shipment. Rosefield advises the buyer to return a product by insured shipment and in a sealed packaging. In case an insured return shipment goes missing, gets damaged or in case the reception of a returned shipment is denied (for example, in case no valid signature can be shown by the carrier), the buyer then has the option to hold the carrier liable. The buyer, as the sender of the return shipment, must start the complaint procedure for any issue that may occur with the return shipment. The buyer must keep the (official, digital) receipt of his/her return shipment that contains the tracking information.
The shipment costs of a return shipment within the trial period are borne by the buyer.
In case all the conditions applicable to the statutory right of withdrawal are met, Rosefield will credit the buyer within 14 days after receiving the return shipment (no credit applies for costs of the return shipment). Any credit due as a result of a returned product, will be credited to the account that the buyer used to pay the original order.
7.2. Cancellation form
To meet the cancellation deadline, the buyer must send a statement concerning his/her exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.
To exercise the statutory right to cancel the buyer must inform Rosefield by contacting Support Team in one of the following ways:
by regular mail:
Rosefield Watches B.V.
H.J.E. Wenckebachweg 133,
1096 AM Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
by e-mail: support@rosefieldwatches.com
The buyer can use the cancellation form below (the buyer may use this form but is not obliged to do so).
I/we (*) hereby give notice that I/we (*) withdraw from my/our (*) contract of sale of the following goods (*):
ordered on (*)/
received on (*)
name of customer(s)
address of customer(s)
signature of customer (s) (only if this form is notified on paper),
(*) Delete as appropriate
I received the wrong product/ size what do I do?
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Download How to use Contact us Sign In
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Kanopy Privacy Policy
Revised: 5 December 2018
This Privacy Policy describes the information that Kanopy, Inc. and its affiliates ("Kanopy," "we," "us" or "our") may collect through your use of the Kanopy, including the website at www.kanopy.com and related mobile applications (collectively, the "Service"). It also describes how we may use, disclose and protect information collected through your access to and use of the Service.
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Home News UDP election petition adjourned to Sep. 6
UDP election petition adjourned to Sep. 6
By Baba Sillah
The High Court in Banjul on Tuesday adjourned the election petition case filed by Aussainou Jobarteh, the United Democratic Party candidate in Kuntaur administrative area of Central River Region North to 6 September for hearing.
The Chief Justice, Hassan Jallow who presided over the case adjourned the matter after the first respondent Saihou Jawara, who is the current chairman of the area council, craved the indulgence of the court to grant him an adjournment in order to enable him to secure the services of a lawyer.
Mr Jawara argued that he thought that he would be represented by the Attorney General and IEC but since that was not the case, he appealed to the court to give him time to secure the services of a lawyer who will represent him.
However the attorney for Aussainou Jobarteh, the petitioner, Barrister Antouman Gaye contended that the application lacked merit arguing that Mr Jawara was previously represented by a lawyer.
Barrister Gaye notwithstanding pointed out that since it is Mr Jawara’s constitutional right to seek the services of a lawyer, he would leave that to the discretion of the court.
Chief Justice Jallow at that point adjourned the matter to 6 September for hearing.
The applicant, Aussainou Jobarteh has previously filed a petition at the Supreme Court against Saihou Jawara and Mustapha FM Jobe, the IEC returning officer of Kuntaur Area Council and the Attorney General challenging the result of 12 May 2018 chairmanship election, urging the Constitutional Court to declare him the winner of the election and not Saihou Jawara of the Gambia Democratic Congress, GDC.
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Startups Without Borders > Blog > Blog: Masonry with Sidebar > News & Stories > Congolese Entrepreneur Olivier Mukuta Wins the Nordic Startup Awards with his Blockchain Startup VipiCash
Congolese Entrepreneur Olivier Mukuta Wins the Nordic Startup Awards with his Blockchain Startup VipiCash
November 5, 2018 SWB Team
The entrepreneur, who came up with his first startup in a refugee camp in Malawi, is now using blockchain to help women have financial independence.
By SWB Team
Oslo-based entrepreneur Olivier Mukuta was awarded the the Nordic Startup Awards last October 30th, in the Brave Founder Beginnings category, the first of its kind in the Scandinavian startup event, co-organized by Startup Migrants.
Mukuta is the founder of VipiCash, an app that uses blockchain technology to enable secure money transfer among women, so that they can have access and control over their own money, independent of the male members of their family.
The entrepreneur and his team were previously among the winners at the first blockchain hackathon co-organized by UN Women and Innovation Norway in July 2017. Olivier’s journey as an entrepreneur began in a refugee camp in Malawi at the age of 13. Emboldened by the needs refugees voiced in his community, Olivier first began selling an email service to fellow refugees together with a friend, enabling them to reach out and contact their families who may be outside the camp.
Olivier Mukuta receives the award from Startup Migrants’ founder Maria Amelie.
“I always say I’ve lived three lives. I was born in Congo. And then grew up in Malawi in a refugee camp, and then my family moved to Norway when I was 18,” he says. After moving to Norway, the experience while sending money back to the refugee camp inspired him to create VipiCash.
“I always say I’ve lived three lives. I was born in Congo. And then grew up in Malawi in a refugee camp, and then my family moved to Norway when I was 18,”
“Both my father and I were working and getting good paycheques in Norway, so we would send money back to help our friends in the refugee camp,” he narrates. “But we found out finding that the money was not being used as intended. I’d tell my friends the money was for school, but then find out it was being used for different things. It was frustrating.”
“I am proud of getting to the point where I can create a workplace for myself and others,” he asserts, though remembering the challenges he faced building the startup. “We’ve faced challenges getting access to networks with the right people who can help grow the idea. We also spend a lot of time overcoming unconscious biases,” the entrepreneur explains.
Startup Migrants co-founder Maria Amelie with Olivier Mukuta, and nominees Gulnaz Khusainova and Fida Abu Libdeh.
The Brave Founders Nominees
Along with Mukuta, three other entrepreneurs were nominated for the prize: Gulnaz Khusainova, Samer Al Moubayed and Fida Abu Libdeh.
Khusainova, originally from Russia, is the founder of Easysize, a startup that changes the fashion industry and makes it more sustainable by using data and algorithms. “The entrepreneurial journey is complex and there are many obstacles any entrepreneur has to overcome,” says the entrepreneur, now based in Denmark.
“Perhaps, my biggest frustration is related to the immigration system that creates unnecessary legal obstacles to non-EU entrepreneurs. I spent in total almost 21 months (over the 4 years of running Easysize) waiting for my residence to be approved. It caused me, my team and my loved ones enormous stress, and I wish I could use that time on actually building my company.“
Palestinean entrepreneur Fida Abu Libdeh.
Palestinian entrepreneur Fida Abu Libdeh found her way into entrepreneurship through her studies in energy engineering. Her startup, GeoSilica, has developed a unique production method to extract, concentrate and purify silica minerals from the geothermal water, aiming to increase the utilization of geothermal energy.
The company is now valuated at 700 million, with its products sold in Iceland, Amazon.com, all German-speaking countries, Hongkong and is finalizing agreements to sell in Canada. “My journey as an entrepreneur started at a young age, in the sense of taking a risk for building something new. I was born and raised in Palestine, and came to Iceland at the age of 16 looking for a better life, education, and opportunity,” she recalls.
“My mission is to inspire other women, especially migrants, to follow their dreams despite all challenges and encourage them to start their own ‘New Beginnings’.”
However, being one of the few migrants in Iceland, the had to walk a rocky road. “When I look back at my journey, from being a child without a language, without friends and without a future, to becoming a highly educated woman running a successful company, I realize I missed having a role model that looks like me and could tell me how she did it,” she laments, as she points out her ambition to become that figure. “My mission is to be that role model and inspire other women, especially migrants to follow their dreams despite all challenges through their journey and encourage them to start their own ‘New Beginnings’.”
Samer Al Moubayed, born in Syria, is the founder of Furhat Robotics, a company with the vision to build the world’s most expressive, customizable, and socially intelligent robotics platform to enable applications of human-robot interaction in the real-world.
Furhat has now gained traction across the globe with spotlights by BBC, Forbes, and growing corporate partnerships with companies like Disney Research. Today, the company employs 23 people, including 18 different nationalities. “Diversity has been a core strengths as a company,” says the entrepreneur.
Al Moubayed moved to Belgium to study, and soon realized he wanted to create. “My dad is an entrepreneur, and he always said that education and entrepreneurship should be combined. I asked how it is to start a company in Sweden, and it turns out that as a scientist you have full intellectual property of your work. I decided that one day I’d take advantage of this rule in Sweden. And I was right, once I arrived at the university I felt I could dream as big as I wanted. Since then, every small step feels like an amazing success. It makes it feel like it is worth it.”
“If you risked your life fleeing on a boat, then taking the risk and starting a company is part of your DNA.”
“I don’t see myself as a migrant, mostly as an intellectual and entrepreneur. But I do sometimes share my story, and hope it inspires and empowers others. I think what often happens is that migrants end up in a state of mind that is disabling and negative. It is too bad, because it is a lot about confidence, positive thinking and hard work,” he says.
“I think as a migrant you are forced to innovate and build your own life, you often have great skills to become an entrepreneur. If you risked your life fleeing on a boat, then taking the risk and starting a company is part of your DNA,” he concludes.
Photos courtesy of Startup Migrants.
OPPORTUNITIES NOT TO MISS
Entrepreneurs in France! SINGA expands in Lyon and Paris
Did You Know Paris' Station F Has a Free Program for Refugee and Migrant Entrepreneurs?
7 Incubators and Competitions to Apply for NOW in the MENA Region
Heart of Amman is Looking for 100 Startups to Revitalize Downtown Amman
Do You Run a Tech-enabled Startup in Lebanon? Speed Accelerator Has Just Opened the call for Applications
CALLING ON VOLUNTEERS!
How Are Newcomers Shaping the Economy? Startup Migrants is Crowdfunding the New Innovation Map
December 11, 2018 - by SWB Team
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Tag Archives: Grant Bellak
Hanover’s Bellak simplifies hitting approach
September 26, 2019 stvkrh905 Leave a comment
Hitting a round ball with a round bat squarely is not an easy thing to do well.
Grant Bellak, who enters his second season as head baseball coach at NCAA Division III Hanover (Ind.) College in 2019-20, has his Panthers (15-19 during the 2019 season) following a simplified offensive approach that he first began to develop as an assistant at D-III Franklin (Ind.) College.
In 2018, the Grizzlies were national leaders in batting average, OPS (on-base plus slugging), runs per game, home runs and walks.
Bellak presented “Simplifying the Approach for High Output Offenses” during an American Baseball Coaches Association Barnstormers Clinics stop Sept. 8 at Butler University in Indianapolis.
The full presentation can be ordered through the ABCA Barnstormers Clinics Video Library.
“The coaching community has been really, really good to me,” says Bellak, who gave shout-outs to Ryan Brownlee (ABCA Assistant Executive Director of Coaching Outreach and former Western Illinois University head coach), Bill Kurich (Webster University head coach), Adam Smith (Benedictine University head coach) and Lance Marshall (Franklin College head coach).
The Barnstormers appearance was Bellak’s first time as a presenter at an ABCA clinic.
“We look at the approach to hitting as all-encompassing,” says Bellak.
He quoted ABCA Hall of Famer Jerry Weinstein’s 2014 statement that a big league pitcher only hits what he defines as his spot 24 percent of the time.
“For us as hitters, we need to be prepared to hit a lot of ‘mistake’ pitches,” says Bellak. “That’s what you’re going to get.
“To be a high level offense, we need to simplify our approach. At the same time — as (hitting and mental skills guru) Steve Springer says — you won’t hit anything if you’re trying to hit everything.”
Bellak has developed four absolutes for his hitters.
“No. 1, you have to be the best athletic version of yourself,” says Bellak. “It can be two completely different things from our shortstop to our first baseman.
“Secondly, your front foot has to leave the ground at some point.”
Bellak can only think of a few big leaguers — Ian Kinsler and Albert Pujols are two examples — who have had a lot of success keeping their foot on the ground the entire time.
“We teach front foot down on-time,” says Bellak of his third absolute. “We want to work on sequencing from the back side of our body.”
No. 4 involves the player knowing their identity and how they fit into team goals. Hanover’s offensive team goal is an .840 OPS (ideally around .420 on-base average and .420 slugging percentage).
“Our lead-off hitter will try to get to that .840 in a significantly different way than our No. 4 hitter,” says Bellak. “By identifying what category you fit into, you will have a defined set of measurable goals to strive for.
“Being honest with yourself and your abilities will allow you to achieve your goals and help this offense win games.”
Bellak puts offensive players into four categories — Sparks, Hybrid, Hybrid-Plus and Power.
Sparks have a high on-base average, lower slugging percentage and a high number of stolen bases. They generally strike out only once per 15 at-bats and produce less than two home runs, six or more doubles and 10 to 15 stolen bases.
Hybrid players provide a high on-base average and good slugging percentage. They strike out once per 10 at-bats with two or more homers, eight or more doubles and less than six stolen bases.
Hybrid-Plus entails high marks in on-base and slugging averages and the ability to steal bases consistently with one strikeout per 10 at-bats with four or more homers, 12 or more doubles and eight or more stolen bases.
Power hitters are above average in on-base average and excellent in slugging. They will not steal bases often (four or less) and have one strikeout per eight at-bats with five or more homers, 12 or more doubles.
Bellak and his coaching staff are very careful with verbal cues.
“Kids today are very literal,” says Bellak. “You see it all the time. You say, ‘get your front foot down early.’ Then he sits and he can’t sequence properly.
For instance, Hanover coaches will never say “Use your hands” but instead say “Get Turned.”
Instead of “Go oppo,” it’s “Use the backside.”
It’s not “Let it get deep,” but “Use the fat part of the field.”
Rather than “Get on top,” they say “Release the barrel out front.”
Instead of “Use your hands,” it’s “Get turned.”
Following the advice of mental performance expert Brian Cain, words that end with “not” or “‘nt” are not to be used as cues because those negatives stick in the player’s brains.
“We try to change those to ‘you can,’ ‘you will’ vs. ‘won’t,’ ‘don’t,’ ‘can’t.’”
Bellak wants his hitters to “hunt” pitches (aggressive) rather than thinking in terms of a passive word like “wait.”
Hitters ask themselves questions like “Where have I had success?,” “Where do function best?” or “Where am I hitting the ball the hardest and why would I come away from that?”
As a visual tool, Bellak has his players place a large ball (around the size of a basketball) and put it over the plate where they feel they will be most-successful at the plate.
“It’s a pitch they are looking for and they can touch it, see it and feel it,” says Bellak. “We tell them during BP that they’re not going to let any pitches touch their glass ball.”
There is freedom to move the ball around to suit the hitters’ strengths. Power hitters typically want pitches that are “middle-in.”
“Expect them to take more pitches in BP because they’ll say, ‘Coach, that was a little bit off my glass ball,” says Bellak. “But, all of a sudden, they become more refined in their approach and we create height, depth and location.
“It really focuses their approach. It’s simple. It doesn’t take long to explain. You’re getting them free to what they want to do at the plate as hitters.
“With the influx of data, most hitters these days are pretty honest with themselves. I know which pitch I’m going to hammer.”
Grant Bellak is the head baseball coach at Hanover (Ind.) College. (Hanover College Photo)
ABCA Assistant Executive Director of Coaching OutreachABCA Barnstormers ClinicsABCA Hall of FameAdam SmithAlbert PujolsAmerican Baseball Coaches AssociationBenedictine UniversityBill KurichButler UniversityFranklin CollegeGrant BellakHanover CollegeHittingHybridHybrid-PlusIan KinslerJerry WeinsteinLance MarshallMental PerformanceMental SkillsOn-Base Plus SluggingOPSPowerRyan BrownleeSimplifying the Approach for High Output OffensesSparksSteve SpringerVerbal cuesWebster UniversityWestern Illinois University
Vogt, PRP Baseball helping players ‘bridge the gap’
April 30, 2019 stvkrh905 9 Comments
Greg Vogt is doing his best to “bridge the gap” between the player development and mental sides of baseball.
A former pitcher at Carmel (Ind.) High School (2008 graduate) and Anderson (Ind.) University (2012) who has coached at the high school and travel ball levels, Vogt started PRP Baseball in 2018.
The acronym stands for Passion Resilience Process. The mission is to provide “impactful training and mentoring through the process of success on and off the field.”
PRP (@PRPBaseball101 on Twitter and prpbaseball on Instagram) is based inside Finch Creek Fieldhouse in Noblesville, Ind.
PRP offers training year-round for weight training, throwing, hitting and mental game development for players of all ages. Vogt is also the Director of Player Development with the Indiana Nitro.
Vogt has helped major league pitcher Drew Storen with pitch design with video tools like Rapsodo as Storen worked in the off-season with long-time instructor Jay Lehr.
A camera was zoomed in on Storen’s hand for the purpose of viewing his release and how he creates spin on his pitches.
Minor league arms that train in the winter with Vogt include Parker Dunshee (Oakland Athletics organization), Travis Herrin (Los Angeles Angels system), Michael McCormick (formerly in the Chicago White Sox chain) and Reid Schaller (Washington Nationals organization).
Vogt also spent the off-season working with Clayton Richard (Toronto Blue Jays) and Josh Lindblom (Korean Baseball Organization) on developing movement patterns, pitch design and on-ramping for the season.
Lindblom won the KBO version of the Cy Young Award in 2018.
The oldest son of fitness pros Kevin and Tammy Vogt, Greg excelled in high school and college with his drive and desire to be the best he could be. At 5-foot-10 with an 82 mph fastball, he was always trying to gain a competitive edge.
“The work ethic and training component almost came easy to me,” says Vogt. “I was born into it.
“There’s not a coach or teammate I’ve ever played for or with that wouldn’t say I’m the most competitive person on the field.”
Even seven years after he threw his last collegiate pitch, Vogt will join in workouts with his players and try to strike them out.
“I challenged them as much as I could,” says Vogt. “I’ll tried to get after it. I want them to see that I care and that I believe in it.”
Vogt says his players have to believe in themselves to get to reach their goals — be that making the high school varsity or playing collegiate baseball or moving up in the professional ranks.
“We’re getting kids to throw harder and make better pitches — all that good stuff,” says Vogt. “But if they’re always working behind in the count and not throwing with conviction, you can’t use it.”
Vogt says Dunshee is successful because he’s not self-defeating.
“He’s never had plus stuff,” says Vogt of Dunshee, who pitched at Zionsville High School and Wake Forest University before pro ball. “He just doesn’t lose. He’s the best golfer. He’s the best basketball player. He was an all-state quarterback.
“It doesn’t matter what he does, he’s very competitive and he’s good at it. He doesn’t give up a whole lot because he doesn’t beat himself. If I could have every pitcher that I work with have that mentality there would be a lot of guys having success in high school, college and professional baseball.”
Vogt looks to help his PRP clients become well-rounded by providing them with the resources to get better physically and between the ears.
“I’ve seen several kids who are very talented but don’t have that mental game and are prepared for failure in baseball let alone if something goes on outside of baseball,” says Vogt. “A lot of these guys gave trainers that can make them better physically.
“I’ve worked with some very talented arms. I’ve worked with some very talented athletes. The separator is always the mental side. How hard do they work when no one’s watching?. How well do they do when they’re failing?. How do they transition from having a terrible day to they’re great the next day?.
“The kids that are good at everything may not be an exceptional athlete and have exceptional velocity yet, but they mold into a better college kid.”
Besides the baseball skills and strength/agility training, Vogt has his players read books to help them develop the right mindset. Some of his favorite authors/motivators are Justin Dehmer (1-Pitch Warror), Brian Cain (Mental Performance Mastery), Dr. Alan Goldberg (Competitive Advantage) and Todd Gongwer (Lead … for God’s Sake!).
Vogt asks his players about their take on certain points in the books. Mental sessions also cover in-game strategy.
An example: With a left-handed hitter at the plate and a runner on first base, a pitcher is asked to consider like the likelihood of a sacrifice bunt and pitch selection based on what the hitter did in the previous at-bat and more.
“We challenge their psyche on thinking about the game,” says Vogt. “Coaches are calling pitches. Sometimes (pitchers) are not even thinking about what they should throw. They’re throwing what the catcher puts down.
“It’s the same thing in the batter’s box. This guy got me out on a slider away last time. He wasn’t afraid to use it. Does that change (this at-bat)?. On defense, there’s positioning and pitch-to-pitch routines.”
Greg was recruited to Anderson by the same man he who coached his father at that school in football. Don Brandon was a football assistant when Kevin Vogt went there and he convinced Greg Vogt to play baseball for him near the end of his Hall of Fame coaching career.
In fact, Vogt was the winning pitcher as a sophomore for Brandon’s 1,100th and final victory.
“Bama, he had a fire still,” says Vogt of Brandon. “He had a completely different approach than a lot of coaches I had. He would get on you, but he’d also let you fail (repeatedly) while you were learning.
“Whenever he talks, everybody listens. As players, we would run through a wall for him. We loved him.”
David Pressley was Anderson’s head coach at the end of Vogt’s playing days.
Vogt began coaching and giving private lessons while he was in college. He worked with the Indiana Pony Express travel organization. He’s also coached high school age players with the Indiana Baseball Academy Storm and then the Indiana Bulls.
He joined Noblesville High School head coach Justin Keever’s staff in the fall of 2013. The Millers won an IHSAA Class 4A state title in 2014.
Keever taught Vogt about managing players, other coaches, a roster and a schedule.
He also came to appreciate how Keever communicated.
“There’s always a fire burning there,” says Vogt of Keever. “But he’s learned to keep that under control and say things that need to be said but not say too much.
“Between him and (hitting coach) Kevin Fitzgerald, you’ve got a lot of personality and a lot of insight on coaching.”
From Noblesville, Vogt went to work with pitchers at Zionsville on a staff led by Jered Moore.
He’s also been assistant director of scouting for Prep Baseball Report Indiana, VIP co-director of Tucker Vogt Training LLC (with Michael Tucker) and a physical education teacher at Zionsville.
His last game as a coach and before he devoted himself to the training business was the 2016 IHSAA Class 4A state championship, which the Eagles lost to Roncalli.
He has long coached younger brother, Zach Vogt. The Carmel senior has signed to play baseball at Spalding University in Louisville, Ky.
Always growing and adapting, Greg Vogt’s training methods have not stayed the same. They are different than when he was with Noblesville and Zionsville.
“We get set in our ways because we did them as players,” says Vogt. “If you do any training program, you’ll get benefits if you commit to it.
“But the best training program in the world won’t help if you’re only doing it one time a week. All the time you’re spending not training, you’re getting worse. Other guys are getting better because they’re working at it everyday.”
That’s not to say that players are with Vogt all week, but they can take the program with them.
Vogt also wants them to come away more than baseball. He wants them to be better people.
“I want the kids to throw 100 mph. I want them to hit bombs in every at-bat. But this game’s cruel. Injuries happen. Some kids aren’t as gifted. Some kids aren’t as willing to work as hard.
“But maybe there is something else they can take from me?.”
Greg and wife Whitney began dating in high school. The couple have two sons — Parker (3) and Griffen (1).
PRP’s “Bridge the Gap” Coaches Conference is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, July 8-9 at Finch Creek Fieldhouse. Attendees will learn more about player development, recruiting, athlete programming and technology from some of the top college coaches in the Midwest.
Speakers scheduled so far include Jeff Mercer (Indiana University head coach), Mark Wasikowski (Purdue University head coach), Dustin Glant (Ball State University pitching coach), Tracy Archuleta (University of Southern Indiana head coach), Jordan Tiegs (Indiana State University pitching coach), Brian Furlong (Xavier University pitching coach), Grant Bellak (Hanover College head coach), Grant Birely (Purdue Fort Wayne pitching coach), Chuck Ristano (University of Notre Dame pitching coach), Ryan Harber (St. Vincent Sports Performance) and Vogt.
Greg Vogt, a graduate of Carmel (Ind.) High School and Anderson (Ind.) University, is the founder and operator of PRP Baseball (Passion Resilience Process). (Steve Krah Photo)
1 Pitch WarriorAnderson UniversityBall State UniversityBrian CainBrian FurlongBridge the Gap Coaches ConferenceCarmelChicago White SoxChuck RistanoClayton RichardCompetitive AdvantageDavid PressleyDon BrandonDr. Alan GoldbergDrew StorenDustin GlantFinch Creek FieldhouseGrant BellakGrant BirelyGreg VogtGriffen VogtHanover CollegeIHSAAIndiana Baseball Academy StormIndiana BullsIndiana Pony ExpressIndiana State UniversityIndiana UniversityJay LehrJeff MercerJered MooreJordan TiegsJosh LindblomJustin DehmerJustin KeeverKevin FitzgeraldKevin VogtKorean Baseball OrganizationLead ... for God's Sake!Los Angeles AngelsMark WasikowskiMental Performance MasteryMental SkillsMichael McCormickMichel TuckerNoblesvilleNotre DameOakland AthleticsParker DunsheeParker VogtPassion Resilience ProcessPlayer DevelopmentPrep Baseball ReportPRP BaseballPurdue Fort WaynePurdue UniversityReid SchallerRyan HarberSpalding UniversitySt. Vincent Sport PerformanceState championsState runners-upTammy VogtTodd GongwerToronto Blue JaysTracy ArchuletaTravis HerrinTucker Vogt Training LLCUniversity of Southern IndianaWashington NationalsWhitney VogtXavier UniversityZach VogtZionsville
Bellak looking for more than just ballplayers as Hanover College head coach
June 28, 2018 stvkrh905 10 Comments
Grant Bellak jumped into his job as head baseball coach at Hanover (Ind.) College with both feet.
Hired to his first head-coaching position on June 1, a few days later the former Franklin (Ind.) College assistant was already recruiting at an event in Cincinnati and spent the next few weeks looking for student-athletes.
Bellak says he expects to have 32 players in the fall and have recruiting classes of 10 to 12 players the next few seasons.
“I felt comfortable with the recruiting area,” says Bellak, who was the recruiting coordinator at Franklin. “Recruiting is the lifeblood of any college program.
“I want athletes who are big and strong. Power bats and power arms play. Power bats can change the game with one swing. Power arms give you more room for error. You don’t have to be perfect.”
Bella, 32, prides himself in finding value where others miss it.
“I plan on bringing that to Hanover and developing that over four years,” says Bellak. “We want mid-major Division I’s calling asking us to play.”
With the Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville and Evansville areas as a base, Bellak already has contacts he developed at Franklin that he can use at Hanover. Both are members of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference — an NCAA Division III circuit.
As a D-III school, Hanover (enrollment 1,100) does not give athletic scholarships. The liberal arts institution places a premium on academics.
“The thing I’ve been preaching on the recruiting trail is that fit matters,” says Bellak. “This is not for you if you are not 100 percent Panthers. You have to fit the academic profile, campus profile and athletic profile.”
Almost all of the seniors in his last three recruiting classes at Franklin had job offers prior to graduation.
Bellak is looking for young men coming to Hanover who want to be more than ballplayers. They have aspirations of pursuing careers as CEOs, lawyers, politicians etc.
“Here at Hanover, our focus is wanting guys who want more,” says Bellak. “What is your ‘why’?’
“We want difference makers.”
The Shayne Stock-coached Hanover Panthers went 8-25 overall and 5-12 in the HCAC.
“You can win a lot here,” says Bellak. “The rest of athletic department, that’s what they’re doing.
“It’s one of those opportunities I felt I couldn’t pass up.”
Hanover got Bellak’s attention the first time he arrived on the southern Indiana campus as a Franklin assistant.
“It’s got that ‘wow factor,’” says Bellak. “It’s the way it is back in the woods overlooking the Ohio River and the architecture. There’s lots of green space.
“It’s absolutely gorgeous.”
Dick Naylor Field at K.T. Young Ballpark, with its natural grass surface and old trees surrounding the outfield, is also picturesque.
At Franklin, Bellak served on a staff with veteran head coach Lance Marshall.
He saw the behind-the-scenes things that it takes to be a head coach — being an administrator and mentor.
“It’s a different mindset,” says Bellak. “Hours are not just devoted to player development, but developing a program as a whole.
“It’s more than just hitting fungoes and throwing BP. You’re engaging the alumni base and fundraising. It’s all the extras, things the outside world doesn’t see.”
Before Franklin, Bellak was a volunteer assistant at Concordia University Chicago in River Forest, Ill., in 2010 and 2011.
A 2004 graduate of Aurora (Ill.) Christian High School, the Big Rock, Ill., native played two seasons at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, Ill., and two at Webster University in St. Louis, Mo.
Bellak was sixth in the National Junior College Athletic Association in stolen bases in 2006 at Waubonsee.
Webster, coached by Bill Kurich, came within six outs of going to the 2008 NCAA D-III World Series.
In 2009, Bellak worked as a student assistant to Kurich.
“Bill knows what it takes to win,” says Bellak of Kurich. “He has the unique ability to get the most out of you.”
Bellak coached three summers with the Prospect League’s Dubois County Bombers in Huntingburg, Ind., in 2009-11 — the last as field manager. One of his players was future major league pitcher Sean Manaea.
In 2009, Bellak graduated from Webster with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education. He earned a masters degree in leadership and management from Liberty University’s online program in 2013. The latter is a precursor to a Masters of Business Administration.
“(The leadership and management masters) helped me take a different perspective to coaching,” says Bellak. “The business world isn’t that different than a team.
“The way a CEO motivates someone in the office is not much different than how a coach motivates someone on the field.”
Grant and wife Natasha Bellak have a daughter — Bexley (2).
Grant Bellak is now the head baseball coach at Hanover (Ind.) College after seven seasons as an assistant at Franklin (Ind.) College. (Hanover College Photo)
Aurora Christian High SchoolBexley BellakBill KurichCincinnatiConcordia University ChicagoDick Naylor Field at K.T. Young BallparkDubois County BombersEvansvilleFranklin CollegeGrant BellakHanover CollegeHeartland Collegiate Athletic ConferenceIndianapolisLance MarshallLeadershipLiberty UniversityLouisvilleManagementNatasha BellakNational Junior College Athletic AssociationNCAA Division IIIPanthersProspsect LeagueSean ManaeaSecondary educationWaubonsee Community CollegeWebster University
Franklin College’s Marshall continually gets committed student-athletes
April 13, 2017 stvkrh905 33 Comments
Getting a group of athletes to commit to a common goal.
That’s what coaches strive to do with their teams.
Lance Marshall has been able to get his Franklin College baseball players to bond for the good of the program and the school for nearly two decades now.
“The key is people,” says Marshall, who has led the NCAA Division III Grizzlies since the 1998 season. “Sometimes you may get more in the pitching department and sometimes you may get more in the hitting department. But we try to go get good guys and help them continue careers that they’re proud of. We’ve been fortunate to recruit terrific student-athletes.
“We all realize at some point athletic careers are going to come to an end.”
Franklin’s 2017 roster includes 31 players — 29 with hometowns in Indiana, one from Kentucky and one from Minnesota.
Wherever they come from, Marshall is proud to field a team of “hard-nosed, competitive guys who play hard and play the right way.”
Helping mold the team are assistants Grant Bellak and Vinny Trivisonno.
“These two young guys do a terrific job,” says Marshall. “I’m really fortunate to have them here.”
The Griz — off to a 16-9 start — are slated to play 27 games this spring in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, mostly in three-game series. The loop has opted to play 18 conference games in 2018 (nine doubleheaders).
“Baseball is played in series, especially at the big league level and D-I,” says Marshall. The pros to a three-game series is that there is a winner and loser in each if all three games are completed. The down side is the added expense of staying an extra night on the road.
“We’re in a very competitive conference,” says Marshall. “It seems like all the programs continue to get better.”
The 10-team HCAC (which has scheduled its 2017 postseason tournament May 11-13) has been represented in the D-III regional championship game four of the past five seasons — Rose-Hulman in 2014 and 2016, Manchester in 2012 and 2013.
The conference tournament winner receives an automatic bid to the regional. In 2015, the D-III tournament was expanded from 48 to 56 teams.
There are eight regionals with six or eight teams in each. Each regional champion advances to the D-III World Series May 26-31 in Appleton, Wis. Because of a scheduling conflict at Fox Cities Stadium, the 2018 World Series will be held at another location to be determined.
“I’d love to see the championship pool expanded to 64 teams,” says Marshall. “D-III is making a move to (four-team) regionals and (on-campus two-team) super regionals like DI. That’s an exciting change.”
Marshall is also part of the athletic administration. Working with Franklin athletic director Kerry Prather and fellow assistant AD Mary Johnston, Marshall has enjoyed being involved in all FC sports.
“I love being here and being able to support everything,” says Marshall. “We have a ton of outstanding coaches down here.”
Marshall is a 1988 graduate of Springfield (Ill.) High School, where he played for Jim Steinwart. In 2016, Steinwart’s Senators were IHSA Class 3A state runners-up.
Jim Pransky coached Marshall for one year at Quincy University and Bob Fabrizio coached him for three at Elmhurst College.
Marshall graduated from Elmhurst in 1993 and went on to be a graduate assistant for two years at Rockford College, assistant for two years at Elmhurst and also served as an instructor, regional director and manager of operations for Chicago White Sox Training Centers.
He was an associate scout for the Houston Astros from 1995-98.
Lance Marshall has been head baseball coach at Franklin College since the 1998 season. He is also an assistant athletic director for the Grizzlies.
Bob FabrizioChicago White Sox Training CentersD-III World SeriesElmhurst CollegeFranklin CollegeGrant BellakHeartland Collegiate Athletic ConferenceHouston AstrosJim PranskyJim SteinwartKerry PratherLance MarshallMarshall CollegeMary JohnstonNCAA Division IIIQuincy UniversitySpringfield High SchoolVinny Trivisonno
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1,001 Ants
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100 Painters of Tomorrow
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100 Works of Art That Will Define Our Age
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120 Ways to Annoy Your Mother (And Influence People)
“A self-help parody that mocks the genre's tendency to simplify delightfully complex topics. Illustrator Ana Benaroya applies her punk aesthetic to the punchy, irreverent book.”
“A cheeky guide for rebellious 11-14 year old girls. Author-illustrator Ana Benaroya supplies a mix of ironic and practical advice as she tackles a curious mix of pursuits, such as 'How Not to Hate the Girl Next Door.'”
18th-Century Fashion in Detail
“Close-up and detailed photographs highlight exquisite embroidery, lace, pleats, stitching, and hand-painted fabrics alongside line drawings of the complete garment… Recommended for clothing designers and anyone interested in 18th-century attire.”
“Provides an amazing up-close look at fashion of the 18th century.”
1950s in Vogue: The Jessica Daves Years, 1952-1962
“Traces the tidal shift at the essential magazine during the editorship of Jessica Daves, who not only featured fashion but also the cultural output of artists and literary figures, laying the groundwork for the brand that still thrives today.”
20th Century Jewelry & the Icons of Style
“A tome profiling the jewelry collections of 13 stylish women of the last century….uses incredible pieces of jewelry as entry points into the lives of some of history’s most exciting and notorious females”
— National Jeweler
3, 2, 1, Go!
“Morgand's silk-screen illustrations are lively and colorful.”
“This lively, eye-catching counting book features animal competitors squaring off in Olympics-style athletic events… Countable objects throughout provide an interactive element, while Morgand's bright color-contrasting screenprints evoke retro children's book illustrations.”
70s Style and Design
“A journey through this iconic era, each page filled with fashion, music, design and literature…. A study that is meticulously researched and wittily written.”
Abydos: Egypt's First Pharaohs and the Cult of Osiris
“In a masterly fashion… does justice to one of ancient Egypt’s most significant archeological sites. Highly recommended”
“…the appearance of an up-to-date book on the site is most welcome.”
— Historian
“A superbly organized and impressively illustrated history of this seminally important site…The culture, the history, and archeological discoveries superbly presented.”
ABZZZZ...: A Bedtime Alphabet
“Sleepy children won't make it until the end of this well-conceived and sharply designed alphabet… Angular, screenprintlike graphics in zingy reds, yellows, and blues aren't exactly sleepy, but poring over the details may still quiet some young minds.”
“This anything-but-boring read will delight little ones and will have them yawning in no time as they practice sounds and letters. The meditative, poetic nature of the text pairs perfectly with the minimalistic, graphical, yet bright and captivating visual elements. Early literacy advocates and children alike will dream sweetly after enjoying this interactive book as a group or as a one-on-one night-time story… Offers proof that getting to sleep doesn't have to be dull.”
Across the Arctic Ocean: Original Photographs from the Last Great Polar Journey
“Brings new life to this nearly forgotten journey… With hundreds of stunning photographs, entries from Herbert's journals, an introduction from explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, and original documents from the Herbert collection, Across the Arctic Ocean is perfect for the adventurous and travel-minded. With the future of the Arctic threatened by climate change and development, it is a timely reminder of its austere glory.”
— Shelf Awareness
Adjaye: Africa: Architecture: Compact Edition
“This mix of travelogue and architectural study tracks eminent architect Adjaye's journeys to 53 African cities in an effort to document the continent's built environment. The volume features plenty of photography and numerous interesting structures, such as the expressive water towers of Bamako and the modernist villas of Nouakchott, bur Adjaye's aim is to capture the overall built traits of a place.”
Advanced Textiles for Health and Well-Being
“…does an effective job of showing design-driven science and its application.”
“…an authoritative resource for design professionals and fashion students alike.”
— The Midwest Book Review
“A useful update …[that] will be of interest to both students and professionals in design or textiles who want to explore new fibers.”
“…transcending the bounds of what’s predictable.”
— Surface
The Adventures of Darius and Downey
“Sure, it includes some cool images… but it’s Ed Zipco’s firsthand account of their trials and tribulations that really slams it home.”
— Format Magazine
Advertising: New Techniques for Visual Seduction
“Examples of recent advertising with that extra something that manages to communicate in the blink of an eye.”
— CMYK Magazine
African Goldweights: Miniature Sculptures from Ghana 1400-1900
“A significant trove of whimsical and artistic miniature sculptures. Of interest to most collectors, this book will especially delight aficionados of African art and folk art.”
— Antiques & The Arts Weekly
African Textiles: Color and Creativity Across a Continent
“Full color illustrations of items such as Pygmy bark cloth from the Congo and Ethiopian weavings makes for an outstanding presentation any library strong in African art history will relish.”
“Readers with a passion for textiles will … settle in with the thrilling reds and calming indigos that Gillow has put before our eyes.”
— Surface Design Journal
Afterwards: Contemporary Photography Confronting the Past
“Images in the book are neither didactic nor polemical, but do raise questions about how we perceive and process visual information.”
— Black & White Magazine
AGI: Graphic Design Since 1950
“Distinctive and beautifully illustrated.”
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“Food is the hook. It’s the commonality.”
– Kristina McMillan, Director,
NorWest Co-op Community Food Centre Winnipeg
What is a Community Food Centre?
The Alex Community Food Centre (CFC) is a welcoming place for people to come together to grow, cook, share and advocate for good food for all. The CFC provides people with access to high-quality food in a dignified setting through healthy meals and an affordable produce market. People learn cooking and gardening skills, and kids get their hands dirty in the garden and kitchen in ways that expand their tastebuds and help them make healthier food choices. Community members find their voices on the issues that matter to them, and people find friends and support. CFCs offer multifaceted, integrated and responsive programming in a shared space where food builds health, hope, skills and community.
Along with our partners, Community Food Centres Canada, we envision a Canada where everyone has the means and knowledge necessary to access good, healthy food in a dignified way, and the ability and opportunity to be heard on the food issues that affect them. We envision a robust, diverse food economy that sustains farmers and the land, and a social consensus that food is a key determinant of health and a public good.
CFC Impact Report
The 2017 CFC Impact Summary provides a snapshot of the success stories of our first year of programming.
Food Access Programs offer healthy food to those in need in a respectful and dignified manner.
Drop-in community meals
Affordable produce market
Pedal powered smoothies for kids
Healthy Food Skills
Food Skills Programs develop healthy food behaviours and skills, primarily in the areas of gardening and cooking.
FoodFit
International Ave Kitchen
Education & Engagement Programs work to give individuals and communities voice and agency on food and hunger issues.
Cooking Up Justice
Advocacy Office
Community Action Training
Learn more about Community Food Centres at:
To stay informed about The Alex CFC, sign up for our newsletter!
Sign up for The Alex CFC newsletter
Meet Gord and Tanya
Gord and his wife Tanya grew up in food-insecure households. “I didn’t eat vegetables as a kid,” says Gord. “I didn’t eat much of anything.”
Though both Gord and Tanya work, making ends meet is tough: they are key providers to their immediate and extended family, and help Tanya’s sister and her son, who has special needs. The financial pressure on them is high. For years now, quick, cheap, and accessible fast foods, soda, and processed snacks have been the foundation of their daily meals.
Joining their local Community Food Centre has been a big change for them. Their a-ha moment came when they learned how much sugar goes into the most common convenience food items. That’s when the alarm bells really went off.
“There’s fruit and vegetables in my meals now. There’s no foil or shiny wrappers. I’m not unwrapping my meals anymore.”
Gord has lost weight and his blood pressure readings have come down. Both he and Tanya are eating less sugar and are cooking more at home. Gord is even jogging 3.5 km every day to pick Tanya up at work.
“We have a new awareness that eating well changes the way you can be active. I’ve never felt this good in my life.”
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About Norris Burkes
Read Columns Online
Listen to Audible Columns
Central America Visit Brings Perspective on the Privileged Life
Home/Central America Visit Brings Perspective on the Privileged Life
This past week, my wife and I flew to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to visit my daughter and to bring three suitcases of books donated by my readers for Honduran children. The visit inspired some spiritual perspective into the privileged life I live as a North American.
For instance, there’s nothing like flying into the murder capital of the world to bring perspective to the Biblical question: “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”
According to a 2014 UN Global Study, San Pedro Sula is the world’s most dangerous city with three murders a day, making a Honduran life almost 15 times less valuable than anyone else’s on the planet.
Those facts alone sent us speeding out of the city in our rented four-wheel drive and toward the rural town where our daughter, Sara, teaches in a private bilingual school. Yet even at highway speed, we felt like we were passing from the proverbial frying pan and into the fire. Traffic accidents represent the second leading cause of violent death in Honduras.
Four hours later, we rolled into the darkened, foggy town of Marcala and checked in to our hotel.
Our work began early the next day when Sara introduced us to her fifth/sixth grade combination class at the Marcala Bilingual School. Soon we could see the education system offered another lesson in perspective.
The humble school was a well-kept two-story, cinder-block affair sitting atop a bare cement floor, protected from tropical rains by only a corrugated tin roof. Walls were well decorated while the windows were simple cut-outs in the cinderblock walls with steel bars to keep out the unwanted.
Sara assigned us to teach the English block, so each day we gave grammar lessons, graded papers, proctored exams and played charades with English vocabulary words.
The lessons inspired perspective into the difficulty of learning English as a second language, a language with 42 pronouncable sounds. The use of the definite article makes English particularly tricky. But, trickiest of all is that most verbs have three forms. Still, the kids persevere because they know that English brings increased opportunity.
We ended our lesson just before lunch so that we could distribute some of the donated books to Sara’s class. We unzipped the suitcase and quickly witnessed a fresh perspective into the quenching power of books to a thirsty mind. After selecting small piles of books, the children returned to their desks where they read the books aloud to one another.
Thirty minutes later, we were eating our lunch and watching the kids play soccer when Sara pointed out a slight ninth-grade boy. “That’s Jaime,” she whispered. “He’s a real math whiz. You should go meet him.”
So I did.
During the next several minutes, Jaime inadvertently revealed some perspective into the privileges of being a North American versus a Central American.
Speaking in perfect English, this storeowners’ son described the joys of playing video games and riding a bike. But most of all he enjoys studying. “I want to go to Harvard or Yale,” he added with a naïve confidence.
When I reported back to his teacher, my daughter was moved by his determination.
“I hope so,” she said. “Unfortunately, our town doesn’t have a bilingual high school, so he may have to settle for public school where opportunities are limited.”
Finally, when I think of all we have as North Americans, I find the best perspective in a cryptic chapter of Luke’s gospel where Jesus reportedly says, “…to whom much is given, from him much will be required.” (12:48).
If you’d like to help me get Jaime to school next year, write me at ask@thechaplain.net or P.O. Box 247, Elk Grove, CA 95759. Or leave a message at (843) 608-9715.
Norris Burkes2015-01-28T08:50:38-08:00
You Never Even Call Me By My Name
Stop the hatin’; it ain’t helpin’!
God Loves Us Even When We Fumble the Ball
Holiday Newsletters Bring Surprises
Feeling the Feeling of Christmas
Norris Burkes
Norris Burkes is a freelance writer and spiritual columnist. His column takes a spiritual, often comical - if not irreverent - look at everyday life. He first started writing the column for Florida Today on October 5, 2001 and is now syndicated in nearly 40 papers around the country!
More From Norris
Where To Read
Copyright 2020 Norris Burkes | All Rights Reserved
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Mookie Betts goes 3-for-3 with 3 homers, including a dinger vs Shohei Ohtani
Mookie Betts is crushing the ball in the early going of the 2018 MLB season.
MLBBy Matt Clapp on April 18, 2018 April 18, 2018
If you’re a Boston Red Sox fan or Mookie Betts fantasy owner (*proudly raises hand*), you had a nice Tuesday night.
The 25-year-old star went 3-for-3 (with two walks), with all of those hits being of the dinger variety in a 10-1 win over the Angels. And the first homer came against rookie sensation Shohei Ohtani to lead off the game (though Ohtani did have to leave with a blister and inning later).
Video of Mookie’s three homers:
He can bowl 300 and do THIS.#TipOfTheCap, @mookiebetts. pic.twitter.com/l1q6YEVWuR
Betts now leads the majors in batting average (.389), runs scored (19), wOBA (.534), wRC+ (246), and is tied for the top WAR (1.5) according to FanGraphs.
Then factor in that the Red Sox have an MLB-best record at 14-2, and you’d have a pretty great argument for Betts as the AL MVP to this point of the very young season.
Boston Red SoxLos Angeles AngelsMookie Betts
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.
He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.
View all posts by Matt Clapp
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The Donkey And The Bridge
ancestors and animists: an interview with daniel fooR
Podcast one: working with the dead as social justice allies
My great-grandparents' generation on my mother's side, collecting firewood with their donkeys in the village of Ionoi, amongst the mountains of North-Western Greece on the border of Albania.
Greetings all --
Joining me today is Dr. Daniel Foor: Accomplished ritualist, teacher, initiate and practitioner of West African Ifa/Orisha traditions. He's also the author of the brilliant book Ancestral Healing: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing. After many years in the San Francisco Bay Area, Daniel, his wife, and their new baby girl have settled in Asheville, North Carolina, from where he has been training practitioners of ancestral lineage healing.
In addition to the ongoing apprentice trainings, Daniel is currently launching a unique online Animism course, where students from around the world will gather, practice, and discuss online the teachings that Daniel shares via video on animist ethics and pragmatic rituals for relating with our other-than-human kin. What I love about Daniel's work and approach is that it's down-to-earth, compassionate yet rigorous, with great attention to nuance and the basic skills and practicalities of ritually working with ancestors.
In our conversation below, we touched on a wealth of topics including:
Why Animism?
How can adapting Animist ethics and practices contribute to healing both the environment and our relations with non-humans?
What is a God, and how do Gods relate to ancestors?
Am I still British/Jewish/bi-sexual/Hispanic/etc. when I die?
How can ancestors work act as allies towards social justice?
Why must social justice expand to include the dead, and non-human beings?
Please enjoy the podcast below and if you're intrigued and/or moved by Daniel's work, check out his website:
ancestralmedicine.org
Dr. Daniel Foor
Daniel Foor is a licensed psychotherapist and a doctor of psychology. He has led ancestral and family healing intensives throughout the United States since 2005. He is an initiate in the Ifa/Orisha tradition of Yoruba-speaking West Africa and has trained with teachers of Mahayana Buddhism, Islamic Sufism, and different Indigenous paths, including the older ways of his European ancestors. He's the author of Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing, and he currently lives in Asheville, NC.
Click on the PODCAST image to access the interview
(the main link isn't working for some people at the moment -- try this other link via iTunes if that's the case)
If you enjoyed the music and want to know what was used, the intro track was Egúngún by Asabioje Afenapa, and the outro track was Why People Disappear by His Name Is Alive.
- follow us on facebook to be notified when new articles and podcasts are published -
If you're interested in learning more about Animism and the sorts of subjects talked about in this podcast, here are some resources that could be of interest:
What is Animism?
Short primer by Daniel Foor on what exactly is Animism.
The Wakeful World by Emma Restall-Orr
A rigorous and rich exploration of the science and metaphysics of Animism by British feminist and Druid Restall-Orr that focuses specifically on the ancient and contemporary traditions of Animism within Europe.
The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram
Abram's weaves phenomenology, magic, and lyrical writing to draw attention to the enchanted relations available at our own doorstep, wherever we are.
Animism: Respecting The Living World by Graham Harvey
A comprehensive survey of animist traditions and understandings from around the world.
Bespoken Bones: Ancestors at the Crossroads of Sex, Magick, and Science
Podcast series with Pavini Moray that centres queer, trans, POC, and gender-non-conforming perspectives on how Animism, Sex, Ancestors and Magic can bring about personal and planetary liberation.
Grandparents and Great-Grandparents on my mother's side, Macedonia, Greece. Notice the two mysterious faces in the window.
Christos Galanis is a Canadian/Greek researcher, teacher and artist currently living in the UK.
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Exclusive: Reuters covered Russian officials predicting staged gas attack and US response before the attack occurred
by Justin King • April 15, 2018
Things just got weird. Reuters covered a bizarre Russian claim before the attack.
VIDEO: The Greatest Threat to Both Koreas? Donald Trump’s Mouth.
by Friends of The Fifth Column • November 8, 2017
He could achieve what no other President has, if he shuts up.
This Is How Blatant YouTube’s Censorship Crackdown Has Become
by Isiah Holmes • October 2, 2017
The Internet (TFC)— As a writer and video producer, I must point out one absurdity of YouTube’s recent demonetization crackdown. To make the point, I’ll use a video of mine that’s been affected as an example. By the end, I hope…
Pro-gun or Not, It’s time to stop supporting the NRA
by Justin King • June 28, 2017
(TFC) – The National Rifle Association is missing the target. The organization has two goals: to defend the Second Amendment to the US Constitution and to promote firearm safety. That’s it. That’s it’s entire purpose for being. Firearms safety is…
‘Kill Them All’ Says Congressman As He Declares Christian War on Islamic Horror
by Lauren von Bernuth • June 7, 2017
(TFC) – Over the weekend Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins declared war between “all of Christendom” and “Islamic horror.” Higgins went on to call for all “radicalized Islamic suspects” to be hunted down and killed. Higgins’ message came via a Facebook post on his…
Viral Video Triggers Debate Over Patriotic Education in China, Again
by Friends of The Fifth Column • May 22, 2017
(GVO) – A video showing a schoolboy crying while reciting the biography of communist heroine Lui Hulan went viral online last week in China. The boy was reading the textbook in a “crying tone”, a recital skill widely taught in schools, and ended…
Standing Rock Protectors Threatened With Blockade Of Food And Medicine
by Isiah Holmes • December 1, 2016
Tensions flare once more as North Dakota officials graduate their militarized tactics against protesters. Sheriffs have now threatened a blockade of people, food, and medicine to the camps.
The threats comes on the heels of the US Army Corps of Engineers warning protesters to leave by December 5th. Anyone remaining stay under fear of prosecution for trespassing. Fines have also thrown into the basket of incentives for the water protectors to surrender.
Establishing a blockade represents yet another ultra-militarized tactic used against peaceful American citizens. Denying nourishment and medical treatment is a classic strategy to degrade will and resolve. Combined with harsh weather conditions, water protectors are faced with a tormentingly deadly roulette.
WATCH Kurdish Women Battle Daesh Terrorists in Al-Hasakah (VIDEO)
by Friends of The Fifth Column • November 30, 2016
The war in Syria has affected millions of civilians; there are virtually no women in the country which have not been affected by it. Some women have taken up arms and are fighting the terrorists shoulder to shoulder with men, defending their homeland and their lives.
The Bein Nakhrein female military unit serves in the Democratic Syrian Forces in Al-Hasakah in the north-eastern Syria.
Along with Bein Nakhrein there is the Women’s Self-Defense group. Women are also fighting in the ranks of the Kurdish security forces, As-Saish, and in the Assyrian group an-Natora.
Questions Remain Over Photos Of US Troops In Syria, Rebels Force Them From Town
by Isiah Holmes • September 20, 2016
Months have passed since the first pictures of US special forces operatives surfaced from inside Syria. Their disclosure via an unidentified photographer, who happened to be in the right place at the right time, was followed by disciplinary action by US officials. Questions still persist; not only about what they show, but also how numerous others depicting the same unit arrived on the web. The images themselves challenge the official narrative of how the originals were captured, and from where.
It was originally reported that a photographer encountered the shady squad with Kurdish rebels nearby. Some of those fighters appear in photos taken by the journalist, reputedly employed with “Agency-France Presse”. Officials say the fighters were pushing against Islamic State positions near their de facto capital of Raqqa. The findings surprised some, as Syria was supposed to be largely void of western media.
Revolutionary Communist Party Holds Rally At DNC, Gets Into Altercation
by Eric Scott Pickard • August 2, 2016
The Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP), Bob Avakian’s pseudo-Maoist group, held a guerrilla rally at a cannabis legalization event at the Democratic National Convention in downtown Philadelphia. The event was marked by their normal enthusiasm and soap boxing, but also with a brief altercation. The RevCom delegation marched in with chants of “One, Two, Three, Four, Slavery Genocide and War! Five, Six, Seven, Eight, America was Never Great!” and began speaking.
As you can see in the beginning of the below video, there was a heated verbal exchange taking place between a young man who appears to be a Sanders supporter and another man who had been heckling the RCP presenters; it is unclear whether or not the Sanders supporter was a RCP member, but he clearly was supporting their position in this context. To the right, a man, who was reported as being a “Clinton supporter,” is knocked down, and an altercation begins. See below:
‘Kill! Kill! Kill!’ – Chinese Army Releases First Hip-Hop Recruitment Video
by The Fifth Column • May 4, 2016
In an effort to increase its recruitment levels of Chinese youth, the People’s Liberation Army has released a new ad using hip-hop-style music and visuals that could rival a trailer for the latest Michael Bay movie.
“There are always missions in soldiers’ minds, enemies in their eyes, responsibilities on their shoulders, and passions in their hearts,” the video’s voiceover says, opening on an image of young PLA soldier in uniform.
‘We’ll burn you like we burned the Dawabshehs’ – life as a video activist in Hebron
by The Fifth Column • March 29, 2016
The life of a videographer in the territories.
Israel/Palestine: Summary Execution of Wounded Palestinian
Rights Worker Who Filmed Killing Threatened
Facing Felony Charges, Anti-Abortion Group Cites Free Speech Protections
by The Fifth Column • January 27, 2016
Does free speech cover fake IDs?
5 Israelis Detained Following Wedding Incited Murder (VIDEO)
by The Fifth Column • January 1, 2016
An Israeli wedding video disproves the theory that the Palestinians would be left in peace if they disarmed.
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‘Safety Last!’ Hits Criterion: A Short Take On Three Rare Harold Lloyd Short Films
Peter Labuza○ June 19, 2013
When discussing the “merit” of titles joining The Criterion Collection, it seems like a no-brainer seeing Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor’s Safety Last! as the latest masterpiece to receive a spine number. The Harold Lloyd-starring comedy remains an endlessly delightful romp, to this day as inventive and relatable as it must have felt in 1923 — however, while Safety Last! has had no shortage of a reputation over the years (not to mention easy accessibility), many of Lloyd’s silent shorts have been unavailable in any format. Thankfully, Criterion has given us three new restorations of rarely seen works, the lot of which give more insight into the comic sensibilities of the silent clown. Here’s a short take on each of them:
Take A Chance (Alfred J. Goulding, 1918)
Slapstick in short form only requires the most minor of plots, and the most reliable plot to set any film into motion is “the girl.” The object of Lloyd’s affectations here is his long-time partner Bebe Daniels, who might be more than he can handle. When the two find a seesaw, he does everything in his power to hold on to dear life as she merrily (and violently) swings along without noticing. Chaplin had his selflessness; Keaton was a stone face; Lloyd’s iconic “Glasses Character” is a mischievous little man. While hiding in the back of a car when Daniels goes off with her boyfriend, he sneaks kisses onto her and slaps onto him. Halfway through this one-reeler, the girl is abandoned for a chase as Lloyd is mistaken for an escape convinced and takes to foot, bike, and barrel to escape the Keystone-esque cops. Flailing his legs in the direction of any cop who might be in his path, the final chase shows the clown in an absurdist, Kafkaesque situation, with a final punch line that leaves his fate sealed with a twisted laugh.
Young Mr. Jazz (Hal Roach, 1919)
Navigating a periscope through the sand, Lloyd will do anything to get Bebe Daniels after spying her with her father at the beach — so the two elope into a dangerous speakeasy for a night full of “dancing, drinking, and undesirables.” The two are woefully unprepared for this land of alcohol and gangsters: after they shortly arrive, both fail to notice the half dozen hands that quickly grab every possession they own. They’re trapped in a quagmire between a bartender demanding they pay for their drinks before they indulge them (to the dance floor!), as well as the angry father hunting them down (until he finds himself caught up in his own naughty conquest!). The film’s main setting reflects a Vaudevillian attitude toward narrative, even taking a break from the action to watch the Apple Sisters perform a dance. But it all comes rushing back as Lloyd bursts into action to save his future father-in-law from the gangsters, his long legs as dangerous as any gun.
His Royal Slyness (Hal Roach, 1920)
It takes you a second to realize there’s no camera trick when two Lloyds show up on screen in His Royal Slyness. Instead, it’s Harold as the dopey American boy and his brother, Gaylord, as the Prince of Razzamataz. The prince is more interested in the vamp who’s accompanied his journey to America, and, needing someone to take his place for a possible wedding to the Princess of Themosa, American Lloyd gladly switches places. Lloyd’s American “manners” make him a walking parody amongst the high European royalty; as he walks the castle, every female servant gets a pass, if not two. But he’s also a good guy at heart: when he runs into the princess in disguise, he gladly helps her stop a peasant from beating a horse (in a way most painful to the peasant). She’s played by Mildred Davis, her first role of many with Lloyd (including that of his real-life wife), and who brings a snappy edge to her flirtations. When she allows him to leave a kiss on her hand, he goes right in for the big smooch. Quite plotted at the beginning and the end (this one goes for two reels), His Royal Slyness ends with a revolution and Lloyd leading the charge — but danger is rarely a factor, unless one is afraid of falling into the royal pool.
Safety Last!, along with the three aforementioned short films, are now available on The Criterion Collection.
Peter Labuza
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Ershad says no trust in caretaker government
Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad on Saturday said they do not trust any caretaker government.
Mentioning that the next general election will be held as per the constitution, he noted, "The caretaker government didn't do justice to us."
He made the remarks while speaking at a roadside rally of his party in Birganj upazila of Dinajpur.
UNB said the former military ruler once again announced to field party candidates in all 300 constituencies in the next general polls.
Also, he described his party as a peace-loving one as it does not believe in confrontation, arson attacks and burning people to death.
When asked about the country's prevailing situation over Thursday's verdict in a graft case against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, Ershad said, "Let the judgement come first."
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Jatiya Party wants Muhith’s retirement right away, not in December
A senior Jatiya Party lawmaker has asked the finance minister to go on retirement now, not waiting for December to relieve the nation, taking responsibility of massive damage in the country's economic and banking sectors.
Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu, MP, said, "Taking the responsibility, you please go on retirement today not waiting for December and relieve the country and nation. It is our call."
He was speaking in the parliament taking floor on a point of order on Sunday.
The opposition MP came down heavily on AMA Muhith for not taking actions against different share market scams and irregularities in the banking sector, as well as the capital flights following the recent revelation of names of 27 Bangladeshis in Panama Papers and Paradise Papers-1 and 2.
Noting that the Finance Minister has already said he will go on retirement in December next, Bablu said, "Why will you continue blood haemorrhage till December? Please, relieve the people, the nation and the country. What do you need to wait for December? You please go on retirement today and relieve the Prime Minister and all of us."
The Paradise Papers are a set of 13.4 million confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investments that were leaked, while the Panama Papers are a set of 11.5 million leaked documents that detail financial and attorney-client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities.
Claiming what Panama Papers and Paradise Papers revealed are authentic, he said, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had to resign following the Panama Papers revelation.
The opposition lawmaker claimed that thousands of millions of taka are being laundered from the country. The government and the Finance Minister did not take any step against the capital flights though many names of Bangladeshis involved in money laundering came in Panama Papers and Paradise Papers, he added.
UNB said the Jatiya Party lawmaker wondered why Muhith is scared to take measures against those whose names came in Panama Paper and Paradise Paper-1 and 2.
He said the minister earlier said the government is responsible for the present situation of the banking sector. "Did he mean the head of the government is responsible? The head of the government entrusted you with the finance ministry. You will have to bear the responsibility."
Urging the prime minister to take actions against those whose names came in the Papers, Bablu said that the nation would appreciate her as they (whose names came in Papers) siphoned money of the nation off the country.
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First Impression/Opinions
Past Giveaways
Humble Bundle Store
[Game Review] Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight
By John Joshua Perez on March 24, 2019
Release Date: 2019Genre: 2D Sidescrolling, Action-platformer, MetroidvaniaDeveloped By: bombservicePublisher: Dangen Entertainment, PlayismPlatform: Nintendo Switch, PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One
Have you ever been looking for a good 2D side-scrolling, action-platformer indie game that is worth its price? Then Momodora: RUtM is the game for you!
After finishing Kingdom Hearts III, I found myself lost looking for something to play. I, then, looked at my email and saw that I was given the privilege to play Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight for the Nintendo Switch to review. I was thinking, “I don’t like platformers. It makes me sleepy. I should just reject this.” because most 2D platformers do. However, when I saw some Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight photos and screenshots, it seemed different so I went ahead to play it only to find out that it was good!
This is JJ-kun of The Gamers Camp bringing you my review of Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight.
Introduction of the Game
Momodora: RUtM Title Screen
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, developed by bombservice, is a 2D side-scrolling, action-platformer game released for the Windows PC in 2016 but got recently re-released for the Nintendo Switch via eShop last January 10, 2019. It is actually the fourth installment in the Momodora series so I thought I need to play the first three games before playing this one, but it was not the case, fortunately. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is said to be a prequel for the Momodora game series, so you can play it without playing the first three games!
Kaho standing before an NPC
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight starts with two people from the side with the other one just bringing you up to a certain point saying “This is the point where I can bring you. Going further would be dangerous.” I immediately thought, “Damn, looks like this is a continuation of a game.” The other guy with the main character, Kaho, told you of your quest; to have an audience with the Queen of the land to aid you of removing the curse laid upon the world that affected your village. Unfortunately, you are too late and the Queen is already cursed, ordering the evil monsters to attack.
Honestly, when I started playing Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, it felt like reading a novel or watching a movie about something you have no background of, except you start at the middle. Sure, your quest was laid upon you but the story itself was not given much expansion like as to how the world was cursed. There is a big potential within the story but that opportunity was not grabbed.
Graphical Delivery
Kaho standing at the entrance of Karst City
When I first saw Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, I saw that it was sprite-based, which I was happy about since I am a big retro game lover. I love games using sprites. One example would be Pokemon Black and White, the way it utilized sprites was so escalating.
Nevertheless, Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, delivered its graphics greatly. It had a very distinct graphical style which is a big plus point for me. The attacks of monsters and bosses, the environment which goes with you – like how grasses sway when you walk through it, the animation of each movement, all of it. The game felt very lively and smooth and I love it!
Vs. Boss Lubella, the Witch of Decay
Each area has its own theme and having its own theme means having its own background music to represent it. Personally, while I think the background music, or the OST, is good on its own, I could not really pay attention to the music while playing the game as I was more engaged with the gameplay than the rest that makes up the game. Essentially, in a game, music is one that is most crucial, however, for this game, it seems to break this rule. I would say that the music is good, but not good enough to actually be noticed while playing, in comparison to other games where you really notice the music.
To be fair, the only music that I noticed are the music from the bosses as it really sets the mood for a boss battle. Aside from that, nothing more.
Kaho vs Duchess Lupiar
The gameplay was pretty straightforward. You move, you attack. That’s it. However, what made it different from other action-platformer titles is its limited yet rewarding gameplay. There is the button for ranged attack, melee attack, roll, and jump. You also get abilities mid-game that will help you progress throughout the game!
I did mention “limited yet rewarding gameplay”, right? So, what do I mean by that? What I mean is that the game has difficulty, even just at normal mode, with the addition of the limited controls making it a hard game. Yes, the game is kind of hard but it is not too hard that it removes the fun aspect of the game. It just got the right blend of fun and difficulty. I have to say, I did take breaks from time to time as I was almost close to raging and throwing my controller, but that is exactly the kind of gameplay experience that I like; when something gives you difficulty, you find ways to finish or do the job. Once you do, the feeling you get is of a “very rewarding” feeling, knowing that all of your hard work paid off, and with that I had enjoyed playing the game very much!
Content Value
Kaho traversing the Karst Castle
For its price, $14.99 for the Nintendo Switch or $9.99 for PC via Steam, can I say that its content justifies its price tag? Well, for a game that is very engaging but fairly short, I would say, if you are into Metroidvania games or 2D Action Platformer games, then get this. It’s very worth its price. You would be playing this not just once as it features multiple endings. In addition to this, you get to unlock a New Game+ mode after finishing the game and as well as an Insane mode after finishing the game in Hard mode which would engage you even more!
In fact, I’m already playing the game for the nth time for Insane mode New Game+. It’s just so fun to play!
Kaho vs Heretical Arsonist
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight did not fail me. Like I said earlier, 2D side-scrolling, action-platformer games make me sleepy but Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight did not. It is a fairly short game; Not too short to make it feel lacking nor too long to be boring. I finished the game, including the unlocking of all endings within 4 hours (including my break from my almost-rage quits) and it had me engaged throughout the entire experience. The question, however, still remains: “Is it worth buying?” very much!
Rdein of bombservice, the developer of the game, is doing another 2D side-scrolling, action-platformer game called Minoria, said to be the spiritual successor to Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, with some elements from the latter carrying over with the addition of new ones and I cannot wait for it to get released!
Did you guys like my review of Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight? Did you agree to my points or are there points that you disagree on? Comment it down so I’ll know your thoughts too! Don’t forget to also check out my Facebook page where constantly go live playing games which can be accessed here and my YouTube channel where I upload my stream highlights which can be accessed here.
Until then guys, see you soon!
**A REVIEW COPY WAS PROVIDED INTENDED ONLY TO REVIEW THE GAME, NOT FOR SALE OR RESALE**
2D Action-platformer bombservice metroidvania Momodora Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight Rdein Side-scrolling
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Gives challenge to the player
Limited controls
Awesome graphics and flawless animation
A classic Metroidvania
Newcomer-friendly game
Has balance between fun and difficulty
Story is not much explained
Music can be better
Not for people who do not like exploring
Story - 4.8
Graphical Delivery - 9.2
Music - 6.2
Gameplay - 9.5
Content Value - 9
John Joshua Perez
Full-time student; irregular, Online Teacher, Video Game Journalist, Student Leader, Game Reviewer, Tournament Organizer, Fighting Game Enthusiast, PKMN-ph: Pokemon Philippines' Head Administrator
The Gamers Camp publishes high-quality and non-biased news, reviews, and giveaways for all gamers out there.
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Other Roleplay
General Roleplaying
Dawn of Duty
Thread: Dawn of Duty
Jan 7th, 2020, 10:27:37 PM #1
Aliya Shalynn
TheHolo.Net Poster
February 12th, 2259 - Station Babylon 5, Epsilon System
C&C - Command and Control Observation Dome 1 1630
Lt. David Corwin was enjoying the relative quiet shift at his work station and casually ran a hand through his well kept brown hair, blue eyes watching activity in the docking bays where several Drazi transports were unloading various perishables for trade and refueling. It was all routine and he was hoping that his shift that was ending soon would remain just as peaceful.
His slim face frowned at the jumpgate sequence that was running through his console. There wasn't supposed to be another ship heading through here for another two Earth Standard Hours.
"Commander? Jumpgate's been activated ..." he stated firmly.
Ivanova immediately grew annoyed and her icy stare went right to the gate through the observation window. "Of course it has. Something just had to ruin our shift. What's coming through?"
The four long struts whose points formed a diamond flashed at the very end before the swirling blue vortex appeared, as it always did, when a vessel was exiting hyperspace. The jumpgate was a fixed structure just like the station above Epsilon III.
"Not sure. It's small though." He squinted at the screen. "Can barely pick up uh. Hm ... Um, Commander?"
With a sigh, she responded. "Yes?"
"It's one of our own. A Starfury. And just the one. Attempting to contact the pilot."
"What the hell." Her annoyance was replaced with confusion. "We haven't received notice that any Earthforce fighters were headed our way. Have there been any communications of attacks on our fleet? Could've gotten lost in the battle."
"Negative on that, Ma'am. I ... huh. Okay. This is weird. The pilot ignored my message and sent one of their own."
"Yeah ...that's odd." She squinted at the small spec as the blue vortex disappeared. "What are the scans picking up?" Ivanova had learned one couldn't be too cautious out here and not everything was so simple on the surface.
"Fury is intact with no damage. Weapons offline. The message is standard - requesting to speak to the Commanding Officer."
"Alright. Patch them through. Only one way to find out who our mystery guest is." She cleared her throat. "Babylon Control to Starfury - This is Commander Susan Ivanova of Babylon 5. Please state your designation for processing as previously requested."
"Geesh. It takes you all that long to answer a call? No wonder people bitch about how shitty the docking procedures are," quipped the female voice on the other end.
"Oh for the love of ... Aliya?!" Ivanova leaned over the console, clearly irritated and that shone through her voice. "You weren't supposed to be here for another two days!"
The newly minted Lt. Commander was early on arrival. Aliya Shalynn was requested by the Minbari and approved by the League and council members to assist with diplomatic relations on the station. Ivanova and Shaylnn served together at Station IO under Sheridan and was happy for the reunion, but even her good mood had limits with these antics.
"I was not coming on Valentine's Day. You realize how absurd that is with the pressure to bring you all chocolates and flowers?"
Ivanova laughed, taking all the technicians by surprise. She usually, no, always, hated smart asses and entitled beings that were trying to procure favoritism ... and this pilot slammed B5's operations and bruised the commander's ego in one blow. Everyone kept quiet despite sharing odd looks between them and eying the doppelgänger that was their XO. "So instead of following protocol, you decided to show up unannounced to avoid bringing ... gifts?"
"Nope. I announced it."
Ivanova was afraid to ask. "To who?"
"The captain. We kept it on the QT to surprise ya."
She sighed, half rolling her eyes. "Of course he did. Remind me to thank him later by asking maintenance to shut off the water to his quarters."
Laughter resounded through the channel. "What is it with you and watery vengeance?" Aliya was referring back to their time on Station IO when she threw a Psi Corp member out a three story building who landed in the pool below.
"And what are you doing with that maneuver, Shalynn?" The commander's blue eyes watched the fighter dip low, burn thrusters, and fly off in a hurry out of view with no answer. "What the hell is she doing?"
"Flying closer to the station, Ma'am, but we haven't given her clearance for Cobra Bay yet," said Corwin.
"I know she's flying closer to the station ... Just ... nevermind." She flexed her fingers in annoyance and tried again. "Shalynn... you need to remain in a holding pattern until we can confirm Cobra Bay has room for you."
"Holding pattern? Seriously? With what traffic do I need to hold around? There's no one out here but me."
"That's it. I'm going to kill her. Got the resignation letter already in mind with why I killed her and plea insanity," she muttered. "This'll be the quickest reunuion ever."
"What was that, Ma'am?" asked another tech within earshot.
"Oh nothing. Contemplating murder. Shalynn! I'm serious. I ... I'm watching you in front of the viewport. Are you serious?!"
Ivanova was in awe that Aliya's Starfury was not only slowly passing across the observation dome just over 200 feet away, but the fighter was upside down and her dear old friend was waving at her with a big grin.
"Are you crazy?!" Ivanova screeched, arms outstreched in disbelief. "One wrong thruster hit and you'll collide with the station!" She spun around and glared accusingly at Corwin. "Why didn't you warn me?"
"I ... I ... I couldn't! She flew too close and too fast to get a lock on her," he sputtered out in his defense.
Ivanova turned just enough for Aliya to see her profile and the look shot at her. "It's kinda scary how well I can see you hating on me right now."
"I don't hate you," Ivanova corrected.
"Oh? Is it utter contempt?"
"Corwin! What is the status on Cobra Bay?" she barked, ignoring Aliya.
"Received word that they'll have Bay 14 ready for the Lt. Commander in 30 minutes," said Corwin.
"So that means I can st- ..." Aliya amended that statement with a nervous chuckle feeling the cold death glare of her friend, "... wait at a nice safe distance in a holding pattern around invisible ships."
The thrusters were activated and all C&C personnel gasped and jerked back in defense but the fighter slowly moved backwards to a safe distance before tearing off away from the station.
"Have to admit, that was pretty impressive ..." Corwin said in quiet envy.
"And it'll be the last time it happens too," snapped the commander, but as she looked out the dome, she couldn't help the flicker of smile that appreciated the stunt. "Alright. Fun's over. Back to work everyone ..."
Last edited by Miranda Tarkin; Jan 8th, 2020 at 08:55:32 AM.
Jan 8th, 2020, 11:04:29 AM #2
Alice Desclun
Medlab One, Blue Sector.
Alice thought that Valentine's Day was enough justification to roll her eyes around this time of the year; but apparently some force of nature - or likely sheer idiocy from too many people partaking in unprotected sex - had decided that to add insult to injury, an outbreak of sexually transmitted diseases was the perfect compliment to boxes of cheap chocolates.
The Medical Officer had been among those dealing with the first batch, given the location of Medlab Four in Red Sector, where a variety of establishments for all kinds of entertainment. By all means, Alice wasn't one to scoff at sex work or booze, or even recreational drugs; but if she was the praying kind, she'd bloody sacrifice to whatever god person that people learned to practice safe sex. It was bad enough within a single species, but when you mixed human and alien of all kinds, it was a recipe for an even greater disaster. Lots seemed to think that different species, many of them unable to reproduce, was enough of a guarantee.
Bunch of morons.
Given how diverse cultures were aboard the station, it was going to be a diplomatic mess with some upon mention of their people being screened better and some populations get preventive treatments and shot to ensure optimal containment. Even though the medical team had narrowed down to two establishments the origin point; given the amount of known patrons, and the other ramifications such dangerous behaviors could have, they still had to operate on a large scale. It wasn't the first medical issue of the kind on the station, as it had been the case in the early months of Babylon 5 operating; and Alice had heard of similar events elsewhere in the galaxy; but it remained frustrating.
For the most part, the infection wasn't life threatening; but the station had better use of its personnel and equipment than treating a random but large scale mess because people couldn't practice safe sex. And she didn't care about pathetic excuses such as blame game, or cross-species sex being supposedly safe.
Yeah right, in their stupid narrow little minds that likely had the most boring approach to carnal endeavors anyway.
Given her first row seat with the outbreak, Dr. Franklin had requested she came to Medlab One, to be the one speaking with the diplomatic attaches, to ensure that all big wigs on the station were aware of the risk. Alice didn't mind most of them, and traumatizing some of those on the more skittish side was somewhat amusing.
Among them, two had been particularly uncomfortable when she had spoken to them. Vir Cotto had been horrified at the news, though she believed that it had more to do with him having to tell his boss to behave in any sort of way. The other had unsurprisingly been Lennier. While nobody would ever guess her personal dislike of the Minbari, she always preferred leaving other doctors to deal with them. She had had no choice in the matter; but at least his utterly shocked reaction had proven mildly satisfying. She cared little how weird the current situation of the Minbari ambassador was; but as she had reminded her attache, it was standard to inform the ambassador's attache of such medical threats. It could also facilitate crowd control within a given population, for listening to one's leader could sway things.
She still had others to speak with, including Na'Toth, who was unavailable until later in the day. For once in her life, her friend would have to care about whatever got in G'Kar's bed.
"Dr. Desclun?"
Alice looked at the nurse.
"Yes?"
Please don't make it a secondary outbreak anywhere on the station, or more chocolate indigestion because some aliens didn't realize it wasn't a delicacy friendly to their systems.
"We were informed that Lt. Commander Shalynn arrived two days early; and Dr. Franklin is unavailable to take care of her check up. Since you're already here, would you handle it?"
Well, at least she could pass on the news about the outbreak to her, as she also needed to let Commander Ivanova about the situation anyway.
Welcome to Babylon 5 where intergalactic STDs arrive in time for Valentine's Day so everyone can partake!
Maybe that would be a good way to end this commercial nonsense though. Except the happy hour special, that one she could keep.
"Sure thing. I'll see her in twenty minutes though, because I need to meet with the Balosian attache who has just arrived."
Last edited by Alice Desclun; Jan 8th, 2020 at 11:23:29 AM.
Lt. Commander Aliya Shalynn rocked on her heels, noting curiously the hustle and bustle of Medlab One. She was dressed in uniform, the only item she could stuff in the fighter as it had no cargo or compartment space. The familiar blue uniform of fleet personnel now had a gold and silver stat bar underneath the Earth Alliance Emblem over the left breast that designated her promotion. The rest of her belongings would be making its way here within a few hours on a Earthforce transport that was also delivering large packages to the Postal Service on station.
Even arriving two days early, quarters were already assigned and cleaned thanks to the captain who put a discreet rush on it. It was stocked with basic necessities for command staff and Aliya was looking forward to browsing the Zocalo, the station's marketplace, to fill in the gaps and get a good look at station commerce.
It wasn't a surprise that the Cobra Bays weren't quite as ready since that would have raised suspicion with Ivanova why one of the fighters had to be moved and inspected since Delta and Zeta squads already had been given a tedious and thorough once over two weeks prior. So she waited, as promised, in a ridiculous holding pattern, pushing Ivanova's patience by spinning the Fury clockwise for 15 minutes then counter clockwise for the last 15 until she got clearance.
Not once did Susan contact her to continue their chat but knowing the commander, she was busy cracking the whip in C&C and informing Sheridan of her unorthodox arrival. Odds were 50/50 between him finding the humor in the stunt and a mild verbal reprimand.
Probably both, she mused, waiting to find out when she'd be squeezed in to see the doctor.
"Lt. Commander?"
Aliya slightly turned her head and smiled at the nurse that returned. She was the one that originally checked Aliya in. "So ... when do I get probed?"
The nurse blinked and then shook her head. "Your probing will be in 20 with Dr. Desclun."
"Not Franklin?" The chief medical officer usually handled this formality with command staff.
"He's otherwise occupied. And you did come unannounced."
She defensively held up her hands. "Oh ... it's not a problem. I mean, I can wait as long as needed. Just protocol's the head guy."
"And it probably would've been him, but we've been dealing with ... a situation," she explained, tapping away at her com pad on the way to her station.
"What kinda situation?" she asked curiously. "Is this why the lab's full of all sorts of beings?"
"Yeah." The nurse briefly looked up. "There's been a little pre-Valentine's partying going terribly wrong."
Aliya made a face. "Do I even wanna know what that means?"
"Considering your rank. Yep."
"Okay, let me rephrase - do I need to hear about it now?" she said with a lopsided smirk.
The nursed rolled her eyes and could tell this one was going to be a handful around here. "No. I suppose you don't. But now please, have a seat and stay out of trouble until Desclun can see you."
She brought a hand to her chest and looked absolutely mortified. "I'm not trouble."
The nurse's challenging eyes glanced upwards. "You buzzed the station closer than any crazy fighter pilot dared to do since the station went online."
"Damn. Fair point," she muttered and took a seat with a shrug, "word travels fast around here ..."
Word might travel quickly aboard the station; but Dr. Desclun was too deep into managing the current health crisis that Lt. Commander Shalynn's antics had eluded her. Under other circumstances she might have found the story hilarious and been among the first to discuss it upon hearing; but it really was the least of her concerns now.
The Balosian attache had been among the most annoying she had had to deal with. As open as they could be about sex contrary to other populations, they were among thinking that interspecies sex brought little to no issue, and that if some of them disliked one other type of aliens, everybody avoided bedding them too. It had required patience and firmness from the Medical Officer to make it clear that Balosian dancers and some diplomatic agents had been at the origin point of the outbreak, along with Centauri waiters and some of their sexual partners.
At least the attache hadn't shrieked, so Alice counted that as a positive, given how her day had gone so far.
She had also made sure to be done a few minutes before seeing the new Lt. Commander, so she would do a quick review of her file. While everything appeared in order, the check-up was mandatory. And given the situation, Alice would also strongly suggest a shot that was normally mandatory. Better safe than sorry. Whatever the military's carnal preferences were, she'd rather have her covered, and she knew that Franklin and the other Medical officers were on board too.
Exiting the small examination room she had been allocated during her stay in Medlab One, Alice walked up to the waiting area and easily recognized her next patient, and offered a polite smile.
"Lt. Commander Shalynn? I am Dr. Alice Desclun. Please follow me."
Once they were in the privacy of the small medical room, Alice double checked something on the screen from the other woman's file.
"Thank you for your patience. We have been dealing with an outbreak of sexually transmitted disease and assorted infection in the last while. I haven't briefed Commander Ivanova yet; but since you are the newest addition to our leadership, here you go."
She smirked, clearly tired of having to explain that.
"So I hope for both your sake, your partners', and the medical personnel's, that you know how to practice safe sex. I could use more people who still use their brains when they want to bang."
Aliya was true to her word and stayed out of trouble. She just sat there, a polished shoe over her knee, watching the buzzing medlab. The short time she was there three Centauri, four Balosions, and one Gaim came in for assistance. She noticed how the Centauri and Balosians were herded towards one area ad the Gaim was escorted to an isolab for an examination.
Perhaps she should have let the nurse explain because this was disconcerting with the amount of patients here. She shrugged it off since the nurse had her hands full and needed to take care of the patients instead of filling her on the situation. There will be time to learn about later and Aliya had every confidence that Franklin and his team would manage.
Her mind wandered to her to do list. After here, it was checking in with security to get her hand link and then to see the captain. Hopefully by that time, her belongings will arrive and she could get to unpacking.
The doctor's arrival caught her attention and she looked up at the woman who arrived, nodding in confirmation before rising to attention. Desclun was right to business and had to take a few quick steps forward to keep pace with her. Aliya appreciated the efficiency and hopped onto the examination table.
To say that she was surprised was an understatement. Out of all the potential diseases running around a station filled with a quarter of a million beings, sexy time fun time consequences wasn't even on her top five.
"Yeah... the nurse mentioned something about it. Just no details," she said, unclasping the jacket collar and slipping it off, leaving her in a white dress shirt. "I was really hoping to avoid them a bit longer ... but hey! Happy fucking Valentine's Day around here."
She tossed the jacket over to the nearby chair and chuckled, unsure if her decision to arrive early was a good idea. "And you don't need to worry about me."
Aliya curled her hands around the sides of the table, slightly leaning forward and smirked. "Trust me ... that's not the kinda trouble I get into. So, you've got my brain on your side, Doc."
Last edited by Miranda Tarkin; Jan 9th, 2020 at 10:16:41 PM.
Jan 12th, 2020, 09:49:16 AM #6
Alice appreciated that the Lt. Commander was reactive and she gave her a quick nod as the other woman dressed down to her white shirt from the get go. As silly as it might sound, some hated these check ups and tried to make her life difficult. And with the current health crisis, she had no patience for those wanting to do that,especially when it concerned many people and not just being a pain in their medical officer's ass.
Putting on clean gloves after checking the records, she walked up to the examination table and began the routine physical, grateful for the small equipment that made it quicker and more on par to check heart and lungs as well.
"Yeah, safe-sex seems to be on people's top three things to be careless about, regardless of their species," she quipped back.
She carried on with the examination, finding everything just fine with Shalynn, as per expected, which was nice with how her expectations of people' actual brains had been trampled over recently.
"Glad to have your brain on my side, Ma'am. Much appreciated."
Stepping back after a few minutes, she nevertheless brought up the other shot.
"Just to be on the safe side, I'd recommend getting the optional shot ZM-960. I saw you didn't get it on your file. I trust your judgement; but I am planning to bring it up to Commander Ivanova later today so we make it mandatory for the time being."
Jan 12th, 2020, 08:58:04 PM #7
She was a practical sort with these examinations. If you followed directions and didn't create a fuss, it would be over before you knew it. The doc was thorough and to the point too, which made for the perfect combination of time spent wisely. Aliya gave the doc a half smile with her approval if not being a complete idiot with personal matters of the bed variety.
"Uh ..." she hedged with the mention of the shot and grimaced. "Yeah, I didn't get it last time because I really didn't need it. And I don't really need it now because the partying that is commencing won't be following me to bed now or for a significantly long time."
Not that she wanted to go into her non-existent sex life, but that was what this was really about for the officer. She hadn't had anyone she clicked with in years not since IO or Mars. Being on the destroyer in close quarters was a bad idea for a love life if things turned south, and she wasn't the type to go looking for a one night stand at port. Her work on Earth playing politics kept her too busy to do either and her heart wasn't into it either. She enjoyed the camaraderie of her squadron, fellow soldiers, and friendships created over the years. That sustained her. Babylon 5 will too. She already had friends here, even if Ivanova wanted to strangle her, and the old flame that was stationed here had become a close confident and friend over the years, even if they've not seen each other since Mars.
"I'll just sign the waiver again, doc. But I agree that the commander would want to know you're recommending it for the more adventurous staff."
Alice didn't press the matter further about the Lt. Commander's sex life, or seemingly lack of such matters. It wasn't her business, as long as the other woman was healthy. And really she could understand, given how minimal her carnal ventures had been in the past few years. And really, she wasn't interested in changing it.
"You're good to go and I'll have you re-sign the waiver, Ma'am," she replied with a polite smile.
"I've signed this one a few times myself, so I understand."
She had been in two monogamous relationships in most of her life, and the few non-platonic encounters with a certain Narn had always been safe, because they both ensured out of habit that they were healthy. And Na'Toth had no interest in any formal relationship or fancy emotional bonding. They had each other's back and once a year or so, either of them ended on said back; and it was good enough for the Medical Officer. Once a widow, and now with a still alive but borderline comatose ex boyfriend, she had better things to do with her life than tie herself to another living being in any mid to long term fashion.
She handed the portable device for the military to enter her digital signature.
"Welcome to Babylon 5, Lt. Commander. Thanks for your patience with the mess we're in."
Her posture relaxed a little as she returned the device to her lab coat's pocket.
"Given the Valentine's Day shenanigans, too many shops attempt to sell chocolates, that make a bad drugstore brand from Earth seem palatable. I'd recommend to stick with the ones from The Kitchen on Lambda 6. Good choices ranging from basics to some interesting new takes. And if you're planning to celebrate your arrival, this time of the year has the Eclipse Cafe run really good Happy Hours."
She grinned and clasped her hands before her.
"Of course, as a doctor, I shall remind you to consume all such things in moderation; but making the best of a silly commercial holidays can make it a little less annoying in my experience."
"Awesome. I'll warm my fingers up to scribble my name," she jested as she curled her dominant fingers and hopped off the examination table. She took the com pad and swirled her index finger along the cool screen before handing it back.
"There ya go." She grabbed her jacket and slipped it on. "I will say, the station has a special way of making someone feel welcomed around here. Who knew it'd a be a serious case of alien cooties."
While buttoning her collar, Aliya listened to the recommendations with a bemused smile. She wasn't big on sweets. For some reason the cloying taste of sugary goods were sickeningly potent to her palate. Some pastries that weren't too fried or doused with too much sweetness did well with her. Going through basic, people joked that she was rabbit with the amount of raw vegetables she could pound away.
"Thanks, but I'll pass on the chocolates. Which dismisses the chocolate overload concern. However, a nice Happy Hour with some food is the right kind of celebrating." She tugged the hem of the jacket, feeling like a properly dressed soldier now. "Any recommendations on the food there? Or is it that general, it's all good kinda thing?"
Jan 14th, 2020, 05:13:10 PM #10
The Lt. Commander was giving a good first impression to the Medical Officer. Alice could use people she could speak to and who had a good head on their shoulders. And a decent sense of humor didn't hurt either/. She couldn't help chuckling at the remark about alien cooties.
"It's not a yearly feature so far; and I hope it stays that way," she added with a smirk.
As she updated Shalynn's file, confirming the waiver into the system and ticking all appropriate boxes for the checkup, she nodded to the brunette's comment about chocolates. After all different tastes were quite the norm even within a single species and community.
"Oh, the Eclipse Cafe has some good dishes too. And you might still want to check the Kitchen on Lambda 6, given how many various products they have, all of quality. As for the food, well they are finishing to remodel a couple of cafes in the northern part of the Zocalo, so I'm curious to see what will open."
She mused a moment, and shrugged lightly.
"I don't recommend the Jupiter Bistro, even though it tends to be a favorite for a bunch of people. I find the food either too bland for their savory options, and way too sweet for their desserts."
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Theoretical Biology and Medical Modelling
Identification of influential proteins in the classical retinoic acid signaling pathway
Hamed Ghaffari ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6673-593X1 &
Linda R. Petzold1,2
Theoretical Biology and Medical Modelling volume 15, Article number: 16 (2018) Cite this article
In the classical pathway of retinoic acid (RA) mediated gene transcription, RA binds to a nuclear hormone receptor dimer composed of retinoic acid receptor (RAR) and retinoid X receptor (RXR), to induce the expression of its downstream target genes. In addition to nuclear receptors, there are other intracellular RA binding proteins such as cellular retinoic acid binding proteins (CRABP1 and CRABP2) and cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, whose contributions to the RA signaling pathway have not been fully understood. The objective of this study was to compare the significance of various RA binding receptors, i.e. CRABP1, CRABP2, CYP and RAR in the RA signaling pathway. In this regard, we developed a mathematical model of the RA pathway, which is one of the few models, if not the only one, that includes all main intracellular RA binding receptors. We then performed a global sensitivity analysis (GSA) to investigate the contribution of the RA receptors to RA-induced mRNA production, when the cells were treated with a wide range of RA levels, from physiological to pharmacological concentrations.
Our results show that CRABP2 and RAR are the most and the least important proteins, respectively, in controlling the model performance at physiological concentrations of RA (1–10 nM). However, at higher concentrations of RA, CYP and RAR are the most sensitive parameters of the system. Furthermore, we found that depending on the concentrations of all RA binding proteins, the rate of metabolism of RA can either change or remain constant following RA therapy. The cellular levels of CRABP1 are more important than that of CRABP2 in controlling RA metabolite formation at pharmacological conditions (RA = 0.1–1 μM). Finally, our results indicate a significant negative correlation between total mRNA production and total RA metabolite formation at pharmacological levels of RA.
Our simulations indicate that the significance of the RA binding proteins in the RA pathway of gene expression strongly depends on intracellular concentration of RA. This study not only can explain why various cell types respond to RA therapy differently, but also can potentially help develop pharmacological methods to increase the efficacy of the drug.
Retinoic acid (RA), a biologically active form of vitamin A, plays essential roles in the growth and development of various cell types. RA has also been widely used as an anticancer drug due to its ability to inhibit cancer cell growth and induce cell differentiation. It is believed that RA mainly exerts its effects by regulating gene expression. The classical pathway of RA-induced gene transcription involves binding of RA to retinoic acid receptor (RAR), a member of the nuclear hormone family. The liganded RAR binds as a heterodimer (RA:RAR:RXR) to DNA and regulates gene expression. RAR:RXR heterodimer is the main transcription factor in the classical RA signaling pathway. The formation rate of RA:RAR:RXR complex, is highly affected by other intracellular RA binding receptors such as cellular retinoic acid binding proteins (CRABPs) and cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. CRABPs are high affinity cytosolic receptors for RA that can potentially limit the access of RA to the RARs; CRABP1 and CRABP2 are the main members of the CRABP family. It has been reported that CRABP1 is responsible for sequestering RA in the cytosol, and thus controlling the level of free intracellular RA available for binding to RARs [1]. CRABP1 can also facilitate RA degradation by directing RA molecules to RA-degrading enzymes, cytochrome P450 (CYP) [2]. However, other in vitro studies have indicated that CRABP1 is dispensable in the RA signaling pathway [3, 4]. CRABP2, whose expression pattern is different from CRABP1 [5], delivers RA to both nuclear hormone receptors and CYP enzymes [6, 7]. CRABPs are bound to CYPs prior to adding RA to the cell [6, 8].
CYP enzymes are the main components of the pathway by which RA is cleared from the body. It is believed that liver cells which express high levels of CYP enzymes mainly mediate the synthesis and the clearance of RA [9, 10]. However, CYPs are found at various expression levels across different tissues and cell types [10]. Even though CRABP1, CRABP2, RAR and CYP are the main RA binding proteins, little is known about their expression levels across different human cell types. It is important to note that the cellular level of a protein can also vary considerably from cell to cell within a population of cells of the same type. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, the extent of contribution of the RA binding receptors to RA-induced gene transcription has yet to be elucidated. Understanding the roles and significance of RA binding receptors in the RA signaling pathway is important since it can help in the development of pharmacological approaches to limit or induce the activity of RA binding receptors, with the aim of increasing drug efficacy. Few previous in vitro studies have investigated the impacts of overexpression of CRABP1 and CRABP2 on RA-induced gene expression [3, 11]. However, their results were cell type-dependent, since different cell types have different expression levels of RA binding receptors. Furthermore, it is not clear whether the significance of the RA binding receptors in the RA pathway of gene expression depends on the RA concentration. In this study, we developed a new mathematical model to investigate the importance of various RA binding receptors in the RA signaling pathway in broad regions of RA concentrations. In this regard, we used a variance-based global sensitivity analysis (GSA) technique called Sobol’s method [12], which assesses the impacts of the model’s unknown parameters and the interactions between them on the model output. Total mRNA production and total RA metabolite formation within 24 h after RA treatment were selected as the model outputs, while the unknown parameters included kinetic rate constants and total concentrations of the RA binding receptors. Our results showed that all RA binding receptors could potentially influence mRNA production and RA metabolite formation by the RA pathway. However, the impact of a particular RA binding receptor on the model response largely depends on the concentrations of all RA binding receptors.
The main advantage of the current study over previous in vitro studies is that our results were obtained using wide ranges of RA receptor concentrations for any given RA concentration, thus our results are applicable to most cell types or to a population of cells of the same type. Furthermore, our study is able to reveal the synergistic effects of a combination of parameters across a broad range of parameter values. In contrast, the obtained results from previous experimental studies [3, 11] reveal the sensitivity of the system with respect to one parameter when the rest of the parameters remain unchanged.
We formulated a well-mixed ODE model of the RA signaling pathway. The model consisted of 17 species, which included proteins, mRNAs, protein-protein complexes and RA (Table 1).
Table 1 List of the model parameters
The model included gene transcription, protein translation, and degradation of mRNA and protein. The model involved the mechanisms by which RA is degraded. The core set of reactions describing the RA metabolism process were taken directly from [6]. We simulated RA-induced gene transcription through the interactions between liganded transcription factor and DNA (Additional file 1). The model also describes how RA binding receptors interact with each other in the absence or presence of RA (Fig. 1). In the absence of RA, CRABPs complex with CYP enzymes, while RARs are not bound to CRABPs or CYPs [6, 8]. Once RA diffuses into the cell, it binds to different RA binding receptors with various binding affinities. CRABP1, which has the highest binding affinity for RA compared to the other RA receptors, regulates the metabolic fate of RA by directing RA molecules to CYP enzymes. In theory, CRABP1 can also transport RA to RAR. This process involves dissociation of RA from CRABP1, followed by association of RA with RAR. CRABP2 is the second high-affinity receptor for RA [5] and can deliver RA to RAR and CYP. RA is transported from CRABP2 to RAR by a mechanism that involves direct interactions between CRABP2 and RAR [5].
Simplified schematic of RA signaling pathway. CRABP1 is shown in green, while CRABP2 is shown in blue. Red circles, gray ellipsoids and yellow hexagons represent RA molecules, CYP enzymes and RAR molecules, respectively
RA is transferred to CYP enzymes either freely or bound to CRABPs. RA-induced gene transcription depends on the rate of transfer of RA to RAR. Free RA molecules can interact with RARs directly. CRABP1 and CRABP2 can also deliver RA to RAR by different mechanisms. Liganded transcription factors can enhance the transcriptional activation of CYP, RAR and CRABP2 genes after binding to DNA at a retinoic acid response element (RARE). We also assumed that RA was degraded only by CYP, while RA binding receptors, i.e. RAR, CRABP1, CRABP2, CYP were degraded by first-order reactions.
The full list of reactions in our model is presented in Table 2.
Table 2 List of reactions in the RA signaling pathway
Analysis of the model behavior required the initial concentrations of the species and the kinetic parameters. Our model had 44 parameters, which included total concentrations of the RA binding receptors, the kinetic rate constants for binding/unbinding reactions, transcription and translation rate constants and mRNA and protein degradation rates. We assumed that total concentrations of CRABP1, CRABP2, CYP and RAR were unknown, which implies that these proteins are expressed at various levels across different tissues and across a population of cells of the same type. In the absence of RA, total concentrations of RA receptors were given by
$$ \left[\mathrm{CRABP}{1}_t\right]=\kern0.5em \left[\mathrm{CRABP}{1}_f\right]+\kern0.5em \left[\mathrm{CRABP}1:\mathrm{CYP}\right] $$
$$ \left[{\mathrm{CYP}}_t\right]=\kern0.5em \left[{\mathrm{CYP}}_f\right]+\kern0.5em \left[\mathrm{CRABP}1:\mathrm{CYP}\right]+\kern0.5em \left[\mathrm{CRABP}2:\mathrm{CYP}\right] $$
where [] indicates molar concentration, while subscripts t and f stand for total and free receptors. RAR does not have any interaction with the remainder of the RA binding receptors, i.e. CRABP1, CRABP2 and CYP, before RA treatment. However, RAR can homodimerize, and heterodimerize with other proteins such as RXR in the absence of RA. In this study, we assumed that RA molecules can bind to free RARs, and to RARs bound to other proteins, with the same binding affinity. Thus, all RARs are receptive to RA binding.
We used in vitro values for 30 model parameters (see Additional file 1), while the remaining 14 parameters were unknown for which we considered some physiological bounds (Table 3). We also assumed that for a given gene the values of transcription rate constants, translation rate constants, forward and reverse rate constants of the binding reactions and the elimination rates of proteins and mRNAs can vary within the in vitro values by a factor of two. This is because not only can these parameters vary across cell type and across cells of the same type, but also all in vitro parameters are subject to error.
Table 3 List of the independent model parameters
We used large ranges for unknown initial concentrations of CRABP1, CRABP2, CYP and RAR [13]. This is because the cellular levels of these proteins can vary significantly across cell types, or in a particular cell type as a consequence of cancer and cancer therapy. We then performed a global sensitivity analysis to identify the influential unknown parameters in the RA signaling pathway.
Global sensitivity analysis of the model
Global sensitivity analysis (GSA) is a numerical technique designed to analyze the impacts of uncertain parameters on a model’s output. In contrast to local sensitivity analysis which analyzes the changes of model output by making small changes to each parameter while keeping the remaining parameters unchanged [14], GSA considers variations of all parameters over their entire range. Thus, GSA is useful for understanding the contribution of various model parameters to the variations in model output. In this study, we used a MATLAB toolbox for global sensitivity analysis, called SAFE [15]. We used a variance-based sensitivity analysis approach called Sobol’s method, which can quantitatively rank the relative importance of the model’s parameters [12]. Sobol’s method evaluates the first- and total-order sensitivity indices for each parameter. The first-order index (Si) represents the individual effects of each input on the variance of the output, while the total-effect index (STi) accounts for the total contribution of the input that includes its first-order effect plus all higher-order effects. The higher-order effects for a given input are due to interactions of the input with other model inputs. The total-effect sensitivity indices are useful in identifying the noninfluential parameters which can be fixed anywhere over their range of variability without influencing the output significantly [12]. If STi ≤0.01 and the total-effect index of xi is much smaller than that of the rest of parameters, then xi can be fixed at any value within its range [16,17,18].
Gene expression through RA pathway
We investigated the importance of various RA binding receptors in the RA signaling pathway after treating the model with various concentrations of RA. In this regard, we calculated the total mRNA production by a gene of interest (GOI) within 24 h after RA therapy. The rate of production of a mRNA of interest by the classical RA signaling pathway is modeled by (see Additional file 1 for details)
$$ \frac{\mathrm{d}\left[\mathrm{mRNA}\right]}{\mathrm{d}\mathrm{t}}=\kern0.5em {I}_{\max (GOI)}\kern0.5em \left(\frac{f_{GOI}\left[\mathrm{RA}:\mathrm{RAR}\right]}{f_{GOI}\left[\mathrm{RA}:\mathrm{RAR}\right]+{k}_{d\left( TF: DNA\right)}}\right) $$
where Imax(GOI) and kd(TF:DNA) are the maximal transcription rate by an activated transcription factor (TFα) which initiates the transcription of the mRNA’s gene, and the equilibrium dissociation constant of binding of the transcription factor to DNA, respectively. fGOI is the transcription factor fraction of the GOI, defined as the ratio of the concentration of total transcription factor (TFt) to the concentration of total RAR (RARt),
$$ {f}_{GOI}=\kern0.5em \frac{\left[{\mathrm{TF}}_t\right]}{\left[{\mathrm{RAR}}_t\right]} $$
and is a number between 0 and 1. TFt represents those heterodimerized RAR isotypes which can activate the transcription of the GOI after binding to RA. Some RA target genes can be expressed by various RAR:RXR heterodimers, while others are expressed by a particular heterodimer. Thus, the concentration of total transcription factor (TFt) is less than or equal to total concentration of RAR (RARt). In general, the value of fGOI depends on gene- and cell-type. For a given cell-type, fGOI varies for different genes since the value of TFt depends on gene-type.
Figure 2a shows the variations in the transcription rate of the GOI within 24 h after adding various concentrations of RA to a model with a randomly sampled set of parameters.
Changes in the transcription rate of the GOI (a) after adding various concentrations of RA to a model with a set of random parameters: [CRABP1t]=2.6 nM, [CRABP2t]=3.2 μM, [CYPt]=0.1μM, [RARt]=3 nM. b after adding 1 μM of RA to various models with different sets of parameters; Green: [CRABP1t]=1 nM, [CRABP2t]=7.7 μM, [CYPt]=3.5 nM, [RARt]=9 nM. Red: [CRABP1t]=10 nM, [CRABP2t]=1.9 μM, [CYPt]=15 nM, [RARt]=0.17 μM. Blue: [CRABP1t]=2.6 nM, [CRABP2t]=3.2 μM, [CYPt]=0.1 μM, [RARt]=3 nM
The RA-induced transcription rate strongly depends on RA concentration and model parameters, i.e. initial concentrations of the RA receptors and kinetic rate constants (Fig. 2). The transcription rate peak time, duration of transcription, and transcription rate peak level can change or remain unchanged after modifying RA concentration or model parameters. In order to investigate the significance of the model’s unknown parameters in the regulation of GOI expression, we calculated the time integral of the transcription rate within 24 h after RA treatment.
$$ \mathrm{Model}\kern0.5em \mathrm{Output}\kern0.5em =\kern0.5em {\int}_0^{24}{\mathrm{I}}_{\max (GOI)}\left(\frac{f_{GOI}\left[\mathrm{RA}:\mathrm{RAR}\right]}{f_{GOI}\left[\mathrm{RA}:\mathrm{RAR}\right]+{k}_{d\left( TF: DNA\right)}}\right)\kern0.5em \mathrm{dt} $$
We then calculated the sensitivity of the model output to variations in the model parameters when the cells were treated with 1 nM of RA (Fig. 3). The model parameters, including total concentration of the RA binding proteins, kinetic rate constants, transcription factor fractions and maximal transcription rates were varied within their ranges of variability (full details in Additional file 1).
Sensitivity ranking of the model parameters. The model output was set to the time integral of the transcription rate of the GOI within 24 h after adding 1 nM of RA to the model. Blue bars indicate first-order sensitivity indices, while red bars represent total-effect sensitivity indices. The error bars show the bootstrap confidence intervals (95% confidence intervals) of the mean values [36]. Detailed parameter description is provided in Additional file 1
First-order and total-effect sensitivity indices of the model parameters indicated that the system performance was mainly controlled by the transcription factor fraction of the GOI (fGOI) and the total concentrations of RA binding receptors (Fig. 3). The sensitivity of the output to variations in fGOI is trivial, since fGOI represents what portion of RARs can activate the transcription of the GOI.
CRABP2 and RAR were the most and the least important RA receptors controlling RA-mediated mRNA production when RA = 1 nM, respectively. CYP was the second most sensitive parameter in the model, followed by CRABP1. The maximal transcription rate of the GOI (Imax(GOI)) and the equilibrium dissociation constant of the transcription factor binding to DNA (kd(TF:DNA)) were other sensitive parameters in the model (Fig. 3). The maximal transcription rate of a given gene can change from cell to cell since the elongation rate of the gene by RNA polymerase can vary across cell lines and across a population of cells of the same type [19]. RA upregulates the expression of the CRABP2, RAR and CYP genes [20]. We modeled these pathways using Eq. 4 with different values of transcription factor fractions and maximal transcription rates, i.e. fCRABP2, fRAR, fCYP, Imax(CRABP2), Imax(RAR), and Imax(CYP) (see Additional file 1). Our results, however, indicated that these pathways did not considerably affect the model output when RA = 1 nM, since the total-effect indices of fCRABP2, fRAR, fCYP, Imax(CRABP2), Imax(RAR), and Imax(CYP) were smaller than 0.01 (Fig. 3).
We then calculated the sensitivity indices of the model parameters when the model was treated with other concentrations of RA ranging from 10 nM to 1 μM. Our results showed that transcription factor fraction of the GOI, maximal transcription rate of the GOI and total concentration of RA binding receptors mainly controlled the system performance at all concentrations of RA (see Additional file 1: Figure S1). Figure 4 compares the sensitivity indices of RA binding proteins at various concentrations of RA.
Significance of the RA binding proteins in influencing total mRNA production after treatment with various concentrations of RA. The blue bars show first-order sensitivity indices, while the red bars show total-effect sensitivity indices. The error bars indicate the bootstrap confidence intervals (95% confidence intervals) of the sensitivity indices
RAR is the least important protein in influencing mRNA production when the cells are treated with physiological levels of RA (1–10 nM). That is because RA is mainly bound to CRABP1, CRABP2 and CYP at low concentrations of RA, as those proteins have higher binding affinities than RAR for RA. Thus, variation in total concentration of RAR is less important than variations of the rest of RA binding proteins concentrations in changing the formation rate of RA:RAR, since there are not many free RA molecules available to bind to RARs at physiological levels of RA. However, a change in CRABP2, CRABP1 and CYP concentrations can remarkably accelerate or slow down the transport of RA molecules to RARs, which are mainly unbound at physiological conditions. In other words, RA is the limiting and RAR is the excess species at physiological levels of RA, while RAR is the limiting and RA is the excess species at higher concentrations of RA.
Total concentration of RAR is the most important parameter in influencing mRNA production when RA = 1 μM. This is because RAR is close to saturation with RA at higher levels of RA, since there are more RA molecules accessible to RARs. Thus, enhancement of total RAR concentration can increase the activation rate of the transcription factor, which leads to an increase in the mRNA production rate according to Eq. 4. Figure 5 shows the variations of the RA binding receptors saturation indices at different concentrations of RA. Saturation index of each receptor is defined as the maximum value of the bound fraction of the receptor within 24 h after RA treatment. The bound fraction of a receptor changes over time, and is expressed as:
$$ \mathrm{Bound}\ \mathrm{fraction}\ \mathrm{of}\ \mathrm{a}\ \mathrm{receptor}\kern0.5em =\kern0.5em \frac{\mathrm{Liganded}\ \mathrm{receptor}\ \mathrm{concentration}}{\mathrm{Liganded}\ \mathrm{receptor}\ \mathrm{concentration}+\mathrm{free}\ \mathrm{receptor}\ \mathrm{concentration}} $$
Variation in the saturation index of various RA binding proteins at different concentrations of RA. 10,000 points were randomly sampled, following a uniform distribution over a 44-dimensional parameter space. The models were treated with various concentrations of RA and the saturation indices were calculated
CRABP1 and CRABP2 are less important than RAR when RA = 1 μM, even though they are also close to saturation (Fig. 5). This is because RAR is almost saturated with RA at high levels of RA, and providing RARs with more RA molecules through changing CRABP1 and CRABP2 concentrations does not change the formation rate of activated RAR significantly.
Another factor that makes RAR more important than other binding proteins in mRNA production at pharmacological conditions (RA = 0.1–1 μM) is the higher expression rate of CRABP2, RAR and CYP genes at pharmacological levels of RA compared to physiological levels. Total concentrations of RAR, CRABP2 and CYP increase after adding RA to the system. Figure 6 shows the variations in RA binding protein expression indices at different RA concentrations. The expression index of each RA binding protein is defined as the average concentration of each RA binding protein within 24 h after RA treatment, divided by the initial concentration of RA binding protein before the RA therapy. Our results show that the expression indices of all RA binding receptors increase with RA concentration. The expression indices of CRABP2 and CYP are larger than the expression index of RAR at all concentrations of RA. This is because CRABP2 and CYP have larger maximal transcription rates, translation constants, and smaller degradation rates than RAR (see Additional file 1).
Variation in the expression index of (a) CRABP2, (b) CYP, (c) RAR at various concentrations of RA. 10,000 points were randomly sampled following a uniform distribution over a 44-dimensional parameter space to generate this Figure
Total concentration of CYP contributes almost equally to variations in mRNA production at all concentrations of RA (Fig. 4). This is because CYP level affects the concentrations of free CRABPs available for transferring RA to the nuclear receptors (according to Eqs. 1 to 3).
From Fig. 4, it can be understood that CRABP2 is a more important factor in the RA signaling pathway when the model was treated with physiological levels of RA (1–10 nM) compared to pharmacological levels of RA (0.1–1 μM). This is because RAR is barely saturated with RA at physiological conditions, so that variations in CRABP2 concentration can significantly change the rate of RA transport to RARs.
The fact that CRABP2 is more influential in mRNA production at physiological conditions compared to pharmacological conditions is in qualitative accordance with previous experimental studies [7]. A previous in vitro study [7] indicated that exogenous levels of CRABP2 increased the transcriptional activity of RAR only when the concentrations of RA or RAR were limiting (Fig. 7a-b). We performed a local sensitivity analysis to investigate the effect of a constant change in CRABP2 concentration on total mRNA production, over broad regions of RA and RAR concentrations. For this purpose, we sampled several sets of parameters within their ranges of variability, which characterized various cell types or various cells of the same type. We then calculated fold change values of the total mRNA production for each model after increasing CRABP2 concentration by 200% (Fig. 7c). Our results indicated that for a vast majority of cell types, a constant change in CRABP2 concentration is more important in the RA signaling pathway at lower concentrations of RA. We also obtained fold change values of total mRNA production after increasing CRABP2 concentration by 200% in the absence or presence of exogenous levels of RAR (Fig. 7d). Our results showed that variation of CRABP2 concentration is more important at lower concentrations of RAR. This result is in qualitative agreement with experimental observations [7] in COS-7 cells culture (Fig. 7).
Effects of CRABP2 on transcriptional activity of RAR at various levels of RA and RAR. COS-7 cells were transfected with a luciferase reporter construct driven by a RAR responsive element, and the activity level of the reporter was measured in different conditions. (a) Luciferase activity level after adding exogenous levels of CRABP2 to the cells at various concentrations of RA. Data are presented as fold induction relative to luciferase reporter activity level before overexpression of CRABP2. Experimental data was obtained from [7]. (b) Luciferase activity level after adding exogenous levels of CRABP2 to the cells, in the presence of endogenous RAR or upon overexpression of RAR. Data are presented as fold induction relative to luciferase reporter activity level before overexpression of CRABP2. Experimental data was given from [7]. (c) Fold change in total mRNA production after increasing CRABP2 concentration by 200%. Data are normalized by total mRNA production before CRABP2 overexpression. 10,000 points were randomly sampled following a uniform distribution over a 44-dimensional parameter space, to generate this Figure. (d) Fold change in total mRNA production after increasing CRABP2 concentration by 200% in the presence of endogenous RAR or exogenous RAR, i.e. RAR = 10 μM. Data are normalized by total mRNA production before CRABP2 overexpression. 10,000 points were randomly sampled following a uniform distribution over a 44-dimensional parameter space, to generate this Figure
The total-effect sensitivity index of CRABP2 is larger than that of CRABP1 when RA = 1–10 nM, while CRABP2 and CRABP1 contribute almost equally to variations in the model output when RA = 0.1–1 μM (Fig. 4). Total-effect sensitivity indices should be used to compare the total contributions of different inputs to variations in the model response. For example, CRABP2 has a larger first-order sensitivity index than CRABP1 when RA concentration is 0.1 or 1 μM, while the total-effect sensitivity index of CRABP1 is slightly larger than that of CRABP2 (Fig. 4). This suggests that CRABP1 interacts stronger than CRABP2 with other parameters.
The calculated sensitivity indices at each RA concentration indicate the relative importance of the parameters at the specified RA concentration. Thus, these indices cannot be used to compare the absolute values of the produced mRNA when the cells were treated with various levels of RA. CRABP2, for instance, has a larger sensitivity index at physiological concentration of RA compared to pharmacological concentrations. However, this does not mean that a constant change in CRABP2 concentration results in a larger variation in molar production of the mRNA at physiological levels of RA compared to the pharmacological concentration of RA. In general, with a fixed set of values for RA binding receptor concentrations, total mRNA production increases by RA dose.
RA degradation pathway
RA metabolism is crucial in RA signaling not only because the CYP can limit the amount of RA available to interact with RARs, but also because some RA metabolites can induce the transcription of some target genes through specific pathways [21, 22]. Furthermore, RA resistance, observed in continuous RA treatment in cancer patients, is at least in part due to RA degradation. RA metabolism is mediated mainly by CYP enzymes, which are found in different cell types. Even though several studies have investigated the role of various families of CYP in biosynthesis of RA, little is known about the contribution of CRABPs and RARs in the RA degradation pathway. In this section we investigated the contributions of the RA binding receptors to production of RA metabolites. In our model, RA was only degraded via CYP enzymes, while interacting with CYP directly or indirectly. In the direct mechanism, free RA molecules can bind to CYP, while the indirect process involves CRABP1 and CRABP2 as carrier proteins that transfer RA to CYP. Thus, the total rate of RA degradation is obtained by
$$ \frac{\mathrm{d}\left[\mathrm{RA}\kern0.5em \mathrm{metabolites}\right]}{\mathrm{d}\mathrm{t}}=\kern0.5em {k}_{on4}\left[\mathrm{RA}:\mathrm{CYP}\right]+\kern0.5em {k}_{on10}\left[\mathrm{RA}:\mathrm{CRABP}1:\mathrm{CYP}\right]+\kern0.5em {k}_{on12}\left[\mathrm{RA}:\mathrm{CRABP}2:\mathrm{CYP}\right] $$
where kon4kon10 and kon12 are degradation rate constants of RA : CYP, RA : CRABP1 : CYP and RA : CRABP2 : CYP, respectively.
We performed GSA to investigate the sensitivity of total RA metabolite production within 24 h after RA therapy, to variations in the model’s unknown parameters.
$$ \mathrm{Model}\kern0.5em \mathrm{Output}\kern0.5em =\kern0.5em {\int}_0^{24}{k}_{on4}\left[\mathrm{RA}:\mathrm{CYP}\right]+\kern0.5em {k}_{on10}\left[\mathrm{RA}:\mathrm{CRABP}1:\mathrm{CYP}\right]+\kern0.5em {k}_{on12}\left[\mathrm{RA}:\mathrm{CRABP}2:\mathrm{CYP}\right]\kern0.5em \mathrm{dt} $$
As in the previous section, we considered physiological bounds for the parameters and used the Sobol’s method to calculate the sensitivity indices. Our results showed that the production of RA metabolites was mainly affected by cellular concentrations of the RA binding proteins (Additional file 1: Figure S2). CYP had the largest total-effect sensitivity index at all RA concentrations, which shows that total concentration of CYP was the most important parameter controlling the system performance (Fig. 8). CRABP1 and CRABP2 contribute almost equally to variation in the model response when RA = 1–10 nM, while CRABP1 is more important than CRABP2 in the RA degradation pathway when RA = 0.01–1 μM.
Relative importance of various RA binding proteins in total RA metabolite formation at various concentrations of RA. The model output was set to total RA metabolite formation within 24 h of treatment with various concentrations of RA. The blue bars show first-order sensitivity indices, while the red bars show total-effect sensitivity indices. The error bars indicate the bootstrap confidence intervals (95% confidence intervals) of the sensitivity indices
RAR becomes more important in the RA degradation pathway as RA concentration increases. This can be explained by the fact that at high concentrations of RA, RAR is the most important parameter that controls RA-induced gene expression (Fig. 4). The cellular level of RAR can significantly influence RA-induced upregulation of CYP, CRABP2 and RAR. Our results indicated that RA-induced upregulation of CYP had significant effects on total RA metabolite formation when RA = 0.01–1 μM (see Additional file 1: Figure S2). From Fig. 8, it can be understood that for a given RA concentration, the rank order of first-order sensitivity indices of the parameters is not necessarily the same as the rank order of total-effect sensitivity indices. This is due to different levels of interaction of each parameter with the rest of the parameters. Furthermore, our results were obtained using GSA, which gives some insights into the functions of various receptors by covering the entire parameter space. However, it might be possible that for a specific set of initial concentrations the rank order of parameter sensitivities would be different.
Comparing Fig. 4 with Fig. 8, one can observe that for a given RA concentration, the rank order of sensitivity of the RA binding receptors is not the same for total mRNA production and total RA metabolite formation. To further investigate the relationship between mRNA production and RA metabolite formation by the RA signaling pathway, we calculated Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient between total mRNA production and total RA product formation within 24 h of treatment with 1 μM of RA. Our results revealed a significant negative correlation (ρ = − 0.7, p = 0, n = 10,000) between total mRNA production and total RA metabolite formation (Fig. 9). However, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient decreased with the reduction of RA concentration (Additional file 1: Figure S3).
The relationship between total RA metabolite formation and total mRNA production within 24 h of treatment with 1 μM of RA. 10,000 points were randomly sampled following a uniform distribution over a 44-dimensional parameter space
One serious drawback of the clinical use of RA is that RA has a rapid and variable degradation rate [23, 24]. Thus, a relatively high concentration of RA is required to induce the expression of target genes in various cell types. The pattern of RA degradation is important since it can directly influence cell differentiation and gene expression by RA. In this section, we simulated the variations in total concentration of RA within 24 h after RA treatment. For this purpose, we sampled several sets of parameters within their ranges of variability, which characterized various cell types or various cells of the same type. We then added 0.1 μM of RA to each model and obtained the changes in total RA concentration over time. Our results showed that RA exhibited different elimination patterns depending on intracellular concentrations of the RA binding proteins, i.e. CRABP1, CRABP2, CYP and RAR (Fig. 10). Furthermore, RA can both down- and up-regulate its own degradation.
Various forms of elimination of RA after treating different models with 0.1 μM of RA. Three models with various parameter sets are shown in blue, green and red. Green: [CRABP1t]=8.6 μM, [CRABP2t]=16.1 nM, [CYPt]=11.2 nM, [RARt]=0.24 μM. Red: [CRABP1t]=2.7 nM, [CRABP2t]=11.4 nM, [CYPt]=30 nM, [RARt]=0.22 μM. Blue: [CRABP1t]=3 μM, [CRABP2t]=11 nM, [CYPt]=2.26 nM, [RARt]=0.71 μM. Full list of the models’ parameters is reported in Additional file 1: Table S2
Effects of the RA binding proteins on the efficacy and toxicity of RA
An understanding of the roles and significance of RA binding proteins in the RA signaling pathway is important for both therapeutic and toxicological reasons. The results presented in this study can be used to develop pharmacological methods to increase the maximal response produced by RA. These pharmacological approaches can vary depending on cancer type, as different cell types have different expression levels of RA binding proteins. For example, in pharmacological conditions (RA = 1 μM), induction of expression of the RAR gene or inhibition of expression of the CYP gene have more significant effects than overexpression of the CRABP2 gene on the expression levels of the GOI in a given cell type (Fig. 4). To further investigate how the total mRNA production at various RA concentrations is sensitive to variation in each RA binding protein concentration, we performed a local sensitivity analysis. In this regard, 10,000 sets of parameters were randomly sampled, following a uniform distribution over a 44-dimensional parameter space. Variation in the total mRNA production was calculated for each model after increasing the concentration of each RA binding protein by 25% while the rest of the parameters remained unchanged (Fig. 11).
Variation in total mRNA production after a 25% increase in each RA binding protein concentration, while the rest of the parameters are constant. 10,000 points were randomly sampled following a uniform distribution over a 44-dimensional parameter space, to generate this Figure
Our results indicate that a 25% increase in CRABP1 or CRABP2 concentrations is more important at physiological concentrations of RA compared to pharmacological concentrations, which is in accordance with our global sensitivity analysis results (Fig. 4). CRABP2 is the most influential protein at physiological conditions, while RAR and CYP are the most important proteins when RA = 1 μM. From Fig. 11, it can be understood that a 25% increase in the total concentration of RAR enhances mRNA production for all models. A 25% increase in total concentration of either CYP or CRABP1 decreases total mRNA production for most of the models, while a 25% increase in CRABP2 concentration enhances total mRNA production for the majority of models. In general, the way that the variation in total concentrations of CRABP1, CRABP2 or CYP affects mRNA production depends on the cellular concentrations of all RA binding receptors. Overexpression of CRABP1, for example, can increase or decrease the transcriptional activity of the target gene, depending on total concentrations of the other RA receptors. This is because these proteins complex with each other in the absence or presence of RA.
The results presented in this paper can provide insight into the efficacy and safety of RA therapy in treatment of different cancer types and cancer patients. CRABP1, CRABP2, CYP and RAR expressions can be upregulated or downregulated depending on the cancer type [25,26,27,28] and administrated anticancer drugs [29, 30]. Cancer patients usually take different medications at the same time. Concurrent use of other drugs with RA can influence the RA signaling pathway in at least two ways. First, interaction with other medicines can cause variations in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of RA, significantly changing its efficacy and toxicity. For instance, it is possible that two or more drugs compete for the same CYP enzyme in a cancer cell, since CYP-mediated metabolism is a major route of elimination for many drugs. This competitive inhibition can decrease the availability of CYP enzymes to RA, therefore decreasing its metabolism rate and increasing its toxicity. Second, some drugs can inhibit or induce the expression of RA binding proteins such as CYP [29, 30]. Variations in the concentrations of RA binding proteins may affect the efficacy of RA over the course of cancer therapy. For instance, CRABP1 and CRABP2 are the least important parameters in the model when RA = 1 μM (Fig. 4). Thus, up-regulation or down-regulation of these proteins due to other factors such as disease progress, drug interactions, etc. should not change the rate of mRNA production by RA significantly. However, if for example use of a strong RAR inhibitor or CYP inducer is unavoidable for the patient, the therapeutic effects of RA may be decreased significantly.
Retinoic acid, a metabolite of vitamin A, modulates a wide variety of biological processes such as cell growth, cell differentiation and cell proliferation. RA has also been known to be effective in treatment of various types of cancer. Even though a vast number of studies have focused on exploring the regulatory target genes for RA, the significance and roles of various intracellular RA receptors in transduction of the RA signal have not been fully understood. CRABP1, CRABP2, CYP enzymes and RARs are the main intracellular proteins which can bind to RA as receptors. Few previous studies have attempted to investigate the effects of overexpression of CRABPs on the RA signaling pathway, and in some cases somewhat contradictory results have been reported for different cell lines [2,3,4]. In this study, we developed a mathematical model to analyze the importance of CRABP1, CRABP2, CYP and RAR in production of mRNA and RA metabolites. In this regard, after proposing a well-mixed model of the RA signaling pathway, we performed a global sensitivity analysis to investigate the relative importance of RA binding receptors in total mRNA production via the RA pathway. Our results indicate that CRABP2 is the most important RA receptor at physiological levels of RA, while RAR concentration has the least importance among all four RA receptors. At pharmacological levels of RA, the total mRNA production was more sensitive to variations in RAR and CYP levels than CRABP1 and CRABP2 levels. It is important to note that all RA binding receptors could influence RA-induced mRNA production within the entire region of parameter space where the concentrations of RA binding proteins change considerably. They are all important since their sensitivity indices were of the same order of magnitude. These results can explain the conflict between previous experimental results regarding the effects of CRABP1 on transcriptional activity of target genes [1, 3, 4]. Our results were obtained using GSA, which quantifies the effects of the model inputs on the model output by perturbing the inputs within large ranges. Therefore, our results indicate that in a broader region of parameter space, which represents various cells with various levels of RA receptors, all of the RA binding receptors are influential. However, there is a possibility that for a certain parameter set which specifies a specific tissue or cell, CRABP1 is unimportant in the RA pathway. Thus, for a given cell type, an accurate parameter set is necessary to determine whether a parameter has a substantial control on the system performance.
Our local sensitivity analysis indicated that CRABP2 is more important in the RA signaling pathway at lower concentrations of RA or RAR. This result is in qualitative agreement with in vitro observations in COS-7 cells [7]. Our model can be applied to various cell types and our results can be validated experimentally once more information is available about the expression levels of RA binding proteins in the cell types of interest.
Our GSA analysis indicated that RAR-mediated increases in CRABP2 and CYP concentrations after RA therapy were more important in the regulation of GOI expression than the RAR-mediated increase in RAR concentration (see Additional file 1: Figure S1). This is because total-effect sensitivity indices of Imax(CRABP2) and Imax(CYP) were larger than total-effect sensitivity index of Imax(RAR). Furthermore, total-effect sensitivity indices of fCRABP2 and fCYP were larger than total-effect sensitivity index of fRAR at all concentrations of RA (Additional file 1: Figure S1). The time-dependent increases of CRABP2, CYP and RAR concentrations after RA therapy can alter the relative concentrations of RA binding proteins. Thus, RA receptors can become increasingly or decreasingly important in the RA signaling pathway as time goes on. In this study, we calculated the sensitivity of the model’s outputs, i.e. total mRNA production and total RA metabolite formation, to variations in total concentrations of the RA binding receptors before RA treatment. Thus, the significance of RAR-mediated upregulation of CRABP2, CYP and RAR genes in the RA signaling pathway is mainly shown by the sensitivity index of total RAR concentration, since RAR is the only RA receptor mediating the transcription of target genes.
This study has some limitations. First, we assumed that RA influences gene expression through the classical pathway, which involves binding of RA to a nuclear hormone receptor heterodimer (RAR:RXR). The liganded heterodimer can initiate the transcription of target genes after binding to a DNA response element. However, there may be other intermediate transcription factors or nonclassical pathways that can transduce RA signal, thus our results can only be applied to the genes which are direct targets of the classical RA signaling pathway. Second, we assumed that all RA binding proteins undergo first-order degradation processes. This may not be the case for all types of tissues with various expression levels of degradation enzymes. The mechanisms mediating the elimination of RA binding receptors have not been fully understood, thus the model can be improved once more information regarding these mechanisms is available. Third, we used the kinetic rate constants of CYP26B1 in the model. CYP26B1 is a member of the 26 family (CYP26s) of the CYP enzymes which is mainly responsible for metabolism of RA during adult life [6, 31,32,33]. However, RA can also be degraded by other families of CYP which are different from CYP26B1 in terms of rate constants and binding affinities. In the current model, we assumed that the kinetic rate constants of degrading enzymes can vary by a factor of two around the in vitro values for CYP26B1. This assumption increases the applicability of our results to other cell types with different types of CYP. Thus, our results are applicable to those cell lines that express higher levels of CYP26B1 compared to other CYP families and to those cell types which have CYP enzymes with kinetic rate constants within the specified ranges in this study. The current simulation can be run using the kinetic rate constants of any arbitrary CYP enzyme. In that case, this model can be expanded to include the effects of RA metabolites on RA-induced gene expression if the CYP of interest forms high levels of active RA metabolites. The current model is applicable to those cell types whose main degrading enzyme is CYP26B1. The primary metabolite formed by CYP26B1 from RA is 4-OH-RA [34, 35]. CYP26B1 forms non-bioactive dehydroxylated products from 4-OH-RA [35]. Thus, we believe that the endogenous levels of RA metabolites formed by CYP26B1 do not play significant roles in the RA signaling pathway. However, there are other active RA metabolites such as 4-oxo-RA which can potentially compete with RA for binding to RAR and activating the transcription of target genes [22]. Fourth, we neglected the possible effects of RA treatment on the model parameters such as translation rate constants, transcription rate constants, and degradation rate constants of proteins and mRNAs. Fifth, for simplicity, we proposed a well-mixed model, thus our model is not able to capture the dynamics of protein diffusion through the nuclear membrane. RARs are located inside the cell nucleus. RA must diffuse across the nucleus membrane to be able to bind to RARs. In reality, RA binds to CRABPs after diffusing across the cellular membrane. RA can diffuse across the nuclear membrane alone or bound to CRABPs. We believe that our well-mixed model can approximate this process due to the rank order of binding affinity of RA for various RA receptors. RA binds to CRABP1 and CRABP2 with higher affinity than to RAR, which implies that RA is primarily available for CRABPs. The remaining RA molecules can bind to RARs and CYP enzymes. Finally, we assumed that the ratio of total transcription factor concentration to total RAR concentration (f) remains constant after adding RA to the cell. However, this depends on the gene- and cell-type. It is believed that RARs and RXRs each have three isotypes, namely RARα, RARβ, RARγ, RXRα, RXRβ, RXRγ, which can form nine different heterodimers. Depending on the gene-type, one or some of these heterodimers can initiate the transcription of the target gene after binding to RA. Little is known about the expression levels of the nuclear hormone receptors in various cell types, and their interactions with each other. The model presented in this paper can be expanded once there is more information about the nuclear hormone receptor expression levels and functions.
Cellular levels of retinoic acid receptor (RAR), cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes and cellular retinoic acid binding proteins (CRABP1 and CRABP2) significantly affect the rate of gene expression through the classical retinoic acid (RA) signaling pathway. In this study, we used computational modeling to investigate the significance of various RA binding proteins in the regulation of expression of a gene of interest (GOI) under physiological or pharmacological conditions. A better understanding of the roles and significance of RA binding proteins in the RA signaling pathway could lead to the development of pharmacological methods to induce or block the activity of specific RA binding receptor (s), thereby improving the efficacy of the RA. Our results indicate that CRABP2 and CYP concentrations are more influential than CRABP1 and RAR concentrations in controlling mRNA production by the RA signaling pathway in physiological concentrations of RA (1–10 nM). However, RAR is the most sensitive parameter of the model in pharmacological conditions (RA = 0.1–1 μM). We also identified the critical proteins in the RA metabolism pathway, and showed that there is a significant negative correlation between RA-induced mRNA production and RA metabolite formation after 24 h of treatment with 1 μM of RA. Our results demonstrate that the pattern of RA degradation following RA therapy depends on the cell type.
CRABP1:
Cellular retinoic acid binding protein 1
CYP:
GOI:
Gene of interest
GSA:
Global sensitivity analysis
ODE:
Ordinary differential eq.
RA:
Retinoic acid
RAR:
Retinoic acid receptor
Retinoic acid response element
RXR:
Retinoid X receptor
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This material is based upon work supported by the US Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Natick Contracting Division under Contract No. W911QY-15-C-0026. The content of the information does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the government and no official endorsement should be inferred.
All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its Additional file.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
Hamed Ghaffari
& Linda R. Petzold
Department of Computer Science, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
Linda R. Petzold
Search for Hamed Ghaffari in:
Search for Linda R. Petzold in:
HG conceived and designed the experiments. HG performed the experiments. HG and LRP analyzed the results. HG and LRP wrote the paper. HG and LRP read and approved the paper.
Correspondence to Hamed Ghaffari.
Detailed model description and supplementary results. (DOCX 1863 kb)
Ghaffari, H., Petzold, L.R. Identification of influential proteins in the classical retinoic acid signaling pathway. Theor Biol Med Model 15, 16 (2018) doi:10.1186/s12976-018-0088-7
Cellular retinoic acid binding protein
Retinoic acid signaling pathway
Sobol’s method
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Is anyone this psyched when they buy a brand-new jacket off the rack? Martin Lopez Abad, reunited with his well-worn, freshly-patched jacket, thinks not. Photo: Mikey Schaefer
The Most Beautiful Product We Make
By Mikey Schaefer | Oct 27, 2016 October 27, 2016
Worn Wear
At Patagonia, we think the most beautiful product is really designed by you. Every tear, stain and duct tape patch proves the bond that can develop between a person and their gear. Our Worn Wear repair program helps keep your well-loved clothes in action longer and provides an easy way to recycle Patagonia garments when they’ve finally gone one step beyond.
Mikey Schaefer, our longtime ambassador and photographer, spends part of every year in Patagonia. Recently, he came back with a story that’s become one of our Worn Wear favorites.
When I go to Chalten, I often bring jackets I’m not wearing or that are slightly worn out. Gear is so much easier to get up here in the States, and climbers down there need it, so it’s a good way to keep things in circulation.
It was the end of the climbing season. Martin, who I didn’t really know at the time, shows up and knocks on my door in this beat-up jacket. The thing was so trashed. You don’t really see that, especially in the States—people just don’t wear stuff to that stage anymore. But here’s this nice kid asking, “I heard maybe you have jackets to sell?” And I’m just staring at him and his jacket in shock. He tells me he’d climbed Fitz Roy in it and essentially froze his ass off. There were holes in the elbows—the thing is just wrecked. But here’s this young guy, making it happen and I thought, I like this kid. So I say, “Hey man, how about this. Let’s just trade.”
Well-anchored but hanging loose, Martin Lopez Abad raps off Torre Norte. Torres del Paine, Chile. Photo: Federico Ruffini
He didn’t understand at first. He thought I was crazy. But I wanted to bring the thing back to the U.S. and show people, because they don’t always understand what we’re really building these things for. I wasn’t sure if it could be repaired or not, but I tell Martin, “Here’s a pile of jackets, go pick one.” He says, “No way. You’re giving me a jacket?” Then he just grabs me and hugs me and says, “Thank you so much!” He picks out a down hoody or something, and I take his jacket, and that was that.
When I got back to the States, the Worn Wear truck came to Smith Rock, and I brought out Martin’s jacket. I showed it to one of our repair gurus, Cathy Averett, and she said, “Whoa. I’ve never seen anything like this.” She clued in that this was a super special piece, and said, “I’m going to do this. I’m going to fix this thing.”
Mikey Schaefer gets his Worn Wear fix. Smith Rock, Oregon. Photo: Donnie Hedden
Sometime that fall, I got the jacket back. It was amazing. Cathy had gone to town on it. Now it’s got custom embroidery on the back, and it says “Made with love” on the inside. She just went off. So I threw it in my bag, didn’t email Martin or anything, and brought it back down to Chalten. Soon, I run into him, and I say, “Dude, you gotta come over. I brought you something.” I bust out his jacket, and he’s speechless. He was so worked up, he gave me another huge hug.
You know, when you’re young, a jacket means something to you. It means so much more than when you can buy whatever you want, and Martin had worn that thing up Fitz Roy and on all these rad routes, and it had serious sentimental value to him. He wore the repaired jacket around town, and he was so proud. It’s kinda too small for him—the cuffs come up above his wrists and stuff, but it’s classic. Every time I saw him that trip, he had that jacket on, showing people, so psyched.
It was a fun thing to be able to do. It’s great when it all comes full circle.
This story first appeared in the Patagonia Winter 2016 Catalog.
#Patagonia Catalog Field Report
Mikey Schaefer
Mikey Schaefer’s Instagram Mikey Schaefer’s Website
Since he was 13, Mikey’s had a passion for rock climbing and a love of photography. Raised in Western Washington, his home crag of Index taught him to stand on imaginary foot holds and watch for moments of exquisite light that create the perfect photograph. He’s climbed and made images around the world, but he always returns to the place he calls home—Yosemite.
The jacket was probably red once but it’s now more of a muddy pink with an overlay of permanent scuff and smudge. The zipper, replaced four years ago, stands out a little brighter. The interior sports a size tag (Kids XXS) but has no hand-me-down label—it predates… Read More
Gas Station Wisdom and the Worn Wear College Tour
“Do y’all sleep in that thing?” yells an older man pulling up alongside Delia, our repair truck, as we fill up at a gas station in central Oregon. We get this question a lot, and usually my answers turn into satirical explanations: How we spoon each other amid the sewing… Read More
Mountain Fristers
A group of four skiers moves methodically across the snow-covered Wapta Icefield ahead of me in single file connected by a thread-like rope—mothers on each end, Cheryl and Nan, and their two daughters, Roan and Sailor, in the middle. As Roan’s father and Cheryl’s husband, I’m tagging along on this… Read More
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Home » Telangana » Telangana Universities recruitment to get delayed again
Telangana Universities recruitment to get delayed again
Administration unlikely to commence process as tenure of seven VCs about to conclude on July 24
By AuthorTelanganaToday | Published: 19th Jul 2019 12:54 am
Hyderabad: The wait for recruitment notifications for teacher posts in State universities could get longer. The administrations of universities are unlikely to commence the recruitment as the tenure of present Vice-Chancellors of seven State universities is about to conclude on July 24.
A total 1,061 teacher posts were sanctioned by the State government in Osmania University, Kakatiya University, Telangana University, Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies, Dr BR Ambedkar Open University, Mahatma Gandhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University-Hyderabad in 2017. Of the total posts, 415 posts were allotted to Osmania University which was highest among all the State universities.
An outgoing Vice-Chancellor said the university has sent roster points to the State government for approval. “Recruitment notifications will not be issued in my tenure as only couple of days is left for me to demit the office,” he said. Even as the State government has initiated the process for appointment of Vice-Chancellors to nine State universities, issuance of recruitment notifications might take time as the VCs need to take stock of the situation.
Earlier, the recruitment process was delayed due to reservation policy issue. As per directions of the Allahabad High Court, the UGC had directed all higher educational institutions to take department or subject as unit instead of university or college while providing reservation for SC/ST or OBCs in recruitment process. This was opposed by several teacher aspirants stating that it would deprive them of the posts.
The UGC recently issued orders restoring the earlier reservation policy where university or college would be taken into consideration in the recruitment. This was done after the Central government passed an ordinance restoring earlier reservation rule.
A senior official of OU said there were some issues pertaining to posts and roster points. “The notifications will not be issued in the present Vice-Chancellor tenure,” official said.
The delay in recruitment could take a toll on the grants that universities receive from the UGC. In June, the UGC had directed all the higher educational institutions to complete the process within six months or face the risk of the grants being withheld.
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Home » Comedy » Stephen Fry welcomes Tellyspotting to the UK for BBC Showcase 2016
Stephen Fry welcomes Tellyspotting to the UK for BBC Showcase 2016
On: February 20, 2016, By: Bill Young
Well, the genius that is Stephen Fry may have left Twitter, but he has still found time to welcome Tellyspotting to the UK this morning for the 2016 BBC Showcase! The English comedian, actor, writer, presenter, activist and self-professed tech geek has teamed up with Heathrow Airport to welcome weary travelers to the United Kingdom. With over 73 million passengers making their way through Heathrow annually, the purpose is to give arriving passengers a sense of British culture from the moment they touch down. Who better to turn to than Britain’s true national treasure, Stephen Fry.
Mr. Fry is quick to point out two very important keys to understanding British culture. One, “…91% of all verbal exchanges in the United Kingdom concern the weather” and, two, “We Brits love a queue… nevertheless if the queue should start to move particularly slowly then it may become necessary to turn to your companion and display your displeasure in the strongest possible terms.”
Safely in London as of this morning and headed to Liverpool for the annual BBC Showcase which brings together top buyers of BBC programming from around the world to screen the best of the best coming from the Beeb over the next year from comedy to drama and natural history to factual. The BBC Showcase gives television buyers from across the globe the opportunity to get together and get a glimpse of what’s headed our way in the near future.
In years past, programs that we have had the good fortune to screen very early and that have ultimately made their way to PBS and public television stations have been Keeping Up Appearances, Vicar of Dibley, MI5, Hustle, More recently, series such as Father Brown, Death in Paradise, New Tricks, Wolf Hall, Call the Midwife and Sherlock were first screened well before making the long journey to American public television.
One can only hope that there is more of the same this year over the course of the next week of screenings. As always, we’ll update you daily as to what we find that will have a good chance of hitting American television in the not-too-distant future so check back often for all the telly news that’s fit to print.
In: Comedy
‘Keeping Up Appearances’ considered THE most successful BBC program – EVER!
A first look at Agatha Christie’s ‘Partners in Crime’
‘Broken’ starring Sean Bean emerges from BBC Showcase as another must-see TV drama
Crime Night at The Redrum Club brings together top talent at 2016 BBC Showcase
BBC’s updated ‘Partners in Crime’ one to watch
Stephen Fry continues British invasion of American telly
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Fabio Aru successfully overcomes the drag resulting from his gaping dribbly mouth
Photo by: Ciclismo Italia
Faces don’t come much more repulsive than those pulled by Fabio Aru as he rode away from everyone on the final climb of stage 19. I’m not being cruel (because he does have a bit of a funny face anyway), it was just one of those rides where self-consciousness is abandoned in favour of wide mouthed dribbling.
Laurens Ten Dam is probably the man who sets the standard in this particular field. By the end of a time trial, Laurens often boasts a thick layer of spittle which laminates his entire beard. Without exhibiting quite so much fluid loss, Aru did however add to this picture by setting his mouth into a position which brought to mind no less an individual than Beaker from the Muppets.
Aru owed his success to the promise of alternating attacks on the final climb from himself and team-mate Mikel Landa. Alberto Contador followed his and Landa’s first attempts and then thought ‘sod it’. The race leader has enough of a buffer that he could watch Aru ride away without too much concern. The Spaniard finished alongside Landa 1m18s down which means Aru is back in second overall, albeit 4m37 behind.
Dish of the Day (Scran of the Stage?)
Yes, I finally got on the Giro mailing list in time for the last few days of the race. No matter. That gives us three whole dishes to ponder. Today’s was fonduta alla valdostana. It’s basically a type of fondue for people who think a bucket of cheese simply isn’t rich enough. Milk, butter and eggs are added and then they grate truffle on top for good measure.
Actually, sod it, let’s have yesterday’s as well. Ris e lait e castagni bianchi is a soup where rice and chestnuts are cooked in milk. Sounds like the kind of desperate concoction an impoverished student might come up with, but in Italy it’s doubtless delicious.
Loads of dicking about on the flat around Turin and then suddenly it’s up to Sestriere on an unpaved gravel road that averages about 9% – a horrendously jarring tonal shift.
Contador hasn’t won a stage yet. He’ll want to and this is his last chance.
Fabio Aru changes jersey while rivals change bikes
Steep gravel and dehydration – together they are Alberto Contador’s kryptonite
Fabio Aru is a grooved rider
Tags: Fabio Aru
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The To Watch Pile
Horror, sci-fi, action, cult, exploitation, more!
What is The To Watch Pile?
It Chapter 2 (2019)
January 15, 2020 by J.R. in To Watch Pile and tagged bluray, horror, it, Pennywise, Stephen King, To Watch Pile
One from the to watch pile…
Film: I’ve never EVER been a fan of Stephen King’s books… now that’s not to say I don’t like his ideas, I’m just not a fan of the way he writes. I prefer Richard Laymon, Shaun Hutson and James Herbert for my horror books. Anyway, I’ve always been a fan of the adaptations of King’s books; I guess the summarising of one of his tomes makes his stories easier to swallow.
I did enjoy the first version of It (you know, the one with Tim Curry as Pennywise) and I admit I only watched it initially as a curio to see John-Boy Walton (Richard Thomas) in something other than The Waltons or Battle Beyond the Stars, and I found it to be a fun story.
I did attempt the book and gave up.
Anyway, I loved the first part of the ‘do-over’ of King’s novel. I thought it was well cast, and entertaining… did that echo into the sequel/ chapter 2?
Let’s get to the story first.
It’s 27 years after the events of the first film, and the Loser’s Club has long since disbanded, with all the members spread out, far away from each other, the memories of what happened that summer with Pennywise, the demonic clown (Bill Skarsgård) long faded… but not to one member.
Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa) has stayed in the town of Derry, remembering what happened, and when the evil starts creeping back into the town, he contacts all the Losers, Bev (Jessica Chastain), Bill (James McAvoy), Ben (Jay Ryan), Ritchie (Bill Hader), Eddie (James Ransone) and Stan (Andy Bean) and asks them to return and help him fight the threat of Pennywise again.
U fortunately for them, in the 27 years that Pennywise has been dormant, he dreamt of nothing bu them, and fortunately for him, Hanlon has accidentally delivered them to him and his evil shenanigans…
I was so excited for this film. Honestly, I can’t tell you how much, and that excitement grew the more I heard of the cast who we being employed: Chastain, McAvoy, Heder… I couldn’t believe the names that were being suggested. Well, I could: the first film had been such a success I’m sure any actor would have loved to have had their name attached to its sequel.
The cast are mostly fine, though one of the problems of the script is that the old friends quickly return to their young personas, and whilst I understand that the objective was to make the adult the evolutions of the child actors, what really happened was that they just emulated them. I’m not sure if the removal of the maturity of some of the characters was deliberate, but it was annoying, and having adults act like children didn’t sit well at all, especially the bickering between them.
The first film had, even with some of its over the top scenes like the leprous hobo, still somewhat of a subtlety to the nature of the scares that Pennywise provided. All the horror of the first film are thrown out the window and the horror and fear is forced upon you over and over to the point that it becomes boring. Again, if it was a script decision to increase those scares because the adults would be harder to frighten, it wasn’t telegraphed well enough. Much like Freddy Kruger in later Nightmare on Elm Street films, Pennywise and his ghouls and ghosts feels overexposed somewhat in this film.
If I’m going to be really picky, there is a cameo by Steven King which lasts far too long and the movie really slows down to play it out.
Overall, the highs of the first film were not present in this sequel, and this movie was mediocre at best, which is so surprising considering it was basically made by the exact same people. The irony here is that one of the characters, who is a writer, is constantly concerned that his stories don’t end well.
I have no doubt with the success of it the studio is already thinking of The Conjuring-styled prequels showing Pennywise haunting earlier times in a cash-grab: no doubt we shall eventually be subjected to Pennywise: Origin, but I hope not.
Score: **
Format: This film was reviewed on the Australia release Bluray which is presented in an impeccable 2.39:1 image and a matching Dolby Atmos True-HD.
Score: *****
Extras: There’s a whole disc of extras!
The Summers of IT Chapter One: You’ll Float Too looks at the casting of the kids and Pennywise, and the making of the first film.
The Summers of IT Chapter Two: IT Ends reflects the casting of the adults and the continuation of the portrayal of Pennywise.
Pennywise Lives Again looks deeper at Bill Skarsgård’s portrayal of Pennywise and discusses his thought son the success of the character.
This Meeting of the Losers’ Club Has Officially Begun looks at the meeting of the child actors and their adult counterparts.
Finding the Deadlights sees Stephen King talk about the nature of fear and then monster under the bed’.
Some of the interview footage is repeated from one extra to another which is somewhat disappointing. I’m constantly surprised that these extras are made into these stupid ten minute bites instead of a decent 40 minute documentary.
Score: ****
WISIA: Pennywise and I are done, I’m afraid. Divorce proceedings to follow quickly.
← R.I.P. Julie Strain
Little Monsters (2019) →
Little Monsters (2019)
R.I.P. Julie Strain
St. Agatha (2018)
Stephen King’s Children of the Corn (1984)
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Review of “For The World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky” Remastered
| February 1, 2007 | By: Matt Wright 57 comments so far
"For The World Is Hollow and I Have Touched The Sky" is a rather typical 3rd season Star Trek episodes. The story generally can take place on a soundstage and is mostly character driven. The first point is simply a function of lower budgets of Trek’s last year and is one of the main complaints for Season 3. Therefore the lower budgets relied more on the the story to carry the load and "For the World is Hollow" does try to put some of the elements together for an interesting mission. There is the impending peril of the asteroid ship Yonada smashing into a densely inhabited planet, McCoy’s terminal illness, and of course, a computer for Kirk to disable.
Insert plot device here
The plot is rather generic with a couple of twists. McCoy’s sudden diagnosis with ‘Xenopolycythemia’ is totally out of left-field and is never properly explained. Before you can think too hard about how a Chief Medical Officer can suddenly find himself terminally ill we find a nice distraction of an asteroid-that-is-really-a-ship. Naturally the people inside don’t know that they are in a generational ship. I have to give credit to the writers for using a generational ship; warp speed often acts as a way to skip past the issues associated with the vast distances of outer space.
So the real twist isn’t McCoy’s rather contrived illness, but the fact that the leader of the asteroid people named Natira takes a liking to McCoy and wishes to marry him. Since Kirk usually gets the space babe of the week, this is a nice change of pace. I do find his interest in Natira a bit forced. While Natira seems quite nice, what we have seen of McCoy is generally a more down to earth fella’ who likes to flirt with the cute yeoman in "Shore Leave" and doesn’t usually do well with formal functions, which being the co-leader of an entire society would certainly entail. Perhaps more importantly McCoy isn’t one for imposing ignorance, joining the Fabrini would mean giving up his knowledge of the true nature of Yonada. So we just know this can’t work out…and of course it doesn’t.
McCoy not wishing to be blown out of the sky, since it seems like Yonada’s course won’t be fixed, has found out where the manual for the ship is located and proceeds to tell Kirk, thus enraging the third major element of our story: a computer that rules over a society. This is Kirk’s specialty: he loves to disable any computer that keeps a society in the dark (Prime Directive? What Prime Directeve?). Alas, he doesn’t get to use his trademark "logic loop overload" that apparently works on all advanced computers of the future — I guess preemptive multitasking operating systems don’t exist in the future? Kirk and Spock find the key to getting into the computer room just in the nick of time to fix the automated course, and lo and behold the Fabrini have a cure for McCoy’s illness just hanging out in a memory bank! …and all is right with the world.
Rewatching the episode there are actually a number of little elements to the production that make the episode worth a second look. I am starting to agree with many of our community members that assert the 3rd season has a lot going for it. The 3rd season might be light on budget but they knew what they were doing with what they had and the staff had started to branch out with some more imaginative camera angles. I have always liked the shot of the landing party being escorted down into the tunnels of the city, this is a shot that is actually rather typical of late 1960’s film, when I see it I am always reminded of the second to last Planet of the Apes film where they find a ruined human city. I have a fairly clear picture of this same tight stair well shot being used. It seems like a good way to introduce a subteranian city and also provide a mild sense of paranoia as the shot doesn’t follow any one character nor is it a tradtionally framed shot of action or actors.
Marching down the steps
The second nuance was during the scene with the old man whose diatribe is the source of the episode’s title. As he enters our hero’s sleeping chambers a music cue from the Cage is heard. The old man is played by Jon Lormer who also played the illusory encampment leader ‘Theodore Haskins’ from The Cage.
He seems familiar…
The last element of interest is that the writers left an opening for a sequel, this is one of (if not the only) instances of this. Kirk says that "The Fabrini descendants are scheduled to debark on their promised planet in approximately 390 days, I think that we could manage to be in that vicinity at that time." If Star Trek had made it through the full 5-year mission we would have been treated to a reuniting of Natira and McCoy somewhere in the late 4th or early 5th season. However it was not forgotten, the recent novel ‘Ex Machina’ by Christopher Bennet picks up the story of the Yonadans (although it is set after ST:TMP).
Their truth – of their world
The CGI from CBS Digital is generally very good in the recent episodes, the newer Enterprise model helps immensely. As I mentioned earlier, I have started to see the value in 3rd season production. The 3rd season is easily the best for the Enterprise bluescreen shots. Space shots made for the 3rd season (as opposed to one of the many reused shots) look quite good. If you take a look at our comparison shots for the episode here, take a look at the shot labeled ‘Course Change’ I feel the original actually looks better. Part of that is due to the details of the Enterprise. I would say the biggest shortcoming of CBS Digital is their inconsistent attention to detail. The original shot has lights under the shuttlebay that aren’t there in CBS-D’s version and the lights that are there above the shuttlebay aren’t lit up.
What CBS does quite well are the new angles of the Enterprise as it travels ahead of Yonada. The new angles are a nice change and make the space footage a bit more interesting then just stock Sci-Fi filler between the filmed sequences. Yonada is also a bit more realistic, it doesn’t have groovy rainbow rocks making up the surface. Sadly this does render it blander, but a bit closer to reality.
All in all an average episode to begin with and an average effort on the part of CBS Digital…now bring on "Journey to Babel" and "Doomsday Machine".
Glenn Shaheen
Hey, I’ve always been a third season defender. But my favorite episodes of Trek have always been the weird ones. Like the cowboy world in Spectre of the Gun? What is going on with that? Or fighting alongside Abraham Lincoln? Totally weird/awesome.
This one I didn’t remember very well, but I thought it was a pretty interesting story, handled in a pretty decent way, although as you said, it is sort of convenient that everything wraps up so neatly in the end.
Ron Jon
Not their best episode, even for the third season. Nice asteroid, though.
Robert Bernardo
Agree with Spectre of the Gun. Disagree with the deadly, dull Savage Curtain (Abe Lincoln episode). :-)
ety3
A nice “what if” …
What if they didn’t cure McCoy at the end of the episode? And what if the original plot to “Way to Eden” was maintained? Plenty of room for great character interaction between McCoy and his daughter, and perhaps even let Dr. Severin cure McCoy. The more I think about, the more story beats keep popping in my head. It certainly would have made “Eden” a better episode.
But, it would have been pretty crazy for a TV show back then to not tie up all the loose ends in one hour.
Josh T. ( The Undiscovered Wrath of Spock Voyage) Kirk Esquire'
Where’s the love for “Requiem for Methusaleh?”
Flints appearance and moral and ethical dilemma served as the catalyst for many a future sci-fi spin the least of which is “The Highlander.”
I think that “Spocks brain” and it’s reputation entirely overshadow some Third Season jewels and the season as a whole.
“The Savage Curtain, The Enterprise Incident, Day of the Dove, The Tholian Web, etc. ”
Actually, truth be known there are ALOT of nice little gems in this season far outweighing the lesser episodes.
Addendum –
Far more concerning and eye-catching to me than a “Spocks Brain” or ” Turnabout Intruder” is the characterizations of some of the characters in the Third Season.
When and why did Spock become such a smartass? No, a smartass doesn’t characterize it adequality, but rather dismissive and condescending.
“Please Mister Scott contain your leaps of illogic.”
The cast evidently knew their time was up and didn’t dedicate themselves to the extent they had previously in the series.
nice review, and i couldnt agree more about that camera angle on the stairs. it caught my eye again too, and i think there was a similar one in “little girls made of” — dr. corby’s underground chambers?
the redone effects here were just great — they sure didn’t seem out of place, just blended right in, and there were some majestic E moments that made me push my dvr repeat button over and over again.
now, that fight scene at the beginning is one of the funnier ones of the series. it’s a solid brawl, true, with arguably the best 3rd season blast of fight music, but those costumes on the yonadans never fail to crack me up. those hats especially! and that “love at first sight moment” accented by a cue from the music score … priceless.
after this mission, it was written into the starship captain’s manual: never let the entire landing party turn their backs on a collection of brightly colored cylinders that are obviously big enough to hide a bunch of alien soldiers!! same notes apply to giant cubes, monoliths, obelisks, and pyramids.
Nimoy in particular seems especially disassociated from the scenes in many of the third season episodes. You can tell he’s just phoning in the scenes and not putting forth the acting effort he did before.
Nimoy, being as smart and concerned about the character as he was, probably saw how silly the writing was becoming and just distanced humself from being concerned about it for the sake of the job.
He’s just not “there” for many of them. And it’s not his Vulcan demeanor. It’s when he’s just going through the motions of a plot-driven script. In the few instances where he gets to really do something character-wise, he’s back. Like the moment when he helps McCoy up in this show; his love affair with Zarabeth; his dallying with the Romulan Commander in Enterprise Incident; and “The Empath.” But he’s not the dynamic “catches-your-eye-no-matter-what-he’s-doing” actor he was in the first and second seasons, when he was always “on.”
Jamfo
Josh T… I agree with you about Requiem. In my opinion, it is one of the truly underrated episodes in all of TOS.
Especially noteworthy is the final scene, one of the most touching and deeply moving in the entire series. It is a tribute to the writers and actors that so much power and meaning could be evoked through a single word: “forget.”
I still get chills when I watch that, as it so subtely showcased the true bond of friendship that existed between Spock and Kirk.
It IS a shame that the third season gets a short shrift so many times, as I think the diminished budged did force the writers to focus on character interaction and, lets face it, what made Trek, Trek was the characters.
ONe HUGE improvement in the 3rd season of Star Trek were the much better made uniforms. They finally got rid of the terrible Velour material which kept shrinking when they were washed. By the third season, the uniforms had been totally perfected. Take note of the quality of the early first seaon uniforms compared to third season uniforms….a vast improvement.
An olde timey fan
There are a number of exciting philosophical and ethical discussions in the 3rd season, far more so that 1 & 2. If there is any basis to the myth of a “Star Trek future vision” it is in season 3.
The Oracle is designed to maintain the people in a state of ignorance via a pseudo-religion. Why?
It could be a typically 1960’s cut against “organized” religion, but it also speaks to a fundamental of human nature: the Lowest Common Denominator. Presumably, the first crew represented Yolanda’s Best & Brightest. But who believes their offspring will also be the Best & Brightest? Ha! Not! They will fall out along a normal distribution as homeostasis and dysgenesis take their toll. How then do you maintain a population under (what can only be called) adverse and inhuman conditions for a journey that dwarfs the Exodus? Knowledge of their true status would likely induce claustrophobia and then what????
So the Oracle — and the original Pioneers — decided that a compartmentalized and “need to know” basis was best. Typcial government control, but it works –until things go wrong and they are helpless.
Compartmentalized command-and-control versus independent actors with full knowledge and free will.
Great idea and not too shabbily portrayed either, inconsistencies and expediences not withstanding.
And Kate Woodville… ohhhh….. Google her under the image search tool. She, like so many promising young starlets, “went Hollywood” and aged what looks like twenty years in five. Bummer. “Sex, drugs ‘n’ rock’n’roll” really was a stupid thing to do.
not to be picky… cuz I think cbs digital has done some great work,…
but has anyone noticed the round white balls at the back end of the nacelles aren’t lit up in the shots of Enterprise wever they show the rear view?
I just ImageGoogled Kate… AND SAW HER NAKED! I’ll never look at Natira the same again…
Greg Stamper
#13 diabolik — Whoa! The Oracle would not be pleased! The Punishment for Googling Natira is
Matt, very nice review. I agree with the ‘course change effect’ being good to start with.
CmdrR
14 – That still shows one of the big drawbacks to many third season episodes. By this point, Shatner has a serious case of Elvis ass.
6 – I totally agree that many of the season three eps also miss the point (points) of Spock’s character. Just watched the unremastered version of “That Which Survives.” Jeez. Spock’s not logical on a ship full of emotional humans. He’s just a jerk. Other episodes turn him into SuperSpock, saving the ship as if no one else on board is worth a darn. In the best episodes, we see a combination of the characters’ strengths playing off each other to win the day. In fairness, this happens in “The Tholian Web, ” which is one or my favs.
So… for any STXI writer who may be looking in here for ideas (yuh right) please focus on characters, not caricatures.
billy don't be a hiro
The only other thing I can ever remember seeing Kate Woodville in was an episode of Kolchak The Night Stalker from 1974. Maybe I wasn’t watching the right shows? She looked attractive enough in that but as Natira she was definitely in va-va-va-voom territory. Trek’s people really knew how to make their female guest stars look their best. I watched “What Are Little Girls Made of?” and “Who Mourns for Adonais?” earlier this week ans the female guests are really gorgeous.
Dr. Image
I don’t get how CBS-D can look at their replacement for the “course change” shot and NOT see their own screw-ups.
I’d love to know what’s going on over there besides tight deadlines.
Mr. Atoz
“All our yesterdays” is probably one of my favorite 3rd season episodes.
It was an awesome script idea. Some of the acting by the guest stars was pretty bad but I really think that was one of the best episodes for the entire series. Looking forward to seeing Beta Niobi go nova in the remastered version.
anyone agree?
#17 Dr. Image refers to these (old vs new):
The old one still looks best however the new one does convey “mass” and is not bad in itself. It just needs a little something . . .
#18 Mr. Atoz – Agreed! Always waited for that Beta Niobi explosion and Warp out!!
Ralph F
The novel ‘Ex Machina’ by Christopher Bennet is an excellent read; highly recommended for those of you who like your TREK in print.
Good sense of scale on the new asteroid. I miss the funky colors, though.
18 – Mariette Hartley in a leather mini? How can I not love it?!?!
“All Our Yesterdays” is also a shining gem in the third season. There’s a well done Spock-McCoy thread, excellent trek countdown to disaster timing, and… well, Mariette Hartley in a leather mini.
Definitely agree.
(still kicking myself because it took so long to get the pun in your namesake’s appelation)
19 – Almost none of the lights are on! Scotty must have forgotten to pay the bills.
cbowyer
Re #19 I think CBS is trying to tone down the interior lighting of the ship. The 3rd season shots show much brighter light shining from the windows. The ship simply isn’t that bright on the inside.
I never got the impression they were lit up in the original shots, just white metal. So the new shots don’t bother me in that respect.
Talking bout the rear nacelle balls (space matrix restoration coils), in that last post.
Anyway, I never noticed inner illumination on those. Did everyone else?
Just a note about something mentioned in the review… that McCoy would be giving up knowledge about the nature of the ship by accepting the obedience chip. He still knew. He just got punished for revealing sensitive info to outsiders.
Jim G.
Jon Lormer also played Tamar in “Return of the Archons”
Matt Wright
#27 right he still knew but he would have had to give up acting upon that knowledge, and he would do well to try and forget it considering they were going to crash into another planet or be destroyed by Starfleet, at least at the point in time he conceded to “become one of the people” of Yonada those were to two outcomes.
Maybe the CBS people have decided that is there isn’t a shuttle launching from or returning to the hangar bay, then there’s no point in having the lights on back there, whether the original model had them on or not.
As for the “nacelle balls” being illuminated from the interior, I never noticed that they were originally.
Jim J
I’m with some of the rest of you here. I think those hangar bay lights should be lit up when a shuttle enters or exits. Not at all times. As far as nacelle balls and windows being lit up, I STILL say they will look brighter and better on HD. In all comparison shots I see on baord the ship, on a planet, in space, where ever…the lighting, sharpness of color, clearness of picture, and so on is just not as good on “remastered”. I truly think it’s because it’s not shown in HD or watched on HD. But, what do I know. I’m the guy with perfect vision that needs glasses! ha-ha
This is not much of an episode.
Mr Shatner was piling on the pounds by season 3 and coupled with the 2 inch lifts in his boots he tended to stand belly and ass out. Not a nice sight at times.
LOL, I think Dennis (#32) very succinctly summed it up.
Wow, I’m amazed at the number of people who are defending that third season misfire! Yeah, there were some marginally decent episodes (Paradise Syndrome, All Our Yesterdays, Tholian Web) and some isolated nice moments (the end of Requiem for Methuselah, the Klingon battle in Elaan of Troyius) but nothing in this season can compare with City on the Edge of Forever, Doomsday Machine, or Errand of Mercy. Sloppy direction, cheap(er than usual) sets, almost NO location shooting, idiotic scripts (Spock’s Brain, That Which Survives, Savage Curtain, the list goes on). Yechhh!
#35 — I don’t personally defend Season 3 as a whole. S3 has a lot to like in various smaller aspects one of them being the quality of the space shots seem to have reached an all time high in S3. But yes on the whole S3 is quite mediocre, you can see the cast and crew are phoning it in in many episodes, thanks mostly due to network pressures and cutbacks. Remember Season 3 is the “season that almost wasn’t.”
The old enterprise looks like a more real in the third season…i vote thet dont replace the third season enterprise shoyts, only enhance them, if anything!
PLEASE DONT DESTROY THE COOL NEW SHOTS OF THE ENTREPRISE THEY MADE TO REPLACE THE OLDER LAMER SHOTS FROM 66 67 AND PART OF 68!!!
KEEP IN THE “NEW”SHOTS OF LATE 68-69!
PLEASE!?!?!?!?!?
A fan
Anthony Pascale
stop with the all caps and stop spamming the same stuff over and over Shay
and pick a single name xena
if all you are goign to do is say how much you hate TOSR over and over and over and oever you are just trolling or spamming or something that is pissing me off
Picardsucks
Steve- No one is saying the season three was as good season 2 But I and many others feel there were many excellent and relevant moments and wonderful epsiodes in season 3. There were some turkeys but The Alternative Factor was season 1 and I find it to be the worst episode of the series. Season three had All our Yesterdays, Tholian Web, and The Empath and to my mind they were some of Trek’s finest moments. I also found that the finest moments of the bond between Kirk, Spock and McCoy were most prominant in season 3. And I loved the goofy fun of Spectre of the Gun and The Savage Curtain and yes Whom God’s Destroy (“I am LORD Garth!!”) Great stuff and always very enjoyable.
THE THIRD SEASON 12′ FOOT MODEL OF THE ENTERPRISE WAS PERFECTED BY SEASON THREE W/GREAT NEW SHOTS!~
NOTHING TILL TREK ONE HAS ANYTHING MADE THE OLD GIRL BETTER LOOKING THAN THE 1969 EX….YET!
ooops sorry bout the ca0ps,….i like xena, i am Sgay6 is my name..thanks
Yes it is just a show and it would ruin the plot device, but wouldn’t those Feds have the technology to just slightly adjust these big asteroids with thrusters placed on them?;) Funny it just hit me today reading this review as that is a way we might do it in real life if we had a killer asteroid heading towards earth. Of course there would go your story and some tension points.;) Still this was a fair episode and there are some other fun episodes of this season, although I still feel the first season really had a superior mood and feel to it. Of course in the other asteroid episode the plot had a device that repelled instead of blowing up the big space rock so points for that, even though once again the Feds seemed beside themselves about the situation. Of course it was the 60’s. Fun stuff in the end though.
Still where were those shuttle crafts in the split Kirk epis…;)
#42 — Remember that Yonada isn’t an asteroid actually, therefore you can’t just put some thruster packs on it and adjust the course. Yonada is an actual starship and was following a deliberate course under active power.
You guys–
Go to iTunes and click on the Space Seed preview- the fx look, well, yeah, about a hundred times better than the broadcast version!
The CBS-D Enterprise looks fantastic. It looks like it’s REALLY there.
For some reason, the broadcast versions are NOT representative of what they’re actually capable of.
I’m buying Corbomite. Careful, though, some of the broadcast remastered versions are NOT on iTunes yet.
This may be old news, but it’s new to me.
I agree with #39 – Star Trek’s first season was astonishingly good – easily better than any of the later series’ first seasons and, I dare say, better than the first seasons of most hour long dramas, period. But season one’s “The Alternative Factor” was, for me, by far the worst episode of the whole series. And I understand they had problems with their guest star, but even so, its just a badly constructed and poorly executed episode. Season three’s “Spock’s Brain” and “And the Children Shall Lead”, which are often cited as “the worst Star Trek ever”, at least had some camp elements to enjoy and they were fun to watch. Nobody’s having fun watching “The Alternative Factor”.
# 44 — I’m lost… the iTunes versions are simply 640×480. They can’t be much better then what is broadcast. Certainly not what you get from a local affiliate’s over the air digital TV broadcast. I record the digital broadcast of my CW station, it is the SD feed upconverted to 1080i, since it is a digital feed of the SD version it is clean. I have a hard time beliving the iTunes versions are significantly better. The Xbox 360 versions which are natively 720p, that I could certainly understand being better.
Are you guys just watching the analog broadcast of these shows? If at all possible watch the HD feed of your local affiliate, you should get a nice clean SD version.
FYI the screenshots of For the World is Hollow… are not mine and they were done pretty obviously from an analog broadcast. If that is what you guys normally see, then it is no wonder the pure digital direct from CBS sourced iTunes versions look quite a bit better to you all. I will qualify this by saying I personally have not seen an iTunes version yet, but you are making me want to check it out for comparison sake.
Picard and Steve,
Well, I confess that some of the 3rd season episodes were campy fun like the old Batman TV episodes were ( and I think, like some of the other TV shows of the period like Man From UNCLE, owed a debt to Batman’s popularity at the time). But as bad as Alternative Factor was, it still didn’t belittle its characters like That Which Survives belittled Spock. Spock was nothing less than a buffoon in that show. And how much did we learn about the characters during the third season like we did in Conscience of the King, Obsession, Amok Time, and Journey to Babel? They became cardboard characters.
Refresh me – how did “That Which Survives” belittle Spock?
and regarding #48, I’ll speak for myself here and no one else – I’m not suggesting that the third season isn’t the weakest of the three. I think its fairly obvious that it is, for a number of reasons. But I don’t agree that the whole season can be written off as garbage compared to the first two. There are many very entertaining episodes and some wonderful character moments, particularly for McCoy. I don’t understand how anyone could watch, for example, “The Empath” and say those were cardboard characters, but then my taste clearly isn’t everyone’s.
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Popular Actress
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A Look at a Landscape
An Intorduction to the Nine Maidens
SCARBA
The Name of the Picts
An Introduction to Geomythography
Posted on March 18, 2015 by lurgie | Leave a comment
Geomythography
The interpretation of prehistoric and later societies through a combination of oral tradition, place-names, landscape analysis and archaeology. The process is a means of finding new perspectives and interpretations to hopefully further the understanding of such societies.
The process of Geomythography is rooted in the awareness that the passing on of tradition in pre-literate societies is predicated on certain realities. In many cases, such as Scotland, communities have survived within the same environment over remarkable periods of time. This has created a rootedness, not just in terms of physical environment but in socio-psychological terms that have led to considerable depths of continuity between the generations. This can perhaps be understood as an ongoing cultural relationship with the physical environment which exists simultaneously at an individual and communal level. One way of understanding this is to see ‘ancestor worship’ not as something inherently religious but something much more akin to respect, respect for those who paved the way for contemporary society, physically – by handing on prepared ground with the knowledge of how to use it, much as understanding of how to read the weather was passed on – and significantly, in the field of human inter-relatedness with that environment. The respect for the ancestors in traditional societies is accompanied by a sense of responsibility towards coming generations who are expected to perpetuate the continuity of the community. In pre-literate societies the mode of transmission of such cultural values is oral tradition. This can be understood as not only referring to traditional stories but also specific data such as site-specific weather lore and place names. While, many place-names are essentially topographical. i.e descriptive of the landscape, others have mythological or ritual connotations. (see Appendix B)
We must also remember that humans are animals and that the rootedness of such communities is matched by the rootedness of individuals within such communities and the physical environment. This in turn created an attachment to the land that was essentially visceral rather than intellectual. What is known as Diaspora poetry and song underlines this cultural reality in many cultures.
In Building The Great Stone Circles of the North, Colin Richards makes the following point when writing about folklore associated with ancient monuments,
’objects become invested with meaning through the social interactions they are caught up in. These meanings change and are renegotiated through the life of an object…..those things are always in the process of becoming; in this sense we can say, monuments are always in the making through discourse.’ [2013, p292]
This is particularly relevant in those societies and locales where the population remain essentially localised over long periods of time as appears to have been the situation in most of Scotland pre the 18th century. People lived on the land inhabited by their ancestors. Within the clan system, which arose directly from earlier forms of tribal society, local beliefs may well have been handed down over truly remarkable lengths of time. It has been established in Australia that some of the traditional stories of the aboriginal population may well have originated over thirty thousand years ago1.The dates of flint scatter from Elsrickle at 12000 BCE suggest the possibility that some of the localise material in Scottish folklore tradition may well have considerable antiquity. Some underlying ideas, such as the apparent understanding of existence being in some way based in an understanding of feminine fertility are likely even older, perhaps having already been par of culture when humans first arrived here. What is of considerable import is that as Richards points out ‘the monuments are in the making” and effectively have been for a long time, This can only have helped to reinforce important locales within contemporary culture time and again. So places associated with supernatural figures like the Paps – breast-shaped hills (infra) – have become the focus of a range of sociological and communal constructs and as they are still prominent in the landscape their everyday cultural relevance continued till very recently, and even, arguably, the present day. Appendix A shows the variety of constructs that can be, and have been associated with some of these sites, going far beyond the out-dated notion that everything on the top of a hill must have been a military structure.
There is also a level of practicality that can be discerned in much of what is considered to be mythological thinking. How was the land created? Where did humans come from? Who controls the weather? These are fundamental questions for all human societies and in much early mythological construct we can see that the explanations of such deep questions are based on a practical approach to the environment and how to survive in it. It is a fundamental tenet of the geomythographic approach that we retain an awareness of both practicality and continuity in dealing with early human society. It is also of considerable importance to note that so many supernatural figures, mythological, legendary and religious are clearly derived from human prototypes
In The Pagan Symbols of the Picts (2013 Luath Press, Edinburgh passim) I presented an interpretation of the symbols based on the concept of an underlying Weltanschaung based round the idea that life itself was driven by a force that was essentially feminine. This idea was specifically based round interpretation of material relating to those sites known in Scotland as Paps. These breast shaped hills, perhaps deliberately echoed in localised ritual mounds, are the locales of what I have referred to as ‘clusters”(see Appendices A and B) These clusters include a considerable range of different examples of human interaction with these specific locales and include the breast shapes themselves – perhaps perceived of as deliberately shaped by the Goddess figure associated with landscape creation; the stories of powerful female (and sometimes male) figures associated with the locales; ancient monuments suggestive of ritualised behaviour; place-names referring to mythological and legendary figures and ritual behaviour; oral traditions referring to weather patterns linked to the role of the powerful female figures as weather-workers.
What is clear is that these Pap sites conform to the ideas suggested by Bradley in The Archaeology of the Natural Places (2000 Routledge N.Y.) where he suggests that significant locales stand out from the landscape because of ‘their striking topography” (p6). It has also become clear (see Carlin Maggie below) is that some sites seem to have been the foci of a further level of interaction where specific viewpoints of the site bring extra levels of interpretation. Just as the Paps themselves were the focus of belief through stories of the powerful supernatural beings associated with them, so it seems they had extra layers of meaning when seen from specific locales. The extent of how much this interfaces with solar and lunar alignments – as appears to be the case with the Carlin Maggie site – is something that merits further investigation.
The process arose initially from analysing traditional oral material associated with specific sites of antiquity, often ancient monuments 2. Over time a pattern emerged where it was clear that specific shapes (initially Paps) were repeatedly associated with certain supernatural figures. Most dramatically these were the Cailleach in Gaelic-speaking areas and the Carlin in Scots-speaking areas which I have written about extensively elsewhere. The activities of these figures in landscape-shaping, weather working and their association with significant geophysical realities and events in the landscape e.g. Ben Nevis, the Corryvreckan Whirlpool, North Berwick Law etc., illustrates the depths of their rootedness in communal belief. What became apparent was that certain sites and locales had become not just significant in themselves but had attracted cultural aggregations that speak of their importance. The repeated association of mountain top sites with supernatural females is particularly obvious. It is also apparent that many such places were the sites of rituals. Echoes of such ritual behaviour can be seen in place names like Lomond – deriving from the P-Celtic llumon a beacon or chimney 3 and Craigshannoch on Bennachie deriving from the Scots shannack, Halloween fires 4 .Similarly there are a number of Bel names across the country which appear to refer to the activities associated with Beltain. Through understanding that such sites and locales were the foci of ritual and belief it became clear that further interpretation is possible. I have discussed this elsewhere but am now in the position of giving this process of inter-disciplinary interpretation itself the name of Geomythography and as an illustration of how the process can be productive I include here recent discoveries made in the physical landscape of Scotland.
Uamh nan Deargan, Scarba
I have been vising the island of Scarba for several years with a study group that focuses on the Corryvreckan and its role in mythology, tradition and literature. The name Uamh nan Deargan translates as Cave of the little Red One and I visited it the first time in 2009 because in the tale of Mac Iain Direach in Campbell’s Popular Tales of the West Highlands (1994 reprint) V2 p93 collected circa 1860, the action, while supposedly set on Jura, actually starts at Creagan nan Deargan, the rock of the little red one, which is on Scarba. This anomaly intrigued me and consulting the OS map (Pathfinder No 365) I noticed the cave there. The tale is full of interesting mythological material, some of it linked directly to the Paps of Jura, which are themselves of some significance in pre-Christian thought. The story also includes references to the Seven Big Women of Jura who in some respects conform to the model of Nine Maidens. Coming toward Baigh (bay) nan Deargan you walk through a natural stone arch in the outcrop known as Creagan nan Deargan and are immediately below the entrance to a cave.
Stone arch looking north east
The cave is not far from the opening of the Gulf of Corryvreckan, between Scarba and Jura, which contains the world’s third biggest whirlpool and is associated with the Cailleach, a supernatural female figure, the traditions regarding whom suggest she was originally a goddess figure. A major fault line which cuts across the entire island runs through the roof of the cave and its name Uamh nan Deargan, the Cave of the Little Red One, may be related to the fact that the northern side of the cave is composed of red-streaked rock. The fact that the floor of the cave is flat and smooth is clear indication of human activity here, and initial investigation suggests at least as far back as the Neolithic. The evidence of human occupation is confirmed by scorch marks from a long term hearth fire on the northern wall.
Within the cave itself is a naturally-occurring outcrop of stone closely resembling an upside down human skull. It is approximately the right size for a new-born baby and is in the cleft of rock that forms the cave itself. The cave’s name. the upside down skull shape and the red-streaked rock combined. lead to the speculative possibility of this having been some sort of birthing site. It’s proximity to the Corryvreckan and its association with a goddess figure perhaps reinforce this, especially as the Cailleach in some surviving tales is clearly presented as a dual figure whose other half is Bride, the Goddess of Summer and a striking symbol of fertility and rebirth. Bradley’s ideas regarding the archaeology of natural places would suggest this is a site that would have evoked strong reactions in the early occupants.
Lochnagar
In the summer of 2011 I went to Lochnagar with my son Roderick. The intention was to look at Meikle Pap. The name Lochnagar was given to the mountain in the 19th century supposedly to avoid embarrassing Queen Victoria (for whom Prince Albert purchased the Balmoral estate in 1852) by using its earlier name Beann na Ciochan, the hill of the paps or breasts, there being Little Pap south of Meikle Pap. This is of course similar to the name of Bennachie, which is likewise named for its prominent nipple shaped peak nowadays known as Mither Tap, but earlier as Mither Pap. This underlines the association with the Cailleach/Carlin the landscape-shaping and weather-working supernatural female of both Gaelic and Scots tradition. She is commemorated on the Lochnagar massif by the place-names Caisteal na Caillich – another lesser peak of the massif – and Allt na Cailleach the stream which runs northwards along Glen Muick. The name Glen Muick may also have some significance as I have pointed out in The Pagan Symbols of the Picts (p60ff) that there were strong traditional associations between early Goddess figures and porcine animals in different societies. Another nearby place name is Coire na Ciche – the Corrie of the Pap and further north on the massif above the river Don there is Creag nam Ban, The Rock of the Women which may denote a site of fertility rituals, as are associated with similar named places elsewhere.
Sadly there are no extant tales regarding the Cailleach relating to Lochnagar but this may well be due to the fact that the surrounding glens were cleared of their indigenous populations to make way for the shooting estates set up in the 19th century. However on reaching the top of Meikle Pap I was struck by the odd shapes of the rocks which. like Carlin Maggie and other significant hill-top sites, are composed of dolorite. Dolorite takes on smooth and fascinating shapes over time, very often appearing to be taking on aspects of the human form (Fig1). On the topmost rock of the summit there are two holes which look like eyes.(Fig2) Such holes were thought in previous times to have happened naturally but this seems unlikely. It may also be relevant that in many cultures the eye is seen as a specific symbol of goddess figures 5. Whether there is any link between the concept of Lochnagar as sacred site and the annual Midsummer Solstice pilgrimage is unclear and I can find no references to the event before the 20th century. At the least these ‘eyes’ present what Bradley refers to as ‘striking topography’ though if they are man-made (or enhanced) their location on the summit of Meikle Pap is remarkable.
Cnoc Brannan
In the summer of 2013 I was on the summit of Ben Ledi, part of the summit of which is called Cnoc a’ Cailleach and where there are reports of Beltane fire ceremonies as late as the 19th century. I noticed what appeared to be an unusually regular-shaped hill to the east in Glenartney. Such symmetry hints at human involvement and on consulting the map I discovered this was Cnoc Brannan. Now Brannan is potentially a variant of Brendan or Bran, both of which names have a significance in early Christian and pre-Christian materials from Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The Welsh connection to Bran is particularly interesting because of the shared linguistic/cultural heritage of the Welsh and Southern Scottish P-Celtic speaking tribes (and probably Pictish tribes to the north) of the 1st Millennium. It is possible that the Q-Celtic derived Brandan variants are rooted, like so much early Christian material from these islands, in earlier constructs. I then researched the area further finding that the stream to the west of Cnoc Brannan was Allt na Caillich and that there had been a couple of cup-marked rocks found in the area. I then went to Glenartney and walked up the burn. I found the following site just a couple of hundred metres from the bridge. It appears to be an unrecorded disturbed chambered cairn.
It was through the combination of landscape reading, place name analysis and an awareness of the depths of tradition associated with this particular name that I noticed the Allt na Caillich and by following that up made the discovery of the unrecorded chambered cairn. This is a precise example of how the process I refer to as geomythography can be of use in archaeology.
Carlin Maggie
On the side of Bishop Hill overlooking Loch Leven in Fife there is a dolorite stack or pillar called Carlin Maggie. A local tale recounts how Maggie was the leader of the witches who regularly gathered in the Lomond Hills and she became so sure of her own powers that she ended up fighting the Devil himself. Now as in all such tales there could only be one conclusion and it is said that Maggie, getting the worst of the struggle, ran off and was turned into this stone pillar by a blast from Auld Hornie. Now the Lomond Hills are known as the Paps of Fife and like other similar places are clearly associated with pre-Christian ritual belief and in all likelihood ritual activities (above and Appendix A). The Carlin in Scots tradition is a match for the Cailleach in Gaelic tradition and there is sufficient evidence to suggest that surviving folklore attached to them denotes them having been goddess figures in pre-Christian times6 . In 2014 I decided to visit the stack, which is on a very steep part of Bishop Hill in an area that has been extensively scarred by quarrying. All photographs I had seen of Carlin Maggie to that point had been taken from the south and showed a somewhat phallic pillar of rock. I approached from the south west and headed north past the stack, it was then I noticed something quite remarkable about this particular dolorite pillar. Viewed rom the west it has a shape that is strikingly redolent of the well known ”Venus” figures from Malta and elsewhere. This further underlines the potential association with an early goddess figure here and further research has shown there is more to be investigated in the landscape of the Lomond Hills. Loch Leven and the Ochil Hills to the west..
On a subsequent visit to a potential ‘natural site’ a few mile s east in the Ochil Hills 7 further aspects of the Carlin Maggie site were noticed and these will figure in the next stage in the development of the Geomythograpical approach will be an in-depth analysis of the Central Fife and Ballachulish areas.
Appendix A Cluster sites
Bennachie
Initially Beinn a Cioch, the hill of the nipple or pap.
Craigshannoch, Rock of the Samhain Fire
Maiden Stane
Maiden Causeway
Mither Tap
Stone circles at Chapel of Garioch, Chapel o Sink, East Aquhorthies and Hatton of Ardoyne.
Standing stones at Hatton of Ardoyne, Monymusk and Tombeg
Symbol Stones at Logie
Whitecross
Whitewell
initially Beinn a Ciochan, the Hill or Mountain of the Breasts
Alltcailleach Forest
Caisteal na Caillich
Carn an t-Sagairt Beg and Mor. Cairns of the Priest
Cnapan Nathraichean, The Knoll of the Adders (Bride or Druidic reference?)
Coire na Ciche, Corryof the Nipple or Pap
Glen and Loch Muick, from Muc, a pig or swine
Little Pap
Meikle Pap
White Mounth
Paps of Fife
East and West Lomond Hill. Acc CPNS Lomond means beacon
Maiden Bower – geophysical feature used in fertility rite
Maiden Castle – not a fortification
The Carlin and her daughter – geophysical feature: Carlin is Scots for Cailleach
Devil’s Burdens – geophysical feature
Early church site at nearby Orwell
Earthwork in Glen Vale
Early Christian Symbol Stone with fish and cross on W. Lomond Hill
Fort on East Lomond Hill
Scotlandwell and its priory
White Craigs
Paps of Jura
Jura is originally Norse and means Deer Isle
The Paps are three mountains one of which is Beinn Shantaidh, the Holy Mountain.
One of the others Beinn an Oir, has Sgriobh na Cailich where a hag is said to have slid down the side of the mountain.
This location is also associated with the Seven Big Women of Jura, who in tradition had the Glaibh Soluis, the Sword of Light. They may have originally been 9 in number (see McHardy 2003).
Jura is probably the site of the Columban Hinba.
The Corryvreckan at the north end of the island has many Goddess associations and traditions and is one of the world’s seven significant whirlpools. Its spiral shapes, thrown into the Atlantic Tide are the Breath of the Goddess under the Waves and may have inspired northern European use of the spiral motif.
On the east of the island at Small Isles Bay there are Rubha (point) na Caillich and Rubha Bhride and Eilean Bhride.
Paps of Lothian
Used to describe North Berwick Law and Arthur’s Seat
North Berwick Law is a major landmark and linked to 17th century witch activity.
Arthur’s Seat has wells, hill-forts (?), a chapel and an ancient fertility site, the Sliddery Stanes..
Appendix B Cluster elements
Significant elements in locating potential Goddess sites. It is suggested the significance of these elements increases with frequency and proximity.
Wells – particular noteworthy dedications are St.s Brendan, and Bride, Ninewells but wells are significant in themselves.
Antiquities – most hilltop sites are given as forts but their significance as Beltane/Samhain fire sites may be more significant; likewise earthworks of various kinds and cairns can be of significance, particularly if associated with specific names –e.g. Shennach, a variant on Shannach, the Scots for Halloween. Stone circles are always a sign of a sacred site whereas without other supporting evidence it is impossible to be so definite about single standing stones.
Early church sites – particularly when on mounds – virtually proof of a previous site of sanctity.
Dens – many dens are associated with early saints, witches, supposed serpent worship. Their continuance as places of local activity can be construed as an example of social continuity.
Landmarks – instances like figures in the natural landscape or particular shaped hills reminiscent of the female body often have a placename element referring to this significance – or have associated ideas/tales in local history and folklore.
Islands – in both lochs and sea islands, probably because of being surrounded by water – water is the stuff of life and this can be seen as the virtual blood of the Goddess, underlining the importance of wells.
Placename elements.
White/Fin – white is traditionally seen as the colour of sanctity.
Nevay/Navay/Navie – as a separate word or word ending this refers back to nemeton – a sacred grove. Can be difficult to spot as in Slocknavata in Galloway.
Bride/Bridget /Breedie – can be first or last element. A Mother Goddess, symbol of fruitfulness and regeneration, specifically associated with Summer and independently existing in England, Ireland and Scotland.
Cailleach/Cally –in many forms.
Ban – particularly as in nam ban , of women.
Cioch – nipple.
Dun – generally assumed to mean fort but see above.
Law – often distintively-shaped and standing alone, many laws have folklore associations or distinctive names, suggesting they have a meaning beyond “hill”.
Mam – breast
Nathrach – meaning the adder.
Pap – there are quite a few of these and like e.g Mither Tap on Bennachie often have “colusters” around.
Seat/Suidhe – again these names tend to have specific significance.
Witch/Witches – significant if associated with other elements.
White in placenames occurs frequently near ancient sacred sites throughout the UK
Note. At Bennachie there is the name Bruntwood Tap and at the back of Fannyhill near Muckhart we have Burnt Wood. This could be a reference to the burning of ceremonial fires at Samhain and Beltane as Lomond surely is.
On first investigation Cnoc Brannan itself showed little of significance other than a stone scatter on its western slope which may bear further investigation.
Appendix B Clusters
Isaacs, J 1980 40,000 Years of Australian Dreaming Lansdowne Press Willoughby NSW
McHardy, S.A. 2003 The Quest for the Nine Maidens; 2005 On the Trail of Scotland’s myths and legends, Chapter2 ; 2012 The Pagan Symbols of the Picts, Chapter 7. Luath Press Edinburgh
Watson, W.J 1986 (repr) The Celtic Placenames of Scotland Birlinn Edinburgh p 212
The Concise Scots Dictionary 1985 Aberdeen University Press p 605
Crawford,O.G.S. 1958 The Eye Goddess, MacMillan NY
The Pagan Symbols of the Picts passim
This site on Dochrie Hill is above Meikle Seggie, the starting point for so much of Ricky De Marco’s involvement with landscape art, which had a seminal effect on me in the 1960s.
Poemstone
Posted on June 12, 2014 by lurgie in Uncategorized
Burns Speaks
Posted on June 4, 2014 by lurgie | Leave a comment
Despite generations of lickspittle Establishment types denying it, there seems little doubt that Burns did write the Tree of Liberty, a paean to democracy. Compare it with the other works here and make up your own mind. At a time when Scotland’s future is in our own hands we would do well to remember the struggles of earlier generations to try and achieve democratic representation.
For more similar works see The Radical Works of Robert Burns at
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Radical-Works-Robert-Burns-ebook/dp/B009FMVU6C
The Tree o Liberty
Heard ye o the tree o France,
I watna what’s the name o’t;
Around it aw the patriots dance,
Weel Europ kens the fame o’t.
It stands where ance the Bastille stood,
A prison built by kings, man,
When superstition’s hellish brood
Kept France in leading strings, man.
“Upo this tree there grows sic fruit,
Its virtues aw can tell, man,
It raises man aboon the brute,
It maks him ken himsel, man.
Gif aince the peasant taste a bit,
He’s greater than a Lord, man,
And wi the beggar shares a mite
O aw he can afford, man.
“This fruit is worth aw Afric’s wealth,
To comfort us ’twas sent, man:
To gie the sweetest blush o health,
And mak us aw content, man.
It clears the een, it cheers the heart,
Maks high and low gude friends, man;
And he wha acts the traitor’s part,
It to perdition sends, man.
“My blessings aye attend the chiel,
Wha pities Galliaws slaves, man,
And staw’d a branch, spite o the deil,
Frae yont the western waves, man.
Fair virtue water’s it wi care,
And now she sees wi pride, man,
How weel it buds and blossoms there,
Its branches spreading wide, man.
“But vicious folk aye hate to see
The works o virtue thrive, man;
The courtly vermin’s banned the tree,
And grat to see it thrive, man;
King Loui’ thought to cut it down,
When it was unco sma, Man,
For this the watchman cracked his crown,
Cut off his head and aw man.
“A wicked crew syne, on a time,
Did tak a solemn aith, man,
It ne’er should flourish to its prime,
I wat they pledged their faith, man,
Awa they gaed wi mock parade,
Like beagles hunting game, man,
But soon grew weary o the trade,
And wished they’d been at hame, man.
“Fair freedom, standing by the tree,
Her sons did loudly caw, man,
She sang a song o liberty
Which pleased them ane and aw, man.
By her inspired the new born race
Soon grew the avenging steel, man;
The hirelings ran — her foes gied chase
And banged the despot weel, man.
“Let Britain boast her hardy oak,
Her poplar and her pine, man,
Auld Britain aince could crack her joke,
And oer her neighbours shine, man,
But seek the forest round and round,
And soon ’twill be agreed, man,
That sic a tree can not be found,
Twixt London and the Tweed, man.
“Without this tree, alake this life
Is but a vale o woe, man;
A scene o sorrow mixed wi strife,
Nae real joys we know, man,
We labour soon, we labour late,
To feed the titled knave, man;
And aw the comfort we’re to get
Is that ayont the grave, man.
“Wiplenty o sic trees, I trow,
The warld would live in peace, man;
The sword would help to mak a plough,
The din o war wad cease man.
Like brethren wi a common cause,
We’d on each other smile, man;
And equal rights and equal laws
Wad gladden every isle, man.
“Wae worth the loon wha wadna eat
Sic halesome dainty cheer, man;
I’d gie my shoon frae aff my feet,
To taste sic fruit, I swear, man.
Syne let us pray, auld England may
Sure plant this far-famed tree, man;
And blythe we’ll sing, and hail the day
That gave us liberty, man.”
Sic a Parcel o Rogues
Fareweel tae aw our Scottish fame
Fareweel our ancient glory
Fareweel even tae our Scottish name
Sae famed in martial story
Now Sark rins tae the Solway sands
An Tweed rins tae the Ocean.
To mark whaur England’s province stands
Sic a parcel o rogues in a nation
What force or guile could not subdue
Through mony warlike ages
Is wrought now by a coward few
For hireling traitors wages
The English steel we could disdain
Secure in valour’s station.
But English gold has been our bane
Sic a parcel o rogues in a nation.
O would, ere I had seen the day
When treason thus could sell us
My auld grey heid had lain in clay
Wi Bruce an loyal Wallace
But pith and power ‘till my last hour
I’ll mak this declaration.
We were bought an sold for English gold
Scots Wha Hae
(written with Thomas Muir and the Radicals in mind)
Scots wha hae wi Wallace bled
Scots wham Bruce has often led
Welcome to your gory bed
Or to victory
Now’s the day an now’s the hour
See the front o battle lour
See approach proud Edward’s pow’r
Chains an slavery
Wha will be a traitor knave?
Wha can fill a coward’s grave?
Wha sae base as be a slave?
Let him turn an flee!
Wha, for Scotland’s king an law,
Freedom’s sword will strongly draw,
Freeman stand or Freeman faw,
Let them follow me!
By oppression’s woes an pains,
By your sons in servile chains,
We will drain our dearest veins,
But they shall be free.
Lay the proud usurpers low!
Tyrants faw in ev’ry foe!
Liberty’s in ev’ry blow!
Let us do or die!
Sang fer Scotland It’s been three hunner year an mair Nou at last the time has come The people o this land maun say What it is that shuid be done Chorus It’s up tae us, this is oor land … Continue reading →
Posted on April 15, 2014 by lurgie
Me and Paul Robeson
Posted on March 5, 2014 by lurgie | 1 comment
One of my most treasured possessions is a page torn out of the autograph book I had as a child. It simply says ‘I hope to see you next year, Paul” Paul Robeson that is. My father got him to sign my book after I had missed going to his concert in Dundee’s Caird Hall in 1958 because I was in hospital after a wee accident on my brother’s bike. Luckily he came back next year and I got to see him and hear him sing. To this day I can still remember the power of that remarkable voice – it was as if I could feel it in my chest. It was a remarkable and inspirational night. My family and I were there because my parents were Communists and thus supporters of Paul Robeson. People forget but at that time the western media were virulently anti-communist and the 2,000 seater Caird Hall had only a few hundred people gathered that night to hear one of the world’s greatest singers, and I believe one of the world’s great human beings.
Now there is no doubt that Paul, funny how in our family we thought of him as Paul, was an absolute favourite of my father, was blind to the limitations of the Soviet Union. Like may father I have no doubt he was what I would call a real Communist – somebody who believed that human societies should be run on the principles of ‘from everyone, according to their ability, to everyone according to their need’. Probably on his visits to the Soviet Union Robeson only ever met people who assured him that it was in fact an egalitarian and democratic society. His own experience of the western media would have made him dubious of any claims they made to the contrary. My father certainly believed that the Soviet Union was democratic and egalitarian, and dismissed all reports to the contrary in the Western media as propaganda. As someone who has been lecturing in history for a long time now I am well aware that history itself is all too often little more than propaganda, but neither my father nor, Paul Robeson would ever have condoned the brutal dictatorship masquerading as a worker’s republic if they had realised the truth. Truth is a word that is of course amorphous but as an example of the times I recall around that time a new teacher coming to take over our class. She asked if there was anything she should know about as and quick as a flash one of the other kids had her hand up. ‘Yes what is it?,’ she smiled. Dramatically the girl turned and pointed at me and said in a very loud voice, ”Stuart McHardy is a Communist miss.’. She knew even less of what it meant than I did, but clearly had been influenced by her parents. Fortunately it didn’t affect how that teacher dealt with me afterwards but it does illustrate the paranoia of the times.
Now Paul Robeson may have been lulled into a false sense of reality by the apparatchiks of the Soviet Union but it didn’t affect who he was. This was a man who as a fighter for not just black people, but all people he saw as working class, was a shining example of integrity.
It has always struck me that when America is relaxed enough about itself to give respect to the likes of Paul Robeson, that it will begin to fulfil the egalitarian and democratic foundations it was raised on, and with the re-election of the first black president that day should be getting closer. However as long as Fox News and other mainstream media act as cheerleaders for the super-rich, I fear that day is still far off.
Propaganda and the Scottish media
Posted on January 16, 2014 by lurgie | 1 comment
Deprive the people of their national consciousness, treat them as a tribe and not a nation, dilute their national pride, do not teach their history, propagate their language as inferior, imply they have a cultural void, emphasise their customs are primitive, and dismiss independence as a barbaric anomaly.
These are the words Reihnhard Heidrich the Director of the Reich Main Security Office in 1930s. Much has been made recently of how the Mainstream media have been treating the independence debate. However their incapacity to deal fairly with matters of Scottish history and culture is nothing new. Back in the 1992 as a reaction against the Tories wining a Westminster election with no Scottish representation the need for a Scottish Parliament became manifestly clear and the movement towards greater devolution gathered strength. A demonstration was called for the 12th of December which on the day was attended by over 25,000 people, which at the time was seen as truly momentous. One of the groups actively promoting the cause was the Vigil for a Scottish Parliament which maintained a permanent presence outside the gates of the old Royal High School – originally the designated home of the hoped for Scottish Parliament – from the 10th April 1992 till the Labour General Election victory in 1997. Now the Vigil was non-party single issue concept but those involved, and I was one of them, were concerned about how Scottish history has been dealt with in the period since the Union. When the date of the march was decided we were aware that this was in fact a significant anniversary. Precisely two hundred years earlier there had been a Convention of the Scottish Friends of the People held n Edinburgh calling for parliamentary reform. The upshot of this meeting was that a group of men, known thereafter as the Scottish Political Martyrs were transported to Botany Bay for sedition after a series of blatant show trials presided over by the utterly venal Henry Dundas, Viscount Melville who kept an iron grip on all levels of Scottish public affairs on behalf of William Pitt’s Westminster government.
Now anniversaries have long been a staple of the media so it was decided to inform all media outlets in Edinburgh of this significant anniversary. A for page briefing document was put together and delivered by hand to every television and radio station and all newspaper and news agency offices in the capital. The upshot? Nothing. The Radical agitation of the 1790s – which included specific calls for the overthrow of the Act of Union – was not something the MSM wanted to deal with. Or should we consider the matter in the light of the opening quotation above? The simple truth of the matter is that much of Scotland’s history has been deemed unsuitable for public consumption by the Gatekeepers who have so avidly supported the status quo which suits their nest-feathering self-interest so well. Later this year my book Scotland’s Future History? which looks in detail at the process of how our history has been distorted and suppressed, will be published by Luath Press,but for present purposes a couple of instances should suffice to exemplify the pattern.
The role of the Scottish Radicals, of whom Robert Burns was one, in Scotland of the 1790s and their inks to later political agitation has been virtually ignored and it is a telling point that the most significant monument tin Calton Cemetery at the East End of Edinburgh’s Princes Street – the monument to the transported Martyrs which toers over the cemetery and was raised by public subscription in the 1840s – does not even rate a mention on the board at the gate which lists the notable people buried within. There is no need to censor those who are happy to censor themselves.
Heidrich suggests it is a good idea to “propagate their language as inferior”. This is precisely what was done via the Education Scotland Act if 1872 where is was stipulated that the language of education was to be English, effectively disbarring Scots and Gaelic form the education system entirely. This was thought to have finalised the process – which had accelerated during the Enlightenment with those who considered themselves the ‘elite” in Scotland –aping the manners, attitudes and language of the southern ruling class. In later years, once the assimilation of Scotland into Britain was assumed to be complete, it became acceptable to take an inters tin Gaelic and later in Scots. The fact that the languages have survived and are now taught in our schools to some extent is iIlustrative of the virr and smeddum of our indigenous tungs, despite the best efforts of the gatekeeping classes. The languages if Gaelic and Scots were assumed by the Gatekeepers in the 19th century to have been driven from all important areas of society and could be safely left to slowly die out on the tongues of the great unwashed. If you wanted to get on you spoke English – an attitude that has left deep cultural scars across Scotland.
I mentioned that there was a strand of nationalism apparent amongst the Radicals f the 1790s and later but an earlier period of our history also suggests this was nothing new. The representation of the ’45 as a doomed Romantic adventure by the dying remnants of an anachronistic society has long been a cornerstone of British history. The fact that the Highlands were not truly pacified until almost a decade after Culloden, that much of Lowland Scotland was under military occupation till the same time and that Charles Edward Stewart was still actively trying to regain the thrones of his ancestors till the late 1760s have been conveniently ignored by mainstream historians, happy to go along with the notion of British history – which has never been more than English history with a few sops to the ‘fringe’ nations of these islands. And along with this suppression there has been no attention paid till very recently to the reality that many of the Scots who came out in the ’45, from Lowlands and Highlands were heirs to a tradition of nationalism that had built on the resentment of the people to the Union of 1707. Most of the Jacobite leaders at the time would have been happy to have a Stewart king of Scotland, free of all ties to our southern neighbour.
So we should not be surprised that the MSM in Scotland, thirled as they are to the preservation of the status quo, should be so biased, they perceive it to be in their own interest. They have been pro-Establishment for centuries and the Establishment in Scotland has existed on the back of the Union. Hamish Henderson regularly quoted Gramsci saying ’politics follows culture and never the other way round” and there is no doubt that we have seen a Scottish cultural revival over the past few decades. And history is a cornerstone of culture – the more we know of how we have been lied to, the more we are liable to insist on taking control of our own lives, and our own land. Yes independence is about the future but as the old cliché has it, how can you tell where you are going if you know not where you have been?
An Ode to Darling
Posted on November 17, 2013 by lurgie in Uncategorized
Tagged humour, indyref, protest song, satire, scottish
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High School US History: Tutoring Solution / History Courses
The Roaring 20s: Tutoring Solution Chapter Exam
The Roaring 20s: Tutoring Solution / Practice Exam
Question 10 10. How did Art Deco differ from Victorianism?
They were essentially the same as both had a very conservative approach to art and life.
Art Deco was only an artistic style, while Victorianism was also applied to architecture, furniture design and others.
Art Deco was a lot more minimalist, while Victorianism was innovative and strived to move the boundaries of art.
Art Deco rebelled against the status quo, including all of the norms set by Victorianism.
Question 11 11. When running for President in 1920, Warren Harding promised Americans:
A return to 'normalcy'
A chicken in every pot
The New Freedom
Question 12 12. The Politics of the 1920s seemed to favor:
Progressive reform
Big buisness
Question 13 13. Women who challenged traditional, Victorians ideas of womanhood, and typically wore their hair short were called:
Starlets
Question 14 14. Which of the following is FALSE regarding the Harlem Renaissance?
It greatly impacted art, literature, and music.
It was called the New Negro Movement during its time.
Its impact extended beyond the 1920s.
It was a rejection of the African-American culture.
Question 15 15. What is the name given to the African-American artistic and intellectual movement that took place in New York City during the 1920s?
The Art Deco Movement
Booklyn Renaissance
New York Surrealism
Question 16 16. Why was Al Capone charged with tax evasion, as opposed to other crimes?
He bribed the judges to be only charged with tax evasion.
Tax evasion was the only crime he committed.
The penalty for tax evasion was harsher than the penalties for other crimes.
There was not much evidence on other crimes, just tax evasion.
Question 17 17. Which of the following is NOT true about the Scottsboro Trials?
The trials reached the Supreme Court twice.
The boys were guilty of the charged crimes.
In the first trial, 8 out of the 9 boys were sentenced to death.
Ruby Bates admitted she lied about being raped.
Question 18 18. Which best describes 1920s urban culture?
Victorian and traditional
Conservative and religious
Modern and indulgent
Question 19 19. Which sentence accurately describes art and culture in the 1920s?
Artists, musicians, and writers were extremely traditional in the 1920s.
Artist, musicians and writers in the 1920s challenged traditions and aimed to be experimental.
There was not much art and culture in the 1920s.
Artists, musicians, and writers were concerned with international subjects in the 1920s.
Question 20 20. Which of the following is a branch of the justice department that should have dealt with leftist radicals?
Intelligence Division
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
Question 21 21. The National Prohibition Act was also known as
The 19th Amendment.
The Volstead Act
The Anti-Drink Laws
The Wheeler Act
Question 22 22. The popular company that began in 1893 and regularly issued mail-order catalogues filled with all kinds of products was:
Sears, Roebuck & Co.
F. W. Woolworth Company
The American Supply Co.
Question 23 23. The term 'nativism' can best be described as
A fear of Chinese immigrants.
A hatred of American Indians.
A fear of Jews.
A hatred of Catholics.
A fear of foreign people and foreign ideas.
Question 24 24. Why did the Scopes trial garner so much national attention?
Because it was a good diversion from the economic news of the time.
Because William Jennings Bryan was in the middle of another presidential campaign.
Because John T. Scopes was a famous actor.
Because of the celebrity attorneys, Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan.
Question 25 25. Immediately following World War I Americans felt uneasy for which reasons?
labor unrest
racial tension
Spanish Flu
Question 26 26. What is a speakeasy?
A storehouse
An illegal bar
A corncrib
A racketeering practice
Question 27 27. Purchasing stocks with money borrowed from a broker is called:
Buying joint-stock
Stock mortgaging
Buying on the fly
Stock-brokering
Question 28 28. Andrew Volstead was
The head of the Anti-Saloon League
A leading Congressman opposed to prohibition.
The Head of the Treasury Department
The head of the Judiciary Committee which oversaw the legislation of prohibition.
President of the U.S.
Question 29 29. The Secretary of the Interior in charge of administering the Teapot Dome oil reserve was:
Albert Fall
Question 30 30. Which of the following departments was charged with enforcing the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act?
The Department of the Interior
The Department of Treasury
The FBI
The Department of Agriculture
The State Department
The Roaring 20s: Tutoring Solution Chapter Exam Instructions
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thekongdanfoundation
To become a bridge for global understanding of Eastern history and philosophy
About The Kongdan Foundation
Early Chinese Class #1
The Dazhuan – The Meaning of the I Ching
My Travels with Lieh Tzu
Taoism and Lao Tzu
The I Ching / Voices of the Dragon
Qufu and Confucius
The Ultimate Storyteller
Who am I but someone who has assumed the role as the storyteller. Conveying the words of the ancients in such a way that lends understanding to our past that tells the future. What can be considered an original thought when everything has already been either spoken or written before us. When all we do is tell the stories a little differently to convey their meaning today so that more people can appreciate and understand them. Understanding the true meaning of discernment and insight and that it is through clarity of intention that telling the story defines us.
The Common Man Shaanxi Museum
For thousands of years even before recorded history it was the person who could explain events in nature and among men who came forward to tell the story. It became the responsibility of the person who could connect how everything came together in our environment; to nature, to the stars and universe who became the chosen one. Through observation of what occurs in nature man was able to find his place in it. If man destroyed the natural environment around him he would die. If he lived in constant harmony with what he found in nature he would flourish. This was the fundamental truth found in all things. Conveying the story beyond oral history became essential, hens the birth of what would become the I Ching. That written history began in what was the Xia Dynasty and later with the Shang. The greatest leaders were either shaman themselves or those who looked the the shaman for guidance and direction. The trouble has always been man’s own ego and failure to see the world beyond what he saw was best for himself.
For the storyteller it is when you become one with your inner nature or highest self, you go beyond self. The storyteller becomes as much the story as the story itself and is one with it. It is not simply the art of reading, understanding and writing the words. It is the process of capturing the essence of it all and becoming a part of the story.
On Horseback through the Trees Shaanxi Museum
As if assuming or playing the role of who you really are and have always been in eternity. It is this that the earliest shaman knew and understood so well. You cannot just tell the story, it is much better to become the story yourself that captures the attention of others. For myself taking on the image of the dragon from the very beginning was the initial epiphany. Soon afterwards I wrote the line… what you write is who you are to become… is when I had to sit up and take notice. Ultimately you find yourself not being attached to any particular place and live instead in the constant state of becoming.
It was this need to tell and convey the events, myths, and legends of the past that helped to guide others to see beyond themselves and to their own highest endeavor and destiny as the one who tells the story.
Giving Directions Shaanxi Museum
It was during the Shang Dynasty between 1500 and 1000 BC that this inner turmoil came to a head. Man must speak to and see a source of power greater than himself. If not he would destroy both himself and all those around him. It was during this time that certain inalienable rights of the individual came to the forefront as something needed to be done. If no one thing was bigger or more important than another, then how could one have favor and another failure. It would be the person telling the story of past events that would guide things to the future to a peaceful place or end. It would be the I Ching that would convey cause and effect. Our role was to see things as they were in the beginning and see them through to a foreseeable end. What occurred in the interim was man’s decision to make for himself and determine his own fate.
On fitting in with Dragons Shaanxi Museum
The person who could best understand this in time became the sage. It would be when the sage connected everything to the sun, moon, stars and universe that he was to become the dragon. The shaman told the story of how everything fits together in nature. The sage gave meaning to how it fit in the universe… Their ability to tell the story gave the ultimate meaning to it all. To assume the role of the dragon, perhaps simply as a metaphor to better tell the story, is for myself essential to understand my own role I may have played as I proceed.
It would be the Shang putting King Wen of the Zhou in prison for a year in which it is claimed during this time he put the words and the ultimate meaning of the lines of the I Ching to paper that would change Chinese history forever. It was here that his son, the Duke of Zhou or Ji Dan, who emerged to compile the first Book of Rites and assembled everything he could find to add structure to what was known at the time.
Rituals Shaanxi Museum
He was from the city of Lu that later became modern day Qufu, my own hometown when I am in China. Scholars throughout history have questioned rather King Wen was the person who put meaning to the lines. But he was a convenient, respected repository and attributing to him gave the words credence or a legitimacy they otherwise might not have have. Who was the real author and did it matter?
What is the role of the ultimate storyteller?
The Sage Duke of Zhou in Qufu
In Taoism, three of the greatest books in recorded history were the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, the Chuang Tzu, and the Book of Lieh Tzu. Legend says that Lao Tzu gave his book to a gate keeper as he headed west and the Book of Lieh Tzu is attributed to an individual who is questioned to have existed at all. Lao Tzu certainly did exist and almost all the writing in the book can be easily attributed to the same person. The Lieh Tzu is a compilation of stories attributed to early writers who wrote before there was even a name to the Way, or what would later be called Taoism. It was very common during this time to attribute your own writing to someone else who was famous so that the words you had written would be taken seriously.
The fate of the storyteller did not always have a happy ending. After Emperor Chin who consolidated the building of the Great Wall had all writings and scholars burned and buried in Xian in about 100 BC everything had to be reconstructed later by the Han to try to convey what was said in what was lost from memory. What Chin decided to keep burned in a fire ten years later. Finally, it was the process of the writing of “commentaries” by Wang Pi and many others that were to convey what was really meant that carried the day. Even Wang Pi who was a brilliant writer who wrote an updated version of the I Ching and Tao Te Ching that later became required study for the examination system died a mysterious death at the young age of twenty six.
Finding the Way Shaanxi Museum
I have been to Xian and seen the terra cotta warriors. Xian was the capital of China for over a thousand years. Years earlier when I had felt the chill when I saw a picture of the red guard in Qufu taken during the cultural revolution when they were about to destroy relics from the Confucius Temple and Mansion after hanging in effigy what was considered the skeleton of Ji Dan was the same feeling I felt stepping off the train in Xian. The red guard were stopped in Qufu only by the urging of Premier Zhou Enlai from Beijing. No one had stopped Emperor Chin. The times don’t always sit well with the storytellers past or present. But the stories still need to be told.
Even with Confucius, most of what he said was conveyed verbally and committed to memory by his disciples. It was not until two hundred years after he died that his version of the “Analects” were accepted. What Confucius is most famous for is his interpretation of the “Five Classics” that outlined Chinese history before his time in about 500 BC.
With my own writing everything seems to come from sources with which I am most familiar. My pen often flows with words I am seemingly unfamiliar with and have to look up after I have written them. To my own amazement the meaning is clear and what I intended. It is as though I am writing without thinking what I am to say… I just write and the words are there. My own writing style seemed to begin over twenty years ago in what appears as poetry making getting published more difficult.
A Ming Dynasty portrayal of Cao Cao.
My first book published in China was an example of this writing style. What I did not know at the time was this was a similar style of writing made famous by an early Han writer in about 200 BC whose name was Cao Cao.
That I cannot speak or read Chinese is a bit of a hindrance, but after twenty-five years and writing literally hundreds of thousands of words dedicated to gaining a better understanding of Chinese history and philosophy this has not been a problem. What I need has been translated to English usually by numerous other writers and can be expanded upon. When I am in China it has been easy to identify other scholars who are familiar and happy to have another opinion of things… especially by someone not Chinese. Although for others, especially people in China, educators and those who have studied as I have, sometimes their feelings are restrained. How could I know so much and so little at the same time? The paradox in which we all must live. But perhaps it is as it is expressed in Taoism. That some supposed weakness is in actuality our greatest strength.
It is also said when we open ourselves to the universe with our virtue intact that what we find are encounters that show the way that helps us with a story we then can tell.
Following in Silence Shaanxi Museum
It is in the silence we can begin to hear again as we remember and recall the stories of eternity that we have always known but simply forgotten.
What greater endeavor could there be? It is in the silence we can hear the voices of the shaman and sage once again. Knowing that everyone has their own story to tell once they come forward to just listen as they too become the ultimate storyteller as well.
One comment on “The Ultimate Storyteller”
Josephwar
vxto click here
37) Helen Keller and The Razor’s Edge – Illumination and insight. Discovering the mountaintop and our return. Unity of Springfield –World Religions/New Thought Class January 19 and February 2, 2020.
36) Our Journey into Transcendence / Traveling the Silk Road with Marco Polo – A spiritual travelogue through the mountains of China and Tibet… Part 3.
35) Cultivating stillness – The transforming energy pill that flows through the I Ching (yin/yang), Taoism, and our nature enabling abundance in both mind and body.
34) Our journey into transcendence continues / A spiritual travelogue through the mountains of China and Tibet. Part 2.
33) Leo Tolstoy and the transcendence to New Thought, early Christianity and his legacy. Unity of Springfield – Nov 24 World Religions Class
32) Our journey into transcendence / A spiritual travelogue through the mountains of China and Tibet. Part 1.
31) From Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech to Thich Nhat Hanh inspiring us to base our actions on compassion and abundance… The I Ching / Fuxi and Nuwa, Shennong, and the Yellow Emperor.
30) Unity in China, Shandong Province and Qufu. / Presentation for Unity of Springfield 10/27/2019
29) Living from within the symbolism found in the I Ching and the virtue that defines us. Ideals focusing on our highest endeavor of wu wei – simplicity and harmonious living conducive to the cultivation of health and longevity.
28) The I Ching / It’s all a matter of interpretation. First getting lost in translation… then finding the proper venue that expresses our own divine nature.
A Taste of Taoism for Unity
A/THE BUDDHA OF INFINITE LIGHT
Bringing others along for the Ride
Buddhism in China
Chuang Tzu’s Pivot
Burton Watson’s Chuang Tzu
Wu wei – the Art of doing Nothing
Confucian classics – The Book of Rites
Daily Reminder of my own Path
Daily Word in China and pivot to Unity in USA
Dan’s resume
History of the Mongols plus ten Major Cities they Sacked
History of Western Religion, New Thought, and Transcendentalism
Importance of Mencius in Chinese history
KongDan’s Travels in China
Dan and Chris 2016 Trip to China
Dujiangyan Irrigation System of Chengdu
M/J 2014 Qufu, Chengdu and Xi’an
KongDan’s Writings
Contending for the Middle
Eternal Thoughts of Forgiveness
Finding Clouds of Virtue
Increasing the vibrations of our Thoughts
Irreverently Meandering through Time
It’s not where you are – but who you are.
The Frog in the Well
Living from within the symbolism found in the I Ching and the virtue that defines us. Ideals focusing on our highest endeavor of wu wei – simplicity and harmonious living conducive to the cultivation of health and longevity.
May/June 2017 Trip to China
National Museum in Beijing
The Confucian Orthodoxy
Qufu Confucius College, Sages of Chinese history and The Great Learning.
Recommended Taoist words or phrases
Reference material: Xi Wangmu, the shamanic great goddess of China and Kunlun Mountain
Sept 18 – Oct 18, 2018 / Journey to China and Tibet
September 21 – 23, 2018 / Qufu
Essays on Taoist Internal Alchemy
Nei-yeh — Inward Training
Taoist Meditation and Practice
Taoist teachings and traditions in China
The Heru, Luoshu and Chinese Cosmology
Terms for understanding Taoism
The Dazhuan / 5th Wing – Divine Order and the I Ching
The Qufu Confucius/I Ching Society
The Shaman and Shamaness
Volume I – The Tao Te Ching as Living History
Volume II – The Tao Te Ching as Living History
Volume III Tao Te Ching as Living History / Chengdu and confluence of Tibetan Buddhism
WLiving from within the symbolism found in the I Ching and the virtue that defines us. Ideals focusing on our highest endeavor of wu wei – simplicity and harmonious living conducive to the cultivation of health and longevity.
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Loch Raven Press Books
The Loch Raven Review
Diana Anhalt, Second Skin, Reviewed by Peter Ludwin
Diana Anhalt, Second Skin, FutureCycle Press, 2012, 30 pages, ISBN-10: 193885313X, ISBN-13: 978-1938853135, $9.95.
People who claim to hate poetry should read Diana Anhalt’s Second Skin, her loving bouquet to Mexico, where she lived for sixty years before moving back to the United States in 2010. Funny, irreverent, touching and easily accessible, this wonderful collection from a woman who never lost her Bronx accent invites, cajoles, embraces and seduces. Here the resplendent syllables of Spanish and Nahuatl flavor the poems like herbal seasonings, and the wacky, non-rational faces of Mexican culture adorn them like tendrils of bougainvillea.
This is a New Yorker talking, but a New Yorker tempered by lifelong exposure to Mexico’s rhythms, customs and warmth. The language by turns rushes and relaxes, and always at the heart of the poems one finds a passionate, generous spirit. You will look in vain here for obscure symbolism or Robert Bly’s damning indictment of “chill, competent workshop poems” with which he tarred a lot of what he had seen in contemporary poetry. Competent these poems are, certainly, but there isn’t a chill note to be found. The richest of them—“Mexico,” “Student Driver,” “To My Mover,” “Ode to Spanish,” “Nostalgia’s Map”—are among the most engaging and memorable poems I can remember.
Consider these opening lines from “Mexico”:
MEXICO,
mother of lopsided logic, defensive driving, the shrug, arrived on my doorstep
when I was eight, entered, trumpets blasting, rolling her Rs,
flashing a finger, and dancing a zapateo down my spine.
She had clouds in her pocket, mint on her breath, thunder in her bosom,
and a tongue to fold around words like Huitzilopochtli.
Or the delicious indignation that illuminates the true depth of her loss in “To My Mover”:
You claimed you could crate and ship anything:
forty-one paintings, the piano, dining room table,
a headboard (king-sized), Persian carpets,
an African family tree carved from ebony.
So what happened to the rest? My cargo
of Mexican clouds, for example, the view out
my window of wind flapping flags, sun riding
behind the volcanoes—they’re not on this invoice.
You’ve forgotten the bougainvillea, the cures for ague
and heartbreak sold in markets with the chilies
and carrots. What about the church bells, the mariachis?
Where are the taxicab rosaries, Guadalupe virgins,
bald infants in headbands and Saturday dresses,
wet-season rainbows, tortilla dough, mangos,
the colors—fuchsia, scarlet, raucous chartreuse?
Damn it! Why don’t you listen? I’m just getting started.
What the hell have you done with my friends?
At the front of the book is this marvelous quote from Graham Greene: “There is always a moment in childhood when a door opens and lets the future in.” With respect to Anhalt’s poems, this can be taken in at least two ways. First, as a foreshadowing of her family’s move to Mexico when she was a child of eight. But more resonantly, as a hint to where her true allegiances lie. For example, the second poem in the collection, “Why I Write in English,” could give a reader the misleading impression that for her Spanish and the incomparably rich flavors of Mexican life were primarily not only a stopgap, but not to be trusted as well:
Spanish, I thought, is what happens
if you pour your milk down the drain,
break promises, or step on pavement cracks.
I was wary and “Messico” was a place
I wouldn’t, in my lisping toothlessness, pronounce.
Spanish curdled my tongue,
turned me wordy, oblique, insincere.
With its treacherous Rs, languorous vowels,
devious music, each sound colliding
with the next, it yielded one unwieldy run-on word,
too big for my child-sized mouth.
She seems to clinch the argument in the last stanza of the poem:
Today I speak Spanish to survive,
but I write in English for its punch,
for the way it slices through excess, draws blood,
attracts sharks. (They know this voice and come to me.)
The first line of that final stanza might suggest she speaks Spanish only because circumstances demand it, as if it were onerous, a burden. But any such notions arising from this poem are emphatically dispelled by the other poems in the book. For instance, in “On Time,” which appears two poems later, we share in her growing discovery as she listens to the radio:
XEQK grounded my Mexican minutes, grounded me.
1540 on the radio dial. I was a kid, a stranger to Spanish
In taxis, offices, homes without clocks, it reeled
out a music I couldn’t dance to, had yet to fathom.
Time pulsed through the airwaves, embraced me,
steadied me. Before the Philco in the foyer, I reveled
in its constancy and poetry as it pummeled home—
minute after minute—La hora exacta. The exact time.
Son las doce horas en punto followed by the gong’s
punctuation. Twelve o’clock sharp. Alka Seltzer jingles,
ads for Lovable brassieres, Refrescos Lulu, Cigarros
Delicados, Jardines de Florida bath soap (Naturalmente)
sandwiched between seconds. That around-the-clock chant
became my matins, vespers, compline: Sombreros Tartan,
Glostora para el pelo, Funeraria Gayosso, Victoria beer.
Veinte millones de Mexicanos no se pueden equivocar.
Twenty million Mexicans can’t be wrong.
Or consider the bold assertion of “Bred in the Bone,” how it draws a line in the sand and refuses to retreat even an inch:
I will never stop cursing in Spanish. Certain phrases—
vete al infierno, que carajo, valgame dios—lie in wait
beneath my tongue for when I crash the car, break my leg.
Here, in this English-speaking country, I still make love
in Spanish, pepper my conversations with Mexicanismos,
butt in on the chit-chat of Spanish-speaking strangers,
spout liquid vowels, saw the air, shrug my shoulders
and machine-gun Rs off the roof of my mouth. The sun
speaks to me in Spanish. So do church bells, guitars,
supermarket chilies. My dreams shadow the person
I once was, follow me home from mercado to plaza
and onto a street where the chiclet vendors loiter
as a horse trots by.
To appreciate most profoundly the depth of Anhalt’s love for the culture she left behind one must read “Ode to Spanish” and “Nostalgia’s Map,” which appear toward the end of the book. And it is certainly no coincidence that the last poem in the collection is “Possibilities,” which leaves no doubt concerning her allegiance and positions her precariously balanced between old life and new:
To live without fuchsia, January’s sun, Spanish,
smoke-spewing Popocatepetl, the night watchman’s
warning whistle, driving both ways on a one-way street
is impossible. But it’s who you are, not where you are.
I console myself with thoughts of starting anew:
the dough rising on a floured board, the first rung
of a ladder, Monday mornings, open doors. So what
am I waiting for? Fanfares announcing my entrance,
a gust of cold wind, fireworks, applause? No curtain
will rise on me now. I will never leave my footprint
in Atlanta’s wet concrete, nor carve my initials
on the trunks of its Chinquapin oaks. Poised
on the shoulders of my former self, I take a deep breath.
Prepare to plunge into tomorrow, a foreign territory.
Study its maps. Drive down Peachtree.
For anyone who knows Mexico, especially Mexico City, these poems will fit like an old familiar jacket. And for those who don’t, they are opening doors of welcome impossible not to step through.
© Peter Ludwin and Diana Anhalt
Peter Ludwin is the recipient of a Literary Fellowship from Artist Trust and the W.D. Snodgrass Award for Endeavor and Excellence in Poetry. He was the 2007-2008 Second Prize Winner of the Anna Davidson Rosenberg Awards. For the past twelve years he has been a participant in the San Miguel Poetry Week in Mexico, where he has studied under such noted poets as Mark Doty, Tony Hoagland, Joseph Stroud and Robert Wrigley. His work has appeared in many journals, including The Bitter Oleander, The Comstock Review, Nimrod, North American Review and Prairie Schooner. His first book, A Guest in All Your Houses, was published in 2009 by Word Walker Press. His second, Rumors of Fallible Gods, was a Finalist for the Gival Press Poetry Award in both 2010 and 2011, and has been published by Presa Press. He has been nominated multiple times for a Pushcart Prize. Soundings Review named him the winner of its spring/summer 2011 Reader’s Choice award for his poem, “A Convocation of Crows.” The Comstock Review designated his poem, “Trial of Compassion, Baker City, Oregon” a Special Merit Recognition recipient in the 2012 Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Awards Contest. An avid traveler who has visited remote Indian families in the Ecuadorean Amazon, hiked in the Peruvian Andes, hitchhiked in Greece and bargained in the Marrakech market, he spent nearly a month in 2011 in China and Tibet. He lives near Seattle.
Diana Anhalt is a former resident of Mexico, having moved there from New York City with her family at age eight. She is the author of A Gathering of Fugitives: American Political Expatriates in Mexico 1948-1965 (Archer Books), poetry, and numerous articles, published in Mexico and the United States. Second Skin, just released by Future Cycle Press, is her second book of poetry.
Back to Main Loch Raven Review Site
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Hire the MAC
The MAC musical is back!
A little bit of Broadway comes to Belfast this September when The World Goes ‘Round takes to a newly transformed stage at the MAC Belfast. Showcasing some of the biggest songs, from Broadway’s biggest productions like New York, New York, Cabaret and All That Jazz, this feel good show is a revue of hits by Kander and Ebb and is performed by a multi-talented cast who sing, dance and play instruments.
A co-production by Blunt Fringe and the MAC and starring a host of local and West End performers, The World Goes ‘Round will open for a two-week run at the MAC from 1st September until 15th September 2018.
To enhance the audience experience, the main theatre at the MAC has been totally transformed into an all new club, called the Luminaire Club, complete with at-table seating and waiter service. Guests are invited to take their seat, have a glass of bubbly and watch the action unfold on stage.
Co-directed by Stephen Whitson (Associate Director of West End sensation Hamilton), this classic revue has a multi-talented cast of five actor musicians who will sing, dance and play in this spectacular evening of musical theatre. The cast includes Stephanie McConville, originally from Lurgan and has most recently starred in the UK tour of Little Shop of Horrors; Carolyn Maitland, from the Isle of Wight who has had many leading roles on the West End most recently playing Molly in Ghost the Musical; Aveen Biddle, a recent musical theatre graduate originally from Derry; Will Arundell, a singer and talented cellist from Norwich; and Conor McFarlane, an accomplished musician who recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Music and is originally from Derry.
Claire Murray, Blunt Fringe said, “We are thrilled to be working with such an illustrious cast and creative team to bring the incredible songs of Kander and Ebb to life on the main stage at the MAC. Our cast will be singing, dancing, playing instruments and maybe even roller skating their way through the most stunning repertoire of musical theatre hits.”
The show was first staged in Belfast in 2014 and The Musical Theatre Review called it, “A success – intelligently staged, impeccably sung, wonderfully entertaining and with enormous style.” The MAC and Blunt Fringe hope to wow audiences with the amazing setting, style and performance for a thoroughly entertaining night.
Simon Magill, Creative Director at the MAC said, “We’re delighted to be co-producing this musical at the MAC this Autumn with our partners Blunt Fringe. To make the experience extra special, I was keen to play with the flexibility of the MAC theatre space and to create something special for audiences by changing the format from our usual theatre set-up into a more intimate, club feel. We have invested in new seating, staging and dressing to create what we hope will be a really special experience. This is the first opening of the Luminaire Club at the MAC and coupled with the amazing talent on stage, audiences are in for a real treat.”
Tickets for The World Goes ‘Round are now on sale and are selling fast.
Supported by National Lottery funding through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
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Bellisario & Cannell
Quantum Leap (1990) – Freedom and Good Night, Dear Heart
Posted by TD Rideout on September 22, 2016 September 22, 2016
Sam (Scott Bakula) engages in more time travelling adventure this week as he leaps into a young Native American, George Washaki in Freedom. This episode was penned by Chris Ruppenthal and aired 14 February, 1990.
It’s 22 November, 1970, and Sam finds himself on the run with George’s grandfather, Joseph (Frank Salsedo), with an angry and racist sheriff, Taggart (Leon Rippy) in pursuit. Originally arrested for stealing a pick-up truck, they are racing to get back to his ancestral lands, having escaped from a nursing home, so that Joseph can die in peace, at home.
Chasing after them, much to Taggart’s consternation is George’s sister, Suzanne (Gloria Hayes).
Al (Dean Stockwell) informs Sam about the original history and the need for Joseph to be able to die with dignity, as opposed to hooked up to machines, prolonging a life, but not really living.
Sam and Joseph are a good pairing, and the moments they share together are fun, as well as imparting some wisdom to the time traveller. Joseph has a great sense of humour, and provides for some laughs.
There’s some nice continuity, as Joseph can see in Sam’s eyes that he’s killed in the past, and marks his horse accordingly, with two hand prints, signifying the two lives he’s taken since he started leaping.
It’s a gentle episode, despite the chase concept of the episode, and this one, over the years, has actually grown on me. I didn’t care for it so much when I was younger.
The episode’s conclusion is bittersweet, and done just right. Just as you would expect from this show.
Good Night, Dear Heart has a bit of a dark drama feel to it. Penned by Paul Brown, who won an Edgar Award for best episode in a television series, this one aired 7 March, 1990.
Sam finds himself leaping into Melvin Spooner, a small town mortician, who also serves as the coroner. It’s 9 November, 1957, and Sam is embroiled in a mystery, that is beginning to haunt him.
Hilly (Suzanne Tegmann) was a beautiful 19 year old girl, and now she’s dead. Those in power, including Roger Truesdale (William Cain), a rich lodge owner, where Hilly worked, is pushing for a finding of suicide, but the more Sam looks into her death, the more he becomes convinced that she was murdered.
A belief that Al and Ziggy, the project’s supercomputer, might support, but Sam tells them they can sit this one, as he already knows why he’s there, that doesn’t keep his friend from checking on him though. The truth will out, if Sam has his way, but there are people working to keep things secret, and people safe.
Through pictures, and film, Sam slowly becomes obsessed with the beautiful woman, and is determined to learn the truth no matter where the trail leads to.
Making appearances in the episode are Robert Duncan McNeill and Marcia Cross.
It’s a dark and sombre episode, but as always, well-executed, and there are moments of levity, as everyone refuses to shake Sam’s hands because of his occupation.
The episode concludes with Sam leaping into someone leaning over a pool table, as people up their bets. Oh, boy.
22 november 19709 november 1957alancestral landsbest episode in a television seriesbittersweetchris ruppenthalcontinuitycoronerdeaddean stockwelldie in peacedignitydramaedgar awardfebruary 1990filmfrank salsedofreedomfungeorge washakigloria hayesgood night dear heartgrandfatherhaunthillyhumourjosephlaughsleon rippylodgemarch 1990marcia crossmelvin spoonermorticianmurdermysterynative americannursing homeobsessedoh boyon the runpaul brownpicturespursuitquantum leapracistrobert duncan mcneillroger truesdalesamscott bakulasecretsheriffsisterstealingsuicidesupercomputersuzannesuzanne tegmanntaggarttruthwilliam cainziggy
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to main page send e-mail Last Updated: Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Advertising in The Mover
About The Mover
On The Road News
The independent voice of the global moving industry
Suddath appoints new business development director
Global transportation, relocation and logistics company Suddath, has announced the appointment of Steve Brock as director of business development for the Los Angeles market.
In this new role, Steve will be focussed on Suddath’s business line dealing with corporate household goods and will be responsible for developing, procuring and creating innovative solutions for clients.
Gavin Bosco, Vice President of Household Goods Sales said, “We’re excited having someone of Steve’s experience and expertise join our team. He fits into Suddath’s corporate culture perfectly with his consultative sales approach and his reputation for integrity. Steve’s strong relationships and knowledge of the California market will be invaluable as we continue expanding across the western region.”
Steve Brock has more than 13 years’ experience in the relocation industry. He previously worked for a leading corporate housing company responsible for sales execution in the San Francisco Bay Area and is an active member of the Bay Area Mobility Management (BAMM), and the relocation services industry trade group Worldwide ERC.
Photo: Steve Brock
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Privacy Policy | Terms of Use All material © 2011 The Words Workshop Ltd.
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The Venues
Instrumental Academy
Teacher’s Academy
Programmes for Kindergartens
TMC Life
SPARK NURTURE ENABLE
We are a circle of music lovers, driven by a common passion
The Music Circle is a music education collective established with a vision to build a strong community of music lovers, and to make a positive difference in children’s lives.
The team shares a common passion to pique the curiosity of young minds and inspire them to reach their full potential through shared experiences in music. Our educators work closely together to provide effective and innovative programmes. Parents and students are all actively involved in our vibrant learning community as we hope to spark the family’s lifelong journey with music.
Join us in a lifelong journey with music.
Musical learning can be a stepping-stone for wider development in children’s lives. It can build character, enrich their experiences and help them reach their full potential in all aspects of life.
Our programmes and curriculum are meticulously crafted beyond musical aspects. Parents and students, are constantly involved and engaged as part of the learning community, as we hope to guide and inspire families to join us in enjoying a lifelong journey with music.
We believe the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Learning and working together as a team makes for a far more enriching experience for everyone who participates in this circle.
Thirst for Knowledge
We value knowledge and want to propagate this thirst for learning with others.
Generosity in Sharing
There is openness in the way we collaborate as a team. We work together to share our knowledge, but also to learn from others.
Inventiveness
We find new ways to teach and learn. We are always interested in new ideas and using technology to make the learning experience better and more effective.
We believe that everyone should experience the joy and benefits of music. We create opportunities to ensure that as many people as possible can enjoy music and feel a sense of belonging in the music circle.
We are enriched by the diversity of views that enable us to improve and innovate. We value everyone’s ideas and respect each other’s points of view.
Clarence Yap
Clarence is a music entrepreneur driven by his passion to make a positive impact on music in Singapore. As Head of Music Programming at Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay till 2015, he helped to define the national arts centre’s musical heart for 8 years. He worked with his team of Programmers to provide a range of music experiences for Singapore audiences, from the Mosaic Music Festival and Baybeats to daily free performances at the Esplanade. Working with talents from around the world inspired him to play a part in developing Singaporean musicians, and he has set out to draw on his arts management experience towards this goal.
Clarence started The Music Circle with like-minded music educators to introduce innovative approaches to music education. He works with the teaching team to create a warm and nurturing learning environment, so that every TMC student can truly enjoy a lifelong journey with music. He also co-founded Foundation Music LLP with fellow music industry colleagues to help propel exceptional Singapore talents to the international stage, and develop viable careers for them.
Alyssa Koay; DMA Piano Performance
Head of Piano
Dr. Alyssa Koay is a music educator who has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician internationally. Alyssa holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder (USA) under the tutelage of Doris Lehnert.
Alyssa has held lecturing posts at the University of Colorado-Boulder and the International College of Music in Kuala Lumpur where she was responsible for devising new programmes that bridge both classical and contemporary musical idioms. As an advocate for the use of music technology to enhance learning, she has also developed and taught online music courses.
Alyssa regularly draws from a variety of classical, popular, jazz, and folk music to develop individualised curriculum that meet the needs and interests of her students. Alyssa enjoys the time she spends with her students and fosters a sense of family in her studio. She firmly believes in instilling a passion for learning and performing among her students and encourages them to be skillful and courageous learners in music as well as in life.
Aside from performing and teaching, Alyssa is also actively involved as a volunteer in several community projects. She strives to promote musical programmes as a ministry to minority groups and at-risk youths.
Dr. Alyssa Koay
Tang Tee Tong; DMA Violin Performance
Artistic Director, Head of Strings
Dr. Tang Tee Tong, Artistic Director of TMC, is a devoted violin pedagogue with more than ten years of teaching experience. Dr. Tee recently graduated with a Doctoral of Music Arts degree in Violin Performance and was named the Outstanding Graduate of Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts at Arizona State University. Her violin pedagogy and teaching philosophy has been highly influenced by her wonderful teachers and mentors, Dr. Jonathan Swartz, Prof Andres Cardenes, Dr. Margaret Schmidt, Dr. Lina Bahn, Foo Say Ming, Leslie Tan and Lim Soon Lee. She has also learnt from music educators such as Mimi Zweig, Brenda Brenner, Sherry Sinift and Rebecca Henry from the Violin Teacher’s Retreat at Indiana University and Paul Rolland String Pedagogy Conference. Tee has also received Suzuki teacher training with Mr William Starr, former President of Suzuki Association of Americas.
Tee’s teaching approach is also shaped by her teaching experiences as well as in-depth exploration of other pedagogy and music education methods. Recognizing that every student blossoms in a unique way and possesses distinct learning styles, interests and strengths, Tee organized her pedagogy into a doctoral research paper “Violin Curriculum Incorporating Visual, Aural and Kinesthetic Perceptual Learning Modalities” which she has been adapted for her teaching in Singapore. Tee believes that weaker modalities in students cannot be neglected and needs to be strengthened through modality strengths to prevent a child’s violin learning from stagnating in future.
As a music educator, Tee seeks to work with her students and their parents to create a musical environment for her students that encourage the lifelong love of music.
She believes that music education helps build character, elevate self-esteem and confidence, as well as cultivates discipline and eagerness for excellence.
Dr. Tang Tee Tong
It takes a village to raise a child, and probably more to develop musicians!
Building our learning community is a labour of love, and we believe that we would not be able to do so without working with partners who share our heart for children, passion for craft and who are just all round lovely people!
Music Warehouse
Great Performances deserve Great Sound – Music Warehouse provides musical equipment and sound systems for events, performances and musicians.
National University of Singapore Alumni Orchestra
The National University of Singapore Alumni Orchestra (NAO) is the official alumni orchestra of the NUS Symphony Orchestra (NUSSO). NAO comprises a dedicated group of NUSSO alumni who strongly believe in the NUSSO vision of bringing music to the community and allowing people to enjoy classical music.
The makers of SuperSkinny shares a collective architecture and interior design background. Despite being a young firm, they form an extensive portfolio from projects of large scale hotel to small commercial projects. SuperSkinny prides in play and harmony of complimentary aesthetic palettes.
Little Day Out
Little Day Out is a Singapore-based digital media publisher of news and resources on the best of Singapore for families with young children.
Arc Children’s Centre
Arc makes the families’ journeys meaningful. It provides them a chance to escape from their confined environments, not only for the children to learn useful skills.
The National Arts Council champions the arts in Singapore. By nurturing creative excellence and supporting broad audience engagement, our diverse and distinctive arts inspire our people, connect communities and profile Singapore internationally.
We have designed our home to be conducive and reflective of The Music Circle’s learning community concept.
The Instrumental Academies are housed in dedicated spaces designed with different needs that are particular to each discipline. Operable walls open up to increase interaction across the school, but also to create spaces for different programmes, including workshops, masterclasses and performances.
This studio room is used for group classes, ensemble practice and small workshops.
This room doubles as a stage for used for performances and also houses our Yamaha C1 Baby Grand Piano.
A room dedicated to the learning of string instruments. Full sized mirrors and acoustics designed to maintain the brightness of the instrument, while ensuring clarity of sound.
TMC Recital Space
Our Piano Academy, TMC Studio and Living area combine to create a performance space suitable for recitals, masterclasses and events.
TMC Community Cafe
A communal space where students, parents and teachers can interact over refreshments, and have access to TMC’s library of music resources
and books.
4 Queen's Road #02-115
Mon, Thurs, Fri: 2pm - 8pm
Sun: 3pm - 8pm
info@themusiccircle.com.sg
© 2020 The Music Circle. All Right Reserved. | Website by Hello Pomelo
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Aregbesola faults CBN’s delay of farmers’ incentive
Aregbesola
Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has decried alleged delay by the Central Bank in operating Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) for the state’s farmers.
The governor spoke at the weekend at the third anniversary of the Quick Impact Intervention Programme (QIIP)and turning of the sod for the state Soil and Food Laboratory Complex.
He said: “We have embraced the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), which unfortunately is being unduly delayed. This unproductive delay has its root in the non-operation of NIRSAL. For our counterpart fund of N300 million in the N600 million QIIP 2, we made available our N9 million NIRSAL Premium for its first year of operation.
“Unfortunately, NIRSAL, which was supposed to be in operation, was not and could not avail the premium and the money had to be returned to our treasury without the supporting benefits we intended to get for our farmers and for which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) earlier assured us.”
Aregbesola called on the CBN to “speedily” ensure that NIRSAL begins operation before the end of the year.
He said an effectively functional programme as NIRSAL would boost and speed up agric-financing by the financial institutions.
The programme, he said, would encourage financial institutions to support a large number of small and large-scale farm-holders and “promote revolvability of loans and build up the necessary wide pool of agric-financing expertise in our economy for consistent and sustainable growth and development of agriculture.”
The governor added that in addition to the loan scheme, QIIP had worked to implement other projects.
“One of them is the Osun Modern Beekeeping, Queen Honey Bee Rearing Project (O-Honey.) We have established a modern apiary with queen bee rearing capacity and extractor – the first in sub-Saharan Africa. It is expected that this will boost production and plant pollination in the state, specifically at Odo-Otin Local Government Area.
“The focus of the project includes training of unemployed youths in modern beekeeping and queen honey bee rearing, production of honey and wax, distribution of starter package to beginner beekeepers, increasing bee pollination for increase in crop yield and export of honey. Compensation has recently been paid to the land donors at Oyan, and work is ongoing to complete the construction of the factory and the installation of the honey processing equipment.
“Let me also add that programmes like O’REAP (Osun Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Programme), O’REAP Youth Academy, the Osun Broilers Out-Growers’ Production (O’BOPS), the Osun Fisheries Out-Growers’ Production (O’FOPS); the Osun Beef Value Chain project (O’BEEF), and the Osun Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme (O’MEALS) have effectively seen to the empowerment of many of our people,” he said.
Aregbesola added that through the Osun Agricultural Development Corporation (OSADEC), the government distributed 10 sets of garri processing machines, 10 sets of cassava chips machines and three sets of yam flour processing machines at subsidised prices to interested cooperative groups and other members of the public.
He noted that farmers have also benefitted from highly subsidised fertiliser, solid herbicides, liquid insecticides, solid insecticides, fungicides and other agro chemicals.
On the Soil and Food Laboratory, the governor said the programme would move the state forward in its quest to “become a formidable emporium of food production, food security, and economic growth.
“This momentous initiative is a product of the collaboration between our state and the State of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. Our German partners designed the complex whose foundation we are laying today.
“When completed, this laboratory will be a key resource for increasing the quantity and quality of food production in the state, as well as provide jobs for some of our unemployed scientists and technologists.”
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