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THE NABATEANS
About Jordan - From $1,665.00 USD
Explore ancient civilizations including the archeological site of Petra, spectacularly carved into the Sharah Mountains by the Nabateans and lost to the world for centuriesDiscover the mosaic city of Madaba, see the legendary burial site of Moses in Mt. Nebo, and revel in the fortifications at Shobak CastleVenture to the 8,000-year-old Stone Age villages at Beidah and BastaTake time to float in the high saline, therapeutic waters of the Dead SeaTour the Roman city of Jerash and visit Ajloun, with its namesake castle built in 1184 to defend against the Crusaders
SUN I AMMAN
Upon arrival at the Amman Airport you will be greeted by our airport representative and transferred to your hotel for dinner and overnight. (D)
MON I AMMAN I MADABA I MT. NEBO I KERAK I SHOBAK I PETRA
This morning, enjoy a scenic drive along the King’s Highway to visit Madaba, the City of Mosaics. The oldest mosaic map of the Holy Land exists on the floor of Saint George’s Church, and the city features many famous mosaics that exist in both public and private buildings. Visit Mount Nebo, the alleged burial site of Moses, overlooking the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea, where Franciscans built a simple structure that protects a 4th and 6th Century Byzantine church. Continue to Kerak for a photo stop before proceeding to Shobak Castle. Built in 1115, it was the first of many fortifications built by King Baldwin I of Jerusalem to guard the road from Egypt to Damascus. It successfully resisted a number of sieges until it fell to Saladin's troops in 1189. Dinner and overnight at Petra Hotel. (B,D)
TUE I PETRA
After breakfast, you will begin your full day visit of Petra; a city carved into the rose-red Sharah Mountains by the Nabateans and lost to civilization until rediscovered in 1812 by the Swiss explorer, John Lewis Burkhardt. Walk through the Siq, a narrow and winding fissure between the cliffs, to reach the Treasury, the Roman Theater, the Courts, Qasr Bint Pharaoun, the Temple of the Winged Lion and other breathtaking monuments. Dinner and overnight at Petra hotel. (B,D)
WED I PETRA I LITTLE PETRA I WADI RUM
This morning, you will have a short drive to Little Petra, where you will walk through the 8,000-year-old excavated stone-age villages of Beidah and Basta, wander among the ruins of settlements of the biblical Edomites, and explore the sprawling remains of the Roman legionary fortress at Udruh. Continue to Wadi Rum, where the movie “Lawrence of Arabia” was filmed. Here you will enjoy a 2-hour Jeep tour to view the desert and its awe-inspiring moon-like landscape. Enjoy dinner and an overnight camp stay. (B,D)
THU I WADI RUM I BETHANY I DEAD SEA I AMMAN
After breakfast at the hotel, depart via Araba Road to visit Bethany – site of John the Baptist's settlement where Jesus was baptized. Continue to the Dead Sea, with its year-round sunny skies and dry air, located in the Jordan Rift Valley about 422 meters below sea level. Its famously hypersaline water makes floating easy, and its mineral-rich black mud is used for therapeutic and cosmetic treatments. Take your time to enjoy a leisurely afternoon swim. Travel back to Amman for dinner and overnight. (B,D)
FRI I AMMANI JERASHI AJLOUNI AMMAN
This morning, travel to Jerash, the best-preserved example of Roman civilization in Jordan. Considered part of the “Decapolis”, the ten big Roman cities of the eastern frontier, it has also been called the Pompeii of the East for its unique state of preservation, featuring theatres, churches, temples (Zeus and Artemis), a Nymphaeum, and colonnaded streets. Next, you will visit Ajloun, the 12th Century Castle built by Saladin in his successful campaign to drive the Crusaders from Jordan in 1189. It is an outstanding example of Arab/Islamic military architecture. Return to Amman for dinner and overnight. (B,D)
SAT I AMMAN TO USA (OR EXTEND YOUR STAY)
After breakfast, transfer from your hotel to Amman Airport for your departure flight home. (B)
EL CALAFATE GETAWAY
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Delve into the colonial meets modern ambiance of Guatemala CityVisi...
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THE THREE CONTINENTS
Experience Athens, Greece on an insightful city tour, discover the ...
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Results for "Susan C. Eriksson" in All Products
Product Type: All Products ----------------- Books & Articles Do-It-Yourself Learning NSTA Gear ----------------- Books Interactive E-books e-Books Interactive E-book Student Editions Interactive E-book Kids Book Chapters Journal Articles SciPacks Science Objects SciGuides Short Sleeve Shirts Long Sleeve Shirts Mugs Novelties Journal Slipcases Caps Bags Outerwear Green Zone ClassPack NSTA Kids Gift Cards
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Showing 1 - 10 out of 11
Introduction to Water Pollution
By: Andrew S. Madden, Michael F. Hochella Jr., George E. Glasson, Julie R. Grady, Tracy L. Bank, André M. Green, Mary A. Norris, Andrew N. Hurst, and Susan C. Eriksson
A chapter from Welcome to Nanoscience: Interdisciplinary Environmental Explorations, Grades 9–12
This lesson assesses students’ prior knowledge about groundwater pollution and has students investigate types and sources of water pollution. Note that this introductory activity sets the stage for subsequent learning about sources of water pollution.
[hide full abstract]
Nonmember Price: $3.49
Grade Level: High School
The Link Between Nanoscale Science, Technology, and a Vital Environmental Issue: Groundwater Pollution
Nanoscale science and technology play central roles in our understanding of how Earth works and in the environmental science field of study. As a freshwater source, groundwater is second in abundance only to water found in glaciers and polar ice. Groundwater... [view full summary]
Nanoscale science and technology play central roles in our understanding of how Earth works and in the environmental science field of study. As a freshwater source, groundwater is second in abundance only to water found in glaciers and polar ice. Groundwater is critically important as a freshwater source to much of the Earth’s population; however, when it is polluted, it becomes a severe and dangerous liability with hundreds of millions of lives at stake from waterborne illnesses. This chapter provides teachers with critical background information on the nature of groundwater and the reasons why nanoscale science and technology are so relevant to groundwater pollution.
Historical and Societal Aspects of Nanoscale Science and Technology
By: Julie R. Grady, Tracy L. Bank, André M. Green, Mary A. Norris, Andrew N. Hurst, Susan C. Eriksson, Andrew S. Madden, Michael F. Hochella Jr., and George E. Glasson
The nanorevolution is here to stay. It is this small scale—where we have the ability to put molecules and atoms to new uses—that fuels the hope and hype surrounding nanotechnology. This chapter discuses the origins of nanoscience, nanotechnology and what... [view full summary]
The nanorevolution is here to stay. It is this small scale—where we have the ability to put molecules and atoms to new uses—that fuels the hope and hype surrounding nanotechnology. This chapter discuses the origins of nanoscience, nanotechnology and what nanotechnology means to society in the long run.
Welcome to Nanoscience: Interdisciplinary Environmental Explorations, Grades 9–12 (e-book)
In a society where technology plays an ever-increasing role, students’ ability to understand the underlying science and make smart social and environmental decisions based on that knowledge is crucial. Welcome to Nanoscience helps biology, chemistry,... [view full summary]
In a society where technology plays an ever-increasing role, students’ ability to understand the underlying science and make smart social and environmental decisions based on that knowledge is crucial. Welcome to Nanoscience helps biology, chemistry, and Earth science teachers introduce the revolutionary fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology to high school students through the unique framework of the environment, specifically groundwater pollution.
This volume comprises two parts. The first provides background material for the teacher and answers important questions: What is nanoscience and technology? What are the important historical and societal aspects of nanotechnology? How is nanoscience related to environmental science? The first part also describes how education in nanoscience and nanotechnology addresses the National Science Education Standards and outlines the curriculum.
Part II contains the five lessons:
• Introduction to Nanotechnology
• Introduction to Water Pollution
• Microbe-Mineral Interactions: Using the Winogradsky Column to Demonstrate Bacterial Reduction of Iron(III)
• Investigation of Bacterial Transport in Groundwater
• Nanoforces in Nature: Using Atomic Force Microscopy to Explore Microbe-Mineral Interactions
Each classroom-tested, inquiry-based investigation follows the BSCS 5E Instructional Model and includes step-by-step procedures, materials lists, and data charts. Teachers may use the entire curriculum or pick and choose among its several parts, depending on their preferred emphasis, the course level, and available time. The flexible curriculum offers numerous entry and exit points. Also included is a link to a downloadable computer simulation program, which was specially designed to allow students to explore the atomic force microscope—even if their school doesn’t have one.
What Are Nanoscience and Nanotechnology? A Nano Primer
In the examples presented in this chapter, the authors have defined the nanoscale and nanoscience. They have seen surprising results for two “ordinary” phenomena that they thought they knew everything about, but which were both shown to have surprising... [view full summary]
In the examples presented in this chapter, the authors have defined the nanoscale and nanoscience. They have seen surprising results for two “ordinary” phenomena that they thought they knew everything about, but which were both shown to have surprising twists. These deceptively simple twists are what the nanorevolution is all about.
Microbe-Mineral Interactions: Using the Winogradsky Column to Demonstrate Bacterial Reduction of Iron(III)
In this lesson, students study the reduction of iron oxide minerals in a simulated anaerobic aquatic environment. Students discuss how the respiration of anaerobic bacteria may be involved with iron reduction. Students also consider problems related to... [view full summary]
In this lesson, students study the reduction of iron oxide minerals in a simulated anaerobic aquatic environment. Students discuss how the respiration of anaerobic bacteria may be involved with iron reduction. Students also consider problems related to excessive nutrients entering surface waters and what role students can play to help sustain the health of the Earth’s waters.
Nanoforces in Nature: Using Atomic Force Microscopy to Explore Microbe-Mineral Interactions
This lesson uses computer simulations of an atomic force microscope to investigate bacteria-mineral forces of interaction on the order of nanonewtons over nanoscale distances of interaction. In this lesson, students
• learn about the atomic force... [view full summary]
• learn about the atomic force microscope (AFM), one of the most important tools used in nanoscale science and technology;
• see how the AFM is a versatile tool that can be used to study many things, including both organic and inorganic systems;
• discover how the AFM can be used to measure the forces of interaction among individual molecules, bacteria, and minerals;
• construct a model AFM;
• use the model AFM to generate data relating magnetic force to distance;
• plot actual research data collected from the AFM to generate a force curve; and
• relate changes in AFM force curves to changing conditions in the column experiments.
Introduction to Nanotechnology
Imagining differences in scale can be very easy (a softball is bigger than a baseball) or very difficult (how can we imagine the size of a galaxy?). It is perhaps most challenging to build conceptual frameworks for objects that are too small to see. In... [view full summary]
Imagining differences in scale can be very easy (a softball is bigger than a baseball) or very difficult (how can we imagine the size of a galaxy?). It is perhaps most challenging to build conceptual frameworks for objects that are too small to see. In this chapter, students identify and compare the scale of different objects, and define nanoscale and nanoscience. The teacher introduces the history and applications of nanoscience. This free selection also includes the Table of contents, Tips for Using this Book, and the Index.
Nonmember Price: Free
Member Price: Free
Nano2Earth Curriculum Overview
By: Andrew N. Hurst, Susan C. Eriksson, Andrew S. Madden, Michael F. Hochella Jr., George E. Glasson, Julie R. Grady, Tracy L. Bank, André M. Green, and Mary A. Norris
The Nano2Earth curriculum is designed to promote student inquiry and learner centered investigations of microbe-mineral interactions at the nanoscale. This chapter shows how the curriculum is organized into lessons and to use the curriculum.
Nano2Earth Curriculum and the National Science Education Standards
With the Nano2Earth curriculum, students learn about nanotechnology and nanoscience by using inquiry to study groundwater pollution. The curriculum is designed to meet the National Science Education Standards (NSES) for content in grades 9–12 (NRC 1996).... [view full summary]
With the Nano2Earth curriculum, students learn about nanotechnology and nanoscience by using inquiry to study groundwater pollution. The curriculum is designed to meet the National Science Education Standards (NSES) for content in grades 9–12 (NRC 1996). This chapter goes into detail of what content standard categories are addressed in the curriculum.
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Archives|STAGE VIEW
https://nyti.ms/1PEyFgX
STAGE VIEW
November 11, 1979, Section D, Page 3Buy Reprints
This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.
Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.
Two Plays That Challenge as They Entertain
The published version of Peter Handke's play, “They Are Dying Out,” now having its American premiere at the Yale Repertory Theater, begins with a prefatory quote: “It suddenly occurs to me that I am playing something that doesn't even exist. and that is the difference. That is the despair of it.” It is this sense of disconnection — a breaking of circuits, a continuing past a point of rupture— that marks the life of Quitt, the businessman‐protagonist of Mr. Handke's play. Quitt is alienated from his business, from his competitors and from himself. He is an idealist on a field of play that is Cynical and conspiratorial — and he has learned the rules of the game. In an increasingly manipulative and materialistic society, Quitt is an artifact of individualism.
The hero of Slawomir Mrozek's “Emigres,” a Dodger Theater production at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, is a disillusioned idealist of a different, political, color. The character, identified as XX, one of two refugees quartered in a basement room in an unnamed society — one that resembles our own — has abandoned his homeland in pro- test against political suppression. In contrast, his companion has left the same country in search of economic freedom. Having moved from a dictatorship to a democracy, XX expects to be able to fulfill his artistic ambition — to write a book about how it feels to be an exile. However, he finds that not only has he lost his state, he has lost his inspiration. Mr. Mrozek's point is that the artist thrives only in his own soil, even if that soil limits his freedom. The character is stifled by opportunity; he becomes spiritless. For XX in “Emigres,” as for Quitt in “They Are Dying Out,” the game is almost over, and all he can do is to mime the motions and consider suicide.
In outline, each play may sound discouraging. “Emigres” is a long two‐character one‐act that takes place entirely in that disordered, cell‐like room. “They Are Dying Out” is a dance of death on the grave of capitalism. But each is sustained by a playwright's vivid theatrical and sardonic humor. Both playwrights are themselves dislocated from a single geographic source, living and writing in several countries. Mr. Mrozek, a Polish émigré living in Paris, severed his ties with Poland after he criticized his nation for its participation in the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia. Mr. Handke is a novelist and playwright who was born in Austria, and has lived in West Germany and Paris. Both have had their plays produced successfully throughout Western Europe, but have found a more limited interest in, and awareness of, their work in America. Mr. Handke is a difficult and controversial playwright who seems to pride himself on “Offending the Audience,” to borrow the title of one of his early works. Mr. Mrozek often wears his symbolism on his sleeve, as in his plays “Tango” and “Vatzlay.” Their two new plays are no less serious than their earlier efforts, but they are at the same time more easily comprehensible and enjoyable. Each is an oasis of intelligence and contemporaneity in a season that up to now has seemed tireless in, its reconstitution of the popular theater of the remote past.
“Emigres” is a classic confrontation of opposites — the intellectual (Brent Spiner) and the laborer (Jon Polito). The first is tall and high‐strung, the second is short and earthbound — a beanpole and a cabbage. To a certain extent they are like a vaudeville team. Theatrically, of course, their models are Didi and Gogo in Samuel Beckett's “Waiting for Godot,” although the play is closer in setting and spirit to Harold Pinter's one‐acts, “The Basement” and “The Dumbwaiter.” “Emigres” is Pinter with a political punch.
The characters are mutually competitive, each trying to outwit the other. There is only tea enough for one and before his companion notices, Mr. Polito impolitely saturates the single cup with sugar; he knows that sweetness puts the other's teeth on edge. Retaliating, Mr. Spiner accuses his voracious roommate of eating pet food. Actually, Mr. Polito's role is as something of a pet; Mr. Spiner is his master. Physically and emotionally, they assail one another, but underneath the conflict there is a link in brotherhood. They need one another; they have no one else. Of the two, the intellectual is the sadder; he is without hope. At least the lessdemanding laborer can satiate his appetites.
Under Andre Ernotte's firm direction, the two coordinate their performances with the agility of aeralists. Mr. Spiner physicalizes his frustrations like a scarecrow flailing away at bothersome birds. Mr. Polito stresses the childlike innocence of his character; he is easily pleased and just as easily wounded. For Mr. Polito, “Emigres” is another demonstration of his versality. We have previously seen him create two strikingly different roles, as the obese title char-
Bert Andrews
“THE MICHIGAN”-Hattie Winston and Douglas Turner Ward are in Dan Owens's play, which leads off the Negro Ensemble Company's 13th season at the St. Marks Playhouse on Thursday. acter in Albert Innaurato”s “The Transfiguration of Benno Blimpie” and as the sexually confused hero of the original “Gemini.”
Except for occasional metaphorical echoes — the time is New Year's Eve, and, upstairs, civilization is noisily celebrating — “Emigres” is staged with an ear for the specificity of the moment. We accept the fact that these two real people are inhabiting this basement even as their conversation becomes fanciful.
In direct contrast, “They Are Dying Out” operates on a Handkeian plane of heightened reality. The characters who are gathered in Quitt's sleekly modern study sometimes speak in non sequiturs. They speak what is usually left unspoken, and they act out their inhibitions. As the gadfly minority stockholder of all board meetings, Leonard Jackson matter-of-factly lifts up each visiting tycoon and moves him around the room as if he were a chess piece. Quitt himself (an elegant performance by Richard M. Davison) apostrophizes his convert sation with digressions about the mean- inglessness of his life and the method- ology of the marketplace. Consumer- ism is a primary target of Mr. Ha- ndke's attack — how advertising deter- mines our tastes: a change in slogan from “level tablespoon” to “heaping teaspoon” doubles the sales of a prod- uct. Soon‐Teck Oh plays the servant to Mr. Davison's master. Their relation- ship is somewhat connected to that of the refugees in “Emigres.” Mr. Oh seems abjectly worshipful — but watch out!
Because so much of the play deals with that favorite Handke subject the conflict between language and real- ity — the work's felicitous American adaptation is a distinct asset. The translator, Michael Roloff, and the play's director, Carl Weber, have adapted their own English translation, eliminated Europeanisms, and accli- matized Handke to our environment. “They Are Dying Out” now takes place in a corporate never‐never land, which could be Madison Avenue. The three boastful businessmen‐one of whom is also a priest — who join Quitt in his price‐fixing scheme would be recog- nized in any American boardroom.
As director, Mr. Weber has enriched the text, first of all by casting Leonard Jackson, an irrepressible comic black actor, as the minority stockholder, a role originally intended to be played by a white German actor. At the Yale Repertory Theater, the character is not only a rogue in the house, but a back- talking representative of the Third World, the ultimate minority stock- holder. One zany moment seems char- acteristic of the director's antic ap- proach. When Quitt's somnabulent wife walks across the stage in high heels, one heel gets caught in a crack and the shoe falls off her foot. In his production, Mr. Weber has the actress, Marianne Rossi, continue her walk across the stage with unbroken stride. She keeps her bare foot arched, en point, as if still encased in a shoe. This acts as a com- ment not only on the wife's incipient catatonia, but on habit as a great dead- ener: we play the roles that are pre- scribed for us.
In his final speech, Quitt objects to /what is expected of him. “I don't want to mean anything anymore, [to] be a character in the plot anymore.” The in- tellectual in “Emigres” has an oppo- site response. He feels faceless, an actor without a role. “At home,” he says longingly, “I had a part to play.” Each of these two individualists is at the mercy of history. It is too late for them to change directions. As Quitt watches, his world ends not with a bang, but with a loud burp of indiges- tion from an overfed, self‐indulgent society.
Both plays are distinguished choices for the companies that are presenting them. The Dodger Theater is an off- spring of the Chelsea Theater Center.
The Mrozek and Handke plays are distinguished choices for the companies that are presenting them.’
When Chelsea moved back to Manhat- tan, the Dodger compy stayed be- hind (unlike their baseball namesake, which shifted to Los Angeles). After a slow start last year, the troupe begins its second season, auspiciously, with “Emigres.” This is the first season that the Yale Repertory Theater is under the artistic direction of Lloyd Richards, replacing Robert Brustein, who has moved to Harvard. Mr. Rich- ards opened with two plays in reperto- ry, a revival of John Guare's “Bosoms and Neglect” and Mr. Handke's work. In a new, improved edition, “Bosoms” somewhat justifies Mr. Richards's faith in the author and the play. The Handke is, by any measure, challeng- ing — for an audience, actors, director and theater company.
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No amount of planning can prepare NZ for a disaster
26 Oct, 2019 9:35am 4 minutes to read
Indian association demands public apology from Jones
26 Oct, 2019 10:00am 2 minutes to read
SkyCity convention centre fire: Crane brought in to attack hotspots
26 Oct, 2019 9:53am
Occupational Consultant Derek Miller comments on the cleanup operation at SkyCity following NZICC fire. Video / Supplied
By RNZ and Herald staff
Firefighters are still dampening down hotspots and turning over debris at the NZ International Convention Centre in Auckland.
They are cutting through the roof panels of Sky City's convention centre, to finally get on top of the remaining hotspots.
There have been no new flare-ups overnight, but senior station officer Geoff Gardener said thermal imaging had shown the fire was still not out.
They are using the technology to determine which areas to target and because of the roof's straw component, it has to be cut open.
Firefighters at the scene of the SkyCity convention centre this morning. Photo: RNZ/Amy Williams
• SkyCity fire: Workers strike after claims staff passed out from fumes
• Before and after: Photos reveal SkyCity fire's devastation
• SkyCity fire traffic: Surrounding streets could remain closed for 'up to a week'
• SkyCity's Auckland site remains closed, financial impact unknown
The scene remained hazardous, as sodden roof panels were threatening to fall into the building, he said.
After fighting the fire for four days, he said he was incredibly proud of the crews who had worked tirelessly to put the blaze out.
Fire and Emergency said there were still eight trucks at the scene and a crane was being brought in this morning and would be set up on Nelson St. It is expected to be removed by Monday.
Some roads are still closed, but fire officials say they are gradually being reopened.
'We don't feel safe': Dragon boat crews impacted by fears of toxic water in harbour
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SkyCity fire: Erotic massage parlour offers firefighters free service
Watch: Terrifying scene inside convention centre SkyCity fire
Analyst hoses down SkyCity earnings, predicts 18 month delay for convention centre
Officials are working to identify workers affected by the fire.
The blaze, which started on Tuesday afternoon, forced the evacuation of the SkyCity precinct, and other downtown businesses, and kept them closed for at least two days.
Firefighters are cutting through roof panels of the Auckland's Sky City convention centre to get the remaining hotspots. Photo / Supplied
Meanwhile, clean-up teams have started to pump out hundreds of thousands of litres of water from the building.
Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett said many construction workers would not yet know when they could return to the building site.
He said it would be a frustrating time for workers in the precinct, including those in retail and hospitality.
If they were experiencing hardship or loss of income, they could contact the Chamber to be put in touch with the appropriate government agency, he said.
Auckland Regional Public Health Services has released information for businesses and residents who will need to clean up after the fire.
People are advised to ventilate any buildings affected by smoke and to clean air-conditioning units.
It's still not clear if the country's second busiest court will re-open on Tuesday next week.
The Auckland District Court was forced to close on Wednesday, because of air-quality concerns.
Ministry of Justice acting chief executive Carl Crafar said contractors would be working this weekend to check if the Auckland District Court, Chorus House and Swanson House were fit to be occupied.
He said a decision would be made at the weekend about whether or not court services would resume on Tuesday.
SkyCity workers walked off the job last night after voting in favour of strike action because of safety concerns after the fire.
Unite leader Joe Carolan. Photo / File
A third of the SkyCity workforce - about 1000 staff members - would strike for four days, a union leader confirmed, after 99 per cent voted in favour of the action.
Unite senior organiser Joe Carolan claimed three workers had passed out and others had complained of a burning feeling in their throats, after returning to work on Thursday night.
"It wasn't the fire that was the hazard, it's the stuff that we're breathing in. And we were breathing it in for far too long," Carolan told Newstalk ZB's Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive show.
The strike began at 8pm, when staff finished their shifts, while other union members did not show up for work.
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Land transport rules
Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Rule 1999
This rule specifies the requirements for obtaining and renewing a driver licence or licence endorsement in New Zealand. It also specifies the requirements for driver licensing service providers.
About the rule
The rule is available in consolidated format (ie, a full, up-to-date, version of the rule including all its amendments) or as the original, unamended rule with separate amendment rules. Choose the option that best suits your needs from the list below.
To access the consolidated version of the rule (available only in PDF format), click on ‘Consolidation’ below.
The electronic versions of legislation on this website, and any legislation printed from the website:
have no official status
are made available for information only and should not be relied on as the authoritative text.
About the questions and answers
Questions and answers are provided to accompany a new rule or amendment rule when it is signed. These versions of the questions and answers are not updated to take into account any later amendments to the rule and are retained for historic interest only.
If you have any questions, please contact the Rules Team by emailing rules@nzta.govt.nz
Land Transport Rules – questions & answers
Omnibus Amendment 2010
1. What are the new amendment Rules?
The Minister of Transport has signed the following new amendment Rules:
Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Amendment Rule 2010(external link)
Land Transport Rule: Frontal Impact Amendment 2010(external link)
Land Transport Rule: Operator Licensing Amendment 2010(external link)
Land Transport Rule: Operator Safety Rating Amendment 2010(external link)
Land Transport Rule: Passenger Service Vehicles Amendment 2010(external link)
Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Equipment Amendment 2010(external link)
Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Exhaust Emissions Amendment 2010(external link)
Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Standards Compliance Amendment 2010(external link)
2. How did these amendment Rules originate?
These amendment Rules were consulted on as part of the draft Land Transport Rule: Omnibus Amendment 2009 (the draft Omnibus Amendment Rule).
Following consultation, the provisions in the draft Omnibus Amendment Rule were split into separate amendment Rules.
3. Why were the amendments Rules made?
The amendment Rules make relatively minor changes to Rules. The changes are required:
to clarify current requirements to assist understanding and enforcement;
to provide for compliance with alternative vehicle standards for some vehicles;
to address safety concerns;
to amend requirements to accord with current industry needs or practices;
to make requirements more flexible or removing unnecessary restrictions (without diminishing safety standards);
to make consequential changes as a result of changes to other legislation and Rules; and
to correct minor errors and anomalies.
4. What changes are made in the amendment Rules?
In addition to updating definitions and making consequential changes arising from changes to other legislation and other minor changes, the changes made in individual amendment Rules include:
Driver Licensing Amendment. The amendment Rule amendsSchedule 3I of Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Rule 1999 (relating to classes of driver licence) to make minor adjustments to weight limits prescribed for certain motor vehicles, for the sake of consistency.
Frontal Impact Amendment. The amendment Rule clarifies thatLand Transport Rule: Seatbelts and Seatbelt Anchorages 2002 (the Seatbelt Rule) prevails over Land Transport Rule: Frontal Impact 2001, in determining the requirements relating to seatbelts in vehicles required to comply with frontal impact standards. Vehicle importers, therefore, are allowed to remove seatbelts that are not required by the Seatbelts Rule to be fitted in specified seating positions in certain vehicles, even though the Frontal Impact Rule prohibits the removal of occupant-protection equipment.
Operator Licensing Amendment. This amendment Rule addresses a concern that passenger service vehicle operators may have about their safety and privacy, by providing an alternative to displaying their transport service licence card. The Rule removes an anomaly in the legislation so as to require a person or organisation operating an approved taxi organisation (ATO) to apply to the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) in order to operate as an ATO. In time, regulations will make it an offence to do so before gaining the NZTA's approval. The Rule also clarifies that forklifts do not have to be operated under a goods service licence.
Operator Safety Rating Amendment. The amendment will allow an operator's vehicle crash history to be included as part of a safety rating at the discretion of the NZTA, rather than being a mandatory requirement. It will also allow a panel that is being set up to review a proposed rating to consist of only three people, if there is a limited set of disputed events and they do not involve complex issues.
Passenger Service Vehicles Amendment. The objective of this Rule is to provide alternative standards to UN/ECE regulations that have been cancelled. This will enable imported vehicles that must comply with those standards to be certified for compliance with the technical requirements in Land Transport Rule: Passenger Service Vehicles 1999.
Vehicle Equipment Amendment. This amendment Rule will allow for the aftermarket fitting of satellite navigation systems operated by way of a mobile phone secured in a mounting that is fixed to a vehicle. It brings Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Equipment 2004 into line with recent changes to the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004 relating to the use of mobile phones while driving.
Vehicle Exhaust Emissions Amendment. This amendment Rule replicates, in Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Exhaust Emissions 2007, the provisions in the Frontal Impact Rule relating to 'immigrants' vehicles', and allows a vehicle that does not comply with New Zealand vehicle exhaust emissions standards to be certified for use on the road if it meets the criteria to be categorised as an immigrant's vehicle. It also updates the Vehicle Exhaust Emissions Rule to include the vehicle emissions standard Euro 5.
Vehicle Standards Compliance Amendment. This amendment Rule amends the definition of a Class AB vehicle (power-assisted pedal cycle) in Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Standards Compliance 2002and 19 other Land Transport Rules. The change aligns the definition in these vehicle Rules with that in the Road User Rule.
5. When do these amendment Rules come into force?
With the exception of Land Transport Rule: Operator Safety Rating Amendment 2010, which will be brought into effect by Gazette notice at a later date, these amendment Rules come into force on 1 April 2010.
6. Was the public consulted on the amendments?
Yes. In November 2009, the NZTA advised about 1800 groups and individuals registered on the Rules consultation database, by letter or email, of the proposed changes and invited them to make submissions. Printed copies of the draft Omnibus Amendment Rule and the summary of the proposed changes were made available on request. The draft Omnibus Amendment Rule and information material were also available on the NZTA's website.
Public notices seeking submissions were published in the daily newspapers in the major centres (Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin), in selected regional daily newspapers and in the New Zealand Gazette. The NZTA received 257 submissions on the draft Omnibus Amendment Rule.
7. What happened to the proposed changes to the Vehicle Dimensions and Mass Rule that were consulted on in the Omnibus Amendment Rule 2009?
Following consultation, these changes were included with the proposals for improving the productivity of the heavy vehicle fleet that were consulted on in draft Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Dimensions and Mass Amendment [(No 2) 2009]. (Note: This Rule has now been signed into law as Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Dimensions and Mass Amendment 2010. It comes into force on 1 May 2010.)
8. What is the legal basis for the amendment Rules?
The Land Transport Act 1998 allows the Minister of Transport to make Land Transport Rules. Rules are drafted in plain English and go through an extensive consultation process with interested groups and the public. This is to ensure that they are easily understood and are widely complied with. Rules are usually prepared by the NZTA under contract to the Ministry of Transport and, like regulations, have the force of law.
9. Where can I get copies of the amendment Rules?
Final rules are available on our website(external link). Printed copies of Land Transport Rules can be purchased from selected bookshops throughout New Zealand that sell legislation. Most Rules can also be purchased from the Rule printers and distributors, Wickliffe Ltd, telephone (06) 358 8231. The Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Amendment Rule 2010 can be purchased from Legislation Direct, telephone (04) 568 0005.
Rules may also be inspected at regional offices of the NZTA.
10. How will the NZTA make sure people know about the amendment Rules?
A newsletter outlining the changes to the Rules will be sent to groups and individuals who registered their interest in the Rules that have been amended.
The NZTA will update any relevant Factsheets or other information material available on its website to reflect the changes brought about by the amendment Rules.
11. How can I get more information about the amendment Rules?
You can call the NZTA Contact Centre on 0800 699 000 if you require more information about the amendment Rules.
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For US Healthcare Professionals
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About OCREVUS
OCREVUS Overview
Proposed Mechanism of Action
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RMS Study Design
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PPMS Study Design
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OCREVUS Access Solutions provides access to assist your patients after OCREVUS is prescribed. Complete the OCREVUS Start Form to enroll your patients.
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You have the flexibility to choose which services will best meet the needs of your patients and practice. Reach out to a Patient Navigator to discuss how to make our services work for your patients and practice.
Download the Patient Navigator Roadmap to learn more.
To ask questions or to learn more about how we can help, contact us at (866) 422-2377.
Learn about OCREVUS CONNECTSTM and find additional Patient Support Resources.
Does your patient have commercial insurance?
OCREVUS Access Solutions can refer eligible patients to the OCREVUS Co-pay Program* for help with the OOP cost associated with OCREVUS.
Does your patient have insurance?
If eligible publicly or commercially insured patients have difficulty paying for their co-pay, co-insurance or other OOP costs, OCREVUS Access Solutions can refer them to an independent co-pay assistance foundation supporting their disease state.†
Does your patient have no insurance or have financial concerns?
The Genentech Patient Foundation helps people affected by serious medical conditions get the OCREVUS they have been prescribed. People who do not have health insurance, who have health insurance that does not cover their OCREVUS, or who can’t afford their OOP costs, and meet certain criteria may get free medicine.‡
*Eligibility criteria apply. Not valid for patients using federal or state government programs to pay for their medications. Patient must be taking the Genentech medication for an FDA-approved indication. See full terms and conditions at OCREVUS.com/Copay.
†Genentech does not influence or control the operations or eligibility criteria of any independent co-pay assistance foundation and cannot guarantee co-pay assistance after a referral from OCREVUS Access Solutions. The foundations to which we refer patients are not exhaustive or indicative of Genentech’s endorsement or financial support. There may be other foundations to support the patient's disease state.
‡To be eligible for free OCREVUS from the Genentech Patient Foundation, insured patients who have coverage for their medicine must have exhausted all other forms of patient assistance (including the OCREVUS Co-pay Program and support from independent co-pay assistance foundations) and must meet financial criteria. Uninsured patients and insured patients without coverage for their medicine must rneet different financial criteria.
Important Safety Information & Indications
See More Back to Top
OCREVUS is indicated for the treatment of:
Relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), to include clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting disease, and active secondary progressive disease, in adults
Primary progressive MS, in adults.
OCREVUS is contraindicated in patients with active hepatitis B virus infection and in patients with a history of life-threatening infusion reaction to OCREVUS.
Infusion Reactions
OCREVUS can cause infusion reactions, which can include pruritus, rash, urticaria, erythema, bronchospasm, throat irritation, oropharyngeal pain, dyspnea, pharyngeal or laryngeal edema, flushing, hypotension, pyrexia, fatigue, headache, dizziness, nausea, tachycardia, and anaphylaxis. In multiple sclerosis (MS) clinical trials, the incidence of infusion reactions in OCREVUS-treated patients [who received methylprednisolone (or an equivalent steroid) and possibly other pre-medication to reduce the risk of infusion reactions prior to each infusion] was 34-40%, with the highest incidence with the first infusion. There were no fatal infusion reactions, but 0.3% of OCREVUS-treated MS patients experienced infusion reactions that were serious, some requiring hospitalization.
Observe patients treated with OCREVUS for infusion reactions during the infusion and for at least one hour after completion of the infusion. Inform patients that infusion reactions can occur up to 24 hours after the infusion. Administer pre-medication (e.g., methylprednisolone or an equivalent corticosteroid, and an antihistamine) to reduce the frequency and severity of infusion reactions. The addition of an antipyretic (e.g., acetaminophen) may also be considered. For life-threatening infusion reactions, immediately and permanently stop OCREVUS and administer appropriate supportive treatment. For less severe infusion reactions, management may involve temporarily stopping the infusion, reducing the infusion rate, and/or administering symptomatic treatment.
A higher proportion of OCREVUS-treated patients experienced infections compared to patients taking REBIF or placebo. In RMS trials, 58% of OCREVUS-treated patients experienced one or more infections compared to 52% of REBIF-treated patients. In the PPMS trial, 70% of OCREVUS-treated patients experienced one or more infections compared to 68% of patients on placebo. OCREVUS increased the risk for upper respiratory tract infections, lower respiratory tract infections, skin infections, and herpes-related infections. OCREVUS was not associated with an increased risk of serious infections in MS patients. Delay OCREVUS administration in patients with an active infection until the infection is resolved.
Respiratory Tract Infections
A higher proportion of OCREVUS-treated patients experienced respiratory tract infections compared to patients taking REBIF or placebo. In RMS trials, 40% of OCREVUS-treated patients experienced upper respiratory tract infections compared to 33% of REBIF-treated patients, and 8% of OCREVUS-treated patients experienced lower respiratory tract infections compared to 5% of REBIF-treated patients. In the PPMS trial, 49% of OCREVUS-treated patients experienced upper respiratory tract infections compared to 43% of patients on placebo and 10% of OCREVUS-treated patients experienced lower respiratory tract infections compared to 9% of patients on placebo. The infections were predominantly mild to moderate and consisted mostly of upper respiratory tract infections and bronchitis.
In active-controlled (RMS) clinical trials, herpes infections were reported more frequently in OCREVUS-treated patients than in REBIF-treated patients, including herpes zoster (2.1% vs. 1.0%), herpes simplex (0.7% vs. 0.1%), oral herpes (3.0% vs. 2.2%), genital herpes (0.1% vs. 0%), and herpes virus infection (0.1% vs. 0%). Infections were predominantly mild to moderate in severity. There were no reports of disseminated herpes. In the placebo-controlled (PPMS) clinical trial, oral herpes was reported more frequently in the OCREVUS-treated patients than in the patients on placebo (2.7% vs 0.8%).
Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML)
PML is an opportunistic viral infection of the brain caused by the John Cunningham (JC) virus that typically only occurs in patients who are immunocompromised, and that usually leads to death or severe disability. Although no cases of PML were identified in OCREVUS clinical trials, JC virus infection resulting in PML has been observed in patients treated with other anti-CD20 antibodies and other MS therapies and has been associated with some risk factors (e.g., immunocompromised patients, polytherapy with immunosuppressants). At the first sign or symptom suggestive of PML, withhold OCREVUS and perform an appropriate diagnostic evaluation. MRI findings may be apparent before clinical signs or symptoms. Typical symptoms associated with PML are diverse, progress over days to weeks, and include progressive weakness on one side of the body or clumsiness of limbs, disturbance of vision, and changes in thinking, memory, and orientation leading to confusion and personality changes (per USPI).
Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Reactivation
There were no reports of hepatitis B reactivation in MS patients treated with OCREVUS. Fulminant hepatitis, hepatic failure, and death caused by HBV reactivation have occurred in patients treated with other anti-CD20 antibodies. Perform HBV screening in all patients before initiation of treatment with OCREVUS. Do not administer OCREVUS to patients with active HBV confirmed by positive results for HBsAg and anti-HB tests. For patients who are negative for surface antigen [HBsAg] and positive for HB core antibody [HBcAb+] or are carriers of HBV [HBsAg+], consult liver disease experts before starting and during treatment.
Possible Increased Risk of Immunosuppressant Effects with Other Immunosuppressants
When initiating OCREVUS after an immunosuppressive therapy or initiating an immunosuppressive therapy after OCREVUS, consider the potential for increased immunosuppressive effect. OCREVUS has not been studied in combination with other MS therapies.
Administer all immunizations according to immunization guidelines at least 4 weeks prior to initiation of OCREVUS for live or live-attenuated vaccines and, whenever possible, at least 2 weeks prior to initiation of OCREVUS for non-live vaccines. OCREVUS may interfere with the effectiveness of non-live vaccines. The safety of immunization with live or live-attenuated vaccines following OCREVUS therapy has not been studied, and vaccination with live-attenuated or live vaccines is not recommended during treatment and until B-cell repletion.
Vaccination of Infants Born to Mothers Treated with OCREVUS During Pregnancy
In infants of mothers exposed to OCREVUS during pregnancy, do not administer live or live-attenuated vaccines before confirming the recovery of B-cell counts as measured by CD19+ B-cells. Depletion of B-cells in these infants may increase the risks from live or live-attenuated vaccines.
You may administer non-live vaccines, as indicated, prior to recovery from B-cell depletion, but should consider assessing vaccine immune responses, including consultation with a qualified specialist, to assess whether a protective immune response was mounted.
Malignancies
An increased risk of malignancy with OCREVUS may exist. In controlled trials, malignancies, including breast cancer, occurred more frequently in OCREVUS-treated patients. Breast cancer occurred in 6 of 781 females treated with OCREVUS and none of 668 females treated with REBIF or placebo. Patients should follow standard breast cancer screening guidelines.
There are no adequate data on the developmental risk associated with use of OCREVUS in pregnant women. There are no data on B-cell levels in human neonates following maternal exposure to OCREVUS. However, transient peripheral B-cell depletion and lymphocytopenia have been reported in infants born to mothers exposed to other anti-CD20 antibodies during pregnancy. OCREVUS is a humanized monoclonal antibody of an immunoglobulin G1 subtype and immunoglobulins are known to cross the placental barrier.
There are no data on the presence of ocrelizumab in human milk, the effects on the breastfed infant, or the effects of the drug on milk production. Ocrelizumab was excreted in the milk of ocrelizumab-treated monkeys. Human IgG is excreted in human milk, and the potential for absorption of ocrelizumab to lead to B-cell depletion in the infant is unknown. The developmental and health benefits of breastfeeding should be considered along with the mother’s clinical need for OCREVUS and any potential adverse effects on the breastfed infant from OCREVUS or from the underlying maternal condition.
Females and Males of Reproductive Potential
Women of childbearing potential should use contraception while receiving OCREVUS and for 6 months after the last infusion of OCREVUS.
Most Common Adverse Reactions
RMS: The most common adverse reactions in RMS trials (incidence ≥10% and >REBIF) were upper respiratory tract infections (40%) and infusion reactions (34%).
PPMS: The most common adverse reactions in PPMS trials (incidence ≥10% and >placebo) were upper respiratory tract infections (49%), infusion reactions (40%), skin infections (14%), and lower respiratory tract infections (10%).
For additional safety information, please see the full Prescribing Information and Medication Guide.
Data on file. Genentech, Inc. July 2019
Hauser SL, Brochet B, Montalban X, et al. Long-term reduction of relapse rate and confirmed disability progression after 5 years of ocrelizumab treatment in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis. Presented at: 34th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis; October 10-12, 2018; Berlin, Germany.
OCREVUS [prescribing information]. South San Francisco, CA: Genentech, Inc. 2019
FDA approves new drug to treat multiple sclerosis [press release]. Silver Spring, MD: Food and Drug Administration; March 29, 2017.
Hauser SL, Bar-Or A, Comi G, et al. Ocrelizumab versus interferon beta-1a in relapsing multiple sclerosis. N Engl J Med. 2017;376(3):221-234.
Hauser SL, Kappos L, Montalban X, et al. Safety of ocrelizumab in multiple sclerosis: updated analysis in patients with relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Presented at: 34th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis; October 10-12, 2018; Berlin, Germany.
Baker D, Marta M, Pryce G, Giovannoni G, Schmierer K. Memory B cells are major targets for effective immunotherapy in relapsing multiple sclerosis. EBioMedicine. 2017;16:41-50.
Data on file. Genentech, Inc. May 2019.
Data on file. Genentech, Inc. July 2018.
Turner B, Cree B, Lorscheider J, et al. Confirmed disability progression in different subgroups of patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis who received ocrelizumab or interferon beta-1a in the phase III OPERA I and OPERA II studies. Presented at: 70th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 21-27, 2018; Los Angeles, CA.
Hauser SL, Bar-Or A, Comi G, et al. Ocrelizumab versus interferon beta-1a in relapsing multiple sclerosis. N Engl J Med. 2017;376(3)(suppl):S6.
Kaunzner UW, Gauthier SA. MRI in the assessment and monitoring of multiple sclerosis: an update on best practice. Ther Adv Neurol Disord. 2017;10(6):247-261.
Arnold DL, Kappos L, Hauser SL, et al. Long-term reduction in brain MRI disease activity and atrophy after 5 years of ocrelizumab treatment in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis. Presented at: 34th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis; October 10-12, 2018; Berlin, Germany.
De Seze J, Arnold DL, Bar-Or A, et al. Infusion-related reactions with ocrelizumab in relapsing multiple sclerosis and primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Presented at: 32nd Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research of Multiple Sclerosis; September 14-17, 2016; London, United Kingdom.
Hauser SL, Kappos L, Montalban X, et al. Safety of ocrelizumab in multiple sclerosis: updated analysis in patients with relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Presented at: 71st American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; May 4-10, 2019; Philadelphia, PA.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Women with disabilities and breast cancer screening. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/breast-cancer-screening.html. Accessed August 20, 2019.
American Cancer Society. American Cancer Society guidelines for the early detection of cancer. https://www.cancer.org/healthy/find-cancer-early/cancer-screening-guidelines/american-cancer-society-guidelines-for-the-early-detection-of-cancer.html. Accessed February 15, 2019.
Montalban X, Hauser SL, Kappos L, et al. Ocrelizumab versus placebo in primary progressive multiple sclerosis. N Engl J Med. 2017;376(3):209-220.
© 2020 Genentech USA, Inc. All rights reserved. This site is intended for U.S. healthcare professionals only.
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Relapses were defined as new or worsening neurological symptoms that were attributable to multiple sclerosis, persisted for over 24 hours, were immediately preceded by a stable or improving neurological state for at least 30 days, and were accompanied by objective neurological worsening as defined in the study protocols. 2
Study design and demographic
OPERA I and II (RMS): Two randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, active comparator-controlled clinical trials of identical design vs Rebif in 1,656 patients (OCREVUS: OPERA I [n=410], OPERA II [n=417]; Rebif: OPERA I [n=411], OPERA II [n=418]) with RMS treated for 96 weeks. Both studies included patients who had experienced ≥1 relapse within the prior year, or ≥2 relapses within the prior 2 years, and had an EDSS score from 0 to 5.5. 1,2
EDSS=Expanded Disability Status Scale.
Confirmed disability progression
Confirmed disability progression was defined as patients with EDSS ≤5.5 who experienced an EDSS increase of ≥1.0. For patients with EDSS >5.5, progression was an EDSS increase of ≥0.5. Disability progression was categorized as confirmed if it was present at 3 or 6 months over the 2-year treatment period. 1,2
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To Build a Fire and Other Stories
By Jack London
Category: Fiction | Fiction Classics
Mass Market Paperback $5.95
*This format is not eligible to earn points towards the Reader Rewards program
Ebook $1.99
Feb 27, 2007 | ISBN 9780553903478
About To Build a Fire and Other Stories
To Build A Fire and Other Stories is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging collection of Jack London’s short stories available in paperback. This superb volume brings together twenty-five of London’s finest, including a dozen of his great Klondike stories, vivid tales of the Far North were rugged individuals, such as the Malemute Kid face the violence of man and nature during the Gold Rush Days. Also included are short masterpieces from his later writing, plus six stories unavailable in any other paperback edition.
Here, along with London’s famous wilderness adventures and fireband desperadoes, are portraits of the working man, the immigrant, and the exotic outcast: characters representing the entire span of the author’s prolific imaginative career, in tales that have been acclaimed throughout the world as some of the most thrilling short stories ever written.
Also by Jack London
See all books by Jack London
About Jack London
Jack London—his real name was John Griffith London—had a wild and colorful youth on the waterfront of Oakland, his native city. Born in 1876, he left school at the age of fourteen and worked in a cannery. By the time… More about Jack London
Mass Market Paperback | $5.95
Published by Bantam Classics
Apr 01, 1986 | 432 Pages | 4-3/16 x 6-7/8 | ISBN 9780553213355
Ebook | $1.99
Feb 27, 2007 | 432 Pages | ISBN 9780553903478
People Who Read To Build a Fire and Other Stories Also Read
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Penticton Vees
Living 55 Plus
Rotary in the Community
How much should city council be paid?
External review of Penticton city council pay being recommended
Steve Kidd
Penticton city council is being asked to support an external review of how and how much councillors and the mayor should be paid.
The current pay levels were established 16 years ago, along with linking a yearly increase to council salaries linked to the Consumer Price Index. Meal and mileage per diems were also established in 2002 and have not been reviewed or adjusted.
Things have changed since then, including the federal government eliminating the 1/3 tax exemption enjoyed by elected officials, a move that takes effect next year.
In some communities, council pay has been adjusted to make up for the taxation change, others have done nothing, resulting in an effective pay cut.
Closer to home, the 2014 crop of Penticton city councillors voted, early in their mandate, to take advantage of a health care package through the Union of B.C. Municipalities, determining also that the city would pay for half the premiums.
That’s been a bone of contention for some members of the public ever since, with it occasionally being pointed to in letters to the editor as an example of poor council spending.
The External Compensation Advisory Task Force will be taking a look at both issues, as well as council’s overall salary and expenses package.
If council votes to go ahead with the new task force, it will be made up of four independent individuals who have experience in business leadership, remuneration development or other similar experience and skills.
Council will vote on the proposal at their Dec. 18 meeting, which starts at 1 p.m. in City Hall council chambers.
Senior reporter, Penticton Western News
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The site comes after more than a decade of consultation.
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Blake Laven replaces Anthony Haddad as director of development services.
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© 2020, Penticton Western News and Black Press Group Ltd.
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OmniSciDB
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OmniSci Announces OEM Startup Accelerator Program For Data-Focused Early Stage Companies
New Effort Offers Startups a Frictionless Path to Industry-Leading Accelerated Analytics, Plus Marketing and Lead-Development Opportunities
SAN FRANCISCO – October 23, 2019 – OmniSci, the pioneer in accelerated analytics, today at Converge 2019 announced the debut of its OEM Startup Accelerator Program, a new way for early-stage companies focused on data accumulation, enrichment and insight to benefit from the industry leader in accelerated analytics. Partnership in the OmniSci OEM Startup Accelerator Program provides instant access to the fastest platform for data analytics and visualization at scale, enabling companies to quickly deliver differentiating services while saving substantial time and development cost.
The OEM Startup Accelerator Program is ideal for early-stage companies with large datasets and related services at their core. Examples include vertically focused data providers, aggregators of public and/or crowdsourced data, providers of real-time location services, geospatial analytics companies, and IoT data aggregators. Such companies can save significant time and money by leveraging OmniSci’s fast and interactive visual analytics to bring their data to life.
“Many early-stage companies focused on the collection, interpretation, and monetization of large datasets have a vital need for ultra-fast, embedded visual analytics at scale—the kind that OmniSci provides,” said Ashish Bambroo, OmniSci VP of business development. “Our new OEM Startup Accelerator Program solves that problem with an instantly-deployable platform that accelerates time-to-market, creates a marketable point of difference, and leaves young technology companies free to focus on their core business.”
In addition to licensed access to the OmniSci platform, the OEM Startup Accelerator Program offers partners other benefits, including co-sell opportunities through the OmniSci Data Catalog and marketing placement opportunities on OmniSci’s sales channels. An OmniSci internal development license includes development support as well as custom integration support from an OmniSci Solutions Architect.
“Partnering with OmniSci was a natural fit for Disaster Intelligence, as both organizations share a vision to enable decision-makers with faster access to data,” said Sean Griffin, co-founder and president, Disaster Intelligence. “Our strategic partnership allows disaster management agencies to visualize their data and understand risks, which can inform mitigation, planning and disaster response decisions.”
OmniSci’s accelerated analytics platform allows users to create rich, visualized narratives from billion-row datasets at the speed of thought. The platform, which includes a SQL based query engine, server-side visual rendering engine, and browser-based visualization client, enables users to interrogate vast datasets with zero latency.
The OmniSci OEM Startup Accelerator Program was announced at Converge 2019. Learn more about the program here.
About OmniSci
OmniSci is the pioneer in accelerated analytics. The OmniSci platform is used in business and government to find insights in data beyond the limits of mainstream analytics tools. Harnessing the massive parallelism of modern CPU and GPU hardware, the platform is available in the cloud and on-premise. OmniSci originated from research at Harvard and MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). OmniSci is funded by GV, In-Q-Tel, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), NVIDIA, Tiger Global Management, Vanedge Capital and Verizon Ventures. The company is headquartered in San Francisco. Learn more about Omnisci at www.omnisci.com.
Develop with OmniSci
Copyright & 2019 OmniSci, Inc.
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Life and Entertainment
How to send Letters to the Editor
In this file photo, Oneida celebrates a touchdown in a win over Camden on Friday, Oct. 11. No. 1 seed Oneida will take on No. 4 Marcellus in the Class B semifinals on Friday, Nov. 1
By John Brewer jbrewer@oneidadispatch.com @dispatchbrewer on Twitter
In this file photo, the Canastota defensive line readies before the snap in a victory over Clinton on Friday, Oct. 4. No. 3 Canastota faces No. 2 Lowville in the Class C semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 2.
John Brewer
In this file photo, Oneida quarterback Jordan Clark (27) and Stephen Cafalone (30) make a read from the backfield during a 41-7 win over Mexico on Friday, Oct. 4.
In this file photo, Canastota sophomore Devin Youker returns the opening kickoff for a touchdown during a 69-6 Raider win on Friday, Sept. 27.
In this file photo, Oneida senior running back Stephen Cafalone breaks a tackle on his way to a second-quarter touchdown in a win over VVS on Friday, Sept. 21.
In this file photo, Canastota center Cole DeKing bursts down the sideline for a touchdown after hauling in a tipped pass during a Raider win over Clinton.
Semifinal Showdown
Football: Semifinals feature Oneida, Canastota
Oneida, Canastota each one win away from Section final
Every football team hopes to play meaningful games in November.
November means a deep playoff run. It means semifinal football. It means a shot at playing in the Carrier Dome to decide the fate of the section.
After eight weeks of action, two Dispatch-area teams will take the field in November with an opportunity to secure a spot in the Section III finals.
Oneida, the Class B East Champion and No. 1 seed in the Class B bracket, will take on No. 4 Marcellus on Friday, Nov. 1 at 6:30 p.m. at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School.
Canastota, the Class C South Champion and No. 3 seed in the Class C bracket, squares off against No. 2 Lowville at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2 at Cicero-North Syracuse.
Oneida enters its semifinal bout as the No. 10 team in the state according to the New York State Sportswriters Association. Similarly, those pundits have rank Canastota at No. 9.
Head coach Jason Fuller and Oneida will put their unbeaten record on the line against a state-ranked No. 13 Marcellus team that boasts a 7-1 record. The Mustangs only loss of the season was to Class B West champion and unbeaten Solvay.
Conversely, head coach Tom Congden and the Raiders will look to spoil state-ranked No. 4 Lowville's unblemished 8-0 record.
After tearing through the regular season and Class B East with a 7-0 record en route to the league crown, the Orange dismantled No. 8 seed Homer by a final tally of 49-14 to earn a spot in the semifinals for the second straight season. No. 4 Marcellus held off No. 5 seed Central Valley Academy 17-14.
Oneida comes into the contest allowing an average 8.3 points - 66 points across eight contests - on defense for the top unit in Class B. In comparison, Marcellus surrendered 166 points, or 20.8 per game, in the high-flying Class B West. The Mustangs have an edge on offense, posting a scoring average of 33.5. Oneida has put up 28.3 points per game on offense in its eight victories.
The Raiders, whose only blemish came in a flag-littered Week 2 loss to Skaneateles, are back in sectionals a year after injuries derailed their 2018 campaign. After opening the season with a 1-1 mark, Canastota heads into the semifinals on a six-game win streak, including a 42-6 demolition of No. 6 seed General Brown in the Class C quarterfinals.
Lowville and Canastota have the two most prolific offenses in Class C. Canastota has averaged 50.75 points per contest on offense compared to Lowville's 52.6 average. The next highest scoring team in Class C is Skaneateles, a team that averaged 42 points a game on offense but was eliminated in the opening round of sectional play by Lowville, 58-26. The teams are just as close on the defensive front. Congden's Raiders are allowing 14.9 points on defense, while Lowville has yielded 14.6 points per contest.
Should Oneida win, it will face the winner of a bout between No. 2 Solvay and No. 3 New Hartford.
If Canastota wins, the Raiders will face the winner of a Saturday meeting between No. 1 Cato-Meridian and No. 5 Herkimer.
John Brewer, sports editor for the Oneida Dispatch, originally hails from Speculator, N.Y. John graduated from Utica College in 2011 and covers local sporting events, focusing on area high schools.
Irresistible object meets the immovable force
Bears Insider Podcast 185: Local angles everywhere in Super Bowl LIV
Moos thinks Lubick can solve offense that was 'off-kilter' in 2019
Oneida Police Department blotter
Blossvale woman accused of stealing over $3K from employer
Route 365 closed early Friday morning due to car accident
Oneida County man arrested of felony drug charges
Property transfers in Madison County
Daily Dispatch announces its 'The Big Event' winner
Snapshot: Oneida High School Z Club 50th anniversary
Oneida resident named EADS Honor Guard Manager of the Year
Three juveniles arrested after traffic pursuit in stolen vehicle
Madison-Oneida BOCES put into "lockout" Tuesday morning
The Ultimate Super Bowl LIV Gambling Guide
Daily Freeman
Saratogian
Troy Record
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Home/Religion/Theology
A Black Theology of Liberation
A Black Theology of Liberation, Fortieth Anniversary Edition, James H. Cone, 176, Softcover
The classics texts in black theology, now with new concluding reflections by the author.
A Christian View of Islam
A Christian View of Islam, Essays on Dialogue, Faith Meets Faith Series, Thomas F. Michel, S.J., Irfan A. Omar, 220, Softcover
Insightful essays on Christian-Muslim relations by one of the world's leading experts.
A Christology of Religions
A Christology of Religions, Gerald O’Collins, SJ, Index, 192, softcover
Through the lens of Christology, a new approach to the theology of religions.
A Grammar of Justice
A Grammar of Justice, The Legacy of Ignacio Ellacuria, J. Matthew Ashley, Kevin F. Burke, S.J., Rodolfo Cardenal, S.J., Index, 224, Softcover
On the 25th Anniversary of his death, reflection on the legacy of a Jesuit theologian and martyr.
A Harvey Cox Reader
A Harvey Cox Reader, Harvey Cox, Edited by Robert Ellsberg, Index, 400, softcover
One of the most creative American theologians of the past fifty years, Harvey Cox is best known as the author of The Secular City, among the true classics in religious studies.
A Muslim View of Christianity
A Muslim View of Christianity, Essays on Dialogue by Mahmoud Ayoub, Faith Meets Faith Series, Irfan Omar, Editor, 256, Softcover
A leading scholar of Islam examines Christianity from a Muslim perspective.
Not in Stock – Please Call 1-800-258-5838 to pre-order
A Theology of Dao
A Theology of Dao, Ecology & Justice, Heup Young Kim, Index, 288, softcover
A leading Korean theologian offers a way past Christianity’s theological impasses.
A Theology of Southeast Asia
A Theology of Southeast Asia, Liberation-Postcolonial Ethics in the Philippines, Duffy Lectures Boston College, Agnes M. Brazal, Index, 232, softcover
An incisive look at postcolonial theology and ethics in the Philippines, including the struggles of indigenous peoples.
A Troubling in My Soul
A Troubling in My Soul, Womanist Perspectives on Evil and Suffering, Emilie M. Townes, 300, Softcover
Fresh views from womanist theologians on theodicy.
Abounding in Kindness
Abounding in Kindness, Writings for the People of God, Elizabeth A. Johnson, author, She Who Is and Quest for the Living God, Index, 336, Softcover
Offers a comprehensive anthology of the work of one of Catholicism's most creative contemporary theologians.
African Religion
African Religion, The Moral Traditions of Abundant Life, Laurenti Magesa, Index, 304, Softcover
The first comprehensive exploration of the traditional moral and ethical imperatives of African religion, treating it as an equal among the religions of the world.
African, Christian, Feminist
African, Christian, Feminist, The Enduring Search for What Matters, Teresia Mbari Hinga, Index, 224, Softcover
Selected writings from a leading academic voice in the fields of African Christianity, women in African theology, and gender and ethics in the African context.
Altogether Gift
Altogether Gift, A Trinitarian Spirituality, Michael Downey, 128, Softcover
This poetic book on the Trinity offers reflections on the inter-personal dimensions of God and spells out the implications for spiritual life.
American Indian Liberation
American Indian Liberation, A Theology of Sovereignty, George E. "Tink" Tinker, 192, Softcover
Demonstrates how amer-eurocentric understandings of Jesus and God clash with American Indian worldviews, and how American Indian Christians define themselves and their faith today.
An Introduction to Theology in Global Perspective
An Introduction to Theology in Global Perspective, Theology in Global Perspective Series, Stephen B. Bevans, index, 400, Softcover
This highly praised text provides a contemporary and global perspective on doing Catholic theology today.
Ancestral Grace
Ancestral Grace, Meeting God in Our Human Story, Diarmuid O'Murchu, 288, Softcover
The best-selling author of Quantum Theology addresses all Christians, especially theologians, to see how humanity's "deep past can empower us to embrace the profound changes that face us today."
And God Created Wholeness
And God Created Wholeness, A Spirituality of Catholicity, Catholicity in an Evolving Universe , Edwin E. Olson, Foreword by Ilia Delio, Index, 256, softcover
New insights into the evolution of spiritual wholeness in creation through the lens of quantum biology.
Arise My Love
Arise My Love, Mysticism for a New Era, William Johnston, 280, softcover
Joining the wisdom of East and West, a modern spiritual master proposes a new Christian mysticism for the third millennium, one that will help humanity to transcend violence and heal the earth.
Asian Christianities
Asian Christianities, History, Theology, Practice , Peter C. Phan, Index, 336, softcover
An extensive and indispensable review of the multiplicity and diversity among Christian cultures and traditions in Asia.
Be Good and Do Good
Be Good and Do Good, Thinking Through Moral Theology, Bernard V. Brady, Index, 208, Softcover
A basic textbook in religious ethics for today's Catholic studients and young adults.
Beyond Original Sin
Beyond Original Sin, Recovering Humanity's Creative Urge, Diarmuid O'Murchu, Index, 216, softcover
Offers a compelling argument to consider human fundamental goodness rather than flawed sinfulness as the starting point for studying human origins.
Catholic Moral Theology and Social Ethics
Catholic Moral Theology and Social Ethics, A New Method, Christina A. Astorga, Index, 571, Softcover
Recasts our understanding of the discipline by drawing from the faith vision of the entire theological enterprise, including scripture, dogmatic theology, social ethics, and spritualtiy.
Christ in Evolution
Christ in Evolution, Ilia Delio, 240, Softcover
A new way of looking at evolution-- one that opens our eyes to the unfolding love of God.
Christ the Liberator
Christ the Liberator, A View from the Victims, Jon Sobrino, 400, Softcover
One of the most significant contributions of Latin America to the church and theology today.
Christian Uniqueness Reconsidered
Christian Uniqueness Reconsidered, The Myth of a Pluralistic Theology of Religions, Faith Meets Faith Series, Gavin D'Costa, 250, Softcover
Affirms a radical Christian uniqueness over the pluralist argument.
Christianity and World Religions
Christianity and World Religions, Paths to Dialogue with Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, Hans Kung, Josef van Ess, Heinrich Heinz Bechert, Heinrich von Stietencron, 460, Softcover
Theologians provide new ways to surmount barriers of distrust and fear among the adherents of the worlds major religions.
Christianity in a Nutshell, Leonardo Boff, 144, Softcover
From one of the world's most prophetic voices, an inspiring summary of the Christian message in the context of an evolving universe.
Christianity Through Non-Christian Eyes
Christianity Through Non-Christian Eyes, Faith Meets Faith Series, Paul J. Griffiths, 200, Softcover
Eye-opening essays by Buddhist, Hindus, Jews, Muslims provide insights to how Christianity is viewed in their communities--and why
Church as Dynamic Life-System
Church as Dynamic Life-System, Shared Ministries and Common Responsibilities, Catholicity in an Evolving Universe , Joseph A. Bracken, Foreword by Ilia Delio, Index, 176, softcover
An innovative open-ended systems approach to ecclesiology in a continually evolving universe.
Come Out My People!
Come Out My People!, God's Call out of Empire in the Bible and Beyond, Wes Howard-Brook, 544, Softcover
This landmark work provides a compelling vision of two religions--one of "creation" and the other of "empire"--running throughout the Hebrew and Christian scriptures and the profound implications this holds for believers today.
Constructing Local Theologies - Revised
Constructing Local Theologies, 30th Anniversary Edition, Robert J. Schreiter, New Introduction by the Author, 224, softcover
30th Anniversary Edition! Provides a thoughtful perspective for those engaged in small Christian communities worldwide.
Creation and the Cross
Creation and The Cross, The Mercy of God for a Planet in Peril , Elizabeth A. Johnson, 256, softcover
Confronting the woeful legacy of a centuries-old theology, Johnson shows how the beauty of our faith tradition is deepened by being rooted in ecological reality.
Creation, Grace, and Redemption
Creation, Grace, and Redemption, Theology in Global Perspective Series, Neil Ormerod, Peter C. Phan, General Editor, index, 224, Softcover
Where does human existence stand in a cosmos some fifteen billion years old and seemingly indifferent to human suffering?
Cultures and Religions in Dialogue (Opera Omnia VI.1)
Cultures and Religions in Dialogue, Opera Omnia, Volume VI, Part 1, Pluralism and Interculturality, Opera Omnia, Raimon Panikkar, Edited by Milena Carrara Pavan, Index, glossary, appendix, 320, hardcover
Part 1 of the sixth volume in the Opera Omnia of Raimon Panikkar, the complete authoritative collection of the renowned scholar of world religion.
Cultures and Religions in Dialogue, Opera Omnia, Volume VI, Part 2: Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue, Opera Omnia, Raimon Panikkar, Edited by Milena Carrara Pavan, Index, glossary, appendix, 230, hardcover
Deep Incarnation
Deep Incarnation, God’s Redemptive Suffering with Creatures, Duffy Lectures, Denis Edwards, 160, softcover
The final work by Australian theologian Denis Edwards shows how we might make connections between the incarnation of Jesus and the entirety of creation.
Defending Mother Earth
Defending Mother Earth, Native American Perspectives on Environmental Justice, Jace Weaver, Foreword by Russell Means, 185, Softcover
Writers from many tribes address issues of environmental and social devastation in the Americas.
Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins
Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins, 2, Miguel De La Torre, index, 384, softcover
A revised and expanded edition of the text presents a justice-based ethics that avails itself of the perspecitves and experiences of those on the margins.
Doing Local Theology
Doing Local Theology, A Guide for Artisans of a New Humanity, Clemens Sedmak, 192, Softcover
Presents the construction of ?local theologies? as an enterprise that?s not just for specialists. This exciting and practical book promises to become a standard in courses on theological method and foundations of ministry.
Dynamics of Theology
Dynamics of Theology, Roger Haight, 312, Softcover
Haight provides the fundamental grounds for retrieval of traditional doctrine in new interpretations that bear upon our life in the world today.
Easter People, A Living Community, Cardinal Luis Antonio G Chito Tagle, 144, Softcover
In these simple, heartfelt reflections, Cardinal Tagle of the Philippines shares how Christian community offers rich possibilities for love, faith, hope, and unity in diversity.
Ecclesiology and Exclusion
Ecclesiology and Exclusion, Boundaries of Being and Belonging in Postmodern Times, Dennis M. Doyle, Timothy J. Furry, Pascal D. Bazzell, Notes, 256, Softcover
"A great strength of this collection of essays lies in the willingness of the authors to tackle the thorny ecclesiological problem of exclusion from multiple perspectives, often shedding fresh light on a longstanding ecclesial issue." —Richard R. Gaillardetz, from the Foreword
Ecclesiology for a Global Church
Ecclesiology for a Global Church, A People Called and Sent, Theology in Global Perspective Series, Richard R. Gaillardetz, index, 284, Softcover
A creative and comprehensive examination of the church, both theologically and in its global context.
Ecowomanism
Ecowomanism, African American Women and Earth-Honoring Faiths, Ecology & Justice, Melanie L. Harris, Index, 176, softcover
Academic reflections and personal stories by the author explore how African American women contribute to the environmental justice movement.
Essential Catholic Social Thought
Essential Catholic Social Thought , Second Edition, Bernard V. Brady, Index, 400, softcover
Revised and expanded, this comprehensive review of Catholic social teaching includes excerpts of key documents and up-to-date analyses of the latest encyclicals.
Evolutionary Faith
Evolutionary Faith, Rediscovering God in Our Great Story, Diarmuid O'Murchu, 280, Softcover
The author of the best-seller Quantum Theology now explores the meaning of evolution and points to new and profound spiritual directions.
Faith, What It Is and What It Isn't, Terrence W. Tilley, 160, Softcover
For college and study groups, an introduction to religion and theology that addresses the core questions about what faith is and what having faith means in the 21st century.
Feminist Catholic Theological Ethics
Feminist Catholic Theological Ethics, Conversations in the World Church, Linda Hogan, A.E. Orobator, S.J., index, 320, softcover
Catholic theologians from around the globe address issues in feminism and ethics.
Francis of Assisi, A Model for Human Liberation, Leonardo Boff, 192, Softcover
The biography of a saint who embodies an ethic for today.
Francis of Rome & Francis of Assisi
Francis of Rome & Francis of Assisi, A New Springtime for the Church, Leodardo Boff, 168, Softcover
The vision of Pope Francis, as seen by one of the world's leading liberation theologians.
From Teilhard to Omega
From Teilhard to Omega, Co-creating an Unfinished Universe, Ilia Delio, index, 272, softcover
Thirteen scholars fulfill Teilhard de Chardin's hope that a future generation apply his learnings to the challenges and needs of their age.
From the Heart of Our People
From the Heart of Our People, Latino/a Explorations in Catholic Systematic Theology, Orlando O. Espin, Miguel H. Diaz, 294, Softcover
What would Catholic systematics look like if it were done from a Latino/a perspective?
Galilean Journey
Galilean Journey, The Mexican-American Promise, Virgilio P. Elizondo, 176, Softcover
New edition of groundbreaking work Andrew Greeley called "a shining vision".
Gandhi and Jesus
Gandhi and Jesus, The Saving Power of Non-Violence, Terrence J. Rynne, 240, Softcover
An original exploration of the life of Jesus and the teachings of Gandhi--one that puts nonviolent action at the very heart of Christian salvation.
God's Mission and Postmodern Culture
God's Mission and Postmodern Culture, The Gift of Uncertainty, John C. Sivalon, MM, 160, Softcover
What it means to share the Gospel in light of postmodern questions.
Guadalupe, Mother of the New Creation, Virgilio P. Elizondo, 160, Softcover
Offers a new translation of the original story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and reflects on its meaning for the faithful and the church today.
Holy Trinity, Perfect Community
Holy Trinity, Perfect Community, Leonardo Boff, 144, Softcover
The eminent Brazilian theology unpacks the mysteries of Trinitarian faith.
Idol and Grace
Idol and Grace, On Traditioning and Subversive Hope, Orlando O. Espin, 232, Softcover
This vital new theology of "traditioning" draws out the subversive hope of the gospels and the role of the marginalized in passing down the Christian message through the centuries.
Interfaith Dialogue, A Catholic View, Michael L. Fitzgerald, John Borelli, 192, Softcover
An inside look at the dialogue among Catholicism and world religions, particularly Buddhism and Islam.
Introducing Black Theology of Liberation
Introducing Black Theology of Liberation, Dwight N. Hopkins, 240, Softcover
Basic review which introduces African American theological concerns and contributions.
Introducing Feminist Theology
Introducing Feminist Theology, A Liberation Perspective, Anne M. Clifford, 288, Softcover
This thorough and readable textbook coffers the perspectives of women around the globe on basic theological issue of God, church, creation, humanity.
Introducing Latino/a Theologies
Introducing Latino/a Theologies, Miguel A. De La Torre, Edwin David Aponte, 176, Softcover
An ideal introduction to a vibrant and distinctive way of doing Christian theology.
Introducing Latinx Theologies
Introducing Latinx Theologies, Introducing Series, Edwin David Aponte, Miguel A. De La Torre, Index, 256, softcover
Introducing Liberation Theology
Introducing Liberation Theology, Leonardo Boff, Clodovis Boff, 112, Softcover
Two leading Latin American theologians offer a primer on the basic issues and concerns of doing theology in a third world context.
Introducing Liberative Theologies
Introducing Liberative Theologies, Miguel A. De La Torre, 288, softcover
Offers a diversity of perspectives on liberative theologies from all areas of the margins: race, class, culture, gender, and disability.
Introducing Theologies of Religion
Introducing Theologies of Religion, Introducing Series, Paul F. Knitter, 256, Softcover
An up-to-date, accessible, and comprehensive study of every major position taken by Christian churches and theologians on world religions and religious pluralism.
Introducing Womanist Theology
Introducing Womanist Theology, Introducing Series, Stephanie Y. Mitchem, 192, Softcover
A comprehensive introduction to contemporary theology by and about black women.
Jesus and the Other Names
Jesus and the Other Names, Christian Mission & Global Responsibility, Paul F. Knitter, 216, Softcover
Argues for a reconstruction of christology and mission for the modern pluralistic world.
Jesus Christ Liberator
Jesus Christ Liberator, A Critical Christology for Our Time, Leonardo Boff, 335, Softcover
The Brazilian theologian offers an interpretation of the life and message of Jesus and the tenets of christology.
Jesus Christ, Peacemaker
Jesus Christ, Peacemaker, A New Theology of Peace, Terrence J. Rynne, Index, 256, Softcover
A new theology of peace that renders the just war theory near mute by making Jesus and his teachings the cornerstone of both theory and practice.
Jon Sobrino, Spiritual Writings, Modern Spiritual Masters, Jon Sobrino, Robert Lassalle-Klein, 224, softcover
The spiritual writings of Jon Sobrino, one of the original voices of liberation theology and one of the most influential and prophetic theologians in the world today.
Justice and Only Justice
Justice and Only Justice, A Palestinian Theology of Liberation, Naim Ateek, 288, Softcover
A book about the Palestinian Christian community.
Making All Things New
Making All Things New, Catholicity, Cosmology, Consciousness, Catholicity in an Evolving Universe, Ilia Delio, 232, softcover
The first book in the series "Catholicity in an Evolving Universe" unveils a new paradigm for being Catholic, a conscious awareness of how everything in the universe forms a whole.
Meeting Mystery
Meeting Mystery, Liturgy, Worship, Sacraments, Theology in Global Perspective Series, Nathan D. Mitchell, index, 192, Softcover
How worship and liturgy can surprise and lead us to the divine depths of creation.
Mothers of Faith
Mothers of Faith, Motherhood in the Christian Tradition, Wilfred M. Sumani, 240, softcover
A faith-based reflection on the experiences of mothers, both ancient and contemporary, in the Bible and Christian tradition.
Mysterium Liberationis
Mysterium Liberationis, Fundamental Concepts of Liberation Theology, Ignacio Ellacuria, S.J., Jon Sobrino, S.J., 768, Softcover
A comprehensive summary of liberation theology in Latin America.
Mystery and Hermeneutics (Opera Omnia IX.1)
Mystery and Hermeneutics, Myth, Symbol, and Ritual, Opera Omnia. Volume IX.1, Raimon Panikkar, Edited by Milena Carrara Pavan, Index, glossary, appendix, 276, hardcover
The intersection of tolerance, ideology, and myth is explored by the renowned philosopher of religion.
Mystical Theology, The Science of Love, William Johnston, S.J., 304, Softcover
The Jesuit writer who spent nearly fifty years in Japan here explores why Christian theology must dialogue with science and the religions of the East.
Mysticism & Spirituality (Opera Omnia I.1)
Mysticism & Spirituality I.1, Mysticism, Fullness of Life, Volume I, Part 1, Opera Omnia, Raimon Panikkar, Series Editor: Milena Carrara Pavan, index, glossary, appendix, 352, cloth
First in a 12-volume series encompassing the works of the celebrated religious scholar.
New Paths for Interreligious Theology
New Paths for Interreligious Theology, Perry Schmidt-Leukel’s Fractal Interpretation of Religious Diversity, Alan Race, Paul Knitter, Index, 224, softcover
Renowned scholars respond to Perry Schmidt-Leukel's novel approach to understanding religious diversity.
Passion of Christ, Passion of the World
Passion of Christ, Passion of the World, Leonardo Boff, 160, Softcover
A new edition of a foundational work in Liberation Theology.
Personal Transformation and a New Creation
Personal Transformation and a New Creation, The Spiritual Revolution of Beatrice Bruteau, Ilia Delio, editor, Bibliography, index, 256, softcover
Ten religious writers offer luminous glimpses into the thought and life of Beatrice Bruteau, Christian philosopher and mystic, including the text of an interview with her.
Pope Francis and the Theology of the People
Pope Francis and the Theology of the People , Rafael Luciani, Translated by Phillip Berryman, Index, 224, Softcover
Examines the Latin American theology that has shaped the social and ecclesial vision of Pope Francis.
Practical Theology, As On Earth as It Is in Heaven, Terry A. Veling, 240, Softcover
A probing introduction to the meaning and methods of Practical Theology.
Religion and Faith in Africa
Religion and Faith in Africa, Confessions of an Animist, Duffy Lectures Boston College, Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, SJ, Duffy Lectures in Global Community, Index, 208, softcover
Examines the living interplay between African Religion, Christianity, and Islam and shows how the religious experience and spiritual imagination of Africa offer wisdom capable of renewing the global community of believers.
Religious Pluralism and Interreligious Theology
Religious Pluralism and Interreligious Theology, The Gifford Lectures—An Extended Edition , Perry Schmidt-Leukel, index, 304, softcover
Shows how religious pluralism carries the promise of being the theology of the future.
Rhythm of Being
The Rhythm of Being, The Unbroken Trinity (The Gifford Lectures), Faith Meets Faith Series, Raimon Panikkar, 448, Softcover
One of the world’s most important philosophers of religion reveals the unity of cosmic Mystery in this distillation of the wisdom of East and West, North and South.
Said I Wasn’t Gonna Tell Nobody paperback
Said I Wasn’t Gonna Tell Nobody, The Making of a Black Theologian, James H. Cone, Foreword by Cornel West, 192, softcover
The theological memoir and final work by one of the most influential theologians of our time.
Sor Juana, Beauty and Justice in the Americas, Michelle A. Gonzalez, 200, Softcover
Explores the witness and legacy of the "first female theologian of the Americas."
Spiritual and Religious, Explorations for Seekers, Roger Haight, Index, 224, softcover
This collection of essays offers rich fruit to a seeking, questioning generation that is drawn to spirituality but not always to dogmatic religion.
Spiritual Questions for the Twenty-First Century
Spiritual Questions for the Twenty-First Century, Essays in Honor of Joan D. Chittister, Mary Hembrow Snyder, 192, Softcover
Leading writers and social critics address the question: What is the most significant spiritual question of our time?
Spirituality and Mysticism
Spirituality and Mysticism, Theology in Global Perspective Series, James A. Wiseman, index, 254, Softcover
A wise and trustworthy introduction to spirituality and mysticism, their meaning, and their importance for our age.
Spirituality Seeking Theology
Spirituality Seeking Theology, Roger Haight, index, 224, softcover
Making sense of Christian faith through an understanding of spirituality.
The Buddha and the Christ
The Buddha and the Christ, Explorations in Buddhist and Christian Origins, Faith Meets Faith Series, Leo D. Lefebure, 240, Softcover
A vital, accessible, comparative view of Siddharta Guatama and Jesus Christ that captures the fruits of recent scholarship.
The Christian Moral Life
The Christian Moral Life, Faithful Discipleship for a Global Society, Theology in Global Perspective Series, Patricia Lamoureux, Paul J. Wadell, 304, Softcover
Responding to the call of the Second Vatican Council, this new introduction to moral theology shows how virtue ethics and a global perspective shape the call to faithful discipleship today.
The Church We Want
The Church We Want, African Catholics Look to Vatican III, A. E. Orobator, Index, 272, softcover
Inspired by the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, sixty scholars, clergy, and religious from all over Africa offer a new model and process for doing theology in the 21st century.
Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, SJ is a Jesuit priest who lives and works in Nairobi, Kenya. He is the author of Theology Brewed in an African Pot (Orbis 2008) and editor of Religion and Faith in Africa: Confessions of an Animist (Orbis 2018, Boston College Duffy Lecture Series).
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An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
by Hank Green
In his much-anticipated debut novel, Hank Green – co-creator of Crash Course, Vlogbrothers and SciShow – spins a sweeping, cinematic tale about a young woman who becomes an overnight celebrity before realising she’s part of something bigger, and stranger, than anyone could have possibly imagined.
The Carls just appeared. Coming home from work at three a.m., twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship – like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armour – April and her friend Andy make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. The next day April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world – everywhere from Beijing to Buenos Aires – and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the centre of an intense international media spotlight.
Now April has to deal with the pressure on her relationships, her identity and her safety that this new position brings, all while being on the front lines of the quest to find out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us.
Compulsively entertaining and powerfully relevant, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing grapples with big themes, including how the social internet is changing fame, rhetoric and radicalisation; how our culture deals with fear and uncertainty; and how vilification and adoration spring from the same dehumanization that follows a life in the public eye.
Here’s what people have been saying about Hank’s book:
‘A fun, contemporary adventure that cares about who we are as humans, especially when faced with remarkable events’ Kirkus (starred review)
‘An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is pure book joy’ Lev Grossman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians Trilogy
‘Fun and full of truth. To be honest, I’m a little irritated at how good the book is. I don’t need this kind of competition’ Patrick Rothfuss, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Kingkiller Chronicles
Genre: Fiction & Related Items / Modern & Contemporary Fiction (post C 1945)
On Sale: 25th September 2018
Paperback Arrow Icon
A fun, contemporary adventure that cares about who we are as humans, especially when faced with remarkable events.
Kirkus (starred review)
You're about to meet somebody named April May who you're immediately going to want to be best friends with. And bonus, she spends all her time having incredible adventures with giant robots and dream puzzles and accidental Internet fame. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is pure book-joy
Lev Grossman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians Trilogy
Fun and full of truth. To be honest, I'm a little irritated at how good the book is. I don't need this kind of competition
Patrick Rothfuss, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Kingkiller Chronicles
This is the book my teen self would have loved, and my adult self immediately obsessed over. I turned the pages of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing so quickly the pads of my thumbs were worn smooth by the time I finished it. It provokes the mind, tickles the spirit, and April May is the terribly relevant young protagonist we've been waiting for
Ashley C. Ford
Funny, thrilling, and an absolute blast to read. I knew Hank would be good at this, but I didn't know he would be this good on the first try
By turns joyful, devastating, personal, zeitgeisty, modern, classic, fast-paced, and thoughtful, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing blew me away with its fresh take on first contact in this fragile, ever-connected world we live in. Quick but never shallow, it will stand as a snapshot of an era as well as just a darn good read
Hank Green hasn't just written a great mystery adventure (though he has), and he hasn't just written the most interesting meditation on the internet and fame I've ever seen (but he did that too), Hank has written a book in which the page turning story and the fascinating ideas inform and support each other. This book expands your mind while taking you on a hell of a ride
Joseph Fink, creator Welcome to Night Vale
At once funny, exciting, and a tad terrifying, this exploration of aliens and social media culture is bound to have wide appeal to readers interested in either theme.
Craig Clark, Booklist (starred review)
Led by an earnestly flawed, bisexual heroine with direction and commitment issues, coupled with an abundant generosity of spirit, this read is timely and sorely needed. Highly recommended.
Library Journal (starred review)
An undeniably strange and delightful thing
Hank Green, super-vlogger and brother to YA legend John, pens the heart-warmer An Absolutely Remarkable Thing.
Packed with meditations on the nature of celebrity, social media, and the cultural response to the unknown.
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is such a beautiful exploration of what humans can accomplish when we collaborate effectively.
John Green, bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars
An Absolutely Remarkable is both completely realistic and utterly fantastical, while managing to touch on some incredibly deep themes
With this comic story about the ugly side of Internet fame, Green gives his brother John (The Fault in Our Stars) a run for his money
[Green's] writing is light-hearted, clever, resonating and funny, tackling socially relevant themes, including the darker side of social media, sexuality, the naivety of youth and media representation . . . Get ready to be absorbed in the story, glued to the book and a little more afraid of Twitter
Part millennial social commentary, part sci-fi novel. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is both completely realistic and utterly fantastical, while managing to touch on some incredibly deep themes.
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is perhaps most like a cheerier John Wyndham: a first contact story that, rather than dwelling too much on why aliens have arrived, focuses on how humans react.
This is a book that almost demands discussion. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing refers not only to the event that sets the book in motion, but the whirlwind of unanticipated fame that exists more and more frequently across the internet. It makes you reflect on not only the image you craft for yourself, but how you react to what others have crafted for you. It's a reading experience that will not leave you any time soon.
It's not in the nature of a sci-fi comedy blockbuster to shift boulders in your soul. But with his debut novel, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, Hank Green pulls it off.
PASTE MAG
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is both realistic and fantastical, while touching on deep themes, including gender, the internet, fame and humanity. Green's firsthand knowledge of YouTube fame and fortune gives authenticity to the protagonist, 23-year-old April May.
AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING is a thrilling journey that takes a hard look at the power of fame and our willingness to separate a person from the brand. Green manages to blend humor, mystery and science fiction in his fast-paced debut novel.
Author Hank Green captures what's great about the internet, as well as what's bad about it. The polarising of opinions feels plausible, as online communities spring up both to solve the puzzles and to cook up evil plans.
A fascinating look at someone viewing one the greatest events in human history through Twitter.
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Tavares folks to get muffler for U.S. 441
THE ORLANDO SENTINEL
Construction of noise walls on the south side of U.S. Highway 441 near Bluegill Drive in the Tavares area could begin in September.
The quarter-mile section of road is across from The Home Depot and Shed City.
The $1.7 million project will begin when the widening of U.S. 441 between Lakeshore Drive and College Road is completed.
A noise study found the walls were warranted, a state Department of Transportation spokeswoman said. The problem arose after some trees were cleared at Bluegill Drive for the widening work.
The walls could take several months to complete.
U.S. Highway 27-441 at County Road 25 overpass. Expect lanes to close at night for a bridge repair.
U.S. Highway 441. Expect delays from Mills Street to College Drive as the highway is widened to six lanes.
Expect lane closings at night and traffic shifts as crews rebuild the road from College Road to Lakeshore Drive.
Florida's Turnpike. Expect lanes to close between mileposts 275 and 298 for crews to work on a resurfacing and guardrail safety project.
Duda Road at County Road 448A. Expect delays to repave and build turn lanes. Projected completion: September.
County Road 439. Expect lane closings from County Road 44A to County Road 42 from north of Eustis to south of Paisley for widening. Projected completion: December.
County Road 46A. Expect lane closings between state roads 44 and 46 in east Lake for repaving and widening.
State Road 46. Expect lane closings at night from Church Street to east of C.R. 46A in Sorrento for resurfacing. Projected completion: early August.
County Road 452 (Lakeshore Drive). Expect delays as crews add shoulders and curbs and improve drainage on two sections of the road from Bay Road to east of Harbour Drive and from west of Belle Ayre Drive to Old Highway 441. Projected completion: January.
U.S. Highway 27. Expect delays between county roads 48 and 565 for shoulder work.
Interstate 4. Traffic is moved to one lane of the new eastbound I-4 ramp at John Young Parkway.
Expect lanes to close at night from Conroy Road to west of Orange Blossom Trail.
Eastbound lanes are shifted toward the center median.
Florida's Turnpike. Expect delays between I-4 and State Road 528 during widening work. Lanes will close between mileposts 3 and 5 and at Consulate Drive, U.S. Highway 17-92-441 and on the turnpike between mileposts 254 and 259. Completion: November 2007.
Expect lane closings and delays at night at State Road 408 ramps as crews build two ramps.
Northbound traffic between mileposts 264 and 266 will shift to temporary lanes. Projected completion: July 2006.
State Road 408 (East-West Expressway). Expect eastbound delays between Orange Blossom Trail and Division Avenue during concrete removal for the widening project.
Expect lane closings as the road is widened between Hiawassee Road and I-4.
The Hiawassee Road toll plaza is being expanded to include four express and eight cash lanes.
The Lake Sherwood bridge is being widened. Projected completion: summer 2006.
State Road 528. Expect delays from S.R. 520 to the St. Johns River for resurfacing. Projected completion: September.
State Road 417 (Central Florida GreeneWay). Expect delays as crews convert the Curry Ford Road toll plaza for open-road toll lanes.
Interstate 4. Expect ramp closings and detours as crews improve the interchange at U.S Highway 192. Projected completion: summer 2007.
Expect lanes to close at night between U.S. 192 and the Polk County line. Projected completion: fall.
U.S. Highway 192. Shingle Creek Bridge is closed to pedestrians until late July.
The highway is being widened to six lanes from east of S.R. 535 to Hoagland Boulevard. Projected completion: summer 2006.
Expect delays from Hibiscus Road east of St. Cloud to the Brevard County line. Projected completion: summer 2007.
Interstate 4. Expect lane closings between State Road 472 and Saxon Boulevard for widening. Ramps at Saxon will close so crews can elevate them to eliminate flooding. Projected completion: April 2007.
State Road 44. Expect delays as the road is widened to four lanes from Pioneer Trail to County Road 4139 near I-4. The project includes a three-lane bridge over I-4. Projected completion: April.
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University of Otago, Christchurch
Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo ki Ōtautahi
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery & Musculoskeletal Medicine
Back to University of Otago, Christchurch
Mr Josh Kempthorne
Orthopaedic Surgery and Musculoskeletal Medicine
Senior Clinical Lecturer
MBChB, FRACS (Ortho)
Orthopaedic oncology
Primary and revision lower limb arthroplasty
Periprosthetic and musculoskeletal infection
Orthopaedic trauma
Kempthorne, J., Kieser, D. C., & Walker, C. G. (2018). Optimal plate fixation of distal femoral fractures in the presence of a well fixed cemented hip arthroplasty femoral stem. HIP International, 28(6), 657-662. doi: 10.1177/1120700018760243
Kempthorne, J. T., Ailabouni, R., Raniga, S., Hammer, D., & Hooper, G. (2015). Occult infection in aseptic joint loosening and the diagnostic role of implant sonication. BioMed Research International, 2015, 946215. doi: 10.1155/2015/946215
Whitwell, D., & Kempthorne, J. (2015). (vi) Endoprosthetic replacement of the proximal femur. Orthopaedics & Trauma, 29(2). doi: 10.1016/j.mporth.2015.02.005
Kempthorne, J. T., Armour, P. C., Rietveld, J. A., & Hooper, G. J. (2011). Surgical dislocation of the hip and the management of femoroacetabular impingement: Results of the Christchurch experience. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 81(6), 446-450. doi: 10.1111/j.1445-2197.2010.05489.x
Kempthorne, J., Kieser, D., Walker, C., Chin, M., & Swain, M. (2011). Minimising the risk of future peri-prosthetic femoral shaft fracture: A biomechanical study. Proceedings of the New Zealand Orthopaedic Association (NZOA) and Australian Orthopaedic Association (AOA) Combined Annual Scientific Meeting: Orthopaedic Education: The E-future. Retrieved from http://www.aoanzoa2011.co.nz/
Journal - Research Article
Journal - Research Other
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Kempthorne, J. T., Pratt, C., Smale, E. L., & MacFarlane, M. R. (2009). Ten-year review of extradural spinal abscesses in a New Zealand tertiary referral centre. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 16(8), 1038-1042. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2008.10.019
Kempthorne, J. T., Ailabouni, R., Raniga, S., Hammer, D., & Hooper, G. (2011). The role of occult infection in the aetiology of aseptic loosening using ultrasonic sonification and conventional sampling techniques. Proceedings of the New Zealand Orthopaedic Association (NZOA) and Australian Orthopaedic Association (AOA) Combined Annual Scientific Meeting: Orthopaedic Education: The E-future. Retrieved from http://www.aoanzoa2011.co.nz/
More publications...
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Communications, Marketing, and Events
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\ EBooks \ Education & Science \ Coursework
Offshore zones as an institution of tax law (2016)
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Seller will give you a gift certificate in the amount of 6,283 RUB for a positive review of the product purchased.
Chapter 1. The institutions of tax law 6
1.1. The concept of the institution of tax law 6
1.2. General and special tax regimes in the system of tax law institutions 9
Chapter 2. Offshore zones in the system of tax law institutions 20
2.1. The concept of offshore zones 20
2.2. The role and importance of offshore zones 22
2.3. Legal regulation of offshore zones 27
LIST OF USED SOURCES 39
LIST OF USED SOURCES
I. Regulatory and other official documents
1. The Constitution of the Russian Federation of December 12, 1993 (as amended on July 21, 2014 No. 11-FKZ) // Rossiyskaya gazeta. 2009. No. (7) 4831. 21 Jan.
2. Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Part One) of July 31, 1998 No. 146-FZ (as amended on February 15, 2016 No. 32-FZ) // Collected Legislation of the Russian Federation. 1998. № 31. Art. 3824.
3. Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Part Two) dated August 5, 2000 No. 117-FZ (as amended on February 15, 2016 No. 32-FZ) // Collected Legislation of the Russian Federation. 2000. № 32. Art. 3340.
4. Federal Law of the Russian Federation of May 28, 2001 No. 62-ФЗ “On ratification of the Convention on laundering, detection, seizure and confiscation of proceeds from criminal activity” // Collected legislation of the Russian Federation. 2001. No. 23. Art. 2280.
5. Federal Law of the Russian Federation of August 7, 2001 No. 115-FZ “On Counteracting Legalization (Laundering) of Proceeds from Crime and Financing of Terrorism” (as amended on December 30, 2015 No. 424-ФЗ) // Collected Legislation Russian Federation. 2001. No. 33 (Part I). Art. 3418.
6. Bank of Russia Ordinance No. 500-U, dated February 12, 1999, “On Strengthening Currency Control by Authorized Banks over the Legitimacy of Foreign Exchange Transactions by Their Customers and on the Procedure for Applying Intervention Measures to Authorized Banks for Violations of Currency Law” (as amended by 15 June 2004 No. 1451-U) // Bulletin of the Bank of Russia. 1999. No. 13.
7. Directive of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation of June 22, 2005 No. 1584-U “On the Formation and Amount of a Reserve for Possible Losses for Operations of Credit Organizations with Residents of Offshore Zones” [Electronic resource]: URL: http://www.consultant.ru/ document / Cons_doc_LAW_54479 /. (the date of appeal: 06/17/2016).
Ii. Special literature
1. Andrianova V.V. Subjective right to national identity in Russia. // Modern society and law. 2011. № 2. P. 35 - 41.
2. Aslanov A. Kh. Group of Banking Supervisors on Offshore as a Mechanism of International Legal Regulation of Offshore Financial Centers. // Moscow Journal of International Law. 2010. No. 4. P. 68 - 71.
3. Dal V. Explanatory Dictionary: in 4 tons. T. 3. M .: Enlightenment, 1994. 1094 p.
4. Zhivikhina O. Improving the control over the use of offshore companies in order to optimize tax planning. // Public service. 2012. № 2, March-April. Pp. 106 - 107.
5. Zelenok A.N. Problems of deoffshorization of entrepreneurial activity // Russian Foreign Economic Journal. 2014. No. 4, pp. 3-16.
6. Kazantsev D. B., Brichkova M.N. The problem of establishing offshore zones in the Russian Federation // Conference proceedings SIC Sociosphere. 2014. No. 38. P. 11-20.
7. Kononov KA Constitutional and legal institution: the search for the essence of the category. // Constitutional and municipal law. 2013. No. 5. P. 2 - 8.
8. Mitryashkina OA Borders of application of institutions, concepts and terms of other branches of law in tax legal relations. // Taxes and financial law. 2011. No. 10. P. 171 - 179.
9. Smirnikova Yu.L. The essence of the mechanism of legal regulation of tax relations // Tax Law of Russia: a textbook for universities / resp. ed. Yu.A. Krokhin. M .: Yurist, 2013. pp. 42-48.
10. Timofeeva, O.F., Krestyaninova, M.I. Offshore jurisdictions as an instrument of international tax planning: international experience of their creation // World of Science. 2014.
Remember that any ready-made work needs to be finalized and can not be used as an end-product. The work was done in WORD format in accordance with GOST.
Seller will give you a gift certificate in the amount of 6,283 RUB for a positive review of the product purchased..
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Target just raised its minimum wage in an effort to offer $15-an-hour by 2020
All employees will make $13-an-hour, beginning in June
By Emily Rolen
Business Target
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
Target will raise the minimum wage paid to all employees by $1 to $13 an hour, starting in June. The change effects the employees at the six Target locations in Philadelphia, including store in South Philly, seen above.
Target announced an increase to the minimum wage it pays employees on Thursday to $13-an-hour as part of its plan to mandate a minimum $15 rate by 2020.
The current minimum wage at Target is $12-an-hour, which was implemented last year. The company, which has six stores in Philadelphia, will implement the one buck increase by June for all current and new employees making minimum wage at the company.
SEPTA slashes fines, penalties for riders who jump turnstiles
Police arrest 19-year-old suspect in fatal shooting of police official's son
Philly launches PHL City ID card as alternative to driver's license
In 2017, Target promised to raise its employees minimum wages from $10 to the $15-an-hour livable wage by 2020. During this past year's holiday season, more than 120,000 seasonal workers were hired to deal with the demand. Those employees were able to start work at $12, according to a release from the company on Thursday.
In Philadelphia, the livable wage for one adult is $12.64, according to MIT's Living Wage Calculator. For one adult and one child, the livable wage is double. And for one adult and two children it's $30.60.
The federal minimum wage remains $7.25 across the U.S., although some cities like San Francisco and Washington, D.C. have implemented their own, higher wages.
The company is somewhere in between competitors like Amazon, which set its minimum pay for employees at $15-an-hour in November (though it hurt workers at Whole Foods, who largely had their hours cut after the increase) and Walmart, which set a $11-an-hour minimum in January 2018.
Follow Emily & PhillyVoice on Twitter @emily_rolen | @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice
Add Emily’s RSS feed to your feed reader
Have a news tip? Let us know.
Emily Rolen
Read more Business Target Philadelphia Minimum Wage
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A. IMAGES:
Images on this website are licensed for editorial and personal use. The vast majority of images are suitable for business or commercial use, but it is your responsibility to decide whether a model or property release should be sought prior to download and use. (Notes A3)
Images are royalty-free which means they may be used as many times as you wish from a single payment.
All rights granted are non-transferable and personal to you or your company. This means that if you download an image to be used in a derivative work by your client or any other person, they may not use the image separately from the derivative work.
You may alter, crop, manipulate and create derivative works from the image so long as you ensure no notice of copyright is removed and there is no intention to deliberately mislead the viewer.
FREE LOW-RES DOWNLOADS:
You may download low-resolution images that bear the watermark free of charge, but you must always credit "Image: PHOTO NORTH" and for internet use you must add a link back to this site. Do not crop the images or remove either the watermark or the copyright metadata.
A1. NO PHOTO NORTH IMAGES MUST EVER BE USED FOR:
Obscene or libellous works
Depicting a model in a manner that may cause distress
Any logo or trademark
Sub-licensing.
On-line print on demand products.
A2. EDITORIAL / PERSONAL USE OF IMAGES
Wall art for self, office or gifts for friends.
Greetings cards for personal use. Credit ‘Image: PHOTO NORTH’ on the reverse of each card.
Products such as mugs, mobile phone cases for self or gifts for friends.
Non-profit making presentations, slideshows and educational display boards. Credit 'Image: PHOTO NORTH'.
Editorial use, newsletters, educational literature and reports. Credit: 'Image: PHOTO NORTH'.
Website and Social Media - Maximum file size for web use: 1000 x 1000 pixels. Credit 'Image: PHOTO NORTH' with a link to https//www.photonorth.uk.
A3. BUSINESS AND COMMERCIAL USE OF IMAGES:
You are welcome to download an image from Photo North for business or commercial use, but you do so entirely at your own risk: You are advised to seek legal advice, especially if the image contains identifiable people, identifiable property, buildings (especially those less than 70 years old or belonging to the National Trust), fairgrounds, theatre interiors, tourist attractions, industrial developments, art works, brands, trademarks or logos.
Joan Martin takes every aspect of her work seriously and has done everything possible to ensure she has acted correctly when taking the photographs, naming them, and adding them to this website. Joan is not a lawyer though and as the laws regarding commercial use of images are constantly changing and vary from country to country, you are ultimately responsible for ensuring that your intended use of an image will not result in any form of conflict or legal dispute. Every image is sold “as is” and you must, accordingly judge the suitability of the image for the purpose intended and decide whether a model or property release is needed. (A release is signed permission from an individual, or owner of a property, giving permission for the use of a photo in which they or their property appears). You must satisfy yourself that all releases as may be required for reproduction of the image(s) have been secured. If you are unsure as to whether releases are needed for your image usage, then it is your responsibility to consult with the relevant parties. You are solely responsible for obtaining any releases that have not already been secured and the licence is conditional in each case on their existence.
Details as to whether a model or property release has already been obtained are provided with each image, and unless otherwise stated, all landscapes, buildings, historical structures and works of art have been photographed from public roads, public footpaths, places that offered free public access (with no photography restrictions) or from a hot-air balloon.
Credit: 'Image: PHOTO NORTH'
A4. WARRANTY
If you have any reason to be disappointed with an image purchased from Photo North, Joan will offer a full refund if notified within 10 days of purchase.
All Photo North images remain the property of Joan Martin. Copyright © Joan Martin 2005-2019. All Rights Reserved.
B: PHOTO NORTH DISCOVERY WALKS
Much time and effort has gone into the making of the Photo North Discovery Walks because Joan would like them to be regarded as some of the best and most detailed guides on the market. Please note however that new fences may have been erected, signposts changed or at times you may have found the directions difficult to follow! Please contact Joan if you have any comments or contributions to make about the walks. Feedback is invaluable and helps to ensure that the guides are continually up to date and are as accurate as possible. This feedback helps to ensure the safety and enjoyment of other walkers.
The tick boxes on the photos of the PDFs are an ideal way to keep children interested in a walk, but some shots have been taken with a zoom lens, and Joan may have taken carefully considered risks to get some of the other photos. Children should not be allowed to take risks in order to get a tick!
The length of time suggested to complete each walk does not allow for lunch or coffee breaks, and is based on a person of average fitness.
Joan Martin has done everything possible to keep you safe while following the Photo North Discovery Walks, but no outdoor walking is without risk. You are solely responsible for your own safety and that of your family. Take the precautions listed on each walk, keep safe, and Joan hopes you enjoy these Photo North Discovery Walks as much as she enjoyed preparing them for you!
B1. PERMITTED USE OF WALKS:
Personal License:
1. You may print as many copies of the walks as you wish for your own personal use.
2. All rights granted are non-transferable and personal to you.
3. You may not copy, re-sell or re-distribute any walking guide.
4. The files must never be made available for others to download from a website or blog.
Walking group License:
1. You may print as many copies of the walks as you wish for the use of your group.
2. All rights granted are non-transferable and applicable only to your group.
3. You may not re-sell any walking guide.
Business License:
1. You may print as many copies of the walks as you wish for the use of your guests.
2. All rights granted are non-transferable and applicable only to your establishment.
B2. SAFETY
Every care has been made to keep walkers safe while following the Photo North Discovery Walks, but no outdoor walking is without risk and walkers must be aware that they are solely responsible for their own safety and that of their family.
B3. WARRANTY
If you have any reason to be disappointed with a walking guide purchased from Photo North, Joan will offer a full refund if notified within 10 days of purchase.
All Photo North Discovery Walks remain the property of Joan Martin. Copyright © Joan Martin 2005-2019. All Rights Reserved.
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The Best Graphics Cards for 4K Gaming in 2020
You'll need a powerful graphics card (or two) to run cutting-edge PC games at 4K resolution. These high-end GPUs are the top performers we've tested for pixel-packed gaming.
By John Burek & Chris Stobing
Best for 1440p Gaming, VR
$399.99 at Newegg
Best for 4K Play at 60Hz, High-Refresh Play at 1440p, VR
$499.00 at NVIDIA
Best for 4K or High-Refresh Gaming, VR
MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio
$1,499.00 at Amazon
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition
Best for 4K and High-Refresh 1440p Gaming, VR
Best for 4K and High-Refresh Gaming, VR
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition
$1,199.00 at NVIDIA
Best for 1440p and 4K Gaming, VR
AMD Radeon VII
Compare Our Picks
More About Our Picks
Strong value proposition for a midrange video card.
1440p results above 60fps across all benchmarks.
Radeon Image Sharpening improves game visual fidelity.
Only modest early returns on overclocking our sample.
No hardware ray-tracing support.
Loud blower cooler.
With its Radeon RX 5700 XT, AMD introduces its new graphics architecture, a suite of software improvements, and enough speed for the money to keep 1440p gamers very happy—and competing GeForce cards at bay.
Full AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT Review
Superb price for performance.
Stable overclocking results help it rival original RTX 2080.
Runs quiet.
RT and Tensor cores ensure future-proofing.
It didn't come sooner.
Packing near-RTX 2080 performance and similar specs, Nvidia's GeForce RTX 2070 Super rules for solid 4K play at 60Hz and high-refresh gameplay at 1440p. It's a killer card for the money.
Full Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super Review
Excellent cooling.
Aggressive factory overclock.
Dual eight-pin power connectors and higher power rating.
Two-zone RGB LED lighting.
12.9-inch length means it won't fit in many cases.
Cooling design exhausts air into chassis.
Ray-tracing and DLSS features remain underutilized, like with all RTX cards.
A massive air cooler and dual eight-pin power connectors make MSI's GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio one of the most robust RTX 2080 partner cards we've seen. The only challenge? Fitting it in your PC's case.
Full MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio Review
Offers roughly one-third better gaming performance than the GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition it replaces.
Runs cool and quiet.
Headroom for overclocking.
Includes ray tracing and DLSS support for future games.
Hiked-up price, versus GTX 1080 Founders Edition.
Hard to judge value of ray tracing and DLSS until games come to market.
Cooling design exhausts most air into case, not out.
An exceptionally powerful graphics card, the GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition is a home run for gaming at 4K or high refresh rates. Only its pricing and the lack of games supporting ray tracing and DLSS keep it from being a grand slam right from launch.
Full Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition Review
Better frame rates than the GeForce RTX 2080 for the same price as the RTX 2080 base reference card.
Strong 4K gaming results.
Minimal overclocking headroom.
Overkill for 1440p gaming (unless you're using a high-refresh panel).
It doesn't deliver quite the performance leap that Nvidia's other RTX Super cards do, but the GeForce RTX 2080 Super is a strong 4K gaming graphics card that improves on the original while keeping its price in check.
Sets a new bar for single-GPU performance.
Quiet, cool-running design.
Supports ray tracing and DLSS for future games.
Easy to attain at least modest overclocks.
Founders Edition commands a $200 premium over an already expensive base/reference card.
Games will take time to adopt ray tracing and DLSS.
A Ferrari among gaming GPUs, Nvidia's GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition represents the fastest class of cards that money can buy. Just be ready to pay a supercar price to enjoy its luxury ride for 4K and high-refresh gaming.
Full Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition Review
Competitive with Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080.
Smooth gaming performance at high resolutions.
High power demands compared with the competition.
Frame rates fall behind the GTX 1080, particularly at resolutions below 4K.
While the Radeon RX Vega 64 can go toe-to-toe with Nvidia's GTX 1080, it's a bit late to the party and has much higher power requirements.
Full AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Review
Comparable to GeForce RTX 2080 in 4K gaming performance.
16GB of video memory adds future-proofing.
True two-slot case fitment.
Generally, falls behind GeForce RTX 2080 for 1080p and 1440p gaming.
Priced higher than its predecessor.
Loud cooling fans.
High board power consumption.
No VirtualLink port.
AMD's new Radeon flagship graphics card, the Radeon VII is a worthwhile if power-hungrier alternative to the GeForce RTX 2080 for 4K gaming, but it generally isn't as fast at 1080p or 1440p resolutions.
Full AMD Radeon VII Review
How to Choose the Right Graphics Card
How to Buy the Best 4K Graphics Card
Thanks to streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and even YouTube, it's finally getting easier to find actual 4K (also referred to as "Ultra HD") video content. But as awesome as 4K video looks, if you're aiming to immerse yourself in a pixel-dense world, it's hard to beat playing cutting-edge PC games in 4K.
Only the latest consoles—the Sony PlayStation 4 Pro and the Microsoft Xbox One X—will output games at 4K. But really, if you want to play brand-new AAA games at 4K with the best visuals, you'll need a desktop PC equipped with a very powerful graphics card—especially if you want in-game eye candy dialed all the way up. After all, if you're investing in a 4K monitor or a 4K TV for gaming, you want things to look as good as they can. Running games at 4K resolution but dialing down the detail and effects settings in your games is working at cross-purposes. So the PC graphics card you buy matters—a lot.
4K Gaming: High-End Cards and Dual-GPU
At the moment, to deliver smooth frame rates at high settings at 4K resolution on a PC (that's 3,840 by 2,160 pixels, for the record) with the most-demanding games, you'll need to opt for one of the most powerful consumer-grade graphics cards available. These days, those cards include Nvidia's "Turing"-architecture GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition, the one-step-down Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition and GeForce RTX 2080 Super, or one of the many custom-cooled and/or overclocked models based on these cards' GeForce RTX 2080 or RTX 2080 Ti graphics processors (GPUs).
Also in play: Cards based on AMD's Radeon RX Vega 64, the Radeon VII, and AMD's latest addition to the lineup, the Radeon RX 5700 XT (as long as you don't mind turning down your settings a bit). But none of these cards, GeForce or Radeon, comes cheap, most of them starting around $400 for the base models, and as high as $1,200 (!) for some third-party overclocked RTX 2080 Ti cards.
The GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is the card you'll want to opt for, though, if you want butter-smooth frame rates at or above 60 frames per second (fps) in anything above high settings. Alternatively, you could pick up two GeForce RTX 2080 cards and use them in a paired NVLInk arrangement, or scrape the bare minimum with a single GeForce RTX 2080 Super. In some games, that setup should deliver significantly better gaming performance than a single RTX 2080 Ti card. Note, though, that if you do go this route, multi-graphics setups can introduce side issues. Most games don't ship on launch day with the optimizations to take advantage of multiple-card graphics, and some games never deliver multi-graphics support at all.
So, if you're the kind of enthusiast PC gamer who likes to jump on games on the day they're released, multi-GPU options aren't ideal solutions. Also, you might run across issues with frame timing, in which onscreen game frames don't get delivered exactly in sync, resulting in a subpar experience. For this reason, we recommend buying the best single card for the performance level you're after, whenever possible.
And then there's Nvidia's aptly named Titan line of cards. The pricey Titan RTX is the beast of beasts, the crème de la crème, the absolute beefiest consumer-level graphics card you can buy today. And while technically the card is more powerful than anything that's come before it, much of that power would be wasted on games alone.
These cards are made for much more than gaming, deployed more often in creative fields that do a lot of 4K and 8K video editing, 3D rendering, or 3D modeling. In a price-for-performance sense, they're way, way overkill for games, and they are often not optimized to take advantage of top titles as well as the gaming-centric RTX 2080 Ti cards (and its lessers) are.
So yes, while technically the Titan RTX could push 4K-gaming frames with grace, at that price you're better off going with a single RTX 2080 Ti and spending the leftover $1,300 upgrading your RAM, CPU, and motherboard at the same time.
4K Gaming Cards: The Best "Budget" Options
If your budget can't quite bear laying out $600 or more for a graphics card, you can find some less-expensive cards that can handle 4K gaming at lower settings. You won't get the absolute best visuals possible, but 4K gaming is technically attainable.
If you don't mind running games closer to medium detail settings at 4K, but you still want to experience the pixel-dense glory of games running at 3,840 by 2,160, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super, and GeForce RTX 2060 Super are all capable engines. Just remember that you won't be able to play many games at the highest detail settings.
Speaking of the RTX 2070 Super, GeForce RTX 2070 Super cards start at around the $499 mark, challenging cards like the older GeForce GTX 1080 Ti on performance. The RTX 2070 Super will even beat the AMD Radeon VII, or at least tussle with it, in some games.
Overall, we can't recommend going much lower than $400 on your card today if you're serious about 4K gaming, though. One of the biggest concerns that any cost-conscious PC gamer should have when choosing new hardware is how "future-proof" a card is, and given that these options barely scratch the surface of pushing 60 frames per second (fps) on most current titles at middling settings, that viability will only continue to drop for new games released later this year, as well as those coming out in 2020 and beyond.
Aside from gauging raw performance, you should keep a few other factors in mind when shopping for a powerful 4K-capable graphics card. Let's run through these one by one.
Consider the Target Display
The first consideration? The particular 4K display you'll be using. If you opt for a 4K monitor with a DisplayPort 1.4 input (which has the bandwidth to deliver 4K content at 144Hz, or up to 144 frames per second), any of the current-gen cards here should serve you well. But if you are thinking of using a 4K television as a large-screen gaming display, you'll likely be stuck using HDMI 2.0 to jack in.
Why? Most 4K TVs lack DisplayPort connectors. This locks you into using HDMI, and thus to 4K at 60Hz. This doesn't actually matter all that much outside of the world of the new Nvidia BFGD (short for "Big Format Gaming Display") monitors that will run 4K at up to 120Hz. Though it is very much game-dependent, today no single GPU will push AAA games at max settings in 4K much beyond 60 frames per second.
Beyond TVs, though, gaming monitors saw more evolution in 2017 and 2018 than in practically the whole decade before. In 2018, high-refresh-rate 4K monitors came into the sort-of "mainstream." Yes, they're more expensive than a used car (averaging anywhere between $1,800 to $2,000 at this writing). However, if you have that kind of cash to throw around, they are worth a look.
Options like the Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ and the Acer Predator XB3 are the reigning kings of this (admittedly very niche) market, and both provide 4K screens that can be boosted as high as 144Hz under specific conditions. We say "specific," because as of this writing the two main cables that carry the signal to the monitor (DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.1) are only capable of delivering a full 4:4:4 signal up to 120Hz. To get to that holy grail of 144Hz, monitor manufacturers use a workaround known as "chroma subsampling," which brings the color palette down to 4:2:2. That is fine for movies and some 3D gaming, but it can wreak havoc on content like text or graphical elements rendered in the OS.
Why do we mention all that? Because it might be tempting to break the piggy bank, rush out, grab a pair of GeForce RTX 2080 Ti cards, throw them into an NVLink configuration, and try to tap into 140-plus frame-per-second rates at 4K on ultra-high detail settings. Realistically, with one of these elite monitors, you should settle for a setup capable of pushing closer to 120fps (120Hz) to get the best visual results from your games and daily computer usage.
That's pie-in-the-sky for almost all buyers, though. Bottom line: Unless you're really awash in dough, you'll be just fine with a monitor that pushes 4K games at 60Hz. That's near the top frame rate that today's rigs equipped with a single GeForce RTX 2080 Ti card will be able to achieve on leading games, anyway. Leave higher-end frame-rate aims to Powerball winners.
One last consideration: high dynamic range (HDR). It looks gorgeous when implemented properly, and many new games (as well as a back catalog of older games) support the spec as of early 2019. You'll find many 4K HDR gaming monitors already on the market to choose among, and most have come down in price far enough to keep them competitive with their non-HDR counterparts. From the point of view of card buying, though, no worries: All current-gen GeForce and Radeon cards support it.
Mind the Video Memory
The other thing to watch for while shopping for a 4K-ready gaming card is the amount of dedicated video memory on the card. Generally, 4GB of memory is plenty if you're gaming at 1080p or below, but when you step up to 4K, a graphics card needs to handle much more data.
To keep your gaming sessions running smoothly at 4K and high detail settings, you'll want a card with at least 6GB of memory. A card with 8GB of GDDR6 or more is your best bet, especially if you're the type who likes to download game mods and/or high-resolution texture packs, which are sometimes specifically created to deliver a greater level of in-game detail for high-end cards that have extra memory capacity.
The RTX 2080 Ti, being the luxury-car card that it is, pushes things to the limit in this category. Every card comes with a whopping 11GB of onboard GDDR6 memory, capable of pushing a staggering 616GB per second across a 352-bit width bus. And the new-for-2019 AMD Radeon VII packs even more, 16GB of HBM2 memory, which is more of a boon for content creators than for your average gamer.
Again, pretty much anything around the 6GB level will hold its own on medium-detail 4K games, but start diving into the high/ultra presets of cutting-edge games, and you'll need all you can get.
DLSS: Nvidia's (Potential) Ace in the Hole?
DLSS, or "deep learning super sampling," is a new technology developed by Nvidia for use in its latest lineup of RTX cards. The tech, which uses an AI architecture to streamline the process of anti-aliasing, offers significant performance boosts over non-DLSS results.
For example, at 4K resolution with DLSS turned on, an RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition racked up an incredible score of 8,851 in our Final Fantasy XV benchmark. This represented a massive 33 percent boost in performance versus the same tests on the card with DLSS turned off. Comparatively, the latest and greatest gaming card from AMD, the $699 Radeon VII, barely scratched out a score of 3,502.
DLSS indeed shows major promise. Games run more smoothly and look better, even at the highest resolutions. However, we use the term "games" loosely, given that as of this writing (July 2019) only six AAA games are trained in how to utilize it: Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Anthem, Battlefield V, Metro: Exodus, Monster Hunter: World, and the aforementioned Final Fantasy XV.
Nvidia touted a list of 15 other games that would integrate DLSS in the next year, including PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, but as far as "system seller" titles go, that's about it. All this is to say that while DLSS is certainly impressive (it may even be the one thing that brings the world of 4K gaming into the hands of mainstream gamers), right now any widespread implementation looks to be a ways off.
Card Length, Power Requirements
If you're rocking a full-tower PC, card size is probably not an issue. However most high-end, 4K-capable video cards are three slots wide (two at a minimum) and a little more or less than 11 inches long, which means that most MicroATX chassis won't fit these monsters. Even many midsize ATX cases may find them a squeeze.
That said, there are some cards that make compromises, like the MSI GeForce RTX 2060 Aero ITX OC. This petite powerhouse takes only two card slots and measures just 7 inches long. But the GeForce RTX 2060 GPU itself will only be able to push around 60fps at medium settings for 4K gaming, at best.
As for the power requirements, if your existing system already has a high-end video card in place, you'll likely be fine, but check the recommended minimum power-supply wattage for any 4K-capable card you're considering. Generally, a 600-watt supply ought to be able to keep most any current single 4K-capable card juiced, but you'll want to upgrade to at least 650 or 700 watts if you opt for the power-hungry, 300-watt Radeon VII.
Many of the latest cards also require two power-supply leads (six- or eight-pin, likely some combination of both) from your supply, so make sure you have the proper cabling in place or adapters on hand.
Overclocked Out of the Box?
The distinctions among the many high-end third-party cards that are capable of 4K play can be esoteric. One of the big ones, though, is the presence (or not) of enhanced cooling hardware on the card to handle user-initiated overclocking of the GPU, or sometimes even overclocking done at the factory. Reviews of individual cards will get down into the weeds of exact clock rates or factory overclocking. But know that an overclocking focus is often a key reason why some cards of the same class (such as different RTX 2080 cards) vary so much in price.
Overclocking-minded cards tend to be larger than their same-GPU kin, with more fans and/or more elaborate heat pipes and sinks. The most expensive cards in a given line tend to be the ones with the beefiest hardware for overclocking or a factory overclock done out of the box. Telltale cards of this kind include Zotac's Amp Extreme Series, MSI's Gaming X and Gaming Z, Gigabyte's WindForce and Xtreme, Asus' Republic of Gamers, and EVGA's FTW series.
Some Basic 4K-Gaming Benchmarks...
We've benchmarked all the cards recommended on this list, and here's a snapshot of how they perform in a handful of AAA titles and synthetic benchmark tests at 4K, as well as some lesser resolutions: 1440p and 1080p. (In the case of the second chart, look at the numbers for Time Spy Extreme for numbers that approximate 4K play.)
As you can tell from these graphs, the GeForce RTX 2080 Super and Radeon VII make up one roughly equivalent tier, with the RTX 2080 Ti on a plane of its own. The Radeon VII card struggled to keep up specifically in the Final Fantasy XV test, likely due to the optimizations that Nvidia worked on with Square Enix during the development of the Windows port. Hit the links for our individual reviews of each card below for a lot more detail on each of these cards' performance at 4K and other resolutions.
Ready for Our Recommendations?
We've tested samples of all the key video cards in Nvidia's "Turing" and AMD's "Polaris" and "Navi" families (as well as the single Radeon VII that features a new chipset all its own). Below are our current favorites for 4K gaming.
Compare The Best Graphics Cards for 4K Gaming in 2020
GPU Base Clock
GPU Boost Clock
Graphics Memory Type
Graphics Memory Amount
HDMI Outputs
DisplayPort Outputs
DVI Outputs
VirtualLink Outputs
Power Connector(s)
Board Power or TDP
Card Width
Card Length
AMD Navi 10 1605 MHz 1905 MHz GDDR6 8 GB 1 3 1 6-pin, 1 8-pin 225 watts 1 double 10.5 inches AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT Review
Nvidia Turing TU104 1605 MHz 1770 MHz GDDR6 8 GB 1 3 1 6-pin, 1 8-pin 215 watts 2 double 11 inches Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super Review
Nvidia Turing TU104 1515 MHz 1860 MHz GDDR6 8 GB 1 3 2 8-pin 260 watts 3 double 12.9 inches MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio Review
Nvidia Turing TU104 1515 MHz 1800 MHz GDDR6 8 GB 1 3 1 6-pin, 1 8-pin 225 watts 2 double 10.5 inches Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition Review
Nvidia Turing TU104 1650 MHz 1815 MHz GDDR6 8 GB 1 3 1 6-pin, 1 8-pin 250 watts 2 double 10.5 inches Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Review
Nvidia Turing TU102 1350 MHz 1635 MHz GDDR6 11 GB 1 3 2 8-pin 260 watts 2 double 10.5 inches Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition Review
AMD Vega 10 1247 MHz 1546 MHz HBM2 8 GB 1 3 2 8-pin 295 watts 1 double 10.5 inches AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Review
AMD Vega 20 1400 MHz 1750 MHz HBM2 16 GB 1 3 2 8-pin 300 watts 3 double 11 inches AMD Radeon VII Review
More Graphics Card Best Picks
The Best Graphics Cards for 2020
The Best Graphics Cards for Compact PCs in 2020
The Best Graphics Cards for 1080p Gaming in 2020
The Best Graphics Cards for VR in 2020
The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2019
More Graphics Card Reviews
Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 5600 XT
Zotac GeForce GTX 1650 Super Twin Fan
Intel Provides Sneak Peek at Its Graphics Card (for Developers)
Nvidia Announces PhysX 5.0
Preview: AMD Pumps Up Radeon Software to 'Adrenalin 2020' With Brand New Tech
How to Upgrade a Graphics Card
More in Graphics Cards
About John Burek
John is PCMag's executive editor for hardware. A veteran of the popular tech site and magazine Computer Shopper from 1993 to 2017, he has covered just about every kind of computer gear—from the 386SX to 18-core processors—in his long tenure as an editor, a writer, and an advice columnist. He served as Computer Shopper’s editor in chief from 2008 to 2017. He has also worked in the science-book field and as an editor of computer-tech books for Paramount Publishing. A lifetime New Yorker, John is a graduate of New York University and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Read the latest from John Burek
The Best All-in-One Computers for 2020
The Best Lenovo Laptops for 2020
The Best Business Laptops for 2020
The Best Laser Printers for 2020
The Best Chromebooks for 2020
More from John Burek
About Chris Stobing
Chris Stobing is a hardware analyst at PCMag. He brings his experience benchmarking and reviewing consumer gadgets and PC hardware such as laptops, pre-built gaming systems, monitors, storage, and networking equipment to the team. Previously, he worked as a freelancer for Gadget Review and Digital Trends, spending his time there wading through seas of hardware at every turn. In his free time, you’ll find him shredding the local mountain on his snowboard, or using his now-defunct culinary degree to whip up a dish in the kitchen for friends.
Read the latest from Chris Stobing
The Best Gaming Monitors for 2020
The Best Cheap SSDs for 2020
The Best 4K Monitors for 2020
More from Chris Stobing
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« July 2013 | Main | September 2013 »
Request for Proposals re Love and Law
I was asked to post this by the conference organizers:
Love and Law Conference
PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, MALIBU, CALIFORNIA
In a provocative essay, philosopher Jeffrie Murphy asks: “What would law be like if we organized it around the value of Christian love [agape]?”Analogous questions arise within other theological and moral traditions. What would be the implications for the substance and the practice of law? We invite presentation and panel proposals for our upcoming conference. See below for details. The following speakers are already confirmed:
Jeffrie Murphy, Regents’ Professor of Law, Philosophy, and Religious Studies Arizona State University College of Law – “Love, Law, and Criminal Punishment”
James Boyd White, L. Hart Wright Collegiate Professor of Law Emeritus, University of Michigan – “Agape: the Activity of Reframing”
Charles Mathewes, Carolyn M. Barbour Professor of Religious Studies, University of Virginia – "'Be Instructed, All You Who Judge the Earth': The Dialectic of Law and Love during the World in Psalm 2:10 and Augustine"
Richard Mouw, Professor of Faith and Public Life, Fuller Theological Seminary – “Calvin, Law, and Love”
Chaim Saiman, Professor of Law, Villanova School of Law, - "Law AS Love: A view from the Talmud”
Varun Soni, Dean of Religious Life, University of Southern California - “Love as Law: A Hindu Approach”
Najeeba Syeed-Miller, Assistant Professor of Interreligious Education, Claremont School of Theology – “Humanizing Legal Systems: Exploring the Capacity for a Humane Approach to Justice from a Muslim Perspective”
Barbara Armacost, Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law –“Restorative Justice”
Meghan J. Ryan, Assistant Professor of Law, SMU School of Law - “Dignity and Rehabilitation”
Patrick Brennan, John F. Scarpa Chair in Catholic Legal Studies, Villanova University School of Law, - “Love, Justice, and Polity in Catholic Social Doctrine”
Zachary Calo, Associate Professor, Valparaiso University Law School –"Sacralizing Law? Political Forgiveness and Liberal Justice"
David VanDrunen, Robert B. Strimple Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics, Westminster Seminary California - “Why Christian Love Is an Improper Category to Apply to Civil Law: A Contrarian Perspective”
Robert Vischer, Dean, University of St. Thomas School of Law, Minnesota -“Is Agape the Last, Best Hope for the Legal Profession?”
Stephen Bainbridge, William D. Warren Distinguished Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law – “The Relevance of Agape to Fiduciary Duties, If Any”
Ellen Pryor, Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, UNT Dallas College of Law - “Agape and Legal Education”
Michael Scaperlanda, Gene and Elaine Edwards Family Chair in Law, University of Oklahoma College of Law - “Love, Law, and the Immigrant”
Amy Uelmen, Visiting Lecturer, Georgetown School of Law – “A Duty to Rescue”
Joel A. Nichols Professor of Law, University of St. Thomas, Minnesota -"Love, Indeterminacy, and Family Law"
James W. McCarty, Emory Center for the Study of Law and Religion, "Divine Love, Humanity's Law, and the 'Crime Against Humanity' in Transitional Justice"
The idea that law should be a manifestation of love stands in tension with modern and post-modern notions that law should be solely concerned with individual autonomy or efficiency or that law is by nature only a matter of power. Our reigning schools of legal thought tend to be reductionistic, focusing on a limited aspect of human good. Liberalism leaves individuals isolated and alone. Many law and economics scholars emphasize efficiency, but have provided no basis for the protection of human dignity (at least for the ‘have nots’). Critical legal scholars have deconstructed law and concluded that law is merely power, but generally have failed to provide a basis for reconstruction.
Jeffrie Murphy notes that agape love is not simply concerned with making people’s lives more pleasant. It is not “cuddly.” If agape is the aim, a polity might “design legal practices and institutions with a view to the moral and spiritual improvement of affected citizens.” Would the grounding of law in love yield broad-based human flourishing and authentic freedom? Or might it provide the basis for an authoritarian regime?
The notion of law grounded in love has a rich history. Jesus summarized the Mosaic Law as love of God and neighbor. John Calvin said that all nations’ laws “must be in conformity to that perpetual rule of love.” Over the centuries groups have sought to ground law in love, to good and ill effect.
Law might bear several sorts of relationships to love. Love might be the motivation behind the work of lawyers, judges, legislators, police, and active citizens. The adoption and enforcement of wise laws can be among the most loving things that someone can do. It may also be that law can teach and encourage love. The Jewish law required land owners to allow poor people to harvest the grain at the edges of their fields. It may be that for some, this legal requirement created the good habit—the virtue—of love.
The idea of law grounded in love generates numerous big questions which will be addressed throughout this conference. We invite people from the fields of philosophy, political science, law, history, economics, theology, and psychology to propose presentations and panels on any aspect of this topic. See topic ideas below. Presentations may be based on previously published work or work in progress. There is no publication requirement.
If you would like to make a presentation or organize a panel, please submit your proposal by September 13, 2013 via email to dana.zacharia@pepperdine.edu. Proposals should include a short abstract and bio (one page total). Speakers will be arranged into panels and will have 12-15 minutes to present. Unfortunately, we are unable to assist with funding.
If you have questions about the substance of the conference, please contact Bob Cochran at robert.cochran@pepperdine.edu. For questions about the details of the conference, contact Dana Zacharia by email at dana.zacharia@pepperdine.edu or by phone at (310) 506-6978.
For more information on the conference and to view details of past conferences, see our website:http://law.pepperdine.edu/nootbaar/annual-conference/
What is the meaning of agape, and how does it differ from other notions of love, including eros and philia?
What is the relationship between law and various religious concepts of love, including Judaism’s din, hesed and ahava, Islam’s rahman, and Hinduism’s kama?
What balance of freedom and order would law grounded in love yield?
How might law be a manifestation of love toward citizens and how might law encourage citizens to be more loving to one another?
How does law affect character and how might law grounded in love encourage the development of good character?
Historical Attempts to Implement Love and Law
Love, Law, and Justice
Love, Law, and Current Schools of Legal Thought
How might love and law shape our understanding of community and the common good?
How might love grounded in law encourage wealthy citizens to be more caring?
What sorts of social welfare regimes would love grounded in law generate?
Would law grounded in love generate dependent citizens?
What is the relationship between love, law, and theology in our religious traditions?
What are the insights of ancient and modern thinkers on love and law?
Love, Economic Justice, and the Global Economy
Love, Law, and the Human Person
Love and Substantive Legal Subject Areas
Love, Law, and Dispute Resolution
Love, Law, and the Work of Lawyers
How might law grounded in love encourage forgiveness and reconciliation?
Posted at 10:50 AM in Law, Religion | Permalink
What would Peter Drucker think about Boards R Us?
The Drucker Exchange blog thinks he might approve:
It’s a simple idea: Outsource your board to get a better one.
Law professors M. Todd Henderson of UCLA [sic] and Stephen M. Bainbridge of the University of Chicago [sic] even have a name for the entities companies could hire to do the job: board service providers.
The pair write in Bloomberg Businessweek that there are plenty of reasons to find a new way of populating and operating corporate boards, which so often “fail to police managers adequately or make good decisions.” For starters, “directors are part-timers with weak incentives and limited information.” What’s more, they’re generalists, “meaning the average board is unlikely to have all the experts it needs at any given time.” And, the professors point out, they don’t have a lot of accountability to shareholders.
“We propose a better way: permitting independent firms (e.g., partnerships, corporations, etc.) to provide board services,” write Henderson and Bainbridge. A company like Microsoft or Altria could “hire another entity, call it Boards-R-Us, to provide director services, instead of the group of unrelated individuals it currently hires to provide these services.” Board service providers would supply experts at the “daunting array of tasks” directors are expected to perform.
Peter Drucker, as we’ve written, found boards to be vexing entities that rarely managed to fulfill all the duties required of them. And finding the right people to serve wasn’t easy. “Board members should have proven their ability as senior executives—whether in a business, in government service, or in other institutions,” he wrote in Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. “Second, board members should have time for the job.”
So the idea of Boards-R-Us may well have struck Drucker as ideal. Indeed, he came close to endorsing something similar. “The effective board member has to be a ‘professional director,’” he suggested. “Indeed, board membership should be recognized as a full-time profession for a really first-rate man. And it should be paid as such, i.e., by a fee and not by stock options or a share in the profits.”
The notion of board service providers would be consistent with Drucker’s view that activities without “a career ladder up to senior management” should be farmed out. “To get productivity, you have to outsource activities that have their own senior management,” Drucker said in an interview that appears in Managing in a Time of Great Change. “Believe me, the trend toward outsourcing has very little to do with economizing and a great deal to do with quality.”
I don't think I mentioned it, but we accepted an offer from the Stanford Law Review. Very pleased.
Update: As a sharp-eyed reader noted, the good folks at Drucker switched Todd and my affiliations. But we're both really still at our respective home bases.
Posted at 04:11 PM in Dept of Self-Promotion | Permalink
The No Football League
NFL.com reports:
The NFL will keep a close eye on hits to the knees of defenseless players this season, with the possibility of extending the rules protecting such players.
If the league's competition committee finds enough evidence this season that hits to the knees are "becoming a problem," it could take action, chief of football operations Ray Anderson told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The committee could make a recommendation to the owners next March to prohibit direct hits to the knees of defenseless players. The owners would then vote on such a change.
The NFL created this problem when it started going after hits to the head. Players are now going low to avoid fines and penalties. If the NFL bans low tackles (NFL defenders define defenseless, please), you might as well turn the whole thing into flag football.
Posted at 02:20 PM in Football | Permalink
Ackman's flight from Penney proves my point
Or, perhaps more accurately, provides a data point in support thereof. In any case, I am increasingly convinced that the argument I advanced in my essay, Preserving Director Primacy by Managing Shareholder Interventions, is correct. In that essay, I argue that hedge fund activism directed at operational aspects of a target's business will often be unavailing because hedge fund managers make lousy operations gurus. Case in point from today's WSJ:
Hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman moved to dump his entire stake in J.C. Penney Co., ending a failed bet on the retailer that cost his fund more than $600 million, resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs and left the 1,100-store chain still struggling to right itself.
I can't find it in myself to feel sorry for Ackman, but I do feel sorry for all those employees who lost their jobs as a result of his overweening hubris, just as I did those who lost their jobs at TWA because hedge fund manager Carl Icahn thought he could manage TWA.
Ken Klee profile
My friend and UCLAW colleague Ken Klee's work as an energy healer was the subject of an interesting profile in today's WSJ.
Fantasy Football Draft # 2 is in the books
It's the ProfessorBainbridge.com H2H league. PPR. 6 points per passing TD. Snake draft. I had the # 1 pick and the wheel thereafter. It's a long wait between picks in this format. Anyway, here's how I did:
QB: Robert Griffin III, Matt Schaub
RB: Adrian Peterson, Giovani Bernard, Chris Ivory, Toby Gerhart
WR: Demaryius Thomas, Larry Fitzgerald, Mike Wallace, Golden Tate, DeAndre Hopkins
TE: Jared Cook, Tyler Eifert
PK: Sebastian Janikowski
TD: Green Bay Packers
FootballGuys.com rated my team here.
Fantasy Draft #1
Rotisserie scoring, PPR, 6 pts per passing TD, 11 team, snake draft:
QB: Matt Ryan, Alex Smith
RB: Marshawn Lynch, David Wilson, Chris Ivory, Daniel Thomas
WR: A.J. Green, Andre Johnson, Antonio Brown, Josh Gordon, DeAndre Hopkins
TE: Kyle Rudolph, Jordan Cameron
PK: Matt Prater
TD: Chicago Bears
Here's how footballguys.com rated it: link.
Obama weighs in on law school costs debate: I still think law as an undergraduate degree is the answer
As part of his campaign to lower college costs, POTUS Obama recently weighed in on the law school cost debate:
President Barack Obama says law schools in the U.S. should cut down to two years instead of three to cut costs for students.
Obama says students do most of their classroom learning in the first two years of law school. He says the third year would be better spent clerking for a judge or working in a law firm.
If by "third year," he means some sort of glorified externship while the student remains enrolled in law school, I'm not sure I see the point. If he means that students should graduate after two years, I'm inclined to agree. If you can get an MBA in two years, you should be able to get a JD in two. Personally, of course, I think law should be an undergraduate major with a 4 or maybe 5 year course of study leading to a Bachelor of Laws degree that would qualify one to sit for the bar exam. Graduate law study would be reserved for future academics, policy wonks, and so on.
Chicken Hawks at The Economist
“WE HAVE been very clear to the Assad regime…that a red line for us is [if] we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilised,” said Barack Obama a year ago this week. “That would change my calculus.” If reports from the Syrian opposition that hundreds of people have been killed by rocket-launched chemical weapons (see article) turn out to be true, then Mr Obama should keep his promise.
via www.economist.com
It's easy to be in favor of military intervention when you and your loved ones are not the people who will be putting their lives on the line. Like, I suspect, most of the folks at The Economist.
Thanks to those of you who supported the blog this month
Although this blog is a labor of love on which I never intended (and never have) made a profit -- let alone a killing -- I must concur with Bertie Wooster's Uncle Tom, who was always "more than willing to shove a bit extra away behind the brick in the fireplace–feeling and rightly–that every little bit added to what you've got makes just a little bit more." (From How Right You Are, Jeeves .)
Apropos of which, I just got last month's check from Amazon.com, which (along with Google Adsense) is the main way the blog is monetized. So for those of you who supported the bog by buying books in my aStore or by using my Amazon Portal when shoping at Amazon.com, you have my thanks.
If you like the blog, but haven't supported it, kindly consider an occasional Google ad click or using one of my Amazon portals for you shopping needs.
Posted at 09:53 AM in Dept of Self-Promotion | Permalink
Should the SEC regulate proxy advisory services
The WSJ proposes attacking the problem at the roots, instead:
The fact the proxy advisory firms have benefited greatly from SEC regulation while somehow also remaining free of SEC regulation has certainly raised eyebrows. And there's an appetite at the SEC to conduct oversight of these firms that the commission has done so much to empower.
Conflicts of interest exist in many aspects of life and business, and the key is how they're managed. But newspapers—which report on their advertisers—don't benefit from a government purchase mandate, to pick one example. Proxy advisers get business steered their way by government.
Rather than regulate these firms, the better policy is to repeal the SEC rules and guidance that favor these firms. Let investors decide which fund managers they can trust to look out for their interests. And let fund managers decide which consultants deserve their business.
Kindly go read the whole thing.
Posted at 09:28 AM in Securities Regulation, Shareholder Activism | Permalink
The Limits of Shareholder Activism
Holman Jenkins is late to the party, but he's joined the ranks of those of us who have realized that being a successful hedge fund manager doesn't necessarily mean you know squat about running a real business that makes stuff:
The problem with kibitzers is the problem with kibitzers: Are they offering real leadership or just stirring up stock movement? Dan Loeb, one of Mr. Ackman's recent antagonists, raised eyebrows when he quickly took profits after driving out one Yahoo CEO and recruiting the shiny Marissa Mayer from Google. Carl Icahn, his other great rival, has been full of ideas about how Dell can put more cash in shareholder pockets but won't offer a straight-up bid for the company to put his plans into effect.
Of course, my readers have known this for a long time now.
Posted at 09:26 AM in Shareholder Activism | Permalink
Rethinking Corporate Boards: Why Companies Need ‘Board Service Providers’
Todd Henderson and I have a blog post up at Bloomberg on our article, Boards-R-Us: Reconceptualizing Corporate Boards (July 10, 2013), available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=229106. It's mostly Todd's work, so I feel free to praise it as an excellent summation of the ideas we are advancing.
Posted at 09:23 AM in Corporate Law, Dept of Self-Promotion | Permalink
Looking for law review article template for Scrivener
I used Scrivener to write my last two books and found it tremendously valuable, but now I'm doing a law review article. None of the built-in nonfiction templates really work for law review formatting. So if anybody's got a template for writing law review articles using Scrivener, I'd be grateful for a copy. And any other tips would also be welcome.
Posted at 11:21 AM in Web/Tech | Permalink
Attention users of the Klein, Ramseyer, Bainbridge Business Associations case book
I am trying to collect syllabi from users of the case book. If you are an adopter, please email your syllabus and please indicate whether you would be willing to have it included in a database of syllabi to be maintained at our website. Thanks!
Posted at 09:26 AM in Books, Dept of Self-Promotion | Permalink
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3 tactics for promoting inclusion in employee communications
Even loyal employees will seek jobs elsewhere if leaders don’t foster a sense of belonging. In 2020 and beyond, execs and communicators must inspire the embracing of diverse workers.
By Mary C. Buhay
Feelings of restlessness can kick in for employees facing the vast unknown of a new year.
Trapped in their roles by institutional silos, ceilings and cliffs, some might now feel emboldened to leave. Budding talent and loyal veterans alike will go elsewhere after being repeatedly overlooked based on murky standards.
By observing how the decisions of managers square with stated policies, it is easy to know whether growth and acceptance can be enjoyed by all—or are reserved only for a few.
[FREE REPORT: Communicators’ struggles, strengths and successes]
For the year ahead, communicators can resolve to help leaders foster inclusion, with three elements to watch for in cultivating a sense of belonging for employees:
Introduced 30 years ago by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, the concept of intersectionality sharpens society’s view of discrimination by acknowledging that it is rarely experienced within fixed categories (age, gender, race, religion, disability, etc.). Over time, people who are marginalized blend their encounters with different types of bias into their own unique condition.
Watch for these situations where intersectionality affects employee communications:
Tokenization. Avoid selecting an employee from an underrepresented group to stand as a lone symbol, without addressing the person’s lived experience or the structural inequality within the organization. Research from the Bentley University Center for Women and Business pointed to “women of color as an example of intersectionality, whereby as ‘double outsiders’—they’re neither men nor white—they feel they must adjust their communication styles to fit in with the dominant culture. The report found that the women were held to a higher standard than others and that their areas of expertise were often questioned, leaving them feeling demoralized and disengaged.”
Culture club. When culture is defined by a small group, it often signals an intention to exclude. That barrier, even when it blocks a large cohort such as older employees, may be experienced differently by each person. For instance, an AARP survey of adults ages 45+ found that 61% have witnessed or personally faced age discrimination in the workplace—with women ages 45+, African Americans, Hispanics and unemployed people more likely to feel they are singled out in ageist bias.
Picture imperfect. Careless choices about who is depicted in photos, videos and illustrations can make your employer brand stand out for the wrong reasons. Use imagery that respectfully presents people with diverse physical attributes and lifestyles, while keeping your brand’s purpose as the unifying theme.
Preferred pronouns and names
Journalists and corporate communicators already saw the AP Stylebook break tradition by prescribing the use of “they” as a singular and inclusive pronoun. When Merriam-Webster proclaimed the gender-neutral pronoun “they” as its 2019 word of the year, it did more than establish a linguistic precedent.
Both moves recognized that broader gender expressions have become part of everyday conversations. Here are ways to help managers practice gender inclusion in employee relations:
Opt in with ease. According to LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, you can encourage voluntary declarations of identity via human resources forms, email signatures, intranet profiles and staff biographies.
Model behavior. When top-level executives and senior managers declare their own pronouns, it clears the way for others to follow.
Demonstrate acceptance. During meetings and in written correspondence, address employees with their preferred pronouns and names.
A cautionary tale emerged recently from luggage manufacturer Away, whose website declares its mission of inclusivity and access. From employee coercion to the surveillance of a private Slack channel used by LGBTQ staff, reports of the unicorn company’s dark side surfaced in an investigative piece published by The Verge.
Away’s “toxic company culture” had forced employees to seek refuge in trusted circles, described by one as: “Everyone kind of found their tribe and stuck to them, because you needed to have allies there if you were gonna stay there.”
Managers should evaluate inclusivity through the eyes of their employees, advises Sabrina Clark, an organizational transformation strategist with SYPartners.
Clark challenges managers to hold themselves accountable by asking, “Have I created conditions where every person can contribute in their unique, meaningful way and feel safe and secure doing that?”
Communicators can advance inclusivity by counseling leaders to drop harmful habits:
Ban filibusters and favoritism. During meetings, seek comments from a wide variety of people within the organization. Don’t skip people when recognizing accomplishments.
Lose the crowd. Make time for honest conversations in which the employee has the manager’s full attention.
No capes or halos. Share lessons learned from overcoming a misperception or failure. Humility is a strength.
From legal consequences to reputational damage, there are serious risks in ignoring diversity and inclusion in the workplace. However, there are also big rewards when barriers fall—letting all employees contribute to business problem-solving.
An open creative process yields more ideas to spark customer innovation, loyal employees whose joy is contagious, and an employer brand that competitors envy.
By fostering a culture of inclusion, you can create value that extends far beyond the new year.
Mary C. Buhay is founder and CEO of Buhay Advisors. You can follow her on Twitter @MaryBuhay.
Topics: Internal Communications, The Workplace
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/ Home / Subjects / Earth, geography and environment subject area / Could climate change be giving our forests a fever?
Could climate change be giving our forests a fever?
Dr Sophie Fauset researches in the treetops of China's tropical forests
Tropical seasonal forest, Bubeng Field Station
Dr Sophie Fauset, Lecturer in Environmental Science at the University of Plymouth, explains her recent research into the leaf temperatures of China's tropical forests and how this relates to climate change.
Tropical forests in a changing climate
My research is looking at how tropical forests might respond to climate change and human impact.
"Tropical forests are really important in the global carbon cycle because they store so much carbon in their wood."
Limestone forest at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden
Researching in the treetops
"The research that I’ve been doing in China is measuring leaf temperatures of different tree species in the tropical forest because we don't actually have much data about this. Leaf temperatures are not necessarily the same as the air temperature because the leaf is affected by how much light it is receiving and the amount of transpiration that occurs (as the evaporating water cools it down).
"I spent two months at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden in China, where they have many research stations with canopy cranes. These canopy cranes are amazing because they allow you to go to the top of any tree that you want within reach of the crane. It solves what is often one of the main challenges of this fieldwork which is actually getting access to the leaves!”
"Once we were up there, we attached tiny sensors to the leaf surface which are then connected to a data logger. This records measurements continuously so you can see how temperature fluctuates throughout the day. This allows us to build up a picture of leaf temperatures in different species of trees and from that we can think about what impact climate change might have on these forests.
"We often think of trees as being along a spectrum. At one end there are the pioneer species which will be the first that colonise an environment and these trees tend to grow quite fast. Then on the other end, you get the shade tolerant species which can grow under the shade of a full canopy and tend to grow slower. As the fast-growing pioneer species are trying to capture a lot of light, they have quite big leaves but also quite high levels of transpiration meaning the leaves stay cooler."
Measuring leaf temperatures of Parashorea chinensis
Greeted by a butterfly in the tropical forest
A webbed tree frog in the botanical garden
Meeting a juvenile forest lizard
Temperate montane forest, Jade Dragon Field Station
The potential impact of climate change
"I’m still working on the data at the moment so it’s uncertain what the findings will be but my hypothesis is that the slower growing trees, which have the hotter leaf temperatures, are probably going to struggle more in the face of increasing atmospheric temperatures. Whereas the faster growing trees have quite high transpiration, making it easier for them to stay cool.
"In terms of consequences, climate change could affect the species composition of the forest depending on which species can tolerate rising air temperatures. If I’m correct that this will map onto the fast growing versus slow growing spectrum, you could potentially get a reduction in the carbon stock of the forest if it becomes more dominated by the pioneer species. Faster growing species tend to store less carbon because their wood is less dense, whereas slow growing species store carbon over a longer time."
From the canopy to the classroom
"It’s brilliant getting to go out and work in the field to collect new data like this and it also allows me to incorporate what I've learnt into my teaching.
"I teach students about tropical forest ecology in a third year module 'Biological Conservation', but even when I'm teaching broader first year modules I try to include examples of my own work when we discuss topics such as species composition.
“I also really enjoying getting students out in the forest to collect their own data. We have a fieldtrip to Malaysia where students get the opportunity to do their own tropical forest research project. I find it very rewarding to share my skills and enthusiasm for fieldwork with them.”
Do you want to understand human environmental impact?
Dr Sophie Fauset teaches on the BSc Environmental Science course here at the University of Plymouth. In this degree course, students develop an understanding of climate change, biodiversity, conservation and sustainability, in marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
Find out more about studying Environmental Science.
Also in Earth, geography and environment subject area
Earth, geography and environment degree courses, education and research
Examining dune formation in the deserts of Australia
Exploring the geography of the Pacific Northwest
Fire and water fieldwork in Western Australia
Investigating bedrock landslides in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco
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Merkel talks to a party colleague prior to the start of a party board meeting in Berlin | Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images
How Angela Merkel will weather the storm
The embattled chancellor’s strategy could carry her to reelection.
By Joerg Forbrig
9/6/16, 2:09 PM CET
BERLIN — The year that will decide Angela Merkel’s political fate could not have gotten off to a worse start. With German federal elections a mere 12 months away, Merkel’s Christian-Democratic Union suffered a resounding defeat in regional elections in her home state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where it was outperformed by the right-wing and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The vote was more than just symbolic. It displayed all the ingredients of a perfect political storm that could sweep Merkel from office. Yet instead of rushing a response, she has opted to wait it out. Her patience is a sound strategy, and perhaps her best chance of staying in office despite the considerable obstacles ahead.
Elections have become referendums on German refugee policy. Questions that typically win or lose elections — the economy, regional development, the welfare state — have faded from view. Voters have been oblivious to the fact that the country’s coffers, and Germans’ wallets, are fuller than they have been in a long time.
Nor does it seem to matter that the number of refugee arrivals has dropped sharply and that the government’s handling of the situation has improved significantly. Instead, votes are cast based on a decision that has been attributed to the chancellor: the decision not to close Germany’s borders.
Votes are cast based on a decision that has been attributed to the chancellor: the decision not to close Germany’s borders.
The country’s focus on Merkel and “her” refugee policy has polarized the population and fueled extremists on the right. As a result, the AfD, whose sole demand appears to be to remove Merkel and close the borders, has soared.
More worryingly for Merkel, the political mainstream has begun to move away from the refugee policy that it once supported wholeheartedly. Whether from the opposition Left and Green parties or the governing coalition of Christian and Social Democrats, politicians are desperate to save their political skins from the anti-establishment and right-wing onslaught. Their scapegoat, of course, is Merkel.
Singled out, the once uncontested German leader has seen her ratings go into free fall. Her approval rates dropped from more than 70 percent before the refugee crisis to 45 percent, and her party’s rating fell from around 40 percent to just above 30 percent nationwide.
Angela Merkel stands by refugee policy despite AfD gains
Matthew Karnitschnig
Top German politician: Merkel’s days are numbered
Hortense Goulard
Bavarian politicians: Merkel, refugee policy responsible for far-right rise
Angela Merkel: Germany ignored refugee crisis for too long
Cynthia Kroet
Support for Merkel from within her own party has eroded and critics have become more vocal. Some, especially from Bavaria, openly challenge her leadership. Long-time conservatives are defecting noisily, and regional candidates prefer that she stay away from their campaign trail. The party base has implored the chancellor to change course. But Merkel knows that yielding now would come at an even higher political price than sticking to her principles on migration.
AfD supporters protest against Angela Merkel's immigration policy in 2015 | Sean Gallup/Getty Images
The party’s current weakness, and dim prospects to recover its lost strength, is not unique to the conservatives, however. Last weekend's election, like most recent ones, recorded losses for all mainstream parties — a signal that the political balance in Germany is shifting.
A gradual weakening of the Volksparteien has been accelerated by the recent emergence of a populist party on the right. In combination, this means that garnering sufficient majorities and building stable governing coalitions will become increasingly difficult.
The trend reduces Merkel’s coalition options, despite the fact that her party is still bound to win the next federal elections. Both her allegedly preferred next alliance with the Greens, and the historically standard coalition with the Free Democrats, are unlikely to get enough votes to govern. Neither the Left party nor the Alternative for Germany are ideologically compatible with the Christian Democrats.
What is left, then, is a continued “grand coalition” with the Social Democrats. To preserve this option, Merkel has to do what she’s been doing: tolerate the many contrarian strains in her current coalition and weather the numerous attacks made by her allies in government.
As if these domestic storm clouds were not enough, more trouble is in the making on the European and international stage. The refugee question has not been resolved, and the EU’s deal with Turkey is under even greater pressure following the July coup. The eurozone crisis simmers beneath the surface, and post-Brexit EU is still shrouded in uncertainty. Russian aggression looms large, and judging by the U.S. elections, the Kremlin may well interfere with the German ballot next year.
In the face of all these challenges, Merkel is undoubtedly the key European figure. This means, though, that she will be held responsible for failing to stamp out these international fires.
What fuels her patience is the certainty that no credible alternative for chancellor exists within her own party, as even her fiercest critics will admit.
Pressured from so many sides, Merkel seems to have taken a page from the playbook of her political mentor Helmut Kohl, who was famous for "sitting things out." She is steadfast in her decision to help refugees, hoping that time will prove her right. Merkel is no doubt hoping that the issue will lose some of its centrality in German public debate, and that other, more classical electoral issues will return to the agenda.
Merkel has retained her stoic calm in the face of vicious political attacks from both within her own bloc and her junior partner in government. What fuels her patience is the certainty that no credible alternative for chancellor exists within her own party, as even her fiercest critics will admit.
Just as importantly, she can count on the fact that the Social Democrats also lack a credible alternative to the coalition with the Christian Democrats, despite their current flirtations with the Left and Green parties. They are effectively condemned to rule with her beyond the fall of next year.
Ostensibly, Merkel is waiting to announce her decision to run again until she has the clear backing of her own party later this year. What’s more likely is that she is hoping the coming half-year gap in the German election calendar will allow some of the dust to settle, and give her time to recover her high approval ratings. In the meantime, she has thrown herself fully into EU politics, just like her political father and predecessor would have done.
It’s a reasonable approach by the embattled chancellor. Chances are that, despite everyone’s current alarmism, Teflon Merkel will simply do it again.
Joerg Forbrig is a senior transatlantic fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Berlin.
Joerg Forbrig
Erdoğan: Road to peace in Libya goes through Turkey
Europe will encounter a fresh set of problems and threats if Libya’s legitimate government falls.
Labour leadership contest will be determined by the many, not the few
Jeremy Corbyn changed the rules of the game. But now everyone can play that way.
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Category: Kurt Suzuki Jersey
The year things happened suspensions injuries things
Uncategorized Leave a Comment on The year things happened suspensions injuries things
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Archive: January 31, 2019
Wisconsin Navy Vet, Heart Disease Survivor Going Red for Women
MILWAUKEE – Friday is National Wear Red Day, and one Wisconsin woman who's surviving heart disease says there are lessons in her story. Kelsey Gumm was in Navy boot camp when she passed out, for what seemed to be no reason. It took her 10 years of fainting spells and misdiagnoses before one ...Read More
Foxconn Environmental Concerns Remain Despite Failed Promise
GURNEE, Ill. – Despite Foxconn's failed promise to bring a bounty of blue collar factory jobs back to the Midwest, its development center that it now says will be staffed by scientists and engineers still could cause flooding and environmental issues for Racine County in Wisconsin. Foxconn p ...Read More
Washingtonians Wearing Red to Highlight Women's Heart Health
SEATTLE – American Heart Month kicks off Friday with National Wear Red Day to raise awareness for women's heart health. Washingtonians are encouraged to wear red on Friday in solidarity with people across the country to shed light on cardiovascular diseases – the number one killer of w ...Read More
Bills Would Provide Better Oversight of Wash. Government Contractors
OLYMPIA, Wash. – A measure in the Washington State Legislature could bring greater transparency to government contracting. The Taxpayer Protection Act would require state agencies to evaluate the cost of outsourcing work to private contractors and follow-ups to ensure the contractors are mee ...Read More
Low-Carbon Diets Not Just Good for the Planet; They’re Healthier
DENVER – Foods produced with fewer greenhouse gas emissions are healthier than foods that create more climate pollution, according to new research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Diego Rose, the report’s lead author and a professor at Tulane University, says pe ...Read More
80-Year-Old Sentenced to Death Could Be Exonerated Soon
WILSON, N.C. – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has agreed with The Duke Law Innocence Project's assertion that it's unlikely jurors would have convicted Charles Ray Finch of the 1976 murder of Richard "Shadow" Holloman if they had known about flaws in the police lineup and wit ...Read More
Vigil at Capitol Honors Child Victims of Faith-Healing Exemption
BOISE, Idaho – Opponents to Idaho's religious exemptions to providing medical care for children are gathering at the State Capitol Building Thursday to hold a vigil. The vigil will honor children who have died because they didn't receive medical attention. The exemption often is called the ...Read More
Progressive State of the State Address Lays Out Priorities
LAS VEGAS – Sick leave. Clean water. A living wage. These issues will top the list at Thursday night's Progressive State of the State address in Las Vegas. Speakers will call on state lawmakers to support paid sick leave for all Nevadans, not just those whose companies offer it. They wil ...Read More
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Biohazard Cleanup Services
PuroClean USA
PuroClean Canada
PuroClean Restored Over 300 Properties in One Week
Type of Loss:
At the time of the hurricane, PuroClean had five franchise owners based in Houston ready to help home and business owners with severe property damage. Another 26 franchise owners immediately traveled to the region to assist with the surplus of remediation jobs. While most of the visiting franchise owners stayed for two weeks, a handful stayed for more than two months helping with the hurricane relief. Different from other hurricanes resulting in jobs for PuroClean, Hurricane Harvey was mainly a water weather event, rather than a wind-driven one. When the wind subsided after a few days, intense rain continued, resulting in tens of thousands of flooded homes in Houston and its surrounding areas. Local rivers, creeks, and sewage systems overflowed, leading to even more flooding. Because all of the water creeping into homes of Texans had come from the hurricane or the sewage system, it was all contaminated, and any property it touched needed to be properly and professionally cleaned and/or restored.
PuroClean Intervention
While each job had unique damage to the property, all jobs consisted of clearing out all water from the job site, most often a house or apartment complex. Next, franchise owners and their technicians demolished any wood structures, drywall, carpets, tiles, and more that had been touched by contaminated water. In flooding situations with severe contamination like this, contaminants can reach up to two feet above the water line. As such, all drywall was removed up to two feet above where the water had reached. Metals and glass surfaces were cleaned with disinfectant, but everything else that had been in contact with the contaminated water had to be replaced, which was the case for almost all Hurricane Harvey job sites.
Since there were so many franchise owners aiding in the restoration of thousands of flooded homes, a command center was set up by the Regional Developers, headed by Bart Meador, to help streamline PuroClean’s services. When any homeowner called into any of the five local offices, the calls were redirected to this command center, where PuroClean staff would then evenly distribute the jobs to the local and out-of-town franchise owners.
In addition, to ensure every franchise owner and technician had the equipment and products needed to successfully complete each job, Meador held twice-daily calls with franchise owners and vendors. Every day, the group used these phone calls to discuss the daily forecast, anticipated rainfall, the hurricane’s direction, who was deployed where, how much equipment they had, and if they needed any additional products or supplies.
Hurricane Harvey was a devastating natural disaster that lasted between August 17 and September 2, 2017. The hurricane caused at least $125 billion in damages, displaced 30,000 people and broke rainfall records, with some parts of Texas receiving up to 40 inches of rainfall over a four-day period.
It also was an exemplary demonstration of teamwork and efficient systems for PuroClean.
Saving Hundreds of Homes from Total Destruction
As a result of these efforts, the 31 PuroClean franchise owners completed 327 jobs directly related to Hurricane Harvey, and each of these jobs were called into the command center during a single week period. Had PuroClean not mobilized so quickly to aid in hurricane relief, many of the restored homes would ultimately have been lost after being overtaken by flooding, contamination, and eventual mold.
PuroClean’s response to Hurricane Harvey was a true success which demonstrated how our franchise owners can rise to the occasion in times of national catastrophe. Insurance companies and property owners alike were pleased with our teams’ diligence and persistence in getting customers lives back to normal following the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey.
PuroClean provides immediate help locally, 24/7
Locate Your Office
Or use automatic location tracking
About PuroClean
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Who Will Be Iran's Next President?
Wanted: A few good men to run for Iranian president. Candidates must have strong management skills and commitment to Islamic and revolutionary values. Applicants who are unwaveringly loyal and fully obedient to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, exhibit strong anti-Western leanings, and can present a documented history of hard-line political and religious views will receive preference. All entries will be vetted by the Guardians Council. Oppositionists need not apply. These are among the traits and qualifications expected of candidates who plan to run in Iran's June 14 presidential election, according to Iran observers and comments coming from within the supreme leader's inner circle. In November, the supreme leader's representative in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Hojatoleslam Ali Saeedi, listed management skills and revolutionary and Islamic values as prerequisites for "suitable and competent" candidates. Iran observers have narrowed the list further, saying the contest will essentially be waged among traditionalists and the new guard within the conservative camp. Reformists or figures close to outgoing President Mahmud Ahmadinejad are given virtually no chance to win, if they choose to throw their hats into the ring at all. As Washington D.C.-based political analyst Ali Afshari put its, the Islamic regime is looking for a more civilized Ahmadinejad -- that is, in the mold of the current president before he began challenging the supreme leader. There is a long way to go before a comprehensive and official candidates list can be compiled -- none is yet confirmed -- but names are already being floated. Eventually, according to Habibollah Asgarolad, secretary-general of Iran's Islamic Coalition Party, there will be 40 potential candidates, with 25 from the conservative camp. So, knowing the qualifications expected and the likely introduction of electoral reforms that could weed out many potential candidates --> http://www.rferl.org/content/iranian-election-reform-candidates-favoring-establishment/24790156.html , who is poised to contend? Here's a rundown. -- Golnaz Esfandiari
Iran Agrees To Fresh Nuclear Talks
Iran says it agrees in principle to resume international talks on its controversial nuclear program later this month.
Air Pollution Triggers Tehran Shutdown
Officials in Tehran have ordered schools, universities, government offices, and other institutions to close on January 5 because of high air pollution in the Iranian capital.
Iran Test-Fires Missile System
Iranian state media say the country has successfully test-fired a newly upgraded missile system near the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic passageway in the Persian Gulf.
U.S. Plane Leaves Iran After Emergency
Iranian officials say a small American commercial plane made an emergency landing earlier this month in southwestern Iran after facing technical problems.
Is Iranian Leadership Softening On Opposition Leaders Musavi, Karrubi?
In what appears to be a significant softening of tone, a hard-line Iranian cleric, Mashhad Friday Prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, has said that it is wrong to consider opposition leaders Mir Hossein Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi as "seditionists."
Khamenei Page Prompts Calls For Iran To Unblock Facebook
Since the Iranian supreme leader made his debut on Facebook, many have taken a liking to the idea that the authorities unblock access to the popular social-networking site.
Iran's Navy Starts Drills In Hormuz
Iranian state-run media report that Iran’s navy has begun drills in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway on Iran's southern coast that is used to transport around one-third of the world's seaborne oil exports.
Ahmadinejad Sacks Health Minister
Iranian state television reports that President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has sacked Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi.
'No Hijab Payment' For Russia Workers
Iran is denying complaints that Tehran pays a special fee to the Bushehr nuclear power plant's Russian female technicians in order to adhere to the country's Islamic dress code.
Iranian Navy To Hold Drills In Strait
The commander of Iran's navy says that it will begin six days of naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz at the end of this week.
Iranian MP Says Russian Women At Bushehr Not Wearing Hijab
An Iranian lawmaker is complaining that Russian women technicians at the Bushehr nuclear power plant are being paid to adhere to a strict Islamic dress code, but are routinely violating that code.
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Red Pelican Music Navigation
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Teach with us!
Lily’s teaching style is warm and playful with a focus on encouraging each student’s creativity. Her lessons balance building a strong technical foundation with helping her students improvise, explore different genres, and make original music. Whether you want to learn a Disney song or a rock solo, Lily believes in tailoring her curriculum to fit your unique goals and musical interests.
Lily earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Performance and Songwriting from Berklee College of Music. She specializes in classical, pop, old-time, and Americana styles. As a performer she has shared the stage with Kenny Werner, and has played extensively for film and video game soundtracks, including Airspace: Fall of Gravity. Her songwriting and composition skills have garnered her an honorable mention in the International Songwriting Competition and a feature on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist.
Lily’s musical favorites include: Janine Jansen, Hilary Hahn, Sara Watkins, Väsen, Fiona Apple, Imogen Heap, and Ravel
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Piano, Songwriting, Viola, Violin
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Los Angeles, CA 90024 (310) 893-0776 info@redpelicanmusic.com
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Home » Dachser Air & Sea Logistics launches operations in Sweden
Dachser Air & Sea Logistics launches operations in Sweden
The office comprises all global air, sea and rail services as well as customs clearance and warehousing.
KEYWORDS freight management / logistics / rail / warehousing
Dachser Air & Sea Logistics, Plantation, Fla., launched an office for air and sea freight in Gothenburg, Sweden, which comprises all global air, sea and rail services as well as customs clearance and warehousing.
“Dachser Air & Sea Logistics Sweden is a further investment in our global air and sea freight network and a way to build up our position in the Scandinavian market,” says Jochen Müller, chief operating officer. “Our new office in Gothenburg offers Swedish customers access to global markets via Dachser.”
Dachser maintains 8 employees at the new location in Gothenburg, and plans to grow that number to 20 seasoned professionals.
“In the long run, interlocking with our overland transport activities will make us a strong service provider in Scandinavia and put us in a position to offer customers all our services,” says Anna Bergdahl, country manager, Dachser Air & Sea Logistics Sweden.
Johnston Logistics to become Dachser Ireland
Dachser Americas opens new offices in Argentina, Chile
Dole Food sells fresh-cut business in Sweden & Finland
USGBC launches LEED Zero to address net zero carbon operations in LEED green building projects
Congebec Logistics Inc. - Mississauga, AB
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What Human Age Is Baby Yoda? Clearly, The Adorable Creature Ages Differently
By Morgan Brinlee
Although centered around a Mandalorian bounty hunter, Disney+'s live-action Star Wars television series The Mandalorian has captivated viewers with one tiny standout star: The Child. Dubbed Baby Yoda by well, just about everyone, this small, pea-green space creature has quickly taken the internet by storm. But exactly how old is Baby Yoda in human years? It seems their species ages quite differently from our own.
Our so-called Baby Yoda is actually 50 years old, but considered to be a toddler of their species. Other than that, not much is known about this adorable space tot. Even their name and the name of their species remains unknown, let alone where they come from, how they were born, who their parents might be, or whether or not they'll eventually talk with Yoda's same speech pattern.
What is known, however, is that Baby Yoda is already capable of using the Force as we saw in Episode 2 when they saved the Mandalorian by using the Force to levitate the Mudhorn. Also, they have great comedic timing (did you see Baby Yoda drinking soup?). Oh, and there's a bounty on their head and a number of other bounty hunters are after them. Why, we don't know.
And although there's a number of theories floating around the internet regarding Baby Yoda's parents, one thing is clear: despite the nickname, Baby Yoda is not actually Yoda. That would be impossible as Yoda died at the ripe old age of 900 in Return of the Jedi and The Mandalorian is set after the original Star Wars trilogy has already taken place.
But despite the mystery that surrounds them, Baby Yoda has quickly become the everyone's favorite character. Even folks who haven't seen The Mandalorian melt a little at the sight of their bald little head, sideways bunny-like ears, and large, dark eyes. Still, I can't help but wonder if viewers will get to watch Baby Yoda grow up? Or even better, meet a newborn of their species?
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Vlad's castle Slot Game
Play Vlad's castle Slot Online with 500 Free Spins!
Vlad’s Castle is a 5 reels, 25 paylines online slot game by Eyecon. Vlad’s Castle has Wild, Scatter Symbols, Free Spins, and Respins features and an RTP of 95.3%. If you want to enter Vlad’s Castle, you’ll find the door right here at Rose Slots, where we also host more than 500 great UK online slots including Fluffy Favourites, Starburst, Rainbow Riches and Great Rhino.
Vlad's castle Online Slot UK
If you're thinking about playing Vlad's Castle by Eyecon, then grab yourself a stake and find some garlic, because this slot game is all about the dark and bloody world of vampires. You won't find Dracula himself in here - because naming rights cost money - but Vlad is easily a match for Dracula when it comes to the scare factor.
Play Vlad’s Castle Mobile Slot
It would take a qualified psychologist to explain why human beings love horror movies so much. Perhaps it's just a simple case of a good scare getting the heart going. Maybe it's because after watching a horror movie the real world doesn't seem so bad after all. Alternatively, perhaps we're all just suckers for punishment. Either way, horror-themed online slot games are just as popular as horror films, and where there's a demand, there will always be an online slots developer willing to fill it, as Eyecon did when they brought this slot to the world in January 2019.
Vlad’s castle is a little basic when it comes to presentation. The background is suitably blood-red, with the frames appearing to take the form of the gates to the castle. It’s the soundtrack that’s playing in the background that will set your nerves on edge far more than what you see; a haunting combination of piano and a ghostly choir providing music that wouldn’t be out of place in any Hollywood movie.
Somewhat disappointingly, six of the symbols in the slot have been represented by playing card values, which run from 9 through to A; although they have at least been rendered in a gothic font, so they fit the theme, and given a steely tone so they appear to be part of the castle gates. Four more valuable symbols sit above them; a vampire bat, an ominous-looking coffin lined by candles, a white rose and a nervous looking woman who's peering over her shoulder. We can probably assume she's Vlad's intended victim for the evening.
It would be rude for Vlad not to put in an appearance given that he's the slot's resident vampire, and so he's here to serve as the wild. He can replace everything apart from the castle-shaped scatter to create winning combinations for you, and while he's in the process, he also doubles the value of your win. And they say vampires are only interested in drinking your blood! The wild also serves as a separate scatter if enough of them turn up at once. As you've probably already worked out; two separate scatters means two separate bonus features.
Vlad’s Castle Developer - Eyecon
Eyecon, who started out as a video game developer in their native Australia during the 1990s, has undergone a complete transformation during their business life. Although they had some initial success with a horror-themed survival game called ‘Gore' in 1997, they decided there was more money to be made creating games for the emerging online slots market. By 2003 they'd abandoned ‘regular video games completely to focus on their new direction, and made their debut with ‘Temple of Iris.' The classic Egyptian-themed slot has been online ever since and remains popular with players.
Perhaps because of their video game history, Eyecon does their best work when they're making slots with a theme, often using cute or memorable characters to attract players to their games. Making a horror-themed slot like Vlad's Castle likely wouldn't have been a stretch for them considering their past, but they also showed their softer side in 2006 when they released the first Fluffy Favourites slot. The cuddly-toy themed offering captured the hearts of players and has since spawned several sequels with more on the way.
Although they don’t release as many slots per year as many of their rivals, what Eyecon might lack in volume they make up for in quality and popularity. During 2018, they counted six billion individual spins on the reels of their online slot games throughout the world. That means that more than eleven thousand people spin an Eyecon reel every minute, and several dozen during the time it’s taking you to read this sentence!
Vlad’s Castle Slot Bonus Features
This spooky slot has two bonus features for you to play for, and triggering them also brings the graphics to life with some horrific transformations!
First up is the Portrait Feature, which you’ll need at least three of the castle-scatters to trigger. The more of the castles you land on the same spin, the more picks you get in the feature. That’s right - it’s a prize picker round! You’ll be taken to a new screen, upon which portraits hang upon the wall. Selecting a portrait turns the human face on it into a terrifying vampire, and also reveals a multiplier. Try peeking at it through your fingers to find out what you’ve won! The highest multiplier available here is x100.
As with the majority of Eyecon’s range of online slot games, there’s also a Free Spins feature in Vlad's Castle. Vlad's own symbol triggers this, and once again you'll need at least three of them to kick it off. Three Vlads is good for 15 free spins, a fourth will get you 20, and all five will get you 25 spins at no cost to you. Be warned; when Vlad becomes ‘active' by triggering the feature, he goes through the scariest transformation of them all; his skin literally melts off his face! This feature can be re-triggered if more Vlad symbols are found, and as an added perk all winning combinations made during free spins in which a Vlad symbol plays a part are trebled in value.
Vlad's Castle isn't Eyecon's best-ever online slot, but it's a solid enough creation with some genuine scares, a moody atmosphere, and some profitable bonus features. If you're a horror fan, you'll probably love it.
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| Submit
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Saint Bernard applicants come from a variety of academic backgrounds: home school, public school, private school, and parochial school. Entering students can have very different skill levels and abilities. Therefore, Saint Bernard School uses placement tests to assess an applicant's strengths and/or weaknesses in math and english. This enables us to place students in classes at the right level. In addition, The Saint Scholarship is given to the three incoming freshman who achieve the highest scores on our November and December placement tests.
Placement Tests:
Students applying to grades 6 through 9 are required to take the Saint Bernard placement test. Tests are offered on select Saturday mornings in both the fall and spring. During the summer, the placement test is offered on select mornings throughout the week. All testing begins promptly at 8:30 AM and ends at noon. Advanced registration is required.
Select students identified through the results of their initial placement testing and/or transcript records will be contacted in late spring to take a supplemental placement test. These tests are intended as part of the information to be used by the Office of School Counseling for placing students into the most appropriate course sequence in foreign language or mathematics.
Placement Test Registration
Families should arrive to SBS by 8:15 AM Students will be met in the Main Lobby and then escorted to the library. The test begins promptly at 8:30 AM and lasts approximately three hours. Snacks and water will be provided.
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Saint Bernard School, a Catholic co-educational school, co-sponsored by the Diocese of Norwich and the Xaverian Brothers, admits students from grades 6 through 12. Enriched by values attentive to the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Saint Bernard School community is committed to a challenging college-preparatory education for students of all faiths. Saint Bernard School provides a safe and supportive environment which promotes academic achievement and generates growth in maturity, behavior, character and service to others.
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© 2016 Saint Bernard School
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Prefects are selected based on a written application, an interview, community involvement, academic performance, and demonstrated commitment to school values. They serve as strong role models for their fellow students and assist resident faculty members in fostering a fair and kind environment. They assume responsibilities in the dining room, dormitories, and general campus life and are a vital link among students, faculty, and administration.
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Sometimes I think it’s the best thing that could’ve happened to me, Hurricane Katrina. But such a thought always feels so calloused given the memory of so much devastation it caused, those many lives suddenly changed or ended. The reminder returns to me as a taste of rust, overwhelming my tongue, shutting me up.
The truth is, just two years before I first crossed Westlands Lawn as a first-year, that hurricane would ravage much of the American Gulf Coast; ravage and revise the City of New Orleans, my home, in particular; revise my idea of home, to be most precise. I saw that changing idea reflected back to me each time I was swept into those obligatory, if sometimes awkward, new-student introductions that first year.
“Hey …”
“My name’s …”
“Pittsburgh.”
“Oakland.”
“I was born in Belgium, but—”
“Brooklyn!”
“New Orleans.”
Saying it, I admit there formed a kind of comedy in my mind as I took in each person’s reaction. Funny, I mean, to watch their eyes glimmer and flash only slightly wider, as if just behind my head they took sight of some Spanish moss suddenly clinging to the tree branches, or down the street came a Mardi Gras float teasing us with its beads, or as if their ears were echoing with some version of jazz—all these romances and stereotypes of New Orleans. Then to see them see the other thing, and the eyes grow cloudier, the lids drop just a little, as if all they could see now were gray water, up-to-the-roof high, and those black families, deserted, stranded among the roofs. And here I was before them, at Sarah Lawrence, bringing the whole ordeal back.
This is the first time, in fact, I’m writing much of this—the first time I’m writing so directly about being a “Katrina Survivor” and the ways such an event takes sudden, enormous influence on a life, even if miles away, tucked safely in Bronxville. But this isn’t at all the first time I’ve written about it—from it, through it—in general, whether through poems or stories. Sarah Lawrence became the place that affirmed such an act and affirmed writing’s significance in my life; that offered poetry, in particular, as that medium for both self-reflection and critical political and social analysis. Sarah Lawrence became the place that offered me the very tools I would later use to critique it.
That I discovered the College at all may be the biggest miracle. I think back to that moment two years prior to walking MacCracken lower bridge to meet my suitemates. In that late July of 2005—when Katrina was not yet a name to know—the name Sarah Lawrence did not, in any way, exist in my mind. No “liberal arts college” did. I was the victim of regionalism, you could say, or of an education that did not wish for those who look like me to dream farther than a state line. Yet sometime in the convening years following Katrina, through a brief stay in Los Angeles (where my family had relocated), through the intolerable conditions of a FEMA trailer (when we eventually moved back), somehow the name Sarah Lawrence was introduced to me and it stuck. With it came the discovery of an education that seemed to trust in the value of the interdisciplinary approach, that understood the necessity of the arts and trusted in the power of writing—creative or academic—as a tool to process all of this. “You are different,” so the slogan went when I was there. “So are we.” And I believed them.
Yet that first day when I arrived, I came only with a gut instinct that I had made the right choice, without very much certainty but plenty of excitement, and certainly without the knowledge of the reputation, especially for writers, Sarah Lawrence holds. And to be honest, I’m glad of this ignorance. Maybe it better prepared me. Those times I do allow myself the thought that Katrina was the best thing that happened to me, it’s only because I recall how it so violently made me contend with loss. Katrina taught me that, in some cases, to have lost and to feel that grain of emptiness is to also be made more available to being re-filled, fulfilled even more substantively and completely. Among what I lost were all the writings, poems, failed short stories, and song lyrics I had written obsessively since late adolescence, swallowed by the water. But what I didn’t lose, and can never lose, is the memory of having written them, of reading whatever it was that inspired me to write them, and the lesson each piece would add to my still-growing craft. Maybe I’ll say I lost those writings, and later was satisfied with that letting go, in order to make more room for the writings, at Sarah Lawrence and beyond, to come.
Of course, Sarah Lawrence was not perfect. I think back to those occasions I felt isolated on the campus and to some of my peers’ blindness to many of the experiences and identities I claim—or to that awkward silence that inevitably followed when I revealed where I was from. But no home, I also learned there, is perfect—only, if we’re luckiest, protective. It may well be that home, despite a hunger to make it permanent, is always changing. New Orleans, I came to understand, was now both for me. Writing would be also, and is.
Written by Rickey Laurentiis ’11
Photo by Dana Maxson
Rickey Laurentiis ’11 is the author of Boy with Thorn, which was selected by Terrance Hayes for the 2014 Cave Canem Poetry Prize. Recipient of an NEA Creative Writing Fellowship in 2013 and a Ruth Lilly Fellowship in 2012, Laurentiis was also named one of the top 10 debut poets of 2015 by Poets & Writers Magazine.
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Gwendoline Christie Slays at the Game of Thrones Premiere
Gwendoline Christie YES. pic.twitter.com/F9jVPyiIgH
— Jordan Crucchiola (@JorCru) April 4, 2019
-The Game of Thrones premiere red carpet was fire, but Gwendoline Christie was the clear winner. It’s a smart move on her part — she’s coming off her first big thing and now is when she needs to create some buzz for future gigs.
-Also, Sophie Turner confirmed on the carpet that Maisie Williams will be her maid of honour when she marries Joe Jonas.
–Tessa Thompson casually and repeatedly burning Chris Hemsworth in this birthday message to RDJ has me suddenly excited to see their Men in Black film.
-Sources say Britney Spears is doing “much better” after checking herself into a mental health facility to cope with her father’s illness.
-This is hilarious: Tom Holland still hasn’t read the script For Avengers: Endgame despite being done filming — and it’s because Marvel doesn’t trust him not to spoil it.
-So Jennifer Lopez is just going to keep ignoring those cheating rumours, huh?
–Kanye West‘s kids took April Fool’s Day wayyyyy too far — they made him think Kim Kardashian had died. Kim told Elle: “[North] roped him into an April Fool’s prank yesterday that was ridiculous. She took ketchup into my bathroom, and she begged me to let her spread it on me, and on the bathroom, as if it was like a bad scary movie. Then she asked me to lie down. I thought she was just playing, maybe that she was going to say I was hurt. No. She taught Saint how to fake-cry—she showed him how to do it!—and then she told him to scream ‘Mommy’s dead!’ Kanye ran upstairs and he was like, ‘Kids, this is not funny. This is not a good prank.'”
-Out of all the things I could imagine Prince Harry coming out strongly against, Fortnite wasn’t one of them. He talked about banning the video game, saying “It’s created to addict. An addiction to keep you in front of a computer for as long as possible. It’s so irresponsible.”
-Speaking of the royals, everyone’s keeping their eye on the UK press to see if they will start reporting on the Prince William cheating rumours now that the US press is. They continued to toe the line with the palace even though the Daily Beast reported on it, but now that it’s being splashed across supermarket tabloids, with they follow suit? That’s what happened once French outlets started covering Kate’s topless photos. We’ll see.
-I know it’s probably beyond a long shot, but it’s incredible to me that there’s talks of bringing Pitch back. Disney’s 20th TV is dangling a revival of Dan Fogelman‘s baseball drama to entice the This Is Us creator to remain in-house.
–Celine Dion laughed off rumours of a relationship with her backup dancer: “Pepe is gay…The thing is that he’s my best friend and we dance together and he did so much for me and even just holding my hand…it’s something that I haven’t had for a long time…A hug from a 6′ 3″ man, it was wonderful…and people really thought there was a romance going on.”
-Is Emma Stone engaged? She’s been spotted sporting a diamond ring.
-Maybe when you’re heading into your court appearance you should just skip the autograph line, Lori Loughlin. Just sayin’.
-Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath is denying reports he’s gone deaf, saying he was misquoted.
–Kristen Bell has a warning about the new Veronica Mars miniseries. “This will be a controversial season. Let me just say that. I am excited for people to watch and I am also probably going to stay off the internet once it airs. There’s some stuff that happens that people will have strong feelings about.” I’m guessing Logan and Veronica break up, which isn’t doing much to build my excitement.
-I really like this story about the women behind Captain Marvel banding together to form a new production company, combining the clout they’ve earned to “exponentially lift up storytellers and less heard voices.”
–Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen show off some surprising chemistry in this new Long Shot clip and I’m so confused.
–Kristen Stewart pretends to be an author to cover for Laura Dern in the trailer for J.T. LeRoy. I saw this at TIFF and I thought it was good, not great, but the performances were fun.
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Agnus Dei (in Latin) for SATB choir by Simon Peberdy
By Simon Peberdy
Simon Peberdy
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/agnus-dei-in-latin-for-satb-choir-by-simon-peberdy-digital-sheet-music/20140944?ac=1&aff_id=521623
SATB - Early Intermediate - Digital Download
Composed by Simon Peberdy. 21st Century, Christian, Sacred. 3 pages. Published by Simon Peberdy (S0.77515).
Item Number: S0.77515
Simple, repetitive, imitative, and haunting. This setting of the Agnus was written as part of a mass for the Consort in Saalfelden, Austria.
For more new pieces, please visit www.simonpeberdymusic.com
About SMP Press
This product was created by a member of SMP Press, our global community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. Our independent musicians have created unique compositions and arrangements for the Sheet Music Plus community, many of which are not available anywhere else.
Click here to see more titles from these independent creators and to learn more about SMP Press.
Please note this product may not be eligible for all sales, promotions or coupons offered through Sheet Music Plus - please check promotional details for specifics.
About Digital Downloads
Digital Downloads are downloadable sheet music files that can be viewed directly on your computer, tablet or mobile device. Once you download your digital sheet music, you can view and print it at home, school, or anywhere you want to make music, and you don’t have to be connected to the internet. Just purchase, download and play!
PLEASE NOTE: Your Digital Download will have a watermark at the bottom of each page that will include your name, purchase date and number of copies purchased. You are only authorized to print the number of copies that you have purchased. You may not digitally distribute or print more copies than purchased for use (i.e., you may not print or digitally distribute individual copies to friends or students).
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Agnus Dei (in Latin) for SATB choir by Simon Peberdy (Sample #1)
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Simon Peberdy Sheet Music Simon Peberdy Choir Sheet Music Simon Peberdy 4-Part Sheet Music Simon Peberdy Mixed Choir Sheet Music Simon Peberdy SATB Sheet Music
4-Part Music Mixed Choir Music SATB Music
21st Century Sheet Music Christian Sheet Music
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His life is built on secrets.
Her love demands complete truth.
What will happen when duty and desire collide?
Dylan “Moses” Wright believes in God, his undercover SEAL team, and the belief his work is critical to protect the country he loves. Wary of a relationship with any woman, he’s surprised at his swift attraction to the new veterinarian in town—the daughter of a notorious cartel leader his team is sworn to take down.
Victoria Stanifer Quintero has faced her share of setbacks. Adopted by a prosperous leader of a vast Mexican business empire, she and her sister have been provided every opportunity. But the constant niggling at the back of her mind warns her Armando Quintero isn’t what he seems. Worse, Dylan Wright, the man she’s fallen in love with, is determined to do all he can to discover her father’s secrets and use them to destroy the man he believes is a cartel kingpin.
But Moses also is a man of many secrets. Riding with what she believes to be an outlaw motorcycle gang, she’s as unsettled about him as she is about her father and brothers. The code of silence he and the Eternal Brethren live by requires he tell her nothing about his job or the role he plays in the MC.
Tori has learned to live with the deception of her family. Allowing her heart to be captured by a man who insists on the same is no longer an option for the independent, high-spirited veterinarian.
Frustrated and vulnerable, she finds herself faced with a tough decision.
A series of threats pose a bigger risk than allowing the biker to protect her. When Moses refuses to leave her side, she must fight not only for her life, but the growing attraction to a man she knows to be dangerous to her heart.
Faithful is book six in the Eternal Brethren Military Romantic Suspense Series by best seller Shirleen Davies. It is a stand-alone, full-length novel with no cliffhanger and a guaranteed HEA.
FAITHFUL, Book Six, Eternal Brethren Military Romantic Suspense Series
ASIN: B0825CJJ9X
Preorder Today
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'Anything can happen' - Guardiola keen to secure Sterling's Man City future
Written By Dom Farrell
Getty Images https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/GOAL/62/ff/raheem-sterling-manchester-city_jptzk9j025hw1dg1jbj1wo5vd.jpg?t=-1202939712&w=500&quality=80
Everton v Manchester City
R. Sterling
Pep Guardiola would welcome Raheem Sterling signing a new contract at Manchester City and knows the winger's form could attract the attention of rival clubs.
Sterling joined City from Liverpool for £49million in July 2015 and has flourished under Guardiola's leadership this season, scoring 20 goals in all competitions for the runaway Premier League leaders.
The 23-year-old has often grasped for his best form on the international stage but turned in a superb display during England's 1-1 draw against Italy in midweek.
Sterling has two years left to run on his current deal but is reportedly keen for talks over fresh terms to commence, with team-mates Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Fernandinho and Nicolas Otamendi having all been rewarded with renewals this term.
The inside track on why Firmino flourished and Benteke flopped at Liverpool
Van Gaal: I wanted Man Utd to play like Guardiola's City
Chong, Gomes & the top 10 teenage stars to watch at Man Utd
The total defender: Ajax ace De Ligt in no rush for Barca
Speaking ahead of Saturday's trip to Everton, Guardiola maintained the matter was one for director of football Txiki Begiristain but underlined Sterling's importance to the City cause following recent speculation of interest from Real Madrid.
"In terms of contracts I am not the guy. Txiki is talking about that," he said
"No doubt, it is so important [City keep Sterling]. But the deals are the deals. The agents, circumstances, maybe other clubs are interested in him.
"So anything can happen but he knows how important he is for us."
Sterling's international team-mate John Stones will miss out on his latest return to Everton after suffering concussion against the Azzurri but another City player to have enjoyed a more profitable time away with his country is Gabriel Jesus.
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The Brazil striker scored the only goal as Tite's side beat world champions Germany 1-0 in Berlin and he is likely to start at Goodison Park with Sergio Aguero's ongoing knee complaint making City's top scorer a major doubt.
"It was so important for him," Guardiola said. "He was a long time injured and a striker needs goals.
"With the problems we have right now with Sergio (knee injury), Gabriel's confidence is so important."
Guardiola was on the end of a chastening 4-0 hammering at Everton last season and he insists Sam Allardyce's men will not be overlooked ahead of a Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool to be played out either side of a potentially title-clinching derby showdown with Manchester United.
"It's not already done and to prepare the next games in the Premier League and the Champions League is to be ready immediately," he added.
"Believe me, I have prepared Everton like it is the most important game we have to play. My decisions are to win at Everton, not, 'oh, these guys aren't going to play', thinking about Liverpool.
"That would be a big mistake from my side."
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Blogs Metis
Lacrosse Unites Generations at Mistawasis First Nation
Christian Bates-Hardy – Tue, 17 Feb 2015 06:00:00 GMT – 0
Yoga in La Ronge: An SPRA Success Story
Christian Bates-Hardy – Fri, 09 Jan 2015 06:00:00 GMT – 0
We recently recieved this message from one of our grant recipients in La Ronge, Saskatchewan.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I feel so grateful that you came all the way up to La Ronge to bring yoga to the north….I will remember as much as I can from the training and bring it forward as I begin teaching in the community! This so needed up here and now it's here and there's a good group of us to teach."
This is the kind of message makes us proud to be the leader of a provincial network that supports healthy, active communities. Our grant dollars continue to build capacity through leadership and enhance recreation opportunities for communities across the province, and have a real impact in making communities attractive and healthy places to live.
Thanks to the SPRA Métis Recreation Development Grant they recieved, Yoga enthusiasts from across northern Saskatchewan were able to meet in La Ronge for a two-day workshop where they developed their skills as yoga instructors. In addition to the instructor training, participants also received yoga equipment to help them facilitate classes in their respective communities.
Each participant committed to teaching 30 hours of yoga in their community upon completion of the training.
The 20 newly trained yoga instructors will be balancing chakras across the north in communities such as Stony Rapids, Buffalo Narrow, Jans Bay, La Ronge, Air Ronge, Lac La Ronge Indian Band and Ile-a-la-Crosse.
So, if you've ever said to yourself:
"I would like to start a yoga club with students in my school."
"I have always enjoyed the peaceful challenge that yoga has brought to my life and now I would like to share that gift with other people."
"I have the knowledge to offer classes to community members."
Then maybe it's time to apply for an SPRA Grant?
To learn more about available grants and funding for 2014-2015, visit www.spra.sk.ca/funding or contact us directly for helping connecting you to the grants and funding that can benefit your community.
Interactive Resource for First Nation, Inuit and Métis Communities
Christian Bates-Hardy – Mon, 27 Jan 2014 06:00:00 GMT – 0
On September 16, 2013, the Saint Elizabeth First Nation, Inuit and Métis Program launched a new interactive resource that encourages the use of the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines in community-based programs.
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By de.seguin@gmail.com2005-02-07T00:00:00+00:00
Dir/scr. Rian Johnson.US. 2005.
Shot in 20 days with alow, low budget, Brick is an exciting debut from director-screenwriterRian Johnson. Having screened in American Dramatic Competition at Sundance, thefilm sold worldwide rights to Focus Features for nearly $3m and earned aSpecial Jury prize for originality of vision - and rightly so.
The premise of Brickis instantly appealing - a noir detective story set in high school - but unlikeother film-makers who have harnessed an iconic text for an adolescent milieu -whether that of Shakespeare or Austen or, as in this case, Dashiell Hammett -Johnson's ambitions reach far beyond the plot. The execution is unexpectedlyshrewd and intense.
This is a meticulouslywrought homage that takes itself seriously in all the right places, aconvincing and convincingly convoluted whodunit with characters who are at oncearchetypes of the genre and still recognisable as high school students. Johnsonforces the viewer to see his characters through the eyes of a high school peer,to re-experience adolescence - a time and place where cool rules and where youchoose to eat your lunch seems like a matter of life and death.
The trick for Focus'marketing team will be in convincing audiences to adjust to that point of view.Not that young people aren't smart enough to appreciate the wit and energy ofthe script but this isn't American Pie with a gumshoe theme. There's nosex, there's no gross-out humour.
The gamble lies in assuringyoung people that being taken seriously has its pleasures while convincingthose for whom high school is a well-forgotten memory that this isn't ateenagers' movie. Indeed, genre fans can spot references spanning 50 years ofcinema, from The Maltese Falcon to Chinatown.
Every great detective storyneeds a great detective and Johnson found him in Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whoseexceptional work here and in Greg Araki's Mysterious Skin is sure tolead to bigger things. A rangy, world-weary character, his Brendan surveys theworld from behind John Lennon glasses and unkempt bangs.
When his ex-girlfriend tellshim she fears for her life, he instantly assumes she's looking for an angle.But when he finds her dead, he starts to look for the culprits and - true toform - ends up discovering some very unpleasant things about himself.
Johnson treads a difficulttonal line - while the film often satirises the genre, it is not a satire ofhigh school - and creates a surreal dramatic tension worthy of the CoenBrothers. The stock characters are here - the seen-it-all hero, the spoiledfemme fatale (Zehetner) who runs with the bad crowd, the meat-head heavy(Fleiss) who's too smart for his own good, the cane-wielding Mr Big known asThe Pin (Haas) - but the circumstances are adjusted to middle-class suburbanCalifornia. For example, after The Pin convenes a meeting in the rec room ofhis parents' home, his mother invites everyone upstairs for milk and cookies.The audience knows it's being toyed with but the exposition is irresistible.
But Johnson goes a stepbeyond the Coens, fashioning a peculiar vernacular for his characters thatborrows liberally from nearly every decade of the 20th century. Although someof the cast members are not up to the delivery - some lines that would fly offthe fast-lips of Bogart are lost to mumbling - the key players shine.
The atmospheric soundtrack -by UK-based Cinematic Underground - and Steve Yedlin's polished cinematographycomplete a package with a texture surpassing films of exponentially largerbudgets.
A grace note is the castingof Richard Roundtree (best known as the superfly black detective Shaft) as thepolice department heavy here re-modelled as a high school vice-principallooking to suspend students for disorderly behaviour. When the hero and thevice-principal butt heads, Brendan smiles contemptuously. "If you've gotdiscipline issues," he says, "book me and I'll see you at parent-teachernight".
Prodco: Bergman Lustig Prods
Int'l sales: Cinetic Media
W'wide dist: Focus Features
Exec prods: JohnsonCommunications, Norman Dreyfuss
Prods: Ram Bergman, Mark G Mathis
Cine: Steve Yedlin
Prod des: Jodie Tillen
Mus: Nathan Johnson
Main cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt,Nora Zehetner, Lukas Haas, Noah Fleiss, Matt O'Leary, Richard Roundtree
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Amber Jackson Masters
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Doctor Sleep: A Novel
One For The Money: A Stephanie Plum Novel
Hello, Darkness
Then She Was Gone: A Novel
In a Dark, Dark Wood
Beautiful Disaster: A Novel
You are on page 1of 177
Balancing the Mythic and Mundane:
A Directors Approach to Sarah Ruhls Eurydice
Amber McGinnis Jackson, M.F.A.
Thesis Chairperson: DeAnna Toten Beard, Ph.D.
American playwright Sarah Ruhls work is characterized by a distinct ability to
contrast mythic themes of life, love, and death with the quotidian aspects of everyday
life. Ruhls 2003 play, Eurydice, poignantly addresses these subjects as she uses the
architecture of the Orpheus myth to frame the story from the contemporary perspective of
his lost love. In Eurydice, Ruhl joins a long lineage of artists who have been inspired by
the universal, timeless quality of the ancient myth. This thesis offers an examination of
one directors approach to Sarah Ruhls Eurydice. The study details the biography of the
playwright, examines her body of work, and offers a complete analysis of the play. It
also follows the production process of the Baylor University Theater staging of the play
from conception to performance.
Amber McGinnis Jackson, B.A.
A Thesis
Approved by the Department of Theater Arts
Stan C. Denman, Ph.D., Chairperson
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of
Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
Approved by the Thesis Committee
DeAnna Toten Beard, Ph.D., Chairperson
Marion D. Castleberry, Ph.D.
Stan C. Denman, Ph.D.
Lisa C. Denman, M.F.A.
David Jortner, Ph.D.
John Thorburn, Ph.D.
Accepted by the Graduate School
J. Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean
Page bearing signatures is kept on file in the Graduate School.
Copyright 2009 Amber McGinnis Jackson
List of Figures v
Acknowledgments vi
Chapter One: Sarah Ruhl and Eurydice 1
The Poet Turned Playwright 2
Recurring Themes and Style 16
Orpheus and Eurydice: The Evolution of the Myth 21
Ruhls Inspiration 30
Chapter Two: An Analysis of Eurydice 35
Plot Synopsis 35
The Postmodern Tragedy 42
Structure and Thematic Content 45
Given Circumstances 49
Language, Symbols, and Recurring Images 52
Character Analysis 57
Eurydice 57
Orpheus 61
The Father 63
The Nasty Interesting Man/ Lord of the Underworld 65
Stones 67
Chapter Three: The Design Process 71
Play Selection 71
Selection of Space and Design Team 73
Development of Directors Concept and Pre-production Meetings 74
Set Design 79
Lighting Design 83
Sound Design 86
Costume Design 90
Make-up and Hair Design 95
Properties 97
Chapter Four: The Rehearsal Process 100
Auditions and Casting 100
Rehearsals 107
Tablework 107
Staging 112
Tone and Character Development 116
Technical Rehearsals 120
Dress Rehearsals 123
Performances 125
Chapter Five: Self-Analysis 127
Sound 132
Costume 133
Working With Actors 134
Final Product 137
Appendices 142
A List of Textual Changes 143
BText Comparison Chart 145
CScaled Set Model 150
DProduction Photos Featuring Set Design 151
EProduction Photos Featuring Lighting Design 153
FProduction Photos Featuring Costume and Make-up Design 155
GElements of a Character Portrait, or the Hot Seat 161
HPromotional Media 162
Works Consulted 163
Scaled Set Model 150
Figure C.1. Photo of completed set model 150
Production Photos Featuring Set Design 151
Figure D.1. Production photo featuring complete view of the set design 151
Figure D.2. Photo of elevator in set design 152
Production Photos Featuring Lighting Design 153
Figure E.1. Photo demonstrating contrast of warm and cool lighting tones 153
Figure E.2. Photo demonstrating textural enhancement in use of gobos 154
Figure E.3. Photo illustrating use of specials in lighting design 154
Production Photos Featuring Costume and Make-up Design Figure 155
Figure F.1. Photo demonstrating contrasting shapes between characters 155
in costume design
Figure F.2. Photo demonstrating warm colors used in the world of the living 155
Figure F.3. Example of dye used to achieve water effect in the costume for
the father 156
Figure F.4. Photo of Eurydices coat upon her arrival to the underworld 157
Figure F.5. Photo illustrating change made to Eurydices wedding dress in
underworld 157
Figure F.6. Production photo of stone costumes representing contrasting
silhouettes and different time periods 158
Figure F.7. Example of dye used in Orpheus costume upon second arrival
to underworld 159
Figure F.8. Lord of the underworld costume inspired by Angus Young 159
Figure F.9. Illustration of make-up inspiration in original costume 160
Promotional Media 162
Figure H.1. Poster designed for promotional purposes 162
I would like to extend my deepest thanks to my thesis advisor, Dr. DeAnna Toten
Beard, who taught me that the only way to learn how to write a thesis is to write a thesis.
Thank you for your patience throughout this long, tedious process and for helping me
shape this document one page at a time.
My sincerest thanks to Dr. Marion Castleberry for believing in my talents enough
to bring me into the program at Baylor University. I cannot thank you enough for the
opportunities you have given me. I would also like to thank Lisa Denman for her
mentorship and guidance as my production advisor and Dr. John Thorburn for his
enthusiastic presence as an outside reader.
I cannot even begin to express the depth of my gratitude for the talented team of
actors and designers that made this production possible. I appreciate their imagination
and quirkiness, which made this play such a suitable match for us all. Their positive,
collaborative spirits made this production a fulfilling and memorable adventure. I would
also like to thank my fellow graduate students, especially Traci Ledford, who walked
beside me through each step of this process.
Finally, I would like to thank my family, who instilled in me the work ethic and
passion for theatre that made this rigorous process bearable. I also extend my deepest
appreciation to my husband, Ed Jackson, whose patience, strength, and encouragement
has carried me through this journey.
Sarah Ruhl and Eurydice
Shes going to become her own vocabulary word, says Pulitzer Prize-winning
playwright, Paula Vogel of her former student, Sarah Ruhl (qtd. in Wren). Only in her
mid-thirties, Ruhl has an impressive resume of produced works, including Lady With the
Lap Dog and Anna Around the Neck: Chekhov Shorts (first produced in 2001);
Melancholy Play (2001); Virtual Meditations # 1 (2002); Melancholy Play (2002);
Orlando (2003); Eurydice (2003); Late: A Cowboy Song (2003); The Clean House
(2004); Demeter in the City (2004); Passion Play: A Cycle in Three Parts (2005); Dead
Mans Cell Phone (2007); and In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) (2009). Ruhl was
a recipient of the Helen Merrill Award and the Whiting Writers Award in 2003; in 2004
she won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for her most highly-praised work, The Clean
House, which would go on to receive a Pulitzer Prize nomination in 2005. Most recently,
Eurydice was selected as one of ten plays included in The Best Plays Theatre Yearbook
2007-2008. Ruhl was also a recipient of the prestigious MacArthur genius Fellowship
in 2006, which awarded her with a $500,000 grant. The only playwright to receive the
award that year, she was described as, a playwright creating vivid and adventurous
theatrical works that poignantly juxtapose the mundane aspects of daily life with mythic
themes of love and war (Goodman). This unique juxtaposition of the mythic and
mundane has given Ruhl a strong reputation as a playwright with a truly original voice.
This study details the research, discovery, and artistic processes of directing
Eurydice, Ruhls contemporary retelling of the Orpheus myth. In Chapter One, an
analysis of the playwrights upbringing, influences, and style, combined with a brief
examination of the myths evolution throughout history, lays the foundation for the
directorial analysis in Chapter Two. This analysis explores issues of style and character
along with important thematic concerns within the play, such as death and memory.
Chapter Three and Chapter Four navigate through various aspects of the design
collaboration and rehearsal process. The final chapter reflects upon the challenges of
tackling this difficult but rewarding artistic project.
The Poet Turned Playwright
I always knew I wanted to be a writer of some sort.
Sarah Ruhl (qtd. in Sanford)
Sarah Ruhl was a student of poetry at Brown University in the mid-nineties, but
when her father died during her sophomore year, she found it difficult to go back to her
poetry, having in her opinion exhausted the confessional I during her mourning
process (Sanford). After taking some time off from school, Ruhl returned to Brown for
her junior year and embarked on her first playwriting venture in a class taught by Paula
Vogel, who had already achieved great success with her Obie Award-winning play, The
Baltimore Waltz. (Vogel would soon win the Pulitzer Prize for her 1997 play, How I
Learned to Drive). Ruhl signed up for Vogels playwriting class after seeing The
Baltimore Waltz, which she now references as a sort of Rosetta Stone for her own work
(Sanford). Ruhls initial assignment for Vogels class was to write a ten-minute play
featuring a dog as the protagonist. What came was her first short work, Dog Play,
which utilized Kabuki staging techniques to tell the story of a dog who seeks to comfort a
family in the loss of their father. Touched by the maturity and depth of this work, Vogel
urged Ruhl to consider a career in playwriting. Ruhl now contends that Vogel did more
than teach her to write; she nurtured the idea of living in the theatre (qtd. in Talk with
Sarah Ruhl). Ruhl had planned to write her undergraduate thesis about representations
of actresses in nineteenth century literature, but Vogel declined to be her thesis advisor
unless she wrote a play. Ruhl then turned to an idea that had developed during a study
abroad program at Pembroke College in Oxford. What resulted was the first part of a
decade-long writing project called Passion Play: A Cycle in Three Parts. Of Vogels
encouragement, Ruhl muses, I do think its important having someone say, You could
do this for life. . . . Paula was that person (qtd. in Lahr Surreal Life).
Although Ruhl did not begin to seriously develop her career as an artist until
college, her upbringing taught her both an appreciation for theatre and language. Her
mother, Kathleen Ruhl, who worked as an English teacher at a local high school in their
Chicago area hometown of Wilmette, Illinois, was involved as a director and actress in
local theatres like the Goodman, and even worked with some of David Mamets early
plays (Sanford). She cultivated an appreciation of theatre in Sarah and her sister by
taking them on yearly excursions to Ontario for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and
by allowing them to accompany her to rehearsals where, Kathleen Ruhl recalls, she
would often find six-year-old Sarah taking notes in the back of the theatre.
Ruhls mother was not the only person in her life that would act as a great
inspiration for her later career as a playwright. Her father, Patrick Ruhl, whom she refers
to as a misplaced marketing man who should have been a historian, also contributed
heavily to her development as a writer (Sanford). Ruhl credits her father for instilling in
her a great appreciation of literature and love of words. She recalls that as a fourth grader
she wrote a short courtroom drama about landmasses because she loved words like
isthmus and peninsula (qtd. in Stamberg). Ruhls father also took his daughters to
weekly pancake breakfasts where he would teach them a new vocabulary word along
with its etymology (Lahr Surreal Life).
The impact of losing her father to cancer in 1994 heavily influenced Ruhls
writing. She boldly confronts matters of life and death in a majority of her plays,
including The Clean House, Eurydice, and Dead Mans Cell Phone. When asked about
the recurring themes of death in her work in a 2008 interview with Tim Sanford, Ruhl
responded:
I guess someone might wonder psychologically why that is for
meand its true Ive been around more than my share of
deathbeds for my yearsbut to me it feels so utterly natural as a
themewhat artists worth their salt dont deal with mortality at
all? And when they dont deal with it directly, isnt it always there
in the background? Maybe the odd thing about my plays is that I
deal with mortality directly. In a way it feels to me like an odd
casualty of modern life, the way death has been professionalized
other people handle it for us, and were cut off from the whole
notion of it, the whole experience of it. It sometimes feels as
though were no longer looking at the whole life cycle. Death is
viewed as an odd aberration that happens to the unlucky, rather
than something we ought to set our sights on in terms of how we
live our daily lives.
Ruhls father also taught her the power of laughter as he faced his own death, making
jokes even in the last few minutes of his life. Her fathers ability to face his death with
the same grace as he had lived taught Ruhl her own capacity to experience joy and
sadness simultaneously.
Many of the characters in Ruhls plays experience this juxtaposition of feelings,
especially in Melancholy Play, which addresses the concept directly: melancholy is
about the passage of time, about cycles and loss, which are real things. If we cant mourn
them together, we lose a whole section of cultural life (More Invisible Terrains). The
complexity of these emotions is also exemplified in her stage directions for Lane in The
Clean House:
Lane cries.
She laughs.
She cries.
And this goes on for some time. (48-49)
Ruhl walks a narrow tightrope between joy and sadness that critic Charles Isherwood
warns can be occasionally jarring for audiences (Comic Impudence). Yet in her best
moments, Ruhl is able to establish an incredible and totally unique tonethis delicious
thin line between hilarious comedy and operatic-sized tragedy. It dances between those
two in the most graceful, strange, playful way (Wren). Ruhl likens these changes of
emotion to those of a child: I watch my daughter, whos in the middle of crying, and
then you do a little dance for her and she starts laughingI dont think our emotions are
easily bendable to dramaturgical reason (Vogel Interview). She also argues that
psychological realism often dilutes emotion into something rational, while she prefers
giving her characters a sense of irony, and likes them to be touched with a little brush
of the irrational (qtd. in Lahr Surreal Life).
Beyond the influence of her family, Ruhl has worked with some of the most
talented and recognized writers and directors in the contemporary theatre world. As a
young child she attended childrens improvisational workshops at the Piven Theatre in
Evanston, Illinois. According to her teacher, Joyce Piven, who is a former member of the
Compass Players and a founding member of the Playwrights Theatre Club, young Ruhl
was never a standout in performance, but quickly found her niche in the scene-study class
where she went on to teach. In many ways Ruhls experience at the Piven Theatre laid a
strong foundation for her style as a playwright. She recalls that they didnt use props,
and didnt have sets. Language did everything (qtd. in Lahr Surreal Life). Piven
would eventually go on to host and even act in the first full-length reading of The Clean
House. She also commissioned Ruhl during her years at Brown to write Orlando, an
adaptation of the Virginia Wolfe novel, which became Ruhls first production outside of
college.
As a sophomore at Brown, Ruhls first encounter with her future mentor, Paula
Vogel, came in a theatre history class taught by scholar David Savran. After Ruhl
completed the first part of Passion Play as her thesis, Vogel found an opportunity for the
play to be produced. Under the direction of Peter DuBoisformer resident director of
the Public Theatre in New York and current Artistic Director at the Huntington Theatre
Company in BostonRuhl saw her work come to life on the stage for the first time.
After premiering at Browns New Play Festival, Vogel also arranged a production of the
play at the Trinity Repertory Theatre in Providence. Ruhl remembers that it seemed like
a really big deal. Because I was just writing the thing, I wasnt necessarily thinking it
would be put on (Lahr Surreal Life). Vogel still contends that her most significant
contribution to the American theatre is just not letting [Ruhl] say no to the project (qtd.
in Wren).
When Ruhl returned to Brown for the MFA program in Playwriting, Vogel was
busy with her award-winning play, How I Learned to Drive. Charles L. Mee was the
acting chair at the time, and Ruhl has remarked that she owes her acceptance into the
program to him (Sanford). While studying at Brown she worked closely with Nilo Cruz,
2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Anna in the Tropics, and also with Mac Wellman,
who received the 2003 Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement. Wellman did much to
influence Ruhls ideas about dramaturgy and the need to liberate playwriting from the
confining structure of the Aristotelian arc. In his article, Surreal Life, John Lahr quotes
Ruhls thoughts on the concept:
As a storyteller, Ruhl marches to Ovids drum rather than
Aristotles. Aristotle has held sway for many centuries, but I feel
our culture is hungry for Ovids way of telling stories, she said,
describing Ovids narrative strategy as one thing transforming into
another. She went on, His is not the neat Aristotelian arc but,
instead, small transformations that are delightful and tragic. And
she added, The Aristotelian modela person wants something,
comes close to getting it but is smashed down, then finally gets it,
or not, then learns something from the experienceI dont find
helpful. Its a strange way to look at experience.
I like plays that have revelations in the moment, where
emotions transform almost inexplicably.
Although Ruhl disagrees with Aristotles ideas of structure, she seems to borrow some of
his theories of tragedy in Eurydice, which will be discussed more fully in Chapter Two.
Under Wellmans tutelage, Ruhl was also encouraged to ransack theatre history for
forms to dredge up and reuse, a prompt that she took to heart with Eurydice, the first
play she wrote in graduate school (Ruhl, More Invisible Terrains 31). Wellman later
gave Eurydice its first workshop production in January 2001 at Browns New Play
Ruhl completed three full-length plays while she was in graduate school at Brown
from 1999 to 2002, including Eurydice, Melancholy Play, and Late: A Cowboy Song.
While she was there she received a one-act commission from the McCarter Theatre in
Princeton, New Jersey that would eventually develop into The Clean House. In 2002 she
also received a commission from Tim Sanford of Playwrights Horizons to write what
would become Dead Mans Cell Phone. As her work from graduate school became more
frequently produced, these commissions took time to write and develop. Her old teacher,
Joyce Piven, produced Melancholy Play in June 2002 at the Piven Theatre. That fall, the
play received a second production at Princeton University under the direction of David
McCallum. Late: A Cowboy Song would also receive its first production by Clubbed
Thumb at The Ohio Theatre, making it Ruhls New York City debut.
Ruhl, who had taken a job at Wheaton College in Massachusetts after graduating
from Brown, traveled to Taxco, Mexico to study with Maria Irene Fornes at the Latin
American Writers Workshop. Ruhl connected with Forness ideas and even went on to
write an article for Theatre Topics called, Six Small Thoughts on Fornes, the Problem of
Intention, and Willfulness. In her article, Ruhl argues from the perspective of Forness
work that character action can come spontaneously from emotion and feeling, and that
characters need not be restricted to objective action. This of the moment method of
constructing characters is reminiscent of Ruhls own philosophies and work. Like
Fornes, Ruhl believes that humankind is far too spontaneous to move on a predictable arc
of objectives towards a single goal.
As Ruhl worked at Wheaton College and continued to send out her plays, she
quickly found that the process of getting a play produced was far more difficult than she
had imagined: I thought, Oh, Ill do a reading and then Ill talk to the artistic director
and see if they want to do it based on how well the reading went. Well no! That wasnt
how it went (Sanford). She compares play readings and the play development process
to the Catholic concept of repentance: after a reading playwrights feel pressure to
repent of a fault they found within the script. Yet with Eurydice, for example, which
received a frustrating thirteen readings before it was finally produced, Ruhl complained
that she just wanted to say, I think the play is fucking great the way it is so do you want
to do it or not? (Sanford). Even though Ruhl admits that she learned a great deal from
the readings, she confesses that she hardly changed a word after the seventh reading. As
discussed below, comparisons between early versions of the play, which was part of her
MFA thesis at Brown, and the published versions that have followed, reveal that her most
drastic change in the script would occur later, after the plays premiere production.
It was artistic director Richard Corley of the Madison Repertory Theatre who
finally decided to produce Eurydice in 2003, giving the play its first fully supported
production: that was kind of the beginning. Thats when I got an agent, and thats when
I started to piece together a living (qtd. in Sanford). Corley, who was eager to make a
statement in his first season as the new artistic director, was admittedly nervous about
selecting Eurydice and joked that he almost wanted to run away from its challenges and
instead do something safe and small and easy for the first slot in my first season (Nardi).
Instead, believing that at least once a season an artistic director should do a project that
scares the holy hell out of him, Corley moved forward with the production and created
an eager stir among the theatres patrons (Harrell 9). The opening night was welcomed
with a standing ovation and audiences praised both the acting and audacity of the design
and concept. The production was met with mixed reviews, however, and some critics
complained that the script lacked substance. Michael Muckian of The Capital Times
called it uneven and remarked, As a kickoff, Eurydice makes a strong statement for
the Rep. But the performance, while valiantly attempted, says more about the companys
production capabilities and theatrical ambitions than it does for the inherent drama within
the narrative. Many others praised the narrative, however, including a critic from the
Wisconsin State Journal:
Its a spare, minimalistic script done in snatches of scene[s] that seem
insubstantial one after the other, but which ultimately carry impressive
emotional weight . . . By evenings end, youre enthralled by the beauty,
the power, and the grace of it all. This is what going to the theatre is all
about. (Rueckert)
In the following year, Ruhl continued to work on her commissioned plays, and
added another project when Arena Stage in Washington D.C. asked her to write the third
part of Passion Play, which had by this time developed into a two-part cycle. In the fall
of 2004 Eurydice would receive its second professional production at Berkeley Repertory
Theatre under the direction of Les Waters, who had been given the script by Ruhls
former Brown professor (and fellow Greek-adapting playwright) Charles L. Mee. It was
in this Berkeley production that Ruhl would change the play into its present form by
cutting two characters. The roles of Eurydices grandmother and the mother of the lord
of the underworldmeant to be played by a single actorbefuddled Waters (Talk
With Sarah Ruhl). Many other directors had shared this concern, including Daniel Fish,
who had cut the character from his February 2004 production at the University of
California, San Diego. Ruhl explains, in terms of how the story was progressing, people
werent understanding how the character was moving through the play. So, I thought,
well, Ill try it without, and when we tried it without it actually had more of a flow in
terms of the story (Talk with Sarah Ruhl). The original version of the script as
produced at Madison Repertory Theatre is available in a 2004 issue of Theatre Journal,
as well as in the 2005 book, Divine Fire: Eight Contemporary Plays Inspired by the
Greeks. The most recognized and produced version of the play includes this cutting of
the grandmother and mother of the lord of the underworld. This text can be found in the
Sarah Ruhl anthology published by Theatre Communications Group in 2006 and in the
2008 actors edition published by Samuel French. A list summarizing character and line
omissions from the Theatre Journal publication of the play is given in Appendix A. The
two most recent editions of the text also have discrepancies and significant changes have
been listed in Appendix B.
It was under this new variation that Eurydice opened at Berkeley Repertory
Theatre in October of 2004, where it was so well received that the run was extended an
extra week. Robert Hurwitt from the San Francisco Chronicle called it touching,
inventive, invigoratingly compact and luminously liquid in its rhythms and design
(Awash). He also added, Waters and his cast create a pregnant tension between
comedy and pathos that serves the text well. Praise for the play was again met with an
equal amount of criticism. Even Hurwitt went on to complain that, In some respects,
Dizzias [Eurydice] and Talbotts [Orpheus] passion isnt as fully realized, but thats
partly because of their and Ruhls success in depicting the complexities of love. Dennis
Harvey of Variety remarked that the narrative never gave the audience the pleasure of a
fully-realized theme or conclusion: Eurydice just dances around its themes, seldom
engaging them in serious or resonant fashion. Like a bubble, its shiny and buoyant.
Then it just pops. These critics did not eagerly accept Ruhls desire to move away from
the Aristotelian arc. Her Ovidian structure was seen as immature playwriting, rather than
a conscious stylistic choice.
The year 2004 also marked the world premiere of The Clean House at Yale
Repertory Theatre under the direction of Bill Rauch. The play had been originally
commissioned by the McCarter Theatre, which supplied Ruhl with a reading of the first
act while it was still in development. It was with The Clean House that Ruhl finally
began to receive more positive attention for her unique style. Campbell Robertson of The
New York Times described The Clean House as whimsical realism. Charles Isherwood
called it a romantic comedy in which Ruhl had breathed a little life into the epithet
(Rich Vision). Yet, even for Isherwood, who called Ruhls voice, an unusual one:
astringent, but compassionate, sardonic at times, at others ardently emotional, had
problems with the play: the whimsy quotient does, at times, reach dangerous levels, and
the play does not comfortably accommodate a few of its more outlandish developments.
Isherwoods hesitations seemed to evaporate, however, when the play opened on
Broadway two years later. After receiving several awards for the play, including the
Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and a Pulitzer Prize nomination, and after numerous
productions in regional theatres around the country, The Clean House opened at the
Lincoln Center in October 2006. In this production, which was again directed by Bill
Rauch, Isherwood called the production one of the finest and funniest new plays youre
likely to see in New York this season (Always Ready). In contrast to his previous
remarks about some of the plays outlandish developments, Isherwood now remarked,
thanks to the alchemical imagination of Sarah Ruhl . . . this strange grab bag of ideas
and images, together with some more exotic ingredients, magically coheres. This
example of critical reevaluation exhibits how the growth of Ruhls popularity contributed
to an increased appreciation of her style.
As The Clean House received its New York premiere, the Berkeley Repertory
production of Eurydice, which had closed two years earlier, moved to the Yale Repertory
Theatre. Les Waters would again direct many of the same actors in this production,
including Maria Dizzia as Eurydice. Isherwood sang its praises, calling the production
devastatingly lovelyand just plain devastating and a love letter to the world that
deserves to be remembered for a good long time (Comic Impudence). He also offered
insight into Ruhls unique voice. Ms. Ruhls offbeat style, which mixes colors and
tones in ways that can be delightful but occasionally jarring, and warned that the play
requires some re-education for audiences used to the contemporary theatres steady diet
of naturalism and relatively straightforward demarcations between comedy and drama.
It was reviews such as these that motivated the move of the production to Second Stage
Theatre in New York City in June 2007. Isherwood again gave the play an
overwhelmingly positive review. His praise was joined by that of John Lahr, famed critic
for The New Yorker, who, like Isherwood, remarked, audiences are happy to pay top
dollar to see what they already know; its the unknown that petrifies them. Sarah Ruhls
Eurydice . . . is exhilarating because it frees the stage from the habitual (Gods and
Dolls). Not all critics were as generous, however. One reviewer called the play a
pretentious and woefully precious spin on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth (Finkle),
while a writer for Variety called it only partly satisfying and imperfect but poignant
(Rooney). Regardless, audiences flocked to the production at Second Stage, causing the
shows run to be extended three timesa full five weeks longer than originally intended.
Meanwhile, Ruhls Passion Play had continued to develop. In the years before
the Broadway premiere of The Clean House, Ruhl finished the third part of this most
ambitious work, which by this time had been in development for nearly a third of her life.
The full version of this cycle received its world premiere in September 2005 at the Arena
Stage, who had commissioned it two years prior. Under the direction of Molly Smith, the
three-hour and forty-five minute-long play received mixed reviews. Passion Play went
through additional changes before it opened in September 2007 at the Goodman Theatre
in Chicago. Mark Wing-Davey, who had directed the play at the Actors Centre in
London in 2002 and led readings of the full-length work in London and New York, took
on the task of directing it. Ruhl graciously continued to work on the play, particularly the
third part, which she admitted had not been finished completely before the Arena Stage
premiere: Its rare to find a theatre that is unafraid of epic scaleand that also embraces
second productions, which is often where the playwright manages to do another crucial
push in the writing process (Passion Play). Despite its challenges, the play has
continued to receive production. Reviews of the play at Yale Repertory Theatre in
September 2008 concluded, as you might expect, the language of Passion Play can
soar and the whimsy can veer off course; but, to borrow a trope from some of the plays
characters, would you rather see a wholly coherent production from a second-rate mind
or a disheveled epic from a brilliant one? (Gold).
Ruhls career continued to gain momentum with Dead Mans Cell Phone, which
had been originally commissioned in 2002 by Tim Sanford, Artistic Director of
Playwrights Horizons. After taking a few years to complete the play, including a full
year-long break between the first and second act, Ruhl was hesitant to hand her work
over to Sanford, fearing it might need further revision. Following a reading at New
Dramatists, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. offered to produce
the play, and Ruhl, still believing the play needed more work, agreed to a world-premiere
outside of New York City. After a successful run in D.C., Ruhl began to prepare for the
New York City premiere at Playwrights Horizons. The play opened in March 2008 under
the direction of Anne Bogart with Tony Award-winning actress, Mary Louise Parker in
the leading role. The Steppenwolf Theatre also opened the play later that month in
Chicago. The New York production enjoyed a sold-out extended run, with strong
reviews again from Charles Isherwood who said that Ruhls beguiling new comedy . . .
blends the mundane and the metaphysical, the blunt and the obscure, the patently bizarre
and the bizarrely moving (Nagging Call). He also added this warning: Ms. Ruhls
allegiance to whimsy can be exasperating, and certain scenes rated too highly on the
cuteness scale for my taste. This critique is consistently given to Ruhl, who seems un-
phased. In an interview with Paula Vogel in Spring 2007, Ruhl said this of her work and
the state of the theatre:
New York theatres are so scared of the press that fewer risks are being
taken . . . I come to the theatre wanting to feel and think at the same time,
to have the thought affect the emotion and the emotion affect the thought .
. . Theatre is still a living tradition of speech and emotion. Its something
that deeply attracts me. (Vogel Bomb)
She ended her interview with a charge, and a declaration of what seems to be her goal:
Take peoples money away and give them back their imagination.
Throughout this production activity, Ruhl has had significant personal
developments as well. In 2005 she married Tony Charuvastra, and in April 2006 the
couple had their first child, Anna Beatrice. When Ruhl is busy rehearsing a play, Anna
often accompanies her to the theatre much as Ruhl did with her own mother. At present,
Ruhl is a member of New Dramatists and 13P, where she continues to write and cultivate
new work alongside some of the most popular playwrights in the country. Her most
recent work, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), premiered in January 2009 at
Berkeley Repertory Theatre under the direction of Les Waters. The play follows the
history of the vibrator, and is set in the 1880s when women were first given vibrators by
doctors as a stimulation cure for hysteria. Like many of her other plays the work has
received mixed, but enthusiastic reviews. Robert Hurwitt writes, despite the spots
where the paint hasnt dried, Ruhls Room is a very pleasant place to visit (Theater
Review). Ruhl has also mentioned, perhaps in jest, an idea for a future play about
people sleeping in the theatre. In the mean time, however, Ruhl is trying to keep herself
grounded in the midst of her hectic life. Of her busyness she says in her own quirky way,
I havent made dinner in a while. Im longing to have some normal time. Its bad when
you no longer feel the connection to a piece of garlic or ginger (Vogel Bomb). In the
midst of her rising popularity, fans of Ruhls work should avidly hope that she manages
to stay connected to normalcy: For me the work emerges out of the ordinaryfrom day-
to-day observations, having time to stare out the window (qtd. in Vogel Bomb).
Recurring Themes and Style
Ruhl, like Dickinson, is a wild original.
Matthew Gurewitsch, Smithsonian
In this brief biography many of Ruhls direct influences have been noted. The
mentorship and inspiration of such writers as Vogel, Wellman, and Fornes has helped
shape Ruhls voice and style. Like Vogel she has found new approaches to story telling,
and in Eurydice specifically has used her work to purge feelings about death and loss
within her personal history. Like Wellman, Ruhl has used Greek mythology as
inspiration and has abandoned Aristotelian plot structure. Like Fornes she has questioned
the shifting, psychological complexities of emotion within characters. Yet beyond such
influences, this wild original has also developed her own philosophies about death,
melancholy, and theatre art. If Ruhl is to become her own vocabulary word, as Vogel
has suggested, she will likely be defined by her fascination with the female voice, an
attention to poetic location and language, and authentic mixture of the mythic and
mundane (qtd. in Wren).
Because of her assertion of the female voice in her plays, Ruhl is sometimes
compared to Virginia Wolfe or Elizabeth Browning. Paula Vogel comments that, like
Wolfe, Ruhl is a singular voice in a womans body that has her own planet that inhabits
a planet that is part of our world, but not wholly part of it either (Goodman). With the
exception of her epic Passion Play, each of Ruhls full-length works centers on the
journey of a female protagonist. Melancholy Play follows Tilly, who is made beautiful
by her melancholy nature. The Clean House profoundly captures the journeys of four
women, who all find peace through their interactions with one anothers messy lives.
Late: A Cowboy Song and In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) explore the
complexities of female sexual fulfillment. Like Maria Irene Fornes she gives her female
characters the same existential, adventurous, and sexual journeys that are often reserved
for male characters. Does this mean then that Ruhl writes feminist plays? In The
Woman Playwright Issue, Fornes addresses the temptation to classify plays as
feminist solely because they are about women:
if they [women] write a play where a woman is the protagonist men get
all confused. They cannot make heads or tails of it. The only answer they
have is that it is a feminist play. It could be that it is a feminist play but it
could be that it is just a play. We have to reconcile ourselves to the idea
that the protagonist of a play can be a woman and that it is natural for a
woman to write a play where the protagonist is a woman. (91)
Perhaps this is the best way to understand Ruhl, as a writer of plays about women rather
than as a writer of feminist plays.
Stylistically, Ruhls work mixes sparseness and economy with rich poetic
symbolism. In the setting for Eurydice, an intimate room made out of string is formed
within the mythic boundaries of Hades. Likewise, in The Clean House, as Lanes life
falls into disarray dirt gradually fills her once immaculately clean, white living room.
Ruhls sparse sets compliment the potency of both her subject matter and language. As
she learned from her early days at the Piven Theatreand in the Rosetta Stone of her
work, Vogels Baltimore Waltzminimalistic settings enhance the poetic quality of a
play, drawing focus to the story and language. The settings also encourage audience
members to embellish the world of the play with their own imaginations.
Through Ruhls subject matter, mundane objects such as food often serve as
metaphors for life. Ruhls characters question matters of life and death over bowls of
chocolate ice cream or lobster bisque. Like poets turned playwrights from the past
William Butler Yeats, for example, or Federico Garcia LorcaRuhls words move
rhythmically and carry mythic potency. Yet Ruhl has more in common with Modernist
poets like e.e. cummings, William Carlos Williams, or H.D. (who also explored the
Orpheus myth in her own writing); like them, Ruhl creates potency through a simple,
sparse vocabulary. The fathers words in Eurydice capture this combination well: You
should love your family until the grapes grow dust on their purple faces (58). Ruhls
talent to distill powerful moments through economy of language keeps her work from
feeling self-conscious or pretentious, as is often the case with other poet-playwrights such
as T.S. Elliott.
Those who have the opportunity to read as well as watch Ruhls plays will also
note the poetry of her stage directions. Rather than only writing stage directions that
handle practical matters, Ruhl shares notes, and even questions with her actors:
I think part of it comes from my background in poetry, so that I wanted
even the stage directions to feel part of the experience of reading the play.
So that it wasnt just, You read the dialogue and then you skip over the
stage directions because theyre boring and the director will figure that out
and ignore them. I wanted the stage directions to feel like part of the
world of the play . . . I was interested in giving little love notes to the
actors, like saying, Oh this is something between you and me, actor, that
Ill share with you that maybe no one else will know, like you have a deep
impulse to order the universe now, or right now youre going to fall in
love very suddenly. (Talk with Sarah Ruhl)
For The Clean House in particular, these stage directions became such a meaningful part
of the play that Ruhl eventually added them as subtitles throughout the performance.
As Ruhls characters face life-changing events, they do so with the curiosity of a
child. They are all touched with the sense of irony, and brush of the irrational that
Ruhl so enjoys in her work, which helps to cultivate a sense of the mythic in her plays
(Lahr Surreal Life). Characters that carry a faade of maturity are often viewed in a
negative light, such as Lane in The Clean House. It is only when Lane is able to embrace
her messy life with the faith of a child that she finds peace and fulfillment. The childlike
curiosity that Ruhl embraces in her characters is reminiscent of the young protagonist in
Lewis Carrolls Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass. As discussed
below, Ruhl has specifically mentioned Carrolls influence in the writing of Eurydice,
and further investigation reveals other clear parallels. Even Carrolls own description of
Alice invites comparison to not only Eurydice but to Jean in Dead Mans Cell Phone and
Matilde in The Clean House:
Loving first, loving and gentle: loving as a dog (forgive the prosaic smile,
but I know of no earthly love so pure and perfect), and gentle as a fawn: . .
. and lastly, curiouswildly curious, and with the eager enjoyment of Life
that comes only in the happy hours of childhood, when all is new and fair,
and when Sin and Sorrow are but namesempty words, signifying
nothing! (qtd. in Carroll 335)
This is not to say that Ruhls characters fully achieve this uncomplicated lifestyle, or that
Ruhl dreamily believes that such a life is humanly possible. Her works do, however,
remind us to take pleasure in mundane moments, and to face the curious nature of life
with boldness. The closing monologue of Eurydice demonstrates the title characters
ability to face the tragedy of saying goodbye to her husband with child-like sincerity and
simplicity:
Dear Orpheus,
Im sorry. I dont know what came over me. I was afraid. Im not worthy
of you. But I still love you, I think. Dont try to find me again. You
would be lonely for music. I want you to be happy. I want you to marry
again. I am going to write out instructions for your next wife.
To my husbands next wife:
Be gentle.
Be sure to comb his hair when its wet.
Do not fail to notice
that his face flushes pink
like a brides
when you kiss him.
Give him lots to eat.
He forgets to eat and he gets cranky.
When hes sad,
kiss his forehead and I will thank you.
Because he is a young prince
and his robes are too heavy on him.
His crown falls down
around his ears.
Ill give this letter to a worm. I hope he finds you.
Eurydice. (70)
Ruhl returns her characters to the origins of childhood and by so doing connects the
audience to their own child-like instinct to question, to face things simply, and even to be
irrational.
Ruhls work is defined by her interesting combination of subject matter and style.
Fellow playwright, Tina Howe, who is also somewhat of a mentor to Ruhl, fittingly
describes Ruhls talent in her own quirky way:
When I heard a reading of the first two scenes of The Clean House, I
screamedAt least, I felt like screaming. Her writing was so surreal and
sparse, so full of wonder and truth. A new talent had blasted onto the
sceneWhenever Sarah would come to me for advice about practical
theater matters, Id say the wise and proper thing, knowing she didnt
really need anyones advice, since shes so utterly unique. It would be
like advising a unicorn to acquire zebra stripes or start pulling a Budweiser
carriage. Just as Sarahs voice is her own, so is her path. The woman is
magic. And such intelligent magic at that! (Gurewitsch)
While Ruhls style is unique, her interest in adapting the ancient myth of Orpheus in her
play, Eurydice, follows a lineage of numerous other writers and artists as described
Orpheus and Eurydice: The Evolution of the Myth
He isa figure of absolutes and extremes.
Charles Segal (197)
In the book, Orpheus in the Middle Ages, author John Friedman surmises, the
key to a myths vigor is its adaptability (210). For the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice,
this theory has proven itself true. The myth itself dates back thousands of years, and
because of its adaptable nature has continued to hold interest for writers and artists who
remain inspired by the storys characters and themes. Sarah Ruhl is one such writer. For
the purpose of this study the complete history of the myth and its development is far too
vast an undertaking, and perhaps irrelevant. An evaluation of the adaptability of the
myth, however, and its appeal to artists through the years most certainly holds relevance.
First, it is helpful to remember that in all myths, every written account is an
adaptation or re-creation. There is no such thing as the original version, although some
scholars argue that the mythic Orpheus could have in fact been based upon a real person
(See for example, W.K.C. Guthries Orpheus and Greek Religion). As John Warden
says in his book, Orpheus: The Metamorphoses of a Myth, myth is the raw material of
artists: the straight narration of given myth is obsolete by time of literacy (viii). For this
reason, Ruhls adaptation is nothing new in the long line of Orpheus tales. Every writer
that tackled the myth before Ruhl also adapted it in some way, with some taking more or
less liberties with the more recognized versions of the myth. For review, a summary of
the most basic, widely accepted points of the myth is helpful, and is here stated concisely,
yet thoroughly by Warden:
Orpheus was born in the generation before the Trojan War, the coeval of
Heracles and Peleus. His father was the god Apollo, or, more commonly,
a Thracian river-god, Oeagros. His mother was a Muse, originally
Calliope. He traveled with Jason and the Argonauts to recover the Golden
Fleece from Colchis. He was a singer and player of the lyre who could
charm and soften the violence of nature. Trees and animals came to his
song. Birds flew above his head and fishes swam behind his boat. He was
a prophet and religious teacher who knew the secrets of the world of the
dead; a shaman and magician who had crossed over into that world and
used his spells to bring the dead back to the world of the living. In
particular the story tells how he descended to the underworld in quest of
his wife, Eurydice, who had died of a snakebite, how the beauty of his
music persuaded the king and queen of the dead to release his beloved. In
the best-known version of this story he has a solemn injunction laid on
him that he must not look back at his beloved until he has reached the
world of the living; but the power of love is too strong for him, he turns,
and Eurydice is lost. Following this second loss of his wife he retreats
into the wilds of Thrace, abjures womankind and laments. Eventually he
meets his death at the hands of the Bacchants, who scorn him for his
neglect of Dionysus or hate him for his neglect of women. His head and
lyre, still playing and singing, float down the river Hebrus. They are
carried across the Aegean to the island of Lesbos. There the lyre is
dedicated to Apollo; the head is buried, but continues to prophesy until
forbidden to do so by Apollo. (viii-ix)
Throughout history, varying facets of the story have become more prevalent and
popularized. For this reason, scholars have noted three outstanding readings and views of
Orpheus and the surrounding myth. First, Orpheus is most widely known as a musician
and poet. The earliest representations of Orpheus show him playing his lyre and
charming wild beasts. The power that Orpheus displays in his ability to tame beasts and
transcend the underworld through his music leads to the second way that he has been
recognized, as a religious figure. Here, Orpheus is seen as a shaman-like character who
can raise the dead, and also as the founder of the cult of Orphism. These two facets of
the Orpheus story were most important to the Greeks. As the myth continued to evolve
into the hands of the Romans, Orpheus took on his third identity as the great lover and
mourner of his beloved Eurydice. Thus, as Robbins notes in Warden, the centuries that
followed the end of classical civilization were left in possession of a composite [Orphic]
personality they could in turn dismember, . . . selecting whatever aspect best suited the
purposes of different ages and different artists (4).
Once the Roman Virgil, who was followed some thirty years later by his
contemporary Ovid, was writing, it is believed that most people would have been familiar
with the myth in some way. By the time Virgil wrote the story of Orpheus and Eurydice
in the fourth book of his Georgics in roughly 30 B.C.E., the myth had found its way into
various forms of art, poetry, and even plays, including Euripides Alcestis (438 B.C.E.)
and Aeschylus lost work, the Bassarids. Yet in these earlier versions, Orpheus was a
musician and religious figure, and in the few early renditions that actually mentioned his
venture to Hades to rescue his lost love, Orpheus had been successful in his quest.
Virgils Georgics dates as the oldest extant version of the myth that turns the story into a
tragedy. For this reason it is often believed that it was indeed Virgil who added the
conditions of the look back to the story. Virgil is also one of the first known writers to
give Eurydice a voice:
Who, she cried, has doomed me to misery, who has doomed us?
What madness beyond measure? Once more a cruel fate
Drags me away, and my swimming eyes are drowned in darkness.
Good-bye. I am borne away. A limitless night is about me
And over the strengthless hands I stretch to you, yours no longer.
Thus she spoke: and at once from his sight, like a wisp of smoke,
Thinned into air, was gone. (81)
When Ovid wrote his account of the myth some thirty-five years later in Book X of
Metamorphosis, he also perpetuated the more tragic take on the story. While Ovid gives
less attention to Eurydices side of the story, he does add in Book XI, an account of
Orpheus own death, which would come after years of mourning the loss of Eurydice:
The ghost of Orpheus passed to the Underworld,
And all the places that hed seen before
He recognized again and, searching through
The Elysian fields, he found Eurydice
And took her in his arms with leaping heart.
There hand in hand they stroll, the two together;
Sometimes he follows as she walks in front,
Sometimes he goes ahead and gazes back
No danger nowat his Eurydice. (250-251)
As time passed, artists continued to change the focus of the story, depending upon
the concerns of their era. By the Middle Ages, Orpheus was viewed as a Christ-like
figure. In Spains Golden Age this aspect of the character became the subject of an auto
sacramental by Calderon de la Barca called El Divino Orfeo (Divine Orpheus), whose
Orpheus carries a lyre in the shape of a cross and battles against the Prince of Darkness to
save the soul of the Eurydice character, here named Human Nature. The auto
sacramental is a self-conscious allegory of Christs battle with death, and draws parallels
between the Orpheus and Eurydice story with the fall of mankind, set at the time of
creation.
In other parts of Europe during the Renaissance, the Orpheus myth appealed to
the humanists in its ability to bring art and nature together. In Segals words, the
Renaissance Orpheus, then, draws from the classical tradition the view of Orpheus as a
symbol of the cooperation of the arts, sciences, and religion in a still unitary conception
of learning (169). It was during this time that opera as an art form was created in Italy.
Since Orpheus himself was seen as the very embodiment of music, it is appropriate that
not only the first opera, but also the next two that would follow, would find inspiration in
his story. The first was Euridice in 1600 by Jacopo Peri on a libretto by Ottavio
Rinuccini, followed later that same year, by Giulio Caccinis Euridice on the same
libretto. The third, and likely best known, was Claudio Monteverdis Orfeo in 1607 on a
libretto by Alessandro Striggio (Warden 163). Monteverdi wrote his opera for the
wedding of Maria de Medici to Henry IV of France, and opted for a happier ending, with
Orpheus successfully rescuing Eurydice from Hades. Christoph Willibald Glucks 1762
operatic version of the myth, Orphe et Euridyce, returns the plot to one of tragedy, as
does Franz Joseph Haydns Orfeo ed Euridice (1791), and Igor Stravinskys ballet,
Orpheus (1947). In all of these works, the love story between Orpheus and Eurydice
continued to take precedence as the central focus of the plot. Other artists and writers,
like the seventeen-century poet John Milton, have found a kindred spirit in Orpheus as an
artist who finds solace in his work. Still other writers have worked specifically to give
the often-silenced Eurydice a voice, including Rainer Maria Rilke, Robert Browning, and
Modern writers H.D., Edith Sitwell, and Muriel Rukeyser. Many playwrights in the
twentieth century have also been inspired by the myth.
Jean Cocteaus Orphee (1926) captures the young lovers in a light-hearted way.
The couple bickers as Orpheus attempts to write poems and messages tapped out by the
hoof of a horse that lives inside their house. While Orpheus is out entering a poetry
contest, Eurydice is poisoned by jealous Bacchantes and carried away by Death, who is
played by a beautiful woman. Through the persuasion of their friend Heurtebise, whom
Orpheus had at one time accused Eurydice of having an affair with, Orpheus follows his
wife to death through a mirror in their house. He is successful in retrieving Eurydice, but
in his bargaining with Death, foolishly agrees to never look at her again. As expected,
when Orpheus fails and looks back during an argument, Eurydice dies once again, and
Orpheus is decapitated by the angry Bacchantes. He is then reunited with Eurydice in
death, along with their friend Heurtebise, who joins them by stepping through the mirror.
In the closing moments of the play, the bickering couple finally reaches a mutual
understanding and sits to enjoy dinner together in a Hades that looks much like their old
home. In Cocteaus dream-like play the myth acts as a platform for a surrealist adventure
that explores themes of art, love, sacrifice, trust, and distraction.
Jean Anouilhs Eurydice (1941) places the young couple in a train station where
they meet and fall in love at first sight. Orpheus is a street singer who travels with his
father, and while they wait at the station he meets Eurydice, an actress traveling with a
theatre troupe. After marrying and running away together, Orpheus discovers Eurydices
promiscuous past. Fleeing this fear and shame, Eurydice is killed in a bus accident and
Orpheus is given the opportunity to bring her back to life by a second meeting at the
same train station. Plagued with doubt about the sincerity of Eurydices love, Orpheus is
unable to keep his head turned away from her until sunrise and thus, in his distrust, sends
her back to the grave. After his fatal look back, Orpheus gives up and follows Eurydice
into death. In his version, Anouilh chooses to focus the thematic content of the play on
issues of trust.
Tennessee Williamss Orpheus Descending (1955) is less directly influenced by
the myth. Unlike Cocteau and Anouilh, Williams does not directly reference any names
tied to the myth except within the plays title. One influence he does follow, however, is
Orpheus love of music. Williams gives his Orpheus, called Valentine, or Val, the
power to charm people, especially women, with the music from his sacred guitar. Rather
than following a lover to hell, Val rescues the Eurydice character, called Lady, from a
living hell: a marriage to a dying man who is discovered to have been the cause of her
fathers death. The play is set in Ladys shop where Val, a wondering free spirit, takes a
job. Yet when Vals power to charm women is discovered by the other men in town, he
is ordered to leave. In a climactic final scene, Lady is shot and killed by her jealous
husband, and Val, who tries to escape, is attacked and ripped to shreds by a pack of dogs.
While Williams does draw some inspiration from the myth, many of his references in the
play seem forced. Some believe that the story is a rewrite of an earlier, less successful
work by Williams called Battle of Angels. Nevertheless, in Williamss adaptation of the
myth we see the Eurydice figure as the protagonist of the story for the first time. In 1959
Orpheus Descending was adapted into a film retitled, The Fugitive Kind, which closely
follows the plot of the play.
Several other movies have also been inspired by the myth including Cocteaus
three films that make up the Orphic Trilogy: The Blood of the Poet (1930), Orpheus
(1950), and The Testament of Orpheus (1960). The Orphic Trilogy is less concerned with
adapting the myth and focuses more on the journey of an Orphic-like poet. The film does
not closely follow the outline of the 1926 play, but instead more closely demonstrates
Cocteaus fascination with an artist who has power over life and death. Rather than
making the love story between Orpheus and Eurydice the central focus of the plot,
Cocteau instead highlights Orpheuss fascination with the character of Death, who
inspires his poetry much like the subconscious inspires the art of the surrealist.
Marcel Camuss 1959 Academy Award-winning film, Black Orpheus, attempts to
parallel the myth more closely. Camus, a Brazilian filmmaker, sets the story in Rio de
Janeiro during Carnival. The setting lends itself to a passionate, magical dimension filled
with sensual dancing, music, and the mythic undertones associated with the festival. The
Orpheus and Eurydice of this story are doomed by their names. Fate brings them
together, separates them, and in the end continues the story as a young boy begins to play
Orpheus guitar, and thus perpetuates the myth. While it adopts its own cultural identity,
the plot of Black Orpheus still draws numerous parallels to varying facets of the ancient
story. But like many of the myths adaptations, the writer takes full privileges in altering
the thematic content of the work to address issues of class and culture.
These plays and films demonstrate the popularity of the Orpheus myth in the mid-
twentieth century. In the years following the World Wars, artists of all types took a
special interest in ancient mythology as they sought direction in the midst of madness.
As Ruhl discusses in her article, Re-runs and Repetitions, discussed more fully below,
people seek the familiar, and for artists during a time of chaos, classical mythology can
offer a common ground to bring a broken world back together. In Judith E. Bernstocks
article, Classical Mythology in Twentieth-Century Art, she concludes, For the modern
artist, then, classical mythology serves a purpose similar to that which is served for
ancient manTwentieth-century works of art based on classical mythology often reveal
responses to societal stresses; a few themes in particular have tended to appeal to artists
in times of social and political disorder (153). It does indeed make sense that this
particular myth, which questions the finality of death, would hold attention in times of
crisis. Similar conclusions could also be drawn about the post-September 11, 2001
interest in mythology for the stage. In addition to Ruhls own classically-inspired plays,
Eurydice and Demeter in the City, many of her contemporaries such as Mac Wellman,
Charles L. Mee, and Mary Zimmerman have shown an even greater interest in mythical
adaptations. Throughout the Western tradition, ancient myth has the ability to provide a
framework for artists to consider their own particular concerns.
Yet there is another reason writers may turn to the Orpheus myth. Some, such as
Jean Cocteau, believe that Orpheus symbolically represents their own association with
art. Charles Segal, in the conclusion to his Orpheus: The Myth of the Poet, poignantly
captures the appeal of the Orpheus story among artists of all generations:
It offers the creative artist the power to feel his art as a magic that touches
sympathetic chords in all of nature and puts him in touch with the thrill of
pure life, pure Being. The myth of Orpheus is the myth of the ultimate
seriousness of art. It is the myth of arts total engagement with love,
beauty, and the order and harmony of natureall under the sign of death.
It is the myth of the artists magic, of his courage for the dark, desperate
plunge into the depths of the heart and of the world, and of the hope and
need to return to tell the rest of us of his journey. (198)
It is this appeal that drew Milton and Cocteau to the Orpheus myth, and in many ways, I
believe, also fascinates Ruhl. The key to Ruhls place within this description is Segals
idea that artistic exploration falls under the sign of death. The death of her father was
the catalyst that led Ruhl to write Eurydice. It was under this sign that she did plunge
into the world of the myth, exploring the love between the young couple and between
Eurydice and her father. Segal goes on to quote Patricia Vicari, who said, The unique
feature of the Orpheus myth is that in it art enters life as a means of dealing with death
(162). Although Ruhls Eurydice character holds numerous parallels to her own life,
Ruhl is first and foremost an artist and Orpheus figure, seeking to ease the pain of death
through her art.
Ruhls Inspiration
Im interested in anyone who dies twice.
Sarah Ruhl (qtd. in Svich 279)
Ruhl did not approach the writing of Eurydice for one specific reason. Instead the
ideas that would eventually create the foundation of the play accumulated over time, and
came from both cultural and personal sources of inspiration. It is indeed this combination
of sources that has helped give the play its rich thematic texture. Ruhl confesses that she
essentially wrote the play to have more conversations with her father. After his death,
Ruhl was plagued with dreams about him, in which he would often speak to her (Klein).
In one dream, Ruhl vividly remembers having a conversation in the entrance hall of their
old house, a place where she had in fact shared a conversation with him about his death
before he had passed. In the dream, her father told her, we have to go our separate
ways (Klein). What if, she wondered, death did not have to separate loved ones? What
if love could transcend death? These questions brought her to the tale of Orpheus and
Eurydice. The myth offered a framework for exploration.
To Ruhl, it made sense that once Eurydice died, she would meet members from
her family who had gone on before her. In this way Ruhl created an opportunity to
explore conversations that she might have with her own father if she were to meet him in
the underworld. As Eurydice does in the play, Ruhl would have her father teach her new
vocabulary words like he did at their pancake breakfasts when she was a child. By
adding the father character, Ruhl could explore new themes and ideas beyond those that
come culturally packaged with the myth. She could ask questions about growing up and
moving on, and address the unique struggle that women experience when their fathers
lead them down the aisle and into the arms of their betrothed. The addition of a father
character to the story also led to important thematic questions about the mourning
process, about letting go, and, as Ruhls father told her in a dream, going our separate
ways.
Ruhl was further inspired to explore the myth from the eyes of Eurydice when she
encountered the 1904 Rainier Maria Rilke poem, Orpheus. Eurydice. Hermes. In this
poem, Rilke vividly imagines Eurydices journey out of the depths of Hades and the
conflicting emotions that arise in the young bride, who confusedly follows her love away
from the serenity of death:
She was in herself, like a woman near term,
and did not think of the man, going on ahead,
or the path, climbing upwards towards life.
She was in herself. And her being-dead
filled her with abundance.
As a fruit with sweetness and darkness,
so she was full with her vast death,
that was so new, she comprehended nothing. (8-15)
Ruhl took these inspirations with her as she began to write the play. She did not research
the myth, but used what she remembered of the story (Program Notes). It was not until
the first draft was completed that she began to further investigate the myth and some of
its adaptations. She waited until she had first established what she wanted to say about
the story before she revisited what others had said. She re-read Ovids account of the
myth in Metamorphoses, and Anouilhs Eurydice. She also watched Cocteaus Orphee
and Camuss Black Orpheus. As she continued to refine the play during her years at
Brown, she was drawn to anything that pertained to the myth, turning to other writers for
inspiration on tone and style. As she worked to construct the aesthetics for the setting of
the play, she turned to Lewis Carrolls Alice in Wonderland because, as she later
commented, its the world we live in turned upside down (qtd. in Program Notes).
She knew that she did not want Hades to feel like the Judeo-Christian conception of hell,
and the dream-like, disoriented world of Lewis Carroll provided another model for this
world. Ruhl also turned to the work of Beckett as she developed a chorus of stones to
inhabit the world of her play: how could one consider using a chorus of stones without
thinking a little about Beckett (qtd. in Program Notes). Ruhl drew on Becketts use of
silence mixed with vaudeville to create characters that complimented with the absurd
setting.
Another key inspiration for the play came from the recurring image of Orpheus
looking back at Eurydice. While most classic versions have placed the blame on
Orpheus, And, fearing lest she faint, longing to look,/ He turned his eyesand straight
she slipped away (Ovid 226), Ruhl imagined another reason for this urge: I kept
thinking, what if she speaks his name, what if she startles him? . . . What if Eurydice is
accountable in some way for the loss of faith when Orpheus turns around? I began with
that moment and then wrote backwards (Svich 279). Ruhl was also interested in the
simplicity of this moment, and how the small act of looking back could forever separate
the young lovers. As she describes in the introduction to Eurydice in Divine Fire, Ruhl
was interested in the contrast of simple moments within a mythological framework: The
architecture of mythits structure, its bigness, its formal elegancecan frame stories
that are smaller and more personalI think that theatre can connect our personal
mythologies to stories that are bigger than usthat connection between bigness and
smallness brings me back to theatre again and again (279).
Ruhl further elaborates upon the usefulness of borrowing from classic stories in
her article, Re-runs and Repetition in which she articulates a clear distinction between a
re-run and a repetition. Here Ruhl observes how audiences seek comfort in the familiar
through plots, songs, church services, movies, or television shows. She attributes this
comfort to the predictability it offers us as human participants in a largely unpredictable
world. She asks: what do we lose in re-runs and reproduction that we keep in repetition?
To Ruhl, the difference between these similar forms is that theatre, unlike digital re-runs,
can be repeated, but never perfectly reproduced. Reproduction, she fears, allows
audiences to be comforted to a level of numbness. Repetition offers the comfort of a
familiar framework, like the stories handed down from the Greeks, but leaves room for
engagement and a level of unpredictability that can be much more exciting.
Some people consume imagination, and some people do the imagining.
Sarah Ruhl (Lahr Surreal Life)
Sarah Ruhl works to protect the strangeness of her work (Sanford). Her
philosophies about life and playwriting stand firmly when confronted with critiques and
criticism. Although she has proudly embraced this strange mixture of the mythic and
mundane as a style, it can be challenging to decipher when one tackles her work. In
Chapter Two, I will address these challenges in my directors analysis of Eurydice, which
followed as the next step in my approach to the play.
An Analysis of Eurydice
The information gleaned from Chapter One serves as a valuable foundation for
the directors analysis. An analysis critically examines key thematic and structural
components of the play, including ideas about the plays organization, characters, tone,
and language. A fully informed analysis will also be strengthened by the directors
perception of the play as it relates to the playwrights body of work and stylistic
philosophies. As observed in Chapter One, a stylistic approach that Ruhl consistently
explores in her work is the contrast between the mythic and mundane. Eurydice frames
this idea within the architecture of myth and displays Ruhls keen ability to marry these
elements within the structure and thematic content of the play. The following discussion
will explore the scope of this observation throughout the play by way of the directors
analysis. A complete synopsis of the plays plot is given next to serve as the foundation
for this analysis.
The plot of Eurydice is divided into three acts or Movements, and according to
Ruhls specifications should be performed without an intermission. Ruhl does not
describe the setting of the play in great detail, but requests that the set contain a raining
elevator, a water-pump, some rusty exposed pipes, an abstracted River of Forgetfulness,
an old-fashioned glow-in-the-dark globe (5). Her only other requirements for the set are
that the underworld should resemble the world of Alice in Wonderland more than it
resembles Hades.
The plays opening scene in Movement One begins with Eurydice and Orpheus
sitting on an imagined shoreline at a beach. Orpheus proclaims the scope of his love for
Eurydice by silently offering her the sea and the sky through gestures. As the young
couple walks along the shoreline on unseen boardwalks, they playfully discuss their
passions in life: Eurydices love for books and words, and Orpheuss love for music (11).
While they do seem deeply in love (Ruhl says they should be played as though they are
a little too young and a little too in love [5]), their differences are fully exposed in
Orpheus inability to fully appreciate Eurydices love for books, and with Eurydices
struggle to find rhythm and remember the melodies Orpheus sings to her. As the
different personalities of the characters are revealed, Ruhl teasingly alludes to the ancient
myth. Eurydice describes the book she is reading to Orpheus by saying, There were
storiesabout peoples liveshow some come out welland others come out badly
(10). In the 2006 publication of the play by Theatre Communications Group, Ruhl also
plays with the notion of looking back:
EURYDICE: Nowwalk over there.
Orpheus walks in a straight line on an unseen boardwalk.
Dont look at me.
He turns his face away from hers and walks.
Nowstop.
He stops.
She runs and jumps into his arms. (334)
This first scene culminates as Orpheus proposes to Eurydice by tying a string around her
finger. After more playful teasing, the scene ends with the lovers racing towards the
Immediately following this scene comes the first surprising glimpse at the
underworld, where Eurydices dead father writes her a letter of advice for her wedding
day. In this letter he offers wisdom in both mundane and complex aspects of life: Court
the companionship and respect of dogs./ . . . Take care to change the light bulbs./
Continue to give yourself to others because thats the ultimate satisfaction in lifeto
love, accept, honor, and help others (15). After placing his letter into an imaginary mail
slot, he tenderly simulates walking his daughter down the aisle and giving her away.
This scene transitions back to world of the living, where Eurydice, who is taking a
break from her wedding party to get some water at the water pump, addresses the
audience. She complains about the uninteresting people at her wedding and longs for the
company of her father. She then meets the nasty interesting man for the first time and
after a brief, unnerving conversation, returns to her party. The nasty interesting man then
discovers the fathers letter on the ground and takes it. Back at her wedding party,
Eurydice and Orpheus sing and dance to Dont Sit Under the Apple Tree while her
father, still in the underworld, moves alone in an imagined dance with his daughter.
After another foreshadowing reference (ORPHEUS: I cant stand to let you out of my
sight tonight. [19]), Eurydice escapes the party once again, and finds the nasty
interesting man at the water pump. This time, he entices the gullible Eurydice to his
elegant high-rise apartment with the promise of a letter from her father (20). Once at
his apartment, the man attempts to seduce Eurydice. Resisting him, she quickly snatches
her fathers letter and moves to escape, but trips and falls down the steps to her death. As
she falls, she screams for Orpheus, who calls to her in response from the water pump.
After an insinuated blackout, her noisy fall is accented by sounds of xylophones, brass
bands, sounds of falling, sounds of vertigo, bringing Movement One to a jarring close
(25).
Movement Two begins with another transition to the underworld. Ruhl
specifically notes here that there should be no change in the set with this transition. The
first scene of the movement begins when a self-named chorus of three stones, whom Ruhl
says should be played as though they are nasty children at a birthday party, greets the
audience and introduces themselves (5). Eurydice then joins the stones in the underworld
by way of an elevator in which it is raining. In a compelling monologue, Eurydice
describes her death, and remarks that after being dipped in a river she forgot all the
names, including her husbands (28). When her father enters and tries to greet her,
Eurydice blankly mistakes him for a porter, revealing that he too has been forgotten. In
an effort to comfort his confused daughter and give her a sense of security, the father
builds Eurydice a room out of string. As he does so, Orpheus, who is restricted to the
world of the living, recites a letter for Eurydice.
Orpheus lonely presence is frequently revisited in short, intermittent scenes
throughout the second movement as he speaks to Eurydice by sending her letters through
an imaginary mail slot. In the episodic progression of scenes that follows throughout the
movement, Ruhl switches between these short scenes with Orpheus in the world of the
living and touching vignettes between Eurydice and her father in the underworld. These
scenes are interrupted by frequent, often comedic interactions with the stones, who coldly
encourage Eurydice to remain ignorant and secure in the blissfulness of her forgotten
past. Through the presence of her father, and with the help of Orpheus letters, Eurydice
gradually begins to remember her old life. Her first memory comes when the father finds
one of the letters Orpheus sent her through a worm. After a frustrating attempt to read
the letter with her feet by standing on it, the father patiently tells her what the letter says,
and upon hearing Orpheus name read aloud, Eurydice is flooded with his memory.
Immediately after, she comes to recognize her father as well.
In each scene that follows, Eurydices father gradually teaches her to remember
various aspects of life and their past. He reminds her of what music is by whistling, what
love is, its like sitting in the shade with no clothes on, and tells her stories about their
family and his childhood (38). He also teaches her new vocabulary words and even
teaches her how to read when Orpheus sends her the Collected Works of Shakespeare. At
first the father is cautious about helping her remember, because he knows all too well that
remembering good aspects of the past also means remembering pain and loss.
EURYDICE: Tell me the names of my mother and brothers and sisters.
FATHER: I dont think thats a good idea. It will make you sad.
EURYDICE: I want to know.
FATHER: Its a long time to be sad.
EURYDICE: Id rather be sad.
STONES: Being sad is not allowed! Act like a stone! (40)
Eurydice and her father continue to dwell in fond memories of their past, while Orpheus
grows more desperate in his sadness. As time passes, Eurydice mirrors the growth of a
child and gradually begins to grow less satisfied with the security of her fathers
presence, and once again longs for her husband.
This sequence of scenes is disrupted by the arrival of the lord of the underworld,
who Ruhl suggests should be played by the same actor who played the nasty interesting
man. The heavy metal music that accompanies his arrival on a tricycle is jarring and
interrupts the fluidity created in the previous scenes. When he discovers the room that
her father has built, he threatens to dip Eurydice in the river once again. After being
ridiculed for being little, he exits, warning, Ill be back (49).
Meanwhile, Orpheus desperation grows as he urgently seeks a way to find his
wife. First he devises a plan to find a musical note, whose corresponding pitch will
match that of a rain droplet he can ride into the earth. He then concocts an idea to place a
straw in his mouth when he sleeps and allow his breath to push him through the straw and
arrive in the underworld where he will then be able to sing Eurydices name and find her.
Orpheus sends these plans to Eurydice in a letter, which she is now able to read on her
own. As Eurydice and her father await his arrival, an unearthly light surrounds
Orpheus as he places a straw to his mouth and disappears (54). The sound of knocking
concludes the end of Movement Two as the Stones rebuke, NO ONE KNOCKS AT
THE DOOR OF THE DEAD! (55).
The third and final movement opens with Orpheus arrival into the underworld,
where he sings the melody of the song he hummed for Eurydice in Movement One. He is
greeted at the gates of hell by the stones, who despite their hardened nature, cry when
they hear his beautiful music. Orpheus is also greeted by the lord of the underworld who
gives him the well-known warning: Start walking home. Your wife just might be on the
road behind you. We make it real nice here. So people wanna stick around. As you
walk, keep your eyes facing front. If you look back at herpoof! Shes gone (57).
After hearing Orpheus music, Eurydice is excited, but also torn that she must leave her
father once again. The father sacrificially convinces her to go and takes her to Orpheus
by walking her down the aisle once again. Even after the father has left, Eurydice is
scared and reluctant to go. Ironically, it is the stones who finally convince her to go:
TURN AROUND! (60). After slowly following Orpheus and gaining more confidence
with each step, she says his name without thinking. Orpheus, startled, turns and looks
back at her, and according to the stage directions, THE WORLD FALLS AWAY (60).
The couple is slowly torn away from each other as they share frustratingly passionate,
syncopated lines about Eurydices lack of rhythm.
The stage is left empty as the lovers are separated, and the father re-enters with
the stones. Believing that he has been separated from his daughter once again, he
tenderly dismantles the room of string. Unable to bear the pain of remembering his
daughter and being alone, he gives a passionate burst of memory in a monologue and
then dips himself into the river of forgetfulness and goes to sleep. Eurydice then returns
defeated and discovers her father asleep on the ground. In her desperation and sadness
she lashes out against the stones, who taunt her to dip herself in the river. The lord of the
underworld then returns as promised, this time resembling the nasty interesting man from
Movement One. He has also grown to at least ten feet tall (68). After proposing
marriage to Eurydice, he exits under the condition that she will begin to prepare herself
for him. Tormented by this thought and with the loss of both her husband and father,
Eurydice makes a decision and asks for a pen to write Orpheus a letter. In the letter she
apologizes for her mistake and tells Orpheus to marry again, even giving instructions to
his future wife. After dropping the letter into an imaginary mail slot, she dips herself in
the river of forgetfulness and lies down next to her father. As she does so, the elevator
dings and Orpheus appears. At first he recognizes Eurydice, but when the elevator begins
to rain, forgetfulness descends upon him. Stepping out of the elevator, he picks up
Eurydices letter, scrutinizes it, then tries to read it by standing on it (71). As Orpheus
stands on the letter with his eyes closed, Eurydice lies on the ground beside him asleep.
The sound of water and then silence accompany the tableau as the lights fade to black.
The Postmodern Tragedy
With such an innovative writing style, Ruhls work can be difficult to categorize.
In considering the balance of simple and metaphysical subjects, Eurydice can be
described in many contrasting ways: it is both Greek and contemporary; tragic and
comedic; poetic and sparse; demanding and poignant. To narrow the perspective of the
plays style, however, I believe that it can be categorized as a postmodern tragedy; its
content is tragic, while its form is postmodern.
A review of Aristotles description of tragedy in his Poetics reveals that Ruhl
creates her own sense of tragedy through form and content that breaks more rules of
classical tragedy than they follow. The play does not follow a unified action, and in
Aristotles words does not conclude with a satisfying sense of a complete action
(Aristotle 51). It also does not follow any neoclassical ideas about the unities of time and
place. Further, Ruhls tragedy does not have characters that are an imitation of
personages better than the ordinary man, and she does not reproduce the distinctive
features of a man, and at the same time, without losing the likeness, make him handsomer
than he is (58). In Aristotles examples of what he considers to be good tragedy, the
hamartia or error of characters that sets the plot in motion must be addressed in order
to bring the play to a fulfilling completion and stasis at the end. In Eurydice, however,
characters are not able to bring the world back to order through the realization of their
hamartia. At the end of the play as each of the leading characters willingly submit
themselves to the waters of forgetfulness, the audience is left with a feeling of chaos
rather than stasis, knowing that the characters will be forced to live eternally with the
consequences of their errors. While the title characters in the classic tragedies Oedipus
and Hamlet must also face the consequences of their hamartia, their pain brings order
back to the universe. In Oedipus the plague will end, and in Hamlet, the kings death has
been revenged. Yet in Ruhls contemporary tragedy, or in others such as Charles L.
Mees Iphigenia 2.0, the leading characters actions do not reinstate order or peace.
Ruhls approach to tragedy does interesting things to Aristotles concept of
catharsis, or purgation, and the pity and fear that should be evoked in the audience
through tragic works. Aristotle says that through a characters error of judgment
(hamartia), the audience will be moved to pity, which is occasioned by [the]
undeserved misfortune that arises from the error, and fear by that of one like ourselves
(55). Ruhls sympathetic characters do spawn pity from the audience: Eurydices
hamartia is sympathetic because it is essentially founded in the human conundrum of
maintaining a proper beat and rhythm as she struggles to hold onto the past while
simultaneously moving forward. The characters also evoke fear in the audience
because they are recognizably like ourselves. Yet Ruhls tragedy occurs in the
audiences inability to reach a satisfying catharsis through this pity and fear. The
audience cannot fully purge the emotions of pity and fear because the lead characters in
Eurydice are so utterly human that they do not follow Aristotles call to imitate
personages better than the ordinary man. In the world of Eurydice, errors cannot
always be corrected, resulting in an experience that can be emotionally less satisfying,
but abundantly more tragic in the way it resonates for the audience.
Ruhls mixture of mythic and mundane elements in Eurydice is also postmodern
in perspective and style. If we work under a loose definition of postmodernism as work
that comes after or post modern era, these elements can be easily identified. As a
reminder, modernism in theatre has often represented an interest in modern ideas related,
but not limited to psychology, science, individualism, and politics (Fortier 174). These
ideas are often made manifest in plays by giving greater attention to the psychological
journeys of characters and analyzing their physical and social circumstances under a
linear plot or focused theme. Postmodern plays then, according critic Jon Whitmore,
carry modernist principles beyond anticipated boundaries or . . . rejects modernist
principles altogether (qtd. in Fortier 174). Postmodern plays then work beyond the
confines of these ideas and structures and sometimes rebel against them. Ruhls
characters, for example, are not bound to the psychological confinements of realism, but
are purposefully constructed in a disjointed and irrational way. Further, the play does
not hold itself to the logical confinements of a particular time, place, or culture; it is a
pastiche of various sources that includes bathing suites from the fifties, Shakespeare, and
heavy metal music (see given circumstances below).
Most important to the plays postmodern classification is that the story does not
point toward a diluted, simple thematic conclusion. Postmodern plays do not resolve
themselves to a clear position, and as Mark Fortier says, exist without a grand and deep
sense of abiding truth (176). This absence of abiding truth is tied directly to the
audiences inability to achieve catharsis when watching the play. To draw characters that
are better than the ordinary man is to believe that man is capable of in fact achieving
something better than the ordinary. As a postmodern writer, Ruhl embraces the ordinary,
and audience members must resolve themselves to this conclusion.
Structure and Thematic Content
As noted in Chapter One, Ruhl marches to Ovids drum rather than Aristotles
and allows her stories to unfold moment-to-moment (Lahr Surreal Life). Eurydice
does not follow an arc of rising action with a clear beginning, middle and end, but
unfolds episodically in a series of rises and falls that display both mythic and mundane
elements. Significant moments such as Orpheuss proposal, Eurydices death, her
reunion with her father, and her attempt to follow Orpheus out of the underworld, are
contrasted with petty arguments and trivial conversations. In one of the most climactic
moments in the play, when Orpheus looks back at Eurydice and they are about to be
separated once again, the couple argues about seemingly small things such as Eurydices
struggle to spell the word rhythm, and Orpheuss frustration with her inability to keep a
simple beat. Ruhl dilutes these climactic moments by clashing them with lightness and
avoids moving in an arc towards a single climax.
This tactic is intentional on Ruhls part, and further enhances the contrast of
mythic and mundane while contributing to the plays tragic resonance. Ruhl believes that
Lightness isnt stupidity . . . Its actually a philosophical and aesthetic viewpoint, deeply
serious, and has a kind of wisdom (Lahr Surreal Life). John Lahr summarizes Ruhls
thoughts on this concept in Surreal Life:
Lightnessthe distillation of things into a quick, terse, almost innocent
directnessis a value on which Ruhl puts much weight. Italo Calvino
has an essay that I think is profound, she told me, scouting a floor-length
living-room bookshelf until she found Calvinos Six Memos for the Next
Millennium, a series of posthumously published lectures on the
imaginative qualities that the new millennium should call into play. Of his
defining categoriesamong them quickness, exactitude, visibility, and
multiplicitylightness is foremost. In the even more congested times
that await us, literature must aim at the maximum concentration of poetry
and of thought, he writes. Ruhl, in her plays, contends with the pressing
existential issues; her stoical comic posture is a means of killing gravity,
of taking the heaviness out of her words in order to better contend with
By killing gravity with lightness, Ruhl is able to address issues that might otherwise
seem heavy or pretentious. Ruhl has taken this cue from examples in her own life,
including the death of her father to cancer. When Patrick Ruhl was on his deathbed, Ruhl
recalls, hed be making jokes about having radioactive urine. Wed all be laughing. It
was so gracious (Lahr Surreal Life). In a similar way, Ruhls characters also manage
moments of grief and pain by focusing on the ordinary. When the father reads his letter
to Eurydice on her wedding day he does not wallow in the emotional depth of the
moment, but gives instructions about cooking, politics, and changing light bulbs. In
Ruhls work, lightness brings with it a resonating wisdom and poignancy.
Because Ruhl chooses to dilute climactic moments with lightness, finding a single
climax within the plot is difficult, and is relevant only in as much as the director must
know the driving question that the audience will actively seek to answer throughout the
play. In Eurydice, the audience will question whether Eurydice and Orpheus love will
last through their differences and despite Eurydices inability to let go of her father. This
question is spawned early in the play when the young, seemingly nave couples
differences are first revealed, and when Eurydice seems discontent on her wedding day.
The answer to this main dramatic question seemingly comes in the moment when
Orpheus looks back at Eurydice. It is, after all, the part of the myth that most audience
members are familiar with and the point that Ruhl alludes to through foreshadowing. As
the plot continues to unfold, however, new questions arise, and it slowly becomes evident
that the image of looking back is more than a device within the plot: it is a repeated
image that thematically demonstrates that it is not a single look back that brings Eurydice
to her sad fate, but numerous temptations to look back in life instead of moving forward.
Because new questions arise as the story unfolds after this climax, the play does
not conclude with a typical denouement. Life-changing moments continue to occur: the
father dismantles the string room and dips himself in the river; Eurydice confronts the
stones and the lord of the underworld and also chooses to dip herself in the river; Orpheus
arrives in the underworld as a resident rather than a guest and is also drenched by the
waters of forgetfulness. While the moment when Orpheus looks back does partly bring
the play to a structural climax, the events that follow fulfill a thematic climax which
concludes that life goes on, even when we do look back; humankind is left to decide if we
will experience the complete fullness of life, with all of its accompanying sorrow, or
choose to forget. This idea is structurally enhanced by the plays resistance to return to
stasis.
Memory then, becomes one of the most central thematic concerns within the play.
In Eurydice, memory is complicated because Ruhl articulates the need to remember and
reminisce in order to avoid becoming stone-like, but also warns that looking back and
holding too tightly to our memories can keep us from moving forward. This conundrum
enhances the tragic nature of the play. In her own life, Ruhl seems to have struggled with
these questions even as she wrote the play. While she confesses that part of her
inspiration for the play came from a dream in which her father told her, we have to go
our separate ways, she also admits that she essentially wrote Eurydice to have more
conversations with her father (Klein). Thus, from the example of Ruhls own life we see
the same thematic concerns realized within the play: part of moving forward in life must
include looking back. Ideas about memory on the stage have been theorized in several
recent studies, including Marvin Carlsons 2001 book, The Haunted Stage: The Theatre
as Memory Machine. David Savran, in his anthology of playwright interviews entitled,
The Playwrights Voice: American Dramatists on Memory, Writing, and the Politics of
Culture, applicably describes the function of memory as it appears in the form of ghosts
on the stage:
The theatrical ghost is a figure uniquely positioned in relation to both
memory and history. As a token of memory, the ghost is intensely
personalized, emanating from and materializing characters fears and
desires (and playing off of our own as well) . . . the ghost returns almost
ritualistically to tell characters (and audiences) what they know but would
rather forget . . . The ghost, in short, is unfulfilled and only appears to
those who are themselves unfulfilled. For the ghost is always the token of
an intensely personal loss, a loss so great or so painful that one is loath to
acknowledge it. And coming to peace with the ghost means coming to
terms with this loss . . . (Savran xviii-xix)
Savran continues his explanation in an example from Vogels How I Learned to Drive:
[the play] is about learning that what has been lost can never be struck from ones
memory . . . It demonstrates that Peck, like all ghosts, is also her own reflection, a figure
who has taken root inside her and yet stands apart, watching her from a distance (xix).
In a similar way, Ruhls ghosts are mirrored in the ghosts of her characters memory in
Eurydice and the same may be true of the audience's ghosts. The art of memory thus
becomes a way of dealing with loss.
As the thematic content of the play is discovered within its structural context, the
director can begin to build ideas about the specific world of the play on this foundation.
Through careful observation of the text, the boundaries of the world of the play must be
investigated through the given circumstances. An understanding of these circumstances
will influence later decisions about the design and ensure that all of the various aspects of
the production cohere in a satisfying way that adequately serves the text.
Given Circumstances
Constantin Stanislavski says that analysis is a method of becoming familiar with
the whole play through a study of its parts (8). He continues, saying, the purpose of
analysis should be to study in detail and prepare given circumstances for a play or part so
that through them, later on in the creative process, the actors emotions will instinctively
be sincere and his feeling true to life (9). While Stanislavski was of course more
concerned with the role of given circumstances for actors, they are also highly valuable to
directors and designers. Given circumstances note the physical and emotional worlds
that characters live in and can change depending on the particular style of the play.
Socio-economic circumstances, for example, can highly influence the analysis of many
realistic plays, but hold little relevance in works less grounded in realism like Eurydice.
Ruhl creates her own world that is beyond circumstances associated with the natural
order and confinements of society. To dissect the given circumstances of Eurydice is to
come to understand an entirely new world with circumstances that work in their own
unique way.
In Eurydice, the space that separates the characters through the geographical
locations is perhaps the most influential circumstance. In life and in death, Eurydice is
separated from someone she loves, and she consistently struggles to hold onto both
worlds. This circumstance greatly influences Eurydices struggles and her hamartia of
keeping a rhythm and beat without looking back. Contact between these two worlds is
only made through letter writing and music; through these elements, love is able to
transcend even the distance between life and death. The physical presence of certain
objects on stage also serves as a link between the two worlds. The raining elevator and
pipes specified within the requirements of the set act as a medium to link the world of the
living and the dead. Ruhls request to create fluid transitions between the two worlds
also helps close the expansive gap that separates the lovers, and compliments Ruhls
moment-to-moment plot structure. The stylized Hades that resembles Alice in
Wonderland also creates a wistful environment that is conducive to these numerous
changes. The surprising nature of Alice in Wonderland supports the drastic shifts found
in Ruhls whimsical writing style and the curious nature of her characters. It also
cleverly avoids attributing a Judeo-Christian concept of Hades to the underworld by
instead creating a space that is more dream-like and filled with contrasting elements that
are both interesting and nightmarish.
Ruhls ideas about the tone and mood of the location contribute to the plays
overarching themes. In his letter to Eurydice in the second scene of Movement One, the
father says,
As for me, this is what its like being dead: the atmosphere smells. And
there are strange high-pitched noiseslike a teakettle always boiling over.
But it doesnt seem to bother anyone. And, for the most part, there is a
pleasant atmosphere and you can work and socialize, much like at home.
Im working in the business world and it seems that, here, you can better
see the far-reaching consequences of your actions (15).
While the smells and sounds of this world are different from the world of the living, life
continues much as it did before. Ruhls underworld is not a place where life has ended,
but rather an environment where life continues, even though it is made numb by
forgetfulness.
Just as the circumstance of place is unique to Ruhls world, so is the circumstance
of time. The setting and characters are not tied to any specific period of time, and in this
vagueness a sense of timelessness is created. When specific notes related to time are
made, they are given to enhance the mood and tone, as in Eurydice and Orpheus 1950s
style bathing suites in the opening scene. This reference is not given to infer that the
characters are from the mid-twentieth century, but rather establishes the mood of a
simpler, more innocent time. If Ruhl was to set the play in a specific time period or give
too many details about the specifics of the economic, political, social, or moral
environments tied to that period, the play would likely lose its sense of timelessness. The
story holds greater relevance for the contemporary audience when it maintains an
expansive circumstance of time.
Ruhl also creates her own political environment in the world of the play. This
environment is not determined by a form of government but by the laws the lord of the
underworld makes. The stones act as enforcers of this law and all members of the
underworld are required to abide by them. Eurydice and her father break the laws of the
underworld by remembering, recognizing family, singing, and constructing a room. The
consequence of breaking the laws of the underworld is the punishment of memory. One
of the most crucial laws made in the underworld is the rule the lord of the underworld
places on Orpheus as he attempts to lead Eurydice back to life. This simple condition of
not looking back is broken, and Eurydice becomes just as much to blame for the
separation that follows as Orpheus. The laws created in the underworld become
impossible to follow because they go against characters need to see and feel love, and
remember it. Tragically, the laws of the underworld do take hold of Eurydice and her
father at the end as they choose to succumb to the appeal of forgetfulness rather than
experience the pain of separation.
The moral environment of the play is also distinctive to Ruhls world. In the
postmodern nature of her work, Ruhl avoids categorizing moral ideas of right and wrong.
There is no sense that the characters actions lead to reward or punishment, but rather
that, as the father notes, in the underworld you can better see the far-reaching
consequences of your actions (15). The outcome of choosing to remember or forget
holds both positive and negative consequences, and whether right or wrong, characters
must live with the consequences of their choices for eternity.
Language, Symbols, and Recurring Images
The sparseness of Sarah Ruhls work lends significance to the few things that are
seen and heard on stage. Because the set of Eurydice does not change and must allow for
fluid transitions between the two worlds, those things that do appear hold great
significance. While the entire theatrical experience, from the costumes the characters
wear to the paint colors used on the set, can be viewed as signifiers of deeper signs, most
of these decisions are made by the director with the designers, and will therefore be
discussed in Chapter Three. In the following discussion I am interested in the
significance given to objects, images, words, and sounds that Ruhl specifically calls for
and how they contribute to the thematic content of the play.
As discussed in Chapter One, Sarah Ruhls language balances mythic and
mundane subjects through the use of sparse, modern poetic verse. The heightened quality
of her poetry is contrasted by condensed and sometimes painfully ordinary words. This
mixture can be jarring when it occurs at times that are least expected, such as the end of
heart wrenching monologues given by both Orpheus and Eurydice that conclude with,
Ill give this letter to a worm. I hope he finds you (36, 70). It is this abruptness that
gives the language its distinctive quality.
In order to support these unexpected shifts within the language, a production of
the play must consciously make an effort to maintain the quirkiness and complexity of
the characters. If actors or directors make the mistake of condensing the characters into
something too logical or potent, their emotions will fail to match and support the ironic
nature of the dialogue. Actors must embrace the language rather than fight against it.
Ruhl says that she prefers an actor who says, My character doesnt have a back story,
so I wont concoct one. I will live as fully in every moment as I can. I will let the
language move me, as opposed to a secret backstory of my own (Lahr Surreal Life).
At times emotion does match and follow the language, while at others characters stumble
across poignant moments of dialogue unknowingly. The mixture of potent and sparse
language within the irrational emotional journeys of the characters must be balanced with
extreme care in order to capture the appropriate mood and tone for the play.
Because the play focuses largely on the language of story telling and the
importance of words, it is also important to note which words draw special focus. The
word interesting is used several times throughout the play and is even included in a
characters name. Ruhl believes that there is a certain kind of person who forever
delights in interesting over good or bad, and her Eurydice character is repeatedly
enticed by this word (qtd. in Program Notes). Eurydice favors all things interesting,
whether in the arguments of the books she reads, or in the kinds of people she wishes to
have at her wedding. Orpheus in contrast mentions that the song he wrote for Eurydice is
not interesting or not interesting. It justis (11). These references make Eurydices
interactions with the nasty interesting man even more threatening. Not ironically,
Eurydice indeed follows Ruhls nefarious category of interesting to her death
(Program Notes). Interesting thus begins to symbolize those things that draw
Eurydice to look back.
Objects that make their home underground are also referenced repeatedly. When
the stones talk about the language of dead people, the big stone says that it sounds like
potatoes sleeping in the dirt (27). The nasty interesting man also alludes to rooted things
when he says he grows downward. Like a turnip (48). When Ruhl references these
odd objects repeatedly they entreat deeper analysis. These objects become meaningful
because they grow both above and below the ground, making their existence split
between two worlds. The elevator, water pump, and pipes also act as devices that join
the two worlds together. The presence of these objects in particular serves a dual
purpose, as they not only exist in two worlds, but also carry water, which becomes one of
the most compelling and significant symbols in the play.
In Ruhls sparse requirements for the set, four out of the five elements she
requests contain water, including the raining elevator, a water pump, pipes, and an
abstracted River of Forgetfulness (5). Not only is the physical presence of water
important, but the constant reminder of its presence through sound is significant as well.
When characters are cleansed or baptized with this water, a new life beginsa life of
forgetfulnessand they are returned to a child-like state of ignorant bliss. The water
then carries with it both a positive and negative connotation; it is positive in that it keeps
the characters facing forward and not looking back, but negative because it washes away
all opportunity to look back.
String is another important symbol in the play and is used numerous times
throughout: Orpheus uses a string to tie a knot around Eurydices fourth finger when he
proposes and says, I always have string. In case I come upon a broken instrument (13).
Orpheus also uses a string to lower The Complete Works of Shakespeare into the
underworld to Eurydice. The most prominent use of string is the room that the Father
builds for Eurydice. The room of string is a fragile nest, built out of the fathers love for
his daughter. The presence of the string works as a metaphor for those things that tie
us to the past. The action of the Father dismantling the room of string at the end
symbolically displays that he is breaking the strings that tie him to his memories.
Equally important to the language and images are the sounds and music that also
accompany the play. From the beginning, Eurydices contrasting love of words and
Orpheus love of music works as a symbolic metaphor for the young couples
disharmonious love. Eurydice is out of step with Orpheus rhythm, and fails to keep the
simple beat that would keep them together. The play thus calls for a balance between
words and music. Music is specifically called for throughout numerous climatic and
touching moments in the play, including when the father walks Eurydice down the aisle,
when dismantles the string room, and when Orpheus sings his music at the gates of hell.
The stones contrastingly resist the emotional power of music strongly. The only time that
music is seemingly allowed in the underworld is when heavy metal music accompanies
the lord of the underworlds entrance. When Eurydice and her father sing together as
they share memories in the room of string the stones rebuke them:
STONES: WHAT IS THAT NOISE?
LITTLE STONE: Stop singing!
LOUD STONE: STOP SINGING!
BIG STONE: Neither of you can carry a tune.
LITTLE STONE: Its awful.
STONES: DEAD PEOPLE CANT SING! (47)
When Orpheus arrives in the underworld, however, his music brings the stones to tears,
and they are left dumbfounded by the power of rhythm and music.
Ruhl also calls for highly distinctive sounds throughout the script. While the
sound of water carries the thematic significance listed above, it is also utilized in a highly
practical way. First, the numerous sounds of water, including drips, musty dripping
sounds, and strange watery noises, are used to remind the audience of the presence of
water when it may not always be physically represented. These sounds also signify the
passage of time, and often serve as a cushion for transitions between the two worlds.
Ruhl also uses various sounds to cue the audience to changes throughout the script, and to
help serve the abstract nature of the setting. When both Eurydice and the father step into
the river, their action is accompanied by a small metallic sound of forgetfulnessping,
demonstrating to the audience that something important has happened (66, 71). The
chaotic sounds that accompany Eurydices fall to death at the end of Movement One not
only give the fall a climactic weight, but also practically replace the physical action of
falling down stairs that cannot be realistically performed on stage.
When combined with the plays given circumstances, the analysis of these
images, symbols and sounds gives greater meaning and understanding to the world of the
play. Ruhls specific collection of sounds adds another dimension to the play that must
be carefully considered as the sound design is developed and as timing issues are
addressed later in rehearsals. Similarly, the discovered challenges of language serve as a
warning to the director and actors as they prepare for rehearsals, and also lead to a greater
understanding of the characters as they are analyzed individually.
The contemporary Eurydice found in Ruhls story is an independent young
woman that is deeply in love. While she strongly desires to be Orpheus wife, she finds it
difficult to move past the pain of losing her father. She complains about Orpheus on their
wedding day as she escapes to the water pump to avoid the crowds of wedding guests.
She misses her father, and says, A wedding is for daughters and fathers. The mothers
all dress up, trying to look like young women. But a wedding is for a father and a
daughter. They stop being married to each other on that day (17). Even though she is
an independent woman who reads interesting books, creates her own thoughts, and
desires to be married, she is still very much a young girl who misses her father. Ruhls
balance of mythic and mundane elements is strongly exhibited in Eurydice, who has
many contrasting emotions.
Eurydices journey is the focus of the play and it is her struggle that sets the plot
in motion. In many directors analyses, this journey is often described in terms of a
characters polar attitudes. As the plot develops, characters reveal their polar attitudes as
they react to unfolding circumstances and situations. The polar attitudes are essentially a
map of the characters journey, which often lead characters to make decisions. Most
often, the protagonists decision to change, or refusal to not change will mark the climax
of the play, as it does in Eurydice. The director and actor must then take special note of
the characters journey and appropriately demonstrate their actions to help logically point
the audience towards this end. This does not mean that the character always moves in a
logical straight line towards this destination, but rather that the conflict that lies between
the character and this end be assessed and presented in a very clear manner.
At the beginning of the play, when Orpheus proposes, Eurydice eagerly accepts
his hand. Even though the couple bickers about their contrasting loves of words and
music and the word interesting, they still seem happy and very much in love. It is not
until the following scenes in Movement One when the father is introduced that we begin
to recognize Eurydices struggle to move forward in love without looking back. Her
weakness towards all things interesting and her struggle to let go of her father is
exhibited as she interacts with the nasty interesting man. This man takes full advantage
of Eurydices weakness when he finds the letter left by her father and uses it as bait to
lure her into his apartment. Eurydices curiosity with the interesting, combined with
her inability to let go of her father ultimately leads to her death and separation from
Orpheus.
Because she has been dipped in the river of forgetfulness, Eurydices arrival to the
underworld is marked with confusion. She has lost all feeling and memory. Sadly, when
she does finally come face to face with her father, she does not recognize him, and it is
only through his patience and tenderness that she is once again able to remember who she
is. As she re-learns how to read and receives numerous letters from Orpheus she again
finds herself with one person she loves, while longing to be with the other. Yet when
Orpheus finally does transcend the gates of hell for her, she is hesitant to follow him and
leave the security of her father. Through the persuasion of the stones and support of her
father, she finally decides to follow Orpheus, but in her weakness and immaturity calls
his name, thus resulting in his fatal backward glance. Under the frustration of this
moment they argue about how Eurydice could never find the right beat and rhythm:
ORPHEUS EURYDICE
You always clapped your hands I could never spell the word
on the third beat rhythm
you couldnt wait for the fourth. It is such a difficult
Remember word to spell
I tried to teach you rynotheres an H in
you were always one step ahead somewherea breath
of the music rhyrhy
your sense of rhythm rhy
it wasoff
Orpheus then continues:
I would say clap on the down-beat
no, the down-beat
Its dangerous not
to have a sense of rhythm.
You LOSE things when you cant
keep a simple beat (61)
Here in this climactic moment Eurydices hamartia is realized: her rhythm is off because
it is she, not just Orpheus, who looks back. Eurydices error is exposed in her inability to
maintain the simple beat and rhythm of life, which is to move forward without looking
After this disappointing mistake, Eurydice returns to her father to seek comfort
but instead finds that he has dipped himself in the river and forgotten her. In the end
Eurydice, the girl who wanted the best of both worlds, discovers that she can have
neither. Further, her fascination with all things interesting results in the possible
punishment of marriage to the lord of the underworld. Understanding the weight of her
mistakes and taking responsibility and control of her actions for the first time, she writes
Orpheus a letter and selflessly tells him to marry again. She then dips herself in the river
to forget as Orpheus, in his own death, once again slips through her fingers. The pity and
fear evoked from the tragic nature of the ending comes here from Eurydices mistake. If
she had only learned her lesson that life should move on, despite its painful memories,
she could have been reunited with Orpheus.
In regards to the characters shape and tempo, Eurydice changes and matures in
her journey through the play. Under Ruhls charge that Eurydice and Orpheus should be
played as though they are a little too young and a little too in love, both characters
exhibit a child-like naivet and exuberance. When she dies and loses all conception of
who she is, she is reduced to an even more child-like state akin to Carrolls Alice. In her
interactions with her father, she moves with the curiosity of a child, full of wonder, with
body postures and gestures that could include sitting cross-legged on the floor and
holding her fathers hand. When it is time for her to follow Orpheus, she is, as the stones
say, all grown up now (60). She is hesitant to stand alone, however, and it is not until
her return and confrontation with the stones that she truly stands boldly on her own two
feet. When Eurydice makes the final decision to write the letter to Orpheus and dip
herself in the river, she does so in full confidence and determination for the first time.
Eurydices journey into maturity is her realization to let go and move forward without
Eurydices mythological foundation arises out of numerous sources. While
various aspects of her journey are inspired by Ruhls own life, she is also a
conglomeration of ancient mythological resources. The first and most obvious sources
are the accounts of the Orpheus myth found in Virgil and Ovids ancient texts. As Virgil
says, She never saw,/ Poor girl, her death there, deep in the grass before her feet/ The
watcher on the river-bank, the savage watersnake (79). The character also holds much
in common with the Greek goddess, Persephone, who was also abducted by Hades to
become his bride. Persephone faced a similar crisis to Ruhls Eurydice in her struggle to
serve as both Demeters daughter and Hades bride. Due to conditions set within the
myth, Persephones life was split between her mother and husband, and unlike Eurydice
the goddess was not forced to let go of one part of her life to have the other.
Ruhls Orpheus fully embraces ancient stereotypes of being a romantic musician.
He is a carefree artist who optimistically looks forward to a life filled with music and
love. His dreams are crushed, however, when his new wife Eurydice dies. Orpheus
happiness is at her mercy. From the moment of their separation, everything in his life is
put on hold except the singular goal of finding Eurydice. He writes letters, composes
songs, and makes phone calls, all in search of Eurydice. He is willing to do anything, to
the point of killing himself, to be reunited with her.
Like Eurydice, Orpheus also struggles between two loves: his passion for
Eurydice and his passion for music. He attempts to demonstrate his love for Eurydice
through his music by writing songs for her and teaching her the melodies and has a
difficult time understanding why she does not appreciate his music as much as he does.
For this reason, the couple often seems to speak different languages: Eurydice words, and
Orpheus music. Eurydice struggles to stay in tune with Orpheus language, which is a
reason why the familiar comfort of her fathers love of words is so conflicting for her.
Orpheus represents an exciting, yet frightening new territory that Eurydice fails to
embrace completely.
Orpheuss emotional journey throughout the play is more linear, and easier to
follow than Eurydices. His happiness at the beginning of the play seems complete, and
thus less complex. Yet while he is at the height of his happiness, Eurydices death
plunges him to sorrow. The longer the two are separated, the more desperate he
becomes. Through his series of letters and monologues, the growing desperation in his
journey is shown. He eventually sings his way into Hades, where he is willing to do
anything to get her back. The one condition given to him seems simple at first, and he
moves with the focus of a tight-rope walker in hopes to achieve his goal (60). In a
simple misstep and break in rhythm, however, Eurydice causes him to look back. As
Eurydice begins to sink back into the underworld, he pleads with her to stay with him:
Eurydice! WEVE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR CENTURIES! I want to reminisce!
(62). Orpheus is then guilty of the same weakness as Eurydice: he is unable to let go. He
wants to hold onto her, but in so doing sacrifices the rest of his life and all chance to
create a future with new memories.
In contrast to Eurydices lack of rhythm, Orpheus has a self-assured stride and
pace. At first he is more certain of himself and what he wants in life, but in Eurydices
death loses this confidence. His music is affected and he questions who and what he is,
thus losing every bit of certainty he once held to. He describes this lost sense of self after
waking from a dream:
Then I woke up and the window frightened me and I thought: Eurydice is
dead. Then I thoughtwho is Eurydice? Then the whole room started the
float and I thought: what are people? Then my bed clothes smiled at me
with a crooked green mouth and I thought: who am I? It scares me,
Eurydice. Please come back. (39)
Without Eurydice, Orpheus fails to find his own rhythm, making each of his monologues
and letters a battle to find a beat he can hold onto. He finds his rhythm again in his
music, but when even this fails to reunite him with his love, everything Orpheus knows is
gone. He transforms from a character that exudes certainty to one who is completely lost.
When everything he is certain about is taken away, all rhythm is lost, leaving him nothing
to hold on to, not even his own life.
Of all characters in the play, it is the father who speaks with the voice of wisdom.
He alone, at least until the final moments of the play, understands the importance of
cherishing memory despite its sorrow. He has moved on in death, where he continues to
work in the business world. He finds joy in the sorrows of memory as he remembers
stories from his past and imagines the continued progression of his daughters life from
the underworld. His emotions are often at odds, but are ultimately exhibited as the
healthiest in the play. The emotions he experiences as he imagines walking Eurydice
down the aisle serve as a good example:
In the underworld, the Father walks in a
straight line as though he is walking his daughter down the aisle.
He is affectionate, then solemn, then glad, then solemn, then amused,
then solemn.
He looks at his imaginary daughter; he looks straight ahead; he
acknowledges the guests at the wedding; he gets choked-up; he looks at
his daughter and smiles an embarrassed smile for getting choked-up. (16)
Ruhls interest in exploring the irrationality of emotion is well demonstrated in these
stage directions. Allowing oneself to simultaneously experience feelings of happiness
and sadness is crucial for Ruhls characters in this play, as in many others, and is best
exemplified through the fathers character.
The fathers journey throughout the play is similar to Orpheus in that it is
centered on his relationship and interaction with Eurydice. Her journey directly affects
his own. Her arrival to the underworld brings with it a mixture of happiness and sadness,
and because she has been dipped in the river their reunion is mixed with confusion as
Eurydice mistakes him for a porter. With the patience of a father with a young child, he
patiently teaches Eurydice to remember. Yet much as in life, the more Eurydice learns,
the more her independence drives her away from him. When Orpheus comes to meet her
in the underworld the father must sacrificially give her away again, which he
symbolically demonstrates by walking her down the aisle. He plans to continue to write
her letters and carry on as they did before she died, but is unable to do so: With
Eurydice gone, he says, it will be a second death for me (64). Unable to endure the
pain of their separation a second time, he dips himself in the river and chooses numbness
and forgetfulness over the pain of memory.
The characterization of the father must serve as a contrast to Orpheus. Where
Orpheus exudes the freshness and energy of a young lover, the father must demonstrate
the comfort and security of something worn, comfortable, and stable. His gestures and
presence on stage should exhibit the simplicity and security that Eurydice struggles to
find in the young, charismatic Orpheus. Where Orpheus pace is spontaneous and quick,
the fathers should be careful and steady. This pacing for his character should remain
consistent until the end, where he must then change and quickly move forward in the rash
decision to dip himself in the river.
Nasty Interesting Man/Lord of the Underworld
With the characters of the nasty interesting man and the lord of the underworld,
one of the first decisions that must be made is whether these two characters should be
presented as two completely different figures, or if they are the same character in two
forms. In the character breakdown Ruhl lists both characters on the same line,
insinuating they should be played by the same actor. Yet the only explicit connection
they have in the script is in Movement Three when the lord of the underworld enters and
his voice sounds suspiciously like the nasty interesting mans (68). Beyond this
connection, the two characters walk, talk, and act completely different. The one thing
that joins them is their desire for Eurydice. Because this desire and motivation remains
the same between both characters, it can be assumed that the character is one man in two
forms who changes his shape as a tactic to seize Eurydice.
In Movement One the character appears as an interesting man because Eurydice
has just moments before said that she had always thought that there would be more
interesting people at her wedding (17). As he tries to seduce her, he tells her that she
needs a real manwith broad shoulders like me (24). Orpheus, he says, has long
fingers that would tremble to pet a bull or pluck a bee from a hive (24). When this
approach fails to draw Eurydices attention, he appears to her in the Movement Two as a
child. Numerous reasons for this change could be drawn. One is that when Eurydice is
in his world, the lord of the underworld feels free to be the spoiled brat he truly is.
Another possible explanation is that having failed to gain Eurydices attention as an
interesting man, he chooses to present himself as a powerful child in another tactic to win
her affection. When he again fails to seduce her, however, he leaves with plans to change
again: Im growing. Can you tell? Im growing! (49). The next time he sees Eurydice
he has grown to be ten feet tall. In this final scene he gives up the possibility of gaining
Eurydices love and instead decides to take her as his bride by force: You cant refuse
me. Ive made my choice (69).
Beyond Eurydices antagonizing internal struggles, the nasty interesting man/ lord
of the underworld serves as the physical antagonist in the play. It is he who ultimately
causes Eurydices death, and he who gives the impossible rule of not looking back as the
couple makes their ascent. His character is a subversion and barrier that Eurydice must
face in order to get what she wants. He represents the third male figure in her life, and is
reduced to the clich of either being a dangerous predator, or stubborn man-child that
stands between her and true happiness.
Because the personality of this character changes nearly every time he comes on
stage, his body shape and diction must change drastically too. The serpent-like approach
he takes in seducing Eurydice in Movement One should contrast the child-like energy he
exudes in Movement Two. His most challenging transformation comes in Movement
Three when these two characters must become one and balance the traits of both
characters. When he arrives in this scene having grown to be ten feet tall, his full power
is shown and his cunning nature is stripped away to fully expose his demanding, selfish
nature that holds the authoritarian, presentational quality of a ringleader. His presence
becomes the turning point for Eurydice, who has reached her wits end in the loss of both
Orpheus and her father. His presence is that final straw that drives Eurydice to dip
herself in the river.
The mythological foundation for the nasty interesting man/lord of the underworld
is drawn in part from the figure of Hades. In ancient Greek mythology Hades is known
as the ruler of the underworld. In Virgil and Ovids account of the Orpheus myth, his
consent to allow Eurydice to follow Orpheus out of the underworld is largely influenced
by his wife, Persephone. While in the earliest version of Ruhls play the lord of the
underworlds mother served the role of this female figure, the current version places the
decision into his hands. Much like the abduction of Persephone, it is by the hand and
influence of Hades desire that Eurydice dies. The lord of the underworld parallels both
the Hades of this story, and the snake that takes Eurydices life in the Orpheus myth.
Ruhls construction of this character thus combines the motivation of one myth with
actions performed by numerous characters in another.
The three stone characters in Eurydice hold numerous foundations in ancient
versions of the Orpheus myth. Both Ovid and Virgil reference how Orpheus music
affected Cerberus, the triple-headed dog that guarded the gates of hell: the watch-dog
Cerberus gaped open his triple mouth (Virgil 80). The music also affected the Furies,
whose cheekswere wet with tears (Ovid 226). Only two specific references to stones
occur in the ancient texts, however, and both are found in Ovids account. The first says
that Orpheus music was powerful enough to make Sisyphus sit rapt upon his stone
(226). Also, upon the return of his failed mission it is said that The double death of his
Eurydice/ Stole Orpheus wits away, like one who had lost his nature . . . / And turned
to stone (226-227). Ruhls chorus of stones thus holds numerous mythological parallels
that demonstrate a basis for their character.
The stones carry out numerous functions as a chorus, and with them Ruhl creates
a hybridization of various characters and choruses inspired by the ancient Greeks. When
the stones make their first appearance at the beginning of Movement Two, they address
the audience directly and introduce themselves by explaining who they are and what they
do: We are a chorus of stones . . . We live with the dead people in the land of the dead
(26). In this role they hold more akin to the prologues given by such characters as the
Watchman who introduces Aeschylus Agamemnon or the Nurse in Euripides Medea.
As they explain Eurydices death they also function as the medium and informant
between the audience and the action on stage much like the messengers found in Greek
plays. They also perform their duty as faithful residents of the underworld by yelling and
enforcing the rules that have been set in place by the lord of the underworld: Rooms are
not allowed! (49). They warn the father when he is first reunited with Eurydice: Be
careful, sir (31). Their function here is similar to that of the chorus in Sophocles
Antigone, who sympathize with the female protagonist while advocating the laws of the
land. While the stones share these many similarities with Greek tragedies, they also share
much in common with the comedic choruses found in many of Aristophanes plays. As
stones they assume a role that is not fully human and hold much in common with the
choruses of frogs or birds in Aristophanes The Frogs and The Birds. As the stones
function as nasty children at a birthday party they also offer a great deal of comedic
relief throughout the play, and thus in some ways hold more in common with the old
comedy of ancient Greek theatre than the tragedies.
The stones in Eurydice are a self-named Greek chorus. They are stone-like
because they have dipped themselves in the river of forgetfulness so many times that they
have no feeling and no separate identity apart from being little, big, and loud. They
are Beckett-like in nature due to their unmoving, cyclical existence. They live numbly in
the underworld where they will remain, unchanging for eternity, with no chance to
remember or escape. They act as assistants to the lord of the underworld, and follow his
laws without question. Under his reign and influence, they, much like children, do not
have the ability to make decisions on their own.
Even though the stones proclaim numbness and a stone-like exterior, they do in
fact take an emotional journey through the play. When Orpheus arrives to retrieve his
bride, they become so overwhelmed and touched by his music that they cry. The force of
Orpheus love is so strong that it breaks through the rough exterior of the stones. When
Eurydice hesitates to follow behind Orpheus, the stones beg her to go, in many ways
coaxing her to take the journey into life that they can never take themselves. When
Eurydice returns unsuccessful they are angry, and are unsympathetic towards her failed
journey. They rebuke her emotions and tell her to be like a stone. Even though the
stones are affected by the action that unfolds on stage, they choose to remain unchanged
and forgetful, thus returning to their hardened nature.
The stones do not influence a great deal of the action throughout the play. While
they share exposition about Eurydices death, reaffirm the demands of the lord of the
underworld, and taunt Eurydice to follow her father by dipping herself in the river, they
primarily just sit and watch. One of the rules of the underworld is that its residents are
not allowed to sleep, resulting in a numbed, somber, often unfocused demeanor. When
they have nothing to do they sit and practice the art of keeping busy (68). They say:
Watch us work
Keeping still
Keeping quiet
Its hard work
to be a stone. (68)
This, unfortunately, will be their eternal duty as stones. Their presence on stage serves as
a reminder of what Eurydice and her father can become if they choose to forget. When
the two of them dip themselves in the river at the end of the play, they tragically submit
their lives to the same fate as the stones.
The play analysis concludes the final stage of a directors research before stepping
into the actual production phase. It is crucial for directors to spend a great deal of time
on this research because it serves as the foundation for each decision that is made
throughout the remainder of the production process. After forming this analysis I began
to develop my directorial concept and approach to the play, and was well prepared to
begin the design phase of the process.
During the analytical and research phase of a production, everything about the
play is still simply an idea. Once the design process commences, however, the director
must finalize her ideas and begin shaping a production concept that is both clear and
inspiring to the designers. Thus, equally important to the development of the directors
analysis and concept is her ability to communicate the discoveries of her work with the
design team. This chapter will discuss the process of collaboratively using the directors
concept and designers analysis of Eurydice to create a cohesive design for the
production. It will follow the creative process of our work and the vocabulary that was
used to achieve a fully realized design that strongly supported the analysis and concept.
Before I begin this discussion, however, I will describe the elements that first drew me to
Eurydice, and why the play suited my needs as a student director.
Play Selection
The thesis play selection process was approached with great care and
consideration. Graduate students within the MFA Directing program at Baylor
University submit three thesis choices to the theatre faculty in the fall semester of the
second year, with an anticipated public announcement of the next years season by
Christmas. While I naturally desired to find a play that I could personally appreciate, it
was also important to select something that would be appealing and challenging for the
fellow artists that would collaborate on the work, and hold interest for the community of
potential audience members. I knew that I wanted a contemporary play that had not yet
received a lot of attention in the regional theatre spectrum. I enjoyed the idea of bringing
something to Waco, Texas that would be new and challenging for potential audience
members. In searching for a contemporary play, I also sought out works that utilized new
trends in playwriting structure and veered away from traditional forms of realism and
narrative storytelling. Practically speaking, it was important to find works with
characters that could be acted well by college-aged students and would hold themes that
were relevant and appealing to the college mindset, and as a student at a private, Baptist
university, it was also essential that I be cautious of potentially offensive language or
behavior. On another level there were also certain elements I sought that appealed to my
own personal tastes as an artist. With a background in dance and a keen interest in using
physical action to develop story, I sought plays that could potentially allow for
movement-based blocking and staging techniques. I also preferred plays with smaller
casts that would offer a more intimate ensemble approach to the process.
With this long list of criteria I began a search that would last for months. I read
The New York Times and researched articles and reviews on new plays and up-and-
coming playwrights. I emailed artist agents asking for unpublished works, and
meticulously searched through summaries and ordered plays from Playscripts Inc., and
Samuel French. Having seen a short scene performed from Sarah Ruhls The Clean
House, I ordered the Theatre Communications Group anthology that included The Clean
House, Late: A Cowboy Song, Melancholy Play, and Eurydice. In my first encounter
with Eurydice I was immediately attracted to the poetry and language of the play. It
resonated with me and became the kind of play I carried with me and shared with fellow
theatre colleagues. Yet because the technical requirements seemed so challenging at first,
I put the play aside and continued my search. Caryl Churchills adaptation of
Strindbergs A Dream Play and Kira Obolenskys Lobster Alice were high on my list of
choices. With Ruhls Melancholy Play as a possible third choice, I loaned my anthology
to an advisor, who also happened to read Eurydice. With her encouragement that the
shows technical challenges could be met, Eurydice immediately moved to the top of my
list. While all three of the choices then nicely fit my search criteria, the decision to place
Eurydice as my first choice was influenced by my growing fascination with Ruhl as a
playwright I was eager to research, and the connection I felt to the endearing, sympathetic
characters in the play.
When defending this choice to the theatre faculty, I shared the many ways that
Eurydice perfectly suited my list of search criteria. To offset any immediate concerns
about the technical challenges of the play, I carefully emphasized my willingness to
approach the design for the play abstractly. I also described the academic benefits of
researching the play for my written thesis, including the advantages of researching Greek
mythology and other artistic adaptations of the Orpheus myth, and the importance of
researching a relatively new, young playwright. Upon the facultys final approval, we
moved forward in the selection of the production space and the designers with whom I
would collaborate.
Selection of Space and Design Team
As a student my participation in decisions concerning the shows slot within the
season, the space I would work in, and the design team I would collaborate with was
somewhat limited. Yet even though these choices fell to the hands of the faculty, I was
still allowed to make suggestions and requests. When considering my slot within the
theatre season, it was quickly apparent that as a thesis student it was best that my
production occur within the fall semester to allow for adequate writing time in the spring.
With the Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann musical, Urinetown, and a second thesis
production of Edmund Rostands Cyrano de Bergerac also joining me in the fall line-up,
it was decided that my show would go second to avoid having these two large
productions back to back. As the calendar was pieced together we realized that
rehearsals for the last two shows would need to overlap, meaning that casting choices
could not intersect. This also meant that any designers who overlapped duties between
the shows would need to be given ample time to complete their work.
Luckily, because Eurydice was placed between two shows that were best suited
for Baylors proscenium stage, I was granted my first choice of theatre space. Baylors
Mabee Theatre is a thrust space with a seating capacity of approximately two hundred
forty. The architecture of this space, with its large octagonal stage, and two vomitories
that allow for entrances and exits from the downstage area under the audience, appealed
to the whimsical, fluid style of the play. It supported the classic nature of the play with
its rounded Greek arena-style architecture, while capturing the intimate subject matter
and monologues in its small size. The space would also, however, offer unique
challenges for the design team later in the process.
Development of Directors Concept and Pre-Production Meetings
With a full awareness of the overlapping, busy schedule the fall semester would
hold for the production team, initial concept meetings began early in the summer.
Starting early was practical for our scheduling concerns, but also unfortunately meant
that in the less-structured summer months the entire design team could not be present for
every meeting. As a result I knew that our initial concept meeting would need to clearly
establish the world of the play we would all be creating. After uncovering ideas about
the play through my analysis, I outlined the basic conceptual ideas that I found as a
director to be the most important, and then searched for the proper images and descriptive
language to use as I shared these ideas with my designers. Many of these initial ideas
were simple, and I avoided the temptation to over-conceptualize. My goal was to create a
concept that clearly established parameters for the world of the play, but also left a great
deal of room for the designers to explore their own creative ideas.
My first concept that dealt with the world of the play came from Ruhls
description at the beginning of Movement Two: The Underworld. There is no set
change (26). From this simple description I began to see life in the underworld as
simply a distorted version of the world of the living. Joined with Ruhls description that
the underworld should resemble the world of Alice in Wonderland more than it
resembles Hades, I viewed the underworld and death as just another step in mankinds
ongoing journey (5). Like Alice Through the Looking Glass, things in this world are
familiar, but distorted. This idea of the underworld as a distortion of the living world was
also confirmed by the fathers description that there is a pleasant atmosphere and you
can work and socialize, much like at home (15). When I approached this concept of
distortion with the designers I shared illustrations from the Disney cartoon version of
Alice in Wonderland (1951), and also from Sir John Tenniels illustrations that
accompany most editions of the printed story. I included pictures of the Cheshire cat,
talking doorknobs, and talking flowers. To demonstrate the concept to the sound
designer I shared a sound clip of the Imogen Heap song, Hide and Seek, where the
words and music have an extremely distorted, but still very beautiful, quality to them.
The term distorted became an important adjective for us as we developed the design for
the underworld.
As I continued my comparison of Eurydice and Alice in Wonderland I discovered
that the two works also share the element of surprise. The surprises in Eurydice include
trap doors, a mysterious elevator, letters that can travel between two worlds, a lord of the
underworld who can grow to be ten feet tall, and a lover who can transcend death with
music. Similarly, the story of Alice in Wonderland includes surprises such as a hole that
leads to another world, the ability to change sizes, and the presence of many mysterious,
distorted creatures. After sharing numerous pictures that demonstrated the element of
surprise in Alice in Wonderland, I also showed pictures from the movie version of The
Wizard of Oz (1939) that included surprising elements such as talking apple trees. The
concept of surprise strongly supported the structure of Eurydice, because in Ruhls
moment-to-moment plot structure exciting and surprising twists and turns can happen at
any time. As I developed this concept of surprise I also discovered, that like Alice in
Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, the whimsy of surprise in Eurydice was often joined
by unexpected dark undertones. Brightness and light often surround the character of
Eurydice, while a foreboding sense of darkness and danger lurks in the presence of death
in the story. With this idea in mind I pointed out the colors that had been used in the
Alice in Wonderland pictures I had shared. In nearly every picture, literal darkness
surrounded the whimsical happenings; light was used to brighten elements of focus,
while the background environment remained dark, foreboding, and at times nightmarish.
Based on my research of the given circumstances, I knew that the timeless quality
of the play was essential to the concept. Eurydices journey of letting go and dealing
with death is a universal journey that ties mankind together. I thus wanted the specifics
of the play to feel as though they could transcend generations. The set, costume and
sounds should, at their core, feel timeless and classic. The term classic became another
part of our language as we sought to capture the transcendent quality of the play. While
this word has numerous, broad definitions, it worked as a uniting adjective for our team
of designers. By our definition classic did not mean classical but rather iconic, and
referred to the connotations the word holds in Western, particularly American, pop-
culture. Classic then became a descriptive term for us to use as we developed a
through-line between the specifics that had been called for in the script, and those that we
would develop on our own.
Eurydices circular journey also led me to ideas about the shape of the design.
Much like the non-linear structure of the play, the characters journeys move in a spiral,
rather than a straight line. Eurydices journey begins with the struggle to let go of her
father, and, after her failure to follow her love back to the world of the living, ends with
her struggle to let go of Orpheus. Further supporting this idea, the play offers symbols
such as potatoes and turnips that grow downward (48). In Eurydice, characters are
born, grow upwards, live, grow downward, die, and then begin the cycle once again. To
illustrate this notion I showed the designers a picture of Dorothy from the film The
Wizard of Oz as she begins her journey on the circular spiral of the yellow brick road.
The circular shape of the play thus became an essential part of the concept.
As an additional aid in discovering shapes within the design of the play, I
presented pictures of repeated images and symbols such as water, string, letters, and
music. Because these symbols held such great thematic resonance, it was important that
their presence be felt within the design beyond Ruhls bare set and prop requirements. It
was also crucial that shapes demonstrate that the world of the play belonged to Eurydice.
Since the play is a feminine perspective on the original myth, it became essential that the
lines and colors reflected this idea. As another inspiration for the shape of the play I also
contrasted the shapes of Eurydice and Orpheus separate loves of language and music by
showing the designers examples of written letters and musical scores. Initially, I was
uncertain about how the concept could be utilized within the plays design, but in later
developments with the set and costume designers, the contrast was discovered and
exhibited in numerous ways.
After coming to a common understanding about the world of the play and its
classic, distorted, and surprising elements, the designers moved forward and began to
develop their designs. The next phase of the design process spanned the summer months
and consisted mostly of one-on-one meetings with the individual designers. This proved
to be a positive developmental process in many ways, but negative in others. The amount
of time that was available to develop the set and sound designs in particular allowed for a
slow, organic evolution with much thought placed into each decision. Yet because most
of the meetings happened individually, it placed a heightened sense of stress on me as a
director to clearly communicate evolving designs to everyone involved. Designs were
not developed side by side, but rather one on top of the other, sometimes resulting in
frustrating challenges for us further down the road.
The evolution of the set design was a relatively smooth and efficient process.
With another show to design after Eurydice, the set designer was eager to push forward
as quickly as possible. The two of us met privately before the first concept meeting with
the artistic team so that the designer could begin to piece together ideas. At this point I
had not yet fine-tuned my conceptual ideas, so our first meeting primarily focused on the
practical needs for the set. First, we discussed how I sought to handle the numerous
scene changes in the script. Based on my research I felt that it was important that
transitions happen quickly and fluidly to help close the expansive gap between the two
worlds. We thus decided that we needed to create a playing space that would
accommodate abrupt transitions through lighting. Secondly we considered practical
needs in the playing space such as how many levels and entrances I would want to utilize.
Because I wanted to avoid using furniture, I expressed the need to have several levels of
playing space to create dimension and allow for numerous blocking possibilities. To
maintain the fluidity of the piece, I also emphasized the need to have as many entrances
into the playing space as possible.
We also addressed Ruhls set requirements for things that hold water such as the
elevator, pump, pipes, and river. I maintained that while the physical presence of water
was important to the play, water did not have to be literally represented in each of these
set pieces. We considered how steam or fog could represent water in the river and pipes,
but to fully achieve the idea of cleansing, the elevator and pump would require actual
water. We also discussed the importance of the location and size of the string room since
it remains on stage for over half of the show. The string room would have to be big
enough to accommodate interior blocking for Eurydice and the father, but would need to
be small enough to allow for movement on stage beyond its perimeters.
At the first concept meeting, the designer brought some basic sketches of his ideas
for a ground plan. This first sketch included the spiral ramp that would eventually
become one of the most powerful elements of the set. It carried with it the quality of the
spiral yellow brick road picture from The Wizard of Oz. The ramp followed the natural
circular shape of the thrust space, beginning upstage center at a level approximately three
feet higher than the stage floor, before gradually descending three feet below stage level
into the existing moat. This initial sketch also included the elevator, which from the
beginning was visualized as extending all the way from the top of the spiral ramp to the
catwalks. Two wedge-shaped platforms were also included in this initial sketch to help
create levels. From this first rendering I encouraged the designer to pursue his ideas
about the circular ramp and elevator, but expressed concerns about the wedge-shaped
ramps and my desire to have some higher levels. The set designer also decided to
explore the possibility of using a section of the moat as the river of forgetfulness. He
also shared pictures from the art deco period and suggested using the mixture of shapes
from the style as inspiration for floor patterns and the face of the elevator. I was pleased
with how this idea demonstrated the idea of contrasting shapes between Eurydice and
Orpheus, and I encouraged the designer to further explore this inspiration.
The set designer worked quickly, and in our next meeting had already begun to
build a white model of the set that included the spiral ramp and the elevator. He had also
started to piece together the design for the floor pattern and color selections. I was
pleased with the architecture he was creating, but felt some concern about the floor
pattern and color choices. While the colors had been taken from the pictures I had
shown, and captured the whimsical quality we were looking for, it lacked the dark
undertones that we needed. The art deco pattern that he had created on the floor felt very
sharp and angular, and while it nicely applied the concept of Eurydice and Orpheus
contrasting shapes, it felt overly masculine. As we struggled to find a common
vocabulary to describe the changes that needed to be made, I showed the designer a clip
from a music video that held the tonal qualities we were missing. I have learned that
when words fail, images can often help convey an idea. As a result, the designer
concluded that it was a smoky texture that was lacking in the design. For the floor
pattern we decided that the design needed more curvature to enhance the feminine
presence we wanted in Eurydices world. From these realizations the designer felt much
better prepared to move forward with the new changes.
Due to the many discoveries that came from this meeting, and the tight schedule
under which the designer was working, the two of us decided to meet more frequently so
that ideas could be discussed as they were being developed. In the meetings that
followed we began to develop ideas for the construction and shape of the pipes. His
design included numerous pipes that extended from the floor to the catwalk in the up-
stage area beside the elevator. In his initial concept, the pipes would be made from
translucent materials that could be lit within and allow smoke or steam to move inside
and insinuate the presence of water. The pipes were designed to have numerous angles
that gave them the look of a city skyline. We also decided to add a bridge from the
downstage right vomitory that would cross over the mote/river, and act as the gate into
the underworld. To enhance the element of surprise and whimsy in the play, we added an
elevator trap to the top of the circular platform to be used as an entrance for the lord of
the underworld, and also included a rotating trap door center stage that would be used for
the water pump in act one. We also replaced the wedge-shaped structures in the original
design with a tall platform that would be used for the high-rise apartment in Movement
One, and Orpheus during Movement Two.
The structural elements of the design came together quickly, and once these
elements had taken shape the color and floor pattern were addressed once again.
Following the ideas we had taken from the video clip, the colors in the set were adjusted
to capture smoky quality it had lacked before. A rich bronze color was also added to the
steps that descended from the elevator, the bridge that crossed over the river, and the face
of the elevator, which would have an art deco pattern carved into it. To achieve a more
feminine tone, the pattern of the floor was adjusted to be more circular, and a spiral
staircase was added to the platform. With my final approval on the colors and shapes of
the set, the designer began his construction of the scaled, color model. (Appendix C, Fig.
C.1).
The development of the string room happened slowly throughout the entire design
process. Because the construction of even a rudimentary structure with string would be
extremely time consuming, it was important for the room to be simple in design. We
decided that a simple outline of string would be effective if lighting designated the
confinements of the space. As we considered the placement of the string room we knew
that it needed to have a prominent, central location on stage. Yet because this space also
had to be utilized during the first and third movements, the string rooms structural
foundation could not be on the floor of the stage. With the technical director, the set
designer created a four-pointed weighted line that could be lowered and suspended from
the catwalks when it was time for the room to be constructed, and could then be drawn
out when the room was dismantled. As discussed in Chapter Five, this part of the design
did not reach this final incarnation until extremely late in the process, and for this reason
never fully moved with the grace and fluidity I desired.
Once the construction of the set began, the pipes were the first design element that
had to be considered for change. The water effect we had hoped to accomplish from the
smoke inside the translucent pipes did not achieve the effect we had hoped for. Because
the gel for these pipes used a significant amount of our budget, we decided to cut this
idea and use painted PVC pipes instead. To accommodate the number of man-hours we
had for set construction, the trap doors were also cut from the design, and the water pump
was moved to a stationary setting downstage. While it was difficult to let go of certain
design elements, flexibility was essential for the entire team. In the end, the set design
suited the practical requirements of time and budgetary concerns, while upholding the
desired aesthetic. (See Appendix D, Fig. D.1-D.2 for photos of the completed set.)
The development of the lighting design for the show was one of the smoothest
collaborations in the project. With the many abrupt scene and location changes in the
script, the lighting designer, who joined the team two months after the set design had
been completed, had the responsibility of making the set design work practically and
fluidly for the play. With a single setting designed to represent the vastly different
locations of the underworld and the world of the living, the lighting design would serve
the dual purpose of not only creating mood, but also designating location.
One of the first design choices we made was how to distinguish the two separate
worlds in the play. We concluded that the world of the living should be lit with warm
colors, and the underworld with a cooler palette to enhance the contrast between the
warmth of life and coldness of death. Over the developmental process, these colors not
only came to represent the two worlds, but also the characters. In Movement One for
example, which largely takes place in the world of the living, the presence of the nasty
interesting man always brought cooler tones to the stage. Similarly, it was important for
us to represent warmth somewhere in the underworld. As a symbol of the security felt
between the father and Eurydice, the string room was lit with a warm orange glow that
stood in stark contrast to the darker, colder environment that surrounded them. (See
Appendix E, Fig. E.1) Warm light was also used on Orpheus platform in Movement
Two to help designate his separate location in the living world during the numerous scene
changes. The only time he was lit with cooler colors was when he breathed through the
straw and began his decent into the underworld.
Another significant aspect of the lighting design was the texture that it added to
the floor and backdrop. While the colors of the stage did achieve a smoky quality, it was
still relatively bright, and we searched for ways to heighten the concept of distortion and
darkness through the light in the design. The designers solution was to use various
gobos to cast texture on various parts of the set. Gobos are patterns carved into metal
frames that project a silhouette when placed in front of a lighting instrument. On the
back curtains the designer used a gobo inspired by the aurora borealis to cast distorted
beams of light against the backdrop. She also cast gobos with a scratched texture on the
floor to enhance the circular pattern found on the floor and give it a more ominous
quality. (See Appendix E, Fig. E.2) This texture contrasted nicely to the warmth of the
string room that was placed in the middle of this circle.
One of the most challenging elements of the set to light was the elevator. The art
deco pattern of the elevator shaft that had been created and carved out by the set designer
was filled with varying colors of lighting gels that complimented the paint colors used in
the floor. The shaft was designed to have four separate sections that would represent
different floors and be lit one after the other to illustrate the descent of the elevator. The
combination of lights used inside the elevator and the rain that had to fall inside created
many safety concerns, which were carefully addressed in detail. The lighting designer,
set designer, and technical director worked closely together in the design of the elevator
in order to build a structure that could not only work and function safely, but would also
be aesthetically pleasing.
To heighten mood and emphasize important moments, numerous special lights,
which were only used one or two times, were added to the design. (See Appendix E, Fig.
E.3) A special was created for the wedding aisle that the father would walk down;
special lights and dry ice were placed inside the river to draw focus to its presence at the
end of the show when the father and Eurydice stepped into it. Specials were also used in
many other scenes in the play, including a lit aisle in the audience for Orpheus entrance
to the underworld, and spotlights to separate Orpheus and Eurydice during their
overlapping monologues at the climax. The designer also created a whirlpool effect
through the use of a moving light in the moment following this climax that spun like a
vortex inside the main circle of the set as Eurydice was pulled away from Orpheus. To
enhance the specificity and concentration of the specials, fog was constantly pumped
onto the stage and came to serve the dual purpose of heightening the quality of the light
beams and intensifying the mysterious mood of the play.
The use of so many specials required me to have a clear vision of the staging and
blocking early in the design process. We decided, for example, that the unseen
boardwalks that Ruhl speaks of in Movement One would not be created through the
presence of light, but rather would be fulfilled by the circular ramp on the stage (11).
Because there were many moments throughout the play that had specials that fell close
together, many early blocking rehearsals consisted of finding a fluid way to move from
one lighting special to another. While there was some room for flexibility, the highly
specific nature of the design required clear, up-to-date communication between the
designer and myself, because any changes made to the staging created the need for
alteration in the designers light plot and design as well.
Overall, the lighting design worked beautifully. In the end it appropriately
created a sense of location while also instilling an appropriate mood and tone for the
story. It adequately focused the audiences attention to the appropriate areas of the stage
when needed. As discussed in Chapter Four, directing audience attention proved to be a
challenge for not only the lighting designer, but also for the actors.
The sound design for the show was one of the most unexpected challenges in the
process. While we were fully aware of the demands created by the sheer number of cues
called for in the script, the individual process of designing and building these highly
specific cues proved to be a detailed and time-consuming process. In the metaphysical
world created for the play, equally unique sounds had to be designed to compliment it
appropriately.
The sound designer and I began our process by exploring the concept of
distortion. We knew that sounds in the underworld would need to be recognizable, but
carry with them an otherworldly quality. One of the effects we used to create this sense
was to give many of the sounds a reverberation and echo. Additionally, this sound
quality enhanced the feeling of size in the space, and created a sense of vastness in the
underworld. The effect supported a new idea that sounds, music, and words had the
potential to travel between the two worlds, which supported Orpheuss journey to the
underworld through his music. The concept of creating this sense of vastness was
extended further by moving the sounds through various speakers hung in the theatre,
creating the effect of sound travel through space. The drops of water that Ruhl calls for
numerous times in the script, for example, traveled and moved around the audience
throughout the theatre. These techniques not only heightened the concept of distortion,
but also helped join the audience to the action.
As we made decisions about the music and songs to use, the designer and I went
back to the concept of classic and looked for iconic songs that would be familiar to our
audiences. With Ruhls use of the songs Dont Sit Under the Apple Tree and I Got
Rhythm, which carry this quality because of their familiarity, we decided that other
cues, including the wedding music and heavy metal music, should have a very similar
feel. For the wedding music we chose a simplified piano recording of Pachelbels
Canon in D, which was then distorted to have an otherworldly quality. For the heavy
metal music we searched for songs with long instrumental introductions to avoid using
lyrics. Because this music is used the first time the lord of the underworld is introduced
we sought something that had a presentational quality that would serve as appropriate
intro music. Our final choice of AC/DCs Back in Black not only fulfilled these
requirements, but also matched our concept of being a classic rock song. The song,
which was selected early in the design process, later became an inspiration behind the
costume choice for the character.
The selection of music for what became known as the Orpheus song happened
by accident. During auditions, which will be discussed more thoroughly in Chapter Four,
men auditioning for the role of Orpheus were asked to prepare a song to sing and play.
The actor who would eventually be cast as Orpheus performed an original piece
accompanied by his accordion that captured the style we were looking for in a song. It
was driven by a passionate chord progression and simple lyrics that would translate well
for the story. The choice to use a song with lyrics for Orpheus to sing was a change from
the notes given in the script:
Orpheus stands at the gates of hell.
He opens his mouth.
He looks like hes singing but hes silent.
Music surrounds him.
The melody Orpheus hummed in the first scene,
repeated over and over again. (56)
Because we wanted the audience to feel the impact of the passion behind Orpheuss
arrival, and since we had a talented singer in the role, we decided to allow Orpheus to
sing. This choice was also made in an effort to keep the audience from being confused
and mistakenly thinking that he was dead. My fear was that since Eurydice had been
unable to talk when she first arrived in the underworld, the audience would draw meaning
behind this parallel and take away from the impact of his actual death and arrival in the
final moments of the play. This design choice resulted in a powerful moment, where
Orpheus was able to desperately sing for Eurydice. The song became a theme song for
the show. The designer saw it as something Orpheus could create for Eurydice
throughout the entire course of the play. It began crudely as he hummed it in the first
movement, and upon his arrival in the underworld grew to a fully realized orchestrated
song that included numerous string and horn instruments.
While none of the sound cues Ruhl calls for in the text were particularly easy to
design, some proved to be far more challenging and elaborate than others. When
Eurydice falls down the steps of the nasty interesting mans apartment, the stage
directions describe the sound as A clatter. Strange soundsxylophones, brass bands,
sounds of falling, sounds of vertigo. Sounds of breathing (25). From this description the
sound designer layered numerous sounds, beginning with a clap of thunder that included
wind, chimes, and out of tune instruments, before finally finishing with a recording of
breath from the actress playing Eurydice. Other sound descriptions in the script are much
more vague, and challenged us to use our imagination. When Orpheus looks back at
Eurydice at the climax, the script says, THE WORLD FALLS AWAY (60). Assuming
that this moment needed as much emphasis as possible, a sound cue was developed with
a corresponding light cue to heighten the intensity of the moment. Inspired by the idea of
something falling away, I asked the designer to create a sound that would resemble glass
shattering. The designer created a jarring crack and shattering sound that seemed to fall
away into an ominous vacuum. The lighting design matched the sound by fading all parts
of the stageexcept where Eurydice and Orpheus stoodinto darkness as the sound
dissipated.
Other sounds were added to the script. To help cover the expansive silence
during the building of the string room, a soft, abstracted lullaby was played. For the lord
of the underworlds entrance on stilts at the end of the play, circus-like music was created
to compliment the developing concept of his character as a ringleader. We also added a
hum for Orpheus in the final moment of the play in an effort to parallel his and
Eurydices arrival in death. Other extra cues, such as an ominous build of music created
for the moment just after the world falls away were created and later cut in order to
simplify the design. In the end, over sixty sound and music cues were used in the show,
with the majority of them originally created by the sound designer.
The evolution of the costume design was a highly collaborative process. The
costume designer was conscious of upholding the larger thematic concerns within the
play and connecting her designs with the set and lighting. (See Appendix F, Fig. F.1)
She allowed ideas to gestate for long periods of time and was always open to continued
development and change. While this less rigid approach created stress in the building
process because many deadlines were missed due to constant modification, the final
result was a poignant, detailed, design that had a powerful impact on the production.
The costume designer and I began our discussions by building on the continued
concept of classic and what that meant in regards to the few costume descriptions Ruhl
offers in the script. Ruhl specifies that at the beginning of the play Orpheus and Eurydice
wear swimming outfits from the 1950s (9). She also says that the father should be
dressed in a grey suit (15), that Eurydice should be dressed in the kind of 1930s suit
that women wore when they eloped when she arrives in the underworld (27), and that
when the lord of the underworld enters on his tricycle, his clothes and hat are too small
for him (48). I told the designer to avoid looking at these descriptions too literally, and
to instead see them as signifiers of tone. The 1950s bathing suits conjure thoughts of a
simpler, more innocent time whenas the script describes Orpheus and Eurydice
people seemed a little too young and a little too in love (5). The 1930s suit established
a tone of maturity and invoked images tied to traveling and running away. The
silhouettes from these time periods are indeed classic, in an American, twentieth-
century sense, yet because the play is contemporary, we wanted the costumes to also feel
very modern. We decided to take Ruhls suggestions about tone, and use them to create
costumes that felt appropriate for young contemporary artists. Feeling free to explore and
develop ideas without literally being tied to Ruhls descriptions, the designer and I
continued to move forward and develop concepts for each character.
First, we began by finding ideas about the shape and textures of each character.
For Eurydice and Orpheus we wanted contrasting shapes that continued the art deco
concept that the set designer had established. We began to see Eurydice in rounded
shapes that not only embraced her femininity, but also abstractly represented her journey.
For this reason, her bathing suit was made with a polka-dot material, and her wedding
dress was garnished with bows. To contrast this, Orpheus was dress in a striped shirt for
his swimming outfit, which was somewhat reminiscent of striped mens bathing suits
from the 1920s. His wedding outfit was a striped seersucker suit, which continued to
carry out this concept. While these decisions were subtle, the concept of contrasting
shapes continued to guide us as we developed ideas about the shape and lines of these
characters. (See Appendix F, Fig. F.1 for example of contrasting shapes)
Our next step was discovering the underworld, and how it should contrast with the
world of the living. As with the lighting design, we decided that costume colors in the
world of the living would be warmer, while those used in the underworld would be
cooler. For their wedding costumes, Eurydice and Orpheus were dressed in soft textures
that were a warm cream color. (See Appendix F, Fig. F.2) The bathing suits were also
made with brighter colors. To contrast this, the colors used for the underworld were
much cooler and inspired by the water theme that ran throughout the play. The idea
behind using this cooler palette began in this very basic way. We liked the idea of blues,
greens, and purples inspired by the imagery of the water. The physical presence of water
on stage led us to extend this concept even further, however, and drew us to explore the
idea that dead characters were saturated with watercolors from the river of forgetfulness.
With Ruhls cue about the father wearing a suit, we developed the idea that characters
would arrive in the underworld in the clothes they had died in. Rather than using a suit
for the fathers costume, we used a green wool sweater and greenish/brown corduroy
pants to give him a softer texture, and dyed the bottom of the pants with blues and
purples to indicate his dip in the river. (See Appendix F, Fig. F.3) For Eurydice, we
used a 1930s style coat in a blue/green color, and layered it over a distressed version of
her wedding dress. (See Appendix F, Fig. F.4- F.5) Eurydices underworld dress was an
exact replica of her wedding dress, with alterations that showed her change from life to
death. The bows on this dress were untied, and the skirt fell limp and distressed. It was
also dyed across the bottom with the same blues and purples used for the fathers pants
and gradually became a lighter green and cream at the top. This concept translated
strongly on the stage, and became even more powerful in the design for the stones.
As with Eurydice and Orpheus, our first step in developing the costumes for the
stones was to find shapes that we liked. I presented the designer with the idea of
allowing each stone to come from a different era that would compliment his or her
individual persona as big, little, or loud. She quickly became inspired by the contrasting
silhouettes of many different time periods. For the big stone, she wanted the costume to
have a great deal of bulk with many layered, pretentious fabrics. We were drawn to the
large bustles from the Victorian period, and used this silhouette as inspiration. For the
loud stone, the demanding, showy nature of the character led her to the Elizabethan
period, where we were drawn to the shape and lines of pumpkin pants and capes. With
these gaudy periods chosen for these stones, we knew that the little stone should come
from a time period that used smaller lines and shapes. We were drawn to the simpler
fabrics of the Romantic era, with high waistlines, Spencer coats, and bonnets. These
three periods complimented the personalities of each stone, and offered a unique, yet
cohesive shape for each costume. (See Appendix F, Fig. F.6) To illustrate the length of
time that passed for the stones in the underworld, their costumes were tattered and given
a sense of decay and distress. We also decided that the presence of water from the river
should deeply saturate the characters, leading the designer to use darker colors of dye that
spread throughout their entire costume and even onto their skin.
The dye was also used for Orpheus final costume. As had been emphasized with
the sound designer, I again stressed the importance of creating a distinction between
Orpheuss two arrivals in the underworld. Orpheuss costume for the second movement
was a contemporary mixture of layers. The designer and I liked the idea of him being
able to strip away layers of clothing one by one to help show the passage of time while he
tried to contact the dead Eurydice and also illustrate his growing desperation and
deterioration. As he progressed through his monologues, he removed a scarf, a jacket
and unbuttoned a shirt to reveal a t-shirt, screen-printed with an image of a broken record
that resembled a broken heart. When he arrived to the underworld the first time, no
costume change was made. When he arrived in the elevator at the end, however, a
replica of the outfit he had worn had been dyed with blue to reveal that he had been
dipped in the river as well. (See Appendix F, Fig. F.7) We also demonstrated the
difference between his two arrivals by allowing him to appear in shoes for his first
entrance and barefoot in his second. As part of the design, we had chosen to make all
residents in the underworld barefoot. The bare feet gave the characters a more vulnerable
and grounded presence in the underworld, and for Orpheus gave us another way to
contrast his first and second arrival.
The design for the nasty interesting man/lord of the underworld broke all the rules
we set for the other characters. With an infinite number of possibilities for his costumes,
this characters design became the most challenging. At first we tried to create a through-
line for the character so that each of his appearances would seem to be a different
incarnation of the same being. We gradually realized that forcing a through-line in the
design was unnecessary, and with a consistent color palette of black the characters three
costumes could be as elaborately different as we desired. As the nasty interesting man,
we sought to make him seem as lanky and slithery as possible. With a tall, skinny actor
in the role, tight black pants were used to accent his long legs, and his jacket was built
with wide, broad shoulders and long tails in the back. He also wore snake-skinned black
shoes and was draped with chains. In a way, his appearance was that of a gothic, heavy
metal musician, the antithesis of the sensitive Orpheus. These elements worked together
nicely, making him equally nasty and interesting. As mentioned, the costume for the lord
of the underworld was inspired by the characters entrance music. The costume designer
and I explored numerous possibilities for this costume, and had been researching
costumes that conjured the idea of an English schoolboy. From here the parallel was
drawn to the guitarist from AC/DC, Angus Young, who is well known to contemporary,
university-aged audiences for his velvet schoolboy outfits. This image appropriately
captured the youthfulness, rebelliousness and creepiness that was needed for the design,
and fit well with the black color palette we had created for the character. (See Appendix
F, Fig. F.8) The inspiration for the characters final appearance was gleaned from the
stilts he had to wear. The stilts automatically conjured a circus-like quality, and from this
image we began to see the character in this incarnation as a ringleader. Black velvet
pants were designed to go over the stilts, and a ruffled white shirt and vest complete with
a top hat completed the ensemble. While the design process for this character in his
many manifestations was long and challenging, his design suited the world of the play
nicely by breaking its rules.
Make-Up and Hair Design
The hair and make-up designs became the icing on the cake for the show.
Much of the inspiration for the make-up and hair design came from the costume
designers initial renderings. (See Appendix F, Fig. F.9) When the make-up and hair
designers joined the team, the costume designs were already complete, allowing them to
simply compliment the concepts and designs that were already in place.
To enhance the idea of the stones being saturated with water from the river of
forgetfulness, every part of skin that was exposed to the audience, including their faces,
hands, and feet, were covered in specially made watercolor body paint. The make-up
design for their faces included dark lips, painted cheeks, and high-browed eye color,
which enhanced their comedic, theatrical quality. Their hair was also dyed to
compliment the costumes and make-up color, and was styled to represent a distressed
version of the fashions found in their individual time periods. The presence of watercolor
and dye in the hair, make-up, and costumes served as a constant reminder of the river of
The lord of the underworld was given a ghostly quality through a make-up design
that made his face and hands a pale grey color. His eyes were complimented with black
eyeliner, which not only darkened and mystified his appearance, but also tied in nicely
with his rebellious, heavy metal persona. In another step to represent the character as the
antithesis of the dark complexioned Orpheus, the actors hair was dyed a pale blonde
color. His hair was worn slicked back when he appeared as the nasty interesting man,
and was pushed forward to peak beneath his cap as the lord of the underworld.
The make-up design for Orpheus and Eurydice maintained the youth of the young
actors. They were both given a very natural, warm tone, which further brightened their
personalities. To show their growing distress as time moved throughout the play, their
hair gradually became messier. Orpheus played with his hair like a distraught artist as he
wrote letters to his dead wife, while Eurydices curls and bounce gradually fell and faded
throughout the play. The make-up for the actor who played the father was also kept in
neutral tones, but was given make-up to age the young college-aged actors face to one of
a fifty year old. Gray and white streaks were also added to his dark hair. His aged
presence, along with the darkened colors of the nasty interesting man and the watercolor
on the stones, stood in powerful contrast to the youthful, hopeful lovers.
As the world of the play began to develop through the designs it became
necessary to select props that appropriately balanced the aesthetic of this world while
practically serving the needs of the show. Because the set and costumes had been taken
from a very distinctive color palette, it was important that the props appropriately suit this
visual tone. The time period for the world of the play and its numerous properties was
also considered, and the term classic again guided many of our final decisions. Our
first step was to determine which props we needed for the show by creating a detailed
properties list. As we implemented rehearsal versions of the props, some of them became
laborious as we worked to maintain the fluidity of the staging. For example, the silver
platter used by the father to deliver Eurydices first letter was cut because it was difficult
to find a discreet place to store it on the sparse set after it had been used, and broke the
fluidity of the scene if an actor exited to remove it from the stage. The briefcase the
father was to take to work was also cut because its presence in the string room between
uses was clumsy. It was important that props did not begin to clutter the clean, simple set
that had been so carefully created.
One of the first props we addressed was the letters. Because Ruhl says at the
beginning of the script, when people compose letters in this play they neednt actually
scribble themthey can speak directly to the audience, I decided that the letters should
be blank without writing on them (5). Because the actors addressed the audience with the
letter monologues, I told them to imagine that it was their language and the act of
speaking that brought the words to life on the letters. Practically, it was also less of a
distraction for actors and audience members who might try to read words scribbled onto
the letters. The texture of the paper used for the letters was also important. Having read
Ruhls request in Dead Mans Cell Phone that when selecting paper for the stationary
shop one should go to a paper store and touch the paper, I knew that it was important
for the paper to have a strong textural quality (103). Parchment paper was thus selected
for its rich texture, and its classic appeal.
Eurydices suitcase and umbrella were also selected with great care. The style of
the suitcase was again one of classic lines taken from the fifties. The construction and
style of the suitcase was more important than one might assume because Eurydice not
only had to sit inside it, but it also served as the only piece of furniture in the string
room. The umbrella we used was made of clear materials so as not to obstruct the
audiences view of Eurydice when she arrived in the elevator. Considering the size of the
elevator structure, a bubble umbrella was chosen for its reduced circumference and also
for its interesting shape. Joining the suitcase and umbrella as the third prop in the string
room, the Collected Works of Shakespeare book that Orpheus sends to Eurydice also had
a classic appeal. Another classic prop was the red childrens tricycle that was used by the
lord of the underworld. While the small size of the tricycle complimented the boyish
nature of the character, extended handlebars were added to give it a more modern quality
and to accommodate the height of the actor.
Orpheus platform was also personalized with numerous props. Because I chose
to keep Orpheus on stage throughout Movement Two, it was important that he have
objects to occupy his time without drawing unwarranted attention from the audience.
Since Orpheus guitar was needed within the movement, its presence was utilized
between his monologues. The character also spent a great deal of time pouring over the
letters he sent to Eurydice, and frequently threw crumpled versions on the platform.
While the old-fashioned glow-in-the-dark globe was only called for once within the
play, its presence on the platform served as a powerful representation of Orpheus search
for Eurydice, and like the other props and images in the play, carried a great symbolic
In the end the collaborative, detail-oriented approach used throughout the design
process was rewarded with a cohesive, aesthetically pleasing overall design. While the
tedious nature of the design process was at times stress provoking, the strong
collaboration between the vision of the designers and my directors concept brought forth
a final design that was both artistically fulfilling and practically served the needs of the
play. Once the stationary physical environment of the play was established through the
design, I was able to redirect my focus on bringing the story of the play to life through
the actors.
The Rehearsal Process
While the rehearsal process often begins after many other aspects of the play have
started to take shape, it is during this time that the play truly begins to come to life. It is
the most essential, critical phase of the entire production process, and is for most
directors the part they look forward to the most. Knowing that the tone and approach to
Eurydice would be a new stylistic experience and challenge for many of the actors within
the department, it was essential that the team of actors I cast be willing to boldly face the
challenges of the play. Communication and collaboration during the rehearsal process
would be the key to a successful production. I thus approached auditions and casting for
the show with the goal of not only bringing together a talented group of actors, but of
building a collaborative team that would boldly tackle Ruhls whimsical, quirky play
without reservation.
Auditions and Casting
Auditions for Eurydice were scheduled approximately one month before
rehearsals were to begin. With costume renderings due just a few short days after the
auditions to accommodate the high demands placed on the costume shop, it was
necessary to cast as quickly into the fall semester as possible. Since it had become
necessary to share the limited pool of actors in the department with the production of
Cyrano de Bergerac, auditions for both shows were scheduled for the same week. While
the other director and I promised an equal amount of give and take in our casting, the
overlap added a significant amount of stress to the process due to the ever-present reality
that the cast lists could intersect and I may not get my top choices for each role. For this
reason I approached auditions with a very open mind about my casting options.
Auditions could not simply be a process of elimination, but would instead have to lead
me to numerous, flexible casting options.
As I contemplated how to best conduct auditions, I realized that a key
characteristic I needed to see the actors demonstrate was their ability to hold attention on
stage alone. With the plays small cast and large number of monologues and silences, it
was essential for actors to exude a great deal of confidence on stage and show their
ability to hold an audiences attention. I thus decided that auditions would consist of
memorized, pre-selected monologues. Since the characters of the nasty interesting man
and the stones did not have monologues in the script, only monologues for Eurydice,
Orpheus, and the Father were chosen. This meant that decisions about who to call back
for the nasty interesting man and the stones would be based on body type and voice
quality, which could be easily gleaned from the monologues I had selected for the other
characters. As discussed in Chapter Three, actors auditioning for the role of Orpheus
were also given the option of playing an instrument and singing a love song. While this
opportunity did, in a practical way, allow me to see which actors had musical talent, it
also instantly demonstrated the actors who already had characteristics in common with
Another defining quality that I would seek from actors in auditions was their
ability to capture the mixed tones of the play. For this reason I selected monologues that
demonstrated an equal amount of comic whimsy and sadness in their content. In an effort
to help the actors prepare for the tonal challenges of the play, descriptive character
breakdowns were made available in advance. Eurydice was for example described as,
Young. Wide-eyed. Matter-of-fact. Her inner girl and inner woman are in constant
battle with one another. After sharing descriptions such as these for each of the
characters, I looked forward to what each actor would interpret and carry with them to
auditions. Unfortunately, once the auditions began it became immediately clear how
challenging the mixed tones of the show were going to be for the actors. Many actors
instantly went from one extreme emotion to another, either accentuating the comedic or
wallowing in the tragic. In some cases it became necessary to stop actors during their
monologues and lead them in the proper direction by giving them notes about pacing and
style. Very few actors in fact completely nailed their audition, but many showed the
potential they could have with more time and direction.
When selecting the actors to call back for the final phase of the audition there
were many factors to consider. Because auditions for Cyrano had been held the same
night, I was careful to speak with the other director to foresee any potential overlapping
casting situations. When it seemed apparent that many of the strongest actors were
leading candidates for roles in both shows, I decided to call back a greater number of
actors for each role than I might have otherwise done. In the end I called back three to
four actors for each of the leading male roles, six actors for the role of Eurydice, and
several actors for the stones. It was also noted on the callback list that all actors called
back should consider themselves as running candidates for the stones. I was fully aware
that some of the very talented actors I had called back as potential leads would be highly
desirable as stones if they were not cast in the other roles. In preparing for callbacks I
chose a number of scenes or sides that demonstrated Eurydices interaction with the
three leading males, and also a side with the stones interacting with one another. These
sides were available to the actors before callbacks to give them adequate time to prepare.
As a backup, I also had additional monologue sides prepared to use at the end of
auditions in case I needed see the actors execute the roles in a more spontaneous way.
With such a small number of roles to distribute among the actors I knew that it
was important to make the actors feel safe and comfortable as they prepared for the
inherently stressful, competitive callbacks. I also knew that with the problems I had seen
in the initial auditions that it was important for me to be very clear about what I was
looking for in the tone and style of the play. With this in mind I began callbacks by
sitting with the company of actors and emphasizing the importance of maintaining a light
mood within the tragic undertones of the play. I noted, for example, that in comedy
characters are funniest when they do not know they are being funny. Similarly, tragic
characters are most sympathetic when they do not know they are being tragic. For the
actors called back for the roles of Orpheus and Eurydice, I read aloud Ruhls character
description and emphasized the need to avoid playing classical. With these notes made
clear, I divided the actors into groups of three and sent them out to work on the sides for
the stones, encouraging them to have fun with the shape of their bodies and explore bold
staging choices. Doing this for the beginning of the callbacks allowed every actor to get
on their feet and enjoy working collaboratively instead of competitively, and set a
relaxed, positive tone for the rest of the evening.
From this simple exercise I was immediately aware of which actors were willing
to explore the movement and vocal variations I was searching for with the stones. After
watching several groupings of stones, I compiled a strong list of potential candidates for
the roles and dismissed the actors who would not be reading for other characters. From
here I turned my focus to examining chemistry between actors auditioning for Eurydice,
and those auditioning for the father. The strongest candidate for the role of the father
became immediately apparent. While all of the actors called back for the role had found
the sympathetic nature of the character in their monologues, the actor who became my
first choice for the role was able to maintain this nature better than the others when he
interacted with Eurydice. The aged stature that this actor had found also stood in great
contrast with the young, lively embodiment that was being discovered for Eurydice. To
secure this decision, the actors auditioning for the father were given an additional
monologue to perform with little practice, and this performance further reinforced my
decision about who to cast in the role.
Wanting to use the actors time efficiently, other sides rehearsed while these
scenes between the father and Eurydice were performed. The next group I worked with
was the pairings between Eurydice and the nasty interesting man. Because double
casting was called for with the nasty interesting man and the lord of the underworld, sides
for both characters had been given to the actors auditioning for the roles. These actors
were asked to perform the scenes as the different characters back to back, which allowed
me to gauge their ability to change character quickly. This proved to be challenging for
many of the actors who seemed to either attach themselves to one role or the other. The
body types and stature of the actors then began to heavily influence my ideas about how
the character should be cast. While some of the smaller actors had appropriately
embodied the lord of the underworld, they lacked the demanding, foreboding presence
that was needed for the nasty interesting man. In the end, my first choice for the role was
the tallest actor, whose height created a looming presence as the nasty man while serving
as an awkward, comedic presence as the child. This actor also held the vocal diversity
needed to give each role the individual textures it called for.
In casting Orpheus it was important that the actor demonstrate an ability to handle
the numerous monologues in the script. When the actors auditioning for Orpheus were
not working on sides with Eurydice, they practiced several monologues. I worked with
each monologue performance, taking note of how well the actor responded to my
direction and how much emotional diversity he could add to role. After seeing several
monologues it became quite clear to me who was best suited for the role. This actor was
able to capture the artistic, quirky persona of the character, while maintaining a
sympathetic, boyish quality; he was also a talented musician. As this casting choice
became clear, it was important that my casting of Eurydice be partially determined by the
chemistry created between her character and this actor. After observing numerous
pairings, a final monologue was given to the Eurydice candidates to demonstrate the
actors ability to not only hold chemistry with the actor playing Orpheus, but also stand
strongly on her own during the numerous monologues she would have throughout the
play. In the end, my final decision for the casting of Eurydice was determined by the
actors ability to maintain both of these qualities. She was confident and able to match
the strong actor I was selecting for Orpheus, while maintaining a simplicity and naivety
that gave her a sympathetic quality. Further, the actors beauty and innocence was
matched by an equal amount of quirkiness and feistiness, a juxtaposition that captured the
tone of the character and the play perfectly.
As I narrowed my choices for these characters, I was able to then select the chorus
of stones. There was much to consider when casting these roles because I not only had to
select actors based on their individual skill and aptness in the role, but also on their
ability to work in unison with one another. Each actors vocal quality and body shape not
only had to suit the character, but had to harmonize with the others as well. I had the
added flexibility of selecting males or females in what Ruhl seems to write as gender-
neutral roles, which created a greater challenge for me even as it opened up more
possibilities. In the end I chose a tall man with a showy persona as the loud stone, a
shapely woman with a demanding physical presence and resonating voice as the big
stone, and a thin woman with a nervous energy as the little stone.
While I selected my top choices for each role with relative ease, I had to be
prepared to rearrange my choices to accommodate the needs of the Cyrano director if
necessary. Fortunately, with the other director in full understanding and agreement with
my cast list, the stress that I had feared about the shared casting proved to be for naught.
In the end, none of the actors I had selected for the roles conflicted with the other
directors casting needs, allowing both of us to receive our top choices for each role.
This positive resolve was likely achieved by our open willingness to frankly ask for what
we wanted, while taking the proper precautionary steps to find suitable second choices if
necessary. Our presence in one anothers callbacks also allowed us to see the reasoning
behind each directors decision-making process. In the end, I was able to select a bold,
talented cast of experienced actors that was eager to begin the rehearsal process.
With a strong cast in place, preparations for rehearsals were made. The three
weeks that passed between auditions and the first rehearsal were filled with numerous
design meetings, including finalized renderings for the costumes based on the new cast
list, a design presentation where the designs were enthusiastically received by the actors
and all other members of the theatre department, and the construction of the main
architectural elements for the set. A great deal of this time was also spent in
communication with my stage manager, who prepared paperwork and distributed scripts
to the actors. Enthusiasm continued to build as we stepped into our first table work
rehearsal.
Table Work
With the limited amount of rehearsal time we had been allotted, I was fully aware
that the time spent in table work would need to be used wisely. Table work usually
comes at the beginning of a rehearsal process and often includes several readings of the
script, discussions of character analysis, play structure, and climax, and a break down of
the units of action in the script. Unfortunately, our first week of rehearsals overlapped
with evening performances of another department production, which several of my cast
members were in, giving us only two full rehearsal periods for table work during the first
week of our four week long rehearsal process. With the light plot due in the second week
of rehearsals, blocking for the play had to take place quickly, forcing me to use these two
days wisely. With a desire to approach the play using Anne Bogarts Viewpoints
techniques for acting (described below), I knew that one of these table workdays would
need to be spent introducing the technique to the actors. I then set about planning our
first, and only full table work rehearsal.
As I prepared for our first table work session I sought topics of discussion that
might inspire the actors. First, I wanted the actors to feel a connection with the Greek
mythology that bore the story of Eurydice and to understand how our production fit into a
long lineage of mythical adaptations. I also thought it would be inspiring if actors
understood the playwrights personal connection to the story and the autobiographical
elements she had embedded into the play. To fulfill these needs, the dramaturg prepared
a presentation for the first rehearsal that included information about the myth in ancient
culture, its development through the years, and a brief biography of the playwright and
history of the play. Beginning our process with this information allowed the actors to
feel more connected to the project and to the artistic tradition of Orpheus stories.
After this presentation we conducted our first full read-through of the script. It
was during this time that we made note of the slight differences in the most recent
publications of the script that I have fully listed in Appendix B. I then made the decision
to include two lines that had been cut from the Samuel French actors edition of the
script, which I felt were necessary to the production of the play. The first was a
foreshadowing reference in the first scene of the play where Eurydice tells Orpheus to
walk away from her and then, Dont look at me (334). The second was a transitional
line in the third scene of Movement Two, in which the stones tell the father, Stop
singing and go to work! (380). Adding this line back gave the father the proper
motivation to leave the stage before the lord of the underworld entered on his tricycle.
Next, I once again discussed the challenge we faced with the plays tone and
style. To prepare the actors for the Viewpoints exercises we would be doing in the next
rehearsal, I shared a statement from Sarah Ruhl: Oh, come on, just ride it . . . I prefer an
actor who says, My character doesnt have a backstory, so I wont concoct one. I will
live as fully in every moment as I can. I will let the language move me, as opposed to a
secret backstory of my own (qtd. in Lahr Surreal Life). Based on this advice from
the playwright, I encouraged the actors to avoid over-thinking the play. Like Ruhl had
said, I wanted them to ride it and trust the script and story even before we understood it
completely. This approach proved to be stimulating for the actors. Rather than focusing
on quickly finding the right answers, they were encouraged to continually develop their
characters throughout the entire rehearsal process. This theoretical approach prepared the
actors to be pushed away from the comfort of their seats and onto their feet as we began
to explore the Viewpoints exercises.
The Viewpoints method is a relatively recent approach to acting developed by
Anne Bogart, Tina Landau and based on the concepts created by Mary Overlie. Rather
than the psychological approach of Constantin Stanislavski or Lee Strasberg, it follows in
the footsteps of theatre practitioners such as Vsevolod Meyerhold and Jerzy Grotowsky
who have based their techniques on an external approach to acting. As described in
Bogart and Landaus, The Viewpoints Book, there are nine physical viewpoints that
should be addressed and examined when tackling a character and play: tempo, duration,
kinesthetic response, repetition, shape, gesture, architecture, spatial relationship, and
topography. When actors are trained and aware of these Viewpoints and what they entail,
they become better equipped to tell their characters stories physically. The shared
vocabulary of Viewpoints within an ensemble also offers a common language between
the actors and director and a way to talk about how things are staged.
I became interested in Viewpoints as a viable approach to our production after
examining Ruhls ideas about acting in my research. With the irrational quality that Ruhl
gives her characters, I knew that delving too deeply into the psychology of the play and
the characters would prove frustrating and unbeneficial to the actors. With the
Viewpoints exercises, actors would be able to jump into the project with viable tactics to
help them develop their characters, while leaving their minds open to explore
psychological developments along the way. My analysis of the script also led me to
believe that the play should carry fluidity reminiscent of the continuous presence of water
and the actual titles of the acts as movements, which could be addressed through
Viewpoints exercises. Since not all of the actors had been previously exposed to
Viewpoints exercises through departmental acting courses, it was necessary for me to
give a brief introduction to the technique. The first part of our second rehearsal was
spent introducing and practicing the various Viewpoints. We went through each point,
allowing the actors to become familiar with the vocabulary and extrinsic demands of the
Once the actors were familiar with the individual Viewpoints, we began to
practice them in character. It was here that Ruhls characters began to come to life for
the first time. For example, when actors were asked to explore tempo for their characters,
the actor playing the father found that he continuously moved at a steady pace, and the
actors playing the stones moved very slowly, or even stopped. The actor playing
Eurydice found herself fluctuating between fast and slow tempos, and as she explored the
Viewpoint of duration found that she never kept the same pace or rhythm for very long.
When actors were asked to explore the Viewpoint of spatial relationship, new ideas about
the story came to life for them. The actor playing the nasty interesting man found
himself repeatedly confronting the actor playing Orpheus, who in turn was never able to
get as close to Eurydice as he wanted to. As the actor playing Eurydice explored spatial
relationship and attempted to move closer to the actor playing Orpheus, she was often
barricaded by the stones, and would usually find herself back in the security of the father.
As these Viewpoints were explored, the physical actions of the actors began to silently
reveal the story of Eurydice.
In the second part of our Viewpoints session, I introduced a worksheet called
The Hot Seat, which was taken from The Viewpoints Book. (See Appendix G) The
worksheet allowed the actors to explore their characters as they would in a typical table
work session but forced them to do so in a different way. Any questions that dealt with a
characters psychology, such as their likes and dislikes, were answered from clues found
directly in the script. The continued discovery of physical movement through the
Viewpoints was also part of the worksheet, forcing the actors to continue their discovery
of the external nature of their characters and not just the internal. Actors were given a
limited amount of time to complete this worksheet in order to, as the book describes,
create Exquisite Pressure by reducing time and increasing spontaneity (Bogart 128).
While actors were at first nervous about the exercise, the results created by the
spontaneity were simple yet profound. As actors watched one another read their
worksheet answers and perform the various gestures and movements, they began to trust
the technique and approach. Our session was concluded with an enthusiastic group
discussion about our discoveries and a challenge from me to hold on to their findings as
we moved forward into our blocking rehearsals, adding language to the physical
discoveries they had made.
As a director, I have found that it is important to reevaluate my staging or
blocking techniques with each show I direct. Every plays blocking must be
approached differently depending on its style. A musical, for example, requires a great
deal of planned, carefully thought-out blocking, while certain realistic plays staged in
naturalistic settings are usually blocked in an organic way, allowing actors to explore the
behavior and movements that would naturally occur in the space. For Eurydice, I wanted
to create a unique balance between these two approaches by planning certain elements of
the blocking in advance to insure that things moved forward fluidly while leaving room
for the actors to explore and organically implement their own ideas. Metaphorically, I
described this approach to the actors as my creating a fence whose parameters they
should explore freely.
Due to a limited rehearsal period and deadlines for the lighting plot looming, this
fence was created within a matter of three rehearsals. During the first part of this
blocking process, I often approached rehearsals with pre-determined ideas that came from
rationalizations I had made based on a detailed evaluation of the script and the space.
The set itself contributed heavily to these first decisions. I knew for example, that the
scene between Eurydice and the nasty interesting man in the high rise apartment would
take place on the platform. We had also established that this platform would be where
Orpheus delivered his numerous monologues during the second movement. The location
of the string room, which was also determined by the set, also set heavy parameters for
the blocking. The numerous lighting specials discussed in Chapter Three also strongly
contributed to the way the play would be staged. Other logical blocking decisions
included the lord of the underworlds first entrance from the ramp so that he might ride
his tricycle down the descending circle, and his final entrance on stilts from under the
platform, which was the only entrance with a level walking surface. Still other basic
blocking decisions were made to help fill out the space. I determined, for example, that
the downstage left vomitory, which was limited by a large step and thus not a practical
entrance for quick movement, would be used for the fathers entrances and exits to work.
By mapping these elements of the blocking beforehand, rehearsals with the actors moved
forward in a much more productive way.
We then began the process of filling in the spaces between these practical
blocking choices. When I approach blocking as a director, I often envision images and
shapes during specific moments of a play, or consider how certain moments can be made
more poignant by staging them within specific architectural locations in the set. With
these visions in mind I begin the blocking of each scene by telling the actors to
experiment with particular shapes or positions at certain moments in the script. In
Eurydice rehearsals, for example, I would note the symbolism of an iconic image, the
usefulness of a specific Viewpoint such as shape or spatial relationship, or the power of
staging a moment extremely close, or far away from the audience. The actors were then
asked to perform the scene and explore a natural way to move between these moments.
One example of implementing such images was the added gesture of the father braiding
Eurydices hair as he told her stories. When such scenes were over, we discussed which
moments worked, and which transitions proved awkward, and would then repeat the
scene with these notes in mind, until it moved fluidly. In most cases, the freedom the
actors felt in exploring their scenes often led to even stronger images, developed by all of
us working together. Through the years I have found that rehearsals are much more
productive if I have a rough blocking blueprint for the actors to work with. Whether we
end up keeping any part of this blueprint is irrelevant, but what is important is that the
actors feel like they have a foundation to build on.
Few significant changes were made to the initial blocking we created during our
early rehearsals. One moment that proved to be particularly challenging for us to stage,
however, was Orpheus entrance into the underworld at the beginning of Movement Two.
After several attempts to block this scene, the moment lacked the intensity that was
needed. Originally, the downstage right bridge that extended from the stage to the
vomitory was intended to signify the gate into Hades where Orpheus would enter. Yet
because Eurydice and the Father were still present on stage in the string room, I feared
that the audiences suspension of disbelief would be compromised by the close proximity
Orpheus would have to Eurydice, whom at this point he was not supposed to see. After
asking numerous mentors for their suggestions, we decided to have Orpheus enter from
the audience. While this change fixed the practical need of placing more distance
between Orpheus and Eurydice, it also gave the moment the power and intensity it had
previously lacked. Further, the change complimented the idea that Orpheus was breaking
the rules of the underworld and the rules of the theatre by entering in this way.
One other aspect of the stage movement that called for continuous care and
attention was the blocking for the stones. To maintain fluidity I had decided to keep the
stones on stage throughout the second and third movements as enforcers of the rules of
the underworld, however, determining what they should do within their long periods of
observation without dialogue was a challenge. To legitimize their presence on stage they
had to be engaged in the other characters actions, but not so engaged that they would
distract and draw attention. The actors who played the stones were very patient with this
process of discovery and playfully explored numerous ways of approaching their action
on stage. Both extremes of their participation were explored, ranging from distanced,
quiet observers to engaged, taunting participants. In the end a carefully considered
balance was achieved that allowed the stones to engage and add comedic relief when
necessary without stealing unwarranted attention.
Once the blocking had taken shape, the next step was to begin to truly bring the
play to life. It is extremely challenging for actors to completely engage in moments on
stage when they are unsure about their blocking or still have scripts in their hands. For
this reason, the next several rehearsals focused on smoothing out the rough blocking and
getting the actors comfortable in their memorization of lines. In order for the actors to be
able to ride it and live fully in every moment as Ruhl had said, it was important for
them to quit thinking about their lines and blocking. Once these barriers were crossed,
we began to focus more clearly on the tone we were creating for the play and the specific
journey of each character.
Tone and Character Development
The tonal challenges we faced as early as auditions and callbacks continued to be
a struggle for us in the character development phase of rehearsals. In the first few times
we ran through the show, the pacing seemed slow, and the mood somber. My first plan
of attack for addressing the problem was by manipulating the way the actors prepared
themselves for rehearsal. While the Viewpoints stretches and warm-ups we had been
practicing had helped give the actors focus, they did not seem to adequately energize
them for the show. We began to add energizing exercises to the pre-show warm-ups in
an attempt to build excitement for each run of the show. But finding the correct balance
between energy and focus warm-ups also proved to be a challenge. While the energy
driven warm-ups gave the actors the added excitement they needed to give the play the
liveliness it was lacking, it sometimes distracted them from the focus of their journeys.
Warm-ups became a delicate balancing act of preparation that strongly influenced each
run of the show.
Overcoming the tonal difficulties also pushed us to use the vocabulary of several
different acting techniques. Using the language of Viewpoints, I reminded the actors to
be constantly aware of tempo and duration. When the play moved at a slow pace I
reminded the actors to increase their tempos. Duration was specifically addressed as we
worked with moments of silence such as the building of the string room, or the length of
time it took the father and Eurydice to step into the river. As we continued to address the
tonal challenges, I reminded the actors to avoid the temptation to play the somber mood
of the ending, and encouraged them to live more fully in each moment on stage. To
facilitate this need, it was necessary to bring the actors back to the Stanislavskian concept
of given circumstances. While the Viewpoints methods had proven useful for bringing
about much of the physical development of the play, the actors also longed for the
psychological motivations behind their characters. Aware of Ruhls reservations about
creating secret back stories, bringing the actors back to very simple concepts like given
circumstances helped them better achieve the moment-to-moment journeys of their
characters.
This mixture of acting techniques proved to be a useful way to approach the play.
In order to capture the bigness and smallness that Ruhl exhibits in her work, a vocabulary
of big and small ways to approach the play was useful. To avoid overwhelming the
actors with too many ideas at once, I announced an individual point of focus at each
rehearsal. I would, for example, announce at the beginning of a rehearsal that I wanted
the actors to explore and focus only on their behavioral and environmental gestures. The
following night, I would then ask them to focus on a particular given circumstance, and it
influenced their character in each scene. By giving the actors simple ideas to focus on in
each rehearsal, they were able to make discoveries about various layers of their
characters journeys and then bring them together.
While this approach proved to be the most successful way to grapple with the
mixed tones in the play, it was still challenging to actors. Sometimes the actors were
uncertain of which elements to keep and implement from the differently focused
rehearsals. For the actor playing Eurydice, who by the sheer size of her role would
naturally have the most adjustments with each varying focus, the task was sometimes
overwhelming. Even though the actor was only asked to focus on one thing at a time, she
struggled with how to bring the individual elements together to create a cohesive whole.
It became evident that because she was trying to rationalize every tactic simultaneously,
that her mind was overloaded with the infinite possibilities she was discovering. To
solve this problem, I gave the actor permission to forget everything if she needed to. I
told her that if she ever became overwhelmed that she could feel free to simply be
herself, and live vicariously through the characters journey. For this actor, having the
permission to forget it all gave her the ability to focus again.
The actor playing Orpheus was given a unique challenge within his role because a
great deal of his journey occurred when he was not taking part in the play. While our
production made the decision to keep him on stage for the duration of the second
movement, his monologues are written to occur at numerous points in his journey of
grief, and it was necessary for the actor to discover the intricacies of this journey to give
each monologue a different psychological foundation. To approach this challenge in a
more tangible way, the actor and I discussed Elisabeth Kubler-Rosss five stages of
grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance). While the monologues do
not follow these stages in a linear way, we identified ways that each stage could be used
as a motivating source within the characters journey. After coming to an understanding
about his characters emotional state for each monologue, the actor was better equipped
to begin filling in the gaps of the characters psychological progression.
While the language of the play was surprisingly simple to capture in the
monologues and dialogue among the majority of the characters, the syncopated lines of
the stones were extremely challenging. Separate rehearsals were held for the stones to
discover the pitch and pacing of their lines. Every word and phrase was carefully
addressed as we worked to bring the stones to a unified harmony. Drawing on yet
another acting approach, the vocal exercises of Arthur Lessac were used to bring
emphasis to consonants and extended vowel sounds. Even though this detailed approach
to the language of the stones created the rhythmic quality I felt they needed, the
syncopation at times made them far too abrasive and loud. At the advice of several of my
faculty mentors, I attempted to correct this problem by adding more vocal diversity to the
syncopated lines. While this adjustment corrected the problem of abrasiveness in the
characters, in also partly diminished the potency of the language, and the perfect mixture
was never fully accomplished.
Beyond the challenges we faced with the language of the stones, the journey of
these characters through the play was equally difficult to decipher. It was again, the tonal
balance for the characters that proved to be one of the most difficult aspects to find. As
we dealt with their level of participation in the play through blocking, we discovered just
how vast the possibilities for the stones journeys could be. They could choose to
embrace the stage direction of being played as nasty children at a birthday party and
move through the play humorously unaffected and unsympathetic to the series of events
that unfold around them. Yet they could also adopt the very stoic, stone-like persona of
numbness that is also present within their characters. Again, a balance of these
approaches proved to be the best way to capture the fullness of these characters. While
the nastiness of the child-like stones brought comic relief and energy to the second
movement, it was distracting and unfitting in the third movement when they become
emotionally affected by the appearance of Orpheus. In response to this realization, we
discovered the emotional journey that the stones would take throughout the play. We
realized that they were jealous of Eurydice and her opportunity to follow Orpheus out of
the underworld. This realization gave them the proper motivation to plead for Eurydice
to follow Orpheus, and justified why they are angry with her when she comes back.
By using these various tactics and being sensitive to how they affected each actor,
we were finally able to arrive at a suitable tone for the show. Our goal of appropriately
capturing the mythical and mundane moments in the play gave us focus throughout the
rehearsal process. As we approached our technical and dress rehearsals our most
important goal became to hang tightly onto this tone and mood we had created.
Everything from the volume of the sound cues to the pacing of the actors with the
lighting cues could alter this tone, and we were constantly aware of maintaining this
fragile state as we began our technical rehearsals.
Technical Rehearsals
The technical rehearsals or, techs, are commonly known as the time when all
production elements, including light, sound, and last-minute additions to the set are
finally added. It is at this time in the process that the director must give full leadership
responsibilities to the stage manager, who is responsible for calling out each cue in the
show. The first part of this process is called paper tech. Paper techs occur outside of
rehearsal time and most often include the stage manager, lighting and sound designers,
and the director. During paper techs, sound and lighting designers go through each of
their cues on their prepared cue sheets and inform the stage manager of the specific times
each cue should be called out to the sound and light board operators. By this point in the
process, many of the technical cues for the set have already been dealt with, but it is often
at this time that the stage manager begins to notate how each of these cues should be
dealt with, and how she will notify the assistant stage manager and/or crew hands of how
to handle each cue. At paper tech, the primary role of the director is to ensure the correct
placement of each cue, and to answer any questions in regards to the order or timing of
the cues.
The next step of the technical process is called dry tech because it also occurs
with no actors. Depending on the length and demands of the show, dry tech can
sometimes be the most tedious part of the tech process. It is here that the director is able
to see and hear each of the cues together for the first time, and draw attention to any
changes that may need to be made on the fade times for the lights, for example, or on the
levels of the sounds. For Eurydice, which had over seventy sound cues and nearly one
hundred fifty light cues, the process was extended over two days. During this time, the
stage manager was able to practice calling each of the cues and make any necessary
changes to the order of the cues in her script. At this time we realized exactly how
challenging the stage managers job would be for this show, which had numerous
moments when cues followed one another very quickly. Transitions between the three
movements for example, where numerous sound, light, and set cues overlapped were
particularly challenging for the stage manager, who would sometimes have as many as
twenty cues to call on a single page of the script. After a long, but successful dry tech,
we moved onto the next step of wet techs which finally include the actors.
Wet techs often begin with what is commonly known as a cue-to-cue. During a
cue-to-cue, the stage manager leads the actors through each cue of the script, skipping
over sections that do not involve technical elements. It is at this time that actors practice
the timing of the cues, and how it affects the specificity of their movements and line
delivery. This is also a time for the director to make any last minute changes to technical
elements that may be affected by the presence of the actors on stage. The levels of
certain sound cues are adjusted to match the volume of actors voices and some of the
lighting fade times are also adjusted to adequately complement the actors timing.
One of the most difficult challenges we faced during techs was the diversion of
attention at appropriate moments. To ensure that attention would be fixed on the correct
areas of the stage, it became necessary to decrease the intensity of light in some areas of
the stage, while increasing it others. An example of one such change came in the
moment when Eurydice falls to her death at the end of Movement One. While the sound
had done an adequate job of covering the sound of the actor descending from the stairs,
the inability to make the theatre completely dark due to the exit signs created the problem
of seeing the actor walk down the steps, rather than actually falling. Since nothing could
be done about the brightness of the exit signs, we chose instead to add an abrupt increase
in the intensity of light coming from the elevator at the same time the platform went dark.
By doing this, the audiences attention was diverted away from the actors descent down
the stairs, and the final result was a sharp and powerful transition.
Another challenge within the technical rehearsals was the implementation of
various elements of the set. First we discovered that the water pump had to be readied
and primed within an hour of its use. Thus, once performances began, the assistant
stage manager would have to prepare the pump in the last moments before the doors to
the theatre were opened. We also discovered that the rain in the elevator had a ten-
second delay, so calling this cue was rehearsed numerous times to ensure that the timing
would be consistent. Two technical elements that never fully achieved the effect we
desired were the string room and the dry ice used in the river of forgetfulness. Because
two people were needed to lower each side of the string room, the timing of their descent
and ascent was challenging. While the stage manager and run-crew personnel practiced
this task numerous times, the two sides were never perfectly synchronized. The dry ice
also created frustrating challenges for the lighting designer. Due to uncontrollable,
unpredictable drafts in the theatre space, the dry ice did not always flow within the
desired parameters of the river. While the designer continued to adjust the size and
placement of the pipes used for the dry ice throughout the technical and dress rehearsals,
a consistent effect was never fully achieved.
The technical rehearsals proved to be a valuable lesson in compromise for
everyone involved in the project. Aware of the heightened necessity to maintain an
appropriate tone and pace for the show, several sound cues were cut or changed (as
discussed in Chapter Five), and lighting cues were adjusted. While the cues on their own
had appeared to be good choices, when added to the total work of art they seemed out of
place, inappropriate, or simply faltered due to our technical capacities. In the end our
collaboration and patience during the tedious tech process led to a much smoother dress
rehearsal and preview.
Dress Rehearsals
After a long weekend of technical rehearsals, costumes were finally added to the
production. The first dress rehearsal is a critical time in the life of a production because it
is the first time that the director and designers see the full embodiment of their vision and
work come together. Dress rehearsals can also be very stressful because they affect each
actor differently. In some cases, the addition of costumes completes an actors vision for
their character and allows them to feel fully immersed in the character for the first time.
For other actors, costumes can be a stumbling block and result in an adjustment period
for the actor as they learn to move and function in the costume. The dress rehearsal also
allows the costume designer to see their work in motion, and note any final adjustments
that need to be made.
Dress rehearsals for Eurydice began by practicing the few quick costume changes
that needed to be made by the actors playing Eurydice and Orpheus. Compared to many
shows, Eurydice has very few costume changes that need to be made abruptly. The
fastest change occurred for the actor playing Eurydice, who was given approximately one
minute to change from her wedding dress and into the dress and coat she wore in the
underworld. Again, the stress of these quick changes can sometimes negatively affect an
actors performance because they have little time to mentally prepare themselves for the
scene that follows. Luckily, with the help of the run crew, and the ability to practice the
change numerous times, the actor was able to handle the adjustment well.
While skirts, bustles, corsets and capes had been used by the actors in rehearsals,
the transition to the full costumes proved to be more inhibiting for some actors than
others. The stones had the added challenge of uncomfortable hair-dos and hats, heavy
costumes, and body paint that would rub off if not handled carefully. The addition of the
stones costumes, hair, and make-up did call for some adjustments of movement and
posture, but did not affect their performances in a negative way. Surprisingly, the added
challenge gave the actors something new to work with, and added freshness to their
performance that worked in a positive way. The actor playing the lord of the underworld
was also affected by the addition of the costumes, especially by the long pants that he
wore over his stilts. Even though the costume required some slight adjustments, they did
not in any way affect his performance negatively.
Overall, the dress rehearsal and preview ran smoothly. While the actors and
production team were exhausted from a long weekend of techs, having all elements of the
show pieced together for the first time was exhilarating and exciting for everyone
involved. After a strong preview, the actors moved forward to opening night where the
final piece of the puzzle would finally be added: the audience.
Eurydice opened on Tuesday, November 11, 2009 in Baylor Universitys Mabee
Theatre. (See Appendix I, Fig. I.1 for promotional flier.) The show ran for six sold-out
performances and an additional matinee that also sold well. While small audiences had
joined us for our dress rehearsal and preview, the addition of a full house of audience
members added a fresh energy to the life of the play. Throughout the run of the show,
actors were challenged to adjust to varying, inconsistent reactions from the audiences.
On some nights, audiences responded vocally to the humor and quirkiness of the play,
requiring actors to adjust their timing and delivery to facilitate the laughter. On other
nights, however, the audience, with no change from the actors, responded more to the
tragedy of the piece, by crying or maintaining an intense silence. This silence was one of
the most challenging aspects for the actors to adjust to. In nearly every performance
during several of the more touching moments of the play, such as when the father builds
the string room, when Orpheus looks back, when the father and Eurydice step into the
river, or when Orpheus arrives in the elevator, the audience responded with an intense
silence that was at times unnerving for the actors. In some cases, silence can be a
negative reaction and mean that the audience is disinterested. Yet with each
performance, the applause and reactions that followed these silences made me believe
that the silence did not mean a disinterest in the production, but in fact just the opposite.
The silence became one of the best compliments the show could receive, because it
represented an undivided attention to the play.
With each performance, the actors continued to improve, and apart from recurring
problems with the dry ice, the technical cues continued to tighten and flow. This
progress made the closing of the show even more difficult to bear, because the growth
and potential of the production seemed endless. I, along with every other member of the
production team, was extremely proud of the work we did. For this reason it could be
quite easy to look back on the process with nothing but fond memories. Yet in order to
grow as an artist, self-evaluation and analysis must always be made to ensure growth and
progress in the future.
Eurydice offered numerous challenges that stretched my abilities as a director in
new ways. The plays style led me to reevaluate the way I approached various aspects of
my work, including my analysis and collaboration with designers and actors. My
primary goal throughout the process was always to serve the play, even when that meant
radically readjusting my directorial methods to suit its needs. In the end I learned many
valuable lessons about the directorial process and discovered ways that I can improve my
approach in the future.
The process of working with designers is always challenging for directors,
because every designer approaches his or her work differently. Some designers think in
abstract terms of color, shape, and lines, while others focus on tone or on the more
tangible given circumstances of the play. One of the directors first jobs in the design
process then is to learn how to communicate with and inspire each individual designer.
As a director shares her concept and vision she must be prepared to discuss her ideas in
ways that clearly communicate her vision to a wide variety of artistic perspectives.
One way for a director to learn how to serve the needs of her designers is to have
individual pre-concept meetings where both the director and designers discuss their
working methods and artistic approach. I have often used this approach with stage
managers by meeting before our work together begins to discuss how we can serve one
anothers needs in the most efficient way. I now see the benefit of using this approach
with designers as well. Having never previously worked with any of the designers on the
Eurydice production team, I know now that meetings such as these would have greatly
helped with our process. Rather than trying to decipher the designers approach during
the process and adjust tactics according to my discoveries along the way, I would have
been better prepared to meet their artistic needs from the beginning. Doing so early in
the process would have establish that my goal as a director was to serve their artistic
needs and create a collaborative, efficient working environment. While a pleasant and
solid working relationship was eventually established between the designers and myself, I
strongly believe if I had implemented this tactic as the first step of the design process,
less time would have been wasted learning to speak one anothers artistic language.
Another tactic that would have been good to use with all of the designers and their
crew is to compliment their work more. While I am by nature a very complimentary
person and have always made a conscious effort to praise and encourage student
designers and actors, I mistakenly forgot to make this a priority with the faculty
designers. I wrongly rationalized that working professionally meant being blunt and to-
the-point in my notes and comments. What I was reminded of in the process of designing
and constructing the various elements of Eurydice is that regardless of how professional
or critical a designer is, they need to feel that their hard work is deeply appreciated by the
director. While this seems like common sense, it is one of the easiest things to forget
when elements of the design come to life in a different way than the director might have
envisioned. Thus, praise and encouragement must be consciously used as a tactic to
maintain the morale and motivation of the entire production team.
The set design came together in a collaborative way that was artistically satisfying
for both the designer and myself. While the set did go through many changes early in the
process, the development followed a progression of trial and error that is natural for the
creative process. In the early stages of our collaboration the set designer and I learned
that we were most productive when we met frequently, with one or two days reserved
between meetings to digest the changes and ideas we had discussed. For me this often
included re-reading the script and imagining the action of the play within the adapted
design. By having sufficient time to analyze the developing set design in this way, many
potential problems and stumbling blocks within the design were solved and addressed
early.
While the development of the set design went smoothly, new challenges were
confronted when construction began. The overlapping schedules of Eurydice and Cyrano
de Bergerac added a great deal of stress to this phase of the project because the interests
of both the designer and key crew personnel were divided between the two shows.
Because Cyrano opened only two short weeks after Eurydice closed, there was a strong
desire to complete the set for Eurydice early so attention could turn to the demands of the
other show. For this reason the floor of our set was painted three weeks before the show
opened. While in theory this plan of attack should have worked, it became an issue of
key concern when the clear coat of sealant that was added to the final layer of paint began
to show numerous scuff marks. This concern was confronted immediately. After much
debate, we realized that the only way to fully correct the problem would be to re-paint the
entire set, but time and budgetary limitations made this impossible. The first part of our
compromise involved reducing the amount of traffic that was allowed on the stage to
avoid additional markings. Secondly, the stage managers were required to mop the set
before and after every rehearsal, while paint crew personnel polished the most prominent
blemishes between the performances. Luckily, the texture added to the stage in the
lighting design decreased the visibility of these markings in a majority of the scenes.
While problems such as these were in many ways unavoidable and irreparable,
other issues could have been avoided completely if I had been more aware. The first was
the placement of the elevator. Because the ramp of the set followed the natural circular
shape of the theatre, its peak occurred in an upstage location that was on the same plane
as part of the audience seating. The elevator was placed behind this area and was only
open for viewing on its downstage side, meaning numerous audience members located
behind the right side of the stage were unable to see inside. While the original angle of
the elevator was slightly adjusted the help with the problem, our realization occurred too
late in the process to make any significant changes. Only a small section of audience
members were affected by this problem, but it still troubled me that ticket holders missed
a key image in the play. In future projects I will be more proactive in addressing the way
a set affects all seating areas in the audience.
Another challenging issue was the construction of the string room. Originally, we
had hoped that the four corners that hung from the catwalks and served as the supporting
structure of the room could be left throughout the course of the play. Yet because the
climax in the third movement seemed to occur in a transient location somewhere between
the underworld and the world of the living, the physical presence of the string room was
distracting as we tried to stage this section of the play. When the issue was first
addressed early in our production meetings, the production manager and technical
director voiced concerns about the dwindling amount of time we had left on our
construction calendar and the problem was left unresolved. It was only after several
weeks of persuasion that proper steps were taken to make the necessary changes. In
hindsight I know now that my concerns should have been dealt with as soon as a potential
problem was first realized. In the future I will not allow important concerns such as these
to go unaddressed for such a long period of time; it is my obligation to do a better job of
communicating these needs.
As discussed in Chapter Three, my collaboration with the lighting designer was
smooth and efficient. The designer was patient throughout the process, and was always
open to change. Her design beautifully complimented the colors and mood of the set, and
adequately maintained the fluidity of the play during the numerous changes between the
world of the living and the underworld. The only aspect of the design that should have
been handled better was the inconsistency of the dry ice in the river of forgetfulness. In
early tests, the dry ice achieved a beautiful sweeping effect in the river. Unfortunately,
once we moved into techs we realized that the effect was not always consistent.
Numerous factors, including the uncontrollable drafts in the theatre, the size of the dry
ice, and the size of the pipes used to transport the steam from the ice, heavily altered the
effect. While we continued to modify these conditions in hopes of achieving a more
reliable product, consistency was never achieved. The effect was beautiful when it
worked correctly but was detrimental to critical moments in the play when it did not, and
for this reason should have been cut from the production. In the future I will know to be
wary of inconsistent technical elements, carefully weighing the benefits of success with
the consequences of failure.
While the sound design was handled with great care and attention to detail, many
factors beyond our control influenced the final product. As dry techs were under way and
we began to designate the levels for the sound, we realized that after taking the volume
past a certain level the speakers in the theatre began to buzz. While this uncontrollable
external factor was frustrating for both of us, proper compromise was made to handle the
problem by cutting some sound cues and adjusting the levels of others. Another
challenge we confronted in dry techs was the inability to play sound cues one after the
other as quickly as we desired. The sound designer and I both faltered here, because
neither of us predicted this need to join several of the sound cues. Unfortunately, due to
this late realization and the complicated nature of the computer sound program that
would have to be used to fix the problem, the issue could not be corrected. While the
sound board operator worked efficiently and changed cues as quickly as possible, the
inability to correct the root of the problem led to pauses between the sound cues that were
longer than we desired.
As mentioned in Chapter Three, several sound cues that were added to the design
were cut during the technical rehearsals. Although the cues had seemed fitting in the
initial concept, they were cut once they were added to the fully realized production
because they either disrupted the tone or flow of the play, or took away from the
language that was spoken during that moment. I fully blame myself for this over-design,
as the cues were initially added by my own suggestion. In retrospect I realize that this
fault came from not fully trusting Ruhls guidance in the script. Richard Corley, who
directed the world premiere of Eurydice at Madison Rep. offered this advice about
tackling Ruhls work: Sarah Ruhl has a reason (and a vision) for every linemy advice
to directors is: Pay attention. Beneath that lovely, generous exterior is a fierce
intelligence, which we ignore at our peril (qtd. in Wren). In the sound design, I failed to
fully trust Ruhls script. While some of our additionssuch as the lullaby that played
during the construction of the string room and our choice to have Orpheus sing upon his
arrival to the underworldworked well, I extended liberties in the design that should not
have been made. While cutting the cues was ultimately best for the show, the mistake
cost the designer numerous wasted hours, which I deeply regret.
The language of costume design was the most foreign and troublesome for me to
grasp. While I could relay my ideas with the designer in terms of lines, shape, and color,
I was ignorant to many stylistic clothing references the designer suggested, and often had
to be shown pictures to fully understand her ideas. I was also ill-equipped to describe
different types of fabrics that I often wanted to reference because I was unfamiliar with
the terminology. While the design experience did teach me numerous things about the
process of costume design, I know that to better equip myself for future collaborations
within this area I will need to discipline myself to research and study more costume
While the final product of the costumes far surpassed my expectations, the
process of bringing them to this full realization was stressful. As discussed in Chapter
Three, the costume designer allowed ideas to evolve over a long period of time. Even
though this approach eventually resulted in carefully considered, beautifully detailed
designs, it also meant that ideas changed frequently, and for this reason many deadlines
were missed. At the time, I did not believe that it was my responsibility to hold the
designer accountable to these deadlines because my goal was to maintain a positive
working relationship. In hindsight, I still do not know if I should have approached this
situation differently. When the director is forced to take an authoritarian role in a design
it can compromise the collaborative nature of the relationship, which was the last thing I
wanted to happen. I strongly believe that an outside source such as a production
manager or other figure of authority must assume this role. As the director, my interest
was swayed by how invested I was in the success of the final product, which for me far
out-weighed the stress of the process. An outside source of accountability might,
however, better consider the needs of the individual costume personnel, who were most
effected by the stress caused from missed deadlines.
Working With Actors
I believe that one of the primary functions of a director is to build a trusting
relationship with actors and establish a comfortable, safe working environment. Without
trust, actors are less likely to respect the directors notes, and less willing to take risks in
their work. I work to establish this trust early in rehearsals by encouraging actors to ask
questions and communicate their ideas and concerns. By validating the actors ideas
early in the process, they gain a more vested interest in the work and see themselves as
collaborative participants rather than puppets.
One way that I work to build a trusting rapport with the actors is by participating
in their warm-up exercises. While I do offer suggestions for the type of warm-ups I think
the actors should focus on, I rarely lead these exercises. Actors take turns in this position
of leadership, and I participate in their exercises according to their own terms, just like
the other actors in the cast. When rehearsals begin by collaborating in this way,
communication and trust are more likely to remain open. I often conclude many of my
rehearsals in a similar way by inviting actors to share their own questions and thoughts.
To sustain a trusting collaboration, communication must flow in both directions.
Conscious of the need to maintain this trust among the actors, my work within
the rehearsal process for Eurydice followed this model well. From our early table work
and Viewpoints rehearsals, communication was made open, and for the most part
remained this way throughout the process. One of the few exceptions included my work
with the actor who played Eurydice. As discussed in Chapter Four, specific areas of
focus were assigned to the actors at each rehearsal, and while this tactic proved beneficial
to most of the actors, it was overwhelming in the larger role of Eurydice. Because I did
not identify the source of this problem early, I continued to give overwhelming amounts
of notes to this actor, and only further increased the problem. Fearing that this actor was
beginning to feel attacked, I started giving more notes to the other actors in order to make
the large number of notes feel more balanced. This tactic, however, threatened to bring
down the morale of the entire cast. It was only after a particularly frustrating rehearsal
when the actor and I decided to meet separately for coffee that progress was finally made.
Working with this actor alone, I was able to discover the frustrations she was
experiencing and adequately adjust by giving her permission to be herself and get back to
the core of her character by throwing out all tactics and notes when necessary and simply
focus on the given circumstances. I see now that when a play rests so heavily on the
shoulders of a single actor, meetings such as these must occur more regularly. While we
had held separate rehearsals to work on monologues and specific staging elements, one-
on-one meetings where the actor could be open about her concerns away from the
presence of other cast members should have been scheduled as well. Because I lost so
much time focusing on this problem, other actors, such as the one playing Orpheus, could
have likely been pushed further in their characterizations, and I now understand how to
avoid this problem in the future.
Another decision I struggled with as I worked with the actors was the unity of the
stones. Early in the rehearsal process, vocal rehearsals were held for the actors playing
the stones where rhythm, annunciation, and pitch were determined for each of their lines.
Many faculty advisors believed, however, that the syncopation of their voices grew
monotonous throughout the play and made them feel too abrasive. While I agreed that
the abrasiveness of the their words needed to be addressed by adjusting their volume, I
never completely agreed that the syncopation was a bad choice. Complying with these
notes, I instructed the actors to speak in a less stylized way. This new way of
approaching their lines never felt as polished or stylistically appropriate as it had before,
and in hindsight was likely the wrong decision. By humanizing the way they spoke
throughout the entire play, the moment when the stones beg Eurydice to follow Orpheus
was made less powerful, because in this moment when they were in fact most human,
their already humanized vocalization could not be adjusted appropriately to match the
emotional change.
This is the most curious play to play that I think Ive ever done, says Blair
Brown of her role as Lane in Ruhls The Clean House (Talk with Sarah Ruhl). The
Tony award-winning actor went on to describe her experience with this production at the
Lincoln Center by saying,
Ive talked to the other actors in the company and they feel similarly.
There are very few places where you say, okay, this moment lands like
this every night. It varies widely because audiences are not told by the
playwright, Here comes the sad part, here comes the happy part. Its
more, Take it as you may. And, at the very same moment, we will hear
somebody crying and we will hear somebody laughing. Initially it was
very disturbing. [Laughs] Are we being mocked? And you realize, no,
actually, its all true. I dont know anything else thats like that except
maybe, you know, some magic realist novelist. But Ive never had the
experience in theatre before.
Having now experienced Ruhls work first hand, I completely understand Browns
confusion towards her audiences reactions. As a director I shared many of these feelings
as I sat in the audience in each night of Eurydice and witnessed mixed reactions of
laughter, silence, deep emotion, and puzzlement. Sitting in these performances I
wondered, Did we get it right? Did we adequately capture the tone of the play we
struggled so hard to understand and bring to full realization on the stage? The answer to
this question is both yes and no, and I think that Browns quote helps me understand how
both answers are possible.
As Brown said, the mixture of reactions from the audience was very disturbing
for their company of professional actors, and I believe that our young cast of student
actors were similarly affected by the audiences mixed responses to the play. On opening
night, our audience was so vocally responsive to the humor of the play that several
minutes were added to our run-time as actors adjusted their timing and held for laughter.
On the following night, however, the audience was not as vocal, and the actors
performance was, I believe, negatively influenced by the quiet reaction. It was only after
three or four nights of performances that the actors began to understand that such a wide
range of reactions could be warranted from the same production. In hindsight, I know
that I should have better prepared the actors for this possible mixture of responses. Had
they been properly warned, their adjustment phase during performances could have
perhaps been much shorter.
While audience reactions of this nature were partly in our control, the wide
mixture of responses we received was also likely attributed to the style of the play, which
we had no power over. I now realize that I should have warned the actors about the
reactions and reviews the play has received throughout its production history. Because
we grew to love and deeply appreciate the charm of Ruhls quirky writing style, we
forgot that the play could be jarring and weird for many audience members who
would be puzzled by the plays postmodern, non-linear approach. When Charles
Isherwood reviewed the Second Stage production of Eurydice in 2007, he warned,
Eurydice will get under your skin either in all the right ways or all the wrong ones
(Power of Memory). While it did not seem that our production got under many
audience members skin in all of the wrong ways, it was overwhelmingly apparent when
we got under their skin in all the right ones. Many audience members left the theatre in
tears, and seemed to share Isherwoods reaction of stagger[ing] out of the theatre in a
state of sad-happy disorientation (Power of Memory). For the actors, production
crew, and myself, these reactions far outweighed any mixed ones we might have
encountered.
Only one outside critic from the local newspaper, The Waco Tribune-Herald,
reviewed the performance. His reaction to the play seemed comparable to most reactions
and reviews of the play throughout its short history. While the article was titled,
Baylors Eurydice Thoughtful if Lumpy, the reviewer did not give any negative
feedback about the production. The article outlined many of the major plot points,
seemingly preparing potential audience members for the plays non-linear structure. The
reviewer compared the play to a cigar box of mementos, inside which are mementos,
symbols, iconic asides and jokes, objects to examine in turn, then put back and
remembered in place of an even-tempered narrative (Hoover). While the reviewer did
seem at times to show a slight frustration with some of the plays more surprising
developments, as exemplified in his description of the lord of the underworld, garbed as
an English schoolboy and riding a trike. Whatever, the majority of his remarks praised
the production:
Its a provocative, bittersweet piece and director Amber Jacksons
production, anchored by . . . [a] sweetly sympathetic Eurydice, nicely
marries an imaginative visual sense to rich symbols and characters all
beguiling in their way. Thats not to say Eurydice is consistent or
answers all the questions it raises. But life, too, is maddening, obtuse, and
lovely, Ruhl implies. (Hoover)
Although Ruhls style may not be everyones cup of tea, her work has the ability to
move audiences in a powerful way. As a critic noted from the 2008 production of
Passion Play at Yale Rep., Would you rather see a wholly coherent production from a
second-rate mind or a disheveled epic from a brilliant one? (Gold). After experiencing
Ruhls work first hand I can say without reservation that I will choose the challenges of
her brilliance over the safety of a second-rate mind any day.
The Baylor Theatre production of Eurydice was a success for numerous reasons.
First, the challenging style of the play stretched the imaginations of everyone involved
with the show. Designers explored new territories of design, and actors learned new
tactics for discovering their roles. Audience members too, were exposed to a new work
that hopefully stretched their perception of theatre. Secondly, beyond the success of the
final product of the show, the process was equally satisfying. Although certain situations
could have been handled better through more foresight, better communication, or simply
more time, the overall perception of the process was extremely positive. As a result, the
closing of the show not only had an emotional effect on the actors, but also on several
designers and many of the run-crew personnel. When the entire team of artists reaches
this level of fulfillment, each participant carries a lasting feeling of success long after the
show has closed.
As time passes and my own emotional attachment to the production slowly fades,
I am better able to objectively evaluate my areas of strength and weakness within the
process. I know that in future projects I will need to practice more foresight in my
approach in order to avoid potential problems. I will make more of an effort to offer
praise and encouragement to my designers and will carefully evaluate the needs of my
actors by holding individual meetings with them when necessary. Most importantly, I
will also continue to sustain my strengths as a director by creating a strong, positive
community of trust among the team, and maintaining open communication throughout
the collaboration. I will carry these lessons from my directorial approach to Eurydice
into every show I direct in the future, and will use this thesis milestone as a foundation
for continued growth.
(All photos Copyright 2009 Baylor Photography unless otherwise noted.)
List of Textual Changes
Listing of scenes that appear in the 2004 publication of Eurydice in Theatre Journal but
are omitted in the 2006 publication of Eurydice in The Clean House and Other Plays.
Location of omission in Description of omitted scene or lines:
Theatre Journal publication:
Page 37: Characters Under the heading of These characters should be double-
cast, Ruhl lists:
EURYDICES GRANDMOTHER (THE FATHERS
MOTHER)
OLD WOMAN (THE VORACIOUS MOTHER OF THE
CHILD)
Page 38: Notes In Ruhls description of the Stones she says, They might
be played by children.
Page 50: Movement Two, Eurydices grandmother walks slowly across the stage,
Scene 5 unnoticed, in 1930s attire. She looks as though she is
trying to remember a good joke, then walks by.
Page 51: Movement Two, Eurydices grandmother again walks across the stage,
Scene 8 unnoticed. She tries to remember how to do a dance
step, then again, walks by.
Page 55-56: Movement After Eurydice and the father hum I Got Rhythm, the
Two, Scene 15 grandmother is noticed by Eurydice for the first time. The
father warns that the grandmother doesnt remember them.
When Eurydice speaks to her she responds with
fragmented memories about coats, farming, and the piano.
When the stones rebuke them saying, There were no
coats! the grandmother responds with: Arent they
lovely children? No one looks after them though. As the
grandmother begins to exit Eurydice hugs her and she
says, How funny! Like warm snow, and then leaves.
Page 59: Movement Three, As Orpheus speaks to the lord of the underworld, the old
Scene 1 woman comes out of a trapdoor. She sings to Orpheus:
Lay your body/ down, my love,/ Oh, lay your body
down./ Ill love you hot and white and brown./ Oh, lay
your body down. After singing several verses of this
song the woman mounts Orpheus. The lord of the
underworld explains that his mother has needs: You
scratch my mothers back, and Ill scratch yours. The
scene ends with the lord of the underworld leaving the
woman and Orpheus alone as she moves toward him.
Page 66: Movement Three, When the lord of the underworld confronts Eurydice when
Scene 3 he has grown to be ten feet tall he says, You cant refuse
me. Ive made my choice. My mothers needs have been
satisfied. Im ready to be a man now.
Page 67: Movement Three, After Orpheus steps on the letter at the end of the play and
Scene 3 closes his eyes, the grandmother enters and the final stage
directions of the play read as follows:
EURYDICES GRANDMOTHER walks by slowly in the
background.
Stirrings of music from the 1930s.
She looks refined, lost in thought.
She walks as though she is walking toward
Something delightful
She cant remember its name.
No one notices her.
Text Comparison Chart
Ruhl, Sarah. Eurydice. The Clean House Ruhl, Sarah. Eurydice. New York:
and Other Plays. New York: Samuel French, 2008.
Theatre Communications Group,
2006. 325-411.
Page 332 (Excluded)
The set should allow for fluid transitions
from moment to momentfrom
underworld to overworld and back again.
Page 333 Page 9
EURYDICE: All those birds? Thank you. EURYDICE: All those birds?
He nods. They make a quarter turn and he He nods.
makes a sweeping gesture, indicating an
invisible sea. For me? Thank you.
Andthe sea! For me? When? They make a quarter turn and he makes a
sweeping gesture.
Orpheus opens his hands. He makes a gesture of giving the sea to
Eurydice.
Now? Its mine already?
Andthe sea! Now?
Orpheus nods.
Orpheus opens his hands.
Its mine already?
Page 334 Page 9-10
EURYDICE: Thank you. EURYDICE: Thank you.
Nowwalk over there.
She crawls on top of him and kisses his
Orpheus walks in a straight line on an eyes.
unseen boardwalk.
He turns his face away from hers and
walks.
She runs and jumps into his arms.
He doesnt quite catch her and they fall
down together.
Page 347-348 Page 19
ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE: ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE:
Dont sit under the apple tree Dont sit under the apple tree
With anyone else but me with anyone else but me
Anyone else but me anyone else but me
No no no. no no no.
Till I come marching home til I come marching home
On the other side of the stage, On the other side of the stage,
the Father checks his watch. the Father checks his watch.
He stops doing the jitterbug. He stops doing the jitterbug.
He exits, in a hurry. He exits, in a hurry.
Dont go walking down lovers lane EURYDICE: Im warm; are you warm?
With anyone else but me
Anyone else but me
Dont go walking down lovers lane
Till I come marching home
EURYDICE: Im warm. Are you warm?
Page 356 Page 25
MAN: Dont do that, youll trip! There are MAN: Dont do that, youll trip!
six hundred stairs!
EURYDICE: Orpheus!
EURYDICE: That word! EURYDICE: That word!
Its likeI cant breathe. Its likeI cant breathe.
Orpheus! My husband. Orpheus! My husband.
[End of scene] Eurydice looks at her father.
She recognizes him.
EURYDICE: Oh!
She embraces her father.
[End of scene]
EURYDICE: What do you do? EURYDICE: What do you do?
What do you DO? What do you DO?
Are you a thing or a person? Say something!
Say something! I hate you!
I hate you!
She stands on the book, trying to read it.
She stands on the book trying to read it.
Damn you!
She throws the book.
She throws the book at the Stones. She lies down in the string room.
They duck. Drops of water. Time passes.
THE STONES: That is not allowed!
Drops of water. Time passes.
EURYDICE: Im not a very good singer. EURYDICE: Im not a very good singer.
FATHER: Neither am I. FATHER: Neither am I.
THE STONES: (To the Father) Stop [End of scene]
singing and go to work!
EURYDICE: Ow. EURYDICE: Ow.
CHILD: See? CHILD: See?
Youre pretty.
EURYDICE: What do you want?
EURYDICE: Youre little.
CHILD: Youre pretty.
EURYDICE: Im dead.
EURYDICE: Show me your body, he said. EURYDICE: Show me your body, he said.
It only means one thing. It only means one thing.
She looks at her father, embarrassed for [End of scene]
revealing too much.
Or maybe two or three things. But only
ORPHEUS: I have consulted the almanacs, ORPHEUS: I have consulted the almanacs,
the footstools, and the architects, and the footstools, and the architects, and
everyone agrees. Wait for me. everyone agrees: I found the right note.
Wait for me.
Orpheus Orpheus
EURYDICE: I got a letter. From Orpheus. EURYDICE: I got a letter. From Orpheus.
FATHER: You sound serious. Nothing FATHER: What did he say?
wrong I hope.
EURYDICE: No.
FATHER: What did he say?
The melody Orpheus hummed in the first The melody Orpheus hummed in the first
scene, scene,
repeated over and over again. repeated over and over again.
Raspberries, peaches and plums drop from Raspberries, peaches and plums drop from
the ceiling into the River. the ceiling into the River. Perhaps only in
Orpheus keeps singing. our imagination.
Orpheus keeps singing.
EURYDICE: Listen. Ill tell you a story. EURYDICE: Listen. Ill tell you a story.
LITTLE STONE: He cant hear you. LITTLE STONE: Try speaking in the
language of stones.
BIG STONE: He cant see you.
LOUD STONE: He cant remember you.
LITTLE STONE: Try speaking in the
Scaled Set Model
Fig. C.1. Photo of completed set model.
Copyright 2009 William Sherry/ Used with permission.
APPENDIX D
Production Photos Featuring Set Design
Fig. D. 1. Production photo featuring complete view of the set design.
Fig. D.2. Photo of elevator in set design.
APPENDIX E
Production Photos Featuring Lighting Design
Fig. E.1. Photo demonstrating contrast of warm and cool lighting tones.
Fig. E.2. Photo demonstrating textural enhancement in the use of gobos.
Fig. E.3. Photo illustrating use of specials in lighting design.
APPENDIX F
Production Photos Featuring Costume and Make-up Design
Fig. F.1. Photo demonstrating contrasting shapes between characters in costume design.
Fig. F.2. Photo demonstrating warm colors used in the world of the living.
Fig. F.3. Example of dye used to achieve water effect in the costume for the father.
Fig. F.4. Photo of Eurydices coat upon her arrival to the underworld.
Fig. F.5. Photo illustrating change made to Eurydices wedding dress in underworld.
Fig. F.6. Production photo of stone costumes representing contrasting silhouettes and
different time periods.
Fig. F.7. Example of dye used in Orpheus costume upon second arrival to underworld.
Fig. F.8. Lord of the underworld costume inspired by Angus Young.
Fig. F.9. Illustration of make-up inspiration in original costume renderings.
Copyright 2009 Adrienne Harper/ Used with permission.
APPENDIX G
Elements of a Character Portrait, or the Hot Seat
From The Viewpoints Book (128-130)
Part 1: Writing
My name is _____________________________________________________.
I am ___________________________________________________ years old.
I am from ______________________________________________________.
My profession is _________________________________________________.
Five facts I know from the text are:
1. _______________________________________________________
Five things I intuit (but which are no stated in the text) are:
A telling action I perform in the play is _______________________________.
A telling line I speak is ____________________________________________.
My greatest fear is _______________________________________________.
My greatest longing is ____________________________________________.
Odd habits I have are _____________________________________________.
My likes include _________________________________________________.
My dislikes include _______________________________________________.
Part 2: Moving
An action with Tempo that expresses character
An action with Duration that expresses character
A floor pattern that expresses character
Three Behavioral Gestures that are particular to the characters
personality, culture, time or place
Two Expressive Gestures that express the essence of character, a
propelling force or a conflict within
A walk across the room with bold choices regarding Tempo, Shape and
APPENDIX H
Fig. H.1. Poster designed for promotional purposes.
Copyright 2009 Sam Hough/ Used with permission.
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Google Works with Libraries to Search Book Collections
Loren Baker December 14, 2004
Google is taking its searchers away from the bookstore, and back to the library. Google today announced that it is working with the libraries of Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan, and the University of Oxford as well as The New York Public Library to digitally scan books from their collections so that users worldwide can search them in Google.
Today’s announcement is an expansion of the Google Print program, which assists publishers in making books and other offline information searchable online. Google is now working with libraries to digitally scan books from their collections, and over time will integrate this content into the Google index, to make it searchable for users worldwide.
“Even before we started Google, we dreamed of making the incredible breadth of information that librarians so lovingly organize searchable online,” said Larry Page, Google co-founder and president of Products. “Today we’re pleased to announce this program to digitize the collections of these amazing libraries so that every Google user can search them instantly.
“Our work with libraries further enhances the existing Google Print program, which enables users to find matches within the full text of books, while publishers and authors monetize that information,” Page added. “Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information, and we’re excited to be working with libraries to help make this mission a reality.”
For publishers and authors, this expansion of the Google Print program will increase the visibility of in and out of print books, and generate book sales via “Buy this Book” links and advertising. For users, Google’s library program will make it possible to search across library collections including out of print books and titles that weren’t previously available anywhere but on a library shelf.
Users searching with Google will see links in their search results page when there are books relevant to their query. Clicking on a title delivers a Google Print page where users can browse the full text of public domain works and brief excerpts and/or bibliographic data of copyrighted material. Library content will be displayed in keeping with copyright law.
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Home>Opinions & Analysis
Offshore vessel ‘loophole’ concerns over new interpretations of US Jones Act
Barry Parker | Jan 08, 2020
New interpretations of how US cabotage law the Jones Act applies the offshore sector by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are causing concerns for domestic offshore vessel owners.
The Jones Act, a set of laws that reserve US coastal trades is now celebrating its 100th birthday, its genesis is the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. The business of offshore oil exploration and drilling, bringing supplies and crew from US ports out to equipment affixed to the Outer Continental Shelf, OCS-where cabotage applies, and performing work on the offshore equipment, actually began much later- in the 1950’s.
In the decades since, as the oil business moved into deeper waters, the US legal codes could not be applied precisely to changing technologies and configurations of vessels performing work, including laying and maintaining subsea pipelines, on the OCS. During the years since the mid-1970s, the US Customs (which later became part of CBP) had issued a series of ruling letters to address questions of Jones Act applicability in the Gulf of Mexico’s offshore oil fields.
Related: Perfect storm: Jones Act, LNG terminals and renewable energy
Owners of US Jones Act compliant offshore service vessels, for example Hornbeck Offshore Services had long expressed a worry that CBP rulings on what activities could be handled by non-Jones Act equipment were slowly opening the door for foreign oil service vessels. In 2017, referring to CBP ruling letters, Hornbeck had commented on a proposed ruling: “In response to twenty-five private, unpublished letters sent to it over decades, CBP self-created exceptions to the Jones Act, contrary to the statute. These exceptions were made by CBP without any input from the affected community of US shipyards, vessel owners and mariners or consideration of the harm inflicted upon them as a result of CBP's action.”
In late December, 2019, CBP announced that it was changing its interpretation of certain aspects of the Jones Act. The law firm Watson Farley Williams (WFW) said in an end-December briefing that: “In general, the new interpretation leaves room for expansion of the universe of items that non-US-flagged vessels may deliver to US offshore installations.”
Related: Tidewater and GulfMark Offshore merger and Jones Act complications and opportunities
The changes come down to questions of what constitutes “merchandise” and what is “vessel equipment.” WFW says: “…in the past several decades, CBP has issued various rulings adopting a purposive analysis, examining how the item relates to the vessel’s mission, and whether the item is used on or from the vessel, in determining whether it qualifies as ‘vessel equipment.” They further note that, under the new CBP interpretation: “…even an item that is permanently installed on the seabed may be vessel equipment.”
The lawyers, with an active practice in the US marketplace, continue: “…the new interpretation implies that CBP rulings in the future will expand the universe of items that can be transported by non-Jones Act vessels from a US port to offshore installations ranging from drilling platforms to wind farms.”
The reaction from the Offshore Maritime Service Organization (OMSA, the trade association representing Hornbeck, Tidewater and others) has been blunt: “OMSA is concerned that the interpretive guidance included in this notice will provide new legally dubious loopholes to the Jones Act.”
While OMSA applauded the CBP’s intent to tighten certain loopholes, it did say (after seeing a draft of the likely CBP wording): “OMSA disagrees with CBP’s attempt to develop new definitions that will unfortunately create new loopholes and subsequently weaken our borders and undermine US national security. The Jones Act, only amendable by Congress, does not allow for the lateral movement of merchandise by foreign flagged ships and no amount of interpretive guidance changes that.”
TAGS: Offshore Regulation Offshore Americas Jones Act cabotage
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Atletico Madrid Want Alvaro Morata
by David on January 15, 2019
Yesterday we reported that Sevilla pulled out the Alvaro Morata sweepstakes, but it appears that their Spanish rival Atletico Madrid are ready to swoop in and sign the Spanish striker.
The Spaniard is out of favour at Stamford Bridge and has been linked with a move away from the Premier League in this window
After Sevilla pulled out of a deal on Monday, Diego Simeone has now moved to land Morata and bolster his attacking options going into the rest of the season but Chelsea are waiting for a better fee before letting him go.
A deal is yet to be finalised between the two clubs but Chelsea will not budge unless Atletico meet their demands of an £8million loan fee plus an obligation to make it a permanent signing.
Morata has scored nine goals in 24 appearances this season but has struggled for regular game time under Maurizio Sarri. He was once again left out of the squad for Chelsea’s win over Newcastle at the weekend.
Spanish outlet Marca have claimed Morata will even be willing to take a pay cut to rejoin his boyhood club. He currently earns £8million a year at Chelsea.
It is claimed Atletico would need to offload one of their offensive players to allow Morata to join with either Gelson Martins and Nikola Kalinic likely to make way.
Morata played for Atletico at youth level before leaving for Getafe in 2007. He then moved to Real Madrid where he rose to prominence before enjoying spells at Juventus and Stamford Bridge.
Sevilla’s director of football Joaquin Caparros admitted on Monday that his club cannot afford to offer a way out of his Chelsea nightmare.
Caparros, speaking at the unveiling of another striker, Munir El Haddadi, said they pulled out of a deal due to the costs involved.
‘Sevilla is a desirable team for any footballer and Morata wanted to come here, but when we started talking about costs, we realised that it was impossible,’ Caparros explained at a press conference.
Chelsea are looking at signing Gonzalo Higuain on loan, although they will need to free up funds by finding a new home for Morata first.
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It can’t step out of the silhouette of its most brilliant predecessor, Portal.
Aaron Riccio
Photo: Aspyr
At the start of the first-person puzzler Lightmatter, within the mined-out heart of a mountain, an arrogant scientist, Virgil, is experimenting with ways in which to efficiently turn light into an energy source. Things inevitably go wrong, and soon your blank slate of a protagonist is stranded in the depths of the mountain, trying to follow Virgil’s caustic directions in order to safely evacuate a facility overrun with killer shadows. It’s a concept that turns everyday objects, from an overhead ceiling fan to a conveyor belt, into deadly platforming challenges, as the shadows they cast must be avoided at all costs.
At one point, Virgil directly compares this situation to the classic childhood game “The Floor Is Lava.” It’s a too-winking nod that calls attention to the carefully constructed nature of Lightmatter’s puzzles, which are better encountered as a naturally occurring part of a given area’s background, like the way in which a cubicle farm’s haphazard arrangement of desks and chairs damningly form a river of shadows that must somehow be forded. In such moments, the game hews closer to The Witness than Portal, in that the puzzles feel like natural extensions of the environment as opposed to artificially engineered test chambers.
The correct paths through Lightmatter’s once-generic office and cavern areas are deliberately engineered to have a single, tricky solution. But the game generally does well to distract the player from this contrived construction, wherein the path to the exit is always blocked by a broken light source but the moveable klieg lights and beam-reflecting photon connectors you’ll use to literally shine some light on the problem are always conveniently within reach.
It’s not until the last third of the game that the puzzles become jarringly conspicuous in their design. Until this point, the various contraptions found within the facility—like conveyors and light-activated switches—have a practical purpose, whether that’s for transporting quarried rocks or for testing and containing the lightmatter. Only a few of these machines felt like they served no purpose other than creating a puzzle, like an elevator that doesn’t normally travel between floors, requiring instead that you send it back to the first floor so that you can ride atop it to the third. In these final experimental labs, though, the rooms give themselves over to needless brain-teaser padding, as they serve no purpose beyond stymying players.
On a visual level, the developers at Tunnel Vision Games have done a fine job of translating the complexities of lighting into a puzzle mechanism. Going with a clean, cel-shaded look, as opposed to a more photorealistic aesthetic, ensures that the spotlight effects operate predictably in each environment, just as the game’s muted palette makes it easier to distinguish between objects. Perhaps taking a cue from Mirror’s Edge, the rare splashes of color—green plants, orange machinery sparks, red warning lights—help make even clearer what can be interacted with. And, incidentally, this streamlined aesthetic doesn’t lead to dumbed-down puzzles, as the complexity of each area stems from clever design as opposed to an excessive number of obstacles or a misleading series of visual cues.
Would that the game’s mad-scientist-run-amok storyline weren’t so derivative. There’s not a single transmission from Virgil that doesn’t bring the comically sociopathic ribbing of Portal’s GLaDOS to mind. (There’s even a reference to Aperture Laboratory and its cake.) Those lines can do little else, because Virgil is ultimately as much of a cypher as your own “persistent, replaceable, and silent” player character, whom Virgil identifies as a tourist, a safety inspector, a journalist, and, finally, a spy, as if trying to establish what the developers won’t.
This is a game that tasks you with trying to escape the facility in one moment, then with helping to shut it down in the next. And because your motivations are so ill-defined, it’s impossible not to see your character as anything but a vehicle for solving puzzles, ensuring that Lightmatter is unable to step out of the silhouette of its most brilliant predecessor. And that’s a damning thing for a game that’s all about deadly shadows.
The game was reviewed using a review code provided by Zebra Partners.
Developer: Tunnel Vision Games Publisher: Aspyr Platform: PC Release Date: January 15, 2020 Buy: Game
Review: Overcooked
Review: Mirror’s Edge Catalyst
Review: Stephen’s Sausage Roll
The game’s themes feel like facile wallpaper over mechanics that feed into the ideas being critiqued.
Steven Scaife
Photo: 505 Games
In Journey to the Savage Planet, you work for Kindred Aerospace, a dubious space exploration company. At their behest, you’re dropped onto the uncharted planet AR-Y 26 with orders to explore, document, and ultimately plunder the place for resources. All the while, live-action videos of Kindred’s wacky CEO and audio commentary from EKO, the sociopathic ship AI, emphasize that this is all supposed to be comedic. By loudly depicting resource exploitation as well as general disregard for the environment, the company’s personnel, and any semblance of collateral damage, the developers at Typhoon Studios mean to send up colonialism and capitalism at large. (The “savage” part of the game’s title is satirical, or at least it’s supposed to be.) But like The Outer Worlds, the game’s themes feel like facile wallpaper over mechanics that still feed into the same ideas being critiqued.
Like so many modern video games, for example, you must engineer new equipment from whatever stuff you’ve scrounged from the environment. AR-Y 26’s system of branching paths, potential shortcuts, hidden health upgrades, and scan-able objects recalls Metroid Prime, only with the addition of alien alloys and mineral deposits to swat at for crafting materials. It plays like the standard-issue consume ‘em up, only with EKO’s snarky voice whispering in your ear to assure you that this is the point—that this is the commentary.
EKO jokes that your menial progression is incremental at best, and for a while, that’s true; it takes several hours before the game feels particularly satisfying to navigate, as you gradually invest in things like grappling hooks and jetpack boosts that provide double, then triple, then quadruple jumps. The combat never feels particularly good, either, since it demands too much aiming precision from what otherwise amounts to an undemanding series of dodges.
The game might have been onto something if its progression was appropriately banal or if your struggle for resources felt particularly disempowering, positing you as a lowly worker whose labor chiefly benefits someone higher up the ladder. But instead, the materials are your reward. You’re meant to comb the environment’s tall grass and hidden alcoves for any hint of more resources to vacuum up, because the allure of that incremental progress is your carrot on a stick. It’s a compulsive progression loop familiar from so many other games, where finding another orange goo or alloy chest pumps the good chemicals into the right part of your brain. The only difference is a thick cloak of irony that’s supposed to pass for subversiveness.
In a game like Subnautica, the exploration gives you a better sense of the world; it makes you feel small, makes you appreciate what you’re taking from it to survive. At its most intermittently successful, Journey to the Savage Planet is built with a thrilling verticality that might have achieved a comparable, if far less successful, effect. The outcrops of floating rocks are conducive to death-defying shortcuts and last-minute grapples, often letting you hop right off the edge of one area to immediately land in another far below.
But the game scarcely quiets down long enough to give in to these moments of wonder, undercutting any fleeting semblance of awe with obnoxious comedy. AR-Y 26 is a playground to be bulldozed, full of things to poke, prod, and jokily slaughter in Kindred’s name. It is, for example, reasonably humorous that your jetpack vomits out a conspicuous cloud of smug. But it becomes far less funny once EKO insists with a wink that, no, it definitely isn’t harming the environment. The whole game is like this. There’s no restraint or subtlety to the comedy, only loud and constant underscoring of the things that the writers (often mistakenly) believe to be funny, like an explorer log that details horror at encountering the “Valley of a Thousand Farts.” Titles and text entries are riddled with groan-inducing internet lingo, as one quest advises you to “kill it with fire” and EKO’s self-written encyclopedia entry opens with “It me.”
There’s perhaps a version of this game that’s content to shut up and let players get their colonialist kicks in blissful ignorance. Though it wouldn’t fix the problems inherent to the premise or video game progression systems in general, it would rouse a mere fraction of the irritation. But as is, so full of insistent and toothless satire, Journey to the Savage Planet is a monument to hypocrisy, content to gamify and reward the very things it means to criticize. The result is less an anti-capitalist statement than a statement that anti-capitalism is trendy.
The game was reviewed using a review code provided by 505 Games.
Developer: Typhoon Studios Publisher: 505 Games Platform: PlayStation 4 Release Date: January 28, 2020 ESRB: T ESRB Descriptions: Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Language, Use of Drugs, Violence Buy: Game
SELF rejects the power-building, level-gaining escapism that typifies the majority of pop games.
Jed Pressgrove
Photo: indienova
Developer doBell’s SELF employs a storytelling mode that defies easy categorization. For one, you must play the game and see multiple endings in order to truly understand the nature of a young boy’s search for his missing dad in a world that scarcely comprehends him. The text-based narrative is, for no immediately apparent reason, presented as subtitles on a monitor that will often be overwhelmed by static at certain points. The game’s terse writing places your playable character in a dream of sorts, where the people closest to him avoid answering his questions and where everyone in the city he calls home can disappear in the blink of an eye. The effect is nothing short of nerve-wracking.
By repeatedly showing an image of cracked glass, where the diverging lines of the crack are explicitly characterized by the narrative as different pathways and destinations in the story, SELF encourages the player to restart the game after arriving at one of many endings. The proceedings concern a child named John who wakes up from sleep only to enter an obfuscating nightmare of an existence in which he cannot find his father. The fractured narrative is consistently fascinating to put together as a puzzle, even if does occasionally lead to tedium. Even though a helpful checkpoint system allows the player to skip parts of the story, you may still have to retread sections of SELF’s narrative that you recently finished reading, depending on which ending you’re trying to discover on a subsequent playthrough.
A bigger drawback of SELF, though, is its occasional reliance on the “bullet avoidance” of Toby Fox’s acclaimed indie Undertale. This type of gameplay is one-dimensional by design, as the player simply controls a powerless icon within a box and attempts to avoid contact with objects that move into the space. The largely mindless routine of moving a bland avatar—a heart in Undertale, a crudely drawn face within a square in SELF—away from easy-to-dodge projectiles becomes stale, and the action is even more unsatisfying in SELF, as objects entering the box have even more predictable trajectories than those in Undertale.
Luckily, everything else about SELF largely works and adds up to an unsettling and revelatory experience. John’s mother absurdly evades the child’s questions about the new status quo. Eventually, he’s able to leave the house for answers, but visits to an arcade, school, hospital, and bus bring more confusion before the player is able to discern exactly what has happened to John’s family. And along the way, any sense of calm in the story is challenged by a variety of sharp sound effects, from balloons popping to the high-pitched dinging of bells.
The game goes in different directions based on whether John wishes to “face” the truth during crucial moments in the story, and the various endings often transpire out of nowhere and vary in their emotional impact. In an unexpectedly comic turn, one ending brilliantly comments on the tale’s general sense of fatalism: At the very start of SELF, the player can choose to keep going back to sleep rather than get out of bed—one of gaming’s oldest clichés—and this decision brings you to “The Happiest Ending,” in which John never has to wake up to the disturbing dreamscape that awaits him otherwise.
Other choices reveal curious reversals of seemingly established facts. If you’re able to trigger particular memories within the dreamlike narrative, the text will sometimes read as if it’s written more from the perspective of John’s father. And deeper into SELF, the script implies that perhaps you’re actually playing as the father who imagines himself as the son.
Although the story certainly suggests that dreams contain hard-to-define approximations of reality, the ultimate theme of SELF is that you are whom you love. In a mind-blowing twist on the game’s primary visual conceit of a monitor displaying text, SELF redefines the screen as a mirror with nails in its corners. If you remove the nails and then the mirror, another mirror appears with a silhouette of a kid. From there, one by one, mirrors can be pulled away to reveal a larger shadow of a person. The tragedy of life, as SELF sees it, is the older we get, the more we grow, but this growth is offset by a loss of self via the deaths of loved ones. Far from an orthodox release, SELF rejects the power-building, level-gaining escapism that typifies the majority of pop games that audiences so casually, unassumingly embrace.
The game was reviewed using a review code provided by indienova.
Developer: doBell Publisher: indienova Platform: Switch Release Date: January 16, 2020 ESRB: E10+ ESRB Descriptions: Fantasy Violence, Mild Language Buy: Game
Wherever the medium goes from here, these are the games that point the way forward.
Photo: Cardboard Computer
Comedian Kumail Nanjiani claimed some years back that video games are the only art form that got better solely because of technology. While that’s arguably been true for much of the medium’s history, it ceased to be the case in the 2010s. The decade in gaming didn’t lack for astounding technical achievements, but its arc was defined less by powerful technology than powerful ideas.
This was the decade that saw tiny studios, lone creators, and crazy concepts reign supreme. This was the decade that saw every platform become a viable place for ideas to sprout and bloom. The limits of the medium are seemingly bound only by the human imagination, and at every level, regardless of the horsepower needed, it now feels like anything is possible.
The decade’s best games took full advantage of that new freedom by pushing the envelope in every direction. Wherever the medium goes from here, these are the games that point the way forward. Justin Clark
100. BioShock Infinite
BioShock Infinite is a visceral experience about an irredeemable psychopath murdering a city of despicable fundamentalists. Booker Dewitt is tasked with saving a reality-tearing woman from a floating white-supremacist paradise, leading to the interactive slaughter of its inhabitants; so much was made of the game’s violence that many overlooked that the repugnant brutality was exactly the point. While most shooters shy away from grue or any consequences to the player’s actions, BioShock Infinite vividly depicts these rippling across universes, where a single choice can carry disastrous results. This is an astonishing game that philosophizes on the human condition—consider that the opponents of Columbia’s segregation aren’t interested in equality, only in suppressing their suppressors—while critiquing its entire genre, concluding that the protagonist of a first-person shooter shouldn’t be allowed to live in any universe. Ryan Aston
99. The Norwood Suite
The public is more aware than ever of the infallibilities of well-known artists, and Cosmo D’s The Norwood Suite evokes the discomfort that many of us often feel when the dirty secrets of an icon are put on display. The setting here is a hotel that houses the legacy of a bandleader named Peter Norwood, whose exploitative relationships with other musicians come to the player’s attention via surreal trips down hidden passageways. Yet this building also bears numerous odd pleasures to behold, not least of which is a soundtrack that seamlessly morphs as you move from room to room. The characters are literally riffs in Cosmo D’s stupendous orchestration; different instruments and notes accompany different lines of dialogue as they appear on screen. The more you explore this strange location, the more you see the threat of commercialization in the form of corporate employees aiming to turn the hotel into a greater moneymaking scheme. Cosmo D gives no easy answers on how capitalistic culture can reconcile the sins of artistic giants, and that ambiguity makes The Norwood Suite a complicated and essential illustration of contemporary concerns. Jed Pressgrove
98. Overcooked
To make it absolutely clear that Overcooked isn’t your traditional cooking game, developer Ghost Town Games opens mid-apocalypse. A giant, ravenous beast—imagine the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man made of spaghetti and meatballs—threatens to consume your rooftop kitchen. The Onion King, cheering from the sidelines, implores you to fend him off by hastily preparing a soothing selection of salads; after you’ve failed, he transports you back through time, so that you can be a more seasoned chef next time. The subsequent missions, then, are less about tapping out increasingly complex orders, as with Cooking Dash and its ilk, or the exquisite, Zen-like Cook, Serve, Delicious. Instead, Overcooked keeps the recipes simple and the kitchens about as unconventionally chaotic as they come. At times, the difficulty can make this party game feel like a lot of work, although in fairness, the same can be said for Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, another demandingly chaotic, but ultimately enjoyable, couch co-op title. The meat of the title—cooperative, chaotic cooking—is almost perfectly handled, as are the garnishes, from the catchy musical score to the delightful crew of unlockable animal chefs. By keeping the kitchens varied and the action constant, Ghost Town Games avoids the flavorless death known as repetition, and doesn’t overcook its premise. Aaron Riccio
97. Downwell
Downwell is a quarter-eater without the quarters, an arcade game from out of time. As your character tumbles down an enclosed space, collecting gems and shooting bullets from his feet, the game feels like something you play as much as you give yourself over to. Each run demands split-second decisions. Do you go back for more gems, as a cabal of monsters closes in behind you? Do you risk a stomp attack that demands more precision but will reward you with a badly needed reload? Do you break the block for gems at risk of losing space to maneuver? Each run showers you in game-changing upgrades that introduce still-more variables to consider at a moment’s notice, while you continue blasting your way into the abyss. Like the very best action games, Downwell becomes its own trance state. Steven Scaife
96. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Prepare to die a lot. The modern gaming landscape is one littered with checkpoints, save states, and wonky AI. 2K Games’s reimagining of the XCOM strategy series harkens back to the cult classic’s unsettling gameplay and punishing difficulty. The rewarding sensation one receives after successfully commanding a squad out of a heated skirmish with strange intergalactic warriors is unparalleled in modern games. These tense battles eventually lead the player to actually form an emotional bond with your team members, which makes their inevitable demise that much more crushing. These interactive elements lend XCOM’s tense action an atmosphere that’s engrossing and wholly addictive. It’s easy to treasure an old-school counter-offensive game that understands the motivating power of fear. Kyle Lemmon
95. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
In the not-so-distant future, large corporations and multinational firms have developed their operations beyond the control of national governments, and human biomechanical augmentation is simultaneously rising in popularity across the world and being demonized for its role in changing humanity. Like the very best sci-fi, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is about ethics and consequences; this is a game that asks what it is to be human. The game presents both the rise of biotechnology as a means to advance human ability and the human experience, and the subsequent consequences on the world. Its layered narrative matches its deep multifaceted gameplay, set in a rich and atmospheric universe that feels not too far away from our own. Despite a slow start and occasional missteps (the much maligned boss fights were “fixed” for DLC), Eidos Montreal has created an engaging, compelling experience that does justice to the critically acclaimed Deus Ex series. Aston
94. Death Stranding
Hideo Kojima’s first game away from Konami, Death Stranding, finds him tearing down the familiar structure of the open-world game and building it back up again as something weirder, more deliberate, and more honest about what it is. It transforms basic traversal into the entire conceit rather than more or less a time sink between story missions and side activities. It peels away the artifice of open-world structure, revealing the dressed-up delivery missions underneath while declaring that they’re a worthwhile pursuit in their own right. And once you’ve totally internalized that idea, the tools the game provides become enthralling revelations: You eventually build sprawling highways and ziplines that propel you across arduous terrain. You’ve worked for them. You’ve earned them. Death Stranding is an admirable experiment for big-budget game design, playing like one long, bizarre, and startlingly persuasive argument that the journey is fulfilling in its own right. Scaife
93. Iconoclasts
While Iconoclasts’s bright and imaginative 2D pixelated graphics would look right at home on a 16-bit console of yore, its themes and ideas are very much that of the modern day. The game’s silent protagonist, Robin, is trapped in a fascistic society ruled by fundamentalist dogma, where her skills as a mechanic are outlawed, positioning her as a criminal and counterforce in a setting that opposes scientific advancement and free-thinking. Robin’s journey to escape execution and expose the truth of her society’s dominating political organization aligns her with other well-crafted characters who oppose the tyrannical theocracy both in ideology and ability, and it’s through its characters’ unique facilities that Iconoclasts demonstrates a kind of Ludonarrative harmony, as the gameplay and themes are in lockstep, crafting an experience that tackles important issues of faith, religion, and totalitarianism. Throughout, Iconoclasts’s varied gameplay mechanics directly serve the narrative. Consider Robin’s special tool, an illegal wrench, and how it not only symbolizes suppression of science and personal freedoms, but is used as a weapon against enemies and a means of controlling technology and traversing obstacles, often directly modifying and rearranging objects in the world. It also pushes Robin toward her ultimate goal of fixing the broken world for good. Aston
92. Yakuza 0
This prequel faced the unenviable task of taking a decades-old abstruse Japanese series and making it accessible for the masses. Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima, important underworld figures later in the series, are introduced to us as a low-level recruit and disgraced outcast, respectively, from different organized crime syndicates. They’re pulled into a conspiracy after Kazuma is framed for murder and Goro rejects an assassination job after finding out that the target is a defenseless blind girl. Their captivating narratives come together in a larger plot brimming with sociopolitical intrigue about property development and clan territory. Think of Yakuza 0 as noir through the lens of ‘80s Japan. Its gameplay simplifies the series’s complicated mechanics without limiting the player or compromising the variety in the details. One can take part in any manner of activities throughout the Tokyo and Osaka settings while progressing through the campaign, allowing the game to prove itself both as a compelling prequel to an ongoing series and as its own self-contained story. Aston
91. Dishonored
Arkane Studios’s Dishonored combines elements of other immersive sims, like BioShock and Thief, to create a mechanically enjoyable first-person stealth game that challenges your awareness and resourcefulness. While its narrative about betrayal and revenge is familiar, the game is enticing for the autonomy it offers players. Dishonored is very much a gamer’s game: It hands you a target—kill High Overseer Campbell, for example—before then turning you lose, giving you the freedom of the world and Corvo’s powers to deal with your target however you see fit. Though the end of every mission may resort to a binary lethal/non-lethal choice, the ways you can approach any mission are bountiful, making each run different enough to warrant multiple playthroughs. Jeremy Winslow
Living in America as a kid with brown skin has never been harder, or more frightening, and the game is a harsh primer in that fact.
Photo: Square Enix
Just as it looms heavy over every other aspect of America in real life, the 2016 election wreaks havoc in Life Is Strange 2. When we meet this sequel’s protagonist, a Latinx high schooler named Sean Diaz, it’s late 2015. The first presidential debates have already happened and those blowing up his social media feed and text messages are angry and fearful. Trump’s threats to everybody who looks like him and his nine-year-old brother, Daniel, feel like an approaching storm. Ten minutes into the game, that anger and fear is palpable.
But the storm hits Sean a lot earlier than the rest of us. An altercation with the school bully living next door turns violent, the cops are called, and when Sean’s father tries to calm the situation down, he’s shot when he doesn’t get on the ground fast enough. Naturally, you can guess where this could be going from here. But this is the world of Life Is Strange, and the cycle of grief turning to anger turning to acquittals turning to fury turning to resignation is stopped dead when Daniel starts to manifest a particularly powerful, albeit unfocused, form of telekinesis which saves him and Sean from a jail cell, but at the expense of a few dead cops.
The realities of classism were mostly color and texture to the first Life Is Strange’s central missing-girl mystery, but they’re the bold-faced text of the sequel. Sean and Daniel leave their hometown of Seattle to go on the run after the incident—rather pointedly, the plan is to cross the border wall into Mexico—and it’s all the more frightening and distressing that they’re two Latinx kids now at the mercy of America at its best and worst. For every woke travel-blogging road-tripper willing to give these kids new bags and a hotel room for the night, for every aging yuppie trying their damndest to make up for their conservative, authoritarian past by helping the brothers keep tabs on the nearby police presence, there are legions of townsfolk with nothing to give these kids except for the side-eye. It’s as if Sean and Daniel’s mere existence has an ulterior motive. And Life Is Strange 2 doesn’t relent on portraying how suffocating such a life can be. You’re never not fully aware of who might be looking, who’s asking questions, who’s tensed up just by these brown kids walking into a white space, and if that sounds more like a horror game than a languid, delicate, sun-bathed point-and-click adventure, imagine living it in a world where there are no super powers to get you out of such a situation.
The living is the key here. It almost feels like a bit of a cop-out, pun unintended, when the game goes for tense Stranger Things-style action set pieces involving the police and the F.B.I. or America First xenophobes, because the situation is tense enough in the disquieting scenes of Sean and Daniel simply attempting to live in America without any of its social safety nets. Much of the gameplay, just as in the first Life Is Strange, is spent in dialogue trees. At any given moment, the brothers are trying to hide Daniel’s powers and their status as fugitives, or just plain hiding. This sequel is still a bit more kinetic and proactive than this style of adventure title typically is, but the puzzle-solving smartly takes a backseat to the building and maintaining of relationships. Creating a bond with anyone in the game while in a pressure-cooker situation is a risk, and the payoff isn’t always worth it, especially because of what it could teach young Daniel, who’s also affected by Sean’s choices, and whose morality can shift fluidly during gameplay. He could become this universe’s Eleven, or he could become its Tetsuo, and it all hinges on what he sees and hears from his big brother at any time.
That bond is the most crucial one in Life Is Strange 2, and ultimately the most powerful thing about the game. This is, above all things, a story of brotherhood, and it’s just as emotionally honest about two kids at different pivotal stages of their lives making the decisions that will define them as men as it is about the reality of living in America as an “other.” The choices aren’t limited to some clearly-defined “good” option in the dialogue tree either, with many of the things that shape Sean and Daniel’s relationship coming down to a simple choice between scolding Daniel, deciding to tuck the kid in bed as opposed to hanging out with new friends, or teaching him what faith and forgiveness and grace actually mean.
Yes, the bigger choices in Life Is Strange 2—whether to lie to Daniel about what happened to their father, whether to tell the kid to kill a wild animal threatening them at their hideout, whether to plow through a police barricade—make the expected huge shifts in the narrative, but it’s the cumulative choices that are most impressive. In the middle episode, “Wastelands,” Daniel will choose to help a new friend carry out a major crime whether you think it’s a good idea or not. And how that mistake plays out when it goes wrong is dependent on every way that Sean has previously interacted with Daniel—whether he’s shown Daniel that mercy is a virtue, that Sean’s word is his bond when he promises never to lie to him, and whether he’s shown Daniel that he trusts his judgment. Neither Sean nor Daniel have all the answers, but what few answers Sean does provide his brother significantly matter.
It’s still a long, excruciating march toward the Mexican border, but what keeps Sean and Daniel going—and the player by proxy—are the grace notes of interpersonal kindness, those moments where the two brothers stop to appreciate the beauty of the country they’ll probably never get to see again, and the warmth of the places they call home along the way, temporary though they may be. Living in America as a kid with brown skin has never been harder, or more frightening, and Life Is Strange 2 is a harsh primer in that fact. Nevertheless, there’s light and beauty in this journey, as this is a game that values the boundless hope of the two young men at its center, and without invalidating America’s darkness.
The game was reviewed using a review code provided by Square Enix.
Developer: DONTNOD Entertainment Publisher: Square Enix Platform: PlayStation 4 Release Date: December 4, 2019 ESRB: M ESRB Descriptions: Blood, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol, Violence Buy: Game
Review: Wattam Whimsically Tasks Us with Finding the Epic in the Mundane
Wattam communicates a poignant, refreshing, and all-too-necessary joy in the face of adversity.
Photo: Annapurna Interactive
One of the characters you play in Wattam is the Mayor, a green cube with a little mustache. He wears a black bowler hat, and beneath it is some kind of regenerating bomb that sends him and anyone in his vicinity rocketing through the air with colored smoke trailing behind them. But this bomb isn’t a malicious weapon, as it acts as a sort of activity that the Wattam world’s denizens, an assortment of inanimate objects with faces and limbs, all crave, begging the Mayor to “kaboom” them into the air. Sometimes, after a particularly twisty kaboom, they’ll vomit little rainbows into the grass.
If everything I’ve described thus far sounds hopelessly weird and discombobulated, it gets even more so. But it also makes some measure of sense within the colorful, anarchic, kindergarten-evoking aesthetic of Keita Takahashi, who’s best known for creating the equally peculiar Katamari series. Wattam, though, is more free-form than those games, functioning like a playground for the various objects that the Mayor befriends through activities like kaboom-ing, climbing on top of characters to form a big precarious stack, or locking hands so their individual soundtrack themes layer on top of one another.
There’s almost a method to Wattam’s dream-logic madness, as the world has ended, and everything in it has been scattered to the void. The Mayor starts out alone on a grassy expanse, and across the game’s few hours you’ll rediscover that which was lost in a mysterious apocalypse. Sometimes the characters, like a tiny stone, simply appear as though they were there all along, but mainly groups of characters arrive through holes in the sky while riding on the backs of giant floating tables, chairs, and other things that latch onto the environment with their massive hands. A big table, for example, will drop off some sentient utensils, while a large toilet might arrive carrying another, smaller toilet. Everything is greeted with a “welcome back” message, in a little pop-up window for smaller objects (“Welcome back, fork”) and in huge, screen-filling font for big, flying transport entities (“Welcome back, table”).
With its themes of cooperation and putting the world back together, the game oddly treads similar thematic territory to Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding, while its sprawling portrait of a universe at multiple sizes recalls David OReilly’s Everything. But as with Katamari, Takahashi’s gentle and simplistic style approaches these ideas in ways that are at once pleasantly straightforward and hilariously unexpected, providing missions that require you to harness the surprising abilities of the growing horde of people-objects who all have individual, mundane names like Charlie and Eric. Completing these missions prompts the arrival of more characters, who are attracted by the presence of the friends you’ve helped.
The missions divide Wattam into essentially a series of comedic vignettes, an assembly line of wildly differing abilities up through the end of the game. Though you’re free to, say, turn on the fan that blows away characters at any time after it’s introduced, many of the abilities are used once or twice before something new appears and the lovely, offbeat soundtrack changes according to the task. The whole experience is wildly unpredictable, with the occasional bits of repetition lulling you into a false sense that you’ve seen all of what Wattam has to offer. Every time the game seems close to running out of creative steam, it adds some ridiculous new wrinkle seemingly for the hell of it, like a bizarre cooperative boss battle or the disembodied mouth that transforms everything into sentient cartoon poop.
Though a lot of the comedy here is born out of how totally inscrutable the game is, with objects arriving according to no apparent hierarchy whatsoever (a camera, for one, might appear before an ice cream cone does), the themes of Wattam come through clearly. The game muses about how sad it is that we need some kind of catastrophe to appreciate what’s in front of us, asking the player to revel in the small pleasures of things that seem, at first, totally insignificant. Through deceptively simple mechanics, music, and art, Wattam communicates a poignant, refreshing, and all-too-necessary joy in the face of adversity.
Developer: Funomena Publisher: Annapurna Interactive Platform: PlayStation 4 Release Date: December 17, 2019 ESRB: E10+ ESRB Descriptions: Crude Humor, Mild Cartoon Violence Buy: Game
The 25 Best Video Games of 2019
In 2019, the best games took the industry’s standard operating procedure and punted it out the window.
Photo: Hempuli
Although it was released in the doldrums of March, one title on our list of the 25 Best Games of 2019 could serve as the anarchic manifesto of the entire year in gaming. The brainchild of Finnish indie developer Arvi Teikarti, a.k.a. Hempuli, Baba Is You is, ostensibly, a very simple pixel-art puzzle platformer. But it’s also one that doesn’t give players the rules to beat it, telling them that every single one of those rules aren’t just made to be broken, but must be broken in order to persevere.
The spirit of 2019 in gaming was one of disruption, one that took the industry’s standard operating procedure and punted it out the window. Logic says that only a certain level of production can make the games people love, that only by following the rules of what sells can a game find an audience, that only one company can own the ideas behind an IP, and that only by squeezing players dry through additional purchases can a game be made that people will keep coming back to. But that logic was always faulty, and this year, it failed.
This was a year where the best Castlevania game in a decade didn’t have Konami’s name on it, where Bethesda had nothing to do with the best Fallout title to come out in twice as many years, and where the best Star Wars game does the exact opposite of everything its publisher had been doing with the license for five years. And that’s just what was happening in the AAA arena. Indeed, those who ventured into the realm of indie games glimpsed developers taking wild, bold leaps of faith, subverting every genre imaginable, and doing so with great success. This was a year where the fearless side of the industry showed itself, and these 25 games are the greatest victors, the ones that dared the most, and won big. Justin Clark
25. Slay the Spire
Slay the Spire’s deck-building mechanic guarantees that every run will be an entirely new experience. You’re bound not only by the types of cards you gain in each run, but the literal luck of the draw in which you pull them in combat. As a result, even the simplest encounter is bespoke, and every decision is a finely tuned risk-reward gamble. The spire’s branching paths lead to events with their own branching decisions, the results of which determine whether you can, say, afford the merchant or if you can forgo a healing snooze in order to upgrade a card. Slay the Spire, the brainchild of Mega Crit Games, guarantees nothing other than your character’s starting set of attack and defense cards (and perhaps a modicum of fun), so each new run forces you to be maximally clever in wringing bloody synergies out of otherwise rocky randomness. But as brutal as Slay the Spire may be, these runs ultimately come down to smart luck. The game gleefully telegraphs what each foe is going to do in combat, so if you die, it’s because you haven’t prepared enough. Shuffle up and deal with it, because there’s always another—and another, and another—try. Aaron Riccio
24. Sunless Skies
Sunless Sea, from 2015, had players chart a vast and perilous ocean into which London fell. That game’s follow-up, Sunless Skies, delivers yet another intimidating journey into the unknown, only this time with the player slowly combing an airspace littered by the remains of destroyed ships. The sounds of this game vivify the “Britain of the heavens” setting, with the hissing of steam, the ever-creaking machinery, and the distant noise of cannons serving as constant reminders of a dangerous and overindustrialized world. As in Sunless Sea, greed and a thirst for exploration function as a double-edged sword, leading players to the darkest corners of the map or simply death. Developer Failbetter Games has proven itself again a skilled purveyor of Lovecraftian suspense, where our curiosities get the better of us in gradual fashion, as underlined by blunt and wry writing that’s deliciously typical of a traditional British mindset. Jed Pressgrove
23. Void Bastards
A transport spaceship bearing an assortment of freeze-dried prisoners is stranded in a nasty nebula. There, pirates roam, monsters devour ships, and all the unfortunate citizens have been bizarrely mutated into murderous, foul-mouthed horrors. Once rehydrated, prisoners are shooed out into this unforgiving corner of space to scavenge derelict ships for parts until their probable death, after which the next unfortunate soul indicted for a comedically pedantic crime continues the work. And so on. The gears of capitalism turn even in these ruins of bureaucratic failure. As setups go, it’s a cheeky, immaculate framing device for a roguelike, and the amount of forethought that Void Bastards affords you is rare for this genre of game. It imbues the experience with a greater sense of consequence since you’re not at the mercy of randomization so much as your ability to plan and execute, as well as knowing when to retreat or when to avoid a ship entirely. An ideal run of Void Bastards is about planning, going on a run, and then having your plans upended by any of the different variables at work, requiring you to quickly adapt while coming up with a new plan. Steven Scaife
22. Untitled Goose Game
There’s an old Steve Martin quote about how comedy can be art, but anyone who deliberately sets out to make art through comedy has already failed. To that same point, developers House House didn’t set out to make a game with near-universal appeal with Untitled Goose Game—famously, the premise alone was a private joke shared on a Slack channel at work—but they stumbled upon it nonetheless. Untitled Goose Game is one of those rare experiences where it’s hilarious just existing in the world of the game, and in no small part for the way it plays it 100% straight, aside from a playful context-sensitive piano underscoring the player’s chaos. Just giving players the ability to waddle around a neighborhood and honk in people’s faces could’ve been the game by itself, but instead, it’s all about finding new, innovative ways to pull of various annoyance crimes within very basic but innately understood mechanics, and the payoff is almost always worth the effort. This is a game about true banal evil. So many so-called mature artists have attempted to edgelord their way into relevancy and found only a niche audience waiting for them, while House House’s Goose has managed to become the purest agent of chaos of our time, and managed to win the hearts and minds of the world. Clark
21. The Outer Worlds
Obsidian doesn’t stray too far from their roots with The Outer Worlds, an open-world first-person RPG reminiscent of Fallout: New Vegas. The socio-political commentary isn’t subtle, as the player character awakens from cryosleep to a futuristic world on the edge of the galaxy run by megacorporations that own workers as property and will happily let colonies of people die if it benefits their bottom line. But The Outer Worlds deviates from the modern Fallout formula by including a Normandy-style ship that allows you to travel to different planets instead of just one large open area, with a crew who can be taken on missions. Helping the rebellious mercenary Ellie recover from a disastrous attempt to reunite with her disapproving upper-class parents lets the player embrace their humanity by offering her support—or take to darker instincts and just gleefully murder the elitist pricks. As for helping shy mechanic Pavarti, an asexual queer woman of a color, prepare for a date she’s nervous about, the whole enterprise is delightful in no small part for how it taps into our sense of belonging. The Outer Worlds might take players to far-away planets to fight battles that reshape societies, but it’s heart ultimately lies in its more interpersonal moments. Ryan Aston
Review: Mosaic Gets the Feel of Monotony, for Better and for Worse
Did you know that corporations are bad? That the drudgeries of adult life are soul-crushing?
Photo: Raw Fury
Did you know that corporations are bad? That the drudgeries of adult life are soul-crushing? That doing the same thing at work with little variation can make you feel like a cog in a machine, and that there’s nothing you can do about it because the numbing routine of work and sleep is simply what you must do to survive? If you’ve somehow made it this far in life without learning such basic truths—and without having seen them literalized as some sort of gray corporate haze in a commercial for toothpaste or erectile dysfunction pills or something—Mosaic may prove enlightening. For everyone else, though, the aesthetics of this brief game from Krillbite Studios will seem mighty familiar.
You play here as an anonymous corporate worker whose apartment, clothes, and every existence have a sort of drab, DMV-esque color palette. You drag him around the screen and click on things to complete basic tasks like brushing his teeth, grabbing an umbrella before heading out the door, or pulling out his smartphone so he can stare at in an elevator. Much of Mosaic consists of intermittent snapshots of his work commute, where there’s a sense that something is wrong with the all-consuming corporate career and a passive society. Everyone seems to be fueling some mysterious machine here. At work, he sits at a computer clicking around some obscure, infernal contraption until he wakes up the next morning to begin again.
Bright colors mark the things outside this malaise: a butterfly, a bit of grass, a street performer, a goldfish that speaks and tags along in the breast pocket of the rumpled shirt draped over your bloated, TV dinner-fed body. The monotony, see, causes the protagonist’s mind to wander. He’ll imagine himself perpetually drowning, shrunken down to be crushed by the shoes of his co-workers, and fed into a machine to be squashed into a cube. With a striking low-detail look and fixed camera angles that create a backdrop of vast societal routine, where people on escalators crisscross in the background like spiderwebs, Mosaic’s imagery is often evocative. But it’s too often in service of such ludicrously trite material.
To some degree, what the game gets right is the feel of monotony. It presents the same apartment day after day, intentionally filled with the same tasks to perform. Eventually, perhaps, you just stop doing them. There’s no reason to tidy your hair when there’s no one around to impress, no reason to check the mail because the only people who care about you are the companies sending “overdue” notices, and no reason to even turn on the lights because you can see what you need to see just fine in the dark. So you stop, acclimating to a routine and streamlining wherever possible. It’s even a little sad.
Mosaic was originally released as an Apple Arcade game, and it feels strange outside that context, where it would otherwise be a functional, fleeting experience among so many others, a small diversion. The game seems tailor-made for that environment, not just because the PC controls are a little clumsy, but because its sleek aesthetics and simulation of banal, interconnected smartphone activities—a vapid clicker game, a Bitcoin-esque tracker, a heteronormative dating app where everyone looks the same—seem to directly critique the overpowering Apple ecosystem. But to consider Mosaic’s original context only makes it seem more toothless, as the game is a pretty, polite, and ultimately limp act of protest you can conveniently prod at between bouts of scrolling through social media feeds.
The game was reviewed using a review code provided by Raw Fury.
Developer: Krillbite Studios Publisher: Raw Fury Platform: PC Release Date: December 5, 2019 ESRB: T ESRB Descriptions: Blood, violence Buy: Game
Review: Shenmue 3 Brings Philosophical Depth to Video Game Action
The game fulfills a vision of steadfast humanity within the framework of a martial arts revenge tale.
Photo: Deep Silver
Today’s most popular video games don’t lack for comprehensive in-game instructions, waypoint-ridden maps, and streamlined actions, all of which can make players feel at ease and in control. Ignoring such conventions, Shenmue 3 often avoids explicit detail about its functions—one amusing line of combat tutorial text simply reads, “Just hit the [face] buttons”—and encourages the player to talk to individuals to get directions. This stripped-down approach recalls, to some extent, the way video games used to be made in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the time period when the first two Shenmue entries graced the Sega Dreamcast. But it’s also representative of the artistic conviction of series creator Yu Suzuki, who uses deliberate pacing, down-to-earth character interactions, and mundane activities to fulfill a vision of steadfast humanity within the framework of a martial arts revenge tale.
Shenmue 3, which went through well more than a decade of planning and development, picks up where Shenmue 2 left off, with Ryo Hazuki, a young Japanese man hunting his father’s killer, joining forces with a Chinese woman named Shenhua Ling, whose own father is missing. In a departure from its predecessors, a large part of the game takes place in a rural area, specifically a Chinese village called Bailu. It’s there that Ryo and Shenhua learn how their fates are intertwined as they track down criminals responsible for attacks on the village.
It’s a straightforward setup, but it’s one that’s enriched by Suzuki’s unhurried style. As Ryo, the player very gradually visits every part of Bailu. A new section can only be accessed when the plot calls for it. In other games, this type of restraint on freedom of movement can be frustrating, but Suzuki’s laser-like focus on characterization and theme make the slow journey beautiful to undertake. Every aspect of the village is distinguished, from the settlement near a grove of sunflowers to the marketplace, and full of the most compellingly human-like NPCs since The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The villagers vary significantly by age, appearance, and personality, and the most notable include Mao Yuefang, a middle-aged woman who can be generally helpful but makes inappropriate suggestions about and to Ryo and Shenhua; Jiang Ming, an old man who sits on a bench and comically misinterprets what Ryo says; and Shen Wei, a driven young woman who pours out thanks to anyone who will spar with her.
Like prior entries in the series, as well as the open-world games they’ve inspired, Shenmue 3 utilizes a day-night cycle. But whereas some developers seem to include this feature in their games just to fit under a particular umbrella of realism, Suzuki also sees the passage of time as the key ingredient for deeper relationships. Every night before Ryo sleeps, the player may initiate revealing conversations with Shenhua. The two can trade histories, remarking about the disciplinary styles of their fathers, their different childhood games, and the absence of their mothers. A flute melody, both wistful and utterly sincere, accompanies these talks, reflecting the scenes’ (and Suzuki’s) emotional maturity and unassuming B-movie sensibility.
Thematically, Shenmue 3 is fixated on the significance of patience and dignity, both in its mechanics and its story. Fighting as Ryo isn’t easy and can be quite awkward, so the game nudges the player to keep going to the dojo to build strength and technique through stances, timed attacks, and sparring. There’s a marked sense that Ryo feels shame when he loses a battle, as the people around him, including his opponents, will bluntly suggest he needs more discipline. In a rejection of popular video-game norms, Shenmue 3 doesn’t allow Ryo to barge into homes with closed front doors. It’s telling that Ryo refuses to even walk into Shenhua’s open room, and the game’s emphasis on respect is so great that when Ryo, in a moment of frustration, uses the mild profanity “hell,” you may find the moment genuinely surprising.
Just as Ryo is rewarded in the story for applying himself, your commitment to Shenmue 3’s mechanics over a period of time can bring greater appreciation for their design, as well as the philosophical relevance of those mechanics to the game’s narrative. In an understated masterstroke that prevents you from rushing through the game, Suzuki combines the protagonist’s health and stamina into one bar that can be refilled if Ryo eats. But food requires money, which means Ryo has to take work to get cash. One might sneer at the idea of having to split wood to subsist, but Suzuki turns the activity into its own spectacle of timing and judgment, with an upward-facing camera on the ground to emphasize Ryo’s crushing swings of the axe. An ode to the idea of careful diligence, this mini-game demands one to closely observe Ryo’s eyes so that the wood can be perfectly halved.
Anything Ryo does in Shenmue 3 entails hardship of a sort. In most 3D games of this vein, items can be grabbed with a quick touch of a button. In Shenmue 3, picking a plant requires a conscious change to first-person perspective before Ryo can be commanded to gather the resource. Clunky, perhaps, but in Suzuki’s hands, this layered action more effectively simulates the minor toil of having to bend down in real life in order to pick something up, further amplifying our perception of Ryo as a human being. Like the monks who urge Ryo to take his time developing his talents as a martial artist, Shenmue 3 asks a modern audience accustomed to instant gratification to contemplate the virtues of humbleness and persistence, regardless of whether Ryo’s task at hand is crucial or incidental to his ultimate quest for justice.
The game was reviewed using a review code provided by Tinsley PR.
Developer: Ys Net Publisher: Deep Silver Platform: PlayStation 4 Release Date: November 19, 2019 ESRB: T ESRB Descriptions: Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Simulated Gambling, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence
Review: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Successfully Channels Dark Souls
Fallen Order is powerful in ways that Star Wars hasn’t been in video game form in over a decade.
Photo: Electronic Arts
Just by virtue of being a single-player game, with no multiplayer, no online component, no microtransactions, and no planned DLC, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order feels like a relic from a more civilized age. The game hearkens back to the weird old days when former publisher LucasArts would just throw wild game concepts to the wall to see what sticks, often ending up with “It’s [blank] but with Star Wars” mash-ups of wildly varying quality.
In this case, the reductive elevator pitch is “Dark Souls but Star Wars.” And like most blatant Souls-likes, it’s fairly successful at aping the mechanics of FromSoftware’s titles. Death has consequences, and unless you can land a single strike against the enemy that kills you, your experience points are gone forever. Combat requires patience, and players must be smarter about how and when to strike at all times. Yet none of that is a surprise here. The surprise is that the game is often able to match up tonally with FromSoftware’s strongest efforts.
On the surface, Fallen Order is a glorified MacGuffin chase. The game takes place a few years after the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, and our hero, Cal Kestis (Gotham and Shameless’s Cameron Monaghan) is a former Padawan who managed to escape the Empire during the Jedi Purge, cut off his connection to the Force, and now makes a quiet living stripping downed spaceships for parts. When Cal pops back on the Empire’s radar after using his powers to save a friend during a site accident, he’s picked up by Cere Junda (Debra Wilson), a former Jedi Master who’s also suppressed her connection to the Force for much more dire reasons, and Greez, an ornery pilot mostly looking to avoid some serious gambling debts by staying on the run. Cere tells Cal her plan to rebuild the Jedi Order with the help of an old artifact, called a holocron, which can locate Force-sensitive children across the galaxy.
It’s a relatively straightforward experience early on, with Cal slowly regaining basic Force proficiency, sneaking his way into grandiose temples across beautifully rendered, Empire-occupied alien planetscapes using feats of acrobatics, and solving large-scale physics puzzles akin to those in Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series. There’s more platforming involved, and developer Respawn’s endless, albeit welcome, obsession with wall-running has managed to wedge its way in here, but this is a game that has far more in common with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice than Titanfall. Landing blows requires a deliberate balance of parrying, relentless attacks at every opening, and careful utilizing the limited pool of Force powers.
That’s all rather tense and exciting when you’re fighting people and droids, less so against the various creatures of each planet, who excel at cheap hits and tend to attack in numbers. For much of its first third, it seems that Fallen Order might fall into an appreciable but basic rut of plotting and gameplay, and it’s right around that moment that the game narratively lowers the boom. The search for the holocron is, in fact, the weakest element in a much more intimate and melancholic tale of loss, and all the varying traumas that stem from it.
The Jedi Purge, which officially began with Order 66, has always been, essentially, the Star Wars universe’s thinly veiled Kristallnacht allegory, but no other piece of work in the franchise, not even the grim Revenge of the Sith, has ever delved as intensely as Fallen Order does into what living through such a thing does to a person. Exemplified by an outright bravado sequence where a frightened Cal and his Jedi master must escape execution when Order 66 is called in, it’s made obvious that all of Cal’s early swagger and Cere’s stiff-upper-lip determination reveal themselves to be Band-Aids over still-bleeding emotional wounds.
Survivor’s guilt plays a major factor in how this story plays out over time, with the plot holes inherent to the search for the holocron being addressed as both characters over-rely on the Force for protection, and have no choice but to confront their memories, their failures, and the consequences of their actions. The main villains—all former Jedi turned Sith Inquisitors through torture and intimidation—represent a true Dark Side, the anger and guilt turned outward. No one still alive to witness the Empire’s rise to power is drawn without a level of emotional damage, and it’s fascinating to watch that aspect of the narrative live side by side with gameplay that asks players to wield their power so carefully going forward.
All of those character elements are, however, dissonant with gameplay that does still rely on rewarding the death of one’s enemies. And unlike Dark Souls or Bloodborne, the world of this game doesn’t necessarily stand in judgment of the protagonists for their failures in that regard. But there’s still immense emotional gratification in watching each character rise above their failures, to come together with other broken people, to heal properly, to face the varied atrocities of the world and find a chosen family at the end of it all.
Fallen Order tries to have its cake and eat it too, giving players the power trip of the best lightsaber combat of this generation of games, while still delivering a deeply introspective journey of forgiveness and recovery along the way, and the twain don’t always meet. Still, that the game is even attempting to thematically go where it does is nigh commendable, and powerful in ways that Star Wars hasn’t been in video game form in over a decade.
The game was reviewed using a review code provided by fortyseven communications.
Developer: Respawn Entertainment Publisher: Electronic Arts Platform: Xbox One Release Date: November 15, 2019 ESRB: T ESRB Descriptions: Mild Language, Violence Buy: Game
Review: Death Stranding Is a Surreal Elegy to the Work that Binds a Broken America
The most powerful statement the game winds up making is that work is worthwhile, even at the bitter end.
Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment
“What does America mean to you?” It’s a question that comes somewhat late into Death Stranding, which spends its opening hours repeating that America is a fine place and worth fighting for. In context, it’s a question that emanates from a rather odd place, spoken as it is by a character, Fragile, who’s voiced by Léa Seydoux with her distinctive French lilt. And it’s asked of a man, Sam (Norman Reedus), who’s worshipped in much of the quote-unquote “real” America for his role in its most popular and unsubtly xenophobic television show on basic cable. Finally, it’s being asked in a game spearheaded by Hideo Kojima, that preeminent auteur game designer who will always come at such queries as an outsider. It’s a small, strange, and dissonant moment that would be off-putting and too on the nose if Death Stranding wasn’t a game that revels in strangeness and dissonance like absolutely nothing else in recent memory.
For this writer’s part, as a black man living in the America of the present, of all the complex thoughts I have about my country—good, bad, and indifferent—there’s one obvious and urgent image that instantly came to mind while playing Death Stranding: the moment, precisely three years before the day I loaded up the game, that Donald J. Trump was elected president of the United States. It isn’t all the nauseating factors, psychosocial and otherwise, that played into the country’s decision that most sticks in my mind. It’s not even my wife’s midnight anxiety attack at the idea of what was to come. It’s the map, specifically CNN’s map of election results by district. It’s about how every major metropolitan area showed up as a deep vein of blue pockmarking a vast, sparse, but undeniable ocean of red. Especially for a black man raised in urban areas, whose blood pressure rises when he’s the only brown face in a room, let alone a town or state, that map was a manifestation of my deepest racial fears. When Fragile asks what America means, my recollection felt inevitable.
It’s with all that in mind that Death Stranding’s version of that map—all in futuristic, neon blue, dotted by white sparkles representing the last remnants of America—is the most frightening thing in the game. But the connective tissue of Death Stranding’s America was devastated by something much more bloodcurdling and coldly efficient than Trump. A dimensional cataclysm—the eponymous Death Stranding—has collided the land of the dead with the land of the living, demolishing the very physics of the world we know. The soil is rotten, the ground has gone black, the sun no longer provides warmth, and the rain ages and kills anything it touches.
Most chilling of all, the dead no longer move on, but become desperate, clawing ghouls whose attempts to reclaim their own flesh can cause atomic explosions called voidouts. Peoples’ main line of defense against them comes from stillborn and premature babies kept alive in pods only because they get fussy when an attack is imminent. Those people who remain alive have huddled into underground cities called Knots, with a few stray doomsday preppers and weird loners still trying to make it out there in the wasteland all on their own, across an American landscape that more closely resembles the alien marshes in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus than amber waves of grain. And it’s all brought to life with a photorealism unparalleled in the medium of games.
Death Stranding represents a rather powerful and unique display of apocalyptic world-building. And yet it’s hard not to get the vague sense of it as a convenient excuse for Kojima to not have to truly build or recognize an America resembling what it currently is, at least not in the way that a game like The Last of Us uses American iconography as its backdrop. But then, unlike most stories of its sort, Death Stranding isn’t really interested in the shorthand verisimilitude of America Without People than the damaged soul beneath. The cursed Earth between cities is truly cursed in this game, and Kojima and his band of developers have evoked rural America as a very real visual nightmare. This is a half-crazed tone poem about an isolated and hostile nation, clinging to concepts of what life means that should no longer matter in the wake of disaster.
To wit, it’s an appropriate, yet still bewildering, choice in the current gaming landscape that Death Stranding is, with all the subtextual flesh boiled off, a postal-service hiking simulator. You play as Sam, a taciturn delivery man, or porter, whose job it is to brave the wasteland on foot, carting supplies, communications, and creature comforts to and from cities and settlements. This is no Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture or Gone Home, though, and as breathtakingly detailed as everything in this game is, that detail is actively the enemy when it comes to the core gameplay. This is a game of constant, real-world concerns: How much can you carry while still being functional enough to walk miles across uneven, ragged terrain? How should you balance yourself? What supplies can you strap on? Will you be able to climb a steep cliff, or should you risk carrying a ladder?
All of those problems are just what players have to deal with in the best of conditions. When it’s less than ideal, the aforementioned rain problem can cause the packages you carry to rust and decay. The dead still float around waiting to take Sam under in chiral matter-heavy areas, and the game’s pedigree as the product of the Metal Gear Solid studio shows here in tense, effective little stretches where players must stealthily maneuver the territory of the dead, while overloaded with cargo, and avoiding the ghosts that scream for your flesh.
Death Stranding is built on complex systems designed to do the sort of simple things that are taken for granted in other games. Unlike something like Red Dead Redemption 2, however, those systems aren’t getting in the way of the action; they are the action. Death Stranding is less about creating a fun experience so much as a gratifying one, a meditative and repetitive proceeding where the satisfaction comes from finding ways to make the process more efficient. The game is never harder than in its first few hours, where Sam is essentially defenseless, and players have no idea how their next steps might affect their cargo.
The more Sam travels, the more he connects and opens up supply lines around the country, and the more comfortable the journey becomes. Scientists and engineers constantly work on ways to help Sam carry more, move faster, and defend himself against the dead. Death Stranding is also a game with a social contract. Taking it online allows players to build structures, leave helpful items, and pour collective resources into infrastructure allowing people to move safely and rapidly around the country. Even more than your average Civilization title, it’s easier here to notice and appreciate how many hands make for light work in America.
Still, if Sam being, essentially, a one-man FedEx wasn’t so deeply tied into the thematic structure of Death Stranding, the man who made his career on military stealth games making his magnum opus based around one-day delivery would feel like the ultimate troll, and it’s a known fact by now that Kojima isn’t above such a thing. But Death Stranding is also forcing players to truly think about the sheer logistical effort involved in a real-world task so commonplace and ubiquitous, something first-world people don’t do nearly often enough. Probably the closest Kojima truly gets to straight-up commentary is a tribe of NPCs made up of former postmen, put out of a job by automation, driven hostile and bitter as the human element of their jobs become suddenly relevant again and the government comes asking for their help. There are big deliveries that advance the story, of course: One city may need medicine and vaccines, while another may need experimental data about the dead things to maybe synthesize weapons. One of the biggest deliveries early on has you secretly delivering an extremely important corpse to an incinerator before it can cause a voidout.
It’s the smaller tasks that give Death Stranding its poignancy. The Stranding resets the hierarchy of needs for America in a hurry, and every delivery has a story—a history, a future, or an immediate deep-seated need. Sam’s journey brings him into contact with an America boiled down to its most basic desires, and they’re quite often heartbreakingly simplistic. It’s simultaneously depressing to posit that we’d need this enormous scale of loss to reach these moments of clarity, but there’s power in the simple human beauty of them.
But, of course, this is a Hideo Kojima game, as the credits are none too shy about reminding us. Dotted across Death Stranding’s every minute are the hallmarks of a director, writer, and designer who hasn’t met a wild urge he hasn’t moved heaven and Earth to indulge. This is, in execution, a game of dissociative identity, one that has a bleak, mournful, and spiritual allegory to tell, but also has a main character named Die-Hardman (Tommie Earl Jenkins) who wears a skull mask. Sam must drink branded Monster Energy to keep his stamina up. The entire story of Death Stranding is represented in his private room by a tiny diorama of army men. And every big-name director that Kojima admires has a role in the game. It’s absolutely corpulent with explanations, backstories, overlong cutscenes, and granular deep-dives into the science of it all. It’s hard not to stand in awe of the bravado involved in including all that ancillary material, but the game works perfectly fine without it.
As per usual, much of the optional reading material and winking references come across as endearingly nerdy, a sign of sheer passion and enthusiasm for these things than anything else. Much like Quentin Tarantino’s love of anachronistic film music and casting actors long past their heyday in major roles, Kojima has no interest in fully removing players from the mindset that Death Stranding is still a video game, despite couching its presentation in the entirety of cinema’s toolkit, including an impressive and singular collection of Hollywood faces from both sides of the camera in the cast. It’s a game that still includes space for fun and joy within that framework—there are several low-stakes tasks to take on, like delivering beer brewed by hops aged by the rain, and trips to meet comic-relief NPCs, among them Conan O’Brien’s otter cosplayer—and also like Tarantino, Kojima knows when it’s time to put away childish things to lampshade the mood.
But perhaps the most important question that ultimately matters here is what exactly does America mean to Kojima? Death Stranding has no interest in trying to replicate an American viewpoint on the end of America. His is inescapably a Japanese perspective on the matter, a point that becomes more and more blatant as the game’s true plot starts to resemble End of Evangelion more than a Cormac McCarthy novel. The America that Sam treks across is more of an abstract watercolor painting than a photograph, and throughout, Kojima draws on America’s fury. He has minor characters voice the idea that the government screwed it all up, that men need to provide for their families, the foreigners and the robots took our jobs, we lost it all because we lost Jesus, and so on and so forth. He draws on its infinite need for progress, that science is necessary, that marginalized populations matter, and may yet save us, as long as we empower everyone to succeed, without exception.
There are tiny, impactful allegories strewn all over the place in the game, particularly in a running plotline involving a former soldier, Cliff (Mads Mikkelsen), who’s forced to relive every American war in the afterlife. But Kojima’s interest in the minutiae of these things is small, something most egregious in his continued inability to write women outside of staid archetypes. But to his credit, the main female characters here are more nuanced and fascinating than usual for him—something no doubt hammered home by featuring massive talents like Lindsay Wagner, Léa Seydoux, and Margaret Qualley so prominently. But it’s still apparently difficult for Kojima to conceive of women having the same range of involvement in the fabric of America as men, and that weakness is more and more noticeable as the game starts to circle in on its ultimate thesis.
That thesis, as one might expect, is the idea that Americans have more that connects than divides them, which might ring alarm bells about the game possibly being a “both sides” narrative at the worst time in history for that mindset to be valid. But this isn’t a story willing to let everyone off that easily. Despite its problems, Death Stranding is ultimately a game about toil. (There’s a famous Scottish quote about working as if you live in the early days of a better nation that comes to mind here.) This is a game that values your work. It respects the people that each tiny sparkling dot on that cursed map represents, the need of those people to connect with others to survive, and the fact that that space between matters as well. It posits life as crucial and ultimately in service to other life, whether we want to be indebted to others or not. For all of Death Stranding’s surrealness, the most powerful statement it winds up making is that this work is worthwhile, even at the bitter end.
This game was reviewed using a retail PlayStation 4 copy purchased by the reviewer.
Developer: Kojima Productions Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment Platform: PlayStation 4 Release Date: November 8, 2019 ESRB: M ESRB Descriptions: Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Strong Language Buy: Game
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Philosophy and Approach
'Playschool' for 2s & 3s
At Smart Love Preschool, we create partnerships with parents to ensure their child’s positive start to preschool. We do this from day one by ensuring that a child feels comfortable and secure at school before having to be without a parent in the classroom. We also do this by ensuring that our guiding principles, Smart Love™, inform all aspects of our approach to education, our curriculum, and our professional staff.
Our comprehensive and extensive early childhood education program provides options for children from 6 weeks to 6-years-old so families have many ways to access Smart Love throughout early childhood. Smart Love’s educational programming extends to parents as well, with seminars, publications and coaching that offer a wealth of information on parenting.
Here’s what some Smart Love parents have to say about their experiences:
“This is what preschool ought to be like! What an amazing, wonderful place. We were refugees from an overly "academic" preschool that was making our son miserable. We were lucky to find a place at Smart Love, and what a difference it has made. Our son loves school and learning so much. The teachers really listen to the students.”
“My daughter 'graduated' from Smart Love Preschool several years ago and has since entered in a foreign language immersion school - it's quite challenging. While my daughter is a bright little girl, she is by no means "gifted", however, her teachers often comment on her ability to 'bounce-back', stay positive, stay focused, give her best effort and display resiliency. I know it was Smart Love Preschool and the Smart Love Approach that helped her develop these skills."
“If you have been looking for a school for your little one, look no further. I have been to over a dozen preschools in the city and was becoming frustrated at what I was going to do, until I found Smart Love. As a former teacher, my standards were very high and in keeping current with all the research showing importance of early years, I was adamant about finding the perfect place for my children, while at the same time knowing that a school like that can't possible exist. Well, I was wrong, it does exist and the moment I walked into Smart Love, I knew it was the place for my two children.”
“This past summer, our daughter was enrolled in a park district play camp and started to develop extreme separation anxiety toward the end of the session. It surprised us because she had never once shown us even a glimpse of that during her previous year at Smart Love (both toddler transitions as well as preschool). It was a relief to see that there was no sign of separation anxiety this first week of preschool. This morning as we walked to Smart Love, she turned and said to me and said, “Mommy I missed you and didn’t want you to leave when I went to play camp, but I don’t miss you when I go to Preschool.” It meant a lot to know how comfortable and happy my child is at Smart Love and shows how uniquely effective their approach to children and their development is. Our family really appreciates your caring and nurturing warmth, which we feel sets the tone for the staff and all the children :)”
“Every day we feel so lucky to have found Smart Love Preschool. The teachers are wonderful. They really listen to the students. They are kind and nurturing and pay attention to the children emotionally as well as academically. They educate through play, songs, story-time and make everything fun. They are terrific at instilling the most important thing - a true love of learning. There is a gardener on staff, and the children are involved in planting, tending and harvesting the organic fruits and vegetables, which they also incorporate into their snacks. It's a beautiful, hands-on way to learn about the full life-cycle of plants. I cannot say enough good things about this school. The director is intelligent and committed to hiring and retaining excellent teachers, and it truly shows. The facilities are also the most beautiful I've seen in the city. Smart Love is a true gem!”
“My daughter attended Toddler Explorations at Smart Love and now attends preschool there 5 days a week as a three-year-old. I have nothing but good things to say about Smart Love. The staff is amazing, the Smart Love philosophy has helped my parenting, and my daughter loves it. I especially like that she could get used to coming to Smart Love through the toddler class, and I could get to know the teachers and staff before school started. The Smart Love approach puts so much of her behavior in context and has made parenting much more enjoyable and effective. I love this school.”
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Samsung says Galaxy Fold fixed, “ready for launch” in September
By Nic Ker 11:34 am, 25 July 2019 Leave a Comment
Samsung’s Galaxy Fold was initially expected to be released in May of this year, although the Korean company had to postpone the the official launch of the product thanks to some issues that early units that were seeded out to the media and such. And now, it seems that Samsung is set to finally release one of the most eagerly-anticipated tech devices.
Samsung has announced that the Galaxy Fold will be good to go in September. They’ve made a couple of improvements that will ensure that customers have the “best experience”—roughly translated, the Galaxy Fold has been given a few updates to avoid the catastrophic failures that many tech reviewers had when they received units for testing earlier this year.
According to Samsung, these are the changes:
Galaxy Fold features additional reinforcements to better protect the device from external particles while maintaining its signature foldable experience.
The top and bottom of the hinge area have been strengthened with newly added protection caps. Additional metal layers underneath the Infinity Flex Display have been included to reinforce the protection of the display. The space between the hinge and body of Galaxy Fold has been reduced.
Have the issues been addressed?
Picking through the updates, it’s clear that Samsung isn’t hiding away from their mistakes with the original Galaxy Fold. Extending the top protective layer of the Infinity Flex Display is perhaps the biggest sign of this, with Samsung saying that the change will make it “apparent that it is an integral part of the display” and that it is not meant to be removed. In case you haven’t kept up with the news, many reviewers reported that the display started malfunctioning once the “screen protector” was peeled away—only to find out it was actually an important part of the display to begin with.
The device is reinforced from external particles, which addresses the issue that some reviewers experienced where debris/dust got through the hinge and damaged the display from behind. This will also be helped by a smaller space between the hinge and body of the device.
SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy A71: 64MP cam and Snapdragon 730 for less than RM1,800?
In general, Samsung has reinforced the device. Protection caps, additional layers under the display, these all point to the rectification of a really fragile device that didn’t even make it through the initial seeding to the media without falling apart. But now that these have been addressed, it’ll certainly be interesting to see how the subtle updates to the Fold will turn out.
Price will remain the same
The Galaxy Fold should remain at the same price, US$1,980 (about RM8,150), as confirmed by Samsung U.S. Having delayed the official release of the Fold at the last minute in late April, Co-CEO DJ Koh admitted that Fold was seeded “before it was ready,” and that “it was embarrassing.” In the aftermath of the cancellations, Samsung has continued to also work on better app optimisation for the dual-screen Galaxy Fold, and it looks like the public will soon be able to judge for themselves, at last.
Samsung says that the launch of the Galaxy Fold will be in “select markets”, with more availability details to be made public as we draw closer to the launch. However, it’s safe to say that we should see the Galaxy Fold in the Malaysian market at some point, as Malaysia has been (and should continue to be) a key market for the Korean smartphone maker.
[ SOURCE , VIA ]
The Samsung Galaxy Fold is now ready to launch according to Samsung Display VP
Mobile, Samsung, samsung galaxy, Samsung Galaxy Fold Leave a Comment
Malaysia Airlines pilots facial recognition system for faster boarding
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Five Key Questions
What Does the Ending Mean?
Video Plot Summary
Telemachus
Plot Analysis
What makes Odysseus “the man of twists and turns”?
Hospitality in Ancient Greece
The Odyssey and The Fantastic Journey
Themes, Motifs, and Symbols
Books 1-2
Books 10-11
Companion Texts
Sample A+ Essay
Preface to First Edition Quotes
Quotes Preface to First Edition Quotes
Preface to First Edition
This translation is intended to supplement a work entitled "The Authoress of the Odyssey", which I published in 1897. I could not give the whole "Odyssey" in that book without making it unwieldy, I therefore epitomised my translation, which was already completed and which I now publish in full.
I shall not here argue the two main points dealt with in the work just mentioned; I have nothing either to add to, or to withdraw from, what I have there written. The points in question are:
(1) that the "Odyssey" was written entirely at, and drawn entirely from, the place now called Trapani on the West Coast of Sicily, alike as regards the Phaeacian and the Ithaca scenes; while the voyages of Ulysses, when once he is within easy reach of Sicily, solve themselves into a periplus of the island, practically from Trapani back to Trapani, via the Lipari islands, the Straits of Messina, and the island of Pantellaria.
(2) That the poem was entirely written by a very young woman, who lived at the place now called Trapani, and introduced herself into her work under the name of Nausicaa.
The main arguments on which I base the first of these somewhat startling contentions, have been prominently and repeatedly before the English and Italian public ever since they appeared (without rejoinder) in the "Athenaeum" for January 30 and February 20, 1892. Both contentions were urged (also without rejoinder) in the Johnian "Eagle" for the Lent and October terms of the same year. Nothing to which I should reply has reached me from any quarter, and knowing how anxiously I have endeavoured to learn the existence of any flaws in my argument, I begin to feel some confidence that, did such flaws exist, I should have heard, at any rate about some of them, before now. Without, therefore, for a moment pretending to think that scholars generally acquiesce in my conclusions, I shall act as thinking them little likely so to gainsay me as that it will be incumbent upon me to reply, and shall confine myself to translating the "Odyssey" for English readers, with such notes as I think will be found useful. Among these I would especially call attention to one on xxii. 465-473 which Lord Grimthorpe has kindly allowed me to make public.
I have repeated several of the illustrations used in "The Authoress of the Odyssey", and have added two which I hope may bring the outer court of Ulysses' house more vividly before the reader. I should like to explain that the presence of a man and a dog in one illustration is accidental, and was not observed by me till I developed the negative. In an appendix I have also reprinted the paragraphs explanatory of the plan of Ulysses' house, together with the plan itself. The reader is recommended to study this plan with some attention.
In the preface to my translation of the "Iliad" I have given my views as to the main principles by which a translator should be guided, and need not repeat them here, beyond pointing out that the initial liberty of translating poetry into prose involves the continual taking of more or less liberty throughout the translation; for much that is right in poetry is wrong in prose, and the exigencies of readable prose are the first things to be considered in a prose translation. That the reader, however, may see how far I have departed from strict construe, I will print here Messrs. Butcher and Lang's translation of the sixty lines or so of the "Odyssey." Their translation runs:
The "Odyssey" (as every one knows) abounds in passages borrowed from the "Iliad"; I had wished to print these in a slightly different type, with marginal references to the "Iliad," and had marked them to this end in my MS. I found, however, that the translation would be thus hopelessly scholasticised, and abandoned my intention. I would nevertheless urge on those who have the management of our University presses, that they would render a great service to students if they would publish a Greek text of the "Odyssey" with the Iliadic passages printed in a different type, and with marginal references. I have given the British Museum a copy of the "Odyssey" with the Iliadic passages underlined and referred to in MS.; I have also given an "Iliad" marked with all the Odyssean passages, and their references; but copies of both the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" so marked ought to be within easy reach of all students.
Any one who at the present day discusses the questions that have arisen round the "Iliad" since Wolf's time, without keeping it well before his reader's mind that the "Odyssey" was demonstrably written from one single neighbourhood, and hence (even though nothing else pointed to this conclusion) presumably by one person only—that it was written certainly before 750, and in all probability before 1000 B.C.—that the writer of this very early poem was demonstrably familiar with the "Iliad" as we now have it, borrowing as freely from those books whose genuineness has been most impugned, as from those which are admitted to be by Homer—any one who fails to keep these points before his readers, is hardly dealing equitably by them. Any one on the other hand, who will mark his "Iliad" and his "Odyssey" from the copies in the British Museum above referred to, and who will draw the only inference that common sense can draw from the presence of so many identical passages in both poems, will, I believe, find no difficulty in assigning their proper value to a large number of books here and on the Continent that at present enjoy considerable reputations. Furthermore, and this perhaps is an advantage better worth securing, he will find that many puzzles of the "Odyssey" cease to puzzle him on the discovery that they arise from over-saturation with the "Iliad."
Other difficulties will also disappear as soon as the development of the poem in the writer's mind is understood. I have dealt with this at some length in pp. 251-261 of "The Authoress of the Odyssey". Briefly, the "Odyssey" consists of two distinct poems: (1) The Return of Ulysses, which alone the Muse is asked to sing in the opening lines of the poem. This poem includes the Phaeacian episode, and the account of Ulysses' adventures as told by himself in Books ix.-xii. It consists of lines 1-79 (roughly) of Book i., of line 28 of Book v., and thence without intermission to the middle of line 187 of Book xiii., at which point the original scheme was abandoned.
(2) The story of Penelope and the suitors, with the episode of Telemachus' voyage to Pylos. This poem begins with line 80 (roughly) of Book i., is continued to the end of Book iv., and not resumed till Ulysses wakes in the middle of line 187, Book xiii., from whence it continues to the end of Book xxiv.
In "The Authoress of the Odyssey", I wrote:
I believe this to be substantially correct.
Lastly, to deal with a very unimportant point, I observe that the Leipsic Teubner edition of 894 makes Books ii. and iii. end with a comma. Stops are things of such far more recent date than the "Odyssey," that there does not seem much use in adhering to the text in so small a matter; still, from a spirit of mere conservatism, I have preferred to do so. Why [Greek] at the beginnings of Books ii. and viii., and [Greek], at the beginning of Book vii. should have initial capitals in an edition far too careful to admit a supposition of inadvertence, when [Greek] at the beginning of Books vi. and xiii., and [Greek] at the beginning of Book xvii. have no initial capitals, I cannot determine. No other Books of the "Odyssey" have initial capitals except the three mentioned unless the first word of the Book is a proper name.
S. BUTLER.
Previous section Books 23–24 Next section Telemachus
The Odyssey: Popular pages
CHARACTERS Odysseus: Character Analysis
MAIN IDEAS Plot Analysis
MAIN IDEAS What makes Odysseus “the man of twists and turns”?
QUIZ: How Many of These Literary Jeopardy! Questions Can You Answer Correctly? Jan 14, 2020
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Andrew Scheer Announces Conservative House of Commons Leadership Team
The Hon. Andrew Scheer, Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and of the Official Opposition, today announced the appointment of a strong, diverse team to lead the Conservative Caucus in the 43rd Parliament.
“I am incredibly proud to work with these experienced and dedicated Conservative Members of Parliament,” said Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer. “This is the team which is going to help us hold Justin Trudeau to account every single day.”
The appointments include:
Deputy Leader: Leona Alleslev (Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, Ontario)
Quebec Political Lieutenant: Alain Rayes (Richmond—Arthabaska, Quebec)
House Leader of the Official Opposition: Candice Bergen (Portage—Lisgar, Manitoba)
Chief Opposition Whip: Mark Strahl (Chilliwack—Hope, British Columbia)
Deputy House Leader of the Official Opposition: John Nater (Perth—Wellington, Ontario)
Deputy Opposition Whip: John Brassard (Barrie—Innisfil, Ontario)
Caucus-Party Liaison: Diane Finley (Haldimand—Norfolk, Ontario)
Conservative National Caucus Chair: Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, Alberta)
Caucus-OLO Coordinator: Chris Warkentin (Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, Alberta)
“Our strengthened party will use every tool available to us to correct the mistakes of this government,” added Scheer. “And we will stand ready to make the case to the people that only a Conservative government can keep this country united and deliver the change so many Canadians are looking for.”
Mr. Scheer will be announcing his Shadow Cabinet later this week.
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About SWP
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»Abu Mazen as...
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Abu Mazen as Prime Minister
A Capacity Assessment
SWP Comment 2003/C 10, July 2003, 8 Pages
State and society of a country / a region
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In the two months following the appointment of Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen) as prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), significant moves have been made, indicating that the deadlock in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process would be resolved at long last, paving the way for a final agreement to end the decade-old dispute over the territory of historic Palestine. A new peace plan, the Road Map, was formally released, and although a spate of violence threatened to suffocate the initiative in its infancy, Palestinian armed groups eventually announced a truce; in turn the Israeli government began to withdraw from parts of the Gaza strip and Bethlehem, as a prelude to redeploying the Israeli Defence Forces back to their pre-September 2000 positions. It is important at this juncture to adopt positive expectations. It is equally important to be realistic about the formidable challenges that still lie ahead, and about the capacity of Abu Mazen to meet these challenges.
Bettina Rudloff
A Stable Countryside for a Stable Country?
The Effects of a DCFTA with the EU on Tunisian Agriculture
Claudia Zilla
Evangelicals and Politics in Brazil
The Relevance of Religious Change in Latin America
© 2020 Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik
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distortion ultra-wide camera photos
❤ How to fix distortion in Galaxy S10 ultra-wide camera photos
Galaxy Expert March 22, 2019 Android, Android OS, Galaxy Screen Replacement in Sydney, News, Repair Service, Review, Samsung Display, Samsung Electronics, Samsung Galaxy, Samsung Smartphone Repairs, Smartphones distortion ultra-wide camera photos, Samsung, Samsung Galaxy S10, Samsung Galaxy S10 Repair, Samsung Galaxy S10 Repair Costs, Samsung Galaxy S10 Screen Replacement, Samsung Galaxy S10 Screen Replacement Costs, Samsung Galaxy S10 Sydney CBD Repairs, Samsung Galaxy S10 ultra-wide camera, Samsung Repair, Samsung Repair Costs, samsung screen replacement, Samsung Screen Replacement Costs, Samsung Sydney CBD Repairs, Samsung ultra-wide camera
All three models of the Galaxy S10 come with an ultra-wide camera at the back, allowing users to take photos that can capture more of a scene without having to move back. The ultra-wide camera has a field of view of 123 degrees, which is considerably higher than the 77-degree field of view of the primary camera. However, the outer corners of ultra-wide photos can have some distortion that’s widely (no pun intended) known as the fish-eye effect.
The fish-eye effect can be highly noticeable in some scenes or be minor enough to not be a concern in others. Examples of the former include photos that have buildings in the corner of the frame, which can look quite distracting. Don’t worry, though: The Galaxy S10 comes with a built-in shape correction feature to fix that distortion.
How does it work? Well, once enabled, the shape correction feature crops out a part of the photo at the edges. Basically, the distorted edges are simply cut out of the frame, leaving you without the fish-eye effect. Check above to see how the corrected image looks vs. the non-corrected image (slide right for non-corrected image and left for the corrected version).
Shape correction for the ultra-wide camera is disabled by default, so let’s look at where you can find it on your Galaxy S10.
How to fix distortion in Galaxy S10 ultra-wide photos
Step 1: Open the Camera app on your S10e, S10, or S10+.
Step 2: Tap the gear icon on the top left of the camera UI to go into camera settings.
Step 3: Under the Pictures section of the settings, tap Save options.
Step 4: Here, enable the Ultra-wide shape correction option.
That’s it. Every ultra-wide shot you take will have the distortion on the edges automatically removed after you have taken a photo. And it’s best to have the option enabled at all times, as cutting out the distorted edges rarely has an adverse effect on an ultra-wide photo’s usefulness.
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Mitt Romney sweeps to double Republican primary victory
Updated Mar 22, 2019; Posted Feb 29, 2012
View full sizeGerald Herbert / APRepublican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney arrives with his wife, Ann, at his election watch party in Novi, Mich., after winning the Michigan primary Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney scored a hard-won, home state triumph in Michigan and powered to victory in Arizona Tuesday night, gaining a two-state primary sweep over Rick Santorum and precious momentum in the most turbulent Republican presidential race in a generation.
“We didn’t win by a lot, but we won by enough,” Romney told cheering supporters in Michigan. He also tweeted his delight — and his determination: “I take great pride in my Michigan roots, and am humbled to have received so much support here these past few weeks.
“On to the March contests,” he said, looking ahead to next week’s Super Tuesday races that could go a long way toward determining the Republican who will take on Democratic President Barack Obama this fall.
Santorum was already campaigning in Ohio, one of next week’s states, when the verdict came in from Michigan. “A month ago they didn’t know who we are, but they do now,” he told his own supporters, vowing to stay the conservative course he has set.
The two other candidates, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, made little effort in either Michigan or Arizona, pointing instead to next week’s collection of contests in all corners of the country.
Romney’s Arizona triumph came in a race that was scarcely contested, and he pocketed all of the 29 Republican National Convention delegates at stake in the winner-take-all state. Michigan was as different as could be — a hard-fought and expensive battle in Romney’s home state that he could ill afford to lose and Santorum made every effort to win.
Returns from 88 percent of Michigan’s precincts showed Romney at 41 percent and Santorum at 38 percent. Paul was winning 12 percent of the vote to 7 percent for Gingrich. In Arizona, with votes counted from 64 percent of the precincts, Romney had 48 percent, Santorum 26, Gingrich 16 percent and Paul 8 percent.
In Michigan, 30 delegates were apportioned according to the popular vote. Two were set aside for the winner of each of the state’s 14 congressional districts. The remaining two delegates were likely to be divided between the top finishers in the statewide vote.
With his victory in Arizona, Romney had 152 delegates, according to The AP’s count, compared to 72 for Santorum, 32 for Gingrich and 19 for Paul. It takes 1,144 to win the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Tampa next summer.
In interviews as they left their polling places, Michigan voters expressed a notable lack of enthusiasm about their choices. Just 45 percent said they strongly favored the candidate they voted for, while 38 percent expressed reservations and 16 percent said they made the choice they did because they disliked the alternatives.
The lengthening GOP nomination struggle has coincided with a rise in Democratic President Barack Obama’s prospects for a new term. A survey released during the day showed consumer confidence at the highest level in a year, and other polls show an increase in Americans saying they believe the country is on the right track.
Along with the improving economy, the long and increasingly harsh campaign, in which Gingrich and Santorum have challenged Romney as insufficiently conservative, has prompted some officials to express concern about the party’s chances of defeating Obama in the fall.
Romney signaled he intends to stick to his core campaign message of fixing the economy and reducing unemployment in a nation still recovering from the worst recession in decades. “More jobs, less debt and smaller government — you’re going to hear that” over and over in the states ahead, he said.
Exit polling showed a plurality of Republican voters in both Michigan and Arizona saying the most important factor to them in the primaries was that a candidate be able to beat Obama in November. Romney won that group in Michigan, where it mattered most, and also prevailed among voters in the state who said experience was the quality that mattered most.
Santorum ran particularly well among voters who cited a desire for strong conservatism or strong moral character.
The polls surveyed both primary day and absentee or early voters. Interviews were conducted at 30 polling places in each state. Early results from Arizona’s poll included interviews with 2,535 voters, including 601 absentee or early voters interviewed by phone. In Michigan it was 2,200 interviews including 412 absentee or early voters interviewed by telephone. The margin of sampling error for the Michigan poll was plus or minus 4 percentage points, it was 3 points in Arizona.
Not even the opening of polls on Tuesday brought an end to the squabbling between the two leading Republicans. Romney accused Santorum of trying to hijack a victory in Michigan by courting Democratic votes through automated telephone calls and suggested his rival was appealing to conservatives by making the kind of “incendiary” statements he would not. “I’m not willing to light my hair on fire to try and get support,” Romney said. “I am what I am.”
Santorum brushed aside the allegations of hijacking, saying Romney had appealed for support from independents in earlier states. “We’re going to get voters that we need to be able to win this election. And we’re going to do that here in Michigan today,” Santorum said, referring to blue collar voters with a history of swinging between the parties.
The exit poll said about 10 percent of the day’s Michigan primary voters were Democrats.
If nothing else, the unexpected clash on Romney’s home field dramatized that two months into the campaign season — after nearly a dozen primaries and caucuses — the GOP race to pick an opponent for President Barack Obama remains unpredictable.
Unopposed for renomination, Obama timed a campaign-style appearance before United Auto Workers Union members in Washington for the same day as the Michigan primary. Attacking Republicans, he said assertions that union members profited from a taxpayer-paid rescue of the auto industry in 2008 are a “load of you know what.”
All of the Republicans running for the White House opposed the bailout, but even in the party’s Michigan primary a survey of voters leaving polling places showed about four in ten supported it.
In a measure this year of the state’s importance to the battle for the nomination, the two leading candidates and the super PACs that support them spent about $6 million on television advertisements, and Romney and Santorum spent much of the past 10 days crisscrossing the state in search of support.
Arizona was Romney’s to lose, judging by the behavior of his rivals, who spent little time campaigning in the state and no money advertising on its television airwaves.
There are 40 delegates at stake in Washington caucuses on Saturday, followed by 419 on Super Tuesday, including big state primaries in Ohio and Georgia.
Already, the television advertising wars were under way. Romney and restore Our Future, the super PAC that supports him, have spent more than $3 million combined on ads in Ohio.
» Romney repels strong challenge in Michigan by Santorum, coasts to victory in Arizona [The Boston Globe]
» Romney wins Arizona, Michigan [USA Today]
» GOP regulars behind Romney's victory in Michigan [The Associated Press]
» Analysis: Mich. win averts disaster for Romney, but GOP sparring still gives Obama a break [The Washington Post]
» Gingrich talks trees, not losses, in primary night speech [CBS News]
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Can Say Yes continue its free tuition promise?
Updated Mar 22, 2019; Posted Apr 12, 2015
Say Yes Syracuse students at college
Gallery: Say Yes Syracuse students at college
By Dave Tobin | dtobin@syracuse.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Will Say Yes to Education have to renege on its promise of free college tuition to Syracuse City School District graduates who attend New York public colleges?
With $9.5 million in its scholarship endowment fund, Say Yes Syracuse has reached less than one-third of its $30 million goal.
Say Yes Syracuse has spent seven years raising that money. During that time, Say Yes' national organization has paid for every public college scholarship given to more than 2,500 SCSD graduates, leaving Syracuse's endowment untouched.
But for Syracuse, the free ride is nearing an end. After June 2017, Say Yes national leaders do not plan to pay for scholarships to SUNY schools for Syracuse public school graduates, said Gene Chasin, Say Yes' chief operating officer.
Can the Syracuse group raise money fast enough to keep the Say Yes scholarship program intact?
"We're hopeful," said Pat Driscoll, Say Yes Syracuse operations director.
Syracuse has been a singular beneficiary of the national Say Yes, a New York City-based not-for-profit that provides seed funding to communities. Its goals: having every public school student graduate high school and be able to afford college.
Syracuse was the first city where Say Yes committed to an entire school district. That's why the national organization has paid for seven years of public college scholarships, said Mary Anne Schmitt-Carey, Say Yes president.
"Syracuse uniquely was given that support because they learned with us," Schmitt-Carey said. "In Buffalo and other cities beyond, we do not pay for any last-dollar scholarships for public institutions."
If Say Yes Syracuse doesn't reach its $30 million goal in two years and Say Yes national stops its help, will Say Yes need to scale back its tuition-free promise?
"It could," Driscoll said. "That's something that would probably have to be looked at."
Since the first Say Yes Syracuse students entered college in 2009, the national group has paid all or part of the tuition for 2,547 students at public institutions. As of 2013, the most recent year for which Say Yes would provide numbers, 93 students with Say Yes scholarships had graduated from four-year colleges and universities, both public and private.
Where Say Yes studentsgo to school
Most of the 1,328 Syracuse City School District students receiving Say Yes scholarships attend SUNY schools. 523 (39 percent) go to Onondaga Community College. 150 (11 percent) attend Syracuse University, the largest number going to a private school. There are 29 other private schools where Say Yes Syracuse students go.
Source: Say Yes Syracuse
Private school scholarships are a different matter. Those are paid by the colleges and universities that have partnered with Say Yes; they don't come from the local endowment. Those scholarships are usually limited to a set number per college. They are also subject to an income level restriction -- only available to students with a family income at or below $75,000.
Among private universities, Syracuse University is the exception. SU sets no limit on the number of qualifying city school graduates who can attend. SU has no income cutoff for Syracuse high school graduates.
Since 2009, private institutions partnering with Say Yes, including SU, have provided nearly $31 million to students from Syracuse, a number that reflects the far higher cost of private schools.
Optimism despite fundraising challenge
Say Yes Syracuse's treasurer says its fundraising has showed success and that the Syracuse group will meet its endowment goal.
"The $10 million demonstrates that there are permanent resources here that a couple of years ago we didn't have," said Peter Dunn, the treasurer. "Reaching this level is a significant accomplishment and helps build momentum for the next phase."
The goal of $30 million is the high end of what Driscoll estimates Say Yes needs to sustain its scholarships.
Dunn says an endowment of $20 million would "get the program very close to sustainability, given current spending rates."
Syracuse schools Superintendent Sharon Contreras said she was confident that Say Yes would meet its endowment goals.
"The scholarship promise is a critical element as we work diligently to close the opportunity gap and afford all SCSD graduates with access to college irrespective of their zip code and family income," Contreras said.
Syracuse's situation contrasts with Buffalo, which in 2012 became the second school district to partner with the national Say Yes.
In Buffalo, all public college scholarships through Say Yes are locally funded. Over two years the organization has awarded roughly $1.6 million in aid to graduates who attend New York public colleges.
Buffalo has raised more than $20 million for its Say Yes endowment. Its target is $100 million.
"We believe we can accomplish (the $100 million target) due to early, impressive results, and commitments from all key stakeholders to the long-term success of Say Yes Buffalo," said David Rust, Driscoll's counterpart in Buffalo. "Our community has never come together behind an effort like this before."
Say Yes losing staff
At a time when Say Yes Syracuse needs to rev up its fundraising, its local staff, which has also been funded by the national Say Yes, is shrinking. It has only three employees, half what it once had.
The Syracuse office has laid off its marketing, public relations staff and community engagement staff, reducing its community visibility. Its development director, Lisa Moore, took a job with Onondaga Community College. Moore had been responsible for raising scholarship endowment money.
Can Syracuse raise all it needs to keep the Say Yes scholarship promise going?
"I think so," Moore said. "The timeline needed to be stretched out beyond what was initially thought. When Say Yes started here, that was just before the 2008 (economic) crash. I don't see Say Yes (national) or the local partners letting that promise be backed away from."
Say Yes Syracuse plans to fill her position, Driscoll said.
Say Yes Syracuse's fundraising gala last fall -- its first -- raised $130,579. Most scholarship fundraising has been done quietly, one-on-one with individuals, corporations and foundations, Moore said.
The biggest fundraising success to date has been a $5 million matching pledge from SRC Inc., the Cicero-based defense, intelligence and environmental company. Say Yes Syracuse is $700,000 away from fully matching that pledge.
Money isn't the only problem
Say Yes' Syracuse website reflects the organization's reduced role.
Its online dashboard, which presents student achievement data, has not been updated since the 2012-13 school year. Two categories of key data -- graduates with Regents diplomas and disciplinary suspensions -- have not been updated since 2011-12.
The national Say Yes had always planned to phase out financial support of programs in Syracuse, both for scholarships and support services.
Indeed, the school district has folded Say Yes' initiatives - like some after-school programs -- into the district's budget. Community partners, like the city and Onondaga County, have directed more services through the school district. For the third consecutive year, Say Yes Syracuse has requested money ($1.5 million) from the city of Syracuse to pay for Say Yes school programs.
In Syracuse, students and their families now can get help through schools with things like mental health services, parent visitation issues, landlord tenant disputes and securing health insurance.
But the national organization has continued to be more involved longer in Syracuse than its leaders expected back in 2008.
In the next two years, national Say Yes will pump $2 million more to Syracuse to pay for current scholarships to cover the shortfall.
It is also pushing for the district to implement a computerized student monitoring system that is at the core of Say Yes' academic improvement strategy and its own self-assessment.
The monitoring system, which closely tracks a student's social, health and behavioral needs as well as academic performance, was years in development. It is now being used by the Buffalo City School District.
Say Yes national has offered to pay to put the system in place in Syracuse, Chasin said. It has already put computer servers in Syracuse schools to manage and store student data, and is willing to train the district's instructional technology team on the system, Chasin said.
District officials say they continue to work with Say Yes to put the monitoring system in place. But they will not say what objections they have, what the delays are about or offer a timeline.
Without the student monitoring system, "it's phenomenally difficult" to assess the success of Say Yes strategy, said Schmitt-Carey. "We definitely have one arm tied behind our back."
Contact Dave Tobin anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3277
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Florida State alum and athlete-turned-mayor, Wayne Messam, ends long-shot bid for presidency
Messam announced his bid for the Democratic nomination in March in a video highlighting his roots as the son of Jamaican immigrants, as well as the need to reform climate policy, health care and student debt.
Florida State alum and athlete-turned-mayor, Wayne Messam, ends long-shot bid for presidency Messam announced his bid for the Democratic nomination in March in a video highlighting his roots as the son of Jamaican immigrants, as well as the need to reform climate policy, health care and student debt. Check out this story on tallahassee.com: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2019/11/20/election-2020-wayne-messam-mayor-miramar-suspends-campaign-president/4249960002/
Jason Lalljee, USA TODAY Published 1:11 p.m. ET Nov. 20, 2019 | Updated 7:26 p.m. ET Nov. 20, 2019
Wayne Messam, a mayor from Florida who launched a long-shot bid for the White House, ended his bid for the presidency.
"Although the campaign goal of becoming President was not realized at this moment, I could not be more thankful for the many supporters including my family, friends and so many Americans I have had the awesome opportunity to meet on the campaign trail all over this nation," Messam wrote in a blog Wednesday.
Messam is the mayor of Miramar, Florida, which has a population of about 140,000 people. He was elected the city’s first black mayor in 2015, beating the incumbent by just 313 votes. He was reelected in a landslide in 2019, with 86% of the vote.
Messam, 45, announced his bid for the Democratic nomination in March in a video highlighting his roots as the son of Jamaican immigrants, as well as the need to reform climate policy, health care and student debt.
“The problem in America as I see it is that we are not addressing these high-stakes problems that we must deal with today,” he said in the video.
Local link:
From football to politics: Former FSU receiver Wayne Messam to run for president
FSU alumn Wayne Messam hoping for a 1 percent boost to be a viable presidential candidate
The American Dream my parents sought when they came from Jamaica with just a 5th grade education is fleeting. Together, we can put the American Dream back within reach for all #ChangeCantWaitpic.twitter.com/oHwrBsx5uH
— Wayne Messam (@WayneMessam) March 28, 2019
The list: Who is running for president in 2020? An interactive guide
Messam's candidacy added a touch of Garnet and Gold to the race for the White House.
A former Seminole receiver (1992-96), Messam was a redshirt freshman on the Seminoles' 1993 national title team. He also was elected Student Council Vice President as part of the school's first all-minority ticket as a senior. Tall and lean at 6-foot-4, Messam finished with 62 career receptions for 793 yards and four touchdowns.
Messam’s presidential policy platforms mirrored issues he addressed as mayor, such as preventing gun violence.
After the Parkland school shooting in 2018, a group that included Messam and other Florida mayors sought to tighten gun restrictions. Last year, they sued the state of Florida over a law restricting Messam’s ability as mayor to install municipal gun regulations after wanting a new amphitheater in Miramar to be a “gun-free venue.” If the group is successful, Miramar could declare public buildings – such as the amphitheater – to be gun-free zones.
More: After Newtown, Pulse, Vegas stirred little change, gun control advocates hope latest shootings push tougher laws
Mayor Wayne Messam: From the FSU gridiron to the White House? | Photos
FSU wide receiver Wayne Messam during a recent practice session. Photo taken 10/16/96 Phil Coale
FSU’s Wayne Messam makes a spectacular effort for a Danny Kanell pass, but he came up short. FSU’s offense finally got in gear against a determined UCF defense. Phil Sears | Tallahassee Democrat file photo
Peter Boulware (#58) and Wayne Messam (#86) team up for the sack on North Carolina State's quarterback Terry Harvey (#14) during the third quarter. Tallahassee Democrat file photo
FSU WR Wayne Messam (89) goes over N.C. State's Rodney Redd (8). Phil Sears | Tallahassee Democrat file photo
FSU receivers Wayne Messam (89) and Damian Harrell (8) take a break during FSU'S first day in pads. Phil Coale | Tallahassee Democrat file photo
FSU receiver Wayne Messam attempts to pull away from Notre Dame defender Kinnon Tatum. Phil Coale
FSU's Wayne Messam hauls in a TD reception despite the defensive efforts of Virginia's Joew Rowe. Phil Coale
Wayne Messam catches a TD pass as Maryland's Andre Hentz defends. Elizabeth Hefelfinger
Wayne Messam takes off after a reception. Phil Coale
Wayne Messam (#89) makes second half catch for a touchdown during the FSU-Maryland game. Elizabeth Hefelfinger
The jinx is over. There is no Miami mystique in the Orange Bowl Stadium. Wayne Messam holds up a clump of sod from the field at the Orange Bowl after the Seminoles beat the Hurricanes there for the first time in 12 years. Phil Sears
1997 Nokia Sugar Bowl-New Orleans-FSU's Wayne Messam goes up for the reception at the 3 yard line over the head of Antone Lott. Mike Ewen
Wayne Messam (left) meeting with former President Bill Clinton (right). Courtesy Photo
From left to right: Several members of FSU BA Board: Milton Parris, Jr., Eric Friall, Connie E. Jenkins-Pye, Charee Williams, Cassandra Jenkins, Charlie Jackson and Wayne Messam, Mayor, City of Miramar. Special to the Chronicle
Messam told CityLab in March that he wanted to enact legislation as president to prevent the NRA from having “free reign on our legislative process so that these weapons can continue to pour into our streets, into the hands of individuals that are shooting up schools and that are plaguing our neighborhood streets.”
“Those acts of violence are not covered every day in the news like a Parkland, like a Columbine, like an Aurora,” he said. “But every day in the streets of America, these guns and these individuals who should not have these guns are wreaking havoc on American society. And it has to stop.”
Messam’s campaign never gained traction. He never qualified for any of the debates, and he reported raising only $5 in the third quarter of this year. A Des Moines Register/Mediacom/CNN Iowa Poll conducted in June reported that 0% of respondents listed Messam as either their first or second choice for president, which was true for eight other candidates.
2020 Presidential candidates
Former New York City Mayor and presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg file paperwork to qualify for the ballot at Arizona Secretary of State’s Office on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019. Nick Oza, The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY Network
Deval Patrick, who made history after becoming Massachusetts’ first black governor, threw his name into the 2020 Democratic presidential election Nov. 14, 2019. Seen here former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick speaks on a panel on leadership during times of crisis at the Newseum in Washington, DC, Feb. 22, 2016. SAUL LOEB, AFP/Getty Images
Former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh announced on Aug. 25, 2019 he'll challenge President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination in 2020. The tea party favorite argues that Trump is unfit for the White House. In this Nov. 15, 2011, file photo former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, R-Ill., gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Carolyn Kaster, AP
Democratic activist and billionaire investor Tom Steyer speaks at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox on August 11, 2019. Steyer announced he was seeking Democratic nomination on July 9, 2019. Olivia Sun
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-CO, first announced he was joining the race for Democratic nomination on May 2, 2019 while making an appearance on "CBS This Morning." Stephen Maturen, Getty Images
Former Vice President Joe Biden announced on Youtube that he will be joining the race for the 2020 Democratic nomination on April 5, 2019. Leah Voss, Treasure Coast News-USA TODAY NETWORK
Senator Bernie Sanders, I-VT, announced he was running for president on Feb. 19, 2019. Hannah Gaber, USA TODAY
Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld announced on Feb. 15, 2019, that he would challenge President Donald Trump in the Republican primary. Cheryl Senter, AP
Democratic Senator of Minnesota Amy Klobuchar announced that she is running for President of the United States on Feb. 10, 2019. Eric Seals, Detroit Free Press
Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Ma, announced she was running for president on Feb. 9, 2019. Olivia Sun
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-HI, center, announced she was running for president on Feb. 2, 2019. Leah Voss, USA TODAY NETWORK
South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced he was running for president on Jan. 23, 2019. Leah Voss, USA TODAY NETWORK
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang is a Democrat running for President. He entered the race on Nov. 6, 2018. Charlie Neibergall, AP
Former Maryland Democratic Congressman John Delaney announced he was running for president on July 28, 2017. Sam Owens, The Des Moines Register
President Donald Trump filed for re-election the day he was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2017. Sam Greene, The Cincinnati Enquirer
Read or Share this story: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2019/11/20/election-2020-wayne-messam-mayor-miramar-suspends-campaign-president/4249960002/
City's new ethics officer in hot seat over tweets
Man charged with accosting child at Tallahassee Whataburger
Florida Senate differs from DeSantis on teacher pay
Tallahassee acoustician on 'Jeopardy!' Tuesday
ALDI acquires Lucky's Market sites in Florida
Family of man found killed pleads for information
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MED & Italian Energy Report 2019
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The First “MED & Italian Energy Report. Energy sources, flow and strategies of Italy between Europe and the Mediterranean” is the result of the synergy between SRM and the [email protected] of the Energy Department of the Politecnico di Torino. The Institutions are planning and implementing a project for an annual survey on Energy & Mediterranean, based on a new conception of science-based think-tank, integrating data analytics, numerical modelling, geo and socio-policy analysis and geomatics. The MED & Italian Energy Report 2019 is the first output of this joint effort. The Joint Research Center of European Commission and the Matching Energies Foundation also contributed to the creation of the Report.
Currently fossil fuels are crucial for the Mediterranean region in terms of production, consumption and transfer toward Central/Northern Europe. Mediterranean plays a role of “energy highway” for flows coming from other areas and directed to Europe and to the world; 30% of world oil and almost 75% of all the other energy resources transit through this basin directed towards Italy and the other European countries.
In the future, Mediterranean can play a major role in energy transition toward renewable energy sources. SRM and [email protected] Center are planning and implementing a project for an annual survey on Energy & Mediterranean, based on a new conception of science-based think-tank, integrating data analytics, numerical modelling, geo and socio-policy analysis and geomatics.
The First MED & Italian Energy Report (English and Italian version) may be purchased from this website in digital version, at a discounted price. To request the version on paper (30 euros + shipping costs) write to [email protected]
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ALGERIA: why invest in renewable energy infrastructure
The following report describes the main actions and priorities of the renewable energy sector in Algeria. The goal is to provide a framework of laws and financial instruments for companies wishing to invest in renewable energy in this country.
This report is adapted from the guide “Fare Energia con l’impresa” published by Intesa Sanpaolo Group.
CROATIA: why invest in renewable energy infrastructure
The following report describes the main actions and priorities of the renewable energy sector in Croatia. The goal is to provide a framework of laws and financial instruments for companies wishing to invest in renewable energy in this country.
TUNISIA: why invest in renewable energy infrastructure
The following report describes the main actions and priorities of the renewable energy sector in Tunisia. The goal is to provide a framework of laws and financial instruments for companies wishing to invest in renewable energy in this country.
TURKEY: why invest in renewable energy infrastructure
The following report describes the main actions and priorities of the renewable energy sector in Turkey. The goal is to provide a framework of laws and financial instruments for companies wishing to invest in renewable energy in this country.
This report is produced by SRM and it is adapted from the guide “Fare Energia con l’impresa” published by Intesa Sanpaolo Group.
Energy demand and dependency in Italy, France and Germany
Support our research project, register yourself and purchase the report
As part of the trade relations between Italy and the Med Area, the countries lining the southern shores of the Mediterranean play a strategic role as energy suppliers for Italy. Within the current European framework with widespread instability at its borders (Iraq, Syria, Libya) and inside them (the Russia-Ukraine crisis), security surrounding energy sources has become a priority for Europe and for Italy in particular. Italy, has a high dependence on energy coupled with an insufficient national production and levels of internal import (from other European countries) covering less than 15% of its overall energy import against 40% of France and almost 50% of Germany. This in-depth analysis investigates Italian data relating to energy consumption, production, intensity, degree of dependency and import by geographical area and compares them to those of Germany and France.
This report is extracted from the SRM’s 4th Annual Report on “Economic relations between Italy and the Mediterranean area – November 2014″. Both the English and Italian version may be purchased from this website in digital version, at a discounted price.
New networks and energy highways in the Mediterranean
Energy, and specifically renewable energy, is a key factor for understanding economic relation between Italy and the Med Area, where important network investment projects are developing. On the domestic front, it would help overcome the daily criticalities of energy exchange among the various areas of the country, which still partially limit the bulk use of renewable energy sources, in themselves “intermittent”, hardly programmable and, thus, difficult to regulate. On the external front, it would sustain, in the future, the required achievement of a single power market on a European scale, with a further extension to the Balkans and Maghreb, with significant energy exchanges through numerous international connections, promoted by European Union.
MOROCCO: why invest in renewable energy infrastructure
The following report describes the main actions and priorities of the renewable energy sector in Morocco. The goal is to provide a framework of laws and financial instruments for companies wishing to invest in renewable energy in this country.
EGYPT: why invest in renewable energy infrastructure
The following report describes the main actions and priorities of the renewable energy sector in Egypt. The goal is to provide a framework of laws and financial instruments for companies wishing to invest in renewable energy in this country.
The development of renewable energy sources in the Mediterranean
This paper offers an analysis of the energy reference context and examines the current state and development prospects for clean energy sources on the Southern Mediterranean shores. It presents the objections and obstacles which up to now have impeded their full exploitation, and singles out several among the more interesting projects in the initial starting phase among these countries. It concludes by outlining the future opportunities for the Region’s growth associated with developing a green economy.
Renewable energies in the Mediterranean: economic scenarios and prospects
The sector of renewable energies will offer space for large investments that in the Med countries, find conditions of maximum efficiency. This report focuses on the ongoing projects in the countries of the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean. The World Bank estimates the need for investment in the energy sector in the MENA region will be 30 billion dollars a year within 2040.
ISRAEL: why invest in renewable energy infrastructure
The following report describes the main actions and priorities of the renewable energy sector in Israel. The goal is to provide a framework of laws and financial instruments for companies wishing to invest in renewable energy in this country.
ALBANIA: why invest in renewable energy infrastructure
The following report describes the main actions and priorities of the renewable energy sector in Albania. The goal is to provide a framework of laws and financial instruments for companies wishing to invest in renewable energy in this country.
Currently, despite the abundance of natural resources, the contribution of clean sources to the supply of primary energy in the Med Area is very limited; in fact, the supply in the Med Area is still dominated by fossil fuels. In the south and east of the Basin, they account for 94% of the national energy supply, while in the north the percentage is 75%. On the other hand, if we look at the production of renewable energy sources, only 1 GW of capacity has been installed in the south, while there are 19 GW of installed capacity (excluding the hydroelectric generation) in the north. In particular, the MENA Area has one of the highest potentials in the world for the generation of solar energy: the IEA (International Energy Agency) has estimated that, thanks to the concentrated solar power (CSP), it would be possible to cover 100 times the consumption of the MENA Area and Europe together. These are all factors to take into account as from today to 2020, the whole region will need an additional production capacity of 191 GW to meet the growing demand for energy, of which 106 GW should be installed in the south and east and 85 GW in the north.
This report is extracted from the SRM’s 3rd Annual Report on “Economic relations between Italy and the Mediterranean area – November 2013″.
Both the English and Italian version may be purchased from this website in digital version, at a discounted price.
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School of Chemistry > People > Prof Russell Morris
Prof Russell Morris
Bishop Wardlaw Professor
rem1@st-andrews.ac.uk
Framework solids have long been known to be important chemicals in both industry and academia and Morris has a long track record of creativity in developing new areas of science that have not only impacted fundamental porous materials science but have also changed approaches across a wide swathe of chemistry outside his own direct field. Morris has also been active in spinning out companies, with two startups developing the industrial applications of his science.
Morris's specific contributions have been to overturn conventional thinking in several areas. His development of ionothermal chemistry has led to a whole new endeavour that has impacted on many aspects of chemistry outside his own specific field. He is a pioneer in the area of porous materials chemistry for biological/medical applications, initiating a field of BioMOFs and is responsible for exposing many physicians and biologists to the concepts involved. Morris?s recent work on the ADOR principle offers to significantly change the way synthetic chemists view what is possible ? his preparation of ?unfeasible? materials solves a long standing problem and offers insight into how to avoid the limitations of solvent-based synthetic approaches in materials chemistry.
Morris?s contributions can be split into three main areas; synthesis, application and characterisation.
A. Materials Synthesis
Morris has made world-leading contributions in materials synthesis by
developing the ADOR mechanism, which provides routes to compounds previously labelled ?unfeasible? synthetic targets and provides unprecedented continuous control over porosity.1-4
introducing and developing ionothermal synthesis techniques - these are now well established in the world of materials chemistry6,8,13,15-17
developing new concepts in MOF chemistry, such as ?hemilabile? and ?switchable? MOFs7,9,10,131. The ADOR principle ? Solving the zeolite conundrum
For the last 60 or so years hydrothermal techniques have been used to prepare zeolites and other related materials, leading to a total of just over 200 known zeolite topologies. However, simple calculations reveal that there are at least 300,000 (and possibly millions) of potential topologies. This is the zeolite conundrum ? why can we make so few topologies? Recent work by Morris1-4 has shown that the paucity of zeolite frameworks is caused by the mechanism of hydrothermal synthesis, and by developing new synthesis mechanisms (the ADOR principle1-4) Morris has shown that materials that were hitherto described as ?unfeasible? synthetic targets can now be prepared ? effectively solving the long-standing zeolite conundrum.1 This work is published in a series of papers in Nature Chemistry.1,2,4
The ADOR principle (Assembly-Disassembly-Organisation-Reassembly)1-4 is a top-down approach to the synthesis of zeolites and other porous materials with predictable structures. The work has overturned the conventional thinking of how control over porous materials can be achieved. Morris has shown that the ADOR methodology, where a preformed material is selectively disassembled before being reassembled in a new way, can lead to continuous control over porosity that covers the whole range of useful zeolite pore sizes.3,4 Morris has developed this into a general method for zeolites1 and has demonstrated that similar approaches lead to unusual properties in metal-organic frameworks and other materials.2 The most important aspect of the work is that the new pathway allows the preparation of previously impossible to prepare solids,1,2 accessing areas of synthesis space that were kinetically and energetically impossible to reach using hydrothermal synthesis.1 Morris?s recent work on the ADOR process has led to a nomination for the Donald Breck award, which is awarded triennially (next in 2016) for the most important work done worldwide in porous materials science.
2. Ionothermal Materials Chemistry, Chiral Induction and Quantum spin Liquids
The ionothermal method for the preparation and processing of solids, developed by Morris, is widely viewed as a ground-breaking and world-leading advance in the field. The primary concept, first published in Nature,17 is the use of ionic liquids as both solvent and structure directing agent in the formation of unusual materials with unique structure and function. Originally designed for the synthesis of porous solids,15,16,17 the technique has been extended to almost all types of inorganic, organic and hybrid materials,6,8,13 and is now a widely used technique in materials chemistry. The ionothermal method exhibits many unique features, such as the use of ambient pressure solvothermal conditions, the controlled delivery of structure directing agents, anion control(and the exquisite control over water as a mineraliser it allows) and effective chiral induction etc, which have enabled the synthesis of many new materials that cannot be accessed using other routes. An outstanding extension of this work is the use of ionothermal synthesis to produce a whole new class of quantum spin liquid, which are of great interest to the condensed matter physics community for their potential in quantum computing.6
The work at St Andrews on ionothermal chemistry has stimulated a whole new field that is followed by many research groups around the world ? since 2006 there have been thousands of papers that can be traced back to the original Nature paper. Morris is the acknowledged worldwide leader in the field (with eight of the top ten cited ionothermal papers ? Source ISI Web of Knowledge).
3. New concepts in Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) Chemistry
With his work on ionothermal synthesis and medical applications (see section B) Morris is already regarded as a leader in the metal-organic framework (MOF) community (Inaugural President of the International Zeolite Association MOF commission, Chairman of the International MOF meeting in 2012, plenary lecturer at the first international MOF meeting, 2008 etc). However, he has also developed several new concepts in MOF chemistry. One example is ?hemilabile? MOFs,5,9,10 where unique properties (such as ultraselective adsorption10) can be engineered into a material by controlling the relative bonding in different parts of the structure. In addition he has also developed the very first example of a MOF where adsorption can be switched on demand between two channels with different surface chemistries.7 As always the new concepts are underpinned by exquisite chemical and structural studies (see section C below), deciphering features such as the synthesis mechanisms5,9 of the in situ ligand functionalisation that is vital for switchable adsorption.7 A new concept that is about to be published is adsorption crossover, based on using a change in adsorption mechanism (chemi- to physisorption) to control gas storage.
B. Materials Application
Morris has been a pioneer in developing materials chemistry for medical applications. His world-leading achievements include
Developing porous materials for the delivery of biologically active gases such as nitric oxide. Morris was the first to develop this chemistry and the field now includes several leading scientists in Europe, the USA and Asia.
Taking the technologies he has developed towards commercialisation. There are two companies that are dedicated to developing Morris?s work and who are in the advanced stages of commercialisation.
Earning international recognition for this work through several different awards, including the Royal Society Brian Mercer Award and the GEMI award from Germany.
4. Translational Medicinal Chemistry - Porous materials in medicine
Morris is well-known as the originator of the use of porous materials to store and deliver medically active gases. It is quite a paradox that many gases of medical interest are extremely toxic in larger amounts (e.g. nitric oxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide), and so safe storage and delivery in only beneficial amounts becomes a major challenge. Morris?s research developed zeolites13 and metal-organic frameworks11,12 that show exceptional properties for this process, delivering controllable amounts of gas at biologically suitable rates. The research is truly translational ? beginning in the chemistry laboratory and developing through in vitro biological testing, to in vivo testing first in animal models and then to humans (and in fact well into the commercialisation phase ? see below). The research is also truly multidisciplinary - encompassing chemistry, biology, medicine and materials science. He is now a popular invited speaker at international conferences where such interdisciplinarity is highlighted.
His research is full of notable firsts in this area ? the first demonstration of a biological action of metal-organic frameworks (anti-thrombosis activity in human blood) and the first clinical experiments on human skin to name but two. This primarily commercially targeted applications research is also underpinned by leading science in the synthesis and characterisation. The high level characterisation of the gas-framework interactions has been vital to a real understanding of the ongoing processes in the applications, and the development of polymer-MOF hybrid materials that demonstrate outstanding gas storage and delivery, while maintaining their mechanical properties, brings real applications of MOFs much nearer. His developing work on delivering multiple therapeutic agents at different rates offers a step change in the controllability of delivery technologies. Morris is acknowledged as one of the first two group leaders in the world to develop biological applications of MOFs ? an area that is increasingly important. He is an author on two of the most highly cited papers in the area.
5. Industrial and Commercial Chemistry
A significant recent focus of Morris?s research has been the translation of his leading academic research into industrial and commercial impact. His medical gas delivery technology has led to the largest commercial licence at St Andrews and a subsequent spin out company (Zeomedix LLP) who are taking the technology to the market place through clinical trials. Morris?s technology in the MOF area is being developed by MOFgen Ltd, a University of St Andrew spin out company. In addition Morris has spent significant time developing chemicals industry applications of porous solids in his role as a Royal Society Industry Fellow with Sasol Technology UK. Morris?s commercially focussed activity has led to several awards from the Royal Society (e.g. Brian Mercer Award for Innovation), the Royal Society of Edinburgh, GEMI (Germany) and the Royal Society of Chemistry Applied Inorganic Chemistry award.
C. Materials Characterisation
Morris has always been at the forefront of applying characterisation techniques, with his research being published in the highest quality journals (eg Science and Nature family journals).
6. Characterisation: Powder and Microcrystal X-ray diffraction, NMR and PDF
A continuing theme throughout Morris?s career has been the development and application of cutting edge characterisation, especially in the area of X-ray diffraction. Early work concentrated on powder X-ray and neutron diffraction,19,20 but since the mid-nineties Morris has been a major developer of X-ray diffraction on micron-sized crystals at synchrotron sources around the world.9,15,17 His work allowed not only the structure solution of novel and exciting materials but also enabled mechanistic studies of interesting physical properties of zeolites, such as negative thermal expansion. The simultaneous use of multiple techniques to solve complex problems that are not tractable using one technique alone is a recurring aspect of Morris?s research. Diffraction studies combined with solid-state NMR18 and X-ray PDF5 allowed the solution of structural problems and the solution of zeolite and MOF architectures. Almost all the papers listed below involve high-level characterisation of these types.
Mazur, M., Wheatley, P.S., Navarro, M., Roth, W. J., Polozij, M., Mayoral, A., Chlubná-Eliá?ová, P., Nachtigall, P., ?ejka, J., Morris R.E., The Synthesis of ?Unfeasible? Zeolites Nature Chemistry 2016, DOI: 10.1038/NCHEM.2374
Morris R.E & ?ejkaJ. Exploiting chemically selective weakness in solids as a route to new porous materials Nature Chemistry 2015, 7, 381-388
Wheatley, P.S., Chlubná-Eliá?ová, P., Greer, H., Zhou, W., Seymour, V. R., Dawson, D. M., Ashbrook, S. E., Pinar, A. B., McCusker, L. B., Opanasenko, M., ?ejka, J., Morris, R. E. Zeolites with continuously tuneable porosity Angew. Chemie 2014, 53, 13210-13214
Roth, W. J.; Nachtigall, P.; Morris, R. E.; Wheatley, P. S.; Seymour, V. R.; Ashbrook, S. E.; Chlubna, P.; Grajciar, L.; Polozij, M.; Zukal, A.; Shvets, O.; Cejka, J., A family of zeolites with controlled pore size prepared using a top-down method. Nature Chemistry 2013, 5, 628-633
Allan, P. K.; Chapman, K. W.; Chupas, P. J.; Hriljac, J. A.; Renouf, C. L.; Lucas, T. C. A.; Morris, R. E.: Pair distribution function-derived mechanism of a single-crystal to disordered to single-crystal transformation in a hemilabile metal-organic framework. Chemical Science 2012, 3, 2559-2564
Aidoudi F.H., Aldous, D.W., Goff, R.J.; Slawin A.M.Z.; Attfield, J.P., Morris, R.E., Lightfoot, P. An ionothermally prepared S = 1/2 vanadium oxyfluoride kagome lattice Nature Chemistry2011, 3, 801-806
Mohideen. M. I. H.; Xiao, B.; Wheatley, P. S.; McKinlay, A. C.; Li, Y.; Slawin, A. M. Z.; Aldous, D. W.; Cessford, N. F.; Duren, T.; Zhao, X. B.; Gill, R.; Thomas, K. M.; Griffin, J. M.; Ashbrook, S. E.; Morris, R. E., Protecting group and switchable pore-discriminating adsorption properties of a hydrophilic-hydrophobic metal-organic framework. Nature Chemistry2011, 3, 304-310.
Morris, R. E.; Bu, X. H., Induction of chiral porous solids containing only achiral building blocks. Nature Chemistry2010, 2, 353-361.
Allan, P. K.; Xiao, B.; Teat, S. J.; Knight, J. W.; Morris, R. E., In Situ Single-Crystal Diffraction Studies of the Structural Transition of Metal-Organic Framework Copper 5-Sulfoisophthalate, Cu-SIP-3. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2010, 132 (10), 3605-3611.
Xiao, B.; Byrne, P. J.; Wheatley, P. S.; Wragg, D. S.; Zhao, X. B.; Fletcher, A. J.; Thomas, K. M.; Peters, L.; Evans, J. S. O.; Warren, J. E.; Zhou, W. Z.; Morris, R. E., Chemically blockable transformation and ultraselective low-pressure gas adsorption in a non-porous metal organic framework. Nature Chemistry 2009, 1 (4), 289-294.
McKinlay, A. C.; Xiao, B.; Wragg, D. S.; Wheatley, P. S.; Megson, I. L.; Morris, R. E., Exceptional behavior over the whole adsorption-storage-delivery cycle for NO in porous metal organic frameworks. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2008, 130 (31), 10440-10444.
Xiao, B.; Wheatley, P. S.; Zhao, X. B.; Fletcher, A. J.; Fox, S.; Rossi, A. G.; Megson, I. L.; Bordiga, S.; Regli, L.; Thomas, K. M.; Morris, R. E., High-capacity hydrogen and nitric oxide adsorption and storage in a metal-organic framework. Journal of the American Chemical Society2007, 129 (5), 1203-1209.
Lin, Z. J.; Slawin, A. M. Z.; Morris, R. E., Chiral induction in the ionothermal synthesis of a 3-D coordination polymer. Journal of the American Chemical Society2007, 129 (16), 4880-4881.
Wheatley, P. S.; Butler, A. R.; Crane, M. S.; Fox, S.; Xiao, B.; Rossi, A. G.; Megson, I. L.; Morris, R. E., NO-releasing zeolites and their antithrombotic properties. Journal of the American Chemical Society2006, 128 (2), 502-509.
Parnham, E. R.; Morris, R. E., The ionothermal synthesis of cobalt aluminophosphate zeolite frameworks. Journal of the American Chemical Society2006, 128 (7), 2204-2205.
Parnham, E. R.; Drylie, E. A.; Wheatley, P. S.; Slawin, A. M. Z.; Morris, R. E., Ionothermal materials synthesis using unstable deep-eutectic solvents as template-delivery agents. Angewandte Chemie-International Edition2006, 45 (30), 4962-4966.
Cooper, E. R.; Andrews, C. D.; Wheatley, P. S.; Webb, P. B.; Wormald, P.; Morris, R. E., Ionic liquids and eutectic mixtures as solvent and template in synthesis of zeolite analogues. Nature2004, 430 (7003), 1012-1016.
Fyfe, C. A.; Brouwer, D. H.; Lewis, A. R.; Villaescusa, L. A.; Morris, R. E., Combined solid state NMR and X-ray diffraction investigation of the local structure of the five-coordinate silicon in fluoride-containing as-synthesized STF zeolite. Journal of the American Chemical Society2002, 124 (26), 7770-7778.
Smith, L.; Cheetham, A. K.; Morris, R. E.; Marchese, L.; Thomas, J. M.; Wright, P. A.; Chen, J., On the nature of water bound to a solid acid catalyst. Science1996, 271 (5250), 799-802.
Morris, R. E.; Harrison, W. T. A.; Nicol, J. M.; Wilkinson, A. P.; Cheetham, A. K., Determination of complex structures by combined neutron and synchrotron x-ray-powder diffraction. Nature1992, 359 (6395), 519-522.
PhD supervision
Ailsa Edward
Simon Vornholt
Cameron Rice
Daniel Rainer
Zachary Davis
Caroline Elliott
13C pNMR of ?crumple zone? Cu(II) isophthalate metal-organic frameworks
Dawson, D. M., Sansome, C. E. F., McHugh, L. N., McPherson, M. J., McCormick McPherson, L. J., Morris, R. E. & Ashbrook, S. E., 14 May 2019, In : Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. In press
A new layered MWW zeolite synthesized with the bifunctional surfactant template and the updated classification of layered zeolite forms obtained by direct synthesis
Grzybek, J., Roth, W. J., Gil, B., Korzeniowska, A., Mazur, M., ?ejka, J. & Morris, R. E., 7 Apr 2019, In : Journal of Materials Chemistry A. 7, 13, p. 7701-7709 9 p.
A procedure for identifying possible products in the Assembly-Disassembly-Organisation-Reassembly (ADOR) synthesis of zeolites
Henkelis, S. E., Mazur, M., Rice, C. M., Bignami, G. P. M., Wheatley, P. S., Ashbrook, S. E., ?ejka, J. & Morris, R. E., 25 Jan 2019, In : Nature Protocols. 14 p.
A single crystal study of CPO-27 and UTSA-74 for nitric oxide storage and release
Henkelis, S. E., Vornholt, S. M., Cordes, D. B., Slawin, A. M. Z., Wheatley, P. S. & Morris, R. E., 28 Mar 2019, In : CrystEngComm. 21, 12, p. 1857-1861
Fast room temperature lability of aluminosilicate zeolites
Heard, C. J., Grajciar, L., Rice, C. M., Pugh, S. M., Nachtigall, P., Ashbrook, S. E. & Morris, R. E., 16 Oct 2019, In : Nature Communications. 10, 7 p., 4690.
Kinetics and mechanism of the hydrolysis and rearrangement processes within the assembly-disassembly-organization-reassembly synthesis of zeolites
Henkelis, S. E., Mazur, M., Rice, C. M., Wheatley, P. S., Ashbrook, S. E. M. & Morris, R. E., 13 Mar 2019, In : Journal of the American Chemical Society. 141, 10, p. 4453-4459 7 p.
Magneto-structural correlations of novel kagomé-type metal organic frameworks
H. Mohideen, M. I., Lei, C., Tu?ek, J., Malina, O., Brivio, F., Kasneryk, V., Huang, Z., Mazur, M., Zou, X., Nachtigall, P., ?ejka, J. & Morris, R. E., 14 Jun 2019, In : Journal of Materials Chemistry. 7, 22, p. 6692-6697 6 p.
Metal-organic framework-activated carbon composite materials for the removal of ammonia from contaminated airstreams
McHugh, L. N., Terracina, A., Wheatley, P. S., Buscarino, G., Smith, M. W. & Morris, R. E., 19 Aug 2019, In : Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 58, 34, p. 11747-11751 5 p.
Nitric oxide production from nitrite by a series of zeolites produced via the ADOR route
Doyle, R. A., Russell, S. E. & Morris, R. E., 15 May 2019, In : Microporous and Mesoporous Materials. 280, p. 367-371 5 p.
Sodium naphthalene-2,6-dicarboxylate: an anode for sodium batteries
Cabañero, J. M., Pimenta, V., Cannon, K., Morris, R. & Armstrong, A. R., 12 Sep 2019, In : CHEMSUSCHEM. Early View
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Death of 11-year-old girl at Drayton Manor was 'accidental' - inquest rules
The coroner says she will now write to every theme park in the UK urging them to conduct CCTV training following the death of Evha Jannath
Tom BurnettSenior Live Reporter
Evha Jannath died on a school trip to Drayton Manor
A coroner has said she will write to all UK theme parks urging them to conduct CCTV training following the death of a schoolgirl who drowned after she fell from a Staffordshire theme park's river rapids ride.
Evha Jannath was "propelled" from a six-seater vessel on Splash Canyon at Drayton Manor on May 9 2017, while on an end-of-year school trip with staff and friends from Jameah Girls Academy in Leicester.
A jury concluded that the monitoring of CCTV "did not identify any misbehaviour" of the 11-year-old, despite the inquest hearing she had been standing up and "reaching into the water".
The theme park told the coroner the ride would not reopen "in the current format" and until it had the consent of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Stafford Coroner's Court was told that the emergency stop button for the ride was not pressed despite Evha's fall.
Drayton Manor closed temporarily following the tragedy
Man and dog escape kitchen fire in Staffordshire town
Evha and four friends had boarded the vessel without a teacher after school staff agreed to the pupils' request to go on the ride unaccompanied.
Speaking on behalf of the theme park, Jim Sturman QC said: "The ride will currently not reopen in this design.
"The ride will not reopen until proceedings with the Health and Safety Executive have concluded.
"It will not reopen without the express consent of the HSE."
Speaking about the letter she intended to write, assistant coroner Margaret Jones said: "It will be addressed to the park and all other parks and it will cover CCTV training, using the PA and all things you might expect the letter to contain."
The coroner said the inquest had been "very distressing" for witnesses, and extended her thanks to those who entered the water to try to help the youngster.
She also expressed her condolences to Evha's brother and uncle, who attended court on Monday.
The inquest at Stafford's County Buildings was told how Evha - who was unable to swim - initially fell into water up to her thighs.
Appearing uninjured, she was then shown on CCTV wading along the edge of the ride route, towards the exit platform, trying to get back to her friends.
Evha Jannath, 11, who fell from a water ride at Drayton Manor theme park (Image: Staffordshire Police/PA Wire)
Police search for Stoke-on-Trent man last seen in August
Her schoolmates were shouting back towards Evha, while another member of the public standing at the ride course's barrier a few feet above told her to "stop" where she was.
The youngster carried on wading and then attempted to climb the ride's "travelator", which lifts the ride vessels up out of the water, to an exit platform.
But as she climbed the "algae-covered" wooden planks on the mechanism, she fell off the side into a "much deeper" area of water at the park in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
After pupils and members of the public raised the alarm, theme park staff rushed to the ride and began a search.
Some 11 minutes after staff were alerted to Evha originally going into the water, she was spotted "face down".
It was another six minutes before theme park staff were able to pull her out, when she was described as "lifeless".
Returning a conclusion of accidental death after four-and-a-half hours of deliberations, the jury panel of three men and seven women said in their findings: "There was no opportunity to rewind the CCTV footage.
"The monitoring of the CCTV did not identify any misbehaviour.
"The sign at the entrance for the ride does not tell passengers to sit."
The jury said the sign did however say the ride was "bumpy".
The findings added: "There were 11 worded signs which instructed guests to remain seated and hold the centre ring."
Stoke City FCStoke City transfer news and rumours LIVE: Striker closing on switch, Sunderland linked with Rangers wingerStoke City transfer news - Potters boss Michael O'Neill has been linked with a flurry of late business as he tries to tweak his squad
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School appeals for public's help to open well-being centre
Merit pupil referral service supports students with medical or mental health issues
Kathie McInnes
Merit Pupil Referral Unit, Bucknall
A ‘short-stay’ school for pupils with medical or mental health needs is appealing to Co-op members to back its latest project.
Merit pupil referral unit, in Bucknall , wants to install an outdoor learning and well-being centre for students, their families and the local community.
Teacher in charge, Mel James, said it would build on their work in using outdoor activities to improve students’ mental health.
Now the school has been selected to benefit from the Co-op’s local community fund.
Whenever members buy selected products or services from the Co-op, one per cent of the funds will go towards local good causes. They can nominate the Merit project as their chosen cause.
Meet the teenager helping to keep Stoke-on-Trent students safe from extremism - and now she's up for a national award
People can also register to become a member at a Co-op store or online at www.coop.co.uk/membership .
Mel added: “At a time when funds for community groups and charitable organisations are becoming more difficult to access, we’re incredibly grateful for this opportunity to make a real difference in the city.”
As well as teaching students at its Bucknall base, Merit provides education to young patients at Royal Stoke University Hospital and through home tuition.
Royal Stoke University Hospital
Bucknall
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Mild Mannered Reviews - Regular Superman Comics
Scheduled to arrive in stores: March 7, 2001
2001 Shield No. 18
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Penciller: Ed McGuinness
Inker: Cam Smith
"With This Ring..."
Reviewed by: Neal Bailey (baileyn@cc.wwu.edu)
*Special mention to Tanya and Richard Horie for the colors is given by the reviewer: See ART portion of the review below.
Krypto has ripped the cover off of the oven and the turkey lies on the floor, half eaten. Lois berates Clark for not controlling his new dog. She isn't very fond of Krpyto. Alas.
Clark takes another bird from the freezer and speed cooks it with his heat vision.
Martha arrives with a cape for little Krpyto.
Off in the distance, as dinner goes on, an eye from far away watches through binoculars.
Sam Lane, along with his wife, ribs Clark for bad judgment when it comes to Luthor. Clark takes it for a while, but then his parents are offended and leave. Lois fumes at her father. Krypto, using his X-ray vision, I imagine (not explicitly stated), notes Batman watching from a far off roof and barks.
Superman arrives, asking why Batman is spying on him.
Superman tells Batman that there should be no more surprises. Exactly, Batman intimates.
The next day, the mysterious financial backer of the Daily Planet repurchase is revealed... Bruce Wayne. Bruce and Clark clench teeth at one another, and Lois takes some of Bruce's advice not to find the news, but to make it.
She goes, in attack gear, to Gotham and turns on the Bat signal. Batman arrives, and they both take off to get the Kryptonite ring, which Sam mentioned that Luthor had at dinner, piquing Lois' curiosity.
Batman is intrigued that Lois doesn't know his secret identity, and mental notes himself to talk with Clark about it.
They sneak into the White House's private chambers by jamming security on a night tour, only to find Superman waiting, demanding that they end their quest.
Story - 4: Some of this is kind of cheesy, and badly done, but the pacing is such that the story carries itself, and you don't catch the cheese until the third time through. Trust me on that. Batman is good. Batman is Batman. As is Superman. As is Sam Lane. As is Lois. As is Bruce. The close attention to character as opposed to format is what makes Loeb the man that he is. But one thing that Loeb lacks, the thing that killed the one point, is attention to continuity and possibility. IE, he does things that are impossible, and some of the things that are possible he ignores, and these things are directly influential upon and influenced by continuity. I'll make that more simple. Krypto just came to town. A normal dog has just gained the ability to fly, to shoot heat vision, to use X-ray vision, to follow heat trails, to destroy anything he pleases, to run away at will, to chase and eat cars, to do all kinds of dog-gy things that all dogs dream of. What does he do? Demolish a benign, non threatening oven to get to a turkey. He would have smelled the beef Bourgignon with Ketchup a mile away and gone for it instead of a half cooked turkey, if you'll forgive the punny reference. If we have to step in the proverbial super pet fecal mess lying on the ground of the past, then let's do it right. Superman's getting idealistic again. That's good. That's 70's. I like that. But too much of the old crud that made the Crisis on Infinite Earths necessary is coming back with it. What next? The monkey? The horse? The cat. SHUDDER! But character, character, character. Loeb is amazing with the way he can pay attention to the simple dynamics between two people. You can see it in the movies he wrote (Not commando, but commando was still cool), and it has come full circle. He has experience, here, and it shows. Who would have thought of using Lois Lane and Batman together. Nice. Implausible at first, but he's managed to pull it off, and I don't know how. I'm impressed. Lois is a normal civilian. Batman is... well, he's BATMAN. He doesn't need civilians. But I believe that he does here. Nice work Jeph. Just get Krypto tearing stuff up.
Art - 5: And again, I say, 5 of 5. One for Ed, and one for the coloring team. If you read Batman, then you are familiar with the red, black, and white motif that makes up the bat books. The way that this is carried over into this book is amazing. It's such attention to detail. It's for the fans. They didn't have to do this, but they did, and it floats my boat and makes me happy. McGuinness, like always, makes everything very vivid, and he's very attentive to everything. And though I'm becoming a study in contradiction for saying this recently, I do not notice any of his splashes when reading the comic because he does them so well. I guess that's the test, isn't it? When the pages are big in terms of story for McGuinness, he splashes them. Not just for when it seems a convenient time for him to explore his own artistic ability. Nice.
Cover Art - 4: Minus one for not being a scene that occurred in the issue. The Superman signal is never seen, they never work together in Metropolis, and Lois most certainly never swings on her own rope. She's scared out of her gourd to be on Batman's arm. I dislike such deceiving things in covers. But otherwise, the aesthetic is simply brilliant, and the coloring lets you know that this issue is half Superman, half Batman.
Other recent reviews:
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Weekly Newsletter - October 14, 2019
Monday, October 14 • 12:00 – 3:30 pm
Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration
Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day today at this free outdoor program with Native American art, vendors, music, and dancers. Talented Indigenous artists include Pura Fé (Tuscarora), Raye Zaragoza (Akimel O’otham descent), Ostwelve (Stō:lo) and Pamyua (Inuit) and more! Jonathan Cordero (Ramaytush Ohlone) begins the celebration with an opening and land acknowledgement. The program highlights the Bay Area’s vastly diverse and talented community of Indigenous artists.
Location: Yerba Buena Gardens, Mission St. between 3rd & 4th Sts. San Francisco
Monday, October 14 • 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Free Them CA: Panel of Criminalized Survivors & Letter Writing
Join Survived & Punished (S&P) CA and TGI Justice Project (TGIJP) in conversation with a panel of criminalized survivors of gender-based violence. Moderated by S&P organizer Aminah Elster, the panel will share their experiences and analyses about criminalization and their fight for freedom. The evening will include letter writing to incarcerated survivors in California prisons. All letter writing materials provided. RSVP and more details here.
Location: East Side Art Alliance, 2277 International Blvd. Oakland
Wednesday, October 16 • 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Townhall: Community Input for Independent Oversight of Police
In September, The Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP) released a paper on best practices for independent police oversight based on legal research, impacted families' input, and lessons learned from the Oakland Police Commission, with areas to improve. Come out to learn more about the Oakland Police Commission and participate in a community conversation on APTP’s findings. Hear from Police Commission Vice Chair and community representative Ginale Harris. The goal is to help inform the City Council as they draft a ballot measure which can strengthen Oakland’s Police Commission's oversight functions.
Location: East Side Arts Alliance, 2277 International Blvd, Oakland
Saturday, October 19 • 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Human Billboard: Stop Family Separations! Asylum is a Right!
Asylum seekers caged at the border! Thousands of children separated from their families! Unrelenting inhumane conditions inside detention centers! Join us to form a human billboard to demand an end to these atrocities. We refuse to silently accept what is being done in our names. We are taking our outrage and grief out of our homes and into the streets and public spaces. Bring signs! No human is illegal; no one deserves the treatment imposed by our government for seeking asylum. Funds will be raised to support Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES).
Location: In front of Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave. Oakland
Saturday, October 19 & Sunday, October 20 • 12:00 - 4:30 pm
25th Annual El Día de los Muertos Community Celebration
Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Oakland Museum of California’s El Día de los Muertos celebration with an exhibition inspired by Chicano activists who introduced Día de los Muertos traditions to the United States in the 1970s. ¡El Movimiento Vivo! Chicano Roots of El Día de los Muertos will honor and explore the lesser-known origins of Day of the Dead and the ways these traditions continue to inspire social and political change today. Visitors will encounter altars, artworks, and interactive elements that show how Chicano activists used Day of the Dead traditions to foster pride in their Indigenous heritage and unify their communities. The week-end includes live music, food, and dance performances.
Location: Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St. @ 10th, Oakland
Sunday, October 20 • 2:00 – 6:00 pm
Alternatives to Policing: Self- and Community Defense
Part of an ongoing series of workshops designed to reduce reliance on an increasingly militarized police force, this offering from Community Ready Corps (CRC) will cover basic principles and practices to help us keep ourselves and our communities safe. What would you do if you found yourself in the middle of a violent situation? How can you safely get yourself and others out of that situation? Donations will support CRC's vital work. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Sponsored by a coalition that includes First Congregational Church of Oakland, Kehilla Community Synagogue, Jewish Voice for Peace, Oakland LBGTQ Community Center, among others.
Location: First Congregational Church, 2501 Harrison St. Oakland
Free Our Prisoners – From Palestine to the U.S.
Come out for this in-depth look at imprisonment from Palestine to the U.S. and how we can build solidarity between our freedom struggles. Lana Ramadan from Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association in the West Bank, Palestine, will talk about the current situation – 5,150 Palestinian political prisoners are waging multiple hunger strikes to protest torture, administrative detention and abusive conditions of confinement in Israeli prisons. She will be joined in conversation with people doing work against mass incarceration and detention in the U.S. The event is sponsored by Palestinian Youth Movement, Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), California Coalition for Women's Prisoners, and Critical Resistance, among others.
Location: 518 Valencia St. San Francisco
Tuesday, October 29 • 5:00 pm PST
National SURJ Webinar: Building Anti-Racist Electoral Work
White voters remain one of the biggest barriers to winning transformative, structural change in this country. There’s been a lot of hand wringing, a lot of blame and a lot of calls to action. It’s time for us to answer those calls. SURJ is ready - join in this webinar with SURJ Director Erin Heaney and Working Families Party National Director Maurice Mitchel. They’ll discuss the importance of organizing poor and working class white folks and the strategic electoral interventions needed in this political moment.
Location: Online - register for the call here.
Sunday, November 3, 2019 • 12:45 – 3:00 pm
Spill The Disabili-Tea™: A Disability Justice Workshop
What is Disability Justice? People often express feeling intimidated and ill-equipped to unpack what we've been taught about disability, and how to support and advocate for disabled people in our everyday lives. This workshop is a fabulous opportunity for you to dive into the magic of disability justice with SURJ and Alex Locust at the helm. Alex will facilitate an interactive discussion of disability justice for those committed to elevating their support for disabled folks in their community. Come join us for an afternoon of real talk, experiential exercises, group work, and lots of laughs. Click here for tickets, sliding scale from $20 - $80.
Location: Sierra Club, 2101 Webster Street, 13th floor, Oakland
Sunday, November 3, 2019 • 1:30 – 4:30 pm
Challenging Conversations About Race and White Supremacy
How do we approach difficult conversations, whether it’s about racist violence on the border, cultural appropriation, or white supremacy and racial justice in general? What is it like to have these conversations with our family, friends and coworkers with a vision for the long haul? Members of the White Noise Collective will facilitate this SURJ workshop exploring the difficult conversations in our lives around race and power. Just in time for the holidays! Tickets are sliding scale $15 - $85. No one turned away for lack of funds. Please register - space is limited.
Location: East Bay Community Space, 507 55th Street, Oakland
Wednesday, November 13 • 6:45 – 9:00 pm
Intro to SURJ Meeting
Want to get involved with SURJ Bay Area? Come learn about our current work and activities. SURJ moves white people to act for justice, with passion and accountability, as part of a multi-racial majority. You will hear about SURJ's pathways for entering the work, including committee work, upcoming workshops, and events. We'll answer your questions and share how you can get involved in the movement for racial justice. Register today!
Location: Movement Strategy Center, 436 14th Street, Suite 500, Oakland
Tell Berkeley to Say No to Facial Recognition Tech
We already know that facial recognition technology routinely fails to accurately identify people of color, and in the hands of police, will only accelerate the nation’s lethal track record of racial profiling and discrimination. The Berkeley City Council will be considering a measure banning the use of facial recognition technology by city government on October 15th, and it’s urgent that they, and the Mayor's office, hear from us about this insidious new form of surveillance. Sign on this Media Justice email to Berkeley officials to keep harmful facial recognition tech off our streets. Learn more and sign here.
Support Abundant Beginnings!
SURJ Bay Area partner organization Abundant Beginnings needs our financial support to continue their programs and to eventually purchase land. Please donate and share their donation page far and wide. Abundant Beginnings is a community education and empowerment initiative that is re-imagining how communities can grow learners who think critically, live responsibly, and create meaningful change. They center the needs of those who are currently marginalized from meaningful educational experiences, with emphases on students of color, gender expansive and queer students, and differently-abled learners. Check out this adorable video and then donate HERE.
In SURJ Blogs – Racial Justice Books for White People
In recent months, some thirty members of SURJ Bay Area suggested and voted on books for white people about racial justice, indicating those they recommend, as well as those they want to read. See the non-fiction list here. You can see the list of fiction recommendations here. In addition to the SURJ lists, the blogs also include recommended reading lists from other organizations and individuals.
Support ACA 6 and Voting Rights for Formally Incarcerated Californians
Nearly 50,000 California voters are barred from voting every year because they are on parole. ACA 6 would restore voting rights to these individuals. If the bill passes the California Senate, it will be on the 2020 ballot. Democracy needs everyone, including people on parole who are reentering our communities. You can show your support for ACA 6 by signing this petition and sharing it with family and friends.
Demand the University of Alabama Re-Hire Dr. James Riley
The University of Alabama has seemingly pushed for the resignation of its Dean of Students and Assistant Vice President — a Black man who had been in the job just seven months — for past tweets that made honest, straightforward statements about racism in America. The University of Alabama needs to rehire Dr. Riley immediately and make clear it will stand up for the rights of Black students, faculty, and employees. Learn more and sign the Color of Change petition to reinstate Dr. Riley.
Fire LAPD Officers Lee and Robles for the Murder of Grechario Mack
Sign and share the petition to fire the Los Angeles police officers who murdered 30-year-old Grechario Mack, father of two daughters. On April 10, 2018, Mack was in the midst of a mental health challenge inside the the Crenshaw-Baldwin Hills Mall when LAPD Officers Ryan Lee and Martin Robles shot him and then stood over him – he was still alive – and fired two more rounds into his body, killing him. Black Lives Matter Los Angeles is calling on LAPD Police Chief Michel Moore to fire the two police. Learn more about the case and sign the petition here.
Support Central Maine SURJ's Know Your Rights Working Group
Police in Lewiston, Maine, are collaborating with ICE, putting immigrant communities in danger. In response, Central Maine SURJ has started a "Know Your Rights" working group focused on educating local communities with peer-to-peer "Know Your Rights" presentations, zines, posters and mutual aid projects. Your support now will go a long way toward strengthening their efforts and the work of their partner orgs. Learn more about their plans and make a donation here.
SURJ Bay Area Chapter - Join us! Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability. Learn more at www.surjbayarea.org. SURJ Bay Area is one of 150 chapters and affiliates nationwide. Learn about SURJ National and our mission, vision, and values HERE.
Want to support our work? You can make a donation for SURJ's organizing and educational efforts with over half of what we raise going to Black and people of color-led partner organizations. Make a one-time donation or become a monthly sustainer HERE. Contributions are tax-deductible.
Follow SURJ Bay Area on Social Media: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Bay Area c/o PO Box 22748, Oakland CA 94609
Click here to get our newsletter delivered right to your inbox every week!
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US Food and Drug Administration clears warp-knitted nano-modified hernia mesh
A warp-knitted surgical mesh that incorporates a nanoscale surface treatment has received pre-market clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Partnership to develop graphene-enhanced filaments for additive manufacturing
Graphene nanoplatelet manufacturer, XG Sciences Inc and producer of filaments for additive manufacturing (AM), Terrafilum have signed a joint development agreement to develop, produce and sell fila
Kordsa and University of Sheffield form composites partnership
Manufacturer of reinforcements for the tyre and construction industries, Kordsa has formed a partnership with the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) to develop
Analysis of Huntington's disease symptoms by wearable technology
Wearable technology is being used to collect and assess data on movement and activity in a study evaluating a potential treatment for chorea associated with Huntington's disease, a hereditary neuro
Partners produce laptop covers from recycled carbon fibres
US recycled carbon fibre specialist Carbon Conversions Inc (CCI) is working with compatriot Dell to create lightweight and cost-effective carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) covers for laptop co
Apple Watch successfully detects atrial fibrillation
Wearable technology can be used to identify heart-rate irregularities that subsequent clinical evaluations confirmed to be atrial fibrillation, according to a study from the Stanford University Sch
Metallic microfibres for advanced applications
BinNova Metal Fiber Technology (MFT) is a new company based in Jena, Germany, which is manufacturing metallic microfibres that are being converted into wetlaid nonwovens for applications in electro
FREE CONTENT: Shape-changing textiles powered by body heat
Temperature-responsive textiles that can be used to create self-fitting garments that only require body heat to function have been developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota in Minneap
Fibres could power refrigeration systems
A technology for refrigeration based on the twisting and untwisting of fibres has been demonstrated by researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas in the USA and Nankai University in China.
Single-use fabrics for protection against surgical lasers, chemicals or fluids
Ahlstrom-Munksjö of Helsinki, Finland, has launched the TrustShield range of single-use medical fabrics that provide protection against surgical lasers, chemicals and chemotherapy drugs.
Jaguar Land Rover printed electronics power next-generation in-car personalisation
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) believes that its structural electronics research will allow dashboards to be replaced by curved screens and enable drivers to customise interiors with colour-changing body
FREE CONTENT: UK research institute invests in airlaying machine
The Nonwovens Innovation & Research Institute (NIRI) in Leeds, UK, has purchased a new airlaying machine that will be used for the pilot-scale manufacture of nonwovens.
Arville invests in growth with purchase of filter manufacturer
Technical textiles specialist Arville has purchased manufacturer of replacement filter products, Delta Filter Services Ltd.
Protecting spacecraft against re-entry heating
As the aerospace industry renews its focus on space travel, there is a growing need for innovation in the area of thermal protective systems (TPSs) says Tex Tech Industries of Portland, Maine, USA.
Demand for healthcare wipes to grow by 3.8% annually
Demand for wipes used in healthcare settings is expected to increase by 3.8% per year to US$594 million in 2023, according to a new study published by Freedonia of Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
FREE CONTENT: Reducing powertrain noise with polyethylene terephthalate textile
A lightweight textile made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibres that can both block and absorb sound waves has been developed for use in automotive engine bays by Autoneum of Winterthur, Sw
Heat-curable composite fabrics for insulation and covers
A composite textile that can be heat-cured to form a rigid, non-flammable, heat-resistant and thermally insulating protective wrap or cover (14) has been developed by Saprex Advanced Solutions of G
Nanofibres produced from waste cotton
A simple process for converting waste cotton into high-value nanofibres has been developed at the University of British Colombia (UBC) in Vancouver, USA.
Simplified front-end part for motor vehicles
A simplified front-end part for motor vehicles has been developed by Porsche of Stuttgart, Germany.
Graphene-enhanced prepreg for lightning-strike protection
A range of graphene-enhanced prepregs that can be used to provide protection from lightning strikes has been launched by Haydale of Ammanford, UK.
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flickr.net Go back Open original
Why we’re changing Flickr free accounts
By Andrew Stadlen
Today, we’re announcing updates to our Free and Pro accounts that mark a new step forward for Flickr. To be candid, we’re driving toward the future of Flickr with one eye on the rearview mirror; we’re certain that Flickr’s brightest days lay ahead, but we remain acutely aware that past missteps have alienated some members of our community. We also recognize that many of the clues for how best to build the future of Flickr can be found in our own, rich history.
Many of today’s announcements are unequivocally positive things: a new, simplified login with any email you prefer; improvements to the Pro account; and additional partner perks. The changes to our Free accounts are significant, and I’d like to explain why these changes are necessary and why we’re confident they’re the right path forward for Flickr.
Beginning January 8, 2019, Free accounts will be limited to 1,000 photos and videos. If you need unlimited storage, you’ll need to upgrade to Flickr Pro.
In 2013, Yahoo lost sight of what makes Flickr truly special and responded to a changing landscape in online photo sharing by giving every Flickr user a staggering terabyte of free storage. This, and numerous related changes to the Flickr product during that time, had strongly negative consequences.
First, and most crucially, the free terabyte largely attracted members who were drawn by the free storage, not by engagement with other lovers of photography. This caused a significant tonal shift in our platform, away from the community interaction and exploration of shared interests that makes Flickr the best shared home for photographers in the world. We know those of you who value a vibrant community didn’t like this shift, and with this change we’re re-committing Flickr to focus on fostering this interaction.
Second, you can tell a lot about a product by how it makes money. Giving away vast amounts of storage creates data that can be sold to advertisers, with the inevitable result being that advertisers’ interests are prioritized over yours. Reducing the free storage offering ensures that we run Flickr on subscriptions, which guarantees that our focus is always on how to make your experience better. SmugMug, the photography company that recently acquired Flickr from Yahoo, has long had a saying that resonates deeply with the Flickr team and the way we believe we can best serve your needs: “You are not our product. You are our priority.” We want to build features and experiences that delight you, not our advertisers; ensuring that our members are also our customers makes this possible.
Third, making storage free had the unfortunate effect of signaling to an entire generation of Flickr members that storage—and even Flickr itself—isn’t worth paying for. Nothing could be further from the truth: there is no place like Flickr to share, to discover, to learn, and to interact around photography. And because storing tens of billions of Flickr members’ photos is staggeringly expensive, we need our most-active members to help us continue investing in Flickr’s stability, growth, and innovation.
How did we choose the 1,000 photo/video limit?
We started from the point of view that free members are essential to a vibrant, healthy Flickr, and we were determined to provide a free tier that allows anyone who is unable or unwilling to pay for a Pro account to meaningfully participate in, and contribute to, the Flickr community.
While most products today sell storage in megabytes or gigabytes, the photographers we spoke to all knew about how many photos they had shot in the past few days, but few knew how much storage those photos consume without doing tricky math. Counting photos is simpler and more intuitive. It’s also more closely aligned to Flickr’s past (before 2013, Free members were limited to 200 photos), and we liked the idea of returning to our roots but with free space for five times as many photos as before.
We also think that photographers should be able to upload full, uncompressed original images to Flickr without worrying about conserving space or worrying about a future where images continue to grow in size.
Lastly, we looked at our members and found a clear line between Free and Pro accounts: the overwhelming majority of Pros have more than 1,000 photos on Flickr, and the vast majority of Free members have fewer than 1,000. We believe we’ve landed on a fair and generous place to draw the line.
We know change can be overwhelming, no doubt. But we are committed to making sure Flickr’s focus stays on you, the photographer. We believe this is the right path forward to build a sustainable future for Flickr and our community so we can continue developing features and products that shape the world of photography for years to come.
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Advice for new Kalighat bridge
Engineers said that the bridge was weak to bear heavy load and its steel reinforcements had undergone heavy corrosion
By Our Special Correspondent in Calcutta
Vehicles on Kalighat bridge. Picture by Sanat Kr Sinha
A bridge that connects Alipore with Kalighat over Tolly’s Nullah has come under the scanner for poor health. Engineers, who conducted a health study of Kalighat bridge, have concluded that replacing the structure with a new one would be ideal.
The engineers have said that the bridge was too weak to bear heavy load and some of its steel reinforcements had undergone heavy corrosion, prompting them to recommend its replacement.
They have said that for now small vehicles can ply on it but only after adequate repairs of the 45-year-old structure.
“Kalighat is the only bridge out of the nine that have been scanned where we have asked the consulting agency that conducted the health study to suggest the cost of building a new one,” said a senior engineer of the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA).
“The agency has been asked to come up with its cost-estimation report by November,” he said.
Spread over 1.5km, the Kalighat bridge connects parts of Chetla, Gopalnagar, Alipore and Kidderpore to Kalighat and parts of south Calcutta.
In July, a load-bearing test of the structure was conducted as a part of the urban development department’s initiative to conduct health study of several flyovers and bridges in the aftermath of the Majerhat bridge collapse in September last year.
A Mumbai-headquartered company had carried out the test, which included mounting fully loaded lorries in the middle of the bridge for two days and then calculating “deflections” in the components.
Besides the load tests, the agency had also studied the quality of the concrete and the steel with the help of ultra-sound waves and calculated the PH value of the subsoil.
The report was recently submitted to a committee of bridge engineers. The report has revealed that signs of stress on the Kalighat bridge were visible.
Sources said the report suggested that some of the deck slabs of the bridge needed immediate repair. The steel embedded in the deck slabs and several pillars of the bridge had undergone heavy corrosion.
The report even mentions that the “acidic water” of Tolly’s Nullah had contributed to the corrosion of steel. Water has seeped into the deck slabs resulting in plants growing in some parts.
Even as engineers continue to calculate the cost of building a new bridge, the urban development department has sought immediate installation of height bars to prevent heavy vehicles from plying on the structure. Sources said Calcutta police had already banned heavy vehicles on the bridge.
“The height bars would be around 3.5 metres high. The exact spots where they would be installed have been identified,” said a senior officer of Bhowanipore traffic guard, which will execute the project. “Within the next few weeks the bars should come up,” he said.
Engineers said installing height bars was one of the most effective ways of restricting heavy vehicles that tend to defy bans and evade the police. After Chingrighata and Ultadanga flyover, the police have installed height barriers at Zeerut bridge near Alipore zoo after engineers said the existing steel structure was not ready to bear heavy load. Similar height barriers have been on installed at either end of Tallah bridge to prevent heavy vehicles from taking the structure.
Kalighat bridge
Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA)
More from West Bengal
At Tagore’s abode, VC speech too hot to tape
CM paints protest
Posting relief for teachers
Mamata scores ton with books
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Network Analytics Leader TrustSphere Launches First-Ever Diversity & Inclusion MRI Product
9/26/2019, 1:00 PM (Source: GlobeNewswire)
NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TrustSphere, a recognized market leader in Relationship Analytics and passive Organizational Network Analytics (ONA), today announced the launch of the company’s new Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) MRI offering. Designed to deliver actionable diagnostic insights, the TrustSphere D&I MRI is a market first, providing meaningful inclusiveness measures using passive ONA signals.
According to McKinsey’s “Women in the Workplace” report, women account for only 20 percent of C-Suite roles, despite making up 48 percent of the U.S. workforce. Unconscious bias is a significant driver of this gender gap. The initial release of TrustSphere D&I MRI focuses on gender differences in networks and relationships across an organization, with additional features in development. Unlike other offerings, it has been developed to detect and address unconscious bias at the organizational and team level rather than at an individual level. Understanding network behavior in an organization is critical to understanding how systemic relationships drive the likelihood of outcomes such as promotion and retention – key factors for closing the gender gap at all levels.
Using TrustSphere’s core Relationship Analytics technology, the solutions leverages communication metadata to uncover network homophily, a well-established ONA construct, whereby individuals and groups exhibit a preference to be connected with others that share common attributes, e.g., the tendency for men to build networks with other men and vice versa for women. Detecting and understanding the operation of homophily at a network level allows an organization to move beyond merely increasing diverse representation to driving sustainable behavioral change that results in inclusive networks, teams and leadership.
Dr. Karen Stephenson, Social Network Analysis pioneer and head of TrustSphere’s Science Advisory Board, commented, “We are introducing a new scientific tool for CHROs and managers to assess the overall health of diversity and inclusion (D&I) in their corporate cultures. Much like an MRI, this "D&I MRI" captures the nuance and complexity of inclusiveness using evidence-based data and rapidly makes it available for diagnosing organizational health.”
Analyzing both intra-team and inter-team networks, the D&I MRI statistically assesses the overall level of homophily of a group or team, the inverse being the networks’ diversity. The D&I MRI provides a leading indicator to evaluate levels of organizational inclusiveness. Adjusting for the underlying population distribution, statistically significant deviations and changes over time, the D&I MRI produces a quarterly report which stands as an empirical measurement of an organization’s existing networks. Identifying teams that are less inclusive allows organizations to prioritize initiatives to improve overall performance. The technology only analyzes groups of 20 or more individuals to ensure data privacy is always respected.
Industry analyst Josh Bersin shared, “TrustSphere’s solution sheds light on D&I using network analytics to provide visibility into inclusiveness, a characteristic difficult to empirically measure. This is an impressive move and one that promises to evolve as we approach the future of work.”
Empirical data from TrustSphere’s work indicates that teams with greater levels of network diversity and inclusiveness produce more high performers than those teams with lower levels.
TrustSphere CEO Manish Goel said, “Ensuring network inclusiveness is not just an essential goal of D&I initiatives, but also correlates with business growth, innovation and social impact. Using the D&I MRI, organizations can, for the first time, identify levels of network diversity and inclusiveness – at scale – allowing them to connect systemic D&I initiatives to outcomes in terms of sustainable behavioral change.”
About TrustSphere
TrustSphere is the widely recognized market leader in Relationship Analytics. It helps organizations leverage a most valuable asset – their collective relationship network. By analyzing log data from enterprise communication and collaboration systems such as email, and using advanced data science and machine learning, TrustSphere builds and maintains an enterprise’s own relationship graph. Leveraging the science of Organizational Network Analysis, TrustSphere measures the social capital of individual employees, of teams and of organizations as a whole. This rich set of analytics surface insights which help our clients across the globe address key business challenges including workforce productivity, sales force effectiveness and enterprise-wide collaboration and D&I.
Current uses of our workforce analytics solutions include measuring the impact of leadership development, identifying high potentials, understanding finding hidden influencers, accelerating new staff onboarding and measuring the effectiveness of inclusion and diversity programs. Our ground-breaking solutions, processed using its proprietary technology platform, are deployed through an increasing number of technology and business partners including Visier, Salesforce.com and leading management consulting partners.
Kunal Thukral
Vice President & Head of Marketing
kunal.thukral@trustsphere.com
Copyright GlobeNewswire, Inc. 2016. All rights reserved.
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Universal basic income: Neat, plausible, and wrong
The latest policy from Australia’s Greens Party, UBI is a bad idea, writes David Walker.
Some policy debates are about real and well-established issues: for instance, how big a military we should have. And some debates are over new things, like whether we should have a carbon tax.
But some debates are simply the result of bad analysis. Hey, let’s invade Iraq and get rid of Saddam Hussein! It’ll be easy!
The latest policy idea from the Greens Party, universal basic income (UBI) fits into that latter category. It’s the idea that we can make our welfare system better by making a single regular payment to every adult to cover their basic needs, unconditionally, with no work or activity tests. And it’s the Let’s-Invade-Iraq of welfare ideas.
500 years of wrong
Hilariously, many people see a UBI as an exciting new idea. In fact, it’s been around for centuries. Some trace its roots to Sir Thomas More’s Utopia, 500 years ago, which would make it quite literally a utopian policy.
Thomas Paine, John Stuart Mill and Bertrand Russell all stated in passing their own enthusiasm for something similar. UBI has a very long pedigree. It particularly crops up when there’s widespread worry that new technologies will take away all the jobs – which is often.
Yet, whenever anyone with a good knowledge of welfare systems takes a look at it, they end up quickly rejecting it.
The reason is simple: a UBI gives taxpayers terrible bang for their buck. In a world where it takes real work to convince the average taxpayer to give up their next dollar to the unemployed, the UBI would take great fistfuls of taxpayer dollars and give them to people who don’t need them.
How many fistfuls? Professor Peter Whiteford, of the ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy, is a world-class expert in the costs and benefits of different welfare policies.
Like other experts on the tax-transfer system, he doubts the effectiveness of a UBI. And while Whiteford notes that few proponents of the UBI have done detailed costings, he does have some rough estimates.
A UBI the size of the age pension (around A$23,000 a year) could increase total federal spending from its current 26% of GDP to around 42% of GDP. In an A$1.7-trillion-a-year economy, that would require us to find the better part of A$300 billion more each year in taxes and other revenues. The inevitable result would have to be an unprecedented increase in taxes that could diminish incentives to work.
Fix what we have
Less dramatic experiments would be far more cost-effective. For example, the current Newstart Allowance for the unemployed costs the Budget around A$10 billion a year. It’s so low that even the Business Council of Australia has called for it to rise. The price of doubling it would be chicken feed next to the cost of a UBI.
It’s true that our current arrangements are overly complex, and they could use simplifying. It’s also true that by withdrawing government payments as income rises, we raise the taxes paid on every dollar by low-income people who are trying to work more. But like the rise in Newstart, these problems could be fixed for a lot less than A$300 billion a year.
And as Whiteford has fought for years to remind people, our current system has evolved into a pretty effective way of transferring the most money to those in need with the least payments to those who don’t.
Australia has the most heavily ‘targeted’ tax-transfer system of any developed economy. This lets us provide a mostly adequate safety net (with Newstart as the obvious hole) despite what is, by OECD standards, a relatively low set of tax rates.
In a sense, then, Australia has pretty much the opposite of a UBI system – an Only-When-You-Need-It system. What many people don’t realise is that by international standards, our Only-When-You-Need-It works pretty well. Further refinement, including some higher payments, would make it better still.
UBI, on the other hand, would require overturning not just our existing welfare system but also our tax system. Millions of people’s incomes would change – and many not for the better, even among the less well-off. Whiteford says it’s “hard to come up with a system that doesn’t have losers” at the bottom end of the income ladder.
Every time an expert looks at UBI closely, it becomes clear that there are better alternatives. But you can’t kill it with an axe. Its sheer simplicity attracts an audience. It’s the sort of notion US writer HL Mencken had in mind when he wrote that “there is always a well-known solution to every human problem – neat, plausible, and wrong”.
More about UBIs
The Australian Parliamentary Library’s Don Arthur gives a thorough discussion of the UBI: “Most proposals for funding a UBI rely on back-of-the-envelope calculations rather than detailed costings.”
Leading Australian economist John Quiggin makes the case for concentrating on payments to the poorest: “Compared to ‘universal first’ the ‘basic first’ approach has the merit that we are already part of the way there, and the next steps involve clear, and feasible, political demands”.
Luke Martinelli at the University of Bath Institute for Policy Research, assesses the UBI’s benefits and costs: “an affordable UBI would be inadequate, and an adequate UBI would be unaffordable”.
Peter Whiteford provides a detailed picture of Australia’s social welfare system.
By David WalkerFull Bio
David Walker runs consultancy Shorewalker DMS. He has led policy for think-tank CEDA, edited business magazine INTHEBLACK, helped manage two start-ups and headed communications for the Business Council of Australia.
The only time you should say no to lucrative business opportunities
By John Drury
Why flat-Earthers and bushfire conspiracists signal big trouble
By David Walker
The hidden advantages of overloading yourself at work
By Shane Cubis
The corporate tax assault lacks evidence
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Review: Courtney Barnett at The Tivoli
Taylor Furby
After spending time in the US, Courtney Barnett brought her latest album, Tell Me How You Really Feel, back home and hit The Tivoli last night.
It’s been over two years since Barnett has graced Brisbane with a show but was the wait worth it? Absolutely. There’s a reason behind Barnett’s success and last night was one big hour and a half showcase of why. Not only is Barnett talented but she’s surrounded herself with an incredible band to match.
The set list was spectacular with an even spread of Barnett classics and a big chunk devoted to Tell Me How You Really Feel. She kicked off the set with ‘Hopelessness’, the first track from her latest album. That’s when it hit that I was actually seeing Courtney Barnett live.
Barnett is known for her wordy lyrics and incredible ability to tell a story through song. However most of the crowd still knew every single word. This was especially evident in the middle of the set during ‘Depreston’. There is something so special about being in a room with about 1500 people singing a song about house hunting in Melbourne!
Credit: Ian Laidlaw
The lighting throughout the show was stunning but was particularly hypnotising during ‘Nameless, Faceless’, the first single from her latest album. She threw two covers in there as well: an incredible rendition of ‘Houses’ by Alyse Weinberg and Gillian Welch’s ‘Everything Is Free’.
Barnett rounded out the show perfectly in the encore with ‘Anonymous Club’ where her vocals and the all round musical ability caused what can only be described as a “religious experience”.
Unfortunately the show had to end and she finished it off with her biggest hit, ‘Pedestrian At Best’, from Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit.
It was a great way to spend a Wednesday night and I sincerely hope we don’t have to wait another two years to see her in Brisbane again.
Facebook: Courtney Barnett
Instagram: @courtneymelba
Twitter: @courtneymelba
Header Image Credit: Mia Mala McDonald
Brisbane Courtney Barnett live music Music Review tell me how you really feel the tivoli
The Smith Street Band Head Back To Brisbane For Beer InCider
MurriiQ Designs – In Preparation for MBFF 2018
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RICKY
MCKINNIE
F E A T U R E D R E V I E W S
“He's a great drummer and singer with a lot of heart and an inspirational story to share ."
- Paul Beasley, The Gospel Keynotes
“Ricky is a dear friend, a great musician, very compassionate, and quite an inspiration to the people who meet him. I enjoy our opportunities to work together. Onstage he's a pleasure. Offstage we're like brothers . If you ever have the chance to meet Ricky after a show, don't pass it up. His kindness and gentle spirit alone will inspire you to be a better human being.”
- Ricky Monie, Preservation Jazz Hall Band
E V E N T S
Chautauqua Auditorium
w/ Taj Mahal, Marc Cohn
Eccles Center
Oregon Zoo Amphitheatre
"I'm not blind. I just can't see."
Drummer & Vocalist, The Blind Boys of Alabama
For a complete list of the Blind Boys of Alabama tour dates, come back soon!!!
© 2012 Eric "Ricky" McKinnie. All rights reserved.
THE RICKY MCKINNIE EXPERIENCE
QSM Recording Studio
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Sanilac Drug Task Force arrests 4, seizes drugs
A woman and a teenager were arrested in Deckerville Jan. 5 after the Sanilac County Sheriff Drug Task Force executed a search warrant in the 3500 block of Brush St.
Sanilac Drug Task Force arrests 4, seizes drugs A woman and a teenager were arrested in Deckerville Jan. 5 after the Sanilac County Sheriff Drug Task Force executed a search warrant in the 3500 block of Brush St. Check out this story on thetimesherald.com: http://bwne.ws/2mpBtpn
Times Herald Published 2:09 p.m. ET Jan. 12, 2018
A regional workshop about the opioid epidemic will be Sept. 27 in Markette(Photo: TIMES HERALD)Buy Photo
A mother and her son were arrested in Deckerville Jan. 5 after the Sanilac County Sheriff Drug Task Force executed a search warrant in the 3500 block of Brush St.
The task force had been investigating the possible sales of prescription pills and marijuana since August, according to a news release.
Inside, task force members found prescription medications, marijuana, packaging materials, digital scales, and other drug paraphernalia with evidence of illegal prescription medication sales, according to the statement.
Michelle Long, 45, was booked and released on a charge of maintaining a drug house. Robert Long, 17 and her son, was booked and released on a charge of possession of marijuana.
Felony charges of selling prescription medication will be requested upon completion of the investigation and lab tests.
The Drug Task Force was assisted by the Sanilac County Sheriff's Uniform Division, the Deckerville Police Department, as well as a St. Clair County Sheriff dog and deputy.
The following day on Jan. 6, the drug force and a patrol deputy conducted a traffic stop near the intersection of M-46 and M-54 in Lamotte Township.
The occupants were found to be in illegal possession of controlled drugs and paraphernalia for using heroin, the sheriff department said.
The driver, 29-year-old Cory James Parker, and passenger, 32-year-old Stanley Collier Bass, were arrested and arraigned on felony possession of a controlled substance. Both live in Flint.
The St. Clair County Sheriff dog and deputy also assisted in the case.
Read or Share this story: http://bwne.ws/2mpBtpn
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House of Lords debates
Iran — Question
20 speeches
To ask Her Majesty's Government what legal advice they have received on whether a pre-emptive military strike on Iran would violate international law.
European Council: December Meeting — Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their priorities for the December meeting of the European Council.
British Transport Police — Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will recognise the British Transport Police for the purposes of the Firearms Act 1968.
Immigration: Home Office Meetings — Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government when Home Office Ministers last met the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration; and how often such meetings are held.
Medical Innovation Bill [HL] — First Reading
A Bill to make provision for innovation in medical treatment. The Bill was introduced by Lord Saatchi, read a first time and ordered to be printed.
Mental Health (Discrimination) (No. 2) Bill — First Reading
The Bill was brought from the Commons, read a first time and ordered to be printed.
Prisons (Property) Bill — First Reading
Marine Navigation (No. 2) Bill — First Reading
Presumption of Death Bill — First Reading
Mobile Homes Bill — First Reading
Disabled People's Right to Control (Pilot Scheme) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 — Motion to Approve
Moved By Baroness Stowell of Beeston That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 24 October be approved. Relevant documents: 9th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments,...
Electoral Registration Data Schemes (No. 2) Order 2012
Charitable Incorporated Organisations (Insolvency and Dissolution) Regulations 2012
Charitable Incorporated Organisations (Consequential Amendments) Order 2012 — Motions to Approve
Moved By Lord Wallace of Saltaire That the draft Orders and Regulations laid before the House on 30 October be approved. Relevant documents: 10th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory...
Green Deal Framework (Disclosure, Acknowledgment, Redress etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2012
Electricity and Gas (Energy Companies Obligation) Order 2012 — Motions to Approve
Moved By Baroness Verma That the draft Order and Regulations laid before the House on 30 October be approved. Relevant documents:10th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments,...
Canterbury City Council Bill — Third Reading
9 speeches
Moved By Lord Bilston That the Bill be now read a third time.
Leeds City Council Bill — Third Reading
Bill passed and returned to the Commons with amendments.
Nottingham City Council Bill — Third Reading
Reading Borough Council Bill — Third Reading
Draft Cumbria (Electoral Changes) Order 2012 — Motion of Regret
Moved By Lord Liddle That this House regrets that the draft Cumbria (Electoral Changes) Order 2012 has been produced with inadequate consultation with the County Council and other interested...
Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) Regulations 2012
Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) Regulations 2012 10th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments
Motion to Approve
Moved By Lord McNally That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 29 October be approved. Relevant documents: 10th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments
Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 2012
Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 2012 10th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments
Moved By Lord McNally That the draft order laid before the House on 29 October be approved. Relevant document: 10th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments Amendment to the...
Palestine: United Nations General Assembly Resolution — Question for Short Debate
Tabled By Baroness Royall of Blaisdon To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Palestinian Leadership in the light of the outcome of the debate on the Resolution on...
Legal Profession: Regulation — Question for Short Debate
Tabled By Baroness Deech To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of the regulation of the legal profession.
Debates in the House of Lords are an opportunity for Peers from all parties (and crossbench peers, and Bishops) to scrutinise government legislation and raise important local, national or topical issues.
And sometimes to shout at each other.
See all of 2012
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7 Brilliant Mercedes Coupes On eBay Fit For Royalty
By John Munson Published On 06/22/2015
“Come scoop you in the coupe, sitting on two zeros, fix your hair in the mirror let’s roll.”—Jay Z
Mercedes dutifully made some big, handcrafted luxobarges back in the day. They were the automobiles of choice for everyone ranging from CEOs, to dictators, to royalty. And if you had no hopes of buying one when they were first introduced, it's time to check back in. Here are seven of the best on eBay.
1985 300CD
When someone uses the term “bulletproof” or “built like a tank” they’re probably describing something along the lines of this two-door turbo diesel cruiser. At 155k miles this thing is just getting started, and with that clean perforated leather interior and original gold paint job, how could you possibly go wrong?
2005 CL65 AMG
When Mercedes released their 604 hp, 734 lb-ft, AMG-tuned 12-cylinder engine over a decade ago, it was a jaw-dropping game changer. You paid a pretty penny for it too—the final sticker on this car when new would have been over $200,000. The fact that you can get this midnight blue beauty for less than $30,000 proves that depreciation is a beautiful thing...as long as you’re not the original owner.
1965 220SEB
From the subtle fins to that greenhouse rear windshield, there are few things about this car that don’t scream “classic.” To a certain generation, this is the epitome of a pillar-less coupe. The tufted seats, wood dash, and color-matched hubcaps have aged perfectly, and what else for twenty-two grand will leave you feeling like a mid-'60s dictator?
1981 380SLC
The W107 Series roadsters were one of Mercedes' most timeless and popular models. Despite the fact that all of the convertibles could be—and often were—purchased with a matching hardtop, M-B decided to offer a fixed roof version known internally as the C107 line. They may not have been necessary, but luxury and necessity rarely go hand-in-hand, and four-seat coupes have recently been spiking up in value.
2001 CL600 “TMAC”
Tracy McGrady is a legendary basketball player; no doubts to be had there. His taste in car customization? To put it nicely, athletes have always been known to veer on the less-than-subtle side of aftermarket enhancements, and McGrady's Benz—done by best-known-from-MTV West Coast Customs—is certainly in no danger of going unnoticed. You can sum up this car in exactly two words: Gucci. Interior.
1994 S600
Say the words “Big Body Benz” and what leaps to mind will usually be the boxy, beautiful, 1990s-era luxury sedans of which the V12 600 series was their flagship. While the four-door version still holds a certain prestige on the streets, the two-door version faded into relative anonymity. This one is still chock full of the same technological advancements, and has the same smooth, powerful V12 that once made it king of the road. And, it now comes in the four figure range, so you could certainly do worse.
1988 560SEC
If you’ve ever seen Roadhouse, you know this car. In fact, behind the Ferraris, this was probably the best known car on Miami Vice as well. Italian exotics aside, this was the status car of the 1980s and has aged better than perhaps any realistically attainable car of the era. Now that you can pick this car up for just $6,000—that’s less than the taxes someone likely paid on this thing new—why in the world wouldn’t you?
John Munson is a contributor to Supercompressor. If you’ve never seen Roadhouse or Miami Vice, you’re probably too young to be his friend.
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Emerging Tasmanian Aboriginal Writers Award
YoungWriters
Young Writers in the City
Young Writers in the Huon Valley
Young Writers in the City of Glenorchy
Young Writers at IMAS
Teachers and Assessors
National Writers’ Centre Network
Hobart Writers Festival 2019
Tasmanian Writers Festival 2017 Programme
Privacy and Cancellation Policies
By: Marion Stoneman
Recommended Reads: August
Each month the TWC publishes four recommended reads on our website. Three of the recommendations are recent releases by a local Tasmanian writer, an Australian writer and a children’s writer. The fourth is a Tasmanian classic that you may not have got round to reading, or that you may not have read for a long time. If you can’t get your hands on a copy of the recommended Tasmanian classic, please feel free to pop into the library at the Tasmanian Writers’ Centre and borrow a copy from us.
We would love to hear what you think of our picks – let us know on Twitter or Facebook.
This month we also have a great competition for you. We have one copy of Pufferfish: 13 Point Plan for a Perfect Murder by David Owen to give away, one copy of Blueberry Pancakes Forever by Angelica Banks to give away, and a SIGNED copy of The Paper House by Anna Spargo-Ryan to give away.
Drop our Community Engagement officer Ruth an email on ruth@taswriters.org with ‘August Reading Competition’ in the subject line, and let her know which book or books you’d like to be in the running for. Winners will be selected at random on Tuesday August 30th and notified by email.
Tasmanian recent release: 13-Point Plan for a Perfect Murder, David Owen (July 2016, Fullers Publishing)
The highly anticipated seventh book in David Owen’s Pufferfish series is finally here: Fullers Publishing released 13-Point Plan for a Perfect Murder in late July. The book has a different look to previous novels in the series; Fullers have used local artists for the design, and they’re calling the style ‘Pulp Tasmania’.
David Owen is the personal private secretary to the Governor of Tasmanian and has written extensively, both professionally and in a literary capacity. He has published 14 previous books in Australia and the UK, covering both fiction and non-fiction.
In this latest release, Hobart cop Pufferfish, aka Detective Inspector Franz Heineken, is called to investigate the murder of English polo player Sebastian Wicken. An international cast of characters are involved in this narrative of intrigue, mystery and temptation, set against the backdrop of Tasmania’s clean green spaces and beautiful beaches.
Australian recent release: The Paper House, Anna Spargo-Ryan (May 2016, Picador Australia)
Anna Spargo-Ryan’s debut novel The Paper House was released in May this year, and has since received a plethora of excellent reviews from publications including the Sydney Morning Herald, the AU Review, and Books + Publishing.
The writing in this book is breathtaking. It’s a dark story – about family, loss, grief, and mental health. Somehow though, the precision and originality in Spargo-Ryan’s words allow you to finish the book with a sense of hope rather than despair.
Anna Spargo-Ryan has worked in digital marketing for 15 years. Her short fiction has been published in Kill Your Darlings, and she also writes on parenting and mental health for the Guardian, Overland and Daily Life. You can find more of her writing on her blog.
Children’s recent release: Blueberry Pancakes Forever, Angelica Banks (June 2016, Allen and Unwin)
Blueberry Pancakes Forever is the third and final book in the Tuesday McGillycuddy series by Tasmanian writers Heather Rose and Danielle Wood writing together as Angelica Banks.
Suitable for children from around 8-12 years (although not too overwhelming for slightly younger ones, and certainly a strong enough story to hold the attention of slightly older ones), Blueberry Pancakes Forever sees Tuesday dealing with a devastating loss at home, and severe dangers in the world of story.
Full of resilient, courageous female characters, an earlier book in the Tuesday McGillycuddy series recently made a list of 20 Children’s Books for Mini-Feminists, and Blueberry Pancakes Forever continues in the same vein.
This is a wonderful, complex, captivating book for independent readers to enjoy alone, or for story-loving parents to read aloud.
Tasmanian classic: Gould’s Book of Fish, Richard Flanagan (2001, Picador; 2015, Vintage Australia)
Can it really be fifteen years since the release of Gould’s Book of Fish?
Richard Flanagan’s remarkable third novel, described by New York Times reviewer Michiko Kakutani as a “wondrous, phantasmagorical meditation on art and history and nature”, follows the life of convict William Buelow Gould in Van Dieman’s Land.
The book is arranged into twelve chapters, each with an accompanying illustration from Sketchbook of Fishes – a collection of paintings by a real convict artist named William Gould – which is now held at the Tasmanian State Library. From The Pot-bellied Seahorse to The Stargazer, the Silver Dory to the Weedy Seadragon, each fish represents a figure that Gould encounters on his journey around Van Dieman’s land.
It is not an easy read. It is not supposed to be. It is a disorientating, violent, and at times deeply disturbing novel. But it is also rich and complex, compelling and beautiful, and it is well worth revisiting or picking up for the first time.
Posted in Blog, Recommended Reads
Hobart Writers Festival/Tamar Valley Writers Festival
Tasmanian Writer Database
© 2019 Tasmanian Writers’ Centre | ABN: 12-182-603-395 | Phone: (03) 6224 0029
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JAMES OEHLCKE
Based: London
James leads finance, IT and legal across our global network.
James joined in 2008 from flagship magazine, The Economist, where he worked closely with the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. Prior to that, he was with UK national broadcaster Channel 4 during its expansion into digital services. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen but really he just wants to ride his bicycle.
Follow James
James on Twitter
James on LinkedIn
Do get in touch
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5 Best Apps To Watch FIFA World cup Football 2018 On Android Smartphone
Posted by: Admin // Android Apps // Best Live Streaming Apps, FIFA World Cup 2018 Live, FIFA World Cup Live Streaming Apps, Russia 2018 live, WOrld Cup Final Live stream // June 5, 2018
World’s one of the biggest sports event FIFA World Cup 2018 is going to be start in Russia from June 14. Billions of football fans from each and every part of the world is eagerly waiting for this mega event. But there are may people who can’t reorganise their life around the Russia World Cup schedule. In such situation, the apps to watch FIFA World Cup Football 2018 comes handy. In this post, we are sharing 5 best apps that can help you to keep up to date with every goal as it goes in.
5 Best Apps To Watch FIFA World Cup 2018 For Free
Sony LIV
If you are from India and want to watch FIFA World Cup 2018 live on the go, Sony Liv is the app for you. The app is available for both android and iOS users. Sony Liv is completely free and will broadcast all the Russia World Cup matches live in HD quality. Along with live matches, one can also enjoy the highlights of FIFA World Cup 2018 matches.
Onefootball Soccer News
Another awesome app to watch FIFA World Cup 2018 live. This app broadcasts almost all the major football tournaments/leagues for its users. Download Onefootball and get all the latest football news, information and everything about your idols and favorite team. The app is completely free and does not contain any advertising.
Sling TV app allows its users to watch 2018 FIFA World Cup matches live. And yes, it is free, so no need to pay or subscribe to any service. This is a lightweight app and works superbly even on 2G, 3G connection.
If you are from USA and looking for an excellent app to watch 2018 World Cup Football matches live, Fox sports Go app is for you. This app brings you all the details of the tournament and also live streaming of every matches in HD quality. The app is available for both android and iOS devices. The opening match between Russia and Saudi Arabia starts at 11 AM ET on FOX.
People in United Kingdom can enjoy the live coverage of the World Cup 2018 matches through ITV. The app of ITV is easily available on Google Play Store and App Store. Along with live matches, one can also enjoy the analysis and highlights of FIFA each match.
← Vivo X21 Launched In India with in-display fingerprint Sensor, Face Unlock At Rs 35,990 Redmi Y2 launched In India at Rs 9,999 with AI selfie camera →
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Wall tiles are strong, durable, and hardwearing wall coverings that create easy-to-clean yet stylish surfaces in the home. Ceramic, porcelain, and natural stone are some of the most common — and most traditional — wall tile materials, but within the past few years there has been increasing interest in some of the more unusual textures, including glass, slate, and limestone. Many wall tile providers are now offering a diverse range of materials to suit all preferences, living spaces, and design requirements.
Wall tiles have been used for centuries to create long lasting, vivid, and ornamental wall art, with breathtaking examples at Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock, and Turkey’s Topkapi Palace. However, it is only relatively recently that they’ve started to become the preferred option for the home. Many homeowners are now opting for wall tiles over the more standard paint or wallpaper, for a number of reasons – including ease of installation, the variety of patterns, sizes, shapes, and textures, and their low maintenance.
From intricate mosaics to eye catching sparkle accents, there’s plenty to choose from. Despite all the various sizes and shapes that wall tiles come in, they usually have one aspect in common: caring for them and ensuring they stay looking great is almost effortless. Whether it’s a light-reflecting gloss finish, or a more subtle and subdued matt, most tiles can easily be wiped clean with a damp cloth, which makes them a very attractive solution for ‘messy’ areas, such as the kitchen and children’s play areas.
The type of wall tile that’s chosen can have a significant effect on the space surrounding it. Smaller tiles, which usually measure around 15 x 15cm or less, are popular for larger areas, as they help to bring a more warming, welcome feel to the environment. In contrast, more sizeable wall tiles, which can measure up to 45 x 90cm, can help to make smaller spaces seem more airy and spacious. Modular tile packs, which incorporate a blend of sizes, give you complete control over the finished look.
Wall tiles are most commonly used in bathrooms, lavatories, and in kitchen areas, but with more and more styles and designs now available, they’re extending beyond the usual spaces. Vibrant colours make it simple to create a feature wall in the bedroom; metro tiles bring a touch of 1920s glamour to hallways; natural wall tiles act as a cool, contemporary alternative to more traditional interior decor. Available in modestly sized packs, wall tiles can even be used on a small scale, like creating a kitchen splashback.
It’s not just the type of wall tile that plays a role in the overall look and feel of your home. In fact, the grout that’s used can be an equally important decision. There has been a growing trend in recent years for homeowners to select plainer, cheaper wall tiles over their patterned alternatives, and customise the look using contrasting grouts, such as white grout against a black tile for a monochrome effect, or glittered grouts against a bright white ceramic. There’s more you can do with a wall tile than you think!
Size: 260x225mm 600x600mm 800x100mm 1200x200mm
Wall & Floor (149)
Anti-Slip (15)
Lappato (semi-polished) (14)
Cesena Dove Porcelain Gloss Wall & Floor Tiles 600x600mm
Cesena Otter Porcelain Gloss Wall & Floor Tiles 600x600mm
Cesena Zinc Porcelain Matt Wall & Floor Tiles 600x600mm
Cesena Nougat Porcelain Gloss Wall & Floor Tiles 600x600mm
Cesena Stone Porcelain Matt Wall & Floor Tiles 600x600mm
Cesena Charcoal Porcelain Matt Wall & Floor Tiles 600x600mm
Cesena Pebble Porcelain Matt Wall & Floor Tiles 600x600mm
Novara White Porcelain Polished Wall & Floor Tiles 600x600mm
Novara Black Porcelain Polished Wall & Floor Tiles 600x600mm
Campobasso Stone Porcelain Matt Wall & Floor Tiles 600x600mm
Campobasso White Porcelain Matt Wall & Floor Tiles 600x600mm
Campobasso Grey Porcelain Matt Wall & Floor Tiles 600x600mm
Almagro Limestone Glazed Porcelain Matt Wall & Floor Tiles 600x600mm
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Opening times for Debenhams in Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa is a store forming a part of Debenhams brand. It is open on: Monday 09:30 - 20:00, Tuesday 09:30 - 20:00, Wednesday 09:30 - 20:00, Thursday 09:30 - 20:00, Friday 09:30 - 20:00. At weekends its opening hours are: on Saturday 09:00 - 18:00, on Sunday 10:30 - 16:30. This store's address is: Debenhams Leamington Spa, The Shires/Leamington Spa Retail Park, CV34 6RH, Leamington Spa. To contact the customer service directly please call the number 0344 800 8877. Leamington Spa is visited by many people living in nearby towns like Warwick.
Debenhams Opening Times
Debenhams Leamington Spa
The Shires/Leamington Spa Retail Park
CV34 6RH
Argos in Leamington Spa, Unit C2, The Shires Retail Park, Tachbrook Park Drive (0.09 mile)
Boots in Warwick, Tachbrook Park Dr (0.10 mile)
Burton in Leamington Spa (0.10 mile)
Carphone Warehouse in Leamington Spa, Within Currys/PC World, Unit 1 Shires Gare Retail Park (0.10 mile)
Clarks in Warwick, Unit G Shires Retail Park (0.10 mile)
Costa Coffee in Royal Leamington Spa (0.10 mile)
Currys in Leamington Spa (0.10 mile)
Halfords in Leamington Spa (0.10 mile)
KFC in Warwick (0.08 mile)
Mothercare in Warwick (0.09 mile)
New Look in Leamington Spa, Unit C1 The Shires Retail Park Tachbrook Park Drive, Leamington Spa. CV34 6RH (0.10 mile)
Next in Warwick (0.10 mile)
Sainsbury's in Warwick, The Shires Retail Park (0.07 mile)
B&M Stores
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Sam Durant – Build Therefore Your Own World
Sam Durant continues his excavation of marginalized American histories, unearthing counter storylines to the historical canon.
Exhibition Build Therefore Your Own World
Artist(s) Sam Durant
Venue Blum & Poe, Los Angeles
Photography Joshua White/JWPictures.com
In this exhibition he proposes a hybridized cross-pollination between the iconic nineteenth century transcendentalists like Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Louisa May Alcott, with African writers such as Phillis Wheatley and Lucy Terry Prince, along with abolitionists like Frederick Douglass. Further developing his theses from a recent three-month long public art project in Concord, MA entitled The Meeting House, Durant transforms relics from this politically loaded site of American history into a prescient presentation of culturally charged artworks.
Immediately upon entering the main gallery, viewers encounter ”Every spirit builds itself a house, and beyond its house a world…Build therefore your own world,” 2017, an architectural structure based on the first houses built by and for the first free and emancipated Africans in Revolutionary Massachusetts. The horizontal boards that make up the walls of the deconstructed “home” become like lined paper, with texts painted directly on the inside walls by prominent, contemporary African American writers and poets: Tisa Bryant, Danielle Legros Georges, Robin Coste Lewis, and Kevin Young.
In addition to this reinterpreted hybrid “historical house” centerpiece, other artworks on view include sculptures that integrate artifacts related to African Americans in Colonial America and the notable transcendentalist writers and thinkers of pre- and post-Revolutionary Concord. Using precise 3-D renderings of original objects, the composite sculptures signify a fundamental interdependence of influences in the creation of American culture and identity. Works include a wooden mash-up of Phillis Wheatleyʼs writing desk with Ralph Waldo Emersonʼs writing chair; a bronze cast of Jack Garrisonʼs walking stick intersected by Henry David Thoreauʼs pencil; and the headstone of an enslaved man named John Jack crosscut by Thoreauʼs flute. The headstone bears a remarkable epitaph revealing the contradiction of the American revolutionary call for freedom and liberty while upholding and profiting from slavery. The artist has also forged a billy club of carbon steel – these often used by African American self-defense groups and their white comrades in battling bounty hunters who came to Boston to hunt fugitive slaves after the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in the 1850s. The African American defenders never carried lethal weapons – the billy club is symbolic of their courage and conviction not to kill.
Hanging on the walls is a series of prison and military blankets flecked with Lincoln pennies arranged in the formation of Ursa Minor (“Little Dipper,” “Drinking Gourd,” etc.). These works indelibly link the North Star and the Little Dipper, symbols synonymous with freedom, to African American history and cultural lore.
Scattered throughout an adjacent gallery are bronze casts of fieldstones originally collected by Durant when visiting Massachusetts, inspired by Robin Coste Lewisʼs poem “Inhabitants and Visitors” – an erasure work of Thoreauʼs Walden. The fieldstone was and still is a common building material used for foundations, chimneys, and stonewalls in New England homes. When presented in the context of dialogue relating to seventeenth and eighteenth century slavery, the term “fieldstone” conjures reflections on oppression and violence. On the topic of slavery in New England, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote: “In fact, this ghastly blood traffic was so immense and its profits were so stupendous that the economics of several European nations owed their growth and prosperity to it and New England rested heavily on it for its development. [Charles A.] Beard declared it was fair to say of whole towns in New England and Great Britain: ʻThe stones of your houses are cemented with the blood of African slaves.ʼ”
Sam Durant - Every spirit builds itself a house, and beyond its house a world...Build therefore your own world (2017)
Wood, vinyl text
Sam Durant - Build Therefore Your Own World
Installation view, 2017, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles
Sam Durant - "God wills us free" (John Jack’s Epitaph, Thoreau’s Flute) (2016)
Sandstone and bronze, 31 x 21 x 14 inches
Sam Durant - Transcendental (Wheatley's Desk, Emerson's Chair) (2016)
Painted wood, 53 3/4 x 34 1/4 x 34 1/2 inches
Sam Durant - Dream Map, Ursa Minor (2016)
Prison blanket, pennies, epoxy, 61 x 81 inches
Tags: Blum & Poe, Exhibition, Los Angeles, Sam Durant
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When "Who Do You Think You Are?" returns on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 10/9c, celebrities will discover life-altering truths about their ancestors.
Uncovering Shocking Family Secrets
Lisa Kudrow visits The Talk to promote the newest season of "Who Do You Think You Are?" and announce that Talk host Julie Chen will appear on the show!
Lisa Kudrow Visits the Talk
Julie Chen never knew her maternal grandfather; he died long before Julie was born. All she had heard was that he was a wealthy playboy with a rags-to-riches story.
Julie Chen's Ancestry Journey
As award-winning singer Josh Groban digs into his eight times great-grandfather's successful life in Germany, he has an uneasy feeling. Why did he give it all up?
Why Leave Germany?
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? returns this spring to give eight new celebrities a unique opportunity to dig into their roots and learn more about their family history. New episodes begin Sunday, March 8 at 10/9c.
Get to know Dan Bucatinsky, Executive Producer of "Who Do You Think You Are?" In this video, the actor, author, dad and TV fanatic answers questions about his life and career.
Meet Dan Bucatinsky, Executive Producer of 'Who Do You Think You Are?'
Actor/Producer Sean Hayes searches for the cause of his estranged father's troubled past and uncovers a shocking trail of tragedy and crime that reaches back generations.
Sean Hayes' Ancestry Journey
America Ferrera searches for a connection to a father she barely knew, and discovers a great grandfather who led multiple revolts against the government and left an enduring mark on Honduran history.
America Ferrera's Ancestry Journey
When Julie Chen visits her great-grandfather's grave and notices the beautiful view it commands, a historian explains that graves were ordered by principles of feng shui.
Grave Ordered by Feng Shui
Melissa Etheridge digs into her French roots and finds a family shaken by a scandalous lawsuit; a turbulent relationship entangled with tragedy; and an adventuresome ancestor who prospered in colonial America.
Melissa Etheridge's Ancestry Journey
America Ferrera and her sister look at old family photos and share memories of their dad, who left when she was just eight.
Pictures With America's Dad
Tony Goldwyn's 3 times great-grandparents were political activists behind the Seduction Act. He learns why this legislation was so important to them.
Why Champion the Seduction Act?
Beyond a family of Hollywood legends, actor/director Tony Goldwyn explores his maternal lineage. He is introduced to a heritage of political activism; a couple ahead of their time proudly fighting for abolition, women's rights and westward expansion.
Tony Goldwyn's Ancestry Journey
Josh Groban studies a record book of his eight times great-grandfather's academic career and has fun making a few assumptions about the man's character and style.
Josh Groban's Imagination Runs Wild
Angie learns that her ancestor Michael Harmon reported to one of George Washington's toughest generals. That said, Michael's promotion to corporal was a pretty big deal!
Big Deal to Be Corporal
With her distant relative and a translator, Julie Chen visits the house owned by her great-grandfather and sees the place where her grandfather was born.
Julie Chen Visits a Special Site
Julie Chen studies a map with a historian to understand how complex her grandfather's mission was when he began shipping supplies to help China during World War II.
A Risky Mission
Scott Foley visits George Washington's HQ in Cambridge.
Scott Foley at George Washington's HQ
A first look at actor Noah Wyle's journey to learn more about his family history.
First Look at Noah Wyle's Journey
Scott Foley learns more about his 5x great grandfather.
Scott Foley learns more about his 5x great grandfather
Noah Wyle learns the truth about the demise of his ancestor.
Noah Wyle Learns His Ancestor Took His Own Life
Scott Foley learns his 5x great grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
Scott Foley at the Daughters of the American Revolution
Noah Wyle discovers his ancestor fought in the Battle of Shiloh, one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War.
Noah Wyle Discovers His Ancestor Fought in the Battle Of Shiloh
Scott Foley finds a relative who risked his life for one of America’s founding fathers, and an ancestor who suffered unspeakably during one of this nation’s darkest times.
First Look: Scott Foley
First look at Jessica Biel’s journey of learning about her ancestry.
Jessica Biel's Journey
Katey Sagal has an emotional and insightful meeting with her mother's friend and fellow USO performer.
First Look: Katey Sagal
Katey Sagal gets emotional meeting an old friend of her mother.
Katey Sagal meets Tinker, a friend of her mother
Katey Sagal reads about her mother's involvement with the USO in an old newspaper.
Katey Sagal reads about her mother's involvement with the USO
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Browse Updates
Awards & Nominations (52)
Charity & Causes (3)
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Public Appearances (82)
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Video Clips (129)
Awards & Nominations, General News, Mary & Max
“Mary & Max” receives special mention at Berlinale
The Generation youth jury at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival awarded “Mary & Max” with a special mention. The Australian animated work voiced by the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette and Eric Bana, about the relationship between two pen pals, an 8-year-old girl from Melbourne and a 44-year-old New Yorker afflicted by autism, is, according to the jury, “ironic, endearing and has an unrivalled aesthetic. Who am I and why am I? What is the meaning of friendship and how do I find my way to love and to my own self? Five years of production at the rate of five seconds a day definitely paid off.”
Read posts from the archive:
“Stowaway” starts production in Germany
Toni Collette wins Best Actress from Seattle Film Critics Society & St. Louis Film Critics
“Wanderlust” episode 6 recap & screencaptures
“Hearts Beat Loud” theatrical trailer released
Toni Collette receives Best Actress nomination for 24th Critics’ Choice Movie Awards
First Look: Toni Collette and Damian Lewis in “Dream Horse”
www.tonicollette.org
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Vidbynäs (North) - Central & North Sweden - Sweden
Vidbynäs Golf Club,
Vidbynäs Gård,
155 91 Nykvarn,
40 km SW of Stockholm
Welcome, early bird and twilight rates available
Robert Eriksson
Schmidt & Curley
Johan Tärnström
Write a review for Vidbynäs (North)
American architects Brian Curley and Lee Schmidt are well used to being involved in large scale golf developments around the world – having constructed five courses simultaneously at Mission Hills in China between 2002 and 2004 – so their 36-hole project at Vidbynäs Gård in Sweden was something they were able to take comfortably in their stride.
Curley grew up on California’s Monterey Peninsula and many of his designs are influenced by courses such as Spyglass Hill, Pebble Beach and Cypress Point. The Schmidt-Curley partnership is much in demand these days and they have collaborated in recent years with up and coming golfer-turned-architects like Nick Faldo, Fred Couples and Ernie Els.
The North course (formerly known as the Axa) at Vidbynäs opened for play in 2004, followed shortly after by the South layout. The North plays to a par of 72 over its championship length of 7,240 yards and it’s routed in and out and back fashion as opposed to the newer South, which is laid out in two returning 9-hole circuits.
Course architect, Brian Curley, provided us with the following exclusive article:
I first set foot on the property and was amazed at the potential. The combination of open fields, thick forest and wonderful rock outcroppings was spectacular and the plans to do two core golf courses with limited or no residential input was the icing on the cake.
I spent a tremendous amount of time on site trying to "find" holes in lieu of creating holes with extensive work. It was quite difficult at times to make connections because there were frequent areas of solid rock; beautiful but not golf friendly. So, great care was taken to look at numerous routing options that got the most of the property with a minimum of work.
In addition, Swedes are walkers so the green to tee connections needed to be as easy as possible. This was not an issue in the open fields but the areas of rock outcroppings posed problems yet some of these walks are quite beautiful and add to the experience.
Although the forested holes may be the most scenic, the open fields were much better suited to golf and the holes were easy to create. Existing streams provide both strategy and a constant water source almost year round, especially after a snow melt when unfathomable amounts of water come in quite a short period of time.
Construction occurred over about a two year period and the I remember making visits during the winter months when, despite frigid temperatures, much of the work is completed as the ground is frozen and many of the issues associated with soft, muddy conditions do not exist.
It was during these visits that the true, raw beauty of the property in its snow-covered conditions shines best. This is a special golf experience in a truly special place and I am very privileged to have been able to be a part of such a fine project with such wonderful people.
Reviews for Vidbynäs (North)
Description: The North course at Vidbynäs Golf Club (formerly called the Axa) opened for play in 2004 and it was designed by American architects Brian Curley and Lee Schmidt... Written by: Top100 Aggregated Rating Rating: 6 out of 10 Reviews: 1
This is modern course with quick high-quality greens, no doubt about it. It is not overly long, but demands good course management. The surroundings are also quite scenic; not just forest but a great par 3 with the tee shot over a corner of a quiet lake in the middle of the forest.It is sad to see, however, that a layout in Sweden, where golf = walking, is so geared towards driving a buggy. Brian Curley has explained that some of the large distances are due to topography. Fair enough, but the club could and should do more to make small paths for people who carry their clubs.Has the money or the imagination run out?
See other reviews from Gustav
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The Vios Circuit Championship has begun
The Vios Racing Festival is off to a great start
by Raymond Figuerres | Jun 14, 2019
PHOTO: Raymond Figuerres
CAR BRANDS IN THIS ARTICLE
CAR MODELS IN THIS ARTICLE
The Vios Racing Festival returned to the Clark International Speedway last weekend to start the first of three legs of the Vios Circuit Championship for 2019. Previously known as the Toyota Vios Cup, the series is now part of the Vios Racing Festival together with the Autocross Challenge.
Toyota motorsports is all about ‘Waku-Doki’, which roughly translates to ‘adrenaline rush.’ But underneath the cute and goofy Japanese phrase is the serious thrust of Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) to promote their brand of car racing in the Philippines. Over several seasons, the Vios Cup has honed amateurs and weekend track drivers into seasoned professionals under FIA standards, or in other words, world-class racers.
This year, with the introduction of the Vios Racing Festival, the focus is back to grassroots motorsports. The aim is to attract more drivers to compete in the circuit races, and for Vios owners to try out what they, and their cars, can do on an autocross racing format.
Nothing induces more adrenaline than a one-make race series. The cars are built to the same specifications so that driver skill, team strategy, and even luck are what determine winners. The Vios race cars are fueled by the same Petron gasoline, and shod in the same Rota wheels and Bridgestone Potenza tires. Scrutineers make sure the teams comply with the stipulated specs and rules prior to the race and randomly check to ensure no changes were made during the race. Fuels from the gas tanks are sampled, and they even weigh the car and the driver. Combined weight should meet the minimum of 1,100 kg.
As he parked his car after winning Race 2, Eggy Ong gave me insight about how close the racing was. He said winning in the circuit championship was ‘all about being consistent.’ Whoever drives with consistent lap times wins when the cars are equally capable. His team's strategy to put just enough fuel gave them a weight advantage, as they barely made the 1,100 kg minimum at the end of the race. Racecraft is another significant factor when racing wheel-to-wheel, as the numerous incidents on the track proved. False starts, fender benders, and spectacular smashups demonstrated how dramatic a down-to-the-wire race can be.
The side event for the Circuit Races was the Autocross Challenge participated in by the media, and social media influencers who drove Vios race cars, and passionate Vios owners who drove their own cars. The autocross layout was fast and tight. Drivers went head to head, facing each other from their own start/finish line. I competed in the Media Class of the Autocross Challenge, with the aim of improving my driving skills. Besting out my colleagues was supposed to be incidental or maybe a distant objective. But when you're geared up, gripping the steering wheel while eye to eye with your fellow racer on the starting line, the adrenaline surges. In that instant, you are a different person stepping on the pedals. You become aggressive, even ruthless. Controlling this emotional surge and focusing on making a clean run is a lesson I have yet to master.
Exhilarating races aside, spectators have a lot to experience in the Vios Racing Festival. There are the usual celebrity games with their fans, Toyota car displays and test drives, the sponsors' display booths. But this weekend, we were treated to a surprise appearance of the all-new Toyota Supra, driven on the starting grid by TMP president Satoru Suzuki. The long wait for the return of the 5th generation Supra and now seeing it in the metal, was enough Waku-Doki for even the most stolid fan. The racing festival was a befitting venue to give the public its first glimpse of the A90 Gazoo Racing Supra. Too bad it wasn’t driven in anger around the track!
Now I understand what Waku-Doki means.
All-new Range Rover Evoque lands in PH; starts at P5.09-M
Clark International Speedway,
Toyota Motor Philippines,
race car,
Toyota Vios,
Toyota Vios Cup,
Toyota Supra,
Toyota Vios Racing Festival
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Topless Robot Podcast
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Top-Down Smackdown: Middle-Aged Fan
By Luke Y. Thompson November 17, 2014 TV 0 Comment
How old do you imagine the average WWE fan to be?
Given the prominence of John Cena and has record for having done the most Make-A-Wish fulfillment ever, the PG rating of the show, all the toys for sale and so on, you’d probably guess young, and I don’t mean Mae Young.
You’d be wrong.
The average WWE viewer is 41 years old. And a whopping 37 per cent of the audience is over 50. And you wonder why segments featuring the likes of Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair get the biggest cheers.
WWE is facing the same issue that printed comics and action figures are – kids aren’t getting into that stuff any more. Is it just that prices have risen so much in everything that a kid’s allowance doesn’t go very far? For perspective – when I was 14, I had a $5 allowance. In one week, I could buy a couple of comic books or a wrestling action figure; in two, I could buy a bigger figure. In three, a vehicle or a T-shirt. Nowadays, $10 will get you a download of a pretty good video game that came out a year ago, and it won’t even buy you a decent action figure. WWE T-shirts run around $25, but some WWE action figures (the Defining Moments series) also run that high.
The funny thing is that it’s adults who bemoan “the PG era” the most, even though, if they’re in their early 40s, they grew up with an even more PG era. You’d never have heard Hulk Hogan or King Kong Bundy say “Kick your ass” in the ’80s, but now everyone can. Yes, the NWA was violent and sometimes got bloody…until Ted Turner took it over and instituted a “no blood on TV” rule. Meanwhile, the Attitude era that fans like me love and idolize arguably had some of the dumbest shit ever to appear in wrestling (Pregnant Mae Young, any angle involving the Big Boss Man, Katie Vick, Vince McMahon vs. God, Jon Heidenreich, Road Warrior Hawk’s alcoholism played for laughs, Super Hero In Training, Gene Snitsky miscarriage angle, Vince finding Jim Ross’ head inside in his ass, Pat Patterson in skidmarked underwear…). It also had some of the best week-to-week storylines, usually involving the Rock or Steve Austin, or both.
While the TV-PG push is seen as proof that the company is targeting kids, it seems to me more pragmatic than that. Reportedly, Mattel insisted on the rating in order to do a toy deal after the WWE-Jakks relationship fell apart. At the same time, Linda McMahon was running for office, and opponents tried to smear her as being part of a company that promoted violence and misogyny. I’m happy we got the great toys – Mattel’s Elites are the best wrestling figures ever, bar none – but they run about $20, and I’m sure most kids would rather buy a video game than a miniature Road Dogg Jesse James with removable shirt. Besides, even back in 2000 I interviewed a Toys R Us manager who told me the majority of action figure buyers in his store were single men in their twenties. I don’t think that has changed much.
So how do you draw kids in? I don’t have a magic answer, but I do have a theory based upon what I once valued.
Kayfabe matters. Yes, we all know it’s just a story, and we’re fine with wrestlers going on talk shows out of character. But calling it “just a story” doesn’t mean “treat the story like shit.” I used to memorize every title holder, every title change, every former gimmick, and rattle off those statistics. Kids like to do that, be it with baseball cards, Pokemon, or train serial numbers. So don’t treat that like it doesn’t matter.
If a gimmick isn’t working, don’t just flush it down the memory hole – explain it in-story. WWE likes to hire writers of soap operas, but their own show is way more narratively inconsistent than any soap could get away with. Something like the “G-TV” storyline, featuring hidden GOTCHA camera moments, lasting for weeks, should never fizzle out without revealing its purpose. If you’re running vignettes for a character like the Boogeyman, and he injures himself a week before debuting, find a reason to explain why the vignettes aren’t running.
I realize those are classic examples rather than recent ones, but I hammer on current ones regularly – a big one being the Bray Wyatt-John Cena feud. If your angle is that John Cena might give into his rage, play that up at some point before their FINAL match. And explain to me why that was the final match – wouldn’t a character like Bray be more tenacious than that?
The Hulkamania era had its share of weirdness, but the only angle I ever remember being outright dropped was one involving a mysterious masked man attacking Earthquake, never to be revealed. In part, this may have been because most TV matches were stars versus jobbers; by the time a star got put in an angle, they were good and ready, and sure it would work, having tested it at house shows only. We never saw Mike Shaw as Friar Ferguson on Raw, because it was nixed in the live show phase, so we got Bastion Booger instead. I saw Tugboat at my first live WWF show, months before he was on TV, and he got a good reaction. I think the last time anything like that happened was when I saw Sheamus do an early dark match, and he got on the mic and said something about how real Irishmen don’t dance around with leprechauns.
I don’t know if improved consistency would bring in more kids. My youngest brother Adam was always a huge fan of Suicide just because of the skull mask – maybe more comic-booky characters need to return. What I do know is that without new fans, we’re in trouble. Even if, in the short term, it means Cena’s popularity drops.
Now, let’s see if Raw furthers the actual storylines tonight. Oh wait, Grumpy Cat. Shit.
Star Wars Rebels Featurette Teases Stormtroopers vs. Clonetroopers
As Dave Filoni notes in the video, it might not be
by Luke Y. Thompson
Jon Stewart Vs. George Lucas, FIGHT
Okay. First things first -- if you follow me on Twitter,
by Rob Bricken
Luke Y. Thompson has been writing professionally about movies and pop-culture since 1999, and has also been an actor in some extremely cheap culty and horror movies you will probably never hear much about (he is nonetheless mostly proud of them, as he met his wife on one). As editor of The Robot's Voice since 2012, he can take the blame for the majority of the site's content, all of which he creates because he loves you very, very much. (Although he loves nachos more. Sorry.) Prior to TRV, Luke wrote for publications that include the New Times LA, Los Angeles CityBeat, E! Online, OC Weekly, Geekweek, GeekChicDaily, The L.A. Times, The Village Voice, LA Weekly, and Nerdist
Topless Robot Podcast: #71 – I’ll Never Be Sinbad on a Scooter Happy
Ryan's back with cohorts Brooks, Tyler, and Dan as
TR Plays: Heave Ho
The Podcast crew jumped in some Heave Ho, and
Topless Robot Podcast: #70b – NAMM 2020 ft. Sarah Longfield, Glenn Fricker, Colin Scott, Ty Christian
Live from the Hilton during NAMM 2020! This time
Topless Robot Podcast: #70a – hellyeahdude ft. Ty Christian, Neil P, and Rob Bates
Ryan is at NAMM this week so the podcast
Loot Crate August 2019 Unboxing
The missing crate arrived! Is this the last of
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Author Archives: Staff Contributor
Article author Staff Contributor
Scott the Violinist: Nairobi’s Young Musical Sensation
Africa, EntertainmentBy Staff Contributor June 20, 2017 Leave a comment
Scott the Violinist plays a beautiful rendition of Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On. A soft spoken, talented and modest young man, Scott recently spoke with The Douglas Review about his journey to celebrity, his roots, family values, how his father inspires him, and a whole lot more. When you think of Kenyan music,…
FIFA Confederations Cup: Cameroon 0 – Chile 2
Featured, Lifestyle, SportsBy Staff Contributor June 20, 2017 Leave a comment
The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon did their best to contain the attack of the National Football Team of Chile, which features veteran stars of top European clubs. In Russia, the atmosphere was festive in the cities of Kazan and Moscow as the national teams from Portugal, Mexico, Chile, and Cameroon made their Confederations Cup debuts.…
Beyoncé’s Twins Have Arrived!
Entertainment, Featured, USABy Staff Contributor June 20, 2017 Leave a comment
Has there been a more highly anticipated birth in history? Ever since the announcement that Beyoncé was pregnant with twins and her internet-breaking iconic photoshoot in February, the world has been anticipating the day Blue Ivy would become a big sister and the power family would become a party of five. The Beyhive has been buzzing…
The African Women Leaders Network Launches
Africa, Featured, NewsBy Staff Contributor June 20, 2017 Leave a comment
Three UN bodies have joined forces this June to found the African Women Leaders Network. African women are often held up as the crucial players in community, governance, development, and peace programs throughout the Continent. The “Sustainable Development Goals” and the “Africa Agenda 2063” have both highlighted the role of women in everything from peacekeeping to food…
World Refugee Day 2017 Commemorates Resilience
The first two decades of the 21st century will always be remembered for its high number of refugee crises that continue to unfold around the world. In 2016, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that 65 million people have been displaced from their communities due to armed and socioeconomic conflict over the last…
2017 BET Awards to Honor Chance the Rapper and New Edition
Ever since its first show in 2001, the BET Awards remain one of the hottest music events of the year. Every summer, fans all over the nation get to watch their favorite artists (new and classic) perform and receive the coveted BET Award Trophy on the Black Entertainment Television network. This year’s show will honor both…
Africa in Focus During G20 Summit
Featured, News, USA/WorldBy Staff Contributor June 18, 2017 Leave a comment
The international Group of Twenty forum will hold its next summit in July under the presidency of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is making a point of including African nations into the G20 framework despite South Africa being the only member of the bloc. Hamburg will be the host city of the next G20 summit; however, Chancellor…
Father’s Day Traditions Around the World
Like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day is a traditional day of celebration around the world. Not every country celebrates, but more than 40 do so each year. The most popular date globally for the holiday is the third Sunday in June, though many countries celebrate at other times of the year. Throughout the world, a common…
Diversity Growing at American HBCUs
Featured, Inspiration, Moments of ClarityBy Staff Contributor June 17, 2017 Leave a comment
In the United States, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are designated by Congress as institutions that provided higher education to African American students prior to 1964. In March 2017, Howard University, the most iconic HBCU, celebrated 150 years of advancing knowledge with a positive announcement: enrollment statistics were on the rise and diversity…
What Really Happened Between Koroga and Blankets/Wine?
Africa, Entertainment, FeaturedBy Staff Contributor June 16, 2017 Leave a comment
The Douglas Review recently spoke with Somoina Kimojino of the Koroga Festival and Programmes Director at 98.4 Capital FM about a wide range of issues, including the alleged “situation” between Capital FM and Blankets and Wine. As the story goes, when an ambitious young talent known as Muthoni the Drummer Queen floated the idea of a…
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Car2Go Adding Mercedes-Benz Models to its Car-Sharing Fleet
Daimler is jumping into the realm of luxury car sharing.
By Aaron BrownJanuary 30, 2017
Aaron BrownView Aaron Brown's Articles
twitter.com/aaronmaxbinstagram.com/aaronmaxb
Daimler's car-sharing brand, Car2Go, announced Monday it will add two Mercedes-Benz models to its fleet of microscopic Smart cars for its members to drive carelessly.
The car-sharing brand is bringing new Mercedes-Benz CLA sedans and GLA crossovers to its fleets, and hopes to have them outnumber the Smart cars by the end of 2017. The cars will first come to Austin, Seattle, Toronto, Portland, Vancouver, and Washington, D.C. The group hopes that the growth in model choice will make their services more appealing to those who need more than what a two-door minicar can offer.
“Car2Go is already the most popular car-sharing service in the world,” said Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche. “Now it will be even more attractive to small groups of friends and families who want to conveniently travel around cities in style, safety, and comfort.”
Car2Go will be using entry trim level CLAs and GLAs for its expansion—sorry, no AMGs here—but, users will have the ability to choose cars of different colors. The Mercedes-Benzes will be available in black, white, and silver—unlike the Smarts, which come solely in blue-on-white-liveries.
“Our 2017 CLA and GLA vehicles have proven to be extremely popular with American and Canadian drivers,” said Mercedes-Benz CEO Dietmar Exler. “We are offering these outstanding new vehicles to Car2Go’s North American members, who will now have exclusive carsharing access to Mercedes-Benz vehicles."
Is Daimler trying to get back at BMW following its ReachNow expansion?
Following its launch in 2008, Car2Go has bumped around the car-sharing industry, nudging shoulders with the likes of BMW's ReachNow, Maven by General Motors, and Zipcar. In November, BMW announced that its service would be seeing serious expansion in America. It's possible that this move by Daimler is an attempt to boost its car-sharing brand's status in the wake of ReachNow's growth, but we'll have to see how well the two German brands duke it out to know for sure.
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Didier Drogba of Chelsea shoots at goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Burnley and Chelsea at Turf Moor on August 18, 2014 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Chelsea vs Leicester City: Live Stream, TV Channel, Betting Odds, Start Time of 2014 EPL Match
August 23, 2014 Updated: August 22, 2014
Chelsea and Leicester City are set to face off in an English Premier League match on Saturday, August 23.
Kick-off time is 10:00 a.m. EDT (3:00 p.m. BST) at Stamford Bridge.
The game will be broadcast on TalkSport Radio World and Chelsea TV Online (for subscribers only) in the United Kingdom.
The game will also air on Mun2, NBCSN, Deportes Telemundo En Vivo, and SiriusXM FC in the United States.
Live streaming is available via Chelsea TV Online (UK) and NBC Sports Live Extra (US).
Chelsea are 2/9 to win the match, while Leicester are 16/1 to take the game, according to OddsChecker.
Check out an AP preview of the EPL action this weekend.
5 Things to Know About the English Premier League
MANCHESTER, England—One round of Premier League games has already backed up many pundits’ pre-season predictions, notably that Chelsea and Manchester City are title favorites and Manchester United needed more than just a change of manager to arrest its slump.
Strengthened by new attacking signings Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, Chelsea delivered the best display of the opening weekend in beating Burnley 3-1 away and meets another promoted side, Leicester, in its second match Saturday.
City was less eye-catching in its 2-0 win at Newcastle but the result served notice that the defending champions won’t be giving up its title easily. Next up for City is Liverpool — the team it beat to the championship in May — at home on Monday.
Things aren’t looking so promising for United and its new manager Louis van Gaal, who are looking to avoid a second straight defeat in an away match at Sunderland.
Here are five things to know about the upcoming Premier League matches:
SCHOLES FEARS FOR UNITED
Perhaps the most damning assessment of United following its 2-1 opening-day loss to Swansea came from its former midfield maestro, Paul Scholes.
“I am scared for United,” Scholes wrote in Thursday’s Independent newspaper. “Genuinely scared that they could go into the wilderness in the same way that Liverpool did in the 1990s.”
After finishing seventh last season in the turbulent reign of David Moyes, there was renewed hope at Old Trafford following the hiring of the experienced Louis van Gaal and an unbeaten record in preseason.
But the home loss to Swansea punctured that optimism, highlighting the deficiencies that still exist in the team — a lack of pace and dynamism in its attack and a lack of experience in defense.
The signing on Wednesday of left-sided defender Marcos Rojo from Sporting Lisbon will help but there’s a general feeling that a superstar needs to arrive at United before the summer transfer window closes if the team is to finish in the top four.
Sunderland started with a 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion.
FIRST BLOCKBUSTER
City and Liverpool meet at Etihad Stadium in the first blockbuster match of the new season, featuring the teams who occupied the top two positions in May.
Both teams started off this season with victories, although Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Southampton was less convincing and showed the reliance the Reds will have on Daniel Sturridge in the absence of Luis Suarez.
Sturridge scored the late winner at Anfield for his 36th goal in his first 50 league appearances for Liverpool — the best record of any of the club’s list of great strikers in the Premier League era.
With only Rickie Lambert as a genuine backup for Sturridge, manager Brendan Rodgers is looking to add another forward in the transfer window and Liverpool has been linked strongly with a move for Italy striker Mario Balotelli.
A deal for Balotelli would need to be wrapped up before Friday lunchtime in Britain for his first match for Liverpool to be against his former club.
SLICK CHELSEA
With Costa already in the goals, Fabregas slotting in nicely in midfield and the defense looking as strong as ever, there doesn’t appear to be a weakness in Chelsea’s team as it goes for a first championship since 2010.
Most of the plaudits after the Burnley win went to Fabregas, who added incisiveness to a Chelsea forward line that let down manager Jose Mourinho too often last season.
“I think a player like Cesc, every team wants him,” said Chelsea forward Andre Schuerrle, who scored from one of Fabregas’ astute passes.
Except for maybe Arsenal, which turned down the option of signing Fabregas this summer.
Leicester started life back in the Premier League with a 2-2 draw against Everton and can expect a long afternoon of defending at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
EUROPEAN DISTRACTION FOR ARSENAL
Tied at 0-0 with Besiktas after the first leg of its Champions League playoff, Arsenal’s players may have one eye on Wednesday’s return game when they play Everton on Saturday.
And that could be dangerous for manager Arsene Wenger, whose team was blown away 3-0 in the corresponding fixture at Goodison Park last season.
That loss sparked a run of five straight victories by Arsenal that saw Wenger’s side claim the fourth and final Champions League spot ahead of Everton.
Arsenal’s trio of German World Cup winners, Mesut Ozil, Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski, could be in line for recalls after missing the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday because they lacked match fitness.
PALACE IN TURMOIL
Crystal Palace’s amazing escape from relegation last season is a distant memory now after a wretched start to the new campaign that has seen the club lose not just its opening game and but its manager and sporting director.
Tony Pulis, who led Palace to safety from a perilous position, stepped down as manager last week after a disagreement with co-chairman Steve Parish.
And Iain Moody resigned as sporting director on Thursday after being embroiled in an investigation by the English Football Association into inappropriate text messages allegedly sent and received by Moody and then manager Malky Mackay during their time at Cardiff.
Palace hosts West Ham on Saturday, when it’s also: Aston Villa vs. Newcastle, Southampton vs. West Brom; and Swansea vs. Burnley.
On Sunday, it’s: Tottenham vs. Queens Park Rangers; and Hull vs. Stoke.
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When will the Haunted Mansion movie materialize?
October 18, 2018 Featured, Hatbox Ghost, Haunted Mansion, Movies No comments
It’s been almost a decade since Guillermo Del Toro teased crowds at San Diego Comic Con with a trailer that opened the gates of Gracey Manor and began haunting the dreams of all real Haunted Mansion fans. You see, once upon a time Mr. Del Toro who is now an Oscar winning director for his movie, The Shape of Water, was putting together the beginning storyline of a movie based on one of the most beloved attractions featured at Disney parks worldwide. As I said, it’s been almost a decade, roughly 8 years to be precise, but where is the movie? Why haven’t we gotten our glimpse into the wonderful world of 999 Happy Haunts?
Well Main Streeters, there is a perfectly good explanation for the delay, and here is what we’ve learned so far:
The screenplay for the movie has been submitted to Disney, and it appears that it was well received.
Del Toro who originally was said to be directing the film, will only take credit for co-writing the screenplay. This could be because he just inked a huge deal with Fox Searchlight and if you keep up with Disney’s power play moves, Disney recently acquired Fox Searchlight, making this Haunted Mansion idea finally feasible.
The movie is centered around one of the most interesting and elusive haunts, The Hatbox Ghost. When you have that big of a Disney icon integral to the story of the Haunted Mansion and that spans the nightmares of generations who have seen him at the Mansion, you absolutely have to cast that role correctly, or you risk ruining the lore.
Del Toro is aiming for a PG-13 rating, which could exclude a younger audience from watching the movie, which has been highly anticipated by all ages.
Additional reports give some insight into what big ticket actors are in talks to star in the movie, the most notable is a former Mickey Mouse Club member, Ryan Gossling.
Now that the spookiest of all seasons is upon us, and Del Toro has become part of the Disney acquisition family through Fox Searchlight, how much longer do you think we will have to wait until this movie materializes?
Let us know what you think Main Streeters. Would you go watch it? Who do you think should star in it?
Erika Roberts has been a Disney kid for as long as she can remember, but her love of visiting Disney Parks started after just one ride in a Doom Buggy. She couldn’t run to guest relations fast enough to offer up her soul in return for an Annual Pass. Since then Disney has taken all of her money, but has given her the most cherished memories; from watching her Nona’s face light up with happy tears as we strolled down Main Street on her first visit (she was 84 at the time), to her very own engagement on Halloween in front of the Haunted Mansion.
Erika is excited to be on the TMSM team and where Disney Parks are concerned, you won’t catch her dead on It’s a Small World. If she asks to ride that, this is a clear indication that she is in danger and you must send help. You will, however, catch her performing Random Acts of Disney (R.A.D’s), park hopping with her amazing group of impressively talented and kind friends (usually in some themed attire), hanging out by The Haunted Mansion, and ugly crying during fireworks… then begging for a Mickey Premium Bar to eat her feelings…this is a judgment-free bio.
Otherwise, Erika works for the State of Florida and is actively involved in her community. Erika believes in empowering others and spreading kindness to people from all walks of life. Erika also makes custom designed Disney inspired ears, etched glass, gifts, and accessories. You can check out, like or follow her work on FB, which also links to my shop’s Instagram: www.facebook.com/imagineering.emporium. She looks forward to getting to know everyone and sharing the magic of Disney!
Latest posts by Erika (see all)
Will Galaxy’s Edge be available during Extra Magic Hours? - May 23, 2019
Three Limited Disney Rewards for Summer - May 16, 2019
Walking in Walt’s Footsteps - May 9, 2019
999 happy haunts, Disney Movies, Disney Studios, fox searchlight, guillermo del toro, HatBox Ghost, Haunted Mansion, haunted mansion movie, Mickey Mouse Club, Ryan Gosling
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Both sides must share the blame for this failure of politics... and the voters too
'The Slippery Slope' in Westminster is a failure in which both sides are to blame. Illustration: Martin Rowson
MICHAEL WHITE on where the blame lies as Britain descends into dangerous times
Yet another rollercoaster of a week in which the words which did it for me were not "dictatorship" or "coup". They weren't even "constitutional outrage" or any of the other angry epithets thrown around by frustrated opponents of Boris Johnson's Brexit zig-zag. That included those who poured into city streets to protest the prorogation of parliament and those who stayed at home to worry quietly, both groups impudently accused of faking their "candyfloss" indignation by Jacobin Rees-Mogg.
After Tuesday night's impassioned three-hour debate, the combined opposition, led by brainbox Oliver Letwin and bolstered by Dr Phillip Lee's defection to the Liberal Democrats during Johnson's G7 statement (whoops, bang goes his notional majority) prevailed. By a thumping 328 votes to 301 they voted to take control of Wednesday's business and pass a bill seeking to prevent a no-deal Brexit by extending Article 50 to January 31. Has any other PM lost his first Commons vote or resorted so quickly to vulgar, mindlessly bellicose abuse?
Twenty-one Tory rebels had proved undaunted by threats to have ex-chancellors and Churchill's grandson kicked out of their party by shrill sectarians of suburbia, the whip immediately removed. As MPs self-consciously headed into unknown territory in both the Lords and the courts Johnson signalled an October 15 election and Jeremy Corbyn - showing leadership for once - said he would vote for one only when the no-deal bill had first been secured. "Scared," taunted Johnson. In truth, both have much to fear.
This is all extraordinary stuff. All the same, the phrase which got under my skin was less hyperbolic than some deployed by Leave zealots and by diehard adherents to Remain and Reluctant Leave-with-a-Deal pragmatists. It was the milder notion that we are all on a "slippery slope". It is amplified by the widely-noted observation that the 'good chap theory of politics' - in which your opponents are rivals, not enemies, their motives misguided, but honourable - is being further eroded. By what? By 'hardball politics' where "traitors" betray their country in defence of foreigners and foreign interests.
When the prorogation bombshell dropped last Wednesday, I confess to being surprised after all those watertight denials of the Observer's earlier scoop suggesting it would happen, but also torn. For the first time since David Cameron botched his 2016 referendum campaign, and both Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May compounded his mistakes by all-round feebleness, here was a leader taking a bold tactical step to break the Brexit impasse, albeit by breaking some windows of international cooperation that someone will eventually have to re-glaze. Who was it who invoked "the smack of firm government" in the 1950s? It is not the same as tyranny.
Like his threat of an October 15 election (or is the plan really November 14?) made on Tuesday night, the move was opportunist and cynical, but it was surely constitutional in a legal sense. An incumbent prime minister asks the monarch for a prorogation and the monarch grants it. None been has refused since Queen Anne did during an invasion scare in 1708. It should rightly be tested in the courts, as Gina Miller, John Major and co are doing. But my hunch is that the UK Supreme Court will do what the Edinburgh courts seem to be signalling and recognise that Johnson's corner-cutting impropriety has been political, not constitutional.
What Johnson - is he morphing into Dominic Farage? - is up to is bending the rules, not breaking them, in order to prevent the legislative branch of government from thwarting the executive branch's declared determination to leave the European Union on October 31. Bending, of course, was also what Dominic Grieve and Yvette Cooper did when they took control of the Commons order paper - a government prerogative for centuries - to frustrate May's Brexit timetable. So did Mr Speaker Bercow when he went along with it, defying the precedent-bound advice of his clerks. They all did it again on Tuesday, "constitutionally irregular" as Jacobin Rees-Mogg prissily put it, languidly horizontal on the government front bench. Talk about pots and kettles. Both sides feel ill-used.
When I was a press gallery new boy back in 1976, Michael Foot, then Leader of the Commons, once guillotined an unprecedented five bills in one day. Uproar! But nowadays debates on all bills are guillotined ('timetabled' is the gentler euphemism), increasing the government's power at the expense of backbenchers - who have since fought back.
The battle for dominance is ceaseless. And Tory loyalists should constantly ask themselves: "Would I like a Corbyn cabinet to do the same to us?" In Washington, Democrat senators, frustrated at Republican obstruction of Obama appointments, tweaked the rules in ways Donald Trump now finds very helpful in getting his dodgier nominees confirmed.
This is how systems adapt, but also how they decay. The rule of law is the critical variable. Michael Gove has sounded equivocal about whether the cabinet would obey a backbench MP bill, backed by the Lords. As I write I have yet to hear or read if Bozzie Bear would be in his rights to advise the Queen not to sign such a bill. British sovereignty - about which we now suffer so much hot air - technically resides in 'the monarch in parliament' meaning a fusion of both government and legislature. It is the model widely used in the Commonwealth, in contrast to the USA which deliberately separated the powers of governance, law-making and justice after its version of Brexit in 1776. When pressed on Royal Assent, Boris, Mogg and Co shiftily equivocate. If the bill gets through a pro-Brexit weekend filibuster in the Lords (no guillotine in their rules!) we will find out on Monday. Trust is at a startlingly low ebb, taking their cue from the boss, ministers have repeatedly been less than frank.
Thus, in autumn 2019, the prime minister publicly insists that Brexit Britain would preferably leave with a revised Withdrawal Agreement (WA), but without one if necessary. No-deal is what close associates like Dominic Cummings - plus the Jacobins of the European Research Group (ERG) and their Home Counties gilets jaunes - would not-so-secretly prefer. Johnson claims to be making "progress" in renegotiating Theresa May's WA, as he must.
When I bumped into Lord (David) Owen this week the former Labour foreign secretary predicted the EU27 could and would move to fix the Irish border. The man who broke with Labour over its anti-Europeanism insisted that the last £10 billion tranche of that £39 billion divorce bill can and should be withheld until Britain gets a future trade deal.
Owen is a political bully, but not a knave. He is neither a fop like Mogg nor a fool like IDS, who is still claiming that David Cameron's warning in 2016 that leaving would mean no single market/customs union now justifies a no-deal mandate. Wasn't it dismissed at the time as Project Fear stuff by people like you, Iain? Michel Barnier is not yet blinking. Brussels was incredulous at Boris's "progress" claim on Tuesday. But serious people still feel Johnson's strategy will deliver if MPs let him.
Are we victims of a great deception, being taken for a ride towards the Brexit cliff by cabinet ministers who voted three times against Theresa May's effort to take Britain out, yet now threaten (no, not you, Amber) deselection against colleagues who do the same? Is this deliberate provocation designed to justify a purge of moderates, the Gaukes, Stewarts, Ken Clarkes and Nick Soameses?
Philip Hammond and his rebel Tory group suspect we might be. On Tuesday the meticulous Letwin spoke more cautiously of a "willingness or intention" to do so after the Telegraph reported the incendiary Cummings calling the renegotiation a "sham".
"There is no progress… there isn't even a negotiating team," says Spreadsheet Phil. He promises the "fight of a lifetime" to save his party from "incomers and entryists" like Cummings who aren't even Tory party members. Hammond's defiance recalls Sir Geoffrey Howe, another dull-but-determined ex-chancellor, fatally sticking it to Margaret Thatcher after being pushed too far in 1990. Are our self-styled Thatcherite plotters about to experience a revival of The Dead Sheep's Revenge?
One third of Angela Merkel's 30-day window has already gone. Yet ministers have not published their revised backstop plans or even the updated version of the leaked Operation Yellowhammer assessment of the impact of no-deal on ordinary lives. Why? Apparently it is still too gloomy. That's a pretty serious deceit and contrasts with Mogg's airy assurances to that irate medic on LBC radio. In response the EU is contemplating emergency no-deal funding for Ireland and other members states, as if a hard Brexit was the equivalent of a Bahamas hurricane.
Alarmed by Cummings' high-handed sacking of Sajid Javid's spad, Sonia Khan (now that almost certainly was illegal), Whitehall civil servants are said to be taking legal advice on questionable orders they can legitimately refuse to implement, especially if election purdah rules kick in to prevent abuse of government spending. No wonder.
It's not just foul-mouthed, career psychopath (as David Cameron described him), 'Reign of Terror' Cummings either. Boris is said to get stroppy when baffled officials protest: "But that's the opposite of what you said last week." The perpetual columnist replies: "They were merely words." No wonder pollsters report voters mistrust him too.
That the most important peacetime decision that Britain has taken for decades should be manipulated by backstairs improvisation and intrigue (shades of the Suez invasion conspiracy in 1956) in an atmosphere of such mutual mistrust is the real scandal. It represents a failure of politics for which both sides must share the blame, voters too for backing lazy or complacent options on Europe and the economic implications for losers in the wider globalisation. The poison has been visible for decades. So this is an overdue showdown where those nominally in charge look hell-bent on taking us down a potentially disastrous path, orchestrated by what French diplomats - who know a bit about revolution - are apparently calling Maoists. They mean you, Dominic, silly Jacob and comically sinister Nigel, fomenting unrest from behind his sofa.
This is where the slippery slope matters. In a fast-changing world, states, with or without written constitutions have to adapt. That means adapting conventions as well as formal rules to new situations, unexpected imperatives, different values in society. Necessary but risky, because careless or cynical expediency may turn out - too late - to have upset fundamental balances which protect competing interests, especially minority ones, temporary political minorities as well as the more permanent kind. We call in the Law of Unintended Consequences.
The Fixed Term Parliament Act (FTPA) of 2011 is one such. Passed in a hurry by the coalition so that neither Cameron nor Nick Clegg could double-cross the other by pulling out of their agreement, Salvini-style, it has boxed Johnson in. No longer a PM's decision alone, the FTPA requires two-thirds of MPs to back a Johnson dissolution. But will Labour vote for one? Corbyn, who has long gone through the motions of demanding an election (he yearns for that allotment), suddenly risks his bluff being called. Labour is 8% behind the shambolic Tories in this week's polls, Corbyn himself out of sight, and facing a deluge of tasty public spending bribes which frighten the sober Institute for Fiscal Studies almost as much as his own do.
It's not just Tony Blair - remember him? - warning against the "elephant trap" of a single-issue Brexit election, but cannier shadow colleagues. They have realised that it would also be legal - though duplicitous - for Johnson to use his discretion to switch election dates once a dissolution has been voted. Instead of the declared date of October 15 - two days before the crucial EU summit, a postponement to November would allow a Halloween crash-out to occur by default mid-campaign. That scenario might swing pro-Leave Labour stalwarts towards the Tories in the north - a crucial election target group. It might do the opposite among stalwart Remainers in Scotland and the south.
So when shifty Johnson spoke at the Downing Street podium of "an election I don't want and you don't want" he was right on both counts, though not honest as to what exactly he meant. The thuggish gamble is a huge risk for him too and Farage - sounding understandably nervous on air next day - is not signed up. He claims to fear that Boris "is intent on re-heating Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement" that would keep us locked in forever. "We might as well stay as members," the flighty rascal claims to believe. Would you lend either a fiver?
So Farage's Brexit pop-up party could yet out-populist No.10's snap 'People vs Parliament' election. Or No.10 could prevail, only at the price of turning the Tories historic 'One Nation' broad church into a narrow, nationalist one, a "Brexit Party rebadged" (as Ken Clarke puts it), purged of its liberal wing.
Johnson could try and trigger an election by engineering a no confidence vote and losing it. Corbyn could vote against it to prevent him. We simply don't know - and nor does Bozzie Bear, who is winging it as usual. His conflicting signals confuses opponents and demoralises voters, as they are intended to. The World King does not seem to mind where the train takes him as long as he is the engine driver.
In a week which is marking the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War this is especially tragic. London mayor Sadiq Khan invokes the lessons of the 1930s to warn against whipping up fear and resentment against minorities. A far-right extremist is convicted of "Punish a Muslim Day" hate campaign, which included our Protestant Queen among its targets. Tensions mount on the Irish border and a sectarian clash takes place on the streets of Glasgow. The justice system is under pressure. These are feverish times, made much more so by unruly social media, which will need the smack of firm but fair government to master.
Yet the government's driving narrative, the one which devours the energy it says it wants to commit to better schools and health care, is nostalgia for a non-existent past dressed up as a vision for a non-existent future. The real lesson from the nostalgic reverence for the heroics of Dunkirk and D-Day is not that 'Britain can go it alone', but that we couldn't then and certainly can't today. Russian sacrifices, American might, the wealth and manpower of the empire, all made victory possible in 1945.
Until recently the Germans seemed to get the point, their president has just apologised to the Poles. But the weekend surge for the nostalgic AfD party in regional elections in Saxony and Brandenburg suggest creeping amnesia there too. Dangerous times all round.
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Home Old_Posts New pricing system unveiled…adopts global trends to curb excesses
New pricing system unveiled…adopts global trends to curb excesses
Patience Rusare
A Zimbabwean woman with a baby on her back looks on as she does some shopping at a leading supermarket in the capital Harare March 17, 2011. Zimbabwe's annual inflation slowed to 3 percent in February from 3.3 percent in January, the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency, or Zimstats, said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo (ZIMBABWE - Tags: BUSINESS)
MANUFACTURERS in Zimbabwe have adopted global test practice of publishing prices for various goods and services on either the packages or in the media as a means of curbing excessive profiteering by retailers.
Publishing prices on packages is not a new phenomenon. Bread and soft drinks have been leading in that category.
In a statement, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) said the private sector is committed to price stabilisation.
“The private sector has agreed to adopt global test practice by publishing the recommended wholesale and retail price on either the product packages or in the media,” said CZI.
“In particular, the cooking oil industry shall be working with its distribution partners to ensure that the wholesale and retail mark-ups are guided by the Manufacturers’ Recommended Prices (MRP).”
The listed price, also known as the MRP, of a product is the price at which the manufacturer recommends the product be sold for in retail stores
The intention is to help standardise prices. Some stores always sell at or just below the MRP, while others do so only when the product is on sale or has been moved to clearance.
In November last year, the Government announced a price monitoring programme listing 15 selected commodities with a view to arrest instances of profiteering and speculation by unscrupulous businesses.
Some of these listed products include edible oil, flour, salt and mealie meal.
Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe, which represents the milling industry, has put a cap on wholesale and retail prices of commodities manufactured by its members as part of its efforts to support the price monitoring programme.
In addition, United Refineries Limited released the maximum price schedule that retailers selling its Roil edible oil brand should charge, pegging 375ml and 750ml at US$1 and US$1,75 respectively while two litres is pegged at US$3,90 and US$10,60 for five litres.
A snap survey by this paper revealed that most major retailers have heeded the recommended maximum retail prices by the supplier. For example, two litres of Roil cooking oil was being sold at US$3,87 while brands such as Zimgold and Sunshine are selling at US$3,55 and US$3,65 respectively.
Industry said out of the 15 monitored basic commodities, the price of economy beef is expected to fall by an average 10 to 20 percent.
Economic analysts said the pricing strategy is very viable as some manufacturers had already been using it.
“We have the example of Delta, for many years, which, with its near monopoly obviously, had to tread carefully, advertising maximum prices, enforcing these in its distribution chain,” said one economic analyst.
“Other manufacturers are applying a similar model.”
Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) said while players may use similar formulas to determine prices at which they sell their products, certainly two or more players cannot charge the same price for identical products given the different overheads base, capacity utilisation levels, economies of scale and other incidentals to operations.
“In this respect, in spite of the recommended maximum prices the commission expects all players in any sector with the recommended maximum prices to charge significantly different prices that facilitate the competition process,” CTC said in a statemt.
CTC said excessive pricing was anti-competitive, as it rules out the setting of prices according to recognisable competition considerations.
“In this respect, the commission will not hesitate to embark on investigations in sectors identified as colluding or price fixing or excessively pricing with a view to remedy such anti-competitive practices within the confines of the Act.
“All producers, wholesalers and retailers are therefore expected to comply with the Competition Act with immediate effect or face the wrath of the law,” said the watchdog.
CTC has also observed the rampant unsupported price increases on goods and services equated to excessive pricing in competition law and policy to the detriment of consumers.
“Excessive pricing is defined as a price for a good or service, which bears no reasonable relation to the economic value or reasonable relation between price and economic value of that good or service and higher than that value,” CTC said
“Such conduct leaves consumers with no alternative, as all players, producers, wholesalers and retailers charging excessive prices eliminate the consequent competitive prices for basic goods and services and product associated with a competitive environment.”
The ZANU PF Politburo last month set up a committee led by Vice-President Retired General Constantino Chiwenga to deal with price increases for basic commodities.
Prices of most basic commodities have almost doubled since September last year, mainly due to speculation and profiteering among producers and retailers.
Government last week slashed excise duty on all fuel products in a move meant to reduce overall production costs and stabilise the country’s pricing system.
Excise duty on petrol went down from US$0,45/l to US$0,385/l, with diesel and paraffin duty now pegged at US$0,33/l down from US$0,40/l.
As a result, pump price was slashed from US$1,41 to US$1,34 for petrol, while diesel went down to US$1,23 from US$1,30.
“The reduction in excise duty will have the impact of reducing fuel prices. This will also have the effect of reducing the impact of fuel cost in the economy’s overall production cost structures across all sectors,” Permanent Secretary for Finance and Economic Development, Willard Manungo, said.
Zimbabweans expect an adjustment that will lead to a reduction in the cost of living which has risen sharply in the last few years.
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Jony Ive has officially now left Apple − so what’s next for the renowned designer?
Peter Phelps | November 28, 2019 12:58 pm GMT
British designer Jony Ive is no longer listed as a member of Apple’s leadership team, in what could be a watershed moment for the tech company.
Apple’s list of executive profiles on its website now has a notable absence: Jony Ive, who led Apple’s design team since 1996, is no longer in the picture, having left to found his own design company, LoveFrom.
Related: Best smartphone
Famous for creating thin, aesthetic devices − and for narrating their presentation with a gentle English accent − he was a name just as synonymous with the brand as Tim Cook or Steve Jobs. So what are the next steps in design for the company from Cupertino?
There are many iconic Apple designs for which Ive and his team are responsible. The Apple Watch for instance, with its rounded square shape and its single crown, is a departure from the traditional circular watches we all were used to, and you can identify it immediately when you see it on someone’s wrist.
The recent designs of iPhones have inspired multiple homages, with the notch becoming mainstream after its adoption by Apple.
There have been misses as well as hits though, such as the Mac Pro 2019‘s cheesegrater design − but it’s nonetheless encouraging to see a major firm challenging staid consensus with bold new ideas.
So what’s going to be the next word in design from Apple? We’d certainly like to see the Mac Pro’s design corrected, and we think it’s time for a change with the iPhone design too, as the notch has become a bit passé.
Related: Best iPhones
But for better or for worse, it’s likely that things will continue without too much change, as Ive’s design company will continue to work with Apple.
What’s perhaps a more interesting question is this: what other new products, away from tech, could Ive lend his distinctive vision to now that he, presumably, has more freedom? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Peter Phelps
Mobile Writer
Peter is a mobile tech writer, covering the latest smartphones, tablets, and wearables in news stories, reviews, and features. Previously he worked as a business researcher for Which?, analysing the m…
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Categorisation Reviews & Transfers
Challenging Decisions by Judicial Review
Complaints, Ill-treatment, Prisoners Rights and Coroner’s Inquests for Deaths Whilst in Custody
Early Release, Conditional Release and Automatic Release
Foreign National Prisoners
Home Detention Curfew
IPP Prisoners
Life Sentence Prisoners
Life Sentence Prisoners / Imprisonment for Public Protection
Mental Health, Self Harm and Attempted Suicide
Parole Board Hearings
Parole Licence & Eligibility Hearings
Pre Tariff Reviews
Resettlements
Sentence Planning
Temporary Licence & Licence Recall
Tuckers Solicitors Prison Law team have a wealth of experience in representing Foreign National Prisoners, serving both determinate and indeterminate sentences. We currently have a large number of FNP clients. Our areas of work include the following:
Early Release Scheme (ERS)
Fixed-term foreign national prisoners who are confirmed by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) as being liable for deportation can be removed from the UK after having served a minimum requisite period of a quarter of their sentence, up to a maximum of 270 days before the end of their sentence.
As ERS is mandatory, all determinate sentenced FNPs who are confirmed by UKBA as being liable for removal, irrespective of sentence length, offence type or country of origin, must be considered under this scheme by the Governor.
Tuckers can offer assistance with this by liaising with Foreign National Co-ordinators, the Criminal Casework Directorate and UKBA on the client’s behalf.
Facilitated Return Scheme (FRS)
The Facilitated Return Scheme is operated by FRS team in UKBA’s Criminal Casework Directorate.
FRS is a voluntary return scheme that only non-EEA Nationals can apply for and it is designed to encourage FNPs to comply with removal action and return to their home country by offering them financial assistance and support to help them reintegrate upon their return. A condition of which is that they cooperate with removal action and waive their right to appeal against deportation.
Tuckers Solicitors can offer assistance with this by liaising with Foreign National Co-ordinators, the Criminal Casework Directorate and UKBA on the client’s behalf.
Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS)
This is a new scheme introduced in May 2012 via the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offender’s Act 2012’ which has led to a new PSI; PSI 18/2012.
Foreign National Prisoners will meet the criteria for TERS if they are:
Serving an Indeterminate sentence;
Post tariff;
Do not have outstanding confiscation proceedings;
Are not facing any further criminal charges;
Are not challenging their deportation.
The team has a wealth of experience of clients affected by these schemes and how they may affect a client’s sentence progression or their liberty.
Our lawyers are available 24 hours a day, providing immediate legal advice, assistance and representation during legal proceedings, ensuring the best interests of our clients. Please contact the Prison Law Department on 020 7388 8333 or email info@tuckerssolicitors.com
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Main Economic news LSE rejects Hong kong’s multi-billion takeover Bid
LSE rejects Hong kong’s multi-billion takeover Bid
16.09.2019 - Davydova Maria
LSE rejects Hong Kong’s Multi-Billion Dollar Takeover Bid
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) had rejected Hong Kong’s $37 billion takeover bid, expressing the amount to be low, politically risky, and lacking strategic merit.
In a strongly worded statement, LSE’s board said that it “unanimously” rejected the week’s conditional proposal from Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX)
LSE added that it had “no merit in further engagement” due to the offer’s “fundamental flaws”. The London Exchange said it remained committed to its acquisition of financial data provider Refinitiv.
HKEX responded in a statement that said it “continues to believe that the proposed combination… represents a highly compelling strategic opportunity.”
Analysts had widely expected the HKEX bid to fail given the worries about Chinese influence over vital financial infrastructure and concerns over reduced competition.
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IMPLEMENTING NEW WORKFLOW PRINCIPLES
Use this roadmap to rethink how to get things done in a production environment
The challenge ahead
If you ask a dozen vendors what media workflow means, you'll get two dozen answers. With that said, let's develop one and stick with it throughout this article. The following definition can be applied to a wide variety of needs, yet covers the entire media lifecycle:
Media workflow is the movement and transformation of content across the three fundamental activities of the broadcast business: acquisition, management and distribution. Movement of content through each of the high-level activities is managed by a series of discrete operations called workflows. These add value or remove cost at each step of the process.
Broadcast engineers are faced with the challenge of reducing the number of discrete steps required to move content through its lifecycle while assuring that critical business processes remain unaffected.
Analog today
An ideal workflow system will be based on business rules and seamlessly integrate and automate, as far as possible, the following steps: acquisition, ingest, metadata acquisition, storage, asset management, search, retrieval, desktop cuts-only editing, transcoding, scheduling, automation, playout, billing, accounting and archival management.
To accomplish this, secure, scalable systems must be designed and built in ways that preserve to the greatest degree possible legacy infrastructure investments. These systems should allow asset-related data to be available to enterprise information systems that manage financial, customer, sales and rights information and reporting. In other words, Mr. Engineer, this solution is a whole lot bigger than you may have thought.
Let's examine an example of a typical analog linear workflow versus a digital, rules-based one. Consider a large media enterprise with the following attributes:
incoming feeds from multiple sources, many arriving at once;
the need to develop fresh, updated programming on a minute-by-minute basis;
the need to feed multiple output channels;
a large, growing analog tape library;
a labor-intensive process of getting archived tapes;
a chaotic production process.
Figure 1. The traditional organization of workflow. Click here to see an enlarged diagram.
An integrated workflow
To repackage content from the tape archive requires multiple activities, decision points and employees. At its worst, it might take several hours to go through this process for each tape needed. (See Figure 1.) Once retrieved, tapes must be reviewed and ingested before they can be re-edited, after which they have to be played out to tape again and delivered to the NOC or MCR for broadcast.
This disarray is the result of a process that is inefficient from the outset: From ingest to archiving, the process is mostly manual and subject to inefficiencies and errors.
Digital workflow
Let's look at this same set of tasks at a facility where the broadcaster understands the value of a digital workflow system. Obviously, any engineer worth his salt knows that only a completely integrated digital-based system with automated workflows can meet the demand for speed and efficiency. The savvy engineer will also recognize that no single vendor's software product can come anywhere near meeting the massive complexities in designing and building such a workflow system.
Let's examine what this new automated workflow management system looks like and some of the key benefits. (See Figure 2.)
Workflow benefits
Feed schedules reside in a database and trigger multiple events such as orienting the dish, selecting the channel, routing the feed to the encoder and capturing the digital file. Moreover, once the digital frame has been captured, it may become available to everyone in the enterprise, depending on access rules. Basic metadata is captured concurrently and can be used for immediate search and retrieval.
Producers can identify and retrieve current or legacy content (if it has been appropriately ingested into the system) and create programs on the fly. If craft editing is required, an EDL is sent to an edit suite, and the content is pulled into the NLE, where graphics, music, narration and effects can be added. Conforming and rendering is done in real-time, and the content is instantly forwarded to the play-to-air server and immediately available for broadcast.
Now this may sound like a utopia, but it is possible to come quite close with today's technology. Let's look at some of the potential benefits.
The time required to locate and retrieve content online goes from hours to seconds. No more looking for tape boxes. Requests are now filled from an on-screen database. Lost content happens less often. Once the material is stored and tagged, it's virtually impossible to lose. Compare that with trying to find that partially labeled box containing the tape of last week's fire.
Scale to fit
What about creative flexibility? Before, editors were limited by their access to the content and crushed by deadlines. Now, content is always accessible and instantly deliverable. Also, editors can share content. No longer do they have to wait for a dub to begin work.
Considering the options
The number of staff changes required: few. You and your staff get to keep your jobs. Responsibilities increase and people focus on what they do best: creating programming. Finally, because such a system can be built with nonproprietary hardware and standard operating systems, it's easy to scale, maintain and integrate with an existing IT and broadcast infrastructure.
Such an enterprise-wide workflow isn't cheap. For global media enterprises, those costs are justified by the potential to reduce operating expenses and realize new revenue streams from a system that integrates broadcast, cable, new media and handheld device distribution. Smaller broadcasters may not need to build their own solution at all. It's often possible to access these services on an outsourced or shared-resource basis.
Figure 2. The organization of integrated, digital workflow. Click here to see an enlarged diagram.
Suppose you decide to implement an integrated workflow system. What are the options? The first is to build your own. There is a natural temptation for IT and broadcast engineers to demonstrate their skills and expertise to senior management. And, engineers often like having control over the solution. But a word of caution: Such systems can be complex to design and challenging to build when there is no out-of-the-box solution (and there isn't). This means that no single hardware or software vendor can provide more than a portion of the system.
This will require the staff to integrate all pieces of the puzzle. Also, demanding multiple equipment vendors to integrate with each other will greatly magnify the chance for failure, especially where software interoperability is critical to success. Homebrew systems are rarely successful, and they can easily create more problems than they solve. If that happens, the finger of blame will point only to you.
The second option is to outsource to an IT consultant. Traditional IT consulting firms are great for enterprise systems, e-mail and desktop support. But few, if any, have the specific workflow expertise required to successfully design and build systems that automate complex broadcast interdependencies.
The third option is to outsource the project to a traditional broadcast integrator. This will give you broadcast infrastructure design and build experience and access to broadcast hardware sourcing. But, building these complex IT-based systems requires specific skills that may not be available from your broadcast integrator.
The fourth — and, in my opinion, the best — option is to partner with a firm that can staff both sides of the challenge with broadcast expertise and IT knowledge. Look for demonstrated skills in designing and deploying complex, enterprise-wide broadcast IT integrated systems. You don't want to be anyone's guinea pig when it comes to your IT broadcast project.
Fortunately, there are firms that can meet these demanding requirements. But, before you make a decision, do the homework. Look at the company's track record. Call its customers and then visit them. Look at both newly completed sites and those with many months of operation under their belts. There will always be start-up issues in complex systems. What you want to know is whether the vendor took care of them and whether the system works reliably over time.
Don't be lulled into thinking that building an enterprise-wide digital workflow is merely connecting the dots. It isn't. Broadcasting is one of the more complex media workflows and you shouldn't be timid in recognizing that you need expert help in finding and building the best solution.
After all, when the project is completed, you're going to get the recognition for the project anyway. Wouldn't you rather it be for a job well done?
David Rosenberg manages the Media Consulting Practice for Siemens Business Services in North America.
SPECIAL REPORT: Implementing new workflow principles
If you ask a dozen vendors what media workflow means to them, you'll get two dozen answers. With that said, let's develop one and stick with it throughout
Understanding AND implementing
Today, news directors and engineers are increasingly focused on building, developing and installing file-based workflows. The advantages are video and
SPECIAL REPORT: Using metadata to manage workflow
Find out how to capture and use metadata properly to streamline media production and distribution.
File-based workflows
Attracted by the promises of lower costs, broadcasters are eagerly adopting file-based workflows. There is nothing new about processing video as files.
All-digital workflow transforms EuroNews
With a team of 60 journalists and 60 technicians, Euronews ingests more than 70 hours of images per day. The channel needed to implement a disk-based system as part of a globally digital, networked IT solution. Find out how they transformed their aging tape-based infrastructure to an efficient digital workflow environment
The fundamental elements of media workflows
Use this guide to create a file-based media workflow
Unrecognized Trends in Video Server Implementation
The trend to an all server-based playback continues as more and more program content is being delivered as a file-based medium.
Production workflows
It is the accepted norm for many large broadcasters to base their entire production workflows around a large centralized work hub, and it is often hard
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Easy RC Cars & Truck Index
EASY RC MENU:
RealFlight Simulator
Car & Trucks
You CAN RACE!
In the world of R/C Cars and Trucks, there are no speed limits and no red lights! You can go as fast and furious as your machine allows—whether it's a futuristic concept car, an entry-level buggy or even a huge, nitro-powered car crusher. The choice is yours.
Car & Truck Basics
Size & Type
Consider your budget and consider your skills.
A simpler, slower vehicle may not be your dream, but it IS the best way to get started. And remember: You can add hop-ups (performance parts) later to boost its speed and power. Knowing what you're getting into helps, too. And perhaps one of the best sources of info is your own racing buds. Ask your friends!
Let Tower Hobbies Help.
Tower Hobbies Phone Sales Staff and Technical Support Staff give you access to years of R/C modeling experience and information. Just call our toll-free number, 1-800-637-6050. They'll help you select an R/C Car or Truck.
Racing Basic — Speed
How fast does an R/C car go? The most accurate answer is: It depends. Does your model have a nitro (glow) engine or an electric motor? Is it engineered for sport use (fun) or for racing? Is it stock or modified for higher speeds? What was it meant to do? A monster truck designed for hill-climbing moves at about "walking speed." But some R/C drivers have pushed their race cars to speeds in excess of 80 mph! Fast cars are fun. Unless you're an experienced driver, however, choosing a car for its speed alone is not a good idea. For a very rough estimate of the speeds you can expect from different models, see the chart below. But remember: Your actual miles-per-hour will vary!
Vehicle Type Average
Off-Road - Electric 15-60 mph
Off-Road - Nitro 20-60 mph
On-Road - Electric 20-100 mph
On-Road - Nitro 20-70 mph
Monster Truck -Electric 10-40 mph
Monster Truck - Nitro 20-40 mph
Electric or Nitro?
Quick, quiet and easy to afford, build and drive, Electric Vehicles are a popular choice in R/C power for first-time modelers. Equipped with a rechargeable battery pack, a vehicle with a stock motor will provide about 8-10 minutes of run time. With multiple packs and a quick charger, an electric vehicle is ready for hours of use. Interest in Nitro (Glow-Engine) Vehicles has grown enormously. Vast improvements in glow engine technology have simplified tuning and maintenance, enabling many more modelers to enjoy the realistic sound and smell that goes along with Nitro power's acceleration and speed.
What else do I need?
There's more to running an R/C car or truck than the vehicle itself. Electric vehicles require a 2-or 3-Channel radio, motor(s), speed control and battery. Nitro vehicles require a radio, engine, fuel and muffler. Some or all of these items may be included with the vehicle, so read the product description carefully for details. Your model may also require items such as pinion, tires, wheels and body. Again, follow the Accessories Required links for the model you choose to see a list of the items needed. If you order by phone, our friendly Sales and Service reps can also tell you exactly what you'll need for each specific car or truck.
Most R/C vehicles use 2-Channel or 3-Channel radio systems. They will usually not include batteries, so you'll need to buy alkaline cells or rechargeable NiCds to power the transmitter and the receiver. If you drive an electric model and have a BEC (Battery Eliminator Circuitry) equipped radio system, you can power the receiver from your motor's battery pack.
Another consideration when choosing an R/C car or truck is making sure that you'll be able to get replacement parts quickly and easily—that way, if anything breaks, you won't be stuck in neutral for very long.
Tower Hobbies carries just about every individual part you might need for any vehicle that we offer. And along with direct replacement parts, we also have many "aftermarket" parts—such as wheels, tires, bodies, suspension and steering components, decals, and so on—that you can use to improve your model's performance and customize its looks.
To get replacement parts quickly, take advantage of the Shop for Parts section of our website. There, you'll find convenient, comprehensive parts listings for many of our most popular cars and truck...plus, you'll enjoy LOWER THAN RETAIL prices and reduced rates on postage and handling with items that qualify for Parts Saver!
What If I Want to Compete?
The main organization in R/C racing is ROAR (Radio Operated Auto Racing). Visit their website for information on racing classes, as well as upcoming regional and national racing events.
Electric R/C cars and trucks have several advantages for new hobbyists. They're clean-running. They make relatively little noise. And they're easier to operate than "gas" models. You don't have to buy fuel, heat glow plugs or fuss over engine adjustments. Just charge your batteries and connect wires properly—then, your electric car should work. You have a huge variety to choose from: trucks, semis, buggies, sedans, stock cars and more. Many cars come in "sport" or "competition" versions. First-timers might prefer the sport models for their lower cost and simplicity, though if you're set on racing you may want some competition features, such as ball bearings and oil shocks.
When you choose a car, make sure you understand what it does and does not include. Some kits already come with the motor and a mechanical speed control. Competition-level cars provide the basic rolling chassis, but often require you to purchase everything else (motor, battery, electronic speed control, body) separately. Follow the Accessories Required links for the model you choose to see a list of the items you'll need.
Speed controls give you command over when and how fast your electric R/C vehicle moves. Working together with your radio system, they deliver current to the motor based on signals you send from the transmitter. ESCs don't slow down there though. They come in two versions, brushed and brushless, that are designed to work with either brushed or brushless motors. Brushed ESCs deliver power input through two wires to the motor which causes the rotor to turn. Brushless ESCs deliver power through three wires in a sequential pattern which causes a brushless motor to turn.
Before you get stalled out on the technical data, just filter this into your command matrix: brushed is simple and inexpensive, brushless delivers more power and more precise control. So if you want to bash in your backyard, by all means go brushed, but if you want to beat out the competition you need a brushless ESC.
Technology has advanced to the point where you have almost as many choices in ESCs as you do cars themselves. Even if you purchase a ready-to-run model that comes with an electronic speed control, you may eventually want to upgrade to another ESC — weighing such features as:
Speed Control Shopping Tips
In R/C, there are two basic classes of motors:
Stock: If your model comes with a motor, it's most likely the stock variety. Stock motors must be run as is...you cannot open them to make modifications (which few beginners should attempt anyway).
Modified: Modified motors require additional current to operate and should be used only with an electronic speed control. Equipped with such features as ball bearings and adjustable timing, they generally offer more power and greater torque than stock motors—but also drain your battery pack faster.
A rechargeable battery pack is required to run virtually all electric cars and trucks. These are typically made of NiCd, NiMH LiPo cells, wired together and covered in a plastic film or case. Most drivers keep several packs on hand, using one to race while another is recharging (which usually takes about 20 minutes).
Battery Shopping Tips
Various types of chargers are available for R/C car batteries. Most beginners choose a basic, affordable AC/DC charger that can be powered either from a 110V AC household current or from an 11-15V DC car battery at trackside. They might also look for a charger with a "trickle" charge mode—these let you charge packs slowly overnight. Competitors often use a "peak detection charger." These units have electronic circuitry that can detect when a battery has reached its maximum charge, and then it automatically switches to a slow trickle charge.
Charger Shopping Tips
You have the car or truck, a motor and a speed control. That covers the equipment that makes an assembled electric model ready to race. But you need a few additional items to transform it from a static machine to one with the power to move at your command. Those include a 2-Channel or 3-Channel radio system, with "AA" batteries to power the transmitter—plus some Field Accessories, including battery packs, a charger, and a field bag.
And, if you purchased a kit rather than an RTR (Ready-to-Run) model, you'll also need a few tools and finishing supplies to put your new vehicle together—such as: Paint Brush, Paint, Body Scissors, Masking Tape, Cyanoacrylate Glue, Modeling Knife, 4-Way Wrench, Motor Leads with Connector, Threadlocking Compound
Nitro Powered
While electric models may be less expensive and easier to operate, "nitro"-powered R/C cars and trucks have the definite edge when it comes to realism and performance. They are NOT powered by gasoline—they use a special fuel, commonly referred to as "glow fuel" or "nitro." But they do capture the sights and sounds of real, full-size racing like no electric can. The engines roar powerfully...exhaust vapors trail your machine...and the speeds are unbelievable! You have a huge variety to choose from: trucks, buggies, sedans, stock cars, truggies and more. Many come in "sport" or "competition" versions. First-timers might prefer the sport models for their lower cost, though if you're set on racing you may want some competition features, such as ball bearings and oil shocks.
When you choose a car, make sure you understand what it does and does not include. Some kits already come with an engine. Competition-level cars provide the basic chassis, but often require you to purchase an engine and body separately. Follow the Accessories Required links for the model you choose to see a list of the items you'll need
You can control a nitro R/C vehicle with the same type of 2-Channel or 3-Channel radio systems used for an electric model. The one difference is that you will also need batteries to power the receiver in your vehicle. There is no battery pack for the motor that might also be used to power the receiver. Radio Shopping Tips
Most nitro-powered R/C models are powered by small, 2-cycle, internal combustion "glow" Engines. They burn a nitromethane-based fuel that includes special lubricants for engine protection.
Full-size automobile engines use spark plugs that ignite fuel with a spark...glow engines use a "glow plug" that, once heated with a battery-powered "glow starter," hold that heat to continue igniting the glow fuel as you race.
Your engine may or may not come with a glow plug. Regardless, you will need additional plugs because they do need to be replaced—it's always a good idea to take several spares with you to the track. The glow starter, too, must be purchased separately.
In addition to glow fuel, a number of fuel accessories are available that make it easier to operate a nitro-powered car. To get the fuel from its container into your model's tank, for example, you can use a Fuel Pump (powered and hand-crank options are available), suction-type Fuel Bulb, or a small Fuel Bottle with specially angled neck for reaching easily into confined areas. And Fuel Filters, installed in the fuel lines, will trap impurities before they can reach and possibly damage your model's engine.
Tools & Building Supplies: If you purchased a kit rather than an RTR (Ready-to-Run) model, you'll need a few tools and building supplies to put your new vehicle together—such as: Paint Brush, Paint, Body Scissors, Masking Tape, Cyanoacrylate Glue, Modeling Knife, Motor Leads with Connector, 4-Way Wrench, Threadlocking Compound, Latex Foam Rubber (to protect your receiver from engine-induced vibration) Follow the Accessories Required links for the model you choose to see a list of the items you'll need.
Track Equipment: You have an assembled car or truck, a radio, an engine and fuel. That covers the basic equipment that makes an assembled gas model ready race. But you need a few additional items to transform it from a static machine to one that springs into action at your command.
Those include the following pieces of track equipment. Remember, the vast majority of these are one-time purchases. Buy them once and you're all set for a long, thrilling R/C racing career!
12V 5 Amp Field Battery — to power all of your electric track equipment
12V Charger — to recharge the field battery
Glow Starter or Glow Plug Clip — both of these items provide your glow plug with the initial heat it needs to burn fuel; a Glow Starter (such as the Hobbico Hot-Shot 2 Standard) carries its own battery, while a Glow Plug Clip is powered by your field battery
Starter Box or 12V Starter with Car Adapter — if your engine is not equipped with its own recoil starter, you will need one of these devices to start it
Field Bags: For your own convenience, you'll probably also want to add a Field Bag to your shopping list—it gives you a handy method of transporting your model and equipment to and from the track. Follow the Accessories Required links for the model you choose to see a list of the items you'll need.
RTRs vs. Kits
Picking out your first vehicle is perhaps the most exciting part of R/C racing. Many of today's most popular choices arrive Ready-to-Run. Also known as "RTRs," these vehicles usually come complete with a 2-or 3-Channel radio, motor or engine, ESC, batteries and more. These vehicles are usually targeted at new modelers and "backyard" drivers, rather than racers bent on winning organized competitions.
But that doesn't necessarily mean you're settling for less performance. As your skills grow, you can improve your model's speed and operation with upgrades— for example, by replacing bushings with ball bearings, or adding a hotter motor or engine. In short, RTRs are perfect if you're brand new to the hobby.
Some cars and trucks come in Kit form. You get all the parts necessary to assemble the machine, plus instructions. Often, such "primary accessories" as engine, body, or motor and electronic speed control may be required as additional purchases (follow the Accessories Required links for the model you choose to see a list of the items needed).
R/C model car bodies are usually made of clear Lexan plastic. Some trimming may be necessary to remove excess material. Use specially formulated polycarbonate paints to give them whatever color scheme you desire.
The chassis goes together with ordinary tools such as screwdrivers, nut drivers, pliers and the like. Although building a kit rather than buying an RTR does require extra time, there are advantages. You'll gain an expert understanding of how your machine works, which comes in handy when performing maintenance and tuning.
Two-Wheel Drive Vs. Four-Wheel Drive
In four-wheeled vehicles, there are two main drive types: two-wheel drive (2WD) and four-wheel drive (4WD). If you're new to R/C, you may want to consider 2WD. They generally require less overall assembly and maintenance. The trade-off is that 4WD vehicles offer easier driving and a definite handling edge.
"Scale" is a term with two meanings. In one sense, it can refer to the size relationship between a model and an actual vehicle—for instance, the most popular scales of R/C vehicles are 1:8, 1:10, 1:12 and 1:18. The 1:10 scale category definitely provides the most choices for a first-time hobbyist. However, "scale" can also refer to a model's trueness to a real car's appearance and/or features. Many popular street and racing vehicles have been recreated "to scale" for R/C enthusiasts to enjoy.
On-Road, Off-Road and More
There are many basic types of R/C vehicles to choose from. Models suitable for first-time hobbyists are available in every catergory!
Whether you prefer the "charge up a battery and go" simplicity of electric buggies or the roaring realism of nitro-powered R/C off-roaders, one thing is shared by both: the ability to tackle virtually any terrain with ease. In your backyard, on a dirt track, or at the park, they're a great way to kick back and cut loose — in some friendly competition or running just for fun!
On-Road Cars
On-road cars offer minimal suspensions, sleek, sophisticated looks and foot-to-the-floorboard speed. An on-road car can easily be run on a smooth street, parking lot or any other (relatively) flat, paved surface. And whether you decide to go nitro or electric, 1/10, 1/12, 1/18 or even 1/8 scale, there's impressive variety and authenticity in store.
The undisputed kings of R/C vehicles, Monster Trucks offer the earthshaking excitement of large tires, big power plants, and chassis engineered more for unstoppable torque than all-out speed. Using sheer, brute power, they rumble their way up hills, down slopes — and over unsuspecting cars.
These bashers deliver speed, maneuverability and excitement every time you attack the track. Whether you're just bashing in the backyard or taking your truck to compete, short course trucks look just like their big brothers in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series and other full-scale short course events. More and more people are joining in on the high-powered thrills of short course racing every day, fueling the quickest expansion of any RC line.
Run for backyard fun or head-to-head racing, R/C stadium trucks are the fast masters of "bump and jump" excitement.
Measuring well under a foot in length, “Mini” R/C vehicles like the RC18B2 shown still have a lot in common with their larger radio-control counterparts. In fact, the chassis components can be just as sophisticated and deliver the same durability, high speeds and smooth handling — just in a smaller size that makes them right for racing almost anywhere, including indoors!
Highly articulated chassis, powerful high-torque motors, and giant tires make Rock Crawlers the ultimate go anywhere vehicle. And when we say go anywhere, we really mean anywhere. Rock crawlers are built to conquer any obstacle mother nature can put in front of them; logs, gravel, rocks, boulders, bluffs— all those obstacles you think twice about crossing, rock crawlers traverse them and come back for more.
Charge a Battery
Setup ESC
Adjust Slipper Clutch
Check R/C Car Glow Plug
About Fuels and Carburetors
Flooded Engine
Shut Off Engine
Engine Tuning Tips
Engine Tuning Sounds
HPI Racing Getting Started Racing Guide
Q: What power source will provide me with the fastest speeds: glow, gas or electric?
A: That depends on what your vehicle is designed to do. Electric vehicles can travel at speeds ranging from 15 – 40 mph, while some glow-powered racers can fly past 80 mph! Check out www.easyrc.com/cars-trucks/index.html for a helpful chart.
Q: I know there are a lot of abbreviations in the hobby world (Many are explained at www.easyrc.com and its accompanying R/C Dictionary!), but I've seen some manufacturers using uncommon abbreviations like ARTR and RTC. What do they stand for?
A: This may seem confusing at first, but it's really quite simple. ARTR, or Almost-Ready-to-Run, is just another way of saying ARR. RTC can refer to an airplane model that's Ready-to-Cover or to a rock crawler that's virtually assembled (Ready-to-Crawl).
Ordering Basics
Shop Tower Hobbies for all your RC needs.
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Northern Parks Budget Camping (7 days)
Northern Tanzania safari is an essential destination on everyone's bucket list.
The Serengeti's Great Migration is one of the most amazing wildlife spectacles, whilst being on safari on the Crater floor of the extinct volcano at Ngorongoro is a game viewing environment that has no equal.
Away from the tourist hotspots, quieter parks such as Tarangire are superb for game viewing yet often overlooked to their more famous neighbors.
Lake Manyara's game concentrations are not nearly as high as surrounding parks but there are a number of unique species that are reason to safari here.
Lake Manyara's tree climbing lions are the parks main attraction.
Why these lions habitually climb trees is still up for debate but viewing a pride relaxing in an acacia tree is an incredible site.
The park is also famous for its elephants, huge number of baboons and due to its varied landscape has an impressive range of other game including wildebeest, buffalo, hippo, flamingo, zebra, warthog, waterbuck, dik-dik and impala.
The birding here is very good, especially raptors.
To many people, a Northern Tanzanian safari is the very best of it all.
- All park entrance fees.
- Transport on 4WD vehicle with the pop-up roof, which enable you to spot wildlife easier.
- Accommodation and meals as per itinerary above.
- Crater fees.
- Airport transfers
- Accommodation on The first night on your arrival
- Camping fees
- Mattress each (if camping)
- Mineral water 1.5lt per person per day.
- Salary for the Professional English-Speaking Driver Guide.
- Activities as per itinerary above.
- International Flights
- Accommodation on The last night after safari (book with us)
- Olduvai Gorge fees.
- Hot and cold drinks
- Cigarettes, Tips and Sleeping bags (if camping)
- Hot Air Balloon ride over Serengeti.
- Flying doctors insurance, we can arrange for USD 50per person.
- And all not mentioned in the itinerary above.
ARRIVING TO TANZANIA. Upon your arrival meet at Kilimanjaro international Airport and transfer to your hotel in Arusha for bed and breakfast B/B.
Pamoja expedition Lodge. | Breakfast Included
Day 02: ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK In the morning drive to Arusha national park with your packed lunch for game viewing. Break for a picnic lunch then continue with game viewing at Arusha National Park. Dinner and overnight at Outpost Lodge -Full board (FB) The compact Arusha National Park is remarkable for its range of habitats. It encompasses tree varied zones: the highland montane forest of Mount Meru (3'820 m) to the west, where black and white colobus and blue monkeys can be spotted; Ngurdoto Crater, a small volcanic crater inhabited by a variety of mammals in the southeast of the park; and, to the northeast, Momela Lakes, a series of seven alkaline crater lakes, home to a large number of water birds. On a clear day it is possible to see the summits of both Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru from Ngurdoto Crater rim. There are numerous hides and picnic sites throughout the park, giving travelers an opportunity to leave their vehicles. The park has actually changed its name a number of times form Ngurdoto Crater National Park to Mount Meru National Park. Arusha National Park contains many animals including giraffes, elephants, hippos, buffalos, rhinos (if you are lucky), colobus monkeys, bush bucks, red forest duikers, reedbucks, waterbucks and wart - hogs. In fact Arusha is supposed to contain the highest density of giraffes in the world. There are no lions in the park although you may see leopard. Birds found in the National Park include cormorants, pelicans, ibises, flamingos and grebes.
Outpost Lodge | Breakfast Included
Day 03: TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK After breakfast transfer to Tarangire national park with your packed lunch for game viewing, enjoy a picnic lunch at Tarangire then continue with your game viewing until late evening, dinner and overnight, / Kigongoni Campsite. FB One of the most noticeable things on entering the park are the baobab trees that rise up form the grass. With their massive trunks, they are instantly recognizable. There are animals that usually move northwards of the park during the wet season including the wildebeests, zebras, Thompson's gazelles, buffalos, elands and hartebeests. The elephant population in this park was estimated to be around 6'000 in 1987, but numbers are believed to have fallen since then due to poaching. The number of birds recorded in Tarangire National Park has been estimated at approximately 300. These include migrants that fly south to spend October - April away from the winter of the northern hemisphere. Here, you may spot various species of herons, storks and ducks, vultures, buzzards, sparrow hawks, eagles, kites and falcons, as well as ostriches. Other areas of interest within the park include the Lake Burungi circuit, the Lemiyon area, the Kitibong Hill circuit and the Gursi & Lamarkau circuit.
Kigongoni Campsite | Breakfast Included
Day 04: LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK - After breakfast transfer to Lake Manyara national park for game viewing, lunch then after lunch drive to the park again for a second half game viewing. Dinner and overnight, Twiga Campsite. FB A major attraction of the Lake Manyara National Park is the tree - climbing lions. Unfortunately there is no guarantee that you will spot them. However, there are other things to see - elephants, hippos, zebras, impalas, buffalos, baboons, plains animals as well as huge variety of birdlife, both resident and migratory. At certain times of the year, Lake Manyara is home to thousands of flamingos (attracted by the Lake itself), which form a shimmering pink zone around the lake shore. Other birds found here include ostriches, egrets, herons, pelicans and storks. Also seen are African spoonbills, various species of ibises, ducks and the rare pygmy geese. The most noticeable of the landscape within this park are the very impressive baobab trees with their huge trunks.
Twiga Campsite | Breakfast Included
Day 05: SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK - After breakfast transfer to Serengeti national park via Ngorongoro conservation area, with your lunch box and game en-route. Dinner and overnight, Seronera Campsite FB Serengeti is perhaps most well known for the annual migration that takes place across the great Savannah plains. This is a phenomenal sight: thousands upon thousands of animals, particularly wildebeests, as far as the eye can see. During the rainy season (from November to May), the wildebeests, whose population has been estimated at around 1'500'000, are found in the eastern section of the Serengeti and also the Masai Mara in Kenya to the north. When the dry season begins at the end of June, the annual migration commences as the animals move in search of food pasture. The Serengeti is also famous for cheetahs, leopards and lions, some of which migrate with the wildebeests while others remain in the central plain. The elephant population in Serengeti was decimated by poaching, estimated to have fallen fivefold during the 1970 - 80s, since then, the numbers have slowly increased. Birdlife is prolific in the National Park and includes various species of kingfishers, sunbirds and rollers, ostriches, egrets, herons, storks, ibises, spoonbills and ducks. Birds of prey include Ruppell's vulture and the hooded vulture, several varieties of kestrels, eagles, goshawks and harriers. There is also a hippo pool by the name of Retina where you can have clear views of the hippopotamuses and even crocodiles.
Seronera Campsite | Breakfast Included
Day 06:. SERENGETI / NGORONGORO After breakfast with your packed lunch drive and game en route to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Pass by Olduvai Gorge a historical site whereby the early man lived its your option whether you pass by the Maasai boma if you are interested in the real African life tradition and culture for extra costs, After your lunch en route adds to the crater rim for your dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Simba Campsite. FB The conversation area encompasses Ngorongoro Crater, Embagai Crater, Olduvai Gorge - famous for its palaeontological relics - and Lake Masek. The Crater is a home to small number of black rhinoceroses, sustains a huge population of ungulates and has the most concentrated numbers of lions know. However, there are an estimated 30,000 animals living in the crater. Encounters with animals are frequent and there is a wide variety of game in the crater. These include lions, elephants and rhinos as well as buffaloes, Thompson's gazelles, wildebeests and zebras. You are also likely to see ostriches and Lake Magadi, the soda lake at the floor of the crater, is home to thousands of flamingos. There are also dive - bombing kites which are recognized for their skills of snatching visitors' foods at the Lerai forest, which is a good place for a picnic lunch.
Ngorongoro Simba Campsite | Breakfast Included
Day 07:. NGORONGORO CRATER - ARUSHA - After breakfast, with packed lunch descend into the crater for a full day game viewing. Have your picnic lunch in the crater at hippo pool or Lerai forest. Evening drive back to Arusha for dinner and overnight at your Hotel/Transfer to the Airport for your flight back home. End of Tour.
NGORONGORO CRATER - ARUSHA-AIRPORT | Breakfast Included
Tanzania T.
Lights on Africa Destinations
Single $2,518.00
Website: www.lightsonafrica.com
Director: Mr. Peniel
Phone: +255 789762924
Timezone: (GMT+03:00) Nairobi
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Romney & Obama Clash Over Clean Energy in First Debate
Making sustainability sexy
Brian Merchant bcmerchant
YouTube/Screen capture
The first presidential debate has come and gone, and the pundits have called this round for Romney — he was certainly sharper-tongued, quicker with his barbs, and generally more confident and puffed-up onstage. As for the substance; who actually pays attention to substance? After all, if you were looking for substantive ideas about governance, you would've found yourself lost in a barren morass of vague statements and dubious statistics, the occasional clearly articulated policy idea rolling by like a lonely tumbleweed.
Before I get to the climate and energy meat, I will say this; after watching the debacle live, I never would have pegged Romney as the clear and glorious victor — he definitely "won," but he wasn't that much better than Obama. I have a sneaking suspicion that the media was so craving of a "Romney comeback" story with which to inject some much-needed drama into an otherwise lugubrious race, that they seized on his edging out Obama with out-of-proportion gusto.
A prominent storyline likely to emerge from the post-debate fallout will probably be how Romney pivoted back to the center — he agreed that some parts of Obamacare were good, that Race to the Top had its merits, and he claimed that he wouldn't raise the deficit by cutting taxes for the rich (dubious, that).
But one area where he clearly did not return to the center was energy — in fact, some of Romney's most eyebrow-raising comments were about the topic. Let's start with the most egregious first.
The Clean Energy Fracas
Romney claimed that Obama had spent $90 billion on "green energy," but that half the companies that he spent that money on had failed.
“Now I like green energy as well," he said, "but that’s about fifty years of what the oil and gas industry received."
The Washington Post already put together a report that thoroughly debunks that flat-out false claim: The $90 billion he's talking about was the amount of money Obama set aside for "green" tech and research in the stimulus bill, much of which went to efficiency projects, R&D, carbon sequestration, upgrading the nation's electrical grid, and a slew of other projects. Only a little was spent directly lending money to clean energy companies — very few of which have "failed." There are precious few Solyndras in the crop of companies that have garnered DOE loans; most continue to earn the government returns on its investment.
Romney also called electric car companies "losers": "You put $90 billion, like 50 years' worth of breaks, into solar and wind, to Solyndra and Fisker and Tesla and Ener1. I mean, I had a friend who said, you don't just pick the winners and losers; you pick the losers."
Telsa, of course, is on its way to becoming a successful, profitable company; one that many hail as an exciting innovator in the auto industry.
Meanwhile, Obama said that one difference between him and Romney was that he was more interested in developing renewable energy sources like solar and wind.
Oil Subsidies
And he argued that federal subsidies for oil companies should be cut.
"Does anybody think that Exxon Mobil needs some extra money every time you go to the pump? Why wouldn't we want to eliminate that?" Obama said. Romney hit back by noting that those federal subsidies have been around for 100 years.
"It's time to end them," Obama shot back, in one of his better moments in the debate.
Romney argued that the oil industry "only" receives $2.8 billion a year in tax cuts — many analysts say it's a lot more, depending on how you quantify those tax cuts — and reaffirmed his support for preserving them.
"I like coal"
And then there was that, which Romney proudly declared in a moment quickly seized upon by climate activists:
Climate Silence/via
Yet neither candidate discussed climate change at all — it wasn't even mentioned, despite Jim Lehrer receiving 160,000 letters requesting he ask about it.
Nonetheless, judging from this debate alone, any voter concerned about climate change has a clear choice: after all, one candidate vocally opposes robust investment in clean energy and is vehement in maintaining the status quo for coal and oil. The other just isn't all that interested in publicly discussing the problem.
Romney might have etch-a-sketched his way back to the center on a handful of domestic policy issues, but energy isn't one of them — a majority of Americans still want to end oil subsidies, continue developing renewable alternatives, and investing in clean energy.
Romney had some harsh words for Obama's investment in clean energy; oil subsidies and coal also littered the candidates' first debate.
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Outsmarting Email Hackers Using AI and Machine Learning
Email hacking is a commonly used malicious tactic in our increasingly connected world. Cybercriminals compromise email accounts to enter the IT premises of an organization and carry out attacks ranging from fraud and spying to information and identity theft. Without effective security measures to stop email hacks, potential victims can suffer serious consequences.
Email hacking is prevalent across different industries
Attackers deploy email hacking tactics against different sectors around the world. The cyberespionage group Fancy Bear, which specializes in politically motivated attacks, has reportedly targeted the reelection campaign of a U.S. senator earlier this year via credential phishing tactics. Fancy Bear has been garnering headlines since 2015 for targeting political organizations in the U.S., Ukraine, France, Germany, Montenegro, and Turkey.
The healthcare industry has become a popular target for cybercriminals recently, affecting facilities in Portland, Texas, Tennessee, and New Jersey, among other places. These healthcare facilities suffered data breaches brought on by schemes that manipulated hacked email accounts.
These attacks also affect the education sector. In May, the University at Buffalo (UB) released a statement reporting on an attack that compromised an unspecified number of email accounts of university students, staff, faculty, and alumni. In Asia, the National University of Singapore (NUS) has warned staff and students of phishing emails sent by hacked NUS accounts in July. The compromised emails contained malicious links leading to a website that tricks recipients into giving out their credentials.
Huge financial losses from email hacks and spoofing
Alongside politics, sabotage, revenge, and insider threat, financial gain is one of the more common motivations behind email hacking incidents. To be successful at extracting money from victims, attackers can employ a variety of strategies like using keyloggers, phishing, and social engineering tactics.
Business email compromise (BEC), or email account compromise (EAC), is a notorious scheme that uses email hacking for potentially huge payouts for attackers. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has described BEC/EAC as “…scams that typically involve one or more fraudsters, who compromise legitimate business email accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques to conduct unauthorized transfers of funds.” The total global losses due to BEC/EAC have reached US$12.5 billion this year, exceeding Trend Micro’s prediction by over $3 billion.
What is notable about BEC/EAC is that, unlike email-based ransomware and other malware-dependent attacks, its operators don’t have to rely entirely on malicious components to defraud victims. Just a few weeks back, a man in Los Angeles was arrested for a BEC/EAC attack that gave his accomplices unauthorized access to the emails of an attorney involved in real estate settlements.The attackers then sent spoofed emails, tricking a purchaser in a real estate transaction into transfering $531,981 to an account of a woman, who, in turn, transferred $60,000 to a fraudulent account.
AI and machine learning for boosting email security
Email hacking — a crucial process in BEC/EAC and other sophisticated schemes — is still a go-to tactic for cybercriminals because email remains a common infection vector for high-risk threats. Since the platform is easily abused, cybercriminals are expected to continue utilizing it in their schemes.
Security technologies with artificial intelligence (AI) can protect users from email attacks. Trend Micro is constantly developing new machine learning (ML) algorithms to examine large volumes of data and to predict if unknown file types are malicious or not. Additionally, expert rules and machine learning can boost the effectiveness of security solutions to help detect and block not just malware-ridden attacks, but also deceptively straightforward scams like BEC/EAC.
Case in point: the Writing Style DNA technology expertly prevents email impersonation by using AI to recognize the DNA of a user’s writing style based on past emails, which it compares to suspected forgeries. A technology that works best against BEC/EAC scams involving compromised legitimate email accounts, it verifies the legitimacy of the email content’s writing style through an ML model that contains the legitimate email sender’s writing characteristics.
Writing Style DNA, which is used by Trend Micro Cloud App Security™ (CAS) and ScanMail™ Suite for Microsoft® Exchange™ (SMEX), also supplements existing BEC protection techniques that use Expert System and ML to analyze email behavior (for example, using a free email service provider) and email intention (for example, payment or urgency).
Along with smart security solutions, cybersecurity awareness and following best practices against email threats can help close security gaps to thwart BEC/EAC scammers and other attackers that abuse email.
Posted in Cybercrime & Digital Threats, Machine Learning, Business Email Compromise, Hacking
Foreseeing a New Era: Cybercriminals Using Machine Learning to Create Highly Advanced Threats
Credential Harvesting Campaign Targets Government Procurement Sites Worldwide
Faster and More Accurate Malware Detection Through Predictive Machine Learning: Correlating Static and Behavioral Features
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2 teens accused of giving 2-year-old a vaping device
Updated: Mon 12:39 PM, Jan 13, 2020
INDIANA COUNTY, Pa. (KDKA/CNN) - State police in Pennsylvania are filing charges against two teenagers who allowed a 2-year-old boy to inhale from a vaping device while they were babysitting him.
Two teens girls accused of giving toddler a vaping device to face child endangerment charge. (Credit: KDKA, CNN)
Investigators say endangering the welfare of children charges are pending against the 18-year-old and 17-year-old who also recorded the incident and posted it to Snapchat.
In the 20 second video, a child put what appears to be a vape pen in his mouth at least twice and begins coughing. The child also falls down and begins to cry while people are heard laughing as it all happens.
State police in Indiana County say the child is just 2 years old and its criminal investigation unit is now looking into the video.
In a tweet Monday morning, police say they have identified the people accused of allowing the child to have the vape pen. Charges are pending against them.
State police say that other than coughing, the child did not display any other visible effects from inhaling from the device, which contained 3% Nicotine and no THC.
Investigators say the boy’s parents as well as children’s services have been notified by police.
Copyright 2020 KDKA via CNN. All rights reserved.
Press Release: Troopers Investigating Vaping Incident Involving Two-Year-Old Child https://t.co/92vBOXmsYr pic.twitter.com/OhRButdsUb
— Troopers Steve Limani & Cliff Greenfield (@PSPTroopAPIO) January 13, 2020
MN woman files $500M lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein Estate
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Knives Out Trailer (2019)
Director: Rian Johnson Cast: Christopher Plummer, Michael Shannon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Daniel Craig, Don Johnson, Frank Oz
Riki Lindhome On Rian Johnson's Take On The 'Whodunit' Genre
Gather (TV Spot)
Ransom Arrives
Toni Collette On What Drew Her To The Role
Noah Segan On The Film's Tone
Jamie Lee Curtis On 'Linda's' Relationship With The Family
Ils Ont Tous Menti (French Bumper)
Katherine Langford On Rian Johnson's Fresh Take On The 'Whodunit' Genre
Ode To The Murder Mystery (Spot)
Get Your Cut-Harlan Thrombey's Will (Spot)
(Dutch Trailer 1 Subtitled)
Chris Evans On The Script
Daniel Craig On What Intrigued Him About The Role
Description: Acclaimed writer and director Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) pays tribute to mystery mastermind Agatha Christie in KNIVES OUT, a fun, modern-day murder mystery where everyone is a suspect. When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death. With an all-star ensemble cast including Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, LaKeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford and Jaeden Martell, KNIVES OUT is a witty and stylish whodunit guaranteed to keep audiences guessing until the very end.
Studio: LionsGate Entertainment
United States Theatrical Wide Release 11/27/2019
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Whats On Twitter
You are here > What's On > Jazz & Meze : AlinaHipHarp
Jazz & Meze : AlinaHipHarp
Peggy's Skylight, 3 George St, Hockley, Nottingham, Notts, NG1 3BH
Peggy's Skylight
Saturday 18 January 2020 | 8pm - 10pm
Internationally renowned harpist Alina Bzhezhinska has a strong reputation for innovation. This time she creates a unique sound on the harp with electronics and loop pedals, supported by Mikele Montolli (bass), Adam Teixeira (drums) and Joel Prime (percussion). Through a combination of original works and covers, she pays homage to some of jazz, funk and hip-hop's greatest innovators.
Her new quartet draws from a variety of influences, including the likes of Dorothy Ashby's 'Afro-harping', Alice Coltrane's spiritual outputs and Sun Ra's free form jazz experimentation; as well as 90's Triphop and Kuti-esque Afrobeat rhythms.
Two years ago Bzhezhinska stormed the UK music scene when her quartet and appeared at the Barbican during the EFG London Jazz Festival alongside Denys Baptiste and Pharoah Sanders - and has been nominated for Best Live Experience of the Year at the 2018 Jazz FM Awards. Later she produced her critically acclaimed album, Inspiration (Ubuntu Music) featuring award winning saxophonist Tony Kofi. She performed at London Jazz Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Royal Albert Hall, Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club and WOMADelaide Festival in Australia.
Encouraged by her collaboration with Kamaal Williams, Shabaka Hatching and Ursula Rucker, she steps out in new jazz territory.
Alina Bzhezhinska – Harp
Mikele Montolli – Electric Bass
Adam Teixeira - Drums
Joel Prime – Percussion
…Bzhezhinska – an artist to watch."
★★★★ Jane Cornwell, Evening Standard"
…Bzhezhinska shares with Alice (Coltrane) a mastery of the jazz harp."
★★★★★ Will Hodgkinson, The Times
Sorry, this event has passed
Watson Fothergill Head Office
Nottingham's leading architect Watson Fothergill has some magnificent buildings within…
Adams & Page Building
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Medical Kidnapping by the State, Forcing Dangerous Treatments on Children
by WakingTimes February 16, 2017
Cassius Methyl, Guest
From the US to Australia, children are being taken away from parents based on intrusive judgements about the way the parents raise them. For reasons ranging from refusing vaccination to homeschooling, the state is stealing children in seemingly increasing frequency.
One important thing to understand is that many hospitals and doctors can no longer be trusted: hospitals have been calling police and CPS on parents, for such things as refusing the dangerous Hepatitis B vaccine, or the vitamin K shot, both given to newborns.
Hospitals and doctors that frankly snitch on parents for refusing allopathic treatment should be astutely avoided and never trusted.
Avoiding a snitch doctor is a critical decision that could save a child’s life. At birth, parents are coerced into accepting vaccination, circumcision, and other potentially harmful procedures.
For example, preservatives in the vitamin K shot include endocrine disrupting polysorbate 80. Injecting an endocrine disruptor directly into a newborn can’t possibly be good. It has been called 20,000 times a decent dose, but the Vitamin K shot is nothing compared to others, such as the Hepatitis B vaccine.
The Hepatitis B vaccine is linked to SIDS and a wide range of adverse effects. Summarized by Mercola:
“When babies die after hep B vaccinations, most of the time their deaths are automatically attributed to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) without investigation into whether the vaccine caused the baby’s sudden death.
When a baby’s death is listed as “SIDS,” rarely does anyone ask about the deceased infant’s vaccination history to find out whether there were symptoms of vaccine reactions before death.
Hepatitis B vaccine as a contributing cause of “sudden infant death” cannot be automatically ruled out if a baby dies suddenly after getting a hepatitis B shot, especially if there were symptoms of a potential vaccine reaction before death such as:
High-pitched screaming or prolonged crying for many hours or days
Collapse/shock (pale skin, blue lips, unresponsiveness)
Excessive sleepiness (failure to feed, baby cannot be easily awakened)
Fever, diarrhea, or vomiting
Hives, rashes, or swelling of the body
Convulsions (jerking of fingers, hands, arms, legs)
Other serious change in mental, emotional, or physical behavior”
The HPV vaccine Gardasil has caused hundreds, if not thousands of deaths, documented in government VAERS vaccine injury reports.
So medical freedom is life and death, but if you tell a cop-calling doctor not to vaccinate your child, you could end up with an even worse situation: your child seized by the state and mandatory vaccination in state custody.
That’s the consequence of trusting doctors who have the audacity to call cops on parents. There’s a simple solution: don’t get in a situation where they could snitch on you. Don’t go to these doctors, and if you know your doctor is a snitch, don’t tell him anything.
This article will summarize 3 cases of medical tyranny. First, let’s look at a dozen other instances of it to illustrate how prevalent it is becoming.
A website run by Health Impact News is called “Medical Kidnap.” It is currently putting in work to expose medical tyranny, featuring dozens upon dozens of stories you can read to understand the full picture including:
“Husband of Retired Missouri Couple Medically Kidnapped – Estate Plundered to Pay for Unwanted Medical Confinement”
“The Crime of Being Poor: The State Takes Away Your Children”
“FBI Investigates Baby Kidnapped from Couple in Alabama Who Declined Birth Certificate and SSN”
“2 Year Old South Carolina Child Medically Kidnapped is Sexually Abused by Nurse in Foster Care”
“Homeschool Arkansas Dad Files Federal Lawsuit Against Officials Who Kidnapped His Children”
“Should Foster Children who Become Parents as Adults Automatically Have Their Children Seized? Alabama Mother Fights to Get Children Back”
“Alabama Grandparents of 14 Year Old Rape Victim and Baby Still Not Allowed Contact with Own Grandchildren Raised in Their Home”
“Nurse Vaccinated During Pregnancy with Flu Shot Accused of Shaken Baby Syndrome”
“Children Taken from Military Dad Using Medical Marijuana for PTSD to be Returned”
“Medically Kidnapped Texas Teen Suffers Seizures, Medical Neglect in State Care”
“Medical Kidnap of Children from Former Amish Mother Reveals History of Abuse in One Pennsylvania Amish Community”
“Dr. Waney Squier Speaks out on Faulty Shaken Baby Science Used to Condemn the Innocent”
“New California Proposed Bill to Increase Government Seizure of Children from Families?”
These are 3 cases of medical tyranny.
1. Cini Walker’s son: kidnapped by the state of Australia, forced to consume drugs and dairy which he is allergic to: has seizures exacerbated by forced medical treatment
(image credit: Cini Walker)
Cini Walker’s son is being subject to forced medical treatment. The Australian version of CPS, DCP have put him in a situation where he is being drugged, an the hospital has forced him to eat dairy, which he is allergic to. He is being forced to do whatever the hospital wants with no regard for how the mother feels.
Cini Walker posted videos that got hundreds of thousands of views on Facebook, such as this one: a teary, heartfelt plea for freedom. She just wants freedom with her son, she understands he is allergic to dairy and it makes his seizures worse. The hospital feeds him drugs involuntarily and dairy regardless.
In the video she says:
“They’re destroying everything that he could have. He doesn’t need this stress, he doesn’t need to be back in the hospital where he knows, he knows that place, he hates it. I hate watching my son be drugged up, and then he doesn’t wake up because he’s in a coma because of the medications they gave him.”
Her original video can be found here, or you could watch it on YouTube below. It’s an important reminder of what we’re headed for collectively if we allow the state to use force against us for anything.
For any reason conceivable, any disagreement with the medical establishment or the state, just like that the Department for Child Protection or American CPS could decide a parent does not in fact own their child.
2. Justina Pelletier: diagnosed with mitochondrial disease, later taken and abused in medical facility for allegedly fictitious illness
(image credit: NY Daily News)
In 2013, Justina Pelletier was visiting hospitals with her parents, trying to figure out why she had difficulty performing basic tasks such as walking and eating.
She received a diagnosis for a mitochondrial disease at Tufts Medical Center. However, at the Boston Children’s Hospital, their pursuit for help turned into a nightmare.
BCH rejected the mitochondrial diagnosis, insisting it was all in her head. Boston Children’s Hospital snitched on her parents for daring to have a dissenting opinion from theirs.
They filed a “medical child abuse complaint” against Justina’s parents, and the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (or CPS) took her into “emergency custody” in 2013.
What ensued was a nightmare. While Justina was clearly physically incapable of functioning in normal ways, the hospital would leave her to try and crawl out of a situation when she couldn’t walk, laugh at her, deny her medicine, and worse.
An article from Life News describes the transition:
“In her sixteen months under the ‘care’ of the state, Justina Pelletier’s health deteriorated from being a vibrant figure skater to being confined to a wheelchair, unable to walk on her own.”
Well summarized by Photography is Not a Crime:
“While at Bader 5, Justina’s painkillers were stopped, which left her in agony. She was deprived of her heart medication, which left her tachycardic. She was told she was a danger to herself, locked in a room and told her family, whose visitation was limited to an hour a week, was part of the problem.
The Pelletiers’ visitation was limited to an hour a week. Visits with their daughter were monitored closely by staff who would terminate phone calls or abruptly end a visit if Justina or her parents spoke about her medical or custody issues.
Justina began to sneak notes, hidden in origami, to tell her family what she wasn’t allowed to say about what was happening to her inside BCH.
Staff at the hospital pushed her to do things she was physically incapable of, refusing to acknowledge her disease. She was laughed at after being left on the toilet for hours, locked secluded in a bare room when she couldn’t void her bowels or sometimes left in a hallway for days because staff refused to believe she could not wheel herself elsewhere.
When she was moved, staff dragged her feet on the floor, ripping her toenails. Justina’s legs were swelled, her hair fell out and her gums receded. She got pneumonia twice. The Pelletiers were never informed.
This continued for over 11 months at BCH.
When the Pelletiers spoke to media pressing for the release of their daughter, Judge Joseph F. Johnston (whose picture has mysteriously disappeared from the internet) placed a gag order on them, specifically prohibiting the parents from speaking to journalists about their daughter’s forced custody or medical situation lest they be jailed.
BCH psych staff and CPS workers told the Pelletiers Justina would never return unless they accepted the diagnosis.”
She made this video begging to go home.
One person aware of the abuses at BCH, cyber defense expert and Anonymous hacktivist Martin Gottesfeld is still on a hunger strike, incarcerated for cyber attacks against the corrupt hospital.
An article about Martin Gottesfeld from Photography is Not a Crime is titled “U.S. Attorney Targets Activist who Helped Save 14-Year-Old From Torture and is Now on Two-Month Hunger Strike.”
Justina Pelletier won custody with her parents in June 2014. She and her family post updates from their popular Facebook page “A Miracle for Justina” which you can find at this link.
They are in the process of suing Boston Children’s Hospital.
3. Cassandra Callender: forced to undergo chemo while barred from contact with anyone, now has lung cancer
(image credit: Medical Kidnap)
Cassandra Callender was kidnapped by the state as a teenager, and forced to be injected with chemo drugs for 5 months. She vehemently opposed chemo, so the door to her hospital room was “guarded.”
She was not allowed a phone or visitors, while her potential last days were suffered without freedom.
She had Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In a supreme court case, Assistant Attorney General John Tucker dismissively claimed her mother was the source for her opposition to chemo, as if that makes her right any less valid. The decision that she should be forced to have chemo set a dangerous precedent.
Cassandra spoke on how refusing it was her own idea, and her mother’s acceptance of the decision, saying:
“She told me as a parent that she didn’t want to lose her only daughter and that we would get through the chemo, but that wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to try anything else that wasn’t as potentially harmful as chemo. Eventually she chose to not fight with me about it. She chose to stand by me.”
According to an article from Real Farmacy:
“While undergoing a painful life and death procedure with the lowest cure statistic of all, not having the support of her friends and mother for months made it worse. One wonders if mainstream oncologists have any awareness of how emotional and psychological duress hampers healing.
The way she was treated is the stuff of horror movies or prisoner of war torture documentaries. She had resisted getting a portacath or “port”, or a totally implantable venous access device (TIVAD) surgically implanted in her chest before being locked away in a hospital room.
Under enormous legal pressures, she had agreed to chemo at the time. But with that threat she ran away from home for a week.
Then she was taken into guarded custody in the hospital after returning home to avoid her mother’s arrest. The time came for her surgical chemo pathway insertion and she strongly physically resisted. Then she was literally strapped in and put under, just like the movies. When she came to, she saw the tube protruding from her chest.
In order to overcome Cassandra’s continual resistance, they said they would sedate her in order to give IV her chemo. That would require not eating for 12 hours prior. Cassandra opted to being allowed to eat, another method that forced her compliance, food deprivation. With each chemo treatment, she declared that she did not consent. No worries, the DCF signed for her!”
People such as alternative media writer John Vibes are curing their lymphoma the natural way with cannabis, B17 and similar treatments. Hayley Willar was cured of leukemia with cannabis oil after quitting chemo. So while authorities gloated that Cassandra had been cured of lymphoma due to the forced chemo, she now has lung cancer instead.
Continuing from the Real Farmacy article:
“To help make matters worse, the hospital forced constant antibiotic dosing on her. Could be why she gained weight now. Most of her probiotic microbes were nuked.
Cassandra’s remission was short lived, of course. She was diagnosed with lung cancer within a year of her release from her local medical mafia dungeon of forced medical experimentation. Interestingly, the “port” of chemo entry was her chest! She is undergoing therapy in a Mexican clinic that was represented in Ty Bollinger’s The Truth About Cancer internet TV series.
You can help Cassandra financially with the Go Fund, which was originally set up for attorney’s fees to go after those involved with her forced “care”. But that was before her “relapse”. Here’s Cassandra’s Go Fund Me.”
Mothers such as Dayna Willar have accepted vaccinating their children, only to have her daughter end up with leukemia (a common effect of Gardasil, as other people such as Chace Topperwein have gotten this specific kind of cancer after receiving it). Only by defying medical advice did Dayna cure her daughter Hayley’s cancer with cannabis oil.
Parents should have a natural right to refuse chemo, or vaccination for their children, but laws are being passed all over the US and the world to force it. They mandate that children receive up to 40 doses of vaccines to attend school, punish parents who refuse them, ect.
Bill SB18 hints toward granting the state of California an ability to take children from parents for dissenting opinions on health. This is one of many bills circulating in the US and around the world, surely a product of money: the bill’s sponsor, Senator Richard Pan, needs his financial ties disclosed.
In response, us people have to fight back hard. This article was a reminder of how bad it could get if we don’t.
Cassius Methyl is a researcher and writer from Sacramento, California. He is the founder of Era of Wisdom, writer/director of the documentary “Toddlers on Amphetamine: History of Big Pharma and the Major Players,” and a writer in the alternative media since 2013 at the age of 17. He focuses primarily on identifying the exact individuals, institutions, and entities responsible for various forms of human slavery and control, particularly chemicals and more insidious forms of hegemony: identifying exactly who damages our well being and working toward independence from those entities, whether they are corporate, government, or institutional.
This article (Medical Kidnapping by the State, Forcing Dangerous Treatments on Kids) was originally created and published by The Mind Unleashed and is re-posted here with permission.
cancerCPSmedical kidnappingmedical tyrannyvaccines
Power of the People – From Encaged to Outraged
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Archive for date: November 20th, 2019
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‘They’re Going to Dry Up’: Debate Erupts Over Plan to Move Water From Farmland to Suburbs
November 20, 2019 /in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Gabriella Medina /azcentralby Ian James
A private company and the town of Queen Creek are proposing a water deal that would leave 485 acres of farmland permanently dry near the Colorado River and send the water used on that land to the fast-growing Phoenix suburb.
The company GSC Farm LLC is seeking to sell its annual entitlement of 2,083 acre-feet of Colorado River water — about 678 million gallons — to Queen Creek for a one-time payment of $21 million. The town and the company asked regulators at the Arizona Department of Water Resources to endorse the water transfer, and the agency is holding a series of four meetings this week to hear comments on the proposal.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png 0 0 Gabriella Medina https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png Gabriella Medina2019-11-20 09:45:012019-11-25 15:06:55‘They’re Going to Dry Up’: Debate Erupts Over Plan to Move Water From Farmland to Suburbs
Newsom Blocks New California Fracking Pending Scientific Review
November 20, 2019 /in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Gabriella Medina /Los Angeles Timesby Phil Willon
In a victory for critics of California’s oil drilling industry, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday stopped the approval of new hydraulic fracturing in the state until the permits for those projects can be reviewed by an independent panel of scientists.
Newsom also imposed a moratorium on new permits for steam-injected oil drilling, another extraction method opposed by environmentalists that was linked to a massive petroleum spill in Kern County over the summer.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png 0 0 Gabriella Medina https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png Gabriella Medina2019-11-20 09:44:062019-11-22 06:33:31Newsom Blocks New California Fracking Pending Scientific Review
EPA Releases Review Protocol For PFAS
November 20, 2019 /in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Gabriella Medina /Water Onlineby Peter Chawaga
Contamination of drinking water from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may be the nation’s most pressing drinking water quality issue. With many calling for the expedited banning and removal of PFAS in water sources, a new U.S. EPA procedure to better assess them may be a concrete step in that direction.
“The US EPA has published a systemic review protocol for the toxicity assessment of five per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and is now seeking the public’s input on its approach during a 45-day comment period,” according to Chemical Watch.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png 0 0 Gabriella Medina https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png Gabriella Medina2019-11-20 09:43:312019-11-22 06:33:42EPA Releases Review Protocol For PFAS
‘Round After Round’ of Rain Will Drench San Diego County Into Wednesday Night
November 20, 2019 /in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Gabriella Medina /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins
San Diego County will experience a second day of heavy rain Wednesday from a cold storm out of the north that tapped into tropical moisture from the south as it surged into Southern California, according to the National Weather Service.
The entire region will get soaked, and all areas are under a flash flood watch. But the rain will be heaviest in northern and central San Diego County, especially along Interstate 15, from roughly Escondido north to the county line, forecasters say.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png 0 0 Gabriella Medina https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png Gabriella Medina2019-11-20 09:41:322019-11-25 15:07:01‘Round After Round’ of Rain Will Drench San Diego County Into Wednesday Night
MarketInk: Canale, Mixte Southwest Shine at Annual PRSA Bernays Awards
November 20, 2019 /in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Gabriella Medina /Times of San Diegoby Rick Griffin Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority
Life sciences public relations firm Canale Communications received 14 awards, including a Best of Show distinction, at the recent 2019 Edward L. Bernays Mark of Excellence awards program presented by the Public Relations Society of America’s San Diego-Imperial Counties chapter.
A total of 73 awards were presented Nov. 7 at the Andaz San Diego Hyatt Hotel. Mixte Communications received 10 awards, including a Best of Show and Special Award for PR Team of the Year. Another top winner of the evening was public affairs firm Southwest Strategies with nine awards.
Four special awards were presented, including:
Deborah Baker PR Professional of the Year Award — Denise Vedder, San Diego County Water Authority
Eva Irving Community Service Award — Jean Walcher, J. Walcher Communications
2019 Professional of the Year Award — Cambria Fuqua, Canale Communications
Otto Bos Hall of Fame Award — Marlee J. Ehrenfeld, MIG
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png 0 0 Gabriella Medina https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png Gabriella Medina2019-11-20 09:31:202019-11-25 15:07:07MarketInk: Canale, Mixte Southwest Shine at Annual PRSA Bernays Awards
California Finally Gets Rain, But Fire Threat Far From Over as 350,000 Face Power Outages
November 20, 2019 /in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Gabriella Medina /USA Todayby John Bacon
Parts of Southern California were under a flash flood watch Wednesday as areas of the southwest saw the first significant rainfall of a delayed wet season that fueled wildfires and forced intermittent power cutoffs to millions of residents.
The storm system brought heavy rain to portions of Arizona, and Phoenix could get 2 inches of rain before the storm ends there on Thursday. Prior to this storm, Sky Harbor International Airport had recorded only 3.68 inches for the entire year.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png 0 0 Gabriella Medina https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png Gabriella Medina2019-11-20 09:29:152019-11-24 08:18:33California Finally Gets Rain, But Fire Threat Far From Over as 350,000 Face Power Outages
Water Reservoirs Below Average in Cascades
November 20, 2019 /in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Gabriella Medina /Capital Pressby Dan Wheat
Coming off a summer of moderate drought with some crop losses, the five Cascade Mountain reservoirs serving irrigators in the Yakima Basin have less water than normal and the winter snowpack outlook is uncertain.
“We are in an El Nino neutral which would mean normal conditions and we would be fairly optimistic. No one has been calling for a dry or mild winter so we have no cause to think it will be,” said Chris Lynch, hydrologist for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Yakima. However, he added, a warm water body off the Gulf of Alaska, reminiscent of one there prior to the drought of 2015, could result in more moderate temperatures and less snow.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png 0 0 Gabriella Medina https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png Gabriella Medina2019-11-20 09:22:122019-11-24 08:18:28Water Reservoirs Below Average in Cascades
Full Funding of Land Water Conservation Fund Passes Key Senate Hurdle
November 20, 2019 /in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Gabriella Medina /The Hillby Miranda Green
A key Senate panel has voted to fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a move that conservation groups see as a significant victory. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee voted Tuesday morning to permanently authorize and completely fund the program, which was established in 1964 to help with outdoor projects on public lands.
The bill passed with bipartisan support out of the committee and now faces a full floor vote. The LWCF, which was permanently reauthorized this spring, receives most of its revenue from on- and offshore oil and gas drilling.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png 0 0 Gabriella Medina https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png Gabriella Medina2019-11-20 09:20:372019-11-24 08:18:22Full Funding of Land Water Conservation Fund Passes Key Senate Hurdle
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MiVT: Pika Works
By Scott Fleishman |
Posted: Mon 7:08 PM, Oct 08, 2018
ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. (WCAX) She's been to countries all over the world, taking pictures of animals at every stop. Those photos serve as inspiration for two-decades worth of paintings that are Made in Vermont.
Joan MacKenzie goes through thousands of pictures she snapped during her latest trip to pick the subject of her next painting.
"Oh my gosh, the elephants eating the thorne bushes," MacKenzie said. "I guess I like to feel an interaction somehow between the animal and myself. They're looking at me a certain way."
The Essex Junction artist has taken photos of animals in Kenya, Costa Rica and Italy.
""I always loved animals. When I was a kid I used to have stuffed animals rather than dolls," MacKenzie said.
But It was while hiking in the Western part of the U.S. more than 20 years ago where she discovered the animal for which her business is named -- the pika. The pika is part of the rabbit family, about the size of a hamster with large ears and no visible tail. They live in rock piles in the mountains.
"When you're hiking along you can hear them. It's like fishing. You sit by the side of the trail. You've heard a pika and you wait until they come out and try to get their picture," MacKenzie said.
She started painting the photos of her pikas and putting them on postcards. "But at some point, it just wasn't enough color for me," she said.
After meeting a couple of moose in Underhill, MacKenzie moved on to other animals and the postcards expanded to prints. She's also produced a good share of pet portraits. "And it's been something that's really been quite fun, because somehow I've been able to capture something about the animal and every commission has gone okay," she said.
Most of the unframed prints go for $30. Originals can range from $90 to $600. They can be found through her website, but Pika Works will also be at the Essex Fall craft show at the end of the month and the Vermont handcrafters show in South Burlington in November.
"Every picture that I do pops back a memory from sometime, someplace," MacKenzie said. "She's a very sweet, Italian cow that I met near Ortisei. I walked right up to her, I touched her head and I fell in love with her furry ears."
An animal-loving traveler on a 20-year journey with her business -- paintings, each with a story to tell.
MiVT: Heart Grown Wild
MiVT: Tablelegs.com
MiVT: Snipe Ireland Soaps
MiVT: Across the Grain Pottery
MiVT: Local Sweet
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