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China: Private Client 2020
The ICLG to: Private Client Laws and Regulations - China covers common issues in private client laws – including pre-entry tax planning, connection factors, taxation issues on inward investment, succession planning, trusts and foundations, immigration issues and tax treaties – in 33 jurisdictions
ICLG.com > Practice Areas > Private Client > China
Chapter Content Free Access
Connection Factors
General Taxation Regime
Pre-entry Tax Planning
Taxation Issues on Inward Investment
Taxation of Corporate Vehicles
Matrimonial Issues
Reporting Requirements/Privacy
1. Connection Factors
1.1 To what extent is domicile or habitual residence relevant in determining liability to taxation in your jurisdiction?
It is one of the most important tests under the Chinese individual income tax law to determine the tax liabilities of an individual. Individuals who have a domicile in China will be recognised as Chinese tax residents and are subject to Chinese individual income tax (“IIT”) on income sourced from inside and outside China.
1.2 If domicile or habitual residence is relevant, how is it defined for taxation purposes?
Under the Chinese IIT Law, an individual with a domicile refers to individuals who habitually reside in China due to their household registration, family, or economic interests.
1.3 To what extent is residence relevant in determining liability to taxation in your jurisdiction?
Under the current tax law, if an individual without domicile in China resides in China for more than 183 days in a calendar year, such individual will also be recognised as a Chinese tax resident and that year will be a countable year for the “6-year rule”. Meeting the “6-year rule” may trigger the global taxation on tax residents without domicile in China. Generally, if an individual without domicile in China accumulates six consecutive countable years, and does not take a single trip outside China for more than 30 days, then the “6-year rule” will be met and the individual will be subject to Chinese IIT on the global income generated from the seventh countable year, in which such individual is still a tax resident by residing in China for over 183 days. Please note that the six-year clock starts ticking from 2019, and any stays before 2019 will be disregarded. This means the foreign-sourced income of a non-domiciled individual will not be taxed in China before 2025 in any case.
1.4 If residence is relevant, how is it defined for taxation purposes?
Residence in China means physical presence under the Chinese IIT rules.
1.5 To what extent is nationality relevant in determining liability to taxation in your jurisdiction?
Generally, for tax purposes, residence matters. A PRC citizen is automatically considered as a PRC tax resident. Foreign nationals are generally considered as non-tax residents, unless they meet the residence rules.
1.6 If nationality is relevant, how is it defined for taxation purposes?
This is not applicable in China.
1.7 What other connecting factors (if any) are relevant in determining a person’s liability to tax in your jurisdiction?
The source of income would also be a factor when determining a person’s tax liabilities. Individuals who are not Chinese tax resident (i.e., do not have a domicile in China, and individuals who do not have a domicile in China but have resided in China for less than one year) will be subject to Chinese IIT on income sourced from China.
2. General Taxation Regime
2.1 What gift, estate or wealth taxes apply that are relevant to persons becoming established in your jurisdiction?
China does not levy gift, estate or wealth taxes.
2.2 How and to what extent are persons who become established in your jurisdiction liable to income and capital gains tax?
An individual will be liable for Chinese IIT if he/she derives income sourced from China. Different types of income will be subject to different tax rates and different tax calculation methods. For example, salary and wage income would be taxed at a progressive rate from 3% to 45% (after deduction of allowed items), while the capital gains from the transfer of taxable assets in China would be taxed at 20%.
2.3 What other direct taxes (if any) apply to persons who become established in your jurisdiction?
There are no other direct taxes.
2.4 What indirect taxes (sales taxes/VAT and customs & excise duties) apply to persons becoming established in your jurisdiction?
Depending on the nature of the income, certain indirect taxes may be levied in China, including VAT, land appreciation tax, deed tax, excise tax, etc. For example, if an individual provides services and obtains service income, the service income is subject to VAT in China.
2.5 Are there any anti-avoidance taxation provisions that apply to the offshore arrangements of persons who have become established in your jurisdiction?
The current IIT Law has included the anti-avoidance provisions, including the arm’s length principle for related party transactions, controlled foreign company rules and the general anti-avoidance rules.
2.6 Is there any general anti-avoidance or anti-abuse rule to counteract tax advantages?
Yes, the current IIT Law has included provisions regulating individuals using structures that lack a reasonable commercial purpose to obtain improper tax benefits, and provides the tax authority with the authority to make tax adjustments accordingly.
2.7 Are there any arrangements in place in your jurisdiction for the disclosure of aggressive tax planning schemes?
There are no such arrangements in place.
3. Pre-entry Tax Planning
3.1 In your jurisdiction, what pre-entry estate, gift and/or wealth tax planning can be undertaken?
This is not applicable, as China does not levy estate, gift or wealth taxes.
3.2 In your jurisdiction, what pre-entry income and capital gains tax planning can be undertaken?
There is no standard pre-entry tax planning in China, and situations should be analysed on a case-by-case basis. Typical planning strategies would include avoiding the residence status and minimising China-sourced taxable income.
3.3 In your jurisdiction, can pre-entry planning be undertaken for any other taxes?
There is no special pre-entry tax planning in China.
4. Taxation Issues on Inward Investment
4.1 What liabilities are there to tax on the acquisition, holding or disposal of, or receipt of income from investments in your jurisdiction?
The tax treatment may vary depending on the type of investment.
For equity investment in a private Chinese company, the investor would be subject to: (a) stamp duty for the purchase and sale of shares; (b) no taxes for holding the shares; and (c) income taxes on the dividends distributed by the Chinese company and on the capital gains derived from the disposal of the shares.
For investment in real estate in China, an investor may be subject to: (a) stamp duty and deed tax for the purchase of real estate; (b) real estate tax and land use tax for holding the real estate; and (c) income taxes, VAT, land appreciation tax and stamp duty for the sale of real estate. Tax concessions may be granted where applicable.
4.2 What taxes are there on the importation of assets into your jurisdiction, including excise taxes?
Goods imported into China are generally subject to Chinese VAT and customs duties. Luxury goods imported into China, such as cigarettes, wines, cosmetics, etc., are further subject to consumption taxes. The rates of the applicable taxes may vary depending on the HS code of the specific goods/assets.
4.3 Are there any particular tax issues in relation to the purchase of residential properties?
Please refer to the tax implications on the purchase of real estate in question 4.1. Purchase of residential properties may enjoy certain tax concessions in China (for example, a 50% deduction for deed tax if the residential properties meet the stipulated conditions).
5. Taxation of Corporate Vehicles
5.1 What is the test for a corporation to be taxable in your jurisdiction?
The test may vary for different types of taxes.
For example, for the corporate income tax (“CIT”), enterprises that derive income from the territory of China are subject to Chinese CIT.
Resident enterprises refer to enterprises that are established in China or have their effective management body inside China. Resident enterprises are subject to Chinese CIT for their global income.
Non-resident enterprises refer to enterprises that are not established in China and whose effective management body is located outside China, but have established agencies or offices in China, or have no agencies or offices in China but derive income from China. Non-resident enterprises are subject to Chinese CIT for their income sourced from China.
5.2 What are the main tax liabilities payable by a corporation which is subject to tax in your jurisdiction?
Depending on the activities carried out by the corporation, it may be subject to CIT, VAT, custom duties, real estate taxes, etc.
5.3 How are branches of foreign corporations taxed in your jurisdiction?
Normally, branches of foreign corporations established in China (mostly in the form of representative offices, except for banks) are subject to the same taxes as those applicable to a Chinese company, including CIT, VAT, etc. However, taxation on the branches of foreign corporations may be levied on a deemed profit basis even in branches that have not actually generated any profits. In case the branches cannot provide accurate accounting records for both the revenues and costs, the Chinese tax authority would assess the profits attributable to the branches based on a deemed profit rate applied on either the revenue or the costs.
6. Tax Treaties
6.1 Has your jurisdiction entered into income tax and capital gains tax treaties and, if so, what is their impact?
China has entered into tax treaties for the avoidance of double taxation with 107 jurisdictions, as well as a double tax arrangement with the Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Special Regions. Most of the treaties and arrangements have taken effect. These tax treaties may help avoid double taxation of the same taxpayer in the relevant jurisdictions and China.
6.2 Do the income tax and capital gains tax treaties generally follow the OECD or another model?
Yes, the treaties entered into by China follow the OECD double tax treaty model. However, China is not a Member State of OECD and has its own regulations and interpretations of the treaty language.
6.3 Has your jurisdiction entered into estate and gift tax treaties and, if so, what is their impact?
China does not levy estate or gift taxes, and no such treaties exist.
6.4 Do the estate or gift tax treaties generally follow the OECD or another model?
7. Succession Planning
7.1 What are the relevant private international law (conflict of law) rules on succession and wills, including tests of essential validity and formal validity in your jurisdiction?
For intestate successions, the law of the habitual residence of the decedent at the time of death shall apply. However, for the intestate inheritance of immovable assets, the law where the immovable assets are located shall apply.
For the essential validity of a will, the law of the testator’s nationality or the law of the testator’s habitual residence at the time of death shall apply.
For the format of wills, a will shall be valid if it is in compliance with any of the following laws:
the law of the habitual residence at the time of testator’s death or at the time the will is made;
the law of the testator’s nationality at the time of testator’s death or at the time the will is made; or
the law of the place where the will is made.
7.2 Are there particular rules that apply to real estate held in your jurisdiction or elsewhere?
For the property rights of real estate, the laws of the place in which the real estate is located shall apply.
For the intestate inheritance of real estate, the laws where the real estate is located shall apply.
7.3 What rules exist in your jurisdiction which restrict testamentary freedom?
According to article 19 of the Law of Succession of the People’s Republic of China, “reservation of a necessary portion of an estate shall be made in a will for a successor who neither can work nor has a source of income”. Furthermore, the content of a will shall respect social moral principles and shall not harm the common interests of society.
8. Trusts and Foundations
8.1 Are trusts recognised/permitted in your jurisdiction?
Yes, trusts are recognised and permitted in China.
8.2 How are trusts/settlors/beneficiaries taxed in your jurisdiction?
There are no special tax rules for trusts/settlors/beneficiaries. They would be subject to general rules and be taxed in China based on their status, activities, income sources and income types, etc.
8.3 How are trusts affected by succession and forced heirship rules in your jurisdiction?
After a trust has been set up, if the settlor is the only beneficiary when the settlor dies, the trust shall terminate and the trust property shall be considered as the settlor’s estate for succession. If the settlor is not the only beneficiary when the settlor dies, the trust shall continue to exist and the trust assets shall not be considered as the settlor’s estate for succession; however, the deceased settlor’s right as a beneficiary shall be estate for succession.
If the trust property is considered as the settlor’s estate for succession, it will be subject to forced heirship rules; otherwise, it will not be affected by forced heirship rules. Article 19 of the Law of Succession of the People’s Republic of China states the definition of Chinese forced heirship rules as “reservation of a necessary portion of an estate shall be made in a will for a successor who neither can work nor has a source of income”.
8.4 Are private foundations recognised/permitted in your jurisdiction?
Yes. Private foundations are permitted in mainland China, but only for certain specific purposes, such as for public welfare. Moreover, private foundations are subject to registration requirement with governing authorities.
8.5 How are foundations/founders/beneficiaries taxed in your jurisdiction?
There are no special tax rules for foundations/founders/beneficiaries. They would be subject to general rules and be taxed in China based on their status, activities, income sources and income types, etc.
8.6 How are foundations affected by succession and forced heirship rules in your jurisdiction?
The assets will not be affected by succession and forced heirship rules if they have been transferred from the donor to the foundation.
9. Matrimonial Issues
9.1 Are civil partnerships/same-sex marriages permitted/recognised in your jurisdiction?
The PRC law does expressly define civil partnerships; however, more general civil laws, such as the contract law, the tort law, etc., may apply to the existing civil partnership.
Same-sex marriages are not permitted.
9.2 What matrimonial property regimes are permitted/recognised in your jurisdiction?
China’s default matrimonial property regime is found in the Marriage Law of the People’s Republic of China. As a default, matrimonial property will be jointly owned by the husband and wife. A couple may opt out of the matrimonial property regime with a pre- or post-nuptial agreement. Where an agreement does not cover assets or income, the default rules will apply.
9.3 Are pre-/post-marital agreements/marriage contracts permitted/recognised in your jurisdiction?
Yes. The husband and the wife may conclude a pre- or post-nuptial agreement regarding the ownership of marital assets, so long as the agreement respects social moral principles and does not harm the common interests of society or disturb social economic order.
9.4 What are the main principles which will apply in your jurisdiction in relation to financial provision on divorce?
According to the Marriage Law of the People’s Republic of China, at the time of divorce, the husband and wife shall seek an agreement regarding the disposition of their jointly possessed property. If they fail to reach an agreement, the People’s Court shall, on the basis of the actual circumstances of the property and on the principle of taking into consideration the rights and interests of the child and the wife, make a judgment. In practice, the community assets of the couple are likely to be split up on 50:50 basis.
10. Immigration Issues
10.1 What restrictions or qualifications does your jurisdiction impose for entry into the country?
Generally, foreigners who enter China shall hold a valid visa, such as a diplomatic visa, courtesy visa, official visa or ordinary visa. However, visas shall not be issued to:
foreigners who are deported or repatriated from China and the banned period for disembarkation has not expired;
foreigners with severe mental disorders, infectious tuberculosis or any other contagious diseases which may cause significant harm to public health;
foreigners who may harm the national security and interests of China, disrupt public order or foreigners who engage in other illegal criminal activities;
foreigners who commit fraud in the visa application process or are unable to secure the expenses required for their stay in China; or
foreigners who are unable to submit the relevant materials required by the visa issuing authorities.
In addition, visas will not be issued if the visa issuing authorities deem that visa issuance is not advisable.
China also has a transit visa option available in certain cities where a visa can be issued on arrival where the applicant has an outbound ticket to a third country (not the country from which they arrived).
10.2 Does your jurisdiction have any investor and/or other special categories for entry?
China offers a number of visas for entry to China, including tourism, business, work and family visits. The business visa would be appropriate for attending business conferences, meetings to discuss business deals, visiting factories, discussing potential investments, etc. To work in China, an employment visa would be the proper visa.
In addition, China allows for non-Chinese nationals to apply for permanent residence in China through investments, family relationships or based on special talents or contributions. The requirements for each different category are distinct.
10.3 What are the requirements in your jurisdiction in order to qualify for nationality?
Foreign or stateless people willing to abide by the constitution and laws of China, and fulfilling one of the following criteria, can apply for Chinese nationality:
they have Chinese relatives;
they are settled in China; or
other proper reasons.
China does not recognise dual nationality. A person whose application for naturalisation as a Chinese national has been approved shall not retain foreign nationality, subject to the laws regarding renunciation of nationality of that country.
10.4 Are there any taxation implications in obtaining nationality in your jurisdiction?
Becoming a Chinese national could subject an individual’s global income to Chinese individual income tax.
10.5 Are there any special tax/immigration/citizenship programmes designed to attract foreigners to become resident in your jurisdiction?
On February 18, 2016, Opinions on Strengthening the Administration of Permanent Residence Services for Foreigners was released to strengthen the administration of permanent residence services for foreigners, showing a positive attitude to attract qualified foreigners to be resident in China, even though currently there is no specific programme.
11. Reporting Requirements/Privacy
11.1 What automatic exchange of information agreements has your jurisdiction entered into with other countries?
China now follows the common reporting standards (“CRS”), and has participated in the first automatic information exchange since September 2018.
11.2 What reporting requirements are imposed by domestic law in your jurisdiction in respect of structures outside your jurisdiction with which a person in your jurisdiction is involved?
In the enforcement of the CRS, the financial institutions in China are required to collect and report the required account information based on the resident status of the account holders.
Under the current CIT laws and regulations, transactions that involve an “indirect” transfer of interests in the Chinese taxable properties are encouraged to be reported to the Chinese tax authority and a voluntary reporting may save the penalty interest levied on the taxes applicable to such indirect transfer (if any).
The same indirect tax rules are included in the draft implementing rules for the new IIT Law and whether an individual seller would be required to perform any reporting still remains to be seen.
11.3 Are there any public registers of owners/beneficial owners/trustees/board members of, or of other persons with significant control or influence over companies, foundations or trusts established or resident in your jurisdiction?
In mainland China, the Ministry of Commerce (applicable to foreign invested companies) and the Administration for Market Regulation are in charge of company registration. The registration files include information of legal representatives, shareholders, directors, supervisors and general managers, whose name will be published on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publication System. Such system is available for access by the general public. As for the listed companies, they are required to disclose the actual controller through the platform of China Securities Regulatory Commission.
To set up a foundation, the registration administration department requires certain information, including a list of the directors, and the details of its proposed chairman, vice-chairman and the general secretary.
To set up a trust or conduct trust business, the trust is required to be registered with China Trust Registration Co., Ltd. The information of parties to a trust, including settlers, trustees and beneficiaries, shall be disclosed.
The authors would like to thank Charles Q. Z. Zhao, senior associate at MWE China Law Offices, for his invaluable assistance in the preparation of this chapter.
Tel: +86 21 6105 0500 / Email: czhao@mwechinalaw.com
Jacqueline Cai
MWE China Law Offices
Robbie Chen
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The Tennessee Volunteers football team represents the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The Vols compete in the Eastern Division of the SEC in the NCAA. The team played their first season in 1891 and have a combined record of 804-361-53 ranking them tenth on the list of all-time won-lost records and eighth on the by-victories list for college football programs. They're also second on the all-time win/loss list of SEC programs which makes them one of the most successful football programs in NCAA history. The Vols all-time ranking in bowl appearances is third and sixth in all-time bowl victories, most notably four Sugar Bowls, three Cotton Bowls, an Orange Bowl and a Fiesta Bowl. They boast 16 conference championships and six national titles in their history and their last national championship was in the 1998 college football season.
The Vols play at historic Neyland Stadium, where Tennessee has an all-time winning record of 445 games, the highest home-field total in college football history for any school in the nation at its current home venue. Additionally, its 102,455 seat capacity makes Neyland the nation's fourth largest stadium. The team is currently coached by Butch Jones.
Most people think "Rocky Top" is the official Tennessee fight song, but it's not. "Down the Field" is the official fight song. It is, however, the most popular in use by the "Pride of the Southland Marching Band." It's also widely recognized as one of the most hated by opponents in collegiate sports.
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October 13, 2015 By Fausta
Ecuador: Assange’s police guard removed
Julian Assange: British police end round-the-clock guard at Ecuador embassy
British police say they will no longer stand guard outside London’s Ecuadorian embassy where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange took refuge in 2012.
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) said it had “withdrawn the physical presence of officers from outside the embassy” but would strengthen a “covert plan” to prevent his departure.
“The operation to arrest Julian Assange does however continue and should he leave the embassy the MPS will make every effort to arrest him,” it said.
Swedish prosecutors want to question Mr Assange about a rape claim, which carries a 10-year statute of limitations that expires in 2020.
The 44-year-old Australian also fears that if he leaves he could eventually face extradition to the United States and a trial over the leak of hundreds of thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents in 2010.
Business Insider’s headline, later changed, referred to Assange’s embassy lodgings as a “>bolt-hole.
Filed Under: Ecuador, England, London Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Julian Assange, Wikileaks
August 10, 2011 By Fausta
London riots: the shopkeepers fight back
The people who actually work for a living are fighting back the mob,
London riots: Neighbours mount anti-gang patrols amid fears of far-right agitation
Homeowners and shopkeepers took to the streets last night to protect their neighbourhoods from the gangs amid concerns far-right groups are attempting to take advantage of community tensions.
In Eltham, south east London, a crowd of 200 men gathered in the streets, promising to protect their neighbourhood from looters and arsonists following rioting in nearby Lewisham and Woolwich.
“We won’t stand for it. If anyone wants to come down here and start looting tonight, let them try – we’ll be ready for them,” said one.
Filed Under: England, London, UK Tagged With: Fausta's blog, London riots
August 9, 2011 By Fausta
London-Santiago: Coincidence or convergence?
The US media is covering the ongoing London riots, burning for the fourth consecutive night, and spreading to other parts of the country.
While London burns,
the fastest-selling items on Amazon.co.uk are batons and baseball bats, as people look to defend themselves and their property in the absence of an effective police.
while a rioter boasts, “We’re just showing the rich people that we can do what we want,” including stealing from a wounded child,
Not covered by the US media is the rioting in Chile:
Violent Protests For Education Reform In Chile
Violence has broken out in Chile’s capital as tens of thousands of students stage another protest demanding changes in public education.
Masked demonstrators are burning cars and barricades, looting storefronts and throwing furniture at police. Officers are responding with tear gas and water cannons.
While the London demonstrators are “showing the rich”, the Santiago demonstrators want private universities to provide education for free. They also want a new constitution, which of course would be subject to their approval.
It is indeed interesting that the US’s staunchest European ally, and South America’s most successful capitalist country have both come under attack following Black Thursday’s crash and the S&P downgrade.
After America may be sooner than we think.
Linked by Adelie Manchot. Thanks!
Filed Under: Chile, London, UK, USA Tagged With: Fausta's blog, London riots, Santiago riots
December 22, 2010 By Fausta
London? Whaddaya mean, London?
Diane Sawyer interviews the three top National Security people in the US, and finds out they didn’t know about the latest arrests in London:
Allahpundit has more:
U.S. Director of National Intelligence on London terror arrests: Er, what terror arrests?
If you thought the gaffes in Diane Sawyer’s interview with our counterterror brain trust couldn’t get worse than “364 days a year,” skip ahead to 3:35 and brace yourself. It’s so bizarre that I’m actually searching for ways to rationalize it. Napolitano claimed yesterday that there was no evidence thus far to think the plot was aimed at the U.S., so … maybe they figured Clapper didn’t need to be briefed on it? That can’t be right, though. There were fully a dozen men arrested and, after all, British-based plots have targeted America before, so surely the DNI would be apprised. In fact, let’s approach the question this way: Why would the DNI ever not need to be briefed on a major unfolding plot? Napolitano and Brennan apparently knew the details; even if Clapper was in a meeting when the news broke, wouldn’t you pull him out of it or at least him fill him in on the details on the way to being interviewed by a major network news anchor? Sawyer herself is clearly amazed by his ignorance or else she wouldn’t have devoted valuable airtime to highlighting it.
Maybe, expecting the National Intelligence Director to keep up on major international terror arrests is asking too much?
Filed Under: London, terrorism Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Janet Napolitano
September 20, 2010 By Fausta
The fastest way to turn the UK into Cuba
Foreign corporations who do business in Cuba pay the Cuban government the salary of each of their Cuban employees, and then the Cuban government pays the employee.
That is how Cubans are slaves of their government.
Now the Brits are proposing going the same Communist route (and, by the way, it’s a proposal from their Conservatives.):
UK Proposes All Paychecks Go to the State First
The UK’s tax collection agency is putting forth a proposal that all employers send employee paychecks to the government, after which the government would deduct what it deems as the appropriate tax and pay the employees by bank transfer.
The proposal by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) stresses the need for employers to provide real-time information to the government so that it can monitor all payments and make a better assessment of whether the correct tax is being paid.
How long before Washington decides this is a really good idea, just like the “excellent” NHS in the UK?
Filed Under: government, London, UK Tagged With: Fausta's blog
May 20, 2010 By Fausta
When Gumby mated with a Cyclops…
… Wenlock and Mandeville were born:
Mandeville?
Stoke Mandeville’s famous spinal injuries unit meanwhile was where the Paralympic movement began, and the naming of one mascot after the hospital is an explicit attempt to raise the profile of the Paralympic Games.
Mandeville’s designers unfortunately had the bad taste of making his crotch an incontinent blue. Ugh.
The reviews are in:
Two parts-Pokemon to one-part lava lamp with yellow ‘Taxi’ lights on their foreheads
Betsy:
the stupidest and downright ugliest Olympic mascots ever
Stephen Bayley:
“If the Games are going to be remembered by their art then we can declare them a calamitous failure already.”
Greg Pollowitz:
London, We’re Laughing at You, not with You
Tammy Bruce:
Lesson? Don’t Smoke Crack When Designing Olympic Mascots
Moe Lane:
It must be a fascinating planet that the designer of this must be from: I wish that I could visit it.
Welcome, Tammy Bruce readers! Please visit often.
Filed Under: London, Olympics Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Wenlock and Mandeville
April 1, 2009 By Fausta
Meanwhile in London…
I was talking to a friend from London this morning. He had a lot to say about what life in the big city’s like right now.
Pres. Obama arrived with an entrouage of 500 yesterday. Upon arriving in England, Obama took a helicopter and flew to London where he’s staying at the American ambassador’s residence in Regent’s park.
My friend lives in Regent’s Park.
The city has been under huge preparations for the G20 for the best part of a week, but yesterday the barricades started going up in an ever-increasing number in the Regent’s Park area. Since there’s a large mosque, my friend thought the barricades had to do with something going on at the mosque, but it was due to the Presidential visit. The zone was cordoned off, more barricades were put up, and “the area was literally filled with police.”
And then Obama arrived in his helicopter. My friend said, “It was a sight to behold. There was an air corridor: A group of helicopters flew in place while the presidential helicopter came through and landed.” Mercifully, most of the 500 people in the entrouage took other means of transportation.
My friend continued, “now we have security like the end of the world was near: helicopters, police cars, riot police, and everything else you can think of.
“As you go further away from the Ambassador’s house, then you have the demonstrators. Between the police and the demonstrators, it’s like living in a stage of siege.”
The Times on Line has a video in this report, Brown and Obama deny G20 splits as protesters scuffle with police. You can see the protestors vandalizing the Royal Bank of Scotland windows in full sight of the reporters who are eagerly recording the crime.
The article states,
The Metropolitan Police said that around 4,000 protesters had gathered in the City for a protest outside the Bank of England and a “Meltdown Carnival” headlined by the left-wing rock singer Billy Bragg.
Mixing in with them were City workers who had deliberately “dressed down” – on police advice – to avoid being the targets of protesters.
In clear spring sunshine, the protests were initially good-natured, but isolated scuffles soon saw police retreat behind their barriers. By 1pm, the violence was worsening, with police using their batons to push back the crowds.
Even before the protest began, 11 people were arrested as they drove an armoured personnel carrier – painted blue with the words “riot police” in capital letters – towards Bishopsgate. All 11 were arrested for being in possession of police uniforms.
More than 30 forces have provided specialist officers for the days around the summit when there will be unprecedented levels of protests and 40 diplomatic delegations requiring security.
It’s going to be a long week in London.
Filed Under: Barack Obama, England, London, UK Tagged With: Fausta's blog, G20
March 28, 2009 By Fausta
“We won’t pay for their crisis”
I was hoping to make it to NY City today but had to change plans, so now I’m browsing through my feed reader, and came across this at Power Line:
Demonstrators march through central London March 28, 2009. Thousands of demonstrators marched through London on Saturday to demand action on poverty, jobs and climate change at the start of a week of protests aimed at the G20 summit in the capital.
Exactly what Lula was saying. As I said earlier, Lula meant what he said, and said what he meant.
Filed Under: London, Lula, UK Tagged With: Fausta's blog, G20
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Mad Men to #MeToo - Moving Beyond Sexual Harassment Training to Culture Change
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Kelly Simants
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Hugo Kaaman
Open source research on SVBIEDs
The Islamic State’s self-reported SVBIED statistics
Beginning in October 2015 and ending in September 2017, Amaq News Agency (the unofficial IS ‘state media’) regularly summarised all IS-claimed “martyrdom operations” (suicide bombings) in Syria, Iraq and Libya in infographics released on a monthly basis. Though these infographics looked different and didn’t include the same level of detail each month, they served as an important source of statistics measuring the group’s own tally of its suicide bombings. While suicide bombings can be further divided into a variety of different methods, this article will mainly be focused on the statistics measuring IS use of Suicide Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (SVBIEDs).
The first Amaq infographics detailing the group’s use of suicide bombings were released in late 2015 and noticeably lacked detail compared to later versions. They did not divide the ‘martyrdom operations’ into different types, making it very difficult to gauge how many of said attacks were SVBIEDs. The below infographics cover the period of October through December of 2015.
Islamic State, Statistics October 2015.
Islamic State, Statistics November 2015.
Islamic State, Statistics December 2015.
The December infographic included more detail, showing that IS used at least 39 SVBIEDs in its territories that month.
Starting in 2016 the infographics – while still varying in design each month – maintained a similar structure in the way the statistics were displayed. Here are all the 12 infographics for 2016, followed by a summary and graph.
Islamic State, Statistics January 2016.
Islamic State, Statistics February 2016.
Islamic State, Statistics March 2016.
Islamic State, Statistics April 2016.
Islamic State, Statistics May 2016.
Islamic State, Statistics June 2016.
Islamic State, Statistics July 2016.
Islamic State, Statistics August 2016.
Islamic State, Statistics September 2016.
In the first days of January the following year, Amaq also published an infographic summarising all their suicide bombings carried out during the previous year.
Islamic State, Statistics January–December 2016.
Based on the 12 individual infographics published each month in 2016, I made a graph showing the data below:
Islamic State SVBIEDs claimed in 2016.
January: 47 SVBIEDs
February: 51 SVBIEDs
March: 80 SVBIEDs (3 of which were 2-man SVBIEDs)
April: 51 (1 of which was a 2-man SVBIED)
May: 76 SVBIEDs
June: 88 SVBIEDs (3 of which were 2-man SVBIEDs)
July: 44 SVBIEDs (2 of which were 2-man SVBIEDs)
August: 68 SVBIEDs (4 of which were 2-man SVBIEDs)
September: 38 SVBIEDs
October: 88 SVBIEDs (1 of which was a 2-man SVBIED)
November: 121 SVBIEDs (3 of which were 2-man SVBIEDs)
December: 90 SVBIEDs (1 of which was a 2-man SVBIED and 1 which was an SVBIED based on a motorcycle)
However, there’s a distinct discrepancy when one compares the total figures for all the individual infographics with the complete 2016 infographic. Combining all the data observed in the individual monthly infographics, the total number of SVBIED attacks they claim to have carried out during the entirety of the year sits at 842. Of those, 18 were 2-man SVBIEDs and one based on a motorcycle – leaving the number of standard SVBIEDs at 823. When looking at the infographic covering the whole year, the number of 2-man and motorcycle SVBIEDs are the same while the number of standard SVBIEDs sits at 797, 26 less than what was claimed altogether in the individual infographics. The reason for this discrepancy is because Amaq chose not to account for suicide bombings carried out in Libya in their complete 2016 infographic, bombings that were mostly accounted for in the monthly infographics.
Regardless, it should be made absolutely clear though that there is no guarantee whatsoever that the Islamic State’s self-reported figures regarding its own use of SVBIEDs is an accurate estimation of the actual figure.
The number of SVBIEDs carried out in each country during 2016 is also difficult to figure out, both because of a lack of clarity in the individual infographics and the complete 2016 infographic not differentiating between suicide bombing methods when tallying the number of attacks conducted versus each group/state. Out of all 1112 claimed suicide bombings, SVBIED attacks made up 73,4% at 816 attacks.
The publishing of these monthly infographics continued during 2017, with the final one being released in September of that year.
The reason why these infographics suddenly stopped being published after the September 2017 release is likely partly due to Amaq’s media team decreasing as a result of the combined anti-IS aerial and ground operations. Another reason why they may have intentionally chosen to stop publishing the infographics is because they were an indication of the self-proclaimed caliphate’s diminishing size. Below is a graph showing all claimed SVBIED attacks by IS from January-September 2017.
Islamic State SVBIEDs claimed in 2017 up until September.
January: 76 SVBIEDs (2 of which were 2-man SVBIEDs)
April: 51 SVBIEDs
June: 36 SVBIEDs
July: 35 SVBIEDs
Despite the lack of monthly infographics from September and onwards, Amaq still released an infographic detailing all their suicide bombings in 2017:
According to this infographic, IS claimed a total of 568 SVBIED attacks during 2017 – with 7 of those being 2-man SVBIEDs. Tallied up, the monthly infographics account for 510 claimed SVBIED attacks up until September 2017, with 7 of those being 2-man SVBIEDs. Compared to the complete 2017 infographic, this would indicate that IS only claimed 58 SVBIED attacks in October, November, and December 2017 together – an average of just 19 per month. SVBIED attacks made up a clear majority of overall suicide bombings in 2017 as well at 73,7%.
Below is a graph combining the monthly numbers of claimed SVBIED attacks from January 2016 through September 2017:
Islamic State SVBIEDs claimed between January 2016 – September 2017.
The fluctuating figures from month to month all reflect spikes in hostilities when anti-IS forces have conducted offensive operations aimed at retaking cities and areas from IS. For example, the spikes in March as well as May-June of 2016 correspond with the Iraqi offensives aimed at retaking Fallujah and other areas in Anbar province. The much longer October 2016-May 2017 spike corresponds with the Iraqi offensive aimed at retaking Mosul – a battle that Amaq also released monthly infographics for.
Parallel to the infographics detailing suicide bombings across its territories, IS also published monthly infographics covering the drawn out battle of Mosul specifically. Below are all 9 published infographics concerning the battle of Mosul:
Mosul month #1
Month 1 (October 17 – November 17) – 124
Month 2 (November 17 – December 17) – 91
Month 3 (December 18 – January 17) – 58
Month 4 (January 18 – February 17) – 20
Month 5 (February 18 – March 17) – 80
Month 6 (March 18 – April 17) – 32
Month 7 (April 18 – May 17) – 44
Month 8 (May 18 – June 17) – 19
Month 9 (June 18 – July 17) – 11
I’ve combined all the above data in a graph shown below:
Islamic State SVBIED attacks during battle of Mosul.
The graph tells quite a lot about how the battle of Mosul played out. Beginning with 124 SVBIED attacks in the first month of the battle, that figure continuously dropped until it reached a low of 20 in the fourth month (Jan-Feb 2017). The Iraqi army had managed to capture Eastern Mosul by then, providing a lull in fighting until the battle for Western Mosul commenced the following month – also explaining the sudden and dramatic rise that month. The subsequent gradual decline in number of SVBIED attacks also corresponds with the decrease in IS territorial control of Western Mosul, until Iraqi forces managed to completely capture the city in July. On top of these monthly Mosul infographics, IS would also publish a final Mosul infographic in al-Naba with statistics from the entire battle start to finish:
Battle of Mosul infographic.
The al-Naba infographic puts the total number of SVBIED attacks carried out by IS during the battle of Mosul at 482. By tallying up the monthly infographics, the same figure is 479 – 3 less than what was claimed in the al-Naba infographic.
While these self-published statistics shouldn’t be taken at face value as they’re difficult to verify, they are likely not that far from the truth and provide an interesting snapshot of IS defensive military operations. The spikes observed in the number of SVBIED attacks correspond to anti-IS offensive action carried out during the January 2016 – September 2017 time period.
Filed Under: Anbar province, Car bombs, Fallujah, Iraq, Iraqi forces, IS (Islamic State), Libya, Mosul, SVBIED, Syria
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Five Trends in Manufacturing Technology
By ERP Desk
ERP Desk
ERP Expert
With the rise of the cloud services economy, it is easy to forget that the heart of business actually is making “stuff.”
Many of us are glued to our smartphones and interact daily with a dozen or more cloud services, but we access these services from physical devices that were manufactured, we live in homes and offices that were built, and we still purchase a range of physical products that started on the shop floor. Manufacturing is alive and well, although it also has been impacted greatly by the megatrends of cloud computing, ever-present network communication and mobility.
In this new environment of pervasive information and communication, the shop floor has grown more intelligent, nimble and wedded to what some have referred to as a complete supply chain, one where buying patterns help shape demand and better forecasts are produced from various edge sales and operations planning to deliver the right products at the right time.
This more orchestrated manufacturing includes real-time predictions, anomaly detection, decision support and greater manufacturing customization, as well as new employee skills.
“The manufacturing plant employee has become the new knowledge worker, requiring more advanced training than ever before,” says Jeff Kavanaugh, vice president and managing partner of high-tech and manufacturing for Infosys.
The shop has gone high-tech. Here are five of the largest trends in that manufacturing evolution.
1. Improved ERP systems for more nimble resource planning
Newer ERP systems are increasingly focusing on mixed-mode manufacturing that allows businesses to work either as job shops or make-to-order manufacturers, according to Scott Sipe, director of finance and technology for manufacturing consultant, MANTEC.
“The key to being competitive in the marketplace is making what the customers need, superb quality, meeting due dates, and keeping costs under control,” suggests Sipe. He says that more advanced ERP systems are playing a big role, allowing for the creation of alternate products on the fly, ensuring the level of quality is high, and bringing advanced production and planning capabilities and better labor tracking on the production floor.
2. The cloud as the new middle manager
Cloud technology is bringing a much higher level of collaboration between the company, the customer, and the supply chain. This both is improving coordination and moving the seat of power closer to the shop floor where the work actually is being done.
Greg Rodgers, manufacturing industry strategist for CSC, says that the company’s manufacturing clients are increasingly using the cloud for more agile prototyping, more coordination among dispersed global locations, and heightened collaboration at all points in the supply chain.
“Among the many benefits realized by cloud computing, manufacturers are experiencing accelerated product design cycle times and bringing products to market faster to remain competitive in today's global economy,” he says.
3. Machine-to-machine communications for total visibility and increased automation
With greater communication among machines and the products they make, factory worker head count continues to shrink in favor of machines, and manufacturing is both able to adjust faster and keep equipment failure to a minimum.
“The internet of things and services is the primary trend that’s driving massive change in the manufacturing industry today,” says Rodgers at CSC. “M2M technology is having a profound impact on manufacturing processes and aftermarket services.”
For instance, M2M is being used to remotely monitor and maintain assets by predicting maintenance issues before they take place. It also is being used for value-add with customers.
“Adding sensor technology to end-user products allows the manufacturer to monitor and provide preventative services as a value-add to the customer,” says Sipe at MANTEC. “Manufacturers are implementing IoT technology to provide a much higher level of customer service than before.”
4. Mobile devices on the shop floor for more accurate information
With plants becoming more dynamic, manufacturers are taking a page from consumer trends and leveraging smartphones and tables for more up-to-date manufacturing information.
“Rather than moving paper and shop floor travelers around the production facility, companies are using digital technology to provide the most up to date information to their workers,” says Sipe.
5. The use of 3-D printing for replacement parts and short-runs
Customers are in the driver seat, which is leading to more customization and cost advantages for smaller plants. 3D printing, while not applicable to all manufacturers, has become a potent new tool for some.
“3-D printing enables more custom manufacturing, since each product can be made to a unique specification with modifications at no incremental cost,” says Kavanaugh at Infosys. “This encourages movement to smaller manufacturing plants and a craft or artisan approach, leading to cost disadvantages for larger plants.”
It also enables the rapid prototyping of physical products on par with software development cycles, which is helping manufacturers bring products to market much faster.
Another use for 3-D printing technology is a reduction in spare parts, since manufacturers can use the technology to create parts on-the-fly.
“3-D printing and DMLM minimizes waste, is more efficient and quicker, it’s flexible, usually lighter and can be made of higher quality-state materials. It’s a huge disruptive technology,” enthuses Rodgers.
Cloud services grab the headlines, but manufacturing technology also is plowing ahead into bold new territory in terms of speed, flexibility and logistical coordination.
Mae Kowalke is a journalist and communications professional who specializes in covering business technology. She has written extensively about VoIP, CRM, ERP and a range of other technologies, both as a reporter and a blogger.
The latest news, analysis, reviews, case studies and insights in the ERP market powered by the Toolbox community of experts.
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In "The Public" an unusually bitter Arctic blast has made its way to downtown Cincinnati and the front doors of the public library where the action of the film takes place. At odds with library officials over how to handle the extreme weather event, some homeless patrons turn the building into a shelter for the night by staging an "Occupy" sit in. What begins as an act of civil disobedience becomes a stand-off with police and a rush-to-judgment media constantly speculating about what's really happening. This David versus Goliath story tackles some of our nation's most challenging issues, homelessness and mental illness and sets the drama inside one of the last bastions of democracy-in-action: your public library.
Critics Consensus: Its intentions are sometimes easier to appreciate than its execution, but The Public remains an earnest and reasonably engaging social advocacy drama.
Inspiring story about homelessness has some mature content.
Rhymefest
Jacob Vargas
Lisa Niedenthal
Alex Lebovici
Steve Ponce
© 2017 El Camino LLC. All Rights Reserved.
English (Stereo, Dolby 5.1)
Spanish (Subtitles)
Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH) refer to subtitles in the original language with the addition of relevant non-dialogue information.
The Best of Enemies
The Girl in the Fog
Movies in Drama
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Join Nathan and Seamus in their first travel experiences exploring Caribbean, and Hawaiian destinations including Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Mexico.
Travel with Kids, Season 1
Puerto Rico for Families
Explore the rich history and culture in the colonial ports of Ponce and Old San Juan where host-kids Nathan and Seamus find adventure playing pirates in the old colonial fort of El Morro. Then it's off to find frogs in El Yunque, the Caribbean National Forest and explore the underground caves of Rio Camuy. Finally, The Roberts family finds time to relax on the beaches of Vieques Island, a small enclave that exudes the ambiance of a by-gone era in the Caribbean.
O'ahu, Hawaii: Waikiki & Honolulu
There are two very different sides to the island of Oahu – the fast-paced, activity packed Waikiki and the laid-back North Shore and the Roberts family are determined to discover both. The confluence of cultures in Hawaii is apparent at the International Marketplace where the host family tries different cuisines ranging from Japanese noodles to Hawaiian traditional dishes. To learn more about the history and culture of Hawaii, the Roberts head over to the Polynesian Cultural Center, where they taste coconut bread and learn to throw a spear. For a more recent view of history, it’s on to Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. With all this land activity, it’s easy to forget that Hawaii is known for its undersea life. But our hosts have you covered with excursions below the waves at SeaLife Park where they come face to face with dolphins and stingrays.
Mexico: Cancun and Caribbean Coast
Packed with family-friendly attractions and plenty of sunshine, Cancun is a perfect family destination, but is there more to this rugged coast than just fun in the sun? The Roberts find out as they explore the city of Cancun with aquariums, pyramids and late-night turtle encounters and venture across the ocean to Isla Mujeres. Isla Mujeres, a tiny island is what Cancun was like decades ago. Drive around the small villages in a golf cart to snorkel and swim with dolphins.
Hawaii: The Big Island
The Big Island of Hawaii is big and the Roberts family is determined to see every part of it. As the newest island in Hawaiian island chain, the Big Island is still growing with lava constantly steaming into the Pacific Ocean to form land. The host family gets face-to-face with the world’s most active volcano, Kilauea, at Volcanoes National Park where they hike through lava tubes, feel heat oozing through hardened lava fields, and learn about Pele, goddess of fire. To find out more about ancient Hawaii, the Roberts head to the City of Refuge where they’re greeted by tiki heads and play lava rock checkers. After scouring through the fresh fruits at Hilo’s farmer’s market, the Roberts find the perfect food, the malasada. To finish their feast, the Roberts head to a sunset luau.
Mexico: Land of the Yucatan Maya
Mexico's Yucatan peninsula is the site of major clashes between the indigenous Mayan people and the Spanish colonialists and the attractions here reflect it. The Roberts learn the Mayan history at the huge pyramid complex of Chichen-Itza where they research the acoustics on a Mayan ball court, climb the pyramids and study a colony of leaf-cutter ants. Then it’s on to soak in the culture at Spanish enclaves like Izamal, Valladolid and Merida where Mayan traditional dances take place in centuries old colonial squares. Explore lively markets and take horse drawn carriages through the colonial centers.
Hawaii: Maui
On Maui, the progression of Hawaii's economy becomes apparent as our host family discovers Lahaina's whaling history before boarding the sugar cane train. Then it’s on to explore the island's amazing natural beauty by land on Ka'anapali Beach and on the winding Road to Hana where the Roberts picnic by waterfall and discover secluded black sand beaches and by sea at the Maui Ocean Center and on a snorkel cruise to Lanai where spinner dolphins leap from the water in a graceful dance. A sunset luau where cliff divers plummet from Black Rock to the ocean below and fire dancers strut their stuff provides the perfect ending to their Maui adventure.
Mexico: Southern Caribbean Coast
After heading south to the Mayan pyramid complexes of Tulum and Coba, it's obvious this history-laden coast has a much deeper side. But fun in the sun prevails as the host family enjoys an eco-waterpark, snorkels through underwater caves, boards a submarine for a tour of the undersea life, browses the shopping enclave of Playa Del Carmen and enjoys the powder white beaches of the Caribbean in a beach hut with no TV or air conditioning!
Hawaii: Kauai
Hawaii's island of Kauai is known for its dramatic natural surrounds and the Roberts family heads out to see it all. Board a boat up the Wailua River to the fabulous Fern Grotto where water drips from upside down plants at one of the wettest places on earth. Check out the salt beds and cross a swinging bridge in the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, Waimea Canyon. Head off-the-beaten-path over the bridges of Kauai's north shore past Hanalei and end up at the base of the Na Pali Coast where Ke'e beach offers the perfect spot to check out Kauai's marine life including sea turtles.
Virgin Islands, Caribbean
The U.S. Virgin Islands are composed of three very different islands, St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John, and in this episode the Roberts family are hunting down the very best that each has to offer. On St. Thomas, the host family discovers a pirate-y past at Blackbeard's Castle before diving below the waves on a real submarine. On St. Croix, sugar cane reigns supreme as the Roberts take a tour of an old plantation and a rum factory. On St. John, green is keen as the family hunkers down in tents at an eco-camp and explores the Virgin Islands National Park. The British Virgin Islands are known as the Caribbean's Best Kept Secret and the Roberts family is going to find out why. Tortola's sweeping green mountains provide a dramatic backdrop to hidden coves like Cane Garden Bay where the host-family finds the slow-pace a perfect base for a family vacation, while hiding out from a nearby hurricane! Trips to West End to learn about Tortola's pirating past and the south shore to come face-to-face with dolphins complete this island paradise. Next, it’s off to Virgin Gorda where giant boulders provide plenty of hidden pools and grottoes to explore at the Baths.
Hawaii: Island of Molokai
To experience the true Hawaii, our host-family is off to Molokai where it’s said time stands still. A trip to Halawa Valley and a tour of a macadamia farm provides the Roberts with a look at Hawaii’s agricultural side while views over the world's highest sea-cliffs down to Kalaupapa Peninsula teaches the family about Molokai's leprosy past and the great achievement of Father Damien. A stop at the post office to send a Coconut Postcard proves amusing and the host kids love flying a kite from a windy outpost on the island’s west side.
© 2008 Janson
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Home > ETD > 5973
A Queer Politics of Imperceptibility: A Philosophy of Resistance to Contemporary Sexual Surveillance
Andie Shabbar, The University of Western OntarioFollow
Women's Studies and Feminist Research
James, Joy
This thesis journeys through a series of events to develop a concept of “imperceptibility” as a mode of resistance to contemporary sexual surveillance. The events I examine include biometric recognition of gender and race at airport security checkpoints, the heteropatriarchal colonial surveillance of Indigenous peoples at Standing Rock, various protest actions, and the political potentials of glitch art. Exploring their unexpected points of connection, my goal is to bring into view acts of resistance against sexual surveillance that already operate below and above the threshold of everyday perception.
The project advocates for a philosophy of resistance that underscores the political importance of creating new modes of existence. Rather than engaging in the problematic of devising a new model of subjectivity, I argue that what is needed to escape from contemporary systems of capture and control is to turn from the Self as the primary site of concern and affirm instead the potentials of becoming-imperceptible. Imperceptibility signals not invisibility, but the act of relinquishing identity in favour of moving toward becoming everybody/everything. Far from a homogenizing or unitary endeavour, I propose imperceptibility as a radical celebration of difference that surges a revolutionary desire for social transformation through interconnectedness.
Activating Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s pragmatic philosophy and style of writing, which emphasize multiple relations over binary oppositions, I introduce “a queer politics of imperceptibility” as a conceptual framework that takes a both/and approach to consider resistance. That is, I work with and between the tensions of feminist theories of recognition and Deleuze and Guattari’s nonrepresentational philosophy. I develop this framework in each chapter by mapping a constellation of interacting forces and affective intensities between bodies, both human and non-human. A Queer Politics of Imperceptibility makes an important intervention into the fields of feminist surveillance studies, posthumanism, affect theory, postcolonial theory and queer theory by revealing the ways in which imperceptible relations of resistance cascade into the political to generate new potentials to act in the world.
Shabbar, Andie, "A Queer Politics of Imperceptibility: A Philosophy of Resistance to Contemporary Sexual Surveillance" (2018). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 5973.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/5973
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Home Israel News Israeli PM Netanyahu Announces Amazing Development in Announcement on Sovereignty of...
Israeli PM Netanyahu Announces Amazing Development in Announcement on Sovereignty of Judea and Samaria
Avi Abelow
THIS IS HUGE!!! In a televised interview last night, Prime Minister Netanyahu has finally announced that he plans to apply Israeli sovereignty to Jewish towns and cities in Judea & Samaria. This announcement is huge, moving the goalpost away from the “two-state solution”, that never even had a chance, to the actual sole solution of living peacefully with our Arab Muslim neighbors by Israel applying sovereignty in our ancestral homeland, Judea and Samaria, where most of the Biblical stories actually took place.
Election Ploy
Many people are saying that this announcement is an election ploy by Netanyahu to get his voters out to vote on election day, on Tuesday. And maybe it was.
Will Netanyahu actually apply sovereignty? ? If so, when will he do it?
The truth is, it doesn’t matter. Even if it was an election ploy, and even if he doesn’t do it, this is a huge step forward for an Israeli Prime Minister to publicly announce that part of moving forward is the application of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. That in it of itself is HUGE!!! It means the day when it will actually happen is sooner than we ever imagined!!!
Just to clarify, this is not an election post to convince people to vote for Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party. I was making a statement that is huge that we finally have a Prime Minister who officially states the application of sovereignty in Judea & Samaria. Regardless if Bibi does it, or does not do it, or even if he said this as an election ploy, this is huge that this is now an officially accepted step. Obviously, the only way Netanyahu can implement it is if he is re-elected!
Crazy Reactions
The funny thing is that people in Israel are not going crazy, because Israelis are used to election “promises” and are just treating this as another Netanyahu election ploy. It is people abroad, including many Jews in exile, who were shocked by this announcement and are going crazy!
They are screaming that Netanyahu is “killing” the two-state solution!
Really? The two-state solution was still-born! It never was a realistic solution. If the conflict was a land conflict it would have been solved 100 years ago. The Arabs have said NO to every single peace deal that was ever introduced based on dividing up the land.
The late Professor Einstein said that making the same mistake over and over again is insanity! That is exactly what the two-state solution is, insanity!
If the Arab Muslims were seriously interested in peace, they would be educating their children to live peacefully with Jews instead of teaching them how to stab Jews. The Palestinian Authority would use textbooks that teach towards peace, not teaching them that Jews are evil and should be killed. If peace was truly a goal of theirs, they would name schools and public squares in memory of leaders who preached peace, not murderers who massacred masses of innocent Jews! Yet, the Palestinian Anuthority, our “peace partner” have proven over and over again that they are NOT interested in peace, yet it is the rest of us who ignore these blatant facts.
No, they are not, and never have been interested in peace or a two-state solution.
So they scream that Israel applying sovereignty to Judea and Samaria would be “apartheid”. Really? Israel is the only country in the Middle East where Jews, Christians, Muslims etc all live peacefully together with full rights!
Under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, non-Muslims are persecuted. Forget about apartheid, non-Muslims are persecuted. Don’t get us started about the other Muslim countries in the Middle East. Israel is the ONLY country with freedom and equality for all. And those Arabs in Judea and Samaria who would live under Israeli control would enjoy more freedom and equality than they do under their own Palestinian Authority and Hamas leadership!
But, they prefer to go crazy, showing how disconnected they are from reality and the reality of the Middle East. As I explain in the above video, the Middle East is not Kansas, and one can’t use Western rational logic that one uses in Kansas to solve problems in the Middle East!
This provocation is harmful to Israeli, Palestinian, and American interests. Supporting Israel does not have to mean agreeing with Netanyahu‘s politics. I don’t. This calls for a president willing to counsel our ally against abandoning a two-state solution. https://t.co/4ycYNowjzn
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) April 6, 2019
The “two state solution” can no longer be said to exist in any meaningful sense. Palestinians have been systematically denied their rights to sovereignty, self-determination and equality under the law.
And now, this. https://t.co/SZ4I5N0MJf
— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) April 7, 2019
Netanyahu goes full rogue state.
If re-elected, it’ll be yet more ethnic cleansing and no Palestinian state at all. Israel will grab all land “west of Jordan.”
He’s out of control – encouraged by US/UK, his partners in crime.
Time to #StopArmingIsrael
https://t.co/DRXjN03N31
— Steve Howell (@FromSteveHowell) April 7, 2019
Netanyahu is now saying that he will start annexing the West Bank if re-elected PM. Forget about a 2 state solution,he’s openly promising permanent aparthed, that’s why it’s more important than ever now that #OccupiedTerritoriesBill passes all stages!! https://t.co/Fv8CgAbKzo
— Frances Black (@frances_black) April 7, 2019
Netanyahu Interview (Hebrew)
Previous articleWhen the Jewish people say Never Again, they mean it
Next articleInside the mind of a former Jihadi wife
https://t.me/aviabelowupdates
Organizational psychologist/management consultant turned Movie Producer (“Home Game” on Gush Katif), Avi is now CEO of 12Tribe Films, a business specializing in video and social media marketing for Israel. You can also follow my mobile updates on Telegram: https://t.me/aviabelowupdates
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Rosalieve Redness Reducing Complex
Experience relief from unwanted redness and reduce the appearance of facial flushing with this innovative formula designed to calm the skin. RosaLieve is an innovative formula with natural acid, an anti-redness [more] [more] peptide and multiple antioxidants and extracts shown to reduce the appearance of redness and visible flushing. [less]
Uploaded by: lmg77 on 04/28/2019
Water/Aqua/Eau, Azelaic Acid, Ethoxydiglycol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Isononyl Isononanoate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, [more]Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Steareth-21, Steareth-2, Cetyl Alcohol, Tetrapeptide-14, Ranunculus Ficaria Extract, Hydroxyphenyl Propamidobenzoic Acid, Boswellia Serrata Extract, Epigallocatechin Gallate, Bisabolol, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice Powder, Camellia Sinensis (White Tea) Leaf Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Aspalathus Linearis (Rooibos) Leaf Extract, Allantoin Acetyl Methionine, Tocopheryl Acetate, Mel (Honey) Extract, Sodium PCA, Panthenol, Xanthan Gum, Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hexylene Glycol, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Quartz, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol
Says patent pending
Anti-acne: Azelaic Acid
Antioxidant: Epigallocatechin Gallate, Camellia Sinensis (White Tea) Leaf Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate
Cell-communicating ingredient: Tetrapeptide-14
Skin-identical ingredient: Glycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium PCA
Soothing: Azelaic Acid, Tetrapeptide-14, Hydroxyphenyl Propamidobenzoic Acid, Boswellia Serrata Extract, Epigallocatechin Gallate, Bisabolol, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice Powder, Camellia Sinensis (White Tea) Leaf Extract, Allantoin Acetyl Methionine, Panthenol
Abrasive/scrub: Quartz
Antimicrobial/antibacterial: Camellia Sinensis (White Tea) Leaf Extract
Buffering: Azelaic Acid, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide
Chelating: Disodium EDTA
Emollient: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Dimethicone, Isononyl Isononanoate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Cetyl Alcohol, Caprylyl Glycol
Emulsifying: Glyceryl Stearate SE, Steareth-21, Steareth-2, Cetyl Alcohol
Moisturizer/humectant: Glycerin, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice Powder, Sodium Hyaluronate, Mel (Honey) Extract, Sodium PCA, Panthenol, Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol
Preservative: Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol
Solvent: Water/Aqua/Eau, Ethoxydiglycol, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Hexylene Glycol
Viscosity controlling: Glycerin, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Cetyl Alcohol, Xanthan Gum
Water/Aqua/Eau solvent
Azelaic Acid anti-acne, soothing, buffering superstar
Ethoxydiglycol solvent 0, 0
Glyceryl Stearate SE emulsifying 2, 3
Isononyl Isononanoate emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter emollient goodie
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate viscosity controlling 0, 0
Steareth-21 emulsifying
Steareth-2 emulsifying 2, 2
Cetyl Alcohol emollient, emulsifying, viscosity controlling 2, 2
Tetrapeptide-14 cell-communicating ingredient, soothing goodie
Ranunculus Ficaria Extract
Hydroxyphenyl Propamidobenzoic Acid soothing goodie
Boswellia Serrata Extract soothing
Epigallocatechin Gallate antioxidant, soothing superstar
Bisabolol soothing goodie
Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice Powder soothing, moisturizer/humectant goodie
Camellia Sinensis (White Tea) Leaf Extract antioxidant, soothing, antimicrobial/antibacterial superstar
Aspalathus Linearis (Rooibos) Leaf Extract
Allantoin Acetyl Methionine soothing
Tocopheryl Acetate antioxidant 0, 0
Mel (Honey) Extract moisturizer/humectant goodie
Sodium PCA skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant 0, 0 goodie
Panthenol soothing, moisturizer/humectant 0, 0 goodie
Xanthan Gum viscosity controlling
Pentylene Glycol solvent, moisturizer/humectant
Caprylyl Glycol moisturizer/humectant, emollient
Hexylene Glycol solvent 0-1, 0-2
Sodium Hydroxide buffering
Quartz abrasive/scrub
Disodium EDTA chelating
Sodium Benzoate preservative
JAN MARINI Rosalieve Redness Reducing Complex
Water/Aqua/Eau
Also-called: Aqua;Water | What-it-does: solvent
Azelaic Acid - superstar
What-it-does: anti-acne, soothing, buffering
Superstar ingredient with antibacterial, skin cell regulating, anti-inflammatory and skin-lightening magic properties
It is especially useful for acne-prone or rosacea-prone skin types (in concentration 10% and up)
It is a prescription drug in the US but can be freely purchased in the EU in an up to 10% concentration
Read all the geeky details about Azelaic Acid here >>
What-it-does: solvent | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
A nice odorless liquid used mainly as a superior solubilizer and efficacy booster for cosmetic active ingredients such as skincare bigshot vitamin C, self-tanning active DHA or the anti-acne gold standard, benzoyl peroxide.
Other than that it can also be used in hair care products where it gives a longer-lasting and more uniform coloring. According to a manufacturer, it might even prevent the formation of split ends.
An oily kind of ingredient that can magically blend with water all by itself. This is called self-emulsifying and SE in its name stands for that.
The difference between "normal" Glyceryl Stearate and this guy is that the SE grade contains a small amount of water-loving soap molecules, such as sodium stearate. This increases Glyceryl Stearate's affinity for water and gives it stronger emulsifying abilities.
Other than that, it’s a nice emollient that gives a smooth and soft appearance to the skin.
You can read some more at Glyceryl Stearate >>
Isononyl Isononanoate
An emollient ester with a rich and creamy but non-greasy skin feel. It makes skin supple and protects dry skin.
Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter - goodie
Also-called: Shea Butter | What-it-does: emollient
Unless you live under a rock you must have heard about shea butter. It's probably the most hyped up natural butter in skincare today. It comes from the seeds of African Shea or Karite Trees and used as a magic moisturizer and emollient.
But it's not only a simple emollient, it regenerates and soothes the skin, protects it from external factors (such as UV rays or wind) and is also rich in antioxidants (among others vitamin A, E, F, quercetin and epigallocatechin gallate). If you are looking for rich emollient benefits + more, shea is hard to beat.
What-it-does: viscosity controlling, absorbent/mattifier | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
A type of clay mineral that works as a nice helper ingredient to thicken and stabilize formulas. As a clay, it consists of platelets that have a negative charge on the surface (face) and a positive on the edge. So the face of one platelet attracts the edge of the other and this builds a so-called "house of card" structure meaning that Magnesium Aluminum Silicate (MAS) thickens up products and helps to suspend non-soluble particles such as color pigments or inorganic sunscreens (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide).
As the "house of card" structure takes some time to form but collapses quickly if the formula is stirred, products thickened with MAS can be thick in the jar but become easily spreadable upon application (called thixotropy). MAS also gives nice sensory properties, it is not tacky or sticky and gives a rich, creamy skin feel. Also a good team player and works in synergy with other thickeners such as Cellulose Gum or Xanthan Gum.
Steareth-21
A waxy solid material that helps oil and water to mix together, aka emulsifier. It is super similar to Steareth-20 with just a little more ethoxylation and thus a little more water solubility. It works very well when combined with mostly oil-soluble emulsifiers such as Steareth-2 and the two together can form exceptionally stable emulsions.
Steareth-2
A waxy solid material that helps oil and water to mix together, aka emulsifier. It is derived from the fatty alcohol, stearyl alcohol by ethoxylating it and thus making the molecule a little water-soluble. This version has only a small amount of ethoxylation and thus the molecule is still largely oil soluble. It is often mixed with more water-soluble emulsifiers (such as Steareth-20) to create stable emulsion systems.
What-it-does: emollient, emulsifying, viscosity controlling | Irritancy: 2 | Comedogenicity: 2
A so-called fatty (the good, non-drying kind of) alcohol that does all kinds of things in a skincare product: it makes your skin feel smooth and nice (emollient), helps to thicken up products and also helps water and oil to blend (emulsifier). Can be derived from coconut or palm kernel oil.
Tetrapeptide-14 - goodie
What-it-does: cell-communicating ingredient, soothing
A peptide designed by a small company (Helix Biomedix) specializing in developing small proteins aka bioactive-peptides. Tetrapeptide-14 is claimed to be a soothing, redness reducing peptide that works by down-regulating a pro-inflammatory signal molecule (called interleukon-6) to prevent inflammation.
The peptide is combined with plant extracts (green tea, boswellia) and honey and is sold under the trade name Granactive AR-1423. According to the manufacturer of the complex, 5% of the active reduced rosacea associated redness by 50% over a 4 weeks study.
Hydroxyphenyl Propamidobenzoic Acid - goodie
Also-called: SymCalmin | What-it-does: soothing
An anti-irritant and anti-itch molecule that copies the active ingredient (Avenanthramides) in the well-known soothing plant, oat.
According to the manufacturer's clinical study (double-blind, 40 people, 4 weeks long), 2% SymCalmin (the trade name of our diluted - 5% - molecule) reduced itchiness significantly by 65% and it also reduced redness by 50%.
Boswellia Serrata Extract
Also-called: Indian Frankincense Extract | What-it-does: soothing
The extract coming from the Indian Frankincense, a medium-sized tree native to India. Mostly the gum-resin is used that is obtained from an incision made on the trunk of the tree. It contains about 30-60% resin, 5-10% fragrant essential oil, and the rest is made up of polysaccharides (mostly arabinose, galactose, xylose).
The biologically most active components of the resin are boswellic acids that have anti-inflammatory properties. According to manufacturer info, the boswellic acids rich resin extract is also a potent inhibitor of elastase (an enzyme that breaks down proteins, including collagen) and has antiGAGase activity (protecting the important natural moisturizing factors, glycosaminoglycans in the skin) meaning that it can help the skin to stay firm for a longer time.
The reason why we did not award Boswellia Serrata Extract a goodie status is that this INCI name is not clear enough on the type of the extract. It might be a boswellic acids rich, anti-inflammatory extract (that is a goodie) or it might be a fragrant essential oil rich extract used in perfumery or aromatherapy that can be a problem for sensitive skin types.
Epigallocatechin Gallate - superstar
Also-called: EGCG | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing
If EGCG does not tell you anything, green tea sure does. We have written about green tea in excruciating details, so if you wanna become an expert in the "green tea in skincare" topic, click here and read it.
So now you know that EGCG is the magic ingredient in green tea. It's the most active polyphenol that green tea owes most of its magic properties to. It's a fantastic antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogenic agent. Be happy, if you spot it on the ingredient list.
Bisabolol - goodie
Also-called: Alpha-Bisabolol | What-it-does: soothing
It's one of the active parts of Chamomile that contains about 30% of bisabolol. It's a clear oily fluid that is used in skincare as a nice anti-inflammatory and soothing ingredient.
Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice Powder - goodie
What-it-does: soothing, moisturizer/humectant
A spray-dried or freeze-dried version of Aloe Leaf Juice. The point of both drying methods is to make water evaporate from the juice and leave just the "useful" components behind.
So the aloe powder has similar soothing, emollient and moisturizing properties as the juice. You can read a bit more about the juice here.
Camellia Sinensis (White Tea) Leaf Extract - superstar
Also-called: Green Tea | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing, antimicrobial/antibacterial
Green tea is one of the most researched natural ingredients
The active parts are called polyphenols, or more precisely catechins (EGCG being the most abundant and most active catechin)
There can be huge quality differences between green tea extracts. The good ones contain 50-90% catechins (and often make the product brown and give it a distinctive smell)
Green tea is proven to be a great antioxidant, UV protectant, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic and antimicrobial
Because of these awesome properties green tea is a great choice for anti-aging and also for skin diseases including rosacea, acne and atopic dermatitis
Read all the geeky details about Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract here >>
Also-called: Rooibos Tea
Allantoin Acetyl Methionine
What-it-does: soothing
Also-called: Vitamin E Acetate | What-it-does: antioxidant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
It’s the most commonly used version of pure vitamin E in cosmetics. You can read all about the pure form here. This one is the so-called esterified version.
According to famous dermatologist, Leslie Baumann while tocopheryl acetate is more stable and has a longer shelf life, it’s also more poorly absorbed by the skin and may not have the same awesome photoprotective effects as pure Vit E.
Mel (Honey) Extract - goodie
Usually, a glycerin or glycol based extract of honey that has similar properties to pure honey, i.e. moisturizing, soothing and antibacterial magic properties.
If you wanna know more about honey in cosmetics, we have a shiny explanation here >>
Sodium PCA - goodie
Also-called: Sodium Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
PCA stands for Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid and though it might not sound like it, it is a thing that can be found naturally in our skin. The sodium salt form of PCA is an important skin-identical ingredient and great natural moisturizer that helps the skin to hold onto water and stay nicely hydrated.
Panthenol - goodie
Also-called: Pro-Vitamin B5 | What-it-does: soothing, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
An easy-to-formulate, commonly used, nice to have ingredient that’s also called pro-vitamin B5. As you might guess from the “pro” part, it’s a precursor to vitamin B5 (whose fancy name is pantothenic acid).
Its main job in skincare products is to moisturise the skin. It’s a humectant meaning that it can help the skin to attract water and then hold onto it. There is also research showing that panthenol can help our skin to produce more lovely lipids that are important for a strong and healthy skin barrier.
Another great thing about panthenol is that it has anti-inflammatory and skin protecting abilities. A study shows that it can reduce the irritation caused by less-nice other ingredients (e.g. fragrance, preservatives or chemical sunscreens) in the product.
Research also shows that it might be useful for wound healing as it promotes fibroblast (nice type of cells in our skin that produce skin-firming collagen) proliferation.
If that wasn’t enough panthenol is also useful in nail and hair care products. A study shows that a nail treatment liquide with 2% panthenol could effectively get into the nail and significantly increase the hydration of it.
As for the hair the hydration effect is also true there. Panthenol might make your hair softer, more elastic and helps to comb your hair more easily.
What-it-does: viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising
It's one of the most commonly used thickeners and emulsion stabilizers. If the product is too runny, a little xanthan gum will make it more gel-like. Used alone, it can make the formula sticky and it is a good team player so it is usually combined with other thickeners and so-called rheology modifiers (helper ingredients that adjust the flow and thus the feel of the formula). The typical use level of Xantha Gum is below 1%, it is usually in the 0.1-0.5% range.
Btw, Xanthan gum is all natural, a chain of sugar molecules (polysaccharide) produced from individual sugar molecules (glucose and sucrose) via fermentation. It’s approved by Ecocert and also used in the food industry (E415).
What-it-does: solvent, moisturizer/humectant
A multi-functional, silky feeling helper ingredient that can do quite many things. It's used as an emulsion stabilizer, solvent and a broad spectrum antimicrobial. According to manufacturer info, it's also a moisturizer and helps to make the product feel great on the skin. It works synergistically with preservatives and helps to improve water-resistance of sunscreens.
What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant, emollient
It’s a handy multi-tasking ingredient that gives the skin a nice, soft feel. At the same time, it also boosts the effectiveness of other preservatives, such as the nowadays super commonly used phenoxyethanol.
The blend of these two (caprylyl glycol + phenoxyethanol) is called Optiphen, which not only helps to keep your cosmetics free from nasty things for a long time but also gives a good feel to the finished product. It's a popular duo.
What-it-does: solvent | Irritancy: 0-1 | Comedogenicity: 0-2
Similar to other glycols, it's a helper ingredient used as a solvent, or to thin out thick formulas and make them more nicely spreadable.
Hexylene Glycol is also part a preservative blend named Lexgard® HPO, where it helps the effectiveness of current IT-preservative, phenoxyethanol.
Also-called: lye | What-it-does: buffering
The unfancy name for it is lye. It’s a solid white stuff that’s very alkaline and used in small amounts to adjust the pH of the product and make it just right.
For example, in case of AHA or BHA exfoliants, the right pH is super-duper important, and pH adjusters like sodium hydroxide are needed.
BTW, lye is not something new. It was already used by ancient Egyptians to help oil and fat magically turn into something else. Can you guess what? Yes, it’s soap. It still often shows up in the ingredient list of soaps and other cleansers.
Sodium hydroxide in itself is a potent skin irritant, but once it's reacted (as it is usually in skin care products, like exfoliants) it is totally harmless.
What-it-does: abrasive/scrub
What-it-does: chelating
Super common little helper ingredient that helps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time. It does so by neutralizing the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes.
A helper ingredient that helps to make the products stay nice longer, aka preservative. It works mainly against fungi.
It’s pH dependent and works best at acidic pH levels (3-5). It’s not strong enough to be used in itself so it’s always combined with something else, often with potassium sorbate.
Product: JAN MARINI Rosalieve Redness Reducing Complex
what‑it‑does anti-acne | soothing | buffering
Azelaic acid is a superstar acid with some serious magic properties. Before we list them out here's just a short intro.Azelaic acid is a so-called carboxylic acid. [more]
A nice odorless liquid used mainly as a superior solubilizer and efficacy booster for cosmetic active ingredients such as vitamin C or benzoyl peroxide. [more]
An oily ingredient that can magically blend with water all by itself (called Self Emulsifying). Other than that it’s a nice emollient that gives a smooth and soft appearance to the skin. [more]
An emollient ester with a rich and creamy but non-greasy skin feel. [more]
Shea butter that's considered to be a magic moisturizer and emollient. It is also soothing and rich in antioxidants. [more]
A type of clay mineral that works as a nice helper ingredient to thicken and stabilize formulas. As a clay, it consists of platelets that have a negative charge on the surface (face) and a positive on the edge. [more]
A waxy solid material that helps oil and water to mix together, aka emulsifier. It is super similar to Steareth-20 with just a little more ethoxylation and thus a little more water solubility. [more]
A waxy solid material that helps oil and water to mix together, aka emulsifier. It is derived from the fatty alcohol, stearyl alcohol by ethoxylating it and thus making the molecule a little water-soluble. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient | emulsifying | viscosity controlling
A fatty (the good, non-drying kind of) alcohol that makes your skin feel smooth and nice (emollient), helps to thicken up products and also helps water and oil to blend (emulsifier).
what‑it‑does cell-communicating ingredient | soothing
A soothing, redness reducing peptide that works by down-regulating a pro-inflammatory signal molecule (called interleukon-6) to prevent inflammation. [more]
what‑it‑does soothing
An anti-irritant and anti-itch molecule that copies the active ingredient in the well-known soothing plant, oat. [more]
The extract coming from the Indian Frankincense - usually the gum resin is used that contains boswellic acid, a potent anti-inflammatory agent. Might also contain fragrant essential oils (depending on the type of the extract). [more]
what‑it‑does antioxidant | soothing
The most active polyphenol in green tea. A fantastic antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogenic agent. [more]
One of the active parts of Chamomile that is used in skincare as a nice anti-inflammatory and soothing ingredient. [more]
what‑it‑does soothing | moisturizer/humectant
A spray-dried or freeze-dried version of Aloe Leaf Juice. Has similar soothing, emollient and moisturizing properties as the juice itself. [more]
what‑it‑does antioxidant | soothing | antimicrobial/antibacterial
Green Tea - one of the most researched natural ingredients that contains the superstar actives called catechins. It has proven antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anticarcinogenic properties. [more]
A form of vitamin E that works as an antioxidant. Compared to the pure form it's more stable, has longer shelf life, but it's also more poorly absorbed by the skin. [more]
Usually, a glycerin or glycol based extract of honey that has similar properties to pure honey, i.e. moisturizing, soothing and antibacterial magic properties. If you wanna know more about honey in cosmetics, we have a shiny explanation here >> [more]
It's an important skin-identical ingredient and great natural moisturizer that helps the skin to hold onto water and stay nicely hydrated. [more]
Pro-Vitamin B5 is a goodie that moisturises the skin, has anti-inflammatory, skin protecting and wound healing properties. [more]
A super commonly used thickener and emulsion stabilizer. [more]
what‑it‑does solvent | moisturizer/humectant
A multi-functional, silky feeling helper ingredient that can do quite many things. It's used as an emulsion stabilizer, solvent, and a broad spectrum antimicrobial. [more]
what‑it‑does moisturizer/humectant | emollient
A handy multi-tasking ingredient that gives the skin a nice, soft feel and also boosts the effectiveness of other preservatives. [more]
Similar to other glycols, it's a helper ingredient used as a solvent, or to thin out thick formulas and make them more nicely spreadable. Hexylene Glycol is also part a preservative blend named Lexgard® [more]
what‑it‑does buffering
Lye - A solid white stuff that’s very alkaline and used in small amount to adjust the pH of the product. [more]
what‑it‑does abrasive/scrub
Super common little helper ingredient that helps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time. It does so by neutralizing the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes. [more]
A preservative that works mainly against fungi. Has to be combined with other preservatives. [more]
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Talking Indonesia: the urban poor
What forms of activism do the urban poor engage in? How has the government responded to their activism? Dr Dave McRae chats to Dr Ian Wilson about these issues and more in the latest episode of Talking Indonesia.
Why is Ahok in prison? A legal analysis of the decision
On 9 May, judges sentenced Basuki ‘Ahok’ Tjahaja Purnama to two years in prison for blasphemy, surprising many, as prosecutors had not pursued a custodial sentence. Professor Simon Butt presents a legal analysis of the decision. What arguments did the court hear and what did it accept?
What does the Jakarta election result mean for the women’s movement?
Many observers have suggested that the win of Anies Baswedan in the Jakarta gubernatorial election last week has set the stage for the ongoing exploitation of religious and ethnic sentiment in Indonesian politics. According to Dr Dina Afrianty, however, most post-election analyses have failed to consider what the election result means for Indonesian women.
Ahok’s defeat bodes ill for the future
Anies Baswedan will be the next governor of Jakarta, following a bitterly fought campaign against Basuki ‘Ahok’ Tjahaja Purnama. Make no mistake, Professor Tim Lindsey writes, it was the mobilisation of racial and religious hatred achieved by his enemies that led to Ahok’s defeat in this election.
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Indo-US
IndUS Business Journal
Home Technology Emami looks at inorganic opportunities in ayurvedic space
Emami looks at inorganic opportunities in ayurvedic space
Guwahati– FMCG major Emami Ltd, which is looking at inorganic opportunities in the ayurvedic segment in India as well as abroad, is hoping that its future growth would come from “core brands and brand extensions” in the space, a company official said on Tuesday.
“In the ayurvedic business, our growth will come from core brands, it could also come from brand extensions,” the company’s Chief Financial Officer N.H. Bhansali told reporters here on the sidelines of inauguration of firm’s third manufacturing plant at Pacharia in Assam’s Kamrup district.
“The company is also looking at inorganic opportunities in India and overseas.”
The new facility, spread over a total planned floor area of over 50,000 sqm for a total capacity of 90,000 mtpa, is built at an investment of Rs 300 crore.
The brand extensions can take place in haircare, personalcare and skin care, he said, adding that everywhere there is a lot of scope.
Asked whether the company is looking into brands or business acquisitions, he said: “It will depend whether we will be looking into brand acquisition or acquisition of production facilities… it will depend on the opportunities which will come.
“What makes sense for us, we will look into them. But generally, in our business, the brands are very important.”
On the possible geographies for any acquisitions that may take place, he said its focus countries would be Middle East, Russia, Africa, South East Asia.
The Rs 50,000 crore Emami group of companies has a portfolio of nearly 300 products based on ayurvedic formulations.
Asked whether the company would consider any price reduction of its products following tax rate cuts of some of FMCG items under Goods and Services Tax (GST), Bhansali said: “We need to evaluate the situation in totality.”
Further, he said, while there have been some relaxations, still there is no clarity on the refunds, which were earlier available for the exemptions for Northeast and other exempted zones.
“Those refunds have been restricted or halved in many of the cases. So a full clarity is required before we take a decision. And before that we need to make our calculations first.”
He also said the wholesale trade channel has been amongst the worst affected post demonetisation and roll out of GST. However, normalcy is coming in now, he added. (IANS)
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Our mission is to open a channel for greater connectivity between marketers across the United States and influential members of the dynamic South Asian/Asian Indian community, to serve as a catalyst for the market overall, and enable advertisers to effectively penetrate this high-potential consumer segment.
Contact us: editorial@indusbusinessjournal.com
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Jonathan Clinch
Musician & Academic
HH Cello Concerto
HH Piano Project
Howells
Herbert Howells
Jonathan completed his PhD (Historical Musicology & Analysis) at the University of Durham on the British composer Herbert Howells (1892-1983), under the supervision of Professor Jeremy Dibble.
His thesis is entitled ‘Experiments with Sonata Form’: A Critical Study of the Absolute Music of Herbert Howells and Its Place in Modern British Music’ (abstract below). In addition to his thesis, Jonathan also produced a completion of Howells’s Cello Concerto which is now published by Novello and has been recently recorded – see Cello Concerto page.
He is currently working on a biography of the composer.
Please do get in touch if you have any Howells related queries or information.
The Music of Herbert Howells (published by Boydell & Brewer), to which Jonathan contributed, may be ordered here.
It contains 2 essays: –
‘On Hermeneutics in Howells: Some Thoughts on Interpreting his Cello Concerto’
”Tunes all the way’? Romantic Modernism and the Piano Concertos of Herbert Howells’
Other Publications on Howells:
‘The Challenge to Goodwill: Herbert Howells, Alban Berg and ‘The Modern Problem” in British Musical Criticism and Intellectual Thought, 1850-1950. Edited by Jeremy Dibble and Julian Horton (Boydell & Brewer, 2018)
‘Shaping the living and the dead’ -The Annual Herbert Howells Lecture,
given at Westminster Abbey on 8th October 2016. Text here.
‘Herbert Howells’s Organ Works? Critical reception, performance practice and the case for reappraisal.’ was published in Volume 37 of the Journal of The British Institute of Organ Studies (December 2013).
JBIOS 37 can be obtained from the publisher: Positif Press (Oxford), TEL: +44 (0)1865 243220
‘Beauty Springeth Out of Naught’: Interpreting the Church Music of Herbert Howells was published online within British Postgraduate Musicology, vol. 11 (December 2011) – available here.
Jonathan writes programme notes regularly for performances and recordings of music by Howells and other British composers. Do get in touch if you need some notes. His most recent set was for David Newsholme’s fine disc of organ music – Howells from Salisbury.
PhD Thesis Abstract
‘Experiments with Sonata Form’: A Critical Study of the Absolute Music of Herbert Howells and Its Place in Modern British Music’
Taking its title from an essay (now lost) by the composer, this critical study evaluates and contextualizes the substantial volume of absolute music that sits outside the body of well-known church music for which Herbert Howells (1892-1983) is celebrated today. Within a narrative which is both analytical and historical, it traces and examines the essentially empirical development of his compositional processes, techniques, models and stylistic influences in detail for the first time and places it within a structure of three creative periods. In particular the study devotes attention to Howells’s manipulation of formal principles across a range of instrumental genres – the solo sonata, the suite, concerted chamber music and concerto – and explores the composer’s intellectualist predilection for structural compression and conflation at various architectonic levels. The discussion also focuses on Howells’s use of tonality and its intrinsic, generative interrelationship with thematic material.
Ultimately a case study in modernism and the British creative imagination, the thesis also examines aspects of Howells’s reception history, the death of his son and the substantial BBC lecture series ‘The Modern Problem’, all three elements of which provide significant illumination of Howells’s complex development as an instrumental composer, his musical Weltanschauung, his attitude to European contemporary music and how this adds significantly to a commentary on his own stylistic formation during a fragmented twentieth century.
View jonathanclinch’s profile on Twitter
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En route to China: Tea with Chiang Kai-shek (Part 3): Floud, B
Gallery: 42 imagesEn route to China: Tea with Chiang Kai-shek (Part 3): Floud, B
Page 1 of 2.Per page: 10 | 25 | All
Part 3 of a second instalment of a revealing photograph album compiled by Bernard Floud (1915-1967), relates to his journey to China in 1938 as part of a League of Nations student delegation.
Floud visited both Communists and Nationalists, notably the youthful members of the ‘Children’s Propaganda Troup’ and the ‘Children’s Dramatic Troup’, tea with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and Madame Chiang Kai-shek and a visit to Madame Sun Yat-sen.
The album reveals the ruinous after effects of Japanese bombing of Canton in August 1938. It also features student delegations and marches, podium speeches and official visits to schools and military training facilities.
After military service during World War Two, and a career as a civil servant and farmer, Floud served as a Labour MP from 1964 until his death in 1967.
China, Wuchang, Hankow
James Klugmann, Molly Yard, Grant Lathe, Chiang Kai Shek, Soong May-ling
War/Campaign/Operation: Second Sino-Japanese war (1937-1945)
Theme (Main): Cultures & Customs
Theme (Main): Daily Life
Theme (Main): History of Photography
Theme (Main): Travel & Exploration
Subject: Propaganda & Influence Ops
Item: Photographic (album)
Item: Photographic (loose)
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VALHALLA RISING – Part 5
December 11, 2017 December 9, 2017 Laura Marie Clark4 Comments
If you need to catch up with Valhalla Rising before reading this, here are the links:
VALHALLA RISING – Prologue
This is getting pretty lengthy now – I hope you enjoy!
Maureen’s communicator chimed six times before she answered it. She was busy working on a report for the Controller and the leaders of the surrounding regions about the cruel treatment of Rokesh, and why this would have a negative impact on all parties involved. She did not expect anyone to pay attention to it, but there was the small chance that someone might notice it and that, when they did, they would want to see something official with Maureen’s name on it. If she did not file the report, then she could almost guarantee that she would get in trouble for not filing it.
She also did not much care who was trying to contact her or what they wanted.
Eventually, she grew tired of the bleeping and flicked her wrist, opening the message that the sender was apparently desperate to deliver to her. It appeared on the screen above her desk, a long text file full of boring-looking bullet points and technical information that scrolled from top to bottom automatically, to reveal the scrawled sign of Zuwrath in an ugly dark yellow font.
Maureen thought the colour suited the Controller perfectly.
She cast aside her own report and flicked the screen back up to the top with an impatient finger. The title was “SCHOOLING FOR HUMANS”, and that was all Maureen needed to read before a sense of dread began to settle in her stomach. Schooling for humans? The Controller had outdone herself this time; human schooling was not supposed to be any of her concern.
A short note from Zuwrath – or more likely, one of her representatives – at the top of the page informed Maureen that every member of the human government had been sent this information too, and that it was to be implemented immediately. This was what humans were going to be taught from now on, and there were to be no arguments on the matter.
The first section was brief and oddly vague. It stated that human children had so far had a sloppy education that the virn needed to straighten out, to ensure that humans were provided with all the necessary skills they needed to successfully grow into adulthood. Maureen noticed straight away that the emphasis was on traits that human adults (and not virn adults) were supposed to possess, as though to put humans in their place below virn from an early age.
The second section listed areas of education, including the basics such as mathematics, science, and language, which Zuwrath expected to change. Humans would be taught specifically about virn who had made important discoveries, and references to humans such as Pythagoras or Einstein were to be discouraged. After the age of twelve (the end of lower and beginning of upper school in the virn education system, adopted by humans for simplicity), humans would no longer be taught virnin: though previously it had been compulsory, it was now labelled “unnecessary”.
Maureen was not the only one who would recognise these new tactics for what they were. The emphasis on virn over human mathematicians and scientists would teach humans children that the virn were mentally and technologically superior to them from a young age, without anyone having to say it aloud. The barriers that limiting language lessons would create would keep humans in lesser jobs, where they would earn pittance wages. In a few years, it could probably even be spun to make humans appear ignorant and unwilling to enter the virn sphere of life.
The third section of the message detailed examinations exclusive to human children, then the types of jobs that human children should be encouraged to go into when their upper school ended at seventeen. None of these jobs, Maureen noticed, would require leaving the camp. The examination results would be calculated according to a bell curve, and they would determine which careers the students were ultimately expected to take. The majority of humans would end up doing factory work.
According to the report, from seventeen to nineteen, humans would enter into work placement programmes, as though this bell curve system would instantly create jobs for every child to move into the career that was selected for them. Of course, most of these jobs would require very minimal training, so the reality would be that humans would work from the age of seventeen until they could no longer physically perform the labour or were made redundant.
All of this led into adulthood. A job that was preassigned, unlike virn students, who were given ample opportunities to explore different career paths. Virn students could select their subjects based on their interests, not on the results of their examinations. There would be no such choice for human students, only instructions to follow. No freedom for humans; only a duty to perform.
The final section of the message discussed the schooling of virn children in brief, and why this needed to be different from the schooling of humans. It mentioned further education, and why this should be reserved, interestingly not for virn per se, but for “those who live outside of the camp known as Valhalla” – which was essentially the same thing as virn-exclusive.
To Maureen’s eyes, this was the part where Zuwrath had, despite not stating anything outright, bothered to hide her meaning the least. Even if, by some miracle, a handful of humans did settle outside the camp, they would still be expected to attend a human school and would therefore not get the opportunity to enter further education.
Maureen closed the text document and opened a blank file. She stared at it for a long time. What could she say in response that Zuwrath would be likely to acknowledge? The Controller had not indicated that she was interested in making massive changes to the human education system before: that had always been an internal issue of Valhalla. She doubted there was anything she could write that would change Zuwrath’s mind.
It did not seem like a sensible thing to try to do, but that was why nobody else would try. Maureen had no choice but to write something.
She drew up several drafts analysing what the impact of these alterations would be from her point of view, but deleted them all. She was not saying anything that Zuwrath would not know already. Maureen then drew up a draft message that suggested mixed schooling, but that had never got her anywhere in the past, so she deleted that, too. In the end, she gave up on an official letter and instead decided on a personal message to Zuwrath that felt more meaningful than anything that was electronically signed, dated, and stamped.
‘Controller Zuwrath,’ she dictated to the screen through gritted teeth, ‘I just received your message about schooling. Have to confess myself disappointed. You’ve never shown any interest in this kind of thing before, even when I’ve brought it up. I suppose you knew I wouldn’t be impressed. Suggest we meet to discuss as soon as possible. Maureen.’
She sent the message before she could change her mind, and returned to her condemnation of Rokesh’s eviction with a heavy heart.
On the northern border of Valhalla, there was an expanse of open land that humans had named the No-Land. According to the virn government, it was land that humans could potentially expand upon in the future, but they had no intention of allowing any settlements there for several decades. Sometimes, children and teens of both species would gather there to hang out with their friends, whether because this irritated their parents or because they thought they could do something frowned upon and would not get caught there.
Humans and virn generally kept their distance from one another, even in No-Land. There were occasional shouting matches between teenage groups, but little more than that had been reported for a long time. No-Land was not considered a dangerous place: there was nothing of strategic value there to incite one side or the other. Neither species could claim any rights over the other to be there, or to use the land. It was not officially human land – yet – but it was destined to belong to humans and according to virn law, that meant it was not officially virn either.
There were a few tents along the border or No-Land. Most of the humans in Valhalla had situation themselves close to the factories, and near No-Land there was nothing to keep a large population employed. Those who lived in the tents were largely jobless – it was often said that the only employment was the task of cleaning the public conveniences.
Sometimes, visitors would come from deeper within Valhalla. They would pity the people on the border, but would only ever suggest one thing: move further into the camp. The response to this from the border folks was that they could envision no better lives for themselves being worked to death in a factory. The cycle continued.
A group of human children were playing together in No-Land. They kept close to the human side – it was common for those who lived around the border to do so. One was from inner Valhalla; the others were local.
The games they entertained themselves with were sweet and innocent. They ran around, shouting their excitement in the open air. They chased one another for hours, while on the other side of No-Land a gang of virn teenagers stood huddled together, listening to music and casting occasional glances over at the children, as though they considered the kids annoying.
Then the child from the inner camp, who did not understand the importance of staying close to the camp, got a little closer to the virn. A little closer, and a little closer, each time drawing the rest of the humans out with him without any of them realising it. After one particularly long chase, he slipped and landed in the mid a few paces from the group of virn. One of the teenager spun around.
Some of them had their hands on their hips. Others had their arms folded across their chests. All of them looked angry at the interruption. They wore bright colours – a display of rebellion against the bland work uniforms that matched virn skin colour. The one who had spun around, who had a hat sat on the top of his head with a wide brim that was flat against his forehead, stepped towards the child.
‘What do you think you’re doing, human?’ he asked, spitting as he spoke. The human boy, with a poor grasp of virnin, could only understand one word: human. He stood up as the other children gathered nervously around him, craning their necks up to look at the much bigger virn teens.
‘Sorry,’ he mumbled, the word a little slurred, then tried to back away. The other children stepped back with him.
‘Not so fast,’ the virn hissed. He reached out and grabbed the boy by the shoulder, pulling him sharply then letting him go, so that he fell face-first into the mud again.
The virn teens laughed.
The human children stood still, their eyes blown wide. They did not have to understand the virnin to know what the implication of these words were. The human boy pushed himself to his feet and wiped his face with his sleeve. Again, he tried to back away, and again he was dragged down into the mud.
‘Eat it,’ he was told, and when he frowned in confusion the teenagers imitated eating to get the message across. The boy remained still.
‘Let’s go. They’re mean,’ said one of the other children.
‘Shut up,’ one of the teenage girls snapped at her. The human winced at the tone. ‘If you can’t speak our tongue then don’t leave your crappy home.’
‘Better, if you can’t speak it, don’t live on our planet,’ another virn chimed in, as the humans shared blank but frightened expressions. ‘Lazy human bastards just expect us to learn their tongues and introduce their laws into our society to compensate for their backwards culture.’
‘My dad used to work in a factory that made spaceship parts,’ the first teen hissed. ‘Until human scum came along and took his job. Now they’re making poor quality parts on the cheap – good for nothing losers.’ He spat on the human boy still laid in the mud, who wiped the globule away with the back of his hand. ‘Stay still! If I spit on you, you’ll leave it where it lands! That’s your place in the universe!’ He placed his foot on the small of the boy’s back and applied just enough pressure to keep him still. ‘And this is mine.’
The rest of the human children began to edge backwards.
‘You know what you are?’ the lead virn asked as he leant down over the boy under his foot. ‘Do you? Want me to say it, you’re a wipt. You’re a low, dirty, disgusting wipt.’
The human boy looked up. The children halted and stared at the teenagers in horror. There were some words that every human knew.
‘Yeah,’ laughed another of the virn, ‘you’re all wipts.’
‘Wipts, wipts, wipts,’ the chanted in unison, laughing all the while.
The human children had heard enough. Those who were free turned and ran back to Valhalla; the boy on the ground pushed up against his captor and managed to scramble to his feet in the teen’s surprise. Before he could follow the others back to the camp, the chief tormentor reached into his belt and pulled out a long, thin dagger. It had a jagged edge on one side and was smooth on the other. He swept the jagged blade along the boy’s face.
The child screamed and ran, bleeding heavily onto his shirt.
‘Never forget what you are!’
‘H – Hello? Is that Maureen Bradshaw?’
‘Speaking, yes. Hello. Who’s calling?’
‘Oh, Mrs Bradshaw, thank goodness! I’ve called so many different numbers for you, but they must’ve all been old ones – I need to tell you something, about something that happened on the border with Nesmara earlier today. It’s so horrible – so important – someone needs to tell the presses, to do something! We can’t tolerate this any longer, we can’t! Our children – frightened in their own homes. Oh, it’s awful! Have you – have you heard?’
‘I haven’t heard anything about Nesmara. Just calm down, please, and start with your name.’
‘Okay, okay, okay … my name’s Jessica.’
‘Jessica. Hi, Jessica. You can call me Maureen.’
‘Thank you, Maureen.’
‘Not at all. Now, Jessica, please tell me what happened. In your own time.’
‘Okay, okay … well, we were visited by a couple of friends and their young son this morning. We let our kids play together on the border, in No-Land – a shared space for humans and virn alike. There were some virn teens out there. Normally they’re fine, you know, they don’t make a fuss or anything. Sometimes they all hang out or even play together. Only this time … oh, it’s so awful! One of the virn attacked their little boy – none of us saw it happen, because we’ve never had to worry about anything like this before, but they attacked him with a knife across his face! He’s going to have a scar under his left eye now, we’ve done what we can for him but when the doctor came about an hour ago she said it’s likely he’ll have the scar for the rest of his life.’
‘Hold on, hold on, Jessica. Did you say the virn teen attacked him? Why?’
‘According to the other kids, the virn started on him when he got too close.’
‘Oh, how awful. I’m so sorry, Jessica. I hope he’s all right.’
‘He’ll recover, in time. What we want to know is if there’s anything you can do to make sure these virn kids get what’s coming to them. Our kids still need to go out and play. We don’t want them to be afraid of going into No-Land.’
‘Well … I’ll certainly see what I can do.’
‘We’ll be eternally grateful.’
‘I hope I can give you some good news. Thanks for letting me know, Jessica. And give my best to the kid and his parents.’
Maureen wasted no time in contacting Starg about the incident in No-Land. Although it was not his territory, she did not know the Keeper of the Peace in Nesmara, the region north of Valhalla, as well as she knew Starg. She wanted to use her relationship with Starg to persuade the Keeper of Nesmara to openly discuss the issue of virn violence against humans, an issue they were unlikely to discuss with her without persuasion.
The longer she waited, the less likely it would be that anybody would care.
This was not like other attacks she had known in her time as Liaison. It was not a group of drunk virn and a group of drunk humans clashing with each other on a street. It was not a gang of virn targeting a human or a gang of humans targeting a virn. It was not a long-running feud or a bitter argument. It was not even a racist attack that had escalated and got out of hand. This was teenagers attacking children, and she did not think Starg would be able to deny the moral dilemma when he heard it.
Maureen finally had proof of something she had been saying to both Starg and Zuwrath all along: that the bitter dislike that had emerged from human and virn misunderstanding had grown into something dangerous, inherent in society. If children and teens were getting involved in the physical fight, then that was all the evidence she needed.
She informed Starg that she was going to visit him and left Valhalla at the earliest opportunity. After Jessica’s evening call, she had spent the night planning what she was going to say and, after a few hours of sleep, had located a transporter the next morning. When she arrived at Starg’s office in Pika, he was there waiting for her.
‘What is it?’ he asked. His eyebrows were forced together in a knot in the middle of his head, as though a visit from Maureen was the last thing he needed. She recognised the annoyance on his face and realised she would have to keep it short.
‘The Keeper of Peace in Nesmara,’ she replied, ‘doesn’t like me.’
‘None of the Keepers like you,’ Starg assured her.
‘How flattering, Starg. Yet however much you protest, you at least came to Valhalla, instead of expecting me to always come to you. You have seen how I live and you know more about Valhalla than the rest of them put together.’
Starg’s top lip quivered. ‘And?’ he snarled.
‘… And I was hoping I could ask you to use your influence to persuade the Keeper in Nesmara to do something important for my people.’
Starg sighed. He rubbed his forehead with his hand, then dropped the hand down by his side.
‘Why do you not speak with him yourself? Dragu is an intelligent man.’
‘But I’m not close enough to him. I know what he’ll say to me. I need you to help me to speak with him, someone on his level who can give me a bit of a boost. Come on, Starg, think about it: I wouldn’t have to keep coming to you with all my problems if I got on better with other Keepers.’
‘That would be a good thing indeed. I have to deal with so many human issues currently that I have no idea which direction I am heading in.’ Starg’s eyebrows drifted apart, and his expression cooled somewhat. ‘So, tell me what it is this time.’
‘There’s a place between Valhalla and Nesmara called No-Land,’ Maureen began.
‘I’ve heard of it.’
‘Yesterday, a group of virn teenagers attacked a human child there.’
Starg’s eyes widened. He took a step towards Maureen; she held her ground. ‘You can prove this?’ he asked.
‘The child is physically scarred.’
Starg nodded. Then, he tilted his head and his eyes narrowed again. ‘And you want …?’
‘I want you to help me persuade Dragu to publish it in the media. Big news. This should be making headlines.’
Maureen’s words were met with a short, sharp bark of laughter from Starg. He stepped away from her and began circling the room, still grinning to himself, and chuckling occasionally.
‘You’ll have to go to Zuwrath, then.’
‘That’s what I was afraid you’d say. Starg, can’t we do this without involving her?’
‘No way,’ Starg scoffed. ‘I refuse to get involved in that – Zuwrath would have me by my balls. If you want it, you’ll have to do it yourself.’
He waved her out, and Maureen left.
October 30, 2017 October 30, 2017 Laura Marie Clark9 Comments
Large, bold fonts flashed the names of the stores across the wide halls of the shopping mall. The text reflected in the shiny windows of those opposite, lighting up the goods that had been carefully set up and placed on display. Some of the stores were decorated with glittering lights, there to catch the attention of the busy shoppers, whose wallets and purses bulged with the potential to splurge on new and fashionable items.
The shopping centre had long, pale walls. Occasional pieces of modern artwork hung in some of the empty spaces. They were each labelled with the name of their creator, mostly students who lived in hope that the shoppers would notice their work and commission a piece for their own homes. The ceilings were high, designed to give the impression of peace and tranquillity; everything was there to encourage the happiness of the shoppers.
Heels clicked on tiled floors, creating a rhythmic pattern just audible above the soft music playing from the speakers high on the walls. The heat in there was astonishing, but it did not seem to bother any of the shoppers. The strutted around without a single concern for the temperature.
This was a place for the super-rich. The shoppers walked around with their noses held in the air, decked to the nines in designer clothes that proudly demonstrated their elitism. They wore dresses with bone collars that had been taken from endangered species (after the natural death of the animal, or so it was claimed). Handmade shoes so intricate that each pair was one of a kind. Fur coats, gloves, and hats; the marks of people who were simply too wealthy to care about the little man – or the whines of those do-gooder campaigners who were on their side.
Their children trailed along behind them, dressed immaculately in clothing that was worth more than the average man’s best suit. Some of them carried pets, which wore studied collars and pretty, unnecessary little items of clothing.
The precious stones worn by the shoppers shone in the bright lights of the mall. They hung on their jewellery and were stuck to the pieces of metal in their piercings. Their noses, ears, and lips bore loops and gems that gave them an air of obscene glamour. The communicators on their wrists were top-of-the-range, the newest designs to come off the market. Wearing anything as outdated as the second-best model would have been disastrous to these people. They flashed their wealth with confidence, bold and unafraid.
Slowly, they drifted from store to store, scrutinising what was on offer in judgemental voices. Store assistants rocked back and forth on their balls of their feet as they begged silently to whatever deity they believe in that they would make enough sales to fill their quota that day. They wore masks covered with the branded logo of their store, so that the shoppers would not have to look at their faces when – or if – they addressed them. It was customary and created a divide between the wealthy shopper and the employee that reinforced their social classes.
Prices were of no concern, which was why they were never displayed openly in the shop windows. If something was good enough for these shoppers, then the price of it was irrelevant.
It was rare to see middle- and lower-class shoppers in that mall. If they did manage to save up substantially, they occasionally went along to splash out, but when they did they clutched their money nervously and left feeling robbed. Heads would turn in their direction as they moved around the mall, undisguised tut tuts following them as they went. They were not encouraged to feel welcome; indeed, their presence was considered suspicious.
Many of the rich shoppers pitied these lower classes for their absurd fussing over the mere matter of price. Why did they bother to visit at all, if they had such a preoccupation with spending money? There were cheaper, outdated malls for their kind in other locations, loud and unclean places that suited them and their kind.
Even more unusual than lower-class shoppers were humans. Human men and women had strange opinions about right and wrong and good and bad, and they were not afraid to let these opinions be known. They had no sense of their place – which was somewhere else, far away from this mall – and made themselves the centre of attention wherever they went. The idea of a human being able to afford anything on offer in this mall was beyond ridiculous.
That was why the young human male and female who entered the shopping centre in the heat of a mid-week afternoon were so curious. They were evidently not wealthy enough to be there; that was obvious from the mud on their shoes to the knots in their hair. Shoppers stepped aside as the two humans approached, or else turned on their heels and went in the opposite direction to avoid walking past the pair altogether.
‘Liz,’ the young man whispered to his partner, a sense of urgency in his voice. ‘I’m not sure about this.’ He was dressed in a tracksuit with a long coat thrown over the top, wrapped tightly around his body. It was at least a couple of sizes too large for him, and he looked lumpy. One of his arms was wrapped around the woman’s shoulders, but she was the one leading him. They walked a short distance inside the mall, past a couple of security guards in masks who turned their heads and watched them go by, as though daring the humans to make a wrong move.
Liz, who had been clutching at her own tightly worn, lumpy jacket, removed her hands from the material for just long enough to pat her partner the back. ‘Ignore them, Jack,’ she said, as her hands found their way back to the jacket. ‘There’s no law against us being here. Besides, this is important. You know why. Nobody here cares. The virn don’t care.’
Jack stopped walking and took several deep breaths. Liz halted less than a second later, and spun immediately to look into his eyes. ‘Yeah,’ he said after a few moments of tense silence, ‘yeah … we have to. We have to.’ It sounded as though he was trying to convince himself more than in agreement with Liz. Jack dragged his eyes away from the piercing stare of his sister and looked around the mall instead, his eyes darting this way and that. Sweat was already forming on his brow at the thought of what was ahead, but that could have been put down to the heat. His hands shook a little as he checked that the coat was still closed. ‘Should we – uh – should we look around, or – or something – then?’
Liz pursed her lips in thought. If she was nervous or uncertain of what they were about to do, then she did not show it. ‘Yes, let’s go deeper inside,’ she said, before she spun around and walked on to scout out a store that interested her. ‘This one,’ she added after a while, pointing to a large store with an almost empty window, save for four handbags that were each seated atop a gold podium.
They headed in that direction, but before they could reach the entrance to the store the two security guards had caught up with them and stood in their way.
Liz puffed out her chest a little and said in her best, yet still somewhat broken, virnin. ‘Can we help you?’
‘Random security check,’ one of the virn guards answered. ‘Come with us.’
Jack, whose virnin was not as good as his sister’s, looked blankly at Liz. She made no sign that she was concerned, so he did his best to imitate her and plodded along silently behind her, following the two guards into a small room located near the entrance of the mall. The door closed behind them, and the two humans looked up at the masked guards with their best innocent faces.
Jack wanted to scream. The hairs on the back of his neck were making him feel itchy, and he was sure that the sweat on his brow was going to start forming pools of water at his feet at any moment.
One of the guards took off his mask and placed it down on the table. He stepped towards the two humans, and leaned down until he was eye-level with Jack. His sharp scales were too close for comfort, and Jack struggled to remain still under the glare of those thin, yellow eyes. The guard hissed sharply, smirking at Jack’s evident discomfort.
‘You look a little too hot, human. Not got something to hide, have you?’
Jack turned to Liz, for help more than for a translation.
‘Your mall’s very hot,’ she told the guard, looking him directly in the eyes as she spoke. There was a moment’s pause. ‘Why have you brought us here?’
‘Random security check,’ the other guard repeated.
‘Why? Random, two humans? We’ve got nothing to hide.’
‘Looks to me like you might have.’
The guard allowed those words to dangle in the air between them for a while. The one staring at Jack briefly flickered his eyes down to his oversized coat, and Jack found that he didn’t have to understand what was being said to know exactly what was going on.
He felt so stupid. Why had he allowed Liz to persuade him that this was something they should do? Why hadn’t they stayed in Valhalla, where they would have been hungry and miserable but safe nonetheless? It was all his sister’s fault: it had been her idea, her plan, she had been the one who had convinced Jack of its necessity. Now they were in serious trouble.
Jack stared into the unblinking eyes of the virn guard and swallowed the lump in his throat. He was sure that the guard would have been able to knock him out in one blow, if he wanted to. Jack was also pretty sure that the guard wanted to. It would be only too easy for the virn to get away with it. Humans, in the mall, causing trouble. Tried to get them to leave politely. Kid was scaring people. Had to do it, really, no other choice. He just wouldn’t comply.
‘Take off your coats,’ the masked guard said.
Liz shook her head. Jack, ignorant to his meaning, copied her. The guard in front of Jack, noticing that he did not understand the language, clicked his teeth impatiently.
‘Your coat comes off now,’ he told Jack in plain English. He had a thick accent and the words blended together a little. He prodded the young man’s shoulder with a thick finger, the point of his manicured nail digging through the material and into Jack’s skin. ‘Feel less hot then.’
‘No,’ Jack replied, a little bluntly. ‘I – I mean, I’m fine, thanks. I think I – I’d just like to leave.’
He tried to step around the guard, but a whirring sound stopped him in his tracks. He looked around at the other guard and saw that the virn was pointing a blaster at Liz’s face. It was long, thin, and the blue light on the side indicated that it was armed to stun.
Jack looked at Liz and wondered what he was supposed to do now. This was not a part of the plan. She stared at the blaster with one eyebrow raised, as though she was daring the guard to fire. Jack’s guard prodded him in the shoulder again, this time harder.
‘Okay,’ Jack said, seeing no other way out of the situation and wanting desperately to find one. ‘Okay. Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll take it off.’
‘Jack!’ Liz warned him. Jack paused, his hands hovering over the sash of his coat, poised to untie it.
His hesitation encouraged the guard with the blaster to change its settings from stun to kill. The light on the side turned from blue to green.
Defying his sister, Jack pulled the sash loose and let the coat fall down to the floor. He saw a flash before he was overwhelmed by an intense surge of pain in the middle of his chest.
Then it was over.
YouTube Tuesday: Death in the Summer
Well, I’ve been away for a couple of days, super busy with the 50th Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies at the University of Birmingham. The Symposium was fantastic, I got to see some great papers and meet some inspiring academics.
12 hour days of volunteering now over, it’s time for another YouTube Tuesday. Here’s Death in the Summer.
Death in the Summer
Icicles hanging in rows from the ceiling
Dripping freezing water onto the tiles
Until a pool that chills me forms below
It’s summer outside; inside winter reigns
Where heat cannot penetrate, and water drips
Though the icicles refuse to melt away
Children play merry games of chase in the playground
Parents bask in the midday sun with lazy abandon
And there is frost around me in this frozen wasteland
Smiles should ease the harshness of this storm
Should, a word on which to focus all attention
But still those icicles drip water onto the tiles
The kitchen is abandoned to another dimension
Where this bleak wilderness has not taken control
Nor the universe agreed upon my icy tomb
The tiles were the final place you laid your head
Live On by Joyfrida Anindo
March 4, 2017 February 28, 2017 Laura Marie ClarkLeave a comment
The road is tough and rough,
Corpses grow like weeds on bumps,
Live on, Don’t stop,
Avert your eyes where need be,
Don’t look them in the eye as they die,
They said,
But I couldn’t understand
Why they chose to look but not see,
Why they could see and not feel,
Why they could feel and do nothing,
Keep living,
About Joyfrida
This poetry was written by Joyfrida Anindo. She is a Kenyan lady who lives and works in Nairobi, Kenya.
You can visit Joyfrida’s blog and read more of her writing here: https://joywrite.wordpress.com/
Another great submission from Joyfrida! Check out her last submission, Cracks of Time, or visit the Submit page to submit your own writing. I’m especially keen to see good writing tips and poetry right now.
Beneath his Fingernails
The soil was rough and irritating beneath his fingernails. No matter how much he tried to dig it out from under them, there was still some left there. He could no longer see it, but he could feel it, buried deep.
He slipped the pointed end of the nail file beneath his thumbnail again, and hissed though his teeth when he felt the skin rupture. The constant filing had worn his nails down, and turned the skin so raw that it had finally broken. Blood pooled down in two directions: down his thumb and across his palm, and down the metal nail file, dripping onto his jeans. He withdrew the nail file, but he could still feel the soil there beneath the nail.
Other reminders hovered over him, too. He could still see the empty stare she had worn, once a look of surprise from his sudden, violent outburst, turned blank from the death of the light in her eyes. She had been heavy as he had carried her out of the house and into the car, and as he had lifted her out of the boot and onto the ground. Heavy and cold.
He had started digging with a shovel, but at some point, his growing panic had taken over and he had sunk down onto his knees in the dirt to dig with his hands. Scoops of dirt had been thrown behind him wildly, some of it landing on his trousers and shoes, working its way beneath his clothes. At least, that was how it felt. He had showered for more than an hour, but the sensation had not gone away.
Once he had buried her and made his way back to their home – to his home, now – there had been time for him to stop and think. He had not meant to push her so hard that she fell and cracked the back of her head on the counter. It had been an accident. Not that anybody would understand that – it was not something he would have believed.
The soil and the memories would never leave him, and eventually someone would put two and two together and come up with a correct answer. But for a while, a short while, he could limit his punishment to the image of her empty eyes and the blood beneath his fingernails.
Sacrificial Hiccups
January 21, 2017 January 21, 2017 Laura Marie ClarkLeave a comment
Fantastic imagery in this poem, great writing.
Dunstan Carter : Poetry
From the unmarked graves
On the cusps of dusty hills,
To the messages on fallen walls
In the hearts of war torn towns,
There is a need to just
Pause and take breaths
Now there’s nothing left
But the icy sheened eyes
Of the puppets
And the infamous thieves,
The blood on the chins
Of the ruthless,
And the stains that shouted loudest
Through rectified dark skies.
On a Pale Horse
December 21, 2016 September 17, 2016 Laura Marie ClarkLeave a comment
I move in and out of your reality
I am the whisper you aren’t certain that you heard
I drift through the space between your bodies
I am the awkward pause
When there is nothing left for anyone to say
I make the lonely nights long
And the time that remains to you tick on
I flicker past you
Faster than you can spot me
Was I ever there?
I am the bringer of endings
The beginning of demise
Come and see me, behold
And fear what follows me
The Beautiful Boy
November 19, 2016 August 27, 2016 Laura Marie Clark1 Comment
I first heard the word when I was seven years old. Two girls stood together in the middle of the playground, close enough to whisper. One of them pointed at me, in her unsubtle childish way; I assumed that they were inviting me over to play with them.
Then when I got closer, the one who had pointed panicked. She withdrew her hand as though she had been scolded, and said loudly, ‘Ew, oh no, the monster is coming over!’
I recognised the word in an instant, and a small part of my confidence died right there, on the concrete ground.
When I got home that day, I told Mama what they had said. She grabbed me and hugged me tight, saying, ‘It doesn’t matter what they think. You’re beautiful. You’re my beautiful boy.’
I didn’t feel beautiful, though. When I looked in the bathroom mirror and saw the left side of my face, where my skull and face were disfigured, my ear and eye pulled tightly towards my hairline as though they were drooping, I felt ugly. The empty, lonely stare from my right eye bored into me until I collapsed and retched on the cold tiled floor.
I cried myself to sleep wondering why I had not been born like the other children. The ones who were normal. Back then, the word normal meant nothing more than looking like everybody else, and it was exactly what I wanted to be.
Nobody, not even Mama, could comfort me.
It was a while before I heard the word again, but I knew even as a child that I would not be able to escape it forever. Mama kept calling me her beautiful boy, and after a while I started to believe her.
That was, until one day when I was nine. Mama and I went out shopping for some new school clothes for me, and a boy younger than me spotted me from across the store.
‘Daddy,’ I heard him say slowly, to the man stood next to him, ‘is that a monster?’
The boy pointed at me, and his father looked up from the shoes he had been examining.
They left the store quickly, before Mama could catch up with them. She had defended me, but I was up against it again. Her soothing voice did not convince me that the other boy had been wrong.
It was even harder to forget the second time.
All through school, Mama told me to ignore what the other kids said. She claimed that none of them were special, like me. She said that when I met good people, true friends, they would see me for who I really was: her beautiful boy.
I wondered who these real friends were, where they were, and why I had to wait so long to find them.
The more comments that the other kids made, the less I listened to Mama. They called me every name they could think of, but nothing ever hurt as much as monster hurt.
I was not a monster.
It was not my fault that I had been born this way. It was nobody’s fault. It was just how I had been made. This was the way my face and skull had grown, and it was the way they were always going to be.
School was long and hard. I performed average at best, and would probably have done much better had I not had the added burden of my deformity. Nevertheless, by the time I left, I was proud: I had not pulled out of school to be tutored privately, as several people had suggested, and by then my disfigurement was a part of me.
This newfound feeling of positivity did not last long.
After finishing school, I found it all too easy to retreat, and hid away from the world. I would have stayed indoors forever, had Mama not forced me to go outside and face the real world once more.
Being older, I could stand the stares of children a little more than I had ever been able to do before. They were too innocent to know that the names they were using would hurt me. It was the reactions of adults that now stung.
They were shameless. No apologies were made for the behaviour of their children – or, indeed, of themselves.
Despite all of this, I was stronger than I had ever been. Something about my time locked away had taught me a valuable lesson: I could not pretend that I did not look this way, and there was no shame in who I was or how I looked.
It did not matter that people turned their heads from me. It did not matter that they called me monster to my face. It did not matter, because I was a good person. I did my best to do my best.
That was the only thing that mattered.
You were special. You were beautiful, the perfect bride to Mama’s beautiful boy. You never did anything – intentionally or otherwise – to hurt me, and you only saw the man inside.
All of my strength, I owe to you. My past was only a build up to the moment when I met you, when you made me see all the goodness in the world with new eyes. That is why, though you’re gone, I will remain strong. Everything that I will do from this moment on, I will do for you.
The monster is not I; it is the disease that killed you.
Slipping Through my Fingers
November 16, 2016 August 27, 2016 Laura Marie ClarkLeave a comment
Sand trickles down through the neck
Between the two bulbs of my hourglass;
The Cup of Yesterday is filling fast
Every second more sand becomes trapped
Within the mound that belongs to the Past;
Too many years have come to pass
What happened to youthful dreams?
Before Time was my greatest enemy,
When the Cup of Tomorrow was still full
The world works so hard, it seems,
To make a fool out of me;
My hourglass counts down to null
The sand of my Time, it is spent
Short Story: Nice Guy
October 28, 2016 October 28, 2016 Laura Marie ClarkLeave a comment
This is a great story, really enjoyable.
Joe Hinojosa
Lance sat alone, stirring his Jack and Coke with his finger, gazing morosely at the clock above the bar. He would have preferred to have stayed home, not wanting to meet the woman whom had already kept him waiting almost half an hour, but she had begged and pleaded until at last, in exasperation, he gave in. He regretted his weakness.
After waiting another five minutes, Vanessa finally showed up, looking slightly harried, but otherwise unapologetic for being more than thirty minutes late. She walked to the table and waited for him to acknowledge him, but he continued to play with his drink. Finally she cleared her throat. “Lance?” she said inquiringly.
“Vanessa,” he retorted flatly, keeping his eye resolutely on his drink. “Have a seat, I guess.”
She waited for him to stand, thinking he would at least do that one gentlemanly duty that common courtesy demanded, but seeing…
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The First Tee CEO Keith Dawkins to Attend 2018 John Deere Classic
Keith Dawkins, new CEO of The First Tee, and three John Deere scholarship winners from The First Tee, will participate in a variety of activities at this year’s John Deere Classic, including playing in the Wednesday Pro-Am.
Dawkins, who officially took over leadership of The First Tee organization in January, is scheduled to take part in the second annual Lunch and Learn with a Pro fundraiser featuring PGA TOUR player William McGirt and Golf Channel personality Matt Adams. Proceeds of the luncheon benefit The First Tee of the Quad Cities.
Dawkins also is scheduled to participate in a number of activities with representatives of John Deere, which has been a sponsor of The First Tee since 2012.
This is the second year of the national John Deere Power for Good scholarship program, which is awarded to The First Tee participants age 14-18 who qualified based on their involvement in volunteerism and community betterment. In addition to playing in the Pro-Am with Dawkins, this year’s three winners will participate in a variety of VIP activities that will familiarize them with the world of golf and with John Deere.
“The John Deere Classic is honored to have Keith Dawkins and this year’s Power for Good scholarship winners join us this year,” said tournament director Clair Peterson. “Last year proved to be a tremendous experience for the young people who played in the pro-am and participated in other activities that broadened their understanding of John Deere.”
One of last year’s scholarship winners, Chandler Dorsey, an engineering student at Georgia Tech, also will attend this year’s John Deere Classic. He has a summer internship this year, working at John Deere’s Product Engineering Center in Waterloo, Iowa.
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Jacob’s Prophecies
Topics: messianic prophecy
Category: March 1990 Newsletter (5750:5)
by Efraim Goldstein | Mar 1, 1990Aug 18, 2017
As he lay dying, Jacob’s spirit rose to prophetic stature. The words he spoke to his sons were his last will and testament. Unlike the material or financial gifts associated with bequests today, Jacob’s bequests consisted of prophetic utterances and a series of blessings and curses. These had their roots in God’s earlier promise to Abraham. The inheritance involved a land, a nation and the coming of the Messiah (Genesis 12:1-3). While the promises did not involve wealth in the ordinary sense, they were the highest spiritual blessings that God would ever bestow upon a people.
Jacob’s sons represented the future tribes of Israel, so the fate of the entire nation was being spelled out in Jacob’s last words. He had a special word for each of his sons—a prophetic aspect about his future. In Genesis 49 a certain harshness bordering on sarcasm pervaded Jacob’s words. The actions of each son and their consequences were now brought into account.
To Reuben, Jacob said that his blessing as the firstborn had been forfeited because of his affair with his father’s concubine. The blessing of the inheritance had also departed from Simeon and Levi, Jacob’s second and third sons. In their case, it was judgment for their acts of violence against the Canaanite people. Jacob prophesied that Simeon and Levi would be scattered throughout Israel. This did happen to the tribe of Levi when it was set apart as the priestly tribe, its inheritance to consist of scattered cities in the territories of each of the other eleven tribes. Nevertheless, for them God turned the judgment aspect of that prophecy into a blessing. Their dispersion among the various tribes became symbolic of the fact that they had been chosen to represent the entire nation before God.
Then Jacob spoke to Judah, the fourth son of Leah. Logically, Judah did not deserve the family inheritance. The best thing he had ever done was to persuade his brothers not to kill Joseph, but to sell him into slavery instead. With a little more persuasion Judah might have convinced them to give up the whole idea, but at best, he had been only half-hearted in his attempt to save Joseph.
Judah also had family problems. His sons, who had childless marriages, would not provide properly for their sister-in-law Tamar. There was also the unsavory incident involving Tamar and Judah. Dressed as a prostitute by the roadside, Tamar enticed Judah. Later when she proved to be pregnant with his child, the whole deception was revealed and Judah recognized the bitter fact that his sons had let the family down.
Tamar had two sons, Perez and Zerah, who became the chief ancestors of the tribe of Judah. The messianic line was traced through Perez.
For Judah there was blessing, for it seems that his actions did not come under judgment. Genesis 49:8-10 records the first part of these blessings:
Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; Thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.
The first part of Judah’s blessing was that his kin would honor him in recognition of his family’s achievements:
King David and all subsequent kings came from Judah; Nahshon, head of all prophets, was the offspring of Judah; Othniel, first judge of Israel, came from Judah; the temples would be built by Judah’s descendants—Solomon and Zerubbabel (and ultimately the Messiah, Son of David, will replace the temple, according to Revelation 21:22).
The other aspects of Judah’s blessing were victory over his enemies, rulership of the nation, prosperity for Judah’s descendants, and that from his descendants Messiah would come.
Judah’s inheritance as predicted by Jacob was unexpected and unusual. It was not the typical inheritance involving money, land, livestock and family heirlooms. Rather it involved promises of things to come. If Judah were not a spiritual person he might have been disappointed with his father’s last gift.”
The greatest part of Judah’s gift or inheritance pronounced by Jacob came in the form of the tightly-worded prophecy in Genesis 49:10. Over the centuries this enigmatic passage has come under great debate:
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
For better understanding of this important gift it must be carefully unwrapped, phrase by phrase, so as not to miss any of its meaning and significance.
The scepter was a symbol of regency, or leadership over the nation. It was a kind of rod which showed that its holder had the right to punish. From this prophecy it appears that Judah, who was merely Jacob’s fourth son, was to be the ancestor of the dominant and ruling tribe in Israel. This did not come to pass or a period of more than 800 years. Judah became identified with the throne of Israel when David became king.
Shall not depart conveys the idea that no one would remove Judah’s scepter or Judah’s rulership over the people until a certain climax or objective had been reached.
From between his feet is more difficult. One interpretation is that as a king sat on his throne to pass judgment, the scepter or staff was placed between his feet. As long as the king was meting out judgments, the scepter remained in place as a visible symbol of his power.
Until Shiloh come is the most difficult segment of the whole verse. Who or what is Shiloh? In most translations of Scripture the Hebrew word is left as a proper noun, because its exact meaning is not known. One translation (The Hebrew Publishing Company) renders the phrase until he come to Shiloh, which some feel may have been an attempt by the translator to de-emphasize the messianic import of the text. While there was a city in Israel called Shiloh, it never assumed lasting significance, so we can speculate that the phrase had little to do with that city.
Omitting the tiny Hebrew letter yod from Shiloh as a possible variant, the word might be read shelo, literally “of him,” which could then interpret the phrase as “until he comes whose it is.” The basis of this interpretation comes from a passage in Ezekiel 21:27 (21:32 in the Masoretic text) which seems to echo the words of the Genesis 49 passage:
I will overturn, overturn, overturn it, and it shall be no more, until he comes whose right it is; and I will give it him.
The Shiloh phrase in that Ezekiel 21 passage reads asher lo, which translates into “which is to him.” A deep knowledge of Hebrew is not necessary to recognize the similarity between shelo and asher lo.
The question is, who is Shiloh? The rabbis have a terrific answer: He is Messiah. The ancient paraphrase, the Targum of Onkelos, says; “the Messiah, whose is the kingdom.” This is traditionally accepted in rabbinic circles. Even Rashi, the most respected and influential of all rabbinic commentators, said that Shiloh means the Messiah.
Again in Numbers 24:17 we see the idea of the Messiah coming from Judah:
I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not near: There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And shall smite the corners of Moab…
The gathering of the people—the word yikhat, translated “gathering,” refers to an inner submission that is cheerfully rendered by all the people. The people (amim) would include the Gentiles as well as the Jews.
What does this mean? First, that the legitimate leadership of the nation Israel will fall to the tribe of Judah. Then, that the tribe of Judah will maintain visible authority until the Messiah comes. Finally, that to the Messiah will be given the willing obedience of both Jews and Gentiles.
Genesis 49:10 has been regarded as an important messianic prophecy for many centuries. Joseph Wolf, a missionary to the Jews in the early 19th century, recorded in his journals a trip from Austria to the Holy Land in which he had many interesting witnessing encounters. One discussion he recorded was his encounter with a rabbi in Gibraltar in 1812 over this very verse.
The rabbi translated it “The chastisement shall not depart from Judah…”
Wolf showed the rabbi how this was inconsistent with the text. He then asked, “Who is Shiloh?” The rabbi used gematria (a numerical system of interpretation) to show that the letters in the word Shiloh signified Moses.
It seems that the same discussions we are having today over this passage were going on almost two centuries ago.
As a Jewish believer in Yeshua, I offer my interpretation of this verse: The Messiah was to come to our people while the rulership of Judah was still visible. The last time there was any indication that Judah was a ruler ended in 70 A.D. with the destruction of the Second Temple. Since then there has been no pretense of anyone in Israel attempting to rule with the right and authority of the tribe of Judah, for the records of the genealogies have been lost. Now anyone who might come onto the scene and claim to be the Messiah would have no proof of his credentials because we lack the proper documentation.
Yeshua came at a time when the genealogies were still well kept and in order. In fact the whole reason for Yeshua’s family’s trip to Bethlehem prior to his birth was because they were from the tribe of Judah and the Davidic line, and for census and tax purposes they had to return to the city where the records were kept (Luke 2:1-5).
In Yeshua’s time the Davidic right to rule was understood, but the Romans prevented a Davidic king from acceding to the throne. King Herod and his family made a pretense of having a link to the Davidic blood line in an attempt to give more legitimacy to their rule.
Concerning the obedience of the people to Shiloh, Jews and Gentiles have willingly given Yeshua their obedience. What other Jew in history has ever had so many Gentiles give him their allegiance? Only Yeshua!!
Certainly the prophecy in Genesis 49:10 that the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah has been fulfilled in Yeshua, and we are benefiting from it today.
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I came back but the world is still a fantasy!? – Repercussions Arc – Act 1: The First Day of Transfer – 03-12: Hidden Circumstances < Food < ??? (2/2)
Posted on October 8, 2017 Author JigglypuffPosted in I came back but the world is still a fantasy, Repercussions Arc - Act 1: The First Day of Transfer23 Replies
← I came back but the world is still a fantasy!? – Repercussions Arc – Act 1: The First Day of Transfer – 03-12: Hidden Circumstances < Food < ??? (1/2)
I came back but the world is still a fantasy!? – Repercussions Arc – Act 1: The First Day of Transfer – 03-13: Written as Technology, Read as Crazy (1/4) →
“Hey, let go–”
Shinichi pulled the student toward him with sheer strength, and then coldly looked him in the eye.
When the student saw his cold face devoid of emotion, he gulped.
“Is it you?” Shinichi asked.
“H-huh?” The student replied.
“I’m asking if you people are the ones who kicked the table.”
Even Shinichi’s voice was devoid of emotion. It was as if he was only truly ascertaining the fact.
In fact, even his eyes said so, but the students couldn’t comprehend that, so they thought he was only acting.
“Are you blind!? I did it right in front of you!” The student angrily spat back.
Hence, to them it was a foolish question.
But because of that Shinichi forced the student down to the ground and hit him toward the floor.
“Wh!?”
Never did the student think that he would suddenly find his face right next to the floor.
He was so close to it that he was almost kissing the dirty floor covered in Shinichi’s food.
“From the way you spoke just now, that was intentional, wasn’t it?”
I’m neither a demon nor an ogre, so if it was an accident, just apologize and I’ll forgive you.”
That was Shinichi’s last warning as his foot bore heavily on the student’s head.
That was his last act of mercy, as well as a failsafe to keep himself from unjustly hurting others.
If this were Falandia, this person would apologize here.
Shinichi didn’t survive the otherworld through communication (Physical Force) alone.
Unfortunately though, he was in Earth right now, so he didn’t show off his strength.
“Ha? What the hell are you going on about? Hurry up and get out of there already, and show that D Rank idiot your strength,” another student said.
“Damn it! Move your leg! Shit, why can’t I get up!?” The student beneath Shinichi’s foot yelled.
Unable to move, the student could only whirl his arms as Shinichi’s foot bore on him.
From an outsider’s perspective, it looked as if Shinichi was pushing his foot onto the student while he sat.
It didn’t seem as if he was exerting himself. In fact, any student should be able to brush that foot aside, much less a student of the special class.
Of course, that would only hold true if the force Shinichi bore on the student was normal.
“W-What are you doing!? Move your foot aside already, you bastard!”
“Aren’t you just using a skill or something? That’s cheap!”
“…You people sure don’t know how to listen.
All I asked was for you to apologize for wasting food.
Just say ‘sorry’. There’s no reason to make such a fuss.”
The other student yelled when it seemed as if the student being held down by Shinichi truly couldn’t move.
In response, Shinichi could only shake his head and sigh as he quietly spoke to the students with a look of pity.
“What are you saying! You’re the one who was ignoring us!”
“Right! It’s because someone like you, a lowly all D, shamed Padyuel-san!!”
“…………I don’t understand a thing you’re saying.
I never ignored you and neither did I ever shame that ringlet curls.
You sure those translator gadgets of yours are working? I don’t think they’re translating my words correctly.”
Those words only added fuel to the flames, but to Shinichi that was the truth.
He never heard these students talking to him, and while he did play with ringlet curls, he never shamed her.
This was the truth as far as Shinichi was concerned, but to these students, they were nothing more than a provocation.
“Just now, and this time too… Just how much are you planning to make a fool of us!?”
“I thought you would eventually wake up to reality, so I wasn’t taking you seriously, but to think you would actually take advantage of our kindness!”
In their anger, the students took out their fosters and attached it to their arms.
Shinichi slowly trampled on the student he was stepping on as he stood up.
So, in other words, you fully intend on fighting despite knowing you’re facing someone beneath you?
You students who were chosen to be members of the special class are intentionally going to pick a fight with little normal class me?
This all D transfer student that knows nothing?”
Those words seemed to show disdain for himself, but they bore heavily on the pride of these students before him, stopping them from what they were about to do.
Shinichi knew these sort very well.
People confident in their social status and abilities, who believed others would bow to them because of these things. These sort usually had a lot of pride.
The easiest way to shut them up without using (Physical Force) was to make use of that pride.
That’s why Shinichi said that.
“So the special class students were the sort who would gang up on a lone pitiful student!”
“Tch, you bastard!”
‘You were chosen, a special class of students placed above the rest, and yet you’re actually picking on a weakling?’ Shinichi words seemed to imply.
These students worked tirelessly to acquire the position they had now.
How much blood and sweat did they shed just to have what they had today? If they were to attack Shinichi, they would be throwing all of that to waste.
These students did not wish to dominate over the weak with the power they’ve gained.
They just wanted him to bear in mind the position they had.
“Truly a detestable tongue, but your words ring true.
I don’t like it, but it seems any further talk is meaningless.
We’ll compensate you for your—”
“—That’s not what I asked for. I told you to apologize.”
“Gah!?”
The calmest and most leader-like of the students tried to wrap things up, but all Shinichi was asking for was an apology, so his efforts were in vain.
Shinichi bore his foot down once more on the man he was stepping on and glared coldly at the leader-like student.
“W-Why are you being so obstinate?
It was just some rice.
We can pay you as much as you…”
“Are your translators really broken?”
“GU, GAH!”
The students unintentionally faltered as they argued, but Shinichi was fed up with them.
He walked over the student beneath him and approached the students.
“*Gulp.”
Shinichi only walked up to them near enough to be about an arm’s length, but the students felt like they were choking.
His gaze was calm, yet in them burned a silent wrath. His cold voice, his cold gaze, either one of them bore heavily on the students.
The students could not comprehend why, but for some reason, sweat slid down their back, and they could not move an inch.
“I am telling you to apologize.
I’m sorry. It was our fault. Forgive me. Sorry (Said in English).
Are your translators getting these?
When you do something bad, you apologize. That’s the way it’s supposed to be for everyone.”
Is there something wrong? Shinichi implied as he spoke calmly yet powerfully.
That gaze of his bore down on them as if it were saying that a half-hearted rebuttal would not be forgiven.
Just a little, those emotionless eyes seemed to laugh, causing the students to let out a small shriek.
Shinichi was still relatively calm, however. As proof of that, he was “still” able to calmly make his decisions.
Which is why what Shinichi was doing now was nothing more than the normal procedure from “his perspective”.
“L-L-Like I’d know! Let’s go!’
The student said despite panicking, almost as if it was too shameful to bow his head to someone lower ranked than he.
Though, truly, it seemed as if it was only through sheer will power that the students were able to turn their back and walk away in hurried steps.
Unfortunately for them, Shinichi wouldn’t let them go so easily.
Aiming at the student farthest away, Shinichi unhesitatingly took his foster and threw it.
“Term-!?”
The terminal flew through the air and splendidly hit the back of the student’s head.
As the student tumbled onto the ground, the fleeing group of students tripped on the fallen student one after another, falling over like dominoes.
Apparently, they weren’t that nimble.
“Who said you could leave?”
Without even making a sound, Shinichi stood before the fallen students and looked down at them as he spoke with that ever calm voice of his.
His face looked terrifying when looked at from below, causing the students to scream out in fear.
The student closest to him was so scared he shuddered. He tried to crawl away, but Shinichi’s foot kept him rooted firmly onto the ground.
“Ow- Eek!?”
“Apologize. Say sorry. Just that and you’ll be able to go home.
I’m not telling you to lick the floor clean, you know.
Or what? Would you prefer I have you do that instead?”
“Ah, no, st–”
The corners of Shinichi’s mouth lifted up, but his eyes weren’t smiling.
Like that Shinichi stepped on the male student, keeping him from moving.
The male student couldn’t understand why, but his body wouldn’t stop shaking.
Because of that he couldn’t move his mouth properly.
“S-Stop it. If you use violence, we will—!?”
The leader-like male student approached to intervene, but Shinichi grabbed him by his school uniform’s collars and lifted him up.
“Uwaah, what!?”
“Why are you acting as if this were someone else’s business. May I remind you that you’re also one of the culprits.”
Immediately, the leader-like male student tried to pry off Shinichi’s hand with both of his arms, but he couldn’t even get him to budge.
It was almost as if the arm holding him was that of a bronze statue’s. It was so hard his meager attempts were powerless before it.
“W-Why? …My strength is B+!?”
“…It seems you people really don’t know how to listen.
Good grief, what am I to do with you? Well, alright, I’ll be the adult.
As long as you apologize, I’ll let your whole group off.”
“This is the strength of a D Rank? This is impossible! Impossible!”
The leader-like male student was the calmest person in this group of students, but when he realized that his strength was weaker than Shinichi’s, that calm facade of his broke.
He whirled his arms again and again, trying to move Shinichi’s arms out of the way, but no matter how much he tried, it never budged a bit.
“What the heck? The ones who can’t listen are clearly you guys. I’m telling you to apologize.”
“He doesn’t even have his foster! This is impossible!”
The leader-like male knew that Shinichi had thrown his foster, causing him to panic even more, as that fact proved that Shinichi was neither using a skill nor a barrier. This arm strength Shinichi was exhibiting was truly nothing more than his physical strength.
The leader-like male actually lost in a contest of pure strength.
There was something to infer from that, but he was so panicked he couldn’t.
“Doesn’t Garesto have ‘apology’ in its dictionary?”
“Let go! Don’t think you’ll be let off so easily pulling something like this!”
“………..This will be the last time. Apologize.”
“I’m supposed to be superior! A B+ couldn’t possibly lose to a D!!”
“…………Goodbye, then.”
Pity appeared on Shinichi’s cold eyes before he promptly threw the leader-like male student outside the cafeteria.
The leader-like male student flew through the air, crashing into a wall outside in the hallway and losing his consciousness.
“…And? What about you guys? Are you going to apologize?”
Shinichi completely ignored the voices worrying for the student flying just now as he asked that question to the students who didn’t even try to stand up.
The students no longer bothered trying to pick a fight with Shinichi after seeing him throw a person over 5 meters away while relying on nothing more than sheer strength.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“S-Sorry.”
“W-We won’t bother you anymore, please forgive us.”
The remaining students all apologized with shaking lips.
“From now on, don’t waste food, alright? Or else…”
“Y-Yes…”
After threatening the students, Shinichi removed his foot from the student beneath him.
After which, all the students, including the one who he had been stepping on, rose up, carried the leader-like male student, and ran away.
The students who happened to be watching the whole thing unfold looked on dumbfounded.
They didn’t know what to think of the fact that the school’s absolute rule was broken just like that.
They glared at the students running away, then they turned to Shinichi.
But the moment they did—
“…*S-Sniff! My pork fried with ginger set!!!”
The man who had bullied the special class students was suddenly bawling his eyes out on the floor.
It was such a ridiculous sight that the sound of jaws hitting the ground filled the cafeteria.
“I don’t even know where I’m supposed to make that straight-man remark anymore,” Myuhi said.
“In an odd and unfortunate case of coincidence, I actually agree with you,” Shinguuji said.
They left for just a moment to get their food, but when they came back with their tray, Shinichi was already stepping on someone.
Then before they knew it, that man who dared bully the special class students was bawling his eyes out on the floor.
“Kyui, kyui.”
“No, it’s not your fault.”
She cried out to console him, but Shinichi shook his head.
She felt responsible because she was so engrossed in her food that she forgot her surroundings.
“And besides… The food just fell on the floor.”
“Kyui?”
For a moment, Myuhi thought the sight of the Amaryllis consoling Shinichi was a beautiful thing to behold, but the next words that came out of Shinichi’s mouth made her raise her brows.
Looking closer, she noticed that Shinichi’s teary eyes were hollow. Even sanity seemed to have left them.
“There was a time when I had to get by on grass and rocks for half a month, and I wasn’t even sure if those were edible. But these! These were food to begin with! Obviously, I should still be able to eat them since they just fell on the ground!”
“Wa–!!?? Stop! Stopppp!!”
“KyuUuu!!!”
When ‘she’ saw Shinichi about to eat the pork fried with ginger set spilled on the floor, she panicked and stretched out her whole – regardless how small – body to stop him from approaching the spilled food.
At the same time, the fox girl ran and took Shinichi’s arms from the back to stop him.
“Let-me-go!! That’s my meat!!”
“Woah, he’s strong!!! Guu-chan call the cleaning robot!!”
“Sigh, can’t be helped.”
Shinguuji placed his and Myuhi’s trays on the table, then he touched the screen of his foster.
When he did, the quadrangular-prism-shaped cleaning robot of the cafeteria moved out and briskly cleaned the dirty floor.
It only took a few seconds for the cleaning robot to make the floor all sparkly again.
Incidentally, Shinguuji had Myuhi’s tray because she forced it on him when she ran to stop Shinichi.
“N-No… My pork fried with ginger. It was actually eaten by a machine…”
“It’s cleaning the floor. It’s going to turn that food into fertilizer, so it won’t go to waste!”
Myuhi said in a panic when Shinichi turned to her with the same pair of wrathful eyes one only looked at his parents’ killer with.
When Shinichi heard the food hadn’t gone to waste, he calmed down.
His countenance was as dark as ever, and while his tears had stopped, his voice was still nasal.
“You can just order again,” Myuhi said.
“No, if I do that, I won’t have enough money for tomorrow’s supper,” Shinichi replied.
“Ah, you calculated it already,” Myuhi said.
“………You missed your timing. You should have said something when he pretty much just said he’s going to eat a month’s worth of food in two days,” Shinguuji interjected.
The month would indeed end in two days, but exactly how much was Shinichi planning to eat to actually use up a month’s provision?
Shinguuji was so fed up he didn’t even feel like bothering anymore, but then he bumped onto something.
“Hmm? Ahh, hey, your foster fell here.
It says your boiled salmon miso soup is done… What? So you were still planning on eating?’
The foster had apparently ended up in Shinguuji’s path.
When he saw the text written on the display, he was again shocked.
“Right, I-I still have a… Boiled salmon miso soup!!”
Shinichi immediately stood up, took his foster, and ran for the counter.
Myuhi and Shinguuji couldn’t help but do a double take.
“Fuu, I’m so full… so full…” Shinichi said.
“That’s.. great. Yeah,” Myuhi said.
“You still have room for a dessert?” Shinguuji remarked.
Not just a dessert too, but one whole apple pie.
Shinichi had caused them some trouble, so he shared a little with them, but the rest of the pie was still completely eaten by Shinichi alone.
Even though he had already eaten so much.
“Is your stomach a black hole or something?” Shinguuji asked.
“I have another stomach just for desserts,” Shinichi said.
“You know girls are the ones who normally say that,” Myuhi remarked.
Myuhi and Shinguuji were both astounded by Shinichi’s capacity for food, but Shinichi wasn’t concerned in the slightest.
Meanwhile, as a certain fox was happily watching over Shinichi, a pair of familiar voices resounded.
“Ah, this smell… It’s apple pie. Nee-chan, can I have some?”
“No, I told you we’re only here as representatives of the public morals committee.”
Two students who acted like a pair of siblings chatted as they entered the cafeteria.
They both had black hair like a Japanese, the boy’s hair was cut shorter, while the girl’s hair reached her waist.
The two students did not come here for food but for something else.
“Ah, Yo-yo-chankun!”
The moment Myuhi saw them, she called out another one of her odd nick names.
Shinichi vehemently tried to tell her to stop, shaking his head, but she didn’t notice him.
“Myuhi, didn’t I tell you to quit bundling us together with one nick name?”
“Nee-chan, it’s hopeless.”
Maybe it was because it was an acquaintance who called them, but despite the fed-up look on the siblings’ faces, they walked toward Myuhi with a sense of intimacy.
Although this pair of siblings were differently gendered, their faces were very similar.
“I did hear you two were essentially a set, but I didn’t think you’d be together even during lunch,” Shinguuji said.
“You-are-mis-ta-ken!
We were supposed to be training by ourselves, but then the committee had to call us.
Apparently, some trouble happened in the cafeteria. Do you know?”
Immediately, Myuhi and Shinguuji turned to Shinichi, but he was currently looking down for some reason as he drew cold sweat.
“W-Why are they here?” He muttered to himself.
Of course, the reason why they were here was because of the disturbance awhile ago.
No one could hear his small voice, but he was very panicked at this unexpected reunion.
At the same time, “she” pranced back and forth under the table, wondering what to do.
“Huh? Oh, come to think of it, it’s pretty rare to see you eating with someone, Ruona-san. Who is he?”
“It’s the transfer student who just transferred today. I’m in charge of him!”
“Oh? It’s pretty rare to get a transfer student here… Hey, show your face at least.”
“Let me, Nee-chan. I’m Senba Yousuke. This here is my twin sister, Youko. I know she can be a bit scary, but we’re both Japanese, so let’s get along.”
“Yep, Icchi is a Japanese alright.”
Shinichi was looking down, so they could only see his black hair. Normally, that would make it hard to tell what country he came from, but this academy started exchanging students with Asia first, so there were a lot of Japanese in it.
Of course, there were other Asians too, but Yousuke had taken that into consideration when he assumed Shinichi to be a Japanese.
“Who’s scary!? But, well… yeah. This school here is a bit different from other schools, and Myuhi is the person looking after you. Who knows what’ll happen? Anyway, if something does, feel free to consult us. I’m a member of the public morals committee, so I’m sure I’ll be of help.”
“Yoppi, that’s cruel!!”
Youko spoke in a softer voice compared to when she yelled at her brother.
Myuhi was protesting behind her, but she seemed to be used to it and didn’t mind.
“D-Don’t mind me,” Shinichi said stiffly, softly refusing her kind offer.
Shinichi’s voice had become much higher for some reason.
Though that was actually only a given considering he couldn’t stop sweating.
“Icchi?” Myuhi asked, concerned.
“What happened to the arrogant kid just now?” Shinguuji asked.
For some reason, Shinichi had suddenly changed.
He was as quiet as a borrowed cat now.
Clearly, something was wrong.
“I don’t really get it, but you should at least show your face. How shy are you, seriously.”
Youko was annoyed at the fact that Shinichi didn’t even spare her a glance, so she tried to look up from under the table to see his face.
When she tried that, “she” panicked and quickly climbed up Shinichi’s seat to hide behind him, while Shinichi himself looked up the ceiling.
Shinichi’s clear attempts at avoiding her gaze further aggravated Youko. This time, she tried to look at him from above, only for Shinichi to turn the other way.
Every time she tried to take a peek at Shinchi’s face, he would turn the other way.
Youko even tried to feint Shinichi out, but Shinichi was able to read ahead and look the other way.
In one sense, what they were doing was fairly impressive, but from other people’s perspective, the whole scenario was laughable.
“Is this the so-called ‘Look over here’?” [1] Myuhi remarked.
“No way. Seriously, what are these two doing?” Shinguuji said.
While Myuhi and Shinguuji were calmly commenting about the vicious battle of stares unfolding before their eyes, Yousuke knit his brows and quietly joined the fight.
“What!? Ku!”
When Yosuke’s face suddenly appeared, Shinichi immediately tried to turn his face the other way, but unfortunately for him, that was where Youko was.
“Eh——!?”
—As a result, they ended up seeing each other. Youko went speechless, while Shinichi paled.
“Ahh… As I thought, so that’s how it was…”
Yousuke peeked from behind to confirm his suspicions. When it was proven, a difficult expression surfaced on his face.
The other two weren’t any better.
Youko was completely silent, stupefied, while Shinichi’s face had been drained of blood, his eyes darting to and fro, unable to settle on a single point.
“What? You know each other?” Shinguuji asked.
“Guu-chan, is that something you should be asking now?” Myuhi asked.
Shinguuji asked that question despite the obviously sensitive atmosphere between the three.
When Myuhi pointing his insensitivity out was added, the tense atmosphere between the three shattered, waking them up from their stupefaction.
“—–*SNIFF*, Why are you here!?” Youko yelled.
Youko’s emotions blew up.
Shinichi never showed any signs of weakness until now, but when she blew up at him, he faltered.
“Umm, ahh, no, it’s just…” Shinichi stammered.
“What!!?
We’ve finally, finally gotten so far after everything! So why!? Why did you have to come!?” Youko yelled.
“C-Calm down, Nee-chan. This guy is a returnee.
Of course, he would come. Nee-chan, you knew too, right!?” Yousuke tried to console her.
Yousuke tried to calm down his sister who was burning up in emotion, but that only made her panic more.
“But he’s an all D! You can’t get any worse than that!
Why would someone like that be sent here!? What did we spend the last 8 years for!?”
“Ugh, ah…”
When Youko yelled that, Shinichi’s face finally lost whatever color it had left.
He stood up flustered from his chair, and then walked away form the panicking older sister and the younger brother who tried to calm her down.
“S-Sor… Thank you for the food!!”
“Ha?”
Shinichi seemed to be hesitating for a moment, but in the end, what he yelled out was that last sentence, then he ran away.
He ran so quickly, he was gone from the cafeteria in the blink of an eye.
He ran even faster than the students just a while ago.
“Icchi, running away is pathetic,” Myuhi said. [2]
“…You know that reference?” Shinguuji asked.
They tried to conclude things with a joke, but unfortunately, the image of the of the older sister and her young brother was just too strong to shake off.
Tl Note: 1. There was a mistake in the last chapter. It wasn’t the last day, just almost the last day before the month ended.
2. I’m bad at English onomatopoeia. Can you suggest something for *Short Inhale?* (I just wrote this down as sniff.) You know like that sound you make when you take a very brief breath before you’re about to say something.
[1] A game wherein two players play Rock-paper-scissors first. After which, the winner has to point toward a direction, while the loser has to turn toward another direction. If the loser turns toward the direction the winner pointed to, the winner is decided as the final winner, otherwise, the two players are to play Rock-paper-scissors again.
[2] A reference to something. I have no idea what it is. Here is the original line:「オオ、イッチーヨ、ニゲテシマウトハ、ナサケナイ」. Here it is in romaji: Oo, Icchi yo, nigeteshimau to wa, nasakenai. Let me know if you get it.
Tl Note: Next chapter will be posted by my partner. Oh, and I’m not sure if I got the readings of the siblings’ names right, as no reading was provided. There’s something in the past chapters if I recall correctly, but I was in a rush and couldn’t dig through them to find out, so I’ll have to double check later. I’m pretty sure the first names are right though: Yousuke and Youko. I’m just not sure about the last name.
Author’s Note: These pair of siblings were originally good children. It’s just that Shinichi has a bit of problem with them.
Tagged: I came back but the world is still a fantasy
23 comments / Add your comment below
Drejzer says:
I… Got lost… Did the younger brother pov happen before the cafeteria incident or aft… Never mind after, probably much after.
Nah, I doubt it’s the translation, the timelines are a little bit unclear… I’d say it’s author’s fault not yours.
Thanks 4 the translation!
It always pisses me when that little twit keeps blaming her older brother on their mother’s instability when it’s not his fault. He got caught up in events that was beyond his control.
william sevilla says:
What chapter was it again?
Drakensji says:
I find many things about how the people react emotionally in this novel very weird. Why did the mother react so strongly to shinchi? Why do the siblings blame him? Why does everyone continue to believe he is actually an all D when he exhibits so much strength? Also why is shinchi saying that he wants to not attract attention and then beats up students and teachers at the drop of a pin? He gets so depressed about culture shock but he doesn’t realize that he got used to Falandia after two years and will get used to his new situation given time. Humans are incredibly adaptable.
Chaoton says:
Thx for the chapter~! It was quite a long journey.
Heartless says:
Thanks for the chapter. One thing though:
“…You know that reference?” Shinichi asked.
Is it Shinichi saying this, or is it that Shinguuji guy? Because the latter would make more sense.
RandomNameGoesHere says:
Shinihci said –> Shinichi…
Thanks for . the chapter~
it’s a shame these are 1 a month, but what can you do? It’s fine… :/ do as you wish it’s your time…(why did I say these things? dunno)
Jake1456 says:
at this point it is more whenever the previous chapter has been released i hope the other person finds more time to translate
kazuma2015 says:
Thanks for the chapter ^^….
Thanks for the chapter! But i don’t understand how people would continue to look down on Shinchi after he clearly wiped the floor with the group of special students. In an earlier chapter (talking about the future) didn’t it say that if Shinchi demonstrated his strength that they would acknowladge him?
Unpro says:
I really really hope either of this one day:
1) Either Shinichi had to show his true powers to save everyone – the sister included
2) Or he go berserk because of the evil god and puck everyone shit up.
Lancelot says:
He will go crazy because an Evil God from another world came and banned all earthling food.
seitora says:
Somehow this remind me of hoozuki
Nakiami says:
His family are such assholes… His current family is so much better. I can’t really believe a sibling would be so mean to another sibling. Siblings are often closer to each other than their parents. It’s a generalization, but any real family wouldn’t blame each other if something like that happened. I don’t know why Japanese lns always make sister’s such b*tches.
Thanks for the translations. I eagerly await the next one.
DMR says:
No, they usually aren’t “bitches”… they might be mean to each other at times… but siblings are often mean to each other…
In fact, it’s rare to make the sister bad (sometimes, there are bad siblings, but again, it’s pretty rare).
Wait, so those 2 are his actual siblings???
And is he the one who was always sleeping and pissing everyone off???
hewhoislazy says:
Whenever I ignore this series it gets translated but as soon as I find it again it stops I fear Lady Luck ain’t on my side
Gugin Gugino says:
so is this still alive ?and btwthanks for the translaton and chapter
viscusris9 says:
really interesting novel,but timeline is messed up abit for me.Any idea when is next chapter?
When is the next chapter. I really like this novel….. but the release time is just too long that i keep forgetting about it. Is there a chance that the release is gonna speed up or is that never happening.
Update, when?
The imouto is a word that ends in “UNT” and starts with a “C.”
Not her fault, she got it from her crazy-assed mother who went nuts because she assumed that Shinichi died when he disappeared and lost her friggin’ mind again when he “returned” instead of “staying dead.”
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TMPG
1/4 Regular Chapters
0/3 Extra Chapters
1/3 Regular Chapter
I came back but the world is still a fantasy!? – Repercussions Arc – Act 2: Otherworld Hometown – 02-13: It is a Simple Thing to Destroy One’s Everyday Life (3/5)
The Man Picked up by the Gods – Volume 3 Chapter 202: The God of Waters and Fishing I (2/2)
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Category: Mike Ruiz
Posted in 'LaLa’s Full Court Wedding', 50 Cent, All On The Cover, Carmelo Anthony, Darius Baptist, Gracing Pages, JET Magazine, La La Vazquez, Mike Ruiz, NBA, Nikki Nelms, Sheika Daley, VH1, YRB Magazine
All On The Cover & Gracing Pages: La La Vasquez Covers JET and Graces the pages of YRB Magazine
La La Vazquez covers the new issue of JET magazine. She discusses her new reality series and says she is determined not to entertain the on-and-off-the-court drama that could potentially come with being an NBA wife to Carmelo Anthony. She dishes the inside scoop on life after marriage and the latest on her acting and producing projects, including her movie with rapper 50 Cent.
Make sure you check out the issue which will be out on stands Sept. 20 and the reality show, ‘LaLa’s Full Court Wedding’, starts Sunday on VH1. Will you be watching?
YRB spread after the jump….
La La is also gracing the pages of the Fall Fashion Issue of YRB magazine.
With a new show on VH1, production credits under her belt, a solid acting career and a bustling family life, Lala Vasquez has learned the art of mixing business with pleasure. And when it comes to her wardrobe, she’s right there on top with some of Fall’s hottest trends.
I love how the photos came out. She looks DOPE!!
Check out the photos from the spread below….
Laquan Smith puff sleeve jacket Thuy textured skirt Van Cleef& Arpel diamond earrings Roberto Coin tri-color diamond ring
Jovani cotton bustled shirt Jovani beaded vest American Apparel bodysuit Nicole Miller multi-strap boot AS Luxe silver bangles
Thuy printed dress DKNY textured stockings Sermoneta leather glovesCarolee diamond bracelets
Magalis Garcia ruffled top Magalis Garcia wool pant Cesare Paciotti suede/printed heels AS Luxe gold fringe bracelet Thuy gold ball braceletThuy gold beaded bracelet
Photography by Mike Ruiz
Styling by Darius Baptist
Hair by Nikki Nelms
Makeup by Sheika Daley
Source: YRB Magazine
Posted in All On The Cover, Currently Reading, Destiny's Child, Kelly Rowland, Matthew Knowles, Mike Ruiz, YRB Magazine
All On The Cover: Kelly Rowland Covers YRB Magazine
Kelly Rowland covers the Fall Fashion Issue of YRB magazine and is ready to make her mark with her new album which releases in early 2011. She is looking super fierce in animal prints, a newly cut bob, and oh and we can’t forget those pink shoes…Woot Woot!
In her interview she talks about feeling good and being ready for her new album, breaking ties with Matthew Knowles, and how she feels about a Destiny’s Child reunion.
Check out some excerpts below from her interview…
About feeling confident and ready….
“I truly believe that what I have is special, and when they recognize, they will recognize, period,” she states, clutching her knees to her chest after slipping into a towel and taking a seat. “It’s not like I haven’t conquered it before. I’m going to do it again. I’ma get it.”
About her album….
“[We did] so many remixes. Ones you would never even really think to put a sound to an urban record,” she reflects on her early tango with dance. “I think that’s what’s so interesting to me about the dance remixes. Somebody takes on a whole different life of the song. I love that.”
About breaking ties with her manager Matthew Knowles…
“It was a decision years in the making for me, and finally getting to that point and doing it,” she says of her split from Daddy Knowles. “Don’t let anybody dictate who you are and what you want to do. Like, it’s so easy to. You have to know how incredibly incredible you are. And that goes without the music industry. Everything that we do in life, we have to know what we’re bringing to the table.”
Talking fashion….
“I got involved with because they asked me,” exclaims Kelly, who describes her style as “casual chic with a funky twist” and counts Jennifer Lopez and Sophia Loren as her fashion muses. “I’ve thought about starting my own fashion line, but I haven’t had the time to sit down and flush out an idea. It takes a lot of work and proper planning, and as of now, music is my main focus.”
About a Destiny’s Child reunion….
“If they want to do that, then I’m all down. But the thing is that it would have to be a unified decision,” she says of the reunion chatter, claiming that bloggers have put words in her mouth about wanting to re-spark the flame. “It’s not a decision that I can make by myself. So unless people hear all three of us say it – shut up! The three of us have to make that decision.”
The pictures were taken by famed photographer Mike Ruiz who also shot Kelly’s album cover. He is the male model in the picture above.
For more on her interview check out YRB Magazine.
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Make At-Need Arrangements Online
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Obituary of Joseph Nathaniel Bone
Mr. Joseph N. "Joe" Bone age 86, of Rutherford, Tennessee passed away on Saturday, December 21, 2019 at Trenton Health Care and Rehab in Trenton, Tennessee. Funeral services for Mr. Bone will be held on Monday, December 23, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Karnes and Son Funeral Home in Rutherford. Burial will be in the Mt. Olive Cemetery in Dyer, Tennessee.
Mr. Joseph N. Bone was born May 15, 1933 in Rutherford, Tennessee; to the late Terrence and Mallidine Halliburton Bone. Mr. Bone was a retired Plant Engineer of Rutherford Garment Company/Kellwood Company. Mr. Bone was an enjoyer of Old Time String Music and Rutherford Historian, along with being the Curator of the Davy Crocket Cabin and Museum. He was a member of the Rutherford Cumberland Presbyterian Church and Deacon; Mason in the Bone Masonic Lodge in Rutherford; former member of the Rutherford Lions Club, the American Legion, and the Jackson Plectral Society. Mr. Bone was in the United States Army.
Mr. Bone is survived by his wife Sue Eakes Bone; three sons, Robert E. Bone, Andy Bone (Katrina), and Gearld Bone (Chris). Mr. Bone was preceded in death by his first wife, Ruby Mallard Bone; and his parents, Terrence and Mallidine Bone.
Visitation for Mr. Bone will be held on Monday, December 23, 2019 from 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Karnes and Son Funeral Home in Rutherford.
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Category Archives for Tasmanian Devil
August 6, 2019 by particularkev Categories: Australia, Barrington Tops National Park, Barrington Tops State Forest, New South Wales, Tasmania, Tasmanian Devil | Tags: Aussie Ark, Australia, Barrington Tops, New South Wales, NSW, Tasmania, Tasmanian Devil, video | Leave a comment
Sexual aggression key to spread of deadly tumours in Tasmanian devils
Both male and female Tasmanian devils can become very violent during sexual interactions.
Shutterstock/PARFENOV
David Hamilton, University of Tasmania; Elissa Cameron, University of Tasmania; Menna Elizabeth Jones, University of Tasmania, and Rodrigo Hamede, University of Tasmania
Tasmanian devils have a reputation as a fearsome animal – most of the time this is undeserved. When it comes to the mating season, however, it’s a fair judgement. Between February and April, mating can be incredibly aggressive, with male and female devils prone to biting one another both during and after the act.
That could be deadly for the devils, according to new research published online in the journal Behavioral Ecology.
Unfortunately, biting drives the spread of devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) a transmissible cancer that has been afflicting the species since the mid-1990s.
Survival of the fittest? Perhaps not if you’re a Tasmanian devil
DFTD is highly unusual for a cancer because it can transfer between individual devils and grow in its new host.
The fact that devils regularly bite one another around the mouth means tumour cells can easily transfer from an infected devil to an open wound on a healthy devil. This makes the buildup of wounds in devils extremely important to our understanding of this disease.
When devils mate
In our study, we examined the accumulation of bite wounds in a population of wild devils in northwest Tasmania.
We found males were much more likely than females to pick up high numbers of bite wounds. But these wounds appear to be related to the amount of time males spent in mating season interactions with females, as opposed to fights with other males (as we had previously thought).
In the mating season, after male devils have mated with females, they spend an extended period either confining the female in a den, or closely following her to make sure other males are unable to mate with her.
During our study we found this behaviour could go on for up to two weeks in the wild. The process is known as “mate guarding” and is relatively common in the animal kingdom.
We found the longer males spent engaging in mate guarding behaviour, the more bite wounds they received. This would seem to put successful males, who mate with a high number of females, in the firing line when it comes to acquiring DFTD.
But no pattern of sex bias in DFTD prevalence has ever been observed in the wild.
So how does this fit with our study on the increased vulnerability in males?
A Tasmanian devil with the Devil Facial Tumour Disease.
Menna Jones/PLOS ONE, CC BY
Disease transfer
A crucial unknown in the DFTD transmission process involves directionality – which way the deadly disease is passed on by a devil. There are two possibilities:
an infected devil bites an uninfected animal, transferring tumour cells (from its teeth or saliva) directly into the wound it causes
an uninfected devil bites into tumours on an infected animal, and cells transfer into an open wound inside the biter’s mouth.
The reality is likely to involve a combination of the two.
Our results indicate that most disease transmission occurs during extended mating season interactions, when females appear to be causing high numbers of wounds to their mates.
If DFTD can transfer in either direction during these encounters, then both the males receiving the wounds and the females causing them would be equally at risk of acquiring the disease.
Future of the devil
We have highlighted mating season encounters between the sexes as crucial transmission points for the spread of DFTD. The behaviour of male devils appears to be driving patterns that support transmission of the disease.
This information is important for potential disease management options, as it pinpoints males in good condition – who are likely to be reproductively successful – as targets for management interventions, such as vaccinations.
Most importantly, these results add one more piece to the puzzle of rapid evolution in the Tasmanian devil, in response to the strong evolutionary pressure DFTD is placing on this iconic species. With almost 100% mortality once devils reach breeding age, any advantage an individual devil might have to survive a little longer and reproduce should – over time – spread through the population.
The species has already shown remarkably rapid shifts in their life history and genome, while some are able to mount an immune response and recover from the tumours.
DFTD is spread through biting so we can expect strong evolutionary pressure for devils to become less aggressive towards each other over time.
With these new results, we can now pinpoint for the first time who (healthy, successful males) and when (guarding females after mating) the intense selection pressure on aggressive behaviour in devils will operate.
Could Tassie devils help control feral cats on the mainland? Fossils say yes
Ultimately, devils will solve the DFTD problem themselves by evolving resistance, tolerance and changing their behaviour. One of the best things we can do is let evolution take its course, giving a helping hand along the way via well guided management actions.
David Hamilton, PhD Candidate in Zoology, University of Tasmania; Elissa Cameron, Professor of Wildlife Ecology, University of Tasmania; Menna Elizabeth Jones, Associate Professor in Zoology, University of Tasmania, and Rodrigo Hamede, Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Conservation Biology and Wildlife Management, University of Tasmania
May 29, 2019 by particularkev Categories: Australia, Tasmania, Tasmanian Devil | Tags: aggression, article, Australia, deadly, sexual, spread, Tasmania, Tasmanian Devil, tumours | Leave a comment
The Tasmanian devil once thrived on mainland Australia.
Shutterstock/mastersky
Michael Westaway, Griffith University and Gilbert Price, The University of Queensland
The Tasmanian devil – despite its name – once roamed the mainland of Australia. Returning the devil to the mainland may not only help its threatened status but could help control invasive predators such as feral cats and foxes.
The idea of returning devils to the mainland has been raised before.
Tasmanian devils reared in captivity show they can thrive in the wild
But now we’ve explored the idea from a palaeontological view. We looked at the fossil record of mainland devils, in a paper published online and in print soon in the journal Biological Conservation.
A well preserved devil mandible (lower jaw) recovered from excavations west of Townsville.
Gilbert Price, Author provided
The fossil record helps us better understand how the devils co-existed on mainland Australia with other wildlife. It also helps us see how these iconic animals may possibly interact with small and medium-sized animals if reintroduced to the mainland in the future.
Back in the wild
Ecologists have reintroduced several apex predators to environments where they were once driven to localised extinction. This has helped restore past ecosystems by providing a clearer ecological balance.
One of the best-known examples is the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in the United States, to check the overgrazing and destruction of habitat by elk.
By reintroducing Tasmanian devils into mainland Australia, can we possibly help restore ecological systems that support devils along with small to medium-sized native mammals?
Native and exotic predators
Tasmanian devils and thylacines (Tasmanian tigers) were displaced across the mainland of Australia sometime after the dingo was introduced from southeast Asia at least 3,500 years ago.
But these iconic Australian predators were still able to survive in Tasmania. The island was created 10,000 years ago by rising sea levels, well before the arrival of dingoes on mainland Australia.
Dingoes have now been eradicated across much of mainland Australia, particularly within the seclusion zone of the dingo fence in the southeast of the continent. The 5,400km fence stretches eastwards across South Australia into New South Wales and to southeast Queensland.
Exotic predators such as foxes and cats now thrive across many parts of Australia, and have devastating impacts on small to medium-sized Australian mammals.
But until recently they have not been able to gain a foothold in Tasmania. Many ecologists believe the presence of the devil has prevented these other animals making their destructive mark on the ecology of Tasmania.
Sadly the situation is changing as a result of the deadly devil facial tumour disease, an infectious cancer that has destroyed many populations of Tasmanian devils. Estimates range up to 90% of some population groups now wiped out.
As a result, feral cats are now moving into former devil habitats and hunting native species on Tasmania.
A fossil window to the past
So what does the fossil record tell us about the past life of the Tasmanian devil in mainland Australia?
The Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area, in southeast Australia, provides an extraordinary archaeological and palaeoecological record of Ice Age Australia.
Recovery of fossils and devil coprolites from eroding bettong burrows at the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area.
Michael Westaway, Author provided
In the past, skeletal remains buried within the landscape were commonly fossilised. Evidence of small animals that dug burrows (such as burrowing bettongs) and the predators that pursued them in their burrows, are exceptionally well preserved.
Our excavations reveal how devils and other small-to-medium sized mammals and reptiles interacted over more than 20,000 years in this area. Even during the peak arid phase, known as the Last Glacial Maximum, it seems that devils and their prey successfully co-existed.
The fossil record (10,000 to 4,000 years ago): This shows the fauna reference condition prior to the arrival of the dingo. (1 Western Quoll, 2 Tasmanian Devil, 3 Thylacine, 4 Bilby, 5 Western Barred Bandicoot, 6 Southern Brown Bandicoot, 7 Burrowing Bettong, 8 Brush Tailed Bettong, 9 Wombat, 10 Nail-Tailed Wallaby, 11 Hare Wallaby, 12 Western and Eastern Grey Kangaroo, 13 Red Kangaroo, 14 Crest Tailed Mulgara, 15 Greater Stick Nest Rat, 16 Hopping Mouse, 17 Fox, 18 Cat, 19 Rabbit)
Toot Toot Design, Author provided
The contemporary record: This shows today’s situation in the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area. Light grey animals represent those animals that are now locally extinct.
The fossil record shows that the range of habitats occupied by devils in the past was far more diverse than today, with populations being found across environments from the central arid core to the northern tropics.
This suggests that devils today should, theoretically, be able to reoccupy a similarly extensive range of habitats.
Former devil range across Australia as revealed by the known fossil record.
Some ecologists suggest dingoes should be reintroduced into Australian habitats in order to reduce the impact of cats and foxes on native mammals.
One problem is that dingoes also prey on livestock. This is the reason the dingo fence was constructed during the 1880s.
But devils are not active predators of cattle and sheep. So reintroducing a predator that has a much longer evolutionary history with other native mammals in this country would likely receive far less opposition from pastoralists.
Deadly disease can ‘hide’ from a Tasmanian devil’s immune system
A reintroduction of devils back to the mainland may be a new approach to consider for controlling the relentless, destructive march of exotic predators and restore crucial elements of Australia’s biodiversity.
It still needs to be demonstrated that devils can suppress the activities of cats and foxes on the mainland, as they seem to have done in Tasmania. Experiments with devils in a range of different settings would help to establish this.
A new research approach involving palaeontologists, conservation biologists and policy makers may help us understand how we can restore biodiversity function in Australia.
Michael Westaway, Senior Research Fellow, Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University and Gilbert Price, Lecturer in Palaeontology, The University of Queensland
March 1, 2019 by particularkev Categories: Australia, cats, Tasmania, Tasmanian Devil | Tags: article, Australia, feral cats, mainland, Tasmania, Tasmanian Devil | Leave a comment
Tassie devils’ decline has left a feast of carrion for feral cats
Healthy Tasmanian devil populations have cornered the market on carrion.
Menna Elizabeth Jones, Author provided
Calum Cunningham, University of Tasmania; Christopher Johnson, University of Tasmania; Menna Elizabeth Jones, University of Tasmania, and Tracey Hollings, University of Melbourne
The decline of Tasmanian devils is having an unusual knock-on effect: animal carcasses would once have been gobbled up in short order by devils are now taking many days longer to disappear.
We made the discovery, published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, by placing carcasses in a range of locations and watching what happened. We found that reduced scavenging by devils results in extra food for less efficient scavengers, such as feral cats.
Tasmanian devils have struggled for two decades against a typically fatal transmissible cancer, called devil facial tumour disease. The disease has caused devil populations to plummet by about 80% on average, and by up to 95% in some areas.
DFTD has spread across most of Tasmania over a 20-year period. Dashed lines show the estimated disease front.
Calum Cunningham/Menna Jones
Scavengers are carnivores that feed on dead animals (carrion). Almost all carnivores scavenge to a greater or lesser degree, but the devil is Tasmania’s dominant scavenger. Since the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger, it is also the island’s top predator.
A scavenging experiment
In our study, we put out carcasses of the Tasmanian pademelon (a small wallaby weighing roughly 5kg) in a variety of places, ranging from disease-free areas with large devil populations, to long-diseased areas where devil numbers are very low. We then used motion-sensor cameras to record all scavenger species that fed on the carcasses.
The Carnivores of Tasmania: a Scavenging Experiment.
Unsurprisingly, much less carrion was consumed by devils in areas where devil populations have declined. This has increased the availability of carrion for other species, such as the invasive feral cat, spotted-tailed quoll, and forest raven. All of these species significantly increased their scavenging in places with fewer devils.
Consumption of experimentally placed carcasses.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B
The responses of native scavengers (quolls and ravens) were subtly different to those of feral cats. The amount of feeding by quolls and ravens depended simply on how much of each carcass had already been consumed by devils. Ravens and quolls are smaller and less efficient than devils at consuming carcasses, so they get the chance to feed only when devils have not already monopolised a carcass.
In contrast, feral cats tended to scavenge only at sites where devils were at very low abundance. This suggests that healthy devil populations create a “landscape of fear” that causes cats to avoid carcasses altogether in areas where they are likely to encounter a devil. It seems that the life of a feral cat is now less scary in the absence of devils.
Predator prevalence
By looking at 20 years of bird surveys from BirdLife Australia, we also found that the odds of encountering a raven in Tasmania have more than doubled from 1998 to 2017. However, we were unable to directly link this with devil declines. It is likely the raven population is growing in response to a range of factors that includes land-use change and agricultural intensification, as well as reduced competition with devils.
Other studies have shown that cats have also become more abundant in areas where devils have declined. This highlights the potential for devils to act as a natural biological control on cats. Cats are a major threat to small native animals and are implicated in most Australian mammal extinctions.
Carcass concerns
Although smaller scavengers consumed more carrion as devils declined, they were unable to consume them as rapidly as devils. This has resulted in the accumulation of carcasses that would previously have been quickly and completely eaten by devils.
In places with plenty of devils, carcasses were completely eaten within an average of five days, compared with 13 days in places where devil facial tumour disease is rife. That means carcasses last much longer where devils are rare.
Around 2 million medium-sized animals are killed by vehicles or culled in Tasmania each year, and most are simply left to decompose where they fall. With devils consuming much less carrion, it is likely that carcasses are accumulating across Tasmania. It is unclear how much of a disease risk they pose to wildlife and livestock.
Conserving carnivores
Large carnivores are declining throughout the world, with knock-on effects such as increasing abundance of smaller predators. In recent years, some large carnivores have begun returning to their former ranges, bringing hope that their lost ecological roles may be restored.
Carnivores are declining for many reasons, but an underlying cause is that humans do not necessarily appreciate their pivotal role in the health of entire ecosystems. One way to change this is to recognise the beneficial services they provide.
Tasmanian devils are evolving rapidly to fight their deadly cancer
Our research highlights one of these benefits. It supports arguments that we should help the devil population recover, not just for their own sake but for other species too, including those threatened by feral cats.
The devil seems to be solving the disease problem itself, rapidly evolving resistance to facial tumours. Any management plan will need to help this process, and not hinder it. Potentially, returning devils to mainland Australia could provide similar benefit to wildlife threatened by feral predators.
Calum Cunningham, PhD candidate, University of Tasmania, University of Tasmania; Christopher Johnson, Professor of Wildlife Conservation and ARC Australian Professorial Fellow, University of Tasmania; Menna Elizabeth Jones, Associate professor, University of Tasmania, and Tracey Hollings, Senior Scientist, Ecological Modelling at Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, and Honorary Research Fellow, University of Melbourne
November 29, 2018 by particularkev Categories: Australia, cats, Tasmania, Tasmanian Devil | Tags: article, Australia, carrion, cats, decline, feral cats, Tasmania, Tasmanian Devil | Leave a comment
Tasmanian Devils in Trouble
August 11, 2018 by particularkev Categories: Australia, Tasmania, Tasmanian Devil, video | Tags: Australia, Tasmania, Tasmanian Devil, video | Leave a comment
Aggressive behaviour exhibited by socially dominant Tasmanian devils may predispose them to infection with devil facial tumour disease.
Sebastien Compte/University of Tasmania, Author provided
Konstans Wells, Griffith University; Andrew Storfer, Washington State University; Douglas Kerlin, Griffith University; Hamish McCallum, Griffith University; Menna Elizabeth Jones, University of Tasmania; Paul Hohenlohe, University of Idaho, and Rodrigo Hamede, University of Tasmania
Tasmanian devils in their prime are most likely to become infected with deadly facial tumour disease (DFTD), our research shows.
The findings, published today in Ecology Letters, contradict conventional wisdom that infection of relatively weakened individuals is commonplace in the spread and persistence of diseases.
Instead, it’s the devils that enjoy the highest survival and breeding success who eventually succumb to the fatal disease.
DFTD has had a devastating effect on devil populations in Tasmania, with the marsupial carnivore placed on the endangered list in 2009.
So what is it that makes the fitter devils more prone to infection?
The devils in detail
DFTD is unique in that it is one of only a few known cases of transmissible cancer, where the deadly tumours do not originate from the host body.
The disease is transmitted into an individual when devils bite each other.
To track DFTD in a population, over ten years we repeatedly surveyed more than 500 wild devils, visiting the same field site at least four times per year.
This allowed us to study both survival and reproduction of the devils in the context of infection dynamics and tumour growth.
Our results add to our understanding of how DFTD spreads through devil populations, and reveal more details of how disease-induced evolution in devil populations (such as resistance to the disease) may be occurring.
We suggest the way disease is transmitted plays a key role in who gets infected.
It is the dominant devils who are more likely to engage in aggressive behaviour, such as during mating. This puts them at higher risk of biting an infected individual and thus becoming infected themselves.
So it’s the devils who are otherwise very fit (in the evolutionary sense) that the disease takes out. These are the ones that have the highest survival and reproduction rates, before being killed by the cancer.
Impact on devil populations
So what does this say about the future survival of devil populations in Tasmania’s wild?
Too often, a dramatic-looking disease such as DFTD leaves the impression that it must have detrimental effect on the overall population growth.
But this is not necessarily the case if diseased individuals had a chance to reproduce before they got infected.
Possible scenarios of Tasmanian devil survival and reproduction amid the risk of DFTD infection. The horizontal thick lines indicate individual devil survival over time, small devils reproduction and red dots infestation with tumours.
David Sargent/Queensland College of Art/Griffith University
In the graphic (above) we can see that some devils may not reproduce because either (A) of their social status, or (B) if they get an infection early in life and rapid tumour growth results in death.
In contrast, devils who get the disease late in life © may have already reproduced earlier. In (D) devils may still get infected, but if the tumour grows slowly they may still have chance to reproduce before death.
As for healthy and dominant devils who don’t get the disease (E), they may reproduce several times in their life.
Such details can be vital to understand the spread of DFTD and the outcome for Tasmanian devil populations.
It is the complex interplay of devil demography and disease dynamics that ultimately determines whether DFTD is a conservation threat for devils.
Infection decline
Our results also show a recent decline in the likelihood that devils become infected in this population. This could indicate some evolving resistance of devils to the cancer, as was recently shown by researchers from our team.
Alternatively, the decline in infection rate could have resulted from a reduction in the number of socially dominant devils, if these are responsible for most transmissions of the disease.
If adult devils with high fitness are those that become infected, the potential for selection for resistant animals would be limited.
This is because these individuals still contribute more offspring (and their genetic constitution) to future generations than those not infected and with little engagement in reproduction.
Devil conservation
Our findings could have an impact on some of the conservation strategies for devils, such as vaccination or translocation of devils to other areas.
For example, a targeted vaccination of socially dominant individuals would be more efficient than randomly picking individuals for vaccination.
If devil individuals from captive insurance populations were to be released into wild populations, the consequences for disease spread and population viability would be unpredictable without a better understanding of the role of social behaviour in disease transmission.
If introduced individuals distract existing social structure and more frequently engage in biting behaviour, they may favour the spread of DFTD.
If devils develop resistance to DFTD, the introduction of individuals from captive populations may dilute the natural selection process.
Our study suggest that DFTD appears to be selectively spread and does not affect all individuals in a population. Understanding disease transmission pathways is a prerequisite to aid conservation efforts to stop the spread of unwanted diseases.
Konstans Wells, Research Fellow in Ecology, Griffith University; Andrew Storfer, Professor & Associate Director, School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University; Douglas Kerlin, Postdoctoral Reseach Fellow, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University; Hamish McCallum, Professor, Griffith School of Environment and Acting Dean of Research, Griffith Sciences, Griffith University; Menna Elizabeth Jones, Associate professor, University of Tasmania; Paul Hohenlohe, , University of Idaho, and Rodrigo Hamede, Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Conservation Biology and Wildlife Management, University of Tasmania
May 13, 2017 by particularkev Categories: Australia, Tasmania, Tasmanian Devil | Tags: article, Australia, Tasmania, Tasmanian Devil | Leave a comment
Tasmanian Devils in the Barrington Tops
March 11, 2017 by particularkev Categories: Australia, Barrington Tops National Park, Barrington Tops State Forest, New South Wales, Tasmanian Devil, video | Tags: Australia, Barrington Tops, Devil's Ark, New South Wales, NSW, Tasmania, Tasmanian Devil, video | Leave a comment
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Popular WoW Streamer Hires YouTubers Who Leeched Off His Stream To Run Official Channel
Filed to:streaming
Image: Asmongold
If you search any popular Twitch streamer’s name on YouTube, you’ll find countless videos scraped from their streams. Of these, some will likely come from the streamer, but many are the product of users who upload content that is not, strictly speaking, theirs.
Recent YouTube changes, however, are apparently making that more difficult. Instead of cheering YouTube leeches’ demise, WoW streamer Asmongold has decided to help.
During a stream yesterday, Asmongold announced that he’s started a new official YouTube channel run by people who used to reap the technically ill-gotten gains of unofficial Asmongold YouTube channels. He explained that, in the wake of a YouTube monetization change that targets videos featuring the same content, a handful of “reuploaders,” as they’re sometimes called, reached out to him to ask if they could help run an official channel.
“Finally no more leeches? Well, it’s actually the opposite,” said Asmongold. “What ended up happening is, they’re not able to make money off the videos as much anymore, right? They want to make it an official thing... This is not their content; it’s my content they’re making. But of course I’m gonna help them out. The amount of people that watch my videos on YouTube and then go watch my stream is huge.”
While some streamers aren’t OK with reuploaders, many turn a blind eye to the practice because, as Asmongold points out, they benefit from it. Twitch is an enormous platform in its own right, but YouTube still dwarfs it with a user base of nearly two billion people. Reuploaders, meanwhile, are doing a form of labor. They’re watching streams that sometimes last 10+ hours, chopping them up into digestible chunks, editing clips together, and figuring out how to package them. That takes substantial time and effort, and it serves an audience of people who might not have time to follow these streamers otherwise. Should they be making money off this while existing in what’s basically a gray area on YouTube’s endless digital frontier, wrangling content that other people worked hard to make? That’s an incredibly thorny question. But the fact is, many people are.
“Of course I’m gonna help them out. The amount of people that watch my videos on YouTube and then go watch my stream is huge.”
While laying out his reasoning for hiring reuploaders and paying them an amount that has yet to be determined (but will likely be based on what streamers generally pay people who run their YouTube channels), Asmongold pointed to videos other people had stitched together from his streams. One had nearly five million views.
“It’s fucking insane,” he said. “It’s absolutely fucking insane... One guy told me that he made $27,000 a month by uploading Asmongold highlights to YouTube. I didn’t believe it, but he showed me a screenshot of it. The next month, he made $32,000.”
So Asmongold stands to benefit handsomely from this arrangement, too. It is not uncommon, then, for streamers to have official channels that serve a similar function. Sometimes they hire from their own communities, a trend that recently led to controversy for leftist streamer Hasan Piker, who was accused of exploiting the labor of an unaffiliated YouTube editor who felt like Piker was stringing him along with the possibility of a job. In response, Piker said he wasn’t even aware the person wanted a job, but that’d he pay them because “people send me videos they edit all the time” and “if they ask for compensation, I pay them.” However he requested that, going forward, nobody else send him videos or memes unless he specifically asked them to work with him, especially in light of the fact that his own YouTube channel “makes zero dollars a month” and is “literally not worth the headache.”
As the top World of Warcraft streamer on Twitch, Asmongold is a much bigger name than Piker, which changes the dynamics of all this significantly. Asmongold already has one official YouTube channel, and this new one, with more regular uploads, will probably make a substantial amount of money. But it will also be a drop in the bucket for Asmongold, who laughed while saying that he recently failed to read an email and missed out on a brand deal that would have netted him “like $100,000 in a day.”
The economics of unofficial stream editing and YouTube reuploading are messy and fraught, and absolutely not consistent across different tiers of streamer. Some, like Asmongold, who is a millionaire, can easily afford to ignore the lion’s share of it and pop in to help out when it benefits them. Others are less fortunate. Not all reuploaders are created equal, either. Many barely pull any views at all. And depending on how much YouTube has altered the way it handles monetization, it might have just turned the entire scene on its head.
For his part, Asmongold said that other reuploaders are free to keep doing their thing. “I’m not gonna DMCA your channel,” he said. “You have these guys that are making top one percent salaries by uploading videos of my stream. I think it’s funny.”
Kotaku senior reporter. Beats: Twitch, PC gaming.
More from Kotaku
Scammers Are Impersonating Popular Twitch Streamers
Psychiatrist Brings Streamer To Tears During Confessional Stream
Twitch Loophole Is Still Inflating Views
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Category travel
2015 – Exploring the iceberg
April 18, 2015 kvpops Leave a comment
The past years 2013, 14 we touched the ice berg with higher digital spends, long format story based ads, adoption of online shopping and flourishing of e-commerce businesses and better and more impactful government advertising. In the coming years we shall explore the iceberg and comprehend its magnitude. The developments in 2014 will continue and better in 2015 and also the year should see (I hope) new trends responding to the changes happening around.
The adoption of internet and its influence in communication and advertising will continue with higher growth rates. A recent report by McKinsey & Company and Facebook said India would add close to 300 million internet users by 2018 to make up an online population of just under 500 million people. While this trend is acknowledged by the advertising industry, the adoption of this trend in the rural areas is still to be explored. Few pioneers like HUL with its Kan Khajura Tesan have taken steps in this direction; with more than 80 million internet users and increasing consumption of low cost, internet enabled smart phones in the rural markets I hope to see more work in this space. Internet and mobile multimedia is used more for entertainment in the rural areas unlike urban where the use is more for social purposes. This insight should lead marketers to create more entertaining content for the rural population in 2015. What happened on ground all these years should go online, catering to masses; things like music, performances, plays and movies are likely to go online and accessed through mobile phones.
The rural markets have been paid attention in some industries but there are certain trends that will influence consumption and communication in the rural space – like rural doesn’t always mean poor and bottom of pyramid, there is rural rich as well and they are consuming brands; with luxury car brands, branded consumer durables and electronics getting a fair share of their revenues from the rural space. Another very important trend is about the rural children with access to satellite communication and internet are growing up with similar aspirations like their urban counterparts. Hence we can’t discriminate between an urban and rural kids as they are viewing the world with same lens. Hence the psychographic targeting will become more important than geographic targeting. Going forward rural marketing will go through a sea change.
Another trend that took shape in 2014 is the spending on the digital mediums and this will continue unprecedented in 2015. According to the latest findings of the Digital Advertising in India Report by IAMAI and IMRB, the online advertising market in India is projected to reach Rs 3,575 crore by March 2015, a growth of 30 per cent over last year. Along with increasing spends what was seeing in the year gone by and also with their plans for coming years was the maturity of the clients w.r.t. digital adverting; they are taking bold decisions and are understanding the immense possibilities that comes with digital. Having CMTO i.e. Chief Marketing Technology Officer will become common in the coming years.
The next trend is a problem of sorts which will aggravate in the coming years, and what needs to be seen is how the industry deals with this. The trend is that many category of products are becoming commodities due to the presence of search and aggregating technologies; they loosing brand value and hence the ability to charge premium for branded products. Take for example the airlines industry where once the brand was the most important variable in the decision making criteria i.e. business travelers sweared by Jet Airways. Now due to the presence of google and other aggregators which throw the cheapest tickets for the searched routes, price has become the most important variable and the industry has gone into this vicious cycle of downward spiraling prices. This leads to a compromise in services, losses and hence today a profitable airline is an achievement. This is true for many industry like many financial services and also consumer durables where the customer may visit a retail outlet to get all the information related to a product but purchase online. The concept of branding that created emotional connect with its customers and there by commanding a premium is failing to do so in spite of increased investments.
With most activities in the purchase process happening online the scope for creating human connection is reducing and hence in the coming years brands will be redefined by the experiences they create online and offline. Marketers have forgotten this and are now having a very transactional relationship with their customers over the internet and emotional affinity is taking a back seat. I hope in the coming year some will wake up and act to break this spiral.
Some other trends that will take off from 2014 is rise of e-commerce and online shopping, the online shopping behavior that was seen during Diwali in 2014 will continue in 2015 and players should build their infrastructure accordingly. Making ads for government which was seen below dignity of any professional advertising agency has changed for good. With the new government’s progressive vision, today advertising agencies take pride in contributing to governments actions. Corporates, agencies and people all are participating in issues of national importance, this was seen in the Swachh Bharat campaign in 2014 and going forward more such campaign and better integration will be seen.
Being more selfless, fresh, more engaging and telling stories that connect with the people will be the mantra in 2015. We saw hints of this happening and some pioneering brands and agencies working in this direction; if this is the take-off, 2015 will see the real flight and that makes it an exciting place to be and to watch out for.
Note: Originally published in the Financial Express in early 2015
Discontinuously continuous logo design progressions.
July 17, 2011 kvpops 2 Comments
Jet Airways and Airtel started their journey almost in the same decade (90’s), few years ago Airtel opted for a complete revamp of logo, while Jet Airways retained the logo and modernized the identity. Both the businesses are very new in India, changing consumers and the changing business objectives forced both the brands to relook at the logos and identities.
Airtel opted for a new logo while retaining the red and white colors. I do not know what the equity studies have thrown up it took me by surprise and so where pundits and the millions of subscribers. Wisdom says to retain the elements, which made you successful and junk the baggage, Airtel dumped the Avant-garde typography and retained the color instead.
Jet Airways on the other hand retained the “flying sun” logo and introduced the yellow ribbon as a contemporary element in the identity. Because losing the equity of the “flying sun” would have proved disastrous in tying to chase a new international image. Protecting the successful domestic market was also a key challenge which they achieved easily by retaining the logo, while successfully managed to curve a new modern, young world-class airline imagery by the introduction of a cheerful, fluid ribbon motive.
So in other words Airtel opted for “Discontinuous” change while Jet opted for “Discontinuously continuous” change.
Proctor & Gamble invented the term “Discontinuously continuous” which means the design must look similar to the earlier one in isolation and dissimilar when observed closely, so that you do not loose out on the equity of familiarity, affinity and instant reorganization built over the years and still tries to modernize the graphics like what Jet did or “Apple” keep doing it every now and then.
Discontinuously continuous is a very pragmatic approach for all successful heritage brands to keep in touch with the ever-changing world; here are some classic examples of brands adopting this approach:
“Bengal Tiger.” Now you see. Now you don’t.
November 2, 2010 November 2, 2010 kvpops Leave a comment
When I googled “Tiger”, I got more info on Tiger Woods than Bengal tiger. I grew-up with zoos and circuses, I had no awareness or guilt in watching and marveling at captive animals. My children are different, they are more aware of environmental issues than me as a kid, thanks to their schooling, teachers and media. They refuse to see animals in zoos and circuses; I had to buy bluray “Planet Earth” series for them to watch animals up-close.
I visited Sunderban National Park and Tiger Reserve in West Bengal, last weekend with my son. At last I wanted to fulfill my desire to show my son a tiger in its natural habitat than much hated zoos. Sunderbuns is a vast delta with confluence of three great Indian rivers: Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna spanning over 10,000 sq kms with exquisite waterways, mudflats and numerous small mangrove islands.
I had been psyching my kid to be patient in spotting an animal (as he was set with his 200mm zoom camera to click panthera tigris tigris), our hired boat sailed hours together without any luck of spotting any other animal apart from monkeys, after six hours our guide from the forest department declared that the water tide was too high for the tigers or for that matter any animal to come out and advised us to visit in winter mornings as the animals come out toward the waters to sun bath and as the tide is usually low in the mornings. Helplessly we headed back.
Project Tiger was launched in 1972 to conserve the nation symbol from extinction. According to my well-informed forest guide tiger population in the country came down from 3642 in 1990 to present 1411. As per the legend he adds there were over 100,000 tigers in the world a century ago. With hung jaws we listened to the expert of the world’s largest tiger populated forest.
When I posted our status of not spotting a tiger on the Facebook; one of my friends responded by saying “Pops you may not have spotted a tiger but certainly it would have spotted you” This comment left me thinking whether I should have taken my son to this fenced mangrove islands to see the most precious and endangered species at all? Why can’t we let them live the way they are meant to live? Why this voyeurism?
Last night we were lisining to David Attenborough again.
The story behind Jet Airways logo.
September 22, 2010 September 22, 2010 kvpops 21 Comments
Not everyday you get an opportunity to launch an airline and not everyday you get to design an airline logo.
Jet Airways was the first baby born out of 1991 economical liberalization in India. No one at the agency Lowe (Lintas then) had believed that a private airline is going to be launched in India, when we got the assignment some time in June-July 1992.
My copy partner Chax walked to me and said “so disaster you are going to launch the youngest and the newest airline in the country (last airline launched was Air-India by JRD Tata before Indian independence) and we are going to get briefed in about two hours time” I brush it off as one more job and indeed when the briefing by the client Naresh Goyal and his team had happened I started to take this so called air-taxi operation seriously.
It was not easy for an art director like me, who barely traveled abroad to understand and experience the finner aspects of the business, Naresh Goyal was clear that he wanted to build the best airline in the world, he had the vision to fly international one day and compete with Singapore Airlines and British Airways. I did not know where to begin with Naresh’s world-class vision. I walked up to the account manager Deepak Malik and ask him to get me all international airline logos.
Next day Deepak dumped an IATA member’s guide on my desk. There were details of all member airlines, after studying the logos and ownership details, I came to the conclusion that majority of the airlines are state owned and use the state colors therefore all are primary colors, my first task was to create a non-state owned symbol which should be relevant to flying and must represent modern India.
And below is my 100th attempt:
Started with a flying aircraft’s tail and then added sun, used the speed lines and eliminated the tail to symbolise the flight, ‘was left with the sun and the speed lines, which I have used graphically to depict the flight and compress the circular sun to an oval and angled it. What I have got was an angled, oval sun with speed lines.
This was one of the three logos I presented, others were simple geometrical shapes. I fell in love with this sun with speed lines and pushed my partner and other teams members to support and they they all did. Chax called this indescribable logo as “Flying Sun”
Naresh and his team liked the simplicity and we found a creative supporter in one of Jet Airways director Javed Akhtar who supported what Chax and me liked and later he told us with a hidden smile that he like the symbol but he saw a “fetus image” in the logo , I still try to see a curled-up fetus sleeping in mother womb. Months later when the first aircraft arrived from Ansett Australia, Javed saheb with a grin says “Good. You fetus turned into a healthy baby.” I admire him for his support and his sense of humour.
Reverse logo is still a mystery to many. When I finished art-working the logo and the plane graphics to the specifications, I did not know what to do to the other side of the tail, unlike symmetrical logos my logo has speed lines on the tail adding direction, If I repoduce the logo the same way on the other side than the direction will not work it will look bad as the speed lines point inward rather than outward, I had to take a tough call to reverse the logo to keep the speed lines and direction outward. No one knew what I did except Chax, my partner.
When the first aircraft landed for the inauguration at the Mumbai airport, all the guests including JRD Tata and Chief Minister Sharad Pawar were eagerly waiting for the plane, and the plane landed exposing the other side of the aircraft’s tail, I was waiting for Naresh Goyal to catch my throat for painting the logo reverse, fortunately that never happened and no one ever asked me why the logo is reverse on the tail. Incidentally Naresh always introduces me to others as the man who painted his plane.
For time being let me put my tail between my legs and rest my case.
Sameness syndrome.
September 16, 2010 September 16, 2010 kvpops 2 Comments
Same to same. Ditto. Copy that. Identical similarity. Monotony. Repetition. Parity. Par. Oneness. At the least sameness have more than a dozen synonyms. Will you second that?
Sameness is a modern-day disease we all suffer from. Nearly 25 years back when I started to travel aboard, each airport, each city and its taxies, signage, people, architecture, food and currency every thing use to look, feel and smell different.
There was a visible difference between a Singapore and a Shanghai and a San Jose. London cabs to Kolkata trams to Mumbai taxies to Tokyo’s bullet trains, transport had it’s own identity in the culture of the cities.
Not long ago Paris, Zürich, Bangkok, Beijing and New Delhi were free of ugly-looking glass buildings. Today, if you take a drive on the freeways of Gurgaon, New Delhi, it feels like you are driving in the downtown of San Jose. The Hyderabad, New Delhi and Beijing airports look identical all built recently.
This sameness is every where, 50 years ago there was only one denim brand called Levi’s which sported, five pockets with rivets today there are close to 100,000 brands. We all look the same, talk the same, wear the same, smell the same even feel the same in this mass production \consumption\ pirated \ keep up with Jones \ unison era.
Not just brand identities and product designs even cities, cultures and values are been cloned today.
“ Sameness is the mother of disgust, variety the cure”
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Lakes Getaways – Holidays in the English Lake District. Book Direct and Save.
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The top 10 child friendly places for kids in the Lake District
December 14, 2019 May 31, 2019 by fellside
For a great children’s activity try the best paddling and picnic Spots
1.My first choice is a secret, hidden lake a few minutes walk from Woodside. High Dam, just outside the village of Finsthwaite is a real beauty spot! This stunningly peaceful lake is ideal for wild swimming and paddling.
2. My second choice is one of the top wild swimming, river paddling and picnic spots in the Lake District. It’s across the lake from Woodside at Fell Foot Park, Bowness. For an unusual way to travel to Fell Foot Park why not walk to Lakeside and then take the ferry from Lakeside to Fell Foot Park?
3. Fell Foot Park, Bowness is sat on the shore of Lake Windermere, opposite Lakeside and Woodside cottage and only 15 minutes from Fell View Cottage. You’ll find a National Trust café with baby changing, outdoor picnic benches and lots of grassy picnic blanket areas, rowing boats for hire, children’s adventure playground. It is ideal for children’s activities. But most importantly it has a beach-like access for splashing about in Lake Windermere
For the adventurous child why not try Grizedale Forest. Only 15 minutes from Woodside and 35 mins from Fell View
2. Grizedale has everything for a great family day out. Located to the east of Coniston Water and to the south of Hawkshead (15 minutes for Woodside) Set in the heart of the Lake District National Park, Grizedale offers an unrivalled day out for everyone and is great for children’s activities.
Grizedale Forest has :Sculpture trails, picnic areas, forest way marked trails, (Riddings Wood is push chair/wheel chair friendly) a Gruffalo Trail , mountain bike trails, Mountain bike hire but book in advance!, excellent café/tearoom. For the really adventourous there’s Go Ape Tree Top Adventure and Zip Trekking Adventure Forest Segway,
Go Ape is the Zip Trekking Adventure – a network of seven tandem zip lines that traverse the sky-scraping Douglas Firs. A brilliant day out for the adventurous and for those not quite so adventurous you can just look! You can enjoy two to three hours in the trees taking on Zip Wires, Tarzan Swings, Rope Ladders and a variety of obstacles and crossings; a high ropes course for all the family. Set in a forest of sky-scraping Douglas Firs, Grizedale feels seriously high, mainly due to its vertigo-inducing 19 metre platforms. There are two Zip Wires which fly over the road below!
Go Ape Opening times :February Half Term [open daily]
March [weekends only]
Easter, Half Term and Summer Holidays [open daily]
October Half Term [open daily]
November [weekends only]
December [Tree Top Junior and Tree Top Adventure open 3rd-4th only]
We highly recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment.
3. Beatrix Potter Revealed
A lovely place to visit in the Summer is Beatrix Potter’s 17th-century farmhouse. This is a time-capsule of her life. Her house ,Hill Top is a few minutes from Woodside . A very pleasant drive through woodland lanes takes you to Near Sawrey, Hawkshead, Ambleside, Cumbria, LA22 0LF . Although it is open most of the Summer months , from September it is closed on Fridays
Furthermore ,you can enjoy the story of Beatrix Potter and her life,as Hill Top is full of her favourite things. The house appears as if Beatrix had just stepped out for a walk! Every room contains a reference to a picture in a ‘tale’.They run children’s activities during the Summer.
The lovely cottage garden is a haphazard mix of flowers, herbs, fruit and vegetables. Bought in 1905 with proceeds from her first book, the Tale of Peter Rabbit, she used Hill Top itself and the surrounding countryside as inspiration for many of her subsequent books.
Hill Top is a small house and a timed-ticket system is in operation. . Hill Top can be very busy and visitors may sometimes have to wait to enter the house. Tickets cannot be booked in advance and early sell-outs are possible in the Summer holiday periods.
4. The most awe-inspiring view!
If you want to experience a World Heritage site in all its glory, get yourself to Claife Heights Viewing station on the banks of Lake Windermere. This venue is child friendly and a great place for kids of all ages.
By road …Junction 36 off M6, then take A684 which becomes the A591 to Windermere and Ambleside. B5285 from Windermere via Windermere ferry 3 miles. B5286 and B5285 from Ambleside 9 miles. B5285 from Coniston 8 miles.
Parking: Ash Landing, very near Claife Viewing Station and Harrowslack, on Windermere’s west shore.
There’s a cosy cafe in the courtyard and it is open every day 11am-3pm. Dogs are welcome on the west shore of Windermere.
This colourful Viewing Station has endless lake views and waterside paths for you to explore. Children love looking through the amazing coloured glass.
5. The coolest boat ride in the Lakes is on Coniston Water.This is a great family friendly day out! Coniston is nearly five miles long, and has a maximum depth of 184 feet. It is the third largest of the lakes. It provided an important fish source for the monks of Furness Abbey who owned the lake and much of the surrounding land in the 13th and 14th Centuries. More recently Coniston Water was used to transport slate and ore from the many mines worked in the Coppermines Valley above Coniston It has three small islands, all owned by the National Trust.
The elegant Victorian Steam Yacht Gondola sails between March and November. Renovated by the National Trust, its passengers can travel in opulently upholstered saloons – a superb way to appreciate the magnificent scenery. The traditional timber craft of Coniston Launch provide regular hourly sailings throughout the year to jetties around Coniston Water, including Brantwood.
The Victorian philosopher John Ruskin bought Brantwood house to the east of the lake in 1871 declaring the view over the lake to ‘The Old Man of Coniston’ to be ‘the best in all of England’.
Arthur Ransome based his book ‘Swallows and Amazons’ on Coniston Water, and much fun may be had trying to discover the locations of the stories. There are both boat hire and sailing courses & centres on Coniston Water.
Sir Malcolm Campbell chose Coniston for his attempt at the water speed record in 1939, which he achieved at over 141 miles per hour. On his death, his son Donald Campbell [left] took up where his father left off.
His aim was to better 300 miles per hour, which he did on 4th January 1967, but the craft, ‘Bluebird’, shot up into the air and disappeared into the lake. Until early in 2001, his body had never been found. There is a memorial to him near the Information Centre in Ruskin Avenue. The story is told in the refurbished Ruskin Museum.
7. A steam train back in time . Head for the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railwayat either Lakeside or Haverthwaite , where you can travel back in time when you climb aboard these amazing If you are staying at Woodside it is a short walk to lakeside to pick up the train.
A distant memory of bygone years for some and new experience for others, it’s a unique day out for all.
If you want to, you can combine your day out with a visit to The Lakes Aquarium or continue your journey aboard a Windermere Steamer to Bowness or Ambleside. The trains welcome dogs and owners.
8. Explore an amazing garden of weird and wonderful trees.
I’m talking topiary at Holker Hall. Just off the A590 the house and gardens is the family home of Lord and Lady Cavendish. It is a delightful family home with fine displays of antique furniture and art.
You can tour the house without the restriction of ropes and barriers, and see the distinguished library, elegant drawing room, and ornate dining room. Climb the striking staircase and you can view portraits of Charles II, and Catherine of Braganza. You can visit the bedroom where Queen Mary stayed in 1937.
Children will be fascinated by the unique shaped trees as they complete a quiz (bought from the shop) of the garden. The café is very good. In the Summer they sometimes have the steam engine working in the court yard.
8. Why not take to the water in crafts of all shapes and sizes at Fell Foot and Coniston where there is a huge variety of watersports, from canoeing and sailing to windsurfing and diving,. From Woodside you can walk to lakeside and take the passenger ferry over to Fell Foot park or you can drive the few minutes there. Rowing boats are available at Fell Foot.
9.Enjoy a Kayaking at Brockhole
Kayaking on Lake Windermere is something rather special! Peace Quiet only the lap of the paddle can be heard.
£42 for a half-day session – including packed lunch and all equipment provided
Places are limited (8 per session) so please book.
The Aquarium of the Lakes is an ideal wet weather attraction and a short walk from Woodside . Aquarium with freshwater and marine life, featuring an underwater otter tunnel and stingrays.
Address: Rocky Bank Lakeside, Newby Bridge, Lakeside, Ulverston LA12 8AS
Categories activities Tags activities in the lake District, Lake District Post navigation
Castle and History in the Lake District
A BBQ that’s worth waiting for
Lazy walk from Low Wood, near Haverthwaite to Grenodd
Stunning gardens in the Lake District
Cruising on Lake Windemere
Let’s go wild swimming in Windermere!
Woodside Availability
Fell View Availability
From Our Galleries Page
Woodside Review
Beautifully restored cottage, perfect for a break with family or friends of all ages.
The owners were extremely polite,helpful & prompt in replying to enquiries and provided excellent information prior to our trip.
The cottage has been lovingly restored to a high standard and is warm, friendly, homely, well equipped and extremely tidy and clean. We were greeted with a warm welcome of tea, biscuits and wine left in the cottage.
Our Lake District Guide
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Is requesting waiving the right to deletion of contributions against GDPR?
I just got one of those GDPR mails from gitlab.com, which pointed me to a Web page where I had to accept some terms and conditions. The same as everywhere, except this passage:
(For GitLab Contributors Only) As part of my voluntary contribution to any GitLab project, I acknowledge and agree that my name and email address will become embedded and part of the code, which may be publicly available. I understand the removal of this information would be impermissibly destructive to the project and the interests of all those who contribute, utilize, and benefit from it. Therefore, in consideration of my participation in any project, I hereby waive any right to request any erasure, removal, or rectification of this information under any applicable privacy or other law and acknowledge and understand that providing this information is a requirement under the agreement to contribute to the GitLab project.
As far as I understood GDPR, this passage is just plain bullocks and they're trying to get away with arguably the most difficult bit of GDPR, especially if you consider their argument. I can feel their pain, but it also just doesn't feel like this is made possible by GDPR and if GitLab would deny or not completely fulfil such a deletion request, it would be liable to litigation. Am I correct in this?
Note: I'm not trying to put GitLab in a bad spot here, they're just the first (only?) ones that included this kind of passage in their agreement.
sleske
rubenvbrubenvb
GitLab is probably referring to how git includes your name and email in every commit you make. To remove them would mean modifying the history of every change that was made to all projects since your first commit in each. That's indeed very destructive. This would mean that the next time someone syncs their copy of the project with GitLab, it would potentially show all the history of the project since your first commit as diverging and one would be left to figure out what part of their local history to move GitLab's new history, and how. I expect GitHub and others to have the same problem. – JoL May 25 '18 at 21:40
See also: GDPR + git history – unor May 28 '18 at 5:08
Yes, their waiver has no legal basis and is invalid under the GDPR. They should have hired a better lawyer.
GDPR rights cannot be waived (mrllp.com).
The last bit should have been:
Therefore, in consideration of my participation in any project, I understand that retaining my name and email address, as described above, does not require my consent and that the right of erasure, as spelled out in the GDRP Article 17 (1) b does not apply. The legal basis for our lawful processing of this personal data is Article 6 (1) f ("processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller").
I.e. there is nothing in the GDPR that compels GitLab to erase this information, but their waiver is bogus.
Keeping track of individual contributions in a software projects is necessary for a number of reasons, including security (if somebody contributes code that jeopardizes security, you want to audit everything that person has contributed).
Free RadicalFree Radical
OK, so it is made possible by GDPR to keep these people's names in history. I wondered what kind of impact this would have had to open source software, but now it seems limited. Thanks for this bit of information! – rubenvb May 25 '18 at 6:14
People saw the "consent" basis and went bananas, ignoring all the other legitimate bases for data processing. – pjc50 May 25 '18 at 10:20
I was about to go off on a rant about how this is an example of why the whole "right to deletion" thing is fundamentally unethical and this being a perfect example of why, but apparently the law stopped short of breaking all legitimate reasons for indefinite historical record keeping, sooo... I still stand by my thesis but the rant is postponed. +1 for citing example legalese and bringing attention to this reasonable provision for exceptions in the law. – mtraceur May 25 '18 at 21:06
@chrylis: That would be really fun with Mercurial's append-only history modification (TL;DR: Instead of throwing away rewritten commits after the GC period expires, Mercurial marks them obsolete, hides them from view, and persists them forever in clones that knew they existed. This is useful for a number of reasons but also means full obliteration has to be done locally in each clone -- there's no git push --force equivalent. So you can't automate it without local shell access everywhere.) – Kevin May 26 '18 at 3:43
Fast work. For the curious, GitLab has already integrated this change (not worded precisely as in this answer but close). – Wildcard May 26 '18 at 4:33
(Please note that I an a random guy on the internet, not a lawyer)
Although the GDPR seems rather ill-conceived, they managed to cover this part OK:
(3) Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to the extent that processing is necessary:
e) legal claims.
It's already established that contributions to software are an act of writing, making you the author, with author rights and copyrights that have been established in law over the course of the past 500 years. The copyright can be granted or sold (automatically if someone is paying you for it), but the author rights cannot be waived. (The idea being someone cannot sue an author and legally take their authorship away, even if the author owes them money).
Thus the record of who-wrote-what is a legal claim and cannot be removed.
I can feel their pain, but it also just doesn't feel like this is made possible by GDPR and if GitLab would deny or not completely fulfil such a deletion request, it would be liable to litigation. Am I correct in this?
GitLab does not have the right to edit a contributor list to a codebase they do not own. It would be illegal for them to fulfill a deletion request. GDPR does not apply to the contributor list.
IKMIKM
+1. One nuance to note is that "copyright being granted/sold" is an American-esque construct, and many countries consider copyright inalienable, and in those countries, a similar effect is achieved with authorship-for-hire by unlimited and perpetual licensing. Also I don't know if there really is a legal conflict between authorship claims being special in the case of the author themselves wanting such claims deleted, but if there is then a version control system's commit history is also effectively a list of authorship claims, to my non-lawyer intuition. – mtraceur May 25 '18 at 21:10
"Although the GDPR seems rather ill-conceived" Maybe stick to the facts, a lot of people - including me - wholeheartedly disagree on this. – Polygnome May 25 '18 at 22:02
"GitLab does not have the right to edit a contributor list to a codebase they do not own" -- although a note to anyone who is hoping to evade GDPR by simply writing everyone's personal data into a document and selling the copyright in that document to a third party so that "we don't own this data and therefore cannot remove your personal data from it": that won't work, you'll still get fined. If the court thought that's what was going on then, as a last resort, GitLab could be directed to delete the whole document, at which point they may or may not discover that they can edit it after all ;-) – Steve Jessop May 26 '18 at 13:16
@mtraceur "many countries consider copyright inalienable": you're thinking of moral rights; that does not apply to other aspects of copyright protection, which can be granted or sold anywhere. Furthermore, moral rights include a right not to be publicly identified as the author of a work, so the idea that moral rights forbid a data processor from removing identifying information from a work of authorship is ill founded. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_rights. The "record of who wrote what" must be removed if the author requests it, for copyright purposes and for GDPR. – phoog May 26 '18 at 13:22
@Steve Jessop - The personal data wouldn't be part of a legal claim in that case. So the first request for removal should to the owner of the codebase, second request to GitLabs, similar to how it would work today if someone decided to upload a Harry Potter book onto GitHub. They can lock/delete the whole repo, but they can't just start editing the code inside files. – IKM May 27 '18 at 12:13
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged privacy gdpr or ask your own question.
Is asking users to waive GDPR compliance a legal way of escaping GDPR data handling requirements?
GDPR + git history
GDPR vs. Credit Card Chargebacks
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Data deletion requirements
Can Slack really claim not to be a data controller?
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boundary settlement
«boundary settlement» в словарях и энциклопедиях | перевод «boundary settlement»
пограничное урегулирование
bottomry
bounded cargo
Смотреть что такое "boundary settlement" в других словарях:
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W&M Law School
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The Center for Legal & Court Technology periodically has fellowships available. These fellowships are reserved for students, including newly admitted students, especially those with extensive prior experience in an area of great importance to the Center such as technical or marketing skills. Center Fellows work an average of ten hours a week and often occupy important positions within the Center. CLCT student fellowships may be awarded to any law student, whether in-state or out-of-state. Applicants may apply directly to the Center for Legal and Court Technology after applying for admission to the Law School.
Applicants should contact the Director, Professor Fred Lederer at (757) 221-3792 or filede@wm.edu or the Associate Director for Operations and Administration, Mary Beth M. Poma, at (757) 221-2228 or mmpoma@wm.edu.
Research Fellowship
Specially qualified persons with a specific interest in an area within the general mission of the Center for Legal & Court Technology may apply to spend time in residence at William & Mary, working with CLCT to further their legal, empirical, commercial, or technological goals. Ordinarily, Research Fellows receive administrative support and (limited) office space. Each research fellowship is unique, and applicants should be prepared to present a detailed proposal. These fellows are not law students.
Applicants should contact the Director, Professor Fred Lederer at (757) 221-3792 or filede@wm.edu.
Franklin Fellowship
Named after one of the nation’s preeminent technologist, Benjamin Franklin, the Franklin Fellowship permits one year’s study in residence at William & Mary Law School. Subject to course requirements and any administrative restrictions, Franklin Fellows may select courses of their own choice to attend and will be assisted in their studies by CLCT staff. Franklin Fellows do not ordinarily take examinations and will not receive academic credit for their courses. Upon satisfactory completion of the Fellowship, the Franklin Fellow receives a certificate. A Franklin Fellow pays full tuition and fees.
Possible applicants should contact the Director, Professor Fred Lederer at (757) 221-3792 or filede@wm.edu.
This content has been updated on February 26, 2019 at 2:45 pm.
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Swimming Around Hook Head
LoneSwimmer / September 23, 2014
Though it sits at the tip of the Hook peninsula, the historic Hook Head lighthouse is almost more remote than some of the Irish offshore lighthouses. The Tower of Hook, as it’s known locally, is the world’s second oldest operational lighthouse, and it’s said locally that the phrase “by Hook or by Crook” arose because when indicating his intention to attack the city of Waterford (Ireland’s oldest city, and one of the largest Viking cities), Oliver Cromwell said he would invade by Hook (Head) or by Crook (village), which is on the opposite side of the estuary. It’s location and strategic importance have given the promontory a long place in Irish history.
Hook Head is a regular year round afternoon destination for us. Exposed, and located as it is on Ireland’s south-east tip sitting out into the Atlantic, it catches a lot of wind and rough water. The peninsula is low and almost treeless and it’s an attraction for a photographer, as it can be shot at dawn or sunset at different times of the year.
Tower of Hook stormy sunset – (one of the photos when I finally knew I was starting to get better as a photographer)
An open water swimmer cannot but visit it and think about swimming around the tip, despite the wrecks that dot the sea-floor (which attract a lot of scuba divers), and the many tragedies that have happened and continue to occur in these dangerous waters.
It was another unplanned Sunday, when the late summer weather warmed up after a cool August, the sky was clear and the Hook west webcam showed calm water. Well, it’s another local swim I’d been meaning to do, so why not today?
A few weekends before, while we still had a loan of Owen O’Keeffe’s kayak, we’d finally, finally completed an eight kilometre swim around Black Rock in Dungarvan bay starting from the east end of Clonea. It was another challenging swim that had long eluded me, as the Rock sits out in the navigation channel and is subject to strong off-shore and cross currents I’ve encountered previously and which isn’t safe for a single unaccompanied swimmer (I do actually have safety standards). But we’d had no camera that day to illustrate a post.
Hook is about an hour’s drive away, crossing over on the brief Passage East car ferry, by early afternoon we had parked outside the lighthouse and walked the three kilometres around the coast to the tiny eastern fishing harbour of Slade, barely protected from the prevailing south-westerlies inside the eastern side of the peninsula. Because of the extreme weather here, the small harbour is split by a double wall to give further protection, while above the village of a few house stands the ruin of another castle keep.
After a quick chat with a couple of local retired fishermen inquiring if there was anything I needed to be aware of (“be careful around the Hook, the currents are very dangerous there“), I changed and climbed down the ladder to the silted up corner of the low-tide harbour and waded out past the first mooring before setting off.
My orange cap. Always an orange cap!
The water in Slade Harbour was, by a long shot, the most foul, rank and putrid tasting water I’ve ever had the misfortune to encounter. But it was only about 75 metres before I reached the entrance and headed out into fresher tasting open sea, swinging right and south by the coast, carefully avoiding many hidden reefs, while Dee and the Doglet were silhouetted on the coastal path.
The tip of Hook is a mix of rocks but mostly terraced Old Red Sandstone that slopes into the sea and is a popular destination for geology students on field trips. On a sunny afternoon the terraces provided an excellent base for many shore anglers chasing bass and the late summer mackerel so I had to stay far enough out to avoid cast lines. As the coast varied I was from about 100 metres to 50 metres out.
Just after leaving Slade. Remember that rule, the water is always rougher than it looks? The whitecaps are an indicator of a Force Three wind.
The breeze was Force Three from the south-east, so initially as I left Slade it was into my face and the waves were bouncing and reflecting from the shore and inside reefs before I could move around the nearby rocks. People who say you should swim very close to shore have little experience of how waves can reflect back onto a swimmer and can double the rough surface caused by the wind as amplitudes collide and add up unpredictably.
Once I moved south-west from the first outcrop 200 metres from the harbour, from my low vantage point the next way point was a low outcrop about a kilometre distant, and about 1200 metres from the harbour exit, but as I moved more south then south-west, it became obvious from my slow progress that I was swimming into a slight westerly current. As so often happens, Dee afterwards told me I was accompanied by a couple of grey seals which I didn’t see at the time.
The number of shore anglers was lessening as I moved west and the chop moved to my left. Progress was indeed slow and I didn’t reach the seven or eight metre height of the south-east side, 1200 metres from the start until forty minutes had passed, having taken twice as long as I’d expect to travel the distance unimpeded.
Swimming directly west after that point, I could see finally the tip of the light-house and occasional glimpse of Dee and the Doglet watching me and taking photo’s.
Approaching the south-east tip of Hook Head.
I reached the extensive rock terraces in front of the light-house before an hour has passed and the breeze and chop shifted to behind me and slackened. I stayed clear of the reefs and hoped to catch a glimpse of one of the submerged wreck but such didn’t happen. I passed the light-house on my right as I started to progress north-west and the water completely flattened, protected from the south-easterly breeze while I could see the many visitors on the Hook and an occasional person taking the tour to the top of the light-house.
The water calms in the foreground as I round the headland, rougher water visible outside the current
Regardless of weather, even in the calmest conditions some small waves will break on the Hooks south-west tip and I could see the small white breakers below the Tower.
And I could see the small white breakers below the Tower.
I wasn’t moving forward at all. It must have taken a couple of minutes before I realised that despite the now flat water and incoming tide and even south-east breeze, there was a strong north-west current.
Up on land my stall was immediately obvious to Dee and to a woman whom she said was watching and who declaimed that I “must have someone watching over me from the lighthouse“.
Stuck in the current and sprinting hard. In the far distance is Powerstown Head on the east side of Tramore Bay, my usual haunt with the Copper Coast a blue layer beyond.
I mentally and subconsciously reviewed my options and went for Plan A – Swim Harder. I went for a maximum sprint. Of course, that’s an open water swimmers sprint, more like a pool 400 metre effort, not something that you can swim for 50 or 100 metres that you can’t maintain at that pace.
A minute, 90 seconds, two minutes, I was swimming flat out. Very, very slowly the small white breakers moved.
It took me about ten minutes to cover 80 metres. Had that not worked, I’d have next tried Plan B, Swim In a Different Direction and swum away from the Hook but my subconsciousness told me that risked being either pushed south as I swum out, or finding I’d have to swim a long way up into the estuary to be able to get back in across the current, while being swept back to possibly to where I’d been almost stopped. I also had Plan F – Get Out, in reserve, and I could have reversed direction and likely got out on the reefs.
Finally through the worst of the current. Dunmore east is visible across the estuary with a cruise ship moored off the fishing harbour.
The current lessened but didn’t disappear I continued along to my target finish destination about 500 metres along the west side at the tiny beach formerly used for launching inshore fishing craft many decades ago.
The swim was a mere 3500 metres, but it took me 90 minutes to finish, 30 minutes longer than expected.
Hook Head, like Kilmore Quay, is a challenging and potentially dangerous swimming location. It’s certainly not for beginners and should be approached with caution and only if you have a range of speeds and sufficient real confidence from prior experience and not over-confidence.
Swimming into the tiny cove with the Tower of Hook behind and directly south.
As always, this mini swimming adventure was facilitated by my wonderful and long-suffering partner and the Doglet.
September 23, 2014 in Open Water swimming. Tags: Hook head, Hook lighthouse, Locations, mini-adventure, Open Water swimming, Plan A, Plan B, Sandstone, Slade, Swim Reports, swimming adventures, swimming around Hook Head, swimming into current, Tower of Hook, Wexford
A visit to Hook Head
Pictorial review of the 2014 swimming year – II
Pictorial review of the 2014 swimming year – I
← Dark Night of the Soul
Swimming for beginning open water swimmers and triathletes is like planting a tree. Twenty common beginner triathlete questions answered. →
8 thoughts on “Swimming Around Hook Head”
Pingback: Pictorial review of the 2014 swimming year – II | LoneSwimmer
michael walsh says:
Congratulations on winning the Blog Award for Best Sport and Recreation again. Have been reading your blog for some years now and have swam nearly all your locations thanks to the insights, knowledge, and experience you have shared on loneswimmer. Thank you.
Just have a question that I hope doesn’t seem pedantic. You describe the current you encountered as a westerly that slowed your progress but you were swimming westerly so surely it would have speeded up your progress. Just wondered if you meant easterly?
Thanks Michael. Glad these swim reports are useful to you. The details are correct. Yes I was swimming into the west and then northwest, but currents, like winds are described by the direction from which they originate. So a westerly current flows to the east as an easterly wind blows from the east. Hope this clarifies.
Donal Colfer says:
Hi. I’m from Slade village and I’ve been open water swimming for a good while with Templeogue Masters, mainly in Dublin. Have been doing a few mile swims around the bay at Slade but never around the Hook. Let me know the next time you’re planning this. I’d love to join in. Swam from Saltee islands to Kilmore last year. Was great!
Hi Donal, thanks for the comment.This is the kind of ad-hoc swim I tend to do during the summer with little planning or notice, if any. I can’t foresee doing it again this year, but maybe next year. One swim is entirely insufficient to understand the currents around the Hook, strong as they proved to be. I’d need to swim it on different tides even on a calm day to get a better idea, before I’d risk anyone else’s safety. I forgot to add the total time and map to the first post so they are attached now, 1 Hr 30 mins to swim 3500 metres is 30 minutes longer that the distance should take in neutral currents.
By Hook or By Crook Donal the toolbox was taken out on this one! This post for me highlights two things. Trained and Untrained. I can tell you I won’t be swimming around the Hook any time soon before first increasing endurance and speed maybe next summer who knows…..
Hey Sam, I didn’t include the map and timings in the first post of this, which I’ll add after this. 1 hr 30m to swim 3500m is a speed reduction of 50% for me, which is a huge drop. The big question over the location for me is understanding the currents around the Head and this only possible with repeated swimming of the location at different tides, but probably not in any worse conditions, something I have no current plans to do. Maybe next summer though, as you say.
Hi Donal, although small by comparison I can relate to strong currents experienced just outside Dunmore East and we had been swimming that location all summer. Like you we sprinted but it was the first real experience of the treadmill for me and one which we did not expect. Plan B was to exit onto the base of the cliffs with an easy enough traverse back to the cove but we stuck with plan A instead.
Its a big enough estuary the river system surely dominates here with the mixing of freshwater and saltwater which is bound to effect the water flow and speed of currents. Having seen the water column in Tramore Bay separate once I can at least picture the effect that saline content has on liquid. Freshwater will run faster over the saltwater creating treadmill like conditions. What do you think?
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A film and discussion program
at 6 p.m.
Ragtag Theatre, 10 Hitt Street
Historian and writer Kay Sloan has unearthed and assembled rare films that open a historic window onto how women’s suffrage was represented in early American cinema—from Charlie Chaplin in drag to a fiery and prescient speech from president of the Women’s Political Union, Harriet Stanton Blatch.
Following the film showing, there will be discussion featuring Kay Sloan, the film director, via Skype, and Professor Kerri Yost, associate professor of Digital Film Making at Stephens College.
At this event, Brianna Lennon, Boone County Clerk, will provide an opportunity for voter registration.
The program free and open to the public thanks to a generous donation from a League member.
This program is one of a series of films in which the League of Women Voters is partnering with Ragtag Cinema in this anniversary year of Women’s Right to Vote.
Tags: Brianna Lennon, Kay Sloan, Ragtag Cinema, Suffragettes in Silent Cinema, Voter Registration
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Lists, lyrics, Music, My Top 5, songs, Top 5, Top 5 Music Obsessions, UncategorizedConcrete Blonde, Dawes, John Prine, Lists, lyrics, music, My Top 5, My Top 5 Music Obsessions, songs, The Jayhawks, The Velvet Underground, Top 5, Top 5 Music Obsessions
Top 5 Music Obsessions featuring Concrete Blonde
Friday’s Top 5 Music Obsessions is here. Friday finally. This has been a bit of a bumpy week, though there were some wonderfully wonderful moments in the in-between parts of the week. It’s near impossible to let a week get to me when I have so much love and happiness in my life. Life is really so damn good right now, and I am so in love. And yes, today is Friday, which makes me smile even wider than I was already. Also, today is our one month anniversary. It feels longer, and shorter, all at once. Time is such a strange construct. I’m so grateful for what we have, and for this month we’ve shared together. The month that has changed everything.
Top 5 Music Obsessions of the Day – July 13, 2018
Listen here on Spotify and YouTube
1. “I Want You” by Concrete Blonde
“I know you don’t need to be,
caught in between my extremes,
but you’ve shown me things I so needed see.
So, believe when I say to you,
no matter where I am,
I’d rather be with you.”
I forgot about this song from Concrete Blonde’s 1990 album, Bloodletting. I stumbled on it this morning and had to play it a few times through. “I Want You” seems fitting for the way I feel this morning…and all this month.
2. “Here She Comes Now” by The Velvet Underground
“Now, she ever comes now now.
She ever comes now now.
She ever comes now.”
Lots of Velvet Underground lately. This one he sent me yesterday afternoon. We listened to it last night together, too. The band that isn’t a band, that is a band.
3. “Summer’s End” by John Prine
“The moon and stars hang out in bars just talkin’.
I still love that picture of us walkin’.
Just like that ol’ house we thought was haunted.
Summer’s end came faster than we wanted.”
I’ve been enjoying John Prine’s new album a lot today. I’m always a fan of his lyrics. I like picturing the moon and stars talking in a bar together on a hot summer night.
4. “Bitter End” by The Jayhawks
“Its alright,
you can sleep tonight,
knowing you always live on,
in a song.”
Tied for my first listen favorite on The Jayhawks’ new album, Back Roads and Abandoned Motels. This song was originally written with, and for, the Dixie Chicks.
5. “Never Gonna Say Goodbye” by Dawes
“There’s not a way to someone’s heart that she can’t see.
She lives and loves with everything she’s got.
My dark days showed me how to ask, ‘Why me?'”
She’s shown me how to ask, ‘Why not?'”
Another song from Dawes’ latest album, Passwords. This one I feel completely. Reminds me of us.
Top 5 Music Obsessions – Week of July 9, 2018
Posted by:lyriquediscorde
Los Angeles writer, dreamer and gypsy soul who harbors an obsessive love of music and lyrics, and writes about them with passion and insight, as well as waxing poetic on books, films, tv, travel, and life itself.
“Need You Tonight” by The Jayhawks
“Horses In My Dreams” by Polly Jean Harvey
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Captain America: Steve Rogers Vol. 2: The Trial of Maria Hill
Captain America: Steve Rogers
Vol. 2: The Trial of Maria Hill
Collects Captain America: Steve Rogers #7-11.
Hail Hydra! As the Red Skull marches across Europe, SHIELD comes apart at the seams. Steve opens a door-- and what's behind it will shake the Marvel Universe to its core.
Nick Spencer
Jesus Saiz
Captain America: Steve Rogers (2016-2017)
He’s back! The original Sentinel of Liberty returns, with a new shield, a new team, and a new mission! And he’s not the only one who’s back! Like the saying goes-- cut off one LIMB, two more will take its place! HAIL HYDRA!
Captain America: Sam Wilson (2015-2017)
When Steve Rogers was restored to his natural age, he chose one of his closest and most trusted allies to take up his shield. Now Sam Wilson, formerly the Avenger known as Falcon, carries on the fight for liberty and justice as the all-new, all-different Captain America!
Secret Empire: Omega (2017)
Hydra has fallen, but the world is still not secure! As the heroes of the Marvel Universe stir from the wreckage of the battlefield, the inevitable rebuilding must begin. However, one question hangs in the air over the proceedings: What redemption can there be for Captain America?
Secret Empire: Uprising (2017)
Hydra has made their move and Black Widow enlists the younger heroes of the Marvel Universe – Miles Morales, a.k.a. Spider-Man, Ironheart, Wasp, Amadeus Cho, Falcon, and more, for a dark-ops mission no one – not even the heroes themselves –are prepared for. Can Black Widow forge these champions into a new elite strike force against Hydra's forces? Or will her time run out and send the younge
Secret Empire: United (2017)
Steve Rogers has finally brought peace to the planet, securing the borders of the land that he loves against any and all threats. And his peace will be maintained—by any means necessary. So when skirmishes break out on the outskirts of mutant-controlled territory, Hydra's supreme leader takes matters into his own hands…
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Life Is a Cinema Hall
Movie reviews narrated. Beyond the ratings.
July 16, 2017 Action / Adventure / Movie Review / Sci-Fi
‘Spider-Man Homecoming’ review: Does Whatever a Teen Can
Posted by Vineet Upendra
In my school days, I always wanted to be a comic book hero. No, I didn’t want comics based on my life, but be one of the heroes from the comics I so desperately devoured in a state of dervish during the summer holidays. Not for me Phantom (didn’t quite fancy his life until Diana arrived, and then he became boringly mellow) or our local Bahadur (doesn’t ring a Bela?) – but one of those magnificent men from D.C. or Marvel – preferably Superman who could fly off to wherever he wanted and whenever, avert disasters, and generally be admired by one and all. From the Lee Falk stable, I’d have loved to be Mandrake, gesturing hypnotically to ensure things went my way. Being a hero would ensure I’d get my homework done with the ease of the first-ranker in my class; it’d ensure I’d impress the girls I wanted to impress; I’d absorb all the content in my textbooks in Krypton-seconds, precluding the need to study all year long and glance at my books an hour before the exams. (I followed this strategy regardless of my non-existent powers to disastrous results, making my parents look at me like a mother lioness would sniff at her pride – without pride.) Being a superhero had so many advantages.
And then, beginning one Sunday morning came the Spiderman cartoon series on Doordarshan, webslinging its way into my heart – it was so much fun, such a welcome escape, and just what Dr. Fantasy ordered. And that title song, so full of joy and boisterous energy! And when, in director Jon Watts’ Spider-Man Homecoming, the Marvel logo dissolves into the screen, composer Michael Giacchino plays an upbeat, symphonic version of the same title song, I felt that same burst of joy. Chances are, so will you. For in Watts’ and writers Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers’ (yes, that’s how many good folks got together to script this adventure) god-knows-what-number-arachnoid-reboot, there’s a tangible, earnest, and uplifting energy that keeps up the pace and fun for all of its 133 minutes of runtime.
Robert Downey Jr., Tom Holland: the stark truth.
Homecoming picks off from where The Avengers battle ended in New York, now being cleaned up by contractor Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) of all the alien debris. Amidst this operation, for which Toomes has put out all his money and worth, he’s confronted by Stark’s team at the U.S. Department of Damage Control (D.O.D.C.), and told that he’s out of the facility, and that they’ll take over from here. Toomes is justifiably enraged, and with whatever existing Chitauri pieces they’ve already scavenged, sets up a renegade, villainous team who, four years later, are selling advanced weapons to criminals. The movie then forwards eight years, showing Peter Parker’s POV in the clash between Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) at the Leipzig/Halle Airport. It is here that young Peter Parker (Tom Holland) was recruited by Stark, and his entry caused quite a mirthful, puzzled reaction by Captain America’s rogue team in Captain America: Civil War. After this battle, Parker is back in school, snubbed by Stark when the former asks him about becoming an Avenger.
Marisa Tomei, Tom Holland: May get a little nosey.
The 15-year-old Parker doesn’t give up hope of becoming an Avenger, looking out for anything that’ll give him that one big battle and fame, forcing Stark to sit up and take notice. Desperate, Parker sends regular, hilarious status updates to Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau, chomping away at his superb, poker-faced one-liners), Stark’s driver and bodyguard. Hogan’s reactions are priceless, and Parker can’t seem to catch a break, even as he struggles to get the attention of his classmate and silent crush, Liz (Laura Harrier). Meanwhile, his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) accidentally discovers Parker’s the one behind the Spidey suit, and blurts out “You’re the Spider-Man. From YouTube!” There’s also his ever-concerned Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) and geeky, nerdy classmate Michelle “MJ” Jones (played with an indifferent, earthy charm by Zendaya) who also participates with Parker, Liz, and others in an academic decathlon competition.
All of this is pacy, zippy entertainment, focusing more on teenage joie de vivre and angst, rather than the dark world of Marvel, into which the rest of the super heroes have taken their tentative steps. Director Watts and his writing team keep the one-liners and zest jumping and bouncing on a happy trampoline of smarts. And even when, donning wings and suit made out of alien technology, Keaton’s Vulture comes swooping in and threatens to destroy Spider-Man, the atmospherics are tense, but lot of whooping fun. In that sense, Homecoming takes an unabashed leaf from the cartoon series, never ever taking itself too seriously. Which is a relief, for the earlier Spidey series slipped into a point-of-bore-return at some point. Here, there’s no such danger, for this reboot doesn’t even pretend to score high on the CG front either. As Stark points to Parker, he’s a friendly neighborhood hero, and that he ought to stay on the ground. And that might as well have been the director’s brief to his team. For, while scoring high on the travails of Parker and his awkward foray into all things teenage, the movie doesn’t bother to be very flashy in the special effects department– in fact almost repugning it, as it stays firmly on the ground. Which also means, fortunately, that you don’t see en masse decimation of structures and an unsuspecting populace – which is de rigueur for recent superhero movies, especially in the messy Zack Snyder-helmed outings.
Michael Keaton: the vulture’s an evil bird.
And yet, there’s some truly heart stopping moments in Homecoming – note the scene atop the Washington Monument, where, the Spidey suit AI, Karen (voiced by Jennifer Connelly) tells him matter-of-fact that a drop from “here will be lethal”. That’s a vertigo-inducing scene. There’s also a neat twist in the movie that’s as much a thrilling degrees-of-separation struggle as it is copacetic. As there are scenes that will touch you – as in where Parker is entrapped under a heap of rubble, and his voice breaks, all form of heroism broken and forgotten, and he cries for help. And that is where Tom Holland scores, as the 21-year old actor plays a teenager, desperate to be liked by the girl of his dreams, even as he struggles for his existential acknowledgement from Stark. And in his role as Stark, Robert Downey Jr. does it again, clipping his lines with a timing that only he can calculate and execute.
Spiderman gets caught in his web of a sinking trawler.
In his act as Adrian Toomes / Vulture, Michael Keaton is the shining highlight. Lending his character an almost sympathetic veil below the villainy, Keaton employs his sneers superbly. And in a scene after the aforementioned twist, he drips threat in a delicious, thickly layered mayonnaise that’s part Mafiosi-style, part protective gear. The music score by Michael Giacchino is extremely effective, especially when he’s employing gentle, melodic cello and piano notes; or in his cutting of the energetic, yet suspenseful theme music, that’s got shades of the Mission Impossible theme rise in its brass sections.
Spider-Man Homecoming, then, is a fine homecoming for its hero, one that holds promise of more zip and bounce in the sequel, even as it, for the briefest moment, made me want to become a teenager – and a superhero – again. And made me realize yet another advantage that teenage heroes have – no pimples, no zits.
Spider-Man Homecoming is rated U/A (unrestricted public exhibition subject to parental guidance for children below the age of twelve). There’s swear words that the Indian censor board has helpfully blipped out. The Vulture might have scared them a wee bit.
Director Jon Watts Running Time 2h 13 min
Writers Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers
Stars Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr., Jon Favreau, Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon, Zendaya
Genres Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Movie data powered by IMDb.com
Watch the trailer of Spider-Man Homecoming here:
Captain America: Civil WarChris EvansChris McKennaChristopher FordErik SommersJacob BatalonJennifer ConnellyJohn Francis DaleyJon FavreauJon WattsJonathan GoldsteinLaura HarrierMarisa TomeiMichael GiacchinoMichael KeatonRobert Downey Jr.Spider-Man HomecomingThe AvengersTom HollandZack SnyderZendaya
‘Mom’ review: A Dish Best Served Simmering
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(Concert Review) “The Dangerous Tour featuring AUGUST BURNS RED Live at The Cabooze in Minneapolis, Minnesota” (2/16/2019)
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Mazisi Kunene – freedom fighter, literary icon, Africa’s poet laureate, and South Africa’s first poet laureate – was born in Durban, in the modern-day province of KwaZulu-Natal on May 12th, 1930. Kunene championed African oral traditions, conveying their inherent value in his writings which were originally in Zulu before being translated into other languages. Best known for his poem Emperor Shaka the Great and Anthem of the Decades: A Zulu Epic Dedicated to the Women of Africa, Kunene was greatly inspired by the culture, religion and history of his people, particularly in relationship to black liberation struggles against brutal systems of colonialism, apartheid, and slavery. He wrote from the belief that, as with African art-for-life’s-sake oral traditions, literature should function to teach social values and cultural philosophical concepts rather than become art-for-art’s sake after Western traditions.
By age eleven, Mazisi Kunene’s Zulu short stories and poetry were being published in papers and magazines. In later years as a student at the University of Natal, he critiqued Zulu literature’s increasing trend towards Western emulation in his Master’s thesis entitled An Analytical Survey of Zulu Poetry, Both Traditional and Modern. Kunene continued to be recognized for his creative endeavors in South Africa, including winning the Bantu Literary Competition Award in 1956. His intention to pursue a doctorate at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies in 1959 got overtaken by liberation politics. Kunene headed the anti-apartheid African United Front and became the chief representative of the African National Congress (ANC) in the UK and Western Europe in 1964. South Africa’s apartheid government subsequently banned Kunene’s works in 1966. While in exile he was able to raise funds and support for the ANC from renowned figures of the art world such as Picasso and Chagall.
Kunene also served as a Cultural Advisor to UNESCO, the organization which awarded him the title of Africa’s poet laureate in 1993. In 2005 he became South Africa’s first poet laureate.
I had the honor and pleasure of meeting this African giant before his return to South Africa in 1992. We met in his office at the UCLA campus where he’d been Professor of African Languages and Literature since 1973 and, coincidentally, where I’d struggled with prevailing Eurocentric approaches to studies of African phenomena including the formalized separation of African and African-American [then ‘Afro-American’…] Studies. Before I left, Professor Kunene autographed a poem entitled Creative Powers that he’d previously written and had printed on an oversize, decorated sheet of paper. He gifted me with it [pictured below]. I remember this precious ancestral soul and cultural giant on his B’Earth’Day today with much gratitude and praise ❤
Mazisi Kunene Foundation
Zulu Poems. New York, Africana Publishing Corporation, 1970
Emperor Shaka the Great: A Zulu Epic. London, Heinemann, 1979 (transcription and translation of traditional epic)
Anthem of the Decades: A Zulu Epic Dedicated to the Women of Africa. London, Heinemann, 1981
The Ancestors and the Sacred Mountain: Poems. London, Heinemann, 1982
Isibusiso Sikamhawu, Via Afrika, 1994
Indida Yamancasakazi, 1995
Amalokotho Kanomkhubulwane, 1996
Umzwilili wama-Afrika, Kagiso, 1996
Igudu lika Somcabeko, Van Schaik, 1997
Echoes from the Mountain. New and Selected Poems by Mazisi Kunene, Malthouse Press, 2007
Unodumehlezi Kamenzi, 2017
Category: African Culture, Oral Aesthetics, Oral Tradition, Storytelling
Tags: Apartheid, Creative Powers, Emperor Shaka the Great, Mazisi Kunene, South Africa
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4 Comments on “Mazisi Kunene ~ Creative Power”
Kushite Prince
Thank you for those links. I need to go look up his work.
You’re most welcome, bro KP. I’m happy and honored I had the opportunity to meet with Mazisi Kunene during his time in LA 🙂
That must’ve been a real honor! I’m sure you cherished that time.
I truly did 🙂
Categories Select Category African Culture African Proverbs Afrocentricity afrofuturism Colonial Experience health communication Hero’s Journey New Age Oral Aesthetics Oral Tradition Pan-Africanism Pop Music Reparations Shero’s Journey slavery Storytelling
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Did you know the Mammoth Festival of Beers & Bluesapalooza turns 21 this year? You know what that means—the party is just getting started! This year, we’re not kiddin’ around. We’re big time now, and can’t wait to celebrate with you: When there’re so many amazing breweries to taste from, why not add a more...
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Art and culture move the authentic Allen Stone
For Allen Stone, the natural progression for his music is getting to the root, more of the feeling than the sound. It’s where blues, soul and the R&B of the ’60s and ’70s have influenced his tone and authenticity. Stone lives an authentic musical life. He doesn’t use pre-recorded tracks on stage, and sa more...
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If you’ve never heard of Beth Hart, be prepared to have your heart ripped open once you’ve heard her passionate pipes. She has a voice that inspires and transforms you, and takes you down to the root of your soul. Her artistry has not happened without agony, though, and her real life-changing challenges of drugs, b more...
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings are giving us what we want!
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We are honored to have one of the most remarkable soul bands performing as this year’s Sunday headliner. Sharon Jones and her Dap-Kings have been at it for 20 years, but their sound captures the essence of funk/soul at its height in the 60s and 70s. You’ve heard their music in many advertisements and soundtracks ( more...
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Ideal Companies: Protegrity USA, Inc., Protiviti Inc., Sharppath.inc, Technocrafts, Inc, Vensoft inc., Remington International, Allied Solutions Group Inc, United World Telecom, eBusiness Application Solutions Inc, The Parthenon Group, VSolvIT LLC, Olson Zaltman Associates, Radiant Global, Farmers Insurance Group, Praxair Inc., Barra Inc., Pratt & Whitney, Crescendo Ventures LLC, Millward Brown Inc., WPP Group USA Inc./Kantar Group, Perot Systems, Pasternak Wine Imports, CIGNA Corporation, The Hartford, Eventra Inc., The Warnaco Group Inc., The Stanley Works, Winchester Capital Technology, Microphase Corporation, Ellington Management Group, Talent Consulting Services Inc., Gerber Scientific Products, ABB Structured Finance, Abbey National Employment Services Inc., BTS U SA Inc., Corporate Branding LLC, Environics Communications Inc., GE Capital Corporation, General Electric Company, GRT Inc., Guinness UDV, International Masters Publishers, Lee Hecht Harrison LLC, Noble Americas Corp., Pitney Bowes Inc., PSI Data Systems Ltd, Question Mark Corporation, Right Management Consultants, Telekurs USA Inc., TFS Energy LLC, UBS Warburg LLC, Watson Wyatt & Company, Gerber Technology Inc., Oxford Health Plans Inc., Smiths Industries Aerospace, ITT Industries, Bayer Corporation, Allied Domecq NA Corp., Playtex Products Inc., United Abrasives Inc., Fairfield Chemical Carriers Inc., Media Marketing Assessment Inc., Merritt Technical Associates, ACE American Insurance Co., Dynamics Research Corporation, OYC International Inc., Smith & Nephew Inc., Qestec Incorporated, FT Interactive Data Corp., Interactive Data Corporation, Teradyne Inc., Microma ss Inc., Evidian Inc., Harte Hanks Data Technologies, Niton Corporation, Orbotech Inc., Ranere Associates Inc., Aero Paper, American Student Assistance, Arnold Worldwide Incorporated, United Commercial Bank, Audax Management Company LLC, Berklee College of Music, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, Big Brothers of Mass Bay, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Brodeur & Partners Inc., Cabot Corporation, CCM Software Services Inc., Ceres Inc., Charles River Associates, Inc., Citizens Bank of Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Operations Serv. Div., Fidelity Investments, Fiduciary Trust Company, First Call Corporation, Bank of America, Fundquest Incorporated, Gen 3 Partners, GML Associates. P.C., Hilton Hotels Corp., IACE Travel Inc., Independence Investment LLC, Intergen Energy Inc., Invention Machine Corporation, ISM Boston, John Hancock Life Ins. Co., Justice Resource In stitute, Leerink Swann & Company, Gartner Inc, Marketing Management Analytics, ABP Corporation, Advanced Manufacturing Research, Artel Software Inc., Childrens Hospital Corporation, DMJM, Executive Service Corps, Everest Consultants Inc., Microsoft Corporation, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Netconversions (Atlas Solutions), Nippon Express USA Inc., Expeditors International of Washington, Inc., Newton Research Labs, The Boeing Company, Pivotal Corporation, QPM Aerospace, Weyerhaeuser Company, Trans Cosmos USA Inc., Reed Wasden Research LLC, Expedia Inc., Revenue Science, Nike USA Inc., Kompass Integrated Solutions Inc., KLA-Tencor Corporation, Bain & Company Inc., The Parthenon Group, Young & Rubicam Inc., Hitachi America Ltd, Hertz Corporation, Arrk Product Development Group, DDB Worldwide Communications Group, Time Warner Entertainment Company LP, Sony Corporation of Am erica, Aramark Uniform Services, KPMG LLP, Porter Novelli Inc., Tyco Electronics Corporation, Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co., Smithkline Beecham Corp., Satyam Computer Services Ltd, Olson Zaltman Associates, Premier Public Relations Ltd, Catalina Marketing Corp., LG Infocomm USA Inc., Jetta Tech Inc., US Bancorp Piper Jaffray, Digital Impact Inc., Barlin & Associates Realty Mortgage, Radionics (Integra), PVG Insurance Group LLC, NMS Communications Inc., Ericsson Inc., International Paper Co., Bacardi USA Inc., Folksamerica Reinsurance Co., Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp., Labnet International Inc., Sunbeam Corp., Hewitt Associates, Caterpillar Inc., Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six, New England Financial, Schenker Inc., Hershey Foods Corporation, Chattanooga Group Inc., The Sherwin-Williams Company, Eaton Corporation, MS International Inc., The Sports Authority Inc., Cogistics Inc., Kimberley-Clark Corp., Ocwen Federal Bank, FSB, Houstons Restaurants Inc., Dedienne Corp., R J Reynolds Tobacco Co., Hanes Industries Inc., Proudfoot Consulting Company, Washington Mutual Inc., Dole Fresh Flowers/Food Company, Agilent Technologies Inc., United States Postal Service, Four Seasons Hotels Ltd, Macquarie Holdings (USA) Inc., American Electric Power, Dow Jones & Company Inc., Procter & Gamble Company, Eli Lilly & Company, University of Notre Dame, Audit Bureau of Circulations, Leo Burnett USA Inc., Chase, Sears, Roebuck & Co., United Airlines, Household International Inc., YMCA of the USA, Microhard Technologies Inc., Marcus Evans Inc., Diamond Management & Technology Consultants, Citadel Investment Group LLC, Zurich American Insurance Co., Allegiance Telecom Inc., Polymer Advanced Technology LLC, Daimler Chrysler Corporati on, Whirlpool Corporation, Computech Corporation, Johnson Controls Inc., Miller Brewing Company, Manpower Inc., Cargill Incorporated, General Mills Incorporated, C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc., Target Stores, Best Buy Co. Inc., WalMart Associates Inc., Apexon Inc., Lane Bryant Inc., Datamics (America) Inc., Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Abbott Laboratories, jArchitects, Inc., Porter Novelli Inc., Triple S Plastics Inc., Sky Bird Travel & Tours Inc., Avery Dennison Corporation, J.D. Power & Associates, Adams Mark Hotel, Hotel Jerome Associates, Oracle, McSen Technologies Inc, Coca Cola Enterprises Inc., Quantel USA, Danly IEM (Division of Connell LP), CBS Broadcasting Inc., J. Walter Thompson USA Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Company, Sprint United Management Co., Kerry Inc., The Hayes Company Inc., Carmichael Lynch, Gebbs Software International, Aveda Corporation, Sak s Incorporated, Denso Manufacturing Tennessee Inc., ceridian Employer Services, Mg Maher, Alexander & Hamilton Inc., Sundance Institute, Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd, Nissin Travel Service (USA) Inc., Bernal Inc., Asahi Kasei Plastics America, Citgo Petroleum Corporation, Smurfit Stone Container Corp., Williams Energy Services, Pinnacle Business Systems Inc., Seagate US LLC, Location 3 Media, OOCL (USA) Inc., Digital Globe, Washington Group International Inc., Medtronic Inc., Marriott International Inc., Wood MacKenzie Inc., Hitachi High Technologies America Inc., Tara Energy Inc., Nortel Networks Inc., Verizon Corporate Services Group Inc., BC Components Inc., Schlumberger Technology Corp., TXU Energy Retail Company LP, Sasken Communication Technologies, Penson Financial Services Inc., Brunel Energy Inc., Halliburton Energy Services, National Instruments Corporation, Contin ental Airlines Inc., Dell USA LP, Calpine Energy Services L.P., Fujitsu Software Technology Corp., ChevronTexaco Corporation, Baker Hughes Inteq, Stone & Webster Consulting Inc., Rug Doctor L.P., Adea Group Inc., Analysts International Corp., Cigna Dental Health Inc., Global Manpower Inc., Vinmar International Ltd, International Export Import Management, NTT America Inc., Lippert Components Inc., Securitas Capital LLC, Sony Corporation of America, CNet Networks Inc., Formfactor Inc., Warner Home Videos, Panavision Inc., DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc., Philips Electronics NA Corp., Porter Novelli Inc., Porter Novelli Inc., ARRK Product Development Group, Fox Entertainment Group Inc., Larfarge North America Inc., Language Institute of Atlanta, DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc., Deutsche Bank, Research International USA Inc., Toyota Tsusho America Inc., The BOC G roup Inc., Walker Zanger, William Morris Agency, IBM Corporation, Sierra, Dekalb County Government, Applera Corporation, DIC Entertainment Corp., Goldpocket Interactive Inc., Phoenix Technologies Inc., International Association of Business Communicators, The Boston Consulting Group Inc., Neopolitan Networks Inc., Lanier Worldwide Inc., Sylmark Inc., Kefta Inc., Asset Management Company, Commission Junction Inc., RBC Dain Rauscher Inc., IFS North America Inc., Chipton-Ross Company Inc., Acro Service Corporation, Multimetco Inc., Heidrick & Struggles Inc., Premio Computer Inc., AON Risk Services Inc., Parson Consulting, IRIS USA Inc., Swett & Crawford, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Hilton, McMaster-Carr Supply Company, Cook & Associates, Eagle Systems Technology, Max Group Corporation, Porsche Cars North America, Inc., Porter Novelli Inc., Fitzgerald+Co., Gwinnett County Government, InterContinental Hotels Group, Avalon International Inc., Charter Global Inc., Enterprise Rent a Car, CYCO International Inc., The Coca Cola Company, Atlanta Bread Company International, Inc., Yokogawa Corporation of America, The Home Depot, Calgati Chemical Company Ltd, Bilingual Staffing Solutions, Cox Enterprises Inc., United Parcel Service Inc., Radiant Systems Inc., Jinny Corporation, Anteo Group LLC, Sarcom Microsystems, Inc., Flint Hydraulics Inc., Servpro Industries Inc., Willbros Engineers, Inc., Porter Novelli Inc., Anadarko Corporation, C.H. Guernsey & Company, Xoom, Advanced College, PS GoLive, Radiant Global Inc., Porter Novelli Inc., Infinite Computing Systems, Inc, ZLB Behring, Eashwar Business Solutions Inc(EBSI), Nutech Systems, Inc, SID Computer Group, Itech LLc, IT TECH INC, Azhvas Inc, Enrich IT, INC., Ecmtek Inc, eZe sys tems, UWM, Inkorpa LLC, Optima Resources, Microstuf Technologies Inc, Zvran, Inc, Maven People Inc, Compusystems Inc., Grupo Balmaseda, Dreamweavers LLC, Software Galaxy Systems L.L.C, Agtech, Inc., Maine Business Offices, Aveeva, IBIZ group, Omega Consultancy Services, Inc., Systems Technology Group India (P) Ltd., , Vensoft Inc., Spring Ventures LLC, TekSoft Inc., Vensoft Inc, AEQUOR TECHNOLOGIES, Corevision, Tritoninfotech, Vensoft Inc., Tritoninfotech, Red Mountain Machinery Co., ANZ Solutions, Stampede Resource Solutions INC., Global Recruitment, Sycoramericas, Arowana Consulting, Emtec Global Services, Sharppath technology, sharppath technology, eFulgent, Cyber Korp Inc, American Unit Inc, Value Consulting, Vensoft Inc., Compugra Systems Inc., HD Dimension corp., Emprix Corporation, Montage IT, Vensoft Inc., HD Dimension, Technodyne L Lc, i-flex solutions.com, Vensoft Inc., Universal Hardwood, HD Dimension.com, bowman international, inc, Innergraph Inc
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Image filter referendum/Next steps/en
< Image filter referendum
The referendum ended 30 August 2011. No more votes will be accepted.
The results were announced on 3 September 2011.
In other languages: Acèh (ace) العربية (ar) azərbaycanca (az) беларуская (be) বাংলা (bn) български (bg) català (ca) čeština (cs) dansk (da) Deutsch (de) English (en) español (es) eesti (et) فارسی (fa) suomi (fi) français (fr) עברית (he) हिन्दी (hi) hrvatski (hr) magyar (hu) հայերեն (hy) Bahasa Indonesia (id) italiano (it) 日本語 (ja) Jawa (jv) ka&action=edit&preload=Image+filter+referendum%2FNext+steps ur ka (ur ka) 한국어 (ko) kurdî (ku) کھوار (khw) Lëtzebuergesch (lb) മലയാളം (ml) Bahasa Melayu (ms) नेपाली (ne) Nederlands (nl) norsk (no) ଓଡ଼ିଆ (or) polski (pl) português (pt) română (ro) русский (ru) සිංහල (si) Soomaaliga (so) slovenčina (sk) српски / srpski (sr) srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски (sh) shqip (sq) Sunda (su) svenska (sv) ślůnski (szl) తెలుగు (te) ไทย (th) Tagalog (tl) Türkçe (tr) українська (uk) کھوار (khw) oʻzbekcha/ўзбекча (uz) Tiếng Việt (vi) 粵語 (yue) 中文（简体） (zh-hans) 中文（繁體） (zh-hant) தமிழ் (ta) [edit]
Image filter referendum
Introduction and rules
Executive Director's Report to the Board
This is a summary of specific analysis, problems raised, and proposed next steps from the recent discussions. A work in progress; please edit.
1 Analysis
1.1 German opinion poll
1.2 Implementation concerns
2 Issues to address
2.1 Clarify the conversation
2.2 Coren's four woes
2.3 Alec's Addendum
2.4 A summary of questions and concerns
2.5 Referendum
2.6 About the image filter
3 Potential models for hiding images
3.1 Options requiring no labelling information on the wiki
3.1.1 No such feature
3.1.2 Off-wiki support
3.2 Options with on-wiki impact, but not needing agreement on image categorization
3.2.1 Simple features, hiding all images
3.2.2 Personal blacklist/whitelist
3.2.3 Shared personal blacklist/whitelist
3.3 Develop relevant on-wiki processes
3.4 Label-based filter
3.4.1 Limited list
3.4.2 Open list
3.5 Basing the filter on the existing category system
3.5.1 Closed list
3.5.3 A mixed approach: open personal list, but offer a limited set of defaults to seed it
4 Post mortem for the vote/discussion process
Analysis[edit]
Many people consider this an important topic – not just a few conservative zealots or a few vocal editors who worry about the children of others and see pornography everywhere. This includes some people who initially did not see a use for such a feature. They tend to focus on reader choice and immediate effects (what this lets readers do for themselves).
Many people consider the proposal as described inappropriate for Wikimedia – not just a few liberal zealots or a few vocal editors who worry about 1984 scenarios and see censorship everywhere. This includes some people who initially thought it sounded like a reasonable idea. They tend to focus on philosophical and moral problems, implementation difficulty, and second-order effects (slippery slopes, impact on category integrity, impact on editorial practice).
German opinion poll[edit]
An opinion poll was started on the German Wikipedia, running for three weeks from August 25 to September 15. It asks active editors whether they want the feature and implementation linked from the global survey (an image filter with global/local categories) to be expressly not implemented on the German Wikipedia.[1]
The German poll differs from the committee's referendum in a number of ways. It asks a yes/no question about support or opposition. It is run according to the 'opinion poll' standards on German Wikipedia: to vote users must be 2 months old, with 200 article-namespace edits, 50 in the past year. The poll is public. The global survey in contrast used a secret ballot and was open to anyone with at least 10 edits in any wikimedia project. Once language-specific stats are available from the global survey and the de:wp one is finished, a comparison will be possible.
The initiators of the german referendum did not have access to the mail adresses of all users via the database. If the WMF will pay the DE:WP a referendum on a secure server for a secret ballot, the german speaking community probably would glady accept that.(comment by Eingangskontrolle)
Implementation concerns[edit]
There has been limited discussion of possible implementations that could address the request by the Board in its resolution on the topic. Only one proposed implementation was proposed in detail, in the Spring, as an illustrative example. A discussion of implementation issues was expected to happen after this vote, however details of the example implementation were mentioned in many of the negative reactions.
The current concept of the image filter seems unclear to many interested participants. Categories visible in the example design include: childrens games, gladiatorial combat, monsters and horror, graphic violence, medical, sexually explicit and other controversial content. Some have taken this very literally, responding that "other controversial content is a very wide category, which could be abused to filter anything anyone opposes. It is unclear, why children games should be filtered."[2]
Issues to address[edit]
Specific problems identified, or proposals made.
Clarify the conversation[edit]
(from the talk page)
Stop now, have a break and organize a better referendum with clearer proposal, questions and options.
Coren's four woes[edit]
Those are what I see as the four principal problems with the image filter as currently conceived, with some detailed discussion of why I think they are showstoppers. One point of note is that they are not particularly interdependent.
1. Technical misuse
Pretty much by definition, any mechanism which allows the reader to see or not see "classes" of images according to user preference can be trivially misused to censor those images without their consent.
There are a number of reasons why it is not possible/tractable to display a different page to different users (caching, the resources needed for a fresh render, etc). Because of this, the selection criteria of images must be transmitted along with the page contents.
The intent, obviously, is to have a mechanism on the user side (javascript being the obvious choice) then choose to load and display images or not according to whether it matches the filtering criteria. Those (category matches of the images) must either be made available in-band, or easily accessible through a request (with, say, AJAX).
The problem with this is that anyone who has network access can install an easy proxy that filters using those very mechanisms we must make available, user settings and preference be damned. This is not currently possible because deciding whether some image must or must not be filtered or not is a hard problem (the filename is of very limited help); we are proposing a mechanism by which we provide both the technical means to discriminate and the free manpower to classify censorable images.
A proxy that makes filtering decisions against the user's wishes is not an hypothetical scenario; we already have a number of entire countries that are filtered through a very small number of proxies administered against the readers' interests. The only reason the censorship does not sting more than it does is the intractability of deciding what to filter – solving that difficulty seems a very bad move indeed.
2. Social misuse
A user setting to show or not show images of various types presupposes that the readers are always – or even generally – in a position where they can make a free and informed choice in how that feature is configured. This is unlikely to be realistic for many readers.
First aspect of this is pure social pressure. The very existence of a possible filtering mechanism places pressure on readers in morally restrictive environments to turn on filtering that they would otherwise prefer not to; both by fear of opprobrium and by exploiting the common guilt mechanism. Arguably, this is self-inflicted and "not our problem", but the end result remains that a significant number of readers will be pressured into using the feature that otherwise would not self-censor.
The second, and more worrisome, aspect is that a very significant number of readers (the majority?) of non-euro-occidental nations (the so-called "global south" we are so desperate to reach) can only use our projects in public and semi-public places – cafés, public libraries, and shared computers. It is likely, if not certain, that those places will place at least some restrictions on how that filter is configured in order to allow access.
Finally, the existence of a filtering feature is almost certain to increase the outcries about improper contents on our projects. Giving access to a filter, we are setting up an expectation that is unrealistic: a reader who requests to not see nudity, for instance, will be justifiably angrier at seeing the inevitable classification error than one who understands from the outset that Wikipedia has diverse contents and that some subjects may be illustrated in a matter they find unpleasant.
3. It cannot be made neutral, or objective
The very concept of simple categories of possibly objectionable images (which is a requirement of the proposed design) is unworkable. Even ostensibly objective criteria could not possibly be agreed upon culturally given the diverse background of readers (and editors).
For instance, even a superficially simple category like "nudity" is fraught with insurmountable subjectivity:
Is it images of people who are wearing no clothing, no matter how much or little you see? (But then, what if you only see a shoulderblade but it's clear from context that the model is nude? What percentage of visible body is needed?) Images of people where you can see genitals? (What about fig leaves? Or well placed bit of decor?) Breasts or other secondary sexual characteristics? (What about nipples on men?) What about somebody who wears clothing but has exposed buttocks? Or a skin-tight bodysuit that leaves nothing to the imagination? Is a man that is very visibly erect through clothing "nudity"? (No, but then people who would filter on that would expect to not see it).
Large number of increasingly specific categories, but there goes simplicity and the "10-15 categories".
What about art? Is a photograph of a sculpture of a nude person "nudity"? What about a fairly abstract painting that nonetheless represents a nude person? (Look at some Picasso nudes for inspiration).
Is an image of a dildo or vibrator sexually explicit? Is one of a condom? An intrauterine device?
Want or need to make an exception for medical imagery? Do you then place images of genital warts in or out?
And that's all the simple topic of nudity(!) We haven't touched the more complicated subjects of "violence" and "religious imagery".
This all has the effect that you either go overboard and people do not see images they would have wanted to see (but cannot know they exist or check without disabling the filter – possibly exposing them to images they didn't want to see), or you go conservative and only mark the most egregious examples everyone can agree on, in which case the only people who would willingly use a filter in the first place will be dissatisfied and complain even more loudly because of the increased expectation that they will be "protected".
4. It is not compatible with our mission
This is arguably the most subjective of my objections, but the one I feel most strongly about. Ultimately, this feature provides for self-selected POV forks of articles and thus defeats our goals of neutrality. I cannot think of a single argument that makes this any different from marking paragraphs of text for possibly objectionable contents to show different article text (blah blah gay partner blah blah blah); yet nobody would consider the latter without yelling in horror.
Make no mistake – it's not making a slippery slope argument: I'm not arguing that filtering images leads to filtering text; I'm arguing that they already are the same thing. Ultimately, we are presenting different content to different readers depending on their preconceptions (or – worse – someone else's), the exact opposite of what NPOV means.
Finally, our educative mission is set aside for the convenience of superficial "respectability". Being educated sometimes mean being disturbed, or shocked. It means learning new things, not being placed in a comfortable room where the only things you can hear and see are those with which you already agree. Our job, our mission is "all the knowledge", not "all the knowledge you are personally comfortable with". The latter is network television's job, not ours.
Alec's Addendum[edit]
draft of extended remarks
1. Categories ≠ Labels
Categories are objective, Labels are subjective. Two different purposes, two different standards for inclusion.
2. Objective Categorization + Cultural Neutrality is not possible.
Offense is an emotional reaction, it's not rational or objective. Two people who have different emotional experiences cannot reach a consensus on what a person "should" feel when viewing an image.
3. Unlimited labeling + Cultural Neutrality is possible, but controversial.
With unlimited labels and a collaborative space, users of the feature could develop their own filters. Letting them do so is, in fact, controversial with a substantial portion of the editors.
4. We need to develop collaborative labeling for subjective measures anyway.
In five years, Commons will have whole video series-- lots and lots of them. We want to find the "most fascinating" and the "most mindblowing" and the "most humorous" videos on the site. Except, we won't all agree on what's "fascinating". So let's start building a system to let people collaborate on describing content in subjective ways. I could even use the system to seek out the "most offensive" images, those most likely to shock my unsuspecting friends. Tagging for "Inspiring" and tagging for "Offensive" are the same technology-- only the emotion is different.
A summary of questions and concerns[edit]
The following is a summary of the questions and concerns posed by users in the talk pages and forums relating to the referendum and the filter.
Referendum[edit]
Does the board/foundation now believe that there should be a community wide discussion about the image filter and one about the future of referendum here?
Was the exercise a referendum or a poll?
Referendums usually provide one or two clear questions
They usually allow a yes/no answer.
The results are either binding or are meant to seriously affect the final implementation of the problem/question posed.
Would information of what active editors think about the filter (apart from non-contributing readers) play a role in the decision of the implementation of the filter?
Do they entertain the possibility of another referendum?
Would a new referendum pose a yes/no question?
Would a new referendum take data of users edit count and activity in the referendum to allow cross tab analysis of the results?
What do they think about the poll on the German wiki and the potential threat of forking the wiki based on the poll (a poll with problems but not an impossible threat)
Would having had community discussion before-hand, have led to better questions posed in the referendum and have provided clearer answers?
Do they see that with the data available, meaningful cross analysis is very difficult (i.e. which voters were contributors and which were non contributors etc.).
The information provided to users on the referendum forum and talk page painted the filter in only a positive light. The FAQ was extremely one sided and only became more balanced half way through the referendum, the content of the main page however could not be edited to make it more neutral as the page was locked. How might this have effected the results of the referendum?
There was no effort made to encourage users to think about any ramifications of the use of the filter or join the discussion (readers are not all familiar with talk pages and users included may have incorrectly assumed that the talk page was simply a discussion about how to carry out the referendum. How might this have affected the results of the referendum?
About the image filter[edit]
How does the board/foundation feel about the difficulty in finding any consensus on which categories to make and how to place each image in what category?
What does culturally neutural mean? A concrete example would help users greatly in understanding the problem and possible solutions.
What does the board think of the potential use of the filter by 3rd parties to limit images that users would see using computers connected to that network (schools, universities, local provided access, etc.)?
Is it worth considering possibility of the filter being the first step in a slippery slope of providing more and more tools that cross the line of personal control vs. censorship?
How would the board deal with the difficult technical aspects of the filter (better stated by other users on this page)?
Is there a meaningful difference between filtering images and filtering text?
Would the board/foundation ever consider a text filter?
Are images as important to the overall presentation of an article and understanding of any topic?
Would the filter conflict with the concept of "content by consensus" and more simply the open content" concept or "the free encyclopedia"?
--Shabidoo 23:55, 9 September 2011 (UTC)
Potential models for hiding images[edit]
A few different options for letting readers hide images have been discussed. They are compiled here for discussion and as possible options for proceeding. Please feel free to add to or modify the following. If you wish to modify an option radically, please consider adding a new option instead of changing the existing one.
Options requiring no labelling information on the wiki[edit]
No such feature[edit]
This option would reject any sort of feature to hide images. This may involve an amendment of the board resolution requesting such a feature.
Highlights and concerns:
Everyone who does or does not want filtering can at least in principle satisfy their own preferences.
People who want to hide certain images will have to find a way to do this on their own or as an organization, or to limit their use of the projects.
Avoids any concerns of the critics about censorship and effective use of financial and community resources, and avoids protests by community members and projects that oppose the feature.
Does not address concerns of users who would like this option in any way. They may continue to put pressure, for example, to tailor categories to enhance the outside filtering.
We can be positive than simply saying "no action" — we can say that we "continue to allow others to do filtering", meeting the apparent desire of the Board to do something. Wikimedia generates intellectual property which, if proprietary, would be worth billions, and makes it available to those who would develop a version they find suitable - all they need to do is sort through it to decide what to offer.
According to our CC and GFDL licensing, anyone in the world may create a derivative of any part of Wikipedia for any purpose. Those who desire to hide images or other content is free to do so using whatever criteria they choose to develop. Under this licensing, however much we may dislike some of the uses of the filter, we can not prevent this.
It requires no additional work on the part of Wikimedians. Providing a filter does not become our job.
It continues to maintain our own existing principles of freely available content. In view of pressures in the world towards censorship, we at least should maintain our basic vision.
Off-wiki support[edit]
This option keeps image hiding features outside of the normal editing and reading of Wikipedia. For example, a mirror site could serve all of Wikipedia after revising it however it sees fit. Or a nannyware company might publicly offer Wikipedia "filtered" by its standards. The distinction between this and doing nothing is that Wikimedia would arrange to be extra friendly for such sites' purposes - for example, by setting up a URL where an approved history version of an article can be served up without any extra markup, suitable to be put in a frame by another site and presented as the current version. Or allow an edited version of an article to be saved outside of the normal editing history, for the use of a particular group with an image or content hiding agenda. (Both of these things allow a third party to run a mirror site, but rely on Wikipedia for much of the disk space and bandwidth) Or we provide a nannyware company with a constant running update on all the images uploaded or changed so that they could keep more up to date.
Requires some source of funding for these sites to be publicly available. While it may indeed be possible for these people to solicit donations, they might come at the cost of Wikipedia donations.
May lead to fairly close contact and collaboration with outside commercial or religious entities, which could be perceived to undermine WMF's honesty or independence.
Keeps filtering disputes away from Wikimedia projects.
WMF is still involved in the suggestion of filter application, raising disputes about the righteousness to advise these options to its users.
Third party filters without direct supervision by Wikimedia Foundation are not guaranteed to be free of spyware or viruses.
Money from donations would have to be spent on an external company that censors Wikipedia content. Self-censorship is bad, but censorship without giving the community any chance of control is worse.
Options with on-wiki impact, but not needing agreement on image categorization[edit]
Simple features, hiding all images[edit]
This option might include user preferences such as "show no images" or "turn off images for this page".
This would be the easiest proposed feature to implement.
Useful for readers using slow connections as well, depending on implementation.
All web browsers include a "show no images" feature, and many offer site-specific blocking options through ad-blocker plug-ins. But this has not stopped users' persistent demands for a more usable mechanism. Many readers are unaware of available methods or find them awkward.
The basic functionality to hide images on individual pages has also existed for years (by editing one's personal CSS file; see instructions here). But this is not currently reader-friendly, and has limited flexibility.
A more generally useful setting might be "show no images by default" that has a trivially usable "show the images on this page" and "show this image" toggle always at the users' reach. Making all three toggles would neatly solve the usability problem a double as the "hide any image" feature below (that is, if the editor does not hide images by default, they can turn individual images off by the same mechanism they would show them if they did).
Personal blacklist/whitelist[edit]
This option would let a user click to shutter or display individual images, but not groups of images based on categories or labels. It would be very similar to the mock-up wmf:Personal image filter for shuttering individual images, but would not include the ability to select groups of images to filter.
Each user could shutter images after viewing them on a case-by-case basis (possibly article-by-article). The hidden images would be remembered and would form the the user's personal blacklist. A user could also choose to shutter all images, and allow individual ones on a case-by-case basis, creating a personal whitelist.
Simple to implement, flexible.
The strength and weakness of this proposal is its lack of prejudgment. This requires each user to see each image before they can decide whether to place it on their individual blacklist. However, this frees the community from developing criteria to identify potentially controversial images, and from applying those criteria to images.
The basic functionality to hide individual images has existed for years (by editing one's personal CSS file; see instructions here). This approach would improve the visibility, usability and user-friendliness of this existing functionality.
A major disadvantage of this approach is that (by itself) it does not allow any sort of prediction of a reader's future objections, regardless of that reader's past choices. Every reader will have to turn off all images, or turn off each image he or she finds offensive individually after seeing the image at least once. It's unclear how much reduction in reader offense this approach will actually produce. The results of the image referendum, particularly the question on "It is important that individuals be able to report or flag images that they see as controversial, that have not yet been categorized as such?" indicate that at least a third of the participants rate as extremely desirable the ability to filter by image category, not just by individual images.
Shared personal blacklist/whitelist[edit]
This option permits users to incorporate other users' personal blacklists/whitelists into their own. For example, if blacklists are written as Wiki pages in userspace, they could permit other Wiki pages to be cited as templates.
Requires users to work together to decide on an individual basis whose lists to trust.
Nearly as simple as the personal list.
Permits a purely personal list as the simplest case.
Requires one person to see the images.
Vulnerable to vandalism on any of the incorporated pages, unless technical measures are taken to protect the lists (for example, by allowing a user to apply some new protection template to his userpages that allows only admins and himself to edit them).
The blacklist page can be protected like watchlist, js or css pages which are edit-able to their sole owner. But it can be abused by 3rd party censorship tool as their database.
The existing 3rd party censorship tools are already applying the existing image categories as their database, user-defined blacklist does not make too much differences. Unless such user-defined blacklist is hidden from anyone except its owner, but this will make sharing the blacklist between users impossible, or extremely inconvenient.
Also does not require a community-wide process to categorize images, beyond voluntary collaborations.
May also benefit from the basic functionality already present.
Needs login to edit/create own lists.
Develop relevant on-wiki processes[edit]
Per Alec's suggestions above: develop ways to add subjective categories, as is already done for 'good articles' or 'needing cleanup';
Per Pavel's comments on de:wp: develop better standards for how to illustrate sensitive articles or those where there are edit wars about image inclusion -- support being welcoming to readers through a wiki process
This is highly compatible with other wiki practice.
This can be slow to develop and may not reach consensus, even for very high-importance articles (e.g., artist's conceptions of Mohammed being used to illustrate the lede of his bio).
Wikipedians would have to invest in policy development.
Subjective Categories will introduce POV.
Label-based filter[edit]
This option would introduce new labels to be used by the filter. Labels would be similar to the existing category system, but distinct in implementation and purpose, being expressly for filtering. For example, [[Filter label: Graphic wounds]] would be added to certain images to allow users to filter that group of images.
Keeps labeling system (for filtering) technically and philosophically distinct from category system (for finding and describing). This may help to prevent conflicts between users working at these two distinct purposes, makes it easier to maintain good practices for applying categories, and allows us to acknowledge and possibly mitigate the negative effects of labeling.
Creating an effective opt-in filter would require identifying 'controversial' content in images. The Harris report recommended "that tagging regimes that would allow third-parties to filter Wikimedia content be restricted in their use."
Labels must be maintained by the community, which offends part of the community.
Wikipedians will have to invest their working capacity into installing and maintaining a filter. This option would introduce the need to observe the list and to protect it from POV-Warriors.
Labeling images as "controversial" may prejudice readers against the content.
The two editing (as opposed to reader) communities surveyed on the German and the French Wikipedia have shown strong resistance (80%) to the idea of filtering. Thus, the filtering effort cannot count much on volunteer participation from the core editing community, at least on some Wikipedias. Therefore, a solution which requires substantial editor contribution, like special labeling, may turn out unfeasible in practice, despite the readers' desire, unless a massive restructuring of some editing communities takes place beforehand to realign them with the casual readers' expectations.
Limited list[edit]
This approach is based on an acknowledgment that labeling is an infringement of intellectual freedom because it may prejudice the reader against certain content, but holds that the infringement is justified in a few cases. Specifically, it may be justified where a label can be objectively defined and is not discriminatory on the basis of personal characteristics. (More here)
Additional highlights and concerns:
Attempts to strike a balance, providing a reasonably effective filter while minimizing prejudicial effects of labeling.
Filters provided may not be the best possible match to user expectations because their effectiveness will be hampered by the requirement of minimal discrimination.
Majority sensibilities would likely dominate the selection of the limited number of filters.
Open list[edit]
This option would allow the community to develop and maintain labels for filtering without restriction. Wikipedians could create a variety of specific labels and then combine them into different parent sets.
Users would be able to choose from, and help develop, a variety of custom-built, community-maintained filters to meet their needs.
Likely the most effective and flexible option, as users have considerable choice in selecting filters.
Where users are able to find a filter that matches their expectations, would result in relatively few false positives.
Individuals might choose to create prejudicial or discriminatory filters, e.g., removing images of people based on their gender, sexual orientation, race, or political affiliation.
Wikipedians would need to label ten million images.
May be more difficult to implement performantly.
An open list will give the community at least a bit of control but is also very affective to trolling and POV-Wars.
Basing the filter on the existing category system[edit]
This option would implement a personal image filter along the lines proposed in the initial example, using categories which match classes of controversial images.
In theory, this approach gives the reader a broader choice than targeted labels, as it allows filtering to be tailored even for uncommon objections.
Assembling a suitable the initial list of categories for a given user may be a less-than-trivial task, and it may prove clunky for the casual reader. Commons alone has approximately 500,000 categories, with dozens being created and deleted each day.
There is less up-front work than individually inspecting and labeling millions images, but this may come at the cost of filtering precision; see next item.
Existing categories are not designed to be effective filters. To the extent we are able to maintain good classification principles for these categories, the filters may not meet user expectations. Some categories will likely be under-inclusive from a filtering perspective (e.g. filtering images primarily about nudity, rather than images containing nudity), while others are likely to be over-inclusive, e.g. excluding nude paintings not just photographs. This leads us to the following concern:
Users wanting an effective filter would have a strong incentive to apply these categories to images as one would apply a warning label, rather than a description of aboutness (e.g. applying a nudity-related label to any image containing nudity, rather than images where nudity is central to the subject). To the extent this practice dominates, it would assist third-party censorship and reduce the usability of these categories as descriptive and finding aids.
The above implies the need to watch the most filtered categories and to protect them from POV-Warriors and vandals. Wikimedia editors will have to invest their working capacity in this effort.
Closed list[edit]
A global survey could identify the top 5-10 classes of controversial images, attempt to codify what is controversial about them, and identify existing categories which match those classes of controversial images.
May offer a better approximation of user expectation than some alternatives, though it lacks the flexibility of "open list" options.
A finite number of categories would be easier to maintain than an open list system.
Majority sensibilities would likely dominate the limited number of 'controversial' areas available.
Labeling 5-10 categories as "controversial" may prejudice readers against the content in those categories. This is of particular concern if the categories relate to (or disproportionately feature) identifiable groups of people.
This option would allow users to select from the existing category list to build individual filters.
Users could create a customized list to suit their needs.
Each user would need to make individual decisions about the ~500,000 existing categories on Commons as well as the categories on any wiki that allows file uploads, such as wikis with an EDP. Compiling an effective filter would be difficult.
By itself, this approach may be difficult to reconcile with the desires of up to 75% of responders to the referendum because this cohort gave the top rating to the complex question "It is important that the feature allow readers to quickly and easily choose which types of images they want to hide (e.g., 5-10 categories), so that people could choose for example to hide sexual imagery but not violent imagery?" Unfortunately, it is unclear from the question design if the "5-10 categories" was central in the voters' rating of this complex usability issue.
A mixed approach: open personal list, but offer a limited set of defaults to seed it[edit]
This option would allow users to select from the existing category list to build individual filters, but would bypass the difficulties of selecting the initial list by offering a limited number (5-100) lists of categories targeted at specific audiences, for example: Muslim-sensitive, (Western) NSFW, common phobias, etc. As cultural sensitivities vary worldwide, the initial choice may even be suggested by the software using IP geolocation.
The default seed lists may even be adaptively adjusted for maximal usefulness by surveying how the majority of the readers change them once they import them to their personal list. The filter users may also be prompted from time to time to adjust their list with useful hints. This process would be a similar to how online merchants promote similar or complementary products to buyers, e.g. how Amazon builds "customers who bought this item also bought" suggestions; translate that into "readers who filtered out this category also filtered out ..."
More complex than the other options.
Post mortem for the vote/discussion process[edit]
Standards are needed for defining "polls / RFCs / referendums". This was not what would normally be called a referendum - unify terminology and set expectations properly.
Standards are needed for designing questions in polls, and selecting participants, for statistical utility. There are specific variations on standard practice in sociology that apply to sites where one wants to distinguish veterans / newbies / readers (or casual users).
In particular, a sampling of respondents should be surveyed to estimate the expected population responses to questions, so that they can be phrased to capture the full range of opinions expected from a normal distribution of respondents, so that most of the questions do not result in confusing bimodal responses.
Should the Foundation hire a professional survey statistician?
The place of the research committee in such workflows should be well defined.
Having public discussion and comments as with a typical RFC is quite nice. We should bring this back. It can be done while also allowing for private ballots.
Most languages had their "discuss" page redirect straight to the English-language discussion page. This may have discouraged non-english-speakers from participating in discussion. In future, make "Discuss" link to a per-language pages that included a prominent advertisement pointing editors to active discussions in other languages. However, non-English discussions usually happen elsewhere (in local language-only wikis or mailing lists).
The more data you release, the more we can learn about ourselves and our values. (Obviously, keep voter identity and comments confidential, per secret vote.) But minimally-redacted ballot dumps should be a standard part of poll/referendum/voting results release-- the community needs to know as much about itself as possible, and data dumps can tell us a lot more about ourselves than any histogram ever could.
We should consider giving voters fair warning not to include personal information, then releasing all vote information immediately at the end of polls, without any delay for redaction or examination. The comments could be placed on ordinary Wiki pages and redacted, perhaps even revdeled, but only after the fact (which is what we do at the Wikipedia Refdesk fairly often).
We could also add a "public comment textbox" to the existing ballot so voters will have both options-- just in case someone really does want their comment to be secret.
Controversial_content/Brainstorming – page to generate further ideas about how a personal image filter could be implemented.
↑ Referendum about the introduction of an image filter in WP:DE
↑ Screenshot of an image-filter mockup.
Retrieved from "https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Image_filter_referendum/Next_steps/en&oldid=5435710"
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Mulberry, Richard, MGen
This Person is Your...
> Remembered Veteran (Non Family) AncestorBrotherBrother-in-LawCousin (First Cousin)DescendentFatherFather-in-LawFianceFirst Cousin Once RemovedFirst Cousin Twice RemovedFriendGrand NephewGrandfatherGrandsonGreat Grand NephewGreat GrandfatherGreat GrandsonGreat Great GrandfatherGreat Great GrandsonGreat Great Great GrandfatherGreat Great Great GrandsonGreat Great Great Great GrandfatherGreat Great Great Great GrandsonGreat Great UncleGreat UncleHusbandHusband (Former)NephewSecond CousinSecond Cousin Once RemovedSecond Cousin Twice RemovedSonSon-in-LawStep BrotherStep FatherStep SonThird CousinThird Cousin Once RemovedThird Cousin Twice RemovedUncle
> AncestorBrotherBrother-in-LawCousin (First Cousin)DescendentFatherFather-in-LawFianceFirst Cousin Once RemovedFirst Cousin Twice RemovedFriendGrand NephewGrandfatherGrandsonGreat Grand NephewGreat GrandfatherGreat GrandsonGreat Great GrandfatherGreat Great GrandsonGreat Great Great GrandfatherGreat Great Great GrandsonGreat Great Great Great GrandfatherGreat Great Great Great GrandsonGreat Great UncleGreat UncleHusbandHusband (Former)NephewSecond CousinSecond Cousin Once RemovedSecond Cousin Twice RemovedSonSon-in-LawStep BrotherStep FatherStep SonThird CousinThird Cousin Once RemovedThird Cousin Twice RemovedUncle
Last Primary MOS
9903-General Officer
Last MOSGroup
Specific Billet MOS
Primary Unit
1972-1975, 9903, Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)
Service Years
Official/Unofficial USMC Certificates
Cold War Certificate
This Military Service Page was created/owned by CWO2 Philip E. Montroy to remember Marine MGen Richard Mulberry.
If you knew or served with this Marine and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
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Hillcrest Memorial Gardens - Orange, Texas Wall/Plot Coordinates
Unofficial Badges
Last Known Activity
Following his retirement from the USMCR in 1975, MajGen Mulberry continued on in his civilian activities. He worked as a CPA for over 50-years in the Dallas are along with being very active in community activities. In 1908 he moved to Washington, D.C. to take on the position of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Interior until 1984. Moving back to Dallas after leaving this position, he again was very active. He served for many years as a volunteer Docent at the Front of Flight Museum, Love Field, Dallas.
When the General became the Assistant Wing Commander, HQ, 4th MAW, he was the first officer ever assigned to the number two-slot in the Marine Air Reserves Nationwide Command of 28 subordinate units.
Photo Album (More...)
Guadalcanal Campaign (1942-43)/Battle of Eastern Solomons (Stewart Island)
1942 End Year
The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and, in Japanese sources, as the Second Battle of the Solomon Sea) took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and the second major engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Guadalcanal Campaign. As at the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway, the ships of the two adversaries were never within sight of each other. Instead, all attacks were carried out by carrier-based or land-based aircraft.
After several damaging air attacks, the naval surface combatants from both America and Japan withdrew from the battle area without either side securing a clear victory. However, the U.S. and its allies gained tactical and strategic advantage. Japan's losses were greater and included dozens of aircraft and their experienced aircrews. Also, Japanese reinforcements intended for Guadalcanal were delayed and eventually delivered by warships rather than transport ships, giving the Allies more time to prepare for the Japanese counteroffensive and preventing the Japanese from landing heavy artillery, ammunition, and other supplies.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
1942 To Year
Personal Memories
My Photos From This Battle or Operation
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121 Also There at This Battle:
Ahrens, Edward Henry, PFC, (1942-1942)
Anderson, Norman, MGen, (1936-1972)
Bahe, Woody Joe, PFC, (1942-1945)
Batterton, Roy, Col, (1940-1966)
Beecher, James William, Cpl, (1940-1942)
Berg, John Vernon, MGySgt, (1940-1968)
Bibby, Joe, Capt
Blais, James, BGen, (1936-1957)
Bray, Raymond, Cpl, (1940-1942)
Bray, William, Col, (1941-1967)
Brice, William Oscar, Gen, (1921-1956)
Brintzenhofe, Vernard, Cpl, (1942-1946)
Britt, Wade Hampton, Maj, (1936-1943)
Brown, Fletcher Locke, Maj, (1937-1942)
Brown, Harold, MSgt, (1939-1962)
Carlson, Evans, BGen, (1922-1946)
Chamberlin, William, Maj, (1940-1960)
Chase, Kenneth, SgtMaj, (1940-1970)
Coad, Jason
Corzine, Jimmy Wilson, PFC, (1942-1942)
Cram, Jack, LtCol
Dalby, Marion, Col, (1943-1970)
Daniel, Hugh, PFC, (1941-1942)
Darling, Willard, Cpl, (1941-1945)
Davis, Earle, Sgt
Day, George, Cpl, (1942-1945)
Doyle, Edward J, BGen, (1941-1970)
Durant, Kenneth, HM3, (1940-1942)
Earles, I. B., Cpl, (1940-1942)
English, Lowell Edward, MGen, (1938-1969)
Evans, Clarence, Pvt, (1941-1942)
Everton, Loren, Col, (1938-1968)
Fleps, Carl, BGen, (1932-1956)
Fontana, Paul John, MGen, (1936-1973)
Fox, Myles C, 1stLt, (1941-1942)
Frament, Paul, HM3, (1941-1942)
Galer, Robert, BGen, (1936-1957)
Gaston, Daniel Albert, Cpl, (1941-1942)
Geiger, Roy, Gen, (1907-1947)
Glidden, Elmer, Maj
Griffith, Samuel Blair, BGen, (1929-1956)
Hannan, William J., Col, (1941-1978)
Hayward, Louis, Capt, (1941-1944)
Hilsky, Robert, PFC, (1942-1943)
Hudspeth, Daniel W, Sgt, (1940-1942)
Iverson, Daniel T, Maj, (1939-1944)
Jerome, Clayton, LtGen, (1922-1959)
Jobb, Richard, HM3, (1942-1943)
Johnson, James, Col, (1940-1968)
Jones, Donald Ross, LtCol, (1942-1966)
Joy, Daniel, HM2, (1937-1942)
Kachinski, Roland F, PltSgt, (1932-1942)
Key, Eugene Morland, 1stLt, (1939-1942)
Kunkle, Kenneth Kirk, Cpl, (1938-1942)
Lana, Tony, Sgt, (1941-1966)
Langan, Eugene Francis, Capt, (1942-1956)
Lawrence Jr., James, BGen, (1938-1972)
Lee, John W Sr, Sgt, (1942-1947)
Liddle, William, HM3, (1937-1942)
Lyons, Thomas, Cpl, (1940-1945)
Maciejewski, Edward, Cpl, (1940-1942)
Mahoney, Michael, Maj, (1924-1942)
Maple, Stanley, PFC, (1943-1945)
Marston, John, MGen, (1908-1946)
Masters, James M, LtGen, (1933-1968)
McLaughlin, John, LtGen, (1941-1977)
Messina, James Joseph, PFC, (1941-1944)
Miller, Thurman, GySgt, (1940-1945)
Moore, Dalton, Sgt, (1940-1945)
Nodland, Franklin Merrill, Pvt, (1942-1942)
O'Neal, James, HMC, (1940-1943)
Owens, Robert Gordon Jr., MGen, (1939-1972)
Paige, Mitchell, Col, (1936-1959)
Parker, Thaddeus, HM2, (1941-1943)
Paull, William T., Capt, (1942-1955)
Pearson, Robert Brooks, Cpl, (1940-1942)
Petrie, Clarence, GySgt, (1941-1945)
Pettyjohn, George, SSgt, (1940-1952)
Phillips, Hyde, Maj, (1941-1952)
Phillips, Sidney C, PFC, (1941-1945)
Pond, Zenneth Arthur, Capt, (1941-1942)
Pope, Everett, Maj, (1941-1951)
Presley, Frank H., Maj, (1941-1954)
Przbyl, Matthew, Cpl
Reusser, Kenneth, Col, (1941-1968)
Roberts, Harold Cyrus, Col, (1917-1945)
Robertshaw, Louis, LtGen, (1936-1971)
Roop, John Preston, Sgt, (1941-1944)
Rose, Donald Vincent, 2ndLt, (1941-1942)
Royster, Thomas Broadway, Capt, (1938-1943)
Sanguedolce, Silvio, Sgt, (1941-1942)
Scarborough, Jr, Hartwell V, Col, (1941-1968)
Serafini, Gilbert, MGySgt, (1941-1945)
Sheeks, Robert B., Maj, (1941-1963)
Shepard, Millard, Col, (1919-1953)
Shutts, Alfred, Sgt, (1941-1945)
Smith, John, Col, (1936-1960)
Spanjer, Ralph, MGen, (1941-1978)
Spurlock, Roy, Col, (1940-1966)
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Tanya Gold is a jerk; Richard Armitage nonetheless stays on message
Dear London Sunday Times interviewer, Tanya Gold,
It really kills me to write this letter to you, because you know my real name. I have loved at least two editorials you have written, and I loved one of them so much that I made the effort to track you down and write you a letter on my real university account — something you wrote about the royals in The Guardian — to which you responded kindly. I admired your language and your way of thinking. My friends and I discussed that editorial on our Facebook page and I sent you a screenshot of our conversation because I thought you might be interested in it. I thought you dared a lot with language, that you saw through things other people didn’t.
I take it all back. You see nothing.
Don’t get me wrong.
I really loved this interview because of things that Richard Armitage said in it. Some of it repeats old material, like the comment about the red carpet (he’s always hated them, he’s always thought they are weird, there are multiple comments to this effect in his early press), and some of it lets us learn new things. I knew that Gillian Lynne had praised his work, for instance, but to hear the full story? Priceless. Rock on, Mr. Armitage.
But you, Tanya Gold, you suck shit. I tell students not to curse in their writing, but you deserve this. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so irked at an interviewer, probably since I read the press interviews from 2009. Or maybe since the summer of 2011 when the Hobbit fanboyz were annoying me.
You tell the reader not to sneer, because you, yourself are sneering.
Let’s start with the way that you hate women. You hate that we can love things without having to sneer at them.
Innocent? Why don’t you just say naive? Or willfully ignorant. Because that’s what you meant.
Want to engage in a little innuendo, do you, Ms. Gold? To which I say this, a word to the wise:
What’s your problem? That we choose to enjoy something without asking for every single detail about it? That we have learned to do something you obviously can’t — what Armitage suggests in the interview you wrote should be the task of the audience — TO SEE MORE CLEARLY SOMETHING OF OURSELVES AS A CONSEQUENCE OF LOOKING AT THE WORK HE DOES — without having to have every detail of the fantasy we engage in correspond to reality? What poverty of imagination you have.
And believe me, I’m asking this as someone who has looked at every single detail about a thousand times. If there’s a detail about Richard Armitage, I’m likely to be aware of it.
Let’s move on to the fat hate.
I don’t like Vicar of Dibley. As long-time readers of this blog know, Harry Kennedy is my least favorite Armitage character. But actually, that wasn’t the point of the Vicar of Dibley conclusion. I have mixed feelings about the actual point — that a cheerful, hardworking, caring person is worthy of love and will attract a cheerful, hardworking, caring person — but you totally missed it. But I’m not a condescending jerk, either. I don’t pretend that other people’s fantasies, whether I share them or not, make them smaller. And you? If you don’t get that, that fantasy ennobles us, you’re nowhere near as smart as I thought you were.
Maybe you, you might be embarrassed to fall in love with a fat person. Frightened that people might think you were a little smaller, a little less important, a little less cool? Then you imply he cringed all the way through the role:
But you know, Richard Armitage? The guy who’s almost a star, too serious for all of this beefcake?
I know, because I spent two weeks in February 2010 watching Armitage’s scenes in Vicar of Dibley frame by lousy frame. Three times. I was interested in microexpressions. And I was interested in exactly that question. Was Richard Armitage embarrassed to be playing a character who was falling in love with or kissing Dawn French?
I can’t answer that, because I don’t know what is in Richard Armitage’s mind. But what I do know, from watching frame by frame for all that time, is that Richard Armitage never once cringes against character through any of his scenes romancing, talking to, or kissing Dawn French. That’s not true of all of his roles. He definitely cringes involuntarily when Lucas North is being lapdanced by a Russian spy. And there’s one other example of a cringe that might be characterization, and might be a lapse. But however he felt about Harry Kennedy’s role personally, Richard Armitage took the time and energy to give a perfectly convincing performance.
No, he never cringes once in Vicar of Dibley. I know, because I took the time to look. Because I am a fan, I do care. Because Richard Armitage convinced me to look at my own tendency to judge and suggested to me that it is possible to see things innocently. And enjoy them simply for what they are.
When I read your earlier writing, I thought you got something about women’s experiences, and people. I see I was mistaken.
Expletive deleted. I’ll be sending you a copy of this from my real university account — just so you know that those fans you’re slamming in this article? We are real people, with real intellects.
Your former fan,
Servetus
Tags: Harry Kennedy, John Proctor, Richard Armitage, Tanya Gold, The Crucible, Vicar of Dibley
200 Responses to “Tanya Gold is a jerk; Richard Armitage nonetheless stays on message”
Thank you a lot for this.
antigone said this on July 6, 2014 at 3:14 am | Reply
Awesome, Thank you! I thought that was just the strangest article I have ever read. Not only the content of it, but it was so unbelievably poorly written. The Sunday Times?! Where do I apply? Obviously skill in writing not a job requirement. And you were bang on with her content. What was her problem with Mr. A? Really weird article. I can’t imagine what kind of person people not familiar with him would think. She makes him sound like an idiotic jerk. She has issues. Just weird.
Heather said this on July 6, 2014 at 3:16 am | Reply
I wonder if she would reply to your letter.
Thank you. As a woman of ‘womanly size’, that comment that obviously we don’t deserve a nice person in our lives just because we’re not skinny, to be so insulting, I didn’t want to finish the article.
Quite frankly, I’ve graded 5th grade papers that were more informative and better put together. She’s a pathetic excuse for a journalist.
I’m so mad, i’m going to go write some naughty smut.
zeesmuse said this on July 6, 2014 at 3:20 am | Reply
I heard that message loud and clear. If you’re fat you deserve the table scraps from that great feast called dating.
Fatima said this on July 6, 2014 at 5:22 am | Reply
Yes, it was obvious when she described Geraldine as “the fat vicar” and nothing else. Why not the funny vicar? The compassionate vicar? The miraculously capable of tolerating and herding that village of mental inmates vicar? Some people see fat women as fat and nothing else, as if it overwhelms and invalidates everything else about us. Thankfully, not everyone thinks the same way.
antigone said this on July 6, 2014 at 4:40 pm | Reply
One of the most egregious examples of interviewer intrusiveness I’ve ever seen.
judiang said this on July 6, 2014 at 3:22 am | Reply
I meant worst. Irked myself.
I just read it. It says a lot about the interviewer and very little about the subject…
Suse said this on July 6, 2014 at 6:38 am | Reply
Joanna said this on July 6, 2014 at 5:59 pm | Reply
You got it, Suse.
SH said this on July 7, 2014 at 12:28 am | Reply
You know exactly what I think. OMG, and the “he doesn’t know why he’s still single” thing…I’d love to know how she phrased that question because I can’t think of a single way to ask that that isn’t unbearably rude.
jazzbaby1 said this on July 6, 2014 at 3:24 am | Reply
The whole “i’ll hint at telling you something that fans refuse to hear” tone here — there’s another instance of it — is just ridiculous. Does she think we’re idiots?
No no, she thinks we’re “innocent” like Mannilow fans. Mannilow fans aren’t nearly as “innocent” as the press likes to imagine they are.
Yeah, innocent like Manilow fans is definitely code. I’ve tweeted and emailed her this article, so she can read this comments if she likes. Barry Manilow’s fans are pretty smart.
LOL really she didn’t think this all through very well . . . bless her heart (said with a very arch smile and a hint of poisoned sweetness by a southern girl who knows HOW).
fedoralady said this on July 6, 2014 at 3:39 am | Reply
When southern girls say “Bless your/her/his heart” I get very nervous and start backing slowly to the exit… 😉
MaryJaneZigZag said this on July 6, 2014 at 4:33 am | Reply
yeah, it’s the polite way of saying f*** you. Poisonous.
*grins wickedly* You got that right, dahlinâ . . . remembah, under these soft feminine exteriors we ah all steel magnolias.
Have to say the Barry Manilow comparison irked me the worst. I’m surprised she didn’t go one step further and use Liberace. Just a terribly intrusive, condescending interview all around.
Meghan said this on July 6, 2014 at 5:17 am | Reply
Uh.Mah.Gah. My thought exactly. EXACTLY.
All in all, she’s managed to alienate quite a few factions, from Barry Manilow fans to those of who are carrying around excess adipose tissue. Well, this “fat old” Armitage admirer thinks she is going to find some time between working on video production stuff for PRP and the Chamber of Commerce, and giving the worrisome wrist a periodic rest, to work on a new Sloth Fiction entry. I think the ChaRActers will have something to say about all this . . . they really don’t like being (or having the CReAtor) insulted. No, they do not.
I’m amazed to discover that bawdy old me IS an innocent. I didn’t realize “Manilow” was a reference to you-know-what until I read everyone’s comments here. When I read that in the story I thought, “Where’s her copy editor? What the hell is Barry Manilow doing in here?” Ha ha ha!!!
armitagebesotted said this on July 6, 2014 at 9:16 am | Reply
LOL! You never know when or where the man who writes the songs will appear! 😉 When people speak in code it can be confusing, armitagebesotted. wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know whot I mean??
Manilow is another example of someone subjected to crazy condescension and I confess that I used to be part of it. Then one summer while I was trapped in a hospital room with mom I heard an interview with him on (I think) Larry King. (Maybe it was Piers Morgan by then.) And such love and professional care for what he was doing and appreciation for his fans came out of that man and I thought, anyone who would ridicule something that makes these people so happy is him or herself ridiculous. It was kind of a key recognition for me.
Innocent? Us? She hasn’t read my fan fiction, has she . . . she obviously doesn’t really know nearly as much as she thinks she does about the fandom or our perceptions of this man. What a snarky cow she appears to be. And I thought I couldn’t stand that Vicki who blogged about Spooks. Hey, truth be told, I haven’t read that article yet because I’ve been pulling screencaps for PRP project. But I couldn’t resist peeking in here. Brava, my friend, brava! Frankly, now that RA’s star continues to be on the rise, I suppose we can expect more of this tasteless type of “journalism.” A price paid for fame . . .
Suddenly Houda and Kathie Lee (Today Show interview) don’t seem so bad now don’t they? 😉
LOL yeah I can cut them some slack. Plus I was able to watch that interview live on my TV, which was AWESOME!
Whoa! “snarky cow” and “bless her heart” all in one! I’m proud of you, fedoralady!
Kitty said this on July 7, 2014 at 2:03 am | Reply
LOL What can I say, Kitty, she got this southern girl (with a fondness for Brit slang) all riled up!
It’s like a 21st century version of that tawdry “Confidential” magazine or something–lots of coy inferences . . . shoddy. Very disappointing. I would have hoped for and expected better.
being married and or having children is not proof of anything one way or another. Her nose was obviously out of joint about something. She probably was perturbed that he wouldn’t answer personal questions and stuck to the work, which is what it is all about for him and for us, so she retaliated with this really poorly written article. She should be ashamed at her lack of professionalism and display of really poor writing skill.
what’s odd about this is that really, she’s a good writer. One of things she wrote about Kate Middleton I’d have put in the top ten best things I’ve ever read in a newspaper.
I will have to take your word on it that she is a good writer. LOL. She certainly didn’t display that here. But, on a cheerier note, I am just going to have to get into the mindset when I read articles like this is the fact that Mr. A. has now arrived on the radar … that his career has definitely hit the higher stratosphere now and these types of articles will become all too familiar. He just seems like such a decent person and crap like that shouldn’t happen to decent people. I will just tune it out I guess.
Personally, I would much rather see someone stay unattached rather than have a long trail of broken relationships behind them . . . just my opinion. And it’s true–being married to someone of the opposite sex, even having children is no sure-fire indicator the person is 100 percent hetero. And not being married by a certain age, or never marrying, does not mean that person must be gay or lesbian.
I think Heather may be right – she’s a freelance writer, maybe just did it for the money, wasn’t really interested in RA, went along with a bit of a ‘chippy’ attitude and RA, maybe already in Proctor mode, maybe not really wanting to do an interview, let alone one with someone who he senses has a bit of attitude towards him, gave a guarded interview back.
She, like a lot of journos probably, just googled him before she went and not getting very much in the personal department out of him, just gave her own judgements. (His interviews are always better when he’s obviously happy he can just stick to answering about his work and not any personal stuff.)
And yes, really interesting questions to ask him would have been-Who suggested you for the job? Did you audition? Are you going to do more theatre?
And a pat on the back is required to whoever suggested him, Yael Farber and The Old Vic!
Mrs Thornton said this on July 6, 2014 at 3:46 pm | Reply
Is it me, or does it seem like she was determined to vent her spleen at him from the word go? I can’t imagine what their interview was like.
I suspect, Judi, that she came to the table with an agenda in place and her angle for the interview already plotted out, hoping to provoke him along the way . . . thank goodness Richard is patient and disciplined, the compleat professional–or she just might have seen that “filthy temper” he has referred to in the past in action. I am betting he was VERY happy when the ordeal was over and done with.
I wonder what she hoped to provoke, a savvy media type talking to a savvy actor. He wasn’t born yesterday (like she thinks his fans were.)
she’s two years younger than he is, and an Oxford grad. She’s made a lot of points attacking Oxford privilege but boy she sounds snotty here. Maybe she thought she could outsmart him, but I bet he could eat her for breakfast.
The bunch of us here can eat her for breakfast and elevensies with our combined intellects. I have read some smart fans online, and she definitely has not.
yeah, that was really puzzling. If she’d bothered to look for ten minutes she’d have discovered this is not a naive, innocent fandom. Cough. Nor a simple one.
I am guessing she didn’t spend any time researching RA by hanging out at tumblr . . .
I think it’s safe to say she made some poor judgment calls in the way she handled the whole thing, and that’s a shame. Here’s a paper with a large readership and an actor who is an interesting, intelligent guy who is thoughtful in his responses, who has great insight into the acting profession and a marvelous sense of humor, to boot—interviewee gold! Yet, she’s too busy trying to slide in her little innuendos to do a proper job of letting us get to better know the subject, Richard Armitage and how he approached and prepared for this key role of Proctor. To slightly paraphrase Miss Austen: Badly done, Tanya. Badly done.
Almost like she didn’t trust him to say anything intelligent about his own work. Tja.
Does she subscribe to the philosophy that all actors are actually quite thick, do you suppose? Or does the fact he hasn’t got an upper middle-class background and a university degree as some of his peers do mean she thinks it is OK to “talk down” to him . . . I wonder. *shakes head*
That’s the sense I got too, and commented about before I saw your comment. Glad to see I wasn’t the only one sensing it.
BOOM. Serv drops the mic & walks off stage to thunderous applause Seriously. That was wicked!
Thank you, Servetus, for this letter to the author of that Sunday Times article.
I, too, was offended by her sneering tone and her belittling attitude towards Richard’s fans, as well as part of his work.
Perhaps she doesn’t realize that all she’s done is to reveal her own insecurity and unkindness — she thinks she can make herself appear intellectual and cultured by insulting other people. How pitiably wrong she is!
Nevertheless, I’m glad that Richard came through as the thoughtful and hard-working person that we’ve come to know.
saraleee said this on July 6, 2014 at 3:52 am | Reply
it’s an interesting choice given the educational level / SES of his initial group of fans coming from North & South. But I think she wasn’t very well informed about him.
I don’t think her attitude has anything to do with actual facts about her fans — it’s about the writer positioning herself as “better” than the fans, because she’s dismissive of their enthusiasm. She’s saying, “I am more dignified than to let people see my feelings.”
It appears to be a very middle-class British attitude, that you have to display highly refined taste in art and entertainment, and you must control your emotions at all costs.
saraleee said this on July 6, 2014 at 3:16 pm | Reply
maybe though I know many middle-class Brits who are not snobs.
Yeah, you’re right. That wasn’t fair of me. I was just annoyed.
Thanks, Serv, I feel much better now. I can now retreat into the land of rainbows and unicorns where I reside. I only visit the real world occasionally, so I can maintain my blissful innocence.
Kathy Jones said this on July 6, 2014 at 3:55 am | Reply
LOL. Yeah. I, too, ignore everything in the world that doesn’t suit my worldview in favor of fairy princess dreams.
Hee hee! Rainbows and unicorns….I live there too! Howdy neighbour!
Oh, I forgot to ask, where do I get all the advice on how to get signed autographs? I must have missed the memo. 🙂
I know, I thought that was really strange. There is a website that discusses in general how to get celeb autographs and fans log in when they get one and usually leave a pic. Maybe that was what she was talking about. Every now and then a post from there pops in Google alerts but I wouldn’t call it central to the fandom.
What’s odd about this interview (in comparison to the Daily Mail shit) is that the Daily Mail wanted essentially to say something mean about the play and about Armitage and the remarks about gawping women were a tool to accomplish that.
In this case, she seems to think he’s doing him a favor by insulting both his fans and his past body of work. Puzzling.
I got the sense she was trying to curry (his) male favor by displaying her internalized misogyny.
alyssabethancourt said this on July 6, 2014 at 9:59 am | Reply
wow, fascinating insight. I will have to think about that some more. If that was what was happening that was another huge mistake. This guy is hardly a misogynist. This is the guy who asked if Sarah Wayne Callies should drive the truck in some scenes in Into the Storm because he didn’t want to make it look like only men drove trucks.
Absolutely, the effort was terribly misplaced if so. You see this a lot, though, from women in heavily male-dominated careers. They learn that one way of earning the respect of their male colleagues is by distancing themselves from other women by putting them down. It’s gross.
alyssabethancourt said this on July 6, 2014 at 10:16 pm | Reply
That is really interesting…. she probably assumed he has contempt for his fans like she has (and perhaps like some other stars do, unfortunately). It would have been REALLY easy right now for her to find out how wonderful he has been to his fans every single night after an exhausting 3.5 hr. play….. but she apparently didn’t. (I bet the “lazy” comment he made was meant to include her too!)
First time poster, long time lurker here. Love Mr. Armitage’s work. Will be seeing the Crucible on the 1st of September. I don’t give a flying fuck if he is gay, straight, bi, etc. Found this interview to be horribly intrusive. However, obviously, Richard has been anticipating these interviewers asking about his personal life and is sticking to not talking about it. This is the second Crucible interview I’ve read that seemed to be more about him than the play.
Thanks for the message, and welcome. I, too, would welcome a really in depth interview that treated his view of John Proctor as a character.
When I first read the article I was angry and I confess felt hurt. But after reading everyone’s comments here I just have to laugh. What a ridiculous article. It’s good to read everyone’s venting and all the funny comments. I don’t feel angry anymore.
yes, fun to laugh w/friends. How simple of us. But how wonderful!
wonderful indeed!
Also, what was the bit about the naked dream? It didn’t seem to have much of a point and seemed taken out of context. Would loved to have heard the actual taped version of this conversation. May have made much more sense. I think she definitely had an agenda. She wanted to get the Richard Armitage “coming out” interview. Ugh….
I agree: v. disjointed. But newspaper copy has to be written without transitions — essentially so that the editor can strike any paragraph at will to save column inches So she might have made a connection there that an editor struck. Or not. Hard to say.
I think the naked dreams, what they perhaps symbolize, may be RA alluding to feelings of anxiety about performing the play well and having his performance well recieved. But now that the reviews are in, I think he will be having no more naked dreams.
Christine said this on July 6, 2014 at 11:57 pm | Reply
Servetus said this on July 7, 2014 at 12:07 am | Reply
Yup, that’s the impression I got too.
Bravo, Servetus! A well worded letter! I thought at first that I was the only one that found her interview strange.
Carolyn said this on July 6, 2014 at 4:15 am | Reply
I loved a lot of the stuff Armitage said — including the point about how actors cause us to see ourselves differently — something I’ve been circling around here for the longest time — but she could have done a much better interview without the insulting bits.
Well said. Very well said. I thought it was just me. :{ I felt very fat-shamed. And the nakedness thing was obviously just clickbait, and not very well-done clickbait… so much editorial viewpoint in this, but once you waded through that, I was interested in his comments. But ugh, her crap was just… no, cutting down your probable readership doesn’t make you cool.
Christine said this on July 6, 2014 at 4:46 am | Reply
she seemed to be saying, well, soon he’ll be able to get rid of all his sad old fat fans because now he’s doing somethin serious and will have real fans. Whatevs, as my nieces would say.
Whatevs, INDEED. I think her nudge-winkery may not turn out the way she intended.
Christine said this on July 6, 2014 at 4:32 pm | Reply
Loved your letter to the editor. hmmm…do you think she will get an interview when they release the final Hobbit film, I’m betting, not! I also hate when interviewers use the words from other interviews and make them their own. And for him not being married at 42…My husband and I got married 15 years ago when he was 41, after a long-term relationship. It’s not her business why he is not married.
Carolyn Westfall Masini said this on July 6, 2014 at 4:49 am | Reply
and 50 is the new 40. My ex fathered a child at the age of almost 50 with a woman who was 42 at the time. Technology makes it possible …
I agree this is the strangest most uncomfortable interview I’ve read about Richard. Ms. Gold left me longing for something smarter, say the Dandalf interview. cough Stupid cow – they ARE motorcycle jeans. The Crucible is NOT Public Domain! If she wants an innocent Barry Manilow fan she can talk to hubby; I’m too busy reading erotic Armitage fanfiction. I bet she found the manip photo of Richard in Cats online. I never knew that Richard turned down a lead part in Hair at School; I thought they did Showboat. She saw nothing of humorous Armitage. (Is not wanting to do musicals but wants kids code for something?) Yes I’m rambling. So did she.
saraobsessed said this on July 6, 2014 at 4:57 am | Reply
and didn’t Barry Manilow come out years ago? And did anybody care? I didn’t hear about any fans going beserk. So what is the parallel she is trying to make anyways? She is an idiot. Lots of people devoted to their professional lives don’t marry. Or marry late. I don’t think RA has found anyone he loves more than he loves his work at this point. Or maybe he has. What does it matter. What century does this interviewer live in? Not knowing about his longtime or short time or anytime partner makes his characters all the more believable to the audience because you are seeing the character, not musing over the latest article in the tabloids. Mr A is a very intelligent man who seems to be very very serious about his craft. Good for him for not caving in to this idiot ‘journalist’ and staying true to himself and not playing the game of selling your soul for an article.
I confess I’m still worked up over this entire article. Let it go, let it go I keep telling myself. I just think she was insulting to him, to his admirers, to those he has worked with and for on past projects…and future projects, to women in general. She is just clueless.
I actually liked his character in Cold Feet. When he said ‘it’s probably me Mum” and grabbed for the phone with Ramona…that was hilarious. And kind of touching and sad. He played the ‘cad’ very well. And the final scene he was in in Moving On…when he was in prison and is visited by the now ex girlfriend, I thought he was masterful with that scene. The look in his eyes at the end…..expressed so much. All those past jobs in their own way prepared him for the ultimate role in The Crucible. That journalist is not too bright in my opinion. RA has nothing at all to be ashamed of regarding past projects (speedos and all).
he got a lot of fan mail for Cold Feet. Important exposure for him as he was beginning his career.
I didn’t know he got a lot of fan mail for Cold Feet. Makes sense though because he looked seriously hot in that. And as a youngish actor starting out, exposure is crucial. And Mr. A, being a very intelligent person, I’m sure knew exactly that a part like that would get him noticed. Everything he has done has been a stepping stone to something better. One of the big things I find attractive about him is his intelligence.
first role — that’s what his comment “the Speedos were popular” in his early N&S press refers to.
It was one of the most popular series in England at the time it was aired.
“important exposure” lol…just linked that with the speedos. That’s funny.
lol., we do our best!
Wow…just…wow…
When she had the nerve to ask why he wasn’t married, I blew my gasket. I heard that same patronizing tone some ‘smug married/coupled’ people use with single people. Plus she had the f**cking nerve to ask that for what? To out him? Paint him as a workholic actor? Ms Gold wanted to paint him as something to ask that question.
There were so many other things to ask:
How did Yeal Farber know about him?
What’s it like to work with actors making their stage debut? Has he passed along advice he wished he had starting out?
Any desire to tread the boards on Broadway?
Any of artistic goals you want to pursuit?
Oh, and everyone gets the naked dreams. points to self Nothing earth shattering there. My comment looks as disjointed as that stupid interview.
Loved your questions. Maybe the next interviewer could use them. I think he could answer all of them without impinging on our collective innocence.
Fatima, my husband and I have been married almost 30 years and have no children, other than the furry kind. People can be quite patronizing about childless couples, too, along with single people âof a certain age.â Let people live their own lives, make their own choices, and donât make presumptions about what isnât your business to begin with, I say.
I like your questions, BTW. Would have preferred answers to those questions than the space devoted to trying to ferret outâwhatever she thought she was going to get.
Couldn’t agree more! The only difference is that we’ve only been married six years, but the rest applies completely to us too!
Traxy said this on July 6, 2014 at 4:37 pm | Reply
maybe she wanted a date.
Thatâs it!! Sheâs sussing him out as a possible date . . . :
She’s married. She wrote an article about how her groom to be is a bridezilla!
http://www.stylist.co.uk/people/tanya-gold/he-is-the-groom-but-he-is-poor-soul-a-bridezilla
interesting — see that’s what I mean — that article is actually funny and sympathetic. She can write really well when she wants. Guess she didn’t want to this time.
I had a look at another article she wrote about celebrities and politicians. Ms. Gold has this belief all actors, or anyone in entertainment really, are complete airheads. They are not fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts, sons, daughters, partners, etc caring about issues that effect all of us.
She treated him like an airhead.
The way she makes fun of him for looking her in the eyes. Sweetheart, he tried to offer you something meaningful, and you were too busy looking down your nose to notice.
Ah, that confirms what I suspected, then. Of course there *are* shallow, vapid, empty-headed people in the world of celebs—ladies and gentlemen, exhibit one. The Kardashians!!—but you can’t paint an entire industry with the same brush. To see the world as so black and white is rather naïve and narrow-minded on her part.
married? – it’s not a physical defect…as my hubby used to say 😉
Joanna said this on July 6, 2014 at 9:12 am | Reply
And now that I’ve had a moment to think about it + read other comments, it strikes me that he’s never acted ashamed of doing Dibley, or mocked himself for it the way he does Cold Feet. I read a fan encounter on C19 during the filming where he seemed very exicted & happy to be doing it, and he’s certainly mentioned it in other interviews. He seems to get asked about it every time he’s on Lorraine (which would be annoying if she weren’t so adorable, imo), so when this author says something like “best not to mention Dibley” or whatever – I’m not going to look it up – it sounds like either she already had her own take & didn’t want his input to throw off her story OR she asked in a snarky way and he didn’t take the bait, so she left his comments out. It’s an unfortunate article.
Yes — asked repeatedly, and repeatedly, and repeatedly, about how he feels about past work, Richard Armitage has said exactly once that he was embarrassed of something he’d done, a “student film” which we think might have been “Staged.” He was asked the last time by Strombo if he was ashamed of taking his kit off and he denied it.
Lorraine is a nice mature woman who thinks Dibley is sweet, and he kindly agrees with her, no matter how he feels. And no matter what Ms Gold thinks that character is widely loved all over the world. Maybe it makes her feel superior not to feel that way.
Strombo, ya, he’s my hometown boy! He is a very good interviewer, very intelligent, and does his homework and is very savvy re pop culture. Too bad he is doing hockey commentating now, budget cuts at the CBC unfortunately.
That’s too bad because his interview with Kermit the Frog is one of the best I’ve ever seen.
Little Red said this on July 6, 2014 at 7:03 am | Reply
and Kermit is a tough interview. 🙂
Tanya Gold interviewing Kermit the Frog . . .
“So—why aren’t you married yet? What about that pig? Or—-or pigs not really *quite* your type . . .”
LOL love it! I’m also pleased with “bless her heart” from your sweet Southern lips (I am Southern by heritage if not by birth, and understand well the “versatility” of that phrase 🙂
I’m puzzled by this rubbish story. Isn’t London Sunday Times supposed to be one of the better British newspapers — or is it different from “London Times?”
GREAT questions, Fatima! I want to hear the answers to 1 and 2, especially!
Thank you for writing this, Servetus. You give wonderful voice to nonsense like this which just makes me sputter in inarticulate anger.
I must say, I have read this post and the comments thereafter first. Now off to find this “interview”…. As a middle aged fluffy southern girl, I’m thinking…well, bless her heart…
micinlia said this on July 6, 2014 at 4:51 pm | Reply
roflol.
Just to clarify the newspapers – there is no ‘London Times’, it’s ‘The Times’ from Monday to Saturday and on Sunday it’s ‘The Sunday Times’.
For Americans it’s the London Times to distinguish it from the New York Times, which is also the Times to us.
Wow. What a pretentious bitch.
Dreams of being naked can be interpreted in different ways. To successfully interpret the meaning you need to ask intelligent questions and this writer failed. She tried to steer the interpretation (and article) to shame (paralleling her disdain for RA fandom as well) presumably due to the ridiculous rumors about his personal life (something he has in common with other handsome actors – they all have them!). Without the benefit of interviewing Mr. Armitage I interpret his naked dream as feeling unprepared because of his comments about laziness and being a “worker” as well as previous comments about how extensively he prepares for role.
Also I think they need to stop letting people interview him in his dressing room. He’s in Proctor-mode, leave him be!
Sherry said this on July 6, 2014 at 5:48 am | Reply
I wished he had stretched his leg out of that too-small chair and kicked that lazy-ass reporter out of his dressing room.
And with that comment I will laugh my way to bed.
me too….right after I re-read Theatre Cat’s review…then I will feel better and sleep better
It’s also ironic the tone of the article seems to match the witch-hunt tone of The Crucible. Well, Ms. Gold, write what you want, but leave him his name.
http://armitageagonistes.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/why-arent-you-married/
Perry wrote a classic one here!!
SH said this on July 7, 2014 at 5:33 pm | Reply
Thank you Servetus. I read the article after reading your letter. It is hard to know where to start with this writer. Obviously she has little respect for fans in general but she pretty much put all of Richard’s in the “old” column and I’m surprised she just didn’t say it but probably thought she was being clever using Barry Manilow as an example. We all know that the majority of Richard’s fans are intelligent women, some older and some younger but what does that matter. We are not the average “fan” and this article isn’t about One Direction.
She managed to slam the new movie but I’d bet she didn’t use the word schlock when she talked with Richard. Yes, it is a disaster film but really who made her chief critic for a film that hasn’t come out yet? Now I liked the Vicar of Dibley but I agree with Servetus about that and I don’t believe Richard had one moment of ill ease playing that role and what a slam at Dawn French really or every overweight person. See she resorted to seeing the actual actors not the roles and apparently it isn’t possible for her to believe that a rather lovely woman who is overweight could ever find love with a man who is handsome.
Sure Richard is handsome and don’t we all know that but we do care what is beneath that and I had to laugh when I read that “he didn’t know” why he wasn’t married. Really did she ask him straight out why he wasn’t? He is so polite really. I’d have just told her that I chose not to be at this time. Was she fishing for something else? Probably but Richard has become the master of eluding reporters like her. He isn’t that shy young actor any longer. He stands up for himself and he tells you what “he” wants to tell you and you could tell that she wasn’t getting what she wanted from him.
There were some interesting things in the article but not a lot that was surprising except how poorly she handled him. Servetus says she is really a good writer normally so what happened here? Was it that he was too good looking and didn’t fit into the mold she wanted?
I wonder what Richard thought when he saw the finished article, and I’m sure he has seen it. She certainly didn’t praise any of his past work. It was like everything prior to The Crucible was junk really. Sure he has worked in some things that weren’t really what he was looking for but what actor hasn’t. It is part of the dues really.
I thought the Sunday Times was better than that too but maybe Ms Gold had an axe to grind as we say.
Peggy Kincaid said this on July 6, 2014 at 6:12 am | Reply
very well said
Großartige Brandrede Serv! Ich denke, sie hatte vielleicht einen schlechten Tag, war auf Krawall gebürstet oder litt schlicht und ergreifend just zu diesem Zeitpunkt unter dem PMS-Syndrom. 😀
cRAmerry said this on July 6, 2014 at 6:27 am | Reply
I’m guessing cRAmerry is writing in German? I think we all understand the meaning though, lol! (PMS-Syndrom).
translation: “great fiery speech, Serv. I think maybe she had a bad day, spoiling for a fight, or was simply suffering from PMS just at that particular point in time.”
Thanks for the translation…it was a ‘great fiery speech’….it certainly got quite a few discussions going.
Bei dir klingt das gleich doppelt so gut wie bei mir 🙂
Sorry, it’s far to early for my bad english: i think, serv said it well and I think, the lady probably had a bad day or only wants to makes trouble or maybe the PMS-thing 🙂
Oh, no need for sorry. I so admire those who speak more than one language. We take some French here in school as we are supposed to be a bilingual country but I am afraid I was not very good at mastering it. Serv certainly did say it well and we certainly have been feeling quite fiery all night!
Yes, Serv is sometimes my personal translation button 🙂
Co-signed. I was really taken aback by the viciousness of those remarks.
Well done, Servetus for calling her out. I agree with everything said here and will only add that I have found The Sunday Times to be a very sensationalist publication for years – they love to be controversial. It’s allied to The Times but has a different approach and management.
Helen said this on July 6, 2014 at 8:09 am | Reply
Applauds thank you Serv and all those who have commented. I was irked from start to finish by this writer so was very relieved to find I’m not the only one, that I wasn’t just being touchy and quite possibly going into APM. Not that Richard needed me there of course, he handled the interview very well, and there are some nuggets to be found. For what it’s worth, on reading the article again, my belief is that she didn’t get what she wanted from him (“maybe he just doesn’t want to tell me“, “Or not to tell them things“) so the snark took over.
PS love your word to the wise – very true for me. 🙂
Mezz said this on July 6, 2014 at 8:17 am | Reply
yeah, note that I’m not defending Armitage here — I’m defending fans, of whom I am one. Armitage will be fine without my defense.
Well, she certainly found her mark with me – a mature, cuddly Dibley and Harry Kennedy devotee! 😉
I’m going to go be brave and swim against the tide a little.
I read this after seeing the reaction of fans in the greater fandom and while there are a couple of things that are a little crass towards VOD and his fans I wasn’t nearly as offended as some. Richard is now a much bigger player than he was and so this type of interview is to be expected even from the quality papers like the times so speculation about his private life is going to happen. As for us his fans we have always been ridiculed we always will be – goes with the territory. Its the same with VOD, which I love when I’m down and need cheering up. In non fans there has always been an opinion wrongly as far as I’m concerned that fat girls shouldn’t expect to fall in love at all let along with a lovely bloke.
And lets face it a lot of fans, who have been around since Thornton are not impressed with his choices in films like In To The Storm for the very reason she is stating.
If you can get beyond that it is actually an interesting piece and one where the writer herself confirms something Richard says about himself all the time, about being immersed in a character.
[i]I don’t know how happy he is, since previews are four days away and he is at least half Proctor [/i]
I also like her thoughts about handsomeness being a disability for a serious actor. How many times have we said that in this fandom? His thoughts on the red carpet where he is just acting another role are interesting as well – he remains confused about how popular he is.
I was also was interested in what she said about him leaving musical theatre and Gillian Lynne’s comments.
Her closing comment is excellent
[i]A serious man. A sensitive man. Of course he couldn’t stay in Cats.
kateakakhandy said this on July 6, 2014 at 8:29 am | Reply
That his fans are ridiculed is nothing new, I agree, but I don’t recall reading anything quite as churlish as this. She did redeem herself a little in my eyes with those last two sentences, but they’re not enough for me to overcome my dislike of the general tone of this piece.
I don’t think we have to put up with being ridiculed. I particularly don’t think we have to put up with being ridiculed when the picture drawn of us and others is totally inaccurate. I am not the Sunday Times but one reason I have this blog is I can say what I damn well think.
The last line is the ultimate kicker for me, actually, khandy. I was not a fan of Cats (I was in my late teens when it was a big hit — and I’m about five years older than she is, so she was in her early teens). Lots of fun to condescend to something popular, that lots of people loved at the time — because if lots of people loved it, then it must be schlock. Maybe that makes her feel good. But there are lots of profound moments in Cats and they’re not unserious just because they appeal to people.
and note — when Armitage was invited to make fun of Cats, in the Anglophile interview he refused to do so. He said (a) it was very much of the 80s and (b) he still goes back to the Eliot poems at its base.
oh — and — note that early in the piece I do say — Armitage says some interesting things here. I’m not knocking the actual quotations from Armitage. I wish she’d done a litle more of that and a little less self-profiling at our expense.
I have to admit that I learned some things that were new to me from this article – I hadn’t heard about the naked dream, for example…. also re: turning down lead in Hair, and new context about Gillian Lynne. I just still hate the preconceptions with which she seems to have approached the interview and article…. but I’m looking forward to newer / nicer things for today!
those were all new things to my knowledge. A broken clock is correct at least twice a day.
lol, we are nothing here if not positive (whenever we can be 🙂
Can’t let the turkeys keep US down!
For me whole article sound like a clumsy ( by ridiculing fans and previous achievements) worded compliment.
“You look great in this new hairdo..the old one was ridiculous”- I heard something like that not so long ago 😉 😀
” A serious man.A sensitive man. Of course he couldn’t stay in Cats”-
Of course we love exactly This man !
For me it´s the most interesting post of the last days… I have to confess I`m that kind of a middleaged, fat, blondest cow, who still believes after watching VoD she could get a man like Mr. A 🙂 After raising up two daughters and being a grandmother for a year now, my naivity, innocence and willful ignorance is still the same like it was more than thirty years ago, and I stick to it :))
Thanks, Servetus, for that letter and all the ambitious comments.
Wenn dieser Kommentar mal wieder sehr armselig ausfällt, liegt das nur an meinem mangelnden englischen Sprachvermögen und nicht der Blondheit, Bildung, Mr. Armitage-Admiration oder was auch immer, hahaha…
utepirat said this on July 6, 2014 at 11:36 am | Reply
Fat people find love with thin people all the time. It’s not like it’s some ridiculously crazy notion. The main thing is that (assuming you want to find love) you find it. Looking down on how other people find it is junior high school.
Hm. Sieht so aus, als sollte ich deinen Blog von oben nach unten lesen, statt beim ältesten ungelesenen anzufangen und mich zu den neusten hochzuarbeiten …
Hedgehogess said this on July 6, 2014 at 12:39 pm | Reply
Ab über 100 comments erleichtert es das Verständnis immens, von oben nach unten vorzugehen. grins Ganz schön was los hier heute!
cRAmerry said this on July 6, 2014 at 2:19 pm | Reply
Ups, Storno, war zu schnell! Du meintest ja die Blogbeiträge. 🙂
Ich habe heute morgen auch von oben nach unten geschaut (da waren es schon über 80 Kommentare), aber dann erstmal hektisch den zugehörigen Artikel gesucht, um die Aufregung einordnen zu könnnen.
Nachdem ich jetzt die Diskussion gelesen habe, möchte ich hinzufügen:
Ich bin inzwischen überzeugt, dass RA seit mindestens fünf Jahren verheiratet ist. Außerdem hat seine Frau nach der Geburt des Sohns (heute 4) und der Zwillingsmädchen (18 Monate) Probleme, zu einer Size-Zero-Figur zurückzukommen, und deshalb möchte sie nicht, dass die Ehe bekannt wird, weil sie die Lästerei fürchtet. Es reicht, wenn einer der Partner sich mit solchen Ärgernissen herumschlage muss.
Disclaimer: Ich bin nicht nur “unschuldig”, übergewichtig, in RAs Alter und ein Fan, sondern manchmal auch sarkastisch und außerdem phantasiebegabt.
In anderen Worten: Es gibt keinerlei Hinweise darauf, dass irgendetwas davon wahr ist.
Hedgehogess said this on July 6, 2014 at 2:32 pm | Reply
Ganz schön durchgeknallt, hat aber durchaus Charme. Du hast vergessen zu erwähnen, dass sie zusammen bei seinen Schwiegereltern unterm Dach wohnen! So, dann translate mal schön…… 😀
Ein Körnchen Wahrheit ist drin: Jeder scheint immer davon auszugehen, dass RA eventuelle Beziehungen geheim hält. Aber zu einer Beziehung gehören zwei Personen.
Ich möchte das gar nicht übersetzen. Englisch lesen mehr Leute, und ich will eigentlich keine Gerüchte streuen – am Ende glaubt’s jemand. Es gibt genug Leute (überall, nicht nur unter Fans), die mehr an ihr Bauchgefühl glauben als an beweisbare Tatsachen.
PS: Das wäre mal eine Idee für Fanfiction: Richard und das Schwiegermonster 😛
Klingt nach einer netten Beziehungskomödie. Wäre nach all den Drama-, Tod- und Verzweiflungsrollen mal eine ECHTE Alternative. Die unbekümmerte Variante gehört dringend ins Repertoire. Man /Frau braucht doch auch mal was zum Entspannen!
oh, I just saw this. Well I thought it was funny and obviously facetious 🙂
Das wäre tatsächlich der Gipfel der Bodenständigkeit 😀
cRAmerry — “you forgot to mention that they are living under one roof with his inlaws”
translating this into English b/c it’s too good to hide:
Hedgehogess:
Over time I’ve become convinced that RA’s been married for at least five years. Besides that, since the birth of their children (a son, 4, and twin girls, 18 months), his wife has been having problems getting back to her size zero figure and because of that she doesn’t want the marriage to become known because she fears the criticism. It’s enough when the partner has to deal with such annoyances.
Disclamer: I am not only “innocent,” overweight, in RA’s age range, and a fan, but sometimes sarcastic and besides that I have a gift for making things up. In other words: there is no evidence that any of this is true.
So funny! It may be truer than we know, actually! I have always suspected that RA and Annabel Capper are in a very serious relationship for a long time now and she and him are just the type of people that want their professional and personal relationships separate. For both personal and professional reasons. I’m sure she doesn’t want to be dragged around and put on display and wants to work and be judged on her own merit. Regardless, RA likes to use his imagination, in his own words, and is quite content for us to use ours as well. It so doesn’t matter, I just love all his characters…John Stranding “don’t feel like you can’t tell me anything”, strong stoic John Proctor….all of them. When I fantasize about RA I am really fantasizing about the characters he has created. And RA is fully aware of that, and feels that is what his job is. And he does it well. And part of that is keeping the real RA a mystery so the RA characters are all the more believable.
Heather said this on July 6, 2014 at 6:32 pm | Reply
I’ve sometimes privately speculated that he is in fact married. I wouldn’t be surprised at all.
Cindy said this on July 6, 2014 at 7:32 pm | Reply
I’ve been puzzling about what to do about this as well. I’ve posted a crazy number of posts the last week or so, so there are sometimes like a dozen new posts over night. I need to cut that down. It bothers me, too.
You have to look for some more boring items. Then the comments will decrease! Maybe today we reach the 200er Marke 🙂
Thank you Servetus,
You spoke once again from my heart.
Fat people are not always fat just because they have eating disorders. I am a little overweight, yes – but I do not have eating disorders. I eat at normal dimensions, do regular exercise and still have a dress size, which is in the lower Oversize range. And I have by the way a friend who is like Richard so tall and lean and still loves me fat dwarf as I am. 😉
But that one sentence makes me sad. This one sentence to write without explanation is the same as to write that one has asthma just because you have smoked. I have, up to a single cigarette with 15, never smoked and still have asthma (and I had already before because a bronchitis is not treated properly). There are also thick, which have gained by a disease such as my former colleague, who had kidney disease, had to go to dialysis and had doubled by the cortisone her weight within one year.
Nicole said this on July 6, 2014 at 1:12 pm | Reply
Welcome Nicole and thanks for the comment.
It is an amazing fact of human existence that if we sit anywhere in a public place where couples roam, we will see all kinds of them with all body shapes and levels of fitness and attractiveness. all the time, sitting in a cafe to write in the afternoons, I see fat people paired with thin ones, tall ones with short ones, I see gorgeous people holding hands with ordinary ones, so-called “odd couples” of all kinds. When we look at people we don’t see what draws them together (or might repel them) just by looking. In that sense, Vicar of Dibley is just as realistic as anything we see in reality.
Also re: Dawn French — she experienced a rather drastic weight loss about three years ago, iirc. It was in all the British papers. The papers said it was because her husband had cheated on her because she was fat. (No, sorry, her husband cheated on her because he was a cheater.) Then she found love again and (I think) remarried, an Australian. She was interviewed again and said that she had had no problem with her previous weight, and left it at that.
This spring it came out that she’d lost the weight because of a uterine cancer scare. Something she’s talking about in her current standup show.
I had heard that Dawn remarried, but hadn’t heard about the cancer scare. She’s great. “No, sorry, her husband cheated on her because he was a cheater.” – love this 🙂
SH said this on July 7, 2014 at 1:44 am | Reply
Tbh, I found the article interesting in terms what we haven’t known before. And that is actually not much. I wondered how much time Armitage gave her when you compare his quotes (“…”) to what she obviously added to fill up her article. Was it about 5 minutes maybe plus that picture? Did she only come to get the juicy answers but failed? Was is boring for her what he had actually to tell?
The comment about VoD was a pure insult for everyone involed incl. the viewers, not only his fans. Regardless if you like the show or not.
She also looked like she had done some ‘homework’ (to fill her article), probably in surfing the internet and visiting blogs/pages. I assume, she read only the titles or skimmed quickly through the threads but never cared enough to read the comments. Understanding his fandom is not done in 2 minutes. The same goes with the suggestions about his sexuality (Manilow) – there are enough pages for that. Maybe she wanted to be the new rising star who found out his big secret. If that is true, she, again, didn’t do her job properly.
I wonder if she really asked him why he isn’t married because she never quoted him in that question – and who knows what “not know” really means (a different answer to her question? A suggestion? Why only the words and not “I don’t not know why I’m married”?) I read the same answer from him in an article from some years ago (where he was more open) and it reminded me instantly on it. Maybe she got it from then and it sounded juicy enough to build the bridge to Manilow?
If she has the spine to answer you, Serv?
Miss Emms said this on July 6, 2014 at 2:44 pm | Reply
we’ll see. If so I’ll print it.
Very disjointed article. It read more like a cheap Daily Mail piece. If she can be thoughtful, substantive, and well-informed, she surely didn’t do it here.
What seems ironic is how much time she spends condescending upon the sexual appeal aspect of his fame while at the same time writing an article that seeks out and focuses exactly on the completely irrelevant and personal instead of anything regarding his work as creative artist in the exploration of the human condition.
And wow does she not know his fans – at all! Holy cow, I don’t have a masters or a PhD, and I’m never more surrounded by academic and intellectuals than I am when I engage in discussions on RA fan blogs and forums. Sorry, Tanya, for not being the fanbase you’re imagining.
Could it be that most of his fans are followers precisely for what she quoted Richard saying about his work – that we saw something in ourselves in a character he played? That he is handsome is icing on the cake, not the main meal. And I suppose we will always be characterized as hormonal biddies because it makes better press, but we’re the ones who’ve latched on long ago to the talent of this particular rising star.
It would probably be better not to assign this type of article to a person who dismisses drama/theater acting as art (or those who actually pursue a career in acting). Does Ms Gold think all artists are airheads – musicians, dancers, painters, writers – or is it just actors?
Poor Richard. He puts a lot of thought into his work and would have surely had some interesting things to say to the right interviewer. But Ms. Gold and the Times were only interested in the totty bit. So sad.
trudystattle said this on July 6, 2014 at 3:39 pm | Reply
Great thoughts, and sad indeed.
RA’s ‘well-wisher’ base must certainly cut across all age-groups and both sexes, now. He was 32 when North and South was broadcast and his fanbase then was probably about aged 25 to 45 years old. Now, he’s ten years older, as are his original fans, plus he has many now who are young enough to be his daughters and sons. I’ve always thought his fans have mostly stayed on the side of civilised and many are theatre goers, not that there was actually much reference to Proctor/The Crucible in the article. It is lazy journalism to suggest we’re all basically stupid being an RA fan after all this time.
And as far as ITS is concerned, he has been quoted as saying he basically did it for a Green Card – and we don’t know how much he’s tied in to WB.
As far as VoD is concerned, it is actually quite insulting to see it solely as – ‘if fat Geraldine can get a handsome bloke we all can’. Geraldine’s size was irrelevant – she was a bit of an everywoman (something the journalist should have realized). Anyone who had watched all the series and the ups and downs of Geraldines’ love-life, would have just been pleased that Geraldine got to marry the tall, dark, handsome and talented Harry, (played by the tall, dark, handsome and talented RA.)
as someone pointed out to me last night, we saw the behind the scenes footage of him laughing his a** off while making it; his statements that he loved being in it after Robin Hood; his statement that Dawn French was a secret celebrity crush; and his statement on the extras saying that she deserved someone good to love.
I expected more from a paper like the Times, tbh. Daily Mail publish all manner of excrement, but this? shakes head Standing on the sidelines of the fandom, I’m not up in arms about the content of the article, more than reacting with a “wtf?” at reading it. Perhaps the writer was burned by a fandom before or something, or why the hate on fandoms?
The poo-pooing of VoD I fail to understand. It was a very well done British sitcom, genuinely funny and never vicious or mean. The size of Dawn French was never an issue, even if it was an occasional comedy plot point (hiding an emergency chocolate bar in a Bible, for instance – which doesn’t even relate to a person’s size anyway). There was that 60 seconds interview with Martin Freeman (I THINK it was there) where he expressed a dislike for or fear of getting fat which made me frown at the time, but hey, it could just have been a personal preference with his own body rather than a general critique of everyone else, like “I personally wouldn’t want to get fat, but each to their own and I’m not judging”. I have always been “the fat kid” in school, so … touchy subject, which is why the fat hate/shaming was my biggest (err, no pun intended) issue with the article.
Then again, I guess the article worked as linkbait – fans getting angry and going to read the article. Thank you for writing this response, Servetus. I very much agree with it.
amusingly, she’s behind a pay wall and I am not, lol.
When my daughters were teenagers I gave them a piece of advice – never put anything in writing. (This was the age when girls still passed handwritten notes, before texting). It’s too easy for nasty words to come back to you later and cause problems
That said, I truly wonder if Tanya gold will ever come to regret this article. I don’t know her motivation, but why would she intentionally write something so mean-spirited? And, should the occasion ever arise, would she be able to look RA in the eye and not be embarrassed by her words?
Maybe I am naive and innocent ( I admit to being a Barry manilow fan many years ago) but I don’t understand why a person would deliberately be so rude? Whatever her reasons for writing this, I hope that she can live with them. I don’t believe that I could ever write something like this and not feel guilt and remorse for treating another person with such disrespect
I agree. Ms. Gold’s tone was mean spirited toward Richard Armitage and his career and to his fans. Sadly, I doubt she will feel any regret–based on her comments.
I wonder how any self respecting editor at the Times would let the article be published? Was everyone “asleep at the switch” as the phrase goes–and her article slipped by the editors, let alone the Times legal team?
Gratiana Lovelace said this on July 6, 2014 at 11:12 pm | Reply
I couldn’t read the full article because of the whole ‘subscription’ thing. But from what I’ve read, it was terrible of her to write such things. Thank you for this letter. I feel like it somehow expresses everything I wanted to say regarding this matter
moodypadfoot said this on July 6, 2014 at 5:43 pm | Reply
I’ve never heard of Tanya Gold so I gogled her and read some of her other articles. From what I read, it seems this story is not much different from her other stories, i.e. taking elements of what she considers absurd, inappropriate lifestyle choices and writing sarcastic articles about them. In this particular piece that seems to be fandoms, VOD, shlock disaster movies, or any other thing having to do with RA’s career prior to The Crucible. I usually enjoy reading these types of articles, but she seemed to go a bit over board to the point of mean-spirtedness in this article. You can’t really figure out the the sequence of the interview from how the article is written, but RA’s quote re getting f’ing angry about people interrupting his work could’ve been for Ms. Gold’s benefit. If so, wonder if she caught the sarcasm.
sloan said this on July 6, 2014 at 5:53 pm | Reply
I dunno, like I said I have enjoyed much of her previous writing. sometimes she misses the mark but it’s usually not meanspirited and it’s often thought provoking.
Then again, someone pointed out to me off blog another article she wrote that is clearly fat-hating. So maybe that’s it. She’s just a garden variety fat-hater.
Thought provoking is why I ususally enjoy reading folks with this writing style. But, I think she just wanted to provoke this time around.
If it’s fat-hatting, then she must hate herself. I do not say that to be ugly — it’s just a conclusion because I was little surprised when I saw her picture, considering what she wrote in the article. Usually people who disparage over-weight people are not over weight…or at least that’s my presumption. Maybe she was putting up a wall to keep her inner fan girl from coming out — after she came face-to-face with RA 🙂
I think she was mainly trying to be “edgy.”
Thanks for taking a stand for the fans! I admire your courage!
I don’t want to discuss her weight because if we do that we do precisely the thing she does and I won’t descend to that level. Either fat hate as an idea is okay or it’s not, doesn’t matter if the hater is fat or thin.
mainstream print journalism is in crisis — partially because of the new media but partially because for so many years the barriers to reader response were so high that few people objected to the nasty things print journalists wrote. I’m ambivalent about new media but I think we have to use the tools in our hands to tell people that the way they write about us is not okay.
but who cares about us?…we are not national (or sexual) minority. We are very easy target…women in general are funny witches, right?;)
It isn’t my intent to stoop to her level — that would be cruel, unkind and just plain bad manners. However it is odd that she took the slant she took in the article considering your statement. I think her biase against fandoms & fear of her own inner-fan-girl had something to with how the article was written.
I loved your essay! I give it five stars! And I’m sharing your post link in a comment on my post about the article. I also took Ms. Gold to task for her fat people hate speech.
WOW! 180 responses so far. Wow.
Marie Astra said this on July 7, 2014 at 5:16 am | Reply
I wouldn’t get your knickers too much in a twist about Gold. Yes her Armitage interview is lazy, ignorant vitriol, but then that’s what she specializes in. I read through many of her other articles in various papers – she peaked around 2009 it seems. I can see why you like her writing Serv, yes it can be engaging, witty and seemingly relevant. (Although I didn’t find the piece about Middleton very interesting). However it remains largely characterised by self-indulgent bile! Even the better ones.
The comments about Vicar of Dibley – well she is overweight and riddled with body image issues herself- perhaps that’s why she felt she could say those things. She does a disservice not only to Richard’s previous work but also to that series in itself – fails to remember it was extremely popular not only with the viewing public but also with broadsheet critics alike. Her piece about her time at Merton is particularly telling. Basically she cocked up and blamed the system for her own mistakes. As a graduate of the same college I can tell you she is talking nonsense. Young, ignorant and confused I’m afraid.
I doubt she gives a monkey’s bum about your blog or email from a university account though… Sorry Serv, I would have just ignored her.
Tiggy said this on July 7, 2014 at 6:40 am | Reply
I appreciate your sympathy, but my “knickers” aren’t “in a twist.”
? Sorry – there wasn’t any sympathy there – why would you need sympathy? Re: knickers and twisting. Nevermind ..
Forgive me for trying to attribute something kind to you in a post that I frankly thought was mostly mean and made at my expense, but doesn’t violate the comments policy. I’ll know better next time.
??? It is about Gold not you….
Nice to meet you too btw
Am not affiliated to any fandom/ anti-shipping/ anyone who has attacked you or anything !
Was just comment about the article that’s all..
Anyway, I won’t linger.
Jazzbaby takes a slightly different view: http://funkybluedandelion.blogspot.com/2014/07/keep-it-off-my-wave-what-really-matters.html
[…] a journalist, however, then I would be allowed to point out the ridiculousness of what she does, as I have in the case of other journalists. I could point out the lousy rhetoric, the poor videography, the sloppy editing, the fact that her […]
Me + Richard Armitage said this on December 18, 2014 at 1:02 am | Reply
[…] Tanya Gold is a jerk; Richard Armitage nonetheless stays on message, published July 6, 2014. This was a post written more or less straight from the heart or shooting […]
Most viewed posts on me + richard armitage published in 2014 | Me + Richard Armitage said this on January 3, 2015 at 2:17 am | Reply
[…] Gold resurfaces to slam Richard Armitage for being reticent. Ms Gold, we all remember that bash job of an interview. We knew what you wanted and you didn’t get. You spent as much time slamming Armitage’s […]
Tanya Gold, I think we all know why it wasn’t a good interview #richardarmitage | Me + Richard Armitage said this on October 7, 2016 at 4:26 pm | Reply
She’s an idiot. Writes for the popular vote and ill-informed on facts:reality. The MM article was ludicrous. Trying to curry favour? So. Not. Funny. Or Clever.
Pepper said this on May 8, 2019 at 2:01 am | Reply
I’m not sure what you mean by MM. That said, I wouldn’t have been this angry had I thought she was either ill informed or writing to be popular. Most of what she writes is actually so against the grain that it’s enraging. I’ve seen a few of her pieces recently that were written in a similar vein (one about parenting in Cornwall comes to mind). I think she’s mostly writing from a standpoint of alienation.
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Dannie Abse’s Memorial Celebration – 25.03.15
March 26, 2015 September 6, 2015 martyn crucefix contemporary British poetry, creative writing, poetry, teaching, writing Alan Brownjohn, Carol Ann Duffy, Dannie Abse, Elaine Feinstein, Gillian Clarke, Ian Michael Jones, Jeremy Robson, Lynne Hjelmgaard, Owen Sheers, Tony Curtis
He remains a man who it feels impossible to confine to the past tense. So said Jeremy Robson, one of the speakers at Dannie Abse’s celebratory memorial event held in Kings College Great Hall on Wednesday evening this week. Indeed more than a few of those who had come to remember him, confessed they half expected Abse to be there himself, still large as life. Carol Ann Duffy imagined he’d want to “get outta here” – too much poker-faced reverence – and, yes, it was easy to imagine him somewhere still working away at his set goals – 5 or 6 publishable poems a year and every 5 years a collection of his marvellously accessible, witty and moving poems. How often did he achieve his own expectations of a good poem: that the reader should enter it sober, but leave it drunk.
Beneath a projection of this marvellous photo of Abse, Paul Gogarty oversaw the readings and recollections, immediately plotting the four compass points of the poet’s life: poetry, family, chess and Cardiff City FC. Lynne Hjelmgaard (Abse’s partner for the last 6 years) read the mysterious, life-changing visitation recorded in ‘The Uninvited’ (the only poem he would re-publish from his first book, After Every Green Thing) as well as her own moving poem in tribute to him. Alan Brownjohn, recalled his friendship with Abse and his direct acquaintance with the source materials of the two powerfully dark poems he chose to read: ‘Three Street Musicians’ and ‘A Night Out’ (the latter discussed in my earlier blog).
Tony Curtis alluded to another of Abse’s much quoted poetic observations: “I start with the visible and am startled by the visible”. He argued that, though not conventionally religious, the poet was a deeply spiritual man who could perceive the invisible through the visible. This was demonstrated in Owen Sheers’ reading of the extraordinary ‘In the Theatre’ in which a surgeon incompetently meddles with a patient’s brain (this was around 1938, only a local anaesthetic) only for the dying man to cry out hauntingly, ‘Leave my soul alone’. Sheers said this was the first Abse poem he ever heard – on a tape playing in his parents’ car apparently. Imagine the quiet drone of the engine after lines like these: “that voice so arctic and that cry so odd . . . to cease at last when something other died./ And silence matched the silence under snow”. A memorable moment, leading Sheers to dispute the reading of this particular poem with Andrew Motion, who gracefully withdrew (the English rightly ceding to the Welsh on this occasion, Motion observed) and chose instead to read ‘Apology’. Motion also recalled meeting Abse at an early Eric Gregory do and asking him (as a judge of competitions) how he approached the task of whittling down the thousands of entries. Easy, Abse apparently replied, throw out every poem containing the word ‘myriad’.
Abse’s daughter Susanna painted a more domestic picture of husband and father, a lover of all sorts of games including quizzes, board games, sing-songs on long car journeys, casting spells on recalcitrant traffic lights and pretending to talk to John Lennon on the family phone. She also recalled his “visceral” sense of loss when Joan was killed in the car accident in 2005. Only through the act of writing his memoir, The Presence (2008), and the poems later published in Two For Joy (2010) did he slowly return to something like a normal life. Elaine Feinstein read ‘White Balloon’ (“Auschwitz made me / more of a Jew than ever Moses did”) and ‘St Valentine’s Night’, the latter reminding us of Abse’s achievement as a poet of both erotic and uxorious love. Carol Ann Duffy had earlier read ‘A New Diary’ and Gillian Clarke chose the much-anthologised, neo-Romantic ‘Epithalamium’ (“Singing, today I married my white girl / beautiful in a barley field”) which she followed with her own response to it, ‘Barley’.
Perhaps most movingly there were several clips of Abse reading his own work (mostly from Ian Michael Jones BBC film series Great Welsh Writers). So the poet himself completed the evening with his reading of ‘The Presence’, the heart-rending lament for his wife, Joan, which surely everybody assembled in Kings Great Hall, beneath its classical white pillars trimmed with gold leaf, felt should now be addressed to the author himself:
It’s when I’m most myself, most alone
with all the clamour of my senses dumb,
then, in the confusion of Time’s deletion
by Eternity, I welcome you and you return
improbably close, though of course you cannot come.
Found Poems from Whitman’s Civil War Prose
March 19, 2015 September 6, 2015 martyn crucefix autobiography, blogging, contemporary British poetry, creative writing, poetry, translation, writing 21st March 2003, Acumen, American Civil War, Brian Turner, Dan O'Brien, Enitharmon Books, Iraq War, More than it comes to, shock and awe, The Long Poem Magazine, Walt Whitman
I’m still pursuing some of the thoughts from my last blog about the difficulties of writing about current events (https://martyncrucefix.com/2015/03/13/how-do-i-write-poems-about-current-events/). I am reminded that we are closing in on the twelfth anniversary of the first so-called ‘shock and awe’ strikes by coalition forces on Saddam Hussein’s Bagdad in 2003:
I did manage to write about the subsequent war in Iraq but on this occasion I approached it very tangentially, through the Civil War writings of Walt Whitman. The resulting poems were first published in The Long Poem Magazine (Issue 3, Winter 2009/10; sections also appeared in Acumen) with the Introduction I have posted below. There, I discuss several sections of the completed sequence though I will post up only two parts of it. For the sake of those who might be interested in how raw materials get transmuted in such a process, I have added links to the original passages from which #2 ‘The White House’ and #4 ‘I staid a long time to-night’ were derived. The full sequence was eventually published in Hurt (2010: https://martyncrucefix.com/publications/hurt/). Dan O’Brien has more recently used a not dissimilar ventriloquism in his poems about the experiences of war photographer Paul Watson. For a much more direct poetic approach to modern war (born out of direct experience as a soldier in Iraq) see the poetry of Brian Turner.
On 21st March 2003 the “big and little thunderers in chorus began to roar” over Baghdad. During Easter of that year I visited the American Museum, just outside Bath, and while my children scoured the grounds in an Easter egg hunt and my aging parents wandered around an exhibition of American rag rugs, I drifted into the bookshop and picked up a collection of Walt Whitman’s Civil War poetry and prose.
It was childhood innocence and the rag rugs’ recycling of material that were in my mind as I read the words Whitman had written in 1862 in Falmouth, Virginia: “Began my visits among the Camp Hospitals in the Army of the Potomac. Spent a good part of the day in a large brick mansion, on the banks of the Rappahannock.”
With the force of one of those visions that artists are thought to be prone to, it struck me that such a wide-eyed witnessing from an earlier conflict might be a way to write successfully about the then current conflict. Or to be more precise – since what I have just written fails to convey the powerful emotional impact of what I read – I was myself moved by reading Whitman’s observations but my emotion was not retrospective at all but immediate, topical, all about Iraq.
The more I read of Whitman’s prose the more genuine ties with the contemporary war I sensed. Whitman writes in his letters and journals almost as a by-stander, visiting the wounded and dying in hospitals, only occasionally being drawn to wider political observations and his focus on the individual cost of warfare exactly matched my own feelings. I began to imagine a sequence of poems framed by letters to a mother, containing the search for a brother and other references to close family members: “Han’s and George’s and Andrew’s. . . Jeff’s and his little Manahatta’s too”. The sequence came together only very slowly, partly because of my own uncertainties about its status as a partially ‘found’ poem but it eventually separated itself from its original sources and it was only later that I saw what was mine, what Whitman’s.
So the second piece, describing the White House, relies heavily on notes Whitman made in February 1862, but in the light of the deceit and war mongering of the early 21st century such descriptions are redolent with a bitter irony.
‘I dream’d a stockade’ is a more ‘composed’ poem, using Whitman’s familiar listing techniques, which intends to turn the suffering of the Civil War at an angle to reflect the inner conflicts that the Iraq mission quickly created in US society itself. With the inevitable reports of civilian casualties, I had little to add to Whitman’s accounts of comforting the wounded from the opposing sides of the Civil conflict to ensure a powerful contemporary resonance.
Soldiers in the trenches before battle, Petersburg, Va., 1865.
‘The President’ is drawn from Whitman’s many observations of Lincoln. He first set eyes on him in 1861 and, as with the White House material, while I was putting the sequence together, the passage of time had already imbued his original admiration with the bitterest of ironies. Of course, after the poems were completed, by January 2009 and the inauguration of Obama, time had ironically turned once more and some have since read this part of the sequence as ‘about’ the new US President.
With ‘To the Mother of one fallen’, the narrator is back at the bedside of an individual dying man whose ravings and sense of undeserved blame, of a corruption in the/his “system”, is intended to reflect warfare’s inevitable brutalisation of even the best of individuals, the results of which even now continue to be uncovered years after the world conjured its first surprised shock at events in Abu Ghraib. (click to see Whitman’s original letter of May 1865: Here )
More than it comes to
seven poems from the American War
ii. The White House
Tonight, I walk out to take a look at the President’s House.
Tonight, the white portico, the brilliant gas-light shining,
The palace-like pediment, the tall round columns, spotless as snow.
Tonight, a tender and soft moonlight flooding the pale marble,
A light that gives rise to peculiar & faint & languishing shades,
That are not shadows, for no such thing as shadow resides at this address.
On this night, a soft transparent haze under the thin moon-lace,
Where it falls amongst the bright and plentiful clusters of gas-lights,
That have been set at intervals around the façade & the columns.
Tonight, I see everything white, a marbly pure white and dazzling,
And even more so, the softest white of the White House of future poems,
And of dramas and dreams here, under the high, the copious moon.
Tonight, the pure and gorgeous front in trees under the night-lights,
The leafless silence and the trunks and myriad angles of branches.
Tonight, I see a White House of the land, a White House of the night,
And of beauty and of silence and sentries at the tall gate,
Sentries pacing in their blue overcoats, stopping me not at all,
But eyeing with their sharp sentries’ eyes whichever way I go.
For Whitman on The White House: Click Here
iv. I staid a long time to-night
I staid a long time to-night at his difficult bed-side.
It was a young Baltimorean, grown to the age of nineteen.
He had seen so much and yet had slept such a very little,
His right leg amputated an hour since, he was feeble,
So he slept hardly at all, the morphine costing more than it comes to.
And this is what I must do, I sit still while he holds my hand,
And he puts it to his face most affectionately.
And this young, handsome, tanned Baltimorean spoke to me:
“My dear friend, I am certain you do not know who I am,
Although your sitting here so quietly and so patiently,
It means much, yet you must understand who it is you help,
Since what I stand for & fight for I know you believe to be wrong”.
I staid a long time at the bed-side of the young Baltimorean.
I staid certainly because death had mark’d him and he was quite alone.
I might say I loved him, sometimes kiss’d him and he did me.
And of his age was his brother, a brave and religious man,
His brother and officer of rank, a man I sat beside in a close, adjoining ward.
And I staid because in the same battle they were wounded alike,
The one strong Unionist, the other Secesh, and each fought well,
Each for their respective sides, brave & obedient & mark’d for the end.
Now they lay close, following the separation of many years,
Of their strongly held beliefs, the separations these had imposed on them,
And both fought well and each died in his particular cause.
Ward in Armory Square Hospital, during Civil War, Washington, D.C.
For Whitman on the two brothers: Click Here
How Can I Write Poems About Current Events?
March 13, 2015 September 6, 2015 martyn crucefix autobiography, contemporary British poetry, creative writing, poetry, writing 9/11, Buddhas of Bamiyan, Eavan Boland, Taliban, W H Auden, World Trade Centre
Recent reports coming out of Iraq suggest that Islamic State are destroying ancient artefacts, buildings, bulldozing cities like Nimrud. (see – http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/12/isis-ransack-ancient-assyrian-city-confirmed-iraq-head-of-antiquities-dur-sharrukin and http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/06/isis-destroys-ancient-assyrian-site-of-nimrud). Reading these reports has taken me straight back to the Taliban’s destruction of the two immense images of Buddha in the Bamiyan valley in 2001.
Whether it is possible to write poetry about such events is a question continually haunting me. It’s not a question I answer well or often I’m afraid – I’ve written precious few ‘political’ poems (four short pieces have recently been published here: http://themissingslate.com/2015/03/10/four-songs/). But I did manage to write about the Bamiyan valley (eventually published in 2004, in An English Nazareth: https://martyncrucefix.com/publications/an-english-nazareth/ ). As I struggled with the poem I felt something interesting happening and I kept a drafting diary, some extracts of which I am posting below after the finished poem. I hope they provide some insight into the (often chaotic, chancy) thought processes of a writer, though they are necessarily fragmentary and I haven’t felt able to include copies of the drafts referred to (most of which I kept). I remember discussing the process of writing this particular poem with a workshop group in Bath a few years back and they responded well to the material though I’ve never organized it into a full account.
The valley history
Over wind-eroded, bleached badlands,
creaking packs come past buttress and crevasse
through which scrolls of Chinese silk unfold,
beside green glassware from Alexandria,
poised bronze wrought in the dust of Rome
and Indian lattice-work, ivory figurines.
With an almost audible sigh of the road,
merchants and drovers lower themselves
to the lush place, benignant Bamiyan’s
sweet water, bird-song, best of all its shade.
Their hearts livened by its fine excess.
The valley gives rest beside standing pools.
There is time and reason enough to praise.
A million hammer blows hollow a place
for rough giants daubed with mud and straw,
for feet and face and Buddhas’ folded robes
in plaster-work, paint – one red, one blue –
their moonlike features, loose, gilded hands.
Yellow-robed priests are like tiny flowers
that spring beneath each benevolent gaze
by day and night, a new thousand years.
In brief intervals between battles that ebb
and flow indifferently now,
Kalashnikovs stashed between the toes
of the red figure – dry there, defendable.
Smooth head and sloping shoulder of the blue
irrupt orange as an order of dust rolls down
and the cry is All we are breaking is stone.
Extracts from a diary about drafting this poem:
An article in the Saturday newspaper in the spring of 2001, recorded the apparent betrayal of his word by the Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar. In meetings with the Society for the Preservation of Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage (SPACH), promises had been made to preserve two magnificent colossi, statues of Buddha, in the remote valley of Bamiyan. Within days of agreement being reached, rather than safeguarding the statues, the Taliban were shelling them. I sit and read this, as is usual, half-minded on other things, as I have been reading several articles the same morning, but I decide to tear this one out because I have had that inner stirring which I recognise as the voice of a poem to be. Writing the poem is finding a context – language, form, tone, narrative structure etc – what Auden calls the ‘verbal contraption’ – which will allow something of the reaction I experienced on reading the piece to re-create itself in my reader. It is that communication with which I am concerned. This is the truth I intend to communicate – not the literal honest truth.
I don’t progress far with a draft; I suspect because I have not yet found the distance from the informational aspects of the incident. This may or may not have been aggravated by my searching out information about the Buddhas of Bamiyan on the Internet – photos and earlier reports of concerns about the Taliban intentions and some historical details too.
Reading the first draft, it struck me that what I felt I was responding to was less a religious concern – this confirmed my uneasiness about writing about such geographically and culturally remote subjects – more an artistic one – about which I felt I might have something to say. The desecration and denial of the powers of art. This matched itself up in my mind with my sense that art arises out of an excess – economically and temporally – a luxury of a sort and the Bamiyan valley (in contrast to the surrounding rugged and desolate landscapes) seemed to suggest this contrast of the frugal and the rich. I mean the richness enough to devote survival time to the creation of art. I was therefore interested, in a second draft, in this contrast and the relation between trade – the Silk Road I began with – and the skill and beauty of the statues, the way in which they celebrate the excess and wealthiness and goodness of life – are separate from it, but at the same time arise out of it.
Then it was on Radio Four – possibly on Thought for the Day – half heard between the toast and marmalade and children’s cereals bowls. Between periods of blank inattention, I think I heard the speaker musing that she felt an irony in the situation – that it is the iconoclast who appears to attribute great power to the icon – often more so than the creators of the icon (this especially so in Buddhism where icons are certainly not created to be worshipped). The iconoclast fears the statues’ powers and this is why he feels they must be destroyed. This idea struck me as an interesting light on the situation and the tension between this idea and the declaration of Mullah Omar that these icons were just ‘rocks’ immediately presented itself as a likely ending to the poem – resonant, surprising, gesturing away from the topical towards something more universal.
One comment from a reader of a later draft stuck in my mind and grew into something that began to feel problematic. The comment was to the effect that the poem as it now stood had rather grand, magisterial tone, a kind of confident utterance, that swept the reader along. This had seemed fine originally, something related to the historical process and sweep I had hoped to capture and imitate in the poem as a whole. But it now hooked up with a remote dissatisfaction I had begun to feel that the poem had a remoteness that could be construed – I’m being coy here, I mean, I did construe it – as a lack of engagement with the material, in the sense that the statements the poem was making were too monolithic, confident, not as poetry, but as political/cultural comment. This took several weeks of re-reading the poem to come to the fore in my response to it and it wasn’t until – by chance – I had been reading Eavan Boland’s book, Object Lessons, that I could articulate what my objection to the poem had become.
In her book, Boland traces her own development as a poet, particularly as a woman poet in Ireland where she felt the tradition of Irish poetry, though vibrant and respected in ways which we, on the other side of the North Sea, often envy, did not readily allow the writer of poems to be female. One effect of this was for Boland, as an aspiring woman poet, to adopt the modes and language of the dominant male tradition. She argues that she recognised this effect in the poem ‘The War Horse’. The poem, she felt after completing it, suffered from a confusion between “the political poem and the public poem”. She felt that she had allowed the subject of her poem “to be a representative and the object to be ornamental. In such a relation, the dangerous and private registers of feeling of the true political poem [are] truly lost. At the very moment when they [are] most needed”. I began to feel the same thing had occurred in my poem. It was a public poem (something I’d worried about from early on) and in being so, it had not encompassed, or involved, anything more personal or private of my own self, that might serve to give perspective, even to undermine the position so evidently held by the poem. This is where the confidence of the poem’s voice derives from, but also its, arguably, simplistic nature.
At this stage, I couldn’t see how I was going to be able to re-shape the whole piece in answer to a fundamental criticism like this. In all sorts of other ways I was pleased with the poem as it stood. Others liked it too. It might be argued that there ought to be room for a simplistic poem on a subject that seemed to provoke such outrage. Was my desire for a more destabilising ‘personal’ voice, the weakness of the liberal who tries to see all sides of a question? Perhaps. I felt uneasy aligning myself with journalists (even quality ones!) and I felt my gradually formulated criticism of the poem was a valid one. One thing I felt I could do was to remove the final two lines of the poem. These ringingly ironic lines were hard to cut, but they did end the poem on the moral high ground, as it were, assertive and confident, inviting the reader to dismiss the Mullah’s words as patently and unmistakably weasel words. The removal of this – leaving the poem to end on the rather more interesting irony of ‘Only children dare not deface a Buddha’s foot’ – went a little way to destabilising the, almost arrogance in the poem’s tone. Perhaps the Mullah’s phrase – which has been a crucial part of my poem from the very start – could be a title?
The title it became and there followed a number of drafts in which I seemed to be wrestling with the failures of the fourth stanza. There I was attempting to record in too documentary a style what the Taliban actually did with the statues. I was becoming over-involved in the image of their trepanning of the Buddhas and then placing explosives in the heads, as well as the burning tyres. In both these cases, part of the problem was that the poet in me had fallen in love with striking images which I found satisfying but which – on further reflection – probably had no real place in the poem. They were too much powered by my love of language – too little linked to the purpose they might serve at that specific point in a specific poem.
The poem was begun in March of 2001. And I was still working on it in September of that year – when the World Trade Centre was attacked. Al Qaeda’s links with Afghanistan are well known and the image of the monuments of East and West both being destroyed were impossible to keep apart in my mind now. I had a sense – again reflected in newspapers of the time that what had happened in Afghanistan had tortuously precipitated the Twin Towers attack. But too explicit a link would never serve so, at this stage, I tried to work in references to “stone dreams” falling not only in Bamiyan but elsewhere in the world. There were all kinds of ironies in linking these religious icons with the West’s most iconic images of capitalism and, though I don’t think I thought these through too rationally, they appealed to me and seemed to be apt in the context as Mullah Omar’s original statement caught my ear in large part because of its brutal materialism.
Around this stage, the form of the poem changed from the irregular stanzas it had been in since the start to unrhymed couplets. This, I hoped, would assist the lightening – the easing? – of the tone of the poem, as I’d begun to feel the clumped stanzas gave it a rather oratorical, speechifying feel, whereas the couplets would give a more unstable, edgy impression. Now called ‘The valley history’, it was still the final few lines, which seemed problematic. But with the eventual loss of the personification of ”fright”, the final choice of the phrase “irrupt orange” to suggest the splitting open of the Buddhas by the Taliban shells, and the removal of the rather too obviously paradoxical and (again) grandiose falling “stone dreams”, I felt the poem was finished enough. What eventually replaced the image of the falling towers was a phrase I was pleased to find. The “order of dust rolls down” alliterated well in the context, suggested the literal plumes of smoke and dust which accompanied the statues’ demise and, of course, also suggested the rolling dust clouds which followed 9/11. As well as literal truth, the “order” is intended to suggest a rule of government, or at least the decree of leaders, which tends towards destruction rather than construction and this was one of the originating impulses of my beginning the poem many months earlier.
On Translating Rilke’s ‘Duino Elegies’
March 5, 2015 September 6, 2015 martyn crucefix German poetry, poetry, translation, UK poetry magazines, writing Auguste Rodin, David Young, Duino Elegies, Idris Parry, J B Leishman, Jeremy Round, La Famille des Saltimbanques, Pablo Picasso, PN Review, Rainer Maria Rilke, Sonnets to Orpheus, Steven Cohn, W B Yeats, W H Auden, William Gass
Idris Parry writes in the current PN Review (March/April 2015) comparing Rilke’s Duino Elegies with the Sonnets to Orpheus. The poet always spoke of the sonnets as subsidiary to the elegies, but Parry argues that while the elegies “talk about” the poet’s task, the sonnets perform it. I’d agree and, in translating both in the last 20 years or so, I have come to prefer the vivid enactments of the sonnets. Parry explores Rilke’s response to Rodin in Paris in 1902. What struck Rilke was Rodin’s “dark patience which makes him [as creative artist] almost anonymous”. What the young poet learned was to pursue an “unhurried and uncommitted exposure to experience” (Parry’s words). This is opposed to impatience which is (contra-Keats) an irritable reaching after clarity: “making up your mind before the event instead of letting the event shape your mind” (Parry again).
Rilke’s “praise” is just this acceptance and faithful utterance and is predicated on the truth of an underlying unity of existence. The poet is obliged to speak of this unity but can only use the language of division, a language deluded by the conviction of finality. Parry epigrammatically concludes: “We punctuate to retain our sanity, but we should not come to believe the punctuation”. The PN Review piece ends by looking at sonnet II, 18 and asks, if Rilke’s own German is a poor translation (using shabby tools) of an ultimate reality, how can translators hope to do it justice in bringing it over into English?
Reading Parry this week, reminded me of my own thoughts, not long after having translated Duino Elegies (https://martyncrucefix.com/publications/translations/duino-elegies/). They were originally published in Magma Magazine; I hope they are worth making public again:
My own grappling with the issue of what can be lost and gained in translation began over 10 years ago when London’s Blue Nose Poetry group staged an evening to celebrate Rilke’s work. This was partly in response to a Poetry Review survey of the original 1994 New Generation Poets, several of whom declared his work to have been influential. Though a name I was familiar with, I have to confess I hadn’t gotten far through my Penguin Selected. Perhaps on account of my ignorance, I was to contribute only by reading aloud from the Elegies. The Ninth was chosen but as I practised, I found myself stumbling, losing the thread and, frankly, I hardly knew what it was I was reading:
Here is the time for the Tellable, here is its home.
Speak and proclaim. More than ever
Things we can live with are falling away, for that
Which is oustingly taking their place is an imageless act.
Act under crusts, that will readily split as soon
As the doing within outgrows them and takes a new outline.
This is Leishman’s translation of the Ninth Elegy and I supposed the obscurity was part of the point – that it must signal hitherto unplumbed depths of profundity. My view on this remains equivocal, but I believe a proportion of the difficulty is obfuscation and the impression of slippery ‘mysticism’ it generates has misleadingly become part of Rilke’s appeal for many readers. For me, the bottom line was I could not read this aloud with the kind of conviction that I demanded. I tried a couple of other easily available translations – Stephen Cohn’s and David Young’s – but still was not happy with the sound these poems made in my mouth.
Castle Duino
Within a month I had produced a ‘version’ of my own. By version, I meant a close-ish translation, but I had taken considerable liberties with the more difficult passages and inserted what I thought Rilke might have meant or what I wanted him to mean. At the time this seemed to me a risky strategy compelled by necessity, though there is nowadays a good deal more debate about the role and value of versioning. My own position is that I prefer a genuine attempt to translate the original into a contemporary target language. I see the point of versions – but it is hardly ever what I am seeking as a reader. Nobody imagines translation is easy; but only a fool anticipates a perfect rendering. We expect translators to work in good faith and that their work will read sufficiently well in the target language not to distract us with the stale sweat of their strenuous wrestling with the original. Nor should they cover the difficulties of translation by delivering obscurities that defensively resist comprehension.
It was coming across my first attempt a couple of years later that set me systematically picking my way through the million pitfalls of the Elegies. Take for instance Rilke’s opening lines, the great cry at the start of the sequence. Rilke writes “Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel / Ordnungen?” Not too much of a problem you might think, but William Gass, in his book, Reading Rilke: Reflections on the Problems of Translation (Basic Books, 1999), considers no fewer than 15 versions of these 11 words. Most – though by no means all – accept Rilke’s opening word – “Who” – and most, though not all, take over Rilke’s relative clause “if I cried”. But is he merely crying or crying out? And beyond this point of relative agreement lie terrible dragons of disagreement, especially over the word “Ordnungen”. How are the angels deployed? Are they in “angelic orders”, “amid the host of the angels”, “among the hierarchy of angels”, “the order of the angels”, “among the angels’ hierarchies”, “among the ranked Angels”, “through the Angel Orders” or even (Gass gives his own version) “among the Dominions of Angels”? In such company, my own version, “Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the ranks / of the angels?” runs the risk of a watery plainness but it has the advantages of clarity, echoes the rhythm, syntax and line break of the original closely, and (remembering my first concern was for oral performance) the line has a satisfying aural quality. I hear in the first phrases high, thin vowels that contrast the second half’s weightier, assonantal ‘a’ sounds: the cry of alienated humanity contrasts the solid, seemingly impregnable powers that lie beyond our reach.
But the best-equipped translator faces especially difficult problems in Rilke. In the Fifth Elegy, for example, the poem describes some acrobats. This is a combined portrait of a troupe Rilke knew while living in Paris and a painting by Picasso (La Famille des Saltimbanques, 1905) with which Rilke lived in the summer of 1915 in the house of the dedicatee of this Elegy, Frau Hertha Koenig. This is, formally, one of the freer of the Elegies, its lines extending and contracting to reflect the energy of the tumblers.
Picasso’s ‘La Famille des Saltimbanques’ (1905)
But in the Picasso painting the figures are arranged in an almost imperceptible D-shape and Rilke writes: “Und kaum dort, / aufrecht, da und gezeigt: des Dastehns / großer Anfangsbuchstab . . .” In my version: “And barely discernible, / yet up-standing and unmistakeably on display, / the capital D of Destiny . . .” The original word “Dastehns” (something like “standing there”) reflects the visual pun and it would be a great loss not to bring this into the English. Stephen Mitchell uses the word “Duration”; Young’s looser version loses the pun with “existence . . . presence”. On this occasion, I found myself following Stephen Cohn and opting for “Destiny” (more usually the translation of “Schicksal”) which I felt conveyed Rilke’s sense of how these individuals are driven to perform by forces external to them, rather than by a more truthful inner compulsion.
Another critical decision arises in the Tenth Elegy with its tribe of people who enjoy a closer, more authentic relationship with death and grief than Rilke perceived in contemporary Western culture. He uses the word “Klage” and an English equivalent has to be found that works as the name of a young woman, her tribe, her ancestors and her country. Like the sound of the original, the word also has to reflect the harshness of the grief felt, while at the same time suggesting a dignity in such powerful emotions. For Rilke, the role of this personification and her whole tribe is certainly heroic. Most previous translators have opted for the word “Lament” but I felt this suggested a rather affected, almost poetic attitude – precisely the kind of posturing that Rilke asks us to avoid in our confrontation with these difficult aspects of life. I chose the word “Keening” to convey the genuine edginess of feeling (aurally again I liked the harsh initial K and the word’s trailing, wailing fall). This word seemed to me to work perfectly as personal and tribal name and geographical location: “gently she guides him through the vast / Keening landscape, shows him temple columns, / ruins of castles from which the Keening princes / once wisely governed”.
One thing I have learned is that translators take sustenance from their chosen originals. This is not just in the obvious way of extending their range, but also that they feed on a familiar. They find in their subject an answering voice, a confirmation of something already present within themselves. I experienced this in a surprising way. Rilke’s influence on Auden was particularly evident in the late 1930s. The sonnet sequence In Time of War refers directly to him and Mendelson’s Later Auden (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999) argues that ‘In Memory of W. B. Yeats’ concludes with “an explicit echo” of Rilke’s Ninth Elegy and its famous injunction to “praise this world to the angel”.
Auden asks Yeats’ spirit to “Teach the free man how to praise”. Interestingly, Auden has never been a strong influence for me, yet the elegy to Yeats is a poem I have always loved. In fact, five or six years before I got to know Rilke, I remember modelling an elegy of my own on Auden’s – from the choice of title, the formal variety of its sections, to a finale in which I too celebrated one who “loved the world, craved its taste”, elevating him to a teacher of praise: “Listen, let me make this master speak: / Laughter, love, the senses are profound. / Drink deep, remember, Jeremy Round” (‘In Memory of Jeremy Round’). Reading Mendelson’s book has convinced me that I had been responding not merely to Auden but also – unknowingly – to Rilke. It turns out I have been finding a sympathetic familiar in him for longer than I had imagined.
Rita Dove / Local Library Love
March 1, 2015 September 6, 2015 martyn crucefix autobiography, contemporary American poetry, creative writing, poetry, writing Balham High Street, Eddie Izzard, Hornsey Library, Maple Valley Branch Library, On the Bus With Rosa Parks, Rita Dove, Trowbridge, Van Gogh
Here’s a shaggy dog story.
J—–, my 17 year old daughter was travelling on the London Tube between social engagements a week or so ago. She and her friends were all a bit girly giggly – by her own admission after pre-drinking at somebody’s house – and her mobile phone got left on the train. Her unsuspecting parents – probably on the sofa that Saturday night, catching up on Wolf Hall or something similar via the i-Player – get a phone call (from a friend’s mobile) with the bad news. Oh bloody hell, full-on disapproval voice, we’ll have to cancel the contract before calls are made to Mars or Outer Mongolia, but let’s just try ringing J—-‘s number on the off chance it’s been picked up by an angel.
After a few hopeless attempts, someone answers sounding less angelic, more Eastern European. And yes, the phone is in their hands, and yes we are welcome to come and pick it up, maybe tomorrow, in some side street near Balham Tube, way across London of course. By dint of masculinity and eminence of age, it’s me who sets off next day for south London. The phone bit of the story goes rather cold here I’m afraid (uneventful, after wandering a few streets, knocking on a door, a young couple, full of the smiles of the unthinkingly virtuous, hand over the phone and I press a box of grateful chocolates into their reluctant grasp).
But Balham High Street has an Oxfam Bookshop – the kind I can never resist – and hidden away on the poetry shelves (between Everyman’s Robert Herrick, old copies of Poetry Review and a suspiciously large selection of First World War poetry) I pick out a hardback, signed first edition of Rita Dove’s 1999 collection, On the Bus With Rosa Parks, published in the US by Norton. Just reward for the unnecessarily put-upon, I think to myself.
‘Maple Valley Branch Library, 1967’ is one of the best poems in Dove’s book and as I rocked northwards on the Victoria line I drifted back to late 1960s, early 1970s, to my own beloved local library in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. In those days it was in a grand building not far from the central bus station (though opposite Jimmy Ladd’s hardware store) and we paid weekly visits there. My tastes were un-literary, nothing out of the ordinary, books on fishing and rugby, Tolkein, John Wyndham. I remember one occasion I went there searching for addresses of poetry magazines but this must have been a few years later when I’d begun to scribble verse. I probably sent some ill-tutored nonsense to The Times Literary Supplement and of course heard nothing back.
Later still, a TV programme on Vincent Van Gogh sent me off to borrow a book on the artist who I felt sure I resembled, my certainty expressed through vigorous claims to admire him as a painter, poet, thinker and man. Looking back, it was a rather escapist Van Gogh whose observations I copied into a diary: “We are entitled to entertain a certain hope that there may be other and better conditions for painting than here on earth – conditions that can be attained through a change that need not be more surprising than the metamorphosis of a chrysalis into a butterfly. [This] sphere of activity . . . might conceivably be one of the many stars which after death are probably no more difficult to reach than the small black dots on a map which in our earthly existence mark towns and villages. . . It seems to me that it is far from impossible that diseases . . . are in fact heavenly means of transport . . . In that case, to die quietly of old age is to go on foot”. What I loved about this was the other-worldliness, the sense of the creative artist, the presence of death not as the end of things but as a transition to a better place. Misunderstood or not, my mind was moving beyond the limits of my home town, its confining little black dot, the piddling River Biss, Bowyers pork sausages and bloody Watneys Red Barrel. Love your local library! Click here for information about the local libraries campaign: http://www.librarycampaign.com/
And here is Rita Dove reading ‘Maple Valley Branch Library, 1967’:
Maple Valley Branch Library, 1967
For a fifteen-year-old there was plenty
to do: Browse the magazines,
slip into the Adult Section to see
what vast tristesse was born of rush-hour traffic,
décolletés, and the plague of too much money.
There was so much to discover—how to
lay out a road, the language of flowers,
and the place of women in the tribe of Moost.
There were equations elegant as a French twist,
fractal geometry’s unwinding maple leaf;
I could follow, step-by-step, the slow disclosure
of a pineapple Jell-O mould—or take
the path of Harold’s purple crayon through
the bedroom window and onto a lavender
spill of stars. Oh, I could walk any aisle
and smell wisdom, put a hand out to touch
the rough curve of bound leather,
the harsh parchment of dreams.
As for the improbable librarian
with her salt and paprika upsweep,
her British accent and sweater clip
(mom of a kid I knew from school) —
I’d go up to her desk and ask for help
on bareback rodeo or binary codes,
phonics, Gestalt theory,
lead poisoning in the Late Roman Empire,
the play of light in Dutch Renaissance painting;
I would claim to be researching
pre-Columbian pottery or Chinese foot-binding,
but all I wanted to know was:
Tell me what you’ve read that keeps
that half smile afloat
above the collar of your impeccable blouse .
So I read Gone with the Wind because
it was big, and haiku because they were small.
I studied history for its rhapsody of dates,
lingered over Cubist art for the way
it showed all sides of a guitar at once.
All the time in the world was there, and sometimes
all the world on a single page.
As much as I could hold
on my plastic card’s imprint I took,
greedily: six books, six volumes of bliss,
the stuff we humans are made of:
words and sighs and silence,
ink and whips, Brahma and cosine,
corsets and poetry and blood sugar levels—
I carried it home, past five blocks of aluminium siding
and the old garage where, on its boarded-up doors,
someone had scrawled:
I CAN EAT AN ELEPHANT
IF I TAKE SMALL BITES.
Yes, I said, to no one in particular: That’s
what I’m gonna do!
Maple Valley Branch Library
To give some impression of concluding my original narrative: as you can imagine, J—– was suitably grateful at getting her mobile back, dashing off to text friends that she was back on line and thankfully in touch with the world again. I remember we always tried hard while she and her brother were younger, taking them to Hornsey library most weeks and happily (with or without our help) they both acquired habits of reading. Even so, the local library is not really on their radar any more. It’s obvious why.
A little experiment to conclude:
bareback rodeo – about 57,800,000 results in 0.44 seconds.
lead poisoning in the Late Roman Empire – about 479,000 results in 0.51 seconds.
pre-Columbian pottery – about 403,000 results in 0.46 seconds.
blood sugar levels – about 29,600,000 results in 0.32 seconds.
Why would you trek to the library, however close by, when you can worship at the God Google’s shrine? Yes – I use Google every day and bless it (it tells me an unsigned copy of Dove’s book might be worth 30 US dollars!). But at the same time we are well aware that such a sublime volume of information, arranged in ways not within our own control and perhaps not even within our understanding, has its drawbacks. Here’s Eddie Izzard on google, wikipedia, i-Tunes, up-dates, terms and conditions and how we blindly play along:
The Month of the Drowned Dog: Ted Hughes’ ‘November’
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What Are the Hottest Soft Drink Brands in Social Media? [CHART]
By Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai 2012-10-21 01:30:07 UTC
Red Bull dominated this week's chart of soft drink brands with the highest social media engagement. You can probably guess why.
According to Starcount, the data aggregator which tracks metrics from 11 networks to measure social popularity, Red Bull topped the list ahead of arch-rivals Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
The Austrian energy drink company has to thank Felix Baumgartner for its success this week. Fearless Felix's jump from the edge of space was the talk of the week, and other than real life records, it also broke some social media records. In fact, it was the most-watched live video in YouTube's history.
In other findings, Coca-Cola achieved the highest engagement, continuing to pile up Facebook fans — it even doubled first-place Red Bull. The rankings didn't change since last time apart from Red Bull taking the top spot and Monster overtaking Dr Pepper for the fourth place. The energy drink had a strong week as far as YouTube video views, with more than 300,000, although a far cry from the two soda giants, which both recorded more than one million views.
For more, check out the chart below. What do you think of these results? Tell us in the comments.
Image courtesy of Flickr, MonkeySimon
Get Your Tickets to Mashable Media Summit
The Mashable Media Summit 2012 will explore the impact that technology is having on media, and how digital media is affecting our lives and changing the world. This one-day conference will bring together the brightest minds in media, including content creators, technology leaders, entrepreneurs, social media executives and journalists.
Date: Friday, Nov. 2, 2012
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Location: The TimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street, New York, NY 10036
Tickets: Purchase early bird tickets on Eventbrite.
A Look Back at Last Year's Mashable Media Summit
Mashable Media Summit 2011
Media Summit 2011
The Mashable Media Summit on Nov. 4 at the Times Center in New York City attracted professionals in digital, tech, advertising, sales, marketing, mobile and publishing from all over the world.
We had a packed house in attendance for this year's Media Summit.
The Future of Social Media
Pete Cashmore, founder and CEO of Mashable, speaks on the future of social media, its current landscape and what trends to expect for 2012.
This year's Media Summit was located at the Times Center in New York City.
Social Media Grows Up: The Evolving Role of Social Media in News Organizations
Mashable's community manager Meghan Peters chats with Katie Rogers, social media manager at The Washington Post; Anthony De Rosa, social media editor at Reuters; and Drake Martinet, social media editor at AllThingsD.
Teaching – and Learning From – The Old Grey Lady
Brian Stelter, a media reporter and blogger at The New York Times speaks at the Media Summit.
The Filter Bubble: How to Fix Content Curation
Eli Pariser, author and chairman of the board at MoveOn.org, discusses how human editors and algorithms can work together to get users clicking on content that matters.
What Facebook's New Features Mean For Journalism
Adam Ostrow, executive editor and senior vice president of content, Mashable speaks with Vadim Lavrusik, journalist program manager of Facebook, about how the social network's new features can help journalists.
The Evolution of Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated Group editor, Terry McDonell, talks about the magazine's transition from print to digital with Mashable's Editor in Chief Lance Ulanoff.
From Tactile to Mobile
Josh Koppel, co-founder and chief creative officer of ScrollMotion, speaks on the reinvention of content experience and engagement.
TV Makes You Smarter
Christy Tanner, TV Guide's general manager and executive vice president, explains how technology is changing entertainment for better and for worse.
TV Guide Audience
A member of the audience asks TVGuide general manager and EVP Christy Tanner about technology's changes to the entertainment industry.
Who Owns Your Identity?
Mashable Senior Vice President Robyn Peterson speaks with Andy Mitchell, strategic partner of development at Facebook about how much of our identity is shared to third-party sites. Also on stage is Patrick Harding, CTO of Ping Identity, and Tim Dierks, senior vice president of engineering at Huffington Post.
Mashable Senior Vice President Robyn Peterson speaks with Andy Mitchell, strategic partner of development at Facebook; Patrick Harding, CTO of Ping Identity; and Tim Dierks, senior vice president of engineering at Huffington Post about how much of our identity is shared to third-party sites.
Tor Myhren, Grey president and chief creative officer, talked about the ultimate user experience, and how different it is today from when he was a teen. Here he is at age 14.
Tor Myhren, Grey president and chief creative officer, talked about the ultimate user experience, and how different it is today from when he was a teen.
The Problem of Prediction
Tony Haile, CEO of Chartbeat, discusses how real time data changes what you should be doing.
Mashable's Big Announcement
At Mashable Media Summit, we announced the Mashable Publisher Platform, a new editorially curated syndication experience that brings content from select publishers to our site.
The Importance of Being Awesome
Faris Yakob, chief innovation officer of MDC Partners’ kbs+p and founding partner of Spies & Assassins, covers from art and copy to arduinos and code, and how important it is to be awesome.
AT&T Brings 4G to NYC
Larry Solomon, AT&T's senior vice president of corporate communications, announced that 4G LTE will be coming to New York City.
Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, AT&T.
Bloomberg TV anchor Emily Chang talks tech with Foursquare's General Manager Evan Cohen.
The New Model of Content and Commerce
Lauren Indvik, marketing and media associate editor at Mashable, is joined by a panel including Alexis Maybank, founder and chief marketing officer of Gilt Groupe
; Maureen Mullen, research and advisory lead of L2; and David Granger, editor in chief of Esquire.
The Future of Social TV
Mashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.
Breaking Down Content Barriers
Michael Lazerow, founder and CEO of Buddy Media talks about the rules of content that need to be changed for social media.
Sponsors for the Mashable Media Summit 2011
Getting Ready for the Post-Conference Reception
Media Summit 2011 Reception
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Topics: Advertising, brands, chart, infographics, Marketing, Social Media, Starcount
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750 Avignon Dr.,
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$ 45.
Cranial Release Technique (CRT) is a natural, hands-on approach to releasing the body’s inborn capacity to heal and regenerate itself. CRT can be applied in only minutes, yet it has profound effects on overall health and well-being. Cranial Release Technique works to restore proper function to the nervous system and proper balance to body structure. Thus, it has positive effects on conditions ranging from aches and pains to overall health and wellness. CRT makes a wonderful addition to anyone’s healthcare regimen.
Can the Cranial Release Technique Help Me?
Many people with a variety of health problems have been helped using The Cranial Release Technique. As the body is returned to optimum function, true healing and repair can now begin. Even chronic problems have often responded well to the CRT approach after more conventional methods have failed.
Cranial Release Technique practitioners view themselves as facilitators of "Releasing" the body's own inborn capacity to heal and be well. Once this capacity is released, the body experiences relief and healing.
Please consult your local CRT practitioner to talk further about your particular health concerns.
What About Wellness Care?
One of the greatest benefits of the Cranial Release program is its ability to restore and enhance wellness. We live in stressful times. Many articles have appeared in major publications in recent years detailing the negative effects of the stress of modern life and today's fast-paced lifestyles.
Chronic stress presents a host of challenges to the normal function of the body. The nervous system goes into overdrive. The body then produces harmful chemicals in response to the stress. Over time, this "stress state" can be very damaging to physical health — and mental health.
Investigation into the Cranial Release Technique and its effect on Heart Rate Variability (medically recognized as an indicator of stress) has indicated CRT's positive effect on reversing this abnormal "stress state." This investigation reflects the positive effects reported by CRT patients and clients. Many people report feeling much more "relaxed and at ease" following a CRT session. As they go through their day, they notice a sense of "balance and more peace".
At any given time, your body is either in a mode of protection and survival, or a mode of healing and regeneration. CRT helps facilitate a return to healing, repair, and regeneration -- making this desirable procedure an ideal part of your overall program.
What is the Cranial Release Technique?
The Cranial Release Technique (CRT) is a natural, hands-on approach to releasing the body's inborn capacity to heal and regenerate itself. CRT can be applied in only one minute, yet it has profound effects on overall health and well-being. The Cranial Release Technique® works to restore proper function to the nervous system and proper balance to body structure. It has positive effects on conditions ranging from aches and pains to overall health and wellness. CRT makes a wonderful addition to anyone's healthcare regimen.
What is Cranial-Based Healthcare?
About 100 years ago, an American physician, Dr. William G. Sutherland, discovered that the 22 bones of the head move. Dr. Sutherland's subsequent research revealed that:
The bones of the head (cranium) move in a rhythmic pattern throughout life.
This movement of the bones of the head is responsible for the proper function of the nervous system -- and promotes optimum health.
When the skull is distorted and this movement is disturbed, overall health and well-being suffer, and pain or illness may result.
Proper movement of the cranial bones can restored using the hands-on CRT method, which helps trigger a return to good health.
Modern researchers using sophisticated instruments have now proven that this movement of the bones of the head indeed occurs. Other studies have shown that the position of the bones can be changed using hands-on techniques.
Since its inception in the 1900's, researchers have developed many schools of cranial technique. Until now, these methods had several common aspects:
The bones of the skull were corrected one at a time, individually.
Work could be very time-consuming, with sessions often lasting 45 minutes or more.
Some schools treated the skull as a separate part of the body -- with no mention of the cranium's effect on overall body physiology.
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The Cranial Release Technique® is a new school of thought. In its corrective approach, CRT considers all of the many tissues affected by the nervous system.
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This "release" of the bones of the skull initiates a release of all of the tissues and structures associated with the cranium.
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The "Global Release" provided by the Cranial Release Technique has far-reaching positive effects on overall body function. This "global" impact occurs because of the wide extent of tissues and structures affected.
Using the targeted CRT approach, this overall "release" of cranial and body structures can be accomplished in just one minute.
Massage & Cranial Release Therapy Center LLC ©
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Posts Tagged ‘retrogames’
Populous II: Trials of the Peter Molyneux
If you take too long to conquer a world monsters from ancient mythology start wandering across the sea and land causing all sorts of indescriminate trouble, a nice touch.
Happy New Year for the Space Year 2012, I hope you had a good Christmas and all of that. Now, where were we…?
This is the first part of a story about two games I’ve been playing quite a bit over the holiday period. They both have the same designer (Peter Molyneux) and share a lot of the same DNA but are separated by ten years and represent very different evolutionary stages of gaming. One is Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods and the other is Black & White.
Populous II I bought from Good old Games for the distinctly un-princely sum of $2.99 (that’s less than two quid in real money) during their Holiday Discount period (it’s over now, you’ll have to pay a mammoth $5.99 for it instead!). I have a lot of good memories of playing the Amiga version in the ’90s and the PC version is largely the same only with higher-resolution graphics, a few new features on full-screen mode, one extra spell and (as was typical in the early ’90s alas) poorer sound. For those who aren’t aware of Populous II it’s a god-game (in fact I think the first Populous may have been the originator of that particular label) where the player takes on the role of one of Zeus’s many demi-god children and must fight numerous opponents taken from Greek mythology (starting with figures like Pan and other demi-gods and ending with the gods of Olympus themselves) over an incredible 1000 different levels. Each level is an individual world containing followers of both the player and whoever you’re up against as well as having a number of rules (eg in some worlds water is fatal and others not, in some worlds you can raise and lower land and in others not).
A wee man representing the army of your leader leaves his villa. Maybe he's been forced-out by Coalition housing benefit cuts (satire! Or if you will, since this is ancient Greece, satyr)
To complete a level you have to defeat your opponent demi-god or deity which means you have to wipe-out his population of followers either by slowly defeating them or massively outnumbering them, building up enough mana to use a godly power called “armageddon” and have everyone change into a mythical hero and charge towards a big ruck from which only one side’s followers will emerge victorious. There are other powers to help you win as well and these are slowly handed-out to the player as he or she progresses through the game. These include the “papal magnets” which provide a focus for your followers, various godly powers (including destructive powers like rains of fire and earthquake as well as subversive ones such as the fonts which change the allignment of any army which walks through them) and the heroes, based on characters from Greek mythology, who the player’s leader (identified by the tiny papal magnet which floats next to him/her) takes the form of and who then march into the enemy’s land to do mischief based on who they are (Perseus fights people, Helen of Troy leads them away etc). Your followers will build houses and cities based on the amount of farmland they have access to so you spend a lot of time manipulating the geography until its nice and flat so that your people can multiply.
Populous II takes ages to get going, so to speak, having so many levels and a gentle learning and difficulty curve. What makes it work, though, is that it’s plain fun and the range of things you can do means there are numerous potential strategies to win. For example, on earlier stages its easiest to just create farmland, have your followers settle it and build-up mana for armageddon, the computer being too slow and dozy to build up his own followers quickly enough. Later, though, the computer gets faster and more aggressive and starts sending his followers into your territory and using godly powers to trash your land meaning you have to respond in kind and can use godly powers, heroes or even just standard armies to invade and take-over his land and defeat him more quickly (speed brings higher scores, quicker advancement through the levels, and sometimes more experience). The Populous titles have often been criticised for being “land-flattening games” because, early on especially, this is what you spend most of the time doing but the fact that you end up mixing this up with a little warfaring, self-defence and godly wrath as the game slowly opens up its wide range of features means this is a simplistic criticism. Flattening the land is also, believe it or not, quite satisfying and nimble mouse-clicking makes for faster victory (indeed, Populous II is arguably as much an action game as strategy).
Whenever I return to this game I’m surprised by how well the gameplay has aged, how much fun it still is to play and how it manages to suck you in for hours despite the more rational part of your brain claiming that there’s not quite enough variety, largely because despite all the godly powers and no matter how much you might enjoy it you are still just spending an awful lot of time flattening land. Like Black & White, which I will talk about in the next few days, Populous II is a product of a starry-eyed ideas man but in this case his grand plans have somehow created an addictive, absorbing action-cum-strategy title which offers the player a great deal of potential strategies but ultimately has less depth than I think he imagined although is arguably better for it. Can the same be said for Black & White? Does it marry the enjoyable gameplay to real depth? Ooh, let’s see in a few days shall we…
Footnote: a data disk was released for this game called The Challenge Games which took place in Japanese, rather than Greek, mythology and had both a conquest game and a series of levels based around puzzles. As far as I know, this wasn’t released for MS-DOS computers and isn’t available on GOG, a shame.
Tags:1990s games, amiga, DOS games, retrogames
Time Bandit: no dwarves, no David Warner, lots of shooting
Mister Bandit goes wandering around a mystical cod-medieval landscape. Later he'll probably visit Ancient Rome, or starship.
Chances are you haven’t heard of Time Bandit. You’ve probably heard of Time Bandits, of course, because it’s the brilliant 1981 fantasy flick directed by “the American Python” Terry Gilliam, everyone’s heard of that except boring bastards. But Time Bandit is completely unrelated, sharing nothing but a similar name. And it’s a shame that you’ve probably not heard of it, because Time Bandit is in its own way just as brilliant.
If I’m being honest the reason that I’ve heard of it is because of the aforementioned link: I came across a game called Time Bandit on the Amiga, wondered if it had anything to do with the film, loaded it up and realised that it didn’t. But after a couple of hours worth of play I realised that that’s not important because Time Bandit is a brilliant mixture of videogame styles with an ingenious non-linear progression.
Originally appearing on the relatively obscure TRS-80 home computer in 1983, Time Bandit was later ported to the Amiga and Atari ST in ’88 and it is these versions which were most popular (and which I am concentrating on). The easiest way to describe Time Bandit is to say that it’s a Gauntlet-style top-down game which borrows elements from other games including Pac-Man and Bomberman as well as text adventures (yes, really!). The player travels through time visiting different worlds (and a signpost which gives information about progress so far and the option to save the game) via a main Mario/JRPG-style scrolling play area; these various worlds, all of which can be accessed from the start, are split into 16 stages and in each stage the basic goal is to open the exit and escape at which point the player is returned to the level selection area and has the choice of either re-entering the world just visited and attempting the next level which will be more difficult or of tackling a different world and returning to the next level of previous worlds later on. Whilst playing a level of a world, which uses the same top-down scrolling display as the main selection stage, the player can simply concentrate on reaching the exit, take time out to grab as much treasure as possible dotted around the world (score for treasure in a level increases for each treasure taken so the first will be 100 “cubits”, the second 200 etc) or even take a quest or solve puzzles that can be found in the level. The worlds themselves are very diverse covering various time zones (hence the game’s name) and include an Enterprise-style starship, medieval castles and even a Pac-Man-style maze. They’re also full of ‘orrible things which spawn from (apparently indestructable) points on the floor and patrol the rooms and corridors. Our hero can dispatch them with his laser/plasma/whateveritis gun earning cubits as he does so; and depending on skill and bravery in doing so, earnings for beastie-shooting increase, reducing again if the player shows a lapse in heroism.
If the above description confuses the hell out of you (and I don’t blame you) try watching this YooToob vid of someone playing the Atari ST version and you might get the idea.
Like many great videogames, it’s better to discover Time Bandit and its wealth of features and surprises (barely scratched in the above description) for yourself. It’s not perfect – a time limit on levels would have stopped score-scumming and the text-adventure aspect, whilst a nice touch, would have worked better as some kind of icon-based arcade-adventure instead. Nonetheless, this game is great fun, addictive, and pleasingly barmy and despite the mixture of game styles sounding utterly bloody absurd on paper it somehow works. They really don’t make them like this anymore, although to be honest they didn’t really make them like this back then either.
Oh, and there’s a two player simultaneous option as well…
Tags:1980s games, amiga, atari st, retrogames, slightly barmy mixture of genres that works, TRS-80
“The cheese is bait for the rats, and also gives you oxygen”
Post-Tizwas, pre-looking jowly on HWTBAM
I’ve Daren at the World of Spectrum forums to thank for bringing this wee YouToob gem to my attention. It opens with some promotional videos for a whole raft of videogames for various home computers circa 1984. Apart from the obvious retrogaming interest side these puff pieces are worth a gander because they look so cheaply put-together, like those adverts that used to appear in cinemas for a local curry house. The joystick ad is hilariously amateurish (you can almost hear the director saying “can you just wiggle it a bit more…”) and many of the voiceovers (the wonderful Tom Baker excepted) sound dreary and pedantic; it doesn’t help that some of the games look like they’d appeal most to the side-parting and NHS-specs crowd.
Five minutes in we move to a documentary called “The World’s Greatest Computer Games” presented by Chris Tarrant, back when he was still considered a yoof-friendly presenter. This is a bit of a promo piece as well but Tarrant proves a much more engaging voiceover and actually manages to make the games sound fun rather than snooze-inducing as the previous promos managed to. And with phrases like “splattered all over the screen”, “before I’d mastered the joystick”, “I’ve got to fly my chopper as far as I can” and “precious booty” (which Chris laments not even getting a “sniff” of) do I detect a hint of under-the-radar innuendo? Or have I just watched too many Carry On films?
On a more serious note, this is a fascinating look into how the media dealt with videogames when they were still a new phenomenon. There’s an interesting point around 11 minutes in where Tarrant talks about the difficulty in fitting videogames into popular culture claiming that they owe something to films, books, board games and carnival games. It’s also easy to see the earliest incarnations of genres which are now slick multi-million pound efforts from RPGs through platform gaming and sports simulators to games based around music. Flight sims seem to have completely vanished from the radar, though, so to speak. There’s also an abundance of the early, eccentric, gaming that was a result of the individuality in the industry at the time and which was stamped-out by the growth of corporate games publishers only to re-emerge in the last decade with the rise of the independent sector.
Well worth a watch if you’re interested in old video games, 1980s media, or even just a young(ish) Chris Tarrant in a rugby shirt.
Tags:1980s games, chris tarrant before he was jowly, retrogames
Posted in General games | 1 Comment »
Exclusive Willy
The first room. Should have been called "Willy's Gone to the Dogs" or something.
A quick article this time around and one I was inspired to write when I discovered, today no less, that there’s another little-known entry to the Jet Set Willy series along with Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy II.
It’s called The Perils of Willy and was released only on the Vic 20 in 1984. It’s not a homage game, it’s an actual official Miner Willy game published by Software Projects and it even has the distinctive art style used by the later games on its box art (check out its entry here to see). I was intrigued to say the least.
So, I found a copy and gave it a shot.
One of the first things people will wonder is “why didn’t it come out on the Spectrum, then?”. The answer is obvious as soon as you start playing: Perils is, basically, a poor man’s Manic Miner. It’s a screen-by-screen platform game where Willy has to collect all the objects on the screen (musical notes in this case) in a time limit to complete it. Due to the Vic’s 16K of memory it’s far more limited than the 1983 Spectrum game in terms of variety (although it supposedly has more screens – 33 in all) and the srooms lack names (something I always think removes a lot of atmosphere). The sound is technically better thanks to the Vic’s superior sound chip but the repetitive in-game tune is nowhere near as, well, likeable and atmospheric as Manic Miner‘s croaky rendition of In The Hall of the Mountain King and quickly becomes annoying.
Having said that, The Perils of Willy is actually not bad at all. It’s nowhere near as good as Manic Miner but once you get used to the games little quirks (such as Willy’s jump which feels ridiculously long and the Vic’s display which is lower resolution that the Spectrum and makes Willy look like he’s been at the pies) it’s an entertaining wee game in its own right and the screens are well laid out and satisfying to beat. In fact, it’s a bit of a shame that a converted version of this couldn’t have been knocked-up to provide a bonus B-Side to Jet Set Willy II. Worth a shot for Willy-heads (fnar).
Tags:1980s games, retrogames, Vic 20
Cecco’s Cop Out – as good as it sounds
Our lone police hero takes on the menace of the man behind the rock, three men in pork pie hats, a mexican bandit, a man chucking bottles and two birds.
So my series on Rafaelle Cecco comes to an end (later than expected or, if you’re remotely realistic about my ability to get these things written on time, as late as expected) with one of his earliest games and also, arguably, his poorest: Cop Out.
Published by Cecco’s first employers, Micro Gen, in 1986 this is distinctly different from both his later titles and his other release for Micro Gen, Equinox (which I wrote about last year). Cop Out is a shooting gallery game with the player-character present on screen meaning that as well as aiming and firing at the various enemies he has to avoid their returned fire by running back and forth – quite similar, in fact, to the arcade game Cabal. But there, I’m afraid, the similarities fall out and decide it would be best for all if they went their separate ways.
Although the cover art, blurb and loading screen suggest a US-set, 1920s gangster atmosphere with their picture of a distinctly American cop flanked by two weirdly spectre-ish (not to mention rather hunched-shouldered) mobsters, the actual game is rather different. The first three stages (I couldn’t get any further) are a generic street, a generic North America desert and some kind of mansion house (nb I’ve just checked the map on World of Spectrum and later levels seem to be warehouses and train stations) none of which feel distinctly like anything from the early 20th century. The bad guys are a mixture of dreary and just plain weird – there are no fedora-wearing mobsters (unless you count the chaps who run back and forth and to me those look more like pork pie hats), instead we get men in boiler suits (?), 1980s hipsters in sunglasses, men in wide-brimmed Mexican-style hats, girls with their hair in bunches (?), birds (?) and various vehicles which can be shot for bonus points. Cop Out doesn’t feel like a war against the mobs of 1920s Chicago, it feels like a cartoon shooting gallery.
It’s not just the atmosphere that’s the problem, either. Whilst dodging the bullets requires some skill and keeps the player on their toes, the collision detection seems a bit off and the player-character has an annoying inability to shoot at regular intervals, instead just firing about five shots in succession before being unable to shoot for an annoying second or two which is as conduitive to enjoyable gameplay as it sounds. It also doesn’t help that there seems to be no goal to completing a level other than time – at first it looks like the player just needs to clear all the bad guys but on taking-out (say) the chaps on the second stage who look a bit like the Three Amigos they just regenerate. After a certain amount of time, apparently regardless of how many bad guys you’ve taken out or how much score you’ve clocked-up, you complete the level (in fact I just had a game there where I shot only about three bad guys and still finished the level so this theory appears to bear-out). This feature takes away any real sense of achievement and further diminishes the idea that you’re a lone cop taking on the bad guys – no “area cleared” just “well done, you lasted a couple of minutes”. Poor stuff.
Cop Out isn’t completely terrible, there’s some fun to be had and in 1986 this was probably an adequate arcade shooter for many of the kids who bought it but now its gameplay deficiencies really stand out. Cecco would go on, as we’ve seen, to produce some cracking titles for the ZX Spectrum but this really isn’t one of them.
Tags:1980s games, retrogames, zx spectrum
In real life, firing grenages at missiles is not recommended
Everyone should play Exolon. It’s slick, challenging, fun and it’s one of those games that I can’t really imagine anyone with any sort of interest in videogaming disliking. Exolon was far from Cecco’s first game, but it was his first real critical hit and it turned him into a “big name” programmer, someone whose association with a title alone was enough to spark interest from both the gaming press and the kids who bought games. He paid back on that interest (I think I’ve just accidentally created some kind of banking pun, I apologise) more than enough as well; look at earlier articles in this series for details.
Even before Exolon was published there was a certain amount of excitement building-up about the forthcoming title. Previewing the game in their July 1987 issue, CRASH magazine declared “everyone in the office enjoyed playing the preview copy, and now we can’t wait for a production version.”. When they got their hands on the finished game a month later, the reviewers heaped praise upon it and awarded it the famous ‘CRASH Smash’. Other magazines were just as enthusiastic: Your Sinclair awarded it a ‘Megagame’ and Sinclair User gave it their rather strangely-monickered ‘Classic’ award.
Playing Exolon now, it’s easy to see why reviewers in the ’80s got so excited about it. For a start, it’s a beautiful-looking game making excellent use of the Sinclair machine’s bright colours and avoiding its notorious attribute clash. But that’s not the main attraction, Exolon‘s strength lies in the fact that this is a shoot-em-up with, at the time, a difference since it plays screen-by-screen with each screen presenting a different challenge for the player to overcome. Some just require Vitorc (the player-character, described in the instructions as a “heavily-armed humanoid”) to destroy a couple of obstacles using grenades whilst taking-down flying aliens whilst others need the player to tackle problems such as obstructive pods and the aliens which swarm from them once the grenade does its business, homing missiles and ‘crushers’ which, despite the name, actually rise up out of the ground. The game is split into several levels and on each level there is a sort of futuristic gazebo which Vitorc can enter to don the Exolon battle armour – with this his task will become easier (it has twin cannons and protects him from mines and crushers) but if he finishes a level without it he gets a juicy 10,000 points bonus.
For some reason, when Vitorc loses a life he pulls this ridiculous "dancing badly whilst sitting down" pose.
Exolon therefore is not merely a screen-by-screen run and gun game, it actually has small elements of strategy and a risk-reward balance; the latter applies not only to the Exolon suit but also teleporters which can be used to ‘sneak’ past some enemies on one screen but places Vitorc on a different elevation which might mean his task on the next screen is more difficult. Although it feels very different, there are the beginnings here of the gameplay ideas which Cecco developed further in the Cybernoid games.
Although this game was converted to numerous platforms, the ZX Spectrum version remains the definitive one. The Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC ports are okay but they lack the attractive look of the Spectrum version and are a bit blocky. Avoid avoid avoid the fuck-awful (that expletive is justified) Amiga and Atari ST version, though, which aren’t worthy of the name.
And, if you still complain about the ‘new’ 5p pieces and have, similarly, no time for ‘fiddly’ emulators, why not try the rather-good Windows and Mac OS port by Retrospec which you can find here? Happy Exoloning.
I didn’t even do the “it’s an Exolont game!” pun, neither.
Tags:1980s games, cecco, retrogames, zx spectrum
Equinox – Cecco’s numero uno
"Colourful, mazy, got-a-ball-as-the-player-y; it'll be a hit!"
Now here’s a thing: I’d always assumed that Cecco’s first game was Cop Out (of which more in the future… at some point) but a little research reveals that Equinox was reviewed in the gaming press a few months before and so it looks like that was the first ZX Spectrum sprog Rafaelle dropped (and I’m going to leave that metaphore there because the mental image it created isn’t suitable for a Sunday afternoon as I type). So, having decided that this next article was going to be about the first Cecco title, Equinox it is.
Equinox was published in late summer 1986 on the Micro-Gen label. A quick glance at the screenshot in the top-right will give those who know their British 8-bit software a pretty strong idea of what successful games this was aspiring to; we’ll see how it compares later on.
The plot is nice and straightforward – humans want to colonise a new world but can’t until dangerous radioactive materials, kept in cannisters, are disposed of. Naturally, it’s down to the player to do this dirty work. Gameplay wise, this is practically a perfect museum-piece for the 8-bit era. It’s got flick-screen gameplay, it’s got lots of indeterminately-designed villains flying around that can be shot with a straight-beam laser, it’s got an energy-based life system for the bad guys to sap, it’s got pick-up-here and use-there “arcade adventure” gameplay of the sort now widely dismissed as a relic of a bygone age (even though many modern games essentially use the same device only with added narrative and cinematics that allows washed-up actors to explain in sub-George Lucas dialogue the mystical properties of the red key before the “incredible set-piece” of the red door opening); it also has a curio of the era: the player controls a rather impersonal sphere (see also: Rasterscan, Marble Madness, Nonterraqueous, arguably Spindizzy and the determined-to-fuck-up-my-punctuation I, Ball) as opposed to something recognisably humanoid or even sentient. Whether this was a gaming fad at the time or, more likely, down to the fact that such player characters were a lot easier to draw I can’t say for sure.
First impressions of Equinox scream “Starquake” at you but this is not simply a copy of the 1985 hit. For a start, there are the aforementioned arcade-adventure elements. As play progresses, the player will find their way blocked by numerous inconvenient barriers, from piles of rocks to, well, doors. There’s actually little explicit logic for some of the “which object removes which barrier” puzzle-solving (why does a hand-held drill remove one door, for instance?) but with a little experimentation, the player soon gets used to it – if you find a barrier covering an exit then there’s an object somewhere that’ll remove it and (usually) there’s a certain amount of common sense at play (ie a key opens a door, dynamite clears piles of rubble). The game is also divided into levels, each of which contains a radioactive cannister which must be disposed of to make the level safe and these stages are literally “unlocked” (back when this word was not yet ubiquitous in gaming) using keycards which give access to the next level. What is interesting is that the player is able to move back and forth between current and previous stages, unusual at the time. There are also transporters for moving from one part of a level to another and which are activated by collecting and using something which I think is supposed to be one of those plasma ball things (as memorably featured on a Kenny Everett TV quiz show in the late ’80s, the name of which escapes me) but which looks more like a marble, one of those round sticking plasters or a cyan eyeball (depending on what kind of mood I’m in). Actually, thinking about it maybe it’s a lady ball (or a gentleman ball – we don’t know the player character’s sex after all): that gives a whole new meaning to “pick up”.
If we’re going to be honest, though, Equinox is generally rather unspectacular. It lacks the enormous scale of something like Starquake and the arcade-adventure aspect of play is very crude and seems to be more a way of forcing the player to backtrack through each level’s quite small number of screens than anything else. Certainly, the puzzles don’t seem to be unique and once the player has worked out what object to use with which barrier the “arcade adventuring” turns more into a search for “keys”. Despite all that, this game is still rather fun. It looks nice and colourful and there are some nice touches such as the large green harmless aliens in some rooms which sit there doing nothing except occasionally blinking their one massive eye, embryonic versions of the sort of thing which became characteristic of later games by the same programmer; it also plays rather well in a Starquake-light way and is, arguably, better suited to an era when many retro-gamers prefer more casual games to epic mappers like the aforementioned Steve Crow classic. Whilst Equinox pales next to the likes of Cybernoid, this is still an interesting early title from a great 8-bit programmer.
Raffaele Cecco – Stormlords
Stormlord - man in need of a better posture
With the success of the Cybernoid games, Cecco became a bankable programmer; the sort of person whose name would appear on the covers of his games as a perceived mark of quality. In Spring 1988, CRASH magazine began a feature called ‘Cecco’s Log’ which followed the development – interrupted around summer of that year with an emphasis on finishing Cybernoid II – of a new game, Stormlord. In contrast to most of Cecco’s games, this new title would not have a sci-fi theme but instead be based on Tolkien-esque fantasy with the player controlling a medieval warrior type of character, the Stormlord of the title, tasked with rescuing fairies from an evil Queen.
By December 1988, Cecco announced that Stormlord was nearly complete and, in the Spring of ’89, the ZX Spectrum version arrived for review. Visually, it was typical of a Cecco game with the usual bright and well-drawn graphics but there was something new: this time it scrolled. Cecco had managed to make the Sinclair machine scroll horizontally smoothly in full colour, quite a departure from his usual flick-screen technique and, as Commodore 64 owners were happy to point-out, something Spectrum owners weren’t used to. Here it was, though, along with a game which conbined platforming, shooting and simple arcade-adventure elements.
Bollocks to the "Hot Coffee" mod - this is racy!
Stormlord is split into separate levels in which a number of fairies have to be found and rescued before progressing. The main character is the usual walking, jumping type of player character (not unlike that in Exolon in fact) and comes equipped with two types of weapon – some kind of mystical balls (not in the load-of-old-crap sense, they really just look like jaggedy tennis balls or something) which are fired by tapping the fire button/key and a broadsword which is fired by holding down fire and then releasing and, as you’d expect, does more damage. As Stormlord explores the levels he encounters all sorts of mythological silliness such as the giant fairy-like creatures in urns (?) which, on the 128K machines, wolf-whistle him if he walks across them and which also, unexpectedly for a time when video games were still largely for kids, show a bit of pixilated nipple. Good heavens! As far as less-friendly (and certainly less sexy) inhabitants are concerned there are killer caterpillar things, deadly plants, swarms of bees, green dragons, giant wasp-things which hatch from huge eggs and even what seem to be marauding chess-pieces. Stormlord has no energy, only lives, and touching these opponents is fatal. As well as fighting past these monsters, our hero has to solve simple logic puzzles using objects; these range from things like using keys to open doors to swapping an object with a pot of honey (objects, of which the player can only carry one at a time. are “swapped” with each other on contact in the manner of the Wally Week games rather than picked up and dropped where the player feels like it) to attract a swarm of indestructable bees so the player can pass. Springboards are also found throughout the levels and these can be used to leap from one part of the level to another, often being the only way to reach some areas.
Stormlord is a pretty tough game whose gorgeous looks accompany challenging gameplay. Whilst the arcade-adventure aspects are quite straightforward some of the areas are teeming with monsters who are difficult to deal with. Despite that, the game is enjoyable enough once a little practice has been put in and the challenge makes it reasonably addictive. Contemporary reviews were rather kinder – the game won accolades from the gaming press and found itself converted to even more platforms than Cybernoid had – including MS-DOS and the Sega Megadrive. Naturally, a sequel was expected and, in the summer of 1990, it arrived.
Although the main sprite, in common with Cybernoid II, is different to that in the original game (albeit merely a little taller here, possibly to counter the impression that Stormlord, with his beard and helmet, was some kind of dwarf) but first impressions suggest nothing much has changed – same graphics style, same nice scrolling, same impressive 128K sound. Then you start to play it and realise what a different beast it is.
Taller, slightly better posture, surrounded by more gratuitous nudity, what could possibly go wrong?
Stormlord was tough, Stormlord II: Deliverance makes that game look like Caspar Milquetoast. Within seconds of starting the player encounters devious enemies, a tricky jump and pits of lava that need accurate jumping to pass, and it doesn’t get any easier; the arcade-adventure elements which added interest to the original game are also gone. The plot has Stormlord descending into hell to rescue more kidnapped fairies but that’s really no excuse for the difficulty level. Whilst the original game was tough but nonetheless seemed to encourage perseverence, the sequel is simply frustrating and annoying. It’s a shame because it’s a bigger game (it uses a multi-load system), later features such as flying on a dragon seem fun and it’s as technically proficient as ever. The magazines largely agreed; although CRASH and Your Sinclair gave this game high marks, they were down from the original’s score and the difficulty was criticised. It’s a shame, really, since this was Cecco’s second-last Spectrum game and the last to have the distinctive Cecco “feel” (Time Machine, his last game for the Sinclair machine, was a monochrome pseudo-3D arcade-adventure). Deliverance was also widely converted, including a version for 16-bit machines released in 1992 which played completely differently from the 8-bit originals.
So, in conclusion, Stormlord is well-worth a look although be prepared for the old-school difficulty level. Deliverance, though, is such a tough bastard I can’t really recommend it to anyone except people who feel they have something to prove or those who love the original so much they feel drawn to its sequel. Don’t blame me for the swearing and chucking your Spectrum (or platform running emulator of choice) through a window, though. I did warn you.
(Footnote: Deliverance has “Press up to define keys” on its title screen. How fucking silly is that?)
Tags:1980s games, 1990s games, cecco, retrogames, zx spectrum
Raf Cecco – Cybernoids
The original Cybernoid says "bye bye, strange-looking gun-turret"
Cybernoid, and its rather obviously-titled sequel Cybernoid 2, were both published in the same year, 1988. There was already a fair bit of excitement about Cybernoid before the magazines got their hands on it in the Spring of 1988. Cecco’s previous game, Exolon, had gone down more than well when it was released in 1987, managing to be one of those games that worked to the Spectrum’s strengths. The graphics were clear and very colourful with little in the way of the machine’s notorious attribute clash, the sound was excellent (on 128K models with the AY chip, anyway), progress was screen-by-screen rather than scrolling (something the Sinclair machine was never too good at) and the gameplay was challenging and addictive; if arguably a little sedate.
When it arrived there were some clear similarities to Cecco’s previous game: same colourful graphics with little clash, same great music and effects, same screen-by-screen progression; but this time around the gameplay was quite different. Cybernoid had moved things up a gear.
Both Exolon and Cybernoid (or, to give it its rather-excellent full title Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine) could loosely be called “shoot ’em ups” but whereas the former game sits more precisely in the “run and gun” sub-genre with its walking-and-jumping soldier protagonist and screens divided into an ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ section by platforms, Cybernoid, moving faster and with a player-controlled ship which could fly rather than just jump, was closer to scrolling shooters like Nemesis. There was one crucial difference, of course: Cybernoid didn’t scroll. The ship flew around and took-on gun-emplacements, missiles and flying enemies (space pirates, according to the essentially-meaningless fits-onto-a-postit plot) with a variety of weapons but rather than the conventional scrolling levels this had levels split into a number of screens, each with its own challenges.
Controlling the ship was fairly simple: the player used left, right and up to move (gravity affected the ship so when the player wanted to move down they would release up rather than press a down key) and fire to release killer white lines (don’t do it) at the enemy. The additional weapons which the ship came fitted with, though, were rather harder to use. Each life (one collision with an enemy or bullet was fatal) came with a full compliment of these weapons which were: bombs, mines, shield, bounce bombs and seekers. These were accessed by pressing the keys 1 to 5 and fired by holding down the fire button.
The special weapons were crucial to getting through the levels (although the brave/foolhardy could theoretically complete most of a level without using them) and since each screen presents its own dangers, the weapons needed also change. For example, screens featuring pirate ships spawning from the opposite exit were made easier by using bouncers or mines to make the pirates’ lives a little bit more difficult (and shorter); seekers could be used to clear homing missiles or destructable gun-emplacements which make some screens trickier; shields could be used by those lacking pixel-perfect ship-manouvering skillz (ie most of us) when negotiating the troublesome “lift” screens (in which indestructable and deadly “lifts” move up and down in pairs with the player having to manouever their ship between them and through gaps); bombs (which could be “dropped” upwards or down) were great for clearing blocks covering the exit to a screen or taking-out a gun-turret. Accessing these weapons using keys was, to be blunt, a bit of a pain in the old arse and tended to mean you took your eye of the action for a split second meaning that by the time you’d selected “seeker” to deal with a troublesome turret one of the weird spirally-looking green bullets had collided with the Cybernoid ship causing the game’s tremendously-colourful explosion effects to take its place.
The weapons, though, are largely what makes the Cybernoid games unique. Along with the screen-by-screen advancement they added a significant strategic element to gameplay. The player quickly learned which weapons were most effective when facing a certain enemy or mixture of enemies so quick thinking was as necessary as quick reflexes. There was a lot more to Cybernoid than “move and shoot”.
Adding a little more spice to gameplay, the pirate ships would sometimes drop items when destroyed. These might be cannisters (which would provide the player with an extra one of whatever weapon they had chosen, up to the initial limit), extra exterior weapons (a rear gun which fits onto the ship sprite, Cyberrun-style, and a mace which flys around the ship destroying enemies) or treasure. The last was apparently stolen by the pirates and the amount collected appeared onscreen under the score. When the level was completed, if the player failed to collect enough treasure then they forfeited a Cybernoid ship. And, just to stop anyone hanging-around an “easy” screen taking-out pirates and clocking up points/treasure, each level is played against a time limit as well.
In Cybernoid 2 the ship was bulkier. Or do the kids say "phatter"? It's pretty "sick" anyway (erm). Note the original Cybernoid sprite circling the player ship.
Cybernoid 2 (or, to give it its quite-shitty full title Cybernoid 2: The Revenge) arrived in the Autumn of ’88 and with a bigger, beefier version of the Cybernoid ship but, otherwise, largely-unchanged gameplay. The levels were still screen-by-screen, the different weapons were largely the same as the first game with the mines being replaced by ‘time bombs’ and with the addition of a couple of new ones: ‘smart bomb’ and ‘tracer’. There were also some tweaks to the enemies such as the gun emplacements now having opening-and-closing “blast doors” for firing meaning you had to launch a seeker or drop a bomb at the moment the doors open to shoot (and when you blow it up a pirate ship flew out heading for the Cybernoid ship – naughty but nice, Mr Cecco); oh, and a terrific new pick-up in the form of the smaller original Cybernoid ship which flew round your ship like the mace only with firing ability. But, yes, apart from these small changes it was basically the same game right down to the plot (which basically says “you did a good job last time, going to do it again?”), the treasure and the dire consequences for finishing a level without enough wonga in the hold.
None of that mattered or matters, though. The Cybernoid games were terrific then and they’re terrific now. I still love playing both of these titles, not only because they look and sound fantastic (and I have to say that, although the other versions are perfectly good, the Spectrum versions come off best for me – I think it’s the sharp graphics and bold primary colours) but because they’re a great test of skill and quick wits and work brilliantly as high-score games. Not everyone will like them, some people will hate the “fiddly” finger-dash for weapons and the screens with the “lifts” to negotiate (although everyone cusses them, to be honest) but, for me, these are two games that have stood the test of time very well, proper classics. Top marks, Raffaele.
Cybernoid is available for a host of systems from Speccy to C64 to CPC to NES to Amiga to Atari ST and even, I think, the Wii virtual console; Cybernoid 2 spreads its pixellated wings almost as widely (?! – Ed). If you’ve only got a Windows PC and can’t be bothered with “fiddly” emulation (you big wuss) then both games have been the subject to brilliant remakes which you can find here and here.
Tai Pan – buy buy! sail sail!
The player character (in white) wanders the streets of a port in the Far East, passing a drunk who seems to be miming a flute. How odd.
Oh, where to start with Tai Pan? Ocean Software, the once-mighty Manchester-based British software house, released this game in 1987 for Atari ST, Commodore 64 and 128K ZX Spectrum. I’m playing the Commodore version, as you’ve probably already guessed.
Tai Pan is loosely based on the 1960s novel of the same name (in fact it was the, as far as I know, last of several trading games inspired by that novel) and is concerned with profiteering by trading in the markets of the Far East in the mid 19th century with the aim of making so much moolah that you become the ‘Tai Pan’, the Supreme Trader. The player character starts off in a Chinese port called Guangzhou with pretty-much nothing to his name. Wandering around you eventually come across a restaurant and, being taken into the back room, you do a deal with a moneylender – he gives you $300,000 and half a medalion and you promise to pay him back within six months (blimey) or you get killed. Them was tough times.
I like that opening, actually, because it’s exactly as much plot as a trading game ought to have. We get given the start of a story and the rest is up to us. Admirable. So, how to play? Well, when you’re in port the game plays like a maze game. The player character wanders around the, rather samey, streets of the city passing various other characters and sword-wielding policemen along the way. There are also icons at the bottom of the screen allowing you to buy, sell, pick up (quick! pick up the rubber truncheon you’ll find lying around, you’ll need that for later!) and load and save game. On some screens there are entrances to various shops and establishments (including, rather racily, a brothel; or “ladies house” as the game has it in it’s PG-cert way). First thing you need to do is head to the bank and buy a ship (I’ve no idea why it’s the bank and not a ship merchant selling this) then to the supplies store to pick up a map and telescope and some food. Then onto the Inn to hire some sailors.
Now, there’s also the warehouse which sells goods which can be sold at a profit at the right ports but this was my second time playing the game and, on my first, I made the mistake of buying up goods in the starting town without knowing if they were cheap or not. So, I left the goods and instead bought some contraband from one of the many dodgy characters hanging around some of the streets offering it. It’s never made clear what the contraband is but I assume it’s supposed to be illicit drugs of some kind. Anyway, having picked-up my package I made my way to the dock and set-sail.
Ah, the open sea. Insert joke about salty seamen here.
The sailing section is shown from above with the player given the option of raising/lowering sails as well as checking maps or entering combat mode (to fend of pirates or even pirate yourself) and using the telescope to check for ships on the horizon. I raised the sails and headed East and towards what I hoped would be start of my trading career. Oh, there’s another icon – one which lets you distribute food rations. To be honest, I wasn’t keen on this level of micromanagement and wished the game would do it automatically as, for example, Sid Meier’s Pirates does. It’s easy to forget about it. For some stupid reason your box of food only lasts one voyage too and needs replacing when you enter a port.
The first port I entered was quite close to my starting one but I found the prices were roughly the same (unsurprisingly) so I set off again, having had to buy some food again (grr) and decided to sail much, much further this time. I pointed the ship roughly in the direction of what is modern-day Taiwan and raised the sails. The game claims that leaving the “shipping lanes” (which seem to be white lines on your map) is risky due to pirates but I had no problems and reached a port called “Qingdao” on the island. Here I managed to flog the contraband for a small profit (around $4000) and picked up two boxes of tea which was quite a bit cheaper than the home port. Having loaded up with another (sigh) box of food (did I mention they cost an absurd $2000 a box? What the flippety flop is in them? Pickled venison and caviar?) , I made for home hoping my tea would raise around $3000 a box.
The journey back was very slow, though, owing to the wind now opposing me more than it was behind me and I ended up dropping-in on a “midway” port. The tea would make no profit here, I discovered so I headed back to the ship and sailed off.
Oops, forgot to replace the food. Silly me. Nothing to give the crew on the journey home leading to one of them dying of scurvy just before we entered port. Oh, cruel fate! Anyway, got off at a port (Shenzhen, a word I associated with nom-able chicken) very close to the one we started at (I thought it was the actual port but it wasn’t) and managed to flog the tea for a measly $1000 profit per box. Not happy with this but noted jade was cheaper here than out in Qingdao so I bought a box of that and some more contraband and having used the truncheon I mentioned earlier (if you thought it was for doing something dirty you lose ten points!) to cosh a wandering drunk and press-gang him into replacing the dead crewmember (you can do that, you know, it’s very naughty and the police don’t like it) I set sail for Taiwan again and, I hoped, more profit.
Except, only a couple of days into the voyage, my ship sunk without explanation and I was told I’d drowned. Oh, cruel fate! I had $0 in assets (I still owed the moneylender) and the status of “slave”. So, rather abruptly, endeth my game of Tai Pan.
In conclusion, there seems to be a lot to this game. It’s got a great atmosphere and the C64 graphics are pretty good although the constantly playing music gets a bit annoying. I found the trading harder than in any other game of this type I’ve played, though, and barely managed to find goods that could turn much of a profit – it also doesn’t help that there are essentially only four things to trade: tea, jade, silk and the aforementioned mysterious contraband. I’m sure spending more time on the game or having suitable maps/charts to hand might make things easier. I also thought that the sailing part was needlessly slow (the instructions claim that it speeds time up to avoid slowness but I didn’t see this) and the need to manually issue rations was annoying. Oh, and having to buy fresh rations for each journey is both expensive and unrealistic. And don’t get me started on the ship suddenly sinking, I really hope there was a reason for that (perhaps because I didn’t use the brothel, maybe the player character sails badly if he’s too horny, I dunno) and it wasn’t just random.
So, overall, maybe worth a look if you like the whole trading/pirating genre (although I didn’t get to do any pirating or combat because my bloody ship sank) and admirably atmospheric, but when it comes to an enjoyable game you’d be better off plumping for Sid Meier’s vastly superior Pirates instead.
Tags:1980s games, commodore 64, retrogames
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Free University of Bozen - Bolzano
4th Biennial Symposium: Anthropological Talks in South Tyrol - Gender and Genre in Ethnographic Writing September 2019
3rd Biennual Symposium Anthropological Talks in South Tyrol – The Malinowskian Legacy in Ethnography
Ethnocafé Malinowski
Lectures and awards dedicated to Bronislaw Malinowski
Malinowski Memorial Lectures at the LSE – London School of Economics
Go to the Lectures
SfAA – Society for Applied Anthropology: The Bronislaw Malinowski Award
Go to the Award page
Conferences and expositions dedicated to Bronislaw Malinowski
Malinowski Centenary Conference, Jagiellonian University and Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków (September 1984)
Most of the papers that were presented at the conference were published in 1988.
Exibition “Malinowski – Witkacy. Photography: Between Science and Art”, Kraków (September-October 2000)
Go to the Exibition and publication page
Conference “Malinowski’s Legacy: One Hundred Years of Anthropology in the Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea” (11-14/08/2015)
Go to the post of the conference on the American Museum of Natural History web page
Conferences, expositions and spaces dedicated to Bronislaw Malinowski in South Tyrol
Exhibition “Die unbequeme Wissenschaft (The Uncomfortable Science)”, by Gareth Kennedy, ar/ge kunst, Bolzano-Bozen, (September-November 2014)
Go the the Exhibition
Symposium “Stuben-Forum” in the framework of the the exhibition “Die unbequeme Wissenschaft – Akt II” (The Uncomfortable Science – Act II)”, by Gareth Kennedy, Tiroler Volkskunstmuseum, Innsbruck, (October 2016-January 2017)
Listen to the talk about Malinowski in South Tyrol by Dr. H. Obermair min. 00:08:31 (15/10/2016)
The “Hill of the Sages”. Bolzano-Bozen (from March 2017)
The “Hill of the Sages” is a public park in Southern Bolzano-Bozen, where the municipality planted eight trees, each one of them dedicated to a prominent personality in culture and politics of peace connected to the City. One of them is Bronislaw Malinowski.
Go to the website of the Hill of the Sages by the municipality of Bolzano-Bozen
Dossiers dedicated to Bronislaw Malinowski in projects on the History of Anthropology
Documentary dossier on Bronislaw Malinowski in Bérose, the online encyclopaedia dedicated to the History of Anthropology
Go to the dossier Malinowski in Bérose
Go to the website of Bérose encyclopaedia
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Tinig Migrante
Agency Watchlist
FACT SHEET: Allan B. Rafael
Allan Rafael, 35, from Dagami, Leyte, is a father to an eight-year old boy and the second eldest among five male siblings. He was born from a family of poor peasants who gravely suffered in the Yolanda storm in 2013.
Allan graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Hotel and Restaurant Technology in Eastern Visayas State University. Before working abroad, he worked as a crew for various restaurants such as Dad’s, Saisaki and Kamayan in Quezon City.
In 2012, he started working as a waiter in The Bellevue, a restaurant in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. For his outstanding skills, he was trained to be a chef by his employers. In 2016, after finishing his second contract, he returned to the Philippines. Eyeing a better future, he took the SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) training to qualify as an international cruise ship employee. While applying to be a seaman, he failed in the medical examination because he was diagnosed with Lymphoma.
Since 2017, while undergoing medication, he took residence in Manila with his live-in partner. He underwent chest surgery and was undergoing a series of chemotherapy treatments at the Philippine General Hospital. According to his family, he was close to recovery and was very optimistic of securing a new job abroad upon completion of his medical treatment.
Case Timeline:
August 2 – About five in the afternoon, while driving a motorcycle, Allan was flagged by an unidentified police officer in Recto Avenue corner Loyola Street in Manila while he was on his way to fetch his partner in Malate, Manila. Rafael’s family got worried when he went missing that night. But trusting that he would never be involved in any altercation, their worry at that point was that Allan might have gotten involved in a motorcycle accident. They did not receive any information from the police regarding Allan’s arrest.
August 3 – Around 6:00 a.m, Allan’s partner was informed by a neighbor that Rafael was detained at the Barbosa Police Station in Quiapo, Manila. She immediately went to visit him while Allan’s siblings went to the prison in the evening of the same day. Allan narrated to his younger brother Aaron the details of his arrest. According to Allan, the police out of nowhere, appeared and ordered him to stop his motorcycle. He was apprehended by the police for no reason. The police showed immediate interest on the watch Allan was wearing and upon frisking they also noticed his Iphone. The police then asked Allan if his watch and cellphone are original items. However, since he kept on reasoning out with the police, he was taken to the Barbosa Police Station. Inside the police station, his belongings, including his watch, cellphone, wallet and motorcycle, were taken by the police officers.
Allan told Aaron that policemen in civilian clothing beat him up to force him to confess drug use as they allegedly found 0.43 grams of shabu in Allan’s belongings. Their drug accusation was solely based on his thin and frail appearance, even though Allan consistently argued about his medical condition. Allan suggested that he undergo a drug test to prove that he is not into using illegal drugs but the policemen denied his request.
PNP told the family that charges against Rafael would be dropped if they hand over P35,000 to the police.
August 4 – Rafael underwent inquest in the Manila City Prosecutor’s Office and was charged with “illegal possession of dangerous drugs.”
August 5 – During Aaron’s visit, Allan told him that his newly-operated chest was painful because of the persistent beatings carried out by the police. Although in pain, according to Aaron, Allan was still strong, resilient and optimistic. Allan was supposed to undergo his next chemotherapy on August 13.
August 6 – Around 7:00 a.m., Allan’s partner visited the police station to deliver Allan’s breakfast. But upon entry to the police station, she was surprised that her partner was not there. She asked one of the police officers about Allan’s whereabouts. One of the policemen answered that Allan was rushed to the emergency room of Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital after vomiting blood and suffering shortness of breath that morning.
Allan’s partner immediately went to the hospital and arrived at the emergency room past 8:00 a.m. She was once again stunned by the fact that Allan was not there at the emergency room. One of the hospital employees told her that Allan’s body was already in the morgue. She then went to the morgue and positively identified Allan’s body. Allan’s siblings arrived at the hospital past 9:00 a.m. Upon inquiry, the family found out that Allan was declared dead on arrival by 6:15 a.m. Aaron then took pictures of Allan’s body which showed signs of physical abuse especially on the neck, chest and legs.
Clueless on what to do next, Allan’s body was immediately taken by the staff of Cruz funeral parlor and brought to its own mortuary. From there, an NBI medico-legal conducted an autopsy of Allan’s body. The autopsy too was not properly sanctioned by the family.
August 7 – Allan’s body was transported to Dagat-Dagatan, Caloocan City for the wake. On the same day, Aaron called for justice for his brother. On his Facebook account:
“Malakas pa siya noong nakausap namin nung Linggo bakit kinabukasan patay na kaagad? Bakit niyo ipina-embalsamo eh wala pang miyembro ng pamilya? May tinatago ba kayo? Dumating yung mag-otopsy tapos nang maebalsamo. Paano malalaman ang totoong dahilan ng pagkamatay ng kuya ko kung inembalsamo na agad? Bakit kayo nagmamadali? Umaasa kaming pinahahalagahan pa ang buhay dito sa Pilipinas at naniniwala kaming gumagana pa ang hustisya dito sa bansa.”
(He was still strong when we visited him on Sunday, why did he suddenly die the very next day? Why did you embalm him without our presence? Are you hiding something? He was autopsied after the embalmment. How would we
know the cause of death if he was already embalmed? Why were you in a rush? We’re hoping that life is still valued in the Philippines. We believe that justice still works in the country.”
August 8 – Migrante received news from concerned citizens about Allan’s case and immediately looked for ways to reach Allan’s family in Metro Manila.
August 9 – In a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the PNP denied that Allan was beaten up. A statement by the Manila Police District (MPD) sent by Police Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, Director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), was received by the media outfit saying:
“We would like to clarify that the detainee was not subjected to torture or inhumane treatment.”
“He was not slain contrary to the allegation of some.”
In the same report, it revealed that Aaron “claimed that the police officers stole Allan’s watch and forced him to withdraw cash from the bank before taking him to the Barbosa Police Community Precinct on August 2.”
August 9 – Migrante attended Allan’s wake and offered assistance to the family in their pursuit for justice. Migrante offered support in facilitating the re-autopsy and is seeking for an independent investigation through the Commission on Human Rights.
August 10 – Rappler reported that the NBI has started its investigation into the death of Allan. MPD head Chief Superintendent Rolando Anduyan confirmed this to Rappler through a phone interview.
1. Accounts of Allan Rafael’s family
2. Aaron Rafael’s Facebook account
3. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1019645/former-ofw-dies-under-police-custody-cops-deny-he-was-beaten-up
4. https://www.rappler.com/nation/209268-nbi-investigation-allan-rafael-death-under-police-custody
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Migrante fears whitewash on Allan Rafael case, calls for independent probe
A year after Kian delos Santos’ death, injustice and terror prevails under Duterte’s criminal lordship
Position Paper for the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs Meeting
Migrante International on the Global Day of Action against US imperialist aggression on Iran (25 January 2020)
“Militarization of evacuation mission to the Middle East detrimental to OFW safety” — Migrante International
Duterte’s enemy tag on Iran and appointment of Cimatu as MidEast envoy, pose dangers to OFWs — Migrante International
“YOU’VE BEEN WARNED! ACT NOW TO SAVE OFWs BY TAKING A STRONG STANCE AGAINST US AGGRESSION IN THE MIDDLE EAST!” — Migrante International to Duterte on US vs. Iran Middle East meltdown
Hagupit ng TRAIN at Build, Build, Build sa OFWs at kanilang pamilya
OFW group Migrante International enraged by OFW death in Kuwait; blasts Duterte’s labour export program
SAGIP MIGRANTE: URGENT CALL FOR DONATIONS AND VOLUNTEERS
On the SC ruling allowing Mary Jane Veloso to testify
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Chiba Lotte Marines to announce winning bid for infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka on Friday
By Aaron GleemanNov 25, 2010, 11:48 AM EST
According to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker the Chiba Lotte Marines have received at least one acceptable bid for infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka and have scheduled a press conference for Friday to announce the winning MLB team.
Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, and San Diego are among the teams said to be interested in Nishioka, but various reports have pegged Minnesota as the surprising front-runners for the switch-hitting batting champion whose 206 hits this season were the most since Ichiro Suzuki in 1996.
Once the top bid is announced the winning team will have 30 days to negotiate a contract with Nishioka, at which point the posting fee will be refunded if the two sides can’t come to an agreement. Nishioka batted .346 with 22 steals this season, but his track record includes far less impressive production and lots of injuries, and there are some questions about whether he has the arm strength to be an everyday shortstop.
Tags: Japan, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Twins
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Home » Musicians » Bruce Radtke
Bruce Radtke
Bruce Radtke is a New Jersey based jazz guitarist and composer. He has gigged professionally in Boston, Los Angeles and NYC, and earned a B.A. from Boston’s Berklee College of Music. Radtke has also had a successful career as a computer programmer, co-designing two cuttingedge music software programs for IBM. His last full-length solo CD is entitled Long Time Passing.
Drawn to the music of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton at the age of 8, Radtke picked up the guitar, learning to play songs by ear. Along the way, he got into an expanding range of influences - Clapton led to B.B.King and Muddy Waters and then to Robert Johnson. He attended a concert in the early 70's by the Mahavisnhu Orchestra and it was like a visit from another planet. The intensity and the fire was like nothing ever heard before. Tracing back the lineage, led to some of the forefathers of jazz guitar - Joe Pass, Wes Montegomrery and Charlie Christian.
Radtke never intended to be a “jazz guitarist”, but decided to study jazz because they had mastered the art of playing music. They were simply the “best”musicians.
He attended Berklee, and was one of the first 15 students to graduate from their Applied Music Program. After college, he kicked around Boston, played in an original punk/rock band A.Y.M., and taught at the Cincotti School of Music. He then moved to L.A., where he lived for 10 years, gigging and recording with local mainstays Chuck Johnson’s Interplay and Bill Given’s Give And Take.
Throughout this time and his life, Radtke maintained his day gig as a computer programmer. His day gigs included stints creating music related software for IBM Computer Music Research Center. During this research, he helped create Sonnet, a visual programming environment that lets users model real time music systems via flowcharts. He was also was involved in creating Kid Riffs, a music edutainment program released in 1995. After a few years, Radtke left IBM �”and what most 9-5ers would call a dream job - dismayed that he was spending too much time on technical details. But he took with him a philosophy that affects his playing to this day: whether in computers or music, if there’s too much technology the music gets stifled.
Returning to New Jersey, Radtke has been playing around NYC and NJ with informal jazz/funk bands. However, he has been concentrating on his guitar trio and their first CD. In his first CD, Bruce Radtke has delved deep into Americana, recording fresh interpretations of classic 60s folk and early rock. Long Time Passing features Radtke’s clean, open guitar sounds and nice interplay from his trio �”the bass and drums interact, but are never overbearing. Radtke cites Wayne Shorter and Keith Jarrett as primary influences, for their unique, personal tone. And with his warm boppish lines, and fresh re-workings of classic tunes, Radtke is well on his way to creating his own sound. Show less
Albums by Bruce Radtke
BMR Music
Cowboy Jazz
Brewsky Music
Self Produced
Swinger of Birches
Feather Lake
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Instrument: Guitar
Born: September 11
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Cleveland Clinic Nevada
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Cleveland Clinic imaging resources in Las Vegas: Why you can expect more
Your scan will be performed in the imaging department at Cleveland Clinic Nevada in downtown Las Vegas, where we offer same-day access and results are usually available within 24 hours.
Twisted a knee? Wrenched your shoulder? The imaging services at Cleveland Clinic Nevada aren’t just for brains. MRI, CT and PET images made in Las Vegas at Cleveland Clinic are interpreted by sub-specialized radiologists in Ohio. The images are available online within 24 hours to you and your physicians at Cleveland Clinic and throughout the community. Call us at 702.701.7948 for an appointment. You don’t need to be a Cleveland Clinic patient to access our imaging services.
In addition to being close, convenient and comfortable, imaging at Cleveland Clinic in Las Vegas is backed by the full resources of Cleveland Clinic, a recognized world leader in medicine, with an Imaging Institute staffed by board-certified, academically trained subspecialty radiologists. Collectively, they interpret more than 1.8 million exams per year, receiving scans digitally from all Cleveland Clinic imaging center locations and quickly returning exam results to your physician. This technology ensures that you don’t need to travel far from home to have your exam images expertly evaluated.
Once your scan has been interpreted, both you and your designated physician will have immediate access to the images online via our integrated electronic medical record system, MyChart and DrConnect. Your physician can then expedite diagnosis and treatment.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET Scan)
Neuroimaging: windows into the brain
Effective treatment for any disease begins with accurate diagnosis. While short-term memory loss, judgment and reasoning impairment are indeed trademark symptoms of cognitive and movement disorders, these symptoms are also shared by other conditions. Therefore, the initial step is a thorough investigation by an experienced physician including laboratory testing and brain imaging to exclude conditions other than Alzheimer's (AD).
Brain imaging is a key component of the care we provide at Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. Our physicians use state-of-the-art imaging technologies and expert interpretations to help them diagnose and rule out disease, manage treatment and, increasingly, understand who is at risk for developing serious brain disorders.
We offer same-day access for imaging services and results are usually available within 24 hours.
Our center offers the most technologically advanced imaging services, performed by Cleveland Clinic's Imaging Institute, one of the leading neuroimaging centers in the world. Our services include:
Positron emission tomography, metabolic or amyloid scanning
Functional MRIs (fMRIs)
Computed tomography, commonly known as a CT scan, uses X-rays and computers to produce images of a cross-section of the body. The patient must lie as still as possible as the table moves through the large, donut-shaped scanning device. Movement could blur the images produced by the scanner.
The exceptionally strong magnetic field of our 3.0 Tesla high-field open-bore MRI scanner results in superior image quality and short scan times. This scanner features advanced capabilities that allow performance of exams most other systems are unable to acquire. Thus, our radiologists gain the ability to see into the body in new ways, to detect and diagnose disorders at earlier stages, and to gather valuable information for research.
With its innovative design, the scanner can accommodate virtually all types of patients, including those with large body mass and those with claustrophobia. Our radiologists obtain the detailed images they need to provide the highest-quality care, at no sacrifice of patient comfort.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging uses magnetic fields to generate clear images of the brain. Researchers use MRI to measure the size of brain structures. Doing so enables them to see loss of volume in specific regions of the brain that indicate AD and see changes in brain volume and structure that reveal how the disease is progressing.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is the technology of choice for visualizing brain disorders. Painless and noninvasive, MRI uses powerful magnets and radio waves to produce magnificently detailed images of the brain.
The powerful magnets cannot be used for patients with certain metal implants, such as pacemakers. For these patients, we offer computerized tomography (CT), a technology that uses X-rays and computers to acquire images.
Positron Emission Tomography provides a non-invasive, safe, and painless window into the brain that enables scientists to confirm diagnostics. PET is expected to play a key role in evaluating the efficacy of new drug treatments designed to delay the progress of AD.
PET is a nuclear medicine exam that demonstrates changes in brain metabolism relevant to Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia and many other brain disorders. Amyloid imaging via brain PET is widely used in Alzheimer's clinical trials, and has been approved for clinical use. PET can also demonstrate transmitter system abnormalities in Parkinson's disease, and can be used in other brain diseases and medical conditions.
Download a copy of our PET brochure to learn more
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About USAC
News from USAC
Division of Public Affairs Addresses USAC About Public Policy and Community Initiatives
Posted by Carjamin Scott on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 in Archive, News.
Nathan Green, Interim Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs, and his team spoke to USAC at its June meeting. The Division of Public Affairs manages Vanderbilt’s relationship with the local, state and federal government along with local neighborhoods and communities. Our department is “an institution-wide hub for public policy and community initiatives,” said Green who also serves as Assistant Vice Chancellor for State Government Relations. Until recently, the Division of Public Affairs also included staff that were dedicated to marketing, web development, journalism and creative services but those staff members were moved to the newly created Division of Communications under the leadership of Vice Chancellor Steve Ertel who spoke to USAC in May. “We still work with the Division of Communications, however,” stated Green, “and act as an advocate, collaborator and funder for the entire university community in our engagement with the Nashville-wide community.”
Christina West, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Federal Relations, also spoke. “My department gives Vanderbilt a seat at the table and a voice in the debate to advocate for research funding in science, engineering, education and the humanities” she said. Two significant initiatives of her department are to improve higher education access for low-income students and to maintain regulatory compliance. West describes herself as “the translator who explains to people on campus what Congress and the Executive Branch are doing.”
In his other role as Assistant Vice Chancellor for State Government Relations, Nathan Green works to monitor, and actively lobby, the state government on legislative and regulatory issues. “We inform and activate the Vanderbilt community to engage state policy officials, educate state officials on Vanderbilt initiatives, host issue-driven public forums and remind state officials of Vanderbilt’s total economic impact of $9.5 billion.” This department also serves the Tennessee General Assembly which consists of 99 representatives, 33 senators and the Governor’s Office in partnership with the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
The next speaker was Christine Bradley, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Community, Neighborhood and Government relations. “I work to engage Vanderbilt with the community” said Bradley. Her department ensures the development and maintenance of good relationships within the local community, neighborhoods and county government policy makers.
At the conclusion of the presentation, Green thanked everyone for their time and encouraged the Vanderbilt community to vote in the upcoming federal, state and country elections. Please go to ovr.govote.tn.gov by July 3rd for the primary election or by October 9th for the general election to register if you have not already done so. The early voting period for the August 2nd primary is July 13th to 28th and the early voting period for the November 6th general election is October 17th to November 1st.
Tags: christina west, christine bradley, government, nathan green, public affairs
Connect with USAC
Meet a Vanderbilt USAC Member: Samantha Barclay
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Book Review, Books!, Signal Boost
Review: Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
June 9, 2017 June 8, 2017 daniellethamasa
Hey all, Dani here.
Welcome to another GLBT Book Month review. Today’s book is one I have heard wonderful things about, and I have had it on my TBR list for quite some time. No longer. Now it joins the massive list of books I have read in my lifetime (or technically just since I joined Goodreads back in 2010).
Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.
With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.
Maybe it was all the hype I’ve heard about this book, but I was mildly disappointed with it. Yes, it was cute, but I didn’t connect with it as much as I have with some other reads of 2017. I feel like I’ve read a few books this year that feature two characters exchanging messages, where the characters are unaware of who each other is. And just like with those other books, it doesn’t take all that long before one of the two in this anonymous exchange discovers who the other is.
I can also say that figuring out the identity of Blue was not all that difficult, as he made it a bit obvious in his real life interactions. Even with the attempt to make readers think that Blue was a not so nice character instead, it was obvious that the assumption was wrong.
Simon felt like a real person to me, though I can also say that sometimes I didn’t like him much. The way he treats, technically ignores, Leah is very aggravating. Speaking of annoyances from characters–am I the only one who felt like Martin’s blackmail felt sort of awkward and forced?
I did like Simon and Blue’s e-mail exchanges though. It was easy to see their relationship develop. Speaking of that, this didn’t affect my rating, but having all the characters refer to Tumblr as “the Tumblr” was annoying.
Okay, I will say that I can understand why this book is raved about and why it has won so many awards. I just wanted more from it. But the story was a decent one and for the most part I enjoyed the character interactions, which is why I gave the book a 4 star rating instead of a 3 star one.
You can pick up Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local indie bookstore.
Tagged Books!, Reading, Review
Previous postReview: Perfect Ten by L. Philips
Next postReview: Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
2 thoughts on “Review: Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli”
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2014 Metro Red Sox Overwhelm Braves in Boston Master’s Division
By Men's Senior Baseball League | April 12, 2014
Boston Men’s Baseball League Masters Division
Metro Red Sox 13, Waltham Braves 1
Submitted by Al Visnick, Metro Red Sox
The Metro Red Sox of the Boston Men’s Baseball League followed up their regular season first place finish of 14-1-1 with their seventh Master’s Division Championship in the past ten seasons. The second place Waltham Braves, 14-2, forced a winner take all game three by riding a complete game, three hit pitching performance of Franz Strassmann in game two for a 3 to 1 win. In game one Waltham’s Barry Foster and the Red Sox’s Sam Steed battled in a classic pitcher’s duel, with the Sox prevailing by the same 3 to 1 score.
In the winner take all game three the Sox pitching depth was too much for the Braves. Steve Hueston struck out 11 and the offense produced 15 hits on their way to a 13 to 1 victory. Russ Ward, Dave Garofano and Kevin Curtin each had three runs batted in.
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Category: Van Hool
AMBULANCES + HEARSES part XVIII on Alphabet beginning with U till Volvo
UAZ or “Bukhanka” Ambulances
1918 Unic C9-O Ambulance
All Unic Ambulances or Red Cross Truck
UNIMOG (Mercedes-Benz) Ambulances
2013 Ural-43206 als militärisches Sanitätsfahrzeug
1899 original
1900 French Motorcycle Ambulance
1909 Ambulance
1910 Police Officer Places Sick Child in an Ambulance, c 1910s (NYC Municipal Archives)
1910 Trane Colliery Ambulance and Nurse
1913 Electric ambulance
1914 Horse Drawn or electric Ambulance attended by medical staff during World War 1
1914 Unknown ambulans Red Cross with follower
1914 WWI Moscow
1914 WWI Savelovski vokzal
1914-18 2 ambulances unknown
1914-18 WWI SanavtoRus 350
1914-1918 WW1 AMBULANCE
1915 Ambulance Evpatorija Ambulance a
1915 Ambulance Odessa 1
1916 London Ambulance with female driver-nurse
1916 Troops-medical-orderlies-of-the-Russian-Armoured-Car-Division-by-their-ambulance-in-a-Turkish-town-1916.
1924 SMP amb
1926 02-NOVO CARRO FUNERARIO REV ACA
Ambulance Bt
Ambulance with patiënts
Ambulance yxS
auto-010
Central District Ambulance headquarters
tpt transport truck lorry wagon nk finish end college of ambulance x ray
Macon Hospital Ambulance
Motorcycle ambulance
All Unknown Ambulances and Hearses. Do you know more, please let me know. Thank you in advance.
van Hool Ambulance Buses (Visser Leeuwarden)
Vauxhall Ambulances since 1912
Vauxhall Hearses and ex-Hearses
1900-visser-carrosserie-leeuwarden-1ste-vestiging All Ambulances, Hearses, Heli’s e.s.o. are build by carrosserie Visser te Leeuwarden in the Netherlands a real specialist since 1900.
for the V from Volvo we are going to the next blog part XIX
see you there again
Author JeroenPosted on 1 May 2018 Categories Ambulances, Armoured, Army, Civil, Hearses, Mercedes-Benz, UAZ, UAZ - Bukhanka, Unic, Unimog, Unknown Ambulances, URAL, Van Hool, Vauxhall, VisserTags Ambulance, Bukhanka, carrosserie Visser Leeuwarden NL, Hearses, UAZ, Unic, Unimog, Unknown Ambulances, URAL, Van Hool, VauxhallLeave a comment on AMBULANCES + HEARSES part XVIII on Alphabet beginning with U till Volvo
Factories ZANE.S.A Carroccerias Bus and Coachbodybuilder Zaragosa Spain
Factories Zane
Last month drafted an unofficial historical synthesis of a company established in the city of Zaragoza (Spain), the current Tata Hispano. Such a company was started in 1939 as Talleres Nápoles by don Vicenzo Angelino Gervacio. As mentioned the multiple debts caused that this illustrious entrepreneur of Genoese origin lost the company.
However, don Vicenzo Angelino “did not remain with arms crossed” and began in the middle of the 1960´s to another company, dedicated to the production of cabins for truck and bus bodies. The new company, factories Zane, S.A. was incorporated on October 11, 1965, with registered office in camellias Valdefierro, Zaragoza s/n Street.
The company was located in a batch of 18 thousand square meters, into manufacturing operations, had four buildings of 3 thousand square meters each, where were the body works. There was also a painting of 750 square meters workshop, another section for the polyester of the same dimensions, and a Department of stores of thousand square meters. Offices occupying a surface area of 750 sqm.
Photos taken http://www.camionesclasicos.com/FORO/viewtopic.php?f=12 & t = 17806
The initial program included the manufacture of bodywork for minibuses of 9 to 20 spaces, bus interciudades from 21 to 55 seats and bodies for buses of 10 people seated and 29 foot up to 25 seats and 90 foot. The manufacture of bodywork could be interchangeably on platforms Sava-Austin, Borgward, Avia and others. During the first year were manufactured bodywork for around 300 vehicles.
In 1967, factories Zane presented a model of integrated, frame and body forming a self-supporting Assembly to convert trucks into buses. In this way the core elements of a truck could take such as engine, transmission, axles, steering and brakes, rack removed to be replaced by self-supporting bus Assembly.
The following photographs correspond to some of the models of bus bodywork by factories Zane. The photos are part of a catalog published by the company and that it appears online at http://www.camionesclasicos.com/FORO/viewtopic.php?f=12 & t = 17806.
Below is an aerial view taken in 1969, in which ships of the Zane factories are and the Fund are former factories Naples already by then had changed to Van Hool, Barreiros Diesel, Hispano Carrocera and future Chrysler Spain than they were.
It is unknown for certain when Zane factories stopped producing car bodies. But a story published on January 19, 1967, published by the Madrid daily ABC shows expected results differed significantly as planned.
The note reads as follows:
“Eighty-two workers of the factory Zane, S. A.», company received the benefits of the pole of development, for the construction, reconstruction and repair of bus bodies, ceased in their jobs within a period of 15 days as a result of the crisis record raised by the company resolved favorably by the Provincial delegation of labour”.
“The Chairman of the Board of the company concerned, Vicenzo Angelino don, has stated that he cannot speak of crisis, but it is simply a fully justified downsizing.”
“Are kept in the company 93 workers engaged in the first call made at the pole of development, to whose benefit are welcomed.” Those who say goodbye to plans give enlargement that had the company and which have now been denied. “Apart from the joint providers, reducing overall facing houses is due to the refusal by the Ministry of industry”.
The Spanish press subsequently published some news about the company, nor any commercial advertisement.
Factories Zane is currently a real estate company with offices in Calle Avila 10, Zaragoza, in which for some time were the Talleres Nápoles.
So far this work, data and photographs were obtained mainly from the Web site http://www.camionesclasicos.com/FORO/viewtopic.php?f=12 & t = 17806 , as well as journalistic notes published in the Madrid daily ABC.
I would appreciate any questions or doubts.
Author JeroenPosted on 5 December 2014 5 December 2014 Categories Avia, Barreiros Diesel, Borgward, Bus and Coachbuilders, Buses, Chrysler Spain, Coachbuilding, Hispano Carrocera, Sava-Austin, Spain, Van Hool, ZANE.S.A.Tags Buses, Spain, ZANE.S.A.Leave a comment on Factories ZANE.S.A Carroccerias Bus and Coachbodybuilder Zaragosa Spain
VAN HOOL BELGIUM 1947 Bus and Coachbuilders
Koningshooikt, Belgium
Bernard Van Hool (founder)
Filip Van Hool (CEO)
Van Hool USA
vanhool.com
Van Hool Astromega TD927 coach for the Oxford Tube
Van Hool Alizée HE-II body on a ScaniaK113CRB coach for New Enterprise Coaches
A British spec double deck Van Hool coach.
A bi-articulated Van Hool AGG300
Front view of AGG300.
A Van Hool single articulated bus with North American specifications north of Toronto, Canada.
Van Hool NV is a Belgian family-owned coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, coaches, trolleybuses, and trailers.
The company was founded in 1947 by Bernard Van Hool in Koningshooikt, near to Lier, Belgium. In the early years, the company introduced serial production and exported their products all over Europe. Since the mid-1980s, the company has also been active on the North American market, where it has become an important player.
On February 15, 1957, Van Hool signed a commercial agreement with Fiat; Van Hool would incorporate Fiat engines and other mechanical components (gearboxes, axles, steering) in its vehicles. It developed from a coachbuilder to a Belgian manufacturer of integral buses and coaches, known as Van Hool-Fiat. Alongside these activities, the company continued as a renowned coachbuilder, enabling further expansion.
The Van Hool-Fiat co-operation was immediately a great success: a year and a half after the agreement was signed, in August 1958, the 100th Van Hool-Fiat was delivered, and by July 1961, the figure had exceeded 500. The co-operation agreement with Fiat was terminated in 1981.
In 1990, Van Hool purchased the coachbuilding business of LAG Manufacturing and continued producing their EOS models for about ten years.
Most of the buses and coaches are built totally by Van Hool, with engines and axles sourced from Caterpillar, Cummins, DAF and MAN and gearboxes from ZF or Voith, with some of their production still consisting of building bus and coach bodies on separate bus chassis from manufacturers such as Volvo and Scania.
Worldwide, Van Hool employs 4,500 people and manufactures over 1,700 buses and coaches (bodyworks and complete vehicles combined) and 5,000 trailers each year. It sells an average of 600 coaches, annually, in the US.
Product range (Europe)
In Europe, Van Hool has the broadest range of coaches of all manufacturers on the market, though all designs share similar looks and are based on the same platform, the T9. The same philosophy is used on the transit bus range, the A-series. Many different versions are available, all sharing the same looks. In recent years, the company has been focussing on new propulsion technologies, introducing fuel-cell hybrid buses as well as diesel-electric hybrids.
T8 series touring coach
The T8 platform was introduced in 1979. The body was based on the Alizee bodywork that had been launched the previous year. Over the course of several years, a large range of touring coaches were developed based on this platform, each distinguished by a number and a name, following a clear naming convention. For example, in ‘TD824 Astromega’:
T = Touringcar (touring coach)
D = Dubbeldek (double deck)
8 = Part of the T8 series
24 = theoretical maximum number of seat rows
Astromega = name of the double deck integrals
In 1991, an updated ‘T8 New Look’ was introduced. But this was called the T9 in its North American version. Production was ended in the late 1990s, following the introduction of the new (European) T9 platform.
A-series transit bus
In the 1980s, European countries started to move away from standard bus designs, leaving the design of transit buses to the manufacturers. Van Hool’s response was the development of the A-series transit buses. The first member, the A500, was introduced in 1985. A complete family would follow, again following a clear naming convention. For example, in ‘AG500’:
A = Autobus (transit bus)
G = Geleed (articulated)
500 = height of the floor, in millimeters
Production of the A-series continued into the early 21st century, when it was replaced by the newA-series.
T9 series touring coaches
The new T9 series (not to be confused with the US T9 series, which corresponds with the European T8 New Look) was launched in 1995. It included a completely new body design, as well as many other improvements. The same philosophy as with the T8 was applied: one platform, many different versions. Also, the naming convention was retained. Over the years, many new variants have been developed, making the T9-series the most extensive series of motorcoaches available today. Different models (all available in at least 2 lengths, see ‘products’ below) include the Atlino and Atlon, so-called double earners, with different floor heights, the Alicron, Acron and Astron, standard touring coaches with different heights and thus different luggage space, the Altano, which has an underfloor cockpit, the Astronef, which features a sloping theatre-style floor, and the double deck Astromega.
Additionally, the T9 body is also available on chassis by Scania, Volvo and VDL, though only in Sweden and on the British Isles. These motorcoaches are referred to as Alizee (single deck) and Astrobel (double deck).
TX series touring coaches
A Megabus Van Hool TDX27 Astromega at Buchanan Bus Station
At Busworld 2011 in Kortrijk, Belgium, Van Hool presented the successor to the T9 series. The new series is called TX.
newA series transit buses
In 2001, Van Hool introduced the newA series transit buses, replacing the A series. It featured a new body design and many other improvements. A complete family was developed, with different length and configurations.
ExquiCity BRT solution
In April 2011 Van Hool launched a new Multi Propulsion Platform called ExquiCity, aimed specifically at the BRT market. The bus has the styling and comfort of a tram, with the flexibility and cost of a bus. The ExquiCity was launched in two lengths, the single-articulated ExquiCity 18 and the double-articulated ExquiCity 24. Both are available as trolley buses, diesel-electric hybrids, fuel-cell hybrids or full-electric buses. First orders were placed by the Italian city of Parma (ExquiCity 18 trolley) and the French city of Metz (ExquiCity 24 diesel electric hybrid). A mock-up was presented at the UITP Congress in Dubai.
EX series touring coaches
A Van Hool EX16M produced in Macedonia. Shown at the IAA 2014
At the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung 2014 in Hanover, Germany, Van Hool presented a new series of touring coaches for the European market. This new line is called EX. It is produced in the Van Hool factory in Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. Macedonia is considered to be alow-wage country where production costs are much lower than in Belgium.
Product range (North America)
Due to American Federal Safety requirements and other unique factors, only highway touring coaches were introduced in the US initially. Transit coaches by Van Hool were not introduced until 2002. Currently, Van Hool has four separate product lines for sale: the T21-series deluxe touring coaches, the C20-series touring coaches, the
Van Hool TD925 double-decker coach
TD925 double-decker coach, and the A-series transit buses. Van Hool’s exclusive dealer in the US is ABC Companies.
The T815 was first introduced to the US market in 1987. Later subsequent models are collectively known as the T8 series. The earliest use Cummins L10 diesels. Later versions use Cummins M11 diesels.
It was available as 30, 40 and 45 foot length versions.
T9 series are almost identical to the T8 series visually, and are largely identical mechanically as well, except for incremental updates. T9 series upgraded the suspension airbags to larger heavy-duty versions, as well as upgraded front axle to disc brakes instead of drum brakes. However, many of the earliest T9’s indeed lack these upgrades. What’s even more interesting, Van Hool’s VIN consider T8 and T9 to be the same family.
1997 Van Hool T945
It was available as 40-foot (T940) or extended 45-foot (T945) versions.
T21 series luxury touring coach
Introduced in 1996 and based on the European T9 platform, the T21 series features an updated stream-line design and more engine choices. Whereas T8 and T9 series are almost exclusively powered by Cummins diesel engines, T21 are available with Cummins M11 plus engine, Detroit Diesel series 60 engine, or the latest Caterpillar C13 ACERT “clean diesel” engine. Most recent versions simplified the windshield into 2 panes only, replaced headlight assemblies with individual projector lamps, and consolidated the driver console.
Van Hool T2145 at Harbor and Katella in Anaheim © Andrew Novak
Available as 40-foot (T2140) or extended 45-foot (T2145) versions.
C20 series touring coach
Introduced as a lower-cost coach intended for long-line duty, the C20 series, with similar European looks to the T21 series, was introduced in 2000 to the US market. C20 is available with Cummins ISX12 or Detroit Diesel DD13 engine. Previous generations could also be equipped with Cummins M11 plus, Detroit Diesel series 60 and Caterpillar C13 engine. Both Allison B500 automatic and ZF AS Tronic automated gearboxes are available.
Greyhound operates a fleet of C2045s along with its MCI buses in Michigan.
SD956 Megabus Van Hool C2045E
Available as extended 45-foot (C2045) version only. Current model is C2045E.
A3 transit bus series
An AC Transit 30-foot Van Hool A300K bus
The popularity of A3 series in Europe led Van Hool and ABC to partner with AC Transit (Alameda and Contra Costa counties, California) to demo the A3 series as a future transit alternative in 2002. The A330 and AG300 low floor transit coaches formally entered service in AC transit fleet in June 2003. AC Transit now has over 330 Van Hool buses either in its fleet or on order as of August 2009.
Van Hool is building 16 hydrogen fuel cell buses for the USA at present (August 2009). These buses are powered by fuel cells from UTC Power and lithium batteries from EnerDell. Twelve of the buses are being purchased by AC Transit and four by CT Transit of Hartford Connecticut. This project is unusual in that the buses have been designed from the ground up as fuel cell buses and are designed, built, and integrated by a single manufacturer.
Van Hool AG 300 – CTS – Strasbourg
The AG300 is an articulated 60-foot bus, while the A330 is a 40-foot bus.
In 2008, AC Transit took delivery of a fleet of new model A300L forty-foot buses. These buses are unique in the US market as they have their engines mounted in the wheelbase which makes their ride quality extremely stable and smooth. The new layout capitalizes on basic architectural design of the A300L’s earlier released little brother the 30-foot A300K (K stands for kort, “short” in Dutch and L for lang, “long”). A recent survey of AC Transit riders overwhelmingly approves of the design and quality of the new buses.
Salt Lake City (Utah Transit Authority) has purchased ten A300L 40-foot buses for its MAX Bus Rapid Transit system. These buses differ from AC Transit’s A300Ls as they have three doors and are equipped for cold weather and high altitude operations. They have also recently placed an order for four more because of overwhelmingly positive support of the first 10 buses and the “MAX” BRT service they operate.
York Region Transit (north of Toronto, Ontario) uses the A330 and AG300 buses on its Viva routes, though the A330 buses are being transferred to the conventional YRT service as more Nova LFX buses arrive for the Viva services. The Reseau de transport de Longueuil (south of Montreal, Quebec) also uses the AG300 buses, and was the first to use Van Hool transit buses in North America (AG700) in 1989.
Van Hool AG 700 Divia 707
Washington, D.C.‘s Circulator uses the A330 buses. These 29 buses were purchased from AC Transit in 2005. In addition to the A330 models, the Circulator now uses the new A300K buses, which first went into service in April 2009. The Circulator recently took delivery of 14 A300K, 31-foot buses to build out its route structure. The A300K was chosen because of its unique ability to do the work of forty-foot buses for nearly all operations in the smaller envelope and with the smaller engine of a midi bus.
FirstTransit took delivery of 12 A300Ls and 4 AG300s in early 2009, for use on the University of Minnesota Campus Connector.
Baltimore, Maryland‘s Charm City Circulator have recently ordered and since put 5 A300Ls into service early 2011. The A300L was a supplement order to their already existing but rehabbing Designline buses.
Van Hool A300L
TD925 Astromega double-deck touring motorcoach
The TD925 Astromega is a closed-top US-spec double decker motorcoach that is a variant of the TD925 Astromega coach available in Europe.
A Van Hool TD925 bus in New York City
A Van Hool C2045-L in New York
Van Hool T916 Astronef
Transit buses
A308 midibus, full low floor, with side-mounted engine. Also available as diesel-electric hybrid
A309 midibus, low entry (low floor up to the second door). Also available as diesel-electric hybrid
A320 standard bus (out of production)
A300 standard bus, full low floor, with side-mounted engine. Also available as diesel-electric hybrid
A300 CNG standard bus
A360 standard bus, low entry. Also available as diesel-electric hybrid
A330 standard bus, full low floor, engine placed horizontally in the back. Also available as diesel-electric hybrid
AG300 articulated bus, also available as diesel-electric hybrid
AGG300 bi-articulated bus
A330T trolleybus
AG300T articulated trolleybus
AG300 CNG articulated bus
ExquiCity 18 articulated BRT bus (diesel electric hybrid, trolley, fuel cell or electric)
ExquiCity 24 bi-articulated BRT bus (diesel electric hybrid, trolley, fuel cell or electric)
A308E Electric bus
newA300K 30 ft bus, shortened A300L
newA300L 40 ft full low floor bus, side-mounted midship engine
newA330 40 ft full low floor bus, side-mounted rear engine
newAG300 60 ft articulated full low floor bus, side-mounted midship engine
T915 Atlon
Van Hool T916 Atlon
TX11 Alicron
Van Hool TX15 Acron
TX15 Acron
2014 Van Hool TX 17 Acron © bertiewillemsen
van-hool-tx16astron TX16 Astron
TX17 Astron
Van Hool TX17 Astronef
TX15 Astronef
Van Hool TX 16 Astronef TX16 Astronef
TX17 Altano
Van Hool TX18 Altano TX18 Altano
A Van Hool EX15H available 2015
TDX20 Altano
Van Hool TDXAltanoScania01a
TDX25 Astromega
EX15H (Available 2015)
2015-van-hool-ex-16m EX16M (Available 2015)
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From Bare to Covered: 15-year single center experience and follow-up in trans-catheter stent implantation for aortic coarctation
Gianfranco Butera, João Luiz Langer Manica, Davide Marini, Luciane Piazza, Massimo Chessa, Raul Ivo Rossi Filho, Rogério E. Sarmento Leite, Mario Carminati
Background Bare stents has become the first line therapy for aortic coarctation. Covered stents has been reported more recently in clinical practice. Objectives The present study, reports comparatively 15-year experience of bare and covered stent implantation for aortic coarctation in a single tertiary referral center. Methods From 1997 to 2011, 143 patients with native or postoperative aortic coarctation were treated at our institution. Seventy-one subjects (median age 17 years (range from 4 to 70 years) underwent bare stent implantation (Group 1) while 72 patients (median age of 17.5 years (range from 6 to 68 years) underwent covered stent implantation (Group 2). Results Success rate in the whole group was 95%. More complex and tighter coarctations were treated using covered stents. Incidence of related-procedure adverse events was higher in Group 1 than in group 2 (21.1% vs 8.3% P=0.035). Aortic wall complications occurred in 7% of patients in Group 1 (one death) and 0% in Group 2 (P=0.028). Subjects in Group 1 had a longer follow-up (median 85 vs 35 months; P10 mm Hg (HR: 4.30; CI: 1.96-9.47). Conclusions Both bare and covered stent implantation for aortic coarctation is a safe and efficacious treatment. By using covered stent implantation the spectrum of patients treated has increased with lower rates of acute and late complications.
Aortic Coarctation
Tertiary Care Centers
transcatheter
Butera, G., Manica, J. L. L., Marini, D., Piazza, L., Chessa, M., Filho, R. I. R., ... Carminati, M. (2014). From Bare to Covered: 15-year single center experience and follow-up in trans-catheter stent implantation for aortic coarctation. Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, 83(6), 953-963. https://doi.org/10.1002/ccd.25404
From Bare to Covered : 15-year single center experience and follow-up in trans-catheter stent implantation for aortic coarctation. / Butera, Gianfranco; Manica, João Luiz Langer; Marini, Davide; Piazza, Luciane; Chessa, Massimo; Filho, Raul Ivo Rossi; Sarmento Leite, Rogério E.; Carminati, Mario.
In: Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, Vol. 83, No. 6, 01.05.2014, p. 953-963.
Butera, G, Manica, JLL, Marini, D, Piazza, L, Chessa, M, Filho, RIR, Sarmento Leite, RE & Carminati, M 2014, 'From Bare to Covered: 15-year single center experience and follow-up in trans-catheter stent implantation for aortic coarctation', Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, vol. 83, no. 6, pp. 953-963. https://doi.org/10.1002/ccd.25404
Butera G, Manica JLL, Marini D, Piazza L, Chessa M, Filho RIR et al. From Bare to Covered: 15-year single center experience and follow-up in trans-catheter stent implantation for aortic coarctation. Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions. 2014 May 1;83(6):953-963. https://doi.org/10.1002/ccd.25404
Butera, Gianfranco ; Manica, João Luiz Langer ; Marini, Davide ; Piazza, Luciane ; Chessa, Massimo ; Filho, Raul Ivo Rossi ; Sarmento Leite, Rogério E. ; Carminati, Mario. / From Bare to Covered : 15-year single center experience and follow-up in trans-catheter stent implantation for aortic coarctation. In: Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions. 2014 ; Vol. 83, No. 6. pp. 953-963.
@article{b9655d92d7cf4509bdf76302ef81a3ba,
title = "From Bare to Covered: 15-year single center experience and follow-up in trans-catheter stent implantation for aortic coarctation",
abstract = "Background Bare stents has become the first line therapy for aortic coarctation. Covered stents has been reported more recently in clinical practice. Objectives The present study, reports comparatively 15-year experience of bare and covered stent implantation for aortic coarctation in a single tertiary referral center. Methods From 1997 to 2011, 143 patients with native or postoperative aortic coarctation were treated at our institution. Seventy-one subjects (median age 17 years (range from 4 to 70 years) underwent bare stent implantation (Group 1) while 72 patients (median age of 17.5 years (range from 6 to 68 years) underwent covered stent implantation (Group 2). Results Success rate in the whole group was 95{\%}. More complex and tighter coarctations were treated using covered stents. Incidence of related-procedure adverse events was higher in Group 1 than in group 2 (21.1{\%} vs 8.3{\%} P=0.035). Aortic wall complications occurred in 7{\%} of patients in Group 1 (one death) and 0{\%} in Group 2 (P=0.028). Subjects in Group 1 had a longer follow-up (median 85 vs 35 months; P10 mm Hg (HR: 4.30; CI: 1.96-9.47). Conclusions Both bare and covered stent implantation for aortic coarctation is a safe and efficacious treatment. By using covered stent implantation the spectrum of patients treated has increased with lower rates of acute and late complications.",
keywords = "aortic coarctation, stent, transcatheter, treatment",
author = "Gianfranco Butera and Manica, {Jo{\~a}o Luiz Langer} and Davide Marini and Luciane Piazza and Massimo Chessa and Filho, {Raul Ivo Rossi} and {Sarmento Leite}, {Rog{\'e}rio E.} and Mario Carminati",
T1 - From Bare to Covered
T2 - 15-year single center experience and follow-up in trans-catheter stent implantation for aortic coarctation
AU - Butera, Gianfranco
AU - Manica, João Luiz Langer
AU - Marini, Davide
AU - Piazza, Luciane
AU - Chessa, Massimo
AU - Filho, Raul Ivo Rossi
AU - Sarmento Leite, Rogério E.
AU - Carminati, Mario
N2 - Background Bare stents has become the first line therapy for aortic coarctation. Covered stents has been reported more recently in clinical practice. Objectives The present study, reports comparatively 15-year experience of bare and covered stent implantation for aortic coarctation in a single tertiary referral center. Methods From 1997 to 2011, 143 patients with native or postoperative aortic coarctation were treated at our institution. Seventy-one subjects (median age 17 years (range from 4 to 70 years) underwent bare stent implantation (Group 1) while 72 patients (median age of 17.5 years (range from 6 to 68 years) underwent covered stent implantation (Group 2). Results Success rate in the whole group was 95%. More complex and tighter coarctations were treated using covered stents. Incidence of related-procedure adverse events was higher in Group 1 than in group 2 (21.1% vs 8.3% P=0.035). Aortic wall complications occurred in 7% of patients in Group 1 (one death) and 0% in Group 2 (P=0.028). Subjects in Group 1 had a longer follow-up (median 85 vs 35 months; P10 mm Hg (HR: 4.30; CI: 1.96-9.47). Conclusions Both bare and covered stent implantation for aortic coarctation is a safe and efficacious treatment. By using covered stent implantation the spectrum of patients treated has increased with lower rates of acute and late complications.
AB - Background Bare stents has become the first line therapy for aortic coarctation. Covered stents has been reported more recently in clinical practice. Objectives The present study, reports comparatively 15-year experience of bare and covered stent implantation for aortic coarctation in a single tertiary referral center. Methods From 1997 to 2011, 143 patients with native or postoperative aortic coarctation were treated at our institution. Seventy-one subjects (median age 17 years (range from 4 to 70 years) underwent bare stent implantation (Group 1) while 72 patients (median age of 17.5 years (range from 6 to 68 years) underwent covered stent implantation (Group 2). Results Success rate in the whole group was 95%. More complex and tighter coarctations were treated using covered stents. Incidence of related-procedure adverse events was higher in Group 1 than in group 2 (21.1% vs 8.3% P=0.035). Aortic wall complications occurred in 7% of patients in Group 1 (one death) and 0% in Group 2 (P=0.028). Subjects in Group 1 had a longer follow-up (median 85 vs 35 months; P10 mm Hg (HR: 4.30; CI: 1.96-9.47). Conclusions Both bare and covered stent implantation for aortic coarctation is a safe and efficacious treatment. By using covered stent implantation the spectrum of patients treated has increased with lower rates of acute and late complications.
KW - aortic coarctation
KW - stent
KW - transcatheter
KW - treatment
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Understanding aneuploidy in cancer through the lens of system inheritance, fuzzy inheritance and emergence of new genome systems
Christine J. Ye1,
Sarah Regan2,
Guo Liu2,
Sarah Alemara2 &
Henry H. Heng ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1475-95472,3
In the past 15 years, impressive progress has been made to understand the molecular mechanism behind aneuploidy, largely due to the effort of using various -omics approaches to study model systems (e.g. yeast and mouse models) and patient samples, as well as the new realization that chromosome alteration-mediated genome instability plays the key role in cancer. As the molecular characterization of the causes and effects of aneuploidy progresses, the search for the general mechanism of how aneuploidy contributes to cancer becomes increasingly challenging: since aneuploidy can be linked to diverse molecular pathways (in regards to both cause and effect), the chances of it being cancerous is highly context-dependent, making it more difficult to study than individual molecular mechanisms. When so many genomic and environmental factors can be linked to aneuploidy, and most of them not commonly shared among patients, the practical value of characterizing additional genetic/epigenetic factors contributing to aneuploidy decreases.
Based on the fact that cancer typically represents a complex adaptive system, where there is no linear relationship between lower-level agents (such as each individual gene mutation) and emergent properties (such as cancer phenotypes), we call for a new strategy based on the evolutionary mechanism of aneuploidy in cancer, rather than continuous analysis of various individual molecular mechanisms. To illustrate our viewpoint, we have briefly reviewed both the progress and challenges in this field, suggesting the incorporation of an evolutionary-based mechanism to unify diverse molecular mechanisms. To further clarify this rationale, we will discuss some key concepts of the genome theory of cancer evolution, including system inheritance, fuzzy inheritance, and cancer as a newly emergent cellular system.
Illustrating how aneuploidy impacts system inheritance, fuzzy inheritance and the emergence of new systems is of great importance. Such synthesis encourages efforts to apply the principles/approaches of complex adaptive systems to ultimately understand aneuploidy in cancer.
Background and progress
Why is aneuploidy commonly observed in various cancer types? How does aneuploidy directly or indirectly contribute to cancer? Is aneuploidy good or bad for cancer initiation and progression, and how does it affect treatment response? What is the relationship between aneuploidy and other genetic/epigenetic aberrations? How important is it to study each individual molecular mechanism that can be linked to aneuploidy? What are the general mechanisms (cause and effect) for generating aneuploidy? Why can aneuploidy be detected from other diseases? And what is the biological significance of aneuploidy in normal tissues for normal individuals? … These questions represent some long-debated issues in the field of cancer research, ever since Theodor Boveri recognized the link between aneuploidy and cancer over a century ago [1,2,3,4].
Specific aneuploidy has been observed in various non-cancer diseases: Down syndrome with trisomy chromosome 21, Edwards syndrome with trisomy 18, Patau syndrome with trisomy 13, Klinefelter’s syndrome with an extra X, and Turner’s syndrome with the absence of one X. While clonal aneuploidy is also detected in some cancers, such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with trisomy 12 and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with trisomy 8, the percentage of such cancer patients with the signature clonal aneuploidy is much lower (18% for CLL and 8.5% for AML) compared to those with Down syndrome (over 95% of all patients), suggesting that there are more diverse genomic factors contributing to cancer (even for the liquid cancer type) than those non-cancer genetic diseases.
Altogether, the complexity of aneuploidy makes studying its relationship with cancer extremely challenging (Table 1). Some known complications include: a) most cancer cases display non-clonal aneuploidy (impeding the fact that clonal aneuploidy has been much more commonly researched for decades) [5,6,7,8,9], b) aneuploidy often occurs in combination with other types of genetic/epigenetic and genomic aberrations (translocations and polyploidy) (Table 2) c) there is often a variable degree of somatic mosaicism [10,11,12,13], and d) there is a complex, dynamic relationship between aneuploidy and genome instability (Table 3). Interestingly, many common and complex diseases have been linked to non-clonal aneuploidy and somatic mosaicism as well [14, 15], which has led to efforts to search for commonly shared mechanisms among different diseases or illness conditions [16,17,18,19]. It is worth noting that aneuploidy can also be detected from the normal developmental process [20,21,22].
Table 1 Explanations of key terminologies
Table 2 Examples of different types of causative factors of aneuploidy
Table 3 Examples of interesting observations in aneuploidy studies including some conflicting data. Some comments are also offered to explain them
Such complexity did however discourage aneuploidy research, as cloning and characterizing individual cancer genes had promised much more certainty. During the peak era of oncogene- and tumor suppressor gene-focused research, for example, the importance of aneuploidy was largely ignored, due to high expectations from the gene mutation theory of cancer. As a result, efforts to systematically study aneuploidy in cancer, especially based on the belief that aneuploidy is much more important than gene mutations, are limited to a small number of research groups [23,24,25,26]. One of the popular viewpoints was that cancer gene mutations hold the key to understanding cancer, whereas chromosomes were just vehicles of genes; it was furthermore argued that most chromosomal changes are either incidental or the consequence of gene mutations.
While it was observed that some chromosomes display a tumor suppressor function following cell/chromosome fusion experiments [27], efforts were focused on cloning tumor suppressor genes [28]. The lack of easy-to-recognize patterns in aneuploidy has certainly reduced the enthusiasm of most funding agents about this topic, especially when gene mutation research has promised to identify the key common gene mutations for cancer.
One important publication has classified cancer into two major types based on observed molecular mechanisms: chromosome instability (CIN) and microsatellite instability [29]. Remarkably, the majority of colon cancers display CIN. The fact that most cancers can be linked to chromosomal instability was a surprise to many who primarily study cancer genes.
If the majority of cancers are linked to CIN, and aneuploidy contributes to CIN, more attention needs to be paid to aneuploidy [30]. Based on this concept, increased efforts were focused on identifying genes that are responsible for aneuploidy. Many individual genes and molecular pathways involving chromosomal machinery/integrity have been linked to aneuploidy. For example, a list of identified genes that contribute to aneuploidy-mediated cancer includes germline BUBR1 mutation, which leads to aneuploidy and cancer predisposition [31]. Additional examples can be found in Table 2.
Another important factor that promotes aneuploidy research is the popularization of copy number variation studies of the human genome [32,33,34]. If various individual instances of CNV are of importance, large scale CNVs caused by aneuploidy should be too, despite the fact that the search for specific genes related to aneuploidy (such as chromosome 21) have traditionally been the main focus. The availability of various technologies that can detect CNV have now revolutionized molecular cytogenetics. It should be mentioned that the cytogenetically visible copy number variations (CG-CNVs) need more attention [35]. Regarding the framework of fuzzy inheritance, CNVs, CG-CNVs, small supernumerary marker chromosomes and aneuploidy represent different degrees of fuzziness, which are likely reflected by quantitative difference or combinational effect. It is important to integrate these with analyses of system emergence [4, 36, 37].
In recent years, due in part to the disappointment that has come from attempting to identify the common driver gene mutation, and more significantly, due to the realization that genome instability plays an important role in cancer, aneuploidy studies have gained momentum. In particular, the popularity of studying aneuploidy in cancer has been promoted by some yeast biologists. Taking advantage of yeast model systems, they have applied cutting-edge molecular and genomic technologies to illustrate the molecular mechanisms that link aneuploidy to biological functions [38,39,40,41,42]; by translating their discoveries into cancer research, they have brought the spotlight on aneuploidy research in cancer [43, 44] (Tables 2, 3). Interestingly, a complex relationship between aneuploidy and cancer has also been revealed, proposing that aneuploidy can either promote or inhibit cancer progression depending on the evolutionary context. This has led to the paradox of aneuploidy in cancer [45, 46].
There have been attitude changes towards the study of aneuploidy as well. When direct evidence simultaneously characterized gene mutation and chromosomal aberrations as drivers for the phenotypic implication of metastasis [47], the authors clearly emphasized CIN, and the potentially involved gene was not even mentioned in the title. This likely represents a new favored approach focusing on genome-level changes. There is also the realization that chromosomal aberrations contribute more significantly to metastasis than gene mutations do [48] which supports the hypothesis that chromosomal aberration-mediated genome evolution is responsible for all major transitions in cancer evolution, including metastasis and drug resistance [49, 50]. Furthermore, and surprisingly to many molecular researchers, chromosome aberration profiles have been demonstrated to have a much stronger prediction value in the clinic compared to DNA sequencing profiles [51]. This conclusion has gained strong support from various cancer genome sequencing projects [52, 53], which prompts an important question regarding the differential contribution of chromosome aberrations and gene mutations to the cancer genotype. All together, rapidly accumulated data has forcefully highlighted the importance of aneuploidy in current cancer research, and more detailed molecular information linking individual gene mutations or epigenetic events to aneuploidy will soon flourish.
Challenges for predicting cancer status based solely on the molecular mechanisms of aneuploidy
Like other hallmarks of cancer, aneuploidy has now become a hot topic. A predictable new trend is that more researchers will join the effort to link all possible genetic/epigenetic and environmental factors to aneuploidy and cancer. However, as we have extensively discussed, due to biocomplexity (i.e. that many individual factors can contribute to the same phenotype), it is possible that merely collecting more diverse molecular data linking gene mutation and environmental factors to aneuploidy is not the best way to advance this field. This is because there will be too many factors involved, most of them lacking the power to predict cancer status [54, 55].
This viewpoint has been articulated by the evolutionary mechanism of cancer and its relationship with individual molecular mechanisms [50, 56]. In brief, cancer evolution can be understood by the dynamic interaction among four key components: internal and external stress; elevated genetic and non-genetic variations (either necessary for cellular adaptation or resulting from cellular damages under stress); genome-based macro-cellular evolution (genome replacement, emergent as new systems); and multiple levels of system constraint which prevent/slow down cancer evolution (from tissue/organ organization to the immune system and mind-body interaction). Since the sources of stress are unlimited and unavoidable (as they are required by all living systems), there are large numbers of gene mutations/epigenetic events/chromosomal aberrations, such as aneuploidy, that can be linked to stress-mediated genomic variants; furthermore, as environmental constraints are constantly changing, even identical instances of aneuploidy will have completely different outcomes in the context of cancer evolution, as the results of each independent run of evolution will most likely differ. Solely knowing the mechanism of aneuploidy limits the predicting power for cancer. Furthermore, hundreds of gene mutations can contribute to aneuploidy, and the various contexts of cancer evolution are almost unlimited. Based on this rationale, we promote the idea of using the evolutionary mechanism of cancer to unify diverse individual molecular mechanisms of cancer (4).
Unfortunately, such ideas have received little attention within the cancer research community, due in part to the traditional molecular characterization of gene mutations, and possibly more so due to many cancer biologists’ unfamiliarity with complexity science and a lack of understanding of the key principles of bio-emergence. It is thus necessary to discuss this issue of aneuploidy in cancer using the framework of the complex adaptive system [37].
A complex adaptive system is a system made up of many individual parts (agents) with nonlinear dynamical interaction. Due to the key emergent relationship between the lower level of heterogeneous agents and the behavior of the entire system, a detailed understanding of the individual parts does not automatically convey a determinist’s understanding of the whole system’s behavior. There are no fixed, dominant agents within the adaptive system, and when agents of the system are changed, the system adapts or reacts. Moreover, small changes in initial conditions can generate large changes in the system’s outcome, and stochasticity is also frequently involved [57, 58]. As a result, the reductionist approaches which have triumphed in molecular biology may be fundamentally limiting when attempting to understand complex adaptive systems.
Cancer is typically a complex adaptive system involving multiple levels of agent interactions and genotype/phenotype emergence among different types of tissue/organ constraints. In such a system, aneuploidy represents only one type of agent, despite its importance. There is a complex interaction among different levels of genetic organization, which involves phase transitions among clonal and non-clonal cellular populations, and the final emergence of different genome-defined cellular systems under highly dynamic cellular environments and the process of cancer evolution. This reality of cancer evolution explains why it is so challenging to predict the final phenotype based on an understanding of one type of agent. The take-home message is that simply understanding the molecular mechanism (both cause and effect) of aneuploidy is far from enough. A better strategy is to monitor the evolutionary process by measuring evolutionary potential. For example, the overall degree of CIN is more predictive than individual gene mutation profile [54]; large-scale chromosomal structural aberrations can often have a more profound impact on cancer evolution (even though aneuploidy often leads to structural aberrations as well); and the landscape of chromosomal aberrations is more predictive than gene mutation landscapes. Furthermore, the initial factor and the evolutionary trajectory differ in complex systems. It is now accepted that treatment options can often drastically and rapidly change the genetic landscape of the cancer [59].
In addition to the challenge that cancer is a complex adaptive system, it should be understood that current molecular knowledge of aneuploidy is mainly derived from model systems, which can differ from cancer systems in patients. The following limitations are briefly mentioned to bring the reader’s attention to them, and they are also useful for explaining some conflicting observations. First, the platform of the yeast model differs from human cellular populations within tissue. Different species display the feature of aneuploidy quite variably. In budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, aneuploidy is not uncommon and exists in natural populations; in plants, organisms can tolerate whole chromosome aneuploidy without triggering CIN; in mice, every single whole chromosome gain or loss is embryonic lethal [60]; in humans, the situation is similar to that of mice, with the exception of a few chromosome gains such as 13, 18 and 21. The pattern of evolution also differs when diverse types of cellular selection are involved, in addition to differing types of system constraints. For cancer evolution in reality, the overall complexity and the level of dynamics is much higher, which can often change the game completely. In the future, multiple cellular models might be helpful to certain degrees, especially when the time variable (i.e. development and aging) is added in to the equation.
Second, the status of clonal and non-clonal aneuploidy differs between many model systems and the reality of cancer. So far, for many yeast and human cell models, aneuploidy stains are created with clonal populations in which most cells display the same extra chromosomes. In contrast, for many solid tumors, aneuploidy exists in non-clonal forms. Such differences may contribute to some misperceptions, thus requiring further studies. For example, the analysis of trisomic cells from human patients with congenital aneuploidy syndromes did not display any increased CIN, concluding that aneuploidy itself does not lead to cancer-like CIN [61]. We have mentioned the significant difference between constitutional aneuploidy and the acquired aneuploidy observed in cancers. Constitutional aneuploidy is a clonal-chromosome aberration (CCA), whereas many acquired somatic aneuploidies are nonclonal-chromosome aberrations (NCCAs). In the cellular environment of trisomy 21, trisomy 21 is the dominating “normal” genome, and any other genomes (including the “normal” 46 XY or XX karyotype) are relatively “abnormal;” the homeostasis of trisomy 21 could actually generate less cellular variation, which explains the resulting low levels of cell-to-cell variations. Based on this analysis, we suggested that although specific constitutional aneuploidy alone is not sufficient for generating numerical CIN, it is necessary to examine the impact of non-recurrent, stochastic aneuploidy on generating all types of CIN [62].
Third, many models feature simple types of aneuploidy (with one extra chromosome within an otherwise normal karyotype, for example), which is easier to analyze with repeatable results. In contrast, in the setting of cancer evolution, aneuploidy is often coupled with structural chromosomal changes and/or polyploidy. In addition, the rate of aneuploidy within the population is often lower than in clonal populations of model systems, while for each cell with aneuploidy, the heterogeneity is higher than cells from model systems (there are often multiple extra chromosomes, for example). Such differences between model systems (in which the majority of cells are isogenic) and cancer samples (which have high levels of chromosomal and gene mutation heterogeneity) are reflected by the display of mainly micro-evolutionary processes in model systems, and a mixture of macro-evolution plus micro-evolution in real cancer. In a sense, many model systems mimic a population of the same species, while real cancer systems mimic a population of the same species and different species [4, 63,64,65].
Fourth, when discussing the advantages/disadvantages of aneuploidy, the majority of studies are focused on growth status. It should be pointed out that while growth represents a key feature of cancer, during the earlier stages of cancer evolution, growth might not necessarily be the key precondition. The rationale of focusing on cell proliferation in cancer research was based on the concept of accumulating gene mutations during cancer initiation and progression; it was thus argued that the proliferated cell population could provide the basis for stepwise cancer evolution. Since the discovery that punctuated cancer evolution is achieved by genome reorganization events, such as genome chaos, the rationale of focusing on proliferation has been challenged [6,7,8, 50, 56, 66, 67]. Surely, the cancer genome sequencing project has failed to detect serial, stepwise gene mutation accumulation in the majority of cancer cases [4, 59, 68]. In contrast, system instability might not only be an important earlier event, but in fact the key event. According to the genome theory [4, 49, 50, 56], genome instability could be the key driver for all major transitions for cancer evolution, including transformation, metastasis, and drug resistance. It is likely that cellular proliferation contributed by the “oncogenes” often represents the later events which help cancer cells to become more dominant cell populations (for more, see reference [4, 37]). Similar patterns have been observed in metastasis and drug resistance. Therefore, system instability might be the most important aspect for the success of cancer: new systems’ emergence from normal tissue [69, 70]. Recent single-cell sequencing of breast cancer cells supports this viewpoint. It was observed that copy number changes and rearrangements appeared early in tumorigenesis. In contrast, point mutations occurred gradually during tumor evolution (within the micro-evolutionary phase) [71].
Fifth, most current research efforts are focusing on molecular profiles based on an average population, and outliers are eliminated or ignored, either by the methods used or statistical tools. The traditional view of biological research is to identify patterns from “noise,” without the realization that the so-called “noise” in fact is heterogeneity, which represents a key feature of cancer evolution by functioning as the evolutionary potential. Increased studies have demonstrated the importance of outliers in cancer evolution, as cancer is an evolutionary game of outliers [4, 72, 73].
Sixth, in the search for the molecular consequence of aneuploidy, the focus is still on the genes’ function. Despite the fact that it is hard to make sense out of the data of altered profiles of a large numbers of genes, few have realized that aneuploidy, in fact, changes a new chromosomal-level coding system, which is namely the system inheritance [16, 37, 66].
Clearly, a new framework is needed to systematically study aneuploidy in cancer evolution. Since cancer is a complex adaptive system, and each run of successful evolution can be linked to different genome and gene mutation profiles, more attention needs to be paid to the gap between initial conditions and final emergence, the environmental and genome contexts, landscape dynamics, and system instability-mediated cancer evolutionary potential [59]. Because cancer evolution requires inheritance, and involves the emergence of new systems, the following session will focus on these issues to redefine inheritance and the emergent bio-cellular system.
The genome theory of cancer evolution
Based on the ultimate importance of chromosomal aberrations in cancer evolution, especially within the punctuated phase of macro-cellular evolution, the genome theory of cancer evolution was introduced with the aim of departing from the gene mutation theory of cancer [4, 49, 66]. To illustrate how chromosomal changes play a key driving role in cancer evolution, we have redefined the genomic meaning of karyotype changes, and compared the evolutionary dynamics between clonal and non-clonal chromosomal aberrations [6,7,8, 64, 74]. Moreover, we have proposed the use of the genome-mediated evolutionary mechanism to unify the diverse molecular mechanisms of cancer [55, 75]. Since aneuploidy represents one important type of karyotype aberration [15, 74], the principles of genome theory can be easily applied to aneuploidy research in the context of somatic evolution, complexity, and how chromosomally-defined new genomic information plays a driving role for new system emergence.
System inheritance and aneuploidy
Genes encode proteins, and the sequence of ATGC within genes is the genetic coding. It has been challenging to study how aneuploidy affects genetic coding when there are over a thousand genes involved. Traditionally, attention has been paid to dosage effects. With the development of the technical platform for transcriptome profiling, it was surprisingly observed that the impact of aneuploidy is far beyond the dosage effect on genes located on gained or lost chromosomes [40, 76, 77]. Even more interestingly, different experimental systems differ in terms of the observed impact. The genomic basis for these unexpected findings is unknown.
During our watching-evolution-in-action experiments within an in vitro immortalization model, we constantly observed rapid and massive genome re-organization during the punctuated phase of cancer evolution [4, 6,7,8, 78]. Remarkably, during this phase, mother cells can generate daughter cells with similar DNA but drastically different karyotypes. To illustrate the biological meaning of this karyotype re-organization, we realized that the shattering of the genome and its subsequent reorganization represent a powerful means of creating new genomic information. Such a new mechanism functions above the coding of individual genes, and perhaps serves to organize gene interaction.
One of the biggest promises of the human genome sequencing project was to decipher the blueprint that makes us human. Unfortunately, we have failed to achieve this goal following the sequencing phase of the genome project. Despite that we know the sequence of nearly all genes, we have no idea what the genomic blueprint is. Systems biologists have suggested that the network structure defines the blueprint. But what defines the network structure in the first place?
Putting all of these questions together, we realized that the karyotype, in fact, represents a new genomic coding system, and the blueprint is encoded by the new genomic information which is defined by the order of genes along and among chromosomes [4, 37, 59]. More specifically, a gene only encodes a specific “part inheritance,” while a set of the chromosomes of a given species encodes the “system inheritance” [16, 66]. Furthermore, we suggested that the karyotype defines the boundary of a network structure for a given species, which integrates the network into the genome-defined system [69, 70].
Further studies suggested that karyotype coding is maintained by the function of sex through the meiotic pairing mechanisms [79,80,81,82]. Nearly all significant karyotype aberrations will be eliminated by the “reproductive filter,” which ensures the species identity. In this way, similar gene content can form different species by creating different karyotypes, which determine the physical platform for gene interactions in the 3-D nucleus [37]. Since different species display different karyotypes, a species is in fact preserved by its own chromosomal coding. Furthermore, it is likely that altered genomic information contributes to many common and complex diseases [4, 37].
Obviously, aneuploidy alters the karyotype and thus changes the genomic coding. Despite the fact that much work is needed to illustrate the details of how aneuploidy changes genomic coding, many experiments support this idea in principle. For example, aneuploidy not only changes the overall transcriptomes, but can specifically provide new functions to rescue cells lacking specific essential genes. When the only copy of the MYO 1 gene was knocked out, yeast should no longer have been able to survive, as MYO1 encodes the myosin II protein required for cytokinesis. Surprisingly, however, extensive polyploidy and aneuploidy (rather than reverse mutation) was demonstrated to rescue the dying populations, illustrating that genome-level changes can generate emergent new phenotypes without directly fixing the specific deleted gene [83]. In other words, re-organizing the karyotype coding can create functions encoded by specific genes in different systems. Ample evidence can be found in current literature [4, 37].
Fuzzy inheritance and aneuploidy
One key feature of cancer is its multiple levels of genetic/epigenetic/genomic heterogeneity. During time-course experiments designed to trace karyotype evolution in vitro, it was documented that the degree of karyotype heterogeneity can be drastically different depending on the phases of cellular evolution [6,7,8]. In addition, the different extents of karyotype heterogeneity are evolutionary phase-specific (extremely high within the punctuated phase and low within the stepwise phase), suggesting that karyotype heterogeneity is inheritable among different cell populations. A similar phenomenon has been observed from DNA mutation when discussing the mutant type [84]. Recently, the two phases of cancer evolution have been confirmed by gene mutation and copy number profiling [71, 85,86,87,88].
Following the characterization of various cancer cell lines, it became clear that each line displays a different degree of heterogeneity (reflected as the rate of NCCAs). To establish the baseline of karyotype heterogeneity in normal individuals, SKY karyotype analysis was used after short-term culture of lymphocytes, and the rate of structural NCCAs was found to be around 1–4%. Interestingly, drug treatment-induced frequencies of NCCAs are also different among cell lines or individuals with different levels of genome instability, and elevated frequencies of NCCAs from lymphocytes are detected from various diseases or illness conditions [17, 19, 89].
The above observations are highly significant in the context of missing inheritability [90, 91]. It is generally accepted that phenotype is the result of the interaction of genotype and environment, but its mechanism is not clearly understood. For example, for phenotype plasticity, the mechanism is unknown. It is also unclear how different genotypes display different extents of phenotypic plasticity, and why environment can win over the power of genetics or vice versa.
The link between the frequency of NCCAs and phenotype heterogeneity has promoted the concept that the previously regarded “noise,” in fact, represents karyotype heterogeneity. Further research/synthesis has led to the realization that it is likely that the coded message at the karyotype level is heterogeneous in nature, which results in high phenotypic plasticity.
Important questions were then asked. Is it possible that inheritance itself is not precise but fuzzy, even for the coding of a single gene-determined phenotype? Do genetic elements code a spectrum of potential information rather than a fixed one? What if these highly penetrant relationships between genotype and phenotype only represent exceptions in which environmental factors are well-controlled? Does the major role of environmental factors select a specific possibility encoded by the genetic coding? Do stress conditions increase the heterogeneity of phenotype by increasing the fuzziness of the genetic coding? To address these questions, fuzzy inheritance has been introduced by us as the mechanism of various levels of genetic and epigenetic heterogeneity [4, 37, 70].
Since non-clonal aneuploidy belongs within the category of NCCAs and represents karyotype heterogeneity, it is important to integrate aneuploidy into fuzzy inheritance. Despite the fact that the frequencies of aneuploidy in various normal tissues are low, when combined with other NCCAs, the level of altered karyotypes is rather high, especially under stress conditions [50, 92, 93, 94]. In addition, the drastic difference between the spontaneous rate of aneuploidy in cells from normal tissue and in those from cancers supports the idea that specific cell populations display different degrees of fuzzy inheritance which are related to aneuploidy. For example, the mis-segregation rate in a stable, diploid cell line is one chromosome per 100–1000 cell divisions. In contrast, the mis-segregation rate in cultured cancer cells with CIN is approximately once every 1–5 divisions [95,96,97]. More remarkably, during the genome chaos phase, almost all cells display a high rate of mis-segregation with large number of aneuploidies, plus all sorts of karyotype variants [6, 50, 67]. The high degree of fuzzy inheritance in cancer, in fact, can also explain why non-clonal aneuploidy is a common feature of even later stages of cancer. All tumors are under high stress from surrounding tissues or higher systems, so fuzzy inheritance-mediated karyotype heterogeneity is essential for tumor survival and further progression. Clearly, how aneuploidy quantitatively contributes to fuzzy inheritance-mediated genomic heterogeneity needs further study.
The relationship between cellular adaptation and trade-off
Traditionally, aneuploidy has long been blamed as the result of bio-errors. Most of the molecular evidence supports this viewpoint, as when specific genes are dysfunctional as a result of experimental manipulation, a phenotype of increased aneuploidy can be observed. Many gene mutations involving cell cycle/chromosomal integrity can achieve the same phenotype. While the baseline of aneuploidy in normal individual tissues is low in many cases, in some tissue types, the spontaneous aneuploidy is high. Moreover, the overall rate of NCCAs is not low at all in most normal tissues.
Obviously, the higher than expected frequency of karyotype changes, including aneuploidy, cannot simply be explained as bio-error. In recent years, the biological significance of these seemingly random genetic “backgrounds” were studied, which has led to the appreciation of genomic heterogeneity in cancer evolution. Further synthesis suggests a relationship between stress-induced NCCAs and the advantages offered by their presence for cellular adaptation, as well as the trade-offs caused by their presence in cancer evolution and possibly in other disease conditions [4, 92]. Moreover, many diseases are the results of genomic variants which do not fit the current environments. Due to the dynamics of environments and the nature of fuzzy inheritance, it is impossible to eliminate all of these variants. Paradoxically, these genomic variants might be necessary for the species’ long-term survival, and they should be considered as a life insurance policy despite their high costs. Such a concept of trade-off not only addresses the key evolutionary mechanism of many diseases including cancer, but may also provide some answers to patients who ask the “why me” question. In a sense, cancer as an evolutionary trade-off can be illustrated by different perspectives: at the mechanistic level, cancers are the by-products of evolution (that is, the same mechanisms which make us human also make cancer successful); at the species level, as population heterogeneity is important for species survival, an individual with high genome instability can be considered as paying the price for our species; and at the individual level, most bio-features, including lifestyle, could be beneficial in some aspects and yet harmful in other aspects. Even for non-clonal aneuploidy-mediated cellular heterogeneity, while this phenomenon can provide a potential advantage for cellular adaptation, it can also, paradoxically, generate non-specific system stress, which can further produce more genetic and non-genetic variants which favor the disease condition [4]. Based on this rationale, we have attempted to use type I and type II CIN to unify diverse gene mutations under the principle of CIN-mediated cancer evolution, as many gene mutations and molecular pathways which are not directly involved in maintaining genome integrity can still be linked to CIN [50].
Emergence and luck
The unpredictability of emergence represents a common challenge for using parts characterization to predict phenotype at higher levels in a complex adaptive system. How aneuploidy triggers the successful evolution of cancer, especially during the phase transitions, is almost unknown. The situation worsens when the type of aneuploidy is non-clonal, and when both the context of other types of genetic changes and cellular environments keeps changing. For example, different tissues can tolerate different degrees of aneuploidy; aneuploidy can be detected at the early development stage with high frequencies, but the developmental process can overcome them, whereas the impact of aneuploidy can become serious during cancer evolution later in life; even in tissues that are sensitive to aneuploidy, most instances of aneuploidy will not lead to cancer. It seems that in different tissue types, different stages of development and aging, and different physiological and pathological processes, there are different “roles” for the cellular society which favor different types of emergence [19, 37]. For example, in a normal physiological cellular society, the average profile can overrule outliers, while in the setting of cancer evolution and under high stress, the outliers may triumph.
To understand how non-clonal karyotype aberrations can contribute to the emergence of cancer evolution, we proposed that instances of non-clonal aneuploidy, like other types of non-clonal karyotype aberrations, serve as heterogeneous agents that can impact the emergent properties of the cellular evolution. While the details of how aneuploidy affects emergence are not yet known, this model illustrates the importance of how even a portion of non-clonal aneuploidy can change the emergence process (Fig. 1). A similar general model of how the heterogeneity of genetic agents impacts diseases has been proposed to explain how NCCAs can contribute to different diseases [18, 98].
The illustration of how the heterogeneity of aneuploidy impacts the emergent properties of cellular populations. Since there is no direct correlation from individual agents to the emergent properties, the final properties are based on the collective emergence of all agents. Circles represent cells with normal karyotypes, triangles represent cells with non-clonal aneuploidy, and arrows represent pathways among agents. These variable properties are the potential basis for cancer evolution (modified from reference [19])
Due to the complex combinations of aneuploidy and the genetic and environmental contexts, a vast majority of these combinations will not directly lead to cancer’s success, as they are either not powerful enough to contribute to the phase transition which leads to cancer, or they are eliminated by system constraint. For example, it was recently demonstrated that the complex karyotypes derived from aneuploidy can trigger the immune system to eliminate them (Table 3). Another example is drug therapy in which a high dosage of drugs is used. The majority of the cancer cells will be eliminated by the initial drug treatment, and only a tiny portion of the cancer cells can survive (through the formation of genome chaos). It is extremely challenging to predict which aberrations will be successful, even though drug-resistant clones often arise.
As a consequence of the highly heterogeneous nature of karyotypes featuring aneuploidy, as well as the diverse genomic/environmental contexts involved, most genomic aberrations will not lead to the success of cancer, despite their potential. A “perfect storm” is needed for any cancer to be successful. Under such conditions, luckiness or unluckiness can be considered agents which impact the emergent properties.
Such interplay during cancer evolution is ultimately responsible for the emergence of a new genome system from normal tissue, and aneuploidy-mediated genome re-organization plays a key role for creating these new systems [4, 37, 66]. For altered cells to become cancer cells, they have to complete many key transitions, including immortalization, transformation and metastasis, all of which require the emergence of different genome systems; gene mutation alone is not sufficient for creating a new system. The alteration of system inheritance and the increased degree of fuzzy inheritance mainly contribute to the macro-cellular evolution which leads to new systems. In contrast, genes that promote cell proliferation can expand cancer cell populations following the formation and selection of cancer cells with unique karyotype-defined systems (Fig. 2).
The proposed timeline that illustrates the relationship between various molecular mechanisms (summarized by the hallmarks of cancer, modified from reference [50, 139]), aneuploidy, CIN (often coupled with other karyotype alterations such as structural alterations and polyploidy), macro-evolution, micro-evolution and the clinically detectable tumor. As NCCAs can be detected from earlier developmental stages, the relationship between various molecular mechanisms and aneuploidy is less clear. It is clear, however, that there is a complex, interactive relationship. Furthermore, elevated CIN is important for triggering macro-cellular evolution, followed by micro-cellular evolution, leading ultimately to the proliferation of the cancer cells with the winning genome. This diagram highlights the complex, dynamic relationship between aneuploidy, CIN and the two phases (macro and micro) of cancer evolution
Conclusion and future research
Within the framework that represents cancer as a complex adaptive system, the following elements become highly important for understanding both the key feature and common mechanism of cancer: internal and external stress-mediated adaptation and its trade-off (trigger factors); the multiple levels of genetic/environmental heterogeneity (essential conditions for cancer evolution); the involvement of system inheritance and fuzzy inheritance (how genomics works during cancer evolution); the two phases of cancer evolution (the mechanism of cellular evolution and the relationship between gene/epigene and genome changes); the emergence of new, karyotype-defined systems (the formation of a cancer seed and the importance of NCCAs and outliers); and the population of cancer cells that become clinically significant (the dominance of cancer). It is necessary to integrate these elements during studies of aneuploidy.
Despite the recent exciting progress of aneuploidy research, some great challenges remain. Simply focusing on the molecular characterization of agents at lower levels is neither sufficient for understanding the emergent properties of a complex adaptive system nor for predicting the contribution of aneuploidy to cellular evolution.
To change the status quo, the crucial first step is to acknowledge the fundamental limitation of the reductionist approach in aneuploidy research, as there is no precise, predictable relationship between an understanding of the individual mechanism of aneuploidy and clinical certainty, nor between many diverse individual agents and the emergent properties of cancer evolution. It is thus equally difficult to search for patterns based on diverse molecular pathways. In addition, the dynamic interaction of average cells and outliers further complicates this prediction. To make sense of this complexity and to increase predictability, a better strategy is to consider aneuploidy as an agent and cancer as a complex adaptive system. Expectations regarding the predictive power of aneuploidy must also change, as the success of cancer evolution depends on both evolutionary potential (which can be measured) as well as on chance or accidents (which are hard to predict) [99, 100]. The importance of special “circumstances” or “accidents” in evolutionary success is receiving our increased attention [4, 37, 66].
An innovative type of biomarkers is needed to integrate aneuploidy with other karyotype alterations, and these should be used to measure evolutionary potential (based on the degree of heterogeneity and karyotype complexity) rather than specific pathways. This approach will likely bridge the gap between basic research and clinical implications. There are some examples of applying aneuploidy in clinical analysis [101]. High somatic copy number alterations in melanoma patients have recently been linked with less effective response to immune checkpoint blockade anti–CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T lymphocyte–associated protein 4) therapy [52]. Clearly, aneuploidy status is associated with response to precise immunotherapy. We have engaged in the effort of using NCCAs (mainly structural NCCAs) to monitor clinical outcomes. One approach is to measure an individual’s overall genome instability and its linkage to cancer status. We have observed a strong correlation between the frequencies of structural NCCAs from short term lymphocytes culture and prostate cancer [37]. This work has expanded into other health conditions [17]. A similar concept of monitoring overall genome instability to detect cancer can be found in literature involving telomere length and the overall chromosomal aberration rate [102,103,104,105,106,107]. More aneuploidy data should be integrated into this effort. In particular, since chromosome data (CIN statuses, for example) have much more clinical predictive power than sequenced gene mutation data [4, 50,51,52,53, 74], bioinformaticians should be encouraged to search for new platforms for mining sequences in the context of evolutionary potential, through the use of AI (artificial intelligence) approaches. For example, this strategy could be used to search for the principle of how aneuploidy changes the blueprint, its overall impact on the gene network, and the quantitative contribution of elements for the higher level of emergence.
Further research is also needed to compare emergence based on average profiles and outliers with various degrees of system stress. Such analysis needs to be done within the context of the cellular society concept [4, 108]. As for the technical platforms, new monitoring methods should be developed to study single cells, especially to profile non-dividing cell populations. Recently, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has been used to eliminate targeted chromosomes. This new approach offers an effective way to develop animal models with aneuploidy, which can be used as a potential therapeutic strategy for human aneuploidy diseases [109]. Certainly, among these advances, one immediate priority is to illustrate how aneuploidy triggers structural alterations of the karyotype and provides the maximal diversity and plasticity needed for new system emergence and domination. For example, can aneuploidy lead to genome chaos [110]? How does the heterogeneity of aneuploidy impact the newly emergent karyotype?
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the ultimate goal of establishing better concepts and platforms for cancer research is to apply them in the clinic. Further studies are needed to apply this new understanding of aneuploidy for patient stratification, directing therapy schedules, and predicting drug resistance.
CCA:
clonal chromosome aberrations
C-Frags:
chromosome fragmentations
CIN:
CNV:
copy number variations
DMFs:
defective mitotic figures
NCCA:
non clonal chromosome aberrations
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Potopova TA, Zhu J, Li R. Aneuploidy and chromosomal instability: a vicious cycle driving cellular evolution and cancer genome chaos. Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2013;32(3–4):377–89.
Heng HH, Bremer WS, Stevens JB, Ye KJ, Liu G, Ye CJ, et al. Genetic and epigenetic heterogeneity in Cancer: a genome centric perspective. J Cell Physiol. 2009;220(3):538–47.
Stevens JB, Liu G, Abdallah BY, Horne SD, Ye KJ, Bremer SW, et al. Unstable genomes elevate transcriptome dynamics. Int J Cancer. 2014;134(9):2074–87.
Stevens JB, Horne SD, Abdallah BY, Ye CJ, Heng HH. Chromosomal instability and transcriptome dynamics in cancer. Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2013 Dec;32(3–4):391–402.
Schukken KM, Foijer F. CIN and aneuploidy: different concepts, different consequences. BioEssays. 2018;40(1)
Walen KH. Budded karyoplasts from multinucleated fibroblast cells contain centrosomes and change their morphology to mitotic cells. Cell Biol Int. 2005;29(12):1057–65.
Erenpreisa J, Cragg MS. MOS, aneuploidy, and the ploidy cycle of cancer cells. Oncogene. 2010;29(40):5447–51.
Zhang S, Mercado-Uribe I, Sun B, Kuang J, Liu J. Generation of cancer-stem-like cells through the formation of polyploid giant cancer cells. Oncogene. 2014;33(1):116–28.
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Iourov IY, Vorsanova SG, Yurov YB. Chromsomal mosaicism goes global. Mol Cytogenet. 2008;1:26.
Vidotto T, Tiezzi DG, Squire JA. Distinct subtypes of genomic PTEN deletion size influence the landscape of aneuploidy and outcome in prostate cancer. Mol Cytogenet. 2018;11(1)
Santaguida S, Richardson A, Iyer DR, M'Saad O, Zasadil L, Knouse KA, et al. Chromosome Mis-segregation Generates Cell-Cycle-Arrested Cells with Complex Karyotypes that Are Eliminated by the Immune System. Dev Cell. 2017;41(6):638–651.e5.
Rutledge SD, Cimini D. Consequences of aneuploidy in sickness and in health. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2016;40:41–6.
Santaguida S, Amon A. Short- and long-term effects of chromosome mis-segregation and aneuploidy. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2015;16(8):473–85.
Sheltzer JM, Ko JH, Replogle JM, Habibe Burgos NC, Chung ES, et al. Single-chromosome Gains Commonly Function as Tumor Suppressors. Cancer Cell. 2017;31(2):240–55.
Herrera LA, Prada D, Andonegui MA, Dueñas-González A. The epigenetic origin of aneuploidy. Curr Genomics. 2008;9(1):43–50.
Davidsson J. The epigenetic landscape of aneuploidy: constitutional mosaicism leading the way. Epigenomics. 2014;6(1):45–58.
Mulla WA, Seidel CW, Zhu J, Tsai HJ, Smith SE, Singh P et al., Aneuploidy as a cause of impaired chromatin silencing and mating-type specification in budding yeast. Elife. 2017;6. pii: e27991.
Heng HH. Bio-complexity: Challenging reductionism. In: Sturmberg JP, Martin CM, editors. Handbook on systems and complexity in health. New York: Springer; 2013. p. 193–208.
Hanahan D, Weinberg RA. Hallmarks of cancer: the next generation. Cell. 2011;144(5):646–74.
This manuscript is part of our series of publications on the subject of “the mechanisms of cancer and organismal evolution.” This work was also partially supported by the start-up fund for Christine J. Ye from the University of Michigan’s Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology/Oncology Division. We thank Dr. Emanuela Volpi, the special issue editor, for her kind invitation. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions, and Julie Heng for partial editing.
This work was partially supported by the start-up fund for CJY from the department of internal medicine, division of hematology/oncology, University of Michigan.
Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
The Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
Christine J. Ye
Center for Molecular Medicine and Genomics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
, Guo Liu
, Sarah Alemara
& Henry H. Heng
Department of Pathology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
Henry H. Heng
Search for Christine J. Ye in:
Search for Sarah Regan in:
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CY and HH drafted the manuscript. SR, GL and SA contributed to discussion and editing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Correspondence to Henry H. Heng.
Ye, C.J., Regan, S., Liu, G. et al. Understanding aneuploidy in cancer through the lens of system inheritance, fuzzy inheritance and emergence of new genome systems. Mol Cytogenet 11, 31 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13039-018-0376-2
Accepted: 12 April 2018
Adaptive system
Aneuploidy
Cancer evolution
Emergence of new genome
Fuzzy inheritance
Genome theory
Non-clonal chromosome aberrations (NCCAs)
Punctuated evolution
System inheritance
Chromosomal Imbalances and Cancer
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Kavanaugh tips Supreme Court right
The US Senate confirms Brett Kavanaugh amid one of the most bruising political encounters in recent memory.
by: Emily Hohler
After one of the most "bruising and divisive political battles in recent memory", the US Senate has confirmed Brett Kavanaugh for a seat on the Supreme Court by a margin of 50 to 48, says Josh Glancy in the Times. In the end, neither high-profile accusations of past sexual misconduct nor the daily demonstrations against him "made a difference". Confirmation of the 53-year-old, who could remain in office for decades, represents the fulfilment of a "long-cherished Republican dream to remake the Supreme Court in a conservative mould".
It does, says Adam Liptak in the New York Times. The new majority five conservatives to four liberals is likely to shift the law to the right on "countless deeply contested issues from abortion to gun rights". The justices insist that they "apply neutral legal principles without regard to politics" but this has been undermined. Kavanaugh's own testimony was "laced with fiery attacks on Democrats". The court is also in growing danger of being seen as partisan. The conservative justices were all appointed by Republican presidents, the liberals by Democrats.
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Trump didn't help by apologising to Kavanaugh and his family for their "pain and suffering", says Jennifer Rubin in the Washington Post. The "uphill climb" to earn voters' trust was evident in the results of a CNN poll in which 51% opposed his confirmation, while 52% believed his accusers and think he lied about his past alcohol use.
"An even greater conflagration may be coming," says Charlie Savage in the New York Times. Liberals are talking of ways to "eventually undo" the conservative bloc's power without waiting for a member to retire or die there has even been talk of trying to impeach Kavanaugh. This would be an "extraordinary violation of constitutional and political norms" and is unlikely, but the pressure may "make some of the conservative justices more cautious" on future rulings.
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Confessions of the Only Woman on a Rock Star Tour Bus
One roadie’s guide to surviving nomadic life in the hardest-partying business on earth.
Story by Melanie J. Rock · Illustrations by Molly Fairhurst · 4.15.19
Story by Melanie J. Rock
Illustrations by Molly Fairhurst
“You will be the only lady on board.”
My friend Gene stresses this point when he offers me my first roadie job. And I’m so thrilled by the idea of going on tour that I’m undaunted by the warning I detect in his voice. After having spent a year seeking meaningful employment in my recently adopted hometown of San Francisco, Gene’s job offer holds real promise.
The band is a known commodity from my New York punk rock days, the testosterone-fueled mosh pits of my youth. That scene doesn’t scare me. I’ve been the only lady plenty of times, as a bass player and lead singer in a handful of bands, and doing administrative work for music festivals. But I’ve never been the only lady in a traveling entourage, living cheek to cheek with a pack of guys in the cramped living quarters of a tour bus for two straight months.
“Just think of it as an extended family outing with a bunch of cousins you’ve never met,” says Gene, whose real name, like the others in this piece has been withheld to protect his privacy. That’s his way of advising me to steer clear of road romances. I don’t think he needs to. Internally, I’m already rehearsing my reassurances to my boyfriend that he has nothing to worry about. I tell myself I have nothing to worry about. At 25, I’ve worked hundreds of shows. I’ve mastered the dodge of the unwanted pass, and I’ve also had many casual flings. At the moment, I’m enjoying the predictable ease of a settled, stable home life — I’m not looking forward to a road romance. I’m looking forward to testing my skill set on a new playing field. And I’m hot on the idea of flexing my feminist muscles in what’s considered a distinctly male role.
Gene is a top-tier tour manager and soundman, and as his assistant, I’ll be well trained for future road work if I want it. I already own the uniform: black jeans, Doc Martens, and loose black T-shirts that downplay my curves. I’ll avoid looking sexy or cute. I will carry my own weight. I will not flirt. I’m determined to be the incidental female.
The tour bus is decked out in mirrors and dark velour, a glitzy ’80s disco on wheels, with a front and back lounge, kitchenette and micro bathroom, all expertly engineered to accommodate a traveling party of 12. We sleep in triple-decker bunks split by a shoulder-width strip of hallway. On day one, I feel like the sole frontierswoman in a band of outlaws.
Long show days unravel into ragged all-night drives. Members of the crew commandeer the back lounge for porn parties that end in giddy circle jerks, audible from my tiny bed. I fumble for my earplugs, trying to escape into a book. Tucked inside my flimsy blanket cocoon, I’m bothered more by the feeling of exclusion than their raunchy giggling. I envy their easy bond: the kind of camaraderie that eludes the only lady on board. Times like these solidify my sense of otherness. I know that around me, the guys act differently — speak differently, behave differently, try to tone down the locker-room banter. I wish they wouldn’t bother.
In the mornings, a chorus of alarm clocks stirs our zombie team, rumpled and smelling of beer and sweat. I try to be the first one up in order to avoid the tussle at the bathroom door. On show days, I set up our office inside the venue. While the crew spends all day humping gear, I deal with guest lists, dressing-room hospitality, incoming and outgoing laundry, any pending hotel issues, and replenishment of everything from bass strings to Visine, tube socks, cigarettes, and whatever else anybody might need. This means that when our guitar technicians want to bait eager fans intent on meeting the band, they come to me for extra backstage passes. I’m complicit in their best chance of getting laid. When they miss the wakeup call, it’s my job to round them up and make sure they’re all on board before the bus pulls away. There’s no reciprocal caregiving here, no way for them to scratch my back. I feel more like their babysitter than their friend.
Our bus driver, Chuck, is a potbellied biker who looks straight out of ZZ Top. On day three, he catches me off guard, alone on the bus, and sweetly thanks me for my “positive female influence.” He appreciates that the guys are keeping the bus tidy, and credits me with the lack of strewn skivvies and food trash. From then on, Chuck is my buddy. He addresses me as “Little Lady” without irony or crudeness, and I’m comforted by his paternal ways. Chuck is married and has fathered a small tribe: “Two generations of proud rednecks,” he calls them. But he’s spent 20 years driving buses, essentially alone, so I’m honored by his invitation to ride shotgun in his quiet company, with the crackle of his CB radio, rolling over endless waves of road.
We don’t discuss his numerous lady friends. In Austin, there’s the redhead in the yellow cab outside the backstage door, where I happen to be catching some fresh air. Chuck sees me watching and smiles, as if affirming some agreement we haven’t actually made. In Memphis, I’m loading leftover beers into the bus bays when a middle-aged blonde in a black Mustang pulls up, and the door opens to let Chuck out. The warmth in his “Bye, darlin’, I’ll be seein’ ya,” says he means it, just like he’s meant it before.
I learn to recognize his swagger on the nights he hasn’t slept alone. But unlike the other guys, who announce every conquest as if someone’s keeping score, he doesn’t flaunt his liaisons. Chuck has a certain ease about his practiced infidelity. It makes me question my initial skepticism about his loyalty to his wife. I overhear the way their phone calls ooze with tenderness, even in their mundane chats about their kids, their dogs, and all the household maintenance issues waiting for his return. I trust that after so many years of nights spent apart, he and his wife have come to an equitable understanding.
One year and three tours later, I’m tour managing Jordan’s band, living out of a dirty van with his adorable young trio and a soundman, sleeping in cheap motels and chasing a caravan of buses that belong to the headlining act. The tour, originally slated for two months, has stretched to five with no end in sight, because the headliner’s girl-power anthems are topping both the rock and pop charts, throwing our little club tour into arena mode. Meanwhile, Jordan has fallen in love with the headliner, and she loves him back.
Most nights, Jordan and his superstar steal away, entrusting her bandmates to mollify the rabid fans. When I need him to return to our piddling entourage, I interrupt their trysts with our secret knock: a two-fisted knuckle roll that sounds like castanets. She’s become so recognizably famous that her tour manager employs impersonators to confuse the crowds of fans who await her arrival and departure. This same tour manager travels with a cigar box stuffed with a raw cow’s liver, which he uses as a masturbation toy. He calls the box his “girlfriend,” a substitute for his living, breathing fiancée back home. I know this because while Jordan is fucking his superstar girlfriend in locked dressing rooms and darkened venue hallways across America, I have an all-access pass to her pop star world.
Four months into this routine, I’m tired of my mother hen act. And I’m tired of traversing the nightly floods of adulation, the outpourings of unrequited love, none of it aimed at me. Jordan and his boys prime the hordes of screaming fangirls, egg them on, strut and pout and tease. They adopt the sultry stage moves of the headliners’ more seasoned players, and the crowds eat it up. Watching each performance from the wings, I’m mesmerized by all those beaming faces, so worshipful and ripe, begging to be noticed by whoever is on stage. I’m stuck watching the orgy from the outside, and I want a turn at lusty playtime. I want to be adored.
So I start to invite the attention I crave. I flirt with security guards and local crew; I accept stiff drinks from lascivious promoters and record label reps. I alter my attire, adding slinky polyester button-down blouses in loud vintage prints to my old gender-neutral wardrobe. And the superstar’s drummer starts shooting hungry glances my way.
On a typically boozy night off in a hotel bar, the party ends when he and I sneak away. We land in his room, on his plush king-size bed, making out to Radiohead like a pair of teens in heat, with teasing tongues and groins grinding double-layered denim. I reach for his fly and he grabs my wrist. “We should stop,” he says. Which stuns me. The thought of me not measuring up to whatever set of standards guides his myriad nightly hookups is crushing. We both pull back. He locks me in a sad puppy stare and explains, “You’re the kind of girl I’d fall in love with. And I just can’t.”
Now I’m insulted and annoyed. His words sound like utter bullshit. Love is not supposed to enter this equation.
I’m not looking for commitment or romance. I just want to stop feeling sorry for myself. I want an unapologetically noncommittal hookup, same as the guys. I really want to get off, and I can’t believe this boy who’s been screwing his way across America right under my nose for the past several months is rejecting me on the pretext of love. I pull myself together and angrily ask if he’s serious, before dashing away, too dizzy to bother with his answer.
Days later, when it’s become clear to everyone that the drummer and I are no longer on speaking terms, I take the opportunity of a family-style preshow dinner to quip loudly, “I guess I’m just too much woman for him.” But for the remainder of the tour, his face is a reminder of my solitude in the midst of so much flesh.
Several tours later, I’m having an affair with Phillip, a married man. His band is on a tight budget, so we’re all doubling up in hotel rooms. It starts the night Phillip says, “Come lie with me. Aren’t you lonely? The road’s so fucking lonely.”
Of course I feel it too, all the time, in our bizarre state of constant company. But I hesitate, certain this will lead to toxic guilt, blame and doubt, all of which will tarnish any momentary pleasure. I know that I don’t want to be the other woman, the reviled homewrecker. But Phillip wraps his burly arms around himself and starts to moan, and I hate how sad he looks. I want to switch it up. I want to let it all go. So I surrender to the pull of lying next to him, of holding him and letting him hold me back.
In public, Phillip and I are bosom buddies who paint each other’s nails and prattle on about the movies that we stay up all night watching. We make an affable pair, and no one seems suspicious. In private, we make no room for remorse. We refuse to forecast any mess or pain. We wallow in what almost feels like love.
It ends when the tour does, when we return to our separate, stable homes. I picture Phillip lounging with his loving wife, nuzzled on a comfy couch, catching up on movies that she’s saved for his return. My home life is less idyllic. In my absence, my boyfriend has become enthralled with video games. I struggle with reclaiming his attention, and am convinced this is my rightful punishment.
Phillip tries to stay in touch, but I delay responding when he writes or calls. When I’m on tour again, we meet up in his hometown and I sloppily spill my truth: That I never wanted more than what the road afforded us. “So you used me,” Phillip accuses, prepared for battle. But I can’t absorb the blow. I’m liquored up and working the wrong side of a familiar scene. I callously reply, “I thought we were using each other.” Which isn’t meant to hurt him, but clearly does.
It’s been 10 years since my last tour. Now I’m the married one. A wife and mother, the author of half-written songs and fractured manuscripts, primarily caught up in the chaos of family life. The old skill set I mastered on tour now serves a multitude of redundant, mundane duties, a dull hypnotic hum of domestic tasks. My role as family manager falls shy of satisfaction. I deeply miss the unpredictability and adventure of the road, and mourn the loss of my independence. Most days it feels like my entire identity is at stake.
Finally, I decide to dip a toe back in the pool. I barter a rare night off to see a rock show, and slip backstage to lay eyes upon a favorite old flame. It’s been years since I last encountered Avi, decades since we first met after one of his shows, long before I ever hit the road.
We were both in bands then, both remarkably cute; it had been easy to fall hard, but hard to stay in touch, back before the advent of cell phones. So we saw each other on and off, when geography allowed, even met up once or twice when we were both on tour and our itineraries miraculously overlapped. With my family fast asleep an hour’s drive away, I stumble into his crowded dressing room, overcome with nerves.
He spots me from across the room and lures me with his eager grin, through the hot swamp of bodies that divide us. I try to hide my thrill when he says, in a voice that’s never failed to melt me, “It’s really good to see you, girl.” I answer coyly, “You look great,” at a loss for better words. The human tide swells around us, allowing us just a few short beats before engulfing him and edging me aside. Reduced to another member of the crowd, I linger briefly and then slip away.
The next day, I tweet a rave review of Avi’s show, and he reacts with a private message: “What’s your number?” It’s like a pebble smashing glass, shattering all my fixed routines. The mere idea of his desire sparks my imagination: I invent an illicit correspondence, lasting weeks, then months, ending in a libidinous reunion. I am primed for a grand seduction, in the flicker of warm candlelight, when Avi saves me from myself. “We’ve made very different choices,” he says, reminding me how clearly I’d once seen myself in him — and how content I’d been, for all those years, to be his lady friend.
This is as far as my invention goes. Without regret or shame, I lean back and let the road float between us.
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NATURAL VENEERS RARE VENEERS
The new website launch. The all new window to creations, imagination & possibilities.
As TOPL prepa res for its first international participation at the Interzum show in Cologne, Germany it puts a new life into the window from where the world would use to peep into TOPL after the show. TOPL has given a completely fresh look to its website with all the latest products, processes, machines and company updates.… Read More
Team Natural Veneers by Turakhia
Interzum Award : Intelligent material & design 2009 Entering the Big League. with a bang!!!
TOPL has finally made its presence felt in the global veneering industry. Since its very inception, TOPL has always been known in the Indian veneer industry, for its pioneering efforts and innovative products. TOPL has made a head start at the Interzum fair 2009 held by the Koelnmesse, by winning the Interzum award: intelligent material & design 2009.… Read More
FSC Certification : Being responsible to our future generations.
TOPL has always been committed to act in an environmentally responsible manner. For this very reason TOPL extends unconditional support to sustainable forest management practices. It proactively looks to encourage organizations following sustainable forest management practices. TOPL has been awarded with the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) chain-of-custody certificate issued by The Rainforest Alliance in January 2009.… Read More
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Five Things to Know in Florida for July 7
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By Staff Reporters on December 3, 2015 Bay and Gulf Counties, Charlotte County, fish kills, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Red Tide Organism, Karenia Brevis, Lee County, Manatee County, northwest florida, Pinellas County, red tide, Reports, Sarasota County, Satellite images, Southwest Florida, Water analysis Beach
Blooms of the Florida red tide organism, Karenia brevis, were detected last week along Bay and Gulf counties in Northwestern Florida and Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte and Lee counties in Southwest Florida. The red tide was detected by satellite images and an analysis of water samples in those areas. It was detected in low- to […]
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Australia skipper Tim Paine said Monday he is relishing his sometimes heated battle with animated Indian counterpart Virat Kohli, and promised “intense, hard” cricket in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne. The pair...
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Japanese Companies Attack Neglected Diseases
Several Japanese drug companies have joined a new project to find medicines to treat two neglected parasitic diseases, Chagas and leishmaniasis.
Eisai Co., Shionogi & Co. and Takeda Pharmaceutical will join AstraZeneca, a London-based company, in opening their libraries of millions of chemical compounds to the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, allowing researchers to look for chemicals that kill the parasites in infected cells.
The initiative, founded in 2003 by Doctors Without Borders and other partners, focuses on diseases that major drug and diagnostic companies have ignored because treatments promised little profit.
Source: New York Times (link opens in a new window)
health care, infectious diseases, pharmaceutical industry
ATTN #Jobseekers (link opens in a new window): @semillanueva (link opens in a new window) seeks Partnerships & Grants Coordinator in #Guatemala (link opens in a new window). Apply by 2/20:… https://t.co/vf78VHqmxM (link opens in a new window)
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Category Archives: right wing politics
Brer Abbott and The Undead
What a good name for some Gothic band to take!
I refer of course to Tony Abbott’s ghost cabinet — a cabinet of Dr Caligari.
An Abbott, two Bishops and Nick the Impaler
A Cadaver, a Barney and Kevin the Tailor
That refers to the famous couplet on Richard III:
A Cat, a Rat, and Lovell the Dog
All ruled England under the Hog
Yes, we have an alternative at last: the pit or the pendulum, the devil or the deep blue sea, Scylla or Charybdis, Hitler or Stalin… Of course the latter is particularly unsavoury, is it not? Unfair on both counts — but don’t blame me: I’m not the one who compared Copenhagen to Munich while fully aware of the spurious nature of the analogy but nonetheless knowing it would push the right buttons in punter-land. That was Tony yesterday to Alan Jones. And interviewed on Lateline last night the neuro-linguistic triggering got a typically Abbott overkill: he even underlines the cue words by raising the stress above the rest of the utterance, a kind of phonological CAPITAL LETTERS TRICK.
Peter Hartcher noted inThe Sydney Morning Herald:
…He has rejected the counsel of the Liberal Party’s founder, Robert Menzies, that ”the duty of an opposition is to oppose selectively”…
Abbott will not engage on Rudd’s terms. He will not mount an intellectual case. He will not present detailed policy alternatives.
He will circle Rudd, throwing jabs from all directions, never presenting a stationary target. He proposes deregulating the job market, for instance, but refuses to be specific: ”I am asking questions here,” he told Sky News yesterday, ”not making policy.”
”I want to make a fight of things,” he said. ”I think I have got the frontbench to do that.”
With the climate sceptic Nick Minchin in resources, the hardliner Eric Abetz in industrial relations, Barnaby Joyce free-ranging and veteran warriors like Bronwyn Bishop and Kevin Andrews on the front line, nobody would disagree with him.
Posted by Neil on December 9, 2009 in Australia, Australia and Australian, current affairs, Political, politics, right wing politics, Tony Abbott, weirdness
Brer Abbott – The Ghost Who Walks?
Well, there is the matter of budgie smugglers in common, and the torso I suppose.
That Brer Abbott may indeed be The Ghost Who Walks was revealed today in The Australian. Speaking of Abbott’s book Battlelines, which may indeed sell more copies now, Stephen Matchett notes: “His main policy is to take us back to the 1950s, when everybody agreed with government spending money on welfare for the right sort of people: working couples with kids and their grandparents. But there is more ideology than opportunism in Battlelines, which sets out strategies Abbott learned in his spiritual home, the Democratic Labor Party…”
So it appears The Ghost Who Walks, rather than being Mister Walker, is in fact Bob Santamaria on steroids.
Or something like that.
Posted by Neil on December 5, 2009 in Australia, right wing politics, Tony Abbott
Not quite the promised climate change post
I need to pause before I attempt the summation I promised yesterday, so below I will list some additional resources.
But first some preliminary observations.
1. While “MAGIC PUDDING POLITICS” (Rudd on Brer Abbott) is not nearly as effective a mantra as “GREAT BIG TAX ON NEARLY EVERYTHING” (Brer Abbott on Rudd) the greater truth is in the Rudd mantra. The idea of a costless response to climate change is a sick joke. I do in fact believe that nuclear power should be in the mix, siding to that extent with Brer Abbott (and James Lovelock), but that has to be seen in a context too.
THE Opposition’s desire to embrace nuclear power in the absence of an emissions trading scheme or carbon tax would result in electricity price rises of between 10 per cent and 33 per cent, according to estimates by the Howard government’s nuclear energy expert, Ziggy Switkowski.
In a report for John Howard in 2006, Dr Switkowski found nuclear power would never be commercially viable unless fossil fuel-generated electricity was made more expensive using an ETS or carbon tax.
This resulted in Mr Howard embracing an emissions trading scheme as a way to reduce greenhouse gases while keeping open the nuclear option for the future.
In a dramatic departure from policy, the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, has abandoned support for any market-based mechanism, such as an ETS or a carbon tax, as part of the Coalition’s greenhouse strategy…
2. It is such a shame the whole issue has become politicised, but I suppose that is inevitable in a democracy. Fact is, however, that there are limits to what “debate” can actually achieve in the face of phenomena that really do not depend, in the long run, on our ideological positions or the wheelbarrows we choose to push. Dithering is one of the less savoury outcomes of a democratic process, not that I prefer the alternative really – but a country like China is actually better placed to act decisively, for good or ill. Such a shame we are mere humans and not gods, isn’t it?
3. Given the abysmal level of much of our dithering both here and overseas, and given the importance of the issue, nothing is to be gained by censorship of the kind that apparently has happened at the CSIRO or by fudging data, as apparently happened at the East Anglia CRU. While we would all do well to forget unlikely scenarios like the movie The Day After Tomorrow and must all concede that Al Gore oversimplified in An Inconvenient Truth, we should also realise that what happened at the CSIRO or East Anglia does not invalidate the overall truth of the IPCC reports. The IPCC does not engage in research; all it does is weigh the research and gather together the implications of that research for our consideration. There was much more input to its reports than East Anglia.
Hence comments like this on the latest offering (for climate change action I hasten to add) of Sojourners, a “left evangelical” site, really are tragic.
I think it is useing a lie to push their ideas. there is no man made global warming. yes take care of the environment, being a christian this should be second nature, shouldnt need to push for eco-prophets. nature changes all the time. thats life. honesty is important and there isnt much of that in this environment "emergency" that is being pushed. The other point is that the UN has no concern for the poor. they people they have chosen to make us believe in global warming are liars. and the proposals they want to accomplish will Not help the poor but make it harder for them. If you cant see that then you have blinders on.
There are so many prejudices running through that comment one hardly knows where to start.
4. Check some recent stories in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Global warming ‘godfather’ goes cold on Copenhagen
Cold comfort: the psychology of climate denial
At a glance: guide to climate change and ETS
5. Realise that there are left as well as right-wing critiques of “market strategies” like cap and trade or carbon tax.
Carbon Trading – How it works and why it fails
Contours of Climate Justice
New Internationalist Climate Justice issue. From that issue:
The Same Boat
Imagine 10 rabbits lost at sea, in a boat carved out of a giant carrot.
The carrot is their only source of food, so they all keep nibbling at it. The boat is shrinking rapidly – but none of them wants to be the first to stop, because then they’ll be the first to starve. There’s no point in any of them stopping unless everyone stops – if even one rabbit carries on eating, the boat will sink.
This is the international climate crisis in a (Beatrix Potter-flavoured) nutshell: action by individual nations achieves little unless we all act together. Of course, reality is a little more complex. While it’s easy to imagine the rabbits reaching a simple agreement where they all learn to dredge for seaweed instead, our situation involves massive global inequalities, differing levels of responsibility, and a history of exploitation and broken international promises.
Perhaps, then, we shouldn’t be too surprised that the international climate negotiations – which began in earnest in 1990 with the talks that created the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – have not yet got us a workable global solution. The best we’ve managed so far has been the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, under which industrialized nations (known as ‘Annex 1’ countries) pledged to cut their CO emissions by a completely inadequate 5.2 per cent by 2012. The US famously pulled out of the deal, and most of those who remained in are unlikely to achieve even these small cuts…
Down with Kyoto
We shouldn’t get too hung up on Copenhagen – we’re far more likely to create lasting change by building powerful national and international movements than by pouring all our energy into specific summit meetings. But it’s hard to deny that we need some sort of international framework for tackling this global issue. Despite its flaws, the UNFCCC is the only one we’ve got, and the urgency of the climate issue requires us to work with it.
However, the Kyoto Protocol has been a dismal failure. Should we demand that governments scrap it completely and start again from scratch? It’s tempting, but would be unlikely to gain the crucial support of Southern negotiators, who fear that a brand new deal would see them lose their hard-won ‘differentiated responsibility’.
A better approach might be to create space within the existing talks for alternative, fairer systems and ideas – such as GDRs, Kyoto2, community-led solutions, indigenous rights, strings-free clean development assistance, patent-free technology transfer – to get a hearing. Currently emissions trading, private financing and market-based mechanisms are seen as the only route to greenhouse gas reductions, and are crowding everything else out of the debate.
This suggests a simple, effective starting point for developing a successful – and just – global agreement: we need to get rid of carbon trading…
Confused yet? One tip though: if anyone has all their ideas on the subject from Quadrant or Ms Devine or Mr Bolt they aren’t worth taking too seriously. The entries immediately above, on the other hand, are predicated on an anti “free market” perspective. They are putting their faith in sustainables as the answer. I don’t really see either as being much practical help, though more is to be said for the New Internationalist stance than Quadrant’s.
OK, I’ll try again later on…
See also: entries here tagged “environment".
Posted by Neil on December 4, 2009 in Australia, Australia and Australian, challenge, climate change, environment, generational change, globalisation/corporations, humanity, Political, politics, right wing politics, Tony Abbott
A couple of days ago Jim Belshaw noted:
… In choosing Mr Abbott, the Liberal Party has taken a step into the unknown. The Coalition now presents a clear alternative position to Labor. Mr Abbott is a very intelligent man, but he has also been a polarising figure with somewhat of a tendency to put his foot in his mouth, boot and all. Dull he is not.
The reactions to Mr Abbott among the party faithful on both sides can be largely predicted. What is less clear is just how he might appeal to the people in the middle.
From performance thus far I doubt very much that Tony Abbott will win over people in the middle. Rather what we are seeing is a rush towards what I regard as the worst excesses of the post-Fraser Liberal Party. It certainly isn’t the Liberal Party I at one time long ago used to support.
Though they all do it, Tony Abbott has already displayed the mind-numbing NLP propaganda technique so loved by some politicians. He is good at it and, sadly, it can often work. Let this BNP person explain:
DEVELOPING RAPPORT: According to this theory of communication, even the most fundamental truth will have little effect unless it is presented in a manner which, by developing a substantial amount of natural rapport with the targeted audience, is capable of achieving effective persuasion. Such persuasion, moreover, is ultimately dependent upon the extent to which a sophisticated tactical flexibility is employed by the communicator to enable him to establish the necessary ‘agreement frame’ with the particular audience he wants to persuade.
How to produce this ‘agreement frame’ most effectively forms the underlying basis of the NLP philosophy. The proposed method has been aptly described by Anthony Robbins, author of Unlimited Power, as ‘Aikido politics’, whereby the communicator seeks to produce the least possible resistance in his targeted audience. The idea behind this theory is that, rather than pushing aggressively or trying to bludgeon an acceptance of an argument, a successful communication is best achieved through gently ‘aligning’ an opposing viewpoint with that of your own by finding points of agreement, and then gradually ‘leading’ the other viewpoint around to your position. By this method, it is argued, an ‘avenue of redirection’ can be created which can often adroitly sidestep any possible or expected hostile response.
By disingenuously linking the snarl-words “BIG NEW TAX ON EVERYTHING” to emissions trading and/or carbon taxes Abbott short-circuits our brains and achieves his ‘agreement frame’. He knows exactly what he is doing, even if he and most of his party actually agreed with emissions trading in some form or other just last week, and had done for several years.
Such a shame, but not surprising, that the 9-12 Liberals who would have voted FOR the emissions trading scheme in the Senate reduced in the event to TWO brave principled souls.
Sydney Morning Herald – linked to story
One of them had this to say on the 7.30 Report last night:
KERRY O’BRIEN: Now, initially there were up to 12 of you in the Senate who believed very strongly – in the way that you have – but only two of you in the end crossed the floor. Why do you think the others waivered?
JUDITH TROETH: Well, up til yesterday Kerry, this was of course, or the day that we changed the leader from Malcolm Turnbull to Tony Abbott, this was of course Coalition policy that we supported the Government’s legislation. And there were other senators in my party who didn’t agree with that, and so they would have been the ones crossing the floor, as I believe many intended to do. But having taken the decision to back the legislation, I saw no reason to change my mind. If it was good enough to do it one day, in my view it was good enough to do it the next day.
KERRY O’BRIEN: Now once upon a time, you were not a believer in climate change science. Why are you now so convinced about the climate change science?
JUDITH TROETH: I have read widely and I have made my own conclusions. I lived in the country for a long time, as you know, and saw many long droughts. And by, probably about two years ago, having observed what was a very long drought, and noticed other things happening and reading widely, I decided that climate change was happening and that we should factor it into any government action…
KERRY O’BRIEN: Do you think it is too simplistic to simply summarise the whole ETS package as nothing more than a great big tax?
JUDITH TROETH: That’s a very simplistic way of putting it and it is also obviously designed to scare people. And that’s largely what the anti -campaign has been, a scare campaign. When you think of the business investment decisions that have to be made if this legislation goes through, when you think of the way in which people need to look at climate change, we’re all going to have to pay for climate change in some way or another and this will be a feature of the future world that we look at. So we had better get used to it…
Truth-tellers are rare in politics, even if there were unusual moments of candour in the last week. Now the Libs have a virtual unity – whether real or not time will tell.
Meantime we have the “new” – Kevin Andrews, Bronwyn Bishop…
Pardon me while I get up off the floor!
Tomorrow I will do a rundown, based on my recent reading, of the probable effectiveness of climate change mitigation strategies. The only thing I have in common with Mr A is that (unlike Labor at the moment or the Greens) I would factor in nuclear energy.
Posted by Neil on December 3, 2009 in Australia, Australia and Australian, climate change, environment, linguistics and language, right wing politics, Tony Abbott
And the winner is… an ongoing post
ABC pic. Who’s the mad looking guy on the left? Left…???
One of them is the next leader of the Liberal Party
We all wait. Amusing bits in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Gerard Henderson: “It is not clear why either Hockey or Turnbull or any other influential Liberals would seek advice on leadership issues from Howard. In fact, Howard is primarily responsible for the Liberal Party’s present leadership problems.”
Minchin pleads for “compassion”: “IN ONE of the more ironic moments in the Liberal leadership saga, Nick Minchin, kingmaker and attack dog of the party’s right wing, addressed Coalition senators yesterday morning.There Minchin, with blood on the walls after a week’s intense infighting, urged them to keep things civil and to treat each with ‘tolerance, kindness and compassion’.”
Turn on TV… Guess what? All our UHF channels are down!
Go to ABC Internet Radio. Gerard Henderson and Antony Green.
UHF back on. And off…
Back to Internet Radio. The party room meeting is still going on…
No tweets or sms messages emerging from the party room. Must have had their Blackberries confiscated… Radio “filling in” with news of K Rudd and B Obama on Afghanistan.
Shit! Hockey was eliminated. TONY ABBOTT won by ONE vote on second round, 42-41! First vote Turnbull 26, Abbott 35 and Hockey 23. To the Right, quick march! Gerard Henderson notes the two sets of figures don’t add up…
Will the Senate Libs hold? Who knows: remember last night?
KERRY O’BRIEN: So, tell me now, how many Liberal senators do you believe feel strongly enough about this bill to vote for it?
IAN MACFARLANE: Well certainly more than nine or 10. It’s in that vicinity. There are 12 that have indicated to Malcolm that they will vote for the bill when it comes to a vote. So, I guess as I say, Malcolm is saying to them, "Well, the Liberal Party does not have a future without a climate change policy and we need to get this off the table and get back to the economy and to border protection."
ABC pic. Now we know…
I suspect Joe Hockey may well feel very relieved, mind you…
Here’s how Tony did it, by appearing thus on national TV. 😉
Just watched the video here of Joe Hockey after the events. I am impressed.
Posted by Neil on December 1, 2009 in amazing, Australia, Australia and Australian, Political, politics, right wing politics, Tony Abbott
Random but mostly political
1. A feast for pollie-watchers and pundits
Just look at The Australian today.
Libs facing election rout
David Uren THE Coalition faces an electoral wipeout at next year’s federal election if the rebels led by Tony Abbott and Nick Minchin succeed in blocking the government’s climate change legislation.
SPILL: Abbott favourite to wrest leadership
ELECTION: ETS looms as a poll trigger
LEADER: Turnbull unmoved as support dives
HOCKEY: Joe’s time may come too soon
PAUL KELLY: Rebels with a lost cause
DENNIS SHANAHAN: Political soap opera
MICHAEL STUTCHBURY: Carbon bubble punctured
PETER VAN ONSELEN: Product differentiation
The lead story’s interesting, and so is Paul Kelly. I suspect Joe Hockey is privately fuming.
2. Borrowed from Jim Belshaw
Like Jim, I won’t comment!
I simply report this gem from the Australian Citizens Electoral Council without comment.
Isherwood: Who would have thought? British genocidalists are liars too
The British oligarchy’s depopulation charity, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), established in 1961 by Prince Philip and “former” Nazi Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands to realise their wet dream of reducing the world’s population to two billion or so people, is a key paymaster of the lying scientists at the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU).
The CRU basically cooked up the whole global warming fraud: in another time, before hackers exposed their true nature last week, Britain’s former chief scientific adviser Sir David King happily gushed that the CRU “set the agenda for the major research effort” in climate change; its “scientists” are the leading authors of the IPCC reports cited as the bible on global warming.
Well, well.
3. Why Steve Fielding is a much nicer person than Nick Minchin
Senator Fielding (Family First) has copped much flack for his denial of anthropogenic climate change, but at least he is up front about it, even trotting out his charts to try to convince the green demonstrators outside Parliament the other day. Of course, as we all know, Fielding isn’t really a politician. Minchin is.
So now Minchin is a double denialist because 1) he denies that what he is doing goes way beyond the issue of the ETS and 2) he attempts to deny he is a denialist. On both counts he is being economical with the truth. On point 2 he has been on record for years and one wonders why – well, not really – he is figleafing himself today. Of Minchin climate scientist Graeme Pearman famously said in March 2007: "I am worried that a federal minister would believe this crap."
4. And Malcolm Turnbull is much nicer than Nick Minchin…
While not totally frank Malcolm Turnbull was considerably more accurate than Senator Minchin in his half of the back-to-back interviews on the 7.30 Report last night. On just one obvious point, as Paul Kelly says: “The conservative rebellion this week has been a stunning, ruthless and self-righteous exercise. It was about converting a minority into a majority position by sabotage. Don’t fall for the idea that Turnbull didn’t have majority support.”
5. Science marches on whatever the pollies do or say
The first-ever Australian benchmark of climate change impacts on marine ecosystems and options for adaptation is being released in Brisbane today.
The Marine Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Report Card for Australia, and an accompanying website, will provide a biennial guide for scientists, government and the community on observed and projected impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems.
"The objective of compiling this information is to consider options available to environmental and resource managers in their response to changes in ecosystem balance," says project leader, CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship scientist Dr Elvira Poloczanska.
"On both sides of the continent there is clear evidence of ocean warming and this is already bringing sub-tropical species south into temperate waters, and in the case of the giant kelp forests in Tasmania, appears to be having a severe impact in just a few years.
"This research is relevant for anyone with a recreational interest or financial investment in our coasts and oceans," Dr Poloczanska says.
6. If you want to read a book
Try Robert Henson, The Rough Guide to Climate Change 2 ed.
I like it because I can understand it, but also because it is less polemical than many in the field. He admits problems and complexities.
Posted by Neil on November 28, 2009 in Australia, Australia and Australian, climate change, environment, Jim Belshaw, Malcolm Turnbull, Political, politics, right wing politics, Tony Abbott, weirdness
That US health care debate
I have been watching the to-ing and fro-ing and the mindless tossing out of epithets like “socialist”. I wish Obama luck, but he wouldn’t be the first to fall down in attempting genuine reform in US health care. One of greatest fears here in Oz during the Howard years was that we would end up lumbered with a US-style health care regime. Thank God it didn’t quite come to that. (Lately I have had to see both Dr C for my regular appointment and the Redfern doc for a yearly blood test. The current cold and a slight other complication may send me to the Redfern doc again in a day or two. Cost to me for physicians in the past few weeks: $00.00. Cost of medication: $7.50.
Noted today this Canadian Christian blogger: The Truth About Canadian Health Care.
Americans constantly ask me if the Canadian Health Care system is really that bad.
I chuckle.
Not only were our two children born here, we’ve also walked through the process of dying here (My first funeral in French was Martine’s uncle).
Each time we set up a same-day appointment with our family doctor, (with no out-of-pocket expense), we thank God that we live in a country with one of the best health care systems in the world…
US Conservatives: get over it!
Posted by Neil on September 22, 2009 in America, right wing politics, USA
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SG 1000
March 22, 2019 D.Lo1 Comment
Sega Steering Wheel Handle Controller SH-400 (ハンドルコントローラ)
February 16, 2019 February 16, 2019 D.Lo1 Comment
Here’s a pretty cool piece – the Sega Steering Wheel Handle Controller (ハンドルコントローラ)
It was designed for the SG1000, which had a few racing games like Safari Race
As shown on the side of the box.
And it was clearly styled to match the SG1000 II
But personally I think it’s best suited to playing Outrun – with FM audio – on the Mark III!
Mark III set up and ready to rock.
To be honest it’s slightly annoying to use, because Outrun requires you to hold one of the buttons to accelerate. But it oozes 80s charm, and this was the premium ‘Sega at home’ experience of the mid 80s.
Mark III, Sega, SG 100080s, Mark III, Master System, Sega, SG 1000
Game Box Protectors – Japanese Sizes
November 11, 2018 November 11, 2018 D.Lo4 Comments
I’m a great believer in game box protectors. With vintage games only getting older, anything that helps them (and their related paraphernalia) to stay in great condition without being fully archived is a great investment.
I recently got some box protectors for my Japanese Game Boy/Game Boy Color games. There are two sizes for Japanese Game Boy games, the original size which are very small, and a later size which is about 4/5 of the ‘standard’ Famicom box size. This later size continued through the Game Boy Color era too.
Previously I had stored my small Japanese Game Boy games in Japanese Game Boy Advance protectors, which were okay in one direction, but way too big in the other two.
Similarly, I kept my larger Japanese Game Boy games in Famicom box protectors, which was a closer fit but still quite a lot of room at the top.
It’s great to finally have my Game Boy games secure in snug fitting protectors.
Adaptations for less common sizes
I was glad to find these Japanese Game Boy sizes, as a good fit is important for protection. It’s hard (or impossible) to find decent box protectors for less common box sizes, so here are some adaptations of sizes designed for other purposes that I use. While usually not perfect, they are good enough for solid protection without too much internal movement.
Japanese Game Boy Advance size works very well for the ‘mid size’ Famicom boxes
Only a small amount of room to move.
Western Game Boy protectors obviously work perfectly for Virtual Boy boxes.
NES protectors work nearly perfectly for the large size Konami Famicom games.
The unique Gun Sight box is nearly an exact match for Euro NES size protectors.
Famicom protectors work okay for small SG1000 games. It’s not really the right size in any direction and is very tight, but protects okay.
Large SG1000 boxes are a perfect match for an older style ‘too big’ NES protector size I found.
And these new small Japanese GB work very well for Famicom Mini GBA games
And finally, I’ve recently tried Nintendo 64 cartridge protectors on my small box Famicom games.
The fit is not perfect, much like the SG1000 games in large box Famicom protectors, they’re too tight in thickness, but too large in other directions, so they fit, but are somewhat tight. Until there is a better option, it’s a decent solution.
I had customs done for all these SG1000/Mark III box sizes. It’s a fully one off for Alex Kidd BMX (it’s the only box of that size), but a few each for the two card game sizes and big box Mark III gold.
Unfortunately the producer of these customs has quit the business, so I’m on the lookout for a new producer, if anyone knows of one!
Famicom, Game Boy, Mark III, Nintendo, Sega, SG 1000Famicom, Mark III, Nintendo, SG 1000
Sega SG1000 II (エスジー・セン II)
April 21, 2016 April 21, 2016 D.LoLeave a comment
The SG1000 most likely did okay for itself all things considered, but in the wake of Nintendo’s superior (and much higher selling) Famicom offering, Sega pivoted to make their home console platform more Famicom-like.
While the eventual result was the upgraded Mark III console, the first fruits of this pivot were realised with the SG1000 II.
Essentially a repackaging of the original Sg1000, it is also a design link between the two generations of Sega consoles.
Like the Mark III (and Mega Drive) it features English text on the top of the console, explaining its purpose and function. This one is particularly cute and amusing.
Instead of the terrible SG1000 joystick, it now has Famicom-style controllers which attach at the back, and Famicom like controller docks on the side of the console (more on this in the controller rivalry article).
There were two revisions of the SG1000 II. One was a simple re-configuration of the original console, and the second featured major internal revisions – it consolidated several of the original chips (among them the ‘off-the-shelf’ Texas Instruments SN76489 sound chip and TMS9918 video chip) into one new custom Sega part. This later model is much closer to the circuit of the Mark III, and because of these changes can be modded to output an RGB signal.
Both console revisions look the same on the outside. Very late release SG1000 II consoles came with an updated controller, though it doesn’t seem this change lines up with the internal board revision changes.
The Sg1000 II is a somewhat redundant console from a collecting perspective. It lacks the ‘first Sega console’ cachet, but isn’t as useful as the upgraded, more compatible, more user-friendly Mark III.
And in terms of looks, the redesign is more modern but a bit plain. It lacks the nice simple ‘retro evolved’ vibe of the original, but doesn’t quite nail the ’80s futurism’ look that Sega perfected with the seriously stylish Mark III.
But I really like that Sega was developing their own unified design aesthetic, and so it does look pretty cool with this matching joystick.
More pics:
History, Sega, SG 100080s, History, Mark III, Master System, Review, Sega, SG 1000
Ninja Princess/The Ninja (忍者プリンセス) – SG1000/Mark III
March 18, 2016 March 27, 2016 D.LoLeave a comment
Ninjas were everywhere in the 80s, and Japanese game developers were happy to fulfil the international demand for martial arts action. Nintendo’s console had Kung Fu, Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Turtles, The Legend of Kage, Shadow of the Ninja and many others. Sega had their Shinobi and Dragon Wang series, as well as their shortlived Ninja series.
Much like the Dragon Wang/Makai Retsuden series, Sega’s Ninja series is a somewhat convoluted progression of the same basic game template over a couple of generations of hardware.
Ninja Princess/Sega Ninja – Arcade
Ninja Princess (released in the west as Sega Ninja) began as a Sega System 1 arcade game in 1985. It’s an overhead run-and-gun game, one of a batch released around that time, such as Capcom’s Commando and SNK’s Ikari Warriors. Swapping out a warzone and slow moving bullets for Sengoku-era Japan and throwing knives, Ninja Princess is one of the first ever examples of an action game with a female protagonist, a whole year before the highly celebrated Metroid.
The game stars titular princess Kurumi, whose castle has been overrun by bad guys. She escapes a kidnap attempt in a cute animated intro, and sets out to take back the castle with her ninja skills.
It’s a truly great example of the genre, with tight gameplay, great graphics and sounds, and some nice gimmicks. You have two fire buttons – one fires knives (or via a power-up, ninja stars) in the direction you are facing, and the other always fires directly up, no matter which way you are oriented. This innovation completely fixes the clunky feeling the genre can have, as you can actually fire at enemies while retreating. The third button activates a temporary ninja-vanish to evade enemy attacks.
On top of this, Ninja Princess mixes up the gameplay with gimmick/event stages, including a stage where you avoid falling boulders, another with stampeding horses, one set on logs floating on a river, and two stages where you climb castle walls.
The graphics are fantastic, especially for 1985, colourful, detailed and stylish, and Kurumi herself is a particularly cute and nicely designed sprite.
The original arcade version is available on the Saturn, included in the compilation package Sega Ages Memorial Selection Volume 2.
It has a slightly squashed aspect ratio to fit in the Saturn’s resolution (but with no detail loss), and the graphics have been slightly retouched, mostly for the better. But it is a great way to play the game. One of the menu options allows you to play with infinite lives, which is a godsend, as being an 80s arcade game, it’s brutally difficult in the later stages.
Ninja Princess (忍者プリンセス) – SG1000
Sega’s first contemporary home port was for the SG1000 in 1986. As you’d expect, the graphics have taken a fairly big hit, and with only two buttons the ‘ninja vanish’ function has been mapped to hitting both action buttons at once, but it’s otherwise as faithful a port as could really be possible on the hardware.
The event stages are gone, but otherwise pretty much the entire game is intact, including the climbing stages. It’s actually quite fun to see some of the set-pieces from the arcade re-created in a more primitive form, and while the enemy ninjas are mostly single colour sprites in this version, their single colour often matches the primary colour of that enemy type in the arcade – you can see the designers of the port really tried to make it resemble the original.
The dinky SG1000 graphics have their own charm, and assuming you’re using a decent controller it plays really well for an SG1000 game. In an attempt to prolong the life of the title for home gamers, it introduces a ‘secret scroll’ system, and you have to collect all the secret scrolls to access the last level. They’re basically randomly located in the levels, so this is probably the most frustrating part.
While it had no chance of living up to the arcade original, it’s still very fun, and is one of the best games for the SG1000.
Ninja Princess 1 Mega Han (忍者プリンセス１メガ版) – Mark III
When Ninja Princess finally made it to hardware that could do it full justice – in the form of Sega’s newer Mark III console – it was ostensibly in the form of a sequel. Ninja Princess 1 Mega Han.
In what was assumedly an attempt to make the game more ‘serious’ (and perhaps appeal to console gaming’s primarily young male audience), the graphical style has been changed completely, removing any hint of the original game’s cutesyness. And instead of starring Kurumi the Ninja Princess, it stars a goofy looking dude named Kazamaru, who now must save the princess.
I wonder if Archie and Veronica will like my outfit?
Despite the long-winded title on the box, the title screen shows simply ‘The Ninja’.
It’s set up as a sequel story-wise, but is actually another, more faithful, port of the arcade game. All the arcade event stages are back (in re-drawn form), including the falling boulders, stampeding horses, and river. Controls are identical and the scroll system is back from Ninja Princess SG1000, so you have to collect all five scrolls, then perform a particular task at a particular place to access the secret basement level and rescue the princess. There is also a new speed power up scroll.
It plays about as well as the arcade, but the new graphics are kind of badly drawn (especially the main sprites, including Kazamaru who looks as awkward in-game as he does on the cover), and the limited cartridge space meant there is much less detail and animation than the arcade game. Apart from the odd nicely drawn section, it’s not a particularly good looking Mark III game. There are more musical tracks, but they’re pretty bland, especially when your knives are powered up to ninja stars and you hear the same tune over and over.
The Ninja – Master System
Another Master System cover art ‘masterpiece’
Ninja Princess 1 Mega Han was released in the west under its title screen name The Ninja. While many Mark III/Master System games contain a universal ROM with both English and Japanese versions of the game onboard, The Ninja was actually ‘upgraded’ for its release outside of Japan. The western release gets a scrolling text intro, a new title screen, and an extra image on the splash screen when you collect all the scrolls.
Unfortunately the entire second level is missing, no doubt sacrificed to make space for the above. Which is a shame because it’s actually one of the better looking levels. Two of the secret scrolls have also changed location, one in particular makes a heck of a lot more sense in its Mark III location.
No village level for you, US/PAL Kazamaru!
And here the Ninja series ended. One fantastic arcade game, a very good SG1000 game, and a decent-but-nothing-special Mark III game. They’re worth a play through, but probably the best experience of the series is to be had on the Saturn port of the arcade game.
Mark III, Reviews, Sega, SG 100080s, Mark III, Master System, Sega, SG 1000
1983 Face Off: Donkey Kong (Famicom) vs Congo Bongo (SG1000)
January 27, 2016 January 27, 2016 D.Lo5 Comments
It is July 15, 1983.
Two new consoles have been released by two prominent Japanese arcade developers – the Family Computer from Nintendo, and the SG1000 from Sega.
The big game in the arcades is still Nintendo’s Donkey Kong, featuring future superstar-to-be Mario. But the bigger name in arcades right now is Sega, whose Turbo and Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom are doing incredible things graphically. And Sega now have themselves an answer to Donkey Kong – Congo Bongo. Essentially a conceptual clone of Donkey Kong (and in the later stages Konami’s Frogger), Congo Bongo differentiates itself with an innovative and incredibly impressive isometric 3D perspective.
In turn, both companies’ new consoles have launched with home ports of these killer titles.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Donkey Kong has been made available at home. Aside from a variety of home console ports (including the solid Colecovision version), there is the fantastic Donkey Kong Game & Watch from Nintendo’s smash hit line of handhelds. The Family Computer itself has taken many design and packaging cues from the little handhelds, and this, along with Nintendo’s earlier Color TV Game series has given them valuable experience in the retail space.
So how do the two ports hold up compared to their arcade originals? Sega is taking the lead in the arcades, but are they up to the task of meeting Nintendo’s challenge in the home space?
First up is the original. Firing up DK on the Famicom, the first thing that’s apparent is that the game has transitioned quite well from the arcade’s 3:4 aspect ratio to the regular television 4:3 aspect ratio.
It’s a little squished, but overall it works and is a very faithful port. Gameplay is replicated near perfectly, if anything it plays more smoothly, though it may have to do with the Famicom controller being more suitable for platformers than arcade joysticks.
The ‘secret’ safe spot to avoid the spring
The major omission is the third ‘cement factory’ stage, so DK on Fami has only three stages before looping.
There’s even the ending screen where Mario is reunited with Pauline (briefly).
The arcade intro and interludes are missing, and there are a few sound effect and animation omisions, but it looks and sounds great overall. It’s a clear step above the already excellent Colecovision version, and Donkey Kong on Famicom is likely the most advanced game available on any home platform to date.
Congo Bongo has a very interesting history, directly linked with Donkey Kong. It was developed for Sega by a software engineering company called Ikegami Tsushinki – the same team that did the programming work for Donkey Kong. While Donkey Kong was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo assumedly didn’t yet have the software development pipeline to make a top arcade game in 1981, and hired external software engineers. Sega grabbed the same team for their answer to Nintendo’s smash hit.
As soon as you hit start on Congo Bongo‘s title screen, the disappointment begins. Where is the isometric 3D? As a 2D game Congo Bongo is very much a poor man’s Donkey Kong.
What’s even more disappointing is that the Colecovision, a console with basically identical hardware to the SG1000, managed to have a port which maintained the isometric perspective.
The Colecovision version is very impressive
And unbelievably, a port to the ancient Atari VCS somehow did too!
This should not work but it somehow does…
But the poor SG1000 got a 2D version. There are only two stages, the Donkey Kong style stage plays from a side view, and the Frogger style stage from the top.
Despite all this, it still plays okay, if a little awkwardly, and in the grand scheme of things it’s not too far below the Famicom version of Donkey Kong. It’s not helped by the terrible SG1000 joystick, but even if you get around that by playing on an SG1000 II pad, controls are a bit loose.
I’ll take the one on the left please.
The SG1000 hardware could have done much better, and Sega proved it in 1985 when their isometric 3D shooter Zaxxon (which was also programmed by Ikegami Tsushinki and used the same arcade hardware) was ported to SG1000 with the 3D effect intact.
It’s little wonder the Family Computer took off. Donkey Kong was a premium product. Congo Bongo for SG1000 is decent enough fun and about as good as most games before that point, but is just an interesting artefact now.
Famicom, History, Nintendo, Reviews, Sega, SG 100080s, Famicom, Game & Watch, History, Review, Sega, SG 1000
Adding a Sega controller adapter to an original SG-1000 (home made JC-100)
December 29, 2015 February 9, 2019 D.Lo3 Comments
So you want to play some SG-1000 games old-school style…
…but the original SJ-200 joystick controller is a complete nightmare to use…
Sure, there’s a plug on the right for player 2 which can use any DB9 connector Sega pad, but player 1 is stuck with the SJ-200 tethered to the console.
Sega acknowledged their first controller sucked, and released a small modification/adapter called the JC-100, which allowed original console owners to to use the new pads released alongside the SG-1000 II.
It would be impossible to get hold of a JC-100 now, but you can easily make one yourself. All you need are the following:
Mega Drive/Master System extension cable
Header plug with crimp connectors with correct spacing and at least seven pins – I’m using a pretty standard eight pin
Phillips head screwdriver
First up open up the console (only four screws) and you can see the controller is removable, plugged in via a PC-like seven pin adapter.
The way DB9 controllers work is to ground a line corresponding to a button when pressed, so there’s a whole line for each button/direction, plus ground. The pins are handily numbered, and align to the following:
To make the adapter, start by slicing the extension cable at whatever length you like, then stripping the cover and the end of each wire. The internal insulation cotton can also be removed.
You’ll need to do some tests to see which wire is which, as in my case they wire colours did not line up to the colours of the original controller wires. In mine the colours lined up to:
Blue – Ground
Red – Up
Black – Down
Grey – Left
Pink – Right
Green – Button 1
Yellow – Button 2
White and Brown – Unused
Crimp the relevant wires to the pins using the crimp tool. You can get away with using pliers, but a crimp tool will make a much cleaner and stronger… well… crimp.
The pins can then be plugged into the header plug in the correct order. Since I’m using an eight pin connector, it will stick out the back a bit, but there’s room and I’m not using position eight.
Slice off the unused two wires and we’re done.
Plug it into the console and close it up.
Now you can use pretty much any pre-Saturn Sega pad on your console. You can go period-accurate and use an SJ-150
All the way up to what was possibly the last DB9 Sega controller released – the wireless six button Mega Drive pad (doesn’t actually work but looks crazy)
Or if you’re insane, the standalone DB9 connector SJ-200, completely defeating the purpose of the exercise!
The best part about this ‘mod’ is it is completely reversible. However it would be relatively easy to install a DB9 socket on the side if you wanted something more permanent. Similarly, the rest of the extension cable could be soldered onto the original tethered controller, making it a standalone unit.
Console Modification, Sega, SG 100080s, Mods, Sega, SG 1000
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Nymphomaniac: Volume I - Review
Christopher Preston
Top 10 Superhero Films of All Time
Analysis, Features, Top 10
Holy Misogyny, Batman! Comic Book Movies Are Still Getting It Wrong
Best Films Never Made #21: Steven Spielberg's Interstellar
Scene Stealers: Alfred Molina in Boogie Nights
Thom Denson
A Beginner's Guide To... Wes Anderson
ORWAV's Top 20 Films of 2019: #2 – Knives Out
FeaturesBehind The Curtain
Courtesy of ERBP
Best Films Never Made #12: Shane Carruth’s A Topiary
In 2004, Shane Carruth stunned the film industry with his visionary debut, Primer. Taking a meticulous and realist approach to the ever-popular sci-fi theme of time travel, his singular vision earned him the Sundance Grand Jury Prize, instant cult status and legions of fans eagerly awaiting his next film.
But then? Nothing.
For nine years, little was known of Carruth’s filmmaking plans except for a mysterious two-word title, A Topiary, and whispers of something “epic” on its way. In 2013, fans were sated with the release of a new Carruth project, Upstream Color, but what exactly happened to the film he spent almost a decade trying to make? And what even is A Topiary?
Courtesy of Rian Johnson/Twitter Inc.
To put it as bluntly as possible, A Topiary is the most mind-blowingly ambitious screenplay I have ever read. Working my way through its 245 pages I found myself shaking my head in disbelief every few minutes at the staggering vision on display. A Topiary is at once so complicated it dwarfs anything Primer or Upstream Color attempted and so simple it makes you look at the world around you with new eyes.
It begins with a surveyor, Acre Stowe, tasked with finding a location closest to an accident blackspot so his bosses can build an emergency fast-response unit. Pinpointing the ideal location in the middle of a busy junction, he is filled with an insatiable curiosity and marks the direction of all the accidents on this spot with spray paint, forming a pattern. Suddenly, his eye is caught by a starburst glint of light, reflecting off a nearby high-rise. Something clicks. This starburst matches the pattern he’s just sprayed on the ground.
Courtesy of: ThinkFilm
Following this pattern in an obsessive and methodical way, he gradually meets others searching for the same thing, though none of them know what “it” is.
They find the same mysterious pattern repeating in audio recordings and objects.
In a transcendent moment, it’s even found in the imprint left by starlight on an amber mixture, burned into the thick liquid through a telescope like a physical example of a long-exposure photograph. Acre and his wife leave this cult-like group, but one nostalgic day, they discover more patterns in old polaroids of the starbursts, patterns that are related to the Golden Ratio – a real-world theory that claims to manifest throughout nature.
This is where things get crazy. They assemble streaks in the photos into a pattern, a mosaic, and when they are finished they attach everything to a pinboard. Standing back, this is what they see:
Now the action abandons Acre and we join a group of 10 boys aged between seven and 12. What happens next can best be described as an ultra-realistic cross between Pokémon, Transformers and Chronicle.
Their scientific creativity belying their age, the boys discover something they name ‘The Maker’ which leads them to eventually create artificial life called a Chorus. Dogs, horses, apes and eventually a dragon are all built to serve as the boys become involved in petty power struggles driven by their desire to discover and create.
The screenplay ends with a thrillingly tense battle against a group of rival adults with their own creations where we lapse briefly into suggestions of time travel, before the truly jaw-dropping twist. With the boys living wild with their dragon, we suddenly, and I quote, “Match cut to: Another World”.
An example of the effects work Carruth was doing to create the Choruses for A Topiary. This is part of a short clip playing on Kris’s computer in Upstream Color.
An apocalypse. The creations the boys have been cultivating have taken over the world, the universe. We don’t know where, we don’t know when. A pulsar burns radiation in outer space. Cut to black.
Like I said: ambitious.
In an interview with The Verge, Carruth clarified that he had spent about three years working on the project, including significant time spent developing an effects workflow for the Choruses because “I need the aesthetic to be something that I can count on and done a little bit cheaper than farming it out to third party effects houses”.
Along the way he gave the script to Steven Soderbergh, a vocal fan of his work, who then got David Fincher on board as a co-executive producer. Carruth produced a demo reel using his effects work and some shots from Spielberg films and in his own words “found lots of enthusiasm with film financiers”. Or at least that’s how it seemed at first.
Courtesy of: ERBP
Looking back on the process he reflected that, “Nobody ever said no. It was always enthusiasm and amazement and ‘We can’t wait for this!’ Meanwhile, no money’s sitting in the account.” He lowered the budget from its initial $20 million to $14 million, but still there were no takers. After endless meetings and no progress Carruth took the decision into his own hands and simply walked away. “I decided that if nobody was gonna say no, I was gonna have to say no. It sort of just broke my heart.”
Several interviewers have raised the possibility of a crowdfunding campaign to Carruth, an idea that he previously rejected for leaving the film branded as a ‘Kickstarter film’ – an unwelcome prospect for an auteur with such a singular vision. He’s said that there’s “no common ground between me and the way traditional financing works”, but his ethical stance towards crowdfunding is that “If you’ve got money available to you as equity, you can’t just take people’s money for free”.
As admirable as that stance is, I’m sure I’m not the only fan who would contribute to such a campaign in a heartbeat if it helped to make A Topiary a reality. Brave and inventive filmmakers like Carruth are what keep the world of cinema interesting and it’s heartbreaking to realise that a project as unique and powerful as A Topiary may never see the light of day.
Are you desperate to see this lost offering from the most ambitious filmmaker working today? What did you think of Carruth’s epic screenplay? Would you donate to a crowdfunding campaign to get A Topiary made? Tell us your thoughts! Don’t forget to share this if you enjoyed it.
Sources: Wired/The AV Club/The Playlist/ScriptShadow/Pajiba/MovieWeb/These Pretzels Are Making Me Thirsty/The Verge/Vulture/Badass Digest (for bringing this film to my attention in its comments section).
You can find Carruth’s screenplay here: http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-scriptreviews/m-1281012122/
Best Films Never Made #12: Shane Carruth’s A Topiary was last modified: December 24th, 2019 by Tom Bond
A TopiaryCultDavid FincherKickstarterPrimerRian JohnsonShane CarruthSteven SoderberghSundanceUpstream Color
Video & Senior Features Editor
Freelance film critic for Little White Lies, Total Film, The Guardian, Den of Geek and of course ORWAV. When I'm not watching films I'm making TV. @tom_bond
ORWAV’s Top 20 Films of 2019: #2 – Knives Out
Knives Out – Review
The Laundromat – Review
Jack Blackwell
The Farewell – Sundance London Review
High Flying Bird – Review
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Cool Green Summer Book Picks 2019
Syndicated Stories Cool Green Science, Nature.org 0
By Matthew L. Miller
Follow Matthew
Get your summer reading list ready! Photo © jurek d. /
Looking for a good book to read on the beach? Or perhaps something to curl up with after a day of fishing or gardening? Here are four new books perfect for summer reading – and you’ll gain some conservation insights in the process.
Need more recommendations? Cool Green Science features regular book reviews covering a variety of nature and science topics. Whether you’re looking for mysteries with a natural twist, the best new titles for conservation-minded anglers or birders, inspiring conservation classics, or field guides, we have you covered.
As always, feel free to make your own book suggestions in the comments. We may include them in a future review.
Ocean Outbreak will not be the most uplifting book you read on the beach, but it may be the most important. Out of sight of most oceangoers, there’s a plague in our oceans, as infectious diseases threaten to literally reshape marine environments. Starfish literally melt away, salmon weaken from viruses, already-stressed coral reefs face devastating pathogens.
What’s going on? There’s no better guide to this crisis than Drew Harvell, a marine ecologist at Cornell University and a gifted writer. She breaks down the science but also doesn’t shy away from sharing personal story and the sense of loss she feels at seeing the devastation firsthand.
This can be a heartbreaking book: oftentimes whole populations of ocean organisms die before scientists even begin the research. Harvell skillfully navigates through various outbreaks, breaking down what’s happening as well as root causes. And she provides ample hope: oftentimes, by addressing human health issues, we can also help marine creatures.
Ocean Outbreak is a compelling, well-written account of an often-overlooked environmental issue. If you care about marine conservation, or just love great nature reads, it belongs on your bookshelf. (And you can read more about marine disease outbreaks from Harvell.)
Mark Spitzer shares my love of seeking weird fish in weird places. Also like me, he’s often searching for something more: he uses the pursuit of fish as a way to explore our relationships with the natural world. But Spitzer’s writings are not the usual musings of a philosophical fisherman; you’ll find no “fly fishing and the meaning of life” essays. He takes a rollicking, madcap, sometimes surreal approach to fishing and conservation – pursuing fishy monsters with zeal, and finding life lessons along the way.
Spitzer’s a prolific and eclectic writer; one of my favorites is his book-length epic poem told from the perspective of a hellbender. This book continues his fishing adventures, as he pursues giant catfish in Europe, encounters piranhas and barracudas and other toothy beasts, ponders the ethics of shark hunting and attempts to catch a gar on the fly.
I’ll review any book that includes chapters with titles like “Translating an Eely Ionian Monsterfest into Top Predator Decimation: More Than Just a Metaphor.” We need new ways of telling fish stories for the 21st century. Mark Spitzer has earned a cult following for doing just that.
The loss of pollinators receives a lot of press, but a lot there’s a lot of conflicting information and debate about causes. Protecting Pollinators presents the most compelling and science-based overview I’ve seen. Even better, it’s presented in a highly readable book that can help you make a difference, whether you’re a farmer, home gardener or citizen scientist.
Helmer examines each issue behind the pollinator decline, including habitat loss, pesticides, climate change and more. Each chapter includes fascinating sidebars: projects that have helped native species, action items you can take, and interesting factoids about pollinators.
A lot of news coverage on pollinators focuses on honeybees, even though they are not a native species and often don’t provide the pollination services of our native bees, birds and bats. Helmer’s book focuses on native pollinators, the challenges they face and how we can all conserve them. Whether you’re just looking to grow some beneficial plants in you’re backyard or you’re a dedicated citizen scientist, you’ll refer to this handy book again and again.
Few writers have been so influential in my life as Steve Bodio. I read his memoir Querencia in my twenties and immediately felt a bit less alone in my mix of interests. Here was writing that combined natural history and field sport and books and food and friends, all described with beautiful writing. I have followed his writing ever since, the books on racing pigeons, falcons, coursing dogs and Mongolia. I remain convinced that Steve would be one of our best-known literary writers, if only he didn’t write about topics so obscure. But for his fans, that’s part of the appeal.
Tiger Country is Bodio’s first novel, and like much of his work, it’s not easy to describe. It’s a story of rewilding, but unlike anything on the topic you’ve read. Like Bodio, it’s scientifically and culturally literate. It shines with a love of predators, but also for the ranchers and locals who must share the land with them. The characters eat and drink and chase things with passion, all while referring to art, literature and evolutionary biology.
Bodio’s writing may not appeal to everyone. But if you share a certain combination of interests, you’ll devour this book – then read all the others.
Matthew L. Miller is director of science communications for The Nature Conservancy and editor of the Cool Green Science blog. A lifelong naturalist and outdoor enthusiast, he has covered stories on science and nature around the globe. Matt has worked for the Conservancy for the past 14 years, previously serving as director of communications for the Idaho program. More from Matthew
Intelligence Agencies Inspector General Calls for AI Oversight Three Years Since Pulse, Lawmakers Must Act to Address Ongoing Epidemic of Gun Violence
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Characterization of responses of primary somatosensory cerebral cortex neurons to noxious visceral stimulation in the rat
Kenneth A. Follett, Bret Dirks
In pentobarbital-anesthetized rats, responses of single neurons in primary somatosensory cortex (SI) to graded noxious visceral (colorectal distention, CRD) and cutaneous stimulation were recorded. One-hundred fifteen SI neurons were identified on the basis of spontaneous activity, 66 of which responded to CRD. CRD resulted in facilitation of neuronal activity in 33% and inhibition of activity in 52% of these cells. Fifteen percent had mixed facilitated/inhibited responses to varying CRD pressures. Cutaneous receptive fields were identified in 71% of CRD-responsive neurons, with low-threshold or wide dynamic range responses in most cases. Nearly all cutaneous receptive fields were small contralateral sites. Responses to CRD were independent of neuronal depth within the cortex. These data support a role of primary somatosensory cerebral cortical neurons in visceral nociception.
Somatosensory Cortex
Pentobarbital
Colorectal distention
Follett, K. A., & Dirks, B. (1994). Characterization of responses of primary somatosensory cerebral cortex neurons to noxious visceral stimulation in the rat. Brain Research, 656(1), 27-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(94)91362-5
Characterization of responses of primary somatosensory cerebral cortex neurons to noxious visceral stimulation in the rat. / Follett, Kenneth A.; Dirks, Bret.
In: Brain Research, Vol. 656, No. 1, 05.09.1994, p. 27-32.
Follett, KA & Dirks, B 1994, 'Characterization of responses of primary somatosensory cerebral cortex neurons to noxious visceral stimulation in the rat', Brain Research, vol. 656, no. 1, pp. 27-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(94)91362-5
Follett KA, Dirks B. Characterization of responses of primary somatosensory cerebral cortex neurons to noxious visceral stimulation in the rat. Brain Research. 1994 Sep 5;656(1):27-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(94)91362-5
Follett, Kenneth A. ; Dirks, Bret. / Characterization of responses of primary somatosensory cerebral cortex neurons to noxious visceral stimulation in the rat. In: Brain Research. 1994 ; Vol. 656, No. 1. pp. 27-32.
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title = "Characterization of responses of primary somatosensory cerebral cortex neurons to noxious visceral stimulation in the rat",
abstract = "In pentobarbital-anesthetized rats, responses of single neurons in primary somatosensory cortex (SI) to graded noxious visceral (colorectal distention, CRD) and cutaneous stimulation were recorded. One-hundred fifteen SI neurons were identified on the basis of spontaneous activity, 66 of which responded to CRD. CRD resulted in facilitation of neuronal activity in 33{\%} and inhibition of activity in 52{\%} of these cells. Fifteen percent had mixed facilitated/inhibited responses to varying CRD pressures. Cutaneous receptive fields were identified in 71{\%} of CRD-responsive neurons, with low-threshold or wide dynamic range responses in most cases. Nearly all cutaneous receptive fields were small contralateral sites. Responses to CRD were independent of neuronal depth within the cortex. These data support a role of primary somatosensory cerebral cortical neurons in visceral nociception.",
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AU - Follett, Kenneth A.
AU - Dirks, Bret
N2 - In pentobarbital-anesthetized rats, responses of single neurons in primary somatosensory cortex (SI) to graded noxious visceral (colorectal distention, CRD) and cutaneous stimulation were recorded. One-hundred fifteen SI neurons were identified on the basis of spontaneous activity, 66 of which responded to CRD. CRD resulted in facilitation of neuronal activity in 33% and inhibition of activity in 52% of these cells. Fifteen percent had mixed facilitated/inhibited responses to varying CRD pressures. Cutaneous receptive fields were identified in 71% of CRD-responsive neurons, with low-threshold or wide dynamic range responses in most cases. Nearly all cutaneous receptive fields were small contralateral sites. Responses to CRD were independent of neuronal depth within the cortex. These data support a role of primary somatosensory cerebral cortical neurons in visceral nociception.
AB - In pentobarbital-anesthetized rats, responses of single neurons in primary somatosensory cortex (SI) to graded noxious visceral (colorectal distention, CRD) and cutaneous stimulation were recorded. One-hundred fifteen SI neurons were identified on the basis of spontaneous activity, 66 of which responded to CRD. CRD resulted in facilitation of neuronal activity in 33% and inhibition of activity in 52% of these cells. Fifteen percent had mixed facilitated/inhibited responses to varying CRD pressures. Cutaneous receptive fields were identified in 71% of CRD-responsive neurons, with low-threshold or wide dynamic range responses in most cases. Nearly all cutaneous receptive fields were small contralateral sites. Responses to CRD were independent of neuronal depth within the cortex. These data support a role of primary somatosensory cerebral cortical neurons in visceral nociception.
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Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder exhibit altered emotional processing and attentional control during an emotional Stroop task
M. M. Khanna, A. S. Badura-Brack, T. J. McDermott, C. M. Embury, A. I. Wiesman, A. Shepherd, T. J. Ryan, Elizabeth C Heinrichs-Graham, Tony W Wilson
Neurological Sciences
Background. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often associated with attention allocation and emotional regulation difficulties, but the brain dynamics underlying these deficits are unknown. The emotional Stroop task (EST) is an ideal means to monitor these difficulties, because participants are asked to attend to non-emotional aspects of the stimuli. In this study, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) and the EST to monitor attention allocation and emotional regulation during the processing of emotionally charged stimuli in combat veterans with and without PTSD. Method. A total of 31 veterans with PTSD and 20 without PTSD performed the EST during MEG. Three categories of stimuli were used, including combat-related, generally threatening and neutral words. MEG data were imaged in the time-frequency domain and the network dynamics were probed for differences in processing threatening and non-threatening words. Results. Behaviorally, veterans with PTSD were significantly slower in responding to combat-related relative to neutral and generally threatening words. Veterans without PTSD exhibited no significant differences in responding to the three different word types. Neurophysiologically, we found a significant three-way interaction between group, word type and time period across multiple brain regions. Follow-up testing indicated stronger theta-frequency (4-8 Hz) responses in the right ventral prefrontal (0.4-0.8 s) and superior temporal cortices (0.6-0.8 s) of veterans without PTSD compared with those with PTSD during the processing of combat-related words. Conclusions. Our data indicated that veterans with PTSD exhibited deficits in attention allocation and emotional regulation when processing trauma cues, while those without PTSD were able to regulate emotion by directing attention away from threat.
Psychological medicine
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders
Temporal Lobe
Attention allocation
emotional Stroop task
Khanna, M. M., Badura-Brack, A. S., McDermott, T. J., Embury, C. M., Wiesman, A. I., Shepherd, A., ... Wilson, T. W. (2017). Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder exhibit altered emotional processing and attentional control during an emotional Stroop task. Psychological medicine, 47(11), 2017-2027. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717000460
Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder exhibit altered emotional processing and attentional control during an emotional Stroop task. / Khanna, M. M.; Badura-Brack, A. S.; McDermott, T. J.; Embury, C. M.; Wiesman, A. I.; Shepherd, A.; Ryan, T. J.; Heinrichs-Graham, Elizabeth C; Wilson, Tony W.
In: Psychological medicine, Vol. 47, No. 11, 01.08.2017, p. 2017-2027.
Khanna, MM, Badura-Brack, AS, McDermott, TJ, Embury, CM, Wiesman, AI, Shepherd, A, Ryan, TJ, Heinrichs-Graham, EC & Wilson, TW 2017, 'Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder exhibit altered emotional processing and attentional control during an emotional Stroop task', Psychological medicine, vol. 47, no. 11, pp. 2017-2027. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717000460
Khanna MM, Badura-Brack AS, McDermott TJ, Embury CM, Wiesman AI, Shepherd A et al. Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder exhibit altered emotional processing and attentional control during an emotional Stroop task. Psychological medicine. 2017 Aug 1;47(11):2017-2027. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717000460
Khanna, M. M. ; Badura-Brack, A. S. ; McDermott, T. J. ; Embury, C. M. ; Wiesman, A. I. ; Shepherd, A. ; Ryan, T. J. ; Heinrichs-Graham, Elizabeth C ; Wilson, Tony W. / Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder exhibit altered emotional processing and attentional control during an emotional Stroop task. In: Psychological medicine. 2017 ; Vol. 47, No. 11. pp. 2017-2027.
@article{bbdd859f19bb431bacbc9c72f555faf4,
title = "Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder exhibit altered emotional processing and attentional control during an emotional Stroop task",
abstract = "Background. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often associated with attention allocation and emotional regulation difficulties, but the brain dynamics underlying these deficits are unknown. The emotional Stroop task (EST) is an ideal means to monitor these difficulties, because participants are asked to attend to non-emotional aspects of the stimuli. In this study, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) and the EST to monitor attention allocation and emotional regulation during the processing of emotionally charged stimuli in combat veterans with and without PTSD. Method. A total of 31 veterans with PTSD and 20 without PTSD performed the EST during MEG. Three categories of stimuli were used, including combat-related, generally threatening and neutral words. MEG data were imaged in the time-frequency domain and the network dynamics were probed for differences in processing threatening and non-threatening words. Results. Behaviorally, veterans with PTSD were significantly slower in responding to combat-related relative to neutral and generally threatening words. Veterans without PTSD exhibited no significant differences in responding to the three different word types. Neurophysiologically, we found a significant three-way interaction between group, word type and time period across multiple brain regions. Follow-up testing indicated stronger theta-frequency (4-8 Hz) responses in the right ventral prefrontal (0.4-0.8 s) and superior temporal cortices (0.6-0.8 s) of veterans without PTSD compared with those with PTSD during the processing of combat-related words. Conclusions. Our data indicated that veterans with PTSD exhibited deficits in attention allocation and emotional regulation when processing trauma cues, while those without PTSD were able to regulate emotion by directing attention away from threat.",
keywords = "Attention allocation, emotional Stroop task, emotional regulation, oscillation, post-traumatic stress disorder",
author = "Khanna, {M. M.} and Badura-Brack, {A. S.} and McDermott, {T. J.} and Embury, {C. M.} and Wiesman, {A. I.} and A. Shepherd and Ryan, {T. J.} and Heinrichs-Graham, {Elizabeth C} and Wilson, {Tony W}",
journal = "Psychological Medicine",
T1 - Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder exhibit altered emotional processing and attentional control during an emotional Stroop task
AU - Khanna, M. M.
AU - Badura-Brack, A. S.
AU - McDermott, T. J.
AU - Embury, C. M.
AU - Wiesman, A. I.
AU - Shepherd, A.
AU - Ryan, T. J.
AU - Heinrichs-Graham, Elizabeth C
AU - Wilson, Tony W
N2 - Background. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often associated with attention allocation and emotional regulation difficulties, but the brain dynamics underlying these deficits are unknown. The emotional Stroop task (EST) is an ideal means to monitor these difficulties, because participants are asked to attend to non-emotional aspects of the stimuli. In this study, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) and the EST to monitor attention allocation and emotional regulation during the processing of emotionally charged stimuli in combat veterans with and without PTSD. Method. A total of 31 veterans with PTSD and 20 without PTSD performed the EST during MEG. Three categories of stimuli were used, including combat-related, generally threatening and neutral words. MEG data were imaged in the time-frequency domain and the network dynamics were probed for differences in processing threatening and non-threatening words. Results. Behaviorally, veterans with PTSD were significantly slower in responding to combat-related relative to neutral and generally threatening words. Veterans without PTSD exhibited no significant differences in responding to the three different word types. Neurophysiologically, we found a significant three-way interaction between group, word type and time period across multiple brain regions. Follow-up testing indicated stronger theta-frequency (4-8 Hz) responses in the right ventral prefrontal (0.4-0.8 s) and superior temporal cortices (0.6-0.8 s) of veterans without PTSD compared with those with PTSD during the processing of combat-related words. Conclusions. Our data indicated that veterans with PTSD exhibited deficits in attention allocation and emotional regulation when processing trauma cues, while those without PTSD were able to regulate emotion by directing attention away from threat.
AB - Background. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often associated with attention allocation and emotional regulation difficulties, but the brain dynamics underlying these deficits are unknown. The emotional Stroop task (EST) is an ideal means to monitor these difficulties, because participants are asked to attend to non-emotional aspects of the stimuli. In this study, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) and the EST to monitor attention allocation and emotional regulation during the processing of emotionally charged stimuli in combat veterans with and without PTSD. Method. A total of 31 veterans with PTSD and 20 without PTSD performed the EST during MEG. Three categories of stimuli were used, including combat-related, generally threatening and neutral words. MEG data were imaged in the time-frequency domain and the network dynamics were probed for differences in processing threatening and non-threatening words. Results. Behaviorally, veterans with PTSD were significantly slower in responding to combat-related relative to neutral and generally threatening words. Veterans without PTSD exhibited no significant differences in responding to the three different word types. Neurophysiologically, we found a significant three-way interaction between group, word type and time period across multiple brain regions. Follow-up testing indicated stronger theta-frequency (4-8 Hz) responses in the right ventral prefrontal (0.4-0.8 s) and superior temporal cortices (0.6-0.8 s) of veterans without PTSD compared with those with PTSD during the processing of combat-related words. Conclusions. Our data indicated that veterans with PTSD exhibited deficits in attention allocation and emotional regulation when processing trauma cues, while those without PTSD were able to regulate emotion by directing attention away from threat.
KW - Attention allocation
KW - emotional Stroop task
KW - emotional regulation
KW - oscillation
KW - post-traumatic stress disorder
JO - Psychological Medicine
JF - Psychological Medicine
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Home Anime ‘Mysteria Friends’ Anime Based off ‘Rage of Bahmut’ Mobile Game Is Coming...
‘Mysteria Friends’ Anime Based off ‘Rage of Bahmut’ Mobile Game Is Coming In 2019
Loryn Stone
Eagerly-awaited anime based on popular mobile game Rage of Bahamut
finally gets a Japanese broadcast date.
Japanese publisher Cygames has announced that the hotly anticipated animated series Mysteria Friends will be broadcast on Japanese TV in January 2019. The series will feature the much-loved characters Anne and Grea from the popular Mysteria Academy event featured in the Rage of Bahamut mobile game.
Mysteria Friends depicts the further adventure of Anne and Grea, two much-loved characters created by Cygames for the Mysteria Academy event that took place within the Rage of Bahamut mobile game. The two characters have since starred in other games, such as Shadowverse and Granblue Fantasy, cementing their status as firm fan favorites.
Set in the wonderous Mysteria Magic Academy, Mysteria Friends features an original story created specifically for the animated series. It tells the everyday tale of our two heroes and the world they live in, where humans, gods and demons mingle freely.
Directed by Hideki Okamoto of Konohana Kitan fame, it is the first animated TV series from CygamesPictures, and it features the same amazing cast of actors who voiced the characters in the game, with Yoko Hikasa, and Ayaka Fukuhara reprising their roles as Anne and Grea respectively.
Note that the Japanese title of the animated series is Manaria Friends. At the present time the anime and official website are only available in Japanese.
Anne, voiced by: Yoko Hikasa
Grea, voiced by: Ayaka Fukuhara
Hanna, voiced by: Nana Mizuki
Owen, voiced by: Wataru Hatano
Lou, voiced by: Kimiko Koyama
Miranda, voiced by: Kikuko Inoue
William, voiced by: Yuuma Uchida
Heinlein, voiced by: Chiharu Sawashiro
About Rage of Bahamut
Rage of Bahamut is a much-loved digital collectible card battle game developed by Cygames, which launched in Japan in 2011 and worldwide in 2012. The game has been played by many millions of players all over the world, regularly frequenting the top of the US Google Play and App Store charts and although the English version of the game was closed in 2016, it continues to be enjoyed in Japan.
About the Mysteria Academy event
The Mysteria Academy event took place within the Rage of Bahamut mobile game and depicted the adventures of Anne, of the Mysterian royal family, and her Dragonborn friend Grea, as they deal with abominations from another dimension who threaten to disrupt the peaceful harmony that usually presides over the Mysteria Academy.
About Cygames
Cygames, Inc. is an acclaimed developer and operator of popular mobile games. Formed as a CyberAgent group company in May, 2011, Cygames always strives to provide the best in entertainment. The company’s first title, Shingeki no Bahamut (Rage of Bahamut), revolutionized mobile card games when it was released in September 2011. The company’s next ground-breaking adventure, Granblue Fantasy, expanded the possibilities of mobile gaming with an epic story featuring dozens of voice actors. And most recently its digital card game Shadowverse has broken new ground, becoming one of Japan’s top esports with a first prize of a million dollars at its forthcoming World Grand Prix, which will take place in Tokyo this December. In order to create the best content, Cygames puts fun first.
Mysteria Friends
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http://www.nerdbot.com
Loryn Stone has dedicated her life to the written Word of the Nerd. Her writing has also been published on other pop culture websites such as Cracked, LoadScreen, PopLurker, and Temple of Geek. Her debut young-adult novel "My Starlight" (a contemporary love letter to fandom, friendship, anime, cosplaying, love, and loss) is out now by Affinity Rainbow Publications. When she's not writing, Loryn's other interests include collecting robots (Megazords, specifically), playing bass, and blasting metal.
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NESN Fuel
Kyle Busch Got ‘Crazy Death Threats’ After 2008 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Incident
by Dakota Randall on Wed, Apr 18, 2018 at 4:03PM
NASCAR fans have loved to hate Kyle Busch seemingly since “Rowdy” broke into the sport.
The hate for Busch arguably never has been worse, however, than what it was after the 2008 Dan Lowry 400.
With three laps remaining in the race at Richmond International Raceway, Busch, who was in second, rear-ended leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. Clint Bowyer wound up winning the race, and NASCAR fans took their loathing for Busch to disturbing heights.
(You can click here to watch the infamous moment.)
With Saturday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond just around the corner, Busch recently appeared on Earnhardt’s “Dale Jr. Download” podcast to discuss their old rivalry. During the discussion, Busch detailed what it is like leaving the track after his run-in with Earnhardt.
“There was words being slung, rocks being slung, hats being slung, beers being slung – at us, at the golf cart,” Busch said.
That’s hostile, no doubt. But it’s nothing compared to what Busch experienced the rest of the season.
“For the rest of the year, there was crazy death threats and stuff like that,” he said. “There was death threats to the house. There was a guy that called – I don’t remember if he called NASCAR or the race track, but it was Kentucky Speedway. I was at Kentucky for the Xfinity Series race, and it was back then when we flew in to run the standalone Xfinity Series races.
“And so I won that night, and as soon as I did the Victory Lane stuff, they corralled me and got me and took me into a cop car and took me out of the race track in a cop car. I’m like ‘What are we doing, boys? What’s going on?’ They were like, ‘We’ve had a tip-off that there’s a shooter on the loose. Like, a guy’s coming to the race track with a shotgun.’ So it was stuff like that that was happening not weekly but periodically through that time, definitely through the rest of (the 2008 season) and maybe once or twice in (2009).
“So we actually had a behind-the-scenes FBI guy tailing me through the rest of ’08. We didn’t think we needed him anymore after ’08 was over. So I do remember that guy. He came with us about everywhere.”
Busch, of course, is no stranger to seeing the worst of NASCAR fans. Furthermore, his erratic, volatile behavior often invites ugliness.
Still, there is a line, and NASCAR fans too often find themselves on the wrong side of it.
Thumbnail photo via Peter Casey/USA TODAY Sports Images
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Regina Hall almost quit acting to become a nun
Filed to:Regina Hall
Image: Frazer Harrison (Getty Images)
Actress Regina Hall shared a lot during her interview with The New York Times, but few aspects were as relatable as her desire to leave all the industry noise behind and head to a nunnery.
Eight years ago, Hall considered pursuing her childhood interest of becoming a nun. While she vaguely mentions going through a break-up around that time, Hall doesn’t cite any specific events or attitudes that triggered the desire. “I never thought about walking away from anything. I thought of walking to something,” Hall said. “I thought being a nun would be peaceful.”
Ultimately, Hall did no take up residence in a convent, as evidenced by her currently blooming career post-Girls Trip. The main barrier between her and a simpler life: Her age.
“The group I was interested in had an age limit for joining,” she explained. “There were a couple things in my way. I could’ve lied about them, but I didn’t want to start off as a nun like that.”
Hall was also very candid about her place in mainstream Hollywood versus her more recognizable stance within black Hollywood. She also, unfortunately, had to field questions about friend Kevin Hart and his Oscars drama, because living in 2019 still doesn’t render women immune to answering questions about the unrelated behavior of men.
The runaway success of Girls Trip has led to a new phase of Hall’s career, one that has reintroduced her to indie audiences thanks to her starring role in the comedy Support The Girls.
Hooters is where the heart is in the winning indie comedy Support The Girls
Girls Trip mixes raunch, empowerment, and squishy sentiment
Regina Hall and Andrew Bujalski talk Support The Girls, and the fantasy of Hooters
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918 kg Brand India ‘khichdi’ enters Guinness World Record
Edited By Odishatv Bureau Published By IANS On Nov 5, 2017 - 7:14 AM
New Delhi: A team of 50 chefs as part of a government-led initiative on Saturday created a Guinness World Record by cooking a mammoth 918 kg of “khichdi”.
As the clock ticked towards 12 p.m. — time scheduled for the khichdi to get ready — people around, mostly media persons, started growing restive.
They eagerly waited for the mammoth dish to be presented before them so they can capture the moment in their cameras, which was set to become a world record. However, they had to wait for a while after famous chef Sanjeev Kapoor, who headed the project, sought more time.
With the arrival of yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who were to launch the khichdi, the festivity started gathering momentum.
They launched the Brand India khichdi, which was cooked using 800 kg of grains in a big ‘kadhai’ (wok) of 100 litres, by adding ‘tadka’ to it.
Multi-grains such as rice, bajra, and ragi, as well as pulses, vegetables, amaranth and spices were used in the khichdi.
Guinness World Record officials, who were present, announced later that Brand India Khichdi had made it to the record books.
Ramdev said khichdi was a nutritious food and it was globally accepted.
“It has calcium and all necessary vitamins. It can be a solution to address the issue of malnutrition. The world record will help khichdi to find space in global menu and it can be an alternative to fast food,” Ramdev said.
Khichdi is also Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s favourite dish, Ramdev said, to thunderous applause.
Before the official announcement of the record, Kapoor said the preparation for the big event had started from Friday night.
“We promote international foods in India and it is our opportunity to showcase our superfoods to the world,” he said.
Badal said “Khichdi symbolizes India’s great culture of unity in diversity. It is our message of unity to the world from the World Food India.”
Imtiaz Qureshi, first chef to receive the Padma Shri award, said it was time for khichdi to become global dish.
“I introduced biryani and pulav to 5-star hotels, which then became global dishes. Now, khichdi is set to become global dish thanks to its taste, nutritious value,” he said.
Commenting on the death of an 11-year old Jharkhand girl due to non-linking of Aadhaar with the ration card, Ramdev said hunger and malnutrition were shameful for the country and khichdi might help in addressing the problems.
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The CEO
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Home » Our Journey
At Olive Route we started with a core belief that we must make efforts in making accessible to all
Food that is global standards, safe and right out of the natures basket,
Products that are close to human senses and yet not intrusive
Services & Hospitality that keeps the purposes of culture and Spirituality intact and awake
And all this inspires human being to be able to connect across diverse cultures beyond barriers of language, religion or geographies.
Just like for millions of us the word “Mother” has the same sense of emotional effect irrespective of cultural, linguistic and regional diversities, we wish to bring in same level of sense of happiness, ease and contentment of experiencing Cuisines, Products and services that are safe, Healthy, Halaal and of High standards; across the globe.
Our founding Team at Olive Route, even before its inception was involved with creating an ecosystem in F&B domain that would finally lead to Organic, Non-Antibiotic and Non-GMO produce to ensure Human priorities on Health are not compromised.
With this intent at the core, taking a few steps further, we started to integrate the business units which were stand alone in nature and tried to harmonize the business lines to ensure continuity of our vision in Creating premium quality Products, Services be it in F&B, Cosmetics, Pharma, Tourism or something else while ensuring its easily accessible and doesn’t at any cost compromise on Human experiences and fulfillment. And, that the goodness of these are equally good for the environment, better for the farmers / producers / manufacturers, better for the animals, better in taste – and most of all, being better for human health.
The founding team at Olive Route envisioned the importance of building a rich and appealing brand that would not only serve as a global successor to modern day technology driven trade but also that is very close to human senses, spirituality and emotions; that is based on the joy of discovering international flavors of variety of cuisines, Products that not only meet the needs but are harmless and extension of human feelings; and services that enrich your cultural & spiritual self without any compromises on the Quality and Global standards.
We have successfully integrated our earlier offerings not only in F&B but also ensured we strengthen the Products, Services and Culinary portfolios. We are now a one-stop E-commerce portal and App based company that can provide fastest and seamless services to growing demand. We intend to further strengthen our portfolios in the domains to ensure we cater to End to end requirements in F&B, Products (Pharma, Cosmetics, Household stuff) and Services like Tourism, Edutainment, Toys etc. which are for “Human use”, Safe, wholesome, Halaal and enjoyable.
At Olive Route, our team strives uncompromisingly for all this while still maintaining our highest quality standards as we move ahead on this partnership with our Business partners, Suppliers, Farmers and Consumers. We assure zero Compromise towards maintaining our quality, Excellence and Customer Service.
Goodness of things inspire us at Olive Route to serve Businesses and Human better, today and tomorrow
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1 purchase
Man develops personalised DVD to help autistic kid
Shared by Ana Duarte on 2019-08-06 09:31
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About the solution
Rodrigo came up with this DVD after reading about Miguel’s mother Fernanda Torres reporting, on social media, her son’s meltdowns on social media, after the film had been released on Netflix.
Miguel would watch Finding Nemo every day on Netflix. However, on the morning of January 1st 2019, while most of the people were sleeping, Miguel was turning on the TV to watch his favourite film. But it had been removed.
His mother tried to get him to watch the film on other platforms but with no success. So the mother wrote a post on Facebook making a request. “Disney, I have a desperate request for you. Please put it back on Netflix. My son is autistic is having a crisis since January 1st, because each time he looks for the film, he can’t find it. Help me”.
The post went viral and everyone suggested that Fernanda should buy the Finding Nemo DVD. However, the mother explained the problem was with the layout, as Miguel as used to see the Netflix menu. That’s when Rodrigo stepped him.
“What about getting a DVD with Finding Nemo and then creating a layout like Netflix? With the same menu. I can do that”, he said.
Two days later, Fernanda got the link to download the film. He was very similar to the film on Netflix and Miguel was very happy.
Adapted from: https://bit.ly/2GNIVWo
This solution shall not include mention to the use of drugs, chemicals or biologicals (including food); invasive devices; offensive, commercial or inherently dangerous content. This solution was not medically validated. Proceed with caution! If you have any doubts, please consult with a health professional.
Rodrigo Lima, from Brazil, is a support technical analyst who created a DVD with the same layout as Netflix, to help Miguel, an autistic child, to watch his favourite film.
Tags associated to this solution
Asperger's disorder
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Shonan Open Water Swimming And Finning
https://youtu.be/DchRYH-RYnc Shonan Open Water Swimming And Finning Courtesy of Shonan Open Water Swimming, Japan. The Shonan Open Water Swimming event has been held for 16 years and included a 2.5 km fin swim as [...]
7-Up: Hank Wise vs. Samuel Neri Across The Catalina Channel
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Remembering The Patagonia Extreme Cold Water Challenge
https://youtu.be/orNNJ-wOhlk Remembering The Patagonia Extreme Cold Water Challenge Courtesy of WOWSA, Patagonia, Chile. The first 5 people to successfully attempt and complete an Ice Mile took off on a South American adventure in February [...]
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Have Your Cake And Eat It Too Courtesy of Stuart Hamilton, Slow Swimming Stuart Hamilton, the Swim Wrangler of Slow Swimming, announced the dates and venues of the Slow Swims that make up the Strawberry [...]
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Tag: Gov. Rick Scott
Christie: Is Gov. Rick Scott to blame for the worsening red tide, toxic algae blooms?
Lifeguards at Riviera Beach beach wear covering over their faces. The life guards (did not want to give names) said that if asked they would advise people not to risk a beach visit. Many beaches remains open Sunday morning while others remained closed to to Red Tide warnings. (Melanie Bell / The Palm Beach Post)
For years now, coastal Palm Beach County residents has been able to watch the environmental disasters caused by toxic blue-green algae and red tide from afar.
We’ve watched our neighbors to the north in the Treasure Coast have their lives buffeted; our fellow county residents to the west in the Glades have their way of life threatened; and our fellow coastal residents in Southwest Florida shutter businesses.
RELATED: Beaches remain closed due to ‘airborne irritant’
But that was before this weekend. Before the red tide we’ve all been reading about elsewhere in the state was suspected of making the air so bad here that local health officials in Martin and Palm Beach counties were forced to shut down 27 miles of beaches.
Health officials, on Monday, were still trying to confirm that it is indeed red tide that forced beachgoers — especially those with respiratory issues — to stay away, and had many complaining about burning eyes.
Jill Desplain brings her daughter Quinn in from the surf. She is visiting from Kentucky and and was unaware of the red tide warnings. Riviera Beach beach remains open Sunday morning while other beaches are closed due to Red Tide warnings. (Melanie Bell / The Palm Beach Post)
Apropos that at the center of it all is Gov. Rick Scott and his dismal environmental record of budget cutting and lax regulation. But will county residents blame Scott for if the red tide disaster has indeed made it to our shores?
If it is red tide, this may be a game-changer for Scott — who prides himself among other things on shamelessly promoting our state’s all-important tourism industry. The embattled governor, who has already been taking hits for weeks in every coastal community he deigns to visit, usually sees Palm Beach County as a sanctuary for the Scott train. In fact, he was just here a couple weeks ago raising money in Palm Beach with former President George W. Bush.
RELATED: Editorial: Scott must answer for environmental malpractice
That was then. Today, drivers can see signs for “Red Tide Rick” hanging from Florida’s Turnpike overpasses in the county. And again, if health officials confirm that red tide is the cause of the current “airborne irritant” at our beaches, Scott may have to scratch another coastal haunt off of his U.S. Senate campaign tour for a while.
Take our poll here, and let us know what you think: Is Scott’s handling of the environment to blame for the worse-than-normal red tide and toxic blue-green algae blooms?
Author Rick ChristiePosted on October 1, 2018 October 1, 2018 Categories Environment, Florida, Local, newsfeedTags Beaches, bnblogs, environment, Everglades, Florida's Turnpike, George W. Bush, Glades, Gov. Rick Scott, Martin County, news, newsfeeds, Palm Beach County, Politics, red tide, Southwest Florida, tourism, tourists, toxic algae, Treasure Coast, U.S. SenateLeave a comment on Christie: Is Gov. Rick Scott to blame for the worsening red tide, toxic algae blooms?
Christie: 2018 election: Florida’s environment don’t get no respect, no respect at all
Although Florida’s economy is heavily dependent on the environment, most political candidates are loathe to put, and keep those issues out front during a campaign.
The state’s environment could use a little more respect from political candidates this election season.
For the past several weeks, candidates have been trying to figure what issues are most important to voters. With some individual races as tight as they are, every hopeful running — be it for county commission or state senate — knows hitting on that one topic that resonates with voters can move the needle just enough to eke out a win. (Well, that and spending a lot of money on the campaign in the last couple weeks.)
RELATED: Post endorsements for the 2018 primary elections
But what are those hot-button voter issues?
Is it education? We do have a flashpoint issue in school security. There’s is also the much bigger issue of our K-12 public schools being in the bottom fifth in the nation. And Florida’s horrendous teacher pay has actually resulted in a shortage of about 4,000 teachers statewide to begin the 2018-19 school year.
Is it the economy? We do have this issue that, despite all the jobs created the last several years, too many residents complain they need two or three of them to make ends meet. That’s what happens when most of the jobs created are minimum wage. Meanwhile, the cost of housing is going through the roof in many places like, well, Palm Beach County.
Is it the environment? Or as I call it, “the Rodney Dangerfield of primary ballot issues.” Voters are witnessing a red tide causing massive fish kills, and manatee and turtle deaths up and down the Southwest Florida coast. They are watching the ongoing green goo affectionately known as “toxic blue-green algae” find its way into the backyard waterways of Treasure Coast residents. And of course, there’s that long-term, existential threat to our very way of life that everyone fears but few want to talk about: sea level rise. (That’s right, I said it.)
RELATED: The Environmental Issues Facing Florida This Election Season
In a survey released by the USA Today Network and Florida Atlantic University in June, voters said the environment was their No. 3 concern after economy and school safety, respectively. But unlike these first two, environmental issues cannot seem to get and/or maintain traction on the campaign trail.
How can that be, one might ask, when dead manatees are floating into marinas? How can that be when water is submerging roads and parks during King tides? And how can that be when several Martin County beaches — Jensen, Stuart, Bathtub and Hobe Sound — are the latest to close as blue-green algae and red tide continue to spread throughout the state of Florida.
Venting on social media by irate residents about red tide and blue-green algae has gotten so bad that law enforcement is on edge.
A 250-pound Goliath grouper floats in the water in Sanibel, where red tide is killing millions of fish in Sanibel. (Greg Lovett / The Palm Beach Post)
And on August 13, Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency over the ongoing toxic red tide bloom.
“The red tide, which grows offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, has drifted toward the coast and is being blamed for killing scores of animals, including manatees, turtles, and thousands of fish,” reported Palm Beach Post staff writer Kimberly Miller.
But around that same time, when he had the opportunity to confront Treasure Coast residents about the blue-green goo that’s ruining their fishing and boating, Scott elected to do the equivalent of a boating flyover — leaving residents and their questions hanging.
Algae in the Caloosahatchee River beside the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam in Alva, Fla. (Greg Lovett / The Palm Beach Post)
The governor-turned-U.S. Senate candidate isn’t much different from his political brethren on this front; though most can seem to muster a bit more face-to-face compassion. Still, when Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phillip Levine tried to ride his sea-level-rise street cred to the top of the ticket, it didn’t work that well. Sure, voters like that stuff. But who can focus on an environmental threat when another candidate is accusing you of being a supporter of President Donald Trump, and guns are blazing at high school football games?
As a result, the environment gets pushed to the back-burner in a state that built its image off of sunshine and beautiful beaches. The state’s three-legged economy — tourism, agriculture and real estate — is so dependent on the environment that every storm season holds the potential to lay waste to all three. Witness: Hurricane Irma.
But so short is our attention span in this era of breaking news that environmental issues, even when they are staring us in the face daily — again, I mention toxic red tide and green algae — can’t keep a politician’s attention. Today, for example, in the wake of a mass shooting at a gaming tournament on Sunday in Jacksonville, gun control is the topic du jour.
Sigh… maybe it will be different in the general election campaign.
What do you think?… Should the environment be a higher priority for Florida politicians?
Take our poll, and leave a comment.
Author Rick ChristiePosted on August 27, 2018 August 27, 2018 Categories Elections, Environment, Florida, newsfeedTags 2018 election, algae blooms, bathtub beach, Beaches, bnblogs, campaign, Economy, environment, Florida, Florida Atlantic University, Florida primary, Gov. Rick Scott, Hobe Sound, Jensen Beach, Manatees, Martin County, news, newsfeeds, Palm Beach County, primary, red tide, school safety, sea level rise, Stuart, toxic algae, Treasure Coast, turtles, votersLeave a comment on Christie: 2018 election: Florida’s environment don’t get no respect, no respect at all
Christie: Can Florida drivers get a pass from SunPass?… I hope so.
SunPass has been beset with problems since the start of an “system upgrade” in early June. (Lannis Waters / The Palm Beach Post)
A former boss of mine was fond of saying: “You know technology is working the way it should when you don’t have to think about it.”
I’m reminded of this because like tens of thousands of Florida drivers these days, I’ve been wondering what the heck is going on with SunPass — the state’s automatic billing/collecting platform for toll roads from Wildwood to Wilton Manors.
You see, if you drive a good amount for work or pleasure — especially between Interstate 4 and Alligator Alley — SunPass is one of those “conveniences” that we’ve all come to despise and depend on every day.
That’s why the mess that has been made of the online toll system since June 1 has got so many drivers who frequent Florida’s Turnpike, for example, spouting more noxious fumes than their vehicles.
And now these drivers — many, taxpayers footing the bill for this botched “upgrade” — are beginning to question whether they should shoulder the burden of tolls. And rightly so.
Around June 5, the SunPass Centralized Customer Service System went offline for what was supposed to be a week’s worth of upgrades. But work on the system dragged on for nearly a month, during which time SunPass customers continued to accumulate toll charges, but could not track them.
RELATED: Florida is still paying SunPass contractor, even after officials said they would stop
Many SunPass users have had difficulty using the customer service website, call line and app, and have seen wrong charges posted to their accounts — or no charges posted at all, despite passing through toll booths. Conduent State & Local Solutions, which has a $287 million contract with the state to run customer service technology for Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise, is working through a backlog of at least 100 million charges that weren’t processed.
Even though its tolling problems still haven’t been resolved, the state amended a second contract with Conduent on July 1, awarding the company about $100,000 more — paid in $10,000 monthly increments — to install new tolling software, hardware and equipment.
SunPass users are understandably pissed. And one can hardly blame them.
The state seemed to be a bit perturbed too. Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Dew called the delays “completely unacceptable.”
“The department anticipates and expects that Conduent will continue to improve the operations of the SunPass call center, the website interface, the functionality of the mobile application interface and the availability and reliability of SunPass Plus, so that SunPass customers are provided the premium level of service they are entitled to expect,” Dew wrote in a July 16 letter to Conduent President David Amoriell.
Amoriell advised the week prior that the company had already made “substantial improvements in recent weeks and will continue to strive for your complete satisfaction.”
The issues remaining from the upgrade include the effectiveness of the SunPass website and mobile application; issues related to multiple charges being applied through the payment processing system; and problems with the expanded SunPass Plus application at airports, which was slow or unavailable in responding to airport gate systems when customers entered or exited parking facilities.
MIAMI– Sunpass-only Express lanes entrance sign on the Northbound I-95 Express lanes between I-195 and NW 61st Street. (Miami Herald Staff Photo by John VanBeekum)
As part of the conversion, SunPass Plus parking was expanded from Orlando International Airport to include Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Palm Beach International Airport and Tampa International Airport.
But since then, both PBIA and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood have shut down the SunPass Plus application because it was still having problems.
Dew, in the July 16 letter, told Maryland-based Conduent that the state was halting payments to the company until all the changes in the $287 million SunPass Centralized Customer Service System project are deemed “fully operational.”
Not so, according to Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis’ website. A day after Dew sent the letter, FDOT paid Conduent more than $265,000. On July 19, FDOT paid Conduent almost $10,000 more.
The second payment was tied to a different 10-year contract with Conduent worth more than $13 million that was signed in April 2017. According to the CFO’s website, that contract is for Conduent to provide “information technology consultation services” as a “toll equipment contractor” — the same service as the first contract.
RELATED: SunPass customer starts petition to waive tolls citing botched upgrade
Meanwhile, according to The Palm Beach Post’s Jodi Wagner, Orlando food delivery driver Mike DiMauro has started a petition asking SunPass to waive all tolls incurred by customers during the disruption of service to its customer service system. DiMauro also wants Conduent to pay for them.
“Why should we, the SunPass customers, pay for the tolls during their outage?” he told Wagner. “It’s SunPass and Conduent’s fault, not ours. Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi should go after Conduent and sue them for the toll money during the outage, not getting it collected from the customers.”
A novel idea? One that could certainly catch on?
DiMauro began his petition, in part, because he expects to be hit with a huge bill once all his transactions are posted. The petition, which has been shared on social media, was at 2,221 signatures as of Friday morning. DiMauro is still hoping to get more.
“I hope to get the attention of the state government and have action be done so that it would help the drivers out there,” he said.
Are you a SunPass customer? Take our poll and leave your comments here…
Author Rick ChristiePosted on July 23, 2018 July 27, 2018 Categories Florida, newsfeed, TransportationTags airport, bnblogs, Conduent Solutions, David Amoriell, drivers, FDOT, Florida Department of Transportation, Florida's Turnpike, Gov. Rick Scott, Interstate 4, Interstate 75, Mike DiMauro, news, newsfeeds, Orlando, Pam Bondi, parking, PBIA, SunPass, SunPass Plus, Technology, tollsLeave a comment on Christie: Can Florida drivers get a pass from SunPass?… I hope so.
Christie: Thankful Hurricane Irma wasn’t worse, but we can’t dodge bullets forever
Police turn around traffic attempting to cross the bridge on Lake Avenue after the passing of hurricane Irma in Lake Worth. (Richard Graulich / The Palm Beach Post)
We, meaning Palm Beach County, “were damn lucky.”
Basically, that was the assessment in my editorial following Hurricane Irma last year. The massive storm looked like it was going to swallow the entire state as it approached us from the south after beating the snot out of Puerto Rico and Cuba in the Caribbean.
That’s not to say Irma didn’t leave a mark here, of course. Power and cellular service outages, tens of thousands of folks in shelters, tons of debris and hundreds of non-functioning traffic lights made life miserable for a lot of us for a while. Enough so, as the Post’s Kimberly Miller recounts today, that many residents still “believe they survived much worse during the September tempest, and aren’t keen to hear otherwise.”
RELATED: Hurricane Season 2018: Think you survived a Cat 4 here? Not even close
Well, we need to listen up and get real. Not to belittle anyone’s feeling of suffering, but we should be thankful we didn’t get Irma’s worst. Our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico can’t say that.
And as the 2018 Atlantic storm season kicks off today, we need to take whatever lessons learned from our Hurricane Irma “test run” and apply it to this year.
Because we can’t dodge bullets forever.
So following is my Sept. 13, 2017 editorial in full… Thanks for listening, and be prepared.
Editorial: Hurricane Irma spared Palm Beach County its worst
We were lucky, Palm Beach County.
Hurricane Irma, after taunting us for days with its record-breaking size and power, spared us its worst.
It may not seem that way to some. Not if you’re one of the roughly 300,000 residents still without power. Not if you’re one of the thousands of residents of Delray Beach and unincorporated county who still can’t flush their toilets. And not if you’re the parent of one of the School District’s 193,000 students who won’t return to school until Monday — at the earliest.
But we were.
You see, dozens of people here weren’t left dead in Irma’s wake as in the Caribbean. A quarter of our homes here weren’t made uninhabitable as they were in the Florida Keys. There was no 10- or 15-foot storm surge here as was seen in tiny Goodland on Marco Island.
A skateboarder takes advantage of a sidewalk damaged by uprooted trees along South Olive Avenue just north of Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach after Hurricane Irma. The road was blocked in both directions. (Meghan McCarthy / The Palm Beach Post)
We are instead left with some trees down, spot flooding, long gas station lines and a chance to show some gratitude.
There are, of course, those who, ready to hurl the asinine “fake news” moniker, complaining that the media over-hyped the storm. Really? Yes, we should be skeptical of hype — especially from dubious sources. But when the National Weather Service says the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean is headed in your direction, the prudent thing is to shutter the house, grab the kids and get the hell out of the way.
No less than Gov. Rick Scott, himself no fan of the media, wasted no time in taking this monster of a storm seriously and pleading with us daily to do the same.
As The Post’s Kimberly Miller reported, “Mother Nature stepped in to tweak Irma’s plan” to deliver a worst-case scenario for our county.
“By the grace of Cuba’s northern coast, which was abraded by Irma before the strong Cat 4 hurricane reached the Florida Straits, and a tongue of dry air sucked into its massive, state-swallowing wind field, the storm weakened slightly and couldn’t regain strength before making its first landfall Sunday morning at Cudjoe Key,” Miller wrote.
And according to Jonathan Erdman, a senior digital meteorologist at Weather.com: “There are just so many little subtle things that can make all the difference. After it hit the Keys, it took a more due north path instead of north-northwest and that drove the eye wall ashore near Marco Island, which started weakening it.”
Weakened, but not inconsequential. In its wake, Irma left billions of dollars in damage and thousands of people across the Florida Peninsula who could use a hand — in shelters, in nursing homes, and yes, even next door.
Yes, the vast majority of us were damn lucky.
As good a time as any to show some gratitude, and volunteer to help those that weren’t.
Author Rick ChristiePosted on June 1, 2018 Categories Florida, Local, newsfeedTags Atlantic Ocean, bnblogs, Caribbean, Cuba, Delray Beach, Flooding, Florida, Florida Keys, gas station, Goodland, Gov. Rick Scott, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Matthew, Kimberly Miller, Marco Island, Naples, news, newsfeeds, Puerto Rico, StormLeave a comment on Christie: Thankful Hurricane Irma wasn’t worse, but we can’t dodge bullets forever
Goodman: Gov. Rick Scott, friend of the environment, LOL.
Gov. Rick Scott applauds with guests after announcing funding for freshwater springs and Everglades restoration as a part of his 2015 state budget, during a visit to the Florida Audubon Birds of Prey Center, in Maitland, Fla. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank)
Rick Scott as defender of Florida’s lands, air and waters? Seriously?
The Florida governor whose mantra is jobs, jobs, jobs? Who rode to office on a wave of tea party support and has pushed for limiting government and gutting regulations, including those that protect the environment, in the name of giving business a freer rein?
Yet here he was last week, proposing to boost spending on Florida’s natural resources and environmental programs by $220 million.
The $1.7 billion environmental package for lawmakers to consider in 2018 includes funding for the state’s springs, beaches and parks, along with $355 million for Everglades restoration, $50 million to help the federal government speed repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee and $50 million for Florida Forever, the state’s most prominent land-preservation fund. (News Service of Florida)
And on Thursday, he touted news that his good friend President Donald Trump has ordered expedited federal spending on the Herbert Hoover Dike. Although, this might not fall under the category of “environment” so much as “disaster avoidance,” given the life-threatening dangers of a shaky levee in a major hurricane; we’re only a few weeks removed from when it looked like Irma was going to rake the center of the state and roar over Lake Okeechobee.
It’s almost enough to make you forget that Scott launched a thousand late-night TV jokes when his administration scrubbed the words “climate change” and “global warning” from official communications, according to the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.
Because, you know, Florida doesn’t have much coastline to worry about.
It’s an easy guess why the governor is now making sure that we all know that he cares a great, great deal about our natural resources. The 2018 race for U.S. Senate is warming up. And Scott, his second term coming to an end, is expected to try to unseat Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, who has won the statewide office three times already. Current polling shows they’re virtually tied.
Florida voters are as divided as the rest of the country on most issues, but we’re in general accord when it comes to protecting the environment. Just look at 2014’s Amendment 1, which established a huge fund for land and water conservation by setting aside a portion of an existing real-estate tax. It passed with 75 percent of the vote.
In Scott’s two victorious races for governor, by contrast, he couldn’t win 49 percent of the vote.
So painting yourself as an environmentalist is good politics in this state. The trouble is, Scott has a record that looks like this:
With the Legislature’s help, he ordered water management districts to slash their property tax collections soon after taking office. The South Florida Water Management District, which oversees Everglades restoration, had its budget cut by almost half. It operates with less money today than it did in 2008. Experienced scientists and engineers who did solid work for the water district are gone.
In 2011, Scott abolished the Department of Community Affairs, which oversaw development and tried to promote rational growth. To Scott, the department created too much red tape for developers.
Under Scott, Florida has eased up on enforcing rules against polluters. The Department of Environmental Protection has opened 81 percent fewer pollution-regulation cases since 2010, the year before Scott took office, according to Florida Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
That $50 million request he’s now making for Florida Forever land conservation purchases? Big deal. Until the Great Recession, the program got $300 million a year. Since Scott’s reelection in 2014, his requests for the program peaked at $25.1 million. Even after voters passed Amendment 1 in that 2014 landslide, budget allocations haven’t surpassed $15.2 million, and this year Florida Forever was zeroed out. All of these sums look pretty paltry when you consider how much money Amendment 1 generates from the documentary-stamp tax. For next fiscal year, it’s an estimated $862.2 million.
There was another time when Scott talked a lot about the environment. That was 2014, when he was running for re-election.
He campaigned “on a $1 billion, 10-year environmental blueprint that in many aspects mirrored the environmental spending amendment that was also before voters at the time. The platform item included plans to request $150 million a year for Florida Forever.” (News Service of Florida)
Once Scott was returned to office, that $150 million a year never materialized.
There’s a reason that Democratic foes are calling Scott an “election year environmentalist.”
Florida needs leaders who are every-year environmentalists.
Author Howard GoodmanPosted on October 30, 2017 October 30, 2017 Categories Environment, Florida, Growth, newsfeed, PoliticsTags Bill Nelson, Donald Trump, Economy, environment, Everglades, Florida, Florida Forever, Gov. Rick Scott, news, newsfeed, Politics, South Florida Water Management DistrictLeave a comment on Goodman: Gov. Rick Scott, friend of the environment, LOL.
Christie: Some travel tips for Trump’s Puerto Rico visit
A political party banner waves over a home damaged in the passing of Hurricane Maria, in the community of Ingenio in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico on Monday ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to the U.S. territory on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
President Donald J. Trump is due to arrive in Puerto Rico today to survey and assess the federal government response to damage in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
Other than Gov. Ricardo Rossello, who has been resolute as a picture of diplomacy, the president isn’t likely to get the warmest welcome. Certainly, not like he did in Naples when some Hurricane Irma victims there compared Trump’s response to former President Barack Obama’s playing golf in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. (By the way, that’s a lie. Obama wasn’t even in office in 2005 when Katrina hit.)
The 3.4 million U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico, 95 percent of whom still do not have power, will care less about comparisons and more about answers as to why they’ve been made to feel like second-class citizens by their own country.
RELATED: An unlikely Palm Beach County pair bring relief to Puerto Rico
Plush toys, recovered from a flooded home, hang out to dry on a wrought iron gate in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, in the community of Ingenio in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, Monday. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Of course, most of them can be forgiven for asking. So much has happened since Maria — the second major hurricane to hit the island this season — flattened the place. Trump has repeatedly misstated the size of the hurricane. He has repeatedly talked about what a tough state the island was in to begin with — as if to shift blame. He has talked repeatedly about how Puerto Rico is an island “in the middle of the ocean” — as if to temper expectations. He has even talked about how Puerto Rico might be made to repay the cost of its recovery.
And while taking a weekend at his golf club in New Jersey, even as the scope of the problems in Puerto Rico was still growing, he stopped long enough Saturday morning to take some very personal shots at Carmen Yulin Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, after she once again criticized The federal response.
JERSEY CITY, NJ — U.S. President Donald Trump looks on from the clubhouse during Sunday singles matches of the Presidents Cup at Liberty National Golf Club on Sunday. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
“The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump.”
“…Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They….”
“…want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job.”
RELATED: From his N.J. golf resort, Trump continues to attack mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Not good. Especially given that while Trump was tweeting about her “poor leadership,” Cruz was wading through waste deep, sewage-tainted water helping to rescue people.
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz deals with an emergency situation where patients at a hospital need to be moved because a generator stopped working in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria on Saturday. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
With that in mind, here are a few travel tips for the president as he visits hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico today:
Don’t bring up Puerto Rico’s crippling debt load — totaling $73 billion — as that has nothing to do with the problem at hand. Yes, Puerto Rico’s debt “must be dealt with,” as the president pointed out in a dispassionate tweet early last week, but keep the focus on preventing as many of its residents from dying right now.
Do remember that Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, not a foreign country — even if it is an island “in the middle of the ocean.” Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens just like those in Key West and Houston. That means they can vote. Ask Gov. Rick Scott, who on Monday ordered a state of emergency in Florida to prepare for evacuees; and Sen. Marco Rubio, who has called for a bipartisan detente to address Puerto Rico’s humanitarian crisis.
Don’t keep pointing out Puerto Rico’s infrastructure issues. (See “debt load” above.) The island was hit by two major hurricanes in the span of three weeks. The second, Hurricane Maria, was a massive Category 5 storm when it swept across the entire island. Any state’s infrastructure — including Florida — would probably have been left paralyzed in that scenario.
Do remember the lesson from the first post-Hurricane Harvey visit to Texas, and mix it up with the citizens. Puerto Ricans are truly suffering, nearly two weeks after the storm. Embrace the role of comforter-in-chief, and show some real in-your-face compassion. Shake a hand, and let the first lady hug a child.
And please, don’t over-sell the federal response. Things still aren’t going “great” if you’re the one having to sleep on your porch just to remain cool at night. Things aren’t “fantastic” if you haven’t been able to get to elderly parents in a remote location. There’s no “good news” when you can’t do something as basic as feed your child.
To be sure, the president will find some less critical, more supportive voices among the territory’s 70-plus other mayors, as well as Puerto Rico’s Republican Congresswoman, Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon. But such sentiment, even with the ramping up of federal aid in recent days, will be hard to come by among the regular folks.
This is not the time for victory lap, because Maria is quickly shaping up to be Trump’s Katrina. It has not been a heckuva job. But it still can be.
Good luck, Mr. President.
Author Rick ChristiePosted on October 3, 2017 October 3, 2017 Categories National, newsfeed, trumpTags Barack Obama, bnblogs, Bottled water, Carmen Yulin Cruz, debt, Donald Trump, federal aid, FEMA, Florida, Florida Keys, food, Gov. Rick Scott, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Katrina, Hurrricane Maria, Naples, news, newsfeeds, Puerto Rico, San Juan, tweetsLeave a comment on Christie: Some travel tips for Trump’s Puerto Rico visit
Hurricane Irma: Stress leading to questions about who should be allowed in shelters
Lines form outside of Palm Beach Central high school as people wait for the storm shelter open for evacuees from Hurricane Irma in Wellington. (Allen Eyestone / The Palm Beach Post)
Things are getting tense out there. Winds are picking up, rain bands are coming through and tornado warnings are buzzing our smartphones.
And being forced to sit in a closed-in space with hundreds of folks you don’t know is not exactly ideal.
As Palm Beach County emergency management officials quickly decided how many shelters they would need, and where to care for some 16,000 Hurricane Irma refugees, local residents were making a critical call of their own.
Should I stay and shelter-in-place, or should I go to one the 13 public shelters being opened and run by hurricane relief officials?
To be sure, it was a difficult question for many of the thousands that are now in the shelters. Just as it was deciding on whether to evacuate the area, despite not being in a mandatory evacuation zone.
But such decisions are bound to produce some ill feelings. The stress of the storm is already high, and clashes over bottled water and gas lines was inevitable.
RELATED LINK: Hurricane Irma: Updates from shelters around the county; some residents are leaving
Not surprisingly, some of that stress is also spilling over into the hurricane shelters, as well.
As one Post reader put it in an email late Saturday afternoon:
Selfish.
It is hard to believe people who live in a gated community, whose homes have concrete and stucco walls, take themselves to a shelter when they are not in a evacuation zone because they are afraid
Many people were afraid, and with good reason. They may have been living in a mobile home, unstable home or on the water. Afraid is not a reason, but safety is.A couple I am thinking of did this just recently. They not only live in a fortress{ concrete stucco home) but also have hurricane shutters and a generator. Meanwhile, people are outside the shelters, sleeping in their cars unable to get in.The staff checking people in should tell people like this, who do not live in a evaculation zone to go to their safe home and let those who need shelter have it.
Adrienne Finer-Cohen, Lake Worth, Fl
While that can sound a bit harsh, she is far from the only once who shares that feeling right now.
But what do you think?
Should folks who have well-built concrete homes that are not in a flood-prone evacuation zone be allowed to take up much-needed space in a hurricane shelter, just because they are afraid?
Let me know what you think in the Comments section.
Author Rick ChristiePosted on September 9, 2017 Categories Florida, Local, newsfeedTags bnblogs, Bottled water, emergency evacuations, Emergency Operations Center, evacuation zones, Florida, Gas, Gov. Rick Scott, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane relief, news, newsfeeds, Palm Beach County, Palm Beach County schools, Residents, shelters, Storm, Stress, tornado warning, TornadoesLeave a comment on Hurricane Irma: Stress leading to questions about who should be allowed in shelters
Hurricane Irma: This storm is really testing Floridians’ patience
Cars back up into Belvedere Road and Parker Avenue as drivers line up for gas at the Citgo Station in West Palm Beach Wednesday morning. (Lannis Waters / The Palm Beach Post)
“What’s up, Irma?”
That’s the question that most — nay, every — Palm Beach County resident must be asking after awakening to news that the “monster” tropical storm is now expected to side-step to the West coast.
For six days, we’ve been buying every drop of bottled water in sight.
For six days, we’ve waited in hours-long, miles-long lines to pay 50 cents more per gallon for gasoline. (And mind you, I’ve been known to skip stations for a two-cent difference.)
For six days, we’ve been putting up metal and plywood shutters, and moving all kinds of grimy outdoor items into our already crowded garages. (Yep; sorry Allstate, the cars are on their own.)
For six days, we’ve rightly heeded the pleas of our governor and local emergency officials, and the Post’s Kimberly Miller to evacuate flood-prone areas. (In fact, we now know that a massive, potentially “catastrophic” storm like you will cause major evacuation problems on our roadways.)
RELATED LINK: Post coverage of Hurricane Irma; updates
Those of us who’ve decided to shelter-in-place are hunkered down. We’re ready for you, Irma. But you’re really testing our patience here.
You were supposed to begin knocking on our door today, but no. You’ve decided — with a wink and nod — to make us wait another day.
That’s another day of finding games and other entertainment to keep the kids occupied. By the way, what do you do when they’ve reached the highest level of Destiny 2, Resident Evil or Madden ’18? Will a game of Monopoly really be enough?
The kids are literally asking, “Is it here yet? Is it here yet?… ”
“No! … She’ll be here to tomorrow!”
That’s another day of trying to eat all of the perishable food in the refrigerator so that those ribs we barbecued over the Labor Day weekend don’t eventually go bad. And that, of course, will leave us with only high-calorie snacks. (You are really bad for diets, Irma.)
It goes without saying, but that’s also another day of exploring the liquor cabinet to … ahem, “catalogue” all of the rums we’ve collected over the years. (It is likely the collection will have to be replenished.)
DORAL, Fla. — Florida Gov. Rick Scott gives an update to the media regarding Hurricane Irma. It was still too early to know where the direct impact of the hurricane would take place but the state of Florida was in the area of possible landfall. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
We’ve been teased before, of course.
Just last year, Irma’s little brother Matthew laid waste to Haiti as a Category 5, and promised a direct hit on Palm Beach County, leading to warnings from Gov. Rick Scott: “This storm will kill you!”
Hurricane Matthew made landfall to the north of us as a Category 1. More folks were probably injured taking down shutters than from the storm’s wind and rain.
But we know better than to ignore the warnings, no matter what.
There is still a great deal of danger from hurricane-, and even tropical storm-force winds likely hitting Palm Beach County.
RELATED LINK: PBC officials: Don’t be lulled into complacency by Irma’s western turn
So we pay close attention to the storm updates. We tune in to the governor’s regular briefings as he traverses the state coordinating with local officials, and making sure that Floridians don’t get complacent.
We won’t.
We’re waiting, Irma. But you’re testing our patience.
Author Rick ChristiePosted on September 9, 2017 September 9, 2017 Categories Florida, Local, newsfeedTags Allstate, bnblogs, Bottled water, emergency evacuations, Gasoline, Gov. Rick Scott, hurricane, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Matthew, Kimberly Miller, Labor Day, Monopoly, news, newsfeeds, Palm Beach County, rain, shutters, Tropical storm, WindLeave a comment on Hurricane Irma: This storm is really testing Floridians’ patience
Hurricane Irma: Scott says Florida needs 17,000 volunteers for relief effort
DORAL, Fla — Florida Governor Rick Scott gives an update to the media regarding Hurricane Irma. It’s still too early to know where the direct impact of the hurricane will take place but the state of Florida is in the area of possible landfall. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Florida Gov. Rick Scott continued his plea today for more volunteers in preparation for, and in aftermath of Hurricane Irma.
“We’ve had 6,800 volunteers sign up in the past 24 hours,” Scott said during a 10 a.m. televised update from an emergency operations center in Hialeah. He said most of those have been government employees.
“That’s great, but we need more,” he added. “We going to need 17,000 volunteers statewide.”
Even that may not be enough.
Hurricane Irma is still a Category 5 storm packing winds of 175 mph, the most powerful to hit the Atlantic Ocean outside of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. And it is expected to be the most powerful to make landfall in Florida since Hurricane Andrew 25 years go.
Irma is also a large storm that, if it follows a track of heading down the center of the state, has the potential to cause up to half-a-trillion dollars in damage and leave thousands of Florida resident without homes.
RELATED LINK: Hurricane Irma: Plywood lines, Gov. visit ahead of storm; Here’s the latest
“The storm is bigger, stronger and faster than Hurricane Andrew,” said Scott, who is scheduled to visit the Palm Beach County Emergency Operations Center today and give a noon briefing. “We have to understand that this is serious and not take chances.”
Scott said the non-profit Volunteer Florida has 43 teams on stand-by and the American Red Cross is arriving with 1,000 volunteers and several tractor trailers. A Red Cross disaster relief operation is setting up in Orlando, and the Salvation Army and Florida Baptist Convention have kitchens on stand-by to distribute food.
But with the prospect of widespread damage from a direct hit from Hurricane Irma — and Houston’s devastation from Hurricane Harvey still fresh in Floridians’ minds — Scott has been sounding the volunteer alarm for days.
Scott’s pleas are made necessary because relief resources are stretched thin in the wake of Harvey. That goes for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as well.
DORAL, Fla — (L-R), Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Gov. Rick Scott discuss the need to FEMa aid with the media about Hurricane Irma. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
On Wednesday, Florida Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio reminded that FEMA is scheduled to run out of money on Friday. The agency is hoping to get a $7.5 billion infusion just to deal with Harvey alone; but Nelson and Rubio are pushing their Senate colleagues to add more for Florida to the disaster relief bill because “even with the Harvey supplemental aid package, FEMA is likely to run out of funds before the end of September.”
And Nelson took the Senate floor today to urge the immediate passage of a $15 billion disaster aid package needed to fund FEMA past Friday.
“I urge the Senate, I implore the Senate, I beg the Senate to pass this package,” Nelson said on the Senate floor. “FEMA is stretched, and, of all things, FEMA runs out of money unless we act by tomorrow.”
“I left Florida in the middle of the night to come back to make sure that it has my stamp of imprimatur on this legislation,” he continued, “And I’m very glad that the majority leader has agreed to double the amount – basically $7.5 billion, for FEMA and another $7.5 billion for CDBG, Community Development Block Grants, both of which would be for natural disasters.”
“I have emailed yesterday to the administrator of FEMA, Brock Long,” Nelson added, “People are trying to get out, but they’re stuck on the roads, and now they’re running out of gasoline … An urgent plea that I made yesterday that I would make to FEMA again, that we get gasoline into the state of Florida.”
Scott has already deployed 1,000 members of the Florida National Guard to begin logistical and planning work ahead of Irma’s landfall. The governor mobilized another 3,000 this morning. The National Guard also has 1,000 high-water vehicles, 17 boats, 13 helicopters and more than 700 generators on stand-by. More can be brought in from other states, if necessary.
However, Scott insists that people who can help will be needed for everything from food and water distribution to checking on residents to clean up to helping with the disabled in shelters and more.
He urged folks to visit www.volunteerflorida.org to sign up for volunteering opportunities.
“It’s not too late,” Scott said. “We know that volunteers can make a huge difference.”
Author Rick ChristiePosted on September 7, 2017 September 9, 2017 Categories Florida, Local, newsfeedTags bnblogs, Caribbean, Emergency Operations Center, FEMA, Florida, Florida National Guard, Gov. Rick Scott, Gulf of Mexico, Hialeah, Houston, Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, news, newsfeeds, Palm Beach County, Red Cross, Sen. Bill Nelson, Sen. Marco Rubio, Volunteer Florida, volunteeringLeave a comment on Hurricane Irma: Scott says Florida needs 17,000 volunteers for relief effort
Christie: Post reader calls for PBC Judge Santino’s removal from bench
Palm Beach County Judge Dana Santino speaks in front of a Judicial Qualifications Commission panel at the Palm Beach County Courthouse on August 2. Santino is accused of violating judicial canons during her campaign. (Meghan McCarthy/ The Palm Beach Post)
The topic of whether Palm Beach County Judge Dana Santino should remain on the bench has been a hot one among Post Opinion readers for months.
And now, one Post reader writes that the Florida Supreme Court should remove her, and Gov. Rick Scott appoint her cheated opponent, West Palm Beach defense attorney Gregg Lerman.
I first blogged about it back in March, positing that same question from readers.
Here’s the skinny on what’s got so many folks agitated:
During a hard-fought and very testy campaign for a judicial seat last fall, Santino stepped over the line in criticizing Lerman. Santino said some pretty nasty things about what Lerman does for a living, i.e. defending criminals.
Turns out denigrating any part of the legal profession in such a way during a campaign is a no-no. Thus, Santino was charged with violating four canons that dictate how judicial candidates are to behave. The 49-year-old former guardianship and probate attorney has admitted that her attacks on Lerman violated two of them.
But, in court papers, her attorney, Jeremy Kroll, insists she has a stellar record of legal service and has learned from her mistakes. So instead of a recommendation to the Florida Supreme Court that Santino be removed from office, he suggested the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) — a six-member panel of two judges, two lawyers and two citizens — save her nascent judicial career. Kroll suggested she receive a public reprimand and a $50,000 fine — the same punishment an Escambia County judge received in 2003 for making similar claims on the campaign trail.
RELATED: County Judge Santino’s future on bench now up to state panel
But in this case, precedent shouldn’t be prologue. And the fact Santino has exhibited good behavior since taking the bench would be like rewarding a driver who caused a major accident for being good driver for the few months until their trial.
Also, there just seems to be something wrong with addressing someone who admitted to doing something so dishonorable as “Your Honor.”
Yes, people makes mistakes. But to repeatedly make such mistakes, then fail to correct those actions, and then not acknowledge them after you’ve won tarnishes a judge and the robe they wear.
At a two-day hearing before the JQC last week, Santino was appropriately contrite and apologetic. But while casting herself as a “political neophyte,” she also deflected blame onto her political consultant, Richard Giorgio.
It just doesn’t wash.
What’s really unfortunate is that Santino might actually make a decent jurist if allowed to remain on the bench. But she might not. And what kind of message would that send to future judicial candidates, as well as the defendants and attorneys that would come before her?
And letter published on Tuesday morning’s Post Opinion page reflects that sentiment:
Dump Santino; put Lerman on bench
Dana Santino has now confessed to the Judicial Qualifications Commission charged with determining her fitness for the county court bench. She says she made a terrible mistake trusting her “hired gun” consultant’s advice and libeling her opponent in last fall’s race, Gregg Lerman, through vicious emails sent to county voters and an infamous “Truth About Gregg Lerman” Facebook page.
An Air Force general I worked for once told me, “Integrity means doing the right thing when nobody’s looking.” What could be a greater “fail” than for Santino to do the wrong thing when everyone’s looking? And then to double down and defend her actions repeatedly when called into question before Election Day, when there still was time to clean up her campaign?
The right thing to happen now is for the JQC panel to remove Santino from the bench. Then when Gov. Rick Scott appoints her replacement, the next right thing to do would be to appoint Lerman to the judge’s chair that he almost certainly would have won outright if not for Santino’s outrageous and illegal conduct.
That would be a remarkable act of statesmanship by the governor, for Lerman successfully sued the governor last year to prevent him from appointing the judgeship in the first place, forcing it onto the ballot so citizens like us could make the decision. It would mean Scott could set aside personal animus and do the fair thing that, intuitively, would very likely have been the will of the voters, had Santino not cheated so brazenly and fearlessly.
What a refreshing and encouraging message that action by our governor would send in this time of cynical partisanship.
STEVE EVERETT, SINGER ISLAND
Author Rick ChristiePosted on August 9, 2017 August 9, 2017 Categories Criminal justice, Elections, Legal, Local, newsfeedTags 2016 elections, bnblogs, Dana Santino, Florida Bar, Gov. Rick Scott, Gregg Lerman, Judicial Qualiications Commission, news, newsfeeds, Palm Beach County courts, Palm Beach County electionLeave a comment on Christie: Post reader calls for PBC Judge Santino’s removal from bench
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Review: Ultio – Fera (Brucia, Mar 17)
The inaugural release from Genoa-based label Brucia Records arrives in the form of the recorded debut from enigmatic solo project Ultio. Information on the artist is scarce (the only revelatory detail provided on the Metal Archives is that its lyrical themes are “evil”), but the music speaks for itself. Fera is twenty minutes of seething fire and fury buried beneath a pile of suffocating earth that threatens to give way at any second, the propulsive blast beats and frenzied tremolo riffs constantly pushing to escape their tomb. While the music is veiled in a canopy of fuzz and blur, an aesthetic choice that effectively complements both the atmosphere and subject matter that Ultio explores, the mixing leaves no desire for further clarity, and even the most subtle of elements are allowed due definition. At an average length of five minutes, each of the four tracks are consistently concise, mining from a focused but fruitful palette of inhuman shrieks, frantic dissonance, brief fragments of melody, and cathartic moments of masterful tension release. The EP’s short length couldn’t be more misleading; there’s more here to explore than in countless other more bloated black metal releases I’ve heard, whether it’s picking out the buried screams in the harrowing coda of “Beyond the Fog” or reveling in the glorious climax that concludes “The Right Weapon.”
Jack Davidson Reviews Leave a comment March 31, 2019
Review: Bridges of Königsberg – Considered Parallel to Borders (Or Dividers) (Flag Day Recordings, Mar 22)
The first five or so minutes of “The Greatest Awful,” which opens the set of six extended tracks that comprise Considered Parallel to Borders (Or Dividers), is an immediately unsettling dada collage that acts as a fitting tone-setter for the remainder of the album. Recordings of smacking and gurgling mouth sounds; erratic, percussive spasms of distortion; mangled synthesizers; and countless layers of shifting, contorting noise coagulate into something both frightening and enthralling, trapping the unwitting listener in its knotted claws. But Bridges of Königsberg, a trio composed of Christopher Burns, David Collins, and Peter J. Woods, don’t seem to have the goal of making the most disturbing sounds possible, even though it’s often accomplished anyway. They’re more concerned with the interactions between elements: how the cracked, broken techno loops give structure and rhythm to much less compliant noises, how tension-filled drones can slowly force things into a new direction, how bulbous pulses amidst waves of static and fuzzed-out recordings can sound like some sort of terrifying monster forcing its way out of a pit of tar. Considered Parallel to Borders is certainly a harrowing record, but even though its sonic explorations are as angular and jarringly contrastive as the sharp black lines on its cover, the images and atmospheres it evokes are spell-bindingly lush.
Review: Nusquama – Horizon Ontheemt (Eisenwald, Mar 22)
What was it Tenacious D said? “You don’t always have to play black metal hard… I’m gonna blast softly”? Yeah, that sounds right.
Not that Horizon Ontheemt is a “soft” album. Nusquama, a new quintet comprised of musicians from bands such as Laster, Northward, and Turia, have plenty of aggression and anger to expend, and—coupled with all five members’ superb musicianship—that makes for an intense and emotionally draining journey. But still, there is a beautiful frailty to these fluid compositions, even when the band is at its most structured and rhythmic. The guitars are swathed in threadbare blankets of incorporeal effects, allowing them to enshroud and float above the other instruments to evoke space and atmosphere. They’re often tempered by the earthy punch of the drums, which somewhat frequently relegate the rhythmic backbone to more grounded beats, but when the blast beats set in the band’s true ear for textural transcendence is revealed. Every tremolo chord, every snare hit, every agonized wail is delivered with exactly the right amount of power, just enough to establish presence but not so much that anything distracts from the gorgeous maelstroms of unified sound created by a group of artists who it seems couldn’t compliment each other any better. Horizon Ontheemt isn’t even 40 minutes, but it’s a giant of a record, a giant with its feet on the ground but its head and shoulders in the clouds.
Jack Davidson Reviews Leave a comment March 28, 2019 March 28, 2019
Mix: Peculiar and Prophetic Post-Punk
As soon as you attempt to classify (in this case, a more vivid–and fitting–verb might be ‘coagulate’) an artistic movement as fearless and wide-ranging as the mass of eclectic avant-garde rock music that arose in the late 70’s and early 80’s, it begins to break down. While these bands and artists are commonly grouped under the umbrella term “post-punk,” much of it owes little debt to traditional punk, instead drawing from funk, jazz, industrial, surrealist art, krautrock, and many other areas. In addition to looking backward in time for inspiration, many artists arrived at remarkably prescient stylistic cocktails. The often rough, do-it-yourself music foreshadowed things whose full potential wouldn’t be realized until much later, working with anything from collage and primitive musique concrète to tribal rhythms and free improvisation. Here are my picks for the best examples of this awe-inspiring creativity, somewhat skewed towards obscurities that have been lost to time.
Lemon Kittens, 1981 (photo by Akiko Hada)
https://noisenotmusicdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/postpunk.mp3
00:00. Mars – “Helen Forsdale” from No New York compilation (Antilles, 1978)
02:28. Clock DVA – “White Cell” from Thirst (Fetish, 1981)
07:00. A Certain Ratio – “Choir” from To Each (Factory, 1981)
09:44. L. Voag – “Living Room” from The Way Out (self-released, 1979)
12:11. 23 Skidoo – “IY” from Seven Songs (Fetish, 1982)
17:12. Lemon Kittens – “Nudies” from …The Big Dentist (Illuminated, 1982)
20:30. The Stick Men – “Tail Dragger” from This Is the Master Brew (Red, 1982)
22:32. Stutter – “These Are Small Times (Not Good Enough)” from Broken Snakes (Check, 1989)
25:31. D.A.F. – 8th untitled track from Produkt Der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft (Warning, 1979)
28:40. Savage Republic – “Flesh That Walks” from Tragic Figures (Independent Project, 1982)
32:00. Milk From Cheltenham – “Snappy Fingers” from Triptych of Poisoners (It’s War Boys, 1983)
34:31. Alternative TV – “Graves of Deluxe Green” from Vibing Up the Senile Man (Deptford Fun City, 1979)
Jack Davidson Mixes Leave a comment March 27, 2019 April 18, 2019
Review: T.E.F. – Framework (Dada Drumming, Mar 19)
What did I do to deserve two of the most important American harsh noise acts releasing new music on the same day? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Here’s to being a spoiled little bastard with a hefty supply of eardrum punishment.
Houston-based artist Kevin Novak has been releasing recordings as T.E.F. since the late 90’s, and even his earliest recordings, like Tokyo Eternal Folly, display a truly distinct understanding of the harsh noise medium. With Novak, it’s always been quality over quantity, a mantra attested to by his relatively small body of work—compared to many noise artists’ notorious prolificacy—and the stunning heights reached on genre-defining achievements such as Symptomatic Harbinger and Consequences in Conversation. The latter was Novak’s last full-length album as T.E.F., and nearly a decade later its formidable dynamics and cut-up spastics are rivaled by Framework, also on Dada Drumming. This new CD absolutely seethes with restless aggression, its deafening collages of breakneck sample mishmosh, squalling feedback, and god knows what other distortion-smothered sound sources tearing through brief respites with a vengeance. The trademark density that makes T.E.F. releases so replayable is in full force here; though repeated listens won’t make it any quieter, you’ll constantly be picking up on new things, and the overall chunkiness gives Novak’s noise an unmatched set of teeth.
Framework can be ordered directly from the label, and is available digitally on most streaming platforms.
Review: Pedestrian Deposit – Dyers’ Hands (Monorail Trespassing, Mar 19)
In 2008, Jon Borges’ most renowned solo project became a duo with the addition of cellist and multimedia artist Shannon Kennedy. Austere, an ambitious but flawed release, marked the effective conclusion of Borges’ solitary adventures into harsh noise through a lens of both formal musique concrète technique and emotional catharsis. This is not to say that Kennedy’s membership in the project hindered its creative activities in any way; instead, her arrival steered Pedestrian Deposit to a much less raucous and more meditative sonic palette, the newly added acoustic instrumentation and inclination toward visual and spacial integration pushing the duo to create astounding works such as Kithless and Eleventh Hour. Dyers’ Hands is their first release since 2015’s The Architector, an album steeped in atmosphere but less so in compelling ideas, and in my opinion is PD’s best work since the modern masterpiece Fatale. The sense of space in this record is simply mind-blowing, from the echo-caked clatters that plot an abstract void on “What Can’t Be Taken” to the claustrophobic blasts of contorting noise that are some of Borges’ most well-developed and purgative. Dyers’ Hands is focused, purposeful, and the first of PD’s releases with Kennedy to truly embrace the dichotomy of these two artists’ paradigms and how they can both combat and combine. Look no further than the monstrous closing track “Beneath the Salt” for evidence of this seemingly newfound understanding, get lost in the straining string loops and hulking suspense that threatens to collapse at any second—and it does, with a cleansing wash of searing feedback that somehow feels more achingly empty than the quiet reticence that preceded it.
I usually try not to view new releases too far within the context of the artist(s)’ discography, but since Pedestrian Deposit has a body of work that means so much to me, and because of how excited I was to observe this profound maturation in their output, I thought it would be appropriate in this instance.
Review: Nac/Hut Report – Wszystko Jeszcze Jest (Crunchy Human Children, Mar 16)
So, somehow, Wszystko Jeszcze Jest is the first album I have heard from Polish avant-pop group Nac/Hut Report. Considering how much I enjoyed it, it will be far from the last. The duo utilizes an eclectic array of noisemaking devices, ranging from electronics and effects to guitars and their own voices, to sow vibrant gardens of effervescent, colorful sound from which sublime structures slowly sprout. The frequent use of high-speed oscillators and broken guitar chords, and the careful panning of each, creates a feeling of lushness but one with plenty of unpredictability. Though at any given time on Wszystko Jeszcze Jest there are probably a good amount of sounds assaulting your ears at once, they’re always spaced out with fragments of space and silence, introducing the faintest ghosts of rhythmic structure with their pulsing occurrence yet disappearing as quickly and unceremoniously as they materialized. Within this bubbling volatility is where the two artist’s ear for melody is apparent; they not only know how to make the simple but gorgeous loops of vocals and erratic guitar harmonies complement the more abstract elements, but also when to let them flourish and when to let go and allow that fragile semblance of conventionality to melt back into the mangled beauty of its womb.
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Botanical gardens all over the world have changed their plant systems following a DNA-technology breakthrough in our understanding of flowering plant evolution. Now the Ringve Botanical Garden in Trondheim is restructuring its garden layout to conform to the new plant systematics. This echinacea represents a type of specialization resulting from the process of evolution. Photo: Grete Wolden / NTNU Communications Division
The plant system in Ringve Botanical Garden consists of 50 display “rooms” arranged by taxonomic order, with plantings that form an evolutionary tree. Hedges divide each room so that the whole garden resembles a labyrinth. Photo: Grete Wolden / NTNU Communication Division
The tiger lily is part of a plant group called monocots. All monocots, like lilies and grasses, have arrow-shaped leaves and include several plant orders. Monocots still represent a large group in the modern understanding of plant systematics, and revisions will only result in minor display changes. Photo: Grete Wolden / NTNU Communication Division.
This fall-flowering plant bears the scientific name Gentiana farreri and belongs to the Gentianaceae family. The five fused petals form a funnel-shaped flower. This type of petal fusion co-evolved with insects and occurred later evolutionarily than open flowers. Insects going after nectar in this flower need long tongues. Photo: Grete Wolden / NTNU Communication Division.
This is an anemone, a fall-flowering plant in the Ranunculus (buttercup) family. The flower is open, with an undefined number of stamens. These are considered basic traits that occurred earlier in the evolution of flowering plants than more closed flowers with fewer pistils. Anemones aren’t choosy when it comes to pollinators, and many kinds of insects have easy access. Photo: Grete Wolden / NTNU Communication Division.
WITH PHOTO COLLECTION
Re-ordering plant taxonomy
By Grete Wolden
Advances in our understanding of the developmental history of plants is turning botanical gardens worldwide on end.
In the mid-1800s, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution led to a new understanding of life on Earth. With Darwin’s theories as a starting point, botanists began working to classify groups of plants that they believed shared a common origin.
Scientists have been creating different hypotheses for the history of plant development in the hundred-plus years since. They studied what they could observe with the naked eye or through a microscope: the structure of stalks, leaves and flowers, cell structure and the number of chromosomes.
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Same method of pollination
The researchers also knew that flowering plants — the largest plant group — had coevolved with insects through pollination adaptations. Plants with many similarities in structure and methods of pollination were considered to be closely related.
Ringve Reorganization
Over the next three years, the entire plant system in Ringve Botanical Garden in Trondheim will be reorganized so that it reflects the updated understanding of how flowering plants have evolved. A quarter of the plants has been dug up and transplanted in the autumn of 2016.
In the 1970s, scientists were mostly agreed on which were the earliest flowering plant traits, and which plant groups were the oldest. This knowledge formed the basis for the development of systematic plant arranging in botanical gardens worldwide.
You might also like: Searching for answers to a century-old biological question
DNA altered understanding
Then came the molecular revolution of the 1980s. Through studies of plants’ DNA, botanists could now see exactly how genetically alike or different plants were. They could identify both the direct relationship between plants and the broad timeline of plant evolution, and gain a more accurate understanding of how developments in the plant kingdom had transpired. Among other findings, the new methods revealed that plants previously believed to be closely related, were not.
As the new theory has gradually established itself, botanical gardens in a number of countries have begun to replant their systematic displays to more accurately place flowers, shrubs and trees according to the new knowledge about plants’ relatedness.
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A maze of plant species
Ringve Botanical Garden in Trondheim was established as a university garden in 1973. The Systematic Garden within it was designed according to the 1970s knowledge of plant relatedness. Several botanical gardens in other cities and countries have similar systems.
Over the next three years large parts of the Systematic Garden in Ringve Botanical Garden at NTNU University Museum are being rearranged. Gardeners Steinar Gagnås and Reidun Mork (left and right), and the Garden’s scientific head Vibekke Vange (centre) have already started to dig in. Photo: Grete Wolden / NTNU Communication Division.
The Systematic Garden in Trondheim looks like a maze, where hedges separate 50 different “plant order rooms.” Each garden room contains plants from up to three plant families that botanists thought were closely related. In the Ranunculaceae display, for example, one finds buttercup, globeflower, clematis and columbine – plus various berberis shrubs, since the room also houses Berberidaceae.
Reflected understanding at the time
When you enter the gardens, you pass cryptogams (spore plants) and conifers before arriving at the garden room with the order considered to be the earliest flowering plants: magnolias. Continuing through the maze, you eventually approach the “present day” in the evolution of plants. Rooms that are far apart contain plants that were seen as distantly related.
From the magnolia room you go through the orders of Saxifragales, Gentianales and on to Asterales – with their sunflowers, asters, daisies and echinacea. The last room is the only one that borders an edge. This reflects scientists’ earlier understanding that some plant groups were derived from other, living plant groups.
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Major garden reorganization
Over the next three years, the entire plant system in Ringve Botanical Garden will be reorganized so that it reflects the updated knowledge of how flowering plants have evolved. This fall, a quarter of the plants are being dug up and transplanted.
“A systematic garden like this is never static, but now the major changes in what we know about the evolution of flowering plants are so well confirmed that it’s time to follow them. We want to have a facility that general visitors, university students and school classes find relevant and useful,” says Vibekke Vange, associate professor of botany and general manager at Ringve Botanical Garden.
Wind pollination knowledge updated
When botanists started to use DNA analysis, it turned out that their previous theories, which were primarily based on similarities in plant construction, were fairly close. Except in one area in particular, where they had been fundamentally wrong.
This sage species is a representative of the mint, or Lamiaceae, family – a highly specialized plant family. Insects need a long narrow tongue to catch nectar at the base of the flower. The insect pushes back the staminal lever, shown here with a pen, and then the pollen is deposited on one particular little spot on the insect’s body. Photo: Grete Wolden / Communication Division.
Botanists had thought that wind pollination — when pollen is carried on the wind instead of by pollinators — was so unusual that it could only have happened a few times in the evolution of plants. Wind-pollinating species, like birch, alder, willow and nettle, were widely believed to be closely related to each other.
Using DNA analysis, the researchers discovered that wind pollination had evolved several times and in several different “branches” of flowering plants.
“Wind-pollinated trees, shrubs and perennials have been located close to each other in Ringve’s Systematic Garden. Now these plants are being distributed to garden rooms that are far apart,” Vange says.
“That means excavator work. When we start moving plant groups, it creates a domino effect, so a lot of the garden will be affected until the rearranging is completed. But this gives us the opportunity to do a general upgrade of the facility,” she adds.
Plants with common ancestry
When the gardens were planned, the desire was to create a three-dimensional “family tree” in the ground rather than in flat beds. The paths through the plantings represent he trunk and branches of the family tree, and the garden rooms with different orders of plants branch out in all directions like a tree’s leaves.
Vibekke Vange is associate professor of botany and general manager at Ringve Botanical Garden, part of NTNU’s natural history museum. She has made plans for a comprehensive reorganization of the plants in the Systematic Garden, which will run over the next three years. Photo: Grete Wolden / NTNU Communication Division.
Incorporating a three-dimensional family tree into the ambitious reorganization makes the Systematic Garden at Ringve special and valuable, says Vange. And it also means that the changeover is demanding.
“We’ll keep the structure with hedges that separate garden rooms by order. Between these rooms a lot of plants will be on the move. Closely related families will still be grouped within the same rooms, and buttercups and barberry still belong together. However, we no longer believe that groups of living plants evolve from other groups of living plants. Adjacent rooms haven’t evolved from each other but share a common origin and are closely related,” she says.
Vibekke Vange
Biology Evolution Genetics Natural science evolution plant evolution Ringve Botanical Garden Vibekke Vange wind pollination
Museums can give us better beer, paint and omega-3
Natural history collections aren’t just dusty financial sinkholes. Actually, they can be gold mines for industry.
Why the passenger pigeon died out
The passenger pigeon was once among the most numerous species on earth. The last passenger pigeon died in the Cinncinati Zoo just over 100 years ago. How did it all go so wrong?
Why aren’t house sparrows as big as geese?
A group of researchers spent twelve seasons making some house sparrows bigger and others smaller. Their experiment yielded some important answers.
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The Madonna’s facial features are still distinct. Just being a smiling Madonna makes her a rarity, because a smile was unusual in medieval sculptures. And hers isn’t a lofty saintly smile, it's more like a smile you’d see on a happy farm girl. Video: Idun Haugan, NTNU
Toggle image description
Cheerful Madonna with a lot of bling
By Idun Haugan
A Madonna figure from Grong municipality is one of the best preserved and special church sculptures in Norway from the Middle Ages. She looks like a sweet, friendly girl who’s been asked to model for the sculpture.
The Grong Madonna is very well preserved given that she is about 700 years old. Photo: Per Fredriksen, NTNU University Museum
This beautiful sculpture has lived in Grong church since the Middle Ages and into the 1800s, when historically interested collectors saw to it that she would be taken care of by the NTNU University Museum. Here she shines as one of the jewels of the church art collection.
Her hair is covered with real gold leaf so it radiates like a halo. The dress has been adorned with a blend of glazed gold over silver foil. The cloak has a blue and white lining to suggest the warmth of a squirrel’s winter coat.
“She really is a heavenly queen. The gold symbolizes eternity, and gold is a material that doesn’t fade or tarnish,” says Margrethe C. Stang.
Stang is an associate professor at NTNU’s Department of Art and Media Studies and specializes in Norwegian church ornamentation from the Middle Ages.
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Popular torso
Originally, Grong’s Madonna also had a shiny brooch on her neck, made of either quartz or polished glass.
“This lady had the full bling effect! The brooch created the illusion of a shiny diamond. What we can see is that where the jewel was and on her breasts are very worn places, so it’s likely that people touched this area through the centuries,” Stang notes.
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Madonnas seldom smile
Art historian Margrethe Stang teaches medieval art. Photo: Julie Gloppe Solem / NTNU
The Grong Madonna is very well preserved given that she is about 700 years old. The colours are largely intact, and it is precisely their colourfulness that has characterized Norwegian medieval sculpture.
The features are still very distinct. As a smiling Madonna she’s already a rarity, because the smile was unusual in medieval sculptures. And it’s not a lofty saintly smile, it’s more like a smile you’d see on a happy farm girl.
Margrethe Stang
[email protected] , +47 976 77 206
Archaeology Art History Religion Grong Margrethe C. Stang medieval art medieval treasures NTNU University Museum religious art religious figures the Madonna
Roman bronze cauldron unearthed in central Norway burial cairn
“Vessels like these were imported from the Roman Empire and confirm that this was an area of status and wealth during Roman times,” says archaeologist Merete Moe Henriksen.
Uncertain future for rock art in Norway
Regular protective treatment of rock carvings and paintings has done a good job protecting this important part of Norway’s cultural heritage. But according to the current schedule, the unique programme will end next year.
$180 million to go toward mapping world’s species
We can’t take care of the Earth’s species unless we know what species exist. A collaborative project that will help us know more is being launched in Trondheim during The Big Challenge science festival.
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My friend Corrie shared this post recently (follow her weird and wonderful writing her https://www.facebook.com/PigInTheRiver/). I’ll be honest–I never planned on being an expert on living life with unfulfilled desires. But we teach each other from our lives, right? Perspective is what we’re here for. So here is Corrie’s story about surrender as a practice.
[originally shared on Facebook, May 3, 2019]
surrender happens every day and in different ways.
this surprised me.
and it took a single friend to show me how some things never go away: her singleness, her desire for marriage and seeing that it’s probably not in the cards, maybe not ever in the cards, those longings she’ll never not feel – aware of them every day, surrendering them every day, honoring this place of without — every. day. surrender for her looks like saying: this is not what I hoped or planned or intended but I accept what is not as well as what is. it doesn’t mean glossing over what she wasn’t given with some trite getrichquick scheme of counting the blessings in the hand she was dealt. does she see and receive her gifts? yes. *and* she sees what is not. it is not either/or. it never has been. it has always been both/and.
I thought that surrender, for me, meant I could finally lay it down once and for all. I have scorned how frequently I pick it all back up: daily, sometimes hourly, sometimes still holding it every minute.
I didn’t know that sometimes we live with things forever, maybe our whole lives, and that pain, that sadness and ache and frustration is maybe always there within our hands not because we’ve remained unyielding but because we’ve remained yielding: yielding is something that doesn’t end and there is always something -sometimes the same things- broken to give and acknowledge and honor. the yielding is in loosening my grasp even if it is still in my hands. this is where Grace comes, trickles, and seeps in.
that’s the surrender, the ongoing nature of it: the sacrifice – and it always costs. and it’s accepting what he gives in return, and sometimes? I don’t care for what the giving hand holds.
I used to think surrender meant giving something up forever, like I threw it off fully and healed without a scar to remind me and it’s not a burden and it’s not something I think about or something I no longer grieve or wish were different.
but if this were true in any respect: would I still even need a Savior?
Grace comes in, it trickles and seeps, and it fills the hollows, but it doesn’t erase them. Bidden or unbidden, God is present.
Posted on May 21, 2019 May 20, 2019 by notesfromtheseaPosted in UncategorizedLeave a comment
I emptied my purse recently, to make sure that I had everything I needed in there, which is not always a guarantee with me. I found a whole lot of random items—a phone charger cable, chalk pens, a jewelry case, some mail, my watch, business cards, credit cards, bus passes. Five different lipsticks, a hairbrush, and my Bluetooth speaker. The contents were a little more random than normal because of the wedding.
My baby sister got married in the middle of January, and as bridesmaid, my purse still bore the remnants of a bridesmaid’s emergency kit. I had used up all the Shout wipes cleaning the hem of her dress after beachfront photography, but there was plenty of evidence for all the ways in which my purse had been used on the day. What I did not expect were three rocks.
Three small beach stones, smoothed by the ocean, gray and innocuous. I held them in my palm for a moment, confused. I’ve been known to pick up rocks to symbolize special occasions or moments I want to remember. Near my fireplace rests a large blue-glass jar that holds my rocks, shells, pieces of pottery, bits of sea glass…the detritus of journeys taken.
Some of my rocks are slightly illegal, picked up on travel to historic places. Some are plain, some are especially pretty. None carry any real value, except to me. Once when my sister helped me move she picked up a small box and, surprised by its heaviness, opened it. “Is this a box of rocks?” she asked, nonplussed. “Yes.” I said. She gave me an acid look and added it to the stack of boxes for the moving truck.
I looked at my jar of rocks, and then at the three pebbles currently resting in my palm. I took the sharpie pen at my desk and wrote a word on each of the rocks.
Over the past year, I’ve been doing an inspection of my life. I’ve come to think of the emotional baggage I carry around as rocks. Some of my rocks are legitimate. Some are really things that I own and should carry around for a while, perhaps because I need to learn from them. Some, maybe, I need to let go, drop them into the ocean and let them be gradually worn away to sand by a force bigger and stronger than myself. A lot of these burdens I carry around unnecessarily. Perhaps I’ve even taken them on without realizing it, as with the three real rocks I found in my purse.
I had two guesses, by the way, as to where those rocks came from. The day of my sister’s wedding, we were taking photographs at a beachfront park with the wedding party, which included all three of my siblings and my two nieces. My youngest sister, who was the bride, wasn’t suspect as she was a) a little busy thinking mainly about managing the hem of her wedding dress, and b) not as explicitly prank-minded as the other two suspects — my other two siblings. Those sassy middle kids. The following story explains why they were my top candidates.
Once, on a family trip out to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state before there were any in-laws attached to our family group, my parents and all four of us siblings hiked to the Dungeness Point lighthouse. Dungeness Point lighthouse is at the end of the Dungeness Spit Trail. The spit is 5 miles long, one of the longest natural sand spits on the west coast, so the “hike” is just over 10 miles to the lighthouse and back. And the word “Trail” is misleading, because walking on a sand spit is not like walking on a trail—the spit itself is maybe 50 feet wide, depending on how high the tide is, with water on either side of it. Like any beach, it is not flat, but peaked in shape because the tides push earth and debris up to the top of it on a regular basis. Since it’s such a narrow piece of land, the tides work on it from both sides.
Hiking the spit is best done one of two ways; one, playing “hot lava” and jumping from driftwood log to driftwood log, where they are arranged along the top of the spit, and the other, to walk it at a lower tide time so that you have more solid, damp sand to walk on. Otherwise, hiking through ankle-deep sand that spills into your shoes, or walking on ankle-rocking seastones are your only options.
We took a few rest stops along the five miles in to the lighthouse, stopping to sit on driftwood to rest our over-taxed ankles, snack on granola bars and sip water, and watch a pair of seals that tracked us most of the way, popping their heads up every now and then and cavorting in the surf.
At the lighthouse, we sat on the sandy green lawns around the buildings and ate sandwiches for lunch. Dungeness Point lighthouse is owned by a collective private group, and each member of this group has the chance to keep the lighthouse for a week every year. Each new group of keepers is driven out by vehicle at the lowest possible tide (the only time the spit is wide enough to accommodate a vehicle), along with food and water for the week. They mow lawns, lead tours, maintain the buildings and, presumably, write beautiful short stories and novels while looking out at the gorgeous pacific sunsets and the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges seen in 360 degrees from the top of the lighthouse. I want to keep the lighthouse one day.
We hiked—or more accurately, trudged—the five miles back out, keeping pace with the seals. I had one earbud in and was listening to music off and on as we trudged through the soft sand toward dinner. Back at the parking lot, we piled into our old suburban. I dug through my backpack for my lip balm or some other such necessity and there, as my hand was swimming through the detritus of necessities, food, snacks, phone, etc., it came across something large, cool, round and heavy. I pulled it out and stared at my hand while my two middle siblings giggled like hyenas. I looked up at them, and held the open bag so I could see more clearly in the late afternoon light. Inside were several pounds, at least, of granite beach stones, most about the size of my palm. At every rest stop along the way, those two chuckleheads had entertained themselves by sneaking rocks into my backpack.
Now, I love my siblings and my family, but the best of families can still do this kind of thing to each other in an emotional sense. We may not even know what kinds of rocks we’ve subconsciously added to each other’s burdens. The thing is, it’s up to us to occasionally take the time to review our rocks, take a conscious inventory, look at the things we’re carrying with us and decide if we need them still. Perhaps there are things we can learn from carrying some weight for a while. But sometimes I just need to lighten the load. The truth is, once someone has unloaded a rock into my purse, whether intentionally or subconsciously, it’s mine and I get to decide what to do with it.
I haven’t thrown out my rock jar, but I have begun labeling them. I write the date and sometimes their found location. Every once in a while I sift through them, remembering moments of realization, moments of grief, anger, joy, peace from when I picked up those stones. They are tangible reminders to me, and they tell my story when I need to be reminded of the truth about myself that I sometimes forget.
Those three little rocks are now labeled, too. They had their portrait taken and posted to instagram, and my brother very much enjoyed his little joke.
And they, too, are reminders to me—reminders this time of what I do not have to carry.
Posted on March 21, 2019 March 16, 2019 by Jana GeringPosted in UncategorizedLeave a comment
The friend zone is a pretty recent invention. (Truly, the picture above is titled Two Lovers so it’s used here in jest) Mostly because it wasn’t until modern times that women really got to choose who they were romantically paired with. And ever since women have been deciding what to do with themselves, men have found a reason to be upset with them about it. (I don’t know if this is technically true, but it sounds right)
But I do know men invented this special area. It’s definitely men who needed to come up with a fancy way to describe the unutterable anguish of friendship with a woman. And it’s male comedians that drive home the hilarity of men — losers — who are stuck being friends with women. A travesty.
And it’s also comedians who remind women that they’re being irrational to retain men as friends around them, too. If he’s such a good guy why don’t you marry him then?
(Digression: This utilizes my favorite playground epithet which appears to at least date back to the Pee Wee Herman “if you like it so much why don’t you marry it” classic. Which let’s be honest is definitely the academic level we’re working with here if you think there’s a special “zone” for men who are in friendship relationships with women.)
How could a woman be so blind to have a man directly in front of her — a man she describes as kind and nice and good — and maintain that she don’t want to marry him? What, there’s more to a romantic relationship than thinking someone’s a good person? Ugh, women complicate everything.
(Second Digression: The fact that men think women complicate things and then create a special relationship name for themselves I think really says it all in terms of the idiocy that men are willing to perpetuate in order to keep tight, defined boundaries between the sexes and prevent the spread of “cooties” which goes hand-in-hand with this Pee Wee Herman level of philosophy we’re working with.)
But what I’m really mad about, if I’m being honest, is the confidence with which men assert this “universal truth” that “men and women can’t be friends because the sex part always gets in the way”. Because when Billy Crystal said this in When Harry Met Sally, I believed him. When I saw this movie the first time I had a good many male friends and I was shocked and amazed to discover that, in fact, this had all been a ruse! If I’ve being honest, it’s led to some really awkward conversations with male friends of mine. Conversations that made me look…at the very least, extremely egotistical.
It turns out — and to be honest, I was as shocked as anyone — that men are capable of forming good, strong friendships regardless of sex. Almost, one might speculate, entirely separate of sex altogether! Almost dare I imagine, that friendships are more common and basic than romantic relationships and therefore more easily and readily to be found between people of opposite sexes than sexual relationships?
Is it possible I’ve gone too far? Well if so, than as Pee Wee Herman would say, “SHH! I’m listening to reason!”
Posted on January 29, 2019 January 29, 2019 by KatrinaPosted in RantsLeave a comment
I’ve had arthritis for almost two decades now and one of the most difficult part of the diagnosis to come to terms with has been when what I feel doesn’t match with what is really happening. This has one of two different appearances:
Either I feel wonderful, but my disease is very active (according to blood results).
Or I feel terrible, but the arthritis (according to blood tests) appears to be stable or even inactive.
What do you do when what you feel doesn’t match up with what’s really happening?
If you’ve ever met someone who’s in a safe place enjoying their favorite food with their favorite people but still seems weirdly on edge, it’s probably because they’re familiar with the concept that when the stars align, it doesn’t necessarily indicate it’s for your own personal benefit.
These are often the same people who are comfortable with life’s more difficult situations which seem to indicate to them that at least they are aware of where the problem actually is, and can be addressed accordingly.
But false positives lead to a chronic and perpetual awareness of the other shoe dropping. You don’t know when, or why, but there is another shoe, and it’s going to drop and oh man, be prepared for the fallout. False positives awareness, I am saying, does not exactly lend itself to pleasant people.
In general, anxiety does not lend itself to pleasantness. And in life we’re often stuck in this discomfiting experiences where you can’t tell if you’re in the clear, or if you’re in a false positive. I’ve yet to find a satisfactory sign for letting me know it’s time to start celebrating instead of hunkering down in a panic room.
But I am in my 30s now which means I’ve learned a wee little bit about life and I can tell you this much: if a false positive and a positive look the same the only difference is what comes after this time of ease then do this: enjoy the false positive.
Do you know what a miracle it is for an arthritis sufferer to feel genuinely good? Not to mention when science tells you that you should be feeling miserable? It’s rare. It’s a blessing. Who cares if it’s fake or not? Temporary or not? If you can enjoy the moment before you than do so.
With enough time and distance any false positive will inevitably look like the real thing anyway.
Posted on January 22, 2019 January 22, 2019 by KatrinaPosted in Alone Together: School of Fish, UncategorizedLeave a comment
Ghosting is a new term to describe rejection via inaction. It’s when a person has decided to check out of a relationship or situation by quietly exiting, making no formal declaration of rejection.
Here’s how it might look in action over text:
You: Hey are we going out Tuesday?
You: So, Tuesday?
You: Are you still there?
And so it goes until the one pursuing gets tired of the silence, takes the not so subtle hint, and and gives up.
Now, before I get into defending this behavior let me say one thing first. It’s rude. Obviously.
If this were real life and someone was standing in front of you talking to you and you did your best to ignore them and never spoke to them or looked them in the eye or acknowledged them in any way, that’s rude. It’s certainly not behavior that caring humans should engage in.
That being said, there’s a number of reasons why people still do it, and why I don’t find it to be the morally reprehensible conduct my generation has defined it as.
Tone is subjective and confusing. Ghosting takes place almost exclusively via the internets or texting, both arenas are depersonalized formats of communicating. Tone is almost entirely subjective and context dependent. Miscommunication happens with increasing regularity, even when you think you’re being entirely clear yourself.
Case in point: this morning I messaged my department “Be in by 10” which clearly meant “I’ll be in by 10” but was construed by some as an official (and unlicensed) edict that my teammates ought to be in the office by 10. If you’re trying for a tactful “no” or a kind “no”, it’s quite possible you’re just drawing out a painful process.
Flat rejections can be risky. Connections are formed for superficial reasons to people you only vaguely know. And while everyone trusts their own judgment when it comes to relationships and who to meet in real life, it must be said that mistakes can be made. Dating apps, which bridge gaps between people who otherwise would not meet, also have the ability to connect reprehensible humans to unsuspecting victims. As much as it’d be nice to believe that adults are uniformly capable of responding to “no, thank you” with grace and dignity, the reality is that it can provoke surprising amounts of rage and abuse in the rejected. For some, any amount of concern over personal safety makes ghosting a safer choice.
“No” has lost its meaning. Not everyone responds to “no” the way they should. Movies and society have confirmed that no is just an early relationship form of encouragement. If someone says “no” what they’re really saying is “try harder”. It’s like fighting with your sibling. If you let them get a rise out of you, it just continues. If you ignore them and mind your business, they eventually give up and go away.
Ghosting has a 99% success rate. I’ve ghosted dates before and I’ve also been ghosted before. And while neither of these things improves my ability to handle confrontation well and gracefully, it’s also 100% resulted in an eventual end of undesired communication.
No public embarrassment. Never once did ghosting result in me embarrassing someone or suffering embarrassment myself. And I have to admit, avoiding embarrassment is one of my underlying life motivations.
(I know. There’s probably a whole other blog post about how you can’t live life well without humiliation. Maybe so.)
So on behalf of my fellow ghosts out there, I want you to know that we’re not always insensitive jerks who are callous (though, yeah some of us are that too), sometimes we’re hapless morons who can’t handle conflict. Or we’re scared. And sometimes we just feel really bad about saying “no”.
So those of you that are all about the discomfort of real world confrontation, we get it. You’ve got the moral high ground. That’s fine, we’d rather not be standing somewhere too many people can see us from anyway.
There’s a trope in American films called the “manic pixie dream girl”. It’s a woman who’s got a dark backstory but a light disposition. She’s got no real strings to tie her down. She’s ephemeral and childlike, whimsical but profound. Often this is illustrated by an off-beat style or a creative hair color. Perhaps a kicky catchphrase. She’s the balm to our hero’s moody, broken spirit. That’s right, the manic pixie dream girl is exclusive to dramas and romances, and always the romantic interest of our main male character.
I’ve always regarded this type of character with disdain. Superficial, flat, uninteresting. It’s a fad in cinema; it’ll never last.
As it happens I’ve also expanded my movie watching outside the US and have been known to consume mass quantities of Korean, Turkish, and Indian films. If you’re wondering what these all have in common, it’s a couple things:
Accessibility – there’s myriad of all three on Netflix. I’d point you to some of my favorites but I’d rather you not start judging me on my taste before I’ve made my point.
Quantity – Romances are big in all three cultural settings. And naturally the most churned out. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend their action equivalent films which seem to lack even more than would be expected in believability.
Modesty – Turkish films blur all alcohol. Indian films are usually reluctant to grant our romantic couple even a chaste kiss, and some actors are known to contractually pass on the opportunity. Korean films are perhaps a tad more scandalous, but for the most part held together with a social decorum that protects against the more explicit moments.
Manic Pixie Dream Girls – Course they’re not billed this way. But almost without exception female leads in romantic films/series/soaps are upbeat, carefree, expressive, kind, impulsive, generous, loving, naive, stubborn, intelligent, childlike, maternal, uncoordinated, goofy, fresh-faced, modest, sweet, and easily scandalized, and utterly unworldly.
Foreign films up the ante with several much more grounding criteria: Usually they’re missing a parent or two and sometimes must take custody and responsibility of a small child. Often, they’re scraping by, making the best out of almost nothing at all, and still with the most cheerful spirit you ever will see. You see, they’ve experienced the horrors of life but have come away untainted. They carry no baggage and are therefore free to lend themselves to the whole support of our hero’s journey through the confusing world of complex emotions.
Our hero, as a consequence of our heroine’s naive view of life (that’s actually been working thus far) will feel compelled to enter the scene and take care of her and provide for her and her dependents, usually against his will and reason and with a grudging smile tugging at his lips. He can’t help himself. Mr. Serious is drawn to this Beautiful Ray of Sunshine. It’s a perfect symbiotic relationship.
If this scenario sounds at all like what you envisioned for your own romantic future as a young woman, you’re not alone. It’s the source of many of my own personal victories and recriminations. Victories from overcoming expected behavior and carving my own path, and recriminations in not being quite the woman I was supposed to be.
I can’t quite distinguish what part of the above expectations are cultural and what part are religious. It’s tricky because across all language, cultural, and religious backgrounds, the same type of woman is preferred. It doesn’t matter if they’re Turkish and Muslim or Christian, Indian and Muslim or Hindi or Christian, Korean and atheistic (actually Korea’s pretty decently split pro and con on religion, but religion in films is distinctly missing).
So my question is, how did this woman, the manic pixie dream girl, manage to transcend language barriers, cultural influences, national boundaries, and religious convictions? And what do you do with the fact that you’re…not exactly “it”? Does this mean you’re not a real woman? Or perhaps it’s just an indication you’re not a woman worthy of romantic love?
What if you’re someone who doesn’t save worms from the drying pavement by carrying them back to the wet grass? What if you’ve never utilized a childish pout as a persuasive tactic to winning an argument? And your first impulse when someone is upset is not to bake them a favorite dish? What happens if a man has never carried you to safety? Or helped you learn how to use chopsticks? What happens if you don’t grow your hair long and you don’t join children in their games? What happens if, God forbid, you’re a serious woman? With a serious job? And serious ambitions?
Oh wait – no I’ve seen that woman in these films too. She’s the villain. She’s similarly without roots, probably even clawed her way to her current position, but on the way to her success, she lost all moral grounding. She’s also…chasing after our hero, but not from the goodness of her spirit, no she’s interested in the bottom line and power. Interestingly enough, she also wears “too much” make-up. I’m sure that’s not connected.
On the upside, the nice thing about not being the manic pixie dream girl of fantasy is that you’ve got a better shot of being a person OF character who maybe even gets referred to by name.
Posted on January 8, 2019 January 8, 2019 by notesfromtheseaPosted in Pop Culture, RantsLeave a comment
Starring Andy Garcia and Mary Louise Parker, Christmas in Conway is the heartwarming Christmas story about a husband who buy a ferris wheel for his ailing wife, and the home health nurse who…helps.
I decided to watch this with two friends, (because as I have said in previous weeks, I’m starting to wane in this pursuit) who for their own anonymity I’m going to call Marley and Cratchit. I let them pick, because obviously my judgment is poor. It was a debate between this title and A Christmas Tale which only Marley really wanted to watch.
The movie starts on the home health nurse packing up as her busy business boyfriend talks distractedly on his phone.
On people who have no business being in a Hallmark movie:
Marley: “Is that Mandy Moore?” a few scenes go by. “Crap. That IS Mandy Moore.” (she plays the home healthcare nurse)
Cratchit: “She’s going to die on Christmas, isn’t she.”
Hallmark Predictions
Cratchit: “What if Mandy Moore finds out these (Garcia and Parker) are her real parents?”
Marley: “Maybe she’s going to freeze her eggs and implant them in Mandy Moore.”
Fill in the blank with Hallmark
Andy Garcia: “I know what comes after the sweet tea…
Cratchit: “The sex.”
Me: “The woodshed.”
Marley: “Diabetes.”
It’s such a good movie that…
Marley: “Wow, this is amazing.” while looking at an Olive Garden menu.
Cratchit: “I’m sorry. I didn’t know I brought that..for her.”
Side note: There is an ongoing subplot about the vapid neighbor next door and her desire to be the most festive house in the neighborhood. It perfectly offsets the dying of cancer.
Side note: In another subplot (you can never have enough) the handyman doing the extravagant decorations next door is also perchance the love interest of our home health Mandy Moore.
On first dates or sexual innuendos:
Handyman: “We could go check out the turtles.”
“Is that a euphemism.”
Spoiler: It’s not a euphemism. They saw the turtles.
On the soundtrack and time period of the film:
Cratchit: “I would like to recognize one song from this movie.”
Marley: “It’s from the 90s.”
Cratchit: “It is not!”
Me: “It’s like four years old.”
Marley: “It’s a period piece.”
Cratchit: “It is not, it’s the South; everything’s a decade behind.”
After a heart wrenching moment:
Marley: “I bet The Christmas Tail doesn’t have cancer.”
After the handyman falls off the ferris wheel.
Marley: “Did he break some stuff?”
Cratchit: “Yeah, the ferris wheel.”
Side note: I know we’re supposed to hate the evil scheming neighbor, but she has slush punch and cheese straws which honestly just sounds like decent hangover food. But no I probably wouldn’t serve them to a decorating committee.
On last wishes and having them rigorously followed:
Me: “Guys when I die of cancer don’t build a ferris wheel.”
Marley: “Okay.”
Cratchit: “Fine.”
On the film’s ending:
Cratchit: “That was it? What the shit?? Nothing happened! There’s so many loose ends!
Marley: “This would have never happened in The Christmas Tail.”
Final thoughts and conclusions:
Cratchit: “We kept getting everything wrong, we only got right that her mom died of cancer, no kiss, no drama with boyfriend and new love interest. Nobody got to kiss Mandy Moore, what a shame.”
Marley: “It was really good. It was my favorite.” Said whilst staring at phone. “What’s happening on Twitter?”
Me: “Are you still upset we didn’t watch the dog one.”
Marley: “It’s about a dog?”
Me: “Yes! YES. Christmas TAIL.”
Marley: “It could be about a stalker. It could be a murder story.”
Cratchit: “He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. Santa’s Christmas Tail.”
Posted on December 18, 2018 December 18, 2018 by KatrinaPosted in Pop CultureLeave a comment
I have to be honest, friends. I’m flagging a bit. But I made a commitment to you: one movie review a week, and I’m going to deliver. This week’s is Second Chance Christmas. Caroline is all set to divorce her husband until she gets amnesia. Somehow this is also about Christmas. Alternate titles: Love Strikes Twice, and Old Acquaintance Be Forgot which is my personal favorite.
Since Caroline is played by actress Katrina Begin, I’m willing to give her a chance. She can’t be terrible, right? The cast lists no one named Nick, but there is a Nick Siebold who handled the visual effects, so for those of you keeping score at home, drink.
Also, note the title. I made sure this one was about Christmas. I’m not going to repeat last week’s mistake.
Caroline just walked into a party and immediately rearranged some nonessential decorations on a cocktail table. Either she’s an interior decorator, or a party planner, or her OCD control freak behavior is about to play a pivotal role in the divorce proceedings. Put your guesses in now, kids.
She’s a party planner! Also a control freak, because of course. Hallmark movies are made for women who are control freaks.
Wow, for their first Christmas she surprised him with a dog, which feels like a really bold decision for one year of dating. Of course, I thought she was going to announce she was pregnant, so there’s that.
Side note: Who facetimes about deeply personal things while walking on a public street??
Side, side note: Why is it all other Katrinas I’ve ever seen are blonde? What went wrong, self? We have the Scandinavian last name, how did we miss the blonde hair??
So far I’m picking up that Caroline is divorcing her husband because he’s a cartoon artist who plays video games, doesn’t clean anything, and refuses to walk the dog.
I think she just conned him into divorcing her. At Christmas.
So she’s in a hit and run and then a crowd gathers to take photos for their insta? Hallmark, you are hitting this a little too close to the mark, slow your roll. I came here for fantasy.
The doctor is about to diagnose her based on her not knowing the answer to just one question: what’s your favorite ice cream. Which by the way, I don’t know my favorite flavor either. Is this explanation enough for why I don’t remember names? Or facts, or why I’m watching Hallmark movies??
The doctor is predicting she gets her memory back anytime between a day and a decade, but who wants to bet it’s going to be Christmas Eve/Christmas Day?
Jack: “She chose to go home with me? That’s gotta mean something, right?”
Dad: “It means she’s got amnesia.”
I am all here for the amnesia put downs. Bring it, Pops.
I can’t lie to you, the disaster that their house is…I’d divorce him too. You guys should see the kitchen. They have rats, I know it. This is almost like Overboard except these two really are married.
We are dangerously close to this turning into a horror movie as Caroline puts together the clues about how, yeah, it looks like she was divorcing her husband, and oh, she might maybe be running her own business, but everyone is lying to her and telling her she’s unemployed. I’m telling you, put a butcher knife in her hand and change the music and we are heading for a gory ending.
“I’m really, really good at decorating.” She says as she throws handfuls of marshmallows at a jello mold.
We’ve reached the stalking phase of their new marriage. I should have mentioned this earlier, this movie is billed as a comedy.
Tree decorating!! Guys, it’s Hallmark foreplay at its finest.
She remembered everything on Christmas day. I’m a Hallmark savant, that’s what this is. No one else could have seen this coming. Unless they were also watching this movie.
“May a truck strike me down in the street if I’m lying.” Amnesia humor is gold.
OMG Caroline almost hit Jack whilst driving. I am loving these dark jokes.
“Auld Lang Syne” apparently means “old time’s sake” so I learned something today, damn you Hallmark. Your films aren’t supposed to be educational.
Posted on December 11, 2018 December 10, 2018 by KatrinaPosted in Pop Culture, RantsLeave a comment
Like many other Hallmark movies this one has two titles. Wedding Wonderland is known by the title Winter Wedding on imdb. I think they made the right call going with the former because the latter just reminds me of the red wedding scene from Game of Thrones for some reason. I assume this movie is the opposite of that scene.
While no leading man in this movie goes by the name “Nick” I should note that our male protagonist is played by a man whose real name is Nick, Nick Bateman, so Hallmark’s still using a very strict policy of hiring for their leads.
Opening song is actually not Christmasy. What has gone wrong?
Also, it’s starting out with a couple very much in love. It’s like it’s backwards. If a Hallmark movie starts with a proposal are they going to both be dead by the end? Maybe this is more like the red wedding than I thought.
The heroine has dreamed of a wedding in Cabo her whole life? Was she born a sorority sister? Also I sense the plot is about how she doesn’t end up having a wedding in Cabo. It’s not the title at all that is making me think this.
Hallmark Aspirations: “Making brides beautiful is what I was made to do.” MADE TO DO
Uh oh, she’s got the cardinal Hallmark flaw: she thinks her plans will work out. Women, amirite?
Wow, her mom booked an entire resort in Cabo for the wedding? Are all wealthy people just in Hallmark movies?
Ooh Canadian alert. Our hero just said “oot” instead of “out”.
Her mom just discussed a breakfast item called “Crunchy avocado benedicts” which sounds like the opposite of what avocados should be.
Maybe it’s because I’ve never been married, but there’s a lot of discussion about an engagement party that I did not know was a critical linchpin in getting married.
Like other Hallmark heroines Hallie owns her own business, this time it’s a styling salon. And it’s a really poor knockoff of the Beauty Shop dynamic.
The so-called “winter” wedding dress she tries on is off the shoulder with no sleeves. Because apparently “winter dress” does not mean what I think it should mean.
Ew, “custard eggnog”. What are the recipes in this movie even doing?
Rich groom Lucas is upset his parents are creating a hot springs because when you’re wealthy these are the problems you have.
Also the entire resort her mom booked canceled their reservation and it’s THE WORST WEEKEND OF THEIR LIVES.
In the interest of moving the story along they’ve decided to just get married this weekend. I have no idea how far they are out from their summer date. Which is great because a slow burn of their chronicled issues heading up to the wedding is too demoralizing to consider.
The best man and the maid of honor are completely unsuitable so they’re definitely going to fall in love. By the way, anyone who keeps a cream puff tucked in their jacket for later is not to be trusted.
I just want to go on record that this more than any other movie is difficult to take seriously. It’s probably because I’ve never had a dream wedding destination? Or …you know…money to splurge on destination weddings?
Also sidenote, the groom’s mother is making the food and keeps licking her hands and the spoon and so much nooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
The groom’s brother, despite the fact that he squirrels squishy food away into his coat, is actually quite adorable, though given the maid of honor just broke up with her fiance, he’s moving way too fast. But that is a staple of Hallmark movies. “When it feels right it is right”, right?
Guys, there’s a lip sync in this movie. It’s…choreographed? I can’t tell you how much I didn’t need this.
Wow, Cabo opened up again, fifteen minutes before the wedding. Which is the crisis point of the movie, I think? It’s hard to tell because none of the problems seem to be actual problems. Or as Chandler would say, “This must be so hard. “Oh, no! Two women love me. They’re both gorgeous and sexy. My wallet’s too small for my fifties, and my diamond shoes are too tight!”
And the wedding just got postponed. And somehow their love is now in question. And the best man and maid of honor are picking a fight with each other because no one can be happy right now. No one.
Wow, big reveal, Hallie’s mom lied about where she and her husband got married? This seems oddly sociopathic. She also just figured out that Hallie just wants to be married to the man she loves. Guys, Hallmark world is a terrifying place where people lie about absurd things and then ruin their children’s lives over having a dream wedding at an expensive resort in Mexico. And also they’re surprised that other people marry for love. Which is…kind of foundational to functioning in a Hallmark movie.
I’ve kind of realized this is not at all a Christmas movie, but honestly I’m too far in to switch. I should have put it together sooner, if I’m being honest, but I genuinely thought for Hallmark that winter was synonymous with Christmas. That’s my bad; I won’t fail you guys again. Anyway, they get married. Everyone’s happy or whatever, and the best man and maid of honor, if all goes the way it should, will be the stars of the sequel. Where I assume the big issue up for debate will be a disagreement between coconut cake with the chocolate syrup on the side or on the cake itself.
Posted on December 4, 2018 December 4, 2018 by KatrinaPosted in Pop CultureLeave a comment
Katie, our heroine, is a former figure skating champ who suffered an injury and turned her focus to putting on ice shows in foreign made-up countries like San Senova, where our hero is the begrudging King. Troubled by loss is his past, can he embrace Christmas cheer in the present – and our heroine?
I sat down to watch this gem with my sister, brother-in-law, and mother. There were varying responses to the film.
We open on: CGI snow, and no shots of faces as a “professional” ice skater swirls on the ice.
My mother: Do you feel bad you guys never got to ice skate?
Brother-in-law. “M”: [in no way related to my mother] I do, and I blame you.
Hallmark Hallmarks: There’s a Nicholas in this movie, as I’ve discovered there is in any Hallmark movie. New element to a drinking game: do a shot when you’re introduced to a Nicholas.
Our hero is called “The Grinch King” by his people, which is fair because he just looked at a tree and said “why is THIS in here?” Also, there are way worse things to be called.
Hallmark Reality Check 1: The entire country of San Senova was founded on Christmas, both the day and the idea. I don’t even remotely understand how this works. What is their international trade like? Is it all flown over in sleighs by old fat bearded drivers?
Hallmark of Hallmarks: Our hero, Grinch King, has a kid. Yeah, he’s a dad. What do you think happened to the Mom?” – “M” slashes at his throat.
Hallmark of Hallmarks: Heroine bumps into hero: “There’s no way that’s she didn’t see him.” – Sister
Hallmark “Comedy” Hallmark: King gets up to give a speech, knocks everything down “King Doofus…the FIRST.” – M
Regarding our heroine and her best friend: Me: “I can’t tell which one’s Katie and which one’s Jessica.” Mom: “They’re not sisters” M: “I think they’re clones.”
Hallmark realities: The royal family inexplicably has a private ice rink.
We now have a time frame for romance: two weeks. We know this is the time frame because Christmas is two weeks away. In a Christmas movie if the climax doesn’t happen ON Christmas, something has gone awry.
Hallmark realities: Our heroine’s dream is to buy an ice rink in New Jersey, because of course it is.
Meanwhile the secondary romance between the clone bestie and the chief advisor is percolating nicely and normally. No weird hitches here, why would there be? They’re just plotting and development.
Hallmark Prediction: Clone Bestie breaks an ankle before the performance and our heroine is forced to take on the lead role. Meanwhile, the Grinch King is going to play the ice skating hero that requires no ice skating, and his daughter is going to play the historical princess of yore, neatly occupying all principle players on the ice.
Aside: If I’m being honest we’re all spending way too much time trying to figure out the relationship of Princess Patricia to the King. Sister? Aunt? Great Aunt?
Mom [after The Grinch King specifically calls her by her name]: “That one’s Katie”
Hallmark breaks the fourth wall: Katie: “Christmas is my middle name.” You honestly can’t joke about this in Hallmark movies, Katie.
Hallmark realities: Katie just compared prom queen to being an actual king to his face.
“My family has always assisted the crown.” Slavery, that’s what that is. – Sister
Clone bestie Jessica just injured her ankle. We’re in the endgame now.
The king’s adviser enters the room and immediately backs off on seeing our romantic pair at arts and crafts. “This important state business can wait. He’s sewing… something he’s never done before.” – Sister
Clone bestie flirting with the adviser: “Speaking of adventure—” Have you ever been to Trenton?” – Sister
Oh look at that, Katie’s skating the Queen role.
They continuously cut away from anyone actually getting on the ice. I don’t think anyone knows how to skate – M
Hallmark Reality Check: On the handmade Grinch King stockings for the staff: Those are a little close to the fire. – Mom
Hallmark missed opportunity: “What if you didn’t have to lose anyone?” our king asks obviously proffering immortality which would be a fantastic plot twist.
“Do you date?” “Not since Kristina’s mother died.” That implies he was dating when his wife was…alive?” – M
Mom just shushed M for talking while the characters are talking.
M: “Are you afraid you’re going to lose the plot?”
Mom: “…No.”
Hallmark jumps the shark: Now there’s a mythical Christmas star that guides them all. The Sen Senova star. I feel like there was something like this in The Lion King too. – Sister
Hallmark Hallmark: There’s a copious amount of contemplative tree staring in this movie.
Hallmark Reality Check: An anxious clone bestie to Katie about the ice rink she just flew to Trenton to purchase: “What if you don’t like it?” It’s an ice rink. Can’t she just facetime the ice rink to her? – Sister
Hallmark Hallmark: There’s a lot of dead moms. – Sister
The Grinch King to his kid: “Tina Bear you do know I can skate.” Literally no one knew he could do that.
Katie makes her entrance back to the rink and approaches the princess: “You’re out kid – M
I think we can all agree that they missed a real opportunity with the title here. They were so close with Grinch King. Why Hallmark, WHY.
Posted on November 27, 2018 November 27, 2018 by KatrinaPosted in Pop CultureLeave a comment
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Browse: Home / 2017 / October / 16 / Recent CO2 Climate Sensitivity Estimates Continue Trending Towards Zero
Recent CO2 Climate Sensitivity Estimates Continue Trending Towards Zero
By Kenneth Richard on 16. October 2017
Updated: The Shrinking
CO2 Climate Sensitivity
A recently highlighted paper published by atmospheric scientists Scafetta et al., (2017) featured a graph (above) documenting post-2000 trends in the published estimates of the Earth’s climate sensitivity to a doubling of CO2 concentrations (from 280 parts per million to 560 ppm).
The trajectory for the published estimates of transient climate response (TCR, the average temperature response centered around the time of CO2 doubling) and equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS, the temperature response upon reaching an equilibrium state after doubling) are shown to be declining from an average of about 3°C earlier in the century to below 2°C and edging towards 1°C for the more recent years.
This visual evidence would appear to indicate that past climate model determinations of very high climate sensitivity (4°C, 5°C, 6°C and up) have increasingly been determined to be in error. The anthropogenic influence on the Earth’s surface temperature has likely been significantly exaggerated.
Scafetta et al., 2017 “Since 2000 there has been a systematic tendency to find lower climate sensitivity values. The most recent studies suggest a transient climate response (TCR) of about 1.0 °C, an ECS less than 2.0 °C and an effective climate sensitivity (EfCS) in the neighborhood of 1.0 °C.”
“Thus, all evidences suggest that the IPCC GCMs at least increase twofold or even triple the real anthropogenic warming. The GHG theory might even require a deep re-examination.”
An Update On The Gradually Declining Climate Sensitivity
The graph shown in Scafetta et al. (2017) ends in 2014, which means that papers published in the last 3 years are not included. Also, there were several other published climate sensitivity papers from the last decade that were excluded from the analysis, possibly because they did not include and/or specify TCR and/or ECS estimates in isolation, but instead just used a generic doubled-CO2 climate sensitivity value (shown in purple here).
Below is a new, updated graph that (1) includes some of the previously unidentified papers and (2) adds the 10 – 12 climate sensitivity papers published in the last 3 years. Notice, again, that the trend found in published papers has continued downwards, gradually heading towards zero. The reference list for the over 20 additional papers used for the updated analysis is also included below.
For a more comprehensive list of over 60 papers with very low (<1°C) climate sensitivity estimates, see here.
Smirnov, 2017 (~0.4°C)
It is shown that infrared emission of the atmosphere is determined mostly by atmospheric water. One can separate the flux of outgoing infrared radiation of the atmosphere from that towards the Earth. The fluxes due to rotation-vibration transitions of atmospheric CO2 molecules are evaluated. Doubling of the concentration of CO2 molecules in the atmosphere that is expected over 130 years leads to an increase of the average Earth temperature by (0.4±0.2) K mostly due to the flux towards the Earth if other atmospheric parameters are not varied.
Smirnov, 2016
[W]e take into account that CO2 molecules give a small contribution to the heat Earth balance and, therefore, one can use the altitude distribution of the temperature for the standard atmosphere model [1], and a variation of the CO2 concentration does not influence this distribution. … [I]njection of CO2 molecules into the atmosphere leads to a decrease of the outgoing radiation flux that causes a decrease of the average Earth temperature. But this decrease is below 0.1K that is the accuracy of determination of this value. Thus, the presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere decreases the outgoing atmospheric radiative flux that leads to a decrease of the Earth temperature by approximately (1.8 ± 0.1) K. The change of the average temperature at the double of the concentration of atmospheric CO2 molecules is determined by the transition at 667cm−1 only and is lower than 0.1K.
In particular, doubling of the concentration of CO2 molecules compared to the contemporary content increases the global Earth temperature by ΔT = 0.4 ± 0.2K. … From this we have that the average temperature variation ΔT = 0.8 ◦C from 1880 up to now according to NASA data may be attained by the variation of the water concentration by 200ppm or Δu/u ≈ 0.07, Δu = 0.2. Note that according to formula (2) the variation of an accumulated concentration of CO2 molecules from 1959 (from 316ppm up to 402ppm) leads to the temperature variation ΔT = 0.15°C. One can see that the absorption of a water molecule in infrared spectrum is stronger than that of the CO2 molecule because of their structures, and the injection of water molecules in the atmosphere influences its heat balance more strongly than the injection of CO2 molecules.
Reinhart, 2017 (<0.24°C)
Our results permit to conclude that CO2 is a very weak greenhouse gas and cannot be accepted as the main driver of climate change. … The assumption of a constant temperature and black body radiation definitely violates reality and even the principles of thermodynamics. … [W]e conclude that the temperature increases predicted by the IPCC AR5 lack robust scientific justification. … A doubling [to 800 ppm] of the present level of CO2 [400 ppm] results in [temperature change] < 0.24 K. … [T]he scientific community must look for causes of climate change that can be solidly based on physics and chemistry. … The observed temperature increase since pre-industrial times is close to an order of magnitude higher than that attributable to CO2.
Abbot and Marohasy, 2017 (0.6°C equilibrium)
The largest deviation between the ANN [artificial neural network] projections and measured temperatures for six geographically distinct regions was approximately 0.2 °C, and from this an Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity (ECS) of approximately 0.6 °C [for a doubling of CO2 from 280 ppm to 560 ppm plus feedbacks] was estimated. This is considerably less than estimates from the General Circulation Models (GCMs) used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and similar to estimates from spectroscopic methods.
The proxy measurements suggest New Zealand’s climate has fluctuated within a band of approximately 2°C since at least 900 AD, as shown in Figure 2. The warming of nearly 1°C since 1940 falls within this band. The discrepancy between the orange and blue lines in recent decades as shown in Figure 3, suggests that the anthropogenic contribution to this warming could be in the order of approximately 0.2°C. [80% of the warming since 1940 may be due natural factors].
Harde, 2016 (0.7°C equilibrium)
Including solar and cloud effects as well as all relevant feedback processes our simulations give an equilibrium climate sensitivity of CS = 0.7 °C (temperature increase at doubled CO2) and a solar sensitivity of SS = 0.17 °C (at 0.1 % increase of the total solar irradiance). Then CO2 contributes 40 % and the Sun 60 % to global warming over the last century.
Bates, 2016 (~1°C)
Estimates of 2xCO2 equilibrium climate sensitivity (EqCS) derive from running global climate models (GCMs) to equilibrium. Estimates of effective climate sensitivity (EfCS) are the corresponding quantities obtained using transient GCM output or observations. The EfCS approach uses an accompanying energy balance model (EBM), the zero-dimensional model (ZDM) being standard. GCM values of EqCS and EfCS vary widely [IPCC range: (1.5, 4.5)°C] and have failed to converge over the past 35 years. Recently, attempts have been made to refine the EfCS approach by using two-zone (tropical/extratropical) EBMs. When applied using satellite radiation data, these give low and tightly-constrained EfCS values, in the neighbourhood of 1°C. … The central conclusion of this study is that to disregard the low values of effective climate sensitivity (≈1°C) given by observations on the grounds that they do not agree with the larger values of equilibrium, or effective, climate sensitivity given by GCMs, while the GCMs themselves do not properly represent the observed value of the tropical radiative response coefficient, is a standpoint that needs to be reconsidered.
Evans, 2016 (<0.5°C equilibrium)
The conventional basic climate model applies “basic physics” to climate, estimating sensitivity to CO2. However, it has two serious architectural errors. It only allows feedbacks in response to surface warming, so it omits the driver-specific feedbacks. It treats extra-absorbed sunlight, which heats the surface and increases outgoing long-wave radiation (OLR), the same as extra CO2, which reduces OLR from carbon dioxide in the upper atmosphere but does not increase the total OLR. The rerouting feedback is proposed. An increasing CO2 concentration warms the upper troposphere, heating the water vapor emissions layer and some cloud tops, which emit more OLR and descend to lower and warmer altitudes. This feedback resolves the nonobservation of the “hotspot.” An alternative model is developed, whose architecture fixes the errors. By summing the (surface) warmings due to climate drivers, rather than their forcings, it allows driver-specific forcings and allows a separate CO2 response (the conventional model applies the same response, the solar response, to all forcings). It also applies a radiation balance, estimating OLR from properties of the emission layers. Fitting the climate data to the alternative model, we find that the equilibrium climate sensitivity is most likely less than 0.5°C, increasing CO2 most likely caused less than 20% of the global warming from the 1970s, and the CO2 response is less than one-third as strong as the solar response. The conventional model overestimates the potency of CO2 because it applies the strong solar response instead of the weak CO2response to the CO2 forcing.
Gervais, 2016 [full] (<0.6°C transient)
Conclusion: Dangerous anthropogenic warming is questioned (i) upon recognition of the large amplitude of the natural 60–year cyclic component and (ii) upon revision downwards of the transient climate response consistent with latest tendencies shown in Fig. 1, here found to be at most 0.6 °C once the natural component has been removed, consistent with latest infrared studies (Harde, 2014). Anthropogenic warming well below the potentially dangerous range were reported in older and recent studies (Idso, 1998; Miskolczi, 2007; Paltridge et al., 2009; Gerlich and Tscheuschner, 2009; Lindzen and Choi, 2009, 2011; Spencer and Braswell, 2010; Clark, 2010; Kramm and Dlugi, 2011; Lewis and Curry, 2014; Skeie et al., 2014; Lewis, 2015; Volokin and ReLlez, 2015). On inspection of a risk of anthropogenic warming thus toned down, a change of paradigm which highlights a benefit for mankind related to the increase of plant feeding and crops yields by enhanced CO2 photosynthesis is suggested.
Marvel et al., 2016 (1.8°C transient, 3.0°C equilibrium)
Assuming that all forcings have the same transient efficacy as greenhouse gases, and following a previous study, the best estimate (median) for TCR is 1.3°C. However, scaling each forcing by our estimates of transient efficacy (determined from either iRF or ERF), we obtain a best estimate for TCR of 1.8°C. This scaling simultaneously considers both forcing and ocean heat uptake efficacy. Other estimates of TCR which differ slightly due to choices of base period and uncertainty estimates and the aerosol forcing used, are similarly revised upward when using calculated efficacies. We apply the same reasoning to estimates of ECS. Using an estimate4 of the rate of recent heat uptake Q = 0.65 ± 0.27 W m-2, we find, assuming all equilibrium efficacies are unity, a best estimate of ECS = 2.0°C, comparable to the previous result of 1.9°C. However, as with TCR, accounting for differences in equilibrium forcing efficacy revises the estimate upward; our new best estimate (using efficacies derived from the iRF) is 2.9°C. If efficacies are instead calculated from the ERF, the best estimate of ECS is 3.0°C. As for TCR, alternate estimates of ECS are revised upward when efficacies are taken into account.
Soon, Connolly, and Connolly, 2015 [full] (0.44°C)
Nonetheless, let us ignore the negative relationship with greenhouse gas (GHG) radiative forcing, and assume the carbon dioxide (CO2) relationship is valid. If atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have risen by ~110 ppmv since 1881 (i.e., 290→400 ppmv), this would imply that carbon dioxide (CO2) is responsible for a warming of at most 0.0011 × 110 = 0.12°C over the 1881-2014 period, where 0.0011 is the slope of the line in Figure 29(a). We can use this relationship to calculate the so-called “climate sensitivity” to carbon dioxide, i.e., the temperature response to a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide. According to this model, if atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations were to increase by ~400 ppmv, this would contribute to at most 0.0011 × 400 = 0.44°C warming. That is, the climate sensitivity to atmospheric carbon dioxide is at most 0.44°C.
Lewis and Curry, 2015 (1.33°C transient, 1.64°C equilibrium)
Energy budget estimates of equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) and transient climate response (TCR) are derived using the comprehensive 1750–2011 time series and the uncertainty ranges for forcing components provided in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Working Group I Report, along with its estimates of heat accumulation in the climate system. The resulting estimates are less dependent on global climate models and allow more realistically for forcing uncertainties than similar estimates based on forcings diagnosed from simulations by such models. Base and final periods are selected that have well matched volcanic activity and influence from internal variability. Using 1859–1882 for the base period and 1995–2011 for the final period, thus avoiding major volcanic activity, median estimates are derived for ECS of 1.64 K and for TCR of 1.33 K.
Johansson et al., 2015 (2.5°C equilibrium)
A key uncertainty in projecting future climate change is the magnitude of equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS), that is, the eventual increase in global annual average surface temperature in response to a doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentration. The lower bound of the likely range for ECS given in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report was revised downwards to 1.5 °C, from 2 °C in its previous report, mainly as an effect of considering observations over the warming hiatus—the period of slowdown of global average temperature increase since the early 2000s. Here we analyse how estimates of ECS change as observations accumulate over time and estimate the contribution of potential causes to the hiatus. We find that including observations over the hiatus reduces the most likely value for ECS from 2.8 °C to 2.5 °C, but that the lower bound of the 90% range remains stable around 2 °C. We also find that the hiatus is primarily attributable to El Niño/Southern Oscillation-related variability and reduced solar forcing.
Kissin, 2015 (~0.6°C)
[A] doubling the CO2 concentration in the Earth’s atmosphere would lead to an increase of the surface temperature by about +0.5 to 0.7 °C, hardly an effect calling for immediate drastic changes in the planet’s energy policies. An increase in the absolute air humidity caused by doubling the CO2 concentration and the resulting decrease of the outgoing IR flux would produce a relatively small additional effect due to a strong overlap of IR spectral bands of CO2 and H2O, the two compounds primarily responsible for the greenhouse properties of the atmosphere.
Kimoto, 2015 [full] (~0.16°C)
The central dogma is critically evaluated in the anthropogenic global warming (AGW) theory of the IPCC, claiming the Planck response is 1.2K when CO2 is doubled. The first basis of it is one dimensional model studies with the fixed lapse rate assumption of 6.5K/km. It is failed from the lack of the parameter sensitivity analysis of the lapse rate for CO2 doubling. The second basis is the Planck response calculation by Cess in 1976 having a mathematical error. Therefore, the AGW theory is collapsed along with the canonical climate sensitivity of 3K utilizing the radiative forcing of 3.7W/m2 for CO2 doubling. The surface climate sensitivity is 0.14 – 0.17 K in this study with the surface radiative forcing of 1.1 W/m2.
Ollila, 2014 (~0.6°C equilibrium)
According to this study the commonly applied radiative forcing (RF) value of 3.7 Wm-2 for CO2 concentration of 560 ppm includes water feedback. The same value without water feedback is 2.16 Wm-2 which is 41.6 % smaller. Spectral analyses show that the contribution of CO2 in the greenhouse (GH) phenomenon is about 11 % and water’s strength in the present climate in comparison to CO2 is 15.2. The author has analyzed the value of the climate sensitivity (CS) and the climate sensitivity parameter (l) using three different calculation bases. These methods include energy balance calculations, infrared radiation absorption in the atmosphere, and the changes in outgoing longwave radiation at the top of the atmosphere. According to the analyzed results, the equilibrium CS (ECS) is at maximum 0.6 °C and the best estimate of l is 0.268 K/(Wm-2 ) without any feedback mechanisms.
Loehle, 2014 (1.1°C transient, 2.0°C equilibrium)
Estimated sensitivity is 1.093 °C (transient) and 1.99 °C (equilibrium). Empirical study sensitivity estimates fall below those based on GCMs.
Skeie et al., 2014 (1.8°C equilibrium)
Equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) is constrained based on observed near-surface temperature change, changes in ocean heat content (OHC) and detailed radiative forcing (RF) time series from pre-industrial times to 2010 for all main anthropogenic and natural forcing mechanism. The RF time series are linked to the observations of OHC and temperature change through an energy balance model (EBM) and a stochastic model, using a Bayesian approach to estimate the ECS and other unknown parameters from the data. For the net anthropogenic RF the posterior mean in 2010 is 2.0 Wm−2, with a 90% credible interval (C.I.) of 1.3 to 2.8 Wm−2, excluding present-day total aerosol effects (direct + indirect) stronger than −1.7 Wm−2. The posterior mean of the ECS is 1.8 °C, with 90% C.I. ranging from 0.9 to 3.2 °C, which is tighter than most previously published estimates.
Scafetta, 2013 (1.5°C)
A quasi 60-year natural oscillation simultaneously explains the 1850–1880, 1910–1940 and 1970–2000 warming periods, the 1880–1910 and 1940–1970 cooling periods and the post 2000 GST plateau. This hypothesis implies that about 50% of the ~ 0.5 °C global surface warming observed from 1970 to 2000 was due to natural oscillations of the climate system, not to anthropogenic forcing as modeled by the CMIP3 and CMIP5 GCMs. Consequently, the climate sensitivity to CO2 doubling should be reduced by half, for example from the 2.0–4.5 °C range (as claimed by the IPCC, 2007) to 1.0–2.3 °C with a likely median of ~ 1.5 °C instead of ~ 3.0 °C.
Asten, 2012 (1.1°C)
Climate sensitivity estimated from the latter is 1.1 ± 0.4 °C (66% confidence) compared with the IPCC central value of 3 °C. The post Eocene-Oligocene transition (33.4 Ma) value of 1.1 °C obtained here is lower than those published from Holocene and Pleistocene glaciation-related temperature data (800 Kya to present) but is of similar order to sensitivity estimates published from satellite observations of tropospheric and sea-surface temperature variations. The value of 1.1 °C is grossly different from estimates up to 9 °C published from paleo-temperature studies of Pliocene (3 to 4 Mya) age sediments.
Lindzen and Choi, 2011 (0.7°C)
As a result, the climate sensitivity for a doubling of CO2 is estimated to be 0.7K (with the confidence interval 0.5K – 1.3K at 99% levels). This observational result shows that model sensitivities indicated by the IPCC AR4 are likely greater than the possibilities estimated from the observations.
Florides and Christodoulides, 2009 (~0.02°C)
A very recent development on the greenhouse phenomenon is a validated adiabatic model, based on laws of physics, forecasting a maximum temperature-increase of 0.01–0.03 °C for a value doubling the present concentration of atmospheric CO2.
Gray, 2009 (~0.4°C)
CO2 increases without positive water vapor feedback could only have been responsible for about 0.1 – 0.2 °C of the 0.6-0.7°C global mean surface temperature warming that has been observed since the early 20th century. Assuming a doubling of CO2 by the late 21st century (assuming no positive water vapor feedback), we should likely expect to see no more than about 0.3-0.5°C global surface warming and certainly not the 2-5°C warming that has been projected by the GCMs [global circulation models].
Chylek et al., 2007 (~0.39°C)
Consequently, both increasing atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases and decreasing loading of atmospheric aerosols are major contributors to the top-of atmosphere radiative forcing. We find that the climate sensitivity is reduced by at least a factor of 2 when direct and indirect effects of decreasing aerosols are included, compared to the case where the radiative forcing is ascribed only to increases in atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. We find the empirical climate sensitivity to be between 0.29 and 0.48 K/Wm-2 when aerosol direct and indirect radiative forcing is included.
Posted in Climate Sensitivity, CO2 and GHG | 57 Responses
57 responses to “Recent CO2 Climate Sensitivity Estimates Continue Trending Towards Zero”
Pethefin 16. October 2017 at 4:00 PM | Permalink
Thanks Kenneth for yet another excellent post! It will be interesting to see how the IPCC will manage such development.
Recent CO2 Climate Sensitivity Estimates Continue Trending Towards Zero | Newsfeed - Hasslefree allsorts 16. October 2017 at 5:37 PM | Permalink
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Bitter&twisted 16. October 2017 at 6:54 PM | Permalink
SebastianH?
Post your fantasy comments, please.
We could all do with a laugh.
SebastianH 17. October 2017 at 10:48 PM | Permalink
Fantasy is what most papers in that list are writing about. You skeptics should be more skeptic when something seems to support your views than when it opposes your views. Especially when an author uses inappropriate language and celebrates himself/herself for having found something that shows the GHE would be violating one or more laws of physics 😉
But thanks for the comprehensive list of papers that will surely not be considered by any climate science panel. Not because their “results” would be inconvenient, but because those “results” are largely imagined … fantasy if you want.
Kenneth Richard 18. October 2017 at 12:16 AM | Permalink
What a substantive rebuttal, SebastianH. Effectively you have characterized papers that reach a climate sensitivity result at variance with your beliefs about what it really is as “imagined” and “fantasy”. That’s not particularly persuasive.
Tell us, do you believe the Gavin Schmidt paper (Marvel et al., 2016) that has a TCR of 1.9 C and an ECS of 3.0 C is imagined fantasy, or is that estimate the right one…because it agrees with your presuppositions?
SebastianH 19. October 2017 at 12:27 AM | Permalink
It’s not about the value it’s about the methods used to determine climate sensitivity (mostly by attributing measured climate change to a different forcing). That and the language used make fantasy, and not a very convincing one. But you go on and believe what you want to believe 🙂
P.S.: why still quote Marohasy/Abbot? Have they revised their paper and corrected their fundamental errors?
Marohasy and Abbot’s mistake was in relying on other authors, Geirsdottir et al. (2009), to accurately represent the timing (1979 vs. 2000) of the end of the record for the Moberg paper. They didn’t. So A&M17 digitized another authors’ error on one graph of the 6 used in the paper.
Had M&A17 used any number of other reconstructions of the NH temperature record (like the ones below, which shows modern temps in line with natural variability), the very same conclusion reached in their paper (that CO2 might have only delivered 0.2 C to the warming over the last century, and thus climate sensitivity is about 0.6 C for CO2 doubling) could be reached.
Christiansen and Lungqvist, 2012
Schneider et al., 2015 (also here)
Stoffel et al., 2015
Abrantes et al., 2017
Ljungqvist, 2010
How much catastrophic warming do you believe we’ll get with doubled CO2, SebastianH? Since CO2 can only contribute 1.2 C at most upon reaching 560 ppm (according to the IPCC), how much of the catastrophic warming that you believe we’ll get will be caused by water vapor? Clouds?
How many species extinctions do you believe we’ll get by 2050? You’ve previously stated that you’re a denier of the million-species-go-extinct-by-2050 climate science found in the journal Nature. So what’s the value you believe in? 500,000? 300,000? What?
But thanks for the comprehensive list of papers that will surely not be considered by any climate science panel.
Otto et al. (2013), with a TCR of 1.3 C, was co-written by 14 IPCC lead authors and, like Lindzen and Choi (2011) (2XCO2=0.7 K) was featured as one of the referenced ECS papers in the last IPCC report.
Ron 18. October 2017 at 6:28 PM | Permalink
You certainly gave me my chuckle for the day.
Such a wordy, finger pointing, character flaw focused attempt at falsifying supported science. Yet… You have absolutely nothing relevant to support your claims of what makes this fantasy. Just a blatant character attack and nothing more. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you!!!!!!!!!! This will get me through years to come.
Do you think (most of) those papers are relevant? Why? Because they suit your narrative? Why aren’t you skeptical about the methods they used to derive at their conclusions?
Are you skeptical of the Gavin Schmidt paper, Marvel et al., 2016? Or do you find it relevant because it suits your narrative?
Bruce of Newcastle 16. October 2017 at 11:27 PM | Permalink
Back in 2010 I found a value of about 0.7 C/doubling using HadCET and the data from the Armagh weather observatory. That is probably an upper limit since it still assumes greenhouse gases were driving the residual warming after deduction of the effect of the ocean cycles and the indirect effect of the Sun. (The methodology is given and can be replicated with a bit of effort using a spreadsheet.)
It’s interesting that more and more studies are converging to the same general result: an ECS below 1 C/doubling.
It is important to underline what that means.
At 1 C/doubling, another 2 C more warming would require us to burn 10 times the amount of coal, oil and gas than we have done since the start of civilization. But that can’t happen since there isn’t that much coal, oil and gas in existence.
So any ECS value below 1 C/doubling means global warming is completely harmless.
ClimateOtter 16. October 2017 at 11:47 PM | Permalink
Yes seb- please explain to us how computer-modeled CS based upon built-in assumptions is superior to observation-based analyses.
Mindert Eiting 17. October 2017 at 5:28 AM | Permalink
Worth noting perhaps that this development is an example of the well known decline effect in medical and social research. The estimates always trend to zero because the effect is zero. Usually, it begins with fantastic claims based on a false positive in a small sample, subtle errors in experimental design, or biased data.
Pethefin 17. October 2017 at 12:54 PM | Permalink
Good point! This applies to a number of phenoma in the current post-truth hype-everything-society. I can wait for this anti-enlightment era to end.
I wonder what happens when you find out that you guys were wrong in a few decades. Can we look back and see what skeptics “predicted” 10 years ago and what really happened?
Kenneth Richard 17. October 2017 at 11:55 PM | Permalink
So what’s your prediction, SebastianH? How much catastrophic warming do you believe we’ll get in a few decades? Will the Southern Hemisphere sea ice actually begin to decline at some point, or will it continue to increase like it has been since the 1970s?
Similarly, you’ve written before that you deny the climate science (Thomas et al., 2004, Nature) that says we’ll get over 1 million species extinctions by 2050, which is about 30,000 per year every year for the next 33 years. So if you deny that science, what is the right species extinction figure in your opinion? And on what are you basing your position on?
SebastianH 19. October 2017 at 9:18 AM | Permalink
We are definitely not getting -2.8 C below the average until 2020 as Pierre predicted in 2008 🙂
I predict that energy will continue to accumulate in the system. Are you betting against that? If so, why?
Regarding extinction of species, why do you think 30000 species lost per year is a big number? We are already at or over that rate. Oh and did you read the study about the loss of flying insect mass? http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185809
Fun times lay ahead …
I predict that energy will continue to accumulate in the system.
How much warming do you think we’ll get due to that energy accumulation? Be specific.
My guess – and that’s all it is – is that we’ll get somewhere between -0.5 C of cooling and +0.5 C of warming during the next 30 years or so. There are too many variables to consider (Volcanic eruptions? Supernova event? Decadal-scale cloud cover increases vs. decreases?) other than just the parts per million concentration of a trace gas like CO2 when prognosticating future temperatures without large uncertainty ranges. Besides, I generally agree with the IPCC on long-term predictions…
“In sum, a strategy must recognise what is possible. In climate research and modelling, we should recognise that we are dealing with a coupled non-linear chaotic system, and therefore that the long-term prediction of future climate states is not possible.” — IPCC TAR (2001) Section 14.2.2.2 Page 774
But you, on the other hand, are totally convinced that we have warming in store for us…because of CO2. Right? Why else would you be so adamant that we use wind and solar? So what is your prediction? How much warming will we get? Be specific.
Regarding extinction of species, why do you think 30000 species lost per year is a big number?
Hmmm. Probably because only one animal – a mollusc – has been confirmed by the IUCN to have gone extinct since 2000. In the 500 years before that, there were 801 extinctions — mostly during the cold, cold Little Ice Age.
“It is possible to count the number of species known to be extinct. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) does just that. It has listed 801 animal and plant species (mostly animal) known to have gone extinct since 1500. … According to IUCN data, only one animal has been definitely identified as having gone extinct since 2000. It was a mollusc.”
Why do you believe that losing 30,000 species every year for the next 33 years is not catastrophic, SebastianH?
SebastianH 19. October 2017 at 7:34 PM | Permalink
An accumulation of energy doesn’t cause a specific warming. The oceans could continue to take in the bulk of that energy and if the distribution is good enough the warming at the surface will not be as high as if all the energy would remain near the surface.
But you, on the other hand, are totally convinced that we have warming in store for us…because of CO2. Right? Why else would you be so adamant that we use wind and solar?
Yes, I am convinced about the energy accumulation potential of CO2 and other GHGs. But I don’t know if warming will continue. There could always be some other effect that produces cooling greater than the warming from CO2 which would result in net cooling obviously. But this doesn’t make the CO2 effect disappear like you so often seem to claim …
So what is your prediction? How much warming will we get? Be specific.
I guess you will repeat this question until I give you a definitive answer and you will continue to claim that I am evading or something like that. Let’s cut that short … I won’t give you a more specific value than any scientist or panel of scientists can give you. It’s also not quite sure by how much we will be able to reduce our CO2 emissions in the coming decades, which would also be a kind of big factor in predicting the accumulation of energy and the resulting temperature change.
The question is, why do you believe that 30000 species aren’t going extinct every year already?
Kenneth Richard 19. October 2017 at 8:27 PM | Permalink
I don’t know if warming will continue. There could always be some other effect that produces cooling greater than the warming from CO2 which would result in net cooling obviously.
You’ve just lost your “consensus” card. Even writing that you don’t know if warming will continue is enough for someone like Al Gore or Michael Mann to characterize you as a “denialist” or something similar. So why are you so hell-bent on building 100s of thousands of more wind turbines and millions more solar panels if you don’t even know if they’ll be necessary or worth it because natural factors may override the CO2 effect (like they did for 1992-2014) and we might get a net cooling? In other words, why are you even here?
Um, because that’s not happening. We’ve had 1 confirmed species extinction since 2000 – a mollusc. Or do you think the IUCN is trying to hide 30,000 species extinctions per year?
Mary Brown 18. October 2017 at 5:38 AM | Permalink
“Climate science” is definitely science. Just because there are many poor practitioners doesn’t mean it’s not science.
Scafetta has published his forecasts quite clearly. I think he has the best model I’ve seen. It combines the natural harmonics with climate models reliant on GHG forcings. He adjusts the climate models for their historical bias in the same way MOS adjust weather models for their biases and uncertainties.
Forecasts and hindcast here…
https://postimg.org/image/6pi63asqh7/
So far, the el nino spike has him underperforming the climate models. Time will tell.
Bitter&twisted 17. October 2017 at 9:18 AM | Permalink
Social “science”, like climate “science” is not social, or science.
Michael Jones 17. October 2017 at 1:39 PM | Permalink
Ditto for Social Justice!
richard verney 17. October 2017 at 11:18 AM | Permalink
Don’t forget that back in 1971, NASA/GISS assessed Climate Sensitivity to be around 0.5degC per doubling, and about 0.6degC with water feedback. So it has been known for a very long time that Climate Sensitivity is low.
We are constantly being told that AGW is grounded upon basic physics going back more than 100 years. We have known the infra red absorbing characteristics of CO2 for generations. There is no new physics or properties of CO2 that have come to light after the NASA/GISS 1971 paper such that there is no reason to consider that paper to be fundamentally flawed, or superseded by a better understanding of known physics.
The difference is one of politics. In 1971, Climate Scientists were pushing global cooling. Hence, they wanted to show that CO2 whilst causing warming, was not as important as high aerosol emissions that were causing cooling. Thus they portrayed low sensitivity to CO2, and high sensitivity to aerosols.
Now the meme has changed. Political activists now wish to promote global warming so they have had to switch around the sensitivities, and the warmist now want people to believe that there is high sensitivity to CO2, and lower sensitivity to aerosol emissions.
The fluidity of the science tells you everything you need to know. Science that can shift in this manner is not science, but rather simply politically driven to promote an agenda of someone’s utopian dream (socialism new world order).
See the Schneider 1971 paper (which incidentally utilized a model produced by no other than James Hansen). Science Volume 173 (July 19710 pages 138 to 141.
Rasool and Schneider, 1971
https://www.atmos.washington.edu/2008Q2/591A/Articles/Rasool_Schneider_Science.pdf
[A]lthough the addition of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere does increase the surface temperature, the rate of temperature increase diminishes with increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. … It is found that even an increase by a factor of 8 in the amount of CO2, which is highly unlikely in the next several thousand years, will produce an increase in the surface temperature of less than 2 K. However, the effect on surface temperature of an increase in the aerosol content of the atmosphere is found to be quite significant. An increase by a factor of 4 in the equilibrium dust concentration in the global atmosphere, which cannot be ruled out as a possibility within the next century, could decrease the mean surface temperature by as much as 3.5 K. If sustained over a period of several years, such a temperature decrease could be sufficient to trigger an ice age!
Zdunkowski et al., 1975
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF01592922
It is found that doubling the carbon dioxide concentration increases the temperature near the ground by approximately one-half of one degree [0.5°C] if clouds are absent. A sevenfold [700%] increase of the present normal carbon dioxide concentration increases the temperature near the ground by approximately one degree. Temperature profiles resulting from presently observed carbon dioxide concentration and convective cloudiness of 50% or less are compared with those resulting from doubled carbon dioxide concentrations and the same amounts of cloud cover. Again, it is found that a doubling [100% increase] of carbon dioxide increases the temperature in the lower boundary layer by about one-half of one degree.
Weare and Snell, 1974
http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/1520-0469%281974%29031%3C1725%3AADTCAS%3E2.0.CO%3B2
As may be seen in Fig. 7, a doubling of CO2 increase the mean annual global surface temperature according to our dynamical model by about 0.7K, but a sixfold increase only increases the temperature 1.7K. The nonlinearity is due to saturation of the 15 µm band.
Dunbar, 1976
http://arctic.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/viewFile/2803/2780
[T]he measured increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to the most recent computations, would not be enough to have any measurable climatic effect. … [I]f the concentration were to increase from the present level of 320 parts per million to about 400 by the year 2000, the predicted increase in surface global temperature would be about 0.1°C.
Newell and Dopplick, 1979
http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/1520-0450%281979%29018%3C0822%3AQCTPIO%3E2.0.CO%3B2
The conclusion is that at low latitudes the influence of doubling CO2 on surface temperatures is less than 0.25 K
Schuurmans, 1983
http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-009-6998-8_12#page-1
[T]here is some general agreement amongst different modellers that the transient response of global mean temperature to increased CO2 concentration of the atmosphere at present amounts to less than 0.5 K (estimates of [temperature response] now varying between 0.2 and 0.4 K).
richard verney 17. October 2017 at 8:58 PM | Permalink
Thanks Keith.
Your further examples prove the point that I was making.
At the time when those papers were published, we knew all about the basic physics of CO2, and its IR absorbing properties. There has been no new discoveries in the physics of CO2. I consider that to be a very important point to make.
The assessments made in those papers were made at a time before CO2 had become politicised. Before it had become weaponised, and at a time when scientists could be more honest about the true impact of CO2.
Further these assessments were made at a time before the thermometer record had been substantially adjusted. These assessments were based upon a more honest assessment of the temperature history of the past 100 years, and based upon RAW data, as opposed to the now heavily adjusted thermometer record that now bears no relationship with reality. Again, I consider that is an important point to appreciate.
Of course, returning to the point being made in the Article that as time goes by, Climate sensitivity is becoming lower, should the next phase of the ENSO cycle result in either a deep La Nina, or a long lasting weak La Nina, the pause will once again reappear but this time it will be at least 20 years in duration.
We can say that should that happen, ie., should the pause in temperature reappear, then when it reappears, the assessments of Climate Sensitivity will become even lower. The longer the length of any such pause, the lower Climate Sensitivity must become.
I make no prediction as to whether we are about to again witness a La Nina, but merely should a La Nina appear within the next 3 to 6 months, it will make the writing of AR6 very difficult, for two reasons.
First, it follows that Climate Sensitivity must be much lower than the IPCC are presently prepared to acknowledge, and it will put pressure on the IPCC to lower the band for Climate Sensitivity, or at least reduce the upper level.
Second, it will open up the wound of model discrepancy. The discrepancy between model projections and observational temperatures will widen, and it will therefore exert pressure on the IPCC to acknowledge the discrepancy and to comment upon it, and address it, perhaps by removing the models that run warmest from the model ensemble. That would then result in the ensemble mean effectively tracking a lower Climate Sensitivity. The two are intrinsically linked.
Rodney W. Nichols 17. October 2017 at 9:00 PM | Permalink
This summary is extremely useful. Thanks. In debating the climate in DC and rest of USA, almost no one thinks about any estimate except the dreaded >2.C
BREAKING NEWS: Koldioxid ej huvuddrivare av klimatet! | Ragnars hörna 17. October 2017 at 10:07 PM | Permalink
[…] Källa: NoTricksZone. […]
betapug 17. October 2017 at 11:34 PM | Permalink
The fear inducing power of “global warming” seems to be declining! Truly “it is worse than we thought”.
dai davies 18. October 2017 at 1:10 AM | Permalink
All IPCC and contemporary climate analysis is based on the assumption that radiative (aka greenhouse) gasses ‘trap’ infrared radiation. This is wrong, they merely delay heat transfer to space.
A second false assumption is that the radiative delay (aka greenhouse) effect is the only mechanism that can account for Earth’s surface temperature. Thermal buffering by the atmosphere of the day/night temperature cycle can account for our surface temperature.
The total current contribution of CO2 to surface temperature is approximately 0.01 C.
See: http://brindabella.id.au/climarc/dai/RadiativeDelay/RadiativeDelayInContext170828.pdf
Atomsk's Sanakan 18. October 2017 at 3:55 AM | Permalink
If there are really “no tricks” here, then why are you tricking people? For example, your first listed source “Reinhert, 2017” is not a peer-reviewed study; it’s a blogpost from “Toutes les énergies”, as potholer54 pointed out. It calls itself a blog: “Ce blog est un espace de liberté, pour des auteurs francophones.” The dangers of relying such blogs are well-known:
“Unlike mainstream climate scientists, who publish primarily in peer reviewed journals, these critics typically employ a range of non-peer-reviewed outlets, ranging from blogs to the books we are examining. […]
The general lack of peer review allows authors or editors of denial books to make inaccurate assertions that misrepresent the current state of climate science. Like the vast range of other non-peer-reviewed material produced by the denial community, book authors can make whatever claims they wish, no matter how scientifically unfounded.”
http://abs.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/05/01/0002764213477096.full.pdf
And how about the fact that many of these so-called “studies” are published in predatory, open-access, online “journals” with no impact factor and which are not listed in reputable citation indexes (like the Master Journals list)? Thus the studies are unlikely to have undergone competent peer review.
For example, the “Abbot and Marohasy, 2017” “study” was incredily bad. They don’t even access the data sources they’re supposed to be using, and instead digitize images from papers they saw. This leads them to screw up their figure 12, which is a pretty poor modification of Moberg 2005:
“Climate: past ranges and future changes”
“Highly variable Northern Hemisphere temperatures reconstructed from low- and high-resolution proxy data”
Their figure 12 excludes much of the recent global warming, along with southern hemisphere trends. Zeke Hausfather and Gavin Schmidt dumb this down rather nicely here:
https://twitter.com/hausfath/status/900130781615374336/photo/1
https://twitter.com/ClimateOfGavin/status/900341454232371200/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fandthentheresphysics.wordpress.com%2F2017%2F08%2F22%2Fmachine-unlearning%2F
Including the southern hemisphere and recent global warming results in the standard hockey stick pattern than would have likely increases Abbot and Marohasy’s climate sensitivity estimate. For example:
“Pacific Ocean Heat Content During the Past 10,000 Years”
So no wonder Abbot and Marohasy decided to exclude that data; it would have gotten in the way of their goal of showing low climate sensitivity. Competent peer review would have prevented Abbot and Marohasy’s attempt at excluding data. But competent peer review apparently was not applied to Abbot and Marohasy’s “study”. Unsurprisingly, the predatory “journal” “Abbot and Marohasy, 2017” was published in will be closing down in a few months:
https://www.journals.elsevier.com/georesj
Anyway, your figure commits at least three additional errors [citations in brackets]:
A1) It is less comprehensive than a scientific review of the literature; this review presents recent evidence in support of a higher climate sensitivity [1].
A2) It excludes other studies that show higher climate sensitivity [2 – 17].
A3) It excludes papers that show flaws in some of the studies listed in your figure [5; 6; 8 – 12; 18, page 1375].
Reasons A2 and A3 are connected since correcting the flaws in the studies listed in your figure, tends to increase the studies’ climate sensitivity estimates [5; 6; 8 – 12; 18].
Citation list:
1. “Beyond equilibrium climate sensitivity”
2. “Climate sensitivity in the geologic past”
3. “Deep time evidence for climate sensitivity increase with warming”
4. “Observational constraints on mixed-phase clouds imply higher climate sensitivity”
5. “Reconciled climate response estimates from climate models and the energy budget of Earth”
6. “Implications for climate sensitivity from the response to individual forcings”
7. “Implications of potentially lower climate sensitivity on climate projections and policy”
8. “Disentangling greenhouse warming and aerosol cooling to reveal Earth’s climate sensitivity”
9. “Inhomogeneous forcing and transient climate sensitivity”
10. “On a minimal model for estimating climate sensitivity”
11. “Corrigendum to “On a minimal model for estimating climate sensitivity” [Ecol. Model. 297 (2015), 20-25]”
12. “Projection and prediction: Climate sensitivity on the rise”
13. “Spread in model climate sensitivity traced to atmospheric convective mixing”
14. “Long-term cloud change imprinted in seasonal cloud variation: More evidence of high climate sensitivity”
15. “Nonlinear climate sensitivity and its implications for future greenhouse warming”
16. “Natural variability, radiative forcing and climate response in the recent hiatus reconciled”
17. “A less cloudy future: the role of subtropical subsidence in climate sensitivity”
18. “Misdiagnosis of Earth climate sensitivity based on energy balance model results”
Kenneth Richard 18. October 2017 at 8:24 AM | Permalink
your first listed source “Reinhert, 2017” is not a peer-reviewed study
The paper was found in Google Scholar. Dr. FK Reinhart is a Swiss physicist who has published 100s of papers in the scientific literature. He is not a blogger.
the studies are unlikely to have undergone competent peer review.
The peer-review process is not a reliable indicator of the fitness of a paper for publication. Michael Mann, for example, published a paper in the journal Nature that was riddled with high school level logical errors and statistical malfeasance. Dr. William Briggs facilely exposed what “peer-review” did not:
http://wmbriggs.com/post/17849/
For example, the “Abbot and Marohasy, 2017” “study” was incredily bad. They don’t even access the data sources they’re supposed to be using, and instead digitize images from papers they saw.
You are correct that Abbot and Marohasy (2017) used a graph of the Northern Hemisphere that they copied directly from another paper, Geirsdottir et al. (2009), that erroneously placed the end of the temperature record for Moberg et al. (2005) at 2000 instead of 1979 (the end year for the Moberg tree ring proxies, with 1980 the first year of the “instrumental” data). So A&M17 are “guilty” of assuming that the Geirsdottir (et al., 2009) paper had accurately represented the Moberg paper. They hadn’t. It was one of many other graphs included in that paper…that also showed that modern temperatures are still well within the range achieved during then Medieval Warm Period, or that don’t fall outside the range of natural variability.
There have been several other graphs of the Northern Hemisphere that A&M17 could have used that also showed there has been no significant net warming after the 1940s, or that showed a significant cooling between 1940-1970 (-0.5 C) and a warming since ~1980 (through ~2000) that hadn’t yet reached the warmth levels of the 1940s. For example:
the standard hockey stick pattern
Here is a list of 350 graphs found in peer-reviewed scientific papers (with over 100 published this year alone) that show today’s temperatures do not fall outside the range of natural variability. About a quarter of them show no net warming in the Southern Hemisphere or equatorial regions since the Medieval Warm Period. It’s well known that the instrumental temperatures for the Southern Hemisphere are largely just “made up”. That’s what Phil Jones revealed in his exchanges with the dataset overseers, of course.
I assume you agree that doubling CO2 from 280 ppm to 560 ppm (and 560 ppm to 1,120 ppm, and so on) yields only an additional 1.2 K of warming (which is largely beneficial considering the Little Ice Age was the coldest multi-centennial-scale period of the last 10,000 years). It’s only with assumed positive water vapor and cloud cover feedback that temperatures are believed to be capable of reaching the catastrophic levels (~3 C and up). You agree with this, right?
Kenneth and his “look over there” tactic …
1) everyone can write nonsense in a blog, having published papers before doesn’t prevent that
2) And the Briggs thing again … Have you ever considered that this “numerologist” could be wrong? We had that discussion before.
3) The A&M error is a fundamental one which changes their conclusion. The other graphs you linked to … Well “we had that discussion before” and it leads to nowhere with you.
You really think you have no junk papers in your lists and that you interpreted their results correctly?
Have you ever considered that this “numerologist” could be wrong?
Explain why you believe Dr. Briggs is wrong, and that Michael Mann did not commit 4 logical/statistical errors in his paper.
The A&M error is a fundamental one
Uh, no. It’s not fundamental to their paper that another author got the end date wrong for the Moberg paper and A&M17 copied their error and included it in their paper. As mentioned, plenty of other graphs of the NH also show no warming in modern times that falls outside the range of natural variability. They should have been more selective about their reconstruction choice. The reason why the discussion about the NH leads to no where is because you’re a believer in Mann and Marcott hockey stick graphs, and you will not budge from that belief.
I have explained why Briggs is wrong many times. Your reply is always something akin “well he is a doctor and you are just a blog commentator”. You are regularly blinded by titles … a basic knowledge of the mechanisms and math/physics would make you a better skeptic …
The A&M error is fundamental. They base their conclusion on that particular chart. And we also had lengthy discussions on why your “there is not hockey stick” repetition is wrong. Go on and keep ignoring everything that doesn’t suit you, but ignorance isn’t a good argument against anything.
I have explained why Briggs is wrong many times.
Really? I don’t ever recall even once where you “debunked” his determination that Mann committed 4 elementary statistical and logical errors in his paper. Would you mind posting this “debunking” again? And since I don’t recall you ever “debunking” Dr. Briggs, I also don’t recall responding to this “debunking” in the way you have characterized here, as I know I didn’t write what you have here claimed I wrote.
The A&M error is fundamental.
No, it’s not fundamental to their paper’s conclusion, which is that modern temperatures do not fall outside the range of natural variability to any significant degree. Their 5 other reconstructions besides the one with the end-year error (that they copied from another paper) also show the same pattern. And they are correct that the tree-ring records show cooling after 1980, leading people like Michael Mann to “hide the decline” by replacing tree ring records with up-justed instrumental records.
Briffa et al., 2002
“…you really ought to replace the values from 1961 onwards with observed [instrumental] temperatures due to the decline.”
“I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd from 1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline.”
“Also we have applied a completely artificial adjustment to the data after 1960, so they look closer to observed temperatures than the tree-ring data actually were” …. “Also, we set all post-1960 values to missing in the MXD data set (due to decline), and the method will infill these, estimating them from the real temperatures – another way of ‘correcting’ for the decline, though may be not defensible!”
Hide the Decline, Mann et al. (1998, 1999)
Regarding Briggs and his claim that we don’t know the exact temperatures from past years: https://tamino.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/william-m-briggs-numerologist-to-the-stars/
Why do you think the “blog post” of Briggs is generally being ignored? Because it is correct?
No, it’s not fundamental to their paper’s conclusion, which is that modern temperatures do not fall outside the range of natural variability to any significant degree.
They used an algorithm to predict the (current) temperatures based on that wrongly digitized proxy dataset. They found that the algorithm that has been trained on past data produced only a small difference to reality. And thus they concluded that human influence (by CO2) must be small. Correct? And you don’t understand why the problem with their dataset makes their conclusion fall apart? They should redo their experiment with proper data and republish. It’s one of many papers with errors that lead to wrong conclusions …
It happens to many scientists that are celebrated by skeptics:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00704-015-1597-5
And apparently you still think there is a big conspiracy going on that keeps adjusting the temperature and “hides the decline” 😉
Regarding Briggs and his claim that we don’t know the exact temperatures from past years: (a 2012 blog post by “tamino”)
A 2012 blog post by “tamino” has exactly what to do with the critique of Michael Mann’s 2015 paper? I’ll answer: absolutely nothing. So you were engaging in dishonesty again, just as I suspected. You hadn’t actually addressed, much less “debunked” the Four Errors… article that was referenced here. Nor is your claim that I responded to this “debunking” of Briggs’ article the way you said I did the truth. That was made up too. Why do you think that making up stuff is helping you here, SebastianH? I have so little respect for someone who has the chronic habit of not telling the truth.
They used an algorithm to predict the (current) temperatures based on that wrongly digitized proxy dataset.
Again, that proxy dataset was one of 6 they used for the paper. The tenths of a degree difference from using the wrong end year from 1 of 6 of the papers would have rendered a negligible difference had they used the “right” end year. And if they had used a different proxy record of the NH — such as one of the 6 other ones that show no net warming since the 1940s — there would have also been no difference at all. So again, the digitizing error was not fundamental to their conclusion. At most, perhaps they would conclude that 0.25 C of the 0.8 C of the warming during the industrial era has been anthropogenic …instead of 0.2 C. A 0.05 C difference is not “fundamental”.
And apparently you still think there is a big conspiracy going on
I don’t use the word conspiracy. That’s the dismissive language your side uses. I’ll just keep noting that the dataset overseers openly discussed hiding the decline in temperatures after 1960s…because that’s what they actually wrote.
yonason 19. October 2017 at 8:37 PM | Permalink
@Kenneth Richard 19. October 2017 at 10:52 AM
lol – the only thing linking to (as Mark Steyn calls him) “Diehard Maniac blogger ‘Tamino'” proves, is that SebH hasn’t a clue what he thinks he’s writing about. The only thing he debunks is himself.
A 2012 blog post by “tamino” has exactly what to do with the critique of Michael Mann’s 2015 paper? I’ll answer: absolutely nothing.
Question, do you understand the kind of errors that Briggs thinks were made? Can you repeat – in your own words – what he is claiming?
Nor is your claim that I responded to this “debunking” of Briggs’ article the way you said I did the truth. That was made up too.
So again, the digitizing error was not fundamental to their conclusion
Do you really believe this? So you think everything they say is still good despite the huge error (they didn’t use 6 proxy datasets for the estimation of the climate sensitivity in their paper, since 5 of them weren’t global), but on the other hand you think because of some person named Briggs with arguments that you don’t seem to fully understand that a paper should not have passed peer review? That’s really amazing …
I don’t use the word conspiracy.
Every sentence in which you say some data was manipulated (and still is) screams “conspiracy” … you don’t have to actually use the word.
I’ll just keep noting that the dataset overseers openly discussed hiding the decline in temperatures after 1960s…because that’s what they actually wrote.
But do you understand what they wrote? Including the full context? Or do you just pick some quotable sentence and present it as evidence of a conspiracy and be done with it? Why do you think that the proxy data provides a better temperature record than actually measured temperatures?
I have no desire to educate you about what Dr. Briggs is saying in his article. It is a waste of my time. Again, you have not ever “rebutted” the 4 errors identified by Briggs in the Mann paper…even though you claimed to have done so, and then falsely claimed what my response was to your made-up “rebuttal” was to point out his credentials vs. yours. On both counts, you’re fabricating.
You claimed that, after reading how you “many times” explained why Briggs “is wrong” in his Four Errors… article, I responded by saying that he is a doctor and you aren’t. You made this up. I didn’t write that in response to your made-up “rebuttal”. You fabricated that too.
So you think everything they say is still good despite the huge error (they didn’t use 6 proxy datasets for the estimation of the climate sensitivity in their paper, since 5 of them weren’t global)
How many more times must I repeat this? The NH graph was one of 6 graphs used. Six. Like the other 5, it wasn’t global either. So in one of the 6 graphs, they “missed” a few tenths of a degree of recent warmth due to a copying error (made by other authors). The few tenths of a degree difference in one of 6 graphs isn’t enough to change their conclusion to any substantial degree. That’s why A&M17 wrote this about the New Zealand record, which showed a warming of a full degree since 1940:
“The proxy measurements suggest New Zealand’s climate has fluctuated within a band of approximately 2°C since at least 900 AD, as shown in Figure 2. The warming of nearly 1°C since 1940 falls within this band. The discrepancy between the orange and blue lines in recent decades as shown in Figure 3, suggests that the anthropogenic contribution to this warming could be in the order of approximately 0.2°C.”
Same with the average of all 6 graphs, including the NH one (which was weighed equally with the other 5):
“The largest deviation between the ANN [artificial neural network] projections and measured temperatures for six geographically distinct regions was approximately 0.2 °C, and from this an Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity (ECS) of approximately 0.6 °C [for a doubling of CO2 from 280 ppm to 560 ppm plus feedbacks] was estimated.”
So, again, even the copying error that left off a few tenths of a degree from one of the 6 records used would not change their results to any substantial degree. It is therefore not a “fundamental” error; it’s more like a typographical error…too minor to even niggle about. But, of course, since that’s all you have, that’s what you do: niggle.
Every sentence in which you say some data was manipulated (and still is) screams “conspiracy”
So if I wrote that every sentence in which you claim that CO2 emissions must be reduced to avoid sea level rise and harm to the biosphere reads like you are screaming “Catastrophe!” and “The end of civilization!” and “Doom!” lurking around the corner, does that make it so because that’s how I have decided to interpret what you write? Or would you agree that I am not accurately representing your point of view by claiming that you are screaming “Catastrophe!” and “End times!” every time you point out that sea levels are rising and ice sheets are melting and oceans are warming? Or would you not mind if I wrote that you’re thinking/screaming that…since you actually aren’t?
yonason 20. October 2017 at 12:07 AM | Permalink
There is nothing about Mann’s Hockey Stick that can’t be fixed by tossing it into the circular file and moving on.
Interesting that, even at the time it came out, they knew it wasn’t true, but embraced it anyway.
http://www.c3headlines.com/2014/04/from-expert-lead-author-the-sordid-ipcc-history-of-the-hockey-stick-fabrication.html
As much as there is wrong with the Hockey Stick, the only reason for anyone to continue pushing it is either profound ignorance, or willful duplicity.
http://www.c3headlines.com/2012/03/the-infamous-hockey-stick-tree-scientists-michael-mann.html
Re: “The paper was found in Google Scholar. Dr. FK Reinhart is a Swiss physicist who has published 100s of papers in the scientific literature. He is not a blogger.”
Your source is a blog, and it explicitly states that it’s a blog:
“Ce blog est un espace de liberté, pour des auteurs francophones.”
Reinhart is a blogger, insofar as he made a blogposts; a blogger is someone who blogs. And your reference to Google Scholar is irrelevant, since Google Scholar casts a wide net that sometimes include blogposts.
Re: “The peer-review process is not a reliable indicator of the fitness of a paper for publication.”
You don’t believe that. For example, everyday you rely on the fruits of peer-reviewed research in medicine, food science, air quality testing, satellite-technology, etc. Furthermore, you’d likely be appalled if your doctor recommended a medical treatment for your loved one, based on something the doctor read in a blog. Instead, you’d likely want the doctor to based their recommendation on, in part, peer-reviewed clinical studies on that treatment.
So you know the value of peer review. It isn’t perfect, but it’s better than the alternatives; best to not make the perfect the enemy of the good. It makes no sense to rely on crackpot blogs, just b/c peer review isn’t perfect; it’d be akin to relying on flying carpets for inter-continental travel b/c planes sometimes crash.
You’re basically engaged in a tactic of faux skeptics, where you unfairly attack on peer review, even as you rely on it. That tactic is debunked in sources such as:
“Denialism: what is it and how should scientists respond?”
“How the growth of denialism undermines public health”
“Science denial: a guide for scientists”
“HIV Denial in the Internet Era”
“Science denialism: Evolution and climate change”
Re: “Dr. William Briggs facilely exposed what “peer-review” did not”
Not really. Briggs just continued his practice of making ideologically-motivated mistakes that are easy to debunk. Not surprising, given his work with the ideologically-motivated David Legates.
Re: “It was one of many other graphs included in that paper…that also showed that modern temperatures are still well within the range achieved during then Medieval Warm Period, or that don’t fall outside the range of natural variability. There have been several other graphs of the Northern Hemisphere”
Nice try, but I’m familiar with the tricks you faux skeptics use. You usually avoid the hockey stick pattern by either:
1) cherry-picking temperature records from particular locations, or
2) focusing on temperature records from just the northern hemisphere (often the extra-tropical northern hemisphere).
Generating a more global picture by incorporating the tropics and southern hemisphere, reveals the hockey stick pattern. For example:
“A global multiproxy database for temperature reconstructions of the Common Era”
“Continental-scale temperature variability during the last two millennia”
“A reconstruction of regional and global temperature for the past 11,300 years” [further discussion at: http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2013/03/response-by-marcott-et-al/%5D
“Climate change 2013: Working Group I: The physical science basis; Information from paleoclimate archives” (figure 5.7 on page 409)
Your comment on “natural variation” is misguided, b/c it doesn’t address the numerous lines of evidence showing that most of the recent warming is anthropogenic and caused by CO2, not some non-anthropogenic, natural variation. There are quite a number of ways we can confirm that the the vast majority of recent CO2 increase is anthropogenic. For example, we can:
1) use carbon isotope ratios in atmospheric CO2 (anthropogenic emissions from fossil fuel burning would drop the relative proportions of C13 and C14)
2) show that the oceans likely aren’t a *net* releaser of CO2, since the oceans are acidifying (indicative of net CO2 uptake, not net CO2 release) and CO2 levels are increasing in the oceans
3) measure emissions from other non-anthropogenic sources (such as volcanoes), and see that anthropogenic emissions outweigh those sources
4) observe the decreased atmospheric O2 levels that one would expect from burning of fossils fuels as a contributor to CO2 emissions
5) observe the correlation between increased anthropogenic CO2 emissions and increased atmospheric CO2
6) examine the radiative forcing and temperature response changed from before to after the industrial revolution, consistent with anthropogenic CO2 emissions resulting in warming (as opposed to it just being non-anthropogenic)
And there are quite a number of ways to tell that increased CO2 caused most of the post-1950s global warming. For example:
1) Post-1950s stratospheric cooling
2) Post-1950s mesospheric cooling
3) Post-1950s thermospheric cooling
4) Post-1970s increase in radiation absorption at a wavenumber of ~666 cycles per cm, and other frequencies CO2 is expected is to absorb at.
5) Estimates of climate sensitivity (in excess of 3K for ECS) based on proxy records for CO2 and temperature.
6) Exclusion of other likely causal factors, such as the Sun (ex: solar-induced warming causes cooling the stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere, yet scientists observed cooling in these layers).
Re: “It’s well known that the instrumental temperatures for the Southern Hemisphere are largely just “made up”. That’s what Phil Jones revealed in his exchanges with the dataset overseers, of course”
Not really; you just quote-mined without giving appropriate context. That’s a common tactic among faux skeptics when they discuss the “Climategate” e-mails.
But since you want to resort to that type of paranoid conspiracy theory, then remember that BEST, ERA-I, GISTEMP, etc. get about the same warming trends. Are you really going to claim they’re all falsifying their analyses as well?:
“A reassessment of temperature variations and trends from global reanalyses and monthly surface climatological datasets”
“Estimating changes in global temperature since the pre-industrial period”
Are the proxy records showing warming also fabricated?:
“Independent confirmation of global land warming without the use of station temperatures”
“Global warming in an independent record of the past 130 years”
How about the papers validating the homogenization of surface records; are they all falsified as well?:
“Coverage bias in the HadCRUT4 temperature series and its impact on recent temperature trends”
“Homogenization of temperature data: An assessment”
“Benchmarking the performance of pairwise homogenization of surface temperatures in the United States”
“Evaluating the impact of U.S. Historical Climatology Network homogenization using the U.S. Climate Reference Network”
“On the reliability of the U.S. surface temperature record”
“Homogenization of temperature series via pairwise comparisons”
Now we can see the problem with the conspiracy theories invented by faux skeptics like you:
“Conspiracy theories in science
One valuable guideline is to look for cascade logic in conspiracy arguments (Susstein & Vermeule, 2008). This occurs when defenders of one conspiracy theory find it necessary to implicate more and more people whose failure to discover or reveal the conspiracy can only be explained by their alleged complicity. Another guideline is to look for exaggerated claims about the power of the conspirators: claims that are needed to explain how they were able to intimidate so many people and cover their tracks so well. The more vast and more powerful the alleged conspiracy, the less likely that it could have remained undiscovered.”
Re: “I assume you agree that doubling CO2 from 280 ppm to 560 ppm (and 560 ppm to 1,120 ppm, and so on) yields only an additional 1.2 K of warming”
No, it yields ~3K or more of warming. The Planck response is less than the total amount of warming caused by CO2. Further context at:
“Climate sensitivity in the geologic past”
“Positive feedback in climate: stabilization or runaway, illustrated by a simple experiment”
Re: “which is largely beneficial considering the Little Ice Age was the coldest multi-centennial-scale period of the last 10,000 years”
Another faux skeptic talking point for you, with numerous problems. For example, you left out the droughts and wildfires that came with warming:
“Medieval warming initiated exceptionally large wildfire outbreaks in the Rocky Mountains”
“A 1,200-year perspective of 21st century drought in southwestern North America”
“The ‘Mediaeval Warm Period’ drought recorded in Lake Huguangyan, tropical South China”
There are also some other issues to deal with, such as:
– ocean acidification
– sea level rise
– increases hurricane intensity
– change in the location of plant pathogens
By the way, we’re also in the middle of an anthropogenic mass extinction:
“Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction”
“Could a potential Anthropocene mass extinction define a new geological period?”
Re: “It’s only with assumed positive water vapor and cloud cover feedback that temperatures are believed to be capable of reaching the catastrophic levels (~3 C and up).”
Please don’t waste me time with your “catastrophic” straw man. I’m getting tired of faux skeptics abusing it:
“Additionally, we find that catastrophic anthropogenic global warming [CAGW] is essentially a term that is never used in the relevant scientific literature by mainstream sources. Furthermore, in the press it appears to be used exclusively by climate contrarians. The term is typically neither defined nor attributed to a mainstream scientific source. Our conclusion is therefore that CAGW is simply a straw man used by climate contrarians to criticize the mainstream position (50).”
Anyway, water vapor feedback is positive; this is known, as opposed to simply “assumed”. For example:
“Observations of climate feedbacks over 2000–10 and comparisons to climate models”
“Anthropogenic greenhouse forcing and strong water vapor feedback increase temperature in Europe”
“Water-vapor climate feedback inferred from climate fluctuations, 2003–2008”
“Enhanced positive water vapor feedback associated with tropical deep convection: New evidence from Aura MLS”
“Upper-tropospheric moistening in response to anthropogenic warming”
“Global water vapor trend from 1988 to 2011 and its diurnal asymmetry based on GPS, radiosonde, and microwave satellite measurements”
“An analysis of tropospheric humidity trends from radiosondes”
And cloud feedback is positive; this is also known, as opposed to simply “assumed”. For example:
“Cloud feedback mechanisms and their representation in global climate models”
“Clearing clouds of uncertainty”
“A net decrease in the Earth’s cloud, aerosol, and surface 340 nm reflectivity during the past 33 yr (1979–2011)”
“A determination of the cloud feedback from climate variations over the past decade”
“Long-term cloud change imprinted in seasonal cloud variation: More evidence of high climate sensitivity”
“New observational evidence for a positive cloud feedback that amplifies the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation”
“Impact of dataset choice on calculations of the short-term cloud feedback”
“Evidence for climate change in the satellite cloud record”
“Thermodynamic constraint on the depth of the global tropospheric circulation”
Reinhart is a blogger
Dr. Reinhart is a physicist who has published 100s of papers in science journals. I find it rather telling that you have nothing to critique about this paper other than its sourcing.
“The peer-review process is not a reliable indicator of the fitness of a paper for publication.”
You don’t believe that.
I certainly do believe that peer-review is not a reliable indicator of fitness for publication. Peer-reviewed journals are only slightly less likely to accept deliberately flawed “hoax” papers as non-peer-reviewed journals.
https://wakeup-world.com/2017/08/17/the-failure-of-peer-review-especially-in-medicine/
“Any reviewer with more than a high-school knowledge of chemistry and the ability to understand a basic data plot should have spotted the paper’s shortcomings immediately. Its experiments are so hopelessly flawed that the results are meaningless. … The hoax paper was accepted by a whopping 157 of the journals and rejected by only 98. Of the 106 journals that did conduct peer review, 70% accepted the paper…”
Australian physicist Brian Martin elaborates in his excellent article Strategies for Dissenting Scientists: “Certain sorts of innovation are welcome in science, when they fall within established frameworks and do not threaten vested interests. But aside from this sort of routine innovation, science has many similarities to systems of dogma. Dissenters are not welcome. They are ignored, rejected, and sometimes attacked.”
It makes no sense to rely on crackpot blogs, just b/c peer review isn’t perfect
A spectacular false dichotomy/straw man.
“Dr. William Briggs facilely exposed what ‘peer-review’ did not”
Not really. Briggs just continued his practice of making ideologically-motivated mistakes that are easy to debunk.
Great. Since it’s so easy, please provide your thorough debunking of Dr. Brigg’s critique of Mann’s paper. The four errors he identifies are rather elementary (I thought). But if you believe the logical errors and statistical malfeasance identified by Briggs do not exist, please do identify why you believe this.
You usually avoid the hockey stick pattern by either: 1) cherry-picking temperature records from particular locations, or 2) focusing on temperature records from just the northern hemisphere (often the extra-tropical northern hemisphere).
Here are 75 non-hockey stick graphs from the Southern Hemisphere. They’re peer-reviewed. Therefore, they are truth. Right?
Half The Planet Has Not Cooperated With The ‘Global’ Warming Narrative
Here are another ~250 from the Northern Hemisphere (overlapping the above):
350 Non-Hockey Stick Graphs
Generating a more global picture by incorporating the tropics and southern hemisphere, reveals the hockey stick pattern. For example: “Pacific ocean heat content during the past 10,000 years”
I don’t think that paper helps you. The abstract says that the Medieval Warm Period was 0.65 C warmer than today (0-700 m layer), and that the Holocene Thermal Maximum was 2.0 C warmer than today. And here are the non-hockey stick graphs generated from that paper:
Equatorial SSTs
Northern Hemisphere, Pacific Ocean Intermediate
The Marcott graph mixes instrumental temperatures with proxy temperatures, and the authors themselves indicate that the record for the 20th century lacks significance/isn’t statistically robust, and isn’t representative of global temperatures.
“Our global paleotemperature reconstruction includes a so-called “uptick” in temperatures during the 20th-century. However, in the paper we make the point that this particular feature is of shorter duration than the inherent smoothing in our statistical averaging procedure, and that it is based on only a few available paleo-reconstructions of the type we used. Thus, the 20th century portion of our paleotemperature stack is not statistically robust, cannot be considered representative of global temperature changes, and therefore is not the basis of any of our conclusions.”
My, your post is just too long, with too many misrepresentations and misguided conclusions to go through one by one. I’ll just respond to a few more of them for now.
“I assume you agree that doubling CO2 from 280 ppm to 560 ppm (and 560 ppm to 1,120 ppm, and so on) yields only an additional 1.2 K of warming”
No, it yields ~3K or more of warming.
No, apparently you’re confused by what the models say re: ECS vs. the direct convective response. To educate you, here are a few introductory papers:
http://www.atmos.washington.edu/~davidc/ATMS211/articles_optional/Hansen81_CO2_Impact.pdf
“The increase of equilibrium surface temperature for doubled atmospheric CO2 is ∼1.2°C. This case is of special interest because it is the purely radiative-convective result, with no feedback effects.”
http://www.atmos.washington.edu/2009Q1/111/Readings/Lorius1990_ice-core.pdf
“The radiative forcing resulting from doubled atmospheric CO2 would increase the surface and tropospheric temperature by 1.2°C if there were no feedbacks in the climate system.”
“An increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration from 275 to 550 ppm is expected to increase radiative forcing by about 4 W m2, which would lead to a direct warming of 1.2°C in the absence of feedbacks or other responses of the climate system”
http://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2009/04/recent-lower-global-temperatures/
“By itself, doubling atmospheric CO2 would increase global temperatures by about 1.2 degrees C. Even most of the scientists skeptical of the severity of climate change agree on this basic point.”
http://eaps.mit.edu/faculty/lindzen/236-Lindzen-Choi-2011.pdf
[W]arming from a doubling of CO2 would only be about 1°C (based on simple calculations where the radiation altitude and the Planck temperature depend on wavelength in accordance with the attenuation coefficients of wellmixed CO2 molecules; a doubling of any concentration in ppmv produces the same warming because of the logarithmic dependence of CO2’s absorption on the amount of CO2) (IPCC, 2007).
The Ocean Acidification Narrative Collapses Under The Weight Of New Scientific Evidence
Past Sea Levels Rose 4-6 Meters Per Century, Shorelines Retreated 40 Meters Per Year…Without CO2 Flux
10,000 To 5,000 Years Ago, Global Sea Levels Were 3 Meters Higher, Temperatures 4-6° C Warmer
Coastal Land Area Expanding – More Land Area Above Sea Level Now Than During 1980s
Scientific ‘Consensus’ Says ‘Global Warming’ Leads To Less Intense, Less Frequent Hurricanes
According to peer-reviewed science (published in the journal Nature), global warming will cause over 1 million species extinctions by the year 2050. That’s 30,000 species extinctions per year for the next 33 years. Since it’s peer-reviewed, and published in Nature, it therefore must be accurate (or at least mostly accurate). That is your position, right? So since I assume you believe we’ll get 30,000 species extinctions per year for the next 33 years (or something similar to that), do you think this kind of species loss would be catastrophic? Or will you refuse to use that word to describe losing 30,000 species per year?
According to Hansen et al. (2015), sea levels will rise by 10 feet by the year 2065…because the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets will melt rapidly. Since the paper was ultimately accepted after peer-review…it’s true. Right? So do you believe that 2 feet of sea level rise per decade for the next 5 decades is a rate of rise that is…catastrophic? If not, what word would you use to describe it? Problematic? Inconvenient? Unfortunate? What?
If I find it worth spending any more time on, I’ll respond to some of your other points. But this has gotten too long as it is…
Greenies often jump the gun on calling Species “Exctinct.”
https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2017/09/10/thought-to-be-extinct-when-science-is-wrong/
Scroll down to “Species Extinction – One Million, or Just One?” for analysis of some of how estimates of species extinctions are exaggerated. (4th up from bottom of page)
http://www.john-daly.com/press/
Recent CO2 'Climate Sensitivity' Estimates Headed Towards Zero | Principia Scientific International 18. October 2017 at 5:32 PM | Permalink
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Svend Ferdinandsen 18. October 2017 at 8:27 PM | Permalink
If you extend the graphs the sensitivity might be negative around 2100.
They are falling steadily without any levelling out, so it could be interesting times ahead.
IPCC has in due time changed from GW to Climate Change, so the scare can be uphold. No one remember at that time, that Climate Change was caused by temperature and not CO2 in itself.
“If you extend the graphs the sensitivity might be negative around 2100.” – Svend Ferdinandsen
So, some time after 2100 CO2 is going to stop warming the world, and start cooling it?
That’s going to leave a mark. No wonder they are in such a hurry to get all their phony mitigation schemes through and fascist restrictive laws past before their scam is discovered.
dan 18. October 2017 at 10:09 PM | Permalink
Potholer54 gives an explanation of why this article is based on junk science: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFDnxMp0Hw8
It’s the we didn’t approve this paper’s publication, therefore it is wrong “rebuttal”.
According to the IPCC, the climate’s sensitivity for doubling CO2 itself (no feedbacks) from 280 ppm to 560 ppm is just 1.2 degrees C. Temperatures are only “believed” to reach levels much higher than that due to water vapor and cloud feedbacks. I find it odd that there is so much controversy about low climate sensitivity when even the IPCC has direct CO2 climate sensitivity at just a little more than 1 degree C upon doubling.
It’s amazing how you are riding on that word “believed” from an executive summary. Have you ever read the more detailed versions?
And why do you want to ignore the feedbacks?
The word “believed” is used because there has been no observational evidence that would support the contention that increasing cloud cover — which is what the models say will happen due to global warming — will cause more warming (+ feedback). The models are all over the place on water vapor and cloud feedbacks. They can’t even agree that cloud feedbacks are positive or negative.
http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00025.1
This paper mainly addresses two issues that concern the longwave climate feedbacks. First, it is recognized that the radiative forcing of greenhouse gases, as measured by their impact on the outgoing longwave radiation (OLR), may vary across different climate models even when the concentrations of these gases are identically prescribed. This forcing variation contributes to the discrepancy in these models’ projections of surface warming. Second, it is shown that the stratosphere is an important factor that affects the OLR in transient climate change. Stratospheric water vapor and temperature changes may both act as a positive feedback mechanism during global warming and cannot be fully accounted as a “stratospheric adjustment” of radiative forcing. Neglecting these two issues may cause a bias in the longwave cloud feedback diagnosed as a residual term in the decomposition of OLR variations. There is no consensus among the climate models on the sign [positive or negative] of the longwave cloud feedback after accounting for both issues.
Forskarna tonar ned koldioxidens betydelse för klimatförändringen - Stockholmsinitiativet - Klimatupplysningen 19. October 2017 at 8:00 AM | Permalink
[…] NoTricksZone har författaren Kenneth Richard gjort en uppdatering av en tidigare sammanställning av […]
Klimatet och människan under 12000 år - Stockholmsinitiativet - Klimatupplysningen 24. October 2017 at 5:37 AM | Permalink
[…] https://notrickszone.com/2017/10/16/recent-co2-climate-sensitivity-estimates-continue-trending-toward… […]
Statt Klimakonferenz – Schnorchelkurs für Barbara Hendricks – EIKE – Europäisches Institut für Klima & Energie 6. November 2017 at 1:00 PM | Permalink
[…] Wie erwähnt, liegen die Schätzungen der Klimasensitivität seit beinahe 30 Jahren im Bereich zwischen 1,5 und 4,5 Grad. Der „Erfinder“ der Treibhausthese, Svante Arrhenius, schätzte sie Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts auf 5 bis 6 Grad Celsius, war also gar nicht so weit vom heutigen oberen Schätzwert entfernt. Die tatsächliche Temperatur-Entwicklung deutet jedoch auf einen Wert hin, der am unteren Ende der Skala, also bei undramatischen 1 bis 1,5 Grad liegt. Die Schätzungen werden mit jeder neuen Studie immer geringer. […]
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Quip for iOS 8
By Yunjie Ma
Everyone at Quip was really excited when Apple announced the new functionality in iOS 8. In addition to supporting the amazing screens on the new iPhone 6, iOS 8 supports a number of new features that make Quip for iPhone and iPad much closer to our vision of the ideal mobile productivity suite.
With Quip for iOS 8, when you're typing a Quip document on your desktop, you can now walk away from your desk and pick up right where you left off with a swipe on your iPhone's lock screen. You can save a Word document to iCloud and open it directly from Quip to start collaborating on your iPad.
It's been magical to use internally, and we're so happy everyone else can start using it today. You can download the new version of Quip for iPhone and iPad immediately in the App Store.
Handoff
Quip supports Handoff, which enables you to seamlessly switch between your devices. It works automatically — if you're editing a Quip document on your iPad and pick up your iPhone, you'll see a Quip icon on the lock screen you can swipe to continue editing without skipping a beat.
Quip also supports Handoff between desktop and your mobile devices. To see it in action, you'll need to be using Safari on Apple's upcoming version of Mac OS, Yosemite. When Yosemite is fully released, be sure to check it out — being able to walk away from your desk and have your work waiting for you on your phone feels like you're living in the future.
With iOS 8, the apps on your phone can finally all talk to each other. That means you no longer need to jump through hoops to get documents in and out of Quip.
To try it, select “Import” when you're creating a new document. You'll see a list of all the apps on your iPhone and iPad that support file export, and you can choose a file to import without leaving the app. It works out of the box with iCloud, so many of the documents on your laptop will be available to import immediately.
It also works the other way around — all your Quip documents are available as PDF to import to any app on your device, so you can attach them to emails or upload them to your company's shared folder.
Social QuickType
iOS 8 introduces QuickType, a wonderful new approach to typing on touchscreens. Quip integrates its social features into the Quick Type interface. You won't just see spelling suggestions above your keyboard, but also document and people suggestions, which makes typing @-mentions fun. Just press the “@” button or start typing the name of a person or document to see the suggestions show up.
Thanks for using Quip, and keep the feedback coming — you can email support@quip.com or reach out to @quip on Twitter.
Yunjie Ma
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Stay focused with Quip's new sidebar and menus
By Diana Kimball
Teams using Quip are getting a lot done. They're running projects with checklists, working on budgets together in spreadsheets, and having chat conversations to keep work moving forward. When there's so much going on, it's critical that you're able to find what you're looking for, and focus when you need to. And Quip's redesigned sidebar and menus — part of the new, smarter Quip — help you do just that.
The new Quip sidebar
The new Quip sidebar is designed to act like your workflow sidekick: It's always at the ready when you need something, and blends into the background when you're in concentration mode. Here's how it works:
When you open a document, the sidebar will be closed by default so you can focus on your work. To open the sidebar, use the sidebar button in the upper left-hand corner. If you prefer the sidebar to show at all times, download the Quip desktop app and choose Always Show Sidebar from the View menu .
To help you focus when the sidebar is showing, we gave it a darker color, letting the document you're working on be the star in bright white. For even more focus, you can select Hide Conversation in the Document menu (or click the X button that appears in the upper right-hand corner when you mouse over the conversation).
The sidebar lets you know when you have notifications, even if it's closed. If there's something for you to check, the sidebar button will glow orange and show the number of active notifications. To see what's going on, just open the sidebar and click the notifications bell.
At the top of your new sidebar, you'll see Updates. This is a feed that replaces the Inbox, but works the same. We just gave it a new name to reflect its true job: keeping you in the know. Updates is a real-time feed of everything that's going on at your company: edits to documents you have access to, activity in chat rooms you're a part of, and more. Scan through the Updates whenever you have time to see what's going on across the company.
The next item down in your sidebar is entirely new: History. This shows the last 15 documents, spreadsheets, and chats you viewed in chronological order. It's a fast way to retrace your steps and find the last thing you were looking at — or the thing you looked at half an hour ago — even if you can't remember its name or how you came across it.
Your starred documents now live in a dedicated section of the sidebar called Favorites. This section gives you super-fast access to the documents, chats, and folders you use the most. Plus, it keeps you updated — if the item has a number next to it, that means there are updates since you last visited. To add a doc, chat, or folder to your Favorites, just click the star at the top of it. To remove an item, un-star it from the top of the page, or from your sidebar.
No favorites? No problem. Let the new Frequently Viewed section help you find the things you're working on the most. To add one of these items to your Favorites, click the star that appears when you hover over it. Once you gather up some favorites, Frequently Viewed becomes a line item at the bottom of the Favorites section.
Checklist and spreadsheet menus
You'll also see new contextual menus in Quip that reveal the powerful tools available to you. The menus adapt to fit the work you're doing in documents, spreadsheets, or checklists. The things you need are front and center with nothing else in your way.
When you're working in a checklist, the Document menu will morph into the Checklist menu, giving you options specifically catered for checklists. Similarly, the Spreadsheet menu appears when you're working with a spreadsheet. Things become front and center when you need them, and tucked away when you don't.
To learn more about what's new in Quip, check out our post on the new, smarter Quip, and stay tuned for more deep-dive posts on new Quip features.
Try Quip with your team by creating a free team site at https://quip.com or download the app from the App Store or Google Play.
Already using Quip? Sign in to https://quip.com/ or launch your Quip desktop app to get started.
Diana Kimball
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Blog Free Essay and Help Essay
Preface format for thesis
On the other hand the investigator is bound to arrive at a different conclusion. This points to that effect of perverted passion which Moliere everywhere emphasises, intellectual blindness, the result of a mastery of the mind by compulsory ideas (_idees fixes_). In discovering and proclaiming in this play the new genre Jonson was simply recognizing, unconsciously, the route which opened out in the proper direction for his instincts. The exception to this rule is the volume last issued, which from its character deserves more than a passing criticism. They connect them, not only with the splendour of fortune, but with many superior virtues, which they ascribe to their superiors; with the spirit of freedom and {178} independency, with frankness, generosity, humanity, and politeness. It may even be his duty to give it unasked occasionally, but this comes very near to the interference that I have deprecated. CHAPTER III. 19. Just as the Old Comedy of Moliere differs in principle from the New Comedy of Marivaux, so the Old Comedy of Massinger differs from the New Comedy of his contemporary Shirley. The gravel also takes a like dip. For the waters of the ocean, having been kept back by the south-east wind, cannot escape so readily, had the superior force of what is commonly termed “the flood tide” from the north, a tidal wave derived from the Atlantic, not been checked. The question of whether recreation is or is not taken need not be considered. It is of the lucky kind that the world’s geniuses are made–inventors like Bell, Edison and Marconi, captains of industry like Carnegie, Rockefeller and Henry Ford, soldiers like Napoleon, Grant, and Moltke, statesmen like Lincoln, Gladstone and Bismarck, poets like Shakespeare, Dante and Goethe. Since man first appeared on this planet, his history has been a slow progress from the most rudimentary arts up to those which he now possesses. The first glow of passion in the breast throws its radiance over the opening path of life; and it is wonderful how much of the volume of our future existence the mere title-page discloses. No one can browse in a collection of books unless he knows how to read; and so long as music readers can not read “to themselves”, the reading of instrumental pieces can not be done without the aid of the actual instrument. While we are dealing with the subject of instincts it may not seem out of place to refer to the widely held belief that maternal impressions during pregnancy have a direct influence on the temperament of the child, and are often responsible for inducing definite tendencies of aversion and attraction and even physical resemblances. Detached from its context, this looks like the verse of the greater poets; just as lines of Jonson, detached from their context, look like inflated or empty fustian. The romantic comedy is a skilful concoction of inconsistent emotion, a _revue_ of emotion. He was, in less than nine months, altogether another being; his habits were altered, and his health greatly re-established; and this person was one whose cure was partly to be attributed to my mode of amusing him. Penafiel has issued a quarto of considerable size giving ancient local Mexican names with their phonetic representations.[208] With these aids at command, why has not our progress in the interpretation of the ancient records on stone and paper been more rapid? Like the musical expression of a song, his action adds to the natural grace of the sentiment or action which it imitates, a new and peculiar grace of its own; the exquisite and engaging grace of those gestures and motions, of those airs and attitudes which are directed by the movement, by the time and measure of Music; this grace heightens and enlivens that expression. Every thing may be expected, or at least hoped, from the child. As it is not in parallel lines however that they are attracted towards the Sun, but in lines which meet in his centre, they are, thereby, still further approached to one another. And Massinger, while he has his own comedy, is nearer to Marlowe and Jonson than to any of these. Yet the answer cannot well be given at the outset. GRAPHIC SYSTEMS AND LITERATURE. So, here are two striking phrases which we owe to Mr. And this, first of all, for the reason that the new, especially if it is strange, even though fitted to draw forth a joyous laugh, may easily excite other and inhibitory attitudes. But when the observations of Cassini had established the authority of those laws, which Kepler had first discovered in the system, the philosophy of Des Cartes, which could afford no reason why such particular laws should be observed, might continue to preface format for thesis amuse the learned in other sciences, but could no longer satisfy those that were skilled in Astronomy.
As by the local custom he thus was in some sort a serf of the crown, they assumed that he could not risk his body without the express permission of the king. It has gone further than either of the others, probably, because it finds itself in many ways better equipped for the doing of civic odd jobs. We should therefore welcome the truth in any book, unless it is that “half truth,” which the poet tells us is “ever the blackest of lies,” or unless it is so stated as to violate the canons of decency, in which case, as we have already seen, its rejection must be based on different considerations entirely. 377. Santeuil, in judging of _his_ own works, compared them, I suppose, chiefly to those of the other Latin poets of his own time, to the great part of whom he was certainly very far from being inferior. They listened attentively while it lasted; then some applauded by loud shouts; others laughed to splitting, while the young girls, {240} no doubt more timid, remained silent.[188] This laughter was, presumably, more than the expression of a wild delight. Take one little example. The borrowed philosophy of Dante and Lucretius is perhaps not so interesting, but it injures their form less. One fell before the intercession of St. Few of his projects of universal philanthropy and philosophical regeneration of human nature survived the hardening experiences of royal ambition, but while his power was yet in its first bloom he made haste to get rid of this relic of unreasoning cruelty. But if my memory fails me, or I do not seize on the true character of different feelings, I shall make little progress, or be quite thrown out in my reckoning. I shall leave this question for the present, with the intention of returning to it at some future opportunity. Both philosophies are popularizations: the moment an idea has been transferred from its pure state in order that it may become comprehensible to the inferior intelligence it has lost contact with art. The earliest instance of this tendency that I have met with is contained in the charter granted to Pisa by the Emperor Henry IV. Are they three conjugations, or do they express three shades of meaning, like the three English presents? He refers to “ancient manuscripts,” “old authorities,” and the like; but, as the Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg justly complains, he rarely quotes their words, and gives no descriptions as to what they were or how he gained access to them.[242] In fact, the whole of Senor Perez’s information was derived from these “Books of Chilan Balam;” and without preface format for thesis wishing at all to detract from his reputation as an antiquary and a Maya scholar, I am obliged to say that he has dealt with them as scholars so often do with their authorities; that is, having framed his theories, he quoted what he found in their favor and neglected to refer to what he observed was against them. To begin with, we will try to avoid the error of those who in their subtle disquisitions on the comic idea forgot that laughter is a bodily act, and not fear to allude to such unmetaphysical entities as lung and diaphragm, where they seem to be a central fact in the situation. This formation presents the appearance of a wood, having been overthrown and crushed in situ; for after strong north-west winds, the stumps of the trees may be seen really standing, with their strong roots extended, and intermingling with each other. It is an honesty against which the whole world conspires, because it is unpleasant. These cases, No. Till then it is in vain to tell me that the mind thinks by sensations, that it then thinks most emphatically, then only truly when by decompounding it’s essence it comes at last to reflect the naked impression of material objects. He who pretends to fit words to things, will much oftener accommodate things to words, to answer a theory. In this respect, too, savage laughter has the ring of the merriment of the playground and of the circus. The primitive lawgivers were too chary of words in their skeleton codes to embody in them the formula usually employed for the compurgatorial oath. The words “objective” and “subjective” in conjunction with mind are used in a special sense which has to be defined. That view of his interest and happiness which appears to regulate his conduct, exactly tallies with the idea which we naturally form of it. Verbs must necessarily have been coeval with the very first attempts towards the formation of language. It rarely happens that we break in upon that plan of conduct, which the governing principle prescribes, and which in all our cool hours we had laid down to ourselves as what was most proper for us to pursue, but when prompted by one or other of those two different sets of passions; either by ungovernable ambition and resentment, or by the importunate solicitations of present ease and pleasure. Of late they have published in several of our large cities lists of books in the public library written by their coreligionists, or, for some reason of special interest to them. Where pride and vanity, angry passions, and love of power, are active, we cannot, with impunity, force them to work against their inclination; at the same time, it is our duty to lay the axe to the root of the evil, and restrain, and if possible subdue, these inordinate passions; but what I assert, is, that these are very difficult and dangerous passions to encounter, and they are not, with this class, to be restrained and subdued by the mere authority of a tax-master.
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IVF Enquiry: +91 90 0306 3737 Other Depts: +91 44 4227 7777
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Delivered several Lectures in National Forums and conducted Workshops on Reproductive Medicine.
Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (FRCOG). 2007. London
Awarded Certificate of Honour in Forensic Medicine.
Awarded Lifetime Achievement Award 2010 by GOAL Committee 2010 in collaboration with Harvard University, USA.2010
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In the Times of India survey conducted during the year 2018, PFRC has been placed in the 4th rank in India and 1st rank in Chennai towards All India Fertility and IVF treatments.
Dr.Geetha Haripriya MD., DGO.,FRCOG(LON)
Dr. Geetha Haripriya is a renowned Obstetrician & Gynaecologist and specialist in reproductive medicine and laparoscopic surgery. She is currently Chairperson, Prashanth Multispeciality Hospital, and Medical Director, Prashanth Fertility Research Centre, both of which are located in Chennai. She has vast experience as an Infertility Specialist and has delivered more than 22,000 babies from assisted reproductive techniques. She has successfully performed more than 40,000 laparoscopic and hysteroscopic procedures. She delivered the world’s second ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) quadruplets in 2003 and has also delivered more than 250 surrogate babies to date.
Dr. Geetha Haripriya graduated from Madras Medical College in 1980. After her MBBS, she completed a Diploma in Gynaecology and Obstetrics (DGO) in 1985 and an MD in 1988. She worked for a couple of years in the UK where she gained much experience working in the Department of Minimally Invasive Surgery at Dewsbury District Hospital and in the Department of Reproductive Medicine at St. George’s Hospital, London. She became a Member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (MRCOG), London, in 1994, and was later awarded the title of Fellow (FRCOG) in September 2007. She also served as a Consultant at Apollo Hospitals in Chennai between 1996 and 2003. She has been the recipient of a number of awards and honours for dedicated and meritorious service in her field. She was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award 2010 by the GOAL Committee in collaboration with Harvard University, USA. She has delivered several lectures in national forums and conducted many workshops in reproductive medicine. She represented India at the international Shape-in-Clinic meetings and Educational Series 2010 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Pilot and Feasibility Studies
Clinical comparative effectiveness of acupuncture versus manual therapy treatment of lateral epicondylitis: feasibility randomized clinical trial
Katrine Bostrøm ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3673-86941,2,
Sverre Mæhlum1,
Milada Cvancarova Småstuen3,4 &
Kjersti Storheim3,4
Pilot and Feasibility Studies volume 5, Article number: 110 (2019) Cite this article
Lateral epicondylitis (LE) is a challenging condition for clinicians, and research has yet not proven the superiority of one specific treatment approach. However, manual therapy (elbow mobilization) in addition to eccentric exercise has been found to be superior to exercise alone. As well, acupuncture is effective in short-term pain relief when compared with sham treatment, but there is little knowledge on the comparative effectiveness of manual therapy and acupuncture treatment of LE in terms of pain relief. The primary objective of this pilot trial was to assess the feasibility (retention and adherence rates) of performing a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to explore the clinical effectiveness of acupuncture and manual therapy treatment of LE.
This pilot trial took place in an outpatient interdisciplinary institute of sports medicine and rehabilitation in Oslo, Norway. Thirty-six adults with clinically diagnosed LE were randomly allocated into one of three groups: eccentric exercise alone, eccentric exercise plus acupuncture, or eccentric exercise plus manual therapy for a 12-week treatment period. Primary outcomes were patient retention and adherence rates. Secondary outcomes included patient-reported pain (NRS), level of disability (Quick-DASH), and participant’s satisfaction with treatment and global perceived effect.
Nine (69%) patients in the acupuncture group completed the 1-year follow-up, compared to eight (67%) in the manual therapy group and five (45%) in exercise alone. Our goal was to demonstrate a retention rate above 80% to avoid serious threats to validity, but the result was lower than expected. The majority of participants (64%) in both treatment groups received only three-treatment sessions; the reasons included non-attendance or recovery from pain. Secondary outcomes support the rationale for conduction of an RCT. There were no adverse advents related to study participation.
Based on differences in pain relief between groups, patient retention, and adherence rates, an RCT seems to be feasible to assess treatment effectiveness more precisely. In a future definitive trial, greater dropout may be reduced by maintaining contact with the participants in the exercise alone group throughout the intervention, and objective assessments might be considered.
ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02321696
Open Peer Review reports
Work-related upper extremity disorders are a common problem in working populations in Western countries. They include a range of symptoms and afflictions related to the neck, shoulder, elbow, and hand [1]. Lateral epicondylitis (LE), or tennis elbow, is the most common chronic musculoskeletal pain condition affecting the elbow [2]. The annual incidence is 4 to 7 cases per 1000 patients in general practice [3] and is as high as 17% among workers in industries requiring highly repetitive hand motions [4, 5]. It is a painful condition, leading to loss of function in the affected limb, and can therefore have a major impact on patients’ professional and personal lives. LE persists for an average of 6 to 24 months [2]. It is further associated with significant sickness absence in 5% of affected working-aged adults [4, 5]. The cost is therefore high, both in terms of loss of productivity and health care utilization [1].
For some time, it was suggested that LE involved an inflammatory process, hence the name. Consistent absence of inflammatory cells has resulted in the consensus that the process is non-inflammatory in nature, and it has been redefined as degenerative [2, 6]. The main theory is that LE is caused by an incomplete repair of repetitive micro-trauma of the common extensor tendon tissue attached to the lateral epicondyle of the elbow, as in tendinopathy [6, 7]. Since LE often persists or recurs beyond the normal time for healing, it is recommended to speed up this healing process with physical treatments [8, 9]. An exercise program is the most common treatment in the management of LE, but the optimal exercise protocol is still unknown [3, 8, 9]. There is some evidence that eccentric exercise is superior to concentric exercise [10,11,12].
Over the past 10 years, the treatment of pain with acupuncture has gained wider acceptance among both clinicians and consumers of health care [13, 14]. Acupuncture is known to induce analgesia via several pain mechanisms [15]. There is some evidence suggesting that acupuncture treatment compared with sham acupuncture is effective in short-term pain relief (follow-up < 4 weeks) for patients with LE [16].
Research on physiotherapy treatment supports the suggestion that manual therapy techniques (Mulligan’s mobilization with movement) provide short-term pain relief for patients with LE, and combined with eccentric exercise, they are superior to a “wait and see” approach [17, 18].
At the time the protocol was planned, there were no published trials comparing acupuncture with manual therapy treatment of LE in terms of pain relief, and very few interventions have demonstrated the consistent effectiveness of any treatment. There appears to be a lack of evidence for the superiority of any specific intervention [7]. The effectiveness of the exercise program is low when applied as monotherapy [10]. Therefore, exercise for the treatment of LE is combined with other physiotherapy modalities like stretching, soft tissue mobilization, manual therapy, or acupuncture [9, 10].
The aim of the present study was to assess the feasibility of performing a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to explore the clinical effectiveness of acupuncture and manual therapy treatment of LE, both in addition to eccentric exercise and in comparison to a control group receiving eccentric exercise alone.
Trial design and setting
To prepare for a full-scale trial, a feasibility RCT was conducted in a private, interdisciplinary outpatient health care setting (NIMI) in Oslo, Norway. The design is a three-armed RCT [19]. The trial adheres to the principles of the Helsinki Decaration [20] and to the CONSORT guidelines for randomized pilot and feasibility trials [21]. The Regional Committees for Medical Research Ethics in South East Norway (Rek Sør-Øst B) (ref. no. 2014/1520) approved the project before the trial began. The trial was also reported to the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD) and registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under the identifier NCT02321696 before commencing. All patients gave their written informed consent.
Adults 18–67 years old referred to physiotherapists or medical doctors at NIMI with pain from the lateral part of the elbow were screened for eligibility. To be included, the patients had to report pain with an intensity of 4 or higher on a numeric rating scale (NRS; 0–10). Further inclusion criteria were pain on palpation, increased pain on resisted dorsiflexion of the wrist with the elbow extended and the fingers flexed, and resisted extension of the third finger [3]. To avoid light, self-limiting conditions being included, we pragmatically chose to exclude patients with symptom duration of less than 2 weeks. Other exclusion criteria were treatment with corticosteroid injection within the last 4 weeks, bilateral symptoms, radio-ulna or radio-humeral osteoarthritis, neck or shoulder problems, inflammatory rheumatic disease of the central or peripheral nervous system, or unwillingness to participate in the study.
Baseline assessment
After informed consent was obtained, patients completed a standard questionnaire prior to randomization. The questionnaire included patient demographics, level of education, occupation, and previous cortisone injections and patient-reported outcomes. A physical therapist or a medical doctor at NIMI performed a clinical examination to assess eligibility.
We enrolled the patient in the study if all inclusion criteria and no exclusion criteria were met. Only then was the project leader contacted and asked to allocate the patient to one of three treatment groups: eccentric exercise alone, acupuncture in addition to eccentric exercise, or manual therapy in addition to eccentric exercise. The randomization was organized in blocks of six with a 1:1:1 ratio. Patients drew a sealed opaque envelope containing disclosure of group allocation from a collection of at least six envelopes. To prevent possible manipulation of group assignment, additional randomization envelopes were constantly added to avoid ending up with only one envelope left at the end of a block. For this reason, there was also an extra block that was added towards the end, which meant that the distribution was not 12 + 12 + 12.
During a 12-week treatment period, patients received one of three treatments: eccentric exercise alone, acupuncture in addition to eccentric exercise, or manual therapy in addition to eccentric exercise.
Eccentric exercise
We instructed all patients to follow an eccentric exercise program for LE in order to strengthen the extensor muscles and tendon [22, 23]. Strengthening exercises are a common treatment in the physical rehabilitation of tendon problems [9, 10]. To gain the maximum benefit from this exercise, the starting weight should be tailored individually; however, to simplify clinical application, the starting weight in this study was standardized. Participants were told to increase the load once a week by 10% of the starting weight, or less if their pain intensified. We also gave them written instructions on how to perform the exercise. The patients were encouraged to do their exercise at home on a daily basis for the 12 weeks following enrollment. Further, a secretary at NIMI sent all included patients a weekly text message as a reminder to do their daily exercise.
An acupuncturist with 12 years of clinical experience performed all the acupuncture treatments according to traditional Chinese methods [16]. For the acupuncture in this study, we gave a generalized treatment, consisting of selected local points recommended by an expert panel for the treatment of LE; we selected LI11 and LI10 over the muscular origin of the lateral extensor group of the forearm and LU5 in the cubical region. As distal points, we selected LI4 and TE5 for the treatment of pain in the upper limb, GB34 for treatment of tendinitis in general, and ST36 for treatment of pain [24]. The acupuncturist inserted the needles down to the musculature, approximately 15 mm in depth, to obtain a De Qi sensation. All the points except ST36 were manipulated with a reducing technique to obtain pain relief. The needles remained in situ for 20 min.
Two physiotherapists with specific manual therapy qualifications and long clinical experience performed all the manual therapy sessions according to evidence-based physiotherapy. The manual therapy techniques consisted of Mulligan’s mobilization with movement (MWM) [25]. The manual therapists performed a lateral glide with gripping, a posterior-anterior glide on the radial head with supination of the radio-ulnar joint, and a lateral gapping manipulation technique. The mobilization techniques consisted of three sets of eight repetitions [25].
The eccentric exercise alone group was instructed once (on the day of randomization) and did not have any further contact with the therapists. They did receive a weekly text message by a secretary of NIMI, to be reminded to do their daily exercise at home. Patients in the acupuncture and manual therapy groups received their first treatment within 1 week of randomization. During a period of 12 weeks, they attended a minimum of three and a maximum of eight treatment sessions, depending on the patients’ perceived pain intensity and the therapists’ clinical evaluations. All groups received the same information and advice, including details about the natural course of the condition and expected duration of symptoms. Patients were encouraged to use their arm normally, but to avoid carrying heavy loads and pain-provoking activities such as gripping and repetitive wrist movement. Patients were allowed other kinds of treatments during the trial, except corticosteroid injections.
All clinical outcomes measures are standardized and validated patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Further, all outcome measures were retrieved at baseline before randomization. PROM data were captured electronically using Infopad, a web-based data capture system, compliant with all relevant regulations. The patients entered data in the Infopad application after receiving e-mails with links to the questionnaires. The research leader and those involved in the research project were blinded for the outcome results.
Primary outcomes
Retention was defined as the percentage of patients enrolled at baseline who completed all follow-up measures. Adherence was defined as patient’s commitment to treatment as recommended. Patient adherence to treatment was assessed using attendance at the treatment sessions. Documentation by the treating physical therapist or acupuncturist was used to quantify the total number of sessions completed.
Secondary outcomes
Numeric rating scale (NRS)
Secondary outcomes included patient-reported pain scores collected at weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 12 and 1 year after the start of treatment. The patients used an NRS to assess the intensity of their elbow pain. The NRS ranges from 0 to 10, with a lower score indicating less pain. All patients completed three scales at the given time points, to report on their present condition and their highest and lowest levels of pain during the last week; these answers were used to calculate an average score. The NRS assessment tool is found to be valid and a reliable method for measuring patients’ perceived pain [26].
Disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand (DASH)
The level of disability of the elbow was assessed with Quick-DASH, which is a shorter version of the original DASH, collected at weeks 4 and 12 and 1 year after the start of treatment.
Study results indicate that the Quick-DASH can be used instead of the original DASH with similar precision for upper extremity disorders [27, 28].
Patients were also asked to report days of sick leave and use of analgesics, and they reported their satisfaction with treatment and global perceived effect at the 12-week follow-up [29].
As the data in this report were obtained to generate preliminary estimates of treatment effectiveness, no a priori sample size calculation was performed to ensure sufficient statistical power to detect between-group differences in treatment effect [30].
Statistical methods and analysis
We analyzed all data using Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 22. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the primary outcomes of retention rates and treatment adherence [31]. Primary and secondary outcomes were analyzed group wise at given time points. Differences between groups were assessed both at given time points and when all measurements were considered. All available data were analyzed using linear mixed models for repeated measures, with an unstructured covariance matrix to model dependencies within individuals assessed at multiple time points. Mixed models allow for the assessment of possible differences between groups, adjusted for selected covariates and when all time points are considered [31]. In addition, the estimated differences between groups can be calculated for given time points. The model was adjusted for the possible confounders: age, gender, level of education, outcome, and time. The results are presented as the estimated overall means with 95% confidence intervals (CI). All statistical tests were two-sided. p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. As this is a pilot study, our results were considered exploratory and no correction for multiple testing was performed [31].
Recruitment and participant flow
Fifty patients were referred to the study between April 2015 and May 2016. Of these, 14 were excluded (12 did not meet the inclusion criteria and 2 declined to participate). Therefore, 36 patients were included and randomized in the pilot study. In total, 13 patients were randomized to treatment with acupuncture, 12 to manual therapy, and 11 to eccentric exercise alone. All patients received the allocated treatment. Patients in the acupuncture and manual therapy groups concluded the treatment in accordance with protocol (attending at least three of a maximum of eight treatment sessions).
The trial was completed in August 2017, with 22 (61%) patients completing all measurements including the final follow-up 1 year after the start of treatment. The majority of patients lost to follow-up were in the group of exercise alone. A few patients were unreachable, but the rest gave reasons as lack of time and unwillingness to answer the questionnaires. One patient in the manual therapy group reported problems with the questionnaires and, for that reason, wanted to withdraw from the trial. Another patient in the manual therapy group reported use of corticosteroid injection and withdrew from the trial at week 12. Figure 1 summarizes the patient flow.
The groups were similar in terms of mean age, work status, and overall severity of symptoms (Table 1); however, a higher proportion of patients in the manual therapy group were male (75%), had higher education (92%), and were office workers (83%), compared to the other two groups. The patients in the acupuncture group had lower mean pain scores at baseline, compared to the other two groups.
Table 1 Characteristics of study population at baseline
Outcomes and estimations
Retention rates were similar for the treatment groups, but worse in exercise alone. Nine patients in the acupuncture group completed the 1-year follow-up, compared to eight patients in manual therapy group and five in exercise alone.
Number of treatment sessions
The mean number of treatment sessions attended (with 95% CI) was 3.92 (2.98; 4.86) for the acupuncture group and 4.33 (3.17; 5.49) for the manual therapy group. The majority of participants (64%) in both treatment groups received only three treatment sessions, which was the minimum number required in the trial (maximum of eight); the reasons included non-attendance or recovery from pain.
Patient-reported pain
Adjusted mean pain scores estimated with 95% CI at all follow-up time points are listed in Table 2. The acupuncture and manual therapy groups showed a gradual and very similar pattern of pain relief, while exercise alone showed smaller improvement. Patients in exercise alone had significantly higher mean pain scores than those in the acupuncture group. The estimated mean pain score (with 95% CI) was 4.42 (3.50; 5.36) for exercise alone (all measurements considered), 2.72 (1.97; 3.47) for acupuncture, and 3.25 (2.35; 4.16) for the manual therapy group. The pattern of change in pain intensity from baseline to last follow-up for all groups is depicted in Fig. 2.
Table 2 Adjusted mean scores of pain intensity and functional capacity of arm, estimated with 95% CI at each follow-up
The pattern of change in pain intensity from baseline to last follow-up for all groups. Blue line, exercise alone; green line, manual therapy; red line, acupuncture. Data shown as mean pain using NRS (0–10): 0, no pain; 10, worst pain
To compare the groups statistically, estimated marginal means for pain relief, adjusted for covariates, such as age, gender, level of education, outcome, and time, were analyzed with a linear mixed model. The result of the analyses was significant for differences in mean pain relief for the treatment groups compared to exercise alone, all measurements considered. Further, the acupuncture group was significantly (p < .001) and highly different from the exercise alone group. However, the difference in estimated mean pain relief between the acupuncture and manual therapy groups was only borderline significant (p < .040) (all measurement considered). The presentation of pairwise comparison of all groups is in Table 3.
Table 3 Mean difference between groups in pain intensity, all measurements considered (all estimated differences were statistically significant)
Level of disability of the elbow and arm
Adjusted mean scores of level of disability of the elbow and arm, estimated with 95% CI at all follow-up time points, are listed in Table 2. The acupuncture and manual therapy groups showed a gradual and very similar pattern of improvement in the function of the elbow and arm, while exercise alone showed lesser improvement. Patients in exercise alone had higher levels of disability of the elbow and arm than those in the treatment groups; the estimated mean score of level of disability of the elbow and arm (with 95% CI) was 31.66 (1.72; 41.60) for exercise alone (all measurements considered), 24.39 (16.34; 32.43) for acupuncture, and 26.97 (16.86; 37.08) for manual therapy. Overall, with all measurements considered, all participants improved their arm function; however, our data did not reveal any between-group differences.
The patients were asked to report their satisfaction with treatment at 12-weeks follow-up. Twenty-five (69%) patients answered these questions, of which 21 (84%) were satisfied with the treatment. Only one patient in the group of exercise alone was not satisfied, and three were indifferent. Furthermore, they were asked to report how much their condition had improved or deteriorated since the start of treatment (global perceived effect). The majority of all patients reported that their condition had improved; two patients in the group of acupuncture reported a complete recovery, and one patient in the group of exercise alone reported that his condition had worsened.
To our knowledge, there have been no clinical trials investigating the clinical comparative effectiveness of acupuncture versus manual therapy in the treatment of LE. Feasibility studies play an important role in the planning of RCTs for novel interventions or a combination of existing interventions in new patient populations or recruitment settings. We demonstrated acceptable retention rates for patients in treatment groups; however, the retention of patients randomized to eccentric exercise alone was slightly worse. Patient adherence and satisfaction with treatment were good. Secondary outcomes suggest that treatments in addition to eccentric exercise may result in less pain and decreased disability for patients with LE. This study has confirmed the feasibility of executing a larger trial, with some changes to improve retention rates, to examine treatment effects more precisely.
Our goal was to demonstrate a retention rate above 80% to avoid serious threats to validity, but the result was lower than expected. Nine patients in the acupuncture group completed the 1-year follow-up, compared to eight in the manual therapy group and five in exercise alone. One factor that may have contributed to the low retention rate in the exercise alone group is that they were instructed only once (on the day of randomization) and did not have any further contact with the therapists. They did receive a weekly text message, from a secretary at NIMI, to be reminded to do their exercise. A possible explanation for the higher retention rates in the treatment groups, compared to exercise alone, could be that the patients had repeated contact with their manual therapist or acupuncturist. When receiving treatment in addition to home exercise and interaction with the therapist in a clinical setting, the motivation and likelihood of answering the questionnaires is higher. One way to improve the retention rates could be to maintain contact with the patients in the exercise alone group throughout the intervention. The patients could also be encouraged to share their concerns with a therapist or research leader via e-mail. Further, all patients could be encouraged to make contact between the end of treatment (at 12 weeks) and final follow-up (at 1 year), in an attempt to improve retention rates in all groups.
The patients reported their pain intensity and other symptoms electronically using PROMs. This method of data collection makes it possible to have several measurements and follow-ups. On the other hand, objective assessments such as a pain-free grip test measured with a dynamometer would have elucidated our findings and possibly improved retention rates for all groups. Hence, further research, as in a full-scale RCT, is required to determine if the treatments are effective when using objective measurements in addition to PROMs.
All patients received the allocated treatment. Further, patients in the acupuncture and manual therapy groups concluded the treatment in accordance with protocol (attending at least three of a maximum of eight treatment sessions), but the majority of patients (64%) in both treatment groups attended no more than the minimum number of sessions, which is less than expected. Patients were not compensated for participating in the study and, as under normal circumstances, had to pay for their own treatments, which may have contributed to lower attendance than expected. There may be need for a measure of affordability, as in income or insurance cover at baseline in a future fully scaled trial. On the other hand, a majority of the patients reported pain relief, or recovery from pain, after attending the minimum number of treatments required in the trial, which is a better outcome than expected.
To track adherence to treatments, we asked the patients to report their satisfaction with treatment sessions at 12-week follow-up. Twenty-five (69%) patients answered these questions, of which 21 (84%) were satisfied with the treatment. This result is better than expected and could be a positive reflection of the therapist-patient relationship, treatment effectiveness, and/or the clinical setting of this trial. The project was ambitious, with several treatment modalities in a clinical setting, making it impossible to control for all confounding variables. With access to both patients and therapists in a clinical setting at NIMI, it was more natural and practical to explore the effectiveness, rather than the efficacy, of LE treatments [32, 33]. Effectiveness refers to a pragmatic trial, seeking answers to whether an intervention will work under normal conditions [34].
Our aim was to assess feasibility; therefore, we did not expect to find statistical differences in our secondary outcome measures. Nevertheless, some treatment effect sizes between groups were greater than anticipated, especially between acupuncture and exercise alone. This could indicate a possible clinical effect of acupuncture and manual therapy treatment in addition to eccentric exercise for LE. The pattern of effect seems to follow the theory that acupuncture and manual therapy could enhance the effect of exercise and/or speed the healing of the affected tendon [9, 10]. Both acupuncture and manual therapy induce analgesia through several pain mechanisms, which allow for exercise and load management to increase strength [15, 35]. In addition to pain relief, acupuncture has also shown the potential to increase local blood flow within a target tissue and affect fibroblast migration through myofascial collagen stimulation, both important aspects of the healing process of the affected tendon [36].
During acupuncture or manual therapy, patients benefit not only from the treatment itself, the needling, or the manipulation techniques, but also from the non-treatment specific factors [36].
Important non-treatment-specific factors can be expectancy, motivation, and other psychosocial aspects such as therapist-patient relationships [36]. It is important to consider these factors when discussing our secondary outcomes. Thus, although those in treatment groups reported greater pain relief than the eccentric exercise alone group, some of their pain relief could be explained by the non-treatment-specific effect. The effect of the positive expectations of patients in treatment groups could improve their outcomes. On the other hand, negative expectations of patients in exercise alone, because they are not receiving additional treatment, could cause the treatment to have a more negative effect than it would otherwise have had, creating a nocebo effect. When receiving additional treatment and interaction with a therapist in a clinical setting, the motivation and likelihood of completing the exercise program at home is higher. The outcomes of strength exercise programs seem to depend on the patients’ motivation and compliance [37].
Based on previous publications, we expect the minimal important change (MIC) in pain from baseline to the end of the trial to be a reduction of 2 points on the NRS [38]. The result of the explorative statistical analysis was that patients receiving treatment, either acupuncture or manual therapy, in addition to eccentric exercise, experienced greater pain relief than those receiving eccentric exercise alone. The difference between acupuncture and exercise alone was highly statistically significant (p < .000), with a mean change in pain score of 1.35 (0.26). However, to our knowledge, there is no clear definition of the size of between-group differences, and when they should be viewed as clinically significant—meaning that one treatment is clinically better than the other(s) [39]. The explorative analysis also revealed some differences in pain relief between acupuncture and manual therapy, but these differences were very small and of uncertain clinical value. Narrow CI may explain statistically significant differences between groups despite clinical changes from baseline to end of study just under the pre-specified magnitude, and differences in pain and disability scores between treatment groups of uncertain clinical significance.
No participants reported adverse advents or harm. Both acupuncture and manual therapy are considered safe treatments and are among the most common physical interventions for pain relief.
Limitations and strengths
Our study was designed to assess the feasibility of implementing manual therapy and acupuncture, in addition to eccentric exercise, for patients with LE; therefore, we cannot make any definitive statements regarding the effectiveness of these treatments. A strength of this study is the fact that the participants were recruited from among tennis elbow patients in an outpatient health care center specializing in sports medicine and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal conditions. Although the participants do not represent a random sample, they may be regarded as representative of this type of patient in the general population. We included patients with symptom durations of 2 weeks or longer. If we had distinguished between the acute and chronic stages of tendinopathy, we could have adjusted for the difference in duration of symptoms in the statistical analysis, because duration of symptoms, related to the different stages of tendinopathy, might affect the outcome [8]. The comorbidities of neck and shoulder pain were selected as exclusion criteria, since the associated patients are reported to have a poorer prognosis in regard to duration of symptoms of LE and treatment outcomes [3, 8]. An inherent limitation of this study is that we did not log or supervise the performance of exercise. Therefore, we have no certain information on whether the patients performed their daily exercise or not. In an optimal clinical and trial setting, we would prefer to give the patients an exercise diary and supervise some of the exercise performance, in order to allow for optimal management of load progression and to balance the effect of therapy between the groups [37]. Based upon experience with strength exercise for tendinopathy at NIMI, the load progression should be slow and performed below the patient’s pain threshold. To our knowledge, there is no research exploring the role that supervision of exercise plays in terms of patient compliance.
Clinical implications and further research
There is a need to clarify the role of exercise in the management of LE, including optimal type and dosage of exercises. Although exercise is the cornerstone of rehabilitation, it has received less research attention than other interventions in the treatment of LE. There is a need for future RCTs investigating the effect of exercise for patients with LE, especially in combination with other physical modalities, and the role of supervision of exercise in terms of patient compliance.
These results are based on a small study population (feasibility trial), with much less power than calculated for a full-scale trial, and with clinical changes from baseline to end of study just under the pre-specified magnitude, and differences in pain and disability scores between treatment groups of uncertain clinical significance. Therefore, we must treat these findings with caution. The overall effect of treatment is, however, statistically significant and almost clinically significant; therefore, it would be worthwhile to follow up the present feasibility trial with a larger trial. Based on our secondary outcomes and retention and adherence rates, a full-scale RCT appears feasible and warranted to assess treatment effects more precisely.
De-identified individual-patient data are available by contacting the corresponding author.
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We would like to thank NIMI (www.nimi.no) for lending us their facilities in support of this project, the patients for their participation, and our colleagues for performing the manual therapy treatments. We would also like to thank Eira Kathleen Ebbs for the professional writing services.
Norwegian Institute of Sports Medicine (NIMI), Sognsveien 75D, O805, Oslo, Norway
Katrine Bostrøm
& Sverre Mæhlum
Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Faculty of Health Sciences, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway
Milada Cvancarova Småstuen
& Kjersti Storheim
Research and Communication Unit for Musculoskeletal Health (FORMI), Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
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KB, KS, and SM conceptualized and designed the study. Acquisition of data was performed by KB and MCS. KB, MCS, and KS performed the further interpretation of data. KB and KS drafted the manuscript, and SM and MCS revised the manuscript for intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Correspondence to Katrine Bostrøm.
The Regional Committees for Medical Research Ethics in South East Norway (Rek Sør-Øst B) (ref. no. 2014/1520) approved the project before the trial began. All patients gave their written informed consent. The trial adheres to the principles of the Helsinki Declaration and to the CONSORT guidelines for randomized pilot and feasibility trials.
Prior to initiation of this study, the Regional Ethical Review Board in Oslo, Norway, approved the research protocol (2014/1520). The authors certify that they have no affiliations with or financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in the article.
The manuscript does not contain data from any individual person in a form that could be offensive to anyone, but written informed consent for all patients was collected.
Bostrøm, K., Mæhlum, S., Cvancarova Småstuen, M. et al. Clinical comparative effectiveness of acupuncture versus manual therapy treatment of lateral epicondylitis: feasibility randomized clinical trial. Pilot Feasibility Stud 5, 110 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-019-0490-x
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Maybe you’ve laid awake imagining how it could have been, how it might yet be, but the moment to act was never right. Well, the moment is here and the podcast making it happen is Heavyweight. Join Jonathan Goldstein for road trips, thorny reunions, and difficult conversations as he backpedals his way into the past like a therapist with a time machine. From Gimlet Media.
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Buzz and Sheldon are brothers in their eighties who have been estranged for decades. Buzz visits Sheldon to see if there’s still a relationship left to salvage.
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Heavyweight is hosted and produced by Jonathan Goldstein.
This episode was also produced by Wendy Dorr, Chris Neary, and Kalila Holt.
Editing by Alex Blumberg and Peter Clowney.
Special thanks to Caitlin Kenney, Starlee Kine, and Rachel Ward.
The show was mixed by Haley Shaw.
Music in this episode by Christine Fellows, with additional music and ad music by Haley Shaw. Our theme song is by The Weakerthans courtesy of Epitaph Records.
A version of this story appeared on This American Life, and we had a lot of help from the folks there: Ira Glass, Julie Snyder, Jonathan Menjivar, Sean Cole, and Robyn Semian. A very special thanks to Emily Condon.
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Fundraising spike follows Bachmann's controversial charges against Clinton aide
Dana Bash and Adam Levy
(CNN) – Rep. Michele Bachmann's controversial charges against a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appears to have paid off in the form of money flowing into her re-election campaign.
According to her campaign, the Minnesota Republican raised over one million dollars in a 25 day period in July – the same time that controversy brewed over a letter she sent with four other GOP Members to the State Department Inspector General, requesting an investigation into Huma Abedin's ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
- Check out the CNN Electoral Map and Calculator and game out your own strategy for November.
Many Republican leaders, including Sen. John McCain and House Speaker John Boehner rebuked Bachmann for pointing a finger at Abedin, who has worked for Clinton since she was first lady.
The rebuke from the GOP leadership does not seem to have deterred her supporters, just the opposite. The million dollar July fundraising boon is about $400,000 above her monthly average from the second quarter of this year, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
"This incredible outpouring of support demonstrates the trust Minnesotans have placed in Representative Bachmann," Campaign Manager Chase Kroll said in an e-mail to supporters. "We still have a radical, liberal, self-funding opponent who has demonstrated his willingness to pour huge sums into this race."
Filed under: Hillary Clinton • Michele Bachmann
Bachman is a demagogue who aspires to impose theocracy on America and who would attempt to infuse religion disguised as science into science curriculum thereby making a mockery of both science and religion. Why anyone would consider voting for this creature for any public office is mind boggling.
July 31, 2012 08:59 pm at 8:59 pm |
What is impossible to make sense of is, how do people with zero brains ever even have enough money to put some into politics? I mean, how did they earn it, and how do they have any left after sending it all to evangelical huckster preachers first?
Skip Glanz
That is her credo. Put the spotlight elsewhere in order to create an illusion. She is a joke, that is not funny
max3333444555
the fact that anyone end bachmann money indicates that there are some people more ignorant than she is. a rather depressing thought. id vote for obama over bachmann and voting for obama would make me cringe.
Expat American
A bigot and their money is easily parted....Who are these people who support Bachmann's SS ideology?
There must be decent people in MN who want this pathetic excuse for a human being defeated.
What a joke of a human being. Looks like her supports are also mindless, stuttering, bigoted fools. You're an embarrassment to our country and the worst anti-American I've ever seen.
I don`t believe that "Minnesotans" are the "donors" behind this. It`s influences outside of the state. I`ve got to believe that the constituents are EMBARRASED by Bachmann. Her actions make it less likely that others will join her in support of legislation. Afterall, she`s not sponsored ANY.
S.B. Stein E.B. NJ
Because she attacked a Democratic big wig with a false accusation she gets money. Didn't Joe Wilson get the same after he called the president a liar during the state of the Union. For Republicans, this makes sense.
Martha in CF
Bachmann is pretty judgmental for being such a christian as she says she is. She is such an embarrassment not only to the state of Minnesota but also to the U S of A. Too bad her district doesn't see what a negative person she is....
Obama/Biden 2012
July 31, 2012 10:09 pm at 10:09 pm |
Fools and their money soon depart.
Nothing deters Bachmann because she is the flip side of the Muslim fanatics who attacked us on 9/11. Christian fanatics are just the other side of a very ugly coin, preaching fear and hatred that is neither Christian nor Muslim. Moderate and sane Christians and Muslims understand that these religious fanatics threaten us all. Bachmann and her Tea Party followers feel "righteous" in their hatred and prejudice. We must discourage hatred and encourage education, teaching the principles of liberty, equality, and justice for ALL.
dreamer96
Bachmann learned this fund riasing method from watching Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Pat Robertson and the other TV Evangelist...The crazier the talk the bigger the donations...
McCarthyism still exists!
Ms. Bachmann's irrational behavior continues to attract a radical and foreign following. She is quick to attack people who differ with her opinion – and yet when people strike back – she quickly states they treat her differently because she is a woman. Which is not true – they treat her differently because of her irrational and unfounded statements that she continues to make. This time even the Republican Speaker of the House openly warned her of her extreme and irrational views.
Stop new version of McCarthyism NOW! Davis
I feel the need to speak out against this before it's too late. For those of you who don't know, this is exactly how Joe McCarthy started his reign of terror in the 1950's. He ruined so many lives and had those people blacklisted from further employment. Only this time its this person is accusing people who practice the religion of Islam, of trying to take down this country from the inside; the proof those accusations are true? No true proof what so ever, just allegations. We must stop this now before turns into a witch hunt!!!
Paul Ernest Show
America is struggling between change, inclusion, forward looking and status quo , exclusion, purity and superiority complexes. Backmann represents the status quo, exclusion,etc. She and the GOP have loyalists who share the same outdated social and political views. Many on the borderline of racism, prejudice and only attack where they find the weakest links. Romney's total disregard for Palestinian interests, in his statements, demonstrates the last. He would not have made such comments if Palestinians had strong arm-reach and influence. So, he found it so easy to be insensitive.
Only stupid brain will put money in stupid talks
August 1, 2012 12:00 am at 12:00 am |
Alex in Wisconsin
Seriously? OMFG
More money from the Koch brothers Michele? Or is another laundered donation from Al-Queda courtesy of HSBC?
Luke Brown
What kind of neanderthals elect a vicious woman like this to represent them in Congress. I thought people in Minnesota were intelligent.
fools and their money...
We must unite against the GOP they have literally taken our money from our children’s mouth's they are for the 1% only they do not care for the rest of us the hard workers. they say only small business's create jobs and the big corporations haven’t done anything to boost our economy while posting huge profits. why? the GOP is in their back pocket's. why should they get a tax break? while the only people who are getting hurt is the 99% think about it. no more GOP. Vote them out in November or you will be poor.
Hindsight 20/20
What is wrong with these people!? Just full of prejudice and hate. Unbelievable!
August 1, 2012 05:30 am at 5:30 am |
Michele Bachmann and her “friends” only demonstrate again that they have absolutely nothing of value to offer and to divert from that they have to attack others with outrageous accusations to get into the headlines again.
Just one word: Disgusting!!!
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Torres sparks Yankees' rally in win over Orioles
Apr 5, 2019 | 8:30AM
Gleyber Torres joins Yankees greats, sparks rally in win over Orioles
Judge: 'Gleyber Day. It was impressive'
New York Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Mitch Stringer/USA TODAY Sports)
With his two home runs sparking a Yankees rally in Thursday's 8-4 win over the Orioles, Gleyber Torres joined Yankees lore.
Writes ESPN's Coley Harvey, Torres became the youngest player in franchise history to go 4-for-4 or better since Derek Jeter, and became the fourth-youngest player to have four hits and four RBIs in a game since 1920. The only Yankees who were younger: Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Lou Gehrig.
"Gleyber Day. It was impressive," outfielder Aaron Judge said, according to Harvey. "He came up big in certain situations where we needed someone to come up with a big hit for us. He was the catalyst of this win for us."
While Judge started the year on a six-game hitting streak, he went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts on Thursday. And despite hitting 52 homers as a rookie and 27 in an injury-shortened 2018 season, he has yet to homer.
But Torres picked the Yankees up in a game in which they trailed 3-0 after the first inning.
His first homer, off Alex Cobb in the third inning, was a 400-foot shot to left field that cut New York's deficit to 3-1.
"He's got a great approach at the plate," Judge said of Torres, 22. "He goes up there with a plan. You don't see him up there too many times just free swinging. He usually comes up there with a plan, a pitch he's going to attack, and he usually comes away with a pretty good at-bat."
His second homer of the day highlighted a four-run, two-out, sixth-inning rally.
Gary Sanchez's two-out solo homer off Cobb made it a 4-2 game. The Orioles then brought in Mike Wright, who gave up a 2-2 single to Greg Bird.
With Torres on deck, D.J. LeMahieu worked the count full, even fooling Torres into thinking he drew a walk on ball 3. Instead, LeMahieu singled on the next pitch to put runners on the corners for Torres. Then Torres turned on an 0-2 fastball for a 390-foot home run to left-center field that made it 5-4.
Gleyber Torres wanted to hit, a breakdown. pic.twitter.com/QPS2y4gbWo
- Jomboy (@Jomboy_) April 4, 2019
"We needed Gleyber to have a big day, and he did, and that was a huge lift for our team," said Luke Voit, who added a three-run home run in the ninth inning to help the Yankees snap a two-game losing streak.
With injuries to Troy Tulowitzki, Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar and Aaron Hicks impacting New York's lineup, Torres said he and other players have had to step up.
"We know it's a lot of injuries, but it's part of the game," Torres said. "We are a really good team, we are really good guys, we can do the job and we just try to refocus."
Added manager Aaron Boone: "It was nice to break through with a couple of big hits, big hits that happened to be home runs. That really energized the guys a little bit and allowed us to exhale a little bit."
MCCARRON: Yankees leave home hurting on and off field >> Read more
RELATED: Boone gives injury update on Severino >> Read more
RELATED: Tulowitzki hopeful he won't be on IL for long >> Read more
Tags: Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, Clint Frazier, Gary Sanchez, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, Luke Voit, Miguel Andujar, Baltimore Orioles
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Formula One Triple World Champion Sebastian Vettel of Germany becomes first driver to sample the new Grand Prix venue at Sochi Olympic Park on 22 April 2013 in Sochi, Russia. Photo by Victor Fraile / The Power of Sport Images
22April2013 - B-f1rst Russia
Circuit, Coulthard, David, Formula 1, Formula One, GP, Germany, Grand Prix, Infiniti, Olympic, Olympic Winter Games, Park, Photo, Photographer, Photography, Prism, Production, Professional, Racing F1, Red Bull, Russia, Sebastian, Sochi, Sochi 2014, Sport, Team, The Power of Sport Images, Vettel
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Press conference during the Mission Hills World Celebrity Pro-Am at the Haikou Mission Hills Resort on October 20, 2012, in China's province of Hainan. Celebrity participants include Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody, Oscar-nominated actor Andy Garcia, Canadian film and television actor Ryan Reynolds, American actress Minka Kelly and Korea's top male movie star Jeong Woo-Seong. Photo by Xaume Olleros / The Power of Sport Images for Mission Hills
20Oct2012 - Press Conference
Action, Adrenaline, Castellon, Clay, Cup, David Ferrer, Davis Cup, Nikon, Oropesa, Photographer, Spain, Sport, Tennis
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Rev Michael O'Boy
14 Beaconsfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 3RB
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Rev Monsignor Séamus O'Boyle
39 Duncan Terrace, London, N1 8AL
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11 Elm Park Drive Croom, Croom, Kilmallock, Co Limerick, V35CD43
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81 St Charles Square, London, W10 6EB
Rev Thomas O'Brien AA
16 Nightingale Road, Hitchin, Herts, SG5 1QS
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Rev Andrew O'Connell
c/o Archbishop's House
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Abbeyville, Croom, Co.Limerick, B35 AK10
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216 Dollis Hill Lane, Dollis Hill, London, NW2 6HE
Dollis Hill (Parish Priest)
Rev Liam O'Donovan SAC
358 Greenford Road, Greenford, Middlesex, UB6 9AN
Greenford (Assistant Priest)
Rev John O'Halloran
Nazareth House, 162 East End Road, London, N2 0RU
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The Presbytery, Church of St Mellitus, Tollington Park, London, N4 3AG
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51 Nether Street, Finchley, London, N12 7NN
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Rev Kevin O'Shea CM
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Rev Sean O'Toole RIP
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The Presbytery, Chalkhill Road, Wembley Park, Middlesex, HA9 9EW
Wembley Park (Parish Priest)
Rev Emmanuel Ogunnaike MSP
115 Hertford Road, Edmonton, London, N9 7EN
Edmonton (Parish Priest, Parish Priest)
Rev Joseph Okoro
Holy Rood House, Exchange Road, Watford, Herts, WD18 0PJ
Watford (Assistant Priest)
Rev Benedict Olelewe SDV
15 The Green, Heston Road, Heston, Middlesex, TW5 0RL
Rev Emmanuel Onwu
60 Rylston Road, Fulham, London, SW6 7HW
Rev Livinus Onyebuchi MSP
St Peter's Presbytery, Bishop's Rise, Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9HN
Hatfield (Parish Priest)
Hatfield South (Parish Priest)
Rev Mgr James Overton
20 Phoenix Road, Euston, London, NW1 1TA
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HomeFeaturedPhil Robertson: ‘The Evil One’ Is Runn ...
Phil Robertson: ‘The Evil One’ Is Running The Democratic Party
Posted by: Darrell Lucus , May 31, 2019
For the better part of three decades, the religious right has followed a simple formula to make people vote Republican when, on paper, they have no business voting Republican. They’ve made people think that Democrats are the agents of the devil. In the process, they’ve managed to convince people that voting for anyone running as a Democrat could put their salvation at risk.
This line has actually ramped up since Donald Trump took office–and to some extent, dates back to when he locked up the Republican nomination. For the better part of three years, the religious right has told its followers that opposing Trump is tantamount to opposing God himself, and the efforts to hold him to account are nothing short of a demonic trick.
We got a lovely example of this line on Tuesday. One of the religious right’s heroes, Phil Robertson, warned against supporting Democrats. His explanation? You’d be supporting a party run by the devil.
Robertson has been a busy fellow since winding up his hit show on A&E, “Duck Dynasty.” He hosts a show on BlazeTV (formerly CRTV), “In The Woods With Phil.” Recently, he began running a Christian conservative podcast, “Unashamed,” alongside his two middle sons, Jase and Willie.
On Tuesday, he stopped by “Breitbart News Daily” to promote his new podcast. Listen here.
Robertson told host and Breitbart editor-in-chief Alex Marlow that if you “just stepped back and looked at the Democratic Party,” you would see that they stand for three things–“rank immorality and perversion, the murder of their own children…and lies.”
To Robertson’s mind, it left no doubt that the Democrats are demonic.
Well, Jesus said 2,000 years ago that the Evil One is the father of murder and lies. He’s the father. So, that’s who’s running the Democratic Party. The Evil One.
Robertson went on to say that while many think the Democrats have gone crazy, in truth they’re “very, very evil.” So evil, in fact, that they only seem like they’re crazy. But that line sounded like hot air in light of something Robertson told Marlow before then.
I hope Trump stays in for another four years, and there’s possibility of hope, but we’re in a mess, my man.
Yep, you guessed it. Robertson is still very much all in for Trump. So riddle me this, Phil. You say that the Democrats stand for lies. And yet, you’re all in for a man whose relationship with the truth is tenuous at best. Even worse, he doesn’t just lie, but repeats lies that have been debunked several times over–so many, in fact, that The Washington Post’s Fact Checker has a separate rating for them, “The Bottomless Pinocchio.”
To backtrack a bit, you say Democrats stand for “rank immorality and perversion.” Well, how do you square that with being all-in for a man who cheated on his wife not long after she gave him a son, and then paid several of his mistresses to keep quiet before the election?
And how do you square that with supporting a man who revels in degrading women, and has few qualms about calling them “dog” and “horseface” on Twitter? Surely you and Miss Kay taught Jase, Willie and your other two sons that you don’t talk to women in that manner. And hopefully your sons and their wives taught their sons to respect women as well.
Robertson said that he will use “Unashamed” to fight for “how we have to be with fathers and their children.” And yet, he supports a man who talks about women in a manner that no man with even an iota of decency would tolerate.The cognitive dissonance, it burns. But then again, we’re talking about a man who seems to think expecting our judges to uphold basic standards of decorum is demonic.
What we are witnessing is a living and breathing example of the contortions and distortions we’ve seen from the religious right over the years. They have spent the last three years bullying their followers into supporting a man who finds it acceptable to plaster a private cell number on social media, mock the disabled, and revel in degrading women. All that matters to them is that Trump made the right clucking noises on their pet issues.
And yet, in the same breath, they insist that voting for anyone running is a Democrat is tantamount to voting for an agent of the devil. It’s only fair to ask who Robertson and other religious right luminaries are worshiping–Jesus, or Trump?
Tags: breitbart, Breitbart News, Phil Robertson, religious extremism, Religious Right
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(855) 291-9100 info@readisys.com
LOGIN TO AED LAW CENTER
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REALITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF AED REGISTRY SYSTEMS
Expert Analysis From Readiness Systems
By: Richard A. Lazar
Copyright © 2017 Readiness Systems, LLC – All rights reserved
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) remains a challenging public health problem in the U.S. Over 360,000 people experience out-of-hospital SCA each year and over 90 percent will not survive. Today, less than 3 percent of people experiencing SCA are treated by bystanders using automated external defibrillators (AEDs) before professional emergency medical services (EMS) personnel arrive.
Over the past several years, numerous organizations, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have begun promoting the idea of AED registries as a potentially life-saving tool that will lead to higher bystander AED use rates and result in more SCA victims receiving bystander defibrillation more quickly. The suggested concepts of making AED registry data available to 911 dispatch agencies and populating mobile apps so that bystanders might be guided to nearby AEDs sound good in theory. Unfortunately, there are many reasons why it is not yet possible for AED registries to meaningfully increase AED use or survival rates. Reasons include real-world data and AED program limitations, risk management and legal liability concerns of AED owners, counterproductive and poorly written AED Good Samaritan immunity laws and technology limitations, among others.
Potential Public Health Risks
Public health awareness efforts have long focused on the American Heart Association’s Chain of Survival, including early activation of 911 and the importance of bystander CPR and early defibrillation. There is a risk that promoting AED registries and mobile apps (effectively adding another link to the Chain of Survival) will create the real possibility of confusing bystanders and causing delays in calling 911, beginning CPR and delivering early defibrillation. Moreover, focusing on AED registries may detract from efforts to further expand AED placements and encourage bystander CPR.
Unreliability of AED Registry Data
Today, AED location and operational status information is supplied solely by people because AEDs are not capable of broadcasting location or status data electronically. Various AED registry websites encourage AED owners to register their devices and a number of crowdsourcing and gamification efforts have sought to gather this information. There is no reliable way, however, to validate the accuracy of the data when first entered and much of the data in registries is rarely updated. AEDs may move, be taken out of service or become inoperable and these status changes are most often not reflected in registries. More importantly, only a minuscule fraction of the estimated 3.2 million plus public access AEDs now deployed in the U.S. are now “registered.” Furthermore, there are currently no cost-effective methods of delivering real-time indoor GPS-like functionality so mobile apps tied to AED registries cannot deliver reliable directions to nearby AEDs. As a result of these limitations, AED registry data cannot and should not be relied upon by 911 dispatch agencies or mobile app users involved in actual SCA emergencies. This limitation may be fixed in the future if and when AEDs are capable of broadcasting real-time location and status information and indoor GPS functionality matures.
AED Registry System Limitations
Several public and private AED registry systems are now operating throughout the U.S. with more expected to come online in the near future. No single registry serves as the central repository for all AED location and status data nor is a central repository feasible. Moreover, AED manufacturers and service providers maintain separate AED databases for a variety of purposes. As a result, there is no reliable, operationally efficient or effective way to distribute aggregated AED data to 911 dispatch agencies or mobile apps for real-time use in SCA emergencies. Thus, the utility of this approach is quite limited.
The FDA may be considering efforts to impose an AED registry mandate. Whether primarily for epidemiological purposes or for 911 agency use, this approach is unlikely to work. This is because the agency has no regulatory authority to force AED owners to register their devices or to require local 911 dispatch agencies to consume AED registry data. Further, in contrast to the national ICD Registry which ties hospital reimbursement to ICD registration, the federal government lacks equivalent economic leverage to force AED registration or AED data utilization. Given these limitations, the better approach is for the FDA to refrain from considering an AED registry mandate until effective methods exist to capture and utilize AED location data.
911 Dispatch Agency Fragmentation
There are nearly 6,000 911 dispatch agencies in the U.S. and less than a handful have developed systems and methods for integrating and utilizing AED location data in the SCA emergency call process. In fact, few agencies view the ability to direct callers to nearby AEDs as an operational priority. Dispatch agencies electing to leverage AED location information must be able to accept data from multiple registries (see previous limitation) each with its own proprietary data format and distribution methodology. Implementing such a complex system is a burdensome proposition that will be viewed by many as a poor use of public resources.
Legal Liability Constraints
The theory behind the AED registry operating model is that bystanders will be directed to nearby AEDs either by 911 dispatchers or mobile apps. Even if AEDs are registered, this presumes that AED owners will allow their devices to be taken from the owner’s site to another location. This is unlikely in the current legal environment. AED owners remain highly sensitive to liability risks and their lawyers will legitimately resist allowing AEDs to be removed from the owner’s property. Current AED Good Samaritan immunity laws offer few legal protections to the organizations and people involved in AED programs. These laws are of little help in encouraging the broader AED operating model envisioned by AED registry proponents. While the risks associated with this limitation can be mitigated using creative AED program design and risk management approaches, absent significant changes in the litigation environment and existing AED laws, liability concerns will remain a barrier to the widespread real-time use of AED registry data in SCA emergencies.
Meaningful Short-Term Solutions
The limitations associated with AED registries are daunting and will act as barriers for years to come. In the short term, energy and resources are better directed toward more effective approaches. Examples include:
Continuing to promote AEDs and their benefits to the population at large, in public service announcements and otherwise, until a level of awareness is achieved similar to that of fire extinguishers and the universal 911 emergency number;
Designing and operating comprehensive AED programs that ensure AED location awareness and appropriate SCA response;
Developing cost-effective communications technologies that enable AEDs to broadcast their locations and status in real-time and a uniform data model for leveraging this data;
Modernizing AED Good Samaritan laws to truly reduce liability risks associated with AED use both at and outside an AED owner’s property.
There may come a time in the future when AED registries can play a role in saving lives from SCA, but today they are not an effective tool that should be pursued for use in real-time SCA response situations.
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Association of Refugee Health Coordinators
State Refugee Health Programs
Role of State Refugee Health Coordinators
Domestic Refugee Health Services
HomeWho We Serve
Approximately 140,000 humanitarian immigrants eligible for refugee benefits are resettled in the United States annually. Each year the number of refugees admitted to the United States is set by the Presidential Determination; additional arrivals come in the form of asylum grantees and humanitarian parole. The following individuals are eligible for domestic health assessments provided by State Refugee Health Programs:
Refugees: individuals admitted as a refugee under section 207 INA;
ORR Fact Sheet on Refugees
Asylees: individuals granted asylum under section 208 INA;
ORR Fact Sheet on Asylees
Cuban and Haitian entrants in accordance with requirements in 45 CFR part 401;
ORR Fact Sheet on Cuban Haitian Entrants
Certain Amerasians from Vietnam who are admitted to the U.S. as immigrants;
ORR Fact Sheet on Amerasians
Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrants per the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008;
Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrants
Victims of Trafficking per the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA);
ORR Fact Sheet on Victims of Trafficking
Unaccompanied Refugee and Alien Minors.
Unaccompanied Refugee and Alien Minors
The top 10 countries of origin among humanitarian immigrants resettled in the U.S. during federal fiscal year 2015 are Burma, Cuba, Iraq, Somalia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Iran, and Syria. For additional arrival information and reports, please go to the Refugee Processing Center website.
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Fifteen Hawaiian Words You Need To Learn Before Visiting Hawaii
Visiting the islands of Hawaii is like visiting a foreign country. Hawaii became a territory of the United States in 1898, and became the fiftieth state in 1959, but has managed to maintain its charming language and unique character.
The Hawaiian language is recognized as the second official state language of the State of Hawaii. It is impossible to fully appreciate a visit to the Hawaiian islands without learning some of the Hawaiian language.
Here are the fifteen Hawaiian words or phrases which will help you most appreciate your visit to Hawaii.
1. Ohana
Everyone who has watched Disney’s Lilo and Stitch has heard the word ohana, which means family. In Hawaiian culture, family is everything.
Last fall, my beau and I spent two weeks on Kauai, the Garden Isle. While we were shopping at The Koa Store in Old Koloa Town, Jon and I struck up a conversation with the clerk, a friendly Hawaiian woman in her fifties. She and Jon recognized each other’s faces, but couldn’t figure out why. Small town life is the same all over the world, and it turns out she worked at the Kuk (pronounced “kook”) or the Kukui’ula Market, the local grocery/convenience story twenty years ago when Jon lived on Kauai.
We spent an hour talking about family, from her sister, who had moved to the mainland and longed to return to her ohana, to Jon and his sister, who were back on the island for the first time in over fifteen years.
“It’s not good to stay away from the island,” she told us. “Family is everything, and Kauai is family.”
2. Aloha
Aloha is probably the most commonly used, but least understood, Hawaiian word. It is used to say hello and goodbye, but its message goes much deeper than that.
Aloha encompasses love, peace and affection. Aloha is a way of life. To do something with aloha means to do it with your whole heart and soul.
As our Auntie Aloha explained it to us, ha is the breath of life, and Aloha means I give to you the breath of life.
3. ’Aina
‘Aina (pronounced “eye-nah”) is the land or literally, that which feeds us. Hawaiians live outside, whether they are farming or surfing, fishing or hiking. For most Hawaiians, there is little differentiation between themselves and the land. The love of land, or aloha ‘aina, is a driving force in the Hawaiian culture. Hawaiians believe that you must treat the ‘aina with respect and dignity, because it sustains you.
4. Kama’aina
Kama’aina refers to a long-time resident or native of Hawaii, and is seen most often in the context of the kama’aina discount given to locals. As a visitor, you don’t qualify for the kama’aina discount unless, like us, you have an Auntie Aloha on the island with you.
5. Mahalo (Mahalo Nui Loa)
Mahalo is a word you will here everywhere in Hawaii. It means thank you, and everyone from the desk clerk at your hotel, to your server at the many yummy restaurants you will eat in, to the crew on the helicopter or catamaran tour end conversations with mahalo. Mahalo nui loa means thank you very much, and is a phrase you will want to use often as the Hawaiians treat you with aloha love.
6. E Como Mai
E como mai means welcome, or come on in. It is used to invite visitors to come into your home or business. Most businesses have a sign over their doors telling you e como mai.
7. Pau Hana
Pau hana means done working. You will see pau hana specials in many of the restaurants and bars you visit on the islands to celebrate happy hours. It’s also what the locals say when they are done working for the day.
8 & 9. Mauka and Makai
Mauka is the mountain and makai is the ocean, and both are equally majestic and equally dangerous. Any direction you look in Hawaii will be dominated by the mauka or the makai. Directions are often given by referring to either the mauka or the makai.
10. No Ka ‘Oi
No ka ‘oi means nothing finer or the best. Or as my beau would say, “Nothing bettah, brah.” On the islands, you most often see this in phrases like “Maui no ka ‘oi” or “Kauai no ka ‘oi.”
11. Menehune
Menehune are a legendary race of small people who are believed to have worked during the night building roads, fish ponds and temples. The Menehune Fish Pond in Kauai is believed to have been built by the Menehunes thousands of years ago to act as a dam and to catch fish to feed the royal family.
12 & 13. Kapu and Heiau
Kapu means sacred or to be revered. It is most often seen in burial grounds and sacred places. If an area is marked kapu, you should stay out unless you have permission to enter.
A heiau (pronounced “hey-ow”) is a shrine or place of worship, or a sacred place. Heiaus are all over the islands, and sometimes the signs are old and hard to read. If you come across a heiau in your wanderings, please assume it is kapu and stay out of it.
14. Pono
Pono refers to righteousness. Living a life of pono means making correct, self-less choices every day.
The concept of pono is so important to Hawaiians that it has been incorporated into the State motto: Ua Mau Ea o ka ‘Ana I ka Pono which means that the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.
Jon was raised on the island of Kauai. The way he explains it to me, if people make the right choices, pono, about the land, the ‘aina, then the righteousness of land will be perpetuated by the righteousness of the people to insure its protection for future generations.
The Hawaiian artist Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, or Braddah Iz, sang about pono in the song Hawaii 78. Iz sang about the Hawaiian ancesters, and imagining what they would think about the changes to the ‘aina. It’s a hauntingly beautiful song that encourages everyone to treat the land of Hawaii with pono.
15. A Hui Hou
A hui hou means until we meet again, and so a hui hou, keep your minds and hearts,
Ever upward,
Regina Mae
By ReginaMaeWritesin Adventure, Travel March 28, 2016 March 28, 2016 1,050 WordsLeave a comment
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