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Uber is working with UT Austin and the army to build what amount to sky taxis
Andy Meek @aemeek
Uber has chosen a pair of partners to help it develop technology for uberAIR, its proposed ride-share service in the sky.
The company will be working with The University of Texas at Austin, as well as the U.S. Army Research Laboratory to, according to UT, develop new rotor technology that will be used by vehicles in the network of what amount to basically sky taxies.
Uber is focused for now on working to get flights up and running and have the service commercially available in Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles and in Dubai by 2023. Helping make that a reality will be researchers in the UT Austin Cockrell School of Engineering, who’ll be working with the army lab to give an assist to Uber Elevate — the latter being a kind of catch-all term to encompass anything Uber does in the skies behind uberAIR.
According to a report from the university, the Uber project includes vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft that feature an electric design and a cruising speed of between 150 and 200 mph. They’ll have a cruising altitude of 1,000 to 2,000 feet and able to complete trips of a maximum 60 miles on a single charge.
“UT is uniquely positioned to contribute to this new technology, and Uber has recognized that,” Jayant Sirohi, associate professor in UT’s Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics and the UT team leader on the project, explained in a statement. “In addition to the technical expertise we bring to this area, we also already have a rig to test new rotor configurations right here on campus.”
The university describes Sirohi as one of the leading experts in the country on unmanned aerial vehicle technology, VTOL aircraft and fixed- and rotary-wing aeroelasticity. He and his team, among other things, will be studying the use of stacked propellors for VTOL aircraft, which the university says is a novel technology in which two rotor systems are stacked on top of each other and rotate in tandem.
By way of explaining the need for the technology, the university goes on to note that “the proposed Uber Elevate launch cities suffer from major traffic congestion, especially during rush hour. For example, the current drive from DFW International Airport to the nearby city of Frisco, a distance of less than 25 miles, could take up to an hour during rush hour. In an uberAIR vehicle, it could take less than 10 minutes.”
In a white paper available here, Uber says it thinks that long-term VTOLs will be more affordable for most people than owning a car. The reason people think of flying as expensive and an infrequent travel option, the paper explains, is largely a result of low production volume manufacturing of today’s aircraft. The paper also adds this fun fact: even though small aircraft and helicopters are of similar size, weight and complexity to a car, they cost about 20 times more.
Thus, the race is on to take this to the skies. Other companies, of course, are getting in on the act too, with brands like Audi and Rolls-Royce eyeing this space, so Uber most definitely is not alone here.
Image Source: Uber
Tags: Uber
Facebook is shedding massive traffic – and it’s apparently flocking to YouTube
iOS 13 public beta 3 is now available to download on your iPhone
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Concurrency, Inc. Named a “Best Places to Work” Winner by Milwaukee Business Journal
by Concurrency Blog
Concurrency, Inc., a leading Microsoft-focused professional services firm serving enterprises throughout the Midwest, was named this week to the Milwaukee Business Journal’s annual list of “Best Places to Work.” Concurrency is a winner in the medium-sized business category, consisting of companies with 50-99 employees.
“We are honored to be recognized by the Business Journal as a ‘Best Places to Work’ employer,” said Kate Weiland, Concurrency’s vice president of human capital. “This award is a testament to hard work done by so many people on our team to build and maintain a shared culture of excellence that also honors the needs and talents of individuals.”
In announcing award winners, Milwaukee Business Journal managing editor Todd Bragstad wrote, “Like most recipes for success, a lot of key elements go into creating a work environment where people feel welcome and valued. That’s what keeps employees coming back week to week, and creates that good vibe that helps draw and retain more top talent.”
The Business Journal, working with awards program partner Quantum Workplace, evaluated submissions based on how favorably employees “responded to questions in core areas such as communication and resources, teamwork, retention, alignment with goals, trust with co-workers and senior leaders, manager effectiveness, job satisfaction, and others.” For more about award criteria, read Todd Bragstad’s article announcing Concurrency and other winners in its category.
Concurrency will be honored at an awards luncheon to be held by the Business Journal on August 18 at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. Concurrency will also be profiled in the Business Journal’s August 18 print edition.
About Concurrency
Founded in 1989, Concurrency, Inc. is a professional services firm helping organizations throughout the Midwest realize Digital Transformation to achieve business results.
Concurrency is a multiple-time Microsoft Partner of the Year winner and has been named to Redmond Channel Partner’s list of Microsoft’s Top 200 U.S. Partners and CRN’s Solution Provider 500 list.
Clients choose Concurrency for its team approach, top talent, project-scoped work plans and business value. Across all technologies and business needs, Concurrency focuses on helping clients realize more value from their IT investments through creative solutions that consider people, process, and technology needs.
Concurrency has offices in Chicago and Minneapolis in addition to its Brookfield, Wisconsin headquarters. Learn more about Digital Transformation and Concurrency at www.concurrency.com.
Concurrency Blog
The latest about Concurrency
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The Summer of Black Widows
Hanging Loose Press, 1996 - Poetry - 139 pages
Poetry. Native American Studies. THE SUMMER OF BLACK WIDOWS presents poetry that has continued to grow in power, complexity, and vision. According to reviewer James R. Kincaid, "Mr. Alexie's is one of the major lyric voices of our time", and the many honors and an international following of readers from his poems, stories, and novels proves the claim. Chris Faatz from The Nation agrees, calling Alexie "a young writer who is taking the literary world by storm...a superb chronicler of the Native American experience...he is a master of language, writing beautifully, unsparingly and straight to the heart."
User Review - Not Available - Book Verdict
The seven sections of poet/novelist Alexie's (Indian Killer, LJ 8/96) new collection are intensely elegiac, documenting ravages to a Native American identity--and, one finally feels, to contemporary ... Read full review
After the First Lightning
Glossary of a Powwow
Was My Father I Sang Love Songs to My Son
Death of the Landlord
Fire as Verb and Noun
Sister Fire Brother Smoke
Harmful Jazz
Prayer Animals
The Powwow at the End of the World
Introduction to Western Civilization
Reading Harvey Shapiros Poetry While Standing in Line
Going to the Movies with Geronimos Wife
Bobs Coney Island
Grand Entry
Sherman J. Alexie, Jr., was born in October of 1966. His mother was Spokane Indian and his father was Coeur d'Alene Indian. Alexie grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington. He was born hydrocephalic, which means with water on the brain, and received an operation at the age of 6 months. He was not expected to survive, but did, even though doctors predicted he would live with severe mental retardation. Surprisingly, though he suffered from severe side effects, he exhibited no symptoms of retardation and went on to learn to read by age three, and read Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath by age five. Alexie decided to attend high school off the reservation, in Reardan, Washington, where he knew he would get a better education. He was the only Indian at the school, and excelled academically as well as in sports, becoming a star player on the basketball team. After high school, Alexie attended Gonzaga University in Spokane on scholarship in 1985. After two years at Gonzaga, he transferred to Washington State University. Alexie had dreams of being a doctor but discovered he needed a different career path after fainting three times in anatomy class. Taking a poetry workshop at WSU, Alexie found he excelled at writing and, encouraged by poetry teacher Alex Kuo, realized he'd found his new career. After graduating in American Studies from WSU, Alexie received the Washington State Arts Commission Poetry Fellowship in 1991 and the National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship in 1992. A year after he left WSU, two of his poetry collections, The Business of Fancydancing and I Would Steal Horses, were published. His first collection of short stories, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, was published by Atlantic Monthly Press in 1993. For this collection he received a PEN/Hemingway Award for Best First Book of Fiction, and was awarded a Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers' Award. Alexie was then named one of Granta's Best of Young American Novelists and won the Before Columbus Foundation's American Book Award and the Murray Morgan Prize for his first novel, Reservation Blues, published in 1995. His second novel, Indian Killer, published in 1996, was named one of People's Best of Pages and a New York Times Notable Book. Alexie had become friends with musician Jim Boyd, a Colville Indian, and the two decided to collaborate on the album Reservation Blues, which contains the songs from the book of the same name. In 1996 Boyd and Alexie opened for the Indigo Girls at a concert to benefit the Honor the Earth Campaign. In 1997, Alexie embarked on another collaboration with Chris Eyre, a Cheyenne/Arapaho Indian. They agreed to collaborate on a film project inspired by Alexie's work, This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona, from the short story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Smoke Signals debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1998, winning two awards: the Audience Award and the Filmmakers Trophy. In 1999 the film received a Christopher Award, presented to the creators of artistic works "which affirm the highest values of the human spirit." Alexie was also nominated for the Independent Feature Project/West 1999 Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. Alexie competed in his first World Heavyweight Poetry Bout competition in June 1998, organized by the World Poetry Bout Association (WPBA) in Taos, New Mexico. He won, and then went on to win the title again over the next three years, becoming the first and only poet to hold the title for four consecutive years. Alexie also made his stand-up comedy debut at the Foolproof Northwest Comedy Festival in Seattle, WA, in April 1999, Also in 1998, Alexie participated with seven others in the PBS Lehrer News Hour, Dialogue on Race with President Clinton. Alexie has also been featured on Politically Incorrect , 60 Minutes II, and NOW with Bill Moyers. In February 2003, Alexie participated in the Museum of Tolerance project, "Finding Our Families, Finding Ourselves," an exhibit showcasing the diversity within the personal histories of several noted Americans. He was the guest editor for the Winter 2000-01 issue of Ploughshares, a prestigious literary journal. He was a 1999 O. Henry Award Prize juror, was one of the judges for the 2000 inagural PEN/Amazon.com Short Story Award, and a juror for both the Poetry Society of America's 2001 Shelley Memorial Award and the Poets and Writers "Writers Exchange 2001" Contest. He currently serves as a mentor in the PEN Emerging Writers program. Alexie was also a member of the 2000 and 2001 Independent Spirit Awards Nominating Committees, and has seved as a creative advisor to the Sundance Institute Writers Fellowship Program and the Independent Feature Films West Screenwriters Lab. In October 2003 he received Washington State University's highest honor for alumni, the Regents' Distinguished Alumnus Award. Alexie's work was selected for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories 2004,and his short story "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" was selected by juror Ann Patchett as her favorite story for the The O. Henry Prize Stories 2005. Alexie has published 16 books including his collection of short stories, Ten Little Indians.
Title The Summer of Black Widows
Author Sherman Alexie
Publisher Hanging Loose Press, 1996
Poetry / General
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Tag Archives: Monica Pearson
Monica Pearson
With a dazzling smile, caring eyes, and a heart for community, Monica Pearson has reigned supreme over Atlanta television news for nearly 40 years.
When Pearson packed her bags and left WHAS-TV in Louisville, Ky., she had no idea that her next steps would earn her a place in Atlanta history as an icon and pioneer.
That August night, in 1975, when Atlanta tuned into WSB-TV for the 6 o’clock newscast they were met with a surprise. Pearson—then known as Monica Kaufman— graced diverse living rooms all over the city, breaking barriers as the first female and the first African American anchoring the evening news, a spot typically reserved for white males.
The University of Louisville graduate received a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and English, intending to teach. It was not until she participated in a summer program, developed by Columbia University and the Ford Foundation to introduce minorities into predominantly white newsrooms, that Pearson’s interest in the industry was sparked. Upon completion of the program she returned to the Louisville Times where she initially worked as a newsroom clerk, but quickly advanced to become a reporter. Pearson even tried her hand in public relations, after being turned down for a broadcast job. However, it was that “no” that propelled her to take a modeling and charm course. She began preparing for a job that she did not yet have, but had faith it would soon come.
Those preparations for a life in front of the camera were soon to pay off. In Louisville, one of her assignments in the charm-school course involved modeling in a restaurant, where she caught the attention of the news director for a rival television station. Pearson interviewed with CBS affiliate WHAS-TV, transitioning from print to her desired job in broadcast news in 1973.
Fast forward to the present: on July 25th, 2012, Pearson delivered her final broadcast after 37 years in the competitive Atlanta market. Looking directly into the camera Pearson addressed her final goodbye to the viewers.
“I am overwhelmed by your kindness,” she said. “It is you I will miss the most. Thank you for allowing me into your home.”
A viewer responded to Pearson’s retirement with these words, “She spoke to my class in the 7th grade, and I will never forget it. I am now 43 and sad to see her go. She is an Atlanta institution and deserves all the fanfare and more. She is a trailblazer and all native Atlantans should salute her. Growing up, if it was time for the news someone would say, “Turn on Monica.”
Currently, Pearson is a graduate student in Telecommunications at the University of Georgia and shows no signs of slowing down post-retirement. In 2012, the 30-time Emmy winner was honored by the National Association of Black Journalists with their “Legacy Award,” for an accomplished journalist who has broken barriers and blazed trails.
Pearson has also launched a Travel Blog, called A Toe in the Water, in addition to her new role as contributing editor at Southern Seasons Magazine with a recurring feature called “Monica Matters.”
Here at BWIB, we were honored to speak with a trailblazer who broke barriers with her excellent reporting skills, and the individual flair she brought to each newscast. Read more on how Pearson began her career, beat out Oprah for a position, and her success tips for other Black Women in Broadcast.
What made you decide to go into broadcast?
My momma says when I was little I would meet people and would ask them too many questions. I didn’t think of it as something I could do because when I looked on television there were not people like me on the air doing news. But I look back at my life and I know I was being prepared for it because I always like to ask questions.
When you first began reporting did you come in with any preconceived notions of any hardships you would possibly face being a black reporter? What encouraged you to keep going?
I started as a newspaper reporter and did not see any problems because there were a number of women and black reporters on staff. When I moved to TV in Louisville, it was the news director who was a problem. When a tornado hit, he made all the female reporters stay in. He was afraid we might get hurt. We complained but still were kept in. A week after the storms and coverage diminished, we met with the news director and told him how he had kept us from doing our jobs by him being a chauvinist. We reminded him we were reporters and were aware of the danger we would have been in but that was and is part of the job.
And remember I grew up in segregated times. I did not go to my first integrated school until I was in the third grade and learned first hand what it was like to deal with prejudice face to face.
When I came to Atlanta, the calls were awful when I went on the air. No one was happy. Some black people felt I needed to have a huge Afro while others thought I needed to have more long flowing hair and white folks just didn’t like a “n” on the air and me being a woman didn’t help either. Luckily I had supportive management and my co-anchor John Pruitt was a jewel. I joined a church and did volunteer work as soon as I got to Atlanta, so my validation came from other sources. I am so glad Twitter, Facebook and blogs didn’t exist, because I may not have made it. People were nasty but the more I spoke at schools, churches, civic groups, the more I was accepted, but it did not happen overnight.
What kept me going was simple: as the first woman and the first black to anchor the evening news daily in Atlanta, I understood if I didn’t do well, it would be a long time before another black or woman would get the chance. Look how long it took to get a woman on network news. After Barbara Walters failed as a nightly anchor, Katie Couric was many, many years after Walters.
How did you connect with your viewers?
I remember [WSB consultant] Dick Mallory talking to me at a coaching session and he made me tell a story, not read it. He taped it and showed it to me. The difference was amazing. When I let myself show through, the story was better. When I wrote the way I spoke, it became communication. He let me see it was all right to be me and to trust myself. It was like my momma said, and the grammar isn’t great, but it makes a great point. “If you is who you ain’t, then you ain’t who you is.” In other words, “To thine own self be true.”
What’s the importance of having mentors and being a mentor to others?
I didn’t have any mentors but when people ask advice, I don’t mind giving it. Why carry what I’ve learned to the grave and not share with someone else? That would be selfish. I believe in nurturing talent and encouraging people along their walk in their career. When [younger people] see things then you say, “Oh I can do that” and I know that’s true because I have had students over 40 years come up to me and say, “I want to do what you do. I wanna be just like and you” and I always say, “You can be better than me.” But they have that role model because in Atlanta every station has a woman, a woman of color, anchoring, but when I was growing up you didn’t have that.
What words of advice would you give to black women deciding to pursue a career in the industry?
Make sure you want to be a reporter, a storyteller. Anchoring may be a wish, but few get to anchor. Be the best researcher, interviewer, writer, producer and presenter you can be. Stay out of office gossip and politics. Be involved in the community by speaking, serving on community boards, volunteering at school or churches, being a part of a community. And it also will be a great source for story ideas as well as sources for stories. [Volunteering] keeps you humble, reminding you that everybody doesn’t have it as well as you do. It is a way of giving back to a community to repay those people who helped you along the way.
[End of Q & A]
Tagged Atlanta, Black women in broadcast, broadcast, journalist, Monica Kaufman, Monica Pearson, WHAS-TV, WSB-TV
That August night, in 1975, when Atlantans tuned into WSB-TV for the 6 o’clock newscast they were met with a surprise. Pearson—then known as Monica Kaufman— graced diverse living rooms all over the city, breaking barriers as the first female and the first African American anchoring the evening news, a spot typically reserved for white males.
Take a Look at Monica’s Final Farewell:
Posted in Featured BWIB
Tagged Atlanta, broadcast, journalist, Monica Kaufman, Monica Pearson, WHAS-TV
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Tag Archives: invite only
Event for Researchers : Meeting with the Polish Academy of Sciences
Posted on March 15, 2017 by Carolina Del Felice
On March 27th, The UCL School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies will welcome a delegation from the Polish Academy of Sciences. They will be presenting funding opportunities available for researchers wishing to carry out research at the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Directions here.
This event is invite only. Please email g.mourgaud@ucl.ac.uk to book your space, specifying your area of interest.
The event will comprise opening remarks from PAS representatives, a presentation of the offer session and opportunities for informal discussion over drinks and snacks. During the meeting you will have a chance to know more about the offer of PAS Institutes in the scientific domains of:
eResearch
What does PAS offer?
PAS welcomes scientists willing to undertake their research in Poland. The Academy is expanding and has undertaken several actions that are aimed at increasing its international presence and thus further the advancement of Polish science. PAS is internationally active and offers opportunities for foreign researchers in the following areas:
Polish Institute of Advanced Studies (PIASt)
PAS has recently established Polish Institute of Advanced Studies (PIASt). The Institute aims to promote scientific and intellectual exchange in an international and interdisciplinary community of researchers. The Institute welcomes outstanding researchers in the fields of social sciences and humanities and offers scholarship for the period of one academic year. Scholarship holders will be exempt from administrative and teaching responsibilities to be able to conduct their research projects. Interdisciplinary projects are welcome.
European research projects under Horizon 2020
Institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences are part of international consortia under EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation and are open to further collaborations with international partners under Horizon 2020.
The Academy regularly hosts European Research Council grants. The Academy welcomes all researchers to consider PAS as a host institution or to collaborate with PAS in the framework of ERC Synergy Grants. Excellence in Science Department of PAS can assist you in all matters regarding ERC.
International research cooperation of PAS research units
Apart from being active participants of the collaboration resulting from the PAS international cooperation agreements, the PAS research units establish their own cooperation with foreign partners. The units collaborate with more than 1,500 different foreign partners, pursuing more than a thousand joint research projects.
Bilateral research cooperation agreements
Each year, around 1,000 Polish scholars from the PAS research units travel abroad under bilateral research cooperation agreements. A similar number of foreign scholars come to pursue their research at Polish institutes and universities.
Research partnership under the framework of international organisations
Research collaboration also takes place under the agreements with nearly 100 international organizations, including the International Council for Science (ICSU), the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC), and the Inter-Academy Panel: the Global Network of Science Academies (IAP)
Cooperation with academies of science
The Polish Academy of Sciences is proud to collaborate with more than 70 foreign academies of science, including British Academy, and equivalent organizations from Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa.
University of The Polish Academy of Sciences
In the near future the PAS will launch University of the Polish Academy Sciences that will concentrate on postgraduate studies. The University will have an ambition to become an important research hub at national and international level. Collaboration with top international researchers will be crucial for the success of this initiative.
Polish Academy of Sciences is a state scientific institution that since its foundation in 1952 has worked comprehensively to strengthen national research capacity and foster the pursuit of scientific excellence. To achieve this the Academy has acted through an elected corporation of top academics, including both national and foreign members, becoming a major scientific advisory body.
The Academy is structured into a set of five Divisions, Territorial Branches, scientific and task-force committees, a Young Academy, a Science Ethics Committee, and an Audit Committee. The basic scientific unit of the Academy is the research institute, 69 of which are currently in operation. Most of them rank as leading institutions in their scientific or R&D activity. PAS institutes also form part of consortia and centers set up to carry out concrete research projects.
Selected achievements:
A team from the Space Mechatronics and Robotics Laboratory at the PAS Space Research Center (the strongest center in the world making specialist devices of this sort) constructed the MUPUS penetrator, an instrument equipped with a hammering device and a 40 cm rod carrying measuring devices. The instrument is part of the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission, underway since 2004. It penetrated the comet’s surface and is sending measurement data back to Earth.
One of the projects at the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw studies the mechanisms of DNA repair, the role of which is to prevent the distortion of genetic information. The DNA molecule, which encodes information about how each cell and the whole organism are built and function, undergoes chemical damage, either spontaneously or under the influence of external factor (radiation, carcinogens etc.). Staff members of the Institute’s Laboratory of Protein Structure use protein crystallography, which allows them to determine the three-dimensional architecture of molecules and further elucidate their mechanism of action. The Laboratory has discovered, for example, the way the UvrA protein detects various DNA lesions and initiates repair. Another achievement involved elucidating the mechanism of the RuvC enzyme, which participates in a repair pathway in which a damaged region of DNA is fixed using a correct copy thereof. The team also determined the first structures of another important DNA repair enzyme – Slx1.
Posted in Event, Funding / Awards / Prizes, Research/Survey, Social / Networking | Tagged event, invite only, KCL, Poland, Polish Academy of Sciences, research, UCL
G-Research: a career for PhDs and researchers in quantitative research and technology
PhD Thesis Writing-up space – Deadline extended
You have transferable skills, you just don’t know it!
The Brilliant Club – Scholars Programme
International Summer School on Technology Transfer in Life Sciences – Dresden, August 2017
Funding / Awards / Prizes
Research/Survey
Social / Networking
The King's Graduate School has changed to the Centre for Doctoral Studies & can be found @KCLDocStudies. Website: https://t.co/9EZS8WgUNV 08:39:47 AM August 08, 2017 from Twitter Web Client ReplyRetweetFavorite
@kclgradschool
Careers outside Academia
Healthcare Consultancy
KCLSU
PhD research students
postdoc careers
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Archives Select Month August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 May 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 October 2007
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> VINTAGE POSTERS
> Lot 2
Aug 2, 2017 | Vintage Posters
Sale 2453 | Lot 2
Sale 2453 Lot 2
DESIGNER UNKNOWN CAPTAIN COSTENTENUS. 1876.
25 1/2x21 1/2 inches, 64 3/4x54 1/2 cm. H.A. Thomas & Co. Litho, New York.
Condition B+: tears at bottom and right edge; creases at edges and in image; skinning and abrasions in lower right margin; darkening at edges. Mounted on thick paper. Framed.
Phineas T. Barnum opened his American Museum in New York City in 1841. It was one of the most visited sites in the country for almost 25 years before it burned down in 1865. In 1876, with Barnum as a silent partner, George Bunnell opened the New American Museum on the Bowery. Captain Costentenus was tattooed over his entire body and claimed to have had them applied on him as punishment by Chinese Tartars when he was caught on a gold-seeking expedition to Burma. Upon his return to western civilization, he naturally joined the circus. As early as 1874, he was appearing at the Folies Bergère in Paris, and the following year he came to America. After a brief stint at the New American Museum, he began working for P.T. Barnum, touring with his circus on and off through the end of the decade. This poster was likely printed as a blank, as it also appears with different text on top, promoting his appearance at the Royal Aquarium in 1882, under the auspices of William Leonard Hunt (the Great Farini), another prominent sideshow impresario. rare. We have found no other copies bearing this American overprint.
Estimate $800 - 1,200
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"Genetically Engineered" In California: A Food Label We Don't Need
Gregory Conko, Henry I. Miller • October 8, 2012
From “food miles” to farmers’ markets, it seems that consumers have never been more interested in the ways their food is grown. That’s one motivation for Proposition 37, an initiative on California ballots in the coming election that would require labeling of “genetically engineered” (GE) foods.
It is a bad idea, and also an unlawful one. We discussed its legal problems in a previous Forbes.com column.
Labeling advocates claim that GE foods are somehow “unnatural” and might be unsafe. At the very least, they say, consumers have a right to know what’s in their food, so, why not tell people if their corn flakes have been engineered and let them decide what to buy?
That might sound reasonable and seem to reflect how our choice-driven marketplace works, but there are several problems with it. For starters, GE foods are not in any way a meaningful “category,” which makes any choice of what to include wholly arbitrary. Nor are they unsafe or any less “natural” than thousands of other common foods. If anything, they are likely to be safer, because the techniques used to make them are far more precise and predictable than older, conventional methods of genetic improvement. But as federal regulators have said, a mandatory label implies erroneously a meaningful difference where none exists.
Genetic modification has been with us for millennia. It is ubiquitous and includes much more than the relatively simple changes associated with crossing one tomato plant with another. Breeders regularly move genes between wholly unrelated species. Scientists long ago discovered, for example, how to give crop plants new traits by forcibly mating them with unrelated wild species known to contain natural pesticides, carcinogens, and anti-nutrients. On average, we consume dozens of these varieties of fruits, vegetables, and grains every day.
Breeders also routinely use radiation or chemical mutagens on seeds to scramble a plant’s DNA to generate new traits. More than 2,250 of these “mutant” varieties have been bred in the United States and at least 50 other countries. They include some of our most popular fruits and vegetables, such as Ruby Red grapefruit and most of the durum wheat varieties used to make pasta.
That history might be a little unsettling to some, but these are conventional breeding methods, not GE. They are subject to no mandatory testing, and as now, they would not have to be labeled under the terms of Proposition 37.
The genetic changes that result from any conventional technique are far less precise, predictable, and controllable than those associated with modern genetic engineering. That is why dozens of scientific bodies, ranging from the National Academy of Sciences to the UN’s World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization, agree that genetic engineering is at least as safe as, and often safer than conventional breeding.
It is also why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not require blanket labeling of GE foods. The FDA doesn’t take a laissez-faire approach to novel foods, however. The feds do require an intensive review and can require labeling if foods differ significantly from their conventional counterparts in ways related to safety or proper use – such as a reduction in nutrients, the introduction of an allergen where consumers would not expect it, or a change in customary storage or preparation characteristics.
In poll after poll, millions of Americans say they favor mandatory labeling of GE products but few are familiar with the FDA’s existing policy or its scientific rationale. In a series of polls commissioned by the non-profit International Food Information Council, respondents were first read a summary of the FDA rule and then asked their opinion. In every one of the 15 surveys, conducted between 1997 and 2012, a majority agreed with FDA’s risk-based approach – which does not require mandatory labeling of all GE products.
Yet even for shoppers wishing to single out GE foods, Proposition 37 doesn’t deliver what it promises. The wording of the initiative is, to be charitable, chaotic and confusing. Many of the foods that meet the initiative’s legal definition of “genetically engineered” are explicitly exempted from the labeling requirement, courtesy of special interests.
Cheeses made with a GE clotting agent? Beer and wine fermented with GE yeasts? Milk from cows injected with an engineered growth hormone? They’re all exempt. But corn or soybean oil from GE crops – which contain no DNA from the plants themselves – would be captured. Proposition 37 would leave consumers worse informed that they are now.
Between 2000 and 2009 alone, roughly 7,000 new foods and beverages with voluntary “GE-free” labeling made their debuts in U.S. supermarkets. Among these are countless dairy products that proudly advertise their non-GE pedigrees – information you won’t get from Proposition 37.
The organic industry boasts that certified foods cannot contain GE ingredients, and various food companies and activist groups have created websites, pocket guides, and even smart phone apps that direct purchasers to GE-free products. With all this information freely available, consumers already have what they need to choose.
Why then are Proposition 37 supporters so adamant about singling out genetic engineering? It’s simple: Labeling only GE foods would stigmatize those products, raise the costs of making them, discourage the use of the technology and encourage money-seeking lawsuits for inconsequential violations. In fact, the initiative seems to have been drafted with these very goals in mind.
Ironically, Proposition 37 would also impose huge costs on producers who try to avoid GE. Those committed to using GE ingredients can slap a “Genetically Engineered” label on their products and be done. But producers who want to sell non-GE foods must bear the costs of tracing the source of every ingredient they use and getting sworn guarantees that they “are not knowingly or intentionally” engineered.
A single slip-up – for example, in the form of a missing link in the paper trail — could result in criminal prosecution or a private lawsuit filed by anyone who has ever bought a “mislabeled” product in a grocery store, food stand, or farmer’s market. The initiative is a trial lawyer’s dream, which is not surprising given that it was written by a trial lawyer who has spent his career suing small food producers in California.
A concern of many food producers is the ripple effect if Proposition 37 were to be approved. “It could affect farmers and consumers throughout the nation,” according to agricultural economists Jayson Lusk and Brandon McFadden, who performed a poll on the popularity of the proposition.
Finally, federal law preempts state laws that conflict, as in the case of Prop. 37, and federal appeals courts have found repeatedly that mandatory labeling must pertain to issues of health or safe use. The labeling required by Prop. 37 does not. If the proposition passes, California would need to spend years and millions of taxpayer dollars defending the indefensible.
Mandatory GE labeling isn’t needed, it’s anti-consumer, and it doesn’t make sense. It is Proposition 37 that needs a warning label.
More about Food and Beverage Regulation
Senate passes GMO bill. Will labels ease Americans' food-related fears?
Scientists Developing Climate-Adapted GMO Rice
Harassment of Scientists Threatens Independent Research, Science Journal Warns
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By CHALLENGE Historical
John Brown’s Raid: Guns Against Slavery
On Saturday, October 17, PLP is joining with thousands commemorating the 150th anniversary of John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry to celebrate this watershed event in the history of the modern working class. Its lessons — the need for militancy, boldness, multi-racial unity and fearlessness in confronting a powerful but ultimately weak ruling class — are just as important today as we face increasing global imperialist war and racist exploitation.
John Brown led a multi-racial group of five black men, including two ex-slaves, and 16 white men in seizing the Federal Arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia) on October 16, 1859. They planned to take the thousands of muskets stored there into the Appalachian Mountains and begin raids on slave plantations. They would train freed slaves who wished to join the guerrilla army and help make further raids. This process, plus slave rebellions it would encourage, would continue until slavery was smashed.
Two-Day Battle
John Brown’s band made tactical errors and was trapped in the arsenal. After a two-day gun battle, the survivors were captured by U.S. Marines led by Col. Robert E. Lee, who shortly thereafter became the Confederacy’s military leader.
Harriet Tubman — escaped slave and famous as “General” Tubman of the Underground Railroad, organizer of over a dozen trips to the South to aid other slaves in escaping — had helped prepare for the raid. She planned to participate with a contingent of allies, but illness delayed her departure for Virginia. Meanwhile, fearing discovery, John Brown had started the raid two weeks earlier than planned.
Brown and other captured survivors were tried for murder, treason against the state of Virginia and inciting slave rebellions. They were convicted and hanged. Virginia’s slave-owners were so afraid of abolitionist attempts to rescue Brown that they guarded the execution with 1,500 state militiamen, federal troops and Virginia Military Institute cadets.
While jailed awaiting death, Brown predicted that his hanging would do more to free the slaves than his original plan. In a note he handed to a guard on the day of his execution, Brown wrote that his only error had been to underestimate the amount of violence necessary to destroy slavery.
Great Violence Needed to End Slavery
Many bourgeois historians claim John Brown’s intense hatred of racism and his actions against slavery “prove” he was insane, particularly since he was white and not enslaved. Yet most historians agree with Brown’s own evaluation of the need for great violence to end slavery. They also concede that the raid on Harper’s Ferry and the following trial and execution swung the abolitionist movement onto the path of destroying slavery by force rather than with “moral persuasion” and piecemeal reforms and escapes. The raid also encouraged a new wave of slave rebelliousness.
Long before 1859, Brown had been advocating violence to destroy slavery. In a struggle in the Kansas territory between advocates of slavery and “free labor,” Brown and his sons led numerous armed struggles against pro-slavery terrorists. On May 24, Brown and his followers made a night raid on the homes of some particularly vicious ones, capturing and killing five with broadswords.
Kansas ultimately entered the Union as a free state due in no small measure to the boldness of anti-slavery militias like that of Brown’s. Among abolitionists and wider circles of northern working people, John Brown became a symbol of hatred of racism and slavery in defiance of the slave-owners.
Less than two years after John Brown’s raid, the Civil War erupted. By 1865, about 1,300,000 Union troops marched through the South to the tune of “John Brown’s Body.” About 200,000 of these troops were black men, many of them escaped slaves or slaves freed by the advancing Union army. These black and many white troops opposed slavery and racism. They were an armed expression of multi-racial unity.
History was made by millions of ordinary people fighting back. Hundreds of supporters directly aided the preparation for the raid; thousands more did so indirectly. When saying “John Brown” or “Harriet Tubman,” we’re not extolling some “superhero” contrived by capitalist press agents to reduce us to a passive audience applauding their splendid speeches or exploits. Revolutionary leaders (whose words, actions and thoughts best summarize those of countless others) encourage our strengths, so that we can consciously participate in understanding and changing the world.
The Inspiration of John Brown
John Brown is with us every time we help one co-worker shake off the mental and physical chains of capitalist enslavement by daring to join with others to fight the enemy. We celebrate this 150th anniversary to help lead our class closer to revolution by learning from John Brown and from the millions to whom he gave leadership.
Brown was a Christian, not a Marxist, and did not attack the capitalist system along with slavery. We now realize that racism cannot finally be destroyed without destroying capitalism. In fact, capitalism grew on the basis of continued racist oppression after the Civil War and continues to be the foundation of modern capitalism worldwide. But we study John Brown to learn from his strengths: multi-racial unity, boldness in seizing the offensive, reliance on the masses to embrace violence to destroy a ruling class.
We in PLP are preparing for another civil war, this time a class war to destroy wage slavery and with it, all oppression. History — the story of working-class struggle — produces the material from which our ideas on how to make a revolution emerge. Join us on October 17, 2009! We must finish the job begun by our anti-slavery ancestors!
Tagged Harper's Ferry, John Brown, slavery
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Michigan State University Foundation
Jeff Wesley
Executive Director, Red Cedar Ventures
Jeff Wesley is the Executive Director of Red Cedar Ventures, the venture investment subsidiary of the MSU Foundation. In his role, he actively manages and grows the company’s venture investment portfolio.
Prior to Red Cedar Ventures, Wesley served as CFO of Two Men and a Truck from 2008 to 2015, then as the company’s chief executive from 2015 to 2017. Under his leadership, the company grew from $186 million to over $500 million in annual revenues and earned a place among Crain’s Detroit Business’ “Cool Places to Work”. In 2017, his exceptional leadership earned him recognition as a top franchise executive and an Inc. 5000 award.
Prior to his service at Two Men and a Truck, Wesley presided as CFO and, eventually, president of Accu-Bite Dental Supply from 1991 to 2005, where sales went from $6M to over $120M annually. In 2005, Wesley orchestrated the company’s acquisition by Patterson Companies, overseeing the successful integration of the two.
Wesley’s wealth of experience and deeply rooted passion for entrepreneurship aid him in his role with Red Cedar Ventures as he provides strategic planning advice and executive coaching to newly-formed companies and existing startups within Red Cedar’s investment portfolio. He also assists portfolio companies in raising outside funding in an effort to grow and scale up Michigan State University-based companies.
Follow MSU Conquer Accelerator on Facebook Follow MSU Conquer Accelerator on Twitter View our photos on Instagram
Call us: (517) 256-9285 | Contact Information | Site Map | Privacy Policy (link is external) | Site Accessibility (link is external)
(517) 355-1855 | Visit: msu.edu (link is external) | MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer.
SPARTANS WILL. | © Michigan State University Board of Trustees
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Expert Reviews for the Newest Albums
in Rock, Alternative, Hip-Hop, EDM, and More
Nick Catchdubs – Smoke Machine
by Pat Levy
on May 01, 2015, 12:00am
Nick Catchdubs
Fool's Gold Records
digital, vinyl, cd
Fool’s Gold co-founder Nick Catchdubs has honed his ear for talent at the head of one of today’s foremost tastemaking labels, but aside from being a popular festival and club DJ, he didn’t have any tracks to call his own. With Smoke Machine, his debut album, Catchdubs proves that he not only has his finger on the pulse of hip-hop, the genre he’s so masterfully helped curate, but he’s more than capable of holding his own when it comes to original content. Full of party-ready tracks and teasingly brief interludes, Smoke Machine is a solid entry into the fray for Catchdubs.
There are flashes of brilliance threaded through this album, but they don’t connect quite like they should. Opener “Smoke Theme” is the best beat on the whole album, a Beastie Boys-type boom bap production, but it lasts less than a minute and has none of the talented roster of rappers Catchdubs recruited for the rest of the project. It’s followed by “Full House”, which features too much of an unoriginal Troy Ave and not enough Heems over a boisterous block party beat. (Hip-hop needs to stop trying to make Troy Ave happen; he’s not going to happen.) “Bizness” is the album’s highlight and features Iamsu! and Jay Ant over a frenetic beat that, much like “Smoke Theme”, is just too short. Iamsu!’s flow fits like a glove with Catchdubs’ production, and it’s a shame we don’t live in a world where this song is five minutes long instead of two and a half.
“Drop” has rising Chicago rapper and pizza aficionado ShowYouSuck referencing Daria and Quick Draw McGraw, so we can safely chalk that up as a win. “Wuts That” has a beat reminiscent of some mid-2000s Ludacris, and that couldn’t be less of a knock on Catchdubs’ production, with bombastic slaps and skittering synths laying a perfect foundation for B.I.C. to go in over. Aside from his clear talent for crafting beats, Catchdubs has a knack for knowing which rapper will jibe with which track, giving them the best possible chance to shine. It’s an unsurprising characteristic for Catchdubs, who has helped to introduce some of the best hip-hop we have today.
I’m hesitant to call this a “great first step” for Catchdubs, because while it is his debut record, he’s been around for years — and with that experience comes an expectation for a near-impeccable debut. Smoke Machine isn’t quite that successful, but it’s still a damn good record to spin at a party this summer.
Essential Tracks: “Bizness”, “Drop”, and “Wuts That”
Mikal Cronin: Amazed and Confused
Album Review: Mikal Cronin – MCIII
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Blog “The Christian Chaplain in a Pluralistic Society”
“The Christian Chaplain in a Pluralistic Society”
To be presented at the Fifth International Crossings Conference
The One for All
Proclaiming “Christ Alone” in the Age of Pluralism
Our Lady of the Snow Conference Center, Belleville, IL
Rev Dr. Phil Kuehnert; pastorkuehnert@gmail.com
Reflecting and writing about Christian Chaplains in the age of Pluralism is one thing, Reflecting and writing about Lutheran Chaplains in the age of Pluralism is another, Reflecting and writing about Lutheran Chaplains in the age of Pluralism for a presentation at a Crossings Conference is another.
Let me tell you where I am going. The “Crossings Matrix” can be a helpful tool for the Lutheran Chaplain who seeks to be a “Christ Confessor.” And the following outline will show the way I arrive at that conclusion:
First, some introductory comments that places this presentation in the context of my life and in the world of chaplaincy in general.
Second, I will address directly my topic of the Christian Chaplains in the context of the theme of this conference: “Proclaiming ‘Christ Alone’ in an Age of Pluralism.” I will specifically be addressing the question, What serves as a normative pattern for being a “Christ Confessor?”
Third, expanding the scope to include Pastoral Counseling and other forms of specialized pastoral care, I will explore the critical question, “Can specialized forms of pastoral care (including chaplaincy, CPE, and pastoral counseling) be expected to operate with this distinctively Christian norm? That is, can they be expected to be a part of the Church’s evangelization. (There is a wide gulf between pastoral care that is done within the context of a worshipping congregation and pastoral care that is done in the “world/market place.”)
Fourth, I will explore the unique challenges and opportunities of Lutheran Chaplaincy in campus and military settings.
Finally, I make a proposal on how Pastoral Care specialists, who seek to be Christ Confessors working in interfaith settings, might use the “Crossings Matrix” to focus their confessing Christ Alone.
I. The Ubiquity of Chaplaincy
II. An Oxymoron? A Christ Confessing Chaplain
III. The challenge of working in interfaith settings.
IV. The Critical Issue
V. Denominational Endorsement and Credentialing as a professional chaplain/pastoral counselor.
VI. The Critical Issue – Again!
VII. The Spectrum of “Christ Confessing” – Cry and Response
VIII. From Matrix to Covenant: A “covenantal” metaphor to frame Cry and Response
IX. Campus and Military Chaplaincy
X. Eunbee Ham, Christ Confessor?
XI. A Proposal
Appendix: Theses for Debate,
On Friday morning, December 6th, Judy and I were at the breakfast table discussing the rest of the day. We were in the middle of preparations for Christmas; gifts to be sent, the annual letter to be mailed with the now expected picture, and all pushed forward because we would be leaving for our trip to South Africa in less than two weeks – and of course the “big project” of getting my presentation for the Crossings Conference finished before we left. I used the word “ubiquitous” in referring to place of chaplaincy in today’s world. “Oh really?” she replied. And so I started reeling off the various kinds of chaplaincies I was familiar with: prison chaplaincy, police chaplaincy, fire chaplaincy, entertainment chaplaincy, industrial chaplaincy, corporate chaplaincy, etc. That conversation having run its course and with Judy being finished eating, she picked up Portals of Prayer – the LCMS daily devotional still published by Concordia Publishing House – and she read:
The Lord in our Shoes. Hebrews 4:14 – 5:10
She handed me the Bible and I dutifully read the scripture. She then read Hebrews 4:15 “’For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize’” and she continued: As a fire department chaplain, I helped men…..” She got that far and I stopped her saying, “You’re kidding aren’t you?” She looked at me puzzled and I said, “That’s not what it says, does it? You’re making that up.” “No.” she replied, that is what it says and continued reading. “I helped men who had seen horrible things talk through them together. They were great counselors for one another because they had been at the scene together. Whether it is cancer, addiction, depression, or post-traumatic stress, the best counselors are often those who have gone through the same struggle. They can provide empathy, insight, direction like no other. They have truly been in those shoes.”1
And there it was…the author, Pastor Jonathan Vollrath from Dover, MN claimed his identity as a fire department chaplain. It was the first time that I can remember chaplaincy being mentioned in Portals of Prayer.
THE UBIQUITY OF CHAPLAINCY
And yes, chaplaincy is everywhere, and has been in many places through the centuries. More often than not chaplains have done their work out of the limelight. Now, however, especially in the late 20th century moving into the 21st, Chaplaincy continues to grow as each area of life, from the state houses of our states to college campuses to race tracks to the industrial plant to service organizations and the corporate headquarters seem to be demanding their own formal religious presence in a person designated as the “Chaplain.” And in this age where we increasingly get the impression that formal and professional religious folk are no longer welcome, it seems that there is an opening to “chaplaincy,” that somewhere in the national psyche there is a place that says: “yes, we need to honor the place of the spiritual in our lives and chaplaincy seems to be pretty benign, so what can it hurt?”
In fact, I get the impression that in some instances, chaplains may be more of a mascot than an integral part of the organization: Someone who becomes a spiritual talisman or who hangs out with the crew until….. , well, until the unimaginable, inevitable happens: a mass shooting, a 9-11 catastrophe, or a member of the force commits suicide. If the chaplain feels like a mascot, it may reflect not only on the immaturity of the chaplain, but also the inability of the chaplain to seize the opportunities for ministry in ready made, although initially superficial, relationships.
The legacy and the lore of chaplaincy are contained in countless stories. Chaplains have literally “been in the trenches” and have provided care to the most desperate of men and women in the most extreme circumstances.
Lutheran Chaplain Henry Gerecke was chaplain at the Nuremburg prison in Germany following WW II. He provided care for the first Nazis (Hermann Georing, Albert Speer, Wilhelm Keitel, Joachim von Ribbentrop) to be tried as war criminals and was with them till their execution in October of 1946. They were so appreciative of his ministry that they wrote a letter, hand written and signed by 21 of the most notorious of the prisoners, to Mrs. Gerecke asking her to allow her husband to stay with them for the duration of their trials.
“We now have heard, dear Mrs. Gerecke, that you wish to see him back home after his absence of several years…Nevertheless we are asking that you put off your wish to gather your family around you at home for little time. Please consider that we cannot miss your husband now. During the past month he has shown us uncompromising friendliness of such a kind, that he has become indispensable for us in an otherwise prejudiced environment which is filled with cold disdain or hatred….We have simply come to love him. In this stage of the trial, it is impossible for any other man than him to breakthrough the walls that have been built up around us, in a spiritual sense even stronger than a material one.”2
An interesting side note – During the baseball World Series this past year, Dan Barry in a New York Times piece told most of this story in the context of the 1946 World Series, using a $10 bet that the two chaplains, Chaplain Gerecke and the Roman Catholic Chaplain Sixtus O’Connor, made on the series, a series that would be decided on the night that 11 war criminals were hung at Nuremberg.3
Much better known is the story of Father Mychal Judge, a NY City Fire Department Chaplain who is the first recorded victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Immortalized in the photo in which he is shown being carried out of the ruble. Father Judge died giving last rites to a fire fighter.
This paper in the context of this Conference
I have the distinction, if it is a distinction, of being the last presentation at this conference that has raised the important question of how can Christ Alone be confessed in an age of religious pluralism. In the promotional materials for this conference “Pluralism” has been defined as “a recent, distinct and flexible theological outlook that seeks to interpret and manage the plurality of religious traditions by way of a reductionism that homogenizes their distinctive messages of salvation, minimizes their substantial differences with regard to the relationship of God to the world, and relativizes their shared concern for deep truth.”4 Three of the previous presentations I hope will have spoken to the theological and practical issues surrounding proclaiming Christ alone: In the Missions Field – Dr Kaariainen; Living out the Great Commission – Missiologist William Burroughs; and Pastor Martin Lohrmann’s presentation how the Reformation Tradition has responded to Religious Diversity. My assignment is a welcomed surprise, for often the role and unique contribution of specialized pastoral care is marginalized if not ignored. I feel not a little responsibility to those who worked with me, and who continue to work in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling to speak for them and with them. I hope that what I am presenting will not become a footnote or an afterthought. My hope is that our conversation at the end of my presentation might provide an opportunity to integrate and summarize what this conference has been about and that will include the contribution of The Christian Chaplain.
THE CHALLENGE OF WORKING IN INTERFAITH SETTINGS IN THE AGE OF PLURALISM
My hunch is that most Lutheran Chaplains, if not most Christian Chaplains will shrug their shoulders at the sounding call of the challenge of this definition of pluralism and somewhat disinterestedly say something like: “Oh, OK, we can handle that. Next?” The reason is that many chaplains, and most if not all Lutheran chaplains have lived in this house from the beginning of their training. Of necessity, the Lutheran seminary student, or recent graduate, or practicing pastor, on entering the basic unit of CPE, leaves behind the comfortable, parochial culture of seminary or parish and enters, many for the first time, “the real world.”5 Depending on how well lived she/he is, this will be more or less of a shock. As training continues, and certainly as experience will demand, the never ending tension will be between meeting people where they are and the highly sophisticated confessional/dogmatic presuppositions that undergird one’s theology. Within the seminary and parish cultures, there is much that can be taken for granted, e.g., a more or less consistent weltanschauung, uniform hermeneutical principles, and a base line of theological education. Once the world of chaplaincy is entered, all of that is gone. The very “stuff” that makes a student, graduate, pastor successful in the world of seminary and parish, needs to be reframed, and at times radically, for that “stuff” to be an asset in the ministry of chaplaincy. It makes little difference if the client/patient is Jewish, Muslim, New Age, or “Plural,” each is the focus of a chaplain’s ministry. What makes the difference is that all of them have a different weltanschauung, different ways of interpreting their world, and a different dogmatic base for their beliefs. In this way specialized pastoral care is much like a box of chocolates – you never know what you are going to get. That is why I think chaplains and pastoral counselors are the free range ministers of Christianity.
The reality is that the Christian chaplain is increasingly working in a world and with a population where denominational identity is on the decline, but where interest in “spirituality” is increasing. In addition, the Christian chaplain will most likely be working with chaplains who are not only from other Christian denominations but from other faith systems as well. My hunch about all this – that chaplains live with this reality quite easily (or they find something else to do) and that they have been doing this for some time – was clarified and corrected by a major piece of research done at a large academic medical center.6
The authors, Wendy Cage and Emily Sigalow address the specific issue of how chaplains “negotiate” religious differences in interfaith (pluralistic) healthcare settings. The current demand is that most chaplains work as interfaith chaplains with a wide variety of religious and spiritual backgrounds and commitments, or lack of commitment. The “Common Standards for Professional Chaplaincy” adopted in 2004 by the main professional organizations for chaplains in health, state that chaplains are to provide pastoral care for all people, regardless of their commitments or orientation.7 The authors found that, while many chaplains are quite comfortable in working with people who are different, they detected some tension in chaplains who in the scope of their responsibility have to care for those who are from different faith traditions. Specifically, their research raised the question “how chaplains who must be endorsed in one faith tradition to be ‘board certified’ work with patients and families from other spiritual and religious backgrounds.”8
Cage and Sigalow found that chaplains deal with this in various ways, including ways they call “neutralizing” and “code switching.” Their research showed that most chaplains neutralize religious differences by focusing on what the chaplain has in common with the patient, or patient’s family. In this modality, the chaplain makes it clear that she or he is not representing a specific religious orientation, but rather seeks to support the patient in her/his religious/spiritual orientation.9 Code switching is described as the chaplain’s ability to adapt to the patient/patient’s family’s religious tradition by using language, scripture, rites, and symbols from that tradition.10
THE CRITICAL ISSUE
The question then needs to be raised, if Christian chaplains use in either neutralizing or code switching approaches in their work, does that then compromise their ability to confess Christ? It would seem so. It would be interesting to consider St. Paul’s commitment to be all things for all people, and his tour de force on Mars Hill as having components of both neutralizing and code switching. With St. Paul, his stated goal was to “save some.”11 All of his tactics were for the purpose of confessing Christ.
When it comes to confessing “Christ Alone,” Christian chaplains and, in particular, Lutheran chaplains and pastoral counselors, depending on the depth of their training, may have reached a comfortable spot in living with the expectation that they not confess Christ. That certainly reflected my practice as a pastoral counselor until my wake up call in my own personal experience.12 In a recent conversation, a Lutheran Chaplain who works in a large medical center shared with me, regretfully, that he had grown quite comfortable with not confessing Christ in his work.13 I wonder if this is generally the case.
DENOMINATIONAL ENDORSEMENT AND PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS
It is interesting to note that all the professional chaplaincy organizations that I consulted, from Fire to Corrections to Campus, require denominational/religious organization endorsement. The implicit value is that it is necessary that a woman or man who seeks to be a chaplain under that particular banner needs the endorsement of a formal religious organization. It is assumed that a chaplain will have a specific commitment to particular belief system. It is also assumed that the ecclesiastical authority will have taken responsibility to vet the candidate. That is certainly the case with both the LCMS and the ELCA who now have similar, but separate endorsing processes.
In the respective manuals that LCMS and ELCA provide to candidates seeking endorsement for Specialized Ministries, identical wording is used in which the expectation those serving in these ministries give explicit witness to Jesus: “….seek to extend the love of God in Jesus Christ to persons – any and all persons… Those involved in these ministries declare and demonstrate Christ’s love by providing spiritual and pastoral care, advocacy, and the opportunities for service.”14 It is certainly the expectation of the respective church bodies that those who serve in these ministries give witness to the love of Christ. Neither one suggests how this might be done. Neither asks explicitly that “Christ Alone” be proclaimed.
This conference asks us to consider the elephant in the room. It is the elephant that rises from the eerie mists of the past when each Sunday we confess either “from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead” or “And he will come again with Glory to judge both the living and the dead.” My father, a LCMS pastor of the radically conservative bent, believed that it was his calling to first of all determine whether or not each person he met was saved and ready to meet The Judge. If the person could not articulate faith in Jesus to my father’s satisfaction, he would give explicit witness to Jesus. As a child I lived with the ongoing anxiety and embarrassment of my father confronting strangers with either the question, “If you were to die tonight, are you sure you would be in heaven?’ or “If I would fall down right now and be dying, could you tell me the way to get to heaven?” Even later in life accompanying my octogenarian dad to the drug store or any public place, he, my pleas with him notwithstanding, would continue his witnessing. I’m not sure how effective that approach was, but two things I am sure of: First, I hated it and second, he got people’s attention.
THE CRITICAL ISSUE, AGAIN!
And that I believe is the question; what approach, what strategies can be used to proclaim “Christ alone” that are appropriate and effective, to the point that Christ would judge us as not denying him before men?15
Few chaplains carry the expectation of their employers that they confess “Christ alone.” For the chaplains who serve in “Lutheran Institutions,” even in those situations, it is probably not the expectation of the Boards of those institutions that their chaplains proselytize Christians into Lutheranism or people of other faiths to Christianity. However, it would certainly be the expectation that pastoral care be carried out within the norms of generic Lutheranism, e.g. Word and Sacrament Ministry, pastoral care with scripture and prayer, etc.
But there are differences of opinion in how “the Christian art of Evangelism” is carried out. Giving witness to Christ alone, is different than engaging in apologetics with the winning position being that Christ is “The One For All.” Giving witness is different from intrusive and offensive confrontational evangelism.
THE CROSSINGS MATRIX AND CHAPLAINCY
It is in the area of an approach to evangelism that the Crossing matrix may carry with it the most promise for proclaiming “Christ alone.” It has always been in the DNA of the Lutheran distinction between Law and Gospel, but it may be the unique contribution of the Crossing matrix, that, paradoxically, the radical explication of the Law (God’s criminate activity in the world and in people’s lives, either active or passive) provide the horrific and terrifying situation that there is only “one option” for solving the “problem.” What needs to be demonstrated is whether or not the “crossing matrix” is an acceptable tool for those in specialized ministries.
It is my hope that previous presentations in this conference have made this clear: namely, that, if the diagnosis/analysis of a situation is done in such a way that the wrath of God becomes the ultimate, universal problem, then, the only solution is Jesus Christ, “the One for all.” That diagnosis alone necessitates the proclamation of Christ alone.
A clear example of how that can be done is interestingly demonstrated in Ed Schroeder’s response to the movie, Carnage, at last year’s Crossings conference. This is the way that Jerry Burce described how this happened.
Marcus Felde had brought the movie along as an example of how issues addressed in a Biblical text surface in secular contexts. We watched it on Monday afternoon. Later that evening Marcus “crossed” both the context and the underlying issues with a superb homily and some follow-up reflections. Meanwhile Ed, who had gone home early, got to thinking what he’d say as a Christ-confessor to the folks in the movie, none of whom exhibit the slightest inclination toward matters overtly religious. Here’s what he came up with. Notice, when he talks about Christ he does so only in preliminary kind of way. Mostly he shows them how Christian usages of the words “God” and “law” intersect intimately with their own heated conversations, and he winds up tempting them to hear more about a genuine alternative in the Jesus story. It seemed to lots of us who listened yesterday that he did so convincingly. “Spot on,” as my Australian friends might say.16
To do what Ed does takes an extraordinary amount of skill. The last words spoken in the movie is the cry: “This is the worst day of my life.” That evening Ed went home and wrote a response which began:
“The worst day of my life is what the Bible calls Judgment Day. Don’t have to wait till the end of the world for that. Though that is the FINAL judgment, but Judgment day is every day. You don’t even have to believe in God—and still it happens. You’ve just done it here. Judging each other left and right so that your own FINAL JUDGEMENT, final verdict is: This is the worst day of my life. And after all the judging, what’s left? Carnage.”17
Ed continues aligning the story of the movie with the great Shakespearean tragedies of Hamlet and Macbeth, “bodies all over the place.” Speaking directly to the two couples involved, Ed suggests an alternative story that reframes their story in the biblical language of judgment. He suggests they need to switch gods and offers to share with them “the success and promise angles of the Jesus story.”
“CRY” AND “RESPONSE”
The “cry”is the place to where the diagnosis within the matrix leads. It is THE CRY of dereliction which is finally the God on God problem we see in cross. There we have Father vs Son with no pretention of parity and Son vs Father in a show down that ends in death….and resurrection. The challenge is getting to the crossing so that the horror can be “sweet swapped” for joy, so that the worst day of one’s life can become the best day of one’s life.
That “cry of dereliction” is the reason we have chaplains. Chaplains exist to serve those who are displaced from their “place of comfort” and who are struggling with all manner of unfairness or tragedy. You fill in the blank. It runs the gamut from fraud to murder to domestic violence to child abuse to apartheid and infidelity. Moreover, chaplains exist to deal with everyone — from perpetrator to victim, from patient to care provider, from first responder to soldier to marine to policeman to the dangerous and wayward muckers they confront.
Christian Chaplains and Jewish Chaplains claim a God that hears that cry. For Christians, the ear of God becomes flesh in the ear of Jesus who then transplants his ear into those upon whose brow carry, of all things, the Cross! Again and again, Scripture tells us of a God who hears and responds to the cry of dereliction: from the God who heard Cain’s cry (“This is more than I can bear”18) to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who sees, hears and “knows” the cry of the children of Israel in Egypt.19 God responds to the cry of dereliction. That response usually takes place through the mouth piece of a priest or judge or prophet. “Thus says/saith the Lord…” is the common intro. Jesus used “He who has ears, let him hear…” Cry….Response! With the invitation to hear comes the invitation to join in a covenantal relationship.
FROM MATRIX TO COVENANT
The vagaries of response are limited and defined in the covenantal response. The craziness of not knowing where parties are in relationship to each other is modulated by the incremental formation of a covenant. In its most basic form, the covenant is the agreement of two people to join in conversation. For the Christian Chaplain/Pastoral Counselor, the conversation begins with the assumption that the patient/client is already wrapped in the covenant of “Divine Commitment.” The Chaplain/Counselor assumes that the patient/client is a sinner, assumes that his/her cry is an echo of THE CRY of dereliction. But the Chaplain also believes that God is a God who hears those cries and proceeds to minister from that foundation. The listening, accepting presence of the Chaplain/Counselor is a reflection of God’s grace. The creativity of the Holy Spirit in shaping the conversation to reflect both the cry and the response in words — and finally in The Word — will surprise, delight, and at times frustrate. From the “Confessing Christ” perspective, if that is to be the goal, it seems that the Christian Chaplain not only needs to be clear about the tools and methods needed, but proficient in the use of those tools. For the Christian Chaplain, unlike the Pastoral Counselor who may build a response over the course of weeks or month, she/he may have only one conversation with a patient. Most often there will be severe limits on time. But if the cry is acute, e.g., “What must I do to be saved?” – a simple response to “trust the Promise” may be all that is required. And as always, the Stephen Ministry mantra needs to be repeated; “I am the care giver, God is the cure giver.”
Most people who want to speak with a pastoral counselor or a chaplain at some level want to wrestle with God. Most of those same people have a feral understanding of the covenant that they are bound in with God. The very fact that a person seeks a pastoral counselor or a chaplain, or in the case of chaplain, are willing to engage in conversation, is indication enough that the God question, and in terms of the matrix, the God problem, is fair game as a target of the conversation. At this point the work of the chaplain/pastoral counselor becomes challenging, even daunting, but always interesting.
The challenge and promise of Christian chaplaincy, for all those who wish to claim the calling and responsibility to be a “Christ-confessor” is to reframe the cry of dereliction. The challenge for the chaplain (who, at least, in many hospital settings, will have maybe only one or two opportunities to engage in conversation) is how to overcome the absence of a common language to describe not only the cry, but God’s response to the cry. This challenge is even more daunting when the patient/patient’s family comes from a different faith tradition or even a different Christian denomination. However, it may be easier to create a common language of the cry and response for “the Pluralist” than for those who are embedded in their own faith/denominational traditions. The reason is that the “pluralist” mind may be more flexible and willing to partner in the creative process of forming a common language.
Chaplains who serve in clinics for those with chronic conditions, cancer treatment centers, dialysis units, rehabilitation centers, long terms care units, prisons, or those who serve primarily those who protect and serve (i.e., police, first responders, firemen/firewomen) have the opportunity to build relationships over time. Is the Christian chaplain compelled to “confess Christ”? And if the chaplain chooses for some reason not to “confess Christ,” at what time does she or he come under judgment for “denying Christ before others?”20
Could it be that the unique tool that the Christian chaplain has in her/his tool box is the understanding that God has a problem. The New Testament, aka New Covenant, identifies the stake holders in the God problem. And God’s problem is directly related to the unplanned pregnancy, the cancer diagnoses, the drive by shooting that leaves a nine year old girl dead in her mother’s arms, the pile up on an interstate that takes the life of spouse and three of four children, the veteran who struggles with flashbacks so terrifying that his wife and children have left him, the rape victim, the unsuccessful suicide, the former Lutheran pastor inmate serving time for child pornography, the octogenarian who has alienated his family/been abandoned by his family, the family in shock struggling with a successful suicide, or is it? Are these situations, that are the bread and butter issues the Chaplain faces regular, related to God’s problem or not?
If God is a God who sees, hears, and “knows” the dark labyrinth which give rise to the cry, would not God’s response find its roots in that dark labyrinth? If “the worst day of my life” is a cry that finds its origin in the crushing pain of being judged and found wanting/inadequate/impotent/evil/stupid/terminal/unfaithful/guilty, is it theologically valid to say that the judgment is ultimately God’s criminate activity in the world and in people’s lives. Can God be held accountable? The covenant would suggest God has no choice.
The task of theodicy is to hold God accountable. And for Christians, in contrast to Rabbi Kushner in his classic study of Job who cops out by emasculating God21, who claim the “omnis” without reservation, especially for Christian chaplains, the challenge is to take seriously the cry. Those that chaplains minister to are those who are more likely to be without the language, culture, and community of a faith community than those that the pastor, or imam, or rabbi who responds to the cry of their parish, congregation, synagogue. Or in the language of this conference, the clientele of the chaplain most likely will reflect a pluralist mentality.
CHAPLAINCY ON THE COLLEGE CAMPUS
What about Christian chaplains who serve on university and college campuses? I have spent some focused time on the University/College chaplain. This past May, my son-in-law, an ELCA pastor of some 12 years, graduate of Southern (Columbia SC), after a nine year stint as pastor of a relatively large and growing parish in Virginia Beach, accepted the position of Dean of the Chapel and Chaplain at Roanoke College, in Salem, VA. Roanoke College , a four year liberal arts school that relishes its 175 year history as a distinctively Lutheran, but not sectarian institution of higher learning. That was made crystal clean in the homily at my son-in-law’s installation, a homily that was shared by the college President Maxey and the bishop of the Virginia Synod, James Mauney. I was so impressed by the way they articulated the place of the academy in the church and the church in the academy that I asked for their manuscripts. What initially impressed me was that these two men had taken the time to talk about and write out their understanding of how the role of the chaplain bridged those two worlds in more than a symbolic way. What especially impressed me was the way President (Mike) Maxey, a cradle Baptist, was able to articulate four foundations of Lutheran higher education.22 Bishop (Jim) Mauney responded by stating clearly the church’s witness to the academy.
Jim: (Bishop James Mauney, Virginia Synod, ELCA)
We believe it so important to have a pastor on campus, full-time. We remember our Lord JC, who in humble Love laid down his life , in compassion for those like sheep without a shepherd, was available for seeing and hearing the hurts, the needs, the concerns, the joys, the hopes, and being among them, leading by word and example, ready to teach our father who art in heaven for young disciples asking suddenly how to pray.
Mike: (Michael C. Maxey, President, Roanoke College, Salem, VA) And we want a dean of the chapel here. The picture on the altar in Wittenberg, Germany Is Christ crucified between Luther in the pulpit and the listeners. Christ comes through the preaching and sacraments. Really, truly comes. So we truly want a chaplain to do that very thing, to bring the Christ to this campus here in word in bread and wine.
Jim: And we brought a parish pastor, one who has worked with families, with parents and their children, knowing their hopes and fears. We called a pastor with a family himself, three lovely children and a most capable wife and public school teacher herself.23
In my interview several weeks ago with my son-in-law, he shared with me the unique challenges of being a Lutheran chaplain on a campus that is neither sectarian nor secular. He shared with me a very insightful article written by Darrell Jodock, “Vocation of the Lutheran College and Religious Diversity.”24 Jodock, Professor of Religion at Gustavus Adolphus College makes a case for a “third path” in distinction from “two well known default positions” for private colleges in the United States, i.e. sectarian institutions and secular institutions. Sectarian institutions would certainly include those colleges and universities in the Concordia University System of the LCMS. While it is deeply rooted in the LCMS, it is not inclusive. Since the convention last summer, the President of the LCMS has the final say so in who is hired as faculty. The second default position is what Jodock calls “non-sectarian”, “religiously inclusive, it is a microcosm of the surrounding society.”25 The third path that Jodock claims for Lutheran colleges is not dissimilar from that described by Bishop Mauney and President Maxey. Jodock identifies six features of the Lutheran tradition that influences how a college thinks about interreligious dialogue and civil discourse.26
THE MILITARY CHAPLAINCY
The military chaplaincy presents a unique challenge and opportunity for the Christian Chaplain. Robert Crick, A Church of God military chaplain, in his book Outside the Gates, The Need for; Theology, History and Practice of Chaplaincy Ministries draws from his experience as a chaplain in a variety of settings. He addresses the issue of a chaplain working in a pluralistic setting.
“In the pastoral care setting, a successful chaplain must validate their unique faith history through balancing three difficult areas: authenticating one’s pastoral identity as a chaplain, giving the Holy Spirit a vital, yet appropriate place in ministry; and developing a more integrated view of healing.”27
Lutherans in the military chaplaincy have a long and distinguished history. For 16 years I was the pastor of Zion Lutheran in Fairbanks. The building that housed the congregation was a scant four miles from the front gates of Ft Wainwright, home of the “Arctic Warriors” and during my time, it was the staging area for three deployments to Iraq. Over those years three Lutheran chaplains brought their families to worship at Zion. As a pastor in the community who was supportive of the base chaplains’ daunting responsibilities, I had the opportunity to work closely with them in several projects.
In a recent extended conversation with a protestant chaplain28 with 22 years of service, I was reminded again of the unique challenges military chaplains face and the rich resources at their disposal. I was overwhelmed by this man’s passionate and, at times, disturbingly dispassionate review of his career. As a new chaplain he faced a crushing counseling load with nothing but a couple of “counseling courses back in seminary.” So he found a fellow chaplain who was credentialed AAMFT and, amazingly, for the next three years had weekly individual supervision for his counseling work. He told me about his year of CPE training at a major medical center, his six months stint on an ICU and his six month immersion in a burn unit that, he said, took him a year to recover. He spent 15 months in Iraq, during which time he was responsible for a host duties from writing the “personal paragraph” for the General’s letter to the families of soldiers killed in action to conducting memorial services for fallen soldier in combat zones to being assigned to a unit that had suffered 70% casualties. All of this led him to believe “the good die young.” He heard again and again that the pious and respectful soldier is that one who died.
This extraordinary man was circumspect when he talked about the religious diversity among the chaplaincy corps. His experience was that chaplains were respectful both of fellow chaplains’ denominational limitations and theological commitments. His primary personal support was the AAMFT supervisor who remained a personal friend until he passed away and a Roman Catholic chaplain who was such an example of faith and commitment that for a time, this chaplain considered becoming a Roman Catholic.
This chaplain affirmed the policy that military chaplains are not compelled to participate in practices that 1) violate their consciences or 2) conflict with their endorsing denomination’s policy. This was also confirmed from conversations I had with Rear Admiral Jim Doebler, Civil Engineer Corps, United States Navy (Retired), who is presently the chair of the Ministry to the Armed Forces Committee (LCMS) which is made up of the chairman and three retired chaplains. The Admiral provided me with copies of communications to LCMS chaplains that related to their role as it might be affected “with the repeal of DADT (Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell) and the recent Supreme Court decision striking down section three of DOMA.”29 The memo stated that the Department of Defense is moving “full speed ahead on full implementation of benefits for SSDP (Same Sex Domestic Couples) couples.”30 This document clarifies for LCMS military chaplains what they must do under the rubrics “The Gospel” and “Congress.” Under the rubric “Gospel,” they “will continue to counsel and minister to all servicemen and servicewomen regardless of sexual orientation…” Under the rubric “Congress” it states that congress “has already passed reinforcing language protecting the right of chaplains to preach, teach, and counsel in harmony with their conscience and their endorsing agency. Commanding officers are not permitted to force, nor can they command or coerce, a chaplain to marry SSDPs …”31
EUNBEE HAM, CHRIST CONFESSOR?
Before making some concluding remarks, I would like to share parts of a recent evaluation of training offered by a 2nd year Pastoral Counseling student Eunbee Ham at Care and Counseling, Atlanta GA. The following is her response to the following rubric: “Articulates beginning level pastoral and theological interpretation of the praxis of psychotherapy and the life experience of the counselee. Can offer a succinct and clear definition of pastoral counseling that differentiates it from other therapeutic modalities.”
The more I delve into this work, I have realized what unique contribution I make through my pastoral theological interpretation in the life experience of counselees. I believe that pastoral counseling is unique from other therapeutic modalities in that pastoral counselors bring a perspective about personhood as inextricable from meanings derived from faith, mystery, and the Divine. For me, this means using my Judeo-Christian faith to pray, imagine, and be open to the Holy Spirit to partner in God’s healing and reconciling work in the world through pastoral counseling. More specifically, my sources guiding my therapeutic interpretation include not only psychotherapy but also Scripture, theological interpretation and prayer. In our globalized, consumerist, technology-oriented society, people are feeling more lost, isolated, and fragmented by the psychosocial stressors that characterize our times. I believe that pastoral counseling is one of the methods that God uses to focus the lives of individuals and communities for God’s redemptive purposes. Pastoral counseling cultivates an environment where everyone is invited to speak, to hear, and to witness God, who is at work to free the oppressed, to forgive sin, reconcile brokenness, and establish love, peace, and justice in the world. It offers a space for God’s people to learn how to discern God’s direction and activities in them and for the communities in which they find themselves.32
With this excellent and thoughtful reflection on the work and impact of pastoral counseling, which I believe is also to be found in much CPE work, what more would Eunbee Ham need to say for “Christ to be confessed?” Or is this far enough to escape the judgment that Christ has been denied? Does Ms. Ham allow for Christ when she writes “the methods that God uses to focus the lives of individuals and communities for God’s redemptive purposes?”
Concluding observations. One of the hallmarks of Stephen Ministry is “distinctively Christian care” directed by the four quadrants of the “caregiver’s compass”: Skilled, Compassionate, Full of Faith, Trustworthy. In the middle of the compass is a chi-rho. The cornerstone of Stephen Ministry is the twice a month peer supervision that Stephen Ministers commit to when they begin their active ministry. Now as a small group facilitator for one of my congregation’s Stephen Ministry’s small groups, I am continually impressed how well these paraprofessional Stephen Ministers provide distinctively Christian care.33 For most “in depth” reports, the Stephen Minister is asked, how her or his care giving is distinctively Christian. I am convinced that would not happen consistently except for supervision.
The case for supervision! By the time I “went up” for Fellow in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, I had in excess of 1600 hours of supervision from more than a dozen supervisors. There was nothing more important in my training than supervision. Course work was important. Didactics were necessary, but it was in supervision that I became confident enough to enjoy my work. It was only in my doctoral dissertation that I was forced to take seriously my theological roots as I struggled with God to provide an answer to theodicy’s dilemma.34
The excitement of that project quickly died and may, only now be rekindled. Can the Law-Gospel distinction, as uniquely captured in the “crossings matrix,” become a functional catalyst for Christ to be confessed as the “One for All” in Specialized Ministries?35 I see that happening only if there is a commitment by clinical folk to do what the Crossings Community has done publically for the past 15 years with its weekly “text study/analysis.” In the same way that a pericope is “crossed,” so a case study would be “crossed” with “the matrix.” My fascination with this proposal comes from two sources. First, I am committed to the diagnosis/prognoses dialectic as a way to pay proper attention to the law as God’s criminate action in evoking/provoking the “cry.” Second, I am as committed to the power of the foolishness of the message of the Cross of Christ in framing a “response” to the cry.36
Will it work? Is it practical? There is only one way to find out. Find chaplains and pastoral counselors who are willing to do case conferences with “proclaiming Christ alone” as being the end goal, understanding that there would be developmental stages along the way. Once learned, working the “crossings matrix” would be of little challenge for chaplains. Their clinical training and the demands of 3rd party pay has already made clinicians excellent diagnosticians. They are accustomed to mining family of origin and contextual issues for the diagnostic purposes (DSM stuff) and well equipped at creating behavioral goals37 for treatment. The structure is there, only the substance would be different.
Because of the unique challenges that Christian Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors face working outside the protection of the church, on college campuses, in the military, in the counseling office, and in hospital and institutional settings, the Crossings Matrix — and its use in supervisory, peer supervision and consultation settings — may be the preferred way to ensure that the Holy Spirit has the opportunity to create faith through the proclamation of Christ Alone/The One for All!
Theses for Debate:
1. Christian Chaplains, by right of baptism and the imperative of ordination, are compelled to be Christ Confessors.
2. Christian Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors, by tending to the cry in its primal form with compassion and skill, fulfill their calling by “planting and watering” allowing the Holy Spirit to provide others to bring the harvest.
3. Christian Chaplains who are faithful to their calling to be Christ Confessors, may not be able to work in settings where they are required to be interfaith chaplains.
4. A Christian Chaplain working with patients/clients who are of different faith traditions has a unique opportunity to be a Christ confessor.
5. Christian Chaplains lack the tools and training to be Christ Confessors in pluralistic settings.
6. A Christ Confessing Chaplain working in an interfaith setting may not use code switching or neutralizing. (see Cage and Sigalow)
A Chaplain is not:
A Pastor, although she/her may provide pastoral care.
An Evangelist, although she/he may give profound witness to the Gospel.
Paid by the church, nor works for the church, but is held accountable by her/his endorsing religious judicatory.
A Chaplain is
The acknowledged spiritual representative in pluralistic settings o Expected to be true to her/his religious tradition
Highly trained
A representative of as well as the heart, the eyes, the ears and the voice of Christ
Endorsed by her/his denomination
Has unique opportunities to confess Christ, in deed and in word.
1 Portals of Prayer, Concordia Publishing House, October – December, 2013.
2 Handwritten German letter sent to Mrs, Alma Gerecke. Concordia Historical Institute, St. Louis. This story was first shared with me by Chaplain Mark Luecke of Canton, OH at the ZION XV Conference in October of 2013.
3 Barry, Dan. “A Word Away, the Seventh Game; Close at Hand, Condemned Nazis.” New York Time, October 26, 2013.
4 Anonymous Paper – p. 1
5 Both ELCA and LCMS in their endorsement manuals for candidates who seek to enter specialized ministries have identical (!) wording in describing that real world: Ministries in chaplaincy, pastoral counseling, and clinical education – ELCA, Those who serve in Specialized Pastoral Ministry (LCMS), “reach directly into the primary social structures and institutions of our world. As they encounter people in the midst of these everyday settings, those who serve in chaplaincy, pastoral counseling, and clinical education seek to extend the love of God in Jesus Christ to persons – any and all persons – at the point of their deepest need.” As the introductory paragraphs in these two manuals continue, each claim the ministry is rooted in the Gospel, and although the wording is quite different, both again in identical words: “These ministries are missional in nature and are part of the church’s outreach ministry to the ill, the imprisoned, the elderly, the troubled, the conflicted, and the afflicted.” Under the next topic “Diverse, Scattered, and Specialized” the two paragraphs are again identical, and for the sake of the conference topic these words are important: “…Those involved in these ministries declare and demonstrate Christ’s love by providing spiritual and pastoral care, advocacy, and the opportunities for service, often to many not recognizing the God-given dignity of each person.”
6 Cadge, Wendy and Emily Sigalow. 2013. Negotiating Religious Differences: The Strategies of Interfaith Chaplains in Healthcare. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 52(1):146-158. The identity of the medical center was not revealed.
7 These standards are available at http://www.spiritualcarecollaborative.org/docs/common- standards-professional-chaplaincy.pdf.
8 Cadge. P 147.
9 Cadge. P 151-153.
10 Cadge. P. 153 – 155. 11 I Cor 9:19-23
12 My wake up call came when Dr Ed Schroeder, who was a guest speaker at the Alaska Circuit Pastors Conference, confronted me in front of my peers about the lack of “Christ” in a case presentation of family therapy that I had made.
13 Conversation with a Lutheran Chaplain on October 25, 2013.
14 “Ministries in Chaplaincy, Pastoral Counseling, and Clinical Education, Endorsement Standards and Procedures” ELCA p. 3, 4. “Specialized Pastoral Ministry Ecclesiastical Endorsement Manual,” LCMSp. 1
15 Matthew 10:32-33
16 Blog: https://crossings.org Thursday Theology #763 January 24, 2013 Topic: Talking with the “Nones”
18 Genesis 4:13
19 Exodus 3:7
20 Matthew 10:33
21 Kuschner, Why Bad Things Happen to Good People
22 Maxey, Michael, Unpublished notes. There are 4 Lutheran legs that define our educational identity at Roanoke College. They inspire my own actions as president here and they influence our ideals as a college.
God’s grace, given freely for us is a fundamental and important part of our base. As Luther put it “This grace of God is a very great, strong, mighty and active thing. It does not lie asleep in the soul. Grace hears, leads, drives, draws, changes, works all in [humanity], and lets itself be distinctly felt and experienced. It is hidden, but its works are evident.” I believe God’s grace is one of most important ideas we have to share at Roanoke College. It was certainly the most important attraction to me when I joined College Lutheran Church. For a college, for Roanoke College God’s grace is a blanket that comforts us in the maelstrom of life.
The second leg on our base is the Lutheran respect for, and love of, learning, especially learning that liberates us from oppression and liberates us for service in the world. Marilyn Harran described Luther’s idea that “all learning glorifies God.” What a perfect match and blessing for our College.
The third leg of our base is welcoming all while proclaiming our Lutheran center. Many in the world would have it one way or the other. You are either wholly and exclusively Lutheran or you are wholly and exclusively secular. It is quite Lutheran to live with the tension of paradox and that paradox is no better expressed than with our value to be Lutheran at our core and inclusive in our community life together. I adore that welcoming quality of Lutheran higher education and at Roanoke College.
The last leg of our Lutheran base is Luther’s concept of calling or vocation. This leg is most important, in my estimation, for me and for our College.
23 Unpublished Homily, Bishop James Mauney, VA Synod, ELCA. September 28, 2013
24 Jodock, Darrell. “Vocation of the Lutheran College and Religious Diversity.” Intersections, Spring 2011
25 Ibid., p. 5
26 Ibid, pp. 7 – 11. The six features are 1. Giftedness, 2. The Whole World Gifted by an Engaged God, 3. Wisdom, 4. Caution regarding Claims to Know, 5. A High Value on Community, and 6. An Emphasis on Service and Community Leadership.
27 Crick, Robert D. Outside the Gates, The Need for, Theology, History and Practice of Chaplaincy Ministry, Higher Life, Oviedo, FL. p.
28 His name, denomination and MOS is omitted at his request.
29 Communication from Mark J Shrieber, CAPT, CHC, USN (Ret.) Endorsing Agent, LCMS, August 27, 2013
32 By permission of Eunbee Ham. Pastoral Counselor in Training; Care and Counseling of Georgia. [permission has been requested as of 12 14 13]
33 In the spring of 2010 I made the decision to retire from 30 + years of active clinical work in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling. Shortly after that my wife and attended a week long Stephen Ministry Leader training. We have been actively involved in Stephen Ministry since.
34 Kuehnert, Philip R. In Defense of the Indefensible: Theodicy in Pastoral Counseling. THD Dissertation, Emory University, 1987.
35 I include Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors and CPE practitioners in this designation.
36 I Cor 1:17- 33.
37 Caemmerer’s old “Goal, Malady, Means” for sermon preparation comes to mind.
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Red-hot Auburn meets tradition-rich Kentucky for Final Four
By DAVE SKRETTA - Mar. 30, 2019 06:05 PM EDT
Auburn's Bryce Brown answers a question during a news conference at the NCAA tournament college basketball tournament Saturday, March 30, 2019, in Kansas City, Mo. Auburn is set to play Kentucky in the Midwest regional final on Sunday. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nobody stepping onto the floor for Auburn in the Midwest Region semifinals on Sunday was recruited by Kentucky, the lone team standing in the way of the Tigers' first trip to the Final Four.
Nor were they recruited by Kansas. Or North Carolina.
Yet the fifth-seeded Tigers have already knocked off the Jayhawks and Tar Heels during their joyful romp through the NCAA Tournament. And if they manage to send Big Blue Nation and its roster loaded with NBA prospects back to Lexington, coach Bruce Pearl's plucky bunch of overachievers will have brought down the three winningest programs in college basketball history.
Never has that been accomplished in an NCAA Tournament.
"I wasn't recruited by any of those schools, but I feel like everybody is beatable," said Tigers forward Horace Spencer, who might best encapsulate the dichotomy between the two programs.
Kentucky (30-6) is led by three freshman starters and a dominant sophomore in P.J. Washington, all of whom are likely first-round draft picks. In fact, Keldon Johnson, Ashton Hagans and EJ Montgomery had offers from Pearl — and strongly considered Auburn — before Wildcats coach John Calipari swooped into the picture and offered them an opportunity to play at his NBA factory.
The trigger-happy Tigers (29-9), on the other hand, are comprised of overlooked, underappreciated guards and big men like Spencer, who has developed over four long years into a valuable player.
Together, they have the Tigers on the brink of history.
"It's bigger than basketball for us. Really, we're doing it for Auburn, because Auburn doesn't have that historic, winning tradition," Spencer explained. "It really feels good to see all the happy faces, all the smiles we're bringing to Auburn, you feel me? It feels good to make this history."
Just how historic? Consider this: Kentucky has won more Elite Eight games (14) than the Tigers have in the NCAA Tournament (10), and their only other trip to a regional final was 33 years ago.
Never has Auburn played in the Final Four, not even with Charles Barkley patrolling the paint.
The Tigers will have to take that next step without their most versatile player, Chuma Okeke, who tore the ACL in his left knee against the Tar Heels. Okeke had already scored 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds when he went down late in the game, costing the Tigers their best matchup problem.
"I don't feel like Chuma deserves that at all," said Auburn guard Bryce Brown. "He works so hard, spends so much time in the gym, makes sure his body is right. It's our job to pick him up."
Pearl made it clear the Tigers remain confident, though. What was already an enormous challenge may have become nearly insurmountable, but they are still planning to show up at Sprint Center.
Calipari would expect nothing else.
"He's gotten the program to where people are absolutely excited," he said. "I'm telling you, there is no team in the country playing better than them right now, and we have total respect."
The game itself figures to be an intriguing mish-mash of styles.
The Tigers dropped 17 3-pointers in their win over North Carolina, and were just as dynamic from beyond the arc against the Jayhawks. The Wildcats counter with length, size and the kind of brutalizing defense that Calipari has always demanded of his best teams.
"They'll be ready," said freshman Tyler Herro, who hit the go-ahead 3-pointer and two crucial free throws in the Wildcats' semifinal win over Houston. "They're playing as hot as any team in the country. I think they will play their game and be ready to go."
Here are five more story lines as the Tigers and Wildcats play for a spot in the Final Four:
THREE'S COMPANY: Kentucky and Auburn have already met twice with the Wildcats winning a nip-and-tuck game on the road and a blowout at Rupp Arena. If not for the Wildcats' close loss to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament, they could be facing each other for the fourth time.
SPEAKING OF 3S: Brown broke the Auburn record with 133 3-pointers this season, and the Tigers have hit 438 in all, third-most in NCAA history. And Calipari said he expects more of the same on Sunday.
"If you have really good shooters," he said, "why wouldn't you do it?"
FIRED UP: The Tigers are undefeated this season when eating their pregame dinner at a Japanese steakhouse — they have one in particular that they frequent back in Alabama. They ate elsewhere before their first loss to Kentucky and in the hotel before their loss in Lexington, and Pearl made it quite clear that he would be scouring Kansas City for a steakhouse Saturday night.
"It's dinner and a show, of course. Our guys like the show," he said. "But it's double everything. They want to eat it and take it home. I don't know if that's an extra benefit or not. Maybe it is."
I CANNOT TELL A LIE: Washington acknowledged he was using pain killers to get through the regional semifinal, his first game back from a foot injury. But after scoring 16 points against Houston, and after a good night's rest, the rangy forward said he was feeling better ahead of Sunday's game.
"I don't know if I'm going to start," he said, "but I'm definitely going to play."
HOME, SWEET, HOME: Reid Travis's long journey through college basketball could lead him right back home. He grew up in Minneapolis before beginning his career at Stanford, then transferred to Kentucky for his senior season. With a win Sunday, he'll head back to the Twin Cities for the Final Four.
"I'm really excited for it," he said, "but no more than any other game. If you look like it as going home, that's really too much weight to put on it."
More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/MarchMadness and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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Release Date: 28 AUG 2018
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1. An orange a day keeps macular degeneration away: 15-year study
2. Products of omega-3 fatty acid metabolism may have anticancer effects, study shows
3. Fish consumption may prolong life
4. Cannabinoids may have a vast array of anti-cancer effects
5. Beef jerky and other processed meats associated with manic episodes
6. Scientists reverse aging-associated skin wrinkles and hair loss in a mouse model
7. New study: Omega-3s help keep kids out of trouble
8. Common painkillers triple harmful side effects in dementia
9. Depression linked to low blood levels of acetyl-L-carnitine
10. Active substance raises hopes of curing hepatitis E
11. Low plasma levels of omega-3 fatty acids associated with preterm birth
12. Mushrooms of the Far East hold promise for the anti-cancer therapy
13. Soy diets might increase women’s bone strength
14. Chemicals found in vegetables prevent colon cancer in mice
15. Higher omega-3 index associated with better brain function in children
16. Clay to fight bacteria in wounds: An old practice may be a new solution
17. Could vitamin B3 treat acute kidney injury?
18. Consuming milk at breakfast lowers blood glucose throughout the day
19. Maple leaf extract could nip skin wrinkles in the bud
Public Release: 12-Jul-2018
An orange a day keeps macular degeneration away: 15-year study
A new study has shown that people who regularly eat oranges are less likely to develop macular degeneration than people who do not eat oranges
Westmead Institute for Medical Research
that people who regularly eat oranges are less likely to develop macular degeneration than people who do not eat oranges.
Researchers at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research interviewed more than 2,000 Australian adults aged over 50 and followed them over a 15-year period.
The research showed that people who ate at least one serving of oranges every day had more than a 60% reduced risk of developing late macular degeneration 15 years later.
Lead Researcher Associate Professor Bamini Gopinath from the University of Sydney said the data showed that flavonoids in oranges appear to help prevent against the eye disease.
“Essentially we found that people who eat at least one serve of orange every day have a reduced risk of developing macular degeneration compared with people who never eat oranges,” she said.
“Even eating an orange once a week seems to offer significant benefits.
“The data shows that flavonoids found in oranges appear to help protect against the disease.”
Associate Professor Gopinath said that until now most research has focused on the effects of common nutrients such as vitamins C, E and A on the eyes.
“Our research is different because we focused on the relationship between flavonoids and macular degeneration.
“Flavonoids are powerful antioxidants found in almost all fruits and vegetables, and they have important anti-inflammatory benefits for the immune system.
“We examined common foods that contain flavonoids such as tea, apples, red wine and oranges.
“Significantly, the data did not show a relationship between other food sources protecting the eyes against the disease,” she said.
One in seven Australians over 50 have some signs of macular degeneration. Age is the strongest known risk factor and the disease is more likely to occur after the age of 50.
There is currently no cure for the disease.
The research compiled data from the Blue Mountains Eye Study, a benchmark population-based study that started in 1992.
It is one of the world’s largest epidemiology studies, measuring diet and lifestyle factors against health outcomes and a range of chronic diseases.
“Our research aims to understand why eye diseases occur, as well as the genetic and environmental conditions that may threaten vision,” Associate Professor Gopinath concluded.
Products of omega-3 fatty acid metabolism may have anticancer effects, study shows
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A class of molecules formed when the body metabolizes omega-3 fatty acids could inhibit cancer’s growth and spread, University of Illinois researchers report in a new study in mice. The molecules, called endocannabinoids, are made naturally by the body and have similar properties to cannabinoids found in marijuana – but without the psychotropic effects.
In mice with tumors of osteosarcoma – a bone cancer that is notoriously painful and difficult to treat – endocannabinoids slowed the growth of tumors and blood vessels, inhibited the cancer cells from migrating and caused cancer cell death. The results were published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
“We have a built-in endocannabinoid system which is anti-inflammatory and pain-reducing. Now we see it is also anti-cancer, stopping the cells from proliferating or migrating,” said study leader Aditi Das, a professor of comparative biosciences and an affiliate of biochemistry at Illinois. “These molecules could address multiple problems: cancer, inflammation and pain.”
In 2017, the Illinois team identified a new group of omega-3 fatty-acid metabolites called endocannabinoid epoxides, or EDP-EAs. They found that these molecules had anti-inflammatory properties and targeted the same receptor in the body that cannabis does.
Since cannabis has been shown to have some anti-cancer properties, in the new study the researchers investigated whether EDP-EAs also affect cancer cells. They found that in mice with osteosarcoma tumors that metastasized to their lungs, there was an 80 percent increase in naturally occurring EDP-EAs in cancerous lung tissues over the lungs of healthy mice.
“The dramatic increase indicated that these molecules were doing something to the cancer – but we didn’t know if it was harmful or good,” Das said. “We asked, are they trying to stop the cancer, or facilitating it? So we studied the individual properties and saw that they are working against the cancer in several ways.”
The researchers found that in higher concentrations, EDP-EAs did kill cancer cells, but not as effectively as other chemotherapeutic drugs on the market. However, the compounds also combated the osteosarcoma in other ways: They slowed tumor growth by inhibiting new blood vessels from forming to supply the tumor with nutrients, they prevented interactions between the cells, and most significantly, they appeared to stop cancerous cells from migrating.
“The major cause of death from cancer is driven by the spread of tumor cells, which requires migration of cells,” said study coauthor Timothy Fan, a professor of veterinary clinical medicine and veterinary oncology. “As such, therapies that have the potential to impede cell migration also could be useful for slowing down or inhibiting metastases.”
The researchers isolated the most potent of the molecules and are working to develop derivatives that bind better to the cannabinoid receptor, which is plentiful on the surface on cancer cells.
“Dietary consumption of omega-3 fatty acids can lead to the formation of these substances in the body and may have some beneficial effects. However, if you have cancer, you want something concentrated and fast acting,” Das said. “That’s where the endocannabinoid epoxide derivatives come into play – you could make a concentrated dose of the exact compound that’s most effective against the cancer. You could also mix this with other drugs such as chemotherapies.”
Next, the researchers plan to perform preclinical studies in dogs, since dogs develop osteosarcoma spontaneously, similarly to humans. They also plan to study the effects of EDP-EAs derived from omega-3 fatty acids in other cancer types.
“Particular cancers that might be most interesting to study would be solid tumors or carcinomas, which tend to spread and cause pain within the skeleton. Some of the most common tumors that behave this way are breast, prostate, and lung carcinomas, and we can certainly explore these tumors in the future,” said Fan, who is also a member of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the Cancer Center at Illinois and the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.
Fish consumption may prolong life
Consumption of fish and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids was associated with lower risks of early death in a Journal of Internal Medicine study.
In the study of 240,729 men and 180,580 women who were followed for 16 years, 54,230 men and 30,882 women died. Higher fish and long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intakes were significantly associated with lower total mortality. Comparing the highest with lowest quintiles of fish intake, men had 9% lower total mortality, 10% lower cardiovascular disease mortality, 6% lower cancer mortality, 20% lower respiratory disease mortality, and 37% lower chronic liver disease mortality, while women had 8% lower total mortality, 10% lower cardiovascular disease mortality, and 38% lower Alzheimer’s disease mortality.
Fried fish consumption was not related to mortality in men, whereas it was associated with increased risks of mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease in women. Long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake was associated with 15% and 18% lower cardiovascular disease mortality in men and women, respectively, when comparing the highest and lowest quintiles.
Cannabinoids may have a vast array of anti-cancer effects
Previous research has shown that cannabinoids can help lessen side effects of anti-cancer therapies. Now a new British Journal of Pharmacology review has examined their potential for the direct treatment of cancer.
Phytocannabinoids are the most notable type of cannabinoid, and they occur naturally in the cannabis plant. Studies have shown that cannabinoids may stop cancer cells from dividing and invading normal tissue, and they may block the blood supply to tumors. Some studies also indicate that cannabinoids may enhance the body’s immune response against the growth and spread of tumors.
“There is still a need for additional anti-cancer drugs. In this context accumulating data from preclinical models suggest that cannabinoids elicit anti-cancer effects on several levels of cancer progression,” said author Prof. Burkhard Hinz, of Rostock University Medical Center, in?Germany. “Clinical studies are now urgently needed to investigate the impact of cannabinoids on cancer growth and progression in patients.”
Peer Reviewed Review Human
Beef jerky and other processed meats associated with manic episodes
An analysis of more than 1,000 people with and without psychiatric disorders has shown that nitrates–chemicals used to cure meats such as beef jerky, salami, hot dogs and other processed meat snacks–may contribute to mania, an abnormal mood state. Mania is characterized by hyperactivity, euphoria and insomnia.
The findings of the Johns Hopkins Medicine study, which was not designed to determine cause and effect, were published July 18 in Molecular Psychiatry. Specifically, it found that people hospitalized for an episode of mania had more than three times the odds of having ever eaten nitrate-cured meats than people without a history of a serious psychiatric disorder.
Experiments in rats by the same researchers showed mania-like hyperactivity after just a few weeks on diets with added nitrates.
While a number of genetic and other risk factors have been linked to the manic episodes that characterize bipolar disorder and may occur in other psychiatric conditions, those factors have been unable to explain the cause of these mental illnesses, and researchers are increasingly looking for environmental factors, such as diet, that may play a role.
The researchers say that their new study adds to evidence that certain diets and potentially the amounts and types of bacteria in the gut may contribute to mania and other disorders that affect the brain.
“Future work on this association could lead to dietary interventions to help reduce the risk of manic episodes in those who have bipolar disorder or who are otherwise vulnerable to mania,” says lead author Robert Yolken, M.D., the Theodore and Vada Stanley Distinguished Professor of Neurovirology in Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Mania, a state of elevated mood, arousal and energy that lasts weeks to months, is generally seen in people with bipolar disorder, but can also occur in those with schizoaffective disorder. Manic states can lead to dangerous risk-taking behavior and can include delusional thinking, and most of those affected experience multiple hospitalizations in the course of their psychiatric illness.
Bipolar disorder affects an estimated 1 to 3 percent of the population of the United States and costs an estimated $25 billion a year in direct health care costs, according to a study in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
Yolken, trained as an infectious disease expert, was originally interested in whether exposure to infections such as viruses transmitted through food might be linked to any psychiatric conditions. Between 2007 and 2017, as part of an ongoing study, he and colleagues collected demographic, health and dietary data on 1,101 individuals aged 18 through 65 with and without psychiatric disorders. Approximately 55 percent of the participants were female and 55 percent were Caucasian, with 36 percent identifying as African-American.
Those with psychiatric disorders were recruited from patients receiving care at the Sheppard Pratt Health System in Baltimore. Individuals with no history of psychiatric disorders were recruited from posted announcements at local health care facilities and universities in the region.
A study of their records between 2007 and 2017 showed that, unexpectedly, among people who had been hospitalized for mania, a history of eating cured meat before hospitalization were approximately 3.5 times higher than the group of people without a psychiatric disorder. Cured meats were not associated with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder in people not hospitalized for mania or in major depressive disorder. No other foods about which participants were queried had a significant association with any of the disorders, or with mania.
“We looked at a number of different dietary exposures and cured meat really stood out,” says Yolken. “It wasn’t just that people with mania have an abnormal diet.”
Nitrates have long been used as preservatives in cured meat products and have been previously linked to some cancers and neurodegenerative diseases, so Yolken suspected they may also explain the link to mood states such as mania.
The dietary survey did not ask about frequency or time frame of cured meat consumption, so the researchers couldn’t draw conclusions about exactly how much cured meat boosts one’s risk of mania, but Yolken hopes future studies will address this.
To get at the roots of the association, Yolken collaborated with researchers studying the impact of nitrates on rats.
Kellie Tamashiro, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and M.D./Ph.D. student Seva Khambadkone, both of Johns Hopkins, and others divided a group of otherwise healthy rats into two groups: one received normal rat chow, and the other received both normal chow and a piece of store-bought, nitrate-prepared beef jerky every other day. Within two weeks, the rats receiving the jerky showed irregular sleeping patterns and hyperactivity.
Next, the team worked with a Baltimore-based beef jerky company to create a special nitrate-free dried beef. They repeated the experiment, this time giving some rats the store-bought, nitrate-prepared jerky and others the nitrate-free formulation. The animals that ate the nitrate-free meat behaved similarly to a control group, while the animals that consumed the nitrates once again showed sleep disturbances and hyperactivity similar to that seen in patients with mania–increased activity during normal sleep times and in new environments.
The results were then replicated with a specially formulated rat chow that had either nitrate added directly to the chow, or no nitrate.
Importantly, the amount of nitrate being consumed on a daily basis by the rats¾when scaled up to the size of a human–was equivalent to the amount a person might eat for a daily snack, such as one beef jerky stick or hot dog.
“We tried to make sure the amount of nitrate used in the experiment was in the range of what people might reasonably be eating,” says Yolken.
When the group analyzed the gut bacteria of the different groups of rats, they found that animals with nitrate in their diet had different patterns of bacteria living in their intestines than the other rats. Moreover, the animals had differences in several molecular pathways in the brain that have been previously implicated in bipolar disorder.
While the team also cautions that it’s too early to take any clinical messages from the results, and occasional cured meat consumption is unlikely to spur a manic episode in most of the population, Yolken says the findings add to evidence of the multiple factors that contribute to mania and bipolar disorder.
“It’s clear that mania is a complex neuropsychiatric state, and that both genetic vulnerabilities and environmental factors are likely involved in the emergence and severity of bipolar disorder and associated manic episodes,” says Khambadkone. “Our results suggest that nitrated cured meat could be one environmental player in mediating mania.”
Yolken’s group recently published results of a separate study showing that when people with bipolar disorder are given probiotics–which can change the composition of gut bacteria–after a manic episode, they are less likely to be rehospitalized in the following six months. “There’s growing evidence that germs in the intestines can influence the brain,” says Yolken. “And this work on nitrates opens the door for future studies on how that may be happening.”
Scientists reverse aging-associated skin wrinkles and hair loss in a mouse model
A gene mutation causes wrinkled skin and hair loss; turning off that mutation restores the mouse to normal appearance.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Wrinkled skin and hair loss are hallmarks of aging. What if they could be reversed?
Keshav Singh, Ph.D., and colleagues have done just that, in a mouse model developed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. When a mutation leading to mitochondrial dysfunction is induced, the mouse develops wrinkled skin and extensive, visible hair loss in a matter of weeks. When the mitochondrial function is restored by turning off the gene responsible for mitochondrial dysfunction, the mouse returns to smooth skin and thick fur, indistinguishable from a healthy mouse of the same age.
“To our knowledge, this observation is unprecedented,” said Singh, a professor of genetics in the UAB School of Medicine.
Importantly, the mutation that does this is in a nuclear gene affecting mitochondrial function, the tiny organelles known as the powerhouses of the cells. Numerous mitochondria in cells produce 90 percent of the chemical energy cells need to survive.
In humans, a decline in mitochondrial function is seen during aging, and mitochondrial dysfunction can drive age-related diseases. A depletion of the DNA in mitochondria is also implicated in human mitochondrial diseases, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, age-associated neurological disorders and cancer.
“This mouse model,” Singh said, “should provide an unprecedented opportunity for the development of preventive and therapeutic drug development strategies to augment the mitochondrial functions for the treatment of aging-associated skin and hair pathology and other human diseases in which mitochondrial dysfunction plays a significant role.”
The mutation in the mouse model is induced when the antibiotic doxycycline is added to the food or drinking water. This causes depletion of mitochondrial DNA because the enzyme to replicate the DNA becomes inactive.
In four weeks, the mice showed gray hair, reduced hair density, hair loss, slowed movements and lethargy, changes that are reminiscent of natural aging. Wrinkled skin was seen four to eight weeks after induction of the mutation, and females had more severe skin wrinkles than males.
Dramatically, this hair loss and wrinkled skin could be reversed by turning off the mutation. The photos below show the hair loss and wrinkled skin after two months of doxycycline induction, and the same mouse a month later after doxycycline was stopped, allowing restoration of the depleted mitochondrial DNA.
Little change was seen in other organs when the mutation was induced, suggesting an important role for mitochondria in skin compared to other tissues.
The wrinkled skin showed changes similar to those seen in both intrinsic and extrinsic aging — intrinsic aging is the natural process of aging, and extrinsic aging is the effect of external factors that influence aging, such as skin wrinkles that develop from excess sun or long-term smoking.
Among the details, the skin of induced-mutation mice showed increased numbers of skin cells, abnormal thickening of the outer layer, dysfunctional hair follicles and increased inflammation that appeared to contribute to skin pathology. These are similar to extrinsic aging of the skin in humans. The mice with depleted mitochondrial DNA also showed changed expression of four aging-associated markers in cells, similar to intrinsic aging.
The skin also showed disruption in the balance between matrix metalloproteinase enzymes and their tissue-specific inhibitor — a balance of these two is necessary to maintain the collagen fibers in the skin that prevent wrinkling.
The mitochondria of induced-mutation mice had reduced mitochondrial DNA content, altered mitochondrial gene expression, and instability of the large complexes in mitochondria that are involved in oxidative phosphorylation.
Reversal of the mutation restored mitochondrial function, as well as the skin and hair pathology. This showed that mitochondria are reversible regulators of skin aging and loss of hair, an observation that Singh calls “surprising.”
“It suggests that epigenetic mechanisms underlying mitochondria-to-nucleus cross-talk must play an important role in the restoration of normal skin and hair phenotype,” Singh said, who has a secondary UAB appointment as professor of pathology. “Further experiments are required to determine whether phenotypic changes in other organs can also be reversed to wildtype level by restoration of mitrochondrial DNA.”
New study: Omega-3s help keep kids out of trouble
Research led by UMass Lowell prof is one example of how diet, biology can prevent bad, even criminal behavior
LOWELL, Mass. – Something as simple as a dietary supplement could reduce disruptive, even abusive behavior, according to newly released research by a team led by a UMass Lowell criminal justice professor.
Giving children omega-3 fatty acid supplements reduces disruptive behavior, which in turn had a positive effect on their parents, making them less likely to argue with each other and engage in other verbal abuse, according to Jill Portnoy, an assistant professor in UMass Lowell’s School of Criminology and Justice Studies.
“This is a promising line of research because omega-3 fatty acids are thought to improve brain health in children and adults. There is more to be learned about the benefits, but if we can improve people’s brain health and behavior in the process, that’s a really big plus,” said Portnoy, noting that a recent research review found that omega-3 supplements do not affect cardiovascular health.
The new research, published in the scholarly journal Aggressive Behavior, is just one example of how Portnoy is studying biological and social factors that can help explain and predict impulsive and risky behavior. The goal is to help determine effective ways to intervene before anti-social behavior escalates into crime.
That work takes Portnoy into the heart of the “nature versus nurture” debate – whether people who commit crimes have something in their physiological makeup that predisposes them to doing so or if social factors like abusive family situations lead them to it.
“Of course, it’s both,” she said, but exactly how is still to be determined. “Biology and social environment interact in complex ways that we’re just beginning to figure out. Before we can design effective interventions, we need to do research to understand what’s happening.”
Portnoy is exploring such a connection through another research project that is looking at how a low resting heart rate may lead to anti-social behavior.
“My theory is that a low resting heart rate might be an acquired, adaptive trait: If you are subjected to chronic or frequent stress as a child, you adapt by lowering your heart rate. The lower heart rate protects you by blunting your reaction to stressful events, but it can also lead to stimulation-seeking behavior. In other words, a stressful environment may cause physiological changes that lead to an increase in aggressive and impulsive behavior, in addition to causing the behavior directly,” she said.
Working with a counterpart at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her Ph.D. and taught before coming to UMass Lowell, Portnoy studied hundreds of youths in Pittsburgh, where she grew up. The researchers found that the youths with lower resting heart rates were more likely to act out as a form of sensation-seeking, including anti-social behavior, which can be especially problematic for individuals living where there are few options for positive forms of stimulation.
Portnoy, who now lives in Portsmouth, N.H., will continue her research on this topic this fall with the help of a dozen UMass Lowell undergrads who will intern with her on the Health, Stress and Behavior Study, researching the connection between stress, heart rate and behavior.
Through this study, Portnoy and her team will examine what she describes as a continuum of criminal behavior with the goal of finding new ways to prevent it.
“Many people break the law in small ways; for example, by driving a few miles over the speed limit. I’m interested in people who are behaving aggressively but not yet reaching the level of criminal behavior or maybe they’re committing more serious crimes like theft or assault, but haven’t been caught. They’re still exacting a toll on society. And if we want to design more general social interventions, like teaching people healthier ways to adapt to stress, then we shouldn’t just study those who get caught,” said Portnoy.
Common painkillers triple harmful side effects in dementia
Commonly-prescribed opioid-based painkillers led to harmful side effects tripling in people with dementia
Commonly-prescribed opioid-based painkillers led to harmful side effects tripling in people with dementia.
Researchers from the University of Exeter, King’s College London and the University of Bergen are presenting two studies at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2018 (AAIC) highlighting a significant increase in harmful side effects related to the use of commonly prescribed opioid painkillers in people with dementia, compared to those on a placebo*. Researchers also identified a mechanism that may be causing the problem**.
In a randomized controlled trial of 162 Norwegian care home residents, the team found a significant rise in side effect such as personality changes, confusion and sedation, which can seriously impact people’s lives in dementia. The team is now calling for studies to examine appropriate dosing of painkillers such as buprenorphine for people with dementia.
Around half of people with dementia who are living in care homes experience clinically significant pain. Previous research has recognised that pain is often under-diagnosed and poorly managed in people with dementia, impacting on quality of life.
After paracetamol, opioid-based painkillers are often the next line of treatment for clinicians in people with dementia, and are prescribed to up to 40% of people with dementia living in care homes. They ease pain effectively, yet current prescribing guidance does not take into account the fact that people with dementia get effective pain relief from smaller doses than are commonly prescribed, and are particularly sensitive to adverse effects.
The trial team, led by the University of Bergen, studied 162 people from 47 Norwegian care homes who had advanced dementia and significant depression. In those who were assigned buprenorphine as part of their treatment pathway, harmful side-effects more than tripled. The researchers also found that those taking buprenorphine were significantly less active during the day.
Clive Ballard, Professor of Age-Related Diseases at the University of Exeter Medical School, said: “Pain is a symptom that can cause huge distress and it’s important that we can provide relief to people with dementia. Sadly at the moment we’re harming people when we’re trying to ease their pain. We urgently need more research in this area, and we must get this dosing right. We need to establish the best treatment pathway and examine appropriate dosing for people with dementia.”
Importantly, research led by Professor Ballard’s team and also presented at the conference gives insight into the mechanism of why people with dementia are more susceptible to opioid-based painkillers, suggesting they over-produce the body’s natural opioids.
The study treating arthritis in Alzheimer’s mice found increased sensitivity to the opioid-based painkiller morphine in mice with Alzheimer’s disease compared to those without. Those with Alzheimer’s disease responded to a much lower dose to ease pain, and experienced more adverse effects when the dose was increased to a normal level. Looking into this further the study found that the Alzheimer’s mice produced more of the body’s natural endogenous opioids such as endorphins. The study, presented as a poster at AAIC**, also concludes that dosing of opioid-based painkillers urgently needs to be reviewed in people with dementia to enable safe and effective treatment of pain, and prevent unnecessary harm and deaths.
Two posters relating to this work are presented at AAIC. They are:
*A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial to Investigate Safety in People with Dementia or Buprenorphine Transdermal System for Pain Management. Authors are Ane Erdal; Elisabeth Flo; Dag Aarsland; Clive Ballard, and Bettina Sandgathe Husebø. Tuesday July 24.
**Impaired chronic pain-like behaviour and disruption of opioidergic system in TASTPM model of Alzheimer’s disease. Authors are Yahyah Aman, Thomas Pitcher, Clive Ballard, and Marzia Malcangio. Monday July 23.
Posters presented at conference have not yet been through the journal peer review process.
Depression linked to low blood levels of acetyl-L-carnitine
People with depression have low blood levels of a substance called acetyl-L-carnitine, according to a Stanford University School of Medicine scientist and her collaborators in a multicenter study.
Naturally produced in the body, acetyl-L-carnitine is also widely available in drugstores, supermarkets and health food catalogs as a nutritional supplement. People with severe or treatment-resistant depression, or whose bouts of depression began earlier in life, have particularly low blood levels of the substance.
The findings, to be published online July 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, build on extensive animal research. They mark the first rigorous indication that the link between acetyl-L-carnitine levels and depression may apply to people, too. And they point the way to a new class of antidepressants that could be freer of side effects and faster-acting than those in use today, and that may help patients for whom existing treatments don’t work or have stopped working.
Natalie Rasgon, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford, described the findings as “an exciting addition to our understanding of the mechanisms of depressive illness.”
“As a clinical psychiatrist, I have treated many people with this disorder in my practice,” she said.
Depression, also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, is the most prevalent mood disorder in the United States and the world, affecting 8-10 percent of the general population at any given time, with every fourth person likely to experience the condition over the course of a lifetime.
“It’s the No. 1 reason for absenteeism at work, and one of the leading causes of suicide,” Rasgon said. “Worse, current pharmacological treatments are effective for only about 50 percent of the people for whom they’re prescribed. And they have numerous side effects, often decreasing long term compliance.”
Rasgon shares senior authorship of the study with Bruce McEwen, PhD, professor and chief of the Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at The Rockefeller University in New York City. The lead author is Carla Nasca, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in McEwen’s lab.
Results in animal studies
“In rodent experiments led by Dr. Nasca both here at Rockefeller and elsewhere previously, a deficiency of acetyl-L-carnitine was associated with depression-like behavior,” McEwen said. Oral or intravenous administration of acetyl-L-carnitine reversed the animals’ symptoms and restored their normal behavior, he said.
In those studies, the animals responded to acetyl-L-carnitine supplementation within a few days. Current antidepressants, in contrast, typically take two to four weeks to kick in — in animal experiments as well as among patients.
Nasca’s animal studies suggest that acetyl-L-carnitine, a crucial mediator of fat metabolism and energy production throughout the body, plays a special role in the brain, where it works at least in part by preventing the excessive firing of excitatory nerve cells in brain regions called the hippocampus and frontal cortex.
The new study, also initiated by Nasca, recruited 20- to 70-year-old men and women who had been diagnosed with depression and, amid episodes of acute depression, had been admitted to either Weill Cornell Medicine or Mount Sinai School of Medicine, both in New York City, for treatment. These participants were screened via a detailed questionnaire and assessed clinically, and their blood samples and medical histories were taken. Twenty-eight of them were judged to have moderate depression, and 43 had severe depression.
In comparing their blood samples with those of 45 demographically matched healthy people, the depressed patients’ acetyl-L-carnitine blood levels were found to be substantially lower. These findings held true for both men and women, regardless of age.
Lowest levels = worst symptoms
Further analysis showed that the lowest levels occurred among participants whose symptoms were most severe, whose medical histories indicated they were resistant to previous treatments, or whose onset of the disorder occurred early in life. Acetyl-L-carnitine levels were also lower among those patients reporting a childhood history of abuse, neglect, poverty or exposure to violence.
These patients, who collectively account for 25-30 percent of all people with major depression disorder, are precisely the ones most in need of effective pharmacological interventions, said Rasgon, who performed the bulk of the advanced data analysis for the study.
But she cautioned against rushing to the store to pick up a bottle of acetyl-L-carnitine and self-medicating for depression. “We have many previous examples of how nutritional supplements widely available over the counter and unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration — for example, omega-3 fatty acids or various herbal substances — are touted as panaceas for you-name-it, and then don’t pan out,” she said.
Big questions remain, she added. “We’ve identified an important new biomarker of major depression disorder. We didn’t test whether supplementing with that substance could actually improve patients’ symptoms. What’s the appropriate dose, frequency, duration? We need to answer many questions before proceeding with recommendations, yet. This is the first step toward developing that knowledge, which will require large-scale, carefully controlled clinical trials.”
Active substance raises hopes of curing hepatitis E
An international team of researchers has now found a possible active substance against the virus in the naturally occurring substance silvestrol. The substance inhibited the replication of pathogens both in cell culture and in the mouse model. The researchers led by Dr Daniel Todt and Prof Dr Eike Steinmann from the Department of Medical and Molecular Virology at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) reported in the journal Antiviral Research on 23 July 2018.
Mahogany plants form active ingredient
Silvestrol is formed by around 400 different types of mahogany plants and can be extracted from their leaves. In the past, silvestrol was described as a potential active ingredient against certain tumours and Ebola, but has not yet been in clinical use.
When screening possible active substances against hepatitis E, the researchers – initially still at Twincore, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research in Hanover, then at the RUB – investigated the effect of silvestrol on the virus. “We first treated what are known as reporter viruses with silvestrol in cell cultures and found that they replicated less than without the treatment,” explains Daniel Todt.
RNA reveals the number of new viruses
In the next step, the researchers used stem cells that they had differentiated into liver cells. They infected them with hepatitis E viruses – both those they had previously produced in the laboratory and those that came from patients and had been purified. The researchers observed the course of infection with and without silvestrol for several days. “Using specific antibodies directed against the virus, we were able to measure how often the viruses replicated in the infected cells,” explains Daniel Todt.
The Result: Following treatment with silvestrol, the multiplication rate and the number of infected cells dropped sharply. “The effect of silvestrol was stronger than that of ribavirin, the only drug used to date to treat hepatitis E,” explains the researcher. This was shown in infections with all four known genetically different types of the virus that can make people ill.
In order to investigate whether the active substance also inhibits viral replication in living organisms, they tested its effect in mice that were implanted with human liver cells and infected with hepatitis E. Here, too, the treatment with silvestrol led to less replication of the viruses. There were no harmful side effects in small doses.
First port of call for hepatitis E research
These results raise hopes that silvestrol might be an effective treatment for hepatitis E. “The clinical potential must be explored in further studies,” says Eike Steinmann. “Our research is laying the foundations for this.”
The Bochum-based researchers are the first to have established a comprehensive test system for active substances against the hepatitis E virus, from cell culture and stem cells to animal models.
The hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the main cause of acute viral hepatitis. After the first documented epidemic outbreak from 1955 to 1956, more than 50 years passed before researchers intensively addressed the topic. Acute infections usually clear up by themselves in patients with an intact immune system. HEV can become chronic in patients with reduced or suppressed immune systems such as organ transplant recipients or HIV-infected patients. HEV is also particularly dangerous for pregnant women. Ribavirin is the only active substance currently in use, but it is not effective in all cases.
Low plasma levels of omega-3 fatty acids associated with preterm birth
Boston, MA – Pregnant women who had low plasma levels of long chain n-3 fatty acids in their first and second trimesters were at a significantly higher risk of early preterm birth when compared with women who had higher levels of these fatty acids, according to new research from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in collaboration with Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen. The study suggests that low concentrations of certain long chain fatty acids–eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (EPA+DHA)–may be a strong risk factor for preterm birth.
“At a time when many pregnant women are hearing messages encouraging them to avoid intake of fish altogether due to mercury content, our results support the importance of ensuring adequate intake of long chain omega-3 fatty acids in pregnancy. Consumers should consult the guidance issued last year by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency to make informed choices about the best types of fish to consume and avoid in pregnancy,” said lead author Sjurdur F. Olsen, adjunct professor of nutrition at Harvard Chan School and head of the Centre for Fetal Programming at Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The study will be published online August 3, 2018, in EBioMedicine.
Preterm birth is a leading cause of neonatal death and is associated with cognitive deficiencies and cardiometabolic problems later in life among survivors. For decades, it has been hypothesized that high intake of EPA+DHA, which is found in cold-water fish such as Atlantic mackerel, anchovies, salmon, and tuna and also in leaner species such as cod and haddock, can reduce the risk of preterm birth. While some studies have supported this hypothesis, research findings have been inconsistent.
For this new study, researchers examined data from the Danish National Birth Cohort, a nationwide study that follows 96,000 children in Denmark through questionnaires and registry linkages. They analyzed blood samples from 376 women who gave birth very prematurely (prior to 34 weeks of gestation) between 1996 and 2003 and 348 women who had a full-term birth. All of the women gave blood samples during their first and second trimesters of pregnancy.
Analysis of the blood samples showed that women who were in the lowest quintile of EPA+DHA serum levels–with EPA+DHA levels of 1.6% or less of total plasma fatty acids–had a 10 times higher risk of early preterm birth when compared with women in the three highest quintiles, whose EPA+DHA levels were 1.8% or higher. Women in the second lowest quintile had a 2.7 times higher risk compared with women in the three highest quintiles.
The findings suggest that, among pregnant women with low levels of EPA+DHA, eating more fish or taking a fish oil supplement could potentially lower the risk of preterm birth. The authors cautioned, however, that broad generalizations about the study’s findings may be limited due to the fact that it was conducted in Demark, where preterm birth rates are low, and said the results should be replicated in other populations. They also cautioned that the findings may not solely reflect a variation in diet; variation in underlying genetic factors may also play a role.
“An effect of this magnitude is rare, but the precision of the estimate is tight, which supports the reliability these findings. It will be important to replicate these findings in other populations, but the results of this study certainly suggest that assessment of plasma EPA+DHA status in women has the potential to be used in the future to help predict women’s risk,” said co-author Jeremy Furtado, senior research scientist at Harvard Chan School.
“Early preterm birth has immense health, economic, and emotional costs. Our findings are consistent with the results of most randomized trials of long chain omega-3 fatty acid supplements in pregnancy and support the importance of ensuring adequate intake of these nutrients during pregnancy, either through fish intake or supplements, to help prevent early preterm birth,” said co-author Andrew Thorne-Lyman, an associate research scientist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who worked on this study while a faculty member at Harvard Chan School.
Mushrooms of the Far East hold promise for the anti-cancer therapy
Mushrooms from the Far East area contain the natural chemical compounds, which could be used for the design of the novel drugs with highly specific anti-tumor activities and low-toxicity
Mushrooms from the Far East area contain the natural chemical compounds, which could be used for the design of the novel drugs with highly specific anti-tumor activities and low-toxicity. These compounds may offer new avenues for oncology, providing us with either stand-alone alternatives to chemotherapy, chemopreventive medicines, or drugs to be used in combination with other therapies.
The international team of scientists from the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU), University of Lausanne, and Federal Scientific Center of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity FEB RAS describes the available body of research on four fungi species with high anti-cancer potential. The article is published in Oncotarget and contains the list of tumors, which were reported to be promising targets of the fungal compounds. Among them sarcoma, leukemia, rectum and colon cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, colon carcinoma and others.
For the purpose of the current study scientists chose mushrooms widely used in Asian and Far Eastern folk medicine: Fomitopsis pinicola, Hericium erinaceus, Inonotus obliquus, and Trametes versicolor. These species of fungi were shown to selectively target certain malignant tumors. The desired effect is achieved thanks to the various bioactive compounds contained in the mushrooms: polyphenols, polysaccharides, glucans, terpenoids, steroids, cerebrosides, and proteins. These substances are not only capable to hit different critical targets within cancer cells levels but also in certain cases to synergistically boost the chemo. Scientists emphasize that four species of fungi were chosen due to the fact that their medicinal properties are relatively well described. Some of them are already actively used for the anti-cancer drugs manufacturing in certain countires. Undoubtedly, there are many other species of fungi that contain chemical compounds to defeat cancer cells.
“In ancient China mushrooms were considered as the most effective treatment for the various types of tumors. Contemporary fungotherapy (treatment by means of mushrooms) represents a promising field for scientific research. The natural chemical compounds contained in fungi have a huge therapeutic and particularly the anti-cancer potential that has not been yet fully studied”, says Professor Vladimir Katanaev, Dr.Habil, Ph.D., Head of the Laboratory of Pharmacology of Natural Compounds of the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy of the School of Biomedicine, FEFU.
Another co-PI and corresponding author of this work, director of the center for genomic and regenerative medicine of the School of Biomedicine, FEFU, Alexander Kagansky, notes that despite that the interest in mushrooms studying has been growing exponentially over the past 60 years, about 90% of the fungal species have never been analyzed for their antibiotic and antitumor activities.
“Moreover, the significant part of cancer-related research of fungi deals merely with their toxicity to cancer cells, and the ability to stop the growth and development of cancer cells. The point is that such properties of the fungi compounds are equally detrimental to the healthy cells of the body”, comments on A. Kagansky. According to the scientist, it is necessary to research fungi for the chemical compounds capable of selective, targeted impact on cancer cells.
Vladimir Katanaev notes the importance of further research the immunomodulatory effect of fungi enriched with polysaccharides. According to him, immunomodulation can be attributed to indirect but effective methods of defeating cancer.
The first generation of natural medical compounds from mushrooms’ extracts wasn’t specific and has been applying widely for the therapy of all cancer types without consideration of tumor type properties. Such therapy damaged not only tumor cells but also healthy cells of the body. There were lots of heavy side-effects at times leading to the death of the patient due to the overdose.
Modern approaches to anti-cancer therapy are based on the targeted treatment with minimal or no consequences to the healthy cells and tissues. For this purpose, not only the general therapeutic properties of fungal chemical compounds are investigated but also the ways they differ in their action on different tumours.
The scientists hope that the high potential of the fungi for the anti-cancer therapy showcased in their article will encourage the further research at the junction of oncology and mycology. Currently in the laboratories of the School of Biomedicine (FEFU) led by Vladimir Katanaev and Alexander Kagansky,the new experiments are conducted to reveal the anti-cancer activities of the mushrooms extracts. This work is aimed at creating the new generation of highly specific low-toxic drugs, which could be specifically targeted on different tumor types.
Soy diets might increase women’s bone strength
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Osteoporosis, decreased physical activity and weight gain are serious health concerns for postmenopausal women. Researchers from the University of Missouri now have discovered through a new animal study that soy protein found in food might counter the negative effects of menopause on bone and metabolic health. Moreover, the researchers believe that soy protein might also have positive impacts on bone strength for women who have not yet reached menopause.
“The findings suggest that all women might see improved bone strength by adding some soy-based whole foods, such as tofu and soy milk, to their diet,” said Pamela Hinton, professor of nutrition and exercise physiology. “We also believe that soy-based diets can improve metabolic function for postmenopausal women.”
Hinton and Victoria Vieira-Potter, co-author and associate professor of nutrition and exercise physiology, studied the effects of soy versus corn-based diets on rats selectively bred to have low fitness levels. Rats were again divided between those with and without ovaries to mimic effects of menopause. Prior research has found that these rats are good models for menopausal women. They compared the impact of the soy diet on bone strength and metabolic function to rats fed a corn-based, soy-free diet.
“Prior research has shown that these rats are good models, as average American women are relatively inactive both before, and especially after, menopause,” Vieira-Potter said. “As such, understanding how dietary protein sources, such as soy, can impact metabolism and bone health in these rats can help us better understand how such diets might impact women’s health across the lifespan.”
The researchers found that the tibia bones of the rats that were fed soy were stronger compared to the rats who were fed the corn-based diet, regardless of ovarian hormone status. Moreover, they found that the soy-based diet also improved metabolic function of the rats both with and without ovaries.
“Bottom line, this study showed that women might improve bone strength by adding some soy-based whole foods to their diet,” Hinton said. “Our findings suggest that women don’t even need to eat as much soy as is found in typical Asian diets, but adding some tofu or other soy, for example foods found in vegetarian diets, could help strengthen bones.”
“Soy protein improves tibial whole-bone and tissue-level biomechanical properties in ovariectomized and ovary-intact, low-fit female rats,” recently was published in Bone Reports. Other MU researchers on the study included Laura Ortinau, Rebecca Dirkes, Emily Shaw, Matthew Richard and Terese Zidon. Steven Britton and Lauren Koch, both affiliated with the University of Michigan Medical School, also contributed to the study.
The study was funded by the National Center for Complementary and Integrated Health, the Office of Dietary Supplements and the National Cancer Institute. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.
The Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology is administered by the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, the College of Human Environmental Sciences and the School of Medicine.
Chemicals found in vegetables prevent colon cancer in mice
The Francis Crick Institute
Chemicals produced by vegetables such as kale, cabbage and broccoli could help to maintain a healthy gut and prevent colon cancer, a new study from the Francis Crick Institute shows.
The research, published in Immunity, shows that mice fed on a diet rich in indole-3-carbinol – which is produced when we digest vegetables from the Brassica genus – were protected from gut inflammation and colon cancer.
While the health benefits of vegetables are well-established, many of the mechanisms behind them remain unknown. This study offers the first concrete evidence of how I3C in the diet can prevent colon inflammation and cancer, by activating a protein called the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR).
AhR acts as an environmental sensor, passing signals to immune cells and epithelial cells in the gut lining to protect us from inflammatory responses to the trillions of bacteria that live in the gut.
“We studied genetically modified mice that cannot produce or activate AhR in their guts, and found that they readily developed gut inflammation which progressed to colon cancer,” explains first author Dr Amina Metidji from the Francis Crick Institute. “However, when we fed them a diet enriched with I3C, they did not develop inflammation or cancer. Interestingly, when mice whose cancer was already developing were switched to the I3C-enriched diet, they ended up with significantly fewer tumours which were also more benign.”
By studying both mice and mouse gut organoids – ‘mini guts’ made from stem cells – the researchers found that AhR is vital for repairing damaged epithelial cells. Without AhR, intestinal stem cells fail to differentiate into specialised epithelial cells that absorb nutrients or generate protective mucus. Instead, they divide uncontrollably which can ultimately lead to colon cancer.
Preventing colon cancer
“Seeing the profound effect of diet on gut inflammation and colon cancer was very striking,” says senior author Dr Gitta Stockinger, Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute. “We often think of colon cancer as a disease promoted by a Western diet rich in fat and poor in vegetable content, and our results suggest a mechanism behind this observation. Many vegetables produce chemicals that keep AhR stimulated in the gut. We found that AhR-promoting chemicals in the diet can correct defects caused by insufficient AhR stimulation. This can restore epithelial cell differentiation, offering resistance to intestinal infections and preventing colon cancer.
“These findings are a cause for optimism; while we can’t change the genetic factors that increase our risk of cancer, we can probably mitigate these risks by adopting an appropriate diet with plenty of vegetables.”
As well as correcting altered AhR dependent gene expression, dietary I3C also had a surprising effect on unmodified mice with normal AhR expression. While normal mice fed on standard or I3C-enriched food did not develop tumours during the study, those fed on a ‘purified control diet’ did.
An ‘optimal’ diet?
Laboratory mice are usually fed a standard grain-based ‘chow’ which contains a mix of ingredients and nutrients. For dietary studies, they are given a ‘purified control diet’ so that researchers know exactly what is in the food. These are designed to precisely fulfil the animal’s nutritional needs while being free of allergens, pathogens or variable ingredients found in standard chow.
Purified control diets contain exact mixtures of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and fibres enriched with vitamins and minerals. However, the latest study suggests that these diets have fewer AhR-promoting chemicals than the standard chow or the I3C-enriched diet.
“Normal mice on the purified control diet developed colon tumours within 10 weeks, whereas mice on the standard chow didn’t develop any,” explains co-corresponding author Dr Chris Schiering, who worked on the study at the Crick and now works at Imperial College London. “This suggests that even without genetic risk factors, a diet devoid of vegetable matter can lead to colon cancer.”
From mouse to man
To follow up on their surprising findings, the team are now hoping to do further experiments in organoids made from human gut biopsies and eventually human trials.
“A number of epidemiological studies suggested that vegetables may be protective against cancer,” explains Gitta. “However, there is very little literature on which vegetables are the most beneficial or why. Now that we’ve demonstrated the mechanistic basis for this in mice, we’re going to investigate these effects in human cells and people. In the meantime, there’s certainly no harm in eating more vegetables!”
Professor Tim Key, Cancer Research UK’s expert on diet and cancer, said: “This study in mice suggests that it’s not just the fibre contained in vegetables like broccoli and cabbage that help reduce the risk of bowel cancer, but also molecules found in these vegetables too. This adds to the evidence that a healthy diet, rich in vegetables, is important. Further studies will help find out whether the molecules in these vegetables have the same effect in people, but in the meantime there are already plenty of good reasons to eat more vegetables”
Higher omega-3 index associated with better brain function in children
Wright On Marketing & Communications
New research published in the July edition of the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, has established a strong correlation between blood levels of omega-3s, especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and better brain function in children two to six years old.
The objective of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between whole-blood fatty acids (FAs) and executive function in 307 children (two to six years old) from Northern Ghana. The aim of researchers was to examine the extent to which higher levels of EPA and/or DHA were associated with better cognitive performance. Dried blood spot samples were collected and analyzed for FA content.
The children underwent a battery of age-appropriate cognitive function tests. Specifically, the dimensional change card sort (DCCS) task was used to assess executive function.
The DCCS asks that the child sort a series of bivalent cards based on one of two instructed dimensions (i.e., either color or shape). Following sorting an initial series of eight cards based upon color, the child is instructed to switch the categorization dimension and sort another series of eight cards based upon shape. This dimensional change in sorting behavior provides an index of executive function as the child must suppress their previously learned set of rules (i.e., sorting by color) and attentional inertia towards those attributes in order to flexibly adjust their behavioral actions and attention to sort the cards by a new set of rules (i.e., sorting by shape).
The average Omega-3 Index (red blood cell EPA + DHA level) in this group was 4.6%, with a range of 2.3% to 11.7%. Significant differences in mean % total whole-blood fatty acids were observed between children who could not follow directions on the DCCS test (50% of the sample) and those who could (50% of the sample). Children with the highest levels of total omega-3s and DHA were three and four times, respectively, more likely to pass at least one condition of the DCCS test of executive function than those with the lowest levels.
This study has several strengths. First and foremost, it utilized an objective biomarker to assess dietary fatty acid intake (i.e., the Omega-3 Index), as opposed to other conventional and less precise methods such as food frequency questionnaires or diet history techniques. Food frequency questionnaires are not highly accurate at estimating circulating blood levels of fatty acids.
The authors concluded that these findings provided an “impetus for further studies into possible interventions to improve essential fatty acid status of children in developing countries.”
One of the study’s investigators, Dr. Bill Harris, founder of OmegaQuant, and co-inventor of the Omega-3 Index test, said the results are very encouraging for these children, who are probably the most disadvantaged when it comes to omega-3 consumption.
“Children in developing countries like Ghana do not have the access to omega-3-rich sources that children from other parts of the world do. This has several ramifications, particularly in the area of brain development and cognitive function. We were happy to see the positive correlation between omega-3 levels and better brain function, especially since an omega-3 deficiency is so easy to correct. All it requires is consuming more of the right omega-3s, especially DHA which in this case was the standout fatty acid here.”
Clay to fight bacteria in wounds: An old practice may be a new solution
ROCHESTER, Minn. – The use of mud or wet clay as a topical skin treatment or a poultice is a common practice in some cultures and the concept of using mud as medicine goes back to earliest times. Now Mayo Clinic researchers and their collaborators at Arizona State University have found that at least one type of clay may help fight disease-causing bacteria in wounds, including some treatment-resistant bacteria. The findings appear in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents.
“We showed that this reduced iron-bearing clay can kill some strains of bacteria under the laboratory conditions used, including bacteria grown as biofilms, which can be particularly challenging to treat,” says Robin Patel, M.D., a clinical microbiologist and infectious diseases specialist at Mayo Clinic and senior author of the study. Biofilms occur when bacteria attach to surfaces and develop a film or protective coating making them relatively resistant to antibiotics. They appear in two-thirds of the infections seen by physicians.
“This study is an important advance in understanding how clays, specifically blue clay from Oregon, have shown medicinal properties by attaching to pathogenic bacteria,” says Enriqueta Barrera, program director in the National Science Foundation’s Division of Earth Sciences, which funded the research.
In laboratory tests the researchers found the clay has antibacterial effects against bacteria such as Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus, including resistant strains such as CRE and MRSA. The clay suspension was effective against a number of bacteria both in their planktonic and biofilm states.
The research is preliminary and the authors caution that only one concentration of the clay suspension was tested, based on preliminary results. The lab tests are a first step in simulating the complex environment found in an actual infected wound. They also caution that not all types of clay are beneficial. Some may actually help bacteria grow. More research is needed to identify and reproduce the properties of clays that are antibacterial, with the goal of possibly synthesizing a consistent compound of the key minerals under quality control.
Could vitamin B3 treat acute kidney injury?
Researchers discover mechanism that could lead to new, accessible treatment
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
BOSTON – Acute kidney injury, an often fatal condition without a specific treatment, affects up to 10 percent of all hospitalized adults in the United States and 30-40 percent in low-income countries. The condition causes a build-up of waste products in the blood and an imbalance of fluids throughout the body. Acute kidney injury can occur from ailments that place the body into extreme stress – putting already hospitalized patients, particularly those in intensive care units, at risk.
A multidisciplinary research team led by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center nephrologist and principal investigator Samir M. Parikh, MD, has now determined that a form of vitamin B3 has the potential to prevent acute kidney injury. Published today in Nature Medicine, the findings bring clinicians one step closer to an accessible and safe therapy for patients who may be at risk.
Parikh and colleagues discovered that levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) – the end result of vitamin B3 after it is ingested – declines in cases of acute kidney injury.
“We were able to detect a drop in NAD+ in the urine of high-risk patients who were either in an intensive care unit or undergoing a major surgery and found that oral vitamin B3 could safely elevate NAD+ in high-risk patients,” said Parikh, who is also an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “These findings are very early, but the results suggest that we could one day have a non-invasive test for NAD+ status and perhaps even treat acute kidney injury by boosting NAD+ levels.”
Parikh – along with first authors Mei Tran, a senior scientist in the Parikh laboratory, and Ali Poyan Mehr, MD, a nephrologist at BIDMC – made the discovery by studying the metabolic changes associated with acute kidney injury in a mouse model. A urine screen revealed high levels of quinolinate – a little-studied intermediate for making NAD+. This unusual pattern suggested a block at an enzyme called QPRT which is responsible for converting quinolinate to NAD+. With QPRT blocked, an explanation began to emerge for NAD+ depletion during acute kidney injury, which disrupts the body’s ability to manufacture NAD+.
The scientists tested that hypothesis by using CRISPR gene editing to create a mouse model with reduced QRPT but no kidney injury. The genetically altered rodents mimicked the pattern of acute kidney injury; decreased NAD+, increased urinary quinolinate and increased susceptibility to kidney injury. The experiments were the first to establish QRPT as a mediator of renal stress resistance.
In subsequent human studies, the team found high urinary quinolinate in patients undergoing major surgery at risk for acute kidney injury and confirmed this metabolite pattern in a separate study of 329 intensive care unit patients also at risk for acute kidney injury. The team then gave large doses of oral vitamin B3 to 41 cardiac surgery patients enrolled in a Phase 1 pilot study.
“Our results suggest that NAD+ biosynthesis becomes impaired during human acute kidney injury and that augmenting vitamin B3 levels may be safe and potentially beneficial to patients.” said Kamal Khabbaz, MD, Chief of Cardiac Surgery at the CardioVascular Institute at BIDMC, who co-led the clinical trial. “What’s more, we showed that urinary measurements in at-risk patients can indicate this impairment and, furthermore, predict adverse outcomes. Restoring NAD+ could constitute and important advance for patients at risk for acute kidney injury, though further studies are needed to verify these findings.”
Consuming milk at breakfast lowers blood glucose throughout the day
Effects of protein composition and concentration detailed in a new study from the Journal of Dairy Science®
Philadelphia, August 20, 2018 – A change in breakfast routine may provide benefits for the management of type 2 diabetes, according to a new study published in the Journal of Dairy Science. H. Douglas Goff, PhD, and the team of scientists from the Human Nutraceutical Research Unit at the University of Guelph, in collaboration with the University of Toronto, examined the effects of consuming high-protein milk at breakfast on blood glucose levels and satiety after breakfast and after a second meal. Milk consumed with breakfast cereal reduced postprandial blood glucose concentration compared with water, and high dairy protein concentration reduced postprandial blood glucose concentration compared with normal dairy protein concentration. The high-protein treatment also reduced appetite after the second meal compared with the low-protein equivalent.
“Metabolic diseases are on the rise globally, with type 2 diabetes and obesity as leading concerns in human health,” Dr. Goff and team said. “Thus, there is impetus to develop dietary strategies for the risk reduction and management of obesity and diabetes to empower consumers to improve their personal health.”
In this randomized, controlled, double-blinded study, the team examined the effects of increasing protein concentration and increasing the proportion of whey protein in milk consumed with a high-carbohydrate breakfast cereal on blood glucose, feelings of satiety, and food consumption later in the day. Digestion of the whey and casein proteins naturally present in milk releases gastric hormones that slow digestion, increasing feelings of fullness. Digestion of whey proteins achieves this effect more quickly, whereas casein proteins provide a longer lasting effect.
Although the team only found a modest difference in food consumption at the lunch meal when increasing whey protein at breakfast, they did find that milk consumed with a high-carbohydrate breakfast reduced blood glucose even after lunch, and high-protein milk had a greater effect. Milk with an increased proportion of whey protein had a modest effect on pre-lunch blood glucose, achieving a greater decrease than that provided by regular milk.
According to Dr. Goff and colleagues, “This study confirms the importance of milk at breakfast time to aid in the slower digestion of carbohydrate and to help maintain lower blood sugar levels. Nutritionists have always stressed the importance of a healthy breakfast, and this study should encourage consumers to include milk.”
Maple leaf extract could nip skin wrinkles in the bud
BOSTON, Aug. 20, 2018 — Maple trees are best known for their maple syrup and lovely fall foliage. But it turns out that the beauty of those leaves could be skin-deep — and that’s a good thing. Today, scientists report that an extract from the leaves may prevent wrinkles.
The researchers are presenting their results at the 256th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS, the world’s largest scientific society, is holding the meeting here through Thursday. It features more than 10,000 presentations on a wide range of science topics.
The scientists had previously studied the chemistry and health benefits of sap and syrup obtained from sugar maple and red maple trees. Historical records suggested that other parts of the trees could also be useful, according to Navindra P. Seeram, Ph.D., the project’s principal investigator. “Native Americans used leaves from red maple trees in their traditional system of medicine,” he notes, “so why should we ignore the leaves?”
Skin elasticity is maintained by proteins such as elastin. Wrinkles form when the enzyme elastase breaks down elastin in the skin as part of the aging process. “We wanted to see whether leaf extracts from red maple trees could block the activity of elastase,” says Hang Ma, Ph.D., who is presenting the work at the meeting and is a research associate in Seeram’s lab.
The researchers, who are at the University of Rhode Island, zeroed in on phenolic compounds in the leaves known as glucitol-core-containing gallotannins (GCGs) and examined each compound’s ability to inhibit elastase activity in a test tube. The scientists also conducted computational studies to examine how the GCGs interact with elastase to block its activity, and how the molecules’ structures affect that blocking ability. GCGs containing multiple galloyl groups (a type of phenolic group) were more effective than those with a single galloyl group. But these compounds can do more than interfere with elastase. In prior work, Seeram’s group showed that these same GCGs might be able to protect skin from inflammation and lighten dark spots, such as unwanted freckles or age spots.
Seeram and Ma plan to do further testing. “You could imagine that these extracts might tighten up human skin like a plant-based Botox®, though they would be a topical application, not an injected toxin,” Seeram says. And the fact that the extracts are derived from trees would be appreciated by consumers who are looking for natural, plant-based ingredients in their skincare products.
The researchers have taken steps to get the extracts into products, having developed a proprietary patent-pending formulation containing GCGs from summer and fall maple leaves and maple sap, which they named MaplifaTM (pronounced “mape-LEAF-uh” to reflect its origin). They have licensed it to botanical extracts supplier Verdure Sciences based in Indiana and are hoping to eventually find a market for the formulation in the cosmetics sector or even in dietary supplements.
If these products come to fruition, the team’s findings could benefit the local economy. “Many botanical ingredients traditionally come from China, India and the Mediterranean, but the sugar maple and the red maple only grow in eastern North America,” Seeram says. Farmers in the region, who currently only harvest sap from the maple trees, could tap the leaves as a value-added product for an additional source of income. Even better, the process would be sustainable because leaves could be collected during normal pruning or when they fall from the trees in autumn.
A press conference on this topic will be held Monday, August 20, at 1 p.m. Eastern time in the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Reporters may check-in at the press center, Room 102 A, or watch live on YouTube http://bit.ly/ACSLive_Boston2018. To ask questions online, sign in with a Google account.
The researchers acknowledge support and funding from the University of Rhode Island and Verdure Sciences.
The American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, is a not-for-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive press releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.
Note to journalists: Please report that this research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.
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Inhibitory Effects of Glucitol-core Containing Gallotannins from a Proprietary Red Maple (Acer rubrum) Leaves Extract on Elastase Enzyme
Skin wrinkling is a declining process of skin cell function associated with aging caused by the loss of skin elasticity over time. Skin elasticity is maintained by skin extracellular matrix proteins such as elastin. Elastase, a member of the chymotrypsin family of proteases, is responsible for the breakdown of skin elastin. Therefore, inhibition of elastase enzyme is a plausible management for skin elastin degradation and thus, elastase inhibitors, including natural products, are being investigated as anti-wrinkle cosmetic agents. We previously reported on the skin protective effects, including anti-glycation and anti-melanogenic properties, of a series of glucitol-core containing gallotannins (GCGs) from a proprietary phenolic-enriched red maple (Acer rubrum) leaves extract (MaplifaTM). However, the effect of these GCGs on elastase enzyme is unknown. Herein, we investigated the inhibitory effects of MaplifaTM GCGs including ginnalin B (GB), ginnalin C (GC), ginnalin A (GA), maplexin F (MF) and maplexin J (MJ) on elastase enzyme. The GCGs (at 500 μM) showed inhibitory activities ranging from 21.3 – 62.5% and the GCGs with multiple galloyl group including GA (2 galloyls), MF (3 galloyls), and MJ (4 galloyls) showed superior activity to those GCGs with a mono-galloyl group (namely, GB and GC). The mechanisms of the GCGs’ inhibitory effects on elastase enzyme were further studied by using an enzyme kinetic assay and computational docking method. Our data suggest that MaplifaTM GCGs may have anti-wrinkle activity through the inhibition of elastase enzyme warranting further studies on its cosmetic applications.
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Chiaramonte selected as AD3I softball Player of the Week
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – St. Joseph's College (N.Y.) senior pitcher/outfielder Alyson Chiaramonte (Staten Island, N.Y.) has been named the Association of Division III Independents softball Player of the Week. Chiaramonte tossed a one hitter and back-to-back perfect games, the third and fourth of her career, en route to a 6-0 week for the Lady Bears. The victories helped extend the team's win streak to 15 games. Chiaramonte went 17 consecutive innings without giving up a hit and compiled a 3-0 record in the circle and a 0.74 ERA. She fanned 38 batters on the week and allowed just one walk. She recorded double-digit strikeouts in each of her three wins and tossed her first career seven inning perfect game. At the plate, she was 10-for-17 (.588) with seven runs, six RBI, six doubles and a home run, leaving her with a 1.118 slugging percentage.
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Tag: May
May 2017 Wrap Up
I had sort of a weird crisis over CrossFit this month. I got suddenly very uncomfortable with how much it cost, and was frustrated with changes in my schedule that made it more difficult to get to class. I actually debated giving it up completely because I was just feeling so weird about it. I even started writing a post all about how I was feeling, but never hit “publish.”
Thankfully, I snapped out of it toward the end of the month. After a week and a half of no classes, I went to one that was just SO MUCH FUN, even though it was hard. It washed away any doubts I had that CF was something I wanted to stick with and I’ve been full bore ever since. Yes, it’s expensive, and yes, sometimes I don’t go as much as I “should,” but I love it, it’s a great compliment to running, and I’m so effing strong these days I hardly recognize myself. I love it.
I was supposed to run four races this month, but only ended up with two, which is totally ok with me. The VT Respite House was my first race this year, and was pretty dang speedy. Then the Craft Brew Race was just a good time with my friend Megan.
I ran 8 times for a total of about 27 miles. I’m still trying to fit in two or three runs a week, but it’s hit or miss right now. CrossFit is my priority because I’m paying for my membership, but I love to squeeze in lunch runs when the weather is nice. I’m less dedicated when it comes to running in rain, cold, or on the treadmill.
Sadly, I didn’t get to yoga even once. This month was surprisingly busy with social activities, and with Dogfight rehearsals starting up mid-month, my entire schedule shifted quite a lot and yoga was a lot less convenient. I hope to get back to it, but with summer temps on the horizon, hot yoga may not be quite as soothing as during the winter.
We started Dogfight rehearsals, and so far, so good. Stowe Theatre Guild is a much smaller, less well-funded organization than Lyric Theatre, so things aren’t quite as well organized as I’d like, but I love the show so much that I’m just trying not to worry too much about anything and roll with it.
We also had a season kick-off cabaret on the 20th, which was a lot of fun. I got to sing a song from the show, and meet a bunch of the actors in the season’s other shows that I wouldn’t normally get to interact with. We had a decently-sized audience and I was pretty proud of the performance I gave in spite of never actually having rehearsed the song.
I’m feeling a bit anxious about the whole “I have to play guitar and sing onstage” thing, because the guitar that the director loaned me to learn/practice on has a broken string, so that hasn’t actually been happening yet. I’m ready to buckle down and work on it a lot this month, I just need to get a fully functional instrument.
I also scheduled my first professional theatre audition, and I’m feeling excited AND scared, to quote Little Red from Into the Woods. It’s a great opportunity, so I just need to relax, prepare, and do the best I can.
Ben’s job situation has finally settled! For the last two years, he’s been on a temporary contract covering a leave of absence for someone, and after lots of delays, ups, and downs, he finally has a permanent part time position, and the district is allowing him to fill in some Instructional Aide blocks to pad him to full time so we can keep his benefits. This means buying a house and starting a family are ON LIKE DONKEY KONG.
Lowlight
Work has sort of slowly been draining my will to live. I am lucky in that I have excellent co-workers and really competitive pay, but the job I do is SO. BORING. 80% of the time I don’t have enough to do, and the other 20% of the time it’s batshit crazy. There is no in between. It’s been getting me really down lately, and I’ve started getting stress headaches at work, which is no fun.
I’m just trying to remind myself that the end (getting knocked up and not coming back to work after maternity leave) is squarely in sight now, so I just need to suck it up for another year or so. It could always be worse.
May Goals
As a refresher, my goals for May were:
Go to CF at least 10 times (my membership allows for 12 classes per month)–nope
Go to yoga at least twice–nope
Do at least one “long” run (4+ miles)–check!
Take the Honda to the dealership to deal with the airbag recall notice–nope
Boo. Not so great on the goals from this month. Hopefully I can do better for June.
June Goals
Run at least once a week (5 times total)
Go to CF at least twice a week (8 times total)
Take the Honda to the dealership to deal with the airbag recall
Do you like to set monthly goals? Do you find that they help you get stuff done?
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Commentaries on the Times
Praising Saints, Celebrating Heroes, Unmasking Charlatans, Defending the Defenseless and Chastising Scoundrels
« An Open Letter to Rock Hermon Hackshaw
Republican Warmongers take over the Senate! »
Sweet Willie and the Rappers!
Sweet Willie: Premiere Poet of the English Language
A Daring Discourse on Hip Hop and Shakespeare
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”
~William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 2, Sc. 2
There are so many treasures to be found on You Tube that I feel compelled to introduce some of these important videos to a wider audience by reviewing them and publishing the essay with a link to the video. The videos that interest me cover politics, sport and culture. And the subject of the video under review here is the relationship between the verse of William Shakespeare and the best Hip Hop bards.
The presenter in the video is an Afro-British poet and teacher named Akala, who is the guiding light of a unique cultural experiment that blends the works of William Shakespeare – which were written in the late 16th and early 17th Centuries – with that of 20th century American rappers, demonstrating the similarities between the esthetics and concerns of Shakespeare’s verse and the poetry that arose from Afro-American street bards in New York City during the 1970’s called Hip Hop or Rap, a cultural phenomenon that I witnessed and wrote about. I am also a published Shakespeare critic.
Hence it came as a pleasant surprise when I searched them out and read the mission statement of the London based Shakespeare and Hip Hop Company.
“Both hip –hop and Shakespeare’s theater represent energetic and inventive forms of expression. Both are full of poetry, word play and lyricism. Both deal with what it is to be human, and issues from people’s lives, and of course just like Shakespeare’s work, hip-hop is all about the rhythmic tension of words. The similarities between hip-hop music and Shakespeare’s theater are striking. As a media-savvy popular entertainer and talented businessman, we think hip-hop would have been Shakespeare’s thing – a truly old school Jay Z.”
Jay Z: Hip hop Poet and Super Entreprenuer
He turns street literature into lucre!
Jay Z and beautiful wife Byonce chillin at the apex of power
Rappin with fellow hip hop head Chilly B. Knowledge
Upon reading this I reflected on how my first, and most influential, teachers of Shakespeare’s texts – My aunt Rosa Morgan and Ms. Rosalie Gordon –would have reacted to such a claim. Knowing their reverence for the Bard I suspect that they would have been scandalized. But that is because all English teachers revered Shakespeare as something akin to a demi-god, a divinely inspired wizard of the word – written or spoken.
However the scholarship on Shakespeare has revealed that he was quite a down to earth fellow who held little in common with the pious prigs who are now the keepers of the Western canon – one imminent Yale literary scholar has declared “Shakespeare is the Western canon” – meaning the sacred texts of secular literature; those texts selected by the great scholars of Western literature as required reading in formal classes on English language and literature. Thus we can safely assume that many of the canonical sentries will be fairly alarmed by any suggestion of an affinity, a Sympatico between the verse of the Bard and the rhymes of rappers. In their view the former is high-brow poetry; the latter low brow doggerel….and it shall remain ever thus.
Yet The Bard might have liked hip hop as Akala suggests, for upon closer examination we find some fundamental differences between Shakespeare and those who now interpret his works. To begin with the guardians of the canon are all professional intellectuals, scholars trained by virtue of many years of rigorous university study, guided and tutored by imminent specialists in their field and terminating with the Doctor of Philosophy or PhD degree. Most of these professional academics know but little of actual life as it is lived by all levels of society, and they abhor business practices as a kind of amoral chicanery unworthy of one committed to the exalted life of the mind.
Their knowledge of the world is highly specialized, which has resulted in them knowing more and more about less and less. William Shakespeare was a very different animal. He wanted to know everything about the world and how human beings responded in different situations. That curiosity, along with his unique insights and literary genius, accounts for the fact that if one tries hard enough it is possible to find a Shakespeare quote for any human activity…he is more reliable than the Bible; which some students of the King James version believe he wrote.
The son of a leather tanner he learned early on about business practices, and the first lesson every businessperson everywhere must learn is that they must show a profit after paying vital expenses or they won’t be in business long. Without inherited wealth or rich patrons Shakespeare had to figure out how to make a living while he created his art or he would be forced to choose between writing and eating regularly. Evidently the starving artist mystique held no more romantic charms for him than for Jay Z. Literary scholar Leslie Fiedler ably examines Shakespeare’s attitude toward art and commerce in a brilliant and insightful essay titled “Literature and Lucre,” which is a chapter in his seminal book on the changing values and function of literature in Western culture What Was Literature?
The great insight that Fiedler’s text provided for me was his elucidation of how Shakespeare felt about making money from creating art. A practical man, he decided that since he was an actor and playwright he should own and manage his own theater. This decision had a profound impact on how the Bard viewed the purpose of his plays, which affected how he crafted them. His first concern was shared by every theater owner anywhere in the world: putting butts is seats until the room is full for every show.
The second major concern was to write compelling entertainments employing the Greek masks of tragedy and comedy, pathos and bathos that would satisfy the emotional needs of his customers who would then spread the word and keep them coming. Shakespeare understood well that a satisfied customer is one’s best advertisement. He was wearing two hats, businessman and artist, for him there was no contradiction between the aims of commerce and culture that pervades the thinking of so many creative people who think of themselves as fine artists, some of whom regard being commercial as a sign of artistic treason i.e. “selling out.” Although we are left to speculate about how good a businessman Shakespeare was, the texts he left to posterity testifies profoundly to his genius as a poet and dramatis – no one has ever done it better!
I have been fairly mesmerized by the writings of William Shakespeare ever since my Aunt Rosa, who taught English literature in high school when I was a boy, bade me listen to the music of his words. She said to me one day that the way to tell if you had written something well is to read it out loud because, she emphasized, “If a thing is well written it will read well out loud.” Then she picked up a copy of the Bard’s text and began to read it out loud while instructing me on how to listen. I fell in love with the iambic pentameter rhythms of his verse and it is a love that has lasted a lifetime.
My love of Shakespeare’s text soon led to a fascination with the spoken word; this enchantment was partially due to the fact that I suffered from a severe speech impediment in early childhood. And once I overcame it through the patient and loving guidance of my mother, my aunt Rosa drafted me onto her oratorical team, just as she had done with our parents a generation before.
It was during my tenure on the oratorical team under the stern tutelage of my aunt that I began to recite Shakespearian monologues. At the same time I was studying the Bard’s plays under the guidance of Mrs. Gordon, the daughter of college professors who held a degree in English Literature from Boston University, where she dated Countee Cullen, a budding poet at Harvard who hailed from Harlem, then a the most glamourous and accomplished black community in the world.
An actress at heart Ms. Gordon was an impassioned teacher of Shakespeare and when she read from Macbeth we could see the witches in the skies attempting to fill his head with avarice and ambition as he returned from battle. And when she read Lady Macbeth’s cold and calculating monologue bidding her husband to hurry home so that she could stoke those vile ambitions we sat riveted in our seats. I can still hear her even now, over half a century later – “Thine heart is too full of the milk of human kindness/ hie the hither / that I may chastise with the valor of my tongue/ all the that impedes thee from the golden round/ with which supernatural and metaphysical aid/ Hath doth crowned thee withal.” And we agonized with Lady MacBeth as she vainly struggled remove the blood of the murdered King Duncan from her hands: “Out Damned Spot!”
Hence I have had an ear for the rhythm of Sweet William’s verse since boyhood. My fascination with the Bard’s work was heightened when Joseph Papp, producer of the Shakespeare in the Park summer theater – where professional productions of Shakespeare’s plays could be seen at the Delacorte theater in Central Park – mounted a production of Othello. The play starred the Spanish actor Raoul Julia in the role of Othello, and this decision sparked a furious debate among New York theater critics. The essay in the august New York Times theater section “Looking Inside that Outsider: Othello the Moor,” caught my eye. What got my attention in particular is a claim by the Director of the Delacorte production, an Irishman named Joe Dowling, that Shakespeare didn’t intend for Othello to be a black man.
He speculated that this was a recent interpretation motivated by a tendency toward political correctness in the arts. And like most historical ignoramuses he went on to say that Shakespeare could not have intended for Othello to be black because there were no black men in Elizabethan England. However as the Caribbean scholar Edward Scobie tells us in his path-breaking book Black Britannia, there were many black people in England during Shakespeare’s time and cites a report of the Privy Council complaining to Queen Elizabeth about the growing numbers of “blackamoors” in her realm.
Scobie, who was a Professor at New York City College, pointed out that Shakespeare had more than a casual knowledge of the Blackamoors because he was madly in love with his black mistress named “Lucy Negro,” whose heart he stole from a British nobleman and who was described as black and beautiful and a superb actress with the Greys Inn’s Revels. Since I have already written and published an extensive treatise on the question of Shakespeare and race I shall not belabor it here. For those who wish to read my thoughts on the subject see: “Did Shakespeare Intend Othello to be Black: A Meditation on Blacks and the Bard,” in the anthology Othello: New Essays by Black Writers, Howard University Press.
The essay above was inspired by the discussion of Othello’s race in the New York Times article; it was my answer to their nonsense masquerading as authority. As it happens, just before the Othello production a troupe from the Royal National Shakespeare Theater visited New York and performed Macbeth.
It was a fabulous production staged in a massive old Gothic church on the posh East side of Manhattan, and the cast was all black. I thought it the most fabulous production of Shakespeare I had ever seen. I was bewitched by the cacophony of mellifluous voices spoken in exotic accents from all over the black world: Africa, Europe and the American diaspora.
It was a Pan-African production staffed by beautiful gifted thespians of earthen hues that conjured up strains from Duke Ellington’s tone poem Black, Brown and Beige Suite. I was so moved by their performance that I hurried to my computer and wrote a review, “Shakespeare in Living Color,” which was published on the cover page of the Arts section in the New York Village Voice, whose coverage of the Arts scene was unsurpassed in the 1990’s. For instance it was here that serious, literary, criticism of the growing hip hop phenomenon was born. With outstanding Afro-American writers like Barry Michael Cooper, Harry Allen, Greg Tate, Nelson George, Joan Morgan, Dream Hampton, et al. the Voice became the tribune of hip hop.
The reception that greeted the Macbeth review was such that I became known to the producer of the play, who arranged for some of the cast to come on my WBAI radio show one afternoon on their day off, and I had a ball reading Shakespeare with members of the Royal National Shakespeare Theater. I told them the story on air of how the great Afro-American actor Ira Aldridge – unquestionably one of the outstanding Shakespearian Tragedians of the 19th century and the most powerful Othello according to theater critics all across Europe who reviewed his performances – learned his craft at the Grove Theater, a black owned theater in Greenwich Village devoted to the performance of Shakespeare’s plays.
Alas, he was forced to flee to England in order to find a safe space to perform, because ignorant racist white thugs routinely attacked them for daring to perform Shakespeare. Aldridge would go on to become a sensation in Europe playing Othello and Aaron, Shakespeare’s two magnificent Moors in whom he invested virtue and vice, their dramatis personae symbolizing the extremes of good and evil. It was these experiences – meeting the black Shakespearians, writing about their performance, the controversy over Othello’s racial identity – that led me to write the extended treatise on Othello. At the time of my meeting with the black Shakespearians Aldridge was the only black actor with a chair in the Shakespeare memorial at Stratford Upon Avon, The Bard’s birthplace.
Ira Aldridge
The Greatest Othello of the 19th Century?
During this period I had an experience that began my enlightenment about the predicament of black artists in Britain. At the time I was writing regularly for the London Guardian – which was then the venerable Manchester Guardian – and when Senior Editor Alan Rushbridger visited New York, accompanied by a group of writers, I took my London colleagues to lunch at B Smiths, a first class restaurant located in the Broadway theater district owned by an Afro-American high fashion model. As one would expect, this was a smart and stylish crowd. The cuisine was superb and we were serenaded by a first rate Jazz trio as we dined.
The senior editor looked about the plush environs in wonder and then confided “There is no smart affluent black scene like this in London.” Although it struck me as odd, I was in no position to dispute him, considering that on a previous business trip to London when I was a boxing promoter I split my time hanging out with millionaire white businessmen at the Dorchester – which they assured me was London’s finest hotel – and black Jamaican gangsters in Brixton. (see: “On Being Black in London.”) And since I had never experienced anything but the warmest collegiality at the Guardian, my fail-safe racial bullshit detector was powered down. But when the editor went on to tell me how happy they were to have me writing for the Guardian because there were no black writers of my caliber in England, the flashers began to go off in my head and I could hear the warning voice saying “beware of bullshit tips!”
Although I had no evidence to dispute him I knew Rushbridger’s astonishing claim couldn’t possibly be true. A few days later my suspicions were confirmed. I was browsing through a book stall at the famous Papyrus book store, located right across the street from Columbia University, which is a great place to be if you are into used books, and I stumbled across a book titled “The Struggle For Black Arts in Britain.”
The book was an anthology composed of essays by a variety of writers, all of them black and residing in Britain. The English prose composition was finely crafted, innovative, and animated by a flash of Pan-African spirit; its polyrhythmic phrases seemed to dance off the page. I was stunned….how could such gifted writers be so ignored? They struck me as prophets without honor in their own land.
All of these memories were conjured up as I watched the lecture demonstration on the relationship between Shakespeare’s literary project and the concerns of hip-hop artists by the Afro-British poet Akala: spoken word artist, insightful intellectual, Shakespeare devotee, thespian and theatrical innovator. It is hard to imagine a more effective spokesman for this bold movement to combine the work of Shakespeare and hip hop artists in live performance to hip hop beats.
This is something really new, a genuine innovation, and they are not just floundering about trying anything, but are building a new genre of Rap performance that is extending the artistic ambitions of the form. They are about the business of establishing an original voice in the world of hip-hop, a dazzling new voice that combines verbal virtuosity with a deep knowledge of poetry, a celebration of lyrics that prize intellect and elevated notions about the role of the poet in contemporary society.
There are speakers who have much of importance to say but say it badly, and there are those who have nothing of real gravitas to say but say it so well that the can bewitch the crowd with the power of their oratory alone. Like being told to go to hell in such attractive language you actually look forward to taking the trip. One speaker puts the crowd to sleep from boredom as if they had been feed sleeping pills instead of words. The other entertains the crowd but teaches them nothing. In both instances the audience is cheated and little learning takes place. But there are special occasions when a speaker has something of value to say and says it well. That’s when we really learn something. Akala is that kind of teacher.
Akala
Innovative Rapper and Shakespeare Scholar
From the introduction of his subject of the commonalities of hip hop and Shakespeare, it was clear to me that Akala knew his stuff. One gets the impression that by now he has heard all of the objections of the naysayers who are offended by the comparisons and conducts a clever exercise that removes all doubt that he is on to something real and we are not about to be subjected to a display of buffoonery conducted by some barely literate special pleader who knows not the grave offense that he is perpetrating.
He tells the audience that he is going to recite some lines and form Shakespeare and some lines for US rappers, and although they were written over 400 years apart in different regions of the world he challenges the audiences to vote with a show of hands which lines were written by Shakespeare and which by rappers. Although I thought the idea preposterous I nevertheless sat up on the edge of my chair anxiously anticipating his recitations.
The first quote was “To destroy the beauty from which one came.” The second line was “Maybe its hatred I spew….maybe its food for the spirit.” The audience voted overwhelmingly that both lines were authored by Shakespeare, and since this was an audience nurtured on the texts of the Bard I knew they could not be easily deceived…but they were. The first lines were penned by Jay Z and the second were written by M&M. He then Recited lines from the Wu Tang Clan, and fooled the audience again.
That little demonstration made Akala’s point in a powerful way, the fact than nobody expected it made it all the more effective. The experience was like getting hit over the head with the truth; from that moment on he grabbed our attention and held it tight. The audience became so confused and intellectually intimidated that when he quoted lines authored by the Bard only half the audience got it right…and I didn’t do much better. It was a revelation….but Akala’s presentation goes much deeper.
He discussed the class structure that existed in England at the time, and pointed out that the country was rife with violent conflicts and 90% of Shakespeare’s audience was illiterate and explained that, like the rappers, Shakespeare’s art had to appeal to the untutored masses. Akala gave a remarkably cogent analysis of the origins of hip hop culture among the Afro-American population of New York City; cited the great innovators in the development of hip-hop like African Bambatta, D.J Red Alert, Kool Herc et al, and explained the African origins of the word “hip” a term Afro-Americans introduced into the English language.
Bronx Bard and a Founding Father of Hip Hop
DJ Red Alert!
A Pioneering MC
Kool Herc
One of the Holy Trinity of Hip Hop
I had never heard of its connection with Africa, but serious students of Afro-American culture and speech have identified several words of African origin. What was most enlightening is how similar the meaning of the word is in African and Afro-American cultures. His discussion of rappers as latter day neo-African griots is also fascinating. Yet as impressive as the intellectual discourse is it is Akala’s performance as a spoken word artist/rapper that steals the show. The boy’s got skills big time!
Akala is a verbal virtuoso who spits out words like bullets from a machine gun. At one points he recites the Bard’s Sonnets over hip hop beats, and demonstrates the similarity between some rappers flows and Iambic pentameter, Sweet Willie’s favorite flow. This came as a surprise to me because I had always thought of the French playwright Moliere as having the most in common with modern day rappers by virtue of the fact that he told his stories in rhyme, as in his much celebrated play “The Misanthrope.”
After listening to Akala’s presentation one begins to understand why Professor Henry Louis Gates included the verse of rappers in his canon building Norton Anthology of Afro-American Literature, a move many intellectuals believed to be a sacrilegious act. So sit back in your favorite chair and check out this video; let Brother Akala take your mind on a fantastic journey. Among the surprising revelations this video unveils is the fantastic influence hip hop has had on the popular culture of the world. After all, this is an art invented by young working class blacks and Puerto Ricans with a compulsion to make music but were denied the opportunity to receive formal training in the art of music due to the severe cuts in funding for public education in New York City.
This is the result of pragmatic philistines who cannot distinguish between what students need to know in order to make a living, and what they must know in order to make a rich and satisfying life. In word and deed Akala testifies to the positive influence of hip hop on contemporary popular culture whose appeal flows over all borders. It is a bravura performance, unlike anything I have ever witnessed in a spoken word exhibition, and it is accompanied by an ongoing intellectual discourse which is distinguished by erudition and eloquence. Bravo!
Double Click on link to see Akala’s presentation
https://youtu.be/DSbtkLA3GrY
Playthell G. Benjamin
Harlem, New York
May 24, 215
This entry was posted on May 25, 2015 at 3:00 pm and is filed under Cultural Matters, Music Reviews with tags Akala, Shakespeare and Hip Hop. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
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The Independent Traveler
The wayfaring journals of a single woman making her way across Europe, one city at a time
2006 – London
2007 – England and France
2008 – Italy
2009 – France, Belgium, and the Netherlands
2011 – Germany
2012 – England and Scotland
2015 – France
2016 – Ireland
2017 – Austria and Switzerland
Top 10 Things to Do in Rome, Italy
Top 10 Things to Do in Florence, Italy
Top 10 Things to Do in Venice, Italy
2012 - England and Scotland
July 28, 2012 October 6, 2017 by Deborah Guber
The last time I did this, things didn’t work out very well.
I hate to be so glum and pessimistic, but that is what’s rolling around in my head all the way down to the airport in Philadelphia. The sun is setting and the night is warm—perfect, really, for an overnight flight to London Heathrow on the eve of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee weekend. It’s just that last year’s trip didn’t go well at all. Nor, quite frankly, has the intervening year.
I was in Germany then, enjoying the Hansel and Gretel charm of Rothenburg ob der Tauber and its medieval walls and watch towers. I had moved on to Munich, with its schnitzels and convivial beer gardens when I fell suddenly and horribly ill. When no amount of rest or wishful thinking could solve the problem, I conceded defeat and returned home early, with more than half of my itinerary, and the entire country of Austria, left behind. Little did I know then that a year of misery and spiraling weight loss awaited—a year spent in a neurologist’s office where vague phrases like “dysautonomia” and “vestibular dysfunction” would become routine. It wasn’t anything life threatening, but the symptoms were nasty and the recovery slow.
Despite all of that—or perhaps because of it—I am here on a Thursday night in late May, taxiing out to the runway, ready to try it all again. Instead of the excitement I usually feel at the start of a great adventure, I feel instead a gnawing trepidation in my stomach. I’m eager to put things in motion, to get up in the sky. I want to feel normal again, but I hardly know how.
I’ve decided to rewind things this year, to go back to where I first discovered a love for travel on my inaugural trip abroad in 2006. Going back is like comfort food. I am going to London, and from there west to Bath, Oxford, Stratford-Upon-Avon, and the Cotswolds, before heading north to Edinburgh. At the center of this indulgent feast are the events surrounding Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. There is to be a giant flotilla on the Thames, a star-studded concert in St. James’s Park, a mass of thanksgiving at St. Paul’s, and a carriage procession from Westminster Hall to Buckingham Palace. I flip through my itinerary one last time and resolve to see and do as much as I can.
At the last minute, a British Airways clerk at check-in offers to switch my seat from the outer aisle in row 18 to the inner aisle of row 19 in the hope of snagging three seats across the center of the plane, perfect for sleep on an overnight flight, but alas, our plan is foiled by a middle-aged American couple who slide in beside me at the very last minute. Just behind, a young family is settling in with an energetic toddler and a crying infant. This isn’t exactly an auspicious start, and I reach for my noise-cancelling headphones and an inflatable foot rest. I won’t be lying down tonight.
I tuck into a late dinner of cheese tortellini in tomato sauce at 11:30 PM, just as we pass high over Halifax, and shortly after that a flight attendant turns on the intercom to announce that the entertainment system onboard is broken for the duration. I sigh and close my eyes, hoping in vain for a night of peaceful—if upright—slumber, and perhaps, just maybe, a change of luck in the morning. But I’ll settle for a change of scenery. A change of something is exactly what I need.
British Airways Diamond Jubilee London
Travelogue for England and Scotland, 2012
Search the Independent Traveler
Deborah Guber
Deborah is a teacher, scholar, and travel writer based in Burlington, Vermont.
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Post-Ebola Syndrome Emerges In West Africa – Links To Bayer Explored
Thread: Post-Ebola Syndrome Emerges In West Africa – Links To Bayer Explored
Danny Jarman
A year after the Ebola outbreaks in West Africa, many who survived infection with Ebola are now suffering from “post-Ebola syndrome.” Post-Ebola syndrome is characterized by severe joint and body pain, headaches, traumatic flashbacks, vision problems, hair loss, impaired hearing, extreme fatigue, insomnia, memory loss, anxiety attacks and more.
The cause of these symptoms is unknown. According to Dr. Margaret Nanyonga, a psycho-social support officer for the WHO, we need to “understand why these symptoms persist, whether they are caused by the disease or treatment, or perhaps the heavy disinfection.” While it is easy to assume that this syndrome is a result of the Ebola virus itself, given the dangerous nature of the virus and the destruction it causes, I applaud Dr. Nanyonga for noting that the “treatment and heavy disinfection” of the patients afflicted with Ebola may be the cause of the ongoing syndrome. Once a virus is out of one’s system, ongoing health problems do not typically plague the person who has fought off the virus. Post-Ebola syndrome is being reported as a disease that appears to be autoimmune in nature, and pharmaceuticals that are cellular poisons can damage cells in ways that lead to autoimmune (or autoimmune-like) illnesses.
The medicines given to Ebola patients included acetaminophen, ciprofloxacin, and oral rehydration salts (source). The rehydration salts likely were necessary, as “in most cases the biggest threat is dehydration, which can be addressed by clean water and basic drugs.” The acetaminophen and ciprofloxacin, on the other hand, are drugs that are toxic to mitochondria, the energy centers of eukaryotic cells. And when mitochondria are damaged (past their threshold for damage – everyone has some tolerance for mitochondrial damage), multi-symptom, often chronic, often autoimmune, diseases can result.
Ciprofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. All fluoroquinolone antibiotics, including Cipro/ciprofloxacin, Levaquin/levofloxacin, Avelox/moxifloxacin and Floxin/ofloxacin, can cause Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome – a multi-symptom, often chronic illness that includes the following symptoms (source):
Peripheral Nervous System: Tingling, numbness, prickling, burning pain, pins/needles sensation, electrical or shooting pain, skin crawling, sensation, hyperesthesia, hypoesthesia, allodynia (sensitivity to touch), numbness, weakness, twitching, tremors, spasms.
Central Nervous System: Dizziness, malaise, weakness, impaired coordination, nightmares, insomnia, headaches, agitation, anxiety, panic attacks, disorientation, impaired concentration or memory, confusion, depersonalization, hallucinations, psychoses.
Musculoskeletal: Muscle pain, weakness, soreness, joint swelling, pain, tendon pain, ruptures.
Special Senses: Diminished or altered visual, olfactory, auditory functioning, tinnitus (ringing in the ears).
Cardiovascular: Tachycardia, shortness of breath, hypertension, palpitations, chest pain.
Skin: Rash, swelling, hair loss, sweating, intolerance to heat and\or cold.
Gastrointestinal: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain.
Note that all of the symptoms of post-Ebola syndrome are also symptoms of fluoroquinolone toxicity syndrome.
If ciprofloxacin was effective at treating Ebola, perhaps it would be excusable to give such a destructive drug to the Ebola victims of West Africa. After all, Ebola is a dangerous, and often deadly, disease. However, ciprofloxacin has never been approved for treatment of Ebola, or any other virus. Ebola is a VIRUS and ciprofloxacin is an ANTIBIOTIC that is only effective in treating BACTERIAL infections. The fact that Cipro has never been shown to be safe or effective in treating Ebola didn’t stop Bayer from sending 3.7 million euros worth of Cipro/ciprofloxacin into West Africa to “help” the situation.
Cipro/ciprofloxacin is a dangerous chemotherapeutic drug that depletes mitochondrial DNA and leads to chronic illness. It should only be used to treat life-threatening bacterial infections. It should NEVER be prescribed or used without a confirmed bacterial infection present.
Bayer is, of course, aware of fluoroquinolone toxicity syndrome and the myriad of adverse effects of this dangerous drug. There are more than 200 peer reviewed journal articles about the deleterious effects of fluoroquinolones on human cells listed HERE and many news stories have gone over how fluoroquinolones lead to multi-symptom, chronic illness. (Some examples can be found in these links – story 1, story 2, story 3, story 4.) The horrific adverse effects of Cipro and other fluoroquinolones aren’t a secret. Decision-makers at Bayer know that Cipro is a dangerous chemotherapeutic drug that should only be used against life-threatening bacterial infections, yet they gave it to thousands of West African’s who were already weakened by the Ebola virus. It’s an inexcusable crime against humanity to give a dangerous, unproven, unnecessary drug to unsuspecting people under the guise of philanthropy.
Sadly, I doubt that the Ebola victims in West Africa had access to the 43 page warning label for Cipro/ciprofloxacin, or the hundreds of patient reports about the deleterious effects of fluoroquinolones, or the 200+ articles about how these drugs damage human cells. They were never given information about how these drugs damage mitochondria, or how mitochondrial damage is linked to both autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases (source). The people of West Africa trusted that they were being given appropriate medications to treat Ebola, not cellular poisons that do nothing to treat viruses, but do cause mitochondrial destruction and chronic illness.
Informed consent is a bedrock of medicine. The Hippocratic Oath and doing no harm are also bedrocks of medicine. Too many doctors are ignoring them at the peril of the entire medical system.
My heart aches for the victims of post-Ebola syndrome. Not only did the people facing it have to go through the horrors of Ebola, they now are living with a multi-symptom, chronic, possibly iatrogenic, illness. Those suffering from chronic, “mysterious” diseases often have little support or hope for healing. As S. Kelley Harrell wisely said, “Miraculously recover or die. That’s the extent of our cultural bandwidth for chronic illness.” The WHO doctors rushed in to “cure” Ebola victims with ciprofloxacin (again, an antibiotic that has shown zero effectiveness at treating viruses like Ebola), but will have no way of treating the drugs’ adverse effects, and the now chronically ill people will be left to suffer.
Post-Ebola syndrome may be fluoroquinolone toxicity syndrome, but that has not yet been proven. It would be an easy thing to figure out. See if all the patients who are suffering from post-Ebola syndrome took Cipro/ciprofloxacin. See if those who recovered from Ebola who don’t have post-Ebola syndrome took Cipro/ciprofloxacin. Compare health outcomes of groups of people who were exposed to Cipro/ciprofloxacin to groups who weren’t. It shouldn’t be that hard. I hope that Dr. Nanyonga and her colleagues are working on it.
ABC News, “‘Post-Ebola Syndrome’ Persists After Virus Is Cured, Doctor Says”
Vice News, “Life After Ebola: Pain, Flashbacks, and ‘Post-Ebola Syndrome’”
The Japan Times, “Mystery ‘post-Ebola syndrome’ emerges in West Africa”
The New York Times, “Ebola Should Be Easy to Treat”
The Annals of Pharmacotherapy, “Peripheral neuropathy associated with fluoroquinolones.”
FDA Pharmacovigilance Review April 27, 2013, “Disabling Peripheral Neuropathy Associated with Systemic Fluoroquinolone Exposure”
Cipro/ciprofloxacin FDA Warning Label
Bayer press release, “Bayer increases its donations of medications for ebola patients to a total value of more than EUR 3.7 million.”
Molecular Pharmacology, “Delayed cytotoxicity and cleavage of mitochondrial DNA in ciprofloxacin-treated mammalian cells.”
http://www.collective-evolution.com/...ayer-explored/
Quick Navigation Science and Technology Top
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Dr. Ben Carson: ‘Remember the unity’ in wake of 9/11 attacks
Sep 11th, 2018 · by Ian Gronau · Comments:
DOVER — Speaking at the 9/11 memorial at Dover Air Force Base’s Air Mobility Command Museum on Tuesday keynote speaker Dr. Ben Carson — former neurosurgeon and current U. S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development — pushed a message of unity.
“We lost nearly 3,000 Americans on 9/11 seventeen years ago, but the psychological impact is far greater,” Dr. Carson said to several hundred service members and well-wishers.
“We remember those who perished that day and those first responders who rushed into the buildings to find people. We also remember those who joined the battle against terrorism, many of whom returned to this very sacred ground at Dover Air Force Base having given everything — including their lives — for the defense of our nation.
“Let’s hold on to the memory that day 17 years ago where we became one. Remember the unity that existed in our country that day regardless of race, politics or national origin for that moment and the following weeks and months we stood as one.”
Alluding to the current political atmosphere, Dr. Carson said divisive forces are coming from outside the country.
Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen welcomes U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson to the 9/11 memorial at the AMC Museum on Tuesday.
“The real American spirit is not the people who are trying to divide us and destroy us,” he said. “I don’t believe for one second that all this hatred and division that’s going on in our country is coming from inside.
“I think there are outside forces who are trying to divide us. They know that a house divided against itself cannot stand.”
The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks killed 2,996 people and injured more than 6,000 others as hijacked jetliners slammed into the twin towers in New York and the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C. and another crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Tuesday’s memorial event unfolded in the morning fog beneath the shade of a large United States flag tethered between two ladder trucks at the AMC Museum’s 9/11 memorial site. The site features two pieces of steel from World Trade Center tower one, a rock from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and a block from the damaged portion of the Pentagon.
The event, hosted by DAFB’s Fire Emergency Services, included the base’s Honor Guard, a recitation of A.W. Linn’s “A Fireman’s Prayer,” a history on rendering final honors and a wreath laying.
Before the base’s fire service personnel rung their ceremonial bell for the civilians and first responders who died in the 9/11 terrorist attack, it was explained that the tradition dates back to 1865. Originating in New York City firehouses, the tradition of “ringing out the four fives” continues today.
Before modern communication techniques, fire houses used to exchange announcements and alarms through the ringing of bells, the signal to mark the line-of-duty death of a firefighter or death of an official was five individual bell strikes in four sets.
As 9/11 speakers often do, Dr. Carson recalled where he was upon hearing the news of the terrorist attack in 2001.
“That day forever changed us — the startling images of 9/11 are with each of us — no one can forget where they were or what they were doing that day,” he said. “I remember that I was in the operating room finishing up a case and people were starting to talk about some tragedy that had occurred.
“They said a plane had crashed into the world trade center. I was thinking some pilot had lost his way, but when found out it was a 767, I knew it was something more. While we were watching, all kinds of speculation and theories floated around, but it really was something that changed us forever.”
Now almost two decades in the past, Dr. Carson believes it’s an American’s responsibility to help keep the memory of the tragic event alive.
“For many Americans, 9/11 is history, not a memory,” he said. “Today’s college students were young children back then. Many of the oldest high school students were toddlers when it happened. Of course, anyone under 17 wasn’t even born. Each passing year we’re faced with the challenge of keeping the memory alive.”
Staff writer Ian Gronau can be reached at 741-8272 or igronau@newszap.com
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Home Gary Gary Airport revs up for master plan project
Gary Airport revs up for master plan project
THE B. COLEMAN hanger at the Gary/Chicago International Airport was added as part of the facility’s Master Plan in 2001.
Officials seeks engineering firm to improve facility
Officials from the Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority officials said Wed-nesday they are seeking requests for qualifications from firms that might improve the facility.
Officials are asking engineering and planning firms interested in trying to design the next two decades of airport development to submit their proposals.
Responses are due by Jan. 7, if they are to be considered by the airport authority. Companies that are interested in participating can obtain more information at garychicagoairport.com.
Prospective pre-qualified companies will be interviewed by the airport authority early in 2016. The authority expects to award a contract for the project by March.
Applicants for the master plan project will be required to participate in a business expo that will be held on February 24. Here, they meet with local businesses that can help fill out their project teams.
Earlier this year, the airport authority’s private partner, AFCO/AVPORTS issued a separate plan for Gary airport development. The firm suggested building a customs facility and trying to return commercial passenger airline service by 2017.
The last time the Gary/Chicago airport had a commercial flight was in 2013. That year, Allegiant Air closed down after officials said the airport wasn’t attracting enough business to the facility.
Another Master Plan Study for the airport was completed in 2001. That plan called for several major projects, including improved Runway Safety Areas, railroad and power line relocation, improved and new facilities, and extending the airport’s main runway.
The airport’s latest master plan would add to the success of the $174 million Runway Expansion Project that was completed in June 2015. The project extended the main runway by 1,900 feet, allowing the airport to accommodate larger planes and serve more destinations.
The project also upgraded runway safety areas to be in compliance with new Federal Aviation Administration standards. In addition, the project relocated nearly 5 miles of railroad track, more than 20,000 feet of power lines, and a substation.
In July, Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson led a ribbon cutting ceremony to open the runway during a grand celebration.
In other news, Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority board of directors vice chairman Harley Snyder announ-ced on Wednesday that he is withdrawing his name from consider-ation for reappointment to the board.
“Harley has indicated to me that he would like to provide an opportunity for a new individual to contribute to our regional pro-gress,” RDA Chairman Don Fesko said in a statement Monday.
A founding member of the RDA, Snyder has played a valuable role in securing funds for the extension of the South Shore commuter rail line. He was instrumental in completing the runway extension at Gary/Chicago International Airport and rebuilding the shoreline of Lake Michigan, Fesko said.
Snyder has agreed to continue to serve on the board until Governor Mike Pence appoints a replacement.
The RDA is a quasi-governmental development entity created by the Indiana General Assembly to make public investment decisions that support regional infrastructure projects and induce private-sector investment.
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John Grover
“I'd rather be washing my cat” - John Grover’s latest compilation of original music.
Laced with luminescent sarcasm, it’s an introspective yet outwardly reflective spectrum of life in all its comedic drama. Having been compared to Bob Dylan, Neil Young and now John Lennon, John’s lyrics, voice and guitar chops are killin’ it! Really? you may be asking yourself …Believe us, this is NOT hyperbole!
We are holding back big time! And if that’s not enough, fans constantly accuse John of looking just like Jesus.
Various configurations of his bands e.g. “John Grover and the Invasive Species” and “Groverdose”, plus his solo, duo, and trio performances, present John’s compositions in a multitude of colorful flavors that everyone will surely react to.
I came to the realization that my life is the vacation. No matter the circumstance, we all “get” to feel; to experience all these emotions while we are alive. And don’t forget- it’s a brief stint! All the things we experience in life will be over in the twinkling of an eye. Maybe we transcend, maybe we dissipate, no one really knows, but all of us can choose to appreciate our existence - that we all signed up for.
After all, we are all here, now. We all have the ability to choose how we perceive our experience.
What do we gain? Who knows. But you won’t get it anywhere else. So…what do you want? Or more importantly, how do you want to feel while you’re going in the direction of what you want? It’s up to you. Find the hilarity in your failures. Don't forget to learn from them and let go of them. Remember to view success as a momentary thing. True success is fulfillment, regardless of either.
The only thing we know for sure is that this existence that we call life comes to an untimely end.… and so, I write songs in the hopes to evoke familiar emotions that we can all relate to, my purpose is to connect us, to expand our minds, and my primary message - regardless of sometimes “unruly” context of individual songs - is, really just, simply, harmony.
My songwriting is sort of like an involuntary reflex, like breathing or blinking… it just happens! I began writing songs shortly after learning a few chords on the guitar in my late teens. I guess you could say my signature style is a passionate, honest approach to the complexities of emotion. Layered with multiple meanings and somewhat unorthodox patterns, I believe my musical arrangements are easy to grasp; they enhance the lyrical lines in a way that brings depth to even the simplest of melodies.
Someone once said to me “we are obligated to share our gifts”. I believe that means we are obligated to strive to be all of who we know we are. My gift is the ability to put life's emotions into lyrical and melodious patterns as well as presenting the songs I write in what I’ve been told as “the most familiar music you’ve never heard”. It’s relatable and danceable, with depth and layers of possible perceptions.
Mahalo for listening.
© John Grover. All Rights Reserved.
Website Design.
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Pop and Lock (2012)
For Bass Clarinet, Drumset, Marimba/Vibraphone, and Piano
Premiered by Vanessa Gilbreath, bass clarinet, Andrew Blanton, drumset, DJ Stuckey, keyboard percussion, and David Falterman, piano on November 6, 2012 at the University of North Texas Recital Hall.
The title Pop and Lock is derived from terminology from the dance form Popping. This work is homage to the movements of the body when someone dances the dance. A trademark quality of the dance is a segmentation of the body moving in contrasting directions and differing speeds. The work is constructed as if each member of ensemble is a different body part, at times they are perfectly in sync and sometimes they each sound at their own pace.
The work also literally consists of two motifs used throughout. The first of these motifs is the “Pop” which first occurs in the first bar of the piece. This brief pop is reminiscent of the jutting motions of the dance form that pop into place and freeze. The second motif is the “Lock” which acts as a groove in which the piece is constructed around. This first occurs in bar 16 (rehearsal B).
In the final section of the work starting at bar 147 the drum set plays a very basic hip- hop set part at twice the normal speed. This is the final homage to the origins of Popping and it helps to join all the instrumentalists in a final statement of the work to lead it to the finale.
-Chris Lamb, September 2012
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EZunits PRO
By TrajectoryLabs | March 25, 2005
EZunits PRO is THE premier, must-have, simple to use yet powerful Units Conversion program. Convert English to Metric and vice versa. Convert Length, Pressure, Area, Mass, Volume, Temperature, Force, Power and Velocity. Dozens of the most common conversions included. EZunits PRO is SI compliant and accurate. The International System of Units (SI) is a modernized version of the metric system established by international agreement. The metric system of measurement was developed during the French Revolution and was first promoted in the U.S. by Thomas Jefferson. Its use was legalized in the U.S. in 1866. In 1902, proposed congressional legislation requiring the U.S. Government to use the metric system exclusively was defeated by a single vote. SI provides a logical and interconnected framork for all measurements in science, industry, and commerce. The metric system is much simpler to use than the existing English system since all its units of measurement are divisible by 10.
Palm OS 3.5
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← Statement of Expectations: 2008 MBL
Summary of Research Experience: 2008 MBL →
Statement of Goals: 2008 MBL
Posted on February 9, 2016 by kayaerbil
W. Kaya Erbil
I would like to apply my training in the fundamental science of chemistry to advancing the field of neurobiology. While in graduate school, I have focused on the physiological functions that nitric oxide (NO) plays in the cell. I am particularly fascinated by the dual role that NO plays in the biology of mammals, where it is both a cytotoxic agent and a key signaling species. The least understood functions of NO in biology are in the central nervous system (CNS). For this reason, I have become extremely interested in learning more about the field of molecular and cellular neuroscience, particularly research efforts that seek to elucidate mechanisms of neurodegenerative disease. A question of interest to me is how the chemistry of the brain is altered during the course of neurodegeneration, especially in protein misfolding diseases such as PD. For example, basic and clinical PD research efforts highlight reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) such as NO as essential molecules in the pathology of the disease (1, 2). More specifically, NO may participate in a “positive feedback toxic cycle” that promotes lesions of dopaminergic neurons (3). While recent progress highlights effects of NO in PD progression, its exact role in the etiology of the disease remains unknown at present (4).
I plan to dedicate my next three years of research to the elucidation of mechanisms of neurodegeneration in gain of toxicity protein misfolding diseases as a post doctoral researcher in the laboratory of Susan Lindquist of the Whitehead Institute at M.I.T. I am interested in the neurodegeneration research initiatives of the Lindquist laboratory for the following reasons. First, I recently read two papers by the Lindquist group (5) and the research group of Thomas Südhof that provide insight into the cellular functions of alpha synuclein (6). These studies stand out because they suggest a molecular mechanism by which genetic polymorphisms in a population may underlie secretory pathway defects responsible for cognitive dysfunction. Second, in February 2008 I also attended a talk by William Wickner of Dartmouth where he described his cell-free yeast vesicle fusion assay. His talk struck me because this assay facilitates enzymology studies of the cellular components that mediate vesicle fusion, but in a setting much closer to that of a natural cell than can be accomplished with artificial vesicle systems (7). I would like to learn how processes such as membrane fusion in vertebrate neurons parallel those observed in yeast in a comparable level of detail. Wickner’s works led me to read the Lindquist group’s paper entitled “The Parkinson’s disease protein alpha-synuclein disrupts cellular Rab homeostasis” (8). This and other recent papers describing studies of the cellular function of alpha synuclein via the use of yeast genetic methods intrigued me because they highlight that a yeast cell provides a high throughput way to ask questions about neurodegeneration (9, 10). A key link between the yeast cell and brain cells is that many of their proteins are ancient and are conserved through evolution (11). Lastly, future efforts in the Lindquist lab will utilize the yeast cell as a platform upon which to develop and test hypotheses regarding molecular pathways and networks in higher models of neurodegeneration (eg. worm, fly, and rat) (5). Classic studies, including those indicating conservation of the “heat shock” response between the fly and yeast encourage the view that molecular networks identified in yeast can reflect the mode of action of metazoan cells (12). I hope to use my knowledge of chemistry, supplemented by the understanding of the brain and nervous system that I anticipate gaining if given the opportunity to attend the Neurobiology course, to contribut to a molecular understanding of PD.
One of my chief goals is to understand the molecular interactions that occur between glia and neurons during the states of health and states of disease in the brain (13). One specific type of such interaction is the exchange of molecular signals such as ROS and RNS between microglia and neurons during dopaminergic cell death in mammalian models of PD. For example, neuroinflammation via activation of microglia and oxidation/nitration of α-synuclein are linked to dopaminergic neurodegeneration in a mouse model of PD (3). While recent progress in the field of molecular and cellular neuroscience highlights the importance of ROS and RNS to PD progression, much remains to be learned. Because newly developed molecular tools from the field of chemical biology facilitate the direct imaging of these substances in vivo, neuroscience is poised to learn more about the biological functions of ROS and RNS in the brain, as Tsien and collaborators have done with Ca2+ signaling in the cell (14, 15). In order to rigorously answer questions about neurodegeneration, biochemical and pharmacological approaches must be utilized in concert with genetic and physiological tools and methods. In the next three years, I hope to complement my training in chemistry with training that will enable me to answer specific questions about physiological and biomolecular mechanisms. I am applying to the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) summer course entitled Neurobiology because I believe it is the best way to start advancing this goal.
References are provided on the supplemental page entitled “Statement of Goals: References.”
Statement of Goals: References
1. Beal, M.F. (1998). Excitotoxicity and nitric oxide in parkinson’s disease pathogenesis. Ann. Neurol. 44:S110-S114.
2. Giasson, B.I., et al. (2000). Oxidative damage linked to neurodegeneration by selective alpha-synuclein nitration in synucleinopathy lesions. Science 290:985-989.
3. Gao, H., et al. (2008). Neuroinflammation and oxidation/nitration of alpha synuclein linked to dopaminergic neurodegeneration. J. Neurosci. 28:7687-7698.
4. Dawson, T.M. and Dawson, V.L. (2003). Molecular pathways of neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease. Science 302:819-822.
5. Cooper, A.A., et al. (2006). Alpha-synuclein blocks ER-Golgi traffic and Rab1 rescues neuron loss in Parkinson’s models. Science 313:324-328.
6. Chandra, S., Gallardo, G., Fernandez-Hacon, R., Schluter, O.M., and Sudhof, T.C. (2005). Alpha synuclein cooperates with CSP alpha in preventing neurodegeneration. Cell 123:383-396.
7. Mima, J., Hickey, C.M., Xu, H., Jun, Y., and Wickner, W. (2008). Reconstituted membrane fusion requires regulatory lipids, SNAREs and synergistic SNARE chaparones.EMBO J. 27:2031-2042.
8. Gitler, A.D., et al. (2008). The Parkinson’s disease protein alpha-synuclein disrupts cellular Rab homeostasis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A 105:145-150.
9. Outeiro, T.F. and Lindquist, S. (2003). Yeast cells provide insight into alpha-synuclein biology and pathobiology. Science 302:1772-1775.
10. Willingham, S., Outeiro, T.F., DeVit, M.J., Lindquist, S.L., and Muchowski, P.J. (2003). Yeast genes that enhance the toxicity of a mutant huntingtin fragment or alpha-synuclein. Science 302:1769-1772.
11. Emes, R.D., et al. (2008). Evolutionary expansion and anatomical specialization of synapse proteome complexity. Nat. Neurosci. 11:799-806.
12. Lindquist, S. (1981). Regulation of protein synthesis during heat shock. Nature 293:311-314.
13. Miller, G.W. (2005). The dark side of glia. Science 308:778-781.
14. Grynkiewicz, G., Poenie, M., & Tsien, R.Y. (1985). A new generation of Ca2+ indicators with greatly improved fluorescence properties. J. Biol. Chem. 260:3440-3450.
15. Miller, E.W. and Chang, C.J. (2007). Fluorescent probes for nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide in cell signaling. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. 11:620-625.
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Accessing the Service
The Pottergate Team
Research & Evidence
Background to Discussion
Interview with Remy Aquarone on the nature of Dissociative Disorders and how they are treated.
[© This material cannot be reproduced in any form without Remy Aquarone’s permission]
The interview was undertaken by David Maxwell, currently studying an MA in Writing for Performance at Goldsmith College, University of London. His final dissertation is a full length play exploring the effects of Dissociative Identity disorder.
[Remy] One of the analogies I often use is comparing dissociation to countries previously in a state of war but now struggling to adapt to peacetime: these are very closely tied to what happens when a person with a dissociation disorder continues to use this survival condition, when no longer necessary in adulthood: it is so templated that it’s very hard to change. If you think of more recent examples – people coming back from Vietnam, trying to get back into society, hearing a car backfiring and immediately reacting by reaching for their imagined weapon – their mindset is still back on the battlefield… so that an actual backfire from a car exhaust is interpreted as gunfire raining down from the enemy: their whole system is geared to dealing with that…
The difficulty with the Second World War was not only during the war itself but the aftermath of war… peace. War is and was a question of survival so all the resources go into survival – industries are re-equipped, defence systems, radar systems, bombers, everything, the whole infrastructure, because the basic bottom line is that you have got to survive, and in fact people who were living in the blitz – their whole lives were one of dealing with the immediacy, because you don’t know if there is a tomorrow – you just deal with today… you deal with the emergency of today, the bad times, and then you move on to the next thing and you don’t carry in times of crisis any timeline about it, you just move from moment to moment to moment. The problem, as I said was when the war was over. Not only was it really hard for soldiers to accept the implications of being demobbed, their brain in a way was still geared to a whole structure of combat: they found it really difficult to adjust, but in fact the hard times in Britain was the psychological impoverishment afterwards when the factories went back to what they were used to doing, people had lost the ability to think about the long term and also all the other things catch up, all the psychological effects. Britain faced years of psychological depression.
It’s a luxury to start thinking about and feelings things ‘til its safe to. If you’ve got a teacher that’s trained to do first aid, if something happens at their school – I remember a teacher telling me on one occasion she saw a child hit his head and cut himself really badly and fall in the playground and start crying and screaming and she said “I did everything I was trained to do – I went to him, I gave him first aid. I stopped the bleeding, I got him the attention and it’s only when I got home that I burst into tears with my partner” and you can see that’s an appropriate thing. If she started saying “poor you” and started comforting him, he would have died. So you only do that when there is room for that and so with someone with this condition (dissociation), you do whatever’s necessary; you use every resource within you because the bottom line is to survive. And then afterwards, you still have your antennae out – you still jump at every bang and every thing is going to trigger that reaction…and also you have no experience of a timeline. In therapy, people could have been coming to see me for a year and its like every time they come for therapy it’s a bit like groundhog day, it’s like its the first time they’ve been there – because the thing about the psychological reason for having no timeline is that if you tick it off and it’s then gone from consciousness, you are not going to hold on to the psychological damage of remembering and it’s a bit like the psychological equivalent of a physical coma, you have just got to be able to just shut right down. So, people will deal a lot with functioning and the other thing is that they will go from crisis to crisis. They will go from hyper-arousal to hypo-arousal and if its early trauma then (as with the early development of a baby) you are all geared up to everything being experienced as physical & chemical reactions where you are either in hyper-arousal or in deep depression and there is no thinking or middle ground….
[David] That’s really fascinating – especially the comparison you make between the condition and wartime…
[Remy] A lot of these things have parallels with the way people relate to each other. A lot of the work I do now is trying to get the psychiatric services to not only offer appropriate treatment but to know what’s effective. I call the dynamics of what goes on in such institutions, institutional dissociation, because what you have is someone who has got this condition, its not just dissociation because it applies to anyone with significant trauma background, they act on this hyper/hypo-arousal and you get professionals re-acting in the same way and also splitting, so you get one patient who will get one professional to change what’s been agreed and you will have reactions from other professionals who will get angry… and so the work that I do in an organisational way with psychiatric services (when they are open to it,) is to say that what is as important than the treatment offered, is to have a good functioning family [ the analogy of a multi-disciplinary team with what happens in a family ]and that the professionals, they all have to work together. Yes you can have parents who disagree but you work as a parental couple with your children and that is not meant in a derogatory way but the same principle has to be there if you’ve got professionals, who are involved in trying to help a person who is in real difficulty. First of all, all the decisions are made in meetings together with the patient there so you don’t change it until you meet again. Otherwise what can happen is that say 2 professionals who are very good at their work, both have got on alright together, but they start battling each other over who is right and who is wrong, and that is a projection partly from the patient, because that is their (the patients) experience and that is what they are used to perhaps from their own family.
[David] I read your article you published on the Pottergate Centre website and one of the things I found really interesting was the suggestions that a lot of outpatients in psychiatric units are misdiagnosed…
[Remy] That’s often the whole problem- the whole approach from psychiatry. Not necessarily because they are being malicious at all or bloody minded but because there is ignorance, or there is insufficient support among themselves and the trouble is, as private therapists, we have someone who we are supervised by [psychological as opposed to management supervision] , so you get a fairly good structure where you get support …whereas a lot of professionals are overworked and left working on their own and they will either take the easy route or they will get worried if they start thinking this might be different and it doesn’t fit in to the norm, ( to the norm they are used to) and of course they are (with a small ‘c’) very conservative in terms of changing things and this requires quite a leap in approach. You either get misdiagnosed, and a lot of the people that contact us here have had 10 15 or 20 years of involvement with the psychiatric services… and it’s ignorance often because someone with DID may present differently at different times – they can be absolutely suicidal, make an appointment, get a referral to a psychiatrist, come along and either be cut off from the fact that they were suicidal and so they present as fine and not be quite sure why they are there and will chat away or they are very careful because they think they are going to be misdiagnosed as psychotic.. Either way the psychiatrist can in all fairness say “well you don’t seem to fit into the criteria, you seem to be doing fairly well. I would just encourage you to carry on, come back and see me in six months…” and then they go away and make a serious suicide attempt. Or you get professionals who say, "you are just playing up, you are manipulating,” using some sort of derogatory word, and then the patient will either become compliant and self blaming or else become aggressive which will get the professionals’ backs up.…this repeats the sort of negative parental experience they have known from childhood….a repeat of inappropriate power, it can be all about power structure and conflict , it will make it even worse, and people [the patients] will come back and see them as being unhelpful, and then the whole cycle repeats itself and continues. So familiar for someone with trauma and attachment difficulties.
[David] What is the attitude of your clients when they first come here?
[Remy] Unless they have been sent by a colleague or a partner, which is always problematic as opposed to wanting to come themselves, or sometimes when the psychiatric services have appropriately said you should go here then they would be quite apprehensive, but it’s usually a relief, because I can usually understand what’s going on and I can fairly quickly know whether it is that, without going through a complicated assessment which I need to do anyhow, and so being used to a language which makes sense. They are often very frightened that they are crazy, that they are weird, and it’s not, it’s one of the most primitive forms of survival, and if they hadn’t done that they would be psychologically a complete mess. It’s like the people who came out of the concentration camps, those who survived best were those that for years had a psychological coma, had no memory of it and it is a coma because the brain can’t deal with it, it’s too much. So, what you do, it’s a bit like physically being in a coma, you shut everything down so that you are left with the minimum needed to allow for recovery of the brain. People from the war, or tank commanders, some of the people who had horrific claustrophobic experiences as well - it’s only maybe ten, twenty or thirty years later that they get what would be then called ‘breakdowns’, where the whole ability to continue in life in an apparent normal mode collapsed, where the memory started leaking through which actually means it is ready to be dealt with which of course is a horrible thing to experience because you have these flashbacks of memories, whatever they are, which were too horrific to deal with at the time. So it’s generally a relief, the difficulty then is having to try to deal with the reality – on the one hand they need help - but the reality again that they may not get funding or the right treatment for them and that is a difficulty. So, the thing that always impresses me is that - it’s getting a bit easier now, but I can be writing whatever report and say all the right things, but to really get something changing it usually takes the person themselves, who know their rights and will push push and push till they’ve got it. That’s what gets the change.
People with difficulties because they dissociate seem to come into two broad categories. You’ve got those who are high functioning, who may be from any profession, whether they are judges, solicitors, doctors, whatever, high up in business. People who meet them at work etc may say they don’t really know them very much, but then either all that breaks down or there will be a huge contrast between how they are in their professional persona, and how they are at home. And then, though it causes a huge crisis it may be the right time where it has got to start being processed. Until that time, people may not be aware that they are any different to anyone else. Often they say that they are aware that they lose a lot of time, everybody does…but actually it’s significant, it’s like not only hours, but days, or they find themselves in situations they don’t know how they got there…whether it’s sometimes, in bed somewhere…someone’s house they don’t know who it is, completely shocked and trying to get out of the place, not knowing how it happened, like someone who is so drunk that they don’t know what’s happened. Or, there may be two or three very different lives going on at the same time…
or you get someone who has been, right from early on, in the psychiatric system, and is on benefits and can never really…in a way so institutionalised that they have never been able to get out of it. Or is highly medicated, nothing changes, have a terror of the conflict inside and wanting more medication. Because there is the ambivalence, on the one hand some people may feel that they want the help and feel that at last they are getting it, and on the other hand, none of us would be particularly happy about finding that suddenly there is a whole other world going on in your head, and you are told it is part of you whereas all you want to do is get rid of it. And get on with your life.
[David] You say in your article that the NHS tries to promote the use of drugs in these situations…
Oh yes, they say that the voices…they are confused with psychotic voices and so they say we will help you get rid of these voices. One of the tests is that antipsychotic drugs don’t usually work and so they try heavier and heavier ones and the person is more dosed up and still the voices are there. That’s one of the very basic things…it doesn’t happen all the time, and yet it is not recognised. The other problem is a political one. The problem of recognising it is that you then have to provide a treatment that is appropriate. It doesn’t fit in to the short term CBT (Cognitive Behavioural) therapies that are all the rage now, and so it means we [ at the Pottergate Centre]are doing much more trying to be realistic in our recommendations about what’s needed…I mean some people with this condition may eventually need ten years or longer for treatment, but it’s about getting enough going so that the person can then have choices about what to do next…including if necessary get some work to pay for therapy themselves, You have to be realistic in that public funding cannot be a bottomless resource. Usually it’s 2-3 years that we recommended with once or twice a week therapy which can be seen as a lot of money but in terms of…we are still waiting to do studies with the long terms effects of someone who is not treated and you add up all the costs, in and out of hospital you get people who have 15 different professionals involved, you add that all up and that’s 10 times the cost. Like politicians, the NHS doesn’t generally want to look at long-term funding for something…they look at the immediacy of the budget and the immediacy of the problem and how to minimise it.
[David] From my research, I get the impression that those who have developed dissociation later in life might be more likely to suffer from psychogenic fugue whereas those who have suffered abuse may suffer from the more extreme kinds of DID.
[Remy] First of all, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) under DSMIV (Diagnostic Statistical Manual used extensively in The States) is called Multiple Personality Disorder, (MPD) within the ISD 10, which is the European diagnostic manual. DSMIV criteria are used because America is the only place where they have the right assessment tools that have been validated. The thinking years ago were that it was all due to sexual/physical abuse, whereas the feeling now is that it is primarily an attachment issue from early childhhod. You start from the very simple notion that no animal or human can survive without a connection (attachment) from the start. If young ducklings when they are born don’t see their mother around they will go to the first moving object, even if that happens to be a human. You can see pictures of, for instance, a farmer’s wife walking along and you’ve got ten ducklings all following her, and they can’t differentiate, it’s inbred, that you are not going to survive unless you attach. So, a baby born has to have that attachment, and we, in our lives, have to have that attachment, that’s why…a lot of people are very stuck with this notion that we have to be absolutely sure who we are…so the notion of multiple personality is an alien one and quite unsettling, whereas it doesn’t take that much for any of us to lose a sense of who we are…. if you have lost your job and that job is important to you, people will describe feeling that loss, they don’t know who they are anymore. Part of who you are – it’s obviously based on the more your childhood was secure, the more you carry within you a positive model of parents so that you sort of have them inside you so that you can keep referring to them, they give you a sense of confidence. So that helps obviously.
Other people have very strong religious beliefs, so that is another sort of attachment, because someone like Terry Waite, when he was captured: even though everything about that experience nullified any sense of who he was, there was this other attachment, that because of his faith, it kept him going, it had a higher importance in that sense. So, we have to have that, as babies it’s obviously the adult around you. Now if that is a survival thing, it doesn’t matter how good or bad that connection is, in order to survive you have to maintain it. I’ll give you an example. You’ve got a child, and mother is depressed and in psychiatric hospital most of the time, and so that the main person who has cared for them is their father and there is no other sibling or any other adult around, and 80 or 90% of the time that father does everything that the child needs, feeding, clothing, reading stories, very kind, caring for them, then 10% of the time, (maybe when he goes out and gets drunk) he abuses or hits her or sexually gets involved with her. Neurologically, the child is not in a place to make sense of that, that the person who loves you is also the person who hurts you and even if the child doesn’t know about hurt, it senses that there is something there that is not right about it. The most important thing is to preserve the attachment and to preserve the attachment what the brain does is to separate those two experiences, the same way that the concentration camps survivors separated their experience of the past with the present. The child, in order to maintain the good experience, separates that out from the bad experience, so that the two never meet. A bit like a submarine, there is no leaking between the water and the air, they are both there, you have to have both environments, they are crucial, you have to be able to breath as a member of the crew but you also have to have water as a means of travel but they are kept very separate and that works very well. The trouble is the earlier it happens to a child, the more it gets templated into the brain system but the primary thing is that the attachment has to be there, and if there is no good experience the attachment still has to be there and that is why you get wives who are beaten by their husbands and they would talk to their friends who would finally convince them to leave and they would say that their friends were right to convince them to leave, and then either they would go back to their husbands or they would find the same sort of adult male because that is the only experience they have of attachment, they only know attachment through violence. So, it is no use telling someone that this or that is not good – that they need a loving caring person, they may know this, but if their only experience of feeling connected is through violence…it’s a template. Only once stronger attachments are made with other people and with the world around can it be possible to move away from abuse. Otherwise the person’s whole world would collapse. What’s worse for someone is to have no attachment, because for that person you find yourself in an abyss, you go into fragmentation, it’s like having nothing around you to feel connected to, no solidity. It’s like going into space. It’s the most terrifying thing and actually being hit feels like peanuts in comparison…And that’s why some professionals find it difficult to deal with self-harm. They think you must stop that but self harm may be the only way of feeling connected again. Often people don’t feel the pain because they often dissociate, but that is the only time where they can feel real, because they are hitting something that is part of their body and for a little while that is a fix for them, it feels like a relief, whereas just staying there in the vacuum, that is absolutely terrifying.
In answer to your question, there is more likely to be serious physical or sexual abuse with someone where there isn’t enough of the ok bit of connection. Many of the people who are in long-term psychiatric care have multiple physical problems because the body stores memory better than the brain (though I realise that ultimately everything is linked to the brain), so that people can have every conceivable physical pain and feel the pain and yet often when they go for an examinations, there is nothing that can be demonstrated. There can also be pain that is to do with scarring, to do with some really nasty stuff that’s happened. And the more it is fixed in the body the more difficult it is to change, because it just seems to have found its roots in it.
[David] If they have had a physical injury in the past a long time ago, the pain has healed physically but not mentally.
[Remy] That’s right. So in other words, it’s like a time warp and it’s a bit like dissociation, because there are often people with DID who have got younger parts and that part is stuck at say the age of eight, and sees the world as an eight year old, even though they are in a big body, they will talk like an eight year old or four year old etc and will see it and think that they are a four years old, and look and be amazed and think “who are you” even though they may have come to see me, it’s the adult who has come to see me. And I don’t know if you remember there was a story a few years back about a Japanese solider, who hid in the jungle for something like 20 years thinking that the war was still on….he had just hidden surviving, not daring to come out because his duty was never to be taken alive, and when he did come out he was in a completely different world, the cars had changed, phones, whatever else in those days was different, it was like that and the research that is beginning to go on, in Holland especially, is beginning to show that when someone’s memory is triggered going back to a traumatic event when they were younger it is measurable that their brain volume in some parts of the brain are different. It’s a bit like modern cars where you can preset the seat so that the main driver can preset his position in the car and it is a bit like that, there are presets in the brain…
[David] What is the difference between DID and dissociative fugue?
[Remy] I think most of the DID cases, virtually all of them, are because of childhood trauma. There is a book, it’s called…The Haunted Self [Steel, Van de Hart etc]…their model is called structural dissociation. Their approach is to say that all trauma has a dissociative element to it. It starts from simple PTSD, which can be from a car accident. Complex PTSD which can come from prolonged exposure to war and civil unrest and to dissociation. So that’s one thing to look at. With PTSD, a car accident, you get the first split between what the book terms ‘the apparent normal personality’ (ANP) and the ‘emotional personality’ (EP). Normally we have the ability to act in a particular way to suit the situation, it may be very formal with no emotional content, for instance we are trying to form a business plan or a loan from a bank manager, to intimate situations where of course you have a lot of emotion. But there is an overlap between the ANP and EP all of the time. We are always dealing with a recognition of our emotional self with our intellectual self. With temporary PTSD there is a temporary split between the ANP and the EP, because what happens after a car accident is that there is amnesia for a period of time leading up to and involving the accident so there is a gap. People can often be very flat about the effect and fairly non emotional and just be very practical, so there is that split where you appear to be ok and there is no physical injury, and eventually that joins up and you have to go through some sort of crisis or be in need of psychological help and it puts that back into balance. There are also natural ways in which it is appropriate to do that – for example that teacher who had to help the child in the playground. It’s an automatic and involuntary process which bypasses the normal processes.
There is an interesting thing, about most parents (and mothers in particular). Let us say that a particular mother might generally be considered very mild and never lose her temper: yet if she has got young children and someone knocks on the door and someone who is seen as a threat, she will bypass her emotional ability to feel frightened and go straight for the threat and say something like “you get the fuck out of here”, not realising that she could have been in trouble and not realising until afterwards that she could have been hurt, it’s back to that innate maternal need to protect. The force of her conviction and determination also gets her more likely to get rid of that person in a hurry. Much like an animal who shows its colours to get rid of the enemy and then things stabilise again. Now the trouble about something more extreme is that they remain still separated. The DSM IV has 5 criteria for dissociative disorder. The two extreme ones are DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) and what they call DDNOS (Dissociative Disorders Not Otherwise Specified). Those two are the ones that will be diagnosed the most for someone who has a dissociative condition due to childhood trauma.
Dissociative Fugue is a temporary loss of identity, temporary loss of knowing who you are or knowing your past with wandering from home. Onset and termination are abrupt. So there was sometime ago someone whose canoe was found on the coast and was presumed dead and his wife then claimed the life insurance and then the man turned up a few years later at a police station and said I don’t know who I am, and I don’t know what’s going on: and it turned out to be a hoax, because it had supposedly continued for over 2 years and was not a temporary state. You come across it with someone with DID – they can go somewhere else and can go AWOL for two months at a most, but usually it’s for a week or so.
[David] Essentially, dissociative fugue is part of the wider condition….[Remy] That’s right. I think fugue is also part of an old language.[David] Just to backtrack a little, what kinds of people work with people who have DID?[Remy] Traditionally, all the work has been done in the voluntary and private sector. Even though people might not understand DID for what it was, they would stay with the person and work out what was wrong and try to make sense of it, and it’s generally been either not recognised or not believed in psychiatric circles. To be honest, in training in psychiatry, dissociation is not usually covered.[David] Even today…[Remy] No. So people who are trained to spot schizophrenia are more likely to say that it is one of the psychotic voices. Traditionally, it would be people from the voluntary sectors, in drop in centres who are private therapists. Also, psychoanalysis has not helped. Although dissociation was known in Freud’s time and Charcot’s, one of the early ones, and Janet, who is probably the pioneer of dissociation. Charcot’s thing was with people who had hysterical conversions – suddenly you had people who could not control their bodies, suddenly their hand would be up there and they wouldn’t be able to bring it down is one of the earlier manifestations, and then Freud, partly because he was isolated in his world in Vienna and partly because he needed to…it was a new field anyhow and he did a huge amount of work there. But he was hearing about abuse from parents talking about when they were children or friends saying…and yet he was in a culture that wasn’t going to accept the notion in those days, especially in a very middle class upright society, that there could be such a thing as incest and abuse. Even in this country we found that difficult to accept for years. First of all it didn’t exist. It wasn’t that long ago when people thought this just happens in the working class families and then suddenly we realise it happens in every sphere of society. You can get family abuse. And so he did a disservice, in that he called them all fantasies. He said this [fantasies] was a natural part of growing up especially into adolescence, it was all part of growing up and the Oedipal complex, he saw all of that as that. He said these were fantasies of children who in a sense had too much imagination. Or were jealous or wanting to get their own back on their parents.. It’s only in the last 8 years in this country that psychoanalysis began to take on the reality that abuse does exist and it needs to be taken into account in therapy, and then interpreting from that what it was really about and what the child really felt.
I came across this twenty years ago. I was trained analytically. I will give you one example. I used to have a consulting room in town in Pottergate and I used to have a door bell that people would ring downstairs, and then they would come up. On one occasion the bell had stopped working one morning and I had forgotten to do anything about it. So my client rang the bell and nothing happened and I couldn’t hear it, and eventually they got someone to let them in and they came up and rushed in and said ‘there is something wrong with the bell, I couldn’t get in’. In true analytical terms, you would say to that “what did that feel like?”. Now it’s fine with someone who hasn’t got a serious trauma attachment background, because you can find out what that felt like, does that remind them of other situations where they have felt out of control etc. But when you are dealing with someone whose whole world had been turned upside down and where their reality is never clear, where someone abuses you and tells you they love you, when one moment they behave one way and the next moment, things are turned upside down. When your guts are telling you that something is wrong and you’re told that is not the case, you are just being difficult, everyone else is happy with things, that child eventually looses their ability to believe their own self. They have no grounds on which to test their own reality, so to say something like that would be re-traumatising, so you do the opposite. You say ‘it’s not your fault, the bell is broken. I’m sorry I didn’t come down and tell you. No wonder you are upset about it.’ You confirm the reality. Every intervention you make with someone whose background has been completely screwed up is to confirm the reality of what’s going on. So if someone says ‘there is a face there’, (pointing to the wall) you say ‘well I don’t see that face, but you do.’ You are not denying their feelings; you are the only measure of some sort of normality, or role model or template. The trouble with psychiatry is that professionals are often confused between the need to be professional and the need to be real so they will hide behind a language which they have learnt to say. It’s a bit like when you get called from a call centre from someone who is going through a script and you always know they are going through a script and I am always tempted to not try and fit in with the script, and put the phone down, because they are being automatic. They have got none of their feelings there, none of their empathy there, and you’ve got to have empathy and not categorise someone immediately and actually listen to their story no matter how crazy it appears even if it’s psychotic and that’s something that a lot of professionals are not good at, and a lot of GPs used not to be good at it either, but now they are a lot better, but the secondary services are still way behind. When you’ve got someone with that background who goes and meets a professional you’ve got this multi-layed thing, where immediately when they come in front of someone with power they become infantilised, because that’s what they are used to.
You take on the role of the parent figure…
That’s right because trauma of any kind, whether it’s physical, verbal or emotional, it’s about inappropriate use of power. There is nothing wrong with power…however where psychoanalysis was and can still be detached and un-empathetic and cruel sometimes, the other kind of therapy which is person-centred and which has fantastic aspects to it, can be too much the other way at times and can give the following message: ‘ it’s ok, all of us are the same, we are all the same’ and the trouble is that doesn’t help. As a therapist, you’ve got power; there is nothing wrong with power. It’s if you abuse that power that its wrong.. You’ve can’t have a flattened hierarchy and you’ve got to have appropriate use of power. So, on the one hand you have people who become infantilised, but on the other hand, they have finely tuned antennae, because it’s like when at war, the more radars you’ve got the more ways you have of detecting what they are going to do and so you can prepare yourself and so you can pre-empt it. Survival, often for a child, is about knowing very quickly what is going to happen. Adults will tell you when they are talking about their abusive childhood, ‘I knew from the moment he stepped in to the room, from his facial expression, from the way he looked at me, from the way he talked, whether it is one of those days when it was going to be alright or one of those days when it wasn’t.’ You have a measure of preparedness if you know ahead of time, no matter how powerless you are. What I mean by that is that most people with severe trauma will know whether someone is bullshitting, whether they are being genuine or not, whether they are hiding behind their profession. That’s another area that professionals don’t understand. You know, I have been to meetings where I could just tell that a professional person was just not there [not grounded in reality] and that’s no good. You don’t have to be unprofessional and say I am your friend, you just have to have that genuineness, and that’s what people coming for help need.
There is also the risk with therapy of creating the pathology, or creating some sort of false memory…
Yes. Anyone who has power has the power to influence, and in some ways you can’t stop that. Again a parent has got power, and with parenting, where things are good enough, where younger children might say ‘daddy knows everything’, well he doesn’t know everything and as you get in to adolescence, you start rejecting your parents you start having to find your own identity, and eventually in adulthood, as you get older, you might reconcile yourself that some of it made sense, and some of it you will never forgive your parents for and some of it you will accommodate. But the notion that you should always reconcile everything about your parents is a middle class myth and sometimes people don’t and nor should they.
The way you have described that reminds me of becoming a teenager, because in a way becoming a teenager involves aspects of dissociation…
That’s right and if you never rejected it, you would never leave home. Teenagers can have a way of being very self-centred and oblivious, and however annoying that is it does mean that they can find a way of pushing away. You do need that, you see, and that’s an appropriate thing, and sometimes assessments for teenagers are different because some of that teenage ‘apparent madness’ is seen as part of a natural process…so the first thing is to recognise your power as a therapist and that it’s there. Then there are two things in therapy. One is, I never set an agenda. Unless there is something very urgent, I never set an agenda, because I never know what is going to be important to that person. Especially dissociation, once they have come they might have completely forgotten about something or they may be in a completely different state. So my responsibility is to fit in with their language and not the other way round. Originally with Freud, people had to learn his language and if they didn’t they were either resistant, or they were ‘unsuitable for therapy’. The other thing is, I never say a word that I haven’t heard that person use in terms of memory. So if someone in therapy is telling me something about their childhood that sounds abusive or inappropriate, I don’t say anything, I just wait and see. Any word that they have used I can use, and that’s the safest way, because then you are using language that has been used by them not by me. This will avoid false memory or memory implanted by the therapist. At the same time there is no doubt that psychotherapy is about someone taking in what you, as a therapist, have said and explained and trying to see if it fits their reality. So there is a delicate balance, but with trauma, so long as you are aware of this…I have to come up with some suggestions, but not to do with trauma, because otherwise in therapy you’ll end up in a vacuum. As long as you don’t say “I know this is right, and this is how you should interpret your dreams etc”, but instead tentatively wonder about something, then you are opening up the possibility and the other person can say ‘that’s nonsense’, or “you are crazier than I am”, or “I’ll think about it” or they will say nothing at all. But unless you make some suggestions, you are often leaving a completely sterile space, and in some cases you have to do a lot of inputting, with someone whose life has somehow got impoverished and flattened, trying to build a curiosity back in life for someone who has been severely traumatised.
The other thing is about memory and my understanding of memory to do with severe trauma and therefore dissociation. The issue is not so much to do with ‘is memory reliable or not’, but it’s a bit like a computer. If you think that a computer has two aspects to it, one is things are stored in files, secondly you can have two different log-ins, for example one I use and one my secretary uses, so she has her password to get into her part of the computer and I’ve got a password to get into my part of the same computer, and you can even have partitions in terms of how much memory is used for processing and how much is used for backup and how much is for rebooting some of which you have no access to. Everything’s there in someone with DID but it may be in all these different components, and none of it is being put into any directory, not only that, but have you heard of de-fragmentation of a computer? Automatically, or manually, every so often the computer, once a week or once a day will go though the whole system and get rid of unnecessary files, clean it up, so that it is functioning at its most effective. Someone with DID usually cannot do that. Whereas we will naturally, if we haven’t got dissociation, we will naturally dream and in our dreams, part of it is getting rid of unnecessary information. So that a lot of our memories we cannot remember, they are insignificant, usually, but we do remember significant good ones and significant bad ones.
The paradox is that whereas someone with DID quite often has complete amnesia for things that happened in the past, for whole chunks of memory…. the problem is it’s all there, more than necessary, too much…… so the whole thing slows down like a computer that hasn’t been cleaned up, it’s all over the place, and there is no putting into directories, into categories. I don’t know if you use a computer, but you have got to put things together. Your research into DID has got to have its own area. You might have one directory and then sub directories and then files within it, to help sort it out so that you can access it and we do that naturally, if we are not too traumatised by the past, we begin to do that naturally in our brain. So, to begin with [in DID clients], it’s not that there isn’t memory there. It’s just all over the place. So people may have a memory to begin with about an event, but it turns out later on in the therapy, either it never was there, because somehow they’ve held on to this and it’s not there, or two events have been confused, put together as one. It’s a bit like if you have seven witnesses to a car accident, you might get seven different experiences of the event when the police investigate. It’s not always going to be identical. Because people will notice from different angles, different parts of it, and when you’ve got someone who is dissociated, you’ve got the ANP [the apparent normal personality] that will often have a very good recall of events but no emotional content to it and they tell you about it but are not impacted at all – “oh yes I was abused and I got up…” and meanwhile all this emotion is split off, so you have to deal with memory very cautiously.
I accept it’s their personal emotional truth, I am not saying the person is lying; I’m not saying that the memory is accurate. And if they say “don’t you believe me I say “everything you say I am going to take seriously; I believe that’s your actual experience”. ‘You will know at the end what the truth is, but that doesn’t take away that something fundamentally wrong has happened.’
The trouble in this area of work….the issue is rarely with therapists that they are too distanced, because if they are going to be like that they don’t want to get involved, they are going to say either I don’t believe in it or it’s not how I work. The error is more that you get too impacted by it, you get too involved, you become like a rescuer, your whole life is geared to worrying about them, you keep checking if they’re ok, you feel like you ‘re responsible, and that’s a disaster because you end up burnt out yourself. The bottom line is that with someone with this condition, if you become burnt out and end up saying you can’t cope, it’s the worst scenario because the person will feel ‘ here we go again, I’ve always known I’m too much, I must be bad.’ And though someone may not like it, you are better off in the beginning, if necessary, being very clear, even appearing cold and detached if necessary, but consistently there because what someone hasn’t had is that consistent structure.
So whatever arrangement you make, you don’t say “perhaps”, you say “this I can do, this I can’t”. If someone’s only coming once a week but you realise that’s too much space between sessions then you might say, ‘it’s fine to send me emails, I won’t answer them, we can pick them up and discuss them in the session because you know you can offload them and not carry them.’ I may have an arrangement that they are coming once a week, and they need more, that we have a telephone session for ten minutes and they pay for it, but it’s a fixed time and it’s there if they want it. The boundaries are so clear and it’s better to do less to begin with and see how that goes and then once that’s tolerable….
…It’s a bit like when concentration camp victims were liberated by the Americans, and the soldiers saw how starved they were and their hearts bled, they opened up their larders, they gave them all the food they wanted and then they realised people were dying, one after the other, because their body couldn’t cope with that, and they realised that they had to give them a tiny bit of food, get that digested and then a tiny bit more. It’s the same psychologically, you just start very little, because they haven’t had any input like that and you slowly allow the psychological digestion.
And there is a risk of professional services people getting too involved when they are admitted to hospital….
Of course. Traditionally as a therapist I worked in this bubble (the therapist and client) and what was going on out there in the world was not important. Now with trauma work, where there are other professionals involved, we have to work as a team. I go to the professional meetings with the other professionals as well as my client. You can do that without risking any of the client confidentiality, because it’s about making sure that the client knows that we are all working together as a team (in a parental role).
The Centre here started trying to do that about ten years ago. There are going to be times when clients will need respite or emergency admission for a short period of time because of the level of distress through the emotional trauma memory emerging. What would usually happen is that they would be admitted to psychiatric hospital on an acute ward and everything at outpatient level then stops (therapy etc). The classic scenario would be that for instance the duty psychiatrist looks at the symptoms and says this is definitely bipolar, changes the medication, and then of course the patient is re-traumatised (this is familiar territory) screams, gets angry, becomes a nuisance, everybody says they shouldn’t be there, and the cycle starts again. Or you get the one nurse, who really understands and starts feeling concerned for the client and battles with their own boss, and then of course this is all familiar territory again, and so what we had to devise eventually was a water-tight plan. It’s a bit like pregnant women into hospital with a birth plan, because you know at the time of giving birth that you are not going to be in the state of mind to deal with it so you try and ensure that it’s all there beforehand, what you want done when this happens, do you want an epidural etc. When it works well the patient needs to carry the plan with them so that if you have to go to hospital in an emergency, the doctor can see it and say “don’t change the medication”, minimum involvement, just get her there in a safe place, so that there is a streamlining. That has more impact when it works and it will be fought like mad to begin with because that is alien to a patient’s experience, but it works. The first time it happened, it was incredible, for the first year and a half, my client kept going in and out and it would all go amess, eventually we got it together, she went in and it worked, so she came out and she never went in again. Because she couldn’t disrupt it anymore, and of course it’s frightening for her but suddenly the cycle was broken because everybody was working from the same song sheet. And that is more important than anything else but that is not most people’s experience.
It seems there is no procedure in place for people who are first diagnosed with DID in terms of what happens to them and who they see…
It varies a lot. We are one of only two centres, the other one’s in London, that have tried hard to change that structure. There are lots of therapists who try but I know that you have to have an organisation and then you are more likely to be taken seriously. That’s why I have a colleague who is a psychiatrist as well because I am not medically trained so we work together. Here is a typical scenario: Someone with DID might for years have been high functioning, hold down a full time job and work all hours of the day and night…then this eventually doesn’t work anymore… so they go to their GP and will probably be diagnosed as depressed and then take time off and then be on anti-depressants, ordinary anti-depressants often won’t do much good, and they go through a long cycle… they are maybe referred to secondary services, which are the outpatient services, where they may or may not begin to get the right approach to help them.
What happens here now, in this locality, is that I have obtained a service level agreement, so the Norfolk and Waveney PCT have been very good at agreeing to so many hours of specialised treatment and assessment…that this is required for appropriate patients. I do an initial screening, ask the GP to refer to the outpatient services …but it does depend on which locality (even in this area)…. some localities are very good and they will allow an assessment and follow the treatment guidelines, others will have nothing to do with it, even though there is a service level agreement, that’s how it is. You’ve got that dissociation within the service.
And I imagine it sometimes falls on the individual to take the first step…
It falls on the individual as well as the locality, and some localities decide that they are never going to refer outside the services but at the same time don’t offer the appropriate help. Even when the condition is recognised they will still try and fit a round peg into a square hole and they will say that they have got the treatment protocol required, put them in groups which doesn’t work on its own. Or a more recent example: The Maudsley Hospital in London, which has been very good at recognising the diagnosis of this condition, doesn’t treat patients appropriately. I believe this is partly because of costs. So their approach is to only treat the adult and ignore the other parts inside (the EP’s: the emotional personalities) It doesn’t work unfortunately. With something developmental like that where you’ve got that arrested development at different ages, in therapy you have to address this…., not outside therapy (there is this confusion sometimes that some people with DID expect everybody to be able to deal with different parts and their different names, outside therapy, and that’s nonsense,) but the idea is that in therapy – any part that comes out I will relate to and that needs to be facilitated, because until you can get that going,…. the primary goal is to get that internal communication, between the ANP and these internal parts (EP’s) that carry the different experiences of the trauma...and so not only are you trying to get better communication between those internal parts, by getting to know them and getting them to be aware, but the most important thing is you are getting that outside part to get to know them, because they may be amnesic to it.
So, in other words, as an example, Jane may come for therapy and treat this as a bit like bringing her children ( her EP’s) to a child minder, leave them here and pick them up and go away again at the end of the session, so she comes along, and she says, ‘I’m not sleeping very well, I know all about dissociation, but it probably doesn’t apply to me, or I am probably just making it up, I have been coming to see you for quite a while,’ and then there will be a pause, and there will sort of be a blankness, [Remy demonstrates a switch into a younger alter] and if I haven’t met that internal part of her before, I’d say ‘oh, hello, I don’t think I’ve met you before’ , and she might say ‘I am ‘Rebecca’ (some people will have different names for their internal parts)and you start getting to know what has gone on, you are sort of mapping her internal system.
I’ve also got to make sure that there is an adult around at the end of each session, I might say ‘can I get Jane back’, and then Jane comes back, she looks at the time, and she might say: ‘my god, what’s been going on’, she would have no idea at all that for that last twenty or twenty five minutes, there has been another part of her there, so even though she might think she has made it all up, I am the conduit that sort of holds…I’ve got to keep explaining what’s going on, so at least intellectually she knows that I have seen another part of her, even though she has no idea of it. As time goes, I might also suggest taping the session, and she takes the tape home, so that she can listen to it, or she might listen to it the first time with me, because it might be a freaky experience, sometimes people go white, because they have known in their head the possibility, but actually hearing it, it can be horrific and very frightening. They say, ‘Oh I am crazy’ and you say’ no you are not crazy, that’s how you survived. You’ve got time loss and it’s happening now’. Because you are also trying to do the equivalent of brain gym, and the taping to listen at home is to try and start getting those neurological systems to start connecting, they have been disconnected for so long.
Often one of the things that therapists can find difficult and professionals can find difficult, is to work with the more aggressive, angry, hostile part of the client. Some clients will come in and say that they are really frightened of and are controlled by this really dark part - nasty, sometimes they call it the devil part, and this can be the abuser part ( often the internalised abuser) that makes them do things like cut themselves, or they may be aggressive or threatening or threaten to hurt the professional or can come out of control and destroy things….Its important to understand that this part, though difficult to handle to begin with, carries the energy to progress the therapy…
If someone comes to see me and it doesn’t matter whether they are dissociative or not, and they are ever so nice, they are always on time, they are always grateful for what I am offering them, they are trying really hard to put in practise what comes up in the therapy, nothing will change. Professionals feel at ease because this is someone who is really appreciative of their work, they are not going to cause trouble, if they have to go into an acute ward, will follow all the rules, they will be helpful, try and fit in, will even help the other nurses and talk to the other people, really helpful with other people sometimes, but nothing ever changes. Everything can be tried and nothing changes.
In contrast if you have got someone coming through the services who is aggressive, who swears, who says ‘who the hell do you think you are, I don’t trust anyone,’ (or usually more outspoken) who is aggressive, who will act out, very hard to manage but will have more of a potential for change. We know in our society that change doesn’t come about through those well meaning, obedient, citizens, it’s always been,….whether it’s the suffragettes, whatever it is … what get cultures in a global sense to change is through diversity, through challenges that are difficult to handle, but if they are handled correctly, they are eventually beneficial… it is never done through being reasonable. There are extremes of course where if you are a terrorist then you have gone beyond the threshold of being able to manage it and to have an outlet for it.
So that generally my understanding, as time has gone on, is that the area of creativity and change is actually encapsulated in those areas where there appears to be the most aggression, because there is energy there, but the energy has been focussed and activated because it was stuck through the abuse and the attachment difficulties, so that’s one thing to think about.
If you’ve got someone who is in an impossible situation as a child, where if you are going to survive, you’ve got to be aware what’s going on, have your antennae finely tuned, you can’t escape so that you have to do is make sure you don’t make things worse. If the message you got was ‘you tell anyone, and I will pursue you and kill you, if you ever tell anyone I have been doing thing to you, then I will kill you,’ that message goes in.. And also the message you get is, ‘if you cry I will make it twice as hard for you,’ then what goes in is: I mustn’t cry. What this actually means is that that person has to be the parent to themselves, because the natural reaction will be to cry in pain, so there’s got to be a part that keeps that child in order. That’s how it works, because the survival and the minimising of pain is based on one, not telling anyone, because you will die or be harmed, and two, not crying out in pain because then the abuser will do it twice as bad. And in a way you get an internal system which is what you could call a parental system which has to guard and keep in order and do whatever is necessary to stop that happening.
This is why in the early days when I didn’t know much about it, a client would come for the first time, and might say ‘this is the first time I can be somewhere and someone will listen to me’ and start emotionally outpouring what happened and about what was done in childhood, and the person goes away (may well feel must better from the emotional release) and next time they come, they announce they have severely self harmed. I couldn’t understand at the beginning but I eventually cottoned on that they were doing something they were forbidden to do, [tell someone] it’s templated in and for their internal protector, the red flags go up…. because this person is telling a stranger things that you were told if you told someone you would die or be severely hurt, so the paramount thing is to stop that person [themselves] from ever talking to anyone ever again, whatever it takes including self harm. And so that part (the internal protector/abuser) is in a real dilemma, trying to protect her, (herself) from getting into trouble.
In the same way that you take in good experiences of childhood, the good internal parents, you also take in the bad internal parent. So you’ve got this structure [then Remy refers to article about the ghetto model] where the survival of the whole system is always paramount, so even if its hurting, even if it’s sacrificing things, and the ghetto model was about the ghettos that were set up where the survival of the ghetto depended on Jewish members of the ghetto selecting their own people to send them off to labour camp and certain death…. so they had a whole structure of policing, social working within that structure, and that would decide who would go because even though that was doing it to your own kind, the ultimate aim was the survival of the whole. So what you’ve got is someone who is persecuted, they are trying desperately to get on with life, they’ve got dissociation, they’ve got this voice/s that will tell them to hurt themselves, also will tell them how awful they are, how pointless it all is, and it’s not psychotic, it’s all internal processors. And you’ve got people who are trying to work with this person who are frightened of them because occasionally they might see their client’s mood change, where she/he becomes either destructive, occasionally might threaten to hit someone, certainly frightening for the therapist or professional. The professional will do everything they can to ignore or condemn this behaviour – they don’t want to see that part, they will either give them medication or will say ‘I don’t want to see that kind of behaviour,’ whereas I know that that is the key. And I also know that power is power, whether it’s the Nazi’s or whether it’s the concentration camp commandant, whether it is the ghetto, or in more normal everyday situations. Whether it’s a business manager that I have had to renegotiate a contract with, I just have to recognise that.
Right from the start the ANP might say ‘I have this going on I don’t know much about it, but can you get rid of it,’ (their more aggressive part) I will tell them that no part is to be got rid of. I’ve got to make sure I respectfully get to know this part. That doesn’t mean I accept this behaviour but I have to negotiate to make changes. Here is one example: if you have ANP who has no experience of what is going on inside, so if that was you, you would be talking to me, you would tell me about what you know intellectually, what you may have found out., but you don’t actually know what’s going on. If I’m talking to one of the other parts (the inside parts…EP’s), the ANP won’t know. But, what I know is, in 95% of cases, if I am talking to you as the ANP, all the other parts inside are listening. So I can talk to that part and I say ‘well, I want you to know this, that part that I know you say is aggressive and I know you are frightened of, I know is vital. I am not frightened of that part, but I am respectful of that part’s power. I would very, very much like to be able to talk to ‘, and this ANP part might say ‘well you don’t want to do that, or I can’t do anything about that, and I just say don’t worry, because I know that part is listening and I know that part has a lot of power, and I know that it is trying to protect you even though it may be doing it in a way that is not helpful from your point of view. I also know that without getting permission to know what the rules are I am not going to get anywhere.
It’s a bit like, if you go to a dictatorship country and you want to be able to travel round the country, you go to the one at the top who has the power to give you permission, it’s no use asking the guard who is controlling the border, they might say no or they might say yes, but you know if you haven’t got that permission you are not going to get anywhere. Similarly if you have a problem with a purchase from a store, it’s no use discussing or having an argument with the person at the till. The same on the phone, if you’ve got a problems with a call centre you request to speak to their manager, and if the manager doesn’t get you what you want, you request to speak to their boss, until you get to the one with the authority and power to negociate. The others are either going to follow a script or they will say these rules have to be adhered to. It’s the same thing in an internal structure. Once you get through with respect to the aggressive/protective part, things change I have never been attacked, in twenty years. I may have that part be verbally aggressive initially: eg ‘who the fuck hell do you think you are, why do you think I would want to talk to you,’ but as soon as you have a verbal response, you know that you have made contact. And I know that once that happens, over time, that’s what going to bring about change.
How important is it for patients to be reintegrated at the end of therapy?
Well it used to be so and in a lot of circles that is the ultimate goal. I feel differently, I follow the recognised three phases of therapy:
Stage One is you try to stabilise the symptoms, to stop the extreme threats to life, and to develop a good working alliance between you and your client which includes issues about boundaries etc. If you can negotiate with that protective part, you may have to accept some self harm, something to keep and that is ok, and that can be tolerated, but you can negotiate, because what you are trying to do is change from things being done unilaterally with no thought of the consequences, to a space where the person starts to think before they react.. There is very little concept of thinking before decisions are made, and the concept I am trying to get across, is like….
lets try and get everybody round the board table, not everybody has got to like each other or agree…. a bit like conflict between countries, you often have to have pre-talks , but let’s start with the dictator who has got control because without his permission or her permission, you can organise anything and it just won’t happen. And that part may be all puffed up, because after all he/she often turns out to be a frightened child part, but when that part begins to feel unthreatened, they know they are going to be taken seriously, they start changing. Because you are trying, in partnership, you are not the one with the answer.
And the aim, within that first stage, is getting the communication going, so not only between the parts inside, but also to get the ANP involved round the table, even if it’s only intellectually and through writing….. so I would encourage journaling at home, to make sure there is a bit of paper, and I know one person who has done that and they say ‘my god I am a freak’ because they have never seen the different handwritings…naturally it varies enormously how people present, I am just giving you a cross section. And that is the most important bit of the initial therapy
Stage two is working through the trauma history as experienced by each internall part and includes the developing of a time line between the parts.
Stage three is integration. A lot of people will say I don’t want to get integrated, that’s fine because then there is a system where if there’s an important decision there is a dialogue about it at home in some ways, a bit like in a family if you have got to move locations because the job’s elsewhere and the main earner is the father let’s say, you get together and you discuss it as a family, now the crucial difference which is not understood sometimes is that you can discuss it but the ultimate decision is not made by the children, it’s made by the adults.
So it’s the ANP and there may be other adults internally, who make the decision, not because the child says she wants to do something, you listen to their point of view and then you try and see where it fit in. In a family, you won’t ever let a child stop you moving because your survival depends on you getting a job elsewhere. You listen, and you think about the loss of friends here and you think about what we can do, maybe we can come back and get your friends to come over for holidays, but the bottom line is the two adults who are there working together, will make the final decision. Sometimes families get it wrong now, sometimes children are given much too much power in my view, and there is confusion between listening and letting them dictate what is happening, so if someone gives them a sense that they are omnipotent, then they have to face the reality that the world isn’t like that. And that can be as damaging in some ways as someone who is completely oblivious to any of the child’s needs and only think of themselves. Both have consequences.
Some people might see DID as being better than normal life. I am thinking about Herschel Walker and in a recent talk he said he thought that DID was a gift from God…
Well in a way it has all that side to it, certainly in every day like people who are creative artists, use dissociation in some form, and people who are high functioning DID seem to have an amazing area for gifts and talents, an incredible ability when they put their minds to something. I suppose it’s a bit like someone who is autistic and who may be incredible clever at numbers: there is a price to pay but somewhere there is concentration of ability and I think it has to do with how the mind gets divided.
Some people find that this changes. One of the fears and one of the losses of integration is that you may not be so good at doing those things, and you may not be so good at multi-tasking. But you can say it was a gift, but it was a curse why it was necessary in the first place. It’s a gift because it allows you to survive and it’s adaptive if you manage to work through it, and you’ve then got a gift because when people have managed to work with it, it can be a very satisfying and enriching life, after years of struggle. Of course that is not to say that with Herschel Walker it isn’t very different and he has found a way, then who is to say he is wrong.
So if people don’t decide to integrate, are DID clients one day able to turn around and converse with their alters even if before they have been unable to?
It can be very varied and that is why it is so difficult to generalise. At some level, the person on the outside, the ANP, is a sort of non person, it is a front that has been necessary in order to keep functioning. Some people describe it as, they can look around and they can see how people behave and they can take it in and they can repeat it, but there is no sense of depth to them, and often people on the outside feel meaninglessness about life and are often very suicidal. The energy for life, and the potential for life and the life-force that is carried through all the trauma (carried internally), if that is harnessed in some way, that curiosity, then that changes things.
In a way you could say that those on the inside are like the Japanese prisoner of war, they have got no engagement with real life, and the part on the outside has no engagement with the internal life and so you are trying to balance that up
Or what also happens is that internal parts of different ages have been stuck in their development, and they need time to catch up. They sort of join up as they go higher, so the four year old joins up with the six year old, and sometimes they are all adults at the end, with the ability that we all have to remembering how it is to be a child., For instance if you have children or friends or relatives who have kids, you can enjoy their enjoyment of Christmas or going on a funfair or something, you can engage with that.
If the outside part is going to remain, then that part will have to know some of the inside world and feel some of the pain, and process some of the emotional things, and once they do that then they are bringing more of that into their everyday world. But it is more important that there is that communication. For some people, that is enough, for others nothing short of just bringing it all together will be enough. Some people feel they will lose something through integration. I don’t think so. Because it’s all one body, one brain, you have to keep remembering that.. Aultimately you are just bringing it all together and neurologically, you are allowing new pathways so that all those experiences can now be linked.
Friend and family….
That’s a very good question, because sometimes someone has got a partner who may have been oblivious to begin with and then it’s started happening, and they have to deal with that and they may be the only ones dealing with it, and then they become the first person who starts recognising the different parts, and who starts learning about it and who starts relating to the different parts appropriate to their age, and so the person with DID may feel for the first time in a safe place. The problem is that often the partner will have to be partner, parent for their child if they have a child, and a carer for these different parts of their partner, and that’s really difficult. It involves the loss of their adult partner, because it is all on hold in a sense.
And sometimes partners decide to become a carer rather than rely on professionals, often for very good reasons. This can lead at times to problems to do with co-dependence that is not always very helpful. And so here you are (the partner of someone with DID) trying to help them and getting used to being the ‘parent’ to there internal children. Then as therapy brings about change so that the person with DID starts taking more responsibility and this has an impact on their partner who may begin to feel threatened. So more and more, I am more than happy, whenever the client wants to, to have their partner there, to see what the problems are and try to help or get independent help for the partner or career. It may be that the partner or career who fights to get help for the person with DID are in a sense in hyper arousal as well, in a war zone. Partners/careers also need to be part of the professional meetings otherwise an important ‘attachment’ is left out. So it is trying to see the bigger picture, that can be really difficult…I have one or two clients where the work comes to an impasse because their partner’s sense of self is dependent on the person with DID remaining ‘unwell.’
And there must be occasions where the partners estrange themselves from them because they find out the nature of the problem….
That does happen; you hear often of people who have gone through hell, fighting, getting justice to something tragic that has happened and then when it’s all concluded they’ve got nothing to stay together for.. It’s a bit like a relationship, if someone is in crisis, and they need to get help or get help for themselves, and change, is the partner going to also be able to adapt to change. There is never a certainty, nor can you make things stay the same.
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E: Pottergate Centre
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Our Products >> Book - "Hartford Radio" History by John Ramsey
(Note that this book was donated to WAPJ by the author.)
Radio broadcasting has been an integral part of the history of contral Connecticut since the early part of the 20th century. WDRC was the state's first station (1922), and they helped pioneer FM radio technology in the early 1940s. Many Hartford residents learned about the end of World War II via radio, and the medium played a key role in keeping people informed during the floods of 1938 and 1955, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the great Northeast Blackout of 1965. Surprisingly, Hartford, the capital of "the land of steady habits," saw two stations break from the pack to help bring the British Invasion to the state in the early 1960s. And thousands of schoolchildren eagerly listened to WTIC's legendary Bob Steele on wintery mornings as they excitedly awaited school closing announcements. Hartford Radio offers a glimpse into the history of the area's broadcast stations and the people who ran them.
Author Bio: John Ramsey grew up listening to Hartford radio and has been involved in the industry as a broadcast engineer since 1978. He is currently general manager of WWUH at the University of Hartford, chief engineer of WCCC, and webmaster of www.hartfordradiohistory.com and president of the Torrington Community Radio Foundation, licensee of WAPJ.
Review of "Hartford Radio" by Charles Dube, Director of Engineering, WFCR, Amherst, MA
For the tobacco farmer in rural Windsor, or an insurance executive in the city itself, Hartford Connecticut's radio stations were the lifeline to the world in the early days of broadcasting, much like across America. It's easy to forget how critical this was in the days before television or the internet. John Ramsey's Images of America, Hartford Radio presents a slice of broadcast history that culls the archives of several key area radio stations, and will be of appeal not only to the radio buff, but to those for whom radio was the key place to learn of the new and now; from the as-not-yet-heard Beatles record to the tragedies and triumphs of local and world events.
Ramsey, a veteran broadcaster himself, has spent years compiling a treasure-trove of images and sound for his Hartford Radio History website. He has worked for decades with some of the people in this book and was able to gain access to many images from personal collections never before seen. For the radio buff there are stunning documentary photographs of transmitters, studios and towers. But that is only the apparatus, and we are fortunate that Hartford Radio is greatly enriched with the faces of personalities that have entertained for so many years. Legendary names like Bob Steele and Dick Robinson will be recognized instantly by many throughout New England and beyond.
Ramsey brings us from the very first whispered signals coming from makeshift or modified equipment, through the medium's heyday replete with full symphonies and studios lined with velvet curtains. Images of local talent shows, swing bands and the disc-jockeys that gave many in the Connecticut audience their first, sweet taste of rock and roll, bring to life radio's marriage to the events & trends of each decade. He takes us through to more contemporary times- the era of focused formats, consolidation and great change in the industry. Some of these stations were true pioneers, and I'll leave it to you to discover why. Ramsey's narrations present each decade as a framework, allowing the carefully researched (most names and events are given) pictures to tell their own story.
Discover here the smiling faces behind the voices Connecticut listeners have befriended for almost ninety years.
Book - "Hartford Radio" History by John Ramsey
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EBCITIZEN.COM | EAST BAY POLITICS SINCE 2009
Steven Tavares March 18, 2015 Alameda County, Asian American Small Business PAC, Contra Costa County, independent expenditure committees, Joan Buchanan, Michaela Hertle, SD7, SD7 special election, Steve Glazer, Susan Bonilla
Glazer wins SD7 special election; will face Bonilla in May runoff
STATE SENATE | 7TH DISTRICT | Voters in the 7th State Senate District, at least the few who participated in Tuesday’s special election, gave centrist Democrat Steve Glazer a seven-point win over Assemblymember Susan Bonilla. Since no candidate attained a majority of the vote, the campaigns will reload and meet again in the May 19 runoff.
The result suggest the state senate district not only reacted positively to Steve Glazer’s centrist platform, but also issued a rebuke to an apparent behind-the-scenes move by labor to undermine his campaign.
A labor-backed independent expenditure committee named the Asian American Small Business PAC made waves in recent weeks for spending over $100,000 to support the lone Republican in the race, while also opposing Glazer’s campaign.
[CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE ELECTION RESULTS]
The scheme, once exposed, seemed to have backfired on labor, who vehemently oppose Glazer for his stance against public transit strikes like those that occurred with BART in 2013.
With all of the precincts reporting in both Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, Glazer lead the five-person field with 32.8 percent of the vote. Glazer easily topped the field in both counties. “It was a good night tonight,” said Glazer’s Facebook page. “We are headed to the runoff on May 19th!”
Bonilla held off former Assemblymember Joan Buchanan, both Democrats, for the second spot with 24.9 percent. Although, Bonilla more than held her own in the much larger portion of the district within Contra Costa County, she finished a distant fourth in Alameda County and behind a candidate who dropped out the race last month.
Buchanan, who may have been more well-known to a slight majority of voters finished with 22.6 percent.
Republican Michaela Hertle returned a strong showing Tuesday night, especially since she dropped out of the race last month and endorsed Glazer’s campaign. Hertle earned a fourth place finish with 17 percent of the vote. Democrat Terry Kremin garnered 2.8 percent of the vote.
Voter turnout, which had become a positive development in this special election, failed to generate much interest on Election Day. In both counties combined, participation was just 20 percent of registered voters, which count nearly 488,000. In Alameda County, for instance, just over three percent of voters cast a ballot on Tuesday.
Posted in Alameda County, Asian American Small Business PAC, Contra Costa County, independent expenditure committees, Joan Buchanan, Michaela Hertle, SD7, SD7 special election, Steve Glazer, Susan Bonilla. Bookmark the permalink.
Anonymous on April 9, 2015 at 3:58 PM
Nobody cares about posts from other blogs. I think the poster above at 12:57 got it right. Glazer got so much corrupt money (independent expenditures) from the Ca. Chamber of Commerce and the So. Ca. conservative multi-millionaire businessman because they want our water to go south thru the twin tunnels Brown is proposing. Most of us have seen the light and will vote for Susan Bonilla because we are against the twin canals stealing our water and sending it to Southern California.
Mr. Dobwell and I can't support whores. We were always taught to look down our noses at them. Since Second Place Sue, the best she can do, is loaded with toxic, dirty, bocoupt union whore money, we will vote for the only clean candidate running.
SENATOR STEVE GLAZER 2016! He's the People's Choice!
Anonymous on April 18, 2015 at 11:11 PM
Glazer is not clean and is not moderate. He is the dirtiest and most corrupt of all as far as having special interest money spent on his behalf. Glazer received more special interest money than any other candidate, most from a conservative corporate Southern California business man who spent over 1 million on Glazer's behalf in the just finished last election. I do argue that Susan Bonilla is cleaner since she got less special interest money than the corporate Glazer did, and she definitely is the moderate in this race. Susan is the people's choice!
No 'cigar,' figuratively speaking, liars.
Anonymous on April 19, 2015 at 12:24 AM
Wow! Susan Bonilla endorsed by both Eric Swalwell, a Democratic moderate, and Greg Ahern, a Republican moderate. They have convinced me to vote for Susan. Just don't trust Glazer taking all that money from the Chamber and big business. Looks to the rest of us that Susan Bonilla is the People's Choice. Is your candidate as sexist as you 4:50? Beinf a foul-mouthed sexist is hurting your candidate instead of helping since most the voters are women.
Anonymous on April 19, 2015 at 1:13 AM
Wow! Steve Glazer endorsed by both Kathleen Brown, a Democratic moderate, and Dick Rainey, a Republican moderate. They have convinced me to vote for Steve. Just can't trust Bonilla taking all that dirty union money from Labor and union shills. Looks to all of us that Steve Glazer is the People's Choice. Your candidate is just as whorrible as you!
Sounds to me like the anti-union, anti middle class sexist at 4:50 and 6:13 is very worried his candidate will lose the run off. Me thinks he protests to much, in vulgar language at that. Glazer is a conservative corporate mouthpiece and no moderate. Susan Bonilla, with any type of a turnout over 25%, should win. Susan is the moderate and progressive. Practice saying Senator Susan Bonilla who has not been bought and paid for by corporate big businessmen from out of town like your candidate.
My name is little Alice, age 7. Mommy told me that I can be anything that I want. She says that my role model should be First Place Steve not Second Place Sue. I'm going to be a First Place Steve when I grow up because mommy said that I shouldn't ever settle for being a dirty union slut.
SENATOR STEVE GLAZER–he's the People's Choice!
Just how stupid are you 9:14? Do you think we don't know you are the one and only person on this blog who doesn't like Susan Bonilla even though Susan doesn't want to create another peripheral canal to send our water South to the wasteful LA and San Diego areas. Glazer and Brown and the corporate PACS want Glazer to win because they want a lot more of our drinking water. Thanks for nothing Glazer and the sexist anti union troll who keeps blogging for him. Since you don't live in the area, no one cares what you think.
Anonymous on April 19, 2015 at 3:42 PM
Tobacco Smear Campaign
Facts About The Tobacco Smear Campaign
Against Steve Glazer
A campaign committee promoting the election of Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla is running a tobacco smear campaign against Steve Glazer which leading newspapers have branded as “deceptive”[i], “childish”, [ii] “misleading”[iii] and “deceitful”. [iv]
These are the facts:
Steve has never worked for a tobacco company.
Steve has never taken a campaign donation from a tobacco company.
As a City Councilmember and Mayor, Steve voted for tougher requirements on tobacco sales and advertising.
The work Steve did for the California Chamber of Commerce – for which he is being attacked – was to elect members to the State Assembly who have actually fought for tougher laws on tobacco. Richard Bloom and Marc Levin, both first elected to the State Assembly in 2012, are known as anti-tobacco legislators. Assemblymember Bloom has worked to ban smoking on public beaches and Assemblymember Levine supports a ban on smoking in multi-family dwellings. Neither have taken campaign contributions from tobacco companies.
As Mayor of Orinda, Steve has recently proposed even tougher tobacco control laws.
Steve has issued a public statement calling tobacco “addictive” and “deadly.” To read the statement, please click here
To date, the following entities have contributed to the committee running the smear campaign [v]:
California State Council of Service Employees Political Committee $185,000
Service Employees International Union Local 1021 Candidate PAC $75,000
PACE of California School Employees Association $75,000
Professional Engineers in California Government PECG-PAC $50,000
Faculty for Our University’s Future, a Committee sponsored by the CA Faculty Association $50,000
American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO $49,784
California Teachers Association Independent Expenditure Committee $35,000
State Building and Construction Trades Council of California PAC $35,000
United Food & Commercial Workers Western States Council Independent Expenditure $25,000
United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professional PAC $25,000
California Federation of Teachers COPE $25,000
Committee for Working Families, Sponsored by the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO $25,000
California Dental Association Independent Expenditure PAC $7,000
Management & Professional Employee Association MAPA PAC- AFSCME Local 1001 $5,000
American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees-Council 57 PAC: $5,000
These same entities have also made substantial contributions to Susan Bonilla’s campaign.
Glazer has got double the independent expenditure money than the people's choice and middle class champion Susan Bonilla. He is twice as corrupt, wants to send our drinking water South, and most of his millions in independent expenditures have come from corporate billionaires outside of Northern Calif. Glazer is a despicable and duplicitous councilman from Orinda who speaks out of both sides of his conservative mouth.
Glazer got so much corrupt money (independent expenditures) from the Ca. Chamber of Commerce and the So. Ca. conservative multi-billionaire businessman because they want our water to go south thru the twin tunnels Brown is proposing. Most of us have seen the light and will vote for Susan Bonilla because we are against the twin canals stealing our water and sending it to Southern California.
No matter how many times you make the same post 12:39 it won't change the fact that Glazer is a corporate hack and doesn't care about middle class working families. It's Susan Bonilla for the rest of us……..the progressives, the middle class, and the moderate right.
Amen 2:30, Amen——–he was a consultant for JobsPAC which is funded mostly by huge corporations which have reaped large tax breaks for themselves. These include Tobacco, and Oil giants. I'll be voting for Susan because Glazer isn't honest.
I had already decided to vote for Mr. Glazer since he's the only clean 'politician' in this race. My neighbor then reminded me that Second Place Sue still has time left on her assembly term. She's greedy. She's decided that she wants the tax payers to spend for yet ANOTHER special election, which is exactly what would happen if she jumped boats to the senate. Let her finish her term and then–G-d forbid–go back to the private sector and work for a living. We don't need yet another special election at tax payer expense. My neighbor is right that Steve Glazer is the best choice in the election. A vote for Steve is a vote against spending for a special election.
I am convinced. Steve Glazer is definitely the People's Choice and great for the tax payers, too!!!
2:30 and 2:46 agreeing with each other? Wow, smells like the same old ultra-liberal Berkeley bitch to us. No surprise here.
Steve Glazer for 7th District State Senate Proven Environmentalist, More Accessible–The Independent
By Janet Armantrout
Voters in the State Senate 7th District have a choice between two Democrats on May 19. Susan Bonilla and Steve Glazer are on the ballot to replace Mark DeSaulnier, who was elected to Congress last November.
Bonilla and Glazer were the top two finishers in the March 17 primary.
With little to separate them on the issues, independent political action committees have launched a barrage of nasty flyers in support of and opposition to one or the other candidate. Both have big spenders behind them. Glazer is backed by Bill Bloomfield, JobsPAC (California Chamber of Commerce PAC) and the California Charter Schools Association; Bonilla is heavily favored by unions.
Their associations with such groups have raised questions about their ability to maintain an objective viewpoint on issues impacting the funders of their political campaigns.
The Independent interviewed each separately. Both support more storage for water and are against the two tunnel system proposed by Gov. Brown to deliver water from the Delta. They see the need to improve traffic along the I-580 corridor by bringing BART to Livermore. Each expressed the necessity of a strong educational system to keep the economy growing and to lift people out of poverty.
Glazer has a demonstrated involvement with environmental issues, with a long history of working with such organizations as Save the Bay. On behalf of the Trust for Public Land, he worked on measures in more than 25 states to protect clean water and thousands of acres of open space. He has said that he supports minimizing regulations that don't diminish health and safety, but have a negative impact on business. As technology changes, environmental laws have to keep up.
He supports laws enacted to reduce carbon emissions, which he calls an important method of reducing greenhouse gases. It is a stand that is contrary to that taken by the Chamber of Commerce, and one we support.
His desire to prevent BART strikes has drawn the ire of unions. He notes that New York, Chicago, Massachusetts, and San Francisco all restrict transit strikes. We believe his tone is too strident when he talks about the issue. However, he says that he still believes in the collective bargaining process.
We do agree with his stand on moving forward with pension reform, which he believes is necessary to ensure funds are available when workers retire. We don't agree with his lack of support for closing the business tax loophole in Proposition 13.
Glazer strongly backs adding more charter schools, a move we believe would weaken regular public schools.
Bonilla mentioned favoring a sunset clause for environmental laws, which would limit how long they are in effect. She says that would provide an opportunity to review their value. A sunset clause could lead to a loss of important provisions. While she votes favorably on most environmental issues, she has no record of active involvement.
Bonilla has been strong on child care, noting that without the availability of affordable care for their children, many women would not be able to work.
Because of her backing by unions, Bonilla has been accused of being too in tune with unions to take on pension reform or changes in teacher tenure.
With both of them coming from the northern portion of the district, accessibility is of concern. Glazer appears more willing to involve himself in local issues. Bonilla has shown little interest, focusing more on topics where she lives than the Tri-Valley.
Although we don't support his views on some important issues, we are recommending Steve Glazer for the State Senate 7th District mainly because of his proven record on behalf of the environment and his willingness to engage in Tri-Valley issues.
Source: http://www.independentnews.com/editorials/steve-glazer-for-th-district-state-senate-proven-environmentalist-more/article_1c624344-e92f-11e4-b174-0f57bc52fdb4.html
Glazer is not clean and is not moderate. He is the dirtiest and most corrupt of all as far as having special interest money spent on his behalf. Glazer received more special interest money than any other candidate, most from a conservative corporate Southern California business man who has spent over 2 million on Glazer's behalf in the election. I do argue that Susan Bonilla is cleaner since she got less special interest money than the corporate hack Glazer did, and she definitely is the moderate in this race. Susan is the people's choice!
My Puerto Rican lesbian bitch wife and I were all set to vote for Second Place Sue until we found out how much corrupt, toxic, and beaucoupt union slut money she has been receiving. We think that is high time that bitch returns to the private sector and stop nursing on the public tit.
For us it's CLEAN STEVE GLAZER all the way. He's the PEOPLE'S CHOICE!
4:51 is just the foul-mouthed sexist Glazer troll again who thinks calling people names is helping his candidate. What a joke he is. I guess he thinks it's ok to take twice as much money from corporate conservative PAC's funded by out of town millionaires and oil,tobacco,and pharmaceutical companies makes his candidate the people's choice. How wrong he is! Will give him the Tea Party conservatives, but Susan Bonilla is the working middle class families choice which in the rest of our minds makes Susan the people's choice and the cleaner candidate.
My name is little Margarita, age 7. Mommy told me that I can be anything that I want. She says that my role model should be First Place Steve not Second Place Sue. I'm going to be a First Place Steve when I grow up because mommy said that I shouldn't ever settle for being a dirty union slut.
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ELECTION RESULTS: 7TH STATE SENATE DISTRICT SPECIAL ELECTION (final, unofficial)
Assembly speaker’s gravy train comes to Bonta’s 18th District
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Compton's Most Wanted is an American gangsta rap group and one of the pioneers of the West Coast Hip Hop scene still performing today on independent labels. The leader of the group was MC Eiht. Leer Más
Stations With Compton's Most Wanted
Compton's Most Wanted Radio
Plays Compton's Most Wanted along with similar artists like:
MC Eiht, Eric B. & Rakim, Onyx, AZ, Artifacts…
D.P.G. Radio
Plays D.P.G. along with similar artists like:
Kurupt, Bun B, Capone-N-Noreaga, G-Unit, Da Lench Mob…
Mic Geronimo Radio
Plays Mic Geronimo along with similar artists like:
Black Moon, The LOX, LL Cool J, Gang Starr, Bahamadia…
Locura Terminal Radio
Plays Locura Terminal along with similar artists like:
Kinto Sol, The D.O.C., Eazy-E, Guerilla Black, Compton's Most Wanted…
C-BO Radio
Plays C-BO along with similar artists like:
Yukmouth, Young Buck, Nate Dogg, Krayzie Bone, Lloyd Banks…
Fat Pat Radio
Plays Fat Pat along with similar artists like:
Compton's Most Wanted, Stalley, David Banner, Cam'ron, Waka Flock…
Plays 2Pac along with similar artists like:
Thug Life, EPMD, Junior M.A.F.I.A., Spice 1, Joe Budden…
MC Eiht Radio
Plays MC Eiht along with similar artists like:
Compton's Most Wanted, Bun B, Richie Rich, Brand Nubian, Craig Mack…
South Central Cartel Radio
Plays South Central Cartel along with similar artists like:
Spice 1, Master P, Ant Banks, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, E-40…
From Compton's Most Wanted
Hood Took Me Under
Late Night Hype
I'm Wit Dat
Come Ride With Me
Growin' Up in the Hood
N 2 Deep (Scarface)
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“Born Weird” by Andrew Kaufman (2013)
Michael J Ritchie General Fiction, Weird Fiction andrew kaufman, family, forgiveness, hope, magic realism, siblings Leave a comment
Some are born weird; some have weirdness thrust upon them.
“The Weirds acquired their surname through a series of events that some would call coincidence and others would call fate.”
Andrew Kaufman is up there with Agatha Christie, Jasper Fforde and Douglas Coupland as one of my favourite writers of all time. Although he’s only penned four books, and none of them are very long – two are barely one hundred pages each – he manages to weave such beauty into his prose that his skill can’t really be brought into question. The man has immense talent, and once again he’s proved himself to be a master storyteller.
This is the story of the Weird family, five siblings who have, without their knowledge, been cursed. When each was born, their grandmother Annie Weird, known to them as The Shark, bestowed upon them a special power. The eldest, Richard, would always stay safe; Abba would never lose hope; Lucy would never get lost; Kent would be physically stronger than anyone he fought; and Angie would always forgive everybody, instantly.
But the children are now adults and haven’t spoken in years. Angie finds herself meeting her grandmother again, who informs her that she is not far off dying. She has realised now that the blessings she gave her grandchildren have become curses. If Angie can get all five Weird siblings into her hospital room before she dies in thirteen days, she will remove their gifts before she dies, leaving them free again. Angie at first refuses, but her grandmother soon proves that she is more than capable of bending the universe to make life hell, so with no other option, Angie sets about tracking down her siblings.
Kaufman has a rare gift in that he can make the magical seem mundane and the mundane seem magical. Angie and her siblings are not particularly thrown by the notion of the curses (or “blursings” as they become known, a portmanteau of “blessing” and “curse”), as if that sort of thing just happens. He also throws in other fun asides, such as the fact that both Annie and Angie have hearts twice the average size, that as kids the five built a city in their attic called Rainytown, and that Abba just now happens to be the queen of a country called Upliffta. No time is wasted dwelling on these points, they just are what they are.
While sweet and magical, it’s also tragically heartbreaking. The kids are almost alone in the world after their father disappears one night and, mad with grief, their mother forgets who they are and becomes convinced that the family home is a hotel she’s staying at. The characters are all well-realised and believable, despite their blursings. Angie has become a pushover, Richard is three-times divorced because whenever things stop feeling safe, he backs away, and Lucy never has to ask for directions, either in the physical world or in life generally. This is a book that shows you why our flaws aren’t flaws – they’re what round us out.
I’ve yet to read a Kaufman I didn’t like, and I have a feeling I probably never will. Read this book now, because it’s just quite simply beautiful.
“The Waterproof Bible” by Andrew Kaufman (2009)
Michael J Ritchie Fantasy, General Fiction, Weird Fiction andrew kaufman, beauty, god, magic realism, religion, romance, urban fantasy Leave a comment
No frogs were harmed in the making of this book.
“The limousine taking Rebecca Reynolds and Lewis Taylor to the funeral had stalled in the middle of an intersection.”
I discovered Andrew Kaufman a couple of years ago with his novella, now a cult classic, All Of My Friends Are Superheroes. Last year, I encountered him again with another novella, The Tiny Wife. So, when I found his name again in Waterstone’s, I picked up the book without even questioning it. He writes with magic, and his ideas are so beautiful, brilliant and romantic that I can’t help feel a pang of jealousy whenever I read him. I wish I’d come up with some of these ideas, although I daresay I’d be unable to achieve what he can.
The Waterproof Bible is the story of three individuals. The first is Rebecca, who naturally broadcasts her feelings to everyone around her. If it’s a particularly strong emotion, you could be three or four streets away and share in her emotion. However, she’s managed to solve the problem by trapping the emotions into personal objects, although that then leaves her with boxes upon boxes of stored emotions that span her whole life.
The second is Lewis, whose wife, Lisa, has just died. He is finding it difficult to grieve, so skips out on the funeral and goes to stay in the second-best hotel in Winnipeg. There, he gets a very important haircut and encounters a woman who claims to be God.
The third is Aby, short for Aberystwyth, who has stolen a car and is driving across Canada to save her dying mother. She’s nervous, not a particularly good driver and very uncomfortable out of the water. Oh, yeah, and she’s green with gills and has lived in the Atlantic Ocean her whole life, where she reads her Bible and follows Aquaticism teachings.
The three characters stories intersect neatly, although the chronology is a little confusing at times, leaping back and forth to show events from more than one point of view. The oddness of some of the situations within the novel (aquatic humans, tiny women swimming in glasses, a radio that broadcasts advice to the owner) are simply taken in their stride, as they’re so novel and compelling that you don’t have the urge to question them.
In all three of his books, Kaufman writes about romance – a very real romance in very unreal circumstances. Although this is not a love story, there are definitely undercurrents about the power of love, and what it can do to ordinary people. I really do think that the best word to sum up Kaufman’s writing is “beautiful”. There’s a marvellous innocence about it, about people facing impossible odds but never giving up, simply getting on with it.
This book is for anyone who believes in love, or feels that their life needs just a little more magic in it. Therefore, it’s for practically everyone.
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Media Release by The Hon Jane Prentice MP
NDIS continues roll out across Tasmania
Tasmanian children aged 0-3 years and adults aged 35-49 years will join more than 160,000 Australians already participating in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) from 1 July 2018.
Assistant Minister for Disability Services, Jane Prentice, said the rollout of the NDIS across Tasmania was an important milestone for people with disability, their families, carers and the broader local community.
“I am pleased to announce the continued rollout of the NDIS in Tasmania and I welcome people who are existing state clients and other eligible residents into the Scheme,” Mrs Prentice said.
“The NDIS is one of the largest social policy reforms in Australia’s history and is already empowering more than 3,500 Tasmanians with disability.”
According to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) Market Position Statement for Tasmania, the number of people receiving disability support across the state is forecast to grow from 4,300 to 10,600 by 2020.
“The NDIS will also create up to 1750 jobs in Tasmania and generate local investment which will ensure people with disability have the assistance they need to help them achieve their goals and participate in their local communities,” Mrs Prentice said.
“Over the coming years, an additional $260 million will be injected into the Tasmanian economy as a result of the NDIS rolling out across the state.”
The NDIA is working with Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) and Local Area Coordination (LAC) partners to deliver the NDIS in local communities across Australia. ECEI and LAC partners help participants navigate the NDIS and connect them with other community services, where appropriate.
In Tasmania, both LAC and ECEI services are delivered by Mission Australia in the South East and North West, and Baptcare in the North and South West.
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All Else, Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler, Carousel, Culture, Economy, Featured, Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions, Leisure & Tourism
At Salvo Art Saturday, “Transparency” as an Artist’s Conceptual Journey Beyond the Visible
FlaglerLive | May 20, 2016
Krystyna Spisak-Madejczyk’s work is featured in ‘Transparency,’ the new show opening at Salvo Art Project Saturday at 6 p.m. Click on the image for larger view. (© Krystyna Spisak-Madejczyk)
By JJ Graham
Saturday at 6 p.m. Salvo Art Project will open its doors and proudly present the new work of one of our own. Krystyna Spisak-Madejczyk is highly acclaimed in her native Poland as a sculptor and multimedia conceptual artist. She’s become well known in Flagler County’s expanding artistic circles since taking up residency in one of our studios.
Those fortunate to have wandered through her studio here at Salvo may have seen her monumental public works created in an earlier chapter of her career. I think “substantial,” although an understatement in her case, is the word art enthusiasts like to sling around these days. Spisak-Madejczyk has recently steered away from large scale concrete and metal forms that required heavy machinery to install. But I’m sure the artistic magnitude of her mind-play is no less monumental in “Transparency,” the exhibit opening Saturday.
In late April I had the opportunity to sit with her and pick her brain a bit about the upcoming exhibition. Although her English is great compared to my Polish, and her eyes often speak more than her words, she was accompanied by her daughter Kasha, who translated in case the complexity of Krystyna’s thoughts outweighed her proficiency in English. I should inform the reader that I myself had not as of this writing yet seen the majority of the work that would adorn our gallery walls in the show. That alone is a testament to the respect I have for her as an artist.
I asked her why she chose the title “Transparency,” she spoke of it as the result of a personal journey where she ponders existence beyond the visible.
Click on the image for larger view.
“I wanted to find those things that are invisible at first glance, to attempt to peer beneath the surface, to get beyond, go deeper,” she said. “I do not think that I have fully accomplished what I am trying to achieve in this endeavor, but I’ve made progress and I’m satisfied with my recent attempts.” Whether she has achieved her goal or not, I’m sure it will not detract from her uncanny ability to intrigue.
What seduced me most about her work is the recurring archetype of the tunnel. The show will further expand on this intriguing series of imagery. I found myself equally taken by the process behind the works’ creation.
First there are the contraptions: the multiple levels of PVC pipes tucked into a wine-rack that she can probe and explore with the eye of her camera, chasing the way light from different angles changes and alters the pipes’ interiors. I’d always assumed that she’d been trained in graphics because of the flawless way her photographs are manipulated. Yet her training in technology is rudimentary at best. Rather, she uses the camera and various photo manipulation tools the way a painter might use a brush. She starts with a concept which then frees her to reach out or interact with it through experimentation, trial and error. She describes it as often a grueling process that engages her will, and leaves her at the end with an image created through a journey that she herself could not entirely explain. (Put another way, the journey is the work, and what you see is the end result, both work and journey.)
“It is a dogged approach,” she says with Kasha’s help. “Always I have this clear image of what I’m trying to achieve, although that may not be my ultimate goal…it is a step further. It is a destination towards what I seek. When I arrive at this concept, the means of obtaining its completion are often lost. Each new work must be approached this way. Always the concept is the most important to me. In my work I wanted to follow things back to the seed and then go deeper… go past the seed.”
I contemplate this statement as I attempt to write about her, wondering if I’m fully grasping it. In my mind it’s rooted in the question of consciousness and matter, and which comes first.
JJ Graham of Salvo Art Project. Click on the image for larger view. (© FlaglerLive)
Our conversation continued on for the better part of an hour, often drifting into the esoteric. I was left pacing around for weeks trying to figure out how I’d even write about it. I started worrying that I may have bitten off more than I could chew. But it struck me that her journey and mine had certain points in common. Not unlike Krystyna’s process, Petra Iston and I have a pretty finite concept of what we’d like Salvo Art Project to be. How we get there remains to be seen. Krystyna’s dogged approach is inspiring, giving me insights into my own process as I would write this piece. In that sense I would say the conscious comes first. How fitting then that her work has found its way here.
I will end here and hope I have achieved my goal, which is to entice you to come out and see the work of one of our studio artists, Krystyna Spisak-Madejczyk. If you find yourself perplexed as I am by some of her work, I hope that you will also find it to be a feeling to savor and ponder. Hopefully you might probe a little deeper, past the rims of your wine glasses, and contemplate the depths of an artist who, in my mind, is a high priestess in the creed of conceptual creativity.
JJ Graham is the co-owner, with Petra Iston, of Salvo Art Project, and the curator of “Transparency.” The show opens on May 21 at 6 at Salvo Art Project, behind Naturescapes, 313 Old Brick Rd. The show will be accompanied by a Jazz Mix created by Andrew Trotter and a live Performance by Caroline Drive at 8 p.m.Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served. $10 entry at the door.
Krystyna Spisak-Madejczyk was known for her monumental works early in her career. Click on the image for larger view. (© FlaglerLive)
Categories: All Else, Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler, Carousel, Culture, Economy, Featured, Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions, Leisure & Tourism
Tags: art exhibits, jj graham, palm coast arts, salvo art project
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News » Developments » Energy Management
DOE recognizes Cummins for deep energy retrofit at Jamestown Engine Plant
by Brianna Crandall — November 14, 2014—The U.S. Department of Energy recognized Cummins Inc. last week for demonstrating leadership in reducing energy use and costs at its Jamestown Engine Plant in Jamestown, New York. Through DOE’s Better Plants Challenge, Cummins committed to a 25% reduction in energy intensity by 2016 across 104 facilities, including 19 plants covering more than 8 million square feet.
Cummins has already achieved its goal with a cumulative energy intensity reduction of 34%, and the company’s efforts in Jamestown are expected to reduce the plant’s energy intensity by a third — resulting in energy savings of approximately 250 billion British thermal units (BTUs) and also saving the company nearly $1.4 million in energy bills.
The Jamestown Engine Plant has been undergoing its largest infrastructure upgrade in more than 40 years. With the new upgrades, critical equipment has been updated, leading to increased energy efficiency, as well as greater reliability and operational stability. The company proceeded with a phased, whole-building energy and infrastructure improvement project—setting aside $5.1 million specifically for energy efficiency projects.
As a part of this approach, Cummins implemented a number of varied projects, installing energy-efficient lighting and a new thermal insulated roof with solar panels, while also upgrading the heating and cooling system and the energy control system. The new 2-megawatt solar installation is capable of generating about a third of the plant’s power on the sunniest days, and the company is also almost entirely eliminating the use of steam at the plant — replacing it with direct-fired gas units and new cooling equipment that will save about 4 million gallons of water annually.
The plant has installed three regenerative dynamometers that recover energy from engine testing and provide power to the facility. In addition, other improvements and upgrades make the plant the first Cummins site to achieve zero-waste-to-landfill status. Cummins credits “strategic thinking, rigorous financial analysis and planning, and strong leadership” for the successful upgrades.
A cornerstone of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, the Better Buildings Challenge supports the goal of doubling American energy productivity by 2030 while motivating corporate and public sector leaders across the country to save energy through commitments and investments.
More than 200 organizations are partnering with DOE to achieve 20% portfolio-wide energy savings and share successful strategies that maximize efficiency over the next decade. Across the country, Better Buildings Challenge partners are reportedly deploying energy efficiency projects at more than 9,000 facilities, with more than 2,100 buildings improving efficiency by least 20%, and another 4,500 by at least 10%, compared with their baseline years.
Sustainability performance continues to go up globally, according to GRESB — see how, and make sure your facilities are keeping up September 26, 2018 In "Surveys and Trends"
Find out how Ameresco plans to save energy and water for 38 municipal buildings in Georgia and 31 campus buildings at West Texas A&M November 21, 2018 In "Contract Awards"
Find out what these award-winning federal facilities are doing to save energy and water September 24, 2018 In "Developments » Industry Awards"
If you want to see how cutting-edge building design can lead to lower energy use and costs, look at these award-winning sustainable projects May 10, 2019 In "Developments » Industry Awards"
Find out what award-winning landlords and tenants are doing to save energy and reduce costs July 1, 2019 In "Developments » Industry Awards"
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David Rothkopf: A Truly Credible Military Threat to Iran A Truly Credible Military Threat to ...
David Rothkopf
A Truly Credible Military Threat to Iran
The Israelis and the Americans are zeroing in on a strike option that has a real chance of deterring the mullahs -- and defusing Mitt Romney's attacks.
By David Rothkopf
| October 8, 2012, 10:34 PM
Amos Ben Gershom/GPO via Getty Images
In Mitt Romney’s "Hope Is Not a Strategy" speech at the Virginia Military Institute, the Republican challenger zeroed in on the current unrest in the Middle East as a sign that President Barack Obama’s foreign policy is not working. The most biting implication in the speech is the assertion that al Qaeda is resurgent — in other words that killing Osama bin Laden, emotionally satisfying as it was, was not the game-changer in the region that the Obama administration has implied it was.
But of equal importance to the Republican critique of Obama is Romney’s assessment that Obama’s efforts to reverse Iran’s course toward gaining nuclear weapons have been unsuccessful. In the hours before the speech was delivered, neoconservative Romney foreign-policy advisor Dan Senor suggested on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that Obama effectively had to be dragged against his will toward tougher sanctions on Iran — the same tough sanctions for which the administration is now regularly taking credit because they have started to work. Senor noted that both Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and former Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg pushed back against bipartisan congressional support for the sanctions out of concern that they would have unintended negative consequences for the U.S. and global economies.
A centerpiece of the Romney campaign’s argument that Obama has not been tough enough on Iran is that the president has not offered a credible military threat against the Iranians. Say what you will about the rest of Romney’s remarks — and broadly speaking, there was not much new in them except that for the first time, the Republican nominee has addressed foreign policy recently without tripping over one of his own misstatements — but even some of the president’s supporters have told me privately they wonder about his commitment and that of the U.S. military to taking action against Iran.
The reasons for these doubts are several. Despite the president’s regular assurance that Iran will not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons and that force will be used if necessary, the American people’s war fatigue in the wake of Iraq and Afghanistan has made any complex, costly, or highly risky action a tough political sell back home. Further, there have been multiple assertions by analysts that the likelihood of a successful strike on Iran is low. Finally, the public bickering with the Israelis suggested that the United States was dragging its feet and that the Israelis might be forced to act alone precisely because they did not expect to get U.S. support.
Despite the public histrionics in the run-up to the U.N. General Assembly meetings, both White House and Israeli officials assert that the two sides behind the scenes have come closer together in their views in recent days. While there may not be exact agreement on what constitutes a "red line" — a sign of Iranian progress toward the development of nuclear weapons that would trigger military action — the military option being advocated by the Israelis is considerably more limited and lower risk than some of those that have been publicly debated.
Indeed, according to a source close to the discussions, the action that participants currently see as most likely is a joint U.S.-Israeli surgical strike targeting Iranian enrichment facilities. The strike might take only "a couple of hours" in the best case and only would involve a "day or two" overall, the source said, and would be conducted by air, using primarily bombers and drone support. Advocates for this approach argue that not only is it likely to be more politically palatable in the United States but, were it to be successful — meaning knocking out enrichment facilities, setting the Iranian nuclear program back many years, and doing so without civilian casualties — it would have regionwide benefits. One advocate asserts it would have a "transformative outcome: saving Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, reanimating the peace process, securing the Gulf, sending an unequivocal message to Russia and China, and assuring American ascendancy in the region for a decade to come."
While this approach would limit the negative costs associated with more protracted interventions, it could not be conducted by the Israelis acting alone. To get to buried Iranian facilities, such as the enrichment plant at Fordow, would require bunker-busting munitions on a scale that no Israeli plane is capable of delivering. The mission, therefore, must involve the United States, whether acting alone or in concert with the Israelis and others.
What does this have to do with Romney’s remarks? Were it clearer that the primary Iran option being discussed is this very limited surgical strike, then a U.S. threat of force would be that much more credible. And if it were more credible — because it seemed like the kind of risk the president is more willing to undertake — then it would have the added benefit of providing precisely the kind of added leverage that might make diplomacy more successful. In other words, the public contemplation of a more limited, doable mission provides more leverage than the threat of even more robust action that is less likely to happen.
With that in mind, and given the progress that the Israelis and the administration seem to have made in the past couple of weeks, it may be that the easiest way for the Obama team to defuse Romney’s critique on Iran is simply to communicate better what options they are in fact considering. It’s not the size of the threatened attack, but the likelihood that it will actually be made, that makes a military threat a useful diplomatic tool. And perhaps a political one, too.
Twitter: @djrothkopf
Tags: 2012 Election Top Story, al Qaeda, Barack Obama, David Rothkopf, Default, Diplomacy, Election 2012, Free, Iran, Middle East, Mitt Romney, Nukes, Obama Administration, Politics, Web Exclusive
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Tag Archive: subaltern
The Breakdown of Imperialist Essentialism
Filed under: The Subaltern Monster Speaks (4/8) by mihirakonda — 1 Comment
The First Step Toward Neocolonialism (https://foundationsofliterarystudies.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/the-first-step-to-neocolonialism/) poses a good argument for the ambiguity of the Creature’s status as the subaltern or the oppressor, and I think it can be extended to say that this ambiguity defies the imperialistic essentialism of the colonized being completely separate and different from the colonizer, and so destabilizes imperialism.
The Creature is oppressed, or subaltern, because he is under the power of humans with relation to language, knowledge and progress.This is seen in how he says that he “should not have understood the purport of this book had not Felix, in reading it, given very minute explanations.” (108) Felix as a representative of the Western colonizer, holds power over the Creature because without him the Creature has no access to language and information. The “minute explanations” also tints this instruction with a sense of belittlement, as if the subaltern Creature and Safie are so grievously unintelligent and uninformed that they need the smallest item explained. His identification with Safie, with their joint instruction and his weeping “with Safie” (109), also support his subaltern-ness. Additionally, the Creature is despised mostly for his appearance, as a “figure hideously deformed and loathsome” (109), and it is on this basis that Victor justifies hating and wishing to destroy the product of his science. This has a strong parallel to various colonizing events all over the world, where the native people were thought of as primitive and backward simply because they looked different, as in Africa, such that the colonizers could justify their taking over and oppression of the people as a favor to this poor, undeveloped society.
But as the teaching continues, the Creature appears to begin to be instilled with colonialist ideologies and stereotypes. The author of this post observantly notes that the use of the word “hapless” to describe the Native Americans has connotations of it-was-going-to-happen and sounds very close to ‘helpless’, taking the power and voice away from them. I would say that this does not just uphold colonial ideas but his weeping may be an expression of ‘imperialist nostalgia’ which Parker describes as when “colonizing people often mourn for the past of the colonized cultures they have tried to destroy” (Parker 285) . The Creature goes on to gain great command over language and in effect he learns the colonizing culture better than most of the colonizers. He takes on the status of the colonizer, as is evidenced by how he plans to go to the “vast wilds of South America” and probably start a family there, in effect colonizing it. His shift in perspective to colonizer can clearly be seen here in his description of South America as wild simply because its indigenous people live differently. After this he begins to oppress Victor, as he sets him to labor and punishes him for not doing what he was told by killing his loved ones.
But this position as colonizer is never solidified either, as the Creature notes that the education he receives from Felix gives him “a view” of the empires of the world, and as he recognizes that this may be just one of many perspective, he does not fully embody the essentialism of the colonizer who is certain of the absolute characteristics of different peoples. Also he plans on dying by self-immolation when he learns that Victor is dead, which recalls the practice of sati when a widow steps into the funeral pile of her dead husband, and this identification with the subaltern woman confuses things.
This ambiguity about whether the Creature is a colonizer or part of the colonized raises great tension in the novel and in this passage, and undermines imperialistic essentialist views and so imperialism itself, which was so central to the Western culture of the time, and this may be the reason why he is the victim of such rejection and hatred.
Tags: colonized or colonizer, creature, essentialism, imperialism, subaltern
Reinforcing the Subaltern
Filed under: The Subaltern Monster Speaks (4/8) by rileymdankovich — 1 Comment
Responding to The Power of Ambiguity: https://foundationsofliterarystudies.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/the-power-of-ambiguity/
In this post, the student argues that the ambiguity of the language and relationship between the colonizer and the subaltern gives the Creature, one of the subalterns, a voice. I am greatly intrigued by the question of whether ambiguity, of which much exists in Frankenstein, allows for the formation of identity independent of social structures, or whether ambiguity simply reinforces the sense of “other.”
In the passage on page 108-9, the creature reflects on the stories from Ruins of Empire after Felix has read them to him and Safie. He struggles with the dichotomy of how man could be “at once so powerful, so virtuous, and magnificent, yet so vicious and base?” (109). The problem, for the creature, is that both the good and the bad qualities in the stories of fallen empires are embodied by the same people. On the smaller scale, then, might Felix both be acting as colonizer, but also as something far less proprietary and more actually beneficial to Safie? After all, Felix is not teaching Safie in Turkey, is not teaching her the glory of the West while in another part of the world. She chose to come to the West, unhappy with the ways of her culture, and there he is teaching her about the part of the world she has come to.
The ambiguity in all of this, for I will not say that Felix cannot be seen as a colonizer, nor that he can only be seen as such, does not allow so much for the formation of the Creature’s own identity, in my mind, as for the Creature to accept that the model his identity is formed after is flawed. He says “For a long time I could not conceive how one man could go forth to murder his fellow” (109), and yet, even recognizing that this is part of the “vicious and base” (109) aspect of man, this is what the creature goes on to do. Excepting the fact that the people he kills are not “his fellow[s].” The creature, no matter how much he might forge a path between colonizer and colonized is still other, still subaltern, and when he speaks, or rather kills, it is with the rage of the colonized rebelling against the colonizers. He does not kill his fellows, he kills the fellows of the species who created his situation, thus reinforcing, not subverting, the colonizer/colonized relationship.
Tags: ambiguity, felix, identity, safie, subaltern
The Subaltern Disguise
Filed under: The Subaltern Monster Speaks (4/8) by kwame24 — 2 Comments
Thoughts on “The creature leaves the subaltern hierarchy”
https://foundationsofliterarystudies.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/the-creature-breaks-the-subaltern/
A deep thought has surfaced after reading this post. So far we have talked about why the creature is the representation of the subaltern and have used evidence to prove that. What if the creature is not subaltern however and is actually the failed representation of the subaltern? During his last line the blogger states, “While Safie remains silent, the monster is able to relate his tale to his creator and, in turn, to Walton, removing his status as a voiceless other.” The creature cannot represent the subaltern because in speaking, he is no longer voiceless.
I agree with the points that the blogger has made to show that the creature is not a member of the subaltern and I would like to add one more important point to that. When the blogger mentions that the creature has accepted a higher rule set my mind jumped to an interesting observation. Of all the people in the story, the creature is the only one that transcends the frame narrative of the story. Walton, Victor and Felix/Safie stay in their respective frame narratives for the most part. The creature plays by a different set of rules however.The creature does stay in his frame when he is retelling his story but when he talks to old De Lacey, he has jumped into the Felix/Safie frame. When he visits Frankenstein on several occasions and talks to Victor he jumps into that frame. Even in the frame that is farthest removed from him, the creature ends up speaking to Walton himself meaning he jumps into that frame as well. According to Spivak, the creature even has the ability to jump completely out of the frames of the book. She states that, “The frame is thus simultaneously not a frame, and the monster can step “beyond the text” and be “lost in darkness” (Spivak 851). The monster is not subaltern. He is portrayed that way but I think that could be deliberate in an attempt to hide the real power that he seems to posses over everyone else in the novel.
Tags: creature, spivak, subaltern
A “Cursory Knowledge of History”: The Omission That Speaks
Filed under: The Subaltern Monster Speaks (4/8) by alexydai — 1 Comment
If not for Frankenstein I probably never would’ve heard of Constantin François de Chassebœuf, comte de Volney, let alone his seminal work, Ruins of Empires.
It’s not a widely read book these days, but remember, it’s the exact one from which the creation “obtained a cursory knowledge of history” (Shelley 108). Listing the “different nations of the earth” (108), he talks about Asiatics, Grecians, Romans, Christian kings and even Native Americans — but never explicitly the British.
I never noticed this, but the student gfeldtx did, and in “Powerful Omission,” claims, “Through omission, Shelley has rendered the most powerful nation on earth voiceless. This is the same voicelessness that categorizes [Gayatri Chakravorty] Spivak’s idea of the subaltern.”
A commenter added: “Felix is French, and Volney is French, yet there is no mention of anything regarding Napoleon and his French empire, or honestly just anything regarding France in general.”
No mention of Britain. No mention of France. What’s up that?
I contend that this omission of the British and French empires does not render these empires voiceless. In fact, I think the omission calls more attention to these nations, which cannot be confined within a “cursory knowledge of history” but are at large within the novel through the manifestation of the creation as the revolutionary working class.
Based on the despairingly great lengths I took to actually understand what Volney’s 1791 book is about (you can find a pretty decent summary here), I wish I could articulate it better. Here’s my attempt: Volney highlights the constant dispute between the higher and lower class as the source of all social conflict, and he proposes that through the progress of science, all people will become enlightened and will then work for one another’s interests. Now, I know, we’ve commented at length about the creation as proletariat, but lend me your ear real quick.
I hesitate to paint broad strokes, but the creation embodies the mob. He is the lower class, the French revolutionaries, the British revolutionaries. He cannot be contained in Felix’s teachings because he is present history, the people who “possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property” (109) and have the collective capacity to
Throughout Frankenstein lies this tension. While there may be no mention of France and Britain in relation to Ruins, remember Elizabeth’s letter to Victor: “The republican institutions of our country have produced simpler and happier manners than those which prevail in the great monarchies that surround it. […] A servant in Geneva does not mean the same thing as a servant in France and England” (66). But what happens to Justine?
If I had more time, I’d go further than this. Remember the very first words of the novel? “To Mrs. Saville, England” (28). And when the novel closes, where is Walton returning? “I am returning to England” (183). Everything we’ve read has come through the lens of the English. They’re on the outside of this confined text. And so is the monster.
Tags: Britain, british empire, france, frankenstein, french empire, omission, Ruins of Empires, spivak, subaltern, working class
The Creature’s Place
Filed under: The Subaltern Monster Speaks (4/8) by aarqui — 1 Comment
Blog Post: “The creature leaves the subaltern hierarchy” at https://foundationsofliterarystudies.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/the-creature-breaks-the-subaltern/
Real talk: I picked this post because it was shortest. To summarize the poster’s argument, the creature disrupts the relationship between the colonizer (Felix) and the “subaltern” (Safie) because the creature sympathizes both with and against Safie, and because the creature gains a voice.
The connection between the title and the post doesn’t seem very clear. Therefore, we’ll start by defining the “subaltern hierarchy.” I’m going to take a wild stab and say that in the “subaltern hierarchy,” the colonizer is above the subaltern. Where does the creature fall on this hierarchy? The colonizer? Maybe. The creature does eventually desire to “go to the vast wilds of South America,” with a mate, and I suppose that would be a colony of sorts (129). How about the subaltern, the people with less power? The creature seems to lack power, as he is powerless to change people’s rejection of him. However, if Safie, a Muslim-Christan woman, is one of the subaltern, can the creature really be on the same level as her? She has the power to reject him as well. The creature doesn’t lie below the subaltern. He has some power over nature, and he has superhuman attributes, as seen when he bounds over the ice. He doesn’t go above the colonizers either. Victor still has more power than him in denying him a female creature. Therefore, I propose that the creature was never a part of this “subaltern hierarchy” in the first place. He has always been the other.
But what of the connection between the creature and Safie? The creature once again mirrors a woman, just as Justine mirrored his monstrosity during her trial (“I almost began to think I was the monster that he said I was” [83]). This adds to more ambiguity of the creatures status. He is referred to as male, but more parallels appear between him and the women of the story than any of the men besides Victor. The creature’s ambiguity is what shatters the relationship between Felix as the colonizer and Safie as the subaltern. The balance of power is uncertain.
In the final point about the creature removing his status as a voiceless other, I’d argue that that isn’t quite true. Just because the creature’s story is in first person doesn’t mean it isn’t as indirect as Safie’s story. Victor tells the creature’s story. By doing so, he removes the creature’s voice and replaces it with his own. Although the creature’s story is told through his perspective, Victor’s unreliable narrative makes it questionable how much of the story was Victor and how much of the story was the creature.
Tags: ambiguity, postcolonialism, spivak, subaltern
The Might of Imperialism?
Filed under: The Subaltern Monster Speaks (4/8) by asharma95 — 1 Comment
“Ambiguity in the Subaltern’ https://foundationsofliterarystudies.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/ambiguity-in-the-subaltern/
In this post, the author analyses the relationship between two groups: Felix, and the monster and Safie. The author relates Felix to the imperial power, the coloniser, while assigning Safie and the Creature the subordinate group of the colonised. The author shows the power that Felix wields over his “subjects”, influencing their thoughts and behaviour. However, far from casting imperialism in a positive light, Frankenstein actually hones in on the negative aspects that the imperialist mould has forced on the native people. In fact the novel shows the insidious nature of imperialism, where it promotes movements such as feminism and yet at the same time disparages it too.
As the author presents, the monster is an intelligent being, able to differentiate and make his own judgements. Through listening to Felix, who is very pro-colonisation, he gains a rough idea of the social status that the colonised people occupy. He identifies with this colonised people and is affected with pity and sorrow for their “hapless fate”. In this feeling of sorrow for the colonised, we see the first seeds of defiance against imperialism. The clear disapproval in the disruption of lives is a trespass that even a monster is able to sympathise with. The second challenge to the idyllic representation of imperialism common in the time is seen through Safie. Here we see Safie, a colonised Eastern woman, learned in the language and principles of the Western sphere. She is the burgeoning feminist; strong and independent. Feminism is actually a direct consequence of imperialism, where values such as independence, tolerance and innovation are held at the forefront. Yet, the effects of imperialism on Safie seem to vanish when she encounters the monster. “Safie, unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage.” (114). These high handed values of tolerance and compassion for the Other disappear under the first instance of confrontation, giving lie to the effectiveness of imperialism on human nature.
The effect of imperialism on the characters in the novel do not exactly promote the efficacy of the movement. In fact, although benefits such as language and education are touted, the overall impairing effects and the negative reactions of the ‘colonised’ within the novel expose its weaknesses.
Tags: colonial, feminism, imperialism, subaltern
The Subaltern Monster Speaks
Filed under: The Subaltern Monster Speaks (4/8) by hgarcia13 — Leave a comment
For the blog post this Thursday (4/2), students will write a post that builds on a student’s previous post on the blog prompt below (choose only one). Try to improve the student’s close reading of the assigned passage or, if you prefer, include other related passages in the novel that help expand the argument. Students could also respond to a previous student comment on one of these posts. Whatever students choose to do, they should write their own post and include a link within it to the previous student’s post (or comment). Please categorize it under “The Subaltern Monster Speaks” and don’t forget to create specific tags.
Past blog prompt: do a close reading of the last paragraph on page 108-109 based on Spivak’s postcolonial perspective. What are the ideologies instilled through Felix’s western education, and why did the creature weep with Safie over the demise of the Native American population? Does this strong identification between the creature and Safie imply that he is like a foreign colonized woman? Take the time to introduce, explain, and contextualize the quoted passage, word-by-word, sentence-by-sentence, always alert to images, themes, and motifs that seem slightly odd or out-of-place and to significant omissions.
See student responses to this post under this link:
https://foundationsofliterarystudies.wordpress.com/category/the-subaltern-monster-speaks-48/
Tags: spivak, subaltern
Blog summary 2 – The futility of the outsider
Filed under: Blog Summary #2 (due on 4/22 by 11am), Form and Narrative by josedipaola111893 — Leave a comment
A common theme of my previous blog posts is the creature’s position as the other. Being born in this role and being physically designed for it with his deformity inhibits his attempts to find his identity, since the society he is not a part of monopolizes identity.
When the monster is first born, he is an infant, with little memory of his original birth and a keen eye on the world. He watches the De Lacey family to find his own imago to project upon and identify with in my blog post “The False Imago”; with an imago, he can improve himself through presenting a more idealized self-image to look up to. Sadly, the De Lacey family differs too much from the creature’s natural appearance to effectively serve as an imago. He finds himself lacking in comparison to their forms when he sees himself in a puddle, and unlike the ideal Lacanian imago he cannot overcome this inferiority because his natural deformity sets him back.
Unable to pass the veil of human society, the creature asks for a companion in a defeatist manner: “Man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me,” (128). The monster accepts that he will always remain the outsider thanks to his hideous inhumanity, effectively denying himself the experiences he witnessed while watching the De Lacey household. He tries to compromise and still find an identity through requesting a female companion in a parody of the human family, but even then he sees himself as naturally wretched and unfit for a more beautiful companion. Effectively, he is trying to go with an approach that is “good enough”. This is also expressed in his desire to live somewhere else, far away; now that the creature knows he cannot find an identity through human society, he hopes to create one in a separate manner that does not tread on the toes of those who consider him other.
Frankenstein’s greatest fear that prevents him from finishing the female counterpart is that the pair of creatures will parent a race of monsters to doom the world. Having children normally requires the company of another human being; to deny it to the creature is to deny one of those basic rights human society takes for granted. It is an expression of identity through the creation of a new one. Frankenstein restricts the monster’s freedoms because he fears its hypothetical progeny, yet the only reason such a race of monsters would raise such concern is that they were inhuman. Because the creature is an outsider, Frankenstein bars the door to him from having children and leaving the prescribed role of the outsider, stifling the monster’s development of his identity.
The creature never had a choice in what it could become. Any attempt to escape his role as the outsider was flawed; he could not use humans as his ideal image, and when he attempted a different approach that merely copied the human approach, Frankenstein became fearful and betrayed his creation because he could not separate the creature from the role of the outsider.
Tags: frankenstein, imago, outsider, subaltern, the creature, the female creature
The Violent Prophet: the Creature as an Avatar of Latent Colonial Discord
Filed under: Blog Summary #2 (due on 4/22 by 11am), Form and Narrative by fdgjfg — Leave a comment
Through critical psychoanalytic and post-colonial critical techniques, the highly violent nature of the creature in Frankenstein may be explicated. This movement may be accomplished first through an analysis of the characters in Lacanian terms. Like any other human individual, the creature undergoes interaction with an evolutionary set of psychological realms, initiated by the infantile mirror stage. This developmental state is characterized by an idealized recognition of bodily coherence and fullness, described singularly as the “imaginary.”
However, there is something subtly abnormal and perverted about this process within the narrative, resulting in highly unusual implications. In his intellectual infancy, the creature attaches his sense of self-definition not to his own body, but to the collective whole of the De Lacey family. His ego or “I,” finds a strange substitute in the contextual relations of the group, rather than his personal sense of bodily coherence. This state is able to maintain itself as long as the creature can inhabit a position of outside observation, free of linguistic structure or interaction with the De Laceys.
The necessary and inevitable rise of the symbolic state eventually comes to overturn the peace of the imaginary. The creature realizes his own faculty for linguistic representation and abstract symbolism, introducing the concept of intellectual lack through the inability of language to completely invoke a form, and subsequently forcing the full sense of ego to retreat into the form of “ideal-I.” Only after this process has been completed, does the creature perceive his true form in a pool of water. By seeing himself after he has moved into the symbolic state, his ideal-I has been completely broken or fractured. He comes to a realization that his ego is deeply fissured, and that it is totally inconsistent with his true nature. The fundamental human drive towards the coherence of the ideal-I is stolen from him, and he is left only with inner contention and conflict.
However, there is some hope for the creature. It may be possible for him to repair his imaginary self-definition by gaining acceptance with the De Laceys, as his idealized sense of self was based upon their family as a collective whole. Accordingly, he adopts a role parallel to the feminine subaltern place of Safie within the household. In this debased role, he receives the second half of his lesson in linguistics. The creature is fed and accepts the nuanced language of colonial discourse, adopting the sense of ideological subjugation. However, there is a flaw here as well. Instead of maintaining the superficial wholeness expressed by Safie, the creature is a maelstrom of discord. His loss of ideal-I has rendered him unable to mask the conflicting elements of the colonial discourse. Accordingly, his attempt at integration fails, and his ideal-I completely vanishes.
Here, the literary critic may perceive that the two linguistic educations, and the two failures, expose the true nature of the colonial symptom. The De Lacey family served as a microcosm for western European dominance and colonization. Through his first failure at drawing an ideal-I from the cumulative whole, the creature destroys the concept that colonial society is full, whole, natural, and free of conflict. Through his second failure in his inability to adopt the subaltern role, the creature shows that each socially striated placement is wrought with ideological tumult, and that this societal system is not legitimate. The creature is the physical manifestation of the latent violence hidden behind the colonial façade, the corporeal avatar of a fissured reality. He is now marked with discord, and will not stop in his quest to subvert the stability of colonial discourse, revealing a form of violence present everywhere.
Tags: colonial discourse, ego, ideal 'i', lacan, mirror stage, societal violence, subaltern
Blog Summary 2
Filed under: Form and Narrative by smilller12 — 2 Comments
The creature’s character is shaped around his feelings of inferiority that is shown through his ugliness and enhanced through a post-colonial understanding of the novel and the creature’s embodiment of the colonized. The creature is constantly being outcast from society based on his appearance. For example, when the cottagers first see him he recalls that “Agatha fainted; and Safie, unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage,” due to the sheer horror that his appearance provoked (Shelley 121). The creature desperately wants the cottagers and others around him to overlook his deformity but no one is able to. No one wants to be around the creature or associate with him. The creature’s hideous appearance causes him to be treated as inferior to others.
By analyzing the creature’s character from a post-colonial critical perspective, he is viewed as the colonized subaltern. He is created under Frankenstein’s own will and is given very few choices in his life. . The lack of sympathy for the creature parallels the lack of sympathy that colonizers feel for the colonized. The creature learns about the world through hearing about other people’s experiences rather than living his own. Before telling his story he prefaces it with the words, “I shall relate events, that impressed me with feelings which, from what I had been, have made me what I am,” (Shelley 106). This indicates the creature’s realization that he has been shaped from the experiences of others. His position as symbolic of the colonized further emphasizes the feelings of inferiority that he is faced with. Then, the creature “wept with Safie,” implying his ability to sympathise with the “hapless fate” of the colonized. This suggests that the creature is able to relate to the colonized, presenting him as a symbol of the colonized and the subaltern.
In the end, once the creature has realized his inferiority, the creature rebels and becomes extremely violent, causing multiple deaths. Dr. Frankenstein describes the creature’s delights as in “death and wretchedness,” (Shelley 146). He does this as a reaction to feeling powerless and judged. This serves as a critique of leading others to believe that they are inferior, based both off of their appearances or their position as the colonized. The creature’s feelings of inferiority and their negative consequences not only for him but for people around him critiques both physical judgment and colonization.
Tags: creature, inferior, subaltern, ugly
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Dan Gardner Explains How You Can Be a Superforecaster and Beat the Pundits
Dan Gardner, co-author of best-selling "Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction," argues that pundits are notoriously inaccurate at predicting the future, and that ordinary people actually produce better forecasts. In this episode of AFP Conversations, Gardner explains how FP&A and finance professionals can turn themselves into superforecasters. He will also keynote the inaugural FinNext.
Dan Gardner
Dan Gardner is the New York Times best-selling author of books about psychology and decision-making and a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.
In Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction, Gardner and co-author Philip Tetlock discuss the biggest forecasting research program ever conducted and distill important lessons about forecasting, teamwork, and good judgment. Superforecasting was chosen as one of the best books of 2015 by The Economist, Bloomberg, and Amazon.
In Future Babble, Gardner looks at the dismal record of expert forecasts and why we keep listening to overconfident pundits. Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker said Future Babble “should be required reading for journalists, politicians, academics, and anyone who listens to them.”
In Risk: The Science and Politics of Fear (The Science of Fear in the United States), Gardner reveals why we so often worry about what we shouldn’t and don’t worry about what we should. The Guardian called it “an invaluable resource for anyone who aspires to think clearly.”
Dan Gardner’s books have been published in 24 countries and 19 languages.
In addition to writing, Gardner lectures around the world on forecasting, risk, and decision-making. He also consults on how to improve decision-making and implementation.
Prior to becoming an author, Gardner was a newspaper columnist and feature writer whose work won or was nominated for every major award in Canadian newspaper journalism.
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“The Dark Knight” – 2008. Dir. Christopher Nolan.
With Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Anthony Michael Hall with Morgan Freeman and Eric Roberts
“You can’t kill me – and I won’t kill you. I have a feeling we’ll be doing this for a long, long time.”
Well I’m sure we ALL know the plot of “The Dark Knight” don’t we? What I would like to spend your time doing is expressing to you what I really like about this film. What Christopher Nolan did by making “Batman Begins” and the much anticipated and superior sequel was setting the tone for all future superhero films. He allowed them to still be summer blockbusters, but also forced them into being good films as well. There would be no “Iron Man” without “Batman Begins”. It forced audiences to take superhero films more seriously.
What really impressed me about this film was its cast. Of course we have the established actors in their roles – Bale, Caine, Freeman, Oldman – but Nolan establishes new characters while still developing previous ones. I was impressed by Ledger as The Joker as was everyone else. His phony Chicago accent was stellar – as was his masochistic tone and self applied make-up.
Everything about his character was excellent, and broke the hold that Jack Nicholson previously held on The Joker. Everything about him is original even though the character is one of the most well known and well established villains in fictional history. The way he walks, talks and his actions are all original and unique. Heath Ledger remains to be one the best physical actors ever.
I was very impressed by Harvey Dent. I was unsure of the casting of Aaron Eckhart thinking that there were other actors better suited for playing such a complex character. The way Nolan guides Dent through the film is excellent. He’s already been established in Gotham City as a hard hitting crime fighter, being dubbed by the media as Gotham’s “White Night”. As the complexity of the story unravels, we begin to see Harvey Dent’s life spiral out of control.
His character is that of a slick and smooth lawyer who has the power in the grasp of his hand, but once The Joker lights fire to the city and steals the woman he loves, he loses it and his violent – even repressed – psychopathic side shows up. It’s as if Dent has this caged beast inside of him, and once he loses the one thing he truly loves and sees the scared monster he’s become – Harvey Two-Face is unleashed to seek revenge on everyone involved in his shattered life.
I have a fondness for Eric Roberts. I think he’s an amazing talent, and he rarely gets a chance to show it. As his roles as Salvatore Maroni, the new mob boss of Gotham, he beat out two ultra talented actors: James Gandolfini and Bob Hoskins. Nolan must have had faith in Roberts to deliver. He did.
Eric Roberts is perfect as the polished and well groomed mob boss. The way Roberts snarls through his teeth, and gives off this super smug tone is perfect for his character. His interactions with Bale, Ledger and Eckhart are excellent and monumental scenes of the film. My favorite scene of the film is where Batman shows up to the night club where Roberts is with some blonde bimbo and she complains that they can’t hear each other talk, Roberts then turns and says out of the corner of his mouth: “What makes you think I want to hear you talk?” Hot!
The addition of veteran Chicagoan character actor Ron Dean is excellent. He adds authenticity to the role of a Gotham cop because he’s mainly played a Chicago cop in a majority of his roles (“The Fugitive”, “Chain Reaction”, Michael Mann’s TV show “Crime Story”). I’ve always enjoyed Dean, he may be a one dimensional actor, but that one dimension did get him a role in “The Dark Knight”.
The film drags slightly for me towards the climax, well maybe not a drag but a slight hiccup. We all know that The Joker was supposed to carry into the next film but due to the untimely death of Ledger it puts a huge strain on Nolan to deliver a follow up film that’s worthy of “The Dark Knight”. I have my own theory – and yes it does include Johnny Depp. Have Depp play a copycat Joker, with the explanation of the real Joker being he disappeared back into Gotham, achieving his goal of reigning chaos in the city – destroying Harvey Dent and vilifying Batman.
I almost felt that they should have changed the ending, allowing Two-Face to live to be the next major villain for Batman. But that would have changed the power of the original ending. The ending of this film, accompanied by Gary Oldman’s wonderful narration gives me goose bumps each time I watch it. It’s perfect.
The fact that this film was pretty much ignored by the Academy is rather pathetic. If anything, it should have at least gotten a screenplay nomination and a director nomination. The screenplay to this film is so fucking tight, it chokes you. The dialogue that’s written and delivered is magnificent and shows what a great script can do for a film.
The film does an excellent job of comparing Batman and The Joker, showing Batman what he can becomes if he slips off the fine line he’s been walking. They are mirrored images of each other, and that’s what makes them so fucking great!
I have two problems with the film. The first being the lack of usage of Two-Face, I feel that the character is developed, but he isn’t used to the power that the character holds, creating the anti Batman. Two-Face should have had more screen time. My second problem is with a lot of people making fun of Batman’s “new” voice. You people just really don’t get it, do you?
Review: 9.5/10
Author Frank MengarelliPosted on April 21, 2010 April 21, 2010 Categories DVD ReviewsTags Aaron Eckhart, Batman, Christian Bale, Christopher Nolan, Eric Roberts, Gary Oldman, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine, Mogran Freeman, The Dark Knight, The Joker
2 thoughts on ““The Dark Knight” – 2008. Dir. Christopher Nolan.”
limewire says:
dang sweet info dude.
Excellent review, Frank. I’ll never forgive the Academy for snubbing Nolan for Best Director.
Previous Previous post: The Directors: Christopher Nolan
Next Next post: The 10 Best Films of the 1990’s.
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Employment’s ebb and flow
When the unemployment rate rises, it’s partly that more employed persons are losing their jobs and partly that fewer unemployed persons are finding jobs. Although there’s no consensus on which is more important, some research finds that the flow of persons from unemployment into employment accounts for the lion’s share of changes in the unemployment rate. These unemployment-to-employment flows are cyclical and fell starkly in the Great Recession, as the graph above shows. Persons may also flow from outside the labor force (neither employed nor unemployed) directly into employment; this is also an indicator of the ease or difficulty of getting a job. This flow from “nonparticipation” to employment is expected: Some persons who’d like a job aren’t formally searching and so aren’t counted in the BLS measurement of unemployment. There are also new entrants into the workforce, such as recent graduates and parents returning after a hiatus for child care. The flow from nonparticipation into employment (that is, the proportion of nonparticipants taking a job) is much lower than the flow from unemployment to employment (graph above), but the two series track each other nearly perfectly in their cyclical fluctuations (graph below).
How these graphs were created: Search for Labor Force Flows and select the (seasonally adjusted) “Unemployed to Employed” and “Not in Labor Force to Employed” series and add them to the graph. Then in the “Add a Data Series” section, search for “Unemployed” (monthly, thousands of persons, seasonally adjusted) and select “Modify existing series” for series 1. Repeat these steps with “Not in Labor Force” for series 2. For both series, in the “Create your own data transformation” section, apply the formula a/b. Start with the first graph to create the second, but change the y-axis of series 2 from left to right. Note: These measures of the rates of flow aren’t precise because of “time aggregation bias”: That is, these measures compare employment status at two points in time (the beginning and the end of the period), but they don’t take into account any changes in employment that may have occurred between those two points.
Suggested by David Wiczer.
View on FRED, series used in this post: LNS15000000, LNS17100000, LNS17200000, UNEMPLOY
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A Mother and Daughter Reunite After 52 Years
posted by Whiskey & Randy - May 11, 2017
A woman in Austin, Texas named Donna Pavey met her 52-year-old daughter Sharon for the first time last week. And the video is INTENSE, but in the best way possible.
Donna was pretty young when she had Sharon, and her parents made her give her up for adoption. She tried to track her but couldn't, and even went back to using her maiden name so Sharon could find HER if she wanted to. And it worked.
Sharon's adoptive parents passed away recently, and she started researching her family history. She only found out she was adopted TWO DAYS before she and Donna reunited last week. She ended up finding her on Facebook.
The video is great because Donna starts crying when she sees her truck pull up. Then Sharon SPRINTS across the front yard to hug her, and immediately starts talking about how they look alike and have the same eyes.
Donna has two other adult daughters, and they were both there for it. Sharon says she's gone her whole life wondering why she didn't look like anyone in her family, and she always felt like she didn't belong. But now she does.
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GamesRepublic.com Steam Doom
Steam Doom
The mother of horror first-person shooters is here. A game that doesn’t require any introduction. Ladies and gentlemen, gamers from all around the world, we give you Doom! Doom is a franchise consisting of several FPS video games, comic books, board games, and even a theatrical movie. The video game series focuses on the unnamed space marine who needs to fight for survival against the hellish hordes of demons and undead. The first game in the series, titled Doom, was released in 1993 and is considered to be one of the pioneering FPS games. It introduced features such as 3D graphics, multiplayer gameplay, and support for player-created modifications. Since the release of original Doom, the series has spawned numerous sequels and even more expansion packs. In Doom games, players have to battle the countless forces of Hell, consisting of demons, mutants, and the undead. There have been four major installments, the most recent one published in 2016. Since its debut, over 10 million copies of games in the Doom series have been sold. Fun fact: Doom’s protagonist, an unnamed marine, was ranked as the fifth most “badass” male character in the video game's history. Get the latest Doom game on Games Republic and start fighting your way out from the demon-infested base. It’s one of the best FPS series of all time!
DOOM (2016) Steam Key
Doom 3 Steam Key
Doom 3 - BFG Edition Steam Key
Doom II: Hell on Earth PC Digital
Final DOOM Steam Key
DOOM Classic Complete Steam Key
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February 12, 2018 - 7:10 am EDT 1 year ago
Jack Stepping Down From Day-to-Day Operations
Twitter/@RickSCOREGolf
Jack Nicklaus’ name is iconic and he’s turned the companies that use it into multi-million dollar endeavors.
Even before his playing days were over, Jack headed up the fledgling businesses, which have now come to include a golf course design firm, an ice cream company and a beverage line. Late last week, at age 78, Nicklaus announced he would be stepping down from his day-to-day duties.
Jack Nicklaus steps away from day-to-day operations at Nicklaus Companies: https://t.co/kJHcUIdpbB pic.twitter.com/G0ZgE0i6Cp
— Golfweek (@golfweek) February 8, 2018
ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell broke the news.
Jack Nicklaus stepped down from day-to-day operations within his Nicklaus Companies on Thursday, announcing in a statement that he wants to focus on other things.
The 78-year-old Nicklaus will become co-chairman, while his businesses — which include golf course design and licensing deals, among others — will be taken over by Nicklaus Companies investor Howard Milstein, who will become executive chairman of the company.
“I have spent my life building Nicklaus Companies, and there has come a time in my life when I need to reduce my level of involvement and pursue many other things I am interested in such as charity work,” said Nicklaus, who added that he is in “excellent” health.
Jack Nicklaus stepping back from day-to-day operation of his Nicklaus Companies, investor Howard Milstein — who acquired Golf Magazine yesterday — will take over as executive chairman. pic.twitter.com/Q8K0tv984E
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 8, 2018
Nicklaus has designed 415 courses open for play across 45 countries and 39 states.
Golf Digest estimated that Nicklaus made $20 million in 2016, their last estimated year.
Milstein, a billionaire banker, bought 49 percent of Nicklaus Companies for $145 million in 2007. Since that investment, Milstein has pushed Nicklaus to use his brand name outside of golf, including on an ice cream and beverage line.
[ESPN.com]
Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest goings-on in the world of golf by following the SwingxSwing Clubhouse on social media. We share stories, stats and breaking news on Twitter, keep the fun going off the course on Instagram and share any and all golf-related topics on Facebook.
Never be the odd golfer out when your friends are talking about the latest or funniest happenings in golf. Sign up for the SxS newsletter today!
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Pneumonia to kill nearly 11 mn children by 2030, study warns
Pneumonia will kill nearly 11 million children under five by 2030, experts warned Monday on a global day aimed at raising awareness of the biggest infectious killer of infants worldwide, AFP reports.
While in the developed world the severe lung infection mainly affects the elderly, in developing nations it is children who bear the brunt, with hundreds of thousands dying each year from the easily preventable disease.
More than 880,000 children -- mainly aged less than two years old -- died from pneumonia in 2016 alone.
A new analysis conducted by Johns Hopkins University and the aid group Save the Children using forecasts based on current trends showed more than 10,800,000 under-fives would succumb to the disease by the end of the next decade.
Furthermore, a handful of countries are set to carry the highest burdens, with 1.7 million children set to die in Nigeria and India, 700,000 in Pakistan and 635,000 in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Yet there is some good news.
The study, published on World Pneumonia Day, found that scaling up existing vaccination coverage, coupled with cheap antibiotics and ensuring good nutrition for children could save a total of 4.1 million lives.
Pneumonia, an inflammatory infection of the lungs that may be contracted via viral or bacteria infection, is treatable if caught early enough and the patient's immune system isn't compromised.
But worldwide it hits young children who are often weak through malnutrition, killing more infants each year than malaria, diarrhoea and measles combined.
"It beggars belief that close to a million children are dying every year from a disease that we have the knowledge and resources to defeat," said Save the Children CEO Kevin Watkins.
There are no pink ribbons, global summits or marches for pneumonia. But anyone who cares about justice for children and their access to essential healthcare, this forgotten killer should be the defining cause of our age."
Watkins' group, which operates health programmes in some of the countries worst hit by the disease, called for prices of major existing pneumonia vaccines to be lowered "dramatically".
2030 is the target date for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which includes a pledge to "end preventable child deaths" by the end of the next decade.
More about: pneumonia children
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Highland (council area)
For other uses, see Scottish Highlands.
It has been suggested that The Highland Council be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2018.
Highland (Scottish Gaelic: A' Ghàidhealtachd, pronounced [ˈkɛːəl̪ˠt̪əxk];[a] Scots: Heilan) is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It shares borders with the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Moray and Perth and Kinross. Their councils, and those of Angus and Stirling, also have areas of the Scottish Highlands within their administrative boundaries.
A' Ghàidhealtachd (Scottish Gaelic)
Hielan (Scots)
Coordinates: 57°30′N 5°00′W / 57.500°N 5.000°W / 57.500; -5.000Coordinates: 57°30′N 5°00′W / 57.500°N 5.000°W / 57.500; -5.000
Admin HQ
• Body
The Highland Council
• Control
Ind + LD + Lab (council NOC)
• MPs
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross: Jamie Stone
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey: Drew Hendry
Ross, Skye and Lochaber: Ian Blackford
• MSPs
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross: Gail Ross
Inverness and Nairn: Fergus Ewing
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch: Kate Forbes
Highlands and Islands: Donald Cameron, John Finnie, Rhoda Grant, Jamie Halcro Johnston, Edward Mountain, David Stewart and Maree Todd
9,906 sq mi (25,657 km2)
Area rank
Ranked 1st
(mid-2018 est.)
Ranked 7th
20/sq mi (9/km2)
ONS code
GB-HLD
The Highland area covers most of the mainland and inner-Hebridean parts of the historic counties of Inverness-shire and Ross and Cromarty, all of Caithness, Nairnshire and Sutherland and small parts of Argyll and Moray.
Unlike the other council areas of Scotland, the name Highland is often not used as a proper noun. The council's website only sometimes refers to the area as being Highland, and other times as being the Highland Council Area or the Highlands.[1][2] Road signs on the boundary of the council area say "Welcome to the Highlands" rather than "Welcome to Highland". The council area does not cover the whole of the Scottish Highlands.
To many people within the area, using the name Highland as a noun sounds wrong. Dingwall in Highland, for example, sounds strange and is not idiomatic usage. To refer specifically to the area covered by the council, people tend to say the Highland Council area or the Highland area or the Highland region. Otherwise, they may also refer to the traditional county names, such as Ross.[citation needed]
In 1975, the area was created as a two-tier region, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, with an elected council for the whole region and, in addition, elected councils for each of eight districts, Badenoch and Strathspey, Caithness, Inverness, Lochaber, Nairn, Ross and Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh and Sutherland.[3] The act also abolished county and burgh councils.
In 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, the Highland Regional Council and the district councils were wound up and their functions were transferred to a new Highland Council. The Highland Council adopted the districts as management areas and created area committees to represent them. However, the boundaries of committee areas ceased to be aligned exactly with those of management areas as a result of changes to ward boundaries in 1999. Ward boundaries changed again in 2007, and the management areas and related committees have now been abolished in favour of three new corporate management areas: Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross; Inverness, Nairn and Badenoch and Strathspey; and Ross, Skye and Lochaber. The names of these areas are also names of constituencies, but the boundaries are different.
Topographic map of the Highland council area.[citation needed]
The Highland Council is based in Inverness, with most previous district council offices retained as outstations.[citation needed]
The council area covers an area of 25,657 square kilometres (9,906 sq mi)[4] – which is 11.4% of the land area of Great Britain, 32.9% of the land area of Scotland and an area 20% larger than Wales.[5] The Highland and Islands division of Police Scotland also includes the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland (the former area of the Northern Constabulary) and therefore covers an area of 30,659 square kilometres (11,838 sq mi), which is larger than that of the state of Belgium.[6]
Though relatively populous for a Scottish council area, it is also sparsely populated. At 9.0 per km2 in 2012,[7] the population density is less than one seventh of Scotland's as a whole,[7] and comparable with that of Bolivia, Chad and Russia.[8][9] Historically, the area was home to a much higher percentage of Scotland's population. The rural population of the Highlands (both within and outwith the council area) declined in the late 19th century even as Scotland's grew substantially. For example, the population of Skye declined from 23,082 in 1841 to 15,705 in 1891 and a low point of 7,183 in 1971, before growing in more recent decades.
Inverness is by far the largest settlement, with a population of 46,870 in 2012.[10] The urban area around Inverness includes a few outlying villages and has a population of 59,910.[10]
The highest point in the Highland council area is Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in both Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole. Its northernmost point is Stroma, a small island in the Pentland Firth. Its southernmost point is on the Morvern peninsula. Highland contains the northernmost and westernmost points of the island of Great Britain, respectively at Dunnet Head and Corrachadh Mòr. Despite the name, not all of Highland is mountainous. The areas east of Inverness, as well as the Black Isle, eastern Sutherland, and all of Caithness are, in fact, low-lying.
Gaelic languageEdit
According to the 2011 UK census, there are nearly 12,000 Scottish Gaelic speakers in the Highland area.[11]
Main article: Politics of the Highland council area
CouncillorsEdit
The Highland Council represents 22 wards, of which each elects three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system of election, to produce a form of proportional representation in a council of 80 members.
Political compositionEdit
The 2017 election resulted in the following composition: [12]
Party Councillors
SNP 22
Conservative 11
Liberal Democrat 10
Labour 3
Scottish Green 1
Members of the Scottish ParliamentEdit
For elections to the Scottish Parliament the Highland area is within the Highlands and Islands electoral area, which elects eight first past the post constituency Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and seven additional member MSPs. Three of the region's constituencies, each electing one MSP, are within the Highland area: Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Inverness and Nairn and Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.
The MSPs currently are as follows
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross: Gail Ross (SNP)
Inverness and Nairn: Fergus Ewing (SNP)
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch: Kate Forbes (SNP)
There are currently 7 list MSPs for the greater Highlands and Islands region. As of January 2018 they are
John Finnie (Green)
Maree Todd (SNP)
David Stewart (Labour)
Rhoda Grant (Labour)
Jamie Halcro Johnston (Conservative)
Sir Edward Mountain, 4th Baronet (Conservative)
Donald Cameron (Scottish politician) (Conservative)
Members of ParliamentEdit
In the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom the Highland area is represented by Members of Parliament (MPs) elected from three constituencies: Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross; Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey; and Ross, Skye and Lochaber. Each constituency elects one MP by the first past the post system of election.
As of the 2017 United Kingdom general election, the members of parliament are:
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross: Jamie Stone (politician) (Liberal Democrats)
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey: Drew Hendry (SNP)
Ross, Skye and Lochaber: Ian Blackford (SNP)
Towns and villages in the Highland Council AreaEdit
173,235 +5.4%
196,364 +13.4%
176,396 −22.0%
167,604 −5.0%
Alness (Alanais), Altnaharra (Allt na h-Aire), Applecross (A' Chomraich), Ardersier (Àird nan Saor), Ardgour (Àirde Gobhar), Ardnamurchan (Àird nam murchan), Aviemore (An Aghaidh Mhòr), Avoch (Abhach)
Back of Keppoch (A' Cheapaich), Ballachulish (Baile a' Chaolais), Beauly (A' Mhanachainn), Bettyhill (Am Blàran Odhar), (the) Black Isle (An t-Eilean Dubh), Boat of Garten (Coit a' Ghartain), Bonar Bridge (Drochaid a' Bhanna), Broadford (An t-Àth Leathann), Brora (Brùra)
Carrbridge (Drochaid Chàrr), Conon Bridge (Drochaid Sguideil), Cromarty (Cromba), Culloden (Cul Lodan / Cùil-lodair)
Dalwhinnie (Dail Chuinnidh), Dingwall (Inbhir Pheofharain), Dornie (An Dòrnaidh), Dornoch (Dòrnach), Drumnadrochit (Druim na Droichaid), Dulnain Bridge (Drochaid Thulnain), Durness (Diuranais), Duror (of Appin) (Aphainn Duror)
Fearn (Manachainn Rois), Fort Augustus (Cill Chuimein), Fortrose (A' Chananaich), Fort William (An Gearasdan)
Gairloch (Geàrrloch), Glencoe (Gleann Comhann), Glenfinnan (Gleann Fionnan), Golspie (Goillspidh), Grantown-on-Spey (Baile nan Granndach)
Helmsdale (Bun Ilidh)
Invergarry (Inbhir Garadh), Invergordon (Inbhir Ghòrdain), Inverie (Inbhir Iodh), Invermoriston (Inbhir Mhoireastain), Inverness (Inbhir Nis)
John o' Groats (Taigh Iain Ghròt)
Kingussie (Ceann a' Ghiùbhsaich), Kinlochbervie (Ceann Loch Biorbhaidh), Kinlochleven (Ceann Loch Lìobhann), Knoydart (Cnòideart), Kyle of Lochalsh (Caol Loch Aillse)
Lochcarron (Loch Carrann), Lochinver (Loch an Inbhir)
Mallaig (Malaig), Maryburgh (Baile Màiri), Muir of Ord (Am Blàr dubh)
Nairn (Inbhir Narann), Newtonmore (Baile Ùr an t-Slèibh)
North Ballachulish (Baile a' Chaolais air Tuath)
Onich (Omhanaich)
Plockton (Am Ploc), Portmahomack (Port Mo-Chalmaig), Portree (Port Rìgh)
Rosemarkie (Ros Maircnidh), Roy Bridge (An Drochaid Ruaraidh)
Spean Bridge (An Droichaid Spean), Strathpeffer (Srath Pheofhair), Strontian (Sròn an t-Sìthein)
Tain (Baile Dhubhthaich), Thurso (Inbhir Theòrsa), Tongue (Tunga), Torridon (Toirbheartan)
Ullapool (Ullapul)
Wick (Inbhir Ùige)
List of places in Highland
List of places in Argyll and Bute
List of places in Perth and Kinross
List of places in Moray
List of places in the Western Isles
High Life Highland
^ Gàidhealtachd is used to translate Highland; in other contexts it is used to translate Scottish Highlands and Gaeldom.
^ "Council Wards". The Highland Council.
^ "Our vision for housing in the Highlands". The Highland Council.
^ "Highland". BBC. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
^ {{#switch: area | area = "Standard Area Measurements (2016) for Administrative Areas in the United Kingdom". Office for National Statistics. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017. | #default = "Population Estimates for UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Mid-2018". Office for National Statistics. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019. }
^ "Breaking up Highland Council into smaller areas debated". BBC News. 14 May 2015.
^ "Record police numbers on streets". BBC News. 28 August 2009.
^ a b "Highland profile – key facts and figures". The Highland Council. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
^ List of sovereign states and dependent territories by population density
^ "Global Health Facts : Demography & Population : Population Density (Population Per Square Kilometer)". The Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
^ a b "Mid-2012 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records Scotland (NRS). Retrieved 29 October 2015.
^ "Gaelic data from Census 2011". The Highland Council. 14 November 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
^ Butlin, Heather. "Highland Council". www.highland.gov.uk.
^ "Highland District through time - Population Statistics - Total Population". www.visionofbritain.org.uk.
^ "Vision of Britain - 1911 Census: County Report - Table 1". www.visionofbritain.org.uk.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Highland (council area).
Highland (council area) at Curlie
Comhairle na Gaidhealtachd (in Scottish Gaelic)
The Highland council area in the Gazetteer for Scotland website
Scottish Highlands and Islands Film Commission
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Highland_(council_area)&oldid=903548147"
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Hindenburg disaster
For newsreel coverage of the event, see Hindenburg disaster newsreel footage.
The Hindenburg disaster occurred on May 6, 1937, in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States. The German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at Naval Air Station Lakehurst. On board were 97 people (36 passengers and 61 crewmen); there were 36 fatalities (13 passengers and 22 crewmen, 1 worker on the ground).
LZ 129 Hindenburg
The stern of the Hindenburg begins to fall, with the mooring mast in the foreground.
The Hindenburg Airship caught fire whilst on final approach to Lakehurst Naval Air Station, New Jersey.
NAS Lakehurst, Manchester Township, New Jersey, U.S.
Coordinates: 40°01′49″N 74°19′33″W / 40.030392°N 74.325745°W / 40.030392; -74.325745
Hindenburg-class airship
Aircraft name
Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei
D-LZ129
Flight origin
Frankfurt am Main, Hesse-Nassau, Prussia, Germany
NAS Lakehurst, Lakehurst Borough, New Jersey, U.S.
36 (13 passengers, 22 air crewmen, one ground crewman)
The disaster was the subject of newsreel coverage, photographs, and Herbert Morrison's recorded radio eyewitness reports from the landing field, which were broadcast the next day.[1] A variety of hypotheses have been put forward for both the cause of ignition and the initial fuel for the ensuing fire. The event shattered public confidence in the giant, passenger-carrying rigid airship and marked the abrupt end of the airship era.[2]
FlightEdit
After opening its 1937 season by completing a single round-trip passage to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in late March, the Hindenburg departed from Frankfurt, Germany, on the evening of May 3, on the first of 10 round trips between Europe and the United States that were scheduled for its second year of commercial service. American Airlines had contracted with the operators of the Hindenburg to shuttle the passengers from Lakehurst to Newark for connections to airplane flights.[3]
Except for strong headwinds that slowed its progress, the Atlantic crossing of the Hindenburg was otherwise unremarkable until the airship attempted an early-evening landing at Lakehurst three days later on May 6. Although carrying only half its full capacity of passengers (36 of 70) and crewmen (61, including 21 crewman trainees) for the accident flight, the Hindenburg was fully booked for its return flight. Many of the passengers with tickets to Germany were planning to attend the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in London the following week.
The Hindenburg over Manhattan, New York on May 6, 1937, shortly before the disaster
The airship was hours behind schedule when it passed over Boston on the morning of May 6, and its landing at Lakehurst was expected to be further delayed because of afternoon thunderstorms. Advised of the poor weather conditions at Lakehurst, Captain Max Pruss charted a course over Manhattan Island, causing a public spectacle as people rushed out into the street to catch sight of the airship. After passing over the field at 4:00 p.m., Captain Pruss took passengers on a tour over the seasides of New Jersey while waiting for the weather to clear. After finally being notified at 6:22 p.m. that the storms had passed, Pruss directed the airship back to Lakehurst to make its landing almost half a day late. However, as this would leave much less time than anticipated to service and prepare the airship for its scheduled departure back to Europe, the public was informed that they would not be permitted at the mooring location or be able to visit aboard the Hindenburg during its stay in port.
Landing timelineEdit
Around 7:00 p.m. local time, at an altitude of 650 feet (200 m), the Hindenburg made its final approach to the Lakehurst Naval Air Station. This was to be a high landing, known as a flying moor, because the airship would drop its landing ropes and mooring cable at a high altitude, and then be winched down to the mooring mast. This type of landing maneuver would reduce the number of ground crewmen, but would require more time. Although the high landing was a common procedure for American airships, the Hindenburg had only performed this maneuver a few times in 1936 while landing in Lakehurst.
At 7:09, the airship made a sharp full-speed left turn to the west around the landing field because the ground crew was not ready. At 7:11, it turned back toward the landing field and valved gas. All engines idled ahead and the airship began to slow. Captain Pruss ordered aft engines full astern at 7:14 while at an altitude of 394 ft (120 m), to try to brake the airship.
At 7:17, the wind shifted direction from east to southwest, and Captain Pruss ordered a second sharp turn starboard, making an s-shaped flightpath towards the mooring mast. At 7:18, as the final turn progressed, Pruss ordered 300, 300 and 500 kg of water ballast in successive drops because the airship was stern-heavy. The forward gas cells were also valved. As these measures failed to bring the ship in trim, six men (three of whom were killed in the accident)[Note 1] were then sent to the bow to trim the airship.
At 7:21, while the Hindenburg was at an altitude of 295 ft (90 m), the mooring lines were dropped from the bow; the starboard line was dropped first, followed by the port line. The port line was overtightened as it was connected to the post of the ground winch. The starboard line had still not been connected. A light rain began to fall as the ground crew grabbed the mooring lines.
At 7:25 p.m., a few witnesses saw the fabric ahead of the upper fin flutter as if gas were leaking.[4] Others reported seeing a dim blue flame – possibly static electricity, or St Elmo's Fire – moments before the fire on top and in the back of the ship near the point where the flames first appeared.[5] Several other eyewitness testimonies suggest that the first flame appeared on the port side just ahead of the port fin, and was followed by flames which burned on top. Commander Rosendahl testified to the flames in front of the upper fin being "mushroom-shaped". One witness on the starboard side reported a fire beginning lower and behind the rudder on that side. On board, people heard a muffled detonation and those in the front of the ship felt a shock as the port trail rope overtightened; the officers in the control car initially thought the shock was caused by a broken rope.
DisasterEdit
Hindenburg begins to fall seconds after catching fire
At 7:25 p.m. local time, the Hindenburg caught fire and quickly became engulfed in flames. Eyewitness statements disagree as to where the fire initially broke out; several witnesses on the port side saw yellow-red flames first jump forward of the top fin near the ventilation shaft of cells 4 and 5.[4] Other witnesses on the port side noted the fire actually began just ahead of the horizontal port fin, only then followed by flames in front of the upper fin. One, with views of the starboard side, saw flames beginning lower and farther aft, near cell 1 behind the rudders. Inside the airship, helmsman Helmut Lau, who was stationed in the lower fin, testified hearing a muffled detonation and looked up to see a bright reflection on the front bulkhead of gas cell 4, which "suddenly disappeared by the heat". As other gas cells started to catch fire, the fire spread more to the starboard side and the ship dropped rapidly. Although there were cameramen from four newsreel teams and at least one spectator known to be filming the landing, as well as numerous photographers at the scene, no known footage or photograph exists of the moment the fire started.
Wherever they started, the flames quickly spread forward first consuming cells 1 to 9, and the rear end of the structure imploded. Almost instantly, two tanks (it is disputed whether they contained water or fuel) burst out of the hull as a result of the shock of the blast. Buoyancy was lost on the stern of the ship, and the bow lurched upwards while the ship's back broke; the falling stern stayed in trim.
A fire-damaged 9" duralumin cross brace from the frame of the Hindenburg salvaged in May 1937 from the crash site at NAS Lakehurst, NJ.
As the tail of the Hindenburg crashed into the ground, a burst of flame came out of the nose, killing 9 of the 12 crew members in the bow. There was still gas in the bow section of the ship, so it continued to point upward as the stern collapsed down. The cell behind the passenger decks ignited as the side collapsed inward, and the scarlet lettering reading "Hindenburg" was erased by flames as the bow descended. The airship's gondola wheel touched the ground, causing the bow to bounce up slightly as one final gas cell burned away. At this point, most of the fabric on the hull had also burned away and the bow finally crashed to the ground. Although the hydrogen had finished burning, the Hindenburg's diesel fuel burned for several more hours.
The fire bursts out of the nose of the Hindenburg, photographed by Murray Becker.
The time that it took from the first signs of disaster to the bow crashing to the ground is often reported as 32, 34 or 37 seconds. Since none of the newsreel cameras were filming the airship when the fire started, the time of the start can only be estimated from various eyewitness accounts and the duration of the longest footage of the crash. One careful analysis by NASA's Addison Bain gives the flame front spread rate across the fabric skin as about 49 ft/s (15 m/s) at some points during the crash, which would have resulted in a total destruction time of about 16 seconds (245m/15 m/s=16.3 s).
Some of the duralumin framework of the airship was salvaged and shipped back to Germany, where it was recycled and used in the construction of military aircraft for the Luftwaffe, as were the frames of the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin and LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin II when both were scrapped in 1940.[6]
In the days after the disaster, an official board of inquiry was set up at Lakehurst to investigate the cause of the fire. The investigation by the US Commerce Department was headed by Colonel South Trimble Jr, while Dr. Hugo Eckener led the German commission.
Hindenburg disaster sequence from the Pathé Newsreel, showing the bow nearing the ground.
News coverageEdit
See also: Hindenburg disaster newsreel footage
Universal Newsreel
The disaster was well-documented because of the combination of many news crews having been on site at the time of the airship exploding and the significant extent of newsreel coverage and photographs, as well as Herbert Morrison's eyewitness radio report for station WLS in Chicago, which was broadcast the next day. Heavy publicity about the first transatlantic passenger flight of the year by Zeppelin to the United States attracted a large number of journalists to the landing. (The airship had already made one round trip from Germany to Brazil that year.)
Parts of Morrison's broadcast were later dubbed onto newsreel footage, giving the impression that the words and film were recorded together.
It's practically standing still now they've dropped ropes out of the nose of the ship; and (uh) they've been taken ahold of down on the field by a number of men. It's starting to rain again; it's... the rain had (uh) slacked up a little bit. The back motors of the ship are just holding it (uh) just enough to keep it from...It's burst into flames! Get this, Charlie; get this, Charlie! It's fire... and it's crashing! It's crashing terrible! Oh, my! Get out of the way, please! It's burning and bursting into flames and the... and it's falling on the mooring mast and all the folks between it. This is terrible; this is one of the worst catastrophes in the world. Oh it's... [unintelligible] its flames... Crashing, oh! oh, four or five hundred feet into the sky, and it’s a terrific crash, ladies and gentlemen. There’s smoke, and there’s flames, now, and the frame is crashing to the ground, not quite to the mooring mast. Oh, the humanity, and all the passengers screaming around here! I told you; it – I can't even talk to people, their friends are on there! Ah! It's... it... it's a... ah! I... I can't talk, ladies and gentlemen. Honest: it's just laying there, a mass of smoking wreckage. Ah! And everybody can hardly breathe and talk and the screaming. I... I... I'm sorry. Honest: I... I can hardly breathe. I... I'm going to step inside, where I cannot see it. Charlie, that's terrible. Ah, ah... I can't. Listen, folks; I... I'm gonna have to stop for a minute because I've lost my voice. This is the worst thing I've ever witnessed.
— Herbert Morrison, Transcription of WLS radio broadcast describing the Hindenburg disaster.
The newsreel footage was shot by four newsreel camera teams: Pathé News, Movietone News, Hearst News of the Day, and Paramount News. Al Gold of Fox Movietone News later received a Presidential Citation for his work.[9][10] One of the most widely circulated photographs of the disaster (see photo at top of article), showing the airship crashing with the mooring mast in the foreground, was photographed by Sam Shere of International News Photos. When the fire started he did not have the time to put the camera to his eye and shot the photo "from the hip". Murray Becker of Associated Press photographed the fire engulfing the airship while it was still on even keel using his 4 x 5 Speed Graphic camera. His next photograph (see right), shows flames bursting out of the nose as the bow telescoped upwards. In addition to professional photographers, spectators also photographed the crash. They were stationed in the spectators' area near Hangar No. 1, and had a side-rear view of the airship. Customs broker Arthur Cofod Jr. and 16 year-old Foo Chu both had Leica cameras with high-speed film, allowing them to take a larger number of photographs than the press photographers. Nine of Cofod's photographs were printed in Life magazine,[11] while Chu's photographs were shown in the New York Daily News.[12]
The Hindenburg disaster, photographed by Arthur Cofod Jr.
The newsreels and photographs, along with Morrison's passionate reporting shattered public and industry faith in airships and marked the end of the giant passenger-carrying airships. Also contributing to the downfall of Zeppelins was the arrival of international passenger air travel and Pan American Airlines. Heavier-than-air aircraft regularly crossed the Atlantic and Pacific much faster than the 130 km/h (80 mph) speed of the Hindenburg. The one advantage that the Hindenburg had over such aircraft was the comfort that she afforded her passengers.
In contrast to the media coverage in the United States, media coverage of the disaster in Germany was more subdued. Although some photographs of the disaster were published in newspapers, the newsreel footage was not released until after World War II. Additionally, German victims were memorialized in a similar manner to fallen war heroes, and grassroots movements to fund zeppelin construction (as happened after the 1908 crash of the LZ 4) were expressly forbidden by the Nazi government.[13]
There had been a series of other airship accidents prior to the Hindenburg fire; many were caused by bad weather. The Graf Zeppelin had flown safely for more than 1.6 million kilometers (1.0 million miles), including the first circumnavigation of the globe by an airship. The Zeppelin company's promotions had prominently featured the fact that no passenger had been injured on any of its airships.
Death tollEdit
Despite the sheer ferocity of the colossal fire, many of the crew members and passengers survived, but the majority of them were severely burned. Of the 36 passengers and 61 crewmen, 13 passengers and 22 aircrewmen died. Also killed was one ground crewman, the civilian linesman Allen Hagaman.[14] Ten passengers[Note 2] and 16 crewmen[Note 3] died in the crash or in the fire. The majority of the victims were burnt to death, while others died jumping from the airship at an excessive height, or as a consequence of either smoke inhalation or falling debris.[Note 4] Six other crewmembers,[Note 5] three passengers[Note 6] and Allen Hagaman died in the following hours or days, mostly as a consequence of the burns.[15]
The majority of the crewmen who died were up inside the ship's hull, where they either did not have a clear escape route or else were close to the bow of the ship, which hung burning in the air for too long for most of them to escape death. Most of the crew in the bow died in the fire, although at least one was filmed falling from the bow to his death. Most of the passengers who died were trapped in the starboard side of the passenger deck. Not only was the wind blowing the fire toward the starboard side, but the ship also rolled slightly to starboard as it settled to the ground, with much of the upper hull on that part of the ship collapsing outboard of the starboard observation windows, thus cutting off the escape of many of the passengers on that side.[Note 7] To make matters worse, the sliding door leading from the starboard passenger area to the central foyer and the gangway stairs (through which rescuers led a number of passengers to safety) jammed shut during the crash, further trapping those passengers on the starboard side.[Note 8] Nonetheless, some did manage to escape from the starboard passenger decks. By contrast, all but a few of the passengers on the port side of the ship survived the fire, with some of them escaping virtually unscathed. Although the best remembered airship disaster, it was not the worst. Just over twice as many (73 of 76 on board) had perished when the helium-filled U.S. Navy scout airship USS Akron crashed at sea off the New Jersey coast four years earlier on April 4, 1933.[16]
Some of the survivors were saved by luck. Werner Franz, the 14-year-old cabin boy, was initially dazed by the realization that the ship was on fire. As he stood near the officer's mess where he had been putting away dishes moments before, a water tank holding ballast above him burst open, and he was suddenly soaked. This snapped him back to his senses, as he later told interviewers, and also put out the fire around him. He then made his way to a nearby hatch through which the kitchen had been loaded with provisions before the flight, and dropped through it just as the forward part of the ship was briefly rebounding into the air. He began to run toward the starboard side, but stopped and turned around and ran the other way, because the flames were being pushed by the wind in that direction. He made it clear of the wreck with no injuries, and was the last surviving crew member when he died at the age of 92 on August 13, 2014.[17] The last surviving passenger is Werner G. Doehner (b. 1928), a retired electrical engineer who was an eight-year-old child traveling with his parents, brother, and sister at the time of the accident. His father and sister died in the disaster.[18]
When the control car crashed onto the ground, most of the officers leapt through the windows, but became separated. First Officer Captain Albert Sammt found Captain Max Pruss trying to re-enter the wreckage to look for survivors. Pruss's face was badly burned, and he required months of hospitalization and reconstructive surgery, but he survived.[19]
Captain Ernst Lehmann escaped the crash with burns to his head and arms and severe burns across most of his back. He died at a nearby hospital the next day.[20]
When passenger Joseph Späh, a vaudeville comic acrobat, saw the first sign of trouble he smashed the window with his movie camera with which he had been filming the landing (the film survived the disaster). As the ship neared the ground he lowered himself out the window and hung onto the window ledge, letting go when the ship was perhaps 20 feet above the ground. His acrobat's instincts kicked in, and Späh kept his feet under him and attempted to do a safety roll when he landed. He injured his ankle nonetheless, and was dazedly crawling away when a member of the ground crew came up, slung the diminutive Späh under one arm, and ran him clear of the fire.[Note 9]
Of the 12 crewmen in the bow of the airship, only three survived. Four of these 12 men were standing on the mooring shelf, a platform up at the very tip of the bow from which the forwardmost landing ropes and the steel mooring cable were released to the ground crew, and which was directly at the forward end of the axial walkway and just ahead of gas cell #16. The rest were standing either along the lower keel walkway ahead of the control car, or else on platforms beside the stairway leading up the curve of the bow to the mooring shelf. During the fire the bow hung in the air at roughly a 45-degree angle and flames shot forward through the axial walkway, bursting through the bow (and the bow gas cells) like a blowtorch. The three men from the forward section who survived (elevatorman Kurt Bauer, cook Alfred Grözinger, and electrician Josef Leibrecht) were those furthest aft of the bow, and two of them (Bauer and Grözinger) happened to be standing near two large triangular air vents, through which cool air was being drawn by the fire. Neither of these men sustained more than superficial burns.[Note 10] Most of the men standing along the bow stairway either fell aft into the fire, or tried to leap from the ship when it was still too high in the air. Three of the four men standing on the mooring shelf inside the very tip of the bow were actually taken from the wreck alive, though one (Erich Spehl, a rigger) died shortly afterwards in the Air Station's infirmary, and the other two (helmsman Alfred Bernhard and apprentice elevatorman Ludwig Felber) were reported by newspapers to have initially survived the fire, and then to subsequently have died at area hospitals during the night or early the following morning.[citation needed]
Hydrogen fires are less destructive to immediate surroundings than gasoline explosions because of the buoyancy of H2, which causes heat of combustion to be released upwards more than circumferentially as the leaked mass ascends in the atmosphere; hydrogen fires are more survivable than fires of gasoline or wood.[21] The hydrogen in the Hindenburg burned out within about 90 seconds.
Cause of ignitionEdit
Sabotage hypothesisEdit
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At the time of the disaster, sabotage was commonly put forward as the cause of the fire, initially by Hugo Eckener, former head of the Zeppelin Company and the "old man" of German airships. In initial reports, before inspecting the accident, Eckener mentioned the possibility of a shot as the cause of the disaster, because of threatening letters that had been received, but did not rule out other causes.[22] Eckener later publicly endorsed the static spark hypothesis. At the time on a lecture tour in Austria, he was awakened at about 2:30 in the morning (8:30 p.m. Lakehurst time, or approximately an hour after the crash) by the ringing of his bedside telephone. It was a Berlin representative of The New York Times with news that the Hindenburg "exploded yesterday evening at 7 p.m. [sic] above the airfield at Lakehurst." By the time he left the hotel the next morning to travel to Berlin for a briefing on the disaster, the only answer that he had for the reporters waiting outside to question him was that based on what he knew, the Hindenburg had "exploded over the airfield"; sabotage might be a possibility. However, as he learned more about the disaster, particularly that the airship had burned rather than actually "exploded", he grew more and more convinced that static discharge, rather than sabotage, was the cause.[23][page needed]
Commander Charles Rosendahl, commander of the Naval Air Station at Lakehurst and the man in overall charge of the ground-based portion of the Hindenburg's landing maneuver, also came to believe that the Hindenburg had been sabotaged. He laid out a general case for sabotage in his book What About the Airship? (1938),[24][page needed] which was as much an extended argument for the further development of the rigid airship as it was an historical overview of the airship concept.
Another proponent of the sabotage hypothesis was Max Pruss, commander of the Hindenburg throughout the airship's career. Pruss flew on nearly every flight of the Graf Zeppelin until the Hindenburg was ready. In a 1960 interview conducted by Kenneth Leish for Columbia University's Oral History Research Office, Pruss said early dirigible travel was safe, and therefore he strongly believed that sabotage was to blame. He stated that on trips to South America, which was a popular destination for German tourists, both airships passed through thunderstorms and were struck by lightning but remained unharmed.[25]
Most members of the crew refused to believe that one of them would commit an act of sabotage, insisting only a passenger could have destroyed the airship. A suspect favored by Commander Rosendahl, Captain Pruss, and others among the Hindenburg's crew, was passenger Joseph Späh, a German acrobat who survived the fire. He brought with him a dog, a German shepherd named Ulla, as a surprise for his children. He reportedly made a number of unaccompanied visits to feed his dog, who was being kept in a freight room near the stern of the ship. Those who suspected Späh based their suspicions primarily on those trips into the ship's interior to feed his dog, that according to some of the stewards Späh had told anti-Nazi jokes during the flight, recollections by stewards that Späh had seemed agitated by the repeated delays in landing, and that he was an acrobat who could conceivably climb into the airship's rigging to plant a bomb.
In 1962, A. A. Hoehling published Who Destroyed the Hindenburg?, in which he rejected all theories but sabotage, and named a crew member as the suspect. Eric Spehl, a rigger on the Hindenburg who died in the fire, was named as the saboteur. Ten years later, Michael MacDonald Mooney's book The Hindenburg, which was based heavily on Hoehling's sabotage hypothesis, also identified Spehl as the saboteur; Mooney's book was made into the movie The Hindenburg (1975). The producers of which were sued by Hoehling for plagiarism; but Hoehling lost because he had presented his sabotage hypothesis as historical fact, and it is not possible to claim ownership of historical facts.[26]
Hoehling claimed the following in naming Spehl as the culprit:
Spehl's girlfriend had communist beliefs and anti-Nazi connections.
The fire's origin was near the catwalk running through Gas Cell 4, which was an area of the ship generally off-limits to anyone other than Spehl and his fellow riggers.
Hoehling's claim that Chief Steward Heinrich Kubis told him the Chief Rigger Ludwig Knorr noticed damage of Cell 4 shortly before the disaster.
Rumors that the Gestapo had investigated Spehl's possible involvement in 1938.
Spehl's interest in amateur photography, making him familiar with flashbulbs that could have served as an igniter.
The discovery by representatives of the New York Police Department (NYPD) Bomb Squad of a substance that was later determined to likely be "the insoluble residue from the depolarizing element of a small, dry battery." (Hoehling postulated that a dry cell battery could have powered a flashbulb in an incendiary device.)
The discovery by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents of a yellow substance on the valve cap of the airship between cells 4 and 5 where the fire was first reported. Although initially suspected to be sulfur, which can ignite hydrogen, it was later determined that the residue was actually from a fire extinguisher.
A flash or a bright reflection in gas cell 4, that crew members near the lower fin had seen just before the fire.
Hoehling's (and later Mooney's) hypothesis goes on to say that it is unlikely that Spehl wanted to kill people, and that he intended the airship to burn after the landing. However, with the ship already over 12 hours late, Spehl was unable to find an excuse to reset the timer on his bomb.
It has been suggested that Adolf Hitler himself ordered the Hindenburg to be destroyed in retaliation for Eckener's anti-Nazi opinions.[27]
Since the publication of Hoehling's book, most airship historians, including Dr. Douglas Robinson, have dismissed Hoehling's sabotage hypothesis because no solid evidence was ever presented to support it. No pieces of a bomb were ever discovered (and there is no evidence in existing documentation that the sample collected from the wreckage, and determined to be residue from a dry cell battery, was found anywhere near the stern of the airship), and on closer examination, the evidence against Spehl and his girlfriend turned out to be rather weak. Additionally, it is unlikely that Rigger Knorr would not remain at cell 4 to further assess the purported damage claimed by Kubis. In an interview with the TV show Secrets & Mysteries, Hoehling himself asserted it was only his theory and also suggested a short-circuit could be another potential cause of the fire. Additionally, Mooney's book has been criticized as having numerous fictional elements, and it has been suggested that the plot was created for the then-upcoming 1975 film.[28] Although Mooney alleges that three Luftwaffe officers were aboard to investigate a potential bomb threat, there is no evidence they were on board to do so, and military observers were present on previous flights to study navigational techniques and weather forecasting practices of the airship crew.[29]
However, opponents of the sabotage hypothesis argued that only speculation supported sabotage as a cause of the fire, and no credible evidence of sabotage was produced at any of the formal hearings. Eric Spehl died in the fire and was therefore unable to refute the accusations that surfaced a quarter of a century later. The FBI investigated Joseph Späh and reported finding no evidence of Späh having any connection to a sabotage plot. According to his wife, Evelyn, Späh was quite upset over the accusations – she later recalled that her husband was outside their home cleaning windows when he first learned that he was suspected of sabotaging the Hindenburg, and was so shocked by the news that he almost fell off the ladder on which he was standing.[30]
Neither the German, nor the American investigation, endorsed any of the sabotage theories. Proponents of the sabotage hypothesis argue that any finding of sabotage would have been an embarrassment for the Nazi regime, and they speculate that such a finding by the German investigation was suppressed for political reasons. However, it has also been suggested that numerous crewmen subscribed to the sabotage hypothesis because they refused to accept any flaws with the airship or pilot error.[31]
Some more sensational newspapers claimed that a Luger pistol with one round fired was found among the wreckage and speculated that a person on board committed suicide or shot the airship.[32] However, there is no evidence suggesting an attempted suicide or official report confirming the presence of a Luger pistol.[citation needed] Initially, before inspecting the scene himself, Eckener mentioned the possibility for a shot as the cause of the disaster, because of threatening letters they received.[22] At the German enquiry Eckener discounted a shot – among many possibilities – as the cause as nearly impossible and highly improbable.[33]
Static spark hypothesisEdit
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Hugo Eckener argued that the fire was started by an electric spark which was caused by a buildup of static electricity on the airship.[34] The spark ignited hydrogen on the outer skin.
Proponents of the static spark hypothesis point out that the airship's skin was not constructed in a way that allowed its charge to be distributed evenly throughout the craft. The skin was separated from the duralumin frame by non-conductive ramie cords which had been lightly covered in metal to improve conductivity but not very effectively, allowing a large difference in potential to form between the skin and the frame.
In order to make up for the delay of more than 12 hours in its transatlantic flight, the Hindenburg passed through a weather front of high humidity and high electrical charge. Although the mooring lines were not wet when they first hit the ground and ignition took place four minutes after, Eckener theorised that they may have become wet in these four minutes. When the ropes, which were connected to the frame, became wet, they would have grounded the frame but not the skin. This would have caused a sudden potential difference between skin and frame (and the airship itself with the overlying air masses) and would have set off an electrical discharge – a spark. Seeking the quickest way to ground, the spark would have jumped from the skin onto the metal framework, igniting the leaking hydrogen.
In his book LZ-129 Hindenburg (1964), Zeppelin historian Dr. Douglas Robinson commented that although ignition of free hydrogen by static discharge had become a favored hypothesis, no such discharge was seen by any of the witnesses who testified at the official investigation into the accident in 1937. He continues:
But within the past year, I have located an observer, Professor Mark Heald of Princeton, New Jersey, who undoubtedly saw St. Elmo's Fire flickering along the airship's back a good minute before the fire broke out. Standing outside the main gate to the Naval Air Station, he watched, together with his wife and son, as the Zeppelin approached the mast and dropped her bow lines. A minute thereafter, by Mr. Heald's estimation, he first noticed a dim "blue flame" flickering along the backbone girder about one-quarter the length abaft the bow to the tail. There was time for him to remark to his wife, "Oh, heavens, the thing is a fire," for her to reply, "Where?" and for him to answer, "Up along the top ridge" – before there was a big burst of flaming hydrogen from a point he estimated to be about one-third the ship's length from the stern.[35]
Unlike other witnesses to the fire whose view of the port side of the ship had the light of the setting sun behind the ship, Professor Heald's view of the starboard side of the ship against a backdrop of the darkening eastern sky would have made the dim blue light of a static discharge on the top of the ship more easily visible.
Harold G. Dick was Goodyear Zeppelin's representative with Luftschiffbau Zeppelin during the mid-1930s. He flew on test flights of the Hindenburg and its sister ship, the Graf Zeppelin II. He also flew on numerous flights in the original Graf Zeppelin and ten round-trip crossings of the north and south Atlantic in the Hindenburg. In his book The Golden Age of the Great Passenger Airships Graf Zeppelin & Hindenburg, he observes:
There are two items not in common knowledge. When the outer cover of the LZ 130 [the Graf Zeppelin II] was to be applied, the lacing cord was prestretched and run through dope as before but the dope for the LZ 130 contained graphite to make it conductive. This would hardly have been necessary if the static discharge hypothesis were mere cover-up. The use of graphite dope was not publicized and I doubt if its use was widely known at the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin.
In addition to Dick's observations, during the Graf Zeppelin II's early test flights, measurements were taken of the airship's static charge. Dr. Ludwig Durr and the other engineers at Luftschiffbau Zeppelin took the static discharge hypothesis seriously and considered the insulation of the fabric from the frame to be a design flaw in the Hindenburg. Thus, the German Inquiry concluded that the insulation of the outer covering caused a spark to jump onto a nearby piece of metal, thereby igniting the hydrogen. In lab experiments, using the Hindenburg's outer covering and a static ignition, hydrogen was able to be ignited but with the covering of the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, nothing happened. These findings were not well-publicized and covered up, perhaps to avoid embarrassment of such an engineering flaw in the face of the Third Reich.
A variant of the static spark hypothesis, presented by Addison Bain, is that a spark between inadequately grounded fabric cover segments of the Hindenburg itself started the fire, and that the spark had ignited the "highly flammable" outer skin. The Hindenburg had a cotton skin covered with a finish known as "dope". It is a common term for a plasticised lacquer that provides stiffness, protection, and a lightweight, airtight seal to woven fabrics. In its liquid forms, dope is highly flammable, but the flammability of dry dope depends upon its base constituents, with, for example, butyrate dope being far less flammable than cellulose nitrate. Proponents of this hypothesis claim that when the mooring line touched the ground, a resulting spark could have ignited the dope in the skin.
An episode of the Discovery Channel series Curiosity entitled "What Destroyed the Hindenburg?", which first aired in December 2012, investigated both the static spark theory and St. Elmo's Fire, as well as sabotage by bomb. The team, led by British aeronautical engineer Jem Stansfield and American airship historian Dan Grossman, concluded that the ignition took place above the hydrogen vent just forward of where Mark Heald saw St. Elmo's Fire, and that the ignited hydrogen was channelled down the vent where it created a more explosive detonation described by crew member Helmut Lau. "What Destroyed the Hindenburg?" was aired as a standalone documentary on the UK's Channel 4 in March 2013.[36]
Lightning hypothesisEdit
A. J. Dessler, former director of the Space Science Laboratory at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and a critic of the incendiary paint hypothesis (see below), favors a much simpler explanation for the conflagration: lightning. Like many other aircraft, the Hindenburg had been struck by lightning several times in its years of operation. This does not normally ignite a fire in hydrogen-filled airships due to the lack of oxygen. However, airship fires have been observed when lightning strikes the vehicle as it vents hydrogen as ballast in preparation for landing. The vented hydrogen mixes with the oxygen in the atmosphere, creating a combustible mixture. The Hindenburg was venting hydrogen at the time of the disaster.[37]
However, witnesses did not observe any lightning storms as the ship made its final approach.
Engine failure hypothesisEdit
On the 70th anniversary of the accident, The Philadelphia Inquirer carried an article[38] with yet another hypothesis, based on an interview of ground crew member Robert Buchanan. He had been a young man on the crew manning the mooring lines.
As the airship was approaching the mooring mast, he noted that one of the engines, thrown into reverse for a hard turn, backfired, and a shower of sparks was emitted. After being interviewed by Addison Bain, Buchanan believed that the airship's outer skin was ignited by engine sparks. Another ground crewman, Robert Shaw, saw a blue ring behind the tail fin and had also seen sparks coming out of the engine.[39] Shaw believed that the blue ring he saw was leaking hydrogen which was ignited by the engine sparks.
Dr. Eckener rejected the idea that hydrogen could have been ignited by an engine backfire, postulating that the hydrogen could not have been ignited by any exhaust because the temperature is too low to ignite the hydrogen. The ignition temperature for hydrogen is 500 °C (932 °F), but the sparks from the exhaust only reach 250 °C (482 °F).[31] The Zeppelin Company also carried out extensive tests and hydrogen had never ignited. Additionally, the fire was first seen at the top of the airship, not near the bottom of the hull.
Fire's initial fuelEdit
Most current analyses of the fire assume ignition due to some form of electricity as the cause. However, there is still much controversy over whether the fabric skin of the airship, or the hydrogen used for buoyancy, was the initial fuel for the resulting fire.
Hydrogen hypothesisEdit
The theory that hydrogen was ignited by a static spark is the most widely accepted theory as determined by the official crash investigations. Offering support for the hypothesis that there was some sort of hydrogen leak prior to the fire is that the airship remained stern-heavy before landing, despite efforts to put the airship back in trim. This could have been caused by a leak of the gas, which started mixing with air, potentially creating a form of oxyhydrogen and filling up the space between the skin and the cells.[31] A ground crew member, R.H. Ward, reported seeing the fabric cover of the upper port side of the airship fluttering, "as if gas was rising and escaping" from the cell. He said that the fire began there, but that no other disturbance occurred at the time when the fabric fluttered.[31] Another man on the top of the mooring mast had also reported seeing a flutter in the fabric as well.[40] Pictures that show the fire burning along straight lines that coincide with the boundaries of gas cells suggest that the fire was not burning along the skin, which was continuous. Crew members stationed in the stern reported actually seeing the cells burning.[41]
Two main theories have been postulated as to how gas could have leaked. Dr. Eckener believed a snapped bracing wire had torn a gas cell open (see below), while others suggest that a maneuvering or automatic gas valve was stuck open and gas from cell 4 leaked through. During the airship's first flight to Rio, a gas cell was nearly emptied when an automatic valve was stuck open, and gas had to be transferred from other cells to maintain an even keel.[30] However, no other valve failures were reported during the ship's flight history, and on the final approach there was no indication in instruments that a valve had stuck open.[42]
Although proponents of the IPT claim that the hydrogen was odorized with garlic,[43] it would have been detectable only in the area of a leak. Once the fire was underway, more powerful smells would have masked any garlic odor. There were no reports of anyone smelling garlic during the flight, but no official documents have been found to prove that the hydrogen was even odorized.
Opponents of this hypothesis note that the fire was reported as burning bright red, while pure hydrogen burns blue if it is visible at all,[44] although there were many other materials that were consumed by the fire which could have changed its hue.
Some of the airshipmen at the time, including Captain Pruss, asserted that the stern heaviness was normal, since aerodynamic pressure would push rainwater towards the stern of the airship. The stern heaviness was also noticed minutes before the airship made its sharp turns for its approach (ruling out the snapped wire theory as the cause of the stern heaviness), and some crew members stated that it was corrected as the ship stopped (after sending six men into the bow section of the ship). Additionally, the gas cells of the ship were not pressurized, and a leak would not cause the fluttering of the outer cover, which was not seen until seconds before the fire. However, reports of the amount of rain the ship had collected have been inconsistent. Several witnesses testified that there was no rain as the ship approached until a light rain fell minutes before the fire, while several crew members stated that before the approach the ship did encounter heavy rain. Albert Sammt, the ship's first officer who oversaw the measures to correct the stern-heaviness, initially attributed to fuel consumption and sending crewmen to their landing stations in the stern, though years later, he would assert that a leak of hydrogen had occurred. On its final approach the rainwater may have evaporated and may not completely account for the observed stern-heaviness, as the airship should have been in good trim ten minutes after passing through rain. Dr. Eckener noted that the stern heaviness was significant enough that 70,000 kilogram·meter (506,391 foot-pounds) of trimming was needed.[45]
Incendiary paint hypothesisEdit
The incendiary paint theory (IPT) was proposed in 1996 by retired NASA scientist Addison Bain, stating that the doping compound of the airship was the cause of the fire, and that the Hindenburg would have burned even if it were filled with helium. The hypothesis is limited to the source of ignition and to the flame front propagation, not to the source of most of the burning material, as once the fire started and spread the hydrogen clearly must have burned (although some proponents of the incendiary paint theory claim that hydrogen burned much later in the fire or that it otherwise did not contribute to the rapid spread of the fire). The incendiary paint hypothesis asserts that the major component in starting the fire and feeding its spread was the canvas skin because of the compound used on it.
Proponents of this hypothesis argue that the coatings on the fabric contained both iron oxide and aluminum-impregnated cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) which remain potentially reactive even after fully setting.[46] Iron oxide and aluminum can be used as components of solid rocket fuel or thermite. For example, the propellant for the Space Shuttle solid rocket booster included both "aluminum (fuel, 16%), (and) iron oxide (a catalyst, 0.4%)". The coating applied to the Hindenburg's covering did not have a sufficient quantity of any material capable of acting as an oxidizer,[47] which is a necessary component of rocket fuel,[48] however, oxygen is also available from the air.
Bain received permission from the German government to search their archives and discovered evidence that, during the Nazi regime, German scientists concluded the dope on the Hindenburg's fabric skin was the cause of the conflagration. Bain interviewed the wife of the investigation's lead scientist Max Dieckmann, and she stated that her husband had told her about the conclusion and instructed her to tell no one, presumably because it would have embarrassed the Nazi government.[49] Additionally, Dieckmann concluded that it was the poor conductivity, not the flammability of the doping compound, that led to the ignition of hydrogen.[50] However, Otto Beyersdorff, an independent investigator hired by the Zeppelin Company, asserted that the outer skin itself was flammable. In several television shows, Bain attempted to prove the flammability of the fabric by igniting it with a Jacob's Ladder. Although Bain's fabric ignited, critics argue that Bain had to correctly position the fabric parallel to a machine with a continuous electric current inconsistent with atmospheric conditions. In response to this criticism, the IPT therefore postulates that a spark would need to be parallel to the surface, and that "panel-to-panel arcing" occurs, where the spark moves between panels of paint isolated from each other. A.J. Dessler, a critic of the IPT, points out a static spark does not have sufficient energy to ignite the doping compound, and that the insulating properties of the doping compound prevents a parallel spark path through it. Additionally, Dessler contends that the skin would also be electrically conductive in the wet and damp conditions before the fire.[51]
Critics also argue that port side witnesses on the field, as well as crew members stationed in the stern, saw a glow inside Cell 4 before any fire broke out of the skin, indicating that the fire began inside the airship or that after the hydrogen ignited, the invisible fire fed on the gas cell material. Newsreel footage clearly shows that the fire was burning inside the structure.[30]
Proponents of the paint hypothesis claim that the glow is actually the fire igniting on the starboard side, as seen by some other witnesses. From two eyewitness statements, Bain asserts the fire began near cell 1 behind the tail fins and spread forward before it was seen by witnesses on the port side. However, photographs of the early stages of the fire show the gas cells of the Hindenburg's entire aft section fully aflame, and no glow is seen through the areas where the fabric is still intact. Burning gas spewing upward from the top of the airship was causing low pressure inside, allowing atmospheric pressure to press the skin inwards.
The wreckage of the Hindenburg the morning after the crash. Some fabric remains on the tail fins.
Occasionally the Hindenburg's varnish is incorrectly identified as, or stated being similar to, cellulose nitrate which, like most nitrates, burns very readily.[27] Instead, the cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) used to seal the zeppelin's skin is rated by the plastics industry as combustible but nonflammable. That is, it will burn if placed within a fire but is not readily ignited. It should also be noted that not all fabric on the Hindenburg burned.[52] For example, the fabric on the port and starboard tail fins was not completely consumed. That the fabric not near the hydrogen fire did not burn is not consistent with the "explosive" dope hypothesis.
The TV show MythBusters explored the incendiary paint hypothesis. Their findings indicated that the aluminum and iron oxide ratios in the Hindenburg's skin, while certainly flammable, were not enough on their own to destroy the zeppelin. Had the skin contained enough metal to produce pure thermite, the Hindenburg would have been too heavy to fly. The MythBusters team also discovered that the Hindenburg's coated skin had a higher ignition temperature than that of untreated material, and that it would initially burn slowly, but that after some time the fire would begin to accelerate considerably with some indication of a thermite reaction. From this, they concluded that those arguing against the incendiary paint theory may have been wrong about the airship's skin not forming thermite due to the compounds being separated in different layers. Despite this, the skin alone would burn too slowly to account for the rapid spread of the fire, as it would have taken four times the speed for the ship to burn. The MythBusters concluded that the paint may have contributed to the disaster, but that it was not the sole reason for such rapid combustion.[53]
Puncture hypothesisEdit
Although Captain Pruss believed that the Hindenburg could withstand tight turns without significant damage, proponents of the puncture hypothesis, including Hugo Eckener, question the airship's structural integrity after being repeatedly stressed over its flight record.
The airship did not receive much in the way of routine inspections even though there was evidence of at least some damage on previous flights. It is not known whether that damage was properly repaired or even whether all the failures had been found. During the ship's first return flight from Rio, Hindenburg had once lost an engine and almost drifted over Africa, where it could have crashed. Afterwards, Dr. Eckener ordered section chiefs to inspect the airship during flight. However, the complexity of the airship's structure would make it virtually impossible to detect all weaknesses in the structure. In March 1936, the Hindenburg and the Graf Zeppelin made three-day flights to drop leaflets and broadcast speeches via loudspeaker. Before the airship's takeoff on March 26, 1936, Ernst Lehmann chose to launch the Hindenburg with the wind blowing from behind the airship, instead of into the wind as per standard procedure. During the takeoff, the airship's tail struck the ground, and part of the lower fin was broken.[54] Although that damage was repaired, the force of the impact may have caused internal damage. Only six days before the disaster, it was planned to make the Hindenburg have a hook on her hull to carry aircraft, similar to the US Navy's use of the USS Akron and the USS Macon airships. However, the trials were unsuccessful as the biplane hit the Hindenburg's trapeze several times. The structure of the airship may have been further affected by this incident.
Newsreels, as well as the map of the landing approach, show the Hindenburg made several sharp turns, first towards port and then starboard, just before the accident. Proponents posit that either of these turns could have weakened the structure near the vertical fins, causing a bracing wire to snap and puncture at least one of the internal gas cells. Additionally, some of the bracing wires may have even been substandard. One bracing wire tested after the crash broke at a mere 70% of its rated load.[30] A punctured cell would have freed hydrogen into the air and could have been ignited by a static discharge (see above), or it is also possible that the broken bracing wire struck a girder, causing sparks to ignite hydrogen.[30] When the fire started, people on board the airship reported hearing a muffled detonation, but outside, a ground crew member on the starboard side reported hearing a crack. Some speculate the sound was from a bracing wire snapping.[30]
Eckener concluded that the puncture hypothesis, due to pilot error, was the most likely explanation for the disaster. He held Captains Pruss and Lehmann, and Charles Rosendahl responsible for what he viewed as a rushed landing procedure with the airship badly out of trim under poor weather conditions. Pruss had made the sharp turn under Lehmann's pressure; while Rosendahl called the airship in for landing, believing the conditions were suitable. Eckener noted that a smaller storm front followed the thunderstorm front, creating conditions suitable for static sparks.
During the US inquiry, Eckener testified that he believed that the fire was caused by the ignition of hydrogen by a static spark:
The ship proceeded in a sharp turn to approach for its landing. That generates extremely high tension in the after part of the ship, and especially in the center sections close to the stabilizing fins which are braced by shear wires. I can imagine that one of these shear wires parted and caused a rent in a gas cell. If we will assume this further, then what happened subsequently can be fitted in to what observers have testified to here: Gas escaped from the torn cell upwards and filled up the space between the outer cover and the cells in the rear part of the ship, and then this quantity of gas which we have assumed in the hypothesis was ignited by a static spark.
Under these conditions, naturally, the gas accumulated between the gas cells and the outer cover must have been a very rich gas. That means it was not an explosive mixture of hydrogen, but more of a pure hydrogen. The loss of gas must have been appreciable.
I would like to insert here, because the necessary trimming moments to keep the ship on an even keel were appreciable, and everything apparently happened in the last five or six minutes, that is, during the sharp turn preceding the landing maneuver, that therefore there must have been a rich gas mixture up there, or possibly pure gas, and such gas does not burn in the form of an explosion. It burns off slowly, particularly because it was in an enclosed space between outer cover and gas cells, and only in the moment when gas cells are burned by the burning off of this gas, then the gas escapes in greater volume, and then the explosions can occur, which have been reported to us at a later stage of the accident by so many witnesses.
The rest it is not necessary for me to explain, and in conclusion, I would like to state this appears to me to be a possible explanation, based on weighing all of the testimony that I have heard so far.[55]
However, the apparent stern heaviness during the landing approach was noticed thirty minutes before the landing approach, indicating that a gas leak resulting from a sharp turn did not cause the initial stern heaviness.[55]
Fuel leakEdit
The 2001 documentary Hindenburg Disaster: Probable Cause suggested that 16-year-old Bobby Rutan, who claimed that he had smelled "gasoline" when he was standing below the Hindenburg's aft port engine, had detected a diesel fuel leak. During the investigation, Commander Charles Rosendahl dismissed the boy's report. The day before the disaster, a fuel pump had broken during the flight, but the chief engineer testified that the pump had been replaced. The resulting vapor of a diesel leak, in addition to the engines being overheated, would have been highly flammable and could have self-combusted.
However, the documentary makes numerous mistakes into assuming that the fire began in the keel. First, it implies that the crewmen in the lower fin had seen the fire start in the keel and that Hans Freund and Helmut Lau looked towards the front of the airship to see the fire, when Freund was actually looking rearward when the fire started. Most witnesses on the ground reported seeing flames at the top of the ship, but the only location where a fuel leak could have a potential ignition source is the engines. Additionally, while investigators in the documentary suggest it is possible for a fire in the keel to go unnoticed until it breaks the top section, other investigators such as Greg Feith consider it unlikely because the only point diesel comes into contact with a hot surface is the engines.
Rate of flame propagationEdit
Fabric of the Hindenburg, held in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Regardless of the source of ignition or the initial fuel for the fire, there remains the question of what caused the rapid spread of flames along the length of the airship, with debate again centered on the fabric covering of the airship and the hydrogen used for buoyancy.
Proponents of both the incendiary paint hypothesis and the hydrogen hypothesis agree that the fabric coatings were probably responsible for the rapid spread of the fire. The combustion of hydrogen is not usually visible to the human eye in daylight, because most of its radiation is not in the visible portion of the spectrum but rather ultraviolet. Thus what can be seen burning in the photographs cannot be hydrogen. However, black-and-white photographic film of the era had a different light sensitivity spectrum than the human eye, and was sensitive farther out into the infrared and ultraviolet regions than the human eye. And while hydrogen tends to burn invisibly, the materials around it, if combustible, would change the color of the fire.
The motion picture films show the fire spreading downward along the skin of the airship. While fires generally tend to burn upward, especially including hydrogen fires, the enormous radiant heat from the blaze would have quickly spread fire over the entire surface of the airship, thus apparently explaining the downward propagation of the flames. Falling, burning debris would also appear as downward streaks of fire.
Those skeptical of the incendiary paint hypothesis cite recent technical papers which claim that even if the airship had been coated with actual rocket fuel, it would have taken many hours to burn – not the 32 to 37 seconds that it actually took.[56]
Modern experiments that recreated the fabric and coating materials of the Hindenburg seem to discredit the incendiary fabric hypothesis.[57] They conclude that it would have taken about 40 hours[clarification needed] for the Hindenburg to burn if the fire had been driven by combustible fabric. Two additional scientific papers also strongly reject the fabric hypothesis.[56][clarification needed] However, these claims do not agree with the results the MythBusters achieved on the Hindenburg special of their TV show.
The most conclusive[clarification needed] proof against the fabric hypothesis is in the photographs of the actual accident as well as the many airships which were not doped with aluminum powder and still exploded violently. When a single gas cell explodes, it creates a shock wave and heat. The shock wave tends to rip nearby bags which then explode themselves. In the case of the Ahlhorn disaster on January 5, 1918, explosions of airships in one hangar caused the explosions of others in three adjoining hangars, wiping out all five Zeppelins at the base.[clarification needed]
The photos of the Hindenburg disaster clearly show that after the cells in the aft section of the airship exploded and the combustion products were vented out the top of the airship, the fabric on the rear section was still largely intact, and air pressure from the outside was acting upon it, caving the sides of the airship inward due to the reduction of pressure caused by the venting of combustion gases out the top.
The loss of lift at the rear caused the airship to nose up suddenly and the back to break in half (the airship was still in one piece), at that time the primary mode for the fire to spread was along the axial gangway which acted as a chimney, conducting fire which burst out the nose as the airship's tail touched the ground, and as seen in one of the most famous pictures of the disaster.
MemorialEdit
Current marker at the disaster site, shown with Hangar No. 1 in background
The actual site of the Hindenburg crash is at Naval Air Station Lakehurst, renamed by the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) as Naval Air Engineering Station (NAES) Lakehurst (or "Navy Lakehurst" for short).[58] It is marked with a chain-outlined pad and bronze plaque where the airship's gondola landed.[59] It was dedicated on May 6, 1987, the 50th anniversary of the disaster.[60] Hangar No. 1, which still stands, is where the airship was to be housed after landing. It was designated a Registered National Historic Landmark in 1968.[61] Pre-registered tours are held through the Navy Lakehurst Historical Society.[60]
Popular cultureEdit
Main article: Hindenburg disaster in popular culture
Max Pruss
Albert Sammt
Crash cover
Hindenburg disaster newsreel footage
Herbert Morrison (announcer)
Hindenburg: The Untold Story, a docudrama aired on the 70th anniversary of the disaster, May 6, 2007
Timeline of hydrogen technologies
List of airship accidents
^ Per an annotated ship's diagram submitted to the U.S. Commerce Department's Board of Inquiry into the disaster, there were 12 men in the forward section of the ship at the time of the fire: Ludwig Felber (apprentice "elevatorman"); Alfred Bernhardt (helmsman); Erich Spehl (rigger); Ernst Huchel (senior elevatorman); Rudi Bialas (engine mechanic); Alfred Stöckle (engine mechanic); Fritz Flackus (cook's assistant); Richard Müller (cook's assistant); Ludwig Knorr (chief rigger); Josef Leibrecht (electrician); Kurt Bauer (elevatorman); and Alfred Grözinger (cook). Of these, only Leibrecht, Bauer and Grözinger survived the fire. Examination of the unedited Board of Inquiry testimony transcripts (stored at the National Archives), combined with a landing stations chart in Dick & Robinson (1985, p. 212) indicates that the six off-watch men who were sent forward to trim the ship were Bialas, Stöckle, Flackus, Müller, Leibrecht and Grözinger. The other men were at their previously assigned landing stations. More recent research[by whom?] found that was not Bialas, but his colleague Walter Banholzer, who was sent forward along with the other five men.
^ Birger Brinck, Burtis John Dolan, Edward Douglas, Emma Pannes, Ernst Rudolf Anders, Fritz Erdmann, Hermann Doehner, John Pannes, Moritz Feibusch, Otto Reichold.
^ Albert Holderried, mechanic; Alfred Stockle, engine mechanic; Alois Reisacher, mechanic; Emilie Imohof, hostess; Ernst Huchel, senior elevatorman; Ernst Schlapp, electrician; Franz Eichelmann, radio operator; Fritz Flackus, cook's assistant; Alfred Hitchcok, chief mechanic; Ludwig Knorr, chief rigger; Max Schulze, bar steward; Richard Muller, assistant chef; Robert Moser, mechanic; Rudi Bialas, engine mechanic; Wilhelm Dimmler, engineering officer; Willi Scheef, mechanic.
^ Some of the 26 people listed as immediate victims may have actually died immediately after the disaster in the air station's infirmary, but being identified only after some time, along with the corpses of the victims who died in the fire.
^ Alfred Bernhardt, helmsman; Erich Spehl, rigger; Ernst August Lehmann, director of flight operations; Ludwig Felber, apprentice elevatorman; Walter Banholzer, engine mechanic; Willy Speck, chief radio operator.
^ Erich Knocher, Irene Doehner, and Otto Ernst.
^ This is corroborated by the official testimonies and later recollections of several passenger survivors from the starboard passenger deck, including Nelson Morris, Leonhard Adelt and his wife Gertrud, Hans-Hugo Witt, Rolf von Heidenstam, and George Hirschfeld.
^ Board of Inquiry testimony of Hans-Hugo Witt, a Luftwaffe military observer traveling as a passenger.
^ Subsequent on-camera interviews with Späh and his letter to the Board of Inquiry corroborate this version of his escape. One or two more dramatic versions of his escape have appeared over the years, neither of which are supported by the newsreels of the crash, one of which shows a fairly close view of the portside passenger windows as passengers and stewards begin to drop through them.
^ Board of Inquiry testimonies of Kurt Bauer and Alfred Grözinger
CitationsEdit
^ WLS Broadcast Of the Hindenburg Disaster 1937. Chicagoland Radio and Media Retrieved May 7, 2015
^ Craats 2009, p. 36.
^ "Airplane shuttle service to operate, Newark to Lakehurst, for Hindenburg." The New York Times, April 12, 1936. p. XX5.
^ a b Blackwell 2007, p. 311.
^ Hoffmann & Harkin 2002, p. 235.
^ Mooney 1972, p. 262.
^ The full recording is available at “Hindenburg Disaster: Herb Morrison Reporting,” Radio Days, www.otr.com/hindenburg.shtml (accessed May 21, 2014).
^ "Herb Morrison - Hindenburg Disaster, 1937". National Archive.
^ Fielding, Raymond "The American Newsreel: A Complete History, 1911–1967, 2d ed." Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., (2006) pp. 142–3
^ "How Did They Ever Get That" Photoplay Magazine, October 1937, p.24
^ "Life on the American Newsfront: Amateur Photographs of the Hindenburg's Last Landing". LIFE Magazine. May 17, 1937.
^ Russell, Patrick (May 6, 2015). "Hindenburg Crash – Foo Chu's Amateur Photo Sequence". Projekt LZ 129. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
^ John Duggan and Henry Cord Meyer (2001). Airships in International Affairs, 1890–1940. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0333751282. CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
^ Russell, Patrick. "Allen Orlando Hagaman (1885–1937)". Projekt LZ129. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
^ Russell, Patrick B. "Passengers aboard LZ 129 Hindenburg – May 3–6, 1937." Faces of The Hindenburg, October 25, 2009. Retrieved: April 7, 2012.
^ Grossman, Dan. "The Hindenburg Disaster". Airships.net. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
^ Weber, Bruce. "Werner Franz, survivor of the Hindenburg's crew, dies at 92." The New York Times, August 29, 2014.
^ Frassanelli, Mike "The Hindenburg 75 years later: Memories time cannot erase." The Newark Star-Ledger, May 6, 2012.
^ "Faces of the Hindenburg Captain Max Pruss". December 6, 2008.
^ Russell, Patrock. "Captain Ernst A. Lehmann". Faces of the Hindenburg. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
^ Werthmüller, Andreas. The Hindenburg Disaster. Rüfenacht Switzerland: Swiss Hydrogen Association, February 22, 2006. Archived February 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ a b "Zeppelin plot a possibility, Eckener says." The Pittsburgh Press, May 7, 1937, p. 20.
^ Eckener, Hugo. My Zeppelins. New York: Putnam & Co. Ltd., 1958.
^ Rosendahl, Commander C.E. What About The Airship?. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1938.
^ "Max Pruss." Columbia University's Oral History Research Office interview. Retrieved: September 20, 2010.Archived June 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Hoehling."law.uconn.edu. Retrieved: September 20, 2010.Archived September 24, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ a b National Geographic 2000.
^ Russell, Patrick. "Erich Spehl". Faces of the Hindenburg. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
^ Russell, Patrick. "Colonel Fritz Erdmann". Faces of the Hindenburg. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
^ a b c d e f Hindenburg Disaster: Probable Cause. Moondance Films (2001), also known as Revealed... The Hindenburg Mystery (2002)
^ a b c d "Hindenburg: The Untold Story." Archived April 16, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Smithsonian Channel, broadcast date: May 6, 2007 6.00 pm. Retrieved: April 5, 2015.
^ Archbold 1994; Toland 1972, p. 337.
^ The Sunday Morning Star (May 23, 1937). "Eckener gropes to solve blast". p. 6.
^ "Secrets of the Dead: PBS television documentary on the Hindenburg disaster." pbs.org. Retrieved: September 20, 2010.
^ Robinson, Douglas. LZ-129 Hindenburg. New York: Arco Publishing Co, 1964.
^ "Hindenburg mystery solved 76 years after historic catastrophe: static electricity caused the airship to explode". Daily Mail. March 3, 2013. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
^ Dessler, A. J. (June 2004). "The Hindenburg Hydrogen Fire: Fatal Flaws in the Addison Bain Incendiary-Paint Theory" (PDF). University of Colorado Boulder.
^ "The real cause of the Hindenburg disaster?" Philadelphia Inquirer, May 6, 2007. Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Hindenburg." Archived May 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine balloonlife.com. Retrieved: September 20, 2010.
^ Botting 2001, pp. 249–251.
^ "Thirty-two Seconds." keepgoing.org. Retrieved: September 20, 2010.
^ Dick & Robinson 1985, p. 148.
^ Stromberg, Joseph (May 10, 2012). "What Really Sparked the Hindenburg Disaster?". smithsonianmag.com. Paragraph 6. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
Nobleman, Marc Tyler (2006). The Hindenburg. Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point Books. p. 38.
^ King, Ivan R.; Bedin, Luigi R.; Piotto, Giampaolo; Cassisi, Santi; Anderson, Jay (August 2005). "Color-Magnitude Diagrams and Luminosity Functions Down to the Hydrogen-Burning Limit. III. A Preliminary Hubble Space Telescope Study of NGC 6791". Astronomical Journal. 130 (2): 626–634. arXiv:astro-ph/0504627. doi:10.1086/431327.
^ "Hindenburg Accident Report: U.S. Commerce Department". airships.net. Retrieved September 20, 2010. Taken from the Air Commerce Bulletin of August 15, 1937 (vol. 9, no. 2) published by the United States Department of Commerce.
^ Bain, A., & Van Vorst, W.D. (1999). The Hindenburg tragedy revisited: The fatal flaw found. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 24(5), 399-403. doi: 10.1016/S0360-3199(98)00176-1
^ "Discussion of dope applied to Hindenburg covering." airships.net. Retrieved: September 20, 2010.
^ "Description of rocket fuel." Archived July 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine nasa.gov. Retrieved: September 20, 2010.
^ "What Happened to the Hindenburg?" PBS, June 15, 2001.
^ Archbold 1994.
^ Dessler, A.J. "The Hindenburg Hydrogen Fire: Fatal Flaws in the Addison Bain Incendiary-Paint Theory" (PDF). Retrieved July 29, 2015.
^ "Flammability of Hindenburg Covering." airships.net. Retrieved: September 20, 2010.
^ "MythBusters Episode 70." Discovery Channel, first broadcast, January 10, 2007. Retrieved: May 3, 2009.
^ "WSU Special Collections: Harold G. Dick Exhibit". specialcollections.wichita.edu. Wichita State University Libraries. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
^ a b Russell, Patrick (January 11, 2013). "Das ich nicht…". Projekt LZ129. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
^ a b "Hindenburg fire theories." spot.colorado.edu. Retrieved: September 20, 2010.
^ "Citizen Scientist on the flammable coating (IPT)." sas.org. Retrieved: September 20, 2010. Archived June 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Lakehurst". lakehust.navy.mil. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
^ "Crash Site of the Hindenburg". roadsideamerica.com. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
^ a b "Tours". hlhs.com. Navy Lakehurst Historical Society. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
^ "NAVAIR Lakehurst Fact Sheet". 198.154.24.34/nlweb/. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
Archbold, Rick (1994). Hindenburg: An Illustrated History. Toronto: Viking Studio/Madison Press. ISBN 0-670-85225-2.
Birchall, Frederick (August 1, 1936). "100,000 Hail Hitler; U.S. Athletes Avoid Nazi Salute to Him". The New York Times. p. 1.
Blackwell, Jon (2007). Notorious New Jersey: 100 True Tales of Murders and Mobsters, Scandals and Scoundrels. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-4177-8.
Botting, Douglas (2001). Dr. Eckener's Dream Machine: The Great Zeppelin and the Dawn of Air Travel. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 0-8050-6458-3.
Craats, Rennay (2009). USA: Past, Present, Future-Economy. New York: Weigl Publishers. ISBN 978-1-60596-247-4.
Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei (1937). Airship Voyages Made Easy (16 page booklet for "Hindenburg" passengers). Friedrichshafen, Germany: Luftschiffbau Zeppelin G.m.b.H.
Dick, Harold G.; Robinson, Douglas H. (1985). The Golden Age of the Great Passenger Airships Graf Zeppelin & Hindenburg. Washington, D.C. and London: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 1-56098-219-5.
Duggan, John (2002). LZ 129 "Hindenburg": The Complete Story. Ickenham, UK: Zeppelin Study Group. ISBN 0-9514114-8-9.
Hoehling, A.A (1962). Who Destroyed The Hindenburg?. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-445-08347-6.
Hoffmann, Peter; Harkin, Tom (2002). Tomorrow's Energy. Boston: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-58221-6.
Lehmann, Ernst (1937). Zeppelin: The Story of Lighter-than-air Craft. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
Majoor, Mireille (2000). Inside the Hindenburg. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-12386-2.
Mooney, Michael Macdonald (1972). The Hindenburg. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. ISBN 0-396-06502-3.
National Geographic (2000). Hindenburg's Fiery Secret (DVD). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Video.
Toland, John (1972). The Great Dirigibles: Their Triumphs and Disasters. Boston: Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-21397-2.
Lawson, Don. Engineering Disasters: Lessons to Be Learned. New York: ASME Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0791802304.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hindenburg disaster.
Actual film footage of Hindenburg disaster
The short film Hindenburg Explodes (1937) is available for free download at the Internet Archive
The short film Hindenburg Crash, June 5, 1937 (Disc 2) (1937) is available for free download at the Internet Archive
The short film Universal Newsreel Special Release – Zeppelin Explodes Scores Dead, 1937/05/10 (1937) is available for free download at the Internet Archive
YouTube video: Universal Newsreel – May 10, 1937 Special report on the Hindenburg disaster.
YouTube video of Herb Morrison's famous report synchronized with newsreel footage
Hindenburg disaster – Original reports from The Times (London)
The Hindenburg Makes Her Last Standing at Lakehurst – Life magazine article from 1937
The Hindenburg Disaster – Report of the FBI investigation
The Hindenburg 75 years later: Memories time cannot erase – NJ.com/Star-Ledger article on the 75th anniversary of the Hindenburg disaster
Radio Gives Fast Zeppelin Coverage[permanent dead link] – Broadcasting Magazine (May 15, 1937) article on how radio reported the Hindenburg disaster
Under Fire! – WLS Stand By magazine (May 15, 1937) article on Herb Morrison and his engineer Charlie Nehlsen reporting the Hindenburg disaster
Rocket Fuel, Thermite, and Hydrogen: Myths about the Hindenburg Crash
Airships.net: Discussion of Hindenburg Crash
"Hindenburg & Hydrogen" by Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki
The Hindenburg and Hydrogen: Nonsense from Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki
Thirty-Two Seconds – Article that features rare photos of the disaster, a photograph of the surviving crew and a report on Cabin Boy Werner Franz
"What Happened to the Hindenburg?" Transcript: Secrets of the Dead (June 15, 2001, PBS)
"Passenger and Crew List of the Hindenburg on its final voyage". Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. Retrieved June 30, 2008.
Faces of the Hindenburg: Biographies and photographs of the survivors and victims of the final voyage
Flammable fabric disaster hypothesis
"An Article Supporting the Flammable Fabric Hypothesis". Archived from the original on December 2, 2002. Retrieved June 30, 2008.
Two Articles Rejecting the Flammable Fabric Hypothesis
"An article supporting the engine exhaust spark hypothesis". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved June 30, 2008. CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
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(Redirected from Hip hop culture)
This article is about the culture in general. For the music genre, see Hip hop music. For other uses, see Hip hop (disambiguation).
Two hip hop DJs creating new music by mixing tracks from multiple record players. Pictured are DJ Hypnotize (left) and Baby Cee (right).
Hip hop or hip-hop, is a culture and art movement that was created by African Americans, Latino Americans and Caribbean Americans in the Bronx, New York City. The origin of the name is often disputed. It is also argued as to whether hip hop started in the South or West Bronx.[1][2][3][4][5] While the term hip hop is often used to refer exclusively to hip hop music (also called rap),[6] hip hop is characterized by nine elements, of which only four elements are considered essential to understand hip hop musically. The main elements of hip hop consist of four main pillars. Afrika Bambaataa of the hip hop collective Zulu Nation outlined the pillars of hip hop culture, coining the terms: "rapping" (also called an MC), a rhythmic vocal rhyming style (orality); DJing (and turntablism), which is making music with record players and DJ mixers (aural/sound and music creation); b-boying/b-girling/breakdancing (movement/dance); and graffiti.[7][2][8][9][10] Other elements of hip hop subculture and arts movements beyond the main four are: hip hop culture and historical knowledge of the movement (intellectual/philosophical); beatboxing, a percussive vocal style; street entrepreneurship; hip hop language; and hip hop fashion and style, among others.[11][12][13] The fifth element, although debated, is commonly considered either street knowledge, hip hop fashion, or beatboxing.[2][7]
The Bronx hip hop scene emerged in the mid-1970s from neighborhood block parties thrown by the Black Spades, an African-American group that has been described as being a gang, a club, and a music group. Brother-sister duo Clive Campbell, a.k.a. DJ Kool Herc, and Cindy Campbell additionally hosted DJ parties in the Bronx and are credited for the rise in the genre.[14] Hip hop culture has spread to both urban and suburban communities throughout the United States and subsequently the world.[15] These elements were adapted and developed considerably, particularly as the art forms spread to new continents and merged with local styles in the 1990s and subsequent decades. Even as the movement continues to expand globally and explore myriad styles and art forms, including hip hop theater and hip hop film, the four foundational elements provide coherence and a strong foundation for Hip Hop culture.[2] Hip hop is simultaneously a new and old phenomenon; the importance of sampling tracks, beats, and basslines from old records to the art form means that much of the culture has revolved around the idea of updating classic recordings, attitudes, and experiences for modern audiences. Sampling older culture and reusing it in a new context or a new format is called "flipping" in hip hop culture.[16] Hip hop music follows in the footsteps of earlier African-American-rooted and Latino musical genres such as blues, jazz, rag-time, funk, salsa, and disco to become one of the most practiced genres worldwide.
In 1990, Ronald "Bee-Stinger" Savage, a former member of the Zulu Nation, is credited for coining the term "Six elements of the Hip Hop Movement," inspired by Public Enemy's recordings. The "Six Elements Of The Hip Hop Movement" are: Consciousness Awareness, Civil Rights Awareness, Activism Awareness, Justice, Political Awareness, and Community Awareness in music. Ronald Savage is known as the Son of The Hip Hop Movement.[17][18][19][20][21][22]
In the 2000s, with the rise of new media platforms and Web 2.0, fans discovered and downloaded or streamed hip hop music through social networking sites beginning with Myspace, as well as from websites like YouTube, Worldstarhiphop, SoundCloud, and Spotify.[23][24][25]
Keith "Cowboy" Wiggins, a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, has been credited with coining the term[26] in 1978 while teasing a friend who had just joined the US Army by scat singing the made-up words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers. Cowboy later worked the "hip hop" cadence into his stage performance.[27][28] The group frequently performed with disco artists who would refer to this new type of music by calling them "hip hoppers." The name was originally meant as a sign of disrespect but soon came to identify this new music and culture.[29]
The song "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang, released in 1979, begins with the phrase "I said a hip, hop, the hippie the hippie to the hip hip hop, and you don't stop".[30] Lovebug Starski — a Bronx DJ who put out a single called "The Positive Life" in 1981 — and DJ Hollywood then began using the term when referring to this new disco rap music. Bill Alder, an independent consultant, once said, "There was hardly ever a moment when rap music was underground, one of the very first so-called rap records, was a monster hit ("Rapper's Delight" by the Sugar Hill Gang on Sugarhill Records).[6] Hip hop pioneer and South Bronx community leader Afrika Bambaataa also credits Love-bug Starski as the first to use the term "hip hop" as it relates to the culture. Bambaataa, former leader of the Black Spades, also did much to further popularize the term. The words "hip hop" first appeared in print on September 21, 1982, in The Village Voice in a profile of Bambaataa written by Steven Hager, who also published the first comprehensive history of the culture with St. Martins' Press.[27][31]
DJ Jazzy Jeff, who is also a record producer, manipulating a record turntable in England in 2005.
In the 1970s, an underground urban movement known as "hip hop" began to form in the Bronx, New York City. It focused on emceeing (or MCing) over house parties and neighborhood block party events, held outdoors. Hip hop music has been a powerful medium for protesting the impact of legal institutions on minorities, particularly police and prisons.[32] Historically, hip hop arose out of the ruins of a post-industrial and ravaged South Bronx, as a form of expression of urban Black and Latino youth, whom the public and political discourse had written off as marginalized communities.[32] Jamaican-born DJ Clive "Kool Herc" Campbell[33] pioneered the use of DJing percussion "breaks" in hip hop music. Beginning at Herc's home in a high-rise apartment at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, the movement later spread across the entire borough.[34] On August 11, 1973 DJ Kool Herc was the DJ at his sister's back-to-school party. He extended the beat of a record by using two record players, isolating the percussion "breaks" by using a mixer to switch between the two records. Kool Herc's sister, Cindy Campbell, produced and funded the Back to School Party that became the "Birth of Hip Hop.".[35] Herc's experiments with making music with record players became what we now know as breaking or "scratching."[36]
A second key musical element in hip hop music is emceeing (also called MCing or rapping). Emceeing is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes and wordplay, delivered at first without accompaniment and later done over a beat. This spoken style was influenced by the African American style of "capping," a performance where men tried to outdo each other in originality of their language and tried to gain the favor of the listeners.[37] The basic elements of hip hop—boasting raps, rival "posses" (groups), uptown "throw-downs," and political and social commentary—were all long present in African American music. MCing and rapping performers moved back and forth between the predominance of toasting songs packed with a mix of boasting, 'slackness' and sexual innuendo and a more topical, political, socially conscious style. The role of the MC originally was as a Master of Ceremonies for a DJ dance event. The MC would introduce the DJ and try to pump up the audience. The MC spoke between the DJ's songs, urging everyone to get up and dance. MCs would also tell jokes and use their energetic language and enthusiasm to rev up the crowd. Eventually, this introducing role developed into longer sessions of spoken, rhythmic wordplay, and rhyming, which became rapping.
By 1979 hip hop music had become a mainstream genre. It spread across the world in the 1990s with controversial "gangsta" rap.[38] Herc also developed upon break-beat deejaying,[39] where the breaks of funk songs—the part most suited to dance, usually percussion-based—were isolated and repeated for the purpose of all-night dance parties. This form of music playback, using hard funk and rock, formed the basis of hip hop music. Campbell's announcements and exhortations to dancers would lead to the syncopated, rhymed spoken accompaniment now known as rapping. He dubbed his dancers "break-boys" and "break-girls," or simply b-boys and b-girls. According to Herc, "breaking" was also street slang for "getting excited" and "acting energetically"[40]
DJ Kool Herc is a pioneer in developing hip hop music.
DJs such as Grand Wizzard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash, and Jazzy Jay refined and developed the use of breakbeats, including cutting and scratching.[41] The approach used by Herc was soon widely copied, and by the late 1970s, DJs were releasing 12-inch records where they would rap to the beat. Influential tunes included Fatback Band's "King Tim III (Personality Jock)," The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight," and Kurtis Blow's "Christmas Rappin'," all released in 1979.[42][dead link] Herc and other DJs would connect their equipment to power lines and perform at venues such as public basketball courts and at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, New York, now officially a historic building.[43] The equipment consisted of numerous speakers, turntables, and one or more microphones.[44] By using this technique, DJs could create a variety of music, but according to Rap Attack by David Toop "At its worst the technique could turn the night into one endless and inevitably boring song".[45] KC The Prince of Soul, a rapper-lyricist with Pete DJ Jones, is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC."[46]
Street gangs were prevalent in the poverty of the South Bronx, and much of the graffiti, rapping, and b-boying at these parties were all artistic variations on the competition and one-upmanship of street gangs. Sensing that gang members' often violent urges could be turned into creative ones, Afrika Bambaataa founded the Zulu Nation, a loose confederation of street-dance crews, graffiti artists, and rap musicians. By the late 1970s, the culture had gained media attention, with Billboard magazine printing an article titled "B Beats Bombarding Bronx", commenting on the local phenomenon and mentioning influential figures such as Kool Herc.[47] The New York City blackout of 1977 saw widespread looting, arson, and other citywide disorders especially in the Bronx[48] where a number of looters stole DJ equipment from electronics stores. As a result, the hip hop genre, barely known outside of the Bronx at the time, grew at an astounding rate from 1977 onward.[49]
Afrika Bambaataa with DJ Yutaka of Universal Zulu Nation in 2004
DJ Kool Herc's house parties gained popularity and later moved to outdoor venues in order to accommodate more people. Hosted in parks, these outdoor parties became a means of expression and an outlet for teenagers, where "instead of getting into trouble on the streets, teens now had a place to expend their pent-up energy."[50] Tony Tone, a member of the Cold Crush Brothers, stated that "hip hop saved a lot of lives".[50] For inner-city youth, participating in hip hop culture became a way of dealing with the hardships of life as minorities within America, and an outlet to deal with the risk of violence and the rise of gang culture. MC Kid Lucky mentions that "people used to break-dance against each other instead of fighting".[51][full citation needed] Inspired by DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa created a street organization called Universal Zulu Nation, centered around hip hop, as a means to draw teenagers out of gang life, drugs and violence.[50]
Ronald Savage is the owner of the Hip Hop Movement trademark and is credited for coining the term "Six elements of the Hip Hop Movement"
The lyrical content of many early rap groups focused on social issues, most notably in the seminal track "The Message" (1982) by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, which discussed the realities of life in the housing projects.[52] "Young black Americans coming out of the civil rights movement have used hip hop culture in the 1980s and 1990s to show the limitations of the movement."[53] Hip hop gave young African Americans a voice to let their issues be heard; "Like rock-and-roll, hip hop is vigorously opposed by conservatives because it romanticizes violence, law-breaking, and gangs".[53] It also gave people a chance for financial gain by "reducing the rest of the world to consumers of its social concerns."[53]
In late 1979, Debbie Harry of Blondie took Nile Rodgers of Chic to such an event, as the main backing track used was the break from Chic's "Good Times".[42] The new style influenced Harry, and Blondie's later hit single from 1981 "Rapture" became the first major single containing hip hop elements by a white group or artist to hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100—the song itself is usually considered new wave and fuses heavy pop music elements, but there is an extended rap by Harry near the end.
In 1980, Kurtis Blow released his self-titled debut album featuring the single "The Breaks", which became the first certified gold rap song.[54] In 1982, Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force released the electro-funk track "Planet Rock". Instead of simply rapping over disco beats, Bambaataa and producer Arthur Baker created an electronic sound using the Roland TR-808 drum machine and sampling from Kraftwerk.[55] "Planet Rock" is widely regarded as a turning point; fusing electro with hip hop, it was "like a light being switched on," resulting in a new genre.[56] The track also helped popularize the 808, which became a cornerstone of hip hop music;[57][57] Wired and Slate both described the machine as hip hop's equivalent to the Fender Stratocaster, which had dramatically influenced the development of rock music.[58][59] Released in 1986, Licensed to Ill by the Beastie Boys became the first rap LP to top the Billboard album chart.[60]
Other groundbreaking records released in 1982 include "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, "Nunk" by Warp 9, "Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don't Stop)" by Man Parrish, "Magic Wand" by Whodini, and "Buffalo Gals" by Malcolm McLaren. In 1983, Hashim created the influential electro funk tune "Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)", while Warp 9's "Light Years Away"(1983), "a cornerstone of early 80s beat box afrofuturism", introduced socially conscious themes from a Sci-Fi perspective, paying homage to music pioneer Sun Ra.[61]
Grandmaster Melle Mel.
Encompassing graffiti art, MCing/rapping, DJing and b-boying, hip hop became the dominant cultural movement of the minority-populated urban communities in the 1980s.[62] The 1980s also saw many artists make social statements through hip hop. In 1982, Melle Mel and Duke Bootee recorded "The Message" (officially credited to Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five),[63] a song that foreshadowed the socially conscious statements of Run-DMC's "It's like That" and Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos".[64] During the 1980s, hip hop also embraced the creation of rhythm by using the human body, via the vocal percussion technique of beatboxing. Pioneers such as Doug E. Fresh,[65] Biz Markie and Buffy from the Fat Boys made beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using their mouth, lips, tongue, voice, and other body parts. "Human Beatbox" artists would also sing or imitate turntablism scratching or other instrument sounds.
The appearance of music videos changed entertainment: they often glorified urban neighborhoods.[66] The music video for "Planet Rock" showcased the subculture of hip hop musicians, graffiti artists, and b-boys/b-girls. Many hip hop-related films were released between 1982 and 1985, among them Wild Style, Beat Street, Krush Groove, Breakin, and the documentary Style Wars. These films expanded the appeal of hip hop beyond the boundaries of New York. By 1984, youth worldwide were embracing the hip hop culture. The hip hop artwork and "slang" of U.S. urban communities quickly found its way to Europe, as the culture's global appeal took root.[citation needed] The four traditional dances of hip hop are rocking, b-boying/b-girling, locking and popping, all of which trace their origins to the late 1960s or early 1970s.[67]
Women artists have also been at the forefront of the hip hop movement since its inception in the Bronx. Nevertheless, as gangsta rap became the dominant force in hip hop music, there were many songs with misogynistic (anti-women) lyrics and many music videos depicted women in a sexualized fashion. The negation of female voice and perspective is an issue that has come to define mainstream hip hop music. The recording industry is less willing to back female artists than their male counterparts, and when it does back them, often it places emphasis on their sexuality over their musical substance and artistic abilities.[68] Since the turn of the century, female hip hop artists have struggled to get mainstream attention, with only a few, such as older artists like the female duo Salt N' Pepa to more contemporary ones like Lil' Kim and Nicki Minaj, reaching platinum status.[68]
With the commercial success of gangsta rap in the early 1990s, the emphasis in lyrics shifted to drugs, violence, and misogyny. Early proponents of gangsta rap included groups and artists such as Ice-T, who recorded what some consider to be the first gangster rap record, 6 N' the Mornin',[69] and N.W.A whose second album Niggaz4Life became the first gangsta rap album to enter the charts at number one.[70] Gangsta rap also played an important part in hip hop becoming a mainstream commodity. Considering albums such as N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton, Eazy-E's Eazy-Duz-It, and Ice Cube's Amerikkka's Most Wanted were selling in such high numbers meant that black teens were no longer hip hop's sole buying audience.[71] As a result, gangsta rap became a platform for artists who chose to use their music to spread political and social messages to parts of the country that were previously unaware of the conditions of ghettos.[69] While hip hop music now appeals to a broader demographic, media critics argue that socially and politically conscious hip hop has been largely disregarded by mainstream America.[72]
Global innovationsEdit
British hip hop artist and poet Kate Tempest performs her signature piece "Let Them Eat Chaos" at the 2017 Treefort Music Fest in Boise, Idaho.
According to the U.S. Department of State, hip hop is "now the center of a mega music and fashion industry around the world" that crosses social barriers and cuts across racial lines.[73] National Geographic recognizes hip hop as "the world's favorite youth culture" in which "just about every country on the planet seems to have developed its own local rap scene."[74] Through its international travels, hip hop is now considered a "global musical epidemic".[75] According to The Village Voice, hip hop is "custom-made to combat the anomie that preys on adolescents wherever nobody knows their name."[76]
Hip hop sounds and styles differ from region to region, but there are also instances of fusion genres.[77] Hip hop culture has grown from the avoided genre to a genre that is followed by millions of fans worldwide. This was made possible by the adaptation of music in different locations, and the influence on style of behavior and dress.[78] Not all countries have embraced hip hop, where "as can be expected in countries with strong local culture, the interloping wildstyle of hip hop is not always welcomed".[79] This is somewhat the case in Jamaica, the homeland of the culture's father, DJ Kool Herc. However, despite hip hop music produced on the island lacking widespread local and international recognition, artists such as Five Steez have defied the odds by impressing online hip hop taste-makers and even reggae critics.[80]
Hartwig Vens argues that hip hop can also be viewed as a global learning experience.[81] Author Jeff Chang argues that "the essence of hip hop is the cipher, born in the Bronx, where competition and community feed each other."[82] He also adds, "Thousands of organizers from Cape Town to Paris use hip hop in their communities to address environmental justice, policing and prisons, media justice, and education.".[83] While hip hop music has been criticized as a music that creates a divide between western music and music from the rest of the world, a musical "cross pollination" has taken place, which strengthens the power of hip hop to influence different communities.[84] Hip hop's messages allow the under-privileged and the mistreated to be heard.[81] These cultural translations cross borders.[83] While the music may be from a foreign country, the message is something that many people can relate to- something not "foreign" at all.[85]
Even when hip hop is transplanted to other countries, it often retains its "vital progressive agenda that challenges the status quo."[83] In Gothenburg, Sweden, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) incorporate graffiti and dance to engage disaffected immigrant and working class youths. Hip hop has played a small but distinct role as the musical face of revolution in the Arab Spring, one example being an anonymous Libyan musician, Ibn Thabit, whose anti-government songs fueled the rebellion.[86]
CommercializationEdit
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Rapper, entrepreneur and executive Jay-Z emphasizes his wealth.
In the early-to-mid 1980s, there wasn't an established hip hop music industry, as exists in the 2010s, with record labels, record producers, managers and Artists and Repertoire staff. Politicians and businesspeople maligned and ignored the hip hop movement. Most hip hop artists performed in their local communities and recorded in underground scenes. However, in the late 1980s, music industry executives realized that they could capitalize on the success of "gangsta rap." They made a formula that created "a titillating buffet of hypermasculinity and glorified violence." This type of rap was marketed to the new fan base: white males. They ignored the depictions of a harsh reality to focus on the sex and violence involved.[87]
In an article for The Village Voice, Greg Tate argues that the commercialization of hip hop is a negative and pervasive phenomenon, writing that "what we call hiphop is now inseparable from what we call the hip hop industry, in which the nouveau riche and the super-rich employers get richer".[53] Ironically, this commercialization coincides with a decline in rap sales and pressure from critics of the genre.[88] Even other musicians, like Nas and KRS-ONE have claimed "hip hop is dead" in that it has changed so much over the years to cater to the consumer that it has lost the essence for which it was originally created.
However, in his book In Search Of Africa,[89] Manthia Diawara states that hip hop is really a voice of people who are marginalized in modern society. He argues that the "worldwide spread of hip hop as a market revolution" is actually global "expression of poor people's desire for the good life," and that this struggle aligns with "the nationalist struggle for citizenship and belonging, but also reveals the need to go beyond such struggles and celebrate the redemption of the black individual through tradition." The problem may not be that female rappers do not have the same opportunities and recognition as their male counterparts; it may be that the music industry that is so defined by gender biases. Industry executives seem to bet on the idea that men won't want to listen to female rappers, so they are given fewer opportunities.[90]
As the hip hop genre has changed since the 1980s, the African-American cultural "tradition" that Diawara describes has little place in hip hop's mainstream artists music. The push toward materialism and market success by contemporary rappers such as Rick Ross, Lil Wayne and Jay Z has irked older hip hop fans and artists. They see the genre losing its community-based feel that focused more on black empowerment than wealth. The commercialization of the genre stripped it of its earlier political nature and the politics and marketing plans of major record labels have forced rappers to craft their music and images to appeal to white, affluent and suburban audiences.
After realizing her friends were making music but not getting television exposure other than what was seen on Video Music Box, Darlene Lewis (model/lyricist), along with Darryl Washington and Dean Carroll, brought hip hop music to the First Exposure cable show on Paragon cable, and then created the On Broadway television show. There, rappers had opportunities to be interviewed and have their music videos played. This pre-dated MTV or Video Soul on BET. The commercialization has made hip hop less edgy and authentic, but it also has enabled hip hop artists to become successful.[91]
As top rappers grow wealthier and start more outside business ventures, this can indicate a stronger sense of black aspiration. As rappers such as Jay-Z and Kanye West establish themselves as artists and entrepreneurs, more young black people have hopes of achieving their goals.[92] The lens through which one views the genre's commercialization can make it seem positive or negative.[93]
White and Latino pop rappers such as Macklemore, Iggy Azalea, Machine Gun Kelly, Eminem, Miley Cyrus, G-Eazy, Pitbull, Lil Pump, and Post Malone have often been criticized for commercializing hip hop and cultural appropriation.[94] Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry, although not rappers, have been accused of cultural appropriation and commercializing hip hop. Katy Perry, a white woman, was criticized for her hip hop song "Dark Horse".[95] Taylor Swift was also accused of cultural appropriation.[96]
CultureEdit
DJing and turntablism, MCing/rapping, breakdancing, graffiti art and beatboxing are the creative outlets that collectively make up hip hop culture and its revolutionary aesthetic. Like the blues, these arts were developed by African American communities to enable people to make a statement, whether political or emotional and participate in community activities. These practices spread globally around the 1980s as fans could "make it their own" and express themselves in new and creative ways in music, dance and other arts.[97]
DJingEdit
DJ Q-bert manipulating a record turntable at a turntablism competition in France in 2006.
DJing and turntablism are the techniques of manipulating sounds and creating music and beats using two or more phonograph turntables (or other sound sources, such as tapes, CDs or digital audio files) and a DJ mixer that is plugged into a PA system.[98] One of the first few hip hop DJs was Kool DJ Herc, who created hip hop in the 1970s through the isolation and extending of "breaks" (the parts of albums that focused solely on the percussive beat). In addition to developing Herc's techniques, DJs Grandmaster Flowers, Grandmaster Flash, Grand Wizzard Theodore, and Grandmaster Caz made further innovations with the introduction of "scratching", which has become one of the key sounds associated with hip hop music.
Traditionally, a DJ will use two turntables simultaneously and mix between the two. These are connected to a DJ mixer, an amplifier, speakers, and various electronic music equipment such as a microphone and effects units. The DJ mixes the two albums currently in rotation and/or does "scratching" by moving one of the record platters while manipulating the crossfader on the mixer. The result of mixing two records is a unique sound created by the seemingly combined sound of two separate songs into one song. Although there is considerable overlap between the two roles, a DJ is not the same as a record producer of a music track.[99] The development of DJing was also influenced by new turntablism techniques, such as beatmatching, a process facilitated by the introduction of new turntable technologies such as the Technics SL-1200 MK 2, first sold in 1978, which had a precise variable pitch control and a direct drive motor. DJs were often avid record collectors, who would hunt through used record stores for obscure soul records and vintage funk recordings. DJs helped to introduce rare records and new artists to club audiences.
DJ Pete Rock mixing with two turntables.
In the early years of hip hop, the DJs were the stars, as they created new music and beats with their record players. While DJing and turntablism continue to be used in hip hop music in the 2010s, the star role has increasingly been taken by MCs since the late 1970s, due to innovative, creative MCs such as Kurtis Blow and Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash's crew, the Furious Five, who developed strong rapping skills. However, a number of DJs have gained stardom nonetheless in recent years. Famous DJs include Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Mr. Magic, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Charlie Chase, DJ Disco Wiz, DJ Scratch from EPMD, DJ Premier from Gang Starr, DJ Scott La Rock from Boogie Down Productions, DJ Pete Rock of Pete Rock & CL Smooth, DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill, Jam Master Jay from Run-DMC, Eric B., DJ Screw from the Screwed Up Click and the inventor of the Chopped & Screwed style of mixing music, Funkmaster Flex, Tony Touch, DJ Clue, Mix Master Mike, Touch-Chill-Out, DJ Red Alert, and DJ Q-Bert. The underground movement of turntablism has also emerged to focus on the skills of the DJ. In the 2010s, there are turntablism competitions, where turntablists demonstrate advanced beat juggling and scratching skills.
MCingEdit
Rapper Busta Rhymes performs in Las Vegas for a BET party
Rapping (also known as emceeing,[100] MCing,[100] spitting (bars),[101] or just rhyming[102]) refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics with a strong rhythmic accompaniment".[103] Rapping typically features complex wordplay, rapid delivery, and a range of "street slang", some of which is unique to the hip hop subculture. While rapping is often done over beats, either done by a DJ, a beatboxer, it can also be done without accompaniment. It can be broken down into different components, such as "content", "flow" (rhythm and rhyme), and "delivery".[104] Rapping is distinct from spoken word poetry in that it is performed in time to the beat of the music.[105][106][107] The use of the word "rap" to describe quick and slangy speech or witty repartee long predates the musical form.[108] MCing is a form of expression that is embedded within ancient African and Indigenous culture and oral tradition as throughout history verbal acrobatics or jousting involving rhymes were common within the Afro-American and Latino-American community.[109]
GraffitiEdit
An aerosol paint can, a common tool used in modern graffiti
Graffiti is the most controversial of hip hop's elements, as a number of the most notable graffiti pioneers say that they do not consider graffiti to be an element of hip hop, including Lady Pink, Seen, Blade, Fargo, Cholly Rock, Fuzz One, and Coco 144.[110][111][112] Lady Pink says, "I don't think graffiti is hip hop. Frankly I grew up with disco music. There's a long background of graffiti as an entity unto itself,"[113][114] and Fargo says, "There is no correlation between hip hop and graffiti, one has nothing to do with the other."[110][112][115] Hip hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash has also questioned the connection between hip hop and graffiti, saying, "You know what bugs me, they put hip hop with graffiti. How do they intertwine?"[115][116][117]
In America in the late 1960s, graffiti was used as a form of expression by political activists. Gangs such as the Savage Skulls, La Familia, and Savage Nomads used graffiti to mark territory. JULIO 204 was a Puerto Rican graffiti writer, one of the first graffiti writers in New York City. He was a member of the "Savage Skulls" gang, and started writing his nickname in his neighborhood as early as 1968. In 1971 the New York Times published an article ("'Taki 183' Spawns Pen Pals") about another graffiti writer with similar form, TAKI 183. According to the article Julio had been writing for a couple of years when Taki began tagging his own name all around the city. Taki also states in the article that Julio "was busted and stopped." Writers following in the wake of Taki and Tracy 168 would add their street number to their nickname, "bomb" (cover) a train with their work, and let the subway take it—and their fame, if it was impressive, or simply pervasive, enough—"all city". Julio 204 never rose to Taki's fame because Julio kept his tags localized to his own neighborhood.
Phase 2 is an influential graffiti artist who began painting in the 1970s.
One of the most common forms of graffiti is tagging, or the act of stylizing your unique name or logo.[118] Tagging began in Philadelphia and New York City and has expanded worldwide. Spray painting public property or the property of others without their consent can be considered vandalism, and the "tagger" may be subject to arrest and prosecution for the criminal act. Whether legal or not, the hip hop culture considers tagging buildings, trains, bridges and other structures as visual art, and consider the tags as part of a complex symbol system with its own social codes and subculture rules. Such art is in some cases now subject to federal protection in the US, making its erasure illegal.[119]
Bubble lettering held sway initially among writers from the Bronx, though the elaborate Brooklyn style Tracy 168 dubbed "wildstyle" would come to define the art.[120][121] The early trend-setters were joined in the 1970s by artists like Dondi, Futura 2000, Daze, Blade, Lee, Fab Five Freddy, Zephyr, Rammellzee, Crash, Kel, NOC 167 and Lady Pink.[120]
The relationship between graffiti and hip hop culture arises both from early graffiti artists engaging in other aspects of hip hop culture,[122] Graffiti is understood as a visual expression of rap music, just as breaking is viewed as a physical expression. The 1983 film Wild Style is widely regarded as the first hip hop motion picture, which featured prominent figures within the New York graffiti scene during the said period. The book Subway Art and the documentary Style Wars were also among the first ways the mainstream public were introduced to hip hop graffiti. Graffiti remains part of hip hop, while crossing into the mainstream art world with exhibits in galleries throughout the world.
BreakdancingEdit
B Boy executing a freeze
Breaking, an early form of hip hop dance, often involves dance battles, showing off technical skills, trying to out-do a rival dancer, and displaying tongue-in-cheek bravado.
Breaking, also called B-boying/B-girling or breakdancing, is a dynamic, rhythmic style of dance which developed as one of the major elements of hip hop culture. Like many aspects of hip hop culture, breakdance borrows heavily from many cultures, including 1930s-era street dancing,[123][124] Brazilian and Asian Martial arts, Russian folk dance,[125] and the dance moves of James Brown, Michael Jackson, and California funk. Breaking took form in the South Bronx in the 1970s alongside the other elements of hip hop. Breakdancing is typically done with the accompaniment of hip hop music playing on a boom box or PA system.
A silhouette shows a man break dancing. One of the 4 elements of hip hop.
According to the 2002 documentary film The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-Boy, DJ Kool Herc describes the "B" in B-boy as short for breaking, which at the time was slang for "going off", also one of the original names for the dance. However, early on the dance was known as the "boing" (the sound a spring makes). Dancers at DJ Kool Herc's parties saved their best dance moves for the percussion break section of the song, getting in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive, frenetic style. The "B" in B-boy or B-girl also stands simply for break, as in break-boy or -girl. Before the 1990s, B-girls' presence was limited by their gender minority status, navigating sexual politics of a masculine-dominated scene, and a lack of representation or encouragement for women to participate in the form. The few B-girls who participated despite facing gender discrimination carved out a space for women as leaders within the breaking community, and the number of B-girls participating has increased.[126] Breaking was documented in Style Wars, and was later given more focus in fictional films such as Wild Style and Beat Street. Early acts “mainly Latino Americans” include the Rock Stea[127]dy Crew and New York City Break[citation needed]ers.
BeatboxingEdit
Biz Markie is noted for his beatboxing skills. He is holding the mic close to his mouth, a technique beatboxers use to imitate deep basslines and bass drums, by exploiting the proximity effect.
Beatboxing is the technique of vocal percussion, in which a singer imitates drums and other percussion instruments with her or his voice. It is primarily concerned with the art of creating beats or rhythms using the human mouth.[128] The term beatboxing is derived from the mimicry of the first generation of drum machines, then known as beatboxes. It was first popularized by Doug E. Fresh.[129] As it is a way of creating hip hop music, it can be categorized under the production element of hip hop, though it does sometimes include a type of rapping intersected with the human-created beat. It is generally considered to be part of the same "Pillar" of hip hop as DJing—in other words, providing a musical backdrop or foundation for MC's to rap over.
Beatboxers can create their beats just naturally, but many of the beatboxing effects are enhanced by using a microphone plugged into a PA system. This helps the beatboxer to make their beatboxing loud enough to be heard alongside a rapper, MC, turntablist, and other hip hop artists. Beatboxing was popular in the 1980s with prominent artists like the Darren "Buffy, the Human Beat Box" Robinson of the Fat Boys and Biz Markie displaying their skills within the media. It declined in popularity along with b-boying in the late 1980s, but has undergone a resurgence since the late 1990s, marked by the release of "Make the Music 2000." by Rahzel of The Roots.
Beatmaking/producingEdit
A typical rap drum beat, written in drum notation.
Although it is not described as one of the four core elements that make up hip hop, music producing is another important element. In music, record producers play a similar role in sound recording that film directors play in making a movie. The record producer recruits and selects artists (rappers, MCs, DJs, beatboxers, and so on), plans the vision for the recording session, coaches the performers on their songs, chooses audio engineers, sets out a budget for hiring the artists and technical experts, and oversees the entire project. The exact roles of a producer depend on each individual, but some producers work with DJs and drum machine programmers to create beats, coach the DJs in the selection of sampled basslines, riffs and catch phrases, give advice to rappers, vocalists, MCs and other artists, give suggestions to performers on how to improve their flow and develop a unique personal style. Some producers work closely with the audio engineer to provide ideas on mixing, effects units (e.g., Autotuned vocal effects such as those popularized by T-Pain), micing of artists, and so on. The producer may independently develop the "concept" or vision for a project or album, or develop the vision in collaboration with the artists and performers.
Hip hop producer Chilly Chill behind a large audio console in a recording studio.
In hip hop, since the beginning of MCing, there have been producers who work in the studio, behind the scenes, to create the beats for MCs to rap over. Producers may find a beat they like on an old funk, soul, or disco record. They then isolate the beat and turn it into a loop. Alternatively, producers may create a beat with a drum machine or by hiring a drumkit percussionist to play acoustic drums. The producer could even mix and layer different methods, such as combining a sampled disco drum break with a drum machine track and some live, newly recorded percussion parts or a live electric bass player. A beat created by a hip hop producer may include other parts besides a drum beat, such as a sampled bassline from a funk or disco song, dialogue from a spoken word record or movie, or rhythmic "scratching" and "punches" done by a turntablist or DJ.
An early beat maker was producer Kurtis Blow, who won producer of the year credits in 1983, 1984, and 1985. Known for the creation of sample and sample loops, Blow was considered the Quincy Jones of early hip hop, a reference to the prolific African American record producer, conductor, arranger, composer, musician and bandleader. One of the most influential beat makers was J. Dilla, a producer from Detroit who chopped samples by specific beats and would combine them together to create his unique sound. Those who create these beats are known as either beat makers or producers, however producers are known to have more input and direction on the overall the creation of a song or project, while a beat maker just provides or creates the beat. As Dr. Dre has said before "Once you finish the beat, you have to produce the record."[130] The process of making beats includes sampling, "chopping", looping, sequencing beats, recording, mixing, and mastering.
Most beats in hip hop are sampled from a pre-existing record. This means that a producer will take a portion or a "sample" of a song and reuse it as an instrumental section, beat or portion of their song. Some examples of this are The Isley Brothers' "Footsteps in the Dark Pts. 1 and 2" being sampled to make Ice Cube's "Today Was a Good Day".[131] Another example is Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness" being sampled to create the song "Otis", released in 2011, by Kanye West and Jay-Z.[132]
"Chopping" is dissecting the song that you are sampling so that you "chop" out the part or parts of the song, be that the bassline, rhythm guitar part, drum break, or other music, you want to use in the beat.[133] Looping is known as melodic or percussive sequence that repeats itself over a period of time, so basically a producer will make an even-number of bars of a beat (e.g., four bars or eight bars) repeat itself or "loop" of a full song length. This loop provides an accompaniment for an MC to rap over.
While hip hop music makes a significant use of sampling old records, using turntables and drum machines to create beats, producers use electric and acoustic instruments on some songs. Pictured is an electric bass player at a hip hop show.
The tools needed to make beats in the late 1970s were funk, soul, and other music genre records, record turntables, DJ mixers, audio consoles, and relatively inexpensive Portastudio-style multitrack recording devices. In the 1980s and 1990s, beat makers and producers used the new electronic and digital instruments that were developed, such as samplers, sequencers, drum machines, and synthesizers. From the 1970s to the 2010s, various beat makers and producers have used live instruments, such as drum kit or electric bass on some tracks. To record the finished beats or beat tracks, beat makers and producers use a variety of sound recording equipment, typically multitrack recorders. Digital Audio Workstations, also known as DAWs, became more common in the 2010s for producers. Some of the most used DAWs are FL Studio, Ableton Live, and Pro Tools.
DAWs have made it possible for more people to be able to make beats in their own home studio, without going to a recording studio. Beat makers who own DAWs do not have to buy all the hardware that a recording studio needed in the 1980s (huge 72 channel audio consoles, multitrack recorders, racks of rackmount effects units), because 2010-era DAWs have everything they need to make beats on a good quality, fast laptop computer.[134]
Beats are such an integral part of rap music that many producers have been able to make instrumental mixtapes or albums. Even though these instrumentals have no rapping, listeners still enjoy the inventive ways the producer mixes different beats, samples and instrumental melodies. Examples of these are 9th Wonder's "Tutenkhamen" and J Dilla's "Donuts". Some hip hop records come in two versions: a beat with rapping over it, and an instrumental with just the beat. The instrumental in this case is provided so that DJs and turntablists can isolate breaks, beats and other music to create new songs.
Social impactEdit
EffectsEdit
A b-boy performing in San Francisco
Hip hop has made a considerable social impact since its inception in the 1970s. "Hip hop has also become relevant to the field of education because of its implications for understanding language, learning, identity, and curriculum."[135] Orlando Patterson, a sociology professor at Harvard University, helps describe the phenomenon of how hip hop has spread rapidly around the world. Patterson argues that mass communication is controlled by the wealthy, the government, and major businesses in Third World nations and countries around the world.[136] He also credits mass communication with creating a global cultural hip hop scene. As a result, the youth are influenced by the American hip hop scene and start their own forms of hip hop. Patterson believes that revitalization of hip hop music will occur around the world as traditional values are mixed with American hip hop music,[136] and ultimately a global exchange process will develop that brings youth around the world to listen to a common musical form of hip hop.
It has also been argued that rap music formed as a "cultural response to historic oppression and racism, a system for communication among black communities throughout the United States".[137] This is due to the fact that the culture reflected the social, economic and political realities of the disenfranchised youth. In the 2010s, hip hop lyrics are starting to reflect original socially conscious themes. Rappers are starting to question the government's power and its oppressive role in some societies.[138] Rap music has been a tool for political, social, and cultural empowerment outside the US. Members of minority communities—such as Algerians in France, and Turks in Germany—use rap as a platform to protest racism, poverty, and social structures.[139]
LanguageEdit
The development of hip hop linguistics is complex. Source material include the spirituals of slaves arriving in the new world, Jamaican dub music, the laments of jazz and blues singers, patterned cockney slang and radio deejays hyping their audience using rhymes.[140] Hip hop has a distinctive associated slang.[141] It is also known by alternate names, such as "Black English", or "Ebonics". Academics suggest its development stems from a rejection of the racial hierarchy of language, which held "White English" as the superior form of educated speech.[142] Due to hip hop's commercial success in the late 1990s and early 2000s, many of these words have been assimilated into the cultural discourse of several different dialects across America and the world and even to non-hip hop fans.[143] The word diss for example is particularly prolific. There are also a number of words which predate hip hop, but are often associated with the culture, with homie being a notable example. Sometimes, terms like what the dilly, yo are popularized by a single song (in this case, "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" by Busta Rhymes) and are only used briefly. One particular example is the rule-based slang of Snoop Dogg and E-40, who add -izzle or -izz to the end or middle of words.
Hip hop lyricism has gained a measure of legitimacy in academic and literary circles. Studies of hip hop linguistics are now offered at institutions such as the University of Toronto, where poet and author George Eliot Clarke has taught the potential power of hip hop music to promote social change.[140] Greg Thomas of the University of Miami offers courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level studying the feminist and assertive nature of Lil' Kim's lyrics.[144] Some academics, including Ernest Morrell and Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade, compare hip hop to the satirical works of great "Western canon" poets of the modern era, who use imagery and create a mood to criticize society. As quoted in their work "Promoting Academic Literacy with Urban Youth Through Engaging Hip Hop Culture":
Hip hop texts are rich in imagery and metaphors and can be used to teach irony, tone, diction, and point of view. Hip hop texts can be analyzed for theme, motif, plot, and character development. Both Grand Master Flash and T.S. Eliot gazed out into their rapidly deteriorating societies and saw a "wasteland." Both poets were essentially apocalyptic in nature as they witnessed death, disease, and decay.[145]
Hip Hop lyrics have also been known for containing swear words. In particular, the word "bitch" is seen in countless songs, from NWA's "A Bitch Iz a bitch" to Missy Elliot's "She is a Bitch." It is often used in the negative connotation of a woman who is a shallow "money grubber". Some female artists have tried to reclaim the word and use it as a term of empowerment. Regardless, the hip hop community has recently taken an interest in discussing the use of the word "bitch" and whether it is necessary in rap.[146] Not only the particular words, but also the choice of which language in which rap is widely debated topic in international hip hop. In Canada, the use of non-standard variants of French, such as Franglais, a mix of French and English, by groups such as Dead Obies[147] or Chiac (such as Radio Radio[148]) has powerful symbolic implications for Canadian language politics and debates on Canadian identity. In the United States rappers choose to rap in English, Spanish, or Spanglish, depending on their own backgrounds and their intended audience.[149]
CensorshipEdit
A graffiti artist uses his artwork to make a satirical social statement on censorship: "Don't blame yourself ... blame hip hop!"
Hip hop music has been censored on radio and TV due to the explicit lyrics of certain genres. Many songs have been criticized for anti-establishment and sometimes violent messages. The use of profanity as well as graphic depictions of violence and sex in hip hop music videos and songs makes it hard to broadcast on television stations such as MTV, in music video form, and on radio. As a result, many hip hop recordings are broadcast in censored form, with offending language "bleeped" or blanked out of the soundtrack, or replaced with "clean" lyrics. The result – which sometimes renders the remaining lyrics unintelligible or contradictory to the original recording – has become almost as widely identified with the genre as any other aspect of the music, and has been parodied in films such as Austin Powers in Goldmember, in which Mike Myers' character Dr. Evil – performing in a parody of a hip hop music video ("Hard Knock Life" by Jay-Z) – performs an entire verse that is blanked out. In 1995, Roger Ebert wrote:[150]
Rap has a bad reputation in white circles, where many people believe it consists of obscene and violent anti-white and anti-female guttural. Some of it does. Most does not. Most white listeners don't care; they hear black voices in a litany of discontent, and tune out. Yet rap plays the same role today as Bob Dylan did in 1960, giving voice to the hopes and angers of a generation, and a lot of rap is powerful writing.
In 1990, Luther Campbell and his group 2 Live Crew filed a lawsuit against Broward County Sheriff Nick Navarro, because Navarro wanted to prosecute stores that sold the group's album As Nasty As They Wanna Be because of its obscene and vulgar lyrics. In June 1990, a U.S. district court judge labeled the album obscene and illegal to sell. However, in 1992, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overturned the obscenity ruling from Judge Gonzalez, and the Supreme Court of the United States refused to hear Broward County's appeal. Professor Louis Gates testified on behalf of The 2 Live Crew, arguing that the material that the county alleged was profane actually had important roots in African-American vernacular, games, and literary traditions and should be protected.[151]
Many black rappers--including Ice-T and Sister Souljah--contend that they are being unfairly singled out because their music reflects deep changes in society not being addressed anywhere else in the public forum. The white politicians, the artists complain, neither understand the music nor desire to hear what's going on in the devastated communities that gave birth to the art form.
—Chuck Philips, Los Angeles Times, 1992[152]
Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop that reflects the violent culture of inner-city American black youths.[153] The genre was pioneered in the mid-1980s by rappers such as Schoolly D and Ice-T, and was popularized in the later part of the 1980s by groups such as N.W.A. Ice-T released "6 in the Mornin'", which is often regarded as the first gangsta rap song, in 1986. After the national attention that Ice-T and N.W.A created in the late 1980s and early 1990s, gangsta rap became the most commercially lucrative subgenre of hip hop.
N.W.A is the group most frequently associated with the founding of gangsta rap. Their lyrics were more violent, openly confrontational, and shocking than those of established rap acts, featuring incessant profanity and, controversially, use of the word "nigga". These lyrics were placed over rough, rock guitar-driven beats, contributing to the music's hard-edged feel. The first blockbuster gangsta rap album was N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton, released in 1988. Straight Outta Compton would establish West Coast hip hop as a vital genre, and establish Los Angeles as a legitimate rival to hip hop's long-time capital, New York City. Straight Outta Compton sparked the first major controversy regarding hip hop lyrics when their song "Fuck tha Police" earned a letter from FBI Assistant Director Milt Ahlerich, strongly expressing law enforcement's resentment of the song.[154][155]
Controversy surrounded Ice-T's song "Cop Killer" from the album Body Count. The song was intended to speak from the viewpoint of a criminal getting revenge on racist, brutal cops. Ice-T's rock song infuriated government officials, the National Rifle Association and various police advocacy groups.[156] Consequently, Time Warner Music refused to release Ice-T's upcoming album Home Invasion because of the controversy surrounding "Cop Killer". Ice-T suggested that the furor over the song was an overreaction, telling journalist Chuck Philips "... they've done movies about nurse killers and teacher killers and student killers. [Actor] Arnold Schwarzenegger blew away dozens of cops as the Terminator. But I don't hear anybody complaining about that." Ice-T suggested to Philips that the misunderstanding of "Cop Killer" and the attempts to censor it had racial overtones: "The Supreme Court says it's OK for a white man to burn a cross in public. But nobody wants a black man to write a record about a cop killer."[156]
The White House administrations of both George Bush senior and Bill Clinton criticized the genre.[152] "The reason why rap is under attack is because it exposes all the contradictions of American culture ... What started out as an underground art form has become a vehicle to expose a lot of critical issues that are not usually discussed in American politics. The problem here is that the White House and wanna-be's like Bill Clinton represent a political system that never intends to deal with inner city urban chaos," Sister Souljah told The Times.[152] Until its discontinuation on July 8, 2006, BET ran a late-night segment titled BET: Uncut to air nearly-uncensored videos. The show was exemplified by music videos such as "Tip Drill" by Nelly, which was criticized for what many viewed as an exploitative depiction of women, particularly images of a man swiping a credit card between a stripper's buttocks.
Public Enemy's "Gotta Give the Peeps What They Need" was censored on MTV, removing the words "free Mumia".[157] After the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Oakland, California group The Coup was under fire for the cover art on their album Party Music, which featured the group's two members holding a guitar tuner and two sticks[158] as the Twin Towers exploded behind them despite the fact that it was created months before the actual event. The group, having politically radical and Marxist lyrical content, said the cover meant to symbolize the destruction of capitalism. Their record label pulled the album until a new cover could be designed.
Product placement and endorsementsEdit
Potato chip packages featuring hip hop-design images (showing Lil Romeo and based on the film Honey)
Critics such as Businessweek's David Kiley argue that the discussion of products within hip hop culture may actually be the result of undisclosed product placement deals.[159] Such critics allege that shilling or product placement takes place in commercial rap music, and that lyrical references to products are actually paid endorsements.[159] In 2005, a proposed plan by McDonald's to pay rappers to advertise McDonald's products in their music was leaked to the press.[159] After Russell Simmons made a deal with Courvoisier to promote the brand among hip hop fans, Busta Rhymes recorded the song "Pass the Courvoisier".[159] Simmons insists that no money changed hands in the deal.[159]
LL Cool J in front of a Coca-Cola billboard at a festival sponsored by the soda pop company.
The symbiotic relationship has also stretched to include car manufacturers, clothing designers and sneaker companies,[160] and many other companies have used the hip hop community to make their name or to give them credibility. One such beneficiary was Jacob the Jeweler, a diamond merchant from New York. Jacob Arabo's clientele included Sean Combs, Lil' Kim and Nas. He created jewelry pieces from precious metals that were heavily loaded with diamond and gemstones. As his name was mentioned in the song lyrics of his hip hop customers, his profile quickly rose. Arabo expanded his brand to include gem-encrusted watches that retail for hundreds of thousands of dollars, gaining so much attention that Cartier filed a trademark-infringement lawsuit against him for putting diamonds on the faces of their watches and reselling them without permission.[161] Arabo's profile increased steadily until his June 2006 arrest by the FBI on money laundering charges.[162]
Rapper Dr Dre has endorsed a line of headphones and other audio gear called "beats", which bear his name.
While some brands welcome the support of the hip hop community, one brand that did not was Cristal champagne maker Louis Roederer. A 2006 article from The Economist magazine featured remarks from managing director Frederic Rouzaud about whether the brand's identification with rap stars could affect their company negatively. His answer was dismissive: "That's a good question, but what can we do? We can't forbid people from buying it. I'm sure Dom Pérignon or Krug [champagne] would be delighted to have their business."[163] In retaliation, many hip hop icons such as Jay-Z and Sean Combs, who previously included references to "Cris", ceased all mentions and purchases of the champagne. 50 Cent's deal with Vitamin Water, Dr. Dre's promotion of his Beats by Dr. Dre headphone line and Dr. Pepper, and Drake's commercial with Sprite are successful deals. Although product placement deals were not popular in the 1980s, MC Hammer was an early innovator in this type of strategy. With merchandise such as dolls, commercials for soft drinks and numerous television show appearances, Hammer began the trend of rap artists being accepted as mainstream pitchpeople for brands.[164]
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Hip hop culture has had extensive coverage in the media, especially in relation to television; there have been a number of television shows devoted to or about hip hop, including in Europe ("H.I.P. H.O.P." in 1984). For many years, BET was the only television channel likely to play hip hop, but in recent years[when?] the channels VH1 and MTV have added a significant amount of hip hop to their play list. Run DMC became the first African American group to appear on MTV.[165][166] With the emergence of the Internet, a number of online sites began to offer hip hop related video content.
MagazinesEdit
Hip hop magazines describe hip hop's culture, including information about rappers and MCs, new hip hop music, concerts, events, fashion and history. The first hip hop publication, The Hip Hop Hit List was published in the 1980s. It contained the first rap music record chart. It was put out by two brothers from Newark, New Jersey, Vincent and Charles Carroll (who was also in a hip hop group known as The Nastee Boyz). They knew the art form very well and noticed the need for a hip hop magazine. DJs and rappers did not have a way to learn about rap music styles and labels. The periodical began as the first Rap record chart and tip sheet for DJs and was distributed through national record pools and record stores throughout the New York City Tri-State area. One of the founding publishers, Charles Carroll noted, "Back then, all DJs came into New York City to buy their records but most of them did not know what was hot enough to spend money on, so we charted it." Jae Burnett became Vincent Carroll's partner and played an instrumental role in its later development.
The German hip hop magazine Juice.
Another popular hip hop magazine that arose in the 1980s was Word Up magazine, an American magazine catering to the youth with an emphasis on hip hop. It featured articles on what is like to be a part of the hip hop community, promoted up-coming albums, bringing awareness to the projects that the artist was involved in, and also included posters of trending celebrities within the world of Hip Hop. The magazine was published monthly and mainly concerning rap, Hip Hop and R&B music. Word Up magazine was highly popular, it was even mentioned in the popular song by The Notorious B.I.G - Juicy "it was all a dream, use to read WordUp magazine". Word Up magazine was a part of pop culture.
New York tourists from abroad took the publication back home with them to other countries to share it, creating worldwide interest in the culture and new art form.[citation needed] It had a printed distribution of 50,000, a circulation rate of 200,000 with well over 25,000 subscribers. The "Hip Hop Hit List" was also the first to define hip hop as a culture introducing the many aspects of the art form such as fashion, music, dance, the arts and most importantly the language. For instance, on the cover the headliner included the tag "All Literature was Produced to Meet Street Comprehension!" which proved their loyalty not only to the culture but also to the streets. Most interviews were written verbatim which included their innovative broken English style of writing. Some of the early charts were written in the graffiti format tag style but was made legible enough for the masses.[citation needed]
The Carroll Brothers were also consultants to the many record companies who had no idea how to market hip hop music. Vincent Carroll, the magazine's creator-publisher, went on to become a huge source for marketing and promoting the culture of hip hop, starting Blow-Up Media, the first hip hop marketing firm with offices in NYC's Tribeca district. At the age of 21, Vincent Carroll employed a staff of 15 and assisted in launching some of the culture's biggest and brightest stars (the Fugees, Nelly, the Outzidaz, feat. Eminem and many more).[citation needed] Later other publications spawned up including: Hip Hop Connection, XXL, Scratch, The Source and Vibe.[167] Many individual cities have also produced their own local hip hop newsletters, while hip hop magazines with national distribution are found in a few other countries. The 21st century also ushered in the rise of online media, and hip hop fan sites now offer comprehensive hip hop coverage on a daily basis.
FashionEdit
Rapper Snoop Dogg at a 2009 show.
Clothing, hair and other styles have been a big part of hip hop's social and cultural impact since the 1970s. Although the styles have changed over the decades, distinctive urban apparel and looks have been an important way for rappers, breakdancers and other hip hop community members to express themselves. As the hip hop music genre's popularity increased, so did the effect of its fashion. While there were early items synonymous with hip hop that crossed over into the mainstream culture, like Run-DMC's affinity for Adidas or the Wu-Tang Clan's championing of Clarks' Wallabees, it wasn't until its commercial peak that hip hop fashion became influential. Starting in the mid- to late 1990s, hip hop culture embraced some major designers and established a new connection with classic fashion. Brands such as Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger all tapped into hip hop culture and gave very little in return. Moving into the new millennium, hip hop fashion consisted of baggy shirts, jeans, and jerseys. As names like Pharrell and Jay-Z started their own clothing lines and still others like Kanye West linked up with designers like Louis Vuitton, the clothes got tighter, more classically fashionable, and expensive.
As hip hop has a seen a shift in the means by which its artists express their masculinity, from violence and intimidation to wealth-flaunting and entrepreneurship, it has also seen the emergence of rapper branding.[168] The modern-day hip hop artist is no longer limited to music serving as their sole occupation or source of income. By the early 1990s, major apparel companies "[had] realized the economic potential of tapping into hip hop culture ... Tommy Hilfiger was one of the first major fashion designer[s] who actively courted rappers as a way of promoting his street wear".[169] By joining forces, the artist and the corporation are able to jointly benefit from each other's resources. Hip Hop artists are trend-setters and taste-makers. Their fans range from minority groups who can relate to their professed struggles to majority groups who cannot truly relate but like to "consume the fantasy of living a more masculine life".[170] The rappers provide the "cool, hip" factor while the corporations deliver the product, advertising, and financial assets. Tommy Hilfiger, one of the first mainstream designers to actively court rappers as a way of promoting his street wear, serves a prototypical example of the hip hip/fashion collaborations:
In exchange for giving artists free wardrobes, Hilfiger found its name mentioned in both rhyming verses of rap songs and their 'shout-out' lyrics, in which rap artists chant out thanks to friends and sponsors for their support. Hilfiger's success convinced other large mainstream American fashion design companies, like Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, to tailor lines to the lucrative market of hip hop artists and fans.[171]
Artists now use brands as a means of supplemental income to their music or are creating and expanding their own brands that become their primary source of income. As Harry Elam explains, there has been a movement "from the incorporation and redefinition of existing trends to actually designing and marketing products as hip hop fashion".[171]
DiversificationEdit
Main article: List of hip hop genres
Breaking in Ljubljana, Slovenia
Hip hop music has spawned dozens of subgenres which incorporate hip hop music production approaches, such as sampling, creating beats, or rapping. The diversification process stems from the appropriation of hip hop culture by other ethnic groups. There are many varying social influences that affect hip hop's message in different nations. It is frequently used as a musical response to perceived political and/or social injustices. In South Africa the largest form of hip hop is called Kwaito, which has had a growth similar to American hip hop. Kwaito is a direct reflection of a post apartheid South Africa and is a voice for the voiceless; a term that U.S. hip hop is often referred to. Kwaito is even perceived as a lifestyle, encompassing many aspects of life, including language and fashion.[172]
Kwaito is a political and party-driven genre, as performers use the music to express their political views, and also to express their desire to have a good time. Kwaito is a music that came from a once hated and oppressed people, but it is now sweeping the nation. The main consumers of Kwaito are adolescents and half of the South African population is under 21. Some of the large Kwaito artists have sold more than 100,000 albums, and in an industry where 25,000 albums sold is considered a gold record, those are impressive numbers.[173] Kwaito allows the participation and creative engagement of otherwise socially excluded peoples in the generation of popular media.[174] South African hip hop is more diverse lately and there are hip hop acts in South Africa that have made an impact and continue making impact worldwide. These include Tumi, Ben Sharpa, HipHop Pantsula, Tuks Senganga.[175]
South Sudanese musician Emmanuel Jal uses hip hop to heal war-torn African youth. Jal pictured at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York
In Jamaica, the sounds of hip hop are derived from American and Jamaican influences. Jamaican hip hop is defined both through dancehall and reggae music. Jamaican Kool Herc brought the sound systems, technology, and techniques of reggae music to New York during the 1970s. Jamaican hip hop artists often rap in both Brooklyn and Jamaican accents. Jamaican hip hop subject matter is often influenced by outside and internal forces. Outside forces such as the bling-bling era of today's modern hip hop and internal influences coming from the use of anti-colonialism and marijuana or "ganja" references which Rastafarians believe bring them closer to God.[176][177][178]
Author Wayne Marshall argues that "Hip hop, as with any number of African-American cultural forms before it, offers a range of compelling and contradictory significations to Jamaican artist and audiences. From "modern blackness" to "foreign mind", transnational cosmopolitanism to militant pan-Africanism, radical remixology to outright mimicry, hip hop in Jamaica embodies the myriad ways that Jamaicans embrace, reject, and incorporate foreign yet familiar forms."[179]
Arabic hip hop artist Klash Loon.
In the developing world, hip hop has made a considerable impact in the social context. Despite the lack of resources, hip hop has made considerable inroads.[79] Due to limited funds, hip hop artists are forced to use very basic tools, and even graffiti, an important aspect of the hip hop culture, is constrained due to its unavailability to the average person. Hip hop has begun making inroads with more than black artists. There are number of other minority artists who are taking center stage as many first generation minority children come of age. One example is rapper Awkwafina, an Asian-American, who raps about being Asian as well as being female. She, like many others, use rap to express her experiences as a minority not necessarily to "unite" minorities together but to tell her story.[180]
Many hip hop artists from the developing world come to the United States to seek opportunities. Maya Arulpragasm (A.K.A. M.I.A.), a Sri Lanka-born Tamil hip hop artist claims, "I'm just trying to build some sort of bridge, I'm trying to create a third place, somewhere in between the developed world and the developing world.".[181] Another music artist using hip hop to provide a positive message to young Africans is Emmanuel Jal, a former child soldier from South Sudan. Jal is one of the few South Sudanese music artists to have broken through on an international level[182] with his unique form of hip hop and a positive message in his lyrics.[183] Jal has attracted the attention of mainstream media and academics with his story and use of hip hop as a healing medium for war-afflicted people in Africa and he has also been sought out on the international lecture fora such as TED.[184]
Many K-Pop artists in South Korea have been influenced by hip hop and many South Korean artists perform hip hop music. In Seoul, South Korea, Koreans b-boy.[185]
Scholars argue that hip hop can have an empowering effect on youth. While there is misogyny, violence, and drug use in rap music videos and lyrics, hip hop also displays many positive themes of self-reliance, resilience, and self-esteem. These messages can be inspiring for a youth living in poverty. A lot of rap songs contain references to strengthening the African American community promoting social causes. Social workers have used hip hop to build a relationship with at-risk youth and develop a deeper connection with the child.[186] Hip hop has the potential to be taught as a way of helping people see the world more critically, be it through forms of writing, creating music, or social activism. The lyrics of hip hop have been used to learn about literary devices such as metaphor, imagery, irony, tone, theme, motif, plot, and point of view.[187]
Organizations and facilities are providing spaces and programs for communities to explore making and learning about hip hop. An example is the IMP Labs in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Many dance studios and colleges now offer lessons in hip hop alongside tap and ballet, as well as KRS-ONE teaching hip hop lectures at Harvard University. Hip hop producer 9th Wonder and former rapper-actor Christopher "Play" Martin from hip hop group Kid-n-Play have taught hip hop history classes at North Carolina Central University[188] and 9th Wonder has also taught a "Hip Hop Sampling Soul" class at Duke University.[189] In 2007, the Cornell University Library established a Hip Hop Collection to collect and make accessible the historical artifacts of hip hop culture and to ensure their preservation for future generations.[190]
The hip-hop community has been a major factor in educating it's listeners on HIV/AIDS, a disease that has affected the community very closely. One of the biggest artists of early hip-hop Eazy-E, a member of N.W.A had died of AIDS in 1995.[191] Since then many artists, producers, choreographers and many others from many different locations have tried to make an impact and raise awareness of HIV in the hip-hop community. Many artists have made songs as sort of PSA's to raise awareness of HIV for hip-hop listeners, some songs that raise awareness are Salt N Pepa – Let’s Talk About AIDS, Coolio – Too Hot and more.[192] Tanzanian artists such as Professor Jay and the group Afande Sele are notable for their contributions to this genre of hip-hop music and the awareness they have spread for HIV. [193] American writer, activist and hip-hop artist Tim'm T. West who was diagnosed with AIDS in 1999, formed queer hip-hop group Deep Dickollective who got together to rap about the HIV pandemic among queer black men and LGBTQ activism in hip-hop.[194][195] A non-profit organization out of New York City called Hip Hop 4 Life, strives to educate the youth, especially the low income youth about social and political problems in their areas of interest, which includes hip hop.[196] Hip Hop 4 Life has held many events around the New York City area to raise awareness for HIV and other problems surrounding these low income children and their communities.
Values and philosophyEdit
EssentialismEdit
Since the age of slavery, music has long been the language of African American identity. Because reading and writing were forbidden under the auspices of slavery, music became the only accessible form of communication. Hundreds of years later, in inner-city neighborhoods plagued by high illiteracy and dropout rates, music remains the most dependable medium of expression. Hip Hop is thus to the Hood as Negro Spirituals are to the Plantation: the emergent music articulates the terrors of one's environment better than written, or spoken word, thereby forging an "unquestioned association of oppression with creativity [that] is endemic" to African American culture".[197] In hip hop culture, it is thus considered essential to "keep it real" or to be authentic to the lived experiences of people from disadvantaged neighborhoods ("the Ghetto"). Despite the fact that hip hop artists typically use imagined scenarios and fictionalized stories in their raps, the culture demands that they act as if all their lyrics are true or potentially true.
As a result, lyrics of rap songs have often been treated as "confessions" to a number of violent crimes in the United States.[198] It is also considered to be the duty of rappers and other hip hop artists (DJs, dancers) to "represent" their city and neighborhood. This demands being proud of being from disadvantaged cities neighborhoods that have traditionally been a source of shame, and glorifying them in lyrics and graffiti. This has potentially been one of the ways that hip hop has become regarded as a "local" rather than "foreign" genre of music in so many countries around the world in just a few decades. Nevertheless, sampling and borrowing from a number of genres and places is also a part of the hip hop milieu, and an album like the surprise hit Kala by Anglo-Tamil rapper M.I.A. was recorded in locations all across the world and features sounds from a different country on every track.[199]
According to scholar Joseph Schloss, the essentialist perspective of Hip Hop conspicuously obfuscates the role that individual style and pleasure plays in the development of the genre. Schloss notes that Hip Hop is forever fossilized as an inevitable cultural emergent, as if "none of hip-hop's innovators had been born, a different group of poor black youth from the Bronx would have developed hip-hop in exactly the same way".[197] However, while the pervasive oppressive conditions of the Bronx were likely to produce another group of disadvantaged youth, he questions whether they would be equally interested, nonetheless willing to put in as much time and energy into making music as Grandmaster Flash, DJ Kool Herc, and Afrika Bambaataa. He thus concludes that Hip Hop was a result of choice, not fate, and that when individual contributions and artistic preferences are ignored, the genre's origin becomes overly attributed to collective cultural oppression.
AuthenticityEdit
Graffiti depicting US rapper 50 Cent. Larry Nager of The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote that 50 Cent has "earned the right to use the trappings of gangsta rap – the macho posturing, the guns, the drugs, the big cars and magnums of champagne. He's not a poseur pretending to be a gangsta; he's the real thing."[200]
Hip hop music artists and advocates have stated that hip hop has been an authentic (true and "real") African-American artistic and cultural form since its emergence in inner-city Bronx neighborhoods in the 1970s. Some music critics, scholars and political commentators[who?] have denied hip hop's authenticity. Advocates who claim hip hop is an authentic music genre state that it is an ongoing response to the violence and discrimination experienced by black people in the United States, from the slavery that existed into the 19th century, to the lynchings of the 20th century and the ongoing racial discrimination faced by blacks.[citation needed]
Paul Gilroy and Alexander Weheliye state that unlike disco, jazz, R&B, house music, and other genres that were developed in the African-American community and which were quickly adopted and then increasingly controlled by white music industry executives, hip hop has remained largely controlled by African American artists, producers and executives.[201] In his book, Phonographies, Weheliye describes the political and cultural affiliations that hip hop music enables.[202] In contrast, Greg Tate states that the market-driven, commodity form of commercial hip hop has uprooted the genre from the celebration of African-American culture and the messages of protest that predominated in its early forms.[203] Tate states that the commodification and commercialization of hip hop culture undermines the dynamism of the genre for African-American communities.
These two dissenting understandings of hip hop's scope and influence frame debates that revolve around hip hop's possession of or lack of authenticity.[204] Anticipating the market arguments of Tate and others, both Gilroy and Weheliye assert that hip hop has always had a different function than Western popular music as a whole, a function that exceeds the constraints of market capitalism. Weheliye notes, "Popular music, generally in the form of recordings, has and still continues to function as one of the main channels of communication between the different geographical and cultural points in the African diaspora, allowing artists to articulate and perform their diasporic citizenship to international audiences and establish conversations with other diasporic communities."[205] For Paul Gilroy, hip hop proves an outlet of articulation and a sonic space in which African Americans can exert control and influence that they often lack in other sociopolitical and economic domains.[206]
In "Phonographies", Weheyliye explains how new sound technologies used in hip hop encourage "diasporic citizenship" and African-American cultural and political activities.[207] Gilroy states that the "power of [hip hop] music [lies] in developing black struggles by communicating information, organizing consciousness, and testing out or deploying ... individual or collective" forms of African-American cultural and political actions.[206] In the third chapter of The Black Atlantic, "Jewels Brought from Bondage: Black Music and the Politics of Authenticity", Gilroy asserts that these elements influence the production of and the interpretation of black cultural activities. What Gilroy calls the "Black Atlantic" music's rituals and traditions are a more expansive way of thinking about African-American "blackness", a way that moves beyond contemporary debates around essentialist and anti-essentialist arguments. As such, Gilroy states that music has been and remains a central staging ground for debates over the work, responsibility, and future role of black cultural and artistic production.[208]
Traditional vs. progressive viewsEdit
Ever since the over-commercialization of hip hop occurred between the late 1980s and the mid 1990s (at peak), traditional hip hop supporters have been in a feud with more progressive hip hop fans, claiming that they are uneducated towards what they are building. The traditionalists also claim that progressives are not only building music that steps further and further away from Hip Hop, but causes ignorance and misconceptions between fans of more progressive Hip Hop and fans of traditional Hip Hop culture. These views have been narrowed heavily over the past couple of years and have experienced change of views from the traditional side, as well as acceptance towards evolution of hip hop.
However, all of these beliefs seem to still be viewed under very specific sets of morals and ethics. Such as that one does not take themselves away, or deny the true past of hip hop (doing such would result in ignorance of the history of hip hop, and a completely disconnected community of fans who become uncertain as to what truly should be considered hip hop). Hip hop is also known to be the music of the oppressed (African Americans, Puerto Ricans and women) and activist based. Fans of more progressed Hip Hop have received both acclaim due to innovation and futuristic views, as well as strong criticism due to lack of proper education and what is felt as a completely changed form of values, rather than evolved.
Like most grassroots cultures, hip hop initially rejected the views and support of the mainstream industry, however eventually learned to be content due to the understanding of what opportunity and voice could be given. The Father of Hip Hop, DJ Kool Herc recently criticized the cancelled Netflix series The Get Down due to its lack of viewer response, by calling it 'The Let Down' and that legendary hip hop DJ Grandmaster Flash is Grandmaster Trash. Herc criticized the whole production for their misrepresentations of history and culture.
However, he did state that he does support many stars in rap today such as Lil Wayne and Drake.[209] Herc, and many other old school hip hop legends such as Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Caz originally held views against mainstream rap.[210] However, recent interviews have shown to prove that even they have changed their ways to a certain extent.[211] However, rappers like KRS-One still feel a strong disapproval of the rap industry, especially through mainstream media.[212]
In b-boying, most supporters have begun to slowly involve more industry sponsorship through events on the World BBoy Series and through the UDEF powered by Silverback Open.[213] Other b-boys have begun to accept using the term breakdance, but only if the term b-boying is too difficult to communicate to the general public. Regardless of such, b-boys and b-girls still exist to showing lack of support to jams and events that they feel represent the culture as a sport, form of entertainment and as well through capitalism. Battle Rap as an industry has also been strongly supported by old-school/ golden-era legends such as Herc, Kid Capri and KRS-One.[214][215]
ReceptionEdit
Commercialization and stereotypingEdit
In 2012, hip hop and rap pioneer Chuck D, from the group Public Enemy criticized young hip hop artists from the 2010s, stating that they have taken a music genre with extensive roots in underground music and turned it into commercialized pop music.[216] In particular, seminal figures in the early underground, politically-motivated music, such as Ice-T, have criticized current hip hop artists for being more concerned with image than substance.[217] Critics have stated that 2010s hip hop artists are contributing to cultural stereotyping of African-American culture and are poseur gangsters. Critics have also stated that hip hop music promotes drug use and violence.[218][219][220]
Hip hop has been criticized by rock-centric critics who state that hip hop is not a true art form and who state that rock and roll music is more authentic. These critics are advocating a viewpoint called "rockism" which favors music written and performed by the individual artist (as seen in some famous singer-songwriter-led rock bands) and is against 2000s (decade)-era hip hop, which these critics argue give too large a role to record producers and digital sound recording. Hip hop is seen as being too violent and explicit, in comparison with rock. Some contend that the criticisms have racial overtones, as these critics deny that hip hop is an art form and praising rock genres that prominently feature white males.[221]
Marginalization of womenEdit
Hip hop artist Lauryn Hill has been successful as a solo performer and as a member of the Fugees. This photo shows her performing at the Ottawa Bluesfest in 2012.
The hip hop music genre and its subculture has been criticized for its gender bias and its negative impacts on women in African-American culture. Gangsta rap artists such as Eazy-E and Snoop Dogg have song lyrics that portray women as sex toys, and as people who are inferior to and dependent on men (though Eazy-E is deceased, Dr. Dre makes music less frequently since about the '90s and has apologized for his views which carried over into actuality, and Snoop Dogg has become extremely diversified and changed his image in a positive way.)[222] Between 1987 and 1993, over 400 hip hop songs had lyrics that described violence toward women including rape, assault, and murder.[223] These anti-women hip hop lyrics have led some male listeners to make physical threats toward women and they have created negative stereotypes of young urban African-American women.[224]
Hip hop music promotes masculine hegemony and it depicts women as individuals who must rely on men.[223] The portrayal of women in hip hop lyrics and videos tends to be violent, degrading, and highly sexualized. There is a high frequency of songs with lyrics that are demeaning, or depict sexual violence or sexual assault towards women.[225] Videos often portray idealized female bodies and depict women as being the object of male pleasure.[226] The misrepresentation of women, primarily woman of color, as objects rather than other human beings and the presence of male dominance in hip-hop even stems back to the birth of the genre. Although it’s important to note that both male and female individuals were present and influential to hip-hop culture and it’s music, male artists dominated music and often used lyrics depicting their dominance superiority in the 1980’s and ‘90’s, this effectively changed the entire hip-hop industry for years to come. An example of this was the controversy behind Nelly’s “Tip Drill” music video, where Nelly gives off the impression that woman can be bought and sold like objects. This evidently portrays the presence of misogyny in hip-hop music. Byron Hurt, a filmmaker who produced the 2006 documentary, Beyond Beats and Rhymes, even voiced his opinions on the hypermasculinity that’s present in hip-hop when he said “I would always defend hip-hop. But the more I grew and the more I learned about sexism and violence and homophobia, the more those lyrics became unacceptable to me, and I began to become more conflicted about the music that I loved.” However, many female artists have also emerged in shedding light on both their personal issues and the misrepresentations of women in hip-hip and culture. These artists include but are not limited to Queen Latifah, TLC and MC Lyte. Although many female artists have been successful in contributing to what we know as hip-hop today, it still remains a male-dominated mainstream industry.[227][228]
Very few female artists have been recognized in hip hop, and the most popular, successful and influential artists, record producers and music executives are males. Women who are in rap groups, such as Lauryn Hill of the Fugees, tend to have less advantages and opportunities than male artists.[229] Female artists have received little to no recognition in hip hop. Only one female artist has won Best Rap album of the year at the Grammy Awards since the category was added in 1995.[230] In addition, African American female hip hop artists have been recognized even less in the industry.[231] Salt-N-Pepa felt when they were establishing themselves as a successful group, they had to prove doubters wrong, stating that "being women in hip hop at a time when it wasn't that many women, we felt like we had more to prove."[232]
Marginalization of LatinasEdit
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Main article: Latina stereotypes in hip hop
Latinas, especially Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican women, are degraded and fetishized in hip hop. White women and Asian women are also fetishized in hip hop but not as much as Latinas, who are referred to as "Spanish". Latinas, especially Puerto Rican models and Dominican models, are often portrayed as an object of sexual desire in hip hop videos.
Homophobia and transphobiaEdit
Main article: Homophobia in hip hop culture
As well, the hip hop music community has been criticized for its homophobia and transphobia.[233] Hip hop song lyrics contain offensive, homophobic slurs (most popularly, the pejorative term "faggot") and sometimes violent threats towards queer people, such as rapper DMX's "Where the Hood At," rapper Eazy-E's "Nobody Move," rap group Brand Nubian's "Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down".[234] Many rappers and hip hop artists have advocated homophobia and/or transphobia.[235] These artists include Ja Rule, who in an interview claimed,"We need to go step to MTV and Viacom, and let's talk about all these fucking shows that they have on MTV that is promoting homosexuality, that my kids can't watch this shit,"[3] and rap artist Erick Sermon, who has said publicly,"[Hip hop] will never accept transgender rappers."[4]
Until the 2010s, hip hop music has excluded the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. This has perpetuated a culture in hip hop that is prejudiced towards queer and trans people, making it a tough culture for queer artists to participate in.[233] Despite this prejudice, some queer/genderqueer rappers and hip hop artists have become successful and popular in the 2010s. One of the more notable members of the LGBT community in hip hop is Frank Ocean, who came out in 2012 and has released critically acclaimed albums and won two Grammy Awards.[5] Other successful queer hip hop/rap artists include female bisexual rapper Azealia Banks,[236] pansexual androgynous rapper and singer Angel Haze,[237] lesbian rapper Siya,[238] gay rapper/singer Kevin Abstract,[239] and genderqueer rapper Mykki Blanco.[240]
LegacyEdit
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Having its roots in reggae, disco, funk and soul music, hip hop has since expanded worldwide. Its expansion includes events like Afrika Bambaataa's 1982 releasing of Planet Rock, which tried to establish a more global harmony. In the 1980s, the British Slick Rick became the first international hit hip hop artist not native to America.[citation needed] From the 1980s onward, television made hip hop global. From Yo! MTV Raps to Public Enemy's world tour, hip hop spread to Latin America and became a mainstream culture. Hip hop has been cut, mixed and adapted as it the music spreads to new areas.[241][242][unreliable source?]
Mary J. Blige performing.
Londoner Kate Tempest performing at the Treefort Music Fest
Early hip hop[by whom?] may have reduced inner-city gang violence by replacing physical violence with hip hop battles of breakdancing, turntablism, rapping and artwork. However, with the emergence of commercial and crime-related gangsta rap during the early 1990s, violence, drugs, weapons, and misogyny, were key themes. Socially and politically conscious hip hop has long been disregarded by mainstream America in favor of its media-baiting sibling, gangsta rap.[72] Alternative hip hop artists attempt to reflect the original elements of the culture. Artists/groups such as Nipsey Hussle, Lupe Fiasco, Immortal Technique, Lowkey, Brother Ali, Public Enemy, The Roots, Shing02, Jay Electronica, Nas, Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Dilated Peoples, Dead Prez, Blackalicious, Jurassic 5, Jeru the Damaja, Kendrick Lamar, Gangstarr, KRS-One, Living Legends emphasize messages of verbal skill, internal/external conflicts, life lessons, unity, social issues, or activism.
Black female artists such as Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, and MC Lyte have made great strides since the hip hop industry first began. By producing music and an image that did not cater to the hyper-sexualized stereotypes of black women in hip hop, these women pioneered a revitalized and empowering image of black women in hip hop.[243] Though many hip hop artists have embraced the ideals that effectively disenfranchize black female artists, many others choose to employ forms of resistance that counteract these negative portrayals of women in hip hop and offer a different narrative. These artists seek to expand ways of traditional thinking through different ways of cultural expression. In this effort they hope to elicit a response to female hip hop artists not with a misogynist lens but with one that validates women's struggle.[244]
Many have written about these intersections of hip-hop and feminism. One such example is Savannah Shange's article on Nicki Minaj entitled A King Named Nicki: Strategic queerness and the black femmecee. In her article, Shange discusses the inability to categorize Nicki Minaj's music as either specifically hetero or homosexual. She says that Nicki uses a sort of strategic queerness that uses her sex appeal both ways to attract her audience. Shange writes how even when looking at Nicki's music and persona from a homonormative lens, she defies categorization. She goes on to describe how Minaj "is a rapper whose critical, strategic performance of queer femininity is inextricable linked to the production and reception of their rhymes." In this way, Nicki Minaj's performative style enables her to make similarly great strides as those who came before her.
For women, artists such as Missy Elliott, Lil' Kim, Young M.A. and others are providing mentorship for new female MCs. In addition, there is a vibrant scene outside the mainstream that provides an opportunity for women and their music to flourish.[68] Rap music has the power to influence how we view black women in our society. Queen Latifah used her award-winning song "U.N.I.T.Y." to support to other women and to inform of the presence of women in the hip hop genre. However, many contemporary females in hip hop do not embody this mindset and counteract it.[245] In 2014, Iggy Azalea was the first White female rapper to go mainstream and was the first White female rapper to have a number-one hit with "Fancy" in history.[246]
List of hip hop music festivals
List of hip hop genres
List of hip hop albums considered to be influential
List of hip hop musicians
List of deceased hip hop artists
List of films with associated hip hop songs
Hip hop and social injustice
CORE Music Foundation
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hip hop culture.
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Hip hop
Hip hop at Curlie
Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight (Official Video)
Is Rap Finally Ready to Embrace It's Women?
Hip-Hop/R&B Music
How Hip-Hop Music Has Influenced American Culture and Society
The Social Significance of Rap and Hip-Hop Culture
The Social Impact of Hip-Hop
Hip Hop’s Influence
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hip_hop&oldid=906702849"
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Bai Tu Long National Park conserves rich biodiversity values
Bai Tu Long National Park in the northern province of Quang Ninh has proven to hold significant biodiversity values, with great efforts having been made to conserve them.
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East Prussia
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Province of Prussia
East Prussia (red), within the Kingdom of Prussia, within the German Empire, as of 1871
Capital Königsberg
• Established 31 January 1773
• Province of Prussia 3 December 1829
• Province restored 1 April 1878
• Soviet capture 1945
• 1905 36,993 km2 (14,283 sq mi)
• 1905 2,025,741
Density 54.8 /km2 (141.8 /sq mi)
Political subdivisions Gumbinnen
Allenstein (from 1905)
West Prussia (1922–1939)
Zichenau (from 1939)
Today part of Poland
Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast)
East Prussia (German: Ostpreußen, pronounced [ˈɔstˌpʁɔʏsn̩] ( listen); Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Lithuanian: Rytų Prūsija; Latin: Borussia orientalis; Russian: Восточная Пруссия, romanized: Vostóčnaja Prússija) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's Free State of Prussia, until 1945. Its capital city was Königsberg (present-day Kaliningrad). East Prussia was the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast.[1]
The bulk of the ancestral lands of the Baltic Old Prussians were enclosed within East Prussia. During the 13th century, the native Prussians were conquered by the crusading Teutonic Knights. After the conquest the indigenous Balts were gradually converted to Christianity. Because of Germanization and colonisation over the following centuries, Germans became the dominant ethnic group, while Masurians and Lithuanians formed minorities. From the 13th century, East Prussia was part of the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. After the Second Peace of Thorn in 1466 it became a fief of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1525, with the Prussian Homage, the province became the Duchy of Prussia.[2] The Old Prussian language had become extinct by the 17th or early 18th century.[3]
Because the duchy was outside of the core Holy Roman Empire, the prince-electors of Brandenburg were able to proclaim themselves King beginning in 1701. After the annexation of most of western Royal Prussia in the First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772, eastern (ducal) Prussia was connected by land with the rest of the Prussian state and was reorganized as a province the following year (1773). Between 1829 and 1878, the Province of East Prussia was joined with West Prussia to form the Province of Prussia.
The Kingdom of Prussia became the leading state of the German Empire after its creation in 1871. However, the Treaty of Versailles following World War I granted West Prussia to Poland and made East Prussia an exclave of Weimar Germany (the new Polish Corridor separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany), while the Memel Territory was detached and annexed by Lithuania in 1923. Following Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II in 1945, war-torn East Prussia was divided at Joseph Stalin's insistence between the Soviet Union (the Kaliningrad Oblast became part of the Russian SFSR, and the constituent counties of the Klaipėda Region in the Lithuanian SSR) and the People's Republic of Poland (the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship).[4] The capital city Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946. The German population of the province was largely evacuated during the war or expelled shortly afterwards in the expulsion of Germans after World War II. An estimated 300,000 (around one fifth of the population) died either in war time bombing raids, in the battles to defend the province, or through mistreatment by the Red Army.[citation needed]
2 History as a province
2.1 Kingdom of Prussia
2.2 Napoleonic Wars
2.3 Historical ethnic and religious structure
2.4 German Empire
2.5 World War I
2.6 Division after 1918
2.7 Weimar Republic
2.8 Nazi Germany
2.9 World War II
2.10 Evacuation of East Prussia
3 History after partition and annexation
3.1 Expulsion of Germans from East Prussia after World War II
3.2 Southern part to Poland
3.3 Northern East Prussia to the Soviet Union
3.4 Modern status
4.1 Upper Presidents of East Prussia and Prussia
4.2 Elections to the provincial diets
4.3 Land Directors and Land Captains of East Prussia
4.4 Cities and towns
Ethnic settlement in East Prussia by the 14th century
At the instigation of Duke Konrad I of Masovia, the Teutonic Knights took possession of Prussia in the 13th century and created a monastic state to administer the conquered Old Prussians. Local Old-Prussian (north) and Polish (south) toponyms were gradually Germanised. The Knights' expansionist policies, including occupation of Polish Pomerania with Gdańsk/Danzig and western Lithuania, brought them into conflict with the Kingdom of Poland and embroiled them in several wars, culminating in the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War, whereby the united armies of Poland and Lithuania, defeated the Teutonic Order at the Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) in 1410. Its defeat was formalised in the Second Treaty of Thorn in 1466 ending the Thirteen Years' War, and leaving the former Polish region Pomerania/Pomerelia under Polish control. Together with Warmia it formed the province of Royal Prussia. Eastern Prussia remained under the Knights but as a fief of Poland. 1466 and 1525 arrangements by kings of Poland were not verified by the Holy Roman Empire, as well as the previous gains of the Teutonic Knights, were not verified.
The Teutonic Order lost eastern Prussia when Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach converted to Lutheranism and secularized the Prussian branch of the Teutonic Order in 1525. Albert established himself as the first duke of the Duchy of Prussia and a vassal of the Polish crown by the Prussian Homage. Walter von Cronberg, the next Grand Master, was enfeoffed with the title to Prussia after the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, but the Order never regained possession of the territory. In 1569 the Hohenzollern prince-electors of the Margraviate of Brandenburg became co-regents with Albert's son, the feeble-minded Albert Frederick.
The Administrator of Prussia, the grandmaster of the Teutonic Order Maximilian III, son of emperor Maximilian II died in 1618. When Maximilian died, Albert's line died out, and the Duchy of Prussia passed to the Electors of Brandenburg, forming Brandenburg-Prussia. Taking advantage of the Swedish invasion of Poland in 1655, and instead of fulfilling his vassal's duties towards the Polish Kingdom, by joining forces with the Swedes and subsequent treaties of Wehlau, Labiau, and Oliva, Elector and Duke Frederick William succeeded in revoking the king of Poland's sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia in 1660. The absolutist elector also subdued the noble estates of Prussia.
History as a province[edit]
New Map of the Kingdom of Prussia, John Cary 1799, split into the eastern regions of Lithuania Minor (green), Natangia (yellow), Sambia and Warmia (pink), the western Oberland territories with Marienwerder (blue), West Prussian Marienburg (yellow) and Danzig (green)
Kingdom of Prussia[edit]
Although Brandenburg was a part of the Holy Roman Empire, the Prussian lands were not within the Holy Roman Empire and were with the administration by the Teutonic Order grandmasters under jurisdiction of the Emperor. In return for supporting Emperor Leopold I in the War of the Spanish Succession, Elector Frederick III was allowed to crown himself "King in Prussia" in 1701. The new kingdom ruled by the Hohenzollern dynasty became known as the Kingdom of Prussia. The designation "Kingdom of Prussia" was gradually applied to the various lands of Brandenburg-Prussia. To differentiate from the larger entity, the former Duchy of Prussia became known as Altpreußen ("Old Prussia"), the province of Prussia, or "East Prussia".
Approximately one-third of East Prussia's population died in the plague and famine of 1709–1711,[5] including the last speakers of Old Prussian.[6] The plague, probably brought by foreign troops during the Great Northern War, killed 250,000 East Prussians, especially in the province's eastern regions. Crown Prince Frederick William I led the rebuilding of East Prussia, founding numerous towns. Thousands of Protestants expelled from the Archbishopric of Salzburg were allowed to settle in depleted East Prussia. The province was overrun by Imperial Russian troops during the Seven Years' War.
Monument to Immanuel Kant in Kaliningrad
In the 1772 First Partition of Poland, the Prussian king Frederick the Great annexed neighboring Royal Prussia, i.e., the Polish voivodeships of Pomerania (Gdańsk Pomerania or Pomerelia), Malbork, Chełmno and the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia, thereby connecting his Prussian and Farther Pomeranian lands and cutting the rest of Poland from the Baltic coast. The territory of Warmia was incorporated into the lands of former Ducal Prussia, which, by administrative deed of 31 January 1773 were named East Prussia. The former Polish Pomerelian lands beyond the Vistula River together with Malbork and Chełmno Land formed the Province of West Prussia with its capital at Marienwerder (Kwidzyn). The Polish Partition Sejm ratified the cession on 30 September 1773, whereafter Frederick officially went on to call himself a King "of" Prussia.
The former Ducal Prussian districts of Eylau (Iława), Marienwerder, Riesenburg (Prabuty) and Schönberg (Szymbark) passed to West Prussia. Until the Prussian reforms of 1808, the administration in East Prussia was transferred to the General War and Finance Directorate in Berlin, represented by two local chamber departments:
German chamber department at Königsberg with the districts of:
Neidenburg
Samland
Tapiau
Braunsberg (Ermland)
Heilsberg (Ermland)
Mohrungen (Ermland)
Lithuanian chamber department at Gumbinnen (Gusev) with the districts of:
Ragnit
Seehesten (Sensburg)
On 31 January 1773, King Frederick II announced that the newly annexed lands were to be known as the Province of West Prussia, while the former Duchy of Prussia and Warmia became the Province of East Prussia.
Napoleonic Wars[edit]
Napoleon on the Battlefield of Eylau in February 1807
After the disastrous defeat of the Prussian Army at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt in 1806, Napoleon occupied Berlin and had the officials of the Prussian General Directorate swear an oath of allegiance to him, while King Frederick William III and his consort Louise fled via Königsberg and the Curonian Spit to Memel. The French troops immediately took up pursuit but were delayed in the Battle of Eylau on 9 February 1807 by an East Prussian contingent under General Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq. Napoleon had to stay at the Finckenstein Palace, but in May, after a siege of 75 days, his troops led by Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre were able to capture the city Danzig, which had been tenaciously defended by General Count Friedrich Adolf von Kalkreuth. On 14 June, Napoleon ended the War of the Fourth Coalition with his victory at the Battle of Friedland. Frederick William and Queen Louise met with Napoleon for peace negotiations, and on 9 July the Prussian king signed the Treaty of Tilsit.
The succeeding Prussian reforms instigated by Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein and Karl August von Hardenberg included the implementation of an Oberlandesgericht appellation court at Königsberg, a municipal corporation, economic freedom as well as emancipation of the serfs and Jews. In the course of the Prussian restoration by the 1815 Congress of Vienna, the East Prussian territories were re-arranged in the Regierungsbezirke of Gumbinnen and Königsberg. From 1905, the southern districts of East Prussia formed the separate Regierungsbezirk of Allenstein. East and West Prussia were first united in personal union in 1824 and then merged in a real union in 1829 to form the Province of Prussia. The united province was again split into separate East and West Prussian provinces in 1878.
Map of the province of East Prussia in 1890
Historical ethnic and religious structure[edit]
In year 1824, shortly before its merger with West Prussia, the population of East Prussia was 1,080,000 people.[7] Of that number, according to Karl Andree, Germans were slightly more than half, while 280,000 (~26%) were ethnically Polish and 200,000 (~19%) were ethnically Lithuanian.[8] As of year 1819 there were also 20,000 strong ethnic Curonian and Latvian minorities as well as 2,400 Jews, according to Georg Hassel.[9] Similar numbers are given by August von Haxthausen in his 1839 book, with a breakdown by county.[10] However, the majority of East Prussian Polish and Lithuanian inhabitants were Lutherans, not Roman Catholics like their ethnic kinsmen across the border in the Russian Empire. Only in Southern Warmia (German: Ermland) Catholic Poles - so called Warmiaks (not to be confused with predominantly Protestant Masurians) - comprised the majority of population, numbering 26,067 people (~81%) in county Allenstein (Polish: Olsztyn) in 1837.[10] Another minority in 19th century East Prussia, were ethnically Russian Old Believers, also known as Philipponnen - their main town was Eckersdorf (Wojnowo).[11][12][13]
In year 1817, East Prussia had 796,204 Evangelical Christians, 120,123 Roman Catholics, 864 Mennonites and 2,389 Jews.[14]
German Empire[edit]
From 1824–1878, East Prussia was combined with West Prussia to form the Province of Prussia, after which they were reestablished as separate provinces. Along with the rest of the Kingdom of Prussia, East Prussia became part of the German Empire during the unification of Germany in 1871.
Coronation of William I as King of Prussia at Königsberg Castle in 1861
From 1885 to 1890 Berlin's population grew by 20%, Brandenburg and the Rhineland gained 8.5%, Westphalia 10%, while East Prussia lost 0.07% and West Prussia 0.86%. This stagnancy in population despite a high birth surplus in eastern Germany was because many people from the East Prussian countryside moved westward to seek work in the expanding industrial centres of the Ruhr Area and Berlin (see Ostflucht).
The population of the province in 1900 was 1,996,626 people, with a religious makeup of 1,698,465 Protestants, 269,196 Roman Catholics, and 13,877 Jews. The Low Prussian dialect predominated in East Prussia, although High Prussian was spoken in Warmia. The numbers of Masurians, Kursenieki and Prussian Lithuanians decreased over time due to the process of Germanization. The Polish-speaking population concentrated in the south of the province (Masuria and Warmia) and all German geographic atlases at the start of 20th century showed the southern part of East Prussia as Polish with the number of Polish-speakers estimated at the time to be 300,000.[15] Kursenieki inhabited the areas around the Curonian lagoon, while Lithuanian-speaking Prussians concentrated in the northeast in (Lithuania Minor). The Old Prussian ethnic group became completely Germanized over time and the Old Prussian language died out in the 18th century.
World War I[edit]
At the beginning of World War I, East Prussia became a theatre of war when the Russian Empire invaded the country. The Russian Army encountered at first little resistance because the bulk of the German Army had been directed towards the Western Front according to the Schlieffen Plan. Despite early success and the capture of the towns of Rastenburg and Gumbinnen, in the Battle of Tannenberg in 1914 and the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes in 1915, the Russians were decisively defeated and forced to retreat. The Russians were followed by the German Army advancing into Russian territory.
After the Russian army's first invasion the majority of the civilian population fled westwards, while several thousand remaining civilians were deported to Russia. Treatment of civilians by both armies was mostly disciplined, although 74 civilians were killed by Russian troops in the Abschwangen massacre. The region had to be rebuilt because of damage caused by the war.
Division after 1918[edit]
Division between Germany (area which remained in East Prussia), Lithuania and Poland after World War I
Area in 1910 in km2
Share of territory
Population in 1910
After WW1 part of:
Given to:
37,002 km2 [16]
Divided between:
Poland 565 km2 [17][18] 2% 2% Pomeranian Voivodeship
(Soldauer Ländchen[19])
[Note 1]
Lithuania 2,828 km2 8% 7% Klaipėda Region
East Prussia 33,609 km2 90% 91% East Prussia
Weimar Republic[edit]
Inter-war East Prussia (from 1923 to 1939)
With the forced abdication of Emperor Wilhelm II in 1918, Germany became a republic. Most of West Prussia and the former Prussian Province of Posen, territories annexed by Prussia in the 18th century Partitions of Poland, were ceded to the Second Polish Republic according to the Treaty of Versailles. East Prussia became an exclave, being separated from mainland Germany. The Memelland was also separated from the province. Because most of West Prussia became part of the Second Polish Republic as the Polish Corridor, the formerly West Prussian Marienwerder region became part of East Prussia (as Regierungsbezirk Westpreußen). Also, Soldau district in Allenstein region was part of Second Polish Republic. The Seedienst Ostpreußen was established to provide an independent transport service to East Prussia.
On 11 July 1920, amidst the backdrop of the Polish-Soviet War, the East Prussian plebiscite in eastern West Prussia and southern East Prussia was held under Allied supervision to determine if the areas should join the Second Polish Republic or remain in Weimar Germany Province of East Prussia. 96.7% of the people voted to remain within Germany (97.89% in the East Prussian plebiscite district).
The Klaipėda Territory, a League of Nations mandate since 1920, was occupied by Lithuanian troops in 1923 and was annexed without giving the inhabitants a choice by ballot.
Nazi Germany[edit]
Adolf Hitler and Erich Koch in Königsberg, 1936
Erich Koch headed the East Prussian Nazi party from 1928. He led the district from 1932. This period was characterized by efforts to collectivize the local agriculture and ruthlessness in dealing with his critics inside and outside the Party.[21] He also had long-term plans for mass-scale industrialization of the largely agricultural province. These actions made him unpopular among the local peasants.[21] In 1932 the local paramilitary SA had already started to terrorise their political opponents. On the night of 31 July 1932 there was a bomb attack on the headquarters of the Social Democrats in Königsberg, the Otto-Braun-House. The Communist politician Gustav Sauf was killed; the executive editor of the Social Democratic newspaper "Königsberger Volkszeitung", Otto Wyrgatsch; and the German People's Party politician Max von Bahrfeldt were all severely injured. Members of the Reichsbanner were assaulted while the local Reichsbanner Chairman of Lötzen, Kurt Kotzan, was murdered on 6 August 1932.[22][23]
Through publicly funded emergency relief programs concentrating on agricultural land-improvement projects and road construction, the "Erich Koch Plan" for East Prussia allegedly made the province free of unemployment: on August 16, 1933 Koch reported to Hitler that unemployment had been banished entirely from the province, a feat that gained admiration throughout the Reich.[24] Koch's industrialization plans provoked conflict with R. Walther Darré, who held the office of the Reich Peasant Leader (Reichsbauernführer) and Minister of Agriculture. Darré, a neopaganist rural romantic, wanted to enforce his vision of an agricultural East Prussia. When his "Land" representatives challenged Koch's plans, Koch arrested them.[25]
After the Nazis took power in Germany, opposition politicians were persecuted and newspapers banned. The Otto-Braun-House was requisitioned to become the headquarters of the SA, which used the house to imprison and torture its opponents. Walter Schütz, a communist member of the Reichstag, was murdered here.[26] In 1938 the Nazis altered about one-third of the toponyms of the area, eliminating, Germanizing, or simplifying a number of Old Prussian, as well as those Polish or Lithuanian names originating from colonists and refugees to Prussia during and after the Protestant Reformation. More than 1,500 places were ordered to be renamed by 16 July 1938 following a decree issued by Gauleiter and Oberpräsident Erich Koch and initiated by Adolf Hitler.[27] Many who would not cooperate with the rulers of Nazi Germany were sent to concentration camps and held prisoner there until their death or liberation.
After the 1939 invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany opening World War II, the borders of East Prussia were revised. Regierungsbezirk Westpreußen became part of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia, while Regierungsbezirk Zichenau was added to East Prussia. Originally part of the Zichenau region, the Sudauen district in Sudovia was later transferred to the Gumbinnen region.
World War II[edit]
East Prussia in 1941
In 1939 East Prussia had 2.49 million inhabitants, 85% of them ethnic Germans, the others Poles in the south who, according to Polish estimates numbered in the interwar period around 300,000-350,000,[28] the Latvian speaking Kursenieki, and Lietuvininkai who spoke Lithuanian in the northeast. Most German East Prussians, Masurians, Kursieniki, and Lietuvininkai were Lutheran, while the population of Ermland was mainly Roman Catholic due to the history of its bishopric. The East Prussian Jewish Congregation declined from about 9,000 in 1933 to 3,000 in 1939, as most fled from Nazi rule.[29] Those who remained were later deported and killed in the Holocaust.
In 1939 the Regierungsbezirk Zichenau was annexed by Germany and incorporated into East Prussia. Parts of it were transferred to other regions, e.g. Suwałki to Regierungsbezirk Gumbinnen and Soldau to Regierungsbezirk Allenstein. Despite Nazi propaganda presenting all of the regions annexed as possessing significant German populations that wanted reunification with Germany, the Reich's statistics of late 1939 show that only 31,000 out of 994,092 people in this territory were ethnic Germans.[citation needed]
East Prussia was only slightly affected by the war until January 1945, when it was devastated during the East Prussian Offensive. Most of its inhabitants became refugees in bitterly cold weather during the Evacuation of East Prussia.
Evacuation of East Prussia[edit]
Main article: Evacuation of East Prussia
Königsberg after the RAF bombing in 1944
In 1944 the medieval city of Königsberg, which had never been severely damaged by warfare in its 700 years of existence, was almost completely destroyed by two RAF Bomber Command raids — the first on the night of 26/27 August 1944, with the second one three nights later, overnight on 29/30 August 1944. Winston Churchill (The Second World War, Book XII) had erroneously believed it to be "a modernized heavily defended fortress" and ordered its destruction.
Gauleiter Erich Koch delayed the evacuation of the German civilian population until the Eastern Front approached the East Prussian border in 1944. The population had been systematically misinformed by Endsieg Nazi propaganda about the real state of military affairs. As a result, many civilians fleeing westward were overtaken by retreating Wehrmacht units and the rapidly advancing Red Army.
Reports of Soviet atrocities in the Nemmersdorf massacre of October 1944 and organized rape spread fear and desperation among the civilians. Thousands lost their lives during the sinkings (by Soviet submarine) of the evacuation ships Wilhelm Gustloff, the Goya, and the General von Steuben. Königsberg surrendered on 9 April 1945, following the desperate four-day Battle of Königsberg. The number of civilians killed is estimated to be at least 300,000.[citation needed]
However, most of the German inhabitants, which then consisted primarily of women, children and old men, did manage to escape the Red Army as part of the largest exodus of people in human history: "A population which had stood at 2.2 million in 1940 was reduced to 193,000 at the end of May 1945."[30][31]
History after partition and annexation[edit]
Following Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II in 1945, East Prussia was partitioned between Poland and the Soviet Union according to the Potsdam Conference. Southern East Prussia was placed under Polish administration, while northern East Prussia was divided between the Soviet republics of Russia (the Kaliningrad Oblast) and Lithuania (the constituent counties of the Klaipėda Region). The city of Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946. Most of the German population of the province had left during the evacuation at the end of the war, but several hundreds of thousands died during the years 1944–46 and the remainder were subsequently expelled.
Expulsion of Germans from East Prussia after World War II[edit]
Main article: Expulsion of Germans after World War II
Shortly after the end of the war in May 1945, Germans who had fled in early 1945 tried to return to their homes in East Prussia. An estimated number of 800,000 Germans were living in East Prussia during the summer of 1945.[32] Many more were prevented from returning,[citation needed] and the German population of East Prussia was almost completely expelled by the communist regimes. During the war and for some time thereafter 45 camps were established for about 200,000-250,000 forced labourers, the vast majority of whom were deported to the Soviet Union, including the Gulag camp system.[33] The largest camp with about 48,000 inmates was established at Deutsch Eylau (Iława).[33] Orphaned children who were left behind in the zone occupied by the Soviet Union were referred to as Wolf children.
An illustration of the changing borders in Eastern Europe before, during, and after World War II (Map is written in German)
Changes in Germany's borders as a result of both World Wars, with the partition of East Prussia.
Southern part to Poland[edit]
Main article: Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
Representatives of the Polish government officially took over the civilian administration of the southern part of East Prussia on 23 May 1945.[33] Subsequently, Polish expatriates from Polish lands annexed by the Soviet Union as well as Ukrainians and Lemkos from southern Poland, expelled in Operation Vistula in 1947, were settled in the southern part of East Prussia, now the Polish Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. In 1950 the Olsztyn Voivodeship counted 689,000 inhabitants, 22.6% of them coming from areas annexed by the Soviet Union, 10% Ukrainians, and 18.5% of them pre-war inhabitants. The remaining pre-war population was treated as Germanized Poles and a policy of re-Polonization was pursued throughout the country[34] Most of these "Autochthones" chose to emigrate to West Germany from the 1950s through 1970s (between 1970 and 1988 55,227 persons from Warmia and Masuria moved to Western Germany).[35] Local toponyms were Polonised by the Polish Commission for the Determination of Place Names.[36]
Northern East Prussia to the Soviet Union[edit]
Main article: Kaliningrad Oblast
Königsberg Castle, 1895
"Königsberg" licence plate holder, 2009
In April 1946, northern East Prussia became an official province of the Russian SFSR as the "Kyonigsbergskaya Oblast", with the Memel Territory becoming part of the Lithuanian SSR. In June 1946 114,070 German and 41,029 Soviet citizens were registered in the Oblast, with an unknown number of disregarded unregistered persons. In July of that year, the historic city of Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad to honour Mikhail Kalinin and the area named the Kaliningrad Oblast. Between 24 August and 26 October 1948 21 transports with in total 42,094 Germans left the Oblast to the Soviet Occupation Zone (which became East Germany). The last remaining Germans left in November 1949 (1,401 persons) and January 1950 (7 persons).[37]
The Prussian Lithuanians also experienced the same fate.
A similar fate befell the Curonians who lived in the area around the Curonian Lagoon. While many fled from the Red Army during the evacuation of East Prussia, Curonians that remained behind were subsequently expelled by the Soviet Union. Only 219 lived along the Curonian Spit in 1955. Many had German names such as Fritz or Hans, a cause for anti-German discrimination. The Soviet authorities considered the Curonians fascists. Because of this discrimination, many immigrated to West Germany in 1958, where the majority of Curonians now live.
After the expulsion of the German population ethnic Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians were settled in the northern part. In the Soviet part of the region, a policy of eliminating all remnants of German history was pursued. All German place names were replaced by new Russian names. The exclave was a military zone, which was closed to foreigners; Soviet citizens could only enter with special permission. In 1967 the remnants of Königsberg Castle were demolished on the orders of Leonid Brezhnev to make way for a new "House of the Soviets".
Modern status[edit]
Since the fall of Communism in 1991, some German groups have tried to help settle the Volga Germans from eastern parts of European Russia in the Kaliningrad Oblast. This effort was only a small success, however, as most impoverished Volga Germans preferred to emigrate to the richer Federal Republic of Germany, where they could become German citizens through the right of return.
Although the 1945–1949 expulsion of Germans from the northern part of former East Prussia was often conducted in a violent and aggressive way by Soviet officials, the present Russian inhabitants of the Kaliningrad Oblast have much less animosity towards Germans. German names have been revived in commercial Russian trade and there is sometimes talk of reverting Kaliningrad's name to its historic name of Königsberg. The city centre of Kaliningrad was completely rebuilt, as British bombs in 1944 and the Soviet siege in 1945 had left it in nothing but ruins.
The borders of the present-day Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland correspond closely to those of southern East Prussia.
Administration[edit]
The Prussian central government appointed for every province an Oberpräsident ("Upper President") carrying out central prerogatives on the provincial level and supervising the implementation of central policy on the lower levels of administration.
Since 1875, with the strengthening of self-rule, the urban and rural districts (Kreise) within each province (sometimes within each governorate) formed a corporation with common tasks and assets (schools, traffic installations, hospitals, cultural institutions, jails etc.) called the Provinzialverband (provincial association). Initially the assemblies of the urban and rural districts elected representatives for the provincial diets (Provinziallandtage), which were thus indirectly elected. As of 1919 the provincial diets (or as to governorate diets, the so-called Kommunallandtage) were directly elected by the citizens of the provinces (or governorates, respectively). These parliaments legislated within the competences transferred to the provincial associations. The provincial diet of East Prussia elected a provincial executive body (government), the provincial committee (Provinzialausschuss), and a head of province, the Landeshauptmann ("Land Captain"; till the 1880s titled Landdirektor, land director).[38]
Upper Presidents of East Prussia and Prussia[edit]
1765–1791: Johann Friedrich von Domhardt, president of the Gumbinnen and Königsberg War and Demesnes Chambers
1791–1808: Friedrich Leopold von Schrötter, president of the Gumbinnen and Königsberg War and Demesnes Chambers, as of 1795 Minister for East and New East Prussia
1808–1814: vacancy?
1814–1824: Hans Jakob von Auerswald, upper president of East Prussia
1824–1842: Heinrich Theodor von Schön, upper president of Prussia, merged from East and West Prussia, since 1816 already upper president of West Prussia
1842–1848: Carl Wilhelm von Bötticher, upper president of Prussia
1848–1849: Rudolf von Auerswald, upper president of Prussia
1849–1850: Eduard Heinrich von Flottwell (1786–1865), upper president of Prussia
1850–1868: Franz August Eichmann, upper president of Prussia
1868–1869: vacancy
1869–1882: Carl Wilhelm Heinrich Georg von Horn, upper president of Prussia, after 1878 of East Prussia
1882–1891: Albrecht Heinrich von Schlieckmann, upper president of East Prussia
1891–1895: Count Udo zu Stolberg-Wernigerode, upper president of East Prussia
1895–1901: Count Wilhelm von Bismarck-Schönhausen, upper president of East Prussia
1901–1903: Hugo Samuel von Richthofen, upper president of East Prussia
1903–1907: Count Friedrich von Moltke, upper president of East Prussia
1907–1914: Ludwig von Windheim, upper president of East Prussia
1914–1916: Adolf Tortilowicz von Batocki-Friebe, upper president of East Prussia
1916–1918: Friedrich von Berg, upper president of East Prussia
1919–1920: August Winnig (SPD), upper president of East Prussia
1920–1932: Ernst Siehr (DDP), upper president of East Prussia
1932–1933: Wilhelm Kutscher (DNVP), upper president of East Prussia
1933–1945: Erich Koch (NSDAP), upper president of East Prussia
Elections to the provincial diets[edit]
e • d Summary of the East Prussian Provincial Diet direct election results
SPD 24.1 20 24.8 +0.7 (-) 22 +2 (-4) 26 +1.2 23 +1 13.6 -12.4 12 -11
USPD 6 +6 merged
in SPD
DNVP[39] 13.4 +13.4 11 +11 45.6[40] 40 (+4) 31.2 (+17.8) 27 (+16) 12.7[39] -18.5 11 -16
DVP 3.6 +3.6 4 +4 8.7 (+5.1) 8 (+4) 0 -8
BWA 16 +16 0 -16 0 0 0 0
Zentrum 9.3 8 +8 6.9 -2.4 6 -2 8.1 +1.2 7 +1 7 -1.1 7 0
KPD[41] 7 +7 6 +6 6.9 -0.1 6 0 8.6 +1.7 8 +2 6 -2.6 6 -2
BWW 6 +6 0 -6 0 0 0 0
DDP 5.7 +5.7 6 +6 3.6 -2.1 3 -3 2.8 -0.8 3 0 0 -3
NSDAP not run not run not run not run 4.3 4 +4 58.2 +53,9 51 +47
LL/WP[42] 2 +2 4.2 +4.2 4 +2 4 -1.2 4 0 0 -4
DFP not run not run not run not run 4.2 +4.2 4 +4 0 -4 0 0
CSVD not run not run not run not run not run not run not run not run 3 +3 3 +3 0 -3
AuA not run not run not run not run 2 +2 0 -2 0 0
FOW 2 +2 0 -2 0 0 0 0
Poles' Party 1 +1 0 -1 0 0 0 0
Others 2 +? 0 -2 0 0 0 0
Land Directors and Land Captains of East Prussia[edit]
1876–1878: Heinrich Edwin Rickert (NLP, later DFP), titled land director
1878–1884: Kurt von Saucken-Tarputschen (Fortschritt, later DFP), titled land director
1884–1888: Alfred von Gramatzki (DKP), titled land director
1888–1896: Klemens von Stockhausen, titled land director
1896–1909: Rudolf von Brandt, titled land captain
1909–1916: Friedrich von Berg, titled land captain
1916–1928: Manfred Graf von Brünneck-Bellschwitz, titled land captain
1928–1936: Paul Blunk, titled land captain
1936–1941: Helmuth von Wedelstädt (NSDAP), titled land captain
1941–1945: Reinhard Bezzenberger, first land councillor, per pro
Cities and towns[edit]
Main article: List of cities and towns in East Prussia
District (Kreis)
Pop. in 1939
Current Administrative Unit
Allenburg Landkreis Wehlau 2 694 Druzhba Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia)
Allenstein Landkreis Allenstein 50 396 Olsztyn Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (Poland)
Angerburg Landkreis Angerburg 10 922 Węgorzewo (Węgobork) Warmia-Masuria
Arys Landkreis Johannisburg 3 553 Orzysz Warmia-Masuria
Barten Landkreis-Rastenburg 1 541 Barciany Warmia-Masuria
Bartenstein Landkreis Bartenstein 12 912 Bartoszyce Warmia-Masuria
Bischofsburg Landkreis Rößel Biskupiec Warmia-Masuria
Bischofstein (Ostpreußen) Rößel 3 200 Bisztynek Warmia-Masuria
Braunsberg Landkreis Braunsberg 21 142 Braniewo Warmia-Masuria
Darkehmen/Angerapp Landkreis Darkehmen Ozyorsk Kaliningrad
Domnau Bartenstein Domnovo Kaliningrad
Elbing Stadtkreis 85 952 Elbląg Warmia-Masuria
Eydtkuhnen Landkreis Stallupönen 4 922 Chernyshevskoye Kaliningrad
Fischhausen Landkreis Samland 3 879 Primorsk Kaliningrad
Frauenburg (Ostpreußen) Braunsberg 2 951 Frombork Warmia-Masuria
Friedland (Ostpreußen) Bartenstein Pravdinsk Kaliningrad
Gehlenburg Johannisburg Biała Piska Warmia-Masuria
Gerdauen Landkreis Gerdauen 5 118 Zheleznodorozhny Kaliningrad
Gilgenburg Landkreis Osterode 1 700 Dąbrówno Warmia-Masuria
Goldap Landkreis Goldap 12 786 Gołdap Warmia-Masuria
Gumbinnen Landkreis Gumbinnen 24 534 Gusev Kaliningrad
Guttstadt Landkreis Heilsberg Dobre Miasto Warmia-Masuria
Heiligenbeil Landkreis Heiligenbeil 12 100 Mamonovo Kaliningrad
Heilsberg Heilsberg Lidzbark Warmiński Warmia-Masuria
Heydekrug Landkreis Heydekrug 4 836 Šilutė Klaipėda County (Lithuania)
Hohenstein Osterode Olsztynek Warmia-Masuria
Insterburg Landkreis Insterburg 48 711 Chernyakhovsk Kaliningrad
Johannisburg Johannisburg Pisz (Jańsbork) Warmia-Masuria
Königsberg (Preußen) Stadtkreis 372 000 Kaliningrad Kaliningrad
Kreuzburg (Ostpreußen) Landkreis Preußisch Eylau Slavskoye Kaliningrad
Labiau Landkreis Labiau 6 527 Polessk Kaliningrad
Landsberg in Ostpreußen Preußisch Eylau Górowo Iławeckie Warmia-Masuria
Liebemühl Osterode Miłomłyn Warmia-Masuria
Liebstadt Landkreis Mohrungen 2 742 Miłakowo Warmia-Masuria
Lötzen Landkreis Lötzen 13 000 Giżycko (Lec) Warmia-Masuria
Lyck Landkreis Lyck 16 482 Ełk (Łęg) Warmia-Masuria
Marggrabowa/Treuburg Landkreis Oletzko/Treuburg Olecko Warmia-Masuria
Marienburg in Westpreußen Landkreis Marienburg (Westpr.) Malbork Pomeranian Voivodeship (Poland)
Mehlsack Braunsberg Pieniężno (Melzak) Warmia-Masuria
Memel Stadtkreis 41 297 Klaipėda Klaipėda
Mohrungen Mohrungen 5 500 Morąg Warmia-Masuria
Mühlhausen Landkreis Preußisch Holland Młynary Warmia-Masuria
Neidenburg Landkreis Neidenburg 9 201 Nidzica (Nibork) Warmia-Masuria
Nikolaiken Landkreis Sensburg Mikołajki Warmia-Masuria
Nordenburg Gerdauen 3 173 Krylovo Kaliningrad
Ortelsburg Landkreis Ortelsburg 14 234 Szczytno Warmia-Masuria
Osterode (Ostpreußen) Osterode 19 519 Ostróda Warmia-Masuria
Passenheim Ortelsburg 2 431 Pasym Warmia-Masuria
Peterswalde Osterode Piertzwald Warmia-Masuria
Pillau Samland 12 000 Baltiysk Kaliningrad
Preußisch Eylau Preußisch Eylau 7 485 Bagrationovsk Kaliningrad
Preußisch Holland Preußisch Holland Pasłęk Warmia-Masuria
Ragnit Landkreis Tilsit-Ragnit 10 094 Neman Kaliningrad
Rastenburg Rastenburg 19 634 Kętrzyn (Rastembork) Warmia-Masuria
Rhein (Ostpreußen) Lötzen Ryn Warmia-Masuria
Rößel Rößel 5 000 Reszel Warmia-Masuria
Saalfeld Mohrungen Zalewo Warmia-Masuria
Schippenbeil Bartenstein Sępopol Warmia-Masuria
Schirwindt Landkreis Pillkallen Kutuzovo Kaliningrad
Pillkallen-Schlossberg Pillkallen Dobrovolsk Kaliningrad
Seeburg Rößel Jeziorany (Zybork) Warmia-Masuria
Sensburg Sensburg Mrągowo (Żądzbork) Warmia-Masuria
Soldau Neidenburg 5 349 Działdowo Warmia-Masuria
Stallupönen Stallupönen 6 608 Nesterov Kaliningrad
Tapiau Wehlau 9 272 Gvardeysk Kaliningrad
Tilsit Stadtkreis 59 105 Sovetsk Kaliningrad
Wartenburg (Ostpreußen) Allenstein 5 841 Barczewo (Wartembork) Warmia-Masuria
Wehlau Wehlau 7 348 Znamensk Kaliningrad
Willenberg Ortelsburg 2 600 Wielbark Warmia-Masuria
Wormditt Braunsberg Orneta Warmia-Masuria
Zinten Heiligenbeil Kornevo Kaliningrad
Drang nach Osten
East Colonisation
Landsmannschaft Ostpreußen
East Prussian Regional Museum
^ The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition (2008), East Prussia
^ Schaitberger, L. "Ostpreußen: The Great Trek". Retrieved 8 December 2016.
^ Encyclopædia Britannica: Old-Prussian-language; Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.): Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 2005, Prussian
^ tenn@owlnet.rice.edu. "Sarmatian Review XV.1: Davies". Retrieved 8 December 2016.
^ A Treatise on Political Economy
^ "LINGUISTIC PRINCIPLES OF THE RECOVERY OF OLD PRUSSIAN". Retrieved 8 December 2016.
^ Plater, Stanisław (1825). Jeografia wschodniéy części Europy czyli Opis krajów przez wielorakie narody słowiańskie zamieszkanych: obejmujący Prussy, Xsięztwo Poznańskie, Szląsk Pruski, Gallicyą, Rzeczpospolitę Krakowską, Krolestwo Polskie i Litwę (in Polish). Wrocław: u Wilhelma Bogumiła Korna. p. 17.
^ Andree, Karl (1831). Polen: in geographischer, geschichtlicher und culturhistorischer Hinsicht (in German). Verlag von Ludwig Schumann. p. 218.
^ Hassel, Georg (1823). Statistischer Umriß der sämmtlichen europäischen und der vornehmsten außereuropäischen Staaten, in Hinsicht ihrer Entwickelung, Größe, Volksmenge, Finanz- und Militärverfassung, tabellarisch dargestellt; Erster Heft: Welcher die beiden großen Mächte Österreich und Preußen und den Deutschen Staatenbund darstellt (in German). Verlag des Geographischen Instituts Weimar. p. 41.
^ a b Haxthausen, August (1839). Die Ländliche Verfassung in den Einzelnen Provinzen der Preussischen Monarchie (in German). pp. 75–91.
^ "Monastery of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Wojnowo (Eckersdorf)". wojnowo.net.
^ Tetzner, Franz (1902). Die Slawen in Deutschland: beiträge zur volkskunde der Preussen, Litauer und Letten, der Masuren und Philipponen, der Tschechen, Mährer und Sorben, Polaben und Slowinzen, Kaschuben und Polen. Braunschweig: Verlag von F. Vieweg. pp. 212–248.
^ "Old Believers in Poland - historical and cultural information". Poland's Linguistic Heritage.
^ Hoffmann, Johann Gottfried (1818). Übersicht der Bodenfläche und Bevölkerung des Preußischen Staates : aus den für das Jahr 1817 mtlich eingezogenen Nachrichten. Berlin: Decker. p. 51.
^ Ethnic Groups and Population Changes in Twentieth-Century Central-Eastern Europe: History, Data, and Analysis. Piotr Eberhardt,page 166, 2003 M E Sharpe Inc
^ "Gemeindeverzeichnis Deutschland".
^ a b "Rocznik statystyki Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 1920/21". Rocznik statystyki Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (in Polish and French). Warsaw: Główny Urząd Statystyczny. I: 56–62. 1921.
^ Jehke, Rolf. "Rbz. Allenstein: 10.1.1920 Abtretung des Kreises Neidenburg (teilweise) an Polen; 15.8.1920 Abtretung der Landgemeinden Groschken, Groß Lehwalde (teilweise), Klein Lobenstein (teilweise), Gut Nappern und der Gutsbezirke Groß Grieben (teilweise) und Klein Nappern (teilweise) an Polen". territorial.de.
^ "Działdowo, Soldauer Gebiet, Soldauer Ländchen". GOV The Historic Gazetteer.
^ Khan, Daniel-Erasmus (2004). Die deutschen Staatsgrenzen. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. p. 78. ISBN 3-16-148403-7.
^ a b Robert S. Wistrich, Who's who in Nazi Germany, 2002, pp. 142-143.
^ Matull, Wilhelm (1973). "Ostdeutschlands Arbeiterbewegung: Abriß ihrer Geschichte, Leistung und Opfer" (PDF) (in German). Holzner Verlag. p. 350.
^ Die aufrechten Roten von Königsberg Spiegel.de, 28 June 2009 ‹See Tfd›(in German)
^ Dan P. Silverman (1993). "Fantasy and Reality in Nazi Work-Creation Programs, 1933-1936". The Journal of Modern History. 65 (1): 113–151. doi:10.1086/244609.
^ Richard Steigmann-Gall, The Holy Reich - Nazi Conceptions of Christianity 1919-1945, 2004, p. 102.
^ Matull, page 357
^ Neumärker, Uwe; et al. (2007). "Wolfsschanze": Hitlers Machtzentrale im Zweiten Weltkrieg (in German) (3 ed.). Ch. Links Verlag. ISBN 3-86153-433-9.
^ Szkolnictwo polskie w Niemczech 1919-1939, Henryk Chałupczak Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej,page9 1996
^ Rademacher, Michael. "Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte Preußen, Provinz Ostpreußen 1871 - 1945". Retrieved 8 December 2016.
^ Beevor, Antony, Berlin: The Downfall 1945, Penguin Books (2002). ISBN 0-670-88695-5
^ Beevor, Antony, Berlin: The Downfall 1945, chapters 1-8, Penguin Books (2002). ISBN 0-670-88695-5
^ Andreas Kossert, Damals in Ostpreussen, p. 168, München 2008 ISBN 978-3-421-04366-5
^ a b c Ther, Philipp; Siljak, Anna (2001). Redrawing nations: ethnic cleansing in East-Central Europe, 1944-1948. Rowman&Littlefield Publishers. p. 109. ISBN 0-7425-1094-8.
^ Ethnic Germans in Poland and the Czech Republic:A Comparative Evaluation by Karl Cordell and Stefan Wolff
^ Andreas Kossert, Ostpreussen - Geschichte und Mythos, p.352, ISBN 3-88680-808-4
^ The Polish toponymic guidelines (p.9)
^ Andreas Kossert, Damals in Ostpreussen, p. 179-183, München 2008 ISBN 978-3-421-04366-5
^ In some Prussian provinces the same office continued to be called Landesdirektor also thereafter. Cf. article: "Landesdirektor", in: Der Große Brockhaus: Handbuch des Wissens in zwanzig Bänden: 21 vols.; Leipzig: Brockhaus, 151928–1935; vol. 11 (1932), p. 71.
^ a b In 1933 the DNVP ran under the list KFSWR, also including the Stahlhelm and the LB.
^ DVP and DNVP formed the united list called Prussian Block (PB, Preußenblock).
^ In 1921 the party was named United Communist Party of Germany, VKPD.
^ In 1921 the Landliste (LL, Rural List) gained two seats, in 1926 the LL formed a united list with the WP and the East Prussian Farmers' Federation (OBB), in 1929 they all ran as part of the WP.
^ Part of pre-1918 county Nidzica with Działdowo and with around 27 thousand inhabitants;[17] as well as parts of county Ostróda near Dąbrówno, with areas around Groszki, Lubstynek, Napromek, Czerlin, Lewałd Wielki, Grzybiny and with around 4786 inhabitants.[20] Too small to form its own voivodeship, this territory was incorporated to intewar Pomeranian Voivodeship.
Publications in English
Baedeker, Karl, Northern Germany, 14th revised edition, London, 1904.
Beevor, Antony (2002). "chapters 1-8". Berlin: The Downfall 1945. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-670-88695-5. (on the years 1944/45)
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas, " Nemesis at Potsdam". London, 1977. ISBN 0-8032-4910-1.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas, A Terrible Revenge: The Ethnic Cleansing of the East European Germans, 1944-1950, 1994, ISBN 0-312-12159-8
Dickie, Reverend J.F., with E.Compton, Germany, A & C Black, London, 1912.
Douglas, R.M.: Orderly and Humane. The Expulsion of the Germans after the Second World War. Yale University Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0300166606.
von Treitschke, Heinrich, History of Germany - vol.1: The Wars of Emancipation, (translated by E & C Paul), Allen & Unwin, London, 1915.
Powell, E. Alexander, Embattled Borders, London, 1928.
Prausser, Steffen and Rees, Arfon: The Expulsion of the "German" Communities from Eastern Europe at the End of the Second World War. Florence, Italy, European University Institute, 2004.
Naimark, Norman: Fires of Hatred. Ethnic Cleansing in Twentieth-Century Europe. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2001.
Steed, Henry Wickham, Vital Peace - A Study of Risks, Constable & Co., London, 1936.
Newman, Bernard, Danger Spots of Europe, London, 1938.
Wieck, Michael: A Childhood Under Hitler and Stalin: Memoirs of a "Certified Jew," University of Wisconsin Press, 2003, ISBN 0-299-18544-3.
Woodward, E.L., Butler, Rohan; Medlicott, W.N., Dakin, Douglas, & Lambert, M.E., et al. (editors), Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939, Three Series, Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO), London, numerous volumes published over 25 years. Cover the Versailles Treaty including all secret meetings; plebiscites and all other problems in Europe; includes all diplomatic correspondence from all states.
Previté-Orton, C.W., Professor, The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History, Cambridge University Press, 1952 (2 volumes).
Balfour, Michael, and John Mair, Four-Power Control in Germany and Austria 1945-1946, Oxford University Press, 1956.
Kopelev, Lev, To Be Preserved Forever, ("Хранить вечно"), 1976.
Koch, H.W., Professor, A History of Prussia, Longman, London, 1978/1984, (P/B), ISBN 0-582-48190-2
Koch, H.W., Professor, A Constitutional History of Germany in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Longman, London, 1984, (P/B), ISBN 0-582-49182-7
MacDonogh, Giles, Prussia, Sinclair-Stevenson, London, 1994, ISBN 1-85619-267-9
Nitsch, Gunter, Weeds Like Us, AuthorHouse, 2006, ISBN 978-1-4259-6755-0
Publications in German
B. Schumacher: Geschichte Ost- und Westpreussens, Würzburg 1959
Boockmann, Hartmut: Ostpreußen und Westpreußen (= Deutsche Geschichte im Osten Europas). Siedler, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-88680-212-4
Buxa, Werner and Hans-Ulrich Stamm: Bilder aus Ostpreußen
Dönhoff, Marion Gräfin v. :Namen die keiner mehr nennt - Ostpreußen, Menschen und Geschichte
Dönhoff, Marion Gräfin v.: Kindheit in Ostpreussen
Falk, Lucy: Ich Blieb in Königsberg. Tagebuchblätter aus dunklen Nachkriegsjahren
Kibelka, Ruth: Ostpreußens Schicksaljahre, 1945-1948
Bernd, Martin (1998). Masuren, Mythos und Geschichte. Karlsruhe: Evangelische Akademie Baden. ISBN 83-85135-93-6.
Nitsch, Gunter: "Eine lange Flucht aus Ostpreußen", Ellert & Richter Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-8319-0438-9
Wieck, Michael: Zeugnis vom Untergang Königsbergs: Ein "Geltungsjude" berichtet, Heidelberger Verlaganstalt, 1990, 1993, ISBN 3-89426-059-9.
Publications in French
Pierre Benoît, Axelle
Georges Blond, L'Agonie de l'Allemagne
Michel Tournier, Le Roi des aulnes
Publications in Polish
K. Piwarski (1946). Dzieje Prus Wschodnich w czasach nowożytnych. Gdańsk.
Gerard Labuda, ed. (1969–2003). "Historia Pomorza", vol. I–IV. Poznań.
collective work (1958–61). "Szkice z dziejów Pomorza", vol. 1–3. Warszawa.
Andreas Kossert (2009). PRUSY WSCHODNIE, Historia i mit. Warszawa. ISBN 978-83-7383-354-8.
Pictures Of East Prussia Large archive
Brandenburg Prince-Electors co-inheritors 1568, co-regent 1577
East Prussia FAQ
Extensive East & West Prussian Historical Materials ‹See Tfd›(in English) & ‹See Tfd›(in German)
East and West Prussia Gazetteer
Provinz Ostpreußen ‹See Tfd›(in German)
Ostpreußen.net ‹See Tfd›(in German)
Ostpreußen Info - East Prussia Information ‹See Tfd›(in German)
East- and West Prussia in Photos
Spuren der Vergangenheit / Следы Пρошлого (Traces of the past) This site by W.A. Milowskij, a Kaliningrad resident, contains hundreds of interesting photos, often with text explanations, of architectural and infrastructural artifacts of the territory's long German past. ‹See Tfd›(in German) ‹See Tfd›(in Russian)
German Empire: Province of East Prussia ‹See Tfd›(in German)
"East Prussia" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 8 (11th ed.). 1911.
Britannica 2007 article
Growing up in East Prussia An oral history project, documenting the German history of East Prussia with memories and reports by contemporary witnesses ‹See Tfd›(in German) ‹See Tfd›(in Polish)
East & West Prussia Map Collection
Historical borders of East Prussia ‹See Tfd›(in German)
Territories and provinces of Prussia (1525–1947)
Duchy of Prussia
Margraviate of Brandenburg
Cleves / Mark / Ravensberg (1614)
Farther Pomerania / Minden / Halberstadt (1648)
Lauenburg–Bütow / Draheim (1657)
Magdeburg (1680)
Arguin
Neuchâtel (1707)
Guelders (1713)
Minden-Ravensberg (1719)
Western Pomerania (1720 / 1815)
Silesia / Glatz (1742)
East Frisia (1744)
East / West Prussia (1772–73)
South Prussia (1793)
New East Prussia / New Silesia (1795)
Post-Congress of
Vienna (1814–15)
Principality of Neuchâtel (1814–1848)
Grand Duchy of Posen1
Rhine Province2 (1822)
Province of Prussia (1824–1878)
Hohenzollern (1850)
Schleswig-Holstein / Hanover / Hesse-Nassau (1866–68)
Territorial reforms
Lower / Upper Silesia (1919)
Greater Berlin (1920)
Posen-West Prussia (1922)
Halle-Merseburg / Magdeburg / Kurhessen / Nassau (1944)
1 Became Province of Posen in 1848. 2 From the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg.
Administrative divisions of Kaliningrad Oblast
Administrative center: Kaliningrad • Rural localities
Bagrationovsky
Baltiysky
Chernyakhovsky
Guryevsky
Gusevsky
Gvardeysky
Krasnoznamensky
Nemansky
Nesterovsky
Ozyorsky
Polessky
Pravdinsky
Slavsky
Svetlogorsky
Zelenogradsky
Guryevsk
Krasnoznamensk
Ladushkin
Ozyorsk
Pionersky
Primorsk
Sovetsk
Svetly
Urban-type settlements of
oblast significance
Yantarny
Urban-type settlements
Zheleznodorozhny
Coordinates: 54°44′N 20°29′E / 54.733°N 20.483°E / 54.733; 20.483
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=East_Prussia&oldid=906769048"
States and territories disestablished in 1945
Provinces of Prussia
1773 establishments in Prussia
Former exclaves
Kingdom of Prussia
Regions of Europe
Historical regions
Partition (politics)
1945 disestablishments in Germany
Former eastern territories of Germany
CS1 Polish-language sources (pl)
CS1 German-language sources (de)
CS1 French-language sources (fr)
Articles lacking in-text citations from August 2013
All articles lacking in-text citations
Articles containing German-language text
Articles containing Polish-language text
Articles containing Lithuanian-language text
Articles containing Latin-language text
Articles containing Russian-language text
Articles with Polish-language external links
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Mad Cow Disease in Humans
Mad cow disease is a neurologically degenerative disease in individuals that appeared in the late 20th century. What causes this disease? Well, it is suggested that the disease is contracted by consuming contaminated beef.
Debopriya Bose
Mad cow disease is a neurological disease in which certain abnormal proteins known as prions, induce the formation of lesions/plaques in the brain tissue of the infected animal. This disease is as old as 300 years, when it was reported in sheep as 'scrapie'. Other than cows and sheep, this disease can infect cats, deer, and elk as well. However, the bad news is that the infection is not restricted only to animal species. Mad cow disease, in humans, is known as the variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), or the new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (nvCJD), and there is strong evidence that it is contracted by eating beef that came from infected cows.
The classic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) (which not the same as the vCJD/nvCJD) was described in the 1920s by German neurologist Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt and Alfons Maria Jakob, giving the disease its name. Although it is often called the mad cow disease in human beings, this is a wrong association. The mad cow disease which is also known as the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), CJD, vCJD, and nvCJD are all types of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), which is characterized by spongy appearance of the brain tissue of the infected organisms.
The most widely accepted theory about the causative agent of the TSE is the prion theory. Prions are abnormal proteins that are a result of a fault in the way they fold during their synthesis. All proteins are strings of amino acids that need to fold as per the sequence of amino acids. Prions are the result of faults in their folding pattern that make them harmful. In addition to this, they disrupt the folding of other normal proteins as well. Those that oppose the prion theory believe that the causative agent of TSE is a virus-like agent that carries nucleic acid. Although some researchers dispute the role of the prion, till date, the prion theory is the most widely accepted cause of the TSE. However, greater characterization of this protein is required.
Before we move on to the vCJD, let us understand a little about the classic CJD. The classic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease can occur in three different ways. In over 80% of the cases, it occurs sporadically for no apparent reason. Almost 5% to 10% of the cases of CJD are hereditary, that are passed on as a result of gene mutation. A small percentage of classic CJD is contracted through contamination. The diseased prions may be present in the brain, spinal cord, retina, and other tissues of the nervous system of the affected animals or humans. The abnormal prions may be passed on through these tissues to healthy individuals through medical procedures like grafts of dura mater (a tissue covering the brain), transplanted corneas, or injections of contaminated pituitary growth hormone. The classic CJD typically occurs in the older population. However, in the 1990s, certain individuals showed signs of neurological disorder and they all were reported to have consumed beef. These individuals who were younger than those afflicted with classic CJD were diagnosed with a new form of CJD, that was named the variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).
Although more conclusive research is required, the disease in humans is believed to have been caused by consumption of infected cattle beef, carrying the agent of BSE. Besides the co-relation between the consumption of infected beef products, the fact that healthy cows when fed with tissue infected with BSE agent (prion) also contracted the disease has lent further ground to the theory of the disease being transmitted to human beings through infected bovine tissue. Also, a recent clinical study in mice has shown stunning similarity between the transmission characteristics of BSE and vCJD. All these findings point to both conditions sharing a similar causative agent, which causes the disease in humans, and as per current understanding, this infection is through the consumption of infected beef and beef products.
Although both are forms of TSE, the effects of mad cow disease are different from those of classic CJD. In case of classic CJD, dementia and neurological degradation make an early appearance; whereas, the effects of mad cow disease start with psychiatric or behavioral problems like depression and anxiety. As the disease progresses, neurological signs like unsteadiness, difficulty in walking, involuntary, jerky movements appear. Towards the end, an individual loses control over his mental and physical functions completely and dies. BSE has a longer illness duration of 13 - 14 months as opposed to 4 - 5 months in the case of classic CJD. The average age of death in case of classic CJD is 68 years, whereas in case of BSE, it is only 28 years.
Only a brain biopsy, which can be done after the death of an infected individual, can confirm BSE. Unless the clinical symptoms have surfaced, there are no definitive diagnostic tests that can confirm mad cow disease in human beings. However, magnetic resonance scans, tonsillar biopsy, and cerebrospinal fluid tests are some diagnostic tests that healthcare professionals rely on, in case the disease has been suspected in individuals.
Treatment and Prevention
There is no cure for this disease. Doctors concentrate on reducing pain and alleviating the symptoms. For preventive measures, WHO recommends strict regulation of meat and meat products from animals that show signs of TSE. The international body also suggests that pharmaceutical industries should avoid making vaccines using materials from animals that can be infected with prions.
Be it the CJD or the mad cow disease, the problem is its unusually long incubation period that makes it difficult to trace the source from which the disease was contracted. Mad cow disease in humans is a relatively new disease and researchers are trying to gain more insight into the cause and ways to prevent the disease.
Mad Cow Disease Treatment
What Causes Mad Cow Disease?
Mad Cow Disease Symptoms
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Henry Abramson
Lectures in Jewish History and Thought. No hard questions, please.
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The Seven Jewish Survival Skills
Posted on June 5, 2018 June 7, 2018 by Henry Abramson
HISN 155: Survive Jewish History I
Two things: first of all, this isn’t a “skill” per se, since it is not directly dependent on human choice, and second, it’s very difficult to discern exactly when and how it operates. This is an academic course, as therefore we tend to use the tools associated with scientific, rational thought: how can we reasonably discuss something of supernatural origin? Such an approach would be more appropriate in an explicitly religious setting like a Yeshiva, not an undergraduate college-level survey course. (Also, helpful reminder: your Guide to Survival (me) is not a Rabbi. I know, the beard and the kippah and everything, but not a Rabbi nevertheless, just a regular guy.)
As we shall see as we proceed through the course, however, Divine Providence is undeniably the most important element in Jewish survival. Think of it like oxygen—we are completely dependent on it, conscious or otherwise, but because it is ubiquitous we tend to forget about it altogether. It’s only when we go places where it’s not normally found—outer space, for example, or underwater—that we think to bring it with us. So too, when Jewish history gets to those frequent Existential Crises, there is inevitable an element of the unexplained, the fortuitous, the uncanny coincidence: our clean breath of fresh air once again.
What, exactly, is Divine Providence? The Hebrew term is hashgahah, and it comes in two well-known varieties: the most popular version is called hashgahah pratit (השגחה פרטית), which might be translated as “individual supervision.” Chances are, this is what you think of if you use the term hashgahah at all. This concept argues that G-d watches over every single human being (indeed, every creature in the universe) at every moment and exercises specific supervisory activities related to that person. On the other hand, there is another version of this concept, also well-supported by traditional Jewish thinkers, called hashgahah klalit (השגחה כללית) or “general supervision.” According to this approach, G-d exercises a more laissez-faire approach to Jewish history, supervising the overall destiny of the Jewish people—but not necessarily directing and shaping the lives of individual Jews. In other words, the Jewish people as a whole are promised survival—but not necessarily any specific community or individual.
Theologically, the Rabbis have generally been hesitant to argue for complete and utter reliance on Divine Providence alone in practical matters. There are notable examples of what me might want to call “blind faith,” like Psalms 55:23: “Cast your burdens on G-d, and G-d will support you; G-d will never turn away the righteous.” Perhaps because the will of G-d is fundamentally inscrutable, impenetrable to our puny human minds, the Rabbis have urged the counterbalance of hishtadlut (השטדלות), or “effort”—humans are required to put in their best effort to affect their personal status and improve their chances of survival, trusting in hashgahah for the parts that are out of their control. Consider for example the comment of Rashi on Deuteronomy: “You do your part, says G-d, and I will do the rest,” or the classic teaching of Rabbi Tarfon in Pirkei Avot: “you are not required to finish the task—but neither are you free to desist from it.”
So, Survivors of Jewish History: when you engage in the assignments associated with the Existential Crises, I suggest you bear in mind the power of Divine Providence, but do not rely on it until you have exhausted all other avenues of conventional effort. Be conscious of the role that Divine Providence plays, and it is certainly inspirational when you point it out to the rest of us, but in general I would suggest you look to the next six Survival Skills for your first responses to the Existential Crises.
2. Scholarship and Creativity
Some scholars have characterized Jewish history as an alternating series of “books and pogroms, pogroms and books.” An over-simplification to be sure, but there’s something to be said for this pithy assessment (another popular one is “they tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat.”). On a more significant level, however, we should understand that a major part of Jewish survival may be attributed to having something worth surviving for.
Imagine, for example, that all left-handed people were brutally persecuted for nothing other than their failure to be right-handed. If you were a left-handed person, what would you do? Probably teach yourself as best as possible to use your right hand! There is nothing especially glorious or earth-shattering to do with left-handedness, nor would you be abandoning a population of shared goals, values and heritage were you to assimilate to the right-handed majority.
Not so with the Jewish people. Despite the periodic and often unimaginable persecution, they have nevertheless achieved incredible works of human creativity. Many of them are expressed in the gloriously heroic works of spirituality—including the Prophets, the Talmud, Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed, to choose just a few examples—but there are also incredible works of art, contributions to science, landmarks in virtually every aspect of human endeavor. Unlike the left-handed example, which is a mere physiological feature—the apparent accident of Jewish birth, or the intentional act of conversion to Judaism, effects a bond between the individual Jew and the larger scope of Jewish scholarly and creative contributions to world civilization. Each achievement separately represents a point of pride that lends meaning to Jewish existence, and bolsters efforts for Jewish solidarity and, ultimately, survival.
So, Survivors—use this strategy to create reasons for Jewish survival. And unlike the Survival Points, which will only get you past the current Existential Crises and into the next, Scholarly and Creative Contribution points, if awarded, retain their value throughout the course. You can use them to bail yourself out in the future, or even give them to others to help them survive.
3. Servant-Leadership and Inspired Followership
Throughout their millennial history, the Jewish people have been blessed with a large number of great leaders, distinguished not only by their brilliance and courage but even more so by a key characteristic of “Servant-Leadership.” These leaders have exemplified dedication to the larger community, often putting themselves in harm’s way rather than expose their charges to danger, like David, the young shepherd who would be king, defended his flock from the attack of a lion, or like Don Isaac Abravanel defending the Spanish Jews before King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. In many cases these servant-leaders sacrificed themselves for the benefit of their followers, as Janusz Korczak accompanied his orphan charges to Treblinka rather than have them enter alone.
At the same time, no matter how heroic a leader may be, it takes followers to create a movement: visionary people who recognize the significance of the moment and choose to throw their lot in with the brave servant-leader who will identify the path forward. These inspired followers are, in a sense, leaders as well—the first person to choose to follow is also a leader. Consider the case of Nachshon ben Aminadav in the Midrash, who plunged into the waters of the Sea of Reeds before all the other Jews fleeing Pharaoah’s army in complete confidence that Moses’ leadership would win the day. He fearlessly demonstrated inspired followership, advancing into the waters until they reached his neck—and then split, allowing the Jewish people to reach safety.
Identifying the Servant-Leaders and Inspired Followers in a given Existential Crisis may be used to earn a Survival Point. Be sure to describe why you think they deserve that exalted nomination.
4. Communal Authority and Personal Autonomy
Stepping back from the individual level to the communal, there’s no question that one of the most important elements affecting Jewish survival was the composition, structure and power of the traditional Jewish community organization known as the kehilah. Invested with considerable authority, the kehilah acted to enforce community norms based on Talmudic law, ensuring support for the weaker elements of society. Recognizing the beneficial impact of this important communal institution, however, does not limit the fact that it could be forceful, even coercive, in maintaining group standards. Independent-minded individuals could chafe under its authority, and in fact in the modern period the kehilah was forced to adapt to a much more limited scope for various external and internal reasons.
On the other end of the spectrum, Personal Autonomy allowed individual Jews to identify paths to survival in areas outside the more invasive areas within the purview of the kehilah. Individual freedoms to pursue specific goals—for example, women managing businesses (even, in some rare cases, Rabbinical seminaries), or circles of enthusiasts focusing on mystical texts—prevented the kehilah from becoming a stale, desiccated institution with little growth or change. At many points in Jewish history those arguing for greater Communal Authority came into conflict with others demanding Personal Autonomy, yet their symbiosis contributed to the overall vitality of Jewish civilization.
To earn Survival Points with this Skill, be sure to identify the important trends—whether in favor of Communal Authority, Personal Autonomy, or some combination—and articulate how they improved the chances of Jewish Survival.
5. Communal Solidarity and Altruistic Self-Sacrifice
The Jewish people often survived Existential Crises because of incredible levels of Communal Solidarity, when communities of Jews with little in common with each other would rise to the aid of their coreligionists. A great example of this is the outpouring of support and political activism in United States to force the late Soviet Union to relent in its persecution of the “refuseniks,” Jews who were sent to labor camps and otherwise abused because they had applied to leave the country (and were “refused”). “All Jews are connected to each other,” teaches the Talmud—demonstrations of communal solidarity are excellent ways to earn Survival points.
Some of that communal solidarity comes at a very personal price. I was just a young man during those heady days of anti-Soviet agitation, and I recall well how Rabbi Baruch Taub addressed his congregation with a very clear directive: every member of his community was to mortgage his or her home, if necessary, to provide significant monetary support to the cause. Jewish survival often happens because people go beyond simply showing up for the rallies: individual Jews will make huge, completely altruistic sacrifices to benefit other Jews they have never met.
Survival Points can be earned by identifying and analyzing aspects of Communal Solidarity and Altruistic Self-Sacrifice that contributed to Jewish survival. Note that while these behaviors are virtually proverbial, there are many sad examples when some Jewish communities failed to live up to these lofty standards—the many Jewish communities on Mediterranean shores, for example, that refused to take in refugees from the Spanish Expulsion. These Survival Skills should not be taken for granted.
6. Textual Commitment and Adaptive Innovation
As we discussed above in Jewish Survival Skill Number Two, the “books” part is pretty much as important as the “pogroms” part of Jewish history. In Survival Skill Number Four we looked at the tension that sometimes existed between Communal Authority and Personal Autonomy. In Survival Skill Number Six, we see these elements come together in terms of fidelity and innovation regarding traditional texts. The former is easy to understand: the Jews are known as “the people of the book,” and maintaining steadfast attachment to books and their interpretations is key to Jewish survival. At the same time, there are moments in Jewish history when innovation—often challenging the status quo—has resulted in brilliant creativity and positively advanced Jewish survival. Consider, for example, the explosion of spiritual activity in the northern Israel town of Safed (Tsfat) in the sixteenth century, or the Hasidic movement of the eighteenth century. From time to time textual innovators have been excoriated by more traditional elements in society (most infamously, opposition to Maimonides’ writings resulted in some public burnings, for example), until ironically—like Maimonides—their work is accepted as mainstream. On the other hand, it is impossible to deny that some “innovations” are hugely corrosive to the Jewish body politic, and have a massively negative impact on Jewish survival.
So tread carefully here when identifying Textual Commitment and Adaptive Innovation for Survival Points. It’s a double-edged sword; whatever challenges the status quo may result in danger to Jewish survival just as it promises to benefit the community.
7. Fight, Fee, or Flee (The Kenny Rogers Rule)
Well, the title says it all, but Kenny Rogers says it best.
You got to know when to hold ‘em—Jews need to know when to argue and fight.
Know when to fold ‘em—and when a situation is hopeless.
Know when to walk away—perceive when flight is the best option.
Know when to run.—now now now
You never count your winnings—Avoid ostentation.
While you’re sittin’ at the table—as long as you want to be part of society.
There’ll be time enough for countin’—One day you will enjoy peace and prosperity.
When the dealin’s done.—In the Messianic era, may it come speedily in our days.
Categories: Will the Jewish People Survive?
2 thoughts on “The Seven Jewish Survival Skills”
didaskologos says:
I’m very excited about your New Experimental Jewish History Course. I’m hoping that Bridgette and I can study it together. I’m pleasantly surprised that throughout my life I’ve employed these seven survival skills at one time or another. You have always produced the best educational lectures on the internet and this is a perfect way to encourage your followers to become more involved. I’m sure that it will be a real blessing to your students and followers.
Lowell D Webb says:
I was pondering these ideas this morning and realized that there are cultures, religiously defined and otherwise, that use some or all of these strategies to survive. Other cultures may be dominant in one part of the world, and have been dominant for centuries, but when people of those cultures migrate, they blend in with their host culture over 2-4 generations. They may have cultural centers, but they’re not actively preserving their identity in resistance to the pressures of the world around them.
Knowing what I know about the Sikhs, for example, shows that they preserve themselves as a minority cultural and religious community with the same strategies cited here. While they may appeal to Guru Nanak instead of Moses, their experience has many similarities.
By contrast, the attempts of the Puritans to create a society with an identity in the Americas could not compete with the other ways of life that soon surrounded them. They had an identity, but it lost its distinctiveness over time. It is that second strategy, “For what purpose do we struggle to survive?” that seems to me to matter so much over time. If a culture or religious community has *that* to guide them, then it seems to me that they will collect the other six strategies in due course of time so that they can preserve their purpose.
Published by Henry Abramson
Henry Abramson serves as Dean of the mighty Avenue J campus of Touro College. A specialist in Jewish history and thought, he is the author of several works, most recently Torah from the Years of Wrath 1939-1943: The Historical Context of the Aish Kodesh. His online lectures in Jewish history are available at henryabramson.com. View all posts by Henry Abramson
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Visa Bulletin Update: May 2013
By Ari Sauer, immigration lawyer with the Memphis, Tennessee office of the Siskind Susser Law Firm.
The US Department of State has issued the May 2013 Visa Bulletin. The DOS Visa Bulletin lists visa availability to let foreign nationals know when they can file an immigrant visa application or application for adjustment of status to obtain a green card as a US permanent resident. The dates listed are the priority dates for immigrant petitions (I-130, I-140, I-360) or Diversity (DV) Lottery winner case numbers. A visa is available if your priority date or an earlier date is listed for your category and country of chargeability or if your DV Lottery case number or a larger number is listed.
1) To read the visa bulletin, first find the appropriate chart for your case: Family Based immigrant petitions; Employment Based immigrant petitions; or the Diversity Visa Lottery.
2) Next locate the appropriate column or row for your country of chargeablity. If your country is not listed, you would fall within the All Chargeability category. The DV lottery is listed by region instead of country although some countries within a region will be listed separately.
3) For the Family or Employment charts, locate your appropriate visa preference category from the rows listed on the left (F1 through F4 or EB-1 through EB-5).
4) Compare the priority date listed on the Visa Bulletin to the priority date for your petition. For the DV Lottery, compare the number listed on the Visa Bulletin to the number listed on your Congratulatory Notice.
The May 2013 Visa Bulletin becomes effective on May 1, 2013. Until then the April 2013 Visa Bulletin remains in effect. If you file a visa application or application for adjustment of status too early, your application will be rejected or denied.
FAMILY BASED IMMIGRATION CATEGORIES
Immediate Relatives: Spouses, Parents, and Unmarried Children Under 21 of US Citizens: Immediate Relative petitions do not have a limit on visa availability. They are not listed on the Visa Bulletin because there is no wait for a visa to become available for Immediate Relative petitions.
First Preference (F1) Umarried Sons and Daughters of US Citizens: Visa availability for the Philippines moved forward another 3.5 months from February 15, 1999 to June 1, 1999. Availability for Mexico moved forward a week from August 1, 1993 to August 8, 1993. Availability for everyone else moved from March 8, 2006 to April 1, 2006.
Second Preference (F2A) Spouses and Unmarried Children Under 21 of US Permanent Residents: Visa availability for Mexico moved from December 1, 2010 to February 1, 2011. Availability for all other countries moved forward 2.5 months from December 15, 2010 to March 1, 2011.
Second Preference (F2B) Unmarried Sons and Daughters Over 21 of US Permanent Residents: Visa availability for the Philippines moved from July 15, 2002 to September 8, 2002. Availability for Mexico moved from February 22, 1993 to May 1, 1993. Availability for all other countries moved from April 8, 2005 to May 15, 2005.
Third Preference (F3) Married Sons and Daughters of US Citizens: Visa availability for the Philippines has moved from October 1, 1992 to October 22, 1992. Availability for Mexico has moved forward from March 22, 1993 to April 1, 1993. Availability for all other countries moved from July July 22, 2002 to August 8, 2002.
Fourth Preference (F4) Siblings of US Citzens: Visa availability for the Philippines moved this month from August 15, 1989 to October 1, 1989. Availability for Mexico only moved ahead one week from September 1, 1996 to September 8, 1996. Availability for all other countries did not move this month and remains at May 1, 2001.
EMPLOYMENT BASED IMMIGRATION CATEGORIES
First Preference (EB-1) Extraordinary Ability, Intracompany Transferee, or Outstanding Professor or Researcher: Visa availability in this category remains current for all countries.
Second Preference (EB-2) Advance Degree Professional, Exceptional Ability, or National Interest Waiver: Visas availability for India continues to remain at September 1, 2004. See my comments to last month’s visa bulletin for the DOS’s predictions for the EB-2 category for India. Availability for China has continued its pace of moving about 6 weeks per Visa Bulletin and has moved from April 1, 2008 to May 15, 2008. Visa availability for all other countries is current.
Third Preference (EB-3) Professional or Skilled Worker: Visa availability for the Philippines has moved forward from September 8, 2006 to September 15, 2006. Availability for India has moved from December 8, 2002 to December 22, 2002. Availability for China-mainland moved from April 22, 2007 to December 1, 2007. Availability for all other countries has moved from July 1, 2007 to December 1, 2007.
Third Preference (Other Workers) Unskilled Worker: Visa availability for the Philippines has moved forward from September 8, 2006 to September 15, 2006. Availability for India has moved from to December 8, 2002 to December 22, 2002. Availability for China-mainland moved from August 1, 2003 to September 1, 2003. Availability for all other countries has moved from July 1, 2007 to December 1, 2007.
Fourth Preference (EB-4) Certain Special Immigrants: Visa availability remains current for all countries.
Fourth Preference (Certain Religious Workers): Visa availability remains current for all countries.
Fifth Preference (EB-5) Investors: Visa availability remains current for all countries.
The DV-2013 visas are available as follows:
Egypt: 23,500
Ethiopia: 32,900
Nigeria: 17,000
All other Africa: 43,400
Asia: 7,850
Uzbekistan: 13,700
Europe: 27,500
N.A. Bahamas: 3
Oceania: 1,115
S.A. and Caribbean: 1,200
Click here to see the May 2013 Visa Bulletin.
Call 901-507-4270 to schedule an appointment with me to discuss your visa application.
Submit questions to The Immigration Answer Man by emailing your question to immigrationanswerman@gmail.com or by posting your question onFacebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Questions submitted by email will be posted without personal information unless specifically requested. Due to the volume of questions received, not all questions submitted will be answered. Only general questions can be answered on this blog. For answers to specific questions about your situation, please schedule a consultation. Sending in a question by email or any other means does not create an attorney-client relationship.
* This is an advertisement. Ari Sauer is an attorney with the Siskind Susser law firm. www.visalaw.com/ari. On this blog we answer questions as a service to our readers, but we cannot assume any liability related to reliance on anything herein, and responses to questions are not intended to establish an attorney-client relationship. Immigration laws and regulations are constantly changing and the rules stated may not apply to your situation. Readers are cautioned to schedule a consultation with an immigration lawyer before acting on anything stated in this blog. This blog is not intended to substitute for a consultation with a qualified immigration law attorney. Ari Sauer is licensed to practice law through the states of Tennessee, New York and New Jersey but is eligible to assist clients from throughout the US. Certification as an Immigration Specialist is not currently available in Tennessee, New York or New Jersey. Siskind Susser limits its practice strictly to immigration law, a Federal practice area, and we do not claim expertise in the laws of states other than where our attorneys are licensed. the opinions expressed here are those of Ari Sauer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Siskind Susser.
How do I read the Department of State Visa Bulletin? (immigrationanswerman.com)
What is my country of chargeability for the Visa Bulletin? (immigrationanswerman.com)
One comment on “Visa Bulletin Update: May 2013”
Immigration Lawyers in USA
Maybe there’s an amendment that gives the 1% a $6.1 trillion tax break. But, if that were the case, I guess the Heritage Foundation would be either silent or cheering.Reply
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This entry was posted on May 6, 2013 by Immigration Lawyer Ari Sauer - The Immigration Answer Man in Permanent Residence, Visa Bulletin.
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Cyclical Consumer Goods
Britain's Restaurant Group buys Asian-food chain Wagamama
Oct 30 (Reuters) - Frankie & Benny’s owner Restaurant Group Plc said on Tuesday it had acquired the Wagamama noodle chain for 357 million pounds ($457.03 million) in cash.
The company said the deal had an enterprise value of 559 million pounds, and included 138 directly-operated restaurants in the UK and the US and 58 franchised restaurants in Europe, the Middle East and New Zealand. ($1 = 0.7811 pounds) (Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)
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The bubble wrap is one of those products which is completely unique on its own. It is a generic trademark owned by Sealed Air Corporation. Bubble wrap is not only useful as a cushion for items such as appliances, electronic gadgets, and other fragile products, it is also fun to pop when you feel bored and have nothing to do. However, did you know the bubble wrap was not really invented for its current purpose? Here is bubble wrap’s interesting story.
History of the Bubble Wrap
In 1957, two inventors named Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes attempted to create a 3D plastic wallpaper that would break through as a modern type of textured wallpaper. They essentially did this by sealing two shower curtains together, but the project failed. Disappointed, they discarded the material and focused on a different project. However, being in one of those boring flights, Fielding was sparked by the idea that the material used for the textured wallpaper can be used to cushion products during shipping and transport. Thus, the purpose of the bubble wrap was diverted from being a wallpaper into a protective cushion for fragile items.
Bubble wrap was then mass produced and became an instant hit. Alfred Fielding went on to start Sealed Air Corporation with bubble wrap as its main product. The packaging company is still relevant up to this day and has further expanded to work for packaging with other industries such as food and beverage.
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From the Archives: “Basic Research: An Industrial Responsibility”
February 5, 2015 February 5, 2015 Industrial Research Institute
George B. Kistiakowsky, photo credit: Wikipedia
By George B. Kistiakowsky, Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, The White House, Washington, DC, 1960
(The following throwback article appeared in Research Management, the precursor to IRI’s award-winning journal Research-Technology Management, in the summer of 1960 and is a transcript of remarks delivered by Mr. Kistiakowsky at the dedication of the Esso Research Center in Florham Park, New Jersey, on November 5, 1959. Aside from the reference to the Soviet Union, the relevance of these remarks to today is remarkable.)
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT: It is a happy occasion for me to participate in so felicitous an event as the dedication of a new research center. To those of us accustomed to the austere atmosphere of university laboratories, facilities provided by industrial organizations seem magnificent indeed. It is typical of the forward-looking spirit of American enterprise that the Esso Research Corporation should crown its already excellent facilities with this splendid new center.
Possibly by intent, the inauguration of this center coincides with the centennial of the petroleum industry. It has been a century of dramatic progress in which the increase in production of crude oil—from 2,000 barrels in 1859 to 2.5 billion barrels currently—is only a vague yardstick. A much more realistic measure of the impact of the oil industry upon industrial growth is to be found in the increase of our use of mechanical energy. This has multiplied 185 times in ten decades. Machines now do 99% of the work in this country, while in the 1850’s only about 35% of all work in the United States was accomplished by machine. The rest was done by men, women, children, and draft animals. The effects of the petroleum industry on the growth of the automotive and aviation industries are infinite and, of course, too obvious to mention.
In the last 25 years, petroleum has taken on new significance as a source of synthetic organic chemicals. Important industries have grown up around the production of detergents, synthetic rubber, synthetic fibers, and plastics. Out of these flows an unending stream of products of bewildering variety. In our households today is a host of colorful and useful items which would have been quite unfamiliar not only to our grandparents, but to our parents as well.
The growth of the petroleum and petrochemical industries is typical of American enterprise and initiative. The growth of the industries owes a great deal to bold risks, effective management, and the application of modern industrial techniques; they also owe much to research. I refer not only to the large-scale technology fostered today by most major industries, but more specifically to the basic work of such men as Sabatier, Staudinger, Whitemore, Hinshelwood, and a host of others.
Several years ago, one of your distinguished executives was quoted as saying of your company’s research and development activities: “We’re really just another operating department, except our job is to turn out a product called technology. The product is worth no more than it can be bought for on the open market.” I would not disagree with this statement, provided it means what it must mean to other departments of Standard of New Jersey. I trust that it would be understood in the spirit of the courageous world-wide gambles of your parent company; of the long-lasting and comprehensive geological explorations in the wildest and most inaccessible parts of the world; of huge investments in drilling wells, many of which necessarily turn out to be dry. For a reason that a simple scientist cannot fathom, your parent company chooses this path rather than waiting for others to do all the exploratory work and then buying the product as it flows from other peoples’ wells. What, then, is the equivalent approach of an “operating department” turning out technology?
Such an approach lies in the careful assembly of a bold research staff whose active minds pioneer the frontiers of science in the same spirit that your geophysicists and geochemists search for new wells. It is the eager and exploring minds that will convert these magnificent structures from the brick and mortar that they are into the living entity selling technology to your parent company at less than market price and, in the process, I must emphasize, contributing to American scientific leadership. In this respect, also, you resemble an operating department, which consists not of ships or drilling rigs or refinery equipment, but of men who have been given the right tools and the kind of leadership that results in a job magnificently done.
I am not an expert in the oil business, but I do know that profits do not lie in geophysical explorations and oil-well drillings in new locations—they are made when wells can be added where flowing wells have already produced the pools of black gold, and through the expert management of established resources. And yet your parent company continues to push ahead into new and hitherto unexplored locations. For research and development the analogy lies in the fact that, although immediate profits result from process development, from clever engineering, and from product improvement and controls, the enlightened management insures [sic] also that you may explore the unknown by basic research to insure long-range progress.
Of course, if you wish to see me hoisted on my own petard, you might inquire why it would not be better for an industrial company to wait until somebody else turns up new discoveries and then pick up what looks good industrially and concentrate on the rapid conversion to profitable processes. Occasionally, no doubt, this is just the right procedure, and many companies have undoubtedly profited by following it. But consider what would happen if all industries adopted this attitude as the standard operating procedure. Not only would the national effort in basic research be seriously diminished, but industries would lose competence to select the right products of basic research for development. I submit that industry has no choice better than to continue a vigorous basic research program, if you want to be sure at all times that you will be truly first; that in key technological areas you will be the undisputed leader instead of being part of the crowd that fights for the left-overs.
Such a program would include not only the pursuit of research in your own laboratories but support and encouragement of research that is carried on in the colleges and universities. There are disinterested and altruistic reasons for supporting university research; more important, there are also very practical ones. It is impossible to predict in advance which of the leads that basic research uncovers may have significant economic potentialities. One might not suppose, for example, that the botanical studies of the toxicity of a common western plant known as locoweed would result in a significant tool for mineral prospecting. Nevertheless, studies made by a Columbia University botanist led to the discovery that the toxicity of this plant is attributable to its large uptake of selenium. Selenium is found near uranium, and now geobotanists can furnish important leads to the discovery of this and other important metals; for research has indicated that there are clear relationships between certain types of vegetation and their chemical environments.
Geobotany and the still more recent field of polynology [sic], the study of fossil pollens, are extensions of the work in geochemistry, which industry has been applying successfully to the problem of prospecting. The present applications of these sciences would not have been possible, however, except for the very basic work done earlier and being continued at the present time.
The work of Dr. Joseph A. Cushman is now well-known to the oil industry, but it is unlikely that, had the industry been calculatingly seeking a promising scientist to support, it would have selected a micropaleontologist engaged in the study of fossilized shells of the single-celled marine animals known as Foraminifera. Dr. Cushman, of course, did not undertake his studies of these small creatures with any view to the possible economic importance of his work, but now these minute fossils are used in industry in identification of rock strata; this has applications in determining sites of water wells and, on a much wider scale, in the location of oil-bearing strata.
Much of the petroleum industry depends nowadays on the use of catalysts, and yet one does not need to search far back in history to discover when basic research into the nature of heterogenous [sic] catalysis by such men as Sabatier, Ipatieff, Taylor, and Natta, stimulated industrial applications.
What would the petroleum industry do now if it did not have such research, analytical, and process control tools as the mass spectrometers and NMR and IR instruments? Even the first of these was born less than 50 years ago, from the experiments of J.J. Thompson on the trajectories of gaseous ions in electric and magnetic fields. The nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared instruments are much younger still, but neither Purcell and Block, when they demonstrated nuclear magnetic resonance, nor many people working on infrared spectra, were motivated by the potential industrial applications of their discoveries.
Where would our society be without synthetic polymers, and what fraction of the petrochemical industry would be in existence? Yet, one need not search long to discovery the origins of all synthetic polymers in basic research laboratories of Staudinger, Carothers, Ziegler, and so many others.
These examples and others like them lead to an important generalization. We are experiencing a new revolution, rather than merely an accelerated phase of the old Industrial Revolution. C.P. Snow, in his Rede Lecture at Cambridge, draws a clear distinction between the two. He characterizes the Industrial Revolution as the gradual introduction of machines, the rising employment of men and women in factories, the shift in population from agriculture to manufacture and distribution which began in the eighteen century and extended to the early twentieth century:
“Out of it grew another change, closely related to the first but far more deeply scientific, far quicker, and probably far more prodigious in its result—the application of real science to industry, no longer hit-and-miss, no longer the ideas of odd ‘inventors.’”
He observes that dating the second change is largely a matter of taste and he himself places it at the time when atomic particles were first used industrially. He declares:
“I believe, the industrial society of electronic, atomic energy, automation, is in cardinal respects different in kind from any that has gone before, and will change the world much more. It is this transformation that, in my view, is entitled to the name of ‘scientific revolution.’ This is the material basis of our lives; or more exactly, the social plasma of which we are a part, and we know almost nothing about it.”
Two points might be made here. The first is that we need to take actives steps to see that people do develop knowledge and understanding of this “social plasma” of which we are a part, and the second is that our national research and development effort should nourish and enrich it.
Experiences in the position which I am privileged to hold make me very much aware of these problems and also place emphasis on certain aspects of them. I refer to our competition with the Soviet Union which covers a broad front, from our efforts to obtain the most effective modern weapons to insure [sic] our ability to deter and, if necessary, to resist aggression, to our efforts in maintaining intellectual, scientific, and technologic superiority and so insuring the willing acceptance of our leadership by the free world. The deadly earnestness of this competition should make all of us concerned about every technological area in which the Russians are conspicuously advanced; for instance, geochemistry and oceanography—indeed the entire field of geophysics—or the development of very large rocket boosters needed for the more spectacular aspects of outer space exploration. Whenever progress by others in such areas has an impact on our security, we, as a nation, have no safe alternative but to make a determined effort to overcome the lead. However, as a scientist who has had some experience in both basic and applied research, I believe that, except in areas critical for our national security, it is both illogical and unsound for us to chart our own technological course on the basis of what the Russians are doing. In terms of the total technology, the two nations are at quite different levels of development and hence the requirements for applied research, engineering, and other aspects of technology are correspondingly different. As far as basic research is concerned, its full support and encouragement are important to any nation that would hold its own in the scientific revolution that characterizes our age. To the leader of the free world, such support is urgent and indispensable.
American industry has here a dual responsibility: the development of a basic research program that sustains the industry and insures its growth as well as the sharing in the enlightened support of a broader body of scholarly research outside industry, which is equally indispensable for industrial progress.
My observations on basic research in industrial laboratories suggest that it is sort of a tender flower, apt to wither on the stem, unless management takes good care to nourish it. The type of organization that is appropriate for development and engineering seems to malfunction when applied to basic research. Let’s look again at an operating department. I have no doubt that precise procedures can be developed for the operation of a well-established venture, say, a refinery that is just like several others already on steam; but can standard operating procedure be written for the oil exploration team that is venturing into the middle of the Sahara Desert? Should not a great deal of initiative be left to the leader? The situation with respect to basic research is similar. You have to find the right [people]; you have to give them the right tools; you have to tell them generally where to head; but you must let them use their own judgment thereafter, and you must not give up if the first wells turn out to be dry.
I seem to have again tried to draw analogies between a research and development organization and an operating department. This is fun, but it cannot be carried through completely. A research organization differs from an operating department at least in one very major detail, and that is the extent to which an R&D establishment is dependent upon outside inspiration and creative efforts. You have to engage in basic research because otherwise you are certain to become second-rate, but you cannot isolate yourself from the mainstream of science and you must make full use of it, regardless of its source. Moreover, since your own success depends upon a steady influx of first-rate scientists with the proper kind of training, it is to your advantage to insure this influx. The only way I know of accomplishing this is to support scientific education and research as an essential part of your own mission.
Reference: Kistiakowsky, G. B. (1960). “Basic Research: An Industrial Responsibility.” Research Management, Vol. III, No. 2 (Summer), pp. 3-10.
For current data on basic research in the U.S. in 2015:
http://www.iriweb.org/trends
http://www.vox.com/2015/2/4/7965967/corporate-research-basic-science
http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports2/2015/02/03-advanced-industries#/M10420
innovation, innovator, management, research & development1960, archive, basic research, Esso, George Kistiakowsky, President, Research Management, Research-Technology Management, RTM, tbt, throwback Thursday, trends, White House
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New Lawsuit Filed Against Facebook Could Cost the Company Billions
BY Todd Neikirk December 19, 2018
Facebook is having an incredibly difficult year, rife with controversy and accusations of improper behavior. Between selling user information to Cambridge Analytica to paying for dirt on George Soros, the company has violated consumer trust.
JD Lasica
The social media giant is now facing a lawsuit filed by Washington DC Attorney General, Karl Racine. In addition to threatening Facebook’s reputation, the suit could potentially cost the company billions.
Racine writes, “Facebook failed to protect the privacy of its users and deceived them about who had access to their data and how it was used. Today’s lawsuit is about making Facebook live up to its promise to protect its users’ privacy.”
The suit is based on a number of recent Facebook controversies. It is informed by the Cambridge Analytica story in addition to last night’s bombshell New York Times’ report. The Times claimed that Facebook had allowed companies access to users’ private messages, a severe breach of trust.
Lawsuits of this type take years, however, if Facebook is found guilty, the penalties will be massive. Mother Jones reports, “Under the law, a company can be fined up to $5,000 per violation. According to the DC attorney general’s estimates, as many as 340,000 district residents were affected by the Cambridge Analytica incident.”
That figure is only taking into account the Cambridge Analytica breach, consequently, the private message breach can also be looked into.
Facebook’s foray into politics has already cost the company money. On Tuesday, the company was ordered to pay the State of Washington $238,000 for political ad-transparency.
It is expected that Facebook will continue to face pressure from lawmakers. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon recently said, “When companies repeatedly lie to Congress and the American people about what they do with our messages, location, likes and everything else, Congress has a duty to do something about it.”
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Rosenstein Suggested Secretly Recording Trump and Invoking the 25th Amendment, According to Reports
BY Brian Krassenstein September 21, 2018
In a bombshell report this afternoon by the New York Times, it has been revealed that multiple anonymous sources working within the FBI and DOJ have come forward to divulge information pertaining to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s actions and thoughts early last year, shortly after he took over the Russia investigation.
Days after President Trump fired James Comey, using Rod Rosenstein’s letter as cover, Mr. Rosenstein made numerous suggestions to those around him that could expose the chaos going on within the White House at the time.
According to the New York Times, in the Spring of 2017, Rosenstein suggested and had discussed with other cabinet members the possibility to force the removal of the President via the 25th Amendment. He also went as far as to suggest recording the President’s own words within the White House in order to expose what he considered was chaotic behavior by Mr. Trump.
The 25th Amendment would allow the removal of the president from office if he is deemed unfit to serve. Section IV of the Amendment reads as follows:
“Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.”
Those making these claims were briefed “either on the events themselves or on memos written by F.B.I. officials, including Andrew G. McCabe, then the acting bureau director, that documented Mr. Rosenstein’s actions and comments,” according to the New York Times.
ABC News, however, has reported that according one source Rosenstein did in fact suggest secretly recording the President, but did so in a sarcastic manner.
“The statement was sarcastic and was never discussed with any intention of recording a conversation with the president,” one source claimed.
None of Rosenstein’s suggestions were implemented, as far as the sources speaking to the Times are aware. The New York Times has reached out to Mr. Rosenstein and received the following denial to these allegations:
“The New York Times’s story is inaccurate and factually incorrect,” he said in a statement. “I will not further comment on a story based on anonymous sources who are obviously biased against the department and are advancing their own personal agenda. But let me be clear about this: Based on my personal dealings with the president, there is no basis to invoke the 25th Amendment.”
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Freedmen Massacred at Opelousas
Date(s): September 28, 1868 to September 29, 1868
Location(s): ST LANDRY, Louisiana
Tag(s): Politics, Race-Relations, Crime/Violence, African-Americans
Course: “Civil War and Reconstruction,” Juniata College
The Opelousas massacre occurred in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, on September 28, 1868. It centered around Emerson Bentley, a white editor for a local newspaper called The Landry Progress and an influential schoolteacher who promoted the education of black children. Bentley wrote an article that local members of the Seymour Knights, a branch unit of the white supremacist group The Knights of the White Camellia, deemed offensive. The backlash to the article led three men to take the attempt to intimidate and severely cane Bentley, causing him to flee St. Landry. Local blacks were told that Bentley had been murdered and banded together to retaliate. While marching towards Opelousas with arms in hand, efforts were made to inform the freedmen that Bentley had not been murdered but escaped; causing some of the men to retreat, while others continued to march.
The freedmen were met by armed whites determined to defend their town. Shooting occurred by both sides and twenty-nine black prisoners were captured. On September 29, all of the captured prisoners, with the exception of two men, were taken from the prison and executed. The violence at Opelousas continued for weeks to come. The death toll of the massacre resulted in some controversy. Three white Radical Republicans and two Democrats were killed in the assault. Republicans stated that around 200-300 blacks where killed whereas the Democrats denied this claim as fraudulent and stated that only twenty-five to thirty were killed. Historians today have deduced that the Republicans were more correct in their number range.
The Freedman’s Bureau ordered Lieutenant Lee to investigate the atmosphere of Opelousas. In an article written on October 8, Lee described the cause of the riot and the death count. He gave a low estimate in regards to the number of blacks killed, stating that only five died, but expressed his opinion that the death toll would increase due to blacks being unwilling to give up their arms to whites. Ultimately, Lee was positive in his reports, he believed that peace had been restored overall and stated, “no further trouble is apprehended.”
The end of the Civil War resulted in widespread violence in the South due to racial and political tensions. A majority of newly freed African Americans strongly supported the Republican Party, angering prominent southern Democrats. The inability to accept racial equality led to the growth of white supremacist groups, the most noteworthy being the Ku Klux Klan. White radicals sought to silence African Americans and those who supported them through various scare tactics and physical violence, such was the case at Opelousas.
Historian Carolyn DeLatte argued that the white Southerners acted in the same manner that they had for many years. This time, however, “the vengeance visited upon the Negroe population was greater, as blacks were no longer protected by any consideration of their monetary value.” The riot echoed its influence in the political as well as social arena, where whites bounded together to protect their rights from black infringement, and blacks stepped away from their right to vote in order to evade persecution.
"Louisiana: The Recent Disturbances in Opelousas-Results of the Investigations Ordered by the Freedmen's Bureau," New York Times (1857-1922), October 8 1868.
Carolyn E. DeLatte, "The St. Landry Riot: A Forgotten Incident of Reconstruction Violence," Louisiana Historical Association 17 (1976): 41-49.
Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution 1863-1877 (New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1988), 342.
Robert Selph Henry, The Story of Reconstruction (Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1938), 341.
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PK52 PROFESSOR DESK
Designed by Poul Kjærholm - Carl Hansen
Poul Kjærholm is regarded a central figure in international furniture design. Kjærholm combined his modern form language with an uncompromising approach to materials and quality, strongly rooted in the Danish tradition of craftsmanship. At the same time, he was deeply inspired by the German Bauhaus School and the Dutch De Stijl movement.
Kjærholm made a name for himself primarily with his modern steel, leather and glass furniture. Function and clarity became the hallmarks of Kjærholm’s entire career as both an educator and a furniture designer. He did not see himself as someone who designed objects, but rather as someone who created spaces. He often designed furniture with particular places in mind, doing so with a rigor and level of detail that continues to arouse admiration. In his own words, Kjærholm strived to express each material’s own language – whether he was working with steel, leather, glass, wood or wicker.
Kjærholm was an idealist in his field. Throughout his career, he avoided easy solutions and refused to be influenced by shifting fads. He was driven by a desire to realize each material’s intrinsic nature and create harmony between form and material – and often felt there was only one solution to a given problem. He was a demanding teacher guided by perfectionism and discipline, his idealistic approach to design also manifesting itself among his students.
The Professor Desk has a light, simple design which matches both modern and classic settings, and clearly demonstrates the exquisite interplay between materials which is typical of Poul Kjærholm’s designs. In his Professor Desk, Kjærholm elegantly combined a lacquered steel frame with a veneered wood table top, thereby refining some of the design elements which would later characterise his furniture.
73.5” x 28.5” x 33.5”. PK52 Optional Drawer Module 15.5” x 3.5” x 33.5”
The Professor Desk is available with a table top made of laminate, Oregon pine or oak veneer, with various finishes, and with a black or grey lacquered steel frame. Optional drawer module available.
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Mariah Carey Flaunts 50-Lb. Weight Loss In Black Sequined Gown At 2019 BBMAs
May 1, 2019 10:15PM EDT
Mariah Carey Thanks Fans For ‘The Memes’ As Her Kids & Taylor Swift Cheer On Her Icon Win At BBMAs
Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock
Erin Silvia
News Writer & Reporter
Mariah Carey was honored with the prestigious Billboard Icon Award at this year’s Billboard Music Awards on May 1, and her incredible acceptance speech reminded us why she’s a music legend.
Mariah Carey, 49, is one amazing icon, which is exactly why she was honored with the 2019 Billboard Icon Award on May 1, and her words about the amazing recognition were something to remember! The songstress, who broke through in the music industry in 1990, happily accepted her award at this year’s Billboard Music Awards ceremony in Las Vegas, and when she was up on stage, as always, she had the lasting attention of the crowd.
Mariah confidently strutted to the stage after being presented with her award by Jennifer Hudson and the first thing she did was give a sweet shout-out to her twins, Moroccan and Monroe, for their 8th birthday, which they celebrated on Apr. 30. The adorable curly-haired tots excitingly waved to her from the audience before she went on to thank Billboard and explained that she never saw herself as an icon and started music as a way to survive. She hilariously thanked the audience for “the memes” as Taylor Swift appeared to scream, “We love you!” from her seat.
Mariah also said she believes “anything is possible with God” and talked about the difficulty of growing up as “an interracial child” and how her fans were unlike any other entity that she’s ever known because they’ve given her so much love and support over the years. The artist went on to end her touching speech by encouraging all those out there who are struggling and was met with a plethora of cheers.
No one more fitting than ✨ Mimi ✨ to receive the #BBMAs Icon Award. Congratulations, @MariahCarey! #IconMariah pic.twitter.com/YklcmwX2om
— Billboard Music Awards (@BBMAs) May 2, 2019
The selection of Mariah for this year’s Billboard Icon Award is truly something special considering the kind of artist it takes to receive such an honor. The award was created in 2011 and is meant to recognize artists who not only have an insurmountable amount of talent, but ones who contribute to the music industry in a big way. Mariah’s longstanding domination in the industry is reflected with her many international hit songs, including “Vision of Love”, “Emotions”, “Hero”, “Fantasy”, “We Belong Together” and more. The hitmaker is only the eighth artist to receive the award. Past recipients include Neil Diamond (2011), Stevie Wonder (2012), Prince (2013), Jennifer Lopez (2014), Celine Dion (2016), Cher (2017), and Janet Jackson (2018).
Billboard Music Awards Mariah Carey
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HomeExtinct SpeciesDinosaursGorgosaurus
Gorgosaurus
By Angela Han Dinosaurs 0 Comments
Gorgosaurus (or ‘fierce lizard’ in English) is a tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in western North America during the Late Cretaceous Period between 76.5 – 75 million years ago. Fossil remains of the Gorgosaurus have been found in Alberta, Canada, and possibly Montana, USA.
The Gorgosaurus skeleton
Just like most known tyrannosaurids, the Gorgosaurus was a bipedal predator that weight more than a metric ton as an adult. It also had dozens of large, sharp teeth in its jaws, but its two-fingered forelimbs were small in comparison. The closest relative to the Gorgosaurus is the Albertosaurus. The only difference between these two are that they have some slight differences in its teeth and skull bones. Some Palaeontologists actually consider the Gorgosaurus libratus to be a subspecies of the Albertosaurus.
The Gorgosaurus lived in lush floodplains along the edge of an inland sea. It was an apex predator that was at the top of the food chain. It preyed on hardosaurs and ceratopsids. The Gorgosaurus is actually the best-represented tyrannosaurid in terms of fossil records, and many specimens have been found.
The skull of a Gorgosaurus
Adult Gorgosauruses are 8 to 9 metres tall from snout to tail. It is estimated that full-grown adults weighed 2.4 tonnes. The largest known skull of the Gorgosaurus is 99 cm long. The skull was large compared to its body size. It had a blunt snout, and its parietal and nasal bones were fused along the skull. Its eye socket was circular instead of keyhole or oval shaped.
Acrocanthosaurus
Herrerasaurus
Woolly rhinoceros
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John Osborne: John Peel’s Shed
October 6, 2017 September 25, 2017 Ann Emmett East Sussex
37 White Rock - Hastings
On the door
In 2002, John Osborne won a competition challenging listeners to write a slogan for the John Peel’s Radio 1 show. His winning line – “Records you want to hear, played by a man who wants you to hear them”. The prize was a box of records previously stored in John Peel’s shed, that took eight years to listen to. This is an ode to radio, those records and anyone who’s ever sought solace in the wireless. The show features a selection of records previously owned by the late John Peel. Many are very rare recordings by obscure and now defunct bands, and this is a unique opportunity for all Peel fans to enjoy. A version of the show was recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre and broadcast on Radio 4, and it was chosen as Pick of the Day in The Radio Times.
Martin Figura: Boring The Arse Off Young People
Tangram Theatre presents James Rowland: Team Viking
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Clinical Infectious Diseases. 53(7):631–639, OCT 2011
DOI: 10.1093/cid/cir443
Outpatient Antibiotic Prescribing and Nonsusceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae in the United States, 1996–2003
Lauri Hicks;Yu-Wen Chien;Thomas Taylor;Michael Haber;Keith Klugman;
1Division of Bacterial Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention2Department of Epidemiology3Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Rollins School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Emory University4Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Emory University5Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
(See the Editorial Commentary by Huttner and Samore, on pages 640–643.)Background.Streptococcus pneumoniae infections have become increasingly complicated and costly to treat with the spread of antibiotic resistance. We evaluated the relationship between antibiotic prescribing and nonsusceptibility among invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) isolates.Methods. Outpatient antibiotic prescription data for penicillins, cephalosporins, macrolides, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole were abstracted from the IMS Health Xponent database to calculate the annual number of prescriptions per capita. We analyzed IPD data from 7 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Active Bacterial Core surveillance sites (population, 18.6 million) for which data were available for the entire time period under study (1996–2003). Logistic regression models were used to assess whether sites with high antibiotic prescribing rates had a high proportion of nonsusceptible and serotype 19A IPD.Results. Yearly prescribing rates during the period 1996–2003 for children <5 years of age decreased by 37%, from 4.23 to 2.68 prescriptions per capita per year (P < .001), and those for persons ≥5 years of age decreased by 42%, from 0.98 to 0.57 prescriptions per capita per year (P < .001); increases in azithromycin prescribing were noted for both groups. Sites with high rates of antibiotic prescribing had a higher proportion of IPD nonsusceptibility than did low-prescribing sites (P = .003 for penicillin, P < .001 for every other antibiotic class). Cephalosporin and macrolide prescribing were associated with penicillin and multidrug nonsusceptibility and serotype 19A IPD (P < .001).Conclusions. In sites where antibiotic prescribing is high, the proportion of nonsusceptible IPD is also high, suggesting that local prescribing practices contribute to local resistance patterns. Cephalosporins and macrolides seem to be selecting for penicillin- and multidrug-resistant pneumococci, as well as serotype 19A IPD. Antibiotic use is a major factor contributing to the spread of antibiotic resistance; strategies to reduce antibiotic resistance should continue to include judicious use of antibiotics.
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Skipping Christmas (with the Kranks) - John Grisham new hardcover book
A classic tale for modern times. A hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that has become part of ou...
Store Home > Skipping Christmas (with the Kranks) - John Grisham new hardcover book
SKIPPING CHRISTMAS
(with the Kranks)
See other fiction at The Bookshelf of Oz click here
New harcover book with dustjacket, 177 pages.
Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded malls, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwatned presents. That's just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they'll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on Hemlock Street without a rooftop Frosty; they won't be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren't even going to have a tree. They won't need one because come December 25 they're setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences - and isn't half as easy as they'd imagined.
A classic tale for modern times. Skipping Christmas offers a hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that has become part of our holiday tradition.
John Ray Grisham (born February 8, 1955) is an American ex-politician, retired attorney and novelist, best known for his works of modern legal drama. As of 2008, his books have sold over 235 million copies worldwide. After graduating from the University of Mississippi law school, John established a small private legal practice in Southaven Mississippi. He was elected the to Mississippi House of Representatives in 1983.
Inspired by a case he observed in a Mississippi courthouse, Grisham decided to write a novel. For years, he arrived at his office at five o’clock in the morning, six days a week, to work on his first book, A Time To Kill. His manuscript was rejected by 28 publishers before he found an unknown publisher who was willing to print a short run. Without the benefit of a major publisher’s marketing apparatus, Grisham went directly to booksellers, encouraging them to stock his book. Although A Time to Kill only sold 5,000 copies, Grisham had already begun work on a second novel The Firm. At the same time, bored with the routine of the state capital and eager to spend more time with his family, he decided not to seek re-election to the state legislature. He closed his law practice and moved his family to Oxford, Mississippi, determined to concentrate on his writing.
At age 36, his career as a novelist bloomed when movie rights to The Firm were sold for a hefty price, even before the book had found a publisher. The Firm, has sold more than seven million copies and spent 47 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Grisham’s next offering, The Pelican Brief, sold six million copies. Within a few years, The Firm, The Pelican Brief, and his subsequent effort, The Client, (1993) had all been made into successful films. His other novels include The Chamber (1994), The Rainmaker (1995),The Runaway Jury (1996),The Partner (1997), The Last Juror, A Painted House and his most recent novel, The Appeal.
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AWW Christmas Cooking by The Australian Womens Weekly New softcover cookbook
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Breakfast at Tiffany's plus 3 short stories - Truman Capote new softcover book
Also includes three of Capote's best-known short stories - House of Flowers, A Diamond Guitar and A Christmas Memory
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Interview by JEFF HO
Photos by DAN LEVY, PAUL GRONNER,
WILLY SIONS and ERIC HENDRIKX
Ben Harper is a real stand up guy. He’s an accomplished musician and singer-songwriter and he’s worked hard for it. Not only has he released over a dozen records and won three Grammy awards, he’s a skateboarder on the advisory board of the Tony Hawk Foundation working to build skateparks across America. Ben is a down to earth guy and his music has transcended boundaries and his lyrics spread vital messages about social issues and encourage cultural change. Ben is a good person with a ton of integrity and he is an important part of our culture. He gives back and tries to hold things together the way things should be traditionally. He shares the respect of older generations and the roots of all genres of music. From the early days of coming up in his grandparents’ music store, to playing with some of the world’s finest musicians, like Charlie Musselwhite and Taj Mahal, he continues to preserve the legacy of music as he interprets it. Ben is an amazing human being and I’m honored to call him a friend. – WORDS BY JEFF HO
Ben, I wanted to ask you how did it all start for you? Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Claremont, California. It’s about 60 miles east from here, straight out the 10, Indian Hill Boulevard exit. It’s a cool town. It’s right next to the Upland Pipeline. That’s how I got into skating. Upland and Claremont are separated by a street.
When did you first see a skateboard?
Our neighbors were in a punk rock band that was locally famous called Christian Death and they built a ramp in their yard and they were ripping. As I recall, it didn’t have much tranny. It was just a ramp that went straight up five or six feet on a brick wall. It was sketchy because the brick wall didn’t have any rebar. It was just brick and mortar. It held up though and never went all the way over. Maybe it did once, but they didn’t add rebar. They just stacked more bricks and fresh mortar on it. So they had this ramp that was super sketch and they’d have serious sessions. They’d have 3 or 4 hour sessions and we’d get to watch and they were throwing us their extra boards; hooking us up with their spares.
Do you remember how old you were?
We were probably 10 or 11 and they were like 14 or 15. They hipped us to punk rock and Bowie and The Jam and all that stuff. They had great music taste and they would be blaring music while they skated. When they were done and cooling off, they would be like, “Okay, groms, come over and get some.” And me and my homies would charge it.
During that time, were you playing music?
I was just terrorizing my mom’s record collection and the first record I bought was Hendrix Smash Hits. It’s the one where he has his hands out. That was my first record. I just loved the radio, KMET and KISS FM and all that stuff.
Ben Harper and Jeff Ho – Music legend and surf legend – maxin’ and relaxin’. Let the good times roll! Photo © Dan Levy
What was your earliest memory of getting interested in being a musician and playing any kind of musical instrument?
My earliest memory of playing instruments was playing the drums. I took lessons from this woman, Norma Tanega. She used to play with Frank Zappa. My mom went to high school with Zappa. Isn’t that nuts?
That’s crazy. I used to run around with the cousin. He had a crazy ass cousin.
Frank’s daughter, Moon, wrote a book and she used a song of mine called “Widow of A Living Man”. She used it as a title for one of the chapters in her book, which was cool. There’s that whole Zappa-Harper-Ho connection.
Nice! Let’s go back to when you were a young guy learning to play the drums.
My family has had a music store since 1958 in Claremont, California. It’s called the Folk Music Center. The store is still open and it’s a certified museum for the State of California. It’s incredible. It’s a museum of musical artifacts and folklore artifacts from all over the world. It’s a really cool place.
Wow. It’s a museum. I’ve never seen it.
We’ll ride out there. I’ve got a wicked bowl out in Claremont too. It’s a 3 1/2 foot Skatelite kidney-shaped bowl. We’ll go out there and roll around. Anyway, the music store is where I started playing the drums, and then I worked my way up into the bass and then playing guitar and songwriting.
In this whole process, as far as musical school or college, did you do that?
I went to Chaffey College for one quarter and then I started to get paying gigs. People were saying, “Come play open mic night and I’ll share the door with you.” All of a sudden, that was generating $100 a night and that was cool, but then I’d want to sleep all day because I’d be out all night, so going to class was getting to be a challenge. I was there one day and I was tired from playing a gig the night before and I was like, “Hold on a minute. I don’t have to be here.” I gathered up my shit and walked to the administrator’s office and said, “I’m gonna sign out. I’m done for now.” I didn’t want to get an “F”, so I signed out of all my classes. Later, I got a report card and it was all “F’s”. I was like, “No!” I never keep receipts, but I kept the paper that I had signed out, so I went to the school and said, “You made a mistake.” They said, “No. You never signed out.” I said, “Yes, I did.” They said, “Can you prove it?” I had the one piece of paper that I’ve ever kept. I’d shoved it in the glovebox of my ‘85 Ford Tempo, so I had proof and they changed it to incomplete. That was it and then I went to blues college.
Ben’s music is heartfelt and inspirational, with his killer voice and instrumental skills, Ben throws down on his guitar with his “own two hands” and rocks the house! Photo © Willy Sions
[Laughs] I don’t mean to be laughing at you, but it’s funny because I did the same thing, but I don’t know if I ever signed out! What happened next?
By the time I was 20, I was blues crazy. I was going to Oakland and hanging out with Brownie McGhee. I was sitting at the doorstep of John Lee Hooker. I was going to Chicago in the winters and hanging out with Louis Myers, the founder of the Four Aces, one of the most influential Chicago blues bands. I was hanging out with Charlie Musselwhite. Playing with Taj Mahal was my first paying gig.
You played with Taj Mahal? Oh, man, we used to go see him when I was a kid. We’d drive to Hollywood when Taj Mahal was playing and search him out, and Charlie Musselwhite and B.B. King too.
Those were my guys. I was 20 years old and Taj came up to me after hearing me play and said, “Do you go on the road?” I didn’t even know what that meant. I said, “When I drive, I go on the road.” He said, “Oh, man, you’re green, huh?” He was talking in some hipster Allen Ginsberg/Jack Kerouac code and I didn’t know what he was saying. I was like, “This is magic. He’s talking about the road and being green.” Then he goes, “Do you tour?” I said, “I went on a backpacking trip once.” I didn’t even know the lingo. Finally, he says, “Look, man, you’re going to get a ticket in two weeks. Get on the plane. Bring all your guitars and learn 50 songs of mine.” I went home and I was like, “I think I might be going on tour with Taj Mahal, mom.” She was like, “No. Come on.” Two weeks later, a ticket arrived. The next day I got on a plane and found myself on Kauai with Taj. After a year with Taj, things were starting to ramp up with my own songs. I loved music other than blues too. I loved rock, soul, funk and folk, so I wanted to mix it up. I got to make a record with Charlie Musselwhite and it was great to get back to the blues with Charlie. That was fun.
Cool! While you were playing with Taj Mahal, you were writing your own music?
I was writing my own shit and Taj was hearing it. He was like, “You got something, man.” I came back home off the road with Taj and, all of a sudden, there was an interest in my music. I would be in these little coffeehouses and, instead of it being ten people, there would be 50 people or 100 people. Then it just started to grow. I was 22 and things started to happen and my friend, J.P. Plunier, heard me and said, “Look, I’m not a manager. I just love your music.” J.P. had come to California for skating and surfing, all the way from France. He’s a big fan of yours, by the way. He’s a master of culture. He and I bonded on things and I trusted him because of his spirit and his forthrightness. J.P. never cuts corners. He never bullshits. He is the most direct. Even if I don’t agree with him, at least I know that he is being sincere to his opinion and perspective. J.P. is one of those kinds of guys.
J.P. became your manager and now he’s your business partner, right?
Yes. J.P. is the overseer of all my stuff. He used to be my manager and then he started his own record label. In the beginning, J.P. had no management connections, but he was like, “Dude, I understand your music.” There were other people circling around that maybe had more connections, but J.P. got it. He got the black aspect of it. He got the blues aspect of it. He got the white aspect of it. He got the folk aspect of it. He’s from Europe and the way Europeans see America is not the way Americans see America. Jimi Hendrix had to go to London, otherwise, Jimi might have still been playing with Curtis Mayfield or something like that. At any rate, J.P. and I broke all the rules. We got turned down by every label in L.A. except Virgin where Jeff Ayeroff and Jordan Harris took a risk on us. They were like, “You two are crazy, but what you’re saying in your songs is resonating, so we are going to take a chance.” They gave us a small budget, and we made my first record, which is called Welcome to the Cruel World. Then we went on tour. It would have been easy to open up for folk groups, but we were like, “We’re going to open for The Pharcyde and Fugees and The Roots and PJ Harvey and Pearl Jam.” We took it upon ourselves to go other places with it and hope those bands would give us an opening shot and they did. That was a big part of getting us over the hump.
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals belt it out at the Hollywood Bowl. Photo © Paul Gronner
Well, you’ve come a long way and had a lot of success and your new album, Call It What It Is, sounds incredible. I love it.
Thanks. We’re stoked on it. I’m glad you dig it. The record kind of tells a story. The titles of the songs are like chapters of a book for me.
You wrote all of the songs?
Yes. The Innocent Criminals and I wrote all the songs. I was setting songs aside for the last five years. When a song would come around like, “Dance Like Fire You Never Get Burned”, I just knew I couldn’t let it out with anyone else other than the Innocent Criminals. “Remember When Sex Was Dirty” was the same, as was “Call It What It Is.” I just set songs aside that I knew would be perfect for the I.C.’s. Then they brought a boatload of songs and we started cutting songs down until the record told the stories that we wanted to tell.
So you’re happy with it?
We’re stoked with it. I hope other people feel as strongly about it as we do. I know it’s not punk rock, but it’s punk folk or punk soul in a way.
Punk soul. I like that. Okay, let’s talk about skateboarding. Are you okay to answer a few more skate questions?
Yes! This is so dope. I can’t believe I get to be interviewed by Jeff Ho. This is amazing.
Well, I know you and Rodney Mullen are good friends. What have you learned from Rodney about skateboarding and life?
One of the most important things I’ve learned from Rodney, that is applicable to all of life, is that sometimes a day of misses is as important as a day of makes. You can spend the whole day going for one trick and that’s as important to learning that trick as a full day of making that trick.
Do you have any goals for tricks on your skateboard?
Yeah. I learned switch 3’s and they feel so good. What was cool about learning switch 3’s, is that when I went to learn nollie 3’s, I had it in 10 tries. It was like, “Bam!” Switch 3’s are one of the funnest and hardest tricks for me. It was the deepest I had to dig and it was the most rewarding. Now I’m working on locking down frontside heelflips. Then I want to do it going fakie. I want to do the whole 360 motion; fakie frontside. The regular is kicking my ass. I’ve got a couple of them, but I’m trying to lock them down.
Ben Harper is a skateboarder who happens to be a killer musician and he’s down to blast over a gap and do it with rad style!!! Photo © Eric Hendrikx
That’s great. Can we talk about activism? You’re involved with a lot of charities.
Yeah. It’s hip because making social progress shouldn’t be a spectator sport, so I’m always trying to chip away at that stone, when and where I can.
Let’s talk about this question. What do you think about addiction and addiction in the music industry specifically?
Addiction is gnarly, whether it’s in the music industry or not. You can fry your brain on a bad dose and be forever altered. I tell kids to stay away from it. It’s easier said than done. Everybody has their own genetic make up that can keep them further from it or hold them closer to it. I say, “Stay away from hard crazy shit.” That’s spoken from experience.
What would you want to say to the kids about skating and substance abuse?
Find the same discipline that you put into pursuing skating and other things that you love and put it into keeping away from the hard shit. I don’t want to come off as righteous or not having had my own wrestling match, but I lost my dad to addiction. That was a real lesson to not wanting to go too far down that road. I could have used having my dad around for another 40 years, but he drank through his liver and that was that. I had incredible times with him and my dad was one of the most extraordinary human beings on the planet. What my dad could have been if it weren’t for addiction. He would have been celebrated in a way that very few ever get to be. I just have a splinter of what my dad had and it’s gotten me this far. Of course, that’s because of my mom too. She’s a musician with a PHD. As a matter of fact, if it weren’t for mom, I probably would have followed in his footsteps, so I owe it all to mom. I learned from watching someone at a young age have their life altered in the wrong way by substance abuse. There’s a lot to live for and that stuff can sabotage all of that. Don’t learn the lesson too late. Learn it while you’re young and then you can get the most out of your youth.
Okay, here’s a question. It may be a weird one, but we have this political situation. What do you think about Donald Trump?
I want Jeff Ho to be our next President. Seriously. Politics is a dirty game, unless you get someone who is not a politician or isn’t corporate corruption. I mean it when I say you. I’d rather have you than any of these clowns. I’ll be your Vice President. Steel guitars and surfboards for everyone! The White House would have a sick bowl.
[Laughs] Yeah! It would have a bowl and we’d move the White House to Hawaii.
Yes! That’s where I’m at with it!
Okay, I have a few questions about surfing and skateboarding. When did you first hear about surf skate style?
Surf skate style was the first term because it was just cross-training for all the guys. The earliest photos being circulated to us were at Paul Revere. It was in the skate rags that the next door neighbors had. You’d look at it and be like, “Wow. It’s like surfing on concrete!” It was always surf skate style.
What does surf skate style mean to you?
It’s like the birth of skateboarding becoming its own definitive concrete genre. That was first. It’s cool to see the young kids like Matty who hooked me up with you in the first place. I saw Matty with that laid back style. Matty takes that surf skate style to vert and when he does his frontside 50-50 grinds, he’s way laid back. When I see him surf, he’s got that same thing. When I see my son, Ellery, skate, he has a crazy back leg surf skate style. It’s so sick.
Did he learn that from Tuma?
Exactly. Tuma has been teaching my son skateboarding since he was six. Tell Tuma I say “What’s up!” That’s my man. My son is all surf now, but he will grab a skateboard and ollie up onto something waist high and just shred. Then he’ll be like, “Oh, I’m not really skating right now.” I’m like, “If I could do one of the things you just did, I’d be so stoked!”
That’s great. How old is he now?
Wow. Cool. Who has the best surf skate style of all the surfers and skaters?
Oh, that’s a cool question. Every time I see Tony Alva skate, it’s a revelation. The guy is probably better at skating than walking. It’s just remarkable. One time I saw Tony on top of his car at Paul Revere. I was driving by on Sunset and I pulled up and said, “Hey, T.A., what’s up?” He said, “There’s a cop doing his rounds, but I think he’s on the other side of the school. I’ve got a lookout on the other side. I’ve got some folks here from Japan and we’re shooting for a magazine, so we’re trying to get a few minutes in. Did you bring your board?” I said, “Yeah!” He said, “Grab it. Let’s do this!” I was like, “Whoa!” We got a quick session in at Paul Revere and then the cops came and ushered us out, but they were cool. They didn’t put us on lock down. I got to see him skate and I got to see that style. I’d seen Tony skate before, but there is something really special about seeing T.A. skate Paul Revere. That was a real special moment.
Ben hangs with the homies. Pops Hosoi, Christian hosoi and Rodney Mullen at the Skateboarding Hall of Fame 2013. Skateboarders for life connected to the roots. Photo © Dan Levy
That is cool. Do you think that surf skate style is important today?
It will always be relevant, valid and important because surf skate style defines your grace. It’s how you land a trick or how you look on your board, even when you are just pushing down the street.
Yes! That’s a good way to describe it.
Okay. I have a question for you. Back in the day, you cut the boards for the cats, Tony and Jay and the Z-Boys. When you cut those first boards were they out of ply or were they just solid? What were those first boards like that you were making?
When I first started making boards, it was just flat pieces of walnut. When I was making boards for Tony and the guys, I was doing a molded process. It was a fiberglass board and I was trying to get a flex in the board.
A little flex is good, right?
A little flex is good and too much is bad. We went from the 1970s to 2017 and now we have all this new technology.
Yeah. Where is it going to go in the next 40 years?
In the ‘70s, it was solid boards and then it went to laminates and that’s what everyone is riding now.
The laminates are for flat stuff because the grain is in different places, so if you had a 1/4 inch thick board that was solid maple, because of the grain patterns, it wouldn’t be as strong as if it were laminated, right?
Exactly. It would not have that much flex and it might fall apart quicker. Wait, we’re supposed to be talking about Ben Harper.
Yeah, but Ben Harper and Jeff Ho are inextricably linked. I have questions too. What top five things have impressed you the most in skateboarding?
Surf skate style is one. Going from flat to vert is two.
Okay, going from ocean to concrete and going from flat concrete to vertical concrete.
Right. The next thing was understanding that your body could get at a parallel angle with the earth. You could be stuck against a wall. The next thing was flying up in the air. Getting air was rad, and then flipping. Those are massive deals. When those things hit their pinnacles in the timeline of skateboarding, it was insane. There’s also the advent of different types of skateboards. That’s our evolution.
We’re talking about Jay Adams to Tony Alva, right? If we’re coming out of the ocean, we’re going from Jay Adams to Tony Alva.
Do you think that it was Jay Adams that had that surf skate style?
I’m not saying he invented it. I’m asking you.
Well, I think it was in his DNA.
He was like the wind. He was as natural as a tree.
I saw it in Jay when I met him in the water out in Santa Monica at Bay Street. He was six years old, and I was amazed that he was in the water by himself at that age. He paddled out and said, “Hey, are you Jeff Ho?” I said, “Yeah. Who are you?” He said, “My name is Jay Adams. I just wanted to say hi.” I never thought I would outlive him and that all this shit would have happened. I just knew there was something about Jay that was different and it was in his DNA to be the most fluid skateboarder of all time. There are other people that have accomplishments and I’m not taking away from any of those people, but I am saying that Jay was one of the first ones with surf skate style.
People couldn’t take their eyes off him.
With Jay, Tony, Biniak, Stacy, Wentzle and Shogo, you put them together in a group and go, “Here!” Was it gnarly? Yes. It was. That’s how all this got started.
That’s what’s up. So if we take those top five events in skateboarding and align them with five skaters, we’ve got the five moments. There’s Jay going along the coping, and then it went mid-air, and you’ve got Tony. Then there was Ollie Gelfand with the first ollie, and then McGill with the first McTwist.
Let me say this. All those guys from the Bones Brigade were Stacy’s disciples and Stacy was one of my disciples.
Yes. It’s like the family tree.
Yes. Those were the kids. The first guy who did the 900 and blew it out was Tony Hawk in the X Games. That was another precipice moment. You have to give it up to all of those guys. Since we’re talking about Tony, I understand you’re on the board of the Tony Hawk Foundation.
The Tony Hawk Foundation is wicked. Those guys work to get skateparks built and donate dough to get skateparks built in areas that wouldn’t have them otherwise, so they’re doing great work.
That leads me to ask about you helping Murf, Walt and Jeff Ament get skateparks built on Native American Reservations.
Yeah. Jeff Ament came in hot on that project. He was dropping dollar bills hot. That’s Jeff. The Hawk Foundation was right there too. For that one, there was a moment on the board where it was me and Chris Sacca and they only needed X amount to get the park done. Jeff had already donated the majority of the funds. Hawk was coming in hot with their maximum donation and they only needed a little bit to get the park done, so I cut a check and Chris Sacca cut a check and it was done over the top.
Wow. That’s really cool. Okay, here’s a question. Do you approach music and skateboarding in the same way?
There are three major similarities. One is that they both hit the reset button and clear the best part of you. They clean house. When you’re making music, you’re in a pure space and you’re into something that is the best part of yourself. It’s the same with skateboarding. When you’re skating, you’re in the best part of yourself and your thoughts are clear. You’re at that place that makes it really special and rare. Skating and music both bring you to a place like nothing else I’ve found. You’re centered. When you’ve written a great song or pulled off a great move, it’s the same feeling of accomplishment. When I’ve played a lick and thought, “Wow. That’s a solid lick,” it’s the same feeling as having landed a tre flip or even a clean ollie. It’s the best feeling. It’s an immeasurable, infinite sense of discovery. There is always something next. It never ends, where it can go, the possibilities and potential. It’s as vast as the entire universe.
FOR THE REST OF THE STORY, ORDER ISSUE #75 AT THE JUICE SHOP…
(L) Ben Harper and Jeff Ho – Music legend and surf legend – maxin’ and relaxin’. Let the good times roll! Photo © Dan Levy (R) Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals belt it out at the Hollywood Bowl. photo © Paul Gronner – Juice Magazine #75
Written by JuiceMagazineAugust 19, 2018Submit Comment
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Yiddish Theater Rises from the Ashes in ‘Indecent’
BY Kelly Hartog | Jun 19, 2019 | Arts
The company of Paula Vogel’s “Indecent” Photo by Craig Schwartz
The production of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel’s “Indecent” is, at its core, an homage to Yiddish theater. You’d be forgiven, however, if at first glance it appears anything but.
Currently playing at the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, “Indecent” is based on Sholem Asch’s 1906 Yiddish play “God of Vengeance,” which tells the story of a Jewish man who runs a brothel out of his home. He buys a Torah scroll for his daughter’s upcoming wedding to a “nice Jewish boy,” only to discover she has fallen in love with one of his prostitutes who lives downstairs. There’s no reconciliation here, as the father casts his daughter (together with the Torah scroll) below stairs with the prostitutes.
Asch wrote his daring, controversial play, which showed two women kissing onstage, in his home in Warsaw, Poland. It became a huge hit in Europe, transferring to off-Broadway, where it also ran in English, before moving to Broadway in 1923. To appease Broadway audiences, Asch was forced to agree to significant cuts, including deleting the entire romantic scene between the two women. Following the show’s first Broadway performance, cast and crew were arrested, tried and ultimately convicted of “an indecent, immoral and impure theatrical performance.”
“Indecent,” directed by Rebecca Taichman (who won a Tony Award for the show in 2017), is a reminiscence and charts the history of “God of Vengeance,” alongside excerpts from the play itself, as told by the show’s stage manager, Lemml (Richard Topol, reprising his Broadway performance).
It’s an achingly poignant look at a slice of Jewish life, when Yiddish theater was at its zenith. By turns funny and heartrending, “Indecent” literally resurrects from the ashes a Yiddish theater troupe and provides a glimpse into a world destroyed by the Nazis.
Vogel was in Los Angeles for the opening of the production and spoke several days later with the Journal by phone from her home in Rhode Island.
“What I wanted to do from the very beginning,” Vogel, 67, said, “was for us as an American audience to feel at the end of the evening that we can speak Yiddish. If you want to destroy a people, you have to destroy the arts and literature and the language, and that’s why [doing this play] was important to me — that we recognize what was lost but we can also recognize that the culture remains and continues.”
First produced in 2015, this is now the sixth “Indecent” production with the core cast. It has been “a labor of love,” said Vogel, who was raised by a Jewish father and a Catholic mother in Maryland and grew up eating “gefilte fish, chopped liver and Creole food.”
Noting that she was raised with “guilt from both sides,” Vogel’s journey to “Indecent” was aided by her late brother, Carl, who died from AIDS in 1988.
Said Vogel, “[Carl] started reading Holocaust literature in his last year of life and he said to me, ‘Do you realize that one half of our family has been killing the other half for as far back as we can go?’ And that stayed with me.”
“What I wanted was for us as an American audience to feel at the end of the evening that we can speak Yiddish. If you want to destroy a people, you have to destroy the arts and literature and the language, and that’s why [doing this play] was important to me.” — Paula Vogel
Vogel had already developed an interest in Yiddish theater as a graduate student at Cornell University in 1974, when her professor suggested she read “God of Vengeance.” As both a Jew and a lesbian, Vogel said she felt the professor gave her the play to say, “It’s safe to be who you are here.” “I think it was a very lovely act that he gave me this script,” she said.
After grad school, Vogel lived in New York for seven years “and that Yiddish legacy is very much alive,” she said. “You can still feel the whispers and ghosts [of Yiddish theater] on the Lower East Side.”
When Taichman reached out to Vogel in 2010 to help her put together a production of “Indecent”(Taichman read “God of Vengeance in 1997 at Yale Drama School and wrote her thesis on the obscenity trial), Vogel said, “I don’t think I want to write a play about the censorship trial alone. I think there’s a bigger story that I want to tell.”
That bigger story is told in powerful, visual vignettes that stay with you long after the play is over. And that, Vogel said, is exactly what she wanted. “I wrote this play more on visuals that I saw in my head. The first picture I saw was a dusty Yiddish theater troupe in an attic in the ghetto in 1943. That’s where the play began in my mind.”
Asked why she thinks “Indecent” has been so successful, racking up a slew of awards, Vogel said, “If you want to say something that speaks to as many people in the audience as you can, you have to be specific. So by illuminating what happened in the 1920s to Jewish immigrants, hopefully we are also illuminating what is happening to immigrants all over America today. Our need to support and open our community to the immigrants in our midst is critical right now. Everybody is hungry to feel the power of community.”
This sense of community is what counterbalances some of the shocking, powerful images that take place onstage in “Indecent,” including the repetition of a scene where the enraged brothel owner raises a Torah scroll above his head and prepares to hurl it.
“That was my idea,” Vogel said. “One of the things I think that the play shows is the lesbianism was a pretext to close [the play].”
Indeed, one of the most beautiful, memorable scenes is of the two women, played by Elizabeth A. Davis and Adina Verson, coming together in the rain. Said Vogel, “To this day, I still feel that the second act [of the play] is the greatest love scene between two women I have ever read.”
In addition, Vogel said the journey she has been on with “Indecent” has helped her to connect more with her Jewish roots. “I listened to over 600 klezmer songs and delved into the history of klezmer music. I stalked Lisa Gutkin of the Klezmatics, who had never written for theater before.” (Gutkin wrote the score and the original music for “Indecent” and plays the violin, mandolin and percussion during the show).
Then, last summer, Vogel went to the mikveh and became a member of Temple Beth El in Providence, R.I. “I had an incredible conversation for two years with my rabbis and I’ve loved every moment of the education classes and discussions,” she said. “Even though [writing] the play is over for me, the gifts that it has given me will continue for the rest of my life.”
“Indecent” runs through July 7 at the Ahmanson Theatre. For tickets and information, visit the website.
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Modern Art as Media Event: Early Swedish Television and the Communication of Art Appreciation, the Case of Multikonst (1967)
David Rynell Åhlén
"It is a great pleasure for me to now, with the aid of television and at the same time, open 100 identical exhibitions at 100 different locations across the country."1 These words spoken by the minister of culture and education, Ragnar Edenman of the Social Democratic Party, concluded a live-to-tape address to the Swedish television audience aired around 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 11, 1967. Edenman's speech inaugurated a large-scale art exhibition project called Multikonst (Multi Art), which reached not only private living rooms across Sweden, but also a number of television sets placed in various public locations where the exhibition took place. The Multikonst project was a cooperation between Sveriges Radio (Swedish Radio Broadcasting Corporation, hereafter SR), the nongovernmental art organization Konstfrämjandet (Promoters of art), and the newly founded governmental project Statens försöksverksamhet med riksutställningar (State experimental work with nationwide exhibitions). As Edenman's words point out, Multikonst comprised a total of 100 exhibitions that were shown simultaneously all over Sweden. Aside from the ambitious scale, the organizers especially highlighted the use of broadcast television as a groundbreaking novelty of the project. In addition to broadcasting the opening address, SR produced and aired five special programs during the weeks of the exhibition.
Multikonst opening address, Swedish Radio, 1967
However, television's prominent role within the project was considered but one part of a more far-reaching "integration of media," to quote one of the organizers, and an ambition to disseminate modern art by making use of forms and strategies derived from contemporary popular media and consumer culture.2 Each of the 100 exhibitions displayed contributions from sixty-eight Swedish artists, among them modernist artists such as Siri Derkert, Sven X:et Erixson, and Lennart Rodhe, and representatives of a younger generation of 1960s artists, such as Berndt Petterson and collaborating artists Ture Sjölander and Bror Wikström. From the organizers' perspective, though, they could all be labeled modern and part of "the art of today." Modeled on the popular circulation of gramophone records and paperback books, the artists contributed works made especially for the project and for the purpose of being multiplied in large editions (hence, "multi art") and sold at the separate exhibit locations. The 100 exhibitions were identical, then, in the sense that they all displayed and made available for purchase the exact same artworks. The aim was to literally bring modern art into Swedish homes. But the distribution of modern art objects to homes all over the country was only a means to an end. The overall goal of the project was to communicate the importance and value of individual encounters with modern art. In short, it was the unique experience that was important—not the unique artwork. As Edenman also made clear in his opening address, "Our experience of art has neither to do with money, nor always with the question of whether the art work is unique or multiplied." Then he concluded, "It is such a view of art as experience, that the Swedish state wishes to support."3 How this was to be accomplished and the specific place and role of broadcast television within this enterprise are the topics of this article.
Using the Multikonst project as the empirical focal point, I will examine how broadcast television was utilized as a means of communicating the importance and meaning of modern art to the Swedish viewing public in the 1960s. The exhibition lasted for a few weeks in February and was largely considered a success by the organizers. It drew an estimated 350,000 visitors, and many of the artworks were sold. Although recognized in some historical accounts, an in-depth exploration of the issues concerning the events, their aims, execution, and repercussions still remains to be written.4 When Multikonst has been recognized in historical accounts, it has generally been in reference to a particular incident that took place during one of the programs produced and aired by SR in connection to the project, a variety show recorded at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm in celebration of the exhibition opening. In the show, renowned actor Per Oscarsson discussed one of the artworks using what was later denounced as "foul language." The incident caused a short-lived scandal that contributed to the already widespread interest in the exhibition and, as I demonstrate in what follows, this incident can be thought of as part of the organizers' larger strategy in managing the problem of encouraging individual encounters with art at a national scale.
The case of Multikonst is here understood in light of Daniel Dayan and Elihu Katz's concept of "media event." Dayan and Katz introduced the concept of media events in the eponymous book of 1992, as a way of theorizing and investigating special kinds of broadcasted events that derive a great part of their meaning and significance from the televised mediation itself.5 As examples of media events, Dayan and Katz use royal coronations, the Olympics, and political state visits. I would like to claim that the Multikonst project also in many ways functioned as a media event. It constituted a media event in the sense that it was promoted as an interruption in everyday routine and daily television scheduling, was preplanned by a number of actors besides SR with the aim of creating a sense of national unity, and that the use of a variety of media forms was fundamental for its performance.6 The primary sources I present here include archived TV programs from the project, obtained through the Swedish Royal Library, as well as additional material such as articles from the official TV guide of the time, Röster i Radio-TV, and a book about Multikonst published by SR shortly following the event. Focusing on a selection of the project's special programming, I will consider the specific contribution of broadcast television within the exhibition project; which kinds of televisual forms, techniques, and modes of address the programs employed; how the target audience was invited to partake in it; and the value of partaking in the prescribed ways.
Mass Media and Art Education in Postwar Sweden
As evident from the opening address, the Multikonst project was chiefly guided by principles of equality. The organizers' explicit motivation was that everyone should be able to enjoy and experience art, regardless of geographical location or social and economic situation. Underlying this motivation was a concern shared by the organizing parties that Swedish citizens in general seemed uninterested in art, and particularly modern art, for it has been assumed that the audience finds modern art essentially incomprehensible. From the organizers' point of view, this had to do with the public's lack of knowledge about modern art. If they simply were to learn more and come in contact with quality artworks, the problem would solve itself. In this context, television was considered to offer a way to disseminate knowledge on art and make it more appealing, thereby creating interest in art and, it was hoped, in the long run creating a new audience for art. How might these overall aims and motivations be situated in the context of the contemporary media and cultural policy?
As in many other European countries, Swedish television was introduced as a national and noncommercial public service. With the BBC serving as a basic model for organization and program content, Swedish television was administered by Radiotjänst (from 1957 Sveriges Radio, SR) within the existing system for radio broadcasting, funded by license fees with the aim of providing culture, education, and quality entertainment to the people. Through a state agreement, SR officially started transmissions in 1956. Until the 1969 launch of a second channel, television in Sweden consisted of one channel only. SR's television monopoly lasted until the end of the 1980s, when commercial broadcasting services began.7 As Jan Olsson has noted, this path for television created a monolithic viewing environment during the early years with consequences for audience formation, modes of address, program formats, and representational matters.8 Olsson details how this particular development was not inevitable but was preceded by debates between proponents for a commercial model on the one side, and a public service model on the other. This uneasy relationship between conceptions of commercial versus quality television has continued to characterize much of the debate on television in Sweden until today.9
The development of television broadcasting, as well as the high hopes regarding its impact on art education, also tied into larger political and cultural currents. Ragnar Edenman's opening address expressly pointed out "art as experience" as a key concept of Multikonst. Earlier in the speech, he emphasized the importance of "information" in order to accomplish such an enterprise. According to this line of argument, three concepts were essential to the Multikonst project as well as for art education and state cultural policy in general: production (the creative work of artists), consumption (the audience's activities), and information. In order for consumption of artistic products to occur, according to Edenman, some kind of information was required. This emphasis on experience of the audience and on information was characteristic of changes in the cultural debate and cultural policy of the 1960s. In a famous speech in the city of Eskilstuna in 1959, Edenman had outlined the basic problem that a new cultural policy was to overcome. His point of departure was that the emerging welfare state and the overall prosperity and increased living standards of the population had failed to give rise to a corresponding increase of "the consumption of cultural goods—art, music and literature of substance and worth."10 The explicit adversary in this argument was that of commercial mass culture in the form of low-quality art, light music, and inferior movies. The right way to counter this development, according to Edenman, was "not with bans and censorship," but "with the most obvious of warfare; the offering of other options, other choices."11 Directing artists to make the art more appealing to the public was unthinkable in a modern democracy. Instead, a state cultural policy should be aimed at "breaking down the barriers between artists and the larger population, to actively work for an increased understanding of art and shape our public space in a way that stimulates interest in art and art consumption."12 Such a concept of cultural democratization and cultivation of the general public was not in any way new. Initiatives like Multikonst were only the latest in a longer historical genealogy of governmental and nongovernmental efforts to educate the public in the appreciation of arts and culture.13 However, as is evident from Edenman's speech, the 1950s and 1960s witnessed considerable changes in how such an enterprise was conceived.
Examples of what Edenman might have been referring to when speaking of "bans and censorship" can be found in the preceding decades. In the late 1930s, the State Art Council was formed with the goal of supporting Swedish artists and, while providing them with work, also providing public space for the arts. During World War II, the council issued import regulations on art in order to control the circulation of what was deemed "inferior" or "horrific" art, from the 1950s onward commonly called "hötorgskonst" (marketplace art)14. Generally, this referred to low-quality reproductions of well-known artworks or, more generally, mass-produced paintings and prints sold at cheap prices. The inferior art was considered to have a negative effect on work opportunities for Swedish artists as well as, supposedly, on public taste. These regulations were in function during the war and in a somewhat modified form until 1953.
Other strategies of counteracting the influence of inferior art were campaigns, traveling exhibitions, and lotteries. A prominent example is the exhibition God konst i hem och samlingslokaler (Good art at home and in meeting places) at Nationalmuseum in 1945. Beyond showing examples of "good art," the exhibition's pedagogics was based on showcasing examples of inferior art as comparison and a terrible warning to the audience. Most important, exemplary works of art were on sale at the exhibition, providing the audience with the opportunity to also buy and own art themselves. This exhibition marked the starting point of the activities of Konstfrämjandet, which became one of Multikonst's central organizers. Founded in 1947, the organization has since been dedicated to selling and circulating quality artworks, mainly prints by union member Swedish artists, at affordable prices. Aside from Konstfrämjandet being the initiator and one of the organizing actors of Multikonst, the 1945 exhibition was also explicitly cited as a forerunner of the project.
Before the Multikonst project, efforts at cultivating the public were based on clearly distinguishing between "good" and "bad" art.15 During the 1950s, the view of an "aesthetic fostering" of the people propagated by such efforts seems to have been increasingly difficult to uphold. Instead of inferior art being considered a problem in and of itself, it started to be treated as a consequence of the public's lack of knowledge in visual art and a general unavailability of art. A 1956 official government report on art education is a case in point with regard to this shift in emphasis.16 The report explicitly stated that instead of prohibiting certain kinds of art, efforts should be aimed at educating the public and increasing the availability of quality art. In short, the basic problem came to be identified as a problem of communication and information. This change, from strategies of prohibition and deterrence toward strategies of education and information, corresponds to broader contexts of ideas on communication.
John Durham Peters has argued that the postwar years were an important period in the history of communication, during which ideas originally developed for military purposes and telephony were given new meanings and applications.17 For example, Peters discusses information theory as a technical discourse of communication, where the transfer of electronic signals took on new significance.18 In Peters's words, this idea of communication turned relational problems "into problems of proper tuning or noise reduction."19 He also details another understanding of communication, which he terms a therapeutic discourse: "communication as cure and disease."20 Here communication is understood based on the human psyche, and an idea of the managing of communication breakdown between people also could be applicable on a global scale, a prominent example being the United Nations and especially the suborganization UNESCO. These discourses share a common denominator in the view that political and interpersonal obstacles and challenges could be solved with the use of improved technology and techniques. In the Swedish context, both these discourses seem to be in play, and the use of different media in relation to discourses on communication and information were common in several areas of culture, among them art education.21
In the early 1960s, the emphasis on audience experience in relation to art became the center of attention in cultural debates. The idea that anything can be art and the spectator's central role in the production of meaning about artworks were intensely discussed topics in what has become known as the Great Art Debate, prompted by the activities of the then recently opened Moderna Museet (Museum of Modern Art) in Stockholm, and the ideas were put forward in art critic Ulf Linde's book Spejare (1960).22 In light of this more relativistic view of art, earlier efforts at distinguishing "good" from "bad" seemed authoritarian and undemocratic.
What was television's place in all this? As Peters has noted—and as is very much applicable to the situation in Sweden—television can be seen as the centerpiece of the hopes and fears concerning communication at the time.23 In and of itself, the new medium of television could be considered part of emerging media and consumer society's threat toward arts and culture. However, as a public service institution, it was also part of the improvements of the welfare state and a potential tool for educating the public. The year of the official report quoted earlier, 1956, coincidentally also marked the official start of television transmissions in Sweden by SR. The introduction of the new medium did not go unnoticed in the report, which stated that television without doubt would revolutionize art education in the near future.24 As the research of Lynn Spigel and Katerina Loukopoulou has shown, this conception of television's potential for raising public interest in the visual arts was common among public service and commercial networks alike.25
A recurrent theme in these lines of thought was the promise of television to popularize the visual arts in the same way that radio had popularized classical music. Sweden was no exception to this international trend.26 From the point of view of SR, modern art in particular played a part in shaping future views of television. The new visual medium, it was claimed, could benefit from the ideas of modern artists. As a part of these ambitions, artists Ture Sjölander and Bror Wikström produced for SR the short experimental programs Monument and Space in the Brain that aired during the late 1960s.27 These ideas of a televisual avant-garde of sorts were admittedly not unique for the Swedish context, and as elsewhere, they were not in any way fully realized. Already by the mid-1960s, growing criticism was aimed at SR for not fulfilling its proclaimed duties toward the visual arts. Besides proposing a solution to questions of how to bring modern art to the people, the Multikonst project can in part be viewed as a response to this kind of criticism.
"A Truly Nationwide Exhibition"
In retrospect, the general idea behind Multikonst can be described as a reconceptualization of the medium of the traveling exhibition. Instrumental to this idea was the conception of television as a real-time "live" medium. Konstfrämjandet's idea was that instead of a traveling exhibition tour making 100 stops, the incorporation of broadcast television would allow for 100 exhibitions being shown simultaneously. As the organizers aptly summarized the enormous enterprise, it was "a truly nationwide exhibition."28 The concept of media events, as theorized by Dayan and Katz, provides a useful framework for thinking about the project. In line with Dayan and Katz's conception of media events as the High Holidays of mass communication, Multikonst was promoted in Sweden as an exceptional interruption in the daily routines of television scheduling and something that everyone should be a part of.29 During the weeks leading up to the exhibition opening, a variety of media was put to use advertising and promoting the project, adding to the anticipation and preparation with the public. "Multikonst" was launched as a catchphrase to create a buzz around the project and, outside of extensive coverage in the press, posters announcing the arrival of the exhibition were distributed all over the towns and localities were it was to take place.
This points to another aspect of Multikonst as a media event, namely that it was preplanned by a number of actors.30 Several organizations and institutions with their respective agendas were, as described earlier, involved in organizing the project. For Konstfrämjandet, Multikonst was thought of as a continuation of its work over the last decades and coincided with the organization's twenty-year anniversary. Riksutställningar, for its part, was set up as a practice-based division within a recently formed governmental investigation of museums and exhibition activities in Sweden, led by architect Lennart Holm. Riksutställningar had started its activities the preceding year with a touring exhibition called 100 år Nationalmusem (100 years of the National Museum of Art), showcasing masterpieces of Western art from the state museum collection.31 For Riksutställningar, then, the project carried with it the possibility not only of experimenting with new forms of exhibition concepts and design, but also of collecting data on the audience. The view underpinning the latter might be characterized with regard to the importance of information. A vital part of informing the public also meant keeping informed and gathering information on the public. This resulted in a comprehensive report based on statistical data from the project.32 Lastly, by taking part in the project, SR had the possibility of counteracting criticism of insufficient attention to the visual arts and of making audiences passive.
Multikonst was not just promoted as a novel way of disseminating and exhibiting art based on a conception of televisual logic, but also as denoting a new kind of art object. The idea of reproducing large editions of artworks and selling them at the exhibition locations was in line with the main goal of Konstfrämjandet, which, by the late 1960s, had for some time been specializing in producing large and inexpensive editions of prints by established artists. The initiative put forward in Multikonst was to expand this concept of art reproduction into the realms of all types of art, producing cheap modern artworks available for everyone. Yet, one aspect especially highlighted by the organizers was that the artworks were not to be considered reproductions. Instead, each of the artworks was to be considered an original work, although mass-produced in thousands of copies. In this sense, the multi artwork exemplifies what Noël Carroll has termed mass art, a category of art that "makes possible the simultaneous consumption of the same artwork by audiences often divided by great distance."33 Admittedly this idea was not without forerunners, which the organizers also acknowledged, mainly with reference to the contemporary works of Swiss artist Daniel Spoerri and American pop art, which in the earlier part of the 1960s had been introduced in exhibitions at the Moderna Museet. According to the organizers, however, the Multikonst initiative differed from these other instances in the sense that the project did not make use of the concept of multiplied art as an aesthetic strategy—as in the work of American pop artists and the like—but instead, it was put to use as a distributive strategy.34
The introduction of multi art as a new kind of art also entailed an explicit critique of the existing institutions and conceptions of art. This was mostly evident in statements from television producer and leading project organizer Kristian Romare, who in a very polemical fashion emphasized how art, due to a focus on exclusivity and commercial value, was becoming increasingly isolated from a majority of the public and the everyday life of the citizens.35 Romare, an art critic, was hired by SR in 1964 to be responsible for the arts programming. He presented himself as a radical and provocateur, something that did not always correspond well with SR's ideals of objectivity, appropriateness, and neutral modes of address. In connection to the Multikonst project, Romare outspokenly attacked museums, galleries, and the commercial market for art, blaming them for treating art as exclusive goods, increasingly out of touch with the times and the everyday circulation of media and consumer culture. Exactly who or what the target of this critique was remains somewhat unclear. The rhetoric functioned as a way of promoting the project as radically novel, and it echoed the official cultural policy at the time that was also manifest in Edenman's address quoted earlier, although voiced in a somewhat less polemical fashion. Romare promoted an explicitly anticommercial stance, arguing for a more democratic view of art where everyone everywhere could be able to afford and own artworks. In line with this, he characterized the project as promoting "a genuine pop art" and as a "new experiment in art propaganda and art communication" of a kind never before seen.36
How was this to be accomplished in practice? I will now move on to consider the television programs produced for the project. All in all, SR produced and broadcasted five programs in relation to the exhibition. The preparatory planning as well as the aftermath of the exhibition were covered by the evening news show Aktuellt, and the project was also covered by radio. In addition, two introductory programs were aired in the weeks leading up to the exhibition; and two days after the exhibition, a program devoted to filmed visits to the studios of some of the contributing artists was aired, a staple ingredient of arts programming at the time.37 My focus, however, is mainly on two of the special television programs: the exhibition opening variety show Multikonst—hela Sverige går på utställning and a show dedicated to audience participation that aired a week after the opening, Multikonstifikt?
Addressing the Nation
Making modern art available to all and thereby allegedly democratizing the experience of art entailed a number of notions concerning art, media, and communication. Underlying the overall aim was first of all the idea that modern art is essentially good and potentially critical. Second, the democratization of the experience of art highlights a seemingly ambivalent position toward the medium of television. This is already evident in the first programs broadcasted as part of the project, titled Bild på dig (Image of/at you) and Fri såsom bilden (Free as the image), with the joint subtitle "a talk on art," and aired in the weeks leading up to the exhibition opening.38 Poet and author Sandro Key-Åberg, by the time also an active art educator, hosted the shows and scripted them together with producer Kristian Romare. The shows were structured in the manner of a basic lecture format, with still images and short moving images illustrating the arguments. These programs can roughly be described as pedagogic introductions to the specific way of thinking about art that the exhibition promoted, as well as to the importance and value of art in modern society more generally. In line with media event attributes, the shows functioned as a way of promoting the exhibitions and contributing to anticipation and preparation on the part of the audience.
In addition, the shows also aimed at countering supposed popular (mis)conceptions of modern art. This included, for example, the more inclusive definition of the concept of art intensely debated in the 1960s, stating that everything and anything might be considered art. In this respect, the shows came into being as part of an effort to popularize the idea of art as two-way communication, acknowledging and privileging the spectator's experience and making meaning of a work of art, famously put forward by art critic Ulf Linde in the early 1960s.39 The basic message was that the apparent incomprehensibleness of modern art could be viewed as its greatest quality, the ambiguousness making possible the discovery of new ways of seeing and experiencing the world. The show illustrates this, for example, with works by Swedish-American pop artist Claes Oldenburg and his sculptures based on everyday objects such as scissors, typewriters, and light switches. But as Key-Åberg also explicitly made clear at the end of the show, in his opinion the point was not to tell the viewers what to experience when looking at art, but instead to propose how to experience art.
Outside of contributing to the creation of anticipation for the actual exhibition by suggesting a certain attitude toward art and the value of art in modern society, the shows also addressed wider issues concerning media and images in contemporary society. During the latter part of the 1960s, the writings of Marshall McLuhan had profoundly influenced Swedish art and cultural debate. His ideas on media and art were picked up by producers of SR, who took a liking to his concepts of "the medium is the message" and of television as a low-definition "cool" medium demanding a high degree of participation from the viewer. McLuhan was explicitly cited by Romare as an influence in connection to Multikonst, as is also evident in the show's overall self-reflexive design and modes of address. Already in the opening of the first program, Key-Åberg addresses the issue of mediation by describing how the television image in actuality consists of several images experienced as continuous movement. In the same vein, he goes on to use different techniques and devices to scrutinize and make visible the act of mediation and its effects on perception of art and other images. The two shows were thus popular lessons in "ways of seeing," and thereby participated in a broader international trend in arts programming that focused on visuality in relation to art and the everyday, an early example being the CBS show Revolution of the Eye premiering in 1957. This trend later famously culminated with John Berger's programs for the BBC in 1972, Ways of Seeing.40
The grand opening of the exhibition took place on the air around 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 11, with Ragnar Edenman's opening address. In time for the inauguration, each of the 100 exhibition locations had been equipped with a TV set so visitors could follow the address; this aimed at producing a sense of simultaneity and unity, creating a virtual exhibition space of national scale where every citizen from north to south was invited to take part. Later that evening, in prime time at 7:30 p.m., a variety show over forty minutes long, recorded at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, celebrated the occasion of the opening. The nationwide address and unifying function of the show was apparent already in its title: "Multikonst—hela Sverige går på utställning" (Multi Art—the whole of Sweden goes to exhibition). In a similar fashion, the opening titles of the program showcased still-image montages of the official Multikonst poster at different locations all over the country.
Producer Kristian Romare hosted the show, interviewed guests, and provided voice-over commentary for shots of the exhibition and the ongoing events. Set in one of the exhibition halls of the Nationalmuseum's large 19th-century building, the show alternated between shots of the artworks on display, of the audience mingling about as a jazz orchestra provided a musical backdrop, and shorter sequences with interviews, conversations, and humorous skits featuring celebrities, politicians, and those contributing. The show sought to display a sense of spontaneity and "liveness," although not all of the scenes were live and the conversations and events not necessarily as spontaneous as they appeared. Chiefly, the show revolved around a supposed clash between high art and popular entertainment. As Lynn Spigel has noted, a similar approach was also common in US television shows on modern art, where the use of liveness and familiar entertainment forms recurred in presenting modern art to large audiences.41 With regard to museum culture, similar strategies were employed by, for example, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York in its early TV project, or later on the Philadelphia Museum of Art with CBS specials starring Barbra Streisand and with the aim of promoting color TV. Spigel highlights how cultural and media institutions joined forces to promote the importance of art and museums as well as the importance of television.42 These examples show how television "provided new ways of looking at art in the context of popular forms [. . .] while it also served as a vehicle for debates about art's greater purpose."43
The Multikonst opening scene takes place on the great staircase in the entrance of the museum, where host Romare accidentally bumps into a museum janitor. Apparently oblivious to the whole concept of an art opening, the janitor is busy putting veneer on one of the exhibition posters mounted on an easel. The two men converse about the word "vernissage," before the merry janitor leaves the scene and Romare introduces two of the project's organizers, Olof Norell of Konstfrämjandet and Gunnar Westin of Riksutställningar.
Host and producer Kristian Romare with actor Åke Grönberg at Nationalmuseum. From the opening sequence of Multikonst—hela Sverige går på utställning (1967). Still image: SVT—Sveriges Television AB.
This introductory skit displays striking similarities with examples discussed by Spigel in the American context. The use of a working-class man as a skeptical character to be lectured by the informed art critic was used by MoMA in its 1950s TV project, where a smoking TV floor manager accidentally shows up on the air with museum director René d'Harnoncourt and an NYU art professor.44 Based on the assumptions that television audiences were skeptical toward both modern art and being lectured by intellectuals, this convention allowed for an indirect way of educating the audience while at the same time making them feel more at ease and perhaps more sophisticated.45 In the same way as in the American example, the Multikonst opening scene was clearly scripted and acted, the "janitor" being played by well-known actor Åke Grönberg, and when Romare corrects his use of the word "vernissage," he does this by casually providing an explanation of the etymological roots of the word. The introductory skit exemplifies the show's overall sense of "edutainment," combining amusement with valuable information. This staged introduction then set the stage for recurrent themes in the following, where several characters took the role of modern art skeptics for the audience to identify with (or object to).
Television weatherman Nils Curry Melin painting a van Gogh-inspired weather forecast. Skit from Multikonst—hela Sverige går på utställning (1967). Still image: SVT—Sveriges Television AB.
Several more celebrity appearances follow. After the opening sequence set in the entrance hall, viewers are introduced to another familiar person: television weatherman and amateur artist Nils Curry Melin. In this scene the theme of the nation is again, and quite literally, at the center of attention. Melin's contribution to the show was described as a van Gogh-inspired weather report, where he, fittingly outfitted with brush and palette, paints a weekend weather forecast on a conventionalized weather chart of northern Europe with Sweden in the center. This humorous scene is followed, in turn, by a comparable but more upfront satirical one, starring actor Stig Grybe in the role of Ante Nordlund from Mobacken. At the time Grybe already had a fairly long career playing the character Ante on radio, film, and television. The appearance in the Multikonst show was structured as a monologue by Ante on the theme of the incomprehensibility of modern art. In the skit, Ante walks around on a small stage, talking about the artworks on display in the exhibition while consistently playing on a supposed clash between center (Stockholm) and periphery (the fictitious Mobacken) as the basis for satirical comedy. The punch lines of the monologue all center on the character as a stereotypical "man from out of town" and his confrontation with the world of modern art.46 However, the satirical edge of the skit is evidently not intended to be toward the countryside populace but rather toward an undefined but clearly big city-based art world and its putative incomprehensibleness. Although the skit pokes fun at modern art as a general concept, several punch lines directly or indirectly are aimed at the artworks on display in the exhibition. This might seem somewhat surprising but can on the other hand be understood in line with the overall theme of the show. In this vein, the skit was based on the assumption that art could be made less intimidating for the imagined audience if framed as light entertainment—or simply as the butt of a joke.
Actor Stig Grybe in character as Ante Nordlund from Mobacken. Skit from Multikonst—hela Sverige går på utställning (1967). Still image: SVT—Sveriges Television AB.
The Ante skit also carried an element of provocation in the sense that it was to be understood as a bit over the top. This was, however, shadowed by a later part of the show. In this scene actor Per Oscarsson is seen engaged in conversation with two of the contributing artists, sculptors Pye Engström and Inga Bagge, and the author Claes Engström. Their conversation revolves around Bagge and Engström's contributions to the exhibit, two small sculptures with explicitly erotic themes. The conversation soon leads up to the usage of what in the aftermath of the event was described as "foul language." The incident led to press headlines, numerous letters and phone calls from viewers to SR, and a public retraction from the head of broadcasting, Olof Rydbeck. The organizers eventually downplayed the "scandal," calling the commotion "more smoke than fire."47 The occurrence, however, was a well-calculated part of the media event. A few months earlier, in December 1966, Oscarsson had made an appearance on the enormously popular talk show, Hylands hörna (Hyland's corner), where he famously performed a strip tease while holding a monologue on sexuality in contemporary society. This event, then, can be viewed as a case in point with regard to the overall ambition of creating a sense of unpredictability and the overall feeling that "anything can happen" in the show.48
The rest of the show featured similarly structured conversations about the displayed artworks, but with less provocative themes. A striking example, which also ties together the theme of national unity with the recurrent mocking of the artworks, took place around halfway into the show. In this scene TV producer, news reporter, and filmmaker Torbjörn Axelman converses with sculptor Berto Marklund on the latter's contribution to the exhibit, an abstract sculpture in pink plastic titled L`accouchement. Axelman admits to being rather unimpressed by the work and announces that they are "going out across the land" to hear from other views on the artwork in question, thereby utilizing what Dayan and Katz have termed the language of transportation.49 Axelman and Marklund then turn to a giant screen mounted on the wall in the room, upon which appears the face of Rune "Bullis" Andersson—a longtime friend of Marklund and well-known sausage manufacturer. In the conversation that follows, Andersson deems the artwork straight-out awful. Following this initial conversation, in interviews with bandy and soccer player Olle Sääw and adman Per-Henry Richter, the two guests express differing opinions with regard to the artworks. At the end of the segment, Marklund himself talks about the intentions behind the work and how it deals with the recent birth of his daughter, something to him both sensuous and beautiful. As he states, the artwork therefore might appeal to midwives.
News reporter and producer Torbjörn Axelman and artist Berto Marklund engaged in conversation through real-time technology with Rune "Bullis" Andersson. Sequence from Multikonst—hela Sverige går på utställning (1967). Still image: SVT—Sveriges Television AB.
Setting aside the actual comments from the men on the screen, the utilization of the large screen itself provided a message. The images of the three men on the screen were transmitted from different parts of Sweden: from Malmberget in the far north, örebro in the central region, and Malmö in the far south. By symbolically tying the nation together through television, the scene explicitly presented modern art as something of importance for the whole of Sweden. In this context, the critical comments about the artwork from Axelman and the three men on the screen might seem somewhat contradictory: the upfront critique delivered by real-time technology can be viewed as a staging of the overall message of Multikonst, namely that it was the individual experience of art that was at the heart of the project. From this point of view, the show provides a number of different approaches toward the specific artworks as well as modern art in general, implicitly and explicitly suggesting that the audience think for themselves and form their own opinions.
However, communication of art by TV was not without implications. According to the overall rationale of the project, simply watching art on TV wasn't enough. This matter was brought to the fore at the end of the show, when Kristian Romare and Sandro Key-Åberg said goodbye to the viewers. This short scene clearly points to the key significance attributed to liveness and a sense of simultaneity. This is evident in how Key-Åberg, appearing for the first time in the show, enters the scene behind a newspaper deliberately displaying an article from the same day about the exhibit and thereby explicitly stating the contemporaneity of the show. Then, among the last words uttered by Romare is a reminder to the viewing audience to go and see the exhibitions. Romare frames this suggestion by referring to the mediation of the television image, outspokenly calling it a "televisual reproduction" and thus implicitly not the "real" exhibition.50 Television made possible the tying together of the nation, providing a sense of unity and simultaneity, but electronic signals could not replace the actual visit to the exhibition and the genuine encounter with the artworks. The ending of the show thus points to a basic premise of television's role and place within the project. It also points to the importance of encouraging the television audience to become an exhibition audience as a vital part of the project.
Engaging the Individual
The task of encouraging television viewers to visit the exhibitions and possibly consume art took on several different forms. At each of the exhibition sites, guests were offered brochures and a special issue of Vår konst (Our art), a periodical published by Konstfrämjandet that contained pedagogical introductions to the exhibit and a range of activities for the audience to take part in, such as questionnaires, study circles, and guided tours. A summary of the overall goals motivating these efforts can be identified in a couple of requests directed to the audience in the official exhibition brochure: following information on motivations for the exhibition and the organizing parties and contributing artists, it concluded, "Think for yourself. See for yourself. Judge for yourself."
These kinds of requests also provided the basis for a contest announced in the opening show. The closing dialogue between Romare and Key-Åberg referenced earlier mainly aimed at inviting the audience to join the contest. The recurrent mocking and continuous questioning of the displayed artworks was part of constructing a prescribed way of partaking in the project. Telling the audience straight out what to think about the art and how to react to it was not considered democratic. Instead, the project aimed toward creating conditions for the individual visitors or viewers to think about and reflect on modern art for themselves. From this point of view, the contest was a fundamental aspect of the project. It was designed as a questionnaire distributed at the various exhibitions locations. The first part of the questionnaire encouraged the exhibition visitors to note which of the displayed artworks they thought most difficult to understand, or, citing the words of the organizers, most "Multikonstifikt." The second part was the actual contest, where the audience was encouraged to note which of the artworks they liked the most and, most important, to provide a personal explanation as to why they chose as they did. The questionnaires were to be filled out and mailed to SR, where a jury would review the choices and motivations and select a number of winners, who were to be awarded with artworks from the exhibition, and, for a lucky few, the opportunity to appear on television.
This contest was also essential for the last of the five programs SR produced in connection to the project. The program, titled Multikonstifikt?, aired a week after the exhibition opening. It was announced as "the audience's own art program" and had an explicitly participatory aim.51 Without the exhibition audience filling out the questionnaires and sending them in, the whole concept of the program, according to the organizers, would have been a failure. This final program, like the opening show, was hosted by Kristian Romare, this time with co-host Katarina Dunér, an art critic who had worked with Romare earlier as member of a panel in the art quiz show Vilken tavla? (1965-1966), which was also the context where the Multikonst project was announced for the first time.52 Multikonstifikt? was a TV-studio production running for just under thirty minutes. The last part of the show was devoted to a filmed visit in the studio of artist Sven X:et Erixson. The main part of the show, however, included conversations with four selected winners from the contest.
Of an estimated 2,500 contributions, ten contestants won artworks they had noted as liking the most. Of these, four were selected to participate in the show. The winner, the contestant ranked number one by the jury, was the first to appear on the show. Introduced in the opening, she is Ros-Marie Andersson, a "farmer's wife" of Norrberga in Ervalla. She reads her winning contribution in voice-over on images of cows in a barn. As is evident from the introductory reading, the cows in the preceding images played an important part in the winning contribution, as according to Andersson's entry, the chosen artwork were to be hung in the barn with the cows. Following this introduction of the winner, the hosts and Andersson converse on various topics related to the exhibition and her experience of it. In line with the project's overall rationale, Andersson remarks on the exhibition's "unusually" large audience and its overall feel as something other than visiting a "real museum." In addition, she comments on where to hang her prize, a color wood engraving by Lars Lindeberg. Although her initial idea was to hang it in the barn near her cows, she instead proposes hanging it in the kitchen, explaining that art you really like should not be kept in the best room with a gilded frame; instead, it should be hung with a more plain frame in the room where you spend most of your time.
Before introducing the next winner, Andersson and the hosts converse on the overall outcome of the contest, and discuss which artworks were given the most votes as "liked" and which deemed most incomprehensible or "multikonstifikt." The hosts take turns reading a selection of personal motivations, and then ask Andersson to guess the contest's results. One artwork that created a lot of confusion for the audience was an object shaped like a small bag, titled "Se på påse" by artist and poet Berndt Petterson.53 As the promotion of the show announced, artworks considered incomprehensible were to be "explained" in the program.54 In place of an explanation, however, a short experimental film by Petterson relating to the play on words in the exhibited artwork was shown.
The film functioned as a transition to the next invited winner. As noted by the hosts, although Petersson's artwork caused some query among the audience, the most questions were raised in relation to a monochrome white print by Rune Jansson. In line with the blunt rejection of an "expert explanation" of the earlier artwork, the presentation of Jansson's work is followed by the introduction of the next winner of the contest, Rune Joneland of Älvsbyn, to describe his individual experience of the work. Joneland then gives a short monologue on a memory of his awoken by the print, when as a youngster working nights at a charcoal stack in winter, he became so overwhelmed by the moonlight reflecting on the snow that he heard music and began dancing. Following this, host Romare introduces the artist Jansson, supposedly to underline the achieved "contact" between artist and audience. Before Joneland leaves the studio space, Romare announces he is getting an additional prize: the opportunity to attend an allegedly sold-out production of Hamlet together with his wife and in company with the artist. The hosts then summarize the exhibition's most popular artworks, leading up to the introduction of the last participating winners: an eleven-year-old girl named Lotta, accompanied by her young friend Eva Maria. In the conversation that follows, the young girls answer questions on their choices of artworks and their written statements in the questionnaire before they are both handed the artworks selected by them.
Judging from the show, the ideal audience of the project consisted of farmer's wives, charcoal-stack workers, and eleven-year-old girls, because they apparently had taken part in the project in the prescribed way. Aside from simply watching the television shows, they had taken time to visit one of the exhibitions, and, guided by the questionnaire, had engaged with the artworks and singled out a selection of objects from the larger collection and related them to personal everyday experiences. The winners further embodied the ideals of the anti-elitist position promoted by the project. There was, of course, nothing coincidental about the choice of winners to appear on the show, something that also highlights assumptions about the target audience. The choice was obviously based on assumptions about class, gender, age, and geography. First and foremost, the individuals appearing on the show implicitly represented all the people not part of the confinements of an established art world circulation. In this sense they all belonged to a category of citizens apparently in need of getting in touch with quality art. However, this is not really the message here. The show's way of privileging individual encounters with individual artworks aimed at showcasing the value and importance of the subjective art experience. The winners represented a more genuine and authentic kind of art appreciation. The design of the show thereby made something personal and subjective a collective and national concern by being exemplary of modern art consumerism. From this point of view, the show can be considered as contributing to the construction of the desired and therefore ideal audience of the project.
The Multikonst project was an event conceived and communicated with and through a variety of media forms. This places the project in a particular historical situation and highlights a number of different relations and interconnections between art, consumer culture, mediated communication, and cultural policy. The project has generally been little researched, despite its conspicuousness and despite the fact that it arguably can be thought of as one of the largest art exhibitions in Swedish history. Instead, the project has, with reference to the occurrence in the opening show quoted earlier, gained a somewhat symbolic position in overall periodization and characterizations of "the 1960s." As I have shown, there are also other types of insights to be gained in researching this and similar kinds of events that I believe can provide, among other things, valuable clues to the ways people perceived and made sense of art at the historical moment.
In hindsight, it seems quite clear that Multikonst, with regard to its scope and utilization of television technology, was something of a one-off event. As is evident in the historical record, by early 1967 television could still be regarded as a new medium and its potential was still thought to be in its infancy. This was soon to pass, the apparent newness soon to be replaced by video, satellite television, and above all, the computer. In the short run, however, the project was followed by a smaller-sized version titled Multi 69, explicitly aimed at kids and youth, but generally, the utopian hopes for art by television were starting to fade. There were of course a number of reasons for this, but interestingly, the waning of these high hopes coincided with the introduction of color television in 1970 and the launch of a second channel in 1969, developments that already in the 1950s were thought to truly revolutionize televisual art education. However, the Multikonst media event taken as a case study—with its peculiar interconnections of technology, consumerism, and state cultural policy—contributes to a historical understanding of ideas and ideals of cultural democracy and art education that potentially adds perspective to current discourses and practice of national public service television as well as cultural policy.
The experimental ambitions of Multikonst were based on utopian aspirations. In hindsight, such ambition toward the future of course tells a lot about the historical situation in which it was voiced. On the one hand, a conception of television as a provider of liveness, unpredictability, and simultaneity was fundamental for the exhibition concept. Television here provided the basic concept of simultaneity and made possible the rhetoric of national unity. In a number of ways, the project shares the attributes of media events, as described by Dayan and Katz, with regard to the "festive" framing, interruptive character, its norms of viewing and participation, its combination of "live and remote," as well as the number of different actors and agendas involved.55 Considered as a media event, the project constructed a virtual exhibition space of national scale, momentary but (at least according to the organizers) of potential historical magnitude. It certainly was, and was promoted as, a High Holiday of mass communication. On another level, however, it is possible to view the project as a way of creating an exhibition that in a literal sense functioned as a routine television show. The exhibits were arranged to reach the public in a familiar environment; the venues were all designed to look the same, and to reach everyone at the same time. In this sense, every Swede was to share a similar experience no matter the geographical location. As an upgraded version of the medium of the traveling exhibition, the Multikonst project was an effort to literally broadcast an art exhibition.
On the other hand, it is evident that television also was considered to have limitations with regard to the overall political context and central aims of the project. The overall goal from the organizers' point of view was to promote and make possible the experience of engaging with original art works. This was framed metaphorically so as to make possible the "contact" between artists, artworks, and audiences. In the case of the Multikonst project, television was used as a means to promote a particular kind of position toward art that corresponded with avant-garde notions of art as part of everyday life and the idea that any ordinary object could qualify as an artwork.56 This view also corresponded with a Social Democratic cultural policy and its ideals of equality and art for everyone, a policy that at same time was aimed at providing work opportunities for artists. In this context, the project was positioned as an experimental and novel way of distributing art objects as well as disseminating ways to think about art in modern society. This position was framed as anticommercial, anti-elitist, and critical toward the art market and the usual business of museums and galleries, which were labeled as far too exclusive, bourgeois, and therefore out of touch with the historical moment. As explicitly stated, it was the unique experience that was of importance, not the unique object or its monetary value.
However, there is also an inherent paradox in the project's attempt to counter one kind of consumerism with another, supposedly better, kind of consumerism. This in part had to do with the overall cultural political context that framed the project, something that also had consequences for the utilization of television. Television was thought to be able to become an important part in the contact-making but never to actually substitute this contact; it could provide information about art, bolster engagement for and create interest in art, but it could never actually be art, because art was chiefly considered a product of an artist's work. The recurrent reminders to the viewing audience of the mediation of television as well as the emphasis on the importance of visiting the actual exhibitions are part of this. Underlying this was also the looming threat of television turning the audience into passive television viewers, rather than active and engaged exhibition visitors. Television was considered merely a vehicle of information on the art and exhibitions, its primary purpose being to encourage the television viewers to stop acting as viewers and instead become exhibition visitors and, in the long run, art spectators. Multikonst was representative of views on television more generally. From the start, the new medium posed a threat to other kinds of activities that were considered more valuable, such as going to museums, reading books, or visiting the theater. Simply "watching television" was not something that SR itself encouraged; rather the opposite. The Multikonst project was thus not just about creating art spectators and promoting good consumerism, but it was also about shaping an active and critical television audience.
I would like to end this article by citing another contemporary art-related media event. Coincidentally, the Multikonst project of 1967 took place the same year as the first international satellite television art auction. This event, titled Bravo Picasso, centered on an auctioning of paintings by the world-famous artist. With the aid of satellite television, bidders from Paris, London, Dallas-Fort Worth, Burbank, and Los Angeles came together in the competition: "Using man's electronic genius to bring you his creative genius," as the show's narrator summarized the event.57 Interestingly, the two events share several similarities in their interlinking of themes concerning art, consumerism, and technology. Both advanced the idea of new technology, allowing for new ways to engage with art through technological virtual space; and in both cases, the engagement in question centered on consumerism and commercialism. Outside of these similarities, there were also substantial differences. The communicative space in the former example was the nation while the latter was global. Essentially, however, the Bravo Picasso event exemplifies the art market commercialism and elitism Multikonst positioned itself against. As Lynn Spigel has noted, Bravo Picasso might be thought of as the first postmodern media event on television: "In Bravo Picasso, the modern ideal of the national museum that houses artists who express their 'nation-ness' gave way to the postmodern concept of an art mart in global space where the real spectacle is not the work of art, but the staging of the sale in the age of satellite transmission."58 In this context of global telecommunications, the Multikonst media event, with its explicitly national and anticommercial rationale, seems almost an inverse of the global art marketplace constructed in the Bravo Picasso satellite event.
David Rynell Åhlén is a PhD student in art history at the Department of Culture and Aesthetics, Stockholm University, Sweden. His recently completed doctoral thesis deals with arts programming in Swedish television during the 1950s and 1960s.
1 "Det är en stor glädje för mig att nu med televisionens hjälp i ett och samma ögonblick få öppna 100 lika utställningar på 100 olika platser i landet." All translations from Swedish are by the author. The author would like to take the opportunity to thank the editor as well as the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the article.
2 Olof Norell, "Om konsten att vara tillräckligt stor," in Multikonst: en bok om 66 konstverk, 100 utställningar, 350 000 besökare, Ragnar Edenman et al. (Stockholm: Sveriges Radio, 1967), 22: "den integrering av medier."
3 "Vår upplevelse av konst har icke med pengar att göra, inte heller alltid med frÅgan om huruvida konstverket är unikt eller mångfaldigat. [. . .] Och det är denna syn på konsten som upplevelse, som svenska staten denna gång önskat understödja."
4 See for example, Dag Nordmark, Finrummet och lekstugan: Kultur- och underhållningsprogram i svensk radio och TV (Stockholm: Prisma, 1999), 206-8; Kjell östberg, 1968—när allt var i rörelse. Sextiotalsradikaliseringen och de sociala rörelserna (Stockholm: Prisma, 2002), 60; Helene Broms and Anders Göransson, Kultur i rörelse: en historia om Riksutställningar och kulturpolitiken (Stockholm: Atlas, 2012), 57-60.
5 Daniel Dayan and Elihu Katz, Media Events: The Live Broadcasting of History (Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1992).
6 Dayan and Katz, Media Events, 5.
7 For an overview in English, see Monika Djerf-Pierre and Mats Ekström, eds., A History of Swedish Broadcasting: Communicative Ethos, Genres, and Institutional Change (Göteborg: Nordicom, 2013).
8 Jan Olsson, "One Commercial Week: Television in Sweden Prior to Public Service," in Television After TV: Essays on a Medium in Transition, eds. Jan Olsson and Lynn Spigel (Durham and London: Duke UP, 2004), 250.
9 Olsson, "One Commercial Week", 267-68.
10 Ragnar Edenman, "Konst i offentlig miljö. Kultupolitiskt nytänkande 1959," in Arbetarhistoria: Meddelande Från Arbetarrörelsens arkiv och bibliotek (1996), 70. Originally published in Svenska stadsförbundetstidskrift (1959), 9.
11 Edenman, "Konst i offentlig miljö," 19: "Det är här vi måste sätta in attackerna—men inte med förbud och censurering utan med det självklaraste av stridsmedel; erbjudandet av andra alternativ, andra valmöjligheter."
12 Edenman, "Konst i offentlig miljö," 21: "Att rasera skiljemuren mellan konstnärerna och de stora folkgrupperna, att aktivt verka för en ökad konstförståelse och forma Vår offentliga miljö så att den stimulerar till konstintresse och konstförvärv."
13 For example, during the turn of the century and the early part of the 1900s, the workers' movement campaigned against popular cultural expressions such as film and pulp literature, the Nationalmuseum started to organize traveling art exhibitions, and there were art educational initiatives aimed at schools. Among the important actors were Ellen Key, Richard Berg, and Carl G. Laurin. See Per Sundgren, "Smakfostran: En attityd i folkbildning och kulturliv," in Lychnos: Årsbok för idé- och lärdomshistoria (Uppsala: Lärdomshistoriska samfundet, 2002), 138-75.
14 For an account of this, see Martin Gustavsson, Makt och konstsmak: Sociala och politiska motsättningar på den svenska konstmarknaden 1920-1960, PhD diss., Stockholm University (Stockholm: Ekonomisk-historiska institutionen, 2002), 217-92.
15 Sundgren, "Smakfostran," 138.
16 Statens Offentlig Utredningar 1956:13, Konstbildning i Sverige: Förslag till åtgärder för att främja svensk estetisk fostran avgivet av 1948 års konstutredning (Stockholm, 1956). See also the discussion in Gustavsson, Makt och konstsmak, 315-19.
17 John Durham Peters, Speaking into the Air: A History of the Idea of Communication (Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1999).
18 Peters, Speaking into the Air, 24.
19 Peters, Speaking into the Air, 5.
20 Peters, Speaking into the Air, 25-26.
21 See, for example, Fredrik Norén, "Statens informationslogik och den audiovisuella upplysningen 1945-1960," Scandia: Tidskrift för historisk forskning 80, no. 2 (2014): 66-92.
22 Hans Hederberg ed., Är allting konst? Inlägg i den stora konstdebatten (Stockholm: Bonnier, 1963); Ulf Linde, Spejare: En essä om konst (Stockholm: Bonnier, 1960).
24 SOU 1956:13, 246.
25 Their research focuses on the United States and Great Britain, respectively. See, for example, Lynn Spigel, TV by Design: Modern Art and the Rise of Network Television (Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2008); Katerina Loukopoulou, "The Mobile Framing of Henry Moore's Sculpture in Post-War Britain," Visual Culture in Britain 13, no. 1 (2012): 63-81. doi:10.1080/14714787.2011.641785
26 For a more general discussion on the topic of art and early television in Sweden in relation to the genre of "films on art," see Malin Wahlberg, "Från Rembrandt till Electronics—konstfilmen i tidig svensk television," in Berättande i olika medier, eds. Leif Dahlberg and Pelle Snickars (Stockholm: SLBA, 2008), 201-32.
27 The programs were aired in 1967 and 1969, respectively. See Gary Svensson, Digitala pionjärer: Datakonstens introduktion i Sverige, PhD diss., Linköping University (Stockholm: Carlssons, 2000), 104-12.
28 Olof Norell, "Från idé till verklighet," in Ragnar Edenman et al., Multikonst: en bok om 66 konstverk, 100 utställningar, 350 000 besökare (Stockholm: Sveriges Radio, 1967), 37.
29 Dayan and Katz, Media Events, 1. See also the discussion on necessary and sufficient elements of media events, Dayan and Katz, Media Events, 4-14.
30 Dayan and Katz, Media Events, 7.
31 For an overview of the history of Riksutställningar, see Broms and Göransson, Kultur i rörelse.
32 See Göran Nylöf, Multikonst: En sociologisk studie av besökare och köpare (Stockholm, Utställningspubliken, Rapport 4, 1968). In addition, art historian Gunnar Berefelt at Stockholm University conducted an audience analysis later published in Meddelande Från Moderna Museet, a periodical from the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm. See Gunnar Berefelt, "Allmänheten om Multikonst," Meddelande Från Moderna Museet 27-28 (1968): 6-14.
33 Noël Carroll, "The Ontology of Mass Art," Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 2 (1997): 188.doi:10.2307/431263
34 Kristian Romare, "Multikonst—ett ord, en företeelse," in Multikonst: en bok om 66 konstverk, 100 utställningar, 350 000 besökare, Ragnar Edenman et al. (Stockholm: Sveriges Radio, 1967), 16-17.
35 This is, for example, how he frames the project in a presentation in the TV guide Röster i Radio-TV. See Mats Rying, "Konst över landet," Röster i Radio-TV 4 (1967): 18-19.
36 Romare cited in Rying, "Konst över landet," 19.
37 For a discussion on the origins of this genre of arts programming, see Loukopoulou, "The Mobile Framing of Henry Moore's Sculpture."
38 The first program aired on January 29, 1967; the second on February 7, 1967.
39 Linde, Spejare.
40 See Spigel, TV by Design, 12.
41 Spigel, TV by Design, 44-47.
42 Spigel, TV by Design, 144-77.
43 Spigel, TV by Design, 297.
44 The scene was part of an episode of the CBS public-affairs program Dimension, celebrating the museum's twenty-fifth anniversary in 1954. See Lynn Spigel, "High Culture in Low Places: Television and Modern Art, 1950-1970," in Welcome to the Dreamhouse: Popular Media and Postwar Suburbs (Durham and London: Duke UP, 2001), 265-66. See also note 1, 302-3. See also Lynn Spigel, "Television, the Housewife, and the Museum of Modern Art," in Television After TV: Essays on a Medium in Transition, eds. Lynn Spigel and Jan Olsson (Durham and London: Duke UP, 2004), 349-85; Spigel, TV by Design, 162.
46 Compare a similar routine discussed by Lynn Spigel, in Spigel, TV by Design, 45.
47 Olof Norell, "Från idé till verklighet," 47.
49 Dayan and Katz, Media Events, 11.
50 "Vi har varit på vernissage tillsammans, tack ska ni ha för sällskapet, och nu är det er sak att göra något, till exempel gå på utställningarna. För det vi visar i tv, det är ju bara en tv-reproduktion." Romare later elaborated on this theme in the book Multikonst, where he described the show's aim as to make people "get out of the couch" and "exercise their imagination." Referencing Marshall McLuhan, he also made a plea for artistic experimentation with television. Kristian Romare, "Bilder x bilder—multikonst och massmedia," in Multikonst: en bok om 66 konstverk, 100 utställningar, 350 000 besökare, Ragnar Edenman et al. (Stockholm: Sveriges Radio, 1967), 55-64.
51 "Publikens Multikonst-program," unsigned article, Röster i Radio-TV 8 (1967): 23.
52 The title is a more or less untranslatable pun on words; the literal translation is "Which painting?" but it can also be read as "What a blunder."
53 The title is an untranslatable pun on words, referring to the similarity between the Swedish word for bag, "påse," and that of looking at something, "se på."
54 "Publikens Multikonst-program," 23.
55 Dayan and Katz, Media Events, 5-9.
56 For a more general discussion on this topic, see Jesper Olsson, "Mass Media Avant Garde: Dislocating the Hi/Lo in the Swedish 1960s," in Regarding the Popular: Modernism, the Avant-garde, and High and Low Culture, ed. Sasha Bru (Berlin: de Greuyter, 2011), 445-57.
57 For a discussion on the event, see Spigel, "High Culture in Low Places," 297-99.
58 Spigel, "High Culture in Low Places," 299.
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A major project near Mont Orford station?
Alan Carter | April 25, 2019 | Business | No Comments
The development of the Magog region’s tourism industry is one of the priorities of Orford MP Gilles Bélanger. Even before being elected, he had developed a plan to increase the influence of Mount Orford and Owl’s Head stations. And he now believes he can implement his vision with new European investors.
The investors in question are about to acquire land with a total area of approximately 80 hectares at exit 115 of Highway 10, near Mont Orford Station and the Mont Orford National Park. If everything goes as planned, they would become owners of land currently owned by businessman André L’Espérance and Auberge du Mont-Orford.
Gilles Bélanger considers that a “project of $ 200 to $ 250 million” could emerge at exit 115. It is not clear, however, what are the exact plans of the new investors, who would nonetheless have shown interest in the vision of the MP. Orford.
Mr. Bélanger prefers not to come forward when asked how many additional housing units could be built at this location. He points out, however, that the real estate project he dreams of would be well integrated into the wooded and hilly environment of the sector.
“My goal is to bring a nature-adventure project to this place. I do not want Bromont to be copied, but to be complementary. It is certain that such a project would attract people from Montreal, especially since the construction of the new Champlain Bridge will soon be over. Strangers too would come. ”
To achieve the expected result, Gilles Bélanger also wants to find a well-established company that would be able to develop an attractive and “eco-responsible” hosting product in collaboration with new investors. He also reveals having had discussions with the European company Your Nature, which would be interested in the sector. “Its leaders have an interest in coming to Estrie,” he says.
His vision
In recent years, Mr. Bélanger has worked to boost the information and communications technology sector in Magog. His efforts worked well and, in parallel with them, he formed a group to purchase and re-launch Owl’s Head. The planned acquisition materialized, but he left the group of acquirers to get into provincial politics.
When he had publicly expressed his interest in Owl’s Head, the former businessman had quickly linked the destiny of this mountain, located in Potton, those of Mount Orford and Lake Memphremagog.
“I spoke at the start of Memphremagog Summits. The idea was to develop around the two mountains and the lake that separates them. I did my part for the development of Owl’s Head and I know it will be done. Now it’s up to me to get Orford to continue to grow, “says Gilles Bélanger.
In addition to exit 115, the member for Orford said that Vertendre’s lands in Eastman would also be a good place to build a large-scale real estate project around Mont-Orford National Park.
“Just like in the case of exit 115, it would be possible to create an accommodation chair to connect Vertendre to the ski resort. People would not have to take their car to go skiing and would go to the mountains by simply boarding a lift that would be paid by private investors. This is the kind of thing that is very popular with skiers, “he says.
Acting as President of the Mont-Orford Ski and Golf Corporation, Jacques Demers is not closed to the idea. He recognizes that the addition of air links between Mont Orford station and real estate projects located nearby is a legal possibility.
“The law adopted by the Quebec government allows for discussions around this issue. But it’s not an automatic right. Nothing is guaranteed, in other words. And then we, in the mountains, would we want such links? He asks without answering the question.
Although he shows a moderate enthusiasm for this type of link, Jacques Demers shows more interest in Gilles Bélanger’s project to set up a shuttle that would transport skiers to the mountains from from different places, hotels, condominiums or others.
“Probably we would need that,” he admits.
Seasonal businesses: “the panic mode has started”
Mother Nature is expensive at Hydro
Leclerc Communication broadcasts CHOI Radio X
No Comments | May 1, 2019
The Quebec City region suffers from a lack of entrepreneurial succession
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AngkorWat0703
02 JULY 2013 - ANGKOR WAT, SIEM REAP, SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA: Stone heads in Bayon, one of the temples in the Angkor Wat complex. Angkor Wat is the largest temple complex in the world. The temple was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yasodharapura (present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Angkor Wat was dedicated to Vishnu. It is the best-preserved temple at the site, and has remained a religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, then Buddhist. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It is a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on the national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. The temple is admired for the architecture, the extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls. The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer; Angkor, meaning "city" or "capital city", is a vernacular form of the word nokor, which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara. Wat is the Khmer word for "temple grounds", derived from the Pali word "vatta." Prior to this time the temple was known as Preah Pisnulok, after the posthumous title of its founder. It is also the name of complex of temples, which includes Bayon and Preah Khan, in the vicinity. It is by far the most visited tourist attraction in Cambodia. More than half of all tourists to Cambodia visit Angkor. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
AngkorWat0703027.jpg
070313 Angkor Angkor Wat Archaeology Architecture Bayon Buddhism Cambodia Historic Religion Seam Reap Temple Tourism Tourist Attraction Wat
Cambodia (All), Angkor Wat
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130311-NetCast4LCDL-1.pdf
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You should also get your employer (if you work as a programmer) or your school, if any, to sign a "copyright disclaimer" for the library, if necessary. Here is a sample; alter the names:
Yoyodyne, Inc., hereby disclaims all copyright interest in the library `Frob' (a library for tweaking knobs) written by James Random Hacker.
signature of Ty Coon, 1 April 1990 Ty Coon, President of Vice
Mozilla Public License 1.1 (MPL 1.1)
1.0.1. "Commercial Use" means distribution or otherwise making the Covered Code available to a third party.
1.1. ''Contributor'' means each entity that creates or contributes to the creation of Modifications.
1.2. ''Contributor Version'' means the combination of the Original Code, prior Modifications used by a Contributor, and the Modifications made by that particular Contributor.
1.3. ''Covered Code'' means the Original Code or Modifications or the combination of the Original Code and Modifications, in each case including portions thereof.
1.4. ''Electronic Distribution Mechanism'' means a mechanism generally accepted in the software development community for the electronic transfer of data.
1.5. ''Executable'' means Covered Code in any form other than Source Code.
1.6. ''Initial Developer'' means the individual or entity identified as the Initial Developer in the Source Code notice required by Exhibit A.
1.7. ''Larger Work'' means a work which combines Covered Code or portions thereof with code not governed by the terms of this License.
1.8. ''License'' means this document.
1.8.1. "Licensable" means having the right to grant, to the maximum extent possible, whether at the time of the initial grant or subsequently acquired, any and all of the rights conveyed herein.
1.9. ''Modifications''
means any addition to or deletion from the substance or structure of either the Original Code or any previous Modifications. When Covered Code is released as a series of files, a Modification is:
(a) Any addition to or deletion from the contents of a file containing Original Code or previous Modifications.
(b) Any new file that contains any part of the Original Code or previous Modifications.
1.10. ''Original Code'' means Source Code of computer software code which is described in the Source Code notice required by Exhibit A as Original Code, and which, at the time of its release under this License is not already Covered Code governed by this License.
1.10.1. "Patent Claims" means any patent claim(s), now owned or hereafter acquired, including without limitation, method, process, and apparatus claims, in any patent Licensable by grantor.
1.11. ''Source Code'' means the preferred form of the Covered Code for making modifications to it, including all modules it contains, plus any associated interface definition files, scripts used to control compilation and installation of an Executable, or source code differential comparisons against either the Original Code or another well known, available Covered Code of the Contributor's choice. The Source Code can be in a compressed or archival form, provided the appropriate decompression or de-archiving software is widely available for no charge.
1.12. "You'' (or "Your") means an individual or a legal entity exercising rights under, and complying with all of the terms of, this License or a future version of this License issued under Section 6.1.For legal entities, "You'' includes any entity which controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with You. For purposes of this definition, "control'' means (a) the power, direct or indirect, to cause the direction or management of such entity, whether by contract or otherwise, or (b) ownership of more than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding shares or beneficial ownership of such entity.
2.1. The Initial Developer Grant. The Initial Developer hereby grants You a world-wide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license, subject to third party intellectual property claims:
(a) under intellectual property rights (other than patent or trademark) Licensable by Initial Developer to use, reproduce, modify, display, perform, sublicense and distribute the Original Code (or portions thereof) with or without Modifications, and/or as part of a Larger Work; and
(b) under Patents Claims infringed by the making, using or selling of Original Code, to make, have made, use, practice, sell, and offer for sale, and/or otherwise dispose of the Original Code (or portions thereof).
(c) the licenses granted in this Section 2.1(a) and (b) are effective on the date Initial Developer first distributes Original Code under the terms of this License.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 2.1(b) above, no patent license is granted: 1) for code that You delete from the Original Code; 2) separate from the Original Code; or 3) for infringements caused by: i) the modification of the Original Code or ii) the combination of the Original Code with other software or devices.
2.2. Contributor Grant. Subject to third party intellectual property claims, each Contributor hereby grants You a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license
(a) under intellectual property rights (other than patent or trademark) Licensable by Contributor, to use, reproduce, modify, display, perform, sublicense and distribute the Modifications created by such Contributor (or portions thereof) either on an unmodified basis, with other Modifications, as Covered Code and/or as part of a Larger Work; and
(b) under Patent Claims infringed by the making, using, or selling of Modifications made by that Contributor either alone and/or in combination with its Contributor Version (or portions of such combination), to make, use, sell, offer for sale, have made, and/or otherwise dispose of: 1) Modifications made by that Contributor (or portions thereof); and 2) the combination of Modifications made by that Contributor with its Contributor Version (or portions of such combination).
(c) the licenses granted in Sections 2.2(a) and 2.2(b) are effective on the date Contributor first makes Commercial Use of the Covered Code.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 2.2(b) above, no patent license is granted: 1) for any code that Contributor has deleted from the Contributor Version; 2) separate from the Contributor Version; 3) for infringements caused by: i) third party modifications of Contributor Version or ii) the combination of Modifications made by that Contributor with other software (except as part of the Contributor Version) or other devices; or 4) under Patent Claims infringed by Covered Code in the absence of Modifications made by that Contributor.
3.1. Application of License. The Modifications which You create or to which You contribute are governed by the terms of this License, including without limitation Section 2.2. The Source Code version of Covered Code may be distributed only under the terms of this License or a future version of this License released under Section 6.1, and You must include a copy of this License with every copy of the Source Code You distribute. You may not offer or impose any terms on any Source Code version that alters or restricts the applicable version of this License or the recipients' rights hereunder. However, You may include an additional document offering the additional rights described in Section 3.5.
3.2. Availability of Source Code. Any Modification which You create or to which You contribute must be made available in Source Code form under the terms of this License either on the same media as an Executable version or
via an accepted Electronic Distribution Mechanism to anyone to whom you made an Executable version available; and if made available via Electronic Distribution Mechanism, must remain available for at least twelve (12) months after the date it initially became available, or at least six (6) months after a subsequent version of that particular Modification has been made available to such recipients. You are responsible for ensuring that the Source Code version remains available even if the Electronic Distribution Mechanism is maintained by a third party.
3.3. Description of Modifications. You must cause all Covered Code to which You contribute to contain a file documenting the changes You made to create that Covered Code and the date of any change. You must include a prominent statement that the Modification is derived, directly or indirectly, from Original Code provided by the Initial Developer and including the name of the Initial Developer in (a) the Source Code, and (b) in any notice in an Executable version or related documentation in which You describe the origin or ownership of the Covered Code.
3.4. Intellectual Property Matters (a) Third Party Claims. If Contributor has knowledge that a license under a third party's intellectual property rights is required to exercise the rights granted by such Contributor under Sections 2.1 or 2.2, Contributor must include a text file with the Source Code distribution titled "LEGAL'' which describes the claim and the party making the claim in sufficient detail that a recipient will know whom to contact. If Contributor obtains such knowledge after the Modification is made available as described in Section 3.2, Contributor shall promptly modify the LEGAL file in all copies Contributor makes available thereafter and shall take other steps (such as notifying appropriate mailing lists or newsgroups) reasonably calculated to inform those who received the Covered Code that new knowledge has been obtained. (b) Contributor APIs. If Contributor's Modifications include an application programming interface and Contributor has knowledge of patent licenses which are reasonably necessary to implement that API, Contributor must also include this information in the LEGAL file.
(c) Representations. Contributor represents that, except as disclosed pursuant to Section 3.4(a) above, Contributor believes that Contributor's Modifications are Contributor's original creation(s) and/or Contributor has sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed by this License.
3.5. Required Notices. You must duplicate the notice in Exhibit A in each file of the Source Code. If it is not possible to put such notice in a particular Source Code file due to its structure, then You must include such notice in a location (such as a relevant directory) where a user would be likely to look for such a notice. If You created one or more Modification(s) You may add your name as a Contributor to the notice described in Exhibit A. You must also duplicate this License in any documentation for the Source Code where You describe recipients' rights or ownership rights relating to Covered Code. You may choose to offer, and to charge a fee for, warranty, support, indemnity or liability obligations to one or more recipients of Covered Code. However, You may do so only on Your own behalf, and not on behalf of the Initial Developer or any Contributor You must make it absolutely clear than any such warranty, support, indemnity or liability obligation is offered by You alone, and You hereby agree to indemnify the Initial Developer and every Contributor for any liability incurred by the Initial Developer or such Contributor as a result of warranty, support, indemnity or liability terms You offer.
You may distribute Covered Code in Executable form only if the requirements of Section 3.1-3.5 have been met for that Covered Code, and if You include a notice stating that the Source Code version of the Covered Code is available under the terms of this License, including a description of how and where You have fulfilled the obligations of Section 3.2. The notice must be conspicuously included in any notice in an Executable version, related documentation or collateral in which You describe recipients' rights relating to the Covered Code. You may distribute the Executable version of Covered Code or ownership rights under a license of Your choice, which may contain terms different from this License, provided that You are in compliance with the terms of this License and that the license for the Executable version does not attempt to limit or alter the recipient's rights in the Source Code version from the rights set forth in this License. If You distribute the Executable version under a different license You must make it absolutely clear that any terms which differ from this License are offered by You alone, not by the Initial Developer or any Contributor. You hereby agree to indemnify the Initial Developer and every Contributor for any liability incurred by the Initial Developer or such Contributor as a result of any such terms You offer.
3.7. Larger Works. You may create a Larger Work by combining Covered Code with other code not governed by the terms of this License and distribute the Larger Work as a single product. In such a case, You must make sure the requirements of this License are fulfilled for the Covered Code.
4. Inability to Comply Due to Statute or Regulation. If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this License with respect to some or all of the Covered Code due to statute, judicial order, or regulation then You must: (a) comply with the terms of this License to the maximum extent possible; and (b) describe the limitations and the code they affect. Such description must be included in the LEGAL file described in Section 3.4 and must be included with all distributions of the Source Code. Except to the extent prohibited by statute or regulation, such description must be sufficiently detailed for a recipient of ordinary skill to be able to understand it.
5. Application of this License. This License applies to code to which the Initial Developer has attached the notice in Exhibit A and to related Covered Code.
6.1. New Versions. Netscape Communications Corporation (''Netscape'') may publish revised and/or new versions of the License from time to time. Each version will be given a distinguishing version number.
6.2. Effect of New Versions. Once Covered Code has been published under a particular version of the License, You may always continue to use it under the terms of that version. You may also choose to use such Covered Code under the terms of any subsequent version of the License published by Netscape. No one other than Netscape has the right to modify the terms applicable to Covered Code created under this License.
6.3. Derivative Works. If You create or use a modified version of this License (which you may only do in order to apply it to code which is not already Covered Code governed by this License), You must (a) rename Your license so that the phrases ''Mozilla'', ''MOZILLAPL'', ''MOZPL'', ''Netscape'', "MPL", ''NPL'' or any
confusingly similar phrase do not appear in your license (except to note that your license differs from this License) and (b) otherwise make it clear that Your version of the license contains terms which differ from the Mozilla Public License and Netscape Public License. (Filling in the name of the Initial Developer, Original Code or Contributor in the notice described in Exhibit A shall not of themselves be deemed to be modifications of this License.)
7. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY. COVERED CODE IS PROVIDED UNDER THIS LICENSE ON AN "AS IS'' BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES THAT THE COVERED CODE IS FREE OF DEFECTS, MERCHANTABLE, FIT FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGING. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE COVERED CODE IS WITH YOU. SHOULD ANY COVERED CODE PROVE DEFECTIVE IN ANY RESPECT, YOU (NOT THE INITIAL DEVELOPER OR ANY OTHER CONTRIBUTOR) ASSUME THE COST OF ANY NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. THIS DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY CONSTITUTES AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THIS LICENSE. NO USE OF ANY COVERED CODE IS AUTHORIZED HEREUNDER EXCEPT UNDER THIS DISCLAIMER.
8. TERMINATION. 8.1. This License and the rights granted hereunder will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses to the Covered Code which are properly granted shall survive any termination of this License. Provisions which, by their nature, must remain in effect beyond the termination of this License shall survive.
8.2. If You initiate litigation by asserting a patent infringement claim (excluding declatory judgment actions) against Initial Developer or a Contributor (the Initial Developer or Contributor against whom You file such action is referred to as "Participant") alleging that:
(a) such Participant's Contributor Version directly or indirectly infringes any patent, then any and all rights granted by such Participant to You under Sections 2.1 and/or 2.2 of this License shall, upon 60 days notice from Participant terminate prospectively, unless if within 60 days after receipt of notice You either: (i) agree in writing to pay Participant a mutually agreeable reasonable royalty for Your past and future use of Modifications made by such Participant, or (ii) withdraw Your litigation claim with respect to the Contributor Version against such Participant. If within 60 days of notice, a reasonable royalty and payment arrangement are not mutually agreed upon in writing by the parties or the litigation claim is not withdrawn, the rights granted by Participant to You under Sections 2.1 and/or 2.2 automatically terminate at the expiration of the 60 day notice period specified above.
(b) any software, hardware, or device, other than such Participant's Contributor Version, directly or indirectly infringes any patent, then any rights granted to You by such Participant under Sections 2.1(b) and 2.2(b) are revoked effective as of the date You first made, used, sold, distributed, or had made, Modifications made by that Participant.
8.3. If You assert a patent infringement claim against Participant alleging that such Participant's Contributor Version directly or indirectly infringes any patent where such claim is resolved (such as by license or settlement) prior to the initiation of patent infringement litigation, then the reasonable value of the licenses granted by such Participant under Sections 2.1 or 2.2 shall be taken into account in determining the amount or value of any payment or license. 8.4. In the event of termination under Sections 8.1 or 8.2 above, all end user license agreements (excluding distributors and resellers) which have been validly granted by You or any distributor hereunder prior to termination shall survive termination.
9. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY, WHETHER TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, SHALL YOU, THE INITIAL DEVELOPER, ANY OTHER CONTRIBUTOR, OR ANY DISTRIBUTOR OF COVERED CODE, OR ANY SUPPLIER OF ANY OF SUCH PARTIES, BE LIABLE TO ANY PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY CHARACTER INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR ANY AND ALL OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, EVEN IF SUCH PARTY SHALL HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY SHALL NOT APPLY TO LIABILITY FOR DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY RESULTING FROM SUCH PARTY'S NEGLIGENCE TO THE EXTENT APPLICABLE LAW PROHIBITS SUCH LIMITATION. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THIS EXCLUSION AND LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
10. U.S. GOVERNMENT END USERS. The Covered Code is a ''commercial item,'' as that term is defined in 48 C.F.R. 2.101 (Oct. 1995), consisting of ''commercial computer software'' and ''commercial computer software documentation,'' as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. 12.212 (Sept. 1995). Consistent with 48 C.F.R. 12.212 and 48 C.F.R. 227.7202-1 through 227.7202-4 (June 1995), all U.S. Government End Users acquire Covered Code with only those rights set forth herein.
11. MISCELLANEOUS. This License represents the complete agreement concerning subject matter hereof. If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable. This License shall be governed by California law provisions (except to the extent applicable law, if any, provides otherwise), excluding its conflictof-law provisions. With respect to disputes in which at least one party is a citizen of, or an entity chartered or registered to do business in the United States of America, any litigation relating to this License shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts of the Northern District of California, with venue lying in Santa Clara County, California, with the losing party responsible for costs, including without limitation, court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses. The application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly excluded. Any law or regulation which provides that the language of a contract shall be construed against the drafter shall not apply to this License.
12. RESPONSIBILITY FOR CLAIMS. As between Initial Developer and the Contributors, each party is responsible for claims and damages arising, directly or indirectly, out of its utilization of rights under this License and You agree to work with Initial Developer and Contributors to distribute such responsibility on an equitable basis. Nothing herein is intended or shall be deemed to constitute any admission of liability.
13. MULTIPLE-LICENSED CODE. Initial Developer may designate portions of the Covered Code as Multiple-Licensed. MultipleLicensed means that the Initial Developer permits you to utilize portions of the Covered Code under Your choice of the MPL or the alternative licenses, if any, specified by the Initial Developer in the file described in Exhibit A.
EXHIBIT A -Mozilla Public License. ``The contents of this file are subject to the Mozilla Public License
Version 1.1 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/
Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing rights and limitations under the License.
The Original Code is ______________________________________. The Initial Developer of the Original Code is ________________________. Portions created by ______________________ are Copyright (C) ______ _______________________.All Rights Reserved. Contributor(s): ______________________________________.
Alternatively, the contents of this file may be used under the terms of the _____ license (the [___] License), in which case the provisions of [______] License are applicable instead of those above.If you wish to allow use of your version of this file only under the terms of the [____] License and not to allow others to use your version of this file under the MPL, indicate your decision by deleting the provisions above and replace them with the notice and other provisions required by the [___] License. If you do not delete the provisions above, a recipient may use your version of this file under either the MPL or the [___] License."
[NOTE: The text of this Exhibit A may differ slightly from the text of the notices in the Source Code files of the Original Code. You should use the text of this Exhibit A rather than the text found in the Original Code Source Code for Your Modifications.]
BSD license
- libupnp
Copyright (c) 2000-2003 Intel Corporation All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. Neither name of Intel Corporation nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL INTEL OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
- strace
Copyright (c) 1991, 1992 Paul Kranenburg <pk@cs.few.eur.nl> Copyright (c) 1993 Branko Lankester <branko@hacktic.nl> Copyright (c) 1993 Ulrich Pegelow <pegelow@moorea.uni-muenster.de> Copyright (c) 1995, 1996 Michael Elizabeth Chastain <mec@duracef.shout.net> Copyright (c) 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 Rick Sladkey <jrs@world.std.com> Copyright (C) 1998-2001 Wichert Akkerman <wakkerma@deephackmode.org> All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the
distribution. 3. The name of the author may not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
- xySSL
Copyright (C) 2006-2008 Christophe Devine Copyright (C) 2009 Paul Bakker <polarssl_maintainer at polarssl dot org> All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. Neither the names of PolarSSL or XySSL nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
Boost software license
Version 1.0 - August 17th, 2003 Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person or organization obtaining a copy of the software and accompanying documentation covered by this license (the "Software") to use, reproduce, display, distribute, execute, and transmit the Software, and to prepare derivative works of the Software, and to permit third-parties to whom the Software is furnished to do so, all subject to the following:
The copyright notices in the Software and this entire statement, including the above license grant, this restriction and the following disclaimer, must be included in all copies of the Software, in whole or in part, and all derivative works of the Software, unless such copies or derivative works are solely in the form of machine-executable object code generated by a source language processor.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS OR ANYONE DISTRIBUTING THE SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
expat license
The source package was downloaded from <URL:http://expat.sourceforge.net>.
The original packager is Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org>. The current maintainer is Ardo van Rangelrooij <ardo@debian.org>.
Copyright (c) 1998, 1999, 2000 Thai Open Source Software Center Ltd and Clark Cooper Copyright (c) 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Expat maintainers.
Freetype license
Copyright 1996-2002, 2006 by David Turner, Robert Wilhelm, and Werner Lemberg
Introduction ============ The FreeType Project is distributed in several archive packages; some of them may contain, in addition to the FreeType font engine, various tools and contributions which rely on, or relate to, the FreeType Project.
This license applies to all files found in such packages, and which do not fall under their own explicit license. The license affects thus the FreeType font engine, the test programs, documentation and makefiles, at the very least. This license was inspired by the BSD, Artistic, and IJG (Independent JPEG Group) licenses, which all encourage inclusion and use of free software in commercial and freeware products alike. As a consequence, its main points are that: - We don't promise that this software works. However, we will be interested in any kind of bug reports. (`as is' distribution) - You can use this software for whatever you want, in parts or full form, without having to pay us. (`royalty-free' usage) - You may not pretend that you wrote this software. If you use it, or only parts of it, in a program, you must acknowledge somewhere in your documentation that you have used the FreeType code. (`credits') We specifically permit and encourage the inclusion of this software, with or without modifications, in commercial products. We disclaim all warranties covering The FreeType Project and assume no liability related to The FreeType Project.
Finally, many people asked us for a preferred form for a credit/disclaimer to use in compliance with this license. We thus encourage you to use the following text: Portions of this software are copyright <year> The FreeType Project (www.freetype.org). All rights reserved. Please replace <year> with the value from the FreeType version you actually use.
Legal Terms 0. Definitions Throughout this license, the terms `package', `FreeType Project' and `FreeType archive' refer to the set of files originally distributed by the authors (David Turner, Robert Wilhelm, and Werner Lemberg) as the `FreeType Project', be they named as alpha, beta or final release.
`You' refers to the licensee, or person using the project, where `using' is a generic term including compiling the project's source code as well as linking it to form a `program' or `executable'. This program is referred to as `a program using the FreeType engine'. This license applies to all files distributed in the original FreeType Project, including all source code, binaries and documentation, unless otherwise stated in the file in its original, unmodified form as distributed in the original archive. If you are unsure whether or not a particular file is covered by this license, you must contact us to verify this.
The FreeType Project is copyright (C) 1996-2000 by David Turner, Robert Wilhelm, and Werner Lemberg. All rights reserved except as specified below.
1. No Warranty THE FREETYPE PROJECT IS PROVIDED `AS IS' WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT WILL ANY OF THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES CAUSED BY THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE, OF THE FREETYPE PROJECT. 2. Redistribution This license grants a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual and irrevocable right and license to use, execute, perform, compile, display, copy, create derivative works of, distribute and sublicense the FreeType Project (in both source and object code forms) and derivative works thereof for any purpose; and to authorize others to exercise some or all of the rights granted herein, subject to the following conditions: - Redistribution of source code must retain this license file (`FTL.TXT') unaltered; any additions, deletions or changes to the original files must be clearly indicated in accompanying documentation. The copyright notices of the unaltered, original files must be preserved in all copies of source files. - Redistribution in binary form must provide a disclaimer that states that the software is based in part of the work of the FreeType Team, in the distribution documentation. We also encourage you to put an URL to the FreeType web page in your documentation, though this isn't mandatory. These conditions apply to any software derived from or based on the FreeType Project, not just the unmodified files. If you use our work, you must acknowledge us. However, no fee need be paid to us.
3. Advertising Neither the FreeType authors and contributors nor you shall use the name of the other for commercial, advertising, or promotional purposes without specific prior written permission. We suggest, but do not require, that you use one or more of the following phrases to refer to this software in your documentation or advertising materials: `FreeType Project', `FreeType Engine', `FreeType library', or `FreeType Distribution'.
As you have not signed this license, you are not required to accept it. However, as the FreeType Project is copyrighted material, only this license, or another one contracted with the authors, grants you the right to use, distribute, and modify it. Therefore, by using, distributing, or modifying the FreeType Project, you indicate that you understand and accept all the terms of this license.
4. Contacts There are two mailing lists related to FreeType: freetype@nongnu.org Discusses general use and applications of FreeType, as well as future and wanted additions to the library and distribution. If you are looking for support, start in this list if you haven't found anything to help you in the documentation. freetype-devel@nongnu.org Discusses bugs, as well as engine internals, design issues, specific licenses, porting, etc. Our home page can be found at http://www.freetype.org
JPEG license
This software is copyright (C) 1991-2009, Thomas G. Lane. All Rights Reserved except as specified below.
Permission is hereby granted to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software (or portions thereof) for any purpose, without fee, subject to these conditions: (1) If any part of the source code for this software is distributed, then this README file must be included, with this copyright and no-warranty notice unaltered; and any additions, deletions, or changes to the original files must be clearly indicated in accompanying documentation. (2) If only executable code is distributed, then the accompanying documentation must state that "this software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group". (3) Permission for use of this software is granted only if the user accepts full responsibility for any undesirable consequences; the authors accept NO LIABILITY for damages of any kind.
- libcurl
Copyright (c) 1996 - 2010, Daniel Stenberg, <daniel@haxx.se>. All rights reserved.
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
- libxml2
Except where otherwise noted in the source code (e.g. the files hash.c, list.c and the trio files, which are covered by a similar licence but with different Copyright notices) all the files are: Copyright (C) 1998-2003 Daniel Veillard. All Rights Reserved. Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE DANIEL VEILLARD BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. Except as contained in this notice, the name of Daniel Veillard shall not be used in advertising or otherwise to promote the sale, use or other dealings in this Software without prior written authorization from him.
- little CMS
Copyright (C) 1994-1996 SunSoft, Inc. Rights Reserved Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do
so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. Except as contained in this notice, the name of SunSoft, Inc. shall not be used in advertising or otherwise to promote the sale, use or other dealings in this Software without written authorization from SunSoft Inc.
- lua
License for Lua 5.0 and later versions Copyright 1994-2008 Lua.org, PUC-Rio. Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
- luajava
Copyright 2003-2007 Kepler Project. Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
- SWIG
Simplified Wrapper and Interface Generator (SWIG) SWIG is distributed under the following terms: I. Copyright (c) 1995-1998 The University of Utah and the Regents of the University of California All Rights Reserved Permission is hereby granted, without written agreement and without license or royalty fees, to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose, provided that (1) The above copyright notice and the following two paragraphs appear in all copies of the source code and (2) redistributions including binaries reproduces these notices in the supporting documentation. Substantial modifications to this software may be copyrighted by their authors and need not follow the licensing terms described here, provided that the new terms are clearly indicated in all files where they apply. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR, THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH OR DISTRIBUTORS OF THIS SOFTWARE BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF THE AUTHORS OR ANY OF THE ABOVE PARTIES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. THE AUTHOR, THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTIES,INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE SOFTWARE PROVIDED HEREUNDER IS ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, AND THE AUTHORS AND DISTRIBUTORS HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS. II. This software includes contributions that are Copyright (c) 1998-2005 University of Chicago. All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. Neither the name of the University of Chicago nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. III.
This software includes contributions that are Copyright (c) 2005-2006 Arizona Board of Regents (University of Arizona). All Rights Reserved Permission is hereby granted, without written agreement and without license or royalty fees, to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose, provided that (1) The above copyright notice and the following two paragraphs appear in all copies of the source code and (2) redistributions including binaries reproduces these notices in the supporting documentation. Substantial modifications to this software may be copyrighted by their authors and need not follow the licensing terms described here, provided that the new terms are clearly indicated in all files where they apply. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
OpenSSL license
Copyright (c) 1998-2008 The OpenSSL Project. All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software must display the following acknowledgment: "This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit. (http://www.openssl.org/)" 4. The names "OpenSSL Toolkit" and "OpenSSL Project" must not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without prior written permission. For written permission, please contact openssl-core@openssl.org. 5. Products derived from this software may not be called "OpenSSL" nor may "OpenSSL" appear in their names without prior written permission of the OpenSSL Project. 6. Redistributions of any form whatsoever must retain the following acknowledgment: "This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit (http://www.openssl.org/)"
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE OpenSSL PROJECT ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE OpenSSL PROJECT OR ITS CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
This product includes cryptographic software written by Eric Young (eay@cryptsoft.com). This product includes software written by Tim Hudson (tjh@cryptsoft.com).
Original SSLeay License Copyright (C) 1995-1998 Eric Young (eay@cryptsoft.com) All rights reserved.
This package is an SSL implementation written by Eric Young (eay@cryptsoft.com). The implementation was written so as to conform with Netscapes SSL.
This library is free for commercial and non-commercial use as long as the following conditions are aheared to. The following conditions apply to all code found in this distribution, be it the RC4, RSA, lhash, DES, etc., code; not just the SSL code. The SSL documentation included with this distribution is covered by the same copyright terms except that the holder is Tim Hudson (tjh@cryptsoft.com).
Copyright remains Eric Young's, and as such any Copyright notices in the code are not to be removed. If this package is used in a product, Eric Young should be given attribution as the author of the parts of the library used. This can be in the form of a textual message at program startup or in documentation (online or textual) provided with the package. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software must display the following acknowledgement: "This product includes cryptographic software written by Eric Young (eay@cryptsoft.com)" The word 'cryptographic' can be left out if the rouines from the library being used are not cryptographic related :-). 4. If you include any Windows specific code (or a derivative thereof) from the apps directory (application code) you must include an acknowledgement: "This product includes software written by Tim Hudson (tjh@cryptsoft.com)"
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY ERIC YOUNG ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
The licence and distribution terms for any publically available version or derivative of this code cannot be changed. i.e. this code cannot simply be copied and put under another distribution licence [including the GNU Public Licence.]
zlib/libpng License
This product may contain open source software licensed under zlib/libpng License.
libpng : Copyright (c) 1998-2008 Glenn Randers-Pehrson (Version 0.96 Copyright (c) 1996, 1997 Andreas Dilger) (Version 0.88 Copyright (c) 1995, 1996 Guy Eric Schalnat, Group 42, Inc.) tinyxml : copyright (c) 2000-2006 Lee Thomason (www.grinninglizard.com) zlib : Copyright (C) 1995-2010 Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler
This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied warranty. In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages arising from the use of this software. Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose, including commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it freely, subject to the following restrictions:
1. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be appreciated but is not required. 2. Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be misrepresented as being the original software. 3. This notice may not be removed or altered from any source distribution.
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Death of Kendrick Johnson
Johnson (1801 cricketer)
Johnson (electoral district)
Kendrick, Oklahoma
Kendrick mass
On January 11, 2013, Kendrick Johnson's body was found in a rolled up wrestling mat in the gymnasium of Lowndes High School, Valdosta, Georgia, USA, where he was a student. A preliminary investigation and autopsy concluded that the death was accidental. Johnson's family had a private pathologist conduct another autopsy which concluded that Johnson died from blunt force trauma. On October 31, 2013, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia announced that the office would open a formal review into Johnson's death. Johnson's family is dissatisfied with the pace of this review, as well.As of February 2016, the investigation remains ongoing.
Initial investigation
Johnson was found headfirst in the center of a rolled up wrestling mat, in his high school gym, on January 11, 2013. His body was discovered by students who had climbed up to the top of a cluster of mats, each of which stood nearly six feet tall and three feet wide. An autopsy by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) stated that Johnson had died from positional asphyxia, and the case was ruled an accidental death by the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office.
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Death_of_Kendrick_Johnson
Johnson is a surname of English origin. The name itself is a patronym of the given name John, literally meaning "son of John". The name John derives from Latin Johannes, which is derived through Greek Ἰωάννης Iōannēs from Hebrew יוחנן Yohanan, meaning "Yahweh has favoured". The name has been extremely popular in Europe since the Christian era as a result of it being given to St John the Baptist, St John the Evangelist and nearly one thousand other Christian saints. Johnson is the ninth most common surname in Sweden/Scandinavia, second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world.
List of people with surname Johnson
Johnson, Ontario, Canada
Gjoni (Gjonaj)
Ioannou
Johnsson
Jonsson
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Johnson
Johnson (first name and dates unknown) was an English first-class cricketer for Middlesex who was active in the 1800s and is recorded in one match in 1801, playing for the Thursday Club and totalling 2 runs with a highest score of 2.
Haygarth, Arthur (1862). Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Lillywhite.
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Johnson_(1801_cricketer)
Johnson is a provincial electoral district in the Centre-du-Québec and Montérégie regions of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It includes part of the city of Drummondville, as well as numerous other cities and municipalities.
It was created for the 1973 election from parts of Bagot, Drummond, Richmond and Shefford electoral districts.
In the change from the 2001 to the 2011 electoral map, it changed its territory considerably, losing its eastern parts including part of the city of Sherbrooke, and gaining territory to the north, including part of the city of Drummondville.
The riding named in honour of former Quebec Premier Daniel Johnson, Sr. who served as leader of the province from 1966 until his death in 1968.
Members of the National Assembly
Jean-Claude Boutin, Liberal (1973–1974)
Maurice Bellemare, Union nationale (1974–1979)
Camille Picard, Liberal (1980–1981)
Carmen Juneau, Parti Québécois (1981–1994)
Claude Boucher, Parti Québécois (1994–2007)
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Johnson_(electoral_district)
Kendrick is a surname which may originate from:
The Welsh word Cynwrig meaning "greatest champion", or
The Anglo-Saxon word Cyneric meaning "family ruler".
The Highland Scots surname Machendrie, frequently anglicized into Kendrick and MacKendrick
Alex Kendrick (born 1970), associate pastor at Sherwood Baptist Church and writer, director and actor for Sherwood Pictures
Stephen Kendrick, senior associate pastor at Sherwood Baptist Church and writer and producer for Sherwood Pictures; brother of Alex Kendrick
Kendrick Lamar (born 1987), American rapper
Kendrick Office (born 1978), American football player
Anna Kendrick (born 1985), American actress
Brian Kendrick (born 1979), American professional wrestler
Donald M. Kendrick (born 1947), Canadian choirmaster
Eddie Kendricks (Edward James Kendrick, 1939–1992), Motown recording artist and founding member of The Temptations
Ellie Kendrick (born 1990), British actress
Graham Kendrick (born 1950), British Christian singer-songwriter
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Kendrick
Kendrick is a town in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 138 at the 2000 census.
Kendrick is located at 35°47′7″N 96°46′31″W / 35.78528°N 96.77528°W / 35.78528; -96.77528 (35.785346, -96.775171).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2), all of it land.
As of the census of 2000, there were 138 people, 52 households, and 39 families residing in the town. The population density was 965.4 people per square mile (380.6/km²). There were 62 housing units at an average density of 433.7 per square mile (171.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 78.26% White, 2.90% African American, 15.22% Native American, and 3.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.62% of the population.
There were 52 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.15.
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Kendrick,_Oklahoma
The Kendrick mass is defined by setting the mass of a chosen molecular fragment, typically CH2, to an integer value in atomic mass units. It is different from the IUPAC definition, which is based on setting the mass of 12C isotope to exactly 12 u. The Kendrick mass is often used to identify homologous compounds differing only by a number of base units in high resolution mass spectra. This definition of mass was first suggested in 1963 by chemist Edward Kendrick, and it has been adopted by scientists working in the area of high-resolution mass spectrometry, environmental analysis, proteomics, petroleomics, metabolomics, etc.
According to the procedure outlined by Kendrick, the mass of CH2 is defined as exactly 14 Da, instead of the IUPAC mass of 14.01565 Da.
To convert an IUPAC mass of a particular compound to the Kendrick mass, the equation
is used. The mass in dalton units (Da) can be converted to the Kendrick scale by dividing by 1.0011178.
Other groups of atoms in addition to CH2 can be used define the Kendrick mass, for example CO2, H2, H2O, and O. In this case, the Kendrick mass for a family of compounds F is given by
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Kendrick_mass
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Latest News for: Kendrick johnson
“Where Are They Now” Sunday Spotlight Conversation: Driskell morphs from Boyd legend to thriving Air ...
Mckinney Courier-Gazette 14 Jul 2019
With the dog days of summer upon us, McKinney Courier Gazette sports editor Kendrick E. Johnson will look back and catch up with some former McKinney ISD athletes who starred at one of the three high schools over the last three decades in the upcoming weeks ... For continued coverage of the local sports scene, follow Kendrick E....
Bankrupt Johnson Publishing is set to auction off its Ebony photo archives, but it still ...
Finger Lakes Times 13 Jul 2019
A Chicago bankruptcy judge ruled this week that former Georgia FBI agent Richard Bell and his wife, Karen, can "proceed to final judgment" in the lawsuit against Johnson Publishing for articles indirectly linking their sons to the death of Kendrick Johnson, who was found lifeless inside a rolled-up gym mat at his high school in January 2013....
Dixie Girls, Dixie Youth state tournaments
The Union Times 13 Jul 2019
Pictured are (front row) Christian Giles, Rylan Lancaster, Garrison Hooper, Cade Coker, Landon Sumner, Hunter Revis, (middle row) Joe Knox, Andrew Latham, Josh Brandon, Jamison Knox, Mason Small, Tanner Hardin, (back row) Scottie Kendrick, Pat Beacham, Brian Hardin and Charles Johnson (Head Coach)....
Elko man arrested in southside stabbing
Elko Daily Free Press 12 Jul 2019
ELKO – A man was stabbed in a southside neighborhood Friday morning and police have arrested a suspect ... × ... Loading&hellp; ... Kendrick O. Johnson, 29, of Las Vegas was arrested June 23 after a domestic dispute escalated into a knife fight, according to police. Johnson is accused of stabbing a 15-year-old girl who then stabbed him several times ... ....
2019 Johnson County Fair gets started
DSJ Now 11 Jul 2019
JOHNSON COUNTY — The 2019 Johnson County Fair got started Tuesday night, July 9, with the Opening Ceremonies and the Miss Johnson County Pageant. Carrie Zwally, Jackie Jackson and 2018 Miss Johnson County Jaclyn Davis coordinated the 2019 pageant ... Five of the seven Miss Johnson County contestants were presented to the crowd to get the event started....
Five of McKinney ISD’s top male returners
One of the more entertaining aspects of covering high school sports in the Metroplex are the interactions – both personal and as a spectator – with athletes ... Brandon Frazier, McKinney North football and basketball, senior ... For continued coverage of the local sports scene, follow Kendrick E. Johnson on Twitter @kendrickjohnso ... .......
Where Are They Now Sunday Spotlight Conversation: Drane using McKinney foundation to give back to hometown
Police bookings for July 9
Aiken Standard 08 Jul 2019
These are the bookings recorded for the Doris C. Gravatt Detention Center for July 5-7, 2019 ... Telly Renard Johnson, 43 — domestic violence third degree. Russel Stuart Kendrick, 47 — possession of less than one gram of meth or cocaine base third or subsequent offense ... Jayshon Sinceer Johnson, 18 — shoplifting $2,000 or less ... .......
Garvin County Public Records
Pauls Valley Democrat 06 Jul 2019
Marriages Filed. Tracy Keith Hinkle, 44, and Lea Anne Mounsey, 35, both of Stratford ... Divorces Filed. Kendrick J. Johnson and Jewell R. Johnson ... Kelly Kibe (alias – Kelly Sue Johnson), grand larceny ... Kendrick Phelps, kidnapping, domestic abuse – assault and battery after former conviction ... Alexander Edwards Johnson, obtaining money by false pretenses ... ....
Five of McKinney ISD’s top female returners
One of the more entertaining aspects of covering high school sports in the Metroplex are the interactions – both personal and as a spectator – with athletes ... London Culbreath, senior, North cross country and track ... For continued coverage of the local sports scene, follow Kendrick E. Johnson on Twitter @kendrickjohnso. You must be logged in to react....
Where Are They Now Sunday Spotlight Conversation: Shelton a true McKinney North pioneer
Who made the Guilford County Schools high school honor roll fourth quarter?
News & Record 27 Jun 2019
Yvonne Abbott, Zainab Adamou-Mohamed, Fiona Carlone, Samuel Christie, Gabriel Cox, Ben Croker, James Danis, Akilah DeBerry, Eiman Elkoumy, Amy Feldmann, James Felt, Sara Griffin, Dylan Harris, Daniel Henry, Abigail Higgins, Chloe Hunsinger, Kellyn Jiles, Cayla Johnson, Isabella ......
Saying goodbye to five of McKinney ISD’s outstanding athletes
Mckinney Courier-Gazette 26 Jun 2019
Some of the more entertaining aspects of covering high school sports in the Metroplex are the interactions – both personal and as a spectator – with athletes ... Cam Constantine, McKinney North football and baseball ... Macey Winburn, McKinney volleyball ... For continued coverage of the local sports scene, follow Kendrick E. Johnson on Twitter @kendrickjohnso....
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Tesla Model 3 Is An Image-Breaker (But Not The Way You Think)
Adrian McLaren
17. August 2017 | UPDATED ON: 17. August 2017
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is known for its quick technological advances, but it seems that the firm has decided to go back on an innovative decision it made long ago. The Tesla Model 3, the firm’s upcoming affordable EV, involves a 180 degree turn on motor design at the firm. Once labeled as inferior by the company, Elon Musk is embracing permanent magnets.
The new motor design was discovered in a listing with the Environmental Protection Agency. The certification papers for the Tesla Model 3 show that the car will sport a permanent magnet (PM) motor instead of the AC induction motor used in the Model S and Model X. That’s not a change many drivers will notice, but it does belie a big shift at the operation.
The EV motor revelation was picked up by Dan Edmunds over at Edmunds.com.
Why is the Tesla Model 3 motor so important?
There’s an argument to be had over what type of motor should go in an EV. When Tesla was designing the Roadster and the Model S it had that argument. The firm’s original mavens, before Elon Musk became CEO, decided an AC induction motor was preferable because of the higher performance.
Source: Tesla
In the early cars from Fremont, performance was key. With the Tesla Model 3, however, efficiency appears to have the upper hand.
Back in 2007 EV giant Wally Rippel wrote about the Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) decision to choose the AC motor. The blog post is relatively long and technical, but the basic conclusion is easy to understand. AC motors have better performance and they likely have a cost advantage.
There are also questions about efficiency. A PM car is intrinsically more efficient because the motor needs less power to run. It also produces less heat, adding to the efficiency.
The choice of original Tesla founders Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning to use the AC induction motors was one of the things that set it apart. Now Elon Musk, who took an interest in the firm in its first funding round, wants to change that direction.
Why did Tesla change its motors?
We know that the cost of permanent magnet motors has been on the minds of Fremont boffins in recent months. An April interview with Konstantinos Laskaris, head of motor design, undertaken by ChargedEVs.com, may have given the game away early.
Model 3 Design. Source: Tesla Motors
When asked about motor cost he said, unprompted, “When we’re talking about permanent-magnet motors, the magnet price in the past has fluctuated so much that maybe this is not very representative of a general discussion about motor cost.”
At the time, as far as anyone could see, the firm didn’t put that kind of motor in anything. Despite that, Laskaris continued, saying that costs of motors were still going lower because of optimization. The entire piece is full of interesting ideas about the future of Tesla motor design. Given that it appears to have pointed to this revelation, there may be more secrets hidden in his answers.
What we can take away from the discussion is informative, however. Tesla has likely made the permanent magnet style motors cheap enough to be worth using. When it comes to the Tesla Model 3, after all, cost and margins are the most important part of the equation.
Tesla Model 3 is iconoclastic
One interesting result of the change in motor tech is the effect on the image Tesla uses to identify itself. As CEO Musk confirmed back in January, the firm’s logo is actually supposed to represent the precise motor that’s being removed from the Tesla Model 3. That’s not anything damning for the firm’s future, of course, but it is an interesting result of the change in technology.
The Tesla Logo, representing a cross section of an AC induction motor.
The logo is so abstract and stylized to start with that only a very small portion of fans will be able to see it for what it is.
Despite the effect, the anachronism of the logo design, should Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) decide to continue using permanent magnet motors, is noteworthy. The motor it is based on actually dates from way back at the end of the nineteenth century. That’s when the company’s namesake, Serbian-American scientist Nikola Tesla, was developing his EV motor designs.
The Tesla Model 3 is bound to be an iconoclastic car, at least for the communications folks in Palo Alto. The design departs from that of all previous vehicles put out there by the firm, and it shows a willingness to return to the norm.
We don’t know the ins and outs of the motor design, but it seemingly makes the car like the Chevy Bolt and most other EVs on the market right now. It’s a big move for Tesla, Inc., (NASDAQ:TSLA) but you shouldn’t read too much into it. Confirmation bias will allow bulls to read it as “informed flexibility” and bears to read it as “commodification” of the Tesla Model 3.
Measuring Tesla, Inc.
At the end of the day, or at the start for that matter, motor design won’t matter much to investors or consumers. Both groups simply want the Tesla Model 3 to be the most impressive car possible. Whatever technological decision the firm has to make in order to get there doesn’t really matter.
What consumers want is a lower priced, high quality EV. The Tesla Model 3 isn’t exactly “affordable” by most measures, but the reviews look good so far.
What investors are looking for is high margins. They want CFO Deepak Ahuja to be able to record a massive profit on each car sold. The firm promised that 25 percent of the cost of each car will eventually be gross profit. That’s an impressive margin that is essentially unheard of in the auto industry.
Changing motors may change the firm’s image and its origin story, but it doesn’t change the valuation story. If the firm can get to mass production without cost over runs, it will have won over investors.
Right now Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock appears to be trading in a broad, but well defined, range. Since April shares have rarely traded outside of the $300-$350 range. On Wednesday evening, however, the firm’s shares closed selling for over $360 each.
That’s on the back of positive Wall Street research on its future. A report from Citigroup published on Thursday morning summed up the neutral case for Tesla stock. Analyst Itay Michaeli set his price target at $371 but didn’t advise clients to Buy shares.
He reckons the firm’s basic business is sound and projects lower costs through the end of the decade. There’s still high risks, though, so now is not, at least in his view, the right time to buy into the story.
A lot has been made from this paper. Musk posted that the information on the paper was not provided from Tesla, and the EPA has not had a production model to test as of yet. This paper was apparently developed as a place holder for compliance purposes until the actual vehicle can be tested. Again, this information cannot be considered entirely accurate and so speculating about the future of Tesla based on inaccurate information is building a skyscraper on sand.
Jim stack says
It maybe,a permenet magnet motor but it is still AC to have the high rpm range and not require a transmisdion, it can Regen and needs no brushes like old fashioned DC motors.
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Mauritania: Hot Heads and Cold Shoulders
As the wealthy upper management of Canada’s Kinross Gold were celebrating Christmas, a large group of almost 300 members of its workforce at the Tasiast operation in Mauritania received the unwelcome news that they were being laid off. The official line is that this was all part of a necessary strategy to cut costs and reduce operational capacity, and is also related to a fall in the price of gold.
The workers in Mauritania say they have not been treated fairly, that collective redundancies are not legal, and that they have a raft of additional issues which need to be addressed. One worker told a local reporter that he received his notice while taking his first vacation from work in six years. Another got the news while still undergoing medical treatment for an industrial injury. Several of those laid off had been encouraged to take out large bank loans, the status of which is now a major problem.
Frustrated by the lack of reaction, a group of workers began an open-ended sit-in outside the Presidential Palace in Nouakchott on December 25 to demand a hearing and request fair treatment under the prevailing law. As usual, a representative from the office of President Aziz came out to receive the demands of the delegation, but returned to say Aziz would not grant them an audience. The protesters remained in place, throughout the bitterly cold nights.
After the sit-in continued for some days without redress from the company or action by the authorities, local activists and concerned members of civil society went to sit with them and show solidarity, and returned on January 5 to take part in a human chain of protest, as shown in the video above, and the photo gallery below.
The media responded with a blanket of silence – the mining companies in Mauritania are big spenders when it comes to advertising contracts. The parties of the political opposition likewise had little to say.
Then, late on Thursday 9 January, the sit-in had a visit from the police. The mining workers were told they must leave the area because President Keita of Mali was coming to pay an official visit and they were making the place look untidy. Naturally, they refused to budge. Another group of unrelated protesters who were in the same location that evening did comply with police orders to vacate the area.
At around 02:55, the riot squads arrived in eight vehicles and, after talking quietly with the workers for about 15 minutes, launched a sudden violent attack, using batons and tear gas. After two brutal hours of police repression against the workers from Tasiast, and the activists who rushed to their side in support, there were about a dozen people injured. Four men with more with serious injuries were refused treatment, through the combined obstruction of medical staff at the National Hospital and the police. Several protesters were robbed of cash and mobile phones by the police while being searched; an amount of 400,000 MRO has been reported. The police also confiscated blankets, rugs, clothes and cooking gear from the sit-in.
Police released about 10 workers arrested during the raid and the running battle in the streets of Nouakchott which ensued; the rest were released later. There was no media presence the entire time, only activists from Mouvement du 25 Février (m25fev) and La Jeunesse de RFD trying to document events. One of the m25fev activists was injured quite seriously in the shoulder and was detained by police for about 2 hours.
The protests in the capital continued on Saturday 11 January, despite the previous day’s violence.
Protesting mine workers outside Tasiast HQ Nouakchott
The protesters switched location to stand outside the Kinross office in Nouakchott, but an activist reported to a local journalist that the management there called the police, claiming the protesters were throwing stones – which the activist strenuously denied. Police cordoned off the area and there was an unconfirmed report that tear gas was used again.
This issue is being systematically ignored, while far larger “Islamic” protests are being orchestrated in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou to demand the application of Sharia law against the author of a recent blog post which was critical of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).
Massive protest march after Friday prayers descended on the presidential palace
These protests are growing in size and turning violent. On Saturday 11 January in Nouadhibou, three injuries – including one police officer – were reported after clashes with police. The previous day, that town saw large protests with tyres being burned, cars and shops vandalised, as police used tear gas to disperse the protesters. Local journalist Ahmed Salem was beaten and arrested by police. In Nouakchott, hundreds marched to the palace and the president came down to address the crowd, and remind them that Mauritania is an Islamic Republic which already uses Sharia.
Aziz dons his turban to address people outside the palace
Deeply reminiscent of the book burning incident of May 2012, this Aziz PR stunt has drawn immediate censure across the board, including from some highly influential commentators. Although the worst of the criticism was reserved for Aziz, there was some remaining for an obviously false claim by one (barely legitimate) news site that Al Qaeda flags had been spotted in the Nouadhibou protests, which is being resoundingly refuted. There is also mounting concern about the decidedly un-Islamic behaviour of robberies and violence being reported.
As for the alleged reason for these massive, repeated protests – the offensive article – this is a most unusual situation and one which is perhaps too easily exploited. The supposed author of the article was arrested over a week ago, and was sent to the High Court for arraignment a few days later, after admitting to writing the item in question. He is said to have been charged with apostasy, which is covered in Article 306 of the current penal code. He can be fined and sentenced to prison if he makes a public apology, or he can refuse and be sentenced to death. He has already issued a written retraction and apology before being arrested (or taken into protective custody, depending on the source). No one has been executed in Mauritania for decades.
These twinned sagas will continue, the redundant Tasiast workers will be ignored, while demanding redress under a law which exists but probably doesn’t apply to their specific situation; and the devout Muslims will be showered with attention, demanding introduction of a law that would be redundant because one already exists and is being applied. By Tuesday, 14 January, the day assigned as the anniversary of the birth of Mohammed (PBUH), this particular powder keg could be set to explode.
Kinross defends Tasiast mine layoffs
Tags Human Rights, Kinross Gold, Mauritania, protests, Tasiast
Chile’s Student Protest Movement: Lessons for all
On 25 April, police in Chile again used a water cannon to disperse protesters in Santiago and made several arrests.
According to news reports, the demonstration was led by private university students with the backing of other student groups and was also joined by secondary students, workers groups and others backing the students’ calls for deep education reforms.
My attention was first grabbed by Chile protests in 2010, when I saw a wonderful flash mob protest video.
The sight of dozens of students stopping traffic in the capital while they danced the “Waka Waka” was a powerful and positive example of peaceful non-violent protest. I felt sure it would inspire more creativity among protest groups around the world. The following year, 2011, there were indeed protests worldwide, though flash mobs were not a major feature. Chilean students protests increased, and they excelled themselves when hundreds performed another flash mob to Michael Jackson’s legendary “Thriller” track.
However, demands for greater government support for student fees and reforms in the education sector in Chile were largely ignored. As the student protest movement grew, and they began to occupy colleges, there were violent clashes with police. The scenes are all too familiar.
Fast forward to 2013 and a new education minister, Carolina Schmit, has recently been appointed – the fourth since 2011 – but students are unhappy that repeatedly changing the government scapegoat is a useless delaying tactic, the reforms promised in 2011 have not emerged, and the protests continue.
Camila Vallejo
Upwards of a quarter of a million students were said to have taken part in a march on 11 April. In a now-familiar pattern, police responded to the marches with tear gas and water cannons. At least 109 people were arrested and eight police officers were reported injured. The size and militancy of the protests showed the strength of the student movement, said student leader Camila Vallejo (Twitter: @camila_vallejo) who is now a political candidate and happily married mum-to-be. “This symbolizes that the student and social movement didn’t go home and that the movement is here to stay,” Vallejo told local ADN radio. As a student leader, Vallejo helped inspire the wave of protests with up to 200,000 students marching through Santiago every week, which brought education in Chile to a standstill, causing entire academic years to be cancelled.
Over the past 20 years Chile has made significant strides in expanding access to higher education. However, much of this expansion has been achieved through for-profit private universities of uneven quality. Overall, the state pays only 15 percent of higher education costs, leaving families to come up with the rest, often by taking on heavy debt.
Giorgio Jackson
I learned from listening to a video of a talk by another former Chilean student union leader, Giorgio Jackson, that the protest movement began some years ago, and has gone through several iterations and renewals, adapting and learning how to rise above the government’s repression and clumsy attempts at infiltration and division, and despite apparent conflicts of interest at the group level, to create a unified movement of civil society activists with a common purpose. I was encouraged to learn there was something far more organised and structured behind that joyful Waka Waka dance video than I realised. My research for this post led me to believe that the ideas and effort are entirely home-grown, but the Center for Latin American Studies and the Berkeley Law School described the Chilean and similar movements throughout the Americas as evidence of a “Chilean Winter”. I assume they chose that phrase as a counterpoint to the “Arab Spring” tag so gratuitously bestowed by think tanks and pundits on uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. I wonder why they like to show off that way: such patronage inevitably invites speculation that the US or whoever is fomenting unrest, and threatens to dilute the power and credibility of the protest movements themselves.
Without assigning a “media conspiracy” label, I do feel that the relatively low coverage of the thinking and planning behind the protests in Chile is a pity, because there is much to learn from their experiences. I hope this post helps point anyone who is interested to know more in the right direction. Please post additional links or observations in the comments.
Chile student movement
Chile: tens of thousands march for education reform and social justice (workers.org)
Clashes at Chile student protests (bbc.co.uk)
Anonymous Hackers from Latin America Protest Against Discrimination of Chile Students (pr0sp3ct.wordpress.com)
Reading Camila Vallejo (in Tyee Books) (thetyee.ca)
Former Chilean student leader Giorgio Jackson launches book
Tags Camila Vallejo, Chile, Education reform, flash mobs, Giorgio Jackson, protests, students
Mauritania Opposition Reaffirm Rejection of Mali Military Intervention
Musicians entertained people with traditional songs as they gathered for another massive rally in Nouakchott on the evening of Tuesday,18 December 2012.
Demonstrators chanted slogans demanding the departure of Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, and that the military quit its involvement in politics.
Opposition leaders addressed tens of thousands in the yard of Ibn Abbas mosque, at the Festival entitled “Promise of Victory”.
Ahmed Ould Daddah, arguably the most eminent statesman in the opposition coalition line-up, gave a stirring speech invoking hope for the future, and ambition to restore the pride and dignity of the country. Ould Daddah also gave a stern warning against any military intervention in Mali, including providing logistical support, highlighting concern that any involvement would reflect negatively on security and stability for Mauritania. Being committed to fight terrorism, he argued, does not mean engaging in activities that are against the interests of the nation. The real enemies, he added, are ignorance, poverty, hunger and internal strife.
In conclusion, he wished Ould Abdel Aziz a speedy recovery, stressing that he bears him no personal malice, despite his unsuitability for leadership.
In other news, Mauritania’s second president, Mustafa Ould Salek, died in a Paris hospital on Tuesday 18 December, aged 86. Ould Salek was the pioneer of Mauritania’s enduring tradition of coups d’etat: he seized power from President Mokhtar Ould Daddah in February 1978. Given that the Election Commission – despite a recent statement promising to set a date – admitted that they are still not in a position to stage the much-delayed elections, it seems there is little chance of Mauritania outgrowing Ould Salek’s legacy in the foreseeable future.
Photos: Latest News Network.
20 Dec Update: Another video from @jnsRFD shows the true extent of the attendance at the festival, being reported rather grudgingly by some media as “hundreds of supporters”.
In a further, related move, authorities have withdrawn approval for the youth section of the opposition to hold a meeting in the Old Youth House. The youth say they are determined to go ahead with their plans regardless.
Tags Mauritania, Nouakchott, politics, protests, stupid movie
Human Rights bodies denounce abuses in Mauritania
The International Federation for Human Rights on Wednesday denounced extrajudicial killings, repression, torture and other rights abuses in Mauritania.
“If, under the regime of (President) Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, people dare to exercise their rights, they are often victims of repression, arrest and imprisonment,” read a joint report with the Mauritania Human Rights Association published Wednesday. President Aziz is a controversial figure who seized power in a military coup after the president he helped to install tried to dismiss him. Aziz then resigned from the military to run for president. His actions cause international outrage and most sources of international funding were frozen or withdrawn. With the support of influential figures such as the late Colonel Gadaffi in Libya and the former French President Sarkozy, he was able to persuade the IMF, World Bank, African Union and other interested groups to reinstate their support. He has further cemented his standing in the international community by championing the very lucrative “war on terror” and occasionally supplying jailed terrorists for hostage swaps.
The rights bodies said the indefinite postponement of legislative and local elections in 2011, which led to protests from the opposition, could be linked to these rights violations.
The report denounced “extrajudicial killings, excessive and fatal use of force, violence while trying to maintain order, arrests and arbitrary arrests, acts of torture … and unjust judicial procedures.”
The two most recent extrajudicial killings happened right around the time Aziz was injured, in what is officially described as an accidental shooting, on 13 October 2012. Both were prisoners who died under torture. The fate of a third prisoner who was said to have been taken to the Nouakchott military hospital is unknown. You can be certain he was not airlifted to France for treatment, which is what happened to president Aziz.
“The consolidation of a democratic regime must pass through a balancing of power and the organisation as soon as possible of free and fair legislative elections and the strengthening of judicial independence,” the report said.
It also called for the end of impunity for those implicated in atrocities against black Mauritanians under former president Maaouiya Ould Taya, who was in power for 21 years until a 2005 coup.
Political anger has simmered in the large, arid north-west African nation since current leader Abdel Aziz seized power in another military coup in 2008.
Despite his election as a civilian candidate a year later, the opposition has never accepted his rule as legitimate and continue to demand widespread political reforms and adherence to the Dakhar agreement of 2008.
On Wednesday the opposition boycotted celebrations of the country’s 52nd anniversary of independence from France to protest his regime.
Protests have multiplied in the country since 25 February 2011, when the “Arab Spring” erupted in the Maghreb and Egypt, and the opposition’s calls for Abdel Aziz to step down have increased in recent weeks, after an initial pause out of respect for concern over his health. A mass march, one week ago, attracted an estimated 100,000 people in the country’s capital, Nouakchott. Here’s a video:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i74xqP2vJgg]
The 55-year-old leader returned on Saturday from his 40-day convalescence in France. His supporters rallied to greet him at the airport, joined by others, who were cajoled, bribed and ordered to attend to ensure a large crowd, but the reception was immediately followed by a rash of independent protests by various groups demanding their rights.
21 Nov 2012 Aziz returns to Mauritania after 6 weeks convalescing in Paris to conceal the severity of his injuries
One such group is protesting to demand to know the location of their relatives, a group of prisoners held incommunicado since April 2011 in a secret prison on charges related to terrorism or endangering national security. Others include unemployed workers in a mining area, Zouerate; teachers who have been arbitrarily reassigned to new schools, many in remote areas of the country; students demanding improvements to their dilapidated university and an updated curriculum, and who have not had any increase in their grants despite rising costs of education; suppliers to the government, protesting unfair treatment by the ministry; political opposition who were denied a licence for a rally on Independence day; residents of R’kiz [Arkiz], a small town where three babies died on Monday after being vaccinated against measles, demanding government action and an immediate investigation; and members of a group that formed in April 2011 to protest against racial inequality in the administration of the new registration programme. This last group was thought to have been mollified by changes to the programme agreed last year, but reappeared on the anniversary of independence on 1960, which is also the anniversary of the 1991 execution by the armed forces of 28 Mauritanian men of black African descent.
27 Nov 2012 Arkiz residents demand investigation into baby deaths
Mauritanians face many issues, yet they are also sympathetic to other causes, as shown in this video from the 16 November mass march and rally, when they said prayers for Gaza during the most recent exchange of bombardment with Israel.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkx9QdnBeCI]
Includes content from AFP via ReliefWeb.
Tags Human Rights, Mauritania, protests
#Mauritania News in Brief 7 August 2012
The last news summary for Mauritania told of a tragic plane crash [fr] which claimed the lives of seven people, including members of the Air Force and customs officials, and the twist of fate which spared the life of one other. As I write, people are still posting tributes to the victims on a FaceBook event page [ar].
Protests followed death of mining worker Mohamed Ould Machdhoufi
The people’s grief was amplified by another senseless death just days later, when the national guard staged a dawn raid on a peaceful sit-in by MCM copper mining workers, killing Mohamed Ould Machdhoufi and wounding several others. The authorities – already under fierce public scrutiny over the hiring of military personnel to serve commercial interests, the cause and circumstances of the crash, and the appointment of the Air Force squadron commander to the investigation committee – infuriated people by declaring the cause of death to be “unknown”.
Mining workers’ union rep Ethmane Ould Kreivit
MCM’s operating company, First Quantum Minerals of Canada, then aggravated the situation by issuing a press release that made no mention of the death or injuries, and claiming the strike was illegal. Several workers, including union leader Ethmane Ould Kreivit, were attacked in a subsequent protest, and jailed for several days. On his release, the union leader was prevented from entering the workplace. When agreement to return to work was finally reached, MCM deducted more days’ pay than had been lost. This particular powder-keg is likely to reignite in the near future.
Tasiast gold mine is also run by a Canadian firm, Kinross Gold, which has witnessed a series of strike actions, and is currently trying a little harder than MCM,although that is a low bar. On Sunday 5th August, the company announced it would increase the supply of water for some households near the plant. The statement said this is standard practice designed to provide additional help to deal with the ongoing drought. However, if that is the case, I do wonder why they waited until so far into the rainy season to implement this measure.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-pMxb7hCfg]
This short video [ar] highlights the issues caused by the drought and water shortages
No clean drinking water for months, then .. floodwater!
On July 19th, there was another mass march demanding the departure of Aziz, and torrential rains wreaked havoc on rural communities, taking the life of an 18 year-old in Magta Lahjar who drowned while trying to escape the floods. People have been protesting all across Mauritania for many months because of water shortages, increased prices for potable water, lack of repairs to wells, unfair distribution of subsidised food and cattle feed, land disputes, corruption, labour disputes, and electrical power disruption in many parts of the country. The biggest recent power failure occurred at the beginning of August, affecting large areas of Nouakchott for extended periods, with hospitals, offices, stores and homes affected. On Sunday 5th August, an off-duty power company manager responded to a call for help but was electrocuted while trying to repair a relay. He died instantly. This husband and father of four daughters was known as a “good Samaritan” in the local community.
Also on July 19th came news that Mauritania had released some terrorist prisoners [ar] as part of the exchange deal for three European hostages kidnapped from their housing near the Tindouf refugee camp in Algeria in October 2011.
Mauritania has lost some ranking in the media coverage of the unrest in Mali, and was not on the list of countries visited by French FM Laurent Fabius, nor one of Hillary Clinton’s stops on her tour of Africa. Considering the travel advisories being issued this should not come as any surprise. The regime remains bullish, continuing to act and speak about the situation with complete disregard for the sovereignty of its troubled neighbour. Sunday night Aziz reaffirmed to his audience [fr] the country would not intervene militarily. Then on Monday, Algeria reportedly [ar] reversed its former, more conservative, position and announced willingness to deploy troops in cross-border raids against terrorist operations in northern Mali, in conjunction with units from Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. This is presumably the action the US, via AFRICOM command, with backing from the EU – and France in particular – has been pressing for in their regular calls for “increased regional cooperation”. A dizzy political game is afoot, and has been from the start.
20th July saw the start of Ramadan, a holy month of fasting for Muslims. Many food prices increased overnight, especially meat, and another increase in fuel prices added to the pressure of economic inflation. Despite the higher fuel costs and several fatal road accidents, the very popular but highly dangerous night-time antics of “Wacky Races” [fr] returned to Mauritania, along with evening matches of 5-a-side soccer.
There are some inspiring and very successful humanitarian initiatives for Ramadan, a traditional time of giving charity, and many events to help the hungry, sick and needy with strong donor support, especially from Mauritanian ex-pats in Angola, for a joint campaign launched by Bellewar Media TV, First Step for Development and Mauritanie Demain.
In a unique event that one might also class as an act of charity, former “Islamicist” leader Boumiah Ould Ebyah returned to Mauritania after many years in Kuwait, and immediately declared his support for Aziz. Within 6 days he had been appointed to a post in the president’s office!
The anti-pornography protesters (actually I am trying to train myself to call them “pro-morality” campaigners) resumed their protests in Nouakchott at the end of July. To my great surprise the police attacked them with tear gas and batons! Out again they went, and again the police attacked. At the start of August the group applied for a protest permit and it was rejected. The image on the right is of their application letter. Is it just me who finds the logo reminiscent of the Playboy Bunny, reversed?
Logos aside, I am still completely confounded by this group being violently repressed. Does it mean the authorities are pro-pornography? How do we reconcile this with president Aziz’ “Defender of Islam” speech to the gathering which massed (with a speed I found highly doubtful) outside the palace, after abolitionist Birame Ould Obeid burned a few books containing the Islamic scholar Maliki’s works pertaining to slavery? Birame – in failing health, and 6 of his companions, are still in prison despite the charge of apostasy being thrown out by the judge. New charges of “acting against national security”were cited, although there has been no proper hearing. Their arbitrary detention has lasted 99 days so far and protests have continued throughout. There were additional protests after a radio programme discussing slavery, which resulted in the presenter being dismissed.
Protest demanding release of jailed abolitionists
Students continued to face problems in the past month: detention of medical students who protested their expulsion; increased fees for some foreign students; denial of passports and travel papers for students not receiving grants; expiration of travel documents leaving students stranded in Morocco; and a reduction in the number of sponsored places in Mauritania. Plus, the next batch of higher education students will be small – the pass rate for the Baccalaureate exams was only 9%.
Another protest group which reappeared in the past week or so is the unemployed graduates, who gained a lot of attention after storming the grounds of the presidential palace in May, and then beginning a hunger strike. Fishermen, sailors and dock workers in Nouadhibou all held protests in the past 10 days. For my next update, I may save a few hundred words and post only names of groups that do not protest!
Messaoud Ould Boulkheir
Under “disappearances” we can list the “initiative” of Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, who had been waving a reconciliation plan at the opposition, just to fill in some time until the government announced plans to hold an election, or some elections, in 2 or 3 or 4 month’s time, depending on whose statement is quoted. Once the election announcement was ready – just after agreeing a new fishing deal with the EU – Aziz rejected Messaoud Ould Boulkheir’s initiative: a clumsy political manoeuvre designed to appear like a crushing blow to both Ould Boulkheir and the opposition coalition. Meanwhile, the new EU fishing agreement is being widely condemned by many industry groups. The president of Europêche, Javier Garat, said last week that the “unaffordable” deal will cause the loss of 10,000 jobs and 60 million Euro. Meanwhile, the president of the Shipowners’ Association of Marín, Andrés Guiance, warned that the EU agreement with Mauritania will make Marín “a dead port.”
Senussi
Former Libyan chief of intelligence Senussi is still “held” in Mauritania and Aziz says he will not be released until he stands trial for illegal entry. Until that fabled day, he is valuable ante for Mauritania in a game with France, who say they want him to serve a life sentence issued in absentia, and Libya, who could try him as part of the former regime. I imagine him enjoying the sort of 5-star hospitality Mubarak had during his sejourn. Certainly I doubt that he is under torture. Sadly, the same is not true for 5 youths arrested in a small southern town near Selibaby, who were subjected to Guantanamo-style “jaguar” torture methods while detained on suspicion of a minor burglary of a local store on July 23. Three of the youths were jailed, and the other two released without charge. One of those released is now suffering memory loss and needs hospital treatment.
Armed guards provide crowd control for Aziz speech
On Sunday 5 August, president Aziz hosted a “Meet the People” event in Atar. Thousands waiting in the heat of the night for his midnight appearance, watched over by armed plain-clothed security and assembled media representatives. The coordination of oppostion parties was conspicuous in its absence. Not surprising since they all signed a pledge on Friday 4th August to continue to demand Aziz step down, and refusing to entertain any dialogue, or elections, as long as he remains in power. Aziz responded on Monday 6th August, saying he would not leave except though the ballot box. Not so much absent as invisible, the audience was dominated by Arab Moors. Black Moors, Haratines, and those of black African heritage were present – in servile roles cleaning, preparing, serving food and of course staffing security.
Police [anti] graffiti efforts
Opposition campaigners were in action the night before, and police were tasked with removing the graffiti which had been liberally applied to walls, signs, and even state vehicles. The photos of police in action (left) make them look a little bit like perpetrators!
None of these interesting anecdotes merited comment on Ould Abdel Aziz’ new Twitter account (using Hootsuite) or Facebook page (no link – but trust me, you’re not missing much), which were created after a meagre effort via iPad by one of his cronies, Sidi Mohamed Maham. Sidi’s task was to engage with “the young people”, confiding how he had “just been speaking with the president”, who told him “his door is open to anyone who wants to talk”. The boring foray into Twitter immediately spawned a more entertaining mirror using the new hashtag coined for his Atar speech. FaceBook is still the most popular platform by far, but Twitter is seeing increased activity thanks to a useful Arabic guide produced by the Mauritanie Demain FaceBook page admins. There was a sustained flurry of angry tweets shooting down each lie as soon as it was uttered. Aziz provided plenty of ammunition: there is no slavery, just poverty, and that is being eradicated, there’s no drought, there are no political prisoners, there is no repression, he was right to cross into Malian territory in pursuit of suspected terrorists, there is a balance of payments surplus, everything is wonderful, and so on. While taking questions by phone, a caller who made a criticism was cut off mid-sentence and Aziz declared the caller had “decided to end the call himself”. When the TV broadcast was disrupted, instead of just blaming a technical error or electrical power issue, Aziz claimed the opposition were responsible, and had bought sophisticated electronic equipment for the purpose.
Aziz also spoke proudly of the importance of Mauritanian media and the “freedomof the press”. Only seven media outlets were invited to attend, and even they had a hard time. The photographer from alakhbar.info was detained by presidential guards [ar], who erased all his images, presumably because he had filmed some protesters. At least Al Jazeera managed to get in a question: their reporter asked if Aziz would be the first Arab leader to step down peacefully. I understand his response was in the negative.
As happened last year, activists were highly motivated against this Aziz speech, with at least two FaceBook events, teams coordinating the sharing of information between different social networks, and many amusing – and angry – posts and images that are so characteristic of Mauritanian youth. There was a protest outside the TV station HQ in Nouakchott and a brave protester who called for Aziz to quit after the speech [ar] in Atar (and was immediately arrested). Sunday night was also the anniversary of the historic “Battle of Badr”, and this coincidence generated much commentary about the president’s son, Badr, and the incident where he shot a young girl while out joyriding late one night but got off with a token fine. By all accounts she is still paralysed.
There was another serious note to some of the objections being voiced: Aziz had chosen the home town of the slain mining worker Mohamed Ould Machdhoufi for his political carnival.
Poster art from an anti-Aziz event on FaceBook
#Mauritania protests against slavery and military rule (lissnup.wordpress.com)
#Mauritania protest demanding release of jailed students (lissnup.wordpress.com)
#Mauritania: On The Edge (lissnup.wordpress.com)
#Mauritania Citizen Journalists Robbed (lissnup.wordpress.com)
Tags FaceBook, First Quantum Minerals, Kinross Gold, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritel, Nouakchott, Playboy Bunny, Protest, protests, Senussi
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10 Extinct or Nearly Extinct Colors
Patrick Weidinger March 15, 2012 0
The world we live in is a colorful place (except in our dreams, which are mostly black and white, which is odd when you stop to think about it). Though we are surrounded by color and new colors are invented all the time, some colors have completely disappeared from our lives, or are very rare, or are becoming extinct. This list is a sampling of some of those pigments or colors once found in nature, in consumer products, manufactured goods, building construction, etc.
Automobile Colors
Ever drive down the road and notice most of the cars you see are colored in four colors (mostly black, white, silver, or gray)? Part of the reason why is resale value – people who want to resell their car later know they are far more likely to find a buyer if the car is one of these common colors. Though other colors are out there, (mostly brightly colored new small cars and new muscle cars), we have lost some of the variety of colors we used to see on cars.
Anyone who remembers car colors from before the 1990s, and especially car colors from the 1950s-1980s, remember there being a whole range of vibrant, sometimes weird colored cars on the road. Where did these cars and these wild and weird colors go? They didn’t go anywhere really, the colors (for the most part) still exist and some even get used today. An example of an almost extinct color that was invented for the automobile paint industry was Quinacridone Gold. Today it is all but extinct because the only manufacturer of this pigment discontinued it long ago and no one else makes it today. It is highly prized by some artists for use in watercolor and oil painting. What did change was paint technology itself, and how paints are applied to modern automobiles.
For sure, more eye-popping and vibrant-looking colors were used on cars in the 1950s-1970s (my older sister had a bright yellow 1975 Mercury Capri that screamed “canary!”) but the paint also looked different because of the way it sat on the car. It wasn’t just that there were different and more vibrant pigments, paints of that era mostly sat flat on the car. Modern paints seem to flow with the car, and appear different from different angles. Finishes were a lot more matte than today’s high glossy car finishes. The older paint colors also resulted from the use of acrylic lacquer and enamel paints. The acrylic lacquer paints allowed for high color pigmentation and were more glossy (though not as glossy as today’s paints). Problem was, they required the use of a lot of fast-drying solvents, which have widely been phased out of car paints because of their toxicological and environmental problems. These acrylic paints also became brittle and cracked when exposed to UV sunlight. The colors would fade over time. I had a bright red Saab 900 that, by the time I finally sold it almost fifteen years later, was the color of the pink you see in breast cancer awareness posters. Enamel paints were somewhat better than acrylic car paints, but still had quality problems.
Today, car manufacturers paint their vehicles with high-tech paints that need to meet tough environmental and durability testing requirements (they are far better at resisting chips, fading from sunlight, effects of road salt, etc.). They are more durable and give off almost translucent properties unimagined in the 1960s. Still, there was nothing like those old car colors of that era that are now relegated mostly to museums and car shows.
Dinosaur Colors
One of the enduring mysteries of the “terrible lizards” has always been – what did dinosaurs really look like? Were they just dull green or brown or black creatures as commonly depicted in books and films? Or were the brightly colored and patterned like many moderns animals? And did they have colors that we no longer see in animals today? Though these colors are now as extinct as their owners, can we rediscover them by studying fossils?
Until very recently, this question could not be answered but recent scientific discoveries have started to pull back the veil on what dinosaurs may have really looked like, color-wise, millions of years ago. Studies at the cellular level of dinosaur fossils have extrapolated from primitive pigment-giving organelles known as melanosomes. Melanosomes contain the coloring pigment melanin found in modern animals. Fossilized dinosaur feathers have revealed melanosome structures that indicate these feathered dinosaurs may have had black bodies with bright red (ginger-like) color and banded patterns. In fact, the presence of color pigments is what allowed the dinosaur feathers to be preserved and fossilized. If the feathers had been white (no pigment) they would not have fossilized. Though the actual melanosomes no longer exhibit their original pigment (which disappeared through chemical reactions over the millions of years), scientists can still guess at the type of color and pigment based on the size and shape of the melanosome. Modern animals have melanosomes of specific shapes and sizes, for say, black or red. If scientists see similar shaped and sized melanosomes in the fossils of the dinosaur feathers, they can assume that was the color the dinosaur also had.
Scientists have also studied feathers of modern animals to determine what melanosome structures exhibited other color characteristics such as iridescence. Based on these models, they looked at preserved melanosomes of other dinosaur feathers and determined these dinosaurs had feathers with iridescence. This added the possibility of the feathers having purples, blues, and greens.
Piebald Hamster
Hamsters come in many different colors and patterns including Banded, Dominant Spot, and Roan. One specific variation, close to the Dominant Spot hamster (which has a white belly and dominant spot patterns on its back) was the Piebald. Unlike the Dominant Spot hamster, the Piebald hamster was a colored hamster with white spots on its body. The Piebald hamster had spots of varying number and size, and the hamster did have a colored (rather than all white) belly, unlike the Dominant Spot hamster. The colored belly could also have spots, unlike the Dominant Spot which has an all white belly. The Dominant Spot hamster was first seen in America in 1964 and quickly became more popular than the Piebald hamster because they were easier to breed. Today the Piebald colored hamster is believed to be extinct as none have been seen in years.
Pink Dolphins
Pink dolphins, sometimes referred to as the “Boto,” inhabit the Amazon River and some rivers in China and are fresh water cousins of the better-known dolphins of the worlds oceans. They have been listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a “vulnerable species-threatened” and recently was moved to “endangered species-threatened.” Of the five species of river dolphins (the other four being functionally extinct), the Amazon River pink dolphins are still hanging on, though increased river traffic on the Amazonian rivers (they are very curious animals and swim right up to boats and are killed or injured as a result), environmental pollution, and habitat loss are beginning to impact their numbers.
The Amazon River dolphins belong to the genus Inia and are not the same as dolphins in the oceans. Ocean dolphins have dorsal fins while pink dolphins have humps on their backs. Though their color may vary from blue-grey, to brown, to cream-white or just plain gray, most pink dolphins do in fact look pink. Why this is, is a mystery. Scientists feel it may be related to their diets which consist of many shelled animals which have a red pigment in their muscle tissue. Scientists believe that as the dolphins age and mature, this red pigment builds up in their skin and leads to their pink color. Dolphins also have a large number of blood capillaries near the surface of their skin which may be another contributing factor. Hopefully the pink dolphins will be protected so we always have this unique color in our world.
Caput Mortuum
This paint color is as extinct as its source – Egyptian mummies. Caput mortem was a brown pigment sometimes referred to as “mummy brown” or “Egyptian brown” because it was made from ground up mummies. Caput mortuum means, “worthless remains” and was a pigment made in the 16th and 17th centuries. The use of Caput Mortuum pigment fell out of favor by the 19th century when artists became aware of the origins. For a time it was used to color robes of religious figures and was referred to as Cardinal Purple.
A pigment that would be at the top of modern day animal protection activists everywhere would be the now extinct Indian yellow. Though its origins are today disputed, it has long been held that this transparent yellow pigment used in oil paints came from the urine of specially fed cows in India. Indian yellow is a clear, luminescent, and deep yellow pigment and was widely used by oil and watercolor painters. Because of its fluorescent properties, Indian yellow is especially vivid in sunlight.
However, an investigation into the manufacture of this pigment in 1883 turned up some disturbing information. It was claimed that Indian yellow pigment came from the urine of cows fed only mango leaves. The resulting urine was collected, dried, and rolled into yellow balls of pigment. European traders then imported the “piss balls” of pigment for processing into the Indian yellow pigment for paint. In 1908 the process was declared inhumane and stopped. This was because the cows became undernourished on the mango leaf only diet. However, today this source of Indian yellow is disputed as no investigation has turned up anyone in the areas of India where the pigment was supposed to have been manufactured that can recall ever making it using cows. Still, Indian yellow is now replaced by synthetic Indian yellow hue, which is nickel-based.
Red (Orange) Fiesta Ware
Designed and introduced to the public in the 1930s, Fiesta ware is a line of solid-colored dinnerware manufactured by the Homer Laughlin China Company of Newell, West Virginia. The original Fiesta ware was discontinued in 1973 but later brought back. The bright and vivid red or orange color is one color of the original Fiesta ware that you can no longer buy (though you can still see the color in vintage Fiesta ware from the time period).
The five original colors of Fiesta ware were red, blue, green, yellow, and ivory. The colors were specific because the idea was people could mix and match pieces and colors of the dinnerware, so the colors had to be complimentary. The most popular of the original colors was red Fiesta ware, which got its bright red (orange) color through the use of uranium dioxide in the glaze. The red Fiesta ware was also the most expensive because of the amount of uranium dioxide that went into the glaze (up to 15% by weight) and a more complicated firing process. The result, however, was a brilliant and vibrant red or orange color like none seen before or since. From 1936 until 1943 (when the uranium was needed for use for atomic weapons development), red Fiesta ware was made using uranium dioxide in the glaze. Later the company switched to using a depleted uranium product but for the first 6-7 years the product was made, it was made with a lot of radioactive uranium. Today these surviving examples of original red Fiesta ware are known for being beautiful as well as potentially deadly. There are three hazards of the radioactivity of the red Fiesta ware. First, the person handling the Fiesta ware can be exposed to gamma rays being emitted by the radionuclides in the uranium glaze. Second, a person handling the Fiesta ware can be exposed to the beta particles emitted by radionuclides in the ceramic glaze, which get onto their hands. Third, a person could be exposed to radionuclides that leach from the glaze into food when they eat food served in the Fiesta ware.
Other colors of the Fiesta ware (such as the ivory) also contained small amounts of radioactive uranium, but the bright reddish-orange original Fiesta ware is the most radioactive by far. It is not a color you will likely see again in a dinnerware, or any other consumer product, due to the hazards of uranium.
The transparent blue-green colored pigment, verdigris (meaning, green of Greece) was used from antiquity until the Middle Ages as a pigment in paints and other materials. Until the 19th century, verdigris was the most vibrant green color available and was widely used by artists in the Renaissance and Baroque movements. Unfortunately, verdigris gets its color from copper acetate, which is highly toxic to humans. Verdigris is also a highly reactive copper pigment and will age to dark brown or black. As more stable green pigments became available, the use of verdigris disappeared. Therefore, it is hardly used today as an artists pigment.
Ivory Black
Another old pigment that would be on the PETA hit list today is ivory black. This deep blue-black color was derived from the burning of ivory from elephant tusks. The left over waste product was charred in oil and refined into this pigment. True ivory black was derived this way and, for obvious reasons, is not used today as the source of the ivory, elephants, are becoming extinct. Ivory black is sometimes referred to as “bone char” which is a granular material made from the charring of animal bones. But bone char can be made from any animal bones, where as ivory black came only from the use of ivory. Rembrandt was one Master painter who often used ivory black in his work.
Red Lead
Did you ever see an old metal bridge painted red? At one time, almost all metal structures such as bridges (and especially any metal that was near bodies of water and the sea air that could be easily corroded by the salt and moisture) were painted with red lead paint. Red lead or “minim” got its name from the Minius River in northern Spain where it was first mined. It is a bright orange or red pigment made from lead tetra oxide. Until the 1970s, the lead tetra oxide pigment was mixed with linseed oil to make a thick and corrosion-resistant paint often referred to as “red lead” paint. The red lead paint was most frequently used as primer paint on iron objects, which needed protection from the elements. Probably the most famous example is the Golden Gate Bridge, which had its distinctive orange color from red lead paint. The bridge was painted with a red lead primer and topcoat. The original red lead paint used on the Golden Gate Bridge was 68% red lead paste.
Today, the bright red and orange structures are giving way to zinc-based primers and topcoats because of the environmental and toxicity hazards of lead. For example, since 1968, the Golden Gate Bridge has been repainted with inorganic zinc silicate primer with vinyl topcoat (later changed to acrylic topcoat to meet more stringent air quality standards). In the United States and many other countries, the use of lead-based paints is highly regulated. Zinc-based colors on bridges and metal structures are usually green. The old red-colored bridges are still out there, but are fading away. It is estimated there are thousands of old bridges in the United States that are slowly deteriorating, many of which are unsafe. The original red lead needs to be removed carefully so as not to expose workers to high lead levels and to protect the environment, before the bridges are repainted, usually with zinc-based paint.
Red Heads
In 2007, if you followed the news media, it appeared that our redheaded friends were doomed to extinction. That’s right. According to these articles, red heads (or gingers) would be extinct as early as the year 2060. No longer would we see the fiery red and orange hair of Archie or Ginger. Fortunately, all of the so-called “genetic scientists” quoted in these articles were wrong, red heads, like blondes, are going nowhere and will not become extinct.
These mistaken articles often cited something called the Oxford Hair Foundation as their source and relied on the unfounded belief that recessive genes like those that cause red hair will naturally “die out” over time. This is nonsense. Recessive genes are, in fact, more rare than dominant genes, but the only way these recessive genes can go extinct is if everyone carrying them died all at once or failed to reproduce. And since the world still contains many redheaded people, it is highly unlikely such a catastrophe could happen (in spite of Cartman’s evil intentions).
In 2007 National Geographic magazine ran an article on world populations of redheaded humans. In it they stated there was a belief that redheads would someday become extinct, but they did not support this. In fact, they stated “while redheads may decline, the potential for red isn’t going away.”
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Suing for Punitive Damages in Cloquet
Find the right Litigation attorney in Cloquet, MN
In Cloquet, Minnesota, civil litigation serves the primary purpose of compensating people who have been victims of wrongdoing, and not meting out punishment, vengeance, or moral judgment.
Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. In Cloquet, Minnesota, courts will, in relatively rare cases, require defendants to pay plaintiffs sums of money which aren't calculated by the actual harm and costs the plaintiff has incurred. Instead, these "punitive damages," as they are called, are meant to punish and deter wrongdoing.
Courts in Cloquet, Minnesota do not grant punitive damages in most cases. The civil litigation system is geared against granting financial windfalls to civil plaintiffs. But, there are rare cases, where the defendant has done something to the plaintiff that is so morally reprehensible, that society's interest in punishing the defendant and deterring similar misconduct outweighs the civil justice system's preference against punitive damages.
Conduct that can give rise to punitive damages in Cloquet, Minnesota
The vast majority of personal injury lawsuits in Cloquet, Minnesota involve situations in which the defendant did not intend to harm the plaintiff, but did so through carelessness. This is not enough to award punitive damages in Cloquet, Minnesota.
Punitive damages in Cloquet, Minnesota are not granted in many cases. They are only awarded when the defendant's conduct was so deplorable and deliberate (but not necessarily criminal) that punishment is warranted. Fraud, battery, conversion (theft) and other intentional, insidious acts are usually required before punitive damages in Cloquet, Minnesota will be considered. Furthermore, in deciding how much to award in punitive damages, a court will consider 2 main factors: the insidious nature of the defendant's conduct, and the actual harm that the plaintiff suffered as a result.
You should be aware of the fact that there are some pretty severe limits on punitive damages in Cloquet, Minnesota. The U.S. Supreme Court has found that there are constitutional limits on punitive damage awards. Punitive damages can't be too disproportionate to the actual damages that the plaintiff has suffered. Appeals courts have found that excessive punitive damage awards violate the defendant's right to due process, by depriving them of large amounts of property.
Generally, in Cloquet, Minnesota, punitive damage awards that exceed the actual damages (those awarded to directly compensate the plaintiff) by a factor of 10. This is not an absolute rule, however, and is applied on a case-by-case basis. Courts in Minnesota have found much smaller awards to be invalid, and upheld much larger awards.
How Can a Cloquet, Minnesota Attorney Help?
The law of Cloquet, Minnesota doesn't lay out many strict conditions which are required before punitive damages can be granted. Instead, it largely leaves it to the discretion of the courts. So, there are several situations where they might be awarded.
If you are involved in a case in Cloquet, Minnesota where punitive damages are a possibility, a very large amount of money could be at stake, whether you are the plaintiff or defendant. You should not hesitate to speak with a civil litigation attorney in Cloquet, Minnesota
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The History of Women at Princeton University
For much of its history, Princeton University had the reputation of being an “old-boys' school.” Starting in the fall of 1969, Princeton became co-educational, and eight women transfer students graduated in June 1970, with slightly greater numbers graduating in the two subsequent years. Women who matriculated as freshmen in 1969 graduated in the Class of 1973, the first undergraduate class that included women for all four undergraduate years. However, the first steps towards co-education came as early as 1887, with the founding of Evelyn College. From its inception, this women's institution was associated with Princeton University, and it was hoped that the link would be similar to the Radcliffe and Harvard University relationship. Unfortunately, Evelyn College closed in 1897, due to financial problems and a lack of support from Princeton.
For the next half-century, women instead made their presence known in unofficial positions. Wives and daughters of Princeton faculty and administrators succeeded in exerting significant influence on campus life as advocates for students as well as assistants in research. Isabella Guthrie McCosh, wife of James McCosh, the 11th president of Princeton, was deeply involved in protecting the health and welfare of Princeton students. As a result of her unflagging dedication, the first campus infirmary was built and named in her honor.
Women were also important forces in the academic world. Margaret Farrand Thorp, wife of English professor, Willard Thorp, often assisted with her husband's research while simultaneously producing her own independent work. Fittingly, she wrote a book entitled Female Persuasion: Six Strong-Minded Women, which was published in 1949. Speaking of her lot as a female at Princeton, Thorp once quipped, “We who practice the pleasant profession of faculty wife are often amused by Princeton University's apparent hostility to the feminine sex. Hostility is probably too strong a word. The situation is, rather, that for the University, the feminine sex does not exist” (See William K. Selden, Women of Princeton, p. 33.)
Female scholars were, in fact, overlooked for official research positions until the 1940s. In 1942 Elda Emma Anderson came to Princeton as a visiting research associate in the physics department. In 1943 five women arrived at Princeton as instructors of Turkish and various European and Slavic languages. Finally, five years later, Helen Baker, Associate Director of the Industrial Relations Section, became the first woman awarded “faculty status with the rank of Associate Professor” by the Board of Trustees.
Along with the influx of female faculty and research associates in the 1940s, female students also began to gradually filter into the University system. Wives and daughters of Princeton faculty and administrators had been sitting in on classes informally for many years, but the first women to be officially enrolled in a University course were given the opportunity to do so during World War II. During the war, 23 women were permitted to take a government-sponsored course in photogrammetry. Later, in 1947, three female members of the library staff, in order to be better prepared to handle an enlarged Russian literature section of the library, enrolled in a class on beginners Russian, side by side with male undergraduate students. Still, more than twenty years would pass before the first co-educational class would walk the stage at commencement.
In 1961 Princeton offered Sabra Follett Meservey acceptance in the graduate program in Oriental Studies. She was the first woman in the University's history to be enrolled as a full-time degree candidate. However, in a not so subtle slip, her letter of acceptance began “Dear Sir.” Meservey later became the first woman to be granted a master's degree from Princeton. In 1962 eight more women enrolled in graduate programs at Princeton, and in 1964 Dr. T'sai-ying Cheng, a student in biochemical sciences, became the first woman to receive a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Princeton.
The first full-time undergraduate female students were admitted in 1963 when the Critical Languages Program (CLP)was introduced. This program enabled students from other colleges to spend one year in Princeton studying Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Persian, Russian, and Turkish languages and related regional studies. Five women came to Princeton as part of the CLP, and were subsequently nicknamed “Critters” by resident Princetonians. Although they were full-time students, these women were not eligible for a Princeton degree, as the program encompassed only the students' junior year.
After contemplating and finally rejecting a proposal to forge an association with Sarah Lawrence University in 1967, President Robert F. Goheen commissioned a study of the possibility of admitting women as full time undergraduate degree candidates. Gardner Patterson, a professor in the Department of Economics, headed the committee. In its final report, issued in January of 1969, the committee noted that “the presence of talented young women at Princeton would enhance the total educational experience and contribute to a better balanced social and intellectual life,” as well as “sustain Princeton's ability to attract outstanding students,” which had been flagging under its rather conservative image. Later that year, the trustees voted 24-8 for the implementation of coeducation.
In September 1969, 101 female freshman and 70 female transfer students joined the ranks of the Princeton student body. In 1973, the New York Times highlighted some of the achievements of the women in Princeton's first four-year coeducational class. Marsha H. Levy was the first woman to win the Pyne Prize and the first to be elected an alumni trustee. Marjorie Gengler, captain of the undefeated tennis team, never lost a set during her entire intercollegiate career, and she later became Annual Giving's first woman class agent. In addition, Princeton's only Marshall scholarship winner that year was a woman, as was one of its three Fulbright recipients.
The 1970s not only witnessed the graduation of Princeton's first coeducational class, but also the rise of women in upper-level administration. In 1971 Mary St. John Douglas and Susan Savage Speers became the first two female trustees. The following year, Adele Simmons was appointed Dean of Student Affairs, becoming the first female dean in Princeton's history. In 1977 Nina G. Garsoian became Dean of the Graduate School and Joan S. Girgus, Dean of the College. They were the first women to hold Princeton's second and third oldest deanships.
The eating clubs were one of the last vestiges of male-exclusivity associated with the University. Although most went co-ed immediately after women were accepted in 1969, four refused to do so. In 1979, after failing to gain membership to Cottage, Ivy, and Tiger Inn as a result of these restrictions, third year student Sally Frank filed a lawsuit with the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights. In 1992 the court stated that the clubs must admit female students, though they had already been doing so since the spring of 1991.
Finally, in 2001, the first woman was appointed to the prestigious post of president of Princeton University. Shirley M. Tilghman, a professor in the Molecular Biology Department since 1986, accepted the position after being chosen by the very presidential search committee of which she was initially a member. In so doing, she not only broke a 255-year-old tradition, but also came to represent the veritable integration of women into Princeton University.
Committee on the Education of Women at Princeton Records, 1955-1969
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The Daily Princetonian (Student newspaper)
Historical Photograph Collection, Campus Life Series, c. 1850-2010
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Arthur J. Horton Collection on Coeducation, 1968-1980
Keyser, Catherine. "Transforming the Tiger: A Celebration of Undergraduate Women at Princeton University." (Princeton, New Jersey: Office of Printing and Mailing Services, Princeton University, 2001).
Leitch, Alexander. A Princeton Companion. (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1978). Also available online.
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Willis M. Rivinus Papers on the Sally Frank Case, 1979-1991
Selden, William K. Women of Princeton: 1746-1969. (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University, 2000).
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Source: http://www.princeton.edu/mudd/news/faq/topics/women.shtml
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October 24, 2017 / chrismicklos / Leave a comment
When it comes to the horror genre, victims—and even heroes, for that matter—are a dime a dozen. Who can remember everyone Jason has killed throughout the Friday the 13th series or how Michael got his comeuppance in, say, Halloween 4? Sure, everyone knows that Van Helsing has defeated the most famous vampire of all in countless versions of the story, but how many recall who dispatched the monster at the end of House of Frankenstein? Who were the people that Godzilla stomped? Who was it that exterminated the giant ants in Them? Did anyone manage to escape the House of 1000 Corpses? It’s hard to remember!
But the villains—oh those amazing villains!—will live on for all of eternity in horror cinema…
Click here to read Madison Film Guy’s full FROM THE TOMB column–TOP 10 LIST OF CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE VILLAINS–at Horrornews.net!
August 4, 2017 August 4, 2017 / chrismicklos / Leave a comment
Comedy and horror have been kissing cousins since the early days of cinema. Moments of humor have been the go-to safety valve that horror filmmakers have used consistently to relieve audience tension and to provide a break from the suspense and terror of the moment. Over time, the approach may have changed, but the general idea has remained remarkably consistent from the early days of cinema to today. The dark humor of The Bride of Frankenstein, for instance, eventually evolved into movies like An American Werewolf in London,The Evil Dead 2, and Re-Animator: horror movies first but with a wildly comic spin at the same time. Early full-throated horror satires like The Cat and the Canary and the Abbott and Costello Meet… films eventually became modern classics like Young Frankenstein and What We Do in the Shadows.
It should be no surprise, then, that a separate and distinct subgenre would eventually evolve, fusing the horror film with the movie comedy, and for a brief, glorious period more than sixty years ago, the horror-comedy enjoyed a run of excellence the produced a string of enduring classics…
Click here to read Madison Film Guy’s full FROM THE TOMB column–TOP 5 HORROR-COMEDIES OF THE GOLDEN AGE–at Horrornews.net!
Karloff vs. Lugosi: Clash of the Horror Titans
March 19, 2017 April 28, 2017 / chrismicklos / Leave a comment
After more than one hundred years of horror cinema, reasonable people still disagree about who is the greatest horror star of all time, but most arguments tend to boil down to Boris Karloff vs. Bela Lugosi. While the versatile and inimitable Karloff may have boasted the more robust and impactful career overall, the dark and mysterious Lugosi—despite a legacy that ultimately degenerated into self-parody and forgettable schlock—may have delivered the single most iconic horror performance of all time…
Click here to read Madison Film Guy’s full March 2017 FROM THE TOMB column–KARLOFF VS. LUGOSI: CLASH OF THE HORROR TITANS–at Horrornews.net!
31 Films of Halloween – 10/17/15: Werewolf of London
October 17, 2015 October 17, 2015 / chrismicklos / Leave a comment
Throughout October, Madison Film Guy will post new mini-reviews/recommendation/musings on contemporary or classic horror films to help celebrate my 31 favorite days of the year: the countdown to Halloween! Today’s film: Werewolf of London.
Werewolf of London, 1935
To this day, the 1941 classic The Wolfman remains the definitive werewolf movie.
Six years earlier, the same studio—Universal Studios, the ultimate name in classic horror cinema—put out a werewolf movie that may have been even better than its successor: Werewolf of London.
Whereas The Wolfman is a legendary tale of personal tragedy and soulful anguish, Werewolf of London is more of a mythic morality play. Unlike its successor’s tortured victim, Larry Talbot, Werewolf of London’s werewolf is a scientist—a botanist by trade—who contracts his lycanthropic curse not from racing to the aid of a damsel in distress, but rather from venturing to the forbidden reaches of Tibet to steal nature’s rarest flower. Like a Greek myth, it is his arrogance and ambition—his own hubris—that causes his downfall.
Deep in the mountain of Tibet, Dr. Wilfred Glendon (Henry Hull) is attacked and wounded by a strange animal. After returning to London, he finds himself turning nightly into a werewolf and terrorizing the city, his one hope for curing his affliction the rare Asian flower. A mysterious stranger named Dr. Yogami (Warner Oland) has followed him home, however, and wants the flower for himself to control his own beastly transformations.
Although clearly a werewolf tale, the creature of Werewolf of London is more man than beast. The Wolfman’s monster walks like a man but otherwise is a wild animal, savagely preying upon its victims and racing through the countryside like a mad beast. By contrast, Werewolf of London presents a werewolf that is driven not by animal impulses but by the darkest side of human emotion: jealousy and resentment. The creature resembles and acts more like Mr. Hyde than a traditional werewolf, and that casts the film in an entirely different light than its successor.
Werewolf of London is significantly darker and grittier than The Wolfman and in many ways more sophisticated. Although it uses similar time-lapse photography trickery in several transformation scenes, for example, Dr. Glendon’s first transformation is much more cleverly done: while walking through his laboratory, a series of camera occlusions trigger his step-by-step transformation. While not as “cutting edge” (this was 1935, remember) as the time-lapse trick, it’s much more impactful and shocking. Watch that initial transformation in the first few seconds of this clip (0:00 – 0:11:
The first feature-length werewolf movie ever made, Werewolf of London absolutely stands the test of time, even eighty years later. Thoughtful, interesting, and engaging: if you consider The Wolfman the class of the genre but haven’t given its predecessor a chance, check out Werewolf of London and you just might find that sometimes the first really is the best.
31 Films of Halloween – 10/6/15: House on Haunted Hill
October 6, 2015 October 6, 2015 / chrismicklos / Leave a comment
Each day during October, Madison Film Guy will post a new mini-review/recommendation/musing on a contemporary or classic horror film to help celebrate my 31 favorite days of the year: the countdown to Halloween! Today’s film: House on Haunted Hill.
House on Haunted Hill, 1959
Let’s call it a Vincent Price double feature.
Yesterday’s film was the 1959 Price guilty pleasure The Bat. Today’s film is the 1959 Price guilty pleasure House on Haunted Hill. Turns out that 1959 was a pretty fun, campy year for Vincent Price.
Directed by master of movie gimmicks William Castle, House on Haunted Hill takes place over the course of a single night in a (maybe, maybe not) haunted mansion. Price’s eccentric millionaire, Frederick Loren, has invited a group of not-so-random strangers to attend a haunted birthday party for his estranged wife. “There’ll be food and drink and ghosts,” Price explains in the film’s prologue, “and perhaps even a few murders.” The catch? Any guest who stays the whole night in the house—and manages to stay alive in the process—gets $10,000. If someone leaves or dies, the remaining guests who make it through the night will split their share.
At the core of House on Haunted Hill is the dysfunctional relationship between Price’s Loren and his wife, Annabelle (played by Carol Ohmart). Both are convinced that the other is a murderer, and ultimately—in their own way—both are proved right. The chemistry between Price and Ohmart is outstanding. You can practically taste the venom each spits at the other in their far too few scenes together. Most of their screen time together is talky exposition, but it never drags and is always wickedly delicious.
For all its camp and clichés, House on Haunted Hill really is a surprisingly effective little horror film. With plenty of creepy atmosphere, a twisty plot, and some genuine scares, Castle’s film succeeds as a pure genre film and ranks among Price’s top performances.
For the record, and in this reviewer’s humble opinion, the 1999 House on Haunted Hill remake gets a bit of a bad rap and is actually an effective horror film in its own right. Forty years later the stakes went up from $10,000 per guest to a cool million per, and the special effects were taken up a few notches, as you might expect. In the lead role, Geoffrey Rush spends much of the film doing his best Vincent Price impersonation, which is actually more fun than it may sound.
But while the 1999 version is far more violent and bloody than the 1959 version, it also features some creatively unsettling imagery that elevates it above some of its same-generation cinematic peers. The nightmarish visuals—including a terrifically effective ghost surgery featuring a cameo by Jeffrey Combs—are outstanding.
For the purists, though, you simply can’t beat Vincent Price and William Castle, so make House on Haunted Hill 1959 a Halloween season treat.
31 Films of Halloween – 10/5/15: The Bat
October 5, 2015 / chrismicklos / Leave a comment
Each day during October, Madison Film Guy will post a new mini-review/recommendation/musing on a contemporary or classic horror film to help celebrate my 31 favorite days of the year: the countdown to Halloween! Today’s film: The Bat.
The Bat, 1959
To be clear, The Bat is a guilty pleasure. It’s not great filmmaking, and it’s not very scary. But whatever the reason, I have seen The Bat more times than I’d care to admit. And there is little chance that I will make it through October without seeing it again.
With two feet firmly planted in the old dark house tradition, The Bat opens with a narrated introduction by the lead character, Cornelia van Gorder. “This is the Oaks,” her voice intones portentously, “a house in the country which I’ve rented for the summer. As an author I write tales of mystery and murder, but the things that have happened in this house are far more fantastic than any book I’ve ever had published.”
Of course, nothing all that fantastic actually happens, but that’s beside the point.
The Bat is the kind of movie in which a bank president and his doctor go to an isolated cabin in the woods for an entire summer, and nobody finds it odd. It’s the kind of movie in which lots of ordinary people seem perfectly comfortable murdering their friends and neighbors. And it’s the kind of movie in which, well, the lead character’s name would actually be Cornelia van Gorder.
In short, it’s a lot of old-time wicked fun.
Most of that fun comes courtesy of the ongoing game of cat-and-mouse-and-cat played by the three leads: Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead (who later played Endora, the mother-in-law from hell on Bewitched), and Gavin Gordon. Considering that they play a respected doctor, a prestigious writer, and the Chief of Detectives for the local police force, there are an awful lot of sinister motives and paranoid accusations flying around amongst them.
Price, especially, makes the proceedings as delightful as possible. He doesn’t exactly chew the scenery, but his smirking innuendos, questionable experiments, and violent confrontations make The Bat a classic horror lover’s dream. It may not be Price’s best movie, but he gives it all he’s got.
And, perhaps best of all, The Bat is in the public domain, which means that you can pretty much see it anywhere you can get streaming video.
Halloween season should be all about the guilty pleasures, so if you can spare 80 minutes at some point in October, sink your teeth into The Bat and enjoy.
31 Films of Halloween – 10/4/15: Jaws
Each day during October, Madison Film Guy will post a new mini-review/recommendation/musing on a contemporary or classic horror film to help celebrate my 31 favorite days of the year: the countdown to Halloween! Today’s film: Jaws.
Jaws, 1975
It is hard to believe that Steven Spielberg’s Jaws turned 40 years old this year. Four decades after its initial release and three sequels later—you would have guessed more than that, right?—Jaws remains one of the most ground-breaking films of any genre of all time.
Ranked number 48 on the American Film Institute’s roster of the 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time, Jaws is not only an outstanding film on the merits, but it also single-handedly created the idea of the summer blockbuster, which had never before existed until Spielberg’s masterpiece came along. For all the amazing things about Jaws, however—the phenomenal performances, the terrific writing, and on and on—what is often lost about this timeless classic is just how good a horror film it really is.
Jaws actually scares you. And it doesn’t just scare you in the moment: it lingers with you, it haunts you, and it plays with your mind whenever you dip your toe into the deep blue sea. It is not hype to say that an entire generation of moviegoers learned to be afraid of the water from Jaws.
The real genius of Jaws was its ability to—really for the first time—come up with something as terrifying as the dark. For as long as long as humans have had the capacity for fear, they have been afraid of the dark. You can’t see in it, so there could be anything there. When you step into it, you are rendered all but helpless. And no matter what is in there, odds are that it would not be nearly as terrifying if you could actually see it. Jaws took everything that we’ve always feared about the dark and applied it to the sea.
The power of that approach was rendered even more potent by the happy accident of the malfunctioning mechanical shark. Spielberg’s difficulties with his malfunctioning monster have been well-documented, and the production’s inability to keep the shark prop functioning properly during the shoot forced Spielberg to adjust his style on the fly. So, rather than seeing the shark in all its glory early and often, Spielberg instead offers us subtle suggestions of the shark’s presence—the simple chords of the brilliant score, a swimmer’s reaction to the shark’s attack, a shadow in the water—and brief glimpses. By making the shark the thing behind the door, by the time we actually see it, we are already terrified of it.
Jaws may have been the first summer blockbuster, but it will always be a Halloween movie to me.
31 Films of Halloween – 10/2/15: Dracula
Each day during October, Madison Film Guy will post a new mini-review/recommendation/musing on a contemporary or classic horror film to help celebrate my 31 favorite days of the year: the countdown to Halloween! Today’s film: 1931’s Dracula.
Dracula, 1931
Recommending a fresh take on Bela Lugosi’s original Dracula seems like a solid, safe pick for the 31 Films of Halloween. Universal-ly (pun intended) acknowledged as a true horror classic, Lugosi’s Dracula remains—nearly a century later—the definitive take not only on the Dracula story, but on the vampire genre itself.
But here’s the twist.
If you can find it, I strongly recommend re-watching Dracula (obviously, you MUST have seen it before) with the turn-of-the-century Philip Glass score. It will knock your socks off.
In 1999, Universal Studios Home Entertainment commissioned composer Philip Glass to compose an entirely original score for Dracula, and then distributed the scored version on DVD and VHS. When Universal later released its classics collections in 2004 on DVD, the Glass score was available on an alternative audio track on the original movie. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, the Glass score transforms Dracula and makes a truly classic film truly great.
In bringing Bram Stoker’s novel to the screen, Universal produced a gold-standard horror classic largely on the strength of two things: Bela Lugosi’s iconic performance and director Tod Browning’s success in establishing a dark, foreboding, dream-like atmosphere. The former has become so seared in the cinematic psyche that Lugosi and the role will forever be inseparable. The latter is often overlooked, but combined with Lugosi’s performance, Browning’s construction of images and mood and moments—Dracula’s welcome, the appearance of the vampire brides, and so on—was simply masterful.
Where Browning stumbled, however, was in the pacing and stagey-ness of the film. While the languid pace supports the dreamy ambiance, there are moments when the film slows to a virtual crawl. Combined with the pervasive quiet—Dracula is a “talkie” but might as well have been a silent film in its disregard for dialogue and sound throughout much of its 85 minutes—the pacing occasionally drains the energy right out of the story.
The Glass score, however, brings the entire film to life, energizing the slowest scenes and adding extra zing to the film’s highest points. In the wonderful scene in which Van Helsing tricks the Count into revealing himself (or not revealing himself, as it were) in the mirror, the Glass score punctuates the dramatic moment, rises with the inner fury and fear of the vampire, and then retreats as Dracula composes himself and exits. The music lingers as Dracula excuses himself. “I dislike mirrors,” Dracula grins. “Van Helsing will explain.” As movie quotes go, it’s one of the best in the original film. With the Glass score and the dynamic filmmaking behind it, it’s one of the smartest, best moments in horror film history.
I love Dracula with the Philip Glass score.
Van Helsing will explain.
31 Films of Halloween – 10/1/15: Re-Animator
Each day during October, Madison Film Guy will post a new mini-review/recommendation/musing on a contemporary or classic horror film to help celebrate my 31 favorite days of the year: the countdown to Halloween! Today’s film: 1985’s Re-Animator.
Re-Animator, 1985
In 1999, I met Stuart Gordon at a screening of one of his films on campus at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. After the movie, I waited around to introduce myself, asked if I could interview him sometime, and Gordon graciously gave me his card and told me to call him. I should note at this point that I was not working as a journalist and had nowhere to publish the interview, but that’s beside the point. When I called his production office a couple of days later, I got his answering machine, left a message, and assumed I’d never hear back from him.
To my surprise, Gordon did call me back, and we scheduled an interview a week later.
That week, I plowed through all ten of his movies as research for the interview. One evening, as I was re-watching his first film, Re-Animator, my phone rang, and it was Gordon. He was personally calling to reschedule the interview, which we did. After we hung up, though, I marveled at the fact that I had just received a call from minor legend in the horror field WHILE I was watching his iconic, ground-breaking film. I assumed—correctly—that that would never happen again. But it remains one of my favorite stories to this day.
The film itself, Re-Animator, also remains one of my favorites, not just in the horror genre but on my all-time list.
Re-Animator, a loose adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft short story, is the tale of Herbert West, an arrogant young medical student who develops a reagent that can re-animate dead tissue. However, when West decides to experiment on human corpses and injects his reagent into various medical school cadavers, he discovers that they are far less enthusiastic about his experiment than he is.
A campy blend of classical horror archetypes mixed liberally with heavy doses of ‘80’s sex, gore, and violence—not to mention dark, black comedy—Gordon’s first film is wildly entertaining and genuinely frightening at times.
When Re-Animator opened in 1985, critics did not seem to know how to react. The venerable Janet Maslin warned that the film should “be avoided by anyone not in the mood for a major blood bath.” A more generous Roger Ebert wrote of his fellow Chicagoan’s film that Re-Animator is “a frankly gory horror movie that finds a rhythm and a style that make it work in a cockeyed, offbeat sort of way.” And Pauline Kael effused that it was a “horror-genre parody [at] the top of its class.”
Today, the film endures as a true horror classic. Suspense. Scares. Sex and gore. The film opens with a gothic nod to traditional horror and then immediately flashes its Grand Guignol street cred and wicked sense of humor. It takes hold of you and never lets go.
So, thanks, Stuart Gordon, for all the memories.
October 2015 marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Re-Animator. To mark the anniversary, Madison Film Guy has published—for the first time—that 1999 conversation with Stuart Gordon. Read “Death is the Monster: A Conversation with Stuart Gordon” now at Madison Film Guy.
August 11, 2015 February 23, 2018 / chrismicklos / Leave a comment
“I’m…hungry.”
When you or I mutter those words, it might foreshadow an assault on the refrigerator or a quick trip to a favorite gastropub.
But when Boris Karloff utters those words, with his trademark eye twinkle and lip curl, you’d better get yourself and your loved ones inside and lock all the doors and windows.
Such is the lesson of Black Sabbath.
The anthology format has long been a staple of the horror film: bite-size stories strung together either by common source author (1962’s Tales of Terror or 1963’s Twice Told Tales), common creative hook (1983’s Twilight Zone: The Movie or 2012’s V/H/S), some sort of common thread that binds the stories together (1988’s Waxworks or 2007’s Trick ‘r Treat), or some other hook.
1963’s Black Sabbath is neither the first nor the best of that tradition, but in uniting Italian master Mario Bava with horror icon Karloff, the film carves out its own delightful niche in horror history.
In addition to starring in one of the three tales of the film, Karloff “hosts” Black Sabbath in a series of cheesy (some might say unfortunate) introductions that offer a few chuckles but function exclusively to get us from one story to the next.
The first story, called “The Drop of Water”, is set in London and follows the misadventures of an outcall nurse who gets summoned in the middle of the night to prepare the corpse of a witch who died in her mansion home overnight. When the nurse makes the fatal decision to steal the witch’s ring off her hand while she dresses the body, it sets in motion a nightmarish evening of otherworldly revenge. “The Drop of Water” is classic Bava, with gothic atmosphere; sudden, startling images; and a slow march toward inevitable revenge. The first glimpse we see of the dead witch in her bed—crazy eyes wide open, lips curled back in a menacing smile—does send chills up and down the spine, and “The Drop of Water” ends up to be a largely satisfying first chapter of the film.
“The Telephone”, the second of the three tales, involves a French call-girl who returns home from “work” one evening and begins to receive a series of threatening telephone calls that escalate in their intensity over the course of the night. The sexuality of “The Telephone” is pervasive, not only in the long, lingering shots of lead Michele Mercier’s perfect body and her suggestively sensual interactions with the woman she calls for help, but also in the violently sexual overtones of the threats she suffers. In “The Telephone”, suspense and teasing are two side of the same coin, as are fear and titillation, desire and hatred, and sex and violence. And it is all practically incomprehensible. The original Italian version of the film planted this story firmly in the real world; but in adapting this sequence for American release, changes were made to add supernatural elements to the story. Those changes completely muddle the tale and ultimately undermine the segment, making it by far the weakest of the three.
The coup de grace, however, is the third segment, “The Wurdalak”, featuring Karloff as Gorca, an elderly Russian vampire-like creature who must feast on the blood of those he loves in order to survive. Bold and atmospheric, “The Wurdalak” feels like the perfect mesh of classic Italian horror and the sensibilities of American International Pictures (AIP), the famous low-budget American studio that distributed Black Sabbath in the United States. A feast of classic horror tropes, “The Wurdalak” offers up vampires stalking the rubble of ruined castles, a baleful child demon, savagery and seduction, and Karloff. Oh Karloff! The horror icon rumbles through “The Wurdalak” like a force of nature, menacing and tragic at the same time, playful but intense, a vintage performance from a master of horror.
Ultimately, Black Sabbath is a bit too uneven to qualify as a total triumph, but the first and last segments offer enough simple pleasures and jolts and scares to satisfy any classic horror lover’s appetite.
Like Karloff’s Gorca, you may start the proceedings with a gnawing hunger that you can’t quite understand, but by the end of Black Sabbath you will have found yourself well-fed and gratified.
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The Towering Inferno – About
Theatrical release poster
John Guillermin
Stirling Silliphant
by Richard Martin Stern
The Glass Inferno
by Thomas N. Scortia
Frank M. Robinson
Susan Blakely
Richard Chamberlain
Robert Vaughn
Fred J. Koenekamp
Joseph Biroc
Carl Kress
Harold F. Kress
Irwin Allen Productions
United Films
(United States)
The Towering Inferno is a 1974 American drama disaster film produced by Irwin Allen featuring an all-star cast led by Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. The picture was directed by John Guillermin. A co-production between 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros., it was the first film to be a joint venture by two major Hollywood studios. It was adapted by Stirling Silliphant from a pair of novels, The Tower by Richard Martin Stern and The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson.
The film was a critical success, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and was the highest-grossing movie released in 1974. The picture was nominated for eight Oscars in all, winning three. In addition to McQueen and Newman, the cast includes William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, O. J. Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Susan Flannery, Gregory Sierra, Dabney Coleman and, in her final film, Jennifer Jones.
Architect Doug Roberts returns to San Francisco for the dedication of the Glass Tower, which he designed for contractor James Duncan. The Tower, 1,688 feet tall and 138 stories, is the world’s tallest building. During pre-dedication testing, an electrical short starts an undetected fire on the 81st floor. Roberts suspects that Roger Simmons, the electrical subcontractor and also Duncan’s son-in-law, cut corners. Roberts confronts Simmons, who reveals nothing.
During the dedication ceremony, chief of Public Relations Dan Bigelow turns on all the tower’s lights, but Roberts orders them shut off to reduce the load on the electrical system. Smoke is seen on the 81st floor, and the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) is summoned. Roberts and engineer Will Giddings go to the 81st floor, where Giddings is fatally burned pushing a guard away from the fire. Roberts reports the fire to Duncan, who refuses to order an evacuation.
SFFD Chief Michael O’Halloran arrives and forces Duncan to evacuate the guests from the Promenade Room on the 135th floor. Simmons admits to Duncan that he cut corners, but suggests that other subcontractors must have also cut corners to bring the project under budget. Lisolette Mueller, a guest being wooed by con man Harlee Claiborne, rushes to the 87th floor to check on a deaf mother. Security Chief Jernigan rescues the mother, but fire forces her children – along with Roberts and Lisolette – up to the Promenade Room. Bigelow and his mistress Lorrie are killed when fire traps them in the Duncan Enterprises offices on the 65th floor.
Fire overtakes the express elevators, killing a group whose elevator stops on the engulfed 81st floor. Though the scenic elevator is still working, the stairways from the Promenade Room are blocked – one by fire, the other by mishandled cement. Just as the firemen begin to bring the fire under control, the electrical system fails, deactivating the passenger elevators; O’Halloran must rappel down the elevator shaft to safety.
An attempt at a helicopter rescue fails when panicky partygoers rush the helipad, causing the helicopter to veer off, crash, and set the roof ablaze. Naval rescue teams attach a breeches buoy to an adjacent skyscraper and rescue a number of guests, including Patty Simmons, Duncan’s daughter. Roberts rigs a gravity brake on the scenic elevator, allowing one trip down for twelve people, including Lisolette and the children. An explosion near the 110th floor throws Lisolette from the elevator and leaves the elevator hanging by a single cable, but O’Halloran rescues the elevator with a Navy helicopter.
As fire reaches the Promenade Room, a group of men led by Simmons attempts to commandeer the breeches buoy, which is subsequently destroyed in an explosion, killing Simmons. In a last-ditch strategy, O’Halloran and Roberts blow up water tanks atop the Tower with plastic explosives. Most of the partygoers survive as water rushes through the ruined building, extinguishing the flames.
Jernigan gives Claiborne, who is heartbroken at Lisolette’s death, her cat. Duncan, consoling his grieving daughter, promises that such a tragic debacle will never happen again. Roberts accepts O’Halloran’s offer of guidance on how to build a fire-safe skyscraper. O’Halloran drives away, exhausted.
Paul Newman as Doug Roberts, the architect
Steve McQueen as Michael O’Halloran, SFFD 5th Battalion Chief
William Holden as James Duncan, the builder
Faye Dunaway as Susan Franklin, Doug Roberts’ fiancée
Fred Astaire as Harlee Claiborne, the con-man who flirts with Mrs. Mueller
Susan Blakely as Patty Duncan Simmons, James Duncan’s daughter
Richard Chamberlain as Roger Simmons, the electrical engineer and Duncan’s son-in-law
Jennifer Jones as Lisolette Mueller
O. J. Simpson as Harry Jernigan, the chief security officer
Robert Vaughn as U.S. Senator Gary Parker
Robert Wagner as Dan Bigelow, the public relations officer
Susan Flannery as Lorrie
Sheila Matthews Allen as Paula Ramsay
Norman Burton as Will Giddings, electrical engineer
Jack Collins as Mayor Robert “Bob” Ramsay
Don Gordon as Kappy, SFFD Truck Co. 12 fire captain
Felton Perry as Scott, SFFD Engine Co. 4 fireman
Gregory Sierra as Carlos, the bartender
Ernie Orsatti as Mark Powers, SFFD Engine Co. 4 fireman
Dabney Coleman as SFFD deputy chief 1
Elizabeth Rogers as lady in buoy
Ann Leicester as guest
Norm Grabowski as Flaker, Navy Air Rescue chief
Ross Elliott as SFFD deputy chief 2
Olan Soule as Johnson
Carlena Gower as Angela Allbright
Mike Lookinland as Phillip Allbright
Carol McEvoy as Mrs. Allbright
Scott Newman as young fireman
Paul Comi as Tim
George Wallace as chief officer
Patrick Culliton as technician
William Bassett as leasing agent
John Crawford as Callahan
Erik Nelson as Wes
Art Balinger as announcer
Lcdr. Norman Hicks as pilot
Ltjg. Thomas Karnahan as co-pilot
Maureen McGovern a singer at party (uncredited)
William Traylor as Bill Harton, security guard (uncredited)
Warner Brothers outbid Fox to obtain the rights to Stern’s The Tower for $400,000. Fox, in turn, spent $300,000 to obtain the rights to Scortia’s The Glass Inferno. Irwin Allen realized that two films about a tall building on fire would cannibalize each other (as actually happened a couple decades later in the case of the two films about active volcanoes, released nearly simultaneously, Volcano (released by Fox) and Dante’s Peak(released by Universal)), convinced executives at both studios to join forces to make a single film on the subject. The studios issued a joint press release announcing the single film collaboration in October, 1973.
The total cost for the film was US$14,300,000. The two studios agreed to split the box office revenues, Fox getting all U.S. receipts while Warner Brothers getting all foreign revenues.
Several actors who appeared in small roles, including John Crawford, Erik Nelson, Elizabeth Rogers, Ernie Orsatti, and Sheila Matthews, had previously appeared in The Poseidon Adventure, which Irwin Allen also produced. (Allen and Matthews were husband and wife.) Paul Newman’s son Scott played the acrophobic fireman afraid to rappel down the elevator shaft.
McQueen and Newman
McQueen, Newman, and William Holden all wanted top billing. Holden was refused, his long-term standing as a box office draw having been eclipsed by both McQueen and Newman. To provide dual top billing, the credits were arranged diagonally, with McQueen lower left and Newman upper right. Thus, each appeared to have “first” billing depending on whether the credit was read left-to-right or top-to-bottom. This was the first time this “staggered but equal” billing was used in a movie although it had been considered earlier for the same two actors regarding Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid until McQueen turned the Sundance Kid role down. McQueen is mentioned first in the film’s trailers. In the cast list rolling from top to bottom at the film’s end, however, McQueen and Newman’s names were arranged diagonally as at the beginning; as a consequence, Newman’s name is fully visible first there.
McQueen and Newman were promised the same pay and number of lines, which meant that one had to shoot additional scenes to equalize the dialog.
Although famed for his dancing and singing in musical movies, Fred Astaire received his only Oscar nomination for this film. He also won both a BAFTA Award and Golden Globe Award for his performance.
The score was composed and conducted by John Williams, orchestrated by Herbert W. Spencer and Al Woodbury, and recorded at the 20th Century Fox scoring stage on October 31 and November 4, 7 and 11, 1974. The original recording engineer was Ted Keep.
Source music in portions of the film includes instrumental versions of “Again” by Lionel Newman and Dorcas Cochran, “You Make Me Feel So Young” by Josef Myrow and Mack Gordon, and “The More I See You” by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon.
A snippet of a cue from Williams’ score to Cinderella Liberty titled ‘Maggie Shoots Pool’ is heard in a scene when William Holden’s character converses on the phone with Paul Newman’s character. It is not the recording on the soundtrack album but a newer arrangement recorded for The Towering Inferno. An extended version is heard, ostensibly as source music in a deleted theatrical scene sometimes shown as part of a longer scene from the TV broadcast version.
One of the most sought-after unreleased music cues from the film is the one where Williams provides low-key lounge music during a party prior to the announcement of a fire. O’Halloran orders Duncan to evacuate the party; the music becomes louder as Lisolette and Harlee are seen dancing and Duncan lectures son-in-law Roger. Titled “The Promenade Room” on the conductor’s cue sheet, the track features a ragged ending as Duncan asks the house band to stop playing. Because of this, Film Score Monthly could not add this cue to the expanded soundtrack album.
The Academy Award-winning song “We May Never Love Like This Again” was composed by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn and performed by Maureen McGovern, who appears in a cameo as a lounge singer and on the score’s soundtrack album, which features the film recording plus the commercially released single version. Additionally, the theme tune is interpolated into the film’s underscore by Williams. The song’s writers collaborated on “The Morning After” from The Poseidon Adventure, an Oscar-winning song which was also recorded by McGovern, although hers was not the vocal used in that film.
The first release of portions of the score from The Towering Inferno was on Warner Bros. Records early in 1975 (Catalog No. BS-2840)
“Main Title” (5:00)
“An Architect’s Dream” (3:28)
“Lisolette And Harlee” (2:34)
“Something For Susan” (2:42)
“Trapped Lovers” (4:28)
“We May Never Love Like This Again” – Kasha/Hirschhorn, performed by Maureen McGovern (2:11)
“Susan And Doug” (2:30)
“The Helicopter Explosion” (2:50)
“Planting The Charges – And Finale” (10:17)
A near-complete release came on the Film Score Monthly label (FSM) on April 1, 2001 and was produced by Lukas Kendall and Nick Redman. FSM’s was an almost completely expanded version remixed from album masters at Warner Bros. archives and the multi-track 35mm magnetic film stems at 20th Century Fox. Placed into chronological order and restoring action cues, it became one of the company’s biggest sellers; only 4000 copies were pressed and it is now out of print.
Reports that this soundtrack and that of the film Earthquake (also composed by Williams) borrowed cues from each other are inaccurate. The version of “Main Title” on the FSM disc is the film version. It differs from the original soundtrack album version. There is a different balance of instruments in two spots, and in particular the snare drum is more prominent than the album version which also features additional cymbal work. Although the album was not a re-recording, the original LP tracks were recorded during the same sessions and several cues were combined. The film version sound was reportedly better than the quarter-inch WB two-track album master. Although some minor incidental cues were lost, some sonically ‘damaged’ cues – so called due to a deterioration of the surviving audio elements – are placed at the end of the disc’s program time following the track “An Architect’s Dream” which is used over the end credits sequence.
“The Flame Ignites” (1:01)
“More For Susan” (1:55)
“Harlee Dressing” (1:37)
“Let There Be Light” (:37)
“Alone At Last” (:51)
“We May Never Love Like This Again (Film Version)” – Maureen McGovern (2:04)
“The First Victims” (3:24)
“Not A Cigarette” (1:18)
“Doug’s Fall/Piggy Back Ride” (2:18)
“Lisolette’s Descent” (3:07)
“Down The Pipes/The Door Opens” (2:59)
“Couples” (3:38)
“Short Goodbyes” (2:26)
“Helicopter Rescue” (3:07)
“Passing The Word” (1:12)
“Planting The Charges” (9:04)
“Finale” (3:57)
“We May Never Love Like This Again (Album Version)” – Maureen McGovern (2:13)
“The Morning After (Instrumental)” (2:07)
“Susan And Doug (Album Track)” (2:33)
“Departmental Pride and The Cat (Damaged)” (2:34)
“Helicopter Explosion (Damaged)” (2:34)
“Waking Up (Damaged)” (2:39)
The Towering Inferno was released in theatres on December 14, 1974.
The film was initially released on DVD by 20th Century Fox on April 15, 2003, with a special edition released on May 9, 2006.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the film as “the best of the mid-1970s wave of disaster films“. Variety praised the film as “one of the greatest disaster pictures made, a personal and professional triumph for producer Irwin Allen. The $14 million cost has yielded a truly magnificent production which complements but does not at all overwhelm a thoughtful personal drama.” Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that the film is “overwrought and silly in its personal drama, but the visual spectacle is first rate. You may not come out of the theater with any important ideas about American architecture or enterprise, but you will have had a vivid, completely safe nightmare.” Pauline Kael, writing for The New Yorker, panned the writing and characters as retreads from The Poseidon Adventure, and further wrote “What was left out this time was the hokey fun. When a picture has any kind of entertainment in it, viewers don’t much care about credibility, but when it isn’t entertaining we do. And when a turkey bores us and insults our intelligence for close to three hours, it shouldn’t preen itself on its own morality.”
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 28 reviews with an average rating of 6.6/10.
The film was one of the biggest grossing films of 1975 with domestic rentals of $48,838,000. In January 1976, it was claimed that the film had attained the highest foreign film rental for any film in its initial release with $43 million. When combined with the rentals from the United States and Canada, the worldwide rental is $91,838,000.
The film grossed $116 million, and when combined with the foreign film rentals, the worldwide gross is in the region of $200 million.
Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Fred Astaire Nominated
Best Art Direction William J. Creber Nominated
Ward Preston Nominated
Raphaël Bretton Nominated
Best Original Song (“We May Never Love Like This Again“) Al Kasha Won
Joel Hirschhorn Won
Best Original Score John Williams Nominated
Best Film Editing Carl Kress Won
Harold F. Kress Won
Best Sound Theodore Soderberg Nominated
Herman Lewis Nominated
Best Cinematography Fred J. Koenekamp & Joseph Biroc Won
Best Picture Irwin Allen Nominated
ACE Eddie Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic Carl Kress
Harold F. Kress Nominated
Best Music John Williams Won
Best Production Design William J. Creber Nominated
Best Cinematography Fred J. Koenekamp Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Fred Astaire Won
Golden Globe Award Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Won
Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Jennifer Jones Nominated
New Star of the Year – Actress Susan Flannery Won
Best Screenplay Stirling Silliphant Nominated
Best Original Song (“We May Never Love Like This Again“) Al Kasha Nominated
Joel Hirschhorn Nominated
List of American films of 1974
Skyscrapers in film
List of firefighting films
“Disco Inferno“, a song inspired by a scene in the film in which a discothèque catches fire
^ Jump up to:a b “The Towering Inferno”. The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
^ Jump up to:a b Advertisement in The Hollywood Reporter. January 27, 1976
^ Jump up to:a b c d “The Towering Inferno”. Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved November 23,2016.
Jump up^ Schleier 2009, p. 273.
Jump up^ Mell 2005, p. 244.
Jump up^ Itzkoff 2014, p. 82.
Jump up^ Zimmerman, Dwight (2015). Steve McQueen: Full-Throttle Cool. Osceola, Wisconsin: Motorbooks International Publishers & Wholesalers. ISBN 978-0760347454.
Jump up^ Stern, Richard Martin (1973). The Tower. Philadelphia: David McKay Publications. ISBN 978-0679503637.
^ Jump up to:a b c Green 2011, p. 190.
^ Jump up to:a b Pollock 2013, p. 199.
^ Jump up to:a b c Santas et al. 2014, p. 522.
^ Jump up to:a b Seger 1992, p. 88.
Jump up^ Scortia, Thomas N.; Robinson, Frank M. (1974). The Glass Inferno(1st ed.). New York City: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0385051477.
Jump up^ The $300,000 figure for Glass Inferno is disputed by http://www.thetoweringinferno.info/prod.html (retrieved May 29, 2017) which quotes a figure of $410,000 from a press release.
Jump up^ http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/thetoweringinferno(Retrieved May 29, 2017)
Jump up^ http://www.empireonline.com/movies/towering-inferno/review/(Retrieved May 29, 2017).
Jump up^ “production”. http://www.thetoweringinferno.info.
Jump up^ “Art.com – Posters, Art Prints, Framed Art, and Wall Art Collection”. http://www.art.com.
Jump up^ Eldridge & Williams 2001, p. 13.
Jump up^ Additional notes by Geoff Brown – Melbourne, Australia.
Jump up^ The Towering Inferno. 20th Century Fox. New York City: 21st Century Fox. ASIN 6305280762.
Jump up^ Ebert, Roger (January 1, 1974). “The Towering Inferno”. RogerEbert.com. Chicago: Ebert Digit LLC. Retrieved November 23,2016.
Jump up^ Variety Staff (December 18, 1974). “Review: ‘The Towering Inferno‘“. Variety. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
Jump up^ Canby, Vincent (December 20, 1974). “‘The Towering Inferno’ First‐Rate Visual Spectacle”. The New York Times. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
Jump up^ Kael, Pauline (December 30, 1974). “A Magentic Blur”. The New Yorker. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
Jump up^ “The Towering Inferno (1974)”. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
Jump up^ “All-Time Top Film Rentals”. Variety. October 7, 1999. Archived from the original on October 7, 1999.
Jump up^ “The Towering Inferno”. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z “The 47th Academy Awards (1975) Nominees and Winners”. Academy Awards. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Retrieved November 23,2016.
^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l m “The Official Academy Awards® Database”. Academy Awards. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences(AMPAS). Retrieved November 23, 2016.
^ Jump up to:a b Franks 2004, p. 242.
Jump up^ “John Williams’ BAFTA wins and nominations”. British Academy Film Awards. (BAFTA)Piccadilly: British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
^ Jump up to:a b c “BAFTA 1976: British Academy Film Awards (Movies from 1975)”. FilmAffinity. Madrid. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
Jump up^ Derry 2009, p. 378.
Jump up^ Levinson 2009, pp. 371–372.
^ Jump up to:a b c d e f “Golden Globe Winners for the year 1974 held in 1975”. Golden Globe Award. United States: Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). Retrieved November 24, 2016.
Jump up^ “DeepSoul: The Trammps – “Disco Inferno““. DeepSoul.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved June 3,2012.
Solomon, Aubrey (1988). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 257. ISBN 978-0810842441.
Schleier, Merrill (2009). Skyscraper Cinema: Architecture and Gender in American Film. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. 273. ISBN 978-0816642823.
Mell, Eila (2005). Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film-by-Film Directory of Actors Considered For Roles Given To Others. New York City: McFarland & Company. p. 244. ISBN 978-0786420179.
Itzkoff, Dave (2014). Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies. New York City: Times Books. p. 82. ISBN 978-0805095692.
Eldridge, Jeff; Williams, John (2001). “The Towering Inferno”. Film Score Monthly (CD insert notes). Culver City, California, U.S.A. 4 (3): 13.
Santas, Constantine; Wilson, James M.; Colavito, Maria; Baker, Djoymi (2014). The Encyclopedia of Epic Films. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 522. ISBN 978-0810882478.
Franks, Don (2004). Entertainment Awards: A Music, Cinema, Theatre and Broadcasting Guide, 1928 Through 2003 (3rd ed.). New York City: McFarland & Company. p. 242. ISBN 978-0786417988.
Seger, Linda (1992). The Art of Adaptation: Turning Fact And Fiction Into Film (1st ed.). New York City: Henry Holt and Company. p. 88. ISBN 978-0805016260.
Derry, Charles (2009). Dark Dreams 2.0: A Psychological History of the Modern Horror Film from the 1950s to the 21st Century. New York City: McFarland & Company. p. 378. ISBN 978-0786433971.
Levinson, Peter (2009). Puttin’ On the Ritz: Fred Astaire and the Fine Art of Panache, A Biography. New York City: St. Martin’s Press. pp. 371–372. ISBN 0312353669.
Green, Paul (2011). Jennifer Jones: The Life and Films. New York City: McFarland & Company. p. 190. ISBN 978-0786460410.
Pollock, Christopher (2013). Reel San Francisco Stories: An Annotated Filmography of the Bay Area. United States: Castor-Pollux Publications. p. 199. ISBN 978-0578130422.
The Towering Inferno on IMDb
The Towering Inferno at AllMovie
The Towering Inferno website
DVD Review: The Towering Inferno (Special Edition) at The-Trades.com
Irwin Allen News Network (The Irwin Allen News Network’s Towering Inferno page)
Various releases of music from the film, on LP and CD
Towering Inferno Memorabilia Archive (photos, storyboards, tower/set blueprints, and more)
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2007 HBCU Homecoming Dates!
Here is the list of Historically Black College Homecoming Schedules!
2007-2008 HBCU Homecoming Dates
HOME TEAM —- DATE
Alabama A&M University —- 09/29/2007
Alabama State University —- 11/22/2007
Albany State University —- 10/27/2007
Alcorn State University —- 10/06/2007
Arkansas-Pine Bluff —- 11/03/2007
Benedict College —- 10/20/2007
Bethune Cookman College —- 09/29/2007
Bowie State University —- 10/27/2007
Central State University —- 10/13/2007
Cheyney University —- 09/29/2007
Claflin University —- 09/22/2007
Clark Atlanta University —- 10/06/2007
Delaware State University — 10/20/2007
Edward Waters College —- 10/20/2007
Elizabeth City State University —- 10/20/2007
Fayetteville State University —- 10/20/2007
Fisk University —- 09/22/2029
Florida A&M University —- 11/03/2007
Fort Valley State University —- 10/13/2007
Grambling State University —- 10/27/2007
Hampton University —- 10/20/2007
Howard University —- 10/20/2007
Huston-Tillotson University —- 09/22/2007
Jackson State University —- 10/27/2007
Johnson C. Smith University —- 10/27/2007
Kentucky State University —- 10/20/2007
Lane College —- 10/20/2007
Langston University —- 10/06/2007
Lemoyne-Owen College —- 09/22/2007
Livingstone College —- 09/29/2007
Miles College —- 10/13/2007
Mississippi Valley State University —- 10/20/2007
Morehouse College —- 10/20/2007
Morgan State University —- 10/13/2007
Morris Brown College —- 10/20/2007
Norfolk State University —- 10/27/2007
North Carolina A&T State University —- 10/27/2007
North Carolina Central University —- 10/13/2007
Prairie View A&M University —- 10/27/2007
Saint Augustines College —- 10/20/2007
Saint Pauls College —- 10/06/2007
Savannah State University —- 10/27/2007
Shaw University —- 10/13/2007
South Carolina State University —- 10/27/2007
Southern University and A&M College —- 10/06/2007
Stillman College —- 11/10/2007
Talladega College —- 09/22/2007
Tennessee State University —- 11/03/2007
Texas College —- 10/27/2007
Texas Southern University —- 10/13/2007
Tuskegee University —- 11/03/2007
Virginia State University —- 10/27/2007
Virginia Union University —- 09/29/2007
West Virginia State College —- 10/13/2007
Winston-Salem State University —- 11/03/2007
Filed under: 2007-2008 HBCU Homecoming Dates, Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University, Albany State University, Alcorn State University, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Benedict College, Bethune Cookman College, Black College Homecoming Dates, Black College Homecomings, Bowie State University, Central State University, Cheyney University, Claflin University, Clark Atlanta University, Delaware State University, Edward Waters College, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, Fisk University, Florida A&M University, Fort Valley State University, Grambling State University, Hampton University, HBCU, Historically Black College, Historically Black College Homecoming Schedules, Historically Black Colleges, Homecoming Schedules, Howard University, Huston-Tillotson University, Jackson State University, Johnson C. Smith University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, Langston University, Lemoyne-Owen College, Livingstone College, Miles College, Mississippi Valley State University, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, Morris Brown College, Norfolk State University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University, Prairie View A&M University, Saint Augustines College, Saint Pauls College, Savannah State University, Shaw University, South Carolina State University, Southern University and A&M College, Stillman College, Talladega College, Tennessee State University, Texas College, Texas Southern University, Tuskegee University, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, West Virginia State College, Winston-Salem State University | 3 Comments »
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Statue Honoring Air Force Veteran’s Dog Stolen From Gravesite
Filed Under:Air Force, Allan, Angela Davis, Local TV, Rory Gavic, St. Francis Catholic Church Xavier Cemetery, Wright County Sheriff's Office
BUFFALO, Minn. (WCCO) — Deputies in the Wright County Sheriff’s Office are investigating a theft at a cemetery.
It’s a crime that has left a family stunned and heartbroken. It happened at the grave site of Rory Gavic in Buffalo. He served in the Air Force with a specially-trained German Shepherd by his side.
When Rory died in 2009, his mother had a statue of the dog made and placed it next to his headstone at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church cemetery.
(credit: CBS)
But that statue just went missing. Dave Larsen is Rory’s cousin.
“When he was far away we knew he still had family with him, and that was Allan. We wanted them to be together, side by side forever,” Larsen said.
Rory Gavic and his dog, Allan, were deployed three times, risking their lives to find explosives in Iraq and Pakistan.
“Rory and Allan would go in and find these dangerous devices designed to hurt and kill people, and they would stop it, they would keep it from happening,” Larsen said.
In 2009, Rory killed himself after struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. His mother, Linda, then had a statue of his companion and protector Allan made and placed here.
“It meant the world to her to put that out here,” Larsen said.
Four years later, Linda also died by suicide.
“To stand on my aunt’s grave while stealing that statue, it just, it hurts. She had it made for him. That can’t ever be redone. We can get him another statue, but it’s not, it’s not the same,” he said.
The family believes the statue was taken sometime between Sept. 25 and Oct. 7.
“We just want it back. I couldn’t help him when he was alive. I just want to help him now. This one small thing. If could just get this back for him,” Larsen said.
Friends of the family created a GoFundMe account to raise money to replace the statue, in case it can’t be found. They say any additional money will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project to support veterans with PTSD.
If you or someone you know are struggling with thoughts of suicide please know help is always available. You can text the numbers 741741 for free 24 hours a day in the U.S.
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Massachusetts Stimulus Website
What It Tells Us & How It Could Tell Us More
Release date: Tuesday, December 22, 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was both a response to an economic emergency and an effort to launch a new set of policies to build a stronger foundation for long-term economic growth. It was signed into law 28 days after the new President took office. In the following months, the federal and state governments have been required to develop systems to distribute – and to track – hundreds of billions of dollars targeted at rebuilding our infrastructure, maintaining and improving the quality of education in our public schools, helping states to avoid budget cuts that would harm residents and the economy, supporting conservation and weatherization, investing in healthcare technology, and funding a variety of strategies to put people to work.
To better insure the ARRA investments meet these critical goals, the law called for a comprehensive level of data collection and transparency, significantly exceeding the current level of budget and contracting disclosure for most states, including Massachusetts. Comprehensive transparency allows us all—the public, government officials, administrators, businesses contractors, and residents—to ensure ARRA projects and investments are distributed and used fairly and efficiently. Because the law also sought to distribute funds quickly, building these tracking systems while implementing the law and distributing the funds poses daunting challenges.
This brief examines how Massachusetts has used its recovery website to provide information about ARRA spending – and describes additional strategies that could improve transparency.
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Selena Gomez – ‘Hands To Myself’
Posted by Michael Cragg on June 24, 2016 June 13, 2016
Song: ‘Hands To Myself’
Artist: Selena Gomez
Writers: Justin Tranter, Julia Michaels, Robin Fredriksson, Mattias Larsson, Max Martin
Producers: Mattman & Robin, Max Martin
Quintessential Max moment: Elongating the word “self” in the chorus
Video synopsis: Stalker Selena imagines herself having sex with an actor in his house. Gets arrested.
According to Selena Gomez, and she’d know, ‘Hands To Myself’ – the best song on her highly above average ‘Revival’ album – initially started life via a cup. Having finished the album, Gomez and songwriter Julia Michaels decided to ask the label for a couple more days of writing time, buoyed by the success of the album’s first single ‘Good For You’. Deciding they wanted to move away from emotion and heart, Gomez wanted instead to explore what girls aren’t doing. That’s when Michaels started banging out a rhythm on the desk using a cup. You can hear that initial starting point in the production of the song, which opens with a pin-sharp percussive drum pattern and light, finger click beats. It sounds like fingers tapping on skin, which is paired with Gomez’s close, breathy vocal to create something quite rare in pop music – genuine sensuality.
Often when someone from Max’s Wolf Cousins collective – in this case the already-pretty-amazing-despite-only-just-starting-out Mattman & Robin – is working on a song that’s going quite well it goes through a specific process. Dame Carly of Rae and indeed Jepsen, aka Carly Rae Jepsen, once told me that what happens is you start a song with someone from the ‘team’, then every so often Max will check in to see what’s happening and listen to some stuff. If he thinks he can add something to it then he’ll ask to work on it for a bit, which then means the artist gets a phone call saying Max has the song. It’s at this point the artist then goes bat shit mental at the thought of Max sprinkling the song with his magic pop dust. (‘FYI’, this Jepsen chat happened around the time of ‘Emotion’ and yet no Max songs appear on said album, so maybe she’s saving them for its sequel which will likely flatten the world with its brilliance).
It’s what seems to have happened with ‘Hands To Myself’. I’ll let Selena tell the story (from this here interview with Time):
“How it happened was we were in the studio working with a few producers that have worked with Max [i.e. Mattman & Robin]. That’s how we created the skeleton of the track in the studio. When we had the hook, they were like, “Do you mind if we send this to Max Martin?” I had never worked with Max before and was like, “I don’t know, maybe!” I just didn’t know what it was going to be. He ended up FaceTiming immediately and was like, “This is the greatest thing I’ve heard all year. I have to be a part of it.” I’m like, “Yeah! Do what you’ve got to do! What do you suggest?” He came up with the very end where it goes se-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-elf and added that little hook. He also changed some of the pre-chorus. I think it is super fresh and different for him, too.”
She goes on to say that she was basically just a bit worried about Max coming in and changing the song completely.
“The whole record, I’ve became family with all of my producers and Justin and Julia. It had nothing to do with me being like, “Oh my goodness, I’m too good for Max.” It was like, “I don’t know, I don’t want him to change it!” He ended up making it, obviously, a smash. I don’t even think I was questioning his ability, I was more nervous to see what it was going to be like. Once we talked, he sent all these voice memos and now we have a relationship. It’s going to grow from there.”
And what a tune it is, honestly. Brilliant bits tumble over brilliant bits – from that little guitar line that comes in midway through the verse, to the sudden lift into the “all of the downs and the uppers” pre-chorus to the actual chorus which is probably the most minimal part of the song. Then just when you think it’s can’t get any better the “I want it all no nothing else” refrain joins in for the chorus near the end and the whole thing sky rockets again. AND THEN IT GETS BETTER STILL when the music drops away and Gomez coos, “I mean I could but why would I want to”. It’s too much.
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Obama Sides With Hugo Chavez And Fidel Castro – No Democracy For Honduras
Posted on June 29, 2009 by mcauleysworld
Have you seen this article ……….
Obama says Honduran ouster was ‘not legal’
By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer Ben Feller, Associated Press Writer – 20 mins ago
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Monday declared that the United States still considers Manuel Zelaya to be the president of Honduras and assailed the coup that forced him into exile as “not legal,” deepening the chasm between the Central American nation and …….. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090629/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_us_honduras
Want to know the “rest of the story”?
Why does Obama state the “Coup”, if it was a “Coup” wasn’t legal.
The term “Coup” has a specific legal meaning. It refers to “a sudden, decisive exercise of power whereby the existing government is subverted without the consent of the people”. When a Country’s legally and Democratically elected Government “removes” an individual, using the appropriate mechanisms outlined under it’s Constitution, it is not a “Coup”, but a legally authorized act of State.
What happend in Honduras was not a Coup, but a preservation of the Democracy outlined in the Honduran Constitution.
Honduras has a Constitution which was last updated and ratified in 1982. “President Zelaya was elected in 2006 to a four-year term. The 1982 constitution bans re-election.” http://beltwayblips.dailyradar.com/story/coup_in_honduras/ Presdient Manual Zelaya was attempting to subvert the the Honduran Constitution and stand for re-election, when that is prohibited under Honduran law. Procedures exist in Honduras for “changing” or “amending” the Constitution, however, President Zelaya was attempting to subvert that legal and Constitutional process in Honduras. Zelaya’s attempt to change the Honduran Constitution was declared “illegal” and “unconstitutional” by both the Honduran Supreme Court and the Honduran Congress. Two of the three branches of Honduras’ Democratically elected Government. Those Branches of Governemnt moved against President Zelaya and removed him from power, not the Military. The Military was simply the tool employed by the People’s Government to secure their freedom.
President Zelaya ordered the Military to illegally help him subvert the Honduran Constitution, the very Constitution that the Military is sworn to uphold. In Honduras, like in the United States, the Military and Polticians take an oath to “uphold” or “protect and defend” the Constitution, not an oath to support any particular party or politician. Not since the days of Adolph Hitler has a military sworn allegiance to a “leader” or “Furher” rather than to the Country they serve.
When President Zelaya ordered the Military to assist in his violation of the Honduran Constitution, the Miliitary, at the direction of the Congress and the Supreme Court, removed the President from office rather than follow the President’s illegal orders. http://beltwayblips.dailyradar.com/story/coup_in_honduras/
Two days before President Zelaya was “deposed”, Zelaya “fired” the Honduran Military Chief of Staff, General Romeo Vasquez. The dismissal came, not for failing to follow orders, but for failing to support President Zelaya’s unconstitutional attempt to extend his term in office. http://beltwayblips.dailyradar.com/story/coup_in_honduras/ The heads of the Honduran Army, Navy and Air Force then resigned rather than accept Zelaya’s illegal orders.
You might like to know who President Zelaya’s biggest supporters have been in the past …. Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan dictator who jails and kills opposition candidates in his Country, and Fidel Castro, the dictator of Cuba. What Chavez and Castro know about “fair elections” wouldn’t fill a thimble. Chavez and Castro head two of the most repressive governments in the world.
Reports from Honduras state, “ The country now has another president appointed by its Congress, Roberto Micheletti, who insisted that Zelaya was legally removed by the Courts and Congress for violating Honduras’ constitution and attempting to extend his own rule.” http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090629/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_us_honduras
The Zelaya ouster came hours before polls were to open on a constitutional referendum that Zelaya was pushing ahead even after the Supreme Court and the Attorney General said it was illegal. The constitution bars changes to some of its clauses, such as the ban on a president serving more than one term. http://www.startribune.com/world/49380887.html?elr=KArks:DCiUBcy7hUiacyKUnciaec8O7EyUr
Congress voted to accept what it said was Zelaya’s letter of resignation, with even Zelaya’s former allies turning against him. Congressional leader Roberto Micheletti was sworn in to serve until Jan. 27 when Zelaya’s term ends. Micheletti belongs to Zelaya’s Liberal Party, but opposed the president in the referendum. “My slogan will be the reconciliation of the grand family of Hondurans … and a grand national dialogue,” Micheletti said after Congress gave the military a long standing ovation. http://www.startribune.com/world/49380887.html?elr=KArks:DCiUBcy7hUiacyKUnciaec8O7EyUr
Funny that President Obama neglects to mention that the Honduran Supreme Court and the Honduran Attorney General “ruled” that the former President’s actions were unconstitutional and illegal. Nor did Obama mention the fact that the new President is the former President’s “Party Deputy” and was the top ranking member of the former President’s Party in Congress. ”Deposed” is not the proper term here, we should be referring to President Zelaya’s impeachment – because with the approval of the Honduran Congress and the Honduran Supreme Court, that is what happened, Zelaya was impeached not deposed.
What happened in Honduras was not a “military takeover”. The Honduarn Military is not now in charge. The Honduran Congress and Supreme Court used the Military to prevent a power grab by former President Zeleya. The Honduran Congress, following Honduran Law, has legally appointed a successor to fill the remainder of the former President’s term. The process that was followed is not all that different than the process that would be followed here in the United States. The Honduran Government, with the exception of Zeleya, remains intact. This was not a “Coup” as the Government did not replace itself, it simply removed an individual who insisted on following a course of unconstitutional and illegal conduct.
International Press reports of the previous week include the following information, “A resolution read on the floor of [Honduran] Congress accuses Zelaya of “manifest irregular conduct” and “putting in present danger the state of law,” for his refusal to obey a Supreme Court ruling against a constitutional referendum he wanted to hold. Zelaya, a close ally of the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, was seeking to remove the limits on presidential terms through a referendum, paving the way for his re-election. Later in the day Congress approved the removal of Zelaya, and cited constitutional articles that said the head of congress assumes the presidency in such cases. Honduran congressional leader, Roberto Micheletti, has been designated to replace the ousted president Jose Manuel Zelaya. http://www.presstv.ir/classic/detail.aspx?id=99290§ionid=351020706
Zelaya refused to step down. His removal was initiated by the Honduran Congress and the Honduran Supreme Court, not the Military.
This situation would be analogous to an American President attempting to serve a 3rd term over the objections of Congress, the Supreme Court and in direct violation of the American Constitution. I have to assume an American President attempting to do such a thing would be impeached and jailed, and that if necessary, the U.S. Military would be used by the Congress and the Supreme Court to “protect and defend” the Constitution.
Why this strange and undemocratic move by Obama. An outright attempt, , by an American President, to prop up an individual who was attempting to subvert his country’s Constitution and violate the very Honduran Election Law he was sworn to uphold.
Why is it that Obama is embracing Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, rather than the democratically elected Government of Honduras. The Honduran Government, in the persons of the Honduran Congress and the Honduran Supreme Court, who were democratically elected too … and those “equal branches of Government” were not attempting to subvert the Honduran Constitution, but were excersing the appropriate “separation of powers”, protecting the people of Honduras from Zelaya’s unlawful attempt to subvert the laws and extend his power.
The shocking thing to me is that Obama has sided with the dictators, Chavez and Castro, again. Chavez and Castro are both megalomanics, they have delusions of omnipotence. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/megalomania . That is why both Castro and Chavez have pursued “life terms” as Presidents of their respective dictatorships, the same thing that Zelaya was attempting to do in Honduras. Imagine someone really believing that there is no one else qualified to lead the people in their Country, no one else, but themselves. In the entire Country, no one. That is scary. No wonder the Honduran People impeached Zelaya. No wonder the number 2 man in his own Party replaced him with the support of the Honduran Congress.
But what about Obama? Why does he relate to these meglomaniacs who believe they are omnipotent? Why does he side with the “repressors” rather than those who stand for freedom.
The former Honduran President reminds me of his allies, Chavez and Castro …. the rules only apply to others. The Honduran Constitution only says what he wants it to say. There is no need for a “separation of powers” …. he wants all the power to himself. We have a very dangerous man in the White House if he agrees with Chavez and Castro rather than with the rule of law or the separation of powers that occurs when you have three ”equal branches” of Government.
If Obama can’t distinguish which of the parties in Honduras acted legally and who did not … he doesn’t deserve to hold his office. One man acting to subvert his Country’s Constitution against his Country’s Congress, Courts and Military, is not “in the right” and once removed from office, is no longer the “democratically elected President”.
What is next for Obama? Will he join Chavez in his threat of a military invasion of Honduras? Will he put our Military on alert? Why is Obama siding with Castro and Chavez against the people of Honduras? http://article.wn.com/view/2009/06/29/Chavez_threatens_to_invade_as_Honduran_army_stages_coup/
UPDATE : UPDATE : UPDATE
Contrary to the press reports, Honduras has not been “condemned” for its action, in fact those who have spoken out against Honduras are limited in number – Obama, Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and the Communist Leader of Nicaragua – Daniel Ortega.
America’s Eurpopean Allies have not spoken out against the Honduran Government – in fact the BBC reports the following:
Interim President Roberto Micheletti has imposed an overnight curfew in Honduras, hours after being sworn in.
The Congress speaker took office after troops ousted elected leader Manuel Zelaya and flew him to Costa Rica.
The removal of Mr Zelaya came amid a power struggle over his plans for constitutional change.
Mr Zelaya, who had been in office since 2006, wanted to hold a referendum that could have led to an extension of his non-renewable four-year term.
Polls for the referendum had been due to open early on Sunday – but troops instead took him from the presidential palace and flew him out of the country.
The ousting of Manuel Zelaya has been criticised by regional neighbours and the US.
Mr Micheletti told a news conference that a nationwide curfew was being imposed for Sunday and Monday, running from 2100 (0300 GMT) to 0600 (1200 GMT) on each night.
Days of tension
The swearing in of Roberto Micheletti – constitutionally second in line for the presidency – was greeted with applause in Congress.
In a speech, he said that he had not assumed power “under the ignominy of a coup d’etat”.
The army had complied with the constitution, he said, and he had reached the presidency “as the result of an absolutely legal transition process”.
Congress said he would serve until 27 January, when Mr Zelaya’s term was due to expire. Presidential elections are planned for 29 November and Mr Micheletti promised these would go ahead.
Both Congress and the courts had opposed Mr Zelaya’s referendum, which asked Hondurans to endorse a vote on unspecified constitutional changes alongside the November elections.
Tensions over the issue had been escalating for several days, with the army refusing to help with preparations for the referendum.
Just before dawn on Sunday, troops stormed the president’s residence. There was confusion over his whereabouts for several hours before he turned up in Costa Rica.
Congress said it had voted to remove him because of his “repeated violations of the constitution and the law and disregard of orders and judgments of the institutions of Government”.
Filed under: Politics | Tagged: Barrack Obama, Fidel Castro, Honduran General Romeo Vasquez, Honduran Government, Honduran President Roberto Micheletti, Honduras, Hugo Chavez, Manuel Zelaya, Roberto Micheletti | Leave a comment »
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Home / About Us / News and Events / Hospital Trust Scoops Gold At Awards
Hospital Trust Scoops Gold At Awards
The NHS trust that manages Crewe’s Leighton Hospital has been awarded a prestigious health and safety award for the second year running.
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MCHFT), which also runs Victoria Infirmary in Northwich and Elmhurst Intermediate Care Centre in Winsford, has achieved a gold award in the internationally-renowned RoSPA Health and Safety Awards.
The scheme is run by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and is the longest-running of its kind in the UK.
Held every year, the awards sees entries from organisations around the world and looks at their health and safety performance over a 12-month period.
Those that pass strict criteria, which include having a rigorous approach to occupational health as well as low or reducing rates of error, are then given an award. These include merit, bronze, silver and gold.
Julie Tunney, Director of Nursing and Quality at Mid Cheshire Hospitals, said: “This is the second year we have entered into the awards and the second time we have received the gold award.
“Not only is the award fantastic news for the Trust and its staff but to the local community. It shows that our organisation continues to have excellent health and safety management systems in place, and that we have low levels of accidents and work-related ill health.”
The National Board for Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH), the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and a number of industry experts were among the judging panel that recognised Mid Cheshire Hospitals’ strong health and safety performance.
Julie added: “More than 4,500 people work for Mid Cheshire Hospitals and help to make it a safe place to work. We’d therefore like to thank each and every one of them for contributing to this award.”
Julia Small, RoSPA’s Head of Qualifications, Awards and Events, said: “The RoSPA Awards are the most highly-respected in the health and safety arena, with almost 2,000 entrants every year, and allow organisations to prove excellence in the workplace, demonstrating a commitment to the wellbeing of not only employees but all those who interact with it.”
The award, which was presented during a ceremony in Birmingham over the Summer, is the latest in a string of achievements for Mid Cheshire Hospitals.
Last week [Wednesday 16 September] the independent regulator for health and social care in England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), published its latest report into the Trust following inspections of the organisation’s services and management.
The CQC gave the Trust a rating of ‘Good’, which means it is performing well and meeting expectations.
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Stephen Marley @ Big River Summer Concert Series, St Paul, MN
Big River Summer Concert Series | St Paul, www.mjgpro.com |
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The second son of Bob and Rita Marley, eight time Grammy winning musician and producer Stephen was born on April 20, 1972; he began his career as a precocious six-year old singing, dancing and playing percussion with his siblings in the group The Melody Makers whose first single “Children Playing in The Streets” was produced by their father in 1979 and released on Tuff Gong, the label founded by Bob in the late 60s. While still a teenager he assisted in the production of The Melody Makers’ albums including their three Best Reggae Album Grammy winners “Conscious Party” (Virgin Records, 1989) “One Bright Day” (Virgin Records, 1990) and “Fallen Is Babylon” (Elektra Entertainment, 1998).
In 1993 Ziggy and Stephen founded Ghetto Youths International as a means of controlling their own music and helping upcoming artists. Stephen’s earliest solo production efforts for Ghetto Youths International includes his late grandmother’s (Cedella Booker) album “My Altar”, followed in 1995 by the Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers single “Works To Do” and younger brother Damian’s “10,000 Chariots”. In 1996 Damian released his debut album “Mr. Marley”, on the Ghetto Youths imprint, on which Stephen played several instruments and wrote most of the songs, as well as producing the album.
The first project that brought Stephen’s production capabilities widespread attention was “Chant Down Babylon”, where he audaciously manipulated his father’s original vocal outtakes from the 1970s Island Records’ sessions, splicing them into duets with hip-hop and R&B artists, while updating the Wailers’ richly textured one-drop rhythms with an assortment of samples, loops and overdubs. “Chant Down Babylon” achieved its objective of bringing Bob’s music to a new generation of fans, earned a Grammy nomination, was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold more than one million copies worldwide.
Stephen’s hip-hop infused dancehall beats were far more fluid and complex on Damian’s 2001 album “Half Way Tree” (Ghetto Youths/Motown), demonstrating Stephen’s equal dexterity in creating rugged roots reggae rhythms, which supported the well-crafted, substantial lyrics and Damian’s vocal flow. “Half Way Tree” yielded several hits in Jamaica, and internationally, including “More Justice” and “It Was Written” (featuring Capleton) and won the 2002 Grammy for Best Reggae album.
Stephen produced and contributed vocals to Damian’s single “Welcome to Jamrock”, the biggest reggae song of 2005 and still very popular today. Released in September 2005, “Welcome To Jamrock” (Tuff Gong/Ghetto Youths/Universal Republic) entered the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart at No. 7, a record setting opening week for a reggae artist; it was certified Gold and won the 2006 Reggae Album Grammy while the single was honored for the Best Alternative Hip Hop performance, another first for a Jamaican artist.
The success of “Welcome to Jamrock” increased the anticipation surrounding the release of Stephen’s first solo effort- “Mind Control” –which won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 2007. In 2008, Marley released a refreshing version of the hit album with an acoustic version that gained the artist another Grammy for Best Reggae Album.
In 2011 Stephen released his third solo album- “The Revelation, Pt.1: The Root of Life” that reconfirmed Stephen’s expansive capabilities as an affecting vocalist, a versatile lyricist and an accomplished instrumentalist while furthering his renown as an ingenious producer.
Stephen continued to showcase his talent for navigating between genres by effortlessly blending reggae with soul, hip hop and electronic beats on his fourth solo album; “Revelation Part II: The Fruit of Life,” released in 2016. A robust reflection of his work, the album features songs with notable artists including; Rakim, Dead Prez, Wyclef Jean, Black Thought, Shaggy, Pitbull, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and more.
For the past two years, Stephen and his team worked on the development production and promotion of the annual Kaya Fest. Now in its third year, the Kaya Fest is a music and awareness festival intended to educate the public on the many benefits of Cannabis. In 2019 the festival will expand with showcases in both Florida and Southern California.
St Paul,55101-1638United States+ Google Map
www.mjgpro.com
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Not surprisingly, many integrated health services were delivered in health clinics and facilities. Many women faced barriers to health facility–based care for nutrition, such as distance, time, quality of care, stocking of supplies, and the capacity and nutrition knowledge of healthcare professionals (105, 119). These barriers need to be taken into consideration to enhance the coverage of integrated health care services. Universal health care mitigated cost barriers to seeking health care, but did not address all of the barriers noted here (105, 109, 114, 120–123).
Amongst non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working to end child marriage are Girls not Brides,[106] Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)[107] and Human Rights Watch (HRW).[108] Although not explicitly included in the original Millennium Development Goals, considerable pressure was applied to include ending child marriage in the successor Sustainable Development Goals adopted in September 2015,[105] where ending this practice by 2030 is a target of SDG 5 Gender Equality (see above).[109] While some progress is being made in reducing child marriage, particularly for girls under fifteen, the prospects are daunting.[110] The indicator for this will be the percentage of women aged 20–24 who were married or in a union before the age of eighteen. Efforts to end child marriage include legislation and ensuring enforcement together with empowering women and girls.[92][93][95][94] To raise awareness, the inaugural UN International Day of the Girl Child[a] in 2012 was dedicated to ending child marriage.[112]
Everyone seems to have food allergies these days, but in fact, such allergies are rare. According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, while one in three adults think they have a food allergy or modify their family's diet, only about four percent do. A food allergy is an abnormal immune-system response to certain foods (most commonly, fish, shellfish, peanuts, other nuts and eggs). Symptoms can include hives, rashes, nasal congestion, nausea, diarrhea and gas. However, symptoms of food intolerance—such as intestinal distress—may mimic those of a food allergy. You may want to talk to an allergist about diagnosis and treatment. Whether you have food allergies or intolerance, you will need to develop a diet that fits your needs and avoids foods that trigger a reaction.
The best training tool you're not using: a jump rope. “It may seem a little juvenile until you think of all the hot-bodied boxing pros who jump rope every single day,” says Landon LaRue, a CrossFit level-one trainer at Reebok CrossFit LAB in L.A. Not only is it inexpensive, portable, and easy to use almost anywhere, you’ll burn about 200 calories in 20 minutes and boost your cardiovascular health while toning, he adds.
Women's health has been described as "a patchwork quilt with gaps".[4] Although many of the issues around women's health relate to their reproductive health, including maternal and child health, genital health and breast health, and endocrine (hormonal) health, including menstruation, birth control and menopause, a broader understanding of women's health to include all aspects of the health of women has been urged, replacing "Women's Health" with "The Health of Women".[5] The WHO considers that an undue emphasis on reproductive health has been a major barrier to ensuring access to good quality health care for all women.[1] Conditions that affect both men and women, such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, also manifest differently in women.[6] Women's health issues also include medical situations in which women face problems not directly related to their biology, such as gender-differentiated access to medical treatment and other socioeconomic factors.[6] Women's health is of particular concern due to widespread discrimination against women in the world, leaving them disadvantaged.[1]
Globally, women's access to health care remains a challenge, both in developing and developed countries. In the United States, before the Affordable Health Care Act came into effect, 25% of women of child-bearing age lacked health insurance.[176] In the absence of adequate insurance, women are likely to avoid important steps to self care such as routine physical examination, screening and prevention testing, and prenatal care. The situation is aggravated by the fact that women living below the poverty line are at greater risk of unplanned pregnancy, unplanned delivery and elective abortion. Added to the financial burden in this group are poor educational achievement, lack of transportation, inflexible work schedules and difficulty obtaining child care, all of which function to create barriers to accessing health care. These problems are much worse in developing countries. Under 50% of childbirths in these countries are assisted by healthcare providers (e.g. midwives, nurses, doctors) which accounts for higher rates of maternal death, up to 1:1,000 live births. This is despite the WHO setting standards, such as a minimum of four antenatal visits.[177] A lack of healthcare providers, facilities, and resources such as formularies all contribute to high levels of morbidity amongst women from avoidable conditions such as obstetrical fistulae, sexually transmitted diseases and cervical cancer.[6]
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Trying to balance the demands of family and work or school—and coping with media pressure to look and eat a certain way—can make it difficult for any woman to maintain a healthy diet. But the right food can not only support your mood, boost your energy, and help you maintain a healthy weight, it can also be a huge support through the different stages in a woman’s life. Healthy food can help reduce PMS, boost fertility, make pregnancy and nursing easier, ease symptoms of menopause, and keep your bones strong. Whatever your age or situation, committing to a healthy, nutritious diet will help you look and feel your best and get the most out of life.
Complementing income-generating interventions with interventions that more directly target women's nutrition has potential to have greater impacts on women's nutritional status (171). Integrated interventions were associated with improvements in health knowledge and behaviors, as well as increased intake of nutrient-rich foods (5, 164, 169, 170, 172). In Bangladesh and Cambodia, the aforementioned EHFP program was associated with increased income, decision-making power in the household, food expenditure (including on oils, salts, spices, fish, rice, and meat), and consumption of fruits and vegetables from home gardens (160, 173). There was also limited, but mixed, evidence of income-generating interventions and behavior change communication causing improvements in maternal anemia and BMI (164, 168, 170).
Infrastructure ↓ water point distance, ↑ time savings, ↑/NC women's hygiene, ↑/NC water quality, ↓/NC diarrheal morbidity, ↓ intestinal parasite prevalence, ↑ school attendance, NC wage employment ↓ water point distance, ↑ time savings, ↑/NC women's hygiene, ↑/NC water quality, ↓/NC diarrheal morbidity, ↓ intestinal parasite prevalence, NC wage employment, ↑ participation in income-generating activities ↓ maternal mortality, ↓ water point distance, ↑ time savings, ↑/NC women's hygiene, ↑/NC water quality, ↓/NC diarrheal morbidity, ↓ intestinal parasite prevalence, NC wage employment, ↑ participation in income-generating activities ↓ water point distance, ↑ time savings, ↑/NC women's hygiene, ↑/NC water quality, ↓/NC diarrheal morbidity, ↓ intestinal parasite prevalence, NC wage employment, ↑ participation in income-generating activities
By contrast, ovarian cancer, the leading cause of reproductive organ cancer deaths, and the fifth commonest cause of cancer deaths in women in the United States, lacks an effective screening programme, and is predominantly a disease of women in industrialised countries. Because it is largely asymptomatic in its earliest stages, more than 50% of women have stage III or higher cancer (spread beyond the ovaries) by the time they are diagnosed, with a consequent poor prognosis.[121][6]
Most traditional fitness plans happen in predictable patterns that usually involve moving in two planes of motion—up and down or forward and backward—ignoring the third plane of motion, lateral. “Move your body in all directions to create the most fit, functional, and athletic physique,” Stokes says. If you're a runner, cyclist, or walker, remember to include movements such as jumping jacks, side shuffles, side lunges, and carioca (the grapevine-like move) in your warm-up or cool-down, she suggests.
Adopting a plant-based diet could help tip the scales in your favor. A five-year study of 71,751 adults published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that vegetarians tend to be slimmer than meat-eaters even though both groups eat about the same number of calories daily. Researchers say it may be because carnivores consume more fatty acids and fewer weight-loss promoting nutrients, like fiber, than herbivores do. Go green to find out if it works for you.
Women's reproductive and sexual health has a distinct difference compared to men's health. Even in developed countries pregnancy and childbirth are associated with substantial risks to women with maternal mortality accounting for more than a quarter of a million deaths per year, with large gaps between the developing and developed countries. Comorbidity from other non reproductive disease such as cardiovascular disease contribute to both the mortality and morbidity of pregnancy, including preeclampsia. Sexually transmitted infections have serious consequences for women and infants, with mother-to-child transmission leading to outcomes such as stillbirths and neonatal deaths, and pelvic inflammatory disease leading to infertility. In addition infertility from many other causes, birth control, unplanned pregnancy, unconsensual sexual activity and the struggle for access to abortion create other burdens for women.
Much of the sugar we eat is added to other foods, such as regular soft drinks, fruit drinks, puddings, ice cream and baked goods, to name just a few. Soft drinks and other sugary beverages are the No. 1 offenders in American diets. A 12-ounce can of regular soda contains 8 teaspoons of sugar, exceeding the daily maximum amount recommended for women.
Sugar is a source of calories, not nutrients. Consuming too much sugar can lead to weight gain and tooth decay. Contrary to what many people think, there is no evidence linking high-sugar diets to hyperactivity or diabetes. However, high-fructose corn syrup, found in most processed foods, is linked with obesity, and obesity increases your risk for developing diabetes and other conditions.
There are many well-documented challenges in disentangling empowerment interventions from other interventions with which they are delivered. Empowerment interventions are often integrated into income-generating activities and agricultural extension, and many empowerment approaches are retroactively classified as “nutrition-sensitive” despite a lack of nutrition components in the original intervention designs (5). In addition, many studies are limited in scope and their evaluation of nutrition outcomes (159), and it is difficult to evaluate which dimensions of women's empowerment matter most for nutrition (162). Notably, indicators to quantify women's empowerment are also not used consistently and vary widely between individual studies (158).
Recent research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that ART babies are two to four times more likely to have certain kinds of birth defects. These may include heart and digestive system problems, and cleft (divided into two pieces) lips or palate. Researchers don't know why this happens. The birth defects may not be due to the technology. Other factors, like the age of the parents, may be involved. More research is needed. The risk is relatively low, but parents should consider this when making the decision to use ART.
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Ajax captain Petra Hogewoning retires
LTA Agency
Ajax captain Petra Hogewoning retires from professional football.
The 30-year-old Dutch international defender has competed for the AFC Ajax women’s team for the last four years in the Eredivisie and the BeNe League finishing 4th, 3rd on two occasions, and finally as a runner-up this season.
She has also won the historic 2013-2014 KNVB (Netherlands Royal Football Federation) Women’s Cup, the first ever trophy for Ajax’s women’s team. Prior to Ajax, Petra played for FCR Duisburg in the German Bundesliga, as well as for the WFC Zvezda-2005 in Russia where she won a bronze medal in the Russian Premier League and reached quarterfinals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Her international football career started in 2004 when she made her full national team debut in a match against Japan. She went on to have a very successful international career earning over 100 caps for the Netherlands with the highlights including advancing to the UEFA Women’s European Championship semi-finals in 2009 in Finland as well as the historic first FIFA Women’s World Cup participation in Canada last year.
LTA Agency wish Petra a happy retirement and success in all her future endeavors.
Manager of number of different super stars in the women's football world, such as Caroline Seger, Verónica Boquete, Natalia Pablos Sanchon and many others.
Andreea wins cup in Romania
Irene Paredes Signs with PSG
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Innovation Cell
Aayas
Yantrikaa
Illusion dance club
The photography club
With a necessity to establish a society for the young budding mechanical engineers in the institute, Yantrikaa was established in the year 2015. It is one of the three official departmental societies of the institute. The first batch of mechanical engineering (2014-2018) students, with an aim to develop the technical knowledge of the students in their core stream and also other curricular activities, established this society. The society is always striving hard to grow its roots longer and deeper so that it can be firm in the later stages of its advancement. It always aims at the overall development of the students of Mechanical engineering department. The society conducts many activities like Technical Quiz, debate, workshops, games where all the students can participate and show their talents thereby developing their overall profile. Vision: The society works with a vision to focus on the development of the young budding mechanical engineers of the institute in both their technical knowledge and other necessary activities.
The society comprises all the faculty and the students of the Mechanical engineering department with some students acting as the office bearers. The key people are:
Head of Department, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty of the department
General secretary (Student)
Treasurer (student)
Joint Secretary (Student)
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As Slowly as Possible
Han Kang Reports from the BCLT Summer School
Posted on 22nd September 2015
In the summer of 2015, the acclaimed South Korean novelist Han Kang stayed in this Fine City as our latest UNESCO Writer in Residence, sponsored by the Arts Council of Korea.
She attended Worlds, gave readings in Norwich, London and Edinburgh, translated poetry, explored the Norfolk landscape, met her publishers at Granta and prepared the proofs of her next novel, Human Acts (due to be published in the UK in January in Deborah Smith’s translation).
Following the BCLT Summer School, a practical symposium was organised to explore some of the issues around translation. Taking place on the 3rd of October at the Free Word Centre, Translation in the Margins will investigate the radical edges of literary translation. (Find out more about the event.)
Here, Han Kang reflects on the experience of being a guest author at the BCLT Translation Summer School in July. With additional support from the Korean Literary Translation Institute, a number of novice literary translators participated in a week-long workshop with Deborah and Daniel Hahn, testing different approaches to translating Kang’s fiction in the presence of the author herself. Kang’s fascinating diary entries form the basis of her account of the process. The below piece was translated by Deborah Smith.
Slowly, as slowly as possible
This summer just past, I spent two months in the small, peaceful British city of Norwich, supported by the British Council and the Korean Arts Council, ARKO. As it happened to coincide with my residency, I also participated as a writer in the translation workshop held for a week every July at the University of East Anglia. That workshop was on a larger scale, and more intensive, than any other translation programme I had previously heard of or experienced. Translation sessions were organised by language, for Dutch, German, Norwegian, Italian, and even Korean, included this year for the first time. Workshops were also held under the name of ‘multi-language sessions’, translating literary works from a variety of languages into English, shared between poetry and prose classes.
On Sunday 26th July, the evening before the workshop commenced, the participants gathered in the campus bar for the opening event. It was scheduled to be led by Deborah Smith, who has translated my novels The Vegetarian and Human Acts, with help from the translator and author Daniel Hahn, who frequently dropped in on our sessions. After the writer and translators had shared brief introductory remarks, Daniel said with a smile, “My role in these sessions will be to obstruct the work of translation as much as I can, in order for it to progress slowly, as slowly as possible.” I nodded, because I liked the sound of those words ‘as slowly as possible’. I thought it was lucky that this was not to be a workshop where everything was done ‘as quickly as possible’. Of course, at that point I was unable to guess just how slowly our sessions were going to go.
Because the participants who were coming from Korea arrived late on the Sunday night, I was only able to meet everybody in our session first thing on the Monday. Sophie, Hyo-kyung, Victoria, and Celin, students from LTI Korea’s Translation Academy, and their professor Kim Chung-hee. Roxanne, who studies Korean literature at SOAS in London.
The text we were to translate that week was my short story “Europa”. At Deborah’s suggestion, I first briefly explained my motivation for writing the story, and what I had thought particularly important about it, and straight after that the translation began. After each member had translated the first sentenced, they took in it turns to present their translations. After Deborah had typed them up on the computer, she examined each individual word in minute detail – even down to the punctuation marks. She led the discussion tirelessly, neither agreeing completely with one person’s translation nor unilaterally dismissing another’s. In that first session, which took place from 11am to 1pm, I was shocked to see that we didn’t even manage to fully translate one sentence. “The important thing is the process,” Deborah said.
The afternoon session was held from 3.30pm to 5.30pm; Daniel came in, and was entirely satisfied with the slow speed of our progress. He had the students read the sentence that was being translated out loud, and after also having me read the Korean, stressed the desirability of the sense of rhythm given by the length of the sentences in the two languages being as similar as possible. Eventually, once three sentences had been completed, when we parted having arranged to meet again the next day, Deborah said that as we continued with the translation, the sentences we thought were ‘done’ could in fact be revised almost endlessly, to make sure they matched with the following passage.
‘This extremely delicate, elaborate process was giving me a very particular sense of deja vu.’
Instantly I realised that this extremely delicate, elaborate process was giving me a very particular sense of deja vu. All of this was what I myself did every day. Changing the position of a word, rearranging the order of sentences, cutting out unnecessary words, reading out loud, reading out loud again from the first sentence after writing the final sentence, cutting more words, taking out punctuation, putting it in, cutting again. Accepting dispassionately the fact that after writing the next day’s sentences, today’s might all have to be cut, forcing me to re-write everything from the beginning.
Various observers (people from the Writers’ Centre Norwich, the British Council, teachers and students from the creative writing MA course) came in and watched our sessions, cautiously giving their opinions if we happened to be struggling with certain words, certain expressions. Their input almost always made our debates all the richer, and there were times when it enabled us to suddenly get to the nub of the matter and make progress.
The interesting thing, was the fact that, in direct contrast to the translated sentences given by the participants on the Monday being generally rather similar, the more time went by the more varied the expressions which appeared became. Rather than automatically transposing the original Korean sentence structure, they began to concentrate on the ‘feeling’ of that sentence and inventively seek an English expression which could vividly convey that feeling. Deborah continually encouraged them in this by saying things like “Isn’t this sentence a bit plain?” “What might be an expression that isn’t flat?” “Ah, that’s too bland”, “This expression is awkward in English”.
The result was that on Tuesday we succeeded in translating five sentences and connecting them with the previous three. Before we turned in for the day, everyone read it out loud and exclaimed how happy they were with it. Because we were all well aware of how difficult it had been to find a point of contact and come up with sentences which satisfied us all. Following on from this, on the Wednesday we translated a section of dialogue. We put our heads together to reach an agreement as to how colloquial it should be, what were the idiomatic expressions that are written in English in similar situations. Wanting to test that it was sufficiently natural-sounding, the participants even acted the conversation out, and burst out laughing in doing so.
In the early hours of the morning, I had a dream. Someone was lying in a white bed, and I was quietly watching them. Their face was covered with a white sheet, so I couldn’t tell whether they were male or female. Somehow, I was able to hear what he/she was saying. ‘I have to get up now…no, that’s too flat.’ ‘I really will have to get up now…no, that’s too bland.’ ‘I have to leave this bed…no, that’s awkward.’
Having woken from the dream, I thought of the participants in our session, and thought of Deborah, who had translated two of my novels, and finally thought of myself. I thought about the lives of the struggling people beneath the white sheet that covered their faces, tenaciously asking questions of and answering themselves, ceaselessly rewriting sentences.
In the session that morning, everyone enjoyed hearing about my dream. (I have come to realise that it is possible for someone’s nightmare to make many people happy). In the second session that day, we translated eight lines with surprising concentration, making it the day when our yield was greatest.
On Friday, which was the final day, after putting the finishing touches to our translation in the morning session, in the afternoon we shifted to the Writers’ Centre in Norwich city centre and had a session set aside for presentations. The translation sessions for European languages had translated quite a lot of pages in a week, as might be expected for languages from the same family, whereas we had managed to produce only a little over a single page, from the very beginning of the story. During the fifteen minutes allotted in the presentation session, the participants for our session stood up on stage and read their translation as slowly as possible, and took it in turns to speak methodically about the minute difficulties of the translation process. Sitting in the audience, I was quite moved.
People who delight in the intricacies of language. People who take even the most minute difference to be something large, important, significant. People who, through that keen sensibility, give a single text a new birth in another language. People who move forwards following that strange, beautiful rule which says that it is good to go as slowly as possible. People who ask questions of and answer themselves, alone beneath the white sheet, ceaselessly re-writing sentences. I felt touchingly grateful to everyone in our session, including Deborah – no, somehow to every translator in the world.
Each of the other sessions’ presentations was also enjoyable. There was one group who, at the beginning and end of the passage, had the writer and translator read at the same time, producing an effect akin to music, and there was one who, after two people had translated the same text, read a passage from the various versions, so that we could appreciate the differences. There was one group who amused the audience by humorously disclosing that, as their session leader had been unable to attend due to personal reasons, and the only participant in the week who was able to speak that language had arrived late, the other participants had spent the entire week engaged in a bitter struggle, relying only on a dictionary, at the end of which they had managed to produce a grand total of three sentences. I laughed along with the rest, of course, but I also thought it was a bit of a shame. That there was a group who’d succeeded in going even slower than our session had…
About Han Kang
Han Kang is the daughter of novelist Han Seung-won. She was born in Kwangju and at the age of 10, moved to Suyuri (which she speaks of affectionately in her work “Greek Lessons”) in Seoul.
She studied Korean literature at Yonsei University. She began her writing career when one of her poems was featured in the winter issue of the quarterly Literature and Society. She made her official literary debut in the following year when her short story “The Scarlet Anchor” was the winning entry in the daily Seoul Shinmun spring literary contest.
Since then, she has gone on to win the Yi Sang Literary Prize (2005), Today’s Young Artist Award, and the Korean Literature Novel Award. As of summer 2013, Han teaches creative writing at the Seoul Institute of the Arts while writing stories and novels.
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Home > Events > Music > Dark Star Orchestra @ Wellmont Theater
Dark Star Orchestra @ Wellmont Theater
Event Category: Music and Performance
Performing to critical acclaim celebrating their 20th anniversary year in 2017 and over 2600 shows, Dark Star Orchestra continues the Grateful Dead concert experience. Their shows are built off the Dead’s extensive catalog and the talent of these seven fine musicians. On any given night, the band will perform a show based on a set list from the Grateful Dead’s 30 years of extensive touring or use their catalog to program a unique set list for the show. This allows fans both young and old to share in the experience. By recreating set lists from the past, and by developing their own sets of Dead songs, Dark Star Orchestra offers a continually evolving artistic outlet within this musical canon. Honoring both the band and the fans, Dark Star Orchestra’s members seek out the unique style and sound of each era while simultaneously offering their own informed improvisations.
Dark Star Orchestra offers much more than the sound of the Grateful Dead, they truly encapsulate the energy and the experience. It’s about a sense of familiarity. It’s about a feeling that grabs listeners and takes over. It’s about that contagious energy…in short, it’s about the complete experience and consistent quality show that the fan receives when attending a Dark Star Orchestra show.
Dark Star Orchestra has performed throughout the entire United States, plus Europe & the Caribbean touching down in seven different countries. DSO continues to grow its fan base by playing at larger venues for two and even three night stands as well as performing at major music festivals including Bonnaroo, Milwaukee’s SummerFest, The Peach Music Festival, All Good Festival, Gathering of the Vibes, Mountain Jam, and many more.
In addition to appearing at some of the nation’s top festival, Dark Star Orchestra hosts its own annual music festival and campaign gathering, titled the ‘Dark Star Jubilee’, currently in its sixth year where DSO headline all three nights and are joined by a mix of established and up and coming national touring acts. Beyond the shores of the United States, DSO has taken its internationally-acclaimed Grateful Dead tribute to the beaches of Jamaica in the dead of winter for the past five years, with their event appropriately titled ‘Jam in the Sand’. Featuring an ocean-side stage, DSO sets up camp to perform shows for four nights along the tropical sands of an all-inclusive resort, selling out the event each year for hundreds of lucky attendees.
Fans and critics haven’t been the only people caught up in the spirit of a Dark Star show. The band has featured guest performances from six original Grateful Dead members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, Vince Welnick, Tom Constanten and even toured with longtime Dead soundman, Dan Healy. Other notable guests have included Mike Gordon and Jon Fishman of Phish, Keller Williams, Warren Haynes, Steve Kimock, Peter Rowan, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot and many more.
“For us it’s a chance to recreate some of the magic that was created for us over the years,” rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rob Eaton explains. “We offer a sort of a historical perspective at what it might have been like to go to a show in 1985, 1978 or whenever. Even for Deadheads who can say they’ve been to a hundred shows in the 90s, we offer something they never got to see live.”
Space! The Cosmos for Kids: Turtle Dance Music (Ages 2 and up)
Event Category: Education, Kids, and Music
Event Address: Bellevue Avenue Branch, 185 Bellevue Avenue, Montclair, NJ 07043
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I PREVAIL: THE TRAUMA TOUR
Time: 6:30 pm to 11:00 pm
Event Category: Music and Theater
Event Address: 5 Seymour St Montclair, NJ 07042
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Elevator to the Gallows
Event Category: Art, Film, and Music
Event Address: 505 Bloomfield Ave
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Event Address: 5 Seymour St, Montclair, NJ
Food & Drink Available
December 30, 2018 7:00 pm - 12:00 am
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January 9, 2019 January 9, 2019 Morgan Magazine
CHRIS TIU RETIRES from BASKETBALL
For many professional athletes, playing their sport is a lifetime commitment that they hold to fully from the day they start to the day they can no longer play at their best. In the Philippines, one can look at the examples of Robert Jaworski, who remained an active PBA player for over three decades before retiring to enter politics, and boxer Manny Pacquiao, still taking on all comers even as a Philippine Senator. But not all sports careers are similarly long and storied. Some athletes decide to retire from the game at the prime of their life, the way another PBA star did only recently.
ESPN 5 reports that Chris Tiu, a basketball idol of contemporary generations that became famous as an Ateneo Blue Eagle, National Team member, and PBA player for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, has just announced his retirement from the sport at a relatively young age. This was made known by Tiu’s bombshell of a post on his Twitter page earlier this week. After thanking his fans who have followed him from college ball to the professional league, Tiu remarked that “his heart was full” and that it was time for him to “move on”.
My heartfelt gratitude to every person who has been part of my basketball journey!! Most especially to our Lord who makes all things possible 🙏 It’s now time to move on. My heart is full. #17 signing off… pic.twitter.com/BeuGJKObXz
— Chris Tiu (@chris_tiu) January 8, 2019
Tiu was one of the darlings of the UAAP when he played for Ateneo at the start of the 21st Century, where he was part of the Blue Eagle squad that finally beat their alma mater’s longtime rival the De La Salle Green Archers in the 2008 finals after a championship drought of six years. During that time he was also a two-time UAAP Mythical Five member and named a Favorite Athlete at the 2008 Nickelodeon Philippines Kids’ Choice Awards. In 2010 he joined the first Philippine Men’s Basketball team to compete under the name Gilas, which won a bronze in the 2011 William Jones Cup, plus gold medals in the SEA Games and SEABA Championship of the same year.
For his entry into the pros with the PBA, Chris Tiu was chosen seventh overall in the Rookie Draft pick. Afterwards he would play with Rain or Shine for the rest of his six-year career in the league, joining the 2013 PBA All-Rookie Team and winning the All-Star three-point competition. Ultimately he helped the Elasto Painters on their 2016 campaign that led to their becoming the Commissioner’s Cup champions. His last PBA game, during the 2018 Governor’s Cup, saw him contribute 30 points for a 107-101 Rain or Shine win over the NLEX Road Warriors.
Outside of basketball, Tiu was also a successful commercial model and TV personality, having hosted a variety of shows on multiple TV networks. In addition, he at one time served as Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Chair for Barangay Urdaneta in Makati, essentially giving him political background.
Image courtesy of GMA Network
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Home All News Movie News X-MEN APOCALYPSE Latest Trailer Overview
X-MEN APOCALYPSE Latest Trailer Overview
The trailer for Marvel’s X-Men: Apocalypse has been leaked. Released at Comic-Con, it shows both familiar and brand new faces in the latest installment of the X-Men franchise.
Let’s take a look at a few new members of the crew.
Games of Thrones actress Sophie Grey will play the younger version of character Jean Gray. While the character is not new to the series, Sophie will be bringing a new portrayal to the role. In the trailer, we see Sophie’s character having visions of an impending apocalypse.
Kodi Smit-Mcphee will now play Nightcrawler, who was originally portrayed by Alan Cumming in X2: X-Men United. Kodi is a 19-year-old Australian actor, who will bring a younger perspective to the stealthy character.
Move over Halle Berry!
The latest installment of the franchise presents us with a change in timelines and elements of time travel. This means that Apocalypse is presenting viewers with a younger version of Storm. Halle will be replaced by actress Alexandra Shipp, who is known for playing the lead role in late R&B singer Aaliyahs biopic (Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B).
Actress Olivia Munn will be taking on the role of Psylocke. As one of Apocalypse’s villains, Olivia explains that her character has “no problem battling and killing.” Adding that she “loves how strong [Psylocke] is.”
Lastly, is the villain himself: Apocalypse, played by Oscar Isaac. Oscar Isaac recently starred in the Sci-Fi flick Ex Machina and will also be starring in the upcoming Star Wars sequel.
Apocalypse is set up to be a 5000 year-old Egyptian mutant, who is nearly unstoppable. The first glimpse at this new villain was shown during the end credits of Days of Future Past, which showed Apocalypse removing his hood.
So who will be returning?
RIP Cameron Boyce: 'Descendants' actor dies at age 20
Much of the X-Men cast from the previous film will be returning. This including Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Rose Byrne, and Lucas Till.
The plot to the film all begins after 10 years have past since Days of Futures Past. Raven (Lawrence), Charles (McAvoy) and Erik (Fassbender) are still distanced from one another.
This, however, does not last long as Apocalypse awakens and decides it is his time to threaten destruction upon the world. By recruiting young Storm, Angel, Psylocke and Eric, Apocalypse is able to assemble a team that together create a force like nothing the X-Men group have seen before.
This uprising triggers Jennifer Lawrence’s character, Raven, to reunite with Charles (McAvoy), who at the time is teaching other mutants to control their abilities in order to function normally in the world.
In attempt to top the incredibly successful, action-packed X-Men: Days of Future Past, director Bryan Singer, has set up a high-stake battle between two teams of mutants, both with incredible power.
In terms of visuals, the leaked trailer and a few released pictures show many of the new cast-mates costumes. Many of the costumes hold true to the comic book characters, such as Olivia’s character Psylocke and young storm. However, there has been quite a lot of criticism surfacing regarding the title villain, Apocalypse’s costume.
Apocalypse is shown donning an all purple, heavy suit, almost resembling that of a medieval knight, but with a bit of space age flair. Some speculate they will be adding CGI effects to add to the character’s appearance.
At this point, I would have to agree that he doesn’t look as imposing as the plot makes him out to be.
Some people are comparing him to Power Rangers’ villain Ivan Ooze and after looking Ivan up and doing a side-by-side comparison with Apocalypse, I can’t help but agree. Bear in mind, Ivan Ooze is a character from a 1995 movie. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say most likely after production and computer-generated additions, Apocalypse will have a much more threatening presence in the final film.
Find your love with dating apps and watch best movies of 2019
Although director Bryan Singer explained that they are creating bigger stakes, as visually it is hard for them to top Days of Future Past, it is tough to make the film anything more than a battle against good vs. evil.
The main draw of the movie is seeing the familiar faces of the X-Men crew and the few additions that have made waves in the media, one being Olivia Munn as Psylocke.
While I am usually a fan of Olivia, I am still on the fence about her casting in the movie. I think this is especially due to her recent interview with late-night show host Conan O’brien, at Comic-Con. Here, Olivia seemed set on spending almost her whole interview time talking about how she had a “deficit” when it came to her chest size, in comparison to the comic book portrayal of Psylocke. Only changing the topic to talk about how she had to use “lube” to fit herself into her latex costume. I felt it was unfortunate that her interview didn’t reflect the pride she said she felt playing such a strong female character.
No doubt this movie will bring in big crowds, as the hype for it is already incredible, with still a year until release. I just wonder how many more good vs. evil battles the X-Men series can roll out before the novelty wears off…
X-Men Apocalypse Trailer
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A Star Is Born Stage Musical in Development
March 9th, 2017 | By Andy Lefkowitz
Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, the company blessing us this season with Broadway’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, is reviving another musical property: the first-ever stage adaptation of A Star Is Born, based on the 1954 Warner Bros. film favorite.
Beauty and the Beast director Bill Condon, whose Side Show revival played a Broadway engagement a couple seasons ago, is attached to the project that is currently still in development. Representatives for the project are being clear that the musical is completely separate from the rumored Bradley Cooper-directed Lady Gaga film of the same name.
Although Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures has been developing the title for almost a decade, the rights to the film were actually held by Andrew Lloyd Webber in the 1990s, with the intention of producing an adaptation featuring a book by Larry Gelbart and new songs by Cy Coleman and David Zippel. Six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald expressed interest in starring in a stage musical in 2002, although no creative team was mentioned. Then, in 2008, Jonathan Butterell directed and choreographed a workshop of A Star Is Born for Warner Brothers, with a book by Butterell and composer Michael John LaChiusa, who also served as musical supervisor. At that point, The New York Post printed that Hugh Jackman was in negotiations to star in the stage musical, but the workshop ultimately featured Tony winner Idina Menzel as Esther opposite Norm Lewis as Norman.
A Star Is Born follows of a young ingénue taken under the wing of a former matinee idol in 1950s Hollywood. The musical will feature classic Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin songs from the 1954 film including “The Man That Got Away” and “Gotta Have Me Go with You.” No casting is set for readings of the project still in the works, but the 1954 motion picture starred Judy Garland and James Mason. Let the dreamcasting begin!
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Gettin’ a Cast Album! Broadway’s Gettin’ the Band Back Together Will Be Preserved on CD
August 21st, 2018 | By Andy Lefkowitz
The fresh Broadway tuner Gettin' the Band Back Together has announced an original cast recording, set for release digitally and on CD by Sh-K-Boom Records later this year. The new show features an original score by Mark Allen and orchestrations by Doug Katsaros and Sonny Paladino.
Gettin' the Band Back Together follows Mitch Papadopolous, who always dreamed of being the next Bon Jovi, but chose security over stardom and left those daydreams behind for a day job. He dusts off his guitar, gathers his old gang—the math teacher who isn’t good at math, the Irish cop who dreams about being on Broadway, the dermatologist who can’t get a date and a 16-year-old Jewish rapper who makes Vanilla Ice look cool—and sets out to win The Battle of the Bands…and maybe even win back the high school sweetheart he left behind.
The cast is led by Mitchell Jarvis as Mitch Papadopolous, Marilu Henner as Sharon Papadopolous, Jay Klaitz as Bart Vickers, Paul Whitty as Michael "Sully" Sullivan, Sawyer Nunes as Ricky “Bling” Goldstein, Brandon Williams as Tygen Billows, Tamika Lawrence as Roxanne Velasco, Kelli Barrett as Dani, Garth Kravits as Ritchie, Manu Narayan as Dr. Rummesh "Robbie" Patel, Becca Kötte as Tawney and Noa Solorio as Billie. The ensemble includes Ryan Duncan, J. Elaine Marcos, Rob Marnell, Jasmin Richardson and Tad Wilson.
Gettin' the Band Back Together features a book by Ken Davenport and The Grundleshotz with additional material by Sarah Saltzberg. The show is directed by John Rando, with choreography by Chris Bailey and musical direction by Sonny Paladino. The musical began previews on July 19 and officially opened at the Belasco Theatre on August 13.
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Season Five of Lifetime Channel’s Broadway Balances America Premieres in September
September 20th, 2018 | By Ryan Gilbert
The Balancing Act, the award-winning morning show on the Lifetime Channel, is excited to announce that it has begun shooting the fifth season of the popular series, Broadway Balances America, sponsored by Broadway Across America. This five-part miniseries will take viewers behind the scenes of some of the most beloved Broadway musicals touring the country, including Anastasia, School of Rock, Come From Away, Miss Saigon and Cats. Broadway Balances America will launch on September 24.
“This partnership has yielded incredibly compelling behind-the-scenes content for television audiences, and has provided vital exposure for our touring productions,” said Lauren Reid, COO, The John Gore Organization. “This year’s slate of shows is going to make for some particularly exciting programming, with broad appeal across just about every demographic.”
A Telly Award-winning series, Broadway Balances America provides behind-the-scenes access and interviews highlighting shows featured on Broadway Across America’s 2018-2019 Broadway series nationwide. The host, Amber Milt, will have the opportunity to meet with the casts, crews and creative teams for an in-depth look at what it’s like to bring these shows to life on the road.
“We’re once again excited to provide our viewers a backstage pass and introduce them to the talented teams behind these incredible Broadway shows,” said Jeanne Kelly, Supervising Producer for The Balancing Act. “Soon audiences across America will experience all the music and magic for themselves as the shows head to their local community.”
On the first segment, Broadway Balances America goes on an epic adventure as host Amber Milt takes us inside the romantic new musical Anastasia. Hear from Lila Coogan, who makes her national tour debut as Anya, and costume designer Linda Cho as we learn how the exquisitely designed costumes and sweeping score transport audiences from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s.
On the next segment, viewers will gets an all-access look at life as a pint-sized musical prodigy in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock. Meet talented rockers Ava Briglia, Layla Capers and Montgomery Lamb as they welcome Milt into the band and share what it’s like to balance being in a Broadway show with being a kid.
Andrew Lloyd Webber said, “School of Rock always resonated with me, because it is a story of how music changes these kids’ lives. My most passionate belief is in the power of music in education. Music cuts across all creeds and political views. This exciting opportunity to introduce television audiences to our School of Rock bandmembers in such an in-depth way will undoubtedly ignite passions in young viewers from coast to coast. I think we need a lot more of that.”
The series continues as Broadway Balances America revisits the remarkable true story of September 11, 2001, and the days that followed in Gander, Newfoundland, through the lens of award-winning musical Come From Away. Learn how creators Irene Sankoff and David Hein compiled 16,000 stories from this five-day period and ended up with an uplifting 100-minute musical featuring an ensemble of 12 actors.
During the fourth segment, Broadway Balances America will celebrate one of Broadway’s longest-running shows as it tours across the country with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of Cats. Milt revisits the record-breaking musical spectacular and transforms into a Jellicle cat with the help of the production team.
In the fifth and final segment, viewers will meet the women bringing Miss Saigon to life. Get to know leading lady Emily Bautista, who plays the iconic role of Kim, and actresses Stacie Bono and Jackie Nguyen, as they prepare to tour the country and show incredible strength on stage and off. Broadway Balances America gets a glimpse inside the rehearsal process of this legendary musical that changed Broadway forever and continues to resonate with audiences today.
The air dates for the fifth season Broadway Balances America will be:
Anastasia: September 24
School of Rock: October 1
Come From Away: October 22
Cats: March 18, 2019
Miss Saigon: March 25, 2019
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indian golf
All Indian News News Womens Golf
RIO 2016: Immense show of girl power as Aditi Ashok wraps up Indian hopes of a golf medal
After Sakshi Malik and PV Sindhu drew the bronze and silver lining on the Indian medal tally, it was time for Aditi Ashok to flex her muscles and strengthen the Indian Medal tally.
A consistent 68 in the opening two rounds at the Reserva de Marapendi Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro, made medal hopes for Aditi high, as she was comfortably placed in the top 10.
The round 3 brought disaster for Aditi as she bogeyed a no. of holes and finished the day at 31st place. Aditi’s poor show continued in the last round. She finished at 41st place.
Aditi scored a total of 291 (68,68,79,76).
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 19: Aditi Ashok of India in action during the third round of the Women’s Individual Stroke Play golf on day 14 of the Rio Olympics at the Olympic Golf Course on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
“My Facebook page and Twitter has been going off quite a lot. I’m happy that a lot of people who didn’t really watch golf are watching golf now (in India). It’s only going to get better from here.”, said Aditi.
Aug 20, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Silver medalist Lydia Ko (NZL), left, gold medalist Inbee Park (KOR), and bronze medalist Shanshan Feng (CHN) show off their medals after competing in the final round of women’s golf during the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Olympic Golf Course. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
South Korean Inbee Park clinched the gold with a total score of 16-under 268 (66-66-70-66), while New Zealand teenage sensation Lydia Ko scored 11-under 273 (69-70-65-69) for the silver. China’s Shanshan Feng, with a cumulative score of 274 (70-67-68-69), settled for the bronze.
All Analysis Videos
India’s only stand-alone public golf range
Want to start playing golf but don’t have a Club membership? No worries, if you stay in Delhi or places around the capital, just head out to the revamped Siri Fort Driving range. It’s the only stand-alone public driving range in the country and your gateway to golf by paying a minimal amount.
Golfoy hopes that the Indian government raises more such public Golf ranges and bring the game to the masses.
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https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/07/140703-guayusa-ecuador-amazon-health-foods-tea.html
Ecuador’s “Superleaf” Tea: Could It Replace Your Afternoon Coffee?
Guayusa reportedly has health benefits for those who drink it as a brew and economic benefits for the indigenous people who grow it.
How farming a sacred tea can help save the Amazon.
By Emma Weissmann,
For the Kichwa people of the Ecuadorian Amazon, teatime isn't an afternoon tradition that pairs dainty finger sandwiches with porcelain cups. Instead, it begins at 3 a.m., when members of this indigenous community gather around a fire and brew guayusa, a highly caffeinated drink with twice the antioxidants of green tea.
But this "superleaf" does more than provide these villagers with the energy to face the day—it has recently become a sustainable source of income that will bring in $400,000 to more than 3,000 farming families this year.
We asked Tyler Gage, co-founder of the Runa Foundation, a nonprofit that works with indigenous communities to protect the Amazon rain forest, to provide some insight on guayusa and what it means to the Kichwa and the rest of the world.
What is guayusa? Where is it found?
Something like 98 percent of the guayusa in the world is in Ecuador. It is native to a thin stretch of the upper Amazon [that] hugs the Andes Mountains. It's a leaf brewed like tea, but it's not actually related to green or black tea. When brewed, it has about as much caffeine as coffee. It is also incredibly rich in polyphenols, which are the most common compounds that comprise what we informally call antioxidants. It also has a ton of chlorogenic acids, which is trending and hot right now for weight loss and benefits to the heart.
What is the history of the guayusa plant, and what does it mean to the Kichwa people in this part of Ecuador?
One of my favorite stories about guayusa is its origin. In ancient times, people prayed for a plant that would teach them how to dream. These twins canoed down a river on a quest to find this plant, woke up in the middle of the night, and this spirit village had manifested on the other side of the river. They went to this palace and went up a staircase to the heavens, where they saw all of their ancestors, generation after generation. These ancestors gifted them this plant and said, "This is a plant that can help your people and connect you to the dream world." When they woke up in the morning, they still had the physical plant. They took it back to their community and guayusa became a central part of their culture.
And they continue to hold the plant in high esteem. Now that the Kichwa have started exporting the leaves, what does it mean to their community and the surrounding area?
Before, the farmer's primary source of income was from logging. They also did migrant labor, and they do some farming with things like corn, coffee, or chocolate. They really struggled to support their families and have sustainable sources of income.
[Guayusa] is grown in what the Kichwa call a chacra, which is basically a forest garden. There are no fertilizers, there are no chemicals, nothing. It basically allows sustainable nutrient flow between the species the same way the rain forest contains itself without any human intervention. So it's very low input, and basically replicates the structure of the natural rain forest.
How has the demand for guayusa tea changed since Ecuador first started exporting it? If demand continues to increase, can the production remain sustainable?
The annual global production for 2008 was zero pounds. This year, we're going to buy one million pounds of fresh guayusa leaves from the community, and so we'll pay about $400,000 that the community didn't have before.
The way we grow is that we plant more trees. As demand grows, we just have to plant more trees so we can reforest more parts of the Amazon and convert more land that was previously degraded back into these sustainable forest gardens.
Growth is actually what drives impact. The more that we grow, the more income we can provide to the farmers, and concurrently the more trees that we can plant and we can sustainably support.
What does guayusa tea mean to the rest of the world?
Definitely as consumers, we appreciate the health benefits a lot. For people who might be drinking very artificial, unhealthy energy drinks, they can switch to something that [gives them] the same amount of energy but that has health benefits, too. So we can connect consumers to the Amazon through the product, and basically give them a much more healthy, sustainable source to get their energy.
We're right at the sweet spot of growth. I think in general there is a major trend of people wanting clean energy [drinks], and if you look at the last ten years you see the shift, with people switching from wanting to drink mainstream sports drinks like Gatorade to things like coconut water. So with guayusa we fit perfectly in that [trend] and for consumer demand for a cleaner, functional product.
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MPRC Industry Advisory Panel
MPRC
Going International
Setting Up in Malaysia
OGITeC
Find OGSE Companies
Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation (MPRC) is governed by a Board of Directors, whose members include representatives from Government departments and corporations such as Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and PETRONAS.
DATO’ AZMAN MAHMUD
Dato' Azman Mahmud was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) in February 2014, after serving in various leadership positions in the organisation, including in the U.S. and Japan, where he played a significant role in promoting investments into Malaysia. He serves on several boards of industry related organisations. Dato' Azman holds a degree in Engineering from Universiti Putra Malaysia, and has attended several Senior Management Programmes, namely at Harvard Business School and INSEAD.
MUHAMMAD ZAMRI JUSOH
M Zamri Jusoh is the Vice President of Malaysia Petroleum Management. In his current role, Zamri oversees the overall policy and the management of the domestic petroleum resources and the development of local oil & gas industry to ensure energy security for the country.
He joined PETRONAS in 1991 as Production Technologist and went on to have stints in quite a few department as well as projects. He has held multiple managerial and leadership roles in project development, among which included Garraf, Iraq and was subsequently appointed as Head of Petroleum Resource Development at Petroleum Management Unit, where he steered several flagship projects and the development of game changing petroleum arrangements that included three EOR Production Sharing Contracts and Risk Service Contracts. In 2014, he assumed the position of Head Strategy and Ventures Upstream, where he oversaw several notable acquisitions and strategic alliances.
Zamri also served on various cross-business and regional working committees in the oil & gas industry. He has been active in Society of Petroleum Engineers activities in the region and served on various committees for OTC Asia. He also sits on the Board of various PETRONAS subsidiaries as well as Malaysia-Thailand Joint Authority.
DATO' WAN LATIFF WAN MUSA
Dato' Wan Latiff has a wide experience in international trade. He started his career with Tourism Malaysia in 1984 before joining Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), the National Trade Promotion Agency, under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in 1997.
While with Tourism Malaysia, he was posted as Director at its Tokyo office, promoting tourism services exports to Japan. With MATRADE, he served as the Trade Commissioner for almost nine years at MATRADE’s Cologne, Toronto and New York offices where he accumulated more experience in international trade.
Currently, he is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of MATRADE. He also performed various other functions in export promotion, finance, HR and procurement. He obtained a Bachelor Degree in Economics from the National University of Malaysia (UKM) and Master in Business Administration from Mara University of Technology (UiTM). He also attended a two-year Intensive Education Programme on Tourism at the Rikkyo University, Tokyo and the 5th ASEAN Senior Management Development Program (5SMDP) at Harvard Business School.
Dato' Wan Latiff has been actively involved in various committees for the trade and export development in relation to the economic advancement for Malaysia.
DATO' MUHAMAD BIN IDRIS
Dato' Muhamad bin Idris began his career in 1984 where he was appointed as Assistant Director in Distribution Sector under the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) for over 10 years. Since then he has served in various leadership positions in relation to the economic development of Malaysia, overseeing key public services areas such as Infrastructure and Public Utilities, as well as Social Services.
Currently, Dato' Muhamad is the Deputy Secretary General of the Sectoral Department under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. In addition, he sits on the Board of other government agencies including the Langkawi Development Authority, Mara Excellent Ventures (MEX), A-Bio/Venture Tech, and Johor Petroleum Corporation Berhad (JPDC).
Dato' Muhamad obtained a Master's of Economy from Western Michigan University.
Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation was established in 2011 to advance the local oil and gas services and equipment (OGSE) industry and develop a thriving regional hub for the sector in Malaysia.
MPRC works collaboratively with fellow Government agencies, industry players, trade associations and international counterparts as part of industry development and growth efforts.
Unit 20-11, Level 20, G-Tower, 199 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Copyright © 2017 MPRC. All Rights Reserved. Term & Conditions
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Kids of Opioid-Using Parents May Be More Likely to Attempt Suicide
WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Children of parents who use opioids have more than double the risk of attempted suicide, a new study finds.
Researchers noted that along with a dramatic rise in suicides among young people in the United States in the past 15 years, opioid use among adults has spiked. This study suggests a possible link between the two.
"We theorized such a link was plausible because parental substance abuse is a known risk factor for suicide attempts by their children," said senior author Robert Gibbons. He directs the Center for Health Statistics at the University of Chicago.
"In addition, depression and suicide attempts by parents -- which are known to be related to suicidal behavior in their offspring -- are more common among adults who abuse opioids," Gibbons explained in a university news release.
He and his colleagues analyzed data gathered between 2010 and 2016 from more than 240,000 U.S. parents, ages 30 to 50. Half had filled prescriptions for opioid painkillers for at least a year; the others did not use the drugs.
The researchers also examined suicide attempts among more than 330,000 of their children over the same period. The young people were 10 to 19 years of age.
In this group of children, 678 (0.37%) of those whose parents used opioids attempted suicide, while 212 (0.14%) of those whose parents did not use the drugs attempted suicide, according to the study.
"These findings demonstrate that opioid use by a parent or parents doubles the risk for suicidal behavior by their children," said study co-author Dr. David Brent, a psychiatrist and chairman of suicide studies at the University of Pittsburgh. But the research didn't prove opioid use by parents caused this trend; it only showed an association.
"The epidemics of adult opiate abuse and child suicidal behavior appear to be linked, and the disturbing upward trends in mortality due to opiates and due to child suicide may have common roots," Brent added.
Researchers said the findings show the need for improved diagnosis and treatment of parents who use opioids, as well as mental health screening and referral to care for their children.
"These actions could help reverse the upward trend in deaths due to the twin epidemics of suicide and opioid overdose," Gibbons said.
The study was published May 22 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on youth suicide.
SOURCE: University of Chicago, news release, May 22, 2019
Health News is provided as a service to Mountain Street Pharmacy site users by HealthDay. Mountain Street Pharmacy nor its employees, agents, or contractors, review, control, or take responsibility for the content of these articles. Please seek medical advice directly from your pharmacist or physician.
Copyright © 2019 HealthDay All Rights Reserved.
Drugs &, Kids
Kids: Misc.
Adolescents / Teens
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Protect children from religious coercion
Dear Friend of Justice,
Imagine that your children or grandchildren were forced to participate in a religious ceremony at school, without your knowledge or consent.
That’s what happened to Candice Servatius, who was shocked to learn that her two children had been subjected to an aboriginal “smudging” ceremony at their elementary school. Her daughter was told it would be “rude” not to submit to smoke being waved over her to “cleanse” her “spirit.”
The school explained in a letter to parents that “everything has a spirit and energy” and “bad energy” must be “cleansed” from the furniture, classroom and children by fanning smoke from Sage over “the body and spirit” of each child.
Agree or disagree with these beliefs as you wish, but there is no denying that these aboriginal spiritual teachings are as “religious” as any that might be found in the Bible or Koran.
John Howitt Elementary School in Port Alberni, BC, eventually apologized to Mrs. Servatius for failing to notify her of this religious ritual ahead of time. But the School District insists it will continue with these religious rituals in the classroom.
Indeed, several months after the September “smudging,” the school held an assembly at which an aboriginal prayer was said.
On a side note, could you imagine the uproar if children had been required to recite the Lord’s Prayer in class, or at a school assembly?
The School District claims that smudging and aboriginal prayer are “cultural” practices. This is true, but misses the point.
There is a world of difference between teaching children about Islam, and requiring children to kneel on prayer rugs in the direction of Mecca and say a prayer to Allah.
In similar fashion, students can benefit from learning about aboriginal religious beliefs without being coerced to participate in religious rituals, prayers and ceremonies.
With the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, courts have interpreted a Charter right to be “free from” religion. That means not coercing children or adults to participate in any religious prayer, ritual, ceremony or practice.
Whether the aboriginal religious practices are also “cultural” is irrelevant.
In Mouvement laique quebecois v. City of Saguenay, the Supreme Court ruled that “the state must neither encourage nor discourage any form of religious conviction whatsoever. If the state adheres to a form of religious expression under the guise of cultural or historical reality or heritage, it breaches its duty of neutrality.”
Thirty years ago, the progressive left insisted that public schools must be secular, and launched a crusade against all expression, prayer and practice of religion in our public schools. They rejected the compromise solution of exempting students who disagreed with, or objected to, the religious practice.
So what’s going on here?
How can it be wrong to force students in a secular public school to participate in the practices of some religions, yet perfectly fine to compel participation in others?
The answer has to do with the progressive left worldview, held by many teachers and administrators in our public schools, not to mention the teachers’ unions. This worldview is based on group identity.
Socialists and Communists divided the world into property-owning bourgeoisie (“oppressors”) and labouring property-less proletariat (“victims”).
With Communism having been discredited after the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, group identity is now defined by social criteria, such as race, religions, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
As with the Communist ideology, today there are still “victim” groups and “oppressor” groups when humanity is divided along racial, sexual, religious and gender identity lines.
Today, “social justice” means using the coercive power of the state to bring “equality” to victim groups. This “equality” does not mean equal treatment or equal opportunity for individuals. Instead, “equality” means trampling on individual rights by favouring so-called victim groups at the expense of so-called oppressor groups.
Modern progressives define Christians as an “oppressor” group, and aboriginals as a “victim” group.
This twisted view of “equality” concludes that the practice of Christianity in schools should be forbidden, yet students should be compelled to participate in aboriginal religious practices. It punishes one group and favours another—thereby making these groups less “unequal” in the progressive worldview.
But treating individuals or groups unequally (even if in the name of “equality”) fundamentally undermines the rule of law. It is arbitrary use of power, completely contrary to our free society.
What’s happening at John Howitt Elementary School in Port Alberni, BC, is not an isolated case. And if we want to stop the rule of law from being undermined, we have to challenge abuses of power like these.
That is why the Justice Centre is representing Candice Servatius in her court action against John Howitt Elementary School.
Our fight to defend the free society, in this court action and many others, continues only through the generous support of Canadians like you, who care about protecting the dignity and freedom of each individual.
We’ve show that, when given the tools, we can get the job done.
Here’s a partial list of our accomplishments. In 2016 the Justice Centre:
secured a victory for free expression against the Brandon University Student Union, which had banned a student pro-life club from campus;
helped secure victories for the Charter freedoms of Trinity Western University in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, BC Supreme Court, Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, and BC Court of Appeal;
secured a victory for free expression for Mary Stanko against the St. Catherines Library Board, which had censored her newsletter for referring to the “supremacy of God” in the preamble to the Charter;
published the 2016 Campus Freedom Index, grading the policies and practices of 60 Canadian universities in regard to free expression;
secured a victory for Collette Schouten against the City of Calgary when it attempted to censor a peaceful political display in a city park;
sued the student union at Ryerson University for banning the Men’s Issues Awareness Society student club from campus;
advocated for the conscience rights of medical professionals before a Parliamentary Committee, regarding “Medical Assistance in Dying” (assisted suicide) legislation; and
advocated for the religious freedom of Kevin Kisilowsky, stripped of his Marriage Commissioner’s license by the Manitoba government because of his commitment to traditional marriage.
None of these actions would have been possible, if not for the support and generosity of Canadians like you.
You make what we do possible.
Friend, will you help us win the legal fight for Candice Servatius and her kids?
Please support our court application with a tax-deductible donation today. You can donate securely at www.jccf.ca, or mail a cheque to the address here below.
Sincere thanks,
John Carpay, B.A., LL.B.
Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms
#253, 7620 Elbow Drive SW • Calgary, AB • T2V 1K2
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Leave a Comment » | News, Uncategorized | Tagged: human rights, religious coercion | Permalink
The Holy Land Stinks Like S—-
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 Source here
Israel’s Stench
When I think I have heard it all, then I read about Israel’s national stench policy. I am referring to Israel’s use since 2008 of “skunk juice” as a weapon to keep Palestinians under control.
Victims have no idea of its chemical make-up but if they are sprayed with it, it takes days of scrubbing to get rid of the stench. In a land where water is scarce, smelling like the sewer is a disheartening experience.
According to Ben Ehrenreich, Skunk trucks could show up at any time, especially during celebrations, such as weddings, birthday parties, funerals or times of worship. Someone yells “skunk,” and everyone runs.
There was that truck, the white one idling behind the jeeps, a clear liquid dripping from the cannon on its roof. The liquid it so violently emitted was called skunk water. No one knew what chemicals it contained or what effect exposure to it might bring, but everyone knew what it smelled like. It smelled like dead dogs in a dumpster in August. Mainly, it smelled like shit. And no matter how many times you scrubbed your hair and your clothes, the scent would linger for days, even weeks.[1]
Run home, lock your doors. You still can’t hide from it. Skunk trucks drive down neighborhoods and business districts spraying its putrid smell on everything within a hundred yards. Its odor may linger in clothing for five years.[2]
Skunk is powerful stuff. A reporter described its effect:
Imagine taking a chunk of rotting corpse from a stagnant sewer, placing it in a blender and spraying the filthy liquid in your face. Your gag reflex goes off the chart and you can’t escape, because the nauseating stench persist for days.[3]
Palestinians living under Israeli occupation do not have to imagine. They know:
The truck blasted Mohammad’s house next, the jet of fluid smashed the first-floor windows and knocked him from his feet. He had just come home, triumphant from his close escape. Shattered glass cut his face and chest. Skunk water saturated the carpets and couches.[4]
Forty percent of Palestinian males have spent time in Israeli jails. Said Tamimi was one of them. After serving twenty years, he came home to find his house saturated with skunk juice. Once this happens, carpets, upholstery and clothes never get rid of the stench and wind up being thrown away. Even at that, he was lucky. Others have been hospitalized, either from the effects of the skunk itself or having been injured in the stampede running away from it.
Israel needs a new flag, one to represent Israel today. It would be brown. The Star of David, the symbol of a proud and praiseworthy Jewish heritage is far, far above skunk juice.
Thomas Are
[1] Read Ben Enrenreich, The Way to the Spring, (Penguin Press, New York, 2016) p. 30. Even better; Google: Israeli Skunk Trucks and watch any of the numerous videos of Israel in action.
[2] Wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk_(weapon)
[3] Wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk_(weapon) Skunk has been condemned by Physicians for Human Rights, the International Network of Civil Liberties Organization, the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, B’Selem and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel..
[4] Ben Enrenreich, The Way to the Spring, (Penguin Press, New York, 2016) p. 76.
1 Comment | Christian Zionism Unmasked, Crimes Against Christians | Tagged: Holy Land, human rights, Israel, skunk trucks, weapon | Permalink
Christian blogger forced to shut down in Canada
Canadian conservative website shuts down after losing defamation suit, owners plan appeal
by Colin Kerr
Mon Feb 03, 2014 18:49 EST
February 3, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The conservative website Free Dominion is shutting down after a libel suit was successfully concluded against its owners.
The plaintiff, Richard Warman, is an active human rights lawyer who has been involved in several high-profile cases heard by Canada’s human rights tribunals and in defamation suits on his own behalf in the Ontario Superior Court, notably against the National Post and Ezra Levant.
A screen grab from FreeDominion.ca.
The jury in the Free Dominion case ruled in October that the website’s owners, Mark and Connie Fournier, and two other defendants had committed defamation against Mr. Warman, and “acted in a manner that was highhanded and oppressive towards” him, the ruling stated.
The judge who reviewed the case for the purposes of assessing the issue of legal expenses affirmed the jury’s October decision, stating that the defendants “wrote postings to the political message board disparaging the plaintiff on many occasions. … The jury found that the defendants had acted with malice towards Mr. Warman and, as a result, awarded aggravated damages in the amount of $9,000.00 and also awarded $18,000.00 in punitive damages.”
On January 23rd, Ontario Superior Court Justice, Robert Smith added to this fine an additional sum of $80,000 for Mr. Warman’s legal costs. The sum was divided up according to a formula determined by the judge between the four defendants, with the largest share levelled against the owners of the site.
In addition to the approximately $107,000 fine, an injunction was issued against the site to “never publish, or allow to be published, anything negative about Richard Warman,” according to the Fourniers.
“This means we are barred for life from ever operating a public forum or a blog (even about cookie recipes) where the public can comment,” the Fourniers state.
“If we do so, any one of Warman’s handful of supporters could, and probably would, use a common proxy server to avoid being traced, plant a negative comment about Warman on our site, and we would both be charged with contempt of court. If that happened –unlike in the Ottawa courtroom where we were blocked at every turn from presenting a defense– we actually would have no defense. We would both go to jail.”
“As of today, January 23, 2014, and after 13 years online, Free Dominion is closing its doors to the public. We have been successfully censored.”
The verdict in the Fournier-Warman case is particularly interesting in light of the repeal of section 13 of Canada’s Human Rights Act by Parliament on June 26th of last year. Conservative thinkers had widely blamed the provision for being used as a political weapon by the Left to silence their opponents. No doubt many of these critics would include Warman himself among those having done so.
Warman’s career has been tied to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, for whom he worked from 2002 to 2004, and was himself criticized for “posing as a neo-Nazi in order to suss out the names and addresses of his targets, in a strategy that verged on entrapment,” the National Post reported. Edward Peter Lustig, a member of the CHRC, referred to Warman’s actions as “disappointing and disturbing.”
Section 13 had banned “any matter that is likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt” if the person or persons affected are “identifiable on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination.”
In an audio message given on the Fourniers’ donation site, Connie says, “There is something wrong in a free country where negative comments about a government employee can land you in prison. … It is a precedent that endangers every single Canadian who allows comments on their forum or blog. Defamation law is wrong and outdated.”
The Fourniers plan to appeal the ruling, and consider that, if it is allowed to stand, the ruling will have a chilling effect on web-based political commentary in this country.
In an interview with LifeSiteNews.com, Ezra Levant, who has himself been at the centre of the free-speech controversy, said that, “Lawfare—that is, costly nuisance suits—is an increasingly common tactic of the political left in Canada. It’s not just against websites.”
“It’s evident that since Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act was repealed, Richard Warman has shifted his campaign of ‘lawfare’ to other legal venues, including defamation actions.”
1 Comment | Crimes Against Christians, Uncategorized | Tagged: Canada, censorship, Connie Fournier, Free Dominion, free speech, hate laws, human rights, Mark Fournier | Permalink
Christian Prosecuted And Fined For His Beliefs: No Free Speech In Canada
[I notice that Justice Marshall Rothstein doesn’t cite any of the hate passages in the Talmud. Such judicial hypocrisy is hard to take without vomiting. mw]
Supreme Court’s Whatcott decision disappoints religious freedom advocates
Written by Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News Wednesday, 27 February 2013 17:48
William Whatcott – Register file photo
OTTAWA – A Supreme Court of Canada decision in the case of William Whatcott has disappointed religious freedom and free-speech advocates.
On Feb. 27 the Court upheld some significant parts of a Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal ruling against Whatcott, a Christian activist who faced complaints concerning four pamphlets he distributed criticizing homosexual behaviour. The Court upheld the Tribunal’s ruling that Whatcott’s pamphlets equated homosexuality with pedophilia, and described homosexual sex practices as “filthy.”
In upholding the general principle of freedom of religious speech and the freedom to teach or share religious beliefs, the Court ruled those rights are unlimited “except by the discrete and narrow requirement that this not be conveyed through hate speech,” wrote Justice Marshall Rothstein on behalf of the six justices.
Rothstein said two of the flyers exhibited the “hallmarks” of hatred that had been identified in previous case law. He said the pamphlets portrayed “the targeted group as a menace that could threaten the safety and well-being of others, makes reference to respected sources (in this case the Bible) to lend credibility to negative generalizations, and uses vilifying and derogatory representations to create a tone of hatred.”
The SCOC reinstated $7,500 of the original $17,500 in penalties Whatcott had been ordered to pay the complainants.
Constitutional lawyer Iain Benson, who argued for Whatcott, said the decision does “not recognize that hatred is too vague a term if it is disconnected from incitement to cause imminent violence or physical harm.”
“There is a real need for new thinking on the terms that it uses — ‘discrimination’ and ‘vulnerable groups’ — where what is really at issue is not ‘attacks on the vulnerable’ but strong feelings about what is and what isn’t permissible sexual conduct,” said Benson. “The court seems unable to make these distinctions with any convincing logic.”
Although the Court struck down a portion of the code — striking out part of a section that refers to expression that “ridicules, belittles or otherwise affronts the dignity” of identifiable groups — it left in place the “troublesome” phrase “tends to expose to hatred,” said CCRL executive director Joanne McGarry.
The ruling also leaves in place a system where people can be prosecuted for hate speech without benefit of the rules of evidence, right to counsel and the presumption of innocence found in a real court of law, McGarry said. This means people continue to be vulnerable to complaints about religious expression like those faced by Calgary Bishop Fred Henry for a 2005 pastoral letter and newspaper column defending traditional marriage.
“The League will continue to stand for the principle that any intrusion on Charter-protected freedoms should be left at the criminal level, which has its own internal processes before a charge can be laid, and a standard of proof of an intention to provoke hatred as part of the charge,” said CCRL president Phil Horgan. He said the code is likely to continue to be used to prosecute people who argue for Christian morality.
“It’s not much help to publishers or clergy wondering ‘Can I say this?’ or “Can I say that?” McGarry said, noting the whole category of hate speech “is subjective.”
“I find it troubling that statements that are true or based on fact are not considered a defence,” McGarry added.
But the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), another intervener, welcomed the decision’s positive aspects.
“It’s actually a pretty decent decision,” said the EFC’s vice president and general legal counsel Don Hutchinson. “Most importantly the Court has clearly stated that the Bible and biblical positions on public policy issues are legitimate for public conservation and discourse.”
“In doing so, the court has essentially said that the biblical principle of sharing the truth in love is acceptable,” he said. “But sharing in a way that vilifies or would cause detestation towards an identifiable group would be considered hatred.”
“Justice Rothstein has done a favour for civility in public discourse,” he said, noting that he gave several examples of how Whatcott might have made his case differently.
“Genuine comments on sexual activity are not likely to fall into the purview of a prohibition against hate,” Rothstein wrote. “If Mr. Whatcott’s message was that those who engage in sexual practices not leading to procreation should not be hired as teachers or that such practices should not be discussed as part of the school curriculum, his expression would not implicate an identifiable group.”
“The other thing they have done very clearly in striking down part of Section 14(b) is to say “hurt feelings or personal offence are not enough,” Hutchinson said.
Also on the positive side, both CCRL and the EFC see a silver lining in the decision’s respect for precedent and how that could affect decisions on Canada’s prostitution laws or on euthanasia that are wending their way through the courts.
Tom Schuck, a Saskatchewan Catholic Civil Rights League (CCRL) member who represented Whatcott, said Whatcott is “very disappointed” as well as concerned that if he speaks out again the Human Rights Commission could impose a permanent ban on his speaking on these issues.
“I am concerned about him and what’s going to happen to him,” said Schuck. “He feels he has the responsibility to preach God’s Word in the most effective way possible.”
The CCRL and EFC were among more than two dozen interveners on both sides in the case that pitted freedom of expression and freedom of religion against equality rights of disadvantaged groups to be protected from language that vilifies and marginalizes them.
Leave a Comment » | Crimes Against Christians, Uncategorized | Tagged: human rights, Supreme Court of Canada, Talmud, William Whatcott | Permalink
Time for world to confront Israel: Gilad Atzmon
http://arabnews.com/opinion/columns/article66233.ece
By SHABANA SYED | ARAB NEWS
Published: Jun 14, 2010 19:42 Updated: Jun 14, 2010 19:42
According to the famous Israeli-born Jazz musician, Gilad Atzmon, “The ideology that carried out execution-style killings on the Gaza aid flotilla the ‘Mavi Marmara’ is the same ideology that carried out the massacres at Deir Yassin, Qibya, Sabra and Shatilla, Qana, Gaza, Jenin and the murder of Rachel Corrie — more than that it is the same ideology that killed Christ.”
He continues: “there is no biological, racial or ethnic continuum between the ancient Israelites and the contemporary Israelis. The attack on the aid convoy is a continuum of the same ideology that killed Christ. Christ’s killing is a symbol of a brutal assault against goodness, in the same way the attack on the aid convoy was against humanity and compassion.” Speaking to Arab News after the deadly attack on the aid Flotilla where 9 peace activists were shot dead and around 50 injured Atzmon was scathing against Israel’s actions and demanded that it should be stripped of its UN membership.
Atzmon is a former Israeli soldier who now lives in London. He is not only a renowned author and writer but also a famous award-winning jazz musician. Described as a musical genius he has recorded with the likes of Robbie Williams, Sinead O Connor, Robert Wyatt Paul McCartney, Tunisian singer Dhaffer Youssef and countless others.
With a strong presence on and off stage and a disarming smile, Atzmon has a huge following not only for his music but for being a unique thinker and philosopher.
Admired for his fearless stance against oppression, he is also at the forefront of a taboo discourse that many will not venture into out of fear of being branded anti-Semite; and that is the discourse on the Jewish identity, Zionism and Israel.
Because of this stance, he has been branded a “Jew self-hater.” Atzmon smiles: “in fact I correct them ‘I am not only a self-hater but a proud self- hater.'” The accusations do not deter him as he is quite vocal about the self-hatred he feels for the Israeli part of him. He argues: “We are dealing here with a morbid collective that sets itself against humanity.” He believes the reason why he is at the forefront of this discourse is because he is more able than others to understand Israeli mentality because, “I come from them, and I know how they think.” He himself has studied for many years the issue of the Jewish identity, and in his talks is often found quoting philosophers like the Austrian Otto Weininger, Kant, Heidegger, Nietzsche, Lacan, Marx as well as Eastern philosophers.
He explains: “Israel has violated all international laws, it has never been held accountable for the countless massacres.” However, he argues the latest massacre of peace activists on the aid flotilla with the emerging forensic reports which suggest Israeli execution-style killings of the 9 peace activists has resulted in shock horror around the world.
“The remarkable fact is they don’t understand why the world is beginning to stand against them in the same way they didn’t understand why the Europeans stood against them in the 1930s. Instead of asking why we are hated they continue to toss accusations on others.” In his latest article titled “Jewish Ideology and World Peace,” he argues: “Within the discourse of Jewish politics and history there is no room for causality… Within the Jewish tribal discourse every narrative starts to evolve when Jewish pain establishes itself. …It also explains why for most Jews the history of the holocaust starts in the gas chambers or with the rise of the Nazis. I have hardly seen any Israelis or Jews attempt to understand the circumstances that led to the clear resentment of Europeans toward their Jewish neighbors in the 1920s-40s.”
Born and brought up as a Zionist in Israel, Atzmon believes it was his love of music that first opened his eyes to the world. “I was brought up to believe that Jews were the chosen people and no one was better than us. Then I discovered jazz and found out that many of the great jazz musicians were black Afro-Americans. That was the first dent in the theory of our greatness and as I picked up the stones more truths began to come out.” At 19, Atzmon was stationed as a soldier to Lebanon where he saw for the first time thousands of Palestinians living as refugees. “We were told that the Palestinians had left and gone to other Arab countries, so when I saw thousands of refugees living without the basics I realized that we had stolen their land.” Atzmon also witnessed the atrocities the Israeli Army was committing against the Palestinians; so as soon as he could, he left the army and left the country for good.
“My studies have shown me that the Jewish identity is foreign to humanism, it is tribal and has evolved as an outcome of an exilic culture.” He argues that we can learn a lot about Jewish collective ideology by looking closely to the biblical “Story of Esther” which he argues teaches Jews the art of infiltration into politics and governments.
He continues: “This form of infiltration is clearly evident in America today where the Jewish lobby (AIPAC) dominates the political discourse. Also in Britain we have the British Jewish lobby, and the ‘Friends of Israel’, we also have people like David Aaronovitch, The Times columnist and Nick Cohen of The Observer, who advocated for war with Iraq. Both write for the Jewish papers, are known sympathizers of Israel and have contributed extensively to the growing Islamophobia in Britain. Lord Levy, a rabid Zionist was funding the Labour Party when it went into an illegal war with Iraq which led to over a million Iraqi fatalities.”
He continues: “We have the likes of David Miliband the Labour MP; I wonder how many people know that he is listed on the Israeli propaganda site as an Israeli propagandist author. Did you know that under the last government, when everyone was talking about Israel’s killing of a Hamas leader in Dubai by using forged British passports, David Miliband was busy attempting to amend the laws of universal jurisdiction so Israeli war criminals could enter Britain.”
In his latest article Atzmon writes: “Enough is enough; it is time to name and shame every Israeli and Zionist infiltrator within political circles, media and academia.” Maybe it is the soldier in him but there are not many subjects that Atzmon is not afraid to confront. The biggest taboo subject today is to question the holocaust. In many European countries one can be jailed for questioning the numbers killed or to what extent gas chambers were used? Atzmon however has no fear when he says: “I do not deny that Jewish suffering took place, I also lost family in it. However if the established holocaust narrative is true why do we need laws to protect it?” He continues: “We want a coherent narrative open to scrutiny. We owe it to ourselves, to history to find out the truth and I don’t mean the truth through emotionally charged Hollywood films. Also I reiterate that those involved in an academic and historic inquiry should not be threatened with law suits and abuse.”
To stop further world conflicts, Atzmon believes that governments should confront Israel. He argues that unlike the last Labour government that indulged Israel to continue its brutal assaults, while its leaders Blair and Brown were honorary patrons of the Jewish National Fund UK, the new government has to take a stronger stand. “In order to end one of the most brutal occupations of Gaza we need to ban Israeli aircraft from British airspace, impose EU trade sanctions against Israel and strip Israel of its UN membership.” For Atzmon the tide is turning and humanity which is bound together by human ethics and morals need to stand together against Israel before it takes us to war with Iran which according to him “is its next step.”
© 2010 Arab News
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Atzmon, human rights, Israel, Palestine freedom flotilla, Zionism | Permalink
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For those of you watching this week’s Off Camera episode, do not adjust your sets…that is me sitting across from Matt, humiliatingly dressed head to toe in a Red Sox uniform, having lost a bet to Matt when my beloved Dodgers lost in the world series for the second year in a row. And for those of you listening or reading, well, just imagine my shame.
For as long as Matt Damon can remember, he wanted to be an actor. So much so that he started his college essay with those very words. But before all the accolades and success, Matt was just a kid from Cambridge, MA who loved playing sports and watching movies. His chances of becoming a pro athlete came up short (both literally and figuratively), but he was determined to make a career out of acting after the seed was planted by an influential theater teacher and nurtured by his best friend and fellow cinephile Ben Affleck.
They had no road map for success, but Matt and Ben had an advantage over their teenage peers—they just wanted it more. They took the train from Boston to New York regularly for auditions, using money drawn from their communal acting bank account to cover expenses. Eventually, one of those auditions turned into a small part in the 1988 Julia Roberts feature Mystic Pizza, but Matt’s “big break” proved to be elusive. He auditioned for the eventual Academy Award winner Dead Poets Society but was rejected in favor of Ethan Hawke, and the cruel reality of the industry smacked him in the face when he was working at the local movie theater the following summer: “I went from the possibility of being in this great film to the guy tearing the movie ticket and watching people come out crying because they’re so moved. That’s the range in this business.”
So Matt and Ben decided to take fate into their own hands and write a great film that they could both star in. That was how Good Will Hunting and the acclaimed acting careers of Matt and Ben came into being. It’s been 20 years, and Matt’s career is still going strong.
As our first two-time guest, Matt joins Off Camera to talk about his acting mid-life crisis, the gamble that almost cost Matt and Ben Good Will Hunting, the invaluable wisdom he’s gained from directors, and why the Boston Red Sox and specifically Fenway Park carry so much significance for him.
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Michael McCullough
Getting Revenge and Forgiveness
Original Air Date
Michael McCullough describes science that helps us comprehend how revenge came to have a purpose in human life. At the same time, he stresses, science is also revealing that human beings are more instinctively equipped for forgiveness than we’ve perhaps given ourselves credit for. Knowing this suggests ways to calm the revenge instinct in ourselves and others and embolden the forgiveness intuition.
Play Unedited Michael McCullough
Image by Derek Thomson/Unsplash, Public Domain Dedication (CC0).
Michael McCullough is professor of psychology at the University of Miami, where he directs the Evolution and Human Behavior Laboratory. He's the author of Beyond Revenge: The Evolution of the Forgiveness Instinct.
KRISTA TIPPETT, HOST: I was hooked by the first line of Beyond Revenge — a book by the research psychologist Michael McCullough. What he’s learning, he said, is “for people who want to bypass all of the pious-sounding statements about the power of forgiveness, and all of the fruitless sermonizing about the destructiveness of revenge.” Both revenge and forgiveness, he says, have their purpose in human biology and history. But from neighborhood arguments to civil wars, Michael McCullough’s science is showing how we can make forgiveness more possible and appealing.
MICHAEL MCCULLOUGH: Some of the baggage is that it’s a namby-pamby thing that doormats do, but from everything I’ve manage to read and see and understand, forgiveness is a brawny muscular exercise that I kind of imagine someone with a great passion for life and a great hardy sort of disposition being able to take on.
MS. TIPPETT: “Getting Revenge and Forgiveness.” I’m Krista Tippett. This is On Being — from APM, American Public Media.
Michael McCullough directs the Evolution and Human Behavior Laboratory at the University of Miami. He works with social scientific research as well as emerging discoveries in biology and brain chemistry. His focus on the biology of revenge and forgiveness has taken him into other related areas of human moral sentiments, gratitude, and self-control.
I interviewed Michael McCullough in 2008, just after he had published Beyond Revenge.
MS. TIPPETT: I think one of the important themes that comes through that I just, you know, that I think is important for us to talk about, to lay the ground work for what you have to say, what you are learning is that we lay people, citizens, consumers of science and journalism have to open our imaginations to think in new ways about subjects like revenge and forgiveness. That there are certain boxes in to which we’ve put these things.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: That’s right. One of the things that got me writing Beyond Revenge actually was the dissatisfaction with the kind of boxes that we all tend to put …
MS. TIPPETT: Mm-hmm.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: … revenge and forgiveness in as human dispositions. So if you turn on the news, you see certainly senseless acts of revenge. But we don’t really know what to do with those once we see those acts. What are the stories we tell ourselves about what causes those acts? What kind of judgments do we pass about the people who commit them? Do we demonize them? Do we call them animals? Those I think do tend to be the kind of conclusions we draw. And the more I read and the more I tried to dig deeply into not just the social sciences but also the biological sciences, as you say, the worse that story really seemed to fit, um …
MS. TIPPETT: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: … as it seems to me revenge is much more deeply etched into the human mind than — than those kind of stories would suggest.
MS. TIPPETT: Right. I want to try to understand this, because you really talk about two different kind of preconceptions — or I can’t tell if they’re different or if they converge and I just don’t get it. On the one hand, there’s this idea, you know, that human nature really is brutish and that positive characteristics like generosity and love and forgiveness are exceptions to human nature. And then on the other hand, there is the disease model of revenge, which is more compatible with the way religious traditions tend to think about revenge — in the modern era, at least — and kind of the therapeutic model. Now do those ways of thinking come together or do they both — do they form us at the same time?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Yeah. Here’s what I think we are up against.
MS. TIPPETT: OK.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: If you go back to the Greek tragedies, what you see the Greeks grappling with is why revenge is so disruptive to their efforts to establish social order.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: You see and you know, you have — you have these amazing stories, right? Medea, she’s so angry at her husband for his unfaithfulness to her that she destroys her own children, right, as a way of trying to get back at him. And so it goes on and on throughout these great works of Western literature.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: I think what we tend to think from these images, which of course trickle in to, you know, more popular media, movies and novels.
MS. TIPPETT: Right. Lord of the Flies, Westside Story, are some of the ones you mention these …
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Of course.
MS. TIPPETT: Yeah.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Mad Max, um, let’s see, Death Wish, you know …
MS. TIPPETT: Right. Right.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: … and on and on and on. Is that revenge is a curse or a disease or some kind of poison that gets into minds and, um, sort of takes control of them and then wrecks individuals and wrecks societies and wrecks families. Then that affects how you think about what forgiveness is as well.
MS. TIPPETT: Right.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: And so, I think the thing that we tend to assume about forgiveness is that it’s a cure, right?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: That someone came along — some — some Einstein of the moral realm, some wonderfully wise person in history, and discovered how powerful forgiveness could be as an antidote to this toxin or this poison.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: And so we’re left really, I think, now, thinking about revenge and forgiveness as — in the case of revenge, something gone wrong in humanity and forgiveness being the thing we have to learn to do because we don’t know how to do it naturally.
MS. TIPPETT: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I mean, so, one of the things you seem to be about is reclaiming the normalcy of both revenge and, uh, forgiveness as a part of human nature. I mean, I’d like to talk about revenge first, if we could, and why revenge is in us and what purpose it has served even in evolutionary terms.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: One study that really got my attention was a study on chimpanzees, which showed that if a chimpanzee is harmed by an individual that it’s living with, it has the ability to remember who that individual is and target aggression back at that individual in the 10 minutes, 20 minutes, hour later. And for most people, and certainly for me when I started working on this, I was surprised to know that chimpanzees had these kinds of mental abilities, right? I had to learn more. I wanted to know where else do you see this in the animal kingdom. You see it in other kinds of primates, such as one type of monkey that I like a lot, a monkey called the Japanese macaque.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: And Japanese macaques are very status-conscious individuals. They’re very intimidated by power; let’s just put it that way.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: They’re very intimidated by power. So if you’re a high-ranking Japanese macaque and you harm a low-ranking Japanese macaque, that low-ranking individual is not going to harm you back, right? It’s just too intimidating. It’s too anxiety provoking. But what they do instead, and this still astonishes me, is they will find a relative of that high-ranking individual and go seek that low-ranking cousin out or nephew and harm him in retaliation.
MS. TIPPETT: Really?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Yeah. So it’s as if they’re saying, “You know, I’m not powerful enough to get you back, but what I’m going to do is I’m going to go harm your nephew.”
MS. TIPPETT: Now that does sound like human behavior, doesn’t it?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Right. And here’s the kicker, is when they’re harming this nephew, most of the time they’re doing it while the high-ranking individual is watching. They want the high-ranking individual to know that, you know, you can harm me. I know you can harm me. I know you’re more powerful than I am. But rest assured, I know how to get at what you care about and what you value.
MS. TIPPETT: You know, I had this realization a few years ago when we did a program on the death penalty. It might seem simple but it seems so stunning to me to realize that the criminal justice system, and even, and especially, the death penalty in history, was progress because before there was any kind of criminal justice system, human societies regulated themselves by precisely that kind of revenge you’re describing.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Throughout most of human history we have not lived in complex societies with governments and states and law enforcement and prisons …
MR. MCCULLOUGH: … and contracts that we could enforce in a court to get people to do what they agreed to do. So the mechanism that individuals relied upon to protect themselves and to protect their loved ones and to protect their property was fear of retaliation. And if they could broadcast that fear of retaliation to the individuals they lived with, to their neighbors, to the people on the other side of the hill, and you could cultivate a reputation as a hothead so people knew not to mess with you, that was like an insurance policy. And you’re absolutely right that in a lot of the world this is still going on.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: And any time you disrupt that system, that system of government, that system of policing, that system of law enforcement, so people can’t trust that their interests are going to be protected, that desire for revenge comes back. And people will take revenge back into their own hands to protect themselves.
MS. TIPPETT: And I think you’re also saying in your research that — and also in terms of what we know about the brain — that the emotions, the reactions, that arise in response to grievance …
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Mm-hmm.
MS. TIPPETT: … are also — we are hard-wired to have those reactions, that they serve a purpose. I mean, I remember Sister Helen Prejean saying to me when we did that work on the death penalty, you know, she’s a great opponent of the death penalty, but she said, “Anger is a moral response,” you know?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: That’s right. It certainly is. Anger in response to injustice is as reliable a human emotional response as happiness is to winning the lottery, or grief is to losing a loved one.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: And if you look at the brain of somebody who has just been harmed by someone, right, they’ve been ridiculed or harassed or insulted — we can put those people into technology that allows us to see what their brains are doing, right? So we can look at sort of what your brain looks like on revenge. It looks exactly like the brain of somebody who is thirsty and is just about to get a sweet drink to drink or somebody who’s hungry who’s about to get a piece of chocolate to eat.
MS. TIPPETT: It’s like the satisfaction of a craving?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: It is exactly like that. It is literally a craving. What you see is high activation in the brain’s reward system. So, the desire for revenge does not come from some sick, dark part of how our minds operate. It is a craving to solve a problem and accomplish a goal.
[Sound bite of music, “Hey Joe” by Jimi Hendrix]
MS. TIPPETT: And then I guess what is especially intriguing about your work as well, and perhaps even more surprising, even kind of takes us out of our boxes, than the fact that revenge is natural is that you are really suggesting also from a scientific perspective that we have a forgiveness instinct, an aptitude for forgiveness, and that has been crafted by natural selection just like revenge.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: I expected to find, frankly, less research as I dug through hundreds of scientific articles on the naturalness of forgiveness. But, boy, was I wrong. As it turns out, a lot of biologists have been trying to figure out what allows human beings to be the cooperative creatures that we are. We’re cooperative with each other in a way that really makes us pretty unique among mammals, for sure. You know, we cooperate with our relatives, but lots of animals do that. But we go further and we cooperate with people we’ve never met. We cooperate with people that we’re not related to. And by virtue of our abilities to cooperate with each other, we can build magnificent cities and radio stations and do all kinds of wonderful things. But one of the ingredients you have to have to get individuals to cooperate with each other is a tolerance for mistakes, OK?
MS. TIPPETT: Hmm. Interesting.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: You can’t get organisms that are willing to hang in there with each other through thick and thin and make good things happen despite the roadblocks and the bumps along the way if they aren’t willing to tolerate each other’s mistakes. Sometimes, if we’re cooperatively hunting — let’s say we’re some sort of animal that works together to hunt — sometimes, I’m going to let you down. And maybe it’s not even intentional, but I’m going to get distracted and I’m going to make a mistake. And if you take each of those mistakes as the last word about my cooperative disposition, you might just give up and so no cooperation gets done.
So, really, our ability — and across the animal kingdom many animals’ ability to cooperate with each other and make things happen that they can’t do on their own — is undergirded by an ability to forgive each other for occasional defections and mistakes.
MS. TIPPETT: Here’s a passage from your book, which, again, a lot of this just seems so basic, doesn’t it, when you articulate it, but it’s things we don’t see or think about. I mean, you know, you said that everyday acts of forgiveness are incredibly common among people who know each other.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Right.
MS. TIPPETT: You know, we think of forgiveness as these heroic acts and there are always these heroic examples of forgiveness. But you said we think of it as this balm for great wounds. But you said: “Yet, in daily life, forgiveness is more often like a Band-Aid on a scrape and at first glance perhaps only slightly more interesting. But, of course, uninteresting doesn’t mean unimportant.”
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Right. And this, again, was part of my attempt to do violence, I guess, to this metaphor of forgiveness as this difficult thing that we have to consciously practice and learn, because we don’t know how to do it on their own. I forgive my seven-year-old son every day, right?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Because he’s an active, inquisitive seven-year-old who sometimes accidentally elbows me in the mouth when we’re cuddling and sometimes puts Crayons on the walls. And yet it seems demeaning to call it forgiveness.
MS. TIPPETT: To even call it forgiveness. Right.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Right. I wouldn’t dignify it with the term forgiveness. It’s just what you do with your children. You know, you — you accept their limitations and you move on. He broke my tooth once when I was drinking out of a water glass.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: I mean, parents have a million of these stories, right?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: But you don’t put any effort into forgiving. It naturally happens and you move on. And there’s a great evolutionary story about why it comes so easy in those kinds of circumstances too.
MS. TIPPETT: Mm-hmm, which is pretty obvious, I guess.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Yeah. I mean, evolution wasn’t kind to individuals who would seek revenge against their genetic relatives, bottom line, right? So we have this natural tolerance for the misbehavior of our children. So it is at that level you’re talking about incredibly mundane. We put no effort into it. It happens every day a thousand times. We would never even give it a second thought. And yet we do it over and over again.
MS. TIPPETT: I’m Krista Tippett, and this is On Being — conversation about meaning, religion, ethics, and ideas. Today, “Getting Revenge and Forgiveness.”
[Sound bite of music, “Dead Man Walking” by Bruce Springsteen]
One figure of public forgiveness whom Michael McCullough writes about is Bud Welch. His 23-year-old daughter Julie died in the bombing of the Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995. Here’s a statement Bud Welch made prior to the 2001 execution of Timothy McVeigh, the man responsible for that bombing.
MR. BUD WELCH: The first month after the bombing, I didn’t even want Tim McVeigh or Terry Nichols to even have trials. I simply wanted them fried. And then I finally come to realize that the reason that Julie and 167 others were dead is because of vengeance and rage. And when we take him out of his cage to kill him, it’s going to be the same thing. We will keep the circle of violence going. Number 169 dead is not going to help the family members of the first 168.
MS. TIPPETT: You do talk about some amazing examples of forgiveness, of public forgiveness, one of them being Bud Welch. But I sometimes think that those kinds of examples that do make the news, like the bombing, also exalt forgiveness as something that’s really beyond the reach of most of us most of the time. You know, we kind of wish — we hope that we would be that gracious, perhaps, but it almost feels, um, superhuman.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Right. And if you look at Bud Welch and you look at that story from the outside and you ask yourself how can this man whose daughter was killed in this terrible explosion ever get over his rage, from the outside we have a really hard time imagining that. But if you look at the story of Bud Welch, actually what you find is he had a lot of help along the way. And if you look at the story very carefully, you can actually learn a lot about how the human mind evolved to forgive and what kind of conditions activate that instinct in human minds, because a lot of those conditions ended up falling into place for Bud. In fact, he doesn’t talk about forgiveness even for himself in that case as having been some massive struggle.
MS. TIPPETT: Well, it was incremental, also, wasn’t it? I mean, it gets reported as an act, but in fact it was a process.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Yeah. Yeah, that’s right. And along the way, there were events that he actually made happen for himself that turned forgiveness into one of these things that can be easier. For example, he actually sought out Timothy McVeigh’s father and visited him one day at the McVeigh home and had this moment he describes when he saw Timothy’s picture on the mantel.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: It was a high school graduation picture. And they were just making small talk and Bud said to McVeigh’s father, he said, “God, that’s a good-looking kid.” And the tears just began pouring out of the elder McVeigh. And what he realized then was that here was another father on the verge of losing a son, of losing a child. And that immediate experience of sympathy and compassion went a tremendous way in facilitating the forgiveness process for Bud.
So right off the bat, this real human interaction starts to turn forgiveness from something difficult to do to something that’s easier to do because this compassion has happened naturally in the course of real human interaction and then suddenly forgiveness is a little easier.
MS. TIPPETT: So this is getting to one of the really important points I think you make with your work, that if we can understand this forgiveness instinct and how, that even understanding it in terms of evolution, that we can start to create conditions where it can be empowered.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Right. The first is safety. Human beings are naturally prone to forgive individuals that they feel safe around. So if we have an offender that is apologizing in a way that seems heartfelt and convincing and has really convinced us that they can’t and won’t harm us in the same way again, OK, that’s a point on the forgiveness side. The human mind evolved for forgiveness to be something worth its while, and any successful organism is unlikely to have a mechanism in it that says, you know, “Just keep stepping on my neck. It’s OK.”
MS. TIPPETT: Right. Right. Right.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Right. “But if you can convince me that you’re safe, right, that I don’t have to worry about being harmed in the same way a second time, maybe I’m willing to move a little bit forward.”
MS. TIPPETT: But it seems like that would be the hardest, um, condition or assumption to put in place in the context of many of the worst cycles of revenge in our world.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Sometimes safety comes through things like the rule of law, right?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Sometimes safety comes through you as a small-business owner dusting off that employee manual that you don’t think about anymore and asking yourself what is in here that would instruct an employee on what to do if they were being systematically harassed by a co-worker and that if there was a real serious infraction it would be dealt with in a way that restored that employee’s sense of safety, right?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: What can you do in your associations when somebody has a grievance, that when the neighbor has a band that he’s hired for a party playing at 12:30 on a Friday night, that you know how to make sure that doesn’t happen a second time, right? So that you don’t then have to say, “Well, I’m going to get back at that guy myself.”
MR. MCCULLOUGH: “I’m going to leave my garbage cans out all weekend long, which I know he hates,” right?
MS. TIPPETT: You’re talking about revenge in ordinary life, which is where I think we’re more comfortable talking about it in terms of warring tribes across the globe.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Well, I can take it in any — I mean, I — the thing I like about these principles is they’re scalable, right? Actually, usually people when — when people ask me about the book, they’re actually less interested in the geopolitical stuff.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: But I can, you know …
MS. TIPPETT: OK. Well, yeah, we’ll get there. So what’s the second after safety?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Value. We are inclined to forgive individuals who are likely to have benefit for us in the future. So we find it really easy, as I was saying, to forgive our loved ones or forgive our friends or forgive our neighbors or our business partners because there’s something in it for us in the future, right?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: And the costs sometimes of destroying a relationship that’s been damaged are just too high because establishing a new one is so difficult to do. So relationships that have value in them are ones in which we’re naturally prone to forgive.
[Sound bite of music, “The Prodigal Son” by the Rolling Stones)
MS. TIPPETT: We had some fun when we first created this show a few years ago — we asked listeners to share their favorite songs about revenge and forgiveness. As far as we can tell, revenge seems to make for better music. Listen to the “Songs of Revenge” playlist we compiled with tracks from Johnny Cash, Justin Timberlake, Ani DiFranco, and the Rolling Stones. That’s at onbeing.org. While you’re there, you can also download my complete, unedited conversation with Michael McCulloch. Again, onbeing.org.
Coming up, how the psychology and biology of forgiveness can apply to a noisy neighbor, or to Joseph Kony in Uganda. I’m Krista Tippett. This program comes to you from APM, American Public Media.
[Sound bite, “Sweet Forgiveness” by Susan Tedeschi]
I’m Krista Tippett, and this is On Being. Today, “Getting Revenge and Forgiveness.”
Michael McCullough directs the Evolution and Human Behavior Laboratory at the University of Miami. He understands both forgiveness and revenge as part of the birthright of the human species. And he’s learning how we can calm or trigger either impulse. I interviewed Michael McCullough in 2008 — as it happens, in the midst of the last presidential election season.
MS. TIPPETT: Let’s talk about this in terms of concrete challenges, and we’re in an election year. I wonder as you watch that, and you’re in the South, um, you’re in a politically charged state, how do some of these things you think about in terms of forgiveness, what runs through your mind when you think about how we might come to any kind of resolution about any of these difficult, divisive issues?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Uh, well, we do have a hard time seeing things from other people’s perspectives [laugh], and we tend to view other people who have positions different from ours as having much more similarity to each other than we do. We can see the great variety in our own positions.
MS. TIPPETT: Oh, but we can’t see the variety in other people’s positions.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: No, that’s right.
MS. TIPPETT: That’s interesting.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Yeah. We tend to paint them with the same brush. And so we tend to really simplify positions that other groups have or people on other sides of positions. So we have a simplified view. We tend to actually view them as more partisan and more extreme on average than the average really seems to be. And so there’s something about how the mind works and how it processes groups, right, when we think about people from over there, that other group …
MR. MCCULLOUGH: … that kind of causes us to not really view them with the same sort of humanity that we afford our own groups. You know, you think about an issue that you feel strongly about and that you know a lot about and you can say, “Well, actually, there are a lot of people who have sort of different views than mine. They’re not exactly the same,” and that allows you to view them as human beings, right?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Um, harder to do something about the limitations of the mind. Or perhaps because of how the mind was actually designed to work, we have a harder time affording that kind of benefit of the doubt to other groups. So if we know that, then …
MS. TIPPETT: If we know that about ourselves, right, you’re saying if we can get an awareness about that, perhaps that is a beginning. [laugh]
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Then you can begin to say, “Well, they’re just a group of human beings, too, trying to muddle their way through a position that’s going to work for them.” And maybe that kind of recognition of their diversity as well can help. Then maybe we’ll have less anxiety about interacting in a civil way.
MS. TIPPETT: You know, I mean, just to kind of go to the geopolitical level, you tell some stories about, let’s say, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, uh, where you have, you know, cycles, generations of grievance and revenge kind of layered on top of each other. And yet, you tell stories and we’ve all heard these kinds of stories and I’ve met some of these people who are, you know, amazing, who have still moved beyond that in themselves, have reached out to people on the other side, have formed just what you said, have come to see the other group as human and have formed friendship. And those kinds of stories don’t tend to be in the headlines. We hear the headlines of continued violence and continued animosity, right?
MS. TIPPETT: But from the studies you’ve seen or from what you know about how these things play themselves out in different societies, we know — what does it take? Is it possible even, say, in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis that one day those networks reach such a critical mass that the balance is shifted? I mean, does it work that way? Um, how does that kind of collective change really happen?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Some of it happens when people become too tired to fight, right? Or too …
MS. TIPPETT: Yeah. You tell that story in northern Uganda.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Yeah.
MS. TIPPETT: Right? You said there’s an epidemic of forgiveness that’s grown out of fatigue as much as anything else.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: That’s right. That’s right. Sometimes the costs of maintaining grievances are so high that individuals and their groups will decide that they’ve pushed themselves to the brink. They’ve demonstrated their insistence on defending themselves, and they’ve shown that they will defend themselves to the end. And, having done that, it becomes possible to try to find a new way.
MS. TIPPETT: Would you tell the story of what’s happening in northern Uganda?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Yeah. So Uganda has been at war for many years. And part of the strategy of one of the rebel groups — it’s a group called the Lord’s Resistance Army, headed by a man named Joseph Kony — part of their strategy has been to abduct children, boys and girls, from their villages and from their tribes and take them off into the woods and essentially brainwash them and send them …
MS. TIPPETT: They’ve also had the children do horrible things, right, before they leave, killing their own siblings, so that they can’t go back, they’re so ashamed that their parents won’t take them back, right? I mean, it’s terrible.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Yes. I mean, they send them back to kill their own families.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: To kill members of their own villages, their own tribes, to maim them, to disfigure people unrecognizably, to cut off their lips and ears and noses. They give the girls as child brides to the soldiers. And through this really heartless, brutal tactic, you know, they do a couple of things. One is that they destroy the culture of these villages, the fabric of their own history. And they also create new foot soldiers for their army.
The costs of this have been so high, both from a security point of view and from a cultural point of view, that many of the rank and file, just regular people living in Uganda, particularly this one group called the Acholi, have just simply grown so tired of these cycles of violence and their inability to solve them using military force that they’ve really been pressing the government to offer amnesty — official amnesty, not only to Kony, but they’ve been offering an official amnesty to any of the children, any of the sons and daughters of their own villages who’ve been spirited away like this and brainwashed and turned into killers.
And they’ve used radio programs, radio broadcasts, word of mouth, newspapers, really any vehicle they can get hold of to send this message out: that if you will come back to your village, lay down your arms, meet with the elders, meet with the community, and work out a plan for demonstrating your desire to rejoin us, we’ll let you rejoin us as a member of our community in good standing.
MS. TIPPETT: That’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: And they’ve been coming back in groups as large as 300, 400, 500, 900, laying down their guns, working out plans for reparation, right, trying to find some way to compensate victims for the harms they’ve caused, at risk to themselves, mind you. I mean, these returnees now have to worry about these villagers’ own desires for revenge against them. So they take a risk in coming back and yet many of them are doing it, and in part it really is because there just isn’t another way.
[Sound bite of music]
MS. TIPPETT: Here is a Welsh ethnomusicologist, Peter Cooke, describing how the very Ugandans Michael McCullough mentioned have integrated grief, outrage, and a longing for forgiveness in the music they sing. And their songs explicitly address warlord Joseph Kony.
MR. PETER COOKE: Now it’s very interesting. They live in slums around Kampala. What do they sing about? First of all, they preserve some of the songs from their village competitions. “We are number one. We are the best group. We are going to win,” this kind of thing. Secondly, they’ll sing about this war in the north, how awful it is. But in the same song, when they’re complaining that their women are raped, that their sisters give birth in the bush, and so on, they will say, “Kony, come talk with us. Come talk with us. Let’s get it settled.” “Otti” — who’s now dead, by the way, killed by Kony — “come talk with us. It’s time for peace.” And this — these songs are being sung at the same time as bureaucracy overseas will say the international criminal court wants to arrest Kony and try him. There’s a lot of forgiveness for the sake of a lasting peace and building one as soon as possible.
MS. TIPPETT: I’m Krista Tippett with On Being. Today, “Getting Revenge and Forgiveness,” with research psychologist Michael McCullough.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: We replaced one of the truly awful dictators …
MR. MCCULLOUGH: … of the late 20th century when we removed Saddam Hussein. You know the story there. And yet, it is also true that when we did that, and particularly when we disbanded the army, we did away with the only structure that was capable of holding a lot of very old tribal and ethnic and sectarian grudges in check.
MS. TIPPETT: Right. This is a really interesting point you make, that strong governments — and it cuts both directions. Even repressive governments squelch or kind of take on all that revenge function, right?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: That’s right. Yep.
MS. TIPPETT: And so that helps me understand why sometimes when you have terrible regimes fall apart, Soviet Union or Saddam Hussein’s regime and even in South Africa, some of these rivalries, these kind of primitive rivalries, if you want to call it that, come to the surface.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: That’s right. I like to ask people to look out their windows in their office or their homes and imagine what your life would look like if the police and the National Guard and the fire department and the paramedics stopped working tomorrow, because of a natural disaster. People are hungry. People are — they have needs. And how would you put security into place yourself? What you would do is you would probably find your friends and find your family and you’d circle the wagons.
MS. TIPPETT: So in terms of what average people can do in the course of more ordinary lives, let me ask you the question this way. I mean, how do you think you live differently? How do you conduct yourself differently with, um, people you fundamentally disagree with on important social issues, with irritating people at work? How do you conduct yourself differently because of what you know scientifically in this research you do?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: The thing that I have realized is that many times if you’ve been harmed by somebody, you don’t have any choice but to try to forgive it on your own, because the person’s gone, the person’s dead, the person will have nothing to do with you.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: There’s just no bridge there. But in lots and lots of cases, forgiveness is just a conversation away. I mean, there are so many people if you ask them about the hurt that they remember from junior high or high school, what you often find is there was never any conversation back with that person who harmed them.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: And so the conclusion I’ve come to is in many, many cases if you want forgiveness, if you want to forgive or if you want to be forgiven, you need to go out there and get it for yourself. And the way you go out and get it for yourself is by trying to have the kind of conversation with the person you hurt that you want to have. In my family we apologize about a lot …
MS. TIPPETT: Yeah, apology is an important concept for you. You say that it really, even biologically, it’s important for us.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Apology is really important, because when I apologize to you for something I’ve done, you see me squirming. You see me uncomfortable. You see me trying to reassure you that I’m not going to harm you in the same way again. You see me giving you respect as a human being with feelings. And all of a sudden, I’ve turned on a lot of the slider switches that make forgiveness happen in your head.
MS. TIPPETT: You say also that you’ve made it the next best thing to revenge.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: That’s right. That’s right.
MS. TIPPETT: It’s fulfilled some of those needs we have.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Oh, there are so many people who, once they see someone who’s harmed them cry and experience shame and experience humiliation for the way they’ve behaved, suddenly it’s the forgiver who’s doing the healing, right, who’s reaching out to the perpetrator. This happens so many times. All people often need is this kind of vigorous conversation about the past. Now, if this were so easy, people would be doing it all day.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: So I don’t pretend that. But at the same time, I really think we can’t lose sight of the value of kind of getting in each other’s business a little bit and getting in each other’s lives a little bit and being willing to try to make things a little bit uncomfortable and a little bit messy in the service of making them better.
MS. TIPPETT: And, I mean, again, when, if you just read the headlines, you read about what’s going wrong in the world today, what are the worst most entrenched crises. I do sense from your research where you kind of try to take a global view and look at civil wars that have happened in recent years that have been resolved, I mean, that you kind of feel that there is progress, that on balance there’s more reconciliation happening; is that right?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Yeah. I’m so optimistic about our future, because, again, if you look at that long arc of history, as you suggest, what you see is — for example, the homicide rate. We worry about the homicide rate, as we should. It goes up some years, it goes down other years, and — and we worry. But over the long arc of history — you take Western Europe — homicide rates are a twentieth and in some countries a fiftieth of what they were 600, 800 years ago, right?
So if we take this long perspective, what seems to be happening is actually we’re getting better and better control over human beings’ potential for aggressiveness. And a lot of that homicide 600-800 years ago was in fact vengeance motivated. But when we get control of those instincts and we give people other tools to deal with their grievances, they will restrain themselves.
So Iraq may look dismal to some. It’s, you know, been terrible for our country and the world in so many ways, and yet I see coming out of it, whenever that is, a society that’s going to rebuild itself into a peaceful society. I don’t know how long it will take — it’s above my pay grade, as they say, but this is what societies tend to do. They tend to find the best way to rebuild in the aftermath of these kinds of collapses in ways that will promote cooperation.
MS. TIPPETT: And you’re really saying that on the basis of lots of research, aren’t you? I mean, this is not just wishful thinking.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: If you, I mean, if you put societal structures in place where people feel their rights are protected, and they feel that they see a way forward for making a living in a peaceful way, and you put incentives in place like that where there’s security, they prefer peace over war, every time.
Ms. Tippett: So from everything you know, I mean, what feels really important for you to pass on to your children practically?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: I have a four-year-old daughter who’s a little bit too young for this still, but with our seven-year-old, I really have tried to encourage him to be vigorous about acknowledging his mistakes and the harms that he causes his friends, whether that’s just a careless word or excluding somebody from a game or whatever, because so much of forgiveness comes down to interaction. It comes down to knowing that an offender is not the person you thought he was when he hurt you or she was when she hurt you. It’s changing that perception.
It’s simple things, but we try to teach him that — what someone needs after they’ve had their feelings hurt. We think if we can explain to him what the mind needs after someone’s been offended, then we can teach him how to be vigorous and not worry about having to look like he’s right all the time or having to look like he’s perfect or denying his mistakes. If he can own up to them, that’s a vigorous healthy way to keep his friendships intact.
MS. TIPPETT: So, you know, I think a simplistic view, and you kind of touch on this in your book, of what religion can do in terms of forgiveness. When I look at all your research and have this conversation with you, it seems to me that in terms of where religion can play a constructive role in this, and religion is often implicated in places where there’s terrible violence going on, but perhaps not in the first instance, teaching forgiveness, but some of the teachings that come out of religious traditions about caring for the other, about caring for the stranger.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Yeah, absolutely. I think one of the best things we can do with religious faith is give people an appetite for difference. And the major world religions all have the resources for doing this, for getting people excited about people who are different from them.
MS. TIPPETT: Yeah. Yeah.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: It’s not every brand, right, that exercises that prerogative, but in the scriptures and traditions of every world religion that has been successful on a grand scale, there is a story there about the love of difference.
MS. TIPPETT: Compassion towards difference.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Right. Compassion toward difference, caring for the strangers in your midst, being able to see beyond superficial differences toward the essential commonalities.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Religion is also good at appealing to people’s meaner sides and the more brutish side, and the resources are there for both. So it’s really up to those people who have a passion for reconciliation in their own faiths to make sure that the right tones are struck and the others are a little bit more muted.
MS. TIPPETT: Something that I’ve been aware of also is that this word “forgiveness” I think has a really Christian ring in many ears. But I’ve been very intrigued at, uh, you know, I remember speaking with a Holocaust survivor who said that, you know, for him the word “forgiveness” just didn’t do it and it has this cultural connotation of forgive and forget, but the Jewish phrase “repair the world,” you know, compels him in the same way he feels the word “forgiveness” compels Christians.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: I like that. I like that. I wish we could come up with a completely new word for what this human trait is.
MS. TIPPETT: Other than forgiveness?
MR. MCCULLOUGH: Yeah. Or maybe find some new way to talk about it so that we could unload a little bit of the baggage from the past, because some of the baggage is that it’s sort of a namby-pamby thing that doormats do or wimps do.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: You know, only sort of milquetoast types of people are interested in. But from everything I’ve managed to read and see and understand in my own work it’s that forgiveness is a brawny muscular exercise that I kind of imagine someone with a great passion for life and a great hardy sort of disposition being able to take on.
MS. TIPPETT: Wow. And you really feel that it’s essential to our geopolitical future, right, as well our — the health of our individual lives.
MR. MCCULLOUGH: It’s just too important. Yeah. It’s just too important. And the doors are open now. The doors are open for the use of this kind of language in the public sphere.
[Sound bite of music, “We Can Work It Out” by the Beatles]
MS. TIPPETT: Michael McCullough is a Professor of Psychology and a Cooper Fellow at the University of Miami. There he also directs the Evolution and Human Behavior Laboratory. His book is Beyond Revenge: The Evolution of the Forgiveness Instinct.
We end the show with more from our “revenge and forgiveness playlist” — including songs recommended by our listeners. You can hear all the tracks at onbeing.org.
[Sound bite of music, “One Way or Another” by Blondie]
[Sound bite of music, “Angry Any More” by Ani DiFranco]
[Sound bite of music, “Just You Wait, Henry Higgins” from My Fair Lady]
[Sound bite of music, “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele]
[Sound bite of music, “What Goes Around” by Justin Timberlake]
[Sound bite of music, “Anyway” by the Roches]
On Being on air and online is created by Chris Heagle, Nancy Rosenbaum, Stefni Bell, Anne Breckbill, and Susan Leem.
Our senior producer is Dave McGuire. Trent Gilliss is our senior editor. And I’m Krista Tippett.
[Sound bite of music, “Good-bye Earl” by the Dixie Chicks)
[Announcements]
MS. TIPPETT: Next time, “Mathematics, Purpose, and Truth,” with physicist and novelist Janna Levin. Please join us.
Beyond Revenge: The Evolution of the Forgiveness Instinct
Author: Michael McCullough
Artist: Joseph Curiale
Beggars Banquet (Remastered)
Lweny Dongpe (Chantsinging & Lamellaphones Lokeme)
Artist: Ensemble Watmon Amone
Sufi Chants From Cairo
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 13, 14, & 23 ~ Watts
Artist: Beethoven
American 3: Solitary Man
Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture Dead Man Walking
Artist: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix
Zero Church
Solid Liquid
A Quick One (Happy Jack)
1000 Kisses
Jagged Little Pill
Science & Being
Cultivating Virtues
Ursula King, Andrew Revkin, and David Sloan Wilson
Teilhard de Chardin's "Planetary Mind" and Our Spiritual Evolution
The coming stage of evolution, Teilhard de Chardin said, won’t be driven by physical adaptation but by human consciousness, creativity, and spirit. We visit with his biographer Ursula King, and we experience his ideas energizing New York Times Dot Earth blogger Andrew Revkin and evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson.
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