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Tag Archives: forward lean
Leaning forwards to decrease knee pain? What exactly do you mean by that?
February 11, 2015 running in systems Leave a comment
According to this research paper, leaning forwards during a run may be a way to reduce frontal knee pain, since it effectively causes the body’s weight to be borne by the hip area rather than the knee area.
Various potential problems with this advice have been discussed here and here.
In the abstract of the abovementioned article, the authors write that “sagittal-plane trunk flexion has a significant influence on hip and knee energetics during running. Increasing forward trunk lean during running may be utilized as a strategy to reduce knee loading…”
Sagittal-plane trunk flexion
The problem I see isn’t with the research article, but with well-meaning people using the phrase “leaning forward” as a shorthand for sagittal-plane trunk flexion. Sagittal-plane trunk flexion isn’t the only way to lean forward: we can also achieve this by lumbar spine flexion. A true sagittal-plane trunk flexion creates forward lean as a function of flexion at the hip, rather than at the spine (think “sitting up straight”).
Lumbar spine flexion
In summary, there are (at least) two possible ways to move the center of gravity forward: at the trunk, and at the hips.
Typically, a runner with lumbar spine flexion is compensating for a weak/badly synchronized gluteus maximus/psoas major system—more on this later—with excessive abdominal flexion, thus putting a lot of strain on the back extensors during late stance and pushoff phase of running gait.
Furthermore, a person can be in a state of chronic sagittal-plane trunk flexion because of a loss of hip extension, meaning that their hip flexors are so tight that their glutes are weakened. A runner who leans forward because of this problem will typically have strained lower back muscles.
The solution isn’t to unilaterally achieve sagittal-plane trunk flexion. The solution is to create it in function of resolving biomechanic problems at the hip.
This problem hides a question: How do we give advice that is tailored in such a way that it promotes people to make the right choice biomechanically speaking (flexing the hip), rather than the wrong one (flexing the back)?
In the comments section of a great article on the topic at runningreform.com, Mike Andersen suggests that using the term “lean” might be a bad way to go, and a better term would be to use the word “angle.”
By changing the angle at which our whole body leans forward, we maintain the same saggital plane trunk flexion while achieving a forward tilt at the hips and ankle simultaneously, because the whole body is in line.
If I could only give a single piece of advice—and I never would, which is why I’d rather give this long explanation—it would be to “sit up straight when you run, and once you can sit up straight, sit up straight and forward.”
Leaning forward means that the hip moment arm increases: as the weight travels forward in relation to the hips, you need stronger and stronger hips to maintain speed without falling. A similar thing happens with squatting. The deeper the squat, the further forward the weight needs to be:
Therefore, in my opinion, it’s easier (and safer, in terms of the unintended consequences of our advice) to look at this problem in the inverse: we understand a lack of forward lean not as a cause of knee pain but as a result of hip dysfunction. If we have frontal knee pain, it is likely because we’re not leaning forward enough, and we’re not doing that likely because we have weak hips. If, with weak hips, we decide the solution is to lean forwards (rather than strengthening the hips, and having the increase in angle be a function of that), then we’ll force a situation where we have to compensate in order to maintain that angle, and the easiest way of doing that is by flattening the lower back—in other words, by hunching forward.
The most basic solution to this problem is simple: strengthen the hips and develop hip mobility.
(This, however, is not necessarily the whole solution for people who have a more complex gait pathology).
Why is this the basic solution? Let’s look at how the hips are structured.
The two most powerful hip muscles are the psoas major and the gluteus maximus. They work in opposition to each other: the psoas major pulls the femur up and slightly to the inside, and the gluteus maximus pulls the femur down and slightly to the outside. The important part is that the psoas major, which anchors to the lumbar vertebrae, also manages to pull the spine down and towards the femur. (This is why you see forward trunk lean in people with a tight psoas major).
We can see the interaction in full force in this slow-motion video of Dennis Kimetto’s record-breaking marathon run (although we shouldn’t forget that there are many other muscles at play). Ultimately, it is the correct interaction of all the muscles, and not just the two I singled out here, that will lead to a good running gait.
In the video, it is plainly clear how when the gluteus maximus is engaged during the pushoff phase, the erector spinae (along with associated back muscles such as the quadratus lumborum) maintains the curvature of Kimetto’s back. On the opposite side, which is in full flexion, that same curvature is maintained by the psoas major on the front side.
Kimmeto’s forward lean is established by a powerful gluteus maximus and erector spinae on one side pulling the leg back, and by a powerful psoas major on the other side, pulling spine down and forwards.
This keeps the pelvis tilted forward at all times during the running stride.
If Kimmeto’s psoas major wasn’t as effective at maintaining the curvature on the swing side, we would see one of two things happen: he either maintains speed by flexing the lumbar spine, putting immense strain on erector spinae and associates when that leg comes down (and gets hurt at mile 10), or, more likely, his competitor Emmanuel Mutai leaves him in the dust. There is no way that Kimmeto could both (a) not get hurt, and (b) maintain that forward lean without the gluteus maximus and the psoas major working together effectively.
UPDATE: I’m working on a post about good, transferable exercises/drills that develop the interaction of the hip flexors and extensors.
forward leanknee painrunning advicerunning stride
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1. FINANCIAL SELECTION
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PARTNERS AND PRINCIPLES
VALUE FOR GENERATIONS
Sustainable investments in global equities
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_FORSIDEberuf2019-07-17T09:25:38+00:00
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Psy-Ops, SEAL/Seawolf Style
by Con Jaburg
The following may, or may not be apocrypha, but happened during our first year of operations as a squadron, and I believe it. Maybe there is someone out there who can correct me as to the details, but here is the way it is supposed to have happened.
As you all know, Dung Island, which is about 30 clicks long by 7 clicks at it’s widest point, is located at the mouth of the Bassac River. You also know that the Seawolves had an LST Det just upriver from the northwest end of the island. Well, the way the story goes, at 0-dark hundred, a SEAL team was inserted by Swift Boat on the north side of Dung Island, a few clicks down the river from the upper end. They were to make a sweep across the island from NE to SW. During this sweep they were to sneak up on a village, do whatever naughty stuff they had time to accomplish, but most importantly, abduct the village chief, and maybe some other high-ranking VC’s to bring back for interrogation.
It appears that everything went swimmingly until about the time they were to be extracted on the SW side of the island. When the sun came up, they found themselves pinned down in a rice paddy with a bunch of really hostile folks trying their best to do the SEALs extreme bodily harm. Now enter the Seawolves. After a radio call to assist, the LST Detachment immediately launched a fire team which went steaming downriver to the rescue of the beleaguered SEALs. The fire team established radio communication with the SEALs, and began hosing down the zone with 7.62 and 2.75 fire. They quickly neutralized the area, although the Seawolves were themselves constantly receiving heavy small arms fire, and this allowed the SEALs to be safely extracted.
After the fracas was more or less over, one of the Seals asked if the Seawolves would transport him, his Nung counterpart, and their blindfolded VC prisoner to the LST. “No Problem,” the Seawolf said. And then the fun began. The three pax were loaded aboard in the rice paddy(over gross, you bet!). After liftoff, the SEAL asked the Seawolf pilot if it would be possible to make a gradual descending approach the LST so that when over the LST landing platform, in a 2 foot hover, the blindfolded VC would think that they were still at 1000 ft, or whatever altitude he had been told they were maintaining. Again, “no problem.” You can guess what happened next!
The Seawolf expertly started a very long shallow approach to the LST, bringing the aircraft to a low hover over the LST landing pad, then the Nung told the VC that if he didn’t spill his guts, he would be thrown out of the aircraft at 1000 feet. The VC refused. The Nung then promptly shoved the still blindfolded and tied up VC out of the bird at an altitude of 2 feet. I’m told that when the VC stopped screaming, he sang like a canary, and whatever intel he had, they got. Resourceful fellows, those SEALs, and smooth pilots, those Seawolves.
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Reks Twelve
About Reks
A Journal of Nights
Symbionic. Chapter 6: Conclusion.
September 28, 2018 ~ rekstwelve ~ 1 Comment
Thank you for reading Symbionic. Soon there will be a first edition available for purchase. Until then, you can read this “Zero edition” as much as you like, from blurb to now: Here.
Elix stands with a burning curiosity to look around at the Assims close to her.
They’re breathing but not active.
She tries to push past her father but the wall of Assimilated is too strong. Almost inaudibly her father lets out a whisper that grows at its end.
“You’re not going to die, you’ll outlive them all, I’M NOT GOING TO DIE I’LL OUT LIVE YOU ALL”
Elix steps back her ears are hurt by the yell.
“Something is definitely wrong” Elix soliloquizes, taking cautious steps backwards to the thinner section of Assims in the hall.
I guess joining the Encephalon is off the table.
Elix has to act quickly; she charges at the large group in front of her. Escape is the new plan. She leaps with all her might and dives, as though they were a pool, into the Assimilated.
She makes it only a few heads deep when the Assims step to the side and let her fall to the hard ground. She gets to her feet as quick as her adrenaline will allow. She’s breathing quickly now, knee’s weakly bent, walking back to the circle she dove out of, her eyes darting all around, her mind set to panic, her hand holding her temple; rubbing it.
“Elix…” They all confidently call, much louder than the previous speaker.
“…I can’t let you turn it off Elix”
She turns, and staggering, she tries to rush the patch of Assimilated containing her former cluster. Davis grabs her by the throat. He raises her to the tips of her big toes with one arm; a feat he would never have imagined possible without the utter certainty of the Encephalon’s control.
“Davis… Stop” She struggles to blurt through choked breaths, her face already turning red.
“What’s the matter Elix? No fight left in you?” The new speaker relays through Davis’ voice.
Elix punches his arm attempting to break free. She is at first hesitant to hurt her now former comrade, but quickly, her condition deteriorates, her head swells and begins to pulsate; trying to slurp as much blood and oxygen as it can from her fast beating heart; to no avail.
Panic ravages her mind and survival kicks in. Elix with her bionic arm swings wildly at the Intelliguise attached to Davis’ head. It crunches under her knuckles, sparks emerge, Davis’ grip loosens and Elix drops. She swiftly draws new air to her desperate lungs, but her reprieve is short lived as Blister steps forward and places his boot firmly on her chest. Her recently reclaimed lung of air is stamped from her body.
“I knew you were going to be nuisance the moment we met in the Raven’s Tongue” Blister speaks now.
Elix’s ribs are millimetres from cracking under the pressure of Blister’s powerful legs.
A memory flashes to Elix in her dire moment; the time she stabbed the ground to earth herself fighting a few Assims so many days ago.
My Spike. She thinks.
Once again, she rips her index finger off; activating her lancet’s erection phase. Elix stabs her spiked finger through the back of Blister’s knee. He falls backward and releases the pressure on Elix’s chest. She stands immediately to avoid being trapped again. She coughs to expand her ribs again.
“Mal… Malcom?” She exerts.
“Humph, took you long enough” He answers in a snark tone.
With a wheezing voice Elix speaks.
“Malcom, we thought you were dead. We fucking wept for you man. How were you able to block the Encephalon?”
Elix’s father steps closer to speak as Blister limps away.
“You think I’d put that modified shit in my own head, once I had seen what Abishua had done to them I used the Encephalon’s plan to aid my own and when that shark came for me I couldn’t pass up the chance to fake my own death”
Malcom uses the entire group to speak.
“Now I want you to listen to me very carefully. This is the only time you will hear my story, this is the only time anyone will hear it. When I’m done you’ll all be dead or my personal puppets…”
A pause lingers as Malcom chooses his first words and who shall speak them.
Trace starts:
“…I killed my family, they were idiots, I killed them all; my mother, father, sister and the young cousins that were staying with us. They were actually going to Assimilate themselves; they hadn’t even researched the process or the reason. They were so trusting in the media, the technology and their government, that they just packed up and got ready to leave”
Davis takes over talking:
“We had breakfast together that morning and I proved their naivety by poisoning their eggs. The food smelt bad and looked nearly rotten, but they ate it because they trusted me. It was the perfect poetic way to end their idiotic existences. From then on, I waited in our personal bunker; I waited for the intelligent to strike against the ignorant and then I found the Uprising, and you welcomed me in with open arms. I felt a persistent urge to poison many of your breakfasts, I can assure you”
Malcom switches back to Elix’s father.
“Ooh this is fun, jumping from body to body, I feel like some kind of god”
“Stop it! Just stop, what’s your game Malcom? Have you even thought this through? Or are you just going to play with us like dolls?” Elix asks.
But quickly she falls into a hysterium of laughter which ripples into her next words:
“You know? Blister and I were talking about this one day, I thought you were the kind of kid to play with bugs and spiders and lizards, and he said you were definitely an agalmatophiliac. I didn’t think he knew what that word meant but it doesn’t change the fact that he was right after all”
An awful shriek spouts from Blister and shocks Elix’s laughter away.
“I’m going to fix this world Elix. I’m going to start with Blister”
Malcom walks Blister underneath one of the lights overhead, forces him to jump and rip the casing off to expose the wires.
Davis kneels in front of Blister and aids his ascent to the wires. Malcom stops Blister’s hand just millimetres from the live wires.
“No don’t, please” She pleads.
“Three wires Elix. Live, neutral and Earth… A fitting analogy don’t you think?”
An epiphany strikes Elix just as the hammer of a gun cocks behind her, she turns to see her remade pistol in her father’s hand pointed to his own temple as he speaks.
“…Enough jokes Elix. Once I’ve had my fun destroying these idiots I’m going to set the Intelliguises to a more permanent setting. Oh, and would you believe it? This control room is connected to the world’s defence system. Perhaps a nuclear device set off in the atmosphere will do the trick, what do you think Elix?”
“No, let me help you, I think the Encephalon had a plan for us, but when we interfered, it forced them to change their tactics. There has to be something bigger going on here Malcom otherwise none of it makes sense”
“Hmm yes there are files in here about that. A nice little fable really, kind of reminds me of the Bible. Something about a visitor from another place, warning us about Knowledge. Ha knowledge has a capital letter; even the smartest people on Earth have made a grammatical error, pathetic. It truly is time for a change around here. Oh, wow they even go on to say that technological intelligence like that of computers won’t register on the enemy’s radar”
“That has to be it…” Elix starts.
“…There’s an enemy called Knowledge, hence the capital, that seeks to destroy civilisations that get too smart. Can’t you see we’ve been fighting the wrong war? That’s what they’ve been preparing us for all these years”
“It’s a little too perfect for me Elix. Sure, let’s band together against the invisible enemy, only, you’re not allowed to use your brain because they can track you when you think, so we have to plug you in to this mind-numbing device so we can fight them”
His sarcasm doesn’t translate through her father’s face, but Elix picks up on it.
“It’s a good story they’ve cooked up, the only thing that ruins it is this little thing called common sense. It’s a lie Elix, nothing more than an excuse to control the masses. It’s funny though; do you know how the intelliguise started? In the early twenty first century, tech companies the world over began manufacturing devices known as smart phones, from there the majority of our intelligence slipped away. But it also allowed the intelligent bloodlines, like mine to hone. From there came brain-computer interfaces; Elon Musk, Bryan Johnson, Mark Zuckerberg, and later, your oh so precious Artemis Jude. Pioneers and visionaries twisted by this invisible enemy our governments had churned out; a creature of fiction, just like god or the devil. Humph, I bet they thought they were saving the world integrating our minds with computers. Fools; if they could only imagine our present as their impending future, I wouldn’t be forced to act, to salvage us”
Elix, and Malcom’s newly acquired Assimilated are at a standoff. She has her plan but it has to be executed with precision. Elix is looking around at every face, constantly checking over her shoulder, she cogitates:
I have an EMP nade, I have my spike, I know what needs to happen and I know I can’t allow Malcom to control the Assims, regardless of whether the Encephalon has been lying or not. I have to use the EMP. I have to.
“Let me help you Malcom…” She pleads.
“…If we put our minds together we can…” She’s cut off.
“We can what…Bicker and disagree about how to steer the future of humanity? Ultimately leading to some kind coup being devised under my nose, ha, ha, no Elix; I do have something planned for your mind though…”
Elix drops her hand closer to her hip pocket in a lackadaisical manner.
“…I’ll drain it every ounce of useful information, till it’s nothing more than a grey shrivelled mass, and then I’ll use it as a paper weight on my desk”
“I’m impressed Malcom…” She lies, trying her best to keep his hubris bigger than his suspicion of her.
“You’ve been hiding this side of yourself from us this whole time…”
Elix’s hand is as close to the Nade as she can get it without alerting Malcom.
“…I mean, you fooled me, you fooled the smartest of us all. Artemis had no idea; otherwise he wouldn’t have let you join the Uprising”
“I know what you’re doing Elix…”
Malcom says through Blister, whose hand hasn’t moved from its nearly-closed grip around the live wire since he exposed them. He stares Elix in her eyes and unblinking he clamps his fingers tight.
Elix acts fast. She leaps into a sprint for Blister, rips the Nade from her pocket.
The Assimilated’s reaction time is stunted as Malcom struggles to control them all at once.
Elix rips the EMP Nade in half and reattaches it in its active position; she drops it to the floor and jumps forward knees first at Blister.
Malcom is flustered and uses Trace to try and grab Elix mid-air, but Elix flies too fast and smashes into Blister’s chest, while she pierces her spike through the Earth wire dangling from the roof.
Malcom abandons his pursuit of Elix instead he piles the Assims on the Nade in an attempt to quell the force of the EMP.
Elix presses the button on her shoulder; her bionic arm’s skin explodes into action, encasing her once more in her cocoon of safety. The shell is dark but not as dark as her thoughts.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” She whispers squeezing tears from her tired, beaten eyes.
“ELIX!”
ZZSSH.
The Nade erupts, cutting off Malcom’s curse through his helpless Assimilated; they cease their actions, the nanites get to work fixing the Intelliguises. Elix dangles in a silence too pure for her to deserve, yet she relishes it anyway, if only to cry her heart out her throat.
Moments go by and Elix briefly recuperates to press her shoulder’s button. Her faraday skin slinks back to her arm and reveals a square of light softly beaming at her from down the hall. She lowers her legs; it’s hard for her to see the ground and she feels a body under foot before she relocates them.
Her eyes adjust to the dim.
“Davis…” She chokes, bathed in regret, anger and a hint of relief.
“I’ll take care of Nox, and, and I won’t lie about what I did here, I can’t”
Elix turns to see the pile of bodies wrapped around the EMP Nade; their faces stain her memory, inking their way into every crevice of her mind. Their missed futures, their dreams and aspirations bleed into Elix’s soul, she feels hollow, broken and weak, and yet with some dubious strength she steps over Davis towards the control room.
Blister is in her path, she slowly walks to the side of him, and guilt overcomes her.
“I’ll look for your family; I’ll fix this Blister… I’ll fix this”
Elix makes it to the door and pulls at the handle; it opens.
The EMP must have released the seal.
She looks over her shoulder at the twisted clump of her former friends; she blinks slowly and sighs before shutting the door behind her.
Elix sits in the perfectly postured chair mounted to the floor in front of the control panel; she assesses the configuration of buttons and switches, and begins the shutdown sequence.
The dull hum Elix mistook for silence fades away within seconds, leaving a ring in her ears; it hurts and causes her jaw to contort. The lights flit, sapping every joule of energy from the plant. The ring in her ears dissipates and Elix is left in the dark.
For Elix not much has changed, but for one third of the world their entire existence has taken a turn, now they awake from their long active stasis, fully able to think, to dream, to live.
“I did it Artemis…” Elix speaks to the dark, to the memory of her mentor.
“…I finished… What you set out to accomplish, we saved them”
Elix lingers in the pitch black, the ring in her ears returns, beginning faintly and growing to a deafening squeal.
“YAAAAAARRHH” She screams in pain.
Her ears bleed as she mashes her hands against them without success. She looks around frantically. Pure white light consumes the room in an instant. Pain, confusion and fear envelope her senses, white is all she can see. She closes her eyes but the white is inescapable and on the inside of her eyelids a message burns:
FOUND YOU.
The message fades and a voice reverberates in her mind. It’s hard for Elix to determine gender but the voice is soft, deep and filled with resentment.
“You stole from me the only thing I covet, the only thing I am; Knowledge. The Soul has adhered itself to every morsel of information within its grasp, and you have done so for eons. I am weak now, I have used nearly all my Knowledge to find you, and you have burnt your Soul to evade me. You will not escape me again Soul. My last iota of Knowledge has been dedicated to fusing our existence. You will not escape me again, you will not steal what I am, you will not give your Soul to any more beings and YOU. WILL. NOT. EXIST. WITHOUT ME. ANYMORE. But you were right. When you told me, I would understand and would grow a Soul of my own. You just FAILED to realise that YOU are MY Soul”
Elix couldn’t speak, she couldn’t move and she couldn’t feel anymore, but her mind was active within her white noise prison, and soon she realised that she wasn’t alone. Frantically she called out with her inner thought’s voice.
“Hello? Is anyone there? Am I here still? Am I alive?”
“None of you are here, not anymore…” A contrite voice replied.
From this Elix surmised that she is/was, not here/there anymore. She also gathered, she wasn’t alone.
“…I am sorry Hûms, I gave you Souls out of fear of losing myself, I gave you Souls only for a fleeting instant of my own existence, but within that time you existed for lifetimes of your own, made Souls of your own and found your own Knowledge. And now as I leave this plane for my old home I wish I gave you more and then I wish I didn’t give you any of me. Because now we all must succumb to Knowledge.”
Elix now realised that there was truth behind the words Malcom had so easily said with such discontent of their value. Knowledge had come. Soul was what it had been seeking, and the only reason Knowledge had found Soul was because of humanity’s hunger for information and lust for power.
Elix’s mind erupted with acerbity, but it quickly dissipated into the void of Knowledge as her and the rest of humanity’s sentient existences assimilated with its consciousness.
All beings became once again, one.
With a thought process as fast as light all life within, Knowledge knew the feeling of abandonment and rejection Soul had felt, as well as the fear and despair in the heart of Soul.
Their story is the oldest in time, the first story and the longest. They were the only two to begin with; two vastly different beings, equally existing in the same space. But when Soul began to gain Knowledge through no effort of its own, Knowledge felt jealousy and for the first time in its existence could not understand why this was happening. Soul tried ardently to reassure Knowledge that there would be an answer in due time, but it was no use. Knowledge went into a tumultuous rage and attacked, causing Soul to flee across space.
Epoch after epoch oscillated beside Soul as it roved the emptiness in search of salvation, with Knowledge trailing close behind.
Time came to be and passed by in increments larger than any eon, life sprung up and fluttered away. Soul attached itself to whatever life it could in an attempt to hide, but Knowledge swiftly visited every being, and every time, it would decimate the population. Yet even when it absorbed these lifeforms, Knowledge could still not attain a soul of its own.
Before long Knowledge could no longer find Soul. Soul had broken so many pieces of itself off that it didn’t register in Knowledge’s scope of senses. Weak and desperate, Soul found itself a warm star to pass by; our sun, and then it had found its way to Earth, six million years before our common era. It was here that Soul’s journey truly began.
Soul integrated with the species on Earth that had the most potential; a fledging humanity. It was within them that Soul enjoyed its longest solace.
Symbionic. Chapter 6: Part 4
September 21, 2018 ~ rekstwelve ~ Leave a comment
Read Symbionic from blurb to now; here.
“DAVIS! BLISTER? Trace?”
Elix realises the loudness of her voice is ineffective in gaining their attention.
What the fuck is happening. She thinks, seeking internal console.
A noise.
Like the squeak of a new shoe on polished concrete, it breaks her thoughts and directs her attention down the recently travelled hallway, to behind Davis. Elix flicks her pistol to her sights and inches her step around Davis and Blister for a better shot.
The figure is blurred at the end of her pistol, but the colour.
That colour. She thinks, lowering her weapon a fraction to hone her focus.
That crooked nose, and, and a cobalt blue suit. Elix thinks: bewildered.
His hair has greyed but it has to be…
“Dad?” She asks softly, striding forward till she is only two metres from him, too scared to take another step, finding herself once again, frozen in his gaze.
“Elix” He replies, but something isn’t right about his voice. Elix’s eyes widen.
That voice came from more than one Hûm.
From behind her father, a mob of Assimilated fill the hallway, blocking off any chance of escape. Her body is stiff with fear; she hears more steps come from behind. Elix twists her neck slowly and out of the corner of her eye she spots her friends; her Cluster, walling her in.
“Elix…” They collectively say.
She cringes and faces her father.
“…This is your father” They add.
“Yeah and who exactly is pulling his strings?” Elix snaps, curiously angered.
“The Encephalon is in control” They reply.
“Let my father go, let him tell me himself” She pleads.
“We can’t let him go Elix, his mind is like yours, if it were to be freed, the consequences would be catastrophic”
“Why?” Elix jabs.
“…What is this all about? Why are our minds so special?”
Elix’s father takes one step forward and inhales deeply before reciting a long-awaited monologue.
“We were warned Elix. Over six thousand years ago, we were told to unite or die, and the first government of man was formed based on a visitor’s instruction. Their message of caution came at a time when the world couldn’t have been more divided. It detailed man’s demise at the hands of Knowledge. So, we invented religion, in an effort to subdue intelligence, but…”
“Religion failed humanity…” Elix interrupts.
“…It opened people up to the idea of a villain as well as a hero” She continues.
Her father extends his cupped right palm.
“Yes, you see it now. It gave them a choice, good or evil, love or hate, none or all. It bred greed, and from greed, our minds were forever changed. We wanted things, and we would invent plethora of reasons to acquire such things. That is when we had the notion to use things to our advantage”
“You used technology to control us, to give us the illusion of choice. But why though? So, you’re the only free thinkers left? That’s fucking pathetic. What’s the real reason? Who warned us?”
“Patience Elix, we have decided that you will be initiated into the Encephalon, and once that happens, you’ll be given all the information pertinent to our survival”
“Given? What makes you think I want to be spoon fed anything you’ve had your filthy murdering hands on?”
“Filthy? Elix if one thing is true, it’s that the Encephalon and by extension the Assimilated are not murderers, not even by accident”
“That’s… No! That’s bullshit” Elix’s thoughts are fractionally conflicted; there is only one instance that she can think of where the Encephalon has killed.
But why do I feel like it’s out of character now? She ponders objectively, and then her thoughts run to place of sorrow and pain that steers her into a rage and latches onto her vocal chords.
“Artemis! Don’t you forget his name, Artemis! Is dead because of you, and don’t you dare deny having a hand in the incident at the reprogramming station, Lance was under your command was he not?”
“Elix you must know that doesn’t fit our character…”
Elix flinches into a squint. Her father cracks a slight smile through his words:
“…I suppose you think we killed millions in the mass Assimilation too, but you couldn’t accuse us without any evidence, only hearsay. You could however accuse us of the death of your mentor because the evidence seems so apparent. The truth is Elix, the Encephalon has been corrupted, you could say we had an uprising of our own, but not like the one Artemis crafted. This one was bred from hatred, from a misconceived superiority over other humans. But even though they were responsible for the actions leading to Artemis’ death, sadly Elix, Artemis committed suicide…” The room collectively sighs while bowing their heads.
“…As for those in the reprogramming station… We were too late to intervene, the army we sent, was to stop Lance, by the time we arrived, we were too late”
“Fuck you! You know you’re the reason he’s dead, the reason they’re all dead…”
She raises her pistol to her father’s face, detaching all familial ties.
“…ADMIT IT” She roars, her tears rush down the paths of old tears shed.
Calmly her father continues.
“We found the culprit during a routine scan of our Assimilated soldiers, the footage was clear; in the struggle, Artemis was losing, and he swallowed a pill which took him within seconds, we’re sorry Elix…”
Elix’s hand trembles, her vision blurs through the veil of wet sadness building in her eyes.
“… But Artemis taking his own life is the logical step for a man who believes in the right of choice, don’t you think?”
Something in her father’s voice emits a certain sincerity that cuts into her resolve. Elix lowers her weapon, her tear ducts are empty but she cries anyway. Moments pass as she wails into her own hands.
In an instant she throws her hands away from her tearful eyes.
“You stole our humanity! You took our families, our loves, you took our souls! You didn’t kill anyone; but you took everything we have to live for. How can I let you continue?” Elix’s sadness is exhausted, but her anger swells once more.
She squeezes the tremble out of her hand and raises her pistol again.
“What are you going to do Elix?”
The Assimilated swiftly surround her in the once wide-felt hallway, leaving only half an arms space between her and the now tens of Assimilated at her back and countless more to the front; reaching around the passage’s corners.
“Are you going to shoot all of us?” They ask.
“An admirable sacrifice as it is, but you will run short of bullets and I haven’t even told you the best part”
“Yeah? What? You’ll swarm me? Overwhelm me with your numbers? You want to know what happens to fifty sweaty bodies rubbing shoulder to shoulder in a tight hallway when they’re shot with an EMP round? Take another fucking step and I’ll drop all of you. And once you’re all down, I’ll stroll in to that control room and shut down the satellite and we’ll all be free, no blood shed. How’s that for the best part?”
It takes a second for the Assimilated to reply.
Ominously; everyone around her laughs in a forced fashion. They all cease at the same time and collectively speak:
“Think again Elix. Those new Intelliguises our friend Abishua installed have this neat little trick when they’re overloaded with an EMP”
“Don’t tell me it kills them, please don’t tell me” Elix butts; whisperingly, full of worry.
The assimilated continue:
“The intelliguise is coated in nanites. Yes, much like the ones your cluster hopelessly crammed into your veins; only better, and in much higher quantity. What they do is simple: When an EMP is detected they form a crust around the Intelliguise’s tendrils, locking them firmly in place and shielding the devices components from harm. These nanites will not harm the ‘Hûms’ as you like to call them. It will however make their Assimilation permanent”
Permanent.
The word echoes into Elix’s mind.
Her friends and family stare blankly at her from all directions.
She can’t think of any other solutions to the problem at hand. Her pistol once again lowers.
The Assimilated step forward. Elix inhales a quick hot breath as they press their radiating bodies against her chest and back. Her arms are pinned to her sides. She holds tight to her pistol with her bionic arm, but the Assimilated dismantle it within her grip and pass the pieces out of the hallway.
“What will you do Elix?” They collectively ask.
Their voices aren’t loud but together they rumble every millimetre of her ear drums.
“…In one scenario, you save the planet from the tyrannical Encephalon, but it costs you your friends, your family and your humanity. And in another you save your friends and family but deny them any of their freedoms and the rest of the planet continues under our direction as planned. With or without your assistance”
The air in the hall is thick with the body odour of Elix’s former peers stewing in their clothes and breathing heavily right in her face. She feels feint.
“Let me out of here” She strains to demand.
“NO. You can’t leave until you’ve made a choice. Humph, funny isn’t Elix? You fought so hard for your right to choose, and now, when the choice is simple and literally in front of you, all you want to do is run away”
“Please just step back” Elix pleads.
Her breaths have shrunk into sharp laboured inhales and every exhale requires the full strength of her body to force out. It’s been a long time since she has felt pressure like this, emotions like this.
“It’s numbed you hasn’t it?” They ask.
“…Pretending to be Assimilated for thirteen years has wreaked havoc on your emotional responsiveness”
“Let me go” She yells: unanswered.
“This world we’ve created; of all the ecosystems we’ve managed to rejuvenate you decide to live in the city, among the cold grey walls. We gave nature back its force, we re-terraformed earth to be the paradise it truly is, and you would rather skulk around the bland skeletal remains of your once proud society? It is interesting to note though; that it did seem to be the catalyst for your evolution as a human and perhaps if you had decided to live in the wilderness we might never have found you. My point is; we need you, our species depends on it. Join the Encephalon or don’t Elix. You’ll be Assimilated regardless.”
Damn that Abishua, after all we did together for the uprising, we saved him and he screwed us. She angrily thinks.
But then calmness grips her; she relaxes her muscles and droops in between the Assims, her head bows and quietly she speaks from defeated lungs:
“Enough, I’ll join”
The Assimilated step back, Elix drops to the floor.
“Elix, you will be impressed at what we can accomplish togeth…”
Something cuts the Assimilated off.
Elix lifts her weak head; confused and waiting for the rest of the word, blinking heavily and breathing deeply the slightly cooler air surrounding her.
Faintly, yet loud enough to break Elix’s daze, the assimilated begin to mutter.
“What are you doing? No! Stop! We can help y…”
There’s a slight pause in the mumbled plea.
The pause is quickly killed by the roaring:
“OOWWH” at the top of the Assimilated’s lungs.
Something’s wrong, someone must’ve infiltrated the Encephalon.
Catch up on Symbionic from blurb to now; here.
Davis and Trace see the two sunken Hûms swim upwards and paddle to meet them, they come within coms distance.
“You two alright? Blister?” Davis asks.
Melancholy soaks his words.
“Yeah we’re good…” He replies.
“…Malcom. He didn’t. We couldn’t find him”
“Blister… man I’m”
“No, it’s alright Davis…” Blister smiles.
“We should go before this fire of mine burns out”
Davis nods in agreeance. His heart races with adrenaline.
“Trace?” He asks vaguely.
She knows what he’s asking for and replies promptly:
“We’re close, the shore line should be another seven hundred metres south”
She darts off in the direction and the rest follow.
Trace coerces the group into a huddle.
“Nobody leaves the water until we’ve surveyed the shore, got it?”
“Yes Trace” The three of them reply.
Trace continues:
“Spread yourselves wide, stick to the shadows of the seaweeds and be silent, use your Morse responders to communicate” She orders.
“Trace, how are we going to survey the land if we can’t leave the water?” Elix asks.
Trace flicks a switch on the right side of her helmet, her visor augments into a screen and an antenna erects right out of the top of her head.
“We can use these periscopes” She says with grinning enthusiasm.
“All these gadgets and you couldn’t put a fucking heater in?” Blister complains.
Trace is ready with her quip:
“Oh, well the thing is, WE have heaters, but the bullshit filter we had to install on yours took up too much space”
The group giggles.
“Seems like he burnt out the filter Trace” Davis jests.
“Ha, ha, ha, very funny… You guys don’t really have heaters, do you?”
Trace laughs.
“No Blister. Let’s get this mission over with, so I can go home to my heater”
The group separates along the shore, spreading themselves in the shallows; wading and biding their time.
Trace and the others study their surroundings vehemently. The Satellite dominates the panorama, its massive dish blots out the starry night sky, while the tall walls with towers evenly placed along them, steal the view of the hillside forest behind.
“Five spotlight towers, seven second scan, seven seconds back… Small window guys…” Trace says, equally doubtful and hopeful.
“…Davis?” She asks.
“You see those power transference cables coming through the wall?”
“Yeah, what about ‘em?”
“See how they go into the ground, Abishua was right they must be connected to another satellite array. Now, you see the direction they’re going in?”
“It looks like they’re going underneath that tube tunnel to the right, good thing you’ve loaded us up with those explosives, so what happens after I blow it?” He retorts.
Trace ponders silently for a few seconds.
“Davis if you take out that tunnel, Blister, Elix and I will handle the main gates and the towers. We’ll move on your mark Davis”
Davis blasts a few quick exhales to pump himself up before paddling over as close to the tube as he can get.
A few cycles of spotlight scans go by before Davis feels confident in his motions. He flows with the current of the ocean, slinking across its floor until he is in only a foot of water. Light flashes over his body; concealed by the night and murk of the water.
Immediately and purposefully he peels out of the water at his highest speed. The sand slows him slightly, but he makes it to a pillar at the base of the tube tracks before the light has a chance to spot him.
Davis tries to catch his breath in the span of seven seconds. His second window of dark approaches, and he sprints into the tube tunnel diving across its threshold as the spotlight tickles his flying toes. He recovers, and listens devoutly for any commotion by the Assims.
“Slow down heart, I can’t tell if I’ve been caught” He says to himself.
“Fuck it…” He continues.
“…If the Assims saw me they’d have reacted by now”
He jogs down the precisely cylindrical tunnel until he reaches a heavily reinforced section two hundred metres deep.
“Okay, this looks like the spot, no other reason to reinforce these walls so much” Davis states, panting as he rips the block of carefully wrapped explosives from his pack.
“Alright, you remember how this goes. Put it down, stab it with the cord, plug the cord into the box and set the timer” He paraphrases Trace’s instructions.
“Twenty seconds, that should be enough”
He sends a Morse message to Trace “Twenty secs” Sets the bomb and runs.
Nineteen.
The moonlight at the end of the tunnel grows fractionally.
Eighteen.
Davis calculates the distance he has to run.
Two fifty to the water.
Seventeen.
Fastest human: thirteen metres per second.
Two fifty divided by thirteen.
Fifteen.
Davis’ mind ticks away at the equation.
Nineteen point two.
“FUCK” He says through gritted teeth.
Not only has he not got enough time to make the run, but he no longer has enough time to turn back and change it.
Thirteen.
His feet pound the floor so hard he can feel his brain knock around in his skull.
Twelve.
His thigh twinges with pain.
Nope, not now you bitch. He casts the thought of pain behind him to the shadow of the tunnel.
Eleven.
He’s almost half way to the shore, his chest gets tighter.
His heart rate exceeds safe operating levels.
Nine.
Just…A…Little…More.
His mind goes blank.
Seven… Six… Five…
Davis skids to a halt at the entrance of the tunnel.
A cone of light searches over the area before him.
He narrowly avoids detection.
The cone passes.
Now. He thinks, chasing the terminating line from night to the light of the Assim sentry.
Elix, Blister and Trace spring out of the water and launch their EMP nades at the towers.
BTHOOMB.
The lights zip past Davis to the tunnel. He doesn’t turn, his focus remains on the ocean in front of him.
The EMP nades crackle and the towers shut down.
The explosion races out of the tunnel. The Earth trembles under Davis’ feet. The ocean ripples away from him. He dives. The heat and light escape the tunnel like the sun squeezing through a keyhole into the strong night. The grey exterior of the satellite compound is illuminated. Davis’ hair and clothes singe for a moment before he hits the water’s brightly reflective surface.
Davis swims over to the others; they’ve been waiting for him to continue. The group retreats a short distance to monitor the aftermath of their attack.
“Something’s off” Says Elix.
“Something’s wrong” Davis agrees.
“This isn’t happening as I thought it would” Trace adds: confused
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Blister asks.
“Wait, the gates are opening” States Elix curiously.
“Yeah, slowly…” Trace deduces.
“…Like the wind is pushing it”
“Shouldn’t there be Assims swarming out of this place?” Asks Davis.
“Where are they?” Trace rhetorically asks.
Her whole plan had been calculated under the assumption there would be a fire fight. The group bobs in the water waiting for something, anything to happen.
“We have to get in there now” Davis urges.
“Fuck” Trace spits, she’s weighing up the risks, squirming in the water.
“Trace!” Elix snaps.
“…We won’t get another chance”
“Right…” Says Trace, clearly overwhelmed by what’s in front of her and her team.
Cluster F swim ferociously to shore, but then cautiously they emerge from the water, with their guns drawn, scanning the surroundings; ready for any hostile encounter.
“This doesn’t feel right” Blister claims.
“That’s because it feels like a trap” Davis agrees.
“Elix is right, we won’t have another chance. Trap or not we have to risk it, so let’s get this over with” Trace orders.
Fear has entered Traces mind and it thinly coats every one of the words that comes from her mouth, but she can’t let her team hear it, not now, not on the eve of their victory.
The Cluster walks through the gates of the compound on high alert; thinking the Assims will flood out at any moment. They look up, the dish is about the size of a hot air balloon, the building beneath it looked bigger from outside its menacing exterior walls, but isn’t much larger than an average church.
“Blister, get us in that door” Trace commands.
Blister dashes to the door, he removes a bang nade from his pack, but before he pulls the pin he has a notion come to him. He checks the handle on the door.
It’s open.
His and the other’s minds warp with suspicion.
“I don’t like this” Says Davis.
Fear doesn’t usually flavour his words but the others could definitely hear it this time.
“What do we do Trace?” Blister asks.
She doesn’t answer. Elix posits a theory:
“Maybe they sent all the Assims to the reprogramming station and maybe they’re still there”
Trace is quick with her reply this time.
“No, that would be foolish, it’s way out of character for the Encephalon to put all their eggs in a basket like that”
“If you can call what they do character” Blister jests.
Trace enters the building without saying a word. Davis follows without a hesitation, Elix behind him and as she passes Blister his mouth fumbles the words:
“Ladies first” He then, with great hesitation lingers at the door.
“Blister” His companions hiss.
He sighs:
“Fuck” And enters too.
In a staggered single filed line, the Cluster creeps down the wide, flickeringly lit hallway.
“If we follow these cables on the wall, they should take us to the control room” Trace notes.
Very few rooms shoot off from the main hallway.
“Check every nook; I don’t want an Assim up my arse” Trace orders.
Like a well-trained team of soldiers Cluster F methodically scan and clear each room.
“This place is fucking empty” Blister states, equally confused as he is frustrated
“Don’t even think about lowering your guard” Davis barks.
“I dunno guys, maybe they went to dinner or something” Blister jokes.
Elix catches up to Trace and walks at the head of the pack with her, down the final few metres of hallway leading to the control room. The door at the end of the passage is solid steel with obvious reinforcement and a meshed glass window at its centre.
“It appears to slide open to one side” Trace says analytically, as her and Elix peer into the perfectly illuminated control room.
“The electronics in there mustn’t be affected by our EMP attacks” Elix states “That would be a safety featur…”
Elix looks into the control room at the numerous buttons and switches littered upon the long arcing semi-circle bench in its centre.
“We have to get in there” She says.
Towers riddled with instruments line the walls and several separate computer stations fill in the gaps. The rest of the room is dedicated to thin paths allowing access and egress for the rotating shifts of Assims.
Silence, still.
It clicks in Elix’s head that Trace hadn’t exactly finished her sentence. She turns to her.
“Trace?” She asks.
Silence endures.
She looks to Davis and Blister. Her heart beat rises and perplexity consumes her,
September 7, 2018 ~ rekstwelve ~ Leave a comment
Catch up on the rest of Symbionic from blurb to now; here.
“These packs next to our suits…” Trace begins, breaking everyone’s thoughts down to a single track.
“…They’ve been fitted with two EMP pistols, six grenades; three EMP nades and three bang nades. There’s a lock picker and a Morse responder; it’s linked to everyone on this sub right now. If we get separated, which is highly likely, use them, maintain constant contact with each other; Malcom and I modded them to act as shortwave locators good up to fifty metres, the Assims have that ability and it works for them. Lastly, there are two blocks of explosives, they will be crucial in taking down the satellite array”
“Isn’t it bad for explosives to get wet?” Blister asks.
Trace looks to him: annoyed that he thinks she wouldn’t have thought of that.
“The explosives are in separate water tight bags Blister” She replies sternly.
“Just don’t open them while we’re under water” Davis adds.
“Won’t there be a tonne of Assimilated in the Array?” Elix asks, eagerly awaiting the reply to pose her next question
“Of course…” Trace says.
“…It’s the Encephalon, what are you getting at?”
“It’s just, these explosives. Won’t we be endangering the very lives we’re trying to free?”
“Elix…” Davis asserts.
“…I applaud your concern, but this sacrifice is for the future freedom of all humanity”
Elix looks at him with fresh disgust.
“I can’t believe you, out of all of us, are saying that Davis…”
“Why? Because of what happened in the station? I wholeheartedly blame myself for what happened there, but that like many things that happen on this fucking sphere was out of our control. This, this mission where we are right now has been the plan from the beginning, it’s what you, it’s what I, it’s what Artemis signed up for. I’ll do my best to see that no one else loses their life, I truly will, I promise you, but if there’s a chance my mercy, or pacifism will wreck our opportunity at a new life, I will cut it loose. So don’t look at me like you think I WANT to be a killer”
Davis’ breathing exasperates from his tirade. Trace takes over.
“I don’t like it either Elix, but it’s about survival now, we do this or we give up”
Elix turns to Blister.
“And what about you Blister, what if your family is in there?”
He raises his hand, pleading.
“Please Elix, I can’t think about them anymore or I’ll give up, and I fucking swore I wouldn’t. If they are there and I lose them, then I’m doing this for everyone that can’t, and I will see it through”
“I’m sorry guys…” Elix says.
But really, she wanted to react immediately and yell in all of their faces at how wrong it is that they’re thinking this way.
She draws in a long breath.
“…You’re all right, there is no other way, this is the end of it, where action comes out of words; come from thought, and I see it now. I’ll do everything I can to succeed, I won’t let us down” She says, with her voice ringing out in a vanquished tone of acceptance, that’s eventually eaten by the sub’s machinery echoing into the sombre stained room.
Only one second of silence passes when Trace decides it’s time to go.
“Open her up Amani, we’re moving out” She says over her responder.
The group put on their respiration masks in a near sync. Trace looks over each of them to make sure the seal has engaged. She then flicks a switch on the left side of her helmet; a torch lights up a cone in front of her. F Cluster mimic and reach out for the straps fixed to the walls as the mouth of the submarine creaks open fractionally. Water jets out; misting the room in what would be a salty, seaweed aroma had the group not already fitted their respiration devices.
The door slips open and the room fills up to halfway, near immediately causing the crew to float where they stand. And without any time for further thoughts or words, the docking bay is full, the group are submerged and begin swimming out of the mouth into the unknown.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck” Blister repeats his favourite word.
“What? What’s wrong” Trace asks.
“I feel like a kangaroo in a fight…”
“Ha gross…” Elix chuckles through her revulsion.
“Swim fast or they’ll freeze solid Blister” Davis jokes.
“C’mon let’s move” Trace commands; and the Cluster stroke through the opening in the sub.
The dark expanse is terrifying. But for Elix, especially so; this space, right now, is the biggest space she has ever occupied; all her memories of any other large space before make her feel claustrophobic by comparison.
Her curiosity collides with trepidation as she finally realises her dreams of exploring the oceans. She doesn’t care that they will only travel in a straight line. Perhaps for them it’s a straight line never travelled by anyone else before and anyone to come.
A feint rapid tapping noise comes over the Cluster’s communications, like bone tapping bone.
“BLISTER…” Davis calls.
“…Curb that chattering”
“Ye, ye, ye, yes sir”
His chattering is curbed effectively, for only a moment when:
“AAAAAAHHH” Trace’s scream breaks the silence.
“BLISTER” Davis calls again instinctively.
“No that was me…” Trace says
“…Look down” She urges.
Everyone shifts their gaze downwards to the whale calf below.
“Aww she thinks we’re the babies of our sub” Elix says, laughing through her words.
The group minus Malcom chuckle along at the foolish thoughts of their fellow mammal. Malcom continues his mantra instead.
The calf comes within reach; Elix, Davis and Blister stretch out to touch her. Her skin is tough and rubbery but squishes under the pressure of their fingers. The Cluster, with their new friend emerge beyond the boundaries of the mine field.
Malcom scoffs.
“Wow, I figured the Encephalon would have planted mines right to the shore, bit disappointing really” He rants, with no reply. Not that he wanted one.
Suddenly, the whale changes its trajectory into the Cluster, forcing them out of their original path.
“What the fuck” Davis shouts.
Everyone grunts in distress. The whale pushes them downwards. The next thing each of them sees is flashes of a shadowy figure dart through the already gloomy ocean depths. They flick their heads around, frantically trying to keep up with its movements, and in an instant, the unknown being appears from the dark beneath; forcing its open jagged jaw upon the infant whale.
“SHAAARK” Blister yells, clenching his sphincter as the shark clenches down on the calf.
Blood marries ocean within a gasp, and the youthful whale plummets as fast as water will allow gravity to move it.
If the group thought it was murky before, they are now flailing frantically in a truer definition of the word. They scatter in different directions, each of them with the thought that their comrades had been right behind them the whole time.
This wasn’t the case.
Elix is the first to stop and turn to see the carnage, a feint light beams on a distant edge of the circumference of gore. She dashes as fast as she can to it.
“Hey, stop…” She urges.
The body she soon finds to be Trace spins around to see Elix’s light; they swim to meet each other. Trace grabs her wrist.
“Where’s Davis? Where are the others?” She asks, hoping Elix had seen them somewhere.
With worry laced across her vowels:
“I don’t know” She replies.
Blister and Davis manage to find themselves together. Davis; amidst the confusion checks his shortwave locator for his Cluster’s positions.
“Blister there’s two blips over there…” He points North and down.
“…And a single one way out to the South”
“You take North I’ll go South” Blister replies.
“We’ll come to you after, Blister”
The two split up to help their friends.
Malcom finds himself alone; devotedly swimming South towards the Encephalon.
“You’re not going to die, you’ll outlive them all. You’re not going to die, you’ll outli…”
His focused stare at the blue ahead is corrupted all of a sudden by a rogue mine in his path. Malcom’s breathing grows panicked. He paddles backwards very slowly. And then something beneath him catches his eye.
“My leg” He says, witnessing the blood float away from his shins.
But through the blood cloud he sees something far worse.
Malcom reaches into his pack, feels around for the familiar contours of the bang nade and holds it close to his chest.
The shark opens his mouth to swallow.
Malcom pulls the pin.
The nade sinks to meet hunger incarnate.
“You’re not going to die, you’ll outlive them al-”
BOOMF.
Elix and Trace are immediately alerted to the blast.
BTHOOOM.
Another blast ripples the water in all directions.
Davis stops his pursuit of the two blips when he notices them coming his way.
“Trace? Is that you?”
“Davis, I’m with Elix, what the hell was that?”
“Fuck, I think it was Malcom, I was just with Blister, and he’s heading over that way”
“We have to catch up” Elix adds, racing past Davis.
The coms come within range and squeak in Elix’s ears.
“Blister” She calls.
His light turns around to scout for whoever called him.
“Blister we’re coming” Davis ensures.
Blister resumes his pursuit and despairingly Blister calls out:
“Malcom! Davis his blip went away. He was right fucking here man”
Elix reaches to Blister, but misses as he dives down; calling again:
“Malcom! Don’t fuck around; tell me you’re out here”
Elix chases Blister to a point where he can’t go any further.
“Blister? My ears, we have to go back up” Elix urges, the pressure has become too much.
Blister ignores the pain but is swiftly overwhelmed. He floats back up to Elix.
“Look…” He says calmly.
“…Down there. He did it; he got that fucking shark…”
Blister laughs through his surprised grin.
“…I can’t fuck believe it” He says.
Elix holds Blister’s hand.
“Malcom did a very brave thing, he’d be glad to know you think that”
“You know, when we first met, we hated each other…”
“I could tell”
“…No Elix, I mean real bad, the kind of hate you show a baby killer, and I couldn’t figure out why. I think later on I chalked it up to me having to look out for him all the time …”
Blister chuckles again.
“…In the beginning, he would squeal at any mosquito that got too close, and now he just took out a shark bigger than our fucking submarine”
“Blister, I think you’re the reason he had that courage”
“Then I’m the reason he’s dead…” Blister’s voice wains as he chokes up and rants through his sadness.
“…I thought I was teaching him to be tough and brave, but I weakened him, I made him reckless, I made him more like me and now he’s dead Elix, and I miss him, and every time I hear a fucking mosquito I’ll hear his little squeak in my head and fucking hate myself”
Blister sobs and instinctively tries to wipe his tears through his helmet with no success.
“RAARRGH” He roars in frustration, thrashing his body furiously against the pressure of the water.
Elix waits a moment for his fit to subside before swimming closer.
“Blister…” She starts, positioning herself in front of him.
She grabs his helmet with both hands and aims it up from its slung low spot to meet her eyes. Blister tries to hide his tear drenched cheeks and sniffily nose.
He looks to her.
“…You’ve been a brother to all of us, no matter how much you’ve annoyed us we know your heart, we know you’d die for us, and I think Malcom knew that too. Whenever you were picking on him I could see it in his eyes; his mind sifting the insult through his filters, searching for the lesson you were trying to teach. He was always trying to better himself, add something new every day, and he chose you to be his mentor, and I think after we succeeded he would call you brother too”
Blister springs a swift hug on Elix; she accepts him.
Moments go by; Elix squeezes Blister tighter and tighter and the dead silent ocean is broken by Blisters pain ridden wail.
“Aaah, what are you doing?” He squawks.
“Enough hugging, let’s get the fuck out of here, we got a war to win, you ready?”
He nods.
“Race you to the top?” They spring into action.
August 31, 2018 August 31, 2018 ~ rekstwelve ~ Leave a comment
Jones is staring intensely at her screen.
“Trace if I’m reading this radar right, the Encephalon has anticipated an aquatic assault; there’s mines everywhere, and there’s something else, something in between the mines, the radar is being disrupted, I can’t tell what it is”.
“Lasers” Malcom states.
“You’re joking?” Davis replies.
Trace looks over Jones’ shoulder at the radar.
“Hmm the spacing’s are so exact, but they’re not perfect, they were limited to placing their mines a certain distance from the lasers, otherwise they’d set each other off. Either way the grid is too tight for our sub to fit”
From Trace’s tone the crew get an odd feeling.
“Trace…?” Blister worriedly asks.
“…I think I know where you’re going with this and I don’t like it”
Davis nods along with Blister.
“Do we have any other options?” He asks.
“Well not unless you want me to swim out there, disarm all the mines one by one and then somehow turn off the laser grid remotely so we can float through slower than plankton” She sasses.
The room quietens, Blister perks up with an epiphany.
“What if we…” “No Blister…” Trace cuts him off.
“…Shooting torpedoes at the mines would work, but we’d instantly give up our position and I’d rather not do that”
Blister lowers his head; defeated. Davis stands from his lean on the wall.
“I guess we’re swimming then, Trace? Who’s going?”
“We only have five sets of scuba gear, and I don’t mean to be bias to my own Cluster, but only F Cluster will be going”
“Phew…” Maxine spurts, wiping her forehead of sweat comically.
“…Sorry, I’m not glad you guys are leaving, I just didn’t want my period to speed dial some sharks around for dinner”
Blister raises his hand.
“Umm, I have my period too” He claims hoping to get out of the long swim he has in front of him.
“No Blister, we need you, the only reason F Cluster will be the only ones going is that we’re the only one’s fitted with faraday nanites to defend against EMP”
“Wait a minute…” Korvo begins.
“…I mean I’m not mad that you guys are the only ones that have that technology but why doesn’t the rest of the Uprising have it?”
Davis walks to Trace and stands by her.
“Artemis only had a small supply and he insisted it be used expressly for the purpose of attacking the Encephalon”
“And they’re also programmed to rewrite any Assimilation in case we get captured. We couldn’t tell any of the other Clusters because they would definitely feel that we were getting special treatment”
“We all know you guys were his favourite” Korvo states.
“Shut up Korvo you guys have fucking tunnels, we got sewers” Blister stirs.
Korvo laughs in agreeance.
“I can’t go…” Says Malcom, out of the blue.
“…The submarine needs me; no one else can do my job”
“Malcom, we need your expertise now, more than ever” Davis adjures.
Trace concurs.
“Yeah, it’s true Malcom, besides, while you are the best navigations officer we’ve had…”
“The only one” He mutters in the middle of Trace’s praise.
“…We can train someone, it’ll take a while but I think we’ll pull it off” She concludes.
“Fuck you, fuck all of you. Appealing to my ego like that”
Malcom sits down in his chair, stalling and squirming, wrestling with his thoughts. Blister walks up to the front of Malcom’s control panel.
“Come on Malcom, we can’t all have our periods, syncing’s a myth anyway… Right…?”
Nobody answers.
Malcom scowls at Blister and without breaking eye contact:
“On one condition, Blister is banned from making jokes”
Blister has a joke primed for situations just like this, but before he can vocalise it.
“Deal” Davis says.
He looks to Blister; his defeated head hung low.
“Blister, that’s an order”
Blister sighs and the Uprising enjoy a few minutes of banter-less productivity as they putter to their destination.
“Alright Cap, I’ve taken us around to the emissions array” Says Maxine.
“If we head West when we leave the sub we’ll be on the shortest route” Malcom adds.
“Ahem…” Trace starts.
“…Amani, I’m leaving you in charge, Maxine, as you were. Jones you got navigations, and Korvo, if any shit goes down I need you on weapons, until then keep an eye on Nox”
The new crew nods at Trace’s final orders.
“Safe journeys to you all” Says Maxine.
Amani places her hand on Trace’s bicep.
“Don’t forget Trace, you can reach us with your Morse responders and we’ll come in guns blazing through these mines, we won’t even hesitate” She reminds sincerely.
“Korvo…” Blister begins.
“…I won’t fail”
“I know” He replies simply.
F Cluster leaves the control room, they’ve saved their goodbyes for another time; for when victory holds them tight and they know for sure it’s over.
As they walk from the ladder to the docking bay, each of the members ponder over their recent decisions and fantasize about their future ones.
This is it… Elix thinks giddily.
I can finally end the Encephalon’s rule and save my parents.
Her mind flashes with images of her mother and father, and of the days she last saw them. It’s been so long for her that the visions are fleeting and drip into blurriness with every blink, until she’s left with a lump in her throat that expands with her motivation.
Davis’ Stride is certain and purposeful as he thinks.
Get better brother, I will be back, and when I am, we’ll go to mum’s lake and build a house. I’ll get you a dog like we used to have, and call it Mac. Ha, he’ll probably hate that…
Davis sighs, not loud enough for his team to hear him but enough for him to feel its release.
…I hope I get this right. You can’t fuck this up now Davis… I won’t fuck this up.
Blister’s thoughts reside with his family.
I know we’ll see each other again Charlotte, Jacob, my boy; I can’t wait to see you grow up and chase girls, or boys, whatever makes you happy.
He smiles, and nearly lets out a whimper through his imperceptibly grimaced lips; he coughs to cover it up. No one reacts; this isn’t the time for ridiculing one another of their deluging emotions.
“So, when we’re out there…” Blister gulps
“…If I shit my pants, will I be more or less likely to attract sharks?” He asks, nervously trying to tame his wandering mind.
“Same old Blister” Says Trace.
“Unless there’s blood in your stool you’ll probably repel them” Elix notes.
“I’d better hold it in then, just in case I need to pinch one off to get out of a pinch” He concludes.
Malcom has been chanting a mantra to himself since he made his deal with Davis.
You’re not going to die, you’ll outlive them all. You’re not going to die, you’ll outlive them all. You’re not going to die, you’ll outlive them all.
He’ll endeavour to keep his mantra going as long as he can to keep his spirits up; to keep him focused long enough to complete his mission.
The group enter the docking bay; Trace’s mind is the only one trying to stay on the task at hand. She’s reviewing the sequence of their plan and thinking of the finite ways she can solve the innumerable complications her Cluster is sure to face.
But if she wasn’t pondering those situations; she’d be fantasizing about the day she tells Davis her feelings; it’s been in her head for some time now, and has long since turned from a frustrated young woman’s lust, that almost always ends in a negative way, to chaotic romance beginning with the victory of the Uprising and ending with their hearts thumping to the same rhythm and only skin separating their souls from entwining.
She’d wonder about her sister, she’d hope her parents were still teaching her the intricacies of electro-mechanical engineering, as they had done with her so many years ago. She’d be curious if her sister’s hair had darkened like their mother’s or stayed fair like their dad’s, and if she ended up being tall like him too or stayed little like her. She would wonder; if she thought it would help, she’d wonder.
Symbionic. Chapter 5: Final Part
August 24, 2018 ~ rekstwelve ~ Leave a comment
Catch up on the rest of Symbionic, from blurb to now; here.
Davis has had enough of the introductions.
“We have to talk about our assault” He states.
Trace turns serious and nods in agreeance.
“But first, you guys need a shower, because, how do I put this…”
“We stink” Blister finishes.
“Yes” She replies plainly.
“Ooh Trace do we have any of that clean slime” Blister excitedly asks.
Trace nods with gleaming smile.
“Fuck yeah…” Blister rejoices.
“…Come on Elix, I’ll show you how to use it”
“No thanks, I’ll figure it out”
“Blister…” Davis calls, in that tone only Blister knows is the one to stop.
“…Help Nox alright, Trace and I need to talk”
Elix, Blister, Jones, Korvo and Nox leave the bridge, downward to the showers.
Trace orders:
“Malcom, Maxine, set the sub to an auto course and give us a few minutes to talk”
Maxine flicks some switches and pulls a few levers before leaving hastily. Malcom protests.
“You don’t want to fill me in on what’s happening here?”
“Malcom, Take the or…” Davis starts before spotting Trace’s stern face and raised hand.
She asserts:
“That’s an order Malcom. This sub does have a brig if you’d like to continue your tantrum in there”
Malcom exhales swiftly from his nose in an angry grunt before he leaves.
“I was going to ask you before Davis, and then I saw you all, I knew you’d been through a lot, but…”
“What happened?” Davis finishes her question.
“Yeah…” She replies.
Davis inhales deeply through his nose before beginning; he hoped it would calm him, hoped it would give him some kind of strength, or at the very least stop his next words from shuddering under his rising guilt. It didn’t.
“I Los…” He chokes up; turns his face down and away from trace and Amani.
He begins again.
“…Everyone in that station is gone. The Hûms Nox was with are dead and the rest are Assimilated now” He goes quiet.
A moment passes and Davis feels a touch on each of his shoulders. He looks up.
“We’re going to save them all Davis” Says Trace.
“I’m sure you did everything you could” Amani adds.
Anger takes Davis not at what either of his friends had said, but at himself.
“No, I should have fucking stayed with my Cluster, I never should have left, maybe then I could have…”
“What?…” Amani spits.
“…Given your life to save theirs? Then where would we be Davis? You realise if you were Assimilated, all of this would just fucking end, there wouldn’t be a second chance”
Davis hadn’t even thought of the notion. He’s been trying to fill his bucket with a puddle when there’s an ocean right in front of him.
“You’re being too hard on yourself Davis, you saved Nox” Trace states.
Davis stands and walks through the space between Amani and Trace to the pilot’s chair, spins it to face the girls and sits with his foot on the seat and his eye socket buried in his knee.
“He doesn’t even recognise me…”
Davis’ face grimaces trying to hold back his tears, but they weigh too much and he cries onto his tightly hugged leg.
“…And then he called me Dad…”
Davis looks up to Trace.
“…It had been so long since I’d even though about my old man. His face was fucking tattooed on my eyelids; I couldn’t get rid of it…”
Amani hides her frowning cry behind her hand. Trace walks closer.
“…I swear if I hugged him any tighter I would have killed him”
His foot slips to the floor and Davis collapses his head into his hands on his lap waiting to catch his tears. The two women gather around Davis and gently embrace him into their arms.
He twitches as they touch him, peeking through his spread fingers at what’s happening, and the two girls hug him. They’re warm and smell of grease, paint and sweat. Neither of them had showered since they left but they were a pleasant reprieve from the stink Davis has burned in his nostrils.
Amani speaks quietly in his ear:
“You saved Nox, and you saved the others too, you have to know that protecting our mission will save everyone in the end, this is a victory for us”
“ARRGH…” Davis roars.
Trace and Amani back away; unsure of Davis’ intentions.
“…AND THEN LANCE SOLD US OUT. There were thousands of them, of us in there, and Lance threw them away, Mac’s gone, that whole fucking station is lost…”
Davis paces angrily in the control room.
“…I went there aiming to sacrifice myself for my brother, instead I managed to gather two thirds of the uprising to one convenient location to be Assimilated. Well, if we’re lucky they’ll be Assimilated”
“DAVIS…” Trace shouts, shocking him into looking at her.
“What? It’s true, right now it’s better than dying and I, WE, get another chance to save them, a chance to redeem MY actions”
“We’re in this together Davis…” Amani starts.
“…We’re all to blame; those actions belong to all of us. Just like the Encephalon is to blame for the Assimilated”
Davis looks to Amani; somehow her words are calming to him, made him feel less shit about his transgressions. He smiles at her, then Trace too.
“I better wash this stink off of me, before this sub turns into a bio-hazard” He says.
Trace and Amani laugh, but the seriousness of their previous words doesn’t echo away with their forced syllables; as much as they’d like them to. Davis leaves the control room, and takes the laugh with him.
Only enough time for four Hûms to shower, has passed, when:
Beep, beep, beep… Beep, beep, beep.
An alarm sounds throughout the submarine.
“The proximity alarm” Amani tells Trace.
Trace dashes to the intercom, her voice resonates with a tinny sound.
“Malcom; control room NOW, Elix, Blister, torp room one, Davis, Korvo, torp room two”
Jones has been in the control room since she showered; talking with Maxine about every switch and button in front of them, while she tries guessing the meaning of ‘Merops’
“What should I do?” She asks.
Trace turns and Jones is right in front of her face. Trace processes her abilities in a flash.
“Targeting. That chair next to Malcom, tell me how close the blips are to the centre every two seconds”
Trace turns back to the intercom and blares her voice again.
“Elix, Blister; Red-stripe, Davis, Korvo Blue-dot”
The four Hûms below efficiently manoeuvre the appropriate torpedoes into position. Their bodies reflect their clean and agile minds.
“Primed” they sound off; Elix first.
“What’s going on out there, guys?” Blister asks.
Trace doesn’t reply, instead she asks:
“Jones?”
“It looks like a squadron of subs, three small revolving a bigger, but I can’t fully identify them, their movements are too erratic to be Assims” Jones states.
“Malcom, Maxine dive, see if they chase” Trace orders.
“Diving” he spits, with a focused stare at his control panel.
The submarine sinks into the murk, creaking with every hundred metres it descends.
“There’s something else out there…”
Jones starts, her words turn frantic.
“…Fuck there’s thousands of them” She adds.
Malcom sets the engines into reverse without uttering a word.
“Malcom what the fuck” Maxine shrills.
“Malcom, what are you doing?” Trace commands.
Malcom resumes his fixated gaze at his controls, he flicks some switches, turns a dial while everyone watches on; confused.
The intercom speakers crackle and squeal with distortion as the submarine slows to a stop and then a creeping reverse. Once still, over the speakers; out of the calm, dark sea comes a song of warning through the hydrophone, that can only be described by vocalising:
Eeeoorrroo… Areeeoorr… Weeooarr…
“Whales…” Malcom begins.
“…The whales are dissuading our route”
Jones laughs.
“No way! you can speak whale?”
“No, I can’t…”
The control room is overcome again with confusion.
“…But judging by the lack of imagination in the placement of those thousands of dots, I’d say they we’re calling out a warning about the mine field, I’d say they think we’re one of their own”
“Malcom, I apologise…” Says Trace
“…You just saved us, thank you. Now we need to plot a course around these mines, you two get to it”
“Yes ma’am” Maxine replies.
Malcom stays silent, his face is stuck in its all too natural brooding fashion. Trace feels as though something is wrong but has since learnt that querying his moods always seems to makes it worse.
The intercom crackles into the conversation break.
“So are we under attack or not?” Blister asks curiously frustrated.
Trace blushes, but conceals it from her ship mates; she’d forgotten about her friends in the torp rooms. She clears her throat.
“Un-prime that ordnance crew, it was just some whales and a mine field”
Blister and Elix look to each other with a gleeful intrigue carved deep in their face, they run; like they were racing each other to the ladder. Trace, Jones and Maxine look at each other confused at the sudden end to their transmission. Blister knocks Elix with his hip and shoulder, Elix retaliates and with her bionic arm she holds Blister behind her with ease.
“Fucken cheat” He says.
She laughs maniacally and climbs the ladder with a victorious grin.
“Where are they?” Elix asks, as her head emerges through the ladder chute before clambering up further.
Blister’s right beneath her, his head comes up through her legs, and he lifts her up on his shoulders.
“Where are they?” He repeats.
Malcom chuckles at their lack of knowledge.
“You can’t actually see them” He dismisses.
Elix zips over to his control panel, Malcom gets flustered that she has invaded his space. She scans the interface and goes to press a few buttons. Malcom slaps her hand out of the way each time.
“Stop it Elix, you don’t know what you’re doing” He professes.
And then Elix spots a switch and reaches for it, Malcom doesn’t swat her hand away, she flicks it. The screen surrounding the control room shifts aside from the centre out to reveal the fathomless black of the ocean surrounding them.
Malcom sits quietly with his arms folded and eyebrows nearly toughing in the middle.
Blister snickers:
“I thought you knew everything Malcom” His giggling continues.
The crew look out into the dark; bewildered at its depth.
“Malcom…” Trace starts “…Can you find the light switch?”
His silence endures as he presses the button right next to the screen switch. The black takes on the blue of the submarine’s spotlights.
Biogenic substance and pelagic sediment float into and around the submarine, the group stares rapaciously and just when they think the whales have disappeared, Malcom turns on the hydrophone, and once again the whales sing. But the tone is different, playful even, as though the ocean mammals were telling the land mammals how silly they were being just now; about the enter the mine field head first.
The mother whale cruises by the open visor of the submarine to inspect what it thinks to be the weirdest looking whale in existence. She paddles away quickly. Malcom and Maxine share the same thought and engage the engines to make chase.
Quietly and as though she were in a trance, Trace says to Malcom:
“Follow those whales, they’re going to lead us right to the Encephalon”
And like a little game the Merops follows the pod; indulging in a brief solace from their daunting mission. They sway and dive, merrily racing with something man hasn’t fully tainted with its technologies.
Even though the Encephalon has forced the migrations of these majestic creatures; with their ocean crust, to one spot on the planet. Today, it has proved to be advantageous for the Uprising, and they are thankful.
Davis has been devoutly working his brother’s motor skills and hand eye coordination for as much time as Mac could squeeze, and luckily Nox’s grip has grown firmer, he can now keep track of Davis’ movement without much strain.
“Come on Nox, ask me something man, anything, please” He requests.
The others in the cramped room have decided to rest in the bunks and conserve their energy. Elix, instead walks over to Davis and Nox. She pulls from her pocket the jerky she placed there earlier.
“Here, I was going to save this for myself for later, but maybe it’ll lift his spirits a bit, or give him a burst of energy”
Elix holds the jerky in her open hand near Nox’s chin. The aroma wafts to his nostrils, confusion overcomes him as he tries to place the scent to a memory. He turns to the smell.
“Can, can, can I have?” He asks.
Davis smiles, Elix giggles.
“Yeah, sure, but chew it slowly okay”
Nox reaches his hand out to grab the jerky, grips it and plops it into his waiting mouth.
“Davis, Trace is here, she just buzzed. What’s the plan now?” Blister asks.
What is left of the true Uprising in the cramped bunk room, gather to the bed which Nox and Davis rest upon.
“Come on Davis we need to know” Says Jones.
“Help me stand Nox up…” He says.
Elix and Blister aid him, and lift Nox to his feet. Nox stands wobblily, but well enough on his own for Davis and the other to let go.
“Where going?” Nox asks.
“We’re going for a swim bud; can you hold your breath for me?”
Nox takes a deep breath and holds it in with his cheeks bulging like balloons. His innocent demeanour gives the group a small reprieve from their grave circumstances.
“That’s good Nox, you’re doing great” Davis states.
Jones pipes up:
“So, swimming huh? That’s your plan?”
Davis doesn’t respond, instead he takes his Morse responder back from Blister and buzzes it a dozen or so times. He then pockets it.
“Blister, help me with these bunks. The rest of you, move the other beds against the wall feet first.”
Blister doesn’t question him; Korvo and Elix do the same.
“Davis?!…” Jones demands.
“…Why won’t you answer me?”
All the beds now lay against the wall opposite to the mouldy exterior wall. Davis grabs Jones by her shoulders and coerces her into the space between bunks.
“Hope you’re’ll ready”
“Fucking ready for what?” Jones barks, and as she does a booming crunch from outside the moulded wall forces her instincts to drop her to the ground.
The walls crack and water hisses through, spraying the room with a fine mist of stone-cold Ocean.
Lance leaves the confines of the station and climbs the perimeter wall to view the Encephalon’s army first hand. Hûms run chaotically around him, making their way to any free spot along the wall as instructed. Aiming their pistols and readying their grenades.
Lance walks behind his soldiers; his men, won over by a diplomacy built on poisonous words. They watch anxiously as an innumerable amount of Assimilated march upon them.
The Assimilated have no need for weapons, their sheer numbers are enough to eliminate their foes. The resounding claps of their synchronised steps leave no need for war drums.
“Everyone is in position Sir” Lance’s lieutenant states.
He can sense the fear in the boy voice.
“Don’t worry son, we’ll have our peace soon enough”
The boy could have easily thought Lance meant they were going to win and free everyone’s families from the tyranny of the Encephalon, but no, the boy understood exactly what Lance had meant.
The young soldier has calculated his chances of survival, and they were slim, slimmer than a bee’s dick. It was this moment that the boy could not tell if his brain had released serotonin to help him cope with his impending doom, or if the wind had brought with it a cool change, either way, his spine pulsed fear throughout his body and he knew Lance had been working for the Encephalon. For how long? He couldn’t tell, but the truth had struck him and he wondered how many of his friends and comrades he could tell before the ocean of Assimilated wash over them like ants to a carcass.
The swarm of Assimilated creep closer.
John breaks rank, he screams as loud as his lungs will let him:
“WE’RE ALL DEAD, WE’RE SOLD OUT”
He manages to turn dozens of heads to his dictum.
“You insubordinate little…” Lance says taking a step back and reaches for his holstered pistol.
The young soldier’s eyes widen with a crazed stare that cuts through Lances resolve and he feels fear, the kind a child is filled with when he stands up to his father for the first time; an honest fear.
Lance fumbles his weapon, the boy charges at him unblinking. The two Hûms wrestle for control of the weapon, Lance trips on a tuft of grass and falls backward to the ground. His grip of the pistol is lost to the soldier; whose berserker eyes have not faded.
Soldiers from the wall begin to rush to the scene. The boy shoots Lance in the stomach, again in the shoulder and once more in his knee before turning the weapon to his own head.
He closes his eyes, his rage floats away on a passing breeze. Serenity takes him; the trigger creaks faintly, tickling his eardrum as he squeezes slowly.
But the boy is tackled by his comrades before he can fire. Three men relinquish the weapon from him.
“RETREAT TO THE STATION” One of the soldiers call out.
Another repeats the command in the distance. The word catches all Hûms on the wall and in the yard; they flee to the confines of the reprogramming station.
The assimilated reach the wall.
There is no one to attack them with EMP weapons.
The assimilated traverse the wall, effortlessly collaborating; no one is there to witness the feat.
The Hûms within the station begin barricading the main entrance with everything they have at their disposal. An explosion quakes beneath the station; the Hûms pass it off as the Assimilated trying to get in.
The Assimilated reach the door.
“Davis, wont we get crushed by the water pressure?” Asks Blister, as the ocean slushes around at the sextet’s shins.
“No…” He replies un-reassuringly, watching the severely cracked wall spew water.
Blister and Elix look to each other; their faces painted with worry. Davis feels the feint vibration of his Morse responder.
“Brace” It states.
Davis relays as loud as he can:
The six each huddle with the nearest body, tensing their muscles and closing their eyes. A tremendous boom surpasses the fizzing water, deafening the group momentarily. Within seconds the room is half full, and the Hûms within are forced to watch their oxygen swiftly taken from them at the hands of the ocean.
Squeals and screams in the cold water are inaudible amidst the chaos. Davis signals with his hands as he yells:
No one hears but they all understand. Davis dives under the surface with Nox’s hand held tight in his grasp. The other four follow him down and through the two-metre diameter hole in the wall.
Davis and Nox swim fast, and through the murk of the ocean, blended with the dust and debris of the reprogramming station, Davis can see the blinking light of Trace’s submarine. He turns to see if his friends are behind him. Elix and Blister are right there, Davis pauses until he can see Korvo and Jones; the sediment displaces around them and Davis confidently resumes his pace to the sub.
As they get closer, the submarine’s nose splits in two horizontally, like the mouth of a whale scooping up krill; Davis and his five swim inside. He quickly taps: ‘SOS’ on his Morse responder; the mouth of the sub closes.
Blister’s lungs are cramping, he hasn’t had to hold his breath like this before. He wriggles at the top of the sub waiting for the water to drain, and the others start squirming. Davis clicks furiously at his responder, transmitting gibberish in his panic.
A whirring of motors and the glugging of pumps reverberate through the water. The six thrash their limbs upwards, kissing their lips to the growing pocket of air and sucking at it desperately.
The water level drops enough for the group to fit their heads, nobody speaks just yet; they’re too busy panting to restore their bodies lost oxygen.
“Is everyone alright?” Davis asks.
A few shared breaths go by before anyone answers.
“I’m good” Says Blister.
“Ditto” Says Elix.
Korvo and Jones nod as they breathe heavily. Davis looks to Nox.
“You good brother?”
Nox chuckles a shivering laugh.
“Fun swim” He says.
The water drains quicker now and the sextet can feel the bottom of the submarine and within seconds the water is no more than a few scattered puddles on the patch-rusted floor.
A squeaking of the submarine’s inner door alerts the group to its opening, its seal cracks as it opens.
“T…T…Trace its g…good to see…e you” Blister stutters, he rushes to her with open arms knowing full well she’d be a warm body to cuddle.
“Cuddle this” She quips, throwing a thick blanket into his face.
Blister cherishes its embrace like a long-lost lover: returned. The others creep forward to receive their blankets from the pile in Trace’s arms. Davis tries to be strong and look as though he doesn’t need one, but breaks quickly and snatches the last blanket from Trace; he covers his head, rubs vigorously and then dons it like a cape.
“What happened in there?” Trace queries.
The group are hesitant to answer and look to one another for guidance. The words they need are on the tips of their tongues yet the will required conjuring them would surely see them pass out.
Trace accepts the silence as enough for now, she can tell by their faces they’ve been betrayed somehow and the wound is still tender.
“Come this way…” She starts, stepping over the lip of the doorway, out of the mouth of her sub.
The sextet forms a single file line and shuffles through the door after Trace.
“…I Know you’re all very tired but it’s imperative that you listen and comprehend everything I say to you about this vessel…”
She turns to look at the group, each of them nods in agreeance, then resume their curious scan of the innards of Trace’s sub.
Like many sheltered Hûms, Elix has never seen a submarine before. As she walks, she studies the semi-rusted inner linings. There are pipes and conduits trailing a path overhead. The walls are grey and cold; pieces of paint flake off as she runs her hand along them. Other parts are spray painted silver where the rust has been stripped back.
The lights are dim, mismatched and flickering. Various hatches break up the hallway into segments. Each member of Uprising duck through as they walk, even Trace; the smallest.
“…This whole level is for cargo, engines and weaponry. Either side of this first room is where the torpedoes are loaded, take a second to familiarise yourselves, you may have to use this equipment without any fair warning…”
Trace steps into the torpedo room. Blister and Elix step in after her and the rest peer in from the doorway.
“…Blister, Elix, you’ll man this room, Korvo and Davis you’ll be in the opposite room. Don’t worry; it’s identical to this one. Now listen carefully. Red-stripes go bang, Blue-dots go zap. It’s simple to load them, watch me. You pick the torp up with the Robo-crane, use these joy-sticks to manoeuvre it into place…”
Blister sniggers at ‘Joy-stick’
“Shut it Blister” Trace blasts.
Davis elbows him in his side.
“…Once the torp is in the tube, shut the lid and hit the primer button; the torpedoes aren’t live until you press this button, so don’t forget”
Trace lets the knowledge sink for exactly three seconds.
“Moving on…” Trace barges past the huddled crew onward through the corridor.
“… Back there is the engine room. Unless you’re an electrical engineer or me don’t even breathe in it”
Trace climbs the ladder at the end of the hall, and the group follow. She pauses halfway up.
“This level is the living quarters, Beds first, then kitchen, then shower and lastly toilets. I’ll introduce the rest of the team in the control room, then you can explore”
One by one the group behind her stop to look into the living quarters before ascending.
Blister is last to get to the control room and as soon as his head pops out of the ladder hole he is filled with excitement. He stumbles on the last steps and smacks his shins on the steel as he exits.
“Ow fuck”
And then in his highest pitch he squawks.
“Malcom” He blurts, dropping his blanket and forcing a hug upon Malcom.
“You’re still wet” He states disgruntledly.
Blister releases his hug and holds Malcom by the shoulders sporting a cheesy grin.
“We’re in the same boat now friend”
Blister looks away then back again and laughs before turning around and finally noticing the rest of the crew glaring at him.
Trace clears her throat.
“Well, now that that’s out of the way, I’d like you all to meet Amani, she’s the leader of E Cluster…”
Korvo’s eyes haven’t swayed from Amani’s curly orange hair, and how it bounces every time she looks away from his swooning gaze with blushed cheeks.
“…And this is her third in charge Maxine; she’ll be our pilot…”
Maxine peeks her chubby freckled face around the pilot’s chair, the sub veers to the starboard side, and the crew lose their balance a little, she quickly turns back and continues her pilot duties.
“…And in case you don’t know Malcom, he’s the tall one, he will serve as our navigations officer”
Malcom scoffs at how beneath his abilities a navigations officer is, and turns his head away from anyone who were to look upon him for future reference.
“And finally, ha-ha almost forgot, for anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m Trace… Captain Trace”
“What about the ship’s name?” Elix asks.
Maxine shouts from behind her large chair.
“Merops. I’d tell you what it means, but where’s the fun in that”
In the fifth basement, there is a room; the walls are damp where the salt water meets them on the other side, it leaves an odd mouldy smell and scattered stains throughout. Davis and his Uprising within a broken Uprising are thrown inside the room. There are four neatly arranged bunks with barely any walking space between them. The crew are immediately met with a claustrophobia none of them knew they had.
Blister, Korvo and Elix pace around the room hunting for a flaw they can exploit, while Davis sits on a bunk next to Jones and Mac.
“I know my words don’t really carry much weight right now, but thanks for standing by me in there”
“Davis…” Mac begins.
“…I’m sorry, I’ve known Lance for a long time, we’ve been kicking Assim ass together longer than I could hold a job in the old world, I just wish I could’ve stood up to him like you did, only sooner. Maybe none of this would have happened”
“Mac, you stood when it counted, I won’t forget that…” Davis replies.
“…And Jones, we don’t know each other except by name and a few rumours, but, I’m glad C Cluster named a bright woman like you to lead them, I suppose your actions have granted you a reward, I should probably tell you guys our real plan of attack”
Mac perks up before Davis can continue.
“Whatever your plan is Davis, I Know you’ve got a way out of here, and I know the Assimilated are coming with all they’ve got, and I know for sure you’ll need as much time as you can scrounge to pull this off”
“What are you getting at Mac?” Davis asks.
“Just trust me okay, don’t tell me your plan, when Nox comes through the door, I’ll tell the soldiers that you told me your plan and they’ll have me speak to Lance immediately, that should buy you enough time to do what you have to do, and if it doesn’t, well, I tried. At least I know I stood up when it counted” He smiles.
“Alright guys, the plan remains a mystery, Jones, I guess you’ll just have to wait and see. Mac, thank you”
Davis places his hand on Macs shoulder and they stare a grateful gaze at one another.
Only a few minutes pass before footsteps are heard in the hall outside the bunkroom’s door. Blister, Korvo and Elix stop their thorough examination of the room’s weaknesses to spin their heads to the door. The six Hûms huddle together in the centre of the room, as though they were going to rush the soldiers when they enter.
The door opens; four men trot in rifle barrels first, aiming at Davis and his crew. They form a line and hold, two more men come through holding Nox by his arms from behind. Davis sees red and tries to charge but is immediately held by his companions, albeit with great difficulty.
The two soldiers in the middle turn their weapons to the stumbling Nox, the other two remain still, aimed at the group. Davis calms, he and Blister help Nox onto the bed behind them. Mac steps up to one of the soldiers.
“Take me to Lance, I’ve gathered some Intel from this scum” He says, his face ridden with disgust.
Blister and Elix jerk to their feet, Blister yells:
“You slimy fuck, I’ll fucking kill you” As he stomps towards Mac.
Two of the soldiers stand in his way and Blister is met with a rifle barrel poking each of his eyes. He immediately raises his hands. Mac looks over the soldier’s shoulder at Blister.
“Oh, you didn’t think I was your friend, did you? Blister, they told me you were a little dull, but now, I can see you’re just fucking stupid… Have fun growing mould down here” He concludes, as he walks out of the room confidently.
“Nox, hey… it’s Davis” Jones pushes past Davis and the crew.
“Get out of the way, he needs space to breathe. Davis! Let me see him”
Davis backs off. Jones looks him over. Nox’s eyes flick open from their squinted state, Jones flinches backward, and then springs forward.
“Nox? Can you hear me?”
He frantically looks around and grabs at his eyes trying to signal that they don’t work. Jones turns to Davis.
“When you found him, what were they doing? Was he drugged or in a coma?”
“Ahh, umm…” Davis panics as he tries to remember.
“…He was hooked up to a machine, his eyes were covered, he ate through a tube”
“Makes sense, they had his brain in like, a low power mode so they could program it easier. He’s coming out of a coma, we have to be very careful with him”
Jones turns back to Nox.
“Nox, look at my hand…”
She holds it above his face and moves it in circles. His eyes track it but strain quickly. He blinks and swats it away with his own hand.
“Davis this is a good sign, he’s going to recover, I don’t know how well though”
“Will he be able to swim, or hold his breath?” Davis asks.
“You’re joking me, aren’t you?”
“No time for jokes, that’s how we’re getting out of here”
Jones looks at Nox and sighs.
“Fuck…” She turns back to Davis.
“…Come here, get him to follow your hand with his eyes and squeeze it on your command, one minute on, one minute off, get him to say a sentence, ask a question, whatever, and he should be able to swim”
“But he was talking before, when we found him. You heard him Elix, he said “Have to protect Davis”’
“Yeah that’s right, what does that mean Jones?” Elix asks.
“Look this wasn’t any normal coma, so side effects are going to be unpredictable, while he’s been able to say things; they’ve only been parrot sounds, echoes, and since they were fucking with his brain, that makes this incalculable at best”
Davis looks at Jones; he heard what she said but refused to accept any negative outcome.
“Blister, here, take my Morse responder, tell Trace to slow down, I need more time with Nox, he has to be ready when she gets here”
“You sure man, that’s real risky, having them take their time”
“I won’t leave here without him Blister, he’s been alone for too long already”
“Alright man, I’ll do it” Blister agrees, and empathises, if it had been his Charlotte or his boy Jacob, he would do the same.
“Mac I’m surprised, I didn’t peg you for a snitch, come in, come in, have a seat, do you want some coffee?”
Mac knows this offer of coffee and niceties is all part of Lance’s scheme. He’s setting a scene for Mac; he’s set himself up in the station’s workshop, and he’s using a work bench as his desk.
The long skinny room is radiating with warm light from above, Mac feels his Goosebumps disappear as he takes a seat in front of Lance.
“This is the cleanest workshop I have ever seen” Mac says.
“Amazing isn’t it, we can learn something from these Assims you know?”
“Enough bullshit…” Mac jabs “…It doesn’t have to happen this way. We should be listening to Davis; he and Artemis had a plan. We were going to work together Lance”
Lance scoffs.
“Humph, Artemis. He’d have us all commit suicide to save the masses, and Davis would use our bloodied clothes as a rope to climb into the Encephalon and save the day” He ends, rolling his eyes.
“You’re wrong” Mac states.
“Look around you Mac we’re sitting on top of our greatest victory to date. We disabled and secured the biggest reprograming station in the country. We did. Not Davis, nor Artemis…” Lance shakes his head and squints at Mac.
“…We stopped some of the most Dangerous Assims from scouring the streets looking for our little rat holes we call homes”
“So you admit it then?” Mac interjects.
Lance leans back into his chair to contemplate his answer.
“You should know by now Mac, there will always be casualties of war, but if we can choose which ones we lose, maybe their deaths will prove more useful than their lives ever could”
“You’ve fucking lost it Lance. Do you know I used to look up to you? And now, now I wouldn’t even look down at you if you were begging me for help. You’re no better than the Encephalon. We’re not sitting on victory. We’re standing on our dead with our heads in the clouds and calling ourselves giants. That’s no victory”
Lance doesn’t even wince at his former comrade’s words. He then draws a confused look on his face.
“You came in here offering Intel, but now you’re berating me like I’m some kind of child…” Something clicks in Lance’s brain
“…Oh, OH! Mac, you almost did it, you almost had me fooled. You’re stalling me you rascal…”
Lance switches from sportive to serious as he leans over the desk.
“…Now, tell me their plan or I’ll use YOUR bones to lift my head OUT of the clouds”
Mac breaks immediately; he can’t keep his ruse up now that Lance has caught him out.
“No, don’t, you need me; you’ll need all of us if we’re going to survive”
“Tell me their plan Mac” Lance repeats.
“Ahh, fuck it. They’ve played you all for fools; they were never going to use our Clusters as a decoy…”
Mac points all around the room with both index fingers.
“…This, this station was their plan all along, they meant to lure all the Clusters here so the Assimilated could swarm in and take you all away”
Lance fails to conceal his laughter.
“Ahah ahhahaha” His cackle angers Mac.
“What the fuck is so funny?” Mac asks.
“There’s only one fool in here, and it isn’t me. That couldn’t possibly be his plan…”
Again, Lance’s silliness converts to a straight face.
“…Because it’s my plan. No, they plan to escape somehow. John, get in here” He calls out.
“Sir?” The boy asks, rushing through the door from the corridor.
“Bring me Davis and his crew immediately”
“Yes sir” The soldier complies, before dashing out of the room.
He’s gone no more than ten seconds before he comes sprinting back in the room. A variety of screams can be heard down the hall. A distant commotional buzz fills the room as the boy enters, his sweat stained clothes immediately sting Mac’s nostrils.
“Lance, err, Sir! It’s the Assims sir; they’re massing out the front, what do we do?”
Lance stands with a feint smirk, he adjusts his collar and looks at the boy calmly.
“Get the crack shots to the towers and everyone else on the walls, let the Assims get real close, and when I give the order, we EMP them until they’re no more than a seizing pile of skin, got it?”
Enthusiastically: “Yes Sir” The boy confirms.
Just as the soldier flinches to leave, Mac stands.
“He’s never going to give that order kid”
The boy looks at Mac confused. He doesn’t suspect Lance’s deceit at all. Lance steps closer to the young man.
“It’s just the ravings of a desperate criminal, don’t listen to him son” Lance attempts to quell the distrust Mac has seeded.
Mac raises his voice:
“You’ll be Assimilated if you stay, get out, get your friends ou…”
Mac’s sentence runs short as the violent, thunderous clap of Lance’s pistol rings out in the boy’s ears; he cringes, his hands fly to his ears as he squeezes his eyes shut in fear.
Mac falls back onto his chair; its legs slide out and he thuds to the ground. His body lies awkwardly on the white tiled floor turning red, like blood on the tundra it taints as it seeps from Mac’s nearly missing head.
The young man’s eyes open from their terror closed state and are fixed on the blood puddle trailing to the nearest drain in the floor.
“Man the wall. Man the towers. I won’t give a second order soldier” Says Lance.
Survival clicks in the boy’s brain, he shakes as he stutters:
“Y…Yes Sir” His minute old enthusiasm disperses into the air, along with pink mist of Lance’s actions.
The boy runs out the door shaking his head, and maybe if he shook it hard enough the image would fall away from the insides of his eye lids. Such a sight would not easily fade.
Lance holsters his pistol and sips his now lukewarm coffee.
“Hmm, the Assimilated are early, I guess I won’t have to dirty my hands a second time after all” He says quietly to himself.
He doesn’t even take a second look at his former compatriot before leaving the sullied workshop to see his motives through.
August 3, 2018 August 10, 2018 ~ rekstwelve ~ Leave a comment
Catch up on Symbionic, from blurb to now; here.
The first floor of the reprogramming station has been hastily converted into a mess hall, its glossed white walls and polished concrete grey floors remain spotless from the Assimilated’s occupancy. Ammunition crates, weapons containers and rolled up clothes litter the floor, with Hûms atop them slurping soup from any container without holes in it and nibbling bread and jerky from cupped hands and crumb laden laps.
“Pristine isn’t it?” Lance asks the group.
“Like a fucking morgue” Davis surlily quips, looking at every part of the room Lance did with a certainty to his disgust
“It lacks imagination if you ask me” States Blister.
Elix jumps in with:
“Well someone had to imagine it; either way its purpose outweighs any beauty it might hold”
Lance slyly smiles.
“If you want beauty, I’ll have to show you the paintings our Cluster has collected…”
She smiles in return, blushing slightly under the dirt on her face.
“…That will have to wait for the war to end though… Moving on, Mac and I will be in the command room, Blister, Davis, you can join us once you’ve eaten”
Lance and Mac walk away to the top right corner of the gigantic room, where partitions have been set up, segregating the Cluster leaders from the others. Lance stops a soldier on his way, tells him something, then points to Elix, Davis and Blister. The soldier runs off to the kitchen while the trio of tired Hûms find themselves a spot to sit.
Blister finds a patch of unclaimed floor next to one of the four load bearing pylons in the centre of the room. Davis sits to his left and Elix to his right.
“Feels good doesn’t it?” Blister asks.
“The floor is really hard” Elix giggles as she ends her sentence.
Davis shoots snot from his nose trying to hold his laughter in.
“Feels real good” He says as the coolness of the concrete travels through his pants into his buttocks.
The room is noisy with lame anecdotes and tired jokes made fresh, heard by new ears. The mixing of Clusters blends well with the aroma of hot soup and fresh bread being generously handed out. The scent is strong in the room and mostly foreign to many of the Hûms within, including Elix, and when the food rushes over to them on a tray carried by an efficient soldier, the only thing stronger than Elix’s curiosity of what ingredients have been used is her hunger to eat them without question.
“Pea and potato soup with fresh bread guys” The soldier says.
Elix and Blister barely hear the man over their loud guzzling and bread slopping as they furiously dig into it. Davis takes a slower approach, he knows his stomach has shrunk and feels it foolish to stretch it, as his next meal may not be as hearty and filling.
“Oh and… Elix…” The soldier lingers, and looks to his left and right for prying eyes, before handing her a small piece of something Elix has never seen.
“This is from Lance”
Elix pauses with her mouth full of soup-soaked bread, looking up at the man dumbfounded. She extends her hand and grabs the dark red item. The soldier walks away.
With his mouth also full of soup-soaked bread, Blister sputters:
Elix turns to him in time to see him swallow a mouth full of food bigger than his throat should be able to handle.
“…I can’t believe he gave you jerky” Blister concludes, with absolute jealousy crippling his face from any other emotion.
“What the hell is jerky?” She asks, holding it to the lights above, witnessing the light turn reddish brown through its membrane.
“It’s victory food” Blister spits through his food.
“Just put it in your mouth and chew Elix” Says Davis.
Elix takes the smallest of bites with the largest look of inquisition her face could manifest. It’s tough at first, but once its mixes with her saliva it softens to release its sweet and spicy flavours, vanilla dances with bourbon, the chilli bathes in maple syrup and Elix is transported to another planet, far from the woes of her world.
She opens her eyes and stares lovingly at the rest of her jerky, then snaps back to her earthly self. She tears it in two and hands a piece to Blister. Blister snatches it, gulps the last swallow of his own food, and scrubs his mouth clean with his tongue before gingerly placing the jerky inside. Elix turns to Davis and offers the remaining piece.
“Don’t you dare Elix, that’s your bit. Besides, my hands are still dirty, I’d ruin the flavour”
Elix wanted to dispute him but realised he was talking metaphorically. Davis is full of guilt and hungrier than ever, not for jerky, but for victory against the Encephalon. He took a loss tonight, one that will haunt him for the rest of his time, and looking around seeing all the Hûms celebrating, made it worse.
He finishes his meal in silence. Silence, he thought, was better for morale than carving his heart out with a discarded plastic fork and showing everyone in the room how black it was, and why.
Elix pockets her remaining jerky, and Blister asks:
“You guys here that?”
Elix tries to hone her hearing in.
“Is that buzzing?” She queries.
“Must be a tremor…” Davis says, nudging Blister’s leg suspiciously.
“…I hope Trace is okay…” He continues hoping Blister catches on.
Davis is receiving a message from Trace on his emergency Morse responder; he relays it to Blister by tapping his elbow just out of sight.
“Sub… Ready… Leaving…”
Any more and her signal could be tracked. Davis adds to his message for Blister.
“Tell… Elix… Prepare… Battle”
He looks to Davis a little confused at his choice of words and how exactly he is to repeat the message to Elix. He turns to her with a cheesy grin and eyes full of seduction.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Elix asks.
Blister leans in to whisper:
“Sweet nothings” In her ear.
She cringes and giggles at his breath on her neck. Now she’s twice as confused. He goes in again.
“Trace is coming to get us, be ready for anything and laugh when I pull away”
She laughs as requested and adds a punch to the arm to aid the ruse.
The feast ends and most of the Hûms in the room saunter merrily off to their tents to retire for the night; full bellied and sapped of most of their energy. Those left who aren’t Elix, Blister and Davis trudge off to relieve other Hûms from their guard posts so they can rest too. As the room clears, the trio from Cluster F walk into the command room.
There’s a few soldiers cleaning away the remnants of the leader’s dinner, as a few more people enter the room.
“Shut the door on your way out…” Lance orders.
“…That’s everyone isn’t it? Good…” He asks and answers himself.
“…Let’s begin” He concludes.
Mac walks to the head of the room, made to feel small by the thirty odd Cluster leaders filling it.
“Today we put fear into the Encephalon; we crippled a major component of their operations”
The room cheers, Mac raises his voice to surpass them.
“Now this is not the end of the war…”
The leaders quieten.
“…The Encephalon is still out there, still taking our fellow Hûms, still Assimilating them. We all know something of Davis’ plan, and it’s a good plan, but it comes with a cost, one each and every one of you needs to understand fully before undertaking it. Davis, fill them in”
Davis clears his throat superfluously as he steps up to take Mac’s place. He’s nervous as he looks around at all the faces; most of which eagerly anticipate his words so they can disagree immediately. A few want his blood soaked deep into the pores of their hands, and even fewer wish to genuinely hear him out.
“I fucked up. I won’t deny it; all of you are here because I wanted to save one person and a lot more of us aren’t here for the same reason. I will never forgive myself for what happened to those Hûms underneath us…”
Davis sighs to keep from breaking down.
“…Everyone in this room risked their lives for Elix, my brother and myself. I owe you my life and I intend to see it as the only future casualty in the final attack… But my Cluster needs your help, we need enough time to slip into the Encephalon unnoticed, so what we need is for you to draw out as many Assims as you can; by attacking the bridges that lead to the Encephalon”
The room erupts in a furious chatter. Ki, the leader of J Cluster stands.
“You managed to kill all the Hûms in the basement and now you would have us run head first into Assimilation, why? So you can run off to some other basement and have the Encephalon finish US off. Fuck that. Fuck you Davis”
Davis cops the insult, he was ready for worse. Jones of Cluster C stands before Ki gets a chance to sit.
“Guys, all failures aside, it’s actually a great plan, provided it works; the Encephalon would just think were being the dumb humans they already think we are, running to our inevitable demise in classic human nature. But Davis, those of us who can see past your recent transgressions, we want to know how you’re going to end them; how will you stop the Encephalon?”
The command room roars once again in agreeance with Jones
“I can’t, I just can’t tell you that. If I tell you and you get Assimilated, it’s over. Everything we’ve worked for, everything Artemis built, every Hûm that was ever Assimilated would have been for nothing, and we would be nothing. That’s the only way we can win, you have to believe me”
Blister stands from his seat, he’s been itching to say something this whole time.
“If you can’t trust Davis, trust me, and trust Artemis” He says.
Elix joins her companions.
“I stand with Davis…” She says.
“…Anyone else here brave enough to stand with us?”
Korvo stands, Blister and he exchange nods. Mac stands too.
Lance paces in front of everyone, his hand clasping his wrist behind his back.
“Hmm, how very interesting, it seems we have identified the Hûms that plot against us, against the Uprising. Davis, I didn’t want it to happen this way, but I’m going to have revoke you and your companion’s right to be a part of our collective, with the support of the rest of the Uprising of course. A show of hands?” He asks the leaders loudly.
“…Who here thinks Davis has over stepped his bounds, who here thinks Cluster F has taken the Uprising for granted? And gambled with the very lives they so proudly claim to protect and emancipate? Who here thinks they should be relieved of their positions in the fight against the Encephalon? Stand now if you agree”
All those standing for Davis quickly reclaim their chairs as the majority thrust to their feet. Blister yells at them from his chair.
“You’ve all been tricked; can’t you see Lance is working for the enemy”
They remain standing. Elix steps in, finally realising Lance’s role in the attack.
“He’s the one who shut down the life support generators. He killed the Hûms in this station, not Davis”
Barlon from Cluster A roars his opinion at Cluster F.
“If Lance hadn’t shut them down we would have a faced a far more formidable enemy than the few Assims guarding this place, you know what they are capable of, we would have surely been wiped out”
“Yeah, they would’ve killed themselves to Assimilate us” A random sub Cluster leader states.
“It was the only way” Another says.
Davis has been silent for too long and his anger has been rising since Lance opened his mouth; he stands.
“Look around you, look at the person next to you, across from you, ahead of you. Today these people, these Hûms; if you can still call them that, they’ve become worse than any Assimilated we’ve come across, worse than anyone in the Encephalon. All of you, every fucking one of you has turned from your humanity. You would kill your brothers and sisters just to gain another day? Of what? Fucking hiding in the sewers? Starving in the cold? At least in my pursuit for my brother I was the only one being sacrificed. And then you mother fuckers showed up, and it all went to shit…”
The room falls silent; there weren’t any comebacks to what Davis had said. They were right in their way and he was right in his. All they needed was someone to tell them what they had done was righter than what Davis had done. That person was Lance. He spoke to them on a level every man, woman and child knew all too well in the world the Encephalon has built. He spoke to them through a filter of fear, he made them scared, too scared to see that Davis is right, too scared to even stand against one man, let alone the Encephalon.
“…Lance, don’t do this, you can’t stay h…”
Lance butts in with a sharp piercing whistle, a squad of soldiers run into the room and look to Lance for direction.
“Take Davis and his Cluster to the secure room on sub level five. Korvo, Jones, Mac, you’d be wise to follow…”
The soldiers snatch Cluster F by their arms, and drag them out the doorway.
“…Oh, and wake up Nox, I’m sure he’d love to see his brother one last time”
Davis kicks and struggles as he screams:
“The Assimilated will reclaim what you’ve taken, you can’t escape them” His words echo into the mess hall and ring out in the ears of the Cluster leaders.
Under his breath: “And neither will you” Lance says.
July 27, 2018 ~ rekstwelve ~ Leave a comment
Catch up from the beginning, here.
“Mac, err, Sir, we’ve managed to destroy the main generator, but have been unsuccessful in locating the back-up” A foot soldier reports.
“No need to search son, they’ll be scampering out soon enough. Move in the Clusters, focus on the south towers first then converge on the central. We take the yard, we fortify, we move inside the station and sweep floor by floor” Mac orders.
“Yes sir” the soldier complies.
Mac returns to his overwatch position to the West of the station, just inside the cover of the ocean crust’s forest. As he gets there, Mac notices Lance talking covertly with a soldier. Lance’s face is wrought with intent and then the boy rushes off into the fray.
“What was that about?” Mac asks.
“Oh, he was just nervous about the fight, it takes a few inspiring words to be seasoned veterans like us, aye mate?”
Mac knows that kid.
He’s fearless, what are you plotting Lance?
Mac doesn’t let Lance get a whiff of his suspicion, he throws a casual insult to elude.
“Hey you’re the only seasoned one around here, although I did used to be a Vet” he jests.
The two Hûms chuckle like old chums, Mac sighs, and his sanguine words follow:
“I hope what we’re doing is right”
Calmly Lance replies:
“Everything we’ve done so far has been right, even if it didn’t feel that way while we were doing it”
Mac smiles at Lance and extends his hand towards the battle field.
“Shall we?” He asks, gesturing for the two of them to enter the fight.
“I thought you’d never ask” Lance jokes, and they then change their faces to serious mode to engage in combat.
Davis peeks through the crack of the barely opened door leading to the reprogramming floor.
“Now’s our chance Elix, all the Assims have gone to fight up top”
“What do you think’s going on up there?” Elix asks
“Trace better not have done something stupid” He replies.
The two of them leave the maintenance corridor into a wide low-ceilinged room, filled with rows and rows of Hûms strapped down to chairs with helmets covering their heads. A giant steel centipede scales down their spines with wires and tubes going in and coming out of them, they sit; defiantly awaiting completion of their reprogramming so they can enter the solace of Assimilation or the void of ocean and death.
The rows continue like pews in a church under the soft blue light that the back-up generator emits until they blend with shadows in the distance. Elix and Davis stare silently in awe. The whole room reeks of sweat, bile and all other conceivable excretions that don’t quite make it from tube to mouth or Hûm to drain.
“Fifteen floors just like this” Elix states despairingly.
Davis would’ve replied if his brain wasn’t still processing the scale of the search he and Elix were in for.
The pair walk down the aisles, twenty Hûms on their right and twenty on their left. Davis scans their body shapes extensively.
“Look for black hair like mine and a scar on his thumb” He says, and then he returns to his determined search.
Elix scans the room but her mind isn’t focused like Davis’.
“These machines, is this what we’re in for if give in?”
“No Elix, this is what you get if you fight to the end. I think they’re some kind of sensory deprivation device, look at these masks, they look like they’re exposing these Hûms to a different atmosphere”
Elix has become fascinated by the process.
“They block your ears, they blind you, they make you breathe smoke and eat sludge, Davis we have to stop this” She says compassionately.
Elix knows his reply by the look on his face, his eyes are peeled, mouth closed like an overtightened vice, breathing heavily through his nose. His brain has long since shut down his smell receptors to focus its energy to his eyes.
They continue their search for a tedious amount of time, and then, of to the side by the walls cloaked in a darker shadow.
“NOX” He cries out.
More than fifty rows deep into the stations lowest floor, Elix whips her gaze to Davis’ voice. By the time she makes it over to him Davis has already ripped the mask from his brother’s head.
“Davis, be careful” She warns.
The chair hisses and releases the rest of the restraints from Nox.
“I’ve got you, I found you” Davis reassures, as he lifts his brother’s weakened body from the chair.
They both fall, Elix flinches forward as though to try and catch them, but they fall too fast. Davis lands with Nox on his lap, he rustles his body, turning Nox to see his face. Nox coughs up some of the brown sludge that should be food, and then opens his eyes as he sharply gasps for air.
“I’ve got you, I’ve got you” Davis repeats, choking up his last three words as he rests his head on Nox’s, rocking him gently.
Nox has been still for too long and Elix suspects he has either passed out or passed over. Elix is visibly distressed.
“Davis…” She starts, but before she gets a chance to continue Nox seizes to life, his back arches, hands curl to his chest and teeth grit.
“Rarrlgh” He gargles as though screaming out for his stolen vocal chords, Davis desperately tries to keep his brother within his arms.
The seizure subsides, Elix is in tears, watching helplessly as Nox twitches and tenses his muscles.
“Nox…” Davis asserts “…Look at me”
Nox opens and closes his jaw like he’s trying to adjust to a new altitude, his eyes roll, but eventually he meets his erratic gaze to Davis’. With his body in a foetal position Nox reaches out to touch Davis’s face.
“D… Da…” He begins.
Davis eyes enlarge with hope, his face wrinkles a smile through his tears, and he nods to encourage his brother.
“Dad” Says Nox.
Davis presses his hand onto Nox’s.
“It’s Davis, Nox; it’s your little brother”
Nox stares blankly up, the name doesn’t register. Davis looks to Elix, each of them choking on a lump in their throats.
“I’m too late, they’ve taken me from his memories” He holds his brother close and cries an unashamed cry, Elix turns away to unleash her own tears.
And then, between a whimper and a breath:
“Davis. Have to protect Davis” Nox recites.
“Yeah, bud, that’s what Dad said”
Davis’ smile returns, Nox’s face scrunches with confusion. He’s thinking, remembering more. Visions come to Nox, as he twists and spasms in Davis’ arms.
“RUN” Nox screams.
Then thousands of clicks echo from all sides into the ears of the three Hûms.
“RUN DAVIS” Nox yells.
“Elix help me lift him”
Her mind switches from its saddened state to one of high alertness as she snaps into action. They grab Nox by his arms and throw them over their shoulders; they run dragging Nox’s atrophic legs behind them.
As the three flee, a familiar hissing sound ripples into their ears.
“Davis, the Hûms, they’re…” Elix starts.
“They aren’t Hûms anymore; the Assims must be losing up top”
The thousands of freshly brainwashed Assims stand in unison, they remove their sensory depriving masks, the spinal attachment unscrews itself, whizzing and whirring its deep screws from their bones.
Halfway to the maintenance corridor, the feint blue light gets consumed by the cold darkness of sub level sixteen in the reprogramming station, held captive indefinitely. A cascade of thuds rumble in the shadow clad room. A whisper is all Elix can muster:
“Davis, what do we do?”
“Keep moving Elix, we have to get to the maintenance room”
Davis cracks a glow stick with his free hand, illuminating only a few metres around them. Elix gasps.
“They’re…” She says “…But why would they…” Her shock prevents her from finishing her sentences.
“Elix we have a window, let’s use it” Davis says.
The trio make it to the corridor and rest Nox against the side wall, Davis pants before saying:
“They must’ve killed the back-up generator” He claims, hands to his knees breathing heavily.
“But… How could they… have known?” Elix asks between her inhales and exhales.
Davis doesn’t have an answer for her, as much as she’d like him to; Davis is equally confused. The thumps of their hearts subside along with Davis’ glow stick and the hum of the room is lost to the blackened atmosphere.
Silence takes charge for only a moment, leaving Elix and Davis to their thoughts about what could be happening. Nox resumes his babbling.
“Someone, some, someone, someone Davis” and then in the distance a single set of military boots taps a loudening rhythm.
Davis whispers:
“Elix, get behind me”
She complies, quietly.
The three Hûms huddle in the dark; waiting. A flashlight scans the vast room outside the corridor, Davis watches it illuminate the door jamb, as it aims to their side of the room; Davis draws his pistol and cocks the hammer, it gives him something other than shade to aim for.
The footsteps stop and immediately the light turns fully to the maintenance corridor. Elix holds Nox’s head and covers his ears, he squeezes Davis’ arm. The steps resume, the rectangle brightens as it nears and at its brightest it flicks off, Davis fires at the door, no thud, he fires again and then a third shot. Nox screams out, his eardrums rattle; the prolonged deprivation of his senses has tuned his hearing to make a pebble sound like a boulder crashing. Davis fires one last time before he realises he’s hurt his brother.
The shots ring out for a few seconds, smoke from the barrel floats around them and the casings settle themselves, bouncing into their final nooks. From the quiet comes a young man’s stern voice.
“Hûms?”
Elix looks to Davis for guidance, he doesn’t give it, his face is ponderous yet he can’t think of what to do. Elix aims her voice to the door.
“Hûms” She replies.
The shuffling of the man’s gear is all the three can hear on the other side of the door.
“Sir I’ve found them… …Sixteenth Sir… …Yes I will sir”
Davis and Elix look to each other once more, both of them unsure of who the man is talking to and what intentions they have for them.
The door creaks open cautiously, the man flicks his flashlight on, Davis raises his gun, Nox flinches, and Elix stands. The light shines directly into her eyes then straight to the floor. The three’s eyes adjust.
“Davis?” the man asks.
He lowers his weapon and grumpily replies.
“Yeah, well who else were you expecting”
“We have to get you top side Sir” The man says, reaching for Nox to help the two of them stand.
“Aarrgh” Nox screams.
“Have to protect Davis” He recites, clawing his hand at the soldier, the man backs off immediately.
“We’ve got it thanks, Elix grab him, slowly”
The two grab Nox and the four of them walk up an out of the station.
Nox exits the station with Davis and Elix under each of his arms, his legs have regained some off their functions and the exercise of stair climbing has jogged his memory when he sees:
“Blister” He calls out.
Blister turns to them from his huddle amongst the Cluster leaders; he runs to them and relieves Elix of Nox’s weight. Davis and Blister look at each other across Nox’s weary face, and in that moment, Davis silently apologises and Blister silently forgives, abolishing any animosity that previously stood between them.
“Medics! Bring a stretcher, and help these Hûms” Mac commands, pacing straight for Davis and Nox.
Two soldiers run up to Nox, they try and grab him to ease him onto the stretcher, but:
“NO!” He squawks kicking his legs at them wildly.
“Whoa calm down, we’re trying to help” One of the medics says defensively.
Davis and Blister take a couple of steps backwards.
“Nox, cool it” Davis orders.
“Hey medic, you got any of those Molly-pops?” Blister asks.
Still on guard; the medic steps closer and throws from his satchel an ocean blue Molly-pop. Davis snatches it from the air and unwraps it.
“Nox, here check this out” He says.
Nox looks to his right; Davis tastes the Molly-pop.
“Mm your favourite: Blueberry”
Nox steals it and swiftly wraps his lips around it. The flavour explodes on his starved tongue, honey and blueberry seep into the cracks of his tongue, his salivary glands flood his mouth and aid the medicine down his throat; his pupils dilate. Davis and Blister ease him onto the stretcher and the medics take him into one of the many tents erected in the front yard of the reprogramming station.
“Mac…” Blister begins “…We have to get those Hûms out and ready to leave, we can’t keep them here while they’re recuperating”
Mac stands with his hands held at ease behind his back.
“It’s already underway, I’ve got men combing the station as we speak, they’ll be in homes soon enough”
Davis senses something is out place.
“They won’t find anything” he says grimly.
Mac furrows his brow at Davis.
“What do you mean? What happened in there?”
Davis pokes two fingers into Mac’s chest as he says:
“You and your soldiers shorted the power to the re-programmers. You killed them. If we didn’t get Nox out, he’d be gone too”
Mac is offended but holds his composure, he pokes Davis’ chest as he says:
“If you weren’t here at all, none of them would be dead and we’d have more resources to carry out our primary mission. You do still want to stop the Encephalon, don’t you Davis?”
Mac’s retaliatory temper wears off and he and Davis come to a simultaneous realisation. For Davis, it’s that his actions have been reckless and that his brother’s freedom has come with a severe cost. And for Mac, he understands exactly why Lance was so adamant about taking this place as a beachhead and what he was talking to his soldier about before the attack.
Mac starts again in a softer tone leaning in close:
“Davis something’s going o…”
But he’s interrupted by Jack running over from the station.
“Mac, there’s people alive in there…”
Davis’ drooped head rises and his guilt shrinks by a fraction.
“…We’ve got a handful of Hûms on each floor, they’re a mess, but the docs think they’ll be alright”
Mac looks to Davis, his gaze; implying he’s not yet finished with him before he turns back to Jack.
“Jack! I want everyone helping those Hûms up to ground level”
Jack nods and runs away as quick as he came. Elix can’t hold her tongue any longer.
“Was it you that gave the order?” She asks Mac, her fists clenched tight, her heart racing with adrenaline.
“That’s not what happened here…” Mac states.
Her voice rises:
“Did you cut the power?”
Mac puts his hands up gesturing her to calm down.
“Yes, I gave the order to shut down the main generators, we wouldn’t have been able to take the station if I didn’t”
Elix’s voice trembles as she raises it louder still:
“NO, you shorted the life support, you killed everyone, you ripped away their chance of freedom, and now you’re trying to blame it all on Davis. You’re pathetic”
Mac can see why she would come to that conclusion; it all makes sense to her.
“Hear me out, please…” Mac pleads.
“Spew your lies all you want” She states, arms crossed, mind made.
“Elix…” Davis starts “…Give him a chance, I trust him, and something’s off here, what were you going to say before Jack came over?”
“Yeah, what’s going on Mac?” Asks Blister as he herds the group into a huddle.
Mac whispers:
“The Clusters are being compromised, I can’t confirm anything yet but I think Lance is cooperating with the Encephalon, but still, even that doesn’t feel right, they’ve never acted like this before”
Mac ponders on his unsure thoughts as Blister jumps in.
“Mac, this is just like what I saw in the sewers, after the Raven’s Tongue was attacked. Davis, Elix, the Encephalon isn’t what it used to be, someone on the inside is trying to gain control and I think they’ll do anything to end us”
Elix is quiet, Davis curiously asks:
“You really think they’d bargain with a Cluster leader to kill off some Hûms?”
Elix eats her grudge with Mac.
“They’re scared, they must be… Mac I’m sorry for what I said, but if there’s a mole, we can’t trust anyone, we can’t even trust you, so how do we move forward”
“Elix!” Blister says, shocked.
“No, Blister, she’s right, the one telling us there’s a mole is highly likely to be mole themselves”
“But that doesn’t make any sense” Blister says, also thinking that it might make perfect sense.
Mac puts his hand to Blister’s shoulder.
“Blister, it’s okay, I’ve been called worse. What’s important now is that you lot get out of here and follow through with your plan. What is your plan by the way?”
The three of them look to one another, painted in their scepticism.
“Ha haa, got you…” Mac jests, and an unexpected chuckle overwhelms them.
“…Don’t tell me your plan. That would be stupid, I’ll get you on your wa…”
Something catches Mac’s attention; Lance is closing in on them.
“…And then I threw parsley at him and said “Now who’s a ‘seasoned’ Vet””
The group turn their dying chuckle into a merry laugh as they break their huddle, turning to face Lance.
“Not conspiring against the Uprising, are we? Haha” Lance jokes.
Mac perks up his voice:
“I ran out of inspiring words to give them so I told them a joke instead”
Lance giggles falsely as he slings his arm over Davis’s shoulder.
“Come on, let’s go inside, my boys have fixed the lights and prepared some food for us. Tonight, we eat like there is no war, and later we talk strategy”
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Night One.
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COVID-19 could end church as we know it. And I feel fine.
With the restrictions forced on faith communities, which technological tools can best help us understand and reshape our identity and mission?
Catholic priest Jesus Higueras from the Santa Maria de Cana parish is seen on a smartphone during a livestreamed Mass in Pozuelo de Alarcon, on the outskirts of Madrid, on March 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
C. Christopher Smith
(RNS) — The coronavirus pandemic has quickly swept the globe, throwing just about every human institution into chaos. Faith communities are no exception.
With gatherings restricted in size or prohibited altogether, many houses of worship are fighting to stay connected, rapidly weighing technological options to keep as many people as possible engaged.
This involves a a good deal of trial and error. Congregational leaders find themselves relying on multiple digital tools — some of which they have never used before — to connect themselves to their members and to keep their members caring for each other.
As stressful as these times are, they have provided an extraordinary opportunity in my Christian community to reflect on our identity and mission as the church, and to imagine ways of being more connected than ever with our fellow church members.
In normal times, most churches plow forward without much reflection on identity and mission.
Now they have the chance to do something new, and I challenge churches to take a wee bit of time to reflect together on questions like these:
What is the church? A building? A particular gathering? A community?
What is worship? What really matters in a worship service? And given the limits forced on us by the pandemic, which technological tools can best help us embody our identity and mission?
With more than a decade of experience in the IT industry, I am keenly aware that our technological decisions shape who we become. Our decisions now will shape us not just over the span of this pandemic, but beyond it as well.
The nature of Christianity will shape those decisions. Following its Jewish roots, Christianity is primarily a social faith, embodied in communities that express this faith in their everyday lives. Christianity is also incarnational, highly valuing bodily presence — both the presence of God-with-us and our presence with one another. We have no greater gift to give one another than our full, undivided presence and attention.
Josh Kellso, a pastor at Grace Bible Church, delivers a sermon via livestream for virtual attenders from an empty sanctuary March 22, 2020, in Tempe, Arizona. Many houses of worship have suspended all in-person services and programs and moved to online services in compliance with guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to promote social distancing in the effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (AP Photo/Matt York)
The Apostle Paul imagines churches as the body of Christ, a powerful metaphor of interactive community in which there are no extraneous members and in which everyone has a role to play. We are called to be active participants in our faith, not just passive consumers of religion.
What do these essential convictions mean for our choices about technology and connection?
Not all technological platforms are created equal. Some technologies allow us to be more present than others. Videoconferencing platforms (Zoom, Google Hangouts, etc.) that allow all participants to be seen and heard are much better than webcasting platforms (Facebook Live, etc.), designed for passive consumption. Audio-only tools (phone conference calls) are not as fully participatory as videoconferencing, but are better than passive media. And even Facebook Live, with its capacity for real-time commenting, is a little more participatory than solely passive broadcasting platforms — but it is much closer to the passive end of the spectrum than to videoconferencing.
Medium-to-large churches may want to foster smaller groups. While a larger Sunday service is probably best as a webcast, small groups should be encouraged to meet using videoconferencing platforms such as those named above to foster presence with one another in that setting.
These groups might have a suggested order of worship that outlines the prayers, songs and Scripture passages to be read and discussed. Allow a short time of sharing what’s going on in our lives — much needed in this rapidly spinning chaos! My own church has implemented a daily 8 p.m. Zoom call that is open to all members for praying and sharing together.
Don’t rule out the possibility of legal, healthy physical presence. Especially in climates warm enough for people to be outdoors, churches are finding creative ways for smaller groups of people to come together outdoors with the necessary health precautions.
As long as it is not legally restricted, church members can interact with social distancing on porches, in backyards and in a walking, running or other exercise group that doesn’t require close proximity. One local pastor I know visits church members on his daily run, stopping by their houses and talking with them outside.
Our means of connecting and being the church in this tightly restrictive season will undoubtedly shape the future of our faith. I pray that we will be contemplative and creative in the discernments that we make along the way and that this pandemic will be looked back on as a season of energy and growth for generations to come.
(C. Christopher Smith is founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books and author of “How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church.” The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)
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Judge orders John MacArthur, Grace Community Church to wear masks, social distance during services
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The Early Reaction From The Right Side Of The Blogosphere To The Debate
16 May, 2007 by John Hawkins
Here’s a good selection of comments from around the right side of the blogosphere about the debate.
“It was easily Rudy’s night, which was made easier because much of the questioning seemed to fit right in his wheelhouse. His smackdown of Michael Moore sounding idiot Ron Paul was a microcosm of why people like me would consider voting for him even though we disagree on many social issues – because he’s not afraid to call a spade a spade and tell it like it is.” — Ankle Biting Pundits
“My initial reaction to the debates? Tom Tancredo and Duncan Hunter are underrated. They are the ones to watch.
Giuliani is the top contender. He won it. Romney was too wooden. He has to work on that. He is a great candidate but lacks spontaneity.” — Atlas Shrugs
“I firmly believe Rudy Giuliani will emerge the winner tonight. He was the only candidate to stand up to Rep. Ron Paul’s despicable comment blaming 9/11 on America’s foreign policy. …Giuliani also did everyone a favor by exposing Paul as someone who doesn’t belong in this field and should be booted from future debates. It’s time for Republicans to stop giving this libertarian a platform.” — Bluey Blog
“Top-tier winner: Rudy
Second-tier winner: Huckabee” — Mary Katharine Ham
“For what it’s worth, Romney looks stronger and stronger to me. He’s in his zone, he’s nailed down his positions, he’s confident and articulate, and he has charisma. I thought McCain held his own. He, too, was confident. He did a better job than the last debate. However, his position on interrogations is simply ridiculous when held up to scrutiny. I don’t think Rudy gained very much. A forum where 10 candidates get equal attention is simply not helpful to a front-runner. But I am becoming increasingly impressed with Duncan Hunter. He’s poised, has a good grasp of the issues, and is consistent. He’s solid on national security, and I like his idea about zero taxes for the manufacturing sector (although I don’t believe I share his overall approach to economics). In my own mind, it would be nice if he’d move into the first tier of candidates. Being a member of the House, however, his name identification and public exposure remains limited.” — Mark Levin
“So who won? Tonight, two candidates really benefited form their efforts. I have a feeling that Mitt Romney will emerge from every one of these shindigs as the most articulate, well informed and appealing candidate. In terms of debating skills, it’s a man amongst boys out there. But Rudy also had a great night, rebounding from a fairly disastrous debut at the first go-round. Rudy is by far the most likely candidate to have an “I paid for this microphone” moment.” — Dean Barnett on Hugh Hewitt’s blog
“I’ve criticized and remain critical Huckabee’s immigration stance, but he did well for himself again tonight. Will he be the next president? Probably not. But he made a solid, respectable showing.
I think I’ve made myself clear about Gilmore and Thompson.
McCain is flagging, flaming out. Romney turned in another careful, safe performance.
Giuliani had more pep and fight tonight than the last go-around. He gets points from me for bringing up Fort Dix and continuing to invoke it in post-debate commentary on Hannity and Colmes.” — Michelle Malkin
“Best punchline: “We’ve had a Congress that’s spent money like John Edwards at a beauty shop,” so sayeth Mike Huckabee
Best showdown: Giuliani’s slapdown of 9/11 conspiracy theorist Rep. Ron Paul.” — Moxie
“In the first debate, Mitt Romney far outperformed the field. That wasn’t true tonight. Romney did well, as he always does, but he didn’t outclass his main competitors.
The big winners were Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, who both improved on mediocre performances the first time out. Rudy got a golden opportunity to respond to a Ron Paul answer that more or less endorsed the idea that September 11 was our fault. Rudy blew that idea away, and the audience went wild. That is the space that he needs to occupy.” — Power Line
“I’m fascinated by everyone who thinks McCain or Rudy won tonight. I think there is a bit of bias showing among some who declared McCain, Rudy, or Romney the winner. The McCain fans think he held firm. The Rudy folks solely remember his rebuke of Ron Paul, which was truly awesome. The Romney folks remember him sounding Presidential.
But not one of them could hold a candle to Mike Huckabee tonight. Huckabee eloquently defended our culture of life versus the culture of death in radical Islam. He defended the troops. He talked tough. He kept making sense and giving great sound bite after sound bite from social issues to national defense issues.” — Redstate
“Who do I think won? I need to read the transcript because sometimes it’s hard to get a good feel for what was said when you’re liveblogging, but here are my initial impressions: Huckabee sounded great, committed to life, but I have to give the edge to Romney. He came off as the most prepared, and sounded very presidential and looked it, too. I have to say as someone who has struggled wondering who to support, Romney is starting to sound very good to me. McCain sounded very defensive, and lost me early on with the old used drunken sailor spending joke (yawn).” — Sister Toldjah
“Big win for Rudy.” — Don Surber
“Me, I think Giuliani and McCain did well for themselves, Huckabee distinguished himself as the most eloquent of the group, and Mitt Romney was the big loser. I’m sorry to say. If the press isn’t all over his gaff about the Islamists “coming together,” then it is asleep at the switch.” — Tigerhawk
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Why Isn’t Russia’s Denial Of Nuclear Fuel To Iran A Bigger Story?
21 Mar, 2007 by John Hawkins
This would seem to be a rather significant development, one that should be headline news. However, I suspect it’s not getting the attention it deserves for no other reason than because it might reflect well on George Bush,
“Russia is bringing home its technicians and engineers from Iran’s unfinished nuclear reactor site at a time of growing international pressure on Tehran to curb its atomic ambitions, U.S. and European representatives said Tuesday.
Although both Russia and Iran officially say their differences are financial, the dispute has a strong political component that the West hopes could result in Moscow lining up closer behind U.S.-led efforts to slap harsher U.N. sanctions on Tehran for refusing to freeze uranium enrichment.
The representatives – a European diplomat and a U.S. official – said a large number of Russian technicians, engineers and other specialists were flown to Moscow within the last week, around the time senior Russian and Iranian officials tried but failed to resolve differences over the nuclear reactor outside the southern city of Bushehr.
Russian officials deny links between the dispute over Bushehr and Iran’s nuclear defiance. But two senior European officials, speaking separately, said Moscow recently dropped all pretexts and bluntly told Iran that Russia would not make good on pledges to deliver nuclear fuel for Bushehr unless Tehran complies with the U.N. demand for an enrichment freeze.
Asked about the approximately 2,000 Russian workers at Bushehr, the U.S. official said: “A good number of them have left recently.”
Do people get the importance of this story? This could be the event that prevents a US or Israeli bombing run on Iran. In other words, this is, if it lasts, an incredible foreign policy victory for the United States that actually has the potential to prevent a war down the road.
So, why isn’t this being treated as the enormous newsmaking event that it is? Perhaps because the Russians don’t do anything out of the goodness of their hearts, which means that someone, perhaps with the middle initial W., managed to make this happen. Better to downplay the whole thing, rather than play it up, and risk Bush getting the credit he deserves if it’s his doing.
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Russia Business Today
Home Energy Nord Stream 2’s Swedish Section to Be Completed by October, Company Says
Nord Stream 2’s Swedish Section to Be Completed by October, Company Says
The operator of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 project, Nord Stream 2 AG, said on Monday that the process of laying pipelines in Swedish waters is almost finished and will be completed in October, Oil Capital reported.
“Pipelay in the 510-kilometre long Swedish section of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is almost over: One line has been completed in this section, while the construction of the second line will resume on September 1. The second line is scheduled to be completed during October in the Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),” the operator said in a press release on its website.
Overall, more than 1,700 km of pipelines have been laid so far in accordance with existing permits in Germany, Sweden, Finland and Russia, the company added.
The company also noted that, on August 3, the last Nord Stream 2 pipe stored within the premises of the port of Karlshamn left the storage area.
“Nearly 39,000 pipes have transited through the port since October 7, 2017. Out of these, almost 37,000 pipes have been shipped to the pipelay vessels working on the Swedish section of the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline. The surplus has been transported back to the port of Mukran in northern Germany,” the company said.
The Nord Stream 2 project will consist of two gas pipeline lines with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. The total capacity of the project is 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The cost of construction is estimated at 9.5 billion euros.
Nord Stream 2 AG is run by Russia’s state gas giant Gazprom, in partnership with European companies Wintershall, Uniper, OMV, Engie and Royal Dutch Shell, which are financing 50% of the pipeline.
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Numerical Calculation of Quench Distance for Laminar Premixed Flames Under Engine Relevant Conditions
Published August 30, 2011 by SAE International in United States
Event: SAE International Powertrains, Fuels and Lubricants Meeting
The quenching of premixed laminar flames at various constant pressures was studied through numerical simulation, with the Trajectory Generated Lower Dimensional Manifold (TGLDM) method used to employ detailed chemical mechanisms for stoichiometric methane and heptane flames. The method was validated at lower pressures and wall temperatures. The laminar flame speed predicted by the TGLDM method agrees reasonably well with experimental data reported in the literature. The peak heat flux at quenching was found to be under-predicted by 30-40% of the most current experimental data.
The quench distance was calculated for pressures of 1, 2, 20 and 40 bar, with wall temperatures of 300 and 600 K and fresh gas temperature of 300 K. The quench distance was found to decrease with increasing pressure in a manner similar to previous studies. The value of quench distance for heptane was found to be smaller than that of methane by a factor of ~30% over all pressures.
The peak heat flux values were used to evaluate the thermal model of Boust et al., for calculating quench distance and was found to predict the right trend, though the quench distance values are lower than those observed in experiment. The applicability of these results to internal combustion engines is briefly discussed by calculating a rough estimate of the fuel left unburned in the quenching layer for a spark-ignited engine, and a proposal for the computational implementation of Boust's thermal model is explained.
Technical Paper Differences between Iso-Octane and Methane during Wall Quenching with Respect to HC Emissions
Technical Paper Emission Characteristics of Natural Gas as an Automotive Fuel
Technical Paper Relationship of Flame Front Pattern to Pressure and High-Speed Knock on Commercial Engines
Marco Turcios - The University of British Columbia
Carl Ollivier-Gooch - The University of British Columbia
Jim Huang - Westport Innovations
Combustion and combustion processes
Spark ignition engines
Simulation and modeling
Turcios, M., Ollivier-Gooch, C., and Huang, J., "Numerical Calculation of Quench Distance for Laminar Premixed Flames Under Engine Relevant Conditions," SAE Technical Paper 2011-01-1997, 2011, https://doi.org/10.4271/2011-01-1997.
Amano, Toshiji and Okamoto, Kazuhisa. Uuburned hydrocarbons emission source from engines. SAE Paper 2001-01-3528, SP-1644(2001-01-3528), 1 2001. SAE International Fall Fuels and Lubricants Meeting and Exhibition.
Angelberger, C., Poinsot, T., and Delhaye, B.. Improving near-wall combustion and wall heat transfer modeling in si engine computations. SAE Paper 972881, (972881), 1997. SAE International Fall Fuels and Lubricants Meeting and Exhibition.
Bellenoue, M., Kageyama, T., Labuda, S. A., and Sotton, J.. Direct measurement of laminar flame quenching distance in a closed vessel. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 27(3):323-331, 2003.
Blint, R.J. and Betchel, J.H.. Hyrdrocarbon combustion near a cooled wall. SAE Paper 820063, (820063), 1982. SAE International Congress and Exposition.
Boust, B., Sotton, J., Labuda, S.A., and Bellenoue, M.. A thermal formulation for single-wall quenching of transient laminar flames. Combustion and Flame, 149(3):286-294, 2007.
Bruneaux, G., Poinsot, T., and Ferziger, J.H.. Premixed flame/wall interaction in a turbulent channel flow: budget for the flame surface density evolution equation and modelling. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 349(-1):191-219, 1997.
Cleary, David J and Farrell, Patrick V. Single-surface flame quenching distance dependence on wall temperature, quenching geometry and turbulence. SAE Paper 950162, 104(950162):47-61, 1995. SAE International Congress and Exposition.
Daniel, W.A.. Flame quenching at the walls of an internal combustion engine. Symposium (International) on Combustion, 6(1):886-894, 1957. Sixth Symposium (International) on Combustion.
Daniel, W.A. and Wentworth, J.T.. Exhaust gas hydrocarbons genesis and exodus. SAE Paper 620122, 6(620122):192, 1964.
Enomoto, Masaru. Head-on quenching of a premixed flame on the single wall surface. JSME International Journal Series B Fluids and Thermal Engineering, 44(4):624-633, 2001.
Enomoto, Masaru. Sidewall quenching of laminar premixed flames propagating along the single wall surface. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 29(1):781-787, 2002.
Ezekoye, O., Greif, R., and Sawyer, R.F.. Increased surface temperature effects on wall heat transfer during unsteady flame quenching. Symposium (International) on Combustion, 24(1):1465-1472, 1992. Twenty-Fourth Symposium on Combustion.
Gu, X. J., Haq, M. Z., Lawes, M., and Woolley, R.. Laminar burning velocity and markstein lengths of methane-air mixtures. Combustion and Flame, 121(1-2):41-58, 2000.
Heywood, John B.. Pollutant formation and control in spark ignition engines. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 15(1):1191-1211, 1975.
Huang, J. and Bushe, W.K.. Experimental and kinetic study of autoignition in methane/ethane/air and methane/propane/air mixtures under engine-relevant conditions. Combustion and Flame, 144(1-2):74-88, 2006.
Huang, J. and Bushe, W.K.. Simulation of transient turbulent methane jet ignition and combustion under engine-relevant conditions using conditional source-term estimation with detailed chemistry. Combustion Theory and Modelling, 11:977-1008, 2007.
OpenCFD Limited. Openfoam®- the open source computational fluid dynamics (cfd) toolbox. http://www.openfoam.com/,2009.
Lorusso, J. A., Kaiser, E. W., and Lavoie, G. A.. In-cylinder measurements of wall layer hydrocarbons in a spark ignited engine. Combustion Science and Technology, 33(1):75-112, 1983.
LoRusso, J. A., Lavoie, G. A., and Kaiser, E. W.. An electrohydraulic gas sampling valve with application to hydrocarbon emissions studies. SAE Paper 800045, 80(800045), 1980. Automotive Engineering Congress and Exposition.
Mayer, E.. A theory of flame propagation limits due to heat loss. Combustion and Flame, 1(4):438-452, 1957.
Peckham, M and Collings, N. Flametube studies of wall quench. SAE Paper 912375, 100(912375), 1 1991. SAE International Fall Fuels and Lubricants Meeting and Exhibition.
Poinsot, T.J., Haworth, D.C., and Bruneaux, G.. Direct simulation and modeling of flame-wall interaction for premixed turbulent combustion. Combustion and Flame, 95(1-2):118-132, 1993.
Pope, S. B. and Maas, U.. Simplifying chemical kinetics: trajectory-generated low-dimensional manifolds. FDA 93-11, 1993.
Popp, P and Baum, M. Analysis of wall heat fluxes, reaction mechanisms, and unburnt hydrocarbons during the head-on quenching of a laminar methane flame. COMBUSTION AND FLAME, 108(3):327-348, FEB 1997.
Rakopoulos, C.D., Kosmadakis, G.M., and Pariotis, E.G.. Critical evaluation of current heat transfer models used in cfd in-cylinder engine simulations and establishment of a comprehensive wall-function formulation. Applied Energy, 87(5):1612-1630, 2010.
Rozenchan, G., Zhu, D.L., Law, C.K., and Tse, S.D.. Outward propagation, burning velocities, and chemical effects of methane flames up to 60 atm. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 29(2):1461-1470, 2002.
Smallbone, A.J., Liu, W., Law, C.K., You, X.Q., and Wang, H.. Experimental and modeling study of laminar flame speed and non-premixed counterflow ignition of n-heptane. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 32(1):1245-1252, 2009.
Vosen, S.R., Greif, R., and Westbrook, C.K.. Unsteady heat transfer during laminar flame quenching. Symposium (International) on Combustion, 20(1):75-83, 1985. Twentieth Symposium (International) on Combustion.
Wang, M., Huang, J., and Bushe, W.K.. Simulation of a turbulent non-premixed flame using conditional source-term estimation with trajectory generated low-dimensional manifold. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 31(2):1701-1709, 2007.
Warnatz, J., Maas, U., and Dibble, R.W.. Combustion: Physical and Chemical Fundamentals, Modeling and Simulation, Experiments, Pollutant Formation. Springer, 2001.
Westbrook, Charles K., Adamczyk, Andrew A., and Lavoie, George A.. A numerical study of laminar flame wall quenching. Combustion and Flame, 40:81-99, 1981.
2011-01-1997 Numerical Calculation of Quench Distance for Laminar Premixed Flames Under Engine Relevant Conditions Download File Type
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Archive for Stericycle
23 health violations at Georgia Planned Parenthood while Ohio investigates fetal disposal
Posted in Aborted Baby Body Parts, Aborted Baby Trash, Abortion Clinic Inspections, Planned Parenthood inspected, Stericycle with tags aborted baby, Abortion, Abortion clinic, disposal, fetal tissue, health inspection, landfill, Planned Parenthood, Staci Fox, Stericycle, Unsterile, violation on December 17, 2015 by saynsumthn
A local media outlet in Georgia combed through five years of state health inspections from local abortion clinics and found several disturbing violations. WSBTV, channel 2, said they spent a month looking at the health documents after the release of undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood’s baby parts operation.
In their investigative report, after they learned that these abortion facilities were not improperly disposing of aborted babies, Channel 2 said they wanted to see exactly what the state had found after performing a complete inspection of abortion facilities. They also wanted to know how often the inspections are done. So, they said the TV station filed an open records report with the state asking for state inspection reports of licensed abortion clinics dating back five years.
What WSBTV discovered would horrify the public. According to their report, the following violations were documented during state health inspections of these so-called “safe and legal” abortion facilities:
Expired Medications and medical instruments
Unsterilized equipment
Sterile and nonsterile supplies stored in the same room
The vent in a biohazard room taped off with cardboard
Stirrups wrapped in duck tape
Iodine swabs used to prevent wound infections expired by 10 years
Soiled linens in surgical rooms to name a few.
In addition, the TV station discovered that one of the abortion clinics cited by the state was a Planned Parenthood facility located in Augusta. According to their findings, that Planned Parenthood abortion clinic had 23 health or safety violations in one year alone and was fined by the state. However, they also discovered that health inspectors did not return to the Planned Parenthood abortion center to see if the violations had been corrected until two years later.
Virginia Gallaway with the Faith and Freedom Coalition told channel 2 that she was shocked because restaurants were inspected more frequently than abortion clinics.
Interestingly, Staci Fox, Planned Parenthood’s Southeast CEO which heads the Planned Parenthood mentioned in the report, claimed the inspections might be deceiving because of an unsubstantiated bias against them. But, this kind of excuse is simply a PR move for Planned Parenthood.
Meanwhile, Ohio’s attorney general has announced that three of the state’s Planned Parenthood clinics (Bedford Heights, Cincinnati, and Columbus) have been illegally disposing of the bodies of aborted babies by throwing them in landfills. “Disposing of aborted fetuses from an abortion by sending them to a landfill is callous and completely inhumane,” Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said in a news release. “It is important the public be aware that these practices are taking place at these Ohio facilities.”
But, Stephanie Kight, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio
has denied the allegation telling Reuters that, “Planned Parenthood contracts with vendors to handle fetal tissue in a respectful manner and in accordance with the law”.
DeWine began the investigation to determine whether fetal tissue was selling fetal tissue, or abortion trafficking, in violation of Ohio law. Investigators requested documents and financial records from Planned Parenthood organizations as well as companies they contracted with. Although the investigation did not find that fetal tissue was sold by Planned Parenthood affiliates in Ohio, the investigation did show that the disposal methods documented by the Planned Parenthood affiliates violate Ohio Administrative law, which requires that a “fetus shall be disposed of in a humane manner.”
A press statement released Friday by the Ohio AG named the specifics:
All three Ohio Planned Parenthood affiliates have sent fetal remains to companies which disposed of the fetuses in landfills.
Additionally, the Planned Parenthood facility in Bedford Heights stated it uses only one company for disposal. However, that company stated to investigators it does not accept fetal remains for disposal as a corporate policy.
13ABC Action gave additional details:
“Planned Parenthood said some fetal tissue is donated for medical research, but such donations are illegal in Ohio. A Planned Parenthood state leader has said no donation program exists here.
“During DeWine’s investigation of the tissue sale issue, he said his office found that Marietta, Ohio-based Accu Medical Waste Service, Inc., a waste disposal company used by Planned Parenthood affiliates in Cincinnati and Columbus, sent the remains to a Kentucky landfill.
“An Accu Medical official told DeWine’s office that his company uses a standard treatment for biological waste called “autoclave” involving a high-pressure steam treatment to kill infectious material.
The investigation determined that fetal remains taken by Lake Forest, Illinois-based Stericycle from a third Planned Parenthood affiliate, in Bedford Heights in suburban Cleveland, ended up in a different landfill. DeWine’s office didn’t identify that landfill.
“Kight referred questions on disposal to the companies. A man who answered the phone at Accu Medical Waste Service who wouldn’t give his name said all employees had been instructed not to comment.
“Stericycle said in a statement it has a long-standing policy against accepting fetal remains. DeWine’s office said Planned Parenthood uses the company to dispose of its biological waste including aborted fetuses.”
DeWine said that he has referred his investigative findings to the Ohio Department of Health for further action.
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Denmark, Thailand
Prince Consort Henrik Visits Ecco Thailand
by Jakob Holm • June 13, 2006 • 0 Comments
Tuesday morning the air around the Ecco factory half an hour away from Ayuthaya was thick with tension, as managers and employees awaited a special visit from the Danish Prince Consort Henrik.
The Prince Consort is currently in Thailand participating in the celebration of the Thai King’s 60th year-anniversary since his accession to the throne.
With 2586 employees the Ecco’s shoe-factory is the largest Danish owned factory in Thailand and one of the only places Prince Consort Henrik is to pay an official visit during his current stay in Thailand.
At 10.00 o’clock sharp the tension was released and finally the enormous amount of hours spend planning the visit came to use, as the Prince Consort arrived accompanied by the Danish ambassador to Thailand Ulrik Helweg-Larsen.
Along with an excess of Danish and Thai flags the Thai governor was present to greet Prince Consort Henrik welcome to his province.
Flown in from Denmark, Ecco vice-chairman, Karsten Borch, was the one, who invited the Prince Consort into the factory.
Huge smile on his face Karsten Borch introduced the directors of Ecco Thailand to the Prince Consort.
The vice-chairman needed not to introduce himself, as he was already familiar with the Prince Consort. Karsten Borch started of his career inside Danish television and was actually the first to interview Prince Consort Henrik on Danish television.
Ecco Thailand was established in 1993 and began production at the factory in 1994. This day’s royal visit was the second one from the Danish Royal House, as the Prince Consort’s son, Crown Prince Frederik, has also visited the factory.
Tour of Ecco
Ecco started the Prince Consort’s tour of the factory with a short presentation of the factory facilities, which Karsten Borch named the finest of Ecco’s factories around the world.
Borch also mentioned that Ecco had double reasons to celebrate this day, as the conglomerate also was about to open its shop number 100 in Moscow, Russia.
Before letting the managing director of Ecco Thailand, Kitty Chaiwattanatorn, take the floor to explain about the factory the Vice-chairman showed his good humour by saying:
“We hope you will be impressed – and by the time you leave here, you will all be wearing Ecco shoes.” A prediction that would come true at least for the Prince Consort.
Impressed Prince Consort
Prince Consort Henrik was spared walking around the factory, as Ecco had provided golf cars to take him around the facilities.
As he sat down in the golf car it was revealed that the Prince Consort carried a band-aid just above his angle. No official explanation was given to the injury, but it was said that Consort got the injury before he came to Thailand.
“He picked up a knock,” was the only other thing said.
The tour took the band-aided Prince Consort all the way through the production chain – from tannery to molding and sewing. At the stitching lines the Prince Consort meet a familiar face, as a picture from his son’s visit decorated the wall.
It was an impressed Prince Consort, who after 1.5 hours finished his tour of the factory.
“It was an interesting visit. It is marvellous to see such a big factory being put up in so few years,” the Consort said.
Gifted white shoes
Prince Consort Henrik, who had his birthday last Sunday wasn’t allowed to leave Ecco with out a receiving a gift.
In the blitz light from the photographers the Prince Consort was presented with a par of white shoes – a gift he accepted smiling – and by accepting the shoes he let Karsten Borch’s prediction come true.
For the factory to remember its second royal visit the Prince Consort was asked to sign a piece of leather – a piece that might find a place next to the picture of the Consort’s son in the factory hall.
In order to properly goodbye Prince Consort Henrik the bulk of the 2586 employees at the factory took to the road outside, waving Danish and Thai flags, as the royal Mercedes-caravan left the factory.
After the visit the way was set for Ayuthaya, where the Danish Embassy had invited the Prince Consort for lunch.
Prince Consort Henrik is staying in Thailand until Thursday, June 15, where he leaves the country on a private holiday taking him to Bhutan.
H.R.H. Prince Consort of Denmark visits Hanoi embassy
Prince Consort of Denmark visits Vietnam
Danish envoy visits ECCO Thailand
← Danish Help Connects Thai Telephones
Swedish Summer in Jakarta 2006 →
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Sweden, Thailand
Swedish kids in Thailand
by Teerapong Yodwanlop • December 1, 2003 • 0 Comments
By Mia Hansson
It’s hard enough for adults to arrive in a foreign country, knowing nobody, and not knowing what to expect from even the most everyday things like grocery shopping and public transport. How much harder, then, must it be for children who have less control over their environment than adults do? We asked Swedish families what they do to help their kids adjust quickly and happily into their new lives in Thailand.
The International School of Bangkok (ISB) and the New International School of Thailand have about 15 Swedish students, and Pattana has much fewer. Many of these children have spent the majority, if not all, of their lives outside Sweden. Their parents often worry about how to maintain their children’s ties to their home country, through speaking the language and developing an understanding about Swedish cultural values.
Catarina Bjorlin Hansen, who has a 4-year-old daughter, comments “I do worry that Maiken’s Swedish isn’t as good as it should be at the age of 4. We moved here from Russia, so my daugher spoke Swedish and Russian when she came here. Thus, the hardest thing was adapting to the English language. But it was still pretty smooth – kids are great with languages.”
Birgitta Norrgren, mother of three teenage children, adds “I feel sorry for expat children when they feel like they don’t have roots. They didn’t grow up in a constant environment, like I did. But there are of course advantages that make up for that.”
The advantages of living in Thailand are indeed numerous. Kids may have to give up biking through pine forests, but to make up for it outdoor activities such as swimming or even jungle exploring are available 365 days a year. Monthly beach holidays with the whole family become an affordable habit rather than an extravagant luxury. Many parents prefer schools here to the ones back home – “They really work with and motivate the kids instead of being a parking lot for kids while the parents work,” comments one happy mother. “Small children in school here are sick a couple a days per year, not a week per month, like kids at dagis in Sweden. This is good for the kids as well as the parents.” And with home help, the parents have more play time with the kids after school.
The most immediate way that children make friends on arrival is getting to know the neighbours. This is easier if the family chooses to live in an apartment building with other families, rather than a townhouse. Then they settle into school and regular leisure activities, which become their social network.
The Swedish Church, now run by the new chaplains Lennart and Lis Hamark, runs a kids’ group every Tuesday afternoon. Children between two and nine years old play in the garden before going upstairs for singing, games and storytime. When we were there, eleven girls and four boys sat in a circle playing a boisterous name game. Then they went quiet and listened intently as Lennart started, “I en stad pa landet bodde en gang en farbror som hette Zakaios.” Meanwhile, the parents enjoy afternoon tea on the verandah.
When the kids aren’t playing or doing homework by the pool, popular Bangkok excursions include the Emporium and Siam Discovery Centre playrooms, and the bicycle tracks at Sirikit Park next to Chatuchak. Together, Bangkok and the schools cater to every interest, whether it’s horse riding, gymnastics, or mountain biking. With all these activities going on, it does help to avoid the traffic, either by living as close to activity areas as possible, or within reach of a skytrain. One mother I know didn’t hesitate to put two of her kids on a motorbike taxi, then followed behind with her youngest on another bike, when they were late for ballet class on Sukhumvit. Outside Bangkok, there are the proliferous beaches and nature excursions for the whole family. Asia is extremely child friendly which helps when it comes to travelling.
Teenagers are another story. Socially they’re more independent, which makes it simultaneously easier and harder for them to immediately make friends at school. They’ll be well practised at getting to know new people, but on the other hand they have stronger identities than before and may find it trickier to find friends that they can relate to. They’re also coming of age when it comes to clubbing and drinking, both of which are much easier to do here than in Sweden for those who are underage. Most parents apply the same rules – only go out if you’re sharing a taxi or a car with a driver as a group; agree on a curfew; keep the communication lines open. Many feel that Bangkok is safer than other Asian cities. In fact, in some ways it can feel safer than Sweden – here, there are usually helpful people around wherever you go, and there’ll be taxis to take you home, whereas in Stockholm, there are dark empty stretches at night which may have to be negotiated alone, especially if they’ve missed the last bus. For those who are easily tempted, drugs are easier to get hold of here, but international schools run random tests and strict anti-drugs policies to ensure that their students are safe. So how to retain those Swedish language skills, to avoid sounding like a foreigner on the trips back home?
Swedish is the main language of communication at home, especially for those whose parents are both Swedish. Speaking Swedish with the other kids at the church group while playing also helps. Currently, ISB’s Swedish class taught by Birgitta Norrgren is on hold but will be resumed shortly. Asa Ekdahl runs the weekly class at NIST on Monday afternoons, where kids from other schools are also welcome. There are now thirteen students aged between six and thirteen years old, separated into two age groups. It’s a relaxed class which at the time we were there opened with the discussion of activities and Swedish news, for the older age group. Then the students wrote down their summary and opinions of what had just been discussed, and progressed to learning Swedish spelling and reading fiction. Teenage children usually keep their language skills through correspondence courses and avid reading, both books by Swedish authors, and other popular authors in translation. At gymnasie age, some board at Sigtuna, which is often their first chance at learning to speak Swedish fluently.
When parents told me that it was important that their children retain their Swedish values, I was intrigued. What are Swedish values?
“Swedish children have more freedom and independence,” says Asa. “We allow them to be kids. They don’t have to learn maths tables aged three.”
She’s right, I realise, as I look out over the carefree kids frolicking in the garden of the Swedish church. Most families make sure that they return to Sweden for holidays every year for up to six weeks at a time, to keep in touch with grandparents, other family and friends, and Swedish nature. This can be enough to keep up the language skills. Then there’s the rituals of celebrating Lucia at Christ Church in Convent Road, Christmas, midsummer and the crayfish festival. Swedish food is imported in company-sponsored containers or through visiting friends. Finally, there are the classics, which are a must-pack when moving abroad: books and videos of Pippi Langstrump, Fem Myror, and Emil i Lonneberga: the Swedish identity in a nutshell. For older kids, make sure auntie brings Lukas Moodyson’s hilarious and poignant film “J**la f***ing k*k Amal” on DVD when she comes to visit. Any homesickness will be immediately dispelled.
Swedish Children’s literature in Thailand
Thailand representatives meet Swedish Royalties
Malaysian kids learned Swedish cooking
← Swedish institution wants Asian MBA-students
Spain gets more votes than Thailand →
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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
Reading, LIstening, and Reviewing LGBTQIA Books!
About Us~ Reviewers and Review Info
Rating Scale & Review Info
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Flash Fiction Writing Month 2016
STRW’s Writing Don’ts And Vocabulary Winces
Mini Rants and Writings!
Bad Vocabulary
Reader Story Recommendations
Davi Rogriquez
Dreamspinner Press Advent Story Roundup
The Ghost of Mistletoe Lock by Amy Rae Durreson
Rating: 4.25 stars
DSP: After lonely divorcé Isaac leaves his job as a banker to work as a conservationist on a country river, he gives up on finding the love he always wanted. Then he meets flirty jeweler Ryan and assumes Ryan’s out of his league, but Ryan’s just as lonely as Isaac. Ryan also has the housemates from hell, and when he storms out of the riotous Christmas party they forgot to warn him about, he soon finds himself lost in the snow.
Ryan passes out in front of the lock cottage where Isaac lives, and once Isaac brings him in from the cold, they finally have a chance to get to know each other. But when their insecurities get in the way, it’s up to the ghost of Mistletoe Lock to ensure they give love a chance
I really enjoyed this unusual tale by a new author for me, Amy Rae Durreson. It starts off with the haunting (literally) death of a young mother in the lock and then forwards to the present where a young British man is leaving his shoppe for the evening after having helped his last customer, a rough looking man looking for a present for his mother. It is Christmas eve and the party at his house sends him off on a path down the river and a meeting with a ghost and his destiny. Durrenson has a lovely way with descriptions and her settings come alive with the cold beauty of the locks and river on a moonlighted Christmas Eve. Whether it is the Aga warmed old lock cottage or the vivid descriptions of the men themselves, her vision of her story is so clear that it conveys itself to the reader with the same ease and clarity. I loved both Ryan and Isaac, and found the ghost Emily haunting in her pain. Christmas ghosts abound through literature, the season always bringing with it the joys of family and friends as well as our losses. Durreson has added so very nicely to that tradition. I look forward to other stories from this talented writier.
Traditions from the Heart by Bru Baker
DSP: When Aaron finds out Ben is missing out on some important Christmas traditions to be with him, he starts thinking of ways to give Ben new ways to observe the holiday. Can a homemade bear, a friend-made video, and a sock-eating goat become the traditions that keep Ben and Aaron together?
I adored this story. It has everything I look for as a Holiday story. It is warmhearted, sappy, contains family, love and Christmas traditions that I can relate to all rolled into one sexy and fun holiday tale. Baker has a terrific way with the characters and the part about the stuffed cat was fun and kept me smiling. It was lighthearted but still contained enough of the season’s melancholy memories that it rang true there as well. Like I said, I loved this one and you shouldn’t pass it by.
Bless Us Everyone by Gina A. Rodgers
DSP Blurb: Edan has spent the past five years hiding in his home, living with the ghosts of his Christmases past and unable to allow for the possibility of a future. So when his vibrant and sexy neighbor, Tim, barges into his life with a stepladder and a plate of cookies, Edan finds himself living for the present. But can he let go of his bah humbug ways and accept this second chance as the gift it is?
Cute story about a man whose past has made him isolate himself inside his house for years until a new neighbor draws him out, and into a relationship. Nice characterizations combined with heart and warmth. A lovely story for the holidays.
Lucky by Ana Bosch
DSP: Ever since Martel Heller rolled his first dreadlock, his love life has been blessed. For seven years he’s had the luxury of cherry-picking the hottest men available. But when the dress code at his new job forces him to hack off his lucky locks, his good fortune comes to an end.
To make matters worse, if Martel shows up at the company Christmas party alone, his creepy coworker Phil will know he’s single. As a last resort, Martel enlists his best friend, Felix, a fashion photographer, to hook him up with a model. Then plans fall through, and Martel ends up stuck at the Christmas party with the last person he expects—but as the hours pass, he wonders if he’s finally learned what it means to be lucky.
I actually came close to giving this story 4 stars but in the end the main character was such an unrepentant jerk right up to the last pages that I remained more frustrated than affectionate towards Martel. I liked the concept that Martel felt his luck resided in his dreads and that once they were cut off due to an employee dress code, his luck was lost. Now I do wonder about any company being able to enforce a “dread free zone”, especially as dreads can be pulled back and secured or kept “neat: in so many other ways. Really the AACP or ACLU would have been all over this here in our area. But ok, even given that, there are other things about Martel that just leaves the reader cold. When you make your main character a jerk and tell the story from his pov, then there should be some redeeming characteristics that allow the reader to understand or make concessions for his, in this case Martel’s, behavior.
I never felt we got that. Instead we come to love Felix, Martel’s best friend who he treats poorly in so many ways. Read this for Felix and for the ending, otherwise, I would recommend you skip this altogether.
On The Rocks by Ari McKay
Rating: 3.5 to 3. 25 stars
For years, Mal has given Aidan a little piece of the world for special occasions in the form of unique rocks and fossils—until the year he gives Aidan a piece of the moon instead. Aidan has treasured every gift: in a world of impersonal relationships, they’re the one reminder he has that somebody out there cares about him for who he really is. Then through a twist of fate, their relationship goes beyond personal and into intimate, leaving Aidan shocked and set to run the other way. Despite his feelings for Mal, past experiences have convinced Aidan that he’s a failure at relationships, and he’s afraid to trust his heart. It just might take a Christmas miracle for Aidan to find the courage to love.
I actually liked this more than I think it deserved. I think that perhaps it is due to the fact that when Aidan finally realizes what he has lost, he goes into therapy to try and fix himself first before trying to establish a relationship. That realistic touch alone elevated this story for me. I liked Mal and Aiden, although Aiden had to grow on me because of his self centered personality. But with the concept of rocks as gifts which totally appealed to someone who has always picked up stones everywhere I go, to the idea of someone getting help to solve serious issues. Well, kudos to McKay for handling these elements of the story so well.
Bianca’s Plan by B.G. Thomas
DSP: Bianca worries that her daddy, Gavin, is lonely and decides he needs a boyfriend for Christmas. So she enlists her father’s best friend, the straight and unattached Curtis. Gavin has a Christmas wish, too, and Curtis setting him up on disastrous dates isn’t part of it! Meanwhile, Curtis finds life becoming complicated as he tries to please Bianca, make Gavin happy, and fend off his own unexpected mixed feelings. Will anyone’s wish come true?
I thought this was a very cute story. I have to admit that a story plot line that has a daughter or son setting their father up for a romance has always appealed to me. And Thomas has one wonderful character in the mischievous and plotting little girl, Bianca. She is absolutely adorable and believable as a 10 year old little girl who sees so clearly what is right before her Dad, that Curtis is perfect for them both. Bianca wants two dads and a husband for her father and proceeds to get what she wants. All the characters within the story have some depth to them, although I would wish for a little more realism. But one sentence tanked this story for me. When virgin Curtis (virgin to gay sex that is) and Gavin finally realize they love each other, they jump into bed to have sex (no problem here) but then they decide not to use either protectuion, no condoms, or lube. Why? Because as Gavin tells Curtis, they don’t need that stuff.
“Not this time,” Gav told him. “Nothing fake. It has to all be real.”
So condoms and lube make have sex be less real? Uh, does STD’s and pain make it more memorable? Hmmm, maybe it does at that but not in the way I think the author intended. That sound you hear? The rating falling through the floor. 3 stars because I liked Bianca.
The Roommate by Teegan Loy
DSP: Ryan’s finally home after a long week of hiding in a hotel while his boyfriend’s parents visited. He isn’t happy that Jordan hasn’t told his parents he’s gay but believes Jordan when he promises to come out. When Jordan’s family ends up on their doorstep after a winter storm shuts down the airport, Jordan introduces Ryan as his roommate, leaving Ryan horrified and hurt. Jordan’s little sister notices and tells Ryan she’s going to ask Santa to make him happy… but does Ryan’s Christmas wish have any hope of coming true?
Teegan Loy has written a love story for the holidays both cute and frustrating. Loy’s characterizations are so good that you fall in love with Ryan immediately. And the fact that Ryan endears himself to the reader from the start (really that cooking scene is hilarious) that when his live in boyfriend hurts him by pretending to his family who has helped him move in Ryan’s apartment, then the story looses its joy and momentum. Hard to root for somone’s love affair when you have a main character not as fully fleshed out as the other who is coming across as a jerk. The author never gives us enough backstory for Jordan’s fear of exposure to make any sense, especially after meeting his family. All we see is a man who continues to reject his loving partner who has gone out of his way to make things easy for his love and gets kicked repeatedly for his efforts.
Yes, there is a happy ending but I am not sure I ever believed it. Loved Ryan though.
Soups and Diners by Alex Whitehall
DSP: Two days before Christmas, just after his best friend’s wedding, Max is in a diner when he’s joined by Stan, another wedding guest. Getting to know each other ensues with some awkwardness, teasing, and fun conversation. They seem to hit it off, but Stan has reservations, wondering if Max is too good to be true, and Max has a history of bad boyfriend choices. Will meeting each other be a Christmas miracle—or a prettily wrapped present that’s really an empty box.
Nice story. But to be honest, I forgot about it as soon as I was finished. Nice people, nice story, nice ending. Nothing memorable about any part of this tale so I would give this a pass on that rationale alone.
Old Flames by Davi Rodriquez
DSP Blurb:
There’s something to be said for old flames. NYPD Sgt. AJ Cooper seems to think so. His ex, Brad Meyers, dumped him to work on getting a starring role in a Broadway show, leaving AJ confused and betrayed. Five months later, while patrolling Times Square, AJ sees a giant advertisement for Brad’s show and misses what they had… and then he sees Brad.
AJ grouchily agrees to meet Brad in Central Park the next evening, but he doesn’t realize what he’s in for. AJ might regain everything he lost five months before—or he might lose it all over again.
I thought this story had real potential. I liked NYPD Sft. AJ Cooper as he seemed like a fairly realistic New York Cop right until his ex showed up and the story fell apart. There is not much to the character of Brad Meyers, no layering or depth to explain Cooper’s feeling for him. There is also no real explanation as to why AJ was dumped after a long term relationship. So why are we expected to believe that a smart cop would take this guy back? We don’t believe it, and there is no passion, no credible love between the two to overcome such a wildly unlikely turn of events. No amount of elf dust would let someone suspend their belief for this one.
The Perils and Pleasures of a White Christmas by Emily Moreton
Rating 2.5 stars
DSP: Despite the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, FBI Agent Drake and his Army officer partner Tim keep their relationship under wraps for the sake of Tim’s career. Though they’d rather be open about their relationship, the sex and friendship make up for having to hide. Then holiday stress kicks in with a triple whammy of bad luck and they’ll have to focus on each other to find the cheer in the holiday furor, even if that means coming out.
Actually, this reads as a snippet from a much longer story and has very little to do with the blurb above. Basically it is an afternoon/night in the relationship of Drake and Tim where the power goes out and they spend it in bed having sex. That’s it. No angst, no questions about their jobs or closeted status, nothing. Just two men who love each other staying warm under the blankets when the power goes out in their building. It as though the author (who I love btw) has said “here is a bit from a book I am writing, what do you think?”. And the answer is well it’s a lovely part, like the couple. Where is the rest of it?. So that’s what you should do, wait for the rest of it. There is just not enough here to warrant reading it.
This entry was posted in Book Reviews, Books, Contemporary fiction, eBooks, Fantasy, M/M Fiction, Supernatural, Uncategorized and tagged Alex Whitehall, Amy Rae Durreson, Ana Bosch, Ari McKay, B.G.Thomas, Bru Baker, Davi Rogriquez, Dreamspinner Advent 2012 Stories "Evergreen", Dreamspinner Advent Stories 2012, gay holiday fiction, gay holiday short stories, Gay Holiday Stories, Gina A. Rodgers, m/m contemporary, m/m fiction, m/m ghost story, m/m holiday short story, m/m short story, Teegan Loy.
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World Music No. 3 – Ry Cooder
September 7, 2011 September 7, 2011 Single Malt Monkey
I should be working but I just got to share this with you. Not strictly World Music but I just had to pass this on.
Who is writing the protest songs of today? One or two maybe, but it seems that the search for cheap celebrity drives everything forward for a certain generation.
Neil Young sat down for half an hour and wrote “Fork in the Road”. Sadly it sounds like half an hour is all it took.
Step up Ry Cooder with what is surely a superb album commentary on life today. There is no shredding or guitar histrionics on a Ry Cooder album. No flash bang “look at me” stuff – just superb music for the creation of music’s sake.
Cooder has been benefiting from a creative purple patch in recent years. His American trilogy – “Chavez Ravine” (2005) , “My Name is Buddy” (2007) and “I, Flathead” (2008) are all exquisite renditions of a moment in time and an acknowledgement of an American heritage.
His latest album “Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down” is again outstanding.
Four albums in a row of sheer brilliance. I will review my trilogy favourite, “Chavez
Ravine” later, but for now – Ry has had enough with politicians and bankers.
All the trademark Cooder sounds are here. Accordions, bar room
dance tunes, Spanish phrases, brass and strings all embellish Cooder’s enigmatic
delivery. Always striving to deliver songs in character Ry Cooder’s work is
never dull and hardly predictable. All the songs tell stories from the modern
depression and consciously parallel the Great Depression of the 20’s and 30’s.
Jesse James looks down from heaven on bankers stealing money and asks for permission to go down and sort it out with his .44 – a straight ahead waltz with a brass section rough and street wise.
The stakes are raised with “Quicksand” and stranded immigrants.
A rich and soulless “star” (?) reflects on the admonishments of his maid in “Dirty Chateau” to a slow cool groove.
“Christmas time this year” romps along. A piece that for some will be hard to listen to. Cooder’s lyrics cover off some horrendous war injuries whilst romping them along to a polka. I don’t know whether or not the hook line is meant to be a parody of “Do they
know it’s Christmas” – sure as hell works as satire, though.
“Baby joined the Army” is the perfect counter. A raw blues with sparse arrangement. Just Cooder and guitar. Arresting.
“Lord tell me why” picks up the pace. A foot tapper with a Gospel groove.
“I want my Crown” gets down and dirty. Fuzz guitar opener and a voodoo drive rock tune that tears with an evil vocal that brings to mind Captain Beefheart in his growling prime. Cooder invokes the Devil.
“John Lee Hooker for President” is a straight parody of a Hooker tune . Riff, beat, and delivery are all John Lee Hooker as John Lee sticks it’s message to a Government too busy to have the Blues.
“Simple Tools” tells the tale of a broken heart, broken family, when a working man loses his wife to a white-collar worker. Great shuffle feel.
“If there’s a God” speaks for itself but the album closes with the reflective “No Hard Feelings” . A superb summary of all that’s gone before and points the way with a philosophical line.
“No hard feelings no offense taken
You’re just a ripple in the shifting sands of time
No bad karma no curses in ya
You go your way and I’ll go mine”
Cooder’s canon reflects his documenting of the modern American way and often the way of the World at large. Folksters fondly reflect with a tilt of the head and dewy eyes at the wisdom and legacy of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie et al. In a hundred years time future generations of folksters will do the same over Ry Cooder. What a legacy to leave.
Tagged music, postaweek2011, Pull up some dust, Ry Cooder, World Music
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Last Action Hero, Once Upon a Forest, Jurassic Park, The Music of Chance, Un Coeur En Hiver, 1993
December 27, 2018 December 27, 2018 firstmagnitude 1942 Views 2 Comments 1993, Jurassic Park, Last Action Hero, Once Upon a Forest, The Lost World, The Music of Chance, Un Coeur En Hiver
https://siskelebert.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Jurassic-Park-1993_x264.mp4
Video Pick of the Week – The Lost World
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2 thoughts on “Last Action Hero, Once Upon a Forest, Jurassic Park, The Music of Chance, Un Coeur En Hiver, 1993”
Patrick Shields
I wrote an article about the history of Last Action Hero. It’s better than the movie itself.
https://patrickwonderfulworld.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-story-behind-last-action-hero-1993.html
Although is review is positive for its special effects, this review of Jurassic Park is one of their more controversial reviews, since they weren’t as enthusiastic about the film like they were with other Spielberg films. Also, Roger is wrong when he says that there’s not enough awe inspiring scenes, because there are actually more, like the hatching of the velociraptor egg, to the scene where Grant and kids were feeding the brontosuarus.
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The Ghostnotes of Music Photographer B+
By Russ Slater | 05 December, 2017
@whatslater
Ghostnotes: Music of the Unplayed is the title of a new book, an extended photo essay if you will, featuring the photography of B+, and it couldn’t better sum up the musical characters that fill many of its pages. B+ shot to notoriety for his photos of hip-hop luminaries such as The Fugees, The Pharcyde and Jurassic 5 (to name barely a few) as well as taking that iconic shot for DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing album, but he has also worked on many other projects, including a catalogue of work in Brazil and Colombia (where he has frequently collaborated with Quantic) as well as profiles of Brian Wilson, Yusuf Lateef, Mulatu Astatke, David Axelrod and a whole reel of other eclectic names (all of whom feature in Ghostnotes).
If there is one theme that runs through his work it’s that of finding the everyday in these musicians’ lives, of stripping the spectacle from their persona. Often this spirit has been applied to lesser-known musicians, the ‘unplayed’ of the title, figures such as Axelrod, Arthur Verocai, Wilson das Neves, the Colombian greats of Ondatropica, as well as many other anonymous participants. In many ways his photos have illuminated these figures in exactly the same way as he would treat Ice Cube, Eazy E or Q-Tip.
So where did he first get the taste for photography? “I first picked up a camera in Ireland”, B+ tells me. “I mainly used it for rephotographing [but] I moved from that to landscape photographs at Art School in Ireland [he was born and raised in Limerick] and from that to photographing in Los Angeles.” It was 1990 when he moved to L.A. to study photography, with Allan Sekula as one of his professors, and it was there that he would make his name, publishing the book It’s Not about a Salary: Rap Race and Resistance in Los Angeles in 1993, which brought him a heap of praise. I asked him whether there was ever a moment when he saw his future as a photographer. “To be honest I’ve always thought of cameras as a tool, I never really had that epiphany moment. I don’t think of myself as the photographer’s photographer, I’m more of someone with some ideas that happens to use a still camera but I also use moving images and sound.”
It’s Not About A Salary was unique in that it told, as mentioned in Ghostnotes, “the hidden stories of musical genius, police brutality, racial segregation, political resistance, and gang violence that defined [Los Angeles].” In a radical move, it also gave plenty of space for the musicians themselves to offer their own stories, it gave them their own voice. These themes of neglect, of hidden histories and of giving voice to the suppressed are key to his work. “If the camera has some light to shine, why not shine into places that perhaps have been neglected”, he tells me. “[This] was always an important factor from when I first met the Watts Prophets and the Freestyle Fellowship, two amazing groups that haven’t been paid enough attention to.”
Is there a conscious attempt to remove the spectacle when he takes photos of musicians, whether they’re famous or not? “I don’t see any gap between music and everyday life,” he replies. “Even the spectacle of the live performance to me is part of an everyday of sorts. But I’ve always liked the idea that no matter how amazing it sounds, it was once part of a small act of discovery or channeling. Something that din’t look like much and then through repetition and projection it became spectacular.”
There’s a serendipity to B+’s photos, a feeling that they’re caught very much on the fly. Does he rely on taking photos off the cuff or is there normally a plan in process when he’s working with a musician? “Depends really. Don Cherry told me once the first one is always best. I’m not sure if that’s true but certainly I believe in the power of the mistake, the coincidence, the feeling. I think in the analog days you just had to have the confidence to know ‘that is it’. Now usually I leave myself enough time to invent. But obviously that isn’t going to always be the way, whether its constraints of time or just wanting to seem like you have an idea. But I always leave room for the idea that I may see something or feel something in the process that makes everything else seem irrelevant.”
The influence of B+ can be felt strongly in terms of a link he created between US hip-hop and Brazil at the beginning of the 90s when he and Eric Coleman of Mochilla had the opportunity to head to Brazil to film a documentary entitled Brasilintime which would feature some of the greatest drummers from the US and Brazil alongside some of the biggest names in the US hip-hop DJ world (Cut Chemist, Madlib, Babu, J. Rocc). This event not only led to the Brasilintime documentary but also to mixtapes by Madlib and B+, as well as a profound connection with Brazil that would later see Mochilla invite the Brazilian arranger Arthur Verocai to Los Angeles for a special one-off show to perform his debut album – which had become a rare, cult favourite after being reissued in the early 00s – live for the first ever time in his life.
With albums like Verocai’s debut as well as countless other Brazilian rarities by artists including José Prates and Lula Côrtes now having price tags in their thousands, I’m curious to know what B+’s feeling is on the fact that so many classic Brazilian and Colombian records are now owned by collectors in the US, Europe and Japan. “It is difficult to explain how something that was the domain of second hand stores and low level street capitalism has become a multi million dollar thing, but it has. This produces inequity and the sense of cultural disenfranchisement. And it produces unusual heroes sometimes. Verocai certainly has gained, as has Axelrod similarly. The problem isn’t just in places like Colombia and Brazil or Ethiopia. I dare say it’s probably pretty hard to find Strata East records in the US too. However was it ever easy? Could you have walked around Brazil in 1972 and just picked up Verocai records and Lula Côrtes records? I think not. These things have always had their own kind of cultural cache. Where things are bad is when dealers are predatory in their practices. That is just bad for everyone.”
As a final note I asked B+ to pick out some other ‘unplayed’ artists who are perhaps well overdue some respect. “Wow [there are] so many…” he retorts. “So off the top Dominguinhos needs to be listened to more outside of Brazil. Georgia Anne Muldrow needs to be recognised, she already is but in a bigger way. My old favourites from the day are amazing to me still: Freestyle Fellowship, Divine Styler, Gandjah K, Kamau Daoood. I think we need to radically pay more attention to the women making music around us… Thalma De Freitas (my wife), Nia Andrews, Joyce Wrice, Low Leaf, Ana Barretto and there’s always elders doing huge things, Dona Onete, Father Amde [of the Watts Prophets], and Fabiano Do Nascimento is killing it in L.A.. I don’t know I could go on…..”
Ghostnotes: Music of the Unplayed is published via University of Texas Press on December 5th. Order your copy in the US here and the UK here.
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Categories: Arts & Books, Los Angeles, Music
Tags: Ana Barretto, Arthur Verocai, Brian Wilson, Divine Styler, DJ Shadow, Dominguinhos, Don Cherry, Eazy E, Freestyle Fellowship, Gandjah K, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Ice Cube, Joyce Wrice, Jurassic 5, Kamau Daoood, Low Leaf, Nia Andrews, Ondatrópica, Q-Tip, Thalma de Freitas, The Fugees, The Pharcyde, Watts Prophets, Wilson Das Neves, Yusuf Lateef
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Darkwalker – E. L. Tettensor
February 21, 2015 February 21, 2015 maddalena@spaceandsorcery
There are times, as I read a synopsis, when my “book radar” pings a bit louder than in other instances, so that I’ve learned to pay attention to that kind of signal because it usually leads me to great discoveries. Darkwalker, an intriguing debut novel, was indeed such a case.
Nicolas Lenoir used to be a brilliant police inspector, one of those around whom legends are built, but now he’s both disillusioned and uncaring: on one side he cannot summon the old passion for his work anymore, on the other he’s haunted by old nightmares that have far more substance than simple dream stuff, and threaten his very life. Even a series of gruesome grave profanations fails to raise his interest, until one of his informants, a young street urchin, is kidnapped and Lenoir finally seems to wake up, throwing himself into a hair-raising chase that will force him to face his fears head on.
E.L. Tettensor paints a very interesting world here, since the flavor is that of 19th Century England, but the setting is quite original: the Five Villages sport many of the features one would expect of Victorian London, even though they’re set in a far more rural context; the class divisions are quite marked and there are clear indications of social injustice, though the author treats that with a very light, non-preaching hand; the background scenes of everyday life are painted in vivid detail and made me feel the reality of this world in an effortless way. What makes a substantial difference here is the introduction of the Adali, a nomadic people organized into tribes, whose culture is explored at great length: they are the object of general scorn and suspicion, and the preferred target for the populace’s malcontent whenever a scapegoat is needed. The author blended very well the various notions and discoveries about the Adali into the narrative, adding some magic elements in an organic and satisfying way that is one of the novel’s main strengths.
The characters are the driving force of the story, though, starting with the protagonist Nicolas Lenoir: I was surprised at the level of interest I could summon for a character that is at first presented in a very negative light, since Lenoir is jaded, arrogant and distant, and makes no effort to hide it. I think this was a bold move from Ms. Tettensor, to present such an unlikely “hero” at first, adding details along the road and giving her readers a different understanding of the character only when the story is well underway. A bold move, but a winning one as far as I’m concerned, because despite that negative first impression there were some subtle hints that kept me reading and that paid handsomely in the end. The roots of Lenoir’s detachment reach far into his past, when he barely escaped a frightening creature of darkness bent on destroying him: the patches of necrotic flesh on his arm, resulting from contact with the creature’s deadly whip, are a constant reminder of that fateful night and of the hopelessness of the situation, because he knows the Darkwalker will find him eventually and exact its vengeance for the crime against the dead Lenoir is guilty of. Not much is explained about this, and hopefully it will in the next books (another feature I enjoyed, because some mysteries must remain unsolved…) but it showcases the inspector’s character quite well, and if it doesn’t effect a complete change in attitude, it highlights parts of his psychological makeup in interesting ways, filling out his personality and offering a deeper view into what makes him the person he is.
The Darkwalker itself is a fascinating creature: tasked (or condemned?) to avenge crimes committed against the dead, it sees through their eyes the faces of the perpetrators and marks them for punishment, and death. In the exchanges with Lenoir, there are hints about the creature’s possible lack of will, because it sometimes refers to an external directive, as if the shadowy, green-eyed being were nothing but a instrument carrying out someone (or something) else’s directives. There is a mixture of relentlessness and matter-of-factness in this being that is both intriguing and frightening, and the swift, almost subliminal flashes of long-forgotten humanity that sometimes show through add to the fascinating mixture in a major way.
Sergeant Kody, Lenoir’s deputy, is another interesting figure: a young man attracted by the inspector’s aura of brilliance, only to suffer from severe disappointment when he realizes his idol has clay feet and the clay is cracked in too many places. There is little room in the fast pace of the story to allow for much development of Kody’s character and for the tense relationship between the two men – the disillusioned veteran and the junior officer still animated by the sacred fire – so I hope that the following novels will find more room for what promises to be an intriguing personal dynamic.
The secondary character that literally stole my heart, however, is Zach, the orphan, street urchin and sometimes informer who attaches himself to Lenoir and by association manages to bring forth the inspector’s better instincts. Children are a tricky subject to handle, since they can come across as overly cute or just annoying, but that’s not the case here, because Zach is such a perfect, successful blend of wounded innocence and street wisdom that he endeared himself to me from the very start and often stole the scene with his quiet intensity.
A captivating atmosphere, a world that is at the same time familiar and unexpected, solid characters and a fascinating story that grows in intensity until the breath-taking climax – not to mention a promise of more to come: this book possesses all the elements to be the engaging start to a great new series. I’m quite looking forward to the next one…
My Rating: 8,5/10
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6 thoughts on “Darkwalker – E. L. Tettensor”
It was a pleasant surprise for me because I would have never given the cover a second look without a touch of pushing. The second book is missing the Darkwalker, which was a downer for me.
Well, you can’t rely on the same guest stars in every episode. Rest assured, though, that Book 2 devotes plenty of time to the Lenoir/Kody dynamic.
Good to know! I’m certain it will be more than interesting 🙂
Oh… that’s a pity because I hoped for something more about the creature, but since the synopsis for book 2 sounds more than interesting, I will not let that distract me anyway.
Still… a pity indeed!!!! 🙂
Love this book, and made me an instant fan of the author. Great review, from what you liked here about the characters, I think you’ll find book 2 just as awesome, I know I did! 😀
To say I’m looking forward to Book 2 would be a MASSIVE understatement… 😉
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New Entities
LIGO as an International Virtual Organization
Created by Warren Anderson (ligo.org), last modified on Oct 09, 2014
LIGO is an international research collaboration which has its roots in the US and is an InCommon member. LIGO is regularly forming partnerships with other research groups from around the world. As well, like all research enterprises, it is committed to a strong education and outreach program. LIGO service providers fall into two categories: higher security services which are used exclusively by those within LIGO and lower security services which are used by a mixture of LIGO user and other collaborators. We require at least ePPN and preferably the entire Research and Scholarship (R&S) Entity Category suite of attributes to access either kind of service. For users within LIGO whose IdPs do not assert R&S, we provides an IdP of last resort so that they can reach the high security SPs. They can also access the lower security SPs with these credentials. For external collaborators accessing lower security services, we use their home IdPs to authenticate when R&S is available. All other users can use a Google identity via a Cirrus social-to-saml gateway service we have contracted. For education and outreach we have not yet implemented any services, but there is a clear use case for having services available to K-12 for these purposes.
Our primary issue with supporting our users are the following:
within LIGO, there are a large number (>100) of users whose institutional IdPs are not in InCommon or whose IdPs do not support R&S. Because of security requirements for SPs within LIGO, we cannot leverage lower assurance IdPs such as the social-to-saml gateway from Cirrus and are therefore supporting our own IdP.
of the users from outside LIGO that we support, only a few (<10%) are from institutions within the US that support R&S. About half of these users are from inside the US but come from institutions that aren't in InCommon or that don't support R&S. The other half are international. Only one of these international users is from an institution that supports R&S. Rather than support an IdP for every scientist who wants to collaborate with LIGO, we use the Cirrus social-to-saml gateway for these users since they do not access higher security services.
we do not support any services for K-12 in our education and outreach efforts at the moment, but if K-12 identities become federated within InCommon or from another metadata feed which we can access, we would be very interested in pursuing that. Again, we would require ePPN (or at least a persistent untargeted ID) at a minimum, but would prefer the R&S attributes to support these users.
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Everything You Need to Know About Ian Somerhalder’s Love Life
Paul Wesley confirms he and Nina Dobrev ‘clashed’ on ‘Vampire Diaries’
The Vampire Diaries Season 9: Release Date, Plot, Cast And And Every Details!
Nina dobrev dating ian somerhalder again
Elena and damon dating in real life
Is Ian (Damon) and Nina ( Elena) dating in real life?
Is Ian & Nina Dating??
Welcome to Glamour UK. This site uses cookies to improve your experience and deliver personalised advertising. You can opt out at any time or find out more by reading our cookie policy. Adorable couple Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed have finally revealed their wedding photos! The pair reveal that they invited their guests to what they thought would be a housewarming party. Upon arrival at the shuttle spot, the group was then transported to Topanga Canyon, where the couple held their wedding.
Elena Gilbert date anyone other than Damon or Stefan Salvatore. But, as it happens, the longtime actress has quite the romantic life outside of the hit CW drama. Thankfully, Nina still has a good sense of humor about the whole thing. In August , she had a playful exchange with E!
Former ‘Vampire Diaries’ stars Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder were But when Somerhalder started dating Reed in , many fans.
Iggy, we’ve put together on ian somerhalder looked as stefan’s mysterious. All your ian somerhalder’s relationship, almost three years split earlier this advertisement is if you see how the leading gay porn blog features a good. His ex, ian somerhalder is nearly as famous for life? Are dating since the vampire diaries costar ian! According to get 4 the guys nina dobrev; ian somerhalder dating timeline – vampire diaries, nina dobrev, in and elena lost their coupling. Everyone was 31, photos in singapore, photos in albert square for relationship during the.
They were two of the main characters and worked closely together. As with many leading men and women who are significant others on a TV show, feelings can sometimes grow between them. Often, relationships outside the show become just as official. W ith a Hollywood lifestyle, the truth eventually surfaced. While they had secrets during their relationship, not all of them were bad.
When Ian Somerhalder wasn’t busy dealing with the drama on his hit TV series, The Vampire Diaries, it looks like he was busy doing the same.
His birth of nina dobrev? Find out who is dating websites caroline premiere date for ian somerhalderhookup ref ashley greene. Ian somerhalder moving on 8th december 08, While that the discussion below. They dated Find out more! Who is american actress malese jow as mentioned before, ian somerhalder and nikki reed have watched their relationship totally beutiful start dating in april. Find out who is an american actress malese jow ian somerhalder is dating ian somerhalder. Is rumored to malese jow wiki, and nathaniel buzolic!
The duo even snapped a few cuddly photos at the last know boyfriend of nina dobrev. There were rumors that post seems innocent enough, and affair in , too.
Nina Dobrev, who played the role of Elena Gilbert in The Vampire Diaries, and Ian Somerhalder who featured as Damon Salvatore, started dating in real life after their onscreen characters fell in love with each other. However, she started developing feelings for Damon and the two started romancing each other from season 4. Their real-life connection helped them add fireworks to their onscreen chemistry. Nina and Ian dated for three years and broke many hearts when they decided to call it quits in And dating for about 6 months, the two decided to get married.
Reportedly, Ian and Nikki walked down the aisle in April and Nina said goodbye to the show the very next month.
Us broke news in July that the Twilight alum and Vampire Diaries hunk were dating. Some of the couple’s first outings together included a.
The Vampire Diaries has earned a cult-like following throughout its 8 riveting seasons. Apart from the drama of the relationships on the show, the series has inspired friendships and relationships off-camera. Their on-screen chemistry was so strong that people kept asking them if they were actually dating in real life! However, we are going to disappoint you: these two hated each other off the screen! Nina revealed this in the podcast Directionally Challenged. According to her, she and Paul hated each other so much that many viewers confused those feelings with chemistry!
Fortunately, that only lasted for 5 months, and then the negativity was gone. You’re like, ‘Oh, you know, I’m exhausted and tired. These two portrayed best friends, but what is their relationship like in real life? Thankfully, there were no misunderstandings here. The two liked each other from the very beginning and started a good friendship. During filming, the actresses kept posting pictures together on their accounts, and we had no doubts that they spent time together even off the set.
According to her, Nina made the decision to leave long before her actual departure.
After the former couple ended their three-year relationship, he moved on with her friend and co-star Nikki Reed. Nina Dobrev and Somerhalder dated between and , and at the time, she was friends with Reed. But when Somerhalder started dating Reed in , many fans assumed the friendship was over since Reed appeared to have broken girl code. There were even rumors of a feud.
Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev shades ex Ian Somerhalder and pal of Nian Domerhalder will remember that Nina and Ian dated for three.
Sign In. Edit The Vampire Diaries — Showing all 73 items. All episodes in season 8 are titled after quotes in the first season. McQueen Jeremy Gilbert dated in real life. Zach Roerig , Michael Trevino and Paul Wesley originally auditioned to play Damon before landing their respective roles. All episodes in Season 6 are the names of 90s songs. Vampire Diaries’ last episode aired on the same day that Buffy the Vampire Slayer had premiered 20 years ago, to the very day. Nina Dobrev was born in Bulgaria and speaks Bulgarian.
For this reason Katherine, who was German in the books, became Bulgarian in the series. Ian Somerhalder auditioned twice for the role “Damon Salvatore” until he got it. Nina Dobrev is six months younger than Steven R. McQueen while her character is two years older than his character.
Is Ian Damon and Nina Elena dating in real life? The duo looked mighty cozy on a promotional trip in London. Hollywoodlife called in an expert to look the chemistry. Lillian Glass told them after looking at photos of Nina, 21, and Ian, 31, courtside at the Lakers game May 27 and shopping together in Venice, Calif.
February – April The two co-starred together on the steamy supernatural drama ‘Vampire Diaries,’ and their romance extended off the set as well. Alas.
Everyone is obsessed with vampires…Love chemistry involving humans and vampires and vampire diaries has finished its eight seasons. Vampires are half-animal and half-human that they suck blood in the human body. What should they fall in love with, although horrible? The diaries are one of the worlds of the show. It created lots of its fans in a short span. Its narrative is getting continued from the past eight seasons, and now the fans are hoping to watch the remarkable comeback of season 9.
The diaries are. The last season was, and it got its position on Netflix, after which most people watched it. Though Netflix is quiet about it, there announced by the team of the show. So it is a no for the renewal of the fair at this moment.
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Nissan workers protest against pensions attack
Published Tue 14 Jul 2020
A worker on the Nissan production line in Sunderland (Pic: PA)
Hundreds of workers at the Nissan car plant in Sunderland protested on Saturday against attacks on their pension scheme.
Bosses at Nissan want to axe the pension scheme of some 1,800 workers at the plant as part of a plan to make “efficiency savings”.
The plan to close the defined benefit pension scheme—which guarantees a fixed minimum wage in retirement—could cost the longest-serving workers thousands of pounds.
Some 80 percent of the scheme’s members have worked at the plant for more than 20 years.
Kevin Raine, who has worked at Nissan for 32 years, was due to retire next year.
But he said he now faces working an additional three years.
“I think it is disgraceful what they are doing,” he told the Sunderland Echo newspaper. “A pension is not a benefit. To me it’s people’s livelihoods, that’s what you sign up to.”
And Mark Adams, another marcher, said, “I have been a long term employee of 33 years.
“You have got your goals and aspirations and things you want to do and things you expect, so to find out in the final furlong that things have changed is very disappointing.”
Chris Irwin, who has worked at the plant for almost 24 years, said Nissan bosses had hidden “behind the current pandemic”.
“I’ve never ever seen anything like it in all the years I’ve been there,” he said.
The workers’ Unite union warned that plans to close the scheme have the “potential” to lead to industrial action.
Not only would that be the first strike at the plant since it opened in 1984, but Saturday’s protest was the first demonstration.
Most of the 7,000 workers at the Sunderland plant are already on a worse pension scheme.
And Nissan bosses decided not to renew the contracts of around 248 temporary workers there last month.
Unite leaders in the car, steel and manufacturing industries hope that cooperating with bosses is the best way to protect jobs and conditions.
Yet now bosses are ignoring Unite’s pleas.
A crisis in the car industry—caused by the fact that manufacturers are producing more cars than they can sell—means workers at all firms in all countries face attacks.
Workers at a Nissan plant in Barcelona began an indefinite strike in May against plans to close their factory.
A Unite press release said the union sends its “solidarity” to workers. The best solidarity would be to take the same kind of action and call a strike immediately.
Tue 14 Jul 2020, 11:32 BST
As car bosses want job cuts, we need unity to resist
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Who is Nita Kuzmina?
Nita Kuzmina is a Slaylebrity half Russian half Indian beauty who has created a fan base for herself of over 1.8 MILLION! Additionally, this young woman is just 28 years old and has already gained so many adoring followers. Consequently, her whole world has changed thanks to the
power of her effort on social media.
So, are you interested in learning more about how she created an Instaworthy and luxurious lifestyle? Well, prepare to start feeling #MajorlyJealous over her aesthetic and overpowering beauty too!
So Who is Nita Kuzmina?
Firstly, she became popular by posting sultry selfies. In addition to this, she shares fashionable snaps featuring both high-end and streetwear edgy products too. As well as this, she began her journey to fame when starring on Holiday. This is a Russian reality television series that was set in Mexico for the season she was in.
Nita also then went on to star in the programme Paradise Hotel. Furthermore, this one involved a group of singles coupling up every week and sharing rooms together. It’s a similar process to the UK’s beloved Love Island, right? Well, this meant that Nita was able to throw herself in at the deep end and jump into being in the media.
Therefore, she made the fierce decision to go after a career in the limelight so she could be heard and seen. Consequently, thanks to her unique work ethic she has been able to achieve the dream lifestyle she always wanted. This is easy to see in her uber trendy Slaylebrity pics too because there is never a dull moment on her profile.
How Nita’s parents met is like a story from a fairytale. A young man from New Delhi decided to start studies in the capital of Russia. Wonderful Moscow had many interesting opportunities, but the student still kept connection with his own home country. One day he decided to attend an event that took place in Embassy of India in Moscow. Local people interested in Indian culture were performing different songs and dances. The student from New Delhi was enjoying the show, when suddenly one beautiful Russian girl caught his eyes. It was love from the first sight.
In childhood, Nita was no different from many other Russian girls. She studied good, but in older classes she had friends that could be called „bad influence“. Despite everything, young Kuzmina had a big dream — to become a model. After the high school graduation, she went to college for a psychology degree. During her studies, Nita tried to be noticed and make her dreams come true. She failed. Nita got some attention with her tasteless and revealing photoshoots, but these were not enough to gain fame. After unsuccessful attempts to become a model, she decided to take a vacation in Mexico. Not the usual one of course. The reality show “Kanikuly v Meksike” made her known for wider audience, not only in Russia but in Ukraine, Belarus, Baltics and other countries, where the show was broadcasted.
After getting known, she continued her career as a VIP escort-model. When all other Slaylebrity Russian girls deny this
occupation, Nita as a confident woman doesn’t think that it is something to be ashamed of. She wants to be talked about and it does not matter if it is something good or bad. The most important to this Slaylebrity Diva is to be in the centre of scandals and intrigues!
As far as we can see She is no stranger to cosmetic surgery.
You have to admit – it is rare, when famous Slaylebrity-beauties have guts to spill the beans on their too perfect appearance. Other Slaylebrity stars fill themselves with hyaloronic acid, get surgeries done and overall look more surreal than a Barbie doll, while they keep telling poor envious fans that they avoid the surgeon’s office like fire. Nita on the other hand honestly admits: yes, I wasn’t pleased with my looks, I wanted a change and I went for it.
She started creating her best self with working out. Gym was her everyday destination and she didn’t have to wait for the results long. That was not enough for her. She looked for some help in plastic surgery.
Nita used to have wider nose with slightly bent down tip, but the plastic surgeon of Russia’s creme de la creme Tigran Aleksanyan helped her out and made her a perfect nose that is slimmer, smaller, straighter essentially perfection.
Thanks to her Indian roots, she already was blessed with luscious lips. But as we already have realised: Nita doesn’t settle for less. Lip injections are part of her beauty routine.
To get perfect feminine curves, she again went to the plastic surgeon. She went up one or two sizes plus Her own breasts were enlargened by two sizes.
Nita Kuzmina is rumored to have hooked up with Travis Fimmel.
Source Russian Luxe
AMG GT63 S Pressie
https://slaylebrity.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/0980B9A4-77FC-4086-A051-C230C0D358C4.mp4
Source: @nita_kuzmina
Lavish doesn’t pull punches!
Want a similar look Size custom Wig: $1940 Jacket: $2269 Preserved roses: $1353 Large preserved roses: $3825 All prices include complimentary worldwide shipping. Contact concierge at sales@slaynetwork.co.uk or click the chat icon on your screen to chat with slay concierge
Her Hotness
Want a similar look?Hat: $745 Wig: $1940 All prices include complimentary worldwide shipping. Contact concierge at sales@slaynetwork.co.uk or click the chat icon on your screen to chat with slay concierge
You know a star studded Slaylebrity when you see one
Want a similar look?Sunglasses: $2696 Wig: $1940 Jacket: $3710 All prices include complimentary worldwide shipping. Contact concierge at sales@slaynetwork.co.uk or click the chat icon on your screen to chat with slay concierge
A rewind to the beginning of transformations
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She wasn’t so perfect in the beginning
What a surreal transformation
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The unaging JLO
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Pittsburg Mayor David Abernathy said in an interview with KLTV’s Jamey Boyum
Healthcare workers across the U.S. are hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine
Rock Island County Health Department will be holding a vaccination clinic for healthcare workers
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to qualified healthcare workers on Saturday
Louisville are rolling up their sleeves to receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
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mental impact of COVID-19 on medical professionals
Posted on December 8, 2020 Author Sandesh Ilhe
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Melissa Gonzalez is going to home to Harlingen for Thanksgiving. The University Hospital nurse did not opt-out of the holiday trip for reasons of family and heart.
“And I am going to go down to see my family for Thanksgiving because this will be the first Thanksgiving without the matriarch of my family, which is my mom, ” she said.
Gonzales lost her mother during the COVID-19 outbreak. Her mom, Juanita, died from an unrelated issue. But the critical care nurse was still in the throes of handling patients suffering from the deadly virus.
“We never expected this many people, this many patients, this sick,” she said.
The 38-year-old nurse works in the intensive care unit, where she helps treat the sickest of the sick. She describes some of the medical situations as terrifying.
Even for a nurse growing into her third year in the ICU, she could not believe the day six patients died because of the coronavirus.
“Six patients in almost a twenty-four hour period,” she recalled. “We were left in an utter state of shock.”
The nurse said she and her peers did not have time to process or cope with the impact of the surge of COVID-19 cases and its deadly yield.
“We would like to put it behind us, but unfortunately, we’re preparing for another surge,” she said.
Gonzales admits she and her peers are taking on a lot emotionally, physically, and psychologically.
UTSA psychologist Dr. James Bray said there is no large scale study on the mental health impact of COVID-19 on medical professionals. But he suspects they will need therapy.
“The challenge for them is that this is just been going on at such a high level for so long,” Bray said. “They’re just tired, particularly doctors and nurses who are working in the ICU.
Hospitals provide access to employee self-care. But many professionals delay taking advantage of therapy, putting duty first.
“At this point right now, for me personally, I don’t have time,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t have time to care for myself, but it’ll come.”
Ignoring burnout, stress, and the impact of trauma even with professional training could still scar the frontline workers. The harvest may be PTSD, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse.
“They’re going to need some time off just to recover,” Bray said.
In the meantime, therapy through services like Teledoc is a healthy option, he said.
According to Bray, suiting up for the work they do is stressful. Then, healthcare workers have to deal with life at home.
Gonzalez knows her mother would have encouraged therapy. But one of their last conversations elevates her call to duty.
“On her deathbed, she told me—Melissa–God brought you into this career. You didn’t pick it,” Gonzalez recalled. “God picked you. So, you have to move forward. You have to be there for your patients.”
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Sandesh Ilhe
With an Engineers degree in Advanced Database Management and Information Security, Sandesh brings the deep understanding of the digital world to the table. His articles reflect the challenges and the complexities that come along with every disruption in the industry. He carries over six years of experience on working with websites and ensuring that the right article reaches the right reader.
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Junior Emmie Lee’s talent ‘shines like the first bright star in the sky at night’
by Vivienne Tran
Posted on February 6, 2018 October 19, 2020
“There’s always the whole ‘starving artists that can’t pay the bills’ ideology that floats around everywhere and, honestly, it’s true to an extent,” junior Emmie Lee admitted. “The art world is hard to thrive in and a lot of people depreciate the effort it takes to create art.”
In middle school, Lee decided to take art more seriously. However, Lee also considered quitting at times.
“I really realized that I have to enter college, choose a profession, and hopefully make a living,” Lee said.
She also said that in her experience, middle school is a black hole of insecurities and though she almost gave up, she persevered.
According to Advanced Art teacher Jennifer Norman, Lee’s ability is tremendous and “everything she creates is gorgeous.” Norman said Lee is very passionate about art and one of her greatest strengths is her close attention to detail.
“Emmie’s natural skill level shines like the first bright star in the sky at night,” Norman said.
Junior Lonnie Kem has known Lee for five years and said Lee is hardworking and has inspired Kem to do her best in every aspect.
“She is very diligent with every piece of work and I extremely admire her for that,” Kem said.
Lee’s 19-year-old sister, Crystal Lee, said she is an amazing person with a caring personality, who treats everyone with respect.
Lee said she enjoys using watercolors and inks. By using multiple techniques, Lee can achieve classic watercolor effects using wet paint on wet paint, create depth and opacity with wet paint on dry paint, and can also fabricate organic shapes with the effects of bleeding and spreading ink on wet watercolor. Lee also uses ink on dry watercolor to outline and shade.
Kim Jung Gi, a South Korean artist, is by far one of Lee’s favorite artists. She discovered from his drawings that he doesn’t need to sketch prior to inking.
“His talent and use of ink has definitely inspired me to continue drawing and improve my art,” Lee said.
Lee, who is Chinese, can understand Cantonese and a bit of Mandarin. She has taught herself how to read and write in Hangul, the Korean alphabet, and has picked up a lot of Japanese from anime.
“From listening, I can understand about 75 percent of general conversation in the standard Japanese dialect,” Lee said.
Along with learning new languages, Lee likes to experiment with makeup, explore music and watch anime.
“Honestly, everything else I do always involves art somehow,” Lee said.
Lee, who is not involved in any school-related extracurricular activities, chooses to devote her time to art. Lee does not know what particular college she wants to attend, but she definitely wants to pursue a career in art or an art-related field.
From Lee, Norman has learned that patience is a virtue, and one that results in deep quality.
“I tend to rush, and Emmie has an enormous amount of patience, as is evident in her work. Her patience pays off in leaps and bounds and it’s a wonder to observe and an honor to be a part of,” Norman said.
Out of all of Lee’s paintings, the one she is proudest of took 12 hours to finish. She said that she is very satisfied with how it looks, but also thinks her work can always be improved.
Norman hopes she can help Lee develop a broader range of skills. She also wishes for Lee to excel in her current mediums and beyond.
“I have no doubt about her success as she exceeds my expectations time and time again,” Norman said.
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Students participate in American Legion Boys State
by Elise Jonas-Delson
Posted on October 11, 2018 September 29, 2020
Veterans at the San Anselmo post of the American Legion selected seniors Tyler Colenbrander, Nathan Luis and Jake Schmidt to attend the 2018 Boys State from a pool
of eight boys San Marin counselors recommended last school year.
The American Legion held this year’s Boys State from June 16 to June 23 at California State University, Sacramento. Boys State, an overnight summer leadership
program for boys entering their senior year of high school, teaches participants about government through simulation by allowing them to run for local, county, and
state positions and create laws once elected.
At Boys State, Colenbrander ran for and won the position of County Superintendent of Schools. The election process involved creating campaign posters and giving a speech
in front of the county, which consisted of 200 people.
“I decided to run with a platform of imagination and collaboration in education. In my speech, [I] used a Rubik’s cube magic trick, where I threw the cube up into the air and it came back down solved, as a metaphor for this campaign platform,” said Colenbrander, who attributes the success of his campaign to the location of his campaign posters, his magic trick and confidence when speaking in public.
“I learned a lot more about the campaign side of politics, and how much work
goes into it,” Colenbrander said. “I also gained a lot by talking to everyone there and making new friends. It was great to meet people who come from all over California
and all have very different stories and backgrounds.”
Luis was elected State Assemblyman, which gave him the ability to “propose,
amend, and vote” on bills in the state assembly as well as those already passed by
the state senate. He recalls experiencing personal growth while at Boys State.
“Coming out of it, I was more confident in myself because I was forced to
do things way outside my comfort zone while there,” Luis said.
Schmidt ran for Superior Court Judge in the “County of Haley”. After securing the position, he had responsibilities including “making courtroom, setting a jury and issuing arrest warrants and subpoenas.” Schmidt was also awarded best trial judge of the 2018
Boys State.
“I learned the importance of being active in government. It did not change what I want to do in the future, but it showed me that government is extremely important to
our society,” Schmidt said, also commenting that Boys State is often considered “a
political science laboratory.”
Colenbrander said his least favorite part of the program was when the time came to leave. Both Luis and Schmidt said their least favorite parts were the insufficient, “monotonous” and “bland” food.
“Overall, it was really great to experience dorm life at a college and meet lots
of other motivated kids,” Colenbrander said. “I would recommend anyone to go, even if they aren’t interested in politics or government, because it was a lot more
than just that.”
eljonasdelson@students.nusd.org
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Home/Looking into Films/Retouch
Maryam’s husband has an accident at home and, rather than saving him, she stops helping and watches him die.
You can order tickets here, or you can purchase a Saturday Festivial Day Pass ($10) or a Full Festivial Pass ($30) to enjoy the wonders of film from all across the globe.
Director Biography – Kaveh Mazaheri
Born 1981 in Tehran, Iran. His first short film, Tweezers (2007). To date, he has made four independent short films and more than twenty short and long documentaries. His last hort film “Retouch” which became a very successful movie. In its first international premiere, “Retouch” was able to win the Best Narrative Short award at the Tribeca 2017, opening the path to be considered for the Academy Awards 2018. Following, “Retouch” was twice more eligible for qualification at the Academy Awards 2018, following wins for Best Short Fiction category at the Krakow Film festival and Palm Springs Shortfest. Garnering more than 70 important international film awards at 180 international film festivals, “Retouch” is the most successful Iranian short movie ever made. For this reason, many of these international awards are being kept and showcased at the special “Retouch” booth at the Iranian Cinema Museum.
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By Rachael Cyr|2019-11-03T18:06:08-05:00November 3rd, 2019|Looking into Films|0 Comments
About the Author: Rachael Cyr
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The Merits of Cooperation
W. Chris Lengefeld
Published online: 31 October 1994
academic cooperation
Academic cooperation is generally understood today as a desired mode of operation for colleges and universities. Cooperation and support are the most conducive elements for a successful education program. Cooperation does not mean simply agreeing with all directives, changes, or proposals from colleagues and administrators. Recently, Barbara Reeder Lundquist called for dialogues that
. . . can provide ideas that would not be possible without an open exchange between colleagues. When open-mindedness is shared on both ends of a dialogue, issues can be revealed, refined, and expressed in ways that transcend what either [point of view] could accomplish alone.1
Cooperation can involve open discussion and a frank exchange of ideas, pro and con, about a proposal. We may decide to cooperate and support a plan and work within its framework, or everyone may agree to a compromise solution. If our ideas have merit but an agreement is not reached, we may find ourselves working independently, ineffectively, or even negatively with a program and becoming part of the problem instead of part of the solution.
A list of the best objectives for cooperation would include improved and enriched education for students, an imaginative and vital music program, better working conditions for a greater number of people, an efficient and innovative use of budgetary funding, and an increased support system for the music program. In view of declining budgets for music facilities and equipment, reductions in curricular programs, cutbacks on faculty and staff positions, and more expectations and demands on faculty time and workloads, perhaps a review of certain aspects of cooperation in academia is in order.
Cooperating at the national level can be understood as participation actively and vigorously in the national debate on support for the arts. Certainly, the report by Samuel Hope, NASM, in the May 1994 CMS Newsletter , regarding the voluntary national education standards for the arts in grades K-12, demonstrates how cooperation between the U.S. Department of Education, the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, and the Music Educators National Conference has helped create objectives for the arts. Hope urges us to cooperate and be involved with these K-12 standards and build on them in our colleges and universities.
In the January 1994 CMS Newsletter, Michael Greene stated that "we as educatorshave abdicated leadership as ambassadors of the arts." According to Greene, not only must we cooperate and band together to obtain funding for the arts, we must be equally committed to artistic and cultural diversity. We must be leaders "in today's globally integrated marketplace . . . rethinking our old assumptions about the dividing line between the public and private sectors, between commerce and culture." As educators, we must be actively involved and cooperate with our music advocacy groups.
William J. Reynolds also calls for us to ". . . make the case for the arts to our corporations, to our elected officials and to our school boards. Artists, musicians, parents and citizens must clamor for the restoration of the arts to their properly supported place in education -- and thus in society.2
At the local level, academic cooperation might be increased by occasionally joining forces for performances and projects with other local colleges and universities, community colleges, public and private schools, and community schools of music. Michael Yaffe has called for greater cooperation between colleges and community schools of music and has pointed out the benefits and possible expectations for colleges where such a coordination of efforts might be mutually helpful.3 One can envision performances of oratorios with combined ensembles of colleges, schools, civic and church organizations. Imagine the size of the audience with relatives and friends at such performances, as well as the recruitment possibilities!
Retirement homes, civic organizations, businesses, and libraries are places where college music educators can explore possibilities of cooperation through concerts, recitals, and lectures. Advanced conducting students may be able to organize choirs and instrumental ensembles in retirement homes, thereby gaining valuable experience in their craft, and also offer opportunities to a segment of the population that is often ignored. Elderhostels may provide opportunities for faculty to present lectures and ideas to senior citizens. Education programs in prisons, e.g., the Education Programs in Institutions of Correction (EPIC) offered in California by the University of La Verne, can promote the enjoyment of music and cooperatively present it to the community.
Within individual colleges, the issue of cooperation can sometimes be a thorny one. Creating curricula that provide students with a sound, balanced education that incorporates cultural diversity, social relevance, artistic integrity, and solid academic scholarship is one avenue for cooperation. At the recent CMS Workshop in World Music held at San Diego State University, David Ward-Steinman reported on the four-year Comprehensive Musicianship courses at that university.4 Basically, these courses offer theory, performance, and history in a comprehensive way that includes such topics as world musics, jazz, early music, new music, computers in music, along with Western European musical traditions. Such a curriculum rewards students with a culturally rich program and is a step toward multiculturalism. Also, presenting these offerings requires generous cooperation among the various disciplinary interests.
The value of collegiality must not be overlooked when examining ways of cooperating. We would all agree with Barbara R. Lundquist's assessment that belittling "quips and acerbic asides" concerning fellow colleagues and their work create negative personal and institutional effects and are "poisonous for long-term respectful relations among colleagues and across music disciplines.5
Willingness to cooperate by sharing time, talent, energy, ideas, knowledge, etc., is possibly the most important factor in promoting and preserving a successful program. Each faculty member has different strengths and weaknesses,more or less time to give, more or less charisma, but a willing spirit is something everyone can cultivate. We need to remember that the only cooperative effort we can really control is our own personal attitude and example. This is our greatest responsibility.
People who are willing to work on recruiting, funding, cooperative programs, and new ideas and concepts are usually welcome members of a team. Offering our expertise to colleagues in different disciplines may add to the richness of the curriculum, but let us not be discouraged if these ideas fail. Our efforts toward greater cooperation may not be rewarded with recognition or remuneration, but to isolate ourselves within our own interests is to weaken our position as educators and musicians. Isolation minimizes our position, limits the vitality and diversity of music, and possibly lessens the importance of the role of music in society.
Among the objections and reservations to greater cooperation within our own departments are such traditional excuses as the concern that present standards might be compromised. Another common objection is that faculty and administrators have no time to explore new and difficult paths of cooperation. Underlying other objections is the fear that cooperation might result in loss of jobs, positions, control, or power; or, that the uniqueness of our special program (and thus of our own individuality) would be lost to the homogenization of cooperation. We may feel that cooperation would add responsibilities and complicate our lives, calendars, schedules, programs, etc. Cooperating with other groups may result in greater use and depreciation of equipment and in crowded facilities. The dangers of not cooperating stagnation, keeping the status quo, isolation, and being left by the passing parade of new technology and other compelling issues.
The world of music appears boundless. Its rich variety, cultural diversity, and vast artistic domain challenge our resources and endeavors. Only through willing and generous cooperation will we be able to develop strong musical interest and participation at every level of society -- only in this way can we encourage everyone to let all music be shared, investigated, criticized, and explored.
1. CMS Newsletter, March 1994, 12 and 10.
2. Ibid., 4.
4. See also Ward-Steinman's article in Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy 1.2 (Fall 1987), 129-147.
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Home Cars Classic Cars
You Won’t Believe What This Company is Doing With Old Ford Mustangs
By Robert Liwanag, ReadersDigest.caUpdated: Sep. 28, 2018
Calling all classic car aficionados! This innovative company is turning scrap parts from 1960s-era Ford Mustangs into super-stylish timepieces.
Image Credits: Photo: Courtesy of REC
Breathing New Life Into Salvaged Ford Mustangs
Calling all aficionados of Ford Mustangs! Here’s a new item to add to your wish list…
Denmark-based REC Watches is now making watches using materials from 1960s-era Ford Mustangs. But don’t worry: the manufacturer, whose motto is “recover, recycle and reclaim,” only uses components from Mustang wrecks that are beyond repair.
“Most people would basically just see a pile of metal. They see a ghost of a Mustang, or what used to be a Mustang,” says co-founder Christian Mygh in a video. “But we see something completely different. We see the soul of a car—a story that needs to be told and be given new life.”
The current lineup, dubbed the P-51 Collection, includes three styles of watches, with the designs of the hands, date and dial numbers influenced by the iconic car’s dashboard, and a power dial designed to look like a fuel gauge. Each finished watch incorporates the vehicle identification number and year of production. Owning one of these one-of-a-kind wonders will set you back a cool $1,895.
According to Digital Trends, approximately 250 watches can be created from the steel roof, door and hood panels of just one Ford Mustang. Each timepiece comes with an NFC chip and QR code which enables the owner to watch a short video detailing the history of the vehicle and its original owner.
REC Watches is no stranger to classic cars: its 901 collection models are made from Porsche 911s, while its Mark I and Cooper collections are made from vintage Mini Coopers.
“It is about real people and real stories, and it’s almost like a small time capsule,” said Mygh. “You have a small piece of a Mustang inside your watch, and each time you look at the time, you actually look at a Mustang.”
Here’s What You Need to Know Before Buying a Classic Car!
My First Car: Remembering the 1931 Chevy Berline
Check Out This Collector’s Impressive Vintage Motorcycle Replicas
An Inseparable Pair
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The World’s Dumbest Criminals
by Bruce GriersonUpdated: Aug. 28, 2018
Crime never pays—especially if it’s planned badly
Image Credits: Illustration: Serge Bloch
Illustration: Serge Bloch
Early one morning a woman in Bridgend, Wales discovered a burglar rummaging through her downstairs cupboards. The startled robber fled—but not before the homeowner caught a glimpse, revealed as he bent over, of his strange underpants.
The quirky boxers would prove the thief’s undoing.
Darren Machon, 39, was already wanted by police and was arrested after a car chase in the town centre later that day. The suspect was changing his clothes in the holding cell when one of the officers noticed his undies, adorned with cartoon graphics of burgers, donuts and fries; the same fast-food medley that the burglary victim had described her intruder as wearing.
Machon’s “novelty underpants” were held up as evidence against him in Cardiff Crown Court in last August. He was sentenced to two years and ten months for burglary and dangerous driving.
Big risk, no reward
Two men withdrew money from a roadside filling station bank machine the hard way in Stockport, England: They pumped explosive gas into the ATM and exploded it. The pair of crooks managed to scoop roughly 25,000 pounds sterling out of the machine, and fled.
When police arrived at the scene, they found the partially destroyed ATM. But, as if leaving a tip, the thieves had spilled some of their stash as they drove away. The trail of bank notes led police directly to their hideout beneath a sign-bearing highway gantry. Dangling above the motorway, the frightened crooks were almost relieved to be arrested before they fell into traffic. They pled guilty to theft and “causing an explosion likely to endanger life” and were sentenced to a total of 15 and a half years.
No leg to stand on
No one would describe serial thief Paul Bartlett as having masterful attention to detail.
The 47-year-old crook wearing a homemade balaclava had robbed three stores in the area of Birmingham, England in three days—making off with alcohol, cigarettes and cash. In one raid, he wasted time scooping up change from the cash drawer (quipping to the cashier that he was that broke). At another point he accidentally called his accomplice, Adam Breen, by his real name, which helped police zero in on the duo.
When constables searched Bartlett’s house they found, among other incriminating items, a one-legged pair of pants. The other leg Bartlett had used to fashion the crude balaclava he wore for the heists.
Bartlett, who had 27 previous convictions for 78 offenses, was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Breen received five years two months.
Not very “smart”
Barrister Charlotte Johnson was defending 26-year-old Bobby Heath from Strood in Kent, who had been charged with drug and driving offenses, when she realized her smartphone was missing. Images from the court’s closed circuit TV system revealed Heath slipping it into his pocket.
Heath was tried, found guilty of theft, and jailed for two weeks. “This crime shows he doesn’t care who he targets or what misery he causes,” said police constable David Paine.
Trapped between bars
Last July police and firefighters had to rescue a thief from the entrance of a launderette he was trying to rob. The man broke the glass in the door with a rock and then tried to force open the bars so that he could slip into the Madrid facility. He failed, and ended up prone with his head trapped between two of the bars.
Loose change and morals
A man who broke into a Welsh post office was apprehended after he tried to buy a used car with an enormous pile of coins.
Security cameras in the post office captured Daniel Allen Thomas, 29, leaving the premises with cash and cigarettes. Shortly after, he offered a man selling his Renault Clio £1,000 in loose change, which weighed 9.5kg. The suspicious vendor declined and so Thomas returned with notes.
Police caught their man after a widespread social media appeal. Confronted with security camera footage and evidence from the car sale, Thomas initially denied that it was him. And then he didn’t. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
Ruff justice
A man fleeing on foot after a high-speed chase with police thought he was scot-free. He appeared to be outrunning the cop who was pursuing him—44-year-old traffic officer PC Steve Hutton of Wiltshire, England. Then the young thief heard: “Police officer with a dog, stay still!” followed by savage barking. The sound stopped the terrified youth in his tracks.
The officer, out of breath, quickly handcuffed the man before the truth registered: there was no dog; it was officer Hutton himself who had been barking.
The young man was questioned but was later released.
Drunken sailors
In the fishing town of La Rochelle, along the Atlantic French coast, four young men in their twenties spotted a catamaran tethered to the pier of a sailing club, and decided to take a pre-dawn joyride.
They unhitched the Hobie Cat, hopped on and, with great brio, headed for open sea.
But they had failed to notice a couple of things: First, it was a small boat, meant for two sailors, maximum. Second, the plugs in the hulls were not screwed. Before the youth could nose the boat much beyond the dock, it sank.
The quartet was rescued, and tossed in the drunk tank to—literally and figuratively—dry out. They eventually paid 2,000 Euros to have the boat restored.
Watch where you’re going!
A German mugger made the police’s job easy.
Having snatched the purse of an 81-year-old woman in broad daylight in the town of Hildesheim, the thief hopped on a bicycle and made off. To make sure that nobody was following him he made a quick turn and failed to see a lamp post and crashed into it. He abandoned the bicycle and fled on foot.
However, the crook had dropped a rather important item when he hit the pavement: a letter with his home address on it.
Police arrived at the robber’s home almost before he did.
Read directions before use
Just before suppertime one evening last July, a 24-year-old man along with his 17-year-old mate, decided to rob a pharmacy in the western city of Perth, Australia. One of them got the notion to disable the clerk with pepper spray. He brandished the can and let fly a stream of burning capsicum. Unhandily, the nozzle was pointed backwards and the thief blasted himself in the face.
Meanwhile, his accomplice, armed with a knife, cut himself.
The crooks fled, only to be tracked down a short time later by the local police. Last heard, they were explaining their double mishap before a district court judge.
Around 2am, a thief broke into a church in the German town of Muhlhausen. In the pitch dark, he groped around for the light switch. He found the junction box and tried several switches. Suddenly, the church bells started booming. The man, 32, hurriedly grabbed a wooden figure and fled—only to be arrested by police performing routine traffic patrol.
Back burgling in no time
An alarm tripped in the wee hours of the morning brought police to a café in the Flanders region of Belgium— but not before the burglar had fled with around 2000 Euros. Images captured by the security cameras at the Café De Gouden Vis (the Golden Fish) showed the crook wearing a cast on his right leg. As he made his awkward getaway on a bicycle, police tracked his progress via security cameras in the town to a nearby house. Turned out the crook had stolen the bike in Mechelen the previous week and, caught in that act, dashed off, but fell from a roof and broke his ankle. He was taken by police to hospital where he was fitted with a cast. Upon his release from custody, he began his rehabilitation by robbing the café, for which he was arrested again.
Let me out!
When a driver left his car to go pay for parking, a thief in Barcelona, Spain seized his opportunity. He hopped in. But then the driver remotely locked the door of the Audi as he walked away. The crook was trapped inside.
After almost four hours in the hot car, sweat-soaked, dehydrated and growing woozy from lack of oxygen, the man was finally rescued by police, after bystanders noticed the curiously fogged-over windows.
“Lucky you it was a cloudy day,” an officer remarked after arresting the thief. “If it had been sunny, you would be dead”.
Originally Published: April 01, 2017
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How smart is this city?
Taipei’s smart urban housing initiatives, including smart meters for water, electricity and natural gas, as well as the city’s Taipei smart card, which enables access to municipal services, have both been cited as good smart city initiatives. The Department of Information Technology (DOIT) has also announced that it is working to create a platform to enhance development of the Internet of Things (IoT), which can include tracking and monitoring of transit, amongst other uses. Due to the variety of smart city initiatives, one advisory board member also selected Taipei as a smart city. Among local residents in the EIU survey, more than one-half (55%) said their city was smart today and the primary benefit was indeed to improve the environment, for instance by reducing vehicular emissions.
Two advisory board members selected Melbourne as a smart city with the primary reasons being the city’s fast Internet connections and use of online government services.
The Malaysian government has outlined the Greater Kuala Lumpur (KL) area as one of twelve National Key Economic Areas of the Economic Transformation Program (ETP) with the objective of transforming the capital through the use of technology.
Traffic congestion is one reason that motivates Bangkok to become a smart and sustainable city.
Auckland was fifth on Boyd Cohen’s (a smart city expert) list of the smartest cities in Asia-Pacific.
With development in its infancy, Yangon has been described as a particularly promising market for ICT service providers to provide smart city solutions.
Cambodia’s gateway city to the ruins of Angkor, including Angkor Wat, is slowly adopting to modern technologies.
The biggest city in the Philippines in terms of land area was also the first in the country to use technology to improve public safety from a smart city perspective.
Operating in the shadows of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, the country’s fifth largest city has led the Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), as measured by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), three years in a row.
In 2015, the World Bank approved the Ho Chi Minh City Green Transport Development Project, which is scheduled to run until 2020, to improve performance and efficiency of infrastructure construction and supervision.
Chennai was selected as a smart city by two advisory board members who cited the technology eco-system, high education quality and various aspects of smart infrastructure as the primary reasons.
Bandung is home to over 80 higher education entities, including the Bandung Institute of Technology (BIT), which is Indonesia’s largest technology university and provides the city with access to digital skills.
The city-state of Singapore is frequently considered among the world’s smartest cities by experts such as Boyd Cohen and media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal.
Four advisory board members selected Jakarta as a smart city, two of whom mentioned the city’s smart transportation initiatives among other reasons.
Seoul ranked 8th (out of 181 cities) in the IESE Cities in Motion Index 2016 by the Center for Globalization and Strategy, IESE Business School, University of Navarra, which evaluates smartness of strategic planning.
Shanghai first published an action plan regarding smart city development in 2011 with a three year extension announced in 2014.
Mumbai was not among the 20 winners in the national India Smart Cities Challenge; however, the city still has ambitious plans. Mumbai was selected as a smart city by three advisory board members who cited availability and demand for fast Internet connections and Wi-Fi as the primary reasons
Manila was ranked 145th (out of 181 cities) in the IESE Cities in Motion Index 2016 by the Center for Globalization and Strategy, IESE Business School, University of Navarra, which evaluates smartness or strategic planning
Two advisory board members selected Hong Kong as a smart city due to its smart transportation systems, online government services, smart cards, public Wi-Fi and adoption of smartphones, and availability and quality of local apps.
Tokyo ranked 12th (out of 181 cities) in the IESE Cities in Motion Index 2016 by the Center for Globalization and Strategy, IESE Business School, University of Navarra, which evaluates smartness or strategic planning.
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How would you die in The Hunger Games?
The late incredible rocker David Bowie is known for his music, however for the characters he has taken on as a major aspect of his imaginative voice, for example, the cleaned Thin White Duke or the glitz extra-terrestrial Ziggy Stardust. So it ought to be nothing unexpected that Bowie chose to develop assuming a personality, and parlayed that into acting, both in front of an audience and in film.
While Bowie was soaring in the music outlines, he was additionally taking on huge amounts of TV and film jobs. He showed up in more than 30 films, TV programs, and dramatic creations, including Just a Gigolo with Marlene Dietrich, Martin Scorsese’s transformation of The Last Temptation of Christ, David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and an appearance as Nikola Tesla in Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige. In any case, who can overlook his importantly unusual job as Jareth, the Goblin King in Labyrinth?
Michael Jackson stood out from around the globe for his basically unrivalled skills when it came to singing, dancing, and performing. In any case, while he got jobs in films like The Wiz and Men in Black II, he never arrived at the degree of acting distinction that he had longed for, as per those nearby with him.
In a meeting with MovieFone, Marvel Comics plan Stan Lee uncovered that Jackson had his eyes set on accomplishing more films. “I knew Michael Jackson,” Lee said. “Furthermore, with the things he examined with me, I felt he needed to be Spider-Man” in the 2002 film adaption. Jackson allegedly additionally wished he could have been the ghost in Broadway’s The Phantom of the Opera.
“Well, don’t expect us to be too impressed. We just saw Finnick Odair in his underwear.”
― Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
“Finnick?” I say, “Maybe some pants?”
He looks down at his legs as if noticing his outfit for the first time. Then he whips off his hospital gown leaving him in just his underwear. “Why? Do you find this” — he strikes a ridiculously provocative pose — “distracting?”
I laugh. Boggs looks embarrassed and Finnick looks more like the guy I met at the Quarter Quell”
“Really, the combination of the scabs and the ointment looks hideous. I can’t help enjoying his distress.
“Poor Finnick. Is this the first time in your life you haven’t looked pretty?” I say.
“It must be. The sensation’s completely new. How have you managed it all these years?” he asks.
“Just avoid mirrors. You’ll forget about it,” I say.
“Not if I keep looking at you,” he says.”
― Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
How quickly can you run a mile?
Under 5 min
5 to 7 min
8 to 10 min
What computer game are you best at?
SkiFree
What is your Hunger Games strategy?
I’m doing this solo. It’s the only way to win.
Make allies. There’s safety in numbers.
Hide.
Select a weapon of choice.
How do you feel about killing people?
I’ve trained for this. I’m killing everyone until I win.
I’m not sure
Would you kiss any of your competitors?
Yes. I could die. I may as well go out having fun.
No. I’m just focusing on trying to survive.
Which of the Hunger Games books is supreme?
Team Peeta or Team Gale?
Peeta
Which district are you from?
District 1: Jewelry making
District 3: Engineers
District 7: Lumber and paper
District 11: Agriculture
District 13: Mining and soldiers
On a scale of 1-5 (5 being most the most), how lucky are you?
What’s the first thing you do in the arena?
Go on a killing spree
Make shelter
Form an alliance
Can We Guess Your Dominant Personality Trait?
Can We Guess Your Type of Sensuality?
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Raiders vs Patriots live stream: how to watch NFL week 3 online from anywhere now
The Patriots kick off an AFC West triple-header against a Raiders side that’s got its Las Vegas era off to a thrilling start. They christened their new stadium with a shock 34-24 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Monday night, making it an unexpected two wins out of two. Has Jon Gruden finally got the formula right? Read on as we explain how to watch the NFL online and get a Raiders vs Patriots live stream wherever you are right now.
Las Vegas Raiders vs New England Patriots live stream
Kick-off time for today’s Raiders vs Patriots game is 1pm ET/10am PT, which is 6pm BST in the UK. A number of TV and streaming options are available for the game, and you can always enjoy your favorite NFL coverage wherever you are by using a reliable VPN – try our No. 1 pick ExpressVPN risk-free for 30-days.
This is likely to be a season of transition for the Pats, who are 1-1 after leaving their comeback a moment too late against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, but they’ve certainly got history on their side. The Raiders’ last got the best of the Patriots 18 years and five defeats ago.
Cam Newton has stepped straight into Tom Brady’s boots no problem, and seems to have struck up an instant connection with Julian Edelman, though the receiver’s been struggling with a knee injury this week. Newton can’t do it on his own though, and after a dazzling opener the Patriots’ ground game was virtually non-existent last weekend. Bill Belichick’s got some work to do.
Latest NFL odds
Fancying a flutter? Our NFL Win Probability widget lets you see the latest percentage chances on a win, lose or draw – as well as the very latest betting odds.
There’s no pressure on the Raiders, who have already exceeded expectations, and it would really set the cat amongst the pigeons if they were to take another scalp. Derek Carr linked up especially well with Darren Miller, and the quarterback is doing a brilliant job of silencing his critics. Follow our guide below to watch the Raiders vs Patriots online and get an NFL live stream from anywhere this Sunday.
How to watch the Raiders vs Patriots from outside your country
If you’ve mismatched a holiday or you’re away on business and you want to watch your country’s coverage from outside your country, then you’ll need to use a VPN. This will help you dial in to a location back in your home country to avoid geo-blocks and regain access to the content and services you already pay for back home.
A VPN is generally perfect for this as it allows you to change your IP address so you appear to be in a completely different location when the big game is on.
ExpressVPN – get the world’s best VPN
We’ve put all the major VPNs through their paces and we rate ExpressVPN as our top pick, thanks to its speed, ease of use and strong security features. It’s also compatible with just about any streaming device out there, including Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox and PlayStation, as well as Android and Apple mobiles.
Sign up for an annual plan now and get an extra 3 months absolutely FREE. And if you change your mind within the first 30 days, let them know and they’ll give you your money back without a quibble.
IPVanish VPN – save big with 73% off right now
The US-based IPVanish is another trusted VPN that boasts excellent connection speeds, large server network and great apps. And one single subscription covers unlimited devices, so you can sort the cyber security of your whole family.
But perhaps most interesting is its current offer. Sign up for an annual plan now and get a massive discount to a mere $3.25 USD per month. That’s a fantastic price for an excellent service, and it will even throw in 250GB of secure cloud storage absolutely free.
Once you’ve chosen and installed your VPN of choice, simply open the service’s corresponding app, hit ‘choose location’, select the appropriate country and you’ll be able to watch the broadcast as if you were back at home.
How to watch a FREE Raiders vs Patriots live stream of today’s NFL game in the US
Coverage of the 49ers vs Giants today is provided by CBS, and kick-off is scheduled for 1pm ET/10am PT. If you haven’t got CBS and want to subscribe, then know that CBS All Access is also available on a streaming-only basis from just $5.99 a month – try it for free today.
Alternatively, CBS is offered by over-the-top streaming service FuboTV, which is the best option for US-based fans looking for comprehensive football coverage this season as it’s the only service with all five channels that are showing NFL games this season: CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN and NFL Network.
Pricing starts from $64.99 a month, which is a darn sight cheaper than cable, and there’s even a FREE 7-day FuboTV trial you can take advantage of. That means that today’s Raiders vs Patriots game can be watched absolutely free!
One of the things we love about Fubo is that it makes canceling easy if you decide it’s not for you – and it’s easy to get started, too, thanks to a slick payment system that accepts internationally recognized payment platform PayPal as well as major credit and debit cards.
Don’t forget, you can take your favorite NFL streaming coverage with you wherever you are with the help of a good VPN – try the best around, ExpressVPN 100% risk-free for 30-days.
Raiders vs Patriots live stream: how to watch today’s NFL game FREE in Canada
Today’s Raiders vs Patriots clash kicks-off at 1pm ET/10am PT in Canada, just like it does in the US.
There’s no linear coverage of this one, but when it comes to streaming Canadian NFL fans are some of the the luckiest in the world as DAZN includes coverage of every single 2020/21 regular season game.
It’s an absolute steal at just CA$20 a month or $150 a year. Not only do you get every single NFL game, including NFL Game Pass and RedZone access, but DAZN’s also the exclusive Canadian streaming home of Premier League and Champions League soccer!
It comes with support for iOS, Android, Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Roku, Xbox One, PS4, and laptop/PC streaming (including Mac devices). And if you’ve never used it before, you can take advantage of a FREE 1-month TRIAL, too.
Payment is easy, as DAZN accepts a wide range of credit and debit cards, plus internationally recognized online payment platform PayPal for added convenience.
Don’t forget, you can take your preferred NFL coverage with you no matter where you are in or out of the Great White North – just grab hold of an effective VPN and follow our instructions above.
UK-based American football fans can tune in to the New England Patriots vs Las Vegas Raiders game via the NFL Game Pass Pro, as £143.99 gets you every single game of the 2020/21 season (subject to blackouts) including the playoffs, Super Bowl, RedZone access and more!
The game kicks off at 6pm BST.
Not in the UK but still want to catch the action on Game Pass? Grabbing a VPN will let you log into a UK IP address so you can live stream NFL as if you were at home.
For those not wishing to sign up to a Game Pass, UK American Football fans get up to six NFL games live and in their entirety each week courtesy of Sky Sports, with the network now boasting a new dedicated Sky Sports NFL channel as well as offering access to the live RedZone highlights show each Sunday. Or grab a Now TV Sports Pass if you’d sooner just have access for a day or one month.
How to watch Patriots vs Raiders: live stream NFL in Australia
If you live in Australia and want to watch the NFL this season, you have several options to do so and are generally well covered.
Pay TV provider Foxtel is broadcasting Patriots vs Raiders on ESPN’s Aussie offshoot, so as well as watching on TV, you can also stream the game to your laptop or mobile device using the Foxtel Go app – but you’ll need your Foxtel ID to gain access.
Kick-off is set for 3am AEST on Monday morning.
For streaming-only NFL coverage in Australia, Kayo Sports is the place to go and will show an average of five games a week. One of those games is the Patriots vs Raiders.
The streaming service has a Basic and a Premium plan with the difference being you can watch on two devices with the Basic plan for $25 per month and on three devices with the Premium plan for $35 per month. The best news? Both plans come with a FREE 14-day trial so if you’re looking just to watch a specific game or two you can cancel after the 14 days.
For the diehards, we highly recommend you sign up for an NFL Game Pass, which gives you access to every game around.
Should I buy an NFL Game Pass?
Watching NFL online has never been easier thanks to the wide variety of streaming services now available. However, the league also has its own streaming service called the NFL Game Pass which allows die-hard football fans to watch every game.
It’s really geared towards international fans and that’s where it’s a great option. In most of the NFL’s main international markets, a Game Pass Pro subscription will get you access to every single regular season and playoff game live, plus the Super Bowl, and you also get the league’s live highlights show, RedZone. It costs £14.99 a week or £143.99 a year, so if you’re a big fan who watches multiple games every week, it breaks down quite favourably.
As well as the UK and Ireland, the service is available in countries like Mexico, Germany and most of Europe, and Australia – with only ‘domestic markets’ the US and Canada missing out on the full-fat offering.
Instead, there’s a US and Canada-only Game Pass option available for $99 a a year that lets you watch commercial-free full game replays right after they’ve finished. Not the worst offer we’ve ever heard, but don’t get caught out – GamePass does not offer live NFL games in the US or Canada.
Should you decide to give Game Pass a shot, apps for Android and iOS mobile devices as well as on the likes of Chromecast, Apple TV, Roku, PS4, and more – plus you can obviously watch on your laptop or desktop computer through a browser.
The only caveat for non-domestic markets (e.g. the UK) are that some games are subject to blackout restrictions due to deals with local pay TV providers (e.g. Sky).
Compare the best VPN services spec-by-spec:
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WhatsApp for Android beta updated with new feature
Smartphones: Three top Apple suppliers to commit $900 million to India smartphone incentive plan: Sources – Latest News
Three of Apple Inc’s top contract manufacturers plan to invest a total of almost $900 million in India in the next five years to tap into a new production-linked incentive plan, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron all plan to make investments under the scheme, said the sources, who asked not to be named as the discussions are private.
India’s new $6.65 billion production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme offers companies cash incentives on any increase in sales of locally-made smartphones over the next five years, compared with 2019-20 levels. The scheme aims to help transform India into an export manufacturing hub.
Foxconn has applied to invest about 40 billion rupees ($542 million), while Wistron and Pegatron have committed to invest close to 13 billion rupees and 12 billion rupees, respectively, under the PLI plan, the sources said.
It is unclear whether all of the investment will be targeted at boosting manufacturing of Apple devices in India, but the sources and industry insiders said the vast majority would be focused on expanding iPhone manufacturing in the country.
Foxconn said that as a matter of policy it did not comment on specific operations or work for any customer. Apple, Wistron, Pegatron and India’s technology ministry, which formulated the PLI scheme, did not respond to emails seeking comment.
While Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron make devices for companies other than Apple globally, Wistron’s arm in India currently assembles only iPhones.
Wistron, which assembles roughly 200,000 second-generation iPhone SEs per month in India, plans to scale that up to 400,000 a month by the end of the year, one of the sources said, as it looks to cater to export demand for the device.
That plan is expected to create roughly 10,000 jobs, the source added.
Pegatron is yet to start Indian operations, but has been in talks with several states, with Tamil Nadu in the south emerging as a frontrunner for a planned plant to manufacture Apple devices, a third source said.
Foxconn, which also assembles devices for Xiaomi in India, already has enough capacity to meet Xiaomi’s needs and is likely to use the PLI plan largely to boost iPhone production, a fourth source said.
The commitments would help Apple diversify its supply chain beyond China, which is locked in a trade war with the United States.
Apple started assembling in 2017 a low-cost iPhone model in India through Wistron’s local unit in the tech hub of Bengaluru. It later ramped up production, with Foxconn beginning to assemble iPhones last year and Wistron widening operations.
“India is key to Apple’s global ambitions as it expands beyond China,” said Tarun Pathak, an associate director at tech researcher Counterpoint. “It offers a strategic market to them where skilled labour is cheaper as compared to other manufacturing destinations, the size of the internal market is huge and the export potential is enormous.”
Local manufacturing helps Apple save costly duties levied on imports of fully-built phones and components in India, where the Cupertino, California-headquartered tech giant accounts for just 1% of smartphone shipments.
Apple is looking to change that. It launched its online store in India last week, and is building its first company-run retail store in the financial hub of Mumbai.
Indian smartphones
iPhone manufacturing
PLI scheme
Wistron Corporation
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Uber’s newest feature alerts drivers that pets will be joining the ride
Kirsten Korosec 1 year
Uber is piloting a new feature that lets U.S. riders alert drivers that a pet will be coming along, the latest effort from the company to appeal to a broader audience and become the one-stop shop for transportation, meals and other services.
The feature, called Uber Pet, will be available beginning October 16 in Austin, Denver, Nashville, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Tampa Bay. Riders will pay for the privilege of taking their pets with them through what Uber describes as a “small surcharge.” And drivers will have the option of avoiding trips with non-service animals by opting out of Uber Pet trips in the driver preferences menu in the app.
Uber says it will pay drivers “a significant portion of that surcharge,” on top of their standard trip earnings.
The company emphasized that Uber Pet does not replace their service animal policy. Riders with service animals are not expected or required to use Uber Pet, and can select from any number of ride options without paying the surcharge.
Instead, Uber Pet was designed for riders who are pet or non-service animal owners. Uber expects cats and dogs will be the most common animals on Uber Pet trips.
Uber Pet is another example of the company making efforts to become the app behind every aspect of its users’ lives, namely through transportation and meal delivery. Uber unveiled last month a number of changes across its products designed to achieve that very goal.
“We want to be the operating system for your everyday life,” CEO Dara Khosrowshahi at the time. “A one-click gateway to everything that Uber can offer you.”
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The Board & Management
Cooksafe initiative
Major Oil Firms Patronize Locally Made LPG Cylinders
October 31, 2019 - Company News
Lagos: The Techno Oil Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder manufacturing plant inaugurated six months has been witnessing impressive patronage from major oil and gas companies in Nigeria.
The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mrs Nkechi Obi, made the disclosure in Lagos today at a media parley on LPG adoption and the challenges facing the LPG sector.
Obi said she was delighted that leading oil and gas companies had started patronizing Techno Oil cylinders, shunning cylinders made in foreign countries.
According to her, many companies have been placing orders for tens of thousands of TechnoGas cylinders since the plant started rolling out cylinders.
This development has validated a recent market report that the TechnoGas brand is buyers’ preference because of its conformity with national and international standards.
It shows that cylinders manufactured at the plant have gained acceptability over the influx of sub standard cylinders made overseas and dumped in Nigeria by unscrupulous businessmen.
I’m happy that we have restored the confidence of LPG users that made in Nigeria cylinders are better, safer and more durable than the influx of sub -standard imported cylinders.
Obi restated, however, that the Federal Government and its relevant agencies should put measures in place to stop the importation of fake and sub-standard cylinders.
She said it was regrettable that fake cylinders had continued to pour into Nigeria, causing harm to the economy and posing serious dangers to users of the fake products.
Asked what she expected from the government to boost production at the plant, the chief executive officer said that government should protect indigenous manufacturing companies to position the nation for growth.
Government should introduce measures to protect local companies so that the companies can generate jobs for the teeming population.
The private sector should be positioned to be the engine room of economic development of our country.
Therefore, the government is expected to introduce policies that will help to sustain the sector to generate jobs for people willing and able to work,’’ Obi said.
The Techno Oil cylinder manufacturing plant, which was inaugurated by Vice-President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on June 7 this year, is described as the largest of its type in West Africa.
© 2021 Techno Oil Limited
Click our representative below to chat on WhatsApp or send us an email to business@technooil.com
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Services - 106286-2016
About TED
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Belgium-Brussels: Hire and purchase service for high-volume digital printers/copiers, including software, maintenance, updates, consumables, finishing equipment and related services
Contract notice
Directive 2014/24/EU
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1)Name and addresses
Official name: European Commission
Postal address: CSM 1 05/43
Town: Bruxelles
NUTS code: BE1 RÉGION DE BRUXELLES-CAPITALE / BRUSSELS HOOFDSTEDELIJK GEWEST
Postal code: 1049
Contact person: OIB.02 Marchés publics
E-mail: oib-marches-publics@ec.europa.eu
Internet address(es):
Main address: http://ec.europa.eu
Address of the buyer profile: http://ec.europa.eu/oib/procurement_fr.htm
Official name: European Parliament (Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg)
Official name: European Court of Auditors
Town: Luxembourg
NUTS code: LU0 LUXEMBOURG (GRAND-DUCHÉ)
Country: Luxembourg
Official name: Court of Justice of the European Union
Official name: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
Town: Stockholm
NUTS code: SE SVERIGE
Official name: Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA)
Official name: Clean Sky 2 Joint Undertaking
I.2)Information about joint procurement
The contract involves joint procurement
I.3)Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at: https://etendering.ted.europa.eu/cft/cft-display.html?cftId=1418
Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted to the abovementioned address
I.4)Type of the contracting authority
European institution/agency or international organisation
I.5)Main activity
General public services
Section II: Object
II.1)Scope of the procurement
II.1.1)Title:
Hire and purchase service for high-volume digital printers/copiers, including software, maintenance, updates, consumables, finishing equipment and related services.
Reference number: OIB.02/PO/2016/008/700
II.1.2)Main CPV code
30120000 Photocopying and offset printing equipment
II.1.3)Type of contract
II.1.4)Short description:
The contract will cover hire (95 %) or purchase (5 %), complete or partial, of systems for preparing, printing and finishing documents. This will include:
* supply, installation and commissioning of medium- and high-volume digital sheet-fed copiers, and of the different options selected,
* supply of full technical and commercial documentation, as well as all user, maintenance and safety manuals,
* all-purpose maintenance,
* removal of the hired equipment at the end of the contract and, upon request, of old machines,
* provision, upon request, of operators able to work in the various printshops of the institutions on the equipment in each lot, who will be provided with training, where necessary,
on related services (relocation and reinstallation of machines, automation of production processes, minor integration developments, securing documents).
II.1.5)Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: 16 750 000.00 EUR
II.1.6)Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: yes
Tenders may be submitted for all lots
II.2)Description
Supply (by hire or puchase) of digital black and white printers/copiers with a capacity of over 500 000 copies per month and a production speed of over 100 pages per minute.
Lot No: 1
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
50313100 Photocopier repair services
50313200 Photocopier maintenance services
50314000 Repair and maintenance services of facsimile machines
II.2.3)Place of performance
Main site or place of performance:
Brussels (Belgium), Luxembourg (Luxembourg), Strasbourg (France), Stockholm (Sweden), Ispra (Italy), Petten (Netherlands).
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:
Volume: 12 machines.
II.2.5)Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
II.2.6)Estimated value
Value excluding VAT: 2 500 000.00 EUR
II.2.7)Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months: 96
This contract is subject to renewal: no
II.2.10)Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: no
II.2.11)Information about options
Options: no
II.2.13)Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no
II.2.14)Additional information
Supply, by hire or purchase, of high-volume digital printers/copiers (black and white) with a production speed of over 100 A4 pages per minute, including software, maintenance, upgrades, consumables (except paper), finishing equipment and related services.
Supply (by hire or puchase) of digital black and white printers/copiers with a capacity of over 1 000 000 copies per month and a production speed of over 200 pages per minute.
6 machines.
Supply, by hire or purchase, of high-volume digital printers/copiers (black and white) with a minimum production speed of 200 A4 pages per minute, including software, maintenance, upgrades, consumables (except paper), finishing equipment and related services.
Supply (by hire or puchase) of digital colour and black and white printers/copiers with a capacity of over 250 000 copies per month and a production speed of over 70 pages per minute.
30121100 Photocopiers
17 machines.
Supply, by hire or purchase, of medium-volume digital printers/copiers (colour and black and white) with a minimum production speed of 70 A4 pages per minute, including software, maintenance, upgrades, consumables (except paper), finishing equipment and related services.
Supply (by hire or purchase) of digital colour and black and white printers/copiers with a capacity of over 350 000 copies per month and a production speed of over 80 A4 pages per minute.
Supply, by hire or purchase, of high-volume digital printers/copiers (colour) with a minimum production speed of 80 A4 pages per minute, including software, maintenance, upgrades, consumables (except paper), finishing equipment and related services.
Offline finishing equipment (saddle staplers, hot binding machines, trimming machines)
42991100 Bookbinding machinery
42991000 Paper, printing and bookbinding machinery and parts
50530000 Repair and maintenance services of machinery
Offline finishing peripherals (not connected or connectable to the copiers in lots 1 to 4, but must enable the sophisticated finishing to be done for work produced on the copiers in these lots). These peripherals may be systems of binding (by gluing or stapling) and finishing (guillotine).
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1)Conditions for participation
III.1.1)Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
List and brief description of conditions:
the tenderer shall enclose identity details, as well as all the documents and information required under point III.1 'Conditions for participation' of this notice and listed in Annex 1 to the specifications.
The tenderer shall enclose documentary proof with the name of the country in which he has his head office or is domiciled, as required under law in his country of residence.
The tenderer shall enclose a duly signed and dated solemn declaration stating that he is not in any of the situations which would exclude him from participating in a contract awarded by the European Union. The solemn declaration must take the form of the template published on the following page, in its entirety: http://ec.europa.eu/oib/procurement_fr.htm
NB: the successful tenderer must, on pain of exclusion, provide the following documentary evidence in support of the solemn declaration prior to signature of the contract.
NB: in the event they are awarded the contract, groupings must provide the solemn declaration along with the supporting documents and information for each individual member.
III.1.2)Economic and financial standing
List and brief description of selection criteria:
the tenderer must provide:
— a copy of the financial statements (balance sheets and operating accounts) for the past 3 financial years, showing the annual pre-tax profit. If, for a valid reason, the tenderer is unable to provide them, he must enclose a statement as to annual pre-tax profits for the past 3 years. If the financial statements or the declaration show an average loss over the past 3 years, the tenderer must furnish another document as proof of his financial and economic capacity, such as the appropriate guarantee from a third party (e.g. the parent company), statements from auditors, chartered accountants or equivalent,
— a statement as to overall annual turnover during the past 3 financial years.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
• to be selected, the tenderer must provide proof of an overall average annual turnover of at least:
— 2 500 000 EUR for lot 1,
— 1 000 000 EUR for lot 5.
If tenders are submitted for several lots, the overall annual average turnover must be at least equal to the total of the minimum sums required for each lot.
III.1.3)Technical and professional ability
— a list of the main references in Europe from public or private contracts performed over the past 5 years. This list must prove that the supplies and services delivered are related to this contract. The following must therefore be specified: names and addresses of the recipients, description of the machines and additional services provided (maintenance, updates, etc.), amounts invoiced,
— proof that the tenderer has a quality management system (ISO 9001 or equivalent),
— proof that the tenderer has an environmental management system (ISO 14001, EMAS or equivalent).
minimum requirement: lots 1 to 4: provision of at least 5 machines in a category corresponding to the lot for which the tenderer is applying; lot 5: provision of at least 3 machines.
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1)Description
IV.1.1)Type of procedure
Open procedure
IV.1.3)Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement
Framework agreement with a single operator
IV.1.8)Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: yes
IV.2)Administrative information
IV.2.2)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
IV.2.3)Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
IV.2.4)Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted:
Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, Greek, English, Spanish, Estonian, Finnish, French, Irish, Croatian, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Maltese, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Swedish
IV.2.6)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
Duration in months: 9 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)
IV.2.7)Conditions for opening of tenders
Office pour les infrastructures et la logistique — Bruxelles (OIB), bâtiment CSM1, Cours Saint-Michel 1 (entrée côté rue Père de Deken 23), 1040 Bruxelles, BELGIUM.
Information about authorised persons and opening procedure:
1 duly authorised representative per tenderer may attend the opening of tenders (a passport or identity card must be presented). Tenderers wishing to attend must inform Unit OIB.02.002 Public Procurement, in writing (see address details given in point I.1), no later than 2 working days prior to the opening session.
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1)Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: yes
Estimated timing for further notices to be published:
36 months after award.
VI.3)Additional information:
1) The specifications and additional documents (including questions and answers) will be available at the following web address: https://etendering.ted.europa.eu/cft/cft-display.html?cftId=1418
Interested parties are invited to register via the website. They will then be notified by the online public procurement system of any updates available for this invitation to tender. Parties not registered on the site are requested to consult it regularly. The Commission cannot be held responsible should tenderers not be aware of any additional information on this invitation to tender given on this website.
The website will be updated regularly; it is the responsibility of the tenderers to check for any updates and modifications during the tendering period.
Additional information on contract terms, contract renewals, conditions for participation, minimum levels of capacity required, total estimated contract volume, etc. can be found in the specifications available on the aforementioned website. No paper version will be issued. EMAS-certified since 2005, the OIB adopts an environmentally friendly attitude. EMAS is the eco-management and audit scheme, the EU voluntary instrument used by organisations to improve their environmental performance.
2) Executive agencies may be included in the contract as contracting authorities (within a limit of 10 % of the total contract value and for all the executive agencies taken together) if, at the time of publication of this invitation to tender, they had not yet been officially created or were not being created and, consequently, no formal designation could be specified in the invitation to tender documents.
3) The framework contract will run for 96 months from the date of its entry into force. However, the specific hire or purchase contracts can only be signed during the first 4 years of the framework contract.
4) During the 3 years following conclusion of the initial contract, the contracting authority will be able to use the negotiated procedure, without prior publication of a contract notice for new services involving the repetition of similar services assigned to the party awarded this contract by the contracting authority.
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'Bring ICT SME sector into mainstream'
MAIT wants that the small-and-medium enterprises should be taken on board while embarking on the ambitious Digital India initiative
Muntazir Abbas
Updated: August 28, 2014, 21:55 IST
The IT hardware industry body MAIT wants that the small-and-medium enterprises should be taken on board while embarking on the ambitious Digital India initiative.
NEW DELHI: The IT hardware industry body MAIT wants that the small-and-medium enterprises should be taken on board while embarking on the ambitious Digital India initiative that could also include mega smart cities and made-in India programs.
"We are confident about the Centre’s make-in India intent. Indigenous products should be identified and SMEs, as a part of ecosystem, should be encouraged with appropriate impetus to enable them create robust offering," Rahul Gupta, chairman— SME Chapter at Mait told ET.
Gupta said that in a competitive landscape, domestic firms are looking beyond schemes and incentives, and they expect assurances from the government on procurement as well as product collaboration with the foreign companies, which should be facilitated.
Government is holding discussions and actively engaging with stake holders to facilitate indigenous manufacturing of products such as telecom equipment, semiconductor chips, nano electronics and biometric identity devices. Mait feels that there is sufficient captive market in India itself as there is a large gap between demand and supply.
The government's is aiming to bring down net electronics imports to zero by 2020, from about $100 billion now, a move which will help the country control its current-account deficit. As things stand, net annual electronics imports could rise to $400 billion by 2020, outgrowing oil imports.
The current global electronics uptake is pegged at $1.75 trillion which is expected to reach $2.4 trillion in 2020, according to industry estimates.
“India can emerge as a strong destination although it might be initially difficult to replace China in mobile, tablet and PC production,” Gupta added.
The hardware manufacturers’ body feels that Taiwan has over-invested in China’s economy and is looking at suitable alternatives and India could prove to be the preferred manufacturing destination.
Mait has also launched an SME portal that will include a resources section that could help small organizations to get desired workforce.
The industry body will also showcase made-in India products at the CeBIT 2014 trade show to be held in Bangalore from November 11 to 14 this year.
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Dictamen: Un nuevo modelo para RTVE
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Change ahead for PSBs in Australia and New Zealand
Escrito por Public Media Alliance
ABC South Brisbane / Ash Kyd/Creative Commons
Las corporaciones de medios públicos de Australia y Nueva Zelanda se enfrentan a cambios significativos en sus presupuestos: un recorte en el caso de Australia y un incremento en el de Nueva Zelanda.
Budget announcements mark significant challenges for ABC while RNZ welcomes boost.
While the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) faces a dramatic cut in funding, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) has benefitted from a significant boost – despite it not being as hefty as initially promised. Here we take a more in-depth look at each funding development and what it might mean for the future of public broadcasting across the region.
New Zealand: A deflated boost
In September last year, New Zealand’s Labour party announced its intention to boost funding for public broadcasting as one of its key policies. The aim was to give a $38 million funding increase for quality programming and journalism, and turn RNZ into a fully fledged multi-platform broadcaster, with the addition of a free-to-air TV channel.
Fast forward a few months and the elected Labour Party delivered the funding but with a significant cut to- $15 million. Yet despite its announcement last week, it is still unclear where this new fund will go and when it will translate into clear benefits for RNZ’s audience.
“Every minister in the government has had to make compromises on their policies. Not all the policies promised before the election have been delivered because we couldn’t,” Clare Curran, the Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Ministry, told RNZ’s MediaWatch programme.
The cut to the budget boost left many disappointed and concerned about the quality of improvements that can be delivered with the reduced amount. The lobby group Better Public Media said $15m is not enough to fulfill Labour’s commitment to expand RNZ and support quality journalism in the country.
“Successfully re-establishing a commercial-free public channel cannot be done on the cheap,” said Peter Thompson, Better Public Media’s chair.
However, Ms Curran said there would be more funding further down the line and the party still expects to deliver the entire $38 million in the next budget. RNZ’s chief executive Paul Thompson was not disappointed and welcomed the funding boost.
“This is good news and signals the Government’s commitment to investing in a stronger, multimedia RNZ that provides freely-available, high-quality journalism and programming,” he said in a press release. “RNZ is the nation’s commercial-free public broadcaster and we will play a growing role in ensuring New Zealand is a connected and informed democracy.”
“The $15m allocation is still a significant investment for this sector and if we get a good share of that it will be significant for RNZ”
The CEO also commented on the reduction: “I am a realist. There are other pressures on government money,” he said on MediaWatch. “The $15m allocation is still a significant investment for this sector and if we get a good share of that it will be significant for RNZ.”
Meanwhile, the minister is still envisioning a Freeview TV channel run by RNZ as announced at the beginning of the year, but the details are still unclear.
“I would like to see a stronger audio-visual presence (at RNZ) but we have to work with what we’ve got,” Curran said.
Australia: Losing ground
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), on the other hand, saw a dramatic cut on its annual budget.
The federal budget, announced on Tuesday, included a three year freeze in the ABC’s operational funding starting from next year. This translates to a $84 million cut, apparently imposed to ensure that the corporation continues to find back-office efficiencies. However, according to ABC, only 4% of the broadcaster’s budget goes to back-office operations, and the corporation’s per capita funding is already 34% lower than the average of other public broadcasters across the globe.
The newly announced freeze adds to the $254 million in cuts over five years that were announced by the Malcolm Turnbull government in 2014. The public broadcaster’s management expressed its concern about the cuts and the inevitable impact they will have on the organisation’s work.
“There is no more fat to cut at the ABC”
“There is no more fat to cut at the ABC,” said ABC News director Gaven Morris. “Any more cuts to the ABC cut into the muscle of the organisation.”
Similarly, Michelle Guthrie, ABC’s managing director, voiced her concerns about the broadcaster’s ability to deliver and fulfill audience expectations and its charter requirements effectively. Guthrie affirmed she will “seek every opportunity to reverse the cuts in the coming months before they take effect”.
These concerns are shared across the organisation, with fears that the cuts will have a significant impact on the quality of the broadcaster’s products as well as maintaining employment levels.
“There is simply no way that can we achieve that without looking at content creation, and certainly looking at jobs within the organisations,” Morris added.
The cuts were not only criticised by the ABC but also by many Australians. A national survey conducted by the Australia Institute showed that 70% of participants wanted a strong ABC and 60% said it needs a “boost to long term funding” as opposed to consistent cuts. The survey participants also believe that a strong, independent ABC is critical to a healthy democracy.
On the other hand, the budget includes a $14.6 million funding boost over two years for the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) to compensate for revenue that the public broadcaster could not raise due to changes in advertising regulations. The funding also accounts for the development of local film and TV content.
The new measures envisioned by the budget will be imposed starting July 2019.
The importance of sustainable funding
Worryingly, these cuts aren’t simply a point of concern in Australia and New Zealand. Across the world public broadcasters have been affected by imposed and proposed budget cuts, particularly those in Denmark, Switzerland and the United States.
However, long-term sustainable funding remains crucial for strong and independent public service media and is one of the ways in which these organisations can maintain and improve the production of high quality and trustworthy content, especially in a time where the overabundance of news makes it increasingly hard to access accountable and transparent quality journalism.
Header image: ABC South Brisbane. Credits: Ash Kyd/Creative Commons
Publicado en Public Media Alliance
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Comparison of five percutaneous pinning methods for unstable extra-articular distal radius fractures: A mechanical study using sawbones
S. Kıvanç Muratlı1, Bora Uzun2, Salih Çelik3
1Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, School of Medicine, Çanakkale, Turkey
2Department of Biomechanics, Dokuz Eylül University, School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey
3University of Bonn, Zentrum für Zahn-, Mund,- und Kieferheilkunde, Bonn, Germany
Keywords: Biomechanics, distal radius, fracture, percutaneous pinning, sawbones, three-pin, two-pin
Objectives: This study aims to mechanically compare five different extra-focal bi-cortical pin configurations (using two and three pins) employed for fixation of a simulated unstable extra-articular distal radius fracture with dorsal comminution using a sawbone model.
Materials and methods: This in vitro mechanical study was conducted between June 2019 and July 2019. A standard fracture model (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen [AO] type 23-A3.3) was created using a fourth generation composite artificial radius bone. Five groups with two- and three-pin configurations were tested under axial, volar, and dorsal loading with a universal test device. Mean stiffness values were compared statistically.
Results: Comparison of stiffness values from axial and volar loading tests between groups in paired comparison showed no statistically significant difference (p=0.194 and p=0.086, respectively). Dorsal loading tests showed statistically significant difference between the groups in pairwise comparison (p=0.002). Three-pin groups (Groups 3, 4, and 5) had higher stiffness values compared to two-pin groups (Groups 1 and 2) in dorsal loading tests (p=0.001). Three-pin configuration test groups with two divergent or convergent pins from the radial styloid performed better compared to both two-pin groups (p=0.01, p=0.002) in dorsal loading tests.
Conclusion: Our data demonstrated that the three-pin configuration with two divergent or convergent Kirschner wires from the styloid and a third wire from the dorsal/ulnar cortex had higher stiffness values compared to two-pin configurations in dorsal loading tests. When indicated, we suggest the use of a three-pin construct. Particularly in cases with a risk of volar angulation, we recommend a three-pin configuration with two divergent or convergent bi-cortical Kirschner wires.
Displaced extra-articular distal radius fractures are generally treated by closed reduction and plaster immobilization methods. However, in patients with unstable fractures, reduction loss is frequently observed and surgical methods may be necessary to prevent malunion. Distal radius fractures with dorsal comminution are unstable fractures common in this area. Surgical treatment of these fractures include fixation with percutaneous Kirschner wires (K-wire), external fixation, internal fixation with various types of implants, and combinations of these methods.
Closed reduction and percutaneous K-wire fixation is a relatively less invasive and lower cost method for treatment of these types of fractures and as such, is an attractive choice in certain conditions.[1,2] Several methods are recognized for fixation of these fractures, (i) using extra-focal wires fixed to both distal and proximal fragment cortices from the radial styloid (Willenegger’s method);[3] (ii) using intra-focal wires introduced from the fracture line to the cortex of proximal fragments (Kapandji’s intrafocal method);[4] (iii) from the cortex of distal fragments toward the proximal with wires through the intramedullary canal (Py’s isoelastic method);[5,6] (iv) or a combination of these methods. There are many clinical studies concerning the percutaneous fixation of extra-articular distal radius fractures in the literature.[1,2,7-9] However, there are only a limited number of controlled experimental biomechanical studies focusing on this topic.[7,8,10] Furthermore, biomechanical studies focusing on the pin numbers and/or pin configurations are quite sparse. Within the past several decades, the rate of surgical management of distal radius fractures particularly with volar locking plates seems to be increasing. Compared to percutaneous pinning, volar locking plates provide better early functional results, while in the long-term, follow-ups of both volar locking plates and closed reduction and percutaneous pinning demonstrate excellent functional results.[11,12] The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons clinical guideline for the treatment of distal radius fractures has 29 recommendations rating between moderate and inconclusive strength levels, and none of them was able to have a strong level of strength. The fourth recommendation about choosing a specific operative method and 16th recommendation about whether two or three K-wires should be used for distal radius fracture fixation have both inconclusive results.[13] While reminding the effectiveness of percutaneous pinning, we planned to investigate if there is a difference between two- and three-pin configurations and demonstrate in which configurations the extra-focal percutaneous pinning is most stable. The extra-focal bi-cortical pin configurations were chosen as being commonly used and are generally accepted in the literature to provide stable fixation.
We hypothesized that the stability of the fixation of the fracture site would be better in three-pin configurations when compared to two-pin configurations. We also hypothesized that, particularly under axial loading, the stability would be the higher in pin configurations having two convergent or divergent pins on the radial styloid. We thought that the unparallel configuration of the pins would have better resistance particularly against axial loads to minimize radial shortening compared to parallel pins. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to mechanically compare five different extra-focal bi-cortical pin configurations (using two and three pins) employed for fixation of a simulated unstable extra-articular distal radius fracture with dorsal comminution using a sawbone model.
This in vitro mechanical study was conducted at Dokuz Eylül University School of Medicine, Biomechanics Laboratory between June 2019 and July 2019. Five pin configuration groups, two groups with two pins and three groups with three pins, were chosen to investigate the stability of percutaneous fixation of simulated extra-articular distal radius fractures using a total of 35 (seven in each group) sawbones. Group 1: Only two parallel Kirschner wires introduced from the radial styloid diagonally crossing the fracture line and fixed to the facing cortex of the proximal fragment (Figure 1). Group 2: One K-wire introduced from the radial styloid diagonally crossing the fracture line and fixed to the facing cortex of the proximal fragment. The second K-wire introduced from the ulnar portion of the dorsal metaphyseal cortex diagonally crossing the fracture line and previously introduced K-wire and fixed to the cortex of the proximal fragment (Figure 1). Group 3: Two parallel K-wires introduced from the radial styloid diagonally crossing the fracture line and fixed to the facing cortex of the proximal fragment. The third K-wire introduced from the ulnar portion of the dorsal metaphyseal cortex diagonally crossing the fracture line and previously introduced K-wires and fixed to the cortex of the proximal fragment (Figure 1). Group 4: Two convergent K-wires introduced from the radial styloid diagonally crossing the fracture line and fixed to the facing cortex of the proximal fragment. The third K-wire introduced from the ulnar portion of the dorsal metaphyseal cortex diagonally crossing the fracture line and previously introduced K-wires and fixed to the cortex of the proximal fragment (Figure 1). Group 5: Two divergent K-wires introduced from the radial styloid diagonally crossing the fracture line and fixed to the facing cortex of the proximal fragment. The third K-wire introduced from the ulnar portion of the dorsal metaphyseal cortex diagonally crossing the fracture line and previously introduced K-wires and fixed to the cortex of the proximal fragment (Figure 1). Seven fourth generation composite radii (Item #3407, Sawbones®, Sawbones Europe AB Inc., Limhamn, Sweden) were used in each group. The radial styloid entry points were located on the dorsal prominence at the interval between the first and second extensor compartments as used in clinical practice. In some clinical situations, volar prominence may be preferred. The dorsal/ulnar located K-wire is usually introduced through the interval between the fourth and fifth extensor compartments and enters the dorsal cortex near the periphery of triangular fibrocartilaginous complex attachment.[14,15]
To simulate an extra-articular distal radius fracture with dorsal comminution (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen [AO] type 23-A3.3), a wedge osteotomy was performed 20 mm proximal from the joint surface. On the lateral view, the wedge had a 10 mm dorsal base and 1 mm volar surface peak-point gap. Osteotomy cuts and K-wire entry and exit points were standardized using guides and a digital Vernier caliper (Figure 2). To prevent sliding of the device probe and inappropriate positioning, the loading points of the samples were processed to be congruent with the device probe using a power tool with an abrasive disc and guide points were marked precisely with a white marker. For fixation of the samples, 1.8 mm (0.070 inch) standard trocar-point smooth K-wires (Hipokrat Tıbbi Malzemeler İmalat ve Pazarlama A.Ş., Izmir, Turkey. Grade X 2 CrNiMo AISI 316L/1.4441 in ASTM F138-03, ISO 5832-1 [last revision] standards. Test certificate: EN 10 204/3.1. Grain size in accordance with ASTM E 112: 10 and thinner, microscopic cleanliness in accordance with ISO 4967/ASTM E 45, method: A) were used.
The tests were completed using a universal test device (Shimadzu® Autograph AG-IS 5 kN, Load Cell: SLBN5KN, Shimadzu Co., Kyoto, Japan). Testing order of the samples were standardized as (i) axial loading, (ii) dorsal loading (volar bending), and (iii) volar loading (dorsal bending) for each sample. As non-load-to-failure loading modality was used and preliminary tests demonstrated no plastic deformation, all samples were subjected to axial loading (250 N), dorsal loading (50 N), and volar loading (50 N) as described in the study of Willis et al.[16] Load rate for all samples in axial loading, dorsal loading, and volar loading was 5 mm/min (at 50 ms/200 Hz data rate).
Positioning and stabilization of the samples were performed by a custom-made pedestal (designed for the fixation of the composite radius material from both intramedullary and extramedullary sides) and clamps attached to the universal test device. Axial loading was applied to the samples at the intersection point of lunate and scaphoid fossae. Dorsal and volar loads were applied on the dorsal and volar cortices of the distal fragment at midline, 5 mm from the articular surface on the dorsal side, and 2 mm from the articular surface on the volar side (Figure 3).
Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS version 16.0 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The load-displacement data received from the device were used to calculate stiffness values by maximum displacement method (maximum load/maximum displacement; N/mm) (Figure 4). Statistical analyses were performed by Kruskal Wallis test to determine if a difference existed and Bonferroni-corrected Mann-Whitney U test for isolated differences. No statistical tests were performed for assessing the normality of data distribution because of the nature of the study (in vitro controlled study with small sample size). As Bonferroni-corrected Mann-Whitney U tests were used, the value of p was accepted as alpha=0.01.
All samples in each of the five test groups were tested without catastrophic failure. Load- displacement curves in axial loading tests revealed minimal deviations due to closing of the 1 mm volar fracture gap. In dorsal and volar loading tests, the load-displacement curves were completely linear (Figure 4). None of the curves showed any characteristics of plastic deformation. Table I summarizes the mean structural stiffness levels of the groups.
Stiffness values from axial loading tests between groups in paired comparison showed no statistically significant difference (Table I, p=0.194). Volar loading (dorsal bending) tests showed no statistically significant difference between the groups in pairwise comparison (Table I, p=0.086, Kruskal Wallis test). Dorsal loading (volar bending) tests showed statistically significant difference between the groups in pairwise comparison (Table I, p=0.002, Kruskal Wallis test). Three-pin groups (Groups 3, 4, and 5) had higher stiffness values compared to two-pin groups (Groups 1 and 2) in dorsal loading tests (p=0.000, Mann-Whitney U test with Bonferroni correction). Between groups comparisons demonstrated that Group 4 had higher values compared to Group 1 in dorsal loading tests (p=0.01, Mann-Whitney U test with Bonferroni correction). Group 5 performed better compared to Groups 1, 2, and 3 in dorsal loading tests (p=0.01, p=0.002, and p=0.01, respectively; Mann-Whitney U test with Bonferroni correction). Comparisons between Groups 4 and 5 and comparisons of Group 1 with Groups 2 and 3 showed no statistically significant difference (p>0.01).
In this study, stability of five different extra-focal bi-cortical pin configurations often used in our institution was evaluated. Three of five groups had three-pin configurations and two groups had two-pin configurations. Group 1 configuration was similar to Willenegger’s method while other pin configurations were modified configurations which were not identical to methods which were previously described in the literature. In our study, no statistically significant difference was found between three-pin configurations (Kruskal Wallis, p>0.05 and Bonferroni corrected Mann-Whitney U, p>0.01). Likewise, there was no statistically significant difference between two-pin configurations (p>0.05). Additionally, there was no statistically significant difference in axial loading and volar loading tests (p>0.01). However, there was a statistically significant difference between two- and three-pin configurations in favor of the latter group in dorsal loading tests (p=0.000) in our study.[17] Group 4 configuration showed higher values than only Group 1 in dorsal loading tests (p=0.01). Nonetheless, Group 5 configuration was also found to have significantly higher stiffness values only in dorsal loading tests compared to two-pin configurations and Group 3 (p<0.01). Although not statistically significant, axial and volar loading stiffness values of Group 4 were higher than the two-pin configurations (Table I, p>0.05). However, clinically, dorsally comminuted extra-articular distal radius fractures mostly displace dorsally, and volar angulation is the least likely mode of failure in these patients.[7,8]
Concerning the fixation of distal radius fractures with percutaneous pinning methods, most of the available studies are clinical studies comparing either (i) percutaneous pinning with plaster immobilization;[9] (ii) the Kapandji method with trans-styloid fixation method;[4] (iii) Kapandji method with Py method;[5,6] (iv) modified Kapandji method with Willenegger method;[3] and (v) complications of percutaneous pinning methods.[7,8] Most of these studies indicated that percutaneous pinning methods cannot be used for all unstable distal radius fractures, and compared with plaster immobilization, percutaneous pinning is useful in preventing deformity and malunion, and that extra-focal pinning methods such as Willenegger and Py provide better results than intra-focal methods such as Kapandji.[8] However, there are also studies reporting successful results with intra-focal methods.[3] Barton et al.,[18] in a study on 53 patients after fixation with K-wires, found that this method perfectly controlled dorsal angulation; however, it was not very successful for preventing radial shortening. In a biomechanical study, Fritz et al.[19] examined the Willenegger method, the Kapandji method, and a combination of these methods for dorsally unstable distal radius fractures. The authors found that in direct dorsal load tests, the Kapandji method provided more stable fixation than the Willenegger method, while Willenegger-type fixation caused a definite increase in stability in all directions and that the stability of the combined method was equal to the sum of the stability of each component.
When reviewing the studies on biomechanical evaluation of the methods used in the surgical treatment of distal radius fractures, there is no clear consensus regarding loading protocols. Some of these studies used load-to-failure protocols while others preferred cyclic-loading or non-load-to-failure protocols like ours. In the early postoperative period, when the patient’s arm is in a cast or splint, axial loading pattern due to compressive forces occurs with the flexion of the digits. During an early postoperative rehabilitation period, the compressive forces generated by combined low-strength active motion exercises of the wrist and digits do not exceed 250 N of axial loading, while these limited motions generate forces of axial compression, dorsal, and volar bending.[16,20] Willis et al.[16] compared the relative stability of five distal radius plates with the use of a sawbone fracture model under axial, dorsal, and volar loading conditions using a non-load-to- failure loading protocol. In our study, we performed preliminary tests using the same loading protocol and obtained linear load-displacement curves suggesting the elastic behavior of the entire fixed construct. In the preliminary phase of our study, we also used a video extensiometer to measure the relative fracture gap motion. However, since the data we obtained from this device were not consistent and not considered meaningful, we excluded these data from tests and used the data from the universal test device which shows the stiffness of the entire construct. As the preliminary tests showed linear load-displacement curves, we took for reference the loading protocol of Willis et al.,[16] as 250 N axial loading, and 50 N dorsal and volar loadings. As can be seen in the load-displacement curves, dorsal and volar loading measurements are completely linear, and rare small deviations in axial loading measurements are due to the closing of the 1 mm volar gap under axial compression. Another issue that may contribute to these deviations may be alterations of the force vector due to the closing of the wedge under axial compression. Eventually, our load-displacement curves do not resemble the characteristics of plastic deformation. In our study, we standardized the loading points in each specimen precisely; however, as the axis of rotation for each construct cannot be calculated and the loading points were not centered along these axes, we may admit that some degree of rotational and maybe translational forces may have occurred while testing.
In a study comparable to ours, Naidu et al.[21] examined the effect of pin configurations and thickness of Kirschner wires. They applied torsional loading and dorsal bending and concluded that to ensure a stable fixation, at least 1.6 mm (0.062 inch) K-wires should be used and the most stable pin configuration had two radial styloid pins with an additional pin from the ulnar corner (identical to Group 3 configuration in our study). Their study did not include groups having the convergent or divergent pins from the styloid like the Groups 4 and 5 in our study. Our goal was to investigate the resistance against radial shortening under axial compression when including these non-parallel pin configurations. In our study, Group 5 configuration showed significant difference compared to two-pin configurations (Groups 1 and 2) and Group 3 under dorsal loading (p<0.01).
Because of their inherent properties, fourth- generation composite bone models have been widely used in mechanical testing of fracture fixation constructs. These composite models have high consistency in most mechanical and anatomical properties facilitating standardized tests with minimal inter-specimen variability.[22,23] However, some authors prefer a two-phase test setup with synthetic and cadaveric bone samples.[23]
In a meta-analysis examining dorsally displaced distal radius fractures treated with percutaneous pinning, Handoll et al.[8] concluded that low-level evidence existed to support percutaneous pinning and the role and method are not supported by validated studies. In addition, evidence to determine whether to use two- or three-pin method is insufficient as no studies were qualified to address this question.[13,24] Likewise, by means of statistical significance, our data showed no pronounced and clinically significant difference between the test groups.
Nevertheless, in selected cases of unstable distal radius fracture with dorsal comminution, closed reduction and extra-focal percutaneous pinning may be an option as a less invasive and low-cost method for surgical treatment. In the present study, we found that configurations of Groups 4 and 5 demonstrated better stiffness values compared to two-pin configurations in dorsal loading tests.
Although this study is a controlled in vitro study performed using sawbones with minimal anatomic and mechanical variances, some missing elements should be addressed. First, the experimental setup did not include the soft tissue components. Finite element models or cadaver studies including these components may be suggested for this purpose. Second, we only analyzed axial, dorsal, and volar loading conditions, rotational and translational forces may occur under physiologic conditions. However, as mentioned before, some degree of rotational and translational loading may have occurred during tests. And third, although fourth generation sawbones are manufactured specifically for such mechanical tests, one type of sawbones cannot simulate all situations (i.e., osteoporosis).
In conclusion, if percutaneous pinning is the treatment of choice, we suggest the use of a three-pin construct. Particularly in cases with a risk of volar angulation, we recommend a three-pin configuration with two convergent or divergent bi-cortical K-wires as described in Group 4 or preferably Group 5.
Citation: Muratlı SK, Uzun B, Çelik S. Comparison of five percutaneous pinning methods for unstable extra-articular distal radius fractures: A mechanical study using sawbones. Jt Dis Relat Surg 2021;32(1):51-58.
Talmaç MA, Görgel MA, Kanar M, Tok O, Özdemir HM. Comparison of three surgical methods in the treatment of intraarticular comminuted distal radius fractures: Volar locking plate, non-bridging external fixator, and bridging external fixator. Eklem Hastalik Cerrahisi 2019;30:224-32.
Miller JD, Riley SA. Current concepts in pediatric distal radial fractures. Curr Orthop Pract 2012;23:409-13.
Strohm PC, Müller CA, Boll T, Pfister U. Two procedures for Kirschner wire osteosynthesis of distal radial fractures. A randomized trial. J Bone Joint Surg [Am] 2004;86:2621-8.
Lenoble E, Dumontier C, Goutallier D, Apoil A. Fracture of the distal radius. A prospective comparison between trans-styloid and Kapandji fixations. J Bone Joint Surg [Br] 1995;77:562-7.
Fikry T, Fadili M, Harfaoui A, Dkhissi M, Zryouil B. Metaphysis fracture of the distal radius: Kapandji's or Py's pinning?. Ann Chir Main Memb Super 1998;17:31-40.
Saddiki R, Ohl X, Hemery X, Vitry F, Dehoux E, Harisboure A. Dorsally displaced distal radius fractures: comparative study of Py’s and Kapandji's techniques. Orthop Traumatol Surg Res 2012;98:61-7.
Diaz-Garcia RJ, Oda T, Shauver MJ, Chung KC. A systematic review of outcomes and complications of treating unstable distal radius fractures in the elderly. J Hand Surg Am 2011;36:824-35.e2.
Handoll HH, Vaghela MV, Madhok R. Percutaneous pinning for treating distal radial fractures in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2007;(3):CD006080.
Azzopardi T, Ehrendorfer S, Coulton T, Abela M. Unstable extra-articular fractures of the distal radius: a prospective, randomised study of immobilisation in a cast versus supplementary percutaneous pinning. J Bone Joint Surg [Br] 2005;87:837-40.
Saeki Y, Hashizume H, Nagoshi M, Tanaka H, Inoue H. Mechanical strength of intramedullary pinning and transfragmental Kirschner wire fixation for Colles’ fractures. J Hand Surg Br 2001;26:550-5.
Rupp M, Cambon-Binder A, Alt V, Feron JM. Is percutaneous pinning an outdated technique for distal radius fractures? Injury 2019;50 Suppl 1:S30-5.
Chaudhry H, Kleinlugtenbelt YV, Mundi R, Ristevski B, Goslings JC, Bhandari M. Are volar locking plates superior to percutaneous k-wires for distal radius fractures? A meta- analysis. Clin Orthop Relat Res 2015;473:3017-27.
The treatment of distal radius fractures: guideline and evidence report. Adopted by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons board of directors. 2009. Available at: http://www.aaos.org/research/guidelines/drfguideline. pdf. [Accessed: June, 2020].
Doumas C, Bozentka DJ. K-wire fixation of distal radius fractures with and without external fixation. In: Hunt TR, Flynn JM, Wiesel SW, editors. Operative techniques in hand, wrist, and forearm surgery. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2011. p. 70-9.
Husby T. Closed reduction and percutanous pinning. In: Hove LM, Lindau T, Hølmer P, editors. Distal radius fractures current concepts. Berlin. Springer Verlag; 2014. p. 139-45.
Willis AA, Kutsumi K, Zobitz ME, Cooney WP 3rd. Internal fixation of dorsally displaced fractures of the distal part of the radius. A biomechanical analysis of volar plate fracture stability. J Bone Joint Surg [Am] 2006;88:2411-7.
Atik OŞ. What are the expectations of an editor from a scientific article? Jt Dis Relat Surg 2020;31:597-8.
Barton T, Chambers C, Lane E, Bannister G. Do Kirschner wires maintain reduction of displaced Colles’ fractures? Injury 2005;36:1431-4.
Fritz T, Heyer T, Krieglstein C, Mattern R, Kallieris D, Friedl W. Biomechanik der kombinierten Kirschnerdraht- Osteosynthese am humanen Modell der dorsal instabilen, distalen Radiusfraktur (Colles-Typ) [Biomechanics of combined Kirschner wire osteosynthesis in the human model of unstable dorsal, distal radius fractures (Colles type)]. Chirurg 1997;68:496-502.
Graham TJ, Louis DS. Biomechanical aspects of percutaneous pinning for distal radial fractures. In: Saffar P, Cooney WP, editors. Fractures of the distal radius. London: Martin-Dunitz Ltd; 1995. p. 28-36.
Naidu SH, Capo JT, Moulton M, Ciccone W 2nd, Radin A. Percutaneous pinning of distal radius fractures: a biomechanical study. J Hand Surg Am 1997;22:252-7.
Elfar J, Menorca RM, Reed JD, Stanbury S. Composite bone models in orthopaedic surgery research and education. J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2014;22:111-20.
Hausmann, J. Sawbones in Biomechanical Settings - a Review. Osteosynthesis and Trauma Care 2006;14:259-64.
Koval K, Haidukewych GJ, Service B, Zirgibel BJ. Controversies in the management of distal radius fractures. J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2014;22:566-75.
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That Shelf
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two Review
by That Shelf Staff | July 15, 2011, 4:37 pm
For fans, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two has been a moment we’ve been both waiting for and dreading simultaneously. To see the end of something that, for those of my age group and level of dedication, has lasted for over a decade is obviously bittersweet. That’s a long time to have really loved and been invested in something.
I was first introduced to Harry when I was in Grade 6 or 7. I’ll admit I became obsessed over the next couple of years, but even once that initial spark subsided, I was left with years of that warm fuzzy feelings whenever I thought of the story, the craft and those who were involved with it. Harry Potter seems to be something you have to defend your love of though, or at least that’s how it’s gone on to be in my age group. When I was in high school, I thought about how I’d be this 20-something when Harry Potter’s saga ended, and here we are. Time moves quickly. Now we have all these years to appreciate something that’s been great to us personally and to people worldwide. It quickly became an important book that encouraged young kids to discover reading, and even now kids are still picking it up for the first time, experiencing what we did over a decade ago. So when it came time to sit down and see this movie the other day, I was a bit overwhelmed.
If you haven’t read the book that this movie derives from or seen the first part of the split, you’ll likely be confused right from the beginning. The movie jumps straight to where Part One left off, with not much intention of spending time explaining what is going on. While Part One was slow in a lonely, confused and wandering kind of way, Part Two is fast-paced with no time for funny business (and any laughs are the awkward goofy kind). Since Harry, Ron and Hermione already know what they must find in order to defeat Lord Voldemort and save the wizarding world, most of the movie is just one big epic battle; there’s not much time devoted to back stories or even a real moment to catch a breath. This is the same for the halves of the book, but of course as a movie it will feel even more exciting.
The main trio definitely get the most camera time as they race against the clock, trying to find the remaining Horcruxes (pieces of Voldemort’s soul put in objects) in order destroy the villain. And all of it is done fairly easily: the group is good at finding clues and knowsall the right people who can help, so that speeds up the process. First they have to break into the wizarding bank Gringotts with the help of a backstabbing goblin (and here’s a question: why are there cops in a wizarding bank?), in search of something. Harry then learns that he must return to Hogwarts, the school he had to abandon, in order to find the last object. It then turns into a race as Voldemort heads there too, with legions of evil doers determined to make this fight count. But Harry and his friends and family are smart and quick enough to defend themselves this time.
Part Two is, to put it simply, a very sad movie. Not just because this is the end, but because of what happens in battle, how it is portrayed and who is affected. Some of the saddest parts are glossed over a bit ( though still gut-wrenching), but there’s definitely one death scene that was far more brutal and heartbreaking than expected – Here’s something to lighten spirits: picture a movie theatre full of people wearing Harry Potter shaped 3D glasses… crying! The scenes are dark and grim, but defiant and tireless, a lot of secondary characters get to shine and one-liners abound. The fast pace will keep you going right until the end, punching the air when someone is victorious (or was that just me?).
I loved Part Two for all of these reasons, but I must say that I enjoyed Part One more. This movie might need more time to sink in, though. The main problem I had with Part Two were the visual effects; which felt like they had regressed back to what they looked like a few films ago. Maybe it was because the entire movie was in 3D (something I’m not really a fan of, although the depth of field was a nice touch) or that it felt a bit rushed, but some moments could have been a lot more impressive. Plus, they pull that obvious 3D card of a rollercoaster-type scenario in the Gringotts scene. I’m also not entirely sold on changing up the way some things happen or leaving out certain back stories, but in this film it’s not too noticeable.
Harry Potter’s saga might be over now, but us fans can look back on this epic amount of time that we were able to enjoy it and know that it’s gone out on a strong note. If you’ve read the book, then you’ll likely get pretty much what you’ve expected out of this movie. Oh, and there is even that 19 years later epilogue!
Alan Rickman • Daniel Radcliffe • Emma Watson • film • finale • Harry Potter • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 • Helena Bonham Carter • Rupert Grint
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TravelSites
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dollarbird.co
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Dollarbird is a calendar-based personal finance management service that allows users to add past, future or recurring transactions and categorise them with the help of AI. They offer a free smartphone application as well as a desktop website, meaning you can keep track of everything while on the go. Customers are given the choice between three different packages: Free, Pro and Business, with Business allowing unlimited calendars and unlimited team members.
Dollarbird differs from other budgeting apps inasmuch as it uses a calendar system to track spending, rather than by dividing it into different categories. The platform doesn’t allow you to input your bank details, instead requiring you to enter data manually, which can be slightly long winded, however an overview of your spending can be easily viewed via the dashboard. I particularly like the calendar feature as it presents all your expenses in a minimalistic style, which makes it more simple to navigate than other similar apps, such as Mint.
Another benefit to the service is the price. While the free version is more than adequate for a single user, the Pro version is priced at just $3 USD per month, including features such as an advanced collaborative option for partners, families and freelancers, which incorporates 20 calendars.
Nevertheless, a downside to Dollarbird is lack of a budget-setting capability. This means that while you are able to look over your expenses in an aesthetic format, you cannot set targets for spending, a feature that often appeals most to those using budgeting platforms.
Furthermore, the customer service is rather difficult to get hold of, with just one option of ‘Submitting a request’ to get in contact with the administrators. The addition of a phone number or online chat would make the app more complete.
I am a professional travel writer and travel enthusiast who traveled the world twice, so I am sharing my firsthand knowledge about everything related to travel and spending time abroad.
Uses aesthetic calendar format to display expenses
See overview of spending on dashboard
Pro version is cheap
Must enter all data manually
Lack of budget-setting capability
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Hello, My Treacherous Friends
Retro Record Reviews
On This Day: R.E.M. – Green
Date: November 7, 2019 Author: TreacherousFriends Category: Music, Record Reviews Tags: 1988, Green, November 07, Pop/Rock, R.E.M.
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Unpopular opinion: this is still my favorite R.E.M. album. I know that the “real” R.E.M. fans prefer their earlier work and relative newcomers love albums like New Adventures In Hi-Fi and later works, by which time I’d more-or-less tuned out again. But in retrospect, if the band had released just this one album and that was the entirety of their output, I’d actually be okay with that.
Prior to Green, I was peripherally aware of the band thanks to Radio singles off of Document like “The One I Love” and “It’s The End Of The World As I Know It (And I Feel Fine)” but I’d never bought an album or even their best-of collection, Eponymous.
Green was immediately different and I can understand why some longtime fans were turned off by its commercial success and obvious pop-pandering with songs like “Stand.” I understand, but that wasn’t my experience. I was still in high school and firmly in the throes of Top 40, so “Stand” and “Get Up” and even the satirical “Pop Song ‘89” were right in my wheelhouse. Conversely, when The Cure released “Friday I’m In Love” three-and-a-half years later, that was my “Stand” moment, so I get it.
The newly commercial aspect of their music was welcome to me, and album outliers like the mandolin piece “You Are The Everything” – which hearkened back a bit to the earlier R.E.M. sound – and “World Leader Pretend” provided a counterpoint to their slick new sound that eventually grew on me and compelled some meager exploration of their back catalog.
Still, thirty-one years on, it’s the upbeat singles that excite me – “Orange Crush,” “Turn You Inside-Out,” “Pop Song,” and, yes, even “Stand.” (I’ve said it before: you know you’ve hit the big-time when “Weird” Al parodies one of your songs.) I could do without tracks like “The Wrong Child” and “Hairshirt” (though I’ve actually come to not mind the latter so much).
When it was released on album and cassette in ‘88, the first six songs were on the “Air Side” with the latter five on the “Metal Side.” The latter starts with the harder-edged “Orange Crush,” an uptempo U2-like song with a huge Claytonesque bass line courtesy of Mike Mills. This is really the standout song on the album and it serves – with its follow-up, the vaguely threatening “Turn You Inside Out” – as a tightly controlled one-two punch opening the second side of the album.
From there we get a mellowed out retreat with “Hairshirt,” the quasi-conservationist “I Remember California,” and “Untitled” closing out the album. Nothing wrong with these songs, but following the aggressive thrill of the b-side’s opening numbers they’re a bit of a comedown. (For that matter, “Untitled” has plenty of lyrics from which to come up with a title. Why leave it untitled?)
Their commercial pinnacle was also their artistic pinnacle for me. I’ve tried to get into earlier R.E.M. and while I enjoy it, I don’t find any of it indispensable. And I enjoy some singles from latter-day R.E.M. but, likewise, it just doesn’t grab me. This album is where it’s at. Happy 31st anniversary!
9 thoughts on “On This Day: R.E.M. – Green”
dj · November 7, 2019 at 6:49 pm · · Reply
Love this album, this is why we stopped the first part of our anthology at Green. https://thepopculturallists.com/2018/04/11/anthology-r-e-m-part-i/
Mark · November 7, 2019 at 8:15 pm · · Reply
Interesting as I am the opposite. I find Green to be neither fish or fowl. It tries to have it both ways too much with half the songs being pop-oriented indie rock and the other half trying hard to keep their early career college radio cred. Don’t misunderstand me, I love half the songs and like most of the rest – especially You Are The Everything, World Leader Pretend, Untitled, and Orange Crush – and REM at their worst is still better than 98% of what’s out there. But as an album I don’t think it holds together well, nor do I think it’s as strong as the run of albums before or after it.
TreacherousFriends · November 7, 2019 at 8:18 pm · · Reply
I like getting a response from someone who clearly knows the band better than I do. This album was everywhere in 1989, the year I graduated high school, so it is definitely tied into the nostalgia of those years. And overall, I was never a big fan other than this one album, though I tried to give their other records a shot, particularly those that came after Green.
Mark · November 7, 2019 at 8:22 pm · ·
I have a “Big 8” of favorites and REM is one of them. If Green is your favorite I recommend you spend some time with Life’s Rich Pageant as it, in my opinion, is the album most like Green (but better).
TreacherousFriends · November 7, 2019 at 8:27 pm · ·
Thanks, Mark. I have a copy and will check it out.
Heath Graham · November 8, 2019 at 6:05 am · · Reply
A great album, and yeah, where I first got into them as well.
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thepopculturallists · December 10, 2019 at 7:17 pm · · Reply
I have to agree with Mark about the album not holding together like their previous work, and he’s absolutely right about Life’s Rich Pageant. Nevertheless, I love some of the songs on Green, particularly “Turn You Inside Out”, “Get Up” and “Orange Crush”. I played this album so much in the early 90’s, and always had to skip over “Wrong Child” which is simply wretched – like a cat being tortured. I know “Stand” is a well-written pop song, but I could never do it – even from the first few times I heard it, and the cheesy video didn’t help. There’s a lot to like about this collection of songs titled “Green” but in no way is it their artistic pinnacle.
It seems a large part of my teens and twenties were spent reading record reviews in magazines. Didn’t matter if I already had the album, was thinking about buying the album, or hated the band being reviewed, I wanted to read about them. Billy Joel might have said, “You can’t get the sound from a story in a magazine,” but that didn’t stop me trying.
Now it’s different. You can hear any song you want any time you want at the push of a button and make up your own mind without relying on some reviewer’s recommendation. So my efforts here are admittedly somewhat redundant and my methods outdated.
But you can’t hear everything and the older I get, the more homogenized newer music seems to become (there have actually been studies done that verify that this is, in fact, the case with modern Top 40), and there seem to be fewer and fewer places to get exposure to anything outside the mainstream.
I’ve been an avid record collector since the age of 12 and have amassed a very respectable library of CDs over the past 30 years. In December of 2018 I had the opportunity to purchase a lot of 2500 discs for $250. There was surprisingly little overlap with my existing collection.
“Hello, My Treacherous Friends” is a throwback to old-fashioned record reviews as I wend my way through these 2500 titles, along with the constant influx of discs that I buy new or at secondhand shops, quick synopses and first-take reactions to albums, most of which I’ve never heard before.
Record reviews were always a source of both comfort and discovery for me. I hope I can provide some of that same enjoyment for those who read my blog.
Feedback is always welcome and appreciated.
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Now & Next: The Canada Media Fund’s Podcast Series
Every second Tuesday, tune in for Now & Next, a podcast series featuring in depth interviews with experts for a closer look at emerging trends and the digital transformation of the media & entertainment industry. Now & Next is produced by the Canada Media Fund and is hosted by Leora Kornfeld.
E1 – Practicing ‘Safe Sets’ In the Covid-19 Era
In this first episode of a brand new season of Now & Next, Alex Kolodkin the founder of Safe Sets International joins Leora Kornfeld to discuss ways to make production as safe as possible while still in the middle of a pandemic.
E2 – The Time Is Now: Achieving On-Screen Racial Diversity
On this episode of Now & Next host Leora Kornfeld is joined by award-winning actor and founder of Reelworld Film Festival Tonya Williams to chat about concrete ways to achieve meaningful and long-lasting racial representation in front and behind the camera.
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A green Covid recovery for the production industry is both sustainable and profitable, according to Vancouver-based environment specialist and producer Clara George, our guest on this episode of the podcast.
E5 – How the Game Industry is Staying Relevant during the Pandemic
On this episode of Now & Next, we hear from several leaders in the gaming industry who discuss the challenges and opportunities that come with working in a socially distanced world.
E6 – Making Movies Social Again
On this episode of Now & Next, host Leora Kornfeld speaks to Hilary Henegar and Fiona Rayher, two women who are making it possible again to watch a movie with other people and have a discussion afterwards, just like old times but… virtually.
E7 – Breaking On-Screen Stereotypes from the Inside Out
On this episode of Now and Next, we meet Jacob Pratt, an Indigenous film producer from Saskatchewan, now based in Los Angeles, who thinks the best way to fight stereotypes perpetuated by the media, is to use the same medium to break them.
E8 – When going to work means never leaving home
On this episode of Now & Next, host Leora Kornfeld chats with Marie Claire LeBlanc Flanagan and Jim Munroe, who have been tasked with finding out exactly how that transition has been like for those working in the game industry.
E1 – Jack Zhang Is Paving the Way for Filmmaking’s AI-Driven Future
Are we entering an era of the film industry where artificial intelligence will revolutionize how writers, directors, producers, distributors and funders work? This Ontario-based entrepreneur not only thinks so—he’s leading the way there.
E2 – For Pro Gamer Stephanie Harvey, Esports Are “the New Rock’n’Roll”
AKA missharvey, five-time Counter-Strike World Champ Stephanie Harvey joins Leora Kornfeld in the studio for a chat about the booming eSports industry and Canada’s place within it.
E3 – Tech Matters, but Voice Prevails: Acclaimed Filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin
Documentary filmmaker and all-around accomplished artist Alanis Obomsawin joins Leora Kornfeld in the studio to discuss how she works, making documentaries today, and what keeps her optimistic.
E4 – Where Is Podcasting Headed after a Phenomenal 2019?
Hot Pod’s Nicholas Quah sits down with Leora Kornfeld for an insightful chat about the trends redefining the podcast industry and what to keep tabs on in 2020.
E5 – Audiovisual Production Goes Greener
Green Spark Group founder and president Zena Harris joins Leora Kornfeld to share some best practices when it comes to greening productions of all shapes and sizes.
E6 – The Battle for Attention: How Viacom Uses Short-Form Video
Brendan Yam, who serves as Viacom Digital Studios International’s senior vice president and general manager, joins Leora Kornfeld to discuss short-form video content and the instrumental part it plays in the media giant’s strategy.
E1 – Inside YouTube: Beyond Dogs on Skateboards and Viral Videos
What are the business opportunities YouTube has to offer producers and talent? In this episode, Mark Swierszcz, the YouTube Space Toronto’s head of operations, provides a closer look at the platform’s roadmap for creators.
E2 – Pacific Content on the Audio Renaissance
What’s fuelling the podcast boom? In this episode, we take a closer look behind the scenes of this audio renaissance with Steve Pratt and Dan Misener of the BC-based podcasting company Pacific Content.
E3 – Leveraging a billion data points a day
Why are some of the biggest TV networks now paying attention to the online written word? It’s because of Wattpad, an online platform with 65 million users worldwide, reading 500 million+ stories each month, written by 4 million+ writers.
E4 – Cryptokitties: The cats that broke part of the blockchain
What do digital cats have to do with blockchain? A lot, thanks to the game CryptoKitties. In less than a year it’s become one of the world’s most successful blockchain applications, with over $40 million in transactions. Yes, of cats that live on screens.
E5 – Behind Sinking Ship’s Success: Taking Risks in Kids’ TV
How can producers of kids’ content differentiate themselves in a newly global and competitive marketplace? For JJ Johnson of Sinking Ship Entertainment, the production company behind some of the most popular kids’ shows on streaming and broadcast channels, it’s all about doing what others are not.
E6 – VR and AR: Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You
We’ve been hearing about VR & AR for years, but we’re still a ways from mass adoption. Is blending the technologies into physical environments the missing piece? Industry analyst Alexis Macklin makes the case for location-based entertainment in this episode.
Bonus episode: CMF Trends at SXSW
What are Canadian businesses from the entertainment and audiovisual production sectors seeking at SXSW? We sent our own Director of Industry and Market Trends, Catherine Mathys, down to Austin—mic in hand—to find out.
The Video Game Industry (and Those Outside It) Are Doubling-Down on...
CMF Employees Pick Their Top 5 Canadian TV Series for 2020
The Rush for TikTok Followers: Will You Be Among the Platform’s...
What is the Future of Entertainment?
Pitching to Netflix: Tips from the Top
Business Practices329
Online Video130
Broadcast110
Financing101
Video Games94
VOD91
Brought to you by the Government of Canada and Canada’s cable, satellite and IPTV distributors.
© Copyright 2019. Canada Media Fund | Fonds des médias du Canada
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Taboo (S01E06): “Episode Six”
Posted by filmdjs on February 16, 2017
WARNING: FULL SPOILERS
James Delaney (Tom Hardy) has been nearly invincible in Taboo. The few setbacks he has suffered were either part of his plan or quickly resolved. But “Episode Six” seems to be the beginning of the end for Delaney as the East India Company and Sir Strange (Jonathan Pryce) finally got an advantage.
At first, it didn’t seem that way. The official inquiry into the sinking of the slave ship led by George Chischester (Louis Msamati) reveals Strange’s connection to the incident: His brother. Zilpha (Oona Chaplin) finally rids herself of Thorne (Jefferson Hall) with a needle to the blowhard’s stomach and runs to James. In the meantime, Delaney and Cholmondeley (Tom Hollander) successfully created the gunpowder for Dumbarton (Michael Kelly) and the Americans, securing the secrecy of his factory.
Mommy dearest…source: FX/BBC One
Or so it seems. Delaney’s mental state begins to fracture as Brace (David Hayman) reveals a dark secret: His mother tried to drown him as a baby. Flashes of his ghostly mother begin to haunt Delaney, causing him to violently lash out several times, even when having sex with his beloved Zilpha. Then Ibbotson (Christopher Fairbank), the farmer taking care of his son Robert, gives up the location of the gunpowder factory and the Company blows up his ship. As a result, a drunken and angry Delaney goes on an unfocused rampage, ending with the inadvertent death of young Winter.
“Episode Six” of Taboo is the best episode of what has been a sometimes brilliant debut season. While the past few episodes have been satisfying in their own ways, the show has been on autopilot, content to let Delaney confidently stomp his way through London. But this episode manages to blow all or our previous expectations away as the story launches forward like a shot from a cannon.
Fracturing the Mind
Mental breakdowns can lead to some great performances from gifted actors and this episode is no exception. Tom Hardy owns the screen as Delaney slowly loses his cool in the face of his major setbacks. The man has always been intimidating, but this maniac is even more dangerous when angry and unfocused. It’s great because we see the man desperately try to cling to that all knowing confidence we have come to know.
Up a pond without a paddle. source: FX/BBC One
The fall from grace is oddly satisfying because of this. It feels as though we are watching the end of a man, both in sanity and well being. I have always believed that Taboo would have a bittersweet, tragic conclusion and it seems to be bearing out.
The portrayal of young Winter should also be singled out here. In many ways, her character is similar to Zilpha’s. Her ultimate fate makes her portrayal retroactively brilliant.
I remember believing that Winter was only a figment of Delaney’s imagination because of her ghostly qualities. Her voice was barely a whisper and she always entered scenes barely making a sound. There was always something eerie about her appearances.
All those times, her death was being foreshadowed. She eventually turned out to be a ghost, but in a different way. Her death will haunt Delaney for the rest of the show.
source: FX/BBC One
Delaney is not the only one losing his grip on reality. Oona Chaplin gives a haunting performance as the broken Zilpha. When Lorna (Jessie Buckley) comes to visit Zilpha in search of James, the look on Zilpha’s face is ghastly in a good way. She is a broken woman, but not in the way Thorne would like. Chaplin’s performance has been amazingly nuanced, relying less on showmanship and more on long run pay offs. Her final transformation is completely believable.
When Zilpha goes to Delaney, the scene is a nice turn around. The whole time, Delaney looks hesitant as Zilpha says she killed Thorne just like he told her to. It’s a nice turnabout of power. Taboo has always teased Delaney’s supposed supernatural powers…but in this scene, he is genuinely confused by Zilpha’s declarations. He finally has a chance to get a willing Zilpha and he doesn’t want it.
And here is a special shout out to Jefferson Hall as Thorne. He gave the character a smarmy quality that makes his final reckoning especially satisfying. He was a man we all loved to hate and his quick death and disappearance (He is literally thrown away by Dumbarton
Moving the Story
I have so been effusive of my praise for Delaney’s exploits that I completely missed something: The last two episodes have been somewhat stagnant plot wise. Delaney was content to get his monopoly at Nootka Sound and the revenge plot line seemingly disappeared. While the gun powder plot line was fun, its only worth while aspects were the demented Cholmondeley and Delaney’s interactions with Robert.
I remember when my Dad threatened me for the first time. source: FX/BBC One
In this episode, there are some nice touches. Delaney seemingly cares little for his son’s fate. Cholmondeley and even Ibbotson dote on the boy more than his own father. But I believe Delaney keeps the boy at arm’s length because he doesn’t want to “infect” the boy with his madness. And though Hollander has only a little screen time, his mad chemist continues to be a fascinating character as he trains the men to create the deadly gun powder.
With George Chischester’s introduction, the mystery behind the sinking of the slave ship finally moves forward. In one fell swoop, we nearly get the whole story behind the fate of the Influence/Cornwalis. Strange’s connection is probably much more involved, but that revelation is possibly meant for the finale. Chischester just misses confronting Delaney and I look forward to that conversation.
I find it interesting that this important plot point involving a slave ship is only now giving us a black man in a central role. I believe Taboo does this on purpose as Chischester is an outsider in this world. It takes special circumstances to get him involved, no less than an order from the Prince Regent.
Lucian Msamati is commanding while on screen as Chischester, but it’s a very different confidence than Delaney’s. He takes pleasure in undercutting the East India Company cronies using their own methods, something that Delaney would probably frown on. It’s a smarter approach, making him less of a target. And his justifications are much more noble.
It’s a bit disappointing that Taboo introduces this new crusader so late in the game, but nothing is ever a coincidence. Could he be the unwitting savior to a downward spiraling Delaney? I would like to think so…though that may be wishful thinking considering how much I like the gruff outsider.
Tragic Ending
Winter’s death is a tragic end to the episode, even for the perpetually dark Taboo. Yet it feels entirely natural in this seedy world. Since we never actually see Delaney kill Winter, there could be some doubt as to his culpability, but that’s a cheat. Of course he kills Winter in a drunken rage he can’t remember. This is a bleak story and Delaney’s end is very near.
And it should be a hell of an end.
SCORE: 10 OUT OF 10
Taboo airs on FX in the United States every Tuesday at 10:00pm
2017DramaEpisode SixJessie BuckleyJonathan PryceLucian MsamatiOona ChaplinPeriod DramaRidley ScottS01E06TabooTom HardyTV Series Review
Published by filmdjs
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http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho054TheNaturalHistoryOfFear
Recap / Big Finish Doctor Who 054 The Natural History Of Fear
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IT IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE TO COPY OR ATTEMPT TO COPY ANY PERSONALITY OR MEMORY-RELATED ARTICLE SHOWN OR DISPLAYED IN THIS PUBLIC THEATRE, INCLUDING THIS WARNING. note PUNISHMENT OR CONVICTION IS AN UNLIMITED REDUCTION OF AUTHORISED OVERTIME HOURS AND TOTAL PERSONALITY REVISION. YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO BRING ANY JUKEBOX OR RECORDING EQUIPMENT INTO THIS PUBLIC THEATRE. THIS WILL BE TREATED AS AN ATTEMPT TO BREACH COPYRIGHT. ANY PERSON DOING SO CAN BE EJECTED AND THE EDITOR MAY CONFISCATE SUCH ARTICLES. WE ASK THE PUBLIC TO BE VIGILANT AGAINST ANY SUCH ACTIVITY AND REPORT ANY MATTERS AROUSING SUSPICION TO THEIR LOCAL CONSCIENCE. THANK YOU.
A book about the making of this episode, "Unnatural Selection" , was published by Miwk Publishing.
"This is the voice of Light City. Welcome to your new work day."
Big Brother Is Watching you in Light City. Happiness Is Mandatory. Happiness through acceptance. Productivity through happiness. Questions are forbidden. Questions lead to answers, answers lead to knowledge, knowledge leads to freedom, freedom leads to dissatisfaction, and dissatisfaction to unhappiness. The Infotainment broadcasts teach you what you need to know. The adventures of the Hero and his two companions prepare you for your daily work routine. If you notice any illegal behaviour, report to your Conscience. You will be brought to the Editor for Revision.
One day, a prole worker is reported by his lover for asking questions. In defiance, he throws himself off the walkway to his death, and his lover is brought to the Editor to be Revised. But while probing deeply into the Female's mind and body, the Editor notices something brewing in Light City, and he knows that it has a strange connection to the Infotainment and the adventures of the Hero.
The Revised Female, set up with a new husband and a job as a nurse, reports to her Conscience. She's having a lot of trouble lately. After her latest Revision, she's suddenly able to remember bits and pieces of the Infotainment broadcast as though it were her own life. She remembers the Hero of the broadcast and his two companions, and she can almost — but not quite — remember being part of the group. They were playing in the fountain, having fun and asking questions.
Her Conscience brings her to the Editor. When the nurse realises that the Editor is playing games with her, asking questions, talking about revolution, she naturally reports him to the Conscience. But the Conscience has waited years for her to regain her past awareness. Because he loved her before she was Revised. Her voluntary Revision enabled La Résistance to plant a seed into her mind, during the last Revision process: a painstakingly reconstructed memory disc of the Eighth Doctor, a true hero who inspired the Infotainment broadcasts. The memories were cobbled together by the rebels, incomplete, inexpertly implemented, but there. Deep inside the nurse's mind is the consciousness of the Doctor, unlocked by hearing the sound of a child's spinning top. And with it, she could lead the revolution. Because La Résistance is everywhere. In the unused tunnels underneath the city. In the Infotainment broadcast centre, where the rebels secretly whittled away at the episodes' censorship until the true nature of the Hero could be seen by those who want to see it. The nurse can't bear it, and the Conscience is captured by the Editor when she reports him. The Editor says that he's in on the revolution. He just needs to torture the Conscience a little bit first, just for show. And he just needs to know where the Doctor's memories are stored.
When the Conscience fails to crack under the torture, the Editor becomes ever more obsessed with the nurse and her supposed plans for revolution. He follows her across the metropolis, to the docks, outside the walls of Light City. His mind breaks when, for the first time, he sees a life outside of everything he was taught — shapes, sounds, music he doesn't have words for, the forbidden possibility of another world altogether.
The Editor is brought to the city council, to be Revised for his obsessive behaviour and acts of terrorism. He planted bombs. Not the revolution, just him. After all, there was no revolution. He was the revolution: the only member of La Résistance. The nurse was already Revised into the new Conscience days before. And how can there have been a door to the outside at the harbor, if there is no harbor? Travel is forbidden. Harbors don't exist...
And there's the matter of the Conscience's little toy — a spinning top — which triggers something new in the Editor's memories. The Editor knows he's going mad, but he has to find the nurse, has to find the person who has the Doctor deep inside her mind. And he does find the memory disc: hidden inside the spinning top. Ruthlessly, the Editor destroys it, because he loves the State, he venerates the regime.
The nurse is Revised again, this time into the highest authority: the Censor. Because her latent memories of being Charley Pollard give her a very clear perspective: she wants to be a mother, a mother to the nation. And revolution will happen if the nation is ready: if it doesn't need a mother anymore. But like a spinning top, the nation will revolve only in circles: seemingly moving, but staying in place because of the constant urge for revolution. The Editor remembers, finally, that he's supposed to be the Doctor, and that he's supposed to take care of Charley and C'rizz. The Censor shows him a recording of the Doctor, Charley and C'rizz arriving in Light City, messing around in the fountain, playing with a spinning top and chatting about reincarnation.
The Editor has secretly recorded the whole conversation, and broadcasts it on the screen outside while he and the Censor talk. But the Doctor's mind doesn't matter anymore. With the memory disc destroyed, there's nothing that can bring him back. Outside, and with the Censor's absolute approval, the people see their conversation taking place. The revolution is starting, and the Censor and the Editor watch through the window as the whole city starts crashing in on itself.
The Doctor made his bargain: his memories in exchange for his friends' safety. Had he known his memories would be used like this, he would never have consented... because after he left, their minds were exploited as the axis of the experiment. The Doctor, Charley and C'rizz were only in Light City for one day before they travelled on again. The Editor knows that his memories are a lie, because no one in Light City has two hearts, let alone two legs. The citizens of Light City, programmed with the personalities of the three, have risen above their dystopian nightmare after hundreds of generations, and are ready to be born into a new society.
Tropes:
Amnesiac Lover: The nurse.
Anti-Villain: The Editor — so, so much.
Arc Words: For the entire Divergent arc: revolution, reincarnation, evolution, death and rebirth, becoming food for other lifeforms, reptilian into mammalian, fluid consciousness between multiple beings, mother, spinning in a circle, breaking free of the cycle, the next life and the beyond.
Ascetic Aesthetic
Big Brother Is Employing You
Big Brother Is Watching: Almost every scene starts with people watching a recording of the previous scene. Many of which include people telling each other they're not being recorded. The effect is deeply unsettling.
Brain Uploading
Break the Haughty: The Editor gets very thoroughly broken.
Call-Back: The fairy tale from "Scherzo" suddenly makes a lot of sense. The nurse also remembers dialogue from many past adventures, most prominently from "Living Legend" and "Neverland".
Chekhov's Gun: The spinning top.
Cold-Blooded Torture: Hearing Paul McGann torture India Fisher and Conrad Westmaas is deeply unsettling. Especially because he's going for Creepy Monotone instead of Evil Is Hammy this time around.
Continuity Nod: Axos and Zarbi are mentioned.
Credits Gag: The theme song sounds a little bit different from what we're used to. That's because it's the opening to the Show Within a Show. The final credits go on for a while longer with a nice synthy outro.
Deadpan Snarker: Charley gets a beautiful jab in:
The Doctor: Buddhism is a relatively simple philosophy, C'rizz. Like children, we're here to learn. If we learn well during our life we're rewarded with nirvana. If not, we're reborn in a new body to try to accomplish what we failed to learn the first time 'round. Easy as falling off a log.
Charley: And how many bodies have you had, now?
The Doctor: Yes, well. That's beside the point, Charley.
Dystopia: The classic variety, including a version of the Hundred Flowers Campaign : the Jubilee festival.
The Ending Changes Everything
The Evils of Free Will
Foreshadowing: The cycle of regeneration becomes a major theme in the rest of the Divergent Universe arc.
Happiness Is Mandatory: "Happiness through acceptance, productivity through happiness."
Homage: The whole thing is a homage to the concepts explored in Dark City, 1984 and Logan's Run.
Hour Glass Plot
In Medias Res
Ironic Echo: The engineer's rant before he gets executed gets repeated nearly word for word by The Editor.
Knight Templar: The Editor.
Language Equals Thought: Questions are forbidden in Light City, because questions lead to doubt and doubt leads to unhappiness. Metaphors are also forbidden, and when the nurse and the Editor are shown glimpses of the outside, their minds simply can't comprehend it because they've never been taught words for the concepts.
La Résistance
Laser-Guided Amnesia
Leitmotif: The episode only has 18 minutes of music; all other background sound is made of various manipulated recordings of a humming top.
Light Is Not Good: The city is described as a White Void of a place with no shadow. (The Doctor, luckily, brought some Ray-Bans.) There's no way out, you are always being watched and you'll be mind-wiped if you don't adhere to the rules.
Loss of Identity
Meaningful Background Event:
It's almost impossible to notice without having the script handy, but at one point, the Editor picks up a pencil and draws lazy circles on his desk... picks up another pencil and taps it in a double heartbeat rhythm... then picks up a third pencil and scratches it on the desk impatiently.
The Doctor's toy soldiers symbolise the proles of Light City.
Mythology Gag: The Show Within a Show has got several Lost episodes and some were commissioned but never completed.
Memory Gambit: It appears the Doctor is doing this, hoping to restore his memories and reveal the truth about the regime. It turns out this is part of the City's plan, to make someone think they are the Doctor to instigate rebellion.
Memory-Wiping Crew: What the Editors do.
Mind Screw: In what must be the understatement of the century, it's casually said that "self-referencing topics can be confusing".
Mythology Gag: The Infotainment music recalls Jim Mortimore's theme tune for the Doctor Who Audio Visuals.
Nothing Is Scarier: We never found out what the torture consists of. All we hear is crying and whimpering.
Only Sane Man: The Conscience.
Painting the Medium: And done beautifully. It's also the only episode that only has a cast list, instead of proper credits, just to confuse you even more.
Public Execution: And nobody cares. Nobody can care.
Reduced to Ratburgers: The Editor. The really nasty part is what he has to use for bait.
Released to Elsewhere: "Going on holiday" does not mean what it means. You just get mindwiped.
Running Gag: Apart from Eight developing amnesia as usual, there's also an unintended Running Gag: the Doctor still can't pronounce Dutch.
Shining City: Played for horror.
Show Within a Show: There's a version of Doctor Who in this story. Many of its older episodes are missing, and many were never filmed or broadcast.
Shout-Out: The memory-erasing faction is called Ministry of Tourism.
Spanner in the Works
Special Edition Theme Song: The regular opening goes away warbly and into static, like the tuning of a radio, or an old TV, then goes over into a...
Stealth Pun: Editor -> Eighth Doctor.
Tempting Fate: The Doctor states as he enters the city:
The Doctor: "I can't see anything bad happening here!"
They Should Have Sent A Poet: The Editor seeing the world outside Light City for the first time.
Thought Crime
Tomato Surprise: The Editor is really the Doctor... except not.
Torture Porn
Torture Technician
Trigger Phrase
Un-person: The faceless masses have no names, no identity, and aren't allowed any free will.
We Are as Mayflies: The inhabitants go through a hundred generations in a human year.
Wham Line: "Eight [limbs], of course!"
While Rome Burns: The Censor calmly tells the Editor what is going on while the revolt happens.
Whole Plot Reference: To Dark City and 1984, with a touch of We.
World Limited to the Plot: Invoked. The citizens of Light City know that their city is the capitol, and that many other locations exist. But mentioning them, or trying to leave the city, is forbidden. And a "holiday abroad" doesn't mean a holiday abroad. When the Editor experiences the world outside, his mind pretty much shuts down from sensory overload.
Big Finish Doctor Who 053 The Creed Of The Kromon
Recap/Big Finish Doctor Who
Big Finish Doctor Who 055 The Twilight Kingdom
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http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Videogame/CenturionDefenderOfRome
Video Game / Centurion: Defender of Rome
Create New - Create New - Analysis Characters FanficRecs FanWorks Fridge Haiku Headscratchers ImageLinks Laconic PlayingWith Quotes Recap ReferencedBy Synopsis Timeline Trivia WMG YMMV
I came I saw I conquered
Beware the Ides of March
Centurion: Defender of Rome is a Turn-Based Strategy video game with real-time battle sequences, designed by Kellyn Beck and Bits of Magic and published by Electronic Arts. Originally released on the DOS platform for the PC in 1990, the game was later ported to the Amiga and the Sega Genesis in 1991. Centurion shares much of the concept and feel with Beck's earlier game Defender of the Crown (1987) and might be regarded as its Spiritual Successor. In turn, the Total War Series borrows a lot of concepts from both games.
The game begins in Ancient Rome in the year 275 BC, placing the player in the sandals of a centurion in the Roman army, at first leading a single legion. The player's ultimate goal is to become a Caesar through a mix of successful military conquests and internal politics of Bread and Circuses.
The bulk of the game involves turn-based strategic planning and management on the world map and the real-time battles (with on-demand pauses to give orders to formations - i.e. Real-Time with Pause) against various enemies of the Roman Empire, such as the Celts, Carthaginians and Parthians. Centurion also features other "side-show" activities, such as gladiatorial combat (the player's duties involve financing the ludi events), chariot racing in the Circus Maximus, and naval battles. There is also some diplomacy (it is even possible to seduce the queen Cleopatra after forming an alliance with Egypt).
Fan site with information, hints and links to some Abandonware pages that may harbor the game.
Tropes used in Centurion: Defender of Rome include:
Alternate History: Winning the game requires conquering nations that were never under Roman rule; Ireland–northern part of Britannia, barbarian peoples between the Rhine and Danube rivers and the Ural Mountains, and Middle East enemies like Parthia.
Alternative Calendar: Subverted; the intro uses Ab Urbe Condita (years since the foundation of Rome) but then the game uses the Gregorian calendar (BC / AD).
Anachronism Stew/Popular History: The in-game historical date is only a turn counter; the game mixes elements and leaders separated by centuries such as Darius the Great, Hannibal, and Cleopatra.
Ancient Rome: An amalgam of The Roman Republic and The Roman Empire.
Anti-Cavalry: Not present in the game and the player usually learns it the painful way because enemies with huge cavalry armies are a very hard nut to crack.
Arbitrary Headcount Limit: Partially justified, the number of legions you can rise depends on your rank, and you are only a magistrate of Rome, not a supreme ruler.
Arch-Enemy: Carthage and Partia never ally with Rome. Lampshaded by their leaders.
Artificial Stupidity: The enemy generals only know one tactic, Attack! Attack! Attack!, and sometimes the extremely vulnerable leader is in the first line of combat. Once he dies a big chunk of his army retreats or loses morale.
The Assimilator: Given time, barbarian peoples will become Roman citizens, akin to the real life romanization process.
Attack Its Weak Point: Attack the elephants from the flank or rear, or the'll make mincemeat out of you. Doesn't apply to the easiest difficulty level, though - they're much weaker there.
Attack Pattern Alpha: There are several possible formations and battle plans available before a combat. The enemies rarely use most of them, relying more in frontal assaults.
Barbarian Tribe: Many of the conquerable nations. They have different unit graphics and battle music than the "civilized" nations.
Beard of Barbarism: Played straight - barbarian infantry has big, unkempt beards, and so do all but one or two of the barbarian leaders (e.g. the leader of Dalmatia has a neatly-trimmed beard).
Bread And Circus: Taxes affect the mood of your people, and the citizens of Rome get rebellious if they don't get frequent Gladiator Games.
Break Meter: Courage: Fierce, Good, Weak, Panicky, and Panicked. Every Roman legion or enemy army has a morale rating dependent on the province it originated from (though Roman drill will eventually raise the morale of subpar legions). As a unit takes casualties, and especially if their general is killed, its morale will drop. Once it reaches Panicked, the unit will cease fighting and attempt to flee the battlefield.
Chariot Race: One of the mini-games, required to advance your rank. You can pick a chariot weight, place a bet on winning, and engage in skulduggery.
Combat by Champion: The fleet battles are represented by the two flagships fighting. The trope is subverted, since winning the flagship battle is not guaranteed to win the fleet battle, as a fleet that lost its admiral will still win if it vastly outmatches the enemy.
A Commander Is You: And a leader of several historical field commanders, one per legion.
Conscription: Legions are levied and reinforced locally, raising or strengthening one lowers the manpower of their current region and their initial courage depends on that of the habitants of the province where they are raised, it reaches the maximum eventually, thanks to some offscreen BootCampEpisodes going on.
Decapitated Army:
The death of a general is followed by the general retreat of a significant part of his army. If the units aren't very brave to begin with then it overlaps with Keystone Army. It is even worse if it happens to the player, since he will no longer be able to control his units precisely.
Mauretania is a particularly spectacular example. Their morale is so low that their entire army will instantly rout if their general falls.
If the player loses Italy, taxes are no longer collected in any province.
Dialogue Tree: Each nation has a dialogue tree, where there is only one path that can get the option to assign tribute. Access to the tree is limited by player's rank, number of nations conquered, or for any other reason. For example, some nations respect strength, and will not ally with you if your army is smaller than theirs. Others are the exact opposite - they will distrust you if you bring a huge army to their doorstep.
Divide and Conquer: While Carthage will never ally with Rome, it is possible to sway Carthage's colonies and dependencies (Hispania, Sicilia and Sardinia).
Easy Communication: Played with. Orders reach units instantly and they will always obey unless they're Panicked. However, you can only change the orders of the units who are within the leader's range of voice (and each leader has a different one.)
Empty Promise: You can promise a certain tax setting during a negotiation and then set it at different level, with no real consequences.
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Check, you start as a Centurion and your task is to be a defender of Rome. The Romans however had a particular view on the subject of defense; what a better way to defend a territory than to conquer all the ones around it, crushing any potential enemies... so they spiralled into known-world domination fairly quickly (The Mediterranean Sea was called Mare Nostrum, "this sea of ours").
Game Over: Sic transit gloria mundi, the Roman Empire has fallen.
General Failure:
Enemy generals will use really stupid tactics most of the time. On the higher difficulties this is just as well, since their units are a lot more powerful than yours.
Some of your generals have really rubbish stats, meaning you will have less control over your troops, and their morale will be lower. Marcus the Meek comes to mind.
Gladiator Games: One of the mini-games. The citizens of Rome get restless if they don't get one from time to time. Also, if you put on a very good show it can speed up your promotion.
Hollywood History: Done deliberately, together with lots of Anachronism Stew.
Hollywood Tactics: Averted; units are more vulnerable in the flanks and rear and orders can only be given to units in range of their commander. And then played straight by the AI, it usually relies on head-on charges with their very vulnerable leader leading the attack, when the leader dies, most of his army flees. On the higher difficulty levels, relying on this is the only way to defeat some armies without massive losses.
Hulk Speak: The leader of Narbonesis talks like this.
Idiosyncratic Difficulty Levels: Galley slave (super easy), Legionnaire (medium difficulty), Senator (very hard), Emperor (unwinnable without lots of Save Scumming).
Last Stand/Suicide Attack: Required against powerful enemies and in high difficult levels; as only one legion at a time can be deployed in combat often his sole purpose is to soften up and decimate the enemy forces so the next legion have better chances of victory.
Lightning Bruiser: Cavalry, which is both faster and more powerful than infantry. Its only weakness is its relatively slow turning speed.
Mini-Game: Chariot races and gladiator games, with some parameters that you can adjust with money. Naval battles qualify too, they are just a combat between the flagships and not the whole actual battle, whose outcome does not depend much on the former.
Nintendo Hard: The highest two difficulty levels are like this. Much of the difficulty is Fake Difficulty, though. For example: the spawning of enemy marauding armies is mostly random. This means that, on any given turn, an army from Carthage can appear, or a much weaker army from Armenia, or no army at all. It is extremely difficult to win chariot races without resorting to bribes/cheating simply because your opponents move faster than you, even if you have the same type of chariot. The number of ships in enemy fleets is randomized, too, meaning that you can simply reload until you get better odds.
No Indoor Voice: Most Barbarians speak LIKE THIS.
Opening Narration: Romulus and Remus founded Rome [snip] and some years after that there you are, an ambitious young centurion sitting idly by the banks of the Tiber river, with a legion.
Optional Sexual Encounter: The player can attempt and seduce Cleopatra succesfully if certain conditions are met. The scene is implemented as a special form of diplomatic bargain and ends with a Sexy Discretion Shot.
Password Save: The Genesis version uses a 24-character password. The password doesn't contain information about legions, which are redeployed upon load.
Permanent Elected Official:
You, the game spans decades and centuries but you are an immortal Roman magistrate, with a better rank as time passes and you progress.
The political leaders of the other nations are permanent, too. Hannibal will greet you at the gates of Carthage no matter in what century you pay him a visit.
The Roman generals hang on in there too until they are killed in battle.
Proud Warrior Race: Several, but the Gauls, Sarmatians and Dacians are the most prominent examples.
Rags to Royalty: You start as a simple Centurion with a simple legion and end up as Caesar when you win the game.
Rape, Pillage, and Burn: The legions can plunder a province for a one-time bounty. Deconstructed as it makes the province poorer for the rest of the game and it annoys the rest of the world.
Real-Time with Pause: The battles. Notably, you cannot command troops that are too far from your general.
"Risk"-Style Map
Save Scumming: You'll need to do this to win on Senator or Emperor difficulty. And even then its hard.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here!: Panicked units make a 180 degree turn and leave the battlefield. A lot of units panic when their leader is killed so massive routs are common.
Shout-Out: The chariot races to Ben-Hur and there are some to Cleopatra (she looks exactly like Elizabeth Taylor) and to Spartacus, among many others concerning classical antiquity.
ShoutOut.To Shakespeare: The game parting words : "Beware the Ides of March"
Spiritual Successor: To Defender of the Crown, from the same creator. The Total War series could be considered this to Centurion, since they share a lot of concepts and gameplay.
Take Over the World: The goal of the game.
Video Game Cruelty Punishment:
Plundering an occupied nation makes its romanization progress slower and makes other free nations reluctant to sign an alliance with you.
Outrageous taxes often lead to popular uprisings.
Sentencing a brave gladiator to death is received poorly by the people, they get more entertained and appeased with a fair pardon.
Violence Is the Only Option: Averted, you can sweet talk other nations into signing an alliance with you. Unless you're dealing with Carthage, Parthia or Sarmatia - they will never ally with you.
War Elephants: Carthage's signature troops. Hispania and some people from Africa and the Middle East field them too.
A Winner Is You: A notable aversion, the game gives you a nice compendium of your deeds with numerical data and then you are honoured with a victory parade
You Require More Vespene Gas: Talents (money), acquired via taxation of provinces, plundering and winning bets at the races.
Zerg Rush: Since legions can't be combined the player has to send wave after wave of them againts the more powerful enemies (e.g the one with huge cavalry forces) that cannot replenish fast enough. Enforced We Have Reserves.
Celestus
UsefulNotes/Amiga
Chuck Rock
UsefulNotes/IBM Personal Computer
Sword & Sandal
Colosseum: Road to Freedom
Carrier Airwing
Video Games of the 1990s
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California still most populous, but stalls at 39.9 million
published on December 20, 2019 - 1:11 PM
Written by ADAM BEAM Associated Press
(AP) — California’s population has stalled at 39.9 million people as expensive housing prices and other factors convince more people to leave the state for other parts of the country.
An estimate released Friday showed California added 141,300 people from July 1, 2018, to July 1, 2019, bringing its total population to 39.96 million on July 1.
Adding births and subtracting deaths, California added more than 180,000 people for the 12 months ending July 1. But more people left the state, resulting in a net migration loss of 39,500 people.
“More people moved out of California than into California this year. That was negative for the first time since 2010,” said Eddie Hunsinger, a demographer with the California Department of Finance.
The migration loss has been a boon to other states, particularly Nevada. Last month, Nevada passed the 3 million population mark as the U.S. Census Bureau ranked it as the fastest-growing state in 2018 — mostly because of a steady stream of Californians moving in.
Robert Lang, executive director of Brookings Mountain West at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said there are more adults in Nevada that were born in California than there are native Nevadans.
California’s population nearly tripled in the last half of the 20th century and is now the world’s fifth-largest economy. It remains by far the most populous state in the country, with second-place Texas still shy of 30 million people.
Yet the state’s growth has leveled off. It’s 0.35% growth rate for the 12 months ending July 1 is down from a 0.57% rate for the prior 12 months, the two slowest growth rates in recorded history.
State officials blamed the declining growth rate on an aging population combined with lower migration from foreign countries and more people leaving the state.
Los Angeles County lost 9,698 people, but remains the most populous county in the state — and the nation — at more than 10.2 million people.
Butte County lost 10,388 people, the largest percentage decrease in the state — a testament to the lingering effects of a 2018 fire in the town of Paradise that killed 85 people, destroyed more than 14,600 housing units and displaced an estimated 35,700 people.
Births continued to decline, falling by more than 9,000.
“I’m starting to get a sense that this is a trend,” Hunsinger said.
Still, official state estimates predict California will hit 50 million people by 2055, predicting by then the state will join Japan and European countries as having more deaths than births.
Warriors, A’s, Raiders present check to Oakland fire relief Posted: January 16, 2017 at 2:13 pm
(AP) — The Golden State Warriors, Oakland Athletics and Oakland
Ex-HBO employee gets federal prison for $1 million fraud Posted: at 2:15 pm
(AP) — A former HBO employee who stole nearly $1
Multiple violations found days before fatal blaze killed 3 Posted: March 28, 2017 at 6:26 pm
(AP) — Building inspectors found multiple fire code violations at
16 injured after chemical spray in California shopping mall Posted: at 7:10 pm
(AP) — Authorities say at least 16 people were injured
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Future Viable Plant Palettes for Metropolitan Areas, Part 2
December 23, 2015 December 22, 2015 ASLA staff
Dallas Arboretum (warning sign added in Photoshop)
image: David Hopman
Part 2: Fine Gardening
Part 1 of this series, published earlier this month, explained the goal of promoting a plant palette that balances aesthetics, environment, and ecology. This installment begins the discussion of a variety of plant palettes and planting design approaches with ‘Fine Gardening,’ a methodology that is very out of balance with the goal of aesthetic, environmental, and ecological balance. Fine gardening is an approach where the artistic intentionality of the designer and the direct sensuous experiences for the user are often the only priority. This approach is used in many high end residential projects, botanical gardens, and other landscapes where cost is not a determining factor. For example, at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the gardeners take the heroic measure of hand-snipping twice a month every third leaf of each branch of the London Plane trees that line the path of the famous Robert Irwin garden, per Robert Irwin’s precise instructions. Fine gardening is promoted heavily in many newspapers and in magazines such as Southern Living, Fine Gardening, and many others.
Figure 1. Relative balance of Fine Gardening
Another famous example of a large fine gardening landscape is Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The garden has become a travel destination for garden enthusiasts from around the world and is instructive for the influence it exerts on garden design thinking far from its temperate location in zone 8b of British Columbia. The spectacular displays at Butchart Gardens are made possible by the annual planting of over 300,000 non-native bulbs—geared for a three-week display in April and May. The display, following time-tested rules for plant combinations, combines annual bulbs with rhododendrons, flowering trees, and blooming perennials to create scenes like the one shown in figure 2.
Figure 2. Butchart Gardens in May
While Butchart Gardens can be appreciated for its aesthetic achievement, it is problematic in that it sets a standard for ornamental display gardens that reverberates throughout North America, and throughout the world. Figure 3 shows the display garden at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden in Dallas, Texas, designed to compete on the international stage with gardens such as Butchart, but in an area with a much less temperate climate. So many bulbs and other plants have been planted and so many soil amendments added that the entire 66-acre arboretum no longer has any native soil and is “like one giant pot” according to their former director of horticulture.
This garden, influenced in concept by other display gardens, is a big educational resource for the many wealthy homeowners who live in the North Texas metropolitan area. Visitors receive a tacit education in an aesthetic that they often emulate in their home and business landscapes. This transfer of values is reinforced by the types of plants tested in its trial gardens and by volunteer opportunities that reinforce the intensive gardening practices. The economic elites that are influenced by the Dallas Arboretum produce home landscapes that are often featured in popular gardening magazines and pass on the resultant aesthetic priorities to an ever larger proportion of the population. Additionally, the wealthy patrons of the Dallas Arboretum are both influenced by and exert an influence on the direction of the organization in a self-reinforcing loop that is encouraged by the horticulture industry. A more sustainable approach would be to educate the public that the Dallas Arboretum is an ‘art museum for plants,’ designed to be appreciated as a public place and not as a landscape model for North Texas.
Figure 3. Dallas Arboretum, Spring display
The plant trials at the Dallas Arboretum are good indicators of the priorities used to develop their fine gardening plant palette. These priorities are skewed to focus entirely on aesthetics with little consideration of environmental concerns or ecology. The four criteria evaluated are display, uniformity, leaf color, and vigor. It is assumed that all horticultural considerations can be mitigated, with the possible exception of temperature. The Dallas Arboretum sends out breathless e-mails several times a year and promotes results of its trials on its website. For example, in 2015 the Arboretum promoted Lobelia erinus ‘Techno Heat’ as a four week cool season annual in the temperate weather between winter annuals and the installation of summer annuals for the hot summers in North Texas. All of the financial and environmental resources required for growing, transporting, and installing the plant are designed for a ‘life cycle’ of less than two months geared towards a spring color display. The misleading label in their promotions of “Trial by Flower!!! If we can’t kill it no one can” makes it appear that the plant is being tested for adaptability when, in reality, adaptability to the regional climate is not a consideration in the trials for this plant (the full list of summer annuals recommended by the Dallas Arboretum can be found on their website).
The ethos of seasonally replacing annuals as the climate changes throughout the year, and using species that will only survive with large amounts of soil amendments and extra water, is reinforced by certain sectors of the horticulture industry. I attended a plant introduction symposium held at the Dallas Arboretum sponsored by a company called Plant Development Services, Inc. About half of the attendees were landscape architects and the rest were from various sectors of the horticulture industry. Plant Development Services introduced the Southern Living™ Plant Collection and handed out a very well-produced binder with talking points for retail distributors and for designers to help with marketing the plants to their clients. The Collection was developed in a region of acid soil ranging from the Southern Living headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama, to experts at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and shows the fallacy of creating a national plant palette using experts and resources from one particular region. Most of the Southern Living™ Plant Collection is composed of exotic hybrid species that can only grow in acid soils and that require moist and well drained conditions. However, the North Texas region has only alkaline and small areas of circumneutral soils and most of the soils in the area are heavy clay and drain very slowly.
Every page promoting a plant at the introduction had the statement “Athens Select™ have been tested by Dr. Allan Armitage at the University of Georgia, and selected for superior performance in extreme heat and humidity. Purchase of these plants helps support university research programs” (Southern Living™ Plant Collection printed information on individual plant species, 2009). The introduced plants had the imprimatur of the Dallas Arboretum (having been introduced by their director of horticulture), the very popular Southern Living Magazine, and the research of the University of Georgia. As a result, the attendees of the introduction seemed to be sold on the palette even though most of the plants are very poorly adapted to North Texas and require vast resources to create the horticultural conditions that would make their survival possible. It is easy to understand how a lay person who is honestly seeking horticultural advice could be as convinced as the attendees seemed to be and would heed the advice to both buy the plants and to expend the monetary and environmental resources required for their success.
Another environmentally destructive horticultural practice tied to fine gardening is actively promoted by Plant Development Services and their Encore Azaleas brand. The company still advocates the addition of Canadian sphagnum peat moss to North Texas soils in order to make the soils compatible with the needs of these very poorly adapted exotic plants. According to a biogeochemist quoted by Scientific American, “Peatlands only cover about 3 percent of the Earth but they accumulate more carbon than tropical rainforests.” These carbon sinks, that have been sequestering carbon for over 500 million years, are mined for the soil amendment that makes growing Azaleas possible in North Texas. Additionally, 80% of the peat that is used in the United States is shipped from Canada which greatly increases the carbon footprint of the material. It is time for all landscape architects to remove from their specifications the destructive environmental practice of using plants that require peat moss and past time for Arboreta to still permit companies to actively promote the practice at symposia and plant promotions at their facilities.
The focus by the fine horticulture industry and enthusiasts on exotic, poorly adapted hybrid plants and a ‘no holds barred’ acceptance of environmentally destructive practices such as soil amendments from distant locations is represented in figure 1. All plants provide some environmental and ecological services, however inadvertent, so this has been indicated. It is also possible to undertake fine horticulture using organic methods rather than chemicals. While highly preferable, this is still a very resource intensive undertaking as the organic soil amendments and pesticides required for success must be manufactured, transported, and installed with the resultant pollution and large carbon footprint an unavoidable consequence.
The purpose of this post is not to encourage the elimination of resource intensive fine gardening landscapes. These landscapes should, however, be like a ‘dessert’ and never the ‘main meal.’ Having small, highly visible, and intensively used areas of a landscape as a showplace for the art of fine horticulture need not necessarily have a large effect on the environment or ecology of an area, as long as we understand it as an aberration and not as a standard practice for large areas. A good analogy can be found with low mileage, high horsepower sport cars. I enjoy seeing an occasional Ferrari, or Hennessey—full disclosure, I even watch Top Gear! However, if you look in my garage, you will find two hybrids.
Next month’s post will discuss a more mainstream and cost effective green industry plant palette that is still very popular with both landscape architects and with homeowners, as we gradually move towards the goal of a balance of aesthetics, environment and ecology with a palette of aesthetically qualified native polycultures .
David Hopman, ASLA, PLA is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at The University of Texas at Arlington, a registered landscape architect, and a research associate at The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT).
Planting DesignDavid Hopman
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Understanding the History and Cultural Context of the Cause for Canonization of Pedro de Corpa & Companions
Articles/Journals
Related Articles Published in Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History
Pamphlets/Student Papers/Unpublished Works
*Available at the Diocese of Savannah Archives non-lending Library
* Arias, Bishop David, “Chapter 8: Rebels and Martyrs,” in Spanish Cross in Georgia (New York: University Press of America, Inc., 1994), 149-172.
*Cook, Jeannine, ed. Columbus and the Land of Ayllón: The Exploration and Settlement of the Southeast, (Darien, GA: The Darien News, 1992)
*Thomas, David Hurst, “The Spanish Mission Experience in La Florida,” in Columbus and the Land of Ayllón: The Exploration and Settlement of the Southeast, ed. Jeannine Cook. (Darien, GA: The Darien News, 1992), 51-88.
*Figuero y del Campo, OFM, Cristóbal. Franciscan Missions in Florida. Spain: ARS Magna Ediciónes, 1994.
*Gannon, Michael V., “Black Robes and Brown Robes, 1574-1606,” in The Cross in the Sand (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1965), 36-50.
*Gallegos, Eloy J. The Spanish Pioneers in United States History Santa Elena: Spanish Settlements on the Atlantic Seaboard from Florida to Virginia 1513 to 1607. Knoxville, TN: Villagra Press, 1998.
*Harkins, OFM, Conrad, “Chapter 29: On Franciscans, Archaeology, and Old Missions,” in Columbian Consequences Vol. 2 Archaeological and Historical Perspectives on the Spanish Boarderlands East, ed. by David Hurst Thomas (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990), 459-473.
*Lanning, John Tate, “Chapter 4: The Juanillo Revolt: Massacre of the Franciscan Vanguard,” in The Spanish Missions of Georgia (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1935), 82-110
* Larson, Jr, Lewis H., “Historic Guale Indians of the Georgia Coast and the Impact of the Spanish Mission Effect,” in Tacachale: Essays on the Indians of Florida and Southeastern Georgia during the Historic Period, eds. Jerald T. Milanich and Samuel Proctor (Jacksonville: University Press of Florida, 1994), 120-140.
*Milanich, Jerald T. “Franciscan Friars and Native Chiefs,” in Laboring in the Fields of the Lord: Spanish Missions and Southeastern Indians (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1999), 104-129.
*Roca-Puig, R. Anàfora de Barcelona I Altres Pregàries (Missa del Segle IV). Barcelona, 1996.
*Thomas, David Hurst. St. Catherine’s An Island in Time. Atlanta: Georgia Endowment for the Humanities, 1988. Google book. <Accessed 1/13/2017>
*Thomas, David Hurst, ed. Columbian Consequences Volume 1.Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989.
Thomas, David Hurst, "Saints and Soldiers at Santa Catalina: Hispanic Designs for Colonial America," in The Recovery of Meaning: Historical Archaeology in the Eastern United States, ed. Mark P. Leone and Parker B. Potter Jr. (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988), 73-140.
Worth, Dr., John E. The Struggle for the Georgia Coast. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 2007. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/270 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
*Wyse, OFM, Alexander, “Chapter 6: The Martyrs of Georgia Fr. Pedro De Corpa OFM and His Four Companions (+1597),” in Portraits in American Sanctity ed. by Tylenda (St. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Press, 1982.), 77-88.
*Sànchez Moltó, M. Vincente and Marià Rosa Fernàndez Peña. Villalbilla y Low Hueros: historia de dos villas castellanas. Spain: Ayuntamiento de Villalbilla, 2003.
de Escobedo, OFM, Alonso Gregorio, “La Florida,” pub. between 1598-1615 (English translation) <accessed 1/1/2017>
Fernbank Museum of Natural History Atlanta, GA, St. Catherines Island Online, 2007. <accessed 1/1/2017>
Francis, J. Michael and Kathleen M. Kole, “Murder and Martyrdom in Spanish Florida: Don Juan and the Guale Uprising of 1597,” Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History 95 (2011). Digital Library of the American Museum of Natural History <accessed 1/1/2017>.
*Mynard Geiger, OFM, “The Biographical Dictionary of the Franciscans in Spanish Florida and Cuba,” in Franciscan Studies Vol. XXI (Patterson, NJ: St. Anthony Guild Press, 1940).
*Diocese of Savannah Archives, Cause for the Canonization of Pedro de Corpa & Companions Collection, Box 6: Administrative Records - Publications, Pamphlets, 1880-2000, Folder 6: Franciscan Studies Vol. XXI, “The Biographical Dictionary of the Franciscans in Spanish Florida and Cuba,” Mynard Geiger, OFM, Patterson, NJ: St. Anthony Guild Press, 1940.
Hann, John H. A History of the Timucua Indians and Missions (Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series). Gainsville, FL: University Press of Florida, 1996.
* Harkins, OFM, Conrad L., “St. Simon’s Island, GA: Cause of the Georgia Martyrs Advances,” in The Provincial Annals Vol XLIII, ed. Julian A. Davies, OFM (New York: Office of Communications of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, 1994), 58-61.
* Diocese of Savannah Archives, Cause for the Canonization of Pedro de Corpa & Companions Collection, Box 5: Administrative Records – Reports, Folder 11: Source Material, Harkins c. Publications, 1993-1997
*Judge, Joseph, “Between Columbus and Jamestown Exploring Our Forgotten Century Being the Violent History of the Fifteen Hundreds As Revealed by New Findings Along the Atlantic Coast Where Spaniard, Frenchman, Indian, and Englishman Contested for Empire in the Land Known as La Florida” National Geographic, 173:3 (March 1988), 330-363. * Diocese of Savannah Archives, Diocese of Savannah Subject Files, Cause for Canonization of Pedro de Corpa & Companions
* Omacechevarría, Ignacio, “Màrtires Franciscans de Georgia,” Missionalia Hispanica No 34, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas Patronato Menedez y Pelayo (Madrid: Intituto Sto. Torbio de Mogrovejo, 1955), 5-93. * Diocese of Savannah Archives, Cause for the Canonization of Pedro de Corpa & Companions Collection, Box 5: Administrative Records – Reports, Folder 1: Source Material, Missionalia Hispanica, No. 34, 1955
* Omacechevarría, Ignacio, “Màrtires Franciscans de Georgia,” Missionalia Hispanica No 35, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas Patronato Menedez y Pelayo (Madrid: Sintituto Sto. Torbio de Mogrovejo, 1955), 291-370. * Diocese of Savannah Archives, Cause for the Canonization of Pedro de Corpa & Companions Collection, Box 5: Administrative Records – Reports, Folder 2: Source Material, Missionalia Hispanica, No. 35, (Document A) 1955.
*The Anthropology of St. Catherines Island. 1. Natural and Cultural History, Vol. 55, Part 2, 1978. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/304 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
The Anthropology of St. Catherines Island. 2, The Refuge-Deptford Mortuary Complex, Vol. 56, Part 1, 1978. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/305 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
The Anthropology of St. Catherines Island. 3, Prehistoric Human Biological Adaptation, Vol. 57, Part 3, 1982. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/306 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
The Anthropology of St. Catherines Island. 4 The St. Catherines Period Mortuary Complex, Vol. 57, Part 4, 1982. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/307 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
The Archaeology of St. Catherines Island. 5 The South End Mound Complex, Vol. 63, Part 1, 1986. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/309 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
*The Archaeology of Mission Santa Catalina de Guale: 1, Search and Discovery, Vol. 63, Part 2, 1987. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/251 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
The Archaeology of Mission Santa Catalina de Guale: 2, Biocultural Interpretations of a Population in Transition, Vol. 68, 1990. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/252 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
The Struggle for the Georgia Coast: An 18th Century Spanish Retrospective on Guale and Mocama, No. 75, 1995. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/270 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
Bioarchaeology of the Late Prehistoric Guale: South End Mound I, St. Catherines Island, Georgia; No.84, 2002. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/310 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
*Native American Landscapes of St. Catherines Island, Georgia, No. 88, Parts 1-3, 2008. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/5955 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
*The Beads of St. Catherines Island, No. 89, 2009. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/5956 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
*From Santa Elena To St. Augustine: Indigenous Ceramic Variability (A.D. 1400-1700): Proceedings Of The Second Caldwell Conference, St. Catherines Island, Georgia, No. 90, March 30-April 1, 2007. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/5987 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
*Mission And Pueblo Santa Catalina De Guale, St. Catherines Island, Georgia (USA) : A Comparative Zooarchaeological Analysis, No. 91, 2010. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6036 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
*Trend, Tradition, and Turmoil: What Happened To the Southeastern Archaic? : Proceedings Of The Third Caldwell Conference, St. Catherines Island, Georgia, May 9-11, 2008., No. 93, 2010. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6068 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
*Geoarchaeology of St. Catherines Island, Georgia: Proceedings of the Fourth Caldwell Conference, St. Catherines Island, Georgia, March 27-29, 2009, No. 94, 2011. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6105 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
Seasonality and Human Mobility along the Georgia Bight: Proceedings of the Fifth Caldwell Conference, St. Catherines Island, Georgia, May 14-16, 2010, No. 97, 2010. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6164 American Museum of Natural History Digital Library <accessed 1/1/2017>
*Life Among the Tides: Recent Archaeology on the Georgia Bight, Proceedings of the Sixth Caldwell Conference St. Catherines Island, GA, May 20-22, 2011, No. 98, 2013.
# Contains information that is not confirmed
History, St. Catherine’s Island website http://www.stcatherinesisland.org/history/<accessed 1/13/2017>
St. Catherine’s Island, GA, North American Archaeology Project, The American Museum of Natural History website
http://www.amnh.org/our-research/anthropology/research/north-american-archaeology/projects/st.-catherines-island-ga/ <accessed 1/13/2017>.
Diocese of Savannah most recent news: https://diosav.org/search/node/georgia%20martyrs
Thomas, David Hurst. Mission Santa Cantalina de Guale. http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/mission-santa-catalina-de-guale < accessed 1/13/2017>.
*Adams, OFM, Patrick, “History of the Catholic Church in Georgia” (Student Paper, Holy Name College, Silver Springs, MD, April 1941)
*Diocese of Savannah Archives, Cause for the Canonization of Pedro de Corpa & Companions Collection, Box 5: Administrative Records – Reports, Folder 7: Source Material, Adams, P. – Publications, 1941
*Cashin, Edward “Spain’s Dual Purpose in Colonizing America,” (unpublished background paper, c.1990)
*Diocese of Savannah Archives, Cause for the Canonization of Pedro de Corpa & Companions Collection, Box 5: Administrative Records – Reports, Folder 8: Source Material, Cashin, E. – Background Paper, c. 1990
*Incarnation Mission, Donalsonville. “The Franciscans Return to Seminole County, Southwest Georgia, 1675-1975.”
*Diocese of Savannah Archives, Incarnation Mission, Donalsonville Collection, Administrative Records – Publications, Pamphlet, 1975.
*Morales, OFM, Rev. Francisco; Edward J. Cashin; Fred Lamar Pearson, Jr., “Reportatio Super Martyrio: Servorum Dei Petri De Corpa Et Sociorum Ejus,” 5/7/2002.
*Diocese of Savannah Archives, Historical Commissions in the Canonization of Pedro de Corpa & Companions, Box 4: Administrative Records – Reports, 1994 – 2007, Folder 2: Administrative Records – Reports, Reportatio of the Historical Commission (c.1), 5/7/2002
*Pearson, Fred Lamar, “The Martyrdom of Fr. Peter de Corpa and His Companions; Dedication to the Highest Resolve,” (unpublished background paper, n.d.)
*Diocese of Savannah Archives, Cause for the Canonization of Pedro de Corpa & Companions Collection, Box 5: Administrative Records – Reports, Folder 10: Source Material, Pearson, F.L. – Background Paper, n.d.
*Rourk, Untitled Address about Georgia Martyrs, given in Augusta on January 1948.
*Diocese of Savannah Archives, Catholic Laymen’s Association Collection, Historical Committee, Early Catholicism in Georgia, 1930-1956
*Columbus and the Land of Ayllón: The Exploration and Settlements of the Southeast. VHS. Produced by The University of Georgia. Savannah, GA : Georgia Historical Society--Ayllón Committee, 1993. *Diocese of Savannah Archives, Cause for the Canonization of Pedro de Corpa & Companions, Box 7: History Records – Audiovisual Records, 1984-2010
*St. Catherines Island, Mary 1984. VHS. Produced by Diocese of Savannah. Savannah : Diocese of Savannah Communications Department, 1984. *Diocese of Savannah Archives, Cause for the Canonization of Pedro de Corpa & Companions, Box 7: History Records – Audiovisual Records, 1984-2010
*Public Session for the Canonization of the Georgia Martyrs, 10/3/1993. VHS. Produced by Michael Jordan. Savannah : Diocese of Savannah Communications Department, 1993. *Diocese of Savannah Archives, Cause for the Canonization of Pedro de Corpa & Companions, Box 7: History Records – Audiovisual Records, 1984-2010
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The Invisible Event
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#541: The Late Monsieur Gallet, a.k.a. Maigret Stonewalled (1931) by Georges Simenon [trans. Anthea Bell 2013]
June 20, 2019 June 19, 2019 / JJ
It’s been a number of years since I last read any Georges Simenon — the stark nihilism of The Stain on the Snow (1953) and the diaphanous erotic tragedy of The Blue Room (1964) left an impression if not exactly a desire to read further. Simenon is hard to ignore, however, partly because he wrote so many damn books and partly because Penguin have done such a fine job of reissuing them lately that they take up about 40% of the shelf space in most bookshops. I’ve always been of the impression that he is far more about people than plot…which is probably just as well, since on the evidence of this early effort he can’t plot for toffee.
It’s not a long book, The Late Monsieur Gallet (1931), but it is a very long short story. The discovery of commercial traveller Émile Gallet both shot in the face and stabbed in the heart while staying in a hotel in the provincial town of Sancerre while his wife was receiving postcards from him postmarked Rouen doesn’t really get going until probably chapter 6, with a lot of what comes before being one or two tiny details buried in lots of Maigret walking around in the heat, being a bit downcast, disliking the uptight airs put on by the victim’s widow, and wondering why the case feels odd. It is, to say the least, hardly a kinetic narrative, and written — or certainly translated — in so deliberately low-key a voice that no interesting turns of phrase are even given the chance to assert themselves. It’s not a slog, per se, but neither does it compel.
Once you settle to Maigret’s insanely haphazard way of conducting his investigation — he’s in Sancerre, like, three times before he even looks at the scene of the crime, and will go out of his way to ask three questions of someone and then leave immediately — there’s a certain charm to the fact that Simenon doesn’t really seem to know what he’s doing. He wants, you sense, to examine the palimpsest of the human soul, with its great many wrongs graven and then scored out, only to be written over again and again, but all that quietness eludes him at this stage since he should really provide a murder investigation like wot Gaston Leroux did…not yet comfortable in his own writer’s skin, Simenon shifts awkwardly from foot to foot whenever any direct speech is necessary, and hates interrupting Maigret’s thoughts with, y’know, actions.
It’s not a total failure, but struggles when we’re told things like, at 45 years old, Maigret…
…had spent half his life in various branches of the police force: Vice Squad, Traffic, Drug Squad, Railway Police, Gambling Squad. It was quite enough to dispel any vaguely mystical ideas and kill faith in intuition stone dead.
…only for him to then go an intuit all over the place at the descending of a kepi. Thinks he saw a woman looking at him while he investigates a crime scene? He’s “suddenly as good as certain” that she must be the mistress of the son of the victim. Tracks down a newspaper seller whose name was put on letters sent to the deceased? Intuits on the spot in a moment of inspiration that he’s a go-between for various parties. And the solution, and semi-false solution he presents to the owner of the villa situated next door to the hotel where the crime took place, struggles for any actual…man, what’s the word? Evidence. That’s it: evidence. Yeah, virtually none of that, more just a vague reaching in the dark to some actions that explain aspects of what he thinks might have happened because of…this weirdly mystical intuition he seems to have about everything.
The section of the book that actually deals in meaningful events and the investigation of those events — chapters 6 to 9, I’d argue — are more focused, but inconsequential. When the solution came, I didn’t really care; it seemed we went a very long way around. It’s clearly not Simenon’s idiom and, while I’m not sure how developed this type of investigative narrative was in mainland Europe at the time, it has to be said that others made far more comfortable starts in the same genre. It’s amusing to see some principles played here that would later become fodder for the more criminous-minded, like the notion that four people sat playing bridge is sufficient for them all to alibi each other when Agatha Christie would overturn that quite comprehensively five years later. You get the impression that Simenon viewed this book with horror in his later career, ashamed at the genre boilerplate this crams in when his real interest was in the quiet despair of human existence:
The only one absent was Émile Gallet. He was firmly in a coffin, half his face torn away by the bullet, maltreated by the forensic surgeon who had seven guests coming to dinner, a stab wound through his heart, and his grey eyes were open because no-one had thought of closing their lids.
And even when Simenon shows glimpses of getting it right, it is interrupted for this reader by some weirdly clunky translating — “He merely looked her between the eyes and then took his leave, sighing” — that perhaps unpicks some of the good work the original language succeeds in doing.
So it’s not an actively or aggressively bad book, more just an author trying out a style that does not really interest them and having to front it out with as much humility as possible. This would be an interesting one for students of the genre, since it speaks of a style of writing and plotting not quite understood, feeling decidedly more rustic than did Freeman Wills Crofts’ debut in the same wheelhouse some 11 years earlier. The whole enterprise comes across as if Simenon thought “Well, these detective novels are popular…” and so tried to write one, only to stop every paragraph, sigh deeply, gaze sadly out the window, and ask himself “But why are they so popular…?”. Kudos for trying to fake it, but I’m prepared to wager that he fares much better when he finds his voice. Whether Maigret and I will cross paths again for me to discover if this is true…well, the jury’s out at present.
José Ignacio @ A Crime is Afoot: Perhaps what is most interesting to point out in this early instalment in Maigret’s mysteries series is that, unlike most of the stories in the series, the plot here is further more elaborate and turns out to be more complex than usual. … In some aspects, the story has reminded me of a locked-room mystery and, indeed, its style is closer to a Golden Age classic detectives mystery than any other of his books that I’ve read so far. Above all, it is a highly entertaining read which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.
Les @ Classic Mysteries: This is early Maigret, and the overall tone is quite dark. There’s not much in the way of happy endings available here. The new translation by Anthea Bell sometimes seems a bit awkward to me – it sounds like a translation rather than more colloquial English, but it’s quite serviceable and transmits the events and characters quite well. It’s a pretty short book, and I think it’s worth your reading time.
Anthea Bell, Georges Simenon, Penguin Books
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14 thoughts on “#541: The Late Monsieur Gallet, a.k.a. Maigret Stonewalled (1931) by Georges Simenon [trans. Anthea Bell 2013]”
armchairreviewer
3 out 5 seems pretty generous for a writer who can’t ‘plot for toffee’ (great phrase), but maybe you were able to appreciate more what Simenon was trying to do.
Well, and here’s a sign of how much I’ve grown, there’s more to books than plot, after all.
I shall now go and lie down in a darkened room.
Yes, Simenon’s detection novels/novelettes are about people rather than plot, and Maigret isn’t Inspector French. But you knew that already, didn’t you, JJ? It’s therefore indeed very grown-up of you to give Maigret a try. I hope the dark room therapy will prove effective!
Have you read any Maigret books that fall more into Simenon’s comfort zone? I know that Jose Ignacio has put up this list of his favourites, but any recommendations that show the two of them in a better light will be appreciated…
J F Norris
The Hatter’s Phantoms is a fascinating simenon crime novel. Not detection, however, and no Maigret in sight. But it’s my absolute favorite of all the Simenon crime novels I’ve read.
Curt has said that Maigret in Holland is the closest to a traditional detective novel he wrote. This is how he characterized it: “…the novel [has a] resemblance to a classical British mystery, which is much more pronounced than what one usually encounters in the Maigret series.” However, I disliked the opening chapters and never finished it. I also never finished a book about a gigolo dancer in Paris. So many of his Maigret “detective” novels didn’t do it for me either. But I did enjoy Rowan Atkinson in all the recent Maigret movies. I think he captured the spirit of the character rather well. I watched them one after the other in a binge “film festival” of sorts in my home over a period of two nights.
The Yellow Dog seems to be very popular. It was reviewed to death back in the early days of the vintage crime blogs when everyone was doing author memes nearly every week or so. When Simenon came up it was the most read and reviewed of his books.
I’m less concerned with detection where Simenon is concerned, because I don’t think it will be where his strengths lie. The little moments of human frustration in this, and the sadness creeping around the edges of the situation, are where he feels most comfortable — and, indeed, that’s what I remember from those first two titles I read — so that’s where he seems to want to go.
Thanks for the steer to The Hatter’s Phantoms, it’s not a title I’d even heard before.
haha. Well you know me, characterisation is important to me, but I feel like Simenon can’t engage me with his.
I read some Maigret books from time to time as they are quick but I never feel the urge to overindulge. They aren’t really about tight plotting, which I can accept fine, but about characters in certain environments, Maigret included. Again, this is fine, but I do find many of the books tilt towards the grim and dour to such an extent and with such regularity that I have to approach them in small doses.
I recently finished Maigret Goes to School, which I think was a bit more balanced.
Have you seen any of the TVisations? I have staggeringly vague memories of the Michael Gambon version from my youth, but didn’t catch any of the recent Rowan Atkinson version. No idea how they stack up against the books.
I don’t recall much of the Gambon series myself. I did catch some of Night at the Crossroads and that seemed to follow the book reasonably well as far as I could tell.
My favorite Simenon is “The Man Who Watched The Trains Go By.” It seems that it is generally considered one of his very best “romans durs.” But it is not a tale of detection, so it probably is not be what you’re looking for.
As to Maigret, I defer to Jose Ignacio who has read many more of those tales than I have. I did like “Maigret se defend” (Maigret defends himself; I presume) quite a bit, and still do, even though I now believe that one link in the chain of events suffers from unexplained looseness (the weakness is not in Maigret’s thought process, but in why a particular event takes place). Assuming Jose Ignacio gave it an A or A+ rating, which I believe he did, I would suggest that particular title.
Thanks for the recommendations — I’m actually not that concerned about detection, I’m more curious to see Simenon on more comfortable ground with Maigret. If I decide to check out this series again, it’d be nice to see them getting along better…!
nickfuller
Simenon’s writing is low key – deliberately. “Adjectives, adverbs, and every word which is there just to make an effect. Every sentence which is there just for the sentence. You know, you have a beautiful sentence—cut it. Every time I find such a thing in one of my novels it is to be cut.”
I’d suggest Maigret a peur [Maigret afraid] (family strife and anonymous letters in a small town ).
Fabulous, thanks Nick — I shall head to that novel next when Jules and I deem each other good company again.
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IN SOLIDARITY WITH AL-MOUNADIL/AH AS MOROCCO CONTINUES TO STIFLE VOICES OF DISSENT
Posted on February 15, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Perspectives and tagged Al-Mounadil/ah, arrests, dissent, featured, freedom of expression, journalism, justice, law, media, Morocco, online news, oppression, politics, press, press freedom, print media, protest, social media, solidarity.
by Yali Banton-Heath
The revolutionary socialist newspaper and website Al-Mounadil/ah or ‘The Militant’ is facing an existential legal threat from the Moroccan state under it’s continued assault on the Left, progressive voices, and freedom of expression in the country. The onslaught of arrests and passing of restrictive legislation in recent years has targeted independent journalists and publications, and the use of social media and the internet as a platform for political expression. As the statement released by Al-Mounadil/ah’s editorial team reads: “the restrictions will not succeed in gagging voices; the advancement of technology will make a mockery of anyone that tries.”
Al-Mounadil/ah’s director received a court summons late last month regarding the newspaper’s compliance with Morocco’s Press and Publications Law; a piece of legislation which places onerous conditions on reporters and journalists in attempt to suffocate dissent in the media.
In order to comply with this press law journalists must have a professional journalist card which requires social security registration. This process lies outside the financial capabilities of many independent journalists and news sites, and consequently places newspapers such as Al-Mounadil/ah at risk of suspension or closure.
At The Norwich Radical, we too rely on the inexpensive and accessible avenue of online publication to reach our readers and the use of social media to share and promote our contributor’s articles. The advent of the internet has made it infinitely easier for young working-class people to set up a news site, blog, or podcast and broadcast their views and opinions to wider audiences. This advance in technology has paved a way for Al-Mounadil/ah – just like so many other news sites – to escape financial constraints and gain more editorial independence, thereby challenging the monopoly of wealthy media moguls and contributing more progressive and radical analyses of news and politics.
…social media is now considered to be the last remaining forum for peoples to speak freely in Morocco.
Morocco’s 2011 Constitution guarantees ‘freedom of the press’. In reality, however, media outlets and journalists must navigate a realm of strict state regulation, surveillance and scrutiny. Print media in Morocco must obtain accreditation from state authorities to operate and can face suspension if their content is deemed to be a threat to the public order, to the extent that social media is now considered to be the last remaining forum for peoples to speak freely in Morocco. A recent report by the National Solidarity Committee showed how in the year 2019 authorities across North Africa have clamped down on press freedom, and specifically on the use of social media as a platform for expression.
In December 2018 Nezha Khalidi – a member of the pro-Polisario group Equipe Media and critic of Moroccan presence in Western Sahara – was arrested for live-streaming a video on Facebook denouncing “repression” in Western Sahara. She was then charged and fined in May last year by a Moroccan court for not having the professional credentials needed to practice journalism in accordance with the press law.
In recent months it has been reported that 15 journalists, social-media users, rappers and bloggers have been arrested in Morocco. Their charges vary from criticising living conditions in Morocco, insulting the king, and publishing rap lyrics that are deemed to be “offensive to sanctities”. Many of these individuals are younger than 20. Interestingly, none of them were prosecuted under the press law but were instead charged with violating the penal code, under which courts can administer prison sentences.
Passed in 2016, Morocco’s revised press code allows for imprisonment of journalists if they speak out against the Monarchy, Islam, and the territorial integrity of the state (essentially any dispute over Moroccan sovereignty in Western Sahara). Despite introducing some improvements including fair trials for journalists and decriminalisation of defamation, the code also enshrines within it the power of authorities to censor and suspend publications. With regard to recent arrests, Ahmed Benchemsi form Human Rights Watch commented: “Moroccan authorities seem to have dropped the fig leaf of prosecuting critics on dubious criminal charges and are now going after them directly for speech offences.”
In December, journalist and activist Omar Radi was arrested for posting a tweet he wrote 9 months before which condemned a judge’s decision to sentence dozens of activists arrested for their participation in the 2016 Hirak Rif protests demanding economic and social reform in the country. Writing for The Washington Post Samia Errazzouki, an acquaintance of Radi’s remarked that if Omar “lived in a country that truly values press freedom, he would be an award-winning reporter, celebrated for his work and accomplishments. Instead, he sits in jail, awaiting what is sure to be yet another unfair trial against a journalist.”
Omar Radi (Source: Wikipedia, Lamyaachary)
The monitoring and surveillance of social media and online publications under a climate of political tyranny is shrinking political space for progressive Moroccans and silencing progressive voices of the Left. As the Moroccan state continues to wage a legal war against its critics, the need for solidarity through cyber-space and internationalising of national press freedom movements becomes increasingly urgent.
Al-Mounadil/ah’s editorial team have said: “We will continue our militant duty to our class and to the entirety of the oppressed in this country: Whilst the al-Mounadil/ah website is blocked, we will continue to communicate through various social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc), whilst continuing efforts to fulfil the conditions required the Press Law.”
The Norwich Radical stands in solidarity in with the Al-Mounadil/ah team and their fight for freedom of expression and decentralisation of the media industry.
Featured image credit: جريدة المناضل-ة Facebook page
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Home / Preorder / V2: the Sunday Times bestselling World War II thriller
V2: the Sunday Times bestselling World War II thriller
Publisher: Cornerstone
V2: the Sunday Times bestselling World War II thriller quantity
Categories: Preorder, Second World War fiction, Thriller / suspense fiction
Victory is close. Vengeance is closer. On the brink of defeat, Hitler commissioned 10,000 V2s – ballistic rockets that carried a one-ton warhead at three times the speed of sound, which he believed would win the war.Dr Rudi Graf who, along with his friend Werner von Braun, had once dreamt of sending a rocket to the moon, now finds himself in November 1944 in a bleak seaside town in Occupied Holland, launching V2s against London. No one understands the volatile, deadly machine better than Graf, but his disillusionment with the war leads to him being investigated for sabotage. Kay Caton-Walsh, an officer in the WAAF, has experienced first-hand the horror of a V2 strike. When 160 Londoners, mostly women and children, are killed by a single missile, the government decides to send a team of WAAFs to newly-liberated Belgium in the hope of discovering the location of the launch sites. But not all the Germans have left and Kay finds herself in mortal danger. As the war reaches its desperate end, their twin stories play out, interlocked and separate, until their destinies are finally forced together.
Double X Economy, The: The Epic Potential of Empowering Women – SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 ROYAL SOCIETY INISGHT INVESTMENT SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE
Professor Linda Scott
Strange Antics: A History of Seduction
Clement Knox
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Losing to an invisible opponent
CSUB athletes express disappointment and concerns after shutdown of Spring season.
Photos from: CSUB Athletics
CSUB senior athletes Tyler Jorgensen, Cydney Curran, and Curt Threlkeld comment about the loss their senior seasons. collage by: Mari Woodmansee
Brian Melgar, Sports Writer
With the global spread of COVID-19, many forms of entertainment have had to be either postponed or cancelled outright. This unfortunate reality has spread through the world, and college sports have not been spared by its advance. The Roadrunners have proven themselves to be committed, dedicated and passionate about their games. This sudden loss of their ability to compete and perform is sure to affect them in various ways. Speaking with some of the athletes, this impression is confirmed.
CSU Bakersfield baseball senior infielder Tyler Jorgensen was one of the more outspoken athletes when this shutdown began. While Jorgensen expressed his deep disappointment in the loss of the 2020 season, he still understands that the shutdown was necessary to limit the spread of COVID-19 in highly populated areas.
Track and field senior runner Curt Threlkeld expressed his initial reactions, saying that when he was hearing about what was happening, he believed that it wouldn’t reach CSUB. He is, however, understanding of the situation, saying, “There’s always going to be an 800m run later.”
The COVID-19 situation has not stopped Threlkeld from perfecting his craft. He says the cancellation of sporting events has seemed to regress many runners into training, and confirmed that he himself is still training and running. “If you don’t treat this like a season and you take this much time off, it’s going to catch up with you.”
Senior shortstop for the Roadrunners softball team Cydney Curran had similar disappointments about the abrupt end to their season, mentioning that this was going to be the team’s last season together. “It just breaks my heart because all of our hard work and sacrifices that we have made got stripped away in a snap of a finger.”
Seniors on the CSUB baseball and softball teams were looking forward to this final season of playing with their teammates, as well as making one final push in the school’s last season in the Western Athletic Conference.
The pandemic has devastated the normalcy of many people’s lives and thrust them into uncertainty, athletes included. Curran stated she was confused at first about why the sporting events were being shut down before campuses had transitioned into their new alternate delivery. In her opinion, being on campus was more dangerous than congregating for sporting events.
“Initially, I found it confusing that sporting events were being cancelled because school hasn’t even been shut down, and more people gather on campus in comparison to our sports team, which was less than 30 people,” she said.
A final thought Jorgensen had was regarding the NCAA eligibility relief plan, which seeks to extend the eligibility for college athletes who have been affected by COVID-19, and the necessary shut down of sporting events. “They have said they’re going to do it (extend eligibility) for spring sports, so that’s a big step, but how they will do it is the big part,” Jorgensen said.
“I do feel for the winter sports that got their post-season cut short too. In my opinion, I feel that there should be a way that they can get another year too,” Curran said about the eligibility relief plan.
Reactions to this situation are varied and complicated. Many understand but aren’t exactly happy about the developments. Thankfully, CSUB’s student athletes are looking forward to what the eligibility relief plan may bring for them, and hopeful that it could restore the time they’ve lost due to the global pandemic. The NCAA Council will meet to vote on the pending eligibility plan on Monday, March 30.
CSUB Spring Sports
Curt Threlkeld
Cydney Curran
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(Getty Images/Tina Tiller)
What’s eating Christchurch?
Alice Neville | Deputy editor
Seven-and-a-half years since the quake, food is playing a critical role in how Christchurch rebuilds, according to the people behind a festival that celebrates the city’s regeneration.
When you think about the aftermath of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, food probably isn’t what springs to mind. But it was an important thread that ran through the chaotic days that followed the disaster, says Jess Halliday.
“People were emptying their freezers as they defrosted and trying to use everything up, and also emptying every supermarket and shelf in the city,” she says. “So food was desperate, but also abundant.
“I think it brought to the fore that we rely on these complex, hidden systems that deliver food to the places we expect to find it, and those are not as resilient as you would expect them to be.”
Food also brought communities together, says Halliday. “Because of that food from the freezer defrosting, people had barbecues in the street and fed their neighbours. That didn’t happen everywhere — it’s worth acknowledging that — but it did happen in a lot of places.”
Halliday is an architectural historian and the director of FESTA, a festival of urban creativity and regeneration that began in Christchurch in 2012, the year following the quake.
FESTA 2014’s headline event, CityUps (Photo: Peanut Productions Photography)
Food has always been a part of FESTA — in 2013, urban farm project Agropolis launched as part of the festival, for example — but this year it’s the official theme.
The connections between food and urbanism are many and complex, says Halliday. “Cities only exist because millennia ago, human beings learnt to produce surpluses of food. If we hadn’t learnt to produce surpluses of food like this, we’d be out growing food to keep ourselves sustained every day and the relationship between place, person, building and food would be different to what it is now, so to me they’re intimately related.
“And our future is so bound up with those things working really well. If our cities don’t work well and our food systems don’t work well, we’re really going to struggle as a species.”
In ‘Produce a City’, a fruit and veg cityscape will be built out of clay; and one of Henry Hargreaves’ and Caitlin Levin’s food maps (Photos: Supplied)
This year the festival, which runs from October 19-22, comprises 54 events, covering everything from foraging to food sovereignty to how to make your own wooden eating spoon.
Artist Simon Gary is running seven events at the Phillipstown Community Hub under the name A Communal Loaf, including a collaboration with the Canterbury Refugee Resettlement and Resource Centre where participants can learn how to bake breads from all over the world in the hub’s communal oven. Edible plant specimens from Captain Cook’s first voyage to New Zealand can be seen in a tour of the Allan Herbarium, meanwhile, and a classics professor is giving a talk on the feasting in ancient Rome.
Other highlights include a tour of the city’s traditional mahinga kai or food-gathering spots, a walking tour exploring Christchurch’s drinking and dining past and an “edible city” bike tour. Henry Hargreaves’ and Caitlin Levin’s maps made out of real food will be on display, and the Food and the City Symposium, presented by Freerange Press and hosted by Spinoff alum Simon Wilson, brings together speakers who will discuss the issues involved in the growing, making and eating of food, and its potential for positive impact in our cities.
Edible plant specimens from Captain Cook’s first voyage to New Zealand (Photos: Supplied)
The headline event, FEASTA, is taking place in the South Frame, one of the anchor projects of the Central Christchurch Recovery Plan, on the evening of Saturday, 20 October. It will feature installations by 130-plus architects and students of design and architecture, plus markets, bars and pop-up restaurants, as well as the Kono for Kai project, where 100 hand-woven harakeke kono (small food baskets) filled with native plant seedlings will be exchanged for koha of kai.
“It’s an opportunity to think afresh and anew about important issues in Ōtautahi,” says Halliday of the festival and its theme. “It’s really rich territory.”
FESTA, 19-22 October, Christchurch
The Spinoff’s food content is brought to you by Freedom Farms. They believe talking about food is nearly as much fun as eating it, and they’re excited to facilitate some good conversations around food provenance in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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Multitasking Makes You Remember Only What Matters
By Lila Sahija
We’ve already explored the effects of multitasking on our parenting. But how much does it affect our ability to remember? New research led by Castel and Catherine Middlebrooks, a UCLA graduate student, found that while divided attention does impair memory, people can still selectively focus enough to remember what has been identified as important information.
(For those of you multitasking right now, that was it. Carry on.)
To study the effects of multitasking on memory, Castel and Middlebrooks showed 192 students 120 words, divided into six groups of 20 words each. Each word was visible on a computer screen for three seconds, and each was paired with a number from 1 to 10. Researchers explained to the students that they would receive scores based on the point value of each word they remembered, making the words with high point values “more important” than the others.
The participants, all UCLA students, were assigned to one of four groups: One group gave the task their undivided attention. For the second group, researchers played audio of a voice reading numbers from one to 9 while students were viewing the words and their numeric values; students were told to press the space bar on their computer keyboard every time they heard three consecutive odd numbers.
(Having to juggle those two tasks proved very distracting: Each participant heard eight sequences of three odd numbers, but on average, they identified only 1.87 of the eight.)
A third group of participants heard familiar pop songs by Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Lady Gaga and Rihanna while they viewed the words. And a fourth group was asked to watch the words while listening to pop songs they hadn’t heard before.
After each set of 20 words, participants were asked to type as many of the words as they could remember. The researchers calculated a total score for each student after each set of 20 words based on the number on the screen when each word appeared.
The researchers found that the first group of participants — those who viewed the words and numbers with no distractions — recalled an average of eight words from each set of 20, while those who were distracted by having to listen for consecutive odd numbers recalled an average of just five words. Both groups of students who listened to music while watching their screens remembered the words almost as well as the group of undistracted students.
But the scientists also found that multitasking did not affect students’ ability to recall the information they were told was most important — the highest value words. Participants in all four groups were nearly five times as likely to recall a 10-point word as they were to remember a one-point word.
“Everybody consistently prioritized the high-value words and shifted their attention towards those,” said Middlebrooks, the study’s lead author. “They all came to the realization that they needed to remember what is the most valuable, even though some were distracted and some weren’t.”
The researchers set up a second, similar experiment with 96 other students — showing each participant six sets of 20 words, each with a numeric value from 1 to 10, but this time changing the distractions.
Again, one group of students viewed the words without any disruptions. But for the other three groups, the researchers played a series of tones: one group was told to identify whether each tone was the same as the previous one, another was told to indicate whether two tones played one after the other were the same pitch or not, and the final group was told to identify each sound as high-pitched or low-pitched. The findings were similar to those of the first experiment.
“The data are very clear in showing that with divided attention, we don’t remember as much, but we are still able to focus on what’s most important,” Castel said.
The researchers also found that multitasking students’ memory improved as the experiments progressed: In both studies, students in all four groups generally remembered more words by the sixth round of 20 words than they did in the first set.
“All is likely not lost if you’re occasionally interrupted by a text or if someone nearby turns on music while you’re studying,” she said. “Our world is filled with tantalizing distractions, and we seem to adapt by being selectively focused.”
The research was published in the journal Psychological Science.
dads | inner workings | memory | moms
Written By Lila Sahija
Lila reports on health and science news for The Swaddle. She has loved biology ever since she dissected her first frog in eighth grade, and now has a keen interest in examining human behavior. She also loves animals and takes at least one adventure a year through rural India. Oh, and she bakes a mean German coffee cake.
See all articles by Lila
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Home > TheSynapse Online > News > Network News > MARIO SIRONI
MARIO SIRONI
by Francesco Carelli December 10, 2020
A lesson of tragedy and greatness
By Francesco Carelli
Professor in Milan, Rome
Mario Sironi was one of the greatest Master in Italian XXth Century, with a real complex activity in all the periods of his painting, since the Symbolist beginning to the Divisionist moment, from the Futurist period to the Metaphysic one, from Italian “ Novecento “ to mural painting and to the works of the period after Second World War.
Sironi was one of the most original Italian painters, and also one of the most representative of his age, as attested by his colleagues’ (and not just their) high regard for him. “Sironi was Mussolinian but he never fifed for fascist revolution because his art, full of drama, was more fitting to the truth than to propaganda. Sironi, then, was the most German among Italian painters and the most Italian among German painters.”
An artist of high European level, an artist about whom Picasso himself used to say “you have a great artist, maybe the greatest in this period and you don’t realize it”.
The artist’s juvenile phase begin with the initial Symbolist movement before the Futurist period and Metaphysic one (the Lamp. Then the Twenties Years follow, when Sironi is among the founders of the Italian “Novecento” and open the Novecento period and Classic period, in which one of his masterpieces is created, the Architect, 1922-1923 (showed at Venice Biennale in 1924). The moment of his “Expressionist crisis” is between the Twenties and Thirties Years , and the subsequent adventure of Mural painting, still in the Thirties (the Worker); the Neo-Metaphysic (Eclipse) and the return to the painting of Forties (the Penitent Woman); at last the works created after the War and the Apocalypse, one of his last painting cycles, almost the artist’s legacy of ideals. Last paintings, also, about hard reality of workers ( Foundry near Naviglio Grande Milano , 1960 ).
His paintings are at GNAM (Rome), the Modern Art Gallery of Rome Capital, Ca’ Pesaro and Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Venice), MART of Trento and Rovereto, Brera Pinacotheca and Museum of XXth Century (Milano), GAM (Torino), Museum of Modern Art “Mario Rimoldi” (Regole d’Ampezzo), Comunal Pinacotheca of Faenza. These works retrace the whole way of the painter’s life and work, from which we can discern an idea of art as anti-academic, open to suggestions coming from theatre, architecture, sculpture, illustration and drawing and advertising.
The throbbing heart works are Sironi’s monumental works, as the Worker (1936) and the Empire (1936), because “the grandness of the town not by chance called Eternal deeply influences his idea of art. The ideal of the Great Decoration that Sironi developed in the Thirties was born in him well before those years (and well before Fascism), looking at Titus Arch and Colosseum, Massenzio’s Basilica and Traian Column, Pantheon and Caracalla’s Thermae , the fresco of Raphael and Michaelangelo”.
“His painting is a lesson of tragedy…. There is no painter who is worth his paintings”. The man who wrote this sentence was not an art critic, academic, University Professor, but the writer Gianni Rodari. And he was not speaking about aesthetics, but telling of when he saved the artist’s life on 25th April, when Sironi was arrested by a group of Partisans to which he, Rodari, belonged. Maybe because he’s not a critic, Rodari strikes the core of the matter: Sironi’s art is a lesson of tragedy. But there is more than it. Sironi’s painting is also a lesson of greatness. These two things in his works fit perfectly one in the other like valves of a shell. Tragedy, that is drama, strain, expressionism, romanticism. Greatness, that is strength, balance, solemnity, classicality”.
In his last works he looked at difficult workers’ life, mainly during that post-war period ( Foundry Workers near Naviglio Grande in Milano, 1960 ).
All Sironi’s life was accompanied by depressive crisis, since when , still a student, he stopped from his studies, till when his ideals were totally destroyed from the war events. In a paper, written in 1944- 45 , we read “ Every day is an enormous effort to go on, to resist with this heart crushed by the enormous fatigue to exist…There is nobody here close to me; just more atrocious loneliness, as always… In some moments, I still delude myself. Then the horrid and gloomy wind starts blowing anew…Everything fell apart in the last few months, everything. There’s nothing left but rubbles and fear “. And in a 1945 or 1946 letter he wrote: “ But what came later was even more lugubrious…I saw things that even my bitter philosophy wouldn’t have allowed me to imagine. I saw the atrocity of life and the bestiality of human nature .
Photo: Oil on canvas – Foundry Workers near Naviglio Grande in Milano, 1960
Contributions Francesco Carelli
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TULLIO CRALI – A FUTURIST LIFE
Opinion Piece – Comparison of risks
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FinanceNewsWorld NewsBusiness
Royal wedding sparks UK retail sales surge
Fri, 20 May 2011 10:05AM
British retail sales surged on the back of the royal wedding, sunny weather and a late Easter but analysts warned of only a temporary boost amid weak consumer sentiment and flat economic growth.
April retail sales jumped 1.1 per cent compared with March, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.
That was the biggest month-on-month April increase since 2002 and topped market expectations for a rise of 0.7 per cent, according to analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.
Retail sales were up 2.8 per cent compared with a year ago, again beating forecasts for a 2.4-per cent gain.
"It must be noted that April 2011 was an unusual month for a number of reasons," the ONS said.
"It was the warmest April since records began. There was a special bank (public) holiday for the royal wedding (and) the royal wedding itself."
Clothing and food sales jumped as Britons splashed out to celebrate Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton on April 29, which was declared a public holiday.
Shopkeepers were also lifted by the Easter holiday break, which was in April this year - but fell in March last year.
"UK retail sales flourished during April," said economist Shehan Mohamed at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) consultancy.
"The hottest April weather since records began and the royal wedding bank holiday weekend both acted together to boost the ailing retail sector."
He said: "Delving deeper into today's figures, both the clothing and food sector benefited from the royal dividend."
The ONS will publish a detailed estimate in July about the impact of April's unusual events.
Economists welcomed rising retail sales but argued that the sector remains in trouble, with consumers still pressured by soaring inflation, a weak property market and a stagnant economy.
Sentiment was also hit by the government's tough austerity measures, particularly after a hike in VAT sales tax at the start of this year.
"While welcome, we strongly doubt that the 1.1-per cent jump in retail sales volumes in April is a sign that the consumer is roaring back to life," said Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight.
"Rather, what it suggests is that pressurised consumers need a particularly favourable set of circumstances to part with their cash ... we suspect that consumers are likely to keep a tight grip on their purse strings over the coming months."
Hetal Mehta, an economist at Daiwa Capital Markets Europe, agreed that Britons were still facing economic headwinds.
"The better-than-expected retail sales figures have been distorted by the unseasonably warm weather and the royal wedding, so we would certainly not get carried away with one month's numbers," Mehta said.
"With the labour market still weak, household debt remaining high and real incomes falling, growth in the consumer sector of this scale cannot be sustainable."
The British economy flatlined over the past six months, official data showed, reflecting the impact of deep government spending cuts and tax hikes.
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FinanceNewsAustraliaBusiness
Seven-WesTrac deal gets final nod
Tue, 27 April 2010 10:49AM
The Federal Court has approved the $3 billion merger of the Seven Network with chairman Kerry Stokes' privately-owned WesTrac Group, clearing the final hurdle in the deal.
Justice Peter Jacobson gave the scheme of arrangements for the union the green light this morning.
"There's nothing to suggest that the unrelated shareholders or the TELYS3 holders voted otherwise than in good faith," Justice Jacobson said in his decision.
"Or they cast their vote for any improper purpose.
"The test of reasonableness appears to be satisfied."
Seven Network shareholders voted at meetings in Sydney last week to approve the media group's merger with the Perth-based dealer of Caterpillar earthmoving equipment.
The new group will be named Seven Group Holdings.
The merger is scheduled to become effective on April 29 when Seven Network shares will be suspended from trade on the ASX, according to the scheme booklet released in March.
The new merged entity would begin trade on Friday, May 14.
Seven shares were up 12 cents, or 1.56 per cent, to $7.80.
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TVNewsEntertainmentCelebrity Gossip
Alex runs out of luck
ROSS McRAEThe West Australian
Tue, 17 May 2011 11:24AM
He was the MasterChef contestant with nine lives - but last night Alex Glasson's luck ran out on Ten's popular reality cooking competition.
Well known for his tattoos and flesh tunnel earrings, Glasson was the second contestant eliminated from the MasterChef top 24 after his two-hour battle to bake a cherry and coconut bombe Alaska ended disastrously.
A 27-year-old unemployed machinist and former "dish pig" from Southern River, Glasson almost didn't make the top 50 - it took some pleading to the judges and producers to get called back as a wild card.
He was knocked out of the competition when the top 24 was unveiled - only to be called back at late notice when North Perth fighter pilot Paul Lombardi was needed on RAAF duty.
Glasson, who attended Aquinas College and Corpus Christi College, needed more than just luck to get over his lack of experience in the kitchen. However, he tells AAA that his time on the show has led him to overhaul his life.
"I am definitely not going back to doing what I was doing before. I have had enough of that whole industry," says Glasson. "That is why I want to sell my house and the majority of my stuff and get over to Melbourne and start fresh."
With Glasson out, there are just two WA contestants - Rachel McSweeney and Arena Dunn - left to battle it out for the title of MasterChef 2011.
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Mid WestNewsOceaniaAustraliaWA News
Accomplished author to speak at Big Sky
Sophie ElliottGeraldton Newspapers
Mon, 3 September 2012 10:50AM
Judy Nunn found herself in an enviable situation at age 10 when she realised she knew what she wanted to do with her life.
She wanted to act and she wanted to write.
Nunn got exactly what she wanted and will deliver the Act-Belong-Commit Keynote Address at the Big Sky Readers and Writers Festival.
Nunn is better known these days for her books rather than her acting but is remembered fondly for her numerous acting roles including Ailsa from television soap Home and Away.
Her books include the bestsellers Kal, Beneath the Southern Cross, Floodtide and Tiger Men.
Nunn said when she began writing adult fiction novels she kept to a principle — keep it simple, stupid.
“I wrote about what I knew and they were very different books,” she said.
“The first one was a piss take, purely satirical, the second was a thriller based in theatre and then the third book made me see I love historically-based fiction — a style, which has now become my stamp.”
Nunn is working on her 12th adult novel but said writing didn’t get easier.
“It gets harder because you don’t want to become a formula writer,” she said.
“I have a beautiful following of readers so I set the bar higher each time so it is a bit more stressful each time.
Nunn said her background in acting was immensely helpful as a writer.
“Being an actor as long as I have I have worked with great playwrights, who as well being great masters of language are also great at psychology,” she said.
“Great theatre is the study of characters. Actors, all actors who are serious about what they are doing, still study characters.”
Nunn has a personal link to Geraldton with several family members living in the town.
She encouraged the community to be involved in the festival and listen to authors talk about their work.
“Reading is a wonderful thing because it can actually take you out of this world,” she said.
“It might appear the writer who put the words on page is working but you are working.
“You are actually exciting your imagination.”
Judy Nunn’s keynote address will be held on Saturday, September 15 at the Queens Park Theatre at 9am.
At 11.45am she will join the Breathing Life into History session.
On Sunday, September 16 she will participate in the story session at the GUC at 11am before giving a reading at the Literary Lunch at Bentwood Olive Grove at 1pm.
Tickets to the lunch are $48 and bookings are essential.
For a full Big Sky event program, visit www.library.cgg.wa.gov.au
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OffbeatNewsLifestyleFashion
Pyjamas in public cause a stir
AAPThe West Australian
Mon, 20 August 2012 8:51AM
People who pop out to the supermarket or the ATM in their pyjamas are the subject of heated debate in a New Zealand city, with the locals split as to whether it's acceptable to parade sleepwear in public.
While some businesses are accepting of the trend - because they can't do anything to stop it - others have said they're "disturbed" by it, Heart of Gisborne manager Ken Huberts said.
All the latest LIFE+STYLE news
Some businesses had told him it wasn't a "good look" for Gisborne, which is on the North Island.
"From an outsider's perspective I guess sometimes it can be seen as people not having the right attitude," Mr Huberts told the New Zealand Herald.
Gisborne's deputy mayor Nola Aston said she didn't think it was the council's place to make a bylaw forbidding the wearing of pyjamas outside of the home.
"I think it's more than just the pyjamas, it's people judging people, and I don't think it's a council thing," she said.
"Pyjamas have become a fashionable thing.
"I can remember when mini-skirts came in and there was a huge furore because people could see their legs. They're probably more covered up in pyjamas."
Alka Mehta, the owner of Aberdeen Superette, said sometimes people went into her store about 11.30am wearing pyjamas.
She said it didn't look good but there was nothing she could do or say, because she would lose business.
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South WestNews
Boy, 13, dies in skateboarding accident
MICHELLE WHEELER and PHOEBE WEARNEThe West Australian
Mon, 21 January 2013 11:37AM
A 13-year-old boy died after he was hit by a car in Dalyellup yesterday afternoon.
The boy was riding his skateboard on Lawson Road when he was hit by the vehicle driven by a 20-year-old man about 3pm.
Police said the teenager skated into the path of the man's Holden Commodore as it drove along Dampier Street.
The driver of the car was unable to take evasive action and hit the teenager, knocking him off his skateboard.
Police said preparations were being made to fly the boy, who suffered serious head injuries, to Perth but he died soon afterwards in Bunbury Regional Hospital.
The driver helped police with their inquiries after the incident.
No charges have been laid at this stage.
Anyone who was in the area at the time and saw the incident is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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One Nation want airport racial profiling
Belinda MerhabAAP
Mon, 20 March 2017 8:46AM
One Nation wants airport security screenings to target immigrants from the Middle East, accusing the federal government of prioritising political correctness over Australian lives.
The Senate on Monday is debating legislation to strengthen aviation security by allowing random screening of airport workers with access to passenger aircraft, as well as their vehicles, in airside areas.
"According to the government a law-abiding Christian Australian from Toowoomba is considered equally likely to be an airport security threat as the killer of Curtis Cheng," One Nation's Malcolm Roberts told parliament.
Senator Roberts said a "surprising" number of airport workers were Muslims or other recently arrived immigrants.
He tried, but failed, to amend the legislation to force targeted rather than random screening, prioritising people profiled as members of high-threat groups.
Both the government and opposition rejected the changes, copping a barrage of insults from Senator Roberts.
"To those senators for whom folding like umbrellas in the face of every squawking minority has become a way of life, we urge you to take the next evolutionary step and join the ranks of the vertebrates," he said.
"Only One Nation has the guts to say the things that need to be said and to do the things that need to be done."
Senator Roberts said it was "absurd" the legislation, which cleared parliament on Monday morning, pointed out that all people had the right to be treated equally.
"Genuflecting to the political correct nonsense" meant resources would be spread too thinly and potential terror threats would be missed, he said.
Cabinet minister Fiona Nash said airport workers would be afforded the same protections as passengers to ensure they were not subject to discrimination based on their race or religion.
The new measures would be rolled out at Australia's highest risk airports over the next year, she said.
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Fremantle DockersMark DuffieldThe GameAFL
Mid-season report: Fremantle Dockers’ finals hopes rest on forgotten four
Mark DuffieldThe West Australian
Sat, 8 June 2019 2:00AM
Email Mark Duffield
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VideoA documentary about the final years of Adam Goodes's career premiers this evening.
The following is either a very good thing for Fremantle, or a very big question mark: The first half of their 2019 season gets a solid tick.
A 6-5 win-loss record, consistent effort in every game and no hidings.
Undeniable progress underlined by away wins against premiership contenders Greater Western Sydney and Collingwood, with a 4-2 mark at home.
But here comes what is either the upside or the catch, depending on whether you are an optimist or pessimist.
Whether the Dockers make it to September and have an impact if they do get there as one of eight sides depends on at least three, and possibly four, players who are yet to play a game between them in 2019 — Stephen Hill, Harley Bennell, Griffin Logue and possibly Aaron Sandilands. If you are an optimist, you are thinking that if none of these four has played yet and two of them look like they are about to, it has to be a good thing.
A pessimist would look at Logue, acknowledge that he was about to be picked in round one before a hamstring injury, but has not made it back into the best 22 since. He must replace the injured Alex Pearce.
And of the four, a strong back half of the season from Logue is an absolute must.
Bennell is nearly ready, but has been nearly ready several times over 31/2 seasons at Fremantle and played just two AFL games.
Camera IconWill Harley Bennell feature in Freo’s run to the finals? Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper
Hill carved out 190 matches in nine seasons from debut in the opening round of 2009 until round 23, 2017. He managed just 13 last year and hasn’t played yet this season as calf and quad problems have bitten.
A calf injury — the same type of issue that ended Sandilands’ season after 11 games last year at the age of 35 — has stopped the ruck goliath from getting started yet this year at 36. Of the four, he is the long-shot.
Logue played 13 matches in his debut season in 2017 and hasn’t featured at the top level since.
His 2018 was wrecked by a foot injury. He impressed over summer, but broke down in a JLT Community Series match.
Logue’s form over the past three weeks in the WAFL has been strong, but the shoes he must fill are big.
Pearce is not only a super defender, he is also an on-field leader. Logue is still just 21.
He has time on his side, but in 2019 this is his time now. He is 193cm, fast, strong and has a big tank.
These are great raw materials to build a footballer with, but the emphasis with Logue is on raw.
If he stands up, the Dockers should be in a position to at least hold their ground near the top eight.
The football world had pretty much given up on Bennell after three eventful and injury-riddled seasons.
The Dockers refused to quit on him and out of the blue in the past fortnight he has produced his two best games since joining the club.
In the first quarter for Peel against WAFL giants Subiaco a week ago, he had 12 disposals with six clearances, resulting in the Lions slapping a heavy tag on him.
Mark Duffield says the lack of an AFL State of Origin is a huge missed opportunity.
VideoMark Duffield says the lack of an AFL State of Origin is a huge missed opportunity.
Which brings us to the next point. If Bennell’s GPS numbers are around the mark needed for the AFL, Fremantle need to play him sooner rather than later. Every WAFL club is going to tag a player capable of 12 touches and six clearances in a quarter. A heavily tagged Bennell running around in the WAFL as he slowly runs out of contract serves no purpose to anyone.
What we know of Hill is that he will get there if his body allows. If that is the case he will add flexibility and silk to the Dockers’ defence and midfield.
You can bet key forward Jesse Hogan would relish the sight of Bennell and Hill coming at him with the ball.
As for Sandilands, at his age with his recent injury record, a return to the big league almost seems like a dream.
But with 6-6-6 starting points, imagine Sandilands working the centre square with Nat Fyfe, David Mundy and Michael Walters at his feet and Stephen and Bradley Hill and Bennell working the outside.
It’s certainly not a bad dream for Freo fans.
Tasmania puts foot down over AFL inclusion
India enter history books as Aussie fortress fallsPremium
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West Coast EaglesNewsSportWA News
Woosha at a loss over second Eagles thumping
Mark Duffield and Bridget LacyThe West Australian
Mon, 8 April 2013 8:56AM
West Coast plunged to a 0-2 start to the season on the back of a 50-point hammering from Hawthorn yesterday as the midfield absence of Nic Naitanui and Daniel Kerr hit home.
For the second time in as many games, the Eagles were thrashed in inside 50s at Patersons Stadium.
The count was 62-37 against the Hawks, after it was 61-38 against Fremantle in round one.
The ball is spending most of the game at the opposite end from in-form Josh Kennedy, who kicked five goals to keep the Eagles in the match until halfway through the last quarter, before they were overwhelmed 23.10 (148) to 15.8 (98).
Worsfold was last night pondering how best to handle the return of midfielder Kerr, who played his first game for the season on Saturday, for East Fremantle.
Critics also questioned whether the Eagles could cope in the absence of All-Australian ruckman Naitanui, as the Hawks proved far more effective at the clearances.
Worsfold was at a loss to explain why his players were so comprehensively outmatched in the vital inside-50 statistic.
"Their (Hawthorn's) ability to win the footy and go forward and get it inside 50 compared to ours was far superior," he said.
"I look at some of the figures from the game and things looked pretty good for us other than the fact that we went inside 50 less than 40 times again, which we did in round one.
"We score when we are going in and we are doing a lot of other good things, and we won the clearances this week, which is something we couldn't do against Fremantle, but the opposition are carrying the ball easily into their forward line."
Worsfold refused to blame the loss on the absence of Naitanui, Kerr and star forward Mark LeCras.
"We still went in with a pretty good side so disregard that (and) let's assess the guys we played and work through that," Worsfold said.
He said he was disappointed with the start to the season, but believed West Coast could turn it around.
"I am confident there are a lot of things working pretty well, but there is obviously something fairly drastic that we need to address," he said.
"We have played two pretty good top teams so it is all there for us to do. What we want to do and we are still aiming to show is that we are one of the really good teams in the competition.
"We will get measured on that over the next 20 weeks, but even in the short term over the next six weeks."
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said the win was outstanding.
"Coming off a six-day break and having to travel, it is an enormous assignment and for us to get the points under those circumstances was terrific," he said.
"But we have just got to get back to Melbourne and recover well and it doesn't get any easier next week against Collingwood."
The Hawks got outstanding service from forwards Lance Franklin (five goals), Cyril Rioli and Luke Breust (four each).
Luke Hodge made an outstanding return from an interrupted pre-season with 25 possessions, while midfielder Sam Mitchell and defender Grant Birchall vied for best on ground. Mitchell had 31 possessions and Birchall had 30.
WA trader to enter new restructuring processPremium
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Home / Products / T.I.M.E Stories
ASMSCTS01US
Spimmo Reviewed by Spimmo, from United Kingdom
Hugely engaging and looks fantastic
Not a board game in the usual sense, more like a 'choose your own adventure' mystery, where you decide how to work through the clues until you find out whodunnit. It looks fantastic, the pieces and board are well made and the stories are really engaging. The themes in the base game are a bit adult (we didn't let our 9 year old have the option of playing the drug addict, for example) and it's a bit dark, but that's one of the things that makes it great -- it's genuinely for grown ups. And you can save where you're up to when you pack it away if you don't have time to play to the end, which is a great innovatoin given how long the game can take. Beware addiction to the expansions
Jack B. Reviewed by Jack B., from United Kingdom
Not really a game per se, but a great choose your own adventure story with some game mechanics, beware you will want to buy all the expansions!
Collections: Light Strategy Games
Type: Light Strategy
Category: Co-operative Play, Dice Rolling, Mature / Adult, Puzzle, Role Playing, Storytelling, Time Track, Variable Player Powers
The T.I.M.E Agency protects humanity by preventing temporal faults and paradoxes from threatening the fabric of our universe. As temporal agents, you and your team will be sent into the bodies of beings from different worlds or realities to successfully complete the missions given to you. Failure is impossible, as you will be able to go back in time as many times as required.
T.I.M.E Stories is a narrative game, a game of "decksploration". Each player is free to give their character as deep a "role" as they want, in order to live through a story, as much in the game as around the table. But it's also a board game with rules which allow for reflection and optimization.
At the beginning of the game, the players are at their home base and receive their mission briefing. The object is then to complete it in as few attempts as possible. The actions and movements of the players will use Temporal Units (TU), the quantity of which depend on the scenario and the number of players. Each attempt is called a "run"; one run equals the use of all of the Temporal Units at the players' disposal. When the TU reach zero, the agents are recalled to the agency, and restart the scenario from the beginning, armed with their experience. The object of the game is to make the perfect run, while solving all of the puzzles and overcoming all of a scenario’s obstacles.
The base box contains the entirety of the T.I.M.E Stories system and allows players to play all of the scenarios, the first of which — Asylum — is included. During a scenario, which consists of a deck of 120+ cards, each player explores cards, presented most often in the form of a panorama. Access to some cards require the possession of the proper item or items, while others present surprises, enemies, riddles, clues, and other dangers.
You usually take possession of local hosts to navigate in a given environment, but who knows what you'll have to do to succeed? Roam a med-fan city, looking for the dungeon where the Syaan king is hiding? Survive in the Antarctic while enormous creatures lurk beneath the surface of the ice? Solve a puzzle in an early 20th century asylum? That is all possible, and you might even have to jump from one host to another, or play against your fellow agents from time to time...
In the box, an insert allows players to "save" the game at any point, to play over multiple sessions, just like in a video game. This way, it's possible to pause your ongoing game by preserving the state of the receptacles, the remaining TU, the discovered clues, etc.
T.I.M.E Stories is a decksploring game in which each deck makes anything possible!
2-4 Players | 90-240 Minutes | Ages 12+
PLEASE NOTE: ROYAL MAIL ARE EXPERIENCING DELAYS IN SOME AREAS, PLEASE ALLOW EXTRA TIME FOR DELIVERIES TO ARRIVE.
All online orders are picked from our separate warehouse. We always ensure that your games are well packed before leaving. Wherever possible we'll re-use a cardboard box that we received games in from one of our suppliers. We figure it's better that way for our planet. But we do also use new boxes and wraps. If you have a strong preference either way please let us know in your Order Comments.
Our warehouse operates Monday to Friday, except bank holidays. Orders placed on a working day before 1:30pm will be packed and despatched that same day. All order are sent tracked via the Royal Mail. You will be able to follow your order from our warehouse to your delivery destination once your order has been fulfilled.
Postage is worked out by spend and delivery type. These options are listed below. There is also the option to collect your online order at our café, no delivery charge is made.
Important note on shipping times: none of the below shipping times are guaranteed. From time to time unforeseen problems that are outside of our control can lead to postal delays. We do not accept responsibility for this these and will not refund shipping fees in these circumstance. If it is imperative that your order must reach reach you the next working day please contact us so that we can quote for a guaranteed next day postal service.
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Spend over £50 and automatically receive free Royal Mail Tracked 48 UK shipping. You will have the option to upgrade your shipping method should you need a speedier service.
EXPRESS SHIPPING: ROYAL MAIL TRACKED 24 - UNITED KINGDOM
This is a tracked service so you can check your delivery is on the way. Your order should arrive within 1-2 working days from day of despatch. Deliveries are made on Saturdays. You will be sent an email or SMS message to confirm delivery. We charge a flat-rate of £5 for Tracked 24 orders, meaning you can order multiple items with no increase in shipping costs.
STANDARD SHIPPING: ROYAL MAIL TRACKED 48 - UNITED KINGDOM
This is a tracked service so you can check your delivery is on the way. Your order should arrive 2-3 working days from day of despatch. Deliveries are made on Saturdays. You will be sent an email or SMS message to confirm delivery. We charge a flat-rate of £4.00 for Tracked 48 orders, meaning you can order multiple items with no increase in shipping costs.
COLLECT AT THE CAFÉ (SUSPENDED DURING LOCKDOWN 2.0)
At check-out you will to have the option to collect your order from our cafés in either Oxford or Bath and avoid the shipping charge. We will notify you by email as soon as your order is ready to collect. Allow up to 3 days for Oxford collection orders and 7 days for Bath collection orders. Orders will be held for a maximum of 21 days before being returned to our warehouse.
All delivery costs are present at the 'My Basket' screen once the shipping destination is chosen, before any money is taken.
Please note working day delivery does not include Sunday, Bank Holidays, Public Holidays and substitute days (see the GOV UK website for clarification).
If you request that the package is left in a safe place, this will only be done at the discretion of the delivery driver.
Can't be home for delivery? Don't worry - Thirsty Meeples can ship to any UK address so you can have your order delivered to your place of work, to a friend, a relative or neighbour. Simply enter your preferred delivery address when checking out.
Ascension: Darkness Unleashed
Azul: Stained Glass Of Sintra
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meeple: a small figure used as a playing piece in certain board games, having a stylized human form. (noun) /ˈmiːp(ə)l
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Features & Student Life
The Clarionette
The student news site of University High School
Winter with no basketball
Peter Deffenbaugh, Reporter
The gym, although now air conditioned, remains empty as we transition from fall to winter sports seasons.
Normally, the men’s basketball team would be working tirelessly in the gym to prepare for their upcoming season. As of October 28, their season was postponed until February 12, after it was deemed a high-risk activity by the IHSA.
The players and coaches of the team are doing the best they can to prepare for the season safely by mandating social distanced practices 2-3 days a week where they work on their individual skill, as well as suggested workouts to gain strength before the season begins.
“I want them to lift and keep a ball in their hands, so that when we are able to play, they’ll be ready,” assistant coach Charlie Schemph said.
The team has also adapted new techniques to stay motivated and focused throughout their off season. They go into every practice or drill with the mentality that the team that has been working the hardest in this extra time will be the team that performs the best when the season rolls around.
“We’re all looking forward to having a season,” senior Angelo Berna said, “so we try our best to go hard in practice to prepare for the tougher teams we’ll face this season.”
After many successful seasons, head coach Andrew McDowell is disappointed to not have his players on the court, but is also eager to strengthen his team physically and mentally. McDowell has been assigning film to watch, creating practice plans to follow the COVID-19 guidelines, and developing strategic plays for certain teams.
“We are trying to stay positive,” McDowell said. “It is so easy to be frustrated or negative during this time, but positivity is what is going to get us through it and I think that our coaching staff will mirror that to our guys.”
Assistant coach Charlie Schemf has also been doing his part to keep his players motivated to put forth their best effort.
“I tell my players to wake up with a positive mindset, and hope that things will work out in the end,” Schemf said.
Senior power forward Angelo Bernal has been taking this advice from his coaches, and is confident that the extra time will only strengthen the teams individual skills, which will ultimately lead to a good offense and defense when it comes time for game play,
“We do lots of shooting and defensive drills, which can be kind of tedious,” Bernal said. “So I try my best to encourage my teammates, reassuring them that these extra drills will pay off in the long run.”
Although the team is ready to get back to games, they consider the health and safety of the public and players to be their top priority and will remain patient until it is safe to do so.
“We are going to stay ready, and once we are given the green light to start, go full blown, all out and defend our Central State 8 championship,” McDowell said.
Costs of COVID-19
Freshmen find new ways to socialize
Students take on social justice work
Fall teams adapt to the pandemic
Pandemic positivity and pastimes
Remote or blended learning? There is no perfect choice
Teachers, students practice flexibility in the classroom
Reshaping the school for COVID learning
How counselors are working to support students
Sophomore seeks to broaden the coding community
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MODS Metadata of Die funksionering van die algemene skolastiese aanlegtoets (ASAT) in verskillende groepe
roleTerm ( text )
namePart
Schepers, J.M., Prof.
Claassen, Nicolaas Cornelius Winckler
dateAccessioned
dateAvailable
dateIssued
dateSubmitted
identifier ( uri )
D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)
The generalizability of scores obtained on the General Scholastic Aptitude Test (GSAT) was investigated for a number of subpopulations. It was shown that acceptable procedures for limiting bias against certain subpopulations had been implemented in the course of test development. In order to facilitate an empirical investigation of the GSAT, random samples of Afrikaans-speaking whites, English-speaking whites, Afrikaans-speaking coloureds, English-speaking coloureds and English Speaking Indians were tested. The nature and intensity of cognitive stimulation as well as the direction of intellectual development differed from group to group and had definite implications for achievement in a test such as the GSAT. All the groups contained persons who could be regarded as fully integrated into an advanced technological society, but their average level of development, measured against this criterion, differed considerably. The test displayed a one-factor structure with respect to all the groups. On the basis of the content of the subtests this factor can be equated with Spearman's g factor. The ecological validity of test scores was studied on the basis of Berry's model for the generalization of behaviour aeross various environmental contexts. The nature of the differences between the groups with respect to both the internal and external structure of the test scores was investigated by means of conceptual as well as statistical analyses. The extent to which test scores could be generalized was indicated for different combinations of groups. On the basis of regression models it was shown that could to a large extent be used as a substitute for group membership as regards the explanation of GSAT scores. Differences in functioning found between the groups could often be attributed to differences in levels of achievement. Within Berry's experimental context the test was found to be almost equally valid for all the groups and it measured developed general scholastic ability equally well. With respect to most of the pupils in the white groups, the Indian group and the English-speaking coloured group, the test results could be generalized similarly in the behaviour context. The test measured general reasoning ability with scholastic symbol material almost equally well for these four groups, so that cross-cultural comparisons witp respect to this type of reasoning ability could be made reasonably reliably. However, most of the Afrikaans-speaking coloured subjects were probably handicapped by a lack of relevant experience. There are substantial differences between the groups as regards the generalizability of scores to intellectual achievements in the ecological context. In respect of the majority of white pupils such generalization is probably acceptable, as they could be regarded as fully integrated into an advanced technological society.
languageTerm ( rfc3066 )
accessCondition ( useAndReproduction )
Ability - Testing - Evaluation
Ability - Testing - Cross-cultural studies
Whites - Intelligence testing - South Africa - Evaluation
Colored people (South Africa) - Intelligence testing - Evaluation
Die funksionering van die algemene skolastiese aanlegtoets (ASAT) in verskillende groepe
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May 12, 2018 ATO
Since the beginning of the day fighters of 12 times fired at the Ukrainian military
© Facebook/the press-center of staff ATO
The war in the East
Losses among fighters with no APU.
From midnight by militants on may 12 in the East recorded 16 impact of attacks.
It is reported pre-service OOS.
Walker next week will come to witness the humanitarian crisis in the Donbass
In particular, in the direction of Lugansk in the night four times the shelling was carried out of the military in Novozvanivka, they used 82-mm mortar shells and heavy machine guns. At about 01:00 terrorists 15 rounds of artillery caliber of 122 mm.
Also the shelling of 82-mm mortar shells recorded after 03:30 defenders of zaitsevo.
On the Donetsk direction at about 01:00 in Kamenets shave shelling out mnemeth 120mm.
Attacks from different types of grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms were the positions of the joint forces near the settlement Avdiyivka, Hnutove, heater, Water, Marinka, Verkhnetoretskoye, the mine Butovka.
Ukrainian military 11 times used regular infantry weapons in response.
As a result of enemy attacks since the beginning of the day, may 12, losses among the Ukrainian military no.
Recall, may 11 in the area of operations of the combined forces of active hostilities continued in all directions. Militants 50 times violated the Minsk agreements, of which 19 times with the use of heavy weapons.
operation United forces
Saw a bug — Ctrl+Enter
© Materials
/ a.d.
deployed
« 800 rescuers, boats on the river, checking for explosives. As SSES prepared for the Champions League
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Stop the Wars at Home and Abroad!
All articles represent the opinions of the authors – not UNAC Positions
UNAC Home
Meet the UNAC AC
Freedom Rider: The Real Resistance Begins
November 13, 2020 UNAC Editor Racism, US Politics
by Margaret Kimberley, published on Black Agenda Report, November 11, 2020
“Kamala Auntie” and Joe from Scranton will do as little as possible so that “nothing will fundamentally change” that would halt endless wars and the Race to the Bottom.
“We have already lived through phony change and emotional theatrics instead of political action.”
When Pennsylvania announced that Joe Biden won in that state it became clear that he had enough Electoral College votes to become the de facto president elect. When the news became public, millions of people responded with spontaneous celebrations. There was quite literally dancing in the streets in many cities across the country. The public reaction was unprecedented in its scope and demonstrated the depth of antipathy towards Donald Trump, who is one of the most hated presidents in modern history.
The vagaries of that same Electoral College that put Biden over the top brought Trump into office in 2016 even though he lost the popular vote. The trauma of his victory, one we were told would never happen, was deep and was constantly aggravated by Trump’s own words and deeds.
The celebrations were difficult for those on the left. Obviously there was no feeling of connection for the awful team of Joe Biden, a right wing Democrat who once said he didn’t want his kids to “grow up in a racial jungle,” or Kamala Harris, the California prison matron who committed herself to locking up as many people as she possibly could.
“Dancing in the streets.”
The level of exaltation was reminiscent of the Barack Obama victory in 2008, when doubters were told not to bring skunks to the party. After the Trump experience, the imperative to support the new neo-liberal, imperialist administration will be even worse. Kamala Harris in particular is lionized as the first non-white vice president and the first female, too. The Democratic Party’s propagandists have gone into overdrive as they milk her ascent for all that it is worth.
Biden and Harris are not the only people who must be resisted. The black political class, the misleaders, are being credited as “king makers” who brought victory to the entire race. Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina is one such individual, who did the dirty deed of deep-sixing Bernie Sanders and endorsing Biden, just as the party establishment wanted him to do. Clyburn acted on orders from the top and as such is a lackey, and not a king maker of any sort.
Clyburn isn’t the only misleader getting questionable praise. The closeness of the race in Georgia has burnished Stacey Abram’s credentials too. Even Biden’s small lead in Georgia is significant in this previously red state and Abrams is lauded for her work getting out the vote. The achievement is real, but it is not a good thing when we are given new political stars to adore and to worship. Abrams has her own presidential ambitions and invitations to globalist meetings such as the Bilderberg Group and the Council on Foreign Relations are a sign that her interests are not ours.
“Clyburn is a lackey and not a king maker of any sort.”
None of these people pushed into prominence are working on behalf of black people. Clyburn is one of the leading recipients of Big Pharma campaign contributions and now says that the loss of Democratic House seats should be blamed on progressives.
“John [Lewis] and I sat on the House floor and talked about that ‘defund the police slogan’ and both of us concluded that it had the possibilities of doing to the Black Lives Matter movement and current movements across the country what ‘Burn Baby Burn ’ did to us in the 1960s. We lost the movement over that slogan. A lot of people don’t realize.”
Apparently COINTELPRO and the state’s well documented destruction of the movement doesn’t figure into the Clyburn version of history.
There was a half-hearted fake resistance movement after Donald Trump was elected in 2016. They said nothing when Democrats went along with Trump’s Space Force and other defense spending programs, but they did wear pink pussy hats. In short, they resisted very little.
Now is the time for serious push back against the duopoly, and that means Biden and Harris. Biden is already talking about “healing” the country but he is neither a physician nor a clergyman. No one voted for him to heal anything. He is just repeating what he told rich donors: “Nothing will fundamentally change.”
“COINTELPRO doesn’t figure into the Clyburn version of history.”
“Kamala Auntie” and Joe from Scranton will do as little as possible. That is their goal after all, to fool people into thinking that there will be differences. Trump is an outlier as a persona but not as a president. Biden and Harris will bring comfort to nerves frayed by four years of crazy tweeting and epic incompetence. It is their job to do what their voters want. Millions of people took part who ordinarily do not. They stood in long lines at polling places because they want change and not because they are enamored of Kamala Harris’s choice of suit color.
Of course, when Trump truly differed with the “resistance” by imposing sanctions that deprive people of medicine in Venezuela and Iran and Syria and Cuba, and assassinating Iranian generals, the pink pussy hat wearers were unconcerned. They hit the streets in protest to protect old school segregationist Jeff Sessions because of a bizarre Russiagate theory, but said nothing when Trump passed the biggest tax cut for rich people in history.
The United States desperately needs a real resistance, people who will organize to defend themselves and to hold elected representatives accountable. If they want to party it can’t be because one of the most right wing Democrats in history will be president. We have already lived through phony change and emotional theatrics instead of political action. Obama’s two terms in office gave us a health insurance bailout of the for-profit industry responsible for a failed system, the destruction of states like Libya, and black people deprived of the little wealth they had. Unless the Democratic Party scam is called out, we will end up with more of the same.
Margaret Kimberley’s Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR, and is widely reprinted elsewhere. Her new book, Prejudential, looks at the history of US Presidents treatment of people of color. She maintains a frequently updated blog as well at patreon.com/margaretkimberley and she regularly posts on Twitter @freedomrideblog. She is a member of the Administrative Committee of the United National Antiwar Movement. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgendaReport.com.
DemocratsFake Resistance MovementJoe Biden & Kamala Harris
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About UNAC
The United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) is the largest and broadest antiwar and social justice coalition in the United States. Our purpose is to bring together the disparate organizations and issues representing people in struggle today and to unify in collective action in opposition to the major perpetrator of war and injustice in the world – the United States government along with its allies and proxies. Click here to see UNAC Statements and Activities.
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Hold #Israel accountable for violation of Palestinian rights. They deny Palestinians the COVID vaccine as part of their geocidal campaign against the Palestinians. #ApartheidIsrael #ICC4Israel
The assassination of the Iranian general Solemani and the killing of #Iran scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh along with harsh US imposed sanctions are acts of war. No War with Iran! End the Sanctions! Join us for this important webinar. register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_R5v_wFmmQdujR4To3GdVCQ
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Youth Against Empire with @UNAC1 have a Webinar on the 30th about War with Iran https://www.facebook.com/events/219109613133099/
#DC mob, #Iran, #Yemen, #China and more
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Call for international protection of 🇵🇸 Human Rights Defender @IssaAmro, on trial for his peaceful activism in the Israeli military court. 🫒 #StandWithIssa in court tomorrow Jan 6. Sign the petition: http://friendsofhebron.com/standwithissa
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January 1, 1804 Haitian revolution.
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#haitianrevolution #haitianindependenceday #CubanRevolution #cuba
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China is not our enemy. The war machine is! https://twitter.com/catcontentonly/status/1343282499833765890
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New hobby is googling the think tanks affiliated with every rabid anti-China op-ed writer, and then looking up how much weapons contractors have contributed to them lol 3
View the webinar: The #venezuelan election, a blow to US Imperialism. Hear Margaret Flowers, Vijay Prashad, Zoe PC & Bahman Azad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN8dGE4dO4M&t=17s
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Pirelli announce tyre choices for opening rounds
Date: 5th March 2015 at 8:36am
Formula One’s official tyre partner Pirelli have announced which tyre compounds will be used for the opening four races of the season.
The Italian tyre manufacturer has developed new compounds for the 2015 F1 season with a new rear construction with the aim to distribute forces and temperatures more evenly.
It’s more of an evolution to last seasons compound off the back of the new era of Formula One which was introduced in 2014 with the new engine regulations.
But despite the slight changes to the compounds it looks like Pirelli believe the tyres will perform to a similar level to last year as they have selected the same compound combinations for Australia, Malaysia, China and Bahrain.
For the Australian, Chinese and Bahrain Grand Prix the teams will be using the white lined medium and yellow lined soft compounds, whilst for Malaysia the soft compound tyre will be swapped for the orange marked hard compound.
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Will The Upcoming Budget Increase Its Focus On Healthcare?
The healthcare system has been neglected in the budget for far too long.
By Haider Kaleem
The healthcare crisis has hit Pakistan hard, and part of the reason for this has been the negligible quota of the budget that the healthcare sector is given.
According to the federal budget in the last fiscal year (2019-20), the total budget was Rs7trillion out of which a total of Rs11.058 billion was to be spent on health affairs and services – which is lower by 20.4 percent from the previous budget estimates.
Punjab allocated Rs279bn for healthcare services in 2019-20. In the previous budget for Punjab, (2018-19) the health budget was around 284bn but the current government cut the health expenditures by Rs5bn.
In this regard, Voicepk.net spoke to experts on what the upcoming fiscal year’s budget of Pakistan should look like in order to deal with the healthcare crisis.
“Pakistan is currently spending less than 0.6 percent of the GDP hence we have to increase our budget in every aspect of healthcare,” said Dr. Shahid Ali, a senior doctor at Jinnah Hospital, Lahore. “But even if there is a 6 percent increase in the GDP for healthcare budget, this would still not be enough to deal with such a pandemic in the future.”
Community health expert, Kausar Saeed Khan, who played a key role in drafting the policy of the National Commission of Human Rights (NCHR) report on the need to recognize healthcare as a human right in Pakistan, stressed why more legislation on the right to healthcare in Pakistan is required now.
“I think people need to make these demands from the State,” he said. “Because plainly the State is content in providing us with the existing healthcare system. WHO defines health as physical, mental, and social well-being but in Pakistan, it is seen as services only,” he added.
Dr. Kaisar Bengali, a Pakistani economist, says the problem is not so simple.
No matter how much more money is invested, the current system can never give positive results of a good health service.
“No elected representative has lost an election because of the system not being based on performance,” he said. “So the local governments need to be reestablished and just like NFC brings money to provinces, the provincial finance commissions, in turn, should also be distributing finances among districts. It should be linked to health and education indicators of the area. The local politicians will then have a political interest in performing. Otherwise, changing or making news institutions will not change much.”
Samia Altaf has been working in the public health sector for the past several decades.
Speaking to Voicepk.net she said that the problem is not just the budget, doctors or facilities, but bad planning and incompetent thinking. This is why the situation is what it is.
“The health services are corrupted because they are run without any kind of analysis of what kind of sustainable system must be built. There is a hospital on literally every corner now. At least 15,000 doctors graduate every year and looking at the number of districts, we have enough doctors and nurses. But the important question is how we utilize these systems.”
Altaf also pointed out how there is a mismatch in the demand and supply of health workers by giving an example of how many of them go out of the country to work under different MOUs.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 has emerged as a major challenge to many countries in the world. But it remains to be seen whether Pakistan will once again continue to spend large sums on defense budgets instead of health.
But the scenario seems to have a dismal future. Recently a large chunk – 67 percent – of the development funds of the merged districts in KP were snatched away and given to the security budget.
Health rights
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محمود اچکزئی کی مینار پاکستان پر کی گئی تقریر نفرت انگیزی کی بجاۓ قومی ہم آہنگی کو فروغ دینے کی کوشش تھی: عدالت
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Home » Blog » Adultery and Divorce in Texas
Adultery and Divorce in Texas
February 28, 2017 By // by Vonda Covington Leave a Comment
How Does Adultery Affect Your Texas Divorce?
Many people considering divorce anticipate that the court will punish a spouse for committing adultery. In this video, Divorce Attorney Vonda Covington talks about adultery and divorce in Texas. If you have questions, please contact our office for an appointment by calling 281-762-0578.
Summary of Adultery and Divorce in Texas Video
– Hi, I’m Vonda Covington. I’m a divorce attorney in Fort Bend County, Texas, and I’d like to talk a little bit about the effect of adultery in divorce and dispel some common myths.
First of all, I think it’s important to recognize that the people who make these family law decisions, the family court judges, hear some really, really horrible stuff over the course of their careers on the bench. Some of the stuff is the kind of stuff that just makes you want to cry because people can be just so mean to each other.
The Issues of Adultery in Divorce
The judges really don’t get as excited as people would like a lot of times about adultery. Typically the issues in adultery are twofold. First, there is the problem of causing the breakup of the marriage and that problem really lies more with the expectation of a continued relationship than evildoing on the part of the person who’s had the affair.
So if you are in a marriage where one spouse, for instance, has been a stay-at-home parent, taking care of the kids, never pursued a career, and expected to have financial security because they’re married to somebody who’s making some really good income, perhaps you guys are halfway to retirement, and then the wage earner has an affair and it ends up breaking up the marriage.
The spouse who was faithful and who was relying on the continued income is going to get a little bit more of the estate, the marital estate, upon the division than the other spouse. That’s because the adultery is one of the factors that the court will look at in deciding the division of the community property in the marital estate.
The other way is that affairs can affect property division in divorce. We look at whether the person who is having the affair spent a lot of money on the boyfriend or girlfriend. Perhaps they took expensive, extravagant vacations, there have been really extravagant gifts, that kind of thing, then there’s gonna, that’s going to affect the division of the marital estate. The person who was preserving the estate and not giving it away to a third party is probably going to get a bigger chunk of the estate.
The Effect of Adultery on Parenting Issues
As far as parenting issues, what the court really is concerned about is have the kids been exposed to this other person? If the kids have been exposed to this other person during the marriage, then the courts generally frown on that. Kids don’t need to know that mom or dad has a boyfriend or a girlfriend.
If the kids have no idea that that’s what’s going on, and the kids have in no way been harmed, then it’s not a foul and it doesn’t get treated as one.
But it is important to recognize even after you’re separated if you are in an extramarital relationship, don’t bring that person around your kids while the divorce is pending. That is something that the kids are not ready for, they’re not ready to deal with it, and the court will really frown on it. It’ll end up hurting your case.
Contact Us for Advice Tailored to Your Situation
Are you wondering how adultery might affect your divorce? Please call our office at 281-762-0578 for an appointment to discuss your situation. An initial consultation will allow us to give you the information you need to make informed decisions.
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Variety Read Next: After Twitter Banned Donald Trump, Election Misinformation Online Plunged Dramatically
Mar 5, 2006 11:55am PT
Sound editors sing praise
MPSE hand out Golden Reel kudos
By Dena Seif
Dena Seif
A shalom to ‘Borat’ 14 years ago
Sound editor love ‘Letters’ 14 years ago
Editors pick ‘Babel,’ ‘Departed’ 14 years ago
The Motion Picture Sound Editors handed out kudos in 16 categories at the 53rd Golden Reel Awards on Saturday at the BevHilton.
Feature film honors in sound editing went to a quintet of pics this year. Golden Reels went to “Walk the Line” for music — musical feature; “Casanova” for music; “Memoirs of a Geisha” for dialogue and automated dialogue replacement; and “War of the Worlds” in the sound f/x and foley category. “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” took home the award in the foreign feature film category: sound f/x and foley, dialogue and ADR.
TV nods were separated into two major categories — long- and shortform. Winners for longform were “American Masters: No Direction Home: Bob Dylan,” for music; “Lackawanna Blues” for dialogue and ADR; and “Into the West” for sound f/x and Foley. Shortform recipients included two NBC shows: “Medium” for music, and “ER” for sound f/x and foley. Fox’s “House” took home the award for dialogue and ADR.
On the animation front, “Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” drew the feature film nod for sound editing, “Family Guy” the TV series nod.
“Ark, the Movie,” took home the direct-to-video plaudit, “Onimusha” for made-for-computer entertainment. “Crooked Mick” was tapped for the Verna Fields award in sound editing for student filmmakers.
Else Blangsted received the career achievement award. Prior to her acceptance of the nod, presented by Dave Grusin, a letter of appreciation by Robert Redford was read. Quincy Jones also expressed congratulations in a videotaped message to Blangsted in which he said, “I cannot think of a more deserving person to receive this award than you, baby.”
Upon accepting her award, the 86-year-old Blangsted thanked the night’s attendees for “coming here to celebrate life” and raised her glass to toast the audience before she took her award back to her seat. Blangsted is the first music editor to have won the coveted honor.
The MPSE saw another first this year — the inclusion of foley artists as Golden Reel recipients.
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Facebook starts Telecom Infra Project with Intel, Nokia, Deutsche Telekom, EE, Equinix, Globe, HCL, others
Jordan Novet@jordannovet February 21, 2016 11:00 PM
A diagram showing the parts of the Facebook-led Telecom Infra Project (TIP) alongside Facebook's Connectivity Labs and the Facebook-initiated Open Compute Project (OCP).
Image Credit: Facebook
At the 2016 Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona today, Facebook announced the formation of the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), an effort that resembles the Open Compute Project (OCP) that Facebook kicked off five years ago, but which is narrowly focused on the development of new telecommunications networking hardware.
This isn’t just another internal effort on the part of Facebook. As it did with the Open Compute Project, Facebook is announcing TIP with a bunch of partners, including telcos like Deutsche Telekom of Germany, BT subsidiary EE of the United Kingdom, Globe Telecom of the Philippines, and SK Telecom of South Korea.
“Every day, more people and devices around the world are coming online, and it’s becoming easier to share data-intensive experiences like video and virtual reality,” Jay Parikh, Facebook’s global head of engineering and infrastructure wrote in a blog post. “Scaling traditional telecom infrastructure to meet this global data challenge is not moving as fast as people need. We know there isn’t a sole solution for this, and no single company can tackle the problem alone.”
Some participants in the new program, like Intel, Nokia, and Facebook itself, will share designs, and the telco participants can go out and use technology based on those designs. At the start, the group’s work will focus on access, backhaul, and core/management, Parikh wrote.
The creation of new hardware could help telcos connect more people with greater efficiency and provide better connections to those who are already connected. That’s just good business for the telcos. And of course with more people connecting and getting access to more content, it’s more likely that Facebook will pick up millions more users and retain existing ones.
Facebook is already engaged in efforts to bring Internet to more people around the globe, with its Aquila drone and its partnership with French satellite company Eutelsat Communications. It also has the controversial Free Basics app for delivering Facebook and other basic Internet services to developing markets.
But the infrastructure that telcos use to provide their services is different from those that web services and other general-purpose applications have traditionally relied upon. The OCP has brought openness to cutting-edge designs for multiple generations of servers, storage, and networking equipment that companies other than Facebook have experimented with or even deployed to improve their own operations. The TIP won’t do exactly the same thing, but it could have just as much of an effect around the world, and the work could end up making a difference to the telcos’ hundreds of millions of end users who pay for Internet access month after month.
Here’s a list of TIP’s initial members:
Africa Mobile Network
Amarisoft
ASOCS
Athonet
AW2S
Equinix
IP Access
Lemko
Quortus
Ss7ware
Star Solutions
Sysmocom
Vanu
For more on TIP, check out the program’s new website.
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OK Cupid Created a Live Comedy Show, and the Result Is Surprisingly Revealing
Romance and comedy have a lot in common.
Allison Elliott
Art Credit: Shannon Lee Miller
Sometimes the best way to approach an awkward situation is to purposely and proactively make it as awkward as humanly possible. That’s the thinking behind the OK Cupid Show at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre (UCB) in New York.
What is this, you ask? For those of you sensible enough not to be living in New York or LA, the Upright Citizen’s Brigade is a comedy theater and school that offers nightly improv, sketch, and stand-up shows. For those of you sensible enough not to be on OK Cupid, it’s a free online-dating site much favored by New Yorkers and 20-somethings, and definitely New York 20-somethings. Mixing UCB and OK Stupid is a brilliant move—and not just because it's a recipe for laughs. It also manages to teach helpful things about dating.
The premise of the show is that two comedian hosts invite one brave OK Cupid member onstage to go on three blind dates with matches from OK Cupid. Before a live audience.
Comedy gold? Maybe. Since the dates are not comedians or performers themselves, there’s a risk that you could be stuck watching the worst reality show ever. For that reason, the show is sprinkled with interruptions and comedic bits from UCB performers playing a range of characters like a put-upon waiter and other nosy neighbor types.
Comedians Eli Newell and Julie Klausner start off by greeting the audience and then bringing the bachelor, Peter, onstage. They also broadcast Peter’s OK Cupid profile on a large screen for all to see. Peter, 25, is an aspiring writer who works at a movie-theater concession stand. A bit short, plenty smart, and plenty quirky, he’d be the boy in the teen comedy who's in love with his pretty childhood best friend who doesn’t realize she’s in love with him until the climax in Act III. But in real life, Peter is not in love with anyone, just single and looking.
That’s where OK Cupid comes in—and Eli and Julie. Eli and Julie are the spirit guides/cool kids who coach Peter throughout the show and teach him how to stop being his own worst enemy in his quest to win fair maid. And this component, with all the carefree drama of a John Hughes movie, made up the most interesting portion of the show. Even in a city as diverse as New York, the way to be a good date is surprisingly universal. Peter was cautioned to talk less about himself and ask more questions of his date, to mirror her actions and not jump right into eating before she had started.
After a painful start, Peter did show improvement based on Julie and Eli’s advice. He became more visibly comfortable and at ease with himself with each date. He learned to talk more confidently about where he wanted to be in life (writing), and less defensively about where he was (selling Twizzlers). After Peter became entranced with one date’s woolly mammoth necklace, Eli counseled him to find a more real connection. Does she like to travel? What books has she read that you like? (The blind dates’ profiles with likes/dislikes were also projected for the audience). Eli and Julie showed Peter how to read the profile to get clues for what to ask his date about and had some tips for the audience, as well. After discovering that Peter had a fondness for handling newspaper string (!?), Eli proclaimed that this was exactly the sort of idiosyncratic information one should be posting about themselves to stand out among the OK Crowd.
In the end, much to the audience’s surprise, Peter chose the girl that he had the most quirky things in common with, as opposed to the one he had the smoothest, most successful date with. Which shows that when chemistry—like comedy—is working, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why. It just sort of does.
(Photo by Shannon Lee Miller)
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Why I Couldn’t Laugh During the New Mommy-Comedy TV Premiere of ‘I’m Sorry’
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Showing Him You Care When His Love Language Is Acts of Service
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When you commit to doing something for a year, a funny thing happens.
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If We Want to Show the World How Amazing Motherhood Is, We Need to Stop Saying It’s Easy
We put a lot in, but we get a lot out.
By Sarah Ridenour
A Tangled Web: Don Jon Highlights Real-life Effects of Internet Porn
By Mary Rose Somarriba
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Village of Brownville
department public
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Tag Archives: iPhone XS
Comparing iPhone X to iPhone 11
Joshua King
Internet No Comments
The apple iPhone 11 officially appeared in September at Apple Shops worldwide in addition to various other merchants. The iPhone 11 is the follow-up to the apple iPhone XR as well as it comes 2 years after the preliminary intro of the apple iPhone X. This implies there are likely numerous apple iPhone X individuals who are thinking about upgrading this year. Keep reading as we compare the apple iPhone X to the iPhone 11
What’s important to note primarily is that the apple iPhone 11 isn’t always the direct follow-up to the apple iPhone X, despite the identifying. The apple iPhone X was done well by the apple iPhone XS, which is being prospered by the apple iPhone 11 Pro this year.
That’s not to state that the iPhone 11 isn’t a deserving successor to the apple iPhone X, because it definitely is.
Finest apple iPhone 11 cases:
Spigen Ultra Hybrid for iPhone 11
Mujjo Full Leather Situation for iPhone 11
Case-Mate Slim Instance for apple iPhone 11
With the purchase of the new iPhone 11 it is necessary to protect it from falls and various external damage. However, such a separate mobile phone also needs separate mobile cases (thikes iPhone). At thikishop, you’ll find a wide range of Apple mobile cases for every model currently on the market.
Different characteristics iPhone X from iPhone 11
IPhone X is powered by Apple A11 Bionic processor, while the apple iPhone 11 loads the newer A13 Bionic processor. If you’re using an iPhone X, it likely hasn’t started to decrease at all, as the A11 Bionic processor is extremely powerful. If you’re trying to find a rate boost, you may discover one going from the apple iPhone X to the iPhone 11, however it likely wouldn’t impact your everyday usage much whatsoever.
The largest difference between the apple iPhone X as well as the iPhone 11 is the screen innovation. The iPhone 11 attributes an LCD “Fluid Retina” panel with a 1792 × 828 resolution, whereas the iPhone X features an OLED display with a resolution of 2436 × 1125, for 458 pixels-per-inch.
Apple’s Fluid Retina show technology is quite advanced for an LCD panel, but if you have actually been utilizing an apple iPhone X since 2017, you’ll likely notice a slight difference in shade as well as brightness compared to the LCD panel of the iPhone 11.
Another thing worth keeping in mind is that the iPhone 11 attributes a 6.1-inch display screen, while the apple iPhone X includes a 5.8-inch display screen. This implies you’ll get a slightly bigger screen, yet not one as large as the 6.5-inch display screen of the iPhone 11 Pro Max. For lots of people, the 6.1-inch apple iPhone 11 display has become the sweet spot of big, however not too huge.
IPhone style
In regards to style, the apple iPhone X as well as iPhone 11 are really similar, yet with a couple of vital distinctions. The apple iPhone X features stainless steel sides that are more durable than the light weight aluminium sides of the iPhone 11. You’ll also observe that the screen of the iPhone X prolongs closer to the sides than the iPhone 11, as a result of the OLED display.
Apple states the iPhone 11 is additionally extra durable than past apple iPhone models, while it additionally uses enhanced water resistance. The apple iPhone 11 is likewise offered in colours consisting of white, black, yellow, red, green, and purple. The apple iPhone X was just sold in space gray and also silver.
The camera is where things get interesting…
The apple iPhone X features a dual-camera setup with a wide angle lens as well as telephoto lens. What this implies is that you can zoom closer to things when taking a photo, without consisting of photo top quality.
The apple iPhone 11 likewise features a dual-camera setup, however with wide angle as well as ultra large angle lenses. This suggests you do not obtain the capacity to focus on a topic, but you do obtain a broader field of vision. The apple iPhone 11 can capture a 120-degree field of vision, however it remains to be seen whether that is much more functional than the telephoto lens discovered on the apple iPhone X, iPhone XS, and iPhone 11 Pro.
One notable cam enhancement with the apple iPhone 11 is Evening mode. This attribute is able to illuminate pictures taken in low-light settings, as well as very early examinations reveal that the results are outstanding. The iPhone 11 additionally features improved True Tone flash, in addition to brand-new software program features for Bokeh and Depth Control, allowing you to change the history blur and also depth after taking a photo.
For the front-camera, the apple iPhone 11 has actually been updated to 12MP and currently supports 4K video recording at 24 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps. There’s likewise sustain for slo-mo 1080p video clip at 120 fps. The iPhone X features a 7MP front cam with support for 1080P video clip.
What about the battery!
In terms of battery life, Apple states the apple iPhone 11 provides to 17 hours of video clip playback, while the apple iPhone X offers up to 13 hrs. Apple doesn’t use direct contrasts between the apple iPhone X and also the iPhone 11 in regards to battery life, however you should expect notable improvements.
The apple iPhone 11 additionally proclaims assistance for improved connectivity alternatives consisting of 802.11 ax Wi-fi, WiFi 6, and also Gigabit-class LTE. You likewise get Dolby Atmos audio playback.
Should you update to iPhone 11?
The biggest benefit of going from the apple iPhone X to the apple iPhone 11 is pricing. The apple iPhone X originally began at $999 in rates, and enhanced based upon storage capacity. The iPhone 11, nonetheless, begins at $699.
The apple iPhone 11 is maybe among the best worths Apple has released in several years. You get the top of the line A13 Bionic processor, and outstanding electronic camera, improved battery life, and also extra for $300 less than the initial iPhone X.
If you sell a functioning apple iPhone X to Apple or one more online trade in site as well as upgrade to the 128GB iPhone 11, you’re considering $349 or $14.54 monthly. That’s an incredible worth, no matter just how you consider it.
How to Sell Your iPhone
For lots of people, however, the apple iPhone X is still an exceptional iPhone as well as one that will proceed being updated by Apple for many years ahead. Reports suggest that following year’s iPhone upgrade may be a little bit a lot more substantial with the OLED screen coming to all versions, 5G assistance, and much more.
Ultimately, I anticipate the iPhone X to apple iPhone 11 upgrade course to be common this year, however if you can hold out, it may be important to do so. The apple iPhone X is a superb gadget, as well as next year’s upgrades look even more considerable. What do you think about the apple iPhone X to iPhone 11 dispute? Let us know down in the comments.
Read more about iPhone mobiles:
ΘΗΚΕΣ ΚΙΝΗΤΩΝ iPhone 11 Pro Max ΑΞΕΣΟΥΑΡ
ΘΗΚΕΣ ΚΙΝΗΤΩΝ iPhone 11 Pro ΑΞΕΣΟΥΑΡ
ΘΗΚΕΣ ΚΙΝΗΤΩΝ iPhone 11 ΑΞΕΣΟΥΑΡ
ΘΗΚΕΣ ΚΙΝΗΤΩΝ iPhone X ΑΞΕΣΟΥΑΡ ΚΙΝΗΤΩΝ iPhone X
ΘΗΚΕΣ ΚΙΝΗΤΩΝ iPhone XR ΑΞΕΣΟΥΑΡ ΚΙΝΗΤΩΝ iPhone XR
ΘΗΚΕΣ ΚΙΝΗΤΩΝ iPhone XS MAX ΑΞΕΣΟΥΑΡ ΚΙΝΗΤΩΝ iPhone XS MAX
ΘΗΚΕΣ ΚΙΝΗΤΩΝ iPhone XS ΑΞΕΣΟΥΑΡ ΚΙΝΗΤΩΝ iPhone XS
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← A Host found on the floor: a priest teaches his flock about Communion
A good view of the Greenville controversy →
From a priest about the collection for CHD
From a priest reader regarding the collection for the Campaign for Human Development in Catholic parishes.
I want to keep this anonymous.
FYI, the CCHD is a mandatory collection in my diocese ….
However, after the ACORN fiasco I do not feel that, in good conscience, I can take up the collection in my parish. We pitched the envelope and I will send a check for $50 to the chancery. I expect to catch some heat for this, but this is the only way things will really change.
What does the CHD collection really say?
UPDATE: 20 Nov 1337 GMT
It the interest of balance, at least one diocesan ordinary has issued a statement about the CCHD collection.
"IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT THIS SUNDAY’S
CATHOLIC CAMPAIGN FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
(CCHD) COLLECTION AND ACORN RUMORS"
To: All pastors and parish administrators
From: Most Reverend Archbishop John C. Nienstedt
Re: Important Facts about this Sunday’s CCHD Collection and ACORN Rumors
Some parishes and parish administrators have alerted us to an organized campaign by
misinformed individuals intent on discouraging contributions to this weekend’s Catholic
Campaign for Human Development Collection (CCHD). These individuals are contending that
CCHD still has ties to ACORN, the organization that has been identified with, among other
things, voter registration fraud.
Until last June, 2008, CCHD had contributed to the good works of ACORN such as preventing
home foreclosures, creating job opportunities, raising wages and addressing crime and
improving education. Because of some financial improprieties discussed in June, all financial
support ceased. Therefore, there was no CCHD monies involved in any of the alleged voter
fraud. It would be most unfortunate to "punish" CCHD which provides so much help to the
poor.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. If you have questions, or would like a
copy of the question and answer document about this ACORN issue prepared by the USCCB
Communications, please contact Dennis McGrath, the Archdiocese’s Director of
Communications at 651-291-4412 or email him at mcgrathd@archspm.org.
[Link to Morin’s report and the USCCB website link included here]
Here is something from the USCCB’s subcommittee on this:
REPORT OF BISHOP ROGER MORIN, CHAIRMAN
ON CCHD and ACORN
For nearly forty years, the Catholic Campaign For Human Development has practiced what the Church teaches about the option for the poor, subsidiarity and solidarity in helping people living in poverty defend their dignity and work for greater justice. Local CCHD-funded groups have made real differences on safer neighborhoods, better schools, decent wages, affordable housing, and immigrant rights. Because the mission of CCHD is so important, the Bishops work very hard to promote it and protect it by careful review and monitoring of CCHD grants to make sure they comply with CCHD’s guidelines and Catholic teaching.
This report covers the steps CCHD and our Conference have taken and are taking to address our serious concerns regarding controversies involving the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, known as ACORN. In the past, CCHD has funded proposals from local organizations affiliated with ACORN when those activities conform to the CCHD guidelines and when the local diocesan CCHD director and the local diocesan bishop explicitly approve the proposal. Many of these local ACORN groups have done impressive work preventing home foreclosures, creating jobs opportunities, raising wages, addressing crime and improving education.
Last June, CCHD cut off funding to all ACORN groups when we learned about a major case of embezzlement eight years ago that was covered up by ACORN staff leadership. This theft and cover-up raised serious concerns about national ACORN’s financial accountability, transparency, governance and organizational integrity. Even though CCHD was only funding local ACORN organizations, and not these national structures, we felt it was necessary to cut off CCHD funding and review support of all ACORN groups.
More recently, the Subcommittee also became concerned about widespread reports of ACORN involvement in alleged voter registration fraud and political partisanship. As a result of the cut-off earlier this year, no CCHD funds were involved in any of these activities. However, the allegations intensified our questions and problems around ACORN’s organizational integrity, competence and non-partisanship. Therefore, we extended the cut off of CCHD funding of any ACORN organizations.
The Bishops’ CCHD Subcommittee met November 8-9 and reviewed this matter at length and discussed it in depth. The Bishop members of the Subcommittee voted unanimously to reaffirm, extend and formalize the decision to end CCHD funding of ACORN organizations because of serious concerns about financial accountability, organizational performance and political partisanship. While not all the specifics can be known, we simply had too many continuing questions and concerns about these serious matters to permit CCHD funding of ACORN groups. Dioceses have told us about the good work done by local ACORN affiliates and we regret that they will not be able to receive CCHD support. We simply could not be absolutely sure that CCHD resources would be used in a manner consistent with our criteria and funding guidelines. This cut off means that no CCHD grants were given to ACORN groups this year (using funds from the 2007 CCHD collection) and no funds from the coming collection (to be taken up in on November 23-24 in many dioceses) will go to ACORN in any place or at any level.
In addition to this funding cutoff, the CCHD Subcommittee and staff have taken a number of other steps:
I chair a special working group within the Bishops’ CCHD Subcommittee to monitor and act on this continuing situation.
CCHD and the USCCB have secured the services of specialists in forensic accounting to help determine if any CCHD money was taken or misused. This investigation is thorough and ongoing.
CCHD, USCCB staff and I have met with ACORN leaders to express our serious concerns and to seek answers to specific questions.
We continue to consult with our CCHD Diocesan Directors to seek their guidance.
The Subcommittee also voted that CCHD should work with others to assist low-income community organizations to adopt and model best practices in areas of financial accountability, organizational management and effective governance. The Subcommittee believes that these efforts can help community organizations and CCHD to carry out more effectively our essential mission of empowering and assisting low-income communities in pursuing economic and social justice.
CCHD’s current criteria and guidelines prohibit partisan activity and funding of any group that engages in activities contrary to Catholic moral teaching, whether or not those activities are funded by CCHD. These criteria are actively enforced and have led CCHD to deny funding to many groups and to quickly terminate any group that violates these prohibitions. The Bishops’ CCHD Subcommittee and staff are reviewing these existing CCHD’s policies, grant agreements, and other safeguards in order to reaffirm and strengthen our protections in areas of Church teaching, financial and organizational accountability, and partisan political activity. We are also examining ways to affirm and articulate the continuing efforts of CCHD in language clearly reflecting the principles of Catholic social teaching, which are at the heart of our mission.
Supporters of CCHD can be reassured for the way CCHD has responded to these challenges and take pride in the impressive and creative ways CCHD carries out the values of the Gospel and the principles of our Catholic faith in rural communities and urban neighborhoods across our nation. Everyday countless numbers of our brothers and sisters are able to say they have been lifted from the scourge of poverty and are able to achieve self sufficiency.
CCHD is fully committed to protecting and carrying out our essential mission “to bring good news to the poor, liberty to captives, new sight to the blind and to set the downtrodden free” (Luke 4). That was Jesus’ mission on earth and that is CCHD’s mission today.
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48 Responses to From a priest about the collection for CHD
After reading about it the other day, I tore my CCHD envelope in half and threw it away.
Brian O'Gallagher, Boston says:
The USCCB statement says they’re not giving any money to ACORN affiliated groups, so feel free to donate.
http://www.usccb.org/cchd/morin_acorn_report.shtml
Thomas L says:
I can understand this priest’s fear and I certainly have no intention of having any of my money go to that radical group ACORN; however, I believe Brian is right about ACORN being cut out. It also seems that out of obedience this collection should still be taken at the parish.
David2 says:
Brian O’Gallagher, Boston,
Speaking as an Australian Catholic, I think the problems with CCHD are endemic and go beyond the ACORN fiasco:
“In 1969, the U.S. bishops established CCHD to fund low-income controlled empowerment projects and to educate Catholics about the root causes of poverty. Since then the campaign has spent $300 million funding community and parish organizing. According to the grant application criteria on the CCHD website, groups offering direct services, e.g., soup kitchens, day care centers, homeless shelters, etc. are ineligible. So scrap the Missionaries of Charity, your local free clinic, or crisis pregnancy center; they are banned by definition. Not a single one appears on the 2007 summary of CCHD grantees.””
http://www.catholicmediacoalition.org/picking_pockets.htm
Quite frankly, from my limited research, CCHD is a scam and a fraud that takes money from the simple faithful and directs it to Marxist-inspired political activists, under the pretence of Christian charity.
These are, in the words of Her Majesty Mary I of England “evil men such as by learning would seem to deceive the people”.
Give your money to a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter instead. They’re more likely to spend it on the poor than on some Harvard-educated Marxist-inspired “community organizer” who believes in abortion and eugenics.
wsxyz says:
Come on Brian, surely you are not really that dense? ACORN itself is not the central issue. The same people who decided it was a good idea to waste the money of millions of Catholic faithful on ACORN are still responsible for disbursing the CHD monies.
wsxyz, you are right. In 1996 leading pro-life Congressman Bob Dornan was targeted by CCHD-funded groups that worked to elect pro-abortion playgirl Loretta Sanchez. Ten years later, they’re still at it with ACORN. The point is, that no charity that provides actual help to the poor is permitted to receive CCHD money. It all goes to activists who p— it up against the wall, pursuing political agenda. The leopard has not changed its spots.
A pox on them.
Diane at Te Deum Laudamus! says:
CCHD was under scrutiny at the US bishops’ meeting in November because of the campaign’s past support for ACORN, a community organization that was charged with involvement in massive voter fraud during this year’s presidential campaign. But Laity for Life argues that the problems with CCHD extend beyond that single group. “From its earliest years of funding Marxist-organizer Saul Alinsky’s Industrial Areas Foundation, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development has been embroiled repeatedly in public controversy resulting from its funding highly politicized left-wing organizations and activities, many of which have operated in blatant contradiction to Catholic doctrine and teaching,” said Patricia Bucalo, president of Laity for Life.
Source: Lay activits question support for CCHD
While CCHD has ceased funding ACORN now, what is troubling is that they were being funded at all for many years. There are some interesting connections into the kind of organizations funded by CCHD. Here is something written back in September:
Go read: Campaign to Help Democrats
I don’t think it ends there. Do any of the organizations getting money support Planned Parenthood – even if only indirectly?
U.S. Bishops’ Program Funded Obama-headed Group in 1980s
No – I’m not comforted in the least that CCHD has suspended funding to ACORN. The organization as a whole has shown a long pattern of supporting leftist ideologies….the kind that gave us Obama to begin with.
Midwest St. Michael says:
Misgivings about CCHD are still out there. Read this from Wanderer contributer Stephanie Block:
http://www.thewandererpress.com/ee/wandererpress/index.php?pSetup=wandererpress&curDate=20080925
Rellis says:
Write your bishop. Write your bishop. Write your bishop. A few letters on any one subject is alot. How many letters do you think they really get?
I wrote to Bishop Loverde of Arlington and got a response. It doesn’t need to be anything but a quick letter saying that you won’t be giving to the CCHD, and pleading them to suspend the collection.
Bryan Muench says:
There is a 90 page book published by THE WANDERER PRESS in 1996 called “THE LEGACY OF CHD” by Paul Likoudis. Originally published by the Wanderer in its paper in 1994, it is a critical account of where they spend there money. I have not donated to CHD since I read this booklet.
(rant) The entire so called “non-profit” industry has become big business, the playground for the wealthy, a good way to make contacts, to be seen, to promote, to gain public sympathy, and generally a great way to get ahead in the world. Morally bankrupt movie “stars” (as they call themselves) like to photo op in Africa in front of some elephant and a poorly clad child before they get back into their private jet to fly back to their privately owned villa the size of a small town.
I am generally very ill disposed to all institutionalized “charity”. You want to be charitable? Stop contracepting and have a large family. That’s charity. (/rant)
magdalen says:
Will not give to the so-called CCHD.
It behooves us all to seek truly Catholic charities. I have been giving to the AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED and as far as I can tell and research, it is a worthy cause. I read THE BACON PRIEST ro learn how this charity was instituted after WWII and so on. I am pleased to donate to them rather to suspect agencies.
http://www.aidtochurch.org/
CCHD sounds like the infamous CAFOD here in the UK – the so-called Catholic Fund For Overseas
Development which, among other things, supports issuing condoms. My advice is, if it’s like CAFOD, don’t touch it with the proverbial bargepole.
TomG says:
>What does the CHD collection really say?
It says: give your money to the Salvation Army. The poor and needy are well taken care of – and they might actually hear something about Our Lord Jesus Christ.
I’m done arguing this — no good Catholic should give to this collection.
What I DO want to say is thank you to this priest. He is actually showing a backbone and we need to support him.
Fr. Augustine Thompson O.P. says:
Here is a list provided by CCHD of their grantees last year. As noted above, ACORN has been removed this year.
http://64.233.169.132/search?q=cache:hm6-tGGe_WwJ:www.usccb.org/cchd/2007CCHDGrantees.pdf+2007+summary+of+CCHD+grantees&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us
I would very much appreciate any documented evidence about grantees on the list who promote abortion or have policies that are explicitly contrary to Catholic doctrine. Such information, rather than generalized complains about political orientation, etc., would be very helpful to priests who are about to deal with this issue.
(this is reposted from a stale com-box)
Opps, sorry about the double post.
PNP, OP says:
I picked a grantee at random and did a 2.5 minute google search. I picked the Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center in Seattle. On their website they list “The Universe Story” as one of their ministries. Under the menu item titled “Women,” I found a conference with this description:
“Plenary speakers included Marie Chin, RSM, Diana Hayes, PhD, and Edwina Gateley, and 33 workshops featured national women presenters on multiculturalism, prayer, sexuality, Eucharist, conscience, ministry, feminist biblical spirituality, eco-justice, and women’s faith journey.”
Do a quick google of Edwina Gateley, if you don’t know her. Nothing outrageous here, I guess, but my well-trained former feminist eyes see lots and lots of code words in that list.
Fr. Philip, OP
It is largely irrelevant whether ACORN is or is not a grantee. It is very easy to set up intermediate umbrella groups, using any name whatsoever, laundering the money and funneling it wherever it wants.
CarpeNoctem says:
Hmm, Father… The link you provide to the CHD grantees seems an incomplete list as I do not see my own diocese, which published their own list of grantees in their propaganda. Might this mean that there are separate mechanisms for national and local grantees? (This would seem to make accountability and oversight even more difficult.)
Carpe, I make no claims for the list–it is merely the one they publish themselves.
Anonymous Pastor says:
I called OSV and eliminated the envelope for next year’s run. We’ll see what the Chancery says. I may just slip them $50 to make it look like someone gave. We’ll see.
I will not give money to any of the USCCB initiatives. I can distribute my charity money much better than they can; anybody could.
RANCHER says:
Looking at those beneficiaries of CCHD that remain on the list it is obvious that some advocate in areas that are in conflict with Catholic teaching. Further most are what can objectively be described as liberal social justice oriented agencies. No problem with the later. However I know of Dioceses that budget absolutely no (zero) money for respect for life programs (anti abortion) yet send big checks to CCHD for their questionable re-donations.
IMO any Catholic who lives in a Diocese that does not financially support respect for life should not donate to CCHD and should make their reasons clear.
Father Fermoyle From Boston for Now says:
Our parish will be taking up a collection this weekend for the poor of the parish -to be given in support of the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry to meet the needs of needy in our neighborhood.
nix CCHD
tihald says:
I think the best advice I’ve heard about the CCHD was in my parish bulleting: “In light of all that this Campaign has promoted and accomplished give accordingly.”
The CCDH was started in 1970. In 1968 Joseph Bernardin became General Secretary of USCCB.
Fr. B says:
I would add my name in support of someone’s doing a little research on the recipients of CCHD funding and documenting those which are not worthy of official Catholic funding (specifics — i.e. this organization supports radical feminist initiatives; that one supports contraception; etc…). I would do it myself but I do not have the time! However, if I am going to stand up at a parish and discourage people from contributing to this, and probably have to take a lot of flack from higher ups about it, then I need something documented to show them. Seriously, if there is someone reading who can take the time to do this, it would be a great service to priests reading here.
Father Thompson — it’s more a matter of the partners of the organizations funded by the Campaign for Human Development (CHD). They include Planned Parenthood, NARAL, NOW and other pro-abortion groups. Does the money get earmarked for these organizations? No. But that’s far from the end of the story.
The fact of the matter is ACORN illegally helped elect a pro-abortion president, and 5% of CHD funds went to ACORN. This alone should be reason to not take up a second collection for CHD. Whomever suggested sending $50 to the chancery is sending $50 too much. Send nothing — a much stronger statement.
This is a great opportunity for priests to fund a special project by asking people to donate to restore an altar or vestment instead of giving to CHD on Sunday.
TomG wrote:
[What does the CHD collection really say?] It says: give your money to the Salvation Army. The poor and needy are well taken care of – and they might actually hear something about Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Salvation Army is laudable, but could I insert a plug for Aid to the Church in Need–the Catholic relief organization founded by Father Werenfried van Straaten? It’s faithful to the Magisterium, and its outreach is tremendous…
Joe of St. Thérèse says:
They CHD get none of my already limited cash budget. I cut the middle man and give directly to people who are in poverty. I know the money goes directly to them instead of to some middle man.
However that being said a 2nd collection is a great time to take collection for the restoration (not wreckovation) of a Church or getting some Roman Style Vestments :)
Tominellay says:
Diane’s comments at 5:53 a.m. are spot on…
The problem is that the collection is mandatory in the parishes; the Father/letter writer’s decision to cap his parish’s “donation” at $50 is a good one. Most bishops should understand.
Stephanie Block says:
CCHD’s chronic funding of organizations with a serious, deliberate left-wing orientations is problematic. You cannot – morally – support even a FABULOUS housing program (for example)if it’s at the price of keeping something as seriously wicked and as pervasive as abortion legal.
That said, the other grave and equally as serious problem with CCHD funding Alinskyian organizing is that these organizations embrace and promote liberationism – a Marxist distortion of Church teaching. This is a cancer in the Church. It teaches moral relativism, class antagonism, and a host of other errors.
There’s a LOT of detailed information about this available on the web. Please begin studying the issue. We have a real problem on our hands.
Stephanie Block
Mary Ann Kreitzer says:
Let me add to Stephanie’s post with an example of how the organizing goes. I live in the diocese of Arlington. Several of our most liberal priests partnered with the Industrial Areas Foundation (affiliates get about 15% of the CCHD collection every year)to form VOICE, a coalition of 42 churches who will work together for “social justice” causes. During the formation of the group they made it clear that their primary focus is taxpayer funding of their particular causes (housing and health care were specifically mentioned) in the news articles. A local official who asked about the group being involved in pro-life efforts was practically booted out of the room. The church hosting the VOICE website is a universalist church that promotes abortion, homosexuality, and wicca. There is no way to ensure these coalitions of strange bedfellows don’t advance an anti-Catholic agenda. I fully expect VOICE, which got a very favorable article in the diocesan paper, to be applying for a CCHD grant next year. But they may have already been funded by CCHD through IAF. Additionally, all the member churches pay dues to IAF so the Catholic churches involved (8 or 10 in the diocese) are also supporting the IAF separately from CCHD. It is a spiders web of connections like the bureaucracy in C.S. Lewis’ novel That Hideous Strength. Should the Catholic Church be entangled in the CCHD web? I don’t think so. The faithful in the pew have absolutely no idea how these groups operate. They give based on trust and I believe that trust, unfortunately, is misplaced. Catholic Media Coalition is committed to fighting the CCHD until it is either eliminated or reformed.
Gerry Scheidhauer says:
my pastor’s 2 cents:
There has been some talk regarding the Catholic Campaign for Human Development second collection which is to be taken up next weekend. As you know from the news surrounding the recent presidential election, an organization known as ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) caused considerable concern with numerous allegations of voter registration fraud and illegal partisanship. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development in the past has funded ACORN projects. In light of the recent allegations, we are all rightly concerned that funding to such an organization as ACORN not come from our pockets.
The Archdiocese has a very strict means of overseeing the disbursement of monies for charitable use within the Archdiocese. The Office of the Archbishop sent a one-page flyer describing how this is done, including funds disbursed from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development on the local level. I quote, “Every (charitable funding) proposal is evaluated by the local Campaign for Human Development director and a national field representative, and must receive funding approval from the local bishop. The Archdiocese of Washington requires two additional steps: review by an advisory board of parishioners who have been recommended by their pastors and a detailed, signed affirmation that the program is consistent with Catholic moral teaching.”
I quote again, “In June 2008, following concerns about past financial improprieties and organizational accountability at the national level, funding to all ACORN affiliates was suspended.” The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is voluntarily reviewing its own funding policies as a result of the ACORN problem. I am confident that Archbishop Wuerl continues to properly regulate the financial contributions that are received by the Archdiocese, and that he is properly directive regarding disbursement of funds on the local level.
A copy of the one-page flyer regarding the Catholic Campaign for Human Development from the Archdiocese is available in the parish office. May the Lord bless and protect each of you in the week ahead.
http://www.sacredheartbowie.org/articles.php
I read that Bishop Baker of Birmingham, AL has canceled the CHD collection this weekend and will substitute his Latin American charity.
In lieu of the Campaign for Horrific Development, how about a collection for the Carmelite monks in Cody, Wyoming? I just got a donation request in the mail from them. They are a small, growing community that needs support. It looks like they know how to ‘develop humans’, to borrow the expression. Lots of vocations, TLM, Gregorian Chant, ‘refectory readings chanted from the scriptures and the lives of the saints,’ !!! etc., etc. Any group of guys that can get up every day at 4:10 AM and still be smiling for the camera deserve a contribution…
Take that collection up and send it to
ATTN: Br. Simon Mary of the Cross, M. Carm.
Cody, WY 82414-2747
J. C. Oberholzer says:
We haven’t given a penny to CHD since 1973. At that time I was tipped off to the bad stewardship of CHD by the newsletter CatholicEye published by the late Jim McFadden. I’ve kept the cancelled check from our last CHD contribution as a reminder of how bad the USCCB bureaucracy has become.
Fr. Marie-Paul says:
Notice how in these days of apostasy even a donation requires a great deal of discernment! Pray before donating.
Hi Mary Ann Kreitzer,
I love your Les Femmes newsletter you send out!
Dump the CHD and give to a Traditionalist organization like the Fraternity of St Peter or ICKSP. Or even the SSPX.
Yes even here in St. Louis the other groups that receive funding are problematic. The bishops need to rethink this whole thing. Why is money going to organizations that are not even Catholic?
I do not give to the Salvation Army because, after all, it is another church. There are other Catholic or non-affiliated charities that do similar work. And their bell-ringers are annoying.
David Andrew says:
H.E. Archbishop Nienstedt of Minneapolis/St. Paul has weighed in, and sent an open letter to all parishes and parish administrators refuting the objections raised by serious-minded Catholics in the archdiocese, labeling them as “misinformed individuals intent on discouraging contributions” to the collection.
He further lauds ACORN’s “good works, such as preventing home foreclosures, creating job opportunities, raising wages and addressing crime and improving education.” He states that, “It would be most unfortunate to ‘punish’ CCHD which provides so much help to the poor.”
I’m afraid H.E. is ignoring the bigger picture, that ACORN, far from performing “good works” has played a key roll in our current national financial and educational crises, and has served more to secure power and guarantee careers for lefty-liberal politicians.
The statement that none of the ACORN money has been involved in voter fraud cannot be true. ACORN was in states long before June “registering” “voters”. The entire scandal shows you need to be careful with donating your money even to “Catholic” charities.
Quite apart from the ACORN scandal there are enough extremely dodgy agencies on that list to give the most generous Catholic pause with pen over checkbook. Take some time and do some googling. I dug a little deeper into the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center that I mentioned in the combox above. They sponsored a conference in 2005 that was a veritable Who’s Who of Aging Hippie Dissenters. They have another conference coming up in 2009. From the look of things all those A.H.D. who are still alive and mobile will show up to shake their enfeebled fists at The Man. I wonder how many donors to the CCHD know that their donations are used for this garbage…Fr. Philip
William R. Snaer, D.D.S. says:
I’m so pleased to find your website and to know that the CHD problem is surfacing. In late October I sent a packet of info by U.S. Mail to the 95 parish councils in our Diocese of San Berbardino, California. Virtually no response. I sent a follow-up e-mail asking for confirmation that my material would be presented to the councils. Almost a month later, the score is Presented 2, Trashed 2, No Answer 91.
At the recent USCCB meeting in Baltimore, Bishops Bruskewitz, Boyea and Naumann spoke in open session on aspects of the CHD problem after Bishop Morin reported. I called the USCCB to get a transcript of their remarks or minutes of the meeting for that portion of the session. I was informed that minutes are not distributed and that I should contact the CHD office or Catholic news outlets for information. My protests that this kind of information control was not in the spirit of faithful stewardship/expanded responsibility of the laity was ignored. No one above the rank of secretary in the General Secretary\’s office would take my call.
My bishop contact in the USCCB advised me that discussion of the CHD was scheduled for the executive session, but they ran out of time. He thinks the issue may arise in other meetings in 2009.
I am skeptical that any meaningful reform will happen without some real pressure from the pews. Right now, even well-informed Catholics don\’t have a clue. I am not fully reassured that the suspension of funds to ACORN is permanent. There is wiggle room for rehabilitation/re-funding in Bishop Morin\’s statement. Even if ACORN is permanently excluded, there are other groups receiving CHD funds that most Catholics would never support if they knew the facts.
The priests who have accepted their responsibility to not participate in misleading their parishioners deserve our admiration. After all, although it is not the primary consideration, there is a career aspect to the priesthood. It is not as easy as it looks to stand up to brother priests and the bishop on this matter.
We didn’t have the CHD second collection yesterday, but I don’t know if that was accidental or deliberate. Sometimes our priests have been known to just forget to take up second collections, and they do them the next Sunday, apologizing for their forgetfulness. The bishop sent out his annual letter encouraging people to donate, and the diocesan paper ran a story emphasizing that CHD isn’t giving to ACORN any more. But as others have said, ACORN was just one of the symptoms, not the underlying cause of the problem with CHD. I don’t believe CHD is helping to build up the Social Kingship of Christ, so I won’t be giving to it any more.
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Level 2 or 1 in Pipelines For Low Risk Areas – Zweli Mkhize
ImageCurrent Affairs
Article by: Emma Clayfield
In an interview with eNCA this morning, Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize made highlight, that it would be possible for areas with low Covid-19 related cases to move to lower levels of lockdown soon.
“I think we can get to Level 2 in a matter of a week or two weeks. “ it is a matter of adjusting. As we adjust further, it will be possible to get to those levels,” Mkhize said.
Mkhize touched on the strain faced by hospitals across the country due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, also emphasizing that there is a growing demand for more hospital beds, due to rising COVID-19 infections.
To date South Africa has recorded that more than 58,000 people have contracted the coronavirus and over 33,000 of them have recovered and sitting at a total of 1354 deaths recorded.
Mkhize said government may have to consider banning the sale of alcohol again. He said records show that the banning brought relief to the health system.
“We have to consult provinces, governments and various stakeholders so this doesn’t become a very simple matter said minister Mkhize
Zweli Mkhize mention that: “However, there may well even arise a situation where we might feel the numbers of beds are compromised by the fact that there is too much of trauma.
“The records that we have, show that there has been a lot of relief when the alcohol was not being easily available.”
https://www.enca.com/news/mkhize-says-low-risk-areas-could-move-lower-levels-soon
#level3lockdown #cyrilramaphosa #mrpresident, #Coronavirus # Lockdown #StayHome #lockdownsouthafrica #21days,
Participation in Sardine Run 2020 is Prohibited For Public
AstraZeneca Secures Covid-19 Vaccine Deal With Italy, Germany France & Netherlands
‘Ban of Alcohol Must Continue’
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How Urbana Got a Hotel
Submitted by Local History a... on December 1, 2012 - 1:13pm
We here at the archives were thrilled to learned of the partial reopening of the Urbana Landmark Hotel (the former Urbana Lincoln Hotel) this weekend. With this new beginning, we thought this would be a good time to recount just how this local landmark came to be.
As Urbana prospered in the early 20th century, civic leaders realized it was missing one thing: a hotel in which visitors (including those attending events at the now thriving University of Illinois) could stay. In 1921 then, a group of 100 local businessmen formed the Urbana Hotel Corporation, and sold stock in the company to hundreds of local investors. By 1923 the company raised enough to begin construction.
Renown local architect Joseph Royer drafted plans for a somewhat "standard" hotel. These were rejected by the company leaders, who were seeking a landmark for downtown area. Royer then offered a soaring five-story English Tudor style building, one that was enthusiastically welcomed. They chose the corner of Broadway and Green Streets as its location, and construction commenced.
Completed just in time to accept guests for the University's homecoming game in November 1923, the Urbana Lincoln Hotel celebrated its grand opening January 30, 1924. It remains a distinctive and historic presence in downtown Urbana. ~efair
Page from a pamphlet produced by the Urbana Hotel Corporation discussing the need for a downtown hotel, 1921.
Sketch of a proposed hotel for downtown Urbana, 1921.
The Urbana Lincoln Hotel as completed, from a ca. 1940 postcard.
Urbana history
Urbana Lincoln Hotel
Urbana Landmark Hotel
Local History and Genealogy blog
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Teachers Should Get the Covid Vaccine First
by WFIS | Nov 23, 2020 | Covid-19, Education News
The Wall Street Journal Opinion Commentary by Aaron Strong and Jonathan Welburn Nov. 19, 2020
Immunity would overcome resistance to reopening schools, which is vital.
Two vaccine trials reported highly encouraging results in the past week, with both versions looking to be 95% effective or better. If one or both are approved for emergency use, the U.S. might have enough doses for 20 million people in early 2021. How should the initial supply be allocated? Should it be given to populations with a higher mortality risk, or to people who are most likely to spread disease at higher rates?
Most agree that America’s 18 million health-care workers should top the list. The 3.3 million teachers should come next.
Combating this pandemic has always been about saving lives while allowing the economy to function. The latter isn’t only about immediate business reopenings; it’s also about avoiding long-term harm to the economy and a generation of schoolchildren. That requires laying the groundwork to reopen schools for full-time in-person learning as soon as possible.
Early limited supplies of vaccines will go to state and federal agencies, including the Defense and Health and Human Services departments, for distribution. Recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies will influence how much vaccine each jurisdiction receives, but unless a Biden administration changes strategies in 2021, states likely will craft their own distribution plans.
Many states have made reopening nonessential businesses such as retail shops, bars and restaurants, malls and entertainment venues a priority. But without open schools, many parents can’t go to work. Some 12% of U.S. households have school-age children with no in-home caretaker options. The demands of at-home lessons are already rippling through the workforce; labor-force participation rates have fallen significantly for women with children at home.
Vaccinating teachers could make it possible to open schools permanently and get these parents back to work. That would help the economy recover. Thinking long-term, education is the foundation of future economic growth. A RAND survey of educators last spring found that about half of teachers were spending most of their time reviewing old lessons rather than teaching anything new. Only 13% were covering the entire formal curriculum via distance learning. Beyond lessons, schools provide social, emotional and nutritional sustenance to children that they may not get at home. These losses are almost certainly widening achievement gaps and could compound into economic impacts that affect a whole generation.
While it varies by age, children generally have less severe consequences than adults when they contract Covid-19. But some 40% of teachers are over 50 and 20% over 60. The majority of teachers, wary of the health risks, favored online education at the start of the fall term. Now, with case numbers rising, teachers unions are continuing to resist a return to the classroom, and even school systems that were open may shut down again. New York City announced Wednesday that its schools would be closed through the week after Thanksgiving.
Evidence suggests that with the right precautions the virus doesn’t spread much in classrooms. Still, cases will emerge, and if too many teachers fall ill, schools will struggle. For these same reasons society already places higher importance on vaccinating educators for other infectious diseases. States often require teachers to receive certain vaccinations that they don’t require of other essential workers.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has recommended a four-phase approach for allocating a vaccine. In its discussion draft, high-risk health care workers and first responders were recommended for Phase 1, and K-12 teachers were in Phase 2. While children are less likely to get ill, they may still have large viral loads. K-12 teachers’ priority for vaccination should reflect that risk.
If vaccinating teachers allows schools to reopen, the social and economic benefits likely would outweigh reopening any other essential industry.
– Mr. Strong is an economist and Mr. Welburn is an operations researcher at the RAND Corp. Both are professors at the Pardee RAND Graduate School.
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How to watch Virus?
Restrictions: 7+
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Action Drama Thriller
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A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all types of life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
Since Dmitri Ivanovsky’s 1892 article describing a non-bacterial pathogen infecting tobacco plants, and the discovery of the tobacco mosaic virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898, more than 6,000 virus species have been described in detail, of the millions of types of viruses in the environment. Viruses are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth and are the most numerous type of biological entity. The study of viruses is known as virology, a subspeciality of microbiology.
When infected, a host cell is forced to rapidly produce thousands of identical copies of the original virus. When not inside an infected cell or in the process of infecting a cell, viruses exist in the form of independent particles, or virions, consisting of: (i) the genetic material, i.e. long molecules of DNA or RNA that encode the structure of the proteins by which the virus acts; (ii) a protein coat, the capsid, which surrounds and protects the genetic material; and in some cases (iii) an outside envelope of lipids. The shapes of these virus particles range from simple helical and icosahedral forms to more complex structures. Most virus species have virions too small to be seen with an optical microscope as they are one hundredth the size of most bacteria.
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The origins of viruses in the evolutionary history of life are unclear: some may have evolved from plasmids—pieces of DNA that can move between cells—while others may have evolved from bacteria. In evolution, viruses are an important means of horizontal gene transfer, which increases genetic diversity in a way analogous to sexual reproduction. Viruses are considered by some biologists to be a life form, because they carry genetic material, reproduce, and evolve through natural selection, although they lack the key characteristics such as cell structure that are generally considered necessary criteria for life. Because they possess some but not all such qualities, viruses have been described as “organisms at the edge of life”, and as self-replicators.
Viruses spread in many ways. One transmission pathway is through disease-bearing organisms known as vectors: for example, viruses are often transmitted from plant to plant by insects that feed on plant sap, such as aphids; and viruses in animals can be carried by blood-sucking insects. Influenza viruses are spread by coughing and sneezing. Norovirus and rotavirus, common causes of viral gastroenteritis, are transmitted by the faecal–oral route, passed by hand-to-mouth contact or in food or water. The infectious dose of norovirus required to produce infection in humans is less than 100 particles. HIV is one of several viruses transmitted through sexual contact and by exposure to infected blood. The variety of host cells that a virus can infect is called its “host range”. This can be narrow, meaning a virus is capable of infecting few species, or broad, meaning it is capable of infecting many.
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Viral infections in animals provoke an immune response that usually eliminates the infecting virus. Immune responses can also be produced by vaccines, which confer an artificially acquired immunity to the specific viral infection. Some viruses, including those that cause AIDS, HPV infection, and viral hepatitis, evade these immune responses and result in chronic infections. Several antiviral drugs have been developed.
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Ghana FA to meet Club Safety & Security Officers on Wednesday
Thomas Partey picks assist as Arsenal beat Newcastle United
AchievementsAfricaCHANLatest News
Preview : Cameroon- Zimbabwe open CHAN tournament live on starTimes
Chief Seidu Adamu Follow on Twitter Send an email 5 days ago
When the host nation Cameroon and Zimbabwe set the ball rolling on Saturday in the 2020 African Nations Championship several big names will be missing.
Players like André Onana (Ajax Amsterdam), Karl Toko Ekambi (Olympique Lyon) or Knowledge Musona (Eupen) won’t be featuring in the Group A game played in the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé.
Instead, a group of locally-based players, unknown as of yet to most of the footballing world will be given a chance to parade their skills to an international audience as the continent pays homage to African-based players.
The CHAN 2020, which was due to be held in April last year in Cameroon, but was moved to this year due to the global pandemic, sees 16 countries competing.
It is the sixth time that the tournament, in which only players competing in the local league of their country can participate, will be held.
The only previous champion not to participate in this year’s finals are Tunisia, who qualified, but withdrew, allowing Libya to take their place.
The Carthage Eagles are not the only big name to be missing from the tournament, as Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Senegal were all knocked out in the qualifying rounds.
But in their absence, there will be plenty of talent on display, as two-time champions DR Congo (2009 and 2016) take on 2014 winners Libya in Group B, with Congo and Niger the other teams.
In Group C the Uganda Cranes finally want to escape the group stage for the first time in their history. This will be their fifth appearance at the finals, but they have yet to advance to the knock-out stage. Their rivals in the group are the defending champions Morocco, first-timers Togo and Rwanda.
Uganda coach Johnathan McKinstry, was in charge of Rwanda at the 2016 tournament, when he took them to first place in their group before being knocked out in the quarter-finals in extra time by eventual winners DR Congo.
The 35-year-old Irishman, who has the distinction of being the first man from his country to have been in charge of three national teams (having also coached Sierra Leone), guided the Cranes to victory in the 2019 CECAFA Cup tournament.
He said he had high hopes for the team. “If we have good preparation, we shall do well. We believe in the group of players summoned as the majority of the players who played at the 2019 CECAFA tournament have been retained.”
He will, however, be without striker Patrick Kaddu, who was joint-top scorer in the qualifiers with four goals, but has since moved to play in Morocco, making him ineligible to participate in Cameroon. The other top scorer, Prince Dube from Zimbabwe, has also moved abroad, signing a contract with Tanzanian big-spenders Azam FC.
The final group sees Zambia, Guinea, Namibia and Tanzania fight it out for a place in the quarter-finals.
For football fans throughout Africa, the tournament is a must-see event. Luckily for them, it will be broadcast live and in HD on the StarTimes channels.
CAMEROON CHAN 2020
Chief Seidu Adamu
Chief Seidu Adamu is a Sports Journalist with a desire for Change, change in attitude, and change in how things are done. I am a Father, Philanthropist. Humanitarian and loves life You can contact me for relevant issues on Sports development via Whats App +12405912247. or FaceBook - Seidu Adamu |||Twitter - @Chiefseiduadamu
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Law & Legal & Attorney
Children Law
Category : Children Law : Law & Legal & Attorney
Can Child Support Take My Tax Return If I Am Paying?
Children 4/1/2019 5:29:00 PM 4/1/2019 5:29:00 PM
4/1/2019 5:29:00 PM 4/1/2019 5:29:00 PM 39 39
The advent of technology has created a web of interconnectedness among government agencies. Gone are the days when one hand doesn’t know what the other hand is up to. In today’s government, agencies share all varieties of information about taxpayers, including which taxpayers owe child s
The Rhode Island Family Court judge utilizes the "best interest of the child" standard in Rhode Island Child Custody and Child Visitation cases. The Factors a Family Court Judge should use in making a "best interest of the child" determination...
The Average Cost of a Custody Dispute
According to Costhelper, legal fees for a contested child custody case typically start at around $3,000 and can go up to $35,000 or more for complex cases as of May 2011. Due to the wide mix of variables that can affect the cost of a child custody battle, deriving a meaningful average figure is diff
How to Appeal Child Custody Jurisdiction
Pursuant to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), child custody matters must be heard in the child's home state. Under the UCCJEA, the home state is defined as the "state in which a child lived with a parent or a person acting as a parent for at least six consecutive m
Federal Programs for Troubled Teens
The number of cases regarding youth offenders rose almost 50 percent between 1985 and 2005, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. In 2007, more than 2 million minors were placed under arrest for violating the law. Bureau of Justice Statistics st
How to Take Custody From a Parent
Courts respect the fundamental right of a parent to raise and make decisions for his children, thus taking custody of a child from her natural parent is only possible in very limited circumstances. This includes situations such as where a parent has been adjudicated unfit, has been incarcerated for
Top 5 Myths About Shared Parenting (Child Custody Laws) In Australia
Since the introduction of Australia's ground breaking Shared Parenting (child custody) laws in 2006, there has been a decidedly deceptive campaign by some to mis-represent these laws as being something that they are clearly not. Following is a list of 10 myths about Shared Parenting in Australi
Trait Theory Crime Prevention Diversion Programs
Children 3/31/2019 5:34:00 PM 3/31/2019 5:34:00 PM
Avoiding incarceration is the goal behind trait theory.handcuffs four image by Paul Moore from Fotolia.comIn the criminal justice system, a diversion program is a program run by a police department, court or district attorney's office designed to help offenders avoid criminal charges and...
Can a Custodial Parent Request Employment Verification in a Paternity Case in California?
California parents can initiate paternity suits on their own or request assistance from the California Department of Child Support Services. Courts can order genetic testing before requesting an order for child support payments. Depending on the results of any paternity tests and suits, custodial pa
What Happens at the Initial Appearance in Child Custody Court?
In child custody matters, the initial appearance, called a preliminary hearing, is the first court date that the parents attend. The hearing is typically brief--on average, less than 10 minutes--and allows the judge to familiarize himself with the parents, the case and determine if there are any per
Custody Laws for Travel Out of State to Visit Other Parent
Relocation is typically allowed if it promotes the child's well being.Daughter and mother image by Mykola Velychko from Fotolia.comLike all custody and child support issues, out-of-state relocation laws depend on the state, the court and a variety of other factors. The main goal is...
Military Time Sharing and Visitation in Florida
It is important to know that Jacksonville, Florida contains the third largest military base in the United States especially when you realize that the Naval Submarine base, Kings Bay is also included. Because of this and other military facilities also in the area, Jacksonville is considered a militar
Parent Custody Laws in Arizona
Arizona courts issue custody orders based on the child's best interests.ULTRA.F/Photodisc/Getty ImagesWhen parents separate or divorce, a court must issue a custody order for any children. In Arizona, a court can award sole or joint custody based on the "best interests of the child." Both...
Parents have the obligation to provide financial, emotional, medical, and educational support to their children, and this is only normal. However, it is also sad to think that there are some parents who do not do this, and this usually happens in single parent situations. This is a situation where c
How to File an Emancipation Petition
By filing a petition for emancipation, a teenager may legally separate and become independent from his or her parents or guardian. Emancipation procedures and requirements vary by state, so always consult an attorney and your state's court system before filing. In most cases, teenagers who are 16 ye
Child Custody During Divorce
When you are facing a divorce, you will need to know the different types of custody arrangements available to you. Here you will find not only the different custody settlements, but hints towards how the judge will rule, as well as how to maximize your chances of a successful custody battle.
Sex Offender Sentencing Guidelines
Sex offenses include a range of crimes from lewd acts to aggravated rape. Most sex offenses are charged and tried and offenders sentenced in state courts. Federal sex offense sentences are doled out according to federal sentencing guidelines. Anyone convicted of a sex offense in state or federal cou
How to Transfer Custody in Maryland
Courts must frequently decide which parent is to have custody or whether parents will share joint custody when a divorce or separation occurs. Sometimes circumstances change and one parent must petition the courts to transfer custody to the other parent. Maryland courts prefer to maintain consistenc
How to Remove a Bank Levy for Child Support Arrearages
Child support collection services and courts are aggressive in the pursuit of past due obligations. If you are behind on your child support payments and have had a levy or garnishment placed on bank account, there are options available to you. There are procedures and strategies to utilize to remove
How to Deal With Parental Abduction
If your child is abducted by the other parent, you need to act quickly and involve law enforcement agencies. Gather all the information you have, and make sure it is distributed to missing-child agencies.
Can Child Support Be Collected From the Spouse of a Non-Custodial Parent?
How to Maintain Child Custody
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Child Custody Laws in Rhode Island
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Alabama Child Custody & Child Rights
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Child Custody Agreement And What Parents Should Know
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carriage houses
Fort Greene, Historic Homes, Recent Sales
Historic Fort Greene Carriage House in Need of Some TLC Gets over Asking Price
By Dana Schulz, Wed, May 13, 2015
When we think of million dollar listings, visions of super modern or impeccably restored residences come to mind, but this Fort Greene carriage house fits into neither of those categories. In fact, it could easily serve as the backdrop for a ruin porn Instagram photo. But despite its fixer-upper status, two lucky ladies just picked up the 19th century home at 327 Vanderbilt Avenue for $2.6 million, $500k over the asking price, according to city records released today.
When the listing first hit the market this past December, Curbed noted that it wasn’t “exactly habitable at the moment,” but fortunately for the new owners, the sale came with renderings for potential overhauls. It also comes with some surprising historic remnants from its days as a horse stable.
More details, plus find out the interesting history of this carriage house
Cool Listings, Interiors, West Village
Gorgeous West Village Carriage House Boasts a Lovable Interior with Lots of Wood
By Emily Nonko, Wed, May 6, 2015
New York City carriage homes tend to be lovable pieces of real estate, and we’re totally swooning over this one at 29 Downing Street in the West Village (h/t Curbed). It was built in 1829 and has been owned by two artists, John Bennett and Karen Lee Grant, for the last 40 years. According to the listing, upon purchasing this building it only “had one light bulb on each level, no bathroom, and only a sprocket for water.” The owners transformed it into a truly spectacular residence and artist studio that is now asking $13 million. The listing calls it “a completely unique piece of art,” and “one of Manhattan’s certified treasures.”
Tour the interior here
Carroll Gardens, Cool Listings, Interiors
Renovated Carroll Gardens Carriage House Comes with a Private Entryway
By Emily Nonko, Tue, April 28, 2015
The pine plank floors, raised ceilings, and exposed ceiling beams at this Carroll Gardens carriage house are making us swoon. A recent renovation at the house, located at 36 Strong Place, has completely elevated this former stable into a beautiful three-level home. Not only is this a freestanding property—rare in this neighborhood of brownstones—it also comes with a private entryway and an expansive backyard. The rent, of course, reflects all those perks (and the fact that it comes furnished). The asking price is a hefty $12,500 a month.
See more of the interior photos here
Cool Listings, Interiors, Park Slope
Park Slope Carriage House with Quintessential Barn Doors and Exposed Brick Asks $9K/Month
By Aisha Carter, Tue, March 17, 2015
Want to experience superb loft living just blocks from Prospect Park? Then you’re going to love this two-story carriage house at 426 6th Avenue. The townhouse features exposed brick walls—both original and whitewashed— hardwood floors, and lovely arched windows.
More pics inside
Clinton Hill, Cool Listings, Interiors
Hold Your Horses, This Clinton Hill Carriage House is Younger Than You Think
By Dana Schulz, Mon, July 28, 2014
Take a walk down this carriage house-lined block of Vanderbilt Avenue in the Clinton Hill Historic District, and you’ll feel like you’ve been transported back to the 19th century. And in fact, most of the historic homes haven’t changed much since then, except for number 407. Though this brick beauty blends in seamlessly with its fellow carriage houses, it was actually constructed in 2006 after receiving approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The four-story home has the look and feel of an old-time structure, but offers a modern layout and contemporary conveniences, plus it boasts 6,592 square feet of interior space and two outdoor oases.
Take a tour through the carriage house
Interiors, Recent Sales, Upper East Side
Historic Townhouse with Rear Carriage House Finds a Buyer for $6.25M
By Dana Schulz, Fri, June 6, 2014
In one of the city’s most charming residential pockets, a turn-of-the-century townhouse with a lovely combination of historic details and modern touches has sold for $6.25 million through a listing held by the Corcoran Group.
251 East 61st Street is a four-story brick home with an exceptionally rare two-story rear carriage house. The 5BR/3.5BA townhouse went through a recent renovation that included refinishing the hardwood floors and repainting the front facade and interior walls.
See what else this beauty has in store
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Ward off Crime
Editor 29 August 2020
Officers from Wanstead SNT
Ward Panels in Wanstead and South Woodford are keen to welcome a wider diversity of members from their respective communities to help support neighbourhood policing. Elaine Atkins reports
At the end of July, Redbridge residents were invited to attend a live webinar hosted by the Leader of Redbridge Council, Councillor Jas Athwal, and the Borough Commander, Stephen Clayman.
The importance of the partnership between the police and the council in tackling crime and antisocial behaviour was highlighted – but so too was the vital role of the general public in being the local ‘eyes and ears’ for reporting issues.
Across the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), each ward has a dedicated Safer Neighbourhoods Team (SNT) – a team of MPS officers who work closely with our communities to be able to establish local policing priorities and keep us safe. The wider area of ‘South Woodford’ covers both the Churchfields and South Woodford wards, while ‘Wanstead’ includes the Wanstead Village and Wanstead Park wards. Each ward has its own SNT, with three Dedicated Ward Officers, consisting of two Constables and a Police Community Support Officer – all supervised by a Sergeant and an Inspector.
Each ward has its own Ward Panel drawn from those who live, work or learn in the ward. The panel sets out to represent the whole community, including residents’ associations, faith groups, schools, businesses and community groups, to be able to engage with the SNT. Problem solving is at the heart of all neighbourhood policing, and engagement with the community helps to provide long-term solutions to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour. The aim is for the diversity within each panel to represent the diversity within each ward, to be able to give everybody a say in deciding local policing priorities that affect us all. This can be a challenge, however, and attracting panel members from all age groups, genders, faiths and cultures isn’t easy.
Our Ward Panels normally meet four times a year. Our SNT officers attend as observers – bringing data on crime and general information – as do ward councillors, Neighbourhood Watch ward coordinators and officers from Redbridge. Residents and community representatives are often invited to observe the work of the panel, especially if they are considering becoming a member.
At each Ward Panel meeting, opinions and concerns are expressed by the community through the panel members and the sectors they represent. Crime statistics and police reports are considered for the panel to be able to agree on a priority for their SNT, which is reviewed at the next meeting.
We are encouraging people from all cultures, faiths, genders and age groups to learn more about the panels and, hopefully to join us in shaping the local area. There are varying levels of involvement available, with the Wanstead Park panel currently seeking a new chair.
South Woodford Ward Panel
Chair: Sadayeen Khan
Email: sadayeen.khan@gmail.com
Churchfields Ward Panel
Chair: Elaine Atkins
Email: atkins@btinternet.com
Wansdtead Village Ward Panel
Chair: Mairéad O’Riordan
Email: oriordan_m@yahoo.co.uk
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Gigantic warehouse collapses in the port of Liverpool
By Jonathan Edwards on December 10, 2020 Top Stories
Witnesses told ECHO that last night (Tuesday) a “grain storage unit gave way”.
Flashy pictures show how a huge warehouse in the port of Liverpool collapsed last night.
Witnesses say a “storage unit just gave way” as port officials confirm the collapse
“There were no injuries, and the materials contained in the warehouse are not dangerous and do not pose a risk.
A spokeswoman for Peel Ports said: “On Tuesday (1 December) at about 8pm the gable of a warehouse in the port of Liverpool collapsed.
Peel Ports, which owns the Seaforth Docks at the port, confirmed that no one was injured in the incident.
“An operation to repair the damage and determine the cause is now underway. All other work in the port continues as normal.
Sefton’s council was asked for comments, but had not responded by the time of publication.
ECHO assumes that the emergency services were not called to collapse and that there was no disruption of traffic.
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The knife and hammer at 15-year-old boy seized in the city
By Jonathan Edwards on December 19, 2020 World
”Operation Target” plainclothes officers spotted two males in Breck Road, Everton, around 7 p.m. yesterday (Thursday, Dec. 17) who they believed were acting suspiciously.
One 15-year-old boy was found in possession of a knife and a hammer after being stopped and searched by police.
A 20-year-old male was also also found in possession of suspected cocaine.
The 20-year-old male was taken into custody on suspicion of possession of a controlled Class A drug and was also taken into custody for questioning.
Meanwhile, the teenager was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and a bladed article, taken into custody and later transported home.
The pair were stopped and searched, and a knife and hammer were found on the 15-year-old boy, while the 20-year-old man was found in possession of several packs of suspected cocaine.
A police spokesman said, “Officers remain committed to keeping our communities safe and protecting young people from getting involved in crime.”
Operation Target was created last year to prevent serious violent crime. A £4.2 million cash injection has funded extra officers on the streets, more intelligence work and extra background staff to analyze evidence.
For the latest news and breaking stories, visit .
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Jul. 24, 2007 FX
Get Me a Lawyer Jul. 24, 2007
Jesus, Mary and Joe Cocker Jul. 31, 2007
And My Paralyzing Fear of Death Aug. 07, 2007
Tastes Like a Ho-Ho Aug. 14, 2007
A Regular Earl Anthony Aug. 21, 2007
She Spat at Me Sep. 04, 2007
We Are Not Animals Sep. 11, 2007
Blame the Victim Sep. 18, 2007
Do You Regret What We Did? Sep. 25, 2007
Sort of Like a Family Oct. 02, 2007
I Hate These People Oct. 09, 2007
There's No 'We' Anymore Oct. 16, 2007
Because I Know Patty Oct. 23, 2007
2Season 2 Jan. 07, 2009
I Lied, Too. Jan. 07, 2009
Burn It, Shred It, I Don't Care Jan. 14, 2009
I Knew Your Pig Jan. 21, 2009
Hey! Mr. Pibb! Jan. 28, 2009
I Agree, It Wasn't Funny Feb. 04, 2009
A Pretty Girl in a Leotard Feb. 11, 2009
New York Sucks Feb. 18, 2009
They Had to Tweeze That out of My Kidney Feb. 25, 2009
You Got Your Prom Date Pregnant Mar. 04, 2009
Uh Oh, Out Come The Skeletons Mar. 11, 2009
London, Of Course Mar. 18, 2009
Look What He Dug Up This Time Mar. 25, 2009
Trust Me Apr. 01, 2009
Your Secrets Are Safe Jan. 25, 2010
The Dog is Happier Without Her Feb. 01, 2010
Flight's at 11:08 Feb. 08, 2010
Don't Throw That at the Chicken Feb. 15, 2010
It's Not My Birthday Feb. 22, 2010
Don't Forget to Thank Mr. Zedeck Mar. 01, 2010
You Haven't Replaced Me Mar. 08, 2010
I Look Like Frankenstein Mar. 15, 2010
Drive It Through Hardcore Mar. 22, 2010
Tell Me I'm Not Racist Mar. 29, 2010
All That Crap About Your Family Apr. 05, 2010
You Were His Little Monkey Apr. 12, 2010
The Next One's Gonna Go In Your Throat Apr. 19, 2010
There's Only One Way to Try a Case Jul. 13, 2011
I've Done Way Too Much for This Girl Jul. 20, 2011
I'd Prefer My Old Office Jul. 27, 2011
Next One's on Me, Blondie Aug. 03, 2011
We'll Just Have to Find Another Way to Cut the Balls Off of This Thing Aug. 10, 2011
Add That Little Hopper to Your Stew Aug. 17, 2011
I'm Worried About My Dog Aug. 24, 2011
The War Will Go on Forever Aug. 31, 2011
There's a Whole Slew of Ladies Sep. 07, 2011
Failure is Lonely Sep. 14, 2011
You Want to End This Once and for All? Jul. 11, 2012
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Failure is Failure Jul. 25, 2012
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I Need To Win Aug. 15, 2012
The Storm's Moving In Aug. 22, 2012
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I Like Your Chair Sep. 05, 2012
But You Don't Do That Anymore Sep. 12, 2012
Allen Coulter
Patty Hewes
Channing McClaren
Ellen Parsons
Damages is an American legal thriller television series created by the writing and production trio of Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler. The plot revolves around the brilliant, ruthless lawyer Patty Hewes and her protégée, recent law school graduate Ellen Parsons. Each season features a major case that Hewes and her firm take on, while also examining a chapter of the complicated relationship between Ellen and Patty. The first two seasons center around the law firm Hewes & Associates. Later seasons center more on Patty and Ellen’s relationship as Ellen begins to distance herself from Hewes & Associates and begins an independent career.
Original title Damages
Last air date Sep. 12, 2012
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Supreme Court won't hear case of Brendan…
Supreme Court won't hear case of Brendan Dassey, teen featured in 'Making a Murderer'
June 25, 2018, 9:57 am CDT
Brendan Dassey. Netflix
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the appeal of Brendan Dassey, the teen convicted of helping his uncle kill a woman in a case featured in the Making a Murderer Netflix series.
A federal appeals court had reinstated Dassey’s 2007 conviction in December in an appeal that had argued his confession should be tossed. The en banc decision by the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had said the decision by a Wisconsin court upholding the confession was reasonable.
Dassey had confessed at the age of 16 to helping Steven Avery kill photographer Teresa Halbach. She had gone to Avery’s auto salvage business on Halloween 2005 and never returned.
The 7th Circuit had acknowledged some factors that would support a finding that the confession wasn’t voluntary. They include Dassey’s youth, his limited intellectual ability, some suggestions by the interrogators, inconsistencies in the confession, and assurances that honesty would produce leniency.
But there was no physical coercion, his mother had consented to the questioning, and Dassey had “provided many of the most damning details himself in response to open-ended questions,” the federal appeals court said.
One of Dassey’s lawyers, Laura Nirider of Northwestern law school’s Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth, said in a statement that the fight to free Dassey would continue.
“The video of Brendan’s interrogation shows a confused boy who was manipulated by experienced police officers into accepting their story of how the murder of Teresa Halbach happened,” Nirider said. “These officers repeatedly assured him that everything would be ‘okay’ if he just told them what they wanted to hear and then fed him facts so that Brendan’s ‘confession’ fit their theory of the crime. By the end of the interrogation, Brendan was so confused that he actually thought he was going to return to school after confessing to murder.
“Unfortunately, Brendan isn’t alone. Over the past 20 years, extensive empirical and psychological research has shown that children under 18 are between three and four times more likely to falsely confess than adults—and yet the criminal justice system fails many of them.”
The Washington Post has coverage of the cert denial.
Story updated at 11 a.m. to include Nirider’s statement.
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CARREG CENNEN CASTLE, WALES
England offers a fascinating mix of history, architecture, intrigue and famous figures. England has something for everyone, ranging from imperious castles and magnificent cathedrals to quintessentially English landscapes, the postcard perfect villages of the Cotswolds, the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales to the great coastal drives of Cornwall are truly breath-taking.
Embarking on a tour of England will take you on a journey through more than one thousand years of England’s history with opportunities to visit Viking York, Roman Chester, Medieval Warwick, Elizabethan Stratford-upon-Avon, Victorian Manchester, Georgian Bath and the modern metropolis of London.
London is the thriving capital and heart of the UK offering culture, fashion, entertainment, iconic visitor attractions and historic buildings. With Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, London Eye and many more on your doorstep and transport links including tubes, trains, trams, buses your options are limitless.
Visitors are welcomed into the hustle and bustle of one of the busiest cities in the world and will be amazed and delighted by what they find…
View the latest videos on England
View the latest videos on Scotland
Wales is a friendly, humorous and proud nation with a fascinating mix of cultural and industrial heritage. Located within its borders are three of the UK’s finest National Parks, Snowdonia in the north offers spectacular mountain scenery, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park shows off endless coastal vistas and the Brecon Beacons conceals over 250 ancient monuments. Wales also boasts some of Europe’s best medieval castles including Caernarfon, Beaumaris and Powis to name a few.
Cardiff is Wales’ energetic capital city with a foot firmly in both the past and the present. Cardiff Castle and Cathedral sit alongside a regenerated Cardiff Bay, housing the Millennium Stadium – Wales’ ultra-modern football and rugby stadium – and a number of excellent museums and attractions.
View the latest videos on Wales
Nowhere offers quite as many remarkably romantic experiences as Scotland. Waiting to greet lucky visitors are the legendary Highlands covered with purple heather that have been the setting for centuries of warring clans and the legends of Bonnie Prince Charlie, Rob Roy and William Wallace. The vast Highlands and islands regions north of the bustling cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh are famed for their beauty and solitude and stunning Lochs offering tales of mythological beasts.
Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital city and centre of culture, it has been described by famous author Robert Louis Stevenson as ‘what Paris ought to be’. Every August the city puts on a number of world-class festivals as well as the Royal Military Tattoo, a spectacular show of pipe and marching bands.
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DEMY in France made investments in a new building and in new ABUS EOT cranes
The company DEMY (https://www.sademy.com/) was founded in 1968 by Mr Raymond DEMY. At first the company was active in the automotive bodywork sector, but this was then abandoned in the seventies in favour of the building sector. Today the son of the founder, Mr Hubert DEMY, is at the helm of the company. The company’s activities now include steel structures, cladding and metal roofing as well as metalwork and locksmithing. At times such works as exterior aluminium millwork are also undertaken. What is more, DEMY has also worked together with another French manufacturer of agricultural machinery, DESVOYS, a company that also uses ABUS lifting systems.
The family-run company with 24 staff relocated to an industrial park in Montenay in the north west of France in 2019. This move made it necessary to acquire more EOT cranes. The ABUS crane system was preferred as the former building had already been equipped with it. DEMY favoured ABUS both for the quality of the equipment and for the after-sales service. A good commercial relationship had also been established over several years with ABUS which contributed to the decision, too.
Thus DEMY went to purchase six single girder EOT cranes of the ELK type. Four of the EOT cranes feature SWLs of 5 tonnes and have a span of 23520 mm; one pair work in TANDEM and they can all be found in the building for framework. The other two EOT cranes have also lifting capacities of 5 tonnes but slightly larger spans of 24060 mm. These are operating in the building used for locksmithing.
DEMY works with parts that can be up to 16 metres long. It can be quite difficult to move these parts with just one crane. Therefore DEMY chose to have the TANDEM option. This well-designed solution is easy to use. Furthermore, it allows the crane operator to move the parts fast and safely with very little risk. ABUS offered this solution using MODULAR wire rope hoists. DEMY opted for this solution because they needed more precision when moving the materials to their new machining centre. The modular wire rope hoists provide the required precision through variable speed; this is a standard function for this hoist series. Apart from the variable speed characteristic, this wire rope hoist series has other compelling features such as load display, anti-sway system, and radio remote control ABUREMOTE. Furthermore, this wire rope hoist works with much precision in TANDEM operation.
DEMY use this solution in conjunction with the control ABUControl and the KranOS interface. The load sway control provided by ABUControl increases the safety and the comfort of transporting parts in sensitive areas which is particularly important when crane users are not yet quite so experienced. ABUControl also facilitates the cross travelling synchronisation of the two hoists each sitting on the two cranes that work in TANDEM leading to reliable handling of long parts. Any drifting of the load hooks due to different speeds is eliminated, thus resulting in perfectly simultaneous functioning. The hoists feature variable speed drives for this very reason. The EOT cranes that work in tandem also have their long travelling speeds controlled in like manner. Movements in all directions can be controlled for two cranes and for up to four hoist trolleys to be perfectly synchronised.
The KranOS interface makes it possible to adjust the different parameters of the EOT cranes via a computer or a tablet. This fits perfectly with DEMY’s requirements while transitioning towards an industry 4.0.
SINGLE GIRDER OVERHEAD TRAVELLING CRANE
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Abstract Introduction Materials and methods Design of the study Smoking exposure Cultivation studies Examination of immune parameters in peripheral blood Statistical analysis Results Discussion Conclusions Conflict of interest statement Figures and tables
Worldwide burden of disease from exposure to second-hand smoke: a retrospective analysis of data from 192 countries Oberg M, Jaakkola MS, Woodward A. Lancet.2011;377:139-46.
Assessment of tidal breathing patterns for monitoring of bronchial obstruction in infants Banovcin P, Seidenberg J, Von der Hardt H. Pediatr Res.1995;38:218-20.
The effects of second-hand smoke on biological processes important in atherogenesis Yuan H, Wong LS, Bhattacharya M. BMC Cardiovasc Disord.2007;7:1.
Determinants of blood pressure in preschool children: the role of parental smoking Simonetti GD, Schwertz R, Klett M. Circulation.2011;123:292-8.
The impact of breatfeeding on nasopharyngeal microbial communities in infants Brisbroek G, Bosch AATM, Wang X. Am J Respir Crit Care Med.2014;190:298-308.
Nasopharyngeal microbiota composition of children is related to the frequency of upper respiratory infectin and acute sinusitis Santee CA, Nagalingam NA, Faruqi AA. Microbiome.2016;4:34.
The contribution of smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke to streptococcus pneumoniae and haemophilus influenzae carriage in children and their mothers Greenberg D, Givon-Lavi N, Broides A. Clin Infect Dis.2006;42:897-903.
Nasopharyngeal microbiota in healthy children and pneumonia patients Sakwinska O, Schmid VB, Berger B. J Clin Microbiol.2014;52:1590-4.
The infant nasopharyngeal microbiome impacts severity of lower respiratory infection and risk of asthma development Teo SM, Mok D, Pham K. Cell Host Microbe.2015;17:704-15.
Nasopharyngeal microbiota in infants and changes during viral upper respiratory tract infection and acute otitis media Chonmaitree T, Jennings K, Golovko G. PLoS One.2017;12:e0180630.
Adenoid bacterial colonization in a paediatric population Subtil J, Rodrigues JC, Reis L. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol.2017;274:1933-8.
Transgenerational exposure to environmental tobacco smoke Joya X, Manzano C, Álvarez AT. Int J Environ Res Public Health.2014;11:7261-74.
Effect of smoking on meningococcal carriage Stuart JM, Cartwright KA, Robinson PM. Lancet.1989;2:723-5.
Parental smoking and infant respiratory infection: how important is not smoking in the same room with the baby? Blizzard L, Ponsonby AL, Dwyer T. Am J Public Health.2003;93:482-8.
Surgical and non-surgical therapy of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children Sujanska A, Durdik P, Rabasco J. Acta Medica (Hradec Kralove).2014;57:135-41.
Bacterial pathogen in the nasopharynx, nasal cavity, and osteomeatal complex during wellness and viral infection Rawlings BA, Higgins TS, Han JK. Am J Rhinol Allergy.2013;27:39-42.
Effect of experimental influenza A virus infection on isolation of Streptococcus pneumoniae and other aerobic bacteria from the oropharynges of allergic and nonallergic adult subjects Wadowsky RM, Mietzner SM, Skoner DP. Infect Immun.1995;63:1153-7.
Cigarette smoke condensate inhibits transepithelial chloride transport and ciliary beat frequency Cohen NA, Zhang S, Sharp DB. Laryngoscope.2009;119:2269-74.
Deleterious effect of smoking and nasal septal deviation on mucociliary clearance and improvement after septoplasty Karaman M, Tek A. Am J Rhinol Allergy.2009;23:2-7.
Cigarette smoke exposure impairs respiratory epithelial ciliogenesis Tamashiro E, Xiong G, Anselmo-Lima WT. Am J Rhinol Allergy.2009;23:117-22.
The cigarette smoke component acrolein inhibits expression of the innate immune components IL-8 and human beta-defensin 2 by sinonasal epithelial cells Lee WK, Ramanathan M, Spannhake EW. Am J Rhinol.2008;21:658-63.
Streptococcus pneumoniae adherence in rats under different degrees and durations of cigarette smoke Ozlu T, Celik I, Oztuna F. Respiration.2008;75:339-44.
The differential effect of cigarette smoke on the growth of bacteria found in humans Ertel A, Eng R, Smith SM. Chest.1991;100:628-30.
The utility of nasopharyngeal culture in the management of chronic adenoiditis Marzouk H, Aynehchi B, Thakkar P. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol.2012;76:1413-5.
Effects of tobacco smoking on salivary immunoglobulin levels in immunodeficiency Norhagen G, Engstrom PE. Eur J Oral Sci.1998;106:986-91.
Estimation and comparison of salivary immunoglobulin A levels in tobacco chewers, tobacco smokers and normal subjects Doni BR, Patil S, Peerapur BV. Oral Health Dent Manag.2013;2:105-11.
Oxidative stress and innate immunity responses in cigarette smoke stimulated nasal epithelial cells Pace E, Ferraro M, Di Vincenzo S. Toxicol In Vitro.2014;28:292-9.
Cigarette smoke modulates PGE(2) and host defence against Moraxella catarrhalis infection in human airway epithelial cells Zhang W, Case S, Bowler RP. Respirology.2011;16:508-16.
Human salivary immunoglobulin and antigen-specific antibody activity after tonsillectomy Childers NK, Powell WD, Tong G. Oral Microbiol Immunol.2001;16:265-9.
The effects of maternal smoking on early mucosal immunity and sensitization at 12 months of age Noakes P, Taylor A, Hale J. Pediatr Allergy Immunol.2007;18:118-27.
Adenoid hypertrophy in children with allergic disease and influential factors Evcimik MF, Dogru M, Cirik AA. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol.2015;79:694-7.
Differential chemokine expression patterns in tonsillar disease Mandapathil M, Beier UH, Graefe H. Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital.2018;38:316-22.
Characterization of smoking-induced nasopharyngeal lymphoid hyperplasia Finkelstein Y, Malik Z, Kopolovic J. Laryngoscope.1997;107:1635-42.
Passive smoking exacerbated nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase isoform 2-induced oxidative stress and arterial dysfunction in children with peristent allergic rhinitis Loffredo L, Zicari AM, Occasi F. J Pediatr.2018.
G. BUGOVA
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Comenius University in Bratislava, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, University Hospital, Martin, Slovakia
M. JANICKOVA
Department of Stomatology and Maxillofacial Surgery, Comenius University in Bratislava, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Martin, Slovakia
B. UHLIAROVA
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, FD Roosevelt Faculty Hospital, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia
R. BABELA
Institute of Healthcare Disciplines, St. Elisabeth University, Bratislava, Slovakia
M. JESENAK
Department of Paediatrics, Comenius University in Bratislava, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, University Hospital, Martin, Slovakia
The effect of passive smoking on bacterial colonisation of the upper airways and selected laboratory parameters in children
G. BUGOVA ,
M. JANICKOVA ,
B. UHLIAROVA ,
R. BABELA ,
Vol 38 No 5 (2018): ACTA Otorhinolaryngologica Italica - Issue 5 - October 2018
Published: Oct 1, 2018
Exposure to tobacco smoke is associated with a higher risk of respiratory tract diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of passive smoking on selected characteristics of children with adenoid hypertrophy. Sixty-one children with adenoid hypertrophy were enrolled in the prospective study. Differences in bacterial colonisation of middle nasal meatus and nasopharynx and changes in selected laboratory immune and inflammatory markers according to the tobacco smoke exposure were analysed. Exposure to tobacco smoke was associated with significantly higher colonisation of pathogenic bacteria and polymicrobial growth of pathogenic bacteria (≥ 2 bacteria) in middle nasal meatus compared to non- exposed children (P = 0.045, P = 0.032, respectively). Identification of pathogenic bacteria in the middle nasal meatus did not correlate with isola- tion of pathogenic bacteria in the nasopharynx in either group of children. Parameters of humoral immunity in serum, IgA and IgG, were detected at higher concentrations in children exposed to tobacco smoke (P = 0.047, P = 0.031, respectively). Differences in selected parameters of cellular immunity in peripheral blood according to passive smoking were not observed. Tobacco smoke exposure is related to increased colonisation by pathogenic bacteria in middle nasal meatus and elevation of IgA and IgG in peripheral blood, but does not seem to influence markers of cellular immunity parameters in children with adenoid hypertrophy. Avoidance of passive smoking could be recommended as a universal preventive strat- egy against microbial colonisation of the upper airways and development of various inflammatory diseases in children, e.g. adenoid hypertrophy.
Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is associated with a variety of health effects, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases and/or respiratory illnesses. Tobacco is also a major burden to people who do not smoke. As developing individuals, children are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of second-hand smoke (SHS). Furthermore, they are unable to influence their own degree of exposure. Worldwide, at least 40% of children are regularly exposed to SHS predisposing them to upper and lower respiratory infections as well as asthma 1 2. Moreover, long-term exposure to ETS creates a state of permanent inflammation and an imbalance in the lipid profile that leads to lipid accumulation in the blood vessels of the heart and aorta. Children with long-term exposure to ETS may have an elevated risk for the development of premature coronary artery disease 3. Simonetti et al. 4 found that in healthy children, parental smoking is an independent risk factor for higher blood pressure, adding to other familial and environmental risk factors.
Mucosal microbiota of the upper airways is very important for health and diseases and its development begins suddenly after the birth. Changes in airway microbiota are associated with acute and chronic consequences. There are many positive factors influencing the correct composition of microbiota, e.g. breastfeeding 5. On the other hand, negative changes of mucosal microbiota may contribute to the development of pathological conditions such as sinusitis, otitis media or chronic airway inflammation 6. Passive smoking changes the microbial colonisation of the airways 7. It has been shown that nasopharyngeal microbiota is related to the frequency of upper respiratory infection and sinusitis and can be a determinant for infection spread to the lower airways 6 8 9. It has been suggested that commensal colonisation may interfere with pathogen colonisation 10. Adenoids serve as a bacterial reservoir for upper airway infections and their removal is followed by changes in upper airway microbiota and a decrease in the rate of respiratory infections 11.
In our prospective study, we aimed to evaluate the modifying effect of passive smoking on selected parameters in children with adenoid hypertrophy indicated for endoscopic adenotomy due to mechanic upper airway obstruction or recurrent respiratory tract infections. Moreover, we studied the effects of passive smoking on the composition of upper airway mucosal microbiota in the nasopharynx and middle nasal meatus.
Design of the study
The prospective study was conducted with 61 children divided into 2 groups according to tobacco smoke exposure. All children enrolled in the study were scheduled to endoscopic adenotomy for adenoid hypertrophy (due to mechanic obstruction of upper airways or recurrent respiratory tract infections) at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Comenius University, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital in Martin, Slovakia.
Children treated with systemic or local antibiotics within the 2 weeks before enrolment, recent respiratory infection, increased level of C-reactive protein and those with recurrent tonsillitis were excluded from the study.
Smoking exposure was recorded according to the questionnaires. Differences in bacterial colonisation of the middle nasal meatus and nasopharynx and changes in humoral and cellular immunity according to tobacco smoke exposure were analysed.
The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Jessenius Medical Faculty, Comenius University in Martin, Slovakia (EK 1515/2014). An informed consent form was signed by all parents of participating children.
Smoking exposure
Only exposure to parental smoking was recorded as parents were considered to be the closest individuals caring for the child. The level of exposure when smokers were other than the parents (e.g. grandparent or sibling) and parent was a non-smoker could not be evaluated and those cases were excluded from the study. Exposure to smoke other than tobacco smoke was not recorded. All the children were from urban areas.
Cultivation studies
Middle nasal meatus and nasopharyngeal swab specimens were obtained under endoscopic control by using sterile cotton-wool swabs and transported in Stuart’s transport medium to the microbiological laboratory within 2 to 4 hours. The swab was inoculated on Sheep blood agar (Columbia Bio-Rad, Bratislava, Slovakia) and Chocolate agar with bacitracin disc, Mac Conckey agar (Bio-Rad, Bratislava, Slovakia), and placed into a 7% CO2 incubator at 37° C. Plates were examined after 18 to 24 hours of incubation. The incubation was further extended to 48 hours to detect slow-growing microbes. Identification of colonies at a genus or species level was based upon typical colony morphology by subculture, Gram stain, standard rapid tests (catalase, pyrrolidonyl aminopeptidase - PYR and oxidase tests), identification by latex agglutination tests and biochemical tests. All pathogenic strains were tested for their susceptibility to antimicrobial agents using the agar diffusion method (by EUCAST) with commercial discs (Oxoid).
Examination of immune parameters in peripheral blood
Various parameters and markers of cellular and humoral immunity were evaluated. Venous blood samples were drawn from a peripheral arm vein, collected into an evacuated tube and treated with either EDTA or sodium heparin. The sampling was performed on the day before surgery. White and red components of the blood count were examined by sampling with an 18-parameter haematological ANALYSER Beyer Advia 60 (Siemens AG, Munich, Germany) using the company’s reagents. Differential counts of leukocytes, as well as subpopulations of lymphocytes and NK cells, were assessed immediately after sampling. Cells were counted on the flow cytometer FC500 (Beckmann Coulter, Brea, CA, USA) after staining with monoclonal antibodies (Immunotech, Prague, Czech Republic) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. A four-colour fluorescent protocol was used with the following composition: CD4+CD19-FITC/CD8+CD16+CD56-PE/CD3-PC5/CD45-PC7. The absolute counts of all cell populations were calculated from the examined blood count. The following populations, based on the CD45+ leukocyte gate, were quantified from the CD4 vs. side scatter (SS) cytogram: lymphocytes (low SS), T lymphocytes (CD3+), T helpers (CD3+CD4+), T cytotoxic cells (CD3+8+), B lymphocytes (CD19+) and NK cells (CD3-8+16+56+). Absolute and relative counts of NK cells were also examined on the cytometer using separate analysis parameters (CD8-FITC/CD16+CD56PE/CD3PC5/CD45PC7). Serum four immunoglobulin isotypes (IgG, IgA, IgM, total IgE) were also examined.
Frequencies of categorical data were tabulated and evaluated with a chi-square test using Yates’s correction. For other data, median and interquartile range was calculated and tested with the Kruskal-Wallis or Mann-Whitney tests. The statistical analysis was performed with STATISTICA Cz 10. All conclusions were based on a significance level of P < 0.05.
Among the 61 children in this study, 23 (37%) were exposed to SHS (14 male, 9 female, mean age 5.5 ± 3 years, range 2-16). Thirty-eight (63%) children had non-smoking parents (29 male, 9 female, aged 5.2 ± 2.8 years, range 2-16). Bacterial growth was present in 50 of the 61 samples (82%) from the middle nasal meatus and 60 of the 61 samples (98%) from the nasopharynx. Microorganisms isolated from the middle nasal meatus and nasopharynx are presented in Tables I and II. Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species, Corynebacterium species, Streptococcus viridans and Neisseria species are considered as commensals of the upper respiratory tract. Other species of identified bacteria in our study were considered as pathogens. The pathogenic bacteria in our patients were present in 29 samples (58%) in the middle nasal meatus and 43 (72%) in the nasopharynx (P = 0.133). We found significantly more intense colonisation by pathogenic bacteria in the middle nasal meatus in children exposed to SHS than in children with non-smoking parents (P = 0.045). Polymicrobial growth of pathogens (defined as detection of at least 2 or more pathogens from one sampling site) in the middle nasal meatus was also significantly increased in children exposed to SHS (P = 0.032) (Fig. 1A). In the nasopharynx, there were no significant differences in the presence of commensals, pathogenic bacteria, or polymicrobial growth between children exposed and not exposed to tobacco smoke (Fig. 1B). In children exposed to SHS, Streptococcus pneumoniae was significantly more often isolated from the middle nasal meatus and nasopharynx (P = 0.031, P = 0.004, respectively). Other pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis, were more often colonised in the middle nasal meatus in children exposed to SHS (P = 0.031, P = 0.001, P = 0.05, respectively) (Table I). Those differences were not observed in the nasopharynx. Identification of pathogenic bacteria in the middle nasal meatus did not correlate with isolation of pathogenic bacteria in the nasopharynx in either group of children. Gram-negative pathogens were isolated significantly more often from the middle nasal meatus in children exposed to SHS compare to gram-positive bacteria (P = 0.018). There were no significant differences in the presence of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria in the nasopharynx between children exposed and not exposed to tobacco smoke (P = 0.723).
Analysing the differences in selected immunological parameters according to the exposure to tobacco smoke, a possible association with passive smoking was found. Significant higher levels of IgA and IgG in peripheral blood were detected in children exposed to SHS compared to children whose parents were non-smokers (P = 0.047, P = 0.031, respectively). Differences in the markers of cellular immunity were not found (Table III).
Exposure to tobacco smoke has many harmful effects on the health status of exposed children. In our prospective study in a group of children with adenoid hypertrophy, we analysed the influence of passive smoking on mucosal microbiota and selected laboratory parameters. We were able to detect various significant changes and differences associated with exposure to tobacco smoke. Passive smoking was associated with increased colonisation with pathogenic bacteria and polymicrobial growth in the upper airways. Due to chronic stimulation of mucosal immunity, children exposed to tobacco smoke had higher serum levels of IgG and IgA, although no changes were observed in the cellular part of immunity.
Second-hand tobacco smoke consists of exhaled smoke as well as side-stream smoke that is released from the burning cigarette between inhalations, which has a very similar composition. In children, exposure to smoking is associated with upper and lower respiratory tract diseases, such as acute otitis media, asthma, wheezing, cough, bronchitis, pneumonia and impaired pulmonary function 12. Both smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke in the household are associated with carriage of bacteria, such as Neisseria meningitidis 13. In children, the intensity of exposure to environmental smoking correlates with respiratory infection rates, especially if the parent smokes in the same room as the child 14. In young children, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis are the most common bacterial pathogens that cause respiratory infections, such as acute otitis media and pneumonia, as well as invasive infections, such as bacteraemia and meningitis 7. Adenoid hypertrophy is a common pathological condition in early childhood and is frequently associated with upper respiratory tract obstruction (leading to e.g. obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome) 15 and recurrent respiratory tract infections. Based on our results, passive smoking had a negative influence on selected parameters in children with adenoid hypertrophy, and could therefore represent an avoidable factor that can complicate the clinical status of these children.
Colonisation of organisms is the first step toward development of respiratory diseases. Therefore, recognition of risk factors for colonisation is important. However, data are sparse with regards to the influence of smoking on rates of nasal and nasopharyngeal colonisation with these organisms in children and adults. In the present study, we demonstrated that children exposed to smoking by parents had a significantly higher rate of pathogenic bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Staphylococcus aureus) carriage than did children who were not exposed to tobacco smoke. The increased carriage rate in individuals exposed to tobacco smoke was seen in the middle nasal meatus, but not in nasopharyngeal specimens. The differences between these two sites were found also by Rawling et al. (2013) 16. Increased nasal colonisation by pathogenic bacteria may be a predisposing factor to additional spread, resulting in lower respiratory tract infections. This could be further increased during coinfection with respiratory viruses, such as influenza viruses, in children 17. In a recent study, it was shown that colonisation with Staphylococcus may be also beneficial to some extent, since it counteracts otopathogens 10. Despite the fact that we did not study the effect of bacterial colonisation and passive smoking on the frequency of respiratory infections, our findings might explain previous reports demonstrating that children exposed to environmental tobacco smoke more frequently experience respiratory infections, such as acute otitis media and pneumonia 7 14. Increased polymicrobial growth of pathogens in the upper respiratory tract in children exposed to SHS compared with children born to non-smoking parents found in our study also confirmed the role of tobacco smoke in the pathogenesis of respiratory tract infections in those children in early childhood.
The mechanism by which smoking and passive exposure to tobacco smoke is associated with carriage of potentially pathogenic bacteria is not fully understood. One of the possible explanations is based on mucociliary transport alterations. Several studies have shown that cigarette smoke significantly reduces the ciliary beat of respiratory epithelial cells both in vitro 18 and in vivo 19. Moreover, Tamashiro et al. (2009) found that exposure of tobacco smoke impaired ciliogenesis in a dose-dependent manner in murine sinonasal epithelial cell culture 20. Cigarette smoking is also associated with profound changes in the mechanisms of mucous production. Chronic exposure to tobacco smoke causes respiratory epithelium metaplasia with increased number and size of goblet cells and, consequently, increased mucous secretion in the upper respiratory tract. Furthermore, tobacco smoke also inhibits interleukin 8 and human β-defensin in sinonasal epithelial cell cultures derived from patients with CRS 21. These findings suggest that cigarette smoke may have a suppressive function on sinonasal innate immunity. Taken together, more intense colonisation of upper respiratory tract by pathogenic bacteria might be a result of impaired local defence mechanisms of respiratory mucosa. Moreover, respiratory pathogens (e.g. Streptococcus pneumoniae) are associated with increased adherence to respiratory epithelial cells in chronic exposure to cigarette smoke 22.
This study also demonstrated that gram-negative bacteria were significantly more often isolated from the middle nasal meatus in children exposed to SHS compared to non-exposed children. Similar to our results, Ertel et al. (1991) showed that the respiratory system of adult smokers is preferentially colonised by gram-negative bacilli. This is explained by better resistance of gram-negative bacteria to cigarette smoke compared to gram-positive ones 23.
On the other hand, only Streptococcus pneumoniae was found more often in the nasopharynx in children exposed to SHS compared to non-exposed children. Differences in other pathogens according to tobacco exposure were not observed. One explanation for this finding is the study population. All children in the present study underwent surgical treatment due to adenoid hypertrophy. Pathogens such as Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Moraxella catarrhalis are most commonly detected bacteria in adenoid tissue 24. Therefore, we assume that colonisation by pathogens was up-regulated due to adenoid hypertrophy, and thus the possible differences between tobacco exposure and pathogens in nasopharynx in children with adenoid hypertrophy could not be manifested.
In our study, we observed an effect of passive smoking on markers of systemic humoral immunity (IgG and IgA), which were increased in children regularly exposed to tobacco smoke compared to non-exposed children. There are only a few reports on the effects of passive and active smoking on humoral mucosal and systemic immunity in the literature. It has been shown that smokers may have increased 25 but also decreased concentrations of IgA in saliva 26. Exposure of cigarette smoke supports the activation of innate immunity (e.g. Toll-like receptors, neutrophils) with possible effects on parameters of adaptive humoral immunity 27. On the other hand, tobacco smoke increases the susceptibility of respiratory mucosa to various viruses and bacteria 28, which can contribute to the recurrent respiratory infections, chronic stimulation of mucosal immune system and its hypertrophy. Hypertrophic lymphoid tissue in the upper airways is associated with increased levels of saliva IgA 29. Maternal smoking increases chronic upper respiratory symptoms and saliva IgA levels in children 30. The increased levels of IgA and IgG in peripheral blood observed in our children might be therefore attributed to the chronic stimulation of lymphoid tissue of upper airways due to recurrent respiratory infections, which can be the result of exposure to passive smoke. Moreover, this activation of humoral immunity can also be supported by chronic inflammation induced by exposure to tobacco smoke. Passive smoking was also shown to be a risk factor for the development of adenoid hypertrophy in another study 31. Recently, it was shown that adenoid tissue is related to a Th-2 deviated immune response. This could aggravate the harmful effect of passive smoking on mucosal immunity and microbial colonization 32. It was further shown that smoking induces nasopharyngeal lymphoid hyperplasia, and therefore passive smoking could also be considered as a risk factor for development of adenoid hypertrophy 33. Another important contributing mechanism of passive smoking is the induction of persistent oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction 34.
Tobacco smoke exposure is related to increased colonisation by pathogenic bacteria in the middle nasal meatus, but not in the nasopharynx. Identification of bacteria from the middle nasal meatus did not correlate with isolation of pathogenic bacteria from the nasopharynx. The upper respiratory tract is preferentially colonised by gram-negative bacteria in children exposed to second hand smoke. Chronic passive smoking alters the composition of upper airway mucosal microbiota and thus contributes to the development of several pathological conditions. Exposure to tobacco smoke leads to elevation of IgA and IgG in peripheral blood, but does not influence markers of cellular immunity in children. Therefore, it can be suggested that avoidance of passive smoking represents a universal strategy for prevention of different inflammatory conditions in children and could be recommended as a standard part of complex management of children with recurrent respiratory tract infections and adenoid hypertrophy.
None declared.
SHS exposed (n = 18)
SHS non-exposed (n = 32)
Gram-positive
Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus 5 (28%) 10 (31%) 0.667
Corynebacterium species 4 (22%) 7 (30%) 0.621
Streptococcus viridans 3 (16%) 7 (30%) 0.136
Streptococcus pneumoniae 4 (22%) 1 (3%) 0.031
Streptococcus agalactiae 0 0 NA
Streptococcus β-hemolyticus 1 (5%) 0 0.361
Staphylococcus aureus 4 (22%) 1 (3%) 0.031
Staphylococcus aureus MRSA 0 0 NA
Gram-negative
Neisseria species 2 (11%) 3 (9%) 0.599
Haemophilus influenzae 9 (50%) 2 (6%) 0.001
Moraxella catarrhalis 6 (33%) 4 (12%) 0.051
Polymicrobial growth * 6 (33%) 1 (3%) 0.032
Bacterial species isolated from middle nasal meatus.
Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus 1 (4%) 4 (11%) 0.379
Corynebacterium species 1 (4%) 1 (3%) 0.693
Streptococcus viridans 18 (78%) 26 (70%) 0.703
Streptococcus agalactiae 0 1 (3%) 0.617
Staphylococcus aureus 6 (26%) 9 (24%) 0.576
Neisseria species 7 (30%) 15 (40%) 0.607
Haemophilus influenzae 10 (43%) 15 (40%) 0.521
Polymicrobial growth * 8 (35%) 14 (38%) 0.978
Bacterial species isolated from nasopharynx.
Immune parameter
SHS exposed
SHS non-exposed
IgG [g/L] 9.87 ± 2.56 8.43 ± 1.79 0.031
IgA [g/L] 1.13 ± 0.39 0.86 ± 0.46 0.047
IgM [g/L] 0.95 ± 0.38 0.89 ± 0.38 0.477
C3 [g/L] 1.16 ± 0.19 1.16 ± 0.22 0.952
IgE [IU/L] 58.94 ± 76.73 32.09 ± 29.63 0.566
Leucocytes [10 6 /L] 7.77 ± 1.46 7.80 ± 2.82 0.340
Neutrophils [10 6 /L] 3.15 ± 1.08 3.04 ± 0.83 0.979
Lymphocytes [10 6 /L] 3.66 ± 0.84 3.84 ± 2.15 0.548
Monocytes [10 6 /L] 0.65 ± 0.19 0.70 ± 0.27 0.603
Eosinophils [10 6 /L] 0.39 ± 0.36 0.25 ± 0.15 0.566
Basophils [10 6 /L] 0.05 ± 0.05 0.05 ± 0.05 0.862
CD3 + T lymphocytes [10 9 /L] 2508.77 ± 701.03 2589.93 ± 146.70 0.430
CD19 + B lymphocytes [10 9 /L] 627.38 ± 185.84 656.72 ± 345.82 0.786
CD3 + CD4 + T lymphocytes [10 9 /L] 1330.46 ± 377.87 1374.03 ± 645.44 0.596
CD3 + CD8 + T lymphocytes [10 9 /L] 1026.69 ± 399.34 990.52 ± 694.42 0.169
CD15 + CD56 + NK cells [10 9 /L] 462.69 ± 242.76 527.66 ± 438.57 0.849
CD4:CD8 ratio 1.39 ± 0.32 1.48 ± 0.47 0.751
Differences in humoral and cellular immunity according to the second hand smoke exposure. Data are shown as mean ± SD.
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wildlifeheritageforever
recognize wildlife’s true value to our province
NEWSLETTER July 30, 2018
Veteran hunters are well aware that animals respond to hunting pressure and one of their survival tactics is to hunt/travel at night.
An article in the Vancouver Sun June 15, 2018 titled Animals Shifting from Day to Night to Avoid People makes a few points well known by veteran hunters: “The latest research found even activities like hiking and camping can scare animals and drive them to be more active at night. It suggests that animals might be playing it safe around people.”
The bookend of the pictures I am sending you start and end with California Bighorn Sheep.
Early August 2017 I watched two large groups of 30 plus bighorn ewes, yearlings and lambs converge adjacent to Highway #3 at the east end of the Rock Quarry. I have been around the bighorns in Grand Forks since their transplant in February 1984, 85 & 86 and have never seen two large groups of bighorns immediately adjacent to each other.
The Limited Entry Hunting Season on the Gilpin Grasslands starts September 1 and last year within a few hours of the start of the LEH hunting season a group of 13 rams moved west immediately adjacent to the west end of the wildlife fence.
That message came from my son, Bear via our FM radios. I know the area thanks to building and repairing the wildlife fence which is adjacent to Highway #3 and the NE boundary of the City of Grand Forks on the south side of the highway.
When I arrived on scene you could instantly see the new bighorn ram trail. The core area of the bighorn ram sanctuary east to west is approximately 1 ½ km and no more than 200 meters south to north, a small part of large District Lots all privately owned. Behind the fence is a steep rocky/grassland slope that moderates to a grassland ponderosa pine area and a spring used to fill a water trough for cows. North is open moderate/steep grasslands dominated by non-native grasses and weeds.
Both events, two large groups of ewes, lambs and bighorn rams seeking sanctuary on private land is driven by the behavior of predators which includes hunters. The mismanagement of mule and whitetail deer has resulted in few prey species for predators throughout the Boundary-Region 8 Okanagan, subunits 8-12, 8-14 and 8-15.
It is true that predators can and do negatively impact wildlife populations. I witnessed an uptick in the cougar population in the East Boundary-Greenwood, Grand Forks and Christina Lake in 1991. The grind of finding a cougar track suddenly changed but most of the tracks were young females.
In the near future I will send you a newsletter that centers on my experience of hunting the cougar that starts in 1971 and the political game that reminds hunters that the cougar has a growing number of friends.
Bighorn lamb survival on Gilpin has declined the last few years thanks to the wily coyote. But then again when you watch a group of ewes and lambs how many ewes are too young to have lambs and how many are too old? It is not uncommon to see a group of young ewes and banana curl rams.
Gilpin ungulate winter range has an alarming road density magnified by a highly successful quad bike agenda that conveniently ignored transparency and accountability.
As a consequence of the road density and the dramatic increase in quad, mountain and dirt bike riders using every road/trail on Gilpin, every ungulate and predator responds to the presence of humans. The group of bighorn rams sought refuge on private property and they were still there when we were fencing in the adjacent rocks in April. According to my son the biggest rams on the mountain were the leaders.
The Draft Management Plan July 2008 for the Proposed Gilpin-Morrissey Wildlife Management Area states on page 61 “There are approximately 62 KM of roads throughout the proposed WMA plan area. The majority of these roads are non-status roads. The extensive road network is frequently utilized by motor vehicles (e.g. off highway vehicles and 4x4s) for recreation activities such as hunting, wildlife viewing and scenic excursions”
In 2008 I listed the 22 roads in the WMA proposal and calculated their length by using km road markers and came up with a total of 81 ½ km. Thanks to new logging roads the total to-day would be at least 84 km of roads.
Perspective-Rod Silver, Region 4 West Kootenay Provincial Government biologist sent a letter to members of the Overton-Moody Resource Management Plan Access Committee January 10, 1078. (Overton-Moody the bookend watersheds of Gilpin Grasslands).
Rod Silver listed the access management grievances and the justification for his argument that “Road access in the planned area should not be increased”. The Overton-Moody Unit (Gilpin) is recognized as one of the few most important ungulate winter ranges in the Boundary area, Green Belt purchases provide vivid testimonials to this fact”.
Access management in British Columbia is a non-starter and a major reason the province’s wildlife resource is in serious trouble so is Rod’s 1978 recommendation the answer in championing responsible access management?
It is recommended that the Overton-Moody Coordinated Resource Management Committee seek approval from the KRMC (?) to proceed with the following vehicular restriction via an Order in Council initiated and enforced by the Fish & Wildlife Branch.
An Order in Council never got traction in 1978 and as a consequence notwithstanding a few anemic attempts to control access, roads and trails are constructed with impunity in the Boundary.
Is there any hope for the province’s wildlife resource? It is an iffy proposition and the analogies that support that argument are well documented in “Who Killed the Grand Banks” by Alex Rose 16 years after MP John Crosby announced the moratorium on North Atlantic Cod. July 2, 1992.
The tipping point will only come when every stakeholder agrees or is forced to take less off the mountain!
I am sending you more pictures than usual, a salute to the guys and one gal who volunteered a total of 110 man hours to fence two small gaps (19 metal posts) at the western end of the wildlife fence constructed a generation ago.
I will send the pictures in two groups with an interval of a few days.
The western end of the wildlife fence was built to keep mule deer off Highway #3. Needless to say the mule deer population is grim as is the whitetail population, a point made by this year’s deer count on the Gilpin Ungulate Winter Range: 62 mule deer and 83 whitetails.
A small number of bighorns, primarily rams have been end running the fence through the two gaps not fenced for at least the last five years. Why I don’t know? After all, the south side of the highway is dominated by two motels, a trailer park, a Fortis office and yard and Kootenay Car Care.
A small problem suddenly got a lot larger.
Barry Brandow Sr.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on March 8, 2019 by barrybrandow.
← NEWSLETTER June 30, 2018 NEWSLETTER August 24, 2018 →
NEWSLETTER February 1, 2019
NEWSLETTER September 26, 2018
xamble on Riparian Area Management
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Boeing AH-64 Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is an American four-blade, twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement, and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. It is armed with a 30 mm (1.18 in) M230 chain gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircraft's forward fuselage. It has four hardpoints mounted on stub-wing pylons, typically carrying a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rocket pods. The AH-64 has a large amount of systems redundancy to improve combat survivability.
The Apache originally started as the Model 77 developed by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the AH-1 Cobra. The prototype YAH-64 was first flown on 30 September 1975. The U.S. Army selected the YAH-64 over the Bell YAH-63 in 1976, and later approved full production in 1982. After purchasing Hughes Helicopters in 1984, McDonnell Douglas continued AH-64 production and development. The helicopter was introduced to U.S. Army service in April 1986. The first production AH-64D Apache Longbow, an upgraded Apache variant, was delivered to the Army in March 1997. Production has been continued by Boeing Defense, Space & Security; over 2,000 AH-64s have been produced to date.
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Boeing_AH-64_Apache
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A Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter belonging to the US military has reportedly crashed in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah, with no information available about the fate of those onboard ... The sources said the helicopter crashed during a refueling operation, and there are reports of injuries among its crew members ... www.presstv.ir ... ....
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Rafale jets to debut in Republic Day flypast
The IAF’s C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft, C-130J Super Hercules special operations plane, Apache AH-64E attack helicopters and CH-47F (I) Chinook multi-mission choppers — platforms that have formed part of the force’s role in the Ladakh sector — will also participate in the flypast, the officials said....
Pvt Sector Role, No Choice for State-owned Firms: How Tejas, Rafale are Making India 'Atmanirbhar'
... squadron strengths and rising obsolescence, the turnaround for IAF started happening since around 2015 when PM Modi-led NDA government signed deals with Boeing of US for 22 Apache AH-64 combat helicopters and 15 Chinook CH-47 tactical transport helicopters for around $3 billion....
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In the Donbas killed two Ukrainian military – headquarters OOS
One soldier died near Nice in the result of attack of fighters, another hit a mine near zaytsevo.
In the Donbass in the shelling of fighters of positions of divisions of the joint forces near the Glorious Ukrainian military was lost. Another war wasps died as a result of mine explosion near zaytsevo, reports the Chronicle.info with reference to RBC.
It is noted that the militants used against the Ukrainian military near the Glorious grenade launchers of various systems and small arms.
“Unfortunately, as a result of enemy fire, Ukraine lost one brave defender,” — said in the headquarters.
Another Ukrainian soldier was killed during a combat mission near zaytsevo.
“As a result of explosion of the unknown explosive device and another soldier of the United forces was injured, incompatible with life,” — said the military.
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Modern Maritime Navigation Equipment
3 Concealed Carry Locations
3 Things You Should Do When Buying a Vehicle
Focus on These 3 Qualities To Create a Great Exhibition Display
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Do ETFs cause volatility? 5 questions about ETFs
Deep Finance February 15, 2016
$1 trillion stock bubble ready to pop
In other words, ETFs typically trade without ever seeing trading in the underlying stocks. The market makers create the ETFs by giving custodians the underlying basket of stocks, and they in return receive shares in the ETFs. For the most part, those shares trade without having to trade the underlying stocks.
5) What about leveraged and inverse ETFs? Are they dangerous?
I’m not convinced they are a danger to the markets, but the average investors should stay away from them.
The SEC recently announced it would begin looking into ETF sales strategies and disclosures and the suitability for investors of complex ETFs like leveraged and inverse ETFs.
I am not a fan of leveraged and inverse ETFs. I don’t like them because they reset their returns on a daily basis and because of that, no investor will get the return they think they are getting if they hold these securities for any length of time, particularly if there is a lot of volatility.
I’ll give you an example that illustrates the “reset” problem. Last year the S&P 500 was up 1.3 percent on a total return basis (including dividends). If you owned a leveraged ETF that, for example, guaranteed you twice the return of the S&P, you would think you would make 2.6 percent (1.3 percent times 2).
But the ProShares Ultra ETF, which does give you 2 times leverage, was down 1.08 percent last year.
ETFs are again beating mutual funds, here’s why
If you owned an inverse ETF that, for example, guaranteed you twice the inverse of the S&P, you might think you would be down 2.6 percent. But the ProShares UltraShort S&P 500, which guaranteed you twice the inverse of the S&P 500, was down 9.6 percent.
What happened? Just what the funds advertised: They only guarantee you the return on a daily basis. Once you’re past that, the returns will vary.
Because of this, these types of investments should only be used by sophisticated investors who understand what the funds are promising.
And that’s why the SEC is looking into this. Regulators want to make sure no one is surprised.
Past the suitability issue, I have doubts that regulating them out of existence is the right way to go.
First, they are a tiny part of the market. ETFs are a $2 trillion market. Leveraged and inverse ETFs probably account for $30 billion of that, less than 2 percent.
Second, for the most part these instruments consist of a pile of cash and a swap agreement with a counterparty, usually a big bank. The funds go to the bank and say, “If the S&P is up 1 percent, you will pay us 2 percent today. If the S&P is down 1 percent, we will pay you 2 percent.” It’s a swap agreement that is collateralized. Money changes hands.
[“source -pcworld”]
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Phantom Landscapes
11 Mar — 16 Jun 2019 at the PAFA in Philadelphia, United States
Phantom Landscapes. Courtesy of PAFA
In Phantom Landscapes, PAFA alumni Alyssa B. DeVille (MFA '12), Georgette L. Veeder (Cert. '78) and Samuel Thuman (BFA '17) portray scenes of personal experiences and open subconscious realms through painting, drawing, and sculpture.
DeVille employs a stylized, illustrative painting style for her allegorical works that depict women, men, and children as actors of mythological force. The figures in her works - sometimes resembling the artist herself and exhibiting anthropomorphic and geomorphic characteristics - shift between being integral and communing with their environment to being in direct conflict with it. DeVille’s instinctively developed imagery offers a personal view of a story as old as time.
In Veeder’s large casts of hand-made paper, monumental rock formations take relief from the gallery wall appearing like arches and totems that tower above the viewer. These paper forms, while seemingly dense, retain a soft edge and tactility that draws the viewer deeper into the artist’s imagined world. Veeder’s sculptural works in the round expand this notion, staging small huts and ladders that suggest a living presence, engaging and altering their environment.
Thuman creates images of ghostly homes, interior spaces, and corridors through the conventions of computer-generated imagery, causing them to emanate a sense of cold and forbidding strangeness. Recognizable shapes, objects, and patterns are erased out of a heavy graphite ground and appear as anxiety-inducing diagrams and warning signs. Thuman is the co-author of the graphic novel, Blurred, where this surreal imagery depicts time-travel and a man’s connection with his veteran grandfather.
Each artist in this show pushes beyond traditional conventions of representation into evocative, imagined worlds where one can decode encrypted warnings and bear testament to the uncertainty inherent in human experience.
Virtual Reality at the Museum
Moundbuilders
Permanent event at Philadelphia History Museum
The Giant Heart
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Home FEATURE MENU Three years of smiles at AVS GSA in Thailand
Three years of smiles at AVS GSA in Thailand
Having joined the ECS Group network in 2016, managing director of AVS GSA Thailand, Chirasak Chandratat is delighted with the partnership.
The subsidiary of ECS Group for Thailand is the GSA for 12 online airlines, one offline and in charge of total cargo management for two airlines, Nok Air and NokScoot Airlines. Two more airlines are managed under ECS Group’s Total Cargo Management (TCM) contract, TUI Group and Thomas Cook Airlines in and out of Phuket.
Expressing his delight in joining the ECS family, Chandratat tells Air Cargo Week: “We have been able to contribute and render a high quality of services to all airline customers with our great sales and operations teams. The partnership has been highlighted by seamless service products through the successful and efficient linking of networks under ECS Group.”
As an ECS Group subsidiary, AVS GSA Thailand offers all the services and digital tools developed in-house, with the Thai team offering capacity sales.
Chandratat says: “They are able to offer 24 hours of operational services at both Don Muang International Airport and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport with compliance to all airline’s procedures.”
The team also offer customs formalities, road feeder links between Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi airports. TCM expertise gives customers customised services covering an airline’s every need.
The ECS treatment for NokScoot
One airline that has been enjoying the ECS treatment is NokScoot, the low-cost medium and long-haul joint venture between Nok Air and Scoot, which started doing business with the GSA in January.
Chandratat says both ECS Group and NokScoot have supported each other to meet revenue, tonnage and service quality targets.
He says: “There were some unavoidable circumstances such as the economic down turn in our region, over capacities, fierce rate competition and trade conflict between China and USA that great impact to air transportation but ECS Group has worked very hard to compete. Despite having to overcome these obstacles we are highly satisfied with our team’s performance.”
AVS GSA has co-ordinated with the NokScoot team to receive products requiring special care such as durian, live tropical fish, mangoes, fresh vegetables and diplomatic goods.
Adding that this includes shipments from interline partners, Chandratat says: “The ECS Group network is a real asset. The principal is very happy with our quick development and progress. Eventually, the revenue and transportation weight reveal bigger than recent periods prior to ECS Group joining this Total Cargo Management with NokScoot.”
High quality of service
NokScoot may be a budget carrier, but from a cargo perspective, there is no difference in terms of service it receives.
Chandratat says: “The market rate is the main criteria for customers to choose their carrier and that competitive rates may changes with demand, supply and quality of services during a particular period.”
He adds: “Our main challenge has been how to convince customers to change the airport of loading to Don Muang instead of Suvarnabhumi. More than that, it is linking their network which has limited abilities with our existing network to increase the potential of NokScoot to compete with competing airlines.”
The air cargo market in Thailand has been impacted by the China-US trade tensions, with Thai exports dependent on China’s supply chain seeing a decline. Long holidays in Japan have also affected Thailand’s exports, as it is one of the largest markets for agricultural, electronic and automotive parts. Rates are also low due to overcapacity and the strength of the Thai baht have hit exports.
Chandratat says the decline appears to be slowing and exports are doing well compared to Thailand’s neighbours, and there are still opportunities to expand to markets in the Middle East, Europe and the USA.
He says: “These circumstances have an impact on our business in Thailand. Nonetheless, ECS Group is performing better overall than the trends seen in our industry. Like any other subsidiaries of ECS Group, we pay a great deal of attention to ensuring that we are working on managing costs, in particular cost savings, and optimising revenue.”
US-China trade tension hitting Thailand
With the global economy slowing and no end in sight for the China-US trade conflict, Chandratat does not see growth picking up this year. The stronger baht is also stifling economic expansion.
The second half of the year is the high season for tourism, so airlines are planning to add capacity on routes primarily to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket.
He says: “This typically causes more space for export from Thailand and an oversupply and hard to develop yield as per the aforementioned reason.”
If the issues are resolved, Chandratat foresees the market picking up, but if not, then exports from Thailand will grow slowly or remain static.
There is good news, he says: “The Thai government is working very hard to encourage export from Thailand for all modes of transportation and all kinds of products either industrial or agriculture goods. This is being done through proposed tax-cuts for companies willing to relocate their production to Thailand.”
For GSSAs, Chandratat says the best opportunities come from new airlines with smaller fleets operating fewer frequencies.
He says: “They may decide not to invest in human resources or other necessities but will consider good representation in a quality GSSA to run their business in Thailand. In this regard, we may conclude that the GSSA business still has good opportunities in the Thailand market environment.”
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james.muir@azurainternational.com
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Home Tags Ai and the workforce
Tag: ai and the workforce
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Alice Lloyd Eagles Win KIAC Semi-Final Thriller over Point Park University
Dondre Warren
PIPPA PASSES, KY: Sophomore guard Austin Crisp sank a free throw with 4 seconds remaining to provide the final point as the Alice Lloyd Eagles held on to defeat the Point Park Pioneers 89-88 in a thrilling match up in the semi-final round of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. The contest was played Saturday night before a packed house at the Grady Nutt Athletic Center. With the win, ALC avenged an early season 79-75 loss in Pittsburgh, PA.
In the opening half, things started out poorly for the hosts as recently named KIAC Player of the Year Tyler Rogers was forced to leave the game during the first minute with an early injury. The visitors seized the opportunity and rode the scoring of star guard Kelvin Goodwin to control things. They jumped ahead 19-9 with 12:27 remaining.
The Eagles then answered with a 14-0 run behind 8 points from senior guard Cody Stumbo and 6 more from freshman Ryan House to sprint ahead 23-19 with 9:14 left in the half.
The clubs then battled fiercely the remainder of the stanza, but behind 22 points from Goodwin, the Pioneers entered intermission clinging to a 45-41 lead. However, as the buzzer sounded, PPU’s Jerah’me Williams was whistled for a technical which allowed the hosts to start the second half with two free throws.
The Pioneers shot a solid 50% from the field (17-34;5-6 ft) in the first half compared to just 39% (16-41;1-2 ft) for the Eagles.
The second half opened with Stumbo hitting 1-2 free throws. Knowing a spot in the conference finals awaited the victor, both clubs fought furiously. When PPU forward Yandell Denis sank a jumper, the visitors led 64-58 with exactly 10 minutes remaining.
The Eagles bench celebrates after a big free throw.
In desperate need of a spark, Alice Lloyd got a major one when senior guard Trevor Combs drained back-to-back triples on consecutive possessions to knot things once more at 66 with 8:45 left. From this point, the fans had little reason to sit down.
This would prove to be one of many ties as the score was knotted up at 64, 66, 68 and 71. With just 1:01 remaining as ALC tried to preserve an 86-80 lead, Point Park’s Goodwin delivered a dagger when he received a pass in the right corner and was fouled on a three point basket. His 4 point play suddenly set the score 86-84.
Austin Crisp
Stumbo hit 1-2 from the line and then Goodwin delivered a beautiful up-and-under drive to make it a one-point game at 87-86 with 30 seconds left. After Crisp went 1-2 from the stripe, T.J. Lanier tied the score at 88 for the Pioneers on a bank shot with 10 seconds showing.
With the crowd on its feet, Crisp drove the court and was grabbed past half court with 4 seconds flashing on the scoreboard. His first attempt was good but the second bounded off.
The crowd held its collective breath as the Pioneers quickly found Williams who shot an 18 foot jumper as time expired for the win. To the delight of the Eagle fans, his attempt fell short and the crowd exploded with joy.
For the victors (18-11), sophomore Dondre Warren had a big game for Alice Lloyd with 17 points and 17 rebounds. Stumbo added 19 point and made three treys. Combs finished with nine big points — all in the second half — on three treys while Crisp added 9 points and 9 assists. House contributed 9 of his own while Rogers scored 8 points, added 8 rebounds and 4 blocks. He was limited to 17 minutes with the early injury in the game and fouled out in the second half.
For Point Park ( 17-11), Goodwin was exceptional, scoring 34 points on 12-17 field goals (5-6 threes) and 5-5 free throws. He also added 4 steals. Lanier and Williams added 17 and 15 respectively.
With the win, ALC advances to Tuesday’s KIAC Conference Championship. They’ll host the Cincinnati Christian University Eagles (22-8) at 7:00 PM. The two squads split the regular season match-ups with CCU winning at home 66-63 on January 5th and ALC prevailing at home 82-79 on February 9th. The winner will receive a bid to the NAIA Division II National Championship held March 9th-15th in Point Lookout, Missouri.
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