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Energy Smart Colorado
HomeH2O Program
Solar Home Tour
Solar Barn Raising
Raise the Solar Bar
Minutes-Reports &Policies
Raise the Solar Bar fourcore 2018-03-23T19:52:26+00:00
Raising the Solar Bar for Seniors in Pagosa Springs WINS!
4CORE completed the award-winning solar installation project for low-income senior housing supported by a non-competitive EPA grant. The Raise the Solar Bar Program will includes the demonstration, installation and use of new battery storage technology coupled with a 20 kW solar PV system at Socorro Senior Living in Pagosa Springs, a Section 202 Program through the Colorado Department of Housing and Urban Development and managed by Housing Solutions for the Southwest.
Anticipated measurable project benefits:
31,200 kWh of electricity to be produced annually
21.9 metric tons of carbon dioxide prevented annually
23,398 lbs of burned coal prevented annually
Saving an estimated $5,000 annually for Socorro Senior Living
The Raise the Solar Bar project also includes battery storage technology training and educational component for the community.
The project’s battery storage technology will serve as a demonstration site for the installation, operation, and maintenance of this new technology. This would be the first such installation in the region. This project will also demonstrate how the technology can provide backup power during power outages increasing safety for the senior residents, and cut electricity costs by storing energy when rates are low and discharging during high-cost peak hours.
This project is only possible with support and funding from local businesses and sponsors. LPEA generously supports 4CORE’s renewable energy projects through the Green Power Program. In particular, the local block program. You too, can support local, renewable projects in the area by contributing a small amount on your electric bill. It’s easy to do and be sure to check the “Local(s) block. SIGN UP HERE!
4CORE wins the COSEIA (Colorado Solar Energy Industry Association) first Annual Solar and Energy Storage Award for this innovative, collaborative project!
The award recognizes 4CORE efforts and the solar companies that collaborated to achieve the installation at Socorro Senior Living in Pagosa Springs, which provides a home for 19 lower-income seniors and ensures a level of safety during power outages. It will save residents an estimated $5,000 in yearly electrical costs.
The Environmental Protection Agency selected 4CORE for a $25,000 award to implement the project. La Plata Electric Association matched the funds, with sponsorships from Michael and Elaine Moravan, Britt Bassett, Ilana Stern, the Ballantine Family Fund and First Southwest Bank. SolarWorks, Living Solar, Flat Rock Solar and Dobson Solar also contributed to the project.
Socorro Senior Living in Pagosa Springs
Anticipated Results
kW of Solar Power
kWh Produced Annually
Saved Annually
Metric Tons of CO2
A Model to Inspire Independence
Supplying Solar to those who Need it Most.
The solar energy sector is vital and growing in Colorado. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association:
Colorado ranked ninth in the nation for installed solar capacity, with 540 MW of solar energy installed as of April 2016.
Colorado is home to more than 400 solar companies, employing about 5,000 people throughout the state.
$305 million was invested in solar installations in Colorado in 2015.
Average installed photovoltaic system prices in Colorado fell 18% between 2014 and 2015.
Locally, the LPEA service area has over 700 installed solar systems.
New Energy Storage Technology
The Tesla Powerwall is a battery for homes and small businesses that stores the sun’s energy and delivers clean, reliable electricity when the sun isn’t shining. Combine Powerwall, solar and an electric vehicle to create a zero emission lifestyle.
Use more of your solar power: Most homes use a fraction of the solar energy they collect. Instead of sending excess solar energy into the grid, Powerwall stores it for use any time.
Your path off grid: Combine solar and one or more Powerwalls to power your home independently from the utility grid.
Backup your home: Powerwall protects your home during a power outage, keeping your lights, Wi-Fi and refrigerator running.
© Copyright 2017 Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency, 10 Town Plaza, #190 Durango, CO 81301
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The Leaves of My Otto Luyken Laurel Are Turning Brown
“Otto Luyken” cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus “Otto Luyken”) is a spring-flowering evergreen shrub with resistance to insect damage. It is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 6 to 8, where it commonly grows to a height of 3 to 4 feet but can eventually grow to be 6 to 10 feet tall. It is susceptible to two diseases that can cause the leaves to turn brown; they are not usually fatal, but they must be treated quickly to limit the damage.
Fungal Disease Symptoms
Anthracnose fungal disease infects leaves and stems of “Otto Luyken” cherry laurels. Pale brown spots appear next to the leaf veins and the whole shrub may appear to be sun-scorched. Eventually, the branches may develop sunken cankers. These symptoms are usually worse on the lower branches. Humid, cool spring weather promotes this disease. The fungal spores remain alive in leaves, twigs and other debris around the base of the bush to re-infect it each spring.
Fungal Disease Treatment
Infected branches should be pruned off the shrub and placed in the trash. Disinfect the pruners with a bleach solution between cuts to prevent the spread of the disease. Rake leaves and debris away from around the bush and throw them in the trash. Prune off a few of the older branches to open up the shrub canopy for better air circulation. The shrub usually recovers easily. However, when the fungus becomes a recurring problem, the laurel can be sprayed with copper fungicide to prevent the disease. Copper is available as a concentrate, in ready-to-use form, as a wettable powder and in dust form. Spray or coat the leaves and stems thoroughly, being sure to coat the undersides of the leaves. Begin treating the shrub in the spring just as the new leaf buds swell. Treat it an additional two to three times every seven to 10 days.
Bacterial Blight Symptoms
Bacterial blight causes irregular, large brown spots and black veins on the leaves as well as dead flowers and stem tips. Cankers may develop on the stems. If the shrub develops serious cankers low on the trunk or branches, it will likely die from the disease. However, when the symptoms are only on the leaves and at the stem tips, the shrub should recover.
Bacteria Blight Treatment
Branches that have developed symptoms should be pruned out. The pruners should be disinfected with a 10 percent bleach solution before each new cut to prevent spreading the bacteria. Make the cut into healthy stem tissue. Pruning out some of the healthy, older branches after the shrub blooms will improve air circulation and reduce the likelihood of re-infection. Water the shrub from beneath the branches and avoid wetting the leaves.
Missouri Botanical Garden: Prunus Laurocerasus “Otto Luyken”
Cal Poly Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute: English Laurel: Prunus Laurocerasus
University of California IPM Online: Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Laurel -- Prunus Spp.
Missouri Botanical Garden: Anthracnose of Trees
Missouri Botanical Garden: Pesticides: Copper
University of California IPM Online: Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Bacterial Blight -- Pseudomonas Syringae
Reannan Raine worked for 30 years in the non-profit sector in various positions. She recently became a licensed insurance agent but has decided to pursue a writing career instead. Ms. Raine is hoping to have her first novel published soon.
Raine, Reannan. "The Leaves of My Otto Luyken Laurel Are Turning Brown." Home Guides | SF Gate, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/leaves-otto-luyken-laurel-turning-brown-90696.html. Accessed 18 July 2019.
Raine, Reannan. (n.d.). The Leaves of My Otto Luyken Laurel Are Turning Brown. Home Guides | SF Gate. Retrieved from http://homeguides.sfgate.com/leaves-otto-luyken-laurel-turning-brown-90696.html
Raine, Reannan. "The Leaves of My Otto Luyken Laurel Are Turning Brown" accessed July 18, 2019. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/leaves-otto-luyken-laurel-turning-brown-90696.html
Treat Gray Mold on Hydrangeas
The Treatment for Hydrangea Rust
Grow a Bush Allamanda
Prune Thuja
Rescue a Diseased Lilac Bush
Leaf Wilt on a Snowball Bush
Grow Clethra
Royal Purple Smoke Tree Care
Care for Otto Luyken Laurel Plants
Why Are Harry Lauder Walking Stick Leaves Droopy?
Transplant Dwarf Korean Lilac
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Homeopathylane forum Homeopathylane Board Homeopathic Case Studies
Homeopathy works : The Gary Null Show on Homeopathy
Homeopathic Case Studies
Moderators: homeopathylane, brownbagpantry
Website Twitter Skype
Post by admin » Tue May 08, 2018 12:33 am
http://prn.fm/gary-null-show-05-07-18/
Dr. Alex Tournier is a practicing homeopath and scientific researcher. he studied physics at Imperial College of London, theoretical physics at the Cambridge University and received his doctorate from the University of Heidelberg studying the biophysics of water-protein interactions. In 2007 he founded and is now the director of the Homeopathy Research Institute in London, a charitable organization dedicated to facilitating and conducting high-quality scientific investigations into homeopathy’s principles and efficacy. For a decade he worked at the prestigious Cancer Research UK center, studying the interface between biology, physics and mathematics. Alex’s research institute’s website is HRI-Research.org
Ananda More is a classical homeopath, doula, and documentary film director. She currently is the co-owner of Riverdale Homeopathy in Ontario Canada. Ananda was originally very skeptical about homeopathy and regarded it as quackery. Later, after falling ill during a visit to India, she turned to homeopathy and discovered she quickly recovered. Later, she attended a conference in Cuba and learned about successful effort to thwart an epidemic of the tropical disease leptospirosis by administering a homeopathic vaccine to 2.3 million Cubans. Observing how homeopathy is denigrated in the media and conventional medical community and how homeopaths are publicly maligned, she directed the recent film Magic Pills: Promise or Placebo to correct the false perceptions of this 200 year old practice. Ananda currently sits on the boards of the Ontario Homeopathic Association and the Ontario College of Homeopaths. Her films website is MagicPillsMovie.com and practices website is RiverdaleHomeopathy.com
For the full article and Audio Show. Please Vist
Return to “Homeopathic Case Studies”
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The At Home With Technology Blog
personalized, on-site support for home & small office
Mophie’s Adhering to Magnetism with Its New Products… But This New Case May Repel More Than It Attracts
Earlier this month, mobile accessory maker Mophie announced a new line of products for the new iPhone 7. These accessories utilize Mophie’s Hold Force magnetic attachment system. From their press release: “The base case fits snugly over your smartphone. Magnetic plates embedded in the back of the case allow you to attach any hold force accessory simply by touching it to the back of the smartphone.”
When I read the description, and later saw images (and video, above) of this new line of accessories, it became clear that these magnets weren’t strong enough to hold my interest. And the shame of it is, magnets may very well be the future of smartphone accessories, but it doesn’t look like Mophie’s compass is pointing in the right direction.
Mophie’s been making battery cases for smartphones for several years now, and the value is unmistakable. Instead of having to lug around a separate battery to recharge your phone when it gets low, the built-in battery in their Juice Pack cases recharge the phone with the push of a button. It’s such a useful accessory, that even Apple has jumped into the game, with their own battery case (albeit one of debatable attractiveness).
Apple’s “Humpback” Battery Case (left), next to the smooth contours of a Mophie Juice Pack (right). Source: Slashgear.com, click photo or caption for a review of the Apple Battery Case.
Still, Mophie is the industry leader (64% market share in the battery case arena): so what they do matters. And let’s take a look at what they’ve done, just this year.
In February of this year, Mophie unveiled their first wireless Juice Pack battery case, tailored to the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge models: This means that their battery case does not interfere with the phone’s built-in wireless charging function (a feature still absent from the iPhone). Now the Juice Pack can recharge the same way the “naked” phones could (see image below), on any Qi-certified charging stand.
The Galaxy S7, charging wirelessly, without a special case. Source: AndroidCentral.com
NOTE: To learn more about the new Qi standard, visit its page at the Wireless Power Consortium site: https://www.wirelesspowerconsortium.com/about/benefits.html
It’s an exciting technology, and it’s easy to predict as the future for mobile device recharging (as I mentioned in an earlier post, I expect Apple’s gameplan is to go completely wireless in the near future, starting with the removal of the headphone jack. But more on that in a moment).
In May, Mophie expanded its Charge Force line to support the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, and 6S Plus.
Things were carrying on swimmingly. Now iPhone users could finally enjoy wireless charging, a feature built in to many phones across several makers—even Blackberry!— to this point.
I, myself, jumped on the wireless charging bandwagon for my iPhone 6S. I had been using their Juice Pack Plus, along with their proprietary desktop and car dashboard charging cradles. And it wasn’t perfect.
First of all, I bought the Juice Pack Plus almost immediately after the iPhone 6S came out, so I wasn’t sure if it would fit correctly. The package for the case still only said “iPhone 6,” but Mophie’s website indicated compatibility with both the 6 and 6S.
For the record: the iPhone 6 measures 0.27 inches thick, whereas the newer 6S measures 0.28 inches thick. Due to the snug fit of the Juice Pack Plus, that .01 inch difference is important, and noticeable. For one, it is near impossible to pry the case off the 6S if need be; and the pressure exerted by the case on my iPhone started to discolor the screen in the middle of my phone.
An example of the kind of discoloration I noticed in the center of my screen. Source: forums.androidcentral.com
In addition, the charging cradles didn’t always make a solid enough connection to deliver the charge to the case. These cradles feature small metal pins which have to line up with small metal plates on the bottom of the standard Juice Pack case. It’s a terrible feeling to wake up and find that instead of recharging overnight on your nightstand, your phone has worn down its battery, waiting to be plugged in.
The Juice Pack and Dock. The tiny pins in the Dock are especially fickle. Source: Forbes.com, click photo or caption for a 2015 review of the Juice Pack.
The car charger was fraught in its own way, requiring the phone to be “clicked in” on top and bottom for a secure fit for the ride. If I put it in at the wrong angle—easy to do when in a hurry—then not only would the phone/case combo not recharge in the car, but the misalignment meant that there was the risk of the phone popping right out of the cradle during a drive. This is how drivers get distracted, and how accidents happen.
The Juice Pack Car Dock, shown in vertical and horizontal orientations. Source: The-Gadgeteer.com
Upgrading to the Charge Force line was a no-brainer. Instead of fussy cradles that may or may not line up, the included wireless charging mat utilized both gravity, as well as a strong magnet, to keep the phone securely charging. Interestingly, this system does require the phone to lie parallel on the mat, as opposed to perpendicular, or at some other angle. But as I said, the magnets in the mat keep things pretty well aligned.
This connection’s pretty hard to mess up. Source: instash.com
In the car, the only option so far is the Charge Force Vent Mount, which, as you may guess, clips into the car’s air conditioner vent. It’s a solid, stable fit; and with its own strong magnets, I don’t worry about the phone falling off or failing to charge in the car. I am, however, not thrilled with the blockage of my precious AC during long, hot drives in Southern California.
The Charge Force Vent Mount in use, shown here in vertical orientation, blocking less of the vent. Source: Mophie.com
Hopefully they’ll introduce a dashboard/windshield version to replace their problematic Juice Pack Car Dock.
“Hopefully they’ll introduce” is where we are now. Currently, the Juice Pack connects via the iPhone’s Lightning port to deliver power to the phone. The case itself features a Micro-USB connector on the bottom; and then either Mophie’s unique “frictionless” charging points on the bottom of the Juice Pack, or the newer Qi-compatible Charge Force system on the back of the Juice Pack Wireless. The iPhone 6/6S headphone jack is not easily accessible through the thick case, so Mophie makes a headphone adapter (included with some, but not all, Juice Pack models. Double-check the list of package contents before getting yours. They’re happy to sell the adapter separately, of course).
Mophie’s headphone adapter to fit bulkier plugs into its Juice Pack cases. Source: Mophie.com
Immediately upon arrival of the iPhone 7, I’m certain Mophie furiously went to work designing a new Juice Pack battery case for the redesigned phone—a case now absent a headphone jack, of course. The hope was—and remains—a pass-through port for Apple’s proprietary Lightning jack. This would allow Juice Pack users to connect Apple’s Lightning-to-headphone adapter and continue to use their wired headphones as they would without the case on.
If Mophie can’t license the Lightning port from Apple, I would also accept an adapter built right in to the case; and thinking about it, I feel that’s the more likely route—after all, third-party accessory makers (like Scosche, below) are already making their own Lightning-to-headphone adapters, so why shouldn’t Mophie just build one into their next case?
Scosche’s entry in the burgeoning “lightning to headphone” adapter market. Source: Scosche.com
“Their next case,” is indeed what they announced on October 3rd. And it has NONE of the features I’d hoped for, nor any of the reliable Mophie design trademarks I’ve come to rely upon over the years.
I honestly don’t understand what they’re doing with the Hold Force case and accessories (currently only designed for the iPhone 7, so they can’t claim this is their new universal platform for all iPhones). Instead of developing a new battery case for the new phone, as they have since the iPhone 4, they’ve pivoted to this strange modular design, allowing for the option to attach an external battery to the “base case,” but connecting to the iPhone with a short, ugly cable. Apple’s “humpback” Battery Case may be unsightly, but at least it has indoor plumbing!
The Hold Force Case and Battery. Source: Mophie.com
My hunch is that this Hold Force system is the first product of the 2016 merger between Mophie and erstwhile rival accessory maker Zagg. The system has none of the elegance I’ve come to expect from Mophie, and I hope they have something better planned for the iPhone 7.
Despite everything, I’m optimistic, because instead of simply hawking the Hold Force as, “This IS our case for the iPhone 7!,” their website cheerfully displays this banner:
Click above to check on their status. Hopefully they won’t need this banner for long.
Naturally, I signed up to get notified. I’ll be watching their website closely, almost as if I were held to it with… I don’t know, velcro, maybe? ◼︎
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged android, battery case, charge force, dock, galaxy s7, galaxy s7 edge, headphone jack, hold force, iphone, juice pack, lightning, magnets, Mophie, qi, Scosche on October 24, 2016 by homewithtech.
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QUORUM SENSING BETWEEN VIBRIO FISCHERI POPULATIONS WITHIN THE SQUID LIGHT ORGAN
Murtha, Andrew
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Timothy Iwao Miyashiro, Thesis Supervisor
Ming Tien, Honors Advisor
quorum sening
bioluminescence
host-microbe symbiosis
Bacteria impact that health and development of host organisms, and disruption of these interactions can have adverse effects on host fitness. Microbes acquired from the environment must adapt to host conditions in order to survive and remain colonized. This is often achieved through modifications in cellular physiology, such as the production of biofilms or induction of motility. Changes in bacterial gene expression regulate these processes, often times through a process known as quorum sensing. Quorum sensing describes a signaling mechanism that coordinates behaviors among bacterial cells. Vibrio fischeri is a bacterium that colonizes specific sites within the light organ of the Hawaiian bobtail squid, where the resulting populations produce bioluminescence via quorum sensing. This light production is necessary for maintenance of the symbiosis, as non-luminous strains of V. fischeri become attenuated within the light organ. The goal of this work was to investigate how quorum sensing impacts the ability of V. fischeri to maintain symbiosis with the squid. First, the physiology of a natural isolate of V. fischeri was studied. This isolate was taken from an adult squid, meaning that it has persisted over the lifetime of the animal. Then, the impact of luminescence on growth in vitro was tested. This was necessary to determine if effects observed in vivo were related to growth rate. Finally, the impact of quorum sensing on maintenance of the symbiosis was directly measured. This work has found that quorum sensing is necessary for the maintenance of V. fischeri in the Hawaiian bobtail squid.
Open Andrew_Murtha_Final_Thesis.pdf Request paper in alternate format. Link opens the Penn State University Libraries contact form in a new tab to request this paper in an alternate format
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‘Amend NCR land laws, help improve our lives’
Filed under: Native Customary Rights — Hornbill Unleashed @ 12:00 AM
Tags: Anak Sarawak Bangsa Malaysia, Save Malaysia, Save Sabah, Save Sarawak
FMT Staff
Land development practices currently taking place in Sarawak warrants amendment to laws governing native customary rights land, say the Kayan community.
The estimated 15,000-strong Kayan community in Sarawak want laws governing native customary rights (NCR) on land to be amended. The tribe believes that changes to the NCR land laws will help improve the socio-economic status of the community.
Legally, under the NCR land development concept, natives cannot enter into joint venture with persons outside their community. But this has not stopped oil palm companies and unscrupulous parties from exploiting the impoverished tribes.
The Kayans are among the many tribal communities who’ve become ‘victims’ of the state administration’s massive development plans which include the construction of mega dams to support its bid to fuel the needs of Sarawak Corridor for Renewable Energy (SCORE).
The Kayans live predominantly in the northern interior and along the Baram, upper Rejang and lower Tubau rivers where the infamous Baram dam is in place.
In a statement today, the Kuching Kayan Association chairman, Mering Wan, said amending the current land laws and issuing titles on NCR land was the “surest way” to uplift the socio-economic status of the community affected by the current land development policies in the state.
Mering said the ongoing development in the state warrants a review and amendment to ensure NCR land is protected.
“The present situation warrants laws governing NCR to be amended to meet the needs brought about by development. With the present laws on NCR land, native lands would become economically useless or may even be lost,” he said.
Responding to the recent federal court decision, Mering said although NCR land laws are implemented with the best intention to protect native lands from being sold to non-natives, the laws however needed to be ‘upgraded’.
“The NCR laws should be changed to suit the current situation. The new laws must take into consideration the vast development going on in the state.
“For instance under the present law, those who fail to cultivate their NCR lands in a given period of time would risk losing ownership of the lands,” he said citing the example of 60-year-old farmer in the longhouse who owned several plots of NCR land but with none of his children having an interest in farming.
Upgrade laws
In such a scenario, Mering said the farmer could possibly lose his lands as he could not cultivate it alone.
“The NCR land law is supposed to protect the farmer’s interest and not make the land a burden. The NCR land has currently no value in the market because of the stipulated conditions governing the land such as the land must be used for agriculture purposes only.
“Amending the laws and issuing titles to the lands would be the surest way to uplift the natives’ socio-economic status,” he said.
The association was responding to the volley of differing views following last week’s federal court ruling that NCR land cannot be transferred by sale and purchase agreements, nor can native customary rights so acquired over the temuda (farm land) by a native be sold to another person who does not belong to the same community.
While some Dayak leaders and big oil palm companies had expressed shock at the court’s ruling and have called for an overhaul of state land laws, others such as former president of the Sarawak Council of Native Customary Laws said it was “disadvantageous”.
He said asking to amend the adat and land laws on NCR land would eventually put the community “in a disadvantageous position.”
“If these people want the adat and land laws changed then they have to be specific as to what sections of the laws needs to be amended.
“To me, the most important decision of the courts is the recognition of our NCR land, and this decision will once and for all erase the government’s perception that ‘all land not surveyed or any land not issued with a land title, including land under NCR claim is government land’,” he said.
Immediately after the court ruling, the Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU) called for a review of all land code, laws or ordinance to address land problems which affected the community.
It’s vice-president, Anthony Bayan, said the NCR land laws needed to be “updated” so that the Dayaks could “catch up” with the progress in the country.
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AP McCoy: Arsenal legend Ian Wright presents championship title at Sandown
Simon Jackson / April 24, 2015
Tony McCoy and Mr Mole after riding his 200th winner of the season.
Pic: Dan Abraham-racingfotos.com (Courtesy of Great British Racing).
By Simon Jackson at Sandown Park.
Tony McCoy retires from race-riding on Saturday at Sandown where he will be presented with his 20th jockeys’ championship title by Arsenal legend Ian Wright.
Wright helped the Gunners to secure a host of top honours during his seven years with the north Londoners in the late 1990s, where he was regularly their leading goal scorer. He has been called in to present Arsenal fan McCoy with his last jockeys’ championship title.
McCoy has two rides on Saturday, Mr Mole for his boss JP McManus and trainer Paul Nicholls in the bet365 AP McCoy Celebration Chase at 3.15pm – which has been renamed in his honour and will have his final ride on the McManus-owned Box Office for Jonjo O’Neill 70 minutes later.
Mr Mole provided the jockey with his 200th winner of the season when landing the Grade 2 Betfair Price Rush chase at Newbury in February, after which the jockey announced that he was to retire this season.
The 40-year-old was the first jockey to ride 3,000 and then 4,000 winners, in a sublime career that includes winning Cheltenham Gold Cups on Mr Mulligan and Synchronised and the Grand National on Don’t Push It.
There have been past instances of Arsenal formally recognising McCoy’s successes in the saddle. He was honoured at the Emirates Stadium after riding his 4000th winner when presented with a specially commissioned ‘McCoy 4000’ shirt by Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 16 months ago.
The first-team shirt, commemorating McCoy’s record 4,000th victory on Mountain Tunes at Towcester, was signed by members of Arsenal FC in recognition of McCoy’s achievements that year.
Oxlade-Chamberlain said when he presented the shirt: “It was great to see AP McCoy at the Emirates Stadium to honour his amazing achievement of 4,000 winners. The consistency and resilience he’s shown over the years is amazing. We’re proud he’s a supporter of Arsenal Football Club.”
Arsene Wenger, whose side last weekend booked their place in the FA Cup Final where they are set to play Aston Villa, also paid tribute to the achievements of McCoy who in 2010 was the first jockey to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
“I would like to pass on my congratulations to AP McCoy for reaching this remarkable milestone,” Wenger said after the McCoy rode his 4000th winner.
“He has been at the top of his sport for a very long time – as long as I have been manager of Arsenal Football Club – and that shows fantastic consistency.
“He has come through a lot of injuries, and has shown great resilience to get to where he is. Everyone at the Club is proud to know that AP McCoy is an Arsenal supporter.”
City of Westminster, Greater London, UK
April 24, 2015 in Sandown. Tags: AP McCoy, Arsenal, HorseTalkUK.com, Tony McCoy
Tony McCoy says he will never forget the reception he received at Sandown
Free tickets to Grandstand for Sandown Park’s evening meeting on May 21
Tony McCoy targets Martin Pipe’s record and 20th title after being crowned champion
← Christophermarlowe boosts Derby credentials with emphatic win at Epsom
Master Apprentice 12-1 shock winner of Sandown Group 3 Classic Trial →
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Hidden World of Girls
Cabrillo Festival Unearths the Hidden World of Girls
Posted on August 1, 2012 by Jessica Hilo
Many NPR programs have made the jump from the airwaves to center stage in order to gain attention and grow an audience. In the case of Hidden World of Girls: Stories for Orchestra, which kicked off the 50th anniversary season of The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the theatrical leap was managed with grace, earnestness, humility, and an eye towards arts making.
Based on the eponymous NPR series, The Hidden World of Girls chronicles the stories of female trailblazers and unlikely heroes through the interweaving of spoken word radio stories, live orchestral accompaniment, and visual projections.
The program’s ultimate goal was to create a work that bridged divided communities, engaged curiosity and conversation, and addressed issues sometimes difficult to broach all while attempting to explore the complex and shifting ways we experience contemporary culture through media. (A tall order and one that inevitably fell short because of its demands on the audience coming in with prior knowledge of the material or a stomach for complicated, cerebral art.)
This ambitious world premiere, the brainchild of Cabrillo Festival execs and radio producers Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva (known as The Kitchen Sisters), was three years in the making and the largest commissioned project in the festival’s history to date.
The bulk of the evening was scored by Laura Karpman, the project’s creative director and lead composer. In building out a team for the project, Karpman invited young female composers Alexandra du Bois, Clarice Assad, and Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum to contribute compositions in response to stories featured throughout the night. The resulting performance was a compelling, perplexing, and, at times, anxious tapestry of competing sonic voices.
Courtesy of HerryLawford via creativecommons
In Beneath Boundaries, for example, Alexandra du Bois explored the work of Iranian photographer Shadi Ghadirian. Ghadirian combines and juxtaposes traditional and modern images, as a means of reflecting the complexity of her culture’s gender norms. Du Bois’ work, while at times lush and moving, drowned out these statements in favor of her own opinions. Surging percussive lines, restrained viols, and declarative brass fought form, melody, and key, which stretched the subject of gender identity beyond contemporary art and into social critique. The resulting composition was an audacious political statement on the plight of Middle Eastern women; without use of Middle Eastern instruments or non-Western chords; and ultimately pitied a culture whose customs, while seemingly oppressive, can also be quite empowering.
Clarice Assad, a festival participant in 2004 and daughter of famous Brazilian guitarist Sergio Assad, also skirted the line of editorial overstep in subverting the hidden story of her subject. Her piece, The Disappeared, was by turns contemplative and an instrumentally- explosive, sardonic jaunt that opted to reflect general statements against authoritarianism rather than converse directly with its source material—the story of Claudia and Patricia Bernardi. Assad’s work hinged on a circus theme making for vivid and delightfully expressive moments; but any dictatorial regime under the gun, and even unfavorable candidates in democratic societies, has been painted as clownishness, pompous, unsavory, and violent. Without reflection on the Bernardis’ situation, this piece could have been performed on any stage—to both its benefit and detriment.
Projected visuals were equally misplaced during the performance. Photos and video had been collected by The Kitchen Sisters and redesigned for the concert by Obscura Digital (the design team behindthe YouTube Symphony). Viewing these materials on-screen was difficult due to an obstruction caused by a large window-like installation hanging above the orchestra in front of the screen. Not only was the installation distracting, but when the source material was displayed in and through the installation, media was imbued with unintentional meanings. The work of photographer Deborah Luster, for example, was hailed within The Kitchen Sisters’ radio program for its vulnerability, humanity, and character insight, which is tough to accomplish live when a large window thwarts that view. Luster’s photos came off caged and calloused, which is certainly unintended, as Luster herself was shooting these photos within a Louisiana prison.
[Editor’s note: The installation also called upon the specter of the glass ceiling and, worse, drew comparisons to Laura Mulvey’s objectified female of the cinematic male gaze.]
Hidden World thrived when the potential in its medium was fully realized—or, rather, when some media kowtowed to others to reveal both source and created hidden stories. Double Adventures, written by Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum, was masterfully balanced in this regard. Charming, whimsical, and not too ostentatious given its service in a contemporary music festival, Kroll-Rosenbaum’s piece on childhood sci-fi fantasies was one of the successes of the evening.
The night, however, belonged to Karpman, whose brilliant underscoring showed her cinematic chops through and through. Karpman is a true craftswoman, whose sensibilities in, and understanding of, multimedia served to uncover new emotional dimensions. Her compositions were bold and self-assured; and though she surrounded herself with big names, like Herrmann, Schifrin, Williams, and Bernstein, Karpman certainly proved herself worthy of the associations.
The faults of this program—its competing voices, its many distractions, its missing the mark in spite of heavy responsibilities—are the very issues facing Feminism itself and ultimately distract from the true potency of this program: its ability to take on the typically male-dominated world of symphonic music and create art and advocacy with reckless aplomb and fearless celebration. The potency of this risk is worth commending.
Bold women are making strides every day by flavoring typically male spheres with their own suffragette voices: we bandied about in the health care debate, we petitioned teen magazines to change photo editing practices, we took over major media corporations, and we might even moderate the presidential debates. In Hidden World, we not only advance the medium of storytelling, but mold advocacy in an altogether new and artistic direction.
It may not be a Helen Reddy tune, but Hidden World reminds us of the secret worlds we have already conquered and the many exciting paths we have yet to forge.
Posted in Concert ReviewsTagged Alexandra du Bois, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Clarice Assad, Davia Nelson, Hidden World of Girls, Laura Karpman, Nikki SIlva, Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum, NPR, Obscura Digital, Pat Cadigan, Shadi Ghadirian, The Kitchen SistersLeave a comment
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Home Georgia High School Football News
Will national champion Colquitt County play another game this year?
TOPICS:Colquitt County High Schoolhigh school footballhs football newsIMG Academynational championship
Posted By: Jeff Fisher December 21, 2015
by Jeff Fisher
WCTV-TV is reporting that Colquitt County, High School Football America’s 2015 national champs, will hold a news conference Tuesday during which the school may announce that the Packers may play another game this year. It has been rumored that Georgia’s two-time Class AAAAAA champs could face IMG Academy from Florida in a made-for-TV national championship game.
IMG, which hasn’t played a game since October 30th, finished #7 in our final rankings. The Ascenders were undefeated this year, but do not complete for a state championship, because they are not part of the Florida High School Athletic Association.
New Jersey High School Football News, Ohio High School Football News, Pennsylvania High School Football News, Regional Top 25's
Northeast Top 10: Week 8
National News, Texas High School Football News
AFCA 2016
Hawaii High School Football News, National News
Polynesian Co-Player of the Year Puka Nacua shines in Polynesian Bowl
California High School Football News, Southern California High School Football News
Westlake re-enters SoCal Top 25 with lots of shifting
Final 2015 Southeast Region Top 10 - High School Football America
Final 2015 Southwest Region Top 10 high school football rankings - High School Football America
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Saturday Morning ‘Old Building I Spy’ with Nick White: Ground Floor, 12th March 2016
30th May 2016 Christine Chapman 2 Comments
You may remember Nick White, Wates’ Project Manager, from an earlier blog post for November 11th. That Wednesday wasn’t just memorable because it was a particularly rainy day – which it was; we did suffer rather a lot of rain last Winter, you may recall. No, for me it stands out because it was the first time since 2014, thanks to a kind workman taking photos for me, I saw inside Church High once again. At the time, I was so grateful for – and excited to have – those six images. I didn’t know then I would get inside myself and certainly couldn’t have imagined only four months later spending a sunny Saturday morning being guided around the building by Nick himself.
Nick White, Project Manager, Wates Site Office, Westward House, Saturday March 12th.
I knew from my tour with Conal on February 24th that the stripping back of the old building had recently revealed some fascinating original features and I badly wanted to document them properly on camera. Peter, the Gateman, suggested a Saturday morning when the site would be free of workmen and Nick offered to conduct the tour. I was accompanied by sculptress Zoe Robinson (Art Teacher at both Church High and NHSG) who was keen to gain inspiration from the bare bones of the old Victorian building for a piece of original art work. Zoe is a talented and very successful commercial artist, who is regularly represented by The Biscuit Factory Art Gallery. I felt that Zoe’s preferred medium of metal and wire would lend itself very well to the scaffolded, skeletal school interiors and Nick, who was in finishing off paperwork prior to a holiday break, was happy to oblige.
Nick talks to Zoe about the use of metal in the construction process at the Project Manager’s desk & in the courtyard.
As Nick talked Zoe through specialist details of the metal work involved in various stages of the site renovation work, I was more than happy just to tag along and take my photographs. I know now that this was the ideal time to undertake a tour. Not only was it a bright, sunny morning, but the work was also at an interim stage. The strip out and restructuring work was now all complete and plastering had recently begun. Most importantly, the stripped back internal spaces were not yet cluttered by the multitudinous building materials which would be needed for the fitting out stage of the process. What luck! I took over 250 photographs that morning, enough to make video slideshows for three blog posts: outside spaces and Ground Floor, First Floor and Second Floor of the building. As we moved from room to room, it felt like a game of ‘I Spy’ as I hunted out old architectural features standing out more now in stark relief.
One of the circular holes in the north facade is now opened up into an arched doorway.
I thought I knew the building very well indeed but was startled to be told that the bright white squares which immediately caught my eye, shining in the sunlight high up on the west wall of the 1984 Science Wing, were not newly installed. Apparently there were always two bat boxes tucked away near the eaves while I was at Church High!
‘I Spy with my little eye’ …. two odd white boxes on the west wall of the Church High Science Wing. Did you know there were bat boxes up there all the time? Well, I certainly didn’t!
Along similar lines, if I asked you where the Holocaust memorial plaque was at Church High, would you be able to tell me? I knew there was one, having featured it in the 2011 School Magazine. I also knew it was destined for the courtyard but exactly where? I don’t know. However, approaching the courtyard from the rear on March 12th, eyes searching for quirky features, there it was, all of a sudden, shining in the sunlight. How had I managed to miss that?
Mounted to the right of the north courtyard door, the Church High Holocaust memorial plaque glows in the sunlight today.
On the opposite side of the courtyard, an architectural feature I didn’t need a game of I Spy to locate thankfully still remained in situ. I’d always thought the shaped bronze plaque dated the building work on the extension but zooming in to photograph it, the date seems to mark the school’s Centenary. It’s always looked very beautiful to me against the rich red brick. Did you know it was there too, I wonder?
The Science Wing north wall brickwork may be full of holes, but the fine bronze commemoration plaque is still in place.
Inside the building at ground floor level on March 12th two more features worthy of note caught my eye. When the building opens as Newcastle High School for Girls on September 6th, I’m sure the feature which will cause the most excitement is the lift. At present, the site of the lift shaft is marked by a wooden box on the ground floor.
A wooden box denotes the lift shaft base at ground floor level.
The other thing which caught my eye at ground floor level that day was an empty wall where the Tankerville Terrace mosaic used to be.
Hard to imagine how a plain white wall improves things here.
My first tour of the old building took place on January 13th; my second one on February 24th if you want to compare the changes. Your third site tour with me of the old Church High building ground floor starts here starting on the Chemistry floor of the Science Block and ending up in Home Economics and History in the Barbour Wing.
Previous PostThe New Build Interior Starts to Take Shape and a Personal Disappointment, 9th March 2016Next PostSaturday Morning ‘Old Building I Spy’ on the First Floor, 12th March 2016
2 thoughts on “Saturday Morning ‘Old Building I Spy’ with Nick White: Ground Floor, 12th March 2016”
David Postlethwaite says:
It is wonderful to see the character of that fine school but sad to see it being hidden behind a screen of modern design. I know that this, of course, is progress and the building and its interior must change to keep pace with the needs of modern education. However, my only hope is that in the process of modernising this amazing ‘Old Lady’, they do not lose the values of a once fantastic school.
I for one would like to thank Miss Chapman for keeping alive the spirit of Newcastle Church High School.
30th May 2016 at 11:43 am
Thank You, Dave. I promise you that when you walk around the ‘Old Girl’, even now, the spirit is still very strong. Those walls are suffused with the happiness of so many good and very fulfilled people. I have no doubt that this will soon be transferred to – and reinvigorate the spirit of – everyone who is lucky enough to work in her in the future. Because truth really does conquer all.
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Posted on March 11, 2015 by Heather Kincaid
Last night theatre-goers flocked to the Birmingham Hippodrome in posh frocks and dinner suits, “spending every dime for a wonderful time” at the special “Top Hats and Tiaras” themed opening of Top Hat.
Based on the classic 1935 RKO movie with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Top Hat is an Olivier Award-winning musical adapted by Matthew White and Howard Jacques. The original film was the first to have a score comprised entirely of brand-new songs by the Golden-Era master, Irving Berlin, and proved a phenomenal success, breaking box office records and inspiring new dance trends while cementing the burgeoning popularity of its songwriter and stars. Already a soaring success in its own right, the stage production is the first Irving Berlin movie to be adapted for live performance, packing out theatres and kindling a love of the songs and story in a new generation.
Returning to the Birmingham Hippodrome after its previous run in 2011, the show has been hotly anticipated by attendees, with many avid attendees booking their tickets many months in advance. And if last night’s smiling faces and thunderous applause are anything to judge by, it seems that it more than lived up to expectations.
The performances were top notch, with Alan Burkitt deftly capturing Jerry Travers’s cheeky charm, while John Conroy as the Hardwicks’ in cognito butler, Bates, and Sebastien Torkia as ambitious Italian fashion designer, Beddini, left the audience giggling like children. Despite a few vocal slips, Charlotte Gooch made a charismatic and beautiful Dale Tremont, expertly and energetically pulling off some very difficult dance moves. Dancing and choreography were faultless all round, and both Burkitt and Torkia delivered Berlin’s iconic tunes with pitch-perfect gusto They were helped along by an excellent orchestra (led by Jae Alexander) who alone would have made this show worth attending.
It wasn’t just the viewers looking fabulous, either – there were some truly stunning costumes on stage. My personal favourite was a radial pleated gown in shimmering gold that made its wearer shine like a sunbeam, followed a close second by Madge’s saucy, red satin number, complete with a low, draped back and offset by a dazzling white crystal choker.
Even more striking than these, however, was the lavish yet versatile set which allowed for fluid shifts in location from New York to London to Venice. The portrayal of Jerry tap-dancing with a hatstand in the hotel room above Dale’s was particularly well-designed, using a clever trick to allow us to see both rooms side-by-side at once.
The performance closed with an unquestionably deserved standing ovation and extra renditions of songs that will no doubt be stuck in viewers’ heads for weeks. Definitely a show worth every dime.
| Tagged Alan Burkitt, Birmingham, Birmingham Hippodrome, Charlotte Gooch, Clive Hayward, Dale Tremont, First Night, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Howard Jacques, Irving Berlin, Jae Alexander, Jerry Travers, John Conroy, Matthew White, Rebecca Thornhill, RKO, Sebastien Torkia, Top Hat, Top Hats and Tiaras | Leave a comment
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Alternate History- India never collides with Asia
Thread starter Unit 1223
Tags alternate asia collides india
History Themes
Speculative History
Imagine that the tectonic plate movements that occured in history did not bring India to Asia. How would this affect the world, or India itself?
Devdas
Deccan would have been Island in middle of the Indian ocean like Britain or Greenland and there would have been no Himalayas.
johnincornwall
No Himalayas? The Alps would just be too busy these days
johnincornwall said:
The Himalayas exist because of the the Indian plate of Deccan kept colliding with Eurasian place in Tibet and the Indian plate is still moving Northward that's why Earthquakes are common around Himalayas. The great Indo-Gangetic plains were once a sea which was filled up by the silt brought up by the rivers from the Himalayas.
stevev
Devdas said:
The process is still continuing and the Himalayas are still rising. India was once a part of Gondwana, the great southern superconinent. Antarctica was also a part of it. Even earlier there was the single supercontinent of Pangea. During the early period of Pangea (around 300 million years ago) it had a large southern icecap which may have included parts of India.
Ok, thanks for the answers but I was looking for something different. I was really asking about how it would affect world history. What would the rest of the world look like without any influence from Indian history or culture?
Unit 1223 said:
It depends on where the subcontinent is. The closer it is to the major northern hemisphere land masses, the more it's likely to have an ancient civilzation which might have had influence. If it's deep in the southern hemisphere, it may not have been inhabited until recent times. India made important contrbutions to mathematics, but I'm not sure these ideas would not have eventually come from somewhere else. Infuence goes both ways.
Buddhism originated in India but mostly took root in other countries, particularly in southeast Asia and Tibet.
Egypt and India supplied British industry with much needed cotton during the American Civil War. The textile industry was the leading employer in Great Britain at the time. If Britain had no adequate alternative sources of raw cotton, it might have had to go to war with the US. If they did, the South might have won. Once it split into North and South, it might split again and fragmented into individual states. Not likely, but who knows? No India, no USA?
Kotromanic
Iowa USA
The rise of the Himalayas is believed to have been *the* catalyst towards a much drier climate since approx 20-28 million years ago. The course of the evolution of apes from primates was impacted.
So, in fact if Earth History Systems is a mature field (and most scientists will say that is...) it is pointless to argue about the history of humanity without the collision, because the most intelligent land mammal today might not even have arisen out of the ape family.
Two World War I alternate history questions Speculative History Saturday at 1:48 PM
Two 1950s-1960s France alternate history questions Speculative History Jun 13, 2019
Two India alternate history questions Speculative History Jun 5, 2019
Alternate History Challenge: Have Russia's southern border reach the Indian Ocean Speculative History Dec 16, 2015
Two World War I alternate history questions
Two 1950s-1960s France alternate history questions
Two India alternate history questions
Alternate History Challenge: Have Russia's southern border reach the Indian Ocean
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NAT "KING" COLE - ONE HAS MY NAME THE OTHER HAS MY HEART (LÅT)
Musik/Text: Hal Blair
Eddie Dean
Dearest Dean
Producent: Lee Gillette
2:18 Ramblin' Rose Capitol
ST 1793 Album
Nat "King" Cole Nat "King" Cole: Discografi
NAT "KING" COLE I SVENSKAS TOPLISTOR
Titel Kom in på listan Top veckor
The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) (Nat King Cole) 2011-12-30 15 21
The Ultimate Collection 2000-01-20 4 10
The World Of Nat King Cole 2005-02-17 41 1
The Christmas Song [2009] 2015-12-25 10 9
LÅTAR AV NAT "KING" COLE
(Ah The Apple Trees) When The World Was Young
(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66 (The King Cole Trio)
(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons (The King Cole Trio)
(I Would Do) Anything For You
(The Song Of) Raintree County
(What Can I Say) After I Say I'm Sorry? (The King Cole Trio)
A Beautiful Friendship
A Blossom Fell
A Boy From Texas - A Girl From Tennessee (The King Cole Trio)
A Cradle In Bethlehem
A Fool Was I
A Handful Of Stars
A House With Love In It (Nat King Cole)
A Little Bit Independent
A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet
A media luz
A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
A Thousand Thoughts Of You
A Woman Always Understands (The King Cole Trio)
Acércate más
Acércate más (Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole)
Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful)
Adios mariquita linda
After The Ball Is Over
After You're Gone
Ain't Gonna Study War No More (Nat "King" Cole with the First Church of Deliverance Choir)
Ain't She Sweet (Nat "King" Cole with Carole and Natalie Cole)
All For You (The King Cole Trio)
All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth) (Nat King Cole)
All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth) (Nat King Cole & His Trio)
Alone Too Long
An Affair To Remember (Our Love Affair)
An Old Piano Sings The Blues (The King Cole Trio)
Angel Smile
Answer Me, My Love
Anytime, Anyday, Anywhere (Nat "King" Cole feat. Amp Fiddler)
Anytime, Anyday, Anywhere
Aquellos ojos verdes
Aquí se habla en amor
Are You Disenchanted?
Are You Fer It? (The King Cole Trio)
Arrivederci Roma
Ay, cosita Linda
Azure-Te
Baby Won't You Please Come Home
Baby Won't You Say You Love Me
Baby, Baby All The Time (The King Cole Trio)
Back In My Arms
Beale Street Blues
Because Of Rain
Because You're Mine
Beggar For The Blues
Bend A Little My Way
Bidin' My Time
Blame It On My Youth (Nat "King" Cole And His Trio)
Blue And Sentimental
Blue Because Of You (Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra feat. Nat "King" Cole)
Blue Gardenia
Blue Lou (The King Cole Trio)
Body And Soul (The King Cole Trio)
Boogie A La King (The Nat "King" Cole Trio)
Bop-Kick (The King Cole Trio)
Brazilian Love Song (Nat "King" Cole feat. Michaelangelo L'Acqua & Bebel Gilberto)
Brazilian Love Song
Breezin' Along With The Breeze
Bring Another Drink (The King Cole Trio)
Brush Those Tears From Your Eyes
But All I've Got Is Me
But She's My Buddy's Chick (The King Cole Trio)
By The River Sainte Marie (King Cole Quartet)
Caboclo do Rio
Cachito
Call The Police (The King Cole Trio)
Calypso Blues (Nat "King" Cole feat. Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley & Stephen Marley)
Calypso Blues (The King Cole Trio)
Can You Look Me In The Eyes (And Say We're Through) (The King Cole Trio)
Can't Help It
Can't I?
Cappuccina
Capullito de Alelí
Caravan (Nat "King" Cole And His Trio)
Caroling, Caroling
Central Avenue Breakdown (Nat King Cole & Trio With Lionel Hampton And His Orchestra)
Chantez Les Bas
Cherchez la femme
Cherie, I Love You
Cindy (Jo Stafford With Nat King Cole, Ray Lynn, Herbie Haymer And Orchestra Conducted By Paul Weston)
Cold Cold Heart
Come Closer To Me
Come In Out Of The Rain (The King Cole Trio)
Come To Baby, Do (The King Cole Trio)
Come To The Mardi Gras
Coo-coo-roo-coo-coo, paloma
Could Ja?
Crazy She Calls Me
Dame Crazy
Dancing In The Street (King Cole Swingsters & Juanelda Carter)
Darling je vous aime beaucoup
Day In - Day Out (Nat "King" Cole feat. Cut Chemist)
Dear Lonely Hearts
Dedicated To You
Destination Moon
Dinner For One Please, James
Dixie Jaboree (King Cole Swingsters)
Do I Like It
Do Nothin' 'Til You Hear From Me
Do You Wanna Jump Children (The King Cole Trio)
Don't Blame Me (The King Cole Trio)
Don't Cry, Cry Baby (The King Cole Trio)
Don't Get Around Much Anymore
Don't Let It Go To Your Head (Nat "King" Cole And His Trio)
Don't You Remember?
Dough-Ray-Mi (Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra feat. Nat "King" Cole)
Down By The Old Mill Stream
Dreams Can Tell A Lie
Early Morning Blues (Nat King Cole Trio)
Easy Listening Blues (The King Cole Trio)
Ebony Rhapsody
El bodeguero
El Choclo
El Choclo (Nat "King" Cole feat. Brazilian Girls)
Embraceable You (The King Cole Trio)
Everyone Is Saying Hello Again (Why Must We Say Goodbye?) (The King Cole Trio)
Everytime I Feel The Spirit (Nat „King" Cole With The First Church of Deliverance Choir)
F.S.T. (Fine Sweet And Tasty) (The King Cole Trio)
Faith Can Move Mountains
Flo And Joe (The King Cole Trio)
For You, My Love (Nat "King" Cole & Nellie Lutcher)
Forgive My Heart
Friendless Blues
Funny (Not Much)
Game Of Love
Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You (The King Cole Trio)
Get Me To The Church On Time
Get Out And Get Under The Moon
Give Me Your Love
Go Down, Moses (Nat "King" Cole with the First Church of Deliverance Choir)
Go, If You're Going
Gone With The Draft (The King Cole Trio)
Goodnight, Irene, Goodnight
Goodnight, Little Leaguer
Got A Penny (The King Cole Trio)
Hajji Baba (Persian Lament)
Harlem Blues
Harlem Swing (King Cole Swingsters & Bonnie Lake)
Harmony (Johnny Mercer & The King Cole Trio)
He Who Hesitates
He'll Have To Go
Hit That Jive, Jack (Nat "King" Cole feat. Souldiggaz & Izza Kizza)
Hit That Jive, Jack (The King Cole Trio)
Hit The Ramp (The King Cole Trio)
Homeward Bound (The King Cole Trio)
Honey (The King Cole Trio)
Honeysuckle Rose (The King Cole Trio)
House Of Morgan (Lionel Hampton And Orchestra feat. The King Cole Trio)
How (How Do I Go About It?)
How Deep Is The Ocean (The King Cole Trio)
How Does It Feel (The King Cole Trio)
How I'd Love To Love You
Hundreds And Thousands Of Girls
Hymn To Him
I Almost Lost My Mind
I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray (Nat "King" Cole with the First Church of Deliverance Choir)
I Don't Know Why (I Just Do) (The King Cole Trio)
I Don't Want It That Way
I Don't Want To Be Hurt Anymore
I Don't Want To See Tomorrow
I Envy
I Feel So Smoochie (The King Cole Trio)
I Found The Answer (Nat "King" Cole with the First Church of Deliverance Choir)
I Get Sentimental Over Nothing
I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
I Hear Music
I Just Can't See For Lookin' (The King Cole Trio)
I Just Found Out About Love
I Keep Goin' Back To Joe's
I Know That You Know (The King Cole Trio)
I Know That You Know (Nat "King" Cole And His Trio)
I Lost Control Of Myself (King Cole Swingsters & Bonnie Lake)
I Miss You So (The King Cole Trio)
I Must Be Dreaming
I Realize Now (The King Cole Trio)
I Saw Three Ships
I Think You Get What I Mean (The King Cole Trio)
I Tho't You Ought To Know (The King Cole Trio)
I Thought About Marie
I Used To Love You (But It's All Over Now) (The King Cole Trio)
I Want A Little Girl
I Want To Be Happy
I Want To Be Ready (Nat "King" Cole with the First Church of Deliverance Choir)
I Want To Thank Your Folks (The King Cole Trio)
I Wish You Love
I Wouldn't Have Known It (King Cole Swingsters & Juanelda Carter)
I'd Love To Make Love To You (Nat King Cole)
If I Could Be With You
If I Give My Heart To You
If I Had You
If I Knew
If I May
If I May (Nat "King" Cole & The Four Knights)
If Love Ain't There
If Love Is Good To Me
If You Can't Smile And Say Yes (The King Cole Trio)
If You Said No
If You Stub Your Toe On The Moon (The King Cole Trio)
I'll Always Remember You
I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time (Jo Stafford With Nat King Cole, Ray Lynn, Herbie Haymer And Orchestra Conducted By Paul Weston)
I'll Never Say "Never Again" Again (Nat King Cole)
I'll String Along With You (The King Cole Trio)
I'm A Errand Boy For Rhythm
I'm A Shy Guy (The King Cole Trio)
I'm All Cried Out
I'm Alone Because I Love You
I'm An Ordinary Man
I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out Of My Life
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter
I'm In The Mood For Love (The King Cole Trio)
I'm Never Satisfied
I'm Shooting High
I'm Throu With Love (The King Cole Trio)
In A Mellow Tone
In The Cool Of The Day
In The Cool Of The Evening (The King Cole Trio)
In The Heart Of Jane Doe
In The Sweet By And By (Nat "King" Cole with the First Church of Deliverance Choir)
Is It Better To Have Loved And Lost?
Is You Is, Or Is You Ain't (My Baby)
It Happens To Be Me
It Is Better To Be By Yourself (The King Cole Trio)
It Only Happens Once (The King Cole Trio)
It's A Lonesome Old Town
It's Only A Paper Moon (The King Cole Trio)
It's The Sentimental Thing To Do (The King Cole Trio)
I've Got A Way With Women (The King Cole Trio)
I've Got The World On A String
I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
I've Only Myself To Blame (The King Cole Trio)
Jack The Bellboy (Lionel Hampton And Orchestra feat. The King Cole Trio)
Jam-Bo
Jivin' With Jarvis (Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra feat. Nat "King" Cole)
Joe Turner's Blues
Jumpin' At Capitol (The King Cole Trio)
Just As Much As Ever
Just For The Fun Of It
Just You, Just Me (Nat "King" Cole And His Trio)
Kareha
Ke Mo Ky Mo (The Magic Song)
La feria de las flores
La golondrina
Laguna Mood (The King Cole Trio)
Land Of Love (The King Cole Trio)
Las chiapanecas
Las mañanitas
Laughing On The Outside (Crying On The Inside)
Les feuilles mortes
Let Me Tell You Babe
Let True Love Begin
Let's Face The Music And Dance
Let's Fall In Love
Let's Get Happy (King Cole Swingsters)
Let's Pretend (The King Cole Trio)
Let's Spring One (The King Cole Trio)
Lillette (The King Cole Trio)
Lillian (The King Cole Trio)
Little Fingers
Little Girl (The King Cole Trio)
Lonesome And Sorry
Long Long Ago (Dean Martin & Nat "King" Cole)
Look Out For Love
Look What You've Done To Me (The King Cole Trio)
Lost April (The King Cole Trio)
Lost April
L-O-V-E
Love Is The Thing
Lover, Come Back To Me! (Nat "King" Cole & Billy May)
Lovesville
Lovewise
Lulubelle
Lush Life (The King Cole Trio)
Lush Life (Nat "King" Cole feat. Cee-Lo Green)
Make Her Mine
Make It Last
Makin' Whoopee (The King Cole Trio)
Making Believe You're Here
Marnie (Nat King Cole)
Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much
Meet Me At No Special Place (And I'll Be There At No Particular Time) (The King Cole Trio)
Memphis Blues
Midnight Flyer
Miss Otis Regrets (She's Unable To Lunch Today)
Moon Love
More And More Of Your Amor (Nat King Cole)
More And More Of Your Amor (Nat "King" Cole feat. Bitter:Sweet)
Mother Nature And Father Time
Mr. Cole Won't Rock & Roll
Mr. Wishing Well
Mule Train (The King Cole Trio & Woody Herman)
My Baby Just Cares For Me (The King Cole Trio & Woody Herman)
My Baby Likes To Be-Bop (And I Like To Be-Bop Too) (Johnny Mercer & The King Cole Trio)
My Dream Sonata
My Fair Lady (The King Cole Trio)
My First And My Last Love
My First And Only Lover
My Flaming Heart
My Funny Valentine (Nat King Cole)
My Heart Stood Still
My Heart Tells Me
My Heart's Treasure
My Kind Of Girl
My Kinda Love
My Need For You
My One Sin (In Life)
My Personal Possession
My True Carrie Love
Nadie me ama
Não tenho lágrimas
Nat Meets June (Nat "King" Cole & June Christy)
Nature Boy (Nat "King" Cole feat. TV On The Radio)
Nature Boy (Nat King Cole)
Naughty Angeline (The King Cole Trio)
Night Of The Quarter Moon
No me platiques
No Moon At All (The King Cole Trio)
No Other Heart
No, I Don't Want Her
Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen (Nat „King" Cole With The First Church Of Deliverance Choir)
Noche de Ronda
Non dimenticar (Don't Forget)
Not So Long Ago
Nothing Ever Changes My Love For You
Nothing Goes Up (Without Coming Down)
Nothing In The World
Now He Tells Me (The King Cole Trio)
Oh, But I Do (The King Cole Trio)
Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
Oh, Mary, Don't You Weep (Nat "King" Cole with the First Church of Deliverance Choir)
Ol' Man Mose Ain't Dead (The King Cole Trio)
On A Bicycle Built For Two
On The Sidewalks Of New York
On The Sunny Side Of The Street (King Cole Quartet)
One Has My Name The Other Has My Heart
Only Forever
Open Up The Doghouse (Dean Martin & Nat "King" Cole)
Orange Coloured Sky (Nat "King" Cole & Stan Kenton)
Our Old Home Town
Overture: Love Theme - Hesitating Blues
Papa Loves Mambo
Paper Moon (Bruce Forsyth feat. Nat 'King' Cole)
Penthouse Serenade (When We're Alone)
Pick-Up (Nat "King" Cole feat. Just Blaze)
Piel canela
Pitchin' Up A Boogie (The King Cole Trio)
Please Consider Me
Poinciana (The Song Of The Tree)
Polka Dots And Moonbeams
Portrait Of Jennie (The King Cole Trio)
Prelude in C Sharp Minor (The King Cole Trio)
Put 'Em In A Box, Tie 'Em With A Ribbon (And Throw 'Em In The Deep Blue Sea) (The King Cole Trio)
Quizás, quizás, quizás
Ramblin' Rose
Red Sails In The Sunset
Rhumba Azul (The King Cole Trio)
Rhythm Sam
Riffamarole (Coleman Hawkins With B.Bailey, B.Coleman, B.Carter, O.Moore, N.King Cole)
Riffin' At The Bar-B-Q (King Cole Swingsters)
Riffin' In F Minor (The King Cole Trio)
Russian Lullaby (The King Cole Trio)
Save The Bones For Henry Jones ('Cause Henry Don't Eat No Meat) (Johnny Mercer & The King Cole Trio)
Scotchin' With Soda (The King Cole Trio)
Send For Me
She's My Buddy's Chick
Shoo Shoo Baby
Sing Another Song (And We'll All Go Home)
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (The King Cole Trio)
Solamente una
Solid Potato Salad
Somebody Loves Me
Someone To Tell It To
Someone You Love
Something Happens To Me
Something Makes Me Want To Dance With You
Sometimes I'm Happy (Nat "King" Cole And His Trio)
Somewhere Along The Way
Song Of Delilah
Standin' In The Need Of Prayer (Nat "King" Cole with the First Church of Deliverance Choir)
Stay As Sweet As You Are
Stay With It
Steal Away (Nat "King" Cole with the First Church of Deliverance Choir)
Step Right Up (And Say You Love Me)
Stop! The Red Lights On (The King Cole Trio)
Straighten Up And Fly Right (Nat "King" Cole feat. will.i.am & Natalie Cole)
Straighten Up And Fly Right (The King Cole Trio)
Suas maos
Summer Is A-Comin' In
Sweet Georgia Brown (The King Cole Trio)
Sweet Hour Of Prayer (Nat "King" Cole with the First Church of Deliverance Choir)
Sweet Lorraine (The King Cole Trio)
Swiss Retreat
Ta-De-Ah (King Cole Swingsters)
'Tain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It) (The King Cole Trio)
Take A Fool's Advice
Take Me Back To Toyland
Takin' A Chance On Love
Te quiero dijiste (Nat King Cole)
Tea For Two (Nat King Cole)
Teach Me Tonight
Tell Her In The Morning
Tell Me All About Yourself
Thanks To You
That "Please-Be-Mineable" Feeling (King Cole Swingsters)
That Ain't Right (The King Cole Trio)
That Sunday, That Summer
That'll Just 'Bout Knock Me Out
That's A Natural Fact (The King Cole Trio)
That's All There Is
That's All There Is To That
That's My Girl
That's The Beginning Of The End (The King Cole Trio)
That's What (The King Cole Trio)
That's What They Meant (By The Good Old Summertime)
That's You
The Ballad Of Cat Ballou (Nat "King" Cole & Stubby Kaye)
The Best Man (The King Cole Trio)
The Best Thing For You
The Blues Don't Care
The Blues From "Kiss Me Deadly"
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) (Natalie Cole, Nat "King" Cole & The London Symphony Orchestra)
The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) (The King Cole Trio)
The First Baseball Game
The Frim Fram Sauce (The King Cole Trio)
The Game Of Love (Nat "King" Cole feat. Salaam Remi & Nas)
The Geek (The King Cole Trio)
The Girl From Ipanema (Nat King Cole with Gregory Porter)
The Girl From Ipanema
The Good Times
The Greatest Inventor Of Them All
The Happiest Christmas Tree
The Land Of Make Believe (King Cole Swingsters & Bonnie Lake)
The Late, Late Show
The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot
The Little Christmas Tree (The King Cole Trio)
The Lonely One (Nat "King" Cole And His Trio)
The Love Nest
The Magic Tree
The Magic Window
The Man I Love (The King Cole Trio)
The Old Music Master
The Right Thing To Say
The Ruby And The Pearl
The Rules Of The Road
The Sand And The Sea
The Song Is Ended (But The Melody Lingers On)
The Surrey With The Fringe On Top
The Touch Of Your Lips
The Trouble With Me Is You
The Tunnel Of Love
The World In My Arms
Then I'll Be Tired Of You
There Goes My Heart
There Is A Tavern In The Town
There, I've Said It Again
There's A Gold Mine In The Sky
There's A Lull In My Life
There's A Train Out For Dreamland (Nat King Cole)
There's Love
There's No Anesthetic For Love (King Cole Swingsters)
These Foolish Things Remind Me Of You
They Can't Make Her Cry (Nat King Cole & Stubby Kaye)
This Can't Be Love
This Is Always
This Is My Night To Dream (The King Cole Trio)
This Morning It Was Summer
This Side Up (The King Cole Trio)
This Way Out (The King Cole Trio)
This Will Make You Laugh
Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer
Those Things Money Can't Buy (The King Cole Trio)
Thou Swell
Time And The River
Time Out For Tears
'Tis Autumn
To A Wild Rose (The King Cole Trio)
Too Marvelous For Words (The King Cole Trio)
Too Young To Go Steady
Toys For Tots (Nat "King" Cole, Peggy Lee & Nancy Wilson)
Tres palabras
Tu mi delirio
Twilight On The Trail
Two Loves Have I (Nat "King" Cole And His Trio)
Undecided (The King Cole Trio)
Unforgettable (Natalie Cole with Nat King Cole)
Until The Real Thing Comes Along
Vaya con Dios
Vom, Vim, Veedle (The King Cole Trio)
Walkin' My Baby Back Home (Nat "King" Cole feat. The Roots)
Walkin' My Baby Back Home (Natalie Cole with Nat King Cole)
Walkin' My Baby Back Home
Warm And Willing
Was That The Human Thing To Do
Wee Baby Blues
What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry (The King Cole Trio)
What Does It Take For You To Take To Me
What Is There To Say
What Is This Thing Called Love? (The King Cole Trio)
What To Do (Nat "King" Cole with Carole and Natalie Cole)
Whatcha' Gonna Do
What'll I Do? (The King Cole Trio)
When I Fall In Love (Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole)
When I Fall In Love (Susan Boyle feat. Nat King Cole)
When I Fall In Love [español] (Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole)
When I Grow Too Old To Dream (Nat "King" Cole And His Trio)
When I Take My Sugar To Tea
When I'm Alone
When It's Summer
When My Sugar Walks Down The Street
When Rock 'n Roll Came To Trinidad
When You Belong To Me
When You Walked By
Where Can I Go Without You?
Where Did Everyone Go?
Who's Next In Line?
Who's Sorry Now?
Why Should I Cry Over You?
Wild Is Love
With A Little Bit Of Luck
With You On My Mind
Wolverton Mountain
World Of No Return
Wouldn't It Be Loverly
Wouldn't You Know (Her Name Is Mary)
Yearning (Just For You)
Yellow Dog Blues
Yes Sir That's My Baby (The King Cole Trio)
Yo vendo unos ojos negros
You Are My First Love
You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love) (The Nat King Cole Trio)
You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love) (The King Cole Trio)
You Can't Make Money Dreaming (Johnny Mercer & The King Cole Trio)
You Did It
You Don't Learn That In School (The King Cole Trio)
You Leave Me Breathless
You Should Have Told Me (The King Cole Trio)
You Tell Me Your Dream
You Weren't There
Your Cheatin' Heart
You're Bringing Out The Dreamer In Me
You're Crying On My Shoulder
You're Looking At Me (Nat "King" Cole And His Trio)
You're Mine You
You're My Everything
You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You (The King Cole Trio)
You're So Different (King Cole Swingsters & Juanelda Carter)
You're The Cream In My Coffee (The King Cole Trio)
You're The Top
You're Wrong All Wrong (Nat King Cole)
You've Got The Indian Sign On Me
ALBUM AV NAT "KING" COLE
100 Hits (Nat King Cole)
106 Sides (Nat King Cole & His Trio)
16 Unforgettable Hits
20 Golden Greats
20 Greatest Hits (Nat King Cole)
60 Absolutely Essential (Nat King Cole)
A mis amigos
After Midnight (Nat "King" Cole And His Trio)
At The Sands (Nat King Cole)
Ballads Of The Day
Best Of The Capitol Singles 1949-1962 (Nat King Cole)
Canciones en español (Nat King Cole)
Christmas (Nat King Cole)
Christmas With Nat & Dean (Nat & Dean)
Classic Album Collection (Nat King Cole)
Cole español
Cole español / A mis amigos
Eight Classic Albums (Nat King Cole)
Eight Classic Albums Vol. 2 (Nat King Cole)
Every Time I Feel The Spirit (Nat "King" Cole with the First Church of Deliverance Choir)
Face 2 Face - Their Greatest Hits (Dean Martin & Nat King Cole)
For Sentimental Reasons (Nat King Cole)
Four Classic Albums
Golden Greats
Golden Hits - 60 Original Recordings
His Musical Autobiography (Nat King Cole)
Icon (Nat King Cole)
Just Call Him Cole (Nat King Cole)
Let's Face The Music
Live At The Sands - The Complete Lost Concert (Nat King Cole)
Live In April - 19 avril 1960 (Nat King Cole & The Quincy Jones Big Band)
Live In Tokyo (Nat King Cole)
Live In Vegas 1962 (Nat King Cole)
Love Is The Thing / The Very Thought Of You
Love Songs (Nat King Cole)
Milestones Of A Legend
More Cole Espanol
Nat "King" Cole Sings My Fair Lady
Nat "King" Cole's Greatest
Nat & Dean At Christmas (Nat "King" Cole & Dean Martin)
Nat King Cole en español
Nat King Cole Sings / George Shearing Plays
Nature Boy - Sweet Lorraine (Nat King Cole)
Penthouse Serenade
Platinum Collection (Nat King Cole)
Por siempre (Nat King Cole)
Re:Generations
Route 66 (Nat King Cole)
Sings For Lovers (Nat King Cole)
Sings For Two In Love
Sings For Two In Love / Ballads Of The Day (Nat King Cole)
Smile (Nat King Cole)
Songs For Christmas - Christmas Legends
Stardust - The Rare Television Performances (Nat King Cole)
Sweet Lorraine (Nat King Cole)
Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series 43 - Zurich 1950 (Nat King Cole Trio)
The Album (Nat King Cole)
The Christmas Song [2009]
The Complete Billy May Session (Nat King Cole)
The Complete US & UK Hits 1942-1962 (Nat King Cole)
The Essence Of Nat King Cole
The Essential (Nat King Cole)
The Extraordinary (Nat King Cole)
The Greatest Of Nat King Cole (Vol. 1)
The Kings Of Christmas (Frank Sinatra / Dean Martin / Nat King Cole)
The Lester Young - Buddy Rich Trio with Nat "King" Cole (The Lester Young - Buddy Rich Trio with Nat "King" Cole)
The Magic Of Christmas
The Piano Style Of Nat King Cole
The Platinum Collection (Nat King Cole)
The Touch Of Your Lips - An Album Of Ballads Tender As A Kiss
The Unforgettable Nat King Cole
The Very Best Of
The Very Best Of Nat King Cole (Nat King Cole)
The World Of Nat King Cole
This Is My Night To Dream (King Cole Trio)
This Is Nat "King" Cole
Transcriptions Vol. 2 (King Cole Trio)
Ultimate (Nat King Cole)
Unforgettable - 50s Iconic Classics Of Nat King Cole (Nat King Cole)
Unforgettable - The Best Of Nat King Cole (Nat King Cole)
Unforgettable - The Collection
Unforgettable [2003] (Nat King Cole)
Welcome To Nat "King" Cole
DVDS AV NAT "KING" COLE
How High The Moon (Nat King Cole)
Inga recensioner ännu.
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Tag Archives: Better Off Dead
Everyone’s A Critic: The Advantages of Being A Product of the 80s
I’ve been meaning to work a Movie Review segment into this blog for some time now, but really haven’t found the right moment (or movie, for that matter) to kick it off.
Well move over bacon…it’s SizzleLean. Um, I mean, welcome to “Everyone’s a Critic,” a forum in which I take my zero years of film review experience, zero combined classroom hours of film study and zero authority on anything related to cinema, directing, acting, producing or editing, and aim them, concurrently, at some unsuspecting cinematic production just like Peter, Ray, Egon (and Winston) targeted all things phantasmagorical with their proton packs. So with apologies to the likes of Gene Siskel (RIP), Roger Ebert, Anthony Lane, David Edelstein and their ilk…
After graduating college, my roommate and I kept Leonard Maltin’s Movie Encyclopedia on our coffee table as a reference while we watched movies and television. We would eagerly thumb through this cumbersome tome whenever we came across any actor or movie that triggered a “have to know and won’t be able to fall asleep tonight if I don’t” moment in either one of us, which occurred at least once a day. This burden was thrust upon us, by the way, because our cohabitation took place in a time just before Al Gore unveiled the Internet (actually, that’s not really accurate, but it was before IMDb, Wikipedia and other Internet sources for all sorts of cinematic arcana were available, if you can wrap your mind around that).
Said roommate was (and still is) a huge film buff. He would likely list Scorsese, Spielberg and John Hughes among his heroes. He did attend film school, logged hours of classroom credits in all things cinema, and secretly wished (perhaps still wishes) something akin to the plot of The Freshman occurred to him while innocently going about his own NYU curriculum.
I hereby dedicate this first installment of “Everyone’s A Critic” to that roommate and lifelong friend, who is currently on his Honeymoon after a literal storybook wedding. Congratulations to him and his beautiful bride.
Friendships we make during our adolescence can be powerful. And now I can’t help but think of Mrs. Smith in Better Off Dead grabbing poor Monique’s face as she says: “Friend. You know, Friend?” (I really wanted to attach this clip here for reference, and was shocked to find that in the entirety of the Interweb, nobody has uploaded this treasure. I mean, Laura Waterbury is priceless in this film playing Dennis Blunden’s, er, I mean Ricky Smith’s mother…but all I could find were her “Christmas” and “International Language” clips. If any of you can find the “Friend” clip, please let me know or post in the comments section). But, as usual, I digress.
We share our most awkward and fragile times in our lives with our middle and high school friends, and often rely on them as sounding boards, confidantes, comic relief, and vital companions as we fight tooth and nail to find our way in a world that can be cruel, confusing and overwhelming at times. I think Richard Dreyfuss’ adult version of Gordie LaChance said it best in Stand By Me: “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?”
With that in mind, it brings me joy to announce The Perks of Being a Wallflower as the first movie I will review. After John Hughes passed on (actually, after he inexplicably stopped making movies about teen angst), my generation has been craving a good coming of age cinematic storyteller. Sure, there have been some valiant efforts over the years to fill Hughes shoes: Can’t Hardly Wait, American Pie, Donnie Darko, Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, Juno, Superbad, etc. But despite some brilliant one-off efforts, there is a gold standard when mining the high school experience for cinematic exuberance, and in the mid 1980s, John Hughes set it…over and over again. (Sidebar: Cameron Crowe, with a distinguished oeuvre that includes Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Say Anything, as well as Almost Famous, which does focus on teen angst and insecurity as a primary theme, certainly has earned a reserved seat at this exclusive table).
Stephen Chbosky adapted his own highly acclaimed novel for the big screen. His tale is ambitious. Perhaps too ambitious in tackling a seemingly large number of issues that plague modern youth, and if I had any complaint at all regarding this film, it would be rooted in that over-zealous ambition.
That said, the story works and the acting is far beyond any expectations one could have for a film comprised of characters primarily in their mid to late teens. In fact, some of the performances are brilliant. Even the cameos and bit parts played by familiar “adult” actors add welcome, innocuous accompaniment to the stellar cast.
Some will argue this film (and the book it is based upon) offers characters and plot resolutions that are too good or too neat for the powerful and ugly (at times) storylines that are explored. My answer to that is people are jaded. You can’t accept the hokey tabletop birthday cake scene with Jake Ryan and Sam Baker at the end of Sixteen Candles (or Farmer Ted waking up in a Rolls Royce with the prom queen for that matter) without a desire for a neat, Hollywood ending. That’s what audiences want. That is why Claire can kiss John Bender and wrap her giant diamond earring in his hand as the credits roll, and why Ferris successfully eludes Rooney and his parents. It is why we not only accept Lloyd Dobler getting on that plane with Diane Court, we expect it.
Sure, perhaps elements of Charlie’s relationship with his new friends, and with Sam in particular, seem forced and unlikely at times. But we want things to work out favorably for Charlie…and for Sam and Patrick. We enjoy seeing Paul Rudd as a friendly, inspirational role model for our protagonist despite every cliché and tired action his character is seemingly forced into by the script (his performance is strong nonetheless, and his character has perhaps the best non-comedic line of the entire film). Like with Noah Wyle and Drew Barrymore in Donnie Darko, we really don’t care how ridiculous or forced their dialogue may be – we just respect them for finding a worthy script and joining the cast of a special film, even if it is a small role outside their comfort zone.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower has its warts, just as all adolescent students have theirs. However, the script is witty, unique and at times, moving. The characters are likable and generally plausible. And the music, as with any teen angst movie worth watching, is terrific.
Because I was a senior in high school myself when this film takes place, the soundtrack certainly resonates with me (and likely my contemporaries) even more. Music plays a huge part in our formative years, often setting the mood for how we interpret, participate and adapt to the world around us. You can actually witness and feel the impact music has on the characters in this film, at times cringing in disbelief and at times smiling and nodding and tapping your feet as appropriate lyrics and emotionally relevant melodies envelop us along with our on-screen companions.
As previously conceded, my resume fails to empower me as an expert authority, or even an amateur wannabe, on anything film-related. So please bear with me as I briefly discuss the cinematography. I thought it was great. Scenes flowed together effortlessly, and crafty dialog and cut-aways allowed our imagination to create some of the film’s more graphic, unpleasant and violent scenes and images in our heads rather than on screen. The director even used some creative filming and editing techniques to seamlessly fade unrelated images into one another as scenes began and ended, as well as intelligently used music lyrics to help tell his story or to reinforce images and themes.
My favorite element of TPOBAW was its focus on friendship, and how important friends can be to our survival during our adolescence and while navigating the pitfalls of high school. And there are many such pitfalls: from parental pressure to hormonal changes, from our first job to dating woes, from sexual experimentation to maintaining our eligibility for athletics, from college prep to our first car, from fitting in to finding a date for the prom, from cigarettes, alcohol and drugs to problems at home, from peer pressure to acne, for most, high school is fraught with horrifying potential.
At the base of this film’s plot is a story of friendship, and how it profoundly affects the trajectory of the primary characters’ lives. Despite what the overwhelming majority of Hollywood’s teen movie genre may indicate, high school stories center on much more than the jocks and cheerleaders, than the popular kids. Every one of us lived through high school and have become who we are today from the unique experience we had during those crucial years. John Hughes knew this, and gave us a balanced account in most of his films. Judd Apatow and Paul Feig also knew this as they delivered their masterpiece, the television drama Freaks and Geeks, which unfortunately was axed after only one brilliant season, far too early.
Bottom line, Chbosky put forth a worthy effort in exploring teen angst; and considering he had to edit, and in some ways, compromise his own novel to do so makes it even more admirable. J.D. Salinger, the undisputed master of teen angst prose, never breathed cinematic life into his opus. I am in no way drawing a comparison to The Catcher In The Rye here for TPOBAW, though I would not be the first to do so (click this amazing piece and this book review for a sampling). I am saying that Chbosky tells a poignant and powerful tale of teen life in early 1990s Pittsburgh that resonates today with people of all ages, of all geographies, males, females, gay and straight, and that is an accomplishment worthy of praise.
Tying in with the theme of TPOBAW, I attended my aforementioned roommate’s (and lifelong friend’s) wedding this past weekend. Many of our high school friends were there. It was so incredible to celebrate with all of them, to relive our youth and also fill in the gaps of life since high school for those we don’t see or speak to as regularly anymore. Reuniting with my own companions and support system, my friends, who made my high school years manageable, memorable, and fortunately for me, four generally fun and carefree years in my life, was incredible, but also bittersweet.
Why, you might ask? Well I keep hearing Dreyfuss’ voice echoing in my head. No, we never do have friends like we do during our adolescence. A lot of this certainly has to do with nostalgia for our own youth and innocence. Maybe all of it does. Even if we are lucky enough to retain those friends from our youth, life changes. We don’t see these people every day like we used to. We don’t have the free time we used to. We may not even live in the same state or country as these people.
But those friends we make in high school are not diminished by our changing lives. Whether they remain our closest friends or have drifted away, their importance at the crossroads of our personal development dictates that they remain part of us forever, woven into the fabric of our very essence.
And those are the Perks of being part of whatever group of friends you happened to make and fall in with in high school. They are meaningful and profound, and if you are lucky, they are eternal.
I thank you all for reading and for your friendship. It was great to reminisce with those of you I saw in New York.
Everyone’s A Critic Grade: The Perks of Being a Wallflower – A 94/100 “EAC It” (Yes, I decided I needed a hokey tagline)
Filed under Entertainment, Humor, Movies
Tagged as Almost Famous, American Pie, Anthony Lane, Better Off Dead, Cameron Crowe, Can't Hardly Wait, David Edelstein, Donnie Darko, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Ferris Bueller, Freaks and Geeks, Gene Siskel, J.D. Salinger, John Hughes, Judd Apatow, Juno, Laura Waterbury, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, Paul Feig, Richard Dreyfuss, Roger Ebert, Say Anything, Sixteen Candles, Stand By Me, Stephen Chbosky, Superbad, The Breakfast Club, The Catcher In The Rye, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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Diphtheria is an acute infectious disease affecting the upper respiratory tract, and sometimes the skin. It's caused by the action of diphtheria toxin produced by toxogenic:
Corynebacterium diphtheriae
Corynebacterium ulcerans
Occasionally, Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis can also cause diphtheria.
The most characteristic features of diphtheria affecting the upper respiratory tract are:
membranous pharyngitis with fever
enlarged lymph nodes
swelling of soft tissue
This swelling may then cause respiratory obstruction.
For general information and symptoms please visit the NHS website.
For more information on diphtheria immunisation, including updates, please refer to the Public Health England (PHE) Green Book, Chapter 15.
For guidelines on the control of diphtheria in England and Wales, including investigation and management of cases and close contacts, visit the Public Health England website
Information on diphtheria vaccinations can be found on the NHS inform website.
For all infection prevention and control guidance visit the A-Z pathogens section of the National Infection and Prevention Control Manual.
Diphtheria is a notifiable disease and toxic Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans are notifiable organisms under The Public Health etc. (Scotland) Act 2008.
In Scotland, the classical respiratory disease is now very rare and skin infections aren't reported very often.
There are three different surveillance forms available for infection with toxin producing Corynebacterium and these can be viewed below:
Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis
In the early 1940s vaccination against diphtheria was introduced. Diphtheria vaccine is still included in the UK childhood immunisation schedule, with routine primary vaccination recommended at eight, twelve and sixteen weeks, followed by a booster dose from age three years four months and a further booster from 13 to 18 years.
Information on diphtheria vaccination uptake statistics is available on the Information Services Division (ISD) website.
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Hudson Valley Child Named NBA All-Star Finalist, You Can Help Him
A Hudson Valley middle school student with autism needs your help to be named the "Ultimate All-Star" by an NBA team.
Jullian Mitchell of Wappinger Falls was announced as one of the three finalists for the Brooklyn Nets All-Star Award presented by Hospital for Special Surgery.
As part of the program, the winner will be awarded a spot in the 2019 Brooklyn Nets Basketball Academy Summer Camp and will receive a $3,000 grant for their school's athletic program. The winner will also be honored on the court when the Nets host the Miami Heat on April 10.
Jullian, who attends Van Wyck Middle School, continues to overcome many barriers including being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, according to the Brooklyn Nets. He was nominated based on his grit, determination and desire to succeed on the court and in the classroom.
According to the Brooklyn Nets:
He is most at home when on the basketball court, averaging 16 points a game. Jullian has become very involved and nurtured his passion for the sport, even when facing obstacles he is extremely resilient and determined to succeed. He plays basketball year-round all while passing all classes in school. Winning this award would not only boost his confidence, but it would continue to grow his passion for the sport.
The winner for the "Ultimate All-Star Award" will be determined by a fan's vote. So that means, you can help make this Hudson Valley resident a winner! Click Here to vote. Voting runs until April 1. You can vote up to five times per day.
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← Excerpt from Gilly’s book
India Vs Australia :: Test 3 :: Preview… →
Tendulkar rubbishes Gilchrist’s “loose statements”
Posted on 28 October 2008 by mohankaus | 30 Comments
In an interview with a TV Channel, Sachin Tendulkar put Adam Gilchrist’s comments comments in the pale and said he had made “loose statements”, thereby implying that this was nothing more than a ploy by Gilchrist to peddle his upcoming book!
To be perfectly honest, I personally would have expected better from Gilchrist!
Not surprisingly, while Adam Gilchrist’s comments surrounding his soon-to-be-released biography were immediately picked up by the Malcolm Conns of the world, as is to be expected by such objective journalists, Tendulkar’s response has not rated on their Richter scale yet! They will, in all probability, be ignored — after all, that is what objective and balanced journalists do!
Last night, the greatest cricketer in India spoke quietly about his reactions to the Gilchrist allegations.
He said, “I was surprised. I didn’t know how to react. (What he alleged) is something that I can’t even think of in my wildest dreams. I love the game so much and those remarks came from someone who doesn’t know me enough. I think he made loose statements”
Tendulkar said he reminded Gilchrist in no uncertain terms of the spirit and manner in which the Indians took even the hard defeat in Sydney. He said, “So many times he mentioned that you and Harbhajan (Singh) are not traceable to shake hands. I reminded him that I was the first person to shake hands after the Sydney defeat. It was a tough game that we lost and it was difficult for us. But we all in the team would shake hands. We have that sportsman spirit. We won’t shy away from challenges.”
When asked about Gilchrist’s opinion on his honesty during the Harbhajan Singh Monkeygate trial, Tendulkar said, “That’s his opinion but as far as I am concerned the chapter is closed.”
And finally, he said, “I am the kind of person who would leave things behind.”
Gosh! Everyone is into leaving things behind these days. This must be the new leave-behind that’s the rage! Gilchrist left it behind too, apparently!
And for those that didn’t see this yet, wind to about 2.31 mins into this video to see Sachin Tendulkar standing in a queue of Indians after the Sydney loss.
This entry was posted in Cricket and tagged Cricket, Gilchrist, Sledge, Sledging, Tendulkar. Bookmark the permalink.
30 responses to “Tendulkar rubbishes Gilchrist’s “loose statements””
Sampath Kumar | 28 October 2008 at 7:21 am | Reply
Harbhajan Singh and Tendulkar have conveniently avoided the issue of –as to why Tendulkar’s version of the Monkey-vs-Maaki utterence–differed from Match referee inquiry to the one by the Judge from NZ. They have taken shelter under the umbrella of “it is closed” ” we don’t want to talk about it” “we want to focus on the next test”
The need and urge to give different versions by Tendulkar to get his mate out of jail is what irked Gilchrist.
Unless and until Tendulkar comes clean on this, any amount of soft talk by him or scraming from the roof tops by his supporters will not convince skeptics and cynics like me that Tendulkar ALWAYS tells the truth. Luckily, I gave up blind following many moons ago.
chris hutchinson | 28 October 2008 at 7:39 am | Reply
Sampath,
It is probably eay for me to say that this is the most sensible blog and statement on the matter because I agree. Tendulkar was not clean about what was said.
The “two worlds” argument uttered by pro-Indian bloggers just highlights the giant hole the BCCI and India’s general juggernaut is digging for bloggers blind to what is going on.
In fairness, they believe the shoe has previously been on the other foot and that is hard to deny. But it hasnt been the conspiracy that they suggest in my eyes.
I adore Tendulkar for the way he has become the 2nd greatest ever and shouldered a nation for many years.
But lets face it. Tendulkar speaks and truthfully of his love for the game.
I am sure Gilchrist, book or no book, loves the game too.
But Gilchrist never got done for ball tampering.
mohankaus | 28 October 2008 at 8:32 am | Reply
@Sampath
Very very simple Sampath. You can scream that you aren’t blind, but in my view, you haven’t opened your eyes 🙂
The “maaki” thing was doing the rounds the very next day after Sydney. I have reliable inside info on this. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to share that particular series of exchanges. So, I admit that it is not admissible. However, what is a fact is that media reports on the “maaki” thing appeared 2 days after the Sydney episode. And that is admissible.
But let us reject all of that too. No worries.
M. V. Sridhar, the Indian media manager said that while Tendulkar did admit at the Proctor Kangaroo-court that “Harbhajan did abuse Symonds”, Tendulkar was never probed at that review on what the abuse was by the untrained and incompetent (in a legal sense) Mike Proctor.
Mike Proctor rushed to a judgement without probing the “nature of the abuse” and pronounced that Harbhajan was guilty of racial vilification. Racial vilification is a serious charge and I am glad the Indian team and the BCCI stood up for justice to be delivered. If I were running the BCCI, I’d have even been happy with India stopping to play cricket totally if it meant that the “racial vilification” hearing wasn’t conducted by a man trained in the law. India, her fans, the team and the BCCI fought for justice. It was delivered.
A trained judge explored the nature of the abuse in Adelaide and threw out the charge. Instead, he rapped Symonds on the knuckles for being a pillock.
As I have always maintained, the Sydney hearing was conducted by an untrained man who ran a Kangaroo court in a thoroughly incompetent manner. He has, since, been put out to pasture — as he must. And anyone that says that that put-out-to-pasture was/is because of the might of the BCCI is either blind or insane or both!
I have always maintained that the ICC needs to get its appeals act together. If not, we will see many more ugly Sydney-like incidents before we see justice. I point to the AFL tribunal. What the ICC conducts is a joke.
Meanwhile, we have a whole lot of people in Australia — fans, media, players, fishing-players and ex-players — with their heels dug in and their heads in the sand; a feat that I, hitherto, thought was simultaneously impossible.
While Gilchrist wasn’t done for ball-tampering by a person like Mike Denness (whose name one doesn’t hear anymore, by the way), he did not walk in Hobart when the chips were down. He then claimed to be a walker. It is what you do when the chips are down that counts most for me. You know my hypothesis about Aussie cricketers and backs-to-the-wall… Integrity is the loser.
BTW, I will be the last person to claim that any sports-person is a saint. Sportspeople will do things to get ahead. Some of these will be legitimate. Just as Gilchrist is no Saint, Tendulkar is no Saint either.
However, what I have seen time and time again is this rush to the moral high ground. That gets my goat. Every Australian sports-person wants to don a halo and rush to the high-pedestal. And then start to pontificate! It is always the Chinese that dope their swimmers! Any Australian sports-person that has doped is dealt with in a hush-hush manner.
Remember Waugh-Warne and John, the match-fixer? How was that dealt? Need I say more? Nudge-nudge, wink-winK!
Time for that to stop. There is no high-moral-ground here.
And it is not surprising that people like Sampath read the media that peddles this fundamental hypothesis through the likes of Malcolm Conn and Jon Pierik in a blind manner without questioning “frame of reference”! Yes, he is not blind. But has he opened his eyes? 🙂
It wasn’t Salim Malik or Mohammed Azharuddin that was first done for match-fixing, btw! And when Cronje was pinged by Delhi police, it was the Australians that first said, “This is a frame. It is impossible.” Steve Waugh worked hard to wipe the humble pie off his face.
That “frame of reference” that says, “the bastards are all there” has to first go!
Sampath Kumar | 28 October 2008 at 4:55 pm | Reply
Mohankaus,
You can accuse me of anyhting but blindness. I listened to the Pope and stopped THAT practice long long time ago. I can not vouch for others!!
I am glad you are able to have pillow talk with cricketers, officials and media liasion officers. Your non-disclosure leads to me think that there was a cover up, just to protect a player!! All along, I learnt from the Indian Press on the net that it was a Professor in Linguistics that managed to decipher what the player said or could have said or might have said. I am not sure if that learned Professor is still on the payroll of BCCI!!
I am relieved that you accept that Tendulkar is not a saint, after all–just like a lot of other cricketers before him and the ones that he plays with or against.. Otherwiswe, you need to find a story to dispell the Fiat–Ferrari–Tax fiasco!!!!
The fall from grace of Hanse Cronje–who was revered by every South African and in particular by Dr Ali bacher–must be an eye opener to anyone that simply supports BLINDLY a fellow countryman!!!
I come from the flock of SWAYAM ACHARYAS !!!! Hence, will not be fooled and mislead by the Aussie journalists. I get balanced information from three Aussie dailies and three Indian dailies !!!
mohankaus | 28 October 2008 at 5:13 pm | Reply
The media officers’ comment was in the newspapers! I am happy to furnish a reference for you, should you need it.
I never accused you of being blind. In my view, you are yet to open your eyes 🙂
JB | 28 October 2008 at 5:25 pm | Reply
Mohan has his one eye completely open! 🙂
Unfortunately, when JB “talks” his bottom eye opens automatically 🙂
Srivats | 28 October 2008 at 5:29 pm | Reply
Ha ha ha… Mohan. That was just awesome! I cracked up at that riposte. Way to go! Ha ha ha ha! This is one of the best sledges I have heard in a long time! ha ha ha ha!
Raghuram | 28 October 2008 at 5:31 pm | Reply
Superb Mohan! I thinks JB uses that “bottom eye” to see the world and talk to the world! No wonder his comments raise such a stink!
That’s right Mohan, and the same substance excrets as you produce in your blogs!
If you can’t be funny in a riposte mate, don’t bother!
Just like Tendulkar / Harbhajan Singh, you haven’t answered the simple question
Why two verssions from Tendulkar?
At the end of that day, he was quoted as saying’— (words to this effect)
” words were exchanged–these things happen all the time–OK as long the line is crossed–good for the spectators”
In other word—there is nothing in it.
Why then was the sudden change of heart–in fact twice. Again the same evasive answer, a couple of days ago.
None of this justifies the balackmail–sorry–whitemail by the Indian officials concerned the change the umpires for the next game.
Now that a committee of current and ex players–all whites, other than Kumble–want to reverse ICC’s decision to revoke the decision on England-Pakistan-D Hair test–what will be the next step? All sub continent committee!!! refuse to play England next month?
You simply say–
” Trust Me”
Next it will be–
‘” the cheque is in the mail!!!”
that should be
as long as the line is NOT crossed
Raghuram,
You bother? So what does that say? But I know that the rules are differne’t for you guys cause you are so awsome and wise.
You ask: “Why two verssions from Tendulkar?”
Scroll up for the answer. And if you still have problems, search for M. V. Sridhar on the net. My advice to you is that you read what is posted before you thump the table. The answers are there above.
Yes Sachin did say that there was niggle. Mike Proctor wasn’t competent enough to explore it. He was not trained. Simple man.
There wasn’t any sudden change of heart from Sachin. He has been consistent.
You are welcome to your jaundiced views. Your loss and your problems.
Time to move on. The only people who have been clean and above board in all of this have been the Indians and Cricket Australia. They have handled this with maturity. A few people like you and the Aussie players have their heads stuck in their backsides.
End of story. Move on.
chris hutchinson | 28 October 2008 at 9:35 pm | Reply
One word for you. Blinkers!
Interestingly you avoided speaking negatively of Sachin re the ball tampering episode othen than to sight another example of Indian muscle-flexing.
Your’s and India’s attitude are untenable and can only begin to end as quickly as the dollars have started them.
Balance yourself Mohan.
If you must continue writing the way you do, then get a job with your much quoted friend Malcolm Conn!
Thanks for the advice. I won’t take it, if that is alright with you. Mainly because I am happy with the way I am. Thanks. I base everything I write on views that I have formed over a long long period of time. And much of what I write is based on fact. I am happy to meet with you to discuss much of this if you are ever in Melbourne — PROVIDED, you remove your halo. I like the Australian way of playing. I am a fan of that way of playing till of course, they sport a halo. The moment the halo is donned, I will wear my gloves. In that sense, I am not a Gandhian and I hate people with brown noses. If you are game, let’s talk more. But as I said, I am happy with the way I am.
Rediff news January 24 2008
Procter’s statement on Harbhajan Singh Ruling
It partly reads—
” I note that S Tendulkar only became involved when he realized that something was happening and was gestured over. He tried to calm things down because something had happened “THAT HE DID NOT HEAR”
For Procter to make this statement, Tendulkar would have told Procter that he did not recollect the EXACT WORDS BY EITHER SYMONDS OR HARBHAJAN.
Procter as an ex-player would always think like a player and try to be lenient towards players–unlike if ex-umpires were on the tribunal
Procter–DID NOT GAG Tendulkar nor is there evidence that he refused to take evidence from Tendulkar.
I do not accept or believe that H Singh said , ” Tere Mxxxxxx for the following reasons
H has played international matches for a few years
H has played county cricket
H conducted a tour of his house for Foxtel viewers in ENGLISH
If H wanted to abuse an opponent and hurt the opponent’s feelings, he would do so in a language that the opponent can UNDERSTAND
We ALL know that A Symonds does not understand HINDI
Whether the word MONKEY was said—we might have to wait for the bowler”s retirement and a book from him after that!!!
Unfortunately, the word WAS USED on an earlier occasion.
Megha S | 28 October 2008 at 10:54 pm | Reply
Sampath
With respect to your last post I would like add my 2 pence. I live in the UK where as you can imagine, I speak in English with everyone though my native language is Hindi. It does happen on rare occasions that I break into Hindi unconsciously while talking to people, if say for example, I am in a heated debate. So, I think it can be assumed that in a situation that evoked high passion, it is conceivable that Harbhajan could have used the Hindi swear word.
That said, this is certainly not proof that he did not use the word monkey. If it can be proved without reasonable doubt that he did use the word, I say hang him. There is no place for racists in such a beautful game. But on the other hand it is harsh to pass judgement on the premise that “he did it before”. In the civilised world you are always innocent until proven guilty without doubt.
Megha S,
I totally agree with you that a person’s past is irrelevent to the present charge
Procter acknowledges this in his report.
Use of a language that an opponent doesn’t understand defeats the purpose making one understand your views or feelings!!! I suppose, body language helps!!!
Re your biased accusation that Procter conducted a Kangaroo court—just as you accuse me of being educated by Australian journalists, I can comment that you blindly follow S Gavaskar and Indian media on this
Procter took evidence from H Singh, S Tendulkar, A Symonds, A Gilchrist, M Clarke, M Hayden, two umpire, M V Sridhar, Chetan Chauhan, Steve Barnard etc
Procter WAS ASSISTED IN LEGAL AND PROCEDURAL MATTERS BY NONE OTHER THAN NIGEL PETERS, QC, Member London Bar and Member of MCC committee
There you go!!!
@ Mohan,
I live in Melbourne and I suspect Mr Kumar does also! Howzat?
One day we will have a chance to discuss these matters. I’m game.
However, my halo is permanent. Tongue in cheek of course.
As long as you are happy with my gloves, your halo won’t worry me. Don’t expect me to bow down to you though, although I believe Sampath Kumar has demonstrated that he would be willing to do that … repeatedly! 🙂
In response to your last three comments… with due respect, you are mixing flour that has already been mixed (the saying in Tamil which you will have heard is, “aracha maava araikkade”). I requested you to Google M. V. Sridhar’s recent comments and you produce an old Rediff post that has been read and re-read by most eyeballs over 1000 times! You must be Indian 🙂
Your recent arguments and weird conclusion — countered by Megha — have no bearing on the thrust of this thread, in my view, which is around whether or not Sachin Tendulkar lied in the first hearing.
I consider Proctor’s court a Kangaroo court because he is not trained in matters law. He apparently said to the ICC that he was not capable of conducting an important hearing that involved a racism charge. The ICC forced him to do so.
Read this:
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/334156.html
And in particular, this line: “Realising that he was not properly qualified, Mike Procter implored the ICC to appoint someone else to sit at the hearing, but his plea fell on deaf ears.”
Don’t just thump tables Sam. Do the hard yakka before you form opinions!
Scroll back to read my initial submission on this around M. V. Sridhar and let’s take it from there. Thanks.
Finally, I do not read Gavaskar. Indeed, this blog routinely mocks him. If you have visited this blog regularly (which you have) and if you are able to retain what’s been said here (which I doubt) you will have known that this blog refers to the Indian media collectively as “The Braying Mediocrity of Indian Cricket”. Case closed.
Sam you don’t prove things by thumping tables and shouting with Caps-Lock on. You prove things by living it.
In the context of this thread, here is what Peter Roebuck says in today’s Age on matters SCG: “Australia’s pursuit of a charge it could not prove from an exchange it had initiated served only to unleash nationalistic forces in both countries and to turn Harbhajan into a populist champion. Ignoring their man’s churlishness, Indians circled the wagons around him. To them, too, it seemed that the Australians had tried to remove a thorn from their sides. Harbhajan had for several hours been thwarting the Australians. He is not much of a batsmen but has a way of scoring runs when it matters, did so again in Bangalore. Indeed, he survived for quite some time as India tried to stave off defeat in the second innings in Sydney. He does not back down. India liked him for that, forgave him a lot.”
I know I certainly did. To use Peter Roebuck’s words, I ignored Harbhajan’s churlishness and circled my wagons around him! In Harbhajan Singh, India has a player who stood up to the Aussies on and off the field. India had a player who insisted on and thrived on dismantling the halo that Australia has insisted on wearing for many many years. I would back Harbhajan Singh not for his abilities — there are better off spinners in India, in my view. But I’d certainly back him for his attitude and his stomach for a fight — especially against halo-wearing Australia and England!
Alas Mohan your circling of the wagons exposes you to your last stand on the matter.
The BCCI and yourself, as duly stated by Peter Roebuck and admitted by yourself, highlights India’s desperation to attack Australia without due cause, for the sake of claiming the moral high ground.
There was no moral high ground to be gained in that matter. Ricky Ponting should have known this and addressed the matter differently.
This is where the BCCI has exposed itself to the world.
It was far better to save face and create a storm on the injustices of the test match in question, injustices that are part and parcel of test cricket, of which the Australians played no part in (please dont bring up the Clarke catch – he caught it) than face the obviousness of the predicament that Baji created.
We can all sit in our glass houses Mohan.
But circling the wagons wont fend of the arrows.
PS. I really wish that India had the luck to deliver a victory in Australia. Because then you could just gloat and Peter could look for a sensible way to describe the joy of such a triumph rather than drivel on with senseless attacks n Ponting and co.
“without due cause”? You think that spitting on the opposition and then donning a halo when the shoe is on the other foot is “without due cause”? Get real buddy. There is no higher-moral-ground in sport. It is Australia that wishes to rush there all the time with a halo on its head! Yes, if Ricky Ponting did not see SCG as another opportunity to rush to the high-moral-ground he would have dealt with the mess in a more mature manner!
India had been doing the diplomacy route for ages through the Dravids and Bhindras — and the throng of gentlemen before them. But with the onset of the new Turks in the ranks — the Harbhajans and the Lalit Modis — old-India had to yield to the new-India!
Harbhajan did not create any predicament. He tapped someones bum. An Aussie sledged him. He sledged back. The Australian captain lost his mind in a bid to claim the high-moral ground. The rest was a messy history, compounded by the fact that we had an incompetent judge that heard the case the first time round.
The injustices and the cheating in the game itself is part and parcel of the game — another day, another debate.
I am not interested in gloating. I leave that to you and other lesser mortals. 🙂
I have always believed that Australia is a better team. It is because of the attitude here to sport, the wonderful grass-roots system and the quality of her players. Australia will win more than they lose.
It is this rush for a halo that I find morally disgusting and vile.
Pingback: India Vs Australia :: Test 3 :: Delhi :: Day-1 « i3j3Cricket :: A blog for fans of Indian cricket…
Slipstream_RacerX | 31 October 2008 at 8:50 am | Reply
Despite the fact that you find his blogs comparable to excreted waste, your constant presence here seems to indicate you love lapping it up. Need a spoon, boyo? How about a bib, so you don’t dribble it all over yourself?
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A load of old bricks at suitably named Brickbat Bay and their historical significance prompted artist Ziggy Lever to think about some of the big questions: Time, memory and metaphysics. T S Eliot was thinking something of the same when he began writing the Four Quartets in 1935. Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future And time future contained in time past. The backstory for Lever is the site of what was once a thriving business; Amalgamated Brick and Pipe, a nineteenth century pottery factory that was later deliberately destroyed in the twentieth century when the company had depleted all he clay reserves in the area. The remains of the works, huge chunks of the kiln and other detritus were simply discarded, dumped on the beach and for the last 100 years the sea has gradually reclaimed them, becoming home to mangroves, crabs and molluscs. It gets one thinking. It got Levers wondering about subjectivity, perception and time. The rocks become, in the artist’s hand, reimagined as meteorites or asteroids, …
Breathing in Beijing at Wallace Gallery
The world of residencies is a curious thing. The old saying, a change is as good as a rest probably operates here, but it’s become, it seems, something more than that these days. It’s morphed into a career move, the must have for all aspiring artists making their convoluted way inside the mysterious arena of professional advancement in the art business. China seems to have become the “it” place to be. One can speculate about why that is the case. Is it the attraction of the strange and slightly exotic, the challenge of that which is foreign, unorthodox, transgressive, the other? Or is it something to do with being on site of an emerging new world power and witnessing culture in major social ferment, change and flux? Whatever it is, it has attracted a growing number of New Zealand artists in recent years, one of whom is Bevan Shaw, freshly returned from a residency near Beijing. He was domiciled in a small town just out from the big city on the north-eastern outskirts, a place …
Waiver Flash Deviate at Eastern Art Express
waiver · flash · deviate took place on the inaugural Eastern Art Express – a free bus service to Malcolm Smith Gallery in Howick and Te Tuhi in Pakuranga, departing opposite Artspace on Karangahape Road, Tāmaki Makaurau. Bridget Riggir-Cuddy and Taarati Taiaroa commissioned three new works from artists Hana Pera Aoake, Matilda Fraser and Olivia Blyth to take place throughout the journey. The following is an account of the event from one of the passengers who took part in the journey. I drove to catch this bus Wearing a red jersey. Late, feeling anxious Only wanting to sleep The last on I make my way down to the back where I spot a familiar face and say some breathless hellos before being instructed to put on the blindfolds we were greeted with as we boarded.(1) It was a hot winters day and the prospect of working up a sweat making idle sightless conversation amongst that small crowd had me move away to an empty seat. People don’t stop talking. Within earshot they’re musing as …
Creep!!! at Skinroom
Fear and Loathing Creep!!! at Skinroom came about from a casual conversation between two artists; Abigail Jensen and Eliza Webster — the director of Skinroom Gallery. Eliza had been receiving borderline stalker texts from a man, and the two stumbled across his page online, listed on FetLife.com, a social media platform like Facebook, but kinky. Aside from his continued unwelcome advances, they found themselves finding out more intimate details about his life and personal preferences than they ever wanted to know. Jokingly, they laughed about making an exhibition about this experience: Creep!!! Centred around creepiness, unsolicited attention from men, and general undesirable smut, their works follow this theme. Although most works in the exhibition are flat works on paper or board, there are several installation pieces. In the first room, a yellow sheet of plastic cut with metal stud punches and rings hangs. Translucent and thin like stretched, pierced skin, this work by Jensen recalls Eva Hesse’s latex and canvas hung works. In the second room, Webster installed a dentist chair from the 60s, the …
Emanations at Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
The Art of the Cameraless Photograph. Ask a few people what a cameraless photograph is, and you’ll most likely be met with blank stares. Our experience of photography is manifestly entwined with the camera, the lens, and the act of looking through a device to see what is out there. The notion of a photograph made without a camera seems paradoxical. But the camera is ultimately a tool which causes light to fall on a light sensitive surface in a particular way – and if we remove the camera from the equation, what remains is the interplay of light, surface, and time. These are fundamentals every photographer engages with in the production of work. Yet on their own, they challenge our understanding of what photography is, or might be. Emanations at the Govett-Brewster has a breadth of material that will appeal to the photographic community and a general gallery audience alike. There is a wide scope of national and international practitioners, historic and contemporary work, and the variety of aesthetic and conceptual investigations afforded by …
Blonde Maiden series 2016 at ALL GOODS
When I was young, up to 14 we were still walking around with our skirts and with no tops, we went to school and the only time we wore tops or a whole dress was when we went to church but at my age we were still running around topless and there was nothing wrong with that. We went to Samoa college and I remember one guy said come and look at our photos and we went to his house and his father had all these nude paintings of girls just in their skirts going to school and it made me think ‘oh’, it made me feel it’s dirty and I realised, I said ‘are we doing the wrong thing?’ But then it made me really angry. Interview with Pusi Urale, 2013 (1) Pinks, peaches, yellows, blues and whites blend together in the 10 paintings of the Palagi female figure. Blonde Maiden, a solo exhibition by Pusi Vaele Urale, forefronts societal norms of beauty and measure. I heard grumblings from fellow visitors to the gallery …
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Diseases are increasing, Avrin Hospital needs help
With the onset of the summer and rising heat, diseases have increased in the canton of al-Shahba. Avrin Hospital treated 1,6644 cases in June amid demands for drug and equipment support for the hospital to better serve health and medical services, as it is the only hospital in the canton.
SOCIETY - LIFE 01 Jul 2019, Mon - 12:22 2019-07-01T12:22:00 Al-SHAHBA – JAFAR JAFO
The Avrin hospital in al-Shahba district is densely crowded with people who are coming for receiving treatment from the diseases that have spread in the canton such as "intestinal infections, diarrhea, , bronchitis and sunburn". The hospital provides treatment to the people and demands support.
These diseases come in the light of the continued lives of the people in the camps and semi-destroyed homes, after the aggression on Afrin and forcing the people to leave their homes forcibly.
All patients are treated and given medicines free of charge in the absence of medicines and medical devices.
The doctor at Avrin Hospital and Internal Medicine Specialist Azad Sabri, talked to our agency (ANHA) about the cause of the increase in diseases and how to treat them "First of all, the devastation in this region caused the spread of diseases, where the infrastructure of this region was destroyed," he said.
Sabri pointed out that diseases in the summer are caused by unclean drinking water and rising heat, especially in the camps. "There is great pressure on Avrin Hospital due to the lack of private hospitals and even the public, and although the hospital is working hard 24 hours to meet the requirements of patients, that it is still not enough due to the lack of specialists in medicine, in addition to the lack of quantities of medicines and medical devices, which leads to an increase in diseases.
Sabri concluded his appeal to all humanitarian organizations to consider the conditions of the people of al-Shahba canton and support them with medicines and medical devices as soon as possible.
(T/S)
Refugees' women in Deir-ez-Zor countryside demanded to improve service sector
In the western countryside of Deir-ez-Zor many random camps are spread, which contain refuge...
Camps are changed to gardens
Afrin canton's people have changed the camps in which they live in al-Shahba canton to garde...
Parents demand activation of Selok Hospital
The operation of activation the Selok District Hospital was not completed after the Save the...
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What Are the Benefits of Cutting Sugar?
Excess sugar consumption impacts your health.
1 Why Should You Avoid Sugar?
2 What is a Healthy Sugar Intake Per Day
3 Negative Effects of Refined Sugar in Children
4 How Much Sugar Should You Have in Your Diet?
Consuming too much sugar contributes to weight gain, may increase your risk for cardiovascular disease and hurts efforts to balance blood sugar. Keeping track of the sugar in your diet may make a critical difference because some chronic diseases are preventable though lifestyle changes such as limiting sugar.
Your body digests all sugars the same way, but their source is nonetheless a significant consideration for your health. When the sugar is a natural part of a whole food, you also gain nutrients and fiber. Eating dietary fiber is especially important because it slows down absorption of carbohydrates to help keep the blood sugar balanced. Though sugar that’s added during food processing or preparation may be used as energy, it otherwise delivers calories without added nutritional benefit.
The Institute of Medicine recommends limiting your consumption of added sugar to less than 25 percent of total daily calories. The American Heart Association released more specific guidelines in August 2009, recommending that you should have no more than 5 teaspoons of added sugar if you consume 1,800 calories daily, no more than 8 teaspoons if you eat 2,000 calories daily, and no more than 9 teaspoons daily for a diet of 2,200 calories.
Weight Control and Nutrition
Too much added sugar in your diet is a sure way to sabotage weight control efforts. The average person in America consumes 21 teaspoons of added sugar a day, according to the National Cancer Institute. With 16 calories in one teaspoon of granulated sugar, that’s 336 calories that have no nutritional benefit. When added sugar intake exceeds 25 percent of daily calories, the risk of sugary foods replacing healthy foods increases. Higher sugar intake is associated with lower consumption of calcium, iron, zinc and vitamin A, according to the American Heart Association.
Diabetes Prevention and Management
When sugar enters your blood stream, it needs insulin to carry it into cells. If you have diabetes, you either don’t produce enough insulin, or your body isn’t able to properly use the insulin that’s available. As a result, levels of blood sugar increase and over time that causes significant health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and eye, nerve or kidney damage. A key part of preventing or treating diabetes is limiting or eliminating dietary sugar to keep blood sugar at a stable, normal level.
Dietary sugar that’s not used for energy is converted into fatty acids that become triglycerides, or fat, that circulate in your blood. High triglycerides are associated with an increased risk for heart disease and stroke, according to the American Heart Association. Non-diet soft drinks are the top source of added sugars. Drinking one or more soft drinks daily is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, according to a study published in a 2007 issue of “Circulation.”
Cutting Sugar
Reduce or eliminate the top sources of added sugars. After non-diet soft drinks, the other major sources are sweets, candy and baked goods, sugar-sweetened fruit drinks and sweetened dairy desserts. Sweeteners that are considered to be healthy alternatives should also be limited because they have the same, or more, calories per teaspoon than granulated sugar. This includes brown sugar and honey, as well as corn syrup, fruit nectar and maple syrup. Check the Nutrition Facts labels for the sugar content of the foods you eat...you may be surprised to find hidden sources of excess sugar.
Institute of Medicine: Dietary Reference Intakes
Circulation: Dietary Sugars Intake and Cardiovascular Health -- A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
National Cancer Institute: Mean Intake of Added Sugars and Percentage Contribution by Various Foods Among US Population
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse: How Is Diabetes Managed?
American Heart Association: Triglycerides -- Frequently Asked Questions
Circulation: Soft Drink Consumption and Risk of Developing Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and the Metabolic Syndrome in Middle-Aged Adults in the Community
USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 -- Appendices
Cleveland Clinic: How Foods Affect Triglycerides
USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory: Sugars, Granulated
USDA: Database for the Added Sugars Content of Selected Foods
Harvard School of Public Health: How to Spot Added Sugar on Food Labels
Harvard School of Public Health: Finding Sugar in Cereals Takes Detective Work
Sandi Busch received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, then pursued training in nursing and nutrition. She taught families to plan and prepare special diets, worked as a therapeutic support specialist, and now writes about her favorite topics – nutrition, food, families and parenting – for hospitals and trade magazines.
spoonful of sugar image by Brett Mulcahy from Fotolia.com
Busch, Sandi. "What Are the Benefits of Cutting Sugar?" Healthy Eating | SF Gate, http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-cutting-sugar-5667.html. Accessed 17 July 2019.
Busch, Sandi. (n.d.). What Are the Benefits of Cutting Sugar? Healthy Eating | SF Gate. Retrieved from http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-cutting-sugar-5667.html
Busch, Sandi. "What Are the Benefits of Cutting Sugar?" accessed July 17, 2019. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-cutting-sugar-5667.html
How Much Sugar Is Your Body Supposed to Take in a Day?
Nutrition Guidelines for Sugar, Calories & Salt
Diet for High Triglyceride Levels
How Fattening Is Sugar?
Major Sources of Bad Carbohydrates
About the Harmful Effects of Consuming Too Much Sugar
Limits on Carbs, Salt & Sugar
Switch From 3000 Calories a Day to 2000 Calories a Day
The Recommended Carbohydrate Intake
Importance of Sugar in the Human Body
How Is Sucrose Different Than Sucralose?
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Guest/Columnists
Helena, MT (59602)
Mostly sunny skies. Becoming windy during the afternoon. High 79F. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..
Clear skies. Low 49F. WNW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph.
John Nelson, 96, who stormed the beach at Normandy 75 years ago, passed away Saturday at his home in Lolo. He's shown here in May.
KURT WILSON, Missoulian
Crystal Schonemann, Randy Schonemann, Eric Komberec and Bryan Douglass of the Miss Montana crew toasted John Nelson from Wiesbaden, Germany, on Monday.
Courtesy Miss Montana to Normandy
Lolo D-Day hero passes away days after commemoration
KIM BRIGGEMAN kbriggeman@missoulian.com
One of western Montana’s last survivors of the World War II D-Day invasion has died.
John Nelson passed away at his home on the south bank of Lolo Creek on Saturday, two days after the 75th anniversary of D-Day. He was 96.
Nelson grew up in Missoula and was a U.S. Army engineer who landed on Utah Beach in Normandy on the morning of June 6, 1944.
Nelson’s daughter, Jeanie, said he spent Thursday watching coverage of the commemoration events in France.
“He made it through D-Day. I don’t know if he made it for me or for what, but as soon as it was over he said, ‘Honey, I’m fading fast,’ " Jeanie Nelson said Monday.
She lived with and took care of her father, who was bound to a walker but otherwise alert and attentive during an interview with the Missoulian in early May.
His son-in-law, Dale Moore Jr., was the keeper of Nelson’s military history and was trying to figure out a way to get Nelson to ceremonies in France. He said Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester, as well as Rep. Greg Gianforte, were helping.
“We were working hard on that, but then he caught a bad cold and just kept getting worse,” Moore said. “At that point it was, no, let’s not do this.”
In the past year Nelson met and befriended Treat Williams, an actor and pilot who lent his name and support to the Miss Montana to Normandy project. Williams told Nelson when his health improved he’d fly the veteran to Normandy first class.
“He said, 'We’ll go visit and you'll have the beaches to yourself,'” Moore said. “John thought that was a pretty good idea.”
Nelson was a guest of honor in June 2018 at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) regional fly-in outside a Neptune Aviation hangar, when the nose logo and story of the DC-3 named Miss Montana was unveiled.
Last month he and another D-Day veteran, 97-year-old Ed Seifert of Polson, met at the Museum of Mountain Flying for the Miss Montana sendoff to Normandy. Seifert grew up on a ranch west of Pablo and parachuted into Normandy as a staff sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division.
Daines paid tribute to Nelson at the AOPA fly-in and on Monday sent word that he was saddened to hear of Nelson’s passing.
“He was a warrior who survived the beaches of Normandy, and fought valiantly for his country in WWII. John is an American hero who deserves our highest gratitude and honor,” the senator said through his press staff.
Miss Montana's crew flew Monday from France to Wiesbaden, Germany, where they are taking part in the Berlin Airlift 70th anniversary celebration at an American air base.
When they learned of Nelson’s death, the core crew of chief pilot Eric Komberec and Bryan Douglass and mechanics Randy and Crystal Schonemann, toasted Nelson under the nose of the Montana airplane.
“We did this for him,” Douglass said in a text that accompanied a picture of the toast.
The exact number of living Americans who participated in D-Day is not known. The youngest are in their mid-90s. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as reported last week in Smithsonian Magazine, just three of 472 Medal of Honor winners in World War II were still alive as of mid-May. Fewer than 3 percent of the 16 million Americans who served are living.
Nelson still carried behind his neck the shrapnel from an artillery explosion in a German railyard a couple of weeks after Germany’s surrender.
He said in May that when offered a chance upon his discharge to apply for a Purple Heart, he asked how long it would take. When told it would be a few days, Nelson demurred.
“His father had passed away (before the war) and he knew his mother was busy at home trying to take care of his younger siblings,” Moore said. “He said he figured 'My mom needed me more than I needed the medal.’”
Nelson received an engraved invitation to Thursday’s commemoration at the Normandy American Cemetery in France from both President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron. According to Moore, Macron wanted to honor Nelson with the French Legion of Honor Chevalier, France’s highest honor and the equivalent of the U.S. Medal of Honor.
“It’s unfortunate that he didn’t get to attend that,” said Moore. “But, you know, when I told him about it, he said, ‘If they want to fine, but I don’t need any medals.'”
“John never looked at himself as a hero. He just always said, 'I did it because they asked me to,'” Moore noted. “And that group of men, I just think God has a plan for everything and he just put that kind of humility and courage and grit into those people for that reason.”
Nelson's embarkation from the landing craft on D-Day morning was initially stymied when he stepped into the water and sank over his head in an artillery hole created by an American shell. He encountered little resistance when he and others crossed the open shore at Utah Beach, the westernmost of five along the coast of Normandy.
Nelson remembered an overwhelmed German prisoner who watched the hundreds of “duck boats” pulled out of the water and onto the beach.
“He just shook his head and said the war is over,” Nelson said. "They can go on land and water and they pack ammunition."
It wasn’t over for another 11 months on the European front. Nelson survived nearly two months of the “hedge war” in western France before Gen. George Patton’s troops arrived from England to break the stalemate. His 249th Engineer Battalion built the bridges that enabled Patton’s army to cross the Rhine River on its march to Berlin, and he was with Patton’s forces when they liberated a concentration camp as the noose tightened on Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
“He was the toughest man I ever met in my life,” Jeanie Nelson said.
Nelson returned to Montana after the war to a career as a heavy equipment operator, helping build Hungry Horse Dam and every Interstate 90 bridge between Missoula and Lookout Pass.
Nelson still nursed a bad leg from his bronc riding days in the 1950s before he met and married Amy Vinson at age 40. They were married for 42 years before she passed away in 2005.
Even in his last winter, he drove a backhoe around the place, plowing snow and moving dirt.
“Scared me to death, but he told me, ‘If I die on a backhoe I’ll die a happy man,’ " Jeanie said.
The cold turned to pneumonia in recent weeks. On Thursday, the anniversary of D-Day, his daughter recorded the early-morning events from France and videotaped his last war story. It was about another GI whom Nelson didn’t much care for who tried and unceremoniously failed to jump into Nelson’s foxhole during a battle.
“He had some Malt-O-Meal that day and told me to get his chew, so I got his Copenhagen,” Jeanie said. “That night he had two pieces of pizza and watched all the D-Day stuff. After that he just wasn’t with us.”
On Saturday, Nelson and Moore played some of John Nelson’s favorite gospel songs. To their surprise, when they played “The Old Rugged Cross,” he could be heard humming along. The popular Methodist hymn was written in 1912 by George Bennard. Jeanie said Bennard was a friend of Nelson’s parents, Ann and Alfred Nelson, who met and fell in love at the Chicago Evangelistic Institute and knew Bennard there.
Moore said Nelson’s family, including grandchildren and great-grandchildren, were with him when he passed away early Saturday evening.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
D-day 75th
Lolo Montana
Miss Montana To Normandy
D-day Survivor
John Nelson
Dale Moore Jr.
Jeanie Nelson
Lolo D-day
George Bennard
Jim Nolan Jun 11, 2019 10:34am
What a man. What a man
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What Are Today’s Best Practices for Securing Patient Data?
by Natalie Zfat
HIPAA, EHR, IT Strategy, patient data, HIMSS
Innovation cannot exist without security, especially in healthcare. Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with several experts at HIMSS 2019 about what best practices healthcare providers should consider when it comes to the security of patient information.
“Securing patient data is one of the most important things that every hospital needs to do,” said David Chou, vice president of Constellation Research. “[Hospitals should] focus on the transmission of the data, and making sure the transmission is secure.”
Britney Treadaway, vice president of strategy and corporate development at IDEAL LIFE, Inc., recommended that organizations carefully review workflows and applications to avoid data transfers carrying any personally identifiable health information. That way, whenever data is sent from a device to the electronic health record, it never includes sensitive information that can be associated with a patient.
According to digital health influencer Evan Kirstel, it’s important that hospitals not look at security as a problem exclusively for the IT department or the chief security officer. In his words: “Security is really everyone’s problem.”
“It’s all of our responsibility,” agreed Ammad Khan, CEO of IrisVision. “At each layer, at each touch point, we have to follow the best practices that allow us to serve the patients to the best extent possible.”
These best practices must also include making sure that whatever you are doing is HIPAA-compliant, said Will O’Connor, chief medical information officer at TigerConnect. O’Connor recommends using a common security framework to protect not only the applications your hospital uses, but also any other applications your application will interface with.
Learn how Samsung Knox provides a secure platform for healthcare providers to pursue digital transformation.
Natalie Zfat
Natalie Zfat is a social media entrepreneur and Forbes Contributor who has partnered with some of the most iconic brands in the world, including Rolling Stone, Food Network, American Express and Levi’s. Curating original content and videos, Zfat gains millions of impressions for the brands she advocates for. When she's not engaging with her half a million followers, Zfat loves sharing her entrepreneurial thought leadership at conferences and universities, including Carnegie Mellon, NYU Stern School of Business, The Harvard Club of New York and Internet of Things World. Follow Natalie on Twitter: @NatalieZfat View all posts by Natalie Zfat
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North Carolina Utilities Commission Issues Order Involving D.C. Movers
Targeted News Service
RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 20 -- The North Carolina Utilities Commission issued the following order (Docket No. T-100, Sub 105) involving D.C. Movers:
In the Matter of D C Movers, LLC, 1058 W. Club Blvd., #2226, Durham, North Carolina 27701 - Termination of Liability Insurance
ORDER SUSPENDING CERTIFICATE OF EXEMPTION FOR FAILURE TO MAINTAIN INSURANCE
BY THE COMMISSION: The Commission has been advised by the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles that they have received notification from Stonewood Insurance Company, that your liability coverage will be canceled as of August 30, 2018.
G.S. 62-268 and Commission Rule R2-36 require certain security for the protection of the public and require that such insurance coverage be continuous and failure to maintain on file with the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles such insurance coverage on a continuous basis as required by law can result in the revocation and cancellation of your certificate of exemption.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:
1. That, Certificate of Exemption No. C-2336 issued to D C Movers, LLC, is hereby suspended as of August 30, 2018, and further that any operation of its vehicles, leased or owned, upon the public highways of this State on and after said date is illegal and is hereby, prohibited.
2. That the filing with the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, For-Hire Section, of the required certificate of insurance (Form E) prior to the date the suspension begins will cause the suspension ordered herein to become null and void and of no further force and effect. Alternatively, the required insurance filing (Form E) may be provided to the Chief Clerk's Office, North Carolina Utilities Commission, 4325 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-4300.
ISSUED BY ORDER OF THE COMMISSION.
This the 20th day of August, 2018.
NORTH CAROLINA UTILITIES COMMISSION
Janice H. Fulmore, Deputy Clerk
Risks Journal Issues 26 Research Articles in June 2018 Edition
North Carolina Utilities Commission Issues Order Involving Port City Moving
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View Complete Thread on "What happened? depression?" Here
What happened? depression?
+Im sorry for the huge length. I just need to give the full story here.+
I am completely shocked.
As of two weeks ago, my boyfriend of almost 2 years broke up with me, bawling hysterically, and said some extremely confusing things. He will not give me many answers to my questions, and Ive stopped asking because Im tired of chasing after him.
To give the details, my boyfriend (22) started dental school in August, and around the end of September, starting taking me a bit for granted (in my opinion). I (23) am in grad school too, but in my second year so its a lot easier. We had the MOST intense relationship, SO in love, long-distance for a year while he finished college and I began grad school (the adjustment for me was fine), and he was the love of my life. I just knew. We were supposed to be engaged soon and had many future talks and there was no doubt in my mind he was the one, and he said the same.
At first things were amazing. I felt like we were honeymooning- after 2 days, as late as the end of September, he would come over saying it had been 'too long'. Well, he started acting differently toward me around the middle of October. I saw him MAYBE once a week, after he had moved to the city to be with me. When he did see me he was studying the whole time. He didnt initiate much contact. The quality of our interactions went way down, and we were rarely hooking up/talking/enjoying each other and it was frustrating for me. I had waited for him to get here for a whole year. I verbalized this here and there and at first (early Oct.)he seemed very sincerely sorry and tried to make efforts to change this. From my side, I decided to stop calling/e-mailing as much and would let him make the plans when he could so I wouldnt push him away.
Not much changed. He failed some tests, and started saying he resented me because he thought I resented HIM. He started pulling away at the end of October, acting wierd to me in front of his new dental friends (ignoring me) to the point where i was crying and he ignored me and got on his computer (TOTALLY unlike him- he was always the most caring person when it came to my concerns). He asked for space and I became very depressed because we talked daily multiple times for almost 2 years. He did not tell me what "space" meant, so I started to panick. Hed never said anything close to this before- I was so scared that we were going to fall apart in a matter of a few weeks!!
Well, we did. After he asked for space the first time, we saw each other 4 days later after I (of course) contacted him. And basically started to kiss his a**. I sent him cards, volunteered to cook him dinner so he could eat and not have to go get it; I told him I'd help him study for a test when he was so stressed he felt sick. We both went to visit our homes over the weekend and he told me he wasnt feeling like himself and that he needed to get away. He said he noticed he was being an a**hole, to me and to other people, and that he felt like a robot and had no emotions anymore. He said it was good to be home. Things seemed like they'd be back to normal and they were somewhat for 3 days.
When we got back, I spent the night, he studied the whole time and it sucked but just to be with him was fine. We hooked up, he said he loved me, all of that. Then he disappeared for a day. Call me crazy, and I know I overreacted, but I sort of flipped out (plus we live in a huge city, who knows what could happen). I had been feeling VERY insecure lately toward him for good reason, and was wondering, oh my god, did I do something? Well, he wouldnt answer any of my calls/texts/so forth for a matter of 12 hours or so. Finally, I wondered if he was on his email, which he had given me the password for in the past. If he had been there, then at least Id know he was OK (an overreaction, but again, I was feeling very insecure about things and just wanted to know he was OK). Well, the emails I had sent him around 9 pm were checked. I didnt read his email, Im not like that & I respect privacy, especially bc all his emails are school-related im sure! But at least I knew he was ok.
THe next morning, he called early and apologized sincerely and said he had accidentally fallen asleep and had woken up at 3 am and was totally screwed w/schoolwork. I believed him, but then I remembered that his emails were checked, and I thought it was wierd, so I asked him. Well, he completely flipped out and yelled at me for violating his privacy and basically told me he'd talk to me when he talks to me. He said some really mean things, and I kept saying look I was just worried, in 2 years you've never disappeared for a day and I don't know wahts going on with you lately! I was being clingy there, yes, I admit. But I felt somewhat justified.
So I didn't call him. I didnt see this as being such a big deal- in the past we would have gotten over this in a few hours.
Four days past, and I text and ask to go pick up my shoes from his place. I go over and ask him why he hasn't called, and he said "its complicated". So I tell him I am trying to give him his space, that I am adjusting too and its been hard with his sudden change in behavior & that I have feelings too. Then, he started talking about how he knows hes been selfish and how he keeps hurting me and he thinks he just needs to be alone. He said it wasnt my fault (the old "its not you its me" spiel). He said he overreacted over the email incident. He started bawling (he NEVER cries) and said how he feels robotic and he doesnt even know himself anymore and that he needs to 'soul search'. He said confusing things like 'it doesnt have to be all or nothing' and 'call whenver you want, we dont need to cut each other out' and I was really lost, like it wasn't happening to me.
To make this long story shorter, I texted him the next day when it had sunk in, and he only responded to about half of them with a lot of "i dont knows, Im sorry, I'll never forgive myself". I called a week later crying and asking questions, and he answered them with a very flat tone. He said he didnt know if it was over long-term, but that he needs to be selfish and alone now. When I asked if he just fell out of love with me in a month, he said he asks himself that every day. He said he felt like our problems had been going on much longer than a month because he felt like he had been in dental school forever, not 3 months. He said he feels like he failed me, failed himself, is a weak/bad person, and will be a horrible father/husband in the future because dentistry is so stressful. He said he doesnt have the time/mental energy to think about this and every time I talk about him at length, he shuts down and says "i dont know." He said it was a cycle- he was being self-absorbed which was hurting me, and he felt guilty, but had to push it out of his head to do his work, and then he became numb and stopped caring. He said he cant flip a switch and go back to being "him".
We've talked a few times after that, and we took the bus back together after Thanksgiving, in which we were friendly and I told him to do his thing and I'd do mine and to keep me posted. I apologized for crying and asking questions since it made things worse, and he said 'i owe you that much'. He thanked me later, saying it made him feel better.
I talked to his friend who said he told him that it hadn't hit him yet and he didnt know when it would. He said he thinks he will 'close this chapter of his life and move on'. So I asked him, 'if you know you want to move on completely please tell me so I can too', he said, 'I will keep you posted. Sorry Im not a very good with explainer/communicator'.
I am so confused/hurt/devastated/lost.
I have decided to leave him alone completely and try to move on. Its so depressing. I feel like he fell out of love with me in a month, because I have emails from him in October saying we would get through this and he loves me and its just a rough time. Now its like he doesnt care at all about any of this.
I asked him if he thinks hes depressed and he said its crossed his mind, but he has basically ignored it all. His sister is clinically depressed, and he saw a psychiatrist and got put on meds for depression in high school but he said it just went away, the meds didnt help. I know med students often are depressed. I asked him why he suddenly turned so cold and he said he has been to everyone and he doesnt know.
I regarded him as my fiancee/future husband. I know I made mistakes but I would have never broken up with him, I would have hung in there through this just to be with him bc its a hard adjustment.
I realize that he is completely stressed and not dealing with it well and seems to have just not had the time for me, but why cant he just say that? Maybe its immaturity? He admits hes selfish. Ive asked him 3 times if theres someone else and he says if he doesnt have the time for someone he cares about, how could there be a new person? Plus hes religious so i know he wouldnt cheat on me.
I feel as though if you love someone, you want them with you, but I realize things can get complicated by stress/anxiety. Why the confusing explanations from him? And the open-endedness. If he told his friends he wants to move on, why cant he tell me? Is he trying to let me down easy? He seems totally unaffected by all of this and it hurts because Im a mess. I dont know what to think. I feel like I will always compare people to him/never get over him. Does anyone have any insight that could help me deal? Is he depressed? Thanks.
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A Real “Nigga” Show: A Black Man’s Review
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Image source: http://www.theatreproject.org
19 August 2013 - 00:00 EDT
On August 10, I had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to attend the 2013 production of A Real "Nigga" Show—a choreopoem performed by an all black and male cast at the Baltimore Theatre Project. The show was powerfully performed and fearlessly articulated a critical vision of the current state of black manhood in contemporary American society. The skillful actors presented nuances and back-stories for a variety of characters that gave the audience insight into the circumstances that shaped their behaviors. They dramatized the rap group Dead Prez’ lyrics on their album Let’s Get Free by illustrating via vivid characters how: “my environment made me the nigga I am.”
The show was both entertaining as art and thought-provoking as social critique. The show offered the audience a penetrating look at what pop artist Michael Jackson referred to as “the man in the mirror.” In this case, the mirror was the way that the choreopoem displayed a critical yet empathetic reflection of the lives, experiences, and behaviors of black boys and men who live and grow up in America’s disinvested urban environments. In another sense, the theatrical production mirrored the multi-textured voices of many marginalized black men, perhaps in juxtaposition with Ntozake Shange’s fiery and powerful choreopoem For colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is not enuf. As such, A Real "Nigga" Show provided a rare insight into the lives of a group of hyper-maligned, hyper-demonized, and mischaracterized black boys and men, particularly those living in neighborhoods like Upton, Druid Heights, and Greenmount East.
While watching the show proved to be a thrilling and immersive experience, I will contend that the Charm City production’s playwrights could have done a better job at the end of the show in two main ways. First, they could have attempted to articulate an emerging vision for a new black manhood. In the "Age of Obama," black manhood exists in a perilous state. Given the unrelentingly racist and racially tinged assault from the GOP-Tea Party, President Obama has often responded with an unremitting stream of compromising stances (i.e. renouncing Rev. Jeremiah Wright, hosting the infamous “beer summit”, and dropping Shirley Sherrod at the first sign of Fox trouble). When a black man as brilliant as Barack Obama feels he needs to avoid any sign of anger because of the nation’s racial landmines, then we know that black manhood is still circumscribed by white expectations that black men in leadership should “stay cool” in order to avoid being seen as the “angry black man.”
Second, the local production’s playwrights could have lifted up strategies that could be utilized to confront and defeat America’s persistent attempts to niggerize black men as a whole. As described by noted philosopher and liberation theologian Cornel West:
When you’re niggerized, you’re unsafe, unprotected, subject to random violence, hated for who you are. You become so scared that you defer to the powers that be and you’re willing to consent to your own domination. And that’s the history of black people in America.
And along with that history, is the manner by which some black boys and men internalize and adopt the stereotypical images and media projections that are consistent with white supremacist views of black men (and by extension black people) as soulless, animals, intellectually inferior, beasts of burden, jocular entertainers, or mindless athletes. The internalization of racism and racist imagery by some black males is as much of an issue as the racism and violence that white males have exacted against black boys and men throughout American history.[1]
Given the recent vigilante slayings of Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, and Darius Simmons, given the disproportionate mass incarceration of millions of black boys and men, and given the nationwide practice of police brutality, differential arrests and unequal sentencing for the same crimes, and stop-and-frisk policies practiced by predominantly white cops against black boys and men, it is clear that black boys and men desperately need practical transformative strategies to overcome and reverse the niggerization process that America has imposed on black men since the first enslaved African was brought to these shores and continues through the present day (i.e. “breaking” slaves, whippings, racial terrorism, lynchings, convict leasing, race riots/mob murder, Jim Crow, COINTELPRO, Stand Your Ground, etc.).
One might argue that A Real "Nigga" Show brilliantly exposed the pathologies inherent in the internalization of the word ‘nigga’. To this, I would agree! The audience witnessed the damaging implications of what it means to define oneself as a nigga: illegal drug usage, mental instability, self-hatred, apathy/laziness, criminality and anti-social behaviors, unhealthy behaviors (especially in terms of smoking and nutrition), and a contentious relationship with black women. These depictions were illuminating, haunting, and affecting. Yet, I do think that more could have been done to highlight and present the political potential of what it would mean to reject all that being a nigga in American has come to represent.
Instead, the show ended with the declaration that they (the cast) were “new niggas”! I’m pretty sure that Nigga 1.0 software[2] needs to be deleted, but the playwrights never indicated what the features of Nigga 2.0 software would include. Because of this critical omission, the audience was left to wonder, would Nigga 2.0 software include:
More criminality?
Increased black advocacy and unity?
More shootings by George Zimmerman 2.0?
Or taking control of stereotypical and predatory media images, especially those we help perpetuate?
Again, the first 4/5ths of the show was devastatingly brilliant. But at the very end of the performance, the cast waived goodbye to the audience and said: “Goodbye niggas!” There was a certain gleefulness to their articulation and expression that raised more questions than it answered. Some of my friends who attended the show have argued that by portraying the pathologies associated with being a nigga, the playwrights had done enough. Their argument was that the playwrights did not need to create a political vision for how black men could overcome America’s ongoing niggerization process.
My response to that argument is that niggerization in American society is inherently political. “Niggers” are what black men were bred to be in America so that they/we wouldn’t pose much of a threat to the status quo (i.e. slavery, Jim Crow, the New Jim Crow or Jim Crow 2.0). We still perceived collectively as predatory threats to law and order. We cannot afford ambiguity and more of the same.
The playwrights achieved so much in terms of offering an incisive social critique and in didactically engaging the audience in the pathologies associated with being a nigga in America society. My hope is that in the next iteration of A Real "Nigga" Show, the playwrights would create a stronger ending that gives more thought to why the niggerization process was imposed on black people but especially black boys and men in the first place. My prayer is that they playwrights devote more of the end of the show toward how we can counteract and overcome niggerization’s perilous effects on and in the lives of black men, the black family, and ultimately our entire society. Ase!
[1] These issues of racist imagery and internalization are covered and discussed brilliantly in Edward Blum’s book, W. E. B. Du Bois: American Prophet and M.K. Asante’s book, It's Bigger than Hip Hop: The Rise of the Post-Hip-Hop Generation.
[2] By software, I am drawing a certain analogy to computers. Our physical bodies, down to our genetic makeup, constitute human hardware. Different ethnic groups’ behaviors, beliefs, and identities along with shared histories, religions, and mythologies—in total, our cultures—constitute human software. Thus, if we understand that “being a nigga” is one specific culture with particular dimensions, we can define what behaviors, beliefs, myths, and modes of identity constitute such a culture. From there, we can “reprogram” and redefine our “cultural software” so that we can socialize black boys to avoid the pathologies that accompany the internalization of niggerization in American society.
Lawrence Brown is a political activist, public health consultant, and history aficionado. He has partnered with community groups in East Baltimore to devise strategies to assist residents who were displaced from their community by EBDI and Johns Hopkins University. Lawrence has collaborated with the labor advocacy group Community Churches United and testified at Baltimore council hearings regarding displacement, development, and local hiring practices. He is also an assistant professor of public health at Morgan State University.
America’s Jews: Anti-Black Violence in Baltimore and the State of Black-Jewish Relations
Black on Black Crime: Really?
Black Church 101: What Activists need to know about this revolutionary agent
Charm City Boys Presents the CCB Pride Show!!
Free Community Celebration- Black Male Identity Project
No Love for the Black Power Movement, Misrepresenting the Civil Rights Movement
Black August Honors Freedom Fighters
Women In Black Host Vigil
Review: Marshall Law- The Life & TImes of a Baltimore Black Panther
Video: Dr. W. Randy Short: "Baltimore is the Greatest Black Community!"
Reflections On Black Friday 2012 Walmart Protest
More articles by Lawrence Brown
In Charm City, Plutocratic Pimpin’ is Easy
Serving the Corporate Master: Unethical Research and the Misuse of Science in Baltimore and Avatar
A Discussion About Gentrification and Displacement in Baltimore
Avarice and Avatar in Charm City: Stepping Up the Fight Against Displacement and Dispossession
More articles by topic
Becoming the Media: An Interview with Joshua Stephens
Anti-Fascist Struggle and Race in the Face of Golden Dawn: A Greek Anarchist Responds
The United States of Fear with Arun Gupta
Vijay Prashad presents "The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South"
What Happens to a Dream Deferred?
United Workers Celebration of Fair Development Victories
Why Would You Want to Force Someone to Have a Kid? the Sane Person Asks
Icons in Their Own Words: A "Left of the Dial" Review
Let's Talk About Porn : An Interview
8 Great Books, Summer-ized
Future Imperfect: An Education Report for Tense Times
MOB Conference
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What Is a Waiver of Citation in a Divorce Case?
By Mike Broemmel
The start of a divorce case in all 50 states involves a two-prong process. First, a petition for divorce is filed. Second, the divorce petition is served, or formally delivered, to the spouse not filing for divorce. All states permit the non-filing spouse to waive service of the divorce paperwork, if she so desires. Although each state has its own process through which a party to a divorce may waive service, there are some common characteristics.
Purpose of the Citation
The citation, called a summons in some states, serves a crucial function in a divorce case. As a practical matter, the citation notifies a person that his spouse has filed for divorce. From a legal standpoint, the service or delivery of the citation on the non-filing spouse brings him under the jurisdiction of the court. The law requires that a court obtain jurisdiction over a person before it may issue any order affecting his person or property.
Process for Waiving Service of Citation
Despite some minor variations from one state to another, the process for waiving service of a citation is simple. The court clerk maintains a waiver of citation form. The waiver form states that the defendant, or respondent, in a divorce case was given the petition and other paperwork associated with the case by the plaintiff, or petitioner. The waiver advises that the defendant voluntarily enters her appearance in the case and submits to the court's jurisdiction. The defendant signs the form, typically in the presence of a notary public. After signing, the form is returned to the court and filed by the court clerk, concluding the waiver process.
Divorce is never easy, but we can help. Learn More
Effect of Waiving Service of Citation
Waiving serving of the citation allows the court to begin issuing orders that affect the interests of the defendant. The defendant cannot complain at a later date that the court does not have jurisdiction over him because the sheriff, or some other duly designated individual, did not serve divorce papers on him.
Failure to Waive Service of Citation
The failure to waive service of the citation requires the sheriff, or another duly designated individual, to serve the petition and related documents on the defendant on the plaintiff's behalf. Generally, the court cannot proceed until this is accomplished.
How to Serve Divorce Papers in Texas
Law Offices of Thomas P. Jackson: Filing for Divorce
Waiver of Citation
Cornell University Law School - Legal Information Institute: Divorce and Separation: An Overview
Texas Rules Project: Rule 742: Service of Citation
How to Divorce a Person Out of the Country
Divorcing someone who does not live in the United States can be a little like threading a needle in a hurricane -- very difficult, but not necessarily impossible. The divorce process is the same no matter where your spouse lives; it depends on the laws in your state. Serving him with a copy of your divorce petition is the challenge, and service is required by law in all states to begin your proceedings.
What Happens After You File for an Uncontested Divorce in Georgia?
An uncontested divorce in the state of Georgia requires the agreement of both spouses as to property division, spousal and child support, and visitation. Once both spouses sign off on the Martial Settlement Agreement, the judge may approve the divorce without any further action by the parties. If a final hearing is required, only one spouse appears before the judge to obtain the judge's signature on the divorce decree, after which the divorce is final.
Can the Opposing Party File for Decree of Divorce?
An opposing party in a divorce case is called the respondent, because he responds to the initial petition that begins the divorce process. Some states require a complaint for divorce rather than a petition. In that case, the opposing party is called the defendant. The respondent, or defendant, can file for his own divorce decree by filing a cross-petition for divorce, also sometimes called a counterclaim. When a respondent files his own cross-petition he might have to pay a filing fee, but initiating his own divorce case allows him to present his side of the story in greater detail than is allowed by simply responding to his spouse's paperwork.
Divorce Overview Check Divorce Pricing View Divorce Sample
The Inability to Serve Divorce Papers in Texas
It's frustrating when the respondent in a lawsuit is dodging process, especially in a divorce case. Ordinarily, a ...
What Happens If Divorce Papers Go Unsigned?
During the divorce process, the court and individual spouses’ attorneys ask both parties to sign agreements, petitions ...
Can a Person Get Divorced Here in the Unites States if His Wife Is in Mexico?
Divorce courts in the United States can hear cases only if they have jurisdiction over the parties. You may file for ...
What if Your Spouse Refuses to Be Served Divorce Papers in NY State?
If you are seeking a divorce in the state of New York and your spouse refuses to receive the papers, you may still ...
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CREDIT by Mathew Timmons
Full - $199.99
Hardcover, 800 pages, full color
Blanc Press, September 2009
Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 1.75 inches
download price: $299.99
“Almost all of America’s wealthiest citizens are poorer this year.”
CREDIT is an 800 page, large format, full color, hardbound book, released by Blanc Press in Los Angeles–the longest, most expensive book publishable through the online service, lulu.com. Divided into two sections, Part A: Credit–26 parts (a-z) and Part 2: Debit–10 parts (1-10), CREDIT is a highly revealing and emotional work chronicling a personal tale of credit.
Now Announcing a shortened, condensed, more affordable version of CREDIT!
BUY THE A, D, O’S & 1, 6, 10′S OF CREDIT NOW!
The a, d, o’s & 1, 6, 10′s of CREDIT
Blanc Press, December 2011
Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
In late spring 2007 as an irrational exuberance and promise of financial fortune hung in the air, mailboxes were filled with generous and gracefully worded offers of credit. Just over two years later, in midsummer 2009, the shape of the financial environment changed radically and mailboxes still filled up with statements of credit. Something had to change, offer turned to obligation.
Retailing for $199.99, CREDIT is a book the author himself lacks the cash or credit to buy.
Mathew Timmons’ CREDIT has been roundly endorsed by a number of artists, writers, editors and critics, including: Harold Abramowitz, Stan Apps, Marcus Civin, Brian Joseph Davis, Ryan Daley, Craig Dworkin, Brad Fliss, Lawrence Giffin, James Hoff, Maximus Kim, Matthew Klane, Janne Larsen, Matthias Merkel Hess, William Moor, Joseph Mosconi, Holly Myers, Sawako Nakayasu, Sianne Ngai, Ariel Pink, Vanessa Place, Dan Richert, Ronald Quinn Rudlong Jr., Ara Shirinyan, Danny Snelson, Erika Staiti, Brian Kim Stefans, Robert Summers, Rodrigo Toscano, Matias Viegener and Steven Zultanski.
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Northcote Parkinson, C
Cyril Northcote Parkinson (1909–1993) is rather better known for being the inventor (or codifier) of Parkinson’s Law: that 'work expands to fill the time available for its completion.' He was a naval historian, and after being demobbed in 1945, was appointed lecturer in history at the University of Liverpool. In 1950 he became Raffles Professor of History at the University of Malaysia in Singapore. He wrote extensively: there was an adult naval series as well as naval history, and biographies of Jeeves and Hornblower.
He wrote one children’s book: Ponies Plot. At the time he wrote it, he was living in Guernsey, where the household included :
'three children, two ponies (Fairy and Spice), one dog (Shandy) and one ginger cat called Sherry. Fairy is a Welsh Pony so musically talented that she might have had a career in Grand Opera. Spice is very small, comes from Dartmoor, and is popular in the Pony Club. Shandy is believed to be Dalmation in parts but these are not the parts you see. Sherry once caught a mouse, or so he says. Spice, to whom this book is dedicated, was given the first copy; and ate it.'
Ponies Plot is unlike virtually every other pony book. As C Northcote Parkinson says in the preface:
'In the ordinary run of pony books the story centres on a small girl who dreams of ponies, wants a pony, secures a pony for nothing (saving it from ill-treatment in a gypsy encampment), rides it with growing confidence and ends with First Prize in the Hunter Trials. Among ponies, however, the same story would be told with the pony as hero. Ill-treated and underfed, Blackie dreams about children, wants a child for himself, plans to attract Brenda’s attention, defeats the scheme of a rival pony, saves the girl from drowning, wins over the reluctant parents and finally (guess what?) wins First Prize in the Hunter Trials.'
The book is very easy to find in its Puffin incarnation; and certainly not impossible as a hardback.
Ponies Plot
The Wikipedia article on C Northcote Parkinson
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Green, Sylvia
British author Sylvia Green was an early starter: she wrote a play for her Girl Guides pack, and two editions of a newspaper. She started writing in earnest when her children were small and she was working from home as a book keeper. Her first book was the splendidly titled A Parsnip Called Val (1997), which was inspired by a Tesco till receipt. Since then she’s written many books aimed at the younger reader, amongst which are two equine stories: The Christmas Pony and The Christmas Wish. These form part of a Christmas-themed series, which combines the themes of Christmas, and rescuing and caring for animals.
Finding the books
Easy to find.
Sylvia Green on Wordpool
The Christmas Pony, Scholastic, London, 2001, 128 pp, illus Mike Rowe
Reissued as: The Best Christmas Ever: The Christmas Pony (contains two stories, one about a cat)
Scholastic, London, 2003, 244 pp.
The Christmas Wish, Scholastic, London, 2004
Galaxy, Bath, 2007, large print edition
Books Of Green, Sylvia
The Christmas Pony
The Christmas Wish
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Research article | Open | Published: 16 August 2015
The association between periodontal disease and metabolic syndrome among outpatients with diabetes in Jordan
Rola Alhabashneh1,2,
Yousef Khader2,
Zaid herra1 &
Farah Asa’ad1
The Erratum to this article has been published in Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders 2015 14:76
To date, conflicting results have been reported about the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and periodonttitis.
Two hundred and eighty patients with type 2 diabetes were recruited from outpatients visiting diabetes clinics in Islamic Hospital, Amman-Jordan. The oral hygiene and the periodontal status of all teeth, excluding third molars, were assessed using the plaque index of Silness and Löe, the gingival index of Löe and Silness, probing pocket depth (PPD), and clinical attachment level (CAL). Data were analyzed using the general linear model multivariate procedure with average PPD, average CAL, percent of teeth with CAL ≥3 mm, and percent of teeth with PPD ≥3 mm as outcome variables and diabetes, MetS and its individual components as predictors.
Overall, 83.2 % of patients with diabetes had MetS. In the multivariate analysis, patients with MetS had a significantly more severe periodontitis, as measured by average PPD and average CAL (P < 0.005). The extent of periodontitis, as measured by the percent of teeth with CAL ≥3 mm and the percent of teeth with PPD ≥3 mm, was also significantly greater among patients with MetS (P < 0.005). As the number of metabolic components additional to diabetes increased, the odds of having periodontitis increased, and the odds were greatest when all the components additional to diabetes were present (OR = 10.77, 95 % CI: 2.23 -51.95).
Patients with MetS displayed more severe and extensive periodontitis. Having other MetS components additional to diabetes increased the odds of having periodontitis.
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a complex collection of components that are thought to arise from a visceral fat-type obesity involving hypertension and abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism [1]. The prevalence of MetS increases with age and varies with ethnicity and race [2]. The prevalence of MetS among adults in USA is 22.9 % [3], which is comparable to its prevalence among Canadian adult population (19.1 %) [4]. Higher MetS prevalence rates have been observed in the Eastern Mediterranean countries and Arab populations [5–9]. In Jordan, the prevalence of MetS among adults was alarmingly high (36.6 %) [10]. Lower prevalence of MetS has been found among European adults [11].
Periodontal disease is a group of infectious diseases triggered by periodontopathogens [12]. It is considered the most common chronic infection worldwide and in the US [13, 14]. Periodontitis and MetS are multi-factorial diseases sharing a common inflammatory pathway. Many people with MetS have a low grade systemic inflammation which is reported by elevated levels of inflammatory mediators such as C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrotic factor- α (TNF-α). Moreover, people who have periodontitis, which is a chronic inflammation, also have elevated levels of inflammatory markers (CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α) [15, 16]. There is growing evidence suggesting an association between periodontal disease and MetS components since positive correlation between obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia with periodontal disease has been reported [17, 18]. MetS has been shown to be associated with the prevalence, extent and severity of periodontal disease [15, 19–21] and a recent systematic review concluded that subjects affected by MetS are nearly twice more likely to have periodontitis than the rest of the population [22]. Furthermore, periodontal disease has effects on the glycemic control [23] and lipid metabolism [24].
This study is built on the concept that the three diseases (MetS, periodontal disease and diabetes mellitus) share common pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to assess the association between MetS and periodontal disease among patients with type 2 diabetes in Jordan.
Study population and sampling
The study was approved by the University Ethical Committee at Jordan University of Science and Technology. The participants were recruited from outpatients visiting the diabetes clinics in Islamic Hospital Amman-Jordan, over a period of six months between June-November 2011. All participants were interviewed and examined after they signed a written consent form. Patients were selected using systematic random sampling technique by choosing every third patient (i.e. patients registered with numbers such as 3, 6, 9, 12…) attending the clinics. About half of the interviewed patients met the inclusion criteria. Patients with a history of a systemic condition or medication use that might influence the severity of periodontitis were excluded (i.e. patients with a history of thyroid diseases, chronic renal problems and connective tissue diseases). Pregnant women and patients who were edentulous and those who had undergone periodontal treatment within the preceding 6 months were also excluded.
The power of this study to detect the association between MetS and periodontal disease given our sample size was calculated. To detect a minimal odds ratio of 3 at alpha level of 5 % in a sample that included 233 patients with MetS and assuming that 14 % of patients without MetS had periodontal disease, the power was calculated as 99 %. The power calculations were performed using Sample size online calculator (http://sampsize.sourceforge.net/iface/s3.html).
Data were collected by a questionnaire answered by patients through personal interview and clinical examination. The questionnaire included questions about socio-demographic variables, medical history, smoking history, previous dental history, oral hygiene practice and clinical findings associated with periodontal examination. Participants were assured of the confidentiality of all obtained information and that collected data will only be used for scientific purposes.
Only patients with type 2 diabetes were included in this study. Patients were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus if they had fasting plasma glucose (FPG) ≥ 100 mg/dl or if they were taking medications for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Control of diabetes mellitus was investigated through glycated hemoglobin test (HbA1c). The FPG and HbA1c values were taken from recent tests included in patients’ files.
Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥ 130 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 85 mmHg, or under treatment of previously diagnosed hypertension as reported in patients’ medical records. Blood pressure was measured by a qualified nurse using a mercury sphygmomanometer on the same day of periodontal examination.
The diagnosis of hyperlipidemia was made by an endocrinologist based on the measurements of triglycerides (TG) and high density lipoproteins (HDL): TG ≥ 150 mg/dl and/or (HDL cholesterol level < 40 mg/dl in males and < 50 mg/dl in females), or if the patient was currently on specific treatment for lipid abnormalities.
The participants were diagnosed as obese by measuring the waist circumference (WC), using a circumference measuring tape. The readings were rounded to the nearest centimeter. The diagnosis was made if the waist circumference was ≥ 94 cm for men and ≥ 80 cm for women. The weight was measured using a mechanical flat scale to the nearest kilogram, and height was measured to the nearest centimeter using a measuring rod. All these measurement were taken at the same day of examination, with the participants wearing light clothing and no shoes.
MetS definition
MetS was defined according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definition [25]. According to the IDF definition, a person was defined as having MeS if he or she had central obesity (defined as waist circumference ≥94 cm for men and ≥80 cm for women, with ethnicity specific values for other groups) plus any two of the following four factors: 1) Raised TG level: ≥150 mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L), or specific treatment for this lipid abnormality, 2) Reduced HDL cholesterol: <40 mg/dL (1.03 mmol/L) in males and <50 mg/dL (1.29 mmol/L) in females, or specific treatment for this lipid abnormality, 3) Raised blood pressure: systolic BP ≥130 or diastolic BP ≥85 mm Hg, or treatment of previously diagnosed hypertension, 4) Raised fasting plasma glucose (FPG) ≥100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L), or previously diagnosed type 2 diabetes.
Periodontal clinical examination
The oral hygiene and the periodontal status of all teeth, excluding third molars, were assessed using, plaque index (PI) of Silness & Löe (1964) [26], probing pocket depth (PPD), and clinical attachment loss (CAL). Sterile dental mirrors and explorers were used to assess plaque accumulation and gingival status. Hu-Friedy periodontal probes with Williams’s markings (Diatech, Switzerland) were used to measure PPD and CAL. All teeth (excluding third molars), and six surfaces of each studied tooth (mesio-facial, mid-facial, disto-facial, mesio-lingual, mid-lingual, and disto-lingual) were assessed and scored for PI, GI, PPD and CAL. Plaque index was scored as follows: 0 = no plaque/debris 1 = A film of plaque adhering to the free gingival margin and adjacent area of the tooth. 2 = Moderate accumulation of soft deposit s within the gingival pocket, or the tooth and gingival margin which can be seen with the naked eye. 3 = Abundance of soft matter within the gingival pocket and/or on the tooth and gingival margin. The highest score of each reading was taken into consideration. Data were recorded on periodontal examination form.
Disease extent was defined by the percentage of deep pockets. The mean of the deepest reading for PPD and CAL was calculated within each mouth by dividing the value of deepest pockets on the total number of deep pockets. Periodontitis was defined as presence of four or more teeth with highest reading of PPD ≥ 3 mm and CAL ≥ 3 mm [27].
Reliability of questionnaire and periodontal examination
Clinical examinations were performed by one skilled examiner (RA). Before the beginning of the study, the measurement reliability was determined on the basis of examinations performed on 10 patients with severe periodontitis. Of the replications, 98 % were within 1 mm for PDs, and 97 % were within 1 mm for CALs.
Data management and analysis
The Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS Inc., version 15, Chicago, IL, USA) was used for data processing and data analysis. Characteristics of subjects’ variables were described using frequency distribution for categorical variables and mean and standard deviation for continuous variables. The Chi2 test was used to assess the association between categorical variables.
The multivariate analysis of the association between different disease status and periodontal parameters (average PPD, average CAL) and percentage of teeth with (PPD ≥3 mm, PPD ≥4 mm, PPD ≥5 mm, PPD ≥6 mm, CAL ≥3 mm, CAL ≥4 mm, CAL ≥5 mm and CAL ≥6 mm) was conducted using the General Linear Model procedure. Multivariate binary logistic regression was conducted to determine the association between each disease group (i.e. group of patients with MetS and group of patients with diabetes) and the prevalence of periodontal disease after adjusting for important variables. All variables that were significantly associated with periodontal disease constituted the best regression model. The association between obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, with diabetes and periodontal disease was tested, in separate models, for each disease group after adding that indicator to the best model. The association between diabetes, the increasing number of MetS components and periodontal disease was tested too. The statistical significance of the two-way interactions between independent variables was assessed with the use of forward stepwise regression.
The two-way interaction terms, one at a time, were added in the model containing all the main effects and were assessed for their significance using the likelihood ratio test. Crude odds ratios (ORs) and their 95 % confidence interval (CI) were calculated. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
This study included a total of 280 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Overall, 83.2 % of patients with diabetes had MetS. The patients aged between 21 and 80 years with a mean (±SD) age of 53.8 (±9.6) years. Socio-demographic, dental, anthropometric, clinical, and relevant characteristics of the participants are shown in Tables 1 and 2. About half (50.7 %) of patients were males and 49.3 % were females. About one third of patients (32 %) had university level education. Almost 30 % of patients reported brushing their teeth twice daily. Nearly half (51.8 %) of patients had duration of diabetes of ≤ 5 years, 28 % were taking insulin therapy, and 93.2 % were on oral hypoglycemic medications. Only 21.8 % of patients were well controlled (HbA1c ≤6.5 %). The majority (87.5 %) of the participants were obese, 87.1 % had elevated blood pressure, 65 % had increased triglycerides level (≥150 mg/dl), and 46.1 % had low HDL level.
Table 1 Socio-demographic, dental and relevant characteristics of 280 patients with type 2 diabetes
Table 2 Anthropometric, clinical and relevant characteristics of 280 patients with type 2 diabetes
Table 3 illustrates the extent and severity of periodontal disease according to MetS after adjusting for average PI, age, family income, residency area, smoking, teeth brushing and number of missing teeth. Patients with MetS had a significantly higher mean PPD (P < 0.005) and CAL (P = 0.001). The extent of periodontal disease was also significantly higher in patients with MetS as measured by average percent of teeth with the deepest CAL ≥3 mm (P < 0.005), CAL ≥4 mm (P < 0.005), and CAL ≥5 mm (P < 0.005).
Table 3 Extent and severity of periodontal disease according to metabolic syndrome (MetS) among 280 patients with type 2 diabetes
Table 4 demonstrates the extent and severity of periodontal disease according to the number of metabolic abnormalities in the multivariate analysis. As the number of metabolic abnormalities in addition to diabetes increased; the severity of periodontal disease, as measured by average PPD and average CAL, significantly increased. The increasing number of components of MetS was significantly associated with higher extent of periodontal disease as measured by the average percent of teeth with CAL ≥3 mm, ≥4 mm, ≥5 mm, and ≥6 mm.
Table 4 Extent and severity of periodontal disease according to the number of metabolic syndrome (MetS) components among 280 patients with type 2 diabetes
The prevalence of periodontal disease according to MetS and its components is shown in Table 5. The prevalence of periodontal disease was higher among those who had MetS compared to those who did not have MetS (44.6 % vs. 14.9 %). The prevalence of periodontal disease in patients with diabetes was significantly increased as the number of metabolic components increased (P < 0.005). Diabetes mellitus was associated with significantly higher prevalence of periodontal disease when accompanied with increased waist circumference (P = 0.011), increased triglycerides (P = 0.005), and decreased HDL (P = 0.001), but not when accompanied with hypertension (P = 0.119).
Table 5 Prevalence of periodontal disease among 280 patients with diabetes mellitus according to metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components
Model I in Table 6 shows that patients with MetS were almost 3 times (OR = 3.28, 95 % CI: 1.3-8.3) more likely to have periodontal disease compared to patients without MetS. In model II, patients with diabetes were about 6 times (OR = 5.73, 95 % CI: 1.15-28.59) more likely to have periodontal disease if they had two more components of MetS compared to those who had one additional component only. Patients who had all the other components of metabolic syndrome had much higher odds of having periodontal disease (OR = 10.77, 95 % CI: 2.23-51.95) compared to those who had one additional component only. In model III, of the individual components of MetS, only HDL level was significantly associated with increased odds of having periodontal disease (OR = 1.99, 95 % CI: 1.15-3.46).
Table 6 Multivariate analysis of association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components with periodontal disease in separate models among 280 patients with diabetes mellitus
This study showed a positive association between periodontitis and MetS. Periodontitis was more common and severe in diabetic patients with MetS in Jordan compared to patients with no MetS. As the number of metabolic components additional to diabetes increased the severity and extent of periodontal disease increased.
Our study is the first in the Middle East that explores the association between MetS and periodontal disease among patients with diabetes. Other studies compared periodontal disease between patients with MetS and patients without MetS only without investigating the effect of individual components of MetS.
The findings of this study are consistent with the study conducted by Khader et al. (2008) [19] in Jordan and are in support of other studies‘ findings [20, 21]. Shimazaki et al. (2007) [28] reported that MetS is associated with increased risk of periodontal disease among Japanese women. On the other hand, Morita et al. (2010) [16] concluded that presence of periodontal pockets was associated with a positive conversion of MetS components, suggesting that preventing periodontal disease may prevent MetS. These studies may propose a two way relationship. However, longitudinal and interventional studies should be performed to investigate such a relationship.
In this study when each component additional to diabetes was analyzed separately, increased waist circumference (WC) and low HDL level were associated with significantly higher extent and severity of periodontal disease. Increased triglycerides (TG) level was associated with significant increase in the extent but not severity of periodontal disease, while hypertension was not significantly associated with either extent or severity of periodontal disease. This was comparable with the results reported by Shimazaki et al. (2007) [28], as increased WC, low HDL and fasting blood sugar had significant relationships with periodontal disease.
In contrast, Kushiyama et al. (2009) [20] reported that of the five MetS components, only high blood pressure and low HDL were each significantly associated with deep probing depths.
When the extent and severity of periodontal disease were analyzed according to the number of MetS components in multivariate analysis, the number of components additional to diabetes increased was associated with increased extent and severity of periodontal disease. This finding was consistent with results of other studies [15, 19, 20, 28]. It is important to mention that these studies were designed to compare periodontal disease between patients with MetS and patients without MetS, but not in patients who had diabetes and MetS. In this study, the effect of diabetes on periodontal disease was the principal factor to which the effect of other components was added, while the other studies did not take into consideration the well established relationship between diabetes and periodontal disease.
In our study, obesity was significantly associated with higher extent and severity of periodontal disease. This finding was consistent with the findings of another study in Jordan by Khader et al. (2009) [29]. Low HDL level was strongly associated with increased extent and severity of periodontal disease, while elevated TG levels were associated with significant increase in average CAL (severity) and percent of teeth with deepest CAL ≥ 3, ≥ 4 mm (extent). These findings are in agreement with the study conducted by Fentoğlu et al. (2009) [30]. However, Saxlin et al. (2008) [31] found no association between level of serum lipids and periodontal disease in normal-weight subjects, while obese subjects with high TG levels, and/or low HDL levels could be at high risk of periodontal disease.
Diabetic patients who had MetS had significantly higher prevalence of periodontal disease than those without MetS. This finding confirmed the results of Li et al. (2009) [15] and Kushiyama et al. (2009) [20]. In this study the prevalence of periodontitis in patients with diabetes was significantly increased as the number of MetS components increased. This was similar to other studies; Kushyiama et al. (2009) [20] concluded that subjects with three, four or five components of MetS exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of periodontal disease and Li et al. (2009) [15] found that prevalence of periodontal disease was less in subjects bearing fewer than two of metabolic components. Also, Hasegawa et al. (2004) [32] observed that Japanese urban women who had three or more components had a higher prevalence of periodontal disease than those who had less than two components.
In this study only low HDL level was significantly associated with increased odds of having periodontal disease in the multivariate analysis. Alike, Shimazaki et al. (2007) [28] reported that of the five components of MetS, low HDL level had the highest odds ratio and was statistically significant for a greater PPD and CAL. Similarly, Nibali et al. (2007) [33] reported that periodontitis exhibited a significant association with low HDL, high LDL, and elevated fasting blood sugar.
In conclusion, patients with MetS displayed more severe and extensive periodontitis. Having other MetS components additional to diabetes increased the odds of having periodontitis. Given the study design we used, our findings reflect the cumulative and additive effects of metabolic abnormalities on the risk of periodontal disease. Longitudinal and interventional studies are needed to confirm the study findings.
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Fentoğlu O, Oz G, Taşdelen P, Uskun E, Aykaç Y, Bozkurt FY. Periodontal status in subjects with hyperlipidemia. J Periodontol. 2009;80(2):267–73.
Saxlin T, Suominen-Taipale L, Kattainen A, Marniemi J, Knuuttila M, Ylostalo P. Association between serum lipid levels and periodontal infection. J Clin Periodonto. 2008;35(12):1040–7.
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Source of funding statement
This study was partially supported by the University of Science and Technology Research Fund.
Preventive Department-Periodontics, College of Dentistry, Jordan University of Science and Technology, PO Box: 3030, Irbid, 22110, Jordan
Rola Alhabashneh
, Zaid herra
& Farah Asa’ad
Department of Community Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, PO Box: 3030, Irbid, 22110, Jordan
& Yousef Khader
Search for Rola Alhabashneh in:
Search for Yousef Khader in:
Search for Zaid herra in:
Search for Farah Asa’ad in:
Correspondence to Rola Alhabashneh.
RA main researcher, supervise data collection, and dental examination writing manuscript. YK data analyses, editted the manuscript. ZH data collection, examination, thesis writing. FA writing results, manuscript editting. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40200-015-0207-5.
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New First Pooch Is Arriving Soon
Warren Harding with Laddie Boy Library Of Congress / Getty ENLARGE + Print EmailShare ReprintsRelated
During the dog days of last summer, perhaps the most important looming decision facing Barack Obama was choosing a dog for his girls. Way back, as he set out on this quest for the Presidency, he made the one campaign promise he absolutely could not break: that when it was all over, whatever the outcome, his daughters could get a dog. And if they ended up at Pennsylvannia Avenue the pup would certainly not be the first dog or pet in the White House so would have a long legacy of presidential pets to follow and live up to.
Things have changed since the days when George Washington could name his hounds Drunkard, Tipler and Tipsy. Warren Harding’s Airedale Laddie Boy had a valet and occupied a hand-carved chair at Cabinet meetings. Ulysses S. Grant told his White House staff that if anything happened to his son’s beloved Newfoundland, they’d all be fired. Teddy Roosevelt had, along with a badger, a toad, some snakes and a pig, a bull terrier named Pete who once ripped the pants of a French ambassador. Cousin Franklin’s dog Fala had a press secretary, starred in a movie and was named an honorary private in the Army. George H.W. Bush’s springer spaniel Millie wrote a book, which sold more copies than the President’s autobiography. And then, of course, there was Checkers. Harry Truman supposedly once said, You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog. ( By Nancy Gibbs/TIME)
It’s hard enough to pick the right dog. But adding the fact that you may be the First Family and need a hypoallergenic breed increases the difficulty of the process. So the American Kennel Club (AKC), hoping to help ensure the 23rd purebred dog into the White House, conducted a survey. The public could even vote online for the type of dog they thought the Obamas should get for the AKC survey, and other groups sponsored similar surveys. Since first daughter Malia has allergies, the AKC limited the ballot choice to five hypoallergenic breeds. It suggested the bichon frise with its history as a companion to French noblemen implying qualification of the breed for the White House. But perhaps it was not the exact image the Obamas were looking for. It recommended the miniature schnauzer as an excellent watchdog, for a little added security (although probably not needed), and the soft-coated wheaten terrior with its sweet-temperament as a positive goodwill ambassador, though it “must be handled firmly and with consistency,” which also may not have been the ideal characteristic choice for the candidate of Change.
The AKC’s preference for purebreds, however, missed the obvious stellar opportunity for the Obamapup. Surely a self-proclaimed postpartisan reformer, who promised to ‘reach across the aisle’, would lean toward some stunningly blended mutt, a rescued shelter dog or at least one of the American Canine Hybrid Club’s 500 plus registered hybrids. Afterall, the hybrid pooch or designer dog was bred to give you the best of both breeds: a Labradoodle, a Peke-a-Poo, a Bagle (half basset, half beagle) or a Chiweenie (half chihuahua, half dachshund). A bully pulpit seeking candidate might like the Bullypit (a bulldog-pit-bull mix), or he could go for a Sharmatian–part Chinese Shar-Pei, part Dalmatian–and get the whole East-and-West, black-and-white thing going in one single pooch.
There was even a suggestion during the campaign, that their decision for a type of dog, if not actually getting one before the election, should be moved up, given the competition from the ‘McCainines’. An AP–Yahoo News poll last June (2008) found that pet owners favored John McCain over Obama, 42% to 37%, with an even bigger margin among dog owners. One participant explained that it “tells you that they’re responsible at least for something, for the care of something.” Or, in the McCains’ case, “many somethings”: their menagerie includes a slew of fish, some parakeets, turtles Cuff and Link, Oreo the cat and four dogs, including terriers Lucy and Desi. Obama could take comfort in his 14-point lead among non–pet owners, except that they form a definate minority of U.S. households.
The Obamas were pre-warned, that although a good one, they were definitely looking at another major life change by getting a dog for the first time. “A dog was never an option in the apartment where I grew up”, said Obama, “and my daughters knew that training the dog they so desperately wanted was nothing compared with training me to accept one”.
Well it is now two and a half months into the presidency and still no first dog, and it seems like the whole world, at least the pet loving world, is waiting for their choice and the arrival of the first pooch. The word from First Lady Michelle is April, after their Spring Break family vacation, and possibly a Portuguese Water Dog… and not a puppy (which could mean that in the end the AKC got their next purebred into the White House afterall). Senator Ted Kennedy, whose neice Caroline got a pony while in the White House, highly recommended the breed. He has two. Their coat is a single layer and does not shed. In most cases, these dogs are hypo- allergenic, making them a good choice for those that have allergies.
So, there will be a new pooch frolicking on the South Lawn by the end of this month.
The next obvious question for speculation, of course, is the perfect name for the next first dog. Some suggest the Obamas should just get two, one for each of the girls, and call them Hope and Change. Of course there are others that suggest getting two dogs but calling them Smoke and Mirror or Fear and “Quo”, for Status Quo, would be the best call, but that would be a subject for another type of blog or article.
President Bush and His Pets
Arrival of New First Pooch Imminent
Bush and Barney, Just Like Old Times
By Marion Algier/Ask Marion – Posted – Just One More Pet
April 3, 2009 Posted by justonemorepet | Animal or Pet Related Stories, Animal Rescues, Just One More Pet, Pets, Political Change, Success Stories | airedale, AKC, American Canine Hybrid Club, American KEnnel Club, American Short Hair, animals, badger, Bagel, Barney, basset hound, bichon frise, blood hound, Bo, bull terrior, bulldog, bully pulpit, bullypit, Canine Hybrids, Cats, change, Checkers, chihuahua, Chineses Shar-Pei, Chiweenie, Cuff and Link, dachshund, dalmatian, Designer Dogs, Dog Lovers, dog owners, dogs, Drunkard, Fala, Fear, First Dog, First Dog Misdeeds, first pet, fish, Get a Dog, Hope, hounds, hybrid dogs, hypo-allergenic, hypoallergenic breeds, India, John McCain, kitty, Labradoodle, Labrador Retriever, Laddie Boy, Lucy and Desi, McCainines, menagerie, Millie, miniature schnauzer, Mirror, Mrs. Beasley, mutts, Newfoundland, non-pet owners in minority in U.S., Obamapup, Oreo, parakeets, Peke-a-Poo, Pekinese, pet lovers, pet loving world, pet names, pet owners, Pete, pig, pit bull, pony, pooch, poodle, Portie, Portuguese Water Dog, President Bush, President Grant, President Harding, President Obama, President Roosevelt, President Truman, President Washington, Presidential Pets, purebreds, Quo, Rescue Dog, Scottish Terrior, Senator Kennedy, Sharmatian, shelter dog, Smoke, snakes, Spotty, springer spaniel, terriors, Tipler, Tipsy, toad, turtles, wheaten terrier, Willie | 10 Comments
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Book Review: The Haunting of Hill House
2014-09-30 / Kevin Holton / Leave a comment
I know I tweeted that I’d review The Handmaid’s Tale next, but I’ve been swamped with various obligations. Here are my thoughts on The Haunting of Hill House, and I’ll post the other soon enough. Thank you all for your patience with my absenteeism.
Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting of Hill House is arguably her most well-known work of long fiction, and it continues to stand as a foreboding tale that should be included on the shelves of any if not every horror aficionado. A tightly written narrative with an intimate set of characters, this story winds its way from a suburban beginning only to coil around readers, trapping them in the eponymous Hill House, a building with angles intentionally build to confuse and deceive, its rooms twisting labyrinthine through the darkness as doors drift shut of their own accord.
Standing in defiance of modern horror trends that tend to rely on an extreme situation within the first few pages to hook reader interest, this novel specializes in a quiet, lurking disturbance. There are no situations designed to disgust or offend; the macabre elements do not lie in the ghosts that haunt Hill House so much as they lie in the events that haunt the characters. Eleanor Vance in particular seems to exist in sharp contrast to expectations of humanity—in one line she is introduced, and in the next, we are told she hated her now-deceased mother.
The plot itself invokes similar dread, focusing on Dr. John Montague, who calls Vance and Theodora (for whom no last name is given) to the house, not disclosing the fact that the ten other invited applicants declined. Luke Sanderson, nephew to the house’s owner, attends as part of Montague’s contract to examine the place for paranormal experiences. However, it is hinted earlier that such phenomena are not limited to the dead, as Vance is said to have called a rain of stones down on her house as a child while Theodora is shown to have some telepathic power. Throughout the book, she readers Vance’s mind, making the already-fragile woman question who Theodora is and just what awaits them all in such an unsettling place.
Montague does not explain what they’re looking for as he fears nothing will happen and he’ll look foolish, but after they’ve arrived and come to spend time within the warped rooms, the group finds Hill House has its share of paranormal activity. Readers must be patient to reach these scenes, which may be trouble for more youthful readers who are accustomed to reading books with intense situations in the first few pages. The first spectral event does not occur until page ninety-three, when Vance is awoken by a loud banging and her mother calling Eleanor.
When she fully wakes and realizes this is not possible, she flees to Theodora’s room, too afraid to venture into the hallway. They cling to each other and cry out as the banging grows louder, but it stops when Sanderson and Montague return. Theodora makes jokes about the incident, making Vance out to be foolish and excitable.
But what makes this novel unique is not the spirits of the house itself, but the gradual psychological decay of those that come to stay in it. Portrayed in such a way as to be simultaneously entrancing and terrifying, this work establishes Jackson as a skilled writer of the shadows that thrive the human mind, sheltered from all light and prying eyes, to be released only when the psyche cracks. The cycle of this book and the way the ending is, in retrospect, foreshadowed from the first pages is fittingly portrayed by Jackson herself, who uses the same lines to begin and end the story:
“Hill House, not sane, stood against its hill, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, its walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”
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The Kazakhstan Boxing Federation was established in 1959 as a successor of the Kazakhstan Boxing Section founded in 1941.
In 1992, the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation became an AIBA member and joined the Asian Boxing Confederation.
Timur Kulibayev is the President of the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation since January 2009.
At the first meeting of the AIBA Professional Boxing (APB) Executive Board held on March 21, 2012 at the AIBA Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Timur Kulibayev was appointed to the position of AIBA Vice President for APB with a unanimous decision and also became a member of the AIBA Executive Committee.
Following an initiative proposed by outstanding boxer Shokhr Bultekuly, Kazakhstan’s first master of sports in boxing, efforts were taken to develop boxing in Almaty through the Dinamo, Spartak and Medik Sports Clubs and in Karaganda through Ugolschik Sports Club.
The first individual and team boxing championship was held in Almaty for 50 boxers representing three sports clubs.
The National Boxing Section was established as part of the All-Union Boxing Section.
Boxing was developing rapidly. So many young Kazakhs enrolled in boxing clubs. A great input was made by Coach Davletkerei Mullayev at Dinamo and Coach Shokhr Bultekuly at Spartak. The section led by Coach A. Infland brought up promising and unique boxers.
At the USSR Championship, Makhmut Omarov and Askar Usenov took the third place and the fourth place accordingly. That was the first all-Union success of the Kazakhstan boxers.
Gennady Rozhkov was a finalist at the USSR Championship and as a bronze medalist at the World Youth and Students Festival in Bucharest he had become the first Kazakhstan boxer to attend an international tournament. On the same year, he joined the USSR National Team at the European Championship in Warsaw, Poland.
Igor Ivanov was a finalist at the USSR Championship.
Viktor Karimov was a bronze medalist at the USSR Championship and a bronze medalist at the 1st Spartakiad Games of the USSR Nations.
Abdysalan Nurmakhanov was a finalist at the USSR Championship.
The National Boxing Section established in 1941 was reorganized to the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation and joined the USSR Boxing Federation
At the Spartakiad Games of the USSR Nations, the Kazakhstan boxers had shown themselves by taking the fourth place and yielding only to the RSFSR team, Moscow team and Leningrad team
Anatoly Kadetov won the Spartakiad Games of the USSR Nations and became a USSR champion, and Abdysalan Nurmakhanov won a bronze medal.
Viktor Karimov was a USSR champion.
Vladimir Karimov and Abdysalan Nurmakhanov were the finalists of the USSR Championship.
Аbdysalan Nurmakhanov won the Games of Asia, Africa and Latin America (GANEFO Games) in Jakarta. He had very successful bouts in Denmark, Hungary, West Germany and other countries. He won two silver medals and three bronze medals at the USSR championships. In 1968, he became the first Kazakhstan boxer who was awarded with the title of USSR Honored Master of Sports
Yuri Seliverstov and Anatoly Kadetov were the bronze medalists at the USSR Championship.
Vladimir Karimov was a USSR champion.
Vladimir Karimov was a finalist at the USSR Championship and Viktor Minakov won a bronze medal at the USSR Championship.
Viktor Minakov and Abdysalan Nurmakhanov won bronze medals at the USSR Championship.
Marat Zhaksybayev, Boris Koshevin, Yuri Seliverstov and Viktor Minakov won bronze medals at the USSR Championship.
Zhandos Kukumov and Abdrashit Abdrakhmanov participated in the first USSR-USA Tournament in Las Vegas, USA.
Zhandos Kukumov and Abdrashit Abdrakhmanov were finalists at the USSR Championship.
Abdrashit Abdrakhmanov was a USSR champion.
Abdrashit Abdrakhmanov was a two-time USSR champion, and Anatoly Toropov won a bronze medal at the USSR Championship.
Oleg Gurov was the champion at the 5th Spartakiad Games of the USSR Nations, and Zhandos Kukumov and Anatoly Toropov took the second place. Yuri Khryanin, Viktor Grebenyuk, Abdrashit Abdrakhmanov and Marat Zhaksybayev won bronze medals. The team was again ranked 5th in the USSR.
Anatoly Toropov was a finalist at the USSR Championship.
Anatoly Toropov was a USSR champion, Bakhtai Sapeyev was a finalist at the USSR Championship, and Vasiliy Plakuschiy and Leonid Tleubayev were the bronze medalists.
Kazakhstan boxers took the fifth team place at the 6th Spartakiad Games of the USSR Nations
Vasiliy Plakuschiy and Alexander Shevchenko were finalists at the USSR Championship, and Tyulyugazy Tursenkanov was a bronze medalist at the USSR Championship.
Valery Rachkov was a USSR champion, and Vasiliy Plakuschiy, Bakhtai Sapeyev and Bolat Asembayev were bronze medalists at the USSR Championship.
Valery Rachkov was a USSR champion, and Vasiliy Plakuschiy was a finalist and Alexander Strelnikov won a bronze medal at the USSR Championship.
Valery Rachkov was the first Kazakhstan boxer to win the World Championship in Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Valery Rachkov was a USSR champion, and Vasiliy Plakuschiy and Viktor Demyanenko were finalists at the USSR Championship. Kairat Bukenov won a bronze medal at the USSR Championship.
Kazakhstan boxers took the 3rd team place and Kamil Safin was a champion at the 7th Spartakiad Games of the USSR Nations
Viktor Demyanenko was a USSR champion, Serik Nurkazov was a finalist of the USSR Championship, and Serik Konakbayev won a bronze medal at the USSR Championship
Serik Konakbayev and Viktor Demyanenko were champions of Europe in Cologne, Germany
Serik Konakbayev won the World Cup in New York, USA.
Viktor Demyanenko and Serik Konakbayev were USSR champions, and Serik Nurkazov was a finalist at the USSR Championship
Serik Konakbayev and Viktor Demyanenko won silver medals at the Moscow Olympic Games.
Serik Konakbayev won the World Cup in Montreal, Canada.
Serik Nurkazov won a bronze medal at the Europe Championship in Tampere, Finland.
Having won the Europe Championship in Tampere, Finland and the World Cup in Montreal, Canada for the second time, Serik Konakbayev was officially recognized as the world’s best amateur boxer.
Igor Mikhailov, Yeleusiz Dyusekov and Berik Nurmagambetov won bronze medals at the USSR Championship.
Serik Nurkazov was a USSR champion, and Yeleusiz Dyusekov was a finalist and Alexander Cherepanov won a bronze medal at the USSR Championship.
Kazakhstan boxers took the second team place at the 8th Spartakiad Games of the USSR Nations in Moscow. Erik Khakimov and Viktor Demyanenko were champions of the Spartakiad Games
Serik Nurkazov won the Europe Championship in Varna and Karimzhan Abdrakhmanov, Rashid Kabirov, Viktor Demyanenko and Alexander Miroshnichenko took the third place.
Serik Nurkazov and Beibut Yeszhanov won silver medals at the World Cup in Rome, Italy.
Viktor Demyanenko and Erik Khakimov were USSR champions and champions at the 8th Spartakiad Games of the USSR Nations, Alexander Cherepanov and Zhumatai Tusupov won bronze medals at the USSR Championship
Rashid Kabirov won the USSR Championship and was a finalist at the 8th Spartakiad Games of the USSR Nations.
At the Druzhba International Tournament, Karimzhan Abdrakhmanov and Serik Nurkazov won silver medals and Serik Konakbayev took the third place
Karimzhan Abdrakhmanov, Serik Nurkazov, Serik Konakbayev and Asylbek Kilimov became USSR champions, and Beibut Yeszhanov, Alexander Cherepanov, Viktor Demyanenko and Erik Khakimov won bronze medals at the USSR Championship.
Karimzhan Abdrakhmanov won a bronze medal at the Europe Championship in Budapest, Hungary and at the World Cup in Seoul, Korea.
At the USSR Championship, Asylbek Kilimov was a finalist and Kairat Galimtayev and Igor Ruzhnikov won bronze medals.
Kazakhstan boxers took the second team place at the 9th Spartakiad Games of the USSR Nations in Moscow, with Igor Ruzhnikov becoming the champion.
Serik Nurkazov became a three-time USSR champion, and Asylbek Kilimov was a finalist at the USSR Championship.
Beibut Yeszhanov was a USSR champion and Amzaly Akylbayev was a finalist at the USSR Championship.
Igor Ruzhnikov won the gold medal, and Karimzhan Abdrakhmanov and Alexander Miroshnichenko won silver medals at the 1st Goodwill Games in Moscow.
Alexander Miroshnichenko was a USSR champion, and Erik Khakimov was a finalist and Igor Ruzhnikov won a bronze medal at the USSR Championship.
Karimzhan Abdrakhmanov won the USSR Cup and a bronze medal at the USSR Championship.
Beibut Yeszhanov and Igor Ruzhnikov were finalists and Serik Nurkazov won a bronze medal at the USSR Championship.
Alexander Miroshnichenko was a USSR champion and Erik Khakimov was a finalist at the USSR Championship. Valentin Yunusov, Igor Ruzhnikov and Talgat Berdybekov won bronze medal s at the USSR Championship.
Alexander Miroshnichenko won a bronze medal at the Seoul Olympic Games in Korea.
Igor Ruzhnikov was a champion and Alexander Miroshnichenko won a silver medal at the World Championship in Moscow.
Igor Ruzhnikov won the Europe Championship in Athens and the USSR Championship.
Alexander Miroshnichenko won the USSR Championship and a bronze medal at the Europe Championship.
Yesbolat Nurmanov was a finalist at the USSR Championship. Mereke Zhusupov, Valentin Yunusov, Marat Dzhakiyev, Talgat Berdybekov and Serik Umirbekov won bronze medals at the USSR Championship.
Karimzhan Abdrakhmanov won the USSR Championship. Nurlan Kalybayev, Vadim Prisyazhnyuk, Igor Shishkin and Mikhail Yurchenko were finalists at the USSR Championship. Mereke Zhusupov, Yesbolat Nurmanov, Zhumatai Tusupov and Serik Umirbekov won bronze medals at the USSR Championship.
Kazakhstan boxers took the first team place at the 10th Spartakiad Games of the USSR Nations in Minsk. Bolat Temirov, Kanatbek Shagatayev, Igor Shishkin and Nikolai Kulpin were the Spartakiad champions.
Bolat Temirov won the USSR Championship, Bektas Abubakirov and Mereke Zhusupov were finalists and Nikolai Kulpin won a bronze medal at the USSR Championship.
Bolat Zhumadilov, Bolat Temirov and Mikhail Yurchenko were the CIS champions. Mereke Zhusupov, Arkady Topayev and Nikolai Kulpin were finalists and Samat Musatayev was a bronze medalist at the CIS Championship.
The Kazakhstan Boxing Federation accessed the AIBA and joined the Asian Boxing Confederation.
V. Zhirov won a bronze medal at the World Championship in Tampere, Finland
AIBA’s Europe Boxing Magazine announced Boris Tskhvirashvili the world’s best judge. He was a judge at the Olympic Games in Moscow (1980) and Atlanta, USA (1996) and a jury member at the Sydney Olympics (2000).
At the World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, A. Topayev won a gold medal, K. Shagatayev won a silver medal, and B. Niyazymbetov and V. Schtorm were awarded with bronze medals.
At the World Championship in Berlin, Germany, B. Zhumadilov and V. Zhirov were awarded with a silver medal and a bronze medal accordingly.
Kazakhstan team had a very successful debut at the Atlanta Olympics by winning four medals (one gold medal, one silver medal, and two bronze medals) and taking the third team place yielding to Cuba and the USA. Vasiliy Zhirov (81 kg) made fantastic achievements – he became an Olympic champion and won the most prestigious Olympic prize, the Val Barker Trophy, which had been awarded to the boxers of eight countries only over the entire history of the Olympic Games. At the Atlanta Olympics, Bolat Zhumadilov won a silver medal, and Yermakhan Ibrayimov and Bolat Niyazymbetov got bronze medals.
At the World Championship in Budapest, Hungary, Yermakhan Ibrayimov and Bolat Zhumadilov won a silver medal and a bronze medal accordingly.
At the World Cup in Beijing, China, Yermakhan Ibrayimov won a bronze medal.
M. Dildabekov and Yermakhan Ibrayimov won the Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand.
At the World Championship in Houston, USA, Bolat Zhumadilov , Mukhtar Dildabekov and Yermakhan Ibrayimov won a gold medal, silver medal and a bronze medal accordingly.
The Kazakhstan team won two gold medals and two silver medals at the Olympic Games in Sydney. Bekzat Sattarkhanov and Yermakhan Ibrayimov were the Olympics winners. Bolat Zhumadilov and Mukhtar Dildabekov were silver medalists.
At the World Championship in Belfast, North Ireland, Galib Dzhafarov was awarded with a silver medal.
Gennady Golovkin and Nurzhan Karimzhanov won the Asian Games in Pusan, Korea. Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov was a silver medalist.
At the World Championship in Bangkok, Thailand, Galib Dzhafarov and Gennady Golovkin won gold medals.
At the Olympics in Athens, Bakhtiyar Artayev was an Olympic champion and second Kazakhstan’s boxer, after Vasiliy Zhirov, to be awarded with the prestigious Val Barker Trophy. In Athens, Gennady Golovkin and Serik Yeleuov won a silver medal and a bronze medal accordingly.
At the World Championship in Mianyang, China, S. Sapiyev and Ye. Dzhanabergenov won gold medals, and B. Zhakipov, M. Sarsembayev and B. Artayev were bronze medalists.
At the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, Bakhyt Sarsekbayev won a gold medal, and Bakhtiyar Artayev and Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov were awarded with silver medals. Galib Dzhafarov, Serik Sapiyev and Dmitry Gotfrid were bronze medalists
Nazgul Boranbayeva took the third place at the World Championship in Ningbo, China.
At the World Championship in Chicago, USA, Serik Sapiyev won a gold medal to become Kazakhstan’s first two-time world champion. Bakhtiyar Artayev and Yerkebulan Shynaliyev won bronze medals.
At the Olympics in Beijing, Bakhyt Sarsekbayev was an Olympic champion and Yerkebulan Shynaliyev won a bronze medal
Yelena Koltsova took the third place at the World Championship
Zhuldyzai Imanbayeva took the second place at the Asia Championship. Oxana Koroleva, Dariga Shakimova and Saida Khasenova won bronze medals.
At the World Championship in Milano, Italy, Serik Sapiyev won a bronze medal
At the Asian Games in the closed premises in Hanoi, Vietnam, Saida Khasenova and Dariga Shakimova took the second place and the third place accordingly.
At the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, the Kazakhstan team won two gold medals. Serik Sapiyev and Daniyar Yeleusinov were the gold medalists. Birzhan Zhakipov and Ivan Dychko won silver medals. Danabek Suzhanov was awarded with a bronze medal.
At the Asian Women’s Championship in Astana, the Kazakhstan team took the first team place. Zhaina Shekerbekova (Shymkent), Saida Khasenova (Almaty), Dariga Shakimova (Petropavlovsk), and Marina Volnova (Astana) became the Asian champions. Nazgul Boranbayeva (Astana) was a silver medalist. Aigerim Askarova (Taraz), Yelena Koltsova (Kostanai) and Yulduz Mamatkulova (Taraz) were awarded with bronze medals.
At the 2010 World Championship in Bridgetown, Barbados, Marina Volnova won a silver medal and Nazgul Boranbayeva got her second bronze medal at an international tournament.
At the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, Saida Khasenova (Almaty) won a bronze medal.
At the World Championship in Baku, Azerbaijan, Serik Sapiyev and Adilbek Niyazymbetov won silver medals, and Gani Zhailauov and Ivan Dychko were bronze medalists.
Astana Arlans Team was a finalist of the WSB debut season. Kanat Abutalipov was the first champion of WSB’s individual event and got a pass to the 2012 Olympics in London.
At the 30th Summer Olympic Games in London, Serik Sapiyev won a gold medal and became Kazakhstan’s third boxer to receive the Val Barker Trophy. Adilbek Niyazymbetov and Ivan Dychko got a silver medal and a bronze medal accordingly. At the women’s boxing tournament held for the first time at the Olympics, Marina Volnova got a bronze medal.
At the World Women’s Boxing Championship in Qinhuangdao, China, Yulduz Mamatkulova and Nazym Kyzaibai won a silver medal and a bronze medal accordingly.
Astana Arlans Team won the 3rd WSB Season
At the Asia Championship, Kazakhstan’s National Team took the first place in the team event having achieved an unprecedented result – 7 gold medals and 1 silver. Temirtas Zhusupov (49 kg), Berik Abdrakhmanov (60 kg), Merei Akshalov (64 kg), Daniyar Yeleusinov (69 kg), Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (75 kg), Anton Pinchuk (91 kg), and Ivan Dychko (+91 kg) became the Champions of Asia. Adilbek Niyazymbetov (81 kg) won the silver medal. Besides, Daniyar Yeleusinov was recognized as the Best Boxer of Asia.
In Kazakhstan, the first USSR Masters of Sports in boxing were:
Sh. Bultekuly – Yenbek Sports Club (SC), Almaty (1947);
G.F. Rozhkov – Dinamo SC, Almaty (1953);
I.V. Ivanov, Dinamo SC, Almaty (1954);
V.K. Karimov – Trudovye Rezervy SC, Almaty;
A.K. Kadetov – Dinamo SC, Almaty;
M.I. Omarov – Dinamo SC, Almaty;
B.N. Tychinin – Spartak SC, Almaty;
M. Khairutdinov – Yenbek SC, Balkhash (1956);
I.S. Gildin – Trudovye Rezervy SC, Almaty;
V.A. Lopatnikov – Trudovye Rezervy SC, Almaty;
A. Nurmakhanov – Burevestnik SC, Almaty;
L.L. Trishkin – Trudovye Rezervy SC, Karaganda (1957).
At the USSR/CIS Championships held until 1992, the Kazakhstan boxers had won 157 medals (36 gold medals, 44 silver medals, and 77 bronze medals).
This is the fifth place among 17 boxing federations comprising the All-USSR Federation. At six World Championships, Kazakhstan boxers, as part of the USSR National Team, had won four medals – two gold medals and two silver medals. As part of the USSR National Team at the Olympic Games, Kazakhstan boxers had been awarded with two silver medals and three bronze medals.
The following Kazakhstan boxers have the distinguished title of USSR Honored Master of Sports:
V. Rachkov – 1978 World Champion;
I. Ruzhnikov – 1989 World and Europe Champion;
S. Konakbayev – two-time Europe Champion, World Cup winner and a finalist of the Moscow Olympics, 1980;
V. Demyanenko – 1979 Europe Champion and a finalist of the Moscow Olympics, 1980.
Over the USSR era, 26 Kazakhstan boxers had been awarded with the title of Master of Sports of International Class.
S. Boldyrev, Yu. Tskhai, A. Anikin (all from Almaty), V. Nikulin (Kostanai) and V. Ginkel (Temirtau) held the title of USSR Honored Coach for the development of world/Europe champions and Olympic medalists.
In the Soviet era, Kazakhstan had developed four international judges. These are: AIBA – B. Tskhvirashvili and EABA – A. Nurmakhanov (Almaty), V. Baturin (Almaty) and A. Glebchuk (Karaganda).
The Presidents of the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation have made a significant input in the development of boxing in Kazakhstan.
1993-2000 – Beket S. Makhmutov, who also was an AIBA Vice President
2000-2002 – Nurlan U. Balgimbayev
2002-2004 – Lyazzat K. Kiinov
2004-2005 – Askar A. Kulibayev
2005-2008 – Uzakbai S. Karabalin
The Kazakhstan Boxing Federation supports AIBA’s innovative projects including the World Series of Boxing (WSB) and AIBA ProBoxing (APB).
On November 19, 2010, Kazakhstan’s Astana Arlans Club joined AIBA’s new project, the World Series of Boxing (WSB).
WSB is AIBA’s project that marks a new era in the boxing world. This is the first professional series, where boxers retain their right to participate in the Olympics.
In January 2010, the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation signed an agreement to join WSB. The first professional club named Astana Arlans was established in April 2010.
In July 2010, Astana Arlans got the status of the Kazakhstan National Professional Boxing Team as qualified by WSB.
In the finals, Astana Arlans yielded to Paris United in the second match of the WSB Finals with the 1:4 score and took the second place in the WSB debut season. Kanat Abutalipov was the first champion of WSB’s individual event and got a pass to the 2012 Olympics in London.
In 2013, Astana Arlans Team won the third WSB Season.
This material was developed with the input kindly provided by K.S. Maulenov, Doctor of Law, Professor, winner of the Chokan Valikhanov Prize in Sciences.
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AFC Media
India Vs UAE Talking Points: Did bad finishing and poor luck cost the Blue Tigers?
Written by: Abhranil Roy
Unlike the previous fixture, Stephen Constantine's tactical tweaks didn't work out in the second half.
India suffered a humbling 0-2 loss at the hands of the United Arab Emirates in their second group game of the AFC Asian Cup 2019. Despite dominating proceedings in the first half and having several gilt-edged opportunities, a lapse in concentration in defence allowed Khalfan Mubarak to hand the home side the lead in the 42nd minute. A similar pattern followed in the second half and right at the end UAE’s talisman Ali Mabkhout scored to seal all three points for the hosts.
Watch: India 0-2 UAE, Goals and Highlights
Here are the talking points from the game:
5. Is the Indian defence as good as it looks on paper?
The Kerala Blasters defender couldn't form a proper understanding with Anas
Sandesh Jhinghan and Anas Edathodika maybe two of the best center-backs that India have produced in recent times, but it is no secret that they have not been in great form this season for their Indian Super League side. That lack of form was exposed by a smart UAE side who took to playing long balls and making runs in between the two in order to find room for themselves.
Both the goals that the Blue Tigers conceded were down to poor communication and their inability to read the game at the correct juncture. It remains to be seen if Stephen Constantine sticks with these two for the massive game against Bahrain on the 14th or brings in the out-of-favour Salam Ranjan Singh to get better results.
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4. Can India make it past the group stages in the AFC Asian Cup now?
A win against the UAE would have guaranteed India a spot in the next round, but there is still a good chance for the Blue Tigers to go through provided they perform really well against Bahrain. All four sides in the group, including Thailand, are currently in contention to qualify for the knockout rounds, so it will all boil down to the final matchday on 14th January.
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India Vs UAE Player Ratings: Anas Edathodika & Pritam Kotal the weak links as Blue Tigers fall to defeat
Should Rowllin Borges start for India in the AFC Asian Cup?
3. Did Constantine select the right team and make the right substitutions?
Other than a curling free-kick, Borges didn't have any impact after coming on for Thapa
Right from the go, India harried and hassled the UAE midfield and ensured they would not spend much time on the ball. In possession, they repeatedly played the long ball to get behind the home side’s defence and tried to put in crosses into the box. It seemed odd to see Balwant Singh not starting with such a strategy in place, for he would have made the perfect target man to execute the plan.
Not only did manager Stephen Constantine not bring Singh on, but he benched the pacy and impressive Udanta Singh in the second half in favour of the slower Jackichand Singh. Questions must be raised as to why the English manager did not bring on better alternatives to get behind the UAE defence and help India’s cause.
2. Did bad finishing and poor luck cost India the game?
Despite having only 34% possession, India created as many chances (7) and had as many shots (9) as the UAE. However, they still lost the game thanks to a string of missed chances from the likes of Sunil Chhetri, Ashique Kuruniyan and Sandesh Jhinghan. The crossbar came to the UAE’s rescue twice as well, with both Udanta and Jhinghan’s efforts ricocheting off the underside of the frame of the goal.
India will have to be much more efficient in front of goal against Bahrain if they are to make a case for themselves to go into the knockout rounds.
1. Can we expect Constantine to make some changes for the final group game?
There is no question that the final game against Bahrain has now taken on incredible relevance with regards to India making it to the next round. Under such circumstances, Constantine might be forced to make a few changes that should include dropping Kuruniyan to the bench, starting both Udanta and Jeje Lalpekhlua or Balwant upfront and preferably putting Subhasish Bose in central defence in place of Anas and playing Narayan Das as a full-back.
The Blue Tigers need to play it smart against Bahrain, so the tactical and personnel approach will be key.
Published: Fri Jan 11, 2019 11:37 AM IST
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10 Giant-Sized ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ Easter Eggs
The following post contains some minor SPOILERS for Ant-Man and the Wasp. It also contains size puns, for which I’m hugely sorry. (Oops, see? They’re starting already.)
Ant-Man and the Wasp is mostly set in its own little corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one that is largely disconnected from the madness and chaos of Avengers: Infinity War. (Don’t expect Thanos to show up and kvetch at Ant-Man about the Infinity Stones.) It tells its own story about a family trying to locate a missing member who’s been lost for decades inside a tiny universe called the quantum realm.
That doesn’t mean that the film has no connections to the rest of the MCU, or to classic Marvel Comics. (Fun fact: Marvel movies are based on these things called “comic books.” They’re really neat! Go buy some.) In fact, Ant-Man and the Wasp has some of the most clever and fun Easter eggs of any recent Marvel movie. A couple of these are pretty small, appropriately. Others are hard to miss. (Giant Paul Rudds usually are.) We rounded up ten of our favorites below, including some surprising character cameos, callbacks to Marvel movies of the past, references to some of our favorite Marvel storylines, and a very relevant quote from National Lampoon’s Animal House.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is in theaters now. If you find more Marvel Easter eggs in the film, you are welcome to leave them in the comments below.
How Does The Original ‘Ant-Man’ Hold Up?
Source: 10 Giant-Sized ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ Easter Eggs
Filed Under: marvel
Categories: Featured, Movie News
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Lady Gaga ‘Performing’ Disturbed’s ‘Down With the Sickness’ in Viral Video Is Hilarious
Tyler Sharp
YouTube: Warner Bros. Pictures
Today's unsung hero of the Internet is Twitter user @mosebergmann for his genius melding of Disturbed's "Down With the Sickness" and footage from a trailer of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's upcoming film, A Star Is Born. The clip begins with Cooper's character ushering Gaga's onto a stage, preparing to deliver a soulful country performance. As soon as she grabs the mic, however, all we hear is the iconic "OH-WA-AH-AH-AH" of "Down With the Sickness" and you instantly burst out laughing. Check it out below and enjoy - we did.
In other news, Disturbed's new album, Evolution, is due out Oct. 19. (Pre-orders are on sale now.) You can hear two new songs, "Are You Ready" and "A Reason to Fight" now. It's also been confirmed that Disturbed will hit the road on a North American tour next year. So far, they've listed 26 cities on the run and have promised more will be announced, but have yet to share any specific dates.
Supreme Rock Goddesses
David Draiman Gets Kicked Out of Yeshiva - Epic Rock Tales
Source: Lady Gaga ‘Performing’ Disturbed’s ‘Down With the Sickness’ in Viral Video Is Hilarious
Filed Under: disturbed, lady gaga
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Home Fiction Novels The Journey Home EAD – Protecting Home – Chapters 1-4
Jilly James February 15, 2015 February 15, 2015 The Journey Home
For those of you who read The Journey Home on Rough Trade, you know there was more than what I published in the finished version. I had dived right into the sequel at that time, which I have now named Protecting Home. This is actually me being a nice author, because I’m truly not ready to get started on the sequel yet, but I’m posting those 3 chapters here today. Oh, and there’s a fourth chapter which is all new.
Please bear in mind these have not been through beta, and the fourth chapter is especially raw.
Title: Protecting Home (Home Verse, Book 2)
Fandom: Stargate SG-1, NCIS, The Sentinel
Pairing: Tony/Jack, Jim/Blair, Gibbs/Martin, Other M/M, M/F
Rating: M to Explicit
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All recognizable characters are the property of their respective creators.
Warnings: Possibly canon-level violence
Summary: Tony and Jack return from Peru, ready to start their new life, but someone is still after Tony, and strange things keep happening.
Jack followed Tony through the crush of people at the Denver airport. He was completely and utterly exhausted, but his senses hummed in a way he’d never thought possible. Three weeks in Peru had flown by and dragged on seemingly at the same time. The conditions were difficult, the privacy non-existent and the Chopec sentinels took their mission very seriously. The mission to make Jack a sentinel worthy to be called the bonded of a high level shaman.
For all that Jack’s training was difficult, he actually believed his guide had the worst of it, and knew he and Tony needed time to really talk about it. But they pretty much only had a day or two, because they were due to report at the SGC soon.
Tony had been inordinately quiet and it was concerning Jack. Their bond felt thin and strained, but there hadn’t been an opportunity since he’d noticed the change to deal with it.
They had to wait for a small bag that had to be checked because it contained some daggers that had been presented to them by Incacha and his sentinel Ederch. He kept emotional tabs on Tony, and pretty much only felt emotional exhaustion on top of the physical. Which meant, Tony was blocking the empathic element of their bond, because there was way more going on than a little fatigue.
Gathering up the bag and his guide, he headed for the parking garage. His truck was right where he left it, and even as he approached, he catalogued it with his senses finding nothing amiss.
“It’ll be a miracle if it starts,” he said absently as he unlocked the doors.
Tony shot him a look. “If you just jinxed us…” he let the threat hang in the air
Fortunately, the truck started. Jack turned sideways and leaned against the door while the engine warmed up. “How are you doing?”
Mirroring Jack’s position, Tony huddled into his coat and blew out a breath. “Tired.”
It had been a two-day trek through the jungle out of the Chopec village to the nearest town. Incacha, Ederch and several warriors had accompanied them to the edge of the jungle. They’d immediately checked into a hotel just long enough to buy a change of clothes and take a shower before catching a bus to a town with an airport, to then catch a flight to a bigger town with a real airport. They’d both slept a little on the plane, but it wasn’t enough to shake off the bone-deep fatigue of three weeks of hard work followed by a long trip home.
Jack rubbed his hand over his face. “What day is it?”
“I think it’s Friday the 21st.” Tony glanced at the clock in the truck’s dash. “Make that Saturday now. Do we really have to report to the mountain on Monday?”
“Yep. We’re lucky Doc Fraiser is giving us the weekend to recover before she starts with the penlights and needles.” The idle chitchat was ridiculous considering what they really needed to talk about, but they were both tired and the parking garage wasn’t the place for it.
He reached out and curled his fingers around his guide’s wrist, feeling the pulse he could hear so readily. The bond was strained, a product of the painful and difficult last week.
Tony’s empathy surged up so strongly that the awareness made Jack feel breathless. Abruptly, the ragged feel of his guide was pulled under control. “Sorry… sorry.”
Jack wanted to fix it, but there was nothing he could do right now. Reluctantly, he let go. “Don’t apologize. We need to bond. I don’t plan to apologize if my senses get spikey.” He was more than a little appalled at the feel of his guide. Tony had been resisting connecting too closely empathically the last week and now Jack knew why.
Tony snorted. “You haven’t spiked in two weeks.”
“Fear is a profound motivator. I didn’t want to deal with whatever Incacha would have Ederch put me through if my senses got out of control again.”
Looking away, Tony only muttered a soft, “Yeah.”
Wanting to swear, because what had gone on the last week in shaman school apparently sucked, Jack had to settle for fiddling with the heater vents which were finally producing some warm air.
They got on the road and the silence was stifling. Considering they hadn’t had any privacy, any real opportunity to talk, in over three weeks, it was kind of ridiculous. They had an hour and a half in the car, and they needed to clear the air.
“Tony…” he trailed off not sure what to ask. He wasn’t exactly known for his delicate approach, so he decided to just go for it. “What happened?”
Tony stared out the window for a long time before he finally replied. “Incacha wanted me to know how to adjust people’s emotions.”
Now Jack understood the problem. “And?”
“And I did it!” Tony said explosively. “And just like every other damn exercise, the Chopec lined up like it was some fucking honor to have me empathically rape them.”
Jack pulled to the side of the highway and slammed the truck into park, bracing his hands on the steering wheel. “Hey! That’s not what was going on!”
“You can’t know that!” Tony raked his fingers through his hair, fisting them tightly. “I feel sick. Physically ill over what I did.” As if something suddenly broke, Tony lunged from the truck.
By the time Jack made it around the front of the truck, his guide was on his knees in the snow, vomiting what little he’d eaten that day. He dropped down next to Tony, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close when the spasms stopped.
Tony’s breath came in shuddery gasps and he lay against Jack limply. Getting wet and cold wasn’t going to get them anywhere, so Jack hauled his now-docile guide to his feet. They had about a quarter bottle of water from the last airport purchase. He handed it to Tony, coaxing him through rinsing out his mouth.
Jack stood in the open door of the truck, the heat bleeding away into the cold air, feeling completely and utterly inadequate to make this better. “What Harris did to you isn’t the same thing.”
Head snapping up, Tony gave Jack a glare. “Of course it is. Same exact mechanism.”
“Stop it, Tony. It’s not the same. I know you well enough to know you pretty much left everyone you could feeling happy. And having someone’s permission to tweak their enjoyment dials so you can learn all the empathic skills is not the same thing as assaulting someone’s mind with the intention of driving them to suicide. I know you can see the difference.”
Tony collapsed forward, head resting on Jack’s chest. Eventually he said, “Let’s just get back to your place.”
Jack clearly heard Tony distancing himself in that seemingly innocuous sentence. Somewhat reluctantly, he disengaged from Tony and shut the passenger door, and returned to his side of the vehicle. Miles passed in silence and Jack let it be this time, stewing on the whole thing.
From both a strategic and tactical perspective, Jack could see why Incacha had pressed for this, but he really wished the elder shaman had let this sleeping dog lie for a little longer. Tony could have learned that skill later when he was better equipped to deal with the fallout. Though he suspected that Tony hadn’t let Incacha know how much the task bothered him. He wondered if Tony had even let himself know.
The sentinel in him pulled to imprint, to bond, to stabilize his connection to his guide. Privacy had been next to nothing, and they had been busy, making it hard to find opportunities to renew the bond. They’d stayed with Incacha and Ederch, and even if they’d had the privacy to bond, they were so exhausted at the end of each day, they just fell asleep curled around one another.
Perhaps the best thing to come out of the trip was that Incacha had been able to help Tony build a shield to keep from getting tugged to the spirit plane by distressed sentinels. Tony could still feel the pull, but the other shamans were learning how to feel it as well, so Tony wasn’t alone in the ability.
When they were about twenty minutes out, Jack softly said, “Earlier you said this was my place. But this is your home, too, Tony.”
Tony seemed inordinately preoccupied with the landscape. Finally, he managed to whisper, “I know, Jack.”
“Know it, but don’t believe it?”
“More trying to let it sink in.”
Jack blew out a breath. “When we get home, while I’m checking for bugs, go ahead and get in the shower. I need to imprint again and I’ll join you as soon as I can. Then we can take care of the bond.”
Tony seemed to stiffen a little and looked over at Jack. “We’re both tired… let’s just get some sleep. And take care of it in the morning.”
“No. Not waiting any longer.”
Saying nothing, Tony returned to his contemplation of the apparently ever-fascinating landscape.
It was nearing 0300 when they arrived home. The house was pleasantly warm, and thank god for Daniel who knew they were due back sometime this weekend and had turned the heat back on. Jack waved his guide toward the bathroom, then turned his attention to running a sensory scan of his house.
A few minutes later, feeling very annoyed, Jack threw the four new bugs in the container in the refrigerator. Someone was a little too determined to keep tabs on them. Hopefully, they’d get the message that it wasn’t going to work and stop trying. He noted that Daniel had apparently left a little food for them, too. There was a note. –At least you’ll have breakfast before you have to endure the real world again. -D–
Jack entered the steamy bathroom, shucking the clothes he’d bought in Peru, perfectly happy to never see them again. He contemplated his guide through the shower door. Tony had his hands braced against the wall, letting the water run over his back.
Stepping into the shower, Jack reached for his guide, sliding his hands up the strong back, registering tension that wasn’t there even a week ago. He wanted to blame it on Peru, but really he had to blame it on events that took place before he even met Tony.
Without even meaning to, he began re-imprinting on his guide, cataloguing the changes brought by three weeks in a harsh, hot, and wet environment, being pushed to their physical limits. There were a few new scars, because the Chopec trained sentinels and guides to function while doing battle, and too much weight lost. Skin was more tanned and the sheer green scent of the jungle still fairly oozed from both of them.
Jack turned Tony, who was silent but compliant, shifting his focus to the front of the tall, strong body. His guide wasn’t opening up empathically to allow the bond to settle and Jack wasn’t ready to push yet. The scents of shampoo and soap tainted the imprint for the length of time it took to wash, then faded into sensory background noise.
He continued to catalogue and absorb his guide even as he dried them off and maneuvered them to the bedroom. He got them under the covers and began to imprint taste, registering the changes the time in the jungle had wrought to his guide’s skin.
Jack stroked Tony’s shoulder, then pressed a kiss to his temple. “Open the bond, Tony.”
For the first time, Tony reacted strongly, fingers clenching on Jack’s arm. “I don’t want to drag you into my head, Jack.”
He pulled back a bit, staring into sad green eyes. “Straining our bond isn’t the answer to getting through this.” Running a thumb over Tony’s cheekbone, he whispered, “For us… you have to connect with me.”
After several long moments, Tony’s empathy snapped open without subtlety, causing the bond to surge between them. The stabilizing and strengthening of the bond was what kept Jack from getting lost in the maelstrom of emotions. There was this self-disgust on the surface, but under it was anger and a lot of hurt that had been simmering, seemingly waiting for something to set it off.
Jack adjusted their positions so he was holding his guide. “You have to stop pushing this away, Tony. One person really fucked you over and a lot of people let you down. Catastrophically let you down, and you pretty much lost everything, even though you hadn’t done a damn thing to deserve it. I say go ahead and be royally fucking upset about it.”
Hands held onto Jack tightly, but Tony didn’t say anything.
The emotions continued to be turbulent as he waited out his guide’s resistance. “I’ll be home for you, Tony,” Jack whispered.
Tony turned his face into Jack’s neck, and Jack registered wetness as Tony’s pain seemed to hit a peak. The sentinel in him wanted to find the people who’d put his guide in this state, but all he did was focus on being there and allowing Tony to finally really react to what had happened to him.
Despite the pain that simmered in their empathic link, the bond was wide open and secure, eventually allowing them both to fall asleep after the storm had passed.
Awareness slammed into Jack at the same time he registered the growling of tigers. He reached out for his guide while throwing his senses wide open to catalog the threat.
Tony’s hand slid up his back, grounding him, but otherwise letting Jack concentrate.
“Ten men,” he whispered. “Coming through the trees and up the drive. Call the base. No lights.” It was barely five in the morning and still dark outside. No point in letting whoever was coming know they were awake. Tony was going to be hampered by the dark, and the first thing Jack was going to do when they got out of this was get night vision goggles for Tony’s bedside table.
Jack tugged on his clothes, keeping track of the men moving about his property, listening for any conversation between them, but despite hearing the faint hum of the electronics on the intruders, they seemed to be on radio silence. He heard Tony whispering into his cell while swiftly getting dressed. After entering the code into the gun safe, he handed off Tony’s weapon while securing his own, plus his knife.
He fought to keep the sentinel in him from completely taking over. If he and Tony were going to work in the field, he had to learn to deal with a certain amount of risk to his guide without going feral.
The men were getting too close to the house and they were pretty much fucked if they stayed inside the house. It was too easy to get in and there was really no place to barricade themselves.
“We’re going out the window in the room near the basement steps,” he whispered. The room had no real purpose, it was too small for a bedroom and wound up holding whatever Jack didn’t want to take downstairs. No one was approaching directly in line of that window and it let out into only a few bushes. It was their best avenue out of the house.
Tony was quick and quiet and stayed close to Jack as they made for the storage room. Jack paused at the window, checking his sensory map. There was one man in position that might see them, but they had to take the chance. It was only the work of a minute for them to get out the window, crouching low in the bushes to make sure they were unseen.
Knowing Tony could barely see, Jack took his arm and led him away from the house, aware that they could be spotted at any second. They’d almost made it to the trees that led to the road when noise erupted because they’d been seen, and silence was no longer necessary.
With one half of their pair unable to see against men with night vision gear, running was the best option. They’d barely made it a few steps when Tony dropped to his knees, clutching his arm, a large dart protruding from his bicep.
Jack could smell the drug changing his guide’s scent and the sentinel reared up, all focus on the threat to his guide. They were being rushed, but the guide lashed out empathically with the last of his strength, and the men staggered, some dropping to their knees.
The guide faded from their bond, and the sentinel struck out without mercy.
Daniel slammed on his brakes and threw the car in park as he pulled up behind one of the many military vehicles leading up to Jack’s property. He easily spotted Teal’c on the driveway, who must have come with the response from the base, though he wasn’t sure why everyone was out on the street or on the driveway. The atmosphere was tense, but not much seemed to be happening.
“Teal’c… what’s going on?”
“The threat appears to have been neutralized. Two men were detained by Major Miller’s men while attempting to retreat. The number of dead is uncertain.”
“So why is everyone standing around?”
“We are unable to approach O’Neill. He is very protective of his guide who Major Miller believes to be unconscious.”
“The rear of the dwelling.”
Daniel went up to Miller. “What are we doing?”
Miller gave him a nod, the big Marine clearly coolly in command. “We’re in a bit of a standoff. The Colonel gets… I can only describe it as growly when anyone approaches. I thought he might shoot at us, but two big ass tigers appeared out of nowhere and are between us and the Colonel and Agent DiNozzo. DiNozzo wasn’t moving when I was last back there.”
Tony’s transfer in as Agent Afloat, an odd title if Daniel ever heard one considering they were landlocked, had been announced already, and the Marines were well aware of his status as Jack’s guide.
The Major continued, “There was a breach of the house before the real action went down outside. We have two men in custody, another injured on the way to the base under guard, and have pulled out three bodies that were furthest from the Colonel’s position. There are four more bodies back there. I personally got close enough to confirm they’re DOA, but the tiger was getting antsy. We’re keeping eyes on from a distance, but had put in a call to the base that we need sentinel/guide expertise out here.”
“Well I’m neither a sentinel or guide, but I know as much as anyone and I’m going back there,” Daniel announced.
“Doctor J, that might not be–“
“I trust that Jack won’t shoot me,” Daniel interrupted.
The Major passed him a radio rather than argue further.
Daniel headed around the house, bypassing the ten-or-so Marines spaced about the front of the house. With the ones on the street and whoever was in back, Daniel guessed there were at least twenty Marines on property.
He started speaking low and slow even before he was in line of sight. “Jack, it’s Daniel. I’m coming to see you. I know you’re freaked and may not even be all there yet, but I can help.”
He rounded to the rear or the house, the half-foot of snow making it a little slower going. The first thing that caught his attention was the carnage away from house. Blood seemed to be everywhere and four bodies in black were heaps in the snow. The red and black were stark contrasts in the white of the snowy landscape. It made Daniel feel a little ill.
There were Marines at a distance by the trees but Daniel couldn’t easily spot Jack. He followed the walk and drag marks in the snow further around the house, realizing that Jack must be up against the far side of the house where the outside of the fireplace created a small niche.
“Jack, I’m almost to your position. I just now see Gretzky, and I think it’s encouraging that he’s not growling at me. I can tell that Gattino is lying down, but can’t see all of him yet.”
Gretzky was watching him closely, but wasn’t doing anything. Daniel could see Tony’s legs, and the lower half of Gattino stretched out by Tony, but not much else around the bigger Siberian.
“Jack, I’m almost to your position. I just want to be sure you guys are okay.” He stopped several feet from the guarding tiger, dropping to his knees, ignoring the snow melting and soaking his pants. “Hey Gretzky, when it’s okay, why don’t you let me know and I’ll come closer.”
Gretzky had been watching, but swung his big head to presumably look at Jack. A moment later, the tiger adjusted his position so Daniel could see Jack on his knees, half holding Tony up, who was clearly unconscious. Jack had his Beretta in one hand, but at least it wasn’t pointed Daniel’s direction.
“Hey, Jack. This is clearly someone’s idea of a really shitty welcome home.” He paused but didn’t get much reaction from his friend. “Can I come a little closer?”
Jack eventually nodded. It took a couple minutes, but Daniel inched closer. To his surprise, as soon as he was close, Jack handed his gun over, then reached into his back waistband and pulled out a Sig, passing that over as well. Then a knife that still had blood on it, and Daniel thought probably had a lot to do with the amount of red out on the snow.
The fact that Jack handed over his weapons told him that the sentinel in him wasn’t quite as large and in charge at the moment, and Jack didn’t want to hurt anyone, even if he was having a hard time letting people approach. “What do you want me to do, Jack? I can’t leave you here in the snow, so tell me how I can help.”
Clearly struggling, Jack finally said, “We need go to the mountain, but they can’t take him from me.”
Daniel knew that meant here or when they arrived at the SGC. “I’ll be with you the whole way and we’ll make sure you stay together. Do you want to go in your truck or one of the Hummers?”
“You okay with Teal’c helping?”
Jack nodded tersely.
Daniel radioed for them to send Teal’c around and to clear a wide path between them and the truck. There was chatter about finding the keys, but Daniel told them exactly where they’d be in the house.
Teal’c appeared quickly, but took measured deliberate steps as he approached their position. Gretzky gave the Jaffa a friendly head-butt as he passed.
“I think Jack would like you to help him get Tony to his truck. I’ll drive us back to the mountain.”
Inclining his head, Teal’c asked, “May I aid you and your guide?”
Jack nodded and between the two, they got Tony up, arms slung over their shoulders. Daniel winced at the pop of Jack’s knee, but the sentinel didn’t react in any way. The tigers vanished at some point, but Daniel wasn’t sure when.
Miller had done his job and the path to the truck was clear. Teal’c and Jack got Tony in the back seat of the king cab, Jack climbing in with his guide, before Teal’c took the passenger seat. Daniel handed off the weapons to the Major, along with his own car keys so someone could drive his car back to the base.
Carter arrived just as he was about to hop in to drive them back. He asked her to pack something for Jack and Tony before she followed them. They were escorted back to the Mountain by two military Hummers.
Janet was waiting for them and tried to get insistent about taking Tony to be examined. Daniel had to pull her aside and remind her about handling a sentinel like Jack before she prompted him to violence.
Everything sort of became a blur after that. Daniel felt like he was constantly running interference, and he definitely had an inside view into how the medical staff needed another briefing on how to deal with a distressed bonded sentinel. Particularly in Jack’s situation. Apparently hearing the theory from Blair wasn’t quite enough to break ingrained medical procedure.
Jack didn’t respond well to the injured man who’d tried to take Tony being there, so they’d had to move the man elsewhere. Getting blood drawn form the guide was particularly challenging, and Daniel thought it would help in the future if one of the nurses were a guide.
He was keenly aware that the general was in the mountain, and wanted updates, but was keeping his distance in deference to Jack’s protectiveness. One of the Marines brought in the dart Tony was tranq’d with, so Janet was able to test for whatever they’d used to drug Tony. Jack had growled when he’d seen the dart.
By the time Carter arrived, Jack and Tony had been moved into the isolation room. Jack had quarters on base, but Janet wasn’t going to release them until Tony was awake. Teal’c was practically standing guard, which seemed to settle Jack’s mind quite a bit.
The most they’d been able to do for Jack was get him to change into scrubs standing right next to Tony’s bed, because he wouldn’t let his guide out of his sight.
“How are they?” Sam asked as soon as she set the duffle bags down by the door into the iso room. She was still in her civilian clothes, though had shed her coat along the way.
“Better I think,” Daniel replied from where he was propping up the wall by Teal’c. “Jack’s sentinel has receded a lot, but won’t completely settle until Tony wakes and they can reset their bond. How were things at Jack’s?”
“Not as bad as they could be. Once the colonel was gone, it was pretty quick to remove the bodies. Miller is wrapping up and will be back shortly, though he’s leaving men on Jack’s house until the front door gets repaired.” She took a deep breath. “I’m going to give a preliminary report to the general.”
Before she could go, Daniel laid a hand on her arm. “Any word on who they were?”
She shook her head. “Nothing yet. Last I heard, prints were running. No one had ID on them. Two vehicles were found, some surveillance photos that we think were taken in DC, only Tony or O’Neill could say for sure, but there were definitely photos of both. Nothing identifying.”
“Who would have the most to gain from such an action, Major Carter?” Teal’c asked, arms crossed over his chest.
“I don’t know. Whenever anything bad happens around here, we tend to assume the NID, but it’s not clear they’d have anything to gain from this. I have no idea who would. The Sentinel Council has the most reason to be interested in Tony, but Blair’s sure they’ve cleaned house.”
“Will you be contacting Guide Sandburg?” Teal’c inquired, not surprising Daniel at all. Blair and Teal’c had spent a good deal of time together during the Alpha pair’s two trips. Especially the one right after New Years when Jack and Tony were in Peru.
“The general will have to decide. I think it’s a good idea, simply because we could use some input on what’s going on with the colonel, and they’re read in.”
Daniel sighed and let her go to talk to Hammond. He slid down the wall and sat on the floor.
“Are you unwell, Daniel Jackson?”
“Yeah, Teal’c. Though not in the way that you mean.”
“The situation is indeed upsetting.”
“You are the master of understatement,” Daniel said, blowing out a breath. What a mess.
Tony felt like he was in a fog. He was lying on his side on what felt like a bed with someone pressed close, and a hand was running through his hair. Both the bond and his touch empathy told him it was his sentinel. He was getting a lot of worry from Jack and underneath that the sentinel had a feral edge.
Suddenly, he remembered what had happened. His eyes shot open to find himself in a dim room with Jack lying behind him on the bed.
“You’re okay,” Jack murmured reassuringly.
Tony twisted, or tried to. His limbs felt like lead. He eventually got onto his back, looking up at Jack. “Are you?”
“Yeah. We’re at the SGC. Everything’s fine. Do you remember what happened?”
“Last thing I remember we were running for the trees… something hit me in the arm.” His upper arm ached where he’s been hit, and he felt hungover, headache and all.
“You were hit with a tranquilizer dart.”
“That was… rude. And annoyingly cliché.”
Jack’s lips twitched a bit. “Very. How are you feeling?”
“Headache, tired, hungry,” he outlined succinctly, leaving out that he was a little nauseated, too. Hunger and nausea were an odd mix in his mind. “Where are we exactly?” His sentinel was in white scrubs, which was a little weird. Tony was in basically the same thing, so this must be their version of the hospital gown.
“The sentinel iso room near medical.”
Tony frowned at that, feeling concerned. “Are your senses spiking?”
“Not really, but I’m dialed up. Doc Fraiser wants to keep an eye on you, and this was the best compromise. Your breathing was a little funny for a while. Whoever drugged you misjudged the dose. According to the doc, it was off by about how much weight you lost in Peru.”
Easily hearing and feeling the threads of worry and fear, Tony reached out for his sentinel. “I’m fine,” he reassured. “Do we have any actual privacy in here?”
“There’s no audio surveillance, but there are cameras.”
Damn. No wonder Jack was content with just this level of touch. “Tell me why I’m smelling blood, and if I can smell it, it must be driving you crazy.”
“I couldn’t leave you long enough to shower,” Jack replied with more than a little edge in his voice, and Tony knew the sentinel in him was working overtime.
“Well let’s take care of that now, because you’re not going to settle down completely until you stop smelling that.” Tony assumed it was the blood of their attackers, but taking care of his sentinel was more important than getting answers right now. He moved to sit up, fighting off the dizziness.
“There’s no shower in here.” Jack helped him sit, adjusting his position so he was sitting next to Tony.
Tony scowled. What kind of isolation room didn’t have a way for the sentinel to get clean? “Then let’s get out of here and back to your room.”
“It’s not going to be that easy,” Jack commented, looking a little tired and more than a little frustrated.
“Watch me,” Tony said stubbornly. He got to his feet, and Jack had to help keep him stable while he got the world to make sense from the fully upright position.
Jack stepped ahead of him and opened the door to find Daniel and Teal’c practically in the doorway.
“How’s Tony?” Daniel asked immediately.
“I’m fine,” Tony replied for himself, moving up next to his sentinel. “We need to get out of here, though.”
“I’ll get Janet,” Daniel said and disappeared.
They managed to get through vitals check and stuff, and Tony accepted the shot for the lingering nausea, but in the end, Faiser wanted to keep him in the infirmary.
“With all due respect, Dr. Fraiser, I’m not staying. I agreed to let you check me over, but frankly, no one can or will monitor me as closely as my sentinel. Stop growling, Jack,” he finished in an aside to his sentinel.
The doctor spared a glance for Jack, then turned back to Tony. “Agent DiNozzo, your blood pressure is too low for me to let you out of medical at this time,” she insisted.
Tony blew out a breath, trying to be patient. “Severe empathic stress or trauma can have a physical affect, Doctor. The same thing happened when I was shot in the arm three months ago. I didn’t know about the empathic factor then and had to stay in the hospital, but I know this time, and I’m not staying.”
She was frowning in confusion. “What kind of effects? And why were you under empathic stress?”
He slid off the bed. “I’d be happy to discuss this with you at a time when my sentinel isn’t in distress. For now, you’ll just have to trust that Jack will bring me back if there’s an issue.”
She looked to Jack again. “How much distress is he in?”
Tony tried to hold on to his temper. Blair had said that the base CMO had only known the very basics about sentinels and guides, but had been receptive to the changes that needed to be made. But apparently getting through her SOP would take more time.
He thought about explaining that Jack needed to shower ASAP, but he knew she’d counter that there was one in the infirmary, to which he’d have to counter that it wasn’t private enough for a distressed sentinel, nor was it an environment Jack was in control of. And she’d no doubt have a counter to that, too.
“You’re going to have to trust me to that I know what’s best for my sentinel, just like you need to believe that Jack can monitor my vitals better than any machine. And unless you’re going to bring in the SFs to confine us to medical, we’re leaving.”
“I think Agent DiNozzo and Colonel O’Neill can be trusted in this instance, Doctor,” Hammond said from the doorway, causing Jack to give another little growl at the new person near his guide. Tony not-so-subtly elbowed his sentinel.
The good doctor seemed set to argue, but Tony grabbed his sentinel and turned to Daniel and Teal’c who were waiting nearby. Jack had seemed more settled with people he trusted between his guide and the rest of the base, so Tony hadn’t made a stink about them being there while he got poked and prodded. “Would you two take the lead, please?”
Teal’c inclined his head, grabbed two duffle bags, and moved to the door. Daniel hesitated briefly, but followed.
Tony got hopelessly lost as they made their way through the base. The only thing he remembered was that the infirmary was on level twenty-one, and their quarters were on twenty-five. He’d also managed to deduce, by cleverly looking at the elevator buttons, that there were twenty-eight floors total.
As soon as they were at their rooms, he turned to Daniel and Teal’c, thanking them profusely and promising to keep them posted. Daniel offered to get them something to eat, which Tony readily accepted, because he was starving, but asked if he wouldn’t mind waiting a half hour to deliver it.
The minute the door was shut and locked, Jack pulled Tony close, burying his face in his guide’s neck. Tony surrendered to the hold easily, opening up the empathic connection between them; more so he could calm his sentinel down. Jack’s tension gradually started to fade.
Once Jack was a little more relaxed, Tony herded him into the shower. Though generously sized for a shower on a military base, it was still a little tight for the two of them, but they managed because there wasn’t really another option. Tony spent a long time washing his sentinel’s arms and hands until the blood scent was just background noise.
They were barely dressed in sweats when Daniel and Teal’c both came back with food. They didn’t try to stay, for which Tony was grateful. Tony’s sense of time was fucked up, so the breakfast foods twigged him into the fact that it was still morning. What a long fucking day it had already been.
Poking at the eggs a little suspiciously, he remarked, “What did we get, like a whole hour of sleep last night?” So much had happened yesterday and today, though Tony tried not to dwell on his meltdown in the middle of the night.
“If that,” Jack replied, having no hesitation about the eggs. “The food won’t bite, Tony, it’s pretty decent here.”
Tony wanted to ask what had happened, but instinctively knew Jack would need to be in physical contact to relive the situation. At least for the moment. Once the sentinel in him settled down, he’d be able to discuss it without needing Tony safe and in close contact.
After breakfast, Tony climbed into bed, pulling off his t-shirt, knowing Jack would be skin hungry. “Do you need to call anyone first?”
Jack looked torn. “I should talk to the general.”
“Go for it,” Tony encouraged, trying to get things feeling normal quickly so they could get past the trauma the sentinel part of Jack was focused on.
Jack sat on the bed and dialed swiftly, then wrapped his free hand around Tony’s wrist, rubbing slowly over the pulse point. Tony listened intently as Jack gave Hammond a verbal report on what had happened, wincing at hearing the entire story. He knew Jack had killed as many with his hands as he could… it was in a sentinel’s nature when feral to go for the personal kill over something like firing a gun.
After Jack hung up, he flashed Tony a look. “You know I don’t usually let anyone handle me, right?”
Tony snorted in amusement, despite his fatigue. “I should hope not. There should be some perks for me. You know, besides the great sex. But that’s about handling you, too, now that I think about it,” he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “And despite what you may think, your Simpson’s collection is not a perk.”
Jack laughed, though it sounded a little strained, then got up to hit the lights before sliding under the covers, t-shirt flying across the room to land on the chair.
They lay facing each other, Tony resting a hand on his sentinel’s chest, while Jack slowly ran his hand from Tony’s shoulder to hip. “You okay?” Tony finally asked.
Brow furrowed, Jack replied, “I’m not going to feel any regret about killing those… human rejects.”
“I know.” That wasn’t in a sentinel’s nature either. “I meant in practically every other respect. How are your senses? I can still feel that you’re on edge. Are you okay here on base?”
Jack cupped Tony’s cheek. “You’re still here, so I’m fucking perfect. I promise we can have an emotional bloodletting after we get some sleep.”
Tony found himself smiling. “And here’s my enthusiastic Yay! in celebration of manly avoidance.”
His sentinel just adjusted their positions until he was happy with his guide’s placement, meaning as much skin contact as possible, then said, “Go to sleep, Guide.”
But Tony knew Jack was really keyed up still and likely would have a hard time falling asleep, so Tony opened up the empathic link between them enough that Jack would be affected by his guide’s exhaustion. It was a dirty trick, but he was just as driven to care for his sentinel.
“That’s completely unfair,” Jack muttered through a yawn.
“You can sue me,” Tony muttered sleepily, “after you get some sleep.” Exhaustion easily pulled him under.
The phone ringing jolted Tony awake and he groaned, burying his head under the pillow. “Why doesn’t anyone want us to get some sleep?” he muttered into the bedding.
“Actually, we slept about five hours,” Jack said, sounding half asleep, while sitting up to reach for the phone. “Calls to my extension are supposed to be blocked right now, so it must be important.” As soon as Tony heard the, “Yes, Sir?” he knew it was Hammond. He tried to pay attention to see if he could figure out what was going on, but found himself drifting back to sleep.
“Wake up, Tony. There’s someone coming to see you,” Jack said, pulling back the covers.
“Me?” Tony got in a tug-of-war with his sentinel over the blankets. “You’re crazy.”
“Nope. Up.”
Tony glared. “Who could possibly be coming to see me?”
“General said someone was here to evaluate you for empathic stress, and it’s pretty much the only reason why I’d let someone in here, so up!”
He groaned and buried his head in the covers. “I should never have mentioned that to Fraiser. I can’t believe she’s fucking with my sleep, which is the best way to get over empathic strain, by the way.”
Jack tossed him his t-shirt then pulled on his own. “It’ll probably be a few minutes before he gets here.” That was good, because it gave him time to brush his teeth.
He was unsurprised that his sentinel followed him to the bathroom. He had a hunch he’d be glued to Jack’s side for a day or two. At the least.
The knock on the door came five minutes later, and from Jack’s head cocked to the side, he was hearing something. “Bonded sentinel and guide.” His brow furrowed and he glanced a Tony, and then seemed to make a decision about something. He put Tony in the corner of the room furthest from the door, then opened it to admit two men.
“So, just how much did you empathically strain yourself?” one man asked as soon as the door was closed.
Tony was busy gaping. Finally, he managed to get it together. “Alex? Vincent? What the hell…”
Jack cocked a brow at Tony, clearly waiting for an introduction.
“Uh, Alex Joyce, Vincent Lain, this is Jack O’Neill. Jack, Alex is the senior healer in Cascade and trains the baby guides, and Vincent is their lead sentinel wrangler.”
“Colonel,” they both greeted.
“Jack is fine,” he said shaking their hands, but pretty much staying between them and Tony.
“Probably not, sir,” Vincent replied. “Since we’re in your command now.”
“Wait, what?” Tony stuttered.
Alex made an impatient gesture. “So much has gone on while you were away, Tony. But I’m more concerned about this empathic strain the general mentioned. What did you do exactly? Or were you attacked again?”
Jack was relaxing fairly quickly at the familiarity between Tony and the visitors, no doubt aided by the fact that they were a bonded pair, and were there to help Jack’s guide.
“Uh, I was drugged and lashed out empathically to try to stall the men, but it didn’t work all that well.”
“Not true, Tony,” Jack interjected. “You stalled all ten and brought most of them to their knees.”
Alex looked thoughtful. “I got all the details from Fraiser when we arrived, and that kind of empathic load probably accounts for why the drug hit you so fast. Plus, they were drugging you off of your photos in DC, and you’ve lost at least twenty pounds while you were in the jungle.” He gestured to the bed. “Well, lie down… I need to do a scan.”
“Alex, seriously, I’m fine.”
“So you’re not experiencing physical side effects of empathic strain?” Alex asked, clearly knowing the answer already.
Tony glared. Alex glared back. Jack pushed Tony toward the bed. Rolling his eyes, he lay down while Alex settled himself in a chair by the bed.
The healer glanced to Jack. “It’s easiest if I’m in physical contact.”
Jack nodded tightly.
Both of Alex’s hands settled on Tony’s arm. After a minute, he muttered, “Jesus, it’s worse than scanning Blair. I need you to relax your shields a bit, Tony.”
Oh yeah. He hadn’t thought about that. Incacha’s notion of strong shielding was a little different from anything he’d been taught in Cascade. He relaxed a bit and Alex made the empathic connection.
After a few minutes, Alex sat back. “No damage, but you’re definitely overloaded, so I wouldn’t try to read anyone but your sentinel for another day. Meaning, no overt empathy except what you get through your bond.”
Tony swung to a seated position. “Told you I was fine. Now, what the hell is going on?”
Before anything could get started, Jack pulled the other chair over for Vincent, then sat by Tony on the bed.
“Well,” Alex began, “right after the new year, Blair and Jim were here to make their test run through the Stargate. They went somewhere called the Alpha Site, and within minutes Jim detected several problems including hearing something wrong in some piece of equipment that could blow the whole site. Plus found something that wasn’t supposed to be there that also could have blown up the site. Basically averted major destruction.”
Jack’s hand clenched on Tony’s leg, and Tony absently patted his sentinel reassuringly.
“Anyway, the Powers That Be around here made some calls and whoever has been pulling the strings from behind the scenes to keep high-order sentinels out was summarily overruled. Hammond got the go ahead from the President to immediately start recruiting a few high-order bonded sentinels.
“Blair and Jim are going to be available to consult, but felt that the first recruit needed to be someone who could put together the training and field requirements, and aid with candidate assessment. They suggested us because we have extensive combat experience working together, plus already train sentinels and guides.”
Tony was floored. “And you’ll be able to direct some of the medical issues for sentinels and guides, which is not working well.”
Alex grimaced. “Yeah, I read Blair’s report. So, we got read-in as a no-strings kind of proposition, and weren’t expecting to accept, but we barely had to talk about it before we were agreeing.” He looked to his sentinel.
Vincent leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees. “I seriously doubt many sentinels who are asked to be part of this program would say no. The instant awareness of the threat to the tribe is… well, it’s almost compulsory to want to be involved.
“So, aside from the basic qualifications, we’re high-order, but not alpha, so we won’t be stepping on Jack’s toes. Also, the general was more comfortable if we reactivated in the Navy, so we’ll be in Jack’s command, as well as in your Pride. Plus, I hear you’re our Agent Afloat,” Vincent ended with a smirk.
Smiling a little, Tony nodded. They were actually letting him cover the whole base and liaise with AFOSI, so he’d have the Air Force, too. Glancing at Jack, Tony asked, “You okay with this?”
Jack held up his hands. “I sure as hell don’t want the job. And you knowing and trusting them… bonus.”
Looking back at Alex, Tony picked up the threads of the story. “So, were you already here?”
“No. We were due in tomorrow and were going to meet with you two at some point on Monday, then report for duty on Thursday, but the general called Blair. He was going to come himself, but we decided to leave a day early instead. He wants a shaman meeting when you’re up for it, by the way.”
“Sure. I’ll ping him later.” He rubbed his hand over his face, still incredibly exhausted, but suddenly feeling a little lighter. “I’m seriously glad to see the two of you. Really, you have no idea.”
Alex’s lips quirked up and Vincent shot him a quick smile.
“How’d Morgan take it?”
“About like you’d expect. He’s annoyed, and doesn’t like not knowing what we’re working on that was compelling enough to get us back in the Navy. Really, he’s gonna miss us, even if he won’t say it. And the feeling’s mutual. Although, he’s even more annoyed now that Evan dropped his future plans bomb.”
“Do tell,” Tony prompted.
“He’s joining the Air Force rather than Solon leaving it. I mentioned them to Hammond, and he’s going to keep an eye on how Evan does. Solon already has a great record, so if Evan makes it, they might be a good fit for the program.”
“Holy shit,” Tony muttered. “That’s… so surreal.”
They talked for a few minutes before Alex asked, “What do you think we need to focus on first?”
Tony blinked. “I’ve barely been in the mountain. Blair’s assessment would be much better than anything I’ve got to offer.”
Alex gave him a look. “You just went through a traumatic experience with a distressed sentinel. I’m sure you’ve picked up on a few things.”
“Oh! Well, several problems with the handling, care and facilities. It’s like they’ve read sentinel & guide 101, but haven’t really absorbed it. They have an isolation room off the infirmary and it has no shower, so Jack had to just wipe down and stay in there with me unconscious smelling like blood. Also, I noticed they kept trying to separate us when I was getting checked over after I woke.”
Jack growled a bit, then added, “They tried that when you first arrived, too.”
Alex blinked in shock. “They tried to separate a sentinel from his unconscious guide? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Like I said, it’s like they’ve read it, but don’t get it. I think Fraiser is trying, but she’s stuck in her SOP.”
Vincent looked like he wanted to growl at the very thought of a guide and sentinel being separated. “Blair said his impression was that they barely let the sentinels and guides in the program function as sentinels and guides.”
Jack nodded. “I’d agree. The teams with sentinels are considered to have better eyes and ears, but there’s not much else put into it.”
“Well, that’s gonna change first,” Alex said, crossing his arms. “We need to train all the sentinels and guides to function at their best, regardless of rating, but we can’t bring high-order pairs into an environment that won’t do what’s necessary to enable them to function. People might not like it, but it’s like we always say, high-order is the polite way of saying,”
“High-maintenance,” Tony finished with a grin.
Jack laughed and Tony was encouraged by the sound.
“Damn straight,” Vincent said. “So, first order of business is making sure we can get sentinel and guide 101 off paper and into practice.”
Tony suddenly had a thought. “Hey, did you ever meet Teal’c?”
“Yep,” Alex replied. “That was one of the top things on the general’s mind… could I detect his symbiote empathically. And the answer is barely, but I have to be really looking for it. It’s not the weird nearly communing thing Blair described. Considering the difficulty, I’d guess no one below an eight, maybe seven, could do it. And probably only bonded guides, because I couldn’t do it until Vincent stabilized me.
“It’s like they emote on a different empathic wavelength or something, and it didn’t register for me easily. The general wants you and I both to meet something called a Tok’ra sometime soon to see what we get from them. Apparently the ability to detect a Goa’uld when in a host could be a big deal.”
“You have no idea,” Jack said emphatically.
They talked for a little while longer, and Tony was relieved to see that Jack was relaxed with Tony’s friends. There was a brief discussion of rank, Jack musing on where they’d fit in the command structure. Vincent was a commander, and Alex a first lieutenant, which would put Vincent amongst the senior officers.
Tony could tell that Alex wanted to talk to him, but they both knew there wasn’t going to be any privacy for Tony for a while yet. As soon as Jack was less protective, he’d find some time to talk to Alex alone.
He realized he was feeling differently towards Alex and Vincent… it was territorial and protective. It suddenly dawned on him that this was the first time he’d seen them since he’d bonded with Jack and become alpha. He felt much the same way toward Sam, and thought it likely he’d be feeling this way towards every sentinel and guide in the mountain. He wondered if that’s why Jack was relatively relaxed with the duo… the instant connection to them as Pride. For Alex and Vincent to feel that way already, they had to have broken their empathic tethers to Morgan’s Pride already.
About the time Tony was becoming very aware of the need to eat again, Alex and Vincent left, stating they could come back at any time if they were needed. Tony hoped that wouldn’t be necessary and the pair could get settled in without yet another Tony-emergency.
Jack still wasn’t ready to leave their room, so he called for an Airman to bring lunch down. Tony wasn’t really surprised that lunch came with a side of Daniel Jackson. He didn’t know Daniel well, but what he did know, he rather liked. In a funny way, Tony felt rather territorial about Daniel, too. It seemed his inner guide was seeing Daniel as Pride, too, and Tony wasn’t sure why. He’d have to ask Blair about it.
“Carter’s on her way, if you two are feeling up to an update on the investigation?” Daniel asked as soon as everyone was situated.
“Hell yes,” Jack responded immediately.
Daniel looked to Tony. “She’s also bringing one of the spare laptops in case you need to make contact with anyone, or just want something to do.”
“That’ll be great. I’m assuming my laptop is still at the house, and hopefully we’ll get it soon?” he ended on a question, looking to Jack.
Jack got a hard glint in his eye. “We’ll be staying here until this situation is resolved.”
Tony countered with a glare. “We need to get some stuff from the house.”
They faced off for several moments before Jack threw up his hands. “Fine. Tomorrow we’ll go.” He took another bite of us his lunch, muttering, “With an entire squad of Marines.”
Jack might be happy to live in BDUs, but Tony wasn’t even officially on SG1, so wasn’t prepared to dress like he was on a field team. It felt like he might jinx it. For now, he was just an NCIS agent, and he’d dress like a civilian.
He noticed Jack listening to something. “Carter’s here,” he said as he got up to answer the door, pulling it open just as she raised her hand to knock. “Come on in, Major. Where’s T?”
“He’s working with Major Miller on the interrogations.”
“The intimidation factor,” Jack said with a nod. “Bonus.”
Once everyone was situated, and really, the room was too small for this many people, Carter fidgeted a little, and something seemed off with her. “We confirmed the target was Tony. They were instructed not to kill you, Colonel, unless they couldn’t avoid it.”
Jack’s hand clenched on Tony’s thigh. “And who is they exactly?” he asked in a dangerous tone.
“Most seem to be mercenaries, but we’re still confirming as there were some convincing cover identities, but two were NID agents, and it took me a while to get the results on their prints because there was a high-level block in the system.”
Tony glanced around at the grim faces. “Why the hell is the NID interested in me?”
“That’s the million dollar question. And I’m damn well going to get an answer,” Jack said grimly. “Of the three survivors, any of them NID?”
Carter nodded. “Both of the NID agents were picked up by Major Miller’s team uninjured.” She hesitated. “Though, the general has left orders that you’re not permitted on level sixteen.”
Jack growled, but Tony was confused. “What’s on sixteen?”
Daniel was giving Jack a funny look, but replied, “Several things, but the issue is that’s where the stockade is located.”
“Ah.” Tony wanted to do something to help Jack, but he knew he just needed to let his sentinel get through this. Instead he tried to direct the conversation toward practical matters. “So, what are we going to do?” As Jack was about to reply, Tony added, “Besides you sneaking up to the stockade.” He got a mild glare for the comment.
When Jack didn’t say anything, Carter replied, “We’ll investigate, but you’ll be primarily confined to base until we figure out why they were after you.”
And Tony really found that frustrating and decided he didn’t want to talk it to death. Instead, he wanted to direct the conversation away from himself and the fucked up day he’d had. “You doing okay, Sam?”
Her brows shot up in surprise. “Of course.” She paused. “Why?”
“You seem kind of off to me, actually, but I’m not having the best day ever, so I wouldn’t put much stock in my perceptions at the moment.”
Carter glanced away for a few seconds. “I know you’re okay, and I know the colonel is okay, but I…” she trailed off, then met Tony’s gaze again. “I can’t seem to convince myself of what I know.” She sounded really frustrated.
Tony suddenly got it. “I think I might know what’s up. Even though we haven’t formally acknowledged each other, the guide in you recognizes Jack and me as the Pride alphas. We were attacked today, and it’s going to feel like an attack on the Pride, and you by extension. You had enough contact with us after we bonded to start to form a connection to us.”
She looked startled. “I’ve been doing my training exercises and everything that Blair suggested, but I confess that I don’t know much about sentinel and guide culture or customs. I… What do I need to do?”
“Normally when there’s a trauma in a Pride, there’s a need to know, at a spiritual level, that the Pride is okay. And that’s my responsibility to provide that assurance. And we can do it now, if you want,” he said, almost surprising himself at the offer.
Eyes wide, she asked, “And what does that entail?”
“We need to connect empathically. You’ll feel that I’m okay, and through my bond with Jack, that he’s okay, too. You’ll know it at the level you need in order to let go of your anxiety. And it would be ideal if your spirit animal connected with me as well.”
That seemed to make her a little uncomfortable. “I haven’t seen my spirit animal since I came online.”
“Do you want to see her? I can call her.” One of the things Incacha had taught him early on was that as a shaman, he could call any spirit animal, but unless the circumstances were dire, he’d never do it without permission. It seemed intrusive to summon the spiritual essence of a person without their consent.
Looking a little reluctant, Carter eventually nodded, and Tony gestured for her to have a seat on the floor. He could practically see Daniel mentally taking notes about what was going on.
Jack seemed relaxed enough, so Tony didn’t hesitate to sit opposite Sam and extend his hands for her to take. He was glad Jack wasn’t fighting him on this, because it definitely qualified as using his empathy, which Alex wouldn’t like, but Tony had a need to take care of Sam, and suspected Jack did, too.
As soon as Sam’s hands were enfolded in his, he said, “I’m going to reach out empathically. I won’t force it, and when you feel it, just latch on and reach for me in the same way.”
She looked concerned. “I don’t think I’m trained enough.”
“You’ll instinctively know how to mimic what I’m doing. Just let your instinct guide you as soon as you feel me, okay?”
“Yes,” she replied decisively, seemingly having made up her mind about the whole thing.
In one way, this was so weird for Tony to be in this role, but it felt so completely right and natural. It was like this was the way he was meant to be. It was at odds with the way he’d been most of his life, hiding away any part of himself that made him vulnerable. But he didn’t feel any weakness in being vulnerable to his Pride.
He closed his eyes and let his empathy reach out for Sam. He registered that he didn’t meet that sense of guide immediately, and thought that was likely the missing passive empathy. She wasn’t as there in an empathic sense as most guides, there wasn’t much playing instinctively on those empathic wavelengths.
He pushed at her empathically a little, wanting her to find her way, but needing to give her a bridge. Suddenly, she gasped and he felt her empathy latch on to him, and it wasn’t subtle. It was blunt and a little aggressive, but there was an instant sense of connection and he felt the anxiety she was holding start to bleed away. He let his connection to Jack seep into the empathic tether so she knew at a profound level that the Pride was okay, that her alphas were whole and intact.
After a bit, he slowly started pulling back, and she gave chase, but he gently and insistently made her let go of the link. He opened his eyes, and a few seconds later she blinked and fixed her bright blue eyes on him.
Smiling, she pulled her hands away. “Thank you. That feels so much better, it’s hard to even put in words.”
He nodded. “I’m going to summon Gattino first–“ he broke off because the white tiger was abruptly there. Tony petted the soft fur for a few seconds. “Lie down, you great big beast, there’s no room for prowling.”
Gattino dropped onto his belly, head on Tony’s thigh. Tony concentrated, focusing on the spiritual essence that made up Sam, and requested her spirit animal come. A blink of the eyes and there was a raccoon in his lap.
He smiled down at the little thing. Well, little compared to Gattino. “Hello there,” he greeted, letting himself be receptive to the spiritual reach of Sam’s spirit guide.
While he was petting the raccoon, he realized Sam was getting more relaxed by the second. “Your spirit guide will only be around as much as you want her to be. If you want her to be a part of your life, Sam, you just have to issue the invitation. They can’t be around all the time. But certainly a lot of it.” Glancing down at the raccoon, who was watching Sam intently, he added, “If you want to call her, it might help to name her. It gives focus to the summons.”
Sam’s eyes flicked back to Tony. “Can I hold her?”
Tony passed the raccoon over to her human. Sam was instantly fixated on the animal in her arms. He let her be and got to his feet, feeling incredibly, unbelievably worn out.
Gattino rose as well and Tony gave him a pat. “Go introduce yourself to Daniel.”
Daniel gave a start and looked at Tony wide-eyed. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” Tony said, sitting on the bed next to Jack who seemed much more mellow than Tony thought he would be. The sentinel’s strong hand settled on Tony’s thigh, giving it a squeeze. To Daniel, he added, “They’re all an odd mix of human-like awareness and animal-like behavior. Just don’t imply that there’s anything canine about my cat.”
Even though he was now engrossed in petting the big tiger, who was chuffing happily, Daniel still turned his attention to Jack and gave him a glare, apparently instantly aware of who’d done it previously. That got Tony laughing.
Jack and Daniel had a weird little argument that fueled Tony’s amusement and he realized he felt better than he thought he should. Something about the whole experience with Sam and her spirit guide, and getting to know this new team a little more, seemed to soothe some of the sharp edges he felt around his time in Peru. And even some of the lingering hurt over the way things had ended with his old team. He found himself wishing that Teal’c had been here, and told himself to be sure to connect with him soon.
“You okay,” Jack asked softly, taking a break from his Daniel-baiting.
Tony thought about that for a second. “Yeah,” he said, smiling at his sentinel. “I really think I am.”
AN: For those of you not familiar with American officer military rank equivalencies…
Navy Rank vs. Air Force/Army/Marines
Lieutenant = Captain
Commander = Lieutenant Colonel
CMO – Chief Medical Officer
SF – Special Forces
SOP – Standard Operating Procedure
AFOSI – Air Force Office of Special Investigations
BDU – Basic Dress Uniform
NID – National Intelligence Department (Fictional)
Tony settled in the spirit plane, taking a few minutes to just listen. He tried to do this every time he came, and it seemed like he was learning to hear more each time. It was almost like he could sense all the guides and sentinels in some way. At least, that was his impression, but it was faint, and he was perhaps imagining it. When he was with Gattino, his impressions felt stronger, but he’d left the tiger with Jack to help ground his sentinel.
Focusing back on the present, he gently tugged at his tether to Blair. He’d seen Blair several times while in Peru. In part because Blair wanted updates, but also because anytime Tony had gotten a pull from a distressed sentinel, all Tony could do was summon Blair and let him handle it. At least, after weeks of work, Tony was no longer getting zapped to the spirit plane against his will. Having more control over it made him feel more secure as his training progressed.
Blair appeared and immediately pulled Tony into a hug, and spirit hugs always felt so strangely intimate. “Are you okay? Is Jack okay? All I heard was that someone tried to abduct you guys and that you were in isolation after Jack had gone feral, and you were suffering from empathic strain.”
“We’re both okay. Just insanely tired, and a lot frustrated. From what they’ve pieced together so far, they were after me, and no one knows why.”
Pulling back, Blair scowled. “Who was after you? If this is the Council again…”
“If you weren’t already read in, I couldn’t tell you this, so only Jim can know, but it was the NID. Whether it was sanctioned or not, we don’t know.”
Brows furrowed, Blair was quiet for a several seconds. “There was someone high up in the Sentinel Council research department with ties to the intelligence community. It was to him that the GHB plot was traced. And now I’m wondering if that intelligence connection was NID.”
Tony blew out a breath. “Well, hell. You don’t make things easy, Blair.”
“Me?” Blair said, giving Tony a speaking look.
“I’d like to say that weird things just happen when I’m around, but I guess it’s a little more than that.”
“Please don’t say that, because I’m clinging to the belief that you have some grasp of reality.”
Snorting in amusement, Tony made himself get back to the subject at hand. “So, the Sentinel Council has information we need, but they don’t like to share. And we certainly have information, but are definitely not going to share.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “What would a smart man do in this situation? Hmm. I guess I’ll just have to let you and the general sort it out.”
“Well, I guess I can reassure everyone that you’re okay if you’re able to throw the unpleasantness over the wall and right at me,” he observed with a mock scowl. Tilting his head to the side, he gave Tony a considering look. “You seem different… more settled, I guess, which sort of surprises me considering the day you’ve had.”
“Ah, well…” he trailed off, not sure what to say. “I guess I had a hard time with some of the last phase of training in Peru and had a serious meltdown as soon as we got back. And though it sucked, especially when you add on the discourteous kidnapping attempt an hour later, I feel a little more… well, settled is as good a word as any.”
Blair looked thoughtful for a few seconds, then nodded. “I sort of want to know what the problem was, but I also don’t want to dredge up more shit for you to deal with when you’ve already had a rough time of it. So, I’ll just say that I’m available any time you need to talk.”
Tony just nodded his thanks.
Bouncing a little, Blair asked, “So were you surprised about Alex and Vincent?”
“Yeah, like you wouldn’t believe. Couldn’t have come at a better time, too. I think having them around is going to help Jack lose this faintly feral edge a little easier.”
“I know he’s going to be fretting if you stay too long, so get back, but ping me any time you need me.”
“Would you mind calling Martin for me? Tell him what you can and that I’m under guard on base, so not in any danger, and I’ll call him tomorrow? Jack and I are trying to stay awake for the rest of the day so we can sleep normally tonight, but back in the real world, I’m too tired for much coherency. And, of course, he won’t be able to reach me via cell when I’m on base. As soon as I figure out phones and email, I’ll give him a call or write. ”
“Sure. Anything else?”
“No. Oh, yes.” The Daniel question just occurred to him. “Question, under what circumstances would a mundane feel like Pride?”
“There are a few things. Someone who’s latent, who’s on the cusp of coming online might feel that way. Also, close family can give a sort of false read.”
“Meaning?”
“Well, let’s say Evan had a child… that child might feel like Pride to me if I’m especially close to Evan. You could liken it to extended-Pride. Why? Who feels like Pride who shouldn’t?”
Blair nodded. “Well, I didn’t sense him on the cusp of coming online, and I never asked him if he were latent. Are you recognizing Sam as Pride yet?”
“My observation is that the team is really tightly bound, and if Jack is as close to Daniel as Sam is, then you might be getting it from both of them.”
“Jack and Daniel are really tight.”
“Well that’s probably it. If someone is Pride to Jack, they definitely will be to you. Also, with the alphas registering him as Pride, the rest of the sentinels and guides likely will, too. Plus, Daniel has a very guide-like vibe about him. What about Teal’c?”
“I haven’t spent much time alone with Teal’c, and this observation about Daniel was recent and happened when I had my empathy pretty open. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get that read on him with that… guest of his.”
“Yeah.” Blair scrunched up his nose. “On the bright side, since we seem to need an extra shield to block them out, you might be able to open up your empathy and still keep that shield up.” He shivered. “Talk about someone in dire need of Megalomaniacs’ Anonymous.”
Tony laughed. “Yeah, there’s personality disorders, and then there’s that.” He felt a little tug on his link to Jack, which he didn’t think his sentinel was doing on purpose, which must mean Jack was getting agitated. “I better get back. I think he’s fretting. I’ll talk to you soon.” They said their goodbyes and he focused on returning.
Jack was sitting by the bed, watching him intently. “Everything okay?”
Tony nodded, reaching out and snagging Jack’s hand, pulling him toward the bed. He got them both in the position he wanted, then relaxed against his sentinel.
“Am I arranged to your satisfaction?” Jack asked with amusement.
“Yes. You’re very comfortable.”
“Live to serve.” Strong fingers carded through Tony’s hair. “Thought we were staying awake.”
“We are. But the rest of that feral edge will bleed off faster if we’re in physical contact and keep the bond open. I’m sure you’ll survive.” He ran his hand up Jack’s chest, keeping a soothing rhythm. “Listen, I know you’re going to be weird about my safety for a little bit, and I’ll put up with it for a while, but if it goes on too long, I’m gonna confiscate your game controllers and your Simpsons’ tapes.”
Surprised, Jack gave a short laugh. “Fair enough.”
“And just so my preferences are clearly stated,” Tony said a little teasingly, “I would prefer that you not hover on Monday when I run through the program’s physical evaluation. But if you’re legitimately still unable to let me out of your sight by then, I’ll somehow live with it.”
With a sigh, Jack pulled Tony a little closer. “I’ll try. Because it’s certainly in our best interests to get you qualified for a field duty ASAP, and I don’t want to make you nervous.”
Tony snorted. “You won’t make me nervous. Gibbs hovering over my shoulder and threatening to use my favorite hat as a target makes me nervous. No, having my sentinel walk me to school would just be embarrassing.”
“I’ll try to contain myself.” Jack rolled them so Tony was under him, pressed into the mattress, clearly amused. “So, this physical contact that we need to have…”
“What’d you have in mind?”
Jack lowered his head, lips hovering just above Tony’s. “I think it’s been way to long since we just made out.” With that, he claimed his guide’s lips, tongue snaking out to re-learn the taste of his bonded.
Tony arched up into his sentinel, happy to indulge in this for as long as they could. It had been too long… Making out was a luxury they didn’t have in Peru, a few kisses had been the extent of their contact other than just holding each other at night. Even though it had been years since he’d felt as close to someone as he had to Jack in just those few short weeks before Peru, he still managed to miss this those weeks in the jungle.
They were both too exhausted to really take it anywhere, and Tony was getting really fed up with the lack of sex, but he also knew they had time. And for now, this was perfect.
Sunday morning, Tony woke on his own, with no alarm, no emergency, no drugs, no crazy shaman teacher dragging him out of bed to practice flinging emotions around. His sentinel was pressed against his back, but the bond told him Jack was awake. Or dreaming about something that made him happy. The feral edge was gone, and Tony smiled into his pillow, glad his sentinel had bounced back from yesterday.
“What’s making you happy?” Tony asked, voice still raspy from sleep.
Lips pressed against the back of his neck, and there was silence for a long time. “You make me happy, Tony.”
The Tony who wasn’t comfortable with emotions wanted to deflect, but perhaps that Tony had been left behind in Peru. He squeezed the arm that Jack had wrapped around his waist. “You make me pretty damned happy, too, Jack.”
He felt Jack’s hot breath at the nape of his neck and strong arms tightened around him. Then the sentinel’s hands began to roam, caressing and stroking slowly. At first it was soothing, almost hypnotic, but then the touch became more purposeful, easily arousing Tony, and as Jack’s intense desire seeped into the bond, Tony began to writhe, seeking more contact, more touch, more Jack.
Hands traveled over Tony’s body slowly, thoroughly, and there wasn’t much Tony could do but react. Every time he reached back to touch, the sentinel pulled Tony’s hands back to the front.
When his sentinel’s fingers began to carefully prepare him, Tony groaned. “Fuck, it’s been too long since I’ve had you in me.” It was so fucking good, so right, and how the hell had they made it over three weeks without this?
Jack bit at the back of his neck, causing Tony to tremble even as he thrust back, chasing the feeling of being penetrated, the wonderful sense of stretch and burn and toe-curling pleasure.
Finally, the feel of Jack sinking fully into him completely took his breath away. He reached back and grabbed his sentinel’s hip, pulling them tightly together. Suddenly, everything was right and whole and them again.
He got so lost in their bond, in the perfect awareness of his sentinel, it took another sharp nip from Jack’s teeth to bring him back to the physical pleasure. He slammed open their empathic connection just before he reached his peak, creating the pleasure feedback loop that took them both away for long minutes, completely lost to anything but pleasure and each other.
Eventually, Tony managed to muster the energy to pull away a bit and turn over, resting his head on his sentinel’s shoulder and wrapping his arms tight around Jack. There were things they weren’t saying, but they weren’t unknown. The bond was too open for them to hide from each other, even if that might be more comfortable sometimes. The reality of Jack’s feelings, and the feelings Tony had in return, would have to be talked about some other time.
They stayed close for a long time, then by mutual agreement, got up to get ready to face the day. After showering, they had breakfast in their room, the last meal they planned to take in isolation, then Jack played some video games while Tony took Sam’s loaner laptop to check his email.
He checked his new account first, finding a note from Evan about his decision to go into the Air Force to try to work with Solon as a military guide. Evan started basic back on the ninth, so was already out of pocket and wouldn’t be able to read responses for a while. Regardless, Tony sent him an email to catch up.
He worried a little about Evan being a bonded guide in basic training. The military had to make some accommodation for the sentinels, otherwise they’d lose it. Typical protocol was to allow the sentinel and guide a couple hours a day together. Unfortunately, recruits sometimes saw this as favoritism and took it out on the guide, which in some severe cases had triggered feral episodes in sentinels. Tony was pretty sure the Air Force had the lowest instance of these types of issues. For good measure, he sent Solon an email as well.
With some reluctance, he checked his old personal account. The one he’d stopped using because he didn’t want to deal with the Ziva, McGee and Abby.
He stared at his email inbox, a little disheartened to see that he had emails from McGee and Ziva. Both were sent on December 28, which was the day he was in transit to Colorado and then Peru. They were supposed to be waiting for him to reach out, but the flaw in that plan was that Tony wasn’t sure he’d have ever done it.
Assuming this was fallout from the Abby debacle, he decided to read Ziva’s first. It was vitriolic, which he expected and there was really nothing to say in response. Since she was using her personal email to his personal email, there really wasn’t anything to do but ignore her. There was a more recent email in the same vein, also accusing him of being cowardly by not responding. Whatever.
Reluctantly, he clicked on McGee’s email next. He read it, then re-read it. After a brief hesitation, he picked up the phone and dialed.
“Hello?” was said after three rings.
“Hey, McGee.”
“Tony! I… I can’t believe you called. When you didn’t reply to my email, I thought you were still angry.”
“I just read your email. I’ve been in Peru without access to any communication services until yesterday.” Which wasn’t completely true. In the event of an emergency, they’d had a sat phone they kept turned off to preserve the battery life.
“Peru? What were you doing there?”
“It was a training exercise, and I can’t really discuss it beyond that.”
“Oh, okay. I saw the announcement that you’re afloat again. You okay with that?”
Tony was a little heartened by the concern. “Yeah, McGee. I’m good with it. It’s a classified project, so there’s really not much I can say about it.”
“I won’t pry.” There was a brief pause. “Listen, Tony. I meant what I said in the email. Part of me wanted to be mad at you because Abby was upset, but for the rest of me it was a real wakeup call.”
“Why’s that?” he asked cautiously.
“Some of her anger toward you in the weeks after Harris… well, let’s just say it didn’t exactly make sense, but it was close enough to something I wanted to believe that I tried to make it make sense. Did that make sense?”
“Well, it really shouldn’t because that was far from coherent, McNonsense, but I actually understand what you meant.”
McGee laughed in a way that sounded a little self-deprecating. “Yeah. I wanted to believe it so I didn’t have to look too hard at my mistakes. But when she called me after you were here during the holidays… Tony, she was so far off that it was like I couldn’t not see the situation clearly. She’s so stuck in this skewed view of our team that she can’t even hear how illogical she’s being.”
Tony wasn’t sure what to say to that. He also wasn’t sure how McGee was in contact with Abby since she was still on suspension, but decided not to ask, because it really wasn’t his business anymore. Besides, if he raised the red flag, Jack would be on it like a dog with a bone.
“And it made me realize that it was easier to be angry at you than see I’d seriously messed up. The reason I sent the email is because I really just wanted to apologize. I realize nothing makes up for it, not what we did or what we said after, but it still needed to be said. I needed to say it.”
He hesitated for a few seconds, making sue he was being honest with how he felt. “I appreciate it McGee.” He wasn’t sure he was all the way to forgiveness yet, but he was close.
There was a bit of an awkward pause, before McGee asked, “Abby said you’re a guide now?”
“Yeah. I came online about a week after I left DC.”
“Aren’t you a little old for coming online?”
Tony pulled the phone away to glare at it for a second. “Thanks, McGoo. I’m only above the upper age for a new guide by about two years, so it’s not that shocking.”
“And you already have a sentinel… are you happy about everything?”
“Yeah… I really am. Things turned out for the best, I think. Even if it didn’t seem like it when I left DC.” And wasn’t that the truth. There was no way he could have seen that this is what would become of the wreckage of his life.
“I’m happy for you, Tony. Things aren’t the same here without you… I just… I miss having you around.”
Letting go of the melancholy feelings this call had stirred up, Tony found himself smiling. “Are we gonna express sentiments here, McEmo?”
McGee laughed. “I never thought I’d be happy to hear you mangling my name.”
Jack’s hand slid around the back of his neck and gave it a squeeze. Tony relaxed back in his chair, appreciating the contact, and continued his discussion with McGee. The talk was a bit of tap dance because they avoided talking about what happened before he left, or Ziva or Abby, but Tony felt a little better about things by the time he hung up. At least his probie was going to pull out of this situation okay.
“You all right?” Jack asked, taking a seat on the bed.
“Yeah, I’m good. Better, even.”
“McEmo?”
Tony laughed. “I’ve been abusing McGee’s last name since I met him, he wouldn’t know what to do if I stopped.”
Smirking, Jack asked, “So, you want to go back to whatever you were doing, or talk about some logistical crap?”
Tony laughed. “How can I turn down something as scintillating as ‘logistical crap’?”
Jack chuckled as he held out a piece of paper for Tony to review. It was a summary of the functions of every floor of the complex, including some things on the surface that they shared with NORAD. Several levels were highlighted and one level was circled in red.
“Uh, thank you?” Tony said flashing his sentinel a look.
“NCIS sent all the standard gear for setting up a small field office. We need to decide where to put it. The highlighted floors are ones that have space you could occupy for the NCIS/AFOSI office. The floor circled is where the Pride space will be.”
“Oh.” Tony looked through things more closely. They were converting space for the Pride on seventeen, which was primarily open and used for storage or converted for other purposes as needed. There was going to be a meditation room slash lounge area, and up to three bonding suites, though they were starting with just one. Actually, if he read these notes right, the Pride rooms were already available.
On the topic of his office, Tony quickly contemplated the pros and cons of where to put the NCIS office and quickly made a decision. “Twenty-two,” he said decisively.
Jack blinked, then grinned. “If you’re trying to get me hot and bothered by your ability to not dither, mission accomplished.”
Laughing, Tony set the list aside then tackled his sentinel onto the bed. His lips settled over Jack’s, kissing until they were breathless. “Now that I know you get turned on by decisiveness, I’ll be sure to make lots of decisions.”
His sentinel was busy getting them undressed again. “Less talking, more deciding.”
Tony was laughing so hard Jack had to do most of the disrobing effort.
Later, they met up with the rest of SG-1 for lunch in the officer’s mess, which was a little less crowded than the main dining area, so was easier on Jack. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, though Teal’c was pretty much the same as always. Toward the end of the meal, they decided to try a trial separation, so Tony stayed with the other team members while Jack went to meet with General Hammond for a few minutes.
Then the whole team, plus eight Marines, went to Jack’s house. Whatever damage there had been was cleared up and the front door repaired. Tony half expected a bloody back yard, but a couple inches of snow had fallen and wiped away the evidence of the morning before.
His sentinel’s tension mounted the longer they stayed there, which made Tony want to hit something. They were going to find who was behind this and why, and then Tony was kicking someone’s ass, because Jack should not be feeling this way about his own home!
Jack was clearly ready to let Tony have as much time as he wanted to get things together, but Tony hustled them through, delegating work to everyone including a couple Marines, then got them out of there.
Jack stared at the Airman standing at attention across from his desk and tried to hold on to his temper. “I seem to recall a memo stating that spirit animals might on occasion be seen on base. Do you not see that memo, Airman?”
“Yes, sir, but-“
“And if memory serves,” Jack continued, ignoring the Airman’s attempt to communicate, “that memo clearly said that they would always be in the company of a sentinel or guide, and that there was no way for wild animals to get in the mountain. Do you remember that part of the memo?”
Airman Tucker stared straight ahead. “Yes, sir.”
Bracing his hands on his desk, Jack leaned forward and yelled, “So what would possess you to open fire in a science lab and shoot a raccoon?”
“It was a raccoon, sir!” Tucker said imploringly, seeming a little freaked.
“Exactly! A raccoon. And a small one at that!” Jack mentally summoned Gretzky, hoping the tiger would choose to be visible. When the Airman nearly leapt out of his skin, Jack considered it a win. “If you’d shot at my nearly half-ton tiger, it would have at least made sense! Not that you are ever allowed to shoot my tiger,” he ended on a growl which was echoed much more loudly by the tiger in question.
When the Airman started to say something, Jack held up a hand. “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t know if you’re raccoon phobic, or if you’re just anti-raccoon, or maybe you just want Major Carter pissed at you, but it’s never acceptable to open fire on this base unless there’s a clear and present danger. And a small mammal in a science lab does not qualify!”
Jack really didn’t want to hear anything else. He wasn’t sure if Tucker was going to survive at the SGC with these kinds of decision-making skills. “Restricted to limits for two weeks, plus extra duties as assigned by Major Carter. And I think it’s safe to assume that she’s going to be holding a bit of a grudge. Dismissed.”
Once he was alone, except for Gretzky, Jack flopped back in his chair and scrubbed his hands over his face. What a fucked up day. First, it was a Monday, and Mondays just sucked. Second, he was trying to get back into the swing of things after weeks away, plus the holidays, plus his week of nesting. Third, he was struggling with not having his guide in his line of sight because Tony was off working on his field qualifications. Fourth, he had an upset teammate to deal with whose spirit guide had vanished after being shot, and the two people best suited to help her, Alex and Tony, were both in the same place running obstacle courses and shooting guns.
He was pretty sure spirit animals didn’t actually die, but had no idea what to say to Carter to reassure her. In the end, he’d called Blair and made a run for it in case things got more emotional. Daniel was there, too, so Jack didn’t feel like he could help the situation at all. Teal’c was involved with assessing the incoming candidates, so he wouldn’t be back until Tony was back.
Reluctantly, he headed to see Hammond. The general’s aide just waved Jack through to Hammond’s office. They had many things to review and the situation with the spirit animals was just a small part of it.
When they got to that portion of the conversation, Hammond looked thoughtful. “We knew if they decided to be visible that there might be some complications.”
Jack nodded. “Agreed, sir, but I’m not sure how I feel about people in this program who will fly off the handle in panic at the sight of a raccoon.”
“I can’t argue with that. I’m going to speak to Airman Tucker personally, but he might be a better fit at Area 51. But I’d also like to speak to Agent DiNozzo and you about common sense guidelines for spirit guides on base.”
“Yes, sir.” That they were having this conversation seemed surreal to Jack.
“In regards to the events on Saturday, I spoke with Dr. Sandburg first thing this morning in regards to the potential correlation between the NID and the rogue faction of the Council. I then spoke with the President directly, because if there’s another plot in the NID, he needs to get ahead of it. He was clear that this was not a sanctioned effort and that he’d make sure the NID was emphatically informed.”
Jack sighed. “Officially warning the NID to police a faction they don’t officially acknowledge sounds about as useful as warning a crocodile not to eat the family pets.” When the general just gave him a look, Jack held up his hands in surrender. “I get it. It’s the best we can do.”
They talked about a few other issues, before the general tapped a folder on his desk. “I have the results of this mornings’ firearms qualification tests,” Hammond offered blandly.
“That kind of tease is beneath you, sir,” Jack commented and succeeded in getting a small quirk of the lips from the general.
Instead of replying, the general just passed over the folder. Jack tried to hide his eagerness, but promptly forgot why as soon as he started scanning the results. They tested recruits with three weapons, handgun, a sniper rifle and a PDW, typically the P90.
Jack’s brows shot up. Tony tested fourth out of his group of eighteen with the P90, he was first in his group with a handgun, even out shooting Vincent. But the real surprise was that Tony came in second with a sniper rifle, this time coming in right behind the sentinel.
“Whoa,” Jack commented, feeling inordinately proud of his guide.
“If he continues to perform to this level, I’ll authorize Gate travel immediately, and I’d like to get SG-1 back into rotation as soon as you feel the team is ready. I spoke with Commander Lain and he feels that with the training you’ve undergone in Peru, that the two of you should only need a trial-run to the alpha site to ensure that your senses can handle the, as he termed it ‘overwhelming input’ that comes with going through the Stargate. I’d prefer you try to make that trip happen this week.”
Jack nodded, feeling anxious to get back to business as usual, but a little trepidation about taking his guide out to face the typical mayhem of SG-1.
He wrapped the meeting with Hammond and headed back to Carter’s lab, to see how things were going, forcing himself not to think about Tony going through hand-to-hand evaluations. The thought of someone beating up his guide made him a little crazy. He had to carefully keep himself from trying to track Tony with his senses, because Tony was up on the surface, and he could only safely try to hear through that much concrete with his guide to ground him.
Carter was working furiously on some gizmo and Daniel was hovering. Though he wasn’t actually close to her, his whole attitude had ‘hovering’ all over it. “What’d Blair have to say?”
Quickly getting up, Daniel pulled Jack out in to the hall. “He said that it’s something he and Tony have discussed a few times… that when the animals are at their most visible, they’re also the most tangible. So, if they want to feel like living breathing animals, they become visible to everyone. If they’re visible only to the sentinel or guide, they don’t have as much tangible substance except on the spirit plane.”
Jack vaguely remembered Tony talking about something like that, but when Tony got his shaman stuff going, Jack sort of tuned out, sort of like when Carter was talked about corona mass emissions – and he would never have remembered those words if he hadn’t had to live that day over and over!
“So, does that mean her little buddy is… actually I don’t even know what to ask.”
Daniel gave him the patented exasperated-with-Jack look. “Blair theorized that if a spirit animal has become fully tangible, probably for the benefit of their human, that if they were to sustain damage, they’d have to go back to the spirit plane to reenergize.”
“So, not dead?” Jack asked, trying to get Daniel to the point.
“No, Jack,” Daniel said on a sigh, “it’s highly unlikely a spirit animal can die. I’m sure you’ve noticed that Gretzky doesn’t spend all his time here. Blair and Tony think that there’s a finite amount of time they can spend here, and the more tangible, the less time.”
“And again with the, ‘so, not dead?’”
Giving Jack the hairy eyeball, Daniel said, “I don’t think so. But when Tony gets back, he should be able to confirm.”
Jack leaned to the side to peer into he lab where Carter was banging things around more than getting anything done. “I have Airman Tucker reporting for extra duties, but I think that may need to wait a day.”
“Yeah. I think she might hurl things at his head. She’s still getting used to being a guide, Jack, but I have no doubt the best part for her was the spirit animal. Sam’s really attached already.”
He didn’t really want to talk about Carter’s attachments, but he recognized that sending Airman Tucker her way right now wasn’t the best idea. “Maybe sending Tucker now would be therapeutic for Carter,” he mused out loud.
“Not funny, Jack.”
Jack just shrugged, because he found the idea kind of amusing.
A few hours later, while he was buried in a sea of never-ending paperwork, his senses were suddenly easily able to track his guide, who was nearing Jack’s position. His whole being seemed to relax as his guide drew closer. There was a tap at the door a few seconds later.
“Come on in, Tony,” he called out as he started shuffling things into some sort of order so he could end this day. When he looked up, he blinked and started to jump up, but Tony was already waving him down.
“I’m fine. It’s just a black eye. Zigged when I should have zagged.” Tony looked tired, but then again, he’d looked tired since before they returned from Peru. He was actually looking much better than two days ago, black eye and all.
Jack growled a little, but subsided when Tony stared him down.
“I’m gonna get banged up sometimes, Jack.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Something suddenly occurred to him. “Sit. Let me just look up something real quick and we can go.” He looked through his email, finding the final standings for the physical qualifications in his inbox. “You want to know how you did?”
Tony’s brows shot up. “You can tell me that?”
“Anyone who wants to know their results can find out, but not usually the first day,” Jack replied with a grin.
Settling back in his chair, Tony smirked. “Perks of my sentinel being the boss.”
Jack just shook his head. “Okay, so you placed second in firearms.”
“Which one?”
“Overall.”
“Really?” Tony looked shocked.
“Yup. And in H2H you ranked seventh.”
Tony looked surprised again. “I didn’t think I’d done that well. Teal’c is… well, let’s just stay I only last about five minutes.”
“You lasted five minutes? That’s… impressive, actually.”
Tony frowned. “You don’t think he was taking it easy on me, do you?”
Jack shook his head. “Teal’c doesn’t have it in him.” He went back to his email to look for some more specifics. “Huh. Teal’c ranked you third, but he doesn’t make the final call. The evaluator ranked you seventh because of lack of technique.” He shot Tony an inquiring look.
“Hey, I’m scrappy not a kung fu master,” hands up to ward off the question.
Nodding absently, Jack made a mental note to check into how they were evaluating candidates, not because he thought Tony’s rating was unfair, but because scrappy kept you alive when you were off planet, while perfect technique did not.
He looked back at his guide. “There are several fitness criteria you’re rated on, but we care most about weapons and unarmed combat. When everything was put together, you ranked fourth.”
Tony nearly choked. “Really? Huh. All that time running around in the jungle was good for something besides empathic Olympics. Come on, let’s get out of here. I’m still psyching myself up for tomorrow’s psych evaluation and the aptitude testing, and I want to get you alone so we can engage in some classic avoidance behaviors,” he said, getting to his feet.
Jack suddenly remembered the drama of the day. “We need to track down Carter. One of the SFs passing her lab saw her raccoon and shot at it.”
“What?” Tony exclaimed, plopping back in the chair.
“He apparently has some sort of raging hatred of raccoons, or maybe all small mammals, I don’t know, but Carter reported seeing the animal obviously wounded right before it disappeared.”
“Let me guess, she’s worried that her spirit guide is dead?”
“Jesus,” he said, getting back to his feet. “Let’s go. Or do you want me to meet you back in our room?”
Jack really wanted to avoid the sentimentality that was about to happen, but now that he had his guide in his sights, he really didn’t want Tony going away again. And he really did want to make sure Carter was okay.
Tony came around the desk and leaned down to give Jack a kiss. “How about you give me a ten minute head start, then come find me. That way you can miss most of the rampant emotionalism.”
Laughing, Jack managed to pull Tony down for another kiss before shooing him away. “You’re the best guide ever.”
“You’re not going to think that for long. I set up our first Pride gathering, including the empathic linking, for tomorrow night, and you have to be there.”
Jack dropped his head on his desk and groaned.
PDW – Personal Defense Weapon
H2H – Hand to Hand
Tony paced around the Pride area, trying to get his agitation under control. He had to be calm before people started arriving. “I feel like Tony Curtis in The Great Impostor.”
“You’re actually a shaman and an alpha, Tony. Ferdinand Demara wasn’t any of the things he pretended to be,” Alex commented wryly from where he was lounging on one of the sofas.
He halted in his orbit and blinked at Alex. It was rare that someone got his movie references. “I’ve been an alpha for barely a month!”
“That’s not all that uncommon. Many alphas want to link to their Pride quickly, then expand as time moves on. Even Martin and Gibbs are linking Pride members, albeit a bit slowly. You just happen to have a readymade Pride.”
“Are you okay with this? If you want to link later, I’m fine with that.”
Alex’s brows shot up in surprise.
“I mean, I know you and Morgan are close, and this can’t be the easiest thing…”
“Tony, sit down before you wear a hole in the carpet.” After Tony sat, Alex leaned forward and gave him a searching look. “It’s in our nature to want to be part of a Pride and linked to an alpha pair. You’re at a bit of a disadvantage because you came online as a shaman, and so obviously a future alpha, plus you weren’t unbonded long enough to feel a strong need to link into a Pride.
“The sentinels and guides here have been without an alpha. Many of them for several years. Some carry weak tethers to their prior alpha, but it’s not the same. I think the fact that you’re doing this so soon is a good thing. And Vincent and I have no reservations about linking to you. None. Nothing about this changes my friendship with Morgan, so stop worrying about it.”
“Gah!” Tony pulled at his hair. “I haven’t even met all my Pride yet.”
“Well, that’s why we’re having a meet and greet ahead of time. Your shaman aura is compelling, Tony. As soon as these people meet you, they’re going to be fine. And you know anyone who’d rather link later can choose to leave.”
Tony closed his eyes and tried to center himself. People would start arriving soon and he didn’t want to be agitated and freaked out. “Maybe scheduling this on the same day I had to do his psych eval wasn’t the best idea ever,” Tony mumbled.
“Ouch,” Alex commented wryly. “I noticed these guys are really thorough in prepping for these evals. My examiner knew everything about my time in the military.”
“Yeah. Clearly my NCIS file was an open book to these folks. Though they had less information about what’s gone on since I came online, because they didn’t ask too many questions about how things went down in DC. The S&G Center and the Council were not as forthcoming as NCIS, I guess.”
Alex got to his feet. “We’ve got ten minutes or so before people start arriving. Let’s meditate and get you in the right headspace for this.”
A few minutes later, Tony was feeling more centered and ready to meet his Pride. He’d met a few people already, but of the twenty-nine people in his Pride, including Vincent, Alex and Sam, he’d met maybe seven. There were six bonded pairs, plus Vincent and Alex, twelve unbonded guides, and three unbonded sentinels.
“Better?” Alex asked.
Tony opened his eyes and gave a half smile. “Yeah. I still feel under qualified for this, but I’m gonna give it my best shot.” He got to his feet and surveyed the room. The space was large, with lots of places to sit and a huge open area. It wasn’t what he’d call perfect, but it was a good start.
Before he could get worked up again, the first couple people arrived, and Tony let himself get immersed in meeting the sentinels and guides who would be linked to him and Jack before the end of the night.
Sam and Jack arrived together. She seemed in better spirits, and Tony assumed that her spirit guide had made an appearance at some point. Tony had gone to the spirit plane the night before and confirmed that the little raccoon was there. She’d been quite affectionate with Tony, and he could only conclude that he and Blair were correct that spirit animals re-charged on the spirit plane, as weird as that seemed.
Jack pulled him aside. “You okay?”
Tony blinked at his sentinel in surprise. He was pretty sure he was containing all his anxiety. “Yeah. Just a little nervous.”
“That’s not what I meant. You got really angry about the time you were in with the shrink today.”
Glancing away, Tony forced himself not to get angry again. “He got pretty invasive, and knew entirely too much about me. I’ll get over it.”
Jack gave him a look.
“Seriously, I need it out of my head if I’m going to do this tonight. We can talk about it later.” Maybe he should have re-scheduled the link for another time, but he also felt strongly that he needed to start drawing their Pride together.
Looking a little dubious, Jack replied, “Yeah, okay.” The sentinel looked like he was going to say something else, but Vincent arrived, followed by about a dozen more people.
Tony was good with people, so it was easy to get in the groove of chatting with people, dragging his snarky sentinel along as he worked the room. Alex’s prediction was pretty much spot on that people seemed to relax quickly after they met him, and no one seemed inclined to leave. His passive empathy was wide open, and he didn’t detect any discomfort from anyone.
After Tony had met everyone, and the atmosphere had settled into something comfortable, Tony excused himself for a few minutes to get ready for the Pride link. He went next door to the bonding suite, and was immediately back to pacing again, as he tried to get himself centered.
The last few days had been extremely difficult, and he could justifiably put off setting up the Pride’s empathic links, but he knew that the sentinels and guides at the SGC were already feeling adrift, and it didn’t help that their new alphas had been attacked a few days before and the Pride link wasn’t really there to reassure them. Knowing and feeling were really two different things.
Jack would have been happy to keep Tony company, mostly to get out of having to socialize in the Pride space, but Tony needed the few minutes alone to get his nerves under control. He knew the theory of what he was about to do, but he’d never experienced it in any way. Hell, he’d only been a guide for three months!
Ruthlessly, he pushed down any feelings of inadequacy or nerves. When he built the empathic web for the Pride to connect to, he didn’t want to be broadcasting neurotic insecure feelings at everyone.
Gattino appeared in front of him and almost caused him to trip. Tony smiled and dropped to one knee, hugging the tiger. “Hey, boy,” he whispered. The tiger chuffed at him and nuzzled against his neck. “I guess if you’re back, then Maggie’s back?”
When he’d trekked to the spirit plane last night to check on the raccoon, he’d asked Gattino to stay with her until she could return. It was probably silly, but it made Sam feel better. And in the interim, Sam had decided to name the little critter Maggie.
Gattino’s presence was what Tony needed to settle his mind down. There were thirty people in the next room, and it was time for him to step up to the plate. With the same kind of focus Tony had at the start of an undercover assignment, he took a deep breath and directed his mind toward work. Gattino disappeared, seemingly knowing that Tony wasn’t ready to introduce him yet.
Just as Tony was reaching for the door, Jack stepped into the room. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I just needed to clear my head. I don’t want to broadcast nerves all over everyone.”
Jack ran his fingers through his hair. “And all I have to do is stay in contact?”
Tony fought off a smile. “Just keep your hand on my back or something. But remember that our bond is the anchor, so just stay relaxed when you suddenly become aware of everyone else in the room. It won’t last long.”
“I still have no idea what any of that means,” Jack muttered with a touch of petulance.
Tony gave a wry laugh. “Me either, Jack. I’ve never done this before. Did the sentinels get enough time to get a basic sensory imprint?” Part of the purpose of the socializing, other than just getting to know each other, was that the sentinels would automatically catalogue Pride members, and the quickest way was when they were all together.
Jack nodded, then hedged a bit. “Two of the sentinels didn’t get to you yet, because they just arrived, but they’ll no doubt do it while you’re doing your shaman mojo.”
They headed back to the Pride space, and everyone got quiet and turned to face him. Tony just offered a grin and rubbed his hands together. “Shall we get this show on the road?”
He directed his sentinel toward the center of the room. Tony’s new Pride consisted of seven bonded pairs, twelve unbonded guides and three unbonded sentinels, for a total of twenty-nine, thirty-one with him and Jack.
He could tell which guides and sentinels had prior contact with a strong Pride because they immediately got into comfortable positions, most of them choosing to sit in the open space on the floor.
To those who looked less certain, Tony made a vague gesture around the room. “Sit wherever you’re comfortable.” Tony dropped down on the floor. He needed to be in the center of the room and sitting on a chair in an open space was a little weird.
Alex had been pretty adamant that he and Vincent were going to sit near the perimeter of the room, even though Tony had wanted them nearby in case Tony started to screw up. Alex had just given Tony a look and reiterated that he’d sit on the perimeter.
While everyone got comfortable, Tony focused on infusing his aura with calming soothing feelings, then let the barrier down slowly. They’d discovered on a particularly memorable training session in Cascade that Tony could only thin his aura shield by about a third or it was overwhelming and the affect went further than he wanted. Needless to say, Morgan had not been happy when Tony had gotten the entire Center mellow and happy accidentally.
Eyes closed, he grounded himself in his bond with Jack and let his empathy out enough to keep tabs on the room. As soon as the room was settled, he withdrew his aura slowly. He could feel the anticipation and sense of expectation from the people in the room.
He only had a vague idea of what he was doing. Blair had given him some basic instruction, but said it was mostly instinctual and the method varied a bit from alpha to alpha. Slowly, he let his empathy out to begin getting an empathic impression of everyone in the room, one person at a time. He needed his empathy to be strong enough to build the connections, but not so strong that he’d start reading everyone in the mountain.
In his mind, he began to build an empathic map of his Pride that looked a lot like a web. He visualized building connections from every person to every person, so each of them would always recognize the others as Pride. At first it was slow going, but then the connections began to build faster and faster until he had every one set in his mind. Finally, he made sure to infuse Jack into the web, building a strong connection between the Pride and the alpha sentinel.
When he was sure he had built the links to the best of his ability, he visualized lowering the web over his Pride. The rest was up to the individuals, they could acknowledge the links and grab on to them, or push them away.
Those who were bonded latched on first, followed by the unbonded guides, and finally the unbonded sentinels, who had to work the hardest to grab onto an empathic link.
He wasn’t exactly surprised that everyone accepted the linking, but he still felt startled that it happened so quickly. Everyone’s emotions were wide open to him in this process, but he tried not to examine them, or zero in on anyone. He felt a lot of astonishment, but didn’t try to track it to the source or figure out why. No doubt suddenly feeling connected to thirty other people would create a reaction. The only person’s emotions he let himself read were Jack’s, but his sentinel was so focused on grounding Tony, that the emotional tone was steady and even.
Slowly, he pulled his empathy back, noting that a few of the guides held on like Sam had. He gently, but insistently disengaged and gradually put all his barriers back in place.
Tony blinked, the room swimming into focus, then he was grateful he was seated because he was suddenly so fucking tired.
“Whoa,” Jack said, bracing him as he started tilting. “What’s going on?”
“Just tired.”
Alex hunkered down in front of him. “I’m sure you’re wiped. Let’s get you back to your quarters. The rest of the Pride will probably want to hang out for a bit.”
Tony thought to protest, but he was pretty sure if he didn’t find his bed soon, he was going to fall asleep right there, sprawled out on the carpet.
Jack was concerned as he helped Tony stagger to his feet. No one had warned him that this was going to drive his guide to exhaustion. He let Joyce and Lain help him get Tony back to their room. He was pretty sure Tony actually fell asleep against him on the eight-floor ride down to their quarters.
He shot Joyce a look and whispered, “Do we need to be stopping by the infirmary?”
The other guide shook his head, but whispered sentinel-soft, “No, but we should talk after he’s asleep.”
Jack frowned, but nodded. Once they were at Jack’s quarters, Joyce quickly helped Jack wrestle Tony out of his clothes, down to his boxers, and into bed. Jack was a little alarmed because he’d never seen Tony this tired. If the Goa’uld invaded, he was pretty sure Tony would sleep through it.
They moved as far form the bed as they could and the other sentinel and guide were exchanging a look. Jack arched a brow, waiting for an explanation.
Very softly, Joyce began with, “One thing we noticed shortly into Tony’s guide training was that it’s best not to tell him specifically how to do something. He instinctively seems to know how to do certain things, or would naturally do them differently than is customary. Sometimes trying to get him to do things in the ‘customary’ way was counterproductive. We settled into a method of giving him general direction and letting him feel his way through. Often, he does things instinctively no one’s ever thought to try; at least, that we know of.”
“And that relates to tonight, how?”
“Most alphas link to a few people at a time, and the tether to the alpha allows the guides to build connections to the rest of the Pride. Tony dropped an empathic web over the entire Pride, all at once, with everyone connected to everyone else.” Joyce paused, and rubbed his hand over his face. “Frankly, I’ve never heard of anything like it. Only a shaman would even have a chance of doing it, from a strength perspective. I’d have to ask Blair, but I’m not even sure it would occur to him to try it. But there’s no doubt it would exhaust him.”
Jack blew out a breath, not sure what to make of it. He didn’t really get the intricacies of what guides were capable of, much less shamans, despite being there for some of Tony’s training. “Just tell me if he’s okay.”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine after some sleep. I’d like to do an empathic scan in the morning to make sure.”
“You can’t do it tonight?”
“Unless it were an emergency, I wouldn’t scan Tony without his permission. Also, since his shaman training, he’s hard to scan unless he relaxes his shields.”
Fighting the urge to keep his guide under lock and key, Jack tried to remember what Tony was doing tomorrow. “He’s setting up his office tomorrow, I think. So if he needs extra rest, it shouldn’t be a problem. We’re scheduled for the alpha site on Thursday, so I need to know ASAP if we need to push it.” The alpha site trip was contingent on Tony’s clearance for Gate travel, but Jack should know that first thing tomorrow as well.
Lain nodded, accepting this was a command issue and not just a Pride concern. “We’ll make sure you know as early as possible.”
Jack had a few more question, then the other pair left to return to the Pride to handle anything that came up in Tony and Jack’s stead. Jack got ready for bed, then climbed in with his guide, pulling Tony close. “You can’t do anything the easy way, can you?” he whispered against Tony’s hair.
The next morning, Tony was still zonked when Jack was ready to leave. He sat on the bed and watched his guide sleep. Tony was sprawled out on his stomach, face half buried in the pillows. The bond was quiet and peaceful. He trailed his fingers down the sensitive spine, a little surprised when Tony arched into his touch and let out a little moan.
“If you’re doing that and you’re already dressed and ready to leave, I’m going to hurt you,” Tony grumbled.
Jack laughed, but continued teasing the soft skin of his guide’s back. “I was just about to go.”
“You prick.” Belying the words, Tony moved into Jack’s hand like a cat being petted. “What time is it?”
“Almost 0800.”
“Damn.” Tony struggled to a seated position, scrubbing his hands over his face. “I need to get up.” He suddenly paused and blinked a few times. “Wait. I don’t even remember getting back here last night. Did I finish the Pride linking?”
“Yeah. Made you tired.”
Tony frowned, biting his lip. “Blair said it could be a little fatiguing, but he didn’t say it would drop me. Did I screw up?”
Jack instantly decided to let Joyce handle how to broach this. “You did good, Tony. But Joyce is going to be by in a bit to make sure you’re okay.”
After a moment of apparent confusion, Tony rolled his eyes. “I think you missed the chapter in the man code where when a guy has a girl’s last name, you’re obligated to call him by his given name. That said, I’m fine. No need for Alex to babysit.”
Grinning, Jack replied, “I’ll let you pass that message along.”
“Asshole.”
Jack reeled his guide in for a quick kiss, then nuzzled his neck briefly, getting as much of Tony’s scent as possible, before forcing himself to leave.
Tony surveyed the chaos that would be his new office. He had two Airmen helping him get some stuff sorted out, but Tony was too particular about his work space to delegate most of the tasks. After they wrapped up what Tony was willing to accept help on, his two helpers left, leaving Tony with hours of organizing still to do.
Deciding to put off the rest until the afternoon, Tony headed out to get some caffeine and check on Carter. She’d been through a lot of changes lately and he wanted to ensure that she was all right. He should probably also check in on some of the other members of his Pride and see how they were adjusting after the Pride link.
Two cups of coffee in hand, he cautiously peered into a lab that made Abby’s workspace seem simple. Carter had her back to the door, working on something, with Maggie perched at the end of the worktable. There was an Airman standing at attention at the edge of the room.
“Hey, Sam,” Tony said cautiously. “This a bad time?”
Carter turned and gave him a big smile. “Hi, Tony.” She immediately crossed to him, taking note of the coffee. “I’m so hoping one of those is for me.”
“Yep.” He passed her one of the cups. “Wasn’t sure if you allow liquids in your lab or not.”
“Only on this table, but I couldn’t make it without caffeine.” She took a sip, giving him a contemplative look. “Are you all right?”
“Me?” he asked with some incredulity. “I’m fine. I came to check on you, actually, but since you have company maybe I could stop by later?”
Carter shot a dark look over her shoulder at the Airman still standing at attention. “Airman Tucker is just waiting for me to decide what his extra duties will be for the next two weeks.”
Tony straightened up abruptly and set his coffee down before advancing into the lab. “You’re the one who shot a spirit guide?” he asked, trying to keep his calm.
“Yes, sir. It won’t happen again,” Tucker replied woodenly.
“It better not,” Tony nearly growled. Wanting some reassurance of the man’s sincerity, Tony let his empathy out and gave a quick scan. Something wasn’t right, but the investigator in Tony knew better than to react. He gave the Airman a stiff nod and returned to Carter.
“Hey, let me write down my schedule for the rest of the day and you can come find me when you have time,” he said nonchalantly.
Giving him a slightly perplexed look, she handed him a piece of paper and he scribbled out a note. –Keep him here, no matter what. Don’t act any differently. I need to call Jack.–
Taking the note, she glanced at it, then tucked it in her pocket with out any outward reaction. “All right. I’ll catch up with you later. I need to finish a small project and then sort out Airman Tucker’s duties.”
A few minutes later, Tony found a phone and asked to be transferred to Jack.
“O’Neill,” Jack answered brusquely.
“Jack, I need you to come up to Sam Carter’s lab, stat. And if Vincent is around, bring him, too. Just act like nothing’s up.”
“On my way,” Jack said quickly and hung up. Tony was a little gratified that Jack hadn’t asked him for any justification, just done what Tony asked. He leaned back against the wall down a ways from Carter’s domain, and drank his coffee while waiting for the two sentinels. He focused on trying to get his impressions in order so he could brief
It was a little over five minutes before Jack came around the corner with both Vincent and Alex. Tony guided them a little further away.
“What’s going on, Tony?”
“Airman Tucker,” Tony said baldly. “Something’s not right there.”
Frowning, Jack glanced down the hall towards Carter’s lab. “In what way?”
“His emotional tone is all wrong. He’s so freaked out by raccoons that he opens fire in a lab, yet he’s not displaying any nerves toward Maggie sitting ten feet from him? His emotional landscape has some trepidation, but also a lot of annoyance. The only fear or nerves were directed at me. Jack, the investigator in me says something isn’t right about this situation. For him to go off the rails to such a degree, he should be terrified or freaked out by having to be in there right now. And–”
Jack held up a hand. “You don’t have to convince me, Tony. If you tell me there’s a problem, we’ll take care of it.”
Tony blinked, not used to not having to work harder to sell his theories.
“Why’d you want me to bring Commander Lain?”
Staying on task, Tony quickly replied, “Despite our intensive in the jungle, you’re pretty new to reading deception markers, thought we might need another impression.”
Jack nodded looking thoughtful. “Let’s go put an Airman on the spot and see what he lets slip.”
Jack and Vincent led the way and Tony glanced at Alex, who nodded. Tony knew he’d be scanning Tucker as well.
When the four of them entered Carter’s lab, Carter just stepped back, but Tucker panicked. Outwardly he was stoic, but his emotions left no doubt that he was freaking out about the four of them.
“So,” Jack said casually, leaning against one of the tables, arms crossed over his chest, “when I questioned you about discharging your firearm you were genuinely anxious and nervous. It didn’t occur to me to question what you were anxious about.”
“Sir?” Tucker said stiffly, displaying no outward reaction.
“You want to tell me why it is that you weren’t even a little bothered by the presence of Major Carter’s spirit guide earlier when Agent DiNozzo was here?”
Tony felt the anxiety spike at the question, but Tucker was staying cool outwardly.
Jack shook his head, making a tsk’ing sound. “The thing is, Airman, I can smell the nerves on you, but you’re not reacting physically. Remarkable restraint for a man who can’t stop himself from shooting into a lab.”
The Airman didn’t reply.
Straightening up, Jack leaned forward a touch, making his posture more aggressive. “Tell me why you shot Major Carter’s spirit guide.”
“I told you, sir, it startled me.”
Tony could feel the lie, but kept quiet, letting Jack handle it. Jack exchanged a quick look with Vincent, who nodded.
“The thing, Airman,” Jack said tightly, “is that we can smell the lie on you. So, again, why did you shoot at a spirit guide?”
The Airman continued to deny, no matter how hard Jack pressed. Suddenly Tony made one of his intuitive leaps and said, “Were you ordered to shoot a spirit animal?”
The emotional spike told Tony the answer was yes, and apparently the sentinels could smell it. Tucker shot Maggie on someone’s order.
“Someone in this command make that order?” Jack asked in a dangerous tone.
The lessening of Tucker’s anxiety said that, no, it wasn’t someone in the SGC command.
Jack nearly growled as he looked over at Carter, who was looking homicidal. “Major, please call the SF’s. Airman Tucker is going to be waiting in the stockade while we find out everything there is to know about him and everyone he’s ever known.”
Jack and Vincent kept the Airman corralled to the back of the lab while they were waiting for the SF’s. Tony kept his empathy open, wanting a heads up if Tucker started to feel more desperate.
Half an hour later, Tucker was gone and Jack was just finishing a quick call to General Hammond. He rejoined the rest of them, looking frustrated. “I need to report to the general in person. This is a complication we don’t need.” He gave Tony a speculative look. “What made you think it was an order?”
“I was just noodling on his motivation and couldn’t come up with anything that fit with his level of restraint. I mean, no matter how panicked he was as you were asking him questions, he never flinched. Which means his act for you over the shooting was totally affected.”
Jack considered for a moment before replying, “I’d have said his nerves were real.”
“Oh, I think they probably were. Nerves over being discovered, in all likelihood. But acting nervous? That’s the part I think was affected.”
“Fair enough. And so you leapt to an order?”
“Well, what would be the motivation for shooting a spirit guide? If not fear, then it would have to be to see if they can be damaged in a tangible way. I can’t think of any other reason. If he’s not the sort with impulse control issues, that means it wasn’t his own curiosity being satisfied.”
Jack just nodded, clearly mulling over the problem. “Okay. I need to talk to the general. I know you’ve got things to do today, but can you work with Carter to look into Tucker’s history and associates.”
Tony’s brows shot up. “Um, you do know that a mole in your command would come under the purview of Special Investigations, so it’s sort of my job.”
Jack perked up a bit and flashed Tony a grin. “Right. We have an investigator now. Good. Great.” He made a shooing motion. “Go investigate. Carter can help you.”
Alex offered to stay and help, even if he didn’t have much investigative background, but Vincent went with Jack.
Tony took a moment to take stock of the situation. “Hmm…” he mused. “It’s my first real day as Agent Afloat and I have a major investigation to deal with. I can tell this isn’t going to be boring.” He didn’t even bring up the worrying implications about someone using said mole to poke into sentinel and guide matters. He had to treat this like a case.
Alex gave him an amused look. “Maybe we should call you Agent Under the Mountain?”
Snorting in amusement, Tony looked to Carter, who had her arm around her raccoon. “My office is not set up,” he began.
Carter held up a hand. “Plenty of space here.” She pointed him to one of her computers.
“All righty,” Tony said wiggling his fingers over the keyboard. He felt himself slipping into investigator mode. “Let’s see if we can’t figure out who’s pulling the strings of this particular puppet.”
Where the Spirit Leads
EAD – Harry Potter: Visionary – The First Task
stepmnstr
excellant start. makes me want more.
‘mnstr
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! I remember chapters 1-3 form Rough Trade and I was like “welcome back old friend” then chapter 4 was all new….and freaking fabulous!. Your world building/take on sentinels and guides is fresh and original and I am riveted. The way you keep everyone in character yet still appropriate for the universe you create is outstanding. I consider that a true hallmark of a Jilly James story. This combined with Keira’s North Star EAD post has totally made my day. Thank you Thank you Thank you:)
Thank you, my dear! I’m glad you enjoyed the new chapter. Participating in EAD was a lot of fun!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for positing this so quickly.
You are awesome!!!
Findmeastory
This was great! Thank you.
I LOVE this universe. The first four chapters were amazing! I was so excited to see it. If I beg and send virtual cookies will you post more soon?
Emergence has to get done first, but I’m terribly tempted by thin mints 😉
Thanks much.
See that is a problem, both of your stories are so amazing I don’t know if I should be happy or sad with that statement cause YES! I need more emergence but, but this story, I needs it too. Both are absolutely amazing and thank you so much for writing them.
bellalee40
OMG OMG how did I miss this ….. thanks for sharing and OMG maybe more chapters OMG xxxxxx to you
All of your EAD selections were great, but the new chapter of Protecting Home is my favorite. I enjoyed Journey Home and I know I’m gonna love the sequel. Thanks so much for sharing all of these with us today!
Thank you so much. I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
LAG0802
So happy to have these 4 chapters, this is such a wonderful story, think will go through withdrawal without it, but guess will have to wait patiently 😉
Kiarra.elle
I was so happy when The Journey Home went up on AO3 I kept checking on Friday as the last few chapters posted. So this is just a lovely little bonus. Thanks for sharing.
Great to see the follow-up and a new chapter – Bonus – Still really enjoying this.
iadorespike/Anna
Eeeeeeeeee!!! There was jumping up and down and fairly loud squeeing when I saw this post! And you saved me, because I thought I had hallucinated the whole *Jack slices and dices a group of attackers (at his house) after him and Tony* scene. Seriously – I’ve been looking for it in various places and in different fics for days. Ugh! I thought it was you, but then I couldn’t find it, and I was sure it was Tony/Jack, but then I couldn’t find it…you get my point. So…I started reading this post and THERE IT WAS!!!I – it was like a lovely gift. *happy sigh* I’m really glad I’m not crazy, too. 😉 I was right, though, because it was my re-read of The Journey Home that made me think of it. I kept waiting for that scene, and then it was over and no scene, and I was all…what? Anyway, I know I’m obsessed with it, but seriously…looking for days. Hee! So…I totally wasn’t expecting this – or even hoping for it – for EAD. What a lovely surprise – and with a new chapter, too. You have rocked my EAD for sure between your own wonderful posts and your roundup post of all the minion EAD posts. What a great day. Happy, happy, happy. 🙂
Thank you so much, Jilly!! ♥
P.S. You were wonderful getting The Journey Home posted so quickly. Every time I got an e-mail about a new post I cheered and ran to read. I never expected it to be up that quickly, but you were amazing. Thank you so very, very much, dear. 🙂 It was super reading it all again. Thanks!
Anna, you made me laugh! I knew folks would be scratching their head going “huh, wasn’t there more?” But I knew I planned to post it for EAD, so I was being sneaky. 😀
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much.
Rowaine
*purr* you certainly know how to tell a tale. finished rereading Journey Home a few days ago, but i knew i’d remembered more on RT. and here it is *smoooooooch* thanks so much! EAD wouldn’t have been complete without your teasers 😉
It was evil of me to not even mention the other chapters when I finished Journey, but ya know, surprises and all that 😉
wackyninja
Agent Under the Mountain! I love it! Looking forward to the time when you get through this arc 🙂
Four chapters? That is not EAD, no this is christmas and my birthday in one *LOL*
Love it so much – such a wonderful sequel – thank you so much for sharing this with us
Totally off-this-world awesome!
dionnehopkins
*leers* My precious….
I’ve never had 3 words make me laugh quite so hard. LOL. Thanks!
oh yeah, baby 😉
This is So awesome. I love Maggie and I am happy McGee came around.
Hot tootin!!! I absolutely love Evil Author Day! You just made my long weekend perfect!
Great story and love the 4th chapter with all the plot points happening.
God I love this verse what a awesome pairing I can actually see Tony and Jack together if they aren’t with Danny and Gibbs. Thanks for sharing Star
Awesome! Thank you for not leaving us with a cliffie- now that would have been evil! 🙂
Well, I can already tell this is going to be an awesome story when you get around to writing it. I look forward to reading it once you do. 😀
Now that I spent several hours last night and today reading this series, I’m going to go and poke at my own stories. Thorin is getting a little pouty over there in the corner. The Drama Queen Under the Mountain doesn’t like being ignored, apparently.
LMAO. Drama Queen Under the Mountain… I need to put that on a wallpaper or something.
Thanks much, hon.
Marlislash Gabs
It’s so fantastic and intruiguing, poor Tony and poor Jack need vacation, on a tropical island, to rest. Can’t wait for more.
Did I mention I hate waiting??? But you certainly made my day with those 4 chapters. In the meantime, while waiting for more, I will let my imagination run free on the subject matter lol.
Michelle Freeman
Thanks for posting this with the new chapter, too! On the one hand, I’m eager for you to work more on this one because I like it so much. OTOH, I like your other stories so much that I’d rather you be writing them first instead. Really, anything you choose to write makes me happy, and I’ll wait patiently for the next chapter of this one.
Just back from the jungle, then attacked, then into a major investigation – poor boys. And Maggie.
Thrilled to see Tony able to exercise his professional skills. Love the guide parts, but he also worked hard for the rest and its great that nothing is going to waste.
syryane
I love your stories, I can’t wait for the rest. thank you!
calicoo1988
AngelicInsanity (KliqzAngel)
I am seriously loving you right now! It’s cold (-25 with the windchill) and I am stuck at home for the day. I think I will be adding a reread of The Journey Home and these 4 chaps after I get through my reread of Ladyholders Lion Rampart.
Thank you! I’m delighted to keep you company 😀
And I’m in good company there… Lion Rampart is one of my favorite NCIS stories of all time.
usatraveler
I got hooked on your work by “Emergence” on the archive of our own site, learned about this personal page from a comment there and read “The Journey Home”…Since I am a monumental Tony/Gibbs fan I wasn’t sure at first but you pulled me in and now I can’t wait for more of “Protecting Home.”
Keep up the wonderful work!
At least you let Jack and Tony have time to do what they desperately needed to do before 200 more pounds of stuff got dumped on them. It takes no ‘suspension of disbelief’ to enter into the premise of both of these stories. I get so wrapped up in them, they are wonderful vacations into other worlds.
I think you could hear my squeal from where ever you live when I found these marvelous chapters this morning. You made my day! Love these characters so much, especially the way you’ve made them yours. And a raccoon for Carter was just about perfect. And the description of the empathic web made me feel as if I was there. Tony is awesome. Thanks so much for sharing these with us.
christella
wonderful new chapters for a great story series.
love and adore all your stories and ideas, original and well written ….who could ask for more !!!!!!
syble
I’m a bit late to the party, but Wahoo, this is awesome! I like how you set up the background to your plot points and then how they reveal themselves. I can only image what plot points you’ve set up, that I’ve yet to realize ‘were’ plot points. 🙂 Oh EAD, how I love and hate thee. Now, I’ll have to be patent and hope the rest of this story keeps your muse interested.
Melissa Francis
I am loving this series. Jack and Tony just fit together somehow. I love your take on the Sentinel/Guide relationships and how you have built your world aroud them. They are extreamly well done. I hope to see more soon. I can’t wait to see where you take this. Keep up the great work.
Thank you so much! I love when these two click for others, because they make such good sense! 🙂
You are an amazing writer!!! I am in love with your story!!!Thank you Jilly!!!
love your stories looking forward to reading more…..
Really liked the whole thing but
“So what would possess you to open fire in a science lab and shoot a raccoon?”
made me laugh so hard I nearly dropped off the couch…. and the whole scene after is priceless.
Always late to the party but I love your writing and love this so far! Thanks for keeping me entertained!
Really excellent and I honestly didn’t feel the lack of betaing &c. You’re obviously pretty good at getting a “clean” copy first time round! Hope your muse is being kind to you. Look forward to more when time and inclination allow. Thanks for this.
Tanter
I love these two together and I love this story. Please post more soon!
eilidhdawn
So looking forward to more of this and emergence also and any other little thing your brain cooks up
I just reread Journey Home ebook (and now Emergence for the fifth time). I had almost forgotten that you posted this wonderful bit of the sequel. I just wanted to say that I love lol your stories here and on Rough Trade. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you, Kristan!
ladyfoxfire
Is there any more? I really love this story and want to read more.
I posted the first four chapters of the sequel as part of my evil author day offerings for this year. The rest won’t be posted until the story is finished. I’m uncertain when that will be.
I’ve read and reread The Journey Home, Emergence, and your July RT stories something like four or five times now, and I love them just as much on each read through as the first time. For some reason though, this is the first time I’ve read this preview for Protecting Home. I loved it! I adore the system Alex, Blair, and Co. have come up with of not fully explaining things to Tony and seeing what he does. Tony doing things differently and surprising everyone around him remains one of my favorite things. The mystery of who Tucker works for and what they want looks like it’s gonna be great. I loved that you brought in Alex and Vincent to join Tony and Jack’s pride and set up the possibility of bringing in Evan and Solon as well. Well written OC’s are always fantastic. There’s about 7,000 other things I adored about this preview that I’m missing here, but rest assured I loved it all. I’m really looking forward to this full story, but in the meantime I’m going to happily read your others about a dozen more times. lol
Also, I just wanted to say, I know that a lot of time and effort goes into writing and creating these elaborate worlds, so thank you so much for doing it and sharing. It’s much appreciated.
iamqueenkk
I found some sequel, and squealed happily. Love this so much! I (no harassment intended) was wondering if there is some more of this on the way?
Thank you for another fabulous read.
Its like being in the desert, under the hot boiling sun and you come across an oasis of cool blue water and you start to drink and as soon as your lips get wet…the water is all gone… you can still smell it and see the slowly drying dark ring in the ground, and all that’s left is the hint of moisture on your lips…it is not nearly enough.
So great to see what heppens next. Love the universe.
Indygo Dusk
I really enjoyed hearing more about this verse. I like the spirit animals. Your characterizations are also great. Thanks for sharing!
Judy H
boredturtle
Your stories always manage to convey building tension, your characters are believable and the pacing keeps me reading. On top of all that, you give me the confrontations that I really want to see and the comfort I really like to see, all the while spinning your plot ever thicker.
I always come back to your work when I want to be taken out of my head, and you always deliver. I go away feeling great, and having fallen in love with some of my favourite characters all over again.
myredturtle
I wasn’t going to do it. Really. I was going to ignore your EAD offering and just wait for the entire story to be posted whenever it gets posted and read it all at once. But then I had to go and re-read Emergence, bkz Alphas of Atlantis. And of course I’ve been reading If Found on RT. Which somehow, and I’m really not sure how it happened, resulted in my re-reading The Journey Home, which led – in a moment of weakness – to my reading this snippet. And now here I am having Tony/Jack & NCIS/Stargate withdrawal. It’s really not funny, in fact it’s quite painful and the only cure is to re-read another of your fabulous stories. Seriously, this snippet was fabulous, as are all your stories, and I’m so very grateful you share them with us.
I love this verse, and I absolutely can’t wait to read the rest once you’ve completed it. Thanks again for posting it!
Thank you for sharing this with us, it was very kind.
Purrfect treat ( had to leave a little kitty coment to see what Gattino says)
I dearly hope you continue this soon. I love the series.
Excellent! So happy to have read more of your work. Thank you.
marzipan77
Really, really excellent! I hope to read more some day!
greywolfthewanderer
hot patootie, bless my soul
I really love this rock and roll!!
dayum, this is just an awesome pairing and an awesome ‘verse. I love these 2 together, they just fit so nicely. I hear ya, in regards to unknown wait, and just wanna say, no worries! what is here stands nicely as is, and if more appears later, then that’s good too… either way, I’ve enjoyed the hell out of this. banzai!!!
Pyrate Nyre
This was sooooooooooooo cool to find. I love this verse with Tony and Jack. I’m pushing some Tine Mint cookies and and extra box of the Thin Mint Cereal thru my Cat-5 cable as a thank you so enjoy. I can find more.
Mayres457
I really hope this is finished soon. This and Emergence
BarbG (twi)
Mayres457 I have found the fastest way to encourage an author to lose interest in working on a story is to sound like one is being pushy or entitled. Authors like Jilly work on so many projects it might just be she is busy else where.
It’s so exciting the way I keep discovering new works of yours to read. Thank you for this, it’s so exciting to see this being continued. Squeeeee!
I don’t know how in Hades I missed this, but so glad I found it! Might I make a suggestion? Check Abby for a junior Jr. because he’s about 4 cans shy of a 6 pack! I’m LOVING this so much. You do the most amazing things with words! Thank you muchly for all the lovely WORDS!!! 🙂
I love their interaction and Tony discovering that he doesn’t have to (and shouldn’t have had to, but that’s a step further for him) justify everything and work to get his ideas accepted. And that he has skills which others appreciate but also that can be proven- loved the sniper score, considering he normally only uses a handgun.
chanelblanc
OMG I love this universe so frickin much!! You’ve literally put my two most loved, favorite characters together in a relationship that is. Made. of. Awesome! Gah!!! I can’t wait to read more (you tease you)! Thanks for sharing this gem… Love your characterization of Tony… And his interactions with Jack. *sigh* SO good! ❤❤
Kevin Jones
Oh man! You evil tease! Now, I seriously want to read more.
I love your writing! I have read your stories over and over and I don’t think I ‘Ve read anyone that has gotten Tony ‘s character so perfectly. I love this pairing , but I have ended up buying into all your pairings. I know your stories can’t be rushed ,but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I can’t wait for more because they are just that good. Congratulations on your success and thanks for sharing such fantastic stories !
I am new to your stories. But i am loving every one that i have read. Thank you so much
Love this. Thanks for these chapters, looking forward to when you finish. But I am patient.
So happy that I found this little tidbit, so sad because there is not more 🙁 – Love all your NCIS stuff! You ROCK my SOCKS!
You know, it would never have occurred to me to attack a spirit guide. Just … wild.
You always take what I think I know and twist it into new and exciting concepts. Thank you!
Denise Vallee
Oh! MY! I love it. Need more PLEASE!
ladieraie
OH you are sooooo bad. Teasing us like this. We your faithful servants who bow to your every word. My 50th Wedding Anniversary is on Sept. 10,2017. A nice update would make a wonderful gift even though I already know that you do not plan any until the story is finished. Oh well. A gal can dream can’t she? 🙂 Love your work. Take care of yourself and may the Muses be with you.
I love your writing and can’t wait to read more.
SAA696
When will You continue? Waiting heeeeeerrrrreeeeee…
Found this extra bit by accident so YAY! Love this world you have built, thank you!
Daneru Melodie
I only found this site recently, and have been reading my way through your dtories. I was delighted to see the beginning of this sequel.
I can’t begin to express how much I respect and enjoy your writing. You are truly outstanding.
Thank you. That’s a lovely thing to read.
Lizabeth Tucker
The level of your talent overwhelms me. I have read a few of your works in the past, but was recently pointed back here thanks to NCIS Fic Finders and have been binging on everything! So much detail, so much emotion. Thank you. I look forward to this sequel someday nearing completion, but I will be patient.
Nooooo. That ending was so suspenseful!!! Please, please, please come back to this. You are an amazing writer and I really want to see where you would take this. Also is there a way for me to get update emails whenever you do today like in AO3?
rigger42
The Stargate universe allows Tony to stretch his wings which I love, and being a shaman takes him down new parts and I adore seeing him learn to embrace his emotions and take comfort in his Pride. Learning to trust…. Huge for him. I’m also always a big fan of BAMF Tony and love how he rewrites the rules and that he’s surrounded by people who offer a supporting hand but LET him.
It’s always fun to come back and do a reread of your workwork somehow i missed or forgot the details on these chapters so it’s an extra bday present. 🙂
Christy Vandiver
First and foremost, I blame you for the fact that i am now addicted to Tony/Jack fiction and there isn’t enough good stories to support my habit. So please, what must I do to entice your muses to even just write little stores in this area, let alone to someday come back to this and write more?
Journey Home was the first story of yours that I read after following a long, wandering trail that lead me to it. I LOVED/LOVE IT. My only wish was that it had more Jack/Tony interaction but I understand we had to get through the issues first that lead up to their meeting. Really, though. what bribe can I give for ANY Tony/Jack story? And bless you for doing Crossovers. A lot of times, it’s crossovers that lead me to other shows that I would have never thought to watch, and then wonder why the show’s characters didn’t follow how the crossover story was written.
Thank you for this and all your other stories.
ksandra
Yep amazing….waiting patiently for more of this sequel….thanks so much….your talent is awesome!
Off to read more of the brilliance that is yours…
Bobbie Turnbeaugh
Just found this story and was so very happy to see more. I hope you will add to this – and this universe is amazing. Your writing skills below me away!
Really enjoyed this story so far. Your fabulous writing paints pictures in my head, and reminds me of the best of SG1 and NCIS.
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Postdoc - Biology
Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation
Morgantown, West Virginia (US)
This position includes a competitive salary and full benefits.
Life Sciences, Agricultural Science, Biology, Botany/Plant Science, Ecology, Environmental Science, Microbiology, Physical Sciences, Geology/Soil Science/Geography
Postdoctoral Fellow - Biology
The West Virginia University Research Corporation (WVURC) invites applications for a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biology at West Virginia University (WVU). We seek a highly motivated postdoctoral fellow to develop and refine models of plant-microbial interactions as part of the Center for Biofuels and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI), a DOE funded Bioenergy Research Center (https://cabbi.bio). The postdoctoral fellow will work with Dr. Eddie Brzostek and will join a diverse group of researchers in the Sustainability Theme of CABBI whose goal is to develop the predictive capability to determine which feedstock combinations, regions and land types, market conditions, and bioproducts have the potential to support the ecologically and economically sustainable displacement of fossil fuels. Collaborations across other CABBI themes and with other DOE BRCs is encouraged.
The purpose of this position is to coordinate and manage the existing research enterprise in the Brzostek lab that seeks to improve our predictive understanding of the extent to which bioenergy feedstocks differ in their sustainability and ecosystem services. Specifically, research in the lab aims to use both measurements and models to understand how the strategies plants employ belowground to mobilize nutrients impacts carbon and nutrient cycling at scales ranging from the ecosystem to the globe. The incumbent will be tasked with leading field campaigns, synthesizing existing data in the lab, and developing predictive models of ecosystem function. The incumbent will also be tasked with writing scientific publications and assisting in the preparation of extramural grant proposals.
A PhD in biology, environmental sciences or related science field and experience in performing field and laboratory research in ecosystem ecology are required. Experience in using computer programming languages (e.g., R, Matlab, Python) to perform statistical and predictive modeling of ecosystem function is preferred.
Competitive salary and benefits package offered. For a complete job description and to apply for this position, please visit http://hr.research.wvu.edu and click on the “View Jobs” link. Qualified applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and contact information for three references as part of the application process. For questions or additional information, contact Dr. Edward Brzostek, 304-293-5222, email: erbrzostek@mail.wvu.edu .
WVU is a comprehensive land grant university with 29,000 students. WVU is classified by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education as a Research-High Activity Institution. The University community of Morgantown offers plentiful educational opportunities as well as recreational outlets, is within easy driving distance of Pittsburgh, PA, and is about 200 miles northwest of Washington, D.C.
WVURC is an AA/EOE/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disability/E-verify compliant employer.
Life Sciences Full Time Academia jobs in Morgantown
Agricultural Science Full Time Academia jobs in Morgantown
Biology Full Time Academia jobs in Morgantown
Botany/Plant Science Full Time Academia jobs in Morgantown
Ecology Full Time Academia jobs in Morgantown
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Be part of the OSOR community and make your voice heard! The Open Source Observatory (OSOR) serves as a place where the open source software (OSS) community can come together to publish news, find out about events, find relevant OSS solutions and read about the use of OSS in public administrations across and beyond Europe.
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Showing posts with label Adam Johnson. Show all posts
Orphan Master’s Son Revisited
It’s time to revisit Adam Johnson’s prophetic, Pulitzer Prize winning novel about North Korea, The Orphan Master’s Son. It was nearly four years ago that I reviewed it in my blog. I was stunned by the novel and now, with the United States and North Korea marching to the drum beat of conflict yet once again, with dire consequences of such a face off, this novel is must reading. Unfortunately, Donald Trump doesn’t read but instead relies on Fox and Twitter. If he read this novel, he’d understand why withdrawing support for the National Endowment for the Humanities is a grave error. From Johnson’s imagination and research, there is probably a greater truth regarding the North Korean persona than most government reports, not to mention TV coverage.
Here’s how I began my review…
North Korea is an enigma (to me at least). Only a few months ago the young North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was saber rattling nuclear missiles, threatening not only South Korea, but American bases in the Pacific as well. Bizarrely, at about the same time, basketball celebrity Dennis Rodman visited the country and the new leader (apparently Kim Jong-un likes basketball). Rodman thinks he played peacemaker. How weird to see the heavily tattooed Rodman sitting side by side with the young chubby cheeked dictator.
Did I really want to know more about the circus-like-train-wreck of North Korea? However, the accolades for Adam Johnson’s The Orphan Master’s Son were overwhelming, calling to me. So, I’ve read it and can understand why it deservedly won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature last year.
This is a compelling novel, such a good story, and so well written. But can life in North Korea really be as Johnson writes? While no one can say whether his depiction is accurate, it is fiction, and it succeeds as an allegory of universal themes.
The entire account can be read here.
Labels: Adam Johnson, Donald Trump, North Korea
The Orphan Master’s Son
At times episodic, with shifts in time and voice, mixing the 3rd person narrative of Jun Du AKA Commander Ga, and the 1st person narrative of an interrogator who is dedicated to extracting the “truth” from his interrogees by writing their biographies (vs. the brute torture inflicted by the “Pubyok”). Interspersed are propaganda broadcasts which surreally move the story further along. The entire narrative ultimately revolves around the caprice of “The Dear Leader,” Kim Jong II, (Kim Jong-il, the father of the present leader) who is the ultimate Orphan Master of an entire nation.
One can only describe the action as an extended nightmare, following the narrative down a rabbit hole into a totalitarian state whose underpinning is brainwashing; its people expecting no more than a life that would seem like Dante’s Inferno to any westerner. The book makes normalcy of brutality and propaganda, portraying a society where insanity is sanity. In fact, I was constantly thinking of my college psychology professor, Gustave Gilbert, who wrote The Nuremberg Diary, had interviewed all the major Nazi figures who were put on trial there, and came to the conclusion that as they were raised in a culture where deference to authority took precedence over all, their actions would not be considered “insane” in such a society. I also couldn’t help but think of another WWII allusion, a work of fiction though, Jerzy Kosiński’s The Painted Bird, chronicling the horror witnessed by a young boy, who was considered a Jewish stray, during the War.
And similarly, this is a coming-of-age story of Jun Du (or, as some have aptly noted, a “John Doe”) who, although the son of a man who ran the “Long Tomorrows” orphanage, is raised as an orphan himself, as his beautiful mother, an opera singer, had been shipped off to Pyongyang for the amusement of the New Class, as is so often the fate of beautiful women in that State. From helping to run the orphanage (his father was frequently drunk), he “graduates” to “tunneler” – working in the dark in tunnels under the DMZ to kidnap South Koreans and then Japanese by boat. He further graduates to study English and becomes a radio surveillance 3rd mate on a North Korean fishing ship, reporting English conversations for reasons unknown. One of those conversations is of two American women rowing across the ocean, one of which figures later in the novel.
When Jun Do had filled out his daily requisition of military sounds, he roamed the spectrum. The lepers sent out broadcasts, as did the blind, and the families of inmates imprisoned in Manila who broadcast news into prisons – all day the families would line up to speak of report cards, baby teeth, and new job prospects. There was Dr. Rendezvous, a Brit who broadcast his erotic “dreams” every day, along with the coordinates of where his sailboat would be anchored next. There was a station in Okinawa that broadcast portraits of families that US servicemen refused to claim. Once a day, the Chinese broadcast prisoner confessions, and it didn’t matter that the confessions were forced, false, and in a language he didn’t understand – Jun Do could barely make it through them. And then came that girl who rowed in the dark. Each night she paused to relay her coordinates, how her body was performing and the atmospheric conditions. Often she noted things – the outlines of birds migrating at night, a whale shark seining for krill off her bow. She had, she said, a growing ability to dream while she rowed.
What was it about English speakers that allowed them to talk into transmitters as if the sky were a diary? If Koreans spoke this way, maybe they’d make more sense to Jun Do. Maybe he’d understand why some people accepted their fates while others didn’t He might know why people sometimes scoured all the orphanages looking for one particular child when any child would do, when there were perfectly good children everywhere. He’d know why all the fisherman on the Junma had their wives’ portraits tattooed on their chests, while he was a man who wore headphones in the dark of a fish hold on a boat that was twenty-seven days at sea a month.
Not that he envied those who rowed in the daylight. The light, the sky, the water, they were all things you looked through during the day. At night, they were things you looked into. You looked into stars, you looked into dark rollers, and the surprising platinum flash of their caps. No one ever started at the tip of a cigarette in the daylight hours, and with the sun in the sky, who would ever post a “watch”? At night on the Junma, there was acuity, quietude, pause. There was a look in the crew members’ eyes that was both faraway and inward. Presumably there was another English linguist out there on a similar fishing boat, pointlessly listening to broadcasts from sunrise to sunset. It was certainly another lowly transcriber such as himself.
Our hero finally metamorphosizes into Commander Ga, a hero of the State (and the reader is more than eager to suspend disbelief of this change) as this page turning novel becomes a thriller of the first order. He is united with Commander Ga’s wife, Sun Moon who is the State’s movie actress, a favorite of “The Dear Leader.” From there, all of the main characters in the novel converge, even Sun Moon and the American rower, the propaganda speakers announcing: Citizens! Observe the hospitality our Dear Leader shows for all peoples of the world, even a subject of the despotic United States. Does the Dear Leader not dispatch our nations’ best woman to give solace and support to the wayward American? And does Sun Moon not find the Girl Rower housed in a beautiful room, fresh and white and brightly lit, with a pretty little window affording a view of a lovely North Korean meadow and the dappled horses that frolic there? This is not dingy China or soiled little South Korea, so do not picture some sort of a prison cell with lamp-blacked walls and rust-colored puddles on the floor. Instead, notice the large white tub fitted with golden lion’s feet and filled with the steaming restorative water of the Taedong.
Contrast that Halcyon scene with the reality of our hero’s imprisonment: In Prison 33, little by little, you relinquished everything, starting with your tomorrows and all that might be. Next went your past, and suddenly it was inconceivable that your head had ever touched a pillow, that you’d once used a spoon or a toilet, that your mouth had once known flavors and your eyes had beheld colors beyond gray and brown and the shade of black that blood took on. Before you relinquished yourself – Ga had felt it starting, like the numb of cold limbs – you let go of all the others, each person you’d once known. They became ideas and then notions and then impressions, and then they were as ghostly as projections against a prison infirmary.
It is a love story as well, and it is the cry for individualism in a totalitarian state. The nameless interrogator’s final dreamlike thoughts express it best: I was on my own voyage. Soon I would be in a rural village, green and peaceful, where people swung their scythes in silence. There would be a widow there, and we would waste no time on courtship. I would approach her and tell her I was her new husband. We would enter the bed from opposite sides at first. For a while, she would have rules. But eventually, our genitals would intercourse in a way that was correct and satisfying. At night, after I had made my emission, we would lie there, listening to the sounds of our children running in the dark, catching summer frogs. My wife would have the use of both her eyes, so she would know when I blew out the candle. In this village, I would have a name, and people would call me by it. When the candle went out, she would speak to me, telling me to sleep very, very deeply…I listened for her voice, calling a name that would soon be mine.
Adam Johnson has written an epic novel, one that required research and a colossal imagination. Sign me up for his next work!
Labels: Adam Johnson, Gustave Gilbert, Jerzy Kosinski, North Korea, Writing
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Tag Archives: porn
When Evil Criminals Want You Dead, Only You Can Save Yourself! “Do It Yourself” review!
Alkis Vidalis made friends while serving time in prison. Friends, in the very loose sense of the word, with a corrupt and wealthy businessman, Daniel Bezerianos. When Alkis’s freedom is granted, he’s quickly picked up by Bezerianos’ gangster enforcers to contrive a public viral video with Alkis delivering a verbal message that would exonerate the still imprisoned crime boss and put the blame solely on a rival kingpin, Joseph Forkou. Held in Bezerianos’ rural porn studio building, Alkis commits to the plan that will, for now, save his own skin and as he’s going through the numerous takes to get an absolute resounding performance that will surely free Bezerianos, in the back of his mind, he knows will be undoubtedly be disposed of once his use to Bezeriano has dried up. Alkis’s fight tooth and nail survival and plan-as-he-goes quick thinking must ensure his fate through a multi-level building and a slew of heavily armed henchmen from two criminal factions who all want him dead before the video is uploaded to the internet cloud.
Not many Greek films come across my desk as a reviewer, but when they do show up at the door or in the mailbox, extreme anticipation salivation to pop the disc in the player and hit play begins its rampant course through the core of my body and shoots straight up to my bloodshot eyeballs. Dimitris Tsilifonis’ “Do It Yourself” is no exception as the 2017 action-thriller challenges us to take matters, big or small, into our own hands when push comes to shove and backed into a corner. Written and directed by Tsilifonis, the filmmaker takes the point in his first feature opportunity, aiming high and executing a non-linear, non-formulaic storyline that will keep viewers guessing how, what, when, why and who. “Do It Yourself” seizes the system as a calculated thrill ride that’ll entertain, equaling the same amount of narrative hip-slinging causticity of the last Greek film ventured by Its Bloggin’ Evil, a zomedy known as “Evil: In the Time of Heros” starring Billy Zane and directed by Yorgos Noussias.
As a small time pawn, Alkis Vidalis has prowess in formulating plans quickly; they may not go accordingly and he may break a nose or a leg in the process, but Alkis, like a cat, always seems to land on his two feet when in a skirmish with hired henchmen, coming out bloody but on top. Alkis isn’t a killer but has to become one in order to survive and even though he’s the central character to the story, mystery shrouds around him in what drives the favorable anti-hero to not cower and stay alive other than pure, animal instinct. Konstadinos Aspiotis has the chops to bring Alkis to the screen and express that oxymoronic quality of unsure confidence in Alkis’s mob misadventure. Tsilifonis writes voice over monologue in Alkis’s voice, as if he’s telling a story to the audience, for exposition purposes that describe the setup and the characters which fundamentally weakens the film, but for this particular tale, the voice over monologue is warranted. Aspiotis has numerous interactions with various characters but more so with Makis Papadimitriou as Peter, a low-level enforcer trying to make a name for himself. More like a caretaker than an enforcer, Peter has one job: to make Alkis think they’re friends and then kill him. However, Peter, who isn’t necessarily a screw up, fudges his task and caught in one of Alkis’ fly by the seat of your pants plans. The character is etched with more a selfish attitude toward everything when the tables turn on him and Papadimitriou cultivates all of Peter’s self-regarding desires into the correct power and survival categories while his dynamic with Alkis is looking at himself in a mirror. They mirror so much so that both characters receive their own perspective of the same event. Other characters intertwine with the two leads and they’re played by Mirto Alikaki, Christos Loulis, Argyris Xafis, Panos Koronis, and Themis Panou.
Tsilifonis script has an affinity for pop culture, referencing various films and TV shows by name, such as Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas” or HBO’s “Game of Thrones” for example, to juxtapose events and/or characters on a mafia level. Films and television shows are not alone in this homage of iconography as social media websites and their viral and trendy sensations are integrated into the script as table talk conversations. 4chan, Youtube, and The Fappening are particularly referenced when the editor of Alkis’s testimony, also a porn editor with an inflatable sex doll, finds the conservatively torrent side of Google’s acquisition of Youtube distasteful for edgy content and the humor in the bare exposures of star-studded private lives and photos with 4chan and The Fappening while thumb jockeying a Playstation controller in midst of conversation with Peter who seems relatively neutral about these things. Even though suavely placed, “Do It Yourself” frequently uses the pop culture tag words in excess that render them redundant and tiresome that when in retrospect, Tsilifonis could have completely omitted them and “Do It Yourself” can, well, do it itself. The only other gripe with “Do It Yourself” is if the plot takes place entirely in a porn studio, then where was the nudity? Am I wrong?
Artsploitation Films delivers another knockout thriller title from their eclectic catalogue with Dimitris Tsilifonis’s “Do It Yourself” on DVD home video, presented in an anamorphic widescreen format, 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Between Aggelos Papadopoulous’ depth defying photography and the impressive visual effects that flawlessly moves and puts a building in the middle of nowhere, the transcendence image quality is one with this release as it’s practically impossible to conclude what’s real and what a visual effect. Other visual effects of displaying Ikea like instructions on the side of a building, showing the cell phone screen next to Alkis, or having subtitles embedded into portions of the wall are unique and clever, but too far and in between that ends up being an inconsistent inconvenience. The dim tint sets the tone while still mastering the color palate. The Greek language Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound allows you to hear every glass break, every ping of a bullet ricochet, and every guttural and verbal echo in the reverberating car garage through the five channels. The prominently Greek with little English dialogue is in the forefront amongst a well-balanced range and depth of sounds like hearing the muffled voices behind glasses, the soft moans and groans of porn actors behind the fake walls, and, on the other side, the high squeal of a racing tire wheel. Bonus features include a three small featurettes that revels how the camera shot elevated up from ground level to the top, another was the visual effects breakdown in creating the building structure, and the last being two deleted scenes. Dimitris Tsilifonis’ has a commentary track and 14 minute short film “The Way of Styx” is also available. “Do It Yourself” is no Bob Vila special on how to repair the seeping drips from a leaky sink with your own two God-given hands, but the Dimitris Tsilifonis film bustles with fun in a deluge of crime and betrayal and that, my friends, is a priceless enlightened experience.
1 Comment Posted in Chilly Thrilly, Evil Reviews, Just fucking awesome, Uncategorized Tagged 4chan, action, action-thriller, Aggelos Papadopoulous, Argyris Xafis, Artsploitaiton Films, Billy Zane, break leg, Christos Loulis, Dimitris Tsilifonis, Do It Yourself, dvd, Evil In the Time of Heros, fall from window, Game of Thrones, gangsters, Goodfellas, Greek, gun fights, Konstadinos Aspiotis, Makis Papadimitriou, Martin Scorsese, Mirto Alikaki, Panos Koronis, porn, sex doll, The Fappening, Themis Panou, viral video, Yorgos Nousias
When Evil Strikes in Holy Gotham City, Only One Hero to Call… “Bat Pussy” review!
Posted by The Evil Blogger on November 24, 2017
Good for nothing Buddy and his two-bit working girl wife Sam bicker slangily about their sexual performances. As Sam lays nude in bed and a naked Buddy flips through a sleazy magazine in search for the new positions to experiment, the two become inspired to ravage each others’ privates all the while expletives toward one another fly. Soon, Buddy decides to start snapping photographs of his nude wife as part of a plan to create an adult spread, like in the magazine. Deep inside Bat Pussy’s headquarters, a tingle in her twat informs her that somebody, somewhere is creating porn in her holy Gotham City and she quickly dresses from nightgown to bat suit to spur into action. The not-so-caped crusader jumps onto her Hoppity Hop and makes haste across town to intervene, but as soon as Bat Pussy dives in to stop the perversive pornographic nature, she dives right into the fold of lustful, foulmouth appetites.
American Genre Film Archive and Something Weird Video, partnered with distributor MVDVisual, releases a restoration of one of the earliest known porn parodies, “Bat Pussy,” onto Blu-ray that spoofs, horrendously, the Adam West starred “Batman” television series from the late 1960s. As far as a porn is considered, “Bat Pussy” lacks any sensical sexual action resulting in a double one-two punch wham!-bam! of no plot and no actual sex; instead, Buddy and Sam’s southern caints and worsh tub conversing of ignorant and pointless potty mouth conversation is more entertaining than Buddy’s limp impotence that dangles between the legs of being bizarre foreplay with the very freckly and curvy Sam. Since both of whom are seriously unattractive in appearance and performance, “Bat Pussy” has the stigma of being the worst porn ever produced. The actress behind “Bat Pussy” has far superior attributes than compared to her costars, but lavishes in a twang that’s hard to ignore and her vigorously tasteless implementation into Buddy and Sam’s awkward makeshift threesome is beyond the point of cringe worthy.
“Bat Pussy’s” gridlocked and effortless plot isn’t much to write about unless a bonus movie accompanies it and, in this particular release, “Robot Love Slaves” waits to be received in the bonus material. The bonus feature tells the story of Clark, a mad scientist who creates pleasure gifting robotic women in spite of a conniving wife whose scheming to be handicapped to steal her Husband’s groundbreaking work and be in the arms of her illicit and conspiring lover, Dr. Dicks. Clark constructs four pleasure bots, testing two of them on his friends with their specific built in sexual qualities, and keeping two for himself until the very right moment to strike against those who seek to dethrone him of his creation.
“Robot Love Slaves,” also known as “Too Much Loving,” is another early 1970s stag film. The science fiction sexploitation arouses a little better than the main feature and consisting of a plot that starts from A-to-Z and more striking women involving Sandy Carey (“Drive-In Massacre”), Sandy Dempsey (“Country Hooker”), and Candy Sampler (“Flesh Gordon”). Though roughly and technically hardcore, “Robot Love Slaves” is more softcore not by directorial design, but by edited manipulation that serves as a drastically cut-downed final product; nonetheless, the overall tone plasters a more earnest setting of deception, sadism, and pleasure rather than fooling around in a waste of runtime. Billy Lane and Adam Ward costar.
AGFA and Something Weird Video’s MVDVisual distributed “Bat Pussy” and “Robot Love Slaves” is a restoration of cult bric-a-brac right onto Blu-ray home video presented in the original aspect ratios of 1.33:1. “Bat Pussy” has been through a 2k scan from the only surviving 16mm print in existence found in the back room of Paris Theater in Memphis, Tennessee. The restoration puts the pieces in order that result in a slightly washed glaze from the dated print. Scratches and grain remain evident, but, like the not-so-hardcore material, nothing too obscene. The mono audio track is more interesting with pieces of the audio track removed upon the unknown director’s direction; during some points of the awkward romping, the audio would cut out, Buddy would look up, audio would come back in, and Buddy would say, “what?” and then the audio would cut back out. You’d have to see hear it to believe it. “Robot Love Slaves,” which also went through the 2k scan from the 16mm elements, suffers far worse from father time. Doesn’t help that the film is also heavily cropped and edited to avoid being extremely explicit. The audio track cuts in and out near the end, popping with distortion under a low ranged ceiling, and flushed with hisses. Bonus material includes a commentary track from Something Weird’s Lisa Petrucci and Tim Lewis, crime-smut trailers and shorts from Something Weird Vault, and liner notes by Lisa Petrucci and Mike McCarthy. The vivid and hilariously illustrated “Bat Pussy” blu-ray cover is perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this release. Though both films are of unknown origins and much of the cast and crew are an enigma, “Bat Pussy” and “Robot Love Slaves” revel in a sexploitation realm all their own with wish-washy filmmaking and poor, but exuberant, performances from a cast who never spoke of these two, under an hour, cult hits ever again!
Leave a comment Posted in Evil Pornography, Evil Reviews, Trailers, Uncategorized Tagged Adam West, AGFA, American Genre Film Archive, Bat Pussy, Batman, blu-ray, Candy Sampler, Country Hooker, Dora Dildo, Drive-In Massacre, Flesh Gordon, Lisa Petrucci, Memphis, Memphis Tennessee, Mike McCarthy, MVD, MVDVisual, porn, Robot Love Slaves, Sandy Carey, Sandy Dempsey, sexploitation, Something Weird Video, Tennessee, Tim Lewis, Too much Loving
It’s Bloggin’ Evil Interviews “Love is Dead” director Jerry Smith!
Horror Film Journalist and Filmmaker Jerry Smith
I would like to start off with the readers receiving some slight background on you. Can you provide us with a short bio about where you’re from, where you’re at now, and what prominently influenced you into the person you are today?
I was born and raised in the Central Valley of California, in a mid-sized City named Visalia. It’s grown into a city without any real film culture or following so I try to stay away as much as possible. I spend my days going back and forth between Los Angeles and Visalia due to my kids.
I came from a really rough childhood. As a kid, I was taken by my stepdad to see “The Accused” in the theater and being around six or seven, watching a film focusing on the gang rape of a woman really affected me. It scared me and made me uncomfortable for both Jodie Foster’s character and myself. That night, when we got home, my stepdad molested me, something that lasted for a good while. It turned a wild and outgoing kid into a scared little boy who was afraid of everything and everyone. He was a real piece of shit and an alcoholic, so my mom would give me enough money to go to the nearby theater to stay there all day watching movies. It was pre-Columbine obviously, so they didn’t give a shit about carding people. I saw “Child’s Play“, the latest “Friday the 13th” and the latest “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and in those films, I found solace in how the survivors would go through hell and come out ahead. It made me feel safe and horror became the love of my life because of it. Seriously though, I love the horror genre as much as my kids. Because I was a horror (and just films in general) fanatic, I would write stories and sequels to films as a kid and I became enthralled with Stephen King and Clive Barker at an EARLY age. I was sent to the principal’s office for bringing and distributing a backpack of Stephen King novels to the kids because one girl’s mom had an issue with “The Tommyknockers.” So I read and wrote and always wanted to be a writer and a filmmaker.
How did you begin your journalistic career toward some of today’s top horror news outlets, such as Fangoria, Shock Till You Drop and being editor-in-chief at Icons of Fright?
I owe my whole career in horror journalism/film critique to Rob Galluzzo (Co-Founder of Icons of Fright and Senior Editor at Blumhouse.com). I had read Icons of Fright for years (it was started in 2004) and kind of became acquaintances with him online via Facebook and at the time he was working at Amoeba in LA, so I would talk to him when I was there for something and he was always so friendly and kind. He’s seriously one of the most giving individuals I know. Well one day, a few friends went to LA and I was stuck in Visalia doing something and it frustrating me that I wasn’t doing anything with my love for writing. I messaged Rob and asked him for advice on starting your own site. He said he would give me advice, or if I wanted to, I could just start writing for Icons of Fright. I was blown away. Here there was a site that I read for years, and now I was getting to write for them. As time went on, I was pretty crazy about being on top of Icons and Rob took a job at FEARnet (RIP), so he asked me to be the Editor in Chief and steer the ship, so to speak, and I did that for five years. It was because of Rob that I began my writing career and it was because of him that I was vouched to Rebekah McKendry (Then at Fangoria, now Editor in Chief of Blumhouse.com) at Fangoria to start writing for them as well and when it was because of Rebekah, that I vouched to Chris Alexander, who not only was running Fangoria at the time but started Delirium Magazine and in time, moved over to Shock Till You Drop. When Rebekah and Rob went to Blumhouse.com, they were nice enough to allow me to write for Blumhouse. So my career has been full of wonderful people. Those said individuals, as well as genre professionals, like Heather Buckley and Ken Hanley, have all been wonderful to me. As far as Icons of Fright, the site is kind of in sleep mode. I was offered the position of Senior West Coast Correspondent for Fangoria and we’re all so very busy with our other professional writing gigs, that it felt like a disservice to pay little attention to it and post stuff here and there, so we kind of just put it in sleep mode for the time being to focus on other things.
Rob Galluzo
According to your IMDB.com page, you’re a self-proclaimed workaholic. Can you describe how you manage your time between contributing, being editor-in-chief, and producing films while juggling, if any, a personal life?
It’s quite difficult to be honest. I’m a divorced father of three (two of my kids live with me), I write for three sites and two magazines and I’m a filmmaker as well. I have three film projects in the works, all with my wonderful collaborators over at Sickening Pictures in Cleveland and one with Turnstyle films helping out. As with any film journalist, we’re sent quite a few films to review, we got press junkets and premieres, conduct interviews, etc. It’s fucking insane, but I love it…and a plus side, my kids love the genre, so they’re always watching the more friendly horror films with me.
What possessed you to pursue your own production company, Dexahlia Productions, in 2010, creating your own pieces of filmic art?
I started Dexahlia back in 2010 and began to make short films here and there, but in all honesty, none of them were that spectacular at all. I just made them with friends and such. The closest to being “happy” with one was one called “Damnation Woods,” which was a relationship drama that had a handful of scenes I REALLY liked in between my incompetence at the time haha. I put a lot of that on hold in favor of my writing career for some time, but after meeting Zach and BJ, decided to just do both.
Can you delve into the personal inspiration behind your current short “Love is Dead” and what compelled you make a film about the circumstance?
Yikes. The inspiration behind the film came from my own life and my former marriage. It was something that began as a really wonderful joining of similar spirits, but somewhere along the way, things got DARK. All on my side of things. I began to drink a LOT and had other issues I won’t list and it made me into somebody who was never physically abusive but angry a lot and I took that anger, which in all honesty was anger that came from hating myself at the time, and directed it at her. Things got crazy and she tried to take her own life and it really woke me up and made me realize that I had pushed somebody I cared about to the absolute brink. I felt disgusted with myself and HATED myself for a long time, something that eventually made things bad. We divorced but remained best friends (we’re still very close) and I wanted to kind of tell the story of that, in a somewhat fictional way. Also, as I’ve said a lot over the years in many conversations with people: John Carpenter is my God, but I also worship John Cassavetes. His films were always so raw and unhinged as if you felt like something was going to blow up at any time. Cassavetes was a major influence in “LOVE IS DEAD.”
How did you approach the creation of “Love is Dead” with the association of BJ Colangelo and Zach Schildwachte’s Sickening Pictures?
There were a few false starts with the film. I did a crowdfunded campaign on Kickstarter and got 95% to the goal but was just short of making it so we got nothing. We went to another crowdfunding venue and ended up getting, I think, 1/4 of the original budget, so I was pretty bummed. BJ has been a really wonderful friend of mine for years now and Zach and I became friends because of their personal relationship, so their professional relationship came into play as well eventually. Zach and I had written a feature script together (which we’re still going to make) and were trying to pitch that around LA for a while. When “LOVE IS DEAD’s” campaign ended, Zach and BJ offered to come aboard and FORCE me to make the film. They flew into LA and we made the film. They were and are two of the most talented people I know and I owe them so much. I love those crazy motherfuckers. Ps- BJ Colangelo is one of the best film journalists around as well.
How did Joanna Angel, Aaron Thompson, and Ruben Pla come to star in this short?
I was familiar with Aaron from his work in the Adult Film Business and, also, I saw him play bass once when he was in the band Fenix TX. He really fit the exterior of what was in my head and I just had a great feeling about the guy so I reached out to him. He read the script and signed on, saying he’d drink a bunch of Jack Daniels and listen to Nick Cave until shooting to get into character hahaha. Ruben did the film almost as a favor to me. He’s been such a huge supporter of my writing and I’ve known him through the horror community. He directed an EXCELLENT short film called “HEAD” (look it up, it’s awesome!) with Matt Mercer and I loved the hell out of that and just loved Ruben’s work in everything he’s been in. The guy can play anything. His work in “24” was great. I remember watching “INSIDIOUS” in the theater and thinking to myself “that guy has a presence to him.” So when it came time to cast the role of Michael, the psychiatrist, I asked Ruben if he’d be down and he had the shooting date open and came and did such a great job and was so very professional. I love that guy. Love him. Originally, we had a different actress cast as Mara and throughout the crowdfunding campaign and right up until three days before shooting, she was attached. There was something of a misunderstanding (nothing bad or drama-related, she’s absolutely great) and so we had to postpone shooting and literally at the same time, I got a text from BJ and an email from Aaron saying we should cast Joanna. Truth be told, I didn’t think Joanna would ever do it, so I had never even thought of asking her. When they mentioned it, I sent her the script, she signed on and we were good to go.
Being an actual couple off the camera, was there some coaching to get Angel and Thompson in the right mindset before the pouring of assorted emotions into the shower scene? Or how did Angel and Thompson prepare for their characters Mara and Peter?
I was worried that they would be able to go to those dark and sad places being that they were (and are) a real life couple. So I was nervous right up until the first take of the shower scene. It took literally ONE take for that nervousness to go away because, holy shit, were they both amazing. It broke all of our hearts to watch them act, they were so passionate and just genuine in their performances. I talked to them here and there mostly about altering the dialogue to what would feel more natural to them, but aside from that, they were all set to get dark right from the beginning. I’m still shocked by how great Joanna, Aaron and Ruben were. I watch the short and it makes me sad, in a good way. They did their job, they destroy the viewer.
I feel like Joanna Angel would be very enthusiastic about an emotional roller coaster of a story of this magnitude and a bit of a change of pace from her staple work. Was that the case along with the rest of the cast and crew being equally as enthusiastic?
Joanna and Aaron were both stoked to do something different and the crew were professional but giddy as fuck the entire time. I mean c’mon, it’s fucking Joanna Angel. There’s no playing around or lying. She’s a legend in her field and as huge fans of everything Burning Angel does, we all were excited to work with them. The best part for me, aside from the actual filming, was the times in which we would take a lunch break and just talk about stuff. We all are into the same things: bands, movies, etc., so it quickly became a tone of feeling more like you were making a film with friends. It led to us wanting to work with them again, which we are going to do.
Joanna Angel and Aaron Thompson
Ruben Pla is a trained actor whose had roles in major productions such as “Insidious.” How was the dynamic between Pla and Aaron Thompson whose background is comprised of being a bartender, a musician, a screen printing business owner, and, most recently, a porn star?
They clicked right away. We were with Aaron for hours and hours before Ruben showed up for his scenes, so Aaron had all of his questions about the scene already figured out and such. When Ruben showed up, I had to surprise him with the fact that we had to change the scene from a scene of his character leading a men’s group to a one-on-one psychiatrist angle because of one of the actor’s having a heart attack!! Ruben literally took five minutes to alter his script, and was ready to go. He was dialed in and the two of them really just worked well together. It was great.
Even though “Love is Dead” completely tells Peter and Mara’s story in just over 10 minutes, there seems that there could have been an ample amount of content that might have been left untold. Your previous short “The Heart of Evil Things” also focused on problematic relationships. Could we expect another short, or perhaps a feature, in the future that would be a continuation, or as it’s own entity, that would extend more into the enduring human condition of struggling compatibility?
Yes, most definitely. Because of “LOVE IS DEAD,” I’ve kind of become the guy who casts porn stars in non-porn roles. My next two projects have adult film stars leading the cast and one of them is a continuation of the theme of a dysfunctional relationship. That one is more about accepting somebody for who they are and a look at a relationship within the adult film industry. I’m also working on something completely different and that’s probably what I’m going to be doing next. It’ll flip the southern noir thriller subgenre on its head. It’s kind of my cross between “Blood Simple” and “Bound.”
Aside from deriving from personal experiences, what else drives or influences your creative process?
I’m just obsessed with how people talk and the power of words. That was why I called “LOVE IS DEAD” an emotional horror film. It’s about using words as a weapon and how they could be just as dangerous as knives or guns.
I read your blurb on Icons of Fright that you “adore all things [John] Carpenter,” but absolutely despise the Michael Myers and Laurie Strobe sibling connection in “Halloween 2.” I’m sure fans of “Halloween 2” and of yours could go toe-to-toe in a debate about the Myers’ legacy. Can you elaborate on your disgust with that film and discuss your thoughts on how Myers has progressed, or treated, over the years?
The “HALLOWEEN” franchise is like my baby in a lot of ways. I love it, but sometimes it does things that i don’t approve of or like. It’s like a child. The magic of the first film, which in my opinion is the greatest film EVER made, is the mystery of Michael Myers. He’s a pervert almost, watching the girls, stalking them for no reason other than Laurie dropped the key at the Myers house. It’s terrifying that a stranger would do that, that the person would stalk and kill people with no reason at all. The decision to make Laurie Michael’s sister just takes the mystery out of it and suddenly turns the entire series into that angle. It’s frustrating. That being said, HALLOWEEN 4 is still one of my FAVORITE films of all time, even with it being Michael trying to kill his niece, so I guess I’m a bit of a hypocrite. HALLOWEEN 3 is pure perfection and always has been. I’ve loved it since childhood. HALLOWEEN 5 is 70% terrifying and 30% off the rails crazy and the series never recovered. It just went down and down and down. I mean, in the Producer’s Cut of HALLOWEEN 6, Paul Rudd stops Michael with FUCKING MAGICAL RUNES. I want to start a band called, “Paul Rudd’s Magical Runes,” we’d rock. Luckily, the series is at Blumhouse now and with Jason Blum, Ryan Turek and John Carpenter involved in the development, I’m excited as hell for the next film.
Since you’re a John Carpenter fan, is it say to safe that your top three favorite movies of all time are Carpenter films?
Actually no. “HALLOWEEN” is my favorite film, but the other two go to Wes Craven’s “THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT” and “FRIDAY THE 13TH PT. IV.” Recent films like “BEFORE I DISAPPEAR”, “COMET” and “DARLING” are edging close to the top though.
What’s next on the horizon for Jerry Smith? Are there any future projects on your docket that you can discuss with us at this time? Or is there any projects that you’re not helming that you’re highly anticipating?
Just the projects I spoke of earlier in this interview, the relationship drama and the southern noir thriller. As far as projects I’m NOT helming, there’s a script I co-wrote with Zach Schildwachter that he’s going to direct that I am DYING to see happen. He’s such a talented director and it shows in his films “SCUM” and “GETTING OVER.” It’s another fucking weeeeeeird movie.
In conclusion, is there anything you would like to add or share with your readers, fans, or enemies?
Thank you to everybody who has read anything I’ve written or watched “LOVE IS DEAD.” The reception has been amazing and I couldn’t be happier or more grateful to have so many awesome people tell me it affected them in one way or another. As far as fans or enemies, I doubt I have either. I don’t have any enemies, at least on my part.
Bonus Question: For all those who experienced “Love is Dead,” I’m sure there is a bit of curiosity surrounding one particular scene. Considering two of your three actors, was the shower fellatio scene simulated or did Joanna Angel go full blown Chloë Sevigny on actor/director Vincent Gallo in “The Brown Bunny?”
Funny question that leads to a fun story. When we were filming, Ruben kind of pulled me aside and asked, “So uh, Jerry, I know that Joanna and Aaron are into the Adult Film Industry,…the fellatio scene isn’t going to be real, is it? I personally don’t really want to do porn.” and was so friendly about it but had to ask and I told him the truth, which I’ll tell you now: It’s fake. They’re just great actors and as far as a certain fluid shown in the film…that’s a secret I’ll keep.
I appreciate your time once again, Jerry. We hope to hear more from you and your production company soon in future film endeavors and look forward to reading more of your work as well.
Leave a comment Posted in Horror Inspirations, Horror Shorts, Interviews, Just fucking awesome, Uncategorized Tagged 24, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Aaron Thompson, Before I Disappear, BJ Colangelo, Blumhouse, California, child's play, Chloë Sevigny, Comet, Damnation Woods, Darling, Dexahlia Productions, Dying, fangoria, FEARnet, Fenix TX, friday the 13th, Friday the 13th Part IV, Getting Over, halloween, Halloween 2, Halloween 3, Halloween 4, Halloween 5, Halloween 6, Head, Heather Buckley, Icons of Fright, insidious, interview, Jason Blum, Jerry Smith, Joanna Angel, Jodie Foster, John Carpenter, John Cassavetes, Ken Hanley, Laurie Strobe, Los Angeles, Love is Dead, michael myers, Paul Rudd, Paul Rudd's Fucking Magical Runes, porn, Rebekah McKendry, Rob Galluzzo, Ruben Pla, Ryan Turek, Scum, Shock Till You Drop, Sickening Pictures, stephen king, The Accused, The Brown Bunny, The Heart of Evil Things, the last house on the left, The Tommyknockers, Vincent Gallo, Wes Craven, youtube, Zach Schildwachte
Pornstar Priya Rai Couldn’t Erect this Evil! “Isis Rising: Curse of the Lady Mummy” review!
Posted by The Evil Blogger on February 6, 2015
King Osiris and his black magic queen Isis rule ancient Egypt and were beloved by all. All except Osiris’s brother Set whose envy led to the murderous slain of Osiris. Isis, heartbroken and vengeful, tries to use her black magic to rise Osiris from the grave and seek revenge on all who wished their demise. In the middle of Isis’s ritual, Set interrupts and decides to dismember his brother’s body in order for the ritual not come to fruition and snaps Isis’s neck to ensure his will, but Isis’s vow to return and curse anyone who stands in her way. Present day, a college research group along side an Egyptian historian stay overnight at a closed history museum to study closely lost Egyptian artifacts. Isis’s spirit is accidentally released from her sarcophagus and seeks to finish what she began by taking the body parts from the research students in order to reconstruct the body her love Osiris and put the world into an eternal damnation.
“Isis Rising: Curse of the Lady Mummy” resembles the much loved late night Cinemax skin flicks without any of the nudity or the sex. All the elements are there: busty women, bad acting, and the underlined plot that is overshadowed by the soft core love scenes. From the DVD cover and the two well established porno industry actors in this film, one would, without a doubt, conclude that “Isis Rising” would fall right into the middle of that sleazy category. What the Lisa Palenica directed film is is a C-movie production that attempts to take itself seriously in the horror genre with completed results that are whole-heartedly felt in micro-budget, non-horrific, and non-stimulating, efforts.
Priya Rai is a big busted porn star of Indian background and she headlines the film as the vengeful Isis and while Priya isn’t riding the big Egyptian camel hump, her role is severely limited in dialogue and in on screen appearances. Isis’s powers include turning into a digestible body inhabiting mist, fireball conjuring, and teleportation, but Isis’s real threats are her massive chest bombs – bigger and pointier than the great Egyptian pyramids themselves. To be technical about the film’s title, Isis isn’t even a mummy. Yet the film’s subtitle is “Curse of the Lady Mummy.” The definition of mummy is the preservation of the body by removing internal organs and treat the body with resins and wraps. Isis is more like a spiritual demon and this oil should ought to be bettered labeled and regarded as “Curse of the Lady Egyptian” rather than “Curse of the Lady Mummy.” That is, if you wanted to be technical.
James Bartholet, mainly a supporting actor in all those XXX parody movies, makes his presence felt as the bumbling and perverted security guard Harry. The rest of the cast is rounded out with relatively unknowns with minor film credits to their names. Director Lisa Palenica also had a role in the film as Felicia, the goth girl who probably received one of the better death scenes in the movie. The characters are a rather stereotypical horror ensemble. There is the jock, the nerd, the hot chick, her goth-hipster friend, the nerdy asian girl, and pot head who ends up smoking the resurrection essence that awakens Isis from her slumber dooming all to savagry, as well as seductively, of detaching limbs and heads from the characters’ bodies. The only character that has girth and background value is Isis with her tragic backstory filled with treachery and black magic. Killing off characters is a lot more understandable when there is a motive.
The special effects are truly shameful, especially in a time where CGI has been perfected to the point where anybody with a Mac computer can create stunning effects. “Isis Risings” doesn’t even seem to try by implementing seriously awkward post-CGI effects, Halloween prop store plastic severed limbs, and even going as far as adding in fake exhaled smoke from our essence-high smokers. Some of the Egyptian scenes in the beginning reminded me of how Mortal Kombat 1 and 2 looked on a Sega Genesis console with the still background and the engaged, superimposed fighters. Some of the more practical effects where encouraging, but only a few scenes had those types of effects.
“Isis Rising: Curse of the Lady Mummy” resurrects another disappointment in the ever-failing Egyptian related horror genre. When will Brendan Frasier’s “The Mummy” ever be dethroned? Perhaps Alexandre Aja’s “The Pyramid” will be the next ruler of such said genre. Tom Cat Films, a production company much like Asylum Entertainment, develops the film into reality but “Isis” fails to wrap itself into a neat little mummified package of terror. I would rather have seen more of Priya Rai conducting ominously seductive measures in her quest of blood and resurrection and a little more effort in the effects, because if you’re going to have a porn star headline your film, you might as well go all Sasha Grey-out and make the experience worth wild. But don’t take my word for it and judge for yourself by heading over to MVDVisual and purchasing “Isis Rising: Curse of the Lady Mummy.”
Leave a comment Posted in Creature Features, Demonology, Evil Pornography, Evil Reviews, Mummies, Trailers, Uncategorized Tagged adult actress, Alexandre Aja, American Horror Story Asylum, body paint, boobs, Brendan Frasier, Egypt, Egyptian, Evil Review, Independent, indie film, Isis Rising, Isis Rising: Curse of the Lady Mummy, James Bartholet, Lisa Palenica, Mortal Komat 2, Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 1, Mummies, mummy, MVD, MVDVisual, porn, porno, Priya Rai, The Mummy, The Pyramid, Tom Cat Films, Trailer, xxx
Trailer: Open Windows
Posted by The Evil Blogger on August 18, 2014
I’ve never really been an Elijah Wood fan until this year. Wood has really impressed me with this recent film selections by going head first into horror thrillers: Grand Piano, Maniac, and the just announced The Last Witch Hunter with Vin Diesel.
A few days ago a trailer was released for the thriller Open Windows costarring the ever so lovely, porn starlet turned actress Sasha Grey.
When Nick (Elijah Wood) discovers that he’s won a dinner date with his favorite star Jill Goddard (Sasha Grey), he’s incredibly excited to finally get the chance to meet her. That excitement deflates when Jill refuses to honor the contest and all of Nick’s hopes are dashed. He’s intriged when Chord (Neil Maskell), a man claiming to be Jill’s campaign manager, offers him something he can’t quite refuse: Chord will give Nick the ability to constantly view Jill via computer. Nick is initially reluctant but Chord persuades him by saying that he should get at least some entertainment out of the actress. However, Nick is unaware that this decision will put himself and Jill at risk.
Sounds great. Even looks great. Can’t wait to see it. Directed by Timecrimes Nacho Vigalando with no release date set yet.
Leave a comment Posted in Chilly Thrilly, Just fucking awesome, Trailers Tagged boobs, Elijah wood, Grand Piano, maniac, Maniac Remake, Nacho Vigalando, Neil Maskell, Open Windows, porn, porn actress, Sasha Grey, The Last Witch Hunter, Timecrimes, topless, Trailer, Vin Diesel
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8 Spanish YouTube Channels for Learners of All Levels
January 24, 2015 Posted by WebmasterBlog
Whether we’re talking telenovelas, streaming news in Spanish, or a good old fashioned Netflix binge, video has the power to open your eyes and ears to all the contours of a foreign language and let you dive in brain-first.
That’s why YouTube should be one of the main ingredients in any learner’s recipe for Spanish fluency.
The following videos are presented more or less in order of difficulty, from videos more geared towards beginners to those that demand a higher level of fluency to understand and enjoy. Try to push yourself and venture outside your listening comfort zone, as these channels get more interesting and enjoyable as you go!
1) Butterfly Spanish
Channels like Butterfly Spanish are the pan y mantequilla of language learning. This channel features a native speaker, Ana from Mexico, guiding you through basic Spanish subjects with her whiteboard and her own native insight. This video on the differences between ser and estar is a good example of Butterfly Spanish’s videos, the kinds of back-to-basic refreshers most of us can use now and then at any level.
2) The Spanish Dude
Sometimes it’s helpful to hear a native English speaker guide you over some of the hurdles we face as learners. The Spanish Guy does just that with his relatively long instructional videos on vocabulary, grammar, and culture, like this one on por vs para.
3) FLAMA
FLAMA and its popular series Joanna Rants is probably the most accessibly hilarious YouTube channel for English speakers with some understanding of Spanish. Venezuelan Joanna and her team bring a youtubey Millennial brand of humor to topics like Spanish accents and the various cultures of Latin America. This recent video on “accidental Spanish cursewords” is quintessential FLAMA: you’ll laugh out loud and learn about the complexities of Spanish slang at the same time.
4) TED en Español
TED lovers will be glad to know that there’s an entire YouTube channel devoted exclusively to TED talks en español, where you can learn about the world and ideas while also reinforcing your Spanish. This Spanish language TED talk on learning languages, for example, discusses how translation can be used for social good, a topic doubly of interest to Spanish-learning language enthusiasts.
5) VICE Español
VICE Español has the same alternative vibe as Vice’s English brand, with a perspective that blends investigative journalism with counter-culture aesthetics. Their YouTube channel includes music videos and cultural documentaries, like this one about violence in the Mexican state of Guerrero.
6) Enchufe.tv
The Ecuadorian Enchufe TV is a comedy channel that includes parody and sketches with a College Humor feel. Following the native speech and culturally-attuned humor may be a challenge for intermediate learners, so don’t feel bad if you need to turn on the subtitles (in Spanish) to understand videos like this one, “Drunk Uncle Tells the Story of Christmas”.
7) Fundéu Español Urgente
Fundéu’s YouTube channel will be helpful to learners and native speakers alike, as it investigates issues of language use and gives advice on common mistakes made even by the natives. Most helpful for learners is the recomendaciones de uso del idioma playlist, which includes videos like this one on the finer points of phrases like “pese a que” vs “pese que“.
8) HolaSoyGerman
This Chilean YouTuber has the second most popular channel on the site and the most popular in the spanish-speaking world, Latin America’s answer to the generation of solo comedians combining choppy editing and self-aware ridiculousness with first-person addresses to the camera. Many of German’s videos include typically rapidísimo Chilean speech, but despite the speed he speaks quite clearly in a way that should be understandable to upper intermediate and advanced learners.
Moreover, his videos seek to find the hilarity in everyday situations, like in this one about finding a job, that introduce native Spanish vocabulary and usage that you’ll need to describe the same situations yourself.
These 8 YouTube channels are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to video resources for learning Spanish online. Be sure to check the “related channels” menu that comes up when you click on any of the above, and if you like learning Spanish by watching video and TV shows.
Post from: https://blogs.transparent.com/
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Whose Hollywood Is It Anyway?
By Paul Mandelbaum
AS STORYTELLING’S LIFEBLOOD IS COMPASSION, satire feeds off rage. Most Hollywood novels get their sustenance from both, though tend to binge on the latter. There’s a great deal to mock, obviously. It may in fact be so obvious, feel free to skip ahead to the next paragraph. But in case you’re new to the genre, the Hollywood novel often fashions itself as a reality check against the illusory world of show business, whose woeful denizens scurry after easy fame and fortune. It calls out these poor souls on their materialism and shallowness, their desperate need to appear successful, and of course their faltering grip on virtue. The worship of youth — as well as beauty of a plastic order — ranks high among the town’s false idols in need of a good smashing; though really, what’s mockable about Hollywood is an exaggerated version of what’s mockable about America, just with nicer weather. That actual human suffering flourishes against such a balmy, not to mention glitzy, backdrop provides a facile irony few authors who have ever set foot here can resist.
Of all the tempting targets presented by Hollywood, most deserving of satiric rage remains the exploitative nature of the place. How quickly and in what manner will each new protagonist, often just arrived from the East or Midwest, become abused and degraded before abusing and degrading others? To read about all this can be edifying, but the pleasures — rueful chuckles and knowing winces, typically — are dark ones, not to mention kind of elitist, since satire entails a distant, critical perspective. From the anthropological obsessions of Budd Schulberg’sWhat Makes Sammy Run? (1941) to the balls-out insanity of Gore Vidal’s Myra Breckinridge (1968), the Hollywood novel invites our awareness of its author, sniping from the palm trees.
Mona Simpson’s My Hollywood — “at turns satirical and heartbreaking,” according to its jacket copy — provides a welcome expansion of the genre, and to some extent even a departure, which its title seeks to emphasize right from the get-go. “My” in this case refers to a narrator outside the Hollywood mainstream, actually two alternating narrators, neither of whom work in the entertainment industry. Nonetheless, they are both supported and victimized by it, situating My Hollywood very much as a novel about the town’s heartless exploitation of those who would dare seek their happiness here.
The narration opens with Claire, a composer of contemporary classical music, who has forsaken New York to abet her husband Paul’s dream of becoming a sitcom writer. Despite the couple’s vow to devote themselves equally to the raising of their son William, the demands of Paul’s staff-writing job quickly put an end to his side of the bargain.
Denied sufficient time for her music, and racked with bouts of post-partum depression, or “Clairenados” as her husband calls them, Claire feels alien to the Stepford universe of upscale-L.A. motherhood, where everything about her is expected to be subordinated to childrearing, her identity as a composer demoted to possessing a “background” in music. To make matters worse, the music career, in actual fact, is not going so great.
With a foot in several worlds, Claire feels comfortable in none of them, not to mention her own skin. Since giving birth she’s suffered incontinence, and sex with Paul seems anathema to her. The fact that her own nutty mother lives nearby presents more of a liability than a comfort. All of this threatens early in the book to pull Claire under, but Paul has an idea how to stem his wife’s weeping. “He knew a way. And we would use it” — so Claire recounts, with ominous coyness, the couple’s decision to hire a nanny, as though they’d conspired to buy a contract on someone’s life, which is not so far off the mark.
Nowhere in the contemporary U.S. are the moral quandaries of servitude more pervasive than L.A., headquarters of the nation’s shadowy supply of cheap labor. As essayist David Rieff argued in his 1991 book Los Angeles: Capital of the Third World, broad swaths of an American middle class that might never aspire to household help back in Wisconsin can’t seem to get enough of it after moving out here. They hire gardeners to sweat in their backyards, he was far from the only to point out, in order to have time to jog.
The unfairness of all this has only partly to do with wages. Most fundamentally the question posed by My Hollywood boils down to this: Why must some women face unpalatable choices so that more privileged parents can attempt to have it all? Because unlike the virginal fairy godmothers of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, it turns out actual nannies often have children of their own, kids whose loving care must be shelved while their mothers mind the offspring of strangers. It’s a gnarly problem, more than big enough for a novel, and Simpson rolls up her sleeves and wrestles it with vigor.
After a stressful interview process and brief trial run with a whacky starter nanny, Claire has a chance meeting with the person destined to keep her household in order for years to come. A recent immigrant from the Philippines, Lola is here via the initial sponsorship of a cousin, though My Hollywood is not primarily concerned with her legal status so much as the brutal truth that in order to send home enough money to educate her five children into the professional class, Lola has moved an ocean away from them, and that her family’s loss is another’s gain.
To Claire, Paul, and young William, Lola’s a godsend. To the book as well, as she provides many of its sharpest moments, for example, her take on the disdain rich American parents have for baby formula: “It is like poison to them here. For us, it was only too expensive.” That pithy observation stakes out the chasm between Lola’s worldview and her employers’ with stunning efficiency, and in general Lola dependably offers a fresh analysis of the hiring class. “Americans,” she writes, “enjoy to have done for them what a Filipina would do only for children small small.”
Most of whatever doubts Lola may harbor about coming to the U.S. have been dealt with before the book begins. But when another, wealthier couple offers to hire her away from Claire and Paul at a much better salary, the choice becomes agonizing. Convinced young “Williamo” can’t get by without her, she arranges for a colleague to take the better job and hopes she won’t have cause to regret her loyalty and sacrifice.
But of course, she will. This is a novel, not a business plan. Before long, administrators at the fancy school William now attends suggest his developmental issues may have something to do with his nanny’s inability to project authority. “We see this with a lot of the foreign housekeepers,” says the school’s director. After some angst on Claire’s part, she and Paul opt to let Lola go. Or as Lola puts it, they “chop me,” a locution so uncannily satisfying, I’ve convinced myself it might even have formed the kernel of inspiration for the entire novel.
Lola’s firing feels like a stunning betrayal, the blame for which My Hollywood seems to lay largely at Paul’s feet. Maybe this is only fair since he’s slacked off in his family duties and was surer about the decision to get rid of her. But when Claire at several points regrets having succumbed to his and the school’s pressure, faulting others felt like a lapse of character on her part. It’s possible, since Claire will eventually evolve toward a place of greater worldliness and empathy, that My Hollywood means to take her to task over this, a reading I prefer.
But either way, it gave me pause, as did some other moments in her narrative. Early on, she develops a crush on Paul’s colleague Jeff. It’s pretty much all in her mind and even there a tepid affair. To Claire’s credit, she seems mostly aware of that fact. But not always. Oddly, she’s taken to carrying a copy of Anna Karenina in her purse should she need duck into the bathroom at a Hollywood party in order to read a few pages. Does she do this because she identifies with the Russian heroine? I wasn’t sure.
The party scene, by the way, is the book’s longest, a satirical set piece that pokes fun at the grown men in their backward baseball caps, at the self-important documentarian promoting his latest project and the self-important people listening with fake interest, at the show-off hostess in her mega-kitchen who doesn’t know olive oil is a fat. Hollywood parties occupy a particular circle of social hell, and Simpson conveys their pretensions with astute delicacy.
But what about Claire in the bathroom with her Tolstoy? That also seems pretentious in its own, outsider way. And since her crush on Jeff never devastates her, never feels remotely Kareninan, again I wondered whether My Hollywood could be having fun at her expense. In a novel like What Makes Sammy Run? we feel pretty sure of the author’s attitude toward Sammy Glick — never mind that some readers mistakenly took the book as a how-to manual for success — but puzzling out Simpson’s stance toward Claire proves more of a challenge.
One last instance: about a third of the way in, little William nearly drowns in a pond. It’s by far the most dramatic thing to happen until then. Claire wasn’t there to witness it, so it’s related to her by Paul, but his anecdote ends up being less about their son’s near death than the unreliable role played by Claire’s mom and how right Claire had been to predict Mom’s negligence. It’s an odd emphasis, and long before Paul feels the need to mention he ruined his boots diving in after his son, I’ve largely written him off as my nominee for Father of the Year. The book clearly has, too. More mysterious though is Claire’s willingness to join him in this miasma of narcissism. Are we still in her Hollywood — that is to say, in the character’s bona fide experience of the moment? Or in some more distant, authorial critique of her?
It’s one thing to satirize elements of a story we’re not meant to invest in — those partygoers, for instance, or the nanny employment contract Simpson reproduces in its chilling entirety. It’s quite another matter, though, to allow paint from the same satirical brush to splash on a central character or important plot point, risking their diminishment.
But this hazard, if one is inclined to view it as such, is hardly unique to My Hollywood and may even be endemic to the genre. Two major examples leap to mind: Nathanael West’s The Day of the Locust (1939) and Michael Tolkin’s The Player (1988). Like My Hollywood — though in its own weirder way — The Day of the Locust also divides its story between two main characters: a sexually repressed, retired bookkeeper from the heartland and a recent East Coast graduate who relocates to work for a movie studio. Tod Hackett, the graduate, is the more grounded of the two, though even he attempts to rape the wannabe starlet with whom he’s supposedly smitten, and the cast overall — it’s not unreasonable to suggest — is a freak show.
“If I put into The Day of the Locust any of the sincere, honest people who work here and are making such a great progressive fight,” West once wrote a colleague, “those chapters couldn’t be written satirically and the whole fabric of the peculiar half-world which I attempted to create would be badly torn by them.” As the quote implies, satire and realism are often unhappy bedfellows. Indeed West, who brilliantly mocked our hollow American obsession with celebrity, didn’t always manage to fully vitalize a scene or make us care about the people in it, as, for example, the Waterloo accident. Tod visits a movie set of the legendary battle and notices construction isn’t complete. Before you know it, extras go charging up the hill and crash through its insufficiently braced flooring; the irony of senseless destruction incurred during the filming of an infamous military disaster provides the scene’s sole pleasure. John Schlesinger’s 1975 film adaptation, by contrast, combines that irony with the visual reality of people getting hurt, and thus the disturbing impact this has on Tod, who feels some responsibility for the set’s design. In this moment, the film reaches beyond satire and taps into our horror, an emotional level that West’s novel never quite achieves, even later, in the key moment preceding the book’s climactic riot.
Set at a movie premiere, this riot sparks immediately after the novel’s other main character — that sexually repressed, Midwestern transplant, who’s named, incidentally, Homer Simpson (no relation to Mona, though the namesake of the iconic cartoon character on whose show her ex-husband used to write) — stomps an obnoxious child actor to death. One semester, my entire class of a dozen college seniors managed to read right over that stomping. No doubt some of them hadn’t finished the assignment. As for the others, their problem seemed traceable to the moment’s terseness and lack of sensory detail, a shortcoming the film more than amply corrects by having Donald Sutherland jump ape-like on the little thespian until blood starts pouring out of the kid’s mouth.
While I admire the film’s courage for attempting to give that terrible moment its due, I wonder if West wasn’t on to something about his material’s inherent limitations. Because, much as his idea succeeds symbolically, human behavior that seems plausible enough within the broad aesthetic of satire doesn’t always hold up when we’re meant to visualize its unfolding reality.
Among the best Hollywood novels of more recent times, Michael Tolkin’s The Player commits a related, if rare, misstep (one more successfully mitigated in Robert Altman’s film version, which Tolkin himself adapted). Early in the plot, The Player‘s antihero, studio exec Griffin Mill, murders a screenwriter he believes has been sending threatening postcards. In both novel and screenplay, Mill tracks down the writer one night at a Pasadena movie theater with the aim of making amends for possibly having slighted him in the past. The writer is having none of it. Indeed he begins shouting, in the film at least, how he’s going to tell the world what a desperate, pathetic screwup the exec has become, which leads to a tussle, the exec getting overly rough, and then, horrified by his own handiwork, finishing the job. Fair enough.
In the novel, however, with barely the faintest provocation, the exec sets about murdering the writer in cold blood. Not even sure he’s killing the right guy, it doesn’t seem to matter, because the exec regards the act as largely symbolic, “a gesture of appeasement” meant somehow to communicate with whoever’s really behind those threatening postcards. Mill’s mental riffs provide many of the book’s biggest delights, yet in this key scene he seems unnecessarily pathological, as though the author’s need to comment outweighed the more fundamental mandates to dramatize and inhabit. Other, less-renowned works, including Terry Southern’s Blue Movie (1970) and Leslie Epstein’s Pandaemonium (1997), demonstrate an even greater willingness to sacrifice psychological realism in order to point out Hollywood’s sordidness and other shortcomings.
Am I saying Hollywood novels as a rule miss some of the dramatic impact of, say, Anna Karenina because they can’t get out of the way of their own satire? Well, never say never — F. Scott Fitzgerald, before he died, seemed to be making an earnest try with The Last Tycoon — and apologies to any exception I may have neglected, but basically yes. The most satisfying literary conflicts allow all antagonists to be right, each in his own way. And so, to the degree that it’s willing to designate major portions of its creation a target, the Hollywood novel settles for, as West puts it, a half-world.
Where, according to this metric, does My Hollywood lie? Despite Claire’s aforementioned lapses in self-awareness, she’s still rounder than most characters of the genre and has considerable insight to share, much of it through her fluency with metaphor. “A dandelion blown” is the poignant way she describes her frazzled self. Language in general stands out as one realm of the novel where Simpson’s compassion toward her characters is never in doubt.
Take the tremendous linguistic creation surrounding Lola; it’s an empathic tour de force, communicating in a voice drastically dissimilar to the author’s own. In the hands of a lesser writer, Lola’s portrayal could easily have devolved into a kind of minstrelsy. Some readers might still have qualms about an author’s appropriating a less privileged culture, but underpinning Simpson’s choice is her clear determination not to satirize Lola in any way, shape, or form, and to maintain, in consistent good faith and without any pandering, the character’s dignity. Throughout Lola’s chapters, her perspective seems to emerge from a place within her deepest self. And in the book’s heartfelt ending, My Hollywood wisely allows her the last word.
Good Company: Conversations With Norman Manea
The Wrong Marlowe
By Charles Kelly
Tales From The Platinum Triangle
By Jeffrey Burbank
By Jonathan Zimmerman
Signs and Wonders
By Joy Horowitz
Marilynalia
By Jocelyn Heaney
One Inch Above the Ground
By Michael Tolkin
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Aniplex of America’s Announcements at Anime Expo
Posted on 13 Days Ago by Lesley Aeschliman
Aniplex of America announced at its Anime Expo panel that the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba television anime will premiere with an English dub on Adult Swim’s Toonami block. The company did not announce a premiere date for the anime.
Aniplex of America also announced the following home video release dates:
Kill la Kill Complete Blu-ray Disc Box Set: December 24, 2019
Fate/Zero Complete Blu-ray Disc Box Set: October 29, 2019
Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel II. lost butterfly Limited and Standard Edition Blu-ray Disc: November 19, 2019
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai Complete Blu-ray Disc Box Set: November 19, 2019
I want to eat your pancreas Blu-ray Disc: October 29, 2019
Source: ANN
Four More Cast Members Announced for the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Anime
Posted on May 5 by Lesley Aeschliman
Four more cast members have been announced for the anime adaptation of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga:
Toshihiko Seki is Muzan Kibutsuji
Ryohei Kimura is Swamp Demon
Jun Fukuyama is Yahaba
Mikako Komatsu is Susamaru
The characters will appear in the show starting with the sixth episode.
The anime premiered in Japan on April 6, 2019, and Aniplex of America has licensed the series. The show is streaming on Hulu, Crunchyroll, and FunimationNow.
Aniplex of America Licenses the We Never Learn: BOKUBEN and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Anime
Posted on April 2 by Lesley Aeschliman
Aniplex of America has announced that it has licensed the anime of Taishi Tsutsui’s We Never Learn (Boku-tachi wa Benkyō ga Dekinai) manga and Koyoharu Gotouge’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga. Both series will debut on Hulu, Crunchyroll, and FunimationNow on April 6, 2019.
We Never Learn: BOKUBEN is scheduled to premiere on Japanese television on April 7, 2019.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is scheduled to premiere on Japanese television on April 6, 2019.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga to Get a Four-Panel Spin-off in Jump+ App
This year’s 18th issue of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine has announced that Ryōji Hirano will launch a four-panel spin-off manga based on Koyoharu Gotouge’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga on Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ app and website. The full-color manga will be titled Kimetsu no Aima!, and it will update on the site and app on Sundays. The manga will feature super deformed versions of the characters from the main manga.
The 18th issue also published the first chapter in a two-chapter side-story manga titled “Kimetsu no Yaiba: Tomioka Giyū Gaiden.” Gotouge is credited with the original work, and Hirano is drawing the manga.
The main manga debuted in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in February 2016.
More Cast Members Announced for the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Anime
Posted on March 19 by Lesley Aeschliman
More cast members have been announced for the forthcoming anime adaptation of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga:
Houchu Ohtsuka is Sakonji Urokodaki
Yuuki Kaji is Sabito
Ai Kakuma is Makomo
Nobuhiko Okamoto is Genya
Toshiyuki Morikawa is Kagaya Ubuyashiki
Shiori Izawa is Guide (White-Haired)
Aoi Yūki is Guide (Black-Haired)
Daisuke Namikawa is Haganezuka
Takumi Yamazaki is Kasugaigarasu
Hikaru Midorikawa is Odō no Oni
Takehito Koyasu is Teoni
Haruo Sotozaki is directing the anime at ufotable. ufotable is also credited for the scripts. Akira Matsushima is the character designer, with Miyuki Sato, Yōko Kajiyama, and Mika Kikuchi serving as sub-character designers. Yuki Kajiura and Gō Shiina are composing the music. Hikaru Kondo is producing the series.
The theatrical version of the first five episodes of the television anime is titled Kimetsu no Yaiba: Kyōdai no Kizuna (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Bonds of Siblings). This version will screen in 11 theaters in Japan for two weeks starting on March 29, 2019. Aniplex of America will then host the United States premiere of the theatrical version at the Aratani Theatre in Los Angeles on March 31, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. PDT (6:00 p.m. EDT).
The television anime will premiere on Japanese television on April 6, 2019.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Anime’s Theatrical Version to Gets Its U.S. Premiere on March 31, 2019
Posted on March 8 by Lesley Aeschliman
Aniplex of America has announced that it will host the United States premiere of the theatrical version of the television anime adaptation of Koyoharu Gotouge’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga at the Aratani Theatre in Los Angeles on March 31, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. PDT (6:00 p.m. EDT). Tickets will cost US$10 and go on sale on March 8, 2019.
The theatrical version of the first five episodes of the television anime is titled Kimetsu no Yaiba: Kyōdai no Kizuna (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Bonds of Siblings). The version will screen in 11 theaters in Japan for two weeks starting on March 29, 2019.
VIZ Media Makes Top Shonen Jump Manga Chapters Available for Free and Simultaneous With Japanese Debut
Posted on December 17 by Lesley Aeschliman
VIZ Media proudly announces a major new development for the company’s flagship imprint, SHONEN JUMP, and the world’s most popular digital manga magazine, Weekly Shonen Jump.
Beginning December 17, 2018, the current Weekly Shonen Jump magazine lineup of 13 series will be available to readers for free, including Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, My Hero Academia, One Piece, and more. Additional series join the simultaneous lineup, including Jujutsu Kaisen, Act-Age, Haikyu!!, and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Combined with the current lineup, there will be a total of 25 free series, with all-new chapters published in English simultaneously with Japan. Fans can dive into the three latest chapters for hit series such as Dragon Ball Super, The Promised Neverland, Dr. Stone and more, with new series coming soon. For the upcoming simultaneous chapter release schedule, please visit https://viz.com/shonen-jump-chapter-schedule.
As a part of this evolution, Weekly Shonen Jump published its final digital magazine issue on December 10, 2018 and launched the SHONEN JUMP digital vault membership on December 17, 2018. This new SHONEN JUMP membership ($1.99 per month) grants readers seamless access to a substantial and continually updated digital vault that currently features more than 10,000 manga chapters from nearly 100 series – almost every ongoing and completed series SHONEN JUMP has published in English.
“We are extremely excited and proud to announce this bold evolution for SHONEN JUMP,” says Hisashi Sasaki, Global Vice President, SHONEN JUMP. “Fans want to catch their favorite stories the same day they debut in Japan for free, and accessing back chapters of popular SHONEN JUMP series has been one of the most requested features from our online readers. Our new model will make SHONEN JUMP the premiere showcase for manga content.”
Current Weekly Shonen Jump subscribers have been converted to the new membership and can now catch up with the latest series at any point, revisit classic favorites like Naruto, Bleach, Death Note and Nisekoi, as well as explore additional new titles that will be added on a regular basis.
A 7-day free trial membership is currently available at viz.com/sj-offer.
Fans can access the free digital chapters and unlock the SHONEN JUMP digital vault at shonenjump.com or with the SHONEN JUMP app for iPhone, iPad and Android-based devices. Current app users should download the latest version of the SJ app.
For more information on Shonen Jump, please visit viz.com/company-faq#sj.
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Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Episode 17 - "Battle off the Coast of Saturn - Gather the Wave Motion Gun Fleet!"
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English News >> Deccan Chronicle >> telangana
Saturday, 31 Mar, 12.41 pm Deccan Chronicle
Privacy breach: United States to dig into people's lives for visa applications
Hyderabad: Social media details, including usernames, previous email addresses, and phone numbers, could be sought from US visa applicants in future as part of the visa vetting process. This is still at the proposal stage with the US State Department seeking public comments. The requirement will be for all types of visas, immigrant and non-immigrant and impact nearly 15 million foreigners who apply for US visas every year. The US State Department, in documents to be published in Friday's Federal Register website noted that it wants to get public comments on this proposal. According to the document, one particular question lists several social media platforms and asks the visa applicant to provide any identifiers used for those platforms during the five years preceding the date of application. The proposal documents were posted on Thursday but the 60-day public comment period commences on Friday after the edition is published.
These social media checks were announced last year too. A couple of years back, Facebook chats gave information to immigration officials that some students from Hyderabad were more interested in earning money by taking up jobs instead of pursuing studies. "The incidents that happened in the past may be the reason for officials to take the social media path. Since people share a lot of details on social media in personal chats or on posts, the actual intention of the person can be revealed. This proposal will not go forward as the public would certainly veto it," said Subhakar Alapati, director of Global Tree Overseas Education and Immigration Consultant, Hyderabad.
While the world is debating privacy of data on social media, this proposal is seen as an intrusion into a person's privacy. "While social media posts are a great way to really read into the character of people, everyone who vents on a public platform due to unhappiness, frustration or fear, isn't necessarily a threat," says Sabina Xavier, Chief Operating Officer of Y-Axis Consultancy. It's doubtful whether such checking will do much to protect national security, but it will add to the workload of immigration officers.
Multiple H-1B applications would attract rejection
Multiple H-1B applications for the same person with different job offers will be rejected, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services has warned ahead of the H-1B visa filing season commencing on April 2. In a policy memorandum released on Friday, USCIS said that it will "deny or revoke the approval of all H-1B cap-subject petitions filed for that beneficiary."
USCIS highlighted the case of an applicant who filed from two companies for one client project. It stated that Company S-Inc and C-LLC filed H-1B petitions for the same candidate to work in substantially the same position for the same end-client through the same two vendors in the same fiscal year. People have been exploiting the lottery process because the probability of a person with multiple nominations getting picked is higher. There were allegedly several instances in the city itself where multiple visa applications were filed for the same person using this loophole.
"Very rarely does a company file multiple applications for the same beneficiary because two distinct positions exist. This is a loophole that they tend to use to increase their chances of getting in their employee. Unfortunately, Indian tech companies get the giant's share of the H-1B and it is misused by them," said Sabina Xavier, Chief Operating Officer of Y-Axis Consultancy.
Submitting multiple applications undermines the lottery system and is misused by employers who are exploiting the system. "People often employ these tactics to improve their chances of winning. For 65,000 visas, if a person files two petitions, then he/she will have probability of 2/65000 and not 1/65000," said Subhakar Alapati, director of Global Tree Overseas Education and Immigration Consultant, Hyderabad.
JNTU, Osmania University Alumni hold most H-1B
Most H-1B visa holders from India in 2017 were students from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) or colleges affiliated to it. Around 747 BTech alumni from JNTU secured H-1B visas in 2017, while Anna University, Chennai, was the leader with nearly 850 graduates. Four of the top 10 universities in which most of the H-1B visa-holders were educated are in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Some 223 alumni of Osmania University, 153 of Andhra University and 138 of Acharya Nagarjuna University were given H-1B visas, according to data sourced by Quartz from the Office of Foreign Labour Certification.
This seems to suggest that it's not true that graduates and post-graduates of IITs, IIMs and BITS Pilani prefer to work abroad; most of those who went to the US on H-1B visas are from other universities. At the Master's level, too, the largest number of those hired in 2017 was from JNTU and Anna University. Experts say that this is not surprising as many tech-hubs and companies are in South India.
"The Indian tech giants are heavily vested in Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad and that's where the bulk of their workforce is. So, it's expected that majority of the applicants come from Anna University, JNTU, Madras University or Osmania University," says an expert. The fact that more students from Telugu states apply for the visa could be attributed to the craze among Telugu people to go abroad. "While 30 per cent of H-1B visa holders are Indians, about 70 per cent of these are from the south. People are inclined to pursue engineering and go abroad unlike other states where they pursue different disciplines, including literature and the arts," says another expert.
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18 Pieces of Sage Wisdom From Batman
Image: Mashable
By Bob Al-Greene 2014-05-16 12:30:12 UTC
It's been 75 years since the first appearance of Batman in the pages of Detective Comics #27. With a new video game launching later this year and another film on the horizon, you could say the Bat has never been bigger.
Clearly, punching evil in the face never gets old. But what wisdom has the Dark Knight gleaned in his 75-year war on crime? If we sat down with the caped crusader, what life advice would the septugenarian superhero offer?
See also: How Much Does It Cost to Be Batman in Real Life?
To celebrate Batman's big year, we picked the best tips we could find from his long career in crime-fighting, clown-punching and sidekick endangerment. If you're in the midst of a quarter- or mid-life crisis, take note: A fast car can be your best friend, and utility belts are always cooler than cargo shorts.
Sage Advice From Batman
BONUS: 5 Kick-Ass Facts You Didn't Know About Batman
Topics: batman, Comics, dc comics, Entertainment, Photography, Culture
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Despite the Systematic Campaign of Misinformation the Armenian Government Enjoys 70% Approval Rating
Arrest Warrant Issued for Former Yerevan Hospital Chief
Former Senator Robert Dole Awarded Armenia’s Order of Honor
Interview: UEFA European Under-19 Ambassador Mkhitaryan’s Armenian Pride
Zoryan Institute’s University Program Develops a Global Network of Human Rights and Genocide Specialists
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Armenian Council of America
Hunchakian
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Home Armenian Glendale City Council Approves Armenian American Museum
Glendale City Council Approves Armenian American Museum
AGBU Hye Geen’s 12th International Conference: Impact of Armenian Youth in a Diversified World
Published on 18 April 2018
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GLENDALE – The Glendale City Council directed City Staff to negotiate the final Ground Lease Agreement for the Armenian American Museum’s Downtown Glendale site with a lease term of up to 95 years at $1 per year and approved the Museum’s Stage 1 Design Plans. The landmark approval marks a major milestone for the historic project and a major victory for Museum supporters.
On the eve of the 103rd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Museum supporters and community members packed into Glendale City Hall to witness the historic vote by the Glendale City Council. Museum representatives presented their vision for a three-story, 59,800 square-foot cultural and educational complex that would be located in the southwest corner of Central Park. The Museum will feature Permanent & Traveling Exhibitions, Performing Arts Theater, Demonstration Kitchen, Learning Center, Archives, Café, and Store. City Staff and urban design firm SWA Group also presented their vision for a redesigned Central Park that would preserve the park’s open space, improve its amenities, and serve the community as “Glendale’s new gathering place” with the Museum as its focal point.
“We are pleased that the Glendale City Council and City of Glendale officials share our vision of building a world class cultural and educational center in the heart of Downtown Glendale that will be the pride of our entire community,” stated Museum Co-Chair Archbishop Hovnan Derderian.
“The Armenian American Museum is a historic project that will celebrate culture, education, and empowerment and will serve as a bridge that will connect our diverse community members together in the spirit of humanity,” stated Museum Co-Chair Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian.
In 2014, the Armenian American Museum and City of Glendale agreed to an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement that would have located the Museum on City-owned land near the Glendale Community College. In 2016, the City proposed bringing the project to Downtown Glendale’s Arts and Entertainment District to join the Downtown Central Library and Adult Recreation Center on the Central Park block. City and Museum officials have been performing their due diligence tasks and responsibilities with the goal of securing a final Ground Lease Agreement for the Museum site.
“We join our community members in celebrating this historic milestone that brings us one step closer to building a cultural and educational center that is by the community for the community,” stated Museum Co-Chair Bishop Mikael Mouradian.
“The Armenian American Museum will have a long-lasting and impactful legacy that is an investment in our next generation and the future of our community,” stated Museum Co-Chair Reverend Berdj Djambazian.
Glendale City Council’s approval of the Stage 1 Design Plans is the first major approval for the project leading to the Stage 2 Plans review and the final Ground Lease Agreement consideration anticipated for Summer 2018. The initial term of the Ground Lease Agreement will be 55 years with options to extend the lease term for four 10-year periods totaling 95 years with a ground lease rate of $1 per year.
“We are looking forward to working with our City and community members to help make this historic project a reality and create a positive impact that will ripple through generations to come in our community,” stated Museum Executive Committee Chairman Berdj Karapetian.
Following the landmark approval, the Armenian American Museum plans to launch its capital campaign to raise funds for the construction of the cultural and educational center. The Museum will be hosting a Community-Wide Telethon on September 9, 2018 and holding its inaugural Gala at the Dolby Theater on December 9, 2018.
For more information, visit www.ArmenianAmericanMuseum.org.
About the Armenian American Museum
The Armenian American Museum is a developing project in Glendale, CA with a mission to promote understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Armenian American experience. When completed, it will serve as a cultural campus that enriches the community, educates the public on the Armenian American story, and empowers individuals to embrace cultural diversity and speak out against prejudice.
The governing board of the Armenian American Museum consists of representatives from the following ten Armenian American institutions and organizations: Armenian Catholic Eparchy, Armenian Cultural Foundation, Armenian Evangelical Union of North America, Armenian General Benevolent Union – Western District, Armenian Missionary Association of America, Armenian Relief Society – Western USA, Nor Or Charitable Foundation, Nor Serount Cultural Association, Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, and Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
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Taiwan might be getting a millennial pink museum
Photo: MVRDV
The city of Taoyuan, Taiwan may soon be home an otherworldly pink art museum that looks like something out of a millennial Instagram influencer’s greatest dream.
The recently proposed, rosy-hued Taoyuan Museum of Art will be over 29,000 square meters (300,000 square feet) and will act as a cultural institution and public space for people to enjoy art and nature. The museum will be located next to the main airport in Taoyuan city.
The structure was designed by MVRDV in collaboration with JJP Architects & Planners and TOPOTEK1. The design draws inspiration from the city’s peach flower symbol and will include a series interconnected structures shaped like peach blossoms. Blossom and nature are not only present in the structure of the building, blossom trees and tropical plants will be peppered throughout the complex, and the nearby river will also be incorporated.
MVRDV had this to say about the project:
“These flower-like figures appear in the park and form a new identity for the park. A pinkish aluminum façade will be implemented throughout giving a strong and beautiful character to the site.”
“The roof terraces with peach trees create overviews and add on to the green qualities of the buildings and the park.”
The city of Taoyuan has grown enormously in recent years due to its proximity to the national airport, the capital city, and ocean. No doubt architectural innovations such as this will also help boost local tourism. Although we’ll have to wait for official details on construction and opening dates, from the designs alone, the future of museum architecture looks pretty darn colorful.
More like this: This video will get you stoked to visit Taiwan
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This is what winter looks like in Arizona
in paid partnership with
Photo: Steve Lee
WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS are pretty much guaranteed in much of the U.S. Average January high temperature in Chicago: 31 degrees. New York: 38. Minneapolis: 24. Even coastal Seattle: 47.
But move the needle southwest and you find the American locale that bucks the winter trend. You can expect highs in the upper 60s around Phoenix come January, and that number rises even more when you head farther south. Locals and those smart enough to vacation in Arizona during this time of year are getting out on the water, hiking in t-shirts, and exploring one of the truly unique American landscapes. This is what it looks like.
Superstition Mountains
The greenery sticks around into January in the Superstition Mountains, just east of Phoenix, contrasting nicely with the reds and oranges of the rock and the unmistakable profiles of cholla and saguaro cacti.
Photo: Scott Taylor
Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium
The inhabitants of this 95-acre zoo and aquarium in Glendale, in the Greater Phoenix area, don't mind the winter temps. Come February, the mercury's already rising into the 70s on a daily basis, with spikes as high as 90 degrees.
Photo: Kenneth Hagemeyer
Horseshoe Bend, Colorado River
Horseshoe Bend is one of the most impressive creations of the Colorado River outside of the Grand Canyon. Despite its location in the far north of Arizona, near the city of Page, if you visit in late winter you won't even need a jacket.
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Sedona's elevated position in the Verde Valley means a scarf and light jacket wouldn't be out of place on your hike up to that epic viewpoint. But the clear winter air will make sure you're seeing the painted rocks at their best.
Photo: Brett Booner
The one-of-a-kind slot formations of Antelope Canyon are another Arizona locale that does tend to cool down in winter, but there's no mistaking what part of the country you're standing in. Find this incredible view in the Navajo Nation, just southeast of Page.
Palm trees, Yuma
The February colors of this date farm in the southwestern city of Yuma defy the winter conditions covering most of the rest of the country. Dress for ideal conditions if you're visiting this time of year: 75 during the day, 50 at night.
Photo: cruiser girl
Vermilion Cliffs National Monument
The crisp, still winter air adds even more grandeur to the absolutely mind-bending rock formations found in and around Vermilion Cliffs. Keep in mind that the most popular areas, like Coyote Butte, require hiking permits no matter what time of year you visit.
Photo: Bureau of Land Management
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Atop the Flatiron, Phoenix below
At 4,800 feet, the formation known as the Flatiron is the highest point in the Superstition Mountains and provides awesome views back out to Phoenix. The sweat you'll work up, plus the mild winter temps, means hiking in a t-shirt is entirely doable.
Photo: Alex Ballard
Eagletail Mountains Wilderness
The desert landscape comes alive in winter. Located just a couple hours west of Phoenix, the Eagletail Mountains Wilderness feels about as remote as you can get in this part of the world.
MLB Spring Training, Scottsdale
Major League Baseball's Spring Training technically starts in winter. Head to the Greater Phoenix area in February or March and you'll have the opportunity to see teams like the Giants, Royals, and Rangers go head to head in the Cactus League.
Photo: Chris Cameron
The average high never dips below 60 in Lake Havasu City, located right on its namesake reservoir on the Colorado River. If that's still a bit too cold to go for a swim, you can check out London Bridge—yes, the London Bridge, shipped stone by stone to the Arizona desert in 1968, when the storied Thames spanner was last replaced.
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Winter hiking the Grand Canyon
Visitor numbers to the Grand Canyon in winter pale in comparison to those in summer...which means this might just be the best time to go. You'll run a much better chance of having the famous Bright Angel Trail, seen above, all to yourself.
Photo: Michael Quinn for Grand Canyon National Park
Sunset on the Salt River, Mesa
Note from the photographer on this image, captured February 23: "The weather is beautiful this time of year in Arizona. It was about 70 degrees. As I waited for the sun to go down I stood by the edge of the river and watched the fish swimming around."
Photo: ed ouimette
On the 18th green
It's not just the greens that remain green on Arizona's golf courses in the winter. This shot was taken at McCormick Ranch in Scottsdale.
Photo: Jeff Shewan
Storm front over the Beeline Highway
I love the power of a winter or early spring thunderstorm in the Southwest, especially as seen from the car window on a road trip.
Photo: Jerry Ferguson
Arizona Snowbowl, Flagstaff
For those who require the more traditional winter pursuits, Arizona has them too. There are three downhill ski resorts in the state, stretching from Flagstaff in the north (Arizona Snowbowl) to, shockingly, the Tucson area in the far south (Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley).
Photo: sean hobson
Nothing quite beats the beauty of the desert, and there's no better time than winter to explore these special environments. How does this view compare to the one out your window right now...?
This post is proudly produced in partnership with the Arizona Office of Tourism.
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Futures: Baylor WR Terrance Williams
By Matt Waldman February 13, 2013
Terrance Williams broke Kendall Wright’s single season yardage record this year. See why I like his progression as an NFL prospect in my latest Futures column.
I like progress. Especially when that development is happening within a human being. With its high concentration of players to cover within a compressed period of practice time, one of the things sometimes lost in all-star game practice reports is the overarching performance that spans several days.
If there was a player who showed progress at the 2013 Senior Bowl it was Baylor wide receiver Terrance Williams. I didn’t see the first day of the South Team’s practice — it’s the one day where both rosters practice at different facilities on the same day — but based on the receiver’s performance and the praise Lions wide receivers coach Tim Lappanowas dishing his way in each drill, it was clear that Williams was one of the most improved players between Monday and Wednesday. If you had only seen reports about him after Tuesday’s practice, you would have concluded that he was having an inconsistent week.
Inconsistency plus sustained effort is the formula of an ugly process that leads to a beautiful result: personal growth. Williams’ growth as a player hasn’t been isolated to a few days of a college all-star game practice in late January. The Baylor star has demonstrated improvement with his game since I watched him last year.
With prototypical height and weight, the ability to catch the ball with his hands, and big-play ability in the vertical passing game and as an open-field runner, Williams is already considered one of the better wide receiver prospects in this draft class. But Williams’ development is an encouraging sign for the team that selects him in April. Here are four plays that illustrate the changes to Williams’ game. Some of these improvements are a greater consistency of execution compared to years past. I’m taking these examples from his performance in Baylor’s 52-45 overtime victory over Texas Tech in late November. Read the rest at Football Outsiders.
Categories: Futures at Football OutsidersTags: 2013 NFL Draft, 2013 RSP, Matt Waldman 2013 RSP, Matt Waldman RSP, NFL draft, Rookie Scouting Portfolio, RSP, Terrance Williams Baylor, Terrance Williams Football Outsiders, Terrance Williams Futures, Terrance Williams Matt Waldman, Terrance Williams NFL Draft, Terrance Williams RSP, Terrance Williams Scouting Report
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Maveric Universe Wiki
List of superhuman features and abilities in fiction
Tina Small
The Tina Small Collector
Island Three The O'Neill cylinder
Tina Small.
Little Annie Fanny
Sevencyclopaedia -
Dyson sphere'
Zev (later Xev) Bellringer
Queen Taramis A Witch Shall Be Born Conan the Destroyer
Legion of Time Sorcerers
Science fiction themes
Dyson spheres in fiction
Ulyseas Stark
Plate Dwellers (Underdwellers)
Warp drive
The Legion of Time Sorcerers,
Megastructures, Hypothetical astronomical objects, SETI,
Space colonization
Exploratory engineering
File:Dyson Sphere Diagram-en.svg
A dyson sphere would contain civilization of on a hundred systems. Half a Dyson sphere at earth orbit would be equivilent surface area to several million Earths. Even if there are only a small fraction of livable space, a great deal of energy collection, and other underdeveloped area, there would be several lifetimes of explorable territory.Then there are the energy collectors that are powering something-city power generators,defensive systems,gravity generators. Factories are still running.
Most of that area is going to be energy collectors. The real purpose of a Dyson sphere is harness all the power output of a sun. With that much energy, you can do... almost anything... (like build a material strong enough to be the chassis of a Dyson sphere).
There will probably be a ring of either massive forcefield or large materials at some venus like orbit that will generate a night and day effect on the ring. Those big materials will be energy absorbing as well. Otherwise you have eternal noon. (though this would have to be assembled early on, probably to generate the power to build the rest.)
Now the question is.. what were the builders doing with it all?Sidaireans use it to power the Sphere itself,the world plates and cities within them.Every worldplate,would it's closed environment,with subterrain shuttles between each,that move inhabitants around the worldplates and the sphere itself.Later,on specific points,there could instalted stargate side to site jump points,for both individuals and shuttles to jump from area to another. External,weapon towers and tractor beam arrays could deflect asteroids coming too close to the sphere.In the event,these systems fail,any minor damage would repaired by way of nanobots or sentry robots.But major damage,say caused by a large enough asteroid or other massive object,might damage the outer hull,breaking a hole in it.Damage,that simply knocks a worldplate out of allihement,might create severe earthquakes and shake the civilization off it's axis.
However, your broken sphere, will not have atmosphere.Atmosphere plants could provide new oxigen depleted by the dsamage. Though there will be a gas farm, which would be a big gas giant made of nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, and a few other things that an atmosphere and ecosystem might need in a rough orbit. (Carbon core).
Lots and lots of weapons pits which are tenders for the microbot clouds (not quite nanobots.. but a dual defensive system and repair mechanism might provide help in energency situations
There is a receiving generator taking a good portion of the power being absorbed by the sphere and mashing it into matter. (Your star probably is generating pulses of high energy x-rays, alpha and gamma rays, and the occasional neutrino burst, as the matter forge is making the material for the sphere. Template:Wiktionary
A Dyson sphere (or shell as it appeared in the original paper) is a hypothetical megastructure originally described by Freeman Dyson. Such a "sphere" would be a system of orbiting solar power satellites meant to completely encompass a star and capture most or all of its energy output. Dyson speculated that such structures would be the logical consequence of the long-term survival and escalating energy needs of a technological civilization, and proposed that searching for evidence of the existence of such structures might lead to the detection of advanced intelligent extraterrestrial life.
The Sphere,as the builders and inhabitants,would call it would as a 101, there is a lot that can be in a 4pi R squared, where R is going to be roughly an AU (149,598,000 KMs or 92,955,877 miles) 2,250,000,000,000,000 square miles. with the earth's surface being a mere 196,940,400 square miles.
Figure the thickness of the sphere wall will be about 10,000 kilometers 6800 miles thick (unless it is made of a super dense material or gravity generators are used) to generate the 1 G on the isnide). The inside has a 10-11 miles/15-22 kms worth of air.
Since then, other variant designs involving building an artificial structure — or a series of structures — to encompass a star have been proposed in exploratory engineering or described in science fiction under the name "Dyson sphere". These later proposals have not been limited to solar power stations — many involve habitation or industrial elements. Most fictional depictions describe a solid shell of matter enclosing a star (see diagram at right), which is considered the least plausible variant of the idea (see below).
Dyson Sphere
Atlantis-Prime
Avatar-Prime
Genisis-Prime
Hades-Prime
Tartarus-Prime
Origin of concept Edit
Template:Seealso The concept of the Dyson sphere was the result of a thought experiment by physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson, where he noted that every human technological civilization has constantly increased its demand for energy. He reasoned that if human civilization were to survive long enough, there would come a time when it required the total energy output of the sun. Thus, he proposed a system of orbiting structures designed to intercept and collect all energy produced by the sun. Dyson's proposal did not detail how such a system would be constructed, but focused only on issues of energy collection. Dyson is credited with being the first to formalize the concept of the Dyson sphere in his 1959 paper "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infra-Red Radiation", published in the journal Science.[1] However, Dyson was inspired by the mention of the concept in the 1937 science fiction novel Star Maker, by Olaf Stapledon, and possibly by the works of J. D. Bernal and Raymond Z. Gallun who seem to have explored similar concepts in their work.[2]
Feasibility Edit
While it is believed that some of the design variants commonly described – specifically those based on the Dyson shell – are impractical, if not physically impossible, design variants of the sphere based on orbiting satellites or solar sails do not require any major theoretical breakthroughs in our basic scientific understanding for their construction. Deployment of spacecraft and satellites using photovoltaics might be seen as the first small steps towards building a Dyson swarm (see below for differences between these sub-types).[3] However, creating and deploying energy gathering spacecraft and satellites in the numbers needed to create a solar system sized integrated energy gathering system are well beyond our present-day industrial needs or capabilities. It is also likely that there are unforeseen industrial scaling difficulties in such a construction project, and that our current understanding of industrial automation is insufficient to build the self-maintaining systems needed for the sphere's upkeep.
Variants Edit
In many fictional accounts, the Dyson sphere concept is most often interpreted as an artificial hollow sphere of matter around a star (see diagram at top of page). This perception is a misinterpretation of Dyson's original concept. In response to letters prompted by his original paper, Dyson replied, "A solid shell or ring surrounding a star is mechanically impossible. The form of 'biosphere' which I envisaged consists of a loose collection or swarm of objects traveling on independent orbits around the star."[4]
Dyson swarm Edit
File:Dyson Ring.PNG
A relatively simple arrangement of multiple Dyson Rings of the type pictured above, to form a more complex Dyson Swarm. Rings' orbital radii are spaced 1.5Template:E km with regards to one another, but average orbital radius is still 1 AU. Rings are rotated 15 degrees relative to one another, around a common axis of rotation.
The variant closest to Dyson's original conception is the "Dyson swarm". It consists of a large number of independent constructs (usually solar power satellites and space habitats) orbiting in a dense formation around the star. This approach to the construction of a Dyson sphere has several advantages: the components making it up could range widely in individual size and design, and such a sphere could be constructed incrementally over a long period of time.[3] Various forms of wireless energy transfer could be used in order to transfer energy between constructs.
Such a swarm is not without drawbacks. The nature of orbital mechanics would make the arrangement of the orbits of the swarm extremely complex. The simplest such arrangement is the Dyson ring in which all such structures share the same orbit. More complex patterns with more rings would intercept more of the star's output, but would result in some constructs eclipsing others periodically when their orbits overlap.[5] Another potential problem is the increasing loss of orbital stability as adding more orbiting constructs increases the probability of orbital perturbations of other constructs.
As noted below, such a cloud of collectors would alter the light emitted by the star system, but as can be seen here, it is unlikely that such an alteration would be complete, and some of the star's natural light would still be present in the system's emitted spectrum.[1]
Dyson shell Edit
The variant of the Dyson sphere most often depicted in fiction is the "Dyson shell": a uniform solid shell of matter around the star (see diagram at top of page).[6] Unlike the Dyson swarm, such a structure would completely alter the emissions of the central star, and would intercept 100% of the star's energy output. Such a structure would also provide an immense surface which many envision being used for habitation, if the surface could be made habitable.
A spherical shell Dyson sphere in our solar system with a radius of one astronomical unit, so that the interior surface would receive the same amount of sunlight as Earth does per solid angle, would have a surface area of at least 2.72x1017 km2, or around 550 million times the surface area of the Earth. This would intercept the full 4x1026 watts of the Sun's output; other variant designs would intercept less, but the shell variant represents the maximum possible energy captured for our solar system at this point of the Sun's evolution.[6] To put this figure in perspective, it is approximately 3.3x1013 times the power consumption of humanity in 1998 which was 1.2x1013 W.[7]
There are several serious theoretical difficulties with the solid shell variant of the Dyson sphere:
Such a shell would have no net gravitational interaction with its englobed sun (see Shell theorem), and could drift in relation to the central star. If such movements went uncorrected, they could eventually result in a collision between the sphere and the star — most likely with disastrous results. Such structures would need either some form of propulsion to counteract any drift, or some way to repel the surface of the sphere away from the star.[8]
For the same reason, such a shell would have no net gravitational interaction with anything else inside it. The contents of any biosphere placed on the inner surface of a Dyson shell would not be attracted to the sphere's surface and would simply fall into the star. It has been proposed that a biosphere could be contained between two concentric spheres, placed on the interior of a rotating sphere (in which case, the force of artificial "gravity" is perpendicular to the axis of rotation, causing all matter placed on the interior of the sphere to pool around the equator, effectively rendering the sphere a Niven ring for purposes of habitation, but still fully effective as a radiant energy collector) or placed on the outside of the sphere where it would be held in place by the star's gravity.[9][10] In such cases, some form of illumination would have to be devised, or the sphere made at least partly transparent, as the star's light would otherwise be completely hidden.[11]
If assuming a radius of one AU, then the compressive strength of the material forming the sphere would have to be immense. Any arbitrarily selected point on the surface of the sphere can be viewed as being under the pressure of the base of a dome 1 AU in height under the Sun's gravity at that distance. Indeed it can be viewed as being at the base of an infinite number of arbitrarily selected domes, but as much of the force from any one arbitrary dome is counteracted by those of another, the net force on that point is immense, but finite. No known or theorized material is strong enough to withstand this pressure, and form a rigid, static sphere around a star.[12] It has been proposed by Paul Birch (in relation to smaller "Supra-Jupiter" constructions around a large planet rather than a star) that it may be possible to support a Dyson shell by dynamic means similar to those used in a space fountain.[13] Masses traveling in circular tracks on the inside of the sphere, at velocities significantly greater than orbital velocity, would press outwards due to centrifugal force. For a Dyson shell of 1 AU radius around a star with the same mass as the Sun, mass traveling ten times orbital velocity (297.9 km/s) would support 99 (a=v2/r) times its own mass in additional shell structure. The arrangement of such tracks suffers from the same difficulties as arranging the orbits of a Dyson swarm, and it is unclear how much energy would be consumed ensuring the velocity of the masses was maintained.
Also if assuming a radius of one AU, then there may not be sufficient building material in the Solar system to construct a Dyson shell. Dyson's original estimate was that there was enough material in the Solar system for a 1 AU shell 3 meters thick,Template:Fact but this included hydrogen and helium which are unlikely to be much use as building material, although additional building material might be manufactured if elements such as hydrogen and helium could be transmuted into heavier elements through nuclear fusion. Anders Sandberg estimates that there is 1.82Template:E kg of easily usable building material in the Solar system, enough for a 1 AU shell with a mass of 600 kg/m²—about 8–20 cm thick depending on the density of the material. This includes the cores of the gas giants, which may be hard to access; the inner planets alone provide only 11.79Template:E kg, enough for a 1 AU shell with a mass of just 42 kg/m².[14]
The shell would be vulnerable to impacts from interstellar bodies, such as comets, meteoroids, and so forth.
Lastly, the shell would be vulnerable to the material in interstellar space that is currently being deflected by the Sun's Bow shock. The Heliosphere, and any protection it theoretically provides, would cease to exist.
Dyson bubble Edit
File:Dyson Bubble.png
A third type of Dyson sphere is the "Dyson bubble". It would be similar to a Dyson swarm, composed of many independent constructs (usually solar power satellites and space habitats) and likewise could be constructed incrementally.
Unlike the Dyson swarm, the constructs making it up are not in orbit around the star, but would be statites—satellites suspended by use of enormous light sails using radiation pressure to counteract the star's pull of gravity. Such constructs would not be in danger of collision or of eclipsing one another; they would be totally stationary with regard to the star, and independent of one another. As the ratio of radiation pressure and the force of gravity from a star are constant regardless of the distance (provided the statite has an unobstructed line-of-sight to the surface of its star[15]), such statites could also vary their distance from their central star.
The practicality of this approach is questionable with modern material science, but cannot yet be ruled out. A statite deployed around our own sun would have to have an overall density of 0.78 grams per square meter of sail.[8] To illustrate the low mass of the required materials, consider that the total mass of a bubble of such material 1 AU in radius would be about 2.17Template:E kg, which is about the same mass as the asteroid Pallas.[14]
Such a material is currently beyond our ability to produce; the lightest carbon-fiber light sail material currently produced has a density – without payload – of 3 g/m², or about four times heavier than would be needed to construct a solar statite.[16]
However, there has been some speculation about the creation of ultra light carbon nanotube meshes through molecular manufacturing techniques whose density would be below 0.1 g/m².[17] If production of such materials on an industrial scale is feasible, and such materials could be used in light sails, the average sail density with rigging might be kept to 0.3 g/m² (a "spin stabilized" light sail requires minimal additional mass in rigging). If such a sail could be constructed at this areal density, a space habitat the size of the L5 Society's proposed O'Neill cylinder – 500 km², with room for over 1 million inhabitants, massing 3Template:E tons – could be supported by a circular light sail 3,000 km in diameter, with a combined sail/habitat mass of 5.4Template:E kg.[18] For comparison, this is just slightly smaller than the diameter of Jupiter's moon Europa (although the sail is a flat disc, not a sphere), or the distance between San Francisco and Kansas City. Such a structure would, however, have a mass quite a lot less than many asteroids. While the construction of such a massive inhabitable statite would be a gigantic undertaking, and the required material science behind it is as yet uncertain, its technical challenges are slight compared to other engineering feats and required materials proposed in other Dyson sphere variants.
In theory, if enough statites were created and deployed around their star, they would compose a non-rigid version of the Dyson shell. Such a shell would not suffer from the drawbacks of massive compressive pressure, nor are the mass requirements of such a shell as high as the rigid form. Such a shell would, however, have the same optical and thermal properties as the rigid form, and would be detected by searchers in a similar fashion (see below).
Other types Edit
Another possibility is the "Dyson net", a web of cables strung about the star which could have power or heat collection units strung between the cables. The Dyson net reduces to a special case of Dyson shell or bubble, however, depending on how the cables are supported against the sun's gravity.
The Ringworld, or Niven ring, could be considered a particular kind of Dyson sphere. Larry Niven, who first developed the concept, described it as "an intermediate step between Dyson Spheres and planets".[19] The ringworld could perhaps be described as a slice of a Dyson Sphere (taken through its equator), spun for artificial gravity, and used mainly for habitation as opposed to energy collection. Like the Dyson Shell, the Niven ring is inherently unstable without active measures keeping it in position with regards to its central star – a fact recognized by Larry Niven and addressed in the sequels to his novel on the concept, Ringworld.[20]
A bubbleworld is an artificial construct that consists of a shell of living space around a sphere of hydrogen gas. The shell contains air, people, houses, furniture, etc. It was invented to answer the question "what is the largest space colony that can be built".[21] However, most of the volume is not habitable and there is no power source.
Theoretically, any gas giant could be enclosed in a solid shell; at a certain radius the surface gravity would be terrestrial, and energy could be provided by tapping the thermal energy of the planet.[21] This concept is explored peripherally in the novel Accelerando (and the short story Curator which is incorporated into the novel as a chapter) by Charles Stross when Saturn is converted into a human habitable world.
Stellar engines are a class of hypothetical megastructures, whose purpose is to extract useful energy from a star, sometimes for specific purposes. For example, Matrioshka brains extract energy for purposes of computation; Shkadov thrusters extract energy for purposes of propulsion. Some of the proposed stellar engine designs are based on the Dyson sphere.[22]
A black hole could be the power source instead of a star in order to increase energy to matter conversion efficiency. A black hole would also be smaller than a star. This would decrease communication distances which would be important for computer based societies as those described above.[21]
== Search for extra-terrestrial intelligence ==
In Dyson's original paper, he speculated that sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial civilizations would likely follow a similar power consumption pattern as humans, and would eventually build their own sphere of collectors. Constructing such a system would make such a civilization a Type II Kardashev civilization.[23]
The existence of such a system of collectors would alter the light emitted from the star system. Collectors would absorb and re-radiate energy from the star.[1] The wavelength(s) of radiation emitted by the collectors would be determined by the emission spectra of the substances making them up, and the temperature of the collectors. Since it seems most likely that these collectors would be made up of heavy elements not normally found in the emission spectra of their central star – or at least not radiating light at such relatively "low" energies as compared to that which they would be emitting as energetic free nuclei in the stellar atmosphere – there would be atypical wavelengths of light for the star's spectral type in the light spectrum emitted by the star system. If the percentage of the star's output thus filtered or transformed by this absorption and re-radiation was significant, it could be detected at interstellar distances.[1]
Given the amount of energy available per square meter at a distance of 1 AU from the Sun, it is possible to calculate that most known substances would be re-radiating energy in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Thus, a Dyson Sphere, constructed by life forms not dissimilar to humans, who dwelled in proximity to a Sun-like star, made with materials similar to those available to humans, would most likely cause an increase in the amount of infrared radiation in the star system's emitted spectrum. Hence, Dyson selected the title "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation" for his published paper.[1]
SETI has adopted these assumptions in their search, looking for such "infrared heavy" spectra from solar analogs. Template:As of Fermilab has an ongoing survey for such spectra by analyzing data from the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS).[24][25]
Fiction Edit
Main article: Dyson spheres in fiction
As noted above, the Dyson sphere originated in fiction,[26][27] and it is a concept that has appeared often in science fiction since then (see Dyson spheres in fiction for listed examples). In fictional accounts, Dyson spheres are most often depicted as a Dyson shell with the gravitational and engineering difficulties noted above with this variant, largely ignored.[6]
Jack Kirby's Dyson Sphere. Edit
Wnatever you do,you draw this kind of thing.I've watched the so called King of Comics clutter up a comic page,with silly crap,that breaks the well known illustrator triangle,that helps you focus on one object or go toward whatever object,you wish the veiwer to look at.As a profession comic artist,Kirby often lost focus of big splash pages and his imatators Walt Simonson,John Byrne and others just imatated things similar.
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Megascale engineering
Star lifting
Stellar engineering
Technological singularity
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Alderson disk
Klemperer rosette
Globus Cassus
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↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Template:Cite journal
↑ ==Further reading==
==Further reading==
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{{cite book | first=Robert | last=Heinlein | authorlink= | date=1980 | title=Expanded Universe | edition= | publisher=Ace Books | location=New York |
↑ 3.0 3.1 ==Further reading==
↑ Template:Cite journal
↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 ==Further reading==
↑ 14.0 14.1 ==Further reading==
↑ Larry Niven. "Bigger than Worlds", Analog, March 1974.
↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 ==Further reading==
↑ Kardashev, Nikolai. "On the Inevitability and the Possible Structures of Supercivilizations", The search for extraterrestrial life: Recent developments; Proceedings of the Symposium, Boston, MA, June 18–21, 1984 (A86-38126 17-88). Dordrecht, D. Reidel Publishing Co., 1985, p. 497–504.
↑ http://archive.seti.org/pdfs/Shostak-spring2009-EnS.pdf
↑ Olaf Stapledon. Star Maker
↑ J. D. Bernal, "The World, the Flesh, and the Devil"
Dyson Sphere FAQ
Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infra-Red Radiation
Dyson Shell Supercomputers as the Dominant "Life Form" in Galaxies
Toroidal Dyson Swarms simulations using Java applets
Outside Dyson shells
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America's Delusion of Liberal Hegemony
Book ReviewsWar and Foreign Policy
Blog07/04/2019David Gordon
Attempts to impose liberal values on the world, to force people to be free, are doomed to failure and will enhance the chances of war. This is largely because nationalism is for most people a far more potent force than liberalism, whether classical or modern.
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06/14/2019The AustrianDavid Gordon
Readers of Tim Carney's 'Alienated America' will gain much from the author's account of civil society. After all, isolated individuals do not make for a successful marketplace. Free markets succeed best in the context a stable civil society.
The Austrian May June 2019.pdf
A Study in Willful Blindness
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Blog05/07/2019Gary Galles
Los Angeles city bureaucrats want fewer cars on the streets. Unfortunately, their plans have side effects which endanger human life and safety.
Ayn Rand's Political Philosophy
HistoryPolitics
Foundations of A Free Society is a valuable collection of essays on Ayn Rand's political philosophy. The contributors include both Objectivist philosophers and libertarians who are not Objectivists.
Anthony de Jasay, RIP
Anthony de Jasay, an important free market economist and political philosopher passed away on January 23.
An Interview with Bettina Bien Greaves
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Austrian Economics OverviewPhilosophy and Methodology
Blog12/22/2017Paul Gottfried
David is one of the very few reviewers whose writings I can read with profit years after they were first printed.
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Tagged: Rays
Written by mlblogsminorsupdate1 1 Comment Posted in Dailies Tagged with Dan Johnson, David Price, Fernando Perez, Jeff Niemann, John Jaso, Jonny Gomes, Michael Hernandez, Mitch Talbot, Rays, Wade Davis
Price Wins Minor League Honor, Next Stop Rays?
Top prospect David Price was chosen as USA TODAY’S Minor League Prospect of the Year on Wednesday, in a vote decided by the staff of USA TODAY and Sports Weekly as well as online voting for fans.
A powerful lefthander, Price went a combined 12-1 in three levels of the Rays Minor League system, with a 2.30 ERA and 109 strikeouts.
Tuesday night marked his final start with the Triple-A Bulls, as the team is currently in the best-of-five Governor’s Cup Finals. Price tossed six innings in the opening game, allowed four runs on seven hits while fanning nine. The Bulls rallied to take the lead with five runs in the 7th inning, but eventually lost, 8-7 to the Yankees Scranton/Wilkes Barre.
With the conclusion of Price’s season, the question remains as to when or if the Rays will call upon the touted lefty to help in their franchise-first pennant race. Although it was widely assumed that the 22-year-old Price would end his season in the Majors, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman sounded more skeptical when speaking with ESPN’s Peter Gammons on Monday.
According to Gammon’s blog , Friedman wasn’t definite that Price would join the Rays heated American League East battle. “We don’t want people getting ahead of themselves,” Friedman told Gammons. “Anointing [Price] a savior and putting undo pressure on a kid in his first full professional season.”
Price’s teammate in Durham, right-hander Jeff Niemann, could get the nod to join the big league club after his start on Thursday. Niemann (1-0, 1.13) will take the hill against LHP Kei Igawa (1-0, 1.29) for Game 3 of the series, and is coming off an impressive start against Louisville in Round One, in which Niemann took a no-hitter into the eighth inning.
Friedman told Gammons he has been watching the International League playoffs closely and after seeing Niemann throw so well was sure the lanky right-hander would fit into the Rays bullpen sometime this month.
If the success of the last batch of call-ups from Durham is any indication, Tampa Bay will be greatly benefitted by dipping into their farm system again following the Governor’s Cup.
Although Friedman had originally planned to make only two waves of call-ups, early August injuries to Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria coupled with recent setbacks by centerfielder B.J. Upton (strained left quadriceps) and backup catcher Shawn Riggans (bursitis in his right knee) has made more frequent moves necessary.
Despite substantial roster thinning, Durham is making the adjustments and is set to play Game 2 vs. Scranton on Wednesday night with right-hander Mitch Talbot on the hill.
Written by mlblogsminorsupdate1 Leave a comment Posted in Dailies Tagged with Andrew Friedman, Bulls, David Price, Governors' Cup, Jeff Niemann, Mitch Talbot, Peter Gammons, Rays, Yankees
Niemann’s Dominance Buoys Bulls
Strong starting pitching and timely hitting? Sound familiar?
The Rays’ Triple-A Affilliate, the Durham Bulls, did their big league club proud on Saturday night with a 3-2 victory over the Louisville Bats. The win secures Durham a chance to clinch the best-of-5 International League semifinal series Sunday night.
Jeff Niemann shut down the same Bats that stomped on the Bulls in Game 2 to the tune of 19 runs and 24 hits. Saturday night Niemann never let Louisville’s offense take off, as the former top pick fanned 11 and took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. Niemann allowed just two baserunners prior to Craig Tatum’s double to lead off the eighth.
“Jeff was throwing everything for strikes,” Bulls manager Charlie Montoya said in Sunday’s The News & Observer. “No one could look for anything from him because he was throwing everything for strikes. It was getting to the point where he had the no-hitter and I was going to have to take him out. He was getting to that pitch count. He made a lot of big pitches.”
On the other side of the plate, Jonny Gomes worked a lot of pitches. The outfielder and Major League veteran, Gomes took the 12th pitch of his first at-bat over the fence for a two-run homer. Jon Weber also went 2-for-4 with two runs scored for Durham.
The Bulls did all this despite a 19 minute power outtage at the stadium, something Niemann told MILB.com he had never seen in the middle of a game.
Juding from Saturday’s results the Bulls wouldn’t mind another brief power outtage on Sunday. They enter the game –also in Durham– with a shot to clinch a spot in the Governors’ Cup Finals. Right-hander Wade Davis will take the mound in the 5:05 p.m. contest.
–Brittany Ghiroli
Written by mlblogsminorsupdate1 Leave a comment Posted in Dailies Tagged with Durham Bulls, Jeff Niemann, Jon Weber, Jonny Gomes, Louisville Bats, Rays, Wade Davis
As Minors Wrap, Bulls Postseason Hopes Alive
The Durham Bulls, the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate, defeated host Louisville (Reds), 3-0, in Game 1 of the International League playoffs on Wednesday night. Top prospect David Price tossed five shutout innings in the win with six strikeouts. Elliot Johnson, Dan Johnson and Chris Richard each homered.
But the Bulls couldn’t replicate the magic on Thursday, as Louisville handed Durham a resounding 19-3 defeat to even the best-of-five series. The Bulls trailed 17-0 after four innings and 19-0 after seven. Starter Mitch Talbot lasted a mere two innings, allowing seven runs off nine hits. But the brunt of Louisville’s offense was felt by reliever Chris Mason, who was tagged for 10 runs off nine hits in just 1 2/3 innings.
The series will shift to Durham on Friday for the final three games.
Double-A Montgomery and Single-A Vero Beach both finished their seasons on Thursday night. Montgomery fell 7-6 to the Suns with catcher Matt Spring leading the offense in a 2-for-5 plate appearance with a home run and two RBI. Vero finished fifth in the Florida State League with a 54-81 record. RHP Heath Rollins ended the year with a 3.30 ERA and 115 strikeouts, fifth-most in the League.
Written by mlblogsminorsupdate1 Leave a comment Posted in Dailies Tagged with Bulls, Chris Mason, Chris Richard, Dan Johnson, David Price, Elliot Johnson, Heath Rollins, Matt Spring, Mitch Talbot, Rays, Vero
Price Still Searching for First Triple-A Win
Rays top prospect David Price picked up a no-decision on Monday night, and is still searching for his first win since being promoted to Triple-A Durham on August 9. The young lefty allowed three runs (two earned) off five hits, and exited with a 5-3 lead after five innings.
Price was the Rays top pick and the No. 1 overall selection in the 2007 First-Year Player draft. After going 11-0 in stints with the Rays Single-A and Double-A squads, he suffered his first professional loss against Norfolk on Aug. 13. He pitched just four innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, while walking none and striking out six.
“I felt good,” Price told The Herald-Sun of Durham, N.C. “They were hitting everything tonight. This is Triple-A — they were hitting good pitches and bad pitches. The hitters are just better, period. I feel good that I didn’t walk anybody. I threw strikes, just not enough strikes. At least I made them put the ball in play. You can’t have your best stuff every night.”
The Durham Bulls also dropped Tuesday’s game, 9-8, although the squad still maintains a 5 1/2 game lead in the division. Right-hander Mitch Talbot started and tossed six innings, allowing a pair of runs on six hits and three walks while striking out eight.
Written by mlblogsminorsupdate1 Leave a comment Posted in Dailies Tagged with David Price, Mitch Talbot, Rays
Rays Ink All But Two, Add to Loaded Farm System
By signing second pick (No. 47 overall) LHP Kyle Lobstein on Friday afternoon, the Rays have inked 26 of their 28 selections in this year’s First-Year Player Draft. Only Brandon Meredith and Ryan Carpenter, the 15th- and 21st-round selections, did not sign. According to the Tampa Tribune’s Marc Lancaster, Lobstein will not pitch in a Minor League game this season, but is expected to report to rookie-level Princeton on Sunday.
Tidbits from the Farm..
— While much of the attention centered on top prospect David Price’s debut in Triple-A last week, RHP Heath Rollins quietly put together a solid performance of his own. The 23-year-old Rollins — who was promoted to Double-A to assume Price’s vacated spot — did not disappoint in his debut on Wednesday night. Rollins struck out nine batters and issued zero walks in seven innings of one-run ball. He gave up four hit totals, with his lone blemish a solo home run. Rollins retired the final 8 batters he faced.
. –Per the Montgomery Advertiser, James Houser has been activated for the Double-A Biscuits. The left-handed pitcher made his first start in a month on Friday night and was limited to 1 1/3 innings, walking three and giving up one hit and a run.
— Triple-A Durham’s Dan Johnson was 2-for-5 on Friday night and now leads the International League with a .969 OPS and .422 OBP.
— RHP Mitch Talbot tossed seven innings of shutout baseball on Thursday night to record his 26th win for Durham. In doing so, Talbot becomes the team’s second winningest pitcher.
Written by mlblogsminorsupdate1 Leave a comment Posted in Dailies Tagged with Dan Johnson, David Price, Heath Rollins, James Houser, Kyle Lobstein, Mitch Talbot, Rays
Top Pick Beckham Hits First Pro Homer
In his 34th game since being drafted first overall by the Rays, Tim Beckham launched his first professional home run on Tuesday night.
The 18-year-old Beckham took an 0-2 pitch over the left center field fence in a Rookie-level Appalachian League game for the Princeton Rays.
“It felt great to get that first one off my chest,” Beckham told Baseball America, of the solo-shot in the game’s first inning. “Finally. I mean, it took forever. I was just worrying about squaring it up, making solid contact and hopefully it would fall somewhere, and it did.”
Beckham has struggled at the plate this season, and the article also talks to manager Joe Szekeley to help explain the Rays’ approach with the young shortstop. For a more in-depth scout’s view of Beckham, check out this Q&A from Baseball America with Szekeley.
Tim’s older brother, Jeremy, was also drafted by the Rays this June (17th round) but was promoted to short-season Hudson Valley in late July. Still the pair remain close, as Jeremy tells MILB.com while at the Fenway Futures games of how he hopes to set a positive example for Tim.
And the Award Goes To..
— Class-A Vero Beach LHP Carlos Hernandez was named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week for the period ending August 10.
— Austin Hinkle notched Pitcher of the Week for the Southern Atlantic League. The right-hander is a member of the Class-A Columbus Catfish. Hinkle is the second straight Catfish to take a player of the week award after Greg Sexton was named Hitter of the Week last week.
— Double-A Montgomery swept the Rays Minor League honors for July, as pitcher David Price and third baseman Chris Nowak were named the Pitcher of the Month and Player of the Month, respectively. Price, who is slated to make his Triple-A debut on Wednesday night, was 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA for Montgomery. Nowak — who was also June’s winner — hit an organization-high 24 RBI in 26 games.
He said it..
“I guess I’m a little anxious. It’s like a kid getting ready for Christmas and you count down to Christmas Day. The anticipation is building up, but I’m enjoying myself.”
— Price on reaching the Major Leagues. Excerpted from the Tennessean; the rest of the article can be found here.
Written by mlblogsminorsupdate1 Leave a comment Posted in Dailies Tagged with Austin Hinkle, Carlos Hernandez, Chris Nowak, David Price, Jeremy Beckham, Rays, Tim Beckham
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Tagged: gus suhr
One Crazy Day
One no two no three big things happened in baseball yesterday…
The Pirates Trade Nate McLouth to the Braves
I will start off by saying that I am of the opinion that Nate McLouth is overrated. He creates runs with his power bat, (which I am skeptical of), and his base running intuitiveness, but gives up runs with his poor defense. However, he is still an excellent partial fix to the Braves’ outfield problems. Atlanta was able to give up some good, but expendable prospects, to get McLouth. The Pirates were able to get three players:
1. Charlie Morton, who’s been excellent at Triple-A the past couple of years, he is a strikeout pitcher with solid control. He projects as a 3rd/4th starter.
2. Jeff Locke, currently playing at Class-A+, is another strikeout pitcher, however he’s seen a spike in his walk total this year, and will need to keep it under control to make it to the majors.
3. Gorkys Hernandez, currently playing at Double-A, is a fleet center fielder with no power whatsoever. His main asset his his speed, he is a strong defender in center with a strong arm. He must learn plate discipline, and that’s a problem.
All in all, the Pirates got a good deal, but they were building for the future with McLouth, if the wanted to make room for top prospect Andrew McCutchen, then all they had to do was move McLouth to a corner, and trade Brandon Moss, for a pitcher. The Pirates new motto: Trade, Trade, Trade away
Pirates Promote Andrew McCutchen
Well, the Pirates did promote Andrew McCutchen, to replace McLouth. What else were they supposed to do.
Sammy Sosa Retires
Sammy Sosa you helped save baseball in 1998. PED’s or not, you belong in the Hall Of Fame.
White Sox Promote Gordon Beckham
Welcome to the first player from the 2008 draft to reach the majors. Beckham’s here to stay, mark my word.
And in random news that doesn’t deserve a header, Tony LaRussa is suing Twitter.
1890-Submariner Tim Keefe of the New York Giants franchise of the Players League defeats the Boston Reds, 9-4, to record his 300th win. ‘Sir Timothy’, who won 19 straight decisions in 1888, will finish his 14-year career with 342 victories.
1937-Gus Suhr establishes a new National League record as he plays in his 822th consecutive game. The Pirates first baseman’s streak ends the following day when he attends his mother’s funeral in San Francisco.
1951-Pirates’ outfielder Gus Bell hits for cycle in Philadelphia as the Bucs beat the Phillies, 12-4. His son, Buddy, and his grandson, David, will also play in the major leagues.
1964-Dodgers’ southpaw Sandy Koufax throws his third career no-hitter blanking the Phillies 3-0.
1967-Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood’s errorless streak of 227 games and 568 chances ends when he drops a fly ball in a game against the Cubs at Busch Stadium.
1968-Dodger right hander Don Drysdale pitches his sixth consecutive shutout defeating the Pirates, 5-0.
1976-In an 11-0 victory at Dodger Stadium, Mets right fielder Dave Kingman hits three home runs. Sky King’s two-run dinger and two three-run round trippers drives in eight runs, a new club record.
1986-In a 12-3 rout of the Braves, Pirates rookie outfielder Barry Bonds hits his first major league home run off Craig McMurtry. Bobby’s son will become the All-time career home run leader hitting 762 during his 22-year career playing for Pittsburgh and the San Francisco Giants.
2000-Esteban Yan becomes the 14th player in baseball history to hit the first pitch thrown to him in a professional game for home run. In addition to his historic homer, the Devil Rays hurler picks up the victory in the inter-league contest against the Mets.
2004-At Turner Field, Julio Franco became the oldest player in baseball history to hit a grand slam. The 45-year old Dominican first baseman’s first inning base-loaded home run proves to be the difference as the Braves beat the Phillies, 8-4.
Written by mlblogspaintingtheblack 1 Comment Posted in Dailies Tagged with andrew mccutchen, barry bonds, brandon moss, braves, buddy bell, cardinals, charlie morton, craig mcmurtry, cubs, curt flood, dave kingman, david bell, devil rays, dodgers, don drysdale, draft, esteban yan, giants, gordon beckham, gorkys hernandez, gus bell, gus suhr, hall of fame, jeff locke, julio franco, mets, phillies, pirates, sammy sosa, sandy koufax, tim keefe, tony larussa, twitter, white sox
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Genovese associates charged with killing, robbery
Two alleged associates of the Genovese Crime Family and a third man were charged Thursday in Brooklyn federal court with robbery and murder, according to a story by Tom Hays of Newsday. Anthony Pica, Christopher Prince and Charles Santiago pleaded not guilty to the crimes. They are being held without bail.
U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell said Pica and Prince were members of a robbery crew controlled by the Genovese Family.
According to the indictment, the defendants targeted jeweler Louis Antonelli on April 29, expecting him to be in possession of valuable jewelry. The indictment states that Pica and Prince identified Antonelli and alerted Santiago and a fourth unnamed accomplice when the jeweler exited a basement storage area below a restaurant on Staten Island. Santiago and the unnamed man confronted Antonelli. Santiago is charged with shooting the jeweler to death. The attackers then fled without any jewelry, said the indictment.
Antonelli's bodyguard, retired police Sgt. Jason Aiello, was inside the restaurant at the time of the attack. He was questioned by police but not charged. Aiello began behaving erratically. On July 22, police heard that Aiello was armed and possibly holding his family hostage. Officers approached Aiello and attempted to handcuff him, but he pulled a gun and fled. He reportedly shot in the direction of police a total of eight times. Officers shot him to death.
Keywords: aiello, charged, genovese, murder, pica, prince, robbery, santiago
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Money & Ethics
Would a fat tax save lives?
by Jacob Silverman
To Fat Tax or Not to Fat Tax
Photographer: Jemini Joseph
The Oxford researchers outlined some of the criticisms of the fat tax in their study, but perhaps no one sums up the feelings of the anti-fat-tax gang better than former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who in 2004 called a proposed fat tax a sign of a "nanny state" [Source: Reuters]. Critics say that people should be allowed to make their own decisions about what they eat and whether to eat healthy foods. The institution of a tax would limit personal choice and allow the government to dictate, or at the very least influence, what people eat. Some also question whether taxing the obese creates a stigma when more positive efforts could be undertaken.
Another concern centers around what is taxed and who makes that decision. A "food czar" or fat-tax committee could wield tremendous power and effect broad changes in the lives of consumers, farmers and food distributors. Some healthy foods could be mislabeled as unhealthy and fall subject to the tax. An official from Britain's Food and Drink Federation cited cheese as one example. Although it can be high in fat, moderate quantities of cheese are considered quite healthy and nutritious. And sodas or chocolate chip cookies, both supposedly unhealthy foods, aren't harmful if consumed in small quantities. Those who enjoy these foods only occasionally would be unfairly penalized.
Then there's the money issue. Few people like paying taxes, and the possibility of another one may be unpalatable to many people, especially when paying for food staples. The tax would impact the poor most, as they spend much of their income on food and many fattening foods also happen to be cheap.
Proponents of the tax, like Dr. Brownell, suggest using the fat tax to boost government nutrition and education programs. Dedicating the fat tax to a stated use rather than simply letting the money flow into the government's coffers would make the tax's value more apparent and trackable [Source: Forbes]
There are some good reasons for the tax. About 25 percent of British adults are obese [Source: Guardian Unlimited]. At least a third of American adults are as well [Source: CDC]. Poor diet accounts for an estimated 30 percent of deaths from heart disease [Source: BBC News]. Obesity contributes to a myriad of health problems, like cancer, strokes, high blood pressure, diabetes and sleep apnea. It also drives up health care costs and keeps people out of work. The overall financial costs of obesity are greater than those for smoking or alcoholism [Source: Health Affairs].
The presence or even the threat of a fat tax could pressure food producers to cut down on saturated fats, calories, and unhealthy ingredients. If that doesn't work, experts say that the government could provide incentives for food manufacturers to use healthier ingredients. For example, some communities, in addition to dabbling in fat taxes, have banned or campaigned against the use of trans fats.
Food and health organizations appear divided on the issue. Restaurant industry groups and consumer-rights organizations fear higher prices, diminished sales and a lack of personal choice. Even the British Heart Foundation said that the present research doesn't provide enough information about the tax's possible effects. Britain's National Obesity Forum supports a fat tax, and the World Health Organization called for one in 2003. While no consensus exists, the fat tax -- in addition to questions about the safety of food imports -- is likely to be a popular field of study for years to come.
For more information about the fat tax and other related topics, please check out the links below.
How Fats Work
How Fat Cells Work
How can a diet pill make you feel full?
How Diet Pills Work
How Exercise Works
Is a lack of sleep making me fat?
How Body Mass Index Works
How Dieting Works
How Calories Work
How Vegetarians Work
How Vegans Work
How to vegetarians get enough protein?
How Freegans Work
The Fat Tax: A Controversial Tool in War Against Obesity
Is Britain's "Fat Tax" A Good Idea?
"Fat taxes 'could save thousands.'" BBC News. July 11, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6291072.stm
"Government 'urges fat tax.'" BBC News. Feb. 19, 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3502053.stm
"Overweight and Obesity." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. May 22, 2007. http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/index.htm
"The Fat Tax: A Controversial Tool in War Against Obesity." HealthDay News. Forbes.com. Jan. 11, 2006. http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2006/01/11/hscout530229.html
Batty, David. "'Fat Tax' could save thousands of lives, says study." Guardian Unlimited. July 12, 2007. http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,2124849,00.html
Gardner, Jonathan. "Is Britain's "Fat Tax" A Good Idea?" Health Affairs. July 18, 2007. http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/07/18/obesity-is-britains-fat-tax-a-good-idea/
Griffiths, Peter. "'Fat Tax' could save 3,200 lives each year." Reuters. July 12, 2007. http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSL1254236520070712
Srikameswaran, Anita. "WHO wants 'Twinkie tax' to discourage junk foods." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Dec. 6, 2003. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/03340/248128.stm
How the Gender Pay Gap Works
Pink Tax: 5 Things Women Are Forced to Pay More for Than Men
Know Before You Amazon Go That Your Privacy Will Be Low
Could a Corporation Have Its Own Entire City?
If Your Boss Overpays You, Do You Have to Give the Money Back?
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Search Tips | Video Tutorial
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Current: 2019 July 27 - 28 Movie Posters Signature Auction - Dallas 7194 (67) Current: Sunday Movie Posters Weekly Online Auction 161929 (22)
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Victory Through Air Power (United Artists, 1943). Very Fine- on Linen. One Sheet (27.25" X 41").
Auction 7194 | Lot: 86158
Estimate: $1,000 - $2,000.
Current Bid: $625
Live Bid Now
Time Left: 9d 11h 5m
Mare Nostrum (MGM, 1926). Folded, Very Fine. Swedish One Sheet (27.5" X 39.5").
Opening Bid: $500**
Time Left: 9d 14h 35m
Passage to Marseille (Warner Brothers, Late-1940s). Fine/Very Fine on Linen. Italian 4 - Fogli (55.5" X 77.5") Luigi Martina...
World War II U.S. Naval Aviation (U.S. Navy, Early 1940s). Rolled, Fine/Very Fine. Aviation Training Posters (3) (Approx. 39... (Total: 3 Items)
World War II Propaganda (Ministry of Information, 1939). Folded, Very Fine+. Full-Bleed British Double Crown (19.75" X 29.5"...
Estimate: $6,000 - $12,000.
Current Bid: $3,000
World War I Propaganda by James Montgomery Flagg (Leslie-Judge Co., 1917). Very Fine on Linen. Poster (30" X 40.25") "I Want...
Apocalypse Now (Nippon Herald, 1979). Very Fine+ on Linen. Japanese B0 (40.5" X 58") Eiko Ishioka Design & Haruo Takino Artw...
The Memphis Belle (Paramount, 1944). Folded, Fine+. One Sheet (27" X 41"). From the collection of Leonard and Alice Maltin...
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1942). Very Fine on Linen. Poster (28.5" X 39.75")
"I'll Give 'E...
World War II U.S. Naval Aviation (U.S. Navy, c. 1943). Rolled & Folded, Fine/Very Fine. Aviation Training Posters (3) (39" X... (Total: 3 Items)
World War II U.S. Naval Aviation (U.S. Navy, c. 1943). Rolled, Fine/Very Fine. Aviation Training Posters (3) (39" X 59") Pho... (Total: 3 Items)
World War II U.S. Naval Aviation (U.S. Navy, c. 1943). Rolled, Fine/Very Fine. Aviation Training Posters (4) (Approx. 39.25"... (Total: 4 Items)
World War I Propaganda (Scottish War Savings Committee, 1917). Very Fine+ on Linen. Scottish War Bonds Poster (20.25" X 30")...
World War I Propaganda (Royal National Lifeboat Institution, c. 1916). Very Fine on European Linen. British Poster (20" X 30...
World War I Propaganda (c. 1918). Very Fine- on Linen. Poster (27.75" X 21.5") "St. Nazaire Stevedores."
World War I Propaganda (Scottish War Savings Committee, c. 1916). Folded, Fine/Very Fine. Scottish Bonds Poster (19.75" X 29...
World War I Propaganda (c. 1917). Fine/Very Fine on European Linen. Poster (28" X 41") "The American Ambulance in Russia."
World War I Propaganda (U.S. Marines, 1917). Fine+ on Linen. Marine Recruitment Poster (28.25" X 39.5") "Active Service on L...
World War I Propaganda (Scottish War Savings Committee, c. 1917). Fine+ on Linen. Trimmed Scottish War Bonds Poster (19.25" ...
Britain's Day (1918). Folded on Linen, Fine+. Trimmed British Poster (27.75" X 39.75") Carton Moore-Park Artwork.
World War I Propaganda (U.S. Navy, 1918). Fine+ on Linen. Recruiting Poster (27.75" X 41") "Help Deliver the Goods," Herbert...
World War I Propaganda by Howard Chandler Christie (Forbes, 1917). Fine on Linen. Poster (30" X 40.25") "Fight or Buy Bonds....
World War I Propaganda (1918). Very Fine- on Linen. United War Work Campaign Poster (41" X 82") "He Guards the Road to Franc...
World War I Propaganda (Parliamentary Recruiting Committee, 1915). Rolled, Fine+. Trimmed British Poster (19" X 27.5") Lione...
Across the Pacific (Warner Brothers, 1942). Folded, Very Fine-. Insert (14" X 36").
Estimate: $300 - $600.
Time Left: 10d 9h 5m
The Dawn Patrol (Warner Brothers, 1938). Very Fine-. Window Card (14" X 22").
Estimate: $800 - $1,600.
Hell's Angels (United Artists, R-1937). Fine/Very Fine. Title Lobby Card & Lobby Cards (5) (11" X 14") with Original Studio ... (Total: 7 Items)
U.S. Marines: First to Hoist Old Glory... (U.S. Marines, 1913). Folded, Fine/Very Fine. Recruiting Poster (30" X 39.75") Ale...
Twelve O'Clock High (20th Century Fox, 1949). Fine/Very Fine on Linen. One Sheet (27.25" X 41.5").
World War II Propaganda (Motion Pictures Industry War Activities Committee, Early 1940s). Folded, Very Fine-. Victory Bonds ...
World War II Propaganda (Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, Early 1940s). Folded, Very Fine+. Poster (14.2...
World War II Propaganda (Incentive Division, U.S. Navy Department, Mid-1940s). Folded, Very Fine-. Poster (30" X 40") "Hit H...
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1942). Very Fine- on Linen. Poster (40" X 28.25"). "Give It Your B...
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Navy, 1942). Very Fine- on Linen. Recruitment Poster (28.25" X 42") "Dish It Out With the Navy...
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Navy, c.1942). Fine+ on European Linen. Recruiting Poster (28" X 42") "Naval Aviation," McClel...
World War II Propaganda (1940). Rolled, Very Fine-. German French-Occupation Poster (34" X 48") "Abandoned Populations, Trus...
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1944). Very Fine- on Linen. War Bonds Poster (20" X 27") "The Sky'...
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1945). Folded, Fine/Very Fine. Poster (20" X 28") "Get the Jap and...
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1942). Folded, Very Fine+. OWI Poster No. 14 (28" X 40") "Remember...
World War II Propaganda (War Activities Committee-Motion Pictures Industry, 1944). Very Fine on Linen. Fifth War Loan Poster...
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1945). Folded, Very Fine. 7th War Loan Poster (26" X 37") "Now..Al...
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1941). Folded, Very Fine+. Poster (20" X 15") "Give 'Em Both Barre...
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1942). Very Fine- on Linen. Recruiting Poster (27" X 37.75") "Read...
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Army, 1942). Folded, Fine/Very Fine. Intelligence Poster No. 4 (11" X 15") "Ignore That Rumor,...
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1942). Folded, Fine/Very Fine. OWI Poster No. 24 (28.5" X 37") "A ...
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1944). Folded, Fine. Poster (28.5" X 40") "Stop Him and the Job Is...
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Army Recruiting and Induction Service, 1942). Rolled, Very Fine/Near Mint. Army Recruiting Pos...
World War I Propaganda (1917-1919). Fine/Very Fine on Linen. Victory Liberty Loan Poster (39" X 29") "They Kept the Sea Lane...
World War I Propaganda (German War Bonds, 1918) Fine+ on Linen. German Poster (10.75" X 16.25") Lucien Bernhard Artist.
World War I Propaganda by James Montgomery Flagg (National War Garden Commission, 1918). Fine on Linen. Poster (30" X 40") "...
World War I Propaganda (U.S. Government Printing Office, c. 1919). Very Fine- on Linen. Poster (24.75" X 34.75") "The War Tr...
Post-World War I Propaganda (National Committee of America's Gift to France, 1920). Fine+ on Linen. Poster (20" X 30") "Amer...
World War I Propaganda (U.S. Navy Publicity Bureau, 1917). Fine+ on Linen. Trimmed Recruitment Poster (34" X 25.75") "Enlist...
World War I Propaganda (Emergency Fleet Corp., 1918). Fine on Linen. Poster (39" X 29.25") "On the Job for Victory," Jonas L...
World War I Propaganda (Emergency Fleet Corp., c. 1917). Very Fine+ on Linen. Productivity Poster (22.25" X 28") "Make Every...
World War I Propaganda (Hegeman Print N.Y., 1917). Very Fine on Linen. Full-Bleed Recruiting Poster (26.75" X 41") "Britishe...
World War I Propaganda (W. F. Powers Litho Co., c. 1918). Rolled, Very Fine. War Bond Poster (27" X 41") "Lend the Way They ...
World War I Propaganda by James Montgomery Flagg (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1918). Very Fine- on Linen. War Savings S...
World War I Propaganda (1918). Very Fine on Linen. Canadian Victory Bonds Poster (21.5" X 34") "Doing My Bit Four Years."
World War I Propaganda (National War Savings Committee, 1918). Folded, Very Fine. Full Bleed British Poster (19.5" X 29.5")....
World War I Propaganda (Central Recruiting Committee, 1917). Very Fine- on European Linen. Full-Bleed Canadian Recruiting Po...
World War I Propaganda (U.S. Printing and Litho Co., 1918). Fine/Very Fine on Linen. Poster (19.75" X 29.75") "Remember Belg...
World War I Propaganda (The Fatherless Children of France Inc., c. 1917). Fine on European Linen. Trimmed British Poster (20...
World War I Propaganda (1918). Fine- on Kraft Paper. Trimmed Austrian 8th War Loan Poster (24.5" X 37") Walter Kühn Artwork....
Opening Bid: $90**
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Paramount, 1943). Folded, Fine/Very Fine. One Sheet (27" X 41"). Armando Seguso Artwork. From the...
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1942). Folded, Very Fine-. OWI Poster No. 24 (28.5" X 37.5") "A Ca...
The Angel Wore Red (MGM, 1960). Very Fine-. Window Card (14" X 22"). War.
Auction 161929 | Lot: 53019
Current Bid: $2
Apocalypse Now (United Artists, 1979). Folded, Very Fine. One Sheet (27" X 41") Review Style. Bob Peak Artwork. War.
The Bridge on the River Kwai (Columbia, R-1963). Folded, Very Fine-. Australian Daybill (13.25" X 30"). War.
Opening Bid: $1**
The Bridges at Toko-Ri (Paramount, 1954). Folded, Fine/Very Fine. Insert (14" X 36"). War.
Captain Newman, M.D. (Universal, 1964). Folded, Fine+. Italian Locandina (13" X 27.5") Caz Artwork. War.
** Opening Bid. Lots bearing estimates and without Consignor Reserve shall open at Heritage Auctions' discretion (usually 25% to 60% of the low estimate).
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Paul Giamatti Signs on for ‘Duplicity’
Paul Giamatti Signs on for Duplicity
Cat Parker
— March 20th, 2008
in Casting News
Paul Giamatti (John Adams) has signed on to co-star in Duplicity, directed by Tony Gilroy. He joins Julia Roberts, Clive Owen and Tom Wilkinson in the Gilroy-scripted film for Universal.
According to Variety, Giamatti will play an industrialist engaged in a fierce game of corporate one-upmanship against a rival titan, played by Wilkinson (who plays Benjamin Franklin in John Adams). Roberts and Owen play two spies-turned-corporate operatives who work on opposite sides but are having a clandestine love affair. Billy Bob Thornton had been in talks for the businessman role.
No word on when production begins.
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‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ Uhura Character Poster
Star Trek Into Darkness Uhura Character Poster
— April 13th, 2013
Zoe Saldana is Uhura in the latest character poster for Star Trek Into Darkness, director J.J. Abrams sequel that finds terrorist John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) targeting the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. How will this affect Uhura and Spock's (Zachary Quinto) relationship? Find out when the film opens nationwide this May.
Topics: Star Trek
Star Trek May Be Tarantino's Last Movie If He Says Yes to Directing
William Shatner Doesn't Get the Fuss Over Tarantino's R-Rated Star Trek
Star Trek Insignia Appears on Mars
Tarantino's Star Trek Movie Has a Script and It's Definitely R-Rated
Tarantino on Making His Star Trek Movie: It's a Very Big Possibility
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WORDS AND MUSIC INSPIRED BY CAMBERWELL WITH READINGS FROM MURIEL SPARK, ROBERT BROWNING, JOHN RUSKIN READ BY MEMBERS OF THE ARCHERS CAST.
Camberwell Beauty is a celebration of all things Camberwell: a wonderful way to spend a midsummer evening enjoying readings and music, much of it inspired by writers and artists who have lived in, or been inspired by the Camberwell area, from John Ruskin and Robert Browning to Muriel Spark and Jenny Eclair.
We have even managed to convince members of THE ARCHERS to leave Ambridge for the night and come to SE5; Carole Boyd, who plays Lynda Snell, James Cartwright who plays P.C. Burns and Louiza Patikas and Annabelle Dowler, who play Helen and Kirsty.
The combination of local creativity, the beautiful surroundings of the church on a midsummer evening and some very familiar Radio 4 voices, promises to be electric and eclectic evening.
Camberwell Beauty | Thursday 20 June | St Giles Church Camberwell | £5 on the door | Doors & Bar – 19:00 | Programme commences at 19:30 and runs for 90 minutes
Hosted by the Friends of St Giles’ registered charity. The Friends were founded in the 1980’s to help raise funds for the repair and maintenance of St Giles’ Church. It recognises that St Giles’ plays a significant role in the secular life of SE5, in particular through the development of community involvement in music and the arts.
Become a Friend of St Giles’ today – your £25 per annum subscription will add your voice to our growing number of supporters and will add weight to our application for grants, which since 2000, has made possible three phases of significant restoration. Click here for more information.
100% of all profits contribute to the upkeep and restoration of this magnificent building.
SATURDAY 22nd JUNE, 1pm
JUNIOR PIANO RECITAL, FEATURING LOCAL STUDENTS
40 MINS | FREE
Pop in to St Giles’ and have a listen to George, Maggie and Joe who will be practising performing music for their Grade 8 and diploma exams.
Beethoven – Sonata No. 8 in C minor (Pathétique) – 1st Movement
Soler – Sonata No. 12 in D minor
Turina – La Belle Murcienne
Clementi – Sonata No. 6 in F minor – 3rd Movement
Rachmaninov – Elégie
Entry is free – all are very welcome.
SUNDAY 11th AUGUST, 4.30pm
‘COME & SING’ CHORAL EVENSONG
Join us for choral evensong sung by St Giles’ choir and friends! Please come and support this free event with some very accessible church music.
If you or anyone you know has sung in a choir before and would like to join in, please let us know. Due to holidays we will need a lot of new friends! Rehearsal starts at 1.30pm and there will be refreshment breaks. To let us know that you’re coming, please email ashley@musicatsgiles.com. Music will be available in advance.
SUNDAY 8th SEPTEMBER, 4.30pm
ST GILES’ DAY CHORAL EVENSONG
Help celebrate St Giles’ Day by joining us for choral evensong. Music will include the anthem ‘Blessed be the God’ by a former organist of St Giles’ – S.S.Wesley.
If you or anyone you know has sung in a choir before and would like to join in, please let us know. Rehearsal starts at 1.30pm and there will be refreshment breaks. To let us know that you’re coming, please email ashley@musicatsgiles.com. Music will be available in advance.
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NA’AMAT USA 2019 Convention To Convene In Israel, Offering Unique “In-Person” Opportunity To Experience NA’AMAT’s Successful Centers For Women & Children
Los Angeles, CA 6/12/19 – November is shaping up to be a landmark month for NA’AMAT USA when members from across the United States will meet in Israel on November 4th – 11th for the 2019 National Convention. This gathering will bring together NA’AMAT’s many dynamic American and Israeli leaders for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to…
June 18, 2019 By Deanna Migdal
DCLA Spells Big Success for NA’AMAT USA – San Fernando Valley Council
Los Angeles, CA 11/18/18 — On November 18, 2018, a community award ceremony was held at the American Jewish University under the auspices of the San Fernando Valley Council of NA’AMAT USA. Known as the “Distinguished Community Leader Awards” or DCLA, this annual luncheon honors and celebrates community leaders who have given distinguished service to…
December 17, 2018 By Deanna Migdal
NA’AMAT USA Awards Annual Scholarships At Ceremony In Israel
Los Angeles, CA 7/18/18 – In a moving and memorable ceremony held in Israel on July 11, 2018, NA’AMAT recognized the latest recipients of the NA’AMAT Professional Scholarships. With nearly 200 recipients including 4 research grants in chemistry and pharmacology and 4 research grants in Gender Studies, these scholarships have allowed deserving Israeli women to…
August 31, 2018 By Deanna Migdal
New Women’s Health & Empowerment Center in Sderot
New NA’AMAT Women’s Health & Empowerment Center in Sderot Brings Vital Services to One of Israel’s Most Vulnerable Cities In the Fall of 2017, NA’AMAT USA celebrated the grand opening of its new Women’s Center in Israel. Located in the western Negev, one mile from the Gaza Strip, Sderot is an important location for this…
January 11, 2018 By Deanna Migdal
Distinguished Community Leaders Awards Luncheon Means Big Success For NA’AMAT San Fernando Valley Council
On October 29, 2017, a community award ceremony was held at the American Jewish University under the auspices of the San Fernando Valley Council of NA’AMAT USA. Known as the “Distinguished Community Leader Awards” or DCLA, this annual luncheon honors and celebrates community leaders who have given distinguished service to NA’AMAT and to the community…
NA’AMAT USA Co-Sponsors 90th Anniversary Culmination Event at American Jewish Archives
NA’AMAT USA joined the American Jewish Archives and the University of Cincinnati, Department of History as co-sponsors of a special reception centering on the life and legacy of the late Golda Meir and to dedicate the papers of the late Phyllis Sutker.
November 18, 2016 By Deanna Migdal
NA’AMAT USA Appoints Deanna Migdal National Executive Director
NA’AMAT USA has appointed Deanna Migdal National Executive Director. Deanna will work alongside our President and National Board of Directors in leading the organization, managing current activities and planning for its future.
A Memorable Weekend in Las Vegas
NA’AMAT USA’s Gala Celebration in Las Vegas was a huge success. It was a weekend of fun and inspiring speakers, a chance to reconnect with old friends, and a great opportunity to celebrate 90 years of supporting women, children and families in Israel. We are very grateful to those whose hard work made it possible, and for all those wonderful members and friends who took time from their busy lives to attend.
San Fernando Valley Council Hosts Celebration for Formerly Homeless
Event marks the 1-year anniversary of the opening of LA Family Housing’s Day Street Apartments.
More than two dozen formerly homeless residents of the Day Street Apartments enjoyed an afternoon of good food, door prizes and fun at a special celebration marking the residential facility’s one-year anniversary. The San Fernando Valley Council of NA’AMAT USA hosted the July 19th event on behalf of LA Family Housing, which operates the contemporary 45-unit housing complex. Opened last July in the Los Angeles suburb of Tujunga, the Day Street Apartments provide permanent homes to single adults affected by chronic homelessness.
NA’AMAT Awards University Scholarships to Women Studying Science, Technology
Program supported by NA’AMAT USA and NA’AMAT Canada provides more than $100,000 in scholarship and grants annually to female students in Israel.
Nearly 200 female students received university scholarships to study engineering, science, medicine and other fields at the annual NA’AMAT Scholarship Ceremony held last week in Israel. Sponsored by NA’AMAT USA and NA’AMAT Canada, the program helps women of merit from every level of Israeli society complete their degrees. Scholarships are designed to help them escape poverty, attain promising careers and become contributing members of Israeli society.
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Tag Archives: cinema-going experience
Top Cinema Going Experiences of 2014
I’ve gotta tell you something: I love short movies.
In fact, I love our local short movies.
Having sat through around 500 short films to watch every year for the past 3 years now, there is nothing more exciting to finally see short films now made with big screen viewing in mind. Sure, I’ve worked to grow 21 Short with all its might. But beyond that, short films create a long lasting impression, extended beyond their limited duration.
However, this annual note celebrates feature film as seen on big screen. The above number of short films to assess often gets in the way to enable me writing the note. That, and the endless temptation of American TV series. Goodness, these series keep getting better and better, don’t they? The best dramatic plots for the past 3 years have been found in our living room, or wherever you watch TV series.
Hours will go by easily as we hook on the series. But once in a while, we need to breathe fresh air. A walk to nearby cinema is needed to see other people, strangers, friends, or anyone. It’s good to dress up a bit, even in T-shirt and sneakers just to go to cinema. After all, cinema still matters.
And these films matter to me this year.
In alphabetical order:
1. CAHAYA DARI TIMUR
Date of watching: June 19, 2014
Movie magic does not come very often in Indonesian film. But this film, particularly in the penultimate scenes involving mosques and churches, come very, very close to being a defining one. It still gives me chills as I am typing this while recalling those scenes.
2. CHEF
Date of watching: October 28, 2014
The film proves and shows that heart and passion about anything you love will eventually be reflected in whatever you make. “Chef” Jon Favreau loves good food. He loves people. He loves seeing the good in people, or rather characters, he creates. The result is perhaps the warmest feeling we had in cinema-going experience this year.
3. THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Date of watching: April 16, 2014
I could not hold back overflowing emotion that the first Wes Anderson’s film I can see on big screen is his most well-rounded yet. This is his most accessible film so far, and it is easy to see why: the characters feel very human.
4. INTERSTELLAR
Date of watching: November 6, 2014
Love it or loathe it, Christopher Nolan knows how to succumb both his fans and haters together to his world. The film is unmissable. The technical wizardry is used to accommodate his ideas that he is willing to toy with his audiences, something we, as mentioned earlier, either like or be uncomfortable with. But let’s agree on one thing: his film always, and always, deserves a cinematic viewing.
Interstellar (Courtesy of hastagstudios.com)
5. JALANAN
Date of watching: March 28, 2014
Perhaps this is the most heartfelt tribute to Jakarta on big screen yet. What others fail to capture is the essence of struggle, something the film is proud to wear on its sleeves with genuine laughter and tears. I watched it again in regular screening after the full-house preview, and it held up. A tight editing and a carefully written screenplay allow greater freedom for Daniel Ziv, amazing first time director, to explore the emotions of the three main character we cannot help but love.
6. LOCKE
A film like Buried or this one makes a terrific cinema-going experience. We are forced to sit through the entire duration of 90 minutes with one person in real time. Tom Hardy delivers the impossible with crazy intensity, and we cannot help but marvelling at the highly discipline of filmmaking in creating this film. To put it simply, it is unforgettable.
7. THE LOOK OF SILENCE (SENYAP)
Date of watching: November 10, 2014
While The Act of Killing jolts us in shock and surprise, its follow up chooses a different path. The tender and often quiet treatment results in one thing: the film stabs us gently, and before we know, we weep in silence.
8. PK
Date of watching: December 21, 2014
It is not easy to surpass 3 Idiots in terms of being a message movie that is still likeable and entertaining. But the film achieves the impossible feet by choosing risky theme, and present the time as blatantly as possible. Forget subtlety. Banal religious issues, being as it is, should be presented with images and lines that often show the extreme. And it works. And it stays in our mind long after. And it provokes discussion. And it works!
PK (Courtesy of bollywood.celebden.com)
And for many reasons that the following films are not available in cinemas, either by the time it was shown on big screen I was out of town, or they were not picked by local cinemas for various reasons, they still make impressive viewing memory in me.
Thus, my top films, non-cinema wise, in 2014 are (in alphabetical order):
1. THE LUNCHBOX — my favorite film of the year.
2. THEY CAME TOGETHER
3. DANS LA MAISON
4. LIFE ITSELF
5. GONE GIRL
Posted by nauvalyazid on 12/29/2014 in Uncategorized
Tags: 2014, best of, CInema, cinema-going experience, Film, movies, year-end list
Top 10 Cinema Going Experiences in 2013
This is the year of … binge-watching?
Shamelessly, or maybe not, I have to admit that yours truly have finally succumbed to the trend of TV-series marathons.
Why not? In the past few years, (mostly the US) TV series have given us reasons to be couch potato, mostly from their compelling stories, unthinkable twists, well-rounded characters. In short, those qualities are in contrast to what we have found in our cinema.
Thus, cinema becomes a reason to dress up, go out and socialize; whereas television becomes our comfort zone with “people” we know the most.
We need them equally.
The dearth of summer in cinemas this year could be fixed by tuning in to Girls and House of Cards as we reach home. No matter how compelling The Newsroom is, but once in a while, you need to be entertained by big spectacle in 3D, especially with gorgeous costume like The Great Gatsby.
We hang on to bits of sensation from big, wide silver screen. We are pampered with latest technology to shake us in 4DX, or to be surrounded with sound in Dolby Atmos.
But the real big screen experience is the sensation we feel during or after watching the film.
The sensation may come few(er) and between as years go by, but here, in alphabetical order, are what matters most:
1. ABOUT TIME
Date of watching: Friday, October 25, 2013.
Some films make up their flaws by emotion.
I came to watch this film alone. As the film went on, I started noticing oddities in its logic and inconsistency, given the nature of the plot. Yet, despite my awareness, I don’t mind of those pitfalls. In fact, I surrendered myself to the smile of Rachel McAdams and starting picturing myself witnessing each of the time-traveling scene.
It was not until I took a cab home then I cried recalling the film in my memory. It is a rarity to cry not during the film, but afterwards. Glad to have this weird but loving film to make the mark.
2. ALL IS LOST
Date of watching: Wednesday, November 6, 2013.
There I was, in the middle of a winter afternoon in Toronto, I snuck in a cinema to start watching Robert Redford all alone in the sea. Literally, alone.
We don’t see anyone but him, there is no volleyball to talk to, no tiger to befriend with, nor another astronaut to hang on to. We only see Our Man (Redford’s nameless character) doing a little talk, and he is busy maneuvering his way in the harshness of the sea for 90 minutes.
This is a testament of masterclass in screen acting, and Redford has taken a great challenge no other actors may be able to survive. When the light of the cinema has turned up, we are still glued to the screen, reeling from the brave journey.
3. BEFORE MIDNIGHT
Date of watching: Saturday, July 27, 2013.
The best part of the film comes when Celine (Julie Delpy) sits on a cafe with Jesse (Ethan Hawke), now they’re married, while looking at the sunset as it happens. She says, “Going … Going … Gone.”
We cannot help that the trilogy feels like a conclusion of an 18-year affair, the one that has inspired to roam around Europe finding undiscovered places the films were set in, to be rightly romantic at specific group of age, and to think about love and relationship in general. I watched this on a Saturday midnight show in Lido cinema in Singapore, where majority of audiences in attendance are couples, married or dating, who hug each other to find comfort as they watched the film.
To be able to follow this trilogy in its intended period of time is a lifetime investment worth having.
4. THE CONJURING
Date of watching: Thursday, August 8, 2013.
Lebaran may not be the golden time of Indonesian film anymore (when is it ever this year?), because during the holiday period, people flocked to watch Ed Warren and Lorraine Warren excise demons in an old house in 1970s.
This is the first time in a few years that local film no longer ruled cinema in the supposedly coveted time, and gave way to a chilling horror that does not feature teenagers making out.
I was one of the people who queued for the film around 2 weeks after its initial release date, yet the theatre was still packed. Audiences were genuinely scared and thrilled, and seeing the entire room gasped and shrieked is an experience on its own.
Date of watching: Saturday, October 5, 2013.
It takes a space to bring us back to cinema.
Not even one extended trailer after another can make us prepared of what we were about to see. There, on the giant screen, Alfonso Cuaron takes us circling around wide, empty outer space, particularly in one uninterrupted 20-minute take that left us breathless. It is even more remarkable that Sandra Bullock, the reigning comedy queen, is the one that carries the entire film on her shoulder. When we see her breathing, we are sucked into the confinement of her helmet and actually feel her struggle. Clocking in under 120 minutes, something of a rarity among other blockbuster hits, upon exit we are wondering, “what just happened?”
The answer is clear: it’s the movie that restores my faith in cinema.
6. ILO ILO
Date of watching: Saturday, November 23, 2013.
One of the highlights in cinema-going experience this year was the moment when JIFFest (Jakarta International Film Festival) was held again. I was not part of the festival this time, but kudos to the programming team to pull off the impossible, given the circumstances and the pressing limit of time.
It was my first time as an audience of the festival, actually, and you can imagine my delight when this film happened to be the first film I saw on the festival. I had no idea that Singapore, only a few years ago still came behind its neighbors in world cinema recognition, now comes up front and strong with this sublime film. It is hard to believe that a film can speak loud in its subtlety, and this film proves that, with a lot more to sweep us off our feet. Perhaps the right words to describe this film are “a very human work”, because it puts empathy in each of main characters, and in turn, gives us a touching film-going experience. This one is a keeper for years to come.
Date of watching: Saturday, June 15, 2013.
Looking back a few months later now, it is not a good film.
But then, looking right at the big IMAX screen, I see my childhood once again, staring in awe watching Superman flying across Niagara Falls in his red cape, with soaring music in the background, making us believe that there is a hero to save our day.
That particular moment for a brief few minutes is one of my very memorable moments in cinema this year.
8. PACIFIC RIM
I grew up watching Japanese series about superheroes who fight robots or work together with robots to fight monsters, like Voltus, Ultra-Man, although slowly I bid farewell to them as my attention shifted for good to other genres entirely.
But watching this on big screen on a Saturday afternoon surrounded kids and their parents, rooting over gigantic robots take over one another, who can resist cheering all the way? The banging sound that drums the walls of the cinema halls when the Kaiju moves and runs, the over-the-top fighting scenes, it’s like being in elementary school all over again.
9. 12 YEARS A SLAVE
There were films with in-your-face dramatic moments that I saw this year, but none came up as beautiful as this film. In fact, it is so beautiful that you could not look at or watch the film twice. Panoramic shots in many scenes are seemingly taken out of paintings in gallery or pictorial book, its scores are worth being played in a big concert by big orchestra, and production design is simply gorgeous. Bring all those elements to historical violence of slavery, you will be left with cringe and shriek.
I often pinched myself to say, “this is only a movie, this is only a movie” over and over again everytime the whipping tortures begin. Steve McQueen delivers a powerful film, no doubt, and the power is felt among us, audience, long after the credit ends.
You will be relieved to come out of such an experience. Watch it.
10. WADJDA
Date of watching: Monday, November 11, 2013.
Pardon me for being a little sentimental, but I saw this film in a small cinema a little further downtown area of Toronto. It is a one-man art-deco old cinema, and what a delight it was that the film here was shown on celluloid format! While the look of the film, clearly shot in digital, does not benefit from the showing format, it only heightens our experience in watching the film.
This is not a perfect film, for it bears signs of being made by a first timer, such as occasional loose focus and all. Yet, we cannot help rooting for the main character, a teenage girl seeking every possible silver lining in her mundane, almost repressed male-dominated world of Saudi Arabia. We cannot stop looking at her, and wanting to know what happens next as the story progresses. We are put right in the middle of daily life in Saudi Arabia, much to our chagrin sometimes, but the other part of us could not help being amused by the unexpected humor. A promising work that leaves us smiling.
What’s your most memorable experiences in cinema in 2013 then?
PS: If you must know my favorite film this year, this is the one.
Posted by nauvalyazid on 12/28/2013 in Blog, English, Film
Tags: 12 Years a Slave, About Time, All is Lost, Before Midnight, CInema, cinema-going experience, cinemagoer, Film, filmgoer, Gravity, Ilo Ilo, Jakarta, Man of Steel, Pacific Rim, Singapore, The Conjuring, top 10, Toronto, Wadjda, year-end list
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Antibiotics may increase triazine herbicide exposure risk via disturbing gut microbiota
Jing Zhan1,
Yiran Liang1,
Donghui Liu1,
Xiaoran Ma1,
Peize Li1,
Chang Liu1,
Xueke Liu1,
Peng Wang1Email authorView ORCID ID profile and
Zhiqiang Zhou1Email author
Antibiotics are commonly used worldwide, and pesticide is a kind of xenobiotic to which humans are frequently exposed. The interactive impact of antibiotics on pesticides has rarely been studied. We aim to investigate the effects of antibiotics on the pesticide exposure risk and whether gut microbiota altered by antibiotics has an influence on pesticide bioavailability. Furthermore, we explored the mechanisms of gut microbiota affecting the fate of pesticides in the host.
The oral bioavailability of triazine herbicides significantly increased in the rats treated with ampicillin or antibiotic cocktails. The antibiotic-altered gut microbiota directly influenced the increased pesticide bioavailability through downregulating hepatic metabolic enzyme gene expression and upregulating intestinal absorption-related proteins.
Antibiotics could increase the pesticide bioavailability and thereby may increase the pesticide exposure risk. The antibiotic-altered gut microbiota that could alter the hepatic metabolic enzyme gene expression and intestinal absorption-related proteome was a critical cause of the increased bioavailability. This study revealed an undiscovered potential health impact of antibiotics and reminded people to consider the co-exposed xenobiotics when taking antibiotics.
Gut microbiota
Pesticides are indispensable for modern agricultural production. A considerable amount of research has shown that pesticide residues could move through the food chain and ultimately pose a health threat to humans. After the mid-1980s, herbicides became the most widely used pesticide globally [1]. In particular, triazine herbicides, such as atrazine and simazine, have been widely applied in agricultural settings and were frequently detected in food, natural water, and soil [2–4]. Triazine herbicides could cause disruption of the endocrine system. For instance, atrazine was regarded as a potential carcinogen that caused hormonal disorders and affected the normal mammalian reproductive function [5–7]. Likewise, exposure to simazine resulted in neonatal birth defects and the potential for developmental disorders [8]. Currently, studies of pesticides have largely focused on the effects of a single pesticide exposure. However, pesticide exposure is likely to result from various sources (e.g. food and water) and occurs simultaneously via multiple pesticide agents [9, 10]. Co-exposure to multiple pesticides may lead to more negative effects.
Antibiotics are one of the greatest discoveries in the history of human medicine, and they play a major role in controlling disease and decreasing pathogen-associated mortality. Many infectious diseases cannot be treated without antibiotics, and the widespread application of antibiotics has led to large levels of human consumption. For example, approximately 3440 and 3290 tons of antibiotics were respectively consumed by Europeans in 2003 and Americans during 2010–2011, while consumption reached 77,760 tons in China in 2013 [11]. Moreover, due to the common use of antibiotics, antibiotic residues have been detected in livestock, companion animals, and even wildlife [12–16]. Residual antibiotics in livestock products such as beef, chicken, and milk might transmit to humans via the consumption of food [17]. The use of antibiotics directly affects gut microbiota by reducing abundance, altering community structure, and reducing bacterial diversity [18, 19]. A growing body of research has elucidated the expansive roles that gut microbiota played in human health. Gut microbiota was related to many diseases, including diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, autism, liver disease, and cancer [20–26]. Further, gut microbiota could affect the drug metabolism and toxicity in the host [27]. For example, Eggerthella lenta could metabolize the cardiac drug digoxin and reduce the drug efficiency [28]. Moreover, gut microbiota could modify the metabolism of acetaminophen and affect the metabolite composition [29]. Thus, antibiotic-altered gut microbiota may affect the chemical transformation of xenobiotics in the host. However, current reports on the effects of antibiotics on xenobiotic metabolism have mostly focused on interactions between antibiotics and drug, while studies on environmental pollutants were rare. Specifically, we have minimal knowledge regarding the impact of antibiotics on the metabolism of pesticides, xenobiotics to which humans are directly or indirectly exposed. When people are treated with antibiotics and exposed to pesticides at the same time, the fate of the pesticides is unknown. Moreover, whether the gut microbiota is involved in this process is unclear.
Oral bioavailability is defined as the rate and extent to which an active moiety is absorbed from a xenobiotic form and becomes available in the systemic circulation [30]. Oral bioavailability, as an important pharmacokinetic property for oral xenobiotics such as drugs, is evaluated by measuring the area under curve (AUC) of a dose-time curve. For pesticides, high bioavailability means the high risks of the increased pesticides entering blood circulation, tissues, and organs. In this study, we assessed the impact of antibiotics on the bioavailability of five typical triazine herbicides (simazine, atrazine, ametryn, terbuthylazine, and metribuzin) after oral exposure in rats. Rats were first treated with a commonly used antibiotic, ampicillin, at a dosage equivalent to that in humans. Ampicillin administration significantly increased the oral bioavailability of triazine herbicides. We then obtained similar results in the antibiotic cocktail-treated rats. By first treating rats with antibiotics, followed by a transfer of microbiota, we successfully constructed a microbiota-deficient model to confirm that gut microbiota had effects on the increased pesticide bioavailability. Mechanisms of gut microbiota affecting the bioavailability were investigated from the perspective of hepatic metabolism and intestinal absorption. These results provided critical data on the xenobiotic metabolism affected by gut microbiota and contributed to a more comprehensive understanding about the effects of antibiotics on pesticide exposure risk.
Effect of ampicillin on the triazine herbicide bioavailability
Rats were treated with the ampicillin dosage converted from the human dosing regimen (gavage of ampicillin three times per day, 90 mg/kg body weight in each dose). After 3 days of ampicillin treatment, the triazine herbicides (2 mg/kg body weight per herbicide in the mixture) were orally administered. The rats were then given ampicillin for four more days, followed by another exposure to triazine herbicides (experimental design presented in Additional file 1: Figure S1). Rats in the control group were treated with ampicillin-free water. After exposure to triazine herbicides, blood samples of rats were collected and tested for herbicides. The herbicide concentration into blood peaked at approximately 10 min in both the ampicillin-treated and control groups, suggesting rapid absorption of triazine herbicides (Fig. 1). The maximum concentrations (Cmax) of the herbicides were higher in the ampicillin-treated group compared with the control group (Additional file 1: Table S1). The area under concentration-time curve (AUC), based on simazine, ametryn, metribuzin, atrazine, and terbuthylazine concentrations in blood, increased 3.31%, 55.6%, 29.1%, 26.4%, and 50.3% respectively in the 3-day ampicillin-treated group compared with the control group. Specifically, the AUC of metribuzin, ametryn, and terbuthylazine was significantly higher in the ampicillin treatment group than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Similar results were observed after 7 days of oral ampicillin administration (Fig. 2), further indicating that ampicillin treatment could lead to an increase in triazine herbicide bioavailability.
Effects of 3-day ampicillin treatment on the blood concentration of triazine herbicides in rats. Control rats were treated with equal volumes of water free from ampicillin. The AUC of triazine herbicides was showed in the column diagram, and the percent represents the increase rate of the AUC in the ampicillin-treated rats relative to the control rats (independent sample t-test, *P < 0.05, n = 5)
Effects of 7-day ampicillin treatment on the blood concentration of triazine herbicides in rats. Control rats were treated with equal volumes of water free from ampicillin. The AUC of triazine herbicides was showed in the column diagram, and the percent represents the increase rate of the AUC in the ampicillin-treated rats relative to the control rats (independent sample t-test, *P < 0.05, n = 5)
In addition, gut microbial amount and composition were measured to observe the effects of ampicillin exposure on gut microbiota. As shown in Fig. 3, both 3-day and 7-day ampicillin treatment significantly decreased bacterial amount in rats (P < 0.01). Ampicillin treatment for 3 and 7 days also reduced the Shannon index and led to apparent compositional distinction based on principal coordinate analyses (PCoA) of the Bray-Curtis distances (Additional file 1: Figure S2 and Figure S3). As shown in the heat map based on significantly changed microbial species (Additional file 1: Figure S2C and Figure S3C), the relative abundance of species from the genus such as Ruminococcaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Anaerotruncus was decreased in the rats treated with 3-day and 7-day ampicillin. These results indicated that ampicillin treatment apparently changed microbial diversity and composition.
Effects of ampicillin and antibiotic cocktail treatment on the amount of cecal bacteria in rats. Prokaryotic 16S rRNA gene copies in cecal feces samples from 3-day ampicillin (a), 7-day ampicillin (b), and 14-day antibiotic cocktail (c) treated rats (independent sample t-test, **P < 0.01, n = 5)
Antibiotic cocktails increase triazine herbicide bioavailability in rats
After confirming that treatment with a single antibiotic resulted in increased bioavailability of triazine herbicides, we further tested whether increased antibiotic doses would result in similar phenomena and whether these processes were associated with the effects arising from the antibiotic-caused gut microbiota disruption. Previous studies have reported that the fecal microbial amount in mice decreased by 90–95% after 14 days of oral treatment with an antibiotics cocktail [31]. In accordance with this method, continuous antibiotic cocktails (ampicillin, neomycin, gentamicin, and metronidazole each at 1.75 mg/day and vancomycin at 0.875 mg/day) were conducted by gavage for 14 days, after which rats were orally exposed to triazine herbicides. Two concentrations of triazine herbicides were used (20 mg/kg and 2 mg/kg body weight per herbicide, respectively) to comprehensively study the effect of antibiotics on herbicide bioavailability. After continuous treatment with antibiotic cocktails for 14 days, the AUC and Cmax in the antibiotic-treated rats were significantly higher than that in the control group, with AUC increased by 39.42–94.92% (20 mg/kg body weight of herbicides, P < 0.05, Additional file 1: Figure S4 and Table S2) and 44.78–151.43% (2 mg/kg body weight of herbicides, P < 0.05, Additional file 1: Figure S5 and Table S2). Meanwhile, gut microbial amount and composition were measured to observe the effect of antibiotic cocktail exposure on gut microbiota. As shown in Fig. 3, the initial total amount of bacteria was not apparently different, while bacterial amount was significantly decreased after the 14-day antibiotic cocktail treatment compared with the antibiotic untreated rats (P < 0.01). Microbial diversity and composition were also apparently altered by 14-day antibiotic cocktail treatment from the results of the Shannon index, PCoA of the Bray-Curtis distances, and species comparison (Additional file 1: Figure S6). The proportion of species from the genus such as Ruminococcaceae and Anaerotruncus was changed (Additional file 1: Figure S6C).
In vitro microbial metabolism and microsomal metabolism of triazine herbicides
Gut microbiota could impact xenobiotic metabolism in a variety of ways. Previous studies showed that antibiotics could shape the physiology and gene expression of the active gut microbiome and then affect the microbial metabolism of xenobiotics [32, 33]. To investigate whether gut microbiota from rats exposed to antibiotics affected the triazine herbicide degradation and then caused the increased herbicide bioavailability, metabolism of triazine herbicides by gut microbiota was investigated using fecal bacteria culture in vitro under anaerobic conditions. The initial concentration of triazine herbicides was designed at 2 mg/L and 0.02 mg/L respectively for degradation assay. As shown in Additional file 1: Figure S7 and Figure S8, the triazine herbicides were not metabolized whether in sterilized culture medium without bacteria or bacteria culture from antibiotic-treated and antibiotic-untreated rats. The results indicated that microbial metabolism of herbicides may contribute little to the increased herbicide bioavailability.
Treatments with large amounts of antibiotics could apparently alter gut microbiota, but may also affect the host’s metabolic function. In the antibiotic-treated model, antibiotic intake may directly affect hepatic metabolism in rats, which may also lead to increases in pesticide bioavailability. A liver microsomal model in vitro was used to investigate the effects of antibiotics on hepatic metabolism of triazine herbicides. Liver microsomes account for the most popular in vitro model for xenobiotic metabolism because they are rich in metabolic enzymes such as cytochrome P450 enzymes [34, 35]. Absorption of the antibiotics used in our experiments (ampicillin, neomycin, gentamicin, metronidazole, and vancomycin) was relatively low, and the antibiotic concentrations in rat blood after gavage was 7 mg/L or less. Therefore, 7 mg/L of antibiotic mixture was added with the combination herbicides into the microsome incubation system. The results showed that the antibiotics did not significantly affect the microsomal metabolism of triazine herbicides compared with the control group (Additional file 1: Figure S9). These results suggested that antibiotics might not directly affect triazine herbicide metabolism by inhibiting the enzymes in a short time. Antibiotics may affect triazine herbicide bioavailability via indirect ways.
Gut microbiota affects triazine herbicide bioavailability
The effects of gut microbiota on triazine herbicide bioavailability could not be directly assessed in the antibiotic-treated rats. Consequently, we designed an experiment to investigate these effects with the presence of gut microbiota as the only variable. As shown in Fig. 4, two groups of rats reached a nearly germ-free state after 14 days of antibiotic cocktail treatment. Following a 3-day washout period, gut microbiota from antibiotic-treated and antibiotic-untreated rats was transferred to these rats for four continuous days to obtain a deficient microbiota group (DM group) and a normal microbiota group (NM group). All rats were then orally exposed to 2 mg/kg body weight of triazine herbicides. Fecal samples were respectively collected before antibiotic-treated microbiota transfer (BAT) and normal-treated microbiota transfer (BNT) as well as after antibiotic-treated microbiota transfer (AAT) and normal-treated microbiota transfer (ANT) to assess the abundance and composition of gut microbiota. Total bacteria levels had no significant differences and microbial diversity was similar between the two groups before microbiota transplantation (Fig. 5a and Fig. 5b). After microbiota transplantation, the microbial amount significantly increased in the normal microbiota rats while the microbial amount in the deficient microbiota group did not change significantly. The abundance of total fecal bacteria in the normal microbiota rats was nearly 9 times higher than that in the deficient microbiota rats (P < 0.001, Fig. 5a). Microbial diversity also showed an increase in the normal microbiota rats compared with the deficient microbiota rats based on the Shannon index (Fig. 5b). Meanwhile, PCoA of the Bray-Curtis and UniFrac comparison presented that microbial composition of the normal microbiota rats varied from the deficient microbiota rats (Fig. 5c and Additional file 1: Figure S10). LEfSe analysis showed that the proportion of phylum Firmicutes and class Coriobacteriia in the normal microbiota rats was significantly higher than in the deficient microbiota rats (P < 0.05, Additional file 1: Figure S11). At a species level, the proportion of species from the genus such as Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Oscillibacter was significantly reduced in the deficient microbiota rats relative to involved the normal microbiota rats (P < 0.05, Additional file 1: Figure S12). Therefore, considerable differences existed between floral characteristics of the deficient microbiota and normal microbiota groups, suggesting that the microbiota transfer model was successfully developed to confirm the impact of gut microbiota on the herbicide bioavailability.
Experimental design of microbiota transfer model based on the antibiotic cocktail-treated rats. Two groups of rats reached a near germ-free state after 14 days of antibiotic cocktail treatment, and these rats were transplanted with gut microbiota from the antibiotic-treated and untreated rats for 4 days to obtain a deficient microbiota group and a normal microbiota group (n = 11). Before and after microbiota transplantation, fresh feces of rats was collected, and after microbiota transplantation, rats were euthanized to collect liver and small intestinal mucosa (BAT: before antibiotic-treated microbiota transfer; BNT: before normal-treated microbiota transfer samples; AAT: after antibiotic-treated microbiota transfer; ANT: after normal-treated microbiota transfer, n = 5). The remaining rats were used to investigate pesticide bioavailability (n = 6). The red star means the beginning of pesticides exposure
Differences in the gut microbiota of rats before and after microbiota transplantation (BAT: before antibiotic-treated microbiota transfer; BNT: before normal-treated microbiota transfer samples; AAT: after antibiotic-treated microbiota transfer; ANT: after normal-treated microbiota transfer, n = 5). a Prokaryotic 16S rRNA gene copies in fecal samples (one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni’s test, ***P < 0.001). b Shannon index for microbial diversity (one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni’s test, *P < 0.05). c Principal coordinate analyses (PCoA) of the Bray-Curtis calculation showing microbial composition dissimilarity among BAT, BNT, AAT, and ANT samples
Remarkably, the AUC of triazine herbicides was all significantly higher in the deficient microbiota rats than that in the normal microbiota rats (P < 0.05, Fig. 6 and Additional file 1: Table S3). The results showed that the gut microbiota deficiency increased the oral bioavailability of triazine herbicides in rats, thus directly indicating that gut microbiota could affect the pesticide bioavailability.
Effects of the gut microbiota on the blood concentration of triazine herbicides in rats. The AUC of triazine herbicides were showed in the column diagram, and the percent means the increase rate of the AUC in the deficient microbiota rats relative to the normal microbiota rats (DM group: the deficient microbiota rats; NM group: the normal microbiota rats; independent sample t-test, *P < 0.05, n = 6)
Gut microbiota alters hepatic metabolism and intestinal absorption-related proteome
To determine the mechanisms of gut microbiota affecting the bioavailability of triazine herbicides, we analyzed the expression of hepatic metabolic enzymes and conducted proteomics on the small intestinal mucosa of rats after microbiota transplantation.
The hepatic enzymes including cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) and glutathione transferase enzymes were involved in the triazine herbicide metabolism, and their activity was also verified in a hepatic microsomal metabolism assay by observing the inhibition of triazine herbicide metabolism when relevant enzyme inhibitors were added (Additional file 1: Figure S13). Compared to the normal microbiota rats, hepatic mRNA expression of CYP1A2, CYP2C11, CYP2D2, CYP2E1, CYP3A2, CYP3A11, GSTYc2, and GSTM2 enzymes was lower in the deficient microbiota rats (Fig. 7a). These results suggested that triazine herbicide metabolism may be reduced because of the downregulation of the metabolic enzymes, and this helped explain why the bioavailability increased in the deficient microbiota rats.
a Relative mRNA expression of hepatic metabolic enzymes in the deficient microbiota rats and the normal microbiota rats. b Relative expression of Slc3a1 protein in small intestinal mucosa in the deficient microbiota rats and the normal microbiota rats (independent sample t-test, *P < 0.05, n = 5)
The uptake of orally introduced xenobiotics primarily occurs in small intestine. Label-free proteomics analysis was applied to characterize the effect of gut microbiota on the intestinal absorption of xenobiotics (protein classification in Additional file 1: Figure S14). A total of 77 significantly different proteins were identified in mucosa of the terminal ileum by comparing the deficient microbiota rats and the normal microbiota rats, and these proteins were showed in Additional file 1: Table S4. Of these proteins, 14 proteins were decreased, while the other 63 proteins were increased in the deficient microbiota rats relative to the normal microbiota rats. Among the changed proteins, Slc3a1 (accession number Q64319), a kind of protein proved to have capacity for xenobiotics transport, was upregulated in the deficient microbiota rats compared with the normal microbiota rats (P < 0.05, Fig. 7b). Significant changes in other proteins that are associated with drug absorption and transport were not apparent. Thus, the effect of gut microbiota deficiency on xenobiotic absorption may not be significant, and the pathway that gut microbiota promoted the intestinal absorption by upregulating transport protein may be not the most crucial reason for the increased bioavailability in the deficient microbiota rats.
The global use of antibiotics makes it difficult to avoid interaction with other xenobiotics. Previous studies have reported the effects on drug metabolism by antibiotics and antibiotic-altered microbiome. Kim et al. found that oral bioavailability of the hypolipidemic drug lovastatin was decreased in concert with the reduced hydroxyl acid metabolites after antibiotic administration [36]. After oral administration of ampicillin for 3 days, the bioavailability of the antihypertensive drug amlodipine was significantly increased in rats, and the metabolism of amlodipine was reduced by the antibiotic-altered microbiota in in vitro floral culture experiments [37]. Jeong et al. also found that the oral bioavailability of baicalin was decreased and the metabolite profiles changed when gut microbiota was disturbed [38]. Here, we first found that the triazine herbicide bioavailability was increased in rats after 3 and 7 days of ampicillin administration. In previous studies, exposure to triazine herbicides such as atrazine, terbuthylazine, and ametryn would cause oxidative stress, change antioxidant systems, and lead to DNA damage [39–41]. Thus, the increased bioavailability may pose a higher potential risk to health hazards when people are exposed to herbicides at a relatively high level after taking antibiotics. Then, we found that bioavailability was significantly increased under both 20 mg/kg and 2 mg/kg body weight of triazine herbicide exposure in the rats treated with antibiotic cocktails for 14 days. The result suggested that broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment over a long duration period may increase pesticide bioavailability in the host, thus leading to a greater health threat.
Antibiotic intake regardless of ampicillin or antibiotic cocktails could not only significantly reduce microbial amount (Fig. 3), but also alter microbial diversity and composition (Additional file 1: Figure S2, Figure S3 and Figure S6). After ampicillin or antibiotic cocktail treatment, the relative abundance of species from the genus Ruminococcaceae was decreased and species from the genus Bacteroides was increased. In previous studies, some bacteria such as Pseudaminobacter, Pseudomonas, and Betaproteobacteria from soil and groundwater were involved in the triazine herbicide degradation [42–44]. In this work, in vitro microbial metabolism assays showed that triazine herbicides could not be directly metabolized by gut microbiota from the antibiotic-treated or untreated rats, suggesting gut microbial metabolism may contribute little to the increased herbicide bioavailability. Meanwhile, the results from microsomal metabolism assays implied that antibiotics might not directly affect triazine herbicide metabolism by inhibiting the metabolic enzymes. Many previous studies indicated that gut microbiota could impact the metabolic physiology of hosts [45]. In the current study, it could be hypothesized that the antibiotic-changed microbiota may also affect the physiology of rats and finally lead to the increased herbicide bioavailability. Direct exposure to antibiotics produced complex intertwined effects including the changes of hepatic metabolic enzymes and gut microbiota, which made it difficult to confirm whether the increased bioavailability was related to gut microbiota.
Thus, we developed a microbial transplantation approach based on the antibiotic cocktail-treated rats, making gut microbiota the only variable that could directly evaluate the effect of gut microbiota on herbicide bioavailability. Fourteen-day antibiotic cocktail treatment greatly reduced gut bacterial amount, and the transplantation with normal microbiota made the microbial amount substantially rise (the normal microbiota rats) while the transplantation with antibiotic cocktail-treated microbiota almost kept the bacterial amount (the deficient microbiota rats). In other word, the microbial population of the normal microbiota rats was much larger than the deficient microbiota rats (Fig. 5a). After microbiota transplantation, the relative abundance of phylum Firmicutes and class Coriobacteriia showed a significantly increase in the normal microbiota rats. But in the case of the large difference in the amount of bacteria in the deficient microbiota rats and the normal microbiota rats, the effects of microbial diversity and composition on the increased herbicide bioavailability may be limited, so the altered microbial species in the deficient microbiota rats relative to the normal microbiota rats perhaps could not be considered as the specific bacteria contributing to the increased herbicide bioavailability. Oral bioavailability of triazine herbicides was significantly increased in the deficient microbiota rats, directly indicating that gut microbiota contributed to bioavailability.
However, how gut microbiota increased the herbicide bioavailability was not yet thoroughly understood. One important pathway may be that gut microbiota affects the metabolism of xenobiotics via regulating liver metabolic functions [46]. The triazine herbicide metabolism was mainly mediated by the CYP enzymes in phase I metabolism and glutathione S-transferase (GSH) in phase II metabolism according to previous studies [47–49], which was also proved in our microsomal metabolism assays added with enzymatic inhibitors (Additional file 1: Figure S13). We further examined differences in mRNA expression of these enzymes in the livers of the deficient microbiota and normal microbiota rats. The mRNA expression of enzymes CYP1A2, CYP2C11, CYP2D2, CYP2E1, CYP3A2, CYP3A11, GSTYc2, and GSTM2 was much lower in the deficient microbiota group, which was similar with previous findings. Selwyn et al. found that mRNA expression of Cyp3a family members Cyp3a11 and Cyp3a44 was significantly reduced in the livers of 90-day-old male germ-free mice compared to conventional mice [50], in addition to similar results for expression of GSHs, including Gsta1, Gstp1, Gstp2, and Gstm3 [51]. Kuno et al. also found that Cyp2b10, Cyp2c29, Cyp3a11, and Cyp4a12a expression was significantly lower in the liver cell membranes of germ-free mice than those of SPF mice [52]. Our results indicated that gut microbiota may reduce the efficiency of hepatic detoxification by regulating the expression of metabolic enzymes, thus resulting in an increase in the triazine herbicide bioavailability.
Absorption processes in the gastrointestinal tract are also factors that affect the xenobiotic bioavailability. Xenobiotics are mainly absorbed through the small intestine and circulated in the blood. There are many transport-related proteins that are mainly involved in epithelial cell absorption on the small intestinal mucosa surface. We studied the protein expression in the intestinal mucosa of the deficient microbiota and normal microbiota rats by label-free quantitative proteomics. Among the altered proteins, expression of Slc3a1 protein (accession number Q64319) was significantly increased in the deficient microbiota rats. Slc3a1 is a kind of transport protein and a member of the solute carrier (SLC) family. These proteins are involved in the transport, absorption, and distribution of xenobiotics like ibuprofen, methotrexate, and so on [53]. The expression of Slc3a1 protein significantly increased in the deficient microbiota rats, but there was no significant change in other proteins that played a major role in drug transport, including the multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (ABCC2) and P-glycoprotein of ATP-binding cassette transporter (ABC) family and the organic anion transporter 2 of the SLC family proteins. Thus, small intestinal uptake may not be the main cause of the increased triazine herbicide levels.
Here, we assessed the effects of antibiotics on pesticide bioavailability in rats and investigated the underlying mechanisms. The bioavailability of orally administered triazine herbicides was increased in rat treated with a single antibiotic (ampicillin) or an antibiotic cocktail. To assess whether gut microbiota affected pesticide bioavailability, we established a microbiota transfer model to directly prove that gut microbiota deficiency increased bioavailability via altering affected the mRNA expression of hepatic metabolic enzymes and small intestinal absorption-related proteins. Overall, the results indicated that antibiotics could enhance the bioavailability of triazine herbicides and thereby may increase the exposure risk. The results also suggested a new potential pathway where antibiotics affected the xenobiotic bioavailability and implied that gut microbiota could affect the fate of xenobiotics in the host. Abuse of antibiotics may increase the risks associated with xenobiotics, such as pesticides, and amplify their consequent toxic effects.
Animal experiments were approved and performed in accordance with the guidelines of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of China Agricultural University (approval No. CAU20161122-4). Six-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were purchased from Beijing Vital River Laboratory Animal Technology Co., Ltd. (Beijing, China) and housed at 22 ± 2 °C in a standard cage in a specific pathogen-free facility with a 12:12-h light: dark cycle. Water and chow were available ad libitum. Ampicillin was dissolved in ultrapure water, and it was administered by gavage to the rats every day at 8:00, 16:00, and 23:00, with 90 mg/kg (body weight) in each dose. For the antibiotic cocktail treatment model, an antibiotic cocktail was dissolved in ultrapure water and administered by gavage to the rats once daily for 14 continuous days. A mixture of triazine herbicide standards was dissolved in corn oil containing 10% DMSO and the rats were fasted for 12 h before the herbicides were intragastrically administered. The blood samples were collected via the jugular vein with EDTA-containing tubes at 5, 10, 20, and 40 min and 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 12, and 24 h after the herbicide administration and then were stored at − 20 °C for future use.
Antibiotic dose
The recommended ampicillin dosage is 1–3 g/day for adult humans (medication guides from Chongqing Kerui pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., China). After converting the human dose to the animal equivalent dose based on the body surface area (Additional file 1: Table S5), the equivalent ampicillin dose for rats was 90–270 mg/kg/day (body weight). Thus, the rats were treated with 90 mg/kg body weight of ampicillin three times per day. According to previous research [37], the rats were given ampicillin, neomycin, gentamicin, and metronidazole (each at 1.75 mg/day) and vancomycin (at 0.875 mg/day) to establish an antibiotic-treated model. In summary, the maximum oral dose of these antibiotics was 7 mg/kg when calculated for an average rat weight of 250 g. Thus, the concentration of each antibiotic in blood circulation was not more than 7 mg/L, which was used in the microsomal assays.
Analysis of triazine herbicide levels in blood
An aliquot of 200 μL of whole blood was added to 1 mL of acetonitrile and 200 μL of saturated NaCl solution, and the mixture was vortexed for 3 min, then centrifuged at 10,000 g for 1 min. The supernatant was dried at 35 °C under a nitrogen atmosphere and adjusted to a final volume with 100 μL of acetonitrile containing 50 μg/L of metamitron (internal standard) to obtain a solution for HPLC-MS/MS detection. Triazine herbicide levels were quantified by HPLC-MS/MS with a C18 columns (150 × 2.1 mm, 3 μm, Waters, Shanghai, China). Seventy percent acetonitrile and 30 % water (containing 0.1% formic acid) were used as the mobile phase, and the flow rate was 0.3 mL/min. The injection volume was 10 μL. The setup for the mass spectrometer were as follows: spray voltage of positive ionization mode 3000 V, vaporizer temperature 200 °C, sheath gas pressure 40 Arb, aux gas pressure 10 Arb; ion sweep gas pressure 0 Arb; collision gas pressure 1.5 mTorr. The specific selective reaction monitoring (SRM) was used and parameters of molecular fragmentation was presented in Additional file 1: Table S6. Method validation procedures and quality control data were showed in the Additional file 1: Table S7 and Table S8.
Microsomal metabolism assay
Liver microsomes were prepared based on previously described methods [54, 55]. In brief, the rat liver was quickly removed after euthanasia and washed with 1.15% KCl solution to remove blood. After homogenized in an ice-cold SET solution (1 mM EDTA and 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.4), the liver homogenate was centrifuged at 9000 g for 20 min, and the supernatants were subjected to two consecutive centrifugations at 100,000 g for 60 min. The microsomal pellet was resuspended in 50 mM Tris-HCl buffer containing 20% glycerol and stored at − 80 °C until use. In microsomal metabolism assay, the microsomes were diluted with Tris-HCl buffer (50 mmol/L, pH 7.4) and placed in a 37 °C water bath for pre-incubation for 5 min. An aliquot of 5 μL of triazine herbicides dissolved in ethanol and 5 μL of antibiotic cocktails dissolved in Tris-HCl buffer (gentamicin, neomycin, ampicillin, metronidazole, and vancomycin) were added to 440 μL of microsome incubation solutions and made that the final concentration of herbicides and antibiotics was respectively 50 μg/L (per herbicide) and 7 mg/L (per antibiotic). Then, 50 μL of NADPH (final concentration, 10 mmol/L) was added to initiate the reactions and the total incubation volume was 500 μL. Acetonitrile was added to stop the reactions after incubation at 0, 10, 20, 40, and 60 min. The control group was added with equivalent triazine herbicides without antibiotics. The extraction and detection were similar with the processes for blood and presented in Additional files.
Microbial metabolism of triazine herbicides in vitro
The cecal feces samples were collected from the rats exposed to 3-day and 7-day ampicillin and 14-day antibiotic cocktails as well as from the corresponding control antibiotic-untreated rats. According to previous reports, the fecal samples were weighed and homogenized adequately with sterile physiological saline at a ratio of 1:4 (m/v). Then, the bacterial suspension was separated after centrifugation at 2000 g for 10 min. The general anaerobic medium (GAM) containing 0.3 g of L-cysteine hydrochloride, 0.3 g of sodium thioglycolate, 1.2 g of beef liver extract powder, 2.2 g of beef extract, 2.5 g of KH2PO4, 3 g of glucose, 3 g of soya peptone, 3 g of NaCl, 5 g of soluble starch, 5 g of yeast extract, 10 g of tryptone, 10 g of proteose peptone, 13.5 g of digestible serum powder, and 1000 mL of distilled water was used for the bacterial culture [56]. Ten microliters of bacterial suspension was inoculated into 990 μL of GAM containing the mixture of triazine herbicides at final concentration of 2 mg/L or 0.02 mg/L, and then incubated under anaerobic condition using a disposable O2-absorbing and CO2-generating agent (AnaeroPack Helico, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., Inc., Tokyo, Japan) at 37 °C [57]. Degradation of herbicides in sterilized culture medium without bacteria was considered as negative control. All samples which had been incubated for 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 12, 24, and 48 h were extracted with acetonitrile (two volumes of the culture medium). The extraction and detection of triazine herbicides were similar with the processes for microsomal experiments. Each group has five parallels.
Microbial community analysis
Fresh feces of rats was collected and quickly placed in liquid nitrogen and then stored at − 80 °C. DNA was extracted from 0.25 g of feces using the QIAamp DNA Stool Kit (Qiagen, Gaithersburg, MD, USA). Then, the DNA samples were diluted and amplified by qPCR (Bio-Rad CFX96, USA) using the universal primers U515F and U806R (U515F, 5′-GTGYCAGCMGCCGCGGTAA-3′; U806R, 5′-GGACTACHVGGGTWTCTAAT-3′) with TransStart Green qPCR SuperMix (Transgene, AQ101-03). The qPCR reaction procedure was 1 cycle of 5 min at 95 °C, followed by 1 min at 56 °C and 40 cycles of 1 min at 72 °C. Total bacterial abundance was assessed via the standard curve with plasmid DNA as template.
To assess the microbial community composition, the hypervariable V3-V4 regions of 16S rRNA genes were amplified by PCR (5 min at 95 °C, followed by 27 cycles of 30 s at 95 °C, 30 s at 55 °C, 45 s at 72 °C, and a final 10 min at 72 °C) using the primers 341F and 806R (341F, 5′-CCTAYGGGRBGCASCAG-3′; 806R, 5′-GGACTACNNGGGTATCTAAT-3′). The PCR products were then purified with an AxyPrep DNA Gel Extraction Kit (Axygen, Union City, CA, USA) and quantified using a QuantiFluor™-ST (Promega, Madison, WI, USA) kit. Purified amplicons were pooled for sequencing on an Illumina MiSeq platform according to the manufacturer’s instructions. QIIME (version 1.17) was used to process raw fastq files. High-quality reads were obtained after quality filtering and clustered into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at the 97% similarity cutoff using UPARSE (version 7.1 http://drive5.com/uparse/).
Microbiota transplantation
Gut microbiota was collected from the cecal contents of donor rats and then diluted 10 times with saline. The solution was centrifuged and the supernatant was collected. Microbiota was then transplanted to the antibiotic-treated rats by a 1-mL gavage of the supernatant. The microbiota-recipient rats were housed in an isolator under specific pathogen-free conditions.
Hepatic metabolic enzyme mRNA expression
RNAs from liver tissues were extracted using the TRNzol Reagent (Trangen Biotechnology Co., Ltd., China) and was reverse transcribed into cDNA using FastQuant RT kits (Trangen Biotechnology Co., Ltd.), followed by qPCR using SuperReal PreMix Plus (Trangen Biotechnology Co., Ltd.). Each quantification was performed in triplicate. Primer oligonucleotide sequences were presented in Additional file 1: Table S9.
Label-free proteomics of the small intestinal mucosa
A 10-cm-long mucosal sample was taken from the rat terminal ileum [58] and immediately placed in liquid nitrogen and stored at − 80 °C until further testing. An aliquot of 150 μL of lysate (40 mM Tris-HCl, 7 M urea, 2 M thiourea, 1% DTT, and 1 mM EDTA) and 1.5 μL of protease inhibitor were added to the mucosal sample and then mixed. The mixture was treated by ultrasound to shear the tissue and high-speed centrifugation at 14,000 rpm for 40 min at 4 °C. The supernatant was collected and the protein content was quantified using the Bradford method. After quantification, 100 μg of protein was taken from each sample and 50 mM ammonium bicarbonate was added to adjust the volume to maintain the urea concentration below 1 M. DTT (final concentration 10 mM) was added to the solution. The mixture was incubated at 56 °C for 1 h and then cooled to room temperature. Iodoacetamide (final concentration 55 mM) was added to the solution and incubated at room temperature without light for 40 min. After 2 μg of trypsin was added, the solution was incubated at 37 °C for 14–16 h and freeze-dried to a volume of 100 μL. Then, the proteins were separated by a nanoLC (AB Sciex eksigent 425, USA). Two buffers were used for these analyses: (A) 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution and (B) 0.1% formic acid acetonitrile solution. The samples were loaded using an autosampler to the trapping C18 column (0.10 × 20 mm, 3 μm), and then separated with the analytical C18 column (0.75 × 150 mm, 5 μm) at a flow rate of 300 nL/min. The elution gradient is presented in Additional file 1: Table S10. Finally, the samples were identified by a Q-Exactive mass spectrometer (Thermo Scientific, USA). Full-scan MS spectra (350–1750 m/z) were acquired at a resolution of 70,000 with an automatic gain control (AGC) target value of 3e6. The full-scan maximum injection time was 20 ms, and the dynamic exclusion was set to 12.0 s. The dd-SIM was acquired at a resolution of 17,500 with an AGC target value of 2e5. The isolation window was set to 2.0 m/z, and the maximum injection time was 80 ms.
Significant differences of protein between the deficient microbiota group and the normal microbiota group were identified following three criteria: (1) contain at least two peptide segments with confidence coefficient greater than 95%; (2) with a minimum fold change (FC) of 2, FC ≥ 2 was upregulation and FC ≤ 0.5 was downregulation; (3) P < 0.05 in the independent sample t-test.
The area under concentration-time curves (AUCs) were estimated using Origin 9.4 software (OriginLab, USA). Data were expressed as mean ± SD. Statistical analysis in comparison between two groups was performed using independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA was used for comparison among multiple groups (SPSS 23.0 statistical software, USA). All results were considered statistically significant at P < 0.05.
We thank Wenjun Wang and Jun Qian for expert guidance in pyrosequencing and subsequent data filtering analysis. We are grateful to Bing Zhang for helping in animal experiments.
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Contract Grants: 21337005, 21677175), Chinese Universities Scientific Fund 2017LX001, and the National Program for support of Top-notch Young Professionals.
The sequences generated for in this study are stored in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and the project numbers are respectively PRJNA448462 and PRJNA487196. All other data is contained within the main manuscript and supplemental files (Additional file 2: Table S11).
JZ, YL, DL, ZZ, and PW contributed to the literature search. JZ and YL designed the study. JZ, YL, XM, PL, CL, and XL performed the experiments. JZ and YL analyzed the data. JZ and PW wrote the manuscript and made the figures. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of China Agricultural University.
Additional file 1: Additional Figures, tables and methods (http://www.pantherdb.org/). (https://www.lascn.com/Item/506.aspx). (DOCX 1963 kb)
Additional file 2: Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and taxonomy of fecal microbiota. (XLSX 113 kb)
Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, College of Science, China Agricultural University, No. 2, West Yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China
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RE-REVIEW: KISS – Rock and Roll Over (1976)
The KISS RE-REVIEW SERIES Part 8:
– Rock and Roll Over (1976 Casablanca, 1997 Mercury remastered edition)
Kiss were at a crossroads. What to do next? Destroyer, produced by maestro Bob Ezrin, introduced a new Kiss to the world: glossy, indulgent, polished and augmented with plenty of highbrow non-rock instruments. Would they explore that road and see where it lead? If they had, an entire alternate KISStory would exist today. Instead they chose to get back to basics.
Producer Eddie Kramer, who made Kiss Alive! so unforgettably thunderous, was called up again. Kramer and Kiss departed for the Star Theater in Nanuet, New York to record. The idea this time, as opposed to Destroyer, was to go for a live Kiss sound, but on a studio album. The theater setting was intended to help capture that. Peter Criss’ drums were recorded in a bathroom for the perfect ambience. Rock and Roll Over followed Destroyer by a mere seven months, maintaining Kiss’ record of two albums per year. As promised, it was a return to the core Kiss sound: loud guitars and hard rock. They had learned a trick or two from the Destroyer experience. Rock and Roll Over was tighter and sharper than the first three Kiss albums.
The acoustic intro to Paul’s “I Want You” lulls you into a false sense of calm. Then it completely explodes with one of Paul’s most passionate tunes. In three minutes, Kiss laid waste once again. A second Paul scorcher, “Take Me” was written with Kiss road manager and coach Sean Delaney. The words are simple and c-c-c-catchy: “Go baby, you make me feel ah, ah, ah, ah yeah! Oh, baby, you make me feel ah, ah, ah, ah yeah!” Elsewhere, Paul asks “Put your hand in my pocket, grab on to my rocket,” just so there is no confusion.
Gene Simmons’ “Calling Dr. Love” (based off a demo called “Bad Bad Lovin”) was a single and a perennial concert classic. You either like Gene or you don’t. “Calling Dr. Love” won’t change any minds, but it will satisfy those who can’t enough of the sex-crazed demon. It does boast a fiery Ace Frehley guitar solo, one of his most memorable. Gene’s second track “Ladies Room” is just rock and roll, a lesser-known Kiss classic, but catchy as sin. The LP’s first side was closed with a Peter Criss song, co-written with his Chelsea bandmate Stan Penridge. “Baby Driver” is not listed among Kiss’ best tracks, but there isn’t much wrong with it. It’s basic, it slams, and Peter screams his throat out. Not a standout but worth a spin or two.
Gene’s “Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em” is the lovely kind of sentiment that many Kiss songs were built on. This ode to groupies and hotel sex was not the first and not the last, but it had a memorable bop and catchy chorus. “Mr. Speed” (Stanley/Delaney) is a standout with the kind of rock and roll guitar riff that Paul specializes in. This killer track could and perhaps should have been a timeless concert classic, probably ahead of other tracks. (It was also used on the soundtrack to Keanu Reeves’ 1994 action movie Speed.) Simmons’ “See You In Your Dreams” was less timeless and memorable, so later on Gene took a shot at re-recording it. The Rock and Roll Over version makes for the kind of song that is good for filling the spaces between better songs.
Speaking of better songs, Paul’s “Hard Luck Woman” is undeniably one of his best. The lush acoustic six and twelve string guitars ring pure and clean. Paul wanted to give the song to Rod Stewart to sing, as it has a light “Maggie May” aura. Wiser minds prevailed and the song was kept for Kiss, and given to Peter Criss to sing as a followup to “Beth”. Peter of course nailed it and “Hard Luck Woman” reigns as one of the best tracks Peter was given to sing, if not the best. It might not have been as big as “Beth” but that means little; it is the far superior song.
Closing the record, Paul Stanley’s “Makin’ Love” ends Rock and Roll Over on the same kind of fast and furious riffing that it began with. “I Want You” and “Makin’ Love” are bookends, starting and finishing Rock and Roll Over with hard guitars and good times. Sean Delaney co-wrote “Makin’ Love” and his contributions to KISStory have too often been swept under the carpet. Delaney had three co-writes on Rock and Roll Over. Peter Criss had one, and Ace Frehley didn’t have any at all.
Rock and Roll Over gave Kiss another platinum album to hang on the wall. Their success, and their sound, had solidified. There was nowhere to go but up.
Today’s rating: 4.5/5 stars
Uncle Meat’s rating: 5/5 steaks
Meat’s slice: This time let’s start with the negative, as small and nitpicky as that is in the case of this album. I’m not a big fan of “See You in Your Dreams”. Not awful, but just kinda bland in comparison to the rest. “Baby Driver” could also be lumped in with that for the same reason.
The other thing I could say about this album is that since Kiss were the “Kings of the Night Time World” at this point, this is where the lyrics started to get their most misogynistic or what have you. Songs like “Ladies Room” and “Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em” are tunes I really like, however I can see that these were the gateway drug to some of the ridiculous lyrics in Kiss songs in the 80s and 90s.
I love everything else about this album. Rock and Roll Over was my favorite Kiss studio album as a kid, and it’s just a shade under Dressed to Kill now on my Kiss albums list. This seems to make sense now, since both albums were created in similar fashion: Kiss under the gun and needing to write and record an album fast. Good Rock and Roll instincts there.
My favorite ever Kiss ballad is on this record too. “Hard Luck Woman” is an extremely catchy song, and could be my favorite song on the album. I recall that somewhere around 2002, I was very drunk in a bar and ended up singing “Hard Luck Woman” on karaoke, and probably had not heard the song in many many years. I sang the first 2/3rds, however well a pissed me could muster. The end of the song surprised me and I had no idea what to sing and left in the middle of the track. Not long after a girl came up to me and said, “I have never heard anybody sing that Garth Brooks song on karaoke before”. She seemed so taken aback at my insistence that “Hard Luck Woman” was a Kiss song. Maybe it was because I started freaking out on this poor girl. “Hard Luck Woman” indeed.
Reproduction of the karaoke performance
Favorite Tracks: “Hard Luck Woman”, “I Want You”, “Makin Love”, “Calling Dr. Love”, “Mr. Speed”
Forgettabe Tracks: I’m done nitpicking on this one.
Original mikeladano.com review: 2012/07/09
Posted in Reviews and tagged ace frehley, Casablanca, classic rock, eddie kramer, Gene Simmons, hard rock, kiss, Paul Stanley, peter criss, Rock and Roll Over on March 21, 2017 by mikeladano. 20 Comments
← REVIEW: Dust – Hard Attack / Dust (1972/1971)
RE-REVIEW: KISS – Love Gun (1977) →
Now you take me back. As a teen, I remember both “Calling Dr Love” and “Hard Luck Woman” getting a good amount of radio play in 1977.
I wish they still got that kind of radio play. Hard Luck Woman is better than any 80’s Aero-ballad taking up airspace.
My favorite Kiss album.
Great to hear KK! Looks like Deke has company!
One of their best 70s records for sure. No nitpicking from me either. I like all of this. See You in Your Dreams was better on the solo album though.
Mike, we need karaoke versions from you as well!!
Yup excellent reviews from both Mike and Meat! Good job fellas…It’s no secret that on any given day this one is in my all time top Kiss 3 albums! Love the hazy dazy pace set forth by the music and your right Meat, Simmons/Stanley were singing about all things misogynistic !
Great stuff fella’s!
Thanks man! As for Simmons and Stanley being dirty old men…we all know Christine Sixteen on the next album!
This a good one to have in your top 3. I have a lot of 5/5 star Kiss albums. Rock and Roll Over was actually the last Kiss studio album I got for my collection, about grade 10. Then the solo albums were all I needed.
For the Kiss studio albums from the 70s I always found this was kinda the one no one ever talks about!
Great story…years ago when my brother was playing in his band in a bar one night when i was watching him he looked right at me and flipped his guitar showing the crowd the back of his start and on it was a huge decal of the Rock N Roll Over cover….than he proceeded to play ‘She’!
Good boy ..i told him afterwords!
Uncle Meat says:
Thanks man. As per moving forward … I suspect you and others may not necessarily agree with my upcoming opinions as these albums move along . But … As Ricky’s old man would say ..
That’s how she fuckin goes
HMO quite likes Animalize. Although I promise I will listen with fresh open ears…I can’t promise anything else.
I was typing a rebuttal to Animalize..but i will wait til you fella’s get there….
Steve Christie says:
Anamalize is my least favourite album.what was Gene thinking,or writing ? ! Or not writing !!!
Gene was pretty much coasting at this point, I think!
hahaha….well Meat i reviewed a Lot of KISS’ 80s output and some grew on me while others mmmmmm….not so much….still though I’m enjoying this series….
and as Aaron would say..
“GIVE ER!”
Another classic record, from the sounds of it. I don’t have it here, but I imagine that could be rectified fairly easily. Taranna?
Alternate Kisstory, nice!
Reminds me of the Back to the Future 2 alternate timeline – with the tangent breaking off after the critical event of Biff stealing the almanac.
Kiss’s timeline altering event? this record!
So, by the sounds of it (and the comments) I need to get a copy of this one. I was checking my Kissography and I only have Alive!, Destroyer and Love Gun. I like all o’ them, but need to get more.
This one here would set your collection up that you have four albums in a row. And lemme tell you, it’s four of the best!
I’ve added it to the ever growing list!
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He who uses the office he owes to the voters wrongfully and against them is a thief.
Jose Marti's quotes
Man is a living duty, a depository of powers that he must not leave in a brute state. Man is a wing.
A child, from the time he can think, should think about all he sees, should suffer for all who cannot live with honesty, should work so that all men can be honest, and should be honest himself.
There is happiness in duty, although it may not seem so.
A grain of poetry suffices to season a century.
Like bones to the human body, the axle to the wheel, the wing to the bird, and the air to the wing, so is liberty the essence of life. Whatever is done without it is imperfect.
If I survive, I will spend my whole life at the oven door seeing that no one is denied bread and, so as to give a lesson of charity, especially those who did not bring flour.
Talent is a gift that brings with it an obligation to serve the world, and not ourselves, for it is not of our making.
The struggles waged by nations are weak only when they lack support in the hearts of their women.
It is a sin not to do what one is capable of doing.
He who receives money in trust to administer for the benefit of its owner, and uses it either for his own interest or against the wishes of its rightful owner, is a thief.
Every human being has within him an ideal man, just as every piece of marble contains in a rough state a statue as beautiful as the one that Praxiteles the Greek made of the god Apollo.
One is guilty of all abjection that one does not help to relieve.
To use for our exclusive benefit what is not ours is theft.
Fortunately, there is a sane equilibrium in the character of nations, as there is in that of men.
But love, like the sun that it is, sets afire and melts everything. what greed and privilege to build up over whole centuries the indignation of a pious spirit, with its natural following of oppressed souls, will cast down with a single shove.
But when women are moved and lend help, when women, who are by nature calm and controlled, give encouragement and applause, when virtuous and knowledgeable women grace the endeavor with their sweet love, then it is invincible.
To give one's life is a right only when one gives it unselfishly.
He who does not see things in their depth should not call himself a radical.
Only those who spread treachery, fire, and death out of hatred for the prosperity of others are undeserving of pity.
It is necessary to make virtue fashionable.
Peoples are made of hate and of love, and more of hate than love.
He who could have been a torch and stoops to being a pair of jaws is a deserter.
Perhaps the enemies of liberty are such only because they judge it by its loud voice.
Love is the bond between men, the way to teach and the center of the world.
Other famous men, those of much talk and few deeds, soon evaporate. Action is the dignity of greatness.
We light the oven so that everyone may bake bread in it.
Mountains culminate in peaks, and nations in men.
Liberty is the right of every man to be honest, to think and to speak without hypocrisy.
The wretch who lives without freedom feels like dressing in the mud from the streets Those who have you, o Liberty, do not know. you. Those who do not have you should not speak of you, but win you.
Culture, which makes talent shine, is not completely ours either, nor can we place it solely at our disposal. Rather, it belongs mainly to our country, which gave it to us, and to humanity, from which we receive it as a birthright.
Freedoms, like privileges, prevail or are imperiled together You cannot harm or strive to achieve one without harming or furthering all.
A child who does not think about what happens around him and is content with living without wondering whether he lives honestly is like a man who lives from a scoundrel's work and is on the road to being a scoundrel.
We are free, but not to be evil, not to be indifferent to human suffering, not to profit from the people, from the work created and sustained through their spirit of political association, while refusing to contribute to the political state that we profit from.
One just principle from the depths of a cave is more powerful than an army.
To busy oneself with what is futile when one can do something useful, to attend to what is simple when one has the mettle to attempt what is difficult, is to strip talent of its dignity.
Charm is a product of the unexpected.
Others go to bed with their mistresses; I with my ideas.
Men are like the stars; some generate their own light while others reflect the brilliance they receive.
The force of passion is balanced by the force of interest.
A selfish man is a thief.
A genuine man goes to the roots. To be a radical is no more than that: to go to the roots.
The vote is a trust more delicate than any other, for it involves not just the interests of the voter, but his life, honor and future as well.
An insatiable appetite for glory leads to sacrifice and death, but innate instinct leads to self-preservation and life.
It is the duty of man to raise up man.
Happiness exists on earth, and it is won through prudent exercise of reason, knowledge of the harmony of the universe, and constant practice of generosity.
In truth, men speak too much of danger.
Just as he who gives his life to serve a great idea is admirable, he who avails himself of a great idea to serve his personal hopes of glory and power is abominable, even if he too risks his life.
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Indonesia scrubbing the 'world's dirtiest river'
Home > Overseas
Posted at Mar 02 2018 12:24 PM
Environmental activist Deni Riswandani holds up cups of water from the Citarum river (R) and water from a tributary which runs through an area densely populated with textile factories. Reuters
MAJALAYA, Indonesia - The scabies on Indonesian rice farmer Yusuf Supriyadi's limbs are a daily reminder of the costs of living next to the "world's dirtiest river".
Supriyadi depends on the Citarum's murky waters -- a floating carpet of household rubbish, toxic chemicals and animal feces -- to irrigate a small rice plot in West Java that sustains his family of six.
The farmer’s rice yield is now down by two-thirds in the rainy season as textile factories dump more and more industrial waste into the river. But he has few other options.
"There are floods during the rainy season. My hands get itchy and the harvest is damaged," the 54-year-old tells AFP.
"Pollution makes my rice hollow. If I keep going I'll lose money, but if I don't, I'll have no other job," he adds.
Now faced with a health emergency after decades of failed clean-up efforts, Jakarta is stepping in with a seemingly impossible goal: make the Citarum's water drinkable by 2025.
Using this polluted water is a risky calculation for many of the 30 million people who rely on it for irrigation, washing and even drinking water -- including around 80 percent of residents in the sprawling capital Jakarta.
At nearly 300-kilometers long, the river is also a key source for hydroelectric power for Indonesia's most populated island Java and tourism hotspot Bali.
The World Bank declared it the most-polluted river in the world a decade ago, an description widely picked up by media and environmentalists.
Waste levels can vary depending on how pollution is measured and the time of the year.
But the Citarum is dangerous by almost any standard.
Previous research has shown it has alarming levels of toxic chemicals -- including 1,000 times more lead than the US standard for safe drinking water.
It regularly appears on most-polluted lists alongside India's Ganges river, the Mississippi river in the United States and China's Yellow river.
'NOT PLAYING AROUND'
In January, Jakarta yanked responsibility away from local government, and vowed to get tough on business owners who ignore waste-disposal rules.
Factories that fall short could have operating permits revoked.
And CCTV cameras are to be installed along the river's banks to keep an eye out for offenders dumping waste in the early morning hours to evade detection.
Meanwhile, dredging equipment will be used to clean up the filthy river, said Djoko Hartoyo, a spokesman for the Ministry of Maritime Affairs.
A dead goat floats among garbage and debris towards the mouth of the Citarum river north-west of Muara Gembong, West Java province, Indonesia, February 22, 2018. Reuters
"We are not playing around this time," he added.
"We're going in with a holistic approach so we are optimistic we can make Citarum clean again, just like it was 50 or 60 years ago."
In the 1980s, a new industrial zone sprang up around the small town of Majalaya, about 170 kilometres east of Jakarta, and things quickly changed for the pristine river.
Some 2,000 area textile factories have provided much-needed jobs, but it came with a heavy cost: about 280 tons of industrial waste are dumped into the river each day, according to government and environmental group data.
Making matters worse, many locals think nothing of tossing their household waste into its toxic waters.
"When it rains and my house gets flooded, the smell is awful," Achmad Fachrureza said from inside an inflatable dingy, as he navigated the river's styrofoam containers, fabric, empty cans, plastic bottles and garbage bags.
The 57-year-old villager said he was sacked from his job as a textile factory security guard after asking questions about the firm's waste disposal system.
Factory pipes dump waste directly into waters bubbling with chemical dyes used in textiles, creating an overwhelming stench.
"Most factories here have a waste disposal system, but they don't work properly because it's just a formality," said Deni Riswandani from local environmental group Elingan.
'IT WAS SO CLEAN'
That poses a serious health risk, especially for the five million people living in the river's basin.
Many locals suffer from skin diseases like scabies and dermatitis, as well as respiratory infections from inhaling factory pollution.
"The number of people going to the health clinic is very high," Riswandani said.
"We keep reporting these issues to the government, but we never get a solution."
He and other frustrated activists have blocked some waste pipes with rocks and concrete, but the factories usually remove the blockage right away.
Locals hope Jakarta's new goals can be achieved. But they're also sceptical given the scale of the task and endemic corruption that could see factory owners try to buy their way out of trouble.
"I long to see the Citarum like it was when I was young", Fachrureza said.
"I could swim in it and drink the water. It was so clean."
dsa-str/pb/lto
Citarum, indonesia, environment, pollution, jakarta
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by Lubomir Tassev
Bolivar ‘Anchored’ to the Petro to Be Issued in August, Maduro Says
A new Venezuelan fiat currency, ‘anchored’ to the nation’s crypto, the Petro, is expected to start circulating in the second half of August. The news was announced by president Maduro himself, along with other measures intended to improve the economic situation in the country. The ‘Sovereign Bolivar’ will have less zeros than the inflated ‘Strong Bolivar’.
Also read: Vietnamese Regulator Tells Firms and Funds to Stay Away From Crypto
Pegged to the Petro? Bolívar Soberano Said to Bring Hope to Venezuela
Bolívar Soberano (Sovereign Bolivar), the new Venezuelan currency claimed to be anchored to the national cryptocurrency, the Petro, will start circulating on August 20, president Maduro announced on state TV. The Sovereign Bolivar will have five zeros less than the current, highly inflated “Strong Bolivar”, or Bolívar Fuerte (VEF), which replaced the original Venezuelan bolívar (VEB) about a decade ago. As for the oil-backed El Petro, Nicolás Maduro promised that the state-issued crypto “will end up being consolidated technologically and financially” to “permeate all the national and international economic activity.”
“The economic reconversion will start on August 20, definitively, with the circulation and issuance of the new Sovereign Bolivar, the new monetary cone that is going to have a new method of anchoring the Petro,” said the Venezuelan head of state, as quoted by the Telesur television network. The measure, president Maduro added, will serve “to stabilize and change the monetary and financial life of the country in a radical manner.”
Maduro went on to emphasize that a “productive, diversified and sustainable economic model must definitely be born” in the South American country, which has experienced hyperinflation and struggled with deep economic woes for years. The socialist leader stressed that the reconversion and the anchoring to the Petro represent “a great hope.” No details have been revealed on the exact mechanism of the link to the Venezuelan cryptocurrency.
Building New, Post-Oil Economic Model
“I ask for your confidence, I ask for your support, beyond ideologies and political positions, because Venezuela needs this change, the mafias are over!” said the leftist Venezuelan president, who also announced other measures aimed at improving the country’s suffering economy. Among them, a new decree assigning the Ayacucho 2 Block (over 29 billion barrels of oil) to Venezuela’s central bank to bolster its reserves, and legal amendments concerning crimes related to foreign exchange. “We have the correct vision of what the economic future in Venezuela should be, above all, we will achieve it,” Maduro stated.
According to the Bolivarian leader, his nation’s economy has been hurt by two major factors. “Venezuela has been trapped during these years by two fundamental variables: the exhaustion of the oil model […] and the establishment of a mechanism of economic warfare, as part of a political strategy,” he explained. The president believes that the “oil-dependent model has come to an end and it will not return,” and Venezuela has to continue its efforts to build a new economic model. This one, Maduro stressed, should be “diversified, productive, relevant, [and] advanced.”
The Venezuelan bolivar is one of the most inflated national currencies in the world. For example, the new 100,000-bolivar note was reportedly exchanged for less than $2.50 when it was issued last November. Inflation is now expected to reach 1 million percent by the end of 2018, according to the IMF, quoted by Bloomberg. The exact price of the bolivar is hard to determine as the restricted access to foreign convertible currencies in the country has created a sizeable black market with its own rates that differ considerably from the official one.
In March, Nicolás Maduro announced he “decided to remove three zeros from the current money and replace these bills with new ones.” The denomination of the bolivar was meant to “guarantee the country’s economic stability,” as he put it. The Venezuelan president showed specimen banknotes that were supposed to enter into circulation this past June but the launch was later delayed until August 4. The release of the newly announced Sovereign Bolivar, expected on the 20th of August, is supposed to fulfil that promise.
Do you think Venezuela will be able to overcome the hyperinflation with its new fiat anchored to the Petro cryptocurrency? Share your expectations in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Michael Novogratz (Twitter).
Do you agree with us that Bitcoin is the best invention since sliced bread? Thought so. That’s why we are building this online universe revolving around anything and everything Bitcoin. We have a store. And a forum. And a casino, a pool and real-time price statistics.
Bolivar, Bolívar Soberano, crypto, Cryptocurrencies, Cryptocurrency, cryptos, Currency, denomination, Economy, Fiat, Hyperinflation, inflation, N-Economy, Nicolas Maduro, Petro, Sovereign Bolivar, Venezuela, venezuelan
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The international financial establishment is known to express concern about the risks of money laundering when the crypto space is… read more.
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The collapse of three banks on three different continents indicates a new global crisis is brewing. But it may also… read more.
Lubomir Tassev
Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Bulgaria, which sometimes finds itself at the forefront of advances it cannot easily afford. Quoting Hitchens, he says: ”Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.“ International politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.
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Home > 2014 > 11 > 04 > openSUSE 13.2: green light to freedom!
openSUSE 13.2: green light to freedom!
November 4th, 2014 by Ancor Gonzalez Sosa
Dear contributors, friends and fans: openSUSE 13.2 is out! After one year on continuous improvement in the tools and procedures and many hours of developing, packaging, testing and fixing issues a new stable release is here providing the best that Free and Open Source has to offer with our special green touch: stable, innovative and fun!
(In other languages: cs es fr it nl ru ja zh zh-tw)
This is the first release after the change in the openSUSE development mode, with a much shorter stabilization phase thanks to the extensive testing done in a daily basis in the rolling distribution used now as a base for openSUSE stable releases. The perfect balance between innovation and stability with the great level of freedom of choice that openSUSE users are used to.
openSUSE 13.2 is:
Built around the most innovative technologies Linux has to offer: Snapper to take the most from snapshots capability of the powerful Btrfs filesystem offered as default option, Wicked to bring light to network configuration, Dracut to ensure shorter boot times… For users asking for even more innovation Plasma 5.1, the next generation workspace by KDE, is also available as a technical preview.
This version presents the first step to adopt the new openSUSE design guidelines system-wide. The graphical revamp is noticeable everywhere: the installer, the bootloader, the boot sequence and all of the (seven!) supported desktops (KDE, GNOME, Xfce, LXDE, Enlightenment 19, Mate and Awesome). Even the experimental Plasma 5.1 is adapted to the overall experience.
The new openSUSE 13.2 installer comes with several changes targeted to make the installation process easier and more welcoming to new users. Those changes include a new and more straightforward installation work flow, better and smarter automatic proposals, less cluttered configuration options and a brand new layout for the user interface. In addition, several tools are included to easy the administration of any system like the Profile Management Tools for AppArmor or the YaST module for Snapper, just to name a few.
“With a vastly improved and streamlined installation process, and all the latest technologies from across the open source ecosystem, openSUSE 13.2 is a perfect choice for people who want an operating system that’s modern, stable, and gets the work done.”
said Richard Brown, Chairman of openSUSE board.
KDE welcome screen
GNOME Weather
LXDE menu
KDE 4.14, dedicated to the memory of Volker Lanz, provides a familiar look, feel and functionality with the rock-solid stability of the latest version of the long-term support Plasma Workspace (4.11.12) and the applications from latest Software Compilation (4.14.2). The KDE Telepathy stack offers features as off-the-record (OTR) encryption for instant messaging, multi-protocol support and a set of applets for the Plasma Workspace. KDE applications requiring multimedia are now based on the 1.0 version of the GStreamer multimedia framework, allowing a noticeable reduction in dependencies.
GNOME 3.14 includes greatly improved support for HiDPI screens and MultiTouch input devices, including gestures support. Network and geolocation capabilities has been also dramaticaly improved, as well as Wayland integration. All GNOME applications have received a lot of new features and improvement. In addition, this is the first release of openSUSE including GNOME Software, the ‘AppStore’ for the GNOME Desktop, nicely integrated with default openSUSE package management system. See the great overview of what’s new in GNOME 3.14 on openSUSE 13.2.
Other desktop environments
This is the first release of openSUSE including MATE (1.8.1), which provides a traditional desktop experience ideal for those users who loved GNOME under openSUSE 11.4. As in the previous release, openSUSE 13.2 also ships with XFCE (4.10), LXDE (0.55), Enlightenment 19 (0.19.0) and Awesome (3.4.15). All of them have received updates and polishing ranging from the most user-visible interface improvements to better integration with underlying subsystems like systemd and upower.
For Admins
Installation overview
YaST text interface
GNOME system tools
In addition to Linux Containers 1.0.6 and the full virtualization solutions traditionally provided by openSUSE (with QEMU 2.1 and VirtualBox 4.3.18), this release also includes Docker 1.2 which, together with the availability of openSUSE 13.2 images at Docker Hub, makes openSUSE a perfect base system to distribute applications.
Improved YaST
Several parts of YaST have been improved and cleaned up after the automatic conversion from YCP language to Ruby shipped with 13.1. Compared to that version, the new YaST is faster, more stable and better integrated with systemd, Btrfs and the other cutting edge technologies included in openSUSE 13.2. The new installation work flow allows to run the whole configuration phase and skip the final step, getting a complete reusable AutoYaST profile instead of an installed system.
Qt Creator with Qt5
KDevelop 4.7.0
Brand new Anjuta 3.14
IDEs and tooling
This release offers the latest version of the fully featured IDE KDevelop (4.7.0), the last of the versions based on the 4.x KDE development platform. In addition to C++, there are plugins available which extend its support for additional languages such as PHP or Python. In addition, most recent version of several other popular IDEs are shipped, like Anjuta 3.14 and two flavors of Qt Creator 3.2.1 (for Qt4 and Qt5).
Languages and Libraries
KDE Frameworks 5, a series of development libraries on top of Qt 5 made by KDE, is present in its latest stable release (5.3.0). The libraries co-exist with the existing 4.x variants, allowing development of KF5-based applications within a stable 4.x based workspace. In the land of dynamic languages, Ruby packaging is now even easier. Need JRuby? Want Rubinius? No problem. We can do it. Not only Ruby has been updated (2.1.3), but also Python (2.7.8 and 3.4.1), PHP (5.6.1), Perl (5.20) and many others.
“I really like the flexibility, tooling and usability of openSUSE and I’m excited to use openSUSE 13.2 myself. It is another great release from the openSUSE project including the latest upstream technologies all brought together into a great distribution.”
said Michael Miller, SUSE Vice President of global alliances and marketing.
Go, get it!
Downloads of openSUSE 13.2 can be found at software.opensuse.org/132.
We recommend checking out the Release Notes before upgrade or installation.
Users currently running openSUSE 13.1 can upgrade to openSUSE 13.2 via the instructions at this link.
Check out ARM images at the ARM wiki. Stable 13.2 based images for ARMv7 and ARMv8 (AArch64) are there and will receive full maintenance alongside 13.2. ARMv6 port is experimental and offers no guarantee.
13.2 represents the combined effort of thousands of developers who participate in our distributions and projects shipped with it. The contributors, inside and outside the openSUSE Project, should be proud of this release, and they deserve a major “thank you” for all of the hard work and care that have gone into it. We believe that 13.2 is the best openSUSE release yet, and that it will help to encourage the use of Linux everywhere! We hope that you all have a lot of fun while you’re using it, and we look forward to working with you on the next release!
About the openSUSE Project
The openSUSE Project is a worldwide community that promotes the use of Linux everywhere. It creates one of the world’s best Linux distributions, working together in an open, transparent and friendly manner as part of the worldwide Free and Open Source Software community. The project is controlled by its community and relies on the contributions of individuals, working as testers, writers, translators, usability experts, artists and ambassadors or developers. The project embraces a wide variety of technology, people with different levels of expertise, speaking different languages and having different cultural backgrounds. Learn more about it on opensuse.org
Tags:No tags available
Category: Announcements · Distribution
Posted: 2014-11-04 - 12:00
Author: Ancor Gonzalez Sosa
« Tumbleweed, Factory rolling releases to merge
openSUSE project creates buzz in Italy »
81 Responses to “openSUSE 13.2: green light to freedom!”
Sally Joshua
January 12, 2015 at 09:09 |
looking forward to using openSUSE 13.2, first came to know of open suse from the library that used it and i fell in love
jasini
i… hm fell in love with your graphics and the user interface but one problem doh i don’t no if i will be able use it. novice
I tried openSUSE for two months. I’ve been using Linux for 20 years and I’ve used many versions. I decided to try openSUSE to get away from the various problems with the Ubuntu and Red Hat families. No happy ending. I was surprised at the number of non-working apps that are important. KWallet would not work because the GPG server would not work. No VPN. Horrible support for multimedia. I was expecting a mature and professional piece of work but OpenSUSE is not it. I used KDE way back in the 90’s and found it to be unstable and error-prone, and nothing has changed. I don’t mind having a few problems. Linux is free in general(Red Hat isn’t, and it has as many problems as the others)and I don’t mind working around a few problems, but there was just too much. Back to an Ubuntu version.
To be honest, I tend to test each version before I use it, if I use it. Problems with incoming versions in the past, especially where vital parts of the system were being changed, have made me wary of taking a version of any distro on face value and openSUSE is no different in that respect. I’m not fond of version 13.1, for example, but I’ve managed to make it work for the majority of what I want it to do but it took a fair amount of work to get it there. 13.2 is no different in that respect, and I expect that other distros will be moving the same way. It’s all rather annoying.
In fact the most annoying thing is that Linux in general is gradually ceasing to be Linux, and openSUSE is doing nothing to prevent that. The introduction of the monolithic atrocity that is systemd back in version 12.1 is proof enough of that, but moving back to Ubuntu won’t keep you safe from that as they seem just as keen to use Poettering’s outpourings. As for the specific items that you are having difficulty with, I suppose that folk here could give you the advice that you need if you were to give a bit more information. Try the wiki, for example. I personally prefer to use KDE 3 which you are no doubt familiar with if you have been using KDE that long; if you prefer that, there’s a mailing list where you can also get advice on that.
Other than that, you could try Debian itself rather than Ubuntu. It’s a shame that it came to this after the great job that openSUSE did on version 11 but the onset of systemd in version 12 and, more recently, the problems with btrfs in this latest version make me wonder if this distro will survive. I just hope that the next version is absolutely fantastic but I’m not holding my breath.
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RFID Encoder/Applicator tags up to 100 cases/min.
Markem-Imaje USA Oct 20, 2005
Suited for tagging cases of consumer goods, 800 Series RFID encoder/applicator is EPCglobal Gen 2 compliant and provides flexible tag placement options to meet positioning requirements for all types of products. It features remote status and configuration reporting capability and can handle all form factors of RFID tags, including application of on-pitch inlays. Product is designed to integrate with existing software, systems, and equipment.
Markem Launches High-Speed RFID Encoder/Applicator
EPCglobal Gen 2 Compliant 800 Series Provides a Superior RFID Solution for Consumer Goods
Keene, N.H. (October 13, 2005) - MARKEM Corporation, a trusted world leader in innovative and reliable product identification solutions, has launched the 800 Series high-speed RFID (radio frequency identification) encoder/applicator for tagging cases of consumer goods.
With increased speed and throughput capabilities, the 800 Series is ideal for beverage and consumer goods industries. Unlike competitive options available today, the 800 Series delivers the combination of features necessary for RFID implementation, all without sacrificing production throughput.
The 800 Series is EPCglobal Gen 2 compliant and provides users the ability to tag up to 100 cases per minute.
Additionally, the 800 Series facilitates flexible tag placement options to meet positioning requirements for all types of products and is built to integrate with existing software, systems and equipment. It can handle all form factors of RFID tags, including the application of on-pitch inlays.
The 800 Series offers high reliability and dependability by reducing the downtime currently associated with label and tag applicators for tag reloading, waste removal and for preventive maintenance. Plus, our Uptime(TM) Total Services Program offers all the service, support and training you'll ever need to get the most uptime and performance for your specific application.
With remote status and configuration reporting capability, the adaptability to operate in harsher environments than traditional label and tag applicators, EPCglobal Gen 2 compliance and on-pitch inlay handling, the 800 Series is unique in its class and is the ideal solution to meet RFID mandates now and in the future.
For more information on the 800 Series RFID Encoder/Applicator, call (866) 263-4644 or visit www.markem.com/rfid.
MARKEM Corporation is a trusted world leader in innovative and reliable product identification solutions for the world's leading companies. Solutions include equipment, software, supplies and services, for industries including food and beverage, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and electronics. MARKEM is also on the leading edge of RFID implementation. The company operates from Headquarters in Keene, New Hampshire, and has additional development and manufacturing facilities in San Diego, California, Nottingham, England and Schoten, Belgium with subsidiary companies, distributors and representatives in over 50 countries.
Label Maker comes with self adhesive colored Lab Label Tape.
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Printer/Applicator can apply 3 x 1 to 4 x 6.5 in. labels.
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Texas State Newsroom About the Newsroom News Archive Press Release Archive 2011 Press Release Archive August 2011 News Archive De Soto receives 2012 Fulbright grant to Ukraine
By Ann Friou
University News Service
William De Soto
William De Soto, associate professor of political science at Texas State University-San Marcos, has been awarded a Fulbright grant to lecture in the 2012 spring semester at the Ivan Franko National University of L’viv in Ukraine.
De Soto will teach courses in American government and American political thought. The title of his project is "Helping Build Civil Society in Modern Ukraine."
"Ukraine is a young country that has existed as an independent state for only 20 years. The challenge that Ukraine shares with many young nations is building government institutions that work effectively and promote the long-term wellbeing of the country and its citizens," De Soto said.
"As a political scientist, I am interested in understanding what helps a government be both successful and accountable to its people," he said. "I will be teaching two courses in the spring semester. I hope to visit campuses in other parts of the country and exchange ideas about both political life and academic life. It's a privilege I am grateful for."
Founded in 1661, the Ivan Franko National University of L’viv is one of the oldest universities in eastern Europe. L’viv is located in the L’viv province in western Ukraine and is a United Nations world heritage site renowned for the appeal of its architecture.
At least one Texas State faculty member has received a Fulbright grant each year since 2002, said Steve Wilson, professor of English at Texas State, who advises Fulbright applicants on the campus.
In 2009 and 2010, Texas State was recognized as one of the top producers of Fulbright Fellows among American colleges and universities at the master’s level. Fulbright grants were awarded to two Texas State students in 2009-2010: Jessica Spangler, geography and German, who traveled to Germany, and Michael Trice, technical communication, who traveled to England. In 2010-2011, Fulbright grants were awarded to two faculty: Roseann Mandziuk, communication studies, who traveled to Poland, and Daris Hale, music, who traveled to Tanzania. The ranking is published by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, which administers the Fulbright program.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.
The program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas and is sponsored by the United States Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Approximately 310,000 "Fulbrighters," 116,900 from the United States and 192,800 from other countries, have participated in the program since its inception over 60 years ago. The Fulbright Program awards approximately 8,000 new grants annually. Currently, the Fulbright Program operates in over 155 countries worldwide.
Fulbright participants are emerging and current leaders in every field of human endeavor. Forty Fulbright alumni have received Nobel Prizes for their work.
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UNM Newsroom / News / GO Bond C to help state address shortage of health care professionals
GO Bond C to help state address shortage of health care professionals
HSC faces classroom shortage
By Cindy Foster October 22, 2014
Categories: Latest News Health Sciences Center
At a time when the state is facing a severe shortage of health care professionals, the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (HSC) has run out of classroom space. The General Obligation Bond (GO Bond) election on Nov. 4 seeks to address the crisis by asking New Mexico voters to approve bonds for the expansion of a health education facility that would allow the HSC to expand health education programs and enrollment.
Voters are asked to approve GO Bonds every two years. The approval does not increase taxes.
HSC officials estimate that they will need to increase health education programs by nearly 50 percent by 2018 to address health care workforce shortages.
An annual HSC report on the state's health care workforce presented to the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee estimated that the state currently faces workforce shortages of 3,000 registered nurses, 236 nurse practitioners and 365 physicians. The report cited a lack of classrooms as the primary constraint for increasing health care training. In fiscal year 2012, for instance, the UNM College of Nursing turned away 154 qualified applicants because of insufficient space and resources.
Voting 'yes' for Bond C would approve $12 million in bonds for the HSC to build and equip a $30 million health education building, including laboratories, classrooms and study space in the Domenici Center for Health Sciences Education. The remaining funds would come from $10 million pledged from the HSC Funding Committee and $8 million being sought from the State Legislature.
In describing the health education building project to state officials, Paul B. Roth, UNM chancellor for health sciences, noted that the State Legislature and Gov. Susana Martinez last year funded an expansion in nursing programs and medical residencies to respond to shortages in the New Mexico health care workforce.
"Completing the education building assures that the HSC can adapt to changes in the health care environment in New Mexico, meet accreditation requirements and appropriately schedule necessary classes," Roth said during a presentation last August.
All three academic components of the UNM Health Sciences Center – the College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy and School of Medicine –hold classes in the Domenici Center. Construction of the first two phases of the complex have been completed. GO Bond C, if approved, would help fund construction of the third and final phase of the project, an 85,700 square-foot facility that could open in the Spring of 2017.
It would house large classrooms to handle increased student enrollment and additional classes being offered. It would also provide large class labs for occupational therapy and physical therapy students and increase clinical simulation spaces for a variety of health sciences programs. Instructional class labs will support problem-based teaching and team-based active learning. There will also be spaces for student support and study.
Passage of Bond B, which supports state library funding, will also benefit the UNM Health Sciences Center. Last year, the HSC Library and Informatics Center received approximately $50,000 in Bond B funds. Academic libraries throughout the state can receive up to 25 percent of their funding from these bond elections.
Cindy Foster
CindyF@salud.unm.edu
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Are ‘food addicts’ stigmatized?
By Megan Orciari
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In the first studies to examine what the public thinks about people with an addiction to food, researchers at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale found that while this addiction is less vulnerable to public stigma than others, it could increase the stigma already associated with obesity. The studies are published online in the journal Basic and Applied Social Psychology.
The notion of food addiction has gained increased attention from academics, health care professionals, and mainstream media as a contributing factor to obesity. However, little research has been done on public perceptions.
First, researchers conducted an online survey of 659 adults. Participants were provided with different labels describing individuals with various health conditions and addictions, including obesity, food addiction, physical disability, mental illness, cocaine addiction, and smoking. Participants were asked questions regarding their beliefs and feelings toward an individual with each of these different conditions. In a second study, researchers conducted an experiment where 570 adults were randomly assigned to view only one addiction — either smoking, alcohol, or food addiction — to specifically compare public perceptions of individuals described as being addicted to food to those with smoking or alcohol addictions.
Findings from both studies revealed that food addiction was viewed more favorably compared to other addictions. For example, attitudes toward food addiction were more forgiving and less stigmatizing than attitudes toward addiction to alcohol and tobacco. The person with the “food addict” label was perceived to be more likeable and generated more empathy, less disgust, and less anger than those labeled with alcohol and tobacco addictions. The person with the “food addict” label was blamed less for the addiction compared to those labeled with smoking and alcohol addictions.
However, survey findings also showed that labeling an individual as a “food addict” increased stigmatizing attitudes when this label was applied to an obese individual. Participants expressed more irritation, anger, and disgust toward an obese person described as a food addict. The authors suggest that the “food addict” label could increase blame toward obese individuals if the public views food addiction as a euphemism for out-of-control overeating.
“Our findings offer preliminary insights into how food addiction is perceived among other health conditions and how it affects public attitudes toward obesity,” according to Rebecca Puhl, the Rudd Center’s director for research and weight stigma initiatives.
As discussions about food addiction continue to surface in public health and popular culture, the authors assert, more research is needed to understand how the use of a “food addict” label may influence public views and reactions.
The full study can be found online.
Megan Orciari: megan.orciari@yale.edu, 203-432-8520
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Hospital Flight from Minority Communities: How Our Existing Civil Rights Framework Fosters Racial Inequality in Healthcare
DePaul University Journal of Health Law, 2006
Loyola-LA Legal Studies Paper No. 2006-4
56 Pages Posted: 14 Feb 2006
See all articles by Brietta R. Clark
Brietta R. Clark
Loyola Law School Los Angeles
In this article, I address the failures of civil rights laws in preventing the disparate allocation of health care resources by focusing on Title VI challenges to hospital closures. I use these cases to critique our current civil rights framework and to show how certain structural and ideological foundations of this framework have undermined our fight for true equality in health care. First, despite the importance of government funding as the means to fight racial disparities, the government has consistently and consciously made funding decisions that foster racial inequality, creating a health care system that is incompatible with racial equality. Second, the government has also undermined its purported commitment to civil rights by rendering the administrative arm responsible for civil rights enforcement ineffective and by abandoning its facilities planning responsibility to ensure the fair allocation of hospital services. Finally, courts have refused to provide a meaningful check on the government failures in this area, creating doctrinal barriers that make it impossible to use Title VI to prevent hospital flight from minority communities. These failures have exacerbated racial disparities in health care, and engendered feelings of despair and anger among minority communities who feel betrayed by the political, judicial, and health care systems. These failures have also shaped our civil rights discourse in ways that discourage an honest critique of the hospital closure problem and stymie our vision for meaningful reform. In the final part of this Article, I use lessons from the hospital relocation problem to argue for a more comprehensive and creative plan of action to address the unequal allocation of hospital resources.
Clark, Brietta R., Hospital Flight from Minority Communities: How Our Existing Civil Rights Framework Fosters Racial Inequality in Healthcare. DePaul University Journal of Health Law, 2006; Loyola-LA Legal Studies Paper No. 2006-4. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=883730
Brietta R. Clark (Contact Author)
Loyola Law School Los Angeles ( email )
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Institutional Investors and Proxy Voting: The Impact of the 2003 Mutual Fund Voting Disclosure Regulation
Yale ICF Working Paper No. 07-10
Yale Law & Economics Research Paper No. 349
European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) - Law Working Paper No. 83/2007
52 Pages Posted: 25 Apr 2007 Last revised: 7 Nov 2018
See all articles by Martijn Cremers
Martijn Cremers
Roberta Romano
Yale Law School; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
Date Written: August 23, 2007
This paper examines the impact on shareholder voting of the mutual fund voting disclosure regulation adopted by the SEC in 2003, using a paired sample of proposals submitted before and after the rule change. We focus on how voting outcomes relate to institutional ownership and the voting behavior of mutual funds. While voting support for management has decreased over time, there is no evidence that mutual funds’ support for management declined after the rule change, as expected by advocates of disclosure. In fact, in the context of management-sponsored proposals on executive equity incentive compensation plans, mutual funds appear to have increased their support for management after the rule change. We also find that this result is not due to changes in compensation plan features, nor that voting outcomes were plausibly related to broker voting, which was eliminated in a parallel 2003 stock exchange rule change. Finally, there is some evidence that firms with greater mutual fund ownership adopt a higher frequency of sponsoring executive equity incentive compensation plans, which could partly explain our findings.
Keywords: Proxy Voting, Mutual Funds, Institutional Investors, Disclosure
JEL Classification: K22, G34, G28, G38
Cremers, K. J. Martijn and Romano, Roberta, Institutional Investors and Proxy Voting: The Impact of the 2003 Mutual Fund Voting Disclosure Regulation (August 23, 2007). Yale ICF Working Paper No. 07-10; Yale Law & Economics Research Paper No. 349; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) - Law Working Paper No. 83/2007. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=982493
K. J. Martijn Cremers
University of Notre Dame ( email )
Notre Dame, IN 46556-0399
Roberta Romano (Contact Author)
Yale Law School ( email )
European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
c/o ECARES ULB CP 114
HOME PAGE: http://www.ecgi.org
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No Film School
The Best Filmmaking Deals of the Week
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Rob Hardy
Major NLE Updates Coming at NAB? What Adobe and Avid Should Do to Improve Their Products
NAB is an exciting time of year for us filmmaking folk. While there are certainly some exciting things on the horizon in terms of cameras, rigs, lenses, lights, and what have you, I'm making an educated guess that this will be another significant year for NLE development, especially from post-production giants Avid and Adobe. Avid is likely to make the jump to version 7 of its flagship Media Composer, and if they follow their previously mentioned product cycle plan, Adobe will release version 6.5 of their popular Creative Suite. With much of the editing market still undecided between the three major players in post-production, these new updates could be a crucial stepping stone into the future for these companies.
First and foremost, I should mention that these are the two NLEs which I use regularly. Premiere has taken over as my go-to editing platform, and I use it for most, if not all, of my personal work and for smaller films. Avid, on the other hand, is generally my tool of choice on larger scale productions where media management tends to be a little more unruly, or if it's something I'm collaboratively editing with another person. So as someone who uses both of these on a consistent basis, I have a solid idea of what I would like to see out of the programs in future versions. So without further ado, let the speculation begin.
The folks at Avid have found themselves in a peculiar predicament as of late. They still dominate the high-end broadcast and film markets with their various software solutions -- as evidenced by their near sweep in several post-production categories at this year's Academy Awards. Despite this seeming success, however, Avid has been hurting financially for the past several years as their sales have continued to decline. This financial downward spiral seems to be boiling over for the company, seeing as how they recently postponed the release of their 2012 4th quarter earnings, something widely regarded by both the business and editing communities as a desperate move.
It seems to me that if Avid really is in desperate financial trouble, they're going to need to make a splash at NAB in order to stimulate new sales of their software solutions. For them to accomplish this, they are going to need to implement a major overhaul of the Media Composer interface and make it more accessible to younger editors, while simultaneously maintaining the level of professional precision that has made the application an industry workhorse for the past 20 years -- and they're going to have to do all of this while significantly lowering their price points.
Beyond these exterior changes to the software, Avid is going to have to heavily refine the way the software works internally. While they've subtly been doing this for the past 2 or 3 years with features such as AMA linking, OpenGL support, 3rd-party I/O options, and most importantly, 64-bit base code, Avid is still lagging well behind both Adobe and Apple in terms of performance and taking advantage of modern hardware. They need to follow in Adobe's and Apple's shoes with OpenCL support and background rendering. Beyond that, they need to bring resolution independence to both their project settings and to individual clips so that editors aren't restricted to the standard TV and film options that Avid currently offers.
However, despite the fact that a revamped version of Media Composer would likely get Avid's software division back on the track to profitability (especially if they could do the same with Pro Tools), whether or not the company has the cash or credit to cover the costs of the sure-to-be hefty research and development for such an overhaul is highly questionable. If the new version of Media Composer fails to gain traction in the broadcast and film communities, and Avid continues to lose money, it's likely that we could see some kind of company restructuring or even the sale of the company or its individual parts.
Adobe, unlike Avid, seems to be thriving these days. After having snatched up many an editing professional after the Final Cut Pro X conundrum, and with the potential downfall of Avid, Adobe is now in a position to take the lead in the professional NLE market. In order to do this, however, they're also going to have to keep innovating with their suite of video post-production tools.
First and foremost, and I don't think I'm alone in this, it's time for Adobe to develop and embrace their own proprietary codec, a la ProRes or DNxHD. While the success of codec independence is part of what makes Premiere great, the performance of certain native codecs within the program is not what it could or should be. With a proprietary codec, Adobe would be able to completely optimize the performance of the software for that codec, as opposed to having a piece of software that deals with some codecs well, and others not nearly as much. Considering that many narrative-style films already transcode their raw camera data for both dallies and offline editing, it would be fantastic for Adobe to develop something to aid in that process. Sure, Cineform has been a decent 3rd party solution to this point, but it's time for Adobe to step up their game and cater to both independent folks as well as high-end professionals.
I would also like to see better integration of the Production Premium suite with its newest member, Adobe SpeedGrade. The acquisition of SpeedGrade from Iridas last year was an excellent move for Adobe in terms of putting together a comprehensive suite of tools for the video professional. However, the implementation and insertion of SpeedGrade into the suite has been clunky, to say the least. If Adobe can manage to integrate the program with the same dynamic linking technologies that have made it a breeze to shoot back and forth between Premiere, After Effects, Audition, and Encore, then they'll finally have a complete, integrated set of high-end tools for the video professional. As it stands now, it's just as easy to take a sequence from Premiere into Resolve as it is to take it into SpeedGrade. This needs to change if they want SpeedGrade to become a more viable option for the folks already using their products.
What do you guys think? What would you like to see out of the new versions of Media Composer and Premiere Pro? What would Avid have to do with Media Composer to keep it relevant and profitable? Conversely, what do you think Adobe would have to do to catapult Premiere Pro into industry dominance? Let us know in the comments.
NLE Version 7.0 -- Edit Geek
Avid -- Has The Ship Sailed (Or Even Sunk)? -- Richard Harrington Blog
premierepro
mediacomposer
Adobe Offers 50% Off to Final Cut Pro Users for Switching to Premiere Pro
Check Out This Thorough Presentation Comparing Final Cut Pro X vs. Premiere Pro CS6
Adobe Unveils the Next Generation of Their Creative Cloud Video Tools
Speedgrade is wonderfully intuitive but about as stable as a drunk on roller skates.
I ditched it for Resolve lite, which is less intuitive but more powerful in my opinion.
Even with a high end PC, the transfer between Prem. pro and Speedgrade was abysmal.
While I stand by Adobe for Prem. Pro and After Effects, they're going to have to pull a miracle out of the bag to get me interested in Speedgrade again.
March 14, 2013 at 4:09PM, Edited September 4, 11:21AM
Share this answer:
Agree on the Speedgrade thing. It needs brought up to speed with the rest of the suite immediately. I've tried using it and like Ben said, it's just terrible to get anything from Premiere into Speedgrade, Speedgrade crashes constantly, it's just not a stellar program at the moment. There's so much that could be done to improve it and its integration into the suite.
You voted '-1'.
Rick McClelland
That's about how I feel as well. Resolve Lite really has taken over as my go-to color application, and that doesn't seem likely to change any time soon. However, if Adobe can implement dynamic linking and make it as seamless as it is with their other programs, they'll likely get quite a few more people staying exclusively within the Creative Suite.
Founder of Filmmaker Freedom
This. SpeedGrade needs Adobeization I am all-in for Adobe these days. More often than ever, I've found myself ingesting and logging in Prelude, editing in Premiere, integrating graphics through AE/Photoshop through dynamic link, mixing in Audition, etc., etc., etc. What's missing is an equally smooth connection to SpeedGrade. I really like SpeedGrade, too... but the round-tripping is clunky right now. I'm sure Adobe will Adobe-ize it, but right now it feels like Apple Color in FCS.
I haven't learned Resolve Lite because, frankly, I want to stick with Adobe. If my hotkeys, GUI cues, etc. can all be the same when I have a quick turn around of projects at work... hey, I'll take that over almost anything. It's not fanboyism or loyalty or anything like that—it's about keeping things seamless, fast and easy to move between.
Even a few years ago, going between FCP or Avid and AE slowed me down, because it was difficult to shift my mind between hotkeys.
The realities of media nowadays it's better to be as software and platform agnostic as possible. Not everything advances at the same place. And then there are the odd missteps that throw everyone for a loop.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't have your own preferences.
Speedgrade is still very new and it will become very intuitive and improve immensely. I couldn't tell you that timeline though
March 15, 2013 at 9:37AM, Edited September 4, 11:21AM
I agree. I am using Resolve for all my color needs right now, and the integration with Premiere (which when you think about it, there is none) is better than the integration with SpeedGrade. I would love to see SG brought into the DynamicLink family. Why can't I open a sequence in SG, grade and correct it, and have it linked back to Premiere so that I can dynamically color correct?
That would also solve another problem I have with color grading: it takes up a lot of space. I usually end up with 2-3 versions of each clip as it moves through the production workflow. With resolutions and file sizes continually increasing, Adobe needs to find a better way to non-destructively color correct. If they could use XMP data for color correction (similar to Lightroom) and have Premiere do the final render it would give us all greater edibility and less storage space occupied.
I'm and Adobe fan, but ultimately I will use whatever tool is best for the job. For color, right now that is DaVinci.
March 15, 2013 at 11:32AM, Edited September 4, 11:21AM
You voted '+1'.
Guys, feel free to make feature requests here: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
Kevin Monahan
Social Support Lead, DV Products
March 18, 2013 at 10:46PM, Edited September 4, 11:21AM
I would love to see them come out with a controller application of their own (Like controller+). Also one that would work with speed grade rather than spending thousands on a controller board. I completely agree with integrating some sort of dynamic link to speed grade
Zachary Murray
You can make a feature request for control surface support: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
I just want a split and unlink shortcut key in Premiere Pro... :/
Antony Alvarez
Do you mean a shortcut for linking and unlinking clips within the timeline? Because you can definitely map your keyboard to do that.
You can. "G" will unlink. Coming from Vegas, I remapped "Add Edit" from CTRL + K to "S". It will now split any tracks that are selected
Most of my projects have extensive use of VFX and I don't use AE, I end up having to render plates clip per clip from my timeline to use in my 3d and compositing packages, then I have to re import back into my timeline the vfx rendered plates, I'd love Premiere to have it done in a easier way, just like The Foundry Hiero does.
What's software are you using? ThanKs.
Bellina mikael
Maya and Nuke
Tell us how you want it to work here: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
Adobe missed the boat BIG TIME not buying out cineform. To let them be snapped up by go pro who lets face it, until now have no real use for the codec, was the biggest f-up this century. But maybe they have something else up their sleeve?
What they REALLY need to fix is the completely broken multicam workflow. Currently there is no way to flatten a multicam timeline or export it as a readable XML meaning you can't use it in speed grade, resolve or even after effects. FCP7 had this, avid has it as well but Premier Pro does not and neither does FCPX.
I'm agree with you the multicam is a bit weird if you want to use IT with after effect. It exports In after effect all the média and not only the part you sélect.
And I want something more efficient between the multi camera monitor and the timeline.
You have to click inside the multi monitor and click play because if you do In the timeline all the camera won't play. IT saves some power but lot of Time wasted to switch between the multi camera monitor and the timeline.
And is there a way to improve the performance In not using proxy media.
If you want a better intermediate codec and improved multi cam workflow, let us know the particulars here: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
Ugh, please no Avid Media Composer X.
If Avid does decide to go in that direction, they'll really have to make sure that the new product is still appealing to current Avid editors. That's absolutely key, in my opinion. I'm sure both Avid and Adobe learned exactly what not to do with their software releases from Final Cut though. I'm also fairly confident that we won't see another fiasco like that again, especially not from a company like Avid which is wholeheartedly devoted to their professional users.
"If Avid does decide to go in that direction, they’ll really have to make sure that the new product is still appealing to current Avid editors." This is especially true, since Avid is one of the few platforms with people who have been sincerely using it for decades. There are some VERY old school editors using it, and they would not like any drastic change.
What I want from Adobe:
New pro codec. YES! great idea.
After effects shortcut customization. after effects is still locked into its archaic shortcuts. its not a stand alone product anymore, its very integrated. as such, it needs to be allowed to be customized to the same keys as other software, namely premiere.
premiere media broswer that understands the sub-folder organization that modern cameras do when they record video. as it stands, media broswer chokes up on all the other files / metadata that the camera records to the card.
functioning premiere media manager? literally the premiere one does not work at all. three hours of "copying your files over" and then error. useless.
one-click online / offline, proxy editing. its great that premiere can edit native avc, but 14 layers of avc? nope. Proxy editing should not be abandoned. make a way for us to easily toggle back and forth, online / offline, to maximize performance.
I say ditch speedgrade altogether. Integrate it right into premiere. the idea of "going back and forth" between edit system and color correction is outdated. find an intelligent way to do this in premiere. so you can go back and forth between editing and CC with ease.
Integrated Speedgrade would be fantastic indeed.
hansd
I completely agree about the media browser not knowing what's going on with sub-folders and metadata. That absolutely drives me up a wall, and it would be great for Adobe to fix those issues as soon as possible.
Also, I like the idea of integrating Speedgrade into Premiere. It would very easily solve the integration issues, and it would push Premiere's already strong color tools even further. I like that idea a lot.
Just curious; What formats do you have difficulties with? I have lots of different material, and have not encountered any problems. I just want to know stuff. :-)
Jarle Leirpoll
I wholeheartedly agree on the Project Manager. That actually needs to become a piece of usable software. For one, Adobe does not copy over any dynamically linked Ae Comps upon archiving. If you don't think about that, you can easily end up with major holes in your archived projects.
And, let's not forget the Titler. If they can only make it remember it's position. Plus - ability to export to .srt or .sub format would be great, so you can actually use it as a subtitling tool.
Richard van den...
Being able to do a bit more in Premiere of what currently has to be done in AE would be v helpful, like simple compositing, masking, decent titling. These you can either do properly in AE which entails a lot of faff going back and forth (and this is sold as a virtue - "round tripping", yeah right), or do badly in PPro.
Similarly you can do all sorts of great stuff in AE, but forget about having scopes! And how about being able to play a comp contain one clip in real time? No - can't be done?
So you get two apps that are mostly brilliant with just enough crapness to each to make most jobs just that little bit annoying, so you go into it knowing it should be dead simple but that in reality it's going to be a pain in the arse sooner or later.
It's like having two cars. Both are perfect but one has no air con and the other has no heater. So for any journey over a certain duration you have to tow one behind the other and swap as the weather changes. Not the most elegant analogy, I know.
Graham Kay
That's a fantastic analogy haha!
I too like the analogy and often find myself thinking the same thing... Smoke is taking this route on the higher end and I'd love to see AE and Premiere Pro merge, especially now that everyone buys the bundles or Creative Cloud subscription so there's really not much money to be made by selling them separately...
Ryan Koo
Writer/Director
No. Merging Premiere and After Effects would be bad.
Using the car analogy, Premiere is a sports car, it's about speed and maneuverability. Get to your destination fast. After Effects is a rugged pick up, designed for heavy lifting.
If you merge the two, you get more of a mess. After Effects users can typically have multiple nested comps with dozens of layers each. Throw in effects, expressions and 3d layers, and you can really slow down even a fast machine.
I've seen how badly this can turn out in Final Cut Pro with some users who decided to do everything including effects in it.
I think it would be better for Adobe to create a unified plug in architecture, so that Premiere and After Effects uses essentially the same plug ins. It could be like how Final Cut X uses Motion for effects generation.
Merging the two will just become a more awkward beast that won't benefit anyone.
Smoke was designed with client interaction in mind, and was more hardware integrated like Flame.
Perfect analogy for Premiere & AE. I'd like to see Speedgrade and Premiere merge instead of roundtripping. That will give Premiere a huge advantage over other most other NLE's.
At the very least, instead of merging the two programs, which can be potentially very difficult to do, if Speedgrade can simply open up a pproj and write to it, that will be more than sufficient!
Ditching SpeedGrade and having it integrated into Premiere is fine for those who work alone, but not in a collaborative environment.
Adobe needs to bring core features of SpeedGrade into Premiere, so do as much as possible in Premiere. For those times you need to go into Speedgrade, any color settings already applied will carry over.
It's time Adobe created a unified plugin architecture, so effects in Premiere, SpeedGrade and AE are the same.
"Ditching SpeedGrade and having it integrated into Premiere is fine for those who work alone, but not in a collaborative environment."
Why? If the colorist could open Premiere, choose the Color Correction workspace, and just use the grading tools - then what would be so horribly bad about that?
If you want us to develop an intermediate codec or have better interoperation with existing ones, customizable keyboard shortcuts in After Effects, better native camera support, a better media manager, proxy editing, and better SpeedGrade integration, let us know: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
Sorry you had trouble with the Project Manager. In the future, please bring your problems to the forum: http://forums.adobe.com/community/premiere/premierepro_current
Better Premiere to Speedgrade workflow.
Yes, we all want that. Vote for it here: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
Great article Robert, I find myself agreeing with your thoughts; I believe that Avid is a bit more dependent on what Adobe does, than it can rely on itself. If Avid doesn't do an overhaul and stays true to its current workings, then eventually it might fade, as more Adobe users find their way into the industry. Lets face it, Avid works and plays like a 10 year old software. However, if they do decide to have a makeover, then a lot of people who love Avid will be pissed about the change (Some people have a problem with technological advancement in this industry).
So I believe that if Adobe really pushes themselves forward to show why they can be the most high-end professional tool for editing - Both in aggressive marketing and in tech, then Avid may be in deep trouble.
Daniel F
avid: total agreement. it has improved a lot, but still seems archaic in many respects.
adobe: huh? you ask for ANOTHER codec? i get what you are saying re. NLE + preferred codec working together to increase speed, but it would have to be the mother of all codecs to have me welcome yet another to the fold.
speedgrade v. resolve: yes to the drunken skater, yes resolve kills, yes improve the roundtripping, yes, yes.
j williams
Lend your voice to product improvement here: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish We read all feature requests, swear!
I can't believe you're recommending that Adobe comes up with a proprietary codec! That is exactly what we don't want them to do! I am happy that Adobe's recent formats have most been focused on being open source. If they could come up with an open source codec that beats ProRes 4444, I'd be much more excited about that.
Harry Pray IV
Cinema DNG is open source, but Adobe barely supports that. There were very enthusiastic when they introduced it a few years ago.
They do need a mastering codec, it's not about being proprietary, it's about optimizing their software and hardware advantages.
Adobe will be always patching problems if updates of ProRes and DNxHD break something.
I'd like to see Adobe announce OpenCL for AMD hardware outside of the two MBP models it supports. I have a Windows 7 workstation that I use CS6 on, right now it has an AMD graphics card so no OpenCL in my Mercury Playback Engine, If Adobe and AMD don't come up with something my new graphics card will be Nvidia.
Ashley Hakker
OpenCL performance (on Mac or PC) will not likely come close to the performance of CUDA architecture.
In the future, it's possible that ATI cards could be better.
It makes sense for Adobe not be tied to one brand.
Make your request for more supported GPUs: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
I'd be down with more supported GPUs!
I use adobe and It's good but the performance are not enough... I've got a gtx 680 and It's almost never use... You still have to do lot of render... Render In background with the graphic card would be great like fcpx? But something which doesn't slow down the Pc.
I would like to see all the effect with gpu accélération. Some effect like stabilization don't use all the core and take a while...
So I want more speeeeeedddd.
I still use color correction inside Pp because I don't like the workflow with speedgrade so yes a big improvment on this part would je great.
+100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Make all your requests known to us here: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
I know it's not a priority for everyone, but some hotkey advances with Adobe Prelude would be killer for me. I love how they built it to be keyboard driven for the sake of speed, but when transcribing, I need a handful of new hotkeys to make it even faster.
Great idea, David. We will read your feature requests here: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
Oh, and Adobe needs to not kill off support for the BMD camera codec. That camera might seriously take off in the next few years, and PP would be left behind due to just not supporting a codec. That would be a huge bummer for them.
It's supported over many of our products, and you can use it right now in SpeedGrade, After Effects, and more if RAW plug-ins are installed. It is not a great codec to edit with in Premiere Pro, however. You would need some very beefy hardware to deal with files like that in editorial, however, feel free to make your request: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
There's a growing but silent base of pros, self included, who have really gotten to like what FCP X has to offer. I'd be happy to switch to Premiere (mostly for the realtime AE functionality) if it had something resembling the dynamic timeline or the intuitive event/asset management workflow of X.
Swested
There are definitely quite a few folks out there who love the features in FCPX, and it's not a stretch to say that Adobe is watching very carefully. My guess is that some of those revolutionary features (or something very close to them) will show up in CS7. As much as I was irritated by FCPX to begin with, I really do think that it will help facilitate the pushing of our NLE's into a completely new direction. And that's a great thing, in my opinion.
Agreed. X has come a long way since that messy 10.0.0 release. And if its successful evolution pushes Adobe and Avid to finally innovate with their admittedly ancient NLE platforms, then it's beneficial all-around.
I would argue many already are. See: hover scrub, metadata, etc.
We listen to all reasonable requests. Make yours here: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
Nothing is outlandish, IMHO.
I want Creative Cloud to offer render farm solutions for Ae. Upload your project file + footage to the cloud and download a rendered version a few hours later, w/o need to hog resources on your local system. But that would require CC space to grow beyond the 20GB they currently offer. More like 1Tb-ish for video Pros.
Since so many in the industry currently depend on Quicktime and ProRes, since I'm on PC, I want to be able to write to that format (not just read it). Or, indeed, a new codec altogether. The arrival of 4K might just be their way in. On the other hand, I want PPro to continue to handle all codecs, because that's one of it's key advantages. Not having to transcode is a huge time and disc space saver.
Furthermore, I want PPro and its effects to be agnostic to dimensions of either footage or sequences. Right now, Warp Stabilizer requires the footage to match the sequence, which is cumbersome if you're creating a film aspect ratio (2.35 to 1) sequence with 1080p footage. Currently, once created, you can't change the dimensions of a given sequence.
Better SpeedGrade integration - agreed. Have not had a serious look at the programme.
Also, I want better round tripping between Audition and PPro. Create a mix in Audition and be able to toggle back and forth, just like the brilliance between Ae and PPro.
I've actually had a ton of success going back and forth between Premiere and Audition. You can right click on your piece of audio, send it to Audition, make your changes, then hit save. The audio is automatically replaced and updated in your timeline. It's never failed me once.
I would be thrilled, however, if they could incorporate some kind of batch processing for audio within Audition, because in the past I've had to send each individual clip to Audition, apply some presets (generally noise reduction, EQ, that kind of thing) and send them individually to Premiere. If I could just select all of the sound files, then select my desired presets and let it go, that would be a magnificent time saver.
You can kind of do that by recording a favorite for the settings that you want. You still have to send each clip from PP to Audition, but once there you can batch process all the clips with your favorite, then save all. Head back to Premiere and voila! your audio is golden.
Sure you can roundtrip between PPro and Au, but it's not dynamic. Every time you click the Open in Audition feature, a new clip is created. I want to have just a single link open which can be instantly updated just like between PPro and Ae.
That'd be quite awesome, but frankly I don't think we're there yet in terms of broadband capacity (at least in the US). One can hope and pray for Google fiber lines, though...
Adobe has never been great with distributed rendering. The other problem is that using a render farm only works well with image sequences.
One of the advantages of Apple creating ProRes has been the ability to use distributed rendering.
Adobe will definitely need their own mastering codec to be able to do that. I don't know how much of a priority Adobe will give it.
I like your render farm over the Creative Cloud idea. Submit it here: http;//www.adobe.com/go/wish
I would like to see Prelude use CUDA for better previewing of AVCHD and also transcode direct into a premiere pro project that acts like Log and Transfer. SpeedGrade needs external monitoring to be taken seriously as a grading tool. Prelude is a great application that I don't think people use very often or understand fully what it can do.
Erik Naso
YES. It's absurd (in my opinion) that our Black Magic monitoring devices are supported by AE, Premiere Pro, etc.... but not on SpeedGrade. They need to fix that asap.
Keep in mind that SpeedGrade came in pretty late to the game. We know that users want better monitoring support, but be sure to add your voice: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
I haven't been able to work with Prelude. I much preferred OnLocation. I found it very easy to log and organize footage, but I haven't been able to grasp Prelude yet. Any tips for finding an easy workflow?
Joel, here's some videos to help you get started: http://tv.adobe.com/product/prelude/
Hi Erik, Sorry you aren't finding everything you need in Prelude. Let us know all your requests here: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
I normally use PP and AE, but have been playing with a relatively new piece of software called Hitfilm Ultimate. While still a little on the primitive side, the thought behind it is more like Smoke. It is a NLE that also has the ability to create composite shots and integrate them into the main timeline AND play them back in real time. It looks like its going to take some time for it to mature, but the potential is there.
Uh... " a breeze to shoot back and forth between Premiere, After Effects". Well, you can go easily from P to AE, but getting back? You'll just get one solid file, certainly not the project you had before.
You know what I do? I duplicate the clip before sending it to After Effects so I always have a copy of my original clip in line in case I need to start from scratch.
I'm still learning to make the most of PP 6.0. I am loving the adjustment layers. I do my colour grading on one layer. All clips below it are affected and I can easily copy and paste.
If I were really asking for the moon, I would like to have a PluralEyes-type feature in PP.
I would also like the blade tool to have a sort of snapping effect so that I know it has really snapped, the way FCP 7 does.
I'm not sure that it needs its own codec if it's able to handle whatever comes out of all the major cameras.
Yeah the blade tool should snap ala FCP7. Super annoying. You should also be able to sort clips by name. I can't tell you how many times I've imported files and then had to delete them because they were in reverse chronological order or worse not in any sort of order. I hate that you can't have a real time monitor of multicam on a second monitor and does hitting that record button really need to be necessary ?
Mike Hendzel
Glad you love the Adjustment Layers, me too! If you want a built in "Plural Eyes" style feature and snappier snapping, let us know: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
Avid's customer support is horrible, they make Adobe's look wonderful by comparison.
moebius22
Brilliant idea, an industry standard alternative to ProRes and DNxHD will be great! Cineform, while great, isn't widely adopted. It's maddening not being able to use ProRes on both Mac & PC -it's the year 2013 and we're still having issues like this?? Yes, I know it's possible encode Prores on PC if you try hard enough, but it's not nearly as easy as it should be. It'll be even better if Adobe creates an open industry standard rather than a proprietary one. Similar to what they've done with camera raw formats and the DNG format. They certainly have the influence to encourage wide spread adoption, especially if implemented well.
To add a bit, our studio is Mac based and we archive our projects as a ProRes 4444 master. However, it will be nice to be able to have a similar format that isn't platform specific, has long term longevity, has industry wide adoption, and doesn't require a license to use!
That is a fantastic idea. The industry really is starving for a new standard, and one that's truly platform agnostic.
All great ideas, please add your voice: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
The single, most important feature editors REALLY need for Premiere, is the ability to remap the same shortcut across various keys or combinations. It's EXTREMELY irritating. They have to start thinking about ergonomics!! I usually edit and move around an editing program with a single hand on the keyboard, without ever having to reach for the mouse. Avid can do it, so can FCP (don't know about X). What's the point of being able to remap keys, if they're not flexible about it. Just plain stupid and inefficient. Also, they need to add a keyboard design when mapping the keys (in conjuction with the clunky text interface). I mean, it's all good once you've designed your new remapped keyboard, but doing so is BY NO MEANS as fast as it is with Avid or FCP.
Brandon_07
I couldn't agree with this more. It's frustrating as hell trying to map keys in Premiere, and I've had to do it a bunch of times because, for some reason, it's insanely difficult to get different versions of the program on different machines to read the .kys file that stores your keyboard settings. It's one of those things that's so easy in both Avid and Final Cut too, so it doesn't make sense that it's such a pain in Premiere.
Robert, I improved the Help document that tells you how to transport your .kys file to another computer. Check it out here: http://adobe.ly/WAfgCZ
I seem to remember there is a "Use Final Cut Pro" scheme feature in Edit>Preferences> Keyboard Shortcut>... strange.
Brendon, yes, we definitely hear the request for a customizable, mappable, keyboard with drag and drop control. Feel free to add your voice for this request here: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
Mapping the same command over different keys? I'm trying to think of an example where I have done that in the past, but nothing comes to mind. However, you can make a request for that too.
Digital noise reduction without having to use a third party plugin would be great, I think it is something very essential and always wander why it is not part of the standard package (and not requested more frequently...)
Make a request here: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
And one more thing adobe. Why do I have to add my video card to a text file to get pp to support open cl. It's annoying that the software can support a whole mess of cards and all it takes is adding 10 stinking characters to a text file to unlock a better rendering experience. C'mon Adobe.
While we'd like to, it is difficult to support every video card under the sun. That said, you can suggest more GPUs for us to test out: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
Keep in mind minimum requirements for any GPU running the Mercury Playback Engine.
Avid is crap. Too expensive and not intuitive at all.
It is too expensive but learn how to use it properly and it's the most pleasant free flowing editing experience there is. To just say it's crap is niave.
I agree, Avid is not an easy piece of software to learn, and it requires a completely different frame of mind than the other NLE's, but once you get into it, it's probably the fastest, most precise editing software out there.
I think that's the problem. Avid does some things very well like the Composer Window, but I find my self having to go through additional steps to getting done when other NLEs don't require this.
I'll put in the time because the market where I work uses it, but I see many students choosing PP over Avid. Like I said before, if Avid wants wider adoption independent users like me, they really need to step up their customer support. When something goes wrong with the software, it's really a pain to get the help you need.
That is more a statement about your abilities than the software.
You don't have to like using it, but you have to respect the fact that it's being used everywhere by a lot of people on lots of high profile projects.
I don't agree with the assertion that Adobe needs a proprietary codec... part of the reason the Premiere Pro CS6 and After Effects utilize hardware playback so well is that they use the native video element from the two Operating Systems. (MS-DV playback on Windows) and (Quicktime MOV on Mac)... I have my own custom intermediary editing settings that use the native support for P2 playback for HD footage... which makes DSLR footage fast when you have the recommended nvidia hardware. Building an Editing system around a proprietary codecs would make P.Pro less versatile... besides why waste money on a proprietary codec when they could us On2 VP8 from Google for Free?
How does that P2 custom setting work - sounds like something I should try?
What about some proper support for raw DNG files? We're already seeing the beginning of a new era of raw availability with the BMCC, D16 and the Kinefinity offerings yet the process of getting DNGs into Premiere (despite being their own codec) or just about any NLE is far more time-consuming and processor-intensive than it should be. Surely this can't be a difficult fix?
Adobe created Cinema DNG, but seemed to have lost interest lately. They made it open source, but haven't has as much enthusiasm like when they first introduced it.
Guys, here's the state of Cinema DNG. http://blogs.adobe.com/aftereffects/2012/09/cinemadng-in-after-effects-c...
Cinema DNG is not a codec you'd want to edit with in Premiere Pro, IMHO, however, make a request if you like: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
1. Proxy editing a la After Effects - In AE we can go in and select low-res files (even stills) for each clip. But there's no way to do anything like that in Premiere. Well, ok, you can trick Adobe with multiple folders and renaming folder-names. But it's not exactly intuitive.
2. A real noise-reduction tool without any need for third party solutions. One of the biggest reasons for me to not get into speedgrade is that I usually need to denoise footage. I do this with Neat in AE, and while there I see very little reason to not slap on Colorista II while I'm at it. And speedgrade just feels superflous. I would absolutely LOVE it if prelude could use Neat or the like so I can actually use it to batch-process the files like I want to.
3. EDL-viewer in AE. Just to watch the comp in it's context without having to switch and dynamic link.
4. File effects - With this I mean effects that I can apply on files without having them tied to a single sequence.
jmalmsten
1. Proxy - I think this will only increase in need as RAW files become more common for editors. I certainly second this idea.
2. This is an interesting idea I haven't considered. I suppose with all the DSLR/large sensor cameras out there, and people's increased desire to shoot in low-light, this is something that would be good. I like this idea. It would be great if Adobe just bought out an already-functioning option (like Neat) instead of building there own, kind of like they did with Automatic Duck for CS6. I would also love if Prelude did something like this as a batch process... and while we're dreaming, it would be cool if they also snatched up FilmConvert and gave you the option to apply that in Prelude.
You can make a feature request for these items: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
I'd like to see the addition of handles to dynamic linked videos being sent to AE. Having to pull the shot out of the timeline to add handles to facilitate a cross fade is very irritating.
Also, and this just might be me, but have the cursor not try to be so freaking helpful all the time. Leads to having to zoom in multiple times just to select an effect is very time consuming. They're trying to get it to do too much simultaneously and it often leads to it doing none of it well.
Regarding workflow with Dynamic Link: Fair enough. You do need to add handles but only if you are creating a transition in and/or out of the dynamic link comp. The same is true for nested sequences. I'm sorry you're annoyed by the tools, at the proper zoom level, they behave better. Please make your feature requests, though: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
This article hits Avid pretty hard and shouldn't. Avid has stood by its users since the start. I don't think they need to mess around with the interface. A lot of complaints people have with Premiere are not even issues in Avid. And Avid won't go away. With FCP gone, there are more licenses for Avid than before. Why? It'll run on PCS and Macs, a boon for schools and small production houses.
As an 10-year Avid user and former user of Premiere and FCP, I prefer the way Avid is now. I think that Avid is the best at rendering on the fly than the other 2 products, especially Adobe. Adobe is trying to push a realtime, on-the-flying paradigm which is the wrong way to go, burdening the systems.
Codecs in cameras are going to keep changing; it only makes sense to transcode into the editing system's codec; to rely on AMA is a recipe for disaster as well as problems throughout the edit. What happens when RAW truly hits? Expecting a perfect RAW workflow from camera-to-timeline-to-output will take some time until computer catch up. History is repeating itself: the Red Rocket is the current Adrenaline box.
Expecting that type of workflow now with all these codecs is ludicrous. How hard it is really to transcode into the Avid codec and edit? Premiere is a joke because it doesn't do this. But it does plug into After Effects really well.
Until the BMCC and DBolex appear, challenging the workflow of every editing system, we'll never really know what the future holds. The next version of the Mac Pro will be a bigger indication of performance we can expect moving forward.
Sathya Vijayendran
Believe me, I actually really love how Avid is set up, and I love how it works, but the fact that they're in some serious financial trouble in regards to their software department is undeniable at this point. I only threw an opinion out there to see what other people thought on the matter.
Thanks for the article and your response. Hopefully Avid makes a splash at NAB and implements your ideas.
Robert, Avid makes most of their revenue from hardware, not software. I doubt much of anything in Media Composer will change that. I've even read some analysts say the MC price drops are not only pointless, but hurting their revenue further. They need to drive Isis sales for example and, apparently, it's not.
As a side note, I believe Adobe may have said they're dropping .5 upgrades. I don't doubt another big upgrade but I think it'll be v7.
I suspect FCPX will have a major update around NAB.
Don't underestimate EditShare who will be previewing Lightworks for Mac. My hunch is that their long term goal is to position Lightworks and EditShare as a competitor to Avid's MC/Isis. I imagine having a free NLE that at one time held some measure of "Hollywood" support, getting it into more hands than MC, is part of their marketing and market share objective.
Craig Seeman
If some advancements were made to integrate AE and Premeire in a greater way - that would get me excited.
That said, in looking forward as a one-man-band for much of my work - I'm very hooked into Adobe. Even if Avid came out with a glorious update to their interface (upon which I have edited hundreds of TV programs) - I wouldn't make the jump. I'm not a fan of the Avid workflow. Adobe makes more sense to my brain. Yes Avid works well for many, but I always found it a chore rather than a pleasure to use. But, since I was offline editing for a Symphony suite, I had no ther option.
With the introduction of the Creative Cloud, I would be hard pressed to jump ship to another application, when for my 50 bucks or so a month, I can always have Adobe's latest. Creative Cloud is genius - it stops many pirates and gets people hooked into the upgrades, guarantees Adobe a steady income, is less expensive for the production companies etc. -Adobe may not be in the top level editing houses, but they have continued to innovate, improve and are now building a larger user base with steady cash flow coming in - I suspect they'll continue jumping ahead. We do, however need Avid and FCP to stick around as competition spurs innovation.
Lane, I'd be curious to hear how you would like to improve dynamic link between Premiere Pro and After Effects. Leave your feedback here: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
Is anyone else intensely annoyed by the lack of pitch correction when fastforwarding (with JKL) in Premiere? I spend a lot of time listening to interviews at double-speed in FCP 7, and now that I've just switched to Premiere for a project, the chipmunk voices are really getting to me... Is there a plugin to deal with this? (And I do know about Shift-L to get smaller increments of speed increase, but that still isn't satisfying to me.) I love Premiere in many ways, but this is something I'm not sure I'll ever get used to.
In premiere pro on Mac you have the keyboard shortcut preset like in FCP7 or MC6.5
It doesn't bother me, but it drives my wife crazy when she edits. She definitely wants pitch correction as an option in CS7.
Hi Ben, regarding pitch, it's exactly how Media Composer treats it. However, if you want FCP style pitch as you JKL, you can make a feature request: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish That said, I use the Shift key and tap J or L 4 or 5 times to hear FCP style pitch. You can also slow down the speed by pressing Shift J 3-6 times when going forward or Shift L 3-6 times when moving backwards. Kind of like a variable shuttle.
I hate pitch correction in FFWD through interviews. I want to hear every word, not skip a bunch of them so that the blips I hear sounds lower in tone.
Asside from Speedgrade, Premiere would kill to do background rendering, and Render farm support. Speedgrade also needs to support more I/O Cards
Please make your feature requests: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
Adobe has been promising Speedgrade Mac support for output to a calibrated monitors since NAB 2012.
It never happened despite acknowledging that such was recognized as a very important need.
Judging grading on a calibrated monitor is a BASIC requirement of grading. But here we are a year later and no solution despite the promises.
Moved on to Resolve. Too slow a response from Adobe.
Love the rest of the Suite though - CS6 is fabulous. Said goodbye to FCP7 long ago.
i love adobe since i got my first PC, in my opinion if Adobe upgrade their software would be nice if an online editing software (may be like wirecast - w/wo streaming capable) for online editing use(directly to Adobe premiere timeline just like Media 100). this is really helpful for some users....i thinks its better if the company got billion users event they are small fish...compare to the only one whale
hannreuhieck
Along those lines, check out this video: http://tv.adobe.com/watch/adobe-anywhere/introducing-adobe-anywhere-for-...
Being a small freelancer that has bought into the creative cloud, I can say that adobe will be getting my dollars for a long time to come. What I would really like to see are a few more after effects features come into premiere such as 3d camera tracking or make the dynamic link a little easier to use. I feel that with the dynamic link, you could really have a complete hybrid program that allows you to simply switch workspaces to add effects to a premiere timeline.
The number one thing I feel is lacking is an effective colour correction solution. The three way colour corrector is improved, but the secondaries still suck. I find that I am usually building several layers with masks, or eventually going to AE to do simple colour work. An interface such as colorista would put me in absolute colour heaven with Adobe.
Alex Campbell
Alex, please make your requests, we read them all: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
I can't find the website now, but I remember looking up how much of Avid's profits come from Media Composer/Symphony. It's about a third. Yes these are important products, but it's not their only source of revenue. ProTools is still killing it and every news division I know has an Interplay/ISIS. Avid doesn't have the money/engineers that Adobe and Apple do. Major rewrites take loads of time and money. But because they are now at 64bit you will see a lot of small changes that make a big difference. I would expect them to continue to "steal code" from Protools (ala SmartTool) and continue to give us audio improvements. They know they are the only solution for multiuser and 3D, so they may double down on that. They know Symphony's color corrector needs an update, but with limited resources you might see more integration with Baselight.
Sam Zimman
One of the reasons and there are many, that Ileft AVID and moved to PP CS6 is the Ken Burns effect in avid took so many clicks. Premiere Pro is super simple to move a picture or even multiple video clips with just a couple of clicks.
I do wish that premiere pro would indicate end of clip in the record monitor for those of us that prefer editing with keyboard short cuts as apposed to dragging and dropping.
Final Cut and Avid both let you know when you are at the end of a clip or at the beginning of a new one.
Sean Nipper
I gotta say, major props to Adobe for being involved with forums, including the comments here. I've been impressed with how active staff are on CreativeCow, and of course on the Adobe forums... but commenting here and replying to a lot of these gripes/requests definitely won them some points from me.
How great is it that a representative from Adobe is taking the time to address our concerns here? While I don't expect all of our issues to be solved overnight, and I realize they probably have a huge list of things to fix/improve, it's cool to see that at least one of these companies is paying attention.
Derik Savage
Agreed, Derik! Thanks for stopping by, Kevin.
No problem, guys. Glad to be here. I am taking notes on all your requests too, BTW.
Since jumping ship from FCP7 the one thing I miss is the simple ability to arrange the imported clips from my DSLR in chronological order. I know there is a work around the convenienceof the 'Arrange' option would be great.
I'm not an editor, but I run a small production devision for start up company, and according to my editing team, the only thing that stops us from switching to Premeire is that it currently doesn't have the ability to open more than one project at a time. This still a restriction for the platform?
You can't have more than one project open, but you can import one project (or just selected sequences from it) into another. That should take care of most needs for working on several projects at once? I do it often.
I would definitely NOT like to see Adobe develop a proprietary codec. I remember the difficulty I had trying to work on footage with my Windows system that had been touched by a Mac (stupid Apple Intermediate Codec!). The last thing we need is footage locked in to an application and unusable without it.
Damian T. Lloyd
I would REALLY love it if Adobe could fix whatever it is in Premiere Pro that produces "End of File" errors in clips once they get to Encore. Premiere Pro is great, I love it and am certainly going to keep working with it but these End of File errors are killing me. For the love of all that is holey could Adobe PLEASE fix them. They occur in Encore for no adequately explained reason due to something that is put into the clips that are exported from Premiere Pro. Encore does not identify which clip, let alone where in the clip, the error occurs so that you can go back to Premier Pro and fix it. I literally spend days just trying to find which clip is producing the error in Encore, days that I could have spent editing, so I can fix the problem and get the end product out to customers. In every forum dealing with Adobe software there are people trying to find solutions to the problem that apparently has been around since CS2. There are two problems going on I suspect, which is what makes it difficult, the fact that Encore is so sensitive that it has this problem with clips out of Premier Pro even though EVERYTHING else can play them, and the fact that something in Premiere Pro is so incompatible with how Encore needs things to be that these errors appear in the files in the first place.
Haydn Allbutt
I agree it should work, but why do you export files in the first place? Have you tried File > Adobe Dynamic Link > Send to Encore?
Hopefully this responds correctly, pressing reply just took me to the "Leave a comment" window. To answer your question Jarle, I work with exported files from Premiere Pro rather than dynamically linking because for several reasons:
1) There is two of us working on the editing at once, one of us works on the videos in Premiere Pro, exports them and the other then authors the DVDs with those clips while the first is editing the next DVD worth of clips; we are parallel processing in other words
2) We have also specialised in the software, I am our Encore specialist and my wife is our Premier Pro specialist - so we tend to divide our labour that way rather than both working on separate discs at once
3) One of our computers is a lot more powerful (and therefore faster) than the other, so we aim to do the rendering step on that computer
If Avid can revisit a the The dv Express pro option with Media composer offering a functional entry level 1080 HD editing @ $1200.00 mark. With the option to upgrade features as you need them like a modular Lego made to order. That way people can get in with Avid when they are just starting out and upgrade as they need too or can afford along the way.
I have been editing with PP since the CS4 version and am now using CS6. At this point I would not consider using anything else as I have my workflow nailed down and it functions nearly seamlessly especially between PS, AE and Encore despite the occasional hiccup. Now to Speedgrade, what a great tool for color grading, at least I was amazed, however taking the results of it and getting it back into PP is so painful that I can not really integrate it into my present workflow without adding a lot of additional time and HDD space, which is most unfortunate really. It would be a great boon if the program was able to work within PP like a plug-in without all the hassles. To me it was released too early and not integrated very well like AE, or especially PS. I guess I should be writing this to Adobe, whose tutorials make it seem so easy but it has not been so in my experience. Maybe I should consider something from Red Giant...
Yazis
Pr needs to up the game when it comes to I/O. I have a Black Magic Studio Pro and have endless preview quality problems. This was reported when CS6 came out and nothing has been done (and adobe admitted that they knew about the issue). I also agree that speedgrade needs to be more user friendly, It takes for ever to work on a big project..
WOW NOBODY MENTION HOW YOU CAN'T EDIT CinemaDNG FILES On adobe or avid .. That a must
I second that. That needs to change pronto! There's no good excuse for Premiere not to support DNG sequences. I would also like to be able to move in and out of camera RAW with image sequences on the timeline. Just like you can do with Red footage. In my opinion there's no better CC software and I'd like to be able to use it in a flexible manner. Also in AE.
Interesting article. As someone who has recently moved to AVID, it seems to be in a bit of a mess. There seems to be various ways to do simple tasks which obviously was implemented one way and overhauled but the old infrastructure not removed. This makes things very confusing for someone new coming into use a bit of software where there is no obvious right way to manage assets and export video. PP however really seem to have nailed it as late.
Sorry point being, I see AVID slim lining in the near future.
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55th Street between 8th Ave. & Broadway (exact location given at time of purchase)
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Your adventure begins north of Times Square at McGee’s Pub, the inspiration for MacLaren’s on How I Met Your Mother. Weaving down the crowded avenues you’ll see the original “Soup Man,” from Seinfeld (still possibly the best soup in NYC), and north up 8th Avenue.
Christopher Columbus stands center in Columbus Circle as the point all distances from New York are measured, and is easily recognized in Ghostbuster’s, When in Rome, Crocodile Dundee, and many more films. Surrounding the circle is Trump Tower, the Time Warner Center, and the Maine Memorial, spotted in Tower Heist, The Other Guys, and Enchanted.
Cruising up Broadway away from the fan fare of Columbus Circle the next landmark you can’t miss will be the famed Lincoln Center. The fountain positioned center among Lincoln Plaza has been featured countless times since the Centers completion in the 1960s. Unmistakable in Moonstruck, Sweet Home Alabama, Glee, and most recently Pitch Perfect, the center has featured hundreds of performances and events, both real and scripted.
Jerry Seinfeld and his gang called the Upper West Side home, showcasing many neighborhood hotspots over the years. From now closed H&H Bagels to Gray’s Papaya, where you can still grab a NYC hot dog for cheap, these guys knew how to hang. Their favorite spot to hangout – and our second stop – is “Monks,” a.k.a. Tom’s Restaurant featured in almost every episode of Seinfeld.
Another true fan of the Upper West Side neighborhood was famous writer Nora Ephron, who found these quiet streets a perfect setting for her romantic comedies. We’ll visit UWS staples like Zabar’s, Café Luxembourg, and stop for coffee at Café Lalo. Featured in You’ve Got Mail and When Harry Met Sally you’ll feel right at home among these locations.
Turning east you’ll head along 110th Street, the northern edge of Central Park, into the Upper East Side. Featured in hundreds of productions for its beautiful mansions, world-renowned museums, and of course Madison Avenue shopping.
Museum Mile is home to ten museums, and featured in far too many movies and TV shows to mention at once. You’ll recognize the City of the Museum of New York as Constance Billard School in Gossip Girl. Down the road is the Guggenheim Museum where Isaac and Mary meet in Woody Allen’s Manhattan. Most famous of all is the The Metropolitan Museum of Art and more importantly, “The Met Steps.” Our third and final stop, thousands of people a day sit on these steps, just like Blair on Gossip Girl and Albert (Kevin James) in Hitch. Inside is the Egyptian Room where Harry and Sally realize their love for one another in When Harry Met Sally.
Among these cultural institutions are the mansions, townhomes and penthouses of Upper East Side residents. Many are indistinguishable from museums, and would take an art theft to afford. The Valmont Mansion is the home of Sebastian and Katherine Valmont (Ryan Philippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar) in Cruel Intentions, and around the corner was the Sheffield’s mansion on The Nanny. To complete your UES experience the tour passes Barney’s NY, where Elaine from Seinfeld, and Jack from Will & Grace both worked as employees. (Actual employees are far more attentive).
Crossing over 59th Street you’ll be officially leaving Uptown Manhattan and in front of the most filmed building in the world, the Plaza Hotel. Featured in films like The Way We Were, Almost Famous, American Hustle, and Home Alone 2 the building is a never ending classic. Out front is the Pulitzer fountain, inspiration for the fountain the cast of Friends dance in during the opening credits.
Heading into midtown traffic you’ll pass another Trump Tower, a fitting setting as Wayne Enterprises in The Dark Knight Rises and Jordan Beflort’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) penthouse in Wolf of Wall Street.
Down the block and one of our last locations is the St. Regis Hotel, famous for where Agent Gracie (Sandra Bullock) learns to turn walking into “gliding.”
Don’t miss out on your chance to see these and many other locations featured on the When Harry Met Seinfeld Tour: a look at TV & Movie locations above Times Square.
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Bill Schmitt wants to contribute to a renewal at the intersection of three of our society’s most crucial questions: How can we reduce the polarization in our culture in order to solve urgent policy problems? How can we reinvigorate inclusive, civil and well-informed conversations in the public arena about the things people care about most? Are there changes in journalism–and in the generation and consumption of news–that could help achieve the first two goals, building on faith-based values and professional standards?
This is a collection of apolitical commentaries written by Bill Schmitt in his OnWord.net front-page blog and other media channels over time as he carves out a thought-leadership role in answering the three questions above. Many of these pieces are directly related to his book, When Headlines Hurt: Do We Have a Prayer? — The Pope’s Words of Hope for Journalism, published in 2018. Bill has discussed the book and his updated insights in a number of radio/podcast interviews; he invites media inquiries and public presentations. *
Values to Shore Up Media and Society: Plans for a Summer Vocation
by Bill Schmitt
By this point, Catholics listening to Pope Francis’ ongoing messages to the world can feel comfortable that renewing social communication–in all its forms (especially in the digital realm), in the Church and in the secular sphere, among faith-based people and “nones” alike–is one of his priorities. He spoke about it again in his Pentecost homily this past Sunday, connecting to the Holy Spirit’s work of peace-building some key themes he has raised in “Christus Vivit,” his 2019 exhortation to young people, as well as in his 2018 and 2019 messags for World Communications Day.
I believe he’s saying we need to help bring Christian values back into our understanding of what constitutes fruitful journalistic communication. So many people are playing the journalist, not only consuming news but generating news through their social media, sometimes without a sense of accountability for toxic thoughts they’re soaking in and emotions they’re promulgating. Pope Francis offers pastoral advice regarding the lively cyberspace exchanges of information, our dual roles as news consumers and news generators, the spirit of purpose and pleasure we must bring to community conversations, and the respect for complex human dignity and the sense of receptivity we should bring to encounters in the public square. Defaming others without accountability, short attention spans that jump to conclusions, oversimplified labels dismissing people, and the manipulation of truth are reducing our mutual trust and our hope that democracy can exercise its ability to solve problems for the common good.
In his Pentecost homily, Pope Francis cautioned that, “in the age of the computer,” we feel more distanced and isolated from each other, and “the more we use the social media, the less social we are becoming.” We are at risk of spreading “a culture of lies.” You can see his full homily here.
He also spoke in recent weeks about the dangers (as well as the benefits) of our digitzed culture as a home where so many young people reside. In “Christus Vivit,” his exhortation drew from the Synod on Youth that took place in Rome in 2019. He sounded cautionary notes that should make parents carefully consider how to keep our kids learning and growing (as participants in civil society and Church life) during the “summer break.”
Catholics of all ages need to understand their faith and their values better in a world where popular culture no longer affirms these things. As politics join the summer weather in heating up, policy issues may accentuate bitter local debates that many previously ignored, and local expressions of free speech and exercise of religious values may confront reduced tolerance. Summer is a great time to journey in explorations of truth among different people who can be met in charity and peaceful, relaxed solidarity.
We parents are tempted to become lax about the school year disciplines encouraging young people to learn and foster community life in the context of Christian values We invite kids to have vacation fun while forgetting that the digital culture is one where they might be sidetracked into artificial realities and self-created identities. A value-started life may be captured by the entertainment offered by corporate interests, or by the extremist energies of activists who place enragement over engagement, income over instruction, sensation over common sense.
The Holy Father said this in his exhortation:
“Today’s media culture creates a deep sense of orphanood. We need to build fraternial environments” in our parishes, as well as in our communities and families, where young people can rise above isolation and experience a sense of belonging and shared purpose.” Rather than being distracted by video games, they deserve to be in places of multigenerational dialogue, memory, aspirations and action attuned to the the things that matter most in life.” (Christus Vivit, paragraph 216)
These messages align with Pope Francis’ 2018 and 2019 messages for World Communications Day (an annual pause for reflection, initiated by the Second Vatican Council and its document Inter Mirifica), In the 2019 message, he cautioned that the “community” model practiced in social media is too often one of excluding people and ideas with which you differ. The Church idea of community, he said, is based on communion–something higher that brings us together in humility with similar beliefs and motivations. The Eucharist and other sacraments make us more aware of our shared identity as a Body of Christ that is one although we comprise many parts, all of which have uniquely beautiful, God-given gifts to be shared.
The pope’s 2018 message called for a “journalism of peace” that proactively asks deeper questions in order to help us find areas of common ground, plus “education for truth” that springs from journalists valuing the truth and inspiring others to seek conformity with reality. A relativism that allows us to define our own truths on the basis of emotion and individually-defined primacy can otherwise combine with an urgent moralism–a sense of right and wrong that should be maintained–but one that unilaterally judges who is wrong–who is an evil force by dint of strongly held beliefs and therefore not someone we can learn from or engage with because they recognize a higher power.
A growing body of work by the Pope is telling us we have a kind of additional curriculum for teaching and practicing an evangelization that heals the culture and brings us together at the societal and individual level. It’s got to be based on a personal, receptive relationship with the Lord–through the Holy Spirit’s everyday influence on our lives, as stated in the new Pentecost homily. That gives us the love and forgiveness by which we can communicate with others as merciful fellow sinners, fellow seekers of truth who can find great joy and encouragement in local avenues of discovery. We’re not denying the truth, the way and the life, but we’re following Him rather than sitting on the beach in judgment of others or marching off in war against them.
Pentecost has helped to bring us to a summer break where we can some the time to be more reflective and receptive about the best ways to work together. The Paraclete will help us to speak in ways that others understand. Our faith in Christ and our communion through the sacraments and the “Amen” we say together at every liturgy will help to focus on things we can do, especially as a mix of old and young, rich and poor, robust Catholic and open-minded “none,” so long as we stay in motion–not leaving a vacuum of laziness or elitism-in-a-bubble. Into such vacuums can be injected popular culture’s tendencies toward narcissim, isolation and escape from painful realities.
Pope Franics reminded us in the 2018 World Communications Day message, about which I wrote a book of reflections and research, that we must be instruments of peace and stewards of the news, including the “Good News” and the bad news, sharing a sense of sacrifice, wonder and duty that brings us together, rather than driving us apart. Note that the pontiff’s 2018 message ends with a version of the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis in which fully engaged communicators (“love always commuicates,” the pope has said) have to put our lives where our words are.
I’m committed to encouraging fellow Catholics about the power of inclusive conversation, embracing both faith and reason, that our use of digital media can produce great fruits if we understand that it entails both rights and responsibilities, faith and reason, minds and hearts, smiles and tears, the use of remarkable communication tools and an impulse toward flesh-and-blood community where “many parts” all enjoy freedom and authenticity in recognition of the really real.
As Francis said on Pentecost Sunday, ” the Spirit is far from being an abstract reality; he is the Person who is the most concrete and close.” He is the one who changes our lives by immersing us in the love and grace of God if we allow him to–in between the latest video games and summertime distractions. Self-satisfied temptations to lounge around, ignorant while others are defamed, excluded, and orphaned, make our summer vocations unsustainable. We must accompany all persons of infinite worth, whom the pontiff describes as “the heart of the news.” These are the stories that should be trending.
(Summer may be a good time to plan parish-based, group-based or school-based programs for discussion of alternative approaches to changing times and the risk of greater polarization. A sense of purpose and opportunities to make a difference, knowing truth and emrbacing charity, may be exactly what young people–and people of all ages–are looking for. Conversations for neighbors of all faiths, from all backgrounds, based on values-informed principles rather than conflict-oriented politics, may be just the thing to focus and energize people of good will to consider a new evangelization that addresses everybody’s growing concerns about news and social polarization, as discussed in my book, Headlines That Hurt, and my blogs at http://OnWord.net. Please consider inviting Bill Schmitt to speak to your group and to facilitate conversations built around the strong series of insights in place and in progress from Pope Francis, Saint Francis and the time-tested wisdom of the Church–contact him at bschmitt@alumni.princeton.edu.)
In a culture where relativism, moralism, divisiveness and desperation about urgent global challenges are all taking a toll, and many of us turn to social media for repair or respite, we all need to talk more about the real cures. We have a healthy instinct that a renewed sense of community is part of the answer. But Pope Francis has been pointing out, in messages which seem like a best-kept secret, that the Catholic imagination can help us move closer to solutions (and inner peace) if we add a deeper reality to the “news” we’re posting.
That’s the point of my little book, When Headlines Hurt: Do We Have a Prayer … The Pope’s Words of Hope for Journalism. I wrote it last year because I felt moved to help bring the “good news” found in faith and reason–and in the Pope’s insights from the internationally beloved Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi–to discussion groups everywhere. I have just been notified that my Kindle edition was awarded a Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval. This more affordable updated version, containing valuable links to research and resources, carries the assurance of Catholic beliefs and values but is especially suited to groups representing diverse backgrounds and religious experiences–people seeking common ground with concern for the common good.
Pope Francis offered several wise suggestions for healing our polarized culture when he issued his 2018 message for World Communications Day. He focused largely on journalism and its purposeful search for truth, and he addressed everyone because, these days, you might say millions of us are in the journalism business. We consume news and create news, we’re “gatekeepers” and publishers of things we call truth. Often, our “professional” handling of this serious vocation slides toward distorting and oversimplifying facts, even weaponizing details or at least distracting ourselves from the need to put people’s needs, human dignity and shared values at the heart of today’s torrents of information. (See my collection of blog posts here.)
Now, Pope Francis has released his 2019 World Communications Day message, “We Are Members One of Another: From Social Network Communities to the Human Community.” He uses Bible passages and images of communion in Christ to take us beyond the noblest-sounding visions of social media, which may have started out idealistic but too often have proven materialistic and narcissistic. He urges us to ponder the need to recapture the humility that must accompany truth-seeking and the compassionate curiosity that must accompany trust-building.
Today is an ideal time to be discussing this because the Catholic liturgical calendar marks this as the Solemnity of the Annunciation, an event where God was the presenter of glad tidings about a savior, the angel Gabriel was the messenger acting to bring the news to and through a human person, and a faithful, strong woman named Mary was ready to listen, pursue a dialogue to clarify this great mystery and say a simple “yes” that had world-shaking ramifications. I thank Matt Swaim, who co-anchors “The Son-Rise Morning Show” on national Catholic radio, for suggesting this date to remind us all of the Pope’s reflections and our potential as communicators.
If you would like to do more pondering about news, truth and community, just as the Bible says Mary did, please consider reading my past and future blog posts, plus other resources I’m compiling and the book I wrote. More importantly, read the World Communications Day messages of Pope Francis and of the pontiffs who preceded him. Consider how the Church’s thoughts might change our thoughts about the fruitful sharing of information in our social media communities and our flesh-and-blood communities–in parishes, towns, groups of shared interests and groups of unique people whose differences mean we need to hear them and love them. Please engage me (bschmitt@alumni.princeton.edu) as a local discussion-leader if I can contribute my passion and experience. Wherever we are, whoever we are, whatever our communities may be, here’s to a happy, healing Annunciation.
Pope Calls for Real Community in “Christus Vivit”
A look at lesser-known sections of the Apostolic Exhortation released recently by Pope Francis. This is the conclusion of a two-part report by Bill Schmitt, posted on the McGrath Institute for Church Life blog, published at the University of Notre Dame, on April 12, 2019.
A blog post yesterday looked at media-related insights in Pope Francis’ recently issued Christus Vivit, his Apostolic Exhortation on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment.
You’ll find below a second batch of quotations from the March 25, 2019, document. They acknowledge but transcend digital-world challenges, focusing on robust community life in general. The pope wrote largely about young people called to be missionary disciples—evangelizing even as they navigate the distorted culture of social media. They can’t heal a polarized society alone.
As Francis wrote in his 2019 World Communications Day message, “God is not solitude, but communion.” The communion we experience in the Eucharist, in liturgy and in our parish activities, surrounded by people of different ages, backgrounds and gifts, but still affirming our unified mission with one “Amen,” remains our best model and motivation for communication that builds community, online or offline.
On the importance of grandparents and elders
“What do I ask of the elders among whom I count myself? I call us to be memory keepers. We grandfathers and grandmothers need to form a choir. I envision elders as a permanent choir of a great spiritual sanctuary, where prayers of supplication and songs of praise support the larger community that works and struggles in the field of life” (CV, 196).
This cross-generational invitation counters our digital culture’s obsession with spontaneous, emotive, knee-jerk reactions that leave little room for historical, contextual understanding. “We have to realize that the wisdom needed for life bursts the confines of our present-day media resources,” Pope Francis says (CV, 195).
On the centrality of witnesses
“Young people need to be approached with the grammar of love, not by being preached at. The language that young people understand is spoken by those who radiate life, by those who are there for them and with them” (CV, 211).
With this blueprint for evangelization, Pope Francis joins his two immediate predecessors in reaffirming the words of Pope Paul VI: “Contemporary man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, or if he listens to teachers, he does so because they are witnesses.” Information and formation go together, incarnated in flesh-and-blood experiences of truth and accompaniment over time.
On providing purpose and vision
“The experience of discontinuity, uprootedness and the collapse of fundamental certainties, fostered by today’s media culture, creates a deep sense of orphanhood to which we must respond by creating an attractive and fraternal environment where others can live with a sense of purpose” (CV, 216).
Many young people feel they have inherited “dreams betrayed by injustice, social violence, selfishness and lack of concern for others,” Pope Francis comments.
On community as family
“We need to make all our institutions better equipped to be more welcoming to young people, since so many have a real sense of being orphaned. Here I am not referring to family problems, but to something experienced by boys and girls, young people and adults, parents and children alike. To all these orphans—including perhaps ourselves—communities like a parish or school should offer possibilities for experiencing openness and love, affirmation and growth” (CV, 216).
Pastors, teachers, liturgists, catechists and all who advance Catholic values might determine to make their parish the world’s best orphanage, as well as the world’s best field hospital. Let’s cultivate environments of joy (abounding in good times and bad) along with beauty in art and music.
The communion we desire is incarnational
A recent Magis Center blog post asks: “Is God part of your social network? If not, did you know that laughter, singing and religious practices can lead you to him? Science is now confirming that religion—far from being an opiate of the people—is one of three keys to our ability to develop elaborate social networks.” These three habits of the heart lift us highest when we exercise them with others, reports author Maggie Ciskanik.
She’s talking not about mere “friending” or “liking,” but about flesh-and-blood community where God’s unique people come together for purposeful fellowship—sharing hopes, dreams, strengths and weaknesses, asking questions and solving problems. This is accompaniment that’s headed somewhere. If it is filled with Christ’s love and integrity, a vibrant parish can bring familial stability to us orphans.
Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation settles neither for comfortable, non-challenging proximity nor the technological illusions of disembodied, digital groupings. The pontiff, in his 2018 message for World Communications Day points us toward the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi. This outline of interactive, fully engaged communion makes us instruments of peace and communicators of hope.
The McGrath Institute Blog congratulates author Bill Schmitt whose book, When Headlines Hurt: Do We Have a Prayer?, last month received the Seal of Approval of the Catholic Writers Guild.
Photo credit: Catholic Church England and Wales, Flickr, some rights reserved
Posted in Education, Prayer, Spirit of communication, Words, Writing | Leave a comment
A look at lesser-known sections of the Apostolic Exhortation released recently by Pope Francis. This is the start of a two-part report by Bill Schmitt, posted on the McGrath Institute for Church Life blog, published at the University of Notre Dame, on April 11, 2019.
Pope Francis has once again expressed a set of prayer-provoking insights about our use of contemporary media and Catholic stewardship of the “Good News” amid a changing information culture that distorts human community. His sweeping new reflections expand on a crucial theme, echoing the World Communications Day message for 2019 and other documents: pastoral concern about online networks’ pitfalls, alongside their potential—and their need—for evangelization.
Christus Vivit (“Christ is Alive!”), the pope’s Apostolic Exhortation on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment, includes a section analyzing “the digital environment” that endangers society in ways we need to take more seriously. This wake-up call about today’s news-sharing tools intensifies the responsibility Catholics and all advocates of the common good should feel toward the hearts and minds of so-called digital natives.
The diagnosis of high-tech toxicity is one of many topics in the Exhortation, released on March 25, 2019, the Feast of the Annunciation. That day honors the Archangel Gabriel’s announcement of news to bless Mary and change the future of the world.
Here are several of the memorable quotes and terms punctuating the document with guidance for renewing communication to help heal social polarization through a charitable embrace of truthfulness.
“It is no longer merely a question of ‘using’ instruments of communication, but of living in a highly digitalized culture that has had a profound impact on ideas of time and space, on our self-understanding, our understanding of others and the world, and our ability to communicate, learn, be informed and enter into relationship with others.”
Pope Francis warns the short-attention-span approach that “privileges images over listening and reading” can damage our “critical sense.” (paragraph 86)
“The web and social networks … provide an extraordinary opportunity for dialogue, encounter and exchange between persons, as well as access to information and knowledge.”
Here, the pontiff is upbeat, appreciating technological incentives for “social and political engagement and active citizenship”; these encourage young people to stand up for the rights of the vulnerable. But he cautions that this new “public square” is not open equally to all citizens around the world. (87)
“It is not healthy to confuse communication with mere virtual contact. Indeed, the digital environment is also one of loneliness, manipulation, exploitation and violence, even to the extreme case of the ‘dark web.’”
Cyberbullying, pornography and various avenues for exploiting people reflect the non-incarnational character of online connections, “blocking the development of authentic interpersonal relationships.” This adds to risks of addictions, isolation and “a gradual loss of contact with concrete reality.” (88)
An environment of remoteness “creates a delusional parallel reality that ignores human dignity” and invites a “digital migration” into a lonely world of rootlessness and “self-invention.” Young people “must find ways to pass from virtual contact to good and healthy communication.” (90)
“It should not be forgotten that there are huge economic interests operating in the digital world, capable of exercising forms of control as subtle as they are invasive, creating mechanisms for the manipulation of consciences and of the democratic process.”
Various social media tend to favor conversations only among those who think alike, discouraging debate and creating “closed circuits” that can incubate prejudice and hate. “Fake news,” about which Pope Francis has written before, reveals “a culture that has lost its sense of truth and bends the facts to suit particular interests.” Individuals’ reputations are subjected to “summary trials” online—a phenomenon from which “the Church and her pastors are not exempt.” (89)
Rushes to judgment in general, fed by our cultural impatience as avid-yet-unquestioning news consumers and conveyors, do not serve the causes of mercy, justice and accompaniment Pope Francis consistently highlights.
A follow-up post about the Exhortation tomorrow will explore accompaniment as we can implement it in our parishes and communities. “The heart of information is people,” Pope Francis said in his 2018 message for World Communications Day.
(Bill Schmitt’s book, When Headlines Hurt: Do We Have a Prayer?, last month received the Seal of Approval of the Catholic Writers Guild. See this blog post for more information about purchasing the book and inviting Bill to lead a discussion with your organization.)
2019 World Communications Day Message: 4 New Ideas
World Communications Day 2019 won’t be officially celebrated until June 2, the Sunday before Pentecost. That’s part of the tradition behind this annual opportunity for reflection, established after the Second Vatican Council to generate insights about how we’re all getting along with each other via the mass media.
Pope Francis has once again allowed us to open this gift early, thanks to the online preview of his 2019 World Communications Day message posted on January 24. That’s the feast of St. Francis De Sales, patron saint of media, writers and journalists.
Here are four useful quotes from this year’s message, titled “We Are Members One of Another: From Social Network Communities to the Human Community.”
“The net works because all its elements share responsibility.” Pope Francis praises the power of the digital media to spread an abundance of information and bestow a sense of vast, interactive community. But he cautions that too much of the information we share is used to defame others, spread untruths, violate human dignity, and affirm our narcissistic identities by defining our social-network communities in terms of whom we exclude. Real communities, in physical places or in virtual “social media,” require us to build connections of trust and interdependence, he says. The most resilient communities contain networks we form with others not because they are “the same” as us, but because they are unique, bringing different perspectives.
“Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak the truth, each to his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” This quote (Ephesians 4:25) extends the community metaphor to the idea of a body and its many parts, a powerful mirror of the Body of Christ. It echoes the Epistle reading (Corinthians 12:12-30) from the Sunday Mass of January 27, where Paul describes for a different Christian community how the eye must not wish it were an ear or a hand. Each member provides something uniquely valuable: “God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as He intended.” One might say these roles should inspire a sense of empowerment, along with humble truthfulness and responsibility, in each of us. We owe it to each other to be authentic and cooperative, not identifying ourselves by our supremacy or our adversaries. Our community strength comes from our otherness, Pope Francis says, as well as “the connections between that otherness.”
“God is not Solitude, but Communion; He is Love, and therefore communication, because love always communicates.” The pontiff extends the network and community metaphors to God as Trinity, a relationship between the lover, the beloved, and the very act of loving. We humans participate in that trinitarian love in our life-giving encounters with others. We must always communicate love, thinking not in individualistic terms—as the media often encourage us to do—but in personal and interpersonal terms. If we use “the Net” to share stories of beauty and suffering that build up our best selves and encourage us to pray and learn together, “then it is a resource.”
“The Church herself is a network woven together by Eucharistic communion, where unity is based not on “likes,” but on the truth, on the Amen.” Our joint “Amen” in worship and thanksgiving, clinging to the Body of Christ, encourages us to welcome others as brothers and sisters, and particularly as “traveling companions” on a purposeful journey toward the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
The Pope has many other inspiring thoughts in his World Communications Day message, and we among the first readers can start now to consider our responses.
He draws a connection between one’s devotion to the love of God and the networking we do through values-informed conversations in everyday life. That recalls what St. Francis De Sales recommends in Introduction to the Devout Life, as discussed in the January 24 post in the McGrath Institute blog.
Francis sees truth, trust, mercy, and justice as essential to the proper use of online media. Otherwise, our huge daily doses of information may be weaponized. We turn against each other in relativistic wars of labeling and lies. Today’s networks can become traps of vulnerability and isolation, as was discussed in this blog’s January 23 post, with reference to insights from the “Higher Powers” conference of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture.
The pontiff’s reference to the “Amen” we give in our Church communities reminds us we can activate good stewardship of real-life relationships with God and our neighbors right where we are. As I comment in a book of reflections on Pope Francis’ 2018 World Communications Day message, our Amen in prayer can gratefully affirm the dignity among imperfect children of God. We’re peacemakers called to stem tendencies toward social polarization. God’s communion of redemption overrides any notion of “me-dia” that spotlight me. We share a journalistic role reaching out to a world hungry for good news.
Bill Schmitt is the author of When Headlines Hurt: Do We Have a Prayer? The Pope’s Words of Hope for Journalism (2018), available from Amazon as an e-book and paperback. See this guide to purchasing the book and linking to resources he used. He is also compiling a growing list of resources to support collaborations focused on the three questions listed at the top of this blog page.
An independent journalist, author and marketing-communications consultant with clients in higher education, community-building, and faith-based collaboration, Bill is an experienced commentator on the subject of news, social polarization and problem-solving conversation.
Blog & bio: OnWord.net | LinkedIn: billschmitt-onword Address inquiries and invitations to Bill Schmitt at billgerards@gmail.com | 574-276-0340
Bill Schmitt
Healing the Culture–and Hearts–So Politics Can Work
https://www.c-span.org/video/?457649-1/every-man-king
No discussion at the three-way intersection of our polarized society, our use of news and our faith-based values that can help renew healthy communication will bear fruit without the kinds of insights Bruce Stirewalt recently presented on Book TV.
Stirewalt, digital politics editor at Fox News and author of Every Man a King: A Short, Colorful History of American Populists, served up some important thoughts at the Savannah Book Festival. The most valuable thoughts for the discussion mentioned above come from his answer to the last question, found at the 56:00 mark in the Book TV video.
These are comments that illuminate our exploration of toxins at work in politics and journalism today. They are comments about the human being and about culture.
They speak for themselves, so I present several of them here—perhaps out of order, but definitely “what the doctor ordered” regarding culture-healing priorities to be prized by Catholics and all people of good will:
“We are a soul-sick, broken-hearted country.”
“The object of every heart is to be truly known and truly loved.” As we cry out for unconditional love, our insecurities and anxieties prompt us to lash out at each other rather than reach out with compassion.
“We’ve replaced more precious, more valuable, more meaningful things with the shoddy work of politics.”
“That soul-sickness will never be fixed by politics.”
“Politics is what lets us do the right thing. It’s not the right thing or the point of anything.” –attributed to the late Charles Krauthammer
“Our broken culture is the headwaters of our broken politics.”
“We need strong social capital to create a culture.”
(video from Book TV, promotional photo from Fox News)
Initially posted on McGrath Institute Blog, published at the U. of Notre Dame, Jan. 24, 2019
The fine art of conversation, used as an instrument to share hope and advance the common good, has taken a beating. Many Catholics feel inhibited in their discipleship, fearing their beliefs and values aren’t welcome in discussions of crucial public issues. They don’t want to be called “haters.”
Freedom, human flourishing and our eternal destiny are at stake if our faith is set on “mute” much of the day. Polarized societies are unable to solve problems, or see solutions, when there’s no trust, no agreement on truth. Stalemated discussions risk stagnant souls. Jesus—the way, the truth and the life—taught us, “What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.” (Matthew 10:27)
St. Francis de Sales, a witness of charitable dialogue
The feast day of Saint Francis de Sales, on January 24, is a good day for us missionaries to recommit as advocates, not administrators. De Sales (1567-1622) is the patron saint of writers, journalists and the Catholic media. As bishop of Geneva, he became an avid writer of books, pamphlets and correspondence focused on lay people. He defended transformative truths simply and gently.
This Doctor of the Church completed work on the final edition of his spiritual classic, Introduction to the Devout Life, 400 years ago, in 1619. But notice how timely his guidance is today. De Sales asserts the everyday pursuit of devotion to our loving God is inseparable from effective outreach to minds and hearts. His Introduction includes a substantial section about virtue in discernment and discussion. Chapters 26 through 30 offer valuable remedies for this coarsened culture.
“Your language should be restrained, frank, sincere, candid, unaffected and honest,” he writes. “Be on guard against equivocation, ambiguity or dissimulation.” Elsewhere, we’re cautioned that jumping to conclusions—so common amid the media’s labels and exaggerations—can deaden devout living and, by extension, toxify debate: “Rash judgment begets uneasiness, contempt of neighbor, pride, self-satisfaction and many other extremely bad effects,” such as slander.
St. Francis de Sales, a model of the personal touch
For De Sales, respect is at the core of communication with God and people. Both connections are deeply personal and yet rooted in relationships and encounters, not pretenses or assumptions. Pope Paul VI updated this message when he said, “Contemporary man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers.”
That’s what De Sales means when he describes a devout life. It comprises experiencing God’s profound love, then responding with “ardor and readiness in performing charitable actions.” These are one-on-one actions, not merely an attitude toward mankind in general. De Sales personifies this, addressing his Introduction not to some faceless population, but to a particular person—a woman named Philothea whom he is instructing. “Throughout this entire book,” he explains in the preface, “I keep in mind a soul who out of desire for devotion aspires to the love of God.”
A uniquely Christian form of dialogue
He’s suggesting a uniquely Christian dialogue we can model for others. Speaking to individuals, about individuals, reflects an authenticity the mass media can’t duplicate. We must nurture families, parishes and communities with infusions of truth and trust; focused on others, not ourselves; recognizing real desolations and consolations. Catechists and other ministers can cultivate these qualities, perhaps by writing in visionary Catholic or secular media, not as office-holders but as correspondents pondering and conveying God’s voice in the zephyr.
First, we should let His love remove our own fear of speaking up. Francis de Sales can provide inspiration and practical wisdom. Devout communication is not distracted, disruptive or pro forma. It’s proactive. This saint, echoing Jesus, tells us to keep spreading the word to brothers and sisters, not audiences. If we regard God and His children with joy and ardor, the fine art of conversation can revitalize the fine art of conversion in ourselves and our society.
Setting aside the missteps in virtue one often finds in sit-com scripts, the show “The Good Place” offers worthy insights about good and evil from a quirky perspective of the afterlife.
Promotional photo from nbc.com
In the recent episode “Book of Dougs,” the character played by Ted Danson examines heaven’s files on two deceased “Dougs.” It turns out one Doug, who lived recently, forfeited a lot of scorecard points that could have counted toward his happy destiny. He had unintentionally contributed to environmental damage and exploitative behaviors, among other things. Danson concludes, “Every day, the world gets a little more complicated, and being a good person gets a little harder.”
Living in a complicated, polarizing climate
This scene captured in fiction a wise critique recently made of modern society: In a globalized, information-immersed culture, where unlimited moralism and relativism try to co-exist, the interconnected corruptions we’ve discovered expand the range of our potential moral responsibility and burdens of guilt. At the same time, we’ve sidelined God, losing that ultimate source of forgiveness, resulting in frustration and polarization.*
I’ll amplify and generalize: It sometimes seems we’re blaming everybody for everything, driven to make God-like judgments when wrongs and failures offend our sense of justice. We are all at risk of standing accused, either as individuals or as members of unlikable categories.
At Mass, we admit to serious imperfections and to “my most grievous fault.” But in the secular liturgy of national news media, these deficiencies rise to an even higher threat level. Our cultural discourse adopts labels that go beyond “sinner” to include “extremist” or “idiot” or worse. Weaponized name-calling divides us while we strive to exemplify integrity.
Guidance from Pope Francis on fake news and social media
Pope Francis recognized humanity’s struggle to demand accountability amid massive frailties when he released his 2018 World Communications Day message—“The Truth Will Set You Free”—a year ago this week. Francis criticized “fake news” attacks but also pointed out how we all need to exercise the best journalistic values today because we’re all information gatekeepers when we publish online.
The pontiff cautioned against spreading disinformation that erodes trust and insults human dignity. It is good to seek justice, so he urged rebuilding compassionate communities and cultivating a marketplace of ideas that prizes reality and discerns sharable values. As discussed in a book I published last year, our pope drew heavily upon the healing words commonly called the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi.
The humble, sacrificial love in this prayer offers sustainable ways to become instruments of peace. Another aid is the Serenity Prayer, embracing moral diligence while understanding everybody’s limitations. The Holy Spirit’s gifts and fruits, plus redemption through Jesus Christ, help wonderfully!
How to make it easier for people to be good
The Catholic Church is blessed to share this Good News of the Gospel, which overcomes bad news and mad news. I suggest framing it more intentionally to answer the dilemma Doug faced on TV: As social issues become more complex and urgent, can we make it easier for people to be good and counteract wrongdoing?
Be more imaginative – We in the Church can be more proactive in answering yes to the above question. Gatherings in parishes and elsewhere could increase our attentiveness to the pain and fear of people burdened by name-calling and greater evils. We could group-watch news programs and popular culture, then model follow-up dialogues, welcoming many voices—from the pews, including family members, and from the marginalized we encounter.
Seek fellowship and engagement – Our Church is global and local. We can foster fellowship opportunities that cultivate agreement on principled priorities and strategies. We “Dougs” can generate and share news about community consciousness at grassroots levels, pursuing truth in charity. Information about the successes of subsidiarity will engage, rather than enrage, others.
Start small, leave the rest to God – This quest for virtue requires relationship and cooperation with a God who isn’t me or you. Jesus taught, “No one is good but God alone.” Acknowledging and trusting transcendent wisdom brings mercy and understanding, not shame or disempowerment. We can only address the world’s complexity incrementally, in modest but meaningful ways.
Accept your label from Christ – The renewal of news through the Good News does not promise that we won’t be grouped or labeled. But let’s take valid identity from the Lord. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
*For quotes more exact than my notes and deeper wisdom, watch the whole talk by Wilfred McClay. It was part of the “Higher Powers” Conference hosted at Notre Dame in 2018 by the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture –Bill Schmitt
Alan Alda Hears Conversations Connect and Change Lives
Janaury 4, 2019
“Love is the answer, but tenderness is the methodology,” says Fr. Greg Boyle when he is interviewed by Alan Alda as part of the thought-provoking podcast series, “Clear and Vivid.” Check out the whole series, but I particularly recommend the Fr. Boyle episode whose audio can be found in the “season one” menu. This Catholic priest, who provides a lifeline to struggling youths trapped in the gang culture of Los Angeles, comments about reaching out to the margins of society–to young people who risk death as gang members.
Boyle’s methodology for connecting with these young people and giving them hope is tough-minded, not soft and mushy, but he speaks about tenderness as a crucial part of authentic encounters. I don’t agree with everything he says (or with everything Alda’s series says), but Boyle has a good point: Transformative conversations require courage because one must be willing to learn from, and be changed by, a person who is suffering. Alda is an important, experienced teacher of communication from whom advocates for the renewal of journalism and engagement in social problem-solving can learn.
Find Fault (or Common Ground?) in the Killing Fields of News
https://www.c-span.org/video/?457103-2/killing-journalism
The title of Joe Strupp’s recent book reminds me of my favorite editorial cartoon, where the commuter is reading the morning newspaper, which bears the big front-page headline, “Everybody Implicated.” There’s enough blame to go around in Strupp’s title, Killing Journalism: How Greed, Laziness (and Donald Trump) Are Destroying News and How We Can Save It.
This book makes many good points that I summarize this way: Everyone shares responsibility for what’s happening to journalism and news. It’s a mixture of factors, including human nature, business practices, trends in our politics and professions, current approaches in the media, and the personal influence of Donald Trump (and, I would add, a spectrum of other American opinion-shapers). My hope is always that widely shared accountability will bring many people together to seek solutions rather than demoralize people or drive them toward even more polarization and finger-pointing.
Strupp, a veteran journalist who combines grassroots newsroom experience with a background in analyzing the press itself, offers a reasonable list of specific challenges. Placing these on the table for discussion helps establish the horizon for a troubleshooting (if not problem-solving) process that covers much ground—from economics to sociology, from the duties of the citizen to the dignity of the person, from the ethics of corporate executives to the values of individual news generators and news consumers. These points on Strupp’s checklist jumped out at me:
Personnel cutbacks and reduced resources for the full and fair coverage of all sorts of news.
Less self-criticism and fewer ombudsman-like assessments among journalists themselves.
A focus on breaking news, weakening our culture’s short attention span, our rush to judgment, and our surfing on waves of information without making deep dives into real understanding.
Less local and state news, with fewer and smaller news organizations covering the communities that can serve as reality-checks countering generalizations in the big, national stories.
Journalists’ increased fear of legal vulnerability—not to mention the vulnerability of their livelihoods.
Reduced investments in diligent investigation and robust curiosity–the duo of traits that gave many news organizations an almost playful love of all “good stories” alongside a duty to produce “great stories” that can open eyes and change minds.
And, yes, the demeaning of journalists by politicians—which goes together with society’s loss of trust in both of their professions and the overall tendency to weaponize information for the sake of ratings and campaigns.
What I know of Strupp’s book comes from his presentation recently aired on C-Span’s Book TV. I haven’t read or judged the details, assumptions, and personal viewpoints driving his analysis. But I appreciate the list of considerations he has assembled for us, the voice of authentic concern he has added to the national discussion, and also the general thrust of one solution he has proposed.
His prescription for greater substance and sustainability in the business of news focuses on making it a bit less of a “business.” He invites us to look into models of non-profit news organizations and sources of funding that tap the philanthropy of common-good thinking. This may indeed be one of the answers in some cases.
This entire mix of ideas is a recipe for awareness-raising conversations. I want to read the whole book because I instinctively respect the author but probably would want to season the ingredients in a slightly different way. I favor building upon Strupp’s foundation of human respect and humble commitment, plus corporate restraint and responsibility. But I would add extra helpings of faith-based values and charitable pursuits of complicated truths. One good response to those forces that are “killing journalism” is the grassroots power of communities, families and fairness that brings alive our taste for meaningful information.
“Killing News” was published in late 2018.
St. Francis Saw the Need for Healing: Any Implications?
These are days for recognizing fragility. How vulnerable we are to destructive temptations–and to others’ accusations that we are sinful. We tend to let our recognition of sinfulness drive us apart, but it actually should draw us together. We share a desperate need for mercy but too seldom find it among human beings. We too seldom grant mercy to others because we resist seeing our own flaws mirrored in the heartbreaking news of everyday life among institutions and individuals.
October 4 is the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. In establishing an order of laypeople, today called the Secular Franciscan Order, he instructed them to be “brothers and sisters of penance” as they follow a Gospel path toward humility, peacemaking, and a love affair with the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
In the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Bishop Kevin Rhoades has called for October 5 to be a day of prayer and penitence among all Catholics, recognizing that only a shared understanding of everybody’s need for conversion–for what business consultants would call “continuous quality improvement”–will keep us journeying together.
Otherwise, as seen in current news from the worlds of politics and religion, our fears and resentments threaten to create a “search and destroy” world. Who will defend us? The center will not hold unless we place top priority on seeking God’s wisdom and sharing God’s love, with help from both faith and reason, both mercy and justice.
We need to wake up each morning to two headlines: First, remember the Good News (aka the Gospels) that God is our savior and vindicator, bringing good out of our suffering if we follow him and align with his purposes. Second, as veteran editorial cartoonist Rex F. May (known as Baloo) depicted so well in the drawing above, “everybody is implicated” by dint of our all-too-common flaws. I’m thankful to Mr. May (reachable today) for his permission to use this copyrighted drawing from decades ago because it reminds me of St. Francis’ summons to a life of ongoing conversion.
The beloved saint urges that we keep on walking, humbly but uprightly, once our blithe assumption that “seldom is heard a discouraging word” has been revealed as fake news. When we take a hit in the headlines of life, we must turn to the Peace Prayer: Grant that I might not seek so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand.
Pope Francis has called for a “journalism of peace” that helps us grasp the full story of our lifetime journeys together. Information media should prompt us to pursue truth, not weaponize it. The Pope wrote about this in his 2018 World Communications Day message, officially presented in May, and I wrote some reflections on that message in my book, When Headlines Hurt: Do We Have a Prayer?
Pope Francis had something else to say in 2018 about recognizing our mutual need for better information alongside personal formation. According to the online publication Crux and its editor John L. Allen Jr., the pontiff had this to say in January at his first General Audience of the year:
“To measure ourselves by the fragility of the clay with which we’re made is an experience that strengthens us. While making us deal with our weakness, it also opens our hearts to invoke the divine mercy that transforms and converts.”
If we read between the lines in the headlines this year, or any year, we’ll be confronted with the “Everybody Implicated” message constantly. That’s a good thing, but let’s face it: these headlines will hurt. Fortunately, we can find an element of humor and hope in Baloo’s cartoon if our values and relationships teach us that the quality of mercy is not strained and healing our woundedness is something we can all work on together.
“Everybody Implicated” could be click-bait for a scorched-earth, apocalyptic drama of mutual defamation. May it lead us instead into a full story that is not pathetic, but empathetic. Like any good headline in any good news medium, it can jar us on our way toward deeper truth. At the risk of hyperbolic misinterpretation, three cheers for a gift of succinct prophecy well-suited to St. Francis’ feast day. Baloo foreshadows a “journalism of peace” that puts humility on the front page where it belongs.
Inhibition in the Air, Creativity in our Hands
Don’t miss Peggy Noonan’s Jan. 3 commentary in The Wall Street Journal. She gives thought-provoking reasons why political correctness should not be allowed to stifle conversations, focusing on folks who lean left and progressive, especially artists and entertainers. This argument deserves to be heard by people on all parts of the political spectrum and by news generators and news consumers alike.
“The producers and network chiefs, the comics, writers and directors—so many of them hate the air of inhibition under which they operate,” Noonan writes. “They’ve all been stopped from at least one artistic act by the forces of censorship, in the same way that there is hardly an American the past quarter-century who hasn’t been shamed for saying, doing or thinking the wrong thing.”
Based on the perspectives I wrote about in When Headlines Hurt: Do We Have a Prayer?, I salute Noonan for remarks which I believe arise from a genuine respect for people, their potential for creativity, their hunger for truth, and their appreciation for beauty. This includes the kind of beauty–an epiphany or a fresh perspective that inspires a sense of wonder–which arises from probing, from listening and responding, and interacting with realities, even ugly or uncomfortable realities. As John Keats wrote in “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” beauty is truth and truth is beauty.
But Noonan’s commentary sparks a few additional thoughts. It is true that beauty and truth are inseparable in some sense. In today’s culture, entertainment and news are too often deemed inseparable, as well, and what becomes popular in the entertainment world is too easily deemed acceptable or laudable or, in some sense, true. So it behooves us to be prudent and balanced when we make our latest contributions to the expanding universe of entertainment and information.
In communities on both the right and left of the political spectrum, undesirable censorship is rising partly because there is some need for what might be called self-censorship, or inhibition, or at least a desire to serve the good–the common good. Undesirable shaming is rising partly because there is some need for what might be called shame, or a personal sense of accountability to ideals of the true and the good. Calls for political correctness are rising partly because their is some need for what might be called compassion or sensitivity or a personal sense of wonder that draws us closer to the other. Unique persons are so darn interesting, important, and inseparable from our pursuit of the beautiful and true.
When we sense our conversations and contributions (related to news, entertainment, and thought) being stifled, perhaps the first step to combat that stifling is an inward review of the goals and methods underlying our creativity. People from all walks of life and all parts of the political spectrum need to fight censorship on various fronts, but one of those fronts is the personal exercise of accountability for the common good, of self-restraint according to the golden rule.
Yes, we need to be concerned when we’re stopped from an artistic act. But we also need to be concerned about the artistic act itself, or the contribution we’re about to make to that universe of entertainment and information. Whether we think such an act is too edgy or not edgy enough, we’re gifted when we learn that there is an edge–an edge implicit in our respect for the common good and for all the individuals whose good is held collectively in our creative little hands. Is our act really going to contribute to authentic conversation and productive engagement? As Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, “Beauty without grace is like a hook without the bait.”
3 Resolutions for Journalists: Toward a Truthful 2019
Thought-leaders in the journalism community are starting to talk more openly and urgently about the need for practitioners of the craft to recognize their need to stand tall for truth. Since so many people today are journalists or other purveyors of facts and interpretations, it’s a good New Year’s resolution to consider at least three rallying cries we all should recall from 2018.
Alan Rusbridger, author of a new book titled Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now, warns that “the traditional role of journalists has been weakened in all kinds of ways” at a time when “we need journalism more than ever.” Interviewed by Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron, Rusbridger, a distinguished former editor-in-chief of Britain’s Guardian news organization, said his country’s “Brexit” vote and the issue of climate change are examples where too many professionals have failed. Some media have shouted and oversimplified, giving news consumers less than comprehensive, fair, reasonable information to sufficiently allow democratic institutions to confront those complex areas of policy well.
“I wanted to make some kind of case for journalism and for journalistic institutions,” Rusbridger added at the December 7 National Press Club event, because he senses “some kind of precipice ahead”–a turning point where the quality of news and the public’s diminished trust in news might no longer enable societies to tackle their urgent crises in a collaborative, effective way. See his prediction early in this video provided by C-Span.
Speaking at a different National Press Club event on November 29, Baron warned of an even more severe problem–a challenge he said has grown outside the media and has been promoted even at the highest levels of the U.S. government. “The goal is evident and it is cynical,” he commented: “Obliterate the very idea of objective truth,” sewing the seeds of distrust, aiming to “disquality the press as an independent arbiter of fact.” See his declaration that “there is such a thing as truth” starting around the 1:40:00 mark in this video posted by the Press Club.
Also consider reading the 2018 World Communications Day message in which Pope Francis assessed disinformation and “fake news” as crucial moral issues of our time. A book containing my reflections on this message is described in my OnWord.net blog, including this post. The pope reminds us that “the truth shall set you free,” and he warns that a society embracing untruth slips into arrogance and hatred–the polarization that has continued to divide many institutions and individuals.
These three predictions are galvanizing enough to keep us all on our toes for the whole of 2019–because they apply not only to news media employees but to countless communicators who read and spread content on social media. But any journey begins with a few steps, and the sobering messages are suitable for New Year’s Eve, when we’re still looking back at lessons learned. Should old acquaintance be forgot?
A News Media-tor for a “Peace Movement”
Riffing on the recent news that Jerry Springer is ceasing his violence-prone TV show after some 4,000 episodes, Greg Gutfeld of the Fox News Channel joked that, nowadays in our contentious political culture, “every day is the Jerry Springer Show.”
Gutfeld, in the monologue for his own program on July 7, went on to put that joke in a context echoing Pope Francis’ message for the 2018 World Communications Day (at least a little, if you take out the off-color remarks and humorous hyperlinks). He suggested that our society work harder at understanding and managing its contention.
“Politics always causes friction,” Gutfeld pointed out. “We just have more places to see it,” such as round-the-clock cable news and social media which seem to hold captive our thoughts and conversations. “We get it. The country is divided. But that’s actually good: It’s better to have two sides than one.”
He acknowledged that we see more friction because journalists’ cameras are attracted to it. Among news consumers, annoyance comes naturally because we think we’re right and the people who disagree with us think they’re right.
“We should admit that we see things through different filters” and temper our own discussions with politeness, compromise, and forgiveness, Gutfeld said. You can hear the noteworthy monologist say it in this video. He called for a “conservative peace movement” where those toward the right on the political spectrum proactively “take the high ground.”
This proposal might have been directed more toward the consumers of media content than toward the generators of it–after all, a lack of friction in the world could translate into a lack of viewers for Fox and all broadcasters.
But, as Gutfeld knows, and as Pope Francis pointed out in the message (plus accompanying prayer for journalism) he officially released on May 13, the line between producers and consumers in today’s information world is practically invisible. There are millions of self-publishers. Alas, I’m one of them.
All along the media spectrum, and the political spectrum, we do need to collaborate in a movement informed by the pope’s call for “a journalism of peace.” Cheers for Gutfeld–and perhaps for Springer!–as they contribute in different ways to this movement, which can benefit from the pope’s paraphrase of the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi.
That’s the widely honored prayer which, in both its original and paraphrased forms, envisions all of us as “instruments of peace.”
The notes of wisdom in Gutfeld’s monologue made a sweet sound.
(With this post, I am beginning an additional blog at this site–intended as an ongoing expansion of the reflections in my book, When Headlines Hurt: Do We Have a Prayer? — The Pope’s Words of Hope for Journalism. Find the blog title as part of the main navbar at OnWord.net.)
No Civil War, but a “Civility” War?
“Civility, whatever that is.” That’s a phrase used in a recent post I found at the Columbia Journalism Review online. The June 27 piece by Matthew Ingram is an important, carefully considered collection of news and commentary where the use of the word “civility” is scrutinized. In some cases, the concept of “civility” as a value, or even as a thing, is called into question.
Is the term being manipulated, and perhaps weaponized, as society discusses whether our conversations in the pubic square–or, more typically, in the news media–have lost a sense of civility? Is it time to cast doubt on the meaning of civility, even though one can find many reputable online definitions, which usually include important ideas like politeness, courtesy, and respect? Should we stop using the word because it is starting to make some people uncomfortable or skeptical? I myself have heard “civility” criticized (perhaps in jest?) as an over-rated virtue or a display of false gentility that allows a speaker to sidestep questions or avoid reality. But where does the blame lie–with the word or the speaker, the meaning or the intent?
This makes me think of Marilyn McEntyre’s book, Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies, which I understand to be a call for honoring and preserving perfectly useful, time-tested words which can enhance everyday conversations among common folk. I don’t know how McEntyre would react to an attack on the word “civility,” but I’m guessing she would deem it uncivil to rob people of a way of expressing their thoughts or to confuse people about whether a word–and therefore a thought–is good or bad, socially acceptable or intellectually ridiculed.
Pope Francis, in his message on journalism for the 2018 World Communications Day, does not appear to use the term civility (at least in the online English translation of his remarks) when he is calling for a journalism of peace or rebuking rhetorical trends toward defamation and prejudice. He uses the term “respect” a few times, including in his Peace Prayer of Saint Francis (version 2.0), when he says, “Where there is hostility, let us bring respect.” Words and news will thrive when they are used with good intent.
Well, “respect” may be a better, less ambiguous word than civility, but I for one hope we do not start a war against that latter term. Let it be. Let us ponder it. It has profound connections to words like “civilization,” terms like “civil society,” and fearful events like a “civil war.” To start challenging a valid word is dangerously close to challenging a valid idea. There will be substitute synonyms, like “respect,” but if advocates or opponents of something or other can come against one word, they can come against other words.
Remember George Orwell’s warning about the “Newspeak” language used in his novel 1984. He said it was “designed to diminish the range of thought.” A world where the range of thought is diminished is good neither for news consumers nor news generators–only for “newspeakers.”
All Politics is Local? That’s News to Me!
I grew up reading the New York Daily News and other local papers available on Long Island. Perhaps the biggest take-away message from my newspaper habit–and the most influential message, since I wound up becoming a journalist–was that local news is fun.
The clever headlines were fun. The mix of content, from serious to light-hearted, from dense text to compelling pictures to so many other eye-catching elements, was fun. The flow of lively local news–on TV and radio, too–helped to convince me that New York City was a great place, despite all its problems (from which I was isolated). There was energy in the air, some of it foul-smelling but always ripe for communication and conversation.
I came to believe the policies and politics which kept cities vibrant, as well as the civic life of everyday citizens whom I met vicariously, were things I could and should learn more about. The essay I wrote as part of my successful application for graduate study at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs comprised my reflections on a Newsday special report critiquing Long Island’s local governments.
Many aspects of my life were steered by the good news and the bad news I digested in a local context, feeding my imagination and aspirations to empower me for the world. No less a leader than Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill assured me that “all politics is local,” so it made sense.
This came to mind recently when I read about the slashing of jobs at the Daily News, with something like a 50 percent cut in the newsroom staff and an expected re-focusing on “breaking news.” It doesn’t make much sense. From my new vantage point in Indiana, it seems there’s a glut of “breaking news,” and much of it is actually predictable and repetitive, or distasteful and disempowering. Much of it comes from Washington, where the news is often broken–in more ways than one. (Earlier in my career, I loved covering government news in Washington, so you might say today’s brokenness breaks my heart.)
Some breaking news is wonderfully exciting to report and to read, but that occurs more at the local level. This breaking news comes with context, prompting intelligent conversations and challenging us to take intelligent actions as a community.
I expect this kind of breaking news–and local news in general–are going to keep shrinking because cities have fewer local reporters and the national media prefer national stories, commented upon by national celebrities, on shows featuring national advertisers with big budgets. Newspapers like the Daily News will have their distinctive voices further overwhelmed by remotely activated multimedia megaphones that either make information all sound alike or make it sound astoundingly different from one network to the next, leaving audiences and communities unsure what to say or do.
This reminds me of the principle of subsidiarity, a key component of Catholic social teaching, which says higher levels of government ought to let lower levels of government handle the situations that can best be handled locally. This allows for exceptions when larger crises demand the support, or subsidies, that only larger organizations can provide, but it celebrates the empowerment of civic life that more directly engages individuals, families and communities to get them talking and acting together. The local level is where Pope Francis sees much of the missionary work of the Church taking place, where people leave their pews to go out to neighborhood peripheries and accompany their brothers and sisters on complex journeys of joy and sadness, sin and saintliness.
Journalism and news organizations would benefit from applying the principle of subsidiarity more often, with locally owned media covering local events and supporting the processes by which families and community organizations work together to encounter the problems, pleasures and people they can understand best.
As section 1879 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “The human person needs to live in society. Society is not for him an extraneous addition but a requirement of his nature. Through the exchange with others, mutual service and dialogue with his brethren, man develops his potential; he thus responds to his vocation.”
That resonates with me. In a sense, I found my vocation in the newsstands, newspaper racks, and local news shows of New York. There, I sensed society and social cohesion were being celebrated. Even during those years of my youth when society’s cohesiveness was said to be breaking down, the message in the media–at least in a Marshall McLuhan kind of way–honored the goal of social cohesion, the fact that life goes on, the idea that it’s a crazy, needy, newsworthy city in which we all should get along.
At least some of the breaking news suggested that conversation was still possible, thanks to first-hand evidence that a critical mass of folks embraced the goals of truth and trust. Journalists cultivated big ideas with big possibilities when they covered local news–and when we read it. They were having fun, and so was I.
Let’s Make Our Peace with Paradox
One contribution the Catholic faith can make to the flow of information and conversation in our polarized society is the ability we can show, when we Catholics are at our best, to accept paradox.
I learned a lot about paradox from the great British writer G. K. Chesterton, who lived early in the 20th century. Some of what I learned came from reading his books, which are chock full of paradoxes that often make the reader stop and think, and even smile. I also learned a lot from the series that ran for several years on the EWTN Catholic TV network, “G. K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense.”
Many people in our country, starting with opinion leaders, need to “chill” and accept the fact that reality is packed with apparent contradictions. Human beings themselves are packed with contradictions; they sometimes behave well, sometimes badly. They are flawed, even though they spend much of their time making themselves look perfect on Facebook. Paradoxes arise in the world because two statements can both be true—that is, accurate reflections of reality—and still be contradictory.
The TV show about Chesterton, hosted by American Chesterton Society president Dale Ahlquist, points out that their hero’s writings are filled with hope-filled, wonder-filled paradoxes, and so is the Bible.
In the case of the Bible, we see such paradoxical situations as a virgin giving birth, Christ’s promise that the dead shall rise, those who are persecuted being called “blessed,” and accepting trials and persecutions with joy.
In the case of the British journalist, who was also a poet, essayist, book author, illustrator, and playwright, we are given paradoxical statements that stop us cold but also brighten our darkness. Chesterton says things like:
Man is superior to all the things around him, but is also at their mercy.
Men can always be blind to a thing so long as it is big enough.
The mere pursuit of health always leads to something unhealthy.
“We cannot imagine courage existing except in conjunction with fear.”
Men tire of new things, such as fashions and products that are, as they say, “new and improved.” But old things “startle and intoxicate,” the legendary author points out.
Truth is strange, improbable, and paradoxical, Ahlquist points out in his program’s “Riddles of God” episode, echoing Chesterton’s insights. (The insights are repeated in Ahlquist’s book, Common Sense 101.)
I would add that St. Francis of Assisi, as evinced in the original “Peace Prayer of St. Francis” (which he actually did not write although it is a good mirror of his viewpoints), also saw reality as paradoxical. Indeed, he saw Jesus Christ—the way, the truth, and the life—as a paradoxical figure. Certainly, the prayer suggests that peace will come from our emulation of Christ, which requires us to be contrarian and contradictory (or, as I would argue, disruptive in the best sense, bringing a complementary counterforce to a situation in a surprising, salutary way.
We pray that we might sow love where there is hatred;
We pray to bring hope where there is despair, light where there is darkness;
We quell our natural desire to be understood so we can focus on understanding others;
We acknowledge that it is in giving that we receive, in dying that we are born to eternal life.
My whole point here is that conversation often gets shut down today because participants can’t imagine that two seemingly contradictory things can both be true—whether they might be observations of people or situations or society at large. Some people see the addition of a contradiction or a question about one’s argument as an obnoxious act, as a violation of today’s rules of non-engagement.
Perhaps opinion leaders feel too much pressure to be clear in their soundbites and to conform to labels or truisms or “party lines.” In these cases, they act more like opinion followers, and those “news consumers” who embrace (and perhaps re-tweet or otherwise spread) oversimplified statements continue in the “follower” mode. No one is really leading by simply observing and pointing out a more complicated reality. These complexities—or overlooked points of possible agreement about truth—may be the very points where conversations can be sustained and can even yield solutions to today’s problems.
So, here’s to paradox. We may not be comfortable with it if we are determined to be seen as completely, immediately correct or certain or in control of a situation. But Chesterton knew that our human flaws and our fallen state require us to be humble, more willing to learn or at least discuss. That helps explain the quote from him in Chapter Six of my When Headlines Hurt book, where he defines journalism as the art of “pretending to know.”
The pleasure and the potential of discovering paths toward solving problems and unlocking mysteries may be found in the paradox of a situation, in the “rest of the story,” as radio journalist Paul Harvey used to say. Acceptance of this fact will often preclude our society’s current love for the simplified shortcut through an argument or the prefabricated understanding readily consumed and regurgitated. Recognition of paradox will make news consumption and conversation more challenging. But, as Chesterton proved a century ago, it will make for good reading, good writing, good exchanges of insight, and good hope.
Echoes of Hope from a Journalistic Legend: Seymour Hersh
Book TV’s coverage of a June 2018 interview with veteran New York Times journalist Seymour Hersh, discussing his book, Reporter: A Memoir, yields a video that is compelling almost to the point of exhausting.
No action-hero scriptwriter in Hollywood could set a pace as fast as Hersh’s mind, which can hyperlink from idea to idea a few times in the space of one sentence. His memories deliver a human context behind major national headlines. He clearly cares passionately, still today, about the news he’s describing. At one point, interviewer Paul Holdengraber, director of public programs at the New York Public Library, notes that Hersh described himself as an “aggressive learner,” and that fascination with facts definitely comes through. Also, part of the energy and suspense Hersh provides is his refreshing unpredictability, in which he criticizes President Trump sharply but also pulls no punches in critiquing the past behavior of Democrats and non-politicians. #DRIBDRAB *
The other riveting feature of this video comes from occasional quotes Holdengraber occasionally throws into the mix. An excerpt from early in the memoir reminds me of Pope Francis’ May 2018 message about journalism, about which I reflected in my recent book, When Headlines Hurt: Do We Have a Prayer? Hersh is recalling the different journalistic environment in and around the 1970s, when his editors allowed him to invest time and corporate money in digging for interesting, important stories and there was less competition from the endless punditry and round-the-clock news cycles of cable TV.
Today, he comments, “We are sodden with fake news, hyped-up and incomplete information, and false assertions delivered non-stop by our daily newspapers, our televisions, our online news agencies, our social media, and our president. Yes, it’s a mess.”
Hersh is quoted as recalling that people used to trust The New York Times on the basis of hard work and sound judgment that went into stories–even the stories that disturbed them or with which they disagreed. Nowadays, many news consumers trust only the news providers who hold perspectives with which they agree.
At another point in the discussion, Holdengraber quotes from Thomas Pynchon’s novel, Gravity’s Rainbow. “If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about answers.”
Another quote comes from a 1946 essay by George Orwell: “In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible. Things like the continuance of British rule in India, the Russian purges and deportations, the dropping of atom bombs on Japan, can indeed be defended, but only by arguments which are too brutal for most people to face, and which do not square with the professed aims of political parties. Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness.”
A gadfly might say that the “post-truth” era had already begun in Orwell’s eyes.
You can make your own judgments about Hersh based on his reactions to comments like these and the many tales and insights he offers. You’ll find several points of intersection with the insights of Pope Francis from his message for the 2018 World Communications Day, about which I have written. These points include the need for trust and truth, a love of the role of journalism in empowering citizens, and boldness in seeking the truth while not feeling “possession” of the whole truth or contemplating its weaponization against “enemies.
Reporter: A Memoir. * Didn’t Read It, But Did Respect the Author on Book-TV. #DRIBDRAB.
“Farsighted” Decisions and Nearsighted News
You’re familiar with Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Steven Johnson has produced a book that serves as a valuable response to that celebration of spontaneity. Farsighted: How We Make the Decisions that Matter the Most makes more sense to me as someone who has written about our need for conversations in the American “public square,” our use of information to solve problems and reduce polarization, and our responsibilities as producers and consumers of journalism in service to society’s pursuit of wisdom. I plan to ponder Johnson’s book. I Didn’t Read It, But I Did Respect the Author on Book-TV (#DRIBDRAB) when I watched him in mid-September.
Johnson said he sees the irony in the eight-year gestation period this book required after he first started taking notes on the subject. The result is a connection-making resource whose assessment of how we think—and how we should think—incorporates insights from neuroscience, psychology, probability theory, philosophy, and even literature. He suggests every high school student should take a similarly interdisciplinary course covering our thought processes at their best; it’s crucial preparation for what he calls the occasional “full-spectrum decisions” in our lives. We need to know these decisions will take some time and will benefit from a substantial mental toolkit.
This is a secular book. I don’t know whether Johnson would mind this additional suggestion: A Catholic or other faith-based school could expand this course into an exploration of “discernment,” a promotion of one’s spiritual toolkit alongside one’s mental abilities, and a revelation that the sciences, liberal arts, and humanities all belong in our high-stakes syllabus. Students and their families need this reminder today as the tendency in planning one’s college career is to emphasize particular, narrow fields of study rather than the full spectrum of learning that prepares us for those full-spectrum decisions.
Those decisions include such questions as whom one should marry, where one should live, and which job one should take. There are many variables to be considered in each of these judgments whose consequences are profound for oneself and others.
Yet, in many people’s minds, “the science of complex decision-making has been stagnant for 250 years,” Johnson points out. Most people use one form or another of the standard “pros and cons” table of two lists—an approach that is seen explicitly described in writings from more than two centuries ago.
This is where Johnson’s book starts making a world of difference. He notes that decision-making theory actually has become much more advanced in recent decades. Instead of focusing on a “whether or not” choice about one single option, today’s updated scholarship urges us to make “which one?” choices after we have expanded the number of options and made prudent predictions about the directions in which each of them will point.
Importantly, echoing the recommendations in Pope Francis’s message on journalism for the 2018 World Communications Day, this expansion of choices and insights requires welcoming a diversity of inputs from people with different perspectives. It demands a consciousness of future consequences, not merely a snap judgment about what solves the immediate problem immediately. It requires us to think imaginatively and purposefully, perceiving where bad decisions might lead and generating alternatives that can create more freedom and clearly better outcomes. The reading of great novels, Johnson points out, boosts our imagination by helping us see how a variety of characters in different situations handled their life choices in distinctive ways, with a range of results.
We often trap ourselves inside one story, our own self-centered and pre-shaped narrative, he warns, when actually we need to spin many stories that incorporate the possibility of good or bad or even “weird” outcomes. (For a related exploration of maximizing our freedom to choose wisely, sometimes by thinking outside the box, check out the “Ted Radio Hour” program on “Decisions.” That recent NPR show, especially its discussion of “choice architecture,” reveals how careful we should be in managing our decisions and our contexts for making them.)
Saint Francis of Assisi was all about generating alternatives so as to nurture good decisions. He accepted God’s call to “rebuild my church.” At first, he expressed his acceptance in a personal, material-centered, arguably narrow way—namely, by repairing a broken-down church building. But God set him free to view his mission more imaginatively, allowing both constructive sacrifice and contrarian joy, and even a willingness to look “weird” in the eyes of others so as to offer them truly “alternative” information and formation. Embracing the Gospel, with its wealth of stories about good choices and bad choices, and especially about the overriding choice to pursue Christ’s peace and human wholeness, he cultivated “full-spectrum decisions” based on a full-spectrum toolkit.
His litany of remedies is expressed in the much-loved Peace Prayer of St. Francis, which is very Franciscan even though it was not written by the saint. That source of connections between the City of Man and the City of God, with its ability to transcend the instinctive, self-centered “pros and cons” way of thinking, must have influenced Pope Francis in his World Communications Day message on journalism. As I say in my recent book, When Headlines Hurt: Do We Have a Prayer? The Pope’s Words of Hope for Journalism, the Pope concluded his message with a paraphrase of the Peace Prayer focused on news as an aid, not an obstacle, in society’s pursuit of healing and peace.
The flow of news, when it is prudently managed and shared generously, with a love for people and their diverse stories as well as an accountability to past, present, future, and the timeless, with the goal of seeing connections and starting conversations, can be an excellent tool for society’s decision-making. It might even help us realize that more of our decisions are more important to more people than Johnson assumes in his book. Whereas the “Blink” approach is well-suited to the mind frame of breaking news, speed, and excitement, the “Farsighted” approach is the better one for discerning about things that matter—and, more basically, respecting communication because things do matter.
We Have Met the Candidates, and They Are Us
Let’s make this Election Day a kind of “Feast of All Saint-Candidates,” following up on the Catholic Church’s recent “Feast of All Saints.” I’ll explain this modest proposal, but first I’ll acknowledge its flaws. They’re found in the candidates we’re voting for—and, of course, in us voters too.
Indeed, there’s some wordsmithing, or “spin,” going on with my invitation to a feast. No liturgist or other common-sense person would declare Election Day to be a “feast” per se; for one thing, it seems our ballot options don’t often give us much to celebrate.
And my use of the term “Saint-Candidates” carries a touch of disinformation. I’m not suggesting that many, or any, political candidates of any party are saints. Alas, we’re still summoned to vote and to set high standards for the people we select, regardless of their creeds or backgrounds or character flaws.
I use the term in quotes to remind us that the Catechism of the Catholic Church says we are a “communion of saints” (CCC 946) insofar as we are a communion “in holy things” and “among holy persons.” (CCC 948) The book says we are “pilgrims on earth,” very much in need of God’s mercy to work through our imperfections. (CCC 962) “All are called to holiness,” (CCC 2013), although we’re not knocking on heaven’s door quite yet. d
I’m not speaking of “saintly candidates” but of “candidates for sainthood,” who need to tap into the graces shared by the entire communion of saints, including those we honored on the Nov. 1 feast. Today, Nov. 6, is a day for the rest of us, called to make the best of earthly systems of politics and governance that are tainted by the Seven Capital Sins. Those sins are clearly named for our state capitals, as well as Washington, DC!
Even with this watered-down definition, I think it’s worthwhile to ponder on Election Day that there is a dignity in being a candidate for sainthood despite one’s flaws. This is a candidacy we share. It’s important not to lose hope on this day, or in its aftermath on Nov. 7, though we have been subjected to a panoply of campaign commercials in which political opponents have condemned each other as liars, and far worse.
Our collective woundedness is on display in a big way these days. We need to remember, for ourselves and for those on the ballot, that God works through our flaws and mistakes even as he works through the moments of grace that raise us higher, so long as we’re receptive and responsive in prayer and action and good will. While the lead-up to elections may be filled with rallies and noise, persuasion and persecution, the moment of voting can be a time of quiet, solitary humility.
The lack of “saintly candidates” shouldn’t deter us from voting for “candidates for sainthood.” Even if it’s hard to work up a lot of enthusiasm for a particular politician, it’s worthwhile to discern how we pilgrims (fellow candidates) can accompany each other through an election. We listen and then exercise our voting power wisely, even as we share hopeful prayers that God will help us keep our respective “campaign promises.” Marching amid the disinformation, distractions, and distrust we’re supposed to shed along the roadside, we journey in search of communion with our higher natures—our faith, hope, and love. We’re seeking holiness that can’t be found in political allegiances, but in trusting the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
If candidates look like they will accompany us, we might want simply to try accompanying them. They are not products to love or hate, and we must not consume them with resentment or rage. We and they are under construction, sure to face challenges that will change us, and we’ll have to get through those messes together. These are powerful calls to solidarity.
As the Catechism puts it apolitically, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him … For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (CCC 2012)
Now that sounds like a reason for a feast—a feast fit for non-kings. Enjoy the moment of casting a ballot. It’s our grace before the meal, the humble time we realize we’re hungry. We’re being fed, but the best saint-candidates won’t be satisfied until we all can say, along with St. Paul, we’ve run the race that really matters.
“I Don’t Know” — Music to my Ears
A television commentator recently made a remark that has made me think once again about trends in our culture and in the way we communicate. With tongue in cheek, he predicted that, in the not too distant future, the phrase, “I don’t know”—as a natural, low-pressure response to a factual question in a casual conversation—might become obsolete. I don’t know if that’s a good thing.
The commentator explained that nowadays more and more people, when a gap in their knowledge is revealed, simply go to their mobile phones and search for the answer, or they ask Siri or Alexa to play the role of encyclopedic sage. Siri, how old is Paul McCartney? Often, an answer materializes quickly: He’s 76. Perhaps the searcher gets both a jolt of serotonin and an ego boost from evading the stumper. That segment of cocktail party chatter is enhanced and efficiently concluded. Everybody comes away satisfied, feeling somewhat smarter.
I shouldn’t get too nervous about this. After all, robust curiosity and the search for truth and the encouragement of fruitful conversations are all things I believe in. Certainly, no harm has been done by the instantaneous iPhone reflex that yielded Paul McCartney’s age.
But I don’t want that reflex to spread too widely, especially when the questions become more complicated or more akin to the inquiries that used to send me to a book or library, or to a friend or family member, or to an acquaintance with particular expertise (as with the “lifelines” Regis Philbin offered on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”), or to a private period of study and thought after I’d departed that party.
Sometimes there’s a healthy humility, or an impulse for action, that comes from saying “I don’t know.” Of course, sometimes Siri or the truth-seeker might make the same mistake all of us have been guilty of—settling for the instant answer or the easy answer or the first answer that pops up from a search engine or an answer without context, or an answer that quashes our instinct to find out more or seek alternative answers. Sometimes there are no alternative answers. Paul is 76. But might there be a helpful answer to an unasked question? When is Paul’s birthday? He’ll be 77 tomorrow!
Siri, is there a God? I tried that one for kicks. She answered correctly: “I’m really not equipped to answer such questions.” However, there’s a part of me that wonders if, someday, the algorithms informing some of our technology might generate bolder, less humble answers, based on empirical evidence from selected journals or from crowd-sourcing among the crowds we prefer, or from determinations of future overseers. Even worse, might users of the technology someday assume that, well, if Siri doesn’t know the answer despite her access to all the world’s databases, is it inefficient or unproductive to search elsewhere—or even to ask?
Some of history’s best conversations, communities and collaborations must have been started when someone asked a question, someone else said, “I don’t know,” and multiple people jumped in and said things like: “That’s a good question.” Or “I’ve wondered that myself.” Or even better, “Let’s look into that together.”
The book I’ve written, When Headlines Hurt: Do We Have a Prayer? The Pope’s Words of Hope for Journalism, is largely about our society’s need to rediscover the joy of looking for answers together. We open the door to that pleasure when we admit to not knowing all the answers, to seeing the complexity of human beings and the influences we face, internally and externally. The adventure is shortcircuited when we think we know all the answers or we exclude whole groups of people deemed to offer nothing that deepens our understanding. We certainly shortcircuit our discovery of answers to questions or solutions to problems if we settle for a Siri one-liner or a label popularized by our favorite media or our own, handy pre-conceived notion.
In fairness, there’s one more danger that must be mentioned. While I’m singing the praises of the phrase, “I don’t know,” I insist we must make it the beginning, not the end, of our interactive explorations. Ignorance is not bliss, and neither is indifference. By all means, we should reach out and ask Siri for her input if the alternative is simply to draw inward. We might say, “Paul Is definitely 52 in my reality,” or “Paul is timeless and that’s enough for me.” We might take shortcuts like, “I’m agnostic on that God thing, so let’s leave it at that,” or even “God is a concept, just like John Lennon said.” Of course, most of the questions we encounter are somewhere between theology and Paul McCartney trivia; we do ourselves an injustice if we evade them by retreating into our separate bubbles of relativism and confirmation bias. We miss the great fun of a multi-faceted discussion or the exploration of an enduring mystery or the acknowledgment of paradox in human experiences of truth.
We can break through our know-it-all bubbles in various ways, sometimes driven by the need to solve urgent problems or by the discovery that “different” people have some compelling similarities and useful insights and multiple backgrounds which defy our application of simplistic labels to them. The all-in, complex experience of day-to-day life in community, in local organizations, in careers of service, in grass-roots expressions of policy concerns or faith-based values, or in the challenging togetherness of family activities, can also break through. Humor, if we can preserve it, is a great cure for the know-it-all syndrome. I’ve also rediscovered that music is one way to promote authentic, productive human connections. Singing builds community. Songs stick in our minds and often come out of our mouths when we hum at the office, making them contagious.
So there’s the solution to my immediate conundrum! How was I going to bring this blog post to an end, to make a point but also to keep the conversation going? I didn’t know. I let that TV commentator’s remark linger with me. Then I Googled “I don’t know” and discovered a kindred spirit on YouTube. I learned Paul McCartney didn’t know either, but he came at it from a different perspective, and he expressed it in a more creative and evocative way. I enjoyed listening to his take on the situation, and I wanted to share his gifts with you. Did you know he’s 76 years old? Anyway, I hope you’ll want to learn more than that. Click on the video above, which is only a start. We’ve all got so many lessons to learn, he points out. But it’s alright! Let’s sing this one together.
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Dutch Blogosphere: Civilians Cover a Catastrophe
By Iris Geldermans (Intern June – August 2018 at the Koninklijke Bibliotheek | National Library of the Netherlands)
Original text: https://www.kb.nl/blogs/duurzame-toegang/nl-blogosfeer-burgers-verslaan-een-ramp
For the past three months, I have worked as an intern at the KB | National Library to form a collection of Dutch weblogs for the webarchive called the NL-blogosfeer (Dutch Blogosphere). During this internship I was guided by Peter de Bode, service coordinator web archiving, and Dr. Kees Teszelszky, conservator digital collections. Here I discovered that weblogs are an important primary source for historical research, because they place events in the context of their own time.
Bloggers continuously focus on the current affairs. Many of the blogs are a bottom-up source: they give a glimpse in the daily life and opinions of the masses. Blogs also show how the public reacts to current topics, such as election results, festivals, Pim Fortuyn (Dutch politician), #Metoo, changing fashions, reactions on 9/11, the earthquakes in Groningen and MH17. That is why it is interesting to research how regular civilians reacted on the internet to one of the greatest calamities in the Netherlands around the turn of the millennium: The firework disaster in Enschede.
It was 18 years ago, last May, that a firework factory exploded in Enschede. That day 23 people died and about 950 people got injured. It happened the 13th of May 2000, on a Saturday: amidst the weekend. Because this catastrophe happened during the weekend, news about the disaster was slow and, in concerning traditional media, only present on radio and television. When searching Dutch newspapers at the newspaper database; LexisNexis on the 13th of May, and ‘Enschede’ there are only reports by the ANP (Dutch news agency). They wrote a total of 39 reports about the disaster between 4.30 p.m. and midnight. On the 14th of May, the ANP was, again, the only written source of information. It was not untill Monday that the news was released in paper newspapers. On the internet, however, it was a different story. There the bloggers were actively pursuing the news and so there you could find the latest updates about what was happening in Enschede, even on a Sunday.
In his book Bloghelden Frank Meeuwsen has written extensively about the reporting by the bloggers concerning the firework disaster. He interviewed blogger Tonie for his book, who says this about reporting on the internet: ‘the disaster at the firework factory took place in the weekend. News websites at the time were not updated in the weekend. A lot of editors worked according to the old media principle (…) most online editorial offices closed on Friday and opened again on Monday.’ Tonie worked for the editorial office of Planet Internet at the time. There he was the first that worked the weekend shift. He was also working at the time of the firework disaster. He was not the only one according to Meeuwsen. Bloggers Alt0169 and Esc were also gathering news (that was scattered all over the internet) about the disaster and bringing it together on their own blogs.
In order to research what Alt0169, ESC and Tonie wrote, we need archived websites. None of the three bloggers (their website as well as their archives) are online (live) at the moment. The webarchive of the Royal Library contains two of the three weblogs: Alt’s and Tonie’s. Unfortunately, on closer inspection both websites were archived too late and their blog archives are not approachable through the web archive of the Royal Library. For example, the following image is a message from the archive page from Tonie’s weblog on 13 – 19 may 2000. In it he says that his notepad (the title of the website is ‘Tonie’s notepad’) is now closed after three years and three months of writing, and that he is moving on.
Screenshot Tonie’s kladblok from the KB | National Library Wayback Machine. (Viewing the webpage is only possible at the library).
The only other source of information is the Internet Archive. Here, we can also find two out of the three bloggers: Alt and Tonie. Esc has an archive version of his website in the Internet Archive, but the archiving happened to late. The oldest blog post I can find is from 17 juni 2000. In Tonie’s case, his website there is an archive (in het IA) with only one post about Enschede on the 14th of May. Other posts about the disaster follow on the 15th, 16th and 18th of May. On the 14th, Tonie refers to the webpage he was updating on the Planet Internet website. Unfortunately, this page was not archived by the Royal Library and was archived too late by the Internet Archive. The page was archived by the IA on the 15th of November 2001: the article was already updated to a version of the 8th of June 2001. What Tonie wrote the year before seems almost impossible to track down.
Is there nothing to be found about the newsfeed made by the bloggers? Alt0169, fortunately, was archived reasonable well by the IA. He posted many hyperlinks (for example to Tonie’s Planet Internet webpage) about the catastrophe
Messages written by Alt0169 posted on the 14th of May. From the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive
Besides regular news, Alt also writes some quaint newsmessages like about the reaction the company Grolsch from Enschede had on the fireworkdisaster, during which the Grolsch-factories had caught fire.
English translation of the text from Alt’s messages in the image below:
‘Grolsch decided to build a new brewery on a nice location near the edge of Enschede. This new environmentfriendly brewery will replace both breweries at the centrum of Enschede and in Groenlo.’
‘The Grolsch-brewery appealed to the corporations of rival-breweries to help quickly normalize the sales of Grolsch-products.’
Business is business.
‘Looking at the great way the company is insured, this event will not have substantial consequences to the result of Grolsch N.V.’
Messages by Alt0169 about Grolsch. From the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive
Fragmented pieces of the puzzle
Messages by Alt0169 posted on 13 May 2000. From the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive
On the 13th of May, Alt posted an extensive overview on the news about the disaster, which he appended throughout the rest of the evening. ANP reported around 4.30. p.m. on the disaster. Alt reported only an hour later. The initial fire started burning around three, followed by explosions half an hour later. ANP and Alt responded (certainly during that period) quite quickly on the events. Faster even than both those sources, was the eyewitness report from Spruijt that, according to Alt, started reporting at 15.45 on the events happening in Enschede. Unfortunately, the hyperlink is nowhere to be found: not in the Internet Archive, not in the web archive of the Royal Library, nor anywhere online on the live web. When seeking archived versions of www.twente.nl, it appears that the website is not only archived incompletely, but even wrongly archived by the IA and therefore misleading. On the archived version of the 2nd of March 2000 you can read the following message: (translated from Dutch)
‘Accord reached in how to deal with disaster district. First talks between the Belangenvereniging Slachtoffers Vuurwerkramp and B&M; van Enschede leads to plan for rebuilding the destroyed district. Accord reached about public participation residents, repairs, rebuilding and return to their homes. ’
It is impossible that this article was published on the 2nd of March 2000. The firework disaster took place on the 13th of May 2000 after all. The reason behind this mistake is that the Internet Archive archives only small pieces of a website. These pieces (which are archived on different dates) are put together afterwards like a puzzle for the user. The result is a fragmented webpage filled with pieces that do not match each other.
The NL-blogosfeer
Rediscovering old weblogs turns out to be problematic. Some websites can be found in the Internet Archive, but because of their fragmented archiving method the websites can be incomplete (like Esc) of even misleading (like twente.nl). Moreover, it is unsure if the right version of a webpage needed for particular research is even archived (like Planet Internet). The only way to find a complete as possible offline website is through internet archaeology. We have to search basements and old boxes to find old storage media containing versions of old websites. Internet archaeology can make sure that archives of weblogs are rediscovered so that we can discover what Tonie (through Planet Internet) and Esc wrote on the day itself about the firework disaster happening at that moment in Enschede.
An example of what can (and will) be archived for the collection NL-blogosfeer is the blog belonging to L-rs. He was, just like Alt, online during the night from Saturday to Sunday to follow the news concerning the firework disaster in Enschede. Unfortunately all the hyperlinks to the news about Enschede have stopped working, but L-rs his archive is still online despite that the website is no longer active and has not been active for years. His opinions about (among other things) the events that happened in Enschede will be preserved by the webarchive at the Royal Library in the special web collection NL-blogosfeer for future research.
I wanted to show with this research that archiving weblogs is complicated because of the many hyperlinks they contain. It is important that websites are archived in one go so that they make their way to the web archive as complete as possible. Additionally that I hope I have shown that weblogs are an amazing sources for close-reading. Weblogs are like the diaries of old and, because other people can react to them, it is possible to follow discussions about various topics. Weblogs will be an important source for future research when one wants to research how the public reacted to the current affairs. Hopefully, the web collection NL-blogosfeer can contribute to this.
Screenshot L-rs from his archive on May 2000. From his website: http://l-rs.org
More on web archiving at Koninklijke Bibliotheek | National Library of The Netherlands can be found here.
By teszelszky, posted in teszelszky's Blog
17th Sep 2018 1:44 PM 1238 Reads No comments
veraPDF 1.14 released
The Open Preservation Foundation is pleased to announce that veraPDF 1.14 has been released. veraPDF is an open source, industry supported PDF/A validator, and part of the OPF reference toolset. This release contains a number of bug fixes and feature requests including the latest resolutions from the PDF Validation Technical Working Group of the PDF […]
Fourteenth International Conference on Digital Information Management (ICDIM 2019)
The International Conference on Digital Information Management is a multidisciplinary conference on digital information management, science and technology. The principal aim of this conference is to bring people in academia, research laboratories and industry together, and offer a collaborative platform to address the emerging issues and solutions in digital information science and technology Digital Information […]
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Google hosts the Apache HBase community at HBaseCon West 2017
We’re excited to announce that Google will host and organize HBaseCon West 2017, the official conference for the Apache HBase community on June 12. Registration for the event in Mountain View, CA is free and the call for papers (CFP) is open through April 24. Seats are limited and the CFP closes soon, so act fast.
Apache HBase is the original open source implementation of the design concepts behind Bigtable, a critical piece of internal Google data infrastructure which was first described in a 2006 research paper and earned a SIGOPS Hall of Fame award last year. Since the founding of HBase, its community has made impressive advances supporting massive scale with enterprise users including Alibaba, Apple, Facebook, and Visa. The community is fostering a rich and still-growing ecosystem including Apache Phoenix, OpenTSDB, Apache Trafodion, Apache Kylin and many others.
Now that Bigtable is available to Google Cloud users through Google Cloud Bigtable, developers have the benefit of platform choices for apps that rely on high-volume and low-latency reads and writes. Without the ability to build portable applications on open APIs, however, even that freedom of choice can lead to a dead end — something Google addresses through its investment in open standards like Apache Beam, Kubernetes and TensorFlow.
To that end, Google’s Bigtable team has been actively participating in the HBase community. We’ve helped co-author the HBase 1.0 API and have standardized on that API in Cloud Bigtable. This design choice means developers with HBase experience don’t need to learn a new API for building cloud-native applications, ensures Cloud Bigtable users have access to the large Apache Hadoop ecosystem and alleviates concerns about long-term lock-in.
We hope you’ll join us and the HBase community at HBaseCon West 2017. We recommend registering early as there is no registration available on site. As usual, sessions are selected by the HBase community from a pool reflecting some of the world’s largest and most advanced production deployments.
Register soon or submit a paper for HBaseCon — remember, the CFP closes on April 24! We look forward to seeing you at the conference.
By Carter Page and Michael Stack, Apache HBase Project Management Committee members
A New Home for Google Open Source
Free and open source software has been part of our technical and organizational foundation since Google’s early beginnings. From servers running the Linux kernel to an internal culture of being able to patch any other team's code, open source is part of everything we do. In return, we've released millions of lines of open source code, run programs like Google Summer of Code and Google Code-in, and sponsor open source projects and communities through organizations like Software Freedom Conservancy, the Apache Software Foundation, and many others.
Today, we’re launching opensource.google.com, a new website for Google Open Source that ties together all of our initiatives with information on how we use, release, and support open source.
This new site showcases the breadth and depth of our love for open source. It will contain the expected things: our programs, organizations we support, and a comprehensive list of open source projects we've released. But it also contains something unexpected: a look under the hood at how we "do" open source.
Helping you find interesting open source
One of the tenets of our philosophy towards releasing open source code is that "more is better." We don't know which projects will find an audience, so we help teams release code whenever possible. As a result, we have released thousands of projects under open source licenses ranging from larger products like TensorFlow, Go, and Kubernetes to smaller projects such as Light My Piano, Neuroglancer and Periph.io. Some are fully supported while others are experimental or just for fun. With so many projects spread across 100 GitHub organizations and our self-hosted Git service, it can be difficult to see the scope and scale of our open source footprint.
To provide a more complete picture, we are launching a directory of our open source projects which we will expand over time. For many of these projects we are also adding information about how they are used inside Google. In the future, we hope to add more information about project lifecycle and maturity.
How we do open source
Open source is about more than just code; it's also about community and process. Participating in open source projects and communities as a large corporation comes with its own unique set of challenges. In 2014, we helped form the TODO Group, which provides a forum to collaborate and share best practices among companies that are deeply committed to open source. Inspired by many discussions we've had over the years, today we are publishing our internal documentation for how we do open source at Google.
These docs explain the process we follow for releasing new open source projects, submitting patches to others' projects, and how we manage the open source code that we bring into the company and use ourselves. But in addition to the how, it outlines why we do things the way we do, such as why we only use code under certain licenses or why we require contributor license agreements for all patches we receive.
Our policies and procedures are informed by many years of experience and lessons we've learned along the way. We know that our particular approach to open source might not be right for everyone—there's more than one way to do open source—and so these docs should not be read as a "how-to" guide. Similar to how it can be valuable to read another engineer's source code to see how they solved a problem, we hope that others find value in seeing how we approach and think about open source at Google.
To hear a little more about the backstory of the new Google Open Source site, we invite you to listen to the latest episode from our friends at The Changelog. We hope you enjoy exploring the new site!
By Will Norris, Open Source Programs Office
The latest round of Google Open Source Peer Bonus winners
Google relies on open source software throughout our systems, much of it written by non-Googlers. We’re always looking for ways to say “thank you!” so 5 years ago we started asking Googlers to nominate open source contributors outside of the company who have made significant contributions to codebases we use or think are important. We’ve recognized more than 500 developers from 30+ countries who have contributed their time and talent to over 400 open source projects since the program’s inception in 2011.
Today we are pleased to announce the latest round of awardees, 52 individuals we’d like to recognize for their dedication to open source communities. The following is a list of everyone who gave us permission to thank them publicly:
Name Project Name Project
Philipp Hancke Adapter.js Fernando Perez Jupyter & IPython
Geoff Greer Ag Michelle Noorali Kubernetes & Helm
Dzmitry Shylovich Angular Prosper Otemuyiwa Laravel Hackathon Starter
David Kalnischkies Apt Keith Busch Linux kernel
Peter Mounce Bazel Thomas Caswell matplotlib
Yuki Yugui Sonoda Bazel Tatsuhiro Tsujikawa nghttp2
Eric Fiselier benchmark Anna Henningsen Node.js
Rob Stradling Certificate Transparency Charles Harris NumPy
Ke He Chromium Jeff Reback pandas
Daniel Micay CopperheadOS Ludovic Rousseau PCSC-Lite, CCID
Nico Huber coreboot Matti Picus PyPy
Kyösti Mälkki coreboot Salvatore Sanfilippo Redis
Jana Moudrá Dart Ralf Gommers SciPy
John Wiegley Emacs Kevin O'Connor SeaBIOS
Alex Saveau FirebaseUI-Android Sam Aaron Sonic Pi
Toke Hoiland-Jorgensen Flent Michael Tyson The Amazing Audio Engine
Hanno Böck Fuzzing Project Rob Landley Toybox
Luca Milanesio Gerrit Bin Meng U-Boot
Daniel Theophanes Go programming language Ben Noordhuis V8
Josh Snyder Go programming language Fatih Arslan vim-go
Brendan Tracey Go programming language Adam Treat WebKit
Elias Naur Go on Mobile Chris Dumez WebKit
Anthonios Partheniou Google Cloud Datalab Sean Larkin Webpack
Marcus Meissner gPhoto2 Tobias Koppers Webpack
Matt Butcher Helm Alexis La Goutte Wireshark dissector for QUIC
Congratulations to all of the awardees, past and present! Thank you for your contributions.
By Helen Hu, Open Source Programs Office
Dispatches from the latest Mercurial sprints
On March 10th-12th, the Mercurial project held one of its twice-a-year sprints in the Google Mountain View office. Mercurial is a distributed version control system, used by Google, W3C, OpenJDK and Mozilla among others. We had 40 developers in attendance, some from companies with large Mercurial deployments and some individual contributors who volunteer in their spare time.
One of the major themes we discussed was user-friendliness. Mercurial developers work hard to keep the command-line interface backwards compatible, but at the same time, we would like to make progress by smoothing out some rough edges. We discussed how we can provide a better user interface for users to opt-in to without breaking the backwards compatibility constraint. We also talked about how to make Mercurial’s Changeset Evolution feature easier to use.
We considered moving Mercurial past SHA1 for revision identification, to enhance security and integrity of Mercurial repositories in light of recent SHA1 exploits. A rough consensus on a plan started to emerge, and design docs should start to circulate in the next month or so.
We also talked about performance, such as new storage layers that would scale more effectively and work better with clones that only contain a partial repository history, a key requirement for Mercurial adoption in enterprise environments with large repositories, like Google.
If you are interested in finding out more about Mercurial (or perhaps you’d like to contribute!) you can find our mailing list information here.
By Martin von Zweigbergk and Augie Fackler, Software Engineers
An Upgrade to SyntaxNet, New Models and a Parsing Competition
Crossposted from the Google Research Blog
At Google, we continuously improve the language understanding capabilities used in applications ranging from generation of email responses to translation. Last summer, we open-sourced SyntaxNet, a neural-network framework for analyzing and understanding the grammatical structure of sentences. Included in our release was Parsey McParseface, a state-of-the-art model that we had trained for analyzing English, followed quickly by a collection of pre-trained models for 40 additional languages, which we dubbed Parsey's Cousins. While we were excited to share our research and to provide these resources to the broader community, building machine learning systems that work well for languages other than English remains an ongoing challenge. We are excited to announce a few new research resources, available now, that address this problem.
SyntaxNet Upgrade
We are releasing a major upgrade to SyntaxNet. This upgrade incorporates nearly a year’s worth of our research on multilingual language understanding, and is available to anyone interested in building systems for processing and understanding text. At the core of the upgrade is a new technology that enables learning of richly layered representations of input sentences. More specifically, the upgrade extends TensorFlow to allow joint modeling of multiple levels of linguistic structure, and to allow neural-network architectures to be created dynamically during processing of a sentence or document.
Our upgrade makes it, for example, easy to build character-based models that learn to compose individual characters into words (e.g. ‘c-a-t’ spells ‘cat’). By doing so, the models can learn that words can be related to each other because they share common parts (e.g. ‘cats’ is the plural of ‘cat’ and shares the same stem; ‘wildcat’ is a type of ‘cat’). Parsey and Parsey’s Cousins, on the other hand, operated over sequences of words. As a result, they were forced to memorize words seen during training and relied mostly on the context to determine the grammatical function of previously unseen words.
As an example, consider the following (meaningless but grammatically correct) sentence:
This sentence was originally coined by Andrew Ingraham who explained: “You do not know what this means; nor do I. But if we assume that it is English, we know that the doshes are distimmed by the gostak. We know too that one distimmer of doshes is a gostak." Systematic patterns in morphology and syntax allow us to guess the grammatical function of words even when they are completely novel: we understand that ‘doshes’ is the plural of the noun ‘dosh’ (similar to the ‘cats’ example above) or that ‘distim’ is the third person singular of the verb distim. Based on this analysis we can then derive the overall structure of this sentence even though we have never seen the words before.
ParseySaurus
To showcase the new capabilities provided by our upgrade to SyntaxNet, we are releasing a set of new pretrained models called ParseySaurus. These models use the character-based input representation mentioned above and are thus much better at predicting the meaning of new words based both on their spelling and how they are used in context. The ParseySaurus models are far more accurate than Parsey’s Cousins (reducing errors by as much as 25%), particularly for morphologically-rich languages like Russian, or agglutinative languages like Turkish and Hungarian. In those languages there can be dozens of forms for each word and many of these forms might never be observed during training - even in a very large corpus.
Consider the following fictitious Russian sentence, where again the stems are meaningless, but the suffixes define an unambiguous interpretation of the sentence structure:
Even though our Russian ParseySaurus model has never seen these words, it can correctly analyze the sentence by inspecting the character sequences which constitute each word. In doing so, the system can determine many properties of the words (notice how many more morphological features there are here than in the English example). To see the sentence as ParseySaurus does, here is a visualization of how the model analyzes this sentence:
Each square represents one node in the neural network graph, and lines show the connections between them. The left-side “tail” of the graph shows the model consuming the input as one long string of characters. These are intermittently passed to the right side, where the rich web of connections shows the model composing words into phrases and producing a syntactic parse. Check out the full-size rendering here.
A Competition
You might be wondering whether character-based modeling are all we need or whether there are other techniques that might be important. SyntaxNet has lots more to offer, like beam search and different training objectives, but there are of course also many other possibilities. To find out what works well in practice we are helping co-organize, together with Charles University and other colleagues, a multilingual parsing competition at this year’s Conference on Computational Natural Language Learning (CoNLL) with the goal of building syntactic parsing systems that work well in real-world settings and for 45 different languages.
The competition is made possible by the Universal Dependencies (UD) initiative, whose goal is to develop cross-linguistically consistent treebanks. Because machine learned models can only be as good as the data that they have access to, we have been contributing data to UD since 2013. For the competition, we partnered with UD and DFKI to build a new multilingual evaluation set consisting of 1000 sentences that have been translated into 20+ different languages and annotated by linguists with parse trees. This evaluation set is the first of its kind (in the past, each language had its own independent evaluation set) and will enable more consistent cross-lingual comparisons. Because the sentences have the same meaning and have been annotated according to the same guidelines, we will be able to get closer to answering the question of which languages might be harder to parse.
We hope that the upgraded SyntaxNet framework and our the pre-trained ParseySaurus models will inspire researchers to participate in the competition. We have additionally created a tutorial showing how to load a Docker image and train models on the Google Cloud Platform, to facilitate participation by smaller teams with limited resources. So, if you have an idea for making your own models with the SyntaxNet framework, sign up to compete! We believe that the configurations that we are releasing are a good place to start, but we look forward to seeing how participants will be able to extend and improve these models or perhaps create better ones!
Thanks to everyone involved who made this competition happen, including our collaborators at UD-Pipe, who provide another baseline implementation to make it easy to enter the competition. Happy parsing from the main developers, Chris Alberti, Daniel Andor, Ivan Bogatyy, Mark Omernick, Zora Tung and Ji Ma!
By David Weiss and Slav Petrov, Research Scientists
Google Summer of Code 2017 student applications are open!
Are you a university student looking to learn more about open source software development? Consider applying to Google Summer of Code (GSoC) for a chance to spend your break coding on an open source project.
For the 13th straight year GSoC will give students from around the world the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of open source software development while working from their home. Students will receive a stipend for their successful contributions to allow them to focus on their coding during the program.
Mentors are paired with the students to help address technical questions and to monitor their progress throughout the program. Former GSoC participants have told us that the real-world experience they’ve gained during the program has not only sharpened their technical skills, but has also boosted their confidence, broadened their professional network and enhanced their resumes.
Interested students can submit proposals on the program site now through Monday, April 3 at 16:00 UTC. The first step is to search through the 201 open source organizations and review the “Project ideas” for the organizations that appeal to you. Next, reach out to the organizations to introduce yourself and determine if your skills and interests are a good match with their organization.
Since spots are limited, we recommend writing a strong project proposal and submitting a draft early to receive feedback from the organization which will help increase your chances of selection. Our Student Manual, written by former students and mentors, provides excellent helpful advice to get you started with choosing an organization and crafting a great proposal.
For information throughout the application period and beyond, visit the Google Open Source Blog, join our Google Summer of Code discussion lists or join us on Internet Relay Chat (IRC) at #gsoc on Freenode. Be sure to read the Program Rules, Timeline and FAQ, all available on the program site, for more information about Google Summer of Code.
Good luck to all the open source coders who apply, and remember to submit your proposals early — you only have until Monday, April 3 at 16:00 UTC!
By Stephanie Taylor, Google Summer of Code Program Manager
Announcing Google Radio PHY Test, aka “Graphyte”, as part of the Chromium Project
With many different Chromebook models for sale from several different OEMs, the Chrome OS Factory team interfaces with many different Contract Manufacturers (CMs), Original Device Manufacturers (ODMs), and factory teams. The Google Chromium OS Factory Software Platform, a suite of factory tools provided to Chrome OS partners, allows any factory team to quickly bring up a Chrome OS manufacturing test line.
Today, we are announcing that this platform has been extended to remove the friction of bringing up wireless verification test systems with a component called Google Radio PHY Test or “Graphyte.” Graphyte is an open source software framework that can be used and extended by the wireless ecosystem of chipset companies, test solution providers, and wireless device manufacturers, as opposed to the traditional approach of vendor-specific solutions. It is developed in Python and capable of running on Linux and Chrome OS test stations with an initial focus on Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 802.15.4 physical layer verification.
Verifying that a wireless device is working properly requires chipset- and instrument-specific software which coordinate transmitting and measuring power and signal quality across channels, bandwidths, and data rates. Graphyte provides high-level API abstractions for controlling wireless chipsets and test instruments, allowing anyone to develop a “plugin” for a given chipset or instrument.
Graphyte architecture.
We’ve worked closely with industry leaders like Intel and LitePoint to ensure the Graphyte APIs have the right level of abstraction, and it is already being used in production on multiple manufacturing lines and several different products.
To get started, use Git to clone our repository. You can learn more by reading the Graphyte User Manual and checking out the example of how to use Graphyte in a real test. You can get involved by joining our mailing list. If you’d like to contribute, please follow the Chromium OS Developer Guide.
To get started with the LitePoint Graphyte plugin, please contact LitePoint directly. To get started with the Intel Graphyte plugin, please contact Intel directly.
Happy testing!
By Kurt Williams, Technical Program Manager
Announcing Guetzli: A New Open Source JPEG Encoder
Crossposted on the Google Research Blog
At Google, we care about giving users the best possible online experience, both through our own services and products and by contributing new tools and industry standards for use by the online community. That’s why we’re excited to announce Guetzli, a new open source algorithm that creates high quality JPEG images with file sizes 35% smaller than currently available methods, enabling webmasters to create webpages that can load faster and use even less data.
Guetzli [guɛtsli] — cookie in Swiss German — is a JPEG encoder for digital images and web graphics that can enable faster online experiences by producing smaller JPEG files while still maintaining compatibility with existing browsers, image processing applications and the JPEG standard. From the practical viewpoint this is very similar to our Zopfli algorithm, which produces smaller PNG and gzip files without needing to introduce a new format; and different than the techniques used in RNN-based image compression, RAISR, and WebP, which all need client changes for compression gains at internet scale.
The visual quality of JPEG images is directly correlated to its multi-stage compression process: color space transform, discrete cosine transform, and quantization. Guetzli specifically targets the quantization stage in which the more visual quality loss is introduced, the smaller the resulting file. Guetzli strikes a balance between minimal loss and file size by employing a search algorithm that tries to overcome the difference between the psychovisual modeling of JPEG's format, and Guetzli’s psychovisual model, which approximates color perception and visual masking in a more thorough and detailed way than what is achievable by simpler color transforms and the discrete cosine transform. However, while Guetzli creates smaller image file sizes, the tradeoff is that these search algorithms take significantly longer to create compressed images than currently available methods.
Figure 1. 16x16 pixel synthetic example of a phone line hanging against a blue sky — traditionally a case where JPEG compression algorithms suffer from artifacts. Uncompressed original is on the left. Guetzli (on the right) shows less ringing artefacts than libjpeg (middle) and has a smaller file size.
And while Guetzli produces smaller image file sizes without sacrificing quality, we additionally found that in experiments where compressed image file sizes are kept constant that human raters consistently preferred the images Guetzli produced over libjpeg images, even when the libjpeg files were the same size or even slightly larger. We think this makes the slower compression a worthy tradeoff.
Figure 2. 20x24 pixel zoomed areas from a picture of a cat’s eye. Uncompressed original on the left. Guetzli (on the right) shows less ringing artefacts than libjpeg (middle) without requiring a larger file size.
It is our hope that webmasters and graphic designers will find Guetzli useful and apply it to their photographic content, making users’ experience smoother on image-heavy websites in addition to reducing load times and bandwidth costs for mobile users. Last, we hope that the new explicitly psychovisual approach in Guetzli will inspire further image and video compression research.
By Robert Obryk and Jyrki Alakuijala, Software Engineers, Google Research Europe
Getting ready for Google Summer of Code 2017
Spring is just around the corner here in the Northern Hemisphere and Google Summer of Code is fast approaching. If you are a student interested in participating this year, now is the time to prepare -- read on for tips on how to get ready.
This year we’ve accepted 201 open source organizations into the program, nearly 40 of which are new to the program. The organizations cover a wide range of topics including (but certainly not limited to!):
Healthcare and bioinformatics
Music and graphic design
How should you prepare for Google Summer of Code?
While student applications don’t open until March 20th at 16:00 UTC, you need to decide which projects you’re interested in and what you’ll propose. You should also communicate with those projects to learn more before you apply.
Start by looking at the list of participating projects and organizations. You can explore by searching for specific names or technologies, or filtering by topics you are interested in. Follow the “Learn More” link through to each organization’s page for additional information.
Once you’ve identified the organizations that you’re interested in, take a look at their ideas list to get a sense of the specific projects you could work on. Typically, you will choose a project from that list and write a proposal based on that idea, but you could also propose something that’s not on that list.
You should reach out to the organizations after you’ve decided what you want to work on. Doing this can make the difference between a good application and a great application.
Whatever you do, don’t wait until March 20th to begin preparing for Google Summer of Code! History has shown that students who reach out to organizations before the start of the application period have a higher chance of being accepted into the program, as they have had more time to talk to the organizations and understand what they are looking for with the project.
If you have any questions along the way, take a look at the Student Manual, FAQ and Timeline. If you can’t find the answer to your question, try taking your question to the mailing list.
By Josh Simmons, Open Source Programs Office
Another option for file sharing
Originally posted on the Google Security Blog
Existing mechanisms for file sharing are so fragmented that people waste time on multi-step copying and repackaging. With the new open source project Upspin, we aim to improve the situation by providing a global name space to name all your files. Given an Upspin name, a file can be shared securely, copied efficiently without "download" and "upload", and accessed by anyone with permission from anywhere with a network connection.
Our target audience is personal users, families, or groups of friends. Although Upspin might have application in enterprise environments, we think that focusing on the consumer case enables easy-to-understand and easy-to-use sharing.
File names begin with the user's email address followed by a slash-separated Unix-like path name:
ann@example.com/dir/file.
Any user with appropriate permission can access the contents of this file by using Upspin services to evaluate the full path name, typically via a FUSE filesystem so that unmodified applications just work. Upspin names usually identify regular static files and directories, but may point to dynamic content generated by devices such as sensors or services.
If the user wishes to share a directory (the unit at which sharing privileges are granted), she adds a file called Access to that directory. In that file she describes the rights she wishes to grant and the users she wishes to grant them to. For instance,
read: joe@here.com, mae@there.com
allows Joe and Mae to read any of the files in the directory holding the Access file, and also in its subdirectories. As well as limiting who can fetch bytes from the server, this access is enforced end-to-end cryptographically, so cleartext only resides on Upspin clients, and use of cloud storage does not extend the trust boundary.
Upspin looks a bit like a global file system, but its real contribution is a set of interfaces, protocols, and components from which an information management system can be built, with properties such as security and access control suited to a modern, networked world. Upspin is not an "app" or a web service, but rather a suite of software components, intended to run in the network and on devices connected to it, that together provide a secure, modern information storage and sharing network. Upspin is a layer of infrastructure that other software and services can build on to facilitate secure access and sharing. This is an open source contribution, not a Google product. We have not yet integrated with the Key Transparency server, though we expect to eventually, and for now use a similar technique of securely publishing all key updates. File storage is inherently an archival medium without forward secrecy; loss of the user's encryption keys implies loss of content, though we do provide for key rotation.
It’s early days, but we’re encouraged by the progress and look forward to feedback and contributions. To learn more, see the GitHub repository at Upspin.
By Andrew Gerrand, Eric Grosse, Rob Pike, Eduardo Pinheiro and Dave Presotto, Google Software Engineers
By maintainers, for maintainers: Wontfix_Cabal
The Google Open Source Programs Office likes to highlight events we support, organize, or speak at. In this case, Google’s own Jess Frazelle was responsible for running a unique event for open source maintainers.
This year I helped organize the first inaugural Wontfix_Cabal. The conference was organized by open source software maintainers for open source software maintainers. Our initial concept was an unconference where attendees could discuss topics candidly with their peers from other open source communities.
The idea for the event stemmed from the response to a blog post I published about closing pull requests. The response was overwhelming, with many maintainers commiserating and sharing lessons they had learned. It seemed like we could all learn a lot from our peers in other projects -- if we had the space to do so -- and it was clear that people needed a place to vent.
Major thanks to Katrina Owen and Brandon Keepers from GitHub who jumped right in and provided the venue we needed to make this happen. Without their support this would’ve never become a reality!
It was an excellent first event and the topics discussed were wide ranging, including:
How to deal with unmaintained projects
Collecting metrics to judge project health
Helping newcomers
Dealing with backlogs
Coping with, and minimizing, toxic behavior in our communities
Never have I seen so many open source maintainers in one place. Thanks @wontfix_, this is amazing pic.twitter.com/GdYXUjZds3
— Gregor (@gr2m) February 15, 2017
The discussion around helping newcomers focused on creating communities with welcoming and productive cultures right from the start. I was fascinated to learn that some projects pre-fill issues before going public so as to set the tone for the future of the project. Another good practice is clearly defining how one becomes a maintainer or gets commit access. There should be clear rules in place so people know what they have to do to succeed.
Another discussion I really liked focused on “saying no.” Close fast and close early was a key takeaway. There’s no sense in letting a contribution sit waiting when you know it will never be accepted. Multiple projects found that having a bot give the hard news was always better than having the maintainer do it. This way it is not personal, just a regular part of the process.
One theme seen in multiple sessions: “Being kind is not the same as being nice.” The distinction here is that being nice comes from a place of fear and leads people to bend over backwards just to please. Being kind comes from a place of strength, from doing the right thing.
Summaries of many of the discussions have been added to the GitHub repo if you would like to read more.
After the event concluded many maintainers got right to work, putting what they had learned into practice. For instance, Rust got help from the Google open source fuzzing team.
Flurry of internal emails following up on ideas from @wontfix_: all sent! Now it's time to start on some PRs.
— Rainer Sigwald (@Tashkant) February 22, 2017
Our goal was to put together a community of maintainers that could support and learn from each other. When I saw Linux kernel maintainers talking to people who work on Node and JavaScript, I knew we had achieved that goal. Laura Abbott, one of those kernel developers, wrote a blog post about the experience.
Not only was the event useful, it was also a lot of fun. Meeting maintainers, people who care a great deal about open source software, from such a diverse group of projects was great. Overall, I think our initial run was a success! Follow us on Twitter to find out about future events.
By Jess Frazelle, Software Engineer
Introducing Python Fire, a library for automatically generating command line interfaces
Today we are pleased to announce the open-sourcing of Python Fire. Python Fire generates command line interfaces (CLIs) from any Python code. Simply call the Fire function in any Python program to automatically turn that program into a CLI. The library is available from pypi via `pip install fire`, and the source is available on GitHub.
Python Fire will automatically turn your code into a CLI without you needing to do any additional work. You don't have to define arguments, set up help information, or write a main function that defines how your code is run. Instead, you simply call the `Fire` function from your main module, and Python Fire takes care of the rest. It uses inspection to turn whatever Python object you give it -- whether it's a class, an object, a dictionary, a function, or even a whole module -- into a command line interface, complete with tab completion and documentation, and the CLI will stay up-to-date even as the code changes.
To illustrate this, let's look at a simple example.
import fire
class Example(object):
def hello(self, name='world'):
"""Says hello to the specified name."""
return 'Hello {name}!'.format(name=name)
fire.Fire(Example)
When the Fire function is run, our command will be executed. Just by calling Fire, we can now use the Example class as if it were a command line utility.
$ ./example.py hello
$ ./example.py hello David
Hello David!
$ ./example.py hello --name=Google
Hello Google!
Of course, you can continue to use this module like an ordinary Python library, enabling you to use the exact same code both from Bash and Python. If you're writing a Python library, then you no longer need to update your main method or client when experimenting with it; instead you can simply run the piece of your library that you're experimenting with from the command line. Even as the library changes, the command line tool stays up to date.
At Google, engineers use Python Fire to generate command line tools from Python libraries. We have an image manipulation tool built by using Fire with the Python Imaging Library, PIL. In Google Brain, we use an experiment management tool built with Fire, allowing us to manage experiments equally well from Python or from Bash.
Every Fire CLI comes with an interactive mode. Run the CLI with the `--interactive` flag to launch an IPython REPL with the result of your command, as well as other useful variables already defined and ready to use. Be sure to check out Python Fire's documentation for more on this and the other useful features Fire provides.
Between Python Fire's simplicity, generality, and power, we hope you find it a useful library for your own projects.
By David Bieber, Software Engineer on Google Brain
Operation Rosehub
Twelve months ago, a team of 50 Google employees used GitHub to patch the “Apache Commons Collections Deserialization Vulnerability” (or the “Mad Gadget vulnerability” as we call it) in thousands of open source projects. We recently learned why our efforts were so important.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency had their software systems encrypted and shut down by an avaricious hacker. The hacker used that very same vulnerability, according to reports of the incident. He demanded a Bitcoin ransom from the government. He threatened to leak the private data he stole from San Francisco’s citizens if his ransom wasn’t paid. This was an attack on our most critical public infrastructure; infrastructure which underpins the economy of a major US city.
Mad Gadget is one of the most pernicious vulnerabilities we’ve seen. By merely existing on the Java classpath, seven “gadget” classes in Apache Commons Collections (versions 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.2.1, and 4.0) make object deserialization for the entire JVM process Turing complete with an exec function. Since many business applications use object deserialization to send messages across the network, it would be like hiring a bank teller who was trained to hand over all the money in the vault if asked to do so politely, and then entrusting that teller with the key. The only thing that would keep a bank safe in such a circumstance is that most people wouldn’t consider asking such a question.
The announcement of Mad Gadget triggered the cambrian explosion of enterprise security disclosures. Oracle, Cisco, Red Hat, Jenkins, VMWare, IBM, Intel, Adobe, HP and SolarWinds all formally disclosed that they had been impacted by this issue.
But unlike big businesses, open source projects don’t have people on staff to read security advisories all day and instead rely on volunteers to keep them informed. It wasn’t until five months later that a Google employee noticed several prominent open source libraries had not yet heard the bad news. Those projects were still depending on vulnerable versions of Collections. So back in March 2016, she started sending pull requests to those projects updating their code. This was easy to do and usually only required a single line change. With the help of GitHub’s GUI, any individual can make such changes to anyone’s codebase in under a minute. Given how relatively easy the changes seemed, she recruited more colleagues at Google to help the cause. As more work was completed, it was apparent that the problem was bigger than we had initially realized.
For instance, when patching projects like the Spring Framework, it was clear we weren’t just patching Spring but also patching every project that depended on Spring. We were furthermore patching all the projects that depended on those projects and so forth. But even once those users upgraded, they could still be impacted by other dependencies introducing the vulnerable version of Collections. To make matters worse, build systems like Maven can not be relied upon to evict old versions.
This was when we realized the particularly viral nature of Mad Gadget. We came to the conclusion that, in order to improve the health of the global software ecosystem, the old version of Collections should be removed from as many codebases as possible.
We used BigQuery to assess the damage. It allowed us to write a SQL query with regular expressions that searched all the public code on GitHub in a couple minutes.
#standardSQL
SELECT pop, repo_name, path
SELECT id, repo_name, path
FROM `bigquery-public-data.github_repos.files` AS files
WHERE path LIKE '%pom.xml' AND
EXISTS (
FROM `bigquery-public-data.github_repos.contents`
WHERE NOT binary AND
content LIKE '%commons-collections<%' AND
content LIKE '%>3.2.1<%' AND
id = files.id
JOIN (
difference.new_sha1 AS id,
ARRAY_LENGTH(repo_name) AS pop
FROM `bigquery-public-data.github_repos.commits`
CROSS JOIN UNNEST(difference) AS difference
USING (id)
ORDER BY pop DESC;
</artifactid>
We were alarmed when we discovered 2,600 unique open source projects that still directly referenced insecure versions of Collections. Internally at Google, we have a tool called Rosie that allows developers to make large scale changes to codebases owned by hundreds of different teams. But no such tool existed for GitHub. So we recruited even more engineers from around Google to patch the world’s code the hard way.
Ultimately, security rests within the hands of each developer. However we felt that the severity of the vulnerability and its presence in thousands of open source projects were extenuating circumstances. We recognized that the industry best practices had failed. Action was needed to keep the open source community safe. So rather than simply posting a security advisory asking everyone to address the vulnerability, we formed a task force to update their code for them. That initiative was called Operation Rosehub.
Operation Rosehub was organized from the bottom-up on company-wide mailing lists. Employees volunteered and patches were sent out in a matter of weeks. There was no mandate from management to do this—yet management was supportive. They were happy to see employees spontaneously self-organizing to put their 20% time to good use. Some of those managers even participated themselves.
Patches were sent to many projects, avoiding threats to public security for years to come. However, we were only able to patch open source projects on GitHub that directly referenced vulnerable versions of Collections. Perhaps if the SF Muni software systems had been open source, we would have been able to bring Mad Gadget to their attention too.
Going forward, we believe the best thing to do is to build awareness. We want to draw attention to the fact that the tools now exist for fixing software on a massive scale, and that it works best when that software is open.
In this case, the open source dataset on BigQuery allowed us to identify projects that still needed to be patched. When a vulnerability is discovered, any motivated team or individual who wants to help improve the security of our infrastructure can use these tools to do just that.
By Justine Tunney, Software Engineer on TensorFlow
We’d like to recognize the following people for their contributions to Operation Rosehub: Laetitia Baudoin, Chris Blume, Sven Blumenstein, James Bogosian, Phil Bordelon, Andrew Brampton, Joshua Bruning, Sergio Campamá, Kasey Carrothers, Martin Cochran, Ian Flanigan, Frank Fort, Joshua French, Christian Gils, Christian Gruber, Erik Haugen, Andrew Heiderscheit, David Kernan, Glenn Lewis, Roberto Lublinerman, Stefano Maggiolo, Remigiusz Modrzejewski, Kristian Monsen, Will Morrison, Bharadwaj Parthasarathy, Shawn Pearce, Sebastian Porst, Rodrigo Queiro, Parth Shukla, Max Sills, Josh Simmons, Stephan Somogyi, Benjamin Specht, Ben Stewart, Pascal Terjan, Justine Tunney, Daniel Van Derveer, Shannon VanWagner, and Jennifer Winer.
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The power of empathy in product development
by Claire Hall, University of Connecticut
UConn researcher Kelly Herd. Credit: (Nathan Oldham/UConn Photo)
What kind of potato chip would you create, and what would you name it, if you wanted to sell the product exclusively to pregnant women?
This was the task that marketing professors Kelly Herd (University of Connecticut) and Ravi Mehta (University of Illinois) presented to more than 200 adults, in a study of how emotion impacts creativity. Half of the group was simply given the assignment in an objective way. The other participants were told to take a few minutes, before beginning the task, to envision how the customer would feel while eating the snack.
The amateur 'product designers' came up with vastly different potato chip ideas and descriptions, but the most creative (as judged by a panel of mothers-to-be) were: Pickles-and-Ice Cream chips; Sushi chips; and 'Margarita-for-Mom' chips. The most creative ideas came from the group that had thought about how the consumer would feel before starting the task."I think it is fascinating to see that eliciting empathy has inherent value in maximizing creativity," Herd says. "This is one of those areas of psychology that hasn't been clearly disentangled yet for marketers: how does explicitly thinking of others' feelings affect those who are creating new work?"
"We've shown that empathy can change the way in which you think," she says. "We've looked at it in a somewhat narrow context of product design, but it appears that subtle things, such as imagining how someone else would feel, can have a huge impact on creativity in general."
Separate Experiments Yield Consistent Results
The research, titled, "Head vs. Heart: the Effect of Objective versus Feelings-Based Mental Imagery on New Product Creativity," appeared in the June 2018 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research. Herd and Mehta conducted five separate experiments, including asking participants to design a child's toy, select ingredients for a new kids' cereal, and redesign a grocery cart for the elderly. Each time, the group that produced the most original products was the one instructed to imagine the target consumers' feelings before beginning the task.
The product judges were experts in the subject area—for instance, the toys were judged by adults who work with children in the relevant age group. None of the judges were aware of the differences in the team assignments, and were asked simply to use their knowledge to identify which designs were the most creative.
The findings reconcile previous studies that had produced inconclusive arguments on imagery and outcome.
Emotional Connection Leads to Cognitive Flexibility
The researchers believe the initial focus on others' feelings creates 'cognitive flexibility'—the ability to simultaneously consider issues from diverse perspectives. The ability to "shift avenues of thought" while perceiving and processing information is a benefit to creativity.
But it was important to determine that the proposals were not only creative, but feasible, Herd says. "We wanted to make sure the proposals weren't outlandish and that empathy didn't negatively impact practicality."
The recommendation of eliciting an emotion before beginning a creative project offers product developers an inexpensive and simple way to boost their generation of ideas, she says.
Companies are Tapping Consumer Brainstormers
An interesting trend in marketing now is for large companies to develop new ideas for products and services from their customers' suggestions, says Herd. LEGO, Starbucks, Frito-Lay Co., and even the U.S. Army all offer opportunities for consumers to make recommendations for their corporate product line. This year alone, more than half of consumer goods manufacturers say they will get 75% of their innovation and research and development capabilities from crowdsourcing.
Starbucks has fielded more than 150,000 customer ideas since it began implementing its crowdsourcing program in 2008. Their input has led to the creation of Frappuccino Happy Hour, mobile payment drive-throughs, free birthday treats, and the creation of cake pops.
In an ultra-competitive marketplace, few companies will survive for long without innovation and new products, Herd says. In fact, a 2016 study published in Business News Daily found that 82% of company executives interviewed believe there is a strong connection between creativity and business results.
Until now, mental imagery and other strategies impacting creativity haven't been well researched, she notes. The researchers were able to present new evidence demonstrating the effects of mental imagery on creativity, document the importance of different types of mental imagery, and identify cognitive flexibility as the underlying process.
"We were trying to brainstorm context where people could design for others," says Herd. "Our participants spent a lot of time thinking these projects through, in some cases much more time than they needed to. One of the things we love about testing creativity is that it is engaging, and people say it is a fun task. Through these simple experiments, we've shown that consideration of an end-user's feelings is a potent tool for developing innovative new products and solving problems that exist in the marketplace."
To stoke creativity, crank out ideas and then step away
More information: Kelly B Herd et al. Head versus Heart: The Effect of Objective versus Feelings-Based Mental Imagery on New Product Creativity, Journal of Consumer Research (2018). DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucy058
Journal information: Journal of Consumer Research
Provided by University of Connecticut
Citation: The power of empathy in product development (2019, May 28) retrieved 18 July 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2019-05-power-empathy-product.html
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Long nights, loud protests and the truth: A four-year career at The Pitt News
Stephen Caruso reports in Washington D.C. during the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, 2017. James Evan Bowen-Gaddy | Contributing Editor
I’ve always struggled to articulate why I work at The Pitt News.
In the four years I’ve spent working here, my friends have consistently commented on how much time I spend at the office. When I miss out on a night of drinks or a day in Schenley, they are understanding. They know my passion, and that I probably was running away from police horses at a protest or finishing up some expose.
But what I realized over the past year is that the reason I dragged myself through those days and nights was because reporting for The Pitt News was a passion I never knew I had.
From a young age, the world’s beauty captured me — literally. I was a geography nerd and spent hours running my fingers across globes or looking through atlases, filled with vivid pictures of steamy jungles, dry deserts and frigid mountains.
In each image, I imagined the people there, living a life I would never be able to relate to. How could I, an 8-year-old wrapped in a tiny suburban existence, ever understand what it was like to live in the slums of Mumbai or a hut in the Amazon?
As I got older, I did well in school, but my path forward didn’t involve what enchanted me — it seemed based off of what would make me successful. Despite the insistence of my elders that I could accomplish a lot, I didn’t know what I wanted to accomplish.
I came to Pitt and decided to major in economics because it was similar to history, my true passion, and seemed like it could make more money. Do well, end up at a fancy school for a master’s, join a think tank or the government and push for smart policy. It was boring, but seemed important.
I had, however, edited my high school newspaper. While it was my first time as a “journalist,” looking back I didn’t deserve the title. The paper never reported. It was mostly a vehicle for me to cast opinions out into the world.
Armed with that experience, and confident that everyone wanted to hear the voice of an 18-year-old white guy from Poughkeepsie, New York, I strolled onto the fourth floor of the William Pitt Union for the first time, unsure of what I was getting myself into.
On arriving, the friendly office manager, Marj, inquired what type of writer I wanted to be.
“Opinions,” I answered, but then decided that, while I was there, I might as well get the applications for every section. With a quizzical glance, she handed over the requisite paperwork.
As if I hadn’t asked enough, I also queried if they needed anyone who knew Adobe InDesign, a skill I’d picked up at my high school paper. At that exact moment, the then-Editor-in-Chief Pat McAteer stalked around a corner in a huff.
Upon hearing the words “InDesign,” he whipped his head around and, looking right at me, asked a question that would alter my life’s trajectory: “Do you want to work for The Pitt News?”
While I didn’t know it then — in fact, I wouldn’t realize it for nearly three years — that offer to become layout editor is the only reason I have the future I now have.
That first year at Pitt, I was lost. I did all the dumb college things everyone does — parties on Dithridge, football games at Heinz and skipping 8 a.m. recitations. But the path from my classes into the real world was unclear.
Yet three days a week as an editor at The Pitt News, I had inspiring coworkers, a purpose and a physical product on newsstands. Even after a day of class, I found myself looking forward to another eight hours on desk at the paper, changing fonts and adjusting headlines into the wee hours.
It was with some of the best co-workers I could ask for that I grew from there. I learned to write an organized column and not just vomit ideas onto a page. I learned how to take a photo with composition and form. I learned the art of reporting, covering Pitt football, Trump rallies and coffee shops.
But it was one night after the election — when a thousand people marched through Oakland — that I realized I had found my purpose.
Standing on the Birmingham Bridge, a camera on my shoulder and a notebook in my hand, looking out on a crowd of people, heartbroken by the presidential races’ results but inspired to spend a chilly autumn night outdoors, I was overwhelmed.
Every single one of these people had a story, and I wanted to tell them all.
The Pitt News brought me to that moment. It let me find my voice to help others find theirs. It’s shown me a life I’m happy and proud to live — based around searching for truth, around finding ways to let a kid raised in Poughkeepsie relate to a kid from Mumbai, Dubai or Shanghai.
But even more, this search itself affirms to me that there is some universal human truth. I don’t know what it is yet, but it exists — those chills on the bridge one fall night told me I was close. It’s something that no matter who you are or what you’ve seen, when you touch it you can’t help but shiver in majesty at the world and its beauty.
Some people chose to find truth through religion, some through art. Some people would probably scoff at me for even asserting this and think I’m an overly sentimental slob. But in this sad age of fake news, I choose to find truth in other people — to look them in the eyes, open my notebook and write down their truth.
This is not to say I’m not questioning authority or the powers that be. But offering our trust to a person, on that individual basis, is the root of our humanity, and we have embrace it. When what seems to be true changes every day, and what is actually true is inscrutable, I’m reminded how lucky I am to join a profession dedicated to this pursuit. Now that I’ve cast off my safe future in economics, the world once again looks big and inspiring.
So as I trace my life’s path around the globe as a journalist, I feel like a kid again — eyes wide with wonder for what I’ll see next.
Stephen is finally done at The Pitt News, but he’ll always be a proud alumni. To share your story, shoot him an email at stephencaruso23@gmail.com. To follow along with his future adventures, follow him on twitter @StephenJ_Caruso.
Next Read: Pitt softball secures series win over NC State »
journalismpittthe pitt newstruth
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Sessions said to suggest resigning as tensions grow with Trump
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions had suggested in the past several weeks he might resign amid a widening rift with President Donald Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Sessions has come under fire from the president over his recusal from an investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, an inquiry that’s now exploring whether Trump associates colluded with Moscow. The attorney general’s suggestion that he might consider quitting was reported earlier by ABC News and confirmed by a person familiar who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity.
Trump also has assailed the Justice Department for its handling of the administration’s controversial travel ban, and he accused it in a series of tweets on Monday of weakening his plans to limit entry for citizens from about a half-dozen Muslim nations. Both versions of Trump’s travel ban have been blocked by federal courts.
“The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted,” Trump said in one tweet on Monday. Trump himself signed both versions of the ban.
On Tuesday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer declined to say whether Trump retains confidence in Sessions, following Trump’s tweets on the travel ban.
“I have not had a discussion with him about that,” Spicer responded after a reporter asked whether Trump continued to support his attorney general.
Spicer gave a similar answer on May 9 when asked whether Trump still had confidence in then-FBI Director James Comey. Trump fired Comey later that day.
Comey is scheduled to testify on Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee about his interactions with Trump. The ousted Federal Bureau of Investigation chief is expected to discuss whether the president asked him to slow the Russia probe and a related inquiry into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Sessions, 70, occupies a unique role in Trump’s world. He was the first senator to endorse him as a candidate and defended him without reservation through the darkest moments of the campaign. After Trump’s unexpected victory, the Alabama senator was given his choice of Cabinet positions.
Yet, less than a month after taking office as attorney general, Sessions found himself at the center of controversy following reports that he had failed to disclose during his confirmation hearings two conversations he had in 2016 with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Revelations about his contacts with Kislyak forced Sessions to recuse himself from the Russia investigations. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia hacked and released Democrats’ emails during the campaign to hurt candidate Hillary Clinton and, ultimately, try to help Trump win.
Sessions has acknowledged that he met with Kislyak briefly along with other ambassadors at the Republican National Convention in July and in a longer private meeting in his Senate office in September. He has said the meetings were in the context of his role as a senator, not as a adviser and supporter of Trump.
Last month, Sessions came under fire again after the Justice Department acknowledged that he didn’t disclose his contacts with Kislyak when he applied for the security clearance he would hold as the nation’s top law enforcement official. The omission came on the advice of staff and an FBI investigator, the agency said.
With the recusal by Sessions, oversight of Russia-related investigations now falls to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein named former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel under his authority to oversee the Russia probes. Rosenstein is scheduled to testify on Wednesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee about U.S. surveillance programs.
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Crawling through the city: Gallery Crawl comes back to Pittsburgh
N_Crawl_Caroline Bourque: David Spriggs' installation, "Gold," was on the Gallery Crawl in January, 2017. (Photo by Caroline Bourque | Assistant News Editor)
For one night every season throughout the year, the streets of downtown Pittsburgh teem with artistic events, music and art fanatics.
A free and public event since 2004, the quarterly Gallery Crawl yields nearly 30,000 visitors annually and showcases art, music and entertainment throughout downtown Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust produces the Crawl, which is held in the Cultural District Downtown and scheduled to take place on Friday, Sept. 22, from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. The Gallery Crawl spans over 14 blocks and maps out dozens of galleries, stages and storefronts for the public to peruse.
This extensive event only allows those working behind-the-scenes a mere three months to organize and plan the Gallery Crawl in its entirety.
Previous Program Manager and Curator of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Marqui Lyons said preparing for the Crawl is an ongoing process and that the planning never seems to stop.
“There is a Crawl every three months, so once one the Gallery Crawl has ended, the planning for the next one starts right away,” Lyons said.
Every Gallery Crawl includes many venues that take careful planning to coordinate — new visual art exhibits at Wood Street Galleries and SPACE Gallery, live music at Agnes R. Katz Plaza and ballet performances at Trust Arts Education Center.
“[The Crawl] involves planning and coordinating artistic programming for nearly 30 venues,” Lyons said.
From booking the artists in advanced to making sure their designated space will accommodate their needs, Lyons said the preparation takes a lot of work.
And according to Amy Staggs, the curatorial assistant for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, preparation within Wood Street Galleries takes up to two years.
“We have a regular gallery schedule that we begin booking years in advance,” Staggs said. “We select artists that we think the public would appreciate and enjoy and that we know would fit well in our particular gallery spaces.”
The Wood Street Galleries, which sits above the Wood Street “T” stop, will preview four kinetic light installations by the Dutch art collective Macular for this Friday’s Crawl.
Staggs estimates about 2,000 people will attend the gallery for the opening of the Macular installations and as many as 10,000 will visit after the opening to view each exhibit.
“It is an exceptional gallery presenting exhibitions of international caliber that no other gallery in the community presents,” Staggs said.
Sarah Gilmer, program coordinator for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, has been part of the organizational process for this Gallery Crawl since the beginning.
“The Crawl provides a unique look at what’s happening in our city and allows us to come together to influence what it could look like tomorrow,” Gilmer said.
Because each Crawl yields new artists, entertainers and performers — all appealing to diverse interests — Gilmer said to expect to see a side of the city that you haven’t before.
“The hope is that people of Pittsburgh and those visiting will come to the Cultural District and be confronted with unique visual art, music, dance, film, etc., from both local and international artists,” Lyons said.
Lyons said the Crawl is also an opportunity to network and meet new people with similar interests.
“It really is a special night where you can see Downtown transform and the street fill up with so many different people who are interested in the arts and what the Crawl has to offer.”
Next Read: Editorial: Graham-Cassidy plan ruins progress and instills division »
artart crawlcrawlcultural trustwood street galleries
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Panthers stay busy on break
First year Haley Brechwald placed second on beam and fourth on floor during the Pitt gymnastic team’s tri-meet in Washington, D.C., this past weekend. (Photo by Thomas Yang | Visual Editor)
While students fled to warm weather and sandy beaches over break, Pitt sports had a busy week. The women’s diving team saw members qualify for nationals, but gymnastics fell short despite a solid performance. Tennis had mixed results and is still seeking the team’s first ACC win, even with near perfection in nonconference play.
Women’s Diving
Pitt women’s diving had a successful week at the NCAA Zone A Championships at the Rutgers Aquatic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey — with several Pitt divers qualifying for the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.
Senior Meme Sharp and first year Lydia Rosenthall both qualified for the national championships in the 1-meter springboard, posting a 548.55 and 528.95, respectively. Both also qualified for the 3-meter springboard, with Sharp scoring a 572.30 and Rosenthall finishing with a 569.90. This marks Sharp’s third consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Krista Jones just missed qualifying for the championships on platform, finishing with a score of 442.7. Likewise, sophomore Cortnee Williams missed the mark for the national championships in the 1-meter springboard, scoring a 482.65. Both Jones and Williams were finalists at the Zone A Championships in their respective events.
Sharp and Rosenthall will be joined at the NCAA Championships by senior swimmers Lina Rathsack and Amanda Richey, who had both previously qualified. The championships will be held in Columbus, Ohio, March 14-17 at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
Gymnastics posted Pitt’s fourth-highest bars score in program history at 49.175 but came in last in the tri-meet against No. 18 George Washington and West Virginia at the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C., over the weekend.
First year Haley Brechwald continued her strong season with two top-five finishes, placing second on beam and fourth on floor with a 9.875 in each event.
Seniors Catie Conrad and Taylor Laymon tied for second on bars with a 9.875, while sophomore Alecia Petrikis placed third on vault, also with a 9.875 — rounding out the Panthers’ top-five finishes of the day.
Sophomore Deven Herbine tied her career high on vault, posting a 9.825, and first year Jordan Ceccarini tied a career high on floor with a 9.825.
Pitt was in second place after bars competitions, the first event. West Virginia leapfrogged the Panthers after beam and never looked back. George Washington finished on top at the end of the meet. The Colonials won with a score of 196.875, followed by the Mountaineers at 196.425 and the Panthers at 195.500.
Pitt will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., to face UNC in its last regular season matchup Saturday, March 17, at Carmichael Arena.
Pitt Tennis had a busy break competing in three matches, winning one and losing two. The week started off with a weekend trip to Florida to face Miami and Florida State and concluded at home against Morgan State.
The Panthers were winless on their road trip, first dropping a 4-0 decision to Miami March 2, before losing to No. 23 Florida State 7-0 March 4.
During the Miami match, senior Callie Frey had her seven-match win streak brought to an end, as she lost to first year Ulyana Shirokova 6-1, 6-0 in singles competition.
At Florida State, junior Luisa Varon was the only Panther to win a set, forcing a third set in her match against Petra Hule, who ultimately won 7-5, 6-7, 10-6.
Pitt came back home Saturday, March 10, and landed themselves back in the win column with a 6-1 win over Morgan State in their last nonconference match of the season.
Frey and her partner, first year Camila Moreno, won the only doubles match of the day, 6-1, against Morgan State senior Danielle Thompson and first year Peggy Rooke. Morgan State was not able to field enough players to play the typical three doubles matches and dropped a point in singles for only having five available players.
Frey also returned to her winning ways in singles competition, defeating Morgan State first year Asmara Faluke 6-1, 6-3, putting her at 8-2 on the year.
Pitt now sits at 6-5, with a record of 6-1 in nonconference play and winless in the ACC at 0-4. The Panthers look to pick up that first win in conference play when they host No. 10 Wake Forest Friday, March 16, at the Oxford Athletic Club.
Next Read: Zaki defies genre in debut of self-titled album »
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Skyvue Apartments cited in July fire safety inspection
A 400-unit luxury apartment complex in Oakland has been cited for a fire safety violation…
Every time 16-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic sets foot on Centre Court at Wimbledon,…
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Up for grabs: Share Fair offers myriad of trash-turned-treasures
Britnee Meiser / Staff Writer
A string of pearls lay unattended in Schenley Plaza pavilion Friday afternoon, as a prowling student circled the luxury, snatched it up and continued on his way.
This wasn’t some great jewel heist— the student was participating in the Share Fair, hosted by the Pittsburgh Student Solidarity Coalition. The fair was a three-hour community outreach event where trade is key — people brought items they want to give away and take anything that catches their eye, regardless if they leave anything behind. According to the event’s Facebook page, 2,000 people RSVP’d the event, but PSSC member Raghav Sharma estimated that only 150 people participated. This was the third fair that the coalition hosted
PSSC is a coalition of students from Pitt, Carnegie Mellon and Point Park.. The group aims to bring people together to form solidarity within the community. Though the free items draw people in, the real purpose of the Share Fair is to establish public spaces like Schenley Plaza as a space for social interaction for students, rather than just something to pass through on the way to work or class.
“It’s important for people to come away with an understanding of the community they live in and the multiplicity of perspectives that exist there,” Sharma said. “Understanding those different perspectives is the only way we can form serious relationships.”
The fair was lively with chatter between friends and new acquaintances, but the real action occurred in the search.
People traded everything from clothes, books and DVDs to big ticket items, like TVs. Everything was splayed out under the pavilion in an unorganized, free-for-all style.
At first, people sifted through the free items timidly, as if they were feeling shy or didn’t know what to make of the chaos. In a half hour, though, everybody got the hang of it — shirts started flying, students scattered magazines across tables and somebody made a mad dash toward the TV.
Don’t worry — nobody got hurt.
“You’ve heard the saying, ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,’” said Zane Zheng, a program coordinator at the Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy who attended the fair with a Pitt student. “But it’s true. You find cool stuff here.”
Zheng walked away with a digital photo frame and some fresh eggs, but comparatively, he had a modest haul.
“We hope to shed some light on the scope of stuff people have that they don’t need or use,” Sharma said.
PSSC’s fair draws attention to recycling as a way for college students to save money on basic appliances while also saving the world.
“[College students] are victims of an endless cycle of consumerism, and Americans produce more trash than anywhere else in the world,” Sharma said. “Rather than relying on traditional avenues [to rid of unwanted items], we decided to make the change and give the power back to the people.”
The fair’s atmosphere emulates a strong sense of community. Complete strangers chat like longtime friends. Some people had armfuls of goodies, while others seemed content just standing around, enjoying the positive atmosphere.
There are no official plans for a fourth Share Fair yet, but Sharma is confident it will come. In the past, the fair has happened approximately once per semester.
“It seems like we struck a nerve,” Sharma said. “It’s amazing. If people are interested, [the Share Fair] should continue.”
Tags: Pittsburgh Student Solidarity Coalition, Schenley Plaza, Share Fair
Staff Picks: Podcast Recommendations
Thorgy Thor takes over the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Three Rivers Arts Festival celebrates 60 years
Staff picks: Hidden gems of Pitt
PITT ARTS introduces students to Pittsburgh’s cultural scene
Pittsburgh music scene: The FYI on DIY
Liberal arts clubs offer expressive outlet for students
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GAME Acquires Gamestation
UK retailer GAME has acquired Gamestation for £74M. MCV reports:
“The two brands will be kept separate within the newly-expanded business as GAME looks to increase its appeal to the mainstream consumer, with Gamestation very much focused on the core gamer.
The total investment includes £300,000 which will be set aside for new stores, and an assumed working capital figure of £7.5 million.
The financial statement also reveals that Gamestation’s gross assets total £60.9 million.”
Categories : business, retail
Next gen – The games people play 2006
Industry news site Next-Gen.biz just posted a truly interesting feature titled “The Games People Buy.”
Outside the excellent analysis of the trends highlighted by 2006’s top 100 titles, the real interesting data is contained in the sales list which breaks every game in the top 100 down by:
Game Name
Copies Sold in 2006 (North America)
Revenues Generated in 2006 (North America)
Release Date / Genre / Publisher
Comments : Comments Off on Next gen – The games people play 2006
Categories : brands, culture, retail, violence
ELSPA says 2006 was record year for UK games industry // GamesIndustry.biz
“ELSPA says 2006 was record year for UK games industry
Software sales up 7 per cent, FIFA most popular title
ELSPA has declared that the British videogames industry hit an ‘all time high’ in 2006 with a 7 per cent increase in the number of games sold – bringing the total figure to 65.1 million units.
All-formats sales totalled GBP 1.36 billion – a new record, according to ELSPA, and an increase of 1 per cent over the figure for 2005.
The majority of console games purchased were for PlayStation 2, followed by Xbox 360, Xbox, Wii and GameCube. PC titles did well, with software sales up 7 per cent – making 2006 the platform’s ‘best year ever’.
It was also a good year for handhelds – DS and PlayStation Portable software sales just trailed the figures for PS2, with Nintendo’s machine ‘slightly outdoing’ the PSP.
The best-selling game of the year was FIFA ’07 – one of four EA titles in the top ten. At number three it’s Need for Speed: Carbon, with The Sims 2: Pets at six and The Sims 2 at nine.
Konami’s PES 6 takes second place, while Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is in fourth followed by Lego Star Wars 2: The Original Trilogy at five.
Movie tie-in Cars is in seventh place, while Lara makes a comeback with Tomb”
Comments : Comments Off on ELSPA says 2006 was record year for UK games industry // GamesIndustry.biz
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Island’s Rich in Maritime History
by John Guthrie Ford
The Aransas Pass has allowed Port Aransans to benefit from the sea for a long time. Sport fishing, and its related businesses, began circa 1880 when mainlanders building the jetties discovered the pass was alive with tarpon. The jetties led to the rapid rise of maritime enterprises on close by Harbor Island. There, townsfolk found work exporting cotton (1912-26), building ships (1918-1919), importing and exporting oil (1912-93), ferrying vehicles (1926…), and fabricating offshore drilling equipment (1976-2003). Today on Harbor Island, the Eagle Ford Shale oil play has created jobs in oil shipment and the Martin Midstream docks provide work in offshore services.
Before the recent archiving of the 1866-1877 Mercer Logs, little was known about the origins of Mustang Island’s maritime history. In fact, all the Mercer men were involved in commercial shipping. Patron Robert Mercer was the appointed County Wreck Master who oversaw the salvage of vessels wrecked at the Aransas Pass. Mercer’s sons John and Ned guided ships through the pass as bar pilots—bar is the water area at the mouth of a pass.
The SS Mary, above, sunk off the coast of St. Joseph’s Island
and resulted in the Coast Guard Station in Port Aransas
Schooners and steamships were the chief commercial vessels mooring at the Mustang Island and St. Joseph Island wharves. The 1872 logs report the vessels piloted by the Mercers were 46 schooners, six6 steamships, two sloops and two brigs. It is a steamship (SS) that is the second most significant vessel in island history (the Farley fishing boat is first). SS Mary was entering the Aransas Pass — crossing the bar — -in November 1876 when she struck a buoy and took on water. Despite high seas, bar pilots rowed to the stricken vessel and saved the ship’s company. Mary’s sinking was big news, and a reason that in 1878 the government commissioned a Life Saving Station — precursor of the Coast Guard — for Mustang Island. (John Mercer was the station’s first officer in charge.)
The schooner, right, was the primary cargo vessel of the Aransas Pass in the 19th Century
Most commercial vessels coming through the Aransas Pass were bound for Corpus Christi where transportation systems moved their cargos to inland markets. Some Corpus Christi-bound vessels tied up at Mustang and St. Joe islands to be lightered. The route to Corpus Christi was the Morris and Cummings Cut, a shallow, narrow waterway entered through Corpus Christi Bayou. The cargos of ships unable to navigate the cut were offloaded onto shallow draft scows called lighters, which carried the cargoes to Corpus Christi.
The lightered cargos mentioned in the Mercer Logs were lumber, shingles, bricks, coal, flour, sugar, coffee, liquor, oranges, peaches, pigs feet and hog heads. Those products arrived from the Texas ports of Beaumont, Bernard River, Brazos Santiago, Galveston, Indianola, Lamar, Orange, and Sabine; the U.S. ports of Brasher City (LA), Calcasieu (LA), Mobile (AL), New Orleans, New York, Pascagoula (MS), Pearl River (LA), Pensacola, Philadelphia; and the international ports of Hamburg, Havana, Liverpool and Tuxpan (MX).
The primary cargos exported through the Aransas Pass in the early 1870s were sheep hair from Mustang Island (Thompson ranch) and live cattle and the cattle products of hides, bones, and tallow from the packeries in Rockport and Fulton. The destination ports were often New Orleans and New York.
Today, Port Aransas is homeport to Coast Guard vessels, commercial and party fishing boats, excursion craft, pleasure sailboats and power yachts, bay fishing boats and offshore fishing boats called sport fishing boats.
(First published in the Port Aransas South Jetty October 3, 2013)[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
July 17th, 2014|History Corner - Columns by J Guthrie Ford|
A Man of Unique Experiences
Letters from “Post Aransas”
Story of Water on the Island
Harbor Island Once Bustling
Most Historical Boat: Farley Boat
Festivals & Fundraisers
Rigged for Gigging
Lydia Ann “Flipped”
Winter Lecture March 11, 2019
Winter Lecture March 4, 2019
Winter Lecture Feb 25, 2019
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Ten with Ken (Audio)
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Interdisciplinarity & Soft Skills for an AI Age
3M ago 8:23
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By Ken Steele. Discovered by Player FM and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Player FM, and audio streamed directly from their servers.
This week, Ten with Ken visits Fleming College, in Peterborough Ontario, where Ken Steele and president Maureen Adamson discuss the labour market needs of the fourth industrial revolution, and the need to prepare college students with interdisciplinary programs and the so-called “soft skills” in demand by employers.
Some of the biggest challenges facing higher education institutions, aside from budget pressure and demographic shifts, are the rapidly-evolving labour market. Most elementary students today will work in jobs that don’t yet exist. Artificial intelligence and automation are widely projected to impact at least half of all human jobs over the next few decades, and already prototypes have been unveiled of semi-autonomous vehicles, bricklayers, drywallers, news anchors, and even master chefs. In the past few decades, the jobs that have increased most worldwide are not those that require STEM skills, but those that require people skills, communication and emotional intelligence.
Fleming College is helping prepare students for a changing world, Maureen explains, through interdisciplinary experiential programs at its Kawartha Trades & Technology Centre. In this new 87,000-square-foot facility, plumbers, carpenters, and electricians work together to build an entire house. Students gain “hard”, technical skills, but also those critical social and teamwork skills.
Multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and interprofessional training will become even more vital as “narrow” AI gets more and more capable of automating work within individual specialties. Ken shares Kai Fu Lee’s schema of AI’s impact on the labour market, which divides employment into 4 quadrants based on the level of creativity and strategic thinking required, and the level of “compassion” or social skills required. Lee predicts that routine, impersonal jobs will be fully automated within 5-10 years, while routine interpersonal tasks will require a partnership between an AI performing “back-end” tasks (like interpreting medical scans) and a human explaining those results to a patient. More creative, transdisciplinary work will require humans working in conjunction with AI tools for the foreseeable future. (Check out Kai Fu Lee’s TEDx talk, “How AI can save our humanity,” at https://youtu.be/ajGgd9Ld-Wc).
The fourth industrial revolution, caused by the impact of AI and automation on the labour market, means that today’s college graduates will desperately need the so-called “soft skills” like creative, strategic and transdisciplinary thinking, as well as interpersonal communication and empathy. “Not everything is technical,” Maureen emphasizes, which is why Fleming tries to integrate arts and humanities skills into many of its courses. Ken cites Scott Hartley’s argument (in the Fuzzy and the Techie) that “the antidote to technological irrelevance is to become MORE human, not less.”
Experiential, team-based collaborative learning models will help young people in particular become workforce-ready, and develop the interpersonal and workplace skills that many students no longer gain through part-time jobs. Maureen observes that “students need to learn how to learn,” and emphasizes the importance of the employer perspective on skills and competencies. (A 2015 Canadian survey by McKinsey found that 83% of educators, 44% of students, and just 34% of employers felt that today’s youth are being adequately prepared for the world of work.) “The more we can listen to our industry partners” about their needs, Maureen believes, the more colleges can “create programs in more of a design-thinking fashion.” For Fleming, and most colleges, “it’s going to be a culture shift” that will take significant time, as well as “investment in our people.”
A sincere thank-you to Fleming College for arranging the onsite videography for this episode.
Next week, Ken’s conversation with Maureen Adamson turns to diversity and equity in higher education, both in terms of gender parity and the integration of international students and perspectives. To be sure you don’t miss it, take a moment to subscribe at http://eduvation.ca/subscribe/
And if you would like to host 10K at your campus, more information is available at http://eduvation.ca/twk/site-visits/
92 episodes available. A new episode about every 0 hours averaging 8 mins duration .
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Radical Ideas: RADIUS @ SFU12:56
1M ago 12:56
This week, Ken gets a “taste” of social innovation at Simon Fraser University’s RADIUS incubator, speaking with co-director Shawn Smith and social entrepreneur Dylan Jones about their work. We learn how innovation requires bureaucratic flexibility, and Ken winds up at a loss for words with his mouth full of crickets! For decades now, higher edu ...…
Employment Guaranteed!8:50
Despite its significant sticker price, higher education doesn’t often come with a guarantee. After all, what a student learns, and how they put their skills to work in the world, has more to do with their own effort than anything the institution can do. But in a world of labour market uncertainty and rising career anxiety, students and their pa ...…
Invest in Your People7:45
This week, Ken Steele chats with Maureen Adamson, president of Fleming College, about how higher ed leaders can sustain a culture of innovation on campus, particularly by investing in our people. “The most important thing” Maureen says, is to “give the gift of time” to front-line faculty and staff to reflect and innovate. “It can’t be someone i ...…
Equity & Diversity on Campus7:28
This week, Ken Steele’s conversation continues with Maureen Adamson, president of Fleming College in Peterborough Ontario. Maureen was formerly Ontario’s Deputy Minister responsible for the Status of Women, so this week Ken asks her thoughts on gender equity and increasing diversity in higher education. When it comes to equity of access and suc ...…
Interdisciplinarity & Soft Skills for an AI Age8:23
This week, Ten with Ken visits Fleming College, in Peterborough Ontario, where Ken Steele and president Maureen Adamson discuss the labour market needs of the fourth industrial revolution, and the need to prepare college students with interdisciplinary programs and the so-called “soft skills” in demand by employers. Some of the biggest challeng ...…
University vs College?10:09
The distinction between 2-year colleges and 4-year universities is becoming increasingly blurred, with the rise of polytechnics, collaborative and dual enrolment programs, postgrad certificates at university and applied degrees at colleges. (Sheridan College has not been coy about its ambitions to eventually become a university itself.) This we ...…
Mental Health & Student Success10:28
Colleges and universities are investing more and more resources into student retention and success initiatives, and student mental health has become an escalating crisis on many campuses. This week, Ken Steele sits down with Janet Morrison, president and vice-chancellor of Sheridan College, to discuss some lessons she has learned over 25 years ...…
Cultivating Creativity11:41
Sheridan College, in the suburbs of Toronto, is world renowned for its creative programs, such as top-ranked illustration and animation degrees – and it has built its entire institutional brand on the slogan “Get Creative.” This week, Ken Steele sits down with Janet Morrison, Sheridan’s president and vice-chancellor, to discuss how higher ed ca ...…
Industry in our DNA!9:20
This week, Ken Steele continues his conversation with Larry Rosia, the president and CEO of Saskatchewan Polytechnic, about the fourth industrial revolution, workforce changes, rising interdisciplinarity, and the strengths of polytechnic education – particularly, their close connections to industry. “We like to say we have industry in our DNA,” ...…
4 Ways to Go Global5:51
This week, Ken Steele “takes off” to Saskatoon to speak with Larry Rosia, the president and CEO of Saskatchewan Polytechnic, about his institution’s four pillars of internationalization. They sit down in SP’s pilot training flight simulator for a conversation. Internationalization has been a top priority for many institutions in Canada. Reports ...…
Ownership & Initiative: Nurturing a Culture of Innovation8:16
Ken’s conversation with Mark Frison, president of Assiniboine Community College in Brandon Manitoba, continues this week as they explore ways that higher ed leaders can empower and inspire their people to take ownership and take initiative, to propel innovation on campus. (If you missed the first part of this interview, about encouraging PSE pa ...…
Immigration & Participation on the Prairies9:48
Ken Steele visits Assiniboine Community College, in Brandon Manitoba, to talk with president Mark Frison about their beautiful new North Hill Campus, encouraging enrolment in a region with the lowest PSE participation rate in the country, serving Indigenous populations, aligning programs with provincial immigration policy, and growing internati ...…
Let the Best Ideas Win!7:08
From the high tech sector to higher education, one leadership challenge is similar: how do you nurture a culture of innovation in a hierarchical environment? It’s probably tougher in the public sector, and especially in centuries-old academic institutions with bicameral, colleagial decision-making processes. But even entrepreneurial firms like ...…
Small College, Global Edge: LaSalle College Vancouver5:22
In the face of mounting budgetary pressure, colleges and universities are finding new collaborative approaches to achieve efficiency and economies of scale. Public institutions are sharing campuses and facilities, forming regional marketing groups, and even signing agreements to share course sections between different institutions using distanc ...…
Moving Mountains: UniverCity @ SFU11:46
Faced with tuition caps and declining government grants, public colleges and universities are becoming more entrepreneurial and seeking alternative revenue streams, often by selling off surplus campus lands to developers, or leasing campus space for retail or residential development. Simon Fraser University, built in a conservation area atop Bu ...…
Higher Ed Holiday Video Countdown13:28
Ken Steele is back with his 4th annual Holiday Special, and this time he’s counting down the top ten higher ed holiday videos from last December, based on a rubric including production quality, acting, music, creativity and emotional impact. The Holiday Top 10: #10 – Elon University “Holiday Video” – A great sing-along video featuring 27 staff ...…
100 Ways to Indigenize Your Campus10:50
Last week, Ken Steele sat down with Vianne Timmons, president of the University of Regina, to discuss why Indigenization matters to higher ed. (ICYMI see it at https://youtu.be/iLe1mxiT4rM). This week, we turn from “why” to “how”, and look at dozens of ways that colleges and universities can better accommodate Indigenous students, integrate Ind ...…
Why Higher Ed Indigenization Matters8:48
In the wake of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and Canada’s Truth & Reconciliation Commission findings, higher ed is realizing just how much work lies ahead if it is to reconcile itself with Indigenous peoples, and indigenize the curriculum. Saskatchewan, where some projections say that 30% of the population will be Indi ...…
Incentives for Innovation7:12
This week, our conversation continues with Steve Robinson, interim President & Vice-Chancellor at Brandon University in Manitoba. We tackle one of the toughest questions for today’s higher ed leaders: how to encourage a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship on campus. Many academics, Steve explains, regard the drive to innovation with a gr ...…
Indigenizing the Academy6:15
This week, Ken Steele talks with Steve Robinson, interim President & Vice-Chancellor at Brandon University in Manitoba, about one of the most urgent changes facing higher ed in the next decade: indigenization. Every university in Canada, particularly those in Western Canada, is faced with the challenge of accommodating Indigenous peoples and cu ...…
The Higher Ed Innovation Sandbox: Paula Burns at Lethbridge College7:56
This week, Ken Steele concludes his conversation with Paula Burns, President & CEO of Lethbridge College. In part 1, Paula described 3 notable innovations at Lethbridge College, in competency-based learning, stackable modular credentials, and the use of VR technology ( https://youtu.be/9-kxnnMA8nM). In part 2, she outlined 5 ways that instituti ...…
5 Ways Higher Ed can Prepare for 2028: Paula Burns at Lethbridge College6:20
This week, Ken Steele continues his conversation with Paula Burns, President & CEO of Lethbridge College, about 5 key ways higher education should be preparing for the decade ahead. (Last week, Paula described 3 notable innovations in competency-based learning, stackable modular credentials, and the use of VR technology: https://youtu.be/9-kxnn ...…
Competencies, Modules & VR: Paula Burns at Lethbridge College6:52
This week, Ken Steele talks with Paula Burns, President & CEO of Lethbridge College, about 3 notable innovations in programming, pedagogy and applied research at her institution: competency-based learning, stackable modular credentials, and the use of virtual reality technology. Don’t let its location in small-town Alberta fool you – Lethbridge ...…
Building Communities at SFU9:49
10M ago 9:49
Simon Fraser University is committed to community engagement, so much so that its campus master plan and infrastructure is focused on building communities, in Vancouver, Surrey, and on Burnaby Mountain. SFU is literally setting its vision in stone! Last week 10K looked at how SFU’s Engagement Strategy has been socialized across the institution, ...…
Embracing Engagement at SFU: Beyond Branding9:42
At BC’s Simon Fraser University, “the Engaged University,” the slogan is much more than mere marketing; it’s the focus for the institution’s planning framework. (Although yes, it also helps differentiate the university’s brand.) SFU president Andrew Petter invited Ken Steele for a campus site visit late last year, and this is the first of many ...…
10 Recent One-Word Wonders in Higher Ed Branding8:43
Ken Steele returns to the Brand Chemistry™ lab to round up 10 recent examples of colleges and universities that have focused their brands on a single word. It can be a real challenge to get campus-wide consensus, but there’s a growing trend to quite literally “own a word” in the higher ed marketplace. 1) UC System – “Public” The University of C ...…
Higher Ed Branding: The Bold & The Brave4:03
College and university marketers have to work hard to gather research and build campus consensus around a new brand position. Although the goal is to develop a distinctive position, the reality is that many higher ed branding projects result in some awfully similar creative executions. Next week, we’ll round up ten recent examples of “One-Word ...…
Wonky Higher Ed Branding: American University, One-Word Wonder1:42
Sure, your brand needs to “own a word” in the minds of your customers. But what if some think it’s an insult? Ken Steele has been a higher ed brand consultant for decades, working with hundreds of institutions across North America. He’s seen plenty of “one-word wonders” – college or university brands that focus on a single word. But no doubt, o ...…
Wild West of Higher Ed Branding: Wyoming Cowboys3:37
When maverick university marketers create a brilliant brand, but campus stakeholders feel uncomfortable about potential sexist or racist implications, what do you do? In the “Wild West” of higher ed branding, the University of Wyoming charged ahead with its new slogan, “The World Needs More Cowboys” – and noted higher ed brand strategist Ken St ...…
5 Changes for Season 5 of Ten with Ken!5:52
As Ten with Kenbegins its FIFTH season, we’re adopting some online video best practices and streamlined processes that we think will be big improvements! 1. New Brand! We’re using a compressed, 4-second “bumper” more suitable to shorter videos, and showcasing 10K’s first real logo. The icon, simultaneously a stylized “K” and the symbol for “for ...…
Innovation at Brock: 3 Qs with Thomas Dunk10:24
11M ago 10:24
In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities’ Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Thomas Dunk taught at Concordia, McMaster, and Toronto before entering administration, as Dean at Lakehead and Brock Universities, and most recently as interim Provost of Brock (2016-18). His soc ...…
Innovation at Nipissing: 3 Qs with Mike DeGagné10:23
In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities’ Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. When Mike DeGagné was appointed President of Nipissing University in 2013, he became one of the first Aboriginal university leaders in the country. He had 25 years of public sector leadership exp ...…
Innovation at Algoma: 3 Qs with Celia Ross10:41
1y ago 10:41
In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities’ Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Celia Ross began teaching French Literature at Algoma in 1982, became Dean in 1997, and served as President from 1998 until 2010 – 12 busy years in which Algoma gained its independence from Laure ...…
Innovation at Lakehead: 3 Qs with Brian Stevenson10:28
In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities’ Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. At the time, Brian Stevenson was finishing his term as President & Vice-Chancellor at Lakehead University. (Moira McPherson replaced him as interim President in January 2018). Brian’s extensive h ...…
Innovation at Trent: 3 Qs with Leo Groarke11:23
In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities’ Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Leo Groarke holds a PhD in Philosophy from Western, and has experience as Provost at the University of Windsor, and founding Principal of the Wilfrid Laurier campus in Brantford. Since 2014, he h ...…
Innovation at Carleton: 3 Qs with Janice O'Farrell9:49
1y ago 9:49
In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities’ Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Janice O’Farrell is the Associate Vice-President Enrolment Management at Carleton University, and has 24 years of experience in higher education. In this special bonus episode, Ken asks Janice to ...…
Innovation at Queen's: 3 Qs with Benoit-Antoine Bacon11:39
In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities’ Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Benoit-Antoine Bacon holds a PhD in neuropsychology, and has 14 years of experience in university administration at Bishop’s University (2004-2013), Concordia University Montreal (2013-16), and Q ...…
Innovation at OCAD: 3 Qs with Sara Diamond10:40
In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities’ Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Sara Diamond has worked in higher education for 3 decades, at BC’s Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Alberta’s Banff Centre, and Ontario’s OCAD University, where she has been President since ...…
Innovation at Laurentian: 3 Qs with Pierre Zundel9:09
In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities’ Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Pierre Zundel has served as a university leader for almost a decade, first as President of the University of Sudbury (2009-2016), then as Provost and VP Academic at Laurentian University (2016-17 ...…
Innovation at Waterloo: Cathy Newell Kelly7:21
In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities’ Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Catherine Newell Kelly was appointed Registrar at the University of Waterloo just a month before this interview, after serving for two decades as Director of Waterloo’s Centre for Extended Learni ...…
Innovation at Windsor: Alan Wildeman7:12
In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities’ Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Alan Wildeman has served as the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Windsor for a full decade. (He was appointed in July 2008 and recently announced his retirement for the end of J ...…
Towards 2028: Classrooms & Technology14:35
1+ y ago 14:35
Ken Steele interviews 12 university presidents and senior administrators about the innovations most likely to transform higher education over the coming decade, for a series called "Towards 2028." In this episode, we discuss active learning pedagogies and classrooms, online and blended delivery, immersive telepresence, virtual reality and augme ...…
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PLYMOUTH PUBLIC SCHOOLS
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Plymouth Public Schools » Board of Education » Meeting Agendas and Minutes » Archives » 10/14/2009
Board of Education Meeting
Terryville High School Cafeteria
United In Our Commitment to Excellence in Education
The Plymouth Public Schools’ mission is to ensure that all students learn to the best of their abilities. We support their growth into knowledgeable, skilled, and contributing citizens capable of succeeding in their work, personal, and family lives.
PLYMOUTH BOARD OF EDUCATION
Board: Raymond Engle, Patrick Perugino, Karen Kulesa, Martin Wetzel, Roxanne Perugino, Daniel Gentile, Gerard Bourbonniere, and Leonard Morgan,
Absent: Jennifer Zalaski
Administrators: Dr. Distasio, Superintendent of Schools, Michael Santogatta, Business Manager, Thomas Meehan, Director of Pupil Personnel & Special Education, Peter Lovely, Director of Curriculum & Instruction and Richard Trudeau, Director of Technology
1. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE TO THE FLAG
Mr. Engle called the meeting to order at 7:01p.m. The group joined in the Pledge to the Flag.
2. ADOPTON OF THE AGENDA
MOTION: To adopt the agenda as presented. Motion Patrick Perugino, seconded Daniel Gentile motion passed unanimously.
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MOTION: To approve the minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of September 9, 2009.
Motion Gerard Bourbonniere, seconded Patrick Perugino, motion passed unanimously.
4. Presentation
Mr. Santogatta, Business Manager for the Plymouth Public Schools introduced Mr. Tom O’Donnell, District Manager at Chartwells and Matthew Rivers, Food Director for the Plymouth Public Schools.
Mr. O’Donnell provided an overview of the cafeteria program in our schools.
5. PUBLIC COMMENTS REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS
Plymouth Board of Education Page 2 October 14, 2009 Minutes
7. OLD BUSINESS
8. NEW BUSINESS
A. Out-of-State Field Trip
MOTION: To approve the trip to the Great East Festival in Massachusetts for the seventh and eighth grade choral and band students at Eli Terry Jr. Middle School for May 28, 2010.
Motion Roxanne Perugino, seconded Daniel Gentile motion passed unanimously.
MOTION: To approve the trip to downtown Boston, Massachusetts YMCA for grade 9 – 12 students of the Terryville High School Leo Club for November 16, 2009 to work on a service project with children and visit local sites. Motion Martin Wetzel, seconded Leonard Morgan motion passed unanimously.
MOTION: To approve the trip to Nature’s Classroom in Charlton, Massachusetts for grade 10 & 11 students of Terryville High School participating in the Interdistrict Grant from October 23 – 25, 2009.
Motion Gerard Bourbonniere, seconded Roxanne Perugino motion passed unanimously.
MOTION: To approve the trip to Salam, Massachusetts for grade 10 & 11 students of Terryville High School participating in the Interdistrict Grant for October 30, 2009. Motion Roxanne Perugino, seconded Gerard Bourbonniere motion passed unanimously.
B. Appointments
MOTION: To appoint Karen Robitaille, to the position of Special Education Teacher at Terryville High School retroactive to September 28, 2009. Motion Roxanne Perugino, seconded Patrick Perugino motion passed unanimously.
MOTION: To appoint Kelly Vitale, Girls’ Soccer Coach at Eli Terry Jr. Middle School for the fall of 2009 andPaul Schwanka, Boys’ Track & Field Coach at Eli Terry Jr. Middle School for the spring of 2010. Motion Gerard Bourbonniere, seconded Roxanne Perugino motion passed unanimously.
MOTION: To appoint Dawn Alarcon and Mary Marrone, volunteer Dance Team Advisors for Eli Terry Jr. Middle School for the current school year. Motion Martin Wetzel, seconded Leonard Morgan motion passed unanimously.
MOTION: To appoint the following advisors at Terryville High School for the 2009 – 2010 school years: Robin Gudeczauskas, Jr. Class Advisor; Kristina Padelli & Timothy Keane, Co-Advisors for the Flag Team; and Sherry Dawson, Advisor to Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). Motion Martin Wetzel, seconded Roxanne Perugino motion passed unanimously.
C. Resignation
Dr. Distasio accepted the resignation of Paul Helenski, Varsity Baseball Coach; Brooke Matuszczak, Advisor to Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA); and Mark Magas, Special Education Teacher at Eli Terry Jr. Middle School effective November 7,2009.
D. Energy Management Conservation Policy – 3525
Prior to the Board Meeting, the Policy Subcommittee met with respect to a new policy entitled: Energy Management Conservation Policy 3525. After a brief discussion, it was decided to bring the policy to the full Board for their approval. At this time, Dr. Distasio recommended the approval of Policy 3525, an Energy Management Conservation Policy.
MOTION: To approve Policy 3525, an Energy Management Conservation Policy which governs the new Energy Education Company that was hired by the Board of Education to help develop an energy conservation and savings program for the district. The policy will be used by our Energy Education Specialist and also provide guidelines for the staff in regulating energy in our school facilities.
Motion Patrick Perugino, seconded Leonard Morgan motion passed unanimously.
9. BOARD MEMBER/COMMITTEE REPORTS
A. Curriculum – Mrs. Kulesa, Chair
Due to her absence, Mrs. Kulesa deferred the curriculum report to Mr. Lovely.
The Curriculum Subcommittee met on October 7, 2009. The following items were discussed:
(1) Connecticut Mastery Test and Connecticut Academic Performance Test – Mr. Lovely presented an overview of both tests indicating the district has made steady progress over the past four years. Positive strides have been made with our students compared to those throughout the state. Areas in need of improvement have been identified by school and grade level and each school is in the process of developing a school improvement plan to address these areas.
B. Facilities - Mr. Perugino, Chair
Mr. Perugino reported: (a) The new sign has been installed at Terryville High School due to the generosity of the Laurentano Sign Group; (b) the new Energy Management Conservation Policy will help to tighten up to conserve on energy; (c) a meeting will be scheduled in the latter part of October to discuss the soccer fields at Prospect Street School; (d) an Temporary Certificate has been issued for Terryville High School until June 30, 2010. There are still some minor items to be resolved.
C. Finance – Dan Gentile, Chair
Mr. Gentile informed the full Board that the Finance Subcommittee met prior to the Board of Education Meeting, reviewed the September accounts by facilities report and moved that it be forwarded to the Town of Plymouth Board of Finance.
D. Negotiations – Mr. Perugino, Chair
The Negotiations Subcommittee met on October 7, 2009 to begin negotiations with the Plymouth School Administrators Association. The next meeting will be held on October 22, 2009.
E. Personnel – Mrs. Perugino, Chair
Mrs. Perugino reported that the Personnel Subcommittee met with the Superintendent prior to the Board meeting and all matters were taken care of under new business this evening.
F. Policy – Mrs. Zalaski, Chair
In lieu of Mrs. Zalaski’s absence, Dr. Distasio reported the following: The Policy Subcommittee met prior to the Board Meeting to discuss two policies. (a) a revision to the regulations regarding the Pediculosis (Head Lice) Policy 5141-221(a); and (b), a new policy to govern the Energy Educator’s Company that was hired to help our district with an energy savings plan.
G. Safety/Transportation – Mr. Wetzel, Chair
H. Education Connection – Mrs. Kulesa, Representative
Mrs. Kulesa attended a meeting on October 1, 2009. Some of the items discussed: (a) housekeeping items; (b) Annual Report 2009 and (c) the fall newsletter with upcoming events.
I. Student Representatives
Alexis Cordone – Excused Absence
Lindsey Bordeau – (a) Senior Class of 2010 sponsoring Haunted Hallway @ Terryville High School on October 24 from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. – admission $5 – arts & crafts, food, raffle & more;
(b) Lions Club annual Halloween Party & Haunted House @ the fair grounds on October 31st – admission free to the public – Leos will be assisting; (c) Annual Leo Installation Night – December 7;
(d) National Honor Society @ Terryville High School has formed an after school study group which meets every Thursday for any student needing extra help; (e) Ecology Club Field Trip to restock fish is scheduled for October 15; (f) Berkshire Music Festival @ Terryville High School October 16 at 8 p.m.;
(g) announcements have been running live on the projection screen thanks to Mr. Trudeau, Mr. Oleksiw and his class; (h) Leo Club – Costume Ball – November 6; (i) THSA/PTSA After grad – Fundraiser – Project Truck on Saturday, October 17 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. with a rain date of October 18;
(j) PTSA sponsoring Comedy Night in November; and (k) PTSA Meeting on October 15 @ 7 p.m. at Terryville High School.
Karrick Lee – (a) Berkshire League Music Festival – hosted by Terryville High School –
October 16 @ 8 p.m. – admission $8; (b) the soccer field now has lights & “thank you” to
Mrs. Farrington for rescheduling some games to be played at night; (c) volleyball team – 9 wins/1loss, 1st place in the Berkshire League and 3rd place in the state; (d) girls’ soccer team – 5 wins/2 losses/1 tie;
(e) boys’ soccer team – 2 wins/6 losses/ 1 tie; (f) Congratulations to Megan Skidmore & Tyler Raymond – Athletes of the Week; (g) banner is up in the gym; and (h) ski club will begin soon.
10. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS/REQUESTS/INFORMATION
Mr. Lovely – Director of Curriculum & Instruction/District Administrator in Charge
WAMS (Waterbury Arts Magnet School- grades 6 - 12) – Applications for admission will be available beginning on November 24, 2009 through January 14, 2010 at 2 p.m. Open House: Saturday,
November 14, 2009 from 9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m. or Wednesday, November 18, 2009 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Mr. Meehan – Director of Pupil Personnel
Mr. Trudeau – Director of Technology
Mr. Trudeau thanked, Connor Raymond, Mr. Oleksiw and Laura for making it possible to televise tonight’s meeting live on Channel 16. Terryville High School morning announcements are now shown live on Channel 16. Mrs. Barbara Camp has been helping to provide announcers to read each morning. We are looking to increase our offerings of videos with Dan’s Club as well on Channel 16.
Mr. Santogatta– Business Manager
Mr. Santogatta reported that financially the district is in good shape. There are no major issues. The boilers are being fired up in the a.m. due to the cold weather. There is a problem with one of the boilers at Plymouth Center School. The snow blowers are being tuned up for the winter. The town crew was very helpful and did a nice job in preparing the soccer fields.
Dr. Distasio – Superintendent
Dr. Distasio reported on the following: (a) Due to the generous donation by Laurentano Sign Group, Terryville High School has a new sign that not only beautifies the grounds but is equipped with a marquee that provides the community with announcements of school events and programs; (b) thank you to Mr. Rostowsky and students for planting and landscaping around the new sign;(c) He attended an Inhalant Training Workshop on September 30thwhich was sponsored by the Substance Abuse Action Council. A workshop for adults only will take place on November 5th at 6 p.m. at Terryville High School. The program will share information about the dangers of inhalant abuse; (d) A flyer created by the School Resource Officer describes his duties and how individuals may contact him. The SRO is now included on the district website with additional contact information; (e) Congratulations to Sarah Casola and Julia Salinger who performed at the Advanced Level on the 2009 Connecticut Academic Performance Test in Mathametics, Reading, Writing, and Science. Both students will be recognized for their achievement at the annual Terryville High School awards ceremony; and (f) The Thomaston Savings Bank Awards Program was held on October 6th at the Thomaston Opera House. Due to the generosity of Thomaston Savings Bank, one of our business partners, we are able to fund a number of very worthwhile projects.
11. Public Comments Regarding Agenda or Non-Agenda Items
12. Board Liaisons to Schools
Mr. Perugino – Harry S. Fisher Elementary School
(a) October 20 Parent Conferences, Evening 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
(12:45 p.m. dismissal)
(b) October 21 Parent Conferences, 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
(c) October 22 Parent Conferences, 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
(d) October 23 PTA Halloween Party, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
(e) October 30 Officer Phil Safety Program
Mr. Engle – Plymouth Center School
(a) October 13 Bingo Program, 6:30 p.m. Free (chairs needed)
(b) October 19 Dunking Tank, 1:30 p.m.
(c) October 24 Hayride, 11:00 a.m. – Septa Program
(d) October 27 Cookie Dough Pick-up (yielded $30,000)
(e) October 30 Back 2 Rock Enrichment Program
(f) Garden Club
(g) Science Club
(h) Recycling Program – off to a great start -
12 bags decreased to 2 bags a day
(i) Visitors to Plymouth Center School commented on how
well they were greeted and treated by staff during their
visit. Great compliment to Mrs. Collins
Mr. Wetzel– Eli Terry Jr. Middle School
(a) October 1 PTA meeting in the library at 7:00 p.m. Everyone is
welcome and new members are needed.
(b) Pie Fundraiser – 1,836 pies sold. Great prizes
(c) October 8 Ice Cream Social – 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. - $3.00 charge for
a Sunday.
Mrs. Zalaski – Terryville High School
Mr. Gentile – SEPTA
Dr. Distasio – PTA Council
Next meeting is on Wednesday, October 21th and will be attended by Mr. Lovely in lieu of
Dr. Distasio’s absence.
13. Final Board Comments
Mr. Wetzel – It’s been a please working with those Board Members that will not be returning in November.
Mr. Perugino – It has been a pleasure working with Mr. Morgan for 8 years. Mrs. Zalaski “thank you” for your 4 years on the Board. Welcome aboard to Mr. Rivers. Very happy with Chartwell’s numbers and the numbers will improve with time.
Mr. Gentile – Thank you to Mr. Morgan for his years of service on the Board of Education. It has been a pleasure working with such excellent administrators, volunteers and teachers.
Mr. Engle – It’s been great, it’s been a pleasure, “thank you” Mr. Morgan for your 8 years of service. “Thank you” to the class of 2009 for a CD of your graduation.
Dr. Distasio thanked Mrs. Denski for attending the Board Meetings and for bringing back information to the Town Council.
14. Next Regular Board of Education Meetin
Mr. Engle stated that the next Regular Board of Education Meeting will be held on November18, 2009 at 7 p.m. at Terryville High School.
15. Adjournment
MOTION: To adjourn the meeting at 7:55 p.m. Motion Leonard Morgan, seconded Patrick Perugino motion passed unanimously.
Patrick Perugino
27 North Harwinton Ave, Terryville, CT 06786860-314-8005860-314-2766
Copyright © 2016 Plymouth Public Schools
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Culture, media & sport
Judge orders govt to help Guantanamo Brit
Guantanamo Bay has long been a source of ire for human rights groups
Wednesday, 4 June 2008 12:00 AM
A senior judge has ordered the government to help the British resident currently awaiting trial for war crimes at Guantanamo Bay.
Binyam Mohamed has claimed he was tortured in Morocco and that British officials submitted information about him to the authorities there which was used against him.
But the government has refused to provide information about what human rights groups term his 'CIA-sponsored torture' in Morocco.
"[T]he UK is under no obligation under international law to assist foreign courts and tribunals in assuring that torture evidence is not admitted," the government argued.
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But UK charity Reprieve, together with law firm Leigh Day, sued the British government, demanding it turn over evidence which could help prove Mr Mohamed's innocence and the extent, if any, of his torture.
The court has rejected the government's argument.
Mr Justice Sanders said: "If it is correct that in the course of an interrogation, in which material supplied by the defendant [the British government] was employed, the claimant [Binyam Mohamed] was tortured, then it is arguable that there is an obligation to disclose material which may assist the claimant in establishing before the American military court that he was tortured."
Responding to the news, Clive Stafford Smith, director of Reprieve, said: "Mr Justice Sanders is clearly correct on the law, but let us rather consider morality.
"The British government cannot lend assistance to the torturers of the world -
whether knowingly, or merely with its head firmly in the sand - and then refuse to disclose the truth to the victim of the torture chamber."
The charges against Mr Mohamed, which could result in the death penalty, come despite earlier requests from British officials for his release.
David Miliband, the foreign secretary, made a formal request to his American counterpart Condoleezza Rice, in August 2006, asking for his release.
That request appears to have fallen on deaf ears, as have complaints from human rights groups about the legality of the trial itself, in which the defendant and his lawyers are denied access to some of the evidence against him.
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Advertise your job vacancies here
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Conversations About Science with Theoretical Physicist Matt Strassler
A New Career Phase
About This Site and How to Use It
Large Hadron Collider FAQ
How We Learn What Happened in a Proton-Proton Collision
Introduction to the LHC
Photos Of The LHC
Some Technical Concepts
Fermions and Bosons
GeV and TeV
Invariant Mass
What are anti-particles?
The Trigger: Discarding All But the Gold
Trigger Failure, and Repair, at the LHC
What’s a Hadron?
What’s a Proton, Anyway?
Checking What’s Inside a Proton
Proton Collisions Vs. Quark/Gluon/Antiquark Mini-Collisions
Large Hadron Collider News
A Historic Day? Or Just an Important One?
Gangbusters!
Hey Where’d My Higgs Go?
Higgs Search: ATLAS and CMS Summer Data Combined
Multi-Lepton Events: A Good Place to Look for New Physics
Old Pages (Of Historical Interest)
The December 2011 Higgs Update
The July 2011 Higgs Hints
Searches for New Phenomena (as of 9/2011)
Searches Aimed at Supersymmetry
Seeking New Particles with Long Lifetimes
Seeking Photons/Zs and Something Undetectable
Triggering: Advances in 2012
Data Parking at CMS
Two-Photons: Data and Theory Disagree
What do current LHC results (mid-August 2011) imply about supersymmetry?
Why so quiet at LHC?
Particle Physics Basics
C, P, T (And Their Combinations)
Cerenkov Radiation
Fields and Their Particles: With Math
1. Ball on a Spring (Classical)
1a. Resonance
2. Ball on a Spring (Quantum)
3. Waves (Classical Form)
4. Waves (Classical Equation of Motion)
4a. Waves (The Quick Calculation)
5. Waves (Quantum)
6. Fields
6a. Chicken and Egg; Matter and Field
7. Particles Are Quanta
7a. How Bosons and Fermions Differ
8. How Particles and Fields Interact (an introduction)
How the Higgs Field Works (with math)
1. The Basic Idea
1. The Basic Idea (1st version)
2. Why the Higgs Field is Non-Zero on Average
3. How the Higgs Particle Arises
4. Why the Higgs Field is Necessary
Mass, Energy, Matter, Etc.
Mass and Energy
How Did Einstein Do It?
Matter and Energy: A False Dichotomy
More on Mass
The Two Definitions of “Mass”, And Why I Use Only One
The Energy That Holds Things Together
Neutron Stability in Atomic Nuclei
Neutrinos
How One Detects Neutrinos
IceCube: A Giant Frozen Neutrino Catcher
Making Neutrino Beams
Neutrino Types and Neutrino Oscillations
Velocity Differences of Neutrinos
Neutrinos Faster Than Light?
OPERA: Additional Supporting Info
OPERA: Comparing the Two Versions
OPERA: Some Arguments Against
Cohen-Glashow: OPERA is Self-Contradictory
OPERA vs ICARUS
OPERA: Another Speed Bump
Supernovas and Neutrino Speeds
OPERA: The First Few Days
OPERA’s Paper: My Initial Reaction
OPERA’s Presentation: My Initial Comments
OPERA: What Went Wrong
How LVD Helped Solve OPERA’s Mystery
Particle Physics: Why do it? And why do it *that* way?
Particle/Anti-Particle Annihilation
Quantum Fluctuations and Their Energy
The Hierarchy Problem
Naturalness and the Standard Model
How to Add 2 Curves
The Known (Apparently-) Elementary Particles
Jets: The Manifestation of Quarks and Gluons
B-tagging: Identifying Jets from Bottom Quarks
Tau Leptons
The Known Particles — If The Higgs Field Were Zero
The Known Forces of Nature
The Strengths of the Known Forces
The Structure of Matter
Atoms: Building Blocks of Molecules
Atoms of an Isotope Are Identical, Literally
Atoms: Their Inner Workings
Isotopes: Variations on an Atom
Electrons: On the Outskirts of Atoms
Protons and Neutrons: The Massive Pandemonium in Matter
The Molecular Structure of Matter
The Nuclei of Atoms: At the Heart of Matter
What Holds Nuclei Together?
Theories and Vacua
Tunneling: A Quantum Process
Virtual Particles: What are they?
Why Do Particles Decay?
Most Particles Decay — But Why?
Most Particles Decay — Yet Some Don’t!
Relativity, Space, Astronomy and Cosmology
Big Bang, Classic Confusions
Black Hole Information Paradox: An Introduction
Current Hints of Dark Matter (4/13)
Searching for Dark Matter at the LHC
Seeing Signs of Dark Matter Annihilation
History of the Universe
Before Inflation
Big Bang: Expansion, NOT Explosion
Hot Big Bang
Dust Thou Art, BICEP2
Some Definitions for Cosmology
Parallax: Seeing in Depth
Reflections on Beauty in Motion
The First Principle of Relativity
Transit of Venus and the Distance to the Sun
Why Do Astronauts Float?
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Some Speculative Theoretical Ideas for the LHC
Extra Dimensions – How to Think About Them
Dimensions of Physical Space
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Extra Dimensions & Newton’s Gravity
How Big Could an Extra Dimension Be?
Kaluza-Klein Partners — Why? Step 1
Supersymmetry
How to Look for Supersymmetry at the LHC
When The Standard Assumptions About Supersymmetry are Relaxed
Supersymmetry — What Is It?
Supersymmetry and Multi-Lepton Events
Where Stands Supersymmetry (as of 12/2013)
Where Stands Supersymmetry (as of 4/2012)?
Tevatron News
A Rare and Interesting Decay of a “B meson” – update 2
Apparent Unexpected Asymmetries in the Production of Quarks
The Higgs Particle
Discovery of the Higgs
Higgs Discovery: Is it a Higgs?
Higgs Discovery: Is it a Simplest Higgs?
Higgs Discovery: Personal Reflections
Higgs Discovery: Skill and A Little Luck
Higgs Discovery: The Data
Holiday Higgs Hints: Confidence-Inspiring or Not?
How The Higgs Field Works
Implications of Higgs Searches (as of 9/2011)
Non-Standard Decays of the Observed Higgs Particle
Higgs Decay to Unknown Spin-One Particles
Higgs Decays to Unknown Spin-Zero Particles
Taking Stock of the “Higgs” (Jan. 2013)
1. Is it a Higgs?
2. Perhaps Composite?
3. A Higgs of Simplest Type?
4. More Than One Higgs?
5. Supersymmetry?
6. Surprises?
The Higgs FAQ 2.0
The Old Higgs FAQ
The Standard Model Higgs
Decays of the Standard Model Higgs
Lightweight Higgs: A `Sensitive Creature’
A Quantitative Addendum to the Sensitive Creature
Non-SM h Decays
Table of Decays
Decay to Unusual Jets
Production of the Standard Model Higgs Particle
Seeking and Studying the Standard Model Higgs Particle
Why is it Hard to Find the Higgs Particle?
A Lightweight Standard Model Higgs Particle
Why the Higgs Particle Matters
Why the Higgs Particle Matters (Old Version)
Why The Hints of Higgs Currently Rest on Uncertain Ground
Thoughts on the Scientific Process
Scientific Scepticism Isn’t Just Politics
Why is the Tevatron So Busy with Hints of New Physics?
Technical Zone
Xotica
Hurriquake 2011: What are the Chances?
Sunrise (older version)
The Grand Si11iness of 11/11/11 11:11:11
Tag Archives: atlas
Breaking a Little New Ground at the Large Hadron Collider
Today, a small but intrepid band of theoretical particle physicists (professor Jesse Thaler of MIT, postdocs Yotam Soreq and Wei Xue of CERN, Harvard Ph.D. student Cari Cesarotti, and myself) put out a paper that is unconventional in two senses. First, we looked for new particles at the Large Hadron Collider in a way that hasn’t been done before, at least in public. And second, we looked for new particles at the Large Hadron Collider in a way that hasn’t been done before, at least in public.
And no, there’s no error in the previous paragraph.
1) We used a small amount of actual data from the CMS experiment, even though we’re not ourselves members of the CMS experiment, to do a search for a new particle. Both ATLAS and CMS, the two large multipurpose experimental detectors at the Large Hadron Collider [LHC], have made a small fraction of their proton-proton collision data public, through a website called the CERN Open Data Portal. Some experts, including my co-authors Thaler, Xue and their colleagues, have used this data (and the simulations that accompany it) to do a variety of important studies involving known particles and their properties. [Here’s a blog post by Thaler concerning Open Data and its importance from his perspective.] But our new study is the first to look for signs of a new particle in this public data. While our chances of finding anything were low, we had a larger goal: to see whether Open Data could be used for such searches. We hope our paper provides some evidence that Open Data offers a reasonable path for preserving priceless LHC data, allowing it to be used as an archive by physicists of the post-LHC era.
2) Since only had a tiny fraction of CMS’s data was available to us, about 1% by some count, how could we have done anything useful compared to what the LHC experts have already done? Well, that’s why we examined the data in a slightly unconventional way (one of several methods that I’ve advocated for many years, but has not been used in any public study). Consequently it allowed us to explore some ground that no one had yet swept clean, and even have a tiny chance of an actual discovery! But the larger scientific goal, absent a discovery, was to prove the value of this unconventional strategy, in hopes that the experts at CMS and ATLAS will use it (and others like it) in future. Their chance of discovering something new, using their full data set, is vastly greater than ours ever was.
Now don’t all go rushing off to download and analyze terabytes of CMS Open Data; you’d better know what you’re getting into first. It’s worthwhile, but it’s not easy going. LHC data is extremely complicated, and until this project I’ve always been skeptical that it could be released in a form that anyone outside the experimental collaborations could use. Downloading the data and turning it into a manageable form is itself a major task. Then, while studying it, there are an enormous number of mistakes that you can make (and we made quite a few of them) and you’d better know how to make lots of cross-checks to find your mistakes (which, fortunately, we did know; we hope we found all of them!) The CMS personnel in charge of the Open Data project were enormously helpful to us, and we’re very grateful to them; but since the project is new, there were inevitable wrinkles which had to be worked around. And you’d better have some friends among the experimentalists who can give you advice when you get stuck, or point out aspects of your results that don’t look quite right. [Our thanks to them!]
All in all, this project took us two years! Well, honestly, it should have taken half that time — but it couldn’t have taken much less than that, with all we had to learn. So trying to use Open Data from an LHC experiment is not something you do in your idle free time.
Nevertheless, I feel it was worth it. At a personal level, I learned a great deal more about how experimental analyses are carried out at CMS, and by extension, at the LHC more generally. And more importantly, we were able to show what we’d hoped to show: that there are still tremendous opportunities for discovery at the LHC, through the use of (even slightly) unconventional model-independent analyses. It’s a big world to explore, and we took only a small step in the easiest direction, but perhaps our efforts will encourage others to take bigger and more challenging ones.
For those readers with greater interest in our work, I’ll put out more details in two blog posts over the next few days: one about what we looked for and how, and one about our views regarding the value of open data from the LHC, not only for our project but for the field of particle physics as a whole.
Posted in LHC Background Info, Particle Physics, The Scientific Process
Tagged atlas, cms, DoingScience, LHC, particle physics
A Hidden Gem At An Old Experiment?
This summer there was a blog post from Sabine Hossenfelder claiming that “The LHC `nightmare scenario’ has come true” — implying that the Large Hadron Collider [LHC] has found nothing but a Standard Model Higgs particle (the simplest possible type), and will find nothing more of great importance. With all due respect for the considerable intelligence and technical ability of the author of that post, I could not disagree more; not only are we not in a nightmare, it isn’t even night-time yet, and hardly time for sleep or even daydreaming. There’s a tremendous amount of work to do, and there may be many hidden discoveries yet to be made, lurking in existing LHC data. Or elsewhere.
I can defend this claim (and have done so as recently as this month; here are my slides). But there’s evidence from another quarter that it is far too early for such pessimism. It has appeared in a new paper (a preprint, so not yet peer-reviewed) by an experimentalist named Arno Heister, who is evaluating 20-year old data from the experiment known as ALEPH.
In the early 1990s the Large Electron-Positron (LEP) collider at CERN, in the same tunnel that now houses the LHC, produced nearly 4 million Z particles at the center of ALEPH; the Z’s decayed immediately into other particles, and ALEPH was used to observe those decays. Of course the data was studied in great detail, and you might think there couldn’t possibly be anything still left to find in that data, after over 20 years. But a hidden gem wouldn’t surprise those of us who have worked in this subject for a long time — especially those of us who have worked on hidden valleys. (Hidden Valleys are theories with a set of new forces and low-mass particles, which, because they aren’t affected by the known forces excepting gravity, interact very weakly with the known particles. They are also often called “dark sectors” if they have something to do with dark matter.)
For some reason most experimenters in particle physics don’t tend to look for things just because they can; they stick to signals that theorists have already predicted. Since hidden valleys only hit the market in a 2006 paper I wrote with then-student Kathryn Zurek, long after the experimenters at ALEPH had moved on to other experiments, nobody went back to look in ALEPH or other LEP data for hidden valley phenomena (with one exception.) I didn’t expect anyone to ever do so; it’s a lot of work to dig up and recommission old computer files.
This wouldn’t have been a problem if the big LHC experiments (ATLAS, CMS and LHCb) had looked extensively for the sorts of particles expected in hidden valleys. ATLAS and CMS especially have many advantages; for instance, the LHC has made over a hundred times more Z particles than LEP ever did. But despite specific proposals for what to look for (and a decade of pleading), only a few limited searches have been carried out, mostly for very long-lived particles, for particles with mass of a few GeV/c² or less, and for particles produced in unexpected Higgs decays. And that means that, yes, hidden physics could certainly still be found in old ALEPH data, and in other old experiments. Kudos to Dr. Heister for taking a look. Continue reading →
Posted in Other Collider News, Particle Physics
Tagged ALEPH, atlas, cms, dilepton, HiddenValleys, LEP, LHC, LHCb
A Flash in the Pan Flickers Out
Posted on August 4, 2016 | 39 comments
Back in the California Gold Rush, many people panning for gold saw a yellow glint at the bottom of their pans, and thought themselves lucky. But more often than not, it was pyrite — iron sulfide — fool’s gold…
Back in December 2015, a bunch of particle physicists saw a bump on a plot. The plot showed the numbers of events with two photons (particles of light) as a function of the “invariant mass” of the photon pair. (To be precise, they saw a big bump on one ATLAS plot, and a bunch of small bumps in similar plots by CMS and ATLAS [the two general purpose experiments at the Large Hadron Collider].) What was that bump? Was it a sign of a new particle?
A similar bump was the first sign of the Higgs boson, though that was far from clear at the time. What about this bump?
As I wrote in December,
“Well, to be honest, probably it’s just that: a bump on a plot. But just in case it’s not…”
and I went on to describe what it might be if the bump were more than just a statistical fluke. A lot of us — theoretical particle physicists like me — had a lot of fun, and learned a lot of physics, by considering what that bump might mean if it were a sign of something real. (In fact I’ll be giving a talk here at CERN next week entitled “Lessons from a Flash in the Pan,” describing what I learned, or remembered, along the way.)
But updated results from CMS, based on a large amount of new data taken in 2016, have been seen. (Perhaps these have leaked out early; they were supposed to be presented tomorrow along with those from ATLAS.) They apparently show that where the bump was before, they now see nothing. In fact there’s a small dip in the data there.
So — it seems that what we saw in those December plots was a fluke. It happens. I’m certainly disappointed, but hardly surprised. Funny things happen with small amounts of data.
At the ICHEP 2016 conference, which started today, official presentation of the updated ATLAS and CMS two-photon results will come on Friday, but I think we all know the score. So instead our focus will be on the many other results (dozens and dozens, I hear) that the experiments will be showing us for the first time. Already we had a small blizzard of them today. I’m excited to see what they have to show us … the Standard Model, and naturalness, remain on trial.
Posted in LHC News, Particle Physics
Tagged atlas, cms, diphoton, LHC
The Summer View at CERN
For the first time in some years, I’m spending two and a half weeks at CERN (the lab that hosts the Large Hadron Collider [LHC]). Most of my recent visits have been short or virtual, but this time* there’s a theory workshop that has collected together a number of theoretical particle physicists, and it’s a good opportunity for all of us to catch up with the latest creative ideas in the subject. It’s also an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the furtive immensity of Mont Blanc, a hulking bump on the southern horizon, although only if (as is rarely the case) nature offers clear and beautiful weather.
More importantly, new results on the data collected so far in 2016 at the LHC are coming very soon! They will be presented at the ICHEP conference that will be held in Chicago starting August 3rd. And there’s something we’ll be watching closely.
You may remember that in a post last December I wrote:
“Everybody wants to know. That bump seen on the ATLAS and CMS two-photon plots! What… IS… it…?“
Why the excitement? A bump of this type can be a signal of a new particle (as was the case for the Higgs particle itself.) And since a new particle that would produce a bump of this size was both completely unexpected and completely plausible, there was hope that we were seeing a hint of something new and important.
However, as I wrote in the same post,
and I went on to discuss briefly what it might mean if it wasn’t just a statistical fluke. But speculation may be about to end: finally, we’re about to find out if it was indeed just a fluke — or a sign of something real.
Since December the amount of 13 TeV collision data available at ATLAS and CMS (the two general purpose experiments at the LHC) has roughly quadrupled, which means that typical bumps and wiggles on their 2015-2016 plots have decreased in relative size by about a factor of two (= square root of four). If the December bump is just randomness, it should also decrease in relative size. If it’s real, it should remain roughly the same relative size, but appear more prominent relative to the random bumps and wiggles around it.
Now, there’s a caution to be added here. The December ATLAS bump was so large and fat compared to what was seen at CMS that (since reality has to appear the same at both experiments, once enough data has been collected) it was pretty obvious that even if it there were a real bump there, at ATLAS it was probably in combination with a statistical fluke that made it look larger and fatter than its true nature. [Something similar happened with the Higgs; the initial bump that ATLAS saw was twice as big as expected, which is why it showed up so early, but it gradually has shrunk as more data has been collected and it is now close to its expected size. In retrospect, that tells us that ATLAS’s original signal was indeed combined with a statistical fluke that made it appear larger than it really is.] What that means is that even if the December bumps were real, we would expect the ATLAS bump to shrink in size (but not statistical significance) and we would expect the CMS bump to remain of similar size (but grow in statistical significance). Remember, though, that “expectation” is not certainty, because at every stage statistical flukes (up or down) are possible.
In about a week we’ll find out where things currently stand. But the mood, as I read it here in the hallways and cafeteria, is not one of excitement. Moreover, the fact that the update to the results is (at the moment) unobtrusively scheduled for a parallel session of the ICHEP conference next Friday, afternoon time at CERN, suggests we’re not going to see convincing evidence of anything exciting. If so, then the remaining question will be whether the reverse is true: whether the data will show convincing evidence that the December bump was definitely a fluke.
Flukes are guaranteed; with limited amounts of data, they can’t be avoided. Discoveries, on the other hand, require skill, insight, and luck: you must ask a good question, address it with the best available methods, and be fortunate enough that (as is rarely the case) nature offers a clear and interesting answer.
*I am grateful for the CERN theory group’s financial support during this visit.
Tagged atlas, cms, LHC, photons
Pop went the Weasel, but Vroom goes the LHC
At the end of April, as reported hysterically in the press, the Large Hadron Collider was shut down and set back an entire week by a “fouine”, an animal famous for chewing through wires in cars, and apparently in colliders too. What a rotten little weasel! especially for its skill in managing to get the English-language press to blame the wrong species — a fouine is actually a beech marten, not a weasel, and I’m told it goes Bzzzt, not Pop. But who’s counting?
Particle physicists are counting. Last week the particle accelerator operated so well that it generated almost half as many collisions as were produced in 2015 (from July til the end of November), bringing the 2016 total to about three-fourths of 2015.
The key question is how many of the next few weeks will be like this past one. We’d be happy with three out of five, even two. If the amount of 2016 data can significantly exceed that of 2015 by July 15th, as now seems likely, a definitive answer to the question on everyone’s mind (namely, what is the bump on that plot?!? a new particle? or just a statistical fluke?) might be available at the time of the early August ICHEP conference.
So it’s looking more likely that we’re going to have an interesting August… though it’s not at all clear yet whether we’ll get great news (in which case we get no summer vacation), bad news (in which case we’ll all need a vacation), or ambiguous news (in which case we wait a few additional months for yet more news.)
Tagged atlas, cms, LHC, particle physics
The Two-Photon Excess at LHC Brightens Slightly
Back in December 2015, there was some excitement when the experiments ATLAS and CMS at the Large Hadron Collider [LHC] — especially ATLAS — reported signs of an unexpectedly large number of proton-proton collisions in which
two highly energetic photons [particles of light] were produced, and
the two photons could possibly have been produced in a decay of an unknown particle, whose mass would be about six times the mass of the Higgs particle (which ATLAS and CMS discovered in 2012.)
This suggested the possibility of an unknown particle of some type with rest mass of 750 GeV/c². However, the excess could just be a statistical fluke, of no scientific importance and destined to vanish with more data.
The outlook for that bump on a plot at 750 GeV has gotten a tad brighter… because not only do we have ATLAS’s plot, we now have increasing evidence for a similar bump on CMS’s plot. This is thanks largely to some hard work on the part of the CMS experimenters. Some significant improvements at CMS,
improved understanding of their photon energy measurements in their 2015 data,
ability to use 2015 collisions taken when their giant magnet wasn’t working — fortunately, the one type of particle whose identity and energy can be measured without a magnet is… a photon!
combination of the 2015 data with their 2012 data,
have increased the significance of their observed excess by a moderate amount. Here’s the scorecard.*
CMS 2015 data (Dec.): excess is 2.6σ local, < 1σ global
CMS 2015 data (improved, Mar.) 2.9σ local, < 1σ global
CMS 2015+2012 data: 3.4σ local, 1.6σ global
ATLAS 2015 data (Dec. and Mar.): 3.6σ local, 2.0σ global to get a narrow bump [and 3.9σ local , 2.3σ global to get a somewhat wider bump, but notice this difference is quite insignificant, so narrow and wider are pretty much equally ok.]
ATLAS 2015+2012 data: not reported, but clearly goes up a bit more, by perhaps half a sigma?
You can read a few more details at Resonaances.
*Significance is measured in σ (“standard deviations”) and for confidence in potentially revolutionary results we typically want to see local significance approaching 5σ and global approaching 3σ in both experiments. (The “local” significance tells you how unlikely it is to see a random bump of a certain size at a particular location in the plot, while the “global” significance tells you how unlikely it is to see such a bump anywhere in the plot … obviously smaller because of the look-elsewhere effect.)
This is good news, but it doesn’t really reflect a qualitative change in the situation. It leaves us slightly more optimistic (which is much better than the alternative!) but, as noted in December, we still won’t actually know anything until we have either (a) more data to firm up the evidence for these bumps, or (b) a discovery of a completely independent clue, perhaps in existing data. Efforts for (b) are underway, and of course (a) will get going when the LHC starts again… soon! Next news on this probably not til June at the earliest… unless we’re very lucky!
Tagged atlas, cms, diphoton, LHC, photons
So What Is It???
So What Is It? That’s the question one hears in all the bars and on all the street corners and on every Twitter feed and in the whispering of the wind. Everybody wants to know. That bump seen on the ATLAS and CMS two-photon plots! What… IS… it…?
The two-photon results from ATLAS (top) and CMS (bottom) aligned, so that the 600, 700 and 800 GeV locations (blue vertical lines) line up almost perfectly. The peaks in the two data sets are in about the same location. ATLAS’s is larger and also wider. Click here for more commentary.
Well, to be honest, probably it’s just that: a bump on a plot. But just in case it’s not — just in case it really is the sign of a new particle in Large Hadron Collider [LHC] data — let me (start to) address the question.
First: what it isn’t. It can’t just be a second Higgs particle (a heavier version of the one found in 2012) that is just appended to the known particles, with no other particles added in. Continue reading →
Tagged atlas, cms, Higgs, LHC, photons
Exciting Day Ahead at LHC
At CERN, the laboratory that hosts the Large Hadron Collider [LHC]. Four years ago, almost to the day. Fabiola Gianotti, spokesperson for the ATLAS experiment, delivered the first talk in a presentation on 2011 LHC data. Speaking to the assembled scientists and dignitaries, she presented the message that energized the physics community: a little bump had shown up on a plot. Continue reading →
Posted in Higgs, LHC News, Particle Physics
Tagged atlas, cms, Higgs
This site addresses various aspects of science, with a current focus on particle physics. I aim to serve the public, including those with no background knowledge of physics. If you're not yourself an expert, you might want to click on "New? Start Here" or "About" to get started. If you'd like to watch my hour-long public lecture about the Higgs particle, try ``Movie Clips''.
A Higgs particle is produced in a proton-proton collision at center, and decays to two photons (particles of light, indicated by green towers) in an LHC detector. Tracks emerging from center are from remnants of the two protons.
A Ring of Controversy Around a Black Hole Photo
The Black Hole `Photo’: Seeing More Clearly
The Black Hole `Photo’: What Are We Looking At?
A Black Day (and a Happy One) In Scientific History
A Non-Expert’s Guide to a Black Hole’s Silhouette
LHCb experiment finds another case of CP violation in nature
The Importance and Challenges of “Open Data” at the Large Hadron Collider
A Broad Search for Fast Hidden Particles
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Archive for category: Information and Mapping
This category features all post related to Project Watershed’s GIS/GPS/SHIM etc. mapping activities.
Project Watershed’s Coastal Restoration Plan Now Available!
06/06/2019 /0 Comments/in Blue Carbon, Estuary Stewardship, Information and Mapping, Our Work, Reports /by Project Watershed
https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Trent_eelgrass_Change.png 577 608 Project Watershed https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/PWLogoMainTransparent-300x180.png Project Watershed2019-06-06 11:10:192019-06-06 22:03:35Project Watershed's Coastal Restoration Plan Now Available!
Coastal Restoration Fund Update
12/02/2019 /0 Comments/in Blue Carbon, Estuary Stewardship, Information and Mapping, Our Work /by Caila Holbrook
After many long hours researching, mapping and writing Project Watershed’s Coastal Restoration Team has produced the first draft of the Salish Sea North East Vancouver Island Salmon Highway (Nearshore Habitat) Coastal Restoration Plan. This foundational document will serve as a guide for future nearshore habitat restoration projects that Project Watershed and our partnering organisations carry out. It catalogs a long list of potential projects including restoration of eelgrass, kelp and salt marsh habitat along approximately 120 kms of shoreline from Oyster River to Fanny Bay.
Before the end of March we will holding two stakeholder input sessions to gather feedback on the document, help prioritize projects and firm up the partnerships necessary to initiate work on the projects that are shown to be top priorities. One of the sessions will be in Oyster River and the other in Fanny Bay. If you are a member of a stakeholder group in the Fanny Bay to Oyster River region please watch for details on the stakeholder sessions.
If you have any questions about this project please email estuary.projectwatershed@gmail.com.
https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/kelp-image.jpg 663 1245 Caila Holbrook https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/PWLogoMainTransparent-300x180.png Caila Holbrook2019-02-12 12:10:042019-02-12 12:27:36Coastal Restoration Fund Update
Project Watershed Gets Equipment Boost
03/09/2018 /0 Comments/in Fundraising and Sponsorship, Information and Mapping /by Caila Holbrook
https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ComputerwCVCFlogo.jpg 1210 1239 Caila Holbrook https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/PWLogoMainTransparent-300x180.png Caila Holbrook2018-09-03 14:28:572018-11-07 16:14:59Project Watershed Gets Equipment Boost
Simms Millennium Park
13/08/2018 /1 Comment/in Estuary Stewardship, Information and Mapping, Our Work /by Caila Holbrook
https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/cropped.Simms20160420_161713.jpg 558 1321 Caila Holbrook https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/PWLogoMainTransparent-300x180.png Caila Holbrook2018-08-13 14:49:462018-08-28 15:42:50Simms Millennium Park
Glacier to Estuary Environmental Education Materials Now Available
04/04/2018 /1 Comment/in Information and Mapping, Our Work, Volunteer and Membership activities /by Caila Holbrook
https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Longshore-Drift-from-Willemar-Bluffs-to-Goose-Spit-R-Ward.jpg 1125 2000 Caila Holbrook https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/PWLogoMainTransparent-300x180.png Caila Holbrook2018-04-04 21:01:562018-04-04 21:15:48Glacier to Estuary Environmental Education Materials Now Available
Millard Creek
https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Courtenay-River-Estuary-from-south-of-Millard-Piercy_sm.jpg 1024 1536 Caila Holbrook https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/PWLogoMainTransparent-300x180.png Caila Holbrook2017-12-12 14:50:522018-02-28 23:15:49Millard Creek
Goose Spit Sign
05/10/2017 /1 Comment/in Estuary Stewardship, Information and Mapping, Our Work /by Michael Holding
https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Spit-formation.jpg 236 500 Michael Holding https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/PWLogoMainTransparent-300x180.png Michael Holding2017-10-05 09:41:042018-08-13 15:12:29Goose Spit Sign
K’ómoks First Nation
05/10/2017 /0 Comments/in Estuary Stewardship, Information and Mapping, Our Work /by Caila Holbrook
https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Some-archaeological-sites-in-and-around-the-K’ómoks-Estuary-N-Greene-D-McGee.ai_.jpg 1468 1534 Caila Holbrook https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/PWLogoMainTransparent-300x180.png Caila Holbrook2017-10-05 08:30:342017-10-05 09:19:46K'ómoks First Nation
Eco-assets in the Comox Valley
18/07/2017 /0 Comments/in Information and Mapping, Our Work /by Caila Holbrook
https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/watershed-web.jpg 450 800 Caila Holbrook https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/PWLogoMainTransparent-300x180.png Caila Holbrook2017-07-18 10:29:552017-07-30 22:34:24Eco-assets in the Comox Valley
Trent River Estuary
Signs of Abundance Tour – The information on this page compliments that which appears on the sign that has recently been erected near the mouth of the Trent River. To go to the map of all the signs in this series click here.
https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Trent-sign-installed.jpg 700 1244 Caila Holbrook https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/PWLogoMainTransparent-300x180.png Caila Holbrook2017-06-15 08:00:422017-10-04 13:10:32Trent River Estuary
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The Governor (TNA)
Draculetta (Wrestlicious)
July 17, 1975 (1975-07-17) (age 44)
Wiesbaden, Germany
Resides
Unknown parts of Alaska
Sybil, Texas
WCW Power Plant
Dwayne Bruce
Hurricane Helms
Malia Hosaka
Selena Majors
Leilani Kai
Johnny Slaughter
Madusa
Shannon Claire Spruill (July 17, 1975) is an German professional wrestler and valet. She is best known for her appearances with World Championship Wrestling between 1999 and 2001 under the ring name Daffney and for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where she used the ring name "The Governor", a caricature of Alaska governor and former United States Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, before returning to her Daffney ring name and gimmick.
Professional Wrestling Career
World Championship Wrestling (1999-2001)
In November 1999, Spruill responded to a World Championship Wrestling (WCW) contest looking to acquire new talent and was hired. In WCW, Spruill played Daffney, the mentally deranged, besotted girlfriend of David Flair, managing him and Crowbar. One of Daffney's hallmarks was a high piercing scream when she was lurking at ringside. The gimmick was based in part on Mallory Knox, the character played by Juliette Lewis in the film Natural Born Killers. Spruill has cited Batman supervillainess Harley Quinn as the original inspiration for the character. Spruill's first appearance was on the December 6 episode of Nitro, when she was shown sitting on her bed and chanting Flair's name.
On May 15, 2000 Daffney and Crowbar defeated WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Chris Candido and his girlfriend Tammy Lynn Sytch in a mixed tag team match and were declared co-champions. The following week on the May 22 episode of Nitro, Crowbar and Daffney faced one another to determine the undisputed World Cruiserweight Champion. Crowbar held back during the match, but still dominated the smaller Daffney. After Candido entered the ring and hit Crowbar with a reverse piledriver, Spruill inadvertently pinned him while trying to revive him and thus became the second woman ever to hold the Cruiserweight Championship. Her reign lasted until June 7 when Lieutenant Loco pinned Disco Inferno in a three-way title defense while Daffney was hurt following interference from Miss Hancock. Daffney went on to feud with Hancock, who had stolen the affections of Flair. Daffney defeated Hancock in the promotion's first ever Wedding Gown match after Hancock removed her own dress. Daffney then became solely the valet for Crowbar. She had a brief feud with Shane Douglas's valet, Torrie Wilson, but was rarely used as a wrestler.
Daffney was notable for her constantly changing hair color, wide selection of T-shirts with slogans on them, and her propensity to scream loudly and shrilly for no apparent reason. She began screaming at the suggestion of WCW writer Ed Ferrara. Though Spruill's somewhat gothic character earned her a small but loyal fan base, she was released by WCW on February 2, 2001 due to budget cutbacks (WCW itself was purchased by its rival, the World Wrestling Federation, a month later).
Shimmer Women Athletes (2007-2010, 2013, 2014)
In April 2007, Spruill debuted as Daffney for Shimmer Women Athletes. She conducted an interview where she revealed her goal was to return to what she did from the beginning of her career and that was to manage. Later that evening, she appeared as the manager of the wrestler MsChif. In April 2008 she began wrestling as her Shark Girl character. However, she returned to wrestling as Daffney after only a couple of months. This included a pair of matches against Cat Power; losing the first at Volume 20 after her knee injury was re-aggravated, but winning the rematch at Volume 21.
On November 8, 2009, Daffney teamed up with Rachel Summerlyn in a losing effort against the International Home Wrecking Crew at Volume 27. During the match, Daffney refused to tag herself in and later abandoned Summerlyn, turning Daffney heel. Later in the night on Volume 28, Daffney got disqualified in a match with Summerlyn, after she did not release an illegal hold off her opponent. On April 11, 2010, at the tapings of Volume 31, the evil Daffney defeated Summerlyn in a No Disqualification match.
On April 6, 2013, Daffney returned to Shimmer Women Athletes at the promotion's first ever internet pay-per-view, Volume 53, where she appeared as the manager of Regeneration X (Allison Danger and Leva Bates). Daffney appeared as a ring announcer at SHIMMER 62 on April 5, 2014.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2008-2011)
Debut; The Governor (2008-2009)
Spruill appeared on the June 5, 2008 edition of TNA Impact! as Daffney. She was planted in the audience along with fellow wrestlers Amber O'Neal and Becky Bayless. The three women volunteered to wrestle Awesome Kong in the $25,000 Challenge. Daffney was selected and subsequently defeated by Kong.
In December 2008, Spruill started playing the role of Alaska governor Sarah Palin in skits involving The Beautiful People. On the January 15 edition of Impact! it was revealed by Taylor Wilde and Roxxi that "Sarah Palin" was indeed fake, and it had all been a big joke by Roxxi and Taylor to get revenge on The Beautiful People. They then proceeded to muck the Beautiful People as Spruill, Taylor and Roxxi celebrated. The next week she was seen in an interview with Lauren, where they made fun of the Beautiful People. The Beautiful People then proceeded to viciously attack "The Governor" before being pulled away by Cute Kip as Spruill lay injured. On the February 5, 2009, edition of Impact! she made her return by attacking the Beautiful People, this time complete with entrance video and theme. She made her PPV debut at Destination X in a winning effort when she teamed with Roxxi and Wilde to defeat The Beautiful People and Madison Rayne.
Daffney; Heel Turn and Alliance with Dr. Stevie (2009-2010)
As a result of having her hair cut by the Beautiful People on the March 19 edition of Impact!, Spruill transformed into her old Daffney ring name and gimmick on the April 2 edition of Impact!, when she appeared in on-screen psychiatrist Dr. Stevie's office for a therapy session. On the April 16 edition of Impact!, she teamed with Stevie's other patient Abyss to defeat the duo of ODB and Cody Deaner in a mixed tag team match. She competed in the Queen of the Cage match at Lockdown against ODB, Madison Rayne and Sojournor Bolt, but failed to win the match. On the May 14 edition of Impact!, Daffney turned heel by assaulting Taylor Wilde, because she did not save her when The Beautiful People cut her hair. At Sacrifice, Wilde defeated Daffney, who had Abyss and Dr. Stevie in her corner, in the first ever knockouts' Monster's Ball match. After she and Dr. Stevie began associating themselves with the returning Raven, Daffney defeated Wilde with their help in a rematch on the June 4 edition of Impact with her swinging fisherman suplex named the Lobotomy. The following week, Daffney assaulted Wilde backstage after provoking her by attacking her on-screen best friend, backstage interviewer Lauren, earlier on the same night. Daffney and Raven were defeated by Abyss and Taylor Wilde at Slammiversary in a Monster's Ball mixed tag match. During the match Wilde slammed Daffney onto a pile of thumbtacks. The following Thursday on Impact!, she and Wilde faced off in the first ever Knockouts "Match of 10,000 Tacks", which she lost.
At Bound for Glory, Daffney interfered in a Monster's Ball match between Abyss and Mick Foley, who had assigned Abyss' rival and Daffney's associate Dr. Stevie as the special guest referee of the match. During the match, Abyss chokeslammed Daffney from the ring apron through a barbed wire board, although reports indicated she had suffered a broken arm, it was later reported to be inaccurate although she had instead suffered a concussion. On the November 12 edition of Impact! Raven once again returned to TNA to reform the group of himself, Dr. Stevie and Daffney.
Going Solo (2010-2011)
Daffney spent the next couple of months mainly managing Stevie and Raven, before making her in-ring return on the February 18, 2010, edition of Impact!, losing to the TNA Knockouts Champion Tara via disqualification, after hitting her with a toolbox. After the match, Daffney continued her assault, before being dragged away by Dr. Stevie. The following week on Impact! she annihilated ODB in similar fashion as it was noted that she had her eye set on the title. On the March 8 edition of Impact!, Daffney cost Tara and her tag team partner Angelina Love the Knockouts Tag Team Championship by hitting her with the Knockouts Championship belt during a match for the vacant titles. At Destination X, Daffney failed in her attempt to win the Knockouts Championship from Tara, but managed to steal her spider, Poison, from her after the match. The following day on Impact!, Daffney used distraction from Poison to pin Tara in an eight Knockout tag team match to earn her a First Blood match for the Knockouts Championship the following week. The following week Tara defeated Daffney in a First Blood match after hitting her with a toolbox. The following week Daffney was one of the four winners in an eight knockout Lockbox match, contested for four keys to four boxes containing prizes. During the contest Tara, one of the three other winners, won back Poison, while Daffney came up empty handed and was forced to strip down, but before she could, she was attacked by Lacey Von Erich. The attack resulted in a match on the April 19 edition of Impact!, where Daffney, now seemingly a face, and a partner of her choice, ODB, unsuccessfully challenged Von Erich and Velvet Sky for the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship. At the following day's Impact! tapings, Daffney was injured in a dark match against Miss Betsy in her tryout match and was taken to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with a deeply bruised sternum, a severe stinger, and a concussion.
On May 26, it was announced that Spruill had been cleared to return to wrestling. She made her return at the June 14 tapings of Xplosion, wrestling once again as a villain and defeating Taylor Wilde with the help of a chain, only to have the referee of the match catch her afterwards, leading to Wilde defeating her after a restart. On the December 9 edition of Impact!, Daffney teamed with Sarita in a first round match of a tournament for the vacant TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship, where they were defeated by the Beautiful People (Angelina Love and Velvet Sky). This marked Daffney's final appearance for TNA as on March 15, 2011, her contract with the promotion expired and was not renewed. Spruill announced that she had filed a workers' compensation claim against TNA for injuries suffered while wrestling for the promotion, believing she had been put in an unsafe working environment. Spruill later also claimed that she did not believe she could ever wrestle again due to the accumulated injuries she had suffered during her career. The lawsuit was settled out of court on March 8, 2013.
Shine Wrestling (2012-present)
On July 20, 2012, Daffney joined the new SHINE Wrestling promotion as a hostess, ring announcer, and eventually a commentator with Lenny Leonard. At SHINE 9 on April 19, 2013, Daffney and Nikki Roxx were attacked by Mercedes Martinez during a birthday party for Roxx. As a result, Daffney resigned from her position as hostess and applied for a manager's license. At SHINE 11 on July 12, Daffney formed Daffney's All-Star Squad to fight against the villains in Shine Wrestling. She serves as the manager of the stable, which consists of Nikki Roxx, Solo Darling, and Kimberly. At SHINE 16 on January 24, 2014, Daffney introduced her new tag team known as The Buddy System, which consisted of Solo Darling and Heidi Lovelace, and they defeated The S-N-S Express (Sassy Stephie and Jessie Belle). Daffney later added Crazy Mary Dobson to the group, and she and Solo Darling defeated Valifornia in a tag team match.
After Valifornia took out both Lovelace and Darling in recent shows, Daffney pulled her entire squad from the SHINE 28 event. Daffney turned heel at SHINE 28 on July 24, 2015, when she introduced The Iron Maidens (Amaiya Jade and Katie Forbes) as her new tag team and sent them to attack Andréa, Marti Belle, and The Kimber Bombs. During the attack, Daffney inserted chairs into the ring, which was used to deliver a DDT on Kimber Lee. At SHINE 29 on September 2, Daffney accompanied Crazy Mary Dobson to her match against Miss Rachel, and continued to display her dark heel persona by tripping up Rachel to help Dobson win. She later returned with the Iron Maidens, and they fought with Valifornia and Cherry Bomb before they were ejected by Lexie Fyfe.
Finishing moves
As Daffney
Daff Knees (Single knee facebreaker) – 2008–2011
Frankenscreamer (Frankensteiner) – 2000–2007
Lobotomy (Bridging swinging fisherman suplex) – 2009–2011
As Shark Girl
Single knee facebreaker
Stunner, sometimes preceded by a vertical suplex lift
As The Governor
Thrilla from Wasilla (Swinging fisherman suplex)
Signature moves
Diving hurricanrana
The Fyfe Drop (Sidewalk slam) – adopted from Lexie Fyfe
Hosaka Kick! (Spin kick) – adopted from Malia Hosaka
Inverted DDT
Lance Crab (Roll-through counter into a single leg Boston crab) – adopted from Lance Storm
Leggo My Eggos (Double chickenwing / Delfin Clutch combination)
Rolling neck snap
Shining wizard
Armbar while biting the opponent's arm
Bridging evasion
Lou Thesz press
Dr. Stevie
Crowbar (WCW)
David Flair (WCW)
MsChif (SHIMMER)
Nikki Roxx (SHINE)
Solo Darling (SHINE)
Second City Saints
YRR
Daffney's All-Star Squad
"The Goth Goddess"
"The Scream Queen"
"Zombie Hot"
Entrance themes
"Psychotic" by Dale Oliver (TNA)
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
PWI ranked her #49 in the 2008 PWI Top 50 Females
WCW World Cruiserweight Champion (1 time)
Daffney's event history
Daffney's gimmicks
Daffney's Image gallery
Daffney profile at CAGEMATCH.net
2008 PWI Top 50 Females
Amazing Kong • Beth Phoenix • Gail Kim • Mickie James • MsChif • Sara Del Rey • Roxxi Laveaux • Melina • Michelle McCool • Candice Michelle • Mercedes Martinez • Victoria • Taylor Wilde • ODB • Daizee Haze • Angelina Love • Jacqueline • April Hunter • Nattie Neidhart • Sumie Sakai • Allison Danger • Tracy Brooks • Velvet Sky • Sarah Stock • Mickie Knuckles • Katie Lea Burchill • Cherry • Cheerleader Melissa • Maria Kanellis • Amber O'Neal • Lexie Fyfe • Kelly Kelly • Cindy Rogers • Jillian Hall • Malia Hosaka • Christie Ricci • Becky Bayless • Alere Little Feather • Layla El • Kelly Couture • Jaime D • Christy Hemme • Milena Roucka • Annie Social • LuFisto • Trenesha Biggers • Danyah • Jennifer Blake • Daffney • Portia Perez
Mickie James • Angelina Love • Melina • MsChif • Tara • Awesome Kong • Beth Phoenix • Michelle McCool • Maryse • Taylor Wilde • Sara Del Rey • Cheerleader Melissa • Gail Kim • Mercedes Martinez • ODB • Daizee Haze • Sarita • Daffney • Madison Rayne • Katie Lea Burchill • Nikki Roxx • Angel Orsini • Velvet Sky • Sojo Bolt • Natalya • Rain • Amber O'Neal • Jillian Hall • Jetta • Lufisto • Madison Eagles • Nevaeh • Wesna Busic • Kelly Kelly • Portia Perez • Danyah • Ariel • Jennifer Blake • Nicole Matthews • Serena Deeb • Allison Danger • Malia Hosaka • Lexie Fyfe • Jamie D • Amy Lee • Annie Social • April Hunter • Cherry Bomb • Jessie McKay • Rosa Mendes
Michelle McCool • Angelina Love • Mercedes Martinez • Cheerleader Melissa • Eve Torres • Madison Rayne • Beth Phoenix • Mickie James • MsChif • Maryse • Tara • Sara Del Rey • Gail Kim • Awesome Kong • Madison Eagles • Sarita • Alicia Fox • Taylor Wilde • Daffney • Hamada • Velvet Sky • ODB • Nikki Roxx • Jillian • Portia Perez • Kelly Kelly • Rain • Angel Orsini • Natalya • Serena Deeb • Nicole Matthews • Amber O'Neal • LuFisto • Daizee Haze • Allison Danger • Layla • Kellie Skater • Tiffany • Jennifer Blake • Jazz • Melissa Coates • Cat Power • Malia Hosaka • Cherry Bomb • April Hunter • Jessicka Havok • Brittany Force • Naomi Night • Cindy Rogers • Roxie Cotton
Retrieved from "https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Daffney?oldid=1321253"
Sleeper Kids World alumni
German wrestlers
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Sado Kisen K.K.
The Miyuki Maru
Posted on February 28, 2019 February 28, 2019 by psssadmin
The Miyuki Maru which is in the Philippines now is one ferry that is lucky to have a long life although she had many owners already. And recently she was given another lease of life although she is already pushing to fifty years in age and of sailing. At the moment, however, I will leave the reader in suspense what this familiar ship is. What I can say however is she was always wanted all of her years and not all ferries were that lucky.
“Miyuki” is a common feminine given Japanese name and many Japanese women carry that as their first name. Translated, in many cases she is associated with the word “beautiful” and maybe that is the reason why she had been lucky all these years. “Maru”, of course, always referred to a ship but actually that is not the exact translation. So loosely, “Miyuki Maru” can be regarded as a “beautiful ship”. Not that most will agree with that description but as they say, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.
The Miyuki Maru is a ferry built in 1970 by the Kanda Zosensho in Kure, Japan for the Sado Kisen K.K. as a ferry of the Sado Island (Sadogashima) which lies in the Sea of Japan just off the Niigata prefecture and the island is alsoa part of that prefecture. With that connection, I am not surprised the Miyuki Maru is powered by Niigata engines, the manufacturer of which is based in the namesake prefecture. (Now, that engine make served her well).
The Miyuki Maru which has the permanent ID IMO 7044225 is a ROPAX (RORO-Passenger ship) which has RORO (Roll-on, Roll-off) ramps at the bow and stern with a single cargo deck, a steel hull, a raked stem and a transom stern. She has a Length Over-all (LOA) of 62.0 meters, a Length Between Perpendiculars (LPP) of 55.5 meters and a Beam of 13.4 meters. Her Gross Register Tonnage (GRT) in Japan was 797 tons, a Net Register Tonnage (NRT) of just 151 tons (which means that originally her passenger accommodation was small), and a Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) of 411 tons. The total output of her twin engines is 3,600 horsepower which gave her a top sustained speed of 14 knots when new. The ferry had a single passenger deck, two masts and two funnels.
In 1987, this ferry was sold to Awashima Kisen K.K. and she became an Awashima Island ferry. Though with a change of ownership her name was not changed (because maybe there was no need to change a beautiful name). That was until 1992 when she was sold to the Philippines at 22 years of age. At that time, Japan shipping companies try to sell their ship after 20 years as there are incentives by the Japan government for re-fleeting their old ships. But that practice was misrepresented by some in the Philippines as if the ship is already “old” or worse just good enough for the scrapyard (which isn’t true) and worst is the charge by those who are ignorant of ships that they are simply “floating coffins” (because then at 20 years of age their cars are already dilapidated but they don’t understand that cars and ships are not exactly comparable as ships are much more durable than cars).
In the Philippines, the ferry Miyuki Maru went to Trans-Asia Shipping Lines Inc. (TASLI) of Cebu which in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s was already busy in converting from cruiser ships to RORO ships (more exactly ROPAX ships), one the first Philippine companies to do full conversion of their fleet (while the national liner companies like Sulpicio Lines, William Lines, Negros Navigation and Aboitiz Shipping can’t make that claim then as they were still clinging to their cruiser liners). Yes, that was how great and modern that company was then compared to the recent years when their glory was already faded. Yes, they were that advanced before the emergence of the Cebu Ferries Corporation (CFC) from the “Great Merger” of William Lines, Gothong Lines and Aboitiz Shipping. That merger inflicted them a very serious blow as from the biggest overnight ferry company in Cebu, a new entity bigger than them suddenly emerged. In Trans-Asia Shipping Lines, the Miyuki Maru became known as the Asia Singapore, the second ship in the fleet to carry that name (the first was a cruiser ship).
The Asia Singapore. From TM Brochures.
As the Asia Singapore, an additional half-deck was added as passenger accommodation and together with an extension of her original passenger deck these served as the open-air Economy accommodations of the refitted ship. Air-conditioned Tourist and Cabin accommodations were also added and being equipped with bunks she became a full-pledged overnight ferry. Her new Gross Tonnage (GT) became 830 tons with a Net Tonnage (NT) of 251 tons (a figure that is suspiciously low) and a passenger capacity of 533 persons. In the fleet of Trans-Asia Shipping Lines she was the sixth ROPAX ship after the Asia Hongkong, Asia Japan, Asia Thailand, Asia Taiwan and Asia Brunei. Locally, the ferry has a Call Sign of DUHE7. Of course, the IMO Number is unchanged.
In 2001, the Asia Singapore was sold to Palacio Shipping Lines (which was otherwise known as FJP Lines) that was then already acquiring ROPAX ships. She then was renamed into the Don Martin Sr. 9, the third ROPAX ship in the Palacio fleet. Later on, she was further renamed into the Calbayog in honor of the port and city that was the origin of Palacio Lines (she was however not the biggest ferry in the fleet as the honor belonged to the Don Martin Sr. 8, a sister ship of the Zamboanga Ferry of the George and Peter Lines).
The Calbayog. Photo by Janjan Salas.
When Palacio Lines felt the pressure of new competition allowed into Samar from Cebu, their old strong route, that triggered her terminal decline which started from the loss of their Bantayan route from Cebu Port. This was exacerbated by the situation then that their old, small cruisers no longer had viable routes especially with the advent of the ROPAXes of the competition. When the company’s last remaining stronghold, the Plaridel route was also opened to competition, it signaled that the end of the company was already near. In size, quality and cleanliness of the ferries, Palacio Lines was no match to the new competition.
In 2012, Palacio Lines stopped sailing although they were still advertising their old schedules and routes in the local papers of Cebu. They even went to the extent of denying that to media although it was plainly visible that their ships were always moored in Cebu port and without lights at night. In a short time, however, the truth can no longer be hidden when the company started disposing her remaining ships and those disappeared one by one from the Port of Cebu. The cruelest was when their biggest ship, the Don Martin Sr. 8 went to a Cebu breaker after there were no takers at her. Maybe Palacio Lines needed money then to settle some things.
The Calbayog in Batangas Bay waiting to be converted into Starlite Neptune. Photo by Mark Anthony Arceno.
There was a shipping company in Batangas that had a track record of acquiring old ferries that were already being disposed especially those that were no longer sailing including from defunct shipping companies. This was the Starlite Ferries of Alfonso Cusi then which started from old, unreliable ferries being disposed by William, Gothong and Aboitiz (WG&A). Those were followed by a small ROPAX from one of the Atienzas of Mindoro shipping that was going out of business (a victim of the change-over from wooden motor boats or batels to ROROs), then a fastcraft from the defunct DR Shipping of Don Domingo Reyes and two ferries from the Shipsafe/Safeship duo of shipping companies that was also going out of business, among other acquisitions. So it was not a surprise to me when they grabbed the Calbayog which then became the Starlite Neptune in their fleet. From the point of view of Miyuki Maru that was a saving move as it proved to be her salvation. And not only that. She also went to a shipping company that knows how to refurbish and maintain old ships although her owner later developed a taste of bullying in the media old ferries when he was able to acquire a loan package from the government to build new ferries (now Starlite Ferries is already disposing of their old ferries).
The Miyuki Maru as Starlite Neptune. Photo by Nowell Alcancia.
The Starlite Neptune or Miyuki Maru was also a success in Starlite Ferries although soon her owner faced a problem when their new ferries started arriving from Japan and they were not able to develop new routes. So it was obvious they would have to dispose old ferries especially if her owner would have to be honorable enough in backing up with action his attacks against old ferries. Shockingly, it was not the old ferries that were disposed by Alfonso Cusi but his whole company when he sold lock, stock and barrel to the new king of Philippine shipping who is Dennis Uy that was buying shipping companies left and right. After the takeover, it is notable that the first ship sold by Starlite Ferries was Starlite Neptune. This ferry has been observed for months already darkened and just anchored in Batangas Bay not sailing and with no flags flying.
The Starlite Neptune in Batangas Bay with no flags flying. Photo by Mike Baylon.
Then soon came the news that Starlite Neptune was docked in Lazi port in Siquijor being refitted after it turned out she was acquired by the GL Shipping of Siquijor which was lately in the acquisition and expansion mood. It is rumored she will be doing the Siquijor and Iligan route from Cebu, a route long wished by Siquijodnons and the people in Iligan City in general. It is seen as the revival of the old route then held by the small cruiser Pulauan Ferry of George & Peter Lines which unfortunately grounded and sank just south of Mactan island and was never replaced.
As of the time of the writing of this article the new name of Miyuki Maru is not yet known and her refitting works in Lazi port stopped. I do not know if there is a big problem although I might also think she might be too big a ship for her company which only used to operate small crafts before.
The former Starlite Neptune in Lazi under GL Shipping. Photo by Roy Baguia Dumam-ag.
I just wish that will she will continue to live on as I am a sentimental person and I don’t want old ships that are still good to go to the breakers because it turned out that nobody no longer wanted her. And so I just hope the Miyuki Maru will live a little longer and that she provides joy to her new owners and to public that will sail with her.
Long live the Miyuki Maru!
[Now, if she doesn’t survive then let this piece be an ode to her.]
Posted in Information, overnight ferry, Ship Feature, UncategorizedTagged Alfonso Cusi, Asia Singapore, Awashima Kisen K.K., Bantayan route, Cebu Ferries Corporation (CFC), cruiser ship, DUHE7, FJP Lines, GL Shipping, IMO 7044225, Kanda Zosensho, Lazi port, Niigata engines, Palacio Shipping Lines, Plaridel route, ropax, RORO, Sado Kisen K.K., Starlite Ferries, Starlite Neptune, Trans-Asia Shipping Lines Inc. (TASLI)Leave a comment
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2018-19 Season Stats (PDF)
2018-19 Game Notes
Nell Fortner Camps
Tech Welcomes No. 2 Notre Dame Sunday
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech women’s basketball hosts its first ACC matchup of the season in McCamish Pavilion on Sunday, welcoming No. 2 Notre Dame at 3 p.m.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-3, 1-0 ACC) vs. No. 2 Notre Dame (13-1, 1-0 ACC)
Watch Live (RSN – Where to Watch)
Georgia Tech Game Notes | Opponent Game Notes
Parking: Parking for patrons will be available in the Family Housing Deck located on 10th Street
-First 500 fans receive a free adidas t-shirt
-First 500 students receive a free box of Girl Scout Cookies (with BUZZ card)
-Three students will win a free flat screen TV (enter to win with BUZZ Card, must be present to win)
STARTING FIVE AGAINST NOTRE DAME
Georgia Tech returns to Atlanta to host No. 2 and defending national champion Notre Dame on Sunday. The ACC foes will tip at 3 p.m. on RSN, locally Fox Sports South in Atlanta, with Jenn Hildreth and Kelly Deyo announcing.
The Yellow Jackets open the home ACC schedule with No. 2 Notre Dame on Sunday. Tech and Notre Dame are meeting for the 11th time in program history and the sixth time in Atlanta. Notre Dame leads the all-time series, 10-0.
The Yellow Jackets opened ACC play with a road win at Boston College on Thursday night. Tech posted an 81-76 victory behind four players in double-figures and a dominating 55-29 edge in rebounding. It marked the seventh-straight win over the Eagles by the Jackets.
At Boston College, freshman Elizabeth Balogun put up an impressive performance to record her first collegiate double-double. Balogun scored a team-high 18 points and pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds. Classmate Elizabeth Dixon also finished with a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Head coach MaChelle Joseph is in her 16th season on The Flats and carries an all-time career record of 305-194. Joseph is the all-time winningest coach in program history and holds the highest winning percentage in Yellow Jacket history at 60.9 percent.
Georgia Tech and Notre Dame have met on the hardwood 10 times in program history with Notre Dame leading the all-time series, 10-0. The Yellow Jackets and Fighting Irish met twice last season with ND taking both decisions. In the last meeting between the schools, the conference foes stood tied at intermission in South Bend. The Fighting Irish broke away in the second half, outscoring the Jackets by 16 points. Francesca Pan, Kierra Fletcher and Chanin Scott all posted double-figure scoring numbers in the outing. Tech won the rebounding battle, 42-38, but ND capitalized on a 15-of-23 showing at the free throw line to win the game (Tech was 5-of-7 at the charity stripe).
Georgia Tech opened ACC play on the road with a midweek matchup at Boston College, defeating the Eagles, 81-76. Four Yellow Jackets scored in double-figures to help lead the team to victory, paced by 18 points from both Elizabeth Balogun and Kierra Fletcher. Balogun and Elizabeth Dixon also scored double-doubles, combining for 30 points and 27 rebounds in the game. Balogun finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds, while Dixon added 12 points and 10 rebounds to the board. The Jackets dominated on the glass, out-rebounding the Eagles, 55-29, including a 23-9 edge on the offensive glass. Tech also picked up the win from the free throw line, going 19-for-24 from the charity stripe, while BC was 5-of-7.
July 14, 2019 #TGW: Genuine Leader
Once a star athlete in multiple sports, new coach Nell Fortner has been a leader on many levels
#TGW: Genuine Leader
June 24, 2019 #TGW: Techno-vision
The Georgia Tech athletics-IBM internship a winning initiative
#TGW: Techno-vision
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Carleman Estimates and Applications to Uniqueness and Control Theory
Carleman Estimates and Applications to Uniqueness and Control Theory pp 15-36 | Cite as
Carleman Estimate and Decay Rate of the Local Energy for the Neumann Problem of Elasticity
Mourad Bellassoued
Part of the Progress in Nonlinear Differential Equations and Their Applications book series (PNLDE, volume 46)
The asymptotic behavior of the local energy and the poles of the resolvent (scattering poles) associated to the elasticity operator in the exterior of an arbitrary obstacle with Neumann or Dirichlet boundary conditions are considered. We prove that there exists an exponentially small neighborhood of the real axis free of resonances. Consequently we prove that for regular data, the energy decays at least as fast as the inverse of the logarithm of the time. According to Stephanov—Vodev ([17], [18]), our results are optimal in the case of a Neumann boundary condition, even when the obstacle is a ball of ℝ3.
The fundamental difference between our case and the case of the scalar laplacian (see Burq [1]) is that the phenomenon of Rayleigh waves is connected to the failure of the Lopatinskii condition.
Carleman estimate resonances energy decay elasticity system
AMS Subject Classification
35 P20 35 L20 73 CO2
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1.Mathématiques, Bât. 425Université de Paris SudOrsay CedexFrance
Bellassoued M. (2001) Carleman Estimate and Decay Rate of the Local Energy for the Neumann Problem of Elasticity. In: Colombini F., Zuily C. (eds) Carleman Estimates and Applications to Uniqueness and Control Theory. Progress in Nonlinear Differential Equations and Their Applications, vol 46. Birkhäuser, Boston, MA
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-0203-5_2
Publisher Name Birkhäuser, Boston, MA
Print ISBN 978-1-4612-6660-0
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Tag Archives: Ruger
Ruger (original) Police Carbine PC9 — A First Look
Ruger Police Carbine from 1996
As many readers of my firearms articles may have surmised by now, I’m an unapologetic fan of pistol-caliber carbines. Why pistol calibers in a rifle? Because it just makes sense for a whole host of reasons, unless perhaps you’re a hunter of large game. A 9mm carbine, such as the Beretta CX4 Storm, is a perfect longer-range compliment to a handgun chambered for the same round. If your carbine accepts the same magazines as your handgun, such as a CX4 paired with a Beretta 92, so much the better.
Ruger Police Carbine — 15-round P-series magazine
Back in 1996, Ruger tried to convince U.S. police departments to do just that. Ruger came out with two Police Carbines based on a scaled-up, beefed-up version of the blowback design used in their bestselling .22 LR 10/22 rifle line. The Ruger PC9 Police Carbine was chambered in 9mm, and accepted magazines from their Ruger P89, P93, P94, and P95 semiautomatic handguns. The .40 SW PC4 used magazines compatible with Ruger’s P91 and P944D handguns. The idea was that an officer would have a Ruger P-Series pistol strapped to his hip, and have in the trunk of the patrol car a fully compatible carbine using both the same ammunition and magazines as did the sidearm. The advantage of the Police Carbine being a longer effective range (100+ yards/90+ meters), greater accuracy, and marginally more power because of the longer barrel.
Ruger Police Carbine
That was not a new concept back in 1996, by the way. The American cowboy realized the advantages of owning a rifle chambered for the same round as his pistol shortly after the Civil War. The famous Winchester Models 1866, 1873, and 1892 were all chambered in popular handgun cartridges of the era. The most famous of these pairings would be a Winchester Model 1873 (“The Rifle that Won the West) and an 1873 Colt Peacemaker/Single Action Army (“The Gun that Won the West”) both chambered in .44-40 WCF (Winchester Center Fire).
Ruger Police Carbine — Controls
Alas, the Ruger Police Carbine came out about the same time that police departments started fielding AR-style rifles, and the Ruger P-Series was by then fighting obsolescence from lighter, cheaper, polymer-framed handguns with similar, or in some cases even greater, capacity magazines. The Police Carbine was also weighty, coming in at around seven pounds; and had a heavy trigger that, in the hands of someone who didn’t train a lot, tended to negate the accuracy benefits normally associated with a rifle. The PC9 and PC4 designs were also hamstrung by what some considered a tactically inferior traditional rifle stock rather than the more modern pistol-style grip of the AR.
At the same time, the Ruger Police Carbine was considered over-engineered for the civilian market. It’s a very robust design, for sure. The Police Carbine was nearly sturdy as a block of granite, and about as reliable as grandma in the store candy aisle. That engineering comes at a cost, and the Ruger simply could not compete with cheaper pistol caliber carbines coming to market shortly after it debuted, such as the Kel-Tec Sub-2000, or the Hi-Point 995TS at nearly one-third the cost (2002 prices: Hi-Point $199 vs. $575 for the Ruger).
So, the Ruger Police Carbine died in 2006, just ten short years after its introduction. It would be greatly missed, however, and prices for used examples started shooting upwards.
Ruger Police Carbine — 9mm PC9 version
The PC9 is back as of late 2017, but in a slightly different form and at a cheaper price. Magazines are now paired to the Ruger Series-9 and SR-Series pistols, and the box includes an interchangeable magazine well that allows the new PC9 to accept Glock magazines if you prefer. It’s also a takedown design that comes with a Picatinny rail.
Where does that leave the original Ruger Police Carbine? It’s still a much sought-after firearm, but prices have probably stabilized, or perhaps even fallen slightly since the reintroduction of the PC9 (there is no new PC4, as the .40 SW is dying a not-so-slow death). If you can find an original Ruger Police Carbine for under $800, that’s probably a good deal. But I would expect to pay perhaps a couple hundred more for a very nice example. Throw in the original box and owner’s manual and you’re probably north of $1,200, but I’m no expert on that.
So, it was a pleasant surprise when, during a recent visit to my second favorite local gun store (Sportsman’s Elite, managed by my good friend Henry Bone), I found an excellent condition original 9mm Ruger Police Carbine which included a cheap but serviceable red dot held by Ruger scope rings mounted to the receiver, for less than half what I would consider a good deal. No box, no manual, but for $350 I’m not about to quibble. Then, when I ran the serial number, I discovered that this was a first-year production example, which pleased me even more. Assuming the serial numbers are sequential with no skips, this particular PC9 was the 2,225th carbine off the production line out of a first-year run of 4,189.
Ruger Police Carbine — First year production example
Inspection of the Ruger Police Carbine reveals that it is indeed the robust, slightly heavy design many have noted before me. With an empty magazine and the mounted red dot and rings, I measured 7.5 pounds/3.4 kilograms. But the real surprise to me was the trigger. It was not nearly as bad as I’d been led to believe reading the contemporaneous reviews. Take-up is about .2 inches/5mm with no creep afterward. I estimate the trigger weight to be less than six pounds, but not much less, with a crisp break at the end. Trigger reset is less that a sixteenth of an inch/<2mm, with both audible and positive tactile cues. I’ll know more when I hit the range with it and compare it to the Beretta CX4, but the trigger seems to me more than adequate for the intended purpose — a pistol caliber carbine that extends the range of a standard 9mm round out to 100 yards/90 meters or so with relative ease.
Ruger Police Carbine and Beretta CX4 Carbine
I’m also confident that the nearly 1 ½-pound additional heft will give the PC9 an even milder kick than that of the already mild Beretta CX4.
At any rate, and without the benefit of having actually fired the Ruger Police Carbine, I rate this rifle a winner in quality. It appears to indeed be every bit as over-engineered as its civilian-market critics claim, which to me is not a bad thing at all. In firearms, I’m a believer that you truly get what you’re willing to pay for. The trigger, while not match-grade by any stretch, seems completely adequate to the intended purpose of the design. I can see this as a very good urban home-to-backwoods cabin defense weapon, as well as a fun and affordable range plinker using relatively inexpensive 9mm ammunition. But the Ruger’s almost five additional inches of length over the CX4 would, in my view, make it somewhat less maneuverable in the close quarters of a home.
Ruger Police Carbine — Front sight
My only regret? I would have preferred an original PC9GR, which substituted ghost ring rear sight for the standard Patridge open sight of the PC9/PC4.
Ruger Police Carbine — Adjustable Patridge rear sight
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Filed under Firearms, R. Doug Wicker
Tagged as firearm, firearm review, firearms, R. Doug Wicker, Ruger, Ruger PC9, Ruger Police Carbine
Fun Firearm Friday — Ruger 10/22 “M1 Carbine” tribute
Ruger 10/22 “M1 Carbine”
Quick. What’s that rifle above? Any guesses?
If you took a quick glance before answering, you probably said, “That’s a .30 M1 Carbine.” You’d be wrong. I placed that rifle atop an M1 Carbine magazine just to throw you off. Here’s that same rifle, with the sling lowered to reveal an accessory rail, next to Inland’s new .30 M1 Carbine (see: Firing Review — The new Inland .30 M1 Carbine):
This is a Ruger 10/22 Carbine, which is a standard 10/22 receiver with an 18.5-inch/47-centimeter barrel residing in a walnut stock patterned after the M1 Carbine stock, clear down to the oiler slot for a sling.
Other M1 Carbine touches include a peep sight (not as good as the original) and a front sight with protective ears.
Unfortunately, the weak point in this M1 Carbine tribute is the front swivel and barrel band. Unlike the original, where the swivel is attached directly to the band and the tightening screw is independent of the swivel, on the Ruger the screw functions to both tighten the band and hold the swivel. Tighten the screw too much and the swivel freezes up. Back off the screw too much and the band becomes too loose. It’s definitely a flaw in an otherwise fun concept.
While that’s not a minor quibble, in my view, it’s not enough to take the fun out of Fun Firearm Friday. This 10/22 weighs in at 5.2 pounds/2.4 kilograms. The original M1 Carbine upon which this rifle is visually base weighs . . . wait for it . . . 5.2 pounds/2.4 kilograms. That makes the Ruger a very practical rifle for hiking — light, relatively small, easy to maneuver, and if it’s anything like any other 10/22 I’ve ever fired, fun to shoot. It also comes with a 25-round magazine.
The Ruger 10/22 Carbine will also accept other 10/22 magazines, including the more typical 10-round rotary magazine that fits entirely into the magazine well. As for the sling and oiler, you’ll have to order that separately. Any sling/oiler combination made for the .30 M1 Carbine should work in the 10/22 Carbine.
The accessory rail does detract from the ambience, but not too much. And it does provide you with the option to add optics ranging from a simple red dot to a magnified scope.
I’m really looking forward to taking this rifle to the range. Perhaps I’ll even fire it alongside the Inland. At any rate, it’s a good companion piece to the Inland in a cheaper caliber.
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Filed under Fun Firearm Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker
Tagged as 10/22, firearm, firearm review, M1 Carbine, R. Doug Wicker, Ruger, Ruger 10/22
Ruger Mini-14 300 AAC Blackout First Impressions — A Shooting Review
Ruger Mini-14 300 AAC Blackout
In the past several weeks Ruger has released the latest version of their venerable, reliable Mini-14. No, it’s not another variation of the classic Ranch Rifle. It’s also not an addition to Ruger’s highly accurate Target models. Instead, there’s a new entry into the Mini-14 Tactical line, and this addition has me very excited because Ruger has never before offered a Mini-14 in this caliber — the incredibly versatile, suppressor-friendly 300 AAC Blackout.
What is 300 AAC Blackout ammunition? First, a little history. In 1962 the U.S. Army began deploying as their primary weapon the M16 chambered in NATO 5.56x45mm, which is for all practical purposes an extremely hyped-up .22 caliber round (.223 to be exact) that packs a lot of punch out of the M16’s original 20-inch/508mm barrel. When the Army found that most engagements were inside of 100 yards/92 meters, and many modern battlefield engagements are in an urban setting, the Army opted to reduce the M16’s barrel length to something more suitable to what they were encountering. The result is the M4, a descendant of the M16 with a shorter 14.5inch/370mm barrel.
Problem is that loss of 5.5 inches/128mm adversely impacts the effectiveness of the 5.56 round. Not a lot, but enough. Then there’s the inability to properly suppress a supersonic round, which is something our Special Forces like to do on occasion.
This limitation and others led Advanced Armament Corporation to look at the existing M4 and see if they could come up with something a bit better. What AAC came up with is probably the most versatile round ever produced — the 300 AAC Blackout. The 300 BLK, as it is more commonly known, comes in everything from a 110-grain/7.13-gram supersonic round to a 220-grain/14.26-gram subsonic round with perhaps dozens of intermediate loads available in between these two extremes.
But the advantages don’t stop there. The 300 BLK can use the existing M16/M4 lower and M16/M4 magazines with only a simple swap out of the upper. Additionally, the 300 BLK offers better performance out of a 9-inch/229mm barrel than the 5.56 can achieve out of the M4’s 14.5-inch/370mm barrel.
How does all this translate to the civilian world? It means you have a weapon that is suitable for everything from medium game hunting, to plinking, to serious target practice at intermediate distances, to home defense with suppressor capability all in one convenient package. That’s pretty versatile indeed.
All this versatility also means that U.S. forces can switch from longer-range supersonic rounds to suppressed subsonic rounds merely by attaching a suppressor to the end of the barrel and swapping out the ammunition in their magazines.
Threaded Barrel and Flash Suppressor
Beyond military applications and up until the release of this new Mini-14 the 300 AAC Blackout has been mostly aimed at the existing civilian AR market (civilian semiautomatic versions of the M16/M4 platform). Not anymore. Now for the first time it can be used in the proven and arguably more reliable Garand-style action of the Mini-14. But if you’re looking for reliability, read on for my review of the worst ammunition I have ever encountered — Remington’s UMC 120-gr OTFB (Open-Tip, Flat-Based) 300 AAC Blackout supersonic ammunition.
Just some of what’s in the box:
Two 20-round 300 AAC BLK magazines (Unlike the AR market, Ruger has chosen to make their Mini-14 300 AAC BLK incompatible with existing Ruger .223/5.56mm magazines to prevent potentially catastrophic cross-loading of ammunition) (UPDATE: Thanks to the guys over at RugerForum.com, and contrary to information posted on the ShopRuger website, I’ve since discovered that this is incorrect. The magazines are indeed compatible. Apparently Ruger claim otherwise in order to preclude customers from loading wrong caliber ammunition between differently chambered Mini-14s.)
Picatinny rail
Suppressor-ready threaded barrel with flash suppressor installed
Hex wench for iron sight adjustments
Safety lock
Close-up of Accessories
How does it shoot? When the ammunition works, pretty darned good. Out of the box and with no adjustment of the sights. I was able to score fairly tight groupings within around six to eight inches of the intended point of impact at an estimated range of about 60 feet/18 meters. (UPDATE: Bear in mind that I was testing here for function rather than accuracy. This grouping was done with the included iron sights, straight from the box, rather than a scope. Additionally, the rifle was not benched for accuracy. In my future in-depth review, I suspect groupings should fall well within two-inches at 100 yards, but this has not yet been confirmed.) Recoil is surprisingly light. Recovery and reacquisition of the target was quick and effortless. The trigger is good, but somewhat shy of great. The trigger is definitely better than on a Beretta CX4 9mm carbine, but this is a longer range weapon so that should be a given. The manual safety is easy to reach and to manipulate with the trigger finger, but deactivation does require insertion of the trigger finger into the trigger guard — make certain the weapon is pointed in a safe direction and on target before deactivating it. The installed iron sights have protective ears for both the front blade and the rear aperture. Sight adjustments are available for both windage and elevation using the included hex wrench.
Ruger Mini-14 300 AAC Blackout with Nikon P300 BLK
Disassembly, cleaning, and reassembly is fairly straightforward. It’s certainly much simpler than, say, an M1911A1, but not as simple as most modern handguns. All you need is a ¼-inch punch to break down the rifle, and Ruger has put up videos on YouTube to walk you through it all.
Ruger Mini-14 300 AAC Blackout disassembled
Mini-14 Trigger Group
Mini-14 Receiver Group
A quick word about the Garand-style gas operating system of the Ruger Mini-14 300 AAC Blackout: This system has been carefully tuned at the factory to handle unsuppressed supersonic loads and suppressed subsonic loads. Further adjustments not possible at home, and unnecessary at any rate as long as you remember to run suppressed with subsonic ammunition or unsuppressed with supersonic loads. Failure to follow this basic advice may result in unreliable ammunition feeds into the rifle. As I don’t (yet) have a suppressor, I cannot validate for you the reliability of the Mini-14 300 AAC Blackout using subsonic loads.
Rotating Bolt
Now for the ammunition. The first box of supersonic Remington UMC 120-gr OTFB 300 AAC Blackout ran without drama when inserted ten rounds at a time into one of the included 20-round magazines. After my good friend David Williams and I fired ten rounds each I then loaded up the same magazine with a full twenty rounds. (UPDATE: Remington claim that their ammunition was not at fault here, and instructed me that the blown primers indicated a problem with the rifle. I will report back on this in a future in-depth review, but right now I’m more inclined to suspect bad ammunition rather than the rifle, as I can find no reports of similar incidents with other Mini-14 Blackouts.)
Result: Repeated blown primers resulting in jamming of the weapon. Never in my entire shooting life have I ever had so much as even one blown primer, so it took me a while to realize what was going on, but in twenty rounds I had somewhere in the vicinity of five primers blow out of their respective casings. Later disassembly of the rifle for cleaning and inspection revealed no damage to the rotating block and firing pin, but Remington definitely got an earful on their ammunition and the remaining two boxes will be returned for evaluation. The lot number, for anyone interested, was A333-7 0360-1, but from my experience I’m not going to trust any Remington 300 AAC Blackout ammunition regardless of lot number.
Unfortunately my Nikon P-300 BLK rifle scope did not arrive in time to make this first outing. This is a 2-7x32mm scope with a BDC (Bullet Drop Compensating) reticle optimized for both supersonic and subsonic BLK 300 rounds. Nikon supplies online a nifty Spot-On Ballistics Match Technology that allows you to select the scope magnification (2x to 7x for the P-300) ammunition brand and load, and then supply you with the bullet drop compensation figures for each point contained in the scope reticle. Once you’ve established these parameters, you can then make a print-out to take with you into the field. Here’s the reticle sighting data for Remington 125-gr Premier Match OTM 300 AAC Blackout ammunition at a range of 25 yards, zero-in range of 75 yards, with the P-300 set to 7x (you’ll note that 450 yards is entirely within range of this load, and 600 yards is not out of the question):
Nikon Spot-On BDC Technology
Installation of the P-300 BLK using the scope rings included with the Mini-14 was fairly simple and straight forward. I did figure out one nifty trick, however. First attach only the front scope ring to the P-300, but don’t tighten the top of the ring just yet. Next place the scope ring on a flat surface. Use a small level and check for level by placing it horizontally across the windage adjustment turret, turn the scope until level is achieved, and tighten down the top ring. Now install the rear scope ring onto the Mini-14, then position the front ring/scope assembly. Place the rear top scope ring in place and tighten down. This was much easier than following the Ruger instructions for scope mounting, and it assured that the reticle would be perfectly level once the scope was installed.
Nikon P300 BLK
I will evaluate this Mini-14/Nikon P-300 combination at some point in the future, probably after I’ve found a good ammunition for the rifle. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this first look at the Mini-14 300 AAC Blackout.
Addition: I was unable to get decent video on the above firing outing of the Mini-14 300 AAC Blackout in action. I’ll do that in my future in-depth review now that I’ve acquired some SIG 124-grain Supersonic 300 Blackout Elite Performance ammunition. Until then I’m linking below to a brief video supplied by the gentlemen over at Tactical Life, who are preparing their own review of the Mini-14 300 AAC Blackout. Enjoy.
Tagged as 300 AAC Blackout, firearm review, firearms, Mini-14, Nikon P-300 BLK, Ruger, Ruger Mini-14, Ruger Mini-14 300 AAC Blackout, Ruger Mini-14 Tactical, suppressor
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Introducing Calls on the Librem 5
May 18, 2018 Product Design, Software FLOSS applications / Giving and contributing back / Newsletter and status updates / Phones / User experience design / Videos
Bob Ham
Phone Developer
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Introducing Calls on the Librem 5 - May 18, 2018
Arguably the most critical functionality in a phone is the ability to make and receive calls through the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), that is normal cellular calls using phone numbers. While at Purism we are eager to implement communication systems that enable much greater privacy and security than one can expect from PSTN calls, the PSTN is still the most ubiquitous network and for the time being we can’t very well go around selling a phone that isn’t able to make PSTN calls.⁰
My task has been to develop a dialer and call handler for PSTN calls. Like all of our work on the Librem 5, this is intended to make use of existing code wherever possible and also target the GNOME platform which our PureOS defaults to. There is currently no GNOME PSTN dialer so we intend to contribute our program to the GNOME project.
Initial ideas
After some research, the initial goal was to use the Telepathy framework, the idea being that we could write a Telepathy PSTN dialer and get a SIP dialer for free because Telepathy has both PSTN and SIP connection managers. What’s more, the PSTN connection manager, telepathy-ring, is used in shipped phones. And, while it has its issues, in my opinion Telepathy is pretty awesome 🙂
Furthermore, my colleague François Téchené wrote a blog post describing a “feature”-based approach rather than an application-based approach to the phone UX. Telepathy could provide the technical underpinnings of such an approach.
It’s worth noting however, that Telepathy is a contentious framework. There are a number of voices within the GNOME project who would seemingly have it die a fiery death. Telepathy is a complex system and is notorious for the difficulty of making changes to the framework itself. To do so, one must synchronise changes to formal D-Bus API specifications and a multitude of distinct software components. A long discussion of Telepathy and possible replacements took place on GNOME’s desktop-devel mailing list in August and September 2017.
Wider discussions
After starting to work on some preliminary Telepathy code, given that our goal is for the dialer to be GNOME’s dialer, and the intention to use the contentious Telepathy framework, I checked in with the GNOME desktop-devel mailing list again to see what they thought.
Discussion ensued of both Telepathy and general issues around consolidating different communication systems. The main take away from this discussion was that creating a consolidated system like our “feature”-based approach is difficult to say the least. Like the previous discussion in 2017, a Telepathy-NG was touted. This is future work for us to take on once the basic phone functionality is in place. For now though, there was no major push-back against the idea of creating a PSTN dialer using Telepathy.
I also spoke to Robert McQueen, one of the original guys behind Telepathy, on IRC. The telepathy-ring connection manager makes use of a mobile telephony framework called oFono. Given the complexity of writing a Telepathy client, Robert suggested that a good approach might be to create a UI with a thin abstraction layer, first implementing a simple oFono backend and then afterwards implementing a more complex Telepathy backend. We’ve taken on Robert’s suggestion and our dialer program has been built using this approach.
Introducing Calls
Our program is named Calls. It has a GTK+ 3 user interface and makes use of oFono through a thin abstraction layer. We also make use of our libhandy for the dialpad widget.
“Can it make a phone call?!”
Yes, it can! 🙂
https://puri.sm/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/calls-demo-01-04.webm
The following diagram shows a UMLish representation of the abstraction layer underlying the architecture of Calls:
The classes are actually GInterfaces. To give a better understanding of the semantics behind each interface, here is a table of objects that possible implementations could make use of:
Example implementation objects
Provider oFono Manager, Telepathy Account Manager
Origin oFono Modem/VoiceCallManager, Telepathy Account
Call oFono VoiceCall, Telepathy Channel
The name “Origin” was chosen because it is an object which “originates” a call.
The MessageSource super-interface is used to issue messages to the user. The abstraction layer is intended as a very thin layer to the user interface so implementations are expected to report information, including error messages, warnings and so on, in a manner suitable for presentation to the user. Hence, methods usually do not return error
information but instead rely on the implementation issuing appropriate message signals.
The source code is available in our community group in GNOME’s gitlab.
Modems, oFono and ModemManager
The demo above is using a SIM7100E modem from SIMCom which you may be able to see mounted on the prototype board, with the red top border, to the bottom right of the display. Like many cellular modems, this modem supports both AT commands and QMI.
When the SIM7100E was first plugged in, oFono didn’t recognise it. However, there is a different mobile telephony framework, ModemManager which did recognise the modem and could make calls, send SMS messages and make data connections out of the box. We considered using ModemManager instead of oFono but unfortunately ModemManager’s voice call support is rudimentary and it has no support for supplementary call services like call waiting or conference calling.
Meanwhile, QMI is preferable to AT commands but oFono has no support for voice calls using QMI. Hence, to get voice calls working, we needed a new driver for the SIM7100E using AT commands. This driver has been upstreamed.
Where next
We’ve done a decent amount of work so far but there’s still some way to go before we have a dialer that you can stick in your pocket and use every day. Here are some of the things we have to work on:
Add ringtones. At present, the program doesn’t play any sound when there’s an incoming call. It would also be good to play DTMF noises to the user when they press digits in the dial pad.
Implement call history and integration with GNOME Contacts. At present Calls makes no records of any kind so we need suitable record storage and a UI for it. Similarly, we need to be able to search for contacts from within Calls and add phone numbers from call records to contacts.
The UI is currently basic but functional. It is a far cry from the polished beauty our designers have envisioned. A lot of effort will be needed to rework and polish the UI.
Implement phone settings in GNOME Settings. We need a new page for phone settings like selecting the mobile network to connect to and so on and so forth.
Deal with multiple SIMs and bringing the modem online. At present, Calls is a pretty dumb frontend on top of oFono D-Bus objects and only makes use of modems that are already in a usable state. There needs to be some mechanism to configure which modems Calls should make use of and to bring them online automatically when the device starts. Similarly, there need to be mechanisms for configuring and selecting between multiple SIMs.
Implement the Telepathy backend so we can get SIP calls and calls with whatever else supports Telepathy.
The final choice of modems has not been made yet so we’re not investing too much effort in developing support for the SIM7100E; just enough to test Calls as it is. Assuming we do choose the SIM7100E, we could implement QMI voice call support in oFono. In fact, as I write this post I see there is a discussion on the ofono mailing list about doing just that so QMI voice call support may be done for us. Alternatively, we could implement support for supplementary services in ModemManager, which is more closely aligned with the GNOME platform.
Add support for supplementary services and complex call operations. Just as ModemManager has rudimentary support, so does Calls in its present state. We want to ensure that our dialer has complete support for mobile telephony standards and call control operations.
That’s all for now, stay tuned for further updates! 🙂
⁰ There was a company who shall remain nameless and they sold a GNU/Linux-based phone that wasn’t able make PSTN calls when it shipped. Some five or so years later, I acquired one of these phones and took it to my local LUG. And of course, what was the first question asked: “can it make a phone call?! haha!” Such was the reputation garnered from shipping a phone that couldn’t make phone calls!
Librem 5 App Design Tutorial — Part III
Made in USA Librem Key
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