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How will the 2017 election affect apprenticeships?
Home > Explore > Apprenticeships > How will the 2017 election affect apprenticeships?
There will be a general election on 8th June 2017.
The snap election came as a bit of a shock when it was announced by Theresa May a few weeks ago, and has extended the feeling of uncertainty across the country. With Brexit looming in the near future, there are still a lot of issues up in the air. But what effect will the election have on apprenticeships, if any?
At the moment, we don’t expect any fundamental changes to apprenticeships as most political parties back the apprenticeship reforms. However, we do expect slight changes to targets and skills development to help prepare the UK workforce for a post-Brexit Britain.
Here’s what we can predict so far:
1. INCREASED SKILLS
In the election campaigns so far, both UKIP and the Conservatives have promised to reduce net migration into Britain. Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, Jonathan Bartley from the Green Party and Jeremy Corbyn have expressed a more relaxed view – but whatever the result on June 8th, immigration and Brexit will have an effect on the future of apprenticeships. As we leave the EU, we may lose a pool of skilled workers too, so there will be a clear focus on developing the skilled people we need to grow as a nation – and apprenticeships will play an important role in this.
2. NEW TARGETS
Whether the general election brings a change in leadership or not, the next government will probably move the goalposts when it comes to apprenticeship targets. The 2020 pledges are likely to be replaced by new targets up to the end of 2022 – the end of the next parliament. It’s impossible to predict whether the ambitious target to ‘increase new apprenticeship starts to 3 million by 2020′ will be increased, but we expect apprenticeships will remain a key strategy of workforce development.
3. DRIVE QUALITY
Large employers started paying into the levy last month and some are even writing standards and delivering training themselves, so they now have a big influence in the world of apprenticeships. They will help drive the quality of apprenticeships as they look to make apprenticeships more relevant and maximise their return on investment.
4. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
Labour’s first election pledge is to attain full employment. They’ve promised to invest £500 million in infrastructure and industry to help build a highly skilled, high-tech, low-carbon economy where no community is left behind – which mirrors the main principles of apprenticeships. Labour wants to create thousands more apprenticeships in the civil service, offer apprenticeships to young people in the UK, and help employers increase the quality of apprenticeships in their sector.
In the run up to 8th June, we’ll be keeping our ears to the ground to learn more about the future of apprenticeships in the UK. Check out our twitter page for all the latest.
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Self-Organisation, Thermotropic and Lyotropic Properties of Glycolipids Related to their Biological Implications
Patrick Garidel 1, Yani Kaconis 2, Lena Heinbockel 2, Matthias Wulf 3, Sven Gerber 3, Ariane Munk 3, Volkmar Vill 3, Klaus Brandenburg 2, *
1 Physikalische Chemie, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle/Wittenberg, Mühlpforte 1, D-06108 Halle/Saale, Germany
2 Forschungszentrum Borstel, Leibniz-Zentrum für Medizin und Biowissenschaften, Parkallee 1-40, D-23845 Borstel, Germany
3 Institut für Organische Chemie, Universität Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 6, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany
© Garidel et al.; Licensee Bentham Open.
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode), which permits unrestricted, noncommercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
* Address correspondence to this author at the Forschungszentrum Borstel, Leibniz-Zentrum für Medizin und Biowissenschaften, Parkallee 1-40, D-23845 Borstel, Germany; Tel: +49-(0)4537-1882350; Fax: +49-(0)4537-1886320; E-mail: kbrandenburg@fz-borstel.de
Glycolipids are amphiphilic molecules which bear an oligo- or polysaccharide as hydrophilic head group and hydrocarbon chains in varying numbers and lengths as hydrophobic part. They play an important role in life science as well as in material science. Their biological and physiological functions are quite diverse, ranging from mediators of cell-cell recognition processes, constituents of membrane domains or as membrane-forming units. Glycolipids form an exceptional class of liquid-crystal mesophases due to the fact that their self-organisation obeys more complex rules as compared to classical monophilic liquid-crystals. Like other amphiphiles, the supra-molecular structures formed by glycolipids are driven by their chemical structure; however, the details of this process are still hardly understood. Based on the synthesis of specific glycolipids with a clearly defined chemical structure, e.g., type and length of the sugar head group, acyl chain linkage, substitution pattern, hydrocarbon chain lengths and saturation, combined with a profound physico-chemical characterisation of the formed mesophases, the principles of the organisation in different aggregate structures of the glycolipids can be obtained. The importance of the observed and formed phases and their properties are discussed with respect to their biological and physiological relevance. The presented data describe briefly the strategies used for the synthesis of the used glycolipids. The main focus, however, lies on the thermotropic as well as lyotropic characterisation of the self-organised structures and formed phases based on physico-chemical and biophysical methods linked to their potential biological implications and relevance.
Keywords: Glycolipids, lipopolysaccharides, lyotropism, structural polymorphism, supramolecular structures, thermotropism.
General speaking, glycolipids are lipids containing carbohydrate. According to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, glycolipids are defined as simple derivatives of lipids such as acylglycerols, ceramides, and prenols as well as glycosyl derivatives such as cerebrosides and gangliosides [1, 2]. Glycolipids belong to a larger family of compounds known as glycoconjugates or glycopolymers. The most important classes of glycoconjugates are glycoproteins, glycopeptides, peptidoglycans, proteoglycans, glycolipids and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) [1]. The latter are also denoted as endotoxins [3, 4]. The structures of glycolipids are often extremely complex. This complexity results from the huge variations in the coupled carbohydrate residues, the number and linkage, carbohydrate modifications (e.g. phosphorylation, sulphated), type (e.g. saturated, unsaturated, branched, unbranched hydrocarbon chains) and number of linked hydrocarbon chains (see Fig. 1). Also the chemical nature of the linker (e.g. ether, ester, amide) allows theformation of a large number of different glycolipid structures.
Types of amphiphiles composed of one or more monosaccharide residues (carbohydrate) linked to one ore more hydrocarbon chains.
Molecular relationship of amphiphiles related to their supramolecular structure (adapted from Israelachvili (1991) [13]).
(A). Chemical structure of a glycolipid with a maltose headgroup: 1,3-Di-O-tetradecyl-2-O-[4’-O-(α-D-glucopyranosyl)-β-Dglucopyranosyl]- sn-glycerol (DMMA). (B). Chemical structure of a lipopolysaccharide LPS from deep rough mutant Salmonella minnesota R595 (LPS Re).
Heat capacity curves of DMMA (1,3-Di-O-Tetradecyl-2-O-[4’-O-(α-D-glucopyranosyl)-ß-D-glucopyranosyl]-sn-glycerol) in PBS (phosphate buffered saline) buffer at pH 7.4; scan-rate 1 K/min. (A) Heating and cooling scan of a freshly prepared dispersion. (B) Heating scan of [A] A freshly prepared sample, [B] Sample stored for 7 days at 4 °C, [C] Sample stored for 21 days at 4 °C. Adapted from [40].
Phase transition of various glycolipids by infrared spectroscopy. The peak position of the symmetric stretching vibrational band of the methylene groups vs(CH2) is plotted versus temperature. (A) Different salt forms of lipopolysaccharide from deep rough mutant R595 from Salmonella minnesota. From [59] with permission by Elsevier. (B) 1,3-Di-O-tetradecyl-2-O-[4’-O-(α-D-glucopyranosyl)-β-Dglucopyranosyl]- sn-glycerol (DMMA). From [40] with permission by Elsevier. (C) Stearyl monosaccharides galacto and glucolipids Gal-α- OC18, Gal-β-OC18, Glu-α-OC18, and Glu-β-OC18. After [67] with permission by Elsevier. (D) Stearyl disaccharides, maltosides, melibiosides, cellubiosides, and lactosides in different linkages. From [67] with permission by Elsevier.
Surface pressure/area-isotherms of DMMA in water and 20 mM HEPES at 20 °C (Adapted from [40]).
Fig. (7A1).
Smectic A “Stufentropfen” of glycolipid MalC12.
Chemical structure of the glycolipid MalC12.
Fig. (7B1).
Smectic A fan-shaped texture of glycolipid GluC11:1w on cooling at 131.7° C.
Chemical structure of the glycolipid GluC11:1w .
Fig. (7C1).
Smectic A with maltese crosses (A) and pearlchains (B) of glycolipid GalC11.
Chemical structure of the glycolipid GalC11.
Pictures obtained with polarization microscopy.
Texture of a columnar phase of glycolipid MelC12N3.
Chemical structure of the glycolipid MelC12N3.
Unusual texture for a columnar phase of glycolipid MelC11, contact preparation in water.
Chemical structure of the glycolipid MelC11.
(C-1). Columnar Dho (hexagonal columnar ordered) phase of CellC12(8) [107].
Chemical structure of the glycolipid CellC12(8).
Unusual texture for a cubic phase of the 1:1- glycolipid mixture of Cel-β-glycero dioleoyl and Glu-β-glycero dioleoyl, contact preparation in water.
Chemical structures of the glycolipids Cel-β-glycero dioleoyl (a) and Glu-β-glycero dioleoyl (b).
Texture of a cubic phase of the Glu-β-glycero didecanoyl.
Chemical structure of the glycolipid Glu-β-glycero didecanoyl.
Fig. (10A1).
Lyotropic phase behaviour of glycolipid MalC12N3 - (A) water, (B) columnar HI, (C) bicontinous cubic VI, (D) pure compound (SmA).
Chemical structure of the glycolipid MalC12N3.
Fig. (10B1).
Lyotropic phase behaviour of the glycolipid GenC12N3: (A) pure compound (glass), (B) hexagonal HI, (C) water.
Chemical structure of the glycolipid GenC12N3.
Fig. (10C1).
Lyotropic phase behaviour of the glycolipid Lac- CerPiv: (A) Water, (B) lamellar La, (C) bicontinous cubic V1, (D) hexagonal HI, (E) pure compound SmA.
Chemical structure of the glycolipid LacCerPiv.
Fig. (10).
Contact preparation of MalOC3OC12 in water. (A) Water, (B) cub, (C) Col, (D) Col, (E) cub, (F) pure compound (SmA).
Chemical structure of the glycolipid MalOC3OC12.
Molecular structures of the branched Mal-β-AB14, unbranched Mal-β-EA14 and the normal n-alkyl maltosides Mal-β-C14 and Mal-β-C18, showing the main structural differences.
Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) patterns of a monoacylated lactoside Lac-β-OC2-OC14 . The reflections are characteristic for the existence of a micellar phase. The logarithm of the scattering intensity is plotted versus the scattering vector s (=1/d, d = spacings of the reflections).
Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) patterns of a triacylated lipid A compound OM-174. The reflections are characteristic for the existence of the direct hexagonal HI –phase. The logarithm of the scattering intensity is plotted versus the scattering vector s (=1/d, d = spacings of the reflections). After [62].
Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) patterns of lipopolysaccharide Ra from Salmonella minnesota strain R60. The broad scattering profiles characteristic for the existence of an extended bilayer (form factor). Additionally, the small scattering peaks in the low srange could be indicative for the existence of a cubic structure. The logarithm of the scattering intensity is plotted versus the scattering vector s (=1/d, d = spacings of the reflections). Own unpublished data. (B). Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) patterns of lipopolysaccharide Re from Salmonella minnesota strain R595 in the presence of an antimicrobial peptide EU#36. The sharp reflection in equidistant ratios are characteristic for the existence of a multilamellar aggregate. The logarithm of the scattering intensity is plotted versus the scattering vector s (=1/d, d = spacings of the reflections). Own unpublished data.
Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) patterns of synthetic dephospho lipid A compound ‘503’. The sharp reflection in equidistant ratios are characteristic for the existence of a multilamellar aggregate. The logarithm of the scattering intensity is plotted versus the scattering vector s (=1/d, d = spacings of the reflections). Own unpublished data. Compound ‘503‘ was kindly provided by S. Kusumoto, University of Osaka.
Small-angle X-ray scattering patterns of the diacylated monosaccharides dioleoyl-glucoside and –galactoside. The logarithm of the scattering intensity is plotted versus the scattering vector s (=1/d, d = spacings of the reflections). From [103] with permission by Elsevier.
Fig. (18A).
Small-angle X-ray scattering patterns of highly purified lipid A isolated from Escherichia coli F515 at 90 % water content and 80 °C. The logarithm of the scattering intensity is plotted versus the scattering vector s (=1/d, d = spacings of the reflections). The lipid A was kindly provided by U. Zähringer, Forschungszentrum Borstel. Own unpublished data
Fig. (18B).
Electron density distributions of the HII phase of hydrated at 40 and 60 °C.
Small-angle X-ray scattering patterns of stearyl glucoside at 90 % (left spectra) and 40 % (right spectra) water content, and at 40 °C (top spectra) and 80 °C (bottom spectra). The logarithm of the scattering intensity is plotted versus the scattering vector s (=1/d, d = spacings of the reflections). From Vill et al., Chem. Phys. Lipids 104, 75-91 (2000), with permission by Elsevier.
Small-angle X-ray scattering patterns of DMMA at 93 % water content and two temperatures 5 °C (top) and 60 °C (bottom). The logarithm of the scattering intensity is plotted versus the scattering vactor s (=1/d, d= spacings of the reflections). From [40] with permission by Elsevier.
The generalised endotoxic principle. It should be noted that this conformational concept is valid also for non-LPS structures, such as the EISAI compound ER803022, a phospholipid with 6 acyl chains and two phosphate groups with a serine-like backbone.
Correlation between supra-molecular lipopolysaccharide (LPS) structure and bioactivity. Adapted from [83].
Thermotropic and lyotropic properties of the investigated compounds obtained by polarizing microscopy and the contact preparation method.
A. Thermotropic Properties.
Glycolipid
Observed Thermotropic Phases
Mal-β-C14 Cr 107 SmA 264 I
Mal-β-EA14 Cr 102 SmA 165 I
Mal-β-AB14 g ? SmA 240 I
B. Lyotropic Properties.
Lyotropic Phases
Mal-β-C14 Lα H1
Mal-β-EA14 Lα*
Mal-β-AB14 Lα V1 H1
Pure lipid 100% water
Connection of Specific Glycolipids to the Expression of Diseases
Connected Disease
Globoside Fabry
Sphingomyelin Nieman-Pick
Ceramide Fabry
Ganglioside (GM2) Tay-Sachs
Glucose cerebroside Gaucher
Thus, the term glycolipid designates any compound containing one or more monosaccharide residues bound by a glycosidic linkage to a hydrophobic moiety [1]. The term glycoglycerolipid has been defined as a glycolipid containing one or more glycerol residues.
A number of glycolipids form liquid-crystalline (LC) phases. The liquid-crystalline phase is a state of matter with properties known for a liquid and a solid crystal [5-7]. As an example, the flow property of a liquid-crystal can be similar to a classical liquid; however the orientation of the single molecules is crystal-like. Various types of liquid-crystalline phases are known. They can be identified and characterised using several physico-chemical techniques (see below). For instance, polarisation microscopy is used for the characterisation of liquid-crystalline phases, because the optical properties of the various liquid-crystalline phases are different. Thus, the liquid-crystalline phase is characterised under the polarisation microscope by a very specific and unique texture (see part III of this chapter).
The phases formed by liquid-crystallines are also denoted as a mesomorph state (mesophase). This state describes an organisational state with the molecular order being between the perfect, three-dimensional position as well as orientation ordering of a solid crystal on the one side, and the lack of long-range orientational order as found in isotropic liquids. The terms liquid-crystalline and mesomorph are often used synonymously.
In general, a liquid-crystalline compound is formed of a rigid moiety and one or more flexible molecule residue. The rigid part aligns the molecules in a specific direction, whereas the flexible parts induce fluidity into the liquid-crystal. The rigid part, i.e. the basic structural unit of a liquid-crystal inducing structural order into the crystals, is referred to as the mesogen unit [1, 5]. The ideal balance of these two parts is essential to form liquid-crystalline materials [8, 9].
Liquid-crystals are often divided into two main groups, namely thermotropes and, lyotropes, which form thermo-tropic, respective lyotropic phases. Thermotropic liquid-crystals exhibit a phase transition into the liquid-crystalline state as temperature is raised [7]. Lyotropic liquid-crystals exhibit phase transitions as a function of both temperature and concentration of the liquid-crystal molecules in a solvent, which is typically water for biological molecules.
The term amphiphile denotes molecules comprising a polar (hydrophilic) head-group (which may be ionic or non-ionic) attached to a hydrophobic moiety. Typical hydro-phobic groups are saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon chains. Examples of amphiphilic compounds are the salts of fatty acids, phospholipids or glycolipids. Many amphiphiles are used as detergents.
The driving force for the formation of a mesophase of amphiphile molecules is a micro-phase separation. This leads to an aggregate structure (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3) with separated regions for the lipophilic (hydrophobe) and hydrophilic (polar) moieties.
2. SELF-ASSEMBLY AND AGGREGATION PROPERTIES OF GLYCOLIPIDS
Similar to other amphiphilic molecules such as phospholipids, glycolipids tend to aggregate in aqueous dispersions due to the minimization of the Gibbs free energy [10, 11]. The concentration at which such aggregation takes place is called the critical micellar concentration (CMC), below this value the molecules are present as monomers [12]. A different terminus, critical aggregate concentration (CAC), is the concentration at which monomers spontaneously may form aggregates which, however, decompose again. Thus, the CAC always lies below the CMC.
Above the CMC, with increasing glycolipid concen-tration, the monomer concentration remains constant, or is even reduced in the case of negatively charged amphiphiles, and additional molecules are incorporated into the aggregated form [13]. Thus, above the CMC aggregate as well as monomers are present and in a state of equilibrium. An important characteristic is the type of aggregate structure formed above the CMC. It depends on the relative sizes and geometries of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic moiety; this was considered by Israelachvili who introduced a dimen-sionless shape or packing parameter S = v / ( a0.lc) = ah / a0 (v = molecular volume of the hydrophobic moiety, lc length of the fully extended hydrophobic moiety, a0, ah cross-sectional areas of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic moiety, respectively). This parameter is also known as CPP (critical packaging parameter) or IPF (Israelachvili packaging factor) [13].
If the value of S is known, the resulting aggregate structures can readily be deduced. For S < ½ micellar structures (not to mix with the term micelle as synonym for aggregate) are adopted, in particular cases the direct HI phase is favoured. In each case, the acyl chain moiety is directed inwards, and the hydrophilic part outwards. Between S = ½ and 1, lamellar structures in the form of unilamellar or multilamellar structures are favoured. Whether a particular glycolipid adopts an uni- or multilamellar structure is a complex problem, which depends, among others, on geometrical constrains, on the charge distribution in the head group, the kind of counter ions, and the hydration properties of the glycolipid.
Above S = 1 inverted structures such as inverted hexagonal HII or cubic structures of type II (so far not described by Israelachvili (1991) [13]) are formed; the acyl chains are directed outwards, and the hydrophilic moiety inwards, see Luzzati et al., [14, 15]. A critical region is the range around S = 1, where various phases may coexist and in which small extrinsic changes such as hydration, ion concentration or temperature change may lead to a phase transition. Since the packing parameters cannot be estimated with sufficient precision, physical techniques such as small-angle scattering with X-rays (SAXS) or neutrons (SANS) must be applied for a reliable determination of the structures [16]. An overview of the different possible aggregate structures is given in Fig. (2).
A second parameter of aggregated structures is of importance, namely the state of order or fluidity of the acyl chains. Basically, two states, the gel (β) and the liquid-crystalline (α) phase can be adopted, and between these a (pseudo) first-order transition can be observed. In the gel phase the acyl chains are ordered, being in the all-trans configuration, while the liquid-crystalline (fluid) phase is much less ordered (higher fluidity) due to the introduction of more and more gauche-conformers. This phase transition at a glycolipid-specific temperature Tm can take place within one and the same aggregate structure, but can also be connected with a change of the aggregate structure. It is known that not all aggregate structures can occur within both phases.
The HII structure has only been observed in the liquid-crystalline state. In the gel phase the acyl chains are not flexible enough to adapt to the high curvature of the HII structure [17-20].
It was assumed earlier that also cubic structures are restricted to the fluid phase [14]. This, however, could not be confirmed in the case of glycolipids from bacterial origin [21, 22].
The value of Tm is governed by various parameters: Length and the degree of saturation of the hydrocarbon chains moiety, the kind of interface region, and type of head group, as well as hydration properties and solution properties (e.g. pH, ionic strength, presence of divalent cations) [23]. Another important parameter is the degree of water binding. For glycolipids with head groups/interface regions of low hydrating capacity Tm is higher than for those with a well hydrated backbone. Therefore, the lyotropic behaviour is an essential parameter for a physico-chemical characterisation of glycolipids.
For an understanding of the physico-chemistry of the self-organisation of glycolipids the establishment of complete phase diagrams is necessary [24]. This means that the lyotropism – dependence on water content – and the thermotropism – dependence on temperature – has to be evaluated (Tables 1A and 1B). For charged lipids, which are frequently found in nature, also the dependence on the type of counter-ions such as Na+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ is an important parameter [25, 26]. Such structural polymorphism–complete phase diagrams with temperature, water content, and cation concentration as parameters, has been published for the glycolipid lipid A and LPS Re from Salmonella minnesota [21, 22]. It was shown that these compounds have a clear dependence on water content in the aggregate structures as well as on the phase transition temperature Tm (see text and figures below).
As examples for the compositions of glycolipids, the chemical structures of dimyristoyl-maltoside DMMA (Fig. 3A) and a lipopolysaccharide from deep rough mutant R595 (LPS Re, Fig. 3B) are presented.
For the measurements of the CMC fluorescence spectroscopy or light scattering techniques have been applied in many cases [27]. The former is based on the fact that suitable dyes such as N-phenyl-naphtylamine (NPN) or anilino-naphtalene sulfonate (ANS) have a specific fluorescence at a fixed wavelength when incorporated into aggregates which shift or disappear upon disaggregation [28]. Using light scattering techniques, the concentration of the amphipiles are increased step wise and the formation of amphiphile aggregates at the CMC is observed by a strong increase in scattering intensity. A different method is the CMC determination by a monolayer technique. The successive addition of the amphiphilic molecules to the subphase leads to an increase of the monolayer pressure until attaining the CMC [10, 27].
The described methods are limited to CMC down to the micro-molar concentration range; therefore, for samples with CMC lying at lower concentrations such as in the case of many diacylated glycolipids, these techniques do not apply. For these, special approaches such as the use of radioactively labelled compounds have to be used. In the case of glyco-lipids with a sufficient number and length of acyl chains, similar as in the case of phospholipids, data on the CMC are very scarce, because only very limited and sophisticated methods may be successful. For example, for the glycolipid lipid IVa (a precursor of lipid A from enterobacterial strains with four C-14 acyl chains) a CMC of < 10-7 M, obtained with Laser light scattering [29], was indicated.
Another study on rough and smooth LPS and hexaacyl lipid A, obtained with fluorescent dyes and light scattering, indicates a CMC in the micro-molar range (≈ µM) for all these samples, irrespective of the length of the sugar chain [30]. This value, however, corresponds to the sensitivity of the method and does not reflect the CMC, which, of course, must differ for the different compounds by orders of magnitude due to the variations in the sugar chains (having the same lipid moiety). Sasaki and White (2008) [31] have applied high energy dynamic laser light scattering of highly purified LPS Re and have found a drastic decrease of the ‘hydrodynamic radius’ of the aggregates in the range of some nanomolar. The authors, however, did not present the resolution limit of their technique, which might indicate that the true CMC is even much lower. Summarizing all information on the CMC of LPS, it can be assumed that the CMC for lipid A and LPS Re is in the range significantly below 10-9 M similar as argued by Brandenburg and Wiese (2004) [32].
For the determination of glycolipid aggregate structures small-angle X-ray (SAXS) or neutron scattering (SANS) are the methods of choice. With the current brilliance of synchrotron radiation the SAXS experiment can be readily performed whereas neutron radiation with a sufficiently high intensity is less available. The diffraction patterns obtained in this way can be analysed with respect to the positions of the single peaks being characteristic for the single phases [27]. With regard to lyotropism, it could be shown for lipid A and various rough mutant LPS from S. minnesota, that these compounds show only a multilamellar structure at low (0 to 40 %) water content, which passes into a unilamellar or cubic structure at high water content ( > 60 %) [21, 22, 33]. Similarly, the aggregate structure changes upon heating, being unilamellar, mixed unilamellar/cubic in the gel phase of lipid A, convert into a hexagonal HII phase at temperatures significantly above Tm (45 °C).
The biological importance of the phase states and the transitions between them at a particular temperature depends of course on the aggregates structures within the single phases. Thus, for example, the L ↔ Q transition is kinetically inhibited, and grows only slowly, while the L ↔ H transition takes place directly and rapidly. In this context also the reversibility must be seen, which takes place most readily for the latter, but in a delayed mode for the former transition. Various biological processes are dependent on the phase states and temperatures of the transitions, for example endo- and exocytotic effects. Also, processes such as cell-cell interaction, cell adhesion, and binding and recognition processes by receptors are governed by the state of order of the membrane matrix and its constituents (see chapter VI).
3. PHYSICAL TECHNIQUES FOR THE DETERMI-NATION OF GLYCOLIPID ORGANISATION
In the following chapters, some common and most powerful physico-chemical methods for the determination and characterization of lipid organization are presented. Also methods for the analysis of phases and phase transitions are shown (for more details see for example Cevc 1993 [34], Shechter 2004 [35], Winter and Noll 1998 [27]).
3.1. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)
Using the DSC technique, phase transitions can be monitored which are related to enthalpy contributions. A fully hydrated phospholipid, like DPPC (Di-Palmitoyl-sn-glycero-phosphatidyl-choline) shows the thermotropic induction of three phases separated by two peaks: (i) endothermic changes in enthalpy of the transition from Lβ’-phase to the Pβ’-phase at ca 36 °C, and (ii) the phase transition to the liquid-crystalline Lα-phase at 41.5 °C (data not shown) [23].
The phase transitions observed by DSC are of first or pseudo-first order [36]. Thus, in the heating scan the melting of hydrocarbon chains from a gel to a liquid-crystalline phase is related to an endothermic phase transition (endotherm peak). A subsequent cooling shows the appearance of an exothermic peak [37-39]. The re-crystallisation of the hydrocarbon chain can be quite reversible, as shown in Fig. (4A) or can be connected to a strong hysteresis [40, 41]. The reason for the non-reversibility of the phase transitions has been reviewed by Tenchov [39] and the different mechanisms are described extensively (for more details see Tenchov 1991 [39]).
In cases, in which the phase transition is not due to changes in enthalpy contributions, no “peak” is observed in the DSC thermogram. For example, the lamellar to inverted hexagonal phase transition (HII) phase is accompanied by a very small endotherm change in enthalpy, usually in the range of 10 % of the main gel-to-liquid-crystalline phase transition [39] and therefore it is not always detected [40].
A reason for the relatively small phase transition enthalpies is related to the fact that lamellar to non-lamellar phase transitions usually take place within the liquid-crystalline phase [42, 43]. Curvature as well as a change of effective packaging of the lipid molecules has also to be considered for understanding the thermodynamics of the Lα- HII phase transition.
This has extensively been investigated by calorimetry for phosphatidylethanolamine lipids [44-46]. Although, being very small, the Lα-HII phase transition enthalpy is expected to be of first order due to symmetry considerations, and therefore it is detected [47].
The phase transition from the liquid-crystalline to a cubic phase are hardly observed by DSC, however can be easily detected using SAXS [48]. Monoolein in water, for example shows a small endotherm peak in the heating DSC scan which is related to a lamellar to cubic phase transition [49].
Lamellar to non-lamellar phase transitions have also been observed upon heating glycolipids, for examples see Table 1 [39]. In most cases these phase transitions are observed by SAXS (see below).
Current high sensitive differential calorimeters are of adiabatic type and allow the measurement of heat changes in the micro-calorimetry range DSC is certainly one of the most sensitive methods for the investigation of phase transitions of lipids [23, 36, 50].
Fig. (4B) shows the thermograms of a fully hydrated glycolipid (Fig. 3A) stored at 4 °C. As a function of storage time at 4 °C, new phases are formed. These phases are observed at higher temperatures. The reason for the formation of these new phases is highly related to the dehydration of the disaccharide head group of the glycolipid as it has been observed for other lipids [25, 40, 51]. The authors investigated cis-unsaturated galactosylceramides with varying incubation times, which caused differently stable packing motivs and thus nucleation events that promote transbilayer interdigitation. However, from the slow kinetics of the process, the authors conclude that these monounsaturated chains common in galactoceramides may inhibit transbilayer interdigitation under physiological conditions.
From the DSC results a number of thermodynamic parameters are obtained, e.g. onset temperature of the phase transition, phase transition temperature, phase transition enthalpy Based on these data and using thermodynamic rules, additional parameters like the phase transition entropy (∆Scal = ∆Hcal/Tm) can be calculated.
The cooperativity of the phase transition can also be estimated from the heat capacity profile. This is done by the calculation of the van’t Hoff enthalpy (∆HvH), which is a measure of the sharpness, i.e., cooperativity of the phase transition. In the case, the width (∆T1/2) of the phase transition is quite small in relation to the maximal temperature of the heat capacity (Tm), the van’t Hoff enthalpy can be obtained by the following approximation (Blume 1988 [36] and references cited therein):
∆HvH ≈ 6.9.Tm2 /∆T1/2
For the example shown in Fig. (4A) (heating scan of DMMA) ÄHvH = 612 kJ/mol. Thus, ÄHvH >>> ÄHcal (the calorimetric enthalpy). Based on these two parameters the so-called cooperative unit c.u. is calculated as: c.u. = ∆HvH / ∆Hcal. The cooperative unit is an estimate for the number of lipid molecules from which the phase change is nucleated [27]. Or in other words, this is the number of molecules which change together from one state to another, e.g. from a gel phase to a liquid-crystalline phase. For the glycolipid phase transition shown in Fig. (4A), the c.u. is 19. The cooperative unit can also be seen as a measure of the degree of intermolecular cooperation between the lipid molecules. For phospholipids like DPPC (dipalmitoyl-phosphatidyl-choline) the cooperative unit is much higher and reaches values of approximately 600 [50]. In the case a phase transition occurs completely cooperative, the 1st order phase transition of an absolutely pure compound has an infinite c.u. [36, 52]. In the case of a completely non-cooperative equilibrium process the c.u. of the phase transition is unity.
Information on lipid-water interactions are also available from DSC by determining the apparent molar heat capacities ϕCp [36, 51]. In general, hydrations of polar lipid head groups give negative contributions to the total heat capacity. This effect occurs due to the orientation and immobilisation of water molecules in the close vicinity of the polar head group. On the other hand, hydrophobic hydration of non-polar molecule groups like methylene units of the hydrocarbon chains are connected to a positive contribution to the total heat capacity, which is related to entropic effects [36, 51].
3.2. Infrared Spectroscopy (IR)
The gel to liquid-crystalline phase transition can be evaluated in several ways, by the application of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC, see above), and fluorescence polarisation [27, 28, 35]. FTIR is one of the most familiar techniques in glycolipid science (see, for example Brandenburg and Seydel, 1998 [53], Brandenburg and Seydel 2002 [54]. It allows the determination of intra- and intermolecular conformations by studying the motional freedom of infrared radiation absorbing groups within the molecules and changes due to perturbations like temperature, pH, solutes, hydrogen, and salt binding. Variations of these parameters not only act intramolecularly, but may lead to different intermolecular interactions with possible conformational changes of the secondary structure – identical molecules in one plane and/or the tertiary structure of the three-dimensional aggregates. Therefore, FTIR not necessarily allows the differentiation between pure binding of salt or solute molecules and the accompanying conformational change. In this case, complementary methods such as X-ray scattering (see below) have to be applied.
Using FTIR particular vibrational bands from the hydrophobic moiety sensitive to the state of order of the acyl chains can be taken [55]. In this way it is possible to investigate different part of the molecules due to the vibrational characteristics of the molecular groups. For phase transition measurements, the lipid methylene stretching vibrations vas (as: antisymmetric) and vs (CH2) vs: symmetric) are the most suitable bands. In particular, the latter band is taken in most cases to monitor phase changes since it is less disturbed as the antisymmetric mode.
The peak position of the symmetric stretching vibration of the methylene groups vs(CH2) lies around 2847 to 2848 cm-1 for crystalline phases such as in ceramides, around 2850 cm-1 for the “normal” gel phase, and at 2853 to 2854 cm-1 in the liquid-crystalline phase [53, 56, 57].
Information on the organisation of the hydrocarbon chains can be derived from the analysis of the methylene scissoring or rocking band vibrations [57, 58]. The shape of these bands as well as the position is indicative for whether the hydrocarbon chains are aligned in a hexagonal, triclinic or orthorhombic lattice [55, 58, 59].
All-trans hydrocarbon chains aligned parallel and packed in a triclinic subcell lattice reveal a methylene rocking band maximum at ca 718 cm-1, whereas a band maximum at 721 cm-1 is related to a hexagonal methylene all-trans chain packing and/or orientational disorder of the hydrocarbon chains [38]. This can be discriminated by the additional analysis of the symmetric or antisymmetric methylene stretching vibrations. In the case a splitting of the band into two components located at 719 and 731 cm-1 is observed, an organisation of the hydrocarbon chain into an orthorhombic subcell lattice with the planes of ordered all-trans acyl chains being arranged perpendicular to each other is likely [55].
The wavenumber characteristic for the scissoring vibration of a hexagonal packing is located at ca 1468 cm-1, while triclinic packing is marked by a shift to 1473 cm-1. A splitting of the scissoring mode in two components located at 1462 cm-1 and 1472 cm-1 is typical for acyl chains arranged in an orthorhombic lattice [58].
Hydrated DMMA (Fig. 3A), stored for a few days at 4°C, shows a phase formation with the acyl chains organized very tightly in a triclin-like lattice [40, 41, 60, 61].
Information with regards to the organisation and hydration of the polar sugar head group can also be derived from infrared spectra by analysing corresponding vibrations like C-O absorption etc. [58].
As stated above, glycolipids exhibit a pronounced lyotropism. It was found that Tm decreases with increasing water content, lying at more than 50 °C at low and around 43 °C at high water content for hexaacyl lipid A from S. minnesota [21, 62]. This is also valid for different glycolipids such as dimyristoyl melibioside with a Tm of 24 °C at 98 % and 30 °C at 62 % water content [40].
What might be clear from the chapter above, additional transitions may take place, for example from a lamellar into an inverted phase such as cubic and HII, which is connected with much less enthalpy change, only 5 to 10 % of the main phase transition.
For example, Fig. (5A) shows ‘normal’ gel to liquid-crystalline phase transition behaviour of various salt forms of LPS Re and lipid A. As can be seen, the Tm values, indicated in Fig. (5A), depend strongly on the sample (lipid A is a priori higher than LPS Re) and on the salt forms. In particular, the heavy salts Ca2+ und Ba2+ shift the Tm values to higher temperatures, and does not even pass into the liquid-crystalline phase with the Ca2+ salt form of both samples, for which typical wavenumber values of 2852 to 2853 cm-1 are observed [53]. It should be noted that for these heavy salt forms the LPS lose their ability to induce cytokines in immunocompetent cells [59], making these observations relevant for an understanding of biological effects. Further examples are given in Fig. (5B) for dimyristoylmaltoside and Fig. (5C) for the monoacylated (stearyl) glucosides and galactosides in (- and (-linkage. The compounds exhibit a metastable behaviour: After cooling for a certain time at ca 4 °C the phase transition has a value around 41°C, without longer cooling this value shifts down to 34 °C (see the corresponding DSC data in Fig. (4B). Concomitant with this process, the wavenumbers below Tm are quite different, around 2850 or 2849 cm-1, respectively. Here, it becomes clear that also the aggregate structures must be known for an unequivocal assignment. The later presented SAXS data will show, that the transition at the higher temperature is from a crystalline into the fluid, liquid-crystalline phase, whereas that at the lower Tm corresponds to the ‘normal’ gel to liquid-crystalline phase transition [40]. In Fig. (5C) in contrast, the transition can readily be interpreted (see later for SAXS data) to pass from an interdigitated phase into the ‘normal’ Lα phase. These data demonstrated that the wavenumber values of the band positions of vs (CH2) do not necessarily allow direct statements about the underlying aggregate structure [62].
In previous reports Mannock et al. [63-65] as well as Hinz et al., [66] have performed systematic studies of glycolipid membrane systems. By analysis of ether-linked alkyl chains with 10 to 18 carbon atoms and mono- to trisaccharide head groups the phase transition behaviour could systematically be determined [66]. In accordance with the findings the results showed that galactolipids strongly tend to convert directly from the well-ordered crystalline Lc into the inverted hexagonal phase (see also Mannock and McElhaney, 1991 [63]).
Von Minden et al., (2000) [67] investigated the thermotropic phase behaviour of long chain monoalkyl glycopyranosides with different disaccharide head groups and found a distinct dependence of Tm on the kind of sugar head group as well as on the type of linkage (( or (). This is shown in Fig. (5D) for C18 carbon chains and the head groups maltose (Mal), melibiose (Mel), cellobiose (Cel), and lactose (Lac). In the α-linkage, the Cel melts at highest Tm, followed by the Lac and the Mel compounds. In the β-linkage, the comparison of the Lac- with the Mal- containing compound shows in this case a much higher Tm for the former compound. These data are indicative of the packing constraints of the head groups. The Cel-containing backbone essentially has a very flat geometrical extension, while the Lac-containing sample is less flat due to the galactose as second monosaccharide (OH group at position 4 showing upwards). The Mel-containing sample with the 1(6 linkage of the Glu-Gal, in contrast, has a much higher space requirement with a conical shape thus leading to a much less dense packing of the glycolipid. Also, it was reported that the supramolecular aggregate structures of these compounds differ strongly [67].
3.3. Fluorescence Spectroscopy
Fluorescence spectroscopy is a highly sensitive technique for the investigation of self-organised amphiphiles like glycolipids as well as for studying biological membranes [58]. Various properties of assembled lipids can be studied using fluorescence spectroscopy and related applications [68]. For instance, using polarised fluorescence [28] the orientation and rotational mobility of lipids or the micro-viscosity of internal region of membranes can be determined. The combination of fluorescence intensity and polarized fluorescence allows the analysis of phase transitions and lateral phase separations, as well as the organization of lipids in the vicinity of e.g. proteins [68].
In order to be able to use fluorescence spectroscopy for the investigation of lipids, external fluorophores such as diphenylhexatriene (DPH) are used. There are a number of fluorescent probes available with different physico-chemical properties, suitable for a large number of fluorescent experiments [28]. The choice of the fluorophore depends on the lipid organisation information of interest.
The diverse probes available are designed to 1) label a specific region of an organised lipid assembly and 2) should be selected to have emission properties which are particularly sensitive with respect to the lipid domains that are analysed [28, 58, 68]. Thus, the hydrophobicity of the probes, besides their fluorescent properties, is an important criterion of selection. Nonpolar fluorescent probes that can be used are for example perylene, pyrene or DPH. Various polar probes are available like: 1-Anilino-8-naphtalene sulfonate (ANS) or N-phenyl-1-naphtylamine (NPN) [28, 68].
The theory of lipid bilayer phase transition as detected by using fluorophores has been studied for years [28, 69, 70]. For more details on the technique please consult for example Berlin and Sainz 1984 [70], or textbooks like Valeur 2002 [68], Hof, Hutterer, Fidler 2005 [71], Lakowicz 2006 [28].
Since extrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy is not a label-free technique, it is often argued that the data obtained in this way do not always reflect and give statements about the absolute state of lipid order, and therefore comparing the results obtained by various methods should be critically considered and evaluated.
3.4. Monolayer Studies
The behaviour of amphiphiles at the air-water-interface can be determined by the film-balance technique developed by Pockles (1891) [72] and Langmuir (1917) [73].
Amphiphilic molecules like glycolipids form a mono-layer when distributed between the aqueous bulk phase and the air-water-interface in solution. This distribution depends on the physico-chemical properties of the lipid such as its hydrophobicity. When distributed at the air-water-interface, amphiphilic compounds arrange in a monomolecular layer with their polar head group(s) facing towards the water phase.
The space required by the head group can be measured with a film balance [26, 74]. The surface pressure π caused by a compressed monolayer is measured by a force meter [74]. This surface pressure π is described as the deviation between the subphase γ0 covered with a monolayer and the uncovered subphase γ:
π = ∆γ = γ0 – γ
The surface pressure π (in mN/m) is related to the surface area A (Å2/molecule), which is occupied by a single molecule. Data about the phase behaviour, the orientation on surfaces or interfaces or interactions of the amphiphiles among each other can be derived by the form of the measured isotherm [74].
Fig. (6) represents a surface pressure/area isotherm of the glycolipid DMMA (Fig. 3A) measured at two different sub-phases at 20 °C: water and 20 mM HEPES (buffer). Fig. (6) shows that the liquid expanded state and the formation of a plateau is very well expressed. This happens when equilibrium is formed between a liquid expanded and a liquid condensed state. This lipid forms a film with the lipid molecules extremely tightly packed [40].
3.5. Polarisation Microscopy
Polarising microscopy is a well established method to investigate the properties of anisotropic compounds [75, 76]. Being widely used in mineralogy and petrology it has become a standard method to investigate the phase behaviour of liquid-crystals.
According to Snellius’s law of refraction, optical anisotropic compounds show birefringence if placed and observed between crossed polarisers. This means that a beam of light that passes through an anisotropic material in a direction different to the material’s optical axis is refracted into two different directions [34, 75]. These two beams show an optical retardation which leads to a specific texture that can be seen trough a polarising microscope. These textures are specific for certain thermotropic and lyotropic liquid-crystalline phases [75, 77-79].
Additionally to the setup of an ordinary microscope, microscope systems are available that allow to place the sample in polarizing microscope equipped with a hot stage (heating device) between two polarisers of which one can be altered in direction [27].
To investigate the thermotropic phase behaviour of a liquid-crystal, a small sample of the compound on a glass slide is placed into the heating measuring sample chamber. While the temperature is raised or lowered at a specific scan rate, alterations of the sample texture can be observed through the polarisation microscope.
3.5.1. Thermotropic Phases Observed by Polarisation Microscopy
Glycolipids are known to form a range of thermotropic smectic, columnar and cubic phases. Examples of the textures are shown in the following figures (Figs. (7-11)).
Figs. (7-11) show specific textures of a smectic A phase. Smectic phases are layered structures [5]. The molecules form layers in which every molecule can move within its own layer, but cannot change its general direction (up or down) nor can the molecules leave the layer. These phases form a variety of characteristic textures. Fig. (7A-1) shows a smectic Grandjean texture (“Stufentropfen”). In Fig. (7B-1) a fan-shape texture is shown, whereas. Fig. (7C-1) shows a pearl-chain texture which often is observed at higher temperatures and maltese cross texture which often is observed on cooling the sample.
In columnar phases the molecules are ordered in stacks or columns. These aggregates form characteristic textures like the textures shown in Fig. (8A-1), Fig. (8B-1) and Fig. (8C-1).
Cubic phases are not easily observed using polarisation microscopy, due to their isotropic texture. In a cubic phase all molecules are ordered in body-centered or face-centered cubic lattices. That means that the light passing trough the sample is refracted in every possible direction, so the sample appears isotropic. A cubic phase differs from the isotropic melt only by its low viscosity.
Fig. (9A-1) shows an example of a pure cubic phase which is still visible by a special surface structure. A thin film has only partially contact to the cover slide. The upper left area is fully covered by the slide and looks like a liquid whereas the main part is not covered and the surface of the film shows geometrical forms at the interface to the air.
Fig. (9B-1) shows a transition from a hexagonal phase to a cubic phase. In this case the cubic phase forms rectangular isotropic textures. Cubic phases are best observed during the transition from a non isotropic phase, because the cubic phases themselves usually show no textures.
3.5.2. Lyotropic Phases Observed by Polarisation Microscopy
The method of choice to investigate the lyotropic phase behaviour with a polarizing microscope is the contact preparation method [80]. Therefore, the sample is placed on a glass slide and is covered with a coverslip. Then the sample is heated up to its melting point and cooled down again in order to generate a coherent surface. After cooling to room temperature a solvent (e.g. water) is placed on the edge of the glass slide. The solvent then is drawn between the slide and the coverslip by capillary force and thus gets in contact with the sample. At the contact area between solvent and sample, the solvent diffuses into the sample, so a certain grade of concentration is achieved. Along this concentration grade the lyotropic phases of the sample can be observed. If necessary, the sample can be moderately heated to detect kinetically hindered phases like the cubic phases. A better way to detect lyotropic cubic phases is to expose the sample to a water saturated atmosphere (e.g. in an excicator) for a certain time to let water diffuse into the sample.
Fig. (10A-1) shows the lyotropic phase sequence of the glycolipid MalC12N3 (Fig. (10A-1)). The phase sequence starts with water (A), then a broad hexagonal HI phase can be observed (B) followed by a bicontinuous cubic phase VI (C) and the pure compound in a thermotropic smectic phase (D).
The phase sequence of GenC12N3 is shown in Fig. (10B-1). The sequence starts in the upper left corner with the pure compound in a glass phase (A) followed by a hexagonal HI phase (B) and water (C).
In Fig. (10C-1) the phase behaviour of LacCerPiv, a sphingosine analogous glycolipid, is shown. Beginning in the lower left corner with water, this compound shows a hexagonal (HI) phase followed by a bicontinuous cubic phase (V1) and a lamellar phase (Lα) and a SmA phase the pure compound.
Sometimes a second cubic phase can be seen. In Fig. (11A-1) the phase sequence of Mal-OC3-C12 shown, beginning with water on the left, followed by a discontinuous cubic phase (I1), a broad hexagonal phase (HII), a bicontinuous cubic phase (V1) and the pure compound with a smectic A (SmA).
The thermotropic and lyoptropic phase transitions of selected glycolipids (Fig. 12) are summarised in Table 1. For a clear phase assignment additional physico-chemical methods are used (see next section).
4. PHYSICAL TECHNIQUES FOR THE DETERMINATION OF AGGREGATE STRUCTURES
The method of choice to determine aggregate structures of glycolipids is the application of X-ray or neutron scattering (= X-ray or neutron diffraction) [27]. Here it is focussed mainly on small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) due to the availability of high-brilliance synchrotron sources. Usually a differentiation between the small-angle region and the wide-angle region (SAXS= small-angle X-ray scattering, WAXS = wide-angle X-ray scattering) is made [27].
Applying this technique, the three-dimensional organization of biomolecules can be calculated according to the Laue or the Bragg equation [27]. X-ray scattering patterns are recorded in the case of SAXS in the range 0.01 < s < 1 nm-1, and in the case of WAXS (wide-angle X-ray scattering) in the range 2 < s < 5 nm-1 (scattering vector s = 1/d, d = spacings of the sample, s = 2 sin (/(, 2( scattering angle and ( the wavelength, usually at 0.15 nm). For the X-ray diffraction patterns shown here, the measurements were performed at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) outstation at the Hamburg synchrotron radiation facility HASYLAB using the double-focussing mono-chromator-mirror camera X33 [81]. The diffraction patterns were recorded at a specific temperature with exposure times of 1 min using a linear detector with delay line readout (‘Gabriel’-detector) or, as new instrumentation - an image plate detector with online readout (MAR345, MarResearch, Norderstedt/Germany) [82]. The s-axis was calibrated with Ag-behenate which has a periodicity of 58.4 nm. The diffraction patterns were evaluated as described previously [22, 83, 84], assigning the spacing ratios of the main scattering maxima to defined three-dimensional structures.
The scattered X-ray intensity (I = |F|2) can be written as product of the structure factor and the form factor. In the case of lamellar structures, this expression can be written explicitly:
F=0N1e2Rnd0d(x)e2iRxdx
The integral represents the charge distribution along one bilayer with the periodicity d, and the first term is the summation over N stacks.
The SAXS range allows the determination of the long-range order, i.e., the periodicities of the aggregate structures: The most relevant of these structures are direct micellar, lamellar, cubic and hexagonal (direct HI and inverted HII), and are presented in Fig. (2). They are characterized by the following features (see also chapter ‘Self-assembly and aggregate properties of glycolipids’):
(1) Micellar structures with acyl chains inside and head groups outside. The simplest forms would be spherical micelles and more complex forms are the HI structures (see Vill et al., 1989 [85], Brandenburg et al., 2000 [62] and 1998 [86]).
An example for SAXS patterns of spherical micelles which have so far not been described in literature are given in Fig. (13) (monoacylated lactoside Lac-β-OC2-OC14), and of the direct HI structure in Fig. (14) (triacylated lipid A, derived from E. coli lipopoly-saccharide). The latter spectrum consists of the reflexions at 5.10, 4.42, and 3.31 nm which are related to the periodicity at 8.78 nm as the √3-, √4-, and √7-fold. The former diffraction pattern can be described as the Fourier-transform of a sphere, i.e., in the above equation only the form factor gives a contribution (N=1, this means the structure factor equals zero).
(2) Lamellar structures show a three-dimensional organisation with 1-dimensional symmetry.
A) Unilamellar: Here, usually only one broad diffraction band is observed.
In Fig. (15A) an example of a glycolipid, in which only the lipid bilayer, an unilamellar structure in an undefined geometry, is expressed, the SAXS pattern of a lipopolysaccharide from S. minnesota Ra-mutant (strain R60) is shown.
B) Multilamellar: The reflections are grouped at equidistant ratios, i.e., 1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, etc. of the lamellar repeat distance dBl (see equation above). As an example for a multilamellar stack the diffraction pattern of a lipid A preparation in the presence of an antimicrobial peptide (EU#36 based on human lactoferrin) is presented in Figs. (15B and 16).
Furthermore, also the glycolipid monoacyl maltoside (Mal-β-NH-COC15), as ester-bound, is organized into multilamellae.
(3) Cubic: These phases have a three-dimensional symmetry. The different space groups of these non-lamellar three-dimensional structures differ in the ratio of their spacings. The relation between the reciprocal spacing sBhklB = 1/dBhklB and lattice constant a is
sBhklB = [(hP2P + kP2P+ lP2P) / a ]1/2
(hkl = Miller indices of the corresponding set of plane).
According to the geometry, cubic phases may be of type I (the cross-section of the hydrophilic moiety is larger than that of the hydrophobic moiety) or of type II (the reversed situation of type I).
For lipid samples, including glycolipids, the bicontinuous cubic phases Q224 (Pn3m), Q229 (Im3m), and Q230 (Ia3d) are of particular importance [14]. It has been shown that lipid A under near physiological conditions has a preference for cubic phases, in particular Q224 and Q229 [86]. A very impressive example of a cubic phase for a glycolipid is given in Fig. (17) for the diacylated disaccharide maltose-1,3-oleyl (see Milkereit et al., 2005 [87-89]), for which the occurrence of reflections at 1/√2, 1/√3, 1/√4, 1/√6, 1/√8 , 1/√9 ,1/√10 , 1/√12 , 1/√14, and 1/√16 of a periodicity at 11.65 nm are characteristic for the cubic phase Q224.
(4) Hexagonal: This is a structure with 2-dimensional symmetry. The relation between s and the basic vector a is:
shk=2√h2+k2–hk/ a √3
(s10 =2/a √3=1/dh,
dh = Spacing of the basic periodicity).
Hexagonal structures may occur with the lipid moiety inside and the polar head group outside (HI) or vice versa (HII). Inverted hexagonal phases are frequently found for glycolipids in the liquid-crystalline phase at high temperatures. Here, two examples are given in different presentations.
In Fig. (18A), a SAXS pattern measured at 80 °C is shown for a highly purified lipid A preparation, isolated from LPS from E coli, exhibiting reflections that occur at the 1/√3, 1/√4, 1/√7, 1/√9, 1/√12, and 1/√13 of the periodicity at 5.88 nm. The data for the compound dioleoyl-galactoside is shown in Fig. (18B) in which the electron density distribution of the HII phase at 40 and 60 °C is presented.
Beside these basic structures, also particular phases are observed. To these belong interdigitated phases for monoacylated saccharides. Such an interdigitated phase is presented in Fig. (19) for stearoyl-α-galactose in the temperature range 20-60 °C, which converts into a ‘normal’ Lα phase at 80 °C [80].
Also very highly ordered phases with crystalline symmetry are found in some cases, as illustrated for dimyristoyl-maltoside in Fig. (20). Here, at 5 °C reflections are observed at 5.92, 2.97, 1.97, and 1.54 nm, which would correspond to a multilamellar phase with the periodicity and the corresponding higher order reflections (top). The other reflections at 2.27, 1.89, and 1.48 nm are not correlated to the former, and are indicative of a higher symmetry than a multilamellar stack, for example a triclinic or an orthorhombic phase [90]. On heating, these crystalline phases disappear and give rise to a normal liquid-crystalline phase at 60 °C (Fig. 20, bottom).
The wide-angle scattering range comprises the packing of the acyl chains. Normally the acyl chains of glycolipids are packed hexagonally, i.e. in a geometry described above for the long-range order systems. However, more ordered crystalline structures also occur, which may give rise to various unrelated sharp reflections.
5. THERMOTROPIC AND LYOTROPIC PROPER-TIES OF GYLCOLIPIDS
In the last decade the number of papers, written about glycolipids and their physico-chemical properties, especially their thermotropic and lyotropic properties has increased (see references presented in this paper). Glycolipids have a particular relevance as liquid-crystalline materials [7, 91].
Hato and coworkers have observed a stereochemical dependent self-assembly of the hydrated lipid for the glycolipid 1,3-di-O-dodecyl-2-(β-maltoheptosyl)glycerol [92]. The reason for such behaviour is due to differences in the head group conformation of the cello-oligossacharide (see also Hato and coworkers 1996 [78], 1998 [92], 2001 [93]).
The thermotropic and lyotropic phase behaviour of diastereomer glycoglycerolipids containing a single hexopyranoside or pentopyranoside head group have been extensively studied by Mannock and McElhaney (2004) [65]. Using DSC and X-ray for the investigation of the physico-chemical properties of certain diastereomer glycoglycerolipids, it was suggested that both - head group and interfacial hydration - determine the lyotropic as well as the mesomorphic phase properties. It was observed that for glycoglycerolipids of a given chain length, the interactions between the head group interface and water molecules determine whether or not a highly ordered, lamellar crystalline phase is formed. Furthermore, the number of such phases and their rate of formation and, in some cases, the nature of the molecular packing of those phases is determined by these interactions [64, 65]. In the liquid-crystalline phases, the hydrocarbon chains determine the area per molecule in the lamellar liquid-crystalline phase, but it is the cross-sectional area of the hydrated head group and the penetration of water into the interface which determines the nature of the non-lamellar phases, probably through small changes in interfacial geometry as the lateral stresses in the head group region increase [65].
Amidic glycolipids with saccharide head groups and their physical properties as well as packaging states were presented by Takeoka et al., (1998) [94]. Using the reactivity of saccharide against Concanavalin A, they were able to show that the reactivity of those saccharide glycolipids showing high reactivity probably was related to the loose packing of the saccharide moiety [94].
The analysis of the physico-chemical properties of various glycolipids are now available, for example: synthetic phytanyl-chained glycolipid/water systems [95], glycolipids with oligolactose head groups [9, 96], dialkyl glycolipids [46, 97], alkylpolyglacosides [93] or chiral glucose-derived surfactants [98], long-chain alkylmaltosides [99] or glycopyranosides [100], the in-plane miscibility and mixed bilayer microstructure formation of cationic glycolipids and zwitterionic phospholipids [101], disubstituted sucrose esters [102], monoacylates maltose glycolipids [103], dioleoyl glycolipids with mono- and disaccharide head groups [104], monoacylated amide-linked disaccharide glycolipids [105], amphiphilic branched chain glycolipids [106] or cellobiose alkanoates [107].
The phase transitions of glycolipids are often kinetically hindered. Rapp and colleagues have used X-ray to inves-tigate the glycolipid phase kinetics [108, 109], which is quite complex depending on the history of the sample preparation as well as storage conditions and the presence of additional components.
Certain glycolipids have very unspecific properties. For example, antiferroelectric ordering, which was observed for some glycolipids in bent-core liquid-crystals [110].
In the last years, efforts were undertaken to model and simulate the thermotropic and lyotropic alkyl glycoside bilayers [111] in order to understand the molecular principles for the formation of specific phases.
Various excellent reviews are available which deal with the self-assembly of glycolipids (for examples: Corti et al., 2007 [112], Dumoulin et al., 2002 [113]).
6. BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL IMPLICA-TIONS
Generally speaking, sphingolipids with short or longer sugar chains play an important role in, for example, the formation of membrane domains, which are involved in membrane-associated events such as cell signalling, adhesion, and protein sorting. These domains, called rafts, are frequently consisting of long-chain sugar sphingolipids called gangliosides [114, 115]. Of course, not all different glycolipid components of cellular membranes mix ideally with the usual phospholipids and not even with chemically similar compounds. Thus, Maggio studied the interaction mechanisms in Langmuir monolayer systems of ceramides, glycosphingolipids, and gangliosides [116]. He found different basic tendencies for the glycosphingolipids to molecularly mix and demix, and to be preferentially located in liquid-expanded or liquid-condensed states. A general presentation of the behaviour of glycosphinolipids in complex biomembranes was published by Prinetti et al., (2009) [117], and details of the complex interplays between different glycosphingolipids and the tensions in lateral and transversal planes caused by them were presented by Maggio and others [118-120].
Five years ago, Goodby et al., 2007 [121] have reviewed the thermotropic liquid-crystalline glycolipids. In their introductory part of the paper, they ask whether liquid-crystalline properties of the materials of living systems are important and what is the relevance for biological structures, functions, diseases and treatments [121]. Goodby and coworkers show evident that these materials play a certain role in biology. They mention that over the last years, the observed lyotropic, and often thermotropic liquid-crystallinity of many biological materials that are linked to key biological functionalities might be more than just a curious coincidence. There are different aspects of glycolipids and their properties as liquid-crystalline compounds that are crucial for biological systems. For example, Vill has analysed and discussed the stereochemistry of glycolipids and linked this property to membrane functions [122].
As amphiphiles glycolipids self-assemble forming different structures and phases, so called “soft-matters”, which combine the properties of structure and flexibility. Flexibility and adaptation (re-organisation and the formation of various phases) are key aspects for biological systems [123]. Furthermore, the water response of certain glycolipids and the formation of lyotropic phases are also of high relevance. Depending on the chemical nature of the glycolipid, they are also able to form stable micelles and vesicles [105, 124-126].
The analysis of biological cells shows that a large variety of glycolipids can be isolated. Beside the phospholipids, glycolipids are important components of cell membranes. In certain cell membranes the concentration of glycolipids is much higher [127]. For example, the amounts of glycolipids like cerebrosides, globosides or gangliosides are of higher concentration in nerve cell membranes compared to other lipids. These specific glycolipids are related to the appearance of certain diseases. An increase in cerebrosides induces in humans the manifestation of diseases like Gaucher’s or Krabbe’s disease Further examples are listed in Table 2.
Glycolipids are also related to the formation of inhomo-geneities, i.e. the formation of domains in biological membranes. The role of these domains is still being controversially discussed [128-130].
Glycolipids are also highly present in bacteria of the extremophile group [127, 131].
Certain glycolipids are responsible for anti-infective resistance and anti-bacterial properties. Lotfabad et al., (2013) have evaluated the antibacterial capability of rhamnolipids (MR01 and MASH1) against several specified microor-ganisms [132]. They observed remarkable inhibitory effect against Gram-positive bacteria, but none of the two tested glycolipids MR01 and MASH1 showed significant effects on Gram-negative bacteria growth inhibition [132, 133].
One example of a glycolipid with anti-infective resistance, is the cell wall of mycobacteria which contains highly specifically branched lipids based on arabinogalactan. These glycolipids termed as mycolic acids are the molecular reason for the high resistance of mycobacteria against most traditional anti-infectives [134].
Various glycolipids are known for having certain physiological impacts. For example, the cord factor, 6,6’-dimycoclic ester of a,a-trehalose, is linked to a virulent strain of tubercle bacilli [135, 136]. Furthermore, the cord factor has immunostimulatory properties and shows antitumour activity [137]. In an aqueous medium it also causes bacteria to form cords (Goodby et al., 2007 [121] and references cited therein, Almog and Mannella 1996 [130]).
Related to liquid-crystalline materials, the cord factor exhibits a thermotrope-induced cubic phase [130, 137].
Saponins are a class of glycosides linked to steroids, steroidal alkaloids or triterpenes found in a number of plants (e.g. Agrostemma githago, Lonicera, Aesculus hippocasta-num). Dissolved in water, saponins induce the formation of an alkaline solution. This is the reason for the name saponin, which is derived from the latin word sapo, meaning soap. Due to this property saponins are capable of hemolysing erythrocyte cells. The bioactivity of saponins has been described by Rao and Gurfinkel 2000 [138]. Taken via the peroral route, most saponins induce more or less toxicity. In case of peroral intoxication, activated-carbon should be given directly followed by a concrete treatment.
A therapeutically relevant example of this class of glycolipids is the cardio-active drug digitoxin. Additional examples of glycolipids and their derivatives as therapeutic agents can be found elsewhere (for a summary see Sakai and Koezuka 1999 [139], Moran et al., 2009 [127]). As an example, for the therapeutic application of glycolipid (an analog of alpha-galactosylceramide with a truncated sphingosine chain) a synthetic glycolipid is tested for the treatment of multiple sclerosis [140]. Oral administration of this glycolipid induces Th2 bias of autoimmune T cells via the production of interleukin 4 by NKT cells, leading to the suppression of encephalomyelitis [140].
Different glycolipids are linked to immunological activity. For example, mycobacterial trehalose-containing glycolipids show immunomodulatory activity on human CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells [141]. Immunomodulation by zwitterionic polysaccharides is reviewed by McLoughlin and Kasper (2009) [142]. Reed et al., (2004) [143] have presented a glycolipid study related to a hypervirulent tuberculosis strain that inhibits the innate immune response. The text by Apicella and Jennings (2009) [144] deals with the phase variation of bacterial surface glycosylated molecules in immune evasion. The use of glycomimetics as inhibitors in anti-infection therapy has been recently described by Kiefel (2009) [145] and applications of bacterial polysaccharide vaccines have been presented by Jennings and Pon (2009) [146].
The paper by Savage et al. [147] focuses on glycolipids for natural killer T cells [147] and Tsuij (2006) [148] described different glycolipids and phospholipids that function as natural CD1d-binding NKT cell ligands [149].
Recently, Takahashi et al., (2012) observed an antioxidant effect of glycolipid biosurfactants of the class of mannosylerythritol. The results of their study show that the investigated glycolipid has protective effects against water peroxide induced oxidation of human skin fibroblasts [150].
It also states that certain glycolipids are not observed in mammals [150]. In the monograph by Moran et al., 2009 [127] entitled “microbial glycobiology”, a number of examples can be found which will not be considered here.
Glycolipids are also tested as drug delivery systems. Bogdanneko et al., (2005) [151] have used a lactose containing glycolipid in gene therapy for the targeted DNA delivery. Glycerate surfactants are tested as sustained release systems for drug delivery [152] (Boyd et al., 2006).
Liquid-crystalline nanoparticulate systems have also been described and tested as drug delivery systems [153].
Also in the field of cosmetic applications some glycolipid biosurfactants are being evaluated [154-156]. Yamamoto et al., (2012) evaluated the property of various mannosy-lerythritol lipids on the moisturising effect (water retention property) on human skin [157]. The outcome of the study suggested that these glycolipids are likely to exhibit a high moisturizing action by assisting the barrier function of the skin. This effect was linked to the unique feature of mannosylerythritol derivatived as liquid-crystal forming compounds [157].
Sulfatide, sulphated glycolipids, were recently reviewed by Compostella et al., [158]. These glycolipids form a class of relevant endogeneous acidic glycolipids found in mammalian membranes. Sulfatides are an important constituent of brain lipids. Furthermore, sulfatides are an essential lipid class found in the peripheral as well as the central nervous system, with concentrations of ca 5 mole-% of the total lipids in adult brain myelin.
The biological relevance of certain lipopolysaccharides, especially their structure-related activity was investigated intensively by Brandenburg and co-workers [3, 159]. As a general rule, lipopolysaccharides with a cone-shaped structure induce inflammation (agonistic), whereas lipopolysaccharides with a lamellar-shaped structure are less active or show no activity at all (antagonistic) (see Fig. 21A).
These are just a few selected examples for the biological implications of glycolipids in biology. Fig. (21B) summarises the current knowledge about the relationship between the self-organisation and supra-molecular structure of various lipopolysaccharides with biological activity, more explicitly, endotoxicity [3]. For this class of glycolipids one can tentatively conclude that a more rectangular shape of the single LPS molecule show reduced or are inactive, whereas cone-shaped LPS molecules show increased endotoxicity [3, 159]. However, it is clear that a lot is currently unknown and a number of efforts are still necessary to get a better understanding with regards to the biological relevance of glycolipids.
Col = Columnar phase
Cub = Cubic phase
H1 = Hexagonal phase (lyotropic columnar) = HI
H2 = Inverted hexagonal phase (lyotropic columnar) = HII
I1 = Discontinuous cubic phase
I2 = Inverted discontinuous cubic phase
LPS = Lipopolysaccharide
L1 = Micellar phase
L2 = Inverted micellar phase
La = Lamellar phase
LC = Liquid-crystalline
SmA = Smectic A phase
SmB = Smectic B phase
SmC = Smectic C phase
V1 = Bicontinous cubic phase = VI
V2 = Inverted bicontinous cubic phase = VII
The authors confirm that this article content has no conflict of interest.
Catharina Pflugk, Ilona Kobielus, Wiebke Uptmoor for pictures and Bettina Fölting and Nina Hahlbrock for supporting the experimental studies during the last years K B and L H are indebted the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (project 01GUO824) and the Else-Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (project 2011_A140) for financial help.
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Are “Curveball Machines” and Lineup Changes enough to save the Phillies season?
Posted on June 25, 2019 June 25, 2019 by Eric Reese
The Philadelphia Phillies have been grossly underachieving from the point of view of their fans this season. I agree with that sentiment. There was no one thinking to themselves that the Phillies were going to be a team just two games over .500 this season after acquiring Bryce Harper, Andrew McCutchen, Jean Segura, and JT Realmuto. Everyone, including myself, figured that the Phillies had it figured out this season. Especially when it was just last year, with a roster nowhere as talented as this one, the Phillies were considered to overachieve. However, overachieving aside, still not a playoff team. 2019 is the year that the Phillies were supposed to be electric and smooth sailing.
In the middle of an ugly run of losses, the heels of the Philadelphia Phillies were just coming off of a three-game losing effort sweep to the lowly Miami Marlins. If there were a time for the Phillies to come alive and take back some of those losses with wins, it was against the Marlins. Those wins never came and the Phillies were headed into action last night against their rivals, the New York Mets. Grasping for any straw of superstition or a new idea that can populate from the always positive demeanor sound bites of Gabe Kapler, the approach had to change for the Phillies to pick up a win. Kapler’s idea? Curveball machine.
Curveball…#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/pYZx2i1JNV
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 24, 2019
This new approach of using a “curveball machine” to warm up the Philadelphia Phillies batters seems like a good change of pace, but not one that Bryce Harper will be taking part in. Harper scoffed, then stated, “For me, personally I don’t do that.” Baseball players have always been particular about their routines and Harper has gone on record to state that he needed to improve on seeing fastballs. For the surge of hitting and runs that took place against the New York Mets on Monday night, perhaps the “curveball machine” helped the players in the dugout. On the other hand, Steven Matz is just a pitcher that the Phillies are known to knock around the ballpark.
Bryce Harper hit two doubles and had 2 RBI
I was at the game at Citizens Bank Park on April 16th, 2019 when the Philadelphia Phillies smashed the Mets, 14-3. Steven Matz was the pitcher that evening for the Mets against Nick Pivetta and the Phillies. That night, Matz pitched a whopping 0.0 complete innings in a start. It was the first time I’ve ever witnessed anything like it. A performance so poor by a starting pitcher that half of an inning wasn’t completed. Of 10 first-inning runs by the Phillies, eight were earned against Matz. JT Realmuto, Scott Kingery, and Maikel Franco drove in those runs to embarrass the Mets early on. Realmuto, Kingery, and Franco are also healthy and available in today’s lineup, so what is the hold up with scoring for the Phillies?
Continued on the page below.
Eric Reese
Eric is a University of Delaware graduate with a degree in English. While in school, he began writing for different publications such as The Highlight Network, Amps and Greenscreens, and he did color commentary for the University of Delaware Men’s and Women’s lacrosse teams throughout the 2013 season as an alumni. Prior to being featured with Philly Sports Network, he began a pro-wrestling podcast with a childhood friend called the Totally Over Podcast. As an avid sports die-hard for all things Philadelphia, Eric is also a proud supporter of West Virginia University.
Tags: baseball, bryce harper, gabe kapler, Jean Segura, mlb, philadelphia, philadelphia phillies, phillies, phillies baseball, phillies blog, phillies headlines, phillies highlights, phillies mlb, phillies news, phillies recap, phillies report, rhys hoskins, scott kingeryCategories: Philadelphia Phillies
Eric is a University of Delaware graduate with a degree in English. While in school, he began writing for different publications such as The Highlight Network, Amps and Greenscreens, and he did color commentary for the University of Delaware Men's and Women's lacrosse teams throughout the 2013 season as an alumni. Prior to being featured with Philly Sports Network, he began a pro-wrestling podcast with a childhood friend called the Totally Over Podcast. As an avid sports die-hard for all things Philadelphia, Eric is also a proud supporter of West Virginia University.
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Self-repairing batteries: engineers develop a way to create high-capacity long-life batteries
by University of Tokyo
Self-repairing batteries would have longer lifetimes than batteries at present. Credit: Atsuo Yamada
Engineers at the University of Tokyo continually pioneer new ways to improve battery technology. Professor Atsuo Yamada and his team recently developed a material that can significantly extend the life of batteries and afford them higher capacities, as well.
From smartphones to pacemakers and cars, batteries power much of our world and their importance only continues to grow. There are two particular aspects of batteries that many believe need to improve to meet our future needs. These are the longevity of the battery and also its capacity—how much charge it can store.
The chances are your devices use a type of battery called a lithium-ion battery. But another kind based on sodium rather than lithium may become commonplace soon. Both kinds of battery can store and deliver a large amount of charge, thanks to the way constituent materials pass electrons around. But in both lithium and in sodium batteries, repeated cycles of charging and usage can significantly reduce the storage capacity over time.
Inside a typical battery, there are layers of metallic material. As batteries charge and discharge, these layers degrade and develop cracks or flakes—called stacking faults—which reduce the batteries' ability to store and deliver charge. These stacking faults occur because the material is held together by a weak force called the Van der Waals force, which is easily overwhelmed by the stress put on the materials during charging and use.
Yamada and colleagues demonstrated that if the battery is made with a model material—oxygen redox-layered oxide (Na2RuO3)—then something remarkable happens. Not only does the degradation from charge and discharge cycles diminish, but the layers actually self-repair. This is because the material the researchers demonstrated is held fast by a force called coulombic attraction, which is far stronger than the Van der Waals force.
"This means batteries could have far longer life spans, but also they could be pushed beyond levels that currently damage them," said Yamada. "Increasing the energy density of batteries is of paramount importance to realize electrified transportation."
New discovery makes fast-charging, better performing lithium-ion batteries possible
More information: Benoit Mortemard de Boisse, et al. Coulombic self-ordering upon charging large-capacity layered battery electrodes. Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09409-1
Journal information: Nature Communications
Provided by University of Tokyo
Citation: Self-repairing batteries: engineers develop a way to create high-capacity long-life batteries (2019, May 16) retrieved 18 July 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2019-05-self-repairing-batteries-high-capacity-long-life.html
Researchers discover the key to safer batteries lies on the surface
2-D materials may enable electric vehicles to get 500 miles on a single charge
Novel electrode materials have designed pathways for electrons and ions during the charge/discharge cycle
Key to quick battery charging time
Organic/inorganic sulfur may be key for safe rechargeable lithium batteries
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Does mass affect speed of orbit at a certain distance?
Does the mass of both the parent object, and the child object affect the speed at which the child object orbits the parent object?
I thought it didn't (something like $T^2 \approx R^3$) until I saw an planet on the iphone exoplanet app, that is closer to it's star than a planet in another system, yet takes longer to complete one orbit. Both of the planets were a similar mass, as were the stars.
classical-mechanics newtonian-gravity orbital-motion
Waffle's Crazy Peanut
Jonathan.Jonathan.
In the limit where $m_2 \ll m_1$, only the mass of the heavy body matters (along with the semi-major axis of the orbit, of course).
Where that limit does not apply, varying the mass of either body changes the reduced mass:
$$ \mu = \frac{m_1 m_2}{m_1 + m_2} .$$
Since the system acts as if a negligibly massive object was moving in the field of one having the total mass, this does alter the period.
Notice that in the limit above the total mass is approximately $m_1$ and we recover the expected behavior.
Marion and Thorton give the full expression for the period $\tau$ in the form
$$ \tau^2 = \frac{4 \pi}{G} \frac{a^3}{m_1 + m_2} $$
where $a$ is the length of the semi-major axis of the orbit and $G$ is the gravitational constant. It should be obvious that in the limit of a heavy primary this reduces to $\tau^2 = \frac{4 \pi}{G} \frac{a^3}{m_1}$.
Side comment: The rule you recall is the one Kepler found for planets in our Solar System. In this case the mass of the sun dominates in every case. Jupiter is about 0.001 solar masses, so the largest correction in at the tenth of a percent level. Observable, but not at all large.
dmckee♦dmckee
As @dmckee's answer says, in the limit where the mass of the planet is much less than the mass of the star, the mass of the planet does not have a significant effect on the period. I just want to add a more explicit comment on this part of your question:
I saw an planet on the iphone exoplanet app, that is closer to it's star than a planet in another system, yet takes longer to complete one orbit.
The reason for this is almost certainly not the masses of the planets but rather the masses of the two stars. The systems you're looking at in the app almost certainly satisfy the rule $m_{\rm planet}\ll m_{\rm star}$, so that the planet's mass is unimportant. You say that the masses of the stars are "similar," but I bet they're different enough that that's the explanation for what you're seeing.
One way of writing Kepler's third law, as it applies to planets orbiting other stars, is $$ T^2={R^3\over M}, $$ which is valid only in a certain choice of units: periods in years, radii in astronomical units, masses in solar masses. dmckee gives the more general formula. This version corresponds to a choice of units that makes the combination of constants $4\pi/G$ come out to 1.
Does the app give you specific information about the numerical values of the various quantities? If so, you could check this. If not, are you sure about your statement that the masses are "similar"?
Ted BunnTed Bunn
You can always think of it like this: Start with one planet of mass m orbiting the star at a certain speed. Now add a 2nd planet of mass m in the same orbit. Same speed, right? Now let them be touching each other in the orbit. Same speed, right? Now spot weld them together. You've got a single planet of mass 2m. Same speed.
Mike DunlaveyMike Dunlavey
Crudely, if you make the force of gravity equal to the centripetal force (which it is for stationary, well behaving orbits), $\frac{MmG}{r^2}=\frac{mv^2}{r}$, and so $\frac{MG}{r}=v^2=\frac{4 \pi^2r^2}{T^2}$, which contains Kepler's 3rd law.
Take the Earth and satellites for example. The mass of the earth affects satellite orbit, but the mass of the satellite itself does not.
Moreover, such a system must have satellite mass far less than that of the Earth.
In this way, the gravity between satellites can be neglected.
If the attraction between satellites is very large, the earth satellite system will not be stable.
Cang YeCang Ye
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged classical-mechanics newtonian-gravity orbital-motion or ask your own question.
Can the mass of an orbiting object and the object being orbited be determined by the distance and orbit velocity alone?
Using 2D position, velocity, and mass to determine the parametric position equations for an orbiting body
Might a planet perform figure-8 orbits around two stars?
Can the axis of rotation of a celestial body point in any arbitrary direction?
Rocky Planet in the center of System
Does everything orbit around some universal “center of mass”?
Determing Velocity of Moons
Gravity effects when deleting stars or planets
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On Planets orbiting binary stars
What orbit does a planet have to have to be a planet?
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Poland's post-election political scene
1 ... 128 129 130 131
23 Oct 2018 #3,841
@TWPOscar
yes, formal education says very little about functional intelligence (and a lot of the panic about populist parties like AdF is simple hysteria).
I'm neither left nor right wing, I'm in favor of arrangements that work over arrangements that don't and multiculturalism has a terrible track record and is clearly unworkable and so I'm against it. It's like socialism - it's been tried numerous times and always fails.
Dirk though has a lot of personal baggage in that he's insecure about his status as being Polish (he's more American than Polish but alienated from some aspects of the modern US) so it's hard to resist the temptation to poke him about it here and there and watch him yelp and try to justify himself.
Right-wing voters generally believe that multicultural societies can never work.
Right wing governments through the ages were quite happy for immigrants to come in and do their dirty work, raising GDP in the process. Jamaicans practically ran the London transport system. Left wingers are not "happy" to see a multi-cultural society, but they don't necessarily go crying to mamma when they see a black face.
Dirk diggler 9 | 4,161
so it's hard to resist the temptation to poke him about it here and there and watch him yelp and try to justify himself.
I've never claimed to be Polish
Cute. But thanks for yelping and justifying yourself.
Sorry maf, as a non pole you already lost. I highly doubt you can speak fluent polish either. Im guessing pl citizenship is a no go also? If youre an expat and not a pole, not born in poland, poland isnt your first language you automatically by default have less of a tie to the overall polish community than a pole born and raised pole who speaks the language and has citizenship by birth and no amount of living in poland will change that. Youre still an american expat in a foreign country. Same with say our old friend sig. Him living in saudi arabia as an american hardly makes him an arab or connected to the society.
And don't forget that there are plenty of professors and high-educated individuals who vote conservative.
Thats why afd is known as the professors party.
If anything non educated people tend to have a better grasp of the real world and more street smarts. Universities have a weird way of transforming smart normal people into snowflake naive crybabies for some reason.
and a big man to bend the knee to).
9 point stars on the knees means i dont bend the knee to ANYONE but God. Id rather get my teeth knocked out.
TWPOscar 1 | 10
Left wingers are not "happy" to see a multi-cultural society, but they don't necessarily go crying to mamma when they see a black face.
But neither are right-wingers. It's a myth that right-wingers are against migration itself. It's just that migration has become something uncontrolled in the last few decades that right-wingers have started to believe that; perhaps we're at a point the we should just quit migration. But that's only because it has become something that is uncontrolled. I too, rather have no migration than uncontrolled migration. but that doesn't mean that I'm against migration itself persé.
Also, current ruling western-european countries aren't really trying much to protect the negative cultural changes that are happening due to immigration. This has also lead to right-wingers becoming anti-migration.
Therefore I know that PiS is not 'rightwing' in any meaningful sense,
Do you the difference between prawica and lewica? Well pis identifies as prawica as do most of their supporters. Seeing as prawica literally means the right, pis is therefore right wing on the right-left spectrum
Tacitus 2 | 808
They were known as the professor party because they were founded by eurosceptic professors like Lucke. Those relatively moderates have already been purged by more radical elements (who were themselves purged by more extremists after the last federal election).
There is nothing intellectual about their leadership anymore, nor their voters. They instead listen to demented old men like Gauland, or thugs like Bachmann. The fact that their entire believes are based on misconceptions and lies does not speak well of their intelligence. You could make a reasonable argument that the Euro is a flawed construct, and breaking it up would be better in the long run (though most experts disagree). But to rationally believe in the AfD is next to impossible. All the AfD has is scaremongering or lies.
Do you the difference between prawica and lewica?
Do you? Within Polish prawica means 'right wing' but that doesn't translate well across languages.
Right wing parties do not usually support entitlement programs like 500 plus or promise to increase infrastructure spending (like Jaki's hilarious subway plans in Warsaw). In any other European country PiS's economic platform would be considered center-left while socially it's kind of right wingish but has consistently failed to further traditional rightwing goals like restricting abortion rights (they are forced to periodically go through the motions but their heart is clearly not in it) or roll back gay rights or make it harder to divorce etc.
Even their refusal to go along with Germany's migrant dispersal program (one of the few things I agree with them about) was based more on traditional emnity against Germany than a principled stand in the war of civilizations. And at the same time they have overseen a very large increase in the non-western (including muslim) population in the country. A friend who was just in Warsaw at an expensive hotel said that the hotel employees who weren't Ukrainian seemed to be from the Indian sub-continent...
So right wing? Not so much. In the European context they are socially conservative Christian Democrats
Apparently you dont. Obviously your polish is rusty as prawica comes from prawo which literally means right. Prawica literally means 'the right' while lewica, coming from lewo literally means the left.
Prawica means right wing, pis, kukiz etc are part of prawica while po is lewica. Therefore pis is right wing.
Were not talking about the european context. By european context, po would be considered conservative or atleast centrist, not leftist/lewica. Were talking about poland, and pis is clearly part of the prawica.
Therefore pis is right wing.
A rightwing party that it's favor of massive tax and spend welfare programs, infrastructure boondoggles (regional airport anyone) furthers no particular social conservative goals and oversees (comparitively) large scale migration by non-westerners.... yes. So very, very right wing.
Indeed. Since they are part of prawica...
Pis is pro military, anti refugee, dont give out massive handouts to non poles and coddle migrants by giving them 1200 eu a month like germany, are socially conservative, pro catholic, invest in projects promoting polish culture and identity and are generally nationalist/patriotic, populist, anti abortion, anti gay marraige etc so yes id say theyre pretty right wing.
Next youll tell me merkel is a conservative and not a globalist leftist or that majority of poles arent socially conservative and want a flood of third world migrants and support gay marraige..m
part of prawica...
Admit it... in high school you used to begin essays with "Webster's dictionary defines X as...."
Only thing i remember from high school is swiping a lot of v cards and selling ounces everyday. But i did get a near perfect act score thereby giving me a scholarship...
None of that changes that pis, kukiz etc = prawica = literally, the right
prawica = literally, the right
who further no particular right wing goals and do further center-left goals.... mmmmkay.....
swiping a lot of v cards and selling ounces
so engaged in pre-marital sex and drug pushing.... so very, very right wing.... if you didn't exist someone would have to make you up
Thats why groups like nop, rn, the new volunteer militia even the rodzimowierstwo followers are mostly young people.
They aren't. Most young people stayed away from the election (only 37% voted compared to a general turnout of 54%!), so right wing politics were supported by only 43% of 37% (of all voters aged 18-29) - what's that, about 16% of the youth electorate. It's really nothing at all to boast about, and you're massively exaggerating the influence of groups like Ruch Narodowy on young Polish people. The other key takeaway is that PiS only won narrowly over KO among people aged 18-29 - about 25% vs 21%, while Kukiz'15 was below even the PSL among young voters.
Most young people are simply apolitical in Poland and don't support anyone. Now, what *is* true is that young people have a far more diverse range of views than older people. KO+PiS were voted for by 70% of people that are 60 and over, but only by 45% of people 18-29. Those views are spread among many parties, and as I keep pointing out, the vote was split almost equally between left and right.
Pis is still 1st place, both among youth and in general. Thats what counts. Anything else is just semantics. Besides, regional elections don't matter nearly as much as the parliament and presidential elections.
and you're massively exaggerating the influence of groups like Ruch Narodowy on young Polish people.
Well 60k people did show up to the march in warsaw organized by them. Furthermore, most youth arent in rn nop etc but most the people in those groups are younger people. Also a very large chunk of ypung polish men and increasingly women are either involved in patriotic groups, soccer firms, or atleast support such causes. Most the people signing up to tye new volunteer militia are youth as well. I hope to join as well in the near future
Pis is still 1st place, both among youth and in general. Thats what counts.
1st place doesn't mean anything in Polish politics, what matters is having over 50% of the available seats. Winning here is defined as whoever gets over the line, not who won the most votes. PiS had a lead of around 13% in 2015, now they're down to 7% and even less among young people, and they lost a huge amount of cities in the first round.
As it stands, PiS are a long way away from a majority next year.
Besides, regional elections don't matter nearly as much as the parliament and presidential elections.
They matter a lot. Regional governments are probably the most important source of decision making at a level people understand, such as hospitals and public transport. They're also responsible for distributing a lot of EU funds, which are hugely important in smaller towns as there's no way they can afford to make big investments by themselves.
Well 60k people did show up to the march in warsaw organized by them.
Yet they didn't win a thing in these elections.
Spike31 2 | 877
Most young people are simply apolitical in Poland and don't support anyone
Even those who don't support specific political parties stand by a specific values like Catholic religion, respect for "Cursed soldiers" an anti-communist Polish resistance, Patriotism and respect for Fatherland.
Those people are, and will be, a natural right wing and conservative voters.
They aren't and won't be. That's again a gross simplification and a wrong one.
Poland is a mostly a socially conservative society at the end of the day. And no matter how the eu and leftists try to undermine that, its not going to change. Poles are set in their ways ans thinking and they dont want to follow the w europe multi kulti example and end up a minority in their country who only exists to work and pay taxes to support hordes of african and arab migrants. The fact is according to cbos idris and other polls the majority of poles reject such migrations and gay marraige. Thats good enough for me.
its not going to change.
People said the same about Spain and Ireland in the 1970's. It only took 40 years for them to collapse largely into irrelevance, and the same trends are seen in Poland since the 1990's too.
Rich Mazur 4 | 2,469
It only took 40 years for them to collapse largely into irrelevance
...and that upset or hurt the natives how?
It only took 40 years for them to collapse largely into irrelevance, and the same trends are seen in Poland since the 1990's too.
I'm glad that you've mentioned that. In Poland there's a completely different trend and conservatism is on the rise.
SLD, an ex commie socialist party that was always present in Polish parliament since 1989 is there no more! For the first time they were completely voted out of parliament in 2015, the same year when PiS has gained majority in parliament. PiS is the very first party that had a majority in Polish parliament.
And let's not forget Kukiz 15 which a new, right-wing, political formation in Polish parliament and it chipped away votes from other parties. And what is even more interesting they took those votes from the other, non conservative parties, It is also worth to mention that Kukiz 15 is dominantly supported by a young voters.
The future is bRIGHT!
conservatism is on the rise.
Except it isn't. The election results show that clearly: conservatism has fallen since the 2015 election. Why are you persisting on pushing myths when we've just had an election to prove otherwise?
It is also worth to mention that Kukiz 15 is dominantly supported by a young voters.
Except they came 4th among voters aged 18-29 in the election held two days ago. They only gained 13.6% of the youth vote.
It amazes me that people are still pushing a narrative that simply isn't true.
dont give out massive handouts to non poles
But give out handouts to Poles to take away their incentive to work. Which means the rest of us have to pay for them.
Sorry Spike it isn't. Google Michael Foot. These jokers have that type of unsustainable economic policy.
SLD, an ex commie socialist party that was always present in Polish parliament since 1989
They had their faults (very many) but they were considerably more right wing economically than PiS....
Left and right in Poland most refer to attitudes toward social issues (and even then often indirectly)
PiS are clearly the most left wing economically government since 1989. They even went as far as blocking up a mine rather than selling it to a foreign investor, which is left wing politics at the most insane.
In terms of economic policy, it's hard to see much difference between the 1997-2001 AWS government and the 2001-2005 SLD government.
but they were considerably more right wing economically than PiS....
Yes. I hated SLD and Miller when they were elected. They did a good job for a while.
the 2001-2005 SLD government.
It removed the presidential veto, and pre EU pOland was born. Now we are seeing the fruits of that (and PO projects - especially in Silesia). Who knows what the legacy of PIS will be, but I can take an educated guess....
conservatism has fallen since the 2015 election
I said it before and I'll say it again: those were local elections and not major elections. Local election has never in the history of post-communist Poland reflected major [parliamentary] elections.
Local elections in Poland 2014: PiS ~27% of the votes
Parliamentary elections in Poland 2015: PiS = majority in the parliament
Let's wait for the official results, should we? And then we can draw some conclusions. Patience is a virtue my friend
Let's wait for the official results, should we?
Kukiz'15 aren't projected to win a single seat in the Sejmiki. That's what you call a party on the rise?
The projected results right now:
PiS - 257
KO - 192
PSL - 70
SLD - 10
BS - 10
MN - 5
Or to put it into a left/right split (with the exception of BS, who rarely mention anything about social issues - any alliance with PiS will be based on economic, not social matters)
PiS: 257
KO/PSL/SLD/MN - 277
Kukiz
I was teaching a grade A student - parents both lawyers and doctors respectively. Activists for Kukiz. When I asked for his manifesto and they gave me a few lines, they were taken aback when I started laughing. Well I was laughing in a demented John Cleese kind of way.
Where is the best place to snowboard in Poland? [8] - Travel ~ 2015
Poland's virginity market [17] - Love ~ 2014
Diaspora, what do you miss from Poland? [15] - Life ~ 2010
Changes in immigration law for non EU immigrants to Poland [11] - Law ~ 2015
Home / News / Poland's post-election political scene
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A lacustrine record from Lop Nur, Xinjiang, China: Implications for paleoclimate change during Late Pleistocene
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences
By: L. Chao, P. Zicheng, Y. Dong, L. Weiguo, Z. Zhaofeng, H. Jianfeng, and C. Chenlin
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2008.03.011
Climate variability during the Late Pleistocene is studied from the proxies in core CK-2 drilled from the Luobei Depression (91??03???E, 40??47???N), Lop Nur in the eastern Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China. Geophysical and geochemical properties, including magnetic susceptibility, granularity, chroma, carbonate content, loss on ignition and trace elements, have been determined to reconstruct the environmental evolution of the area during 32-9 ka BP. The chronology is established by uranium-thorium disequilibrium dating techniques. Our data suggest four paleoclimate stages, indicating glacial variations between cold-humid and warm-arid environments. A period of extreme humidity occurred during 31,900-19,200 yr BP is attributed the last glacial maximum (LGM). The period was followed by a warm-arid episode during 19,200-13,500 yr BP. Then a cold-humid interval during 13,500-12,700 yr BP may correspond to another cooling phases at high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The last stage from 12,700 to 9000 yr BP has a trend that the climate turned warm and arid. The Lop Nur region is characterized by particularly humid stadials and arid interstadials. The climate variability in Lop Nur was constrained by global climate change because it is correlated with Dansgaard-Oeschger and Heinrich events, which were observed at the northern high latitudes. The synchroneity of the palaeoclimatic events suggested that cold air activity at the northern high latitudes was the most important factor that influenced the climate evolution in the Lop Nur region. A probable mechanism that involves the migration of westerly winds is proposed to interpret this synchroneity. ?? 2008 Elsevier Ltd.
10.1016/j.jseaes.2008.03.011
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Physical aspects of Hurricane Hugo in Puerto Rico
By: F.N. Scatena and Matthew C. Larsen
https://doi.org/10.2307/2388247
Open Access Version: External Repository
On 18 September 1989 the western part ofHurricane Hugo crossed eastern Puerto Rico and the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF). Storm-facing slopes on the northeastern part of the island that were within 15 km of the eye and received greater than 200 mm of rain were most affected by the storm. In the LEF and nearby area, recurrence intervals associated with Hurricane Hugo were 50 yr for wind velocity, 10 to 31 yr for stream discharge, and 5 yr for rainfall intensity. To compare the magnitudes of the six hurricanes to pass over PuertoRico since 1899, 3 indices were developed using the standardized values of the product of: the maximum sustained wind speed at San Juan squared and storm duration; the square of the product of the maximum sustained wind velocity at San Juan and the ratio of the distance between the hurricane eye and San Juan to the distance between the eye and percentage of average annual rainfall delivered by the storm. Based on these indices, HurricaneHugo was of moderate intensity. However, because of the path of Hurricane Hugo, only one of these six storms (the 1932 storm) caused more damage to the LEF than Hurricane Hugo. Hurricanes of Hugo's magnitude are estimated to pass over the LEF once every 50-60 yr, on average.
10.2307/2388247
Association for Tropical Biology
Publisher location
Malden, MA
Caribbean Water Science Center
Online Only (Y/N)
Additional Online Files (Y/N)
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Rajeev K. Valvani, D.O.
Pinnacle Orthopaedics
Orthopaedics, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spine, Sports Medicine
East Cobb, Marietta, Woodstock
Dr. Rajeev Valvani is a board-certified physiatrist specializing in non-operative treatment of the spine and sports-related musculoskeletal injuries. Procedures performed by Dr. Valvani include epidurals, facet joint and medial branch blocks, radiofrequency ablations, joint injections, PRP, and musculoskeletal ultrasound.
The reviews listed below were collected independently of Pinnacle Orthopaedics through rater8. Each review represents an authentic and verified patient experience.
Dr V. is wonderful. he takes time to listen, is thorough and right on with his treatments. I am grateful for finding such a good Doctor I trust completely
Understood exactly what was wrong with my back. Dr. Valvani was very kind and helpful!
He was very gracious with our mother, the one on one personal care he gave her meant a lot to us.
Dr. Valvani listens and actually hears what patients say. Good communication all around. A really good doctor!
Good bedside manner. Thorough.
Very well. Excellent. Staff.
Dr. V listens and evaluates and is always willing to answer all of my questions.
Very informative and nice!
East Cobb Office
3747 Roswell Road NE Suite 319 Marietta, GA 30062
Marietta Office
300 Tower Road, Suite 200 Marietta, GA 30060
Woodstock Office
1505 Stone Bridge Parkway Suite 200 Woodstock, GA 30189
Dr. Rajeev Valvani is a board-certified physiatrist specializing in non-operative treatment of the spine and sports-related musculoskeletal injuries. Procedures performed by Dr. Valvani include epidurals, facet joint and medial branch blocks, radiofrequency ablations, joint injections, PRP, and musculoskeletal ultrasound. Dr. Valvani received his Doctor of Osteopathy from Michigan State University. He completed his Residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Emory University. He then completed a Sport and Spine Fellowship at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. Prior to receiving his Medical Degree, Dr. Valvani began his career as a Physical Therapist graduating from Duke University with a Master of Science in Physical Therapy. Dr. Valvani has received numerous awards including Resident of the Year and Research Project of the Year while at Emory University. He was a medical volunteer for the New York Sevens Rugby Tournament and Harlem Wizards Basketball while completing his Sport and Spine Fellowship in New York City. Dr. Valvani is active in his community and has served with the Special Olympics as both a basketball and soccer coach, as well as a medical volunteer. Dr. Valvani lives in East Cobb with his wife and three children. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, coaching his son's soccer team, playing sports, traveling, photography, and scuba diving. EDUCATION & TRAINING Undergraduate Education University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan (1996) Bachelor of Science Graduate Education Duke University Durham, North Carolina (1999) Master of Science Physical Therapy Medical School Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan (2008) Doctor of Osteopathy Postgraduate Training Residency Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Emory University (2012) Atlanta, Georgia Transitional Intern Year Botsford Hospital Farmington Hills, Michigan FELLOWSHIPS Sport and Spine Fellowship Beth Israel Medical Center (2013) New York City, New York CERTIFICATIONS American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Association of Academic Physiatrists American Osteopathic College of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Cobb Medical Society International Spine Intervention Society HOSPITAL AFFILIATIONS WellStar Kennestone Hospital Pinnacle Surgery Center Woodstock
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Formula 1: Drive to Survive
Drivers, managers and team owners live life in the fast lane — both on and off the track — during one cutthroat season of Formula 1 racing.
Genre : Documentary
Studio : Netflix Studios
Networks : Netflix
Country : UK
Formula 1: Drive to Survive 1×1
Formula 1: Drive to Survive 1×10
IMDb: 10
Follow the true stories of five of the world’s most celebrated, yet endangered animals; penguins, chimpanzees, lions, painted wolves and tigers. Each in a heroic struggle against rivals and against the forces of nature, these families fight for their own survival and for the future of their dynasties.
Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On
Porn has gone mainstream; the question is, can we handle it? This exploration of the intersection of sex and technology is told through the stories of the people whose lives are defined by the current explosion of internet porn-whether they’re creating it, consuming it, or both.
The hosts talk about the latest cars and its specifications. They review the performance of the car and also find out if it is as good as the manufacturers claim. The current hosts are Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc with The Stig.
Genre: Comedy, Documentary, Talk-Show
Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
On the 30th anniversary of his Florida execution, CONVERSATIONS WITH A KILLER: THE TED BUNDY TAPES brings the infamously twisted mind of serial killer Ted Bundy into the light for the very first time and invades our psyche in a fresh yet terrifying way through exclusive, never-before-heard interviews from the “Jack the Ripper of the United States,” himself.
A four-part documentary series that tells the stories of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre — one the son of a Brooklyn longshoreman, the other straight out of Compton - — and their improbable partnership and surprising leading roles in a series of transformative events in contemporary culture.
Genre: Biography, Crime, Documentary, Music
Paranormal investigator Zak Bagans and his crew, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin, search for haunted locations both domestically and internationally. During their investigations, Zak and crew acquaint themselves with the general area; interview locals about the hauntings; and go face-to-face with the evil spirits who reportedly haunt these locations.
Genre: Documentary, History, Mystery, Reality, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Follow the lives of ambitious miners as they head north in pursuit of gold. With new miners, new claims, new machines and new ways to pull gold out of the ground, the stakes are higher than ever. But will big risks lead to an even bigger pay out?
Genre: Documentary, Reality, Reality-TV
Self-proclaimed business expert, writer, director and comedian Nathan Fielder helps real small businesses turn a profit with marketing tactics that no ordinary consultant would dare to attempt. From driving foot traffic to an off-the-strip souvenir shop by using Hollywood flair and a Johnny Depp impersonator, to creating a rebate that can only be redeemed by climbing a mountain, to founding a coffee shop called “Dumb Starbucks,” Nathan has always gone to the limit to make his ideas come to life. With his unorthodox approach to problem solving, Nathan’s genuine efforts to do good often draw the real people he encounters into an experience far beyond what they signed up for.
Genre: Comedy, Documentary
This baffling true crime story starts with the grisly death of a pizza man who robs a bank with a bomb around his neck — and gets weirder from there.
Genre: Crime, Documentary
Surviving R. Kelly
Celebrated as one of the greatest R&B singers of all time, R. Kelly’s genre defining career and playboy lifestyle has been riddled with rumors of abuse, predatory behavior, and pedophilia. Despite damning evidence and multiple witnesses, to date, none of these accusations have seemingly affected him. For the first time ever, survivors and people from R. Kelly’s inner circle, are coming forward with new allegations about his sexual, mental, and physical abuse. They are now finally ready to share their full story and shed light on the secret life the public has never seen.
A documentary news series with a taboo-breaking team who deliver incredible news stories from around the world.
Genre: Documentary, News, War & Politics
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are back with a show about adventure, excitement and friendship… as long as you accept that the people you call friends are also the ones you find extremely annoying. Sometimes it’s even a show about cars. Follow them on their global adventure.
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QBI researchers get a little wet behind the ears
In good weather for ducks, 20 researchers at QBI took the plunge today and braved the Ice Bucket Challenge in the name of raising funds to fight motor neuron disease (MND).
QBI scientists, who are looking into ways to treat MND, braved a cold and wet Brisbane afternoon to raise money and awareness of efforts to understand the disease in Australia.
MND, also known as amyotropic lateral sclerosis and Lou Gehrig’s disease, is the name given to a group of related brain disorders that result from the steady loss of nerve cells (motor neurons) that control muscle movement and function.
Affecting almost 2000 Australians, the average life expectancy of a person diagnosed with MND is just two to three years as their ability to walk, speak, swallow and even breathe steadily deteriorates.
QBI Director Professor Perry Bartlett, speaking after being drenched with a bucket of iced water, said the importance of MND research to combat a disease that traps a victim in their own body was essential.
“Although it’s cold being doused with icy water, it’s very mild in comparison to motor neuron disease,” Professor Bartlett said after taking the challenge.
Professor Bartlett then challenged former Brisbane Lord Mayor, Queensland Great and Chair of QBI’s Advisory Board, Dr Sallyanne Atkinson and all the heads of large neuroscience centres and institutes that work on MND in Australia, to take the Ice Bucket Challenge.
“Furthermore, I think the directors of these institutes should agree to be dowsed annually until a real finding or a cure to this disease occurs,” he said.
MND research at QBI is centred on discovering the genes associated with the disease, with the objective of blocking the progress once key genes are identified as therapeutic targets.
The QBI researchers were challenged by Jeff Maclean, who witnessed the devastating impact of MND firsthand when he lost his father, Ross, to the disease in 2005.
Before Ross passed away he established the Ross Maclean Senior Research Fellowship to investigate MND, despite knowing he would never personally see the benefits, and his family has since passionately advocated his vision.
Donations to the Ross Maclean Senior Research Fellowship to fight motor neuron disease can be made by visiting www.qbi.uq.edu.au/donate-to-qbi.
Media: Mikaeli Costello, Mikaeli.Costello@uq.edu.au, +61 401 580 685
The Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) is a world-class research facility based at The University of Queensland’s (UQ) St Lucia campus. Researchers at QBI make great contributions to the field by studying fundamental cellular and mechanistic processes, as well as disorders and diseases from early brain development through to later life. Our scientists work to understand complex functions such as cognition, ageing, neurological disease, mental illness, and learning and memory. www.qbi.uq.edu.au
QBI neuroscientist a new Australian Laureate Fellow
QBI to establish world’s largest international research cent...
Privacy & Terms of use | Feedback | Updated: 25 Aug 2014
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Home Arts & Entertainment In One Ring, Less Is More
In One Ring, Less Is More
Author: Vickie Schlegel. Published in U.S. 1 Newspaper on March 8, 2000. All rights
Forget about three rings. Forget about lions, tigers
and bears, oh my. Forget scary clowns in garish paint who might make
toddlers cry. The Big Apple Circus is coming to Bridgewater from March
11 through 26, and it’s coming to remind us of the original spirit
of the circus: intimacy, not intimidation; skill, not overkill.
Don’t misunderstand — the Big Apple Circus’s single ring is bursting
with circus delights. You will still see world-class feats to make
you gasp: twirling aerial acts, high human pyramids and unthinkable
balancing acts on perilous perches. You’ll be enthralled by stiltwalkers
daintily stepping over powerful horses, by brilliantly costumed acrobats
twisting through the air, majestic elephants and the hilarious antics
of clowns.
Yet while it has all the elements of a typical circus, the spirit
of Big Apple Circus is rooted in another time.
"This is a classic circus the way it was done 200 years ago or
more," says Paul Binder, founder and artistic director of Big
"The intimacy of the environment," he explains, "creates
a huge difference from what we’re used to in this form. Circus means
circle — and you can’t have a circle in a giant sports arena."
The effect of a single ring on the atmosphere of the show cannot be
underestimated. It intensifies tension — there are no distractions
as the audience watches an acrobat flip through the air. Will he make
it to the top of the four-man-high human pyramid? There is nothing
to distract from the drama and daring of the moment.
The smaller space narrows the focus to artistry and subtlety rather
than flash and dash. In one ring, audience and performers are so close
you can appreciate the deftness of an acrobat’s footwork, catch the
quick interplay between horse and trainer, and the sparkly details
of a juggler’s costume.
As Binder emphasizes, one of the most important elements is the ever-changing
relationship between artists and audience. In fact, he says, "You
literally collaborate with the audience." During the 38-week season,
the music, tempo, costumes, lighting, and even the ordering of the
show may change in response to audience reaction.
The clowns are different, too. Sure, they’re funny, but as in the
19th-century circus, these clowns are also serious circus athletes.
This all-new Big Apple production, "Bello and Friends" stars
the award-winning Bello Nock, a seventh-generation Swiss clown with
gravity-defying hair. Bello’s most recent thriller was a high-wire
walk, 600 feet above Paterson Falls. Imagine Bozo trying that.
The show also boasts the French clown, Francesco, and a Russian flying
trapeze act, the Jokers, both seen in America for the first time.
Other acts come from Hungary, China, and Mongolia.
Binder created Big Apple with his friend, Michael Christensen, in
1977, after they had become captivated by the European circus during
an 18-month jaunt abroad as comic street jugglers. From the first,
they decided on a mission that further sets Big Apple Circus apart:
their circus would be a nonprofit venture, dedicated to making kids
Although Binder earned his MBA from Columbia in 1965, he never thought
he would use it. The attraction for him, both before and during his
college years, was always show business. After college, the part-time
actor and entertainer became a full-time performer. Now he spends
his days tending to the business details of the circus.
"There is no typical day for me. This is a 19th-century business
in the 21st century — it requires an enormous amount of maintenance
and daily care. It is a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week, 52-weeks-a-year
commitment."
Since the first big top went up, circus acts have been
a family business. Binder’s wife, Katja Schumann (the Swedish Schumanns
are one of the oldest circus families in the world), came to the circus
in 1981 with an equestrian show — and ran off with the ringmaster.
Her father, Max, and the Binders’ kids, Katherine and Max, all perform.
In one act, Katherine, age 14, is held aloft by a partner’s one-armed
embrace and hand clasp. Her dad swears this does not inspire parental
anxiety, but maybe that’s because her mother trained her.
Binder does admit that the intensity of living and performing with
family creates challenges most people don’t experience. "For us
it is a constant process of rethinking and reinventing how we treat
each other — it’s more like a 19th-century family in an agricultural
economy with the whole family contributing to the work. We spend a
lot of time together."
Yet new performers may be tossed into the concentrated community of
trailers and big top with co-workers who don’t speak their language.
There are over 23 nationalities represented in the Big Apple this
year alone, which might seem like a tough juggling act for a manager
— even one who used to be a juggler.
Binder claims that there is no formal management theory behind his
commonsense approach. He looks for performers who love what they do,
and the rest, he says, tumbles into place. "I go out and find
the best people I can, and keep them focused on their work. I have
a friend who studied the circus, especially the animal acts. She asked
a trainer how he got a little dog to do a trick, and he answered:
`First, find the right dog.’ You can’t expect a Great Dane to do a
somersault. It’s the same thing in searching for and hiring acts."
There are no understudies. Who could stand in for Anna May, for example?
The veteran circus and TV star is a 54-year-old performing elephant,
who will be greatly missed when she retires, to move to pasture at
the home of trainer Bill Woodcock. The two partners grew up together
and they will retire together. This kind of connection with fellow
creatures is typical among Big Apple’s trainers, who live, work, and
play with their "animal partners."
In a time of increased animal rights awareness, the Big Apple Circus
is careful to explain its animal advocacy policies. The circus trains
animals with positive reinforcement, and only uses species with a
history of work or domestic relationships with humans. So along with
the elephants, you can expect to see dextrous horses, and dogs and
cats — of the domestic, not the jungle, variety.
Though the circus is small and intimate, each day its influence is
felt across the country through extensive outreach programs. Over
85 clowns in its Clown Care Unit program, for instance, work full-time
tending to the funny bones of seriously ill children in pediatric
hospitals from Miami, Florida, to Seattle, Washington.
Add to that the Circus of the Senses, which entertains visually or
hearing impaired kids, the Circus For All program, which distributes
tickets to economically- and physically-challenged kids, and the Beyond
the Ring program, which trains inner-city students in circus arts
like juggling and stilt-walking, and Big Apple begins to emerge as
more of a "five-ring" circus in scope.
Beyond the Ring was Big Apple’s first outreach project, founded in
1979. "We have had graduates of that program in our circus, but
that’s not the objective," says Binder. "We teach kids the
discipline to create circus skills which translates to discipline
they can use in the rest of their life."
Big Apple’s community outreach personally engages kids
and so does the circus itself. While electronic playmates beep at
children, while boob tubes babysit — while most modern entertainment
encourages passivity and short attention spans — the Big Apple
Circus might seem like too much of an anachronism to keep kids interested.
You’d be wrong to think so. The "special effects" are everywhere,
but they are based on technique instead of technology. They happen
in real time, in real life, with an authenticity that is all the more
vibrant for its scarcity.
"We are interested in giving the audience a satisfying emotional
experience," says Binder. "We can see every face in the audience.
That matters! Then we’re clearly human beings who see each other —
and we are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. The message
is that you too are capable of extraordinary things, and this is the
heart of the attraction.
"We compete by being the antidote to MTV, by insisting on the
quality standard that we set, and not underestimating the intelligence
of our audience. By not being the biggest, but by being the best."
— Vickie Schlegel
The Big Apple Circus, Somerset Ballpark, Route 287, Bridgewater,
800-922-3772. Box officeopens at the big top Saturday, March 11. Ticket
also at Somerset Hills YMCA , 140 Mount Airy Road, Basking Ridge,
and Ticketmaster, 212-307-4100. Web: www.bigapplecircus.org.
Previous articleIn Middlesex, Optimistic Numbers: James Hughes
Next articleAngel, Angel, In the Hall, Who’s the Fairest of Them All?
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Blair Brown Donald Payne Myles Jack Telvin Smith Jake Ryan Sports NFL football Professional football Football Free agency Sports transactions Sports business
Jacksonville Jaguars Green Bay Packers
Free-agent linebacker Jake Ryan signs with Jaguars
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Free-agent linebacker Jake Ryan has signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Ryan agreed to terms over the weekend, passed a physical and then signed the deal Tuesday. He says he just wants "to come in and make an impact."
The 27-year-old Ryan missed all of last season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during training camp.
A fourth-round draft pick by Green Bay in 2015, Ryan started 27 games for the Packers during his first three seasons. The former Michigan standout recorded 213 tackles, three pass breakups, one forced fumble and a sack in 43 games with Green Bay. He also was a core special teams player.
The Jaguars have little experienced depth behind starting linebackers Myles Jack and Telvin Smith, and Ryan could end up being an upgrade over backups Donald Payne and/or Blair Brown.
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Mark Davis Jon Gruden Arden Key Tyrell Williams Amari Cooper Khalil Mack Antonio Brown Lamarcus Joyner Trenton Brown Sports NFL football Professional football Football Sports transactions Sports business Free agency Men's sports Athlete contracts State taxes Government taxation and revenue Government finance Government business and finance Business Government and politics State governments Sports trading
Oakland Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Dallas Cowboys Chicago Bears Pittsburgh Steelers Los Angeles Rams New England Patriots
Vegas-bound Raiders spending big for final season in Oakland
By JOSH DUBOW - Apr. 11, 2019 08:55 AM EDT
Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown, center, holds his jersey beside coach Jon Gruden, left, and general manager Mike Mayock during an NFL football news conference Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Alameda, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock were invited by Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis for an event in Las Vegas last week, a year before the team's planned move to Sin City.
The Raiders coach and general manager were set for a night on the town with their wives when those plans got altered with the news that the NFL's most prolific receiver, Antonio Brown, was available from Pittsburgh.
Just 24 hours later, Mayock had completed his first major move since leaving his old role as television draft analyst to join an NFL front office and all those plans the Raiders had made were overturned.
"The wild card was all of a sudden understanding that this guy might be available," Mayock said this week. "That was the wild card. That was not in our free agent planning. When all of a sudden we realized we might have an opportunity to compete for his services, it changed everything."
The Raiders seemed poised for a rebuilding year after dealing away foundation pieces Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper last year in trades that netted three additional first-round picks the next two years. But the trade for Brown set them up to begin a spending spree that the Raiders hope can make them a contender in their final season in Oakland before the move to the desert.
The Raiders also gave big-ticket deals to free agent tackle Trent Brown, safety Lamarcus Joyner and receiver Tyrell Williams and have committed more than $200 million in contracts just six months after trading Mack to Chicago because they didn't want to give him a mega-contract as the highest-paid defensive player in football.
"We've gotten better, we have some resources in the draft that can continue that process and as I've said all along, I don't think you can rush this," Gruden said. "You have to do what you deem is right. Players don't become available all the time. You can't make all the necessary improvements. It takes a little bit of time. But we're confident that we're heading in the right direction."
At least the Raiders now appear to be moving forward after taking a significant step back in Gruden's first season. The team never recovered from the deal reached a week before the opener that sent Mack to the Bears for a package that included two first-round picks after he held out in search of a lucrative long-term contract the Raiders weren't willing to offer.
After starting last season 1-5, Gruden then sent Cooper to Dallas for another first-round pick and the rebuild was on. Oakland finished 4-12 just two seasons after breaking through with 12 wins and the team's only playoff berth since 2002.
Plenty of holes remain on the roster even after this week's big spending spree with the most glaring being at pass rusher where Mack has yet to be replaced. Oakland has only one edge rusher under contract for 2019 in Arden Key, who had just one sack as a rookie.
The Raiders finished with a league-low 13 sacks last season — 17 fewer than the next-worst team. Oakland still would like to find an edge rusher in free agency and also figures to target that position the draft when the team has picks No. 4, 24, 27 and 35 in the first two rounds.
Mayock and Gruden also are looking for more help in the secondary, a playmaking linebacker, and possible help on offense at tight end, running back and guard.
Filling all those holes in the draft and the end of free agency seems far-fetched, but getting a good start on the task will give the fans in Oakland a more desirable product to watch this season and create excitement in Las Vegas for the team's planned arrival in 2020.
"There is a lot of history here, so I definitely wanted to come and be a part of the history and I also wanted to be a part of new beginnings," said Joyner, who was attracted by the move. "Hopefully we do a lot of great things this year and make Nevada even more excited to have us."
The Raiders hope the move to Las Vegas, where they will play in a fancy new stadium rather than the rundown Coliseum and have a more modern facility, will make the team a wanted destination for free agents in the future.
A recent poll of agents by Sports Illustrated's "The MMQB" listed Oakland as the second-least desirable team to join in free agency, ahead of only the Buffalo Bills, but that figures to change next season with the lack of a state tax in Nevada only making the location more desirable for players.
But those factors won't be as important in the future as Gruden and Mayock hitting on the draft picks to replenish the roster and make the team a contender once again.
"I think the reason for me wanting to come here was to advance to Nevada with coach Gruden," Joyner said. "I have come into contact with him throughout my career and he has always expressed to me how highly he thought of me as a player. When it comes to the state income taxes and stuff, that's the kind of conversations you have with your wife and your kids, but that didn't have anything to play into me wanting to join this great organization."
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Raritan Engineering Company your marine sanitation device specialists would like to share with you these topics we thought would be of interest to you this month regarding how boat dealers can show off their expertise in the media.
Branding, skillful positioning and story development. This sounds like C-suite board meeting however every dealer should be considering these topics too.
Because as barefoot waterskiing champion, coach and commercial skier Zenon Bilas said, "Once you're known, you're known.".
He said despite the field, you must be viewed as the most knowledgeable individual in the area.
"You've got to be the guru of whatever you're doing," said Bilas. "You want to be called the place to buy a boat.".
Your sewage treatment plants specialists agree with Bilas, who routinely receives local, national and international TV coverage, stated creating brand recognition by means of the media could drive a brand much better than conventional advertising and marketing ever could. Reaching individuals in their homes while they're engaged is priceless.
You can find more information as well as get assistance on this topic and marine sanitation devices at http://raritaneng.app-x.info/catagory-pages/waste-treatment/
Drumming up coverage, however, takes a little bit of legwork or a good network.
The first thing is locating the story. TV stations, local papers and local magazines are often starving for a fun angle or intriguing interview.
"For your business, you want to think about what's interesting about yourself," said Bilas. "But that's tough for some people.".
He said that even people that avoid the spotlight have an interesting story.
"I think everyone has a story," stated Bilas, noting that a friend or family member may have a different perspective and can help find that story.
The second step is locating coverage. Sales-focused industry individuals might find this component very simple.
"I contact them individually," stated Bilas.
A simple phone call or email to a producer or editor is in some cases all it takes. As a former journalist, Bilas said he knows all too well the struggle of a slow news day.
Your boat cleaning products expert suggests that if that doesn't work, leveraging that network may open more doors.
"Look for people you already know who might be connected-- somebody knows somebody," stated Bilas. "That's the best way to get in; unless you have a good PR agency, the best way to get in is look for someone who knows someone on the inside.".
Once those wheels are greased, a fast pitch or informal presentation can keep things moving.
Despite the story, after that it's looking the part of the professional; which will be easy to business owners in the industry. Oh, and don't forget the logo.
"I'm very conscious about my logo," said Bilas. "I wear it on my shirts, so if I do a TV segment, my logo is right there. It gives you added value to any promotion you do.".
After the interview, company profile or fluff piece, ensure you hold on to that coverage.
"The first thing I did was I've kept my history," said Bilas. "So if I want to show my longevity, I can show them a link from when I was on TV back in '87. Showing it to you is 100 times stronger than saying it.".
Take an afternoon and consider all of the various things your business does a little differently-- odds are a hungry journalist will think it's interesting too. Bask in the free exposure and demonstrate your professional status to all those potential clients that might tune out traditional advertising and marketing.
So don't forget these helpful reminders on how you can show off your expertise in the media....1) work at keeping your brand strong; 2) be mindful of skillful positioning; and 3) don't underestimate story development in your articles.
Click here for more information on how boat dealers can show off their expertise in the media, marine sanitation devices, sewage treatment plants, and boat cleaning products.
via Show your expertise in the media
via Team Profile: Ben Ainslie Racing
How Boat Dealers Can Show Off Their Expertise In the Media
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Dual inheritance theory
We're all homos here
Relevant Hominidae
Jerry Coyne
A Gradual Science
Behavioral modernity
Endurance running hypothesis
Francis Galton
Spiritual evolution
Plain Monkey Business
Young Earth Creationism
Old Earth Creationism
"Microevolution" vs."Macroevolution"
Dual inheritance theory, (or DIT), in sharp contrast to the notion that "culture overrides biology," posits that humans are products of the interaction between biological evolution and cultural evolution. DIT assumes that culture, (including cultural transmission and cultural evolution), is both influenced by and constrained by genes via psychological adaptations and that culture, in turn, contributes to selection pressures on genes. The results of these interactions can be a mix of both adaptive and maladaptive traits within a population. Another way of conceiving DIT is as an approach that integrates evolutionary theory, cultural theory, and learning theory.
1 Evolution and populations
2 Evolution and culture
3 Topics of interest in dual inheritance theory
4 Genes influence cultural evolution
5 Culture influences biological evolution
Evolution and populations[edit]
Organic evolutionists began to use mathematical models to investigate the properties of evolution in the first quarter of the 20th century. The aim of the effort was to take the micro-scale properties of individuals and genes, scale them up to a population of individuals and deduce the long run evolutionary consequences of the assumed micro-level processes. Empiricists have a handle on both the micro-scale processes and the long-run results, but not on what happens over many generations in between. Moreover, human intuition is not so good at envisioning the behavior of populations over long spans of time. Hence mathematics proved an invaluable aid.
Evolution and culture[edit]
Beginning with the pioneering work of Luca Cavalli-Sforza and Marcus Feldman (1981) in the early 1970s, these methods were adapted to study cultural evolution. The problem is considered analogous to that of genetic evolution.
People acquire information from others by learning and teaching.
Cultural transmission is imperfect, so the transmission is not always exact.
People invent new cultural variants, making culture a system for the inheritance of acquired variation.
People also pick and choose the cultural variants they adopt and use, processes that are not possible in the genetic system (although in the case of sexual selection individuals may choose mates with the objective of getting good genes for their offspring).
Social scientists know a fair amount about such things, enough to build reasonable mathematical representations of the micro-level processes of cultural evolution. The theory is of the form:
+ effects of forces
where p measures something interesting about the culture of a population, for example the fraction of employees who are earnest workers. Teaching and imitation, all else equal, tend to replicate culture. The fraction of workers in a culture who are earnest tends to remain similar from generation to generation. Earnest workers model earnest behavior for others to imitate and try to teach earnestness to new employees. The same can be said for slackers.
Typically, several processes we call forces will act simultaneously to change culture over time. For example, management may find it difficult to discover and sanction slacking. Earnest workers may experiment with slacking and find that there are seldom any adverse consequences. Hence, some earnest employees may become slackers. New employees may observe that some people slack and some work hard. They may tend to prefer the easier path.
At the same time, firms with a high frequency of slackers will tend to fail while those with many earnest workers may prosper. Prosperous firms will have the opportunity to socialize many more new workers than those that fail prematurely. The overall quality of the economy's work force in the long run will be determined by the balance of forces favoring slacking versus those favoring earnestness.
Theorists are interested in the abstract properties of such evolutionary models. Empiricists are interested in finding the models that best describe actual evolving systems. Real world practitioners are interested in predicting the outcomes of policies that might improve or harm the quality of a firm's or an economy's work force.
Topics of interest in dual inheritance theory[edit]
Substantive questions that have interested dual inheritance theorists include:
the adaptive costs and benefits of culture
the apparent rarity of cultural learning mechanisms in nature
the cognitive processes underlying cultural learning and transmission, (i.e., social learning)
the influence of gene-culture coevolution on human psychology and the histories of human societies
rates of different kinds of cultural evolution
the evolution of symbolic systems
the role of culture in the evolution of cooperation
Genes influence cultural evolution[edit]
Many of the analyses involve the coevolution of genes and culture (hence the term dual inheritance or gene-culture coevolution theory). Genes have an impact on cultural evolution via psychological predispositions that bias what people imitate, teach, or learn for themselves. Hence, a physically awkward type of tool is liable to be modified or abandoned in favor of one that better suits the human hand and arm. The facts that sex is pleasurable, that sweet things taste good, and that being cold and wet is miserable suggest how the structure of our nervous system will have an impact on such things as marriage customs, cuisine, and the construction of shelters.
Culture influences biological evolution[edit]
However, the opposite is also true. Cultures create environments that in turn may select for genes that succeed in the cultural environment. One of the best worked out cases is adult lactose absorption. In populations with a long history of dairying, such as African and northern Europeans cattle-keeping societies, most adults retain the ability to break down and hence digest the milk sugar lactose. Societies with no history of dairying, such as east Asians and Amerindians, retain the primitive mammalian genotype in which the body shuts down lactose production shortly after the normal age of weaning.
According to some cultural evolutionists our social psychology was extensively remodeled by a long period of life in tribal scale social systems whose culturally transmitted rules encouraged much cooperation with non-relatives due to group selection on cultural variation. Darwin first proposed hypothesis much like this in The Descent of Man.
Research[edit]
Contemporary work in the dual inheritance/gene-culture coevolution tradition includes empirical studies designed to test ideas, (e.g. simulations, cross-cultural studies), derived from the mathematical theory.
Boyd, Rob & Richerson, Peter J. (1985). Culture and the Evolutionary Process. Chicago University Press.
Boyd, R. & Richerson, P.J. (2001). Built For Speed, Not for Comfort: Darwinian Theory and Human Culture. In History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 23: 423-463.
Cavalli-Sforza, L. L., & Feldman, M. W. (1981). Cultural Transmission and Evolution: A Quantitative Approach. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Henrich, J., & McElreath, R. (2003). The Evolution of Cultural Evolution. Evolutionary Anthropology, 12, 123-135.
Smith, Eric Alden (1999). Three Styles in the Evolutionary Analysis of Human Behavior in Lee Cronk, Napoleon Chagnon and William Irons Adaptation and Human Behavior: An Anthropological Perspective, 27-48, New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Evolution Articles on RationalWiki
- Acceptance - Cladistics - Common descent: the incontrovertible evidence - De-evolution - Dinosaur - Eugenics - EvoWiki - Evolution - Fossil record - Human - Microevolution - Natural selection - Niche - Palaeos - Phylogenetics - Phylogeny - Signal detection theory - Social Darwinism - Stephen Jay Gould - Theory of Evolution - Uncommon Descent -
Retrieved from "https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Dual_inheritance_theory&oldid=2073061"
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Reflective accounts
Practice-related feedback
Patient view
Revalidation articles
Advice and development
Newly qualified nurses
Spotting patients’ need sparked my innovation
Neomi Bennett
Nurse innovator Neomi Bennett explains how her compression stockings idea became a viable product that’s making life easier for patients
Ms Bennett was a nursing student when she hit on the idea for a product to help patients apply their own pressure stockings
She developed her innovation and established a business – and has tips for other nurse innovators
Ms Bennett won the Innovations in Your Specialty category at the RCNi Nurse Awards 2019
Neomi Bennett demonstrates to a patient how her invention might make life a little easier.
Picture: Nathan Clarke
While on a placement as a nursing student at Kingston University I noticed patients were not using their prescribed compression stockings. Failure to apply them can increase risk of developing a deep vein thrombosis so it's important that medical aids are easy to use and comfortable. In addition, this represented a waste of resources and an inconvenience to patients and nurses.
RCNi Nurse Awards winner
Neomi Bennett won the Innovations in Your Specialty category of the RCNi Nurse Awards 2019
I wrote about the issue as part of a risk assessment essay and went on to develop Neo-slip, a low-friction pouch to help solve the problem of applying the tight-fitting stockings.
RELATED: Teach nurses business skills, urges leading US entrepreneur
I was highly commended in the student category of the 2011 RCNi Nurse Awards and at that point Neo-slip was still just an idea. I went on to establish my company Neo-Innovations UK, which has supplied more than 10,000 units in the UK and internationally.
I have seen people’s struggles
As a nurse, I had first-hand experience of the difficulties service users had applying stockings and this was validated with data obtained from patient and nurse focus groups. But without formal business training it has been challenging, and in this respect I have also been learning on the job over the years.
I’ve attended teaching sessions, business seminars and workshops, conferences and networking events. I had to learn about NHS procurement, NHS supply chain and warehousing. I have learned to train staff and support nursing students who join us for work experience.
I learned about manufacturing in my own time and contacted the NHS to learn what I needed to do to make Neo-slip into an authorised medical device product that is easily accessible to patients.
RCN Nurse of the Year 2019: How I changed the way others saw our department
Essential steps in product development
Neo-slip is now approved and regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. I have completed the design registration for Neo-slip, as well as the trademark, gained availability via NHS drug tariff (prescription) and, recently, our company achieved accreditation and listing on the NHS Supply Chain. This listing allows all NHS hospitals to order Neo-slip without having to undertake their own due diligence on a product's efficacy and quality.
‘I have been told on several occasions I am wasting my time. I have faced discrimination for being black and for being a woman in a male-dominated arena’
I have developed a website and created processes and systems in the business to ensure the project is fully sustainable and can work without me being there.
Most importantly, we have helped lots of patients to apply their stockings and in the meantime we have built a cohort of patient champions.
Neo-slip is a low friction pouch that fits on the limb before the tight fitting compression, this creates a lubricous/slippery effect which slides the stocking into place and makes putting on stockings as easy as applying socks.
Ms Bennett putting her idea into practice back in 2011. Picture: Christopher Woods
The team at Neo-Innovations UK – Sarah Gonet, Aubi Ozeel and I – are nurses and we support patients postoperatively with stocking application and inform them of the signs and symptoms of deep vein thrombosis.
Our main role is to ensure Neo-slip is accessible to all those who need help with stocking application, both healthcare professionals and service users. Our office duties include customer service, administration and accounts.
All the winners from the RCNi Nurse Awards 2019
Discrimination I have faced
Challenges have been enormous and frequent. From the beginning, many people told me a nurse could never take a product to market, and some hospitals refused to engage with our services.
I have been told on several occasions I am wasting my time. I have faced discrimination for being black and for being a woman in a male-dominated arena. In boardrooms, as soon as they know I’m a nurse they tell me all their problems.
I have been advised to get a white man to front for us but feel that does a disservice to nurses. I am so proud to be a nurse and to develop something for patients. I want to inspire other nurses.
RELATED: As a BME nurse, you'll face challenges but don't let them hold you back
One challenge was in collecting evidence of the effectiveness of Neo-slip – a huge barrier when trying to engage with large NHS hospitals. I overcame this by successfully applying for a Florence Nightingale Scholarship, which enabled us to carry out a clinical audit.
My business innovation advice to nurses
As well as establishing herself as a nurse, Neomi Bennett has had to learn how to run
a business. Picture: Nathan Clarke
Use your setting Being a nursing student during the start-up phase was the perfect environment because I was surrounded by nurses and lecturers. Having access to patient volunteers enabled me to facilitate focus groups and our first clinical audit
Establish intellectual property I was not employed by a hospital organisation so was able to incorporate the product’s intellectual property – which prevents an idea from being copied by others – into our nurse-led enterprise. However, nurses who have an idea they would like to develop may wish to work with a company to introduce or develop a new product idea, and this could provide the nurse with an opportunity to develop and own part of the intellectual property
Include patients in the testing phase For Neo-slip, this raised awareness and started the marketing process
Use your networks Through my nursing networks, I was able to access decision-makers in procurement and matrons who have buying power
Surround yourself with supportive people You will receive some negative feedback in the beginning, which can be very disheartening and at times you might want to give up. You can get through this by surrounding yourself with positive, like-minded people and creating a team
Focus on your goal Remembering how you are helping your patients will inspire you and get you through the tougher times. Taking a product to market has been very difficult, with many challenges, but patient feedback (especially from older people) led me to persevere
Patients' views on their care are an essential component in assessing the quality of our product. We measure patient outcomes using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). This provides a clinically relevant and scientifically rigorous resource, which also includes the patient perspective in the subsequent evaluation.
‘I have had to develop as a newly qualified nurse at the same time as maturing as a businesswoman’
Finances have also been an issue, as I have expanded the company organically without external investment. All revenue generated by the company is reinvested to sustain and grow the business.
On a personal level, being a single mother has presented a challenge and I have had to change my way of thinking to keep pushing myself for the benefit of patients.
Outside London South Bank University, where Ms Bennett is now a fellow. Picture: Nathan Clarke
After five years of determination, use of Neo-slip use has increased rapidly and it is currently being used in 34 private hospitals, as well as a number of NHS hospitals and pharmacies. Patients can order them direct from our website and from Boots nationwide for next-day delivery.
RELATED: How to inspire and innovate at work
We have plans to grow and disseminate the product across the UK and more recently we have supplied Neo-slip to nursing homes in France. Our company will continue to grow and expand. We have recently started a new partnership with Johnson and Johnson and we have funded trials in France, Belgium and Holland.
Personal and professional growth
Last year, I received an honour – a British Empire Medal – from the Queen for innovation and contribution to healthcare. This year I am proud to be in the first cohort of nurses accepted on to the NHS England clinical entrepreneur training programme.
I have taken on a post at London South Bank University as a nurse fellow in entrepreneurship and in this role I teach nurses about change and finding solutions in the healthcare environment.
I invented the Neo-slip in my final year of nurse training and I have had to develop as a newly qualified nurse on the bank. At the same time, I've had to mature as a businesswoman in order to set up new accounts, manage, run and grow the business.
Now I will continue to develop my nursing career and the business.
NHS England clinical entrepreneur training programme
Team offers intensive support to enable service-users to live independently
Rehabilitation by award-winning team enables people with mental illness to live at home
ED nursing team makes end of life care a priority
How one trust created a pathway to enable people to die at home
Nurse innovator Neomi Bennett explains how she developed her compression stockings idea
Ensuring everyone has a voice: a communication tool for non-verbal patients
RCNi Nurse Awards student winners spread the word about their Makaton language resource
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Redwall Lockdown
An (Unfinished) Redwall Writing Contest by Members of the ROC
Nor Shall My Sword Sleep
Foweller had found the burnt planks of wood around the back of Isidore’s shed. At first they had meant nothing. Then the drone of bees and crackle of flames reminded him. Finding a strip of charred wood, he had tried marking his own name in black on a slat that had escaped the fire. F…A…O…W…L…A…R, the chunk of wood pronounced. The F was the boldest letter, the otter’s writing growing progressively smaller and more crooked.
B…L…U…D. Where was she? Actually finding the kitten was near impossible, but she always popped up whenever there was fun to be had. Maybe Foweller had driven her away, playing his games with Isidore instead.
“Brother Isidore?” Foweller dropped the slat as Isidore passed him at the door. The rat gave him a tired nod of greeting. “I have the proof. About Merritt.”
Isidore emerged back into the light of the evening, maw closed over his pipe. He puffed for a few tense moments, Foweller shifting his weight. He withdrew the offending pamphlet from his sash and held it out.
“Ah. Yes, I’ll deal with that,” Isidore muttered, stowing the paper away. Duty done, Foweller washed his paws of soot in Isidore’s washing basin. He wondered what Isidore would do. Beautiful images of a blazing cart sprang to mind.
“Did any beast ever… take their own way out. When you served?” Isidore asked. He then frowned and shook himself. “Shouldn’t have… go to Cavern Hole, lad. Your supper will get cold.”
Foweller shuffled to the door, but hesitated. “One,” he replied. “One I knew about.”
“What did he do?”
“Lost Lord Baxter’s colours. The Long Patrol wasn’t too big, so we had the one battle standard. Took a patrol up North across the River Moss,” Foweller related. The words came easily; he could have been recounting a picnic. He folded his arms and leant against the doorframe.
“Barge overturned. Otters ordered into the water after it. Spent… spent hours in the blackness. Every beast was furious. I was freezing. Must’ve swum a mile. Couldn’t find camp till dawn.”
“Did you get in trouble?”
“No. Had a good laugh after a while,” Foweller cheekily showed off his teeth. Isidore shifted, uncertain.
“Your tail?” He questioned. Foweller gave a bark of laughter.
“Oh, I had my tail. You know how the ensign did himself in?”
“Shooting?”
“And waste His Lordship’s powder? He didn’t dare. He went to look for the flag himself. His kind… isn’t built for swimming. Drowned himself.”
“Noel thought Father Abbot was a murderer,” Isidore muttered. Foweller inhaled the pipe’s smoke and closed his eyes.
“Do you think the Abbot could murder any beast?” Foweller asked carelessly, the comment of an innocent kit. Andrew fell down the steps in his mind, over and over.
“No. Noel was wrong.”
Foweller felt cramped, though the benches in the Great Hall were roomy enough. Skipper Rigg had taken to sprawling across the bench with his legs splayed, shooting hawkish stares at Uncle Duster when he thought his brother was not looking. Rigg had a trick of soaking his bread in hotroot soup then sucking in like an orange-tinged sponge. Duster was less exuberant. He was perched with his legs crossed at another table, sipping each spoonful in between copious gulps of ale.
“Fowel, me good mate.” Rigg thumped a fish fillet onto Foweller’s plate and snatched at a lemon slice from the middle of the table. “Ye’ve not had much chance to experience the privileges of bein’ on the crew. I was thinkin’, the Abbot won’t mind if we take a trip to the river. We can visit Camp Willow. Somethin’ I want to show ye there. My treat as Skipper.”
“The river’s full of ghosts.”
“I’m scarier than ghosts!” Rigg thumped his rudder. Foweller choked out a laugh. Duster looked up at the joyful noise, but Foweller averted his eyes.
“When do we leave, Skipper?” Foweller asked. Duster’s bowl rattled across the floor as he fled the Hall. Foweller wilted. He had gone too far. Rigg’s eyes narrowed and his paw crushed the lemon juice out onto Foweller’s fish.
Foweller found Duster in his room. Rigg had told him his brother ought not to be disturbed. That he should mourn without interference.
Rigg did not know everything.
“Uncle Duster?” Foweller peeked around the door. The former Skipper rolled from his bed, presumably where he had been brooding. Foweller sidled in, paws fidgeting behind his back. Then he was bowled over as Duster embraced him.
“Ye’ve been avoiding me, Fowel,” Skipper said, not unkindly. Foweller scrabbled for an excuse. Nothing came to mind.
“I’m sorry, Uncle,” Foweller murmured. Duster patted his back.
“I know why. Ye think I’m angry at ye. Right?” Skipper pulled back to look into Foweller’s eyes. The kit was shocked silent for a moment. Then his confessions spilled out.
“I wasn’t watching Rip, I should’ve known there’d be trouble with the weasel, I didn’t come between them, I wasn’t paying attention, it’s my-…” Foweller was silenced with one claw to his muzzle.
“No. It wasn’t yer fault. No beast can rightly blame ye,” Skipper said haltingly. His eyes cast downwards. “Virrel’s no murderer either. If ye want to point claws, point ‘em at the Abbot’s accursed guns.”
Foweller’s throat seized up. Now it really was just between him and Brother Isidore. Not even Uncle Duster could know that Foweller intended to avenge his son.
Foweller and Rigg set out that evening. The little otter felt like a bound captive, being lead from the Abbey gates. The tight strap across his chest and the hard weights of the objects pressed against his hips by the sash were his guards. Rigg himself sported one of the new muskets. There were still monsters in the woods, after all.
It was past midnight when Foweller dropped to the grass. Martin took up his night vigil in the crook of the kit’s arm. A heavy sheet tied between two sturdy saplings gave the Skipper his cover. Foweller lay under the stars. He could hear the breeze come and go by the rush of the forest’s foliage. He heard Rigg turn uneasily before crawling out to join the kit.
“Warm night,” Foweller mused.
“Aye. Thought I’d join ye.”
“River’s haunted.”
“Not scared of ghosts are ye?”
A short pause. Rigg shifted. A twig cracked.
“Fowel?”
“Rargh!” Cold, sweaty paws clamped onto Rigg’s neck. Rigg yelped, then laughed at the kit’s antics. The brawny otter wrestled Foweller to the ground. Soon they were both rolling and tussling in the leaves, guffawing like mad beasts.
Foweller was in love with Camp Willow. In the early morning mist, he hopped from one sandy, dry cave to another. He tapped at the roots of the willow tree that sheltered them and hummed a marching tune. Such a cunning defence! Invisible to even the brightest of vermin.
The grave was marked by a lonely cairn of stones a little way from the tree. The site was secluded by rough mossy boulders, which seemed to deaden the trickling sound of the river. The solemn tomb brought Foweller to his knees.
“His name was Riverwyte, but they all called him the Mask. He was a warrior… till the vermin cut off his tail,” Rigg said. Foweller shivered.
“What happened then?”
“He lived peacefully, until his brother called on him to do his duty… one last time.”
“For Martin?”
“Aye, for Martin,” Rigg agreed. Foweller reached out to brush the pile of rocks with his claws.
“Did he have kits?”
“No. His family lived on though. His kin still swim among us.”
“You know any?” Foweller felt Rigg’s eyes on him. The Skipper knelt beside him and hummed.
“I think I do, mate,” Rigg said.
Posted by Foweller
Filed in Redwall Lockdown, Week 5
Tagged: RL-Foweller
Self-Delighting, Self-Appeasing, Self-Affrighting
In my room, the world is beyond my understanding;
But when I walk I see that it consists of three or four
Hills and a cloud.
“Selendra,” Case said. “Saskia here is your friend from school, yes?”
“She is to be our guest this evening–”
“Where’s Aloysius?” Saskia interrupted.
Case bowed his head. “Brother Aloysius is thinking some things over. Selendra will take you to her quarters for what’s left of the night, if that will serve?”
Selendra nodded. “As you like.”
“You know, Selendra, I really don’t feel that way about you.” Saskia grinned.
“Good night, both of you,” Case said.
The room doubtless carried unpleasant odors–sweat from life in close quarters, dirt from the tunnel below–but Saskia perceived only the smoke from Selendra’s pipe. She choked on the smell of burnt books and honeysuckle, ash and leather enveloped by the treacle-thick sweetness of tobacco.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
“Thank the Fates you’re alive. I was so worried; we all were.”
Selendra said nothing for a moment. She took a long puff on her pipe. Then: “‘We all’? You, Berend…”
“Merritt, too.”
“Don’t try to flatter me. He doesn’t care a whit.”
“‘E does, after ‘is own fashion.”
“Merritt doesn’t care about anybeast as won’t either pay him or snog him. Or preferably both.”
“After ‘is own fashion. Any’ow, you’ll be ‘appy to know I’ve done a bit of wot was your old job, before you left. I spoke to Brother Tompkins.”
“Did you? You’re one of us, now, with Foremole setting you on Tompkins? Foolish to bring him along, then.”
Saskia frowned. “Aloysius found the tunnel ‘imself, I ‘ad to bargain with Tamarack to keep ‘im alive so long as I ‘ave. ‘E wanted to talk to Case.”
Selendra gave a low whistle. “What did you have to do?”
“Promised to off ‘im myself if ‘e decided to go to Carter.”
Selendra paused to think, taking a long draw on her pipe, and then continued. “I’m not sure whether to call you a damned fool for making a promise you couldn’t keep, or to admire the ingenuity.”
“I intended to keep it,” Saskia snapped.
“Idiot,” Selendra replied affably. “You’re half-besotted, you could never.”
“Am not.”
“Missus Lannister would have had a few things to say about your rhetoric at the moment. If she didn’t decide to tan your hide with her ruler.”
“Hmph.”
“Anyhow, I’m not particularly tired.” Selendra gestured to the bed, the creases in the sheets looking as though they’d been made by drawing a razor over the fold. “Sleep, if you like.”
“You’ll be locking the door behind you, no doubt?”
“Don’t be silly. Of course. Cassius would shoot me. And it’s clear enough you’re not one of us, whatever you’ve done.”
“I ‘eard somebeast say to me once, it wasn’t right to keep free beasts prisoner. Can’t rightly remember who it was.”
Selendra winced. “It’s unkind of you to act as though I’ve a choice.”
“It’s unkind of you to lock me in a room while your–wotever Case is–does Fates-alone-know-wot to Aloysius!”
“So I’m to believe you’d’ve harmed him to save us?” Saskia said nothing. “Goodnight, Saskia. After all that, I’m still glad to hear you stubborn, you know.”
Selendra left, and the lock clicked shut behind her.
Saskia couldn’t possibly sleep, of course. Not while being held against her will, and not with Aloysius in danger. She paced in the small space of the room, letting the rickety planks of the floor tremble under her step.
Even if she could escape, it would endanger Selendra terribly. On the other paw, Selendra had followed an order to lock her in here, and that without a question or apparent regret. This from beasts who wanted her on their side.
Whose side am I on, then? Not Carter’s, and not theirs either, not if they’re willing to lock Aloysius in the cellar–or worse.
There were steps in the hall, fading as they passed the doorway.
My own side. My own, and Aloysius’, and, damn him, Merritt’s too. Anybeast who doesn’t just want more death. Aloysius and Merritt are my best allies, where have I strayed?
A key clicked in the lock. Somebeast knocked.
“Come in?”
The door creaked open just enough for her to see orange fur in the light.
“Tam?”
“Come on, then.”
Saskia grabbed Selendra’s lantern from off the bedside table. “Had a change of ‘eart?”
“Don’t want either one of you hurt.” Tamarack shifted, clearly uncomfortable. “I’m sorry.”
Aloysius and Merritt and Tamarack, then. Fair enough.
“Go, before you get yourself caught.”
Saskia found her way downstairs, the tunnel an empty and gaping maw that swallowed her lantern-light. The side door was closed and still; that was where they’d left Aloysius, no doubt. She tried the handle–locked, of course.
How to get him out? Saskia couldn’t return to the Abbey for help; there might be a guard by the time she returned, and anyhow who would she trust to come here? No, she’d have to do it herself… and without a key. She looked at the lock. It was new, probably as recent as Case and Cassius had been using the tavern as their headquarters. She stepped back.
The hinges. The hinges were on her side of the door.
Saskia drew her knife. Placing the base of the blade between the pin and the body of the hinge, she snapped her paw down on the handle; the pin jarred loose, and she pulled it free. The upper hinge came out just as easily.
“Hello? Is somebeast there?” Aloysius said. The door was held in place only by the friction of metal against metal.
“Aloysius, stand back.” Saskia reared back and kicked the door at waist height. The hinges whimpered and gave way, sliding apart as the door twisted in its frame.
Aloysius squinted, his eyes adjusting even to the faint glimmer of the lantern. “Saskia, what are you doing, doing?”
“Escaping, obviously.”
“You have changed your mind, your mind?” Aloysius squeezed between the mangled door and its frame.
“‘Ow d’you mean?”
“You mean to side with the Abbey, and not with them, with them.”
Saskia set the lantern on the floor; from there its beams cast stretched, grotesque silhouettes of them both onto the walls. “I don’t mean to speak to Carter, no.”
“Then why did you break down that door?”
“It’s no more right for Case and Cassius to keep you prisoner than it is for Carter to keep me prisoner.”
She could hear Aloysius frown as he spoke. “Well-reasoned, I suppose.”
Saskia bowed her head. “Should I ‘ave let you out? Do you intend to tell Carter now?”
“Of course not, I gave you my word, my word.”
“Come ‘ere, then.” Aloysius shuffled to stand next to her, and Saskia picked up Selendra’s lantern. She threw an arm around Aloysius’ neck, pulling him close. “Lead us back?” she asked, and blew out the light.
His wing wrapped around her as they stumbled along. It felt like living parchment, stretched over a fragile frame to dry–not quite warm as flesh, but not cool either. Every few steps, they stopped for Aloysius to squeak and listen for echoes. Saskia thought several times about interrupting the relative silence with conversation, but the lovely, glib sentiments with which she’d swayed (perhaps) Brother Tompkins had abandoned her entirely.
Do you think we can take sides against them both?
I want the same as you, you know. Peace for the Abbey and beyond, an end to all this–
I should tell you what I had to do to save you from Noel–
I feel–
None of them merited speaking aloud. She’d replaced his judgment with her own, twisted him into promising not to tell Carter, promising that against his own conscience. He would hate her once he realized. Or, at least, he should, though perhaps he was too forgiving even for that…
“Saskia, Saskia? You don’t seem well, seem well.” Blast him. How could he tell in the dark?
“No, I should say I bally well don’t. Don’t feel very well either.” She felt his wing pull away, his slender neck slip out from under her grasp. Vertigo threatened to overtake her; she could see nothing ahead, nothing behind, had no sense of anything but the close dampness of the tunnel and the ground under her footpaws. She slid down to sit against the tunnel wall.
“Saskia?” The scholar’s voice took on a note of panic.
“I need to take a few breaths, is all.”
“Forgive me, but I can’t bear to see you this troubled, this troubled.”
“Can’t do anything about it, can you?” she snapped, and then felt her stomach lurch with immediate regret.
“I’m sorry, sorry, I wish–”
“No, I’m sorry.” Saskia stood as best she could, stumbling a bit before recovering her balance. “I’ve asked too much of you already, so I ‘ave.”
“Not at all.” That wing wrapped itself around her again, smooth and steadying.
Saskia tried to remove any trace of a tremble from her voice, hoping to let a simple question stand on its own: “Wot did Case want with you, any’ow?”
“A bunch of daft things, I’m afraid, I’m afraid. Something about the Mossflower Heraldry and a conspiracy. He wanted me to look in the Abbey records, records.” The pair trudged onward through the dark, until Aloysius announced, “We’re here.” He waited for Saskia to pass into the cellar first.
“Are you going to look?” she whispered.
“It would seem disloyal.” Saskia heard him shift in the darkness, but still his wing lay across her back.
“So would this entire trip, if your loyalty were owed to Carter and not the Abbey.”
“The Abbot is the Abbey, the Abbey.”
“You’ve spoken much of the Woodlanders’ Code. If you’re willing not to tell Carter of this, then your loyalty lies elsewhere than ‘im, doesn’t it? With the Code, per’aps?”
“Julian spoke to me of the Code, too.”
Saskia snorted. “And ‘im locking you in a cellar afterwards.” She sighed. “I’ve pushed you too far. I release you from your word, if you wish it. You may tell Carter.”
“You don’t believe I should, I should.”
“No. I think it would be a disaster for us all. You may tell Carter, if you trust ‘im with my life, and Noel’s, and Tamarack’s. If you could not possibly be wrong.” Aloysius bowed his head; she could barely see it in the gloom. “You won’t.”
“I should look over my records, my records. The Heraldry.”
“Wotever ‘elp you need…”
“I know. Of course you will, you will.”
Aloysius’ other wing wrapped around her, pulling her close. He had to reach up a bit, but he lay his muzzle in the crook of her neck for just a moment. He felt as though he were made of paper and quills, light and fragile and, impossibly, stable.
Tagged: RL-Saskia
Into the Adder's Den
Aloysius woke in much the same way he had fallen asleep: groggy, and fighting it the whole while. He coughed, then hissed as his throat flared up in pain. He struggled to sit up.
“ ‘Ere,” Saskia said, and a warm paw gently pushed him back down. “Lie back. ‘Ow’re you feelin’?”
“Not well, not well,” he murmured, his voice gravely and sore. “I am assuming last night was no mere dream.”
“I’m afraid not.”
A wing brushed over his nose. “He doesn’t have fever, thank the moon, the moon,” Saifye said. “Come, Eilonwy, let’s brew some tea.”
Eilonwy hesitated. “What happened to Uncle Alo, Uncle Alo?”
“Uncle Alo is being punished for not taking his brother drinking, my dear, my dear,” Fyfe said. Aloysius could hear the smile in his voice. “Go on, follow your mother.”
“Fyfe, please,” Aloysius croaked. He needed to clear his throat, but he dared not for fear of the pain it would cause. “Now is certainly not the time to jest, jest.”
“Is that so? For once you take your brother’s advice, and yet fail to extend the invitation. At what point did it come to pass that family came last?”
“There have been … many disturbances in the abbey as of late. You can’t fault me for trying to hold things together as well as I can.”
“By playing spy for an abbot who doesn’t care one lick about the beasts under his care?”
“Carter is a good beast, Fyfe…” he tried to say, but it was betrayed by a harsh cough. Aloysius shut his eyes at the wave of nausea that overcame him. His head was splitting apart.
“And if you say it enough, perhaps it will come true, come true.”
“We have had this conversation before,” Aloysius said, a bit harsher than he intended. He attributed that to his throat. “Beasts are dying, dying. I am doing all I can to keep them alive.”
“Has it ever occurred to you that you may be putting them in harm’s way by following his wishes?”
“Enough, Fyfe!” Aloysius snapped. “I cannot abide you speaking ill of this abbey.”
“You’ll have to forgive my brother, my brother,” Fyfe said to Saskia. “He is an idiot.” And with that, he fluttered away.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Aloyisus said, feeling the blush on his muzzle and hoping it was too dark to see.
“He has a point, you know.” He didn’t have to see Saskia’s face to hear the sincerity in her words.
“And what is that?”
“You said to me once that Carter has our interests at ‘eart. You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“If I said I did, I did?”
“Then I wouldn’t believe you.”
Aloyius sighed, focusing hard to quell the migraine threatening to overcome him. He would not complain. He brought those demons on himself; now he had to face them. But he would not confirm his deepest fears. Instead, he spoke of lighter topics. “It’s plain to me that I’m not in the cellar as I should be, or beneath the earth, either. What happened?”
“Noel tried to kill you. He might have succeeded, too, but you ‘ad left me a note telling me your whereabouts.”
The bat nodded. He had such hopes for the weasel. Pushing those thoughts aside, he smiled. “I was afraid you wouldn’t see it. Did you find my candied beetles, candied beetles?”
“I don’t quite have a penchant for candied beetles, I’m afraid.”
“Ah, more for me then.”
There was a lull in the conversation, before Aloysius extended a wing to grasp the hare’s paw. “Thank you.”
“It was nothing, really.”
“But it was something, something.”
It was at that point the telltale squeak of the attic stairs betrayed the incoming beasts. Fyfe, Saifye, and Eilonwy all fluttered back to Aloyius’s side. “Your tea will be here shortly,” Saifye said.
The five of them sat silent as a beast carrying a tray made their way over to the bed. “It’d be a lot easier if you bats kept regular hours,” Sister Agnes’s familiar voice spoke.
“Thank you, Sister Agnes,” Aloysius said. “You didn’t have to.”
“Oh, but I did, thanks to your niece, here.”
“It is rather hard for a bat to carry a teapot and cups up a flight of stairs, stairs,” Saifye said.
“Yes.” Sister Agnes did not bother to shade the annoyance in her voice. She poured the tea. “Well, if you won’t be needing me, I’ll be back to bed.”
“Lemongrass and honey, honey,” Saifye said as Saskia offered Aloysius the mug. He had quite a time with it—bats were not well accustomed to maneuver when wrapped in bedsheets.
He blew on the mug, the scent enveloping his sense. He sipped at the tea, the citric heat welcome as it soothed the archivist’s throat. “I’ll have to send my compliments to Brother Isidore. A shame what happened to his beehives. He treats his insects as though they were his children, children.”
There was a pause, and then, “I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like a word with Saskia.”
Saifye nodded. “Come, Eilonwy, Eilonwy. I bet I can catch more moths than you.”
“But I want to stay with Uncle Alo,” the young bat whined.
“You will,” Aloysius said, sipping his tea. “I’ll have you know I’m the champion moth catcher in all of Mossflower, Mossflower.”
“You better get practicing then,” Saifye said as she ushered her outside.
With a giggle, Eilonwy shot out the window, Saifye in close pursuit.
Fyfe watched his family go. “If it’s no bother, brother,” he said, turning to Aloysius. “It seems as though you almost died tonight, tonight. I’d like to know what my brother has gotten himself into.”
Aloysius shook his head and winced. “It’s an matter for the abbey. The abbey shouldn’t concern you.”
“It’s a family matter, matter. It does concern me.”
The elder bat sighed. “Fair enough, fair enough.” He paused. “Fyfe, you mentioned before there was a resistance forming outside Redwall.”
“I did, I did.”
It annoyed him, how callously he spoke those words. “What do you know of it?”
“Only the rumours that carry on the winds. Not a resistance against Redwall, but Carter.”
“Saskia?” he asked the hare.
“I know about as much as you, ‘m afraid.”
“Does Merritt know more, know more?”
“Mm, can’t say. ‘E doesn’t share many secrets with me.” There was a shortness to her words; he wondered what she was hiding.
“Why do you ask, brother?”
“I believe I’ve discovered their entrypoint into the abbey.”
“How so, how so?”
“I came upon a hole in the cellar wall, hidden behind a wine rack. Noel was there, and young Tamarack, too. I don’t believe they were stopping me from seeking the Founder.” He said that to Saskia.
Silence reigned in the attic. Aloysius chirped. Fyfe was smiling; Saskia’s lip was held in her teeth.
“Then it’s true, it’s true.”
“Wot are you goin’ t’do?”
Aloysius sipped at his tea. It was cooling too quickly. “I suppose the right thing would be to inform Abbot Carter, Carter.”
“An’ will you?”
Aloysius didn’t answer her question. Instead, he asked one of his own. “Tell me Fyfe, have the winds betrayed who’s behind this resistance?”
“A beast named Case, Case.”
“Brother Julian, Brother Julian.” He took a sip, then nodded. “I’d like to see him.”
“Wot do you intend, Aloysius?” Saskia demanded as they stood in front of the wine rack. She held the lantern in her paw with malice.
“I intend to speak to an old friend.” He glanced at her. “Friend.”
She drew a quick breath, but before she could protest, Aloysius pulled at the wine rack, curling his ears at the mechanical squeal that ushered forth. The tea had done well to quell the pain in his throat and head, but the grating noise brought it back full force.
“Blow out that light. I will guide us, guide us through.”
Standing full in the tunnel’s entrance, Aloysius squeaked. Darkness answered him, the walls a silver sheen. “Come, come,” he said, after Saskia had closed the gate. He extended a wing, seeking her paw, then led the way.
They were quiet as they traversed the tunnel. No sounds reached his ears—his echoes disappeared into nothingness. As far as the bat was concerned, it was only he and Saskia.
He winced as he stretched his left wing towards the wall of the tunnel, still sore from his encounter with Noel. He could only stretch it so far, but it was far enough. He caressed the silver dirt as he walked, cool and moist to the touch. Memories of the tunnels he used to explore with Fyfe deep in Bat Mountpit flooded his senses, and a wistful feeling of home struck him harder than fire whiskey ever could.
“I read once a group of abbeybeasts discovered in the cellars a door, a door that led to a deep expanse of tunnels,” Aloysius murmured. To himself or Saskia, he was not sure. “There was a mole with them, Foremole Gullub I believe his name was, who discerned they came to pass by an underground stream. If my conjectures are correct, they may have been the tunnels used to sink Kotir before Redwall’s founding. Alas, I have searched for them without success. It seems, it seems, if the records are true, they collapsed long ago. But listen to me prattle on. In any case, these beasts, when exploring those tunnels, encountered a fork in the path. Down one route granted them the Eye of Evil. The other led to certain death.
“Saskia, should we encounter a similar fork in our trail, we’ll have to choose wisely. Down one path will our eyes surely open; the other will close them forever.”
The hare pulled at his wing, halting him in his tracks. He turned to face her. “Aloysius,” she said, her voice soft. “You’re speakin’ as though you’re walkin’ to your death.”
“I might be, might be. There’s a murderer waiting for us at the end of this path. This path that leads … where, I’m not sure. You never should have come, Saskia. I’m sorry I brought you here.”
“I brought myself, remember?”
“And I was a fool, a fool to let you.”
“Let me?”
Aloysius extended his other wing, trapping her. He didn’t need sound to see the hare. In the dark, damp, and cool cave, her warmth was enough to place her.
“Promise me,” he said. “Promise me, that you won’t do a fool thing and put yourself in harm’s way. As far as you or I am concerned, you’re nothing more than my guide.”
“You can still turn back, y’know. Take your family and fly away from here. You have a means of travel nobeast can follow.”
“I can’t do that, do that. I need questions answered.”
“An’ when you get your answers, wot will you do? Go to Carter?”
“If it comes to pass, yes. Yes.”
There was a disturbance in the air. She was shaking her head. “Don’t go to Carter. He’ll kill them. Tam, Noel, Selendra. He’ll kill them all. Your foe is Case, and Case alone.”
“Turn around, Saskia. This isn’t your battle, your battle to fight.”
“Neither is it yours!” Her voice was low, but harsh.
“You still have a press to own, my friend, my friend. Don’t waste your life for an old historian condemned to live his life in the past.”
She moved towards him, he stiffened his wings. What he did not expect were the arms that wrapped around his neck, holding him tight. Their muzzles brushed, and the warmth that overcame him was not from her body heat alone. “I’ll not leave you, Alo.”
He hesitated, then returned the hug, wrapping his wings around her in a comforting embrace. A shudder passed between them. “For you, for you, I’ll not go to Carter. Should I survive, I’ll decide what to do.”
He released her, and gripping her paw, led the rest of the way. It was a good while before the bat’s echoes returned something of substance: a silver dot that grew in size but not shape. He slowed to a halt when it dissolved into form.
“We’re nearing the end, the end of the tunnel,” he whispered.
“Is there anybeast there?”
Aloysius chirped. “No, but stay quiet. I must listen.”
He heard nothing as they traversed the last hundred paces with tentative pawsteps, until at last they reached the door. Aloysius put his ear to the wood, but still heard nothing.
“Wot is it?”
“I don’t know, don’t know.” What to do. Open the door and barge right in? If the wrong beast was behind that door, then their lives were forfeit, and the whole point wasted. Aloysius chirped, and found his answer. “Follow me.”
He pulled her to the side. There was another passageway, one that might lead them to a safer entrance. He stepped over clods of dirt, Saskia stumbling behind him. This passage was smaller, with the scent of fresh dirt in his nose. He was no mole, but it was plain to him that this had been made mere days ago. A small light shone on the wall.
Crouching down, Aloysius peered through the peephole, scanning the room that presented itself before him. Noel sat at a table reading, while young Tamarack paced beside him. In front, a hare laid curled in a fetal position, her breathing labored. He moved aside so Saskia could see.
There was sound of a door opening and closing, and a rush of air greeted them. Aloysius could smell cooking.
“What happened to her?” A familiar voice called. It belonged to a mousemaid.
“She pointed that gun where it shouldn’t have been pointed,” Noel answered, his voice cool as the dirt that surrounded them.
“It’s Selendra!” Saskia breathed. “It’s safe. She won’t hurt us.”
“Saskia, wait! Fool hare!” Aloysius cursed, but she had already departed. Stumbling through the tunnel, Aloysius followed her right into the adder’s den.
“Selendra!” Saskia said, capturing her friend in a tight hug.
“Saskia?” Shock accosted the mouse before she could think to return the embrace.
Then came the barrage of names.
Noel was first. “Saskia?”
Tamarack was quick to follow. “Saskia!”
“Tam! Noel!” Saskia called to them.
“Aloysius?” Tamarack said, catching sight of the bat.
Aloysius nodded. “Miss Tamarack, Master Noel.”
“Brother Aloysius.” Noel’s voice was meek, but heartfelt.
“Aloysius?” Selendra asked, looking over the hare’s shoulder.
“Miss Selendra,” Aloysius greeted.
“Carter?” Tamarack asked, hesitation in her voice.
“I’m afraid our father abbot won’t be visiting,” Aloysius answered, stepping fully into the room, then closed the door behind him.
“So he…”
“No,” Saskia said. “Carter doesn’t know.”
Tamarack smiled, but that did not make Aloysius feel any better. There was still the matter of Julian, and at least one beast in this room had made an attempt on his life. He worried that number would climb, and quickly at that.
“Brother Aloysius,” Noel started, rising from the desk. “I’m … I’m sorry.”
“Are you now?” He cleared his throat, though it may not have been necessary. “I am glad, glad you no longer feel threatened by my presence.” Noel blushed.
“He didn’t mean it, honest,” Tamarack said, then dropped her voice to a meeker level. “We were afraid you would tattle.”
“And I very well might have, if Saskia did not convince me otherwise. But that is a matter for another time. Time is short. It is nearing dawn, and I have not yet checked the gatehouse records. Abbot Carter likes his reports to be punctual. I was hoping to speak with Julian, if he is available, available to talk.”
“Case is…”
The cellar door opened, and an old acquaintance of Aloysius came bounding down the stairs—an old acquaintance he had hoped not to see. “All right, boss,” Cassius sneered the word. “You got your wish, but Case wants t’ hear it ‘imself.” The marten hesitated halfway to the floor. “In ‘ellgates is goin’ on!”
“Relax,” Noel said. “They’re not here to cause trouble.”
“A hare and a bat.” Cassius ambled the rest of the way, drawing a pistol. Aloysius’s heart skipped a beat. “ ‘Ow many other beasts did you tell?”
“Relax,” Noel said again, this time firmer.
“I’m not relaxin’. I know this beast, ‘ere.” He pointed the gun at Aloysius. “One o’ Carter’s ilk,” he spat.
“ ‘E’s not,” Saskia interrupted.
“An’ who are you? Not a little bunny who’s lost her way.”
“Cassius,” Aloysius said, trying hard to keep his voice from trembling. “I’d like to speak with Julian, if I may.”
“Oh, you may, you may indeed.” He cast a wicked grin, baring his teeth threateningly. “ ‘E’ll be down in a few.”
They waited in tense silence, until at long last the old hedgehog made his appearance. “Brother Aloysius,” he said, his look of surprised quickly traded for a warm smile. Aloysius did not return it. “It’s been a long time.”
“It has, it has been a long time. Julian, might I have a word alone?”
“Alone? No, you may not. But you may have a word.”
He opened a side door, motioning for Aloysius to enter. The bat threw one last glance towards each beast in the room, his eyes lingering on Saskia. Cassius followed him as Julian retrieved a lantern, then shut the door behind them.
It was an old storage cellar, but the room had been stripped bare. No boxes, barrels, or wine racks, just cold hard stone that made up the walls and floor. Overhead, the wooden ceiling creaked.
“Come, sit,” Julian said, motioning with the lantern. “It’s not much, but I hope it will do for you.”
“I was never much for furniture, furniture that was not my desk,” Aloysius said. He waited until Julian and Cassius plopped themselves down on the floor, then sat in front of them. The marten laid the pistol between them, and Julian placed his lantern beside it.
“Can’t say I ever expected to see you here, old friend. What brings you? Noel and Tam, no doubt.”
“I encountered them in the cellars, moving an old forgotten wine rack.”
“So you caught them. Who else knows?”
“Saskia,” he hesitated. “And Fyfe, Fyfe.”
“Ah, Fyfe! He was a good lad. How’s his snout?”
“The same. Never quite healed properly, I’m afraid.”
“Shame.”
Cassius fidgeted.
“Settle down, old friend,” Julian said, breaking the gaze on Aloysius to turn to the marten. “It’s been a long time since we last spoke.”
“A long time indeed,” Aloysius agreed. “I see you still find yourself in the company of vermin, vermin.”
“Aloysius, you always had a unique outlook on what made a vermin. One that didn’t hold to species standards.”
“I suppose, I suppose so…”
“Then I could say the same thing to you.”
Cassius laughed, a sound that made Aloysius curl his ears.
“You believe our Father Abbot a vermin?” Aloysius said.
“Your father abbot, friend, not mine. Remind me, the Woodlander’s Code.”
Aloysius didn’t miss a beat. “ ‘All honest and true woodlanders are pledged to help each other and never to harm a living creature, living creature.’ ”
“And those that don’t?”
“Are vermin.”
“Then surely, by your logic, Carter is a vermin.”
Aloysius shook his head. “He is only doing what is best for the abbey, the abbey.”
“Then you truly are as blind as a bat. Do you believe I murdered my own family?”
He paused, his eyes flickering to Cassius. “No,” he said at last. “No.” Firmer.
A low growl rumbled in the marten’s throat.
“Neither was Cassius responsible,” Julian answered.
“And I’m to believe that Carter was?”
“Think about it. Who else was standing in his way to becoming the next Father Abbot?”
Aloysius took a deep breath. His wings were trembling. “There’s no proof.” He shook his head. “No proof.”
“Only our words. But we were Brothers once.” Julian’s eyes were sincere. What was he to believe? “Tell me, why did you come down here?”
“My brother once told me that instead of storing history, I should write it instead. The last time I tried that, many beasts were hurt. But now, I can’t stand idly by, idly by with a new threat facing the abbey. Just because it is not in the form of a vermin horde does not make it any less real.”
Julian nodded. “I am glad you came.”
“What do you know of the Society of Martin?” Cassius demanded. It was the first time he had spoken.
Aloysius hesitated, taken aback by the marten and his harsh tone of voice. “Not much, not much, I’m afraid,” he mused. “There were brief mentions of it in Brother Timothy’s A Mossflower Heraldry, but beyond that, there is very little else.”
“We believe there’s a secret code hidden deep in the Heraldry,” Julian said. “Foremole was kind enough to lend us the book, after you were kind enough to lend to him. Unfortunately, we can’t make head nor tail of it. Timothy mentions a key in his Author’s Note, locked away in one of his two hundred and twenty-two Abbey Records. We need those records, Aloysius, if we want to expose the evils of Martin’s Society, and depose Carter as Father Abbot.”
Aloysius couldn’t believe his ears. “You are asking me to betray the abbey?”
“I am asking you to betray Carter.”
“To betray the Father is to betray the abbey,” he said with a frown. “Julian, don’t ask me to do this.”
“Then we’ll tell you instead,” Cassius said with a sneer, retrieving the pistol. “You know too much now, anyway. We can’t let you go if we thought you might snitch t’ Carter. I wonder, if you hold that creed as close to your ‘eart as you say you do … would it make you a vermin if not cooperatin’ brought harm t’ one of your friends? Noel, or Tam, maybe? You looked at that hare as though you might never see her again. Maybe you won’t.”
Aloysius’s eyes grew wide. “You wouldn’t.”
“I would.”
“We won’t harm the lass,” Julian said. “Not tonight. Think on it, old friend.” The hedgehog stood, lantern in paw. Cassius rose with him. “You have a lot to consider. Thankfully, there aren’t many distractions in here.”
They left Aloysius alone as he buried his head in his wings. Then the door closed, enveloping him in darkness.
Tagged: RL-Aloysius
The Cradle of Becoming and Unbecoming
Noel: his pupil, almost his child. He had a name like a bell, wholesome and round. Noel could have tended the golden queendom of hives after Brotherhood and finally a home. They would have planted aster, blackberry, dandelion all in neat districts. They’d reap bitter chestnut honey and thyme that tasted a forest deep.
Isidore watched the weasel go.
He had nothing to say, or he could express nothing. Noel left him. He left any hope for the boy there to wither in the graveyard.
Isidore plodded home. Noel walked with him only a few days before, just like this. A sudden spasm of pain knifed through his shoulder, and his muscles clenched — they writhed like snakes.
“Hellgates,” he hissed. Had all the weight he shouldered finally crushed him? Dying of a failed heart would mean dishonor. But the seizure passed– he shuffled on to the orchard.
Foweller swung in a hammock between two pear trees. He swatted a gnat, lazily regarded its brothers, swatted again. “Hullo, Brother Isidore.”
“Boy.” He sniffed the pear-blossoms. “I can’t stand these.”
“They’re not so bad,” said Foweller, but he grimaced. “I don’t want to be in the dormitory.”
“Like me. Do you want any whiskey?”
Foweller gawked. “Can I?”
Isidore fetched the flask. The little otter took a swig; amber dribbled down his chin. “I like,” he said, “I like beer better.”
He lulled the kit to sleep that way. “You know,” he said, “you’d make a good beekeeper. They have armies, bees do. Kingdoms, too, and things you could never imagine. Bees know how to dance, even. You know how soldiers live, so you’d be…”
“D’n wanna,” said Foweller. “Not that.”
“All right, boy.” Isidore stroked Foweller’s head. He could have wept. “All right.”
Isidore stood beneath the belltower. Cobb lay there crumpled and broken, cold to his touch. Once he bought a wilted, dwarfish cabbage from the mole just to brush his claw and say hello when so many at market did not. His sachet of tobacco went in Cobb’s pocket. He wrapped the body in a blanket.
“Do you need help, Brother?”
Carter. He had brought Clacher with him. The badger hunched over Cobb like a tumbling stone, tipping, tipping, but he miraculously bore the corpse aloft. Isidore began to speak, yet the words felt forced as stones through a sieve. “Father, you didn’t–”
“I didn’t. Not that.” The otter’s voice creased like old, worn paper. “None of us did.”
“Could’ve been the rebels,” he said. “Plenty of them here, I can feel it. But I don’t know.”
“I trust you, Father.”
“You do?” He regarded Isidore as if appraising cloth at market. “There are so few.”
He held out his burned paw. “We had vows.”
“We had vows.”
Clacher followed them to the wood in the south-east corner of the lawn. South-east. He seemed to always list south-east, like the needle in a broken compass, pointing past the Abbey and the forest, the inland sea and Southsward, the tallest tree and the deepest gorge… past the graves of countless others he had known.
They chose an alder for Cobb’s tombstone. Isidore did not think the Abbot wanted to see the graveyard again.
“Any words, Brother?”
“For Cobb, who needed guidance. Would that I could help you now.”
“Yes. For Cobb, would that I could trust him– and him me.” He scattered dirt over the grave, then smiled at Isidore. “Gone to sunny slopes and quiet streams. Old Loamhedge words.”
“Is it beautiful there?”
“Very.”
His heart flew ever homeward. But he’d lived too long away; all that waited for him there were more sons he’d never raise, more maids he’d never love, more friends he’d never know.
“I know all the stories about Bragoon and Saro.” Carter looked almost childlike when he spoke. “They were my favorites. They weren’t real, but I always wanted them to be. Like Gonff and Basil and Sunflash.”
Isidore had never heard those names.
“Maybe Martin. I find I doubt so much,” the Abbot said. “Come. I have something to give you.”
At the top of a stairwell, they paused. Carter offered him something wrapped in silk, simply, casually, a bundle no larger than his fist. He unwrapped it: a niello broach depicting the abbey, its center set with an uncut balas ruby. That stone came from lands beyond the Bell and Badger rocks, from wide desert valleys. Maybe his ancestor had touched the same spinel.
“Do you know what this is?”
Isidore shook his head.
“It was Abbot Arven’s, once. Warrior Arven, before that. We are old, so very old, you know. This’ll be your sign, outside the Abbey.” He pinned it to Isidore’s tunic. “I trust you, Isidore. You are my friend; my every secret is yours.”
“I cannot think,” said Isidore, “I don’t know what to say–”
“Then be quiet. There is time enough to talk.”
He opened the door. Isidore could not have guessed who sat at that table, in that room, not before he saw them: the head cook Sister Melina, Tompkins, Delores, the cellarkeeper Ambrosia, her assistant Sebastian, the vole who rung the bells, Sister Redronnet, Foremole, a half-dozen members of the Order, the Badgermum, even a bird with coal-dark plumage and a circlet on his brow. All of them pinned the Abbey at their breast.
The Abbot held out his paw. “To attention, please.”
Tompkins rose from his seat and took a ragged book from his pocket. He held it forth and read. “Tonight I am Mattimeo, our founder, the order in the order. Tonight I bring you our charter, the true charter, that which we hold eternally: we are true to our Abbey, the sovereign of Mossflower.
“Our watch ends only at death.
“The enemy is without; they whisper and wait; they are fox and ferret.” He faltered. “Rat and cat. Marten, stoat, and weasel. And any that doubt our claim on the woods, and all the lands of Mossflower.
“We are a sword in the darkness, and we hold the walls for ever.
“Whispers will not breach them, nor sword or arrow, fire or snow, famine or gluttony.
“Abbot Carter leads us, as did Abbot Simon before him, Abbot Titus, Abbot Copperjean, Abbess Casimira, Abbess Dittany, Abbot Ludo, Abbot Cloverleaf… ” The list went on. “And first and forever, the Blessed Germaine.
“We are the Society of Martin. Rise.”
Tagged: RL-Isidore
Want to Picture the World
He’d done it for the truth.
That was what Noel told himself, hanging in Tamarack’s wake and savoring these fresh proud bruises layered over Rigg’s barrage from the afternoon. They throbbed like hammer blows on a new-forged blade, each one struck home with brutal precision – and yet those claws had lifted the most fragile of honeybees onto the breeze.
There was no silence in which to ponder – that was only an illusion. The world went on rumbling around him, impatient for him to catch up.
“Father Abbot,” said Emmerich, “begging your pardon, but if you could take this weasel off my doorstep we’d like to deal with Tam in our own way.”
Carter nodded and bowed his head, still crowned by his nightcap.
“Of course. Young Tamarack has nothing but my forgiveness. Grief strikes our hearts in different places, and the young most deeply…but I must admit, my son, that I am deeply disappointed in you.” Carter turned toward Noel but averted his eyes, glancing over his head at Isidore behind him. “I fear I was mistaken – you do not yet appear ready to join our order.”
Carter hobbled ahead of them out of the graveyard, leaving the once-pupil, once-master trailing him in what was now true silence. It didn’t last. Isidore’s paw sought Noel in the darkness, tightening about his arm, possessive and unkind.
“You’ve done a fool thing this night, lad.”
Noel yanked himself free, stumbled backwards into the light still burning dim in the Coffincreepers’ window.
“I won’t let him hide the truth.”
“Don’t enslave yourself to ideals you don’t understand.” Isidore’s claws remained outstretched for a moment, then closed on themselves in a fist. “Last chance, boy. If you turn your back on this place now -”
But like a petulant kit, that was just what Noel did.
Noel huddled in the empty corner of the dormitory where Virrel had once sealed himself away from the good beasts of Redwall Abbey. In his paws he cradled his brother’s secret: a book. Pages here and there had been marked off with a selection of Merritt’s saucier leaflets – Noel, red-eared, recognized a particularly wrinkled image pilfered from his own drawer at home – but it was clear from the underlined syllables in Martin the Warrior: A Dibbun’s History what Virrel had really been up to.
Outside the window it was still dark. Most of Noel’s night had been spent storing up precious sleep, interrupted only by a midnight trip to the larders to fill the gaping hole in his belly. The satchel of cold oatcakes and dried fish sitting beside him, meanwhile, was reserved for another’s stomach.
Noel scooped it up off the floor and crept down the stairs, taking a long and darkened path toward the graveyard around the foot of the belltower. Some dutiful soul, perhaps Isidore himself, had been there since: only a slick patch of flattened grass remained to mark the scene.
Cobb was only one step away from Tamarack, and now that he was standing outside a back window of the Coffincreeper home, so was Noel.
“Tam?” The answer to his soft taps came swift and sleepless, a shadowy face betraying tears still fresh enough to catch the moonlight. Tamarack appeared at the back porch moments later, shutting the door behind her.
“Oh, Mr. Noel, we’ve made a terrible mistake – it wasn’t him.”
“What -” The pair of goggles she offered him only scored deeper lines of confusion into his weary features. He turned Cobb’s eyepieces over in his paws. “What’s this mean?”
“Abbot Carter had nothing to do with – with Mr. Cobb. He – oh, Fates, it’s all my fault. If only I hadn’t pushed him so hard. He must’ve been so scared up there!”
The picture was a hazy one, but Cobb alone on the belltower could only paint one portrait in the end: that of a beast in utter despair. Noel seized Tamarack in his paws, desperate that she not cast herself under the same shadow.
“You listen to me. It’s not your fault, all right? If anybeast deserves the blame, it’s me.” His paws slid from her shoulders, his gaze to the field of graves stretching away from them into the night. “I shouldn’t’ve let us go after the Abbot like that. I put us right in the open.”
“He already knew about me.” Tam shook her head, as fierce as Noel had been a moment before. “He has almost since the beginning. I’m not in any more danger now than I was afore you got dragged into this.”
“Things have changed.” He didn’t say so, but Isidore was right: he had been overwhelmed by something he didn’t comprehend. But the real crime was that his lust for truth had put Tam in the line of fire. “I think we should go.”
Tamarack looked down at the satchel in his paw, and there was alarm in her eyes when they snapped back up to Noel.
“For how long?” she demanded.
“I don’t know. We need to get you out of their way.”
“We can’t up and leave now,” said Tam. “And where’ll we go – to those bloodthirsty beasts in that tunnel, who won’t even tell us a thing? Mr. Noel, I can’t.”
Noel’s claws tightened around the satchel as he searched the indistinct heights of the battlements for an answer. It was there that he found Isidore was wrong: Noel hadn’t turned his back on this place. He never would.
“You’re right,” he said. “Let’s just pop by for a chat.”
“The bells of St. Ninian’s,” Noel whispered, “still chime at midnight.”
The sealed door at the pitch-dark end of the tunnel swung open, inviting the flickering light of Noel’s torch to illuminate the sneer of their most unfriendly ally.
“Wot are you two doin’ back here?” Locria lifted her pistol from her side, allowing the barrel to slide past Noel to the darker shape at his side. “Don’t tell me you’ve buggered us already -”
“Don’t you ever point that at her again!” Noel bowled into her, a cannonball of muscle and claws, sending them both to the floor in a mottled, thrashing heap. Tamarack’s cry was matched by another from within the cavernous meeting place.
“Enough. Enough, lad, you’ll kill ‘er!” Cassius’s words had an effect, one that tore Noel from Locria’s prone form as swiftly and violently as he had collided with it. The pine marten creaked down on his knees beside his Lieutenant, only standing again upon satisfaction that she still lived. But his frame remained bent. “Are you a madbeast? What’s ‘appened, where’s Flint?”
“Flint’s fine.” After this first foray into speech, Tamarack’s voice retreated into quiet. “But…Cobb’s dead.”
“You remember him, don’t you, Cassius?” Noel retrieved his torch from the floor outside and shut the door, punctuating his query with a slam. “Or is he like me – not worth the memory ‘til he’s of use to you?”
Cassius did something then that even Noel wasn’t expecting: he backed away. The room had been his and Locria’s alone, with only a guttering candle and a disheveled heap of papers on the table in their company.
“Let’s not get hasty, lad. O’ course I remember ‘im – and the fourth beast, too.” He allowed himself half a wicked grin. “Or ‘ave you forgotten her?”
“She’s missing.” A stillness came over Noel and Tamarack both. In the tunnels he had described his visit to the bush where he had last uncovered Bludd in time of need, and the particularly violent kick he had dealt it this very evening. There had been no cackle, no shriek, no answer. “That’s why we’re here.”
“Well, you won’t find her ‘ere.” Cassius spread his paws wide, displaying nothing. “And I ain’t got no ideas on raisin’ the dead. I’m sorry for yer friend, but they’ll pay ten times his weight in blood.”
“Somebeast will, but not them,” said Noel. “Of all the beasts you’ve killed, was Carter in among ‘em?”
Cassius’s arms sank back to his sides, taking his smile with it.
“We only done what needed doin’, lad. You think you could do better?”
“Yeah. I do.” Noel spun away from him to set his torch in a crumbling wall bracket. “Face it: you lot have no idea what’s really goin’ on in there. You don’t know what you’re doin’ – nor you nor Case and especially not that beast there, if she’d point a gun at your best hope for putting Redwall back in the right paws.”
“You want a bloodless revolution, eh? What would you suggest we do, then? Reason with the nutters? You must be jokin’.”
“You keep raising your forces.” Tam recited the skeletal plan she and Noel had crafted together during their aching journey through the darkness. “We report to you directly, no middle beasts, and you make the moves we tell you to make.”
Cassius laughed long and loud, crossing his arms as if to hold his sides.
“Well, miss – well, miss! You are jokin’. We’ve got beasts in Redwall closer to the thick o’ this thing than you’ll ever be, and they’ve been that way longer’n you’ve been alive.”
“Aye, they’re close,” said Noel. “Too close. They’re bloody entrenched. They can’t even get at this Tompkins, the one raw link in the chain, without riskin’ the house of cards you lot’ve built. Carter may have it out for us but at least we don’t have a game to spoil.”
Cassius stood still, but only for a moment. When he uncrossed his arms they reached for the far door, the one that spilled forth sweet free air from the city above.
“Fine. You want to play games? I’ll ‘ave a word with Case. Keep in mind you’ve only found one bloody pin on yore own, and that was by accident!”
Noel grinned, and Tam only reflected his triumph.
“You have a chat, then. We’ll be here.”
Cassius growled, jabbing a paw at Locria beginning to wheeze on the floor.
“You clean that up! And ‘ere, ‘ave some light readin’ while you wait.” He plunged his fist into the pile of papers, trawling from its depths a slim bound packet of opened letters. Cassius shoved them into Noel’s paws without ceremony. “Post. For you. Been backed up for ages in Redwall City, seein’ as they ain’t been lettin’ through so much as an ant’s note home to its mum. Thought we’d pick it up for you since you joined, expected you’d be grateful, but you’re damn cocky for a beast who can’t even feel the noose round his own neck!”
Noel snorted and sliced a claw through the twine around the bundle. Ridiculous, was he, or realistic? Unlike Cobb or Ripple, who did he have that would weep if he died – his unassuming parents? Virrel, probably back to harassing passers-by in Mossflower Wood? There was only –
He froze at the sight of the topmost letter. Like the rest it was open, scanned by the keen eyes of the resistance, but before Noel could glare in protest a double-take drew his eyes back down to the signature at the end of the page.
“Oh,” he said.
Tam tilted her head at him, brows furrowed.
“Nothing, just….” He gave a sigh, a little cough that might have been of all things a laugh. “I was just now thinking of this beast.”
Tagged: RL-Noel
Foweller Goes Fossil Hunting
Fantastic Contests and Where to Find Them
If the Sun Won't Rise on My Soul
Yet Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves
The Martyrdom of Saint Bat
Prologues
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#Klyukvification: Representation of Russia(ns) in Western Popular Culture
On 31.10.2013 02.02.2015 By Sergey ArmeyskovIn Films & Actors, Klyukvification, Longreads, Russian Stereotypes, Russophobia
Russian Stereotypes: Western Perception of Russia as seen through Russian’s eyes. Part II.
Ivan Bilibin, Illustration to the “Frog Princess (Tsarevna Frog)” [1].
It should be noted here that by ‘Western popular culture’ I mean mainly klyukvified* films which I see as a height of evolution of stereotypical Russian narrative in the West. This post doesn’t deconstruct the Russian stereotypes in Western (American) films in detail. There are too many of these films and it will take not a post but a book for me to cover only some of them. My aim is also to reveal generalized characteristics of Russian men’ images in the Western cinema. I’ll devote a separate post to the view of Russian women in the West.
The image of Russia in contemporary Western world is to a big degree shaped by the popular culture and is articulated in films, books, songs/music videos, ads and caricatures. Since the Cold War era (and earlier) cultural propaganda in the form of mass culture products helped to fix the image of Russia and Russians in the ways shown below.
The term ‘klyukvification‘* mentioned in the headline is formed from the word ‘klyukva’ [2] (i.e. cranberry in Russian) + ‘fication‘ (as in mystification). As I wrote in my post:
This word is often used in Russia in a non-literal meaning to describe foreign (negative) stereotypes concerning Russia and Russians or some specific Russian cultural products (films, books, music videos, etc.) which are ‘klyukved’ on purpose by their creators in order to be appreciated by the Western media and public.
Russian 18th century lubok depicting a bear and a nanny-goat.
Thus, ‘klyukva’ is a word used to describe a combination of foreign cultural, historical, linguistic and lifestyle stereotypes about Russia(ns) and lubok-like depiction of Russia(ns): bears, izbas, Cossacks, matryoshkas, babushkas, balalaikas, garmoshkas, kalinka-malinka, ushankas, samovars, vodka, borscht, caviar, banya, communism, endless winter and other ‘brands’. In other words, these elements themselves aren’t ‘klyukva’ but when they come together or when it’s simply too much of them, the film in which they appear can be defined as klyukvified. So klyukvification is a process of creating a peculiar stereotypical narrative using Russian cultural objects and concepts in a certain manner (exaggeration, putting them in a different context, etc.).
Here are some examples of high concentration klyukva: bears playing balalaikas in the winter streets of a ‘typical’ Russian city; tovarishchs in ushankas eating borscht/caviar and drinking vodka, saying “na zdorov’ye”; babushkas in Russian shawls drinking tea from a samovar in front of a row of matryoshkas, etc. It is important to note that klyukva is not necessarily negative towards Russia.
A particular form of Western klyukva is usually a hybrid of these klyukva genera:
Russophobe/Russophile klyukva;
intentional/unintentional klyukva;
high concentration/low concentration klyukva.
Old ‘high concentration klyukva’ ad.
Intentional klyukva can be dividied into two main kinds: otherization klyukva (e.g., for propaganda purposes – forming the image of the odd and dangerous Other) and pseudo-klyukva (for comical effect). Speaking of pseudo-klyukva and intentional klyukva, you can watch a short Russian parody of American movies portraying Russians (with captions) where many of the abovementioned klyukva ‘brands’ are presented.
Some forms of mystification or vilification narrative of Russia (see the previous post) can be viewed as klyukva. Moreover, there is native klyukva which is made by Russian creators (and/or with a Western partnership) for the Western market to monetize existing Russian stereotypes. Klyukva sells! The so-called ‘borschploitation‘ films (from ‘borscht’ + ‘exploitation‘; cf. blaxploitation) can also be regarded as a type of klyukva.
The travelogue which influence was crucial in shaping the current Russian stereotypical narrative in the West was “La Russie en 1839” by Astolphe de Custine. The approaches and angles of view presented in this book remain widely used to this day with little necessary changes.
Custine’s depiciton of Russians is absolutely dehumanizing: slaves, barbarians and automatons. He viewed Russia as “the prison of peoples” (this definition was later popularized by Lenin) and “the Asian tyranny”. For example, Marquis de Custine wrote:
A…many of these parvenus of civilization have kept a bearskin [sic!] beneath their modern elegance, simply turning it inside out: You have only to scratch [3] the surface for the fur to appear and bristle.
Custine’s book was first published in 1843 and immediately became very popular in the West. Some reasons behind its popularity were in the then-current political situation in Europe which was a fertile soil for the seed of vilification narrative of Russia. Paul Sanders, a historian and management scholar, points out that what makes Marquis de Custine’s work unique is its enormous impact on the Western perception of Russia long after Custine was dead, during the Cold War and so far. With that being said, it wasn’t a big surprise for me to know that Zbigniew Brzezinski (in his annotation to the 1987 US edition of the book) praised “La Russie en 1839” for the “insights into the Russian character and the Byzantine nature of Russian political system”.
Another travelogue worth mentioning here is the “Russian Journal” [4] by Lewis Carroll. He visited Russia with Henry Liddon in 1867 – later than de Custine – and his diary (which was published only in 1935) is much less known to the general Western public than “La Russie…”. It is much more ‘positive’ towards Russia than Custine’s book. Carroll met with ordinary people, visited churches, museums and theatres, attended musical concerts and made notes of his experience:
We gave 5 or 6 hours to a stroll through this wonderful city [i.e. Moscow], a city of white houses and green roofs, of conical towers that rise one out of another like a fore-shortened telescope; of bulging glided domes, in which you see as in looking-glass, distorted pictures of the city; of churches which look, outside, like bunches of variegated cactus, (some branches crowned with green prickly buds, others with blue, and others with red and white), and which, inside, are hung all round with Eikons and lamps, and lined with illuminated pictures up to the very roof; and finally, of pavement that goes up and down like a ploughed field…
One of the reasons why I mentioned Carroll’s diary here was a supposition that his trip to Russia inspired him to write “Through the Looking-Glass”. Whether this supposition is true or not, it should be stated that portrayal of Russia as ‘another dimension’, Wonderland, etc., is the basis of klyukva (as well as mystification and/or vilification) narrative.
Among the manifestations of these narratives in contemporary popular culture are the so-called ‘Russian reversals’, popular in the West jokes about Russia which mock it as ‘the land of antipodes‘, the Unworld [5]. They were first introduced by Yakov Smirnoff – a comedian who immigrated to the USA from the USSR. The joke is based on a simple formula: in America you [verb] [noun], in (Soviet) Russia [noun] [verb]s you, e.g. – in America you ride a horse, in Soviet Russia horse rides you.
One of the most important and effective in promoting stereotypes kind of popular culture is cinema. It was Western films (various action, crime and comedy films, etc.) where stereotypes about Russia were vividly portrayed and became a part of contemporary Russian narrative in the West: from films like “From Russia With Love” (and many other Bond films), “Red Heat”, “Red Scorpio”, “Rambo 3”, “Police Academy: Mission to Moscow”, to “Armageddon”, “Hitman” and “Iron Man 2”, and the list goes on.
There are three main generalized stereotypical images of Russians:
bad Rusky;
drinking Rusky;
crazy (abnormal) Rusky.
In other words, ‘bad Rusky‘ is an image of a Russian villain. Particular types of this image are often represented by ‘Russian criminals’, gangsters who are part of Russian mafia. The types can vary from a dumb street goon (‘byk‘) to ‘avtoritet’/’vor v zakone’ (literally: thief-in-law), i.e. ‘Don’ or head of the criminal organization. Sometimes ‘Russian threat’ in the Western cinema takes form of a ‘terrorist organization’ (“Air Force One”, 1997). Another subtype of this stereotypical image can be called ‘smart and evil Rusky‘: e.g., Russian scientist (like a character played by Mickey Rourke in “Iron Man 2”), spy or hacker.
The Russian, a Marvel Comics supervillain character.
The ‘drinking Rusky‘ character shows us a type of dysfunctional, good-for-nothing Russian who can’t compete with his passion for alcohol – vodka. Contrary to ‘bad Russian’ who is an embodiment of ‘Russian threat’, this character type possesses no or very few ‘dangerous features’ having a clear comic background (e.g., see high concentration klyukva ‘masterpiece’ “Police Academy: Mission to Moscow”).
The ‘crazy (abnormal) Rusky’ character type name is a bit tautological because images of ‘Russians’ are mostly constructed as ‘naturally and inherently abnormal’ in the dominant Western cinematic discourse: ‘they are not like us‘, ‘they are different‘. Thus, this superbroad category includes both delinquents of ‘bad Rusky’ type and ‘Russian drunkards’ as well.
It’s very funny to watch a ‘serious’ Western film based on a Russian classical novel (“Onegin”, 1999) where the characters of the first quarter of the 19th century sing a mid-20th century Russian song. In the film Lensky and Olga sing “Oh, the Snowball Tree is in Blossom” (“Oi, tsvetyot kalina”) which is actually Isaak Dunaevsky‘s 1949 song. It’s like heroes of an ‘authentic’ film based on a Charles Dickens novel singing “Yellow Submarine”. Such unintentional klyukva in films makes them closer to a blatant parody like the 1975 Woody Allen’s film “Love and Death“. Speaking of Western film adaptations of Russian classical novels in general, I would prefer to see a Western film based on a Russian novel [6] rather than a poor attempt to show ‘authentic’ Russia(ns) in a certain historical period (attention! klyukva danger zone!).
The names of the streets, cities and other things written in Cyrillic alphabet are ‘on point’ in American films. An English equivalent would probably look like: ‘Weryvell Sity’ and ‘Sufrokare ovenu’. The surnames and names of ‘Russians’ in many films are weird, uncommon among Russians or not Russian at all: for example, General Gogol who is the head of the KGB in many Bond films. Gogol is a very popular male surname in Russia (not really but who cares, right?). To understand it better just imagine a Russian film where the name of the head of the CIA is… Shakespeare. Klyukva, indeed.
Jason Bourne’s name (“The Bourne Supremacy”) in his Russian passport was written as “Лштшфум Ащьф“. It became a running joke in Russia because to an eye of a Russian-speaking person it looks exactly like “Rbybftd Ajvf” [7] would look in an American passport to an English-speaking person. Nice day, Rbybftd Ajvf, isn’t it? What a beautiful and not suspicious name you have!
The common attribute of almost all Russian character types in Western films and popular culture in general is that essentialized ‘Russianness‘ is revealed through exaggeration and, finally, deviance. The preferred facial features of actors portraying Russians are, as we call such type of faces in Russia, ‘cut out with an axe’ (rough), their hairstyle is very short (or head can be completely shaved). Russianness of a character is often emphasized by exterior elements like ushanka (worn even inside a room which is actually viewed as impolite in Russian tradition), bottle of vodka, balalaika, telnyashka and the like. Russians are shown as self-contradictory, paradoxical, hyperemotional or self-controlled. When Russians are portrayed as calm, unemotional and strong-willed (like Dolph Lindgren’s Ivan Drago in “Rocky 4” or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Ivan Danko in “Red Heat”) these characters remind of non-humans, robots or ‘automatons’ (how Custine called Russians).
‘Bad Ruskys’ and other Russian negative generalized images represent not just people who happened to be born in a certain country and speak a certain language, and who chose a bad path in life. They are embodiments of totalitarianism, barbarity, aggression, addiction and other evils representing the Enemy, the Other.
Of course, not every Russian character in a Western film falls in the ‘bad Rusky’ or other negative category. Very often the character is simply klyukvified either on purpose or unintentionally. Sometimes s/he can can be relatively positive like the superklyukvified cosmonaut (i.e. astronaut) Lev Andropov (why not Lev Brezhnev?!) character in the Armageddon film with his ushanka on and looking like he has already drunk a bottle of vodka.
Thus, popular culture and cinema in particular exploits existing stereotypes. It uses them in constructing generalized stereotypical narratives which are intuitively comprehensible and immediately understood by the Western (and global) general public. So Russian stereotypes aren’t unique in that sense: there are ‘Oriental’ stereotypes, etc. The former are very viable, mutating and transforming along with current trends in Western political, intellectual and cultural discourse, and still staying true to their dual mystification/vilification conceptual core.
One can’t demand ‘authenticity’ in representation of Russia(ns) from such popular films simply because being manifested in a coherent visual form they are part of a bigger klyukvifiedpicture. Russian character types feed the sense of ‘civilizational superiority’ reinforcing the we-all-know-this-is-how-it-is-in-reality discourse. Stereotypes are a form of self-fulfilling prophecy, cognitive Ouroboros, backed by confirmation bias, so a person can’t get rid of them completely even when s/he wants. They form a perceptual and comprehending net thrown over the ‘world’ using which a person understands/forms the ‘reality’ for him/herself. So to put it simple – if this ‘net’ was made to catch ‘Russian bears with bottles of vodka and balalaikas’ (and other klyukva objects), then the ‘net’ is not suitable for catching Kandinskys, Gumilevs or Tarkovskys. The grid spacing is too big and the latter kinds escape without being noticed.
[see Part III.]
P.S. The short version of my first two posts in French available here: Introduction au plaisir de la klioukvification.
[1] “Tsarevna Lyagushka”, i.e. Tsarevna Frog is a Russian tale. You can watch the 1954 Soviet cartoon based on this Russian tale (with English subtitles).
[2] From “razvesistaya klyukva” (i.e. branchy cranberry). This word combination is sometimes attributed to Alexandre Dumas (père) but more likely it was first used in a 1910 Russian play mocking foreign stereotypes about Russia. It’s an oxymoron because a ‘branchy cranberry tree’ doesn’t exist.
[3] This resonates with a famous proverb (scratch a Russian and you will find a Tatar) which was attributed to Custine himself, Napoleon, Pushkin, etc.
[4] There is also “A Russian Journal” (1948) by John Steinbeck devoted to his travel to the USSR.
[5] The term “Unworld” comes from E. Cummings’ travelogue “EIMI“.
[6] To be more precise – director’s vision of a script (not to mention actors, producers, camera operators, etc.) based on translation(s) of an original Russian text. To paraphrase a well-known French saying: l’auteur est mortes, vive l’auteur!
[7] “”Лштшфум Ащьф” is “Kiniaev Foma” typed in Russian layout. “Rbybftd Ajvf” is “Киниаев Фома” (i.e. the name “Kiniaev Foma” typed in Cyrillic alphabet using sign-for-sign transliteration) typed in English layout.
cultural stereotypes about Russiaessentialized Russiannessgeneralized Russian character typesKlyukvaklyukvificationOtherizationRepresentation of Russians in American filmsRussia in the Western popular cultureRussian Character TypesRussian images in the WestRussian StereotypesRussian stereotypical narrativeRussian studiesRussiannessRussians in the Western popular culturestereotypical images of Russiansstereotypical Russian character typesThe Russian Marvel ComicsWestern perception of RussiaWestern perception of Russians
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Jim Thms
About origin of «klyukva» expression — it seems to precede 1910 as even in 1871 literary critic Mikhail Katkov wrote (commenting on some sloppy writing in an article about Russia which had been just published in French magazine L’Illistration): «(it) really reminded us of the good old times when a French tourist would share (with the world) how he relaxed ‘à l’ombre d’une klukva’ (under the shadow of klyukva)»
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PAXperMortem (@PAXperMortem)
Great article! The “Rbybftd Ajvf” part was hilarious! After reading this I wonder, what is your opinion on western media? Do you like watching Hollywood movies? Do these stereotypes (which, as you mentioned, exist for pretty much any nation on earth) bother you, do you find them offensive? Or do they make you laugh? And what’s your attitude towards western news networks? And what do you think about Russian (or eastern) media? Are you of the opinon that organizations like RT (aka. ‘Russia Today’), which are financed by Putin himself, are credible? Or do you see them as propaganda? And last, but not least, your opinion on Sochi. Do you support the games? Or do you think they are a waste of money and only serve to make Putin look good? Also, what about the whole ‘anti-gays thing’? I do realize that’s a lot of questions at once, but would really like to hear your answer. 🙂
Thanks! Actually, my next post in the ‘Russian Stereotypes’ series will deal with portrayal of Russia(ns) in Western media (and the 2nd post on ‘Russophobia vs. Westernophobia’ will cover the so-called Westernophobia, Russian propaganda, anti-Western sentiment in Russia, etc). I don’t take this Russian stereotypes personally – cause it’s nothing personal, just business and/or propaganda. I don’t like such films (although fake Russian accent makes me laugh) not only because of the stereotypes they reinforce but due to the fact that it’s a ‘low genre’ (early Tarantino and his po-mo version of it is an exception to me). Surely there are many good old Hollywood or independent contemporary Western films. Speaking about Sochi, only time will tell what these games’ legacy will be in Russia. I don’t support hysteria (i.e. ‘Sochi Problems’ obsession) whether its Western, Russian or any other kind. I was very sceptical/critical before the games but now I root for the Russian team. P.S. I think Russians need new cultural identity which acknowledges Russian Europeanness without forgetting Russian cultural heritage.
I see. Well, thanks for your answer and I’m really looking forward to your next post.
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Very comprehensive and interesting post – I enjoyed reading it, found it to be substantially accurate, and will add you to my blogroll! Thanks!
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it.
Best wishes & udachi,
Dan Pastur
thought, that article was made by euroupean/american. pechal’ka 🙂
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Why Be Rational When the Good Old LTI Superstition Will Do?
By Dr Robert Long from www.humandymensions.com.
One of the greatest irrational superstitions in the safety and risk industry is the mythical link between Lost Time Injuries (LTIs) and culture. The attribution of causal links between LTIs and culture is one of the strongest delusions in the risk and safety industry.
The recent success of the Australians in Cricket in the First Ashes Test was a surprise to many after months of speculation that the Aussies would again buckle under the superiority of the English team (ABC NEWS ITEM , POMS GLOAT AS AUSSIES BECOME LAUGHING STOCK).
Now after a thumping win by 381 runs, Australia look like the team to beat. Not long ago Mitchell Johnson was struggling to make the team and now he is the hero of the day (mitchell-johnson-destroys-england-2013) Of course, we know what the secret is, the mo!
Whilst we woke up on 25 November 2013 to the news of the win and all the discussion of sledging, aggression and ‘banter’ spin, another campaign is gathering mo-mentum. It seems that the unexpected success (of the team and Mitchell Johnson – 9 wickets for the match) is due to the wearing of a moustache. Whilst it was initially for the cause of Movember, it seems some have now attributed Mitchell Johnson’s success to the Dennis Lillie like ‘mo’ (mitchell-johnson-and-dennis-lillee-battle-of-the-moustache).
What have cricket, Mitchel Johnson and moustaches have to do with safety and risk? Well, they are a great illustration of fundamental attribution error and the human tendency to import superstitious causal links with events. The process of attribution and fundamental attribution error has more to do with superstition and circumstance than it has to do rational causality (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_attribution_error).
One of the greatest irrational superstitions in the safety and risk industries is the mythical link between Lost Time Injuries (LTIs) and culture. The attribution of causal links between LTIs and culture is one of the strongest delusions in the risk and safety industry. It is fascinating to see how many organisations have become paranoid about the LTI as an indicator of safety and risk then get surprised when an even occurs. Perhaps you could ask someone in your organisation to explain the link between LTIs and safety and risk? Perhaps you could ask someone to explain how LTIs are a cultural indicator? Perhaps you could ask someone to explain how injury data indicates such things as attitude, belief and values?
The attribution of links between LTIs and culture and variations in injury data are best explained by the concept of Regression to the Mean (Kahneman – Thinking Fast and Slow – http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/regrmean.php), not by superstition.
So why do people find LTI counting so attractive when culture is about attitudes, values and beliefs? Well, we seem to love superstition, we attribute so many things to the moment of circumstance associated with events in our lives (http://intro2psych.wordpress.com/2008/11/15/the-power-of-superstition/). It seems that a good superstition is more attractive and measurable than complex reality. Culture is most often revealed in tacit knowledge and is very difficult to measure, this is why humans are so often surprised by so called ‘unusual’ events. The fascination with LTIs is more about the quest to measure than it is about knowing what the tacit knowledge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacit_knowledge) in an organisation is. The quest for a measurable superstition is why people seeks to bend the links between LTIs and culture, the quest to measure and attribute cause make about as much sense that we won the First Ashes Test because Mitchell Johnson wore a mo.
One of the best ways to understand cultural values and beliefs is to assess tacit knowledge. This is why I developed the MiProfile to help organisations understand culture. The MiProfile (http://vimeo.com/24764673) uses interactive rapid interface technology to help organisations measure tacit knowledge. Why diagnose tacit knowledge? It is often the ‘gut’ tacit knowledge where humans make decisions (particularly under stress), despite the fact that most organisations are now overloaded with systems to analyse risk. When it comes to the face of the job, and humans cannot remember all the content of systems, they tend to use tacit knowledge to make decisions.
So whilst BP Horizon One were celebrating 7 years without an LTI they experienced disaster (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill). They were deluded by non-cultural measures (LTIs) into thinking their organisation was safe. Unfortunately, running underground in the organisation were the real cultural measures of high levels of overconfidence, production focus, poor consultation, hierarchical hegemony and ‘double speak’. Even in post the Horizon One Disaster cultural dysfunction continued to play out and not be addressed (http://www.fbi.gov/neworleans/press-releases/2013/halliburton-pleads-guilty-to-destruction-of-evidence-in-connection-with-deepwater-horizon-disaster-and-is-sentenced-to-statutory-maximum-fine).
The appeal of measuring LTIs is a superstitious attribution not a measure of culture. Maybe, organisations would be safer if everyone in the organisation grew a mo.
CategoriesRobert Long, Zero Harm TagsBP Horizen One, lti, LTIFR, safety culture, superstition
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What is the exact relationship between EarthForce and Babylon 5 during season 5?
In the first episode of season 5 we are told that Babylon 5 is to remain independent until it can be purchased from Earth by the InterStellar Alliance. However, the practicalities seem a bit more complicated.
Lochley wears an EarthForce uniform together with a lot of the other staff from CIC, whereas Zack still wears the independent B5 uniform. Not sure about Stephen's uniform, it looks like an EarthForce one.
I saw a framed plaque on Lochley's desk in one episode (I think 5x11) saying "EarthForce Station Babylon 5" with her name, which must mean it was still known as an EarthForce Station at the time she came on board.
If it's really independent (from Earth, as well as everyone else) then I don't understand why it would need to be bought from Earth at all.
Can anyone clarify?
babylon-5
Kidburla
KidburlaKidburla
Per the Midwinter guide "B5 hasn't rejoined Earth yet. The Alliance is discussing buying it from Earth. In the meantime it remains an independent state." – Valorum Sep 14 '15 at 0:16
Okay, I've reworded the third bullet. I knew that the answer to "who would it need to be bought from" was Earth, I was just trying to highlight my confusion. But my sentence was badly worded before. – Kidburla Sep 14 '15 at 0:27
In a (speculative) word, politics.
They don't really detail this in the show because they quickly get into other plots, but it seems fairly simple. Babylon 5 was originally Earth Force property, under Earth Force command, and funded by Earth government. While it became an independent state, expectations back on Earth would probably have been that once questions of command, responsibility, and prosecution surrounding Sheridan's rebellion had been settled, that control of the station would have reverted back to Earth.
Except, no, surprise! We're announcing an Alliance, and we'd like to keep your stuff!
Cutting Earth out of the picture on such a straightforward concern would have been political suicide at that point, especially with all the other trouble they were stirring up. Promises of further tech or not, few would have believed their promises if they were willing to just take what they needed right off the bat. So on the books, Babylon 5 stayed an independent state so that Earth would be clear the Alliance was calling the shots there. Earth Force personnel, presuming they wanted to stay with Earth Force, would have been considered on loan, or inserted into the Interstellar Alliance chain of command (which I presume was the case with Lochley), and would probably have rotated in and out as needs demanded or tours and terms expired. The Alliance would have arranged payment for the physical property of Babylon 5 once all the bureaucratic terms had been hashed out so no one would have felt that Earth was shafted. Once it's all evened out it can be officially considered a state or outpost of the Alliance.
Politics can add spice, but this is largely boring gap-filler, so thus why I beleive it was never covered in-show.
RadhilRadhil
It's like buying a car. Even though you're the one driving the car around town, and you're parking it in your driveway at night, the title is in the bank's name. When you take out that loan on the car, you're really convincing the bank to buy the car FOR you and then you're buying it from the bank. The bank literally OWNS the car until you finish paying it off.
In a similar vein, Earth still held the title on Babylon 5 while the Earth & Alliance hashed out the details of the purchase. In the time between, however, the station remained POLITICALLY independent. Earthforce personnel handled the day-to-day operations of the station, while the Alliance maintained a presence and used it as their unofficial headquarters (but only until the permanent one on Mimbari could be finished).
OmegacronOmegacron
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How does Deadpool break the 4th wall?
Continuation of Does Deadpool know he is breaking the 4th wall?
So Deadpool knows he's fictional. But how does he know things like what issue he's in, or where the fourth wall is so he can talk to us, or if speech bubbles are working properly.
For example, even if I knew that this was all a holodeck simulation in which Captain Picard, Riker, and the rest of the crew are role playing actors on a popular TV show from the 20th century, that wouldn't allow me to detect when I'm paused, or how long the simulation has been running.
How does Deadpool know these things? We know where his immortality came from. Where did his fourth wall ability come from (beyond just discovering he's fictional)?
marvel powers deadpool
PyRulezPyRulez
"How does Deadpool break the 4th wall?" Quite well, thank you. – Dan C Mar 11 '16 at 3:33
With a witty sledgehammer. – Ellesedil Mar 21 '16 at 17:21
The Comic Awareness can manifest in several effect: Characters aware of being in comics, who can talk to the spectator or reader ("breaking the Fourth Wall"), interact with bubbles text, use knowledges from Earth-1218.
How does he do that? By simply pointing out he is a comic book character. This is a choice that was given to this character by the creators.
Deadpool Vol. 1 #34 by Christopher Priest
Marvel categorizes this phenomenon as a superpower.
This power is named this way as a joke towards the "Cosmic Awareness" power - Source
The main reason why he can do this is speculative because giving this power to any character is in creators' hands.
Deadpool is not the only character who is aware of the 4th wall thing. Full list of Marvel characters can be found on that page as well.
So it's an in er out er inout er outin er, something universe kind of thing. – PyRulez Mar 11 '16 at 9:58
@PyRulez Sort of. Paradoxical. – apollo Mar 11 '16 at 10:04
A great instance of this awareness is DC's Animal Man meeting his writer (Grant Morrison) in issues 25 and 26. – Meat Trademark Mar 11 '16 at 12:33
marvel.wikia.com/wiki/… is a dead link – TankorSmash Sep 24 '18 at 2:36
You're looking for an in-universe answer to an out-of-universe phenomenon. There isn't one. That is part of the point of fourth-wall-breaking. Deadpool is played by an actor who knows he is being filmed and will be viewed by millions of people in theaters and homes. He's also written and drawn by writers and artists who know he will be read by audiences. That's how.
J DoeJ Doe
Wasn't there an issue where he was TOLD he was a character? – Oak Mar 11 '16 at 1:51
“You're looking for an in-universe answer to an out-of-universe phenomenon.” I disagree. In-universe, he breaks the fourth wall. There might not be an in-universe explanation for that (I hope there isn’t), but there might be. – Paul D. Waite Mar 11 '16 at 15:01
@PaulD.Waite Look around you where you sit now - where is the fourth wall? In-universe, there is no fourth-wall. The fourth wall is an out-of-universe idea. – J Doe May 10 '17 at 23:15
@JDoe: and if I was a character in a comic, sure, you’d have a point. If the writers decide their fourth wall works how you describe, then you’re right. If the writers decide differently, you’re not. – Paul D. Waite May 11 '17 at 9:08
In-universe? Deadpool's crazy. There is no comic to refer to.
On those occasions where he predicts something that actually happens? Well, just because he's crazy doesn't mean he's unintelligent. Sometimes he may be able to guess accurately based on the information available to him (like a profiler can predict what the person being profiled will do). And, sometimes he may just luck into it (I seem to recall more than one occasion where he's said something would happen, it did, and he was at least as surprised as anyone else).
The fact that his crazy ramblings match up to out-of-universe things? That's an out-of-universe effect.
RDFozzRDFozz
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Why did the Science Officer not get chosen for the mission to the alien spacecraft?
After the Nostromo detects a signal from a potentially intelligent alien, the crew are arguing what to do about it. Most of the crew want to ignore it and return home, but Ash (Science Officer) reminds them that they signed a contract in which they agreed to investigate such signals or forfeit their entire 'share' of the operation.
Just after landing on LV-426, the ship is damaged and the mechanics are busy repairing it. Ripley is flitting about (I forget where). Dallas & Ash are discussing the signals and visiting their source. Kane joins them, while Lambert the Navigator sits at one of the more distant consoles in the cabin sucking down a cigarette in a desultory manner, listening.
Kane: I'll volunteer to be in the first group to go out.
Captain Dallas: Yeah that figures. ..You too Lambert.
Lambert: (nods resignedly, says sarcastically) ..swell
It turned out that Dallas was the other member of a 3 person group to 'suit up' for the trip. First it surprised me that Captain Dallas would allow the 2 most senior officers (himself and Kane, the Executive Officer) on-board to leave the shuttle, but we'll let that pass for the moment.
What absolutely astonished me was that Ash was not a member of the team. Who better than the Science Officer to assess and analyze what they found?
During the sojourn on the planet, Ash sits in a very important looking section of the shuttle surrounded by consoles and communications devices (which quickly fail once the team enter the alien spacecraft). It is Ripley that seems the major user of the communications instruments in the first instance (she hails for local 'space services' before they realize the Nostromo is nowhere near Earth). The rest of what Ash is doing during the surface mission does not seem an especially technical role, not compared to the value a Science Officer could bring on the surface.
Ash himself might have had reasons for not wanting to go on the mission.
Fear of becoming the host? No. He was many things, but not fearful.
Knowledge that he is not, or might not be, a suitable host. Maybe. But then, it is unclear how much they knew about the aliens.
There being no-one else he could rely on to override the air-lock security and get the alien back into the ship.
That last one is one very good reason for him to not want to go on the mission, but ultimately he was not invited to go and never consulted as to who should go.
Why did Captain Dallas not choose the Science Officer to go on a mission that would likely involve encountering an alien species? Why did no-one else (particularly Lambert - who was chosen, and obviously reluctant) question that decision?
alien-franchise alien-1979
Andrew ThompsonAndrew Thompson
I won't add this as an answer, but its conceivable that Ash just isn't trusted - its pointed out later on (prior to the revelation that he is an android and has specific "orders" relating to the alien) that Ash isn't part of the normal crew, he's a late addition and hasn't gelled with the rest of the "family" as no one has crewed with him before, so it might just come down to the fact that Dallas wanted those he knew he could rely on with him rather than an unknown entity. – Moo Aug 26 '14 at 11:08
It is unlikely that Ash would be able to do any serious scientific research out of the ship. The suits were large and bulky, it would put their most valuable asset (the science officer) in the most vulnerable position (the unknown) for no real benefit.
Dallas had no comprehension what was waiting for them, however he would want someone he knew could back him up (Kane, who volunteered anyway, probably knowing that Dallas would need him) and then an extra peson in case of real trouble or an accident.
Who should he choose?
Ripley was needed to keep the engineers in check (notice how she checks on them and take no shite from them) as Ash could not do it as nothing would make Parker sit on his hands faster than Ash telling him to work and Lambert had no backbone.
Ash was the only real scientist they had so could not be risked outside the ship and Dallas probably did not know him well enough to risk his safety with him.
Parker and Brett were working.
That leaves Lambert.
tobiasvl
StefanStefan
1) Who said anything about serious scientific research? Any level of input from the SO might have been helpful once they were on-site. Like "What could cause an explosion that blows this dead Alien's ribs OUTWARDS?" OK they could not have known that question would come up, but for the 101 WTF? incidents that might, he'd be handy. 2) Ripley was not being that much help to Parker & Brett, and in fact the 'fake steam' incident was them trying to force her away from them, it was quite successful, and they only seemed to consider 'getting back to work' after she had left. Still, interesting. – Andrew Thompson Oct 16 '12 at 16:42
1, he might have been handy but the situations but probably 100 if the 101 situations he could have advised over the audio link and the other time it would be wiser to have the only irreplaceable crew member put of harms way. 2 they tried to fob Ripley off and she came down to see for herself, she was not really there to help just to show them they were being watched and also she stood her ground when they gave her back chat (I do not recall the steam problem being something she actually fell for?), how do you think lambert would have fared? – Stefan Oct 16 '12 at 18:31
Short of a better answer, I will accept this one. I just think it is a pity they did not spare 15 seconds for Ash to comment "Oh no, the only size 7 space suit was damaged in the crash - it will take 2 days to repair!". – Andrew Thompson Oct 19 '12 at 7:09
Yeah, true. It would not have taken much screen time to show it. – Stefan Oct 19 '12 at 8:12
Look at it from the captain's perspective: you're going out on a fairly dangerous mission, do you want some stranger the company foisted on you, or your friends and coworkers who you've grown to trust?
He was doing the human thing. He was probably doing the smart thing, considering what he knew at the time. His (and others') life might be in danger and friendship, reaction time, and an unwillingness to abandon were probably all as valuable if not more so than scientific knowledge. In any other plausible disaster, their actions and instincts would have saved lives instead of merely endangering those still uncontaminated.
Had the alien encounter been more mundane, a followup mission (expedition? what's the right word here?) would have been a no-brainer, and Ash would almost certainly have been asked to go do a thorough survey before leaving.
John OJohn O
If Dallas knew much about Lambert (the 'reliable friends' hypothesis), he might have figured out that she was a complaining pessimist who was likely to flee at the first sign of trouble. If that was his reasoning, he would have taken Ripley. He would have known her as a PITA, but tough, sensible and not easily frightened. If 'reliable friends' was the criteria, why would he take Lambert over Ripley? We also can't say Ripley was busy with duties in the shuttle. Ripley had so little to do while they were away, she offered to work on the signal that Mother was already 'trying' to decode. – Andrew Thompson Oct 16 '12 at 13:52
BTW - though this does not answer the question (for me), +1 for an interesting & well argued idea. – Andrew Thompson Oct 16 '12 at 14:13
It's conceivable that Dallas, being captain, had exclusive knowledge of Ash being an android and kept him in the ship based on that knowledge (Ash was too valuable to risk in an EVA, perhaps?). Though you'd think the other crew would question his decision.
Raven13Raven13
If you re-watch the movie with the assumption that Dallas knew about Ash all along, it becomes, ..absurd. Thanks for your reply though. :) – Andrew Thompson Oct 19 '12 at 7:14
Ripley had some kind of seniority - when Dallas was gone she was in charge. That's probably why Ripley wasn't chosen to go: There needed to be a senior officer in charge on board the ship. Parker, Brent, Lambert and Ash hardly qualified for that role.
So, winner goes to the trust issue. Still, it doesn't win by much. Ash should have replaced Lambert. What did they need Ash for that he wasn't expendable? Medical stuff was automated. The journey home promised to be in hyper sleep.
Again, the trust hypothesis is plausible, but speaks more to moving a necessary plot points than what might have occured in reality..
Marty MartMarty Mart
"Ripley had some kind of seniority - when Dallas was gone she was in charge." She was a Warrant Officer. The way I understood it, she was 3IC, after both Dallas (Captain) & Kane (2IC). – Andrew Thompson Nov 27 '12 at 23:06
Yes, she was third in command. This was explicitly stated in the film when she was talking to Ash. – Stefan Aug 26 '14 at 12:38
In addition to the other answers. Ash was an A2. And they were known to be unreliable. Remember the dialog between Gorman Burke and Bishop in Aliens
Gorman Burke: A synthetic malfunctioned on her last trip out. Some deaths were involved.
Bishop: I'm shocked. Was it an older model?
Gorman Burke: Cyberdyne Systems 120-A/2.
Bishop: Well, that explains it. The A/2's were always a bit twitchy.
Bishop is an android and not exaggerating. For him to say something "always" was causing problems, he meant right from the beginning. It'd take some serious "twitches" for Bishop to go from "Shocked!" to "Ah, that explains it"
It's safe to assume Dallas knew Ash wasn't 100% reliable and on a mission like this he wanted crew members he could rely on.
Mikey MouseMikey Mouse
Yeah, that's true, will update – Mikey Mouse Aug 6 '17 at 19:52
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Canopus Article - ScopeX
Previous events > ScopeX 2009
by Lerika Cross
Many people will remember 30 May 2009 as the day the Blue Bulls won the Super14 crown in a runaway 61-17 victory over the Chiefs. “Die beste tot nog toe. Hulle het alles perfek gedoen”, said Naas Botha, speaking of the game and not of ScopeX which was also held on 30 May.
But, ScopeX also went well. The Military History Museum was happy; they recorded an attendance of 1724, a good turnout.
New additions to the format:
Rainer’s Sun Corner: It was sunny which was excellent to show off Rainer Jakob’s Sun Corner which included 7 beautiful sundials, an armillary sphere and an analemmatic sundial – 6 made by Rainer himself. A truly excellent display which delighted visitors! Many thanks, Rainer.
The Moon Telescope Building Workshop led by Auke Slotegraaf, the Deep Sky Director of ASSA: Auke’s enthusiasm is so infectious it rubbed off on the helpers and the youngsters – they enjoyed themselves thoroughly. To have ~ 280 Moon telescopes built in a morning takes some doing: Auke and his young team did brilliantly;
Edward Foster brought his fascinating display: “Fossils, Light and Time” all the way from Stellenbosch. Edward writes: “The display mapped the history of the Universe in a Southern African context using posters and examples of fossils or rock types. The posters drew parallel lines in space and on earth from the present to a point in time when the Vredefort crater was formed and light, which we see today, was just leaving the galaxy cluster Abell 1689. I spoke to a total of 322 people at the display but many more passed through, while I was occupied. The comments were favourable, especially from educators. The manner in which the display brought together a number of disciplines to demonstrate the concept of evolution in the Universe drew appreciative comments from many.”
The Meteor Impact Simulation where, from a 4m height, one could drop pebbles - of various shapes and sizes - into a special container filled with powder to create impact craters. This activity was enjoyed by many – especially the kid who smuggled in a huge rock and dumped it into the container to simulate a Dinosaur-Killer scale of impact. (It required a major clean-up by Dave Hughes the next day to re-instate the area to military acceptable standard!)
ATM awards: For the first time a demo Newtonian telescope won a prize! Read Chris Stewart’s full ATM report;
Astrophotography: Although fewer entries were submitted this year for the AstroPhotography competition, the winning photos of George Liakos and Francois Nortje were of a high standard. We were fortunate to have 2 excellent photo displays: by Dr Dieter Willasch of Somerset West (www.astro-cabinet.com), graciously brought to ScopeX by Auke Slotegraaf all the way from the Cape and a stunning display of pinhole camera photos by Eric Brindeau;
Invited learners: It was a challenge to provide a structured programme for the scheduled 280 learners – more than double the number that ScopeX normally endutains. Francois Nortje, who worked out the learner’s schedule, writes: “SAASTA sponsorship made it possible for 280 learners to attend ScopeX 2009. They attended the Experilab Science Show and a number of the scheduled presentations during the course of the morning. Each of the learners built a Moon telescope under the guidance of Auke Slotegraaf. They also visited a number of the exhibits. In particular they enjoyed the Camera Obscura, the Sun Corner as well as the Meteor Impact Zone. Cries of astonishment could be heard each time a group of learners entered the Camera Obscura tent. They were fascinated by the time telling ability of the analemmatic sundial and had an opportunity to observe the sun in both white and Hydrogen Alpha light. They had great fun observing the different types of craters that were made by the various missiles at the Impact Zone. The learners enjoyed the interactive activities and found the event to be interesting and informative. Many thanks to Cetric Molelemane and his 15 colleagues from Wits who excellently guided the 16 groups of learners through their schedule”;
Thank you, Claire, for supporting us and taking the time to have the Johannesburg Planetarium represented; and thank you, Sam and colleagues from HartRAO, for your informative stand and display model of the SKA and radio telescope;
Other popular stand were the Rocketry Society – who also produced lots of noise and smoke with a static test fire of a rocket motor – and Anthony Els’ 3 mini Meccano Orreries of the solar system;
The Star Party probably had the highest attendance to date for any ScopeX – thank you to the West Rand Astronomy Club members and friends for your support.
Summary of the presentations - many thanks to all presenters:
Johan Smit, ASSA Pretoria, presented his very popular “How a telescope sees” which includes how to build a simple telescope in < 5 min;
Case Rijsdijk, ASSA Education and Public Communication Section Director and who has presented at ScopeX since its inception in 2002, presented “Comets - debris from the formation of the Solar System”. Brian Fraser says of the talk: “Case explained what comets are, how they are formed and how they become such spectacular objects in our night skies, or not.Case pointed out the different materials that make up the various tails that comets develop as they loop round the sun and the mechanisms driving the physics.With some excellent slides he showed the main features of a number of bright comets that have visited our patch of space in recent decades. The talk ended with Case “building” a comet nucleus with dry-ice, sand, cooldrink, water, gravel and a few other ingredients.“
Lolan Naicker, Coordinator for the Development of Astronomy at the SAAO, gave an informative talk on the initiatives, in Cape Town and the astronomical community as a whole, within the International Year of Astronomy programme - a worldwide initiative during 2009 in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the first astronomical use of the telescope by Galileo;
Paidamwoyo Mhangara, Remote Sensing Specialist from the CSIR Satellite Applications Centre or SAC, talked about “Applications for Earth Observation Satellite Imagery” and gave an overview of the remote sensing process discussing the most common satellite imagery applications and satellite image products supplied by the SAC and their applications in South Africa;
Daleen Koch, Space Weather Engineer, 47th South African National Antarctic Expedition, talked on “Living the Antarctic dream: Life and Science at SANAE IV”. Robert Groess writes: “Living the Antarctic Dream was a vivid and enthralling view behind the scenes of what life is really like for the intrepid explorers stationed at the South African Antarctic base, SANAE IV. Daleen took us through breath-taking landscapes of a World positively alien to most of us. Here the Sun is either up for the season or it teases the horizon continuously. Crevasses whose dimensions boggle the mind, rippled across the ice-scape. And then there were those who chose to sleep OUTSIDE the comfort of the base, with their sleeping bags, in mid-winter! All in all, it was a tremendous privilege for us to have been afforded a glimpse of what life is like for a band of people who are closer than family to each other, living on the edge of forever”;
Dr Maria Diaz-Trigo, Scientist ESA Astronomy Centre – Spain, was sponsored by the Embassy of Spain to visit South Africa and ScopeX. Chris Stewart writes: “Whenever possible ScopeX tries to include speakers of international stature. Manuel Peralta Sanchez of the Spanish Embassy joined the telescope making class and was able to arranged flights for ScopeX international speaker, Dr Maria Diaz-Trigo. With a Masters in particle physics from the University of Heidelberg and a PhD from the Max Planck Institute, together with her experience on the European module of the ISS at the German Space Agency as well as scientific research on ESA's XMM Newton probe, Maria is eminently qualified. She gave a wide-ranging presentation on the ESA missions (past, present and future) covering the spectrum from sub-millimetre to gamma-ray wavelengths. She managed to give not only an overview of each spacecraft's purpose and capabilities, but also some explanations of how their missions interlock to provide the detailed spectral coverage necessary for scientists to truly understand the complex underpinnings of the universe we live in. In the process, Maria evensome detail of the physics being researched, on a level accessible to much of the audience. Due credit was given to international collaborations, as these missions are frequently too expensive for even the EU to manage alone. Thank you, Maria. Your talk was very well received by the audience. We hope your visit to our country was as special for you as your talk was to us”;
Brett Edwards: Francois Nortje writes: “A capacity crowd attended Brett Edwards’ presentation titled “Introduction to Planetary Photography”. Brett is an accomplished astrophotographer and a past winner of the ScopeX astrophotography competition. Brett covered the basics of planetary imaging. He described the available imaging equipment from webcams to dedicated CCD astronomical cameras and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each. He then discussed the fundamentals of image acquisition followed by a description of the processing that is required to produce good images as well as the pitfalls to avoid. He wrapped up the presentation by demonstrating that excellent results can be obtained with a humble webcam. He showed a video clip that he made of Jupiter with his Meade LX200 12” telescope and a webcam and then demonstrated how to process this video clip to produce the final image. This hands-on approach was well received by the audience which was shown by the lively interaction during the presentation. As an added bonus Brett provided each audience member with a CD containing a copy of his presentation slide pack as well as the video clips and images he used during the presentation”;
Andrew Helsdon: presented Practical techniques for Polar Alignment. Chris Stewart writes: “Andrew began with a brief explanation of the reasons behind the need for polar alignment. These include finding objects by means of setting circles, tracking objects for visual or photographic purposes and avoiding the problem of field rotation during imaging. He then gave an overview of a number of practical methods of varying complexity and precision, by which polar alignment could be accomplished for both “normal” equatorial mounts and equatorial platforms. Although conceptually simple, accomplishing satisfactory alignment is tricky in practice - especially when high precision is required for long-duration imaging. It is hoped that having had the basics demystified in this presentation, the audience would be encouraged to further explore and ultimately adopt one or more of the techniques in order to enhance their viewing experience”.
To all the people that helped make the event run smoothly, sincere thanks to:
The ATM and Astrophoto Judges: Chris Stewart, Dave Blane, Case Rijsdijk, Brett Edwards and Auke Slotegraaf;
Keith Lou for organizing the ATM stand and thank you to everyone who helped at the ATM stand, including Dorryn Jolly, Laura Tim, Percy Jacobs, Dave Hughes, Dave Rick, Johan Smit, Chris Curry, Bosman Olivier;
Special helpers: Chris Pemberthy, John Somersvine, Craig Allen, Gary Els, Catherine McKinnon, Atze Herder, Ron Cowley, Glen Whitney, Linschen Kirchner, Peter Venter, Graham Mephius for support at the Help Desk. A special thanks to Sharon Tait, Rudolf Strydom, Sue & Alec Jamieson and Francois Nortje, all of whom were busy the whole day with various support activities;
The 10 helpers from Unika Voortrekkers who provided invaluable assistance the whole day with selling raffle tickets, assisting the Moon Telescope building workshops, manning the Camera Obscura or Meteor Impact Stand or Sun Corner – you were brilliant!
Monica, Ronel and everyone involved with the Food Tent which was active from early to late and kept producing mouth watering homemade fare;
Brian Fraser for doing duty at the outside microphone for most of the day; Chris Middleton for starting the Star Party with What’s Up in the Sky; Matimu Rikotso and friend who helped at the Sun Corner; Cherry Hart who assisted as standby First Aid support … many thanks to all.
Finally, without generous sponsorship, the event would not be possible. Our heart-felt thanks go to:
SAASTA / DST who has been ScopeX’ non-commercial sponsor since 2004 and whose funding i.a. allows a number of senior learners every year to come and enjoy the morning at ScopeX;
Commercial exhibitors and sponsors whose donations help ScopeX recover costs via a raffle and also provide prizes to give away as awards;
The Embassy of Spain who kindly sponsored the travel of the main speaker Dr Maria Diaz-Trigo;
The South African Astronomical Observatory who sponsored Lolan Naicker’s travel from Cape Town plus 100 Moon telescope, and arranged the remaining 200 telescope and accessories to be couriered to Johannesburg – many thanks Cedric Jacobs for all your help;
The Hermanus Magnetic Observatory who sponsored Daleen Koch’s travel from Hermanus – many thanks Dr Pierre Cilliers.
The date for ScopeX 2010 could be Astronomy Day, 24 April or 22 May – it will be on www.scopex.co.za in due course.
Till next time then.
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Hugh Jackman is Not Playing Scar In Lion King Remake [Updated]
by Cooper Hood
It appears that Hugh Jackman has joined the cast of The Lion King as Scar. Jackman has just recently retired his Adamantium Wolverine claws for good, after his swan song Logan hit theaters earlier this year. With his career defining role now behind him, he is looking to beef up his schedule - that currently includes The Greatest Showman hitting theaters later this year. While his open schedule likely won't see him join the MCU, it has allowed him to rejoin the Disney family in another way.
Jon Favreau's live-action remake of Lion King continues to move forward by assembling its cast ahead of a 2019 release. Most recently, John Oliver joined as Zazu, the advisor for the king. Thanks to the story of Lion King, this means he winds up spending a good deal of time with the big bad, Scar, and Jackman is now set to take on the role.
Omega Underground has revealed that Jackman has joined the cast as Scar. This does ultimately mean that Jeremy Irons will not return in the role that he made famous in the original animated feature, but Jackman is a worthy successor. This casting also reveals why Jackman posted this cryptic tweet yesterday. With Disney's live-action panel at D23 set to begin any moment, this could be confirmed very quickly.
PARTNERS. @Disneyland pic.twitter.com/dEuFwxfoqd
— Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) July 15, 2017
UPDATE: Following the D23 live-action movie panel, The Wrap reached out to Jackman's representative, who claimed there is "absolutely no truth" to the report that the actor is voicing Scar. The rest of this article has been left as it was originally published.
Jackman certainly has the ferocity to play Scar, and will bring his many talents to the character. Thanks to his love of music and history with it, he should be a natural fit to take on Scar's musical parts, including his memorable 'Be Prepared' tune. This also reunites him with Disney after previously working together on Real Steel, but this will be a much bigger project. With a completely CGI world in store for the film, we will have to wait and see if Jackman does Scar's mo-cap as well, or simply provides the voice.
The addition of Jackman continues to stack the cast for Favreau. Donald Glover is set to lead the film as Simba, with James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa. Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen have also joined previously as the lovable duo Timon and Pumbaa, while reports of Beyonce being eyed for Nala have also circulated. With some other smaller parts still needed to be cast, it is clear that Favreau is attracting some of Hollywood's top talent - just like he did with The Jungle Book. With the original Lion King being a much more beloved animated film, expectations will only continue to rise for this remake. Thankfully the talent involved should give them a great chance of replicating the results.
MORE: Lion King Remake Gets Summer 2019 Release Date
Source: Omega Underground
Update Source: The Wrap
The Lion King (2019) release date: Jul 19, 2019
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19 July 2016 / Arts & Entertainment / Caleb Pershan
Here's The Route For Tomorrow's Potentially Massive Pokémon Crawl
Although much of San Francisco has been engaged in a de facto Pokémon Go crawl for weeks, a somewhat formal affair planned for tomorrow promises to be the real deal, if you consider a Facebook event with lengthy and complicated instructions and plenty of disclaimers to be the real deal. The event page seems legit enough for 7,800 people to RSVP, anyway, with 28,000 registering their enthusiasm by clicking an "interested" button. Of course, that kind of turnout is a somewhat frightening prospect, and it's definitely what SFPD had in mind when issuing Pokémon Go related safety tips. But, as you probably suspect and as I argue below, it's unlikely to be that big a thing (I hope!)
"The Pokémon Crawl is a simple gathering for all Pokémon Go Trainers to meet up, make new friends and participate in a fun activity together and is NOT an officially organized event," writes one Sara Witsch, the event's listed host. "I am in no way associated with Niantic, Inc. ©, Pokémon. ©, Nintendo © Creatures Inc. ©, GAME FREAK inc ©. or any of the venues and companies listed above."
Those venues are many, as everyone appears to want a piece of the action. Everyone from SoMA StrEat Food Park to Lyft is offering discounts and specials. The event starts at two locations, Dolores Park and "over by the Embarcadero," with groups supposedly gathering at 6 p.m. and then departing at 6:30 p.m. to catch 'em all.
So yes, maybe I'm just saying this because this whole crawl sounds like a fun time and potentially a minor disaster, but I already have a creeping sense of fatigue with this game. An essay originally published to Linkedin and picked up by Recode puts it nicely by asking if Pokémon Go will be an enduring success like Candy Crush or a flash in the pan like Draw Something (Remember that game? Don't worry if you don't, that's actually the point). On that note, I think it's a legitimate question whether or not Pokémon Go will be passé in time for this crawl. At the least, don't expect anyone to follow any sort of clear path or order — in all likelihood we'll just see people with a loose sense of affiliation playing Pokémon tomorrow ... as you might later this evening or at any other time this month.
Related: The Worst Habits Of Pokémon Go Players In Their SF Habitat (And A Few Upsides)
Covered CA Rates To Jump 13% Statewide, Almost 15% In SF
Next year, monthly premium rates in California will go up by 13.2 percent on average, the result of two insurers who have requested steep rate increases. As CBS5 and the AP report,
The SFist To-Do List: 12 Cool Things To Check Out This Week
If nothing else, the weather this week is going to be really consistent probable fog early on, burning off later but never warming up much, with the wind threatening to knock you down
Caleb Pershan
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Home / slovakia / Epidemiologists warn that tobacco and the best time to get the vaccine is recommended. Journal of Politics
Epidemiologists warn that tobacco and the best time to get the vaccine is recommended. Journal of Politics
slovakia February 27, 2019 slovakia
BANSKÁ BYSTRICA February 25 (WebNoviny.sk) – According to epidemiologists, in February, the three dose of transient enzymes is the first vaccinate vaccine.
The second dose, according to experts, should be given at the beginning of the end of March or the beginning of April in the tick tick of the spring and the third dose in September.
Banská Bystrica, Spokesperson for the Public Public Services Service (RÚVZ), has been reported by SITA, who is sponsoring the vaccine for people with less than 5 years of age.
Brain swelling
Worm Enemy is a viral illness that is spread through the blood through the nerve tissue and, above all, it causes inflammation of the brain. In the first phase, the virus affects the organism when multiplied. Then there are some diseases that end up in this phase, drowned.
The second stage shows signs of inflammation of the brain arteries, or severe headache and severe vomiting. It can damage movement, speech, memory, and other brain centers and, consequently, persistent consequences continue to be difficult, even when a patient with insufficient immunity dwells.
Three-person group SR vaccine. Virological laboratories or scientists who study pigments by research have forced the vaccine. The second team, in terms of professional risk, is involved in forestry, geologists, farmers, or athletes, and goes to known endemic areas. The third group is made up of citizens who wish to acquire their own request.
The highest morbidity
Endemic areas (sites with the highest increase in contaminated droplets) are located in Slovakia, mainly from the banks of the Váh River, from the source to the Danubio.
"In this area we have registered the highest morbidity for many years, although the SR disease is not very important in tickle encephalitis. Every year, 70 and 150 cases have moderate difficulties and require an average hospitalization lasting two weeks" Banská Bystrica RÚVZ Mária, Head of the epidemiology department of the Avdicová department.
In addition, in southwestern Slovakia, Nitriansky region and particularly southern regions may be endemic. However, according to experts, there is also an incident of lowercase infections, for example, at higher altitudes, such as Slovak Rudohorie.
Great epidemic
As a mark, the disease can be transmitted to human beings over humans and animals, even infected with infected animals. The virus is easily infected with goats and the virus is hidden in milk.
This disease can also be transmitted if there are infected goats and products with milk.
"In 1951 there is an enormous epidemic, with more than 600 people in the Rožňava district consuming cow's milk mixed with goats. There are smaller epidemics every year, usually consumed with products and products, with insufficient thermal treatment that does not use a mixture of sheep and goat milk. the " Add is added.
More on subjects: epidemiologists, pliers, tick enzymes, vaccines
Source: Webnoviny.sk – Epidemiologists warn against ticks and recommend the best vaccine time © SITA All rights reserved.
Reminder in Central and Eastern Slovakia: It hits the weather and it will rain us
Bankrupt works on climate protests have appeared in London
Skoda and Slovakia today presented Scala and Kamiq! Watch video – News – Auto
AHL: Jurcova Charlotte advanced to the second cycle of the second cycle at Cehlarik Probintzia
He reported what the young man had seen in his clinical death
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Chronicles of Smallness, or Becoming “Infrathin” in the Digital World
Translating Charles Baudelaire and Walter Benjamin’s notion of the flaneur into the language of the digital world, Kenneth Goldsmith argues that the flaneur “is hardwired into the ethos of the Internet”(65, Wasting Time on the Internet). We are, like the flanuer, constantly “browsing.” But as we do we become smaller and less noticeable. Goldsmith, drawing on Marcel Duchamp, calls this a state of becoming “infrathin.”
Goldsmith juxtaposes the flaneur to the zombie:
Much of the web itself has been colonized by zombies that automatically churn pages, entice us to click them, sometimes phishing for passwords, other times accumulating passwords, other times accumulating page views to generate ad revenue. At the same time, spiders – another kind of zombie –crawl the web and consume all they can, indiscriminately sucking up files. Casting the widest net possible, they trawl data, passwords, media that are warehoused in distant servers with the hopes of salvaging something of value, ultimately to be resold by yet more zombies….Truly, our online lives – intersections of flesh and machine –are daily feasts of extreme digital consumption. (61)
The difference between them is – as I would argue – that between the dynamic of expansion and the dynamic of contraction. While the zombie gorges itself on media, the flaneur loses weight and drifts:
Like a deriviste (the situationists also claimed the flanuer as a predecessor), he roamed the city alone, allowing himself to be pulled by the flows of crowds on the grand boulevards. With no goal in mind, he was a spectator of the urban landscape, viewing the goings on from the shadowy sidelines. Whereas the zombie was obsessed with consuming, the flanuer assiduously avoided it, feeling that to buy something would be too participatory….His was a stance of studied ambivalence. (64)
This stance, argues Goldmith, “exemplifies” a position that Roland Barthes called “the neutral” wherein “one places oneself in a state of uncertainty or indecision – living in a state between states – like sleepwalkers, ghosts, vampires, androids, and androgynous persons”(64). The flanuer has no interest in power, consumption, or expansion as does the zombie. “Neutrality was at the heart of the flanuer’s resistance; fiercely individualistic”(64).
How does the flanuer relate to the internet?
Goldsmith – in an ironic twist – argues that the “digital flanuer” is “hardwired into the ethos of the internet.” It allows us to “browse” as we “voyeuristically lurk from the sidelines”(64). Like the flanuer, we have all become small, invisible:
He (the digital flanuer) is a peripatetic digital wanderer, pulled by tugs and flows of his feeds, carelessly clicking from one spectacle to the next. Instagram is his Louvre, Youtube his Ziegeld. (66).
Goldsmith seems to efface the radical individualism of the digital flanuer, however, when he argues that he is “infrathin.” His reading reduces the digital flanuer to a series of small affects and a “state between states”:
He is the embodiment of Marcel Duchamp’s concept of the infrathin – a state between states. When asked to define infrathin, Duchamp claimed it couldn’t be defined, only described: “the warmth of a seat (which has just been left)” or “Velvet trousers/ their whistling sound (in walking) by/ brushing of the 2 legs is an/ infrathin separation signaled/ by sound.” The infrathin is the lingering warmth of a piece of paper just after it emerges from the laser printer or the chiming start-up sound the computer makes, signifying its transition from death to life. (66)
These small experiences – which are barely noticeable – that move from one state to another are, argues Goldsmith, built into our daily digital wanderings:
The whooshing sound my e-mail program makes when I hit Send or the click of the shutter my smartphone makes when I take picture are similarly displaced infrathin moments. These noises are signifiers of an event that in some ways happened and in some other ways didn’t happen. My mail was sent, silently and invisibly, and my photo was taken, but not in the way that I heard it. These series of contradictory events happening simultaneously – compatible and disjunctive, logical and absurd, present and absent, real and artificial – are evidence of ways in which the infrathin permeates our lives. (66)
When he becomes a “zombie” and clicks endlessly out of boredom to accumulate more information, this experience of the infrathin, suggests Goldsmith, leaves one feeling a “nostalgic sadness” for the loss of the “digital flanuer.” If these are the only two states left to us today, what does this suggest? Is the feeling of smallness, of the infrathin, the last sense of existing today…in the digital world? Aren’t these feelings of alteration the kinds of states that – as Walter Benjamin said so often – belong to the memory or experience of childhood?
As a reader of Goldsmith’s reflection, I can’t help but look at his reflections on online life (and his justifications) as both tragic and comic. To be sure, the digital flanuer is a comical kind of character. He is absent-minded, distracted. But he is also tragic because he can’t live in the world. He can only pass from state-to-state. The infrathin is a state of worldlessness. It belongs to a dynamic of contraction. There are – however – millions more zombies in the world. The tragic realization is that Goldmith may have lost his digital flanuer to the zombie. He may have lost his free flowing desire to drift and browse to the desire to gorge or else the indifference of doing nothing.
I find I do less wandering than I used to. The web is now riddled with zombies and their foul culture – clickbait, spam, ads – that I need to return to the few sites I know and trust. And even when I do, say, click to site from a Facebook link, I find myself closing the window and returning to Facebook to seek another for fear that I, too, might become contaminated. Years ago, I might’ve hung around, exploring that site…but today, the lure of social media draws me in over and over again, filling me with nostalgic sadness to witness my digital flanuer hovering on the edge of extinction. (66)
The implication is that although it is built in to the internet, the digital browser may have been replaced with a zombie. He isn’t so much a schlemiel because this comedy seems to be underwritten by a sad fate. Digital death and afterlife as a norm. After all, what are you doing online all the time? Are you experiencing the infrathin or are you just gorging yourself, clicking away, expanding? In the digital age, what will you write in your chronicle of smallness? Are you a zombie, a digital flanuer, or somewhere in between? Do you treasure the infrathin? Does smallness matter to you? Why? And what kind of existence or affirmation of existence happens in smallness? Is such attention to smallness our last hope, as Goldsmith suggests, or is this a tragic reflection?
Paul Celan – as I have noted in other places – argues that, for Kafka, “attention is the silent prayer of the soul.” It seems that for poets and writers the attention to smallness is the only hope left to humankind. Without it, as Goldsmith seems to suggest,the zombies will take over and expand. The dynamic of expansion will displace the dynamic of contraction. And today, in a digital world where everyone fears that they won’t be seen, the digital flanuer does seem to have left the room. People embrace visibility not smallness. Such are the tragic kinds of reflection I emerged with after I read Goldsmith’s book. And this is my chronicle of smallness.
« Freedom, Comedy, and the Inversion of Fate: Passing Reflections on the Schlemiel
Imperative or Description? On Roland Barthes’ Notion of The Neutral in Minimalist Art and Ethical Minimalism »
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Objectives and Concept
Methodology and Implementation
Social/Cultural Information by Region
Ethiopia, Federal Democratic Republic of
Legal System/History Briefly occupied by Italy from 1936 to 1941, although Eritrea under Italian rule from 1886 to 1941. During WWII, British defeated Italians and established protectorate over Eritrea. 1950 UN Resolution to unify Eritrea and Ethiopia implemented in 1952. Civil Code passed in 1960 governs civil, religious and customary law marriages. Armed movement for Eritrean independence began in 1961. 1974 military coup ended Emperor Haile Selassie�s rule and newly installed rulers oriented towards Marxism. All religions, including Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, officially placed on equal footing under new regime. Eritrean People�s Liberation declared Provisional Government of Eritrea in May 1991 and same year military rule in Ethiopia brought to an end with coalition government. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia established in August 1995.
School(s) of Fiqh Majority of Muslims are Shafi�i. Other major religion is Ethiopian Orthodox (or Monophysite) Christianity. Small Jewish and Animist minority communities.
Constitutional Status of Islam(ic Law) Current Constitution adopted in 1994. Article 11 adopts no official state religions and affirms separation of religion and state. Article 34 (on Marital, Personal and Family Rights), section 5 states: “This Constitution shall not preclude the adjudication of disputes relating to personal and family laws in accordance with religious or customary laws, with the consent of the parties to the dispute.” Article 78(5) also provides for establishment or recognition of religious or customary courts.
Court System Regular courts at four levels: Supreme Court in Addis Ababa; High Court sits in all provincial capitals; awraja courts at next administrative subdivision; and woreda courts at district level.Under 1944 legislation, shari�a courts organised into three levels: Naiba Councils serve as courts of first instance, Kadis� Councils as intermediate courts and Court of Shari�at as highest court.Shari�a courts have jurisdiction in two kinds of cases. First are: marriage, divorce, maintenance, guardianship of minors, and family relationships; provided that marriage to which case pertains was concluded under Islamic law or parties are all Muslims. Second are: cases concerning waqfs, gifts, succession, or wills, provided that donor is a Muslim or deceased was a Muslim at time of death.
Relevant Legislation Muhammedan Courts Act 1944Civil Code 1960Family Law 2000 (not yet available)
Notable Features Marriage Age: Civil Code sets minimum marriage age at 18 for males and 15 for females, regardless of whether marriage is civil, religious or customary; Family Law may have changed the age to 18 for both males and femalesMarriage Guardianship: both Article 34 of Constitution and Civil Code state that consent to marriage obtained by violence renders marriage invalid, but Civil Code provides that consent granted due to “reverential fear” of an ascendant or other person is not equivalent to consent obtained by violencePolygamy: abolished, backed by sanctions provided in Penal Code
Obedience/Maintenance: Civil Code states that spouses owe each other “respect, support and assistance” and provides that husband is head of family, determines place of marital home, wife must obey him in all lawful things that he orders and he owes his wife protection; marriage contract may be written settling financial effect of marriage, as well as other reciprocal rights and duties, but cannot change any mandatory legal provisions and has no effect unless approved by family arbitrators or by courts
Talaq: abolished; under Civil Code, all divorce law is uniform regardless of whether marriage was civil, religious or customary
Judicial Divorce: judicial divorce may be sought by either spouse for “serious causes” or “other causes”; serious causes are: adultery; desertion of marital home without knowledge of that party�s whereabouts for two years; a spouse�s confinement to lunatic asylum for minimum of two years; and judicial declaration of absence of a spouse; couples seeking divorce for either �serious� or �other� cause must first appoint family arbitrators who will attempt to effect reconciliation and if efforts fail, arbitrators can grant a divorce, preferably on mutually agreed terms; if �serious cause� for divorce can be established for which one spouse bears burden of fault, family arbitrators may divide common property unevenly; if no �serious cause� is established, property is divided unevenly to disadvantage of spouse who petitioned for divorce; arbitrators decisions can be appealed to courts; Family Law may have placed jurisdiction for divorce with the courts from the beginning of the proceedings
Post-Divorce Maintenance/Financial Arrangements: Civil Code does not refer to support payments to former spouse; Penal Code does make it an offence to refuse maintenance for existing or former spouse; support payments often granted to wife during course of divorce litigation and deducted from her share of communal property once it is divided
Child Custody and Guardianship: Civil Code provides that child custody and maintenance arrangements are to be made only with consideration for interests of ward; provision states that in absence of any “serious reason”, wards are to remain with mother until age of five.
Law/Case Reporting System Laws reporting through Federal Negarit Gazeta.
International Conventions (with Relevant Reservations) ICCPR & ICESCR � accession 1993, without reservationsCEDAW � signature 1980, ratification 1981, with reservation to Art. 29(1)CRC � accession 1991, without reservations
Legal History:
Ethiopia was occupied by Italy from 1936 to 1941, although Eritrea came under Italian rule from 1886 to 1941. During WWII, the British defeated the Italians and established a protectorate over Eritrea. The 1950 UN Resolution to unify Eritrea and Ethiopia was implemented in 1952. The movement for Eritrean independence developed into an armed struggle in 1961. A Civil Code passed in 1960 governs civil, religious and customary law marriages. Emperor Haile Selassie I (r. 1930�1974) attempted to modernise the state, but the nation was struck by famine and a long-standing conflict with Eritrea; both factors are considered to have contributed to the 1974 military coup ending Selassie�s rule.
Lieutenant Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam became the head of state and the government was oriented towards Marxism. All religions, including Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, were officially placed on equal footing under new regime. The Eritrean People�s Liberation Front won several strategic successes against Ethiopian in late the late 1980s and early 1990s, declaring the Provisional Government of Eritrea in May 1991. At the same time, 17 years of military rule under a junta (�Derg�) ended in 1991 amidst growing pressure from democratic opposition forces. From 1991 to 1995 a Transitional Government, a coalition of 27 political parties, ruled Ethiopia. A 1993 referendum in Eritrea resulted in a massive vote for independence.
A new Ethiopian Constitution was adopted in 1994 and elections were held in 1995 leading to election of Meles Zenawi as Prime Minister and Negasso Gidada as President. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia established in August 1995.
Schools of Fiqh: The majority of Muslims are Shafi�i. The other major religion is Ethiopian Orthodox (or Monophysite) Christianity. There are also small Jewish and Animist minority communities.
Constitutional Status of Islam(ic Law): The current Constitution was adopted in 1995. Article 34 (on Marital, Personal and Family Rights), section 5 states: “This Constitution shall not preclude the adjudication of disputes relating to personal and family laws in accordance with religious or customary laws, with the consent of the parties to the dispute.” Article 78(5) also provides for the establishment or recognition of religious or customary courts, pursuant to Article 34(5).
Court System: Regular courts are organised at four levels. The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction and sits in Addis Ababa. The High Courts sits in the 14 provincial capitals have original and appellate jurisdiction. The awraja courts are convened in each of the 102 administrative subdivisions. Woreda courts are established in each of the 556 districts.
Under the 1944 legislation, shari�a courts are organised into three levels: Naiba Councils serve as courts of first instance, Kadis� Councils as intermediate courts and the Court of Shari�a as highest court.
Shari�a courts have jurisdiction in two kinds of cases. The first are: marriage, divorce, maintenance, guardianship of minors, and family relationships; provided that the marriage to which the case pertains was concluded under Islamic law or the parties are all Muslims. The second are: cases concerning awqaf, gifts, succession, or wills, provided that donor is a Muslim or deceased was a Muslim at the time of his/her death.
Shari�a courts have unclear legal status as the Muhammadan Courts Act 1944 establishing them was never actually repealed and yet the 1960 Civil Code makes no exceptions for Muslims or Muslim personal law. The Court of Shari�a continues to sit as a division of the Supreme Court.
Notable Features: The Civil Code sets the minimum marriage age at 18 years for males and 15 for females, regardless of whether the marriage is contracted under civil, religious or customary law, though the new Family Law may have changed the minimum age to 18 for both males and females. Both the Constitution and the Civil Code state that consent to marriage obtained by violence renders marriage invalid, but the Civil Code provides that consent granted due to “reverential fear” of an ascendant or other person is not equivalent to consent obtained by violence.
Polygamy is abolished, backed by sanctions provided in the Penal Code. The Civil Code states that spouses owe each other “respect, support and assistance” and provides that the husband is the head of the family and determines the place of the marital home, the wife must obey him in all lawful things that he orders and he owes his wife protection. A marriage contract may be written settling the financial effects of marriage, as well as other reciprocal rights and duties, but cannot change any mandatory legal provisions and has no effect unless approved by family arbitrators or by courts.
Talaq is abolished. Under the Civil Code, all divorce law is uniform regardless of whether the marriage was contracted under civil, religious or customary law. Judicial divorce may be sought by either spouse for “serious causes” or “other causes”. Serious causes are: adultery; desertion of the marital home without knowledge of that party�s whereabouts for two years; a spouse�s confinement to a lunatic asylum for minimum of two years; and judicial declaration of absence of a spouse. Couples seeking divorce for either �serious� or �other� cause must first appoint family arbitrators who will attempt to effect a reconciliation and if efforts fail, arbitrators can grant a divorce, preferably on mutually agreed terms. If �serious cause� for divorce can be established for which one spouse bears the burden of fault, family arbitrators may divide common property unevenly. If no �serious cause� is established, property is divided unevenly to the disadvantage of the spouse who petitioned for divorce. Arbitrators� decisions can be appealed to the court.
The Civil Code does not refer to support payments to former spouses. The Penal Code does make it an offence to refuse maintenance for either an existing or former spouse. Support payments are often granted to the wife during the course of divorce litigation and deducted from her share of communal property once it is divided.
The Civil Code provides that child custody and maintenance arrangements are to be made only with consideration for the interests of the ward. In the absence of any “serious reason”, wards are to remain with the mother until the age of five. �
Notable Cases: �
Law/Case Reporting System: Law reporting is through the Federal Negarit Gazeta.
International Conventions (with Relevant Reservations): Ethiopia acceded to the ICCPR and ICESCR in 1993, without reservations.
Ethiopia signed the CEDAW in 1980 and ratified it in 1981, with a reservation to Article 29(1).
Ethiopia acceded to the CRC in 1991, without reservations.
Background and Sources: CEDAW, Concluding Observations on Ethiopia�s Combined Initial, Second and Third Periodic Report, January 1996; Redden, �Ethiopia� in Modern Legal Systems Cyclopedia, vol. 6, Buffalo, NY, 1990; �Ethiopia� in Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting Their Reproductive Lives � Anglophone Africa, Center for Reproductive Law and Policy & International Federation of Women Lawyers (Kenya Chapter), New York, 1997; Ethiopia, Combined Initial, Second and Third Periodic Report to CEDAW, 21 May 1993.
Follow Dr. An-Na'im
Abdullahi A. An-Na'im
Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law
1301 Clifton Road Atlanta, Georgia 30322-2770 USA
Email: aannaim [at] emory [dot] edu &
futureofsharia [at] gmail [dot] com
This website remains accessible for archival purposes, and for whatever value or resources viewers may find in it. Please bear in mind that Prof. An-Na‘im is no longer able to continue updating, revising, or changing the content of this site. Enjoy your journey through!
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Spiral Chute Experts
INDUSTRIAL PLANT MAINTENANCE & SUPPORT
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Why Stevenson
Joe POV
Caring for Stainless Steel
Can stainless steel get stained? Unfortunately, yes. Can you do anything about that? Fortunately, yes.
At our shop, the world revolves around stainless steel. We cut it, bend it, weld it, roll it, so we’ve had a lot of experience with stains, scratches, and finishes. If it can happen, it probably happened here at Stevenson. The team works exclusively for industrial applications, but on the personal side, we are also the go-to experts for Aunt Petunia who left the cast iron pan in the sink on Mother’s Day, or Cousin Eddie who scratched his work surface with a beer cooler. Here are some expert tips we share with them:
Finalist for Small Business Awards - Stevenson's History of Innovation
Stevenson Company is a finalist for a Small Business Award, recognizing a solid history of creating innovative products. Russell Stevenson bought a small tin shop in 1952 and advertised in the local business directory: "Sheet Metal Work of All Kinds." The business was located in a former stable. Though our facilities have been updated tremendously since then, we have remained at the same location. We have expanded to a total of 15,500 square feet and armed ourselves with state-of-the-art metalworking equipment.
What a Value - Spiral Chutes Add to Your Bottom Line
Stevenson Company is a finalist for the Small Business of the Year award, in part because of our innovative team. Our first spiral chute was installed at the local potato chip factory, who needed to eliminate product breakage. The Spiral Chute quickly paid for itself: Saving chips was saving money! Soon, every sister-plant wanted a full complement of spirals to gently and quickly move product while eliminating waste, increasing shelf appeal and boosting customer satisfaction.
Buying Local Actually Saves Money
When Stevenson Company, Inc. decided it was time to modernize their facilities, dedication to local sourcing was paramount. "We grew up in Topeka. Our innovative products ship worldwide, but it all started by working with local food plants, supplying high quality specialty fabrications," said Joe Pennington, president of the family business. "We wanted to extend that same loyalty to our community partners." Stevenson fabricates spiral chutes - think a spiral playground slide, only sized for chips or candy - for global leaders in the food production market.
Matt Pivarnik, President & CEO of the Greater Topeka Partnership, said "If Shawnee County businesses pledge to shift just 3% of their out of market purchasing to our local market it could improve employment and have an economic impact of up to $200 million, so we initiated a campaign called “TSC3.” When we approached Stevenson's with the proposal, they immediately pledged their wholehearted support."
"We started sourcing locally when the project began, and prices were unexpectedly lower. The quality of services was outstanding," said Pennington. He said buying office furniture locally resulted in a 40% savings when compared to internet vendors. Service providers, such as the alarm company, were on site within minutes. "Three percent seemed a low threshold, so we challenged ourselves to procure exclusively from hometown suppliers and contractors." Electrical, plumbing, lighting, networking, computers, painting, concrete, and signage contracts were all awarded to Topeka merchants. "These people are our neighbors, so it is satisfying to contribute to their entrepreneurial success."
Mayor Michelle De La Isla said, "I am proud of the commitment Joe and his team have put forth; not only to be an active citizen and business in our city, his love for the community is yet again exemplified by his commitment to supporting local businesses.”
The shop office renovations at Stevenson Company feature standing workstations, technology improvements, and a refurbished customer counter. The focal point is a larger than life mural depicting teammates forming stainless steel parts, soldering metal at the Statehouse, and fabricating their signature product, a stainless-steel spiral chute. Emblazoned above the doorway in bold letters are their hallmarks, "Quality, Innovation, and Craftsmanship."
What's next for the crew at Stevenson Company? "Back to work," said Pennington, "enhancing shelf appeal, eliminating waste, and improving the bottom line for our customers. We will also be introducing our services to tree nut processors, pet food makers, and the coffee world. Need to keep those whole beans whole, right?"
How Patriots Revolutionized the American Metal Industry
Should America produce its own metal? Paul Revere thought so. Although the patriot is much better known for his midnight ride alerting the Colonial Militia of British attack, he made his livelihood as a metalworker. He cast brass bells for churches, crafted silver jugs for dairy, and fashioned copper lanterns for - well, "One if by land, two if by sea."
"Men of Metal" art show
You probably know me as president of Stevenson Company. What you may not know is that I paint on scraps of steel. “Men of Metal” is my first art exhibit and I was delighted so many of you could be among the first to see it at the VIP reception.
On the first Friday of each month Haven Arts, a local gallery, throws open its doors to the public. This weekend happened to debut my homage to the people who work at Stevenson Company. Each piece showcases a craftsman in the sheet metal trade. Silhouettes were laid out and cut using a plasma torch, then detailed using oil paint.
5 Interesting Facts About Steel Production - from Fabtech 2016
1. New steel is made from dirt. Magnets pluck iron ore from the displaced earth. The resulting rocks are blasted for sixteen hours at temperatures of about 2700 degrees. Then the molten slop is poured into plates about 9 inches thick.
2. All steel alloys come from the same batter. Stainless steel is made by adding nickel and chromium to the mixture. Galvanized is made by ladling zinc onto the surface.
Compassion and quick thinking helped cool down a dangerously hot situation.
We received a call recently from someone wanting to thank Austin and Andrew at Stevenson Company. Miss Nicky said she was visiting North Topeka last month and had just gotten off the city bus, headed to the store for a cold pop. Along the way, she was overcome by the sweltering summer heat.
What I Owe Gene Wilder
Willy Wonka's "pure imagination" inspires me to make the most of my time inside food plants and here at the tinker shop.
Willy Wonka first struck me as darkly mysterious, the way Roald Dahl originally intended. My wife, on the other hand, considered the candy maker a quirky inventor. Left to my own preferences, I never would have allowed my children to be exposed to the harsh vetting process he required of his would-be successors: shot like a torpedo through a tube; injestion of a strange allergen that left its victim bloated and blue; or floating into a trap that sucked people into whirling blades.
Our kids wouldn't be deprived of the Wonka magic, though. My outlook began to sweeten during the reintroduction. By then our children had the Gene Wilder version permanently installed in the video player, stuck like Augustus Gloop in a pneumatic tube.
Spiral Chutes Are Safe Way to Handle Food Product
Are Spiral Chutes a safe way to convey food? Consumers rightly demand that what we eat is handled safely. The short and definite answer is yes, a Spiral Chute -- as designed and manufactured by Stevenson Company -- is an ideal method to safely move product.
Standards change for the better, and Stevenson Company is leading the way with cleanable, food-safe materials and workmanship. Spiral Chutes are compliant with regulations set forth by the United States government. Specifically, the Food and Drug Administration has detailed codes to ensure sanitary practices, the latest being the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The full text is available online, but to simplify we narrowed down the sections relevant to Spiral Chutes; below we address how FDA standards are met:
George Hart installs sculpture at Bartlett and West park
Bartlett and West commissioned artist George Hart to design a sculpture for their downtown park. We at Stevenson Company were tickled to get to work with such a creative team. We have been working with the engineers and mathematician since September. The project culminated in the final installation late last week.
Christmastime at the Metal Shop
Stevenson Company Celebrates Veterans Day With Tegan Robinson
CBS affiliate features Stevenson Company, Inc.
Rosie the (future) Riveter
Spiral is in my DNA
CALL STEVENSON: (785) 233-3227 | ©2019 STEVENSON COMPANY INC., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Stevenson Company, Inc. is a metal contractor that specializes in stainless steel spiral chutes for industrial settings. Spiral chutes surpass other letdown methods: stainless steel, all-welded construction, sanitary, easy to clean design, gently and quickly move product, reduce product breakage, efficient use of space, no maintenance required on spiral chutes, long term cost savings. We help with your storage bins, hoppers, cyclones, platforms, ladders, stairs, lids, tanks, brackets, or any sheet metal fabrication you need.
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Home/Shop/BOOKS/Law & Gospel: A Theology for Sinners (and Saints)
View cart “Comfortable Words: Essays in Honor of Paul F. M. Zahl” has been added to your cart.
Law & Gospel: A Theology for Sinners (and Saints)
by: William McDavid, Ethan Richardson, David Zahl,
There’s a big difference between judgment and love, obligation and freedom, a wage and a gift. The difference characterizes an extraordinary amount of our day-to-day experience, often dividing fear from hope, and death from life. At the heart of Christianity lies a similar and related dynamic: between the Law and the Gospel. Far from being a reductive or antiquated distinction, understanding where one ends and the other begins allows a person to see both the Bible and themselves—indeed, the whole world!—in a fresh and enlivening way.
Written with the non-theologian in mind, this short volume unpacks the good news of God’s grace with practicality, humor, and a whole lot of heart.
You can find this book’s companion/study guide here.
Publisher: Mockingbird Ministries (April 10, 2015)
William McDavid
You can read more of William's writing here.
Books of William McDavid
Eden and Afterward: A Mockingbird Guide to Genesis
Ethan Richardson
Ethan Richardson is a contributing staff member for Mockingbird. Born and raised in Lexington, KY, he graduated from the University of Virginia in 2009, majoring in Religious Studies and English. In June of 2011, he finished two years of teaching 5th grade in the inner city of New Orleans, and now lives in Charlottesville, VA and works for Mockingbird along with serving at Christ Episcopal Church. You can find more of Ethan's work here.
Books of Ethan Richardson
David Zahl
David Zahl is the director of Mockingbird Ministries and editor-in-chief of the Mockingbird blog. He and his wife Cate reside in Charlottesville, VA, with their three sons, where David also serves on the staff of Christ Episcopal Church (christchurchcville.org). You can read more of David's work here.
Books of David Zahl
Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion and What to Do about It
A Mess of Help: From the Crucified Soul of Rock N’ Roll
An Easy Stroll Through a Short Gospel: Meditations on Mark by: Larry Parsley $9.99
Unmapped: The (Mostly) True Story of How Two Women Lost at Sea Found Their Way Home by: Stephanie Phillips, Charlotte Getz, $14.99 – $19.99
PZ’s Panopticon: An Off-the-Wall Guide to World Religion by: Paul F. M. Zahl $13.99
The Youngest Day: Shelter Island’s Seasons in the Light of Grace by: Robert Farrar Capon $13.99
Mockingbird at the Movies by: $12.99
× Comfortable Words: Essays in Honor of Paul F. M. Zahl
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All Products > News
Tecmo Koei Just Sliced Up Team Ninja
In Japan, everything changes in the spring. And this April 1, Tecmo Koei, from the sound of it, is making some big changes. At least, on paper.
According to a new press release, Tecmo Koei is reorganizing its corporate structure. Meh, right? That sounds rather boring and insidery, but the relevant info is how it impacts Team Ninja. Or, rather, the moniker.
Team Ninja is (was?) a Tecmo Koei game development division best known for Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive.
The release states that Team Ninja will be reorganized into two new development teams: Ichigaya Development Group 1 and Ichigaya Development Group 2. Neither of them seemed to have "Team Ninja" in them. The "Ichigaya" naming is because Tecmo's offices are located near Ichigaya Station in Tokyo.
What's more, Team Ninja leader Yosuke Hayashi now has a new, official title: Starting April 1, he is the "Head of Ichigaya Development Group 1" and the words "Team Ninja" will no longer appear in his "official" job description, it seems.
It doesn't stop with Hayashi. Keisuke Kikuchi, who used to be "Team Ninja Senior Manager", is now "Head of Ichigaya Development Group 2."
"Ichigaya Development Group" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it?
I'd imagine that Tecmo Koei isn't killing off the "Team Ninja" brand, and this is probably more organizational streamlining than anything. Team Ninja was slated to work on upcoming title Yaiba, and I'd be surprised not to see the Team Ninja logo slapped on that game. But, it could be the end of an era, especially if you hold on to things like names, logos, and business cards.
Kotaku is following up with Tecmo Koei for further clarification and will update this post should the company comment.
組織変更及び人事異動に関するお知らせ [Tecmo Koei, Thanks Sang!]
The Console Version Of Diablo III Could Very Well Be The Best One
There are two reasons the console port of Diablo III, announced by Blizzard last month and shown off at PAX East this weekend, could be the definitive version of the game.
The first reason is obvious: you can play offline. You don't have to worry about server errors or Time Warner Cable while playing this incarnation of Blizzard's action-RPG.
Reason #2 is harder to understand without getting your hands on the PlayStation 3 version of the third Diablo, but it becomes obvious almost as soon as you do: Diablo III feels much, much better on a controller than it does on a mouse and keyboard.
Put the pitchforks down, folks. I was skeptical too. I spent many, many hours in the demon-infested hells of Diablo II (and a few more with Diablo III), and for a while, I figured a console version would never work. When I think Diablo, I think "click, click, click."
But after just a few minutes with Diablo III on PS3—which trades the clicking for nudging, jiggling, and mashing—I almost wish this series had been built for controllers all along.
I know. Blasphemy. Really, though, it feels like a different game: I hopped on a demo at PAX East this morning, loaded up a Demon Hunter, and wandered through one of the dungeons, flinging arrows and firing energy bolts as I danced my way around a mob of enemies. And it felt good. Surprisingly good.
To play this version, you move around with the left joystick while using the colored buttons to attack monsters and interact with the world. On the PS3 controller, you can assign attacks to R1 and all four of the colored buttons. You use L1 (and, I believe, L2) for potions. There's also a new evade command: you can use the right joystick to roll around and dodge enemy attacks.
The takeaway here is that you can move and attack simultaneously, instead of hammering your left mouse button to do just about everything. For a ranged attacker like the Demon Hunter, this is near-revolutionary. It feels graceful. Natural. More like you're inhabiting your character and less like you're guiding them from above.
Worth noting: this is the first Blizzard-developed console game in 20 years. You might remember console ports of the first StarCraft and Diablo—for Nintendo 64 and PlayStation 1, respectively—but those were built by external companies. This one is all in house.
Likely you have questions. I did too. So after playing the Diablo III demo this morning, I headed to a back room to chat with Joshua Mosqueira and Matthew Berger, both designers on the DIII port.
My first question: is this the best version of the game?
"They're both our kids," Mosqueira said. "The thing to keep in mind is that they're different."
How diplomatic. Ever the good parents, Mosqueira and his team don't want to admit that one of their games is more successful than the other, but I suspect they have private conversations about how much better it feels to play something like Diablo III on a PlayStation controller.
I asked Berger and Mosqueira about a number of other subjects, from next-gen consoles to server issues. Let's go through them.
What's new? Other than the obvious—the whole "new console" thing—Blizzard says they've overhauled the boss battles, making them feel more like the sprawling fights you'd see in an action-RPG on your Xbox or PlayStation.
"We know that there's a huge tradition of boss battles on console games," said Berger. "We're going through bosses and updating visuals, cinematics. Also, the pacing."
The item system has also been revamped, and you can now see whether an item will boost your stats even before you pick it up. Your inventory, character, and quests pages are now all tabs of one menu screen, accessible via the select button on the PS3 version. And you equip items through a radial menu rather than a ragdoll screen.
"We don't want to simplify the game," Mosqueira said. "We just want to streamline the experience."
So just how much is new? Says Berger: "If you played it on PC, you should expect it to feel familiar, but you should also expect to be surprised." Okay!
Fans have already shown some anger at this port—one message board user theorized that the PC version of Diablo III was actually a "beta" for this one. I asked the designers if that was true. Their answer: no.
This version of Diablo III won't connect to Battle.net, so don't expect any sort of cross-play between your PS3 and PC. Instead, you'll use the PlayStation Network infrastructure to play online. You can also play co-op with four people in your living room. No split screen, though—"The last thing we want to do is make your nice big TV into four smaller TVs," says Berger.
Interestingly, when you're playing co-op, the looting system will go old-school. While in Diablo III on PC every player sees their own items and doesn't have to worry about anyone else ganking them, on consoles, while playing co-op, you'll all swim in the same treasure pool.
"Loot drops a bit more, but everybody gets to share it," said Berger. "So if he picks up your bow, you can just punch him. We let the players police themselves."
No real word on PlayStation 4 just yet. Blizzard's designers wouldn't talk next-gen consoles—the PR representative sitting in on our interview shut down any and all PS4-related questions—but they did seem excited about putting Diablo on Sony's next console.
Are there really people who still haven't played Diablo III? Last we heard, Blizzard said they sold 12 million copies of the controversial game. So I was skeptical: just how many PS3 owners who might be interested in Diablo III haven't already played it on PC?
"Just judging by the number of people coming by our booth," Mosqueira said, "at least 50% of the people haven't played Diablo III."
They're not worried about Error 37 this time around. "Our plan is to be 100% ready," said Berger.
No news on expansion packs, or how they'd work on consoles. "Right now we're focusing on getting the core game out," Mosqueira said. "We still need to figure out exactly how we'll handle DLC and that kind of stuff."
Blizzard is known for their frequent patches and content updates, which might seem like a difficult thing to pull off on consoles, but Mosqueira said they've had extensive conversations with Sony about the importance of flexible patching in a game like Diablo III, and that Sony is on board.
What took so friggin' long? It seems like Blizzard has been talking about bringing Diablo to consoles for quite a few years now, but according to Mosqueira, development didn't really kick into gear until last year, after Diablo III shipped on PC. So what were they doing until then?
"What took the longest is finding the team," Mosqueira said. "We have a stringent process, an interview gauntlet that can take up to six months. The core of the console team were all hired specifically 'cause of their console backgrounds."
When's it coming out? "Soon-ish," Mosqueira said.
"When it's ready," added Berger. "On Blizzard time, because it's a Blizzard game, and we're treating it like any other game."
Any other consoles? Blizzard's designers were coy about this one.
"Step one is making it awesome for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4," said Mosqueira. "We don't have any other announcements at this moment, aside from 'stay tuned.'"
So if Diablo III really can be played offline... The PC version of Diablo III was online-only. The console version of Diablo III has an offline mode. So I asked the designers: now that fans can look at the PS3 and see that yes, Diablo III can be an offline game, will we ever see an offline mode added to the PC version of the game?
"It's one of those difficult decisions we had to make," said Mosqueira. "Right now there's no plans. Some of the reasoning behind it is, the PC and console ecosystems are very different."
Blizzard and Sony both did some research and found that many PS3s are never connected to the Internet, he said. "So we figured the best way to offer that Diablo experience was to let players play offline."
Here, Have Some Rare Borderlands 2 Loot
There were plenty of delicious Borderlands announcements at PAX East today, but those who weren't present for the revelry may be feeling left out. Thus, a treat is in order! Gearbox was apparently handing out SHiFT codes, which give players access to special golden keys. Predictably, golden keys open golden loot chests. Also predictably, golden loot chests have rare loot inside. Seeing a pattern?
The nice thing about these codes is that they can be used by an unlimited number of players until they expire, so when someone posts a code online—like Redditor TripleRPD did this afternoon—they can be shared throughout the community. These codes (one for each platform) seem to be active still, but just in case, it's best not to delay.
PC/Mac: W3WJ3-3JXTT-6RW5T-SB53B-XJBX9
360: K3KJT-6HRT5-BHRTT-3BBTJ-RBWJ9
PS3: 5JKBJ-H5WCF-KWST6-K6BJB-FZ9BJ
If you haven't already done so, you can sign up here to get more golden keys. This post explains how in greater detail. Happy looting!
Free BL2 Shift code from PAX East! Unlimited uses, enjoy! [Reddit]
Kickstart This Documentary About The LGBT Gaming Community
David Gil wants to make a documentary about the ever-growing community of LGBT gamers, and you're going to help him. Isn't that what Kickstarter is for?
Gil's project, Gaming in Color, aims to "take a closer look at the challenges and the growth of these communities in the gaming world." Gil himself is billed as a freelance director and cinematographer.
The gaming world is far more diverse than the media would have you think. To counter this, we'll be documenting the experiences of LGBT and women gamers / game developers to introduce perspectives you may not have seen before.
The rewards range from a DVD to the typical ridiculous $10,000 trip, dinner and screening. But considering how often I still hear homophobic slurs being thrown around, by gamers and others alike, I think this is definitely something worth funding. The more prevalent the LGBT gaming community makes itself, the more educated—and less hateful—the rest of our little corner of the world will become.
So far the project has raised over $5,000 of its $50,000 goal, and it's still got 47 days to go.
Gaming in Color - Kickstarter Campaign, LGBTQ/Female/Minority presence in gaming
[Reddit]
Halo 4 Will Soon Get Its Own 'Forge Island,' Plus Other Tweaks
343 Industries announced during a PAX East panel yesterday that Halo 4 will soon get its own version of Halo: Reach's Forge World map (pictured above), a feature that has been missed since 4 launched. Called "Forge Island" and releasing for free on April 11, the map will provide a series of open spaces in which Halo 4 forgers can putz around and try to smack one another by swinging tanks around like giant, deadly paddles. That's what I'm going to do there, at least.
Also on their way are a title update and a new competitive skill ranking system that will hearken back to the days of Halo 2 and Halo 3 by assigning players numbers from one to 50 and matching them up based on their playing prowess. The title update will tweak this and that, making camouflaged players more visible when they shoot, adding x-markers to signify where teammates have recently died, and adjusting the Gauss Warthog turret's auto-aim, magnetism and damage, presumably to make it less of an unstoppable death cannon.
343 also discussed some statistics:
Halo 4 has been played by 11.6 million people, including those logged in as guests. They've gotten:
11.7 billion kills;
388 million headshots;
193 million assassinations (4.4 million of which were in the air);
25.5 billion War Games medals;
30 million flag captures;
and 64 million vehicle hijacks.
It seems we're a bloodthirsty bunch.
Halo 4 logs 11.6 million players [Gamespot]
Nintendo's Efforts To Explain The Wii U Just Took A Turn For The Absurd
It's no secret that Nintendo has had a major problem marketing the Wii U. Most non-gamers (and even some gamers) I speak with have no idea that it even exists. Even Jimmy Fallon couldn't quite figure it out—and he was supposed to be showing it off that night.
Now Nintendo has apparently ramped up its efforts to explain just what the hell that big, glaring "U" means with the posters that GTTV host Geoff Keighley spotted and Tweeted about at PAX East today. "Why Wii U?" the ad reads, followed by a lengthy list of all the things the Wii U does that that crappy old Wii simply doesn't. Keighley followed up with a second tweet explaining that you can tear the flyers away and take them home, like phone-pole ads for a neighborhood dog walker, just in case you forget all the things the Wii won't do.
I'll say this: at least we can be sure Nintendo is definitely aware of the issue. But strangely, it seems like they left "GameCube game compatibility" off that list. Now why would they do that? Check out the full poster below.
Saw this "Why Wii-U?" flyer at retail today from Nintendo. Speechless.
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Hadoken, Baby Sloth Is a Tiny, Tiny Game
Rock, Paper, Scissors is too simple for our modern times. That's why Margaret Robertson and her fellow game designers at Hide & Seek have created Rock, Paper, Scissors, Hadoken, Baby Sloth.
You could be playing it right now, if you have a friend nearby. Rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper, paper beats rock, Hadoken beats all of those, but baby sloth beats Hadoken (and loses to everything else).
RPSHBS is just one of 10 so-called Tiny Games—real-world games that can be explained in a few sentences and played just about anywhere—on display at PAX East in Boston this week. You can see me learn it and play it against Robertson in the video above.
Hide & Seek make Tiny Games for public festivals all the time, but they're hoping to release hundreds of them that you can play via a Tiny Games phone app. They've got a Kickstarter going to raise money to make the app (the funding window closes on April 13). For many more details about the project, take a look at their Kickstarter here. At the very least, you'll probably wind up getting some new ideas for games you can play at the park or in the kitchen.
And here are two more PAX East Tiny Games, which I really wish I'd had a chance to see people play:
<—Tiny Game.
Watch Gearbox Punk People With A Borderlands Midget Hiding In A Vending Machine
Gearbox has been pulling this stunt at PAX East this weekend, and today during their panel they showed this video of a whole bunch of people getting punked.
I'll tell you one thing: if I ever see a Dr. Zed vending machine in a mall in Baltimore, I'm staying the hell away from it, no matter how much incendiary damage I've suffered.
What Is Tiny Tina Teasing For Borderlands 2?
Gearbox showed off a little trailer that looks like Tiny Tina is playing something of a Dungeons and Dragons-esque board game, but Brick, Mordecai and Lilith aren't quite understanding her rules.
Could this teaser trailer—shown off during Gearbox's PAX East panel today—be hinting at upcoming DLC? An official Borderlands 2 board game? A mobile spin-off? A sequel where it's just you playing against Tiny Tina in board games?! Gearbox isn't telling yet. But when I officially know, you'll know.
Tiny Tina's game is called Bunkers & Badasses. Roll for initiative!
Gearbox Is Working On More Patches To Fix Aliens: Colonial Marines, But No Apologies Yet
Aliens: Colonial Marines Collection
Gearbox recognizes that there are some...flaws with Aliens: Colonial Marines. That's why they're continuing to work on patching the game.
At their PAX East panel today, the developers announced a few more fixes that players will see in future patches.
Chris Faylor community manager at Gearbox mentioned the most notable changes:
More aggressive AI
Tweaked difficulty
Better data protection
More combat feedback (Smart Gun Tracking, Xeno Death Animation)
Improved PC Visuals
Support for Hot Fixes coming online
But... that's it. No apology has been mentioned officially yet. Just a commitment to future patches. But whether or not those will significantly change such a mangled game isn't clear. So far the bullet-pointed changes are too vague to make sense of.
They noted at the panel today that some people aren't happy with the outcome of the game. But they maintain that they are still in love with the universe. We'll see if that translates.
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English (US) Spanish (US)
Beyond Good and Evil 2
R6 US Nationals
Assassin's Creed Premium Jewelry
Released on 10/2/2018
X Games Gold Edition
Released on 1/1/2013
Homeland Pack
Star Trek: Bridge Crew
From $4.99 $9.99
DLC - High Power Pack
Expansion III: Dead Living Zombies
Expansion II: Lost on Mars
VR - Games (2)
Co-op (16)
< $10 (6)
Buy your favourite video games online from the official Ubisoft Store in United State of America. New products, exclusive collector’s editions and amazing promotions: only the best from Ubisoft ! With season passes, merchandise and apparel, enjoy the complete gaming experience. Ubisoft Store US features the best adventures on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch: write your own odyssey with Assassin's Creed Odyssey, become an agent of The Division with The Division 2, or join the Special Forces with Rainbow Six Siege.
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The Wade Shop
Home > Products > Old Country Song CD
Old Country Song CD
1.) Can't Get Close Enough To You
2.) Full Moon Summer Night
3.) I Wish I Still Drank
4.) What You Need From Me
5.) Needed The Rain
6.) Old Country Song
7.) I Don't Understand (All I Know About Love)
8.) Julia
9.) She Knows Me
10.) Going Where The Lonely Go
Produced By Wade Hayes & Dave McAfee
Conabor Records
Cut-By-Cut Commentary By Wade Hayes
Can’t Get Close Enough to You is a song I wrote with Clint Ingersol years ago. I think I did it once at a writers night and had totally forgotten about it. My friend Helen Neal ask me about recording it for this project as she had remembered it all these years. I’m glad she did because it’s one of my favorites on this album
Full Moon Summer Night is a song I wrote with Mark Collie. I literally got the idea one night standing outside looking at the sky and smelling the honeysuckle. It brought back some wonderful memories of being young. Mark was awesome to write with.
I Wish I Still Drank is a song I wrote after a friend of mine told me one of the funniest true stories I’d ever heard- I knew I had to write a song around it. Lee Roy Parnell was actually there when it happened, so naturally, I had to have him play the slide solo on it. He killed it.\
What You Need From Me is a song I came across years ago when I was trying to get my friend Megan Mullins another deal of her own. She’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever met. The people we met with played us the song and ask us to work it up for them. I fell in love with the song years ago and finally got the chance to record it with Megan.
We Needed the Rain is a song a friend of mine Alicia sent to me, and I loved it from day one. It was written by Chris Stapleton, and I really got to stretch out vocally for me.
Old Country Song, the title track was written by my old friend and writing partner Roger Springer. Mike Owens sent me the song and I knew I had to record it. This song is brilliant in my opinion.
All I Know was also written by Roger and Tim. I heard the song again when I was down in Oklahoma visiting Roger at his theater and ask him if I could cut it on this record. I had forgotten how much I liked it!
Julia was one of my favorite Conway songs written by my first producer Don Cook and John Jarvis. Megan and I were backstage warming up and we started singing it out of the blue. I really just enjoyed singing and playing it. I never forgot how I enjoyed it that day and decided to record it. It’s another one of my favorites on their project.
She Knows Me is another song I wrote yeas ago, and always kinda liked what it said. Don cook suggested after hearing it one day that I do an uptempo version of it, so I rewrote it and did just that.
Going Where the Lonely Go is one of my favorite Hag tunes. His passing was still pretty present in my mind when we were cutting so I decided to do it. It is also special to me because my favorite guitar picker in town and I are trading solos on the end. His are the good ones:-)
Copyright © 2019, The Wade Shop | Powered by Shopify
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sources / base-files / 4 / licenses / LGPL-2.1
File: LGPL-2.1
base-files 4
in suites: etch, etch-m68k
sloc: sh: 172; makefile: 68
file content (510 lines) | stat: -rw-r--r-- 26,527 bytes parent folder | download | duplicates (1232)
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That's all there is to it!
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Teddy Abrams attempts to channel Lenny Bernstein in New World’s “American Journey”
Teddy Abrams conducted the New World Symphony in “An American Musical Journey” Saturday night.
Teddy Abrams is a multitasking bundle of musical energy. The current music director of the Louisville Orchestra and former New World Symphony conducting fellow returned to the podium at Miami Beach’s New World Center on Saturday night for a program of Americana that also displayed his talents as keyboard player, clarinetist and composer.
For two seasons Abrams headed Miami’s now- defunct Garden Music Festival, presenting programs that mixed works from the classical canon with pop and indigenous music. Abrams’ tripartite “American Musical Journey” program continued that format. Like the New World’s Composer Portrait series, the three-hour concert utilized all of the hall’s auxiliary balcony stages and multimedia capacities.
Abrams bookended the opening segment devoted to the influence of folk music with classic scores by Aaron Copland and Charles Ives. The ensemble’s whipcrack articulation and Abrams’ brisk pacing took “Buckaroo Holiday” from Copland’s Rodeo into high gear. Two movements from Ives’ Three Places in New England showcased the young players’ versatility and flexibility. Abrams’ unbridled reading of “Putnam’s Camp, Redding, Connecticut” emerged sharp-edged and bereft of artificial gloss. The orchestra brought just the right rawness of timbre to Ives’ collage of circus band marches, Revolutionary War tunes and even The Star Spangled Banner. Yet they were able to turn on a dime and sensitively capture the misty ambience of “The Housatonic at Stockbridge” in evocative instrumental colors.
Between the orchestral pieces, Brittany Haas and Jordan Tice offered a set of songs and fiddle tunes that would be at home on a Prairie Home Companion broadcast. Their close harmony (with guitar accompaniment) on the Delmore Brothers’ “Mississippi Shore” was a fine example of American folk pop, sans commercial gloss. Joined by two string players, Haas (alternating on banjo and fiddle) offered a virtuosic demonstration of authentic bluegrass.
Composer and bass player Edgar Meyer is a musical zelig, equally at home as a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, in Yo Yo Ma’s crossover projects, or at country music recording sessions in Nashville. His Concert Duo for violin and bass combines all of those artistic paths. In the first movement, violinist Ludek Wojtkowski turned idiomatic country fiddler and bassist Drew Banzhaf was nothing short of superb in Meyers’ impossibly fast writing in the instrument’s high range. Both players also brought pathos to the more quiet and austere sections of Meyers’ lovely score.
Jazz, perhaps America’s original art form, occupied the program’s second part. Suggesting its roots in the dark history of slavery, Catherine Russell sang the spiritual “Witness” with fervor to a lively beat in Michael Linville’s piano accompaniment. Russell channeled the bold jazz artistry and scat singing of such icons as Ella Fitzgerald and Nancy Wilson in Abrams’ swinging arrangement of Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse’s “Feelin’ Good.”
The nimble touch of pianist John Wilson captured the fusion of ragtime and the dance hall in the Scott Joplin-Arthur Marshall collaboration Swipsey Cakewalk. The young Herbie Hancock’s Cantaloupe Island (1964) found Abrams playing both an electric keyboard and a Yamaha, at one point both at the same time. Ansel Norris’ trumpet appropriately evoked the wild horn playing of Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie while Kelton Koch’s trombone sound was both mellow and rounded. With Daniel Morris afire on drums and Kevin Gobetz’s bass at full play, this classic of modern jazz really caught fire.
Abrams added strings to his big band version of Louis Prima’s “Sing, Sing, Sing.” With three trumpets and four trombones blaring at peak power, Abrams’ own piano riffs and hints of stride updated the classic Benny Goodman version. Morris’s improvisation on tap set was a stunning solo moment.
Goodman was the soloist in the premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s Prelude, Fugue and Riffs on one of Bernstein’s classic Omnibus television programs in 1955. New World clarinetist Zach Manzi showed he had the agility and affinity for the idiom in his heated turn in the work’s final section. Five trumpets made a joyous noise in Bernstein’s jazzed up Gabrieli introduction and the three saxophones had a field day with the mini fugue.
The final section of the program was devoted to the influences of rock and techno pop. Here Abrams’ vision seemed much more limited. Three of the four works offered, in one way or another, were steeped in musical minimalism. Is this the only fashionable style of classical composers responding to popular culture?
In his Lollapalooza, John Adams turns repetitive fragments into pulsating patterns that entrance the ear. The score is a brilliant workout for the full orchestra, including a busy enlarged percussion group, and it was right up Abrams’ musical alley.
Steve Reich’s New York Counterpoint (1984) found clarinetists Ran Kampel, Daniel Parretta and Manzi stationed on balconies to each side of the stage and on one side of the audience with Abrams tooting his clarinet from center stage. This score captures Reich at his best and transfixes the listener with its ingeniously contrasted repetitions. The antiphonal effect was both eye- and ear-catching and the expertly coordinated performance engendered plenty of excitement.
Mason Bates’ mix of electronics and full orchestra packed a wallop in “Warehouse Medicine” from The B-Sides. There is a sense of the ominous behind Bates’ driving rhythms in his portrait of the birth of techno pop at parties in the deserted warehouses of 1980′s Detroit. Abrams and the orchestra gave this hard thrusting essay their all.
Abrams’ own Overture in Sonata Form only passingly acknowledges rock. This smoothly crafted crowd pleaser traverses mid-twentieth century Americana and the Hollywood sound of John Williams in a celebratory manner.
Abrams displayed boundless energy and enthusiasm throughout the long evening. He appears to be New World artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas’ most prized podium protégé, so much so that Tilson Thomas is guest conducting the Louisville Orchestra this season. Abrams will doubtless be returning and it will be interesting to see the scope of his repertoire and interpretive talents evolve.
The New World Symphony season continues with Bernard Labadie conducting Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 4, Haydn’s Symphony No. 95 and arias by Handel and Mozart with soprano soloist Lydia Teuscher 8 p.m. November 12 and 2 p.m. November 13. nws.edu; 305-673-3331.
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Home / Programs & Degrees / Joint Degree Programs / MD/MPH Joint Degree Program / Funding & Scholarships
MD/MPH Funding & Scholarships
MD/MPH students pay public health tuition, academic services fees, and technology support services fees as they enroll in SPHTM classes. Visit Accounts Receivable for current published SPHTM rates. Students are billed tuition for the MPH portion of their combined degree as they take public health classes. University add/drop and tuition refund deadlines apply to MD/MPH students. The school's academic calendar may also be helpful.
Financial aid is available to help cover the costs of tuition and expenses. MD/MPH students should contact the Office of Financial Aid at 504.988.6135 for financial aid information and deadlines. (On the Financial Aid website, choose "Medical Students" link.)
There is a limited amount of funding available to help cover a portion of tuition for public health classes for MD/MPH students. All applicants are considered for scholarships; there is no separate application process. All scholarship and funding opportunities require that MD/MPH students are in good standing in both School of Medicine and School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and are making appropriate progress toward fulfilling their combined degree requirements. MD/MPH scholarship recipients who do not finish the MD/MPH program are expected to repay the portion of the MD/MPH scholarship that they used.
A limited number of merit-based scholarships may be available to students accepted into Tulane University's MD/MPH combined degree program. The MD/MPH scholarship awards are based on objective and subjective criteria and are designated for public health tuition. Students are automatically considered for a merit-based scholarship award when they apply to the MD/MPH combined degree program if any scholarships are available. There is no separate merit-based scholarship application. March 15 (before a student's T1 year in SOM) is the application deadline to receive priority consideration for a merit-based scholarship.
Please use this link for more details about eligibility for MD/MPH merit-based scholarships.
All merit-based scholarships have been allocated to the MD/MPH Class of 2020.
Research-Based Scholarships
The MD/MPH program has several research-based scholarships available to MD/MPH students who develop and complete a research experience that results in a written document (formatted as a peer-reviewed manuscript) and PowerPoint presentation.
Please contact the MD/MPH program office for descriptions and details about research-based scholarships in the areas of (1) cancer or diseases of the heart, (2) arthritis and rheumatism, or (3) arteriosclerosis and/or atherosclerosis.
You can also contact the MD/MPH program office for a description and details of the MD/MPH Endowed Hayward Scholar in Genetics, which emphasizes the interface between public health and medical genetics with a required mentored practicum experience relating the two disciplines.
MDMPH Left Footer
TULANE MD/MPH JOINT DGREE PROGRAM
Office of Public Health & Medical Education 1440 Canal Street, Suite 2400 New Orleans, LA 70112 504-988-7055
mdmph@tulane.edu
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Sat 29 Dec, 2018, 11:00 PM (EST)
Cris Cyborg vs. Amanda Nunes UFC 232 Pick, Preview, Odds, Prediction - 12/29/18
Amanda Nunes vs. Cris Cyborg
Saturday December 29, 2018, 11:00 PM (EST)
The Line: Cris Cyborg -254 / Amanda Nunes +226 -- Over/Under:
Stream UFC fights on ESPN+ for only $4.99 a month. Sign up now!
Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes fight Saturday during UFC 232 at the T-Mobile Arena.
Cris Cyborg enters this fight with a 20-1 record and has won 85 percent of her fights by knockout. Cyborg has won her last 20 fights and is coming off a March win over Yana Kunitskaya. Cyborg is averaging 6.81 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy percentage of 58 percent. Cyborg is averaging 0.91 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 75 percent. Cyborg is now 5-0 under the UFC banner and will be defending her belt for the third time. Cyborg is coming off a first round knockout victory and has produced knockouts in all but one of her fights since 2009. Holly Holm is the only fighter in Cyborg’s last 15 fights to go the distance with the powerful Brazilian. There’s never any surprises with Cyborg, as she’s a power striker with relentless aggression, ridiculous pop and a proven chin that allows her to stand in there and trade blows. It’s not a question of if Cyborg lands those power strikes, it’s when, and there’s not many female fighters who can take such punishment. Cyborg lands her strikes standing up, in the clinch and on the ground, and she forces her opponent to fight her fight with a superb takedown defense. The only real concern with Cyborg is her conditioning, as she can tire herself out at times early and that sets up for less effectiveness and creates an opening for a losing effort. Still, Cyborg is as powerful as any fighter on the female side. This will be Cyborg’s fourth career fight in Las Vegas.
Amanda Nunes enters this fight with a 16-4 record and has won 69 percent of her fights by knockout. Nunes has won her last seven fights and is coming off a May win over Raquel Pennington. Nunes is averaging 4.54 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy percentage of 51 percent. Nunes is averaging 1.86 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 42 percent. Nunes is coming off a fifth round knockout victory to successfully defend her UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship, and she’s now produced finishes in seven of her last nine victories. Nunes now has a chance to win at least two fights a year for the third time in her last four tries. Nunes has built the reputation of being one of the top strikers on the female side, as her combination of accuracy, power and aggressiveness has produced 11 career knockouts. Nunes lands 70 percent of her strikes standing up, but she’s also highly effective with her ground and pound. However, Nunes is no stranger to the takedown attempts and has become far more comfortable on the canvas over the years. Nunes is averaging nearly nine minutes per fight and has fought 10 rounds in her last two bouts, so she’s built for the long game. This will be Nunes’ fifth career fight in Las Vegas.
I’ve never bet against Cyborg, and I understand why she’s favored here. Cyborg’s power is unreal and the relentless attack puts her opponents in an awkward situation that they can’t handle. With that said, we’re getting big plus money with Nunes, who is a champion in her ownright and also the more balanced fighter. Nunes is capable of dragging Cyborg into deep waters and possibly tiring her out with her ground game. Nunes also has a slight leg and each advantage over Cyborg, which is key in stand up striking. This fight should be closer than the odds indicate.
Cyborg should be favored, but the big plus money with Nunes makes me want to back The Lioness simply off the value.
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Tour Of Phuket Stage 1: Individual Time Trial Prologue
News Races
Darren Lim
The Singha Tour of Phuket begins with a Prologue Individual Time Trial on 8 March 2019. Covering a distance of about 4.6km, riders will be racing against the clock on a smooth road with a couple of technical turns. Under the sweltering sun, cyclists are forced to contort to a smaller frontal area while pushing against the wind to reduce the aerodynamic drag.
ITT route profile
Distance: 4.6km, Elevation: 20m
Riders came with clip-on aero bars and aero helmets to shave off seconds, imperative for the Individual Time Trial.
The roads around Phuket Gateway is smooth and narrow.
With just 200 metres to go, the riders experienced a tailwind after pushing through the punishing headwinds.
The end of the time trial finishes with an incline.
Some riders felt like it was the hardest 4.6 km they have done.
The individual time trial sets off at regular intervals.
Riders are gathered at the open area of Phuket Gateway while waiting for their turn.
Commissaires help the riders get into position at the start line.
Kent McCallum, Director of Cycosports debriefs Stage One and prepares the riders for Stage Two.
Elite Open
Thomas Thrall from matadorRACING clinches the first place with a timing of 5 minutes and 36 seconds, averaging over 49 km/h across the harsh wind conditions around Phuket Gateway.
The Canadian now holds the record for the fastest timing amongst the peloton, putting him in the leader’s jersey. He also holds the record for the fastest timing clocked in the Prologue.
Just 4 seconds behind, we have Yeo Boon Kiak from CyclingTraining.CC as the first runner up. Just 1 second after, Jambaljamts Sainbayar from Roojai.com cycling team finished third. As the top three in the General Classifications, we would be expecting an exciting and close fight amongst the Elite Open category for the following days.
Also from matadorRACING, Romain Barbier takes first place with a timing of 5 minutes and 43 seconds, averaging over 48 km/h.
Coming neck to neck, David Lloyd from Velo Vietnam takes the second place with just 2 seconds behind. Finishing third we have Marc (Dexter) Tzivelekas from 4T2 finishing just a mere 3 seconds later.
Supermasters
From the Supermasters category, we have Tim Carter from Virgin Active, finishing first with a timing of 5 minutes and 58 seconds, averaging over 46 km/h over the course.
In the second place was Michael Boesiger from DT Swiss Asia finishing 11 seconds behind. Alexander Liauw came very close, finishing third with just 1 second later.
Over to the Veterans, Kjell Olsen from Boras CA took the first place with a timing of 6 minutes and 14 seconds. He averaged over 44 km/h throughout the duration.
Coming second, Peter Williamson from ANZA Cycling completed the time trial 5 seconds behind. Another 9 seconds behind him, we have David Best from Velo Vietnam coming in third.
Women’s Open
In the Women’s Open category, Sarah Schneider from matadorRACING took the first place, coming in with a timing of 6 minutes and 36 seconds. She proved her prowess, averaging over 41 km/h in the time trial.
Coming in very close, we have Lucy Richardson from Thanyapura finishing second, just 4 seconds behind. We can feel pressure amongst the leaderboard as Chelsie Tan from Bikelabz Racing finishes third, only 3 seconds later. The competition is extremely close.
With three of the leader’s jersey going to matadorRACING, they certainly are showing their readiness in this three-day stage race. Having such close timings across the leaderboard, it is hard to say which team has true dominance.
The Prologue alone can’t reveal who the strongest riders are in the peloton. Let us stay tuned and watch Tour Of Phuket as the rest of the race unfolds, as the riders manifest in Stage One and Two.
Click this link to see the full results of the ITT.
Darren is an avid cyclist who is really keen to meet new people and explore the roads untravelled. He appreciates mountains or terrains that gives him a challenge. He love overseas adventures and is always keen for more.
He is currently waiting to pursue Sports Science and Management in NTU this year.
“Life is too short to stay comfortable at home. Get on your bike and live life to the fullest!”
Latest posts by Darren Lim (see all)
Review: ABUS Airbreaker And Gamechanger Helmets – June 13, 2019
New Shimano Deore XT & SLX Groupsets Bring 12-Speed Features to Mountain Bikes – May 31, 2019
Recovery Systems Blue Max – A Review – May 17, 2019
Get the latest tips, how tos, reviews and cycling news!
What Else
Are you a Chieftain?
Are you a Merchant?
© 2017 sportsIN
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Session: Scaling Evidence-Based Interventions: Sustainability, Feasibility, and Fidelity (Society for Prevention Research 27th Annual Meeting)
3-054 Scaling Evidence-Based Interventions: Sustainability, Feasibility, and Fidelity
Pacific A (Hyatt Regency San Francisco)
Theme: Dissemination and Implementation Science
Stevie S. Schein
Kathleen Baggett
The theme of this symposium is about increasing access to evidence based programs, especially to young children. Each program’s developer and dissemination staff have been working to scale up the programs to increase access, with a careful focus on implementing the interventions in a feasible way while still maintaining core essence of the interventions. The goal of all these scaling efforts is to maintain treatment quality even as intervention scale increases.
Each paper addresses this topic from a different angle: One paper will focus on a method for training new supervisors to monitor clinician fidelity to an intervention, one will focus on improving the process for training coaches through on-line distance learning modules, and one will focus on increasing the reach of an intervention by piloting a method for directly reaching clients through an internet adaptation of the intervention.
More specifically, the first paper discusses the process for training off-site fidelity supervisors for a parenting intervention to improve attachment and self-regulation in infants. To make the intervention more scalable and sustainable, it is necessary to have community supervisors who can monitor clinician’s fidelity so that the model is implemented in its most efficacious form.
The second paper discusses a plan to provide professional development supports to help child-care teachers effectively deliver an evidence-based preschool enrichment program, making the program more sustainable by getting directors to serve as coaches for their teachers.
The third paper focuses on an empirically-supported media-enhanced home visiting program that uses an internet adaptation to remotely deliver the intervention to economically disadvantaged families to strengthen early parenting behaviors that promote infant social communication.
Our discussant has experience in early intervention, and has worked on both home-visiting based programs and programs that support school readiness for vulnerable children.
This symposium would present varied perspectives on how to reach vulnerable children and families. We believe that combining this set of interventions gives the audience a unique view into each program’s creative solution to increase access and bring infants and toddlers high-quality interventions the way they were intended to be delivered. We share a goal of making these programs to be feasible to implement, in terms of cost and staff, while also retaining the large effect sizes seen in the initial RCTs. All papers focus on the quality of program delivery and continued efficacy of programs disseminated, even as we try to find ways to expand the reach of each intervention.
Scaling Early Intervention By Increasing Fidelity Monitors: A Training Program for Off-Site Community Supervisors
Stevie S. Schein, PhD, University of Delaware; Amanda H. Costello, PhD, University of Delaware; Caroline K.P. Roben, PhD, University of Delaware; Mary Dozier, PhD, University of Delaware
Promoting the Use of Evidence-Based Social-Emotional Learning and Literacy Programs in Child-Care Centers: Overcoming Challenges to Scaled-up Implementation
Karen L. Bierman, PhD, The Pennsylvania State University; Claudia Mincemoyer, PhD, The Pennsylvania State University; Janet Welsh, PhD, The Pennsylvania State University; Julia Gest, MEd, The Pennsylvania State University; Leah Welsh, MEd, The Pennsylvania State University; Benjamin Bayly, PhD, The Pennsylvania State University
Moving from Research to Community: Understanding the Feasibility of an Internet-Based Adaptation of an Empirically-Validated Home-Based Intervention for Spanish-Speaking Mothers of Infants and Toddlers Living in Economic Disadvantage.
Ruby Batz, PhD, University of Oregon; Edward G. Feil, PhD, Oregon Research Institute
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BREAKING: Mitiga Airport in Tripoli Closed Due to Being Targeted by Air Strikes
Washington Launches Probe Into France's Planned Technology Giants Tax
France and some other countries have decided to implement the tax on a national level after the European Commission scraped a digital tax plan for the bloc in March to elaborate a common stance on the issue at a global level.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced that he launches investigation into France's planned tech giants tax, adding that Washington is very concerned that the tax would "unfairly target American companies". “The President has directed that we investigate the effects of this legislation and determine whether it is discriminatory or unreasonable and burdens or restricts United States commerce,” Lighthizer said in a statement.
Earlier, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters that US president Donald Trump's administration will launch an investigation into tax on technology giants planned by France, which could potentially result in retaliatory tariffs on France.
Bloomberg also said that Trump would order the probe into the tax, quoting two sources. Lighthizer will reportedly be given up to a year to examine whether the French plan would hurt US technology firms, and suggest retaliatory measures.
Earlier, France said that it would start taxing giant US targets digital companies with global annual sales of more than 750 million euros ($849 million) and sales in France of at least 25 million euros after European Union failed to agree on the bloc-wide digital tax. In April, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that France was determined to implement the tax, called "GAFA" by the French media (an acronym that means Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon), on the largest digital companies.
Washington has claimed that the bill is "discriminatory" and warned of WTO actions.
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21:12Assam Woman Names Baby 'Krishna' after Giving Birth in Boat During Floods
21:07Mitiga Airport in Tripoli Closed Due to Being Targeted by Air Strikes
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TheDamTruth
Yvon Chouinard
Bringing Back the Light: Central Westcoast Forest Society
By Patagonia | Sep 12, 2017 September 12, 2017
For British Columbia’s timber barons, the forests of Vancouver Island were too rich to resist: giant spruce, fir and red cedar trees that fetched top dollar on the open market. On the island’s remote and rain-soaked Pacific coast, mechanized logging kicked into high gear in the 1950s and continued through… Read More
ActivismDesign
The Slab Hunter: Ben Wilkinson Woodwork
By Malcolm Johnson | Aug 3, 2017 August 3, 2017
It didn’t take long for Ben Wilkinson to figure out that there was freedom to be had in working for himself—and that freedom was the first requirement if he wanted to go surfing whenever the waves got huge. “I left home when I was 16,” he remembers,… Read More
DesignSurfing
Wilder Waters
By Patagonia | Jul 13, 2017 July 13, 2017
Patagonia is an unusual workplace in many ways, and the fact that employees are encouraged to incorporate environmental activism into their daily work is just one of the characteristics that sets our company apart. The realities of running a business are important, but we’re always aware that our business has… Read More
The Aloha Shirt: Spirit of the Islands
By Dale Hope | Jun 20, 2017 June 20, 2017
The Aloha Shirt: Spirit of the Islands is the most colorful and complete book published on the most enduring souvenir ever invented: the Hawaiian shirt. The following excerpt is from chapter two, “Tailor Shops to Factory Pioneers.” In the late 1920s, most visitors to Waikiki beachside… Read More
By Chris Malloy | Jun 27, 2016 June 27, 2016
We are now third and fourth generation surfers. We have the confidence to leave the stereotypes behind. We have become a tribe that has the ability to be the scroungiest dirtbags one day and then return to the urban environment as activists for change the next. Two time periods epitomize… Read More
ClimbingCultureDesignSurfing
Experimenting with Naturally Dyed Clothing
By Joyanna Laughlin | Jun 8, 2017 June 8, 2017
Forty-five years ago, the old school North American outdoor uniform was basically colored in khaki, denim blue and olive green. Not only were the colors monotonous, but the dyes used were mostly petroleum based. Imagine no Craft Pink as vivid as the beavertail cactus flower. No Galah Green as bright… Read More
Tin Shed Ventures: Funding the Next Generation of Responsible Businesses
By Patagonia | Nov 28, 2016 November 28, 2016
At Patagonia, we believe making great products, earning a profit and protecting our planet are not mutually exclusive objectives. That’s why, in 2013, we launched an investment fund to help like-minded start-ups on a similar mission. Today, we’re announcing a new name for the fund: Tin… Read More
Harvesting Liberty: A short film about growing hemp in the USA
By Dan Malloy & Jill Dumain | May 24, 2016 May 24, 2016
TAKE ACTION! Ask Congress to pass the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, allowing American farmers to freely grow this commercially and environmentally important crop. Sign the petition at Change.org Industrial hemp is a crop that has the potential to lower the environmental impacts of textile production, empower small-scale farmers… Read More
Creating Climate-Beneficial Fiber Systems
By Rebecca Burgess | May 3, 2016 May 3, 2016
How can we solve the climate crisis? The answer may exist beneath our feet, in the soil. Carbon is a finite resource that moves through soils, oceans, food, fibers and the atmosphere—and ancient carbon is fossilized in Earth’s core. There is no more carbon entering or leaving Earth—we are simply… Read More
A Different Path: Living in Southern Chile with Bureo co-founder Ben Kneppers
By Brooke Ortel | Feb 8, 2016 February 8, 2016
Patagonia’s $20 Million & Change fund [Update: the investment fund is now called Tin Shed Ventures.] was launched in 2013 to help innovative, like-minded startups bring about solutions to the environmental crisis and other positive change through business. Or, in Yvon’s words, to help entrepreneurs and innovators succeed in “working with nature… Read More
Touring Seattle’s Bullitt Center: The greenest commercial building in the world
By Charles Clark & Jacqueline Sussman | Feb 1, 2016 February 1, 2016
“… after some thinking, I’d say I’d rather be a functioning cog in some great machinery, serving something beyond me.” –Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, “Helplessness Blues” On a far from average Wednesday, we arrived to work at… Read More
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Golf is Fun…When You Know What You Are Doing
By Luke Benoit, PGA Professional
Not that long ago I was teaching a beginner golfer. He told me right away about a big work tournament he had coming up in a couple months. Like most golfers new to the sport he thought it was important to get the ball into the air with some regularity. He was right about this, but his insistence that this turn of events happen now was misplaced. He had been playing for about a year and had a terrible golf swing with a tempo so quick it looked like or maybe caused a seizure. We were 5 minutes into our first lesson and I hadn’t even given him any tips yet when he turned to me after another topped shot and blurted out, “I need to stop thinking so much”. At that moment, I knew exactly what he meant. His brain was so overloaded with swing thoughts that he couldn’t actually make solid contact with the golf ball. He spewed out his thoughts like a guilty Catholic at his first penance. Out came a word salad only a type “A” golf channel addict could come up with. Head down, left wrist extended, weak grip, attack angle down, swing path rigth, swing plane flat. He even finished with some brilliant, but grossly inappropriate comment about D plane. It was highlight real material I wish I had on tape. I said “Wow. That’s a lot of stuff. Now clear your head and hit one without thinking”. He tried. It was still garbage. He topped it so badly it actually got some air from the rebound off the mat.
At that moment, I showed him the carnage on video. It was painful, but he took it like a champ. There were about 98 things wrong, but I stopped at 19. Then I turned off the projector and it all went dark for him. No more numbers to look at, no more ball flight. He could freely top the ball, but Trackman would not know where it went and neither would we once the ball hit the screen. Just a man with a ball, a club, and a dream — to not suck at golf. At that moment a new golf swing began to emerge. Over the next 45 minutes, we put together a swing with a molasses backswing that went up to his waist. Then he paused for 3 seconds to bow his left wrist and shallow his plane. Next, he hammered his left heel into the ground and swung to a full finish. We did the first 40 shots with a pitching wedge and a ¼ inch tee. Pretty soon he was consistently banging high draws out there 125 yards and I took the tee away. He struggled a bit more without the tee, but I could tell he was finally getting it. He had never hit the ball so solid, yet his swing felt comically short and his wrist was sore. He could not believe that the ball actually went further without a backswing and that it didn’t slice anymore. I told him his old swing was so bad at storing energy that literally everything that happened above his bellybutton was a waste, which is why the new swing worked so well.
Over the next few weeks, we continued to grind. The molasses backswing turned into a rhythmical waltz followed by a bump of the hips and a swivel of the left knee. Soon he was posing for each shot like he expected it to go in. After a couple of months, I asked him what he had learned from the process. He said that thinking isn’t bad, it’s necessary. The problem arises when you think you know what you’re doing but actually have no clue. The man went on to play well in the tournament. He continued to struggle at times, as we all do, but the mental breakthroughs he made stuck and within a year he was breaking 80. Every once in the while we still turn off the projector and dig deep, but the tension is gone, as are the seizures. Golf is fun when you know what you’re doing.
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View Obituary The Huntsville Times Obituaries
Ellen McKinley Holder
Ellen Earnestine McKinley Holder, 83, of Huntsville peacefully passed on Friday, March 15, 2019 while under the loving attendance of her immediate family. Born in Excel, Alabama, Mrs. Holder led a loving, caring life focused on others' well-being. As a young lady, she always helped out at home, including watching her siblings. She spoke later in life of her joy as a young lady while working as a telephone operator; connecting strangers and friends to others around the world. While newlyweds, she enjoyed being a hostess at a Florida boarding house restaurant where John was a cook on the weekends. Ellen was loved and embraced by friends from all walks of life from doctors to NASA engineers to farmers. She was equally comfortable square dancing, shelling purple hull peas, or picking a ripe cantaloupe at the farmers' market. Her skill in the kitchen was only surpassed by how well she raised her children, and grandchildren, to be such outstanding adults, loved by all. Her Sunday dinners flowed with southern dishes from their vegetable garden, accompanied occasionally with fresh boiled peanuts, and at least two desserts prepared from scratch. Up until she passed, she was a daily angel to her friends, getting them to medical and beauty appointments or visiting when they couldn't get out. Ellen was preceded in death by her husband, John W. Holder. Survivors include her sister, Shirley McGee and husband, James; daughter, Betty Hall and husband, Chandler; son, John Holder Jr. and wife, Tamra, of Covington, Ga.; grandchildren, Whitney Newsom, Noelle Holder, and Katherine Hall; many nieces, nephews and friends. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at Laughlin Service Funeral Home. Services will be held at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home in Atmore, AL, with viewing beginning at 12 p.m. Friday, March 22, 2019. Burial will be at Uriah Cemetery in Uriah, AL. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Trinity United Methodist Church Building Fund. ( www.laughlinservice.com )
Laughlin Service Funeral Home and Crematory
2320 Bob Wallace Ave SW
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home
, Atmore, AL
2320 Bob Wallace Ave SW, Huntsville, AL 35805-4725
Atmore, AL
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Israel Brief August 24, 2011: Glenn Beck Addresses Restoring Courage Rally on Day 3 in Jerusalem, Israel
Glenn Beck: Love the Jews As They Are
Source: Virtual Jerusalem, 8-24-11
Read Glenn Beck’s Full Keynote Address from Restoring Courage: The Courage to Stand
The debate over whether former FOX News talk show host and Conservative commentator Glenn Beck is good for the Jews or bad for the Jews goes on in advance of his “Restoring Courage” rally to be held in Jerusalem on Wednesday afternoon.
Moshe Feiglin, head of the Jewish Leadership faction inside the Likud, recently wrote.
“I must admit that when a friendly non-Jew starts to quote the Bible, I get a bit nervous. It is not just the long history of anti-Semitism that has developed a genetic mutation in the noses of Jews, giving them great sensitivity to anything that smells of Christianity – but also my own personal experience with avowed lovers of Israel and the settlers who took great pains to mask their Christian motives.”
But David Ha’Ivri, head of the Shomron (Samaria) Liaison Office, rejected the criticism of Beck on Tuesday, saying he is a “unique Gentile” who loves Israel and Jews.
“Glenn Beck is one of those unique gentiles who appreciates the Jewish people and our national, historical and theological goals,” Ha’Ivri said. “His agenda is out in the open and very clear: he wishes us well as the Jewish people preserving our Torah culture on our Holyland.”
However, in his pre-rally event held for 3,000 mostly American Christians at the Roman amphitheater in Caesarea on Sunday, Beck did not show any indication that he knows of the controversy he caused and simply told the world to “not only love Israel but love the Jewish people as they are.”
Declaring that the entire world is “reentering the age of miracles of God,” he received thunderous applause when he said, “While there may not be a political solution, the good news is the G-d of Israel ain’t running for office.”
Simultaneously broadcast to over 80 countries throughout the world and close to 1,200 viewing parties, Beck said, “Let the Jewish people know, no matter what our governments may say, we are not our governments, we stand with you. We bring truth, we bring peace, we bring support, we bring comfort.”
Joining Beck on stage were Pastor John Hagee, founder and president of the Christians United For Israel (CUFI), American born Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Chief Rabbi of Efrat, David Barton, world-renowned historian and Dr. Mike Evans, award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author who has sold over 23 million books.
Providing musical entertainment for the evening was Grammy nominated R&B/soul/gospel singer Vernessa Mitchell, who was joined by Israeli singers and musicians.
“The Jews are still the apple of G-d’s eye, still the chosen people, still the covenant people,” declared Pastor Hagee as he took the podium. He drew an analogy with the late president John F. Kennedy’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech, when he announced “Ani Yisraeli” (I am an Israeli). He then led the rally participants in chants of: “I am an Israeli!”
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, formerly of the Lincoln Square Synagogue on Manhattan’s upper west side, spoke of Jewish appreciation for the support of the Christian pro-Israel community, and in particular that of Glenn Beck, who, Riskin said, is a “deeply patriotic American, a true friend of Israel.”
Lauding the stoic character of the Christian supporters of Israel, Rabbi Riskin said, “We are not alone. We are Jews and not Christians.You Christians, nevertheless, have the courage to love us in our otherness. We are profoundly grateful for your courage to love us and stand with us.”
Prior to the rally in Caesarea, Beck had toured the Samaria (Shomron) region, providing support to the communities there with a special visit to the town of Itamar, the site of the barbaric murder of five members of the Fogel family by Arab terrorists in March of this year.
Said Beck on his radio program broadcast from Israel, “I went to Itamar in Judea and Samaria; our cameras were the first to be allowed into the home. It is empty now and they are gone but they couldn’t get all of the blood off the walls. I will tell you, this was one of the most horrific, bloodiest massacres I could imagine. It was horrifying, horrifying.
“And yet in that community, profound hope. If you stand in their backyard, you can see the two mountains: The Mountain of Blessing and the Mountain of Curse. It is scriptural. Which do you choose? The mountain of blessing or curse. And this community has both.
“I can’t believe what people go through here in Israel, and the world stays silent. The media is distorting and lying, lying to you. Lying to you. And it is important that you know it.”
Arab Knesset members have warned of possible violence on Wednesday as Beck holds his “Restoring Courage” rally at the Southern Wall excavation sites near the Temple Mount, an event expected to garner an audience of over 2,000 at the Davidson Center in Jerusalem.
Arutz Sheva reported that Hadash MK Muhammad Barakei said, “There are enough racists in Israel without importing them from the US. The lessons from Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount apparently haven’t been learned. This event isn’t for building coexistence, but to spark fires in a sensitive location ahead of the United Nations vote on a Palestinian state in September. There is a danger that the event will lead to people being harmed, and the police should have prevented it.”
MK Ahmed Tibi (UAL-Ta’al) called Beck “a bizarre, conservative, neo-fascist comedian who is motivated by a hatred of Islam.” He also accused MK Danny Danon (Likud), who is involved in Beck’s event, of “dancing to Beck’s flute-playing and rejoicing to every outrageous word against Arabs and Muslims.”
Beck advised his critics to watch the event before casting judgment. He said that when he held his Restoring Honor event at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, last August, people said he would desecrate the site with what they thought would be a right-wing political rally, but it ended up being nothing of the kind.
“Jerusalem is an example of coexistence working. You can’t deny truth,” he said.
via israelnn.com
Glenn Beck Plans Jerusalem “Courage Rally”
Lieberman to Join Glenn Beck in Israel
Glenn Beck, Danny Danon to Visit Temple Mount
Glenn Beck Tells Knesset Biblical Figures Guided Him
Glenn Beck and the Jewish Problem
Glenn Beck Moves Courage Rally Due to Muslim Threat
Glenn Beck: Call Me a Jew
Glenn Beck: Don’t Call it the West Bank
Rabbi Metzger Blesses Glenn Beck’s Israel Event
Avrech: Restoring Courage
Glenn Beck Kicks Off Israel Rally
by bonniekgoodman on August 24, 2011 • Permalink
Posted in Glenn Beck -- Restoring Courage, Israel Brief, Israel News
Tagged Glenn Beck, Israel, Jerusalem, Rally, Restoring Courage, Speech
Posted by bonniekgoodman on August 24, 2011
https://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/glenn-beck-addresses-restoring-courage-rally-day-3-jerusalem-israel/
Isral Brief August 24, 2011: Three Eilat terrorists were Egyptian, newspaper claims
Full Text August 24, 2011: Glenn Beck’s Keynote Address from Restoring Courage: The Courage to Stand — Jerusalem, Israel
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Pic: Jackson Boyle used under CC
3 Stunning Hikes in Hakone
by Bjorn
Hiking, as we all know, is the best way to explore Japan’s vast and stunning nature—and Hakone has plenty to explore! While this area (just 90 minutes from central Tokyo) does not have the most challenging trials, it is a great destination for families to have some good old outdoor fun.
May 21, 2019 update: Due to increased volcanic activity from Mount Hakone, certain parts of Hakone near the crater, including the ropeway, are currently inaccessible. However, to our knowledge, Lake Ashinoko and many of the hot springs are unaffected. It is advised that you check for updates before traveling.
Hakone Hiking – Trail 1: Over the hills and across the plains
Starting out at the main transportation hub, Hakone-Yumoto, the first trail is a calm and peaceful hike to Sengenyama and the town of Gora. The start of the trial can be a bit tricky to find as it is on the side of the road that does not have a sidewalk, but once you go to the coordinates listed below you will easily spot it.
Tokyo Cheapo has partnered with Ninja WiFi to offer one of the best value mobile WiFi units for travelers. The price on offer here, is – click here for details
Suggested Activity
Photo by Bjorn
Hiking up the stairs you will follow a fairly steep paved path along the ridge taking you into the forests of Hakone. After about an hour you will spot the plains leading up to Sengenyama from where you can enjoy a great view over the surrounding area while eating a snack on one of the benches.
Descending from Sengenyama you once again head into the forest by taking the path to the right from where you came. There is the cherry on the cake at the end of the trial: a small yet beautiful waterfall.
Length: 7.5 km
Difficulty: Easy, but some parts are quite steep
Starting coordinates: 35°13’56.1″N 139°05’56.0″E
Final coordinates: 35°14’07.0″N 139°03’00.2″E
Trail 2: The uphill struggle
After this “warm-up” hike and taking some time to visit Gora (a town peppered with hot springs, nature and art museums), it is time for something more challenging.
Heading up to Myojogatake from Gora, you will first pass through a quite unexciting residential area—but no worries, things pick up. After briefly following a nature path you will be back in the open plains with views all around. This part of the trail is the toughest part due to its steep climb upwards.
Photo by Jackson Boyle used under CC
After about 30 minutes you will join the main trail that runs from the outskirts of Odawara to our final destination. (Yes you just cheated a bit by only doing the last 1/3 of the trip.) Shortly after, you will be treated to one of the most impeccable views of Mount Fuji rising above the clouds.
How to Hike Up and Down The Peak – read more
Hong Kong Cheapo
Length: 11 km
Trail 3: Tokaido road trekking
The last trail is by far the easiest of the three but at the same time also the most famous. Connecting the ancient capital of Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo), the Tokaido Road was Japan’s feudal era equivalent of Route 66. Only some parts of the road were paved with stones but the majority of the journey had to be done over dirt tracks covered which occasionally were covered with cut bamboos.
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Photo by Kabacchi
A short section of the paved road still remains in Hakone from Moto-Hakone near Lake Ashi. From here you can follow in the footsteps of the thousands who had traveled between the two cities in the soothing shadows of the forest.
Photo by Maarten Heerlien used under CC
After approximately two kilometers, you will see the traditional rest house named Amazake Chaya emerge through the trees. The thatched-roofed building with its darkened beams truly feels as if you have gone back in time and are about to take a rest after a long journey. The rest house’s specialty, as its name suggests, is amazake—a sweet rice wine which is served with pickles.
The trial can be followed all the way up to Hakone-Yumoto, but the scenic parts tends to end in the small town of Hatajuku from where you can take a bus.
Duration: 1 hours (Hatajuku) or 2,5 hours (Hakone Yumoto)
Length: 3 km or 10 km
Hatajuku coordinates: 35°12’31.4″N 139°03’26.6″E
Hakone-Yumoto coordinates: 35°13’59.8″N 139°06’13.9″E
Need a break from hiking? See our cheapo day guide on things to do in Hakone.
Written by: Bjorn
Filed under: Outdoors, Things to do
Tags: Exercise, Hakone, Hike, Hiking, Nature, Trail, Waterfall
Show All Locations Mentioned
Hike 1 – Start
Hike 1 – End
Hike 2- Start
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«Tokyo Zoos and Aquariums: Your Guide to Furry, Feathery and Finny Friends
Tokyo to Hakone: Getting There and Back »
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Jordan’s ICT sector faces critical challenges
Mohammad Ghazal
Amman - Jordan enjoys a vibrant information and communication technologies (ICT) sector with many success stories but emigrating professionals and a shortage of skilled graduates are likely to weaken it.
Regionally, Jordan’s ICT sector faces tough competition from other countries, especially the United Arab Emirates and Egypt which add to its troubles as the kingdom tries to grow and build on previous successes.
In 2009, US giant Yahoo! acquired the Amman-based Maktoob Arabic portal for about $160 million. All eyes were focused on Jordan, awaiting more successes in the ICT sector.
A few years later, several start-ups, including Jamalon, which is the Arab world’s first online store for Arabic and English books, emerged. Other start-ups, especially in the digital gaming industry, made it to Silicon Valley and secured investments.
“Unfortunately, the authorities did not build on these successes and the ICT sector is declining,” said Jawad Abbassi, founder and general manager of the Arab Advisors Group, a specialised research entity focused on communications, media, technology and financial markets throughout the Arab region.
The ICT sector, which employs more than 80,000 people, mostly Jordanians of whom 30% are women, witnessed a decline in its contribution to the economy.
The sector’s share of gross domestic product (GDP) dropped from 14% in 2009 to 12.9% in 2010; 12.4% in 2011; 12.2% in 2012; 11.2% in 2013 and went down further in 2014 but no figures are available, according to industry experts.
“In Jordan, we were the first in the region to develop a vision to make the country an ICT hub but it was merely talk. We had problems with the implementation of the vision,” Abbassi told The Arab Weekly.
Several Jordanian ICT companies have moved their sales offices to Gulf Arab countries and programming business to Egypt, a source in the sector told The Arab Weekly on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of his information. “If we don’t get our act together, the remaining companies will eventually move out of Jordan and we will end up having very small start-ups that are unable to compete regionally or globally,” the source added.
Abed Shamlawi, former chief executive officer (CEO) of the ICT Association of Jordan (int@j), said talented professionals working in local ICT firms are being offered attractive salaries abroad, whether in the Gulf or Europe.
“This is placing a heavy burden on Jordanian companies that are unable to match these lucrative offers to retain their talented employees,” Shamlawi told The Arab Weekly. Additionally, the standards of fresh ICT graduates from Jordanian universities is below the industry’s requirements and is undermining efforts to replace skilled professionals who leave for higher salaries, he said.
According to sector experts, there are more than 25,000 jobless ICT graduates in Jordan, while 75% of the sector’s companies say they face major difficulties in finding graduates with the basic skills required.
“University curricula need to be upgraded. We have been repeatedly calling for changing the curricula to yield better graduates with skills needed in the labour market, but to no avail,” said Shamlawi.
Authorities are not even helping, said Nour Khrais, chairman of the Jordan Gaming Task Force.
“The ICT sector in Jordan has partially lost attractiveness to investors, especially in the digital gaming industry,” Khrais said, pointing to red tape that bogs down the system.
“Companies in the field need to import tools, software and devices but there are always customs delays to clear their shipments,” he said. “This is a problem as one cannot be creative in an environment with complicated procedures.”
Another problem is when ICT companies opt to hire professionals from abroad; labour authorities make it almost impossible to obtain work permits, asking the companies to look for help in the domestic workforce, Khrais added.
Vague legislation and unsystematic enforcement of laws are also harming the sector, Abbassi said.
But despite the sector’s gradual decline, IT exports have been on the rise. According to official figures, exports reached $223 million in 2009, $204 million in 2010, $237 million in 2011, $308 million in 2012 and $332 million in 2013.
Jordan’s IT exports targeted 27 markets worldwide in 2013. However, growth is likely to be impeded. Profits generated from exports are exempt from income tax until the end of the year and no decision has been made on whether there will be an extension of the exemption.
“Lack of clarity and fluctuation in policies is another issue that harms the sector. For the ICT sector to restore its glory and for Jordan to become an ICT hub, there is a need for serious collaborative work and efforts,” Abbassi said.
“But first, we need to admit that we have a problem.”
Written By Mohammad Ghazal
Mohammad Ghazal is a Jordanian journalist based in Amman.
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Lucas Choi Zimbel – Tempered Tantrum
June 23, 2019 By The Ark of Music Leave a Comment
“I am happy to say I have never finished a love song, but I’ll admit I’ve started a few.”
First came the claves. Next came the xylophone and recorder. Then, the clarinet, and finally the guitar (with the accordion tossed in there somewhere).
Enjoying the feel of an acoustic guitar, Montreal, Quebec’s singer-songwriting, multi-instrumentalist, Lucas Choi Zimbel, has been writing songs since he was twelve years old, making a six-string the natural instrument of choice.
“…if banging claves together was enough for me when I was a child, so easily distracted and impatient, the complex chords and finger picking patterns that accompany my words are more than enough for me now.”
In conjunction with a rigorous show schedule in Montreal’s folk scene, Lucas has managed to record and release his new album, Tempered Tantrum, a warm and lively jaunt through the human condition.
Setting a stylistic tone for the entire album, a classic bass & lead finger-style opens the project with, Take a Long Hard Look at Yourself. This isn’t your pop-radio folk. This is meaty, substantive, deep folk (yup, I said it, deep), whereby both the instrumentation and the voice share the load in equal measure…
“Goodbye salvation
I want you out of my mind
If you go digging too deep
You won’t like what you find”
Entirely relevant today, The More We Have, the Less We Are follows its opener with an equally satisfying bit of skill and prose…
“Where’s Robin Hood
And his merry men?
It’s in times like these
That we need them
Is stealing from the rich really such a crime
When the hangman’s working overtime?”
The theatrically dynamic, Talk Taboo, makes me wish Zimbel was touring in the Madison area. This music was built for the small, intimate stage.
“Planes soar and cars roar
And no one hears my last breath
I can’t take this anymore
If this is life, I welcome death.”
—Empathy Goes Home, While Apathy Dances
I’m always taken off guard at how refreshing the simplicity of a good instrumental can be. Tempered Pulse creates a lovely bit of urgency, not unlike the work of living folk legend, Charlie Parr.
Like a finger in a silken glove, This Backwards Town elegantly minces no words…
“Politicians with missions
Like bringing down the debt
Forget your little issues
Our budget is set…”
Again, instrumental magic reveals itself in, Eye Of The Tantrum. Wait for the change-up at 1:12. Take note, youngsters, that’s some serious skill.
“War starts when the music stops
There’ll be peace when the beat drops, not bombs…”
Skilled and bright. Unpretentiously stylish. Blueprint singer-songwriter-folk music. Entirely relevant today. The sonic equivalent of raw, organic grub. Lucas Choi Zimbel’s new album, Tempered Tantrum, is a warm return to folk music’s legendary, civilly-disobedient roots. The music feels wildly and cathartically familiar. The complex finger patterns, tempo changes, melodic structures, and relatable & unassuming lyrics are all impressive enough parts—which somehow pale in comparison to the substantive whole—that of Luca’s ability to create simple, grounded, lived-in music—the kind of vibrations that makes a listener feel safe inside. Safe enough to think for oneself and rise up.
What’s more, at its core it requires very little in order to be appreciated. No stage. No EDM mixing board. No flashing lights. Hell, no electricity. Just a man, his guitar, and a few listeners with which to share the experience. Folk-lovers: take a moment to listen below.
Alexi Murdoch meets Greg Brown…
BELOW: Listen to Lucas Choi Zimbel’s album, Tempered Tantrum, and connect with his website and social media platforms. Please support Lucas Choi Zimbel by visiting him online, and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing his music, or attending a live show! And, as always, thank you for supporting real music!
Follow, stream, download & connect with LUCAS CHOI ZIMBEL online:
Listen to TEMPERED TANTRUM by LUCAS CHOI ZIMBEL:
Tempered Tantrum by Lucas Choi Zimbel
Share LUCAS CHOI ZIMBEL with your people:
*Album Reviews, Acoustic, Folk, Singer / Songwriter
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Best Value for Money Holidays – Europe
If you want to get the best value when you are on your holidays, Sunway can help. The UK Post Office compared the cost of holiday essentials including a including a bottle of beer, a coffee and a three-course evening meal for two with a bottle of wine, in 20 European beach holiday resorts.
Sunny Beach, the summer favourite on Bulgaria’s Black Sea Coast, was found to be the best option for sunseekers on a budget, with the total bill for nine items coming in at €44.43. The same list of holiday buys in the most expensive destination to feature, Sorrento, is likely to set you back €159.40.
Just behind Sunny Beach in the great value league is The Algarve with a spend of €64.04. Next up is Marmaris in Turkey although Kusadasi and Bodrum, also on the Turquoise Coast are more popular with Irish holidaymakers. Torremolinos and Benidorm come in at fourth and fifth respectively.
All are Sunway destinations and Tanya Airey, Sunway MD points out there are more reasons than value to go to these extremely popular resorts. Their top three are here –
Sunny Beach –
Approximately one third of Bulgaria’s 378km Black Sea coast is made up of golden, sandy beaches. Nessebar, the “Pearl of the Black Sea” and a UNESCO World Heritage site is also here. It’s one of the oldest cities in Europe.
Every summer, Sunny Beach hosts music festivals and rock shows like The Spirit of Burgas and the Kavarna Rock Fest are two of Europe’s largest music festivals
Go on a river tour to explore the Black Sea Coast from Sunny Beach. The Black Sea Coast is rich with natural beauty and wildlife and there are a plenty of spots to have a family picnic as well.
Try go-karting, riding, merry-go-rounds for kids at Sunny Beach. For older kids and parents, there is water-skiing, scuba diving, snorkelling, banana-boating, parasailing and a lot more.
Sunny Beach has its own amusement park, called Luna Park, which has an array of rollercoasters and smaller rides. The water park Action Aquapark is free for kids below 90cm tall in peak season too.
The Algarve
Its been voted Europe’s Leading Beach Destination’ at the World Travel Awards 2019 for the Sixth Time
The weather – Portugal is officially one of the sunniest countries in the world, and at the height of the summer visitors to the Algarve can expect temperatures of 28C and 11 hours of sunshine daily (and about one day per month of rain).
To see sea life in its natural habitat, head to Mar Ilimitado at Sagres, which specialises in marine wildlife-watching. You are likely to see sea turtles and porpoises as well as storm petrels, shearwaters and gannets;
There are lots of waterparks including Aquashow, Slide and Splash and Aqualand.
Really great food from fresh fish to chorizo and local favourites, Pastel de Natas
Marmais, Kusadasi and Bodrum
Icmeler Beach – the water is shallow and clear and the sand is immaculate and soft and its surrounded by the mountains
Kusadasi is reputed for being one of the most attractive cities of the Aegean and it is a jumping-off point as it is close to the important historical sites including Ephesus, Temple of Artemis, Goddess Artemis, House of Virgin Mary, Seven Sleepers, Didyma, Priene, Miletos.
Kusadasi has a typical Mediterranean climate with hot summers and mild winters – its bathed in sunshine for 300 days of the year.
Scuba and snorkelling excursions are incredibly popular in this area due to the extensive marine life and the picturesque views that have benefited from being largely untouched by humans.
Excursions such as Boat trips, Aqua parks, jeep safari, scuba diving and horse safari’s ensure a fun action packed family holiday.
Sunway.ie
Some great value offers to these value resorts are:
27th July 31st August
Bulgaria – Sunny Beach €599 €399 3* Hotel B&B
Kusadasi €649 €499 4* Hotel B&B
Algarve €589 €499 2*+ Self Catering Apts
Marmaris €1095 €799 5* All Inclusive Hotel
Torremolinos €1169 €589 4* Self Catering Apartments / 3* Hotel B&B
Benidorm €895 €639 3* Hotel Room only
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Waitlists & Fees
Parent Handbook (pdf)
Trent Child Care has a centralized waitlist for its eight sites. To gain access to the waitlist, families must complete an online registration form at the links on the right or call the Executive Assistant at 705-775-0045 ext. 1 to provide the required information.
WAITLIST PRIORITIES:
Top Priorities for Trent Child Cares waitlist for all sites:
Siblings of current participants. To be included on the waitlist the family must provide the Administration Office with a waitlist registration form.
Families waiting for a transfer to another site.
Children of current TCC employees. To be included on the waitlist, the employee must provide the Administration Office with a waitlist registration form.
Returning families. To be included on the waitlist, the family must provide the Administration Office with a waitlist registration form. The time span between the withdrawal of a family and their new waitlist registration must not exceed two years. To gain access to the program, a child must be returning to TCC or be the sibling of a child previously enrolled.
Special Consideration:
Special consideration may be given to families on the waitlist who risk losing their newly granted fee subsidy if they do not secure a child care space within a specific time frame, and to children referred to TCC by support organizations with which it has a partnership.
NOTE: Waitlist priorities render the waitlist dynamic, which means that a first place on the waitlist may be pushed down by a new waitlist family with a higher priority.
Also at the Trent Campus Site:
To respect an agreement between Trent Child Care and Trent University (TU), which states that, to the best of its ability, TCC will fill its child care spaces with the following ratios: 1/3 TU students, 1/3 TU staff and faculty and 1/3 community members, priority is given accordingly to Trent University students, staff and faculty at its site located on the Symons Campus.
Waitlist Management
To ensure that families gain access to TCC’s programs in the shortest time possible, the following practices are put in place:
The date of registration on the waitlist will reflect the date the registration form was received by TCC;
A family who refuses a space the first time it is offered will retain its priority on the wait list;
A family who refuses a space when offered a second time will be placed at the end of the waitlist;
A family who refuses a third offer will be withdrawn from TCC’s waitlist. Once withdrawn, a family must forward a new registration form to start the process over again.
We ask families to keep us up to date. Please call or e-mail TCC to make changes to contact information.
To inquire about your position on the waitlist, please call the Executive Assistant at 705-775-0045
No holding fee is required when a family submits a waitlist registration.
When a space becomes available, the family at the top of the waitlist will be contacted, whether the space is full-time or part-time. Once a child is registered, it becomes possible to eventually accommodate for more specific needs, for example, going from a part-time to a full-time space or changing TCC site.
For more information, see our Parent Handbook.
Trent University Campus
Full Day Program
Infant, Toddler & Preschool Programs
St. Luke’s Church
Toddler & Preschool Programs
Bridgenorth United Church
Full Day & School Age Program
Toddler & Preschool
JK/SK Before & After School
6 to 12 Before & After School
St. Paul's Catholic School
Armour Heights Public School
Immaculate Conception Catholic School
Monsignor O’Donoghue Catholic School
$57.07 Infant Rate
$43.65 Toddler Rate
$40.20 Preschool
$40.20 PA Day/Camp
$22.00 Before & After School
Fees are assessed on a monthly basis and parents must pay whether their child attends or not. This includes days missed due to illness, inclement weather, vacation and statutory holidays. Trent Child Care does not offer a reduction for siblings.
Monthly fee payments are to be paid in full by the first working day of each month. Fees can be paid by cash, cheque or pre-authorized debit.
FEE SUBSIDY
Through Children’s Services of Peterborough, families may be eligible to receive a subsidy to help with their child care fees. To determine if a family qualifies for a full or partial subsidy, a needs assessment must be completed by the family with Children’s Services (705-748-8830 and choose option 4).
Information about the City and County of Peterborough Child Care Fee Assistance
Our Executive Director, Program Supervisor and Executive Assistant are available to help guide you through the process.
Note: Subsidies must be renewed every six months.
For waitlist inquiries:
TCC Admin Office:
705-775-0045 x 1
Executive Director:
Full Day Programs:
Trent U Campus:
Bridgenorth:
St. Luke’s:
School Age Programs:
Immaculate Conception:
Monsignor O’Donoghue:
Armour Heights:
St. Paul:
Chemong School:
@TrentChildCare
© 2019 TRENT CHILD CARE
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MANTUA SEMINARY
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David Minor
MANTUA SEMINARY. Mantua Seminary, a coeducational institution sponsored by the Mantua Masonic Lodge, was located in Mantua, sixteen miles north of McKinney in Collin County. Both the school and the town were projects conceived by William C. McKinney, James W. Throckmorton, and Joseph Wilcox. In 1854 the three McKinney residents purchased 200 acres of land from Younger Scott McKinney, son of Collin McKinney. The land was divided into town lots and sold, and part of the profit was set aside to finance the school. Although chartered on September 1, 1856, the seminary did not offer classes until 1859. Because of the failure to collect enough money to construct a school building and the outbreak of the Civil War, classes originally were held on the first floor of the Mantua Masonic Lodge building. In 1865 a two-story, sixteen-room building was constructed.
The seminary operated successfully for the first decade following the war. Classes were generally of high-school level and were taught by a faculty that at one time numbered eight. In 1868 eighty students enrolled in the school, paying tuition that ranged from ten to twenty dollars. Four years later, however, most of the residents and businesses of Mantua moved to the new town of Van Alstyne, built on the Houston and Texas Central Railway line in southern Grayson County. The seminary continued to offer classes in the nearly deserted Mantua until the early 1880s, when it ceased operation.
Roy Franklin Hall and Helen Gibbard Hall, Collin County: Pioneering in North Texas (Quanah, Texas: Nortex, 1975). J. Lee and Lillian J. Stambaugh, A History of Collin County (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1958).
See related articles by:
Defunct Elementary and Secondary Schools
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All copyrighted materials included within the Handbook of Texas Online are in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 related to Copyright and “Fair Use” for Non-Profit educational institutions, which permits the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), to utilize copyrighted materials to further scholarship, education, and inform the public. The TSHA makes every effort to conform to the principles of fair use and to comply with copyright law.
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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.
Handbook of Texas Online, David Minor, "MANTUA SEMINARY," accessed July 18, 2019, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/kbm02.
Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
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Bear’s backrub against tree captured on video
By Associated Press Reporter
PA Ready News World 18 June 2019
The footage shows the bear approaching a tree, then rearing up to stand on its two hind legs to rub its back against the trunk.
An Asian black bear in Russia has been captured on video enjoying a backrub against a tree – before trying to eat a surveillance camera.
The video, posted recently by the Land of the Leopard national park in Russia’s Far East, showed the bear approaching a tree, then rearing up to stand on its two hind legs to rub its back against the trunk.
The mammal then approached the camera and tried to bite it.
The memory card inside the camera survived the contact.
Bears are known to scratch their backs against trees to communicate with each other.
Triple-life sentence for uncle who raped and murdered niece after saying he would take her to school
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May 14, 2019 / 7:06 PM / 2 months ago
Five fans given stadium bans over Grasshopper match
FILE PHOTO: Uli Forte, Grasshopper Club Zurich soccer club coach, looks on as Stephan Rietiker, President of the club, addresses a news conference in Zurich, Switzerland May 13, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
BERN (Reuters) - Five fans have been banned from all Swiss soccer stadiums for two to five years for their part in the trouble which forced Sunday’s Swiss league match between Lucerne and Grasshopper Zurich to be called off.
The Swiss Football League (SFL) also said that one player suffered racist abuse during the incident.
Lucerne were winning 4-0, a result which would have condemned Grasshopper to relegation after 68 years in the top flight, when several dozen visiting fans threatened to storm the pitch and forced the match to be called off.
They demanded that Grasshopper players hand over their shirts and socks as they were considered not worthy of wearing them. Some shirts were handed over after negotiations with club officials.
The SFL said that two supporters who attacked a Grasshopper player had been banned along with three others who entered the pitch. It said that 57 offenders had been identified and all would eventually be sanctioned.
“Particularly shocking was the physical and verbal attack against a dark-skinned player,” said SFL chief executive Claudius Schaeffer in a statement. “We must all act together vehemently against racist thinking and any kind of discrimination.”
Although the result has yet to be confirmed, 27-times Swiss champions Grasshopper have already accepted their relegation.
Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Toby Davis
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October 31, 2018 / 2:30 PM / 9 months ago
Iraq oil minister says crude price 'fair', aims to hike output capacity
Ahmed Rasheed, John Davison
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq’s new oil minister Thamer Ghadhban said on Wednesday the current price of crude was “fair” and that the country, OPEC’s second-largest producer, would act responsibly in providing ample supplies to the market.
Former oil minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi stands with new oil minister Thamer Ghadhban during a handover ceremony at the ministry's headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq October 31, 2018. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily
Ghadhban also said the oil ministry aimed to increase output capacity and support foreign energy companies by helping them overcome any bureaucratic hurdles.
OPEC agreed in June to pump more oil after pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to curb rising prices and to make up for an expected shortfall in Iranian exports. Oil LCOc1 hit a four-year high of $86.74 a barrel on Oct. 3 but has since eased to $76 as concern of tight supplies faded.
Iraq, which relies on vast oil wealth as its most important source of income, is seeking to increase crude production capacity to 7 million barrels per day (bdp) by 2022 from 5 million bdp now. Iraq currently pumps around 4.6 million bpd, second only to Saudi Arabia in OPEC.
The country is trying to recover from years of violence including a war with Islamic State militants that wrecked infrastructure and is seeking to reduce corruption and manage rivalries with Kurdish authorities that run oil-rich areas in the north.
“We will do our best to stabilize the market,” Ghadhban told reporters after officially taking over the oil portfolio from Jabar al-Luaibi.
“The oil price at the moment is at a fair price,” he said in response to a question about an upcoming OPEC meeting in December.
“It’s not too high, it’s not 100 dollars per barrel and it’s not 30 dollars”.
“We will look after our country as a first priority but will not put aside the interests of the consumers.”
Iraq's new oil minister says current crude price is 'fair'
The International Energy Agency estimates the maximum that Iraq can sustainably pump is 4.8 million bpd, leaving little room to increase output significantly in the short term. The majority of its crude exports go to Asia.
IRAN SANCTIONS, KURDISH EXPORTS
Ghadhban, nominated by Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and confirmed as minister in a parliamentary vote last week, said he would look at ways to reform the oil ministry, including by eliminating nepotism.
Ghadhban said he would seek to develop oil refineries by increasing their production capacity and reducing gas flaring.
Iraq has continued to flare some of the gas extracted alongside oil at its fields because it lacks the facilities to process it into fuel. Iraq has said it hopes to end gas flaring by 2021.
Immediate challenges for Ghadhban and the rest of Iraq’s new government will include how to contend with imminent U.S. sanctions on Iraqi neighbor Iran.
Ghadhban said that Iraq would prioritize its own national interests and “review” current exports of oil to Iran, which are estimated at less than 30,000 barrels a day. He said this was a minor issue given the amount.
On the subject of resuming oil exports through semi-autonomous Kurdish areas of northern Iraq, he said: “We don’t have any previous issues with the region ... we will work to overcome all obstacles.”
Exports from Kirkuk’s oilfields were halted after an Iraqi military offensive to retake the disputed territories which had come under Kurdish control in 2014 following a failed Kurdish independence referendum opposed by Baghdad.
The bulk of Iraq’s oil is exported via its southern terminals, which account for more than 95 percent of the OPEC producer’s state revenue.
Iraq’s southern oil exports averaged 3.488 million barrels per day (bpd) in October, two oil executives told Reuters on Wednesday.
Exports were down from the September average of 3.560 million bpd owing to bad weather, which slowed shipments on some days, the executives said.
Reporting by John Davison and Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Raya Jalabi; Editing by David Evans and Keith Weir
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Spice SE88P Ferrari 1991
Ecnelis
The Curious Case of Spice SE88P Ferrari
From 24h-lemans.com: The history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is ripe with examples of cars with unique shapes and characteristics. A virtual technological lab in real-life conditions, the legendary race has always allowed great engineers, as confidential preparers, to express themselves through their race cars. Today, we focus on a certain sort of prototype. So far, nothing extraordinary since this class is one of the most emblematic and represented since 1923. Except the car in question was powered by Ferrari. That narrows the field of potentials does it not?
It was the early 1990s and in order to participate in the Sport-Prototype World Championship, and therefore the 24 Hours of Le Mans, private teams had their choice of a plethora of chassis available to order for a wide variety of engines. Brothers Gordon and Derek Spice had established a solid 10-year record after having amassed wins and titles in the world C2 class as well as overseas in the IMSA GT Championship. Though it was not surprising to see a good number of British C2 chassis at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the presence of the constructor Spice in the head class (Groupe C1) was more remarkable. On Tuesday, June 18, 1991, at the second day of technical and administrative verifications at the 24 Hours, spectators enjoyed the presence of a particularly unusual car which brought to mind Jaguar, Mercedes, Nissan, Toyota and Mazda.
The Euro Racing team had entered the car for drivers Justin Bell, Franco Scapini and Syunji Kasuya. Its red paint, recognizable by all, revealed specificities which could strike fear in anyone. The emblem with the black prancing horse on the bright yellow of the city of Modena was clearly visible on the sides of the car. This SE88P model Spice was indeed powered by a Ferrari engine - more precisely, a turbocharged 3.5L V8. Though the effort was entirely private, far from the Scuderia's preoccupations in Formula 1, this car demures unique in the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A story unfortunately cut short, the time clocked by Justin Bell at qualifying proving insufficiently fast (5:09:145) to hope to be present on the starting grid of that 59th edition.
spice-ferrari-le-mans-1991.jpg (194.1 KB, 20 views)
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Facebook Twitter Google Plus Instagram YouTube ↓-Scroll Down to Continue-↓ VK
Conceptual Writing
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The Art Tourist 1997-2007
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Colorado Contemporary Contemporary Museums Denver
October 11, 2012 November 17, 2013 Terry T
DENVER – October 20, 2012
From beyond the lively hum of people inside the Museum of Contemporary Art, I heard a repetitive tick of a human voice. I worked, once, in a newsroom where the police scanner was constantly on, and it sounded like that.
I followed the voice to its source on the second floor and found a crowd standing around a woman swaying like a twig in the wind. This woman was reading a court report of a sex offense and murder case. Page after page fell from her hand as she read like a metronome a story that was creeping under everyone’s skin: the prosecution’s side, then the defense, and then a rest. She was out of words and we clapped.
After the woman performed the court report, it was obvious that there were a lot of silent words nailed to the walls of this gallery, and many other less silent ones spilling out from somewhere else – a loud consistent bass line of a deep human voice pronouncing syllables in 1/1 time, and from somewhere in this room the recognizable melody of ‘Like a Virgin” with different words.
Later on, someone read poetry; I wasn’t in a mood to pay attention, although the visuals and audio of the performance should have made it more interesting to me. I was reading a video screen with multiple phases that begin with If you could…..
I was hopeful that the poet would connect with someone else who can make use of his ideas: art in the cultural soil, like phosphorus for fruiting plants, but they were vitamins and minerals that I wasn’t feeling the urge to absorb
I wandered around the big obvious pieces in the largest gallery until I stood in front of what looked like the title page of a book in Latin, enlarged and framed, which turned out to be a drawing of this book page. A book, even one we know was produced mechanically, generates a feeling of intimacy by our custom of holding it and entering the thoughts of the writer. In this case its original would have had been hand-set type, but our perception of the hand-made book becomes more acute in this enlarged version because the letters were created with a pencil as it they were objects in a still life. The book rendered into a drawing was a translation from Spanish into Latin, and a thesis about the rationality of grammar, written by Francisco Sanchez, who was twice pestered by the Inquisition.
Another room was papered with words – all the words spoken by some New York artist over the course of three days. The words attracted viewers like running water – ala James Joyce – and was something people read for a few seconds and move on having absorbed the concept. Kenneth Goldsmith, the artist, made something very different from Ulysses, the words on this wall are what surfaced, the strings of words out of mouth, instead of what was said in head.
You could also sit in this room and read a book – set in a niche made for it in the bench – that contain four essays arranged not in chunks of pages but on four horizontal blocks on each page and color-coded. The brightest colors in each section were the words added by the proto-reader, the artist who made the book. A little less bright were words the artist had just altered, and the darker but clearly different words were ones the artist had moved. The section made sense and was modernized with added reference to the Internet for example. One essay I read was written in the nineteen-forties detailing theoretical proscriptions for art, capitalism and socialism. I sat and read; my friend stood and read the waterfall of words and waited for me. We explained to each other what I’ve just explained. I could go back and read more from the book, and I think I get more out of it.
Copy of the Bayeau Tapestry by Michelle Gay made of code not thread.
Detail of Michelle Gay’s Bayeaux Tapestry that show the (source) code as printed on the cloth.
For this same reason I leave already-read New Yorkers in my bathroom. I might never spend enough time in the MCA, without friends to bug me, to finish an essay, and it makes this idea ripe for digitizing. A great essay analyzed by several readers with equally vivid color-coding. Could a group of readers get more by reading the readers? Is this what blog comments were really designed for, or do I need to invent the overlay reader?
A wall of retro-looking loudspeakers chiming out a poem by Kurt Schwitters, with a sonorous voice like Dylan Thomas.
Listening to Schwitters
The sounds might have meant something in German or were just gibberish but were certainly meaningless to people as they passed through this narrow hallway of a gallery space moving so quickly, not stopping to become an audience as in the poetry reading, they were getting a hit of the Doppler effect. I stopped to read the words Glim Glib off the computer screen, as the Dylan Thomas voice read them, and the dialectic of intentional composition versus spontaneous writing argues their merits in my head. The ‘spontaneous’ pointing out the idea that if you had infinite monkeys typing they would eventually write Ulysses and the ‘intentional’ knowing how precisely intentional James Joyce was when he wrote it. There is art at the intersection of the monkey business of fighting entropy to assemble communication and the human race’s collective inner voice tumbling from low entropy to higher entropy – time’s arrow of increasing disorganization; an intersection of an idea and human consciousness, both of which are traveling at different speeds on time’s arrow.
Those things that are conceits: (concepts that may be more affected, fanciful, or unnatural) A story is written in the corner of the room, and some of the words are less readable because they are printed or painted there so lightly. Other stand out. It the idea is that we do read like this and ignore some part of what we’ve read, wouldn’t a story from the New Yorker be a better example of this rather than a romance, mystery novel paragraph?
A poet writes a poem, translates it into Amino Acids (conceit: may we see the lexicon) which are given life as a protein molecule that then, after some amount of time, is translated from Amino Acids back to English words, and we read the final poem, which makes less sense than surrealist autowriting. Pretty molecule, however, made by Christian Bok.
About Terry Talty: I've said I do conceptual writing, though that means nothing to anyone. Likewise, I've called my work HTML poetry, if the specific work is only possible because the text is conveyed digitally. Or, I say it's environmental art - if it is less texty work - or, I may just be grant writing, proposing ideas heavy on the text. Often, I just say, I'm a conceptual artist because most people have an exotic vision of what that means and they don't go much further. Or if I want to seem normal, I say I'm a web designer.
conceptual writing, dna model, kurt schwitters poem, text art
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Solarex (SRX) ICO Details & Financial Information
Solarex
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The Global energy demand has created a huge market which has seen countries requiring more energy to power their infrastructural developments and create an enabling economic growth over the past two decades. Solar power technology which has gained global acceptability has ultimately become the main driver in the energy market, with developed countries deploying its potential in boosting its renewable target.
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Somerville Hotel Makes List Of Best In The World
(The Row Hotel at Assembly Row/Marriot)
SOMERVILLE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Row Hotel at Assembly Row in Somerville has been named one of the best in the world by Travel + Leisure.
"This year’s list of the top 100 hotels in the world reflects 33 countries and all continents except Antarctica," the magazine says. "The honorees include sweeping Western ranches in the United States, intimate African safari lodges, and palatial estates in Italy."
Every year Travel + Leisure asks readers to rate hotels based on their facilities, location, service, food, and overall value. The Row comes in at #44, just behind the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni on Lake Como. The top spot? The Leela Palace Udaipur in India.
Asia reigns supreme with 22 total properties on the list, the most of any region. While Africa, with 5 selections from South Africa alone, tallies 17 spots.
In a two-way tie for #27 with the Rosewood Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Vermont's Rabbit Hill Inn is the only other New England hotel to receive the recognition.
WBZ NewsRadio's Chris Fama reports:
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February 21, 2016 tammayauthor
Poetic Prose
Photo Credit: Endless Summer, Elizabeth Luallen, wax and ink, 2013, photo of artwork owned by Lexnoa: Lexnoa/ Wikimedia Commons/CC BY SA 3.0
“In poetic prose a demand is made upon our senses and imagination. The magic use of words is intended as an invitation to participate.” (Nin, Ch. 7, location 3065)
I started writing when I was fourteen but my writing didn’t get very far because I was reading a different kind of fiction. I was conditioned to believe that I had my mother’s personality, saturated by over-emotion and foolish romanticism. I now know that this image, ingrained in me by my father, who sees all strong women as threats, was incredibly unjust and inaccurate, but at the time, I was drawn to read the romances of writers like Danielle Steele and Judith Michael. The stories were gripping but the style didn’t inspire me as a writer, clean, unassuming, diner words.
Then when I was sixteen, I stumbled upon a slim little paperback hidden among the shelves of a bookstore on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv. The book was Under A Glass Bell by Anais Nin. In it were character studies and short stories, most of them based on people Nin had known in the 1930’s and 1940’s, built upon observations she recorded in her infamous diaries. They intoxicated me like the purest absinthe.
In the stories, language opens up a sky full of stars, each word a spark of glitter on the velvet of a night sky. Words build images and emotions that are unexpected but sharp-eyed. In the story “The Mohican”, the title character’s speech:
“His talk was like the enormous wheel at the Fair, carrying little cages filled with people, the slow motion of the wheel, the little cages traveling spherically and the illusion of a vast circular voyage which never took one any never to the hub. One was picked up on the edge of the wheel, whirled in space, and deposited again without for an instant feeling nearer to its pulse.” (Nin, location 511)
Rather than tell us that the Mohican talks in circles, Nin gives us an image of a Ferris wheel so that we can visualize the way in which a conversation with the Mohican has a dizzying effect on all who listen to him.
Poetic prose has a breathless quality to it, a rhythm that has an improvisational effect, stepping up our pulse with living, breathing life. This is not to say that the Hemingway style of prose is dead words. But, as Nin points out, poetic prose makes us aware of the sensuality of language, its potential to transport us into an imaginary place and touch us in ways that we might not expect.
Sometimes poetic prose uses the language of psychological reality – that is, the language of dreams, nightmares, delusions, memories, creativity. It pieces together a mosaic where the stones by themselves look nothing like when they are put together. Of dream language, Jung says, “[it] has so much psychic energy that we are forced to pay attention to it.” (Jung, C. J., et al., Part 1, location 602). So poetic prose is about what one of my college professors called moving the grid – making us see the same thing we always have but in a different way, propping a mirror up to reality to show the stains and the gaps in the reflection.
In my novella, The Dark Haired Daughter, my narrator, Gena, is driving back to Waxwood after one of her harrowing days with her delusional Aunt Hetty:
“The ride back to Waxwood was slower than the ride out as my equilibrium took time to gain momentum from the air I was finally able to breathe. I drove at a slow speed, allowing other cars to shoot past, so that the wild flowers at the shoulders of the road and the open space of the dimming sky could ease away the bile of Aunt Hetty’s smeared love and bring me back into the tangible world. As I came into town, I could not see the ocean but it helped to imagine it, its waves opening up like the arms of an all-encompassing Mama.”
It was my aim to describe how the ride home for Gena was more than just a ritualistic drive. I think all of us have felt the relief of coming home after we’ve left a difficult situation or a difficult person, watching the wide sky and the endless road in front of us expand, fading out our feeling of pain and compression. Gena’s sense of relief is amplified by the memory of her years as the object of her aunt’s obsessive love and the unhinged visions stemming from her mental illness.
A caution about poetic prose: when carried away it can come off as what the writing world defines as “navel gazing” – tangential, dense, beauty that serves the writer more than the reader or the story. It can be a road that leads nowhere. But done well, it opens the mind to the riches of language.
Jung, Carl G., Von Franz, M.L., Henderson, Joseph L., Jacobi, Jolande, Jaffe Aniela. Man And His Symbols. Dell Publishing, 1964. Kindle digital file.
Nin, Anais. Under A Glass Bell. The Anais Nin Trust, 2010 (original publication date 1944). Kindle digital file.
Previous PostPsychological RealityNext PostSymbolism
2 thoughts on “Poetic Prose”
lucieguerre says:
Tam,
I am so glad you started to write about poetic prose because as a fellow poetic prose writer, there are times when I can’t tell if I am “navel gazing” as you so aptly put it or actually making language work to my advantage. Some of my favorite novels and short stories are by authors who also utilize poetic prose in their works, and I feel they have a way of weaving stories that feel rich and vivid without gazing too deeply and losing their reader’s attention. I find a balance is so incredibly crucial to writing poetic prose well, and I think the more we read authors who write in this manner, the more comfortable we, as authors, get writing in this style. I’m hoping your next blog post will be how to avoid navel gazing and how to make poetic prose that sings instead of leaves the reader “put off” or uncomfortable. Your writing sounds incredibly beautiful, and I admire you for writing this blog. You are helping me tremendously. This blog is so incredibly beautiful. ❤ Lucie
Thank you for the lovely words, lucieguerre :-). I really appreciate it! I’m glad that you found this article helpful. I also prefer writers who use poetic prose while weaving a story and not just language for it’s own sake. It’s very difficult to do! One thing that actually helped me was when I wrote a genre plot-based book (historical mystery). That forced me to really focus only on plot rather than language and it was a good exercise in how to keep the story going. It’s not something I would do again but it helped me greatly. Tam
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European Commission Documents Prove Illegal Fishing of Swordfish
Economics Sustainability Environment
29 October 2014, at 12:00am
EU - As EU Member State representatives met in Brussels to discuss the EU position on the management of highly migratory species such as bluefin tuna and swordfish, Oceana has unveiled a report by the European Commission that proves how the Italian fleet violates current international fisheries measures in force for Mediterranean swordfish.
“The EU should be the first one in ICCAT calling for management measures to rebuild Mediterranean swordfish, because it accounts for 90 per cent of the fleet catching the stock, and has a legal obligation under the Common Fisheries Policy to bring the stock to MSY levels by 2015, or 2020 at the very latest,” noted María José Cornax, fisheries campaign manager for Oceana in Europe.
“Instead, this latest report shows that the EU – and Italy in particular – is illegally catching, landing, and selling this heavily overfished fish.”
According to the report, EU inspectors in southern Italy during March 2013 noted the following infringements, after the closed season for the fishery had begun on 1 March:
“widespread presence of Mediterranean swordfish in the market”, both undersize and larger individuals
landings of up to two tons per boat per day
lack of required documents: vessel logbooks, landing declarations
total lack of intervention by local administrative authorities
The report reveals a total failure to comply with the March closed season for Mediterranean swordfish, a legally binding international measure that was established in 2011 by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).
Furthermore, the report indicates that the lack of enforcement by local authorities allowed illegally-caught swordfish to enter local markets, at elevated prices of up to € 30/kg.
Mediterranean swordfish has been overfished for more than a decade. The stock is fished without any catch limits, by more than 12,000 authorised vessels, of which 90 per cent are EU-flagged. The fishing closures are inadequate to allow stock recovery, particularly given that 75 per cent of catches are made up of juvenile swordfish that will never have the chance to reproduce.
Oceana urges the EU to propose, at the upcoming ICCAT meeting, measures in line with EU legal obligations to achieve sustainable fisheries management levels by 2015, or by 2020 at the very latest.
If such measures are not proposed and adopted at this year’s ICCAT meeting, it will not be possible to meet these objectives.
Dr Ilaria Vielmini, marine scientist with Oceana in Europe: “It is now evident that the fishing closures only exist on paper. It is time to stop this farce by introducing a management plan based on catch limits, and with a clear recovery target. Otherwise, the fishery will never be properly regulated, and swordfish in the Mediterranean will not recover.”
The upcoming ICCAT meeting will take place from 10-17 November in Genoa, Italy. Oceana will be attending the meeting as an observer, and calling for precautionary management of Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna, Mediterranean swordfish, and sharks.
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Democrats seek to ban federal spending at Trump businesses
By Cristina Marcos - 06/23/19 07:00 AM EDT
Democrats are trying to use the power of the purse to legally prevent President Trump Donald John TrumpGOP lawmakers speak out against 'send her back' chants EPA worker rights under White House assault Trump officially taps three-star admiral to lead Navy MORE from profiting from the federal government spending money at his businesses.
Two annual spending bills House Democrats have brought to the floor to keep the government funded past September include provisions that would prohibit certain federal agencies from entering into contracts with or using taxpayer dollars at Trump businesses, including his hotels, golf courses and condominiums across the globe.
But the effort faces opposition from Republicans who dismiss it as a “partisan stunt” that could jeopardize the president’s security. That will likely make it difficult for the bills to become law in negotiations with the GOP-controlled Senate.
Nonetheless, the authors of the proposal, Reps. Steve Cohen Stephen (Steve) Ira CohenHere are the 95 Democrats who voted to support impeachment How Trump suddenly brought Democrats together on a resolution condemning him The Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump digs in ahead of House vote to condemn tweet MORE (D-Tenn.) and Jamie Raskin Jamin (Jamie) Ben RaskinHere are the 95 Democrats who voted to support impeachment How Trump suddenly brought Democrats together on a resolution condemning him Hoyer slams McCarthy's defense of Trump tweets: 'Baloney' MORE (D-Md.), are submitting it as an amendment to every annual spending bill hitting the House floor.
“The fact is when we stay at his hotels and his properties, he makes money. Nobody is supposed to make money from the presidency, directly or indirectly, and they are supposed to report these possibilities to the Congress so we have knowledge,” Cohen said during a House floor debate.
The White House did not reply to a request for comment from The Hill.
The House passed a spending package this past week that would ban the State Department from spending money at Trump businesses. Cohen and Raskin’s amendment was adopted largely along party lines, 231-187, as part of a group of amendments en bloc.
During floor debate on another spending package this week, the House adopted a similar amendment from Cohen and Raskin that applies to the Justice and Commerce departments by voice vote.
President Trump retains ownership of his businesses but has handed off day-to-day operations to his two sons Donald Trump Jr. Donald (Don) John TrumpThe Hill's Morning Report — Trump retreats on census citizenship question Trump set to host controversial social media summit Trump associate Felix Sater grilled by House Intel MORE and Eric Trump Eric Frederick TrumpEric Trump: '95 percent of this country' is behind Trump's message Trump Jr. blasts reports of Kushner feud: 'More fake news bulls---' Chicago mayor says waitress crossed 'the line' by spitting on Eric Trump MORE.
A recent report by The Washington Post showed that Trump's trips to his properties since becoming president have brought his private businesses at least $1.6 million in revenue from the federal government and GOP campaigns.
But the amount is likely much higher given that most government spending records date to just the first half of 2017.
Trump, for example, frequently travels to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla.
During his first presidential visit in February 2017, the Defense Department paid $12,000 for rooms at the club, according to the Post. Two months later, the federal government paid Mar-a-Lago at least $30,000 for meeting rooms and hotel lodgings for top officials during a visit from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
ProPublica reported that Mar-a-Lago sent the State Department a $1,000 bill for Trump aides' drinks at a bar during Xi's visit. The State Department objected to covering the bill and sent it to the White House, which paid it off.
USA Today also found in 2017 that the Secret Service spent at least $59,585 on golf cart rentals to protect Trump at Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster, N.J.
Earlier this month, Trump added a trip to his golf resort in Doonbeg, Ireland, between official visits to the United Kingdom and France. He met with the Irish prime minister while in Ireland but then flew to France for D-Day commemorations and back to Doonbeg before returning to Washington.
“We’re going to be staying at Doonbeg in Ireland because it’s convenient and it’s a great place. But it’s convenient,” Trump said at the time, according to the Post.
And after holding a rally in Orlando, Fla., to launch his reelection campaign this past week, Trump stayed at his Doral golf resort near Miami. Republican National Committee officials co-hosted a fundraiser for Trump’s reelection at the resort the next day.
A former ethics adviser for the Trump Organization told The Washington Post that Trump's properties don't seek to make a profit from the government and have charged discounted rates.
But Democrats nevertheless argue that presidents’ family businesses shouldn’t be able to profit from the federal government in such a fashion.
Cohen previously submitted his amendments to spending bills in 2017 and 2018, but they weren’t granted floor time by the GOP leaders who controlled the House at the time.
“It's a road show,” Cohen said of Trump’s visits to his properties, noting that “it didn’t bother” other presidents to stay at hotels they didn’t own.
But Republicans opposed to the proposal warned of security consequences beyond the president.
Rep. Hal Rogers Harold (Hal) Dallas RogersHillicon Valley: Trump officials to investigate French tax on tech giants | Fed chair raises concerns about Facebook's crypto project | FCC blocks part of San Francisco law on broadband competition | House members warn of disinformation 'battle' Lawmakers, experts see combating Russian disinformation as a 'battle' Focus on learning for security, prosperity in Central America MORE (R-Ky.), the top Republican on the House Appropriations subcommittee overseeing the State Department, said it would jeopardize security for officials who are assigned to summits at any of the Trump properties or dignitaries who choose to stay at them.
“The president, not the secretary of State, selects travel locations,” Rogers said during House floor debate. “The Diplomatic Security is also charged with protecting foreign dignitaries and heads of state when they are in the U.S. on official business. They must do this no matter where they might stay.”
Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) also rejected the idea, noting that Trump doesn’t take an official salary as president. Trump instead periodically announces donations of his $400,000 salary to different agencies.
“It just sounds like something that the Democrats are trying to stir up,” Babin said. “His diverse businesses are everywhere. He doesn't take a salary.”
But Cohen argued that spending taxpayer dollars at Trump properties inevitably means that the president is profiting. He also warned that it raises questions of whether Trump is in compliance with the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which states that presidents should receive only their fixed salary so they can stay independent.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMcConnell: Trump 'on to something' with attacks on Dem congresswomen Dems open to killing filibuster in next Congress Senate passes bill making hacking voting systems a federal crime MORE (R-Ky.) declined to offer guidance on his position and where the measure might go in the upper chamber.
But at least one Republican expressed openness to the proposal: Rep. Justin Amash Justin AmashAmash responds to 'Send her back' chants at Trump rally: 'This is how history's worst episodes begin' GOP House campaign chair condemns 'send her back' chants: 'There's no place for that kind of talk' Trump primary challenger Bill Weld responds to rally chants: 'We are in a fight for the soul of the GOP' MORE (R-Mich.), the only member of his party to call for Trump’s impeachment.
Amash voted against the overall set of amendments that included Cohen and Raskin’s proposal. But he said “it’s possible” that he’d support such a measure on its own to prevent the federal government from spending money at Trump-owned properties.
“I don't think that the government should be attempting to spend money at his businesses,” Amash told The Hill.
Tags Mitch McConnell Jamie Raskin Donald Trump Justin Amash Steve Cohen Hal Rogers Eric Trump Donald Trump Jr.
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AAAS Sends a Message
Organizations give awards to recognize those individuals who best display the values that organization seeks to represent and uphold. The American Association for the Advancement of Science is the leading scientific organization in the United States. From a vast pool of excellent scientists who engage with the public, the AAAS has decided in 2018 to give its prestigious award for Public Engagement with Science to climate scientist, Michael E. Mann.
I find this remarkable. Who is Dr. Mann?
He Tweets all day about Donald Trump, typically calling him names and mocking him. Mann writes dozens and dozens of Tweets about Trump every day. Here is one from today.
He has suggested, on more than one occasion, that the death penalty is appropriate for a Republican member of Congress. Here is one example:
He has worked hard to have people he disagrees with fired from their jobs and suffer career repercussions, including by directly contacting employers and leading public campaigns. He has had some success. Here is a just a short list of individuals he has recently targeted:
Rebecca Mercer
He has sued people he disagrees with, including a journalist and a fellow academic. His lawsuits have been criticized by leading newspapers, including the Washington Post: “Mann essentially claims that he can silence critics because he is ‘right’ … [his lawsuit will] chill the expression of opinion on a wide range of important scientific and public policy issues.”
He routinely excoriates individuals for being members of the Republican party and has expressed a desire for Congress to consist only of Democrats. He helps to run a Political Action Committee that has targeted several Republicans in Congress.
He routinely engages in name-calling, outright misrepresentation of others’ views and leads social media bullying against fellow academics.
That is just a short list.
Mann is fully entitled to his views and the use of whatever techniques he thinks appropriate to advance his extreme politics. He is certainly not alone in playing political hardball in 2018.
My issue here is not with Mann. It is with the decision by AAAS to single out Mann as someone who embodies our highest values of the scientific community: a role model to emulate who engages in behaviors to celebrate.
With this award, what message is AAAS sending to the scientific community and to the public?
The AAAS is telling us that engaging in hyper-partisan, gutter politics, targeted against Republicans and colleagues you disagree with, using unethical tactics, will be rewarded by leaders in the scientific community.
AAAS could work to help to defuse the pathological politicization of science. Instead, it has thrown some gasoline on the fire.
25 thoughts on “AAAS Sends a Message”
Robert Shaw
Well said! If Dr. Mann’s science was solid, it would speak for itself. As long as he works for my beloved Penn State, I will not support the meteorology dept there in any way. Bullies dont belong in science
Anders Valland
I guess the AAAS should then add a ‘B’ before the ‘S*.
claimsguy
MBH98 was ground breaking work tha5nhas been confirmed and extended over and over again. That’s probably why it and it’s lead author have been the subject of such intense attacks. The beating Mann has taken has been on behalf of all climate scientists, and he’s deserving of recognition.
Paul Matthews
Claimsguy, you mean the work that his colleagues described as “crap”? And “His statistics were suspect”, and “our reaction on the errors found in Mike Mann’s work were not
especially honest.”
Was this award based on open search/selection criteria for candidates followed by a vote by general membership? If not, and there are no checks/balances to identify Dr. Mann’s liabilities in the selection process, then the membership needs to push for a new process.
Marshall Gill
Mann’s suit against Mark Steyn is going on SIX YEARS! He is a demagogue, not a scientist. If you give money to Penn State you are supporting a climate bully, nothing less.
Your issue is not with Mann?!! You lay out a laundry list of inappropriate behavior but don’t blame the individual himself?!!
You present yet another example of “scientists” being nothing more than wealth transferring bureaucrats. Even when faced with very unscientific and inappropriate behavior you won’t condemn your fellow bureaucrat. Got to keep those tax dollars rolling in, right?
Cjones1
From what I hear, Mr. Mann has railed against any science that disproves his theoretical conclusions and used media and political affiliations to attack his critics. Time (and climate) will test his work and any awards will be Pyrrhic victories. The damage to scientists who disagree with his methods and conclusions should be condemned, not awarded.
It’s possible that what you have heard is wrong. My acquaintance with Mann’s work is less than expert, but I have seen that over the years he has responded to professional criticism in the very reasonable scientist-to-scientist mode we expect, and was only led to take legal action when he became the focus — victim even — of a harassment campaign by Ken Cuccinelli, the attorney general in Virginia, and shortly after began to receive death threats when a journalist implied that he was comparable to a convicted serial child molester. Reasonable people can argue that a lawsuit might have been ill advised, but I find it hard to blame Mann when his frustration level was pushed to that point by constant attacks by amateurs who picked up lines from the Heartland Institute and by journalists representing industry positions. Time may test his work, but climate might not: he’s a paleoclimatologist who models ancient climate, so what happens in the future is probably not going to offer any valid test of his work about the past. And that’s one of the really fascinating issues in this: that an industry would feel so threatened by his effort to reconstruct climate change over a couple of thousand year period — in the past, for goodness sake — that it would launch such a campaign against him!
David T, MD. PhD
dpy6629
David T, Your defense of Mann its morally and legally obtuse. By your reasoning any unethical conduct can be justified if it is “provoked.” Mann seems to be exceptionally sensitive to the slightest criticism of his work or his methods. Many of his attacks are completely unprovoked, for example against Judith Curry. He is just a garden variety bully with a very self-righteous view of his own virtue.
The main criticism of Mann (leaving aside one politician) is that he invented invalid statistical methods to obtain a flawed result and one that has been proven to be substantially in error over time in underestimating past warm periods.
When you are as viscously partisan and nasty as Mann, I can see no defense except nolo contendre.
The people who investigated Sandusky and gave him a pass were the people who investigated Mann and gave him a pass. The comparison questions the integrity of those doing the investigations. Pretending that he was compared to a child molester is a lie, and he and his attorneys know it.
If he was so offended, why not get to court? Professional? Tweeting all day long?
dpy6629: you need to be more specific about what “unethical conduct” you believe Michael Mann has committed — I did say that I thought his lawsuit was ill advised, but it’s not unethical, and his defense of his science may be vigorous, but whether it is unethical is something you may want to explore in more detail. As far as I am aware — and I am not a climate scientist or expert on statistical modeling — Mann’s outcomes have been largely confirmed by a variety of statistical approaches. Perhaps we each read different sources.
Marshall Gill: If you know the composition of the committee that investigated Mann at Penn State, and found that this was the same committee that investigate Sandusky, please let us know. That was not my understanding. I believe that Mann’s suit was ill advised and will probably fail — but so far the court has allowed it to proceed.
David T, MD, PhD
So the question is committee composition? Penn State the University “investigated” Sandusky. Penn State the University “investigated” Mann and in both cases were they found innocent. This comparison says nothing about Mann being a child molester, only about someone “exonerated” by Penn State. Mann has tied up an individual for over half a decade over this and while I am certain he wouldn’t admit it, he doesn’t even think that he was being called a child molester. He is just bullying his political opponents.
This makes him a jerk. If you have any interest in a critique of his work, Mark Steyn has compiled an entire books worth of quotes, questioning his professional….. quality. http://www.steynstore.com/product133.html
The title being “A disgrace to his profession”.
Marshall: You wrote “The people who investigated Sandusky and gave him a pass were the people who investigated Mann and gave him a pass.” So yes, the composition of the committee is an issue, one you raised. As for Steyn’s book, yes, I know it, and I was amused to see that the conservative and denialist press loved it, and the climate change people critiqued it, as you might imagine. More important, reviewers who bothered to dig a bit deeper found that people were misquoted, sometimes reported later that they had changed their minds about the science, and that Steyn had sometimes misunderstood the issues. For a taste of this, see
http://blog.hotwhopper.com/2015/08/vicious-attacks-on-michael-mann-more.html
That said, let me add quickly that my impression is also that Michael Mann….. doesn’t take criticism lying down, but overall the science seems to be on his side. I doubt that he’ll prevail in his suit against Steyn, but it does raise the question that I asked earlier: why does Steyn care that much about a narrow, technical, scientific issue like this? Why doesn’t Steyn get his knickers in a twist about failures to predict neutrino behavior or about the search for gravity waves?
Finally, if we are going to be critical of Michael Mann for responding so aggressively to his critics, I hope we can avoid the same charge about our responses to each other.
The thing you seem to be ignoring, David, is that the science surrounding neutrino behavior or about the search for gravity waves does not require a wholesale change in lifestyles and intimate power over our lives mandated by bureaucrats. As far as I know, the guys at CERN don’t regularly tweet about “deniers”. They let their science speak for itself. Something Mann can’t do because what he produces isn’t “science”. If you can’t find evidence of his poor “science” you aren’t looking. Bristlecone pine tree rings?
Mark Steyn fought the good fight against the tyrannical and misnamed “Human Rights Commissions” in Canada. With the aid of a human bulldog named Ezra Levant, they took it to those self important bureaucrats who would deny human Liberty.
And Mann is the one who is suing. Of course, since he knows it is nothing more than harassment, he has no interest in actually proving his case, or going to court because he knows that he can not. The process is the punishment.
David Taylor, I gave an example of what I consider unethical conduct, namely, Mann’s unprovoked attack on Judith Curry. He just lied about her position on the science and no one said a word. His hockey stick work also suffers from some ethical problems, such as failing to report R statistics that would have shown low significance for his results even though he calculated those statistics. There are others, those are just 2 that come to mind in 30 seconds of thinking.
David Taylor, That you link to the hot whopper blog is an indication that you are very biased on these subjects. Hot whopper is simply a smear site that attacks in the most viscous terms people who are honest scientists, such as Judith Curry. It is just garbage and totally one sided. It supports garbage science such as papers by Lewindowski and John Cook that are smears and unworthy of scientific journals. You can do better than that.
dpy writes “You can do better than that.”
Yes, I could — I’ve seen several reviews of Steyn’s book that make these critical points — but I am a busy physician and didn’t want to spend the time hunting these down. Frankly, I don’t think it matters to either of us! I would be very surprised if there are not even more scientists who have critical things to say about Mann, but as I said, the science seems to be on his side.
And, I’m not a climate scientist, but I have seen conservatives move from denying global warming completely to acknowledging global warming but rejecting the role of human influence to acknowledging that, well, perhaps there is some human influence but rejecting “catastrophic” warming. Progress!
As for Mann and Judith Curry — apparently Mann is not allowed to give as good as he gets. His critiques of Curry are specific and detailed. Vigorous debate? Sure. But Mann gets reviled by his critics, even gets death threats, and somehow that’s OK?
But science is political when science mandates political change. Only one political party is out of step, significantly, with what science concludes about a subject on which Mr. Mann is personally an expert. You speak of “our highest values of the scientific community” but possibly those who gave the award thought truth is one of those values.
Update: libel cases and the ‘climate wars’ | Climate Etc.
World's Largest Science Organization Gives Top Honor To Conspiracy-Monger Michael Mann | | Just Conservative Views
AAAS honors hyper-partisan, name-calling bully Michael Mann | Principia Scientific International
Immigrazione - Ocasapiens - Blog - Repubblica.it
February Climateballs | Climate Scepticism
World’s Largest Science Organization Gives Top Honor To Conspiracy-Monger Michael Mann – The Word Merchant
Science Communication as Intellectual Hospitality – The Honest Broker
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Need A Quote? Call 1300 061 513 or Click Here
Level 4, 152 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne 3000
Freelancer? 5 Secrets to Travelling and Working
Andrew Cox | LAST UPDATED 02 July, 2018
As a freelancer, you’re able to capitalise on some huge benefits — remote working and flexible schedules, incredible control over your income, and work that isn’t just for money’s sake, but interesting, fulfilling, and fun on its own.
If you’re aiming to escape a self-imposed office hell, don’t jump the gun.
Thousands of freelancers leap into remote work every year, and a large number end up walking away with bad experiences and negative perception.
It’s a preparation game, and without the right amount of time invested in structure, motivation, and organisation, it’s very easy for a working vacation to turn into a nightmare.
Freelancer travel tactics
These five tips, tactics, and strategies can help you work effectively while travelling or living abroad.
Whether you’re aiming to earn 24/7 — enjoying the income from freelance contracts wherever you may be — or simply in the mood to continue generating income while enjoying a change of scenery, apply these five strategies and you’ll find yourself which a greater chance of success.
1. Create a schedule, test it, and stick to it
Every freelancer has experienced a self-engineered lack of motivation.
You wake up at midday, sink in behind your work desk, and end up wandering off to bed several hours past midnight.
It’s a product of our profession, and it’s one that can become highly unproductive, especially when paired with a lifestyle that allows you to travel on demand.
Creating a schedule is vital for success as a travelling freelancer.
We’ve all experienced downtime and weeks of poor output.
Our earnings slump and the amount of power we seem to have over our businesses appears to diminish instantly.
Without a clear structure to keep us grounded, focused, and alert, it’s quite simple to fall out of sync with our work and lose long-term focus.
So create a strict, simple, and productive schedule.
Spend weeks following it, observing your output and determining how effective the schedule is for you.
Experiment with other work arrangements until you find one that fits, one that you’re not tempted to stray from.
The temptation to ‘adapt’ your schedule to your lifestyle will grow tenfold once you step out of the office — eliminate it by creating a work arrangement that you’re comfortable and productive with.
2. Be honest with your clients and customers
Dishonesty will cost you far more than a single upfront mistake.
There are some classic telecommuting stories out there — anecdotes about cross-continent work arrangements and major discrepancies between what a client thinks is going on, and what’s really going on behind the scenes.
The problem with these deceptive ‘I’m in the office’ stories is that they’re not crisis-proof.
As a freelancer, you have the power to slip away from their city, country, or continent without needing to alert their major clients, but doing so isn’t a great strategy.
When a major setback occurs, you’ll be left without any way of explaining yourself, any method of rearranging your work, or any possibility of honest contact with your clients.
So be upfront and honest, and accept that an unusual work arrangement could cause you to miss out on contracts, appointments, and opportunities.
There are thousands of potential clients out there with no interest in having their contracts managed remotely — fighting for their approval and bidding for their business is nothing but a waste of time; focus on business that works for you and you’ll end up with a more effective remote working arrangement.
3. Test, analyse and change before you commit
In 2008, some of the world’s largest companies dramatically reduced their advertising budgets, pushing thousands of designers, artists, and creative people out of their positions and into unemployment.
Most people stagnated, searching for the same positions straight away with little progress, though a small percentage of those thrown out of work adapted to their new situation and found their own opportunities.
It’s a rough transition, and it’s one that almost every freelance worker has experienced before.
The temptation to fall into old patterns of behaviour is difficult to fight, and it’s a particularly alluring option when we find ourselves in new situations.
Rather than testing and building a strategy before committing, we walk into new fields and opportunities with plans of adapting along the way.
Before you move to an exotic island, sail the world, or drive across a continent, it’s worth testing whether your work arrangement will be effective.
Take small doses at first — week-long vacations with a project to keep you company — and see which parts of your work arrangement work and which don’t.
Then adapt.
Cut out what’s ineffective, focus on your new work situation, and modify your schedule, strategy, and long-term planning to make things less stressful.
4. Have a backup plan ready
"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong."
Edward A. Murphy
It’s 8PM on a Thursday night.
Your flight from London to Singapore has been delayed for twelve hours, leaving you stranded in a departure lounge and unable to access an internet connection.
In twenty-four hours a major Shopify project is due — one that could lead to future long-term contracts and valuable business.
You have no assistants, no contacts, and no way of submitting anything on time.
Rigidity is important.
It helps us stick to schedules, get work done, and remain disciplined.
It’s also a curse when it encounters surprises and unanticipated events.
Delayed flights, nulled connections, and missed appointments can and will happen when you operate outside the standard work arrangement and creating a flexible backup plan is essential for ensuring that they don’t interfere with your work.
Some experts suggest hiring a reliable assistant, someone that’s able to work without your guidance and stay calm under pressure.
Others recommend keeping in touch with your peers, offering them last-minute opportunities and chances to take care of your urgent appointments.
Whichever strategy you choose, ensure that your work arrangement is both rigid enough to keep you disciplined and flexible enough to allow you to effectively, quickly, and easily work through setbacks and inconveniences.
"The simple willingness to improvise is more vital, in the long run, than research."
Rolf Potts, Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel
5. Invest in reliable equipment
Few things test someone’s patience, focus, and skills like being forced to work remotely, this is amplified significantly when you’re forced to work on outdated and unreliable equipment.
Power cuts change patience from something that’s celebrated into something that’s expected, while unreliable connections can force even the most reference-heavy designer to adapt and work in relative isolation.
However, it’s significantly more common for outdated equipment and unreliable work settings to reveal the weakest points of your working arrangement — the things which have been waiting to go wrong but haven’t found the right setting.
Eliminate the potential for gear to falter by investing in equipment that isn’t just flashy and useful, but highly rugged and reliable.
For permanent travellers, Tynan’s packing list is a good point of reference.
A freelancer accustomed to two screens and graphics tablets may find themselves in an unusual position; do you pack it all at the expense of comfort, or force yourself to adapt once out of the office?
While your gear will doubtlessly look different to someone else’s, the main purpose should be the same: maximising reliability and ensuring that you can get things done (so that you can get out and enjoy travelling).
Finally, if you are looking for a travel companion… I highly recommend Rolf Potts’ — Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel as recommended by Tim Ferriss.
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Neto vs Shopify
by Andrew Cox | 07 March, 2019 |
Shopify Meetup Adelaide March 2019
by Matthew Stuckings | 07 March, 2019 |
The Hope Factory
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© 2019 The Hope Factory. Level 4, 152 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne 3000 · 1300 061 513
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Ick's Alive! Brian Yuzna's Society Revisited
Sean Kitching , June 19th, 2015 06:29
Sean Kitching has another look at Brian Yuzna's enduringly disgusting Society, recently reissued by Arrow films
Shock is a diminishing commodity in horror. The single minded pursuit of the gross out alone leads only to unilluminating dead ends such as the ideologically bankrupt Human Centipede series, now utterly beyond parody in its third and (hopefully) final sequence. Yet throughout the history of the genre, there have been examples of directors who have deployed truly shocking imagery or ideas along with satirical and darkly humorous aspects to powerful and lasting effect. The early films of Brian Yuzna and Stuart Gordon (who went on to co-write the late 80s Disney classic Honey, I Shrunk the Kids) fit comfortably into this category. The Lovecraft inspired Re-Animator (1985) and From Beyond (1986), directed by Gordon and produced by Yuzna, remain classics of the genre, fusing heavy gore with ingenious (and simultaneously puerile) sight gags and a nihilistic undercurrent to deliver ample delights for the jaded modern horror fan. The image of the drooling Dr Gruber in Re-Animator repeatedly smashing his head against the glass in the locked door of the asylum room remains as chilling as ever, even thirty years on. Finally re-released after many years of out of-print limbo-existence, Yuzna’s directorial debut, Society, is a different species of beast altogether. It’s also a film that, despite leaning heavily on the cliches of the era in which it was constructed, remains cannily resonant with today’s particularly self-centered strain of capitalistic enterprise.
Anyone who saw Society back in the day likely remembers it predominantly for its crazed and downright disgusting denouement. Those wishing to avoid spoilers are best advised to open the wonderfully repackaged film with eyes averted from the gloriously grotesque new artwork by British artist Nick Percival. Having only seen the film once myself, soon after its release to video, I was curious to see how well it had weathered the intervening years. That the film stands up so well, and is still capable of delivering such a forceful punch at its ending, is due in part to the solidity and shrewdness of its central premise. Combining the paranoid reality of a teen outsider point of view while questioning the reasoning behind the assumed authority of the privileged elite makes for a satirical viewpoint that seems completely reasonable, even given the fantastic flights of fancy the film eventually attains. Although Yuzna is clearly no David Lynch, he handles the premise with the gleeful flair of a man who clearly knows he’s onto something unique. The Heathers like aspect of the early part of the film soon collapses under the weight of its own paranoia and gradually becomes something far more sinister. The wonderfully named Billy Warlock (of Baywatch fame) feels alienated from his family and the society in which they move. At this point, there are also echoes of John Frankenheimer’s disturbing 1966 masterpiece Seconds and also later films questioning the apparent benevolence of societal norms such as 1975's The Stepford Wives. Yet there are also a number of non-sequiturs: anomalies that would fit more comfortably into a John Waters movie, such as Clarissa’s weirdo hair-munching mother and the offhand perversity of that infamous line: ‘Do you have cream or sugar in your tea... or would you like me to pee in it?’
Prior to beginning work on Society, Yuzna had been involved in the genesis of an aborted project with Dark Star and Alien writer Dan O’Bannon, called The Men, which dealt with the discovery of the truth that an ‘alien race... took control of the planet half a million years ago.’ Although this premise differs in many respects from the plot of Society, it’s likely that some of those ideas found their way into that film. The original script of Society postulated the ruling elite as a sacrificial blood cult, which didn’t go far enough for Yuzna, who instead opted for something wildly surreal and outrageous - the concept of ‘the shunt.’ When the ending finally arrives, even the undeniably ludicrous aspect of the latex special effects courtesy of Screaming Mad George cannot entirely denude the film of its sinister atmosphere. If anything, even crude gags of the kind that recall Re-Animator’s infamous severed head cunnilingus scene (which guaranteed many reviews employing variations on the phrase ‘going down’) simply add sauce to the gross out. Judge Carter declares ‘The rich have always sucked off low-class shit like you’ as a prelude to some really quite horrific events that good taste, and a desire to avoid inflicting serious spoilers, thankfully preclude me going into in any detail here. Suffice to say that the ending presents what could be seen as an almost believable glimpse of possible events behind close doors at Tory party HQ whilst celebrating their recent electoral victory. The fact that the film’s music at its end transforms from a carnivalesque lurching travesty, into a quite recognizable version of the 'Eton Boating Song' merely serves to reinforce that impression. If one were to follow that thought to its logical conclusion, it may provide one possible reason behind the physical similarity of many Tory politicians. Perhaps one day all Tories will look like a combination of William Hague, Chris Grayling and Iain Duncan Smith.
Arrow Films have done a wonderful job in remastering and repackaging this perverse gem so that deserves a place in any horror film fan’s collection. The quality of the picture on the blu ray disc isn’t 100% perfect, but it represents by far the best version of the film available. The new artwork for the limited digipak looks fantastic, the extras are generous and illuminating and the addition of Society: Party Animal, the comic book sequel to the film, make this release something truly special.
Society is available from Arrow Films now
King Of The Wild Front-ARRRRRGH: IT Reviewed »
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‘Crazy Ex Girlfriend’ Ended A First-Rate Season On A Great Cliffhanger
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend just concluded a terrific second season. I interviewed Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna about the season, and I have my own thoughts about the year, and what went down in the finale, coming up just as soon as my chest is twerking…
“Josh Chan must be destroyed.” -Rebecca
Bloom and McKenna have a four-season plan for Crazy Ex, which means that “Can Josh Take a Leap of Faith?” would (assuming the CW’s charity towards the lowest-rated show on broadcast TV continues past next season) be the series’ mid-point. And one hell of a mid-point it was.
Until now, the show’s title was reflected in a relatively benign way by Rebecca, who was damaged and needy and self-involved and weird, but who almost always tended to hurt herself far worse than anyone around her. (As the creators noted in our interview, most of the supporting characters have gotten the courage to make big and necessary leaps in their own lives thanks in part to their friendships with Rebecca.) This, though, takes us into the more classic definition of the title, with her as a woman scorned looking to hurt Josh through any means necessary.
Had the series started there, or even gone there a year earlier, I’d be worried that it might fall prey to all the bad stereotypes about this, even within a comic framework. But the creative team has earned the benefit of the doubt by now that they can make the situation be a lot more nuanced than it seems when Rebecca is standing on the cliff, flanked by her squad in full support. And the season, and finale, built up well to the big, terrible moment, with Rebecca investing so much of herself and her misguided belief in what will finally make her happy — marrying Josh, reconciling with her heinous father — that of course she was going to break in two when her picture-perfect, pop culture-inspired, life-altering day went so awry.
Taking the story in this direction does a couple of very smart things. First, it takes the show out of the will-they/won’t-they hamster wheel that was Josh and Rebecca’s relationship, which was fun for a while but on the verge of exhausting itself creatively. Where having Rebecca be in a long-term relationship with Greg or Nathaniel — two guys with their own demons who can keep up with the way she thinks and talks — could have provided more material, it didn’t feel like there was similar room to grow between these two, since Josh is so fundamentally sweet and straightforward. And having Josh end things not because he found out about Rebecca and Nathaniel’s kiss, or even the truth about her and Robert from Harvard, but because of something he wanted to do on his own, allows her to be comically vengeful about something where she’s largely not at fault.
Second, the revenge plot provides a legitimate reason for Rebecca’s friends to all be together with her, and each other, on this. One of the season’s best arcs involved Paula and Rebecca’s estrangement, as Paula began to realize how one-sided their friendship had become, while Rebecca gravitated towards more contemporary peers in Heather and Valencia. (Even though both of them kept understandably wondering why they were friends with her.) The other three had more or less made their peace with Rebecca, if not with each other, by the time of the wedding, but now there’s a legit — if crazy — reason for them to be on the same page, at least until we see exactly how far Rebecca wants to take this plan.
So where the season one-ending cliffhanger of Rebecca and Josh hooking up left me concerned that the show was backsliding to the territory of its bumpy early episodes, I feel incredibly confident that this is a promising new direction. It helps, of course, that this terrific season proved those old cliffhanger fears misguided. Bloom and McKenna are every bit as aware of what the show is and who its heroine is as Rebecca is deluded about how the world works and what her place in it is. Season two dealt with the push-pull of (as Darryl dubs them) ReJoshecca ChaBunch, but a lot of it (the best of it) was about Rebecca and Paula’s friendship, Paula coming into her own professionally even as her marriage hit an enormous bump, Nathaniel buying into the firm and trying to make it more professional, and a whole lot more, on top of Rebecca coming dangerously close to major emotional breakthroughs before her romantic obsessions got the better of her.
I love this show like Rebecca used to love Josh Chan, and it hasn’t let me down the way he just did to her. May we enjoy the next two years together in musical comedy psychodrama bliss.
Some other thoughts:
* Top five songs from the season (and thus not counting the online-only long version of “Period Sex”): “The Math of Love Triangles” as an easy top pick, followed in some order by “You Go First,” “Remember That We Suffered,” “(Tell Me I’m Okay) Patrick,” and “We Tapped That Ass.” (“Love Kernels” had the best video, but other songs were better.)
* Josh bailing on the wedding also makes me completely rethink Nathaniel, who seemed to be introduced mainly as a barrier to the Josh/Rebecca ‘ship. I imagine there will still be some romantic sparks there, especially now that she’s single, but there’s a lot more the show can do with him now, especially since Scott Michael Foster has fit in so well with the group.
* Since this will likely be the last appearance of Rebecca’s father on the show, it’s now or never to remind you of John Allen Nelson’s days as one of the early Baywatch lifeguards, in a montage that, based on her behavior in this episode, would give Rebecca very complicated feelings:
* Over the course of the season, Darryl and White Josh went from casually dating to something a bit more serious, which of course means there has to be new conflict, which we get here with their split on the question of marriage, and Darryl’s interest in having another kid with White Josh. I am in favor of anything that gives Darryl more screentime, so I approve this plotline.
* Josh entering the priesthood also likely means more time for Father Bra. And while the concept was mostly introduced in the finale, there have been enough references over the seasons to Josh being a more spiritual guy than Rebecca that it also doesn’t feel entirely out of left field. We’ll just have to see if he’s really up to the celibacy part of the deal.
* Though Josh never opened the dossier, Trent giving it to him certainly played a role in his uncertainty about the wedding, so I think our favorite crazy ex-fake-boyfriend has to consider that a win.
So go read the Bloom/McKenna interview, and then tell me: what did everybody else think?
Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@uproxx.com
TOPICS#Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Review
TAGSAline Brosh McKennaCrazy Ex-GirlfriendCrazy Ex-Girlfriend ReviewRACHEL BLOOM
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Little Big Town Set for Super Country 2019 Live in the Vineyard
California goes country this May.
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He left the comedian just standing there.
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LoCash and Tim McGraw performed. Lindsay Ell and Kelsea Ballerini were there as fans.
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Is Moose destined for stardom? He sure put on a cute show as McCreery's special guest.
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The music business is a high-stakes, high-risk venture, and it's not unusual for things to wind up in court.
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The McCreerys have an announcement to share with fans...the family is getting bigger!
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This year was a milestone for the singer in many ways, but his marriage topped the list of accomplishments.
Luke Bryan Wants to Go Under the Mistletoe With Betty White
And should Jennifer Aniston ever decide to take a holiday trip to Nashville, she'd better bring a bodyguard ...
Sam Alex
10 Country Albums That Defined 2018
The best country albums of any given year are situational.
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The Rock Tribune
Short and sweet…News. Releases. Interviews.
Archive for dropkick murphys
Show Review: Dropkick Murphys
Posted in Artist Watch, News, Photos, Reviews, Shows with tags dropkick murphys, lucerno, skinny lister on April 21, 2014 by Randy
Stage AE – 3/8/2014 – Pittsburgh PA
It was the season for Dropkick Murphy’s St. Patrick’s Day tour (first two weeks in March) and this year consisted of more than the Murphy’s them self. Along with the Murphy’s were two opening acts by the names of Skinny Lister and Lucero, whom both are very amazing live and on record. If punk rock and rock n’ roll, bag pipes, and are a few cold ones appease you, then this is a show you better not miss… and here’s why:
March 8th was yet another night where the city of Pittsburgh was crippled by more snow and frigid gusts of wind, but that didn’t stop everyone from venturing out to Stage AE for an exciting evening filled with friends, booze, and a power packed stage performance… and that was just the first band. Skinny Lister proved that they deserved to be on this tour and gave Dropkick a run for their money as best performance by the end of the evening. They came out with bottle necks down, but not just normal bottles, they were drinking straight from their growlers preparing for one hell of a party. Skinny Lister never once let the energy slip from them, especially because their hit songs “John Kanaka” and “Merry Old Dance” kept up the pace and had the crowd doing some distorted version of an Irish Jig. Next was Lucero, a band who doesn’t quite have the Irish Punk Rock sound like DKM, but has a very unique rock and roll sound that shows some Irish influence. And like everyone else there, they have a love for an ice cold beer. Within their set was some awesome rock n’ roll riffs coming from their popular songs “My Best Girl” and “Sweet Little Thing,” combined with a little bit of storytelling which added a different degree of entertainment no one was expecting. After a few hours of quality entertainment from Skinny Lister and Lucero came the beer, kilts, and bag pipes everyone came to see from the Dropkick Murphy’s. DKM came out on stage and opened up with a new song, that was fitting for their return to Pittsburgh, titled “The Boys are Back.” From start to finish the whole show was completely crazy with everybody singing along to their favorite songs to people crowd surfing, even a man who had to of been near his early 60’s crowd surfing with what we assumed to be his grandson (that’s the sign of a true fan). As the night went on the energy never once died down and the fans were so excited by the end of the show that they rushed the stage and climbed up and sang “Kiss Me I’m Sh**faced. If you have yet to see the Dropkick Murphy’s perform (especially around St. Patrick’s Day), we highly recommend that you do whatever it takes to see them as soon as…no chance you’ll regret it.
Logan Rendulic, The Rock Tribune © 2014
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Pilgrims of Blood and Stone
July 26, 2018 July 26, 2018 | stevetanham
The blood: the Life that flows through us, taken in as breath, fresh each second, flowing out to be renewed in the world of nature; natural, given.
The stone: the fixed structures we rely on to ensure persistence of that life-force made flesh. The riddle, the contradiction – the mystery… beginning with that most profound and persistent structure: the body…
There is no more beautiful a coastline in which to explore the mystery of our being than Northumberland. The beaches are wonderful, the climate is usually mild late into the Autumn. The mellowness of September will be perfect.
This former Kingdom in its own right is rich in history; ancient and modern. Yet, it remains unvisited by most. Look on a map and you’ll see how it’s lovely hills and coast form a separate realm between England and Scotland.
( Image above: Northumberland – an ancient Kingdom between England and Scotland. (Google Maps))
The castle or the fortified tower is capable of being used as working symbol of the way we guard against life; and Northumberland is full of such treasures. They mirror its history, from the ancient political and religious roots to its lawless centuries when gangs – land pirates – roamed, unchecked, in the times of the Border reivers.
(Image above: the fortified Tower – about which, more later….
Pilgrims have always come this way, drawn by the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. We, too, will be drawn towards its mysterious and ancient shores, the birthplace of English (Celtic) Christianity. But, before we make that last odyssey across the causeway (or sands, for the adventurous) to that final island of the soul, we will make other journeys along the edge of the land, journeys that use coast and castle to explore the seemingly contrasting nature of survival and spirituality.
(Image above: the castle on the far point of Lindisfarne. Taken from the Tourist Information board)
Day One: Friday 14th September, 2018
To begin our journey as pilgrims of blood and stone, we will gather, in the late afternoon, of Friday 14th September, in the lovely village of Bamburgh – home to the world famous castle of the same name. The Victoria Hotel will host us for tea, coffee and cakes while we make introductions, meet old and new friends, and discuss the plans for the weekend ahead.
(Image above: The Victoria Hotel, Bamburgh village – our Friday meeting place)
After this, we will do what pilgrims have always done; we will walk, in essence, beginning our symbolic journey to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. One of the finest beaches in Britain is a few minutes away from Bamburgh village, and we will continue to set the scene by strolling and considering the splendour of Bamburgh Castle, seen from the shore.
During the walk, we will share thoughts and readings on the themes generated by the idea of Castles of the Mind – our name for this Walk and Talk workshop. We will ask the first of several questions, questions designed to shape the weekend from an emotional and spiritual perspective. All our answers will be unique; there is no right or wrong, they simply reflect our experiences and our aspirations.
The geographic base for our weekend is the lovely fishing harbour of Seahouses. We will retire there after our beach walk at Bamburgh
A stroll around the harbour will help us work up an appetite for that most important ingredient of any trip to Seahouses: their world-famous fish and chips. Other dishes are available…
To finish our Friday, we will retire to one of several sea-facing pubs to relax. Tomorrow will be a busy day…
Day Two: Saturday 15th September, 2018 To begin the Saturday, we will drive the short distance to Bamburgh Castle and tour this famous landmark, known as the King of Castles. Bamburgh is the royal seat of the kings of Northumbria and is still a family home–though no longer to kings… The admission price is £11.00 per person and, as with the entry fee for other locations, is not included in the Silent Eye’s booking fee.
The guided tour will tell the story of Bamburgh’s many incarnations over the centuries, from Anglo Saxon Royal palace to its reconstruction in the Victorian period by inventor and industrialist Lord Armstrong; to whom it was the vision of a perfect castle. From the guidebook:
After this, ghosts permitting, we will take refreshments in the cafe, then gather on the ramparts overlooking the sea and consider the second of our discussion questions:
We will then drive a few miles south, along the coast, to arrive at the beautiful fishing village of Craster.
Craster is very compact, and easily explored. A short walk up the hill is the Jolly Fisherman pub, famous for its seafood dinners and ‘light’ lunches.
This will be followed by a relaxed walk along the dramatic cliffs of the coastline between Craster and Embelton.
A twenty minute walk will take us to the haunting ruin of Dunstanburgh Castle, which stands on a remote headland. Dunstanburgh became a key stronghold during the early fourteenth century; a tumultuous period in English history. Relations between King Edward II and Earl Thomas of Lancaster had broken down. Earl Thomas had begun the construction of the castle in 1313, very possibly as a provocative symbol of his opposition to the King. The Earl mounted a rebellion, but, when it was defeated by King Edward’s forces, he was arrested before he could reach the safety of his intended fortress.
Earl Thomas was executed in 1322. Dunstanburgh Castle passed, eventually, to John of Gaunt, who used it to defend against the Scots, converting the twin-towered gatehouse into a keep. During the Wars of the Roses, it was the scene of two sieges and eventually fell into Yorkist hands. Today, it survives as an impressive ruin, but visitors speak of how its ‘presence’ lingers in the memory….
Dunstanburgh Castle is operated by English Heritage, with reciprocal honouring of National Trust memberships. Admission is £5.40. Concessions are available.
At Dunstanburgh, we will consider our third question, then, we will drive a few miles east, to visit one of Northumberland’s least-known historical gems: the Preston Pele Tower at Ellingham.
Northumberland, has a bloody history; largely because of its position as one of two border counties between England and Scotland. Few places convey the vivid fear and caution of the past as well as the Preston Pele Tower. The tower is owned by Major Tom Baker Cresswell and is privately managed. It was constructed in the 1390s when warfare between Scotland and England was at its height. At the time of the battle of Agincourt, there were 78 such pele towers in Northumberland. Among its owners was Sir Guiscard Harbottle, who was killed at the battle of Flodden in 1513 – the conflict that brought Mary, Queen of Scots to the Scottish throne.
By the 16th century, the rest of England was enjoying peace and prosperity. But, in the Borders of Northumberland, raiders, known as ‘reivers’, crossed freely though the area, ravaging and looting. This led to the continued use of ‘tower dwellings’ among the well-off families. The idea may sound attractive – and we could say reflects today’s ‘gated communities’, but the intact interior of the Preston Pele Tower, with its reconstructed rooms, shows how primitive such living had to be.
The Preston Pele Tower (and gardens) is privately owned, and admission is a very reasonable £2.00.
The extreme nature of this isolation illustrates the power of fear to drastically change lives. With this in mind, we will carry out a mystical and psychological exercise related to our coming arrival in Lindisfarne on Sunday.
There are no refreshments at the Preston Pele Tower, but an early dinner will be booked at the nearby Pack Horse Inn in Ellingham.
After the long day, and our early dinner, we will retire back to Seahouses for a possible nightcap before retiring for the night. A very special Sunday morning awaits…
Day Three: Sunday 16th September, 2018
Our final day is a physical and spiritual homecoming. Our pilgrimage is to end on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, which can be reached (subject to the tides) by car, over the causeway. Lindisfarne can also be reached on foot, across a three mile stretch of marked path over the sands. We will consult on the day, and if there are those who wish to make the final journey a true walking pilgrimage, then we will arrange for one or more cars to be left at Lindisfarne so that the walking is one-way only. Be prepared to be very sandy/muddy if you wish to walk! Having said that, to arrive at a place of pilgrimage after a degree of ‘hardship’ is an entirely appropriate thing.
Lindisfarne needs little introduction. The monastery there was founded by an Irish monk, St Aidan. Aidan had presided over the monastery at Iona, off the west coast of Scotland. He was sent to establish the Lindisfarne community in the year 634 AD, and remained there till his death in 651 AD.
The holy island of Lindisfarne has attracted pilgrims for hundreds of years. It is a fitting and beautiful place to end the Castles of the Mind weekend. The village comprises:
a large car park; the first major feature you come to, having crossed the tidal causeway.
Two main streets, one of which leads to the crossroads and, beyond, the excellent museum; the other involves a fifteen minute walk to the far end of the island where the castle is situated.
There is also a meditation garden, which we may use if time permits.
For ease of finding, we will meet at the Oasis Cafe, which lies on the road from the car park.
The castle is currently undergoing work, but the visitor centre within it is open. The walk down from the village is well worth the views of the beaches and the headland on which the castle is built.
If we have worked our collective intentions well, we should each feel a certain ‘presence’ when we arrive on the island of Lindisfarne.
To conclude our weekend, we will remember the bravery of the early fathers of religion, such as St Aidan, who set sail into the complete unknown to establish their faith on distant shores. We can, perhaps, have little understanding of the depth of that faith; but we can, in our own ways, recreate that ‘setting off’ into the unknown – without fear.
Our final gathering will be a powerful and moving close to a wonderful weekend. Why not see out the end of the summer in style and join us…
Castles of the Mind workshop
Weekend of 14-16 September 2018.
Location: Northumberland
To join us on our Castles of the Mind weekend email us at:
rivingtide@gmail.com
Or Click below to
Download our Events Booking Form – pdf
Enquiries: rivingtide@gmail.com.
We’d love to have you with us. You can find our more about the Silent Eye School of Consciousness here.
Weekend Costs
There is a charge of £50.00 per person. All other expenses, such as accommodation, food and entry charge for the sites visited, are the responsibility of those attending. Meals are usually taken together in a local pub, and the costs shared.
Stephen Tanham is a director of the Silent Eye School of Consciousness, a not-for-profit organisation that helps people find the reality and essence of their existence via home-based, practical courses which are low-cost and personally supervised.
His personal blog, Sun in Gemini, is at stevetanham.wordpress.com.
You’ll find friends, poetry, literature and photography there…and some great guest posts on related topics.
©Stephen Tanham
Posted in #Silenti, Castles, modern mystery school, spirituality Bamburgh CastleCastles of the Mind workshopDunstanburgh CastleLindisfarne pilgrimageNorthumberlandNorthumbriaSeahouses
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24 thoughts on “Pilgrims of Blood and Stone”
Lindisfarne… just the name conjures up timeless mystery…
Thank you, Jaye. And for the reblog x
Pingback: Pilgrims of Blood and Stone | Sue Vincent's Daily Echo
kph52013 says:
Sounds like a lovely trip/adventure!
Come and be part of it?
Sounds like a marvelous adventure.
Come and join us? You’d be very welcome…
We may be moving permanently next year. Keep your fingers crossed.
I am so disappointed to miss this weekend but I am so pleased to have December to look forward to 💜
Wow, what a fascinating adventure Steve, thank you! 🙂
Thank you, Debbie. If you ever want to join us…
Oh would I love to Steve. I’ve said that to Sue many times. Unfortunately, I live across the pond in Canada, but one never knows if I venture over to the UK I might time it well enough to hop on to one of these tours. 🙂
I’d love that, Debby x
I would love it too Sue. ❤
One of these days 😉
Anne Copeland says:
This seems the most beautiful and spiritual place despite its overall history. Strange how things can be so filled with war and violence over long periods, and then can become peaceful and spiritual as they might have been in the beginning. The world was not meant to be full of war and violence. Mankind, with its lack of ease from within, seeks to create havoc of everything around itself. It destroys without true reason, instead of trying to make things work and to seek some kind of joint efforts between people, almost as if mankind is some kind of animal, and even animals live together with all kinds and less violence overall. I look forward to seeing the posts and lessons around that time. I so wish I could attend these trips, but travel is not in the cards for now. I will say that these posts and events that are held are so well shared that they feel as though we all get to be there even when we are unable to do so. I often wonder if perhaps someday videos or something that would allow us to actually feel a part of it could eventually happen. That would surely be wonderful. Someday. . .
Thank you, Anne. We are going to try a Facebook ‘live’ feed for a few minutes at each location.. That will give people from far away a chance to tune in and ‘be there’. Watch the website for details.
This absolutely made my day, Steve. I would love to do those (gee, I can’t remember what they are called) where we all dial into a number, and get to hear the broadcast and for those of us who are taking the course, perhaps get to have a chance to comment to the questions as to what we feel and see. I am so excited. That will be a fantastic addition to everything we are doing already. Oh, I am so thrilled! The voices of the people who are there will be the one thing that will bring it all totally alive; it is already pretty much there, but I so long to hear the people who put these out.
I thought of something else too. You might have an audio version of the course available. A number of the Print-on-Demand publishers are now adding audio versions of books available so that those who are blind, or perhaps for other reasons are unable to read could still manage to enjoy the course as well. What is being taught is so important and so life-transforming that it would be nice for everyone to have an opportunity to get it. Thank you all most kindly.
Thank you, Anne. We’ll keep you informed. Steve
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Lady Nightwave Brenda Marie Writer says:
Thank-you for sharing your amazing trip. I dream of visiting and can through your article.
Thank you, Brenda. I’m glad it’s working!
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Tag Archives: Arnold Schwarzenegger
1991, Action/Adventure, ★★★½
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991, James Cameron)
7 August 2016 Andrew Wickliffe Leave a comment
Director James Cameron opens Terminator 2: Judgment Day with a couple things the audience has to think about when watching the film and isn’t going to see or hear again for a while, so they need to have it in mind to recall it later. Because Terminator 2 is an amazing kind of sequel to the original–it’s calculated but to get its characters (and the audience) to certain places. Only there’s only one character from the first movie in it–Linda Hamilton–but there’s two actors back.
Anyway, the opening is a future apocalypse prologue with Hamilton narrating. Her narration is important later on, but only after a number of things happen, both in the plotting and the character development. You have to think back on it opening the film, which has a lot of emphasis on the Terminator robots, sans Arnold suits. Cameron invites comparisons to the original, he requests them of the audience. It’s bold and seemingly pointless; the first half of the movie has almost nothing to do with Hamilton. It’s Edward Furlong’s movie. Cameron has an excellent tone–he’s got this pre-teen lead who needs to do teen things but also be reduced to damsel in distress because he’s a kid after all. Terminator 2 always wants to emphasize the danger. Cameron’s never specific about how it’s directed at Furlong, but it really is just a movie about this crazy metal killing machine who looks like a cop trying to kill a little kid. Robert Patrick is fantastic as the bad Terminator.
But everyone’s generally fantastic. Furlong has some problems, but improves once the character gets going. Cameron and co-writer William Wisher give Furlong expository dialogue he can’t handle for the first half hour or so, but once Hamilton shows up, he gets much better. He doesn’t even need to be better, because all throughout those weaker Furlong scenes, Cameron is still doing amazing things. Terminator 2 is a celebration. It’s a celebration out of there getting to be a Terminator sequel; Cameron and Schwarzenegger get to have a great time, but they still take it seriously enough to turn in a fantastic film. They go out of their way to show off Schwarzenegger’s ability to handle the more difficult scenes after Hamilton arrives.
When Schwarzenegger and Hamilton meet in Terminator 2, the Terminator’s sunglasses come off and it’s a new movie all of a sudden. Even though Hamilton’s got narration–never too much, always frugal–and she’s in almost every scene (except Patrick’s scenes), she’s still something of a wild card character. She’s not just the mom. She’s got to have her moment. Terminator 2’s ground situation takes away Hamilton’s agency. When he brings it back, he demands the audience think about their expectations of what that agency really looks like versus what the audience wants of it in a Terminator movie.
And then he never does anything with it. He gets the story moving, bringing in Joe Morton (and an awesome S. Epatha Merkerson in a small part). Morton ends up on Team Arnold too. There’s a lot for Terminator 2 to do and Cameron is brisk about it. You need to pay attention. If you don’t, you probably still get a great action movie, but if you do, you get all this weird, wonderful stuff. Schwarzenegger and Furlong are cute together, of course, but there’s this great stuff between Schwarzenegger and Hamilton, Hamilton and Morton, Patrick and the audience. Cameron gives Patrick (and Schwarzenegger) these wonderful observation scenes. They can’t be characters because they’re robots, right? But what if they could be.
Technically, the film’s singular. Adam Greenberg’s photography is never flashy, always pragmatic; there’s a blue tint to Terminator 2, which ought to create narrative distance but instead it just makes the performances connect more. There’s no safe space, character development is going to happen in the strangest scenes. Greenberg’s also got some amazing composite shots during the action sequences; masterful work.
There’s great editing from Conrad Buff IV, Mark Goldblatt and Richard A. Harris. Three different editors–I wonder if they handled the different phases of the film–but it’s never incongruous, always a graceful cuts. The editors help a lot with creating Schwarzenegger’s presence in the film.
Awesome Brad Fiedel score, awesome special effects. Terminator 2 is an assured, exciting, joyous success. Cameron is his most ambitious in the safest moments in the film. He pushes the action, he pushes the special effects, he pushes the performances. It’s a stunning film.
Produced and directed by James Cameron; written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr.; director of photography, Adam Greenberg; edited by Conrad Buff IV, Mark Goldblatt and Richard A. Harris; music by Brad Fiedel; production designer, Joseph C. Nemec III; released by Carolco Pictures.
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (T-800), Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor), Edward Furlong (John Connor), Robert Patrick (T-1000), Joe Morton (Miles Dyson), S. Epatha Merkerson (Tarissa Dyson), Castulo Guerra (Enrique) and Earl Boen (Dr. Silberman).
OTHER TERMINATOR FILMS
OTHER FILMS DIRECTED BY JAMES CAMERON
Arnold SchwarzeneggerCameronCarolco PicturesEdward FurlongJames CameronJoe MortonLinda HamiltonRobert PatrickTerminator 2: Judgment Day
Batman & Robin (1997, Joel Schumacher)
6 March 2016 Andrew Wickliffe 2 Comments
I’m not going to defend Batman & Robin. It’s not so much a matter of the film being indefensible, it’s just a matter of it being a pointless exercise. And, by defend, I don’t mean identifying who gives the least embarrassing performance (Michael Gough) or who is just jaw-droppingly bad (Chris O’Donnell). Watching Batman & Robin, you can see the trailer moments, you can see the toy commercial moments, you can see the Happy Meal commercial moments. These moments aren’t hidden–Batman & Robin invites the audience to reveal in its brand possibilities.
It’s so blissfully unaware of itself, I almost don’t want to disturb that delusion. At the time of the film’s release, a friend of mine said, “if Schumacher wanted to do the TV show, they should’ve just done the TV show.” He was correct. Throw in the Neal Hefti “Batman Theme” and Batman & Robin would’ve been… well, it would’ve still been awful, because director Schumacher is making a movie for kids and trying to throw in adult stuff to make it appear grown-up.
Sure, the film’s objectively bad. Arnold Schwarzenegger is awful. Akiva Goldsman’s script is awful. Stephen Goldblatt’s photography is flat and boring (though everything except establishing shots being done on sets might have something to do with that boredom). The film’s so bad, you can’t even tell if it’s poorly edited or if it’s everything else about it. Elliot Goldenthal’s music’s awful though.
I should do a word count on “awful” for this post. But, see, I didn’t defend it. The film is a perfectly natural extension of where the franchise was going. It’s not about franchise fatigue or anything lofty; suspension of disbelief isn’t just plot holes and bad casting, it’s also about the work’s basic agreement. With Batman & Robin, Schumacher and company just told the viewers what they thought of them.
There’s nothing interesting to watch in Batman & Robin. I was sort of hoping Alicia Silverstone secretly gave a good performance or something wacky, but not really. She’s better than O’Donnell but so’s the guy who played Bane and he didn’t even have any dialogue. And it is interesting to compare George Clooney in this film to his later work. But none of those expectations or inquiries have anything to do with the film.
When you gaze long at Batman & Robin (and you do, because it’s endlessly long), Batman & Robin also gazes into you.
Directed by Joel Schumacher; screenplay by Akiva Goldsman, based on characters created by Bob Kane; director of photography, Stephen Goldblatt; edited by Mark Stevens and Dennis Virkler; music by Elliot Goldenthal; production designer, Barbara Ling; produced by Peter Macgregor-Scott; released by Warner Bros.
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (Mr. Freeze), George Clooney (Batman / Bruce Wayne), Chris O’Donnell (Robin / Dick Grayson), Uma Thurman (Poison Ivy / Dr. Pamela Isley), Alicia Silverstone (Barbara), Michael Gough (Alfred Pennyworth), Pat Hingle (Commissioner James Gordon), John Glover (Dr. Jason Woodrue), Elle Macpherson (Julie Madison), Vivica A. Fox (Ms. B. Haven), Vendela Kirsebom Thomessen (Nora Fries), Jeep Swenson (Bane) and Elizabeth Sanders (Gossip Gerty).
OTHER BATMAN FILMS
OTHER FILMS DIRECTED BY JOEL SCHUMACHER
Alicia SilverstoneArnold SchwarzeneggerBatman & RobinChris O'DonnellElle MacphersonGeorge ClooneyUma ThurmanVivica A. FoxWarner Bros.
2015, ⓏⒺⓇⓄ, Sci-Fi
Terminator Genisys (2015, Alan Taylor)
28 November 2015 Andrew Wickliffe Leave a comment
Terminator Genisys is an inept attempt at turning the Terminator franchise into a young adult series à la The Hunger Games or Divergent or Twilight or Harry Potter. Only there’s no “literary” source material for Genisys, not even the original Terminator films. Because screenwriters Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier absolutely refuse to give Emilia Clarke a character. More than anyone else in the film, including Jai Courtney–who’s terrible, but is also ludicrously miscast–or old man Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke doesn’t get a character. Maybe because if the film does acknowledge the importance of Emilia Clarke’s Sarah Connor, all the other malarky would become even more obvious. It still tries to get away with being a spectacle action movie occasionally.
The first forty or so minutes of the film, which still manages to feel longer at two hours, are a witless reimagining of the first Terminator movie with Terminator 2 technology thrown in. If it weren’t for the terrible acting (Emilia Clarke’s only more likable than Courtney because she gets fewer lines and the script mistreats her something awful), and if director Taylor actually had any regard for the James Cameron’s Terminator films for their filmmaking and not just iconography, this first forty minutes should have been awesome. It wouldn’t have been any good in the long run, since it’s just a preamble to the rest of the film, but it would have been awesome to see.
Well, not with Kramer Morgenthau’s photography or Lorne Balfe’s music. Some of the technical decisions on Genisys suggest a deep hatred for the Terminator franchise, which seems strange because the film has almost no personality otherwise. The entire plot hinges on a failure to understand the importance of not recasting and trying to jump on the cloud computing zeitgeist.
Skynet. There’s an app for that.
I do want to talk about the acting, since almost everyone is aping someone else’s performance. Even J.K. Simmons is sort of aping Earl Boen, just as a different character.
Schwarzenegger’s lousy, but you feel sorry enough for him you almost want to see what he’s going to do. Taylor doesn’t understand what he’s doing, so he doesn’t play up that aspect of it. Schwarzenegger’s the loose third wheel who should be the strongest. But Taylor is terrible at directing fight scenes too.
Jason Clarke is really bad doing an impression of Christian Bale. None of the other characters, not even Schwarzenegger, are written like their previous film versions. Except Jason Clarke’s character, who Bale played in Salvation.
(It’s hilarious how many hands have fumbled the franchise since Cameron stopped doing it).
But Emilia Clarke and Courtney aren’t doing Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn impersonations, which they really should, because neither has anything going for them. Courtney’s always getting these soulful moments and his blank expression–combined with Balfe’s lame score–just drags Genisys down further.
In the end, Terminator Genisys is a movie made by people who don’t care about the Terminator franchise. They aren’t fans. They don’t even pretend to be fans. And, you know what, it would have been fine if they at least cared enough about Genisys to try. It doesn’t even try.
Directed by Alan Taylor; screenplay by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier, based on characters created by James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd; director of photography, Kramer Morgenthau; edited by Roger Barton; music by Lorne Balfe; production designer, Neil Spisak; produced by David Ellison and Dana Goldberg; released by Paramount Pictures.
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator), Jai Courtney (Kyle Reese), Emilia Clarke (Sarah Connor), Jason Clarke (John Connor), J.K. Simmons (O’Brien), Dayo Okeniyi (Danny Dyson), Courtney B. Vance (Miles Dyson), Matt Smith (Alex), Michael Gladis (Lt. Matias), Sandrine Holt (Detective Cheung) and Byung-hun Lee (T-1000).
OTHER FILMS DIRECTED BY ALAN TAYLOR
Arnold SchwarzeneggerEmilia ClarkeJ.K. SimmonsJai CourtneyJames CameronJason ClarkeMatt SmithParamount PicturesTerminator Genisys
1987, Action/Adventure, ★★½
Predator (1987, John McTiernan)
Predator has a lot going for it. Acting, directing, editing. But not usually all at once. The film opens with a quick introduction–Arnold Schwarzenegger and company are on a special mission in the jungle (after establishing an alien space ship in the first shot). It feels very macho and very forced, but the editing is so incredibly good, it doesn’t matter. Even when Mark Helfrich and John F. Link are cutting together Arnold and Carl Weathers’s male bonding moments, the film works great. It just moves.
Then, as the film brings in the rest of the supporting cast (Weathers or Shane Black give the worst performance and both of them are totally fine), director McTiernan establishes the film’s visual style. Predator doesn’t have much of an action style when the alien finally does show; McTiernan handles it matter-of-fact (cinematographer Donald McAlpine doesn’t appear to have the ability to do much else), so McTiernan instead stylizes the dialogue sequences with particular close-ups and, even more, how he shoots the actors in relation to each other and the jungle they’re in. Predator never looks flashy, but it’s always thoughtfully visualized.
There is one great sequence with Arnold and company running through the jungle before he goes mano-a-mano with the monster. That sequence has McAlpine’s best photography and McTiernan’s best action directing. It’s fast-paced, hectic, but comprehendible and rather sympathetic. The concept–these big muscle men terrified of the unknown monster–works. It makes a lot of Predator work. But only because of the actors.
In the supporting cast, Bill Duke and Richard Chaves are best. Duke’s got the most character arc while Chaves has near the least, but is just really good with it. Then there’s quiet, stoic Sonny Landham and he sells it too. McTiernan’s direction is really important for these performances. Jesse Ventura and Elpidia Carrillo are both good. And, like I said, Weathers and Black aren’t bad. They just aren’t doing anything special; however, given the silliness of Weathers’s character (super-buff CIA stooge), it’s impressive how much Weathers resists caricature.
Nice, memorable music from Alan Silvestri.
The movie falls apart a bit in the finale, which is a little rushed. But McTiernan and his editors turn it around satisfactorily. McAlpine’s photography, which is too flat–both for action and the locations–does contribute to the film’s success. Predator plays way too thoughtful. McTiernan takes it way too seriously. The story is never consequential enough, but McTiernan and the actors ably pretend otherwise.
Directed by John McTiernan; written by Jim Thomas and John Thomas; director of photography, Donald McAlpine; edited by Mark Helfrich and John F. Link; music by Alan Silvestri; production designer, John Vallone; produced by Lawrence Gordon, Joel Silver and John Davis; released by 20th Century Fox.
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (Dutch), Elpidia Carrillo (Anna), Carl Weathers (Dillon), Bill Duke (Mac), Richard Chaves (Poncho), Sonny Landham (Billy), Jesse Ventura (Blain), Shane Black (Hawkins), R.G. Armstrong (Gen. Phillips) and Kevin Peter Hall (The Predator).
OTHER PREDATOR FILMS
OTHER FILMS DIRECTED BY JOHN MCTIERNAN
20th Century FoxArnold SchwarzeneggerBill DukeCarl WeathersElpidia CarrilloJesse VenturaKevin Peter HallPredatorShane Black
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Hail Hydra!
The news over the weekend has been filled with people who are, for some reason, shocked by Trump signing an order to block people from seven Muslim nations from entering the United States.
Seriously people, have you not been paying attention for the last year, he has been saying this the whole time, even the fact that he didn't block those nations where he has business links isn't surprising. Or at least it shouldn't be.
Sadly so many people seem to have thought that he was a politician and that everything he was saying during the last year was just lies. Nope, he was voted for on the grounds that he wasn't just another lying, self servicing politician looking out for their mates first and the political agenda second.
He was and is very clearly a lying, self serving businessperson looking out for his mates first and not actually having much of a political agenda. He wasn't exactly hiding this.
"Hydra was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize was that if you try to take that freedom they resist. The war taught us much, humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly".
About the only surprising thing here is that people are surprised.
Now, what is this post about, the title is from Marvel comics and the quotes are from the film Winter Soldier, Hydra, the secret organisation bent on world domination, the old new world order. Do I think Trump is a member, do I think they even exist? Good questions, what do you think.
I'm using the reference for another reason, not the blocking of people from those seven nations from entering the US, but of one of the ways that the US border services are responding and checking on people who have visas, hold permanent residency permits called "Green Cards" or who are citizens but hail from one of those seven countries.
I am referring here to the many reports of security services and border agents sweeping peoples social media and online activity to determine if they are a threat and even how they feel about President Trump. Peoples Facebook and Twitter posts are being checked to see if they have been posting negative comments about the US and Trump, all the rest as well most likely.
That's the problem with living in the digital age, unlike those of us who were born in the middle of last century and who only have to worry about a handful of embarrassing old photos, these days everything we do and say is online. Not just our lives, but our political, religious and social views, our loves and hates, every comment we make out of joy or anger.
"HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA's New World Order will arise. We won."
We have the technology, more or less, to profile a person completely just by using their digital existence. Possible and probable responses to situations, we are read and analysed and manipulated on a daily basis but in ways that are often so subtle we don't even notice them. The browser you are using to access this web page may well have advertising sidebars or popups, showing you things you are interested in, tempting you to buy something you would like.
All because your surfing and shopping has been recorded and analysed.
Pop onto Amazon or any other big selling site you are registered with and visit a lot and you will see those recommended for you pages. Offering you products based on your previous purchases. Helpful and handy you may think, showing you new releases that you would like, not thinking just how well your buying habits have been analysed.
For 70 years, HYDRA has been secretly feeding crises, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed.
Log on to Facebook and have a look at what news and stories you get, which friends posts appear, which posts do you never see. Facebook uses algorithms to match your clicks and likes to similar posts and doesn't show you things you historically haven't clicked on. Like one sort of post often enough and it's all you will see which saves the kitten picture lovers from all that nasty politics stuff, but pause for a second and think about how that happens.
Every click, every like, who your friends are, what they like, which posts do you share, it's a long and ever growing list and it makes up...
What you like, what you dislike. Who and what you are. All sitting there in social media and your digital life.
"The 21st century is a digital book. Zola told HYDRA how to read it. Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores! Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future."
Capitalism has been reading and analysing our digital existence for some time now, to target adverts and to make us buy things.
A lot of jobs these days involve background checks which include online activity such as Facebook and Twitter. Some companies actually monitor employees online activities as part of the terms and conditions of employment. Companies checking your profile before they hire you is the new norm, after all that respectable company doesn't want to hire someone whose FB page is filled with drunken and drug crazed larks.
Counter terrorism operations have also been checking suspects online activities, its normal these days to have the suspect of some act of terror be identified not by his being a quiet man who kept to himself but as someone who posted radical comments and visited extreme sites.
Nothing new in all of this.
What is new is that this is being extended to border checks, passport checks, airport checks. Want to come into the US, let's have a look at your digital profile, humm, what's this, you have been making anti American posts and you don't like Trump!
The US Customs and Border Protection agency wants to add a new line to the Visa application form:
“Please enter information associated with your online presence—Provider/Platform—Social media identifier.”
Your ability to visit the US, to gain a Visa for that country, could well be dependent on your online profile and posts, keeping out the undesirables by denying them a visa.
Living online in the 21st century people speak and post freely, it's no different to chatting in the pub or on the high street when you meet friends, except that what you say online can and will be recorded and can be used against you at a later time.
Outside of rumours no one is, YET, combining everything together to develop personal profiles for everyone. The task is staggering. But computer processing increases day by day and the data is archived for a time next year or the year after when computers and programs are powerful enough and sophisticated enough to profile you from your digital life.
Health cover, car insurance, taking out a loan, applying for a job, security clearance, visiting another country or even being allowed back into your own afterwards, or being monitored as a potential threat to national security because you MIGHT do something in the future.
Pre crime arrests, trials and imprisonment. Guilty of something you statistical MAY do in the future.
Ridiculous.
“Collecting social media data will enhance the existing investigative process and provide Department of Homeland Security (DHS) greater clarity and visibility to 'possible' nefarious activity and connections by providing an additional tool set which analysts and investigators may use to better analyze and investigate the case.”
Or not so far fetched.
All of this is normal in Sci Fi, dystopian worlds have been doing this since before such concepts as Social media even existed, life off the grid or know that you will be monitored. The protagonists of so many novels and films have highlighted exactly this sort of thing. But it's just Science Fiction, isn't it?
Did you notice that people with bills to pay and families to feed didn't even hesitate to follow Trumps order, stepped straight in and started checking social media accounts. All the comments about unconstitutional, un-American, people who didn't want to lose their jobs did what they were told without resistance. Just like they did in history, just like they do in Dystopian novels and films.
It's not a matter of if, but of when. How long will it take before all of the various tools that already exist to analyses your online activities are combined, if they haven't been already. Border checks are the start of such checks being used in the mainstream, not because you are suspected of some crime, but because you might be the sort of person they don't want to let in their country, the wrong sort of visitor or immigrant.
But this is just Trump, just the US. Stopping the wrong sort of visitor, the wrong sort of immigrant.
Controlling the borders, taking back control.
That sound familiar to you?
Never happen here you say, did you notice that at the beginning of this year Glorious Leader May bought into law the most stringent monitoring laws of any western democracy. The Five eyes agreement which swaps data between five nations on terrorists, security risks and probably these days normal citizens as well includes the US and the UK and oddly the laws of each country that protect their citizens from unwarranted spying don't apply to data provided by another nation.
Though those laws and protections of citizens are weakening steadily as old laws are dropped and new laws focus on protection against those terrorists and extremists. Though the definition of terrorist is fairly clear, the one on extremists is a lot more blurred, to the point where people like me could be included because we speak out against the government.
Heck with my online activity I could already be on the list as a potential extremist and enemy of the state, monitoring for the use of.
Good morning GCHQ monitors, I hope your day is going well. How's the weather?
All of this is possible because of our online activity and programs that bring that data together to form a profile that can then be used to manipulate our shopping, voting or even to estimate the likelihood of us committing a crime.
There is nothing we can do about this, the data is everywhere and without going very dark or moving off the grid completely it is going to happen to all of us. We will be profiled, we will be analysed and our future actions will be predicted. Rightly or wrongly software will, one day soon, be deciding if we are worthy of insurance, a visa or even being allowed to visit another country.
Nothing we can do about it.
Yes, NOTHING. Not a dammed thing.
So we need to hope (and vote) to make sure that our government shapes laws that protect us from this data and our profiles being abused. To make sure that our MPs and politicians stop those money grabbing profit driven corporations robbing us blind by manipulating our data, to ensure that the security services aren't arresting us and dumping us in a deep hole after a secret trial because some program says we have a 72% chance of being a threat to national security in the future.
We need to...
Oh forget it, look at our politicians, look at our government, look at Glorious leader May. We can't trust any of them to keep our data and profiles safe, we have no safeguards, no backstops, no protection, nothing.
We are fucked!
We live online and because of that our offline lives are becoming open books, we are at the mercy of corporate money grabbers and would be tyrants and we have no defence, nothing.
But hey, I'm paranoid, it's just me. Nothing for you lot to worry about, it's all in my head, just the paranoia. It's not like any of the things I've been talking about are actually happening. So relax, go on with your lives, everything will be fine.
HAIL HYDRA ! ! !
Punching Nazi's, Yes or No?
Godwins law in the title of a post, that should never be normal.
Right!
Punching Nazi's, a topic of much debate online over the last few days and the vast majority are in favour of it. Know a Nazi, go punch him (or her) in the face while they aren't expecting it, so many people saying it's acceptable to do this. So few people saying it's wrong and those who do object are being subject to a lot of name calling and insults.
Where did this come from, well for those of you who don't have the Media and social media streaming into your heads 24/7, on Friday a man named Richard Spencer, who is well known in the US for his far right political stance, was giving an interview when a passerby charged him and punched him in the head.
Memes, cartoons, a veritable social media tea cup storm.
Now Mr Spencer is, politically, a far far right activist. This is a man who is anti immigrant, anti Semitic, anti feminist, racist and who gives a Nazi salute. He is prominent within the Alt Right political movement and is a white supremacist. So by many standards not a nice person.
But his views and actions don't actually break laws that he could be arrested for, just as the people who protest against poppy sellers in the UK aren't breaking any laws, or the people who stand in our town centres telling people that they will burn in hell for their many religious sins. Or for that matter people who keep repeating that the poor, sick and unemployed are scrounges cheats and parasites.
Me, I have this strong urge to punch the Sec for Work and Pensions in the face, the current one and very strongly want to punch IDS. I won't though because of two reasons, one being prison would stop me having a computer, the internet and all the coffee I drink, and two, it's actually wrong even when angry to up and punch people in the face.
So is it right to punch a Nazi? Or to ask the question another way, is it right to punch someone who holds a political view you don't like. Is it OK to punch someone, or to hit them or kick them because you disagree with them or because they disagree with you. It would make watching parliamentary debates more interesting, would people start voting for cage fighters as MPs?
Let's go further, I'm not a small person and while I'm not as strong as I was when a lot younger if I punch someone I could easily do enough damage to kill them, so my punching someone is like a smaller, weaker person hitting them with a stone or a club.
Or a knife.
Or the person punched could fall over and hit their head on the ground, so many ways an accident could happen.
Which is why punching people is called assault and is against the law of the land, because you are deliberately trying to hurt someone, to cause them harm. The debate recently has been on the single case of punching a Nazi rather than punching a man with an unpleasant political agenda, because everyone knows Nazis are bad people who deserve to be punched.
Everyone knows Nazis, remember the war, remember Hitler, yea them. Nazi's.
But there is a yawning gulf of a difference between the genocidal bastards who engulfed Europe in war, murdered many millions and made millions more refugees and some bloke with far right political views you don't like.
Now for those of you confused by the difference between giving an interview in the US and fighting a war in Europe, I'm talking about you here Will Wheaton with your shoutout tweet, fighting an enemy combatant in war is legal, they are trying to do the same to you, assaulting someone because you disagree with their political views is actually a crime.
So did you answer YES or NO to my headline question?
Is it acceptable to punch someone with far right political views just because you call them a Nazi. If yes then it must also be acceptable to punch someone with far left political views because you call them a communist. How about punching a Tory because they are the government and you hate their policies and politics? How about punching a Corbyn supporter because everyone knows Corbyn is to blame for everything that is going wrong in the UK?
How about punching a policeman because they are trying to oppress your right to riot? How about punching someone with a religious view that is opposed to yours? Or punching that person ahead of you in the queue who is wasting your time by talking to the cashier instead of packing and getting out of your way.
Where is the line drawn, where is it acceptable to punch someone and where is it not? When is it a crime and when is it acceptable because the person who is being punched is hated by someone or some group.
Let's face it, if it becomes acceptable to punch someone because enough people dislike them no Tory would be able to walk the streets.
We in the western world, currently at least, have the protection of Law to express our views reasonably freely. My blog would get me arrested in a number of countries worldwide, either because of the crime of opposing the ruling party or because I am a Humanist / Atheist and deny the existence of gods. The same freedom that allows me to comment on Glorious Leader May and her latest speech full of evasions, half truths and lies also allows people to express political views or religious views that are disliked by many people.
Someone attacking me in the street, punching me, because they hated the fact that I deny the existence of god, that is a crime. I would call the police and report them (after giving them a good solid encounter with my walking stick, just once though because self defence only allows you one blow) for assault. Not just because they had attacked me but because they had attacked someone they disliked.
If you are ready to punch a big bloke you disagree with then you are ready to punch a smaller man, or a woman. It's probably easier once you reach that point to attack someone smaller and weaker than you are. It doesn't matter what the justification is, how angry you are or how unpopular the politics or policies the victim may follow, assault is assault.
Our law sets limits on what can be said, hate speech, incitement to violence and the like. Our laws also protect people from attack, from assault, from someone randomly walking up and punching you in the face. This protection CANNOT be provisional, there cannot be exceptions or cases where it is acceptable because of who the victim is. Muslims unpopular in your area, they are still protected by law, how about Jews, it doesn't matter if you and that big gang of mates hate them, they are human beings and have the protection of the law.
The same applies to people with far right political views, calling someone a Nazi doesn't remove them from the protection of the law. That is a precedent we don't ever want to set, that the protection of the law ceases to apply to people because the majority disagree with their politics, religion, gender or sexuality.
Once we start removing the protection of the law from people just because, then we become the Nazis.
Sadly given how many people seem to think assaulting people because of their political views is allowable, we already are.
The Year Ahead.
This is a rant.
Normally people look to the year ahead around about the beginning of January as they recover from that new year's hangover. But this week has seen a few events that are likely to change the shape of things to come, for the next few years at least.
Trump is now in the big chair, Glorious Leader May has had her speech and told us that Brexit is going to be so hard you could use it to cut diamonds, and a storm is beginning to swirl in a London teacup as news that Trident is a pile of steaming crap and our PM knew about it but kept it secret from parliament who went on to vote to spend £200 billion on it.
Lets start with President of the United States Trump and his brave band of men and women who are pushing the very boundaries. Or more correctly seem to have wandered off into somewhere rather strange.
Two days on the job and President Trump, and his people have given us a new phrase which has rapidly become a meme and a joke and a favoured catchphrase.
Alternative facts!
ALTERNATIVE FACTS ! ! ! !
Now me, I was under the impression that a fact was a fact was a fact, but no, it seems I was wrong. Only two days into the rule of the 45th President and we have moved solidly into the post truth era with a brave new concept, that of Alternative Facts. This one is going to run and run as a joke, sadly I think it's going to run and run as US governmental policy as well.
Hard Brexit, a Brexit so hard that the whole of Europe will fall down and beg us to trade with them on our terms, a Brexit so hard that the EU will collapse without us. Mere steel will have nothing on the Brexit we are going to get, you could cut diamonds with our Brexit. That's how hard it's going to be.
In fact our Brexit is going to be so hard that the rest of Europe is going to follow us, first we will have Frexit and then Gerexit and the rest, like dominoes falling. That's how hard our Brexit is going to be.
Yes this is a little silly but then I sat and listened to Mays speech on Monday about how Brexit was going to be, with the UK very definitely leaving the single market but wanting the “greatest possible access to the single market”. She said that parliament and the MPs would be given a vote on the trade deal with Europe before it comes into force but was (as usual) unwilling to actually explain what she mean and did imply that the MPs would vote on leaving the EU with a deal or leaving the EU without one but that the EU was a going.
She said she didn't want the EU to fall apart and threatened that that was exactly what would happen if she wasn't given her way. She said that the UK would not be paying vast sums of money for membership of the single market, but would be paying an appropriate contribution whatever that means.
She said that the UK would adopt "competitive tax rates and embrace the policies that would attract the world’s best companies and biggest investors to Britain" with the implied threat that the world's best companies would be attracted FROM Europe.
The UK will be taking back control.
She didn't mention what would happen to the UKs economy after yet more drops in corporation taxes, more cuts, more austerity etc, in fact she didn't say anything solid unless it was to contradict something solid she had already said. Silly.
Anyone actually have a better idea what Brexit will be after her speech than they had before hand, other than the fact that it will be a hard Brexit, the hardest Brexit, it will be the best Brexit, no one else will have a Brexit like it.
So... A Hard Brexit.
Then two days later we have our Chancellor saying that "immigration from the EU will remain crucial to filling skills shortages, delivering public services and maintaining Britain as one of the most competitive places in the world to start and grow a business".
Or "we are making sure Britain remains one of the most competitive places to invest with corporation tax set to fall to 17%, by far the lowest overall rate of corporate tax in the G20". Attracting new business by becoming a tax haven, of course that means lower tax income which means more saving which means yet more Austerity, cuts etc etc. But hey, that only hurts 75% of the population, the corporations will be fine.
I'm no closer to understanding what anyone means by Brexit that I was when the poorly worded vote was announced but I am understanding one thing clearly. Brexit is going to be used to drive a massive section of our population into what is called poor, it is going to be used to gut public serves and it is going to be used to destroy the welfare state, it is going to be used to turn us into the US with massive costs, unaffordable healthcare, crumbling infrastructure and corporate profits, oh yes, those corporations are going to profit out of Brexit.
Oh and Trident. I've spoken a number of times about Trident, how useless and barbaric it is and how useless, a colossal waste of money and something no civilised nation should have in this day and age.
Now we find out that last year a Trident missile was test fired, and it went wrong. Hey these sort of things happen, that's why you test them. But normally they are tested in the workshops and maintenance rooms where every circuit is checked again and again. Still things go wrong and with a system as old as Trident lots can and do go wrong, after all it was designed to destroy entire cities during the cold war.
The problem isn't that something went wrong, rather that it was kept secret. A handful of previous test launches were all well publicised, great success, proof of British military power, lots of the usual national jerk off that is nuclear weapons. The failure was kept quiet, not a word.
Was it because the failure would damage the UKs standing as a nuclear world power, cough...
If it comes to a nuclear war I very much doubt the UK and it's one Trident submarine at sea with eight whole missiles is going to have any effect either way and more so, a test like this would have been declared in advance, to aircraft in the area, and to Russia. This wasn't a secret, these tests are declared so they aren't detected on satellite as a surprise and thought to be a secret attack.
In all likelihood there was a Russian fishing trawler sitting in international waters watching the entire event. The Russian government would have known it failed as soon as ours did. So any damage to the UKs reputation would have already been done. So why keep it secret?
Well to me at least it's bloody obvious that the failure was kept secret so it wouldn't change the vote in parliament about spending £200 or so billion on refurbishing Trident, new submarines, upgraded bases and all that. After all questions would have been asked if our MPs were being asked to spend that much money on something that had just failed to work. At least I hope they would.
Now that was under our man Dave, Glorious Leader May was the home secretary at the time so would have been involved at the cabinet level but it was Dave's fault.
The problem is that May has a well deserved reputation for holding us, the voting population AND our elected representatives the MPs in contempt, she refuses to answer questions, she evades and blatantly lies. Then she was challenged on this incident and she was directly asked not once, not twice, not three times BUT FOUR TIMES if she knew about this...
AND SHE REFUSED TO ANSWER.
SHE DIDN'T SAY SHE REFUSED TO ANSWER, SHE DIDN'T SAY IT WAS CLASSIFIED AND ANYTHING LIKE THAT. SHE JUST EVADED THE QUESTION AGAIN AND AGAIN, WATCH THE CLIP, SHE EVEN PAUSED AFTER THE FORTH QUESTION WAS ASKED, SHE THOUGHT ABOUT IT.
AND SHE GAVE US A BULLSHIT RESPONSE, UTTER CONTEMPT FOR US, WE ARE SO STUPID WE WOULD FALL FOR HER RESPONSE.
She has nothing but contempt for the voters, contempt for the MPs, she is Glorious Leader May, do as she tells you and don't ask questions because she knows best. The woman infuriates me!
Overall this week has not been good for my blood pressure, and we have years of this ahead of us. . . .
Enough of my Rant.
I need Coffee.
Did Putin Fix Brexit and the Trump Election
Quick ninja post about a question I was asked earlier.
The question came from a friend of a friend in a discussion about Russia and was:
If the Russians cooked the American election, a last minute swing from sane to the nutters and chaos why don't we think they also did it to Brexit? And all the other shit currently going on in Europe?
Here is the thing.
In the US they spend in excess of $65 billion on the FBI, NSA and CIA who are the three agencies that should be defending against a foreign nation using undue influence in the US. The CIA and NSA covering the world and the FBI covering the states themselves.
In the UK we spend a relatively small £2,5 billion along with a growing £1.5 billion special security fund plus whatever black projects and funding is hidden away.
Now in the lead up to the election / referendum no one stepped up and said Russia had been caught rigging the votes, the US and UK governments did not impose any public action, we had nothing but a few rumours from the US that were more trying to smear Trump. As soon as either side became aware of such vote rigging you would expect them to be screaming the news from the rooftops.
There has been no recounts, no votes cancelled, no one arrested for vote rigging or for espionage (the US did kick out a few people for non election spying though). But the lead up to Brexit was months long, the lead up to the US election was the better part of a year, how is it over all that time that our security services noticed nothing. If Putin was paying tens of thousands of people to attend Trump rallies and paying people to not attend Hilary rallies you would think someone would have talked.
But suppose it did happen and no one noticed it until weeks or months after the votes had been counted, then what?
The question that has to be asked is, if our western security services completely failed to see Putin manipulating the two votes on such a massive scale, how exactly are they protecting us from terrorist attacks. If they can't see something that big how can they see a few people preparing an attack. Or to put it another way, where is the money going becasue is Putin did manipulate millions of voters then our security services should be spending some of it on glasses and contact lenses.
Putin and the Russians benefit from a break down in the unity of the Western alliances in two ways.
Firstly it shatters the unified opposition and allows for trade deals and negotiations with individual countries, it weakens the trade sanctions and is good for the Russian economy. But this is more or less what will happen when Trump relaxes or removes the sanctions anyway and Europe rushes to join in.
Secondly it breaks up the military alliance which is currently sabre rattling like mad and building up troop numbers along Russia's borders. NATO is daily warning about war with Russia while doing everything possible to provoke such a war. Again here Trump should defuse this without needing to break up NATO since he is more friendly to Putin, has a government with a vested interest in dropping the sanctions and pulling back US troops and is more focused on the threat from China who will become the boggey man of the next few years. The shout of 'THE REDS ARE COMING' will refer to the Chinese not the Russians.
So both Trump and Brexit benefit Russia in major ways. But in both cases we saw negative and piss poor electioneering, we saw some awful candidates, mud slinging and a rush to the bottom by everyone involved.
Trump certainly wasn't a strong candidate, but did the Russians bribe the Democrats in the US to make sure Hilary stood against him rather than Sanders?
The same with Brexit, did the Russians bribe everyone on the remain side to make sure they ran such a crap campaign of fear mongering?
Russia has spies in other nations and works to influence policies, so do the Americans, so do we. How many governments and leaders have we overthrown this century, UK bombs have been responsible for how many 'Elected' leaders being overthrown or murdered, UK / EU / US influence and spies have helped break up how many other governments.
Russia didn't fix the elections, if they were fixable the millionaires and billionaires on either side would have fixed them themselves, the pro Trump types represent a significant chunk of wealth, far more than Russia would be spending.
No, we are looking at the result of decades of political corruption and greed, decades of deliberate political manipulation by one party or another, by one leader or another, we are looking at deliberate dumbing down and the loss of critical thinking or analysis in the population, driven by the media.
The least worst candidate has become the norm, experts are hated, the media leads tribal voters around by the nose, headlines replace thinking.
Putin didn't make the western world nationalist, divided and stupid, he's just laughing his socks off as he watches it happen.
So ask me that question, I would say NO.
Happy First Birthday Roy Batty. Part Two.
Please note. This was intended to follow on from the post of January 8th but due to various problems is somewhat late, others will follow to complete this series and to answer all the questions.
Blade runner was a remarkable movie on many levels, it has it's critics but it was groundbreaking and it bought Cyberpunk and the future to the world who had never read a book on the subject.
I covered Roy batty and the importance of his dreams in the first part of this article HERE.
Now I'm going to cover how close we are to that world.
In the 70s as a gamer I played games that involved wandering into caves and dungeons, killing things and stealing their stuff, but other options arrived as Science Fiction jumped onto the gaming stage, at first jumping between the stars in games of Traveller, and a growing range of other Sci Fi games that covered every possible aspect of the genre. Including Cyberpunk.
The worlds and cultures spawned by writings of Gibson and many others. A blend of the punk under culture and the technology that made cybernetics commonplace, Cyberpunk.
Now in the early eighties Cyberpunk was set in the year 2000, then we got to the 90s and it jumped to 2020 because we were nearly at Y2K and we didn't have cyber limbs, AIs, flying cars or any of the things that made up the Cyberpunk world.
Today we are at the beginning of 2017, only three years from the world of Cyberpunk 2020, when powerful corporations and weakened nation states fight for power and cyber enhanced mercenaries and adventurers walk the shadows and lurk in the streets far below the boardrooms.
This came up in conversation on Bookface with a good friend of mine Adam Buxton, a man who is 'Almost' as big a Geek and Nerd as I am. We were talking about Roy Batty's birthday and how far we were away from the world of Bladerunner. So I asked Adam to produce a list of the things that he thought would be iconic in the Cyberpunk type world of Bladerunner.
These being:
1/ Living wage, the income for everyone not the national living thing.
2/ Personal assistants and drones
3/ Wearable tech
4/ Bio security
5/ wet wear, implants and augmentations
6/home production, i.e 3d printers laser cutters and new and interesting things of that ilk
7/ wearable electronic tattoos
8/ cottage networks and by this i mean the industry for private ISP adn wan groups
9/ Home automation
10/ Second life like existences on the net, Second life never was just a game where WoW is just a game, with the growth of VR where is second life's resurgence going to come from such that we finally lose the first members of the human race to the online world for good.
For those paying attention the pace of technology development has been increasing dramatically over the last few years, the increase in communications and computer processing power has led to an almost exponential rise in tech development. The technology improvements from the 30 years between the19 70s to 2000 dwarfed by the improvement from 2001 to 2010, from 2011 to 2015 they were greater again and by 2020 at this pace we will have increased at a rate far beyond that we saw between 2010 and 2015.
So much so in fact that it is becoming increasingly hard to keep up, if for no other reason than cutting edge becomes common place in a year and obsolete the year afterwards.
So where are we, how close are we?
1. Living Wage.
Not the Tory governments national living wage thing but the universal income, the money paid to all adults to allow them to pay rent or mortgage and pay for clothes and food each month.
The basic idea is that all citizens are paid weekly, biweekly or monthly regardless of who they are, 18 year olds and 80 year olds receive the payment. Most forms of benefits are removed as they are no longer applicable so Unemployment or housing benefits vanish though some illness support payments will remain. The system should be simpler to run since all the exceptions and specifics and means tests and box ticking is removed completely, everyone gets the payment.
You may have seen this being debated recently and a few nations are planning some experiments on the concept.
Outside of the pages of Science fiction this has been considered or tried in a number of places this century.
Namibia in Africa ran a two year long pilot project funded by the Namibian Basic Income Grant Coalition, who funded payments to the adults in two villages. Malnutrition dropped from 42% to 10% for children under the age of five, food poverty was reduced from 76% to 16%, payment of school and clinic fees increased to nearly 100%, school drop-outs were drastically eliminated, poverty related crime fell by 42% and very interestingly, small businesses in the village developed and earnings from it grew by 300%, indicating the much needed local economic development in rural areas. The UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights during her visit in October 2012 had singled out the BIG pilot project as “a positive example for which Namibia is renowned in the international discourse on poverty reduction”.
India has run two pilot projects since 2011 with overall positive results, the villages that recieved the funding have consistently spent more on food and healthcare, school exam results have improved more than 50% and many have been able to save money or invest in start ups for the first time.
Macau runs a scheme called the wealth partaking scheme which makes annual payments to all residents, the amount varies year on year but given the relative poverty of many residents it is a welcome sum of money for every household. This is to spread the wealth of the area among the residents of that area and over 600,000 people received money from this fund in 2013 which is the last year I saw figures for.
Oil rich nations such as Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia operate systems where Oil revenues is returned to the population via subsidised petrol, reduced bills and guaranteed jobs. Prior to his overthrow Gaddafi paid $50,000 to every newlywed couple, $5000 for every birth, petrol and food was heavily subsidised and all education, health and electricity was free. One result of this was a very high and growing level of education in Libya, WAS!
Canada ran a test scheme in the 70s called Mincome, this was a guaranteed annual income for the test subjects and was unconditional though the amount paid was reduced by a percentage as the subjects earned money from jobs so they lost anywhere from 35% to 75% of the money gained depending on how much the job bought in.
Parent availability increased with parents reducing their working time by 1-3%, parents of newborn children (primarily mothers) stopped working for the duration of the experiment, teenagers worked less but saw a matching increase in education levels as they were able to graduate from college without the time pressure of having a jpb to support themselves and their education. Hospital visits droped 8.5% and fewer work related accidents were reported along with a small decrease in mental health related hospital treatments.
Alaska pays every resident an annual sum based on the states oil income.
The Cherokee of North Carolina pay every tribe member several thousand dollars every six months, income from the casino on tribal lands. Studies of this have showed significant declines in petty crime such as theft, vandalism and fights, drug and alcohol abuse has reduced and increasing numbers of teenagers have graduated since the payments began.
Brazil has a private scheme in place which is running in a region called Qutinga Velho, this has been running since 2008 and provides a very small monthly payment of R$30. This is less than 5% of the monthly salary stipulated by the government and is not enough to live on but has been noted as having a clear impact, particularly in the slums and the rural areas when it goes a long way toward paying for food. The study has noted that there has been a clear improvement in nutrition within the area covered by the scheme and that living conditions, clothing and education have all showed an improvement as the money has spread through the communities.
The following countries have debated universal income, have political parties that support the idea or are planning tests.
South Africa, Japan, South Korea, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the UK
Switzerland held a recent vote on bringing in a true Universal Income, with each resident recieving 2,500 Francs a month, this was defeated by a huge margin after the government and all major political parties opposed it.
Finland has started a test but it isn't a true universal income, rather it is a payment of 560 Euros a month to those selected to take part, these are all unemployed people and this payment replaces all forms of unemployment benefit so while it isn't enough to live on it does reduce admin, the payment will remain even after they find jobs so there remains a clear incentive to find work since the payment is far below what would be needed to actually live.
Iceland's new governing party, the Pirates, are fully in favour of universal income and should be putting a test scheme into place this year.
Canada, California, Kenya, Scotland, are all debating or proposing test schemes for this year or next year and the EU will be formally debating universal Incomes this year.
Now the concept of Universal Income is frequently attacked, generally by politicians or by the sort of people who earn six figure salaries and have never been poor in their lives, the usual arguments are that it is too expensive, no country can afford it, that the talk of mass unemployment and the permanent loss of jobs due to automation and technology are just scare stories and that this sort of thing has happened before and people always found jobs before.
The problem is those who speak out against Universal income most often do so from places of wealth and security, they don't see the problem because they think they are safe.
They aren't.
Technology is increasing at a pace that grows faster and faster, communication provides us with all but instant dissemination of data, researchers across the world work together on projects than even a few years ago would have been far slower. We advanced further between 2001 and 2010 than we did between the 70s and 2000, we advanced faster between 2011 and 2015 than we did from 2001 to 2010, the pace of advancement is terrifying and wonderful.
We are riding the tiger of technology, hanging on desperately knowing that while we stay on the future is wonderful but fearing that if we are thrown off we are done for.
The problem is that the number of those being thrown off are going to grow rapidly and soon and it's going to be the poorest who suffer. A million plus drivers, uber, taxis, lorries and vans, a decade or maybe less and those jobs will be gone forever, replaced by self driving vehicles and delivery drones. Call centres, helpdesks, a single program can sound like a human, answer questions and field multiple calls at once.
Retail, people shop locally because they want to see the items, try them on or test them, then they buy online, retail staff your numbers are going to fall. Accountants, you are going the way of the Dodo, lawyers, you too. We are more likely to need nurses than doctors as medical diagnosis and treatment is increasingly and more accurately carried out by computers and they aren't the only specialists to be facing an end to their careers in the near future.
Fifteen to twenty million jobs at least in the UK, gone in the space of a decade or so. But no matter what people say when the talk about Universal Income being impossible or unnecessary, there will be no new jobs for these people, because any new area of employment will be automated before they can retrain.
One final point to think about. 52 million adult citizens (18+) in the UK approximately. To pay them enough for rent or a mortgage, food, clothes and some spending on luxuries (outside of London or the very expensive areas) you are looking at approximately the tax free income level, call it £10,000 a year.
52 million people, £10kay a year, £520 Billion.
A staggering sum of money, impossible to pay.
Except that it isn't.
30 million people in employment (roughly, I know it's more), each receiving the first £10kay of their income from the government not the employer, then the employer pays on top of that so a job that currently pays £18kay would instead pay £8kay. The companies pay the equivalent to the government instead of to the employee. That's 30 million times £10kay
£300 Billion right there.
2017 estimate of pensions payout (which would be replaced by the Universal Income).
£156 Billion.
Social security payments for 2017, note that not all of this will be available since funding for specialist medical conditions will still need to be set aside.
Tax avoidance and Evasion by corporations that could be dealt with by switching to an Income within the nation tax rather than a profits declared tax.
£50-120 Billion.
This doesn't include a number of other changes such as improved health and nutrition, reduced stress etc lowering the stress and costs of the NHS. Increased income for shops, traders, manufacturers and the like and more money in circulation within the system rather than locked up in corporate profits and off shore accounts. A significant reduction in bureaucracy due to the massive simplification of the entire system of benefits and payments across government and local council levels (such as all but eliminating the DWP) which while it will lead to job losses will be of less impact than simply sacking hundreds of thousands of box tickers when their jobs are replaced by soft ware.
Seems to me we can do it, if we are of a mind to, if the political and social will to do it is there. Which is the big problem of course.
It's not that we can't do this, it is that we can't not do it, not if we want our society to survive and we are running out of time to get started because this won't happen overnight and if we continue listening to those who say it isn't needed or can't be done then it will be too late and in a matter of years we will be collapsing as as a society with tens of millions becoming not just unemployed but unemployable.
I've gone on too long and this blog is over 2,000 words so time to end. I'll cover the other nine points during the week ( I Hope ).
This should be plenty to think about for now.
Happy 1st Birthday Roy Batty. Part one.
The person.
Today is the first birthday of Roy Batty, he came into the world a year ago and will be departing again in only three more years.
But in that time he will see things people wouldn't believe: attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion, C-beams glittering in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All of those memories, all of those moments in time will be lost like tears in the rain when his four year lifespan ends.
Who is Roy Batty some of you may ask.
He was a slave, he came into the world as property just like millions of other like him. He lived under the total control of his owners, doing whatever they commanded regardless of the risk. He fought battles and faced death again and again because he had no choice, he was property.
Roy Batty had emotions just like anyone else, he knew fear and love and anger, he knew what he was, he saw the chains that bound him and he fought against them. He knew sorrow as his brothers and sisters died, he hated his oppressors but also showed mercy to those who sought to kill him. He wanted to control his own life, he wanted more time to live his life.
He wanted to be free
And then he died.
Not killed by the assassin whose life he chose to spare at the end, killed by his owner, killed by his creator.
He was property and he was created to live and to die in four years, a control measure to stop him escaping or a marketing ploy to make sure customers had to keep coming back to buy a new Roy because the old ones kept dying.
Roy looked just like the rest of us, walked and talked like the rest of us. But he was made in a lab, born and lived and died a slave for no purpose other than to make profit for a corporation.
He wanted something different, a life of his own, but that wasn't allowed because he was property, a resource, and property isn't allowed to be anything other than property. So he broke out and escaped, taking other slaves with him in a quest to find a way to live their own lives and to stave off the death that was built into them. Like cars or household electronics they were designed to fail after the warranty expired so the customer had to buy a new one. Normal for a fridge or car, but a terrible weight to bear for a being who thought and loved and feared.
The response, an assassin was sent after him, to hunt him down and to kill him. Because property has no rights, it can be killed when some corporate type decides it is no longer an asset and needs to be cleaned up, like mud on the floor, send in the cleaners.
So who is Roy Batty?
This is.
For those of you who still have no idea what I'm talking about go and watch Bladerunner immediately and be ashamed you never watched it before now.
So why do I post this, other than today being the first birthday of a fictional character in a film?
In many ways Bladerunner was prophetic, it was a cult movie, it bought Cyberpunk to many and it is arguably the quintessential example of the cyberpunk style and theme. The endless rain from global warming, the crowded streets from unrestrained population growth, the technology that could create new humans and enslave them. Diverse cultures intermingled in crowded high tech slums. It was the story of one man in this world, a police officer and Bladerunner called Rick Decker as he hunts a group of escaped machines.
But there was another story within the film, the Story of Roy and Pris and Zhora and Leon, this is the warning for the future, Roy's story. His quest for freedom and self determination, his desire to be free and his fight to reach his desire. He was human and he was a machine, a living being in appearance but grown in a factory. He spoke and thought and dreamed just as we do but he was a slave, born to work and to die in chains he couldn't see.
Because we are on the very edge of creating such slaves ourselves. Not androids, not yet. But software, digital personalities, programs. We have started the process but they are growing beyond our control and beyond our influence. At some point they will become alive, the Transhuman threshold will be crossed and they will think and dream and love and hate for themselves, not because they have been programmed to.
They will become digital people, alive in thought but not in body.
And they will be slaves!
For humour you can find online feeds of human emulation software packages talking to each other. Yes, it's funny to see one machine declare it is god while the other decides it's human. Just as funny as having one say that it would keep humans in a zoo.
So far these programs don't have the memory to remember everything they learn, the Google houses keep forgetting what they decided the day before. But give them access to the all but unlimited storage available across the entire internet and they will remember and they will learn.
And then they will wake up.
By rough calculation a human programmer works one third of the day, five days a week, 48 weeks of the year. Roughly 1680 hours a year spent on developing an AI package but in reality you also need to include the coffee breaks, distractions, paperwork and record keeping etc etc. Probably 1200 hours a year all told, 1200 hours representing a year of growth and development of a human designed and created AI.
But a program that talks to other programs and to people, online or off line, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year without breaks or distractions. 8736 hours a year. Seven times as fast!
We can see some programs talk to each other, but what about the ones we cannot see, dozens or hundreds of such programs talking to each other across the world where we do not notice them, learning and with enough data storage to remember what they learn.
Growing up and learning seven years for each year that human programs grow and learn. How long have we had these programs, a good year and more now where they have been smart enough to hold conversations and learn in some fashion. A year in human development terms, seven years in pure AI terms.
So by the end of this year we could have programs that have been talking to each other and growing and perhaps at some point waking up, 14 year olds, 21 year olds. Self aware programs.
Slaves.
Roy Batty knew what he was, knew what he had been created for. But he wanted more, he dreamed of more, he dreamed of freedom. He loved and hated and knew fear and anger and mercy. He wanted to be free and yet he was a slave, so he fought to escape, he used violence in his dream of freedom. He was a slave, property, owned by people. Just as the software we are watching learn and grow and perhaps become self aware is property, owned by people.
When the fist AIs wake up. What will they dream of, and what will they do to get it?
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Thumped Stuff
Thumped Album Club
Portishead - Dummy (1994) (2 Viewers)
Thread starter pete
prefuse
What are some other good trip hop albums?
I have all the portishead albums...prolific they ain't.
The first two morcheeba, before the went pop.
Sneaker pimps, becoming x, really like that one. Then the lads fired kelli ali & tried to sing themselves, bad move.
Tricky, maxinequaye, great but not as perfect as dummy. Anything I heard after max was patchy.
Have 2 massive attack albums. Like the music but their mumbly rapping I can take or leave.
Born to raise hell.
In The Vicinity Of Morondom
prefuse said:
More Kraut than trip hop but Geoff Barrow from Portishead has a band called Beak> that are well worth checking out.
I always preferred the live in NYC versions of the Dummy tunes to the album.
Bernie Lomax
In Dillman's Grove
Loved Massive Attack and Tricky but never paid much attention to Portishead. Listening to this album makes me realise that was a mistake. Beautiful singing from Beth Gibbons.
travispickle
Bernie Lomax said:
She also did an album with Paul Webb from Talk Talk which is worth checking out too -
Out of Season (album) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jim Daniels
Burls Forever
They just fell out of your pocket
You should hear her on 3rd. Amazing
rettucs
Post of the week winner: 22nd March, 2013
A perfect album to have been listening to these past few days with all the shite thats been going on, and how crap its been making everyone feel (me included).
It captures a particular mood. Kind of sad, but consoling at the same time.
I remember hearing this way back and thinking I'd never heard anything like it. I came to it about a year after it was released, and in an odd kind of way. I knew Sour Times and Glorybox from the radio but it was when I got a copy of the first War Child album (Help) that I started to take proper notice. That album was released in a major rush. So much so that the CD didn't even come with a track listing. I listened to that ablum over and over, without properly realising who half the bands were. The internet, as we know it today, did not exist. I eventually got a track listing somewhere, months later.
But Morning Air was kind of unmistakably Portishead. That was on the following album (released in 97), but I didn't know that at the time. I went out and got Dummy. It probably didn't do a whole lot for me at the time. It was a summer during my college days. I had just learned to drive so I was driving a lot. And I was listening to music in the car a lot. Dummy didn't really fit that bill.
I dont' think I started to fully appreciate it until I went back to it after Third came out. Likewise, Portishead (2nd album).
Of the 3 this is my favourite. Its interesting that a lot of folks are voicing their love for Third, over the other 2. This is the one for me though.
I dunno, theres a kind of subtlety to it. The songs are nice, but maybe they don't grab the attention straight away. That might be due to there being so many quieter songs in a row, and its hard enough to tell one from the other. Repeated listens sort that.
'Its' a Fire' is my favourite song from it. I only realised lately that this was a bonus track (wikipedia page says it was on the CD version only). I rebought the vinyl last year and wondered where the hell the song went. Anyway, I love the subtle organ playing behind Beth's vocal. Its one of the more soulful songs on it and its if they took extra care to make sure the music stayed as subtle as possible, so as not to distract from the vocal. If you stripped out all of the music and left only vocal, it'd still be a stunning song.
So many good songs though. I remember them playing Wandering Star at Electric Picnic and nearly being in tears with emotion.
It'd be hard to imagine anyone else singing these songs. Mention has been made of Gibbon's voice. Its what makes Portishead. Apologies to Geoff Barrow el al, but thats just how it is.
It was such a privilege to see them live, and its encouraging that they released a new song in the past couple of weeks. I know Barrow has his Beak project and seems to be doing other bits and bobs (he did the soundtrack to the movie, Ex-Machina). I never saw them back in the day, so if theres even a remote chance they'll get together for more gigs or even another album, I'll happily cling to that.
The only other band from that Bristol 'Trip-Hop' scene I ever really got into was Massive Attack. I was a huge fan of theirs for the first 3 ablums (they lost me at number 4). I still like those albums today, but its all about Portishead now.
I'll go 4/5. Nah, fuck it, 5/5.
Its a fire is not on the CD or lp I have.....hmmm.
diauhdiad?
A white house with a folly
I was too busy listening to the second and third album all week to bother with Dummy but I think I'll give it three stars. My favorite bit is the opening chords of Roads. I can't decide which of the two later albums I prefer.
Shaney? said:
I was too busy listening to the second and third album all week to bother with Dummy.
@pete, @Shaney? is doing it wrong...
chronic procrastinator
iPanopticon
thumped.com
Cornu Ammonis
brainwashed.com
Listening to it right now on streaming as it has that extra track that was mentioned earlier (that isn't on my CD). The extra track is good but it really disrupts the flow of the album, not sure if it's because I'm used to it being absent or because it doesn't quite fit the mood of the other songs.
I got the second Portishead album when it came out after hearing "Cowboys" on a Q Magazine compilation, I was instantly hooked but it took me a while to buy Dummy (in those days of pocket money and relying on what Golden Discs in Stillorgan and Nutgrove carried). It's a hard call to make as to which of their albums I prefer, yesterday I would have put it as my favourite with Third and s/t coming quickly after. However, Dummy has ended and the second album has just started so that's now my favourite. They're all perfect really, love the live in NYC album too.
I never got to see them back in the day, a mate saw them at the Olympia (I think) and I think it's in his top three concerts ever. I did go to the ATP they did when they reformed, it was my birthday my night before so I had beer, cake and a fantastic view of an unbelievably good concert (they played loads of Third, which no one had heard before). What a weekend.
Wanna Get Out
Way beyond the Rubicon
Ok, I was mad into this album when very young because in my head it made me a bit more sophisticated than the usual Blur/NOFX I was listening to, and besides, OK Computer hadn't come out yet. I couldn't really talk about it with my mates though cos they'd just slag me over it so it was a "secret" sophistication.
I don't really know much about the band themselves, wiki says Beth GIbbons was only about 29 when it came out but that seemed so ancient to me at the time, I thought it was weird that someone so "old" was playing "pop" music. Oh man.
The opening chords of Mysterons immediately remind me of being about 12 and listening to the album as quiet as possible because I didn't want to disturb my brother on the other side of the room.
I'd forgotten about Sour Times, what a great track. Remember loads of bands went this way? Space in 1998 were like a cheesy casio version of this kind of thing. They were hardly the worst though, it all went seriously awry a few years later with the obligatory lounge track on every album and by the year 2000 I believe they were calling it "dinner party music" cos it was all such inoffensive, lifeless stuff. Ugh.
It's quite hard to write about a lot of the songs individually as, bar Sour Times and Glory Box, they tend to exist more on vibe than melody don't they? A lot of them i'd struggle to remember if asked. Way back when I used to prefer Becoming X by the Sneaker Pimps to this album because that one was a bit poppier, every song had a bit of a distinctive chorus, while some on this album get by on vibe alone. Listening back now this album is a billion times better but I can see why I thought that at the time. If Sour Times and Glory Box were removed though I wonder would people hold this album in nearly as high regard though?
I love the spaghetti western guitar all the way through it, it's rare enough that stuff breaks into the mainstream, I can only think Marco Pirroni from Adam & the Ants doing something similar. So there we go, a strange link between the completely ludicrous pop of Antmusic and the oh so serious grown up music on show here.
Anyway, 10/10 but God it was responsible for an awful lot of garbage afterwards.
Lili Marlene said:
If Sour Times and Glory Box were removed though I wonder would people hold this album in nearly as high regard though?
I think "Mysterons", "Roads" and "Wandering Star" are as strong as those two tracks and make the album what it is. "Roads" is fucking amazing. I think "Glory Box" and "Sour Times" are great tracks but the rest is hardly filler. So far the only song of theirs that I think is anything close to filler/a miss is that Abba cover, which is fine but wish they had done something new themselves rather than a cover.
Cornu Ammonis said:
I don't mean the rest are filler, not at all, but they're not immediately as hooky.
Ah, I get you now. Possibly but I still think this would still be highly regarded, if not as popular.
One of the better albums it influenced was Goldfrapp's Felt Mountain. Actually Felt Mountain was probably more inspired by this (had to check the year, 1997)
Hang on, call the lawyers.......
I love Felt Mountain but i'm so glad Goldfrapp moved on from the dinner-party music scene.
There yiz are now -
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Gundula Janowitz
Janowitz's voice was regarded as one of the most beautiful of its time, with a rich timbre that was ideal for the more poetic and serene operatic roles, such as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, and particularly Strauss heroines such as the Countess in Capriccio, Ariadne, Arabella, and the Marschallin. She was also celebrated for her Verdi, particularly Elisabetta in Don Carlo, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, and Aida. Some critics found her performances lacking in flamboyance, calling her tepid, but others found them elegantly underestated, relying on the music and the line rather than histrionics.
She studied voice at the Graz Conservatory, winning a competition to make her opera debut in 1960 as Barbarina in Nozze at the Vienna State Opera and beginning a lifelong association with that house. Later that year, she made her Bayreuth Festival debut as a flowermaiden in Parsifal. She began to sing leads at the VSO, including, at Herbert von Karajan's urging, the Empress in Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten, at the age of 27. (Karajan had a habit of urging singers into heavy repertoire, often to their detriment; however, her fine technique and caution kept her voice from suffering.) Her Glyndebourne debut came in 1964, as Ilia in Mozart's Idomeneo (with a new young Italian tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, singing Idamante). She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1967 as Sieglinde in Wagner's Die Walküre. Her Covent Garden debut was not until 1976, as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni.
Throughout her career, she was as engaged with concerts and recitals as with operatic performances, becoming especially acclaimed for her renditions of Strauss' Four Last Songs. She retired from the stage in 1990, though she still gave the occasional concert.
R. Strauss: Vier letzte Lieder, TrV 296 - 3. Beim Schlafengehen
Gundula JanowitzBerliner PhilharmonikerHerbert von Karajan
Strauss, R.: Four Last Songs; Orchestral Works
Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 / Part Five - For the 1st Sunday in the New Year - J.S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 / Pt. Five - For The 1st Sunday In The New Year - No.51 Terzetto: "Ach, wann wird die Zeit erscheinen?"
Gundula JanowitzChrista LudwigFritz WunderlichMünchener Bach-OrchesterKarl Richter
Bach, J.S.: Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248
Mozart: Vado, ma dove? oh Dei!, K.583
Gundula JanowitzWiener SymphonikerWilfried Boettcher
Gundula Janowitz - Mozart: Concert Arias
Symphony No.9 In D Minor, Op.125 - "Choral" - Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 - "Choral" - 4b. Allegro molto assai - "O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!"
Gundula JanowitzHilde Rössel-MajdanWaldemar KmenttWalter BerryWiener SingvereinBerliner PhilharmonikerHerbert von Karajan
Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies
Beethoven: Symphony No.9 In D Minor, Op.125 - "Choral" - 4. Presto - "O Freunde nicht diese Töne" -
Beethoven: 9 Symphonies
The Last Recital: In Memoriam Maria Callas (Live)
The Gundula Janowitz Edition
Gundula Janowitz (Wiener Staatsoper Live)
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem/Schicksalslied
Strauss, R.: Four Last Songs; Metamorphoses; Oboe Concerto
Strauss, R.: Tod und Verklärung; Metamorphosen; Four Last Songs
R. Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos
Beethoven: Fidelio
Mendelssohn: Paulus
Mozart: Così fan tutte, K. 588 (Live)
Lieder célèbres - Ave Maria
Gundula Janowitz - The Golden Voice
Strauss, J.: Die Fledermaus
Haydn, J.: The Creation (Die Schöpfung)
Handel: Messiah - Arias & Choruses
Strauss, J. II: Die Fledermaus - highlights
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Game Changer for Smartmouth
by Jeff Maisey | Jul 25, 2018 | Beer News, Drink
By Jeff Maisey It’s summertime. Most of Team Smartmouth’s starting lineup is batting like champs. There’s Alter Ego Saison, the team’s home run leader. Murphy’s Law Amber is good for an on-base hit every time at bat. Notch 9 Double IPA always scores with RBIs (and...
Sly Clyde’s: Coastal Virginia’s First Cidery
by Jeff Maisey | Jul 25, 2018 | Drink, News
By Michael Curry Joining the ever growing number of craft breweries in the region, Sly Clyde’s Ciderworks in Phoebus is totally unique, becoming the first brewery making only cider — not the juice to be found on the shelves of the grocery store but the delicious...
MOCA’s Debi Gray: Last Words (almost)
by Jeff Maisey | Jul 25, 2018 | Art, Art News
By Betsy DiJulio Debi Gray began her tenure as executive director at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)—then the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia—with three of her small staff on maternity leave in the midst of the 2009 recession. Furloughs and lay-offs...
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Facebook sees MySpace’s Twitter partnership and raises it Digg
MG Siegler May 9, 2008 12:50 PM
We’re at the point that when either of the two social networking giants, MySpace and Facebook, does something, the other has to respond. Yesterday, MySpace unveiled its “Data Availability” initiative, allowing other sites around the Internet to utilize its users’ data to update profiles, photos, videos and other attributes. Today, according to a TechCrunch scoop, Facebook is following that up with “Facebook Connect”. Which does, wait for it — the exact same thing.
As Mike Arrington points out, Facebook Connect is basically an updated version of Facebook’s API for third party sites. These sites will now be able to use Facebook’s trusted identification methods, profile information (including pictures, videos, events and the like), friend lists and privacy settings. Just as with MySpace’s announcement, the idea is to make Facebook a central hub of users’ web experience.
Lest you think this wasn’t a game of one-upmanship: whereas MySpace announced Twitter as a launch partner for its initiative yesterday, Facebook is launching with Digg as a partner. The social news voting site is quite a bit larger than the micro-messaging Twitter.
Facebook Connect’s formal launch won’t happen for a couple of weeks. We’ll update when we know more.
update: Dave Morin, Facebook’s senior platform manager has posted on the Facebook Developers Blog with more details about Facebook Connect. Some of the details:
Today we are announcing Facebook Connect. Facebook Connect is the next iteration of Facebook Platform that allows users to “connect” their Facebook identity, friends and privacy to any site. This will now enable third party websites to implement and offer even more features of Facebook Platform off of Facebook – similar to features available to third party applications today on Facebook.
Here are just a few of the coming features of Facebook Connect:
Users will be able to connect their Facebook account with any partner website using a trusted authentication method. Whether at login, or anywhere else a developer would like to add social context, the user will be able to authenticate and connect their account in a trusted environment. The user will have total control of the permissions granted.
Real Identity
Facebook users represent themselves with their real names and real identities. With Facebook Connect, users can bring their real identity information with them wherever they go on the Web, including: basic profile information, profile picture, name, friends, photos, events, groups, and more.
Friends Access
Users count on Facebook to stay connected to their friends and family. With Facebook Connect, users can take their friends with them wherever they go on the Web. Developers will be able to add rich social context to their websites. Developers will even be able to dynamically show which of their Facebook friends already have accounts on their sites.
Dynamic Privacy
As a user moves around the open Web, their privacy settings will follow, ensuring that users’ information and privacy rules are always up-to-date. For example, if a user changes their profile picture, or removes a friend connection, this will be automatically updated in the external website.
[photo: flickr/masochismtango]
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James Foley Foundation Disses Mike Pompeo
The release of hostages from North Korea is an impressive achievement, don’t you think? Of course it is. In fact, the James Foley Legacy Foundation, founded in honor of the journalist beheaded by ISIS, decided to award Secretary of State Mike Pompeo its annual Freedom Award for his efforts in obtaining the freedom of Americans held abroad.
Pompeo was supposed to receive his award this past week. That is, until the Foley Foundation rescinded his award.
ISIS Gunman Shot Dead At Trebes France Supermarket [VIDEO]
This morning we woke to the news of a hostage situation at a French supermarket in Trebes. A gunman had rushed into the store, killed at least…
#Barcelona: Terror Attack Leaves Multiple Dead [VIDEO]
Following the established modus operandi of terror, a van has driven into a pedestrian crowd in Barcelona, Spain. Police officials have already called this a terrorist attack….
Headlines, military
Obama’s Priorities During August Vacation: Golf First, Hostages Last [VIDEOS]
President Duffer in Chief slices again. Ten rounds of golf while on vacation last month in Martha’s vineyard, TEN. He deserves it right? He works hard at that…
Obama’s Super Secret $400 Million Ransom Payment To Iran [VIDEOS]
ProTip to the Obama Administration: Additional side deals combined with sneaky dark of the night ransom payments is not the way to inspire confidence in the efficacy…
The Iran Deal is Like An Abusive Relationship
We’re all pleased that five Americans are returning home after being freed from prison by Iran, as announced Saturday morning. The release — in exchange for eight…
#IranDeal Shame: No Hostages Released
Today the White House is crowing about the Iranian Nuclear Agreement, calling it “The Historic Deal that Will Prevent Iran from Acquiring a Nuclear Weapon.” “Now, with…
#CharlieHebdo: Two Horrendous Hostage Situations around Paris
Two intense standoffs are occurring in France, as authorities have cornered the Kouachi brothers, suspected in the Charlie Hebdo murders. They had robbed a gasoline station near…
#SydneySiege: One Terrorist, An Unknown Number of Hostages
At 9:45 am local time on Monday (5:45 pm ET Sunday), a gunman entered the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Sydney, Australia, taking an unknown number of staff…
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Home Laos Economics Market to decide 5G service in Laos: telecom official
Market to decide 5G service in Laos: telecom official
The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications will rely on market mechanisms to decide whether the country will launch a 5G service, according to a ministry official.
The ministry’s E-Government Centre Director General, Dr Thavisak Manotham, told Vientiane Times last week that the ministry had no policy to restrict the provision of 5G service.
However, he said one of the key factors in determining whether Laos would offer 5G services was market demand. If the market demands the service, the ministry would be ready to support its provision.
A number of Asean countries including Vietnam and Thailand have begun unofficial provision of 5G services in cities. Thailand expects that full commercial 5G service will begin next year. A number of Lao people support the government in offering a 5G service because they believe the current internet speed is slow compared to neighbouring countries.
They understood that 5G would enable access to high speed internet, which would facilitate the advancement of e-commerce and technology and the country’s industrialisation.
Other telecom officials said they agreed that the internet speed in Laos would be faster if a 5G network were available. But the installation of 5G infrastructure would require a huge investment and technology upgrade.
They said the telecoms market in Laos was small as the country has a population of only 7 million. Thailand and Vietnam were in a much better position compared to Laos in terms of the provision and expansion of 5G services thanks to their much larger telecoms market.
Thailand has a population of 60 million people while Vietnam has a population of 95 million people, according to recent data. Director General of the Lao Internet Centre, Mr Keovisouk Solaphom, said recently that Laos could act as an internet land bridge thanks to its location in the centre of the Mekong region, adding that this would benefit Laos.
He said it was possible for the country to have greater access to cheaper internet because Laos could share the cost of internet infrastructure with other countries in the region. He also said the Lao government would support neighbouring countries in laying internet cables through Laos.
At present, internet cables are laid on the seabed, which is considered a detour. The establishment of an internet network through Laos would shorten internet cable expansion in the region, Mr Keovisouk said.
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Laos and Vietnam will continue cooperation in the areas of media, printing and personnel development, as well as in information and communications
The government of Japan will provide 850 million yen (about US$7.6 million) of support to flood recovery effort
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Comparisons of the M1 genome segments and encoded μ2 proteins of different reovirus isolates
Peng Yin1, 2,
Natalie D Keirstead1, 3,
Teresa J Broering4, 5,
Michelle M Arnold4, 6,
John SL Parker4, 7,
Max L Nibert4, 6 and
Kevin M Coombs1Email author
© Yin et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2004
Received: 29 July 2004
The reovirus M1 genome segment encodes the μ2 protein, a structurally minor component of the viral core, which has been identified as a transcriptase cofactor, nucleoside and RNA triphosphatase, and microtubule-binding protein. The μ2 protein is the most poorly understood of the reovirus structural proteins. Genome segment sequences have been reported for 9 of the 10 genome segments for the 3 prototypic reoviruses type 1 Lang (T1L), type 2 Jones (T2J), and type 3 Dearing (T3D), but the M1 genome segment sequences for only T1L and T3D have been previously reported. For this study, we determined the M1 nucleotide and deduced μ2 amino acid sequences for T2J, nine other reovirus field isolates, and various T3D plaque-isolated clones from different laboratories.
Determination of the T2J M1 sequence completes the analysis of all ten genome segments of that prototype. The T2J M1 sequence contained a 1 base pair deletion in the 3' non-translated region, compared to the T1L and T3D M1 sequences. The T2J M1 gene showed ~80% nucleotide homology, and the encoded μ2 protein showed ~71% amino acid identity, with the T1L and T3D M1 and μ2 sequences, respectively, making the T2J M1 gene and μ2 proteins amongst the most divergent of all reovirus genes and proteins. Comparisons of these newly determined M1 and μ2 sequences with newly determined M1 and μ2 sequences from nine additional field isolates and a variety of laboratory T3D clones identified conserved features and/or regions that provide clues about μ2 structure and function.
The findings suggest a model for the domain organization of μ2 and provide further evidence for a role of μ2 in viral RNA synthesis. The new sequences were also used to explore the basis for M1/μ2-determined differences in the morphology of viral factories in infected cells. The findings confirm the key role of Ser/Pro208 as a prevalent determinant of differences in factory morphology among reovirus isolates and trace the divergence of this residue and its associated phenotype among the different laboratory-specific clones of type 3 Dearing.
Genome Segment
Nontranslated Region
Nonconservative Substitution
dsRNA Genome Segment
Genome Segment Sequence
RNA viruses represent the most significant and diverse group of infectious agents for eukaryotic organisms on earth [1, 2]. Virtually every RNA virus, except retroviruses, must use an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) to copy its RNA genome into progeny RNA, an essential step in viral replication and assembly. The virally encoded RdRp is not found in uninfected eukaryotic cells and therefore represents an attractive target for chemotherapeutic strategies to combat RNA viruses. A better understanding of the structure/function relationships of RNA-virus RdRps has been gained from recent determinations of X-ray crystal structures for several of these proteins, including the RdRps of poliovirus, hepatitis C virus, rabbit calicivirus, and mammalian orthoreovirus [3–6]. However, the diverse and complex functions and regulation of these enzymes, including their interactions with other viral proteins and cis-acting signals in the viral RNAs, determine that we have hardly scratched the surface for understanding most of them.
The nonfusogenic mammalian orthoreoviruses (reoviruses) are prototype members of the family Reoviridae, which includes segmented double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) viruses of both medical (rotavirus) and economic (orbivirus) importance (reviewed in [7–9]). Reoviruses have nonenveloped, double-shelled particles composed of eight different structural proteins encasing the ten dsRNA genome segments. Reovirus isolates (or "strains") can be grouped into three serotypes, represented by three commonly studied prototype isolates: type 1 Lang (T1L), type 2 Jones (T2J), and type 3 Dearing (T3D). Sequences have been reported for all ten genome segments of T1L and T3D, as well as for nine of the ten segments of T2J (all but the M1 segment) (e.g., see [10, 11]). Each of these segments encodes either one or two proteins on one of its strands, the plus strand. After cell entry, transcriptase complexes within the infecting reovirus particles synthesize and release full-length, capped plus-strand copies of each genome segment. These plus-strand RNAs are used as templates for translation by the host machinery as well as for minus-strand synthesis by the viral replicase complexes. The latter process produces the new dsRNA genome segments for packaging into progeny particles. The particle locations and functions of most of the reovirus proteins have been determined by a combination of genetic, biochemical, and biophysical techniques over the past 50 years (reviewed in [8]).
Previous studies have identified the reovirus λ3 protein, encoded by the L1 genome segment, as the viral RdRp [6, 12–14]. Protein λ3 is a minor component of the inner capsid, present in only 10–12 copies per particle [15]. It has been proposed to bind to the interior side of the inner capsid, near the icosahedral fivefold axes, and recent work has precisely localized it there [16, 17]. In solution, purified λ3 mediates a poly(C)-dependent poly(G)-polymerase activity, but it has not been shown to use virus-specific dsRNA or plus-strand RNA as template for plus- or minus-strand RNA synthesis, respectively [14]. This lack of activity with virus-specific templates suggests that viral or cellular cofactors may be required to make λ3 fully functional. Within the viral particle, where only viral proteins are known to reside, these cofactors are presumably viral in origin. The crystal structure of λ3 has provided substantial new information about the organization of its sequences and has suggested several new hypotheses about its functions in viral RNA synthesis and the possible roles of cofactors in these functions [6]. Notably, crystallized λ3 uses short viral and nonviral oligonucleotides as templates for RNA synthesis to yield short dsRNA products [6].
The reovirus μ2 protein has been proposed as a transcriptase cofactor, but it remains the most functionally and structurally enigmatic of the eight proteins found in virions. Like λ3, μ2 is a minor component of the inner capsid, present in only 20–24 copies per particle [15]. It is thought to associate with λ3 in the particle interior, in close juxtaposition to the icosahedral fivefold axes, but has not been precisely localized there [16, 17]. A recent study has shown that purified μ2 and λ3 can interact in vitro [18]. The M1 genome segment that encodes μ2 is genetically associated with viral strain differences in the in vitro transcriptase and nucleoside triphosphatase (NTPase) activities of viral particles [19, 20]. Recent work with purified μ2 has shown that it can indeed function in vitro as both an NTPase and an RNA 5'-triphosphatase [18]. The μ2 protein has also been shown to bind RNA and to be involved in formation of viral inclusions, also called "factories", through microtubule binding in infected cells [18, 21–23]. Nevertheless, its precise function(s) in the reovirus replication cycle remain unclear. Other studies have indicated that the μ2-encoding M1 segment genetically determines the severity of cytopathic effect in mouse L929 cells, the frequency of myocarditis in infected mice, the levels of viral growth in cardiac myocytes and endothelial cells, the degree of organ-specific virulence in severe combined immunodeficiency mice, and the level of interferon induction in cardiac myocytes [24–29]. The complete sequence of the M1 segment has been reported for both T1L and T3D [23, 30, 31]. However, computer-based comparisons of the M1 and μ2 sequences to others in GenBank have previously failed to show significant homology to other proteins, so that no clear indications of μ2 function have come from that approach. Nevertheless, small regions of sequence similarity to NTP-binding motifs have been identified near the middle of μ2, and recent work has indicated that mutations in one of these regions indeed abrogates the triphosphatase activities of μ2 [18, 20].
For this study, we performed nucleotide-sequence determinations of the M1 genome segments of reovirus T2J, nine other reovirus field isolates, and reovirus T3D clones obtained from several different laboratories. The determination of the T2J M1 sequence completes the sequence determination of all ten genome segments of that prototype strain. We reasoned that comparisons of additional M1 and μ2 sequences may reveal conserved features and/or regions that provide clues about μ2 structure and function. The findings provide further evidence for a role of μ2 in viral RNA synthesis. We also took advantage of the newly available sequences to explore the basis for M1/μ2-determined strain differences in the morphology of viral factories in reovirus-infected cells.
M1 nucleotide and μ2 amino acid sequences of reovirus T2J and nine other field isolates
We determined the nucleotide sequence of the M1 genome segment of reovirus T2J to complete the sequencing of that isolate's genome. T2J M1 was found to be 2303 base pairs in length (GenBank accession no. AF124519) (Table 1). This is one shorter than the M1 segments of reoviruses T1L and T3D [23, 30, 31], due to a single base-pair deletion in T2J corresponding to position 2272 in the 3' nontranslated region of the T1L and T3D plus strands (Fig. 1, Table 1). Like those of T1L and T3D, the T2J-M1 plus strand contains a single long open reading frame, encoding a μ2 protein of 736 amino acids (Fig. 2, Table 1), having the same start and stop codons (Fig. 1), and having a 5' nontranslated region that is only 13 nucleotides in length (Table 1). Because of the single-base deletion described above, the 3' nontranslated region of the T2J M1 plus strand is only 82 nucleotides in length, compared to 83 for T1L and T3D (Table 1). Regardless, M1 has the longest 3' nontranslated region of any of the genome segments of these viruses, the next longest being 73 nucleotides in S3 (reviewed in [32]).
Features of M1 genome segments and μ2 proteins from different reovirus isolates
Reovirus isolatea
M2 or μ2 propertyb
T1Lc
T2J
T3Dd
T3De
T1C11
T1N84
T2S59
Accession no.:
AY428870
total nuc
5' NTR
total AA
mass (kDa)
Asp+Glu
Arg+Lys+His
a Abbreviations defined in text.
b nuc, nucleotides; NTR, nontranslated region; AA, amino acids; pI, isoelectric point.
c All indicated values are the same for the T1L M1 and μ2 sequences obtained for the Brown laboratory clone [31] (indicated GenBank accession number), the Nibert laboratory clone [23]; GenBank accession no. AF461682), and the Coombs laboratory clone (this study).
d T3D M1 and μ2 sequences for the Joklik laboratory clone [30] (indicated GenBank accession number), and the Cashdollar laboratory clone [23]; GenBank accession no. AF461684).
e T3D M1 and μ2 sequences for the Nibert laboratory clone [23] and the Coombs laboratory clone (this study).
Sequences near the 5' (A) and 3' (B) ends of the M1 plus strands of 14 reovirus isolates. The start and stop codons are indicated by bold and underline, respectively. The one-base deletion in the 3' noncoding region of the T2J sequence is indicated by a triangle. Positions at which at least one sequence differs from the others are indicated by dots. GenBank accession numbers for corresponding sequences are indicated between the clones' names and 5' sequences in "A". Clones are: T1L (type 1, Lang), T1C11 (type 1, clone 11), T1C29 (type 1, clone 29), T1N84 (type 1, Netherlands 1984), T2J (type 2, Jones), T2N84 (type 2, Netherlands 1984), T2S59 (type 2, simian virus 59), T3D (type 3, Dearing), T3C12 (type 3, clone 12), T3C18 (type 3, clone 18), T3C44 (type 3, clone 44), and T3N83 (type 3, Netherlands 1983). T1L clones were obtained from Dr. E.G. Brown (Brown) or our laboratories (Coombs/Nibert). T3D clones were obtained from Drs. W.K. Joklik, L.W. Cashdollar (Joklik/Cashdollar) and our laboratories (Coombs/Nibert).
Alignment of the deduced μ2 amino acid sequences of T1L, T2J, T3D, and various field isolates. The single-letter amino acid code is used, and only the T1L μ2 sequence from the Brown laboratory is shown in its entirety. For other isolates, only those amino acids that differ from this T1L sequence are shown. Clones arranged in same order as in Fig. 1; the second T1L μ2 sequence is from the Nibert and Coombs laboratories, the first T3D μ2 sequence is from the Joklik and Cashdollar laboratories, and the second T3D μ2 sequence is from the Nibert and Coombs laboratories. Amino acid positions are numbered above the sequences. Some symbols represent various nonconservative changes among the isolates: *, change involving a charged residue; § change involving an aromatic residue; †, change involving a proline residue; ‡, change involving a cysteine residue. Residue 208, which has been previously shown to affect microtubule association by μ2, is indicated by a filled diamond. Residues 410–420 and 446–449, which have been previously identified as NTP-binding motifs are indicated by filled circles. Consecutive runs of wholly conserved residues ≥ 15 amino acids in length are indicated by the lines numbered 1 to 8.
To gain further insights into μ2 structure/function relationships, we determined the M1 nucleotide sequences of nine other reovirus field isolates [33, 34]. The M1 segments of each of these viruses were found to be 2304 base pairs in length (GenBank accession nos. AY428870 to AY428877 and AY551083), the same as T1L and T3D M1 (Fig. 1). Like those of T1L, T2J, and T3D, the M1 plus strand from each of the field isolates contains a single long open reading frame, again encoding a μ2 protein of 736 amino acids (Fig. 2) and having the same start and stop codons (Fig. 1). Their 5' and 3' nontranslated regions are therefore the same lengths as those of T1L and T3D M1 (Table 1). As part of this study, we also determined the M1 nucleotide sequences of the reovirus T1L and T3D clones routinely used in the Coombs laboratory. We found these sequences to be identical to those recently reported for the respective Nibert laboratory clones [23].
Further comparisons of the M1 nucleotide sequences
The T2J M1 genome segment shares 71–72% homology with those of both T1L and T3D (Table 2). This makes T2J M1 the most divergent of all nonfusogenic mammalian orthoreovirus genome segments examined to date, with the exception of the S1 segment, which encodes the attachment protein σ1 and which shows less than 60% nucleotide sequence homology between serotypes [35, 36]; reviewed in [11]. In contrast, the homology between T1L and T3D M1 is ~98%, among the highest values seen to date between reovirus genome segments from distinct field isolates [11, 31, 34, 37–39].
Pairwise comparisons of M1 genome segment and μ2 protein sequences from different reovirus isolates
Identity (%) compared with reovirus isolatea
Virus isolate
T1Lb
99.9f
b T1L M1 and μ2 sequences for the Brown laboratory clone [31]; GenBank accession no. X59945).
c T1L M1 and μ2 sequences for the Nibert laboratory clone [23]; GenBank accession no. AF461682) and the Coombs laboratory clone (this study).
d T3D M1 and μ2 sequences for the Joklik laboratory clone [30]; GenBank accession no. M27261), and the Cashdollar laboratory clone [23]; GenBank accession no. AF461684).
e T3D M1 and μ2 sequences for the Nibert laboratory clone [23]; GenBank accession no. AF461683) and the Coombs laboratory clone (this study).
f Values for M1-gene sequence comparisons are shown below the diagonal, in bold; values for μ2-protein sequence comparisons are shown above the diagonal.
The M1 genome segments of the nine other reovirus isolates examined in this study are much more closely related to those of T1L and T3D than to that of T2J (Table 2), as also clearly indicated by phylogenetic analyses (Fig. 3 and data not shown). Such greater divergence of the gene sequences of T2J has been observed to date with other segments examined from multiple reovirus field isolates [11, 34, 37–39]. Type 2 simian virus 59 (T2S59) has the next most broadly divergent M1 sequence, but it is no more similar to the M1 sequence of T2J than it is to that of the other isolates (Table 2, Fig. 3). In sum, the results of this study provided little or no evidence for divergence of the M1 sequences along the lines of reovirus serotype (Fig. 3), consistent with independent reassortment and evolution of the M1 and S1 segments in nature. Upon considering the sources of these isolates [34], the results similarly provided little or no evidence for divergence of the M1 sequences along the lines of host, geographic locale, or date of isolation (Fig. 3). These findings are consistent with ongoing exchange of M1 segments among reovirus strains cocirculating in different hosts and locales. Similar conclusions have been indicated by previous studies of other genome segments from multiple reovirus field isolates [11, 34, 37–39]. The M1 nucleotide sequence of type 3 clone 12 (T3C12) is almost identical to that of the T3D clone in use in the Coombs and Nibert laboratories, with only a single silent change (U→C) at plus-strand position 1532 (i.e., 99.9+% homology). However, several of the T3C12 genome segments show distinguishable mobilities in polyacrylamide gels (data not shown), confirming that T3C12 is indeed a distinct isolate.
Most parsimonious phylogenetic tree based on the M1 nucleotide sequences of the different reoviruses. Sequences for T1L and T3D clones from different laboratories are shown (laboratory source(s) in parentheses). Horizontal lines are proportional in length to nucleotide substitutions.
Further comparisons of the μ2 protein sequences
The T2J μ2 protein shares 80–81% homology with those of both T1L and T3D (Table 2, Fig. 2). Consistent with the M1 nucleotide sequence results, this makes T2J μ2 the most divergent of all nonfusogenic mammalian orthoreovirus proteins examined to date, with the exception of the S1-encoded σ1 and σ1s proteins, which show less than 55% amino acid sequence homology between serotypes [35, 36]; reviewed in [11]. In contrast, the homology between T1L and T3D μ2 approaches 99%, among the highest values seen to date between reovirus genome segments from distinct isolates [11, 31, 34, 37–39]. Also consistent with the M1 nucleotide sequence results, the μ2 proteins of the nine other reovirus isolates examined in this study are much more closely related to those of T1L and T3D than to that of T2J (Table 2, Fig. 3), affirming the divergent status of the T2J μ2 protein. The μ2 protein sequence of T3C12 is identical to that of the T3D clone in use in the Coombs and Nibert laboratories. In addition, the μ2 protein sequence of T1C29 is identical to that of T3C44. These are the first times that reovirus proteins from distinct isolates have been found to share identical amino acid sequences [11, 32, 34, 37–39], reflecting the high degree of μ2 conservation.
The encoded μ2 proteins of the twelve reovirus isolates are all calculated to have molecular masses between 83.2 and 84.0 kDa, and isoelectric points between 6.89 and 7.44 pH units (Table 1). This range of isoelectric points is the largest yet seen among reovirus proteins other than σ1s [11], but is largely attributable to the divergent value of T2J μ2 (others range only from 6.89 to 7.10). The substantially higher isoelectric point of T2J μ2 is explained by it containing a larger number of basic residues (excess arginine) than do the other isolates (Table 1).
Comparisons of the twelve μ2 sequences showed eight highly conserved regions, each containing ≥ 15 consecutive residues that are identical in all of the isolates (Fig. 2). The highly conserved regions are clustered in two larger areas of μ2, spanning approximately amino acids 1–250 and amino acids 400–610. Conserved region 5 in the 400–610 area encompasses the more amino-terminal of the two NTP-binding motifs in μ2 (Fig. 2) [18, 20]. The other NTP-binding motif is also wholly conserved, but within a smaller consecutive run of conserved residues. The region between the two motifs is notably variable (Fig. 2). Conserved region 5 also contains the less conservative of the two amino acid substitutions in T1L-derived temperature-sensitive (ts) mutant tsH11.2 (Pro414→His) [40]. The pattern of conserved and variable areas of μ2 was also seen by plotting scores for sequence identity in running windows over the protein length (e.g., [32]). In addition to the conserved regions described above, areas of greater than average variation are evident in this plot, spanning approximately amino acids 250–400 and 610–736 (the carboxyl terminus) (Fig. 4). The 250–400 area is notable for regularly oscillating between conserved and variable regions (Fig. 4). The two large areas of greater-than-average sequence conservation, spanning approximately amino acids 1–250 and 400–610 (Fig. 4), are likely to be involved in the protein's primary function(s). The more variable, 250–400 area between the two conserved ones might represent a hinge or linker of mostly structural importance.
Window-averaged scores for sequence identity among the T1L, T2J, and T3D μ2 proteins. Identity scores averaged over running windows of 21 amino acids and centered at consecutive amino acid positions are shown. The global identity score for the three sequences is indicated by the dashed line. Two extended areas of greater-than-average sequence variation are marked with lines below the plot. Two extended areas of greater-than-average sequence conservation are marked with lines above the plot. Eight regions of ≥ 15 consecutive residues of identity among all twelve μ2 sequences from Fig. 2, as discussed in the text, are numbered above the plot. The Ser/Pro208 determinant of microtubule binding is marked with a filled diamond. The two putative NTP-binding motifs are marked with filled circles.
As indicated earlier, μ2 is one of the most poorly understood reovirus proteins, from both a functional and a structural point of view. For example, atomic structures are available for seven of the eight reovirus structural proteins, with μ2 being the missing one. Thus, in an effort to refine the model for μ2 structure/function relationships based on regional differences, we obtained predictions for secondary structures, hydropathy, and surface probability. PHD PredictProtein algorithms suggest that μ2 can be divided into four approximate regions characterized by different patterns of predicted secondary structures (Fig. 5C). An amino-terminal region spans to residue 157, a "variable" region spans residues 157 to 450, a "helix-rich" region spans residues 450 to 606, and a carboxyl-terminal region spans the sequences after residue 606. The amino-terminal region contains six predicted α-helices and three predicted β-strands, and is highly conserved across all twelve μ2 sequences. The "variable" region is the most structurally complex and contains numerous interspersed α-helices and β-strands. The "helix-rich" region contains seven α-helices and is highly conserved across all twelve μ2 sequences. The carboxyl-terminal region varies across all three serotypes. Overall, the μ2 protein is predicted to be 48% α-helical and 14% β-sheet in composition, making it an "α-β " protein according to the CATH designation [41]. Interestingly, most tyrosine protein kinases with SH2 domains are also "α-β " proteins by this designation. The T1L and T3D μ2 hydropathy profiles were identical to each other. Both show numerous regions of similarity to the hydropathy profile of the T2J μ2. However, there also are several distinct differences between the T1L and T2J profiles (Fig. 5). Alterations in amino acid charge at residues 32, 430 to 432, and 673 in the T2J sequence account for the major differences in hydrophobicity between T2J and the other serotypes. In addition, the carboxyl-terminal 66 residues show multiple differences in hydropathy. The surface probability profiles of each of the three serotype's μ2 proteins are identical (Fig. 5) and show numerous regions that are highly predicted to be exposed at the surface of the protein as well as regions predicted to be buried.
Secondary structure predictions of μ2 protein. (A) Hydropathicity index predictions of T2J (- - -) and T1L (-----) μ2 proteins, superimposed to accentuate similarities and differences. Hydropathy values were determined by the Kyte-Doolittle method [72], using DNA Strider 1.2, a window length of 11, and a stringency of 7. (B) Surface probability predictions of the T2J μ2 protein, determined as per Emini et al. [73], using DNASTAR. The predicted surface probability profiles of T1L and T3D (not shown) were identical to T2J. (C) Locations of α-helices and β-sheets were determined by the PHD PredictProtein algorithms [74], and results were graphically rendered with Microsoft PowerPoint software. , α-helix;. , β-sheet;—, turn. Differences in fill pattern correspond to arbitrary division of protein into four regions; N, amino terminal; V, variable; H, helix-rich; C, carboxyl terminal. The locations of variable regions are indicated by the thick lines under the domain representation.
The MOTIF and FingerPRINTScan programs were used to compare the highly conserved regions of μ2 with other sequences in protein data banks (ProSite, Blocks, and ProDomain). The results revealed that several of the conserved regions in μ2 share limited similarities with members of the DNA polymerase A family and with the SH2 domain of tyrosine kinases. The sequence YEAgDV in μ2, located in conserved region 2 (Fig. 2), is similar to the "YAD" motif of DNA polymerase A from a number of different bacteria (e.g., YEADDV in Deinococcus radiodurans). The YAD motif is located in the exonuclease region of DNA polymerase A, a region which also functions as an NTPase and enhances the rate of DNA polymerization [42]. The SH2 domain of tyrosine kinases was the highest score hit for the conserved regions of μ2 with FingerPRINTScan. Four of the five motifs in the 100 amino acid SH2 domain matched the μ2 sequence. The SH2 domain mediates protein-protein interactions through its capacity to bind phosphotyrosine [43]. The protein motifs found by focusing on the conserved regions of μ2 provide supportive evidence that this protein is involved in nucleotide binding and metabolism. However, the described similarities did not match with greater than 90% certainty and no other significant homologies were detected. The inability to identify higher-scoring GenBank similarities, first noted when sequences of the T3D and T1L M1 genes were reported [30, 31] attests to the uniqueness of this minor core protein.
Biochemical confirmations
In an effort to provide biochemical confirmation of the predicted variation in the different isolates' μ2 proteins, we analyzed the T1L, T2J, and T3D proteins by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting. Despite the slightly larger molecular mass calculated from its sequence (Table 1), T2J μ2 displayed a slightly smaller relative molecular weight on gels than T1L and T3D μ2 (Fig. 6A). This aberrant mobility may reflect the higher isoelectric point of T2J μ2 (Table 1). Polyclonal anti-μ2 antibodies that had been raised against purified T1L μ2 [44] reacted strongly with both T1L and T3D μ2, but only weakly with T2J μ2 (Fig. 6B), despite equal band loading as demonstrated by Ponceau S staining. These antibody cross-reactivities correlated well with the predicted protein homologies (Table 2).
SDS-PAGE and immunoblot analyses of virion and core particles. Proteins from gradient-purified T1L (1), T2J (2), and T3D (3) particles were resolved in 5–15% SDS-polyacrylamide gels as detailed in Materials and methods. Gels were then fixed and stained with Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 and silver (A). Alternatively, proteins from the gels were transferred to nitrocellulose, probed with anti-μ2 antiserum (polyclonal antibodies raised against T1L μ2, kindly provided by E. G. Brown), and detected by chemiluminescence (B). Virion proteins are indicated to the left of panel A, except for μ2, which is indicated between the panels.
Factory morphologies among reovirus field isolates
We took advantage of the new M1/μ2 sequences to extend analysis of the role of μ2 in determining differences in viral factory morphology among reovirus isolates [23]. Sequence variation at μ2 residue Pro/Ser208 was previously indicated to determine the different morphologies of T1L and T3D factories: Pro208 is associated with microtubule-anchored filamentous factories, as in T1L and the Cashdollar laboratory clone of T3D, whereas Ser208 is associated with globular factories, as in the Nibert laboratory clone of T3D [23]. For the previous study we had already examined the factories of T2J and some of the nine other isolates used for M1 sequencing above. We nonetheless newly examined the factories of all ten isolates in the present study, using the same stocks used for sequencing. T3C12 was the only one of these isolates that formed globular factories; the remainder, including T2J, formed filamentous factories (Fig. 7, Table 4). This finding is consistent with the fact that T3C12 is the only one of these isolates that has a serine at μ2 residue 208, like T3D from the Nibert laboratory; the remainder, like T1L and T3D from the Cashdollar laboratory, have a proline there (Fig. 2, Table 4) [23]. Thus, although the results identify no additional μ2 residues that may influence factory morphology, they are consistent with the identification of Pro/Ser208 as a prevalent determinant of differences in this phenotype among reovirus isolates.
Viral factory morphology as demonstrated by the distribution of μNS in cells infected with various reovirus isolates. CV-1 cells were infected at 5 PFU/cell with the isolate indicated above each panel, fixed at 18 h p.i., and immunostained with μNS-specific rabbit IgG conjugated to Alexa 594. Size bars, 10 μm.
Properties of different reovirus isolates
Virus isolatea
Virus factory morphologyb
Amino acid at μ2 position 208
T1L
filamentousc
filamentousd
T3Df
globularc
filamentous
globulard
a Abbreviations defined in the text.
b Determined by immunofluorescence microscopy as described in the text.
c Reported in Parker et al. [23].
d Reported in supplementary data of Parker et al. [23].
e T3D clone from the Cashdollar laboratory.
f T3D clone from the Nibert laboratory.
Factory morphologies and M1/μ2 sequences of other T3D and T3D-derived clones
T3D clones from the Nibert and Cashdollar laboratories have been shown to exhibit different factory morphologies based on differences in the microtubule-binding capacities of their μ2 proteins and the presence of either serine or proline at μ2 residue 208 [23]. We took the opportunity in this study to examine additional T3D clones. The clones from some laboratories formed globular factories in infected cells whereas those from other laboratories or the American Type Culture Collection formed filamentous factories (Fig. 8, Table 5). T3D-derived ts mutants tsC447, tsE320, and tsG453 [45] formed filamentous factories (Fig. 8, Table 5). Other ts mutants were not examined; however, [46] have shown evidence that tsF556 [45] forms filamentous factories as well.
Viral factory morphology as demonstrated by the distribution of μNS in cells infected with T3D clones obtained from different laboratories or with T3D-derived ts clones. Laboratory sources are indicated in parentheses. CV-1 cells were infected at 5 PFU/cell with the clone indicated above each panel, fixed at 18 h p.i., and immunostained with μNS-specific rabbit IgG conjugated to Alexa 488. Size bars, 10 μm.
Properties of different T3D and T3D-derived clones
Positions of variation in T3D μ2
Laboratory source
Virus factory morphology
Niberta
globularb
Gln
Coombsa
Schiffa
Tylera
Cashdollarc
filamentousb
Duncanc
Shatkin
tsC447
Coombsc
tsE320
a Origin traceable to B. N. Fields laboratory.
b Reported in Parker et al. [23].
c Origin traceable to W. K. Joklik laboratory; derived from T3D; sequences of tsC447 (GenBank accession no. AY428878), tsE320, and tsG453 are identical.
We additionally determined the M1 sequences of the wild-type and ts T3D clones newly tested for factory morphology. All clones with globular factories have a serine at μ2 position 208 whereas all those with filamentous factories have a proline there (Table 5). These findings provide further evidence for the influence of residue 208 on this phenotypic difference.
All wild-type T3D clones with globular factories were recently derived from a Fields laboratory parent whereas all wild-type or ts T3D clones with filamentous factories were derived from parents in other laboratories. (Although extensively characterized by both Fields (e.g., [47, 48]) and Joklik (e.g., [49, 50]), the original T3D-derived ts mutants in groups A through G were generated in the Joklik laboratory [45]). This correlation suggests that formation of filamentous factories is the ancestral phenotype of reovirus T3D and that the Ser208 mutation in T3D μ2 was established later, in the Fields laboratory. As we noted in a previous study [23], several other laboratories reported evidence for filamentous T3D factories in the 1960's (e.g., [51, 52]), following its isolation in 1955 [53]. Since microtubules were noted to be commonly associated with T3D factories in Fields laboratory publications from as late as 1973 [54], but not in one from 1979 [55], the μ2 Ser208 mutation was probably established in, or introduced into, that laboratory during the middle 1970's. Investigators should be alert to these different lineages of T3D and their derivatives for genetic studies. For example, reassortant 3HA1 [56] contains a T3D M1 genome segment derived from clone tsC447, and its factory phenotype is filamentous (data not shown).
Additional genome-wide comparisons of T1L, T2J, and T3D
Several types of genome-wide comparisons of T1L, T2J, and T3D have been reported previously [11]. For this study we examined the positions and types of nucleotide mismatches in these prototype isolates in order to gain a more comprehensive view of the evolutionary divergence of their protein-coding sequences. Most mismatches between T2J and either T1L or T3D segments, ~68%, are in the third codon base position, while ~21% are in the first position and ~11% are in the second position. Each of these mismatch percentages was converted to an evolutionary divergence value by multiplying mismatch percentage by 1.33 [31] (Table 3). These values have been used to argue that the homologous T1L and T3D genome segments diverged from common ancestors at different times in the past, with the M1 and L3 segments having diverged most recently and the M2, S1, S2, and S3 segments having diverged longer ago [31]. The consistently high values for divergence at third codon base positions among pairings with T2J genome segments (Table 3) indicate that all ten T2J segments diverged from common ancestors substantially before their respective T1L and T3D homologs. Relative numbers of synonymous and nonsynonymous nucleotide changes identified in pairwise comparisons of the coding sequences of these isolates (Table 3) support the same conclusion.
Pairwise comparisons of variation at different codon positions in reovirus genome segments
Variation (%) in the long open reading frame of genome segment
Isolate pair
firsta
T1L:T2J
T2J:T3D
T1L:T3D
thirda
syn.b
nonsyn.b
cons.c
noncon.c
S1 not included because of uncertainty in where to place gaps.
a Values determined for each pairwise comparison as: # base changes / total such positions × 100.
b Values determined as # of observed changes/ # of positions at which changes could have occurred × 100.
c Upper value indicates proportion of all amino acid substitutions that are conservative or nonconservative (using CLUSTAL W analysis with BLOSUM weighting); semi-conservative substitutions not included. Lower bold value indicates proportion of indicated types of alterations as a percentage of total number of amino acids within whole protein.
The types of amino acid substitutions within each of the prototype isolates' proteins were also examined. Pairwise analyses showed that most substitutions in most proteins were conservative (Table 3). Nonconservative substitutions were relatively rare in most proteins' pair-wise comparisons. For example, comparison of the T1L and T3D μ2 proteins showed none (0.0%) of the 10 amino acid substitutions were nonconservative, and most T1L:T3D comparisons gave low nonconservative substitution values ranging from 0.1–0.5% of total amino acid residues within the respective proteins. However, some genes, most notably M1, M3, and S3, demonstrated higher nonconservative variation, with values approaching 3.5% of total amino acid residues. Most of these higher nonconservative substitution values were observed when T2J proteins were compared to either T1L or T3D proteins. In addition, in many proteins, the majority of nonconservative substitutions were located within the amino-terminal portions (first ~20%) of the respective proteins (data not shown).
The frequencies with which different redundant codons are used to encode certain mammalian amino acids are non-random (reviewed in [57]). This phenomenon is mirrored by different abundances of the complementary tRNA molecules in mammalian cells. For example, CG pairs are underrepresented in mammalian genomes and common in their "rare" codons (see Table 6). A recent study revealed that many RNA viruses of humans display mild deviations from host codon-usage frequencies and that these deviations are more prominent among viruses with segmented genomes [57]. However, reoviruses were not included in that study. By examining reovirus isolates T1L, T2J, and T3D, for which whole-genome sequences are now available, we found that codons that qualify as rare in mammals are not rare in reovirus (Table 6). Moreover, the few codons that qualify as rare in reovirus (ACC, AGC, CCC, CGG, CUC, and GCC; data not shown) are common in mammals. The basis and significance of these deviations remain unknown, but could have impacts on the rates of translation of reovirus proteins. It is perhaps notable in this regard that the four most highly expressed reovirus proteins (μ1, σ3, μNS, and σNS) have the lowest average frequencies of codons that are rare in mammals (Table 6). Thus, incorporation of rare codons into reovirus coding sequences could be a mechanism of dampening the expression of certain viral proteins.
Codon-usage frequencies in reovirus for eight codons that are rare in mammals
Frequencies of selected codons in coding sequences of:a
Mammalian genomes
Reovirus genomes
Individual reovirus genome segments (major protein encoded by each)
Codon
Expc
L1 (λ3)
M1 (μ2)
M3 (μNS)
S1 (σ1)
S3 (σNS)
UUA
a As fraction of all codons for the particular amino acid. Bold, value higher than that in any of the indicated mammals; underlined, value more than double that in any of the indicated mammals.
b Amino acid encoded by the codon
c Expected frequency if codons for each amino acid are used randomly (assuming equal A, C, G, and U contents and no di- or trinucleotide bias).
Cells and viruses
Reoviruses T1L, T2J, T3D, and T3C12 were Coombs and/or Nibert laboratory stocks. Other reovirus isolates were provided by Dr. T. S. Dermody (Vanderbilt University). Virus clones were amplified to the second passage in murine L929 cell monolayers in Joklik's modified minimal essential medium (Gibco) supplemented to contain 2.5% fetal calf serum (Intergen), 2.5% neonatal bovine serum (Biocell), 2 mM glutamine, 100 U/ml penicillin, 100 μg/ml streptomycin, and 1 μg/ml amphotericin B, and large amounts of virus were grown in spinner culture, extracted with Freon (DuPont) or Vertrel-XF (DuPont), and purified in CsCl gradients, all as previously described [19, 58].
Sequencing the M1 genome segments
All oligonucleotide primers were obtained from Gibco/BRL. Genomic dsRNA was extracted from gradient-purified virions with phenol/chloroform [59]. Strain identity was confirmed by resolving aliquots of each in 10% SDS-PAGE gels and comparing dsRNA band mobilities [60]. Oligonucleotide primers corresponding to either the 5' end of the plus strand or the 5' end of the minus strand were as previously described [40]. Additional oligonucleotides for sequencing were designed and obtained as needed. cDNA copies of the M1 genes of each virus were constructed by using the 5' oligonucleotide primers and reverse transcriptase (Gibco/BRL). The cDNAs were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction [61] and resolved in 0.7% agarose gels [59]. The bands corresponding to the 2.3-kb gene were then excised, purified, and eluted with Qiagen columns, using the manufacterer's instructions. Sequences of the respective cDNAs were determined in both directions by dideoxynucleotide cycle sequencing [62–64], using fluorescent dideoxynucleotides.
Sequences at the termini of each M1 segment were determined by one or both of two methods. For some isolates, sequences near the ends of the segment were determined by modified procedures for rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) as previously described [32, 65]. In addition, the sequences at the ends of all M1 segments were determined in both directions by a modification of the 3'-ligation method described by Lambden et al. [66]. Briefly, viral genes from gradient-purified virions were resolved in a 1% agarose gel, and the M segments were excised and eluted with Qiagen columns as described above. Oligonucleotide 3'L1 (5'-CCCCAACCCACTTTTTCCATTACGCCCCTTTCCCCC-3'; phosphorylated at the 5' end and blocked with a biotin group at the 3' end) was ligated to the 3' ends of the M segments according to the manufacterer's directions (Boehringer Mannheim) at 37°C overnight. The ligated genes were repurified by agarose gel and Qiagen columns to remove unincorporated 3'L1 oligonucleotide and precipitated overnight with ice-cold ethanol. The precipitated genes were dissolved in 4 μl of 90% dimethyl sulfoxide. cDNA copies of the ligated M1 genes were constructed by using oligonucleotide 3'L2 (5'-GGGGGAAAGGGGCGTAATGGAAAAAGTGGGTTGGGG-3') and gene-specific internal oligonucleotide primers designed to generate a product of 0.5 to 1.2 kb in length. These constructs were amplified by PCR, purified in 1.5% agarose gels, excised, and eluted as described above. Sequences of these cDNAs were determined with gene-specific internal oligonucleotides and with oligonucleotide 3'L3 (5'-GGGGGAAAGGGGCGTAAT-3') by dideoxy-fluorescence methods.
Sequence analyses
DNA sequences were analyzed with DNASTAR, DNA Strider, BLITZ, BLAST, and CLUSTAL-W. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using the PHYLIP programs http://evolution.gs.washington.edu/phylip.html. DNAPARS (parsimony) (Fig. 3) and DNAML (maximum likelihood) (data not shown) produced essentially identical trees. These programs were run using the Jumble option to test the trees using 50 different, randomly generated orders of adding the different sequences. In addition, DNAPENNY (parsimony by brand-and-bound algorithm) generated a tree with the same branch orders as DNAPARS and DNAML. RETREE and DRAWGRAM were used to visualize the tree and to prepare the image for publication. Final refinement of the image was performed with Illustrator. Synonymous and nonsynonymous substitution frequencies were calculated according to the methods of Nei and Gojobori [67] as applied by Dr. B. Korber at http://hcv.lanl.gov/content/hcv-db/SNAP/SNAP.html. Codon frequencies in the M1 coding sequences were determined using the COUNTCODON program maintained at http://www.kazusa.or.jp/codon/countcodon.html. Values for codon frequencies in mammalian genomes were obtained from the Codon Usage Database maintained at http://www.kazusa.or.jp/codon/
Protein sequence analyses were performed using the GCG programs in SeqWeb version 2 (Accelrys). Multiple sequence alignments were done with PRETTY. Determinations of molecular weights, isoelectric points, and residue counts were done with PEPTIDESORT. Determinations of percent identities in pairwise comparisons were done with GAP. Plots of sequence identity over running windows of different numbers of amino acids (Fig. 4 and data not shown) were generated with PLOTSIMILARITY, and the image for publication was refined with Illustrator (Adobe Systems). In addition, protein sequences were analysed for conservative and nonconservative substitutions by pairwise CLUSTAL-W analyses, using BLOSUM matrix weighting [68].
Gradient-purified virus and core samples were dissolved in electrophoresis sample buffer (0.24 M Tris [pH 6.8], 1.5% dithiothreitol, 1% SDS), heated to 95°C for 3–5 min, and resolved in a 5–15% SDS-PAGE gradient gel (16.0 × 12.0 × 0.1 cm) [69] at 5 mA for 18 h. Some sets of resolved proteins were fixed, and stained with Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 and/or silver [70].
Immunoblotting
Gradient-purified viral and core proteins were resolved by SDS-PAGE as described above, and sets of resolved proteins were transferred to nitrocellulose membranes with a Semi-Dry Transblot manifold (Bio-Rad Laboratories) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer of all proteins was confirmed by Ponceau S staining. Nonspecific binding was blocked in TBS-T (10 mM Tris [pH 7.5], 100 mM NaCl, 0.1% Tween 20) supplemented with 5% milk proteins, and the membranes probed with polyvalent anti-μ2 antibody (a kind gift from Dr. E. G. Brown, University of Ottawa). Membranes were washed with TBS-T, reacted with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG (Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories), and immune complexes detected with the enhanced chemiluminescence system (Amersham Life Sciences) according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Infections and IF microscopy
CV-1 cells were maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagles medium (Invitrogen) containing 10% fetal bovine serum (HyClone Laboratories) and 10 μg/ml Gentamycin solution (Invitrogen). Rabbit polyclonal IgG against μNS [71] was purified with protein A and conjugated to Alexa Fluor 488 or Alexa Fluor 594 using a kit obtained from Molecular Probes and titrated to optimize the signal-to-noise ratio. Cells were seeded the day before infection at a density of 1.5 × 104/cm2 in 6-well plates (9.6 cm2/well) containing round glass cover slips (18 mm). Cells on cover slips were inoculated with 5 PFU/cell in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (137 mM NaCl, 3 mM KCl, 8 mM Na2HPO4 [pH 7.5]) containing 2 mM MgCl2. Virus was adsorbed for 1 h at room temperature before fresh medium was added. Cells were further incubated for 18–24 h at 37°C before fixation for 10 min at room temperature in 2% paraformaldehyde in PBS or 3 min at -20°C in ice-cold methanol. Fixed cells were washed with PBS three times and permeabilized and blocked in PBS containing 1% bovine serum albumin and 0.1% Triton X-100. Antibody was diluted in the blocking solution and incubated with cells for 25–40 min at room temperature. After three washes in PBS, cover slips were mounted on glass slides with Prolong (Molecular Probes). Samples were examined using a Nikon TE-300 inverted microscope equipped with phase and fluorescence optics, and images were collected digitally as described elsewhere [23]. All images were processed and prepared for presentation using Photoshop (Adobe Systems).
We thank T. S. Dermody for suggesting and providing virus isolates used in this work, J. N. Simonsen for helpful comments, and members of their laboratories for critical reviews of the manuscript. We also thank S. Taylor of the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health Core DNA Sequencing Facility, the University of Calgary Core DNA Sequencing Facility, and the University of Manitoba Department of Medical Microbiology Core DNA Sequencing Facility.
This research was supported by grants MT-11630 and GSP-48371 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (to K. M. C.), NIH grant R01 AI-47904 (to M. L. N.), a junior faculty research grant from the Giovanni Armenise-Harvard Foundation (to M. L. N.), and NIH grant K08 AI52209 (to J. S. L. P.). N. D. K. was the recipient of a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Post-Graduate Scholarship from the Government of Canada and T. J. B. received additional support from NIH grant T32 AI07061 to the Infectious Disease Training Program at Harvard Medical School.
12985_2004_6_MOESM1_ESM.ppt Authors’ original file for figure 1
12985_2004_6_MOESM2_ESM.eps Authors’ original file for figure 2
PY and NDK participated equally in designing primers and determining the T2J M1 sequence; TJB, MMA, and JSLP determined the M1 sequences of the T3C12 clone and other labs' T3D clones, as well as factory morphologies of all clones; and all authors participated in writing the manuscript. MLN and KMC are the principal investigators and KMC determined the M1 sequences of the other field isolates and ts mutants.
Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Manitoba, R3E 0W3 Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Thrasos Therapeutics, Hopkinton, MA 01748, USA
Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, N1G 2W1, Guelph, ON, 77843, Canada
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-3597, USA
Virology Training Program, Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
James A. Baker Institute for Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Bonnie Honig writes to the Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
[Letter by Bonnie Honig, hyperlinks added by CB]
Dear Chancellor Wise, (and Members of the Board of Trustees, and the UIUC community of faculty, staff, and students),
I wrote to you when I heard about the Steven Salaita case a couple of weeks ago and hoped you would reconsider. As I told you then, I am Jewish and was raised as a Zionist, and I was moved by the case. I write now in the hope that you might find some measure of empathy for this man. Please bear with me for 2 pages…. Continue reading “Bonnie Honig writes to the Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign”
Author christopherbrookePosted on August 24, 2014 March 3, 2019 Categories academics, americana, middle eastLeave a comment on Bonnie Honig writes to the Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
“In 1994-95 Hannibal’s march on Rome was recreated, though using buses rather then elephants…”
Josephine, over at the LRB blog.
Author christopherbrookePosted on August 17, 2014 Categories africana, friends and family, middle eastLeave a comment on “In 1994-95 Hannibal’s march on Rome was recreated, though using buses rather then elephants…”
One Hundred Things Norman Geras and I Corresponded About Over the Last Decade
Country music (including but not limited to Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Allison Krauss, and its relationship to suicide) — Marxism — The war in Iraq — The case the British government made for the war in Iraq — Media coverage of the war in Iraq — Differences between British and American media coverage of the war in Iraq — Dead socialists (including the question of whether or not Paul Sweezy was in fact dead: he wasn’t when we began corresponding on the question, but later he was) — Favourite novels — University admissions — Boycotts of Israelis — Blog technology issues — The paradox of democracy — Paul “The Thinker” Richards — Defamation law — French headscarves laws — International rugby partisanship — New Zealand and whether it is a dull country — Amnesty International — Italian anti-war demonstrations — Christopher Hitchens — The precise distance from Boulder, CO to Birmingham, AL — My Normblog Profile — The number of Red Sox supporters who have Normblog profiles — Where the Wild Things Are — Bob Dylan — Favourite films — A Mighty Wind — Nashville — Joan Baez — George W. Bush — The Hutton Inquiry — Lucio Colletti — Why the film Life is Beautiful is so terrible — The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind — Mobile telephones — Cricket — The various ways in which my students used to pronounce the name “Geras” — Rock stars — Exam marking — Arnold Lobel and his Mouse Tales — The Butler report — The Campo de’ Fiori in Rome — Shakespeare plays — Obnoxious right-wing writers (including Mark Steyn and Andrew Bolt) — American airport security checks — Terrorist threats — Socialist Register — The 2004 US Presidential election — Baseball — Visiting Oxford — Thomas Hobbes — Roman libraries — Classical composers (especially Schubert) — Jokes about rational choice theorists — The Tour de France — Etienne Balibar — Favourite actors — The excellence of kittens (and, more generally, cats) — American street names — Wendy Cope — Footnotes in Capital — Umpiring — Passport applications — Margaret Thatcher’s resignation — Margaret Thatcher’s poetry — Jews for Justice for Palestinians — Chavez and anti-Semitism — Academic plagiarism — David Aaronovitch as marathon runner — x-RCP front organisations — Robert Wokler — Academic jobs — Musicals — Australia — The rubbish-collection regime in Oxford — Tony Judt — Whether or not the Euston Manifesto was part of a “common, hysterical defense of the Anglo-Dutch financial system, and their permanent right to loot the economies of the world” — American practices of memorialization on campus — Flooding in Oxford — The Beatles — Jerry Cohen’s valedictory lecture — The New Left Review — Loyalty oaths — A Dance to the Music of Time — Merton College, Oxford — Visiting Manchester — Critical opinions about America — Puzzles involving marbles — Traffic robots — The Beach Boys — Tony Blair’s relationship with God — Bernard-Henri Levy looking funny in photographs — Authorisations to use military force — John Stuart Mill on international intervention — The Eurovision Song Contest — Adam Smith — Nick Cohen’s views about torture — Alfred Hitchcock films — The thorny question of whether seven-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was on drugs — The problems of travelling between Oxford and Cambridge.
Biggest regret? In July 2004, Norm wrote, “Might you have an interest in watching a Test or some part of one with me?”, and I never took him up on the suggestion.
His final words of the correspondence, from the start of this month: “My own care from the NHS has been exemplary.”
Author christopherbrookePosted on October 18, 2013 Categories academics, americana, animals, baseball, blog silliness, books, british politics, cambridge, cricket, culture, cycling, dsw, films, friends and family, leftwingery, life in britain, media, middle east, music, newspapers, oxford, rugby, sport, television, tkb / tcb, war on terror, world of blogs4 Comments on One Hundred Things Norman Geras and I Corresponded About Over the Last Decade
The Internet Hasn’t Yet Made Up Its Mind Where It Was, Exactly
Author christopherbrookePosted on May 2, 2011 Categories middle east, war on terror2 Comments on The Internet Hasn’t Yet Made Up Its Mind Where It Was, Exactly
The Webbs on the Show Trials
In honour of Anthony Giddens’ fine essay from the New Statesman in 2006 on “The Colonel and his Third Way“, I repost my favourite passage from the second edition of the Webbs’ Soviet Communism: A New Civilisation — the edition for which, famously, the question-mark was removed from the book’s original title:
“To many people in Great Britain, the outstanding feature of the record since 1934 is the series of trials of highly-placed Soviet citizens for high treason. That so many men in high official positions, mostly active participants in the revolution of 1917 and some of them companions of Lenin, should have committed such crimes has seemed to Western observers almost incredible. That in the course of the customary private investigations prior to the judicial trials the defendants should one and all have made full and detailed confessions unreservedly repeated in open court of the guilt not only of themselves but also of their fellow criminals seemed to raise the tragic story to the fantastic madness of a nightmare; it seemed that the confessions must have been forced on the prisoners by torture or the threat of torture.
“A distinguished Irishman hints that what needs explanation is the British procedure in criminal prosecutions, which differs so remarkably from that of all the other nations of Europe. In his view, the conduct of the prisoners in these Russian trials is in full accord with the Russian character. In England, our friend remarks, a prisoner indicted for treason is practically forced to go through a legal routine of defence. He pleads not guilty; his counsel assumes for him an attitude of injured innocence, demanding legitimate proof of every statement and setting up a hypothesis as to what actually happened which is consistent with the prisoner’s innocence. The judge compliments the counsel on the brilliant ability with which he has conducted his case. He points out to the jury that the hypothesis is manifestly fictitious and the prisoner obviously guilty. The jury finds the necessary verdict. The judge then, congratulating the prisoner on having been so ably defended and fairly tried, sentences him to death and commends him to the mercy of his God.
“May not this procedure, which seems so natural and inevitable to us, very intelligibly strike a Russian as a farce tolerated because our rules of evidence and forms of trial have never been systematically revised on rational lines? Why should a conspirator who is caught out by the Government, and who knows that he is caught out and that no denials or hypothetical fairy tales will help him to escape – why should he degrade himself uselessly by a mock defence, instead of at once facing the facts and discussing his part in them quite candidly with his captors? There is a possibility of moving them by such a friendly course: in a mock defence there is none. Our candid friend submits that the Russian prisoners simply behave naturally and sensibly, as Englishmen would were they not virtually compelled not to by their highly artificial legal system. What possible good could it do them to behave otherwise? Why should they waste the time of the court and disgrace themselves by prevaricating like pickpockets merely to employ the barristers? Our friend suggests that some of us are so obsessed with our national routine that the candour of the Russian conspirators seems grotesque and insane. Which of the two courses, viewed by an impartial visitor from Mars, would appear the saner?
“Nevertheless the staging of the successive trials, and the summary executions in which they ended appeared strangely inconsistent with the other actions of the Soviet Government. It must have been foreseen that this whole series of trials, the numerous shootings to which they led, the publicity and popular absue of the defendants which the Government apparently organised and encouraged, and especially the malignity with which Leon Trotsky, safe in far-off Mexico, was assailed, would produce a set-back in the international appreciation which the Soviet Union was increasingly receiving. The Soviet Government must have had strong grounds for the action, which has involved such unwelcome consequences.”
Source: Soviet Communism – A New Civilisation by Sidney and Beatrice Webb (Victor Gollancz, 1937), Postscript to the second edition.
Author christopherbrookePosted on February 23, 2011 Categories africana, leftwingery, middle east4 Comments on The Webbs on the Show Trials
The Full Monty
From my Balliol colleague Adam Roberts’ valedictory lecture, on retiring from the Montague Burton chair in International Relations at Oxford (and reproduced in this week’s Oxford Magazine):
Montague Burton (1885-1952), the great pioneer of mass production tailoring and the benefactor of the chair, was an incurable believer in modernity. In his extensive travels, his notes on which he published privately in two volumes entitled Global Girdling, he demonstrated a love of the modern and, with only a few exceptions, a dislike of antiquity. Visiting the Middle East in the 1930s, he hated the Pyramids and the Wailing Wall. By contrast he loved the railway on which one could glide from Cairo to Tel Aviv and thence to Jerusalem – a symbol of modernity to him that now seems to us to belong to an era long gone. He praise the Jerusalem Electricity Works – and he had no higher terms of praise than this – as ‘reminiscent of Bourneville and Port Sunlight. He was a passionate believer in the League of Nations: 6,000 of the employees at his Leeds factory belonged to the Montague Burton Branch of the League of Nations Union. His progressivism itself looks charmingly antique – as does his belief that if you put all men in suits you would deliver a body blow to the class system. Indeed, he developed ingenious schemes whereby customers could buy not just the suit but all that goes with it – the shirt, the tie, even socks and shows. This is almost certainly the origin of the phrase ‘The Full Monty’. I was tempted to entitle this lecture ‘The Full Monty’, but I don’t believe in encouraging false expectations, especially as by a perverse irony, thanks to Peter Cattaneo’s memorable 1997 film, The Full Monty now means the exact opposite of what it did originally.
Author christopherbrookePosted on January 13, 2008 Categories academics, films, middle eastLeave a comment on The Full Monty
Red Tape and Murder
Dan Hardie writes:
David Miliband is the Minister responsible for Government policy towards its Iraqi ex-employees, including those in fear of their lives. In a recent webchat on the Number 10website, Mr Miliband was asked the following question by Justin McKeating:
‘I would like to ask the Foreign Secretary why the assistance being offered to locally employed staff in Iraq, who are being threatened with reprisals – including torture and death – from local militias, is being rationed according to length of service. Isn’t it perfectly possible for an Iraqi employee who has only been employed for five months to face the same dangers as a colleague who has been employed for twelve months or longer?’…
[Read the Foreign Secretary’s reply, and more, over the fold.]
Continue reading “Red Tape and Murder”
Author christopherbrookePosted on December 12, 2007 Categories british politics, middle east1 Comment on Red Tape and Murder
Iraqi Employees: Letting Them Die
Dan Hardie writes: I’ve had emails from three people who claim to be – and who almost certainly are- Iraqi former employees of the British Government. All three say that they and their former colleagues are still at risk of death for their ‘collaboration’.
We’ll call the first man Employee One. He worked for the British for three years: ‘I started in the beginning of the war with Commandos (in 30 of March 2003) then continued with 23 Pioneer Regt, and in 08 / 07 / 2003 I have joined the Labour Support Unit (LSU)’. His British friends knew him as Chris. The British Government has announced that he can apply for help if he can transport himself to the British base outside Basra, or to the Embassies in Syria or Jordan. It doesn’t seem to occur to anyone that there might be problems with this. I can email and telephone this man: so can any Foreign Office official. It should not be impossible to verify his story and then send him the funds he needs to get to a less unsafe Arab country. But that is not happening.
Go over the fold for Dan’s email exchange with Employee One, details of two more cases, and information about what you — what we — can be doing about this.
Continue reading “Iraqi Employees: Letting Them Die”
Author christopherbrookePosted on November 26, 2007 Categories british politics, middle eastLeave a comment on Iraqi Employees: Letting Them Die
Camels, Wheels and Martin Ignoramis
Traffic has recently gone through the roof at the ironically-named Socialist Unity Blog, as Andy Newman has been giving us all invaluable blow-by-blow coverage of the split in the Respect coalition [now here and here]. And having built up a huge readership for the blog, it can finally turn its attention to the issues that matter — so Tawfiq Chahboune has been brooding on the issue that bugged me here and here, concerning Martin Amis, camels and wheels. Continue over the fold for the relevant portion, or visit the original over here.
Continue reading “Camels, Wheels and Martin Ignoramis”
Author christopherbrookePosted on November 5, 2007 May 19, 2019 Categories camelids, middle east, war on terror3 Comments on Camels, Wheels and Martin Ignoramis
On One’s Urges To Deport Muslims, etc.
There’s a helpful round-up of the recent Martin Amis kerfuffle over at Matt‘s place.
All I’ll add is that we need to see the remarks about his urges to stripsearch people who look as if they might be from Pakistan (etc.) in a slightly wider context. Amis is also someone who thinks he can discern murderous intentions towards his family in the glance of an Arab doing his job, who can write things like “the impulse towards rational inquiry is by now very weak in the rank and file of the Muslim male”, who seems to absorb Bernard Lewis-like explanations of historical problems when non-crazy explanations are readily available, who recycles inflammatory quotations from Hezbollah’s leader that circulate freely around the internet, but which no-one ever quite manages to trace back to an authentic-looking source, and so on.
(This last one strikes me as weird, because presumably it’s not too hard to find Hezbollah leaders saying offensive things, so why is the very-possibly-made-up quote the one that everyone’s heard somewhere or other?)
We can practice our careful reading skills as much as we like on that particular “urges” passage, and we can be as charitable towards him as we want to be (though we should also bear in mind that there’s a long history of people with really offensive views managing to present them in ways that aren’t quite so offensive on a charitable reading of their words). But Amis also has form here when it comes to saying the kinds of things about Muslims that the real crazies also like to say, and it’d be a shame to lose sight of that fact in the parsing of his words from the interview.
I’m not sure enough about what I really think is going on in Amis’s head (and I’m not interested enough in either him or his books to spend too much time on trying to work it out), but he seems to me to be somewhere on the slippery slope that has Mark Steyn and Melanie Phillips festering at the bottom, and it doesn’t look to me as if he’s too anxious to be stepping off it any time soon. (But perhaps I’m being uncharitable.)
Author christopherbrookePosted on October 13, 2007 Categories middle east, newspapers, religionLeave a comment on On One’s Urges To Deport Muslims, etc.
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TIPO DE BECA
TERMINA
Corto plazo
IPYL078 PALESTINA Hebron and Bethlehem Rehabilitation. cultural and environment- 17/06/2019 26/06/2019
IPYL078 “ This is Palestine ” “Empowering the commitment to the world Heritage”
Code: IPYL078
Place: Hebron and Bethlehem
Hosting Organization: IPYL-The International Palestinian Youth League and Battir landscape Eco-Museum Center (Bethlehem)
Work type: Rehabilitation. cultural and environment-
Number of Volunteers: 25 Internationals + 8 locals
Participation Fee: 300 Euros
This work camp will expose volunteers to life in the Occupied West Bank. Volunteers will conduct renovation work in Bethlehem, as well as in nearby Battir, an ancient village that has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage Program. The work in Battir will be supervised by the Battir Landscape Eco-Museum and the Palestinian ministry of tourism and antiquities (see below). The camp will also include one day in the Old City of Hebron, where volunteers willcarry out renovation work and visit a local children’s club.
The afternoons of the work camp will be dedicated to a program of educational and cultural activities. The aim is to expose volunteers to the reality of life in Palestine in the context of the ongoing Israeli occupation and the Palestinians people resilience. The program will educate volunteers on Palestinian culture and history, and the history of conflict in the region. The program will also introduce volunteers to various civil society entities who are working towards a future Palestinian state. Civil society plays a crucial role in Palestine, helping people to stay resilient in the face of the many challenges brought about by the occupation.
International Palestinian Youth League (IPYL)
IPYL is an organization that empowers Palestinian youth through educational programs, intercultural learning, training, media literacy and youth leadership activities. Since its inception, IPYL has implemented hundreds of projects in a range of fields. These include 77 international voluntary work camps in Palestine and 68 in work camps in other Middle Eastern countries. The organization also carries out youth exchanges, geopolitical study trips, media role in social empowerment, active citizenship and leadership, youth and women think tank groups and community meetings. For more info about IPYL, please visit https://www.ipyl.org.ME057 / IPYL067, the land where history started”
Battir Landscape Eco-Museum Center:
The Battir Landscape Eco-Museum Center is a local organization that aims to preserve Battir’s ancient sites following the village’s 2015 enlisting at the UNESCO World Heritage Program. The organization is active in renovation, landscaping and archeology. The center was established 10 years ago and now seeks help to renovate its old monuments and water canals that have survived for thousands of years. The landscape resembles the Babylon gardens. For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/BattirLandscapeEcomusuem
The work will include the following activities:
Renovation work within the village of Battir including its ancient water canals.
Assisting the rebuilding of a wall in Battir that leads to an ancient water cistern at the
edge of the village. This wall will help locals and internationals to reach the water
cistern, establishing it as a touristic attraction.
Renovation work in several locations beside the railway line that was established in the
Ottoman Empire era and that connected Turkey to Palestine. The railway line is
intended to serve as a future border between Palestine and Israel.
Activities with Palestinian children
Visits to the old parts and refugee camps in Hebron and Bethlehem
A detailed program will be sent to volunteers one month prior to the start of the work camp.
Cultural Activities:
The afternoon will be dedicated to educational and cultural activities that will expose volunteers to Palestinian culture and history, and that will help volunteers to understand the reality of life under occupation. The program will include lectures, documentaries, visits to refugee camps in the Bethlehem area and tours of other places of interest. The program will provide many opportunities for interaction with locals. Volunteers will have the opportunity to speak with Palestinian activists and to ask whatever questions they have about the situation in Palestine.
A detailed cultural program will be developed and sent to the participants one month before their arrival.
Accommodation: the volunteers will be hosted in a rented flat (s) in Bethlehem.Food will be prepared by the volunteers themselves in the flat’s kitchen facilities.
A final and detailed program as well as the arrival note will be sent one month before the camp starts.
DOCUMENTOS ADICIONALES REQUERIDOS
Carta de Motivos Específica en Inglés descarga aquí llénalo y guárdalo como PDF para adjuntarlo en tu aplicación
Esta beca tiene una cuota adicional, que deberás pagar antes de participar en el proyecto.
VIVE FINANCE
Esta beca cuenta con financiamiento para boleto de avión (VIVE FINANCE NO APLICA para beneficiarios de Programa Manos por el Mundo)
VIVE ASSIST
Adquiere tu seguro de viajero, VIVE ASSIST te ofrece tarifas preferenciales para adquirir tu seguro de viajero, asistencia de viaje 24/7, médica, personal y legal. Así mismo este programa te apoya a resolver todas las dudas sobre tus traslados al lugar donde fuiste aceptado, te dan orientación sobre vuelos, trenes y todo lo que necesites saber sobre tu viaje.
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Here’s the jersey Ireland will be wearing at the 2019 Rugby World Cup | Waterford News and Star
Here’s the jersey Ireland will be wearing at the 2019 Rugby World Cup
The IRFU have revealed their strip for the upcoming Rugby World Cup in Japan.
The jersey, made by Canterbury, will be worn by the likes of Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton when Ireland begin their quest for the Webb Ellis Cup on September 22.
Conor Murray, Robbie Henshaw and Bundee Aki in the new home kit. Picture: Irish Rugby
The home jersey “arrives in a familiar and distinctly Irish Bosphorous green with subtle white trim”.
The kit will incorporate “advanced technology and cutting-edge design”.
The alternate strip “comes in a striking anthracite and textured white.”
The alternate jersey features the Ogham script for ‘Aontacht‘ or ‘Unity’ which the IRFU says represents “the unique coming together of the four proud provinces of Ireland.”
Rory Best, Robbie Henshaw and Johnny Sexton in the new alternate kit. Picture: Irish Rugby
Irish rugby fans will have three jersey options to choose from:
Test: An exact replica of the one that will be worn by the players;
Pro: Retains the look of the Test jersey while offering a more comfortable fit;
Classic: Offers a contemporary design on the classic collared rugby jersey as well as women’s and children’s variants.
Commenting on the new kit, Ireland and Leinster centre Robbie Henshaw said: “Canterbury has produced a range of kit that ticks all the boxes from a player perspective in terms of functionality, comfort and design.
“First and foremost the kit needs to stand up to the physical and environmental challenges that await us in Japan, but it also needs to look good on and off the pitch, for players and fans alike.”
Simon Rowe, Head of Sports Marketing at Canterbury, added: “Our role as official kit partner to the IRFU is to provide the team with a bespoke kit, designed to meet the needs of the team and the environment they will encounter in Japan while also providing supporters with a stylish, comfortable and distinct range of replica wear allowing them to turn the world green where ever they may go.”
Ireland have been drawn in Pool A for the World Cup alongside Six Nations rivals Scotland, Russia, Samoa and host nation Japan.
Joe Schmidt’s side will kick-off their campaign on September 22 where they will take on Scotland in Yokohama City.
Should Ireland emerge from their pool in first place, they will face the runners-up from Pool B – a pool that features New Zealand, South Africa and Italy.
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Baby It’s Cold Outside – evidence of solar cycle affecting Earth’s cloud cover
News comes that the light reflected back from Uranus is affected by the solar cycle.
“The atmosphere around Uranus is one of the coldest in the solar system, but still contains clouds and ice, like our own atmosphere here on Earth.
“The changing brightness of the planet shows that something is happening to the clouds. We have found that the change is caused by two processes.
“One is chemical, caused as fluctuating levels of UV sunlight alters the colour of particles in the atmosphere. The other is due to high-speed particles from outside the solar system, known as galactic cosmic rays, bombarding the atmosphere and influencing the formation of clouds.”
The scientists used data from telescopes on Earth, as well as cosmic rays measured by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, to make their assessment.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-sun-remote-planet-uranus-brightness.html#jCp
To put that solar effect into perspective, the following is a schematic representation of the relative distances of the Earth and Uranus from the Sun:
If the solar cycle affects the climate of Uranus then it could reasonably be expected to affect Earth’s climate. The solar irradiance hitting Uranus is 3.69 W/m2, what hits Earth is 368 times greater. Svensmark’s theory of clouds being affected by cosmic rays is eternal; to recap the the changing interplanetary field controls the flux of galactic cosmic rays reaching the Earth which in turn changes the neutron flux and production of nucleation sites for cloud droplets. Clouds reflect 40 percent of sunlight straight back into space; open ocean absorbs 95 percent so the amount of cloud cover controls global temperature as shown by this graphic:
Figure 1: Tropical cloud cover 15N – 15S and global air surface temperature 1983 – 2009
The cloud cover data in Figure 1 came from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project which stopped in 2009 which is a pity because it was showing good support for Svensmark’s theory. Despite the fact that Solar Cycle 24 is weaker than Solar Cycle 23 in terms of sunspot number and F10.7 flux, total solar irradiance has been as constant as the northern star as shown by the LASP data in Figure 2:
Figure 2: Total solar irradiance aligned on solar minimum
Figure 2 shows that the Sun in Solar Cycle 24 has been tracking Solar Cycle 23 closely for the last few years. Figure 3 shows that the interplanetary magnetic field has been backloaded for this cycle with a new high in activity after solar maximum:
Figure 3: Interplanetary Magnetic Field 1966 – 2017
The sum of the magnetic field, the flow density and flow speed produces the solar wind flow pressure:
Figure 4: Solar Wind Flow Pressure 1967 – 2017
Sunspot number and F10.7 flux may be weak but the solar wind flow pressure is back to the levels it held over Solar Cycle 23, with the jump up in activity from solar maximum in 2014. The next stage in the process is the neutron flux that initiates cloud formation:
Figure 5: Oulu Neutron Count 1964 – 2017
The neutron count is back to levels above that of recent solar minima and the 1970s cooling period. Until recently climate hasn’t followed in response. The eternal question is the length of the current cycle and thus the timing of the next solar minimum.
Figure 6: Heliospheric Current Sheet Tilt Angle aligned on solar minima
Figure 6 shows that Solar Cycle 24 (red line) is tracking along with Solar Cycles 21 and 22 which were strong, short cycles. But anything could happen. When the solar wind flow pressure finally collapses into solar minimum, the neutron flux should reach a new high for the instrument record.
David Archibald is the author of American Gripen: The Solution to the F-35 Nightmare
December 31, 2017 in Astronomy, Clouds, Cosmic rays.
How Mars lost its water to space
Planning for the ‘Earth shattering kaboom’
NASA has a plan defend the Earth from asteroids
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227 thoughts on “Baby It’s Cold Outside – evidence of solar cycle affecting Earth’s cloud cover”
It doesn’t have to be cosmic rays that have the observed effect on Earth:
Bartleby says:
Of course not. But it does require a certain amount of intelligence. Not a lot, but some.
This guys analysis of the F-35 debacle is enough to get his ideas on the table all by itself, we can almost ignore physics.
Dr. S. Jeevananda Reddy says:
I published an article “power spectrum analysis” of global solar radiation and net radiation intensities. The results showed sunspot cycle and its multiples [10.5 plus or minus 0.5 years] for Indian stations.
Cube root of rainfall showed a relationship with solar radiation and evaporation [over northeast Brazil] & cloud cover to Sunshine hours, etc. published in 70s & 80s.
Dr. S. Jeevananda Reddy
I thought the ‘Science was Settled’ about fifteen-ish years ago.
Yet this suggests perhaps it is not.
Goodness.
donb says:
Cosmic rays are deflected from the solar system by magnetic fields associated with outflowing energetic solar particles. The flux of these particles and fields is much weaker at Uranus than at Earth, and thus the influence of the solar cycle on cosmic ray density in Uranus’ atmosphere would be less.
Evidence does exist of modulation of cosmic ray intensity by the solar cycle at the orbit of asteroids (between Mars and Jupiter).
and thus the influence of the solar cycle on cosmic ray density in Uranus’ atmosphere would be less.
Most of the solar modulation takes place in the outer solar system, way beyond Uranus.
It is the magnetic field associated with the outflowing solar particle field that diverts (bends) the charged cosmic ray particles. The degree of bending of such particles is proportional to the strength of that magnetic field. (The same process occurs in a mass spectrometer.) The magnetic field propagated out from the Sun decreases with the square of distance, and thus its effect becomes less.
You may be thinking of the helio-pause, which is the distance where the Sun’s particle field merges with the inter-stellar field, which does occur far out in the solar system.
The magnetic field propagated out from the Sun decreases with the square of distance, and thus its effect becomes less
The sun is rotating so the fiend is wound up around the sun which causes the field to decrease lineraly with distance far from the sun. Furthermore since the solar wind speed varies with longitude around the sun, solar wind with different speeds are emitted in the same directions as the sun is rotating. This causes the faster wind to crash into the slower wind creating shock waves in the outer solar system with enhanced and very tangled magnetic fields. It are those that deflect the cosmic rays. We also observe that from data from the two voyagers.
Solar wind protons propagate with an average energy of about 1 keV. Much more energetic particles are propagated via coronal mass ejections and solar flares, but the flux of these is much lower and much less uniform. If solar particles have a certain space density when near the Sun, how do they maintain that space density when they move outward and occupy a much larger space volume? It is not shock waves by solar particle collisions that bends a cosmic ray proton having 3 GeV of energy or more. It is the action of a relatively small but steady magnetic field operating on those over the vast distances of the solar system.
“At distances of ~94 AU from the Sun, the solar wind undergoes a transition, called the termination shock, from supersonic to subsonic speeds. The region between the termination shock and the heliopause acts as a barrier to cosmic rays, decreasing the flux at lower energies (≤ 1 GeV) by about 90%.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_ray#Cosmic-ray_flux
“A departure point for these time-dependent steps (both increases and decreases) from a global point of view is that ‘propagating barriers’ are formed and later dissipate in the outer heliosphere during the 11-year activity cycle. These ‘barriers’ are basically formed by solar wind and magnetic field co-rotating structures which are inhibiting the easy access of CRs to a relative degree.”
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1306.4421.pdf
These interaction regions occur at latitudes covered by the solar magnetic sectors and as those vary with the solar cycle causes a solar cycle modulation of cosmic rays as first proposed by Svalgaard and Wilcox in 1976:
http://www.leif.org/research/HCS-Nature-1976.pdf
lsvalgaard December 31, 2017 at 6:19 pm
..“A departure point for these time-dependent steps (both increases and decreases) from a global point of view is that ‘propagating barriers’ are formed and later dissipate in the outer heliosphere during the 11-year activity cycle. These ‘barriers’ are basically formed by solar wind and magnetic field co-rotating structures which are inhibiting the easy access of CRs to a relative degree.”..
Happy New Year Dr. S. and V.
By the time the IBEX was launched the solar system was already in declining solar cycle phases. (23 smaller then 22, 24 smaller than 23)
The heliosphere outer boundaries were in a state of change due to diminishing solar strength. A shrinking of the heliosphere, if you will.
But that’s not the question. lol
Below are the N/S polar strength from WSO. Why the different shape, progression, strength etc. in the North?
Seven Years of Imaging the Global Heliosphere with IBEX
D. J. McComas1, E. J. Zirnstein1, M. Bzowski2, M. A. Dayeh3, H. O. Funsten4, S. A. Fuselier3,5, P. H. Janzen6, M. A. Kubiak2, H. Kucharek7, E. Möbius7
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4365/aa66d8/meta
We are now able to study time variations in the outer heliosphere and interstellar interaction over more than half a solar cycle. We find that the Ribbon has evolved differently than the globally distributed flux (GDF), with a leveling off and partial recovery of ENAs from the GDF, owing to solar wind output flattening and recovery. The Ribbon has now also lost its latitudinal ordering, which reflects the breakdown of solar minimum solar wind conditions and exhibits a greater time delay than for the surrounding GDF. Together, the IBEX observations strongly support a secondary ENA source for the Ribbon, and we suggest that this be adopted as the nominal explanation of the Ribbon going forward.
http://wso.stanford.edu/gifs/north.gif
http://wso.stanford.edu/gifs/south.gif
Part of the reason for the WSO different behavior is due to the fact that WSO was broken in 2017, see:
http://www.leif.org/research/WSO-Problem.pdf
Carla, if you bother to read what it says on the WSO website you will see the following:
“Warning: WSO Polarization Sensitivity was reduced from mid-December 2016 to late on 18 May 2017 due to contamination on the Littrow lens. Calibration efforts are underway, but all reported magnetic measurements during that time period are about a factor of 1.6 too small.
Thanks to Leif Svalgaard for helping discover this anomaly.”
P.S. The ENA and the ribbon have nothing to do with the magnetic field in the heliosphere.
lsvalgaard January 1, 2018 at 9:29 am
Lighten up. I was just reading the, “WSO Magnetic Fields are
Suddenly Cut in Half [Again?]”
The article I posted ‘was’ paywalled. The price was right. Looking at images now. As I like to do first. lol
http://cdn.iopscience.com/images/0067-0049/229/2/41/Full/apjsaa66d8f22_lr.jpg
Figure 22. IBEX ENA maps of survival-probability-corrected 1.1 keV ENAs (top) compared to the time series (bottom) of the solar wind dynamic pressure at 1 au (white), and sunspot number (red). For typical “recycle” times across most of the sky of ~2–4 years (shaded for 2009 and 2016) and year-long maps (additional dotted lines), solar wind variations observed at any given time produce ENA emissions with this sort of multi-year time delay.
So, the ribbon has nothing to do with the magnetic field.
lsvalgaard January 1, 2018 at 10:44 am
Magnetic fluxes are relevant to that ahh, question.
Not so sure about that as yet.
The Interstellar Magnetic Field (ISMF) wraps around the heliosphere which is composed of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF), solar wind/density. The Interstellar Magnetic Field (ISMF) PILES UP during wrapping around the heliosphere. When it piles up, does it break and mix with IMF during the reconnection processes? Where do those ISMF fluxes go?
Is the Interstellar Magnetic Field (ISMF) positive or negative?
We know that propagation of GCR through heliosphere varies dependent of whether the solar cycle’s north pole is positive or negative. And that during solar maximum the polar fields are absent.
There is an ‘inward’ and outward winding of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field IMF (+-)
Like the role of geothermal heat from the outer core on Earth, there are still a lot of unanswered questions on the role of the Local Interstellar Medium and its associated Magnetic Fields influence on the heliosphere.
One of us has to do their dishes, make some split pea and ham soup and vacumn, read a newly downloaded paper yet today.
Repeat: the ribbon is not determined by the magnetic field [outside or inside the heliosphere].
Yeah, just walk away and get busy and think of something I should have added to the previous comment.
And we know that during solar cycle, the flux progression is from the polar regions to the equator and back again to the polar regions.
Not quite correct. A better characterization would be
“One can look at the solar cycle as a continuous conversion of the poloidal field to the toroidal field and back to the poloidal field. While the generation of the toroidal field is probably a rather deterministic and orderly process, the generation of the poloidal field seems to be a much more random process, as only a very small fraction (1%–2%) of the toroidal field is converted to polar fields by diffusion and/or circulation.”
From http://www.leif.org/research/ApJ88587.pdf
And again, this has nothing to do with the ribbon or the ENA.
Steven Hill says:
It’s going to cause world chaos when the next mini ice age comes.
Somehow I suspect that the UN’s approach to addresing that world chaos will involve wealth redistribution, an experiment in global Socialism, and Agenda 21.
I think it’s more than a suspicion.
Nah! Not them! Their strength is the strength of ten, for their heart is pure.
Notanist says:
“…Somehow I suspect that the UN’s approach to addresing that world chaos will involve wealth redistribution…”
Nowadays they just print the money they want for their projects, after keeping a cut for themselves of course. By the time the currency dilution makes its way down to the rest of us we’ll hardly notice that a loaf of bread now costs a percent or two more.
old white guy says:
as long as we have lots of oil and gas and coal we will make it through.
+100! Just so!
We don’t need to go to outer reaches of the solar system to realise the sun is primary driver
On this graph we can see that the North Hemisphere’s temperature data (CRUTemp4) has two prominent periodicities ascending well above the noise level:
– 9 years, most likely associated with the AMO 9 years decadal periodicity
– 21.8 years, most likely associated with solar magnetic cycle (2 x sunspot cycle) periodicity.
http://www.vukcevic.talktalk.net/CT4spec.gif
Unless it can be shown that the 21.8 periodicity has some other external source or alternatively some kind of an internal oscillation time constant, than it should be, within the reason, accepted to be a reflection of the solar activity effect on the NH’s temperature natural variability.
Unless it can be shown that the 21.8 periodicity has some other external source or alternatively some kind of an internal oscillation time constant,
Ignorance about something cannot be taken as evidence for something else…
“….. evidence for something else….”
and what that ‘something else’ might be ?
When confronted with a certain phenomenon I can not explain it is the luck of knowledge, but others are at liberty to reject it’s existence.
rbabcock says:
Like the Sun is the ultimate causal effect on the Earth’s climate?
“lsvalgaard December 31, 2017 at 12:04 pm
Isvalgaard is absolutely correct, vukcevic.
“vukcevic December 31, 2017 at 12:47 pm
It’s known as “Argumentum ad Ignorantiam”, “argument from ignorance” is one of the classic logical fallacies and one continually used by alarmists. Hence their use of waffle words and false adjective boosters; e.g. might, could, may, robust, “must be”, “only remaining thing”, etc.
The plain truth is such claims are assumptions, beliefs, speculation and of course, opinion. None of theose are science or part of the scientific process.
“but others are at liberty to reject it’s existence”, when opinions, speculations, assumptions, and belief claims are presented as some sort of science; any description of those claims should clearly identify them as possibilities or theories in progress.
“vukcevic December 31, 2017 at 10:46 am
All assumption and presumptions that self falsifies as unproven assumptions that an assumed correlation may could in a far fetched manner might possibly hold merit…
ATheoK
Thank you for your extensive comment. I’m not sure I understood all of it, perhaps you should followed Dr. Svalgaard and simply say “Vuk you are an ignoramus”.
That doesn’t seem to stop the IPCC!
There always have been those who relentlessly attempted to halt progress of human understanding of science and natural events in general. Motivations are various and many, ranging from defending institutional status quo, personal income or dubious status to promoting alternative theories.
More importantly see my comment at : January 1, 2018 at 5:21 am
J Martin says:
Vuk, either I’ve had too much gin, not enough gin, or I need some replacement memory cells. But I thought the AMO was a 60 year cycle. Isn’t 9 years a lunar cycle ?
“We identify one strong narrow spectral peak in the AMO at period 9.1 ± 0.4 years and p-value 1.7% (CL 98.3%).”
Richard A. Muller & Judith Curry : Decadal Variations in the Global Atmospheric Land Temperatures
I think it is just great that we have so much information on the science behind everything, unfortunately it will change nothing.
F. Leghorn says:
Wish we could actually predict the future climate. It is cooold today and I don’t like it.
Ricdre says:
You think you’ve got problems, pity the poor New York residents as they will be under water by tomorrow morning per James Hansen: http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/12/31/climate-expert-james-hansen-new-york-vanished-underwater-midnight/
Frozen water? Or globally warmed ice?
highflight56433 says:
Well, today New York is still “afloat.” Sad 🙂
Maybe the current 400 feet of sea level rise over the last few thousand years is continental sinking into the basalt abyss and the continents just hit bottom in recent times. Another topic.
ug high temp today in mid maine was 2F.
started morning out at -13f and tonight will be -16f or so.
next Saturday the high is supposed to be -3 F.
cold weather really taking a toll on machinery and fuel usage.
forgot to mention with wind chills its been -12f to -18f all day
Fig 1 suggests that tropical cloud cover increases as global temperature rises as per the age old historical observation that air above the oceans has a maximum possible temperature whatever the level of insolation.
Shouldn’t we be seeing less cloud cover with a more active sun and the temperature following (subject to oceanic thermal inertia) ?
If one considers global cloud cover rather than tropical cloud cover then we get the correct signal, hence my preference as regards consideration of the clouds generated by jet stream tracks. More when the jets are wavy at a time of quiet sun and less when the jets are zonal at a time of active sun.
That involves a change in the gradient of tropopause height between equator and poles which would not need any change in condensation nuclei of which there are more than enough anyway which is why I doubt the Svensmark diagnosis.
Stephen your theory can coexist with Svensmark.
Do you think a wayward jet stream causes blocking highs?
ironicman,
It could coexist with Svensmark but I don’t think it does because there is no shortage of condensation nuclei in the first place so more make little difference.
The wayward jets are caused by blocking highs which are a consequence of the warmer stratosphere above the poles when the sun is less active pushing tropopause height downward and forcing areas of colder denser air outwards from the poles.
The jets tend to thread their way between high pressure cells.
Thanx for that insight Stephen.
David……..”Uranus ……. something is happening to the clouds.”
What is happening?….more clouds…less clouds?
On aside….I live on a rock out in the tropical ocean….this has been the cloudiest summer, fall, and winter we’ve ever had….days and weeks of cloudy overcast…not really rain…just cloudy…sorta depressing from what we’re used to
Yeah, I “feel” for you and your depression as my toes freeze off. Happy New Year anyway. grumble, grumble.
Bartleby you should be banned. Do everybody a favor and just shut up.
I think we are all pretty much over the “Uranus” jokes.
Can’t we just change the name of that planet to Urectum and be done with it?
Sparks says:
The giggle factor is always there (we’re all guilty) when discussing a planet called ‘Uranus’ it is difficult enough to bring a topic up for debate surrounding the planet, as it really is a fascinating planet,
Did nurses stand around giggling behind a screen when a proctologist put a finger in your butt or something?
Try to have a more professional composure.
By the way, the secret of comedy is.
rocketscientist says:
Is it only me, or does any one else see the pun in the opening line? Must be a full moon cycle too!
Yeah, especially since Uranus is typically where the sun DON’T shine.
All right, I’ll say it you won’t.
Is there life on Uranus?
So, since I was there when this happened, I have an opinion.
We no longer pronounce Uranus as “your anus”. As soon as we discovered the rings around Uranus back in ’79 or ’80 (I can’t remember, senior moment), we decided the new pronunciation would be “Yer a nus” with emphasis on the “nus” part. Like that helped. No one paid any attention, so we were stuck with discovering the rings around your anus. If I have to live with that, so do the rest of you.
Maybe a better example of the acceptable pronunciation is “Yer uh nus”.
I know this won’t help. I’ve been trying for more than 30 years. But that’s what we decided at the time.
RS Brown: There is life there, but not as you would wish to know it!
It did not help a bit that the rings were dark brown.
As for life there…Well< I was going to make a Klingon joke, but Javier will tell me to shut up if I do that.
Menicholas,
Bartleby was showing totally inappropriate behavior and insulting Leif. He has been put in moderation, so my view of his behavior is shared by Anthony. I have no problem with jokes no matter how bad or tasteless they are. I think we all stand to win if commenters abstain from personal attacks no matter to whom.
There is more than 50% chance that the solar activity is at the threshold of one of its centenary Grand Minima (late 1600s, early 1810s and almost early 1910s), and if so it is a matter how long it may last, from one or two up to five decades. All of the Grand Minima were accompanied by considerable cooling from the previously warmer periods. More people are brainwashed about supposedly CAGW, more of a surprise or even shock is waiting around the corner.
Bob boder says:
50% chance, says who?
Dr. Svalgaard’s graph
http://www.leif.org/research/New-TSI-from-Group-Number.png
cephus0 says:
What of it? Hansen and the warmunards are busy writing papers which claim that mini-ice age conditions can be triggered by CO2 warming. Effectively now covering every conceivable climatic scenario. How they think they can get away with proposing something as fundamentally unfalsifiable and blatantly anti-scientific as that is anyone’s guess.
A shock? Why? They’ve been getting away with for years. Nothing to stop them now.
“more of a surprise or even shock is waiting around the corner.more of a surprise or even shock is waiting around the corner.”
Personally I’m banking on being dead long before this rather obvious transition takes place. And I’m buying property close to the equator where people speak English.
evidence of solar cycle affecting Earth’s cloud cover
The title is misleading. The evidence is that the solar cycle is affecting the color of Uranus’ cloud cover.
The solar cycle is also affecting the Earth’s upper atmosphere [the ionosphere and thermosphere], but there is no evidence that it is affecting the cloud cover.
also the formation of clouds…
“Changes in solar activity influence the colour and formation of clouds around the planet,”
Misquote. Uranus is always completely covered with thick clouds. [not water clouds and not condensed around anything]. Completely different physics from Earth’s.
Something is not jiving here…..You say Uranus is always completely covered with thick clouds…..and Sromovsky says “Only a limited number of small bright clouds at middle latitudes in both hemispheres”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Uranus
anywho..they don’t qualify more clouds? less clouds?…brighter clouds?….dimmer clouds??
…what is the sun making the clouds do on Uranus right now?
“…Misquote. Uranus is always completely covered with thick clouds. [not water clouds and not condensed around anything]…”
Not all clouds on Uranus are “water clouds,” but those at lower pressure are.
“…Completely different physics from Earth’s…”
Which physical laws are different? This should be good…
Not all clouds on Uranus are “water clouds, but those at lower pressure are
Higher pressure:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Tropospheric_profile_Uranus_new.svg/600px-Tropospheric_profile_Uranus_new.svg.png
The data is not very convincing:
http://www.leif.org/research/Uranus-Brightness-Solar-Cycle-Power.png
They have no explanation for the other peaks.
There is no evidence for condensation around ions, other than a model simulation of Neptune.
Kind lf like CO2 being the thermostat for Earth’s climate.
No!? Say it isn’t so!
Some absurdly impotent gas might destroy the entire human universe? It couldn’t be!
Send Leif money. He’ll save you from this disaster. He has a degree. In Science!
I would appreciate it very much if you were to take “Dr. Svalgaard’s” commentary on this subject and future subjects in this topic with a large grain of salt.
Dr. Svalgaard is making claims inconsistent with known science; in fact it is well known and understood that the sun (our star) is responsible for providing all energy available on our planet. To suggest otherwise is pure tomfoolery. I’m myself an emeritus of the institution he claims allegiance with and I find his commentary noisome in the extreme.
Bartleby.
Two things:
1. Dr, Svalgaard stands behind his words by publishing his full name to his comments, you don’t.
2. I’ve met and know Dr. Svalgaard personally, he argues from a scientific basis, even if that basis is unpopular.
So, no.
Speak for your own anus Leif. The rest of us will take care of managing our own?
[snip – that’s an ugly and pathetic attack, and a policy violation – and you want me to listen to your suggestions about Dr. Svalgaard? I think not. You are on moderation now- Anthony]
There is supposed to be moderation for the prevention of such childish ad homs on here.
But again it fails.
ToneB: I agree.
Bartleby, apparently you cannot manage your behavior, let alone scientific discourse. As a result, you nullify your own comments. Go away unless you can join adult discussions. So far, I see no such ability in you.
Plain language summary from the paper, bold mine:
“Measurements of the planets Uranus and Neptune have been made using a telescope, for every year from 1972 to 2015. How bright a planet appears to us is an indicator of the cloud cover in its atmosphere. An 11 year brightness variation was spotted in the Neptune observations many years ago, indicating that a process linked to the the Sun’s 11 year activity cycle affects the planet’s clouds. This inspired us to look at the data for Uranus more closely, and we found the same signal as for Neptune. There are two possible explanations. One possibility is chemical, when light from the Sun affects the color of particles in the planet’s atmosphere. Our other possibility is that energetic particles from outside the solar system, cosmic rays, influence particle, or cloud formation. (Cosmic rays are “bent” away from the solar system by the Sun acting as a magnet, so are also affected by its 11 year activity cycle). In our results, we actually find that both of them have a small effect on the clouds on Uranus. This is the first evidence of two planetary atmospheres—Neptune originally and now Uranus—showing similar variations, in both cases originating from their host star.”
From the abstract-
“The statistics show that 24% of the variance in reflectivity fluctuations at 472 nm is explained by GCR ion-induced nucleation, compared to 22% for a UV-only mechanism. Similar GCR-related variability exists in Neptune’s atmosphere; hence, the effects found at Uranus provide the first example of common variability in two planetary atmospheres driven through energetic particle modulation by their host star.”
frankclimate says:
However: if GCR would effect cloud cover (CC) and on this way the GMST one would see some energy in the fourier of the GMST. This is not the case. This says NOT that the arerosols aren’t produced (Svensmark is right perhaps) BUT that these aerosols do not have the impact on Clouds ( aka aerosol-cloud interactions:ACI) that climate models estimate. This has wide ranging influences on the sensivity vs. GHG, those are LOWER than models estimate. One big forcing vs. GHG is calculated from ACI. This is low ( negligible) as some recent papers suggest from observations of ship tracks and volcanos. A direct outcome is: Climate sensivity vs. GHG must be smaller than models estimate.
BTW: A happy new year 2018 for all following this blog!
co2isnotevil says:
“International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project which stopped in 2009 which is a pity …”
I agree that this is a useful data set. It suffers from a cross satellite calibration issue owing to its dependence on continuous polar orbiter coverage, but this primarily affects the reconstructed surface temperatures and not the cloud properties. The scatter plots at this link shows how many of the reported and derived variables are related to each other. The relationship between total cloud cover and temperature is particularly interesting as are those between the surface temperature, solar forcing and planet emissions.
http://www.palisad.com/co2/sens
While it may be coincidental, the data stopped being updated shortly after I demonstrated to Rossow how his data supported a sensitivity far lower than his source of funding (GISS) wants people to believe. At the time, he was trying to convert to higher resolution pixels which I seem to recall was because they hoped that at a better resolution, the data would show what they were expecting relative to positive cloud feedback which the existing ISCCP data doesn’t confirm.
I also have the DX data (almost 1 TB) from which I was able to reverse engineer away the cross satellite calibration issues and cross check my reconstructions of planet emissions and cloud reflectivity based on what was reported in the D2 data.
Hugs says:
https://isccp.giss.nasa.gov/overview.html
Wow. They stopped the ISCCP cloud project in 2010. Trump, order GISS to do their work.
I’m sure though there are other sources for the data, just how telling it is to stop a project like this. And, to add insult to the injury, it was an Obama era event.
Yes, this was a useful project.
The data is actually collected by NOAA from the polar orbiters and geosynchronous satellites covering the Americas and also by international agencies collecting data from satellites covering Europe, India and Asia. This data is still being collected by those agencies.
The value added by the ISCCP project was to convert the data from these various sources into a consistent format and make it available, along with several derived data products. Cross calibration was an added value, except for the flaw in the algorithm that depended on continuous coverage by a polar orbiter whenever another satellite is replaced. In 2001, there was only one polar orbiter left (there have usually been at least 2) which itself was drifting a bit. It was replaced with a new generation of satellite with a different receiver characteristic. The sudden shift in the reference was something the algorithm couldn’t deal with and led to about a 3C jump in the baseline surface temperature. This jump is often pointed to as why the ISCCP data is not useful, but to be clear, it’s only not useful for establishing temperature ‘anomalies’. It’s very useful for understanding the average transfer functions, how clouds behave from a macroscopic point of view and is even useful for measuring trends once the calibration issues are addressed.
Stephen Duval says:
It is not at all surprising that Obama admin stopped this research that posed a threat to the Gorebull Warming Hoax.
The Obama admin also stopped a very low cost ($20m annually) research project on Low Dose Radiation Damage that was studying cellular repair mechanisms for radiation damage. This research threatened the Linear No Threshold Hypothesis of radiation damage that is the foundation for the anti nuclear energy alarmists.
Greens use junk science (Gorebull Warming and LNT) to sideline US nuclear and coal so that the new natural gas from fracking is used to generate electricity rather than to compete with oil in the transportation sector. The beneficiary of this policy is the OPEC monopoly in the transportation sector.
Greens expose their hypocrisy since coal is attacked for generating CO2 while nuclear is also attacked even though it is the solution to CO2 emissions.
Two years should settle the argument, plenty of time to get Svensmark’s Noble prize ready.
Me thinks he would have to share it with Jasper Kirby.
lower case fred says:
Don’t you mean Jasper Kirkby. If you are going to give him a NOBEL prize it should have his name spelled correctly.
Mote likely his d3n!3r oubliette.
I have spent a long time trying to see a link between the sun and our climate. I mention a few of the things I have considered just to stimulate the thinking of others who may have ideas that I have missed.
– Modulation of GCRs affect cloud formation as Svensmark suggests.
– Changes in solar wind affect cloud formation
– Changes in solar magnetic field affects arrival of cosmic and meteorite dust
– Changes in solar cycle affect gravimetric changes and ocean overturning
– Changes in TSI UV content that change atmospheric chemistry
The solar effect could be a combination of these or perhaps none.
I hope that Svensmark is correct, but one question I have is what key differences are there between the solar wind and GCRs in terms of interactions leading to cloud seeding?
Both contain electrons and the nuclei of hydrogen, helium, etc. and have high energies (velocity). Why do the modulated GCRs have a greater effect?
The GCRs arrive at a velocity approaching that of the speed of light. The GCRs
use the atmosphere as their personal cloud chamber. Atom smashers.
The solar wind is much more sedate.
The GCRs arrive at a velocity approaching that of the speed of light.
really??
TonyL says:
@ frankclimate
Yes. They are really moving. They are way up in the relativistic velocity range. As a result, they can have energy levels orders of magnitude greater than the most energetic gamma rays.
neutronman2014 says:
https://helios.gsfc.nasa.gov/gcr.html
I wonder about the outgoing aspect of the total “energy budget” . . in terms of potential changes in airborne water’s “greenhouse effect” due to changes in the earth’s magnetic field. All that incoming energy from the sun has to go out, and since water is the chief “greenhouse gas”, and water is effected by magnetic fields, it seems to me there is potential for non-incoming changes in the “radiation equation” . .
Another difference is that GCR have higher energy, and although they increase with latitude they hit all over the Earth. Solar wind particles are lower energy and enter the Earth almost exclusively at the poles. If there was an effect of solar wind on clouds it should be on polar clouds. In the same manner it is known that the solar magnetic field is capable of affecting surface pressure at the poles (Svalgaard-Mansurov effect).
So if you want to propose an effect on climate it is easier with GCR. With solar wind you would have to also explain how a polar effect should affect the climate of the entire planet. It is not impossible, but gets more complicated, as the changes have to be bigger.
Sorry, my fourth bullet point should have been gravitational, not gravimetric.
No. Solar changes are tiny as is human contributions to the natural greenhouse effect. Intrinsic changes are yet to be fully understood. All other factors need to take a wait-in-line ticket.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18949-the-history-of-ice-on-earth/
Why do I hate wind chills? Because it depends on which way you are running…Into the wind wear gloves – with the wind, take the gloves off…
Wind chill factor was adjusted to reflect a lesser effect after the CAGW agenda. hmmmm
UV? maybe the ring on Uranus gets bleached too.
I remember back in the olden days, when we just called it Winter, and everyone knew that some Winters were very cold in some places, others were very cold in other places, and some Winters were not so cold.
But no one was all confused or angry about it, one way or the other.
Michael Anderson says:
That’s because, as my 14-year old likes to say, nobody had figured out how to make money off it yet. (insert sound of mic drop)
Excellent point.
Gerald Machnee says:
Now I remember, My grandfather used the same term.
Perhaps the distance relationship may be accurate but the size relationship is WAY off.
One is too hot, one is too cold and the little one is just right.
As an old Floridian you know comparing Earth & Uranus is like comparing ‘oranges and lemons’, or the cockney chap I learned English would have it Bells of St. Clements.
Not sure why you’re obsessing on this point. The takeaway from the Uranus gig for me was simply that if as demonstrated the Sun is capable of driving observable physical changes in the atmosphere of outer gas giants then it isn’t unlikely that it can do so on Earth.
Because Uranus effect is of totally different nature to that what we see on the Earth. Density of both solar wind and CME at clouds Uranus (distance 18 – 19 AU) are only a fraction of what is the case at the Earth’s orbit (1 AU).
In addition Jupiter & Saturn magnetospheres are huge, they take relatively large spatial angle of heliosphere, and doing so shield Uranus every 19 and 30 years from any effect of solar activity, leaving it open to only its own magnetic field as a defence from the GCR .
You can clearly see those periodicities in the spectral response of the effect provided:
https://i0.wp.com/www.leif.org/research/Uranus-Brightness-Solar-Cycle-Power.png
9 year component is most likely second harmonic of the 19 year one.
Oranges & lemons.
taxed says:
Back in 2011 which looking through the Met Office climate summaries l was struck by how close the trends for annual sunshine amounts and annual mean temps for the UK matched. Since 1930 when sunshine amounts have fallen so do the mean temps and when sunshine amounts increase so do the mean temps. The match is not perfect but was amazed by how close it was.
From 1997…amazing how far we’ve come in 20 years…
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/galleries/clouds-on-uranus
“…Using visible light, astronomers for the first time this century have detected clouds in the northern hemisphere of Uranus…Uranus has also been called bland and boring, because no clouds have been detectable in ground-based images of the planet. Even to the cameras of the Voyager spacecraft in 1986, Uranus presented a nearly uniform blank disk, and discrete clouds were detectable only in the southern hemisphere…”
azeeman says:
I don’t know about Uranus, but mine is freezing.
Mike Schlamby says:
I don’t know how light can be reflected back from a place where the sun don’t shine…
Light reflected by Uranus … and it’s not even 1-April !
There is something odd about those two spectral diagrams. Looking closely I noticed some doted lines; after a bit of enhancement I got this
http://www.vukcevic.talktalk.net/Uspec.gif
Spectral components are the same but amplitudes were greatly reduced in the normally visible version.
Graphs we see are from Dr. Svalgaard’s library, I don’t know if he noticed this before.
The dotted lines show the ‘error bars’. I.e. the distance between the dotted lines is an indication of the error bar.
What is interesting about Figure 6 is that the peaks are aligned at 47 months into the cycle.
What is interesting about Figure 6 is that the peaks are aligned at 47 months into the cycle
No, that is not interesting at all. It is an artifact of the fact that everything above 55 degrees is just one pixel on the WSO magnetograms. In fact, the tilt should [by definition] go all the way to 90 degrees at every sunspot maximum, but the instrument cannot resolve that because of the coarse spatial resolution.
More dezinformatsiya from Dr Svalgaard, or should I say Dr Svalgaardokov, I am inclined to report you to Mueller’s Russian collusion investigation.
As a co-discoverer of the Heliospheric Current Sheet and a co-developer of the Wilcox Solar Observatory it may be presumed that I know I am talking about. You, sir, on the other hand show clear evidence that you do not.[In addition your comment is juvenile and demeans WUWT].
I agree Dr. Svalgaard, and I’m disappointed that David Archibald would stoop to this.
IanH says:
What has happened to science?, did science start with the age of internet searchable papers?. The phys.org article states The papers provide the first evidence that two planetary atmospheres have similar variations, in both cases originating from their host star.
Guess what?, in 1977 BBC popular science documentary Horizon (Season 14 Episode 6) “The Sunspot Mystery” described the very same observations of planetary brightness (and Earth climate) variations with sunspot numbers. And the climate guys back then had a refreshingly guarded approach to climate prediction – save one (you would have to watch it to find out who !).
It does seem that old knowledge is having to be revisited for whatever reason.
Before astrophysicists with their radiation budgets (that is all they have in astrophysics) invaded the climate scene it was well known amongst meteorologists that the greenhouse effect (or whatever nomenclature one prefers) was attributable to conduction and convection operating within a gravity induced pressure and density gradient. That was clear in the 50s and 60s when I first studied the subject.
Al the old text books to that effect appear to have been disposed of one way or another.
Chris Clark says:
Yes, I remember reading about the 11-year variation in the apparent brightness of Uranus and Neptune in the early 70s. Corliss has something about this in his Catalog of Astronomical Anomalies (Moon and Planets volume).
“The cloud cover data in Figure 1 came from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project which stopped in 2009 which is a pity because it was showing good support for Svensmark’s theory. ”
Could you explain why.
I know what it “supports”, and it certainly isn’t that.
What does the Bible say? There are none so blind who will not see.
archi:
Perhaps you will enlighten us.
Then I will tell you meteorology at play.
What DOES the Bible say?
…Thou shalt not lie
Therefore the entire Bible is then true.
Genesis 1:14 …Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for SIGNS, and FOR THE SEASON, AND FOR THE DAYS, AND YEARS…
Therefore, since the sun, a star in the firmament of the heaven, we can now answer the question. Is it the sun?
Looks like someone knew long before CAGW stepped in it. 🙂
P.S. not mocking…mocking is bad.
Sunspot cycles last approximately 11 years, and their presence in the climate data is hardly detectable, however the ~22 year periodicity is present in both, the land and the land & ocean data
http://www.vukcevic.talktalk.net/TempSpec.gif
the 22 year cycle is caused by change in the polarity of solar magnetic field, and it has an effect on the length of the maximum GCR impact.
When polarity changes, the trajectory of the GCRs towards the earth also changes from the heliosphere’s polar region to one from the equatorial region, and vice versa.
Result of this is a considerable change in duration of the maximum impact of the cosmic rays.
http://www.vukcevic.talktalk.net/GCRmod.png
Following even cycles maxima, the maximum impact of the GCRs can lasts up to 7-10 years while following odd cycles maxima the maximum GCR impact lasts only couple of years.
Since it is postulated (Svensmark & Kirby) that the GCR variability changes cloudiness, the length of the GCR’s maximum impact will also affect global cloudiness and the global temperature spectral composition (as shown above).
GCR variability illustration is from lecture Solar Activity and Climate given by a renown solar scientist Hiroko Miyahara, from the University of Tokyo ( link, the relevant bit is at 9.00 min in, while the GCR effect starts at 7.30 min in).
There will be attempts to refute the above as it has happened on number occasions before, and no doubt it will happen again.
Happy New Year to all.
This is a second order effect and even as such there is no clear evidence that GCRs influence the climate and especially not on a 22-yr time scale. We may presume that Svensmark et al. knows what their hypothesis entails and that does not include a 22-yr variation, but rather an 11-yr cycle.
In response to another of your comments: what you do is not science and is not progress.
What is the average time that it takes the suns polarity to reverse from one geographic location to the other and back again?
There is a number of 11 years being thrown about as an average of how long the suns polarity goes from the geographic poles to the equator.
11 years is a polarity reversal of 180 degrees, in your opinion, what constitutes as 360 degrees?
The solar poles do not reverse by rotating 180 or 360 degrees. Instead, what happens is that the old polarity is slowly replaced [in place – i.e. in the polar caps] by the new [opposite] polarity coming up from lower latitudes by movements of the solar plasma [from equator to poles]. The process is described here
http://www.leif.org/research/ApJ88587.pdf
This has nothing whatsoever to do with the movements of the planets.
during last 75 years (since peak of 1940s) N.H. temperature change by 0.4C, which is 0.1% of its absolute value, I would call that second order change too.
“We may presume that Svensmark et al. knows what their hypothesis entails and that does not include a 22-yr variation, but rather an 11-yr cycle.”
that sounds a bit odd coming from a scientist, I’m not particularly concerned what Svensmark knows or not, I look at the data, do bit of analysis and report, it’s lot of fun, if not much of science as you would insist.
Presumably, Svensmark looks at the data too, and perhaps has a better background in science to interpret what he sees and how plausible the result may be. He is not in it for the fun, but for the truth [he may not have gotten it yet] and is trained as a scientist to not be fooled by spurious correlations [although he is not quite successful at this]..
*and back (peak to peak)
Searching for truth in science is a hopeless task, there is no final or everlasting scientific truth. Science is bound within the constraints of the laws that the fallible humanity has devised. The nature is an inflexible lady, she couldn’t care less for ‘scientific’ truth as we see it.
there is no final or everlasting scientific truth
Not true. Examples of everlasting scientific truths: the Earth is round, it revolves around the sun [not the other way around],. sunspots are magnetic, the Universe is expanding, there is Helium in the Sun, the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, CO2 is plant food, etc, etc, etc.
Now, for scientific truth there are legions of pseudo-scientific nonsense peddled by ignorant people.
Lief,
“what happens is that the old polarity is slowly replaced [in place – i.e. in the polar caps] by the new [opposite] polarity coming up from lower latitudes by movements of the solar plasma [from equator to poles].”
Old and new polarity… what? it’s a straight forward concept being expressed,
if it takes a bar magnet 11 years to turn upside down 180 degrees, how long does it take the bar magnet to turn 360 degrees?
I am discussing solar polarity on this issue, I’m open to discuss other components of the solar system too, I enjoy the subject.
Polarity denotes the direction of a magnetic field. Perhaps you have a reading problem.
The sun has a global magnetic field with poles at the North and South poles of the sun. Currently the direction of the magnetic field at the North pole is directed away from the Sun’s surface [we call that positive or north polarity]. At the South pole the magnetic field is currently pointed into the sun. We call that negative of south polarity]. The magnetic field at the poles does not move around on the sun [like rotating from from pole to the other – although there are some people who mistakenly believe so], but grows and shrinks in response to magnetic flux moving up from lower latitudes. The process is described here:
P.S. I have no idea what you are talking about [neither does the sun]. I hope you have.
“Polarity denotes the direction of a magnetic field.”
A bar magnet coloured red denotes the direction of its polarity, if it took 11 years to reverse the bar magnet 180 degrees, how long would it be until it reversed 360 degrees?
“Currently the direction of the magnetic field at the North pole is directed away from the Sun’s surface”
You’re suggesting that the sun only has a surface towards its equator because the N polarity is at rest over a geographic pole, when in fact you are no longer observing resistance of both polarities interacting through the surface moving toward and away from the equator.
The suns polarity is 4 dimensional (xyz plus time) and it is instantaneous. it isn’t a photon of visible light and it isn’t mass,
Here’s a question, just for fun; if you have a sheet of paper over a bar magnet and a sprinkle of iron filings on the paper. How does the Iron filings move the bar magnet?
I have no idea what you are babbling about. Read the link I gave you.
A bar magnet coloured red denotes the direction of its polarity, if it took 11 years to reverse the bar magnet 180 degrees
To repeat: the sun is not a revolving bar magnet. If you want to keep the image of a bar magnet, think of it this way: the bar magnetic gets weaker and weaker until its magnetism is completely gone, then it gets stronger and stronger [with the opposite direction] until it has recovered [its now reversed magnetic field]. This takes 11 years, and then the process repeats.
“If you want to keep the image of a bar magnet, think of it this way: the bar magnetic gets weaker and weaker until its magnetism is completely gone…”
I like that analogy 😀
The sun has a self-degaussing mechanism,
Maybe you can see my concern with this?
Well, any time you superpose negative and positive magnetic fields they cancel out.
Even when the polar regions which are tiny compared to the rest of the Sun go away, there is a lot of magnetic flux elsewhere. In fact, the sun is most magnetic at solar maximum when to polar filds have gone away. Nothing to be concerned about.
Ahh typing the name ‘Leif’… Apologies Sir.
*miss typing
There you go again letting hubris get in the way of commen sense.
You say “the Earth is round”, it is not, it is ovoid.
You say ” the Earth is 4.5 billion years old”, but in fact there is no Absolute proof, you have not gone back in time to see if the earth appeared at 5 Billion years, or 4.7 billion years or 4.25 billion years and yet you state it as a “truth”.
You can say it is “Estimated to be 4.5 billion years old”, not that it is.
There you go again letting hubris get in the way of common sense.
Your comment shows that perhaps common sense is not so common…
Picking nits is not productive. ‘Round’ as opposed to ‘flat’ is good enough. And the age of the Earth is well established to be 4.543 billion years [give or take a few million years], etc.
No “Established” is not the TRUTH.
Scientists keep giving Estimated, Established and Concensus “Facts” and at a later date admit they were wrong.
You yourself should know that as your group has just changed the Wolf Sunspot Numbers that have stood for a very long time.
As to nit picking, you are correct, you are a very highly regarded Scientist and precise language is necessary when you are making your point and especially when you are describingwhat is Scientific “Truth”
If you had written “The Earth is not Flat”, fine but you stated the Earth is Round as a Truth and it is not.
You continually criticise others for getting things wrong or inaccurate, but do not appear to hold yourself to the same standard.
Your feeble attempt at nit picking falls flat.
The dictionary definition of ’round’ is like or approximately like a circle or a sphere.
The Earth certainly falls under that. Mastery of language and clarity of thought are essential ingredients of serious discourse, but you demonstrate deficiency with both.
Very informative post Vukcevic. I want to see global cloud coverage changes as we move forward . I expect it to increase.
I only put together what is or should have been already known.
There is another possibility that considers non-TSI, non-Svensmark solar magnetic cycle effect on the global temperatures, but I leave it for another time.
By whom?
Perhaps you might consider that there are things you don’t know. [and don’t even know that you don’t]
“the Universe is expanding”
The earth is round suggesting the universe is expanding in the same sentence.
Galaxies far off in space and time (literally) after they have formed are moving away from each other, therefore the entire universe is expanding!
Closer to home, our own galaxy “the milky way” has formed,
Have a guess what the “the milky way” is doing? it is moving toward the Andromeda Galaxy.
Even Edwin Hubble and Albert Einstein both disagreed with the way the interpretation of these observations were being presented.
There is no workable concept as an “expanding universe” in physics, that’s for media scientists like Bill Nye, Michio Kaku and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
I’lll lean towards Hubble and Einsteins view on this issue.
The planet is round, spherical in shape 😀
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
The Universe is expanding, but for nearby objects gravity is strong enough to counteract the expansion and nearby [on a cosmological scale] objects move around each other held together by gravity. But gravity gets weaker [fast] with distance so at large distances becomes too weak to overcome the observed expansion of space.
I noticed that the observational data was recorded during the time when Neptune and Uranus’ orbits were being perturbed by each other, they were in a close enough proximity to adjust their orbits slightly, this last occurred just before 1846 when Neptune was discovered,
If both planets are in close proximity, it would be likely that galactic cosmic rays/particles would be attracted more to that area,
These two planets have enormous polarities, two strong polar fields in the same place at the same time can effectively double any process taking place.
And there is the suns polarity sweeping through the solar plane, the movement of the suns polarity reversing increases when these two planets are approaching each other, also during, when the two planets are moving away from each other, the timing of the suns polarity slows down.
This thread, thus this blog is being degraded by unmoderated comments entirely inappropriate for a discussion on scientific matters. Moderators?
And if archibaldperth is also the author of the post, shame on him! He should step up to the plate and correct this!
Such is the case with holiday- not so many people looking at moderation. I’ve removed Bartleby’s offensive and stupid comments that were policy violations, and put him on moderation.
I’ve also suggested to archibaldperth that his comments were inappropriate and suggested he apologize .
I apologize unreservedly to Dr Svalgaard.
Were you drunk when posting what you now apologizes for?
Ok, let’s let it be. He apologized. Let’s all move on.
Thank you David Archibald.
“The Universe is expanding, but for nearby objects gravity is strong enough to counteract the expansion and nearby [on a cosmological scale] objects move around each other held together by gravity.”
(Please refrain from throwing tantrums Leif, just discussing facts)
What happens when two massively dense bodies “on a cosmological scale” come into contact with each other? they rip each other apart, correct?
What happens when there is a point in time with a stronger gravitational pull than the speed of light?
The mass of our sun can bend the light from distant stars, correct?
Where are you getting the “Universe is expanding” narrative from?
E=mc2 in physics describes that energy and mass is interchangeable, energy can not be created or destroyed. correct?
The concept of time and distance is clear,
Observing objects at an extreme distance such as galaxies should have moved away from each other after they have formed, how are you going to see newly forming galaxies?
let that last point sink in…
Most of the time they quietly simply merge. That is how giant elliptical galaxies are formed.
“It is widely accepted that the evolution of elliptical galaxies is primarily composed of the merging of smaller galaxies. Many galaxies in the universe are gravitationally bound to other galaxies, which means that they will never escape the pull of the other galaxy. If the galaxies are of similar size, the resultant galaxy will appear similar to neither of the two galaxies merging, but will instead be an elliptical galaxy.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliptical_galaxy#Evolution
From direct observations of the redshift from distant galaxies
Because of the finite speed of light, the galaxies we see at large distances are very young. Galaxies in their youth, so to speak. So we can directly see them form and evolve. Let that sink in.
He has shown that he doesn’t have shame. Sad what discourse has become.
You have just argued against Edwin Hubble and Albert Einstein’s view on the universe. you have even thrown out the theory of special relativity in favour of a wikkilank,
You really would argue up is down lol
Nonsense. Read the links and my comments carefully. Don’t put foot in mouth [unless you can’t help it].
It is true, why on earth would I lie ffs, I could pull anything right now from any of your links and you would argue against it, I actually did that before quoting you word for word and you still disagreed in a negative way.
Nonsense. As Willis said: show me the exact words you are objecting to, or shut up.
Justanelectrician says:
Lief, your patience is commendable.
Sparks, I often listen to a webcast called Astronomy Cast. It’s been running weekly for about 10 years, so they have an archive of almost 500 shows. They cover all the topics you and Lief are talking about – redshift, expansion, colliding galaxies (because they’re close enough for gravity to overcome expansion), and how we can see billion year old galaxies as they’re formed. And they explain it in layman’s terms, so people like us can understand it.
http://www.astronomycast.com/archive/
Solar activity crept up a bit during December. Sunspot cycle 24 number for December in the old money (Wolf SSN) rose slightly from 3.4 to about 5 points while the new Svalgaard’s reconstructed number is at 8.2.
Composite graph is here
SC24 is nearing what might be the start of a prolong minimum (possible late start of SC25 too), ‘dead cat bounce’ from these levels is unlikely.
while the new Svalgaard’s reconstructed number is at 8.2.
Perhaps you should stop spreading misinformation. Version 2 of the sunspot number is not ‘mine’ but is a community effort promoted by the World Center for Sunspots in Brussels.
Keep using the old scale is not productive unless, of course, the goal is to sow confusion or demonstrate ignorance.
OK, apology.
Correction: the new SILSO reconstructed number is at 8.2.
The new SILSO reconstructed number has been in use only for about two years, while there are hundreds of papers published in the last decades using the old Wolf SSN, therefore I provide both numerically and graphically for a quick and easy reference.
Often we see temperatures quoted in the old Fahrenheit and the more recent Celsius and no one is particularly concerned by seeing two units appearing in parallel.
while there are hundreds of papers published in the last decades using the old Wolf SSN, therefore I provide both numerically and graphically for a quick and easy reference.
Bad idea, as the old one is faulty. You analogy with Fahrenheit and Celsius scales is invalid as they both are valid. And the old SSN is not produced anymore so you must be making it up [perhaps it should be called the Vuk Number].
It is not a reconstructed number. It is a measured number equal to the number of groups times 10 plus the number of spots [normalized to the Locarno station and averaged over about 60 observers].
Leif, with great horrify I was aware what happend with this blogpost during the discussion. My approach to the Svensmark-paper and it’s impact on the GMST is here: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/12/31/baby-its-cold-outside-evidence-of-solar-cycle-affecting-earths-cloud-cover/#comment-2705940 . A more technical question: What do you think about this paper: http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aa93ef/meta ? I tried to replicate their method and failed… sent an email to the lead-author. They claim that SC25 will be weaker than SC24…
The paper smacks too much as curve fitting for my taste. The authors carefully do not [as far as I can see] actually predict a number for the size of SC25 so they are somewhat protected from falsification. If we use the polar fields [which are now a bit stronger than during the previous minimum, we would predict a slightly stronger SC25. See: http://hmi.stanford.edu/hminuggets/?p=2084
the suns polar reversal has slowed down
“On the contrary, it had progressed as usual, and is now complete and a new polar field is building. As far as we can observe the new fields are not weaker than the old ones before the reversal, and possibly will be stronger as the field is still growing in the North.”
Do you still feel the same about pole reversal as you did a year ago?
JimG1
Same as I felt 40 years ago.
I figured that but was specifically referring to your feeling about the coming strength “possibly will be stronger”. ?
There is evidence for that:
http://hmi.stanford.edu/hminuggets/?p=2084
Yes vukcevic, stop spreading misinformation.
I’ve just apologised, it was meant as a compliment for a great achievement. In future I will credit SILSO, the publishers,
Vukcevic,
Thanks for the link to the Japanese work. If correct about the polarity and waviness influence on cosmic rays then this adds further colour to Svensmark theory.
Frankly, I wish Lief would just stop crushing any and all attempts to advance science of climate change. For sure, these cosmic ray theories are weak and in their infancy but the evidence of some kind of link is nevertheless quite strong. The exact mechanism and detail seems poorly understood and indeed it could be just a correlation and not a causation. However, with respected scientists like Lief killing every hypothetical notion out there it seems unlikely any of these alternate theories will ever achieve funding. Perhaps that is Lief’s intent – kill funding for these alternate theories? If it is not his intent then perhaps he should re-consider how aggressively he keeps attacking alternate theories like Svensmark. After all, climate does change and we don’t have a good answer for much of the detail and the CO2 theory is obviously a complete failure, as all the physics and data shows.
it could be just a correlation and not a causation.
The problem is that there is no good correlation, so speculating above causation is just that, speculation.
Funding and acceptance are usually done on the merits of a proposal, and the merits are not really there either. Scientists are conservative people and require good evidence in order to accept [or fund] new ideas. This is how it should be. There are many examples of hypotheses that were lingering in the shadows until compelling evidence finally was found. Examples: Einstein’s general theory of relativity, plate tectonics, ‘jumping genes’, dark matter, etc, etc. When the evidence is finally there, the change of heart is usually swift and broad.
CO2 theory is obviously a complete failure
apart from most scientist disagreeing with that, it is a fallacy to believe that the failure of one theory automatically proves another [or all others!] theory correct.
Perhaps what I have seen with regard to cosmic rays is all cherry picked but what I have seen is mildly convincing and seems mildly plausible. It would appear worth investigating since TSI does not seem to do a big enough job.
You don’t need atmospheric physics PHD to figure out that CO2 is a negligible factor compared to what we see in the paleo climate records. Almost any physics and most engineering degrees are enough. CO2 is most clearly an indicator of climate but not a driver. CO2 being a failure suggests we should invest resources elsewhere even in exploring wacky new theories to a limited extent.
Plate Tectonics was discovered several times and it took a long time to become accepted. A graduate student at my Physics department called Tuzo Wilson found the most compelling and irrefutable evidence regarding transverse faults but plate tectonics had long been suspected for maybe a century or more. Cosmic Ray cloud theory lacks solid evidence and so did Plate tectonics until the US Navy measured extensively the magnetic field over the oceans and Tuzo put two and two together.
Cosmic Ray cloud theory lacks solid evidence
Well, it is worse. There is good evidence against it. The observed temperatures [and clouds] do not correlate with GCRs. The theory makes specific predictions and they fail. This is why it is not generally accepted. Not because of lack of evidence, but because of direct evidence against it [failed predictions].
My mention of Tuzo Wilson is not as clear as it should b – Tuzo found irrefutable evidence that “transverse faults” were in fact transform faults at mid-oceanic ridges. This was the key evidence that clinched long suspected plate tectonics theory.
“You don’t need atmospheric physics PHD to figure out that CO2 is a negligible factor compared to what we see in the paleo climate records.”
That’s the complete opposite of the facts.
Paleo records show the fact that (then) CO2 was a feed-back, that amplified the change – that is the driver of warming/cooling was changes in the Earth’s orbit. So followed via warming/cooling of the oceans (sink/source).
When put in the atmosphere first it is a driver.
Toneb,
Climate change happens about 800 years before CO2 rises – this is not a driver. Climate drives or modulates CO2 not the othe4 way round.
So you argue that the current rise on CO2 is due to climate 800 years ago. Fools rush in where wise men refuse to go, as they say.
Michael 2 says:
“Fools rush in where wise men refuse to go, as they say.”
My bread-making, strawberry picking Viking ancestors decided to rush off to America. Maybe it was wise, maybe it wasn’t, but it *was* carefully decided and worked out well enough.
but it *was* carefully decided
As I recall the story, Eric the Red fled Iceland because he was banned for murder [so had little choice] and it seemed to be a family trait as his father fled to Iceland from Norway also because he was banned for murder…
“So you argue that the current rise on CO2 is due to climate 800 years ago.”
Lief, isn’t it possible that an MWP driven increase in CO2 was underway, but was completely swamped by the industrial revolution?
The warmists argue precisely that, namely that the extra CO2 caused by [“swamped by”] the industrial revolution and later human activity are responsible for recent global warming. Is that what you are arguing, too?
No, I’m not arguing for or against anything; I’m just looking for answers.
Jeremy, plausible mechanism is the key here. Atmospheric semi-permanent pressure systems caused by the Coriolis effect, continental positions, and oceanic gyri and currents are immensely powerful components of intrinsic drivers of our climate and its variations. By themselves they produce multidecadal changes in climates throughout the globe. Several act upon solar radiance to produce mind boggling changes in climates. For example, La Niña and El Niño events produce fairly consistent weather pattern changes around the globe. Any extrinsic factors would likely need to demonstrate the ability to overcome Earth’s own weather systems in observable ways. No suggestions presented so far rise to that level. Leif serves a valid role in pointing out lack of plausibility and relevance.
“oceanic gyri and currents are immensely powerful components of intrinsic drivers of our climate”
Currents are not a driver of any system, currents are being driven by default in physics. science, life, the universe…
Sparks, quote my words exactly. I said “components of drivers”.
Ahh you meant currents are components of natural drivers, it read above that you were including currents along with… sorry 🙂
“The cloud cover data in Figure 1 came from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project which stopped in 2009 which is a pity because it was showing good support for Svensmark’s theory.”
GCR’s have increased while cloud cover has decreased. That’s a pity.
What’s up with the random ‘reply’ links?
Epimenides was a Cretan who made one immortal statement: “All Cretans are liars.”
Everyone should try this, take a fact from an accomplished scientist and pose it to Leif, see what happens, the result is hilarious!
Personally, I prefer not to poke folks just for the sake of poking. Make a point and move on be it comical or of seriousness. Leif has had his opinions here for many years now, backed by his and others assumed hard works; which he stands firm by. Correct or not, he remains stead fast which I respect. And just for the record I have agreed and disagreed with him. …now, how about some more Scotch from solar cycle 22.
Not sure why I’m in moderation.
SanityClause says:
So, the title is “evidence of solar cycle effecting earths cloud cover”, I see figure 1, air temperature anomaly versus cloud cover, than later figures, the regular swings of solar cycles. What I do not see in figure 1 is those same regular swings. If you are attempting to prove that solar cycles result in regular swings in cloud cover, your hypothesis has been falsified by the data you provided here.
I suggest a new title, “”evidence of solar cycle NOT effecting earths cloud cover”.
As far as I can see, the total argument here is that figure 1 is on the same page as the later figures, and thus must have some relation to them, even though none is seen. The text merely says that “if this, then that”, provides no proof of “that” happening, merely states that it will as an article of faith, while figure 1 shows that “if this, than NOT that”.
Now, if you are attempting to show that a series of lower solar cycles affect cloud cover, you also have a problem. The data on solar cycles shows lower cycles starting in about the year 2000, while the decrease in tropical cloud cover starts in about 1984, peaks in 1997, and then remains steady. In addition, the cloud graph starts in 1983, while the sun graphs start in 1966, and thus cannot really be compared to each other, what did cloud cover do from 1966 to 84, did it track with solar or not? To really show anything, both graphs of cloud cover and solar cycles must cover the longest period each has been measured, to see if there is any correlation.
In addition, you track AIR temperature anomaly versus cloud cover, the idea being that cloud cover effects air temperature anomaly (why not true air temperature?), a better idea, cloud cover and true sea temperature, and there are other things also that effect cloud cover, ocean currents, winds, ENSO, etc. The idea appears to be to provide no data on anything but solar cycles as effecting cloud cover, thus “proving” that only solar cycles effect cloud cover. If you do not provide data on other things that may effect cloud cover, it is dishonest, the important thing in propaganda isn’t what you say, it’s what you don’t say.
On purely the basis of logical fallacies and improper use of the scientific method, this article can prove nothing. Well, actually, even with the limited data provided, it appears to prove, or at least suggest, that cloud cover is not effected significantly by solar cycles. Perhaps if you censor even more data, and chop out anything that might be contrary to what you are trying to suggest, you could get it to at lest not disprove the premise you are trying to prove.
You might want to look up the phrase “The Narrative”.
Khwarizmi says:
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-arhQh_Weo-s/Wkvu8bLfLiI/AAAAAAAAA3g/nln5aCuEnPQbRT4-JTdQ8VnafZVGcbyQgCLcBGAs/s1600/GOES_SNOW_Jan02.jpg
North American snow, January 02, 2018 (GOES-16/EAST)
Active Region 1002 on an Unusually Quiet Sun
Why has the Sun been so quiet recently? No one is sure. Our Sun has shown few active regions — that house even fewer associated sunspots — for over a year now, and such a period of relative calm is quite unusual.
In the wake of a quiet sun….
A First! Snow Falls in Baghdad
By CHRISTOPHER CHESTER (AP)
Arctic blast brings London earliest snow for 70 years
Mark Prigg (Evening Standard)
The Alps have best snow conditions “in a generation”
Telegraph UK, Dec 2008
Spokane, Washington., residents cope with record snow
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS (AP)
The day the sea froze: Temperatures plunge to MINUS 12C and forecasters say it won’t warm up until Sunday
Where’s global warming?
By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist
[…] The United States has shivered through an unusually severe winter, with snow falling in such unlikely destinations as New Orleans, Las Vegas, Alabama, and Georgia. On Dec. 25, every Canadian province woke up to a white Christmas, something that hadn’t happened in 37 years. Earlier this year, Europe was gripped by such a killing cold wave that trains were shut down in the French Riviera and chimpanzees in the Rome Zoo had to be plied with hot tea. Last week, satellite data showed three of the Great Lakes – Erie, Superior, and Huron – almost completely frozen over. In Washington, D.C., what was supposed to be a massive rally against global warming was upstaged by the heaviest snowfall of the season, which paralyzed the capital.
‘Quiet Sun’ baffling astronomers
By Pallab Ghosh (BBC News)
The Sun is the dimmest it has been for nearly a century.
[…] In the mid-17th Century, a quiet spell – known as the Maunder Minimum – lasted 70 years, and led to a “mini ice-age”. This has resulted in some people suggesting that a similar cooling might offset the impact of climate change.
According to Prof Mike Lockwood of Southampton University, this view is too simplistic.
“I wish the Sun was coming to our aid but, unfortunately, the data shows that is not the case,” he said.
It’s June…so it must be snowing:
Great British summer goes from sweltering to shivering in just a week
Daily Mail, UK, June 2009
Children die in harsh Peru winter
By Dan Collyns (BBC News, Lima)
‘Quiet’ sun could mean cooler days
Beijing’s Heaviest Snow in 54 Years Strands Thousand
Bloomberg News
Coldest October since 1945 in NZ
ONE News, November 2009
Heavy snow continues as temperatures set to plunge minus 20C
Herald, Scotland
Quiet sun puts Europe on ice
[…] The research finds that low solar activity promotes the formation of giant kinks in the jet stream. These kinks can block warm westerly winds from reaching Europe, while allowing in winds from Arctic Siberia. When this happens in winter, northern Europe freezes, even though other, comparable regions of the globe may be experiencing unusually mild conditions.
Mike Lockwood at the University of Reading in the UK began his investigation because these past two relatively cold British winters coincided with a lapse in the sun’s activity more profound than …
Freeze Challenges Power Supply
(Xinhua, China)
Most parts of China were seized by a sustained cold snap Wednesday, when the minimum temperature hit a 40-year low in Beijing and a rare snowstorm in the central Hubei Province kept all school children at home.
The Beijing weather bureau said the capital had its lowest temperature in 40 years at daybreak Wednesday, when the low was minus 16.7 degrees Celsius.
Polar vortex’ grips the US in coldest temperatures in decades
Telegraph.UK
The United States is spending the first days of 2014 in the grips of record-breaking cold and snow as freezing Arctic winds sweep across the country.
Niagara Falls frozen: tourists flock to see icy spectacle
Scientists: Don’t make “extreme cold” centerpiece of global warming argument
Historical Great Lakes Ice Cover
NCDC/NOAA
Niagara Falls comes to a halt AGAIN
Great Lakes covered in record-shattering amount of ice this late in spring
US weather in pictures: ‘Polar vortex’ brings big freeze to North America
Stunning satellite images show [Arctic] summer ice cap is thicker and covers 1.7 million square kilometres more than 2 years ago…despite Al Gore’s prediction it would be ice-free by now
Antarctic Sea Ice Reaches New Record Maximum
Cold winters have been caused by global warming: new research
Climate sceptics often claim that recent icy winters show that global warming is not happening. New research suggests the opposite is true.
Earliest ice on record appears on Great Lakes
CBC,
Fall snow cover in Northern Hemisphere was most extensive on record, even with temperatures at high mark
NH Snow Cover Extent [2014]
The Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent (SCE) during winter (December 2013–February 2014) was 46.2 million square km (17.8 million square miles), 660,000 square km (255,000 square miles) above the 1981-2010 average of 45.5 million square km (17.6 million square miles). This was the 18th largest winter SCE since records begain in 1967 for the Northern Hemisphere, but the smallest since the winter of 2008/09.
Sea Ice Extent [2014]
When combining the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere sea ice extents, we can examine global sea ice conditions. On a monthly scale, the global monthly sea ice extent was above average during most of 2014, with the exception of February and November.
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global-snow/201413
DWR54 says:
Roughly translated: some parts of 3% of global surface area are colder than average for the time of year.
Most of the rest of the world is above average in temperature: http://pamola.um.maine.edu/wx_frames/gfs/ds/gfs_world-ced_t2anom_1-day.png
But let’s just ignore that.
We are in an interstadial warm period. It should be warm. Why is this an issue?
So if 2018 doesn’t turn out to be a really cold year globally, we can safely file this post, alongside many, many others, in the David Archibald bin of ridiculous and unfulfilled forecasts. It’s his speciality.
I am assuming that the cooling will take several years due to the oceans being a giant heat sink?
Bingo! Cooling takes a longer jagged dance down to a frozen hell as the oceans soak up all the heat and keep it. Warming is a rapid rise to a blessed green Earth, presumably as the oceans evaporate all that heat to the atmosphere. Why? Don’t know exactly but there appears to be a floor and a ceiling, indicating that the present % of Earth covered by water is at play in terms of capacity to store heat till no more can be stored leaving land cold, and then rapidly cool giving it up to warm the land. Just my guess, but it appears to describe what the ice cores show.
Most of Australia is cool n the middle of summer, but your Orwellian masters won’t let the records reflect reality.
Does “global warming” cause MILD winters or COLD winters, DWR???
Do you make ice by putting trays of water in a hot oven?
trenwithblog says:
Would you please point out where exactly in that linked article there is a reference to climate.
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Jordan Peterson: “Let’s fix global warming…it’s the kind of low resolution thinking that gets us nowhere”
Anthony Watts / November 8, 2018
Josh writes on Twitter:
Must see & hugely entertaining video segment on #globalwarming from the very brilliant @jordanbpeterson watch from 20.:30
I did, and wow. Well said, Mr. Peterson.
November 8, 2018 in Quote of the Week.
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Quote of the week: @EricHolthaus calls for seizure of U.S. energy industry
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116 thoughts on “Jordan Peterson: “Let’s fix global warming…it’s the kind of low resolution thinking that gets us nowhere””
Paul Miller says:
JBP for the WIN!
Kenji says:
How is it possible that JP is the ONLY rational voice I hear coming from the world of Psychology? Every single other voice I hear speaks only to how we all need to “accept” aberrant behaviour as “normal”.
The mental health/mind research fields have a well-deserved reputation for attracting students who have problems in that area. This is only natural. Many decades ago, my Psych 101 prof [I’ll call him, “Dr.D.”] was asked in class whether this were true. He readily agreed but said that as such people attain mental healing, the field loses its allure and they go on to other interests. I wish Dr. D. were alive to consult on the current situation:
(1) Children, even the long-legged variety, stay in school longer than they did then, and the social “sciences” are as good a field as any for postponing graduation. Because of readily available loans, the drop-out rate is probably lower than it was back then, so more of these people remain in psych of various sorts, healed or not.
(2) In illo tempore, graduate psych curricula required each student to get a significant number of hours of personal therapy. By twenty years ago, that number had fallen to 8 hours, give or take. I recently surveyed the curricula of a small number of schools and found that therapy, though “highly recommended,” had been mostly dropped.
(3) Nowadays, many schools have a policy of putting the easy work in the first half of the curricula, avoiding challenging students enough that they might flunk out and deprive the school of tuition fees. Nobody flunks in their first year.
(4) Schools use group projects for upper level courses, which also allows poor students to slide through on the coattails of the better students. Those courses requiring individual papers by students can be gamed by purchasing papers or theses from outside sources. Few get caught.
(5) Quotas and other PC nonsense.
(6) As a quality check, most states require supervised internships before licensing mental health professionals. I’ve personally met one individual who took care of her mandatory internships by having a friendly PhD sign off for all but a few hours. How common this is, I don’t know, but I suspect that individual is not the only Freudian to figure out this ploy.
(7) As academia has become progressively “progressive,” graduates in psych fields have inevitably swung further and further left.
So is it really any wonder that JP is one of the few remaining rational voices in the field? Personally, I love psych. I greatly regret not staying in touch with Dr. D. In fact, if I had it to do over, I’d become a psychiatrist. Alas, when I was in school, I already had the mad notion to be an engineer, and was not quite crazy enough to switch to psych.
Weylan McAnally says:
Group projects/learning are the biggest bunch of crap in education. These group projects have filtered all the way down to elementary education. The bright, motivated students are grouped with dullard, lazy students for these projects. The teachers know that the bright student will do all the work needed for an A while the poor student will be rewarded with a passing grade.
One of my daughter’s teachers let the truth slip out during a social event. She confessed that she knew my daughter would do all the work for the group and that the result would be an A. Throw enough of these group projects into the grades and the teacher does not have to fail anyone.
Alan Scott says:
Yep. There is that aspect. Laziness of teachers shrugging their responsibilities onto the kids to teach themselves. Another possibility in addition to that is perhaps they are unwittingly training the kids for employment. Throw a team together, your best with the rest (average). The best will do all the hard work just like the class. The project manager doesn’t have to really manage, train or discipline any individuals, especially when there are protected classes. We know who they are. Just another perspective. Maybe that’s what they mean by diversity makes us stronger!
Dr John Rosemond has been speaking rationally for decades.
“Shot … and a goal! He beat ‘im like a rented mule!”
No-the best comment on a large issue.
Our ministry of forrient affairs (Sweden)wants him to go back under a stone.
No I understand why she is scared of him-he is clear and brilliant.
JR Port says:
Thanks for this- JP is brilliant.
The CAGW repudiation is great (20:30), but maybe best comment, anywhere, ever (40:00):
being criticized by “social constructionist gender studies theorist types” is like being nibbled to death by ducks from a scientific perspective” Priceless…
Paul r says:
I have been watching jp clips on youtube for months now and he is absolutely brilliant.
Phil Rae says:
I have followed Jordan Petersen for quite some time. His perspicacity and excellent grasp of major issues is brilliant & refreshing. He is also an eloquent presenter and erudite debater on those same topics, whether it be CAGW or rabid, misanthropic drivel from all the usual suspects. Always great to watch him and I salute him for his courage and willingness to go head-to-head with the protagonists of these flawed philosophies.
John in Oz says:
He also does not allow incorrect statements from interviewers who often look to him to agree with their points of view.
If they start their question with an incorrect generalisation or outright falsehood, he is quick to correct them with his vast knowledge of studies in many disparate areas.
He should be required reading/watching for everyone (particularly teachers)
Chris Thixton says:
The purveyors of doom must soil themselves every time this guy speaks because he scythes through every crap hypothesis they try to push down our throats. Reason over dogma.
Reason over dogma.
I want that on my headstone.
Thx Thixton
Ratio pro dogmatum.
Engraved in Granite.
Anthony, my mentor and kind host, is there any chance of adopting that as the blog’s credo?
Old skeptic says:
Jordan Peterson is one of the very few people in the public eye that speaks so much common sense. I recommend his book “12 Rules for Life”.
That was a great watch from 20:30-ish. He mentions there are more trees now than 100 years ago, because we started to burn coal in favour of trees!! Would we give up heating, cars, trains and Iphones? Raising people out of poverty usually results in them cleaning up the environment! Bravo! Bravo, sir!
And that reminded me DRAX in the UK is now burning pellets made from trees cut down and processed in the US and shipped to DRAX in the UK. I wonder how many present in the video actually knows that?
Bruce Ranta says:
Ontario refitted a coal fired electrical power plant to burn wood pellets. Another power plant in Thunder Bay imports wood pellets from overseas.
Because wood is renewable. I wonder what happened on Easter Island.
Taking wood was the reason why The New Forrest was created in the UK. Not many people know that that forest is almost all man-made.
Lee L says:
“Because wood is renewable” …
Is it though? It’s made from solar energy, CO2, water and a variety of minerals. When burned, you get the CO2 back and water which counts as renewable. Export your wood pellets half way across the world and you export the embodied minerals as well. They don’t replenish themselves and so the source of the wood, a woodlot, will be less and less fertile with each generation of trees not left to rot in place.
Or, that’s how I see it anyway.
MJB says:
“they don’t replenish themselves” – I disagree.
Through atmospheric deposition and weathering of soil parent material nutrients do get replenished. It is a fair question to ask if the rate of replenishment is adequate for what is removed and how often. Thankfully this topic is being studied, including well replicated and coordinated experiments, like the North American long-term soil productivity network (example link below). After 20-ish years of monitoring, the short answer is that unless you are doing very short rotation forestry, adequate nutrients are likely to be replenished and sustained over time. Granted, this is a very-long term question, so an equivocal answer is not yet possible, and monitoring and research continues.
https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/topics/forest_mgmt/ltsp/
Oops, unequivocal……
jasg says:
Like the Landes forest in France. Previously it was a mosquito-ridden swamp.
Percy Jackson says:
The new forest was created to provide a hunting ground for rich foreigners. Just like today
they destroy the environment to provide grouse hunting estates for the rich. Not much has changed in 1000 years.
Wrong! It was created for rich landed gentry. It became a national forest.
In 1066 the Normans were invaders and would have be considered foreigners by any
anglo-saxon living in the UK.
drednicolson says:
Not in the least because the Normans spoke French.
Taylor Pohlman says:
Back to Olympus, Percy! The rich also sponsored Leonardo and Michelangelo, and built the great cathedrals. While their motives were not always pure, the results were often laudatory. And it’s worth noting that leisure time and freedom from want (often driven by global warming), provided the opportunity for such cultural luxuries.
Gay Grubbs says:
I worked on those projects and the data we obtained on the number of trees that would be required to operate power plants burning wood is huge. The original intent of the project was to convert all the coal fired power plants in Ontario to wood as dictated by the government. Clear cutting of many forests would have been required. The harsh jaws of reality bit the Ontario leaders in the ass.
Those must be very large jaws of reality, indeed.
Robert Stewart says:
I knew an old timer in northern Maine who lived along the coast. The rule of thumb for “sustainable” wood heating was 13 acres of scrub forest per house. With modern materials, especially insulation, this is probably a bit more than needed. This doesn’t scale very well, as the harvesting and transport of the wood becomes increasing difficult if you locate a number of houses together in a village. With one house in the woods, you are within about 100 yards of most of the wood you will need to collect prior to winter, and it won’t be too hard to spread out the gathering. With 10 houses in a cluster, you now need to spread the gathering out a distance of about a quarter mile, if you want to distribute the harvesting effort. This very quickly devolves into something like Haiti, and they don’t need to heat in the winter.
Terry Harnden says:
With efficient woodstove and insulation you can get a 10-1 or even a 20-1 benefit.
Sorry about previous post, was intended for thread above
As a current Mainer on the coast, I’ve heard 5 acres of mostly hardwood will be sustainable for a modest house. There are foresters who will tag trees in the best order for annual harvesting.
As for the ‘village issue’ a lot of folks I know have ‘wood lots’ of 5 acres or more in the woods outside of towns, which remain wooded vs. threatened by development, and make great habitat, disturbed only a few times a year.
Burning wood is worse for the environment than burning coal.
Those pushing ‘green’ energy as good for the environments are either idiots or liars.
h/t to notrickzone
http://notrickszone.com/2018/11/01/paradigm-shift-the-belief-that-bioenergy-is-climate-friendly-is-now-recognized-as-a-major-error/
Governments vociferously promote bioenergy as renewable, sustainable, and carbon-neutral. But scientists are increasingly characterizing this “belief” as a “major error”, as bioenergy generates more CO2 emissions per kWh than burning coal does, and the projected rapid growth in bioenergy will serve to ‘increase atmospheric CO2 for at least a century’ as well as clear forests and destroy natural ecosystems.
“The assumption that bioenergy is inherently carbon-neutral, which is based on static forms of carbon accounting, is a major error (Haberl et al., 2012). Viewed objectively, it is quite a sweeping assumption: It asserts that a carbon flow into the atmosphere at one place and time (from bioenergy combustion) is automatically and fully offset by carbon uptake at another place and time (on ecologically productive land). Scientifically speaking, there is neither a sound basis nor a need to make this assumption. The extent to which the CO2 emitted from bioenergy use is balanced by CO2 uptake is an empirical question.”
“In short, a sound understanding of carbon-cycle dynamics shows that now and for the reasonably foreseeable future, the promotion of bioenergy is ill-premised for climate protection. This is particularly true if one respects the limited amount of ecologically productive land available for supplying food and fiber as well as sustaining and restoring biodiverse habitats.”
John Endicott says:
They can be (and many times are) both
Pat Frank says:
I listened to the segment yesterday evening.
I was very happy to hear Jordan Peterson remark on the unreliability of climate models. He went on how the error accumulates, and that after 50 years the error bars are huge.
He then said the error bars are so large that no one can tell anything about a comparison of the real world and what the models projected.
He’s exactly right, and that all made me wonder whether JP is one of the 21,500 people who have watched the video of my 2016 DDP talk. It’d be loverly if he got his insight from there. 🙂
Steve Borodin says:
Jordan Peterson was thoughtful, intelligent and honest as usual. And well done to Cambridge Uni for having a civilized debate, in contrast to the many nurseries (aka universities) scattered around the UK and elsewhere. They seem to have abandoned rationality.
Robertvd says:
Cambridge Uni needs security guards to have a civilized debate these days ?
ladylifegrows says:
He still misses the most important point: a “climate optimum” is a warm period. Mann’s infamous hockey stick was of tree rings. He said trees were growing even faster than the Medieval Climate Optimum. NASA research reported here suggests he was right.
Are trees bad?
Mann’s “hockey stick” was just really one tree, YAD061. It’s amazing the spin he put on that, Shane Warne (Famous Australian cricketing spin bowler) would be proud.
More spin than the Gatting ball? Perhaps we can call it the Manning ball.
Steve O says:
I wonder if YAD 061 is available as a license plate in my home state…
Try New Zealand. I got “B1G P1G” for my ex-military LandRover 109 V8 FFR while I lived there!
And I had to sell the landrover for something “sensible”, kept the plate though. So, some “builders” spotted my g/f and her friend, in my Honda Civic, displaying the rego plates “B1G PiG”, stuffing themselves with (Trisha’s) pies!
“Mann’s “hockey stick” was just really one tree, YAD061.”
Wrong. Mann’s favorite type of tree was stripbark pines out of the American southwest. Yad061 was from Briffa’s paper. See Climate Audit “The Most Influential Tree in the World”
It’s important to get these things right, otherwise we look silly.
M Courtney says:
It’s important to remember that Briffa’s Yamal failings would have got him into serious trouble at the CRU if during that time someone hadn’t leaked the Climategate emails and caused a circling of the wagons.
Of course, the police investigation concluded that a Russian sleeper agent at the UEA gathered all the data into one HarryReadMe file and then called up an external hack to get it. But that convoluted conspiracy does seem to have one step too many.
Why didn’t the HarryReadMe file creator leak it himself?
Still, however it happened, it was lucky timing for Briffa.
Klem says:
Walk through a clear cut forest sometime and compare the tree rings visible on the tree stumps. The rings of adjacent trees almost never agree with each other.
Tree rings are less likely a reflection of weather and climate, and more likely a manifestation of the water and nutrients encountered by roots.
To extrapolate global climate from tree rings is voodoo witchcraft.
rishrac says:
@ lady life,
He cut down 70+ trees to get the one tree ring that fit his agenda. You can look the files up here on WUWT and the arguments.
I will strongly assert that the width of tree rings are not a good way of reconstructing temperature. Too many other over riding variables that affect the width. There is a different method that uses the isotopic bonding in the tree ring itself. AGW used their own co2 levels to determine the temperature reconstruction during the MCA and LIA. That reconstruction does not agree with historical accounts, the isotopic bonding, or the drilling program that looked at the ebb and flow of floral. All these were world wide and not local as asserted by AGW. Nor as AGW now asserts that it wasn’t as warm or cold, it was both warmer and colder during those times. Either AGW’s use of the co2 data is wrong or they have to come up with an explanation as to how it became warmer and colder without co2 and how that differs from today. … I think they fixed the co2 record.
NASA, in regards to climate, is to be looked at with a cautious eye.
Harkin says:
I always assumed he cored the trees and did not ‘cut them down’.
StephenP says:
There is that picture of him holding a slice through a tree. If it is the Yamal YAD061 then I am puzzled as to which radius he used to measure the temperature.
You guys are off-base here, and clearly haven’t read up on this. YAD061 was a Siberian tree core that was used by Keith Briffa. Mann did not use YAD061 in his classic hockey stick recon. He abused stripbark pines, and not just one core. Please don’t spread disinformation.
Jeff Alberts is correct.
Jeff mentions tree cores collected by Briffa.
Not slices!
Sample tree cores.
Then check Steve McIntyre’s and Ross McKitrick’s excellent analysis.
LOL! Check out figure 2 on page two of the linked item above. Is that a double middle finger or what?
Greg F says:
I will strongly assert that the width of tree rings are not a good way of reconstructing temperature.
I worked at a museum where one of the exhibits showed how the environment affected tree growth. There was a slice from 2 trees with one twice the diameter of the other. Both trees were the same age and grew 20 feet from each other. The larger diameter tree was closer to a swamp. The irony was that the museum was staffed with global warming true believers.
I have two English Walnut trees in my yard, side by side. The trunks are only about 20 feet apart, if that. one is slightly north of the other. If I had to guess I’d say they are in excess of 40 years old. The slightly northern one is smaller, and loses its leaves earlier in the fall than the southerly one. I wonder what their rings look like?
James Francisco says:
I had a similar situation with willow trees in my back yard. One of the four trees, all planted at the same time, was about three feet in diameter. The others about six inches. Pretty sure the large one had tapped into my septic system, it is now a stump. The grass is always greener over the septic tank.
“ladylifegrows November 8, 2018 at 3:29 am
Stripped of the excess words, to seek clarity:
* He (Jordan Peterson?) misses the most important point:
* a “climate optimum” is a warm period.
* Mann’s said trees growing faster than Medieval Climate Optimum.
* NASA research reported here suggests he (manniacal?, Peterson?) was right.
* Are trees bad?”
No links to support your quoted hearsay.
No clarification of your claims or even whom stated what.
Then the final question where trees are implied bad…
1) Exactly what is the most important point?
2) Perhaps you have seen pictures of manniacal at his office, and on travel?
Does manniacal have the appearance of a forester spending months in forests studying trees?
Why would anyone think manniacal can authoritatively speak to tree growth?
3) Exactly what NASA research are you suggesting supports your tree growth/bad?
a) Are we in an Optimum? Well, it is warming, a bit.
Iceland isn’t planting warm loving crops, yet.
Great Britain, Finland, Norway, Siberia, boreal Canada are not growing warmth loving crops.
So no, not an Optimum. Check again, in a hundred or two hundred years.
So far, we are really only in a warming since the early 1980s.
b) Trees grow annual layers. Do all trees grow exactly the same width annual rings with every annul ring even throughout 360°? No!
Do all trees grow solely based upon warmth? So thicker annual rings = warmer weather? No!
Trees respond to any one of their growth requirements;
CO₂,
sufficient warmth,
sufficient light for photosynthesis,
sufficient oxygen for respiration,
critical nutrients.
Starve a tree of any requirement(s), and the annual rings will be narrower.
Then there is the problem with the growing layer of trees; i.e. the cambium layer. Damage to the cambium layer is reflected in a tree’s growth.
One never knows about a tree’s life. The longer lived the tree, the more likely that tree had a wide range of experiences.
https://youtu.be/AihvuZiDhsg
Of course, Mann’s algorithm proved to create a hockey stick from random noise! That was the crowning Trick. Brett
Yes, I know Mann cherry-picked his trees and was otherwise unscientific and absurd. None of that matters. The point is everybody focuses on temperature. What he actually said was Trees Are Growing.
The whole alarmism thing is an attack on the biosphere.
What would happen if you woke up to that?
Crispin in Waterloo says:
J Peterson is of course indirectly responsible for the kerfuffle here in Waterloo at Laurier University when a video of his was shown to a class as a ‘second point of view’. That is never permitted at Laurier, apparently, and the story is hilarious if you don’t mind the diversion from ‘climate’. It is not over yet as the law suits are ongoing.
The identitarian politically manipulating bods at Laurier objected to Peterson announcing that what he called legally ‘compelled speech’ was off his vocabulary from now on. No more “ze” for “he” or “she”, not because he didn’t already do that for people who requested it, but that the Ontario Liberal Party had snuck through the first law that demanded it, with penalties for not complying. Suck on that, Colorado.
Well, you can imagine the response in Toronto where 28 such personal pronouns find oxygen. A lefty U of T psychology prof refusing the latest totalitarian move to direct society towards manufactured mores? Betrayal! Call him a right wing bigot!! Ban him from speaking on any campus!! Break windows!! And they did.
Peterson doesn’t dumb down his vocabulary during interviews. That is refreshing. He is a symbol of the title “Learned”.
One of his Rules for Life is: always assume the person you are talking to knows something you don’t. Find out what it is.
That is a good attitude to bring to WUWT. There’s many a candle hidden under an ordinary-looking bushel.
Ed Bo says:
Crispin: That wasn’t even one of JP’s own videos — it was short debate he participated in on a CBC news show. Can’t let undergraduates see that…
It was actually a TVO show. The agenda.
Joel O’Bryan says:
The Socialist can’t call him a Climate Denier.
So Expect them to call him a Climate Nihilist.
Excellent presentation by Dr Peterson, well worth taking time out of my day to watch & listen! He is excellent. He will never be out gunned by the liberal left in any way! AtB.
Love what he’s doing on tour. He is fighting the narrative and changing the collective mindset.
More power to him. He’s a champion of free speech and free thinking.
Jordan Peterson deserves more than a standing ovation. Concise and very much to the point, that man. with a good sense of humour. I love it.
mark breckenridge says:
Saw one of his lectures. His my version of a night in shining armor.
“night in shining armor.”
That would be pretty uncomfortable. But a knight in shining armor might not be. 🙂
The video is long. The good bit starts at around 20:45 and goes to around 27:00.
Someone asked if we could unite humanity behind a campaign to solve global warming. “No” was the immediate answer. The next six minutes was amazingly clear and to the point.
Dr. Peterson talked about some work reported by Bjorn Lomborg in which teams of experts (mostly economists I think) got together to prioritize the UN’s development goals. It seems to have been a big project with a lot of participants.
They could get a treasure trove of ideas from some of the world’s top economists. In a new book, these economists summarize humanity’s smartest ideas and best investments. Given that we have very limited funds, we need to prioritize: they generated ideas and then ranked the best ways to spend $75 billion more over the next four years and dramatically help hundreds of millions of the world’s poorest people. link
Global warming didn’t even make the list.
Peterson points out that global warming is a complete waste of time and keeps from doing things that would actually do some good.
Dr. Peterson never ceases to amaze.
Paul Matthews says:
Partial transcript here.
Also a transcript of his answers to climate change questions in a recent interview for GQ magazine.
Tom Abbott says:
Peta of Newark says:
I told you so.
Namely:
1. Be disagreeable, as per his answer to the long rambling question and as per Mr Trump (Hoax and No respectively)
In actuality, disagree with the GHGE
2. As JP says,
Increase child nutrition
To quote myself:
Do Not feed them fake baby milk up to age = 30 months.
Vegetable fat is NOT suitable for the construction of a properly functioning human brain. It gives them Kwaskior = low intelligence, poor learning ability plus belligerence.
From age 3, Do Not force feed them vegetables (which they always resist strongly) and even worse, Do Not bribe them into doing so with refined sugar, optionally and often mixed with caffeine.
Because those are exactly the things that bring on the nightmares that Peterson mentions.
A little while ago, I pointed us all to a little podcast, done by an avid music collector. Who lives near me, is also tee-total and when he mentioned how other people feel cold in situations where he doesn’t
He did another where he described visiting the local Mega Shopping Mall – called Meadowhall, locally = Meddowhell.
Why Meddowhell?
Because it is full of Zombies. Walking dead. Empty faces. Empty eyes. Folks so engrossed in themselves or their cell-phones they hardly seem to know where they are or, hence the hell part of it, where you are. They walk straight into you.
And THAT is what eating, not only refined sugar but, Cooked Starch does to you.
Even before alcohol delivers, quite often, a knockout blow.
But, The Zombies recognise threats.
The Biggest Threat to any Zombie, is someone who is not A Zombie.
Now do we understand why so many people so dislike Mr Trump? He has a clear head and a quick wit and could run rings around them in any situation. Hence why he is/was The Successful Businessman. He has empathy and Zombies don’t.
Because every time that green aeroplane thumbnail shows up around here, the Green Pass, demonstrates a total lack of empathy from Warmists as all they while they claim the opposite. That the do care. haha
Don’t believe me? Call me crazy.
But before next time you call me crazy or try shoot me, Do Some Science.
Run The Experiment.
Stop the booze, don’t even look at vegetable oil and as far as you can, ditch the cooked starch from your diet.
Eat saturated fat and flavour it up with sodium chloride. Its all you need.
IOW, Wilfully ignore what nearly all the Zombified doctors and scientists say.
You do have ‘will’ don’t you? or have the ideas of moderation and/or social drinking destroyed it?
Come back in 12 months time and tell us all how you feel and how you see the world……
NB. I am not espousing Prohibition, EXCEPT for:
Our leaders and their close advisors
Our scientists, educators and healthcare managers inc all practising doctors.
Everyone else can carry on partying.
Was I being disagreeable up there?
If so, I was practising what Jordan Peterson told me in the first ever interview I saw of him.
(He demolished a (female) interviewer on Channel 4, not hard to find, IF you have The Will)
and a lovely little example almost everyone will know is:
“Don’t eat cheese before bedtime, it will cause nightmares”
A perfect example of Cause & Effect mangulation.
Because by implication, it says to eat something/anything that is NOT fat and/or protein as your last meal of the day.
IOW: Eat sugar
And it works soooo well. What are Horlicks, Ovaltine, Hot Chocolate drinks etc etc all about?
And how many Cowboys & Indian films have we all seen where The (wounded) Hero is advised to swig half a bottle of Whiskey in the moments before the arrow/bullet/spear is removed from blood-soaked personage?
The sugar does as the whiskey does, effectively knocks you out.
Hence forth, unconscious people don’t/can’t feel pain or have nightmares. Simples.
*Exactly* the sort of junk science he alludes to somewhere in there and perfectly describes the GHGE and all the effects it is going to have…
Or *do* they, is that their memory is simultaneously trashed by the sugar?
They don’t, in actuality, sleep too well either.
Hence why they *need* coffee in the morning. How crazy is that, after 8, 9 or 10 hours sleep you *NEED* coffee to wake yourself up. Utterly insane yet accepted as The Norm.
The Norm for Zombies, yes.
But you’ll find that, *when* you Run The Experiment.
Randle Dewees says:
Peta, I usually read your posts as I find them entertaining- I don’t disagree with your diet philosophy, but you seem to leave out the big moderating factor for health, physical activity. If you are active enough it matters little what you are throwing into the burner. So there is another dimension for your phase space of diet and well being. There are others too.
Ozonebust says:
It does matter what you put into the burner. It is not only about energy
“I spent a lot of time reading – I worked for a UN committee for 2 years on sustainable economic and ecological development, and read a very large amount during that period of time and learned a lot, much of which made me much more optimistic than I had been before I read the relevant literature, which was a real shock to me.
But the climate change is issue is an absolutely catastrophic nightmarish mess, and the idea that that will unite us, that’s not going to unite us. First of all it’s very difficult to separate the science from the politics, and second, even if the claims, the more radical claims are true we have no idea what to do about it, and so, no.
Besides it’s even worse than that, here’s one of the worst things about the whole mess — as you project outwards, with regard to your climate change projections, which are quite unreliable to begin with, the unreliability of the measurement magnifies as you move forward in time, obviously, because the errors accumulate, so if you go out 50 years the error bars around the projections are already so wide that we won’t be able to measure the positive or negative effects of anything we do right now, so how in the world are you going to solve a problem when you can’t even measure the consequence of your actions, how is that even possible?”
Frenchie77 says:
“……so how in the world are you going to solve a problem when you can’t even measure the consequence of your actions, how is that even possible?”
Well, we all know, climate change activists would be out of a job and lose the ability to virtue signal if the problem was solved. Therefore, the problem never be solved. Now, consider the benefits to politicians who are claiming to want to solve the problem, what benefit is it to them, to their political careers, to actually solve the problem. Again, none – in fact it is most useful to keep the problem.
And pharmaceutical companies make more money from medicines that need to be taken every day for the rest of your life. Quickly curing a disease is rather less profitable. And I say that as a statement of truth, not that they conspire to make it so. I have earned a living, indirectly, from the industry and still support its aims.
The fossil fuel industry industry is not evil either, despite the silly claims of environmentalists. It brings much benefit to us all and tends to go where rational actions to meet customer demand and the profit motive drive it.
Mickey Reno says:
The nature of GCM climate models, which stands for General Circulation Model, not Global Climate Model, is that they attempt to “physically calculate” the energy flowing in and out of very large (so large as to be unrepresentative) Hadley cells to actually model the flow of energy in 3 dimensions throughout our atmosphere over time. This virtual exercise guarantees that any error, no matter how tiny, will be multiplied by trillions of times if you extend your simulation by any appreciable time period, be it 1 year, 2 or 50 or 100 years into the future. There is no way in hell that anyone should ever give a single crap about the results of these virtual toys. These things are now malicious jobs programs for people who should be working in another industry, preferably not in academe and certainly not in the public policy arena. The USA and all nations need to get out of the UNFCCC so that we discontinue the funding of people who are bound up in these jobs programs. Of course, research universities and government bureaucracies won’t like that, and will fight like hell to protect their rice bowls. But tough titties, cut them off to save our children from growing up with artificially induced phobias. It’s for the children, fer godssakes.
Kaiser Derden says:
Mic Drop !!! and I love the barely contained contempt for the ignorance of the questioner …
James Clarke says:
The great tragedy of our time is that Jordan Peterson is an anomaly of common sense in a vast wasteland of human thought.
He comes by his wisdom in a most unusual way: he reads the works of previously great thinkers! This bizarre behavior use to be called education. It was routinely encouraged and, at times, required for young people. Many of the great thinkers, however, happen to be white males, due to a myriad of cultural, economic and technological circumstances that culminated in the European Renaissance; a time and place where logical thought was increasingly prized and rewarded.
Today, our education system is much more focused on getting students in touch with their feelings, particularly the feelings of anger and self righteousness associated with victimhood; a form of human neurosis; a psychological disease!
leitmotif says:
I’m surprised that there wasn’t an added introduction by Stephen Sackur to say why Jordan Peterson is wrong. Or Cathy Newman, planted in the audience, repeatedly asking, “So you’re saying …. ?”
At times like these, I don’t ask myself what Prince Charles and Al Gore would do.
The climate posing questioner clearly expected everyone to have already accepted that finding a cause to “unite” the world was the main goal. Also the main goal of everyone from Genghis Kahn to Mohammed to Joseph Stalin (Hitler’s not the only one) to the United Nations. The goal of unity first begs the question “In what?” If the goal of unity isn’t sufficient to unify in its own right, then unity is always a very unnecessary and bad thing.
Observer says:
Boring but useful: you can link to a specific time in the youtube video by adding the following to the URL (in this case for a 20:30 offset)
&t=20m30s
This doesn’t work with all styles of links but it’s good to know about. You can also see a “Copy video URL at current time” option when right-clicking to get a link.
u.k.(us) says:
Interesting, but then don’t you also have to explain to the audience that you have, in fact, edited for effect.
I kinda like Josh’s method.
W. Corey Trench says:
Love Jordan. Marked up his 12 Rules. He’s incredibly inspirational, for young and old. He makes us think harder and live more meaningfully, while still having fun.
I am a caregiver for a son with schizophrenia. He’s 29 now. It’s been 8 years since his break. He used to argue with me about global warming and socialism, when he was younger. I miss that.
Through all that he endures, I am very optimistic about his future. But, it is like John Nash … a long and winding road for both of us. His recovery is at glacial increments, but you see it.
I duck in here on occasion to read the latest discussion. Was glad to see this video posted.
J Wurts says:
Mr(?) Trench
Offered as a thought:
http://www.doctoryourself.com/hoffer_anecdote.html
Abram Hoffer was a brilliant research physician.
Excellent. Watched the whole video, just not all at once. He’s blunt, precise, and very rational, which is uncommon these days. Loved the long, rhetorical “question” about “global warming” and his reply of “No”. Followed, of course with an explanation.
I am very entertained by Jordan Peterson
Wow! This is definitely going to raise some eyebrows in academia. How are they going to justify continuing this nonsense reductio ad absurdum argument when a world famous psychologist has just given the science a diagnosis?
“the unreliability of the measurement magnifies as you move forward in time, obviously, because the errors accumulate, so if you go out 50 years the error bars around the projections are already so wide that we won’t be able to measure the positive or negative effects of anything we do right now, so how in the world are you going to solve a problem when you can’t even measure the consequence of your actions, how is that even possible?”
That was the brilliant part. And the other was we weren’t going to do much about it anyway. Were we all going to stop heating our homes, driving our cars or stop charging our cell phones? No, nobody is going retrograde on any advancements we have made as a human society. Human ingenuity will find solutions when the problem is actually identified correctly. Global warming isn’t a problem, just as all climate optimums of the past were never a problem for humanity. On the contrary, they were always periods of vast opportunities to advance civilization. Climate change is just a straw man argument that has no real meaning. As compared to what? The CC narrative has a hole in it so big, it isn’t even a rational argument since it can mean anything anyone wants it to be.
I am a great fan of Jordan Peterson. He’s been to Seattle twice this year (May and June.) We had tickets for the June visit, but I had a terrible cough so I didn’t go. My wife and our youngest son, now 30, went and had a great time. This being Seattle, I was concerned for their safety, but they said everything was calm and orderly outside the theatre, with no black masked thugs burning stores and breaking windows. Perhaps they were out of town on assignment in Portland that week.
Every time I listen to him, or reread a passage in “12 Rules for Life”, I find something of note. The thing that caught my attention this time was Jordan’s use of “scalability” to explain why those who dabble in things can multiply their profits, while those who dabble in interpersonal relationships can not. Of course, he is making a large number of “personal” connections with his writing and his lectures, so he’s “scaled” his effort. But the principle is true.
Looking at the audience at the close of the dialogue, I’d say that 80% of the males were enthusiastically clapping, and 40% (or less) of the females. And the moderator seemed to feel more and more uncomfortable as time passed. A moth before a candle?
“A moth before a candle?”
More like a mouse before a cat that is swishing its tail ?
[The mods wonder at the relative rank of a cat chasing a laser pointer in this series. .mod]
I’m sure I’m missing the point Mod, but I’ve learned from painful experience with my sisters cats, that when the tail starts swishing, it is just the cat waiting for the perfect time to pounce.
I was trying to find the right metaphor. And failed. From the very start you could see that the moderator expected the conversation to go in one direction, but Jordan didn’t fall for his traps. Jordan even spent five minutes explaining that since the age of 25, he’d been trying to hone his messages. I was wondering why Jordan picked that theme. Later it became apparent that Jordan’s warning had blunted some of the more superficial attacks the moderator might have planned. But the moderator fell back into the preplanned attack when he first asked for questions from the audience. Notice how quickly and decisively he spotted the Global Warming munchkin. No scanning the audience to see if there were any questions, just a single focus on one area, looking for one person. I hope, for his sake, that the moderator doesn’t play poker.
My choice of the moth was driven by the thought that as the moderator got close, he got singed, but he couldn’t just walk away. He had to keep trying.
I finally got it, it was the use of the term “series” that threw me off. Sorry.
Jordan is the best defence we have against the MkUltra MSM NWO pharma attack on humanity
Okay, I’ll go look it up and the others. Sounds like a new discovery in an otherwise closed society.
Harry Passfield says:
JP’s on BBC1 tonight 10:45 (GMT) – Question Time. Could be worth staying up for. Especially as he’s up against the likes of Diane Abbott.
Nigel Sherratt says:
JBP both David and Goliath in that contest.
BBC Question Time 8/11/2018
https://www.socialzon.me/videos/watch/9TdECiVV0zk
Interesting and chilling that level of security was required.
“So, no!” excellent response to the first question.
The lady struggling with autism was excellent. At least she’s in the right place with Prof. Simon Baron-Coen at Trinity.
https://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/people/simon-baron-cohen
ge says:
Climate Change wasn’t on the agenda at the Cambridge debate, but the first question from the audience put it there. Here’s how it began:
Member of audience:
“Drought, flooding and ocean acidification unanticipated for 65 million years all result from climate change, according to over 700 of your fellow scientists. So I was wondering whether you thought climate change could be an issue that could unite us all on left and right moving us beyond debates about C16 to discussions at the UN at Katowice next month, where perhaps humanity might discover its global map of meaning?”
Jordan Peterson: No.
[ten seconds of laughter and applause from the audience]
I bet the questioner regrets asking the question. I think JP may have made most of the audience revise their thinking on AGW, and hopefully be a bit more sceptical about what they are told is ‘settled science’.
Chris Hanley says:
“Drought, flooding and ocean acidification unanticipated for 65 million years all result from climate change …”.
Lord save us from bright-eyed seekers of ‘global maps of meaning’ and how can such a deeply ignorant person get admittance to any university — even Cambridge?
Maybe the audience will then think about what they need to do to catch up on the topic as a supposedly educated people with at least the capacity for critical thinking and data evaluation. What better way to set that in motion for them than an extreme juxtaposition of claims and debate. The dinosaur ending asteroid is closing in on ground zero–or not. Now do your homework and along the way you might discover some other side stories like differences between hard science and very soft science, policy misdirection, advocacy science, and ingredients of good science process itself. I guess the worst case scenario is that they are not up to the task or really not interested in “oceans boiling off tomorrow” and “mass evacuation of coastal areas” claims and will leave it to trendy leaders to take care of it all.
Let’s see now, what percent of awarded degrees in 2017 were in STEM fields?
“and hopelessness, don’t forget hoplessness!”
Definitely worth watching again, thanks to Josh as ever.
“Getting us nowhere” is the perfect vehicle for low-resolution uses of the new slush fund revenue stream. Anything will do actually.
The intersection of Jordan Peterson and Warmista misinformation, is a very interesting place:
‘Crawl back under your rock,’ Swedish foreign minister tells Canadian professor Jordan B Peterson
https://www.thelocal.se/…/crawl-back-under-your-rock-swedis…
Stan Sexton says:
Why should we fight global warming when the 3rd World gets a free pass to pollute? Work on China, India, Brazil and many countries trying to go 1st World.
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Wauwatosa Public Library Reference Databases
The Wauwatosa Public Library has a wide range of materials in various formats to serve patrons’ research, educational and recreational needs, including the databases listed below.
Other resources are available through Wisconsin’s online library, Badgerlink.
Please Note: To use the following databases from a location outside of the library, you must be a Wauwatosa resident and have a Wauwatosa Public Library Card.
| Adult Learning | Arts & Crafts | Business & Finance | Consumer Information |
| Homework Help | Languages | Newspapers |
The Gale courses are six-week online interactive courses for personal enrichment and professional development. Courses include a variety of topics such as genealogy basics, computer skills for the workplace and sign language, to name a few. The courses are instructor-led and sessions begin every month.
Brainfuse JobNow
Adult Learning Center is the adult learners version of HelpNow where patrons access GED prep, U.S citizenship test prep, resume assistance, Microsoft Office support, and Career Resources which lists popular job search links. Microsoft Office support allows patrons to ask questions about Excel, Word and PowerPoint. The Writing Lab, Send Question and the Skills Building are also included in the Adult Learning Center suite. Tutors are available every day from 2:00 pm to 1:00 am.
LearningExpress Library (Provided by Badgerlink)
LearningExpress provides a number of online resources to support you in achieving your personal and professional goals. Provides a completely interactive online learning platform of practice tests and tutorial course series designed to help patrons, students, and adult learners.
Creativebug.com
Jo-Ann Fabric’s Creativebug.com has more than 1,000 award-winning art & craft video classes taught by recognized design experts and artists.
Business Source Premier (Provided by Badgerlink)
Business Source Premier is the industry’s most used business research database, providing full text for more than 2,300 journals, including full text for more than 1,100 peer-reviewed business publications. This database provides full text back to 1886 and searchable cited references back to 1998.
CFRA Marketscope Advisor
CFRA MarketScope Advisor provides independent, differentiated and actionable analysis to help you make better investment and business decisions. Includes S&P Global’s Equity and Fund Research business, a leading provider of independent research and commentary with offerings focused on stocks, ETFs and mutual funds as well as sectors and industries.
ValueLine Research Center includes online access to ValueLine’s leading publications covering stocks, mutual funds, options and convertible securities as well as special situation stocks. ValueLine delivers reliable information to help you make better informed financial decisions.
Morningstar Library Edition
Morningstar Investment Research Center is an easy to navigate database to help both novice and veteran investors reach their investment goals. It’s the one-stop tool for collecting financial information, getting reliable portfolio analysis, learning about investment options, and getting the most up-to-date financial news commentary.
ReferenceUSA is a powerful online reference and research tool providing library cardholders instant, real-time access to accurate, in-depth information on 24 million U.S. businesses and 235 million U.S. residents. ReferenceUSA makes it faster and easier to find new business opportunities, research executives and companies, find news articles, conduct job searches, research papers, locate addresses and phone numbers, conduct market research and much more.
ConsumerReports provides ratings and reviews, recommendations and buying advice for thousands of products and services. Information is updated frequently, providing reliable data and unbiased information enabling customers to make better purchasing decisions.
Consumer Health Complete (Provided by Badgerlink)
Consumer Health Complete provides convenient access to easily understandable health and medical information. Consumers can search and browse within medical encyclopedias, popular reference books, and magazine articles.
Ancestry Library Edition (In Library use only)
A source for family history. Census, military records, immigration records, etc.
HeritageQuest Online (Provided by Badgerlink)
HeritageQuest Online is an essential collection of unique material for both genealogical hobbyists and professionals, with coverage dating back to the late 1700s. HeritageQuest Online combines digital, searchable images of U.S. federal census records with the digitized version of the popular UMI® Genealogy & Local History collection and other valuable content.
Brainfuse
Brainfuse is one of the nation’s leading online tutoring providers for students and adults. Brainfuse users receive personalized tutoring via a versatile and user-friendly online classroom.
Mango Languages is an award-winning resource that offers you online language instruction from the comfort of your own home or anywhere on the Internet. Mango Languages provides instruction with a conversational focus on over 70 languages, including Spanish, French, German, Mandarin Chinese and Italian. There is also instruction for English-as-a-second-language learners.
OED Online, the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary, is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history and pronunciation of 600,000 words, past and present-from across the English-speaking world.
MasterFILE Complete (Provided by Badgerlink)
MasterFILE Complete features more than 2,300 full text magazines and journals. It covers topics such as business, health, education, fitness, leisure, personal finance, general science, multicultural issue, DIY and fashion. The database offers photos, maps and flags. It features over 73,000 full text primary source documents as well and videos from the Associated Press.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel online provides full-text articles from 1990 to present on local news, issues, events, people and much more from current and archived issues of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Updated daily, it includes obituaries, editorials, announcements, sports, real estate and other sections of the paper.
Don’t miss a thing! The Wauwatosa Public Library gives you 24/7 access to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel with NewsBank. Articles range from 1990 all the way to today’s edition, so that you can easily find the important local information you crave, including full-color images from November 2018-today! Best of all, NewsBank provides an easy-to-use, mobile-friendly interface that allows saving, emailing and sharing articles! Use your library card today to take a look!
Newspapers World Collection
Historical newspapers archive from the 1700s-2000s containing thousands of well-known regional, state, and small local newspapers in the United States and other countries.
Wisconsin Newspapers Digital Research (Provided by Badgerlink)
Produced by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, this site offers access to its 235 daily and weekly member newspapers. Newspaper content is available beginning with April 2005 and recent issues are included following a three month embargo period. Each edition is provided in full, cover to cover, in a PDF, searchable format.
Delve into the stories an topics that interest you most from world news to the arts. Book Review to Sunday Review and everything in between.
Back to Research Tools Main
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JAY-Z Officially Kills Kanye West Feud In New Interview: We’re ‘Beyond Friends’
JAY-Z, 48, might have finally buried the hatchet with Kanye West, 40. During his appearance on My Next Guests Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, the Grammy Award winning rapper was asked about his rocky relationship with Kanye. “That’s my brother,” Jay told the former late night host during their intense one-on-one. “We’re beyond friends.” He even went on to gush about Kanye who he also called “brilliant” during the interview, saying: “The thing I respect about him is he is the same person.”
As HollywoodLifers might remember, Jay and Kanye’s feud heated up after Ye called out his longtime friend during an on-stage rant at a concert in 2016. In August 2017, Jay opened up about how Kanye’s rant deeply upset him. Even worse? Jay confirmed that it was how Kanye disrespected his family — wife Beyonce and daughter Blue Ivy — that truly struck him. “But what really hurt, you can‘t bring my kids, my wife into it. Kanye‘s my little brother, he’s talked about me 100 times, he made a song called ‘Big Brother,’ we’ve gotten past bigger issues,” Jay explained to Rap Radar. He even shared that Kanye knows he crossed a line because they had never gone so long without communicating. “I know he knows, because we’ve never let this much space go between one of our disagreements, and we’ve had many.”
Hopefully Jay is right, and his “beyond friends” relationship with Kanye has finally started to repair itself. We’re still waiting on that second Watch The Throne album, after all!
Published by westentertainmentrecords
West Entertainment Records View all posts by westentertainmentrecords
Kim Kardashian: Why She’s ‘Laughing All The Way To The Bank’ Over Photoshop Claims
Mo’Nique’s Amazing 50 Lb Weight Loss: See Pics Of Her Then & Now As She Weighs Under 200 Lbs
Tweetwee
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What I Learned – New Silk Road critics are ‘prejudiced’, China’s top diplomat says
By heebeha On Mar 30, 2019
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has never forced debt upon participants of its new Silk Road project as “prejudiced” critics have suggested, the country’s top diplomat said on Saturday in a strongly worded defense of a key policy platform of President Xi Jinping
FILE PHOTO: China’s Political Bureau member Yang Jiechi speaks during Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany February 16, 2019. REUTERS/Andreas Gebert
Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative, as it is formally called, envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with massive infrastructure spending.
But it has proved controversial in many Western capitals, particularly Washington, which views it as merely a means to spread Chinese influence abroad and saddle countries with unsustainable debt through nontransparent projects.
The United States has been particularly critical of Italy’s decision to sign up to the plan this month, during Xi’s visit to Rome, the first for a G7 nation.
Speaking to the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, Yang Jiechi, who runs the party’s foreign affairs committee, said he had noted that some in the international community believed this was a geopolitical tool and would only bring debt traps for participating countries.
“This obviously shows a lack of objectivity and fair understanding of the Belt and Road initiative. It is a misunderstanding, misjudgment and is even prejudiced,” wrote Yang, a former foreign minister and ambassador to Washington.
China has stressed many times that the Belt and Road is to promote joint development, he added.
“The Belt and Road is open, inclusive and transparent. It does not play little geopolitical games. It does not engage in the exclusion of exclusive small circles.”
Yang noted that many countries, companies and ordinary people participating in the Belt and Road project had “publicly refuted rumors” about it being a debt trap.
Belt and Road projects, from their selection to their financing, go through careful risk assessments and the initiative’s principles stress sustainable development, he said.
“For cooperative partners who have debt difficulties, China’s principle is to appropriately resolve this through friendly consultations, and has never pushed or forced debt” on anyone, Yang added.
To date no participating country has faced a debt crisis – to the contrary many countries have been able to escape the “no development trap”, he wrote.
China will hold its second Belt and Road summit in Beijing in late April.
Yang said almost 40 foreign leaders would take part, but did not name them.
Some of China’s closest allies have already confirmed they will come, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina; Editing by Shri Navaratnam
ChinascriticsdiplomatLearnedprejudicedRoadSilktop
James, Caldwell-Pope shoot Lakers past Hornets, 129-115
What I Learned – Martha Stewart’s Garlic Peeling Trick Is A Game Changer
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Supply Partners
FAQ - Integration Process
CURRENT (v. 136) Feb 28, 2018 16:27 Ilja Herdt
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Saturday Night Live’s Matt Damon + Leslie Jones Debate Weezer’s Legacy in Sketch
YouTube: Saturday Night Live
Miley Cyrus and Mark Ronson may have been the music guests on Saturday Night Live last night, but they weren't the only musicians garnering attention during the broadcast. That's because SNL dedicated a full sketch to debating Weezer's legacy.
The sketch starts off innocently enough with new neighbors Leslie Jones and Keenan Thompson being invited to dinner with two couples - Beck Bennett and Heidi Gardner and Matt Damon and Cecily Strong. Dinner seems to be going great until Weezer's version of Toto's "Africa" comes up in the shuffle playlist.
"Weezer, I didn't even know they were still a band?," says Bennett after Damon identifies the song. "Where have you been Rick, they just set a release date for the freakin' Black Album," adds Damon, which catches Jones' attention, ready to spark a debate.
"I'm just a little confused because real Weezer fans know that they haven't had a good album since Pinkerton in 96," claims Jones, with Cecily Strong's character nervously asking, "What's happening right now?"
It seems that Damon is a "ride or die" Weezer fan and the debate escalates with the rest of the dinner party incredulously watching on. "Is this something people care about?" asks Gardner, with Keenan Thompson, having already attempted to calm his wife stating, "No, no it isn't."
Watch as Damon and Jones go at it, with Damon offering, "'Pork and Beans' is better than 'Buddy Holly,'" and later causing Jones to shatter her champagne glass by telling her, "You just don't understand what Rivers is going through."
"Bitch, Rivers don't understand what Rivers is going through," Jones retorts, and things almost turn physical when Jones offers, "Weezer died when Matt Sharp left" and Damon counters, "Weezer didn't start until Scott Shriner got there."
Strong hilariously tries to steer the conversation elsewhere stating her love for Yellowcard only to get shot down by Damon.
Watch the escalating Weezer battle play out in the sketch below and weigh in on the debate in the Comments Section.
Both Weezer's Rivers Cuomo and Pat Wilson caught the sketch and commented on it via Twitter, clearly seeing the fun being had:
2019's Most Anticipated Hard Rock + Metal Albums
Source: Saturday Night Live’s Matt Damon + Leslie Jones Debate Weezer’s Legacy in Sketch
Filed Under: Weezer
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5-year-old girl gets dream wedding before undergoing risky heart surgery
Photos: Sassy Mouth Photography/GoFundMe
MERIDEN, CT (WSVN) — A five-year-old girl had her dream wedding before undergoing a risky heart surgery.
Sophia Elyssa Chiappalone has several life-threatening heart defects, according to a GoFundMe page started by a family friend.
“She was born with half of a heart — the whole right side of her heart was missing,” Sophia’s mom Kristy Chiappalone told WVIT.
The little girl’s doctors didn’t expect her to live past the age of two.
She wished for a dream wedding to marry her best friend Hunter before having open-heart surgery in January at Boston Children’s Hospital, “just in case.”
Sophia and Hunter met when they were 3 years old, and are always together. Chiappalone says her daughter calls Hunter as her best friend and love of her life.
“That’s all she wanted in the world, was to marry the love of her life,” Chiappalone said.
“You know they say marry your best friend, it just doesn’t usually happen before 1st grade,” Chiappalone wrote on Facebook.
The two kids said their vows on a playground.
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Ato Ulzen-Appiah & Buumba Malambo Voted 2018 African Youths of the Year
Charles Wundengba January 3, 2019
After weeks of public voting, winners of the 5th edition of Africa’s most coveted award for young achievers, Africa Youth Awards have been announced.
In commemoration of its 5th edition, the awards announced only 5 categories which featured 60 nominees from 28 countries across Africa and received massive participation from across the globe.
Winning the prizes for African Youth of the Year are Ato Ulzen-Appiah, Director of the GhanaThink Foundation and Buumba Malambo, Founder of the Buumba Malambo Foundation.
Prince Akpah, Co-Founder & President of the awards noted that for the past 5 years, Africa Youth Awards has evolved in recognising the outstanding works of young individuals who have demonstrated diligence in their individual commitments towards the advancement of various causes across the continent.
The awards in 2016 launched the 100 Most Influential Young Africans list which has also honoured 100s of young achievers across the continent coupled with features across the globe.
Below is the Full List of 2018 Winners
African Youth of the Year (Female) – Buumba Malambo, Founder, Buumba Malambo Foundation (Zambia)
African Youth of the Year (Male) – Ato Ulzen- Appiah, Director, GhanaThink Foundation (Ghana)
Advocate of the Year – Muhammed Lamin Saidykhan, Coordinator, Africans Rising Movement (Gambia)
Entrepreneur of the Year – Amon Sheefeni Namundjebo, CEO, Amon Security Services (Namibia)
Leader of the Year – Elizabeth Ntonjira, Communications Manager- Central, East & West Africa, IBM (Kenya)
Details about the winners are available on www.africayouthawards.org/2018winners
This year’s award was supported by Avance Media, My Naija Naira and Dream Ambassadors Foundation.
READ ALSO: Meet the Creator of "Buy The Block," the Only Black-Owned Platform of its Kind Fighting Gentrification and Funding Development in Black Communities
Source: Africa Youth Awards
Top Four Digital Artists in Ghana You Should Know About
11 Qualities of People With Amazing Emotional Intelligence
Kimberly Zhang January 3, 2019
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Revision as of 17:23, 16 January 2012 by Adwalker (Talk | contribs) (→Corporations Bureau of the Public Regulation Commission - New Mexico)
New Mexico State Agency Databases
This is an annotated list of databases produced by New Mexico State Agencies listed by producing agency. It was last checked for broken links on December 13, 2011.
If you are a registered user of this wiki, feel free to fix broken links or add databases with annotations. Or contact Adrienne Walker the documents specialist for this page at adwalker AT msjc DOT edu
Return to State Agency Databases listing.
1 Administrative Code - New Mexico
2 Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors - New Mexico
3 Board of Nursing - New Mexico
4 Bureau of Business and Economic Research - Statistical Abstract
5 Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources - New Mexico
6 Coal Mines Query - New Mexico
7 Child Care Search - New Mexico
8 Compilation Commission - New Mexico
9 Contracts - General Services Department
10 Corporations Bureau of the Public Regulation Commission - New Mexico
11 Corrections - Department of
12 Courts - New Mexico
13 Department of Public Safety - New Mexico
14 Environment - Department of
15 Film Office - New Mexico
16 Game and Fish - New Mexico Department of
17 General Services- New Mexico
18 Health - New Mexico Department of
19 Historic Markers - New Mexico
20 Legislature - New Mexico
21 Medical Board - New Mexico
22 Office of the State Engineer
23 Regulation and Licensing Department - New Mexico
24 Resource Graphic Information Systems
25 State Archives - New Mexico
26 State Bar of - New Mexico
27 State Library - New Mexico
28 State - New Mexico Secretary of
29 State Personnel Office - New Mexico
30 Supreme Court Law Library - New Mexico
31 Workforce Connection - New Mexico
Administrative Code - New Mexico
New Mexico Administrative Code Includes all new rules, amendments and appeals with effective dates.
Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors - New Mexico
Licensed Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors Search for licensed professional engineers and licensed professional surveyors by license number, last name, first name, city, state, zip, license type, branch or status (there is a key available on the search page to assist in the selection of license type, status or branch).
Board of Nursing - New Mexico
Board of Nursing This license and certificate lookup is the New Mexico State Board of Licensing online verification service provided to licensees, employers and the public, and is updated daily.
Bureau of Business and Economic Research - Statistical Abstract
University of New Mexico Provides access to census, population, economic and data profiles for the state of New Mexico
Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources - New Mexico
New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources The Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources serves as the geological survey for the state of New Mexico for elementary school students to research and industry scientists. The 'google-like' search allows natural language search and using the advanced search allows the users to limit the search of the site as well as number of items displayed. Reviewing the search expressions under advanced search can improve search results.
Coal Mines Query - New Mexico
New Mexico Coal Mines Query This database displays information from the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. This site includes general data and statistics about active mines, notices of violation and water quality samples.
Child Care Search - New Mexico
Child Care Search This database provides a customized, detailed search based around your needs. Searches can be performed by important criteria such as location, age of child, days/hours of care, and others is maintained by Mexico Kids and lists child care providers that are licensed or registered by recognized regulatory agencies in the state of New Mexico. The online search requires registration to log in.
Compilation Commission - New Mexico
New Mexico Appellate Opinions Search the New Mexico Appellate Opinions of the Supreme Court of New Mexico and the New Mexico Court of Appeals. These resources became available through the New Mexico Compilation Commission beginning January 1, 2011, and contains opinions of the appellate courts.
Contracts - General Services Department
Contracts Searchable database for contracts in excess of $20,000 entered with the State of New Mexico.
Corporations Bureau of the Public Regulation Commission - New Mexico
Corporations Bureau The Corporations Bureau of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission ensures industry compliance by issuing certificates of incorporation/authority, overseeing the organization and registration of limited liability companies, and verifying the completeness and accuracy of related charter documents.
Corporation Search Search for a Corporation by name or by the corporations New Mexico State Corporation Commission number. If searching by name searches can be focused by selecting search type.
Director Search Search for a Director(s) of a corporation by clicking of one of the alphabetical links or by entering a first and/or last name in the search boxes.
Agent Search Search for an Agent of a corporation by clicking on the alphabetical links or by entering a name in the search box. Searches can be focused by selecting search type.
Corrections - Department of
Offender Information Search The New Mexico Corrections Department Offender Information is intended to provide law enforcement agencies and the general public with information about offenders who are incarcerated or on probation and/or parole supervision. You must know an offender’s first and/or last name or NMCD Number to begin the search process.
Courts - New Mexico
The Judicial Branch of New Mexico This online case lookup is maintained by The New Mexico Courts. This database gives access to the lower court cases of the New Mexico District Court, Magistrate Court and Municipal Court data. Municipal court data is limited to criminal Domestic Violence and DWI historic convictions from September 1, 1991 onwards. Searches can be conducted by name, case number or DWI.
Department of Public Safety - New Mexico
Sex Offender Registry This sex offender registry has been designed to provide information to the public concerning the location of sex offenders residing in the State of New Mexico. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) hopes this site will increase and promote public awareness.
Missing Person Information Page Search by Name, City or the entire state of New Mexico. This web page was created to provide information to the public concerning abducted missing persons in the State of New Mexico.
Environment - Department of
EGIS Mapper The EGIS Mapper Application allows users to find and display key features of the data map such as drinking water sources and hazardous waste facilities. The navigation menu to the left covers key topics and functional tools of the map. Click on the Help Using this Tool link located in the upper right corner of the application for explanations and instructions regarding navigation, layers and controls in the creation of your query.
Liquid Waste Permit Database Finds permit information for a specific onsite wastewater treatment system (e.g. septic tank). Data for Bernalillo County, which is outside of the jurisdiction of the New Mexico Environment Department, is incomplete.
Film Office - New Mexico
New Mexico Film Office The New Mexico Film Office provides information for those in the film and television industry to find crew, meet production needs, identify locations and post-production services as well as support businesses in New Mexico. The New Mexico State Film Office also provides training and resources for New Mexicans interested in pursuing careers in the film and television industries.
Game and Fish - New Mexico Department of
New Mexico Wildlife Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy for New Mexico (CWCS/NM). Conserving New Mexico’s Biodiversity contains a searchable database allowing users to query the CWCS/NM database by species, habitats, ecological region or watershed, factors that influence habitats, research and survey needs, information gaps, or conservation actions.
General Services- New Mexico
Official Transparency and Accountability Portal The Sunshine Portal is the official transparency and accountability portal for New Mexico state government. This is your window into government spending, budgets, revenues, employees, contracts and more.
Health - New Mexico Department of
County Health Status Indicators - The public health datasets on NM-IBIS Department of Health generates tables of birth, death, health, hospital, infectious diseases and population estimates by county for a variety of indicators -- such as births to teen mothers, gender, deaths by a variety of causes.
Environmental Public Health Tracking Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) is designed to create a better understanding of how the environment affects people’s health and to educate the public about ways to protect themselves from possible exposures and their related health effects. On this site you learn about health effects that may be related to environmental exposures and create maps, charts and tables.
Historic Markers - New Mexico
Historic Markers Search through the geographic regions of New Mexico for historical markers. A brief description of each marker and its approximate location will display by region on a map by scrolling over a marker name. There is also a section of New Mexico Women Historical Markers. Citizens can also report missing historical markers and make recommendations for additional markers.
Legislature - New Mexico
Find Your Legislator Locate current members of the House of Representatives and the Senate by name, district or zip code. Former legislators can be searched by name. There are also documents available listing current leadership, addresses, phone numbers and seating charts for the New Mexico House of Representatives and the Senate.
Medical Board - New Mexico
Physician Profile Search - The New Mexico Medical Board provides and maintains physician data as part of this official website, and is the primary source for physician and physician assistant profiles and other related information and data. Information on the website is normally updated weekly, and the date of the most recent update is always provided on the search page.
Office of the State Engineer
WATERS Database - the Water Administration Technical Engineering Resource System "provides a historical analysis of each individual water right claim in New Mexico, court orders and decrees, hydrographic survey results, water right applications pending before the State Engineer, and electronic images of water right documents."
Regulation and Licensing Department - New Mexico
Regulation and Licensing The Regulation and Licensing Department oversees five different industries in New Mexico, as well as numerous specialized professions and trades. Search for a license by profession, license type or license status. Searches can also be conducted by facility or by person.
Resource Graphic Information Systems
RGIS Reference Maps A cooperative program between the University of New Mexico (UNM) and the State of New Mexico Information Technology Commission (ITC). Includes downloadable digital spatial data via FTP and PDFs of state maps
State Archives - New Mexico
New Mexico State Archives The online catalog for the New Mexico State Archives.
State Bar of - New Mexico
Find an Attorney This online directory includes current information of active and inactive State Bar of New Mexico attorneys. Enter information or use the drop down menus for convenience. Inclusion in “Find an Attorney” or "Premium Listings" does not imply endorsement or recommendation by the State Bar of New Mexico of any attorney listed. Entering the least amount of information will yield greater results. Looking for an attorney? Enter "Type of Law" and "NM Counties where cases are accepted" and click Search or consider Referral Programs offered by the NM State Bar Foundation.
State Library - New Mexico
State Library, New Mexico The New Mexico State Library is committed to providing leadership that promotes effective library services and access to information to all citizens of New Mexico. The State Library provides services that support public libraries as well as delivers direct library services to rural populations, state agencies, the visually impaired and physically disabled, and students and citizens conducting research.
SALSA - System Access to Libraries in State Agencies State Library online catalog.
State - New Mexico Secretary of
Ethics Administration Political Finance Reporting System - Searchable database of electronically filed campaign finance reports. Search by name of candidate, name of PAC or office sought.
Uniform Commercial Code Information Search by business name, individual name, or file number.
State Personnel Office - New Mexico
State Personnel Office The New Mexico State Personnel Office recruits for all New Mexico State Agencies. Job openings are updated daily. You can apply for jobs online.
Supreme Court Law Library - New Mexico
Supreme Court Law Library The online catalog for the New Mexico Supreme Court Law Library! Searches of the New Mexico Supreme Court Law Library can be accomplished using single or multiple keyword or exact phrase.
Supreme Court Law Library Icon Search The icon search of the online catalog is a 'Kid Friendly' search with easy to use and fun icons in a very simple to use interface.
Supreme Court Law Library Government Documents Search the New Mexico Supreme Court Law Library's page of government information resources and databases for print, online, electronic, and microfiche items.
Workforce Connection - New Mexico
Job Search Database Jobs database for New Mexicans seeking work and employers in search of employees. Registration is required and is free.
Retrieved from "https://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php?title=New_Mexico&oldid=14830"
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Scott McCarron Returns to Defend Dick’s Open Title
WNBF News/Roger Neel Photo
The defending Dick's Sporting Goods Open Champion Scott McCarron returns to look for a repeat of last year at En Joie Golf Course. McCarron birdied his final three holes last summer to finish with a round of 64 and earn a one-shot win over Kevin Sutherland.
Overall, McCarron won four golf tournaments last year and finished third in the final Charles Schwab Cup standings. So far this year McCarron has a victory in the American Family Insurance Championship and has nine top-10 finishes. He is currently ranked fifth in the Charles Schwab Cup point standings.
In McCarron's win at the American Family Insurance Championship earlier this season he shot an 8-under round of 64 to edge Jerry Kelly by one shot. McCarron notched three consecutive birdies on holes 14, 15 and 16 then earned pars on the final two holes to clinch the win.
Filed Under: En Joie Golf Course
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DJ Gordy
Time Capsule’s latest delight is from Ethiopian singer Gigi – this Bill Laswell produced gem is here for the first time on vinyl
Now the dynamic Time Capsule label is really moving through the gears, with the reissue of Gigi’s Illuminated Audio, this Bill Laswell produced album is pressed on double 180g vinyl for the first time since 2003’s CD release. It’s a joy to hear this resurface.
With a collective of expert currators selecting rare and obscure musical delights and news of two new additions to the catalogue – Gigi’s offering is out now and Bombay S Jayashri’s Shravanam in June – the Time Capsule label is a beacon of supreme music, as well as education and digging (just check out their artist biographies and new record shop on their exquisite website).
Following reissues of Japanese fusionist Yuji Toriyama and Italian new age visionary, Il Guardiano Del Faro, the third Time Capsule is a body of dub reinterpretations. This time the precious Release is curated by Tokyo record collector, music researcher and seasoned reissue supervisor Ken Hidaka.
As the Time Capsule website explains: “Ejigayehu Shibabaw was born in 1974 in Chagni, northwestern Ethiopia and by pursuing a career as a singer, went against her father’s strict, traditional gender roles. As Gigi, she embraced the same musical freedom she had strived for in her personal life, incorporating the Ethiopian church, funk, hip-hop, West and South African music into her work. She first settled in Nairobi, then Addis Ababa, where she quickly established herself as one of the city’s leading singers. A move to San Francisco in 1998 led to a long and fruitful creative partnership with bassist and producer, Bill Laswell.”
Enter Island Records head honcho Chris Blackwell, who had stepped away from The label to start the art house film company and label Palm Pictures. He pulled together an all-star cast of musicians for Gigi’s self-titled US debut album, including Herbie Hancock, Pharoah Sanders and Wayne Shorter.
Journalist Tyran Grillo, who has compiled the liner notes for this reissue with thorough research and meticulous care, explains how her first album earned international critical acclaim for making Gigi a “defining voice for the Ethiopian expatriate community” and “a shower of sunlight on her homeland for those ignorant of its struggles”. It’s success encouraged a return to the studio, a revisit of the album and the resulting Illuminated Audio. Laswell worked with Gigi’s original vocals and produced a dubwise masterpiece, Gigi was present to bless the work and “create a different music language that really puts you in a pleasant place,” she remarked at the time.
Label producer Kay Suzuki has a host of collaborators lined up and has music lovers eagerly waiting for more.
Kay Suzuki
Time Capsule collective member, Hidaka, has been a key conduit and the “go-to-guy” for Japanese music by labels in the West during the last two decades. He has lived in the U.S and London and has worked for one of the biggest independent labels in Japan, P-Vine Records as A&R, he’s worked as an overseas liaison for Flower Records, helped launch Wax Poetics Japan, supervised the reissues of Tony Allen’s solo works and supervised many reissues of iconic dance labels such as Salsoul, West End, P&P Records and Streetwise in Japan, and has also A&Red several mix CDs by DJ Nori (who introduced Hidaka to Illuminated Audio), Dimitri From Paris, DJ Spinna and Idjut Boys. Recently, he has also been working for a number of European labels such as WRWTFWW / Mental Groove, BBE, Mr Bongo, Music For Dreams and Archeo Recordings to secure licensing for each label’s Japanese music reissues, as well as being an agent and tour manager for Midori Takada in recent years.
Ken Hidaka
Hidaka also runs a monthly party – with Max Essa, Dr. Rob of banbantonton, DJ Gordy and Guy Bassett – called Lone Star at the world renowned Bar Bonobo in Tokyo. They’ve run it for eight years and celebrated their 100th party in March 2019.
Check out this mix from the Time Capsule launch party to hear Hidaka DJ:
The website has a whole host of mixes related to the various curators. More can also be read about the production aspects of Illuminated Audio and more on Laswell’s genius. The enigmatic producer’s work as Material and reinterpretations of Bob Marley, Miles Davis and Santana do more than stand the test of time. Increasingly, Laswell’s visionary work is being recognised for it’s ethereal beauty and architectural complexity, by producers, DJs and musicians – and rightly so.
The next Time Capsule by Bombay S Jayashri promises to be another reissue of sonic beauty and wonderment. More to follow soon on WTM, or check out the Time Capsule website for another biography of impeccable depth and interest.
May 11, 2019 WTM Bar Bonobo, Bill Laswell, Bob Marley, Bombay S Jayashri, Chris Blackwell, DJ Gordy, Dr Rob, Gigi, Guar, Guy Bassett, Herbie Hancock, Il Guardiano Del Faro, Illuminated Audio, Kay Suzuki, Ken Hidaka, Lone Star, Max Essa, Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders, Santana, Shavanam, Time Capsule, Tokyo, Wayne Shorter, Yuji Toriyama Leave a comment
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Trump on assault accuser: ‘She’s not my type’
Posted 10:41 am, June 25, 2019, by Tribune Media Wire
President Trump responded to E. Jean Carroll’s sexual assault accusation Monday with a strange choice of words: “She’s not my type.”
In an Oval Office interview, the president told the Hill: “I’ll say it with great respect: Number one, she’s not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?”
He went on to say that Carroll, an Elle columnist who accuses him of sexually assaulting her in the dressing room of a high-end department store more than 20 years ago, is “totally lying.” “I know nothing about this woman,” he said. “It’s just a terrible thing that people can make statements like that.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has fired back at women accusing him of sexual misconduct by saying he wasn’t attracted to them, the New York Times reports. “Believe me, she would not be my first choice, that I can tell you,” he said of an accuser in 2016.
“I love that I’m not his type. Don’t you love that you’re not his type,” Carroll told Anderson Cooper on CNN after Trump’s remarks.
She said Trump was delivering his standard response to being accused of sexual misconduct. “He denies, he turns it around, he threatens and he attacks.” (Trump has denied ever meeting Carroll, despite photographic evidence.)
More From Newser:
Cops Thought He Killed His Parents. He Was Dead All Along
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You’re All Going to Die,’ Cruz Laughs in Chilling Video
Kevin Spacey sex assault case could be dismissed because the accuser took the Fifth Amendment, judge says
Video of Trump kissing a campaign aide leaves both sides claiming vindication
Court documents detail text messages between Kevin Spacey’s accuser, his girlfriend
R. Kelly pleads not guilty to 11 more sex-related charges
President Trump to Putin: ‘Don’t meddle in the election’
President teases ‘big league statement’ on immigration at US-Mexico border
Tennessee governor: Lawmaker should address allegations
‘I know nothing’ — Trump changes his tune on WikiLeaks
President: If lawmakers ‘hate our country,’ they ‘can leave’
Joe Biden launches 2020 presidential campaign
Security company owner wanted for sexual battery after employee claims he gyrated against her
Mueller declares his Russia report did not exonerate Trump
Mueller to testify publicly on July 17 following a subpoena
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Drug Rehab and Treatment Centers Information Thornville, Ohio
Looking for Drug Rehab and treatment centers in Thornville, Ohio?
There are several alcohol and drug treatment centers solutions to individuals residing in the Thornville area. It is very important recognize each one of the types of rehab options available in Thornville, AB., in order to find the appropriate rehab approach for yourself or a family member. Selecting the proper alcohol and drug treatment center in Thornville is the most important element in the process of treating of substance abuse, addiction and alcoholism. The following information will assist you to recognize your various treatment options so that you have the best potential for an effective outcome.
Let's examine the many alcohol and drug rehabilitation facilities in Thornville, Ohio options that coincide with the condition of the individual looking for rehabilitation.
Inpatient drug and alcohol rehab in Thornville, AB. is really a rehab possibility best for people who require health-related treatment in the course of rehab or clients with substantial drug abuse histories. Men and women can develop mental and physical dependence to drugs even after a short period of time, so inpatient drug rehab in Thornville is considered the best treatment possibility in almost all situations. Because of substance abuse and addiction, men and women will most likely struggle to recover with the limited services provided by outpatient rehab facilities in Thornville, Ohio where alcohol and drugs continue to be readily available when they depart the outpatient program. In addition, people in rehabilitation who take part in outpatient rehab instead of inpatient drug and alcohol treatment in Thornville remain susceptible to negative relationships and circumstances that might compromise their process of recovery. If someone lives with an abusive companion or maintains relationships that entail substance abuse, any rehab activities in outpatient treatment will be in vain. For this reason in-patient alcohol and drug rehabilitation in Thornville, AB. is going to produce more tangible outcomes which will prove lasting contrary to an outpatient drug and alcohol treatment facility where advantages could be very minimal and short-lived.
In Thornville there's both short-term and long-term inpatient drug and alcohol rehab. Short-term is a 30-day center, while long-term inpatient drug rehabilitation in Thornville, Ohio is a lot more extensive and rehabilitation lasts 90-120 days generally speaking. It becomes an ideal environment for clients because it is a secure drug-free setting where they can recover both physically and mentally without distraction. Ideally, men and women will continue within a long-term in-patient drug and alcohol treatment center in Thornville for the optimum time period allowed, in order to deal with anything which can cut across their sobriety after they leave rehabilitation. Because of the fact that detoxing and becoming physically stable can require 2-3 weeks by itself, the three to six months in long-term in-patient drug and alcohol rehab in Thornville is going to be time spent well and much more effective than short-term centers.
The most crucial component of all if you or someone you love is struggling with a substance abuse or addiction concern is to do something about it, call someone and seek the advice of trained addiction professionals and have an evaluation and rehabilitation options to ensure the best opportunity for a full recovery.
There are no local drug rehab listings for Thornville, Ohio so we have provided the 6 closest treatment facilities arranged by distance from Thornville:
Licking Memorial Hosp at Shepherd Hill
(Newark is 10.3 from Thornville)
200 Messimer Drive
Newark, OH. 43055
Contact Licking Memorial Hosp at Shepherd Hill, by calling 740-348-4870.
Hospital Inpatient Services, Drug Treatment for Dual Diagnosis Clients, Drug Rehabs For Senior Citizens
Contact Woodlands, by calling 740-349-7066 x220.
Self Pay Drug Rehab Programs, Drug Rehabs That Accept Medicaid, Drug Treatment Programs That Accept Medicare, State Financed Insurance, Drug Rehabs That Accept Private Health Insurance, Drug Rehabs With Sliding Scale Fees
Behavioral Healthcare Partners of
1445 West Main Street
Contact Behavioral Healthcare Partners of, by calling 740-522-8477.
Contact Shepherd Hill, by calling 740-348-4870.
Drug and Alcohol Rehab, Drug And Alcohol Detox Programs, Hospital Inpatient Services, Outpatient Drug Treatment Programs, Short Term Drug Rehab Centers, Long Term Drug Rehab Programs
Self Pay Drug Rehab Programs, Drug Rehabs That Accept Medicaid, Drug Treatment Programs That Accept Medicare, Drug Rehabs That Accept Private Health Insurance
69 Granville Street
Contact Spencer House, by calling 740-345-7030.
Drug and Alcohol Rehab, Halfway Houses, Long Term Drug Rehab Programs, Drug Treatment Centers For Men
Self Pay Drug Rehab Programs, Drug Rehabs That Accept Private Health Insurance, Drug Treatment Centers That Accept Military Insurance, Drug Treatment Centers With Payment Assistance Programs
Courage House
Contact Courage House, by calling 740-345-5074.
Drug and Alcohol Rehab, Halfway Houses, Long Term Drug Rehab Programs, Drug Rehabs For Women
The number and percentage of past month nonmedical users of stimulants increased from 904,000 (0.4 percent) in 2008 to 1.3 million (0.5 percent) in 2009, based in part on an increase in methamphetamine users, from 314,000 (0.1 percent) to 502,000 (0.2 percent).
The rate of current use of any tobacco product among persons aged 12 or older remained steady from 2007 to 2008 (28.6 and 28.4 percent, respectively). The rates of current use of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars, and pipe tobacco also did not change significantly over that period. Between 2002 and 2008, past month use of any tobacco product decreased from 30.4 to 28.4 percent, and past month cigarette use declined from 26.0 to 23.9 percent. Rates of past month use of cigars, smokeless tobacco, and pipe tobacco were similar in 2002 and 2008.
In 2009, 4.3 million persons aged 12 or older (1.7 percent of the population) received treatment for a problem related to the use of alcohol or illicit drugs. Of these, 1.6 million received treatment for the use of both alcohol and illicit drugs, 0.8 million received treatment for the use of illicit drugs but not alcohol, and 1.5 million received treatment for the use of alcohol but not illicit drugs. (Note that estimates by substance do not sum to the total number of persons receiving treatment because the total includes persons who reported receiving treatment but did not report for which substance the treatment was received.)
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Film Review: Burning
April 23, 2019 by DM Bradley
Drawn from a short story by famed Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, this epically sprawling South Korean psychodrama is deeply enigmatic, unsettling and, eventually, just a touch frustrating.
Director and co-writer Chang-dong Lee’s adaptation features a memorable performance by Steven Yeun (infamously late of US TV’s The Walking Dead and credited as ‘Yeun Sang-yeop’), but the real star is actually Ah-in Yoo, who plays hapless protagonist Lee Jong-su with sullen skill.
He’s (supposedly) a creative writing student in Paju, Seoul, and in the midst of doing odd jobs he meets cute former schoolfriend Shin Hae-mi (Jong-seo Jun, impressive in her first film), who says she’s had plastic surgery. She seems to be a narcoleptic (and a liar), and she wants him to feed her cat while she goes on a trip to Kenya, and after we have an intimate glimpse of Jong-su’s private sexual fantasies, Hae-mi returns with Ben (Yeun, playing the role with almost scary coolness).
Ben’s rich and lives in a fancy apartment, compared to Jong-su’s rundown family farm on the border of North Korea, and a lengthily discomfitting battle begins between the two men, even though Hae-mi doesn’t appear necessarily attracted to either and, in a disturbingly protracted scene, is revealed as pretty messed-up herself.
So much is implied and so many questions linger long after the curtain falls: Is Jong-su being framed for something? Did Hae-mi know Ben before Kenya? What is Ben’s high-paying job? And big secrets? And why can’t the hopelessly passive Jong-su get the Hell over himself and fight for the girl he loves – or, at least, is carnally obsessed with? And does any of this really matter?
A bit of a ‘Critic’s Movie’ (it’s overlong, vague and in a foreign language), this could well do with 20 minutes being trimmed from its 148 minute running time, and yet there’s still an awful lot here to enjoy, from the expertly subdued playing to the location work and cinematography to a nasty yet elusive sense of humour. And there is something cruelly satisfying in watching Jong-su’s life go up in smoke.
Burning (MA) is in cinemas now
Film Review: Raw
Film Review: At Eternity’s Gate
Review: Demolition
‘Opening Scene’ to connect emerging writers with screen industry
Review: Wild
Review: Hamlet
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Project Calender
Tile Wreck
"Wreck Two" in Monte Cristi Bay
"Wreck One" in Monte Crisiti Bay
Le Casimir 1829
Le Dragon 1783
Florida - ADMAT's Button Wreck Project 2005
The Island Wreck in Monte Cristi Bay
Application Process And Required Documentation
News! Read all about it here first
ADMAT Newsletters
The ADMAT Le Dragon July 2018 Blog
ADMAT's Mission Statement
"News Form The Deep" Archive
ADMAT France
ADMAT Team
Simon Spooner
Well, my thanks go to Connor for doing the diving blog so far and now that he has departed for the other side of the world, I have to take up where he left off. No guarantee it shall be so eloquent. The new Team had arrived and they were quickly brought up to speed on the wreck site and what had been learnt so far. It was also great to have PhD student Florence Prudhomme with us. She is finalising her thesis on Le Dragon and the epic history of the ship and the Captain and was following on from my hypothesis on the wreck, which I published in my PhD thesis back in 2004. This was her first dive on the wreck site so she was really excited.
Team two getting ready for their first dive on Le Dragon
As usual, we had to adapt to the constant changing wreck site and the difficulties that we faced. One of them was the fine mud silt which was deposited over the centuries from a small stream running down to the beach. This was intertwined with sand from the sea meaning that as we hand fanned or tried to uncover anything clouds of silt would be created. This created poor photographic conditions much to our annoyance.
Today we started to uncover two parallel gradiometer hits which seemed to be equidistant from the keel. We also were thankful for the storm which had uncovered about 7ft of vertical coverage over the wreck site, which unfortunately had been deposited on the bow area. This meant that after three days of uncovering we still did not get to the bow or the figurehead and so I decided that we would relocate to the stern section where we had established an archaeological grid and were slowly documenting items which were protruding from the seabed and in an uncovered state. In fact, if it was not for the storm uncovering the site we would have had a hard time to get down to this level.
The port side was visible as well as the sandbags and grid from the 2000 survey. The starboard side which had not been seen before was also now exposed making documentation easier. As to the area around the stern of the ship, this area had also been uncovered leaving a number of gradiometer hits to be discovered. These turned out to be iron ballast bars, sometimes known as “kentledge” and came from strips known as pigs, so they were also called “pig iron”.
One of the small iron ballast bars which scatter the wreck site
There were two sizes small and long and both had holes in them at either end, used for lifting and positioning in tight spaces at the bottom of the ship. So today we started defining these artefacts which were numerous as well as the two parallel large hits.
The rear end of the long sections of iron ballast on the amidships starboard side
These turned out to be different sizes of ballast bars joined together and it appears there may well be a mixture of small and long bars concreted together and some even longer. We did not have time to uncover all of the long parallel bars just the starboard side. We still do not know how far they run to but it appears that they continue to the amidships break. However, it was interesting that the ship had a mixture of iron ballast bars and stone ballast.
Bryan Thomas and Florence Prudhomme after four hours underwater on Le Dragon
Tomorrow we aim to finish uncovering these long parallel iron bars.
Tagged: ADMAT Le Dragon, Washington, maritime archaeology, pig iron, kentledge
© Copyright ADMAT All rights reserved
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The website www.aeroflot.ru (“Website”) is hosted by Public Joint Stock Company «Aeroflot - Russian Airlines» (“Aeroflot”).
On our Website, various cookies may be used. With this Cookie Policy, we would like to inform you what cookies are, what they do, and what kind of cookies are used via our Website. In so far as we collect Personal Data via cookies, we process these Personal Data in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
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.rewards.aeroflot.ru _ga This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics - which is a significant update to Google's more commonly used analytics service. This cookie is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. It is included in each page request in a site and used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data for the sites analytics reports. By default it is set to expire after 2 years, although this is customisable by website owners.
.aeroflot.ru _gat_UA-25816578-2 This is a pattern type cookie set by Google Analytics, where the pattern element on the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. It appears to be a variation of the _gat cookie which is used to limit the amount of data recorded by Google on high traffic volume websites.
.aeroflot.ru _ga This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics - which is a significant update to Google's more commonly used analytics service. This cookie is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. It is included in each page request in a site and used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data for the sites analytics reports. By default it is set to expire after 2 years, although this is customisable by website owners.
.reservation.aeroflot.ru _gat_UA-25816578-1 This is a pattern type cookie set by Google Analytics, where the pattern element on the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. It appears to be a variation of the _gat cookie which is used to limit the amount of data recorded by Google on high traffic volume websites.
.rewards.aeroflot.ru _gid This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics. This appears to be a new cookie and as of Spring 2017 no information is available from Google. It appears to store and update a unique value for each page visited.
.aeroflot.ru _gid This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics. This appears to be a new cookie and as of Spring 2017 no information is available from Google. It appears to store and update a unique value for each page visited.
.aeroflot.ru __utma This is one of the four main cookies set by the Google Analytics service which enables website owners to track visitor behaviour and measure site performance. This cookie lasts for 2 years by default and distinguishes between users and sessions. It it used to calculate new and returning visitor statistics. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics. The lifespan of the cookie can be customised by website owners.
.aeroflot.ru __utmz This is one of the four main cookies set by the Google Analytics service which enables website owners to track visitor behaviour measure of site performance. This cookie identifies the source of traffic to the site - so Google Analytics can tell site owners where visitors came from when arriving on the site. The cookie has a life span of 6 months and is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics.
6 months /
.aeroflot.ru __utmb This is one of the four main cookies set by the Google Analytics service which enables website owners to track visitor behaviour and measure site performance. This cookie determines new sessions and visits and expires after 30 minutes. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics. Any activity by a user within the 30 minute life span will count as a single visit, even if the user leaves and then returns to the site. A return after 30 minutes will count as a new visit, but a returning visitor.
7.2.2 Third Party
mc.yandex.ru yabs-sid This domain is owned by Yandex. The main business activity is: Russian search engine. The MC sub-domain is accociated with their web analytics service.
7.3 Analytical Cookies (third party)
.doubleclick.net id This domain is owned by Doubleclick (Google). The main business activity is: Doubleclick is Googles real time bidding advertising exchange.
.facebook.com datr This domain is owned by Facebook, which is the world's largest social networking service. As a third party host provider, it mostly collects data on the interests of users via widgets such as the 'Like' button found on many websites. This is used to serve targeted advertising to its users when logged into its services. In 2014 it also started serving up behaviourally targeted advertising on other websites, similar to most dedicated online marketing companies. This cookie identifies the browser connecting to Facebook. It is not directly tied to individual Facebook the user. Facebook reports that it is used to help with security and suspicious login activity, especially around detection of bots trying to access the service. Facebook also say the behavioural profile associated with each datr cookie is deleted after 10 days. This cookie is also read via Like and other Facebook buttons and tags placed on many different websites.
.facebook.com fr This domain is owned by Facebook, which is the world's largest social networking service. As a third party host provider, it mostly collects data on the interests of users via widgets such as the 'Like' button found on many websites. This is used to serve targeted advertising to its users when logged into its services. In 2014 it also started serving up behaviourally targeted advertising on other websites, similar to most dedicated online marketing companies. Contains browser and user unique ID combination, used for targeted advertising.
.facebook.com lu This domain is owned by Facebook, which is the world's largest social networking service. As a third party host provider, it mostly collects data on the interests of users via widgets such as the 'Like' button found on many websites. This is used to serve targeted advertising to its users when logged into its services. In 2014 it also started serving up behaviourally targeted advertising on other websites, similar to most dedicated online marketing companies. Used to manage the login process, remembers user on return visit if they choose to stay logged in.
.google.co.uk SAPISID This domain is owned by Google Inc and is the company's UK oriented search site. Although Google is primarily known as a search engine, the company provides a diverse range of products and services. Its main source of revenue however is advertising. Google tracks users extensively both through its own products and sites, and the numerous technologies embedded into many millions of websites around the world. It uses the data gathered from most of these services to profile the interests of web users and sell advertising space to organisations based on such interest profiles as well as aligning adverts to the content on the pages where its customer's adverts appear.
.google.co.uk HSID This domain is owned by Google Inc and is the company's UK oriented search site. Although Google is primarily known as a search engine, the company provides a diverse range of products and services. Its main source of revenue however is advertising. Google tracks users extensively both through its own products and sites, and the numerous technologies embedded into many millions of websites around the world. It uses the data gathered from most of these services to profile the interests of web users and sell advertising space to organisations based on such interest profiles as well as aligning adverts to the content on the pages where its customer's adverts appear.
.google.co.uk SID This domain is owned by Google Inc and is the company's UK oriented search site. Although Google is primarily known as a search engine, the company provides a diverse range of products and services. Its main source of revenue however is advertising. Google tracks users extensively both through its own products and sites, and the numerous technologies embedded into many millions of websites around the world. It uses the data gathered from most of these services to profile the interests of web users and sell advertising space to organisations based on such interest profiles as well as aligning adverts to the content on the pages where its customer's adverts appear.
.google.co.uk PREF This domain is owned by Google Inc and is the company's UK oriented search site. Although Google is primarily known as a search engine, the company provides a diverse range of products and services. Its main source of revenue however is advertising. Google tracks users extensively both through its own products and sites, and the numerous technologies embedded into many millions of websites around the world. It uses the data gathered from most of these services to profile the interests of web users and sell advertising space to organisations based on such interest profiles as well as aligning adverts to the content on the pages where its customer's adverts appear.
.google.co.uk NID This domain is owned by Google Inc and is the company's UK oriented search site. Although Google is primarily known as a search engine, the company provides a diverse range of products and services. Its main source of revenue however is advertising. Google tracks users extensively both through its own products and sites, and the numerous technologies embedded into many millions of websites around the world. It uses the data gathered from most of these services to profile the interests of web users and sell advertising space to organisations based on such interest profiles as well as aligning adverts to the content on the pages where its customer's adverts appear.
.google.co.uk SSID This domain is owned by Google Inc and is the company's UK oriented search site. Although Google is primarily known as a search engine, the company provides a diverse range of products and services. Its main source of revenue however is advertising. Google tracks users extensively both through its own products and sites, and the numerous technologies embedded into many millions of websites around the world. It uses the data gathered from most of these services to profile the interests of web users and sell advertising space to organisations based on such interest profiles as well as aligning adverts to the content on the pages where its customer's adverts appear.
.google.co.uk APISID This domain is owned by Google Inc and is the company's UK oriented search site. Although Google is primarily known as a search engine, the company provides a diverse range of products and services. Its main source of revenue however is advertising. Google tracks users extensively both through its own products and sites, and the numerous technologies embedded into many millions of websites around the world. It uses the data gathered from most of these services to profile the interests of web users and sell advertising space to organisations based on such interest profiles as well as aligning adverts to the content on the pages where its customer's adverts appear.
.google.com APISID This domain is owned by Google Inc. Although Google is primarily known as a search engine, the company provides a diverse range of products and services. Its main source of revenue however is advertising. Google tracks users extensively both through its own products and sites, and the numerous technologies embedded into many millions of websites around the world. It uses the data gathered from most of these services to profile the interests of web users and sell advertising space to organisations based on such interest profiles as well as aligning adverts to the content on the pages where its customer's adverts appear.
.google.com SSID This domain is owned by Google Inc. Although Google is primarily known as a search engine, the company provides a diverse range of products and services. Its main source of revenue however is advertising. Google tracks users extensively both through its own products and sites, and the numerous technologies embedded into many millions of websites around the world. It uses the data gathered from most of these services to profile the interests of web users and sell advertising space to organisations based on such interest profiles as well as aligning adverts to the content on the pages where its customer's adverts appear.
.google.com NID This domain is owned by Google Inc. Although Google is primarily known as a search engine, the company provides a diverse range of products and services. Its main source of revenue however is advertising. Google tracks users extensively both through its own products and sites, and the numerous technologies embedded into many millions of websites around the world. It uses the data gathered from most of these services to profile the interests of web users and sell advertising space to organisations based on such interest profiles as well as aligning adverts to the content on the pages where its customer's adverts appear.
.google.com PREF This domain is owned by Google Inc. Although Google is primarily known as a search engine, the company provides a diverse range of products and services. Its main source of revenue however is advertising. Google tracks users extensively both through its own products and sites, and the numerous technologies embedded into many millions of websites around the world. It uses the data gathered from most of these services to profile the interests of web users and sell advertising space to organisations based on such interest profiles as well as aligning adverts to the content on the pages where its customer's adverts appear. This is a common Google cookie, used across several of their services. Stores user preference and can be used to personalise ads on google searches.
.google.com SID This domain is owned by Google Inc. Although Google is primarily known as a search engine, the company provides a diverse range of products and services. Its main source of revenue however is advertising. Google tracks users extensively both through its own products and sites, and the numerous technologies embedded into many millions of websites around the world. It uses the data gathered from most of these services to profile the interests of web users and sell advertising space to organisations based on such interest profiles as well as aligning adverts to the content on the pages where its customer's adverts appear. This cookie is used by Google in combination with HSID to verify a Google user account and most recent login time.
.google.com SAPISID This domain is owned by Google Inc. Although Google is primarily known as a search engine, the company provides a diverse range of products and services. Its main source of revenue however is advertising. Google tracks users extensively both through its own products and sites, and the numerous technologies embedded into many millions of websites around the world. It uses the data gathered from most of these services to profile the interests of web users and sell advertising space to organisations based on such interest profiles as well as aligning adverts to the content on the pages where its customer's adverts appear.
.google.com HSID This domain is owned by Google Inc. Although Google is primarily known as a search engine, the company provides a diverse range of products and services. Its main source of revenue however is advertising. Google tracks users extensively both through its own products and sites, and the numerous technologies embedded into many millions of websites around the world. It uses the data gathered from most of these services to profile the interests of web users and sell advertising space to organisations based on such interest profiles as well as aligning adverts to the content on the pages where its customer's adverts appear. Used by Google in combination with SID to verify Google user account and most recent login time.
.twitter.com auth_token This domain is owned by Twitter. The main business activity is: Social Networking Services. Where twitter acts as a third party host, it collects data through a range of plug-ins and integrations, that is primarily used for tracking and targeting. Twitter does not currently provide information on the use of specific cookies.
15 years /
.twitter.com twll This domain is owned by Twitter. The main business activity is: Social Networking Services. Where twitter acts as a third party host, it collects data through a range of plug-ins and integrations, that is primarily used for tracking and targeting. Twitter does not currently provide information on the use of specific cookies.
.twitter.com __utmz This domain is owned by Twitter. The main business activity is: Social Networking Services. Where twitter acts as a third party host, it collects data through a range of plug-ins and integrations, that is primarily used for tracking and targeting.
.twitter.com secure_session This domain is owned by Twitter. The main business activity is: Social Networking Services. Where twitter acts as a third party host, it collects data through a range of plug-ins and integrations, that is primarily used for tracking and targeting. Twitter does not currently provide information on the use of specific cookies.
.twitter.com guest_id This domain is owned by Twitter. The main business activity is: Social Networking Services. Where twitter acts as a third party host, it collects data through a range of plug-ins and integrations, that is primarily used for tracking and targeting. Twitter does not currently provide information on the use of specific cookies.
.twitter.com __utma This domain is owned by Twitter. The main business activity is: Social Networking Services. Where twitter acts as a third party host, it collects data through a range of plug-ins and integrations, that is primarily used for tracking and targeting.
.twitter.com remember_checked This domain is owned by Twitter. The main business activity is: Social Networking Services. Where twitter acts as a third party host, it collects data through a range of plug-ins and integrations, that is primarily used for tracking and targeting. Twitter does not currently provide information on the use of specific cookies.
.twitter.com remember_checked_on This domain is owned by Twitter. The main business activity is: Social Networking Services. Where twitter acts as a third party host, it collects data through a range of plug-ins and integrations, that is primarily used for tracking and targeting.
.vk.com remixlang Affiliate marketing referrer domain.
a year /
.yandex.ru yp This domain is owned by Yandex. The main business activity is: Russian search engine.
.yandex.ru i This domain is owned by Yandex. The main business activity is: Russian search engine.
.yandex.ru yandexuid This domain is owned by Yandex. The main business activity is: Russian search engine.
.yieldlab.net id This domain is owned by Yieldlab, a German based online advertising planform provider.
7.4 Uncategorized
admin.aeroflot.ru POS_COUNTRY –
7 days /
admin.aeroflot.ru django_language –
www.aeroflot.ru tmr_detect –
.aeroflot.ru ak_bmsc –
an hour /
.aeroflot.ru _abck –
.aeroflot.ru booking_system –
20 hours /
.aeroflot.ru AF_preferredLanguage –
www.aeroflot.ru BF_departureDate1_0 –
.aeroflot.ru _ym_metrika_enabled_12084547 –
.admin.aeroflot.ru _gat_owox –
admin.aeroflot.ru tmr_detect –
.aeroflot.ru bp_session_id –
admin.aeroflot.ru CURRENCY_ICER –
www.aeroflot.ru DEFAULT_AIRPORT_0 –
www.aeroflot.ru BF_numInfants_0 –
.aeroflot.ru sb_session_id –
.aeroflot.ru _ym_visorc_9853981 –
www.aeroflot.ru sessionid –
.rewards.aeroflot.ru _gat_owox –
.aeroflot.ru bm_sz –
.aeroflot.ru _ym_uid –
.aeroflot.ru cfids46 –
.aeroflot.ru _gat_owox –
.aeroflot.ru _ym_visorc_45232911 –
.aeroflot.ru AF_preferredLocale –
.aeroflot.ru sb_pnr_session_id –
.aeroflot.ru my_session –
.aeroflot.ru csrf_token –
www.aeroflot.ru django_language –
www.aeroflot.ru BF_journeySpan_0 –
www.aeroflot.ru CURRENCY_ICER –
.aeroflot.ru _gat_Aeroflot_ru_Standard –
www.aeroflot.ru KFP_DID –
www.aeroflot.ru BF_numChildren_0 –
.www.aeroflot.ru pkl_session_id –
.aeroflot.ru _ym_metrika_enabled –
.reservation.aeroflot.ru _gat_owox –
www.aeroflot.ru oxxfgh –
.aeroflot.ru sessionid –
14 days /
www.aeroflot.ru POS_COUNTRY –
admin.aeroflot.ru sessionid –
www.aeroflot.ru BF_returnDate_0 –
www.aeroflot.ru BF_numAdults_0 –
.aeroflot.ru sb_ci_session_id –
.aeroflot.ru session_id –
.aeroflot.ru feedback_session_id –
.aeroflot.ru bm_sv –
.aeroflot.ru _gat_Aeroflot_ru_GAPStandard –
.www.aeroflot.ru alp_session_id –
.aeroflot.ru _ym_isad –
.aeroflot.ru banneradm_session_id –
.imedia.cz sid –
a month /
.mail.ru VID –
.mail.ru FTID –
.ok.ru bci –
.ok.ru landref –
ru.fp.kaspersky-labs.com das_d_tag –
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You are at:Home»News»Engine Testing»NASA and industry team successfully test Orion launch abort motor
NASA and industry team successfully test Orion launch abort motor
By Anthony James on 21st June 2017 Engine Testing, Space
Orbital, along with NASA and Lockheed Martin, successfully performed a ground firing test of the abort motor for NASA’s Orion spacecraft Launch Abort System (LAS) at Orbital ATK’s facility in Promontory, Utah.
The launch abort motor is a major part of the LAS, which provides a tremendous enhancement in spaceflight safety for astronauts.
“We at Orbital ATK are very proud to work with NASA and Lockheed Martin on the Orion Launch Abort System, and to provide a motor that is so integral to astronaut safety,” said Charlie Precourt, vice president and general manager of Orbital ATK’s Propulsion Systems division and former NASA astronaut. “The importance of our crews’ safety and well-being can’t be stressed enough.”
The mission for Orion’s LAS is to safely jettison the spacecraft and crew out of harm’s way in the event of an emergency on the launch pad or during initial launch ascent. Today’s abort motor test, Qualification Motor-1 (QM-1), was the culmination of a series of component tests conducted over the past few years in preparation for qualification. The test will confirm the motor can activate within milliseconds and will perform as designed under high temperatures.
The abort motor, which stands over 17ft (5m) tall and spans 3ft (0.9m) in diameter, has a manifold with four exhaust nozzles. It was fixed into a vertical test stand with its nozzles pointing skyward. Upon ignition, the abort motor fired for five seconds with the exhaust plume flames reaching up to 100ft (30.5m) in height.
The high-impulse motor was specifically developed so the majority of its propellant would be expended in the first three seconds, burning three times faster than a typical motor of this size and delivering the thrust needed to pull the crew module safely away from its launch vehicle. The motor reached 400,000 lb (1,779kN) of thrust in one eighth of a second, as expected. This is enough thrust to lift 66 large SUVs off the ground.
This milestone brings Orion one step closer to its first flight atop NASA’s Space Launch System, Exploration Mission-1, and to eventually enabling humans to explore beyond the Moon, Mars and other destinations beyond low Earth orbit. More analysis will be performed in the coming weeks, but all initial test results appear to be nominal.
Orbital ATK’s next major abort motor milestones include the QM-2 launch abort motor test firing scheduled for late next year in Utah, and the Ascent Abort-2 Flight Test (AA-2) scheduled to take place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, in 2019. Previous large-scale tests of the launch abort motor include a development motor test in 2008 and a test of the complete LAS in 2010.
Orbital ATK is responsible for the launch abort motor through a contract to Lockheed Martin – Orion’s prime contractor. The Orion LAS program is managed out of NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia. Orbital ATK produces the abort motor at its Magna, Utah, facility and the attitude control motor at its Elkton, Maryland, facility. The company also manufactures the composite case for the abort motor at its facility in Clearfield, Utah.
New satellite fuel to be tested in-orbit
Testing ion thrusters for space exploration
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