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Folk, Ryan [1], Soltis, Douglas [2], Soltis, Pamela S. [3], Cellinese, Nico [4], Mort, Mark [5], Allen, Julie [6], Stubbs, Rebecca [7], Guralnick, Rob [8].
Correlation among functional trait shifts, habitat shifts, and diversification patterns in the flowering plant clade Saxifragales.
The ability of plant lineages to shift in niche occupancy is likely to be associated with evolutionary shifts in suites of functional traits that increase survival in those habitats. However, the assessment of such correlated evolution between niche and species traits has been hampered by the difficulty of accumulating and linking these data layers in a phylogenetic context at large scales. We present a large-scale synthesis of environmental and functional trait data in the flowering plant lineage Saxifragales (2400 species). This comprises 24 traits accumulated globally from flora treatments (vegetative and reproductive morphology, life history); niche occupancy information (from soil, topographic, land cover, and climatic data); and a synthesis of phylogenetic information in the group (72% species-level coverage, 26% represented by phylogenomic data).
Synthesizing these data reveals that, as expected, correlated evolutionary patterns between niche predictors and functional traits are widely detectable, and that likewise phylogenetic signal is widely detectable. We also characterize patterns of clade disparity in both environmental and functional trait data. We present these patterns in combination with diversification rate inferences to demonstrate whole-organism phenotypic shifts associated with habitat shifts that may be responsible for the present-day diversity of this clade in desert and arctic-alpine systems.
1 - Florida Museum Of Natural History, Dickinson Hall, 1659 Museum Road, Gainesville, FL, 32611, United States
2 - University of Florida, Biology, Gainesville, FL
3 - University Of Florida, Florida Museum Of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, 32611.0, United States
4 - University Of Florida, FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NAT. HISTORY, 1659 Museum Rd., 354 Dickinson Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, United States
5 - University Of Kansas, Ecology And Evolutionary Biology, 2041 Haworth Hall, 1200 Sunnyside Ave., Lawrence, KS, 66045, United States
6 - Florida Museum of Natural History, 1659 Museum Road, Gainesville , FL , 32611, USA
7 - University Of Florida, 1659 Museum Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32611, United States
8 - Florida Museum of Natural History, 1659 Museum Road, Gainesville, FL, 32611, United States
ecological niche modeling
functional traits
evolutionary constraint
ancestral niche reconstruction
data layers.
Session: 18, Macroevolution I
Date: Tuesday, July 24th, 2018
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Join Email List | About us | AMERICAblog Gay
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Follow @americablog
OP/ED: Pope Ignores Jesus, Casts Stones
| Reddit | Tumblr | Digg | FARK
He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
-- John 8:7 (KJV)
Seriously, I think that the Pope might need to spend more time reading the Bible and less time writing books. From Reuters:
Homosexual marriages are part of "a new ideology of evil" that is insidiously threatening society, Pope John Paul says in a new book published Tuesday.
In "Memory and Identity," the Pope also calls abortion a "legal extermination" comparable to attempts to wipe out Jews and other groups in the 20th century.
He's kidding, right? Gay couples who want to commit themselves in love is an ideology of evil? Perhaps he should look in his own organization if he wants to talk about evil. Thanks to a number of brave victims, and the commitment of The Boston Globe, we know this:
For decades church leaders kept horrific tales of abuse out of the public eye through an elaborate culture of secrecy, decepetion, and intimidation. Victims who came forward with abuse claims were ignored or paid off, while accused priests were quietly transferred from parish to parish or sent for brief periods of psychological counseling.
Far from being unaware of abusive behavior, Cardinal Law and his deputies had detailed information on many of the archdiocese's most serious molesters. Yet it was not until decades of allegations had accumulated against them that many abusive clergymen were removed from parish ministry. Despite reports of child rape and other criminal behavior by clergymen, church leaders made no apparent effort to inform law enforcement authorities.
The scandal began brewing in Boston, but it was not isolated here. As public furor grew, other dioceses began confronting abusive clergy in their ranks. By the end of 2002, some 1,200 priests had been accused of abuse nationwide, according to a study by The New York Times. Over the course of the year, five US prelates resigned in connection with sex scandals, including Boston's Cardinal Law -- joining four others who had resigned in previous years. The crisis was also felt worldwide, with accusations of abuse or the mishandling of scandals forcing the resignation of bishops in Argentina, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Wales, Scotland, Canada, Switzerland, and Austria.
In 2002 1,200 priests had been accused of abuse. By 2004, that number had grown to over 4,300. Again, from the Globe:
The Catholic bishops of the United States have removed about 700 allegedly abusive priests and deacons from ministry over the last two years, a dramatic housecleaning at the end of a half-century in which 4,392 priests allegedly abused 10,667 minors.
In my mind, that nearly 11,000 children were abused by men of God is pure evil. The Church's organized-crime-style response to pay off victims, cover it up, and move the priests to new parishes, that, Your Holiness, is unadulterated evil. So spare me, Your Holiness. This former Catholic has decided to stop standing there while you throw stones and start throwing them back. Two people of the same gender who love each other is not evil, it is love, and God is love.
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
-- 1 John 4:7-8 (NRSV)
To call two adult human beings who live in a relationship of love evil is an attempt to deny them participation in one of the most fundamental human experiences -- the experience of loving someone and being loved in return. That is where God is found.
I, for one, am done listening to "men of God" tell me that because I am a gay man I should be denied love, and by extension, God. God is not yours to take away.
-- Rob in Baltimore
About AMERICAblog
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West Coast, US
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Much more about the blog and our writers here.
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Hannity Presses Trump On Which Nations Assisted In Coup Attempt, Trump Reveals A Game Changer
Kirsters’ Opinion| Just a day after officially launching his 2020 presidential candidacy bid, President Donald Trump spoke to Fox News Network’s Sean Hannity, exclusively telling him that “investigators are working to determine whether his personal phone calls were secretly monitored by U.S. intelligence agencies during the 2016 campaign — a possibility he called ‘the ultimate,'” according to Fox.
The President drilled House Democrats after they put his former leading communications advisor Hope Hicks “through hell,” when photos of her testifying in front of a closed-door committee on Capitol Hill were leaked on social media.
Fox explains, “Hicks is the Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer for Fox Corporation, and Fox News is a subsidiary of Fox Corporation.”
“What’s happened to the Democrats — and in the meantime, they’re not doing any work in Congress,” the President told Sean Hannity, going on to label the party as “unhinged.”
“They’re not allowed to do that. It’s probably illegal,” he said, speaking of the leaked photographs of Hicks.
Fox explains:
Some Democrats complained that Hicks, in her appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, was ordered by the White House to stay quiet about her time as an aide to Trump, citing legal privileges.
White House communications director Hope Hicks, a longtime Trump associate, resigned. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
But, Trump condemned Democrats’ ongoing hearings on collusion and obstruction as an attempt at a “do-over” of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
“Take a look at Ukraine,” the President said. “How come the FBI didn’t take the server from the DNC? Just think about that one, Sean.” That was a reference to the DNC’s decision in 2016 to turn over its server to the private security firm Crowdstrike, rather than the FBI, after what prosecutors said was a Russian-led hack.
Early on Wednesday, the Hill’s John Solomon reported that the FBI, in their search for warrant affidavits, “relied heavily on leaked Ukrainian financial documents concerning former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort — even though the bureau was repeatedly warned that the documents were untrustworthy and likely fake,” according to Fox.
Via Fox News:
Earlier this year, Ukraine Prosecutor General Yurii Lutsenko opened a probe into the so-called “black ledger” files that led to Manafort’s abrupt departure from the Trump campaign. The investigation commenced after an unearthed audio recording showed that a senior Ukrainian anticorruption official apparently admitted to leaking Manafort’s financial information in 2016 — including his ties to pro-Russian actors in Ukraine — to benefit Clinton.
A Ukrainian court recently ruled that the Manafort leak amounted to illegal interference in the U.S. election. A 2017 investigation by Politico found that Ukrainian officials not only publicly sought to undermine Trump by questioning his fitness for office, but also worked behind the scenes to secure a Clinton victory.
Trump told Hannity the episode was hardly surprising, given that the Hillary Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee (DNC), through the firm Fusion GPS, funded British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s creation of an unverified and largely discredited dossier. The FBI went on to cite the dossier in secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court applications to surveil former Trump aide Carter Page.
“I think it’s a disgrace,” the President said.
Phil F June 21, 2019
As the President works for the American people, the democrats waste time and money looking for crimes by the president that don’t exist. It’s obvious democrats don’t care about the American people since they push the false narrative about Russian/Trump collusion and obstruction of justice and don’t do their job of working for the American people.
Seb June 21, 2019
You are correct! Let’s hope the voters are Smart in 2020 and don’t vote Democrat!
ONLYJB1 June 21, 2019
And they want a raise in pay?
Danny June 21, 2019
The Democrats have people like the Clintons and Obama’s as their leaders . The Democrats also have about 25 outright liars and criminals in congress protecting the Clintons and Obama’s.
Someone said that if the Democrats are accusing you of acting a certain way they are already doing it. The Democrat leadership of today is not only corrupt but runs much like and organized crime organizations.
Hershel June 27, 2019
Es sind maximal 24 von 27 Trophäen erspielbar.
Leesa July 6, 2019
Vorschub leistet die Ideologie der Daten.
Audry July 10, 2019
Einen davon können wir Ihnen bieten: Unsere Medaillen.
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Front Porch Punditry » The Woodshed » WTH?! » McAuliffe’s SuperPAC paid $500,000 to campaign of wife of FBI official overseeing Hillary email investigation
#1 | McAuliffe’s SuperPAC paid $500,000 to campaign of wife of FBI official overseeing Hillary email investigation Mon Oct 24, 2016 4:29 pm
Cincinnatus
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
Location: Richland, WA
Nothing to see here, move along.
The Wall Street Journal has a report that in any other presidential campaign would be a game-changer this close to election day.
According to the report, Clinton crony and Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe gave close to $500K dollars through a Super PAC to the political campaign of the wife of a high-level FBI official who had oversight of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of an unauthorized, non-secure, non-government email server while she was Secretary of State.
Campaign finance records show Mr. McAuliffe’s political-action committee donated $467,500 to the 2015 state Senate campaign of Dr. Jill McCabe, who is married to Andrew McCabe, now the deputy director of the FBI.
The Virginia Democratic Party, over which Mr. McAuliffe exerts considerable control, donated an additional $207,788 worth of support to Dr. McCabe’s campaign in the form of mailers, according to the records. That adds up to slightly more than $675,000 to her candidacy from entities either directly under Mr. McAuliffe’s control or strongly influenced by him. The figure represents more than a third of all the campaign funds Dr. McCabe raised in the effort.
Mr. McAuliffe and other state party leaders recruited Dr. McCabe to run, according to party officials. She lost the election to incumbent Republican Dick Black.
A spokesman for the governor said he “supported Jill McCabe because he believed she would be a good state senator. This is a customary practice for Virginia governors… Any insinuation that his support was tied to anything other than his desire to elect candidates who would help pass his agenda is ridiculous.”
http://beta.hotair.com/archives/2016/10/...campaign=buffer
Absolutely. All McAuliffe was interested in was good government. Any suggestion to the contrary is evidence of right wing paranoia.
CNN declares unlawful for public to search WIKILEAKS... » « Report: Votes Switched From Trump to Hillary in Texas
Stormy Daniels’ Lawyer Says Russian Paid Trump Attorney Cohen $500,000
Created in forum Had enough yet? by algernonpj 6 Thu May 10, 2018 4:36 pm
Democrat outraged to learn taxpayers paid $220,000 sexual harassment claim against him
Created in forum General Political News and Opinion by Cincinnatus 1 Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:24 pm
ThirstyMan • Views: 45
Dismissed FBI Agent Is One Who Changed Hillary Email Scandal Language From "Grossly Negligent" To "Extremely Careless"
Created in forum Had enough yet? by algernonpj 1 Tue Dec 05, 2017 5:07 pm
Obama’s Campaign Paid $972,000 To Law Firm That Secretly Paid Fusion GPS In 2016
Created in forum Barack Hussein Obama - The man who would be Dictator by algernonpj 0 Mon Oct 30, 2017 12:15 am
Evergreen professor at center of protests resigns; college will pay $500,000
Created in forum National News by Cincinnatus 0 Sun Sep 17, 2017 6:21 pm
$500,000 in US taxpayer money wasted on Afghan facility that 'melted,' watchdog reports
Created in forum World News by FWP 1 Tue Jan 20, 2015 12:35 pm
Fallout from the Bailout: GM Recalls 500,000 More Cars, Over 16 Million in 2014
Created in forum Business and Economic News by Eglman 0 Mon Jun 30, 2014 9:46 am
Eglman • Views: 89
BREAKING: CBO Says Obama’s Minimum Wage Increase Would Cost 500,000 Americans Their Jobs…
Created in forum Breaking News by Eglman 0 Tue Feb 18, 2014 3:58 pm
Hillary Clinton got $500,000 in jewelry from Saudi King
Created in forum The Hilderbeast by Rev 0 Sun Sep 01, 2013 9:17 pm
Rev • Views: 142
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International online haiku courses - Individual and group feedback for haiku; tanka; haibun; and tanka stories / tanka prose
With Words is now known as "Call of the Page".
For further information about our 2017 courses please do not hesitate to email Karen and Alan at:
admin@callofthepage.org
Or visit our new website at:
The With Words online haiku courses, and related genres of tanka, haibun, tanka prose, and tanka stories - for September to December 2016.
Please see details below.
Alan's Haiku Journey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VS36AGVI6s
With Words runs a number of online courses throughout the year:
Japanese Form Free-for-All!
Pick your favorite Japanese form from tanka, senryu, haiku, haibun or tanka prose, and submit three times over two months. A chance to see what your fellow writers are doing; what excites them about each form, and spread your Japanese form ‘wings'. Optional prompt materials on inspiring subjects are offered for each assignment.
In-depth feedback is given on all work by Alan, and lesson prompts are written by Karen.
LEVEL: intermediate; improvers.
GROUP SIZE: up to 6.
START DATE (for receipt of materials): Monday 19th September 2016
FULL COST: £95 or US$125
EARLY BIRD COST: £80 or US$105 (if paying by Monday 5th September 2016)
BOOKING: by payment via PayPal to alan@withwords.org.uk.
Contact: karen@withwords.org.uk
Haiku Beginners - Group Online Course
This is a new course.
We were keen to introduce a purely entry level course, not only for people who are looking specifically to learn about writing haiku, but for those who are inspired to try this short form as a manageable way in to starting creative writing.
With this course, we enjoy getting back to basics. We will learn what to watch out for when reading haiku, and begin to write snippets, ready to write complete haiku by the end of the course.
Participants should have at least three finished haiku by the end of the course, and ideas for continuing their writing.
The course ends with an optional 20-minute phone or Skype chat with Alan to answer any outstanding questions about haiku in general or the student's work.
This is a really useful foundation course for beginners, and those who are between newcomers, beginners, and intermediate. Highly recommended to get you grounded in what makes contemporary haiku tick!
LEVEL: beginners at haiku, or beginners at creative writing.
START DATE: To be confirmed. Please let us know if you would like to be put on the notification list.
Haiku - Group Online Course
This haiku course is suitable for those with some experience of either creative writing or haiku already, as it is quite advanced and technical (see below for haiku beginners). Participants submit three poems three times over the two-month course (total 9 poems) and may also add a couple of rewrite poems for final comments during that time. The course ends with an optional 20 minute phone or Skype chat with Alan to answer any outstanding questions about haiku in general or the student's work.
START DATE (for receipt of materials): Thursday 29nd September 2016
EARLY BIRD COST: £80 or US$105 (if paying by Thursday 15th September 2016)
This particular course, Haiku - Group Online Course for intermediate and improvers is SOLD OUT!
Look out for news about the next intermediate/improvers haiku by us.
Also available all year round :
One to One Individual feedback
Feedback on your haiku on a one-to-one basis at any time, minimum booking ninety minutes.
If you wish to book a block of hours (for instance for help with editing/creating a collection) then price reductions start with four hour bookings.
If you can't wait until the next intermediate/improver course comes around, as they do sell out quickly, this one to one may suit you.
For Further information email Karen at: admin@callofthepage.org
Call of the Page
formerly known as With Words:
With Words running online courses in haiku (and other related genres) since June 2009, and in-person courses at various venues since 1999.
Alan regularly has participants on his courses from around the world including USA; Canada; New Zealand; Australia; Singapore; Europe; U.K.; India etc…
"Thank you for your feed back. You make things seem so clear ... So enjoyed reading the others' work too." MB
"I have enjoyed the course tremendously and know that I will return to Alan's notes frequently as I continue to write tanka." J
“This course has been a really great experience for me. I have absorbed all the feedback and it has had an important impact on my writing. I agree with everything Alan has said regarding my haiku and it is amazing that Alan has put his finger on every little shade and "flaw" of my haiku in such a detailed way.” ML
“Trying to distil very personal moments and memories into a few lines is something I have never attempted before, in fact never thought of before - and for that I thank you.” AS
“Hi Alan - thanks so much for this … I really had no idea there was so much to this art, and I'm completely fascinated. Your comments are extremely perceptive.” MK
Alan Summers: Bio
Alan is Director/Lead Tutor of With Words, an international provider of literature, education and literacy projects, and With Words online workshops based around the Japanese genres.
He is also the President of the United Haiku and Tanka Society: http://www.unitedhaikuandtankasociety.com/biographies.html
He is the editor of the forthcoming publication:
Writing Poetry: the haiku way (2017)
He has been an expert on English-langauge haiku (and other Haikai Literature) for 25 years. Alan is a Recipient of the Japan Times Award (2002) for both haiku and renku, and the Ritsumeikan University of Kyoto Peace Museum Award for haiku (1998).
Alan is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet regularly a Teaching Artist at the USA-based Poetry Barn organisation for Haiku and Tanka, and also for Haibun (later in 2013).
Alan has been the haiku poet-in-residence for Cornell University, Mann Library: http://tinyurl.com/cornell-AlanSummers
He is a TEDx Speaker: Amazement of the ordinary- life through a haiku lens:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxLTiR7AKDE
Alan was also invited to give a talk at Haiku News:
http://haikunews.bandcamp.com/album/episode-1-alan-summers-feb-2013
He is a founding editor for Bones Journal (contemporary haiku): http://www.bonesjournal.com/, and Haiku/Haibun Special Feature Editor, Lakeview International Journal of Literature and Arts.
Alan has been:
• General Secretary of the British Haiku Society (1998-2000)
• Panel of Judges: The Biennial Sasakawa Prize for Original Contributions in the Field of Haikai (Sasakawa Foundation U.K. and British Haiku Society)
• Embassy of Japan, (2009) Roving “Japan-UK 150 Haiku & Renga Poet-in-Residence”
• Co-ordinator of The 1000 Verse Renga Project in partnership with Bath Libraries (U.K.) and supported by the BBC Poetry Season website
• Bath Spa University undergraduate development project Haiku poet-in-residence (Autumn 2006 - Summer 2007)
• Panel of Editors for the award-winning annual Red Moon Anthologies for best haikai literature (2000-2005)
• Foundation Member of the Australian Haiku Society
• a founding editor with Haijinx, showcasing humor in haiku
He was also co-founder/co-organizer, and Literature Director, of the 2010 Bath Japanese Festival.
Alan is published in around 100 haiku anthologies; and published in over fifteen languages including Japanese, and British Sign Language.
Japanese newspaper publications:
Yomiuri Shimbun; Asahi Shimbun; Mainichi Shimbun; The Japan Times; and The Mie Times.
Anthologies include various leading haiku anthologies including the Norton poetry anthology on haiku:
Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years ed. Jim Kacian, Allan Burns & Philip Rowland with an Introduction by Billy Collins (W. W. Norton & Company 2013) http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Haiku-in-English/
• ‘Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac’
Kodansha International, Japan, ed. William Higginson ISBN 4770020902 (1996)
• Iron Book of British Haiku
(Iron Press; ISBN: 0906228670 First published 1998, Third print 2000)
• Stepping Stones: a way into haiku
(British Haiku Society, 2007, ISBN 978-0-9522397-9-6)
• The Humours of Haiku (Iron Press 2012) ISBN 978-0-9565725-4-7
Co-Editor of various Haiku-based anthologies including:
• Parade of Life: Poems inspired by Japanese Prints ISBN: 09539234-2-8 (Poetry Can/Bristol Museum and Art Gallery/Japan21/Embassy of Japan 2002)
• The Poetic Image - Haiku and Photography (Birmingham Words/National Academy of Writing Pamphlet 2006)
• Fifty-Seven Damn Good Haiku by a Bunch of Our Friends (Press Here 2010 USA) ISBN 978-1-878798-31-2
• Four Virtual Haiku Poets (YTBN Press 2012) ISBN-10: 1478307544 ISBN-13: 978-1478307549
• c.2.2. an anthology of short-verse poetry and haiku (YTBN Press 2013) ISBN-10: 1479304565 ISBN-13: 978-1479304561
• Quest Gallery Through a glass darkly catalogue with haiku section by Alan Summers (July 2012)
Four Haiku Collections:
• “Does Fish-God Know” (YTBN Press 2012)
“A must-have book for any haiku fan.”
Tracey Kelly, Chicago/Bath musician/journalist
“Thank you for writing such a vital work.”
Paul David Mena, author of Tenement Landscapes (New York) published by Happa-no-Kofu (The Leaf-Miner Press) just after September 11 2001
• The In-Between Season With Words Pamphlet Series (2012)
• Sundog Haiku Journal: an Australian Year (Sunfast Press 1997 reprinted 1998) California State Library - Main Catalog Call Number: HAIKU S852su 1997
• Moonlighting British Haiku Society Intimations Pamphlet Series (1996)
Labels: haibun, haiku courses, individual feedback, Journeys 2015, one to one session, online course, online courses, Tanka, tanka prose, tanka stories, tanka story
The Beat Is Back haibun (prose and haiku) inspired by Jack Kerouac and On The Road, Old Angel Midnight, and Dharma Bums, and history of haibun
Jack Kerouac poses on Sheridan Square in New York's Greenwich Village on Oct. 15, 1958, after a publisher's party for his book "The Dharma Bums." (JERRY YULSMAN/AP Photo/Jerry Yulsman)
The Beat Is Back
A man sits in an IRT Subway train reading a newspaper with a hole in it. He has hours to kill. Only a four year old looks back, and into, the newspaper hole.
rain clouds
the train stations
come and go
It’s now night outside so he folds the newspaper, sticks it into a voluminous raincoat pocket, and decides to step off the train and leave the station. He hasn’t seen Times Square for many years, it hasn’t really changed. This is the hub of New York City where the Beat Odyssey began.
we aren't the people
He hunches his neck into his coat, and starts to stroll, eyeballing from side to side as he does so. The man moves past all-nite movie houses, cafeterias, and Pokerino arcades, stepping around a puddle that reflects back a giant coke bottle from an overhead sign. Neon mashes up other pools and signs.
the threatening clouds
an imaginary dog
takes a walk again
He nods reflectively to the quick-change artists, the conmen, and hustlers of every kind. This man is a broad-shouldered ex-footballer, with just a hint of a broken nose, and a scar, from a small knife, that cuts diagonally across his left cheekbone less than an inch before looping into itself. He walks the in- betweeness of virga and luminosity of front shop signs; passing soldiers; sailors; panhandlers; drifters; thieves; junkies; sportsmen; gamblers; racing touts; zoot-suiters; and the local hoods.
threading clouds
in another place
Across the way is Chase’s Cafeteria at 210 West 42nd Street, to the left of the New Amsterdam Theatre marquee, but it’s the cafeteria he enters.
passing cars
the gleam off bare wood
on Good Friday
More hoods mill around as he shoulders the door quietly open: there’s no girls in sight, just men with red shirts or zoot-suits.
Escher's apple escapes the mercury
There was one who stood out, selling syrettes of morphine, but was this the Virgil of The Beat Movement? He didn’t buy.
He mooched into a booth, and nursed a coffee and whiskey for half an hour, head down. No one came over, except the waitress, to heat up the coffee with a short refill.
different uniforms
the condensation
The place was buzzing, but not to his own particular satisfaction. He left to walk over to Bickford’s Cafeteria, on the middle block of West 42nd Street; this is where Kerouac believes the greatest stage on Times Square resides, he thought. In the window seat is a man bent around a chipped mug containing thick dark syrup, he has typical eighteen hour shadow, around his eyes, that matches the tone of his unshaven jaw line.
someone kicks
a fridge full of things
shut again
“Mind if I join yer?”
The window man looks up, nods, sinks back into his syrup drink, but also starts scratching his insect T-shirt.
“You Angel, coming for me?”
“No, just a once damp hitchhiker trying to be a pocketbook poet, is that okay?”
The bulge under his jacket was three finished notebooks, but it was good that the other cafeteria clientele of pimps, thieves, numbers men, all left him alone. It looked like a gun that could blow holes all the way through the building and hit the highway out of town.
a time between
day, and night just left
easing tiny spaces
In the submarine light the hydrogen jukebox played across cigarette smoke and burnt coffee, and the man took out a greasy cover notebook to scratch more words inside.
lost childhood cars moonlight a rookery
The window bum looks out of the corner of his left eye:
Jack’s out in circular jazz time, side-stepping the Shrouded Traveller, looking for new places. Not all white doves in Chinese windows are groceries. It’s all five six seven to me.
one of the paper towns
gains a wrinkle
Haibun©Alan Summers
Published in the literary British Haiku Society's journal:
Blithe Spirit 25.4 (November 2015)
Haibun - the practise of interspersing prose writing with haiku. Prose pieces can be in numerous styles from journalistic writing, diary entries, prose poetry, long fiction through to flash fiction, that usually include one or more haiku within the body of prose, or starting or concluding a body of prose.
The Beat is Back haibun is part inspired by Old Angel Midnight, a long narrative poem by Jack Kerouac:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Angel_Midnight
And this On The Road quote:
“Last night I walked clear down to Times Square & just as I arrived I suddenly realized I was a ghost - it was my ghost walking on the sidewalk.”
(Part.Chapter.Paragraph: II.5.4)
Jack Kerouac Reads from "On The Road"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MjPtem6ZbE
Old Angel Midnight
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=aaplw&p=Angel+midnight+jack+keroauc+reading#id=4&vid=1ad5019baee2e51eb89113e56256aab7&action=click
Dharma Bums: (which includes covert haiku amongst the prose): https://www.amazon.com/Jack-Kerouac-1957-1960-Subterraneans-Selections/dp/1598530127/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470161070&sr=1-5&keywords=Dharma+Bums
The Interborough Rapid Transit Subway, or IRT, was the first subway company in New York City. Even with elevated train lines springing up around the city, the need for an underground rapid transit railroad was obvious as a solution to street congestion and to assist development in outlying areas. On October 27, 1904, the first IRT subway line opened, and the city would never be the same.
http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/The_First_Subway
Pokerino:
Theme: Playing Cards - Poker
http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=5445&picno=43328&zoom=1
Journeys 2015 haibun anthology gives important background to haibun and examples:
Print version: https://www.amazon.com/Journeys-2015-Anthology-International-Haibun/dp/1515359875/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1470160428&sr=8-1
Kindle version:
https://www.amazon.com/Journeys-2015-Anthology-International-Haibun-ebook/dp/B015MZUYLW/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1470160428&sr=8-1#navbar
More haibun:
Alan's bio: http://area17.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/happy-new-year-and-brand-new-honour.html
Alan Summers regularly teaches online haiku group courses, and also haibun online group courses.
As Call of the Page Alan can offer haiku and tanka one-to-one sessions:
For further information email Karen: admin@callofthepage.org
THE HISTORY OF HAIBUN
In 1689, the famous poet Matsuo Bashō (known to some as the "Shakespeare of Japan") travelled to the northern provinces of Honshu (Japan's largest island, home to Tokyo and Kyoto and other major cities).
He wrote a travel diary, called Oko No Hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North) in which he wrote haikai verses (the precursors to haiku) as well as prose text.
Here is an extract, in fact it's the opening pages:
The days and months are travelers of eternity, just like the years that come and go. For those who pass their lives afloat on boats, or face old age leading horses tight by the bridle, their journeying is life, their journeying is home. And many are the men of old who met their end upon the road.
How long ago, I wonder, did I see a drift of cloud borne away upon the wind, and ceaseless dreams of wandering become aroused? Only last year, I had been wandering along the coasts and bays; and in the autumn, I swept away the cobwebs from my tumbledown hut on the banks of the Sumida and soon afterwards saw the old year out. But when the spring mists rose up into the sky, the gods of desire possessed me, and burned my mind with the longing to go beyond the barrier at Shirakawa.
The spirits of the road beckoned me, and I could not concentrate on anything. So I patched up my trousers, put new cords in my straw hat, and strengthened my knees with moxa. A vision of the moon at Matsushima was already in my mind. I sold my hut and wrote this just before moving to a cottage owned by Sampū:
even this grass hut
could for the new owner be
a festive house of dolls
This was the first of an eight verse sequence, which I left hanging on a post inside the hut.
It was the twenty-seventh day of the Third Month [16 May]. There was a wan, thinning moon, and in the first pale light of dawn, the summit of Mount Fuji could be dimly seen. I wondered if I should ever see the cherry trees of Ueno and Yanaka again. My closest friends, who had gathered together the night before, got on the boat to see me off. We disembarked at Senju, and my heart was overwhelmed by the prospect of the vast journey ahead. Ephemeral though I know the world to be, when I stood at the crossroads of parting, I wept goodbye.
the spring is passing –
the birds all mourn and fishes'
eyes are wet with tears
I wrote this verse to begin my travel diary, and then we started off, though it was hard to proceed. Behind, my friends were standing in a row, as if to watch till we were lost to sight.
So that year – the second year of Genroku [1689] – I had suddenly taken it into my head to make the long journey into the deep north, to see with my own eyes places that I had only heard about, despite hardships enough to turn my hair white. I should be lucky to come back alive, but I staked my fortune on that uncertain hope.
With The Narrow Road to the Deep North, the haibun form reached an early pinnacle, and this work is acknowledged as important world literature today.
Check out: http://apdl.kcc.hawaii.edu/roads/oku_annotated_text1.html
Labels: Alan Summers, Basho, Beat Odyssey, haibun, haiku, Jack Kerouac, New York City, online course, Times Square
International online haiku courses - Individual an...
The Beat Is Back haibun (prose and haiku) inspired...
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Lab Work!
Just a quick update on what I've been doing in the lab!
I've been down there loads lately, and time disappears, it's amazing, getting so involved in what I'm doing I don't notice until I nearly miss my last train home! I have been known to sleep there, but no mattress etc so it's a case of sleeping on the floor and putting up with the resident ghost. Seriously.
Anyhow! This is what I've been up to:
1. Properly learnt how to do an okay DIY job of telecine of Super8, and to make DVDs from the footage. Good to know. Useful I guess. Would love a professional telecine unit, maybe in the future!
2. Acquired some new kit, including cameras, polaroid film (Impossible Project), polaroid cameras, gossen light probe for the lunasix light meter (for use with JK optical printer). Old film stocks! Filters for the little Nizos.
3. Started a project with a small number of people making films over an intense period of time. It's ace!
4. Got to grips with the optical printer "Pat". Am using colour print film in the bolex, so I was experimenting with long single frame exposures on the bolex, and about 8 seconds with aperture fully open on lens at end of bellows (3.5) plus a strong orange filter (to give a nice peachy hue) is working well! Pretty laborious doing single frame exposures and counting in my head for 8 seconds each time, but mechanically sort of pleasing to do so! Get into a rhythm. Also tried out some plus-x 16mm negative film I have (dated 1989!) and will develop in D-19 when roll is finished.
5. Processed old Video News ektachrome in C-41 chemistry, and was rubbish. I think the stock is really past it big time. I've also processed it in E6, tweaked to be VNF compatible, but was equally crap! So am thinking of getting rid of it. It's a shame, as I have tons of the stuff! It can still be used for its magnetic sound strip though. I am thinking about using it simply as a sound film, to run alongside a pic, in a double 'projection'.
6. Processed colour print film that has been in the optical printer at 8 second exposures per frame. I used the E6 method taught me by Etienne Caire of MTK in Grenoble, it's ace. 1 minute in first dev, 2 minutes in colour dev, 2 minutes in blix, and 1 or 2 minutes in stabiliser. Really beautiful! I love being able to get a positive so bloomin quickly - 7 or 8 mins! Perfect! Nice rough and ready look too, especially when I'm rough with the film and handle it lots before it's dry.
7. Collected together all the empty Super8 cartridges that I've been saving, and am planning to make a big mural out of them! To be added to each time another is processed. I like seeing the old stocks in there too, adds a bit of verve to the otherwise total kodak monopoly!
8. Ordered some 'cinevia' super8 stock from GK film, process paid! I know that's a very un-lab like thing to do, and have only ever had about 2 films processed (right at the beginning, before I knew how to do it myself), and a little bunch of Kodachrome 40 at the end of last year too, but I'm really curious to see if it lives up to the hype, and also want to remind myself of what an industrially processed film looks like, and compare my efforts!
9. Found a 'Ferrania' Super8 splicer and 2 'CIR' Super8 splicers on ebay and got em! Ace.
10. Learnt more about processing cine film in coffee! Enrico from Kino Lab in Colombia posted on his blog about it. Really amazing. I had seen examples of photo negs done in coffee, but never tried it myself, and the cine film he developed looks brill! Another guy blends up onions to make fixer! I tweeted the blog posts - can't remember the blog addresses off hand, but they're on my twitter thingy. Or just search on internet! The pet name for this coffee developer is "Caffenol". Like it! Gonna try it next week I think!
11. Going to Chapeltown Carnival tomorrow to shoot some footage! Amazing colours there, really nice vibe too. Am glad I'm not at Notting Hill Carnival, where it's expected to totally kick off. It's so huge, you can hardly move anywhere. Chapeltown Carnival in Leeds is the original! And the coolest I reckon!
Expired Super8 Film Stock!
Thought I'd do a quick post about the expired Super8 stocks I currently have in my fridge, as have been really relishing the beautiful packaging of some of them - great coloured boxes that have tons of character! Especially the pink one and the orange one, and that crazy harlequin one! Totally ace. Also I found an amazing second hand '70s maxi dress, and am just feeling very very dated at the moment, and lovin the simplicity of it!
So....
clockwise from top left....
1. Kodak Ektachrome Sound film! - colour reversal stock with a sound stripe on it! Wow! Very uncommon these days, since sound film was discontinued a fair while back. Conjuring up a way to use this single cartridge (I only have one!) in an interesting way, for an in camera edit. I feel very strongly that I want to shoot this film in Bradford. Not sure why!
2. Agfachrome - Apparently this stuff might not come out too well, but worth a try at least!
3. Agfa Moviechrome 40 - I've shot two cartridges of this and have one left. Have had some ace results! Beautiful pastel colours, and a very soft effect. I feel like I want to shoot this film at the Chapeltown Carnival this weekend!
4. Ferrania Film - Made in Italy, and the use by date is 1977! Wow. Not holding out too much hope for brilliant results, but you never know! I am in love with this box. Funky aint the word! It's effin magic. It says you can send it to Glasgow with 60p and they'll process it. Ha. Imagining some old guy waiting for the last reels to come in so he can honour the company promise. ha ha.
5. Kodak Ektachrome 160 - I reckon I'll get some good results with this. Can't wait to try it out!
6. Kodak Plus-X (old version) - I have 4 of these to use. Gorgeous stock. Not too old and stored really well.
7. Kodak Plus-X (new version) - Recently discontinued (about a year or so ago). Sob... Though saved about 14 so have enough for a while!
8. Kodak Ektachrome 64T - Discontinued a few years ago. I saved a couple so I can do dark room exposures with a mini maglite (tungsten bulb so truer colours), but apart from that, it's really not much of a loss. The new stock is much nicer!
I'll let you know how I get on with these, as and when! I'll add a bit of writing about each film when I've used them. If anyone has old stock they don't want, send it to me, I'll be really grateful! Address: Cherry Kino, c/o Patrick Studios, ESA, St Mary's Lane, Leeds, LS9 7EH, UK.
Just bought a cool and cheap cupboard unit to store my Super8 cameras in, it's perfect! Lab needs a good clear out! It always does! :)
Adios amigos,
Pics from workshops at South Square on 6th & 7th August!
Here are pics sent by Dave Beveridge and Pete Smyth who attended the Cherry Kino Super8 Workshop at South Square Gallery in Thornton last weekend (thanks for sending these!), plus some comments about the South Square workshops - thanks guys!! If you attended and have extra pics, email them over and I'll add them to this blog post. It was an ace time! If you're interested in attending a Super8 workshop, email cherrykinocinema@yahoo.com for more info!
Cherry Kino did 2 workshops at the lovely South Square Gallery over 2 consecutive weekends, so here are a few things people have written about it - thanks guys!
Your knowledge, teaching methods and passion for the subject was all very inspirational and thats what makes attending workshops good value all round.!!! - Carole
I've been meaning to drop you a line to say thank you very much for the workshop. It made a thoroughly enjoyable weekend and it was a real pleasure to meet such a lovely bunch of people. I would definitely recommend the workshop to anyone interested in film generally - In fact I was thinking of mentioning it to my old tutor at Leeds Met because I think the process could be of interest to students working in film and across other media - maybe even painting/drawing students who might benefit from broadening their approach. I totally appreciated your own enthusiasm for your work. It's kind of infectious, which I think made your workshop particularly enjoyable. - Kathryn
I had a brilliant weekend. Despite already being fairly familiar with the Super 8 format I learned loads of new things, both technical and creative skills. I thought Martha was an engaging and totally delightful person, so patient and relaxed. I really appreciated how we were all made to feel equal and capable, Martha was completely un-intimidating and had an obvious desire to share her passion for film.
I came away with a recharged head! A much needed renewal of ideas and energy. All for £80 and a couple of days worth of time...what a bloomin' bargain! - Lucy
Martha, can't thank you enough for putting on such an amazing, informative, fun and creative weekend. Really had a fantastic time. You are a real inspiration to just getting out there and doing it!
Defo let me know about the gallery showing in October, would love to come back and see all the films and everyone again! - Pete
(Ah, such ace comments - you were all amazing to work with too!)
a tin of cine with a side of mushy peas please - er, and an iphone...
Photos from the hipstamatic app on iphone
Erm, I got an iphone! totally weird, i've had nothing but fairly trash phones forever, and suddenly the chance came up and... er, i have one. it's pretty ace! it's funny - so intensely analogue with my filmmaking and totally clueless when it comes to digital filmmaking, but i'm so excited about the HD video option on this cool phone, i tried it out, and it's definitely weird to use something not analogue, and the image feels distant to me, but i'm so up for learning to combine it with Super8 and 16mm in some way! really really looking forward to exploring what i can do with it! love children of analogue and digital. like the film me and paul made i guess. speaking of cine film (aren't i always...), i had fish and chips in bradford today, and sat opposite a man in his seventies called eddie, we got chatting and i told him what i do, and it was such serendipity - he has loads of old cine film, standard 8 reels, that he got given as extras at an auction in the 70s, and he says he has never been able to watch them and doesn't want to die and then have them just thrown out by his relatives when they sort out his stuff. it was such a touching thing, hearing him speak so frankly about it, kind of refreshing and lovely. he just wants it to see the light of a projector, and make someone happy. he kept calling me 'kid'. it was really nice. so i've got his address and i'm gonna go pick it up in about a week, and i think i'll take a projector along so that eddie and me can watch some of them together and he will get the chance after hanging onto them since the 70s!
apparently the films are of all kinds of different places, and the guy who originally shot them (around the 50s) seems to have lived in bingley. i was saying the original filmmaker can't have been short of a bob or two coz in those days it was expensive to travel around and also to have cine stuff, not that many people could afford to do that really, and eddie said 'well, he did live in bingley, he can't have been that well off!' it was well funny. maybe you had to be there...! eddie told me a great story about these 35mm slides that he got with the cine stuff. basically, he got totally taken with these images of the dolomites in northern italy, and found that he was totally compelled to go there, and endured a 3 day bus trip, back in the 70s, so he could see them, and stare at them in wonder. i asked him how he felt when he'd arrived, and he said he was pretty 'fed up' coz of the long journey! but i think, from the way he lit up when telling me about it, those dolomite images really spoke to him, and inspired him to visit the real thing, which he said made a huge impression on him, even after the long journey there. he has transferred the images onto his computer now so he can look at them still, and he still does. it's beautiful, isn't it, the way images can really enter a person? this person who made all these images has touched eddie, after his own death and house clearance auction, and another 40 years later, me too, as eddie thinks about his own passing too. i feel honoured that i'm going to be able to watch them. it feels intimate. the fish and chips place we were in seemed to be a favourite spot for elderly folk, overlooking centenary square, called 'a plaice to be' - haw haw. it was fun to treat myself to something like that, it's about the closest thing i can think of that's a typically british example of our fair isle's, ahem, 'cuisine'. mushy peas rule too, of course.
love love love, peace out, (or should that be 'peas' out...groooaan)
Pics from workshops at South Square on 6th & 7th A...
a tin of cine with a side of mushy peas please - e...
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Sierra Nevada Makes Big Addition Following Up and Down June
The Sierra Nevada Goldens concluded the 1st half of the season a frustrated bunch. After opening their inaugural season with two winning months going (32-24), the Goldens sputtered in June going (13-15) versus the Platinum division, fininshing the first half with a (45-39) record.
The month of June started with Sierra Nevada trailing the Duluth-Superior Dukes by only 2 games in the Silver League's Copper Division. The Goldens sputtered out of the gate losing 5 of 7 to the struggling Sugar Creek Settlers. In a thrilling series, the Settlers managed to pull out 3 wins in extra innings & squeaked out another one-run victory by a score of 4-3. The 5th Settlers win of the series was a game where Beckett gave up 10 runs, 5 earned, in 4 2/3 innings.
The Goldens responded from adversity with an outstanding (5-2) series win against the league leading Diamond Gems. In the 1st ever netplay series for the Goldens, the hitters swung mighty bats as the Gems were handed their 1st series loss of the season. Sierra Nevada outscored the Gems 55-37 in the 7 games and the 2 losses were by a combined 3 runs. In the series, Beckett got a win while Buehrle earned a win and a no-decision which led to a win. The two have turned out to be dominant at times giving the Goldens a formidable 1, 2 punch. The story of the series were the bats. The Goldens seemed to hit clutch home runs the entire series and Jim Thome crushed a homer in each of the 1st 4 games. This series was by far the highlight of the month.
Sierra Nevada finished up the June schedule going only (6-8) in the remaining 14 games as Twin City pummeled them in 6 of the 7 contests and the Goldens took 5 of 7 versus the cellar dwelling Andover Cougars.
The month of June was all in all a big disappointment. You can point to poor fielding from Miles at shortstop while Renteria rested. Or, maybe the lineup missed Hank Blalock from the left side as he missed the month due to injury. More than anything, you need to point to the starting pitching. Mark Buehrle was the most effective going (2-1) in 5 starts with a 4.76 ERA, but Josh Beckett was (1-3) in 5 June starts, with a 6.82 ERA! Aaron Harang LOWERED his ERA this month by going (1-1) in 5 starts with a 5.40 ERA......not good for a #3 starter. Gil Meche went (2-3) in 6 June starts with a 6.02 ERA, including only going 1 1/3 giving up 5 in a loss at Andover.
Sierra Nevada is banking on Buehrle, Beckett, Harang, and Gil Meche to bounce back and pitch more as expected as they enter the 2nd half of the season and league play begins. The Goldens made a trade in hopes that they could improve their (11-12) record versus lefty starters. Carlos Beltran & Conor Jackson were acquired from the East Lyme Crush to add a stronger presence from the right side of the plate & speed and center field defense with Beltran. While Sierra Nevada was sorry to say goodbye to Marlon Byrd, Skip Schumaker, Mike Jacobs, & Yusmeiro Petit in the deal, the Goldens are hoping that these two additions in the middle & top of the lineup will help the Goldens make up ground on the Copper Division leading Duluth-Superior Dukes who sit 4 games ahead of Sierra Nevada. The Goldens also trail the San Jose Scorpions by 4 games for the final Silver League Wild Card spot.
The month of December will feature head-to-head games with San Jose, one of the two teams ahead of them in the wild card standings, and with East Lyme, Beltran's old team.
Posted by Doug Fredriksen at 12:13 AM 0 Swings of the bat Links to this post
Sierra Nevada Makes Big Addition Following Up and ...
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Tomas Lepa
Not Just another blog
Author Archives: Tomas Lepa
Intel Edison Development Board
Posted on 2014-01-23 by Tomas Lepa
The SD* card-sized computer
Discover the Intel® Edison development board, a tiny, ultra-power-efficient development platform the size of an SD* card that is small enough to drop into just about anything.
It can be designed to work with most any device—not just computers, phones, or tablets, but chairs, coffeemakers, and even coffee cups. The possibilities are endless for entrepreneurs and inventors of all kinds.
The Intel Edison board features a low-power 22nm 400MHz Intel® Quark processor with two cores, integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth*, and much more.
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/do-it-yourself/edison.html
Posted in Hardware | Leave a reply
Mac Pro Pre-Orders, December 16 Availability
At its October media event, Apple narrowed down the launch window for its redesigned Mac Pro to “December”, but with the month having already begun the company has yet to announce a more specific launch date.
German retailer Conrad Electronic has, however, now begun taking pre-orders for the two stock configurations of the new Mac Pro, citing availability of Monday, December 16.
Posted in Apple | Leave a reply
Check the service health of your Office 365 service on the go
Starting today, Office 365 service administrators can connect to their organization’s Office 365 service status from wherever they are with the Office 365 Admin app. The new app enables administrators to view service health information and maintenance status updates from their mobile device. They can also filter information by service subscriptions and configure app data refresh intervals
http://blogs.office.com/b/office365tech/archive/2013/11/21/check-the-service-health-of-your-office-365-service-on-the-go.aspx
Posted in Microsoft | Leave a reply
Jony Ive Designs One-of-a-Kind Red Mac Pro for Product (RED) Charity Auction
For their upcoming Sotheby’s charity auction to benefit Product (RED), Apple senior vice president of design Jony Ive and designer Marc Newson have created a one-of-a-kind Mac Pro, featuring the new Mac Pro’s radical cylindrical design with a shiny red finish that matches the style of other Product (RED) items produced by Apple.
On the auction site, the Mac Pro value is listed at $40,000 to $60,000, and like the rest of the custom-designed products, it will be auctioned off on November 23. It is unclear whether the Mac Pro will be available to the buyer at that date, as Apple has announced that it will officially launch the Mac Pro to consumers in December.
The specs of the red Mac Pro are not listed on the auction site, but Apple’s Mac Prosstart at $2,999 and come in several different configurations. The entry-level version includes a 3.7 Ghz quad-core Intel Xeon E5 processor, dual AMD FirePro D300 GPUs, 12 GB of memory, and 256 GB of PCIe-based flash storage.
The higher-end 3.5 Ghz 6-core version with 16 GB of memory will starts at $3,999, and additional configure-to-order options offer 8-core or 12-core Xeon E5 processors, AMD FirePro D700 GPUs, up to 64 GB of memory and up to 1 TB of flash storage.
Ive and Newson have also collaborated on a number of other products, including a one-of-a-kind Leica camera, an aluminum desk, and solid gold Apple EarPods. Proceeds from the auction will go to Product (RED), a longtime Apple partner. Apple has raised more than $65 million for the charity since 2006.
Make a installationstick for Mavericks
sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MINPINNE –applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app –nointeraction
Intel Delays Next-Generation Broadwell Chips Until 2014 Due to Manufacturing Issue
Intel yesterday confirmed that it is delaying the production of its next-generation Broadwell processors on account of a manufacturing issue. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced the news during Intel’s earnings call, stating that production on the chips will begin during the first quarter of 2014 (via PCWorld).
Intel’s Broadwell chips are designed to be the successor to its existing Haswell chips, manufactured on a 14-nanometer process as opposed to Haswell’s current 22-nanometer process.
Anki Drive AI-Controlled Cars Will Be Available on October 23 for $199
First introduced at WWDC, Anki’s iOS-controlled AI-based racing game is set to debut later this month. Unlike standard racing toys, Anki Drive is largely self-operating and is described by the company as a “video game in the real world.” The concept is similar to slot car racing, with added enhancements that include artificial intelligence, machine learning, and smartphone-based controls.
http://anki.com/ankidrive
A must have….
Apple Predicted to Release Ultra-Slim 12-Inch MacBook with Retina Display
Apple may be planning to release a 12-inch MacBook with an all-new design and high-resolution Retina Display in the middle of 2014, according to KGI Securities anaylst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Specifically, the new MacBook is expected to feature a clamshell form factor even thinner than the current MacBook Air, and may debut at a lower-price point than the current Retina MacBook Pro line due to an improving yield rate. While Kuo stops short of calling the new model a replacement for the current MacBook Air line, his description of the model suggests that it would indeed supplant Apple’s current ultra-slim notebook line.
We expect the unprecedented 12” model will boast both the portability of the 11” model, and productivity of the 13” model. The high resolution display will also offer the outstanding visual experience of the Retina MacBook Pro. The offering will likely be lighter and slimmer than the existing MacBook Air to further highlight ease of portability in the cloud computing era. We think the form factor will showcase a much improved clamshell structure, and that it will redefine laptop computing once again following the milestone created by the MacBook Air.
Kuo’s claims match with a report from NPD DisplaySearch analysts earlier this week claiming that Apple is planning to introduce a new 12-inch MacBook Air next year. That new model was predicted to use a high-resolution 2304 x 1440 display
Both rumors also fall in line with earlier reports that Apple is set to move to IGZO displays for many of its future products, allowing for higher-resolution displays with lower power consumption.
Kuo has generally been quite accurate with his predictions over the past several years, including accurately outlining many of the details of Apple’s 2013 launch plans as far back as January. Other accurate predictions have included the introduction of a “third MacBook line” that arrived in the form of Retina MacBook Pro models and thediscontinuation of the 17-inch MacBook Pro last year.
As Mavericks hits GM, Apple begins seeding nightly builds of OS X 10.9.1 as well as 10.10 ‘Syrah’
Last week, we reported that Apple has begun development of the successor to the upcoming OS X Mavericks: OS X 10.10. We reported hearing that the future operating system is internally dubbed “Syrah” (a type of wine), and now we have received evidence of the codename.
We also understand that nightly builds of the operating system have recently begun being seeded to Apple employees for internal testing. We’re told that a small seeding round began in early September, and that the seeding has picked up in recent days and weeks. Perhaps as proof for this, page views to 9to5Mac.com from computers running OS X 10.10 have increased in recent days. An image from our Google Analytics is shown above. One or two new 10.10 builds become available for employees each weekday.
While we reported earlier that Apple is targeting a redesign of the OS X interface to mimic iOS 7′s new look for OS X 10.10, the current nightly builds are said to be nearly identical to the Golden Master version of OS X Mavericks. It’s unlikely that 10.10 seeds will gain new user-facing features or interface elements until well into development. Apple software engineering teams typically work on several projects independently, then pull them in all-together into the new operating system ahead of seed milestones.
Emphasizing the fact that OS X 10.10 is still very early in development is its current build number. We’re told that OS X 10.10 has seen approximately 30 seeds so far in development. For comparison, the first OS X Mavericks Developer Preview was build 476, while the first OS X Mountain Lion and Lion Previews were build numbers in the 100s range and 400s range, respectively. Nonetheless, it is likely that Apple is targeting a release of OS X 10.10 for sometime in 2014.
Microsoft Office for iPad Awaiting Completion of ‘Touch First’ Interface for Windows Version
Dating back to the launch of the original iPad in early 2010, Microsoft has beenconsidering the possibility of releasing a version of its Office productivity suite for the tablet platform. But despite repeated claims of an imminent launch, the only iOS release so far has been an Office Mobile app for iPhone available for subscribers to the company’s Office 365 service.
http://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/08/microsoft-office-for-ipad-awaiting-completion-of-touch-first-interface-for-windows-version/
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"Parallelizing Julia with a Non-Invasive DSL" will appear at ECOOP 2017
I’m very happy to announce that “Parallelizing Julia with a Non-Invasive DSL”, by Todd Anderson, Paul Liu, Ehsan Totoni, Jan Vitek, Tatiana Shpeisman, and me, will appear at ECOOP 2017 in Barcelona in a couple weeks from now. This paper presents ParallelAccelerator, an open-source library and compiler for high-level, high-performance scientific computing in Julia. ECOOP is an open-access conference, and the paper will be permanently available for free as part of a LIPIcs volume; there’ll be an accompanying open-access artifact as well.
Update (June 16, 2017): The ECOOP 2017 LIPIcs volume is now available, under a Creative Commons Attribution license!
To say that I’m relieved to finally be writing this blog post would be an understatement. We released the first version of ParallelAccelerator way back in October 2015, and I gave my first public talk about the project that same month.1 In spring 2016, I contributed a post to the Julia blog about ParallelAccelerator, then followed that up with a talk about it at JuliaCon in June 2016. By then, ParallelAccelerator had become one of the top twenty most popular Julia packages, but we were having a terrible time trying to get a paper about it published — our first three attempts had all been rejected.2 While I was in Boston for JuliaCon, I spoke with Jan Vitek, who patiently listened while I griped about the string of rejections. (This was not how I had hoped my first post-Ph.D. job would go!) I was ready to just send the paper to a low-visibility journal and be done with it, but later on, Jan emailed me after looking at a draft and said that he’d be happy to come on board as a co-author and help us improve the paper to the point where it was publishable in a venue that we could be proud of.
So, with Jan’s help, we reworked the paper into what I now think is a convincing story. It was Jan who coined the phrase “non-invasive DSL” to describe what ParallelAccelerator does: we try not to interfere with the array-style programming model that many Julia programmers (in particular, those who come to Julia from array languages like MATLAB) are used to. Julia already supports programming in array style; ParallelAccelerator helps programmers make array-style code go fast without requiring them to make a lot of invasive changes to their code. We also introduce one new language construct, runStencil, which lets programmers express stencil computations elegantly and efficiently. See our GitHub repo for lots of code examples, some of which are described in detail in the paper.
I wish I could go to ECOOP in Barcelona and celebrate the publication of this paper, but the conference is too close to the release date of my other project for me to be able to do any long-distance air travel! Instead, I’ll be at JuliaCon 2017 in Berkeley, which is local for me (and coincidentally on exactly the same days as ECOOP). My colleagues Todd and Ehsan will be at JuliaCon, too. Todd is currently hard at work getting the ParallelAccelerator compiler working under Julia 0.6, which is on track to be released in time for JuliaCon, and we’ll have a new release of ParallelAccelerator to go with Julia 0.6. Meanwhile, I’ve been working on improving our support for Mac users, GCC users, and OpenBLAS users.3 If you’re a Julia user and curious about ParallelAccelerator, JuliaCon would be a good time to give it a try!
Back then, we were still calling the project “Prospect”, and using “ParallelAccelerator” to refer to the Julia-specific implementation of Prospect-the-language-agnostic-idea; at some point between late 2015 and now, we abandoned the implementation-versus-idea duality and just stuck with “ParallelAccelerator” in all contexts. As the paper points out, though, the name “ParallelAccelerator” is a bit misleading, since much of the speedup that one can get from it isn’t due to parallelism, but is rather due to other stuff like avoiding unnecessary bounds checks and intermediate array allocations. ↩
Meanwhile, my colleagues’ paper on Latte, a Julia library and compiler for deep neural networks that builds on top of ParallelAccelerator, had already appeared at PLDI. It was when the Latte paper came out that I really began to get irritated that we still hadn’t managed to publish anything about ParallelAccelerator, because there was no ParallelAccelerator paper for the Latte paper to cite! (They had to just cite the ParallelAccelerator GitHub repository instead.) ↩
ParallelAccelerator depends on the presence of an external C++ compiler, ideally one that supports OpenMP, and it works best in the presence of a BLAS library, ideally MKL. Traditionally, our best-supported combination of OS, compiler, and BLAS library has been Linux, ICC, and MKL. However, there are lots of people in the Julia community who are instead using macOS and/or GCC and/or OpenBLAS, and so I’ve been working on making ParallelAccelerator work better in those environments. ↩
Posted by Lindsey Kuper Jun 9th, 2017 DSLs, ECOOP, Intel Labs, Julia, ParallelAccelerator, papers, parallelism
« Proving that safety-critical neural networks do what they're supposed to: where we are, where we're going (part 2 of 2) How to write a timeline for a !!Con talk proposal »
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23.03.18 Music
Bellerose Playlist - Saintonge vol.II
Can you feel it? Spring is in the air! And what better way to spend a sunny afternoon than taking a long stroll through the city? This month, we've put together the ideal playlist to soundtrack a walk through the streets of Paris, a city that Bellerose holds close to its heart.
This playlist was created to accompany our new Saintonge capsule collection, which was directly inspired by the streets of the City of Light. The collection’s campaign aims to steer away from the usual clichés by showing the true face of Paris; the one that is the reason why Parisians love their city so endlessly.
Just like the campaign, this month’s playlist is a nod to the diversity and variety that the streets of Paris offer. We tried to represent this concept by including a wide range of music genres such as hip-hop (because Paris has a strong skateboarding scene), electronic music and more obvious choices including a song by legendary actress and singer Jeanne Moreau.
Speaking of the artists we decided to feature, here are a few words on some of them.
Basile di Manski
Killason
One of the most prominent members of Parisian collective Pain Surprise, Basile always starts composing a new track by focusing on something he admires, with an ongoing focus on positivity. The result is an efficient blend of electronic and pop music with a certain composure.
This multi-faceted artist also happens to be an impressive professional dancer who’s associated with breakdancing crews that include Undercover Crew and Wanted Posse. His live shows are always extraordinary and we love the fact that he is a multi-talented self-made artist. His music is strongly inspired by American old-school hip-hop and that’s a genre we can’t resist!
Greg Frite
For this Paris-themed playlist, we obviously wanted to select one of the many artists that have left their mark on French music history. This was not an easy choice but a decision had to be made, and we picked French icon Jeanne Moreau to play this part. Why her? Because her aura inspires nothing but admiration and deference. The song we featured sounds like an ode to life's simple pleasures, just like a Sunday stroll through the city.
We just had to include someone whose weapon of choice is words and Greg Frite was the ideal contemporary example of this ability. He has been active since 1994 as a member of Triptik but was relatively fast to launch his own solo career, further perfecting his skills in the process. The song we chose is an amusing guided tour of the city gates of Paris and is bound to put a smile on our listeners' face.
Ravyn Lenae
Her languid voice made us fall for her immediately! It calls for love, warmth and pleasure, which is just what one needs when enjoying a post-winter walk in Paris. Ravyn Lenae's soul is reminiscent of Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu while her energy evokes a slightly toned-down Azelia Banks.
Playlist : Dimitri Goloubev
Text : Camille Darroux
Playlist #5 - Japan
As we're currently exploring Japan together with @frecklesnur, we had to make a playlist to really get in the Far East mood. Read on to discover our two highlights of the month and scroll down to press play !
Playlist #4 - Lazy Summer
Summer has come for good and the temperatures are going insane. It's definitely time to slow down the rhythm, sit back, extend our legs, have another drink and close our eyes. Here's 44 tracks to tune in that lazy summer mood. We've had so much sun that's entered our ears while listening to them that we couldn't not share these with you.
This month, we've put together the ideal playlist to soundtrack a walk through the streets of Paris. Just like our new Saintonge campaign, this month’s playlist is a nod to the diversity and variety that the city offers.
Bellerose Playlist - Retrospective
The end of the year is nigh, so we've put together a "best of year" playlist to say goodbye to 2017. Each track is special to us and we hope you enjoy listening to them.
Bellerose Playlist: Round & Round
This month, we've prepared an upbeat party playlist that will be the perfect soundtrack to this season's festivities. Focusing on 2pac & Kendrick Lamar - two artists we are especially fond of - we're certain you'll be enjoying these warm beats!
Bellerose Playlist : NYC Ghosts and Flowers
Our latest campaign was inspired by seminal 90s rock band Sonic Youth, and by the group’s charismatic frontwoman Kim Gordon in particular. Discover the campaign and listen to our newest playlist
Bellerose playlist: California Gipsy
Discover our first California Spring playlist, a selection of fine Gipsy tunes for a season of nature blossoming, peeling back layers and terrasse invasions.
Bellerose Playlist: Indian Summer
Discover our Indian Summer playlist, selected for a season of leaves falling while slowly layering up and taking denims out of the closet.
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Bob Dylan, Glen Hansard, Arcade Fire, Great Thunder, Snoring Duck
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - 08:00 AM
BOB DYLAN dropped an interactive video for... "Like A Rolling Stone," featuring Danny Brown, Drew Carey, Marc Maron, and the Pawn Stars guys.
GLEN HANSARD is streaming his Drive All Night EP, with cameos from Eddie Vedder, Jake Clemons and Joe Henry.
ARCADE FIRE played a session on BBC1.
KEVIN MORBY of Woods streams his solo LP, Harlem River.
GREAT THUNDER: Waxahatchee's Katie Crutchfield and Swearin’ bassist Keith Spencer stream their second LP, Groovy Kinda Love. It sounds like lots of things from trach to track, but it does not sound like Wayne Fontana.
DALE WATSON stopped by Studio 1A at KUTX for a mini-set.
BRIAN WILSON plays "Sail On Sailor" at the Ed Sullivan Theater, with Matthew Sweet and Darius Rucker.
WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT: At MOJO, Lou Reed and John Cale contribute to David Fricke's history of the Velvet Underground's sophomore LP.
ROBERT GORDON talked to Weekend Edition about his new book, Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion.
ALBUMS EVERYONE CAN LOVE, according to an NPR poll.
THE ORIGIN OF SPINAL TAP, via Dangerous Minds. And Pate drummer Jon Hahn.
MONTY PYTHON's surviving members will announce a reunion stage show on Thursday.
KELLY CLARKSON is pregnant and expecting her first child with husband Brandon Blackstock.
KANYE WEST stuck KIM KARDASHIAN is his new video. Shocka.
MADONNA tops the latest Forbes list of highest-paid musicians, because Michael Jackson is dead.
ASHLEY GREENE is being sued over the fire she started in her West Hollywood apartment that killed her dog and injured the man who helped rescue fleeing residents.
BEETLEJUICE 2 ‘might be happening’ with Tim Burton, Wynona Ryder, and Michael Keaton onboard, according to Ryder.
SYRIA: The Syrian military claimed to have taken full control of Qara in the Qalamoun region and to have killed a "large number of terrorists." The Al Nusrah Front withdrew from Qara, but activists from Al Nusrah and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham say they will return.
LEBANON: Two suicide bombings outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut killed at least 25 people, including the embassy's cultural attache and its head of security, and injured over 150 more.
STUXNET's SECRET TWIN: The real program to sabotage Iran's nuclear facilities was far more sophisticated than anyone realized.
A SNORING DUCK: Let's go to the video.
INDIA's MONKEYS are to be put on the pill.
RACE HORSES may benefit from hi-tech sports bras.
O'HARE AIRPORT's ALLIGATOR got there via the Blue Line. Figures.
Jim James, Minor Alps, Stornoway, The Brother Kite, Polite Dog
Tuesday, November 19, 2013 - 08:00 AM
JIM JAMES (or do you say "Yim Yames"?) performs on PBS’s Austin City Limits. The Black Angels open.
MINOR ALPS: Juliana Hatfield and Nada Surf's Matthew Caws stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.
STORNOWAY is streaming the You Don't Know Anything EP. Nice. (Thx, Chromewaves.)
THE BROTHER KITE is streaming Model Rocket. Nice jolt. (Thx again, Chromewaves!)
GAP DREAM advance streams Shine Your Lght. Electronic, yet a bit psychedelic.
PRINCE shared a demo of a new song entitled “Da Bourgeoisie”.
TEMPLES drop "Mesmerise" ahead of their debut LP, Sun Structures.
MARSHALL CRENSHAW plays his classic "Someday, Someway"... for Merv!
KATHLEEN HANNA looks back at th soundtrack to her life at Pitchfork.
HOW SWEDEN Became a Pop Powerhouse: "The trail begins with Abba."
OS MUTANTES are profiled by Orlando Weekly.
FORMER GROUPIES OF REDDIT dish the dirt.
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE SEQUEL? Sigh. How about a movie about filmmakers visited by an angel who shows them how much better the world is without one?
JUSTIN BIEBER: Invites to his Gatsby party came with a non-disclosure agreement, but word is out it was full of naked women.
TAYLOR SWIFT is profiled at length by New York Magazine.
50 SHADES OF GREY: Dakota Jackson, already promoting.
CHRIS PRATT: The Parks & Rec vet talks Delivery Man and Guardians of the Galaxy with the HuffPost.
ROB FORD, Toronto's scandal plagued mayor was stripped of many of his powers following a heated debate in which he knocked over a female city councilor.
ISRAEL: Prime Minister Netanyahu warned that Iran already has enough uranium for five nuclear bombs.
EGYPT: Authorities said "Islamic jihadists" were behind the killing of an officer from the Interior Minister on Nov. 17. The Christian community is reportedly afraid to complain to the government about its condition. Protestors took to Tahrir Square in Cairo to protest against the army.
LIBYA: A bomb attack on the convoy of Benghazi's head of security killed one bodyguard and injured another. Three people were arrested after a shooting at a Benghazi checkpoint. Libya's intelligence chief and his assistant escaped from their kidnappers at a checkpoint south of Tripoli.
SYRIA: Rivalry between rebels and Islamists has replaced the uprising's lofty ideals, leaving veteran commanders despairing.
A POLITE DOG wipes his feet, y'know.
RACCOON rescued from a Winnie-The-Pooh situation.
DAISY THE SOW gave birth to 27 piglets in nine months. That'll do, pig.
LIONS: The ultimate status symbol in the Persian Gulf.
REM (minus Stipe), Shearwater, Bill Callahan, Gorillas
MIKE MILLS & BILL BERRY joined PETER BUCK onstage at the 40 Watt Club to perform REM's 1984 single “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville.” Looks like Scott McCaughey, too. (Photo via Tommy Warren / ‏@bigwheat.)
SHEARWATER advance streams Fellow Travelers. Each of its 10 songs pays tribute to an artist with whom the band has toured.
BILL CALLAHAN, live from at a historic synagogue in Washington, DC.
JIMMIE DALE GILMORE stopped by KUTX to play a couple.
WASHED OUT stopped by WFUV's Studio A for a mini-set.
ANDY ROURKE joined JOHNNY MARR on The Smiths' "How Soon Is Now?” and “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want.” It's Partial Reunion Monday, ahead of Twofer Tuesday. (Photo via doorsixteen on Instagram.)
THE ZOMBIES discussed Odessey and Oracle and played a few on the BBC, way back in May. New to me, though.
ANDREW WK & MARKY RAMONE talk about touring together at The Independent.
ROY HARPER, who sang on Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar" and was paid tribute on Led Zeppelin's "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper", has been charged with sexually abusing a girl from the age of 12, during the mid-70s.
BILLY SQUIER: The King of Hip-Hop?
NOW SHOWING: Thor: The Dark World tops the chart with 38 million, on a reasonable-for-a-sequel 55 percent drop. That's 147 million to date domestic, with another 333 million overseas. But the real story may be The Best Man Holiday placing with 30.6 million -- part of a very good year for African American-centric films. All the better against a 17 million budget (tho not so good for 12 Years A Slave, which slid 30 percent). Last Vegas crept up a notch to show with 8.9 million and about 47 million so far against a 28 million budget. Free Virds slips to the fourth slot with 8.3 million and 42 million so far against a 55 million budget. Bad Grandpa rounds out the Top 5 with 7.7 million and 90 million so far against a 15 million budget. Below the fold, Ender's Game slides badly, perhaps beyond disappointment.
ALEC BALDWIN recieves a mere 2-week suspension from MSNB, following the actor’s calling a photographer either a “c***sucking f**” or a “c***sucking fathead,” as Baldwin maintains. He claims he was unaware that calling a man "c***sucking" might be considered an anti-gay slur. He also trotted out his gay hairdresser to defend him. You really can't make stuff like this up.
LAMAR ODOM is set re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, according to a source for Us Weekly.
KATIE HOLMES tweeted a possible commentary on ex-husband Tom Cruise.
JUSTIN BIEBER: That girl who filmed him sleeping in Brazilmay have a triple-x film credit.
CHARLIE SHEEN & DENISE RICHARDS were seen jetting out of Van Nuys Airport with their daughters Saturday as Sheen's custody battle with Brooke Mueller over ther sons continues. ALSO: Sheen offers to help Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. Of course.
IDRIS ELBA is expecting a baby with girlfriend Naiyana Garth.
LIBYA: The United States military is considering a mission to train Libyan security personnel with the goal of creating a force of 5000 to 7000 conventional soldiers and a separate, smaller unit for specialized counterterrorism missions, according to the top officer of the American Special Operations Command.
SYRIA: A regime helicopter exploded in the sky over Jassim village in Raqqah. Fighters are reportedly massing for a major battle in Qalamoun in Reef Dimashq; thousands of Hezbollah fighters are said to be gathering near the Lebanese border, and thousands of Al Nusrah and rebel fighters are said to be gathering nearby.
IRAN: A senior Obama administration official said on Friday that a solution could be found for one of the major stumbling blocks to an agreement that would freeze Iran’s nuclear program, and that the accord might be achieved next week.
THE DIRTIEST GORILLAS at the zoo.
BUTTERBALL FACES A TURKEY SHORTAGE: Everybody panic. OK, not vegans.
THE SQUIRREL THREAT: A flying militant terrorizes Bambi.
CAT outfoxes DOG.
Rascals, Sebadoh, Peter Case, Cutout Bin, Shiba Inu
Friday, November 15, 2013 - 08:00 AM
... with THE RASCALS! I was delighted to find one of my fave clips, their cover of "Mickey's Monkey" in a medley with "Turn On Your Love Light." A second live medley includes a pair of Rascals originals, "I've Been Lonely Too Long" and "Come On Up." Plus, a copy of "A Girl Like You" has returned to the Tube. Round it out with the live-instudio version of the obligatory "Good Lovin'."
SEBADOH stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.
AMOS LEE stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.
PETER CASE played a mini-set at KUTX.
CHVRCHES played live at MusicFest Northwest.
LEE HAZLEWOOD & NANCY SINATRA: "Some Velvet Morning." Can I tell you about Phaedra?
THE COCTEAU TWINS: Head Over Heels turns 30. Get off My Lawn.
BILLY IDOL: Rebel Yell turns 30. Get Off My Lawn.
HOW SELLING OUT Saved Indie Rock. Actually, the tradition of up-and-coming rockers doing ads dates back into the Sixties.
TINA TURNER relinquished American citizenship.
THE CUTOUT BIN: From the B-52s to Slim Harpo, from Billy Bragg to Roky Erickson, from the Smiths to Lloyd Price, plus the Meat Puppets, Flamin' Groovies, Los Lobos, The Turtles and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.
NOW SHOWING: The Best Man Holiday is this weekend's sole wide release and is currently scoring 63 percent on the ol' Tomatometer. Basically with Hunger Games coming next week, no one wanted to open anything near that mindspace. So expect Thor to bring the hammer down again.
JAKE GYLLENHAAL was sent to the emergency room after punching a mirror on the Los Angeles set of his new film Nightcrawler Wednesday morning.
ADAM LEVINE will be announced as “Sexiest Man Alive” by People next week? Really?
MATTHEW McCONNAUGHEY is GQ's Leading Man of the Year.
ALEC BALDWIN's stalker was found guilty. Meanwhile, Alec went homophobic again.
KHLOE KARDASHIAN & LAMAR ODOM are in couples therapy.
CHRIS BROWN is still in rehab, despite resurfacing in Los Angeles for a bite to eat on Wednesday.
MARK WAHLBERG wasn't targeting Tom Cruise with his recent remarks, but yeah, Cruise needs to shut it.
DR WHO was nearly extermianted at birth.
SYRIA: Hassan Nazrallah, the head of Hezbollah, said the group would not withdraw from Syria so long as the Assad regime needed it.
LIBYA: The terrorists who attacked the Benghazi consulate last year knew the location of the safe room where Ambassador Chris Stevens and his security team sought shelter, according to a congressman who spoke for 90 minutes with the diplomatic security agent severely injured in the assault.
EGYPT: The Interior Minister said authorities are aware of a Muslim Brotherhood plot to bring "violence and sabotage" to Egypt on Nov. 19.
IRAQ: The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant killed 41 Iraqis in a series of attacks throughout the country.
YUKI the SHIBA INU says hello.
THE RAREST MAMMAL ON EARTH: Spotted in Vietnam.
A COYOTE joins a cross-country champrionship in Phoenix.
WORLD'S OLDEST CREATURE: KIlled by scientists checking its age. Oops.
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Takin' a 3-day weekend
Monday, May 18, 2009 - 08:00 AM
I'LL BE BACK, as the Governator whould say. Tomorrow. Angels & Demons was your No.1 movie this weekend, but its 48 million was far less than the DaVinci Code's 77.1 million, or Star Trek's opening last weekend. Trek made 43 million, a fairly impressive hold. This week it will become the most successful Trek since the 1980s. Trek is now almost certain to clear 200 million in the US, a big relief for Paramount. Wolverine is in third and plummeting. Rounding out the Top Five this week are the counter-programming, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Obsessed.
Arthur Lee, Juliana Hatfield, Cutout Bin, Sleeping Piglets
Friday, May 15, 2009 - 08:00 AM
...with ARTHUR LEE & LOVE! Pate used to cover their garage-y take on Bacharach's "My Little Red Book," but Arthur Lee's big triumph was the Forever Changes album, from which Lee played "Alone Again Or," "Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale" "'You Set The Scene" on Later with Jools Holland, with strings and horns.
DANGER MOUSE + SPARKLEHORSE + DAVID LYNCH = Dark Night of the Soul, advance streaming via NPR. other artists appearing on Dark Night of the Soul include James Mercer of The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, David Lynch, and Scott Spillane of Neutral Milk Hotel and The Gerbils.
JULIANA HATFIELD does the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, two unreleased, including a cover of "It's Only Rock 'n Roll."
SONIC YOUTH, live at the Hollywood Palladium, August 1990.
THE VASELINES: Eugene Kelly talks to NOW about reuniting, while NPR's Carrie Brownstein asks whether it's better to reappear or disappear.
THE KILLERS played "A Dustland Fairytale" at the Ed Sullivan Theater. Again with the orchestral rock today.
JARVIS COCKER and his kids review current singles for The Guardian.
THE THERMALS singer/guitarist Hutch Harris talks to the Washington Post about the band's Yogi Bear philosophy.
MAXIMO PARK: Paul Smith talks to The Independent about how he joined the band, the upcoming album, etc. Enrique Iglesias has a cameo.
THE SISTERS OF MERCY continue to polarize opinion like few other bands.
CUTOUT BIN: From Shiny Toy Guns to The Heavy, from Simon & Garfunkel to Led Zeppelin, from the Supremes to the New York Dolls, plus Pavement, Cheap Trick, the English Beat, Elton John and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.
NEW RELEASES: This weekend's sole wide debut is Angels & Demons, which is currently scoring 40 percent on the ol' Tomatometer.
LINDSAY LOHAN gets a paying gig.
ROB LOWE settled sex harrassment suits brought by ex-nannies Jessica Gibson and Laura Boyce.
MADONNA reportedly wants to marry boytoy Jesus Luz, kabbalah style -- which may not be legally binding.
BARBRA STREISAND's long-hidden secrets will be bared in a new tell-all by her ex-boyfriend Hollywood producer Jon Peters -- who claims the beloved diva was sexually abused by a slimy movie mogul and had affairs with three of her leading men
FARRAH FAWCETT needs a miracle.
STAR TREK vs STAR WARS: They are your favorite movie (spoiler warning for Trek, natch).
THE BIG LEBOWSKI is added to The A.V. Club Cult Canon. Dude!
TERRY GILLIAM talks to the Times of London about the death of Heath Ledger and his latest film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.
IRAN: The Obama administration and its European allies are setting a target of early October to determine whether engagement with Iran is making progress or should lead to sanctions, said senior officials briefed on the policy. The US wants a commitment on sanctions from Russia and China if negotiations founder. Good luck with that.
AFGHANISTAN: The US has called on Afghanistan to carry out a thorough investigation into a spate of mysterious poisonings harming Afghan school girls.
IRAQ: A senior al Qaeda leader based in Syria who recruits and facilitates the entry of foreign fighters into Iraq has been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department.
SLEEPING PIGLETS still keep an ear out.
ORANGUTAN & DOG, living together, riding an elephant, appearing on Oprah... mass hysteria.
DOG vs MAIL CARRIER: The classic confrontation.
A DROWNING KANGAROO was rescued by a surfer on Kirra Beach in Australia.
EXCUSE ME, WAITER, there appears to be a baby rat in my stir-fry.
New Wilco, Iron & Wine, Vetiver, Penguin Olympics
Thursday, May 14, 2009 - 08:00 AM
BOB DYLAN has an alternate vdeo for "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'". The original was arty; this one has someone getting clocked with a frying pan.
WILCO is advance streaming Wilco (The Album).
IRON & WINE is advance streaming the Around The Well rarities collection.
VETIVER stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set streaming now via NPR.
AMANDA PALMER: With The Needle That Sings In Her Heart -- her high school musical based on Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" -- is now streaming in its entirety.
THE BREEDERS: Kelley Deal talks to the Riverfront Times about about the band's new, roller-derby themed video for "Fate to Fatal," the new EP, etc.
THE THERMALS: Kathy Fortser talks to Drowned In Sound about having Johnny Marr and his kids as fans, plus more...
RICHARD BUCKNER talks to the Arkansas Times about singing with himself, his philosophy on making albums and what makes a good performance. Video at the link, too.
ARCTIC MONKEYS drummer Matt Helders talks to Drowned In Sound about the band's next album.
WOODEN BIRDS: Andrew Kenny tells Black Book about super powers, his affinity for the channel TBS, and having his dreams realized at a bar in Brooklyn.
LINDSAY LOHAN: A burglar alarm led police to Li-Lo's house on Tuesday. Police found evidence of a potential break-in and ransacking -- but the mess was caused by Lohan, not the burglars.
PAULINA PORIZKOVA has been fired from her America's Next Top Model judging role after three seasons, due to her "huge ego."
BRAD PITT drunk-dialing Jennifer Aniston? Too good to check.
NICOLE KIDMAN has fled Woody Allen's latest, untitled project.
CAMERON CROWE lists his "Top 10 (Or So) Music Moments in Film," by which he means 36: "The first thing to remember about any top ten list is that it is not to be trusted".
ANGELS & DEMONS opens tomorrow, and I've generally neglected to mention it, so here's a clip, with more in the sidebar.
UP: /Film rounds up the exceedingly good early buzz and notes Easter eggs in the forthcoming Pixar flick.
THE MAXIM HOT 100 is in text form at the Cinema Post, while ONTD rounds 'em up in pictures. Call it Gratuitous Thursday.
THE STANS: Michael Yon and Popular Mechanics both take a look at the shake-up in US command. The BBC has a good map of Taliban-held areas of Pakistan. As Taliban militants push deeper into Pakistan's settled areas, foreign operatives of Al Qaeda who had focused on plotting attacks against the West are seizing on the turmoil to sow chaos in Pakistan and strengthen the hand of the militant Islamist groups there. The US military has begun flying armed Predator drones inside Pakistan and has given Pakistani officers significant control over targets, flight routes and decisions to launch attacks under a new joint operation. Moderate clerics speak out against the Taliban.
IRAQ: Gen. Ray Odierno offered a cautiously optimistic picture of conditions in Iraq during an hour-long session hosted by The Institute of World Politics. He also defended the withdrawal timeline, while admitting wryly that he had fielded many, many questions on that topic.
PENGUIN OLYMPICS: New Zealand, home to nine of the 16 species of living penguins, hosts the world's first ‘Penguathlon'. The Sun has video.
THE SECRET LIFE OF PENGUINS: Zoologists have long wondered where the flightless seabirds go during their long spells away from land -- and now French scientists believe they can supply the answer.
ZOMBIE FIRE ANTS: It sounds like something out of science fiction. But it's all too real.
500-LB MOOSE "fell out of the sky" on I-95 in Maine. Nothing up my sleeve... Presto!
A GREEN TREE FROG underwent life-saving emergency surgery after it was run over by a lawnmower in a backyard Down Under.
New Shins, YFF & Minus 5, Grizzly Bear, Bathtub Cat
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - 08:00 AM
THE SHINS breakout a new song, "Double Bubble" at the Hollywood Palladium.
CONOR OBERST has an hour-long documentary available to stream or download via Causecast.
ALL SONGS CONSIDERED: Tracks from Fairport Convention, Dinosaur, Jr., Passion Pit and more are featured in the latest edition of the long-running NPR series.
THE YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS and THE MINUS 5 are advance streaming new albums for your e-mail address. Oterwise it's :30 samples. (Thx, Ken!)
GRIZZLY BEAR is advance streaming "Two Weeks" from their upcoming LP, after months of seeing live versions.
RICK ASTLEY turns up for karaoke night in Athens, GA.
briTUNES: NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams launches a web-only music interview series, starting with a feature on Deer Tick.
THAO NGUYEN yuks it up with Metromix.
ANVIL is the real-tife Spinal Tap -- and their drummer is named Robb Reiner. Yes, really.
CHAN POLING, formerly of The Suburbs, is writing musicals.
LINDSAY LOHAN laughs off pregnancy rumors.
BRITNEY SPEARS: Fmr "magnager" Sam Lufti may have to pay the legal costs of getting a restraining order against him.
MISS CALIFORNIA was given a reprieve by Donald Trump, who generally likes giving reprieves to pageant winners, iirc.
TWILIGHT SEQUEL script found in the trash. The punchline writes itself, but the woman who found it returned it to the studio.
GINNIFER GOODWIN talks to W magazine about her good-girl rep and being asked inane dating questions while promoting He's Just Not That Into You: "I don't know why anyone would want to ask an actor for dating advice. We are not the poster children for healthy relationships."
TERMINATOR: SALVATION has given an exclusive action clip and behind-the-scenes clip to... Pizza Hut. And many things blow up.
STAR TREK: io9 learns about the Shatner scene cut from the reboot, but it has a spoiler for what is in the movie, so caveat clicker. Also, there's a theory now explaining an unusual musical choice in the reboot. BTW, the movie made three million more than the Sunday estimates, taking the opening weekend to 79.2 million.
TERROR in the USA: It took three trials, three juries and nearly three years, but federal prosecutors finally succeeded Tuesday in convicting five Miami men of plotting to start an anti-government insurrection by destroying Chicago's Sears Tower and bombing FBI offices. One man was acquitted.
IRAN's Revolutionary Guards have begun deploying mobile launchers for surface-to-air and surface-to-sea missiles in the Strait of Hurmuz and other areas in the Gulf, according to an Iranian official, quoted anonymously in the Saudi daily Al-Watan. Shaker of salt.
PAKISTAN: US officials are skeptical of the high Taliban casualty reports as the Interior Minister claimed 700 Taliban fighters have been killed in four days of fighting in Swat.
IRAQ: Michael J. Totten starts a series asking Iraqis and Americans if the worst in Iraq is over or if the dramatic reduction in violence is just a long lull. Anthony Cordesman warns that it is Iraq that now risks becoming the "forgotten war."
KITTEH in a BATHTUB: Let's go to the video. (Thx, Lance!)
GIANT JELLYFISH washes up on the North Devon coast. Or the UK is being invaded by giant blancmanges.
A FOX CUB survived being trapped in a snare for two weeks after his mother brought him food every day.
A PARROT is about to cost 1000 workers their jobs in New South Wales because the Federal Government has ordered a timber industry to be shut down to protect the bird.
DOG & KITTENS, living together... mass hysteria.
Sharon Jones, New Releases, Green Day, Meat Puppets, Cats & Dogs
Tuesday, May 12, 2009 - 08:00 AM
DARK WAS THE NIGHT: Closing out last week's big benefit show, this indie-star cast, featuring Feist, St. Vincent, etc. are about to be blown away by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings' take on "This Land Is Your Land."
NEW RELEASES: Steve Earle, Jarvis Cocker, Bloc Party, Hanne Hukkelberg and more are streaming in full this week at Spinner.
GREEN DAY is advance streaming its 21st Century Breakdown via Drowned In Sound.
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE played the 9:30 Club in DC last night, so you should be able to stream the gig on demand via NPR now.
MEAT PUPPETS did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter at SxSW.
BON IVER played "Flume" (w/ My Brightest Diamond) and "Big Red Machine" (w/ Matt Berringer) at the Dark Was The Night benefit show at Radio City Music Hall. Two. Fer.
LUCKY SOUL gets interviewed at Sweeping The Nation and SoundProof. (Thx, Chromewaves.) Their advance track, "Whoa Billy", was in the Cutout Bin a few weeks ago, icymi.
STEVE EARLE talks to PopMatters about his new LP of Townes Van Zandt tunes.
NOAH & THE WHALE share some firsts with YANP.
MASTADON guitarist Bill Kelliher talks art-metal with Express Night Out. Video at the link.
BROOKE SHIELDS contradicted her own reps by officially saying Jack McCollough - the dude Kiefer Sutherland headbutted - bumped her just before the incident.
LINDSAY LOHAN is seven weeks pregnant, according to an obscure gossip blog.
MICHAEL PHELPS deserves another gold medal - for stamina in the sack, according to a stripper who claims she had a threesome with the swim champ.
SHIRLEY JONES might pose nude for Playboy at the age of 75, if her husband/manager Marty Ingels has his way. I'm thinking saner heads will prevail.
FARRAH FAWCETT talks directly to People magazine about her very public, 2½-year-battle with cancer.
JESSICA BIEL says she was as shocked as everyone else at her boyfriend Justin Timberlake's raunchy new video "Motherlover" with Andy Samberg on Saturday Night Live this past weekend.
STAR TREK: Geeks of Doom explain "10 Gripes People Have About The New ‘Star Trek' Film." MTV lists "Five Things You May Have Missed While Watching 'Star Trek'."
OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS are allowed to slap their wives if they spend lavishly, a Saudi judge said recently during a seminar on domestic violence.
IRAN: Roxana Saberi, an American journalist convicted in Iran on spying charges, is to be freed after an appeals court downgraded her sentence.
AFGHANISTAN: The Pentagon is replacing the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, less than a year after he took over.
IRAQ: Ending months of political stalemate, the Iraqi Oil Ministry and the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq reached an accord Sunday that would allow the Kurds to export oil for the first time. Violence is on the rise in Iraq, as the Iraqi government is neglecting many of the successful counterinsurgency initiatives it is inheriting from the US military. After a long hiatus, the Syrian pipeline operated by al-Qaeda in Iraq is back in business.
CATS & DOGS, living together... up to a point.
RETURN OF THE MONTAUK MONSTER: Another strange, mutilated animal washes up on a Long Island beach.
MYSTERY WORM INVASION forces 50 herdsmen and their families from their grassland homes, taking 20,000 head of livestock with them, in northwest China's Xinjiang region.
WHEN KANGAROOS ATTACK, tourists go swimming.
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Chapter 29 - Benzodiazepines
By Uwe Rudolph, M. Frances Davies, Juliana Barr
Edited by Alex S. Evers, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Mervyn Maze, University of California, San Francisco, Evan D. Kharasch, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis
Book: Anesthetic Pharmacology
Print publication: 22 August 2013, pp 466-477
By Waiel Almoustadi, Brian J. Anderson, David B. Auyong, Michael Avidan, Michael J. Avram, Roland J. Bainton, Jeffrey R. Balser, Juliana Barr, W. Scott Beattie, Manfred Blobner, T. Andrew Bowdle, Walter A. Boyle, Eugene B. Campbell, Laura F. Cavallone, Mario Cibelli, C. Michael Crowder, Ola Dale, M. Frances Davies, Mark Dershwitz, George Despotis, Clifford S. Deutschman, Brian S. Donahue, Marcel E. Durieux, Thomas J. Ebert, Talmage D. Egan, Helge Eilers, E. Wesley Ely, Charles W. Emala, Alex S. Evers, Heidrun Fink, Pierre Foëx, Stuart A. Forman, Helen F. Galley, Josephine M. Garcia-Ferrer, Robert W. Gereau, Tony Gin, David Glick, B. Joseph Guglielmo, Dhanesh K. Gupta, Howard B. Gutstein, Robert G. Hahn, Greg B. Hammer, Brian P. Head, Helen Higham, Laureen Hill, Kirk Hogan, Charles W. Hogue, Christopher G. Hughes, Eric Jacobsohn, Roger A. Johns, Dean R. Jones, Max Kelz, Evan D. Kharasch, Ellen W. King, W. Andrew Kofke, Tom C. Krejcie, Richard M. Langford, H. T. Lee, Isobel Lever, Jerrold H. Levy, J. Lance Lichtor, Larry Lindenbaum, Hung Pin Liu, Geoff Lockwood, Alex Macario, Conan MacDougall, M. B. MacIver, Aman Mahajan, Nándor Marczin, J. A. Jeevendra Martyn, George A. Mashour, Mervyn Maze, Thomas McDowell, Stuart McGrane, Berend Mets, Patrick Meybohm, Charles F. Minto, Jonathan Moss, Mohamed Naguib, Istvan Nagy, Nick Oliver, Paul S. Pagel, Pratik P. Pandharipande, Piyush Patel, Andrew J. Patterson, Robert A. Pearce, Ronald G. Pearl, Misha Perouansky, Kristof Racz, Chinniampalayam Rajamohan, Nilesh Randive, Imre Redai, Stephen Robinson, Richard W. Rosenquist, Carl E. Rosow, Uwe Rudolph, Francis V. Salinas, Robert D. Sanders, Sunita Sastry, Michael Schäfer, Jens Scholz, Thomas W. Schnider, Mark A. Schumacher, John W. Sear, Frédérique S. Servin, Jeffrey H. Silverstein, Tom De Smet, Martin Smith, Joe Henry Steinbach, Markus Steinfath, David F. Stowe, Gary R. Strichartz, Michel M. R. F. Struys, Isao Tsuneyoshi, Robert A. Veselis, Arthur Wallace, Robert P. Walt, David C. Warltier, Nigel R. Webster, Jeanine Wiener-Kronish, Troy Wildes, Paul Wischmeyer, Ling-Gang Wu, Stephen Yang
Print publication: 22 August 2013, pp viii-xiv
N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor independent changes in expression of polysialic acid-neural cell adhesion molecule despite blockade of homosynaptic long-term potentiation and heterosynaptic long-term depression in the awake freely behaving rat dentate gyrus
Jose J. Rodríguez, Glenn M. Dallérac, Masashi Tabuchi, Heather A. Davies, Frances M. Colyer, Michael G. Stewart, Valérie Doyère
Journal: Neuron Glia Biology / Volume 4 / Issue 3 / August 2008
Investigations examining the role of polysialic acid (PSA) on the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) in synaptic plasticity have yielded inconsistent data. Here, we addressed this issue by determining whether homosynaptic long-term potentiation (LTP) and heterosynaptic long-term depression (LTD) induce changes in the distribution of PSA-NCAM in the dentate gyrus (DG) of rats in vivo. In addition, we also examined whether the observed modifications were initiated via the activation of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Immunocytochemical analysis showed an increase in PSA-NCAM positive cells both at 2 and 24 h following high-frequency stimulation of either medial or lateral perforant paths, leading to homosynaptic LTP and heterosynaptic LTD, respectively, in the medial molecular layer of the DG. Analysis of sub-cellular distribution of PSA-NCAM by electron microscopy showed decreased PSA dendritic labelling in LTD rats and a sub-cellular relocation towards the spines in LTP rats. Importantly, these modifications were found to be independent of the activation of NMDA receptors. Our findings suggest that strong activation of the granule cells up-regulates PSA-NCAM synthesis which then incorporates into activated synapses, representing NMDA-independent plastic processes that act synergistically on LTP/LTD mechanisms without participating in their expression.
Internet Cognitive Testing of Large Samples Needed in Genetic Research
Claire M. A. Haworth, Nicole Harlaar, Yulia Kovas, Oliver S. P. Davis, Bonamy R. Oliver, Marianna E. Hayiou-Thomas, Jane Frances, Patricia Busfield, Andrew McMillan, Philip S. Dale, Robert Plomin
Quantitative and molecular genetic research requires large samples to provide adequate statistical power, but it is expensive to test large samples in person, especially when the participants are widely distributed geographically. Increasing access to inexpensive and fast Internet connections makes it possible to test large samples efficiently and economically online. Reliability and validity of Internet testing for cognitive ability have not been previously reported; these issues are especially pertinent for testing children. We developed Internet versions of reading, language, mathematics and general cognitive ability tests and investigated their reliability and validity for 10- and 12-year-old children. We tested online more than 2500 pairs of 10-year-old twins and compared their scores to similar internet-based measures administered online to a subsample of the children when they were 12 years old (> 759 pairs). Within 3 months of the online testing at 12 years, we administered standard paper and pencil versions of the reading and mathematics tests in person to 30 children (15 pairs of twins). Scores on Internet-based measures at 10 and 12 years correlated .63 on average across the two years, suggesting substantial stability and high reliability. Correlations of about .80 between Internet measures and in-person testing suggest excellent validity. In addition, the comparison of the internet-based measures to ratings from teachers based on criteria from the UK National Curriculum suggests good concurrent validity for these tests. We conclude that Internet testing can be reliable and valid for collecting cognitive test data on large samples even for children as young as 10 years.
Estimating the extent of degradation of ruminant feeds from a description of their gas production profiles observed in vitro: comparison of models
M. S. Dhanoa, S. Lopez, J. Dijkstra, D. R. Davies, R. Sanderson, B. A. Williams, Z. Sileshi, J. France
Journal: British Journal of Nutrition / Volume 83 / Issue 2 / February 2000
An evaluation of general models that describe gas production profiles is presented. The models are derived from first principles by considering a simple three-pool scheme and permit the extent of ruminal degradation to be calculated, as described in the companion paper. The models evaluated were the generalized Mitscherlich, simple Mitscherlich, generalized Michaelis–Menten, simple Michaelis–Menten, Gompertz, and logistic. Five sets of gas production data consisting of 216 curves, obtained using a wide range of feeds (including straw, hay, silage, grain and various byproducts), were analysed to study the performance of these gas production models. Application of the non-sigmoidal models (simple Mitscherlich and Michaelis–Menten) to the data resulted in convergence problems and these models were found to be inadequate in many cases. Based on results of a pairwise comparison between models (variance ratio test), ranking of residual mean squares, lack-of-fit test, and of analyses of residuals, the generalized Mitscherlich and the generalized Michaelis–Menten models seemed particularly suited because of their flexibility to encompass sigmoidal and non-sigmoidal shapes of gas production profiles, whether symmetrical or not.
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Journal of the International Phonetic Association (3)
International Phonetic Association (3)
Speaker sex effects on temporal and spectro-temporal measures of speech
Frank Herrmann, Stuart P. Cunningham, Sandra P. Whiteside
Journal: Journal of the International Phonetic Association / Volume 44 / Issue 1 / April 2014
This study investigated speaker sex differences in the temporal and spectro-temporal parameters of English monosyllabic words spoken by thirteen women and eleven men. Vowel and utterance duration were investigated. A number of formant frequency parameters were also analysed to assess the spectro-temporal dynamic structures of the monosyllabic words as a function of speaker sex. Absolute frequency changes were measured for the first (F1), second (F2), and third (F3) formant frequencies (ΔF1, ΔF2, and ΔF3, respectively). Rates of these absolute formant frequency changes were also measured and calculated to yield measurements for rF1, rF2, and rF3. Normalised frequency changes (normΔF1, normΔF2, and normΔF3), and normalised rates of change (normrF1, normrF2, and normrF3) were also calculated. F2 locus equations were then derived from the F2 measurements taken at the onset and temporal mid points of the vowels. Results indicated that there were significant sex differences in the spectro-temporal parameters associated with F2: ΔF2, normΔF2, rF2, and F2 locus equation slopes; women displayed significantly higher values for ΔF2, normΔF2 and rF2, and significantly shallower F2 locus equation slopes. Collectively, these results suggested lower levels of coarticulation in the speech samples of the women speakers, and corroborate evidence reported in earlier studies.
Temporal-based acoustic-phonetic patterns in read speech: some evidence for speaker sex differences
Sandra P. Whiteside
Journal: Journal of the International Phonetic Association / Volume 26 / Issue 1 / June 1996
The perception of speaker sex depends on the listener's integration of a complex range of factors. These may relate, for example, to the style of delivery, the use of particular language, pronunciation (Trudgill, 1983; Smith, 1979), the use of particular intonation patterns (McConnell-Ginet, 1983) and the perceived pitch of the speaker (Aronovitch, 1976, Elyan, 1978; Lass et al., 1976). Some acoustic-phonetic investigations have explored through instrumental analysis how speaker sex differences are perceived. These have shown that acoustic phonetic differences exist between the read speech of men and women speakers. It has been demonstrated that fundamental frequency differences exist between men and women, with men having on average, lower fundamental frequencies (Aronovitch, 1976; Coleman, 1973a). This can be explained in part by their larger larynges. However it is also acknowledged that it is not a low overall average fundamental frequency alone that contributes to the perception of an adult male voice. Some evidence shows for example that use of a wider pitch range will contribute to the perception of femininity, even where the overall pitch is low (Terrango, 1966). In addition women have been found to have on average higher formant frequencies (Coleman, 1976; Henton, 1986; Peterson & Barney, 1952; Childers & Wu, 1991; Wu & Childers, 1991) as a result of the smaller vocal tract. Women have different glottal source characteristics (Karlsson, 1989) which are reflected in the filter characteristics of the speech signal (Klatt & Klatt, 1990). There is also some evidence to suggest that other speaker sex differences exist in the temporal domain. Byrd (1992) found differences between men and women speakers in speaking rate in read speech in American English in the TIMIT database. Byrd states that under the recording conditions used for the TIMIT database, women spoke appreciably more slowly than the men and that men tended to reduce vowels to schwa ([ə]) more often than the women. Byrd also found that female speakers in the TIMIT database released stops in sentence-final position more frequently and produced more glottal stops than male speakers. All these findings were statistically significant.
Peter B. Denes and Elliot N. Pinson The Speech Chain: The Physics and Biology of Spoken Language, 2nd edition. Oxford: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1993. Pp. 246 Pb. US$14.95. ISBN 0-7167-2344-1.
Journal: Journal of the International Phonetic Association / Volume 23 / Issue 2 / December 1993
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 February 2009, pp. 98-101
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Couples and Marriage Counseling
by PatrickRamseyLPC | Aug 4, 2016 | #Inspire180, Prose | 0 comments
It’s time to begin playing catch-up with Laurie Sutton’s Instagram project. Around Father’s Day, I began writing a piece to go with her word for that week (I don’t even remember now what it is), and I found myself having trouble because my adopted father and I, as much as I love and miss him, had somewhat of a rocky relationship at times. I’ll have to go back to that writing and set my mind to finishing it.
Meanwhile, I noticed that Laurie’s new word is “motivate,” and two opposing lines ways of being, both of them important, have come to my mind when thinking about that word. My first though was how motivated I’ve been to speak out about Donald Trump. Never have I felt so strongly about the outcome of an election, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I am disappointed when I notice people I know supporting him.
Watching th e conventions, I largely noticed the contrast between the two: fear vs hope, pessimism vs optimism and pure demagoguery vs a call for collaboration. Having listened the Republican nominee speak but showing none of the bright coloring others have him during the convention, it brought up my level of concern, as has the behavior following the convention. Conversely, the next convention had the opposite effect, raising my own optimism and lessening doubts I had about the nominee.
I mention these things to explain that I found myself again feeling that as a private citizen I can be part of a whole, finding ways to serve my community and even my country and in my own way contributing in a patriotic way with my neighbors across the country. I again began to feel an America that the sum of its parts. Likewise, I feel emboldened to, with as little obnoxiousness as possible, point out the error, and perhaps even the danger, of supporting the Republican nominee.
The second path of motivation has me excited today, and on Google. The Olympics are a breath of fresh air from the 2016 presidential election. The last Olympic games that I really followed was Michael Phelps winning swimming races. I’m finding myself almost NEEDING to think about something more positive than politics for a minute, so I’m ready to decompress somewhat and let the positive energy of coming together globally in friendly competition to seep in.
The excitement is not unlike the night I spent just a month ago in Paris, when France won the semifinal game against Germany, the expected victor. Pre-game there were painted faces and patriotic spirit, during the game there was shouting in the streets of Paris as France was scoring, and then long after the game had been won, vehicles honked through the streets, and people sang and shouted, glorying in their victory throughout the night.
If we could just have a fraction of that between now and the ramp-up to November, I think it would be awesome!
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Car Insurance Companies That Accept Motorbike No Claims
Published by Shelba Undercar insurance hire car cover on September 9, 2018
Get advice on buying your car insurance policy and how your No Claims Bonus works
Not all insurance companies entertain monthly direct debit facility, but there are some who do offer a low deposit car insurance scheme that you can avail.
sent out letters last month denying 106 of 110 claims filed, Fort Detrick spokeswoman Lanessa Hill said. She said there’s been no determination yet on the four remaining claims. Two of those were by p.
Vehicle insurance (also known as car insurance, motor insurance or auto insurance) is insurance for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles.
City spokesman Sean Reilly said in July that the insurance company for the family of a 5-year-old boy who damaged the sculpture paid for the damages. The Kansas City Star reports Reilly said Tuesday h.
75% of customers received a cheaper car insurance quote with Adrian Flux over the phone than with an online quote. That’s because we have over 40 years.
Do you require short term insurance for a car, van or motorhome? Get instant cover from 1 to 28 days with RAC Temporary Car Insurance.
It accelerates as quickly as many cars on the road—to 100 miles per hour in 9.6 seconds, according to the company. car, but Elio said the vehicle is a good solution for the millions who drive along.
The company mostly manufactures large. recitation of what an officer observes. Scott’s is no different. A state trooper, arriving on the scene, described seeing “a downed damaged motorcycle. A helm.
Oh, no, it’s not. A public health issue arises. medical costs of bikers who are injured or disabled. Notes the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, "Only slightly more than half of motorcycle cr.
And you can’t just trust insurance companies either — they’re not in business for. This means both that insurers try to deny as many claims as possible, and that they try to avoid covering people w.
Permit Driver Insurance Policy Office of the Illinois Secretary of State, Illinois Secretary of State, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White Protect yourself and your teen with Liberty Mutual. Our auto insurance coverage offers many features and benefits designed to meet the needs of teen drivers. Find how much is car insurance for teens or young drivers, companies offering
Chennai, Sep 1: The Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing team won two podiums in race 1 of the third round of the national motorcycle.
A cyclist has captured the dramatic moment he was thrown from his bike after smashing head on into a car Moment of impact Credit. But when it came to my insurance claim against her she disputed it.
“Motorcycle fatalities are not only our No. 1 source of organs. This freedom of choice argument puts those organizations at odds with just about every insurance, medical and safety group. The Natio.
Short term and temporary car insurance is ideal for a range of everyday situations. Compare flexible policies with Tempcover and get instant cover!
In Louisville and Lafayette, hailstones smashed through car windshields. with the insurance company. With one signature, you will get a new roof within weeks and will hopefully minimize the hassles.
Beth says, “I have no real savings, I just recently, within the past year, paid off the mortgage.” The Butlers can’t believe the insurance answer. Beth says, “All of these years, what do you pay for.
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Car Insurance Any Driver Men Over 35 Workout »
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Board index Other DVD and Blu-ray Labels Boutique Labels
Milestone, Flicker Alley, Oscilloscope, Cinema Guild...they're all here.
Re: Lionsgate
#376 Post by domino harvey » Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:40 pm
Which was already out on Blu-ray via Echo Bridge
captveg
#377 Post by captveg » Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:51 pm
Ah. Forgive me for overlooking that.
It does beg the question whether Lionsgate is the label that absorbed the majority of the Echo Bridge Miramax holdings (a nice fit, considering they already negotiated the more prestige-y Miramax titles earlier)
There have been other former Echo Bridge Miramax titles re-issued by Lionsgate, so that certainly seems to be the case. The question remains if they will be releasing any future new-to-Blu Miramax titles as they've seem to have pretty much stopped. The handful of Woody Allen titles they have are calling out for Blu-rays.
#380 Post by domino harvey » Wed Oct 08, 2014 1:09 pm
Lionsgate has been confirmed as the label to license 250 Miramax titles-- a logical fit given their existent Miramax releases and salvation from Echo Bridge at last (though the comments suggest they're just repackaging the Echo Bridge discs, which funnily enough is what the first wave of many Echo Bridge DVDs did with the original Miramax discs)
#381 Post by FrauBlucher » Wed Oct 08, 2014 2:23 pm
The expanded agreement reflects Lionsgate's successful track record in distributing third party product from some of the most prominent libraries in the world, including Miramax, Studiocanal and A&E, as well as its own Lionsgate titles.
This is clearly my favorite part of the press release.
#382 Post by captveg » Wed Oct 08, 2014 3:44 pm
FrauBlucher wrote:
Yeah, I had to hold back my flippant laughter on that one.
#383 Post by captveg » Mon Nov 03, 2014 4:36 pm
My Left Foot (1989) - 1/13/15
#384 Post by domino harvey » Thu Nov 06, 2014 7:39 pm
Dead Man in January
Cronenfly
#385 Post by Cronenfly » Thu Nov 06, 2014 8:23 pm
That is quite disappointing, was hoping the rights had reverted back to Jarmusch for a Criterion release...
Ashirg
#386 Post by Ashirg » Sun Nov 09, 2014 8:24 pm
The next batch of StudioCanal titles downgraded to DVD-R at Amazon are The Man in the White Suit, Contempt, Nights of Cabiria.
#387 Post by FrauBlucher » Tue Nov 18, 2014 6:44 pm
captveg wrote: My Left Foot (1989) - 1/13/15
One awful cover.
#388 Post by captveg » Tue Nov 18, 2014 7:53 pm
It is indeed. But considering the way LG is treating the SC library right now I'll gladly take a terrible cover if the disc content is up to snuff.
#389 Post by captveg » Mon Jul 18, 2016 4:10 pm
Chopping Mall (1986)
Blood Diner (1987)
Also, new editions of Highlander (1986) and Evil Dead II (1987) also coming that day, but these may be simply re-packaging.
#390 Post by Ribs » Mon Jul 18, 2016 4:11 pm
Studiocanal remastered Highlander in the UK so I have a hard time imagining this isn't that remaster.
#391 Post by domino harvey » Mon Jul 18, 2016 4:14 pm
Chopping Mall of course opens with the wonderful cameos by Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov as their Eating Raoul characters, but the whole thing has a certain charm to it
AfterTheRain
#392 Post by AfterTheRain » Mon Aug 01, 2016 9:31 pm
From today's Digital Bits post:
Lionsgate has announced a new line of Vestron Video Collector’s Series Blu-ray releases, set to include new remastered special editions from the iconic Vestron Video cult and horror label of the 1980s. The first release will be Jim Wynorski’s Chopping Mall (1986) on 9/27. Extras will include commentary with Jim Wynorski, actress Kelli Maroney, and co-writer/2nd unit director Steve Mitchell, a second commentary with Nathaniel Thompson (of Mondo Video) and Ryan Turek (of Shock Till You Drop), and a third with Wynorski and Mitchell alone, 7 featurettes (Back to the Mall, Chopping Chopping Mall, The Killbots, Scoring Chopping Mall, The Robot Speaks, The Lost Scene, Army of One, and Chopping Mall: Creating the Killbots), an isolated score track by Chuck Cirino, and the film’s trailer. The second release in the series will be Jackie Kong’s Blood Diner (1987), also on 9/27 (SRP $39.99). The title will feature a newly remastered HD transfer supervised by Kong himself, along with audio commentary by Kong, 5 newly-produced featurettes (Queen Kong, The Cook, The Uncle, and The Detective, Open for Business, Scoring for Sheetar!, and You Are What They Eat), an archival interview with project consultant Eric Caidin, the theatrical trailer, TV spots, and a still gallery. You can see the cover artwork at the left there. When you think of the list of B-titles distributed by Vestron, this line could be full indeed. We can’t wait to hear what’s coming next!
#393 Post by domino harvey » Mon Aug 01, 2016 9:43 pm
Are they fucking kidding with that MSRP
Adam Grikepelis
#394 Post by Adam Grikepelis » Mon Aug 01, 2016 10:46 pm
But it's a Collector's Edition...
Still, that seems to be the new standard retail price for (genre) releases with any effort put into them. Hopefully these do well enough to encourage Lionsgate to start doing more with their catalogue again.
I'm happy Chopping Mall is finally coming out, been wanting to see it for a while now.
carmilla mircalla
#395 Post by carmilla mircalla » Tue Aug 02, 2016 12:14 am
The title will feature a newly remastered HD transfer supervised by Kong himself
#396 Post by JSC » Tue Aug 02, 2016 8:49 am
As long as they're dipping into the Vestron catalogue, how about a set of
Ken Russell's films from the late 80s?
(Lair of the White Worm, The Rainbow, Salome's Last Dance)
#397 Post by dwk » Tue Aug 02, 2016 1:03 pm
Press release with news on what the next three Vestron Video Collector's Series Blu-rays will be:
SANTA MONICA, CA (August 2, 2016) – Lionsgate is exhuming classic horror films with a red carpet rollout this fall for the limited edition Vestron Video Collector’s Series. Hours of materials have been assembled for the Vestron Video Collector’s Series Blu-ray™ releases, starting with six horror cult classics! Taste the fear and the flesh, in shocking high definition for the first time, as teenagers meet their untimely demise at the hands of cannibals, killer robots, horror icons, sewer-dwelling monsters, and an army of the undead!
Vestron Video has been a leader in providing the most unique and wide-ranging selection of films. Lionsgate honors the spirit of Vestron Video by presenting the Vestron Video Collector’s Series — a line of classic genre films newly remastered and with a wealth of supplementary features. Starting with Chopping Mall and Blood Diner, and continuing with Waxwork and Waxwork II: Lost in Time Double Feature, Return of the Living Dead 3, and C.H.U.D. II: Bud the CHUD, these re-releases are for the collector and horror fan alike and will be available for a limited amount of time.
#398 Post by domino harvey » Tue Aug 02, 2016 1:13 pm
Can you imagine being assigned the blurb writing for CHUD II: Bud the CHUD after being told it's your job to convince anyone that it was a treat for horror fans and collectors alike?
flyonthewall2983
Contact flyonthewall2983
#399 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Tue Aug 02, 2016 10:18 pm
Glengarry Glen Ross on Blu-ray October 11th
#400 Post by Adam Grikepelis » Tue Aug 02, 2016 10:25 pm
Return of the Living Dead 3!!! Fingers crossed it's actually uncut this time.
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Juan Cristobal and Quico say: The year is coming to a close and while some of you will gather around the hallaca table or go to your school's gaitazo, here at Caracas Chronicles we will indulge in our own little one-year old tradition: the year-in-review post.
Summing up this year is particularly difficult: 2008 was a year in transition. Our economy went from boom to the verge of bust, though we're not quite there yet. The opposition made gains and built on its historic victory in the Referendum of last December, but we are certainly not close to becoming a government in the wings. And people remained skeptically supportive of Chavez in general, although the feeling is approaching exhaustion.
Most of all, after the Regional elections failed to produce a clear winner, both sides are revving up for another confrontation. It's only fitting that the image of the year is Quico's hard-fought-for cartogram, showing the real red-blue division in a demographically relevant way. A united republic we are not.
There was no defining moment to the year. We mused about Maleta-gate, talked about the Regional Elections and their aftermath without getting too involved in the nitty-gritty, and discussed the historic election in the US and its implications for Venezuela. Raul Reyes' laptop and Ingrid Betancourt's rescue kept us glued to the TV, but what did it all amount to?
Not much. Instead, 2009 looms large. Chavez has just promised a Referendum to amend the Constitution, and his prospects do not look good. The price of oil is tanking, and while Venezuelans haven't felt it yet, they will. The world's economy is in dire shape, and recessions always bring with them social conflict at home. With crime soaring and inflation rapidly spiraling out of control, there is a lingering feeling that we are still in the calm before the storm.
But the storm promises to be massive.
For now, let's recap...
January — February — March — April — May — June — July — August — September — October — November — December — Top — 2007 In Review
The year began with a bang: a huge discussion on our blog on the nature of political parties in our society. JC thought (and still does!) that people who constantly criticize political parties have a lot in common with anarchists, and this lead to heated discussions with our readers. We also offered tips to politicians regarding the negotiations to reach unity - needless to say, they didn't pay nearly as much attention to us as they should have.
JC also peered into his crystal ball and, on January 8, 2008, right after the Iowa Caucuses in the US, predicted "that Obama will win New Hampshire, the nomination and the White House. He has tapped the current of change when the U.S. was ready it." Hey, two out of three ain't bad! He added,
"The lesson is: don't push change too much when people don't want it, and push it relentlessly when people do. Tailoring your message to the mood of the electorate works."
Has Chávez learnt this lesson?
Quico came back with his book reviewer's hat on. Passing judgment on Fernando Coronil's deconstruction of the venezuelan petrostate, The Magical State, he wrote:
" ... (The book) is a magisterial, bone-headed, brilliant, infuriating, path breaking failure: a book that gets a stunning number of things right on its way to leaving you basically unsatisfied."
Here's hoping you, dear reader, are never called a magisterial failure - that has to hurt.
The year also began with our foray into Chávez's relations with Colombia. We talked about taking Tirofijo to The Hague (cue the sentimental Im Memoriam video clip with pictures of Tirofijo, Raul Reyes and Paul Newman), gave Uribe some advice and mused about what Chávez was after in his spats with our neighbors. Little did we know things would go haywire soon, only to return to normal as if nothing had ever happened.
The debate quickly turned back to political parties and the mechanism they should pursue to achieve unity. JC came out against primaries, Quico came out against JC, and everyone had an opinion. We discussed the January 23rd unity agreement, and wondered how long we would have to put up with the hundreds of microparties in the opposition. Our frustration with the opposition became so intense, Quico went momentarily insane and stared blogging about Kanji.
We ended the month pointing out what was to become a year-long trend: Chávez campaigning on the message of violence. We pointed out an eye-opening profile of chavista banker Victor Vargas and talked about how Venezuelans view the US. Quico wrote,
"... in Chavista discourse ... what's passed off as "El Imperio" is a monstruous caricature, one so deliriously two-dimensional only a bona fide zealot could recognize it. For all intents and purposes, Chavez uses "the US" as a synonym for "pure evil." "
On February second, we gave ourselves over to our yearly morbid self-laceration spree as we stop to ponder that Chávez has stayed in power for yet another year. Two days later, it was conmemoration-time again as we marked Chávez's coup's Super-Sweet Sixteen, and noted his peculiar choice of arm-banditry for the occassion.
In between, we linked to a dramatic story in Spain's El País documenting the Venezuelan governments links with the cocaine trade and sent props to Andrés Martínez for his excellent Venezuela reportage.
Juan Cristobal owed up that there was something very strange about CNE's refusal to publish full, final results from the 2D referendum (update: they still haven't) and about the fact that few were really pressing them on the matter.
It was around then that we had one of those stories that seemed apocalyptic at the time but sort of petered out into nothingness: on February 7th, ExxonMobil obtained a series of injunctions freezing PDVSA's assets in the US, UK, Netherlands, and Dutch Antilles, and we thought it really was the end of the world.
PowerPoint presentations have long been Quico's favorite explanatory medium, which is why he had so much fun with this post showing why Chávez ends up surrounded by crooks when he imagines himself to be selecting people by loyalty, as well as with this one, which explains why Chávez's threats to cut off oil supplies to the United States are fundamentally meaningless.
Quico then broke a longtime habit of slamming Globovisión to write a long, laudatory post about the channel's one feature he really likes: "Ud. lo vio por Globovisión."
Later that month, in one of those wonderfully weird episodes that Venezuelan politics produces in such abundance, chavismo booted out the infamous gocho zealot Luis Tascón from its ranks, over an overdose of independence on his part, which left Quico pretty much at a loss for words...as did Chávez's explanation for why it was necessary to raise the price of milk.
Later, it was Quico's turn to excorciate Tibisay Lucena, noting her amazing knack for making it difficult to believe in CNE's impartiality, even after CNE should've disarmed those doubts by doing what the hardcore oppo never thought they would do: announce that Chávez had lost an election. How does she do it?
Her formula is simple: galloping opacity barely covered up with blatant lying and seasoned with undisguised contempt for those who question her.
Anybody who blogs - or who reads blogs - will tell you that post quality is typically uneven. Nobody can be ON all the time, so a few posts each year of course stand out above the crowd. Juan Cristobal's visit to Sinamaica Lagoon yielded one post where the guy was definitely on. Worth going back to.
JC closed out the month with rants about Chávez's increasing tendency to pick fights with his putative followers (target du jour, Lina Ron) and the commenting on the decision to bar Leopoldo López from seeking elected office for years to come.
March started with Juan Cristobal on the war-path against his own governor, Manuel Rosales, for trying to out-Chávez Chávez in the populism stakes. But Chavez quickly turned attention, as he always does, to him. Mainly, some cock-a-doodle war he wanted to start with Colombia on live TV, as a consequence of Colombia's bombing of Raul Reyes' camp in Ecuador.
We blogged about the announcement, blogged about how the troop movement as not going, erm, smoothly, and when it was safe to make fun of the whole charade, blogged some more about the government's newfound depths of improvisation. The whole incident ended with a whimper, a wink and a handshake. We were left scratching our heads.
The fallout from Laptop-gate continued. We discussed the likely consequences of including Venezuela in the list of State Sponsors of Terror, and the always gaffe-prone Interior Minister Rodriguez Chacin prodded us to talk about the real Venezuela-US relation, not the one playing in Chavez's head. Early polls like this one began circulating, showing continued problems with regard to scarcity of basic staples. Undoubtedly, Chavismo's recovery at the end of the year had a lot to do with scarcity becoming less of a problem as the year went on.
Blogging sagged a bit in the middle of the month, but Quico revealed why: he was in Caracas setting up his Mision Cadivi handout.
His trip marked several milestones: Quico and Juan Cristobal met in person in a Caracas Chronicles summit, Quico was inspired to write a few incredible posts, and he came around to acknowledging that Venezuela was something that looks an awful lot like a right-wing dictatorship.
In a dizzying triple-whammy, Quico wrote about the barter economy being a reality, renewing his driver's license and the absurdity of Mision Cadivi. These were his three best posts of the year, Quico at the top of his form. The driver's license post, in particular, is worth revisiting.
He ended the month with an inspired, thoughtful discussion of the huge chasm between the world on state TV and the Revolution as it is. He wrote,
"What would the revolution look like if we watched it "on mute,” as it were: tuning out the discourse entirely and focusing exclusively on the way money, power and influence flows through society. What would we see then? ... What we'd see ... is the political economy of puntofijismo. Petrostate clientelism, plain and simple."
The Revolution on mute. Now that's a thought...
April saw an interesting discussion between Francisco Rodriguez of Wesleyan University and chavista economist Mark Weisbrot. We had our own take on the fight, and we still wonder where Quico got that picture of Godzilla squashing Bambi. Later, we talked about how Francisco put Maisanta on an economics journal, a first we're sure.
With no checks and balances and a crapload of cash in hand, chavismo was letting loose. The government targeted Cemex, then the Simpsons. The Cemex purchase has not been completed to this date, but at the time we remarked on how this was not socialism but plain-old petrostate crony capitalism. Quico felt vindicated when Weil agreed that chavismo reality was heading to a collision with chavismo discourse.
The US election continued to make headlines. Juan Cristobal grabbed at Mark Penn's failure in the Clinton campaign to diss on some inside information of his own, from the days when Mark Penn played a critical role in the Recall Referendum of 2004. In putting the final piece of what Caracas Chronicles really believes happened in the Referendum, JC said,
"For the past few months, Quico, Lucía and I have been talking to some of the people involved, and after confirming the story with different sources, this is what we believed happened: a hack-job of an exit-poll conducted by the opposition itself and rubber-stamped by a prestigious polling firm resulted in a collective belief that differed from reality and led to disastrous political decisions for the opposition in the following years."
April 11th is always a date for reflection. Quico, wearing his book reviewer's hat once more, offered a great post summarizing Gen. Francisco Uson's memories of those days. Uson - then Chávez's finance minister, and who would later end up serving several years in jail on silly charges - was terrified that night that Chavez might actually kill himself, and Quico comments,
"(Usón) was seriously worried that if something happened to Chávez that night the country would careen towards civil war. He was concerned enough to consign his own handgun to one of the president's bodyguard before going in to see him. He even raised the importance of keeping Chávez safe as he resigned and, on his way out, went as far as to have a quiet word with one of Chávez's bodyguards to plead with him to hide that gun when he got a chance because "nothing must happen to Chávez ... That glimpse of a suicidal Chávez is not one Usón would forget. At 8:30 p.m. on April 11th 2002, Hugo Chávez genuinely thought his gig was up."
We also celebrated Quico being quoted by Newsweek, while Chavez's channeling of Springsteen drew a few chuckles. Remember kids, jefe es jefe. Quico wore a fun, stream-of-consciousness post on the Anderson case, while Juan Cristobal tried to create a link between Barack Obama, Bill Ayers and Hugo Chavez. While we don't know if our blog is where Sarah Palin got her inspiration from, the fury this post got in the comments section taught us that we should tread very, very lightly when discussing the US election.
In the meantime, the government raised taxes on the oil industry yet again. Little did they know the price of oil would fall to a fifth of its value by year's end. Since Victor Vargas had become somewhat of a punching bag on our blog, we couldn't resist to comment on his real-estate shopping spree in West Palm Beach, with Juan Cristobal showing a knack for witty titles. Quico took the time to comment on a piece by Robert Kagan that got him thinking about Chavista geostrategic thinking.
Blogging got a little slow during the month, leaving us no choice but to comment on the continued saga of Maleta-gate. This prompted Juan Cristobal to reflect on how the news were sagging, pointing out that it was the calm before the storm. Commenting on how December's win had left the opposition in somewhat of a lull, with a false sense that Chavez was vulnerable. In remembering the Enabling Law, he wrote,
"the government is going to pound the country with a coñazo of new legislation in the months to come. With three more months to go on his Enabling Power and with all the institutions at his command, I have the vague feeling that we won't be talking about Chávez's weaknesses in a few months time... The opposition believes it mortally wounded the government last December. The government believes it still has a mandate to implement socialism, and it has the power and the resources to attempt it. A recipe for high drama if I ever saw one."
Blogging picked up at the end of the month. Both Quico and JC wrote high-brow posts on rent-seeking and food security, respectively. Chavistas created their own dissidence by expelling Henry Falcon and Wilmer Azuaje from the PSUV, only to backtrack in Falcon's case - a smart move given the current Lara Governor's electoral strength. The month ended with the cheerful news of the fall of a major chavista PSF, Mayor of London Ken Livingstone. His conqueror? A crazy polar bear.
The first half of May was dominated by the fallout from the Interpol report showing the Chavez administration's extensive links to the FARC guerrilla. While we marveled at Chavez and Correa's chutzpah in simply shrugging off the whole thing, we were surprised to learn there were more laptops involved.
The Reyes story was one of those scandals that failed to get the traction that we thought it would. While we wondered what kind of consequences it would have internally, the real consequences for Chávez seemed to be more on the outside. The Colombian government now had a potent tool with which to keep Chávez in check, and foreign coverage of the Revolution took a decided turn to the worst. Hell, even Richard Gott felt icky praising the Revolution and changed the text of his laudatory pieces on Chávez. Still, it had little consequence internally, as more and more the attention was focused on the Regional Elections.
So we turned our attention back to the realities of living in a socialist revolution in the middle of a capitalist petroboom surrounded by abject poverty. The picture to the right sort of captured the whole chaos of our society...
The surreal aspects of Venezuelan life were portrayed in one of Juan Cristobal's best posts of the year, when he talked about those zany folks at INTI and his source Roger's dealings with land holdings, somewhere deep in the countryside. Quico backed him up with a discussion of how a foreign journalist views a society where money was everywhere and nobody cared about costs. When discussing chavismo's total inability to weigh costs and benefits when formulating policy, he said,
"... it's anything but a surprise that the revolution consistently uses up Bs.5 worth of lemons to make Bs.3 worth of lemonade. Just the opposite: that's more or less the cornerstone of its economic vision."
Things in the opposition began heating up. Juan Cristobal made the case for looking the other way, while Quico cut oppo parties some slack for "administering powerlesness," remarking,
"... the real reason they (oppo parties) get bashed is that we systematically take our anger at our own powerlessness out on them. We've turned them into punching bags in some bizarre internal psychodrama - pagapeos in a fight we're really having with ourselves."
The month ended with our discovery of El Chigüire Bipolar, a satirical website filling a critical, underserved niche for sheer, zany satire. That rodent is like part of the family now...
June began with Chávez inexplicably shelving another law, the Intelligence Law, which one another. Quico rightly compared it to the Patriot Act, only three times as bad, and then we marveled at Chávez's backtracking when he "vetoed his own law." Chavistas resorted to the old adage - blame the flunkies! The nerve... Quico kept going on about it for days on end.
In a rare treat, Quico graced the blog with a video conference discussing US-Venezuela relations in the face of the upcoming US election.
Contnuing with the line of backflips, Quico commented on Chavez's calls for the FARC to disarm and release prisoners. Funny for him to do that when, in his words, Colombia is ruled by a lackey of the empire and a fascist - you would think the FARC was more than justified in doing what it does, in his view at least.
Juan Cristobal began the first of three posts on Primero Justicia's platform, this one on oil and energy. Interesting discussions ensued. Chavez, in the meantime, held a bizarre meeting with the country's wealthiest businessmen, practically begging them to invest as long as they subjected to his absolute power. Quico noted how sad it was that the only way he could even get them to talk was with cash in hand, while also noting how the petrostate creates its own elite. When looking at the actual proposals, we realized there were mostly hype and not much more. Juan Cristobal commented,
"The irony of Wednesday is that Chávez feels he has to reach out to the very oligarchs he denounces on a daily basis, and yet he does so in an ineffective way. Time will probably show he got nothing in return yesterday...Say what you will, but Fidel Castro would have never begged businessmen to invest. And if he was ever forced to, he certainly would have come up with a better plan than this. In proposing these half-baked measures, Chávez didn't sell his socialist soul. He gave it away for free."
Juan Cristobal continued with a second on Primero Justicia's platform. This time, he talked about the justice system. In the meantime, he found the time to predict oil prices would fall (ajem!) and turn the blogging world upside down by revealing Katy was actually a dude using his wife's name as a nom-de-blog. Readers were outraged, JC was mortified, but most kept reading.
In the meantime, we found the time to trash an old favorite, made fun of some of Chavez's candidates (as things turned out, this guy actually won) and ridiculed a tired punching bag of ours and were surprised when another punching bag started making sense.
In a well-received article, Juan Cristobal (now using his real name) wrote about how Norway manages its petro-wealth. He congratulated local maracucho politicians stepping aside for the sake of unity, which gave us permission to hope that unity would be achieved. It wasn't, but great progress was made and there were encouraging signs on this front. The month ended with PDVSA announcing a policy of ending scarcity by fueling inflation.
The month started with the rescue of FARC's star hostage, Ingrid Betancourt, whom VTV insisted on describing as "retained." Juan Cristobal immediately decided a star had been born, and Quico immediately decided this was bad for Chávez's continental strategy. JC soon noted the way Ingrid's saga overshadowed the thousands of individual tragedies Venezuelans encounter every day.
The following week, groovy English journo (and now, Quico stable-mate at the Huffington Post) Johann Hari wrote a treacly pro-Chávez screed in The Independent and Quico laid in to him with the kind of measured scorn he usually reserves for Hermann Escarrá. For the longest time, he just wouldn't let it go.
The following week, Chávez treated us to one of his trademark, whiplash inducing U-Turns as he suddenly "rediscovered" his friendship with Colombian president Álvaro Uribe, and Quico had a great old time digging up all the old crap Chávez had been saying about him over the previous few months. I mean, it was really really easy.
Quico then wrote-up a detailed post on Venezuelan prison conditions, highlighting perhaps the single most outrageous use of the US Imperialism card in the Chávez arsenal. He then wrote up the results of the first Caracas Chronicles' readers' Survey, which were sort of interesting, and then took some well-deserved, if cheap shots, at Elías Jaua's idiotic fight-inflation-by-haggling statement. He then had a minor conniption over chavismo's ongoing support for CAAEZ and highlighted William Ojeda's decision to stand aside in favor of Carlos Ocariz in the race for Petare mayor.
Juan Cristobal, in a serious bout of inspiration, acquainted us with Manuel Felipe de Tovar, Venezuela's first elected president, writing beautifully about the depth and length of anti-militarism in Venezuelan culture. Still a good read.
He went on to make an important, and underappreciated point: even amid the (then) ongoing oil boom, poverty numbers had started creeping up in Venezuela as early as the second half of 2007.
We then wrote up the opposition's primary in Aragua State: a worthy idea that didn't prevent us losing there in the end to chavismo's Rafael Isea.
Then we highlighted this still jaw-dropping clip of Hugo Chávez laying into a VTV cameraman for refusing to point a camera at him for free. Amazing! Almost as amazing as the newfound love-affair between the opposition's original odd couple: Maria Corina Machado and Ismael García!
It's at around this time that Quico decided - controversially - to switch comments' software...a move he's still not quite convinced was right. (On the upside, comments from here on out are available on mosts posts.)
He then highlighted the first of a series of genius Edo cartoons on the relationship between the government and its leftwing allies:
We then presented the quite interesting results of a second, more in-depth readers' survey, before Quico presented a series of posts to provide a baseline for expectations for November's elections here, here, here and here.
Just as Juan Cristobal had predicted, Chávez kicked off August in recidivist style, once again waiting until the very last day of his Enabling Powers to decree a whole raft of decree-laws, 26 in all this time, much as he had done in 2001 ahead to start of the political crisis that rocked the country for the following three years. Amazingly, even though they'd had a full year and a half to legislate by decree, chavismo still blew the deadline: publishing only the titles of the new decree-laws by August 1st and their full texts only a few days later, in a backdated Gaceta. It's the kind of thing that sends Quico around the bend.
Once he had a chance to look at the texts more closely, though, he came to the conclusion that the gacetazo was 90% paja (weightless bullshit), and, though autocratic in its own way, not substantially more autocratic than what we've seen so far. Miguel Henrique Otero thought otherwise.
August was also the month when we started thinking more systematically about the upcoming November 23rd State and Municipal Elections. Juan provided 10 good reasons to care about 23N, and Lucía came out from a long period of hibernation to express relief at the end of the stale abstention/participation debate, and thought 23N could be the start of something good.
We agreed with nickname burglar Kico Bautista that the opposition needed to find a way to crucify oppo politicos who broke the unity pact
In odds and ends, the government enacted its insane new anti-kidnapping law, Juan dumped on Desirée Santos Amaral and Quico was revealed as the main cash conduit from the Chávez regime to Piedad Córdoba...fun!
Juan moved on to decry the pointlessness of the Cemex takeover, and the markets noticed.
The National Assembly started discussing a bill that would regulate all electronic communications, including things like SMS text messaging, sending Quico absolutely around the bend. What ever came of that?! The story later sunk out of view like Giordani's submarine. It did, however, get us thinking that the government's emerging strategy ahead of November would rely on heavy-duty, broad-based provocation. We weren't wrong about that, but satisfyingly, the opposition never really took the bait.
At the end of the month, both Quico and Juan Cristobal had to travel, and they had this brilliant idea to keep the blog moving by posting a series of "Web-site Reviews" of the main Venezuelan political parties. Ermmmm, not our most successful move of the year: the reviews turned out to be really boring and repetitive, and we got some of our readers' machines infected with some weird chavista virus by unwittingly pointing them to PSUV's malware infected homepage. An all-round blogging fiasco.
Returning from our trips in September, we immediately latched on to Chávez's more-insane-than-average scheme to build a 6,200 km. railroad from Caracas to Buenos Aires...but bypassing Brazil. Smart!
Quico rued the loss of Contrapeso, Canal i's flagship opinion show, apparently at the hands of government intimidation, and found method-to-the-madness of Chávez's bizarre, sudden love affair with Interpol (following Jabón's arrest.)
The following week, Chávez apparently went off his meds for good, expelling US ambassador Patrick Duddy in an extended deluge of insults that only Chigüire Bipolar could figure out how to satirize properly. The reasons for Chávez's anger weren't long in becoming apparent. According to a dynamite piece in The Washington Post,
The Treasury Department said Venezuela's military intelligence director, Hugo Carvajal, protected FARC drug shipments from seizure by honest Venezuelan authorities, provided weaponry and helped the rebels maintain their stronghold along Colombia's eastern border with Venezuela.
It was around that time that the Maletagate Trial got going in earnest in Miami, and while we didn't follow it as closely as Miguel, we certainly did a bit of writing about it.
The best of it, and a definite candidate for Post of the Year, was Quico's dissection of a long, FBI-recorded transcript of a 4 hour lunch in Fort Lauderdale involving Guido Alejandro Antonini and one of the government's emissaries in the case, the since-copped-a-plea-and-turned-state's-witness Moses Maiónica. The post is too juicy to summarize properly, but here's a money quote from the lunch:
Maiónica: Pero [funcionar en efectivo] es la unica ... estructura que ellos conocen y, y...ahora que hay miles, si, que tu y yo le pudierarnos dar una clase y enseñarles como, de pinga. Pero es que, no llego a ese nivel de confianza y ademas que, ¿qué hizo el Presidente? Le dijo a Rangel [Silva], "Tú te encargas de este pe'o y tú le pagas". Entonces Rangel tiene una partida secreta, su partida secreta es en dólares en efectivo y va a pagar. Eso es lo que va a hacer. Maiónica: But [dealing in cash] is the only structure they know and, and... sure there are thousands [of things] that you and I could give them a class on, teach them how [to go about doing things]. Thing is, I'm not on that level of trust with them...plus, what did the president do? He told Rangel [Silva] "You take charge of this mess and you pay him." And Rangel has a secret fund, and his secret fund is in dollars in cash and he's going to pay. That's what he's going to do.
That week, Juan Cristobal also took the whole Who-is-Hugo-Like parlor game way out to left field with this post noting the parallels between his career and Sarah Palin's!
But things got serious again pretty soon, as the government forcibly ejected Human Rights Watch Americas' director and his assistant from the country, breaking all kinds of due process rules. Quico noted how blatantly illegal the move was, and was surprised only that the chavista nomenklatura still felt the need to justify its moves in juridical terms.
That whole episode was pretty tyrant-like, so maybe that's what inspired Quico to post Plato's take on the tyrant's fear of meeting a violent death, and later to comment on its relevance to the Chávez era using no less an authority than Moises Maiónica to back Plato up! One thing seemed blatantly obvious to him: if Chávez does get knocked off, the perp will be someone you've never heard of.
Later that month, Juan Cristobal went all sociological with a post on the Grand Venezuelan Wedding, and how weird it is that they still happen in the middle of what's supposed to be a revolution. He then ended the month with a fun little snarky post, a kind of twofer aimed at both Patricia Poleo and Carlos Fernández of (whaddever-happened-to-him fame.) The horror!
Quico began the month with a timely visit with the Ghost of Petrostates Past, Arturo Uslar Pietri's Cassandraish plead to sow the oil. His main point was that Uslar's point was badly misunderstood: he was talking about morals, not economics. He wrote,
"For Uslar Pietri, the real issue wasn't what oil dependence would do to our wallets; it was what it would do to our souls. Diversifying our economy was a means to the end of inoculating our society's moral fiber against the fecklessness and depravity that comes from unhinging consumption from hard work."
The financial crisis in the world was heating up and it took us a few days to get on the ball. While we were cooking up posts, we covered what other people were saying - Simon Romero from the NYT talking about the Yanomami, or El Nacional talking about an important source of Venezuela news - us!
We then got into some serious economic-meltdown blogging. JC compared Chavez's glee at the collapse of capitalism with the movie The War of the Roses, and still wonders if the analogy was simply too far-fetched. Quico blasted the government's lack of readiness for what it had always preached and hoped would happened - the crash of capitalism. As the world's economies continue to face enormous problems, we still don't know what the government is going to do about it, other than hold yet another referendum. At least we're not alone - our Minister of Planning doesn't have a clue either.
The Regional Elections were fast approaching, and we noticed the smart way that Carlos ocariz was framing the government's obscene giveaways to convince voters: Mision Agarre. Stop the presses, here's your headlines: Oppo politician comes up with a clever idea, delivers his message, wins tough election. We never thought we'd see the day. We also talked about how pointless it was to squash healthy competition between oppo politicians in safe municipalities like Chacao.
We then took the time to show some love for Venezuela's political cartoonists. Like guitarists, ball players and young orchestra conductors with funky hair, our country has an unheralded comparative advantage in producing sharp, beautiful political satire. Our good friend Edo got the most love from us, but really, they're all great. We worship these people.
It's hard to remember, but back in October we were concerned that oil was falling below $68 a barrel! Oh, the good'ol days.
Quico then produced a sober, detailed post inspired by the German movie The Lives of Others. Well worth re-reading.
He noted the differences between a real police state like East Germany, with its discipline and rigor in squashing people's souls, and the televised, amateurish, petro-version charade that we have, where private phone conversations are aired on TV with no real consequences and no real strategic objective in sight. He noted,
"For all its rank disregard for the rule of law, chavismo doesn't have the wherewithall to criminalize intimacy in Venezuela. In revealing innocuous private conversations with no strategic objective in sight, all it does is reinforce the sense that the revolution abhors anything that even resembles rigor and discipline... The Bolivarian Republic of East Germany we are not."
The price of oil continued its freefall, so we speculated on when devaluation would occur, without knowing that Chavez would hurl yet another election at us and completely change the rules of engagement. Quico correctly thought the whole discussion was bunk. We also highlighted Chavez's prediction that the economic meltdown would not affect us because he had taken all necessary steps to protect us. We have a hunch we'll be revisiting these quotes sometime soon.
We talked about technology late in the month, highlighting China's launching of a satellite (funding provided by Yuleysis in Petare) and the Revolution blaming engineers for the country's frequent blackouts. Quico, in the meantime, continued his school-girl crush on all things Beeb.
The month started with something we hadn't seen in a while: foreign oil companies applauding a decision by the government. A sign of the changing times, perhaps? We still don't get it. We also celebrated the conviction of Franklin Duran, though we will miss the entertaining details of Maletagate.
When Barack Obama was elected, we felt the need to write him a policy memo on Venezuela. We tried in vain - vain being the operative term here - to circulate it amongst those of our readers who know people who know people who know people in power. All those "who know"s resulted in who knows - with Hillary Clinton appointed to the State Department, we have no clear idea of what Obama's Venezuela policy will look like. But judging by this brilliant November documentary from PBS's Frontline, it would seem like Chavez's international star twinkles less and less these days.
With the US election chapter closed, it was time to focus on Venezuela's looming Regional Elections. We dissected election forecasts: Datanalisis had the opposition plus dissidence winning nine governorships, we had them winning nine too (although different ones). They actually won five. In our case, we correctly predicted the five they won, but missed out on Guarico, Cojedes, Barinas and Sucre (so much for our knowledge of the politics of Ruritania). Datanalisis, on the other hand, had Miranda going to the chavistas and Cojedes as "solid opposition..." And they make a living out of this!
As for other pollsters, they too missed the mark. Quinto Dia had the oppo + diss group winning nine governorships. Chavista "polling" company Consultores 30.11 had us winning in a single state, Nueva Esparta. Actually, 30.11 just a propaganda outfit, they apparently only poll in Miraflores. Hinterlaces had us winning eleven states, including Vargas and Bolivar, where we didn't come even close. An anonymous tip was way off base too.
One thing we did get right, though, is the Metropolitan Mayor's race. We said that turnout for Ocariz would help Ledezma, and it did - Ledezma coasted to a comfortable win. Undoubtedly, the rains in the days before the election and Chavez's ham-fisted reaction cost him a few votes. El Chigüire termed it Juan Barreto's revolutionary scheme for a sub-aquatic Caracas.
Our election day coverage was antsy and intense, as per usual. We talked about why it mattered. Quico said,
"What's at stake here is something different: the political content of venezolanidad. For a decade, Chávez has been trying to sell us this story where the only Real Venezuelan (sound familiar to anyone?) is a chavista, that voting for the opposition is somehow un-venezuelan, even treasonous. Today, with any luck, the good burghers of Petare, Barinas, Trujillo, etc. will start to put the lie to this brand of emotional-blackmail-cum-political-discourse."
We ranted about the myriad of small political parties and about how complicated it was to vote, ranted some more about the arrest of a candidate for mayor of Valencia (chavistas won that post by a thin margin, so it may have worked), and worried about what would happen if we only won Sucre and Nueva Esparta.
Barinas was a state we had our eye on; Spain's El Pais noted the psychological impact it would have for Chavez to lose his home state (he barely won it), and we laughed at the chutzpah of Chavez family saying they had problems with the voting machines.
Information on Chavez's use of public funds to convince voters continued to trickle in. Chavismo had the gall of making the same accusation about the opposition. We wondered, we waited, we had nothin'.
Then the first results started coming, but unlike in past elections, we had a really hard time finding publishable leaks. An hour before Tibisay Lucena announced the first results, we called Carabobo, Nueva Esparta and Zulia for the opposition. This information came from redundant, independent sources, so you can be sure that when CC calls an election, we're not shooting from the hip. The first official bulletin came out, and the results confirmed the urban/rural divide we had been discussing for over a year.
Then, it was time for Monday morning quarterbacking, on a Monday morning no less. Quico listed his thoughts. His first one: that Ledezma, Ocariz and Capriles were the new leaders of the opposition. He didn't say which of the three he likes best (hint: his name is Carlos Ocariz). He discussed the rains, turnout, the rural problem and several other issues that this election served to highlight pretty clearly.
Juan Cristobal came out with a post-mortem of his own, also highlighting Ocariz's significant win in Petare. He talked about the winners and losers, the dissidents, and suggested that Chavez faced long odds of passing a Constitutional Amendment. He showed remarkable foresight when he said,
"It's clear Chavez doesn't have the votes to try and reform the Constitution so he can run again in 2012. And with the price of oil tanking, the longer he waits, the less resources he'll have to keep clients satisfied and fund his electoral machine... Launching the reform proposal now would be absolutely crazy, but waiting would be even worse for his chances. Expect Chavez to announce it in the coming days."
We geeked out on data. We noted that chavismo had won the popular vote, but that their biggest wins were by candidates that have not always been the favorites of the chavista machinery. After all, Henry Falcon, governor of Lara with more than 70% of the vote, was expelled from the PSUV only six months ago! We also pointed out our side's shortcomings along with its silver linings. We blasted the opposition's amazing achievement in losing Valencia, and we scolded the CNE's hatchet job. We had little patience for any talk of fraud.
The piece de resistance of our election coverage, though, was The Map, the cartogram Quico sweated out with the help of a reader, the picture of the year that headlines this post. We're going to put it here again, just because it's so darn interesting. This one shows the PSUV's share of the vote.
Once results for the Mayor's positions came in, we talked about the significance of winning Petare, as well as how we underperformed in the other large cities we needed to win. We gave some more numbers on the rural/urban split, and were baffled by Chavez's behaving like a loser while insisting he had won.
The month ended with Chavez's striking announcement that he was going to go ahead with his Amendment plans. The country had gone through a long, exhausting, complicated election, and seven days later Chavez was announcing a new one in the near future.
Yet this one is different. It's all about him, his power and his ambition, and it promises to be his toughest battle yet. In writing about how Chavez will probably turn on the money machine in order to win, fuelling inflation in the process, Quico wrote,
"The populist spending spree tactics of yesteryear just won't work under these conditions. NiNis and moderate chavistas are not going to support a proposal that's all about his problems, not theirs, at a time when inflation is fast clawing back all the gains they've made in the last five years ... It's a loser, this proposal. Remember where you read it first."
December started with Chavismo working to heat up the street again, including through a direct attack on Marta Colomina's house. Juan Cristobal noted with some satisfaction how the opposition, even the radical opposition, appears to be well and truly over the bad old habit of charging at each every chavista red rag.
After the Excel-a-thon of the previous week, we thought we were over this election analysis stuff for a while, but that's just not the Chávez way. Quico soon pointed out that while PSUV-backed candidates for governor had received 52.7% of the vote on 23N, the PSUV ticket itself had gotten just 46.7% - and proposed that might be a more realistic estimate of the hard chavez vote.
Juan Cristobal wrote about the fractures at OPEC's Cairo meeting, but then a week later they agreed a 2 million b/d cut. Oops.
He followed up with a belief beggaring (but true, folks, it really is true!) post about the extent of chavismo's looting of the mayor's offices and governorships they had lost. In Miranda, the governorship was handed over without even a stapler in stock. The bad faith this all shows sent him fretting about some nightmare post-amendment vote scenarios.
Next up, a bit of a breakthrough for Quico, who got invited to blog over at The Huffington Post. Hey, say what you will about that joint, they get a ton and a half of traffic. To assuage the guilt, he then translated this genius piece Laureano Márquez wrote.
Then we reproduced the scarcely believable revolutionary knock-off converse. Stunning!
Juan Cristobal congratulated Maestro Abreu for his TED Award, excortiated the mindless slogan-chanting national assembly, and provided more detail on chavismo's vandalism of the public offices they lost to the opposition.
We rapped up the year with Juan Cristobal eating up a hearty serving of his own words after Yon Goicoechea decided to join Primero Justicia, Quico serving up his second HuffPost erm...post, and Juan noting the achievements of our musicians (again) and the opening shots of Campaign 2009...here we go again!
With this post, we sign off for the year, hoping you spend the holidays with your loved ones and that you can forget about all things Chávez for a few weeks - we know we will. We also want to thank you for reading, providing such lucid comments and putting up with uncool gestures like finding out your favorite she-blogger was actually a he.
The feedback we get from you is worth all the time and effort we put into this joint. This blog has been, and continues to be, a unique experience for both of us and a big chunk of the credit goes to you, our readers. So, a heartfelt gracias panita to each one of you. We'll see you all in January!
Another milestone for Venezuelan musicians
The campaign is under way
Petrostates for Beginners
Words, meet my stomach
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Big Oil has landed: Hugo Chávez in Copenhagen
Quico and Juan Cristobal say: What do you think would happen if the head of one of the world's five largest oil companies started lecturing the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen about the evils of global warming?
How do you think the most esteemed delegates to the world's premier forum on the pressing issue of our time would react if a man who's leveraged his control over hundreds of billions of dollars worth of oil rents into a spot in Forbes' list of the world's 100 most powerful people started to tell them what they need to do to save the planet?
Why, they'd fall all over themselves cheering him, obviously.
Hugo Chávez’s Copenhagen speech today was such an event, though on its face, the speech itself was boilerplate. The Venezuelan strongman delivered his usual twenty-minute anti-capitalist tirade, full of quasi-religious rhetoric about saving the world and such. Developing world delegates ate it up with mustard, spiraling into rapturous applause each time he blamed the rich countries for "destroying the planet."
It's insane. Cheering Chávez as he lectures you on climate change is like cheering Joseph Fritzl as he lectures you on fatherhood.
As far as Chávez can tell, it's not CO2 that's changing the climate, it's "capitalism." The specific mechanism through which this happens, the whole pesky issue of the actual fuel that generates all that carbon, the bucketfuls of petrodollars he makes out of the whole dirty business...the less talked about such things, the better.
Chávez’s green-standing, echoed by his hapless delegation and the minions in his vast media empire, stands in sharp contrast with the actual policies Venezuela has put in place.
Instead of taxing oil consumption, Chávez has spent a decade subsidizing it, making Venezuelan gasoline the cheapest in the planet. In fact, in real terms, gasoline is 85% cheaper in Venezuela today than it was when Chávez came to power ten years ago. The price of a liter of gas has not moved in ten years, while accumulated inflation is 655%.
This is a leader who subsidizes not just gas but car sales, a man whose idea of foreign aid is giving cut-price fuel oil to people in Boston. A gallon of fuel in Caracas costs less than a lolly-pop, a policy Chávez has no intention of relenting on. The man responsible for feeding oil junkies the world over - that's the guy who brought down the house in Copenhagen?
Talk about a real climate scandal.
In the days leading to the Summit, some in Venezuela wondered what the country's position would be. Chávez has rarely discussed the complexities of how climate change and the policies to stop it can affect Venezuela. You wouldn't expect him to: any decision that seriously cuts demand for oil at Copenhagen would directly undermine the whole material basis of his power.
Although Chávez has famously adopted every third-world, anti-imperialist, "us vs. them" pose in the book, it's not like the developing world was coming to Copenhagen with a unified voice. The Chinese and Indians do not want to sacrifice their development, the Africans are desperate for action sprinkled with a little bit of cash, and the Saudis would prefer the status quo. Countries like Bolivia have a real interest in curbing greenhouse emissions, which is causing melting glaciers. Bolivia’s vast reserves of lithium, which can be used to power the batteries in hybrid vehicles, mean it is poised to reap the benefits of a green economy.
Yet, Venezuela's position was a big question mark.
Chávez’s speech cleared up it up. He embraced the environmental movement and gleefully served as a spokesman for countries such as Cuba and Bolivia, highly vulnerable to changing weather patterns.
But the world would be foolish to confuse rhetoric with values.
Chávez knows the end of the oil era would kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. He will peddle his oil while denouncing everyone else for burning it. He will demand a binding agreement but will not tolerate any imposition on his insane environmental policies.
This gasp-inducing pileup of ironies and contradictions can only be interpreted as a joke. Hugo Chávez came into the global warming summit and made a big hot mess of it. Thankfully, at least some of the world’s newspapers took note and shunned him.
The rest of the delegates - at least the ones looking for progress on this issue - should do the same.
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Ten Years on From The Stillborn Constitution
Quico says: ...rumors, partly fueled by Aristóbulo's keynote address to the National Assembly, are now heavy that Chávez is considering launching a fresh constituyente - a Constitutional Convention to draft yet another new constitution.
Crazy enough to be true?
Where the Maisanta Bodies Are Buried
Quico says: Venezuela is far from the first country where an autocratic regime has used its economic muscle to systematically punish dissidents where it hurts: in their pocketbooks. It may, however, be the first where the government has left an evidentiary trail meaty enough for economists to pick over and analyze.
The following slide is taken from the latest version of a research paper on the costs of signing petitions against Chávez back in 2002-2003 carried out by a team led by Francisco Rodríguez and including Chang-Tai Hsieh, Edward Miguel, and Daniel Ortega. It shows the change in your chances of being employed if you did not sign the third and final petition against Chávez (top line), if you did sign that petition (bottom line) and for the population as a whole (solid line) between 1997 and 2006.
Notice how the top and bottom lines basically track one another...right until the Maisanta List was published.
The authors estimate that the use of the Maisanta list cost the Venezuelan economy as a whole in the order of 3 points of GDP (which, for the non-economists out there, is massive) before concluding, a bit laconically, that:
There is a sense in which this paper’s findings are not terribly surprising, namely, that there are regimes that punish their political opponents and that these costs can be substantial. What is unusual about the case we study is the availability of the voter database actually used to target the opposition, and that the punishment was carried out on such a large scale that we are able to measure the labor market outcomes of the everyday individuals that suffered from political retaliation. We find that one third of Venezuelan voters that signed any of the three recall petitions suffered from an average 5 percent drop in their earnings and a 1.5 percentage point drop in their employment probability. This wage drop is largely borne by the 20 percent of voters who signed the third and decisive petition round, which is suggestive that the main instrument of political retaliation was the widely circulated Maisanta database that contains the list of signers of the third petition.
ME-O bids adieu-o
Juan Cristobal says: Chile held the first round of Presidential voting yesterday, and since I'm married to the place Quico asked me to pitch in. While most news services focused on the strong showing of right-wing billionaire Sebastián Piñera and the stiff problems facing the governing Concertación coalition, to me the real story was the abject failure of the two chavista options.
Of the four candidates, two represented variations of the chavista movement. Communist party candidate Jorge Arrate did not hide his sympathy for the Venezuelan strongman. The links between his party and our government run deep, something I witnessed first-hand on numerous occasions. Yet Arrate, polling at 6%, was never a threat.
The real chance for the chavista option came thanks to the at-times surging candidacy of independent congressman Marco Enríquez-Ominami.
ME-O, as he is commonly known, saw his chances grow quickly in the middle of the year as the ruling Concertación candidate, former President Eduardo Frei, languished. A filmmaker by trade, ME-O once gushed about making a documentary centered on Hugo Chávez and he has served as an observer in Venezuelan elections, where he thought everything was excessively normal.
Of course, in a conservative country like Chile, a full on chavista candidate will always face long odds. So ME-O decided to "Correa-size" his chavista past, wrapping it in an attractive package of rebellious populism, rive gauche lefty promises, and pledges of change and "participatory democracy," including a proposal for a Constitutional Assembly. ME-O's curious approach to "moderate chavismo" included criticisms of Chávez's "style" but the endorsement of scandalous policies such as the closure of RCTV.
For a while, it seemed like it could work. The young ME-O surged on the strength of a few high-profile endorsements, and thanks to his appeal to a pseudo-intellectual middle class tired of the same-old faces and smitten by the malaise of politics where the big issues have largely disappeared.
But it only went so far. One of the biggest hits to his candidacy was when opposition research unearthed a three-year old interview, where ME-O called being Chilean "a tragedy" and longed for French or Italian nationality.
ME-O's 20 percent is a much worse showing than was feared, and barely reaches the level of "political phenomenon." He tried to be Hugo Chávez, but he's stuck in Ross Perot territory. Even more damning, ME-O managed to score not a single member of Congress. Like the petulant child raised-by-Paris-lefties that he is, he refused to endorse Frei or Piñera, accusing them of being agents of the past.
The Chilean election has several interesting stories: the renaissance of Chile's right-wing after twenty years and the seeming demise of Latin America's most succesful democratic coalition are two of the most important ones. But this script is yet to be written, in a runoff scheduled to take place in mid-January.
For now, the real story is yet another big defeat for the Espada de Bolívar movement in one of the continent's most significant countries. News organizations love to talk about a "wave of leftist sentiment" sweeping Latin America. Chile is sitting out the narrative, at least this time.
In Chile, the story is ME-O, the phenomenon that wasn't.
Book 'em!
Quico says: As I think about it, the truly newsworthy aspect of the jailing of the judge who freed Eligio Cedeño isn't that they jailed her - hell, that's almost normal - but that they jailed the whole damn court!
We're talking bailiffs jailed for carrying out a judge's order to release a prisoner. Apparently, in the chavista version of Judicial Review, bailiffs are now supposed to act as a kind of first court of appeal: carefully reading through any judge's order to make sure everything's on the up'n'up before carrying our their orders. We're talking - bizarrely - one of Cedeño's defense lawyers, José Rafael Parra Saluzzo, jailed for the unspeakable crime of being in the room as his client was released.
Chavismo now inhabits its new identity as basically unapologetic dictatorship so brazenly, so openly, so shockingly blithely it's hard to imagine how we could sink any deeper. And yet one thing we've learned: we can...oh yes we can.
Siempre queda por caer
Quico says: The decision to jail judge María Lourdes Afiuni, following a bizarre series of events that saw Hugo Chávez flip out after the judge ordered - apparently without permission - the release of disgraced Bolibanquero Eligio Cedeño (who promptly fled the country), is a timely reminder that, no matter how bad you think things have gotten, there's always farther left to fall.
Judge Afiuni was jailed after a furious Chávez launched the kind of tirade against her that, had anyone made it about him, would immediately have raised howls of "magnicide" from the government side. Saying that in Bolívar's time people who did what Afiuni did would've been shot, Chávez presented his decision to throw her in jail almost as a humanitarian concession.
One way or another, Afiuni must have realized the risk she was taking: the first judge to rule in favor of Cedeño - on a procedural motion in 2007 - lost her job, had her kids almost kidnapped, and ended up having to seek asylum in the U.S. The last judge to do so lost her seat on the court of appeal.
It's easy to forget now that less than six months ago, we were incensed by the sight of Chávez ordering judges merely fired for making judicial decisions he didn't like. Our outrage from that time already looks positively quaint by contrast, and that was this year!
Yesterday, judges paid for handing down the "wrong" decisions with their jobs, today, they're paying with their freedom, tomorrow, they'll pay with...you finish that sentence.
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Cleveland County deputies recently got to meet and greet numerous famous female Oklahoma singers and their families in a historic event in Noble. The event followed the Induction into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.
Several famous Oklahoma women singers and their families enjoyed a quiet dinner on Monday, Nov. 26, at Bedlam Barbecue in OKC. The event included the children of stars who had passed away, who talked and told stories about how their lives were affected by having celebrity parents, said Angela Hudson, SHINE Foundation Secretary/Treasurer. The next day, the group congregated at the History Center where they received citations from the Governor’s Office and from Oklahoma County Commissioners. During lunch at the History Center, the women were inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame and received large crystal awards. That evening the stars and their families traveled to Kendall’s Restaurant in Noble where the restaurant had set up a museum-quality exhibit of memorabilia with each of the ladies of music having their own section.
Deputy Vernon Coleman and Deputy Nick Ray were asked to attend and serve as escorts for the women entering the restaurant. “It was a special event and we were asked to head over there and socialize and meet some people,” Coleman said. “It was a community policing event.”
Coleman said he and Ray enjoyed meeting and mingling with the celebrities. “It was a Hall of Fame Induction that they were celebrating,” Coleman said. “The really cool thing was Kendall’s set up a museum type exhibit, and we got to walk through the exhibit. It was a great time.”
The evening at Kendall’s was sponsored by Start Helping Impacted Neighborhoods Everywhere (SHINE) Foundation. “Each of the women signed a guitar,” Hudson said.
Those guitars are now on display at Kendall’s along with the other memorabilia. “The event at Kendall’s was a historic event that had never been done and will probably never be done again,” Hudson said.
She said the women really enjoyed meeting deputies Coleman and Ray. The women and their friends and families also enjoyed dinner at Kendall’s. Hudson said 22 female music stars were represented at the event. All proceeds from the combined events will benefit the SHINE Foundation. Artists who attended included: Susie McIntire, Wanda Jackson, Jody Miller, Gail Davies, Norma Jean, Becky Hobbs, Jana Jae, Kellie Coffey, Barbara McAlister, Gayla Peevey, Katrina Elam and Leona Mitchell.
Family members attending on an artist’s behalf included: Sammi Smith (daughter), Jean Shepard (son), Gus Hardin (daughter), Kay Starr (daughter), Lorrie Collins (Daughters), Patti Page (nephew), Cassie Gains (brother), Molly Bee (son) and Evelyn Pittman (nephew)
⇐Previous Cleveland County K-9 tracks suspected kidnapperNext⇒ SAFE for the Holidays aims to protect school kids
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