Split (1)

train · 7.95k rows

text stringlengths 102 457k
go to homepage Alternative Title: frottole Frottola, plural Frottole, Italian secular song popular in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Usually the frottola was a composition for four voice parts with the melody in the top line. Frottole could be performed by unaccompanied voices or by a solo voice with instrumental accompaniment. The frottola had chordal texture and clear-cut rhythm, usually in 3/4 or 4/4 metre. The voice parts had narrow ranges and frequently repeated voices. Its musical style was simple, in deliberate contrast to the complexity of more sophisticated vocal music of the period. The frottola, as it developed by 1530, was the direct antecedent of the 16th-century madrigal. The frottola was aristocratic music, although popular tunes were sometimes incorporated. Under the patronage of Isabella d’Este, the frottola developed at the court at Mantua, and it also became popular at other courts of northern Italy, particularly at Ferrara and Urbino. Serafino dall’Aquila (d. 1500) was an important frottola poet. The most important composers of frottola were Bartolomeo Tromboncino (d. c. 1535) and Marchetto Cara (d. c. 1530). At times the same person wrote both text and music. Frottola texts were usually of limited literary value, typically consisting of several six-line verses, each followed by a four-line refrain, using the same music. The term frottola was also used for a class of compositions, some with specific poetic forms, including the strambotto, the oda, and the barzelletta. Ottaviano dei Petrucci, the first significant printer to use movable music type, printed 11 books of frottole in Venice between 1504 and 1514. Learn More in these related articles: A shofar made of ram’s horn. One of the most important predecessors of the madrigal proper was the frottola, which flourished in Italy between 1490 and 1520. In its early stages, the frottola was a song with instrumental accompaniment, with the main melody and text in the uppermost part (usually in the soprano or alto range) and supporting harmonies below. These harmonies were so simple and functional that an entire line... He wrote about 40 secular songs. His Italian frottole (simply accompanied songs) have charming treble melodies. His polyphonic German lieder normally present the tune in the tenor but, unlike many contemporary lieder, do not cadence into several sections. His famous “Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen” (“Innsbruck, I must leave you”) recalls the style of the simpler... • MLA • APA • Harvard • Chicago You have successfully emailed this. Error when sending the email. Try again later. Edit Mode Tips For Editing Leave Edit Mode You are about to leave edit mode. Thank You for Your Contribution! Uh Oh Keep Exploring Britannica The Rolling Stones in the mid-1960s. Small piano accordion. Editor Picks: 8 Quirky Composers Worth a Listen motion picture 8 Music Festivals Not to Miss Claude Debussy. Famous Musical Works: Fact or Fiction? Rediscovered Artists: 6 Big Names That Time Almost Forgot Lifting the Curtain on Composers: Fact or Fiction? Bagpipe musical instrument (wind instrument). The Sound of Music: Fact or Fiction? default image when no content is available Zoetrope, with six strips of zoetrope animation. Email this page
Object Detection with OpenCV The following sample uses the classes video (samples/python2/ and common (samples/python2/, which are helper classes from the samples/python2 folder. All available cascades are located in the data folder of your OpenCV download, so you'll probably need to adjust the cascade_fn to make this example work: import cv2 from video import create_capture from common import clock, draw_str # You probably need to adjust some of these: video_src = 0 cascade_fn = "haarcascades/haarcascade_frontalface_default.xml" # Create a new CascadeClassifier from given cascade file: cascade = cv2.CascadeClassifier(cascade_fn) cam = create_capture(video_src) while True: ret, img = # Do a little preprocessing: img_copy = cv2.resize(img, (img.shape[1]/2, img.shape[0]/2)) gray = cv2.cvtColor(img_copy, cv2.COLOR_BGR2GRAY) gray = cv2.equalizeHist(gray) # Detect the faces (probably research for the options!): rects = cascade.detectMultiScale(gray) # Make a copy as we don't want to draw on the original image: for x, y, width, height in rects: cv2.rectangle(img_copy, (x, y), (x+width, y+height), (255,0,0), 2) cv2.imshow('facedetect', img_copy) if cv2.waitKey(20) == 27: If you have any problems let me know. comments powered by Disqus
May 10 2013 Women Of The Western Wall Jerusalem has seen the light And said that women have the right To worship at the wall. To Ultra-Orthodox, this slight Can’t be condoned at all. And so, when women came to pray Together at the wall today, It seemed the worst of shocks! The men have morals to obey– So, pelted them with rocks! No matter what the young men tried The women wouldn’t be denied; The men, despairing, moaned: “It’s quite the same as genocide, And cannot be condoned!” Via the LA Times, the first day of equal right to pray at the wall. Yay, more people get to pray! That’s good, isn’t it? No, no, no, cos women have cooties, thus sayeth the Lord. Dressed in black hats and coats, mobs of young ultra-Orthodox men tossed eggs, water bottles and coffee cups at members of Women of the Wall as their leaders led a group of 100 men and women in prayer. Several women from the group wore white shawls and other religious ornaments, such as black tefillin boxes on their heads, traditionally used only by men at the site. Oh, come on, Jews have been through much worse than this… Police, whom the youths called “Nazis,” arrested five men for disrupting the peace, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. As the women departed, some were pelted with rocks. Well, yeah, I guess protecting women while they pray is pretty much exactly the same as committing genocide. Those Nazi cops. Women of the Wall leader Anat Hoffman, who on Friday was being protected by the same police who once arrested her performing a similar prayer service, predicted that it was only a matter of time before women won expanded rights at the holy site. “This train is gone,’’ said Hoffman, who has been pushing for religious equality at the Western Wall for 26 years. “Women are reading the Torah and praying out loud. This is going to happen. You are either leading it or you will be dragged by your hair.” Nice turn of phrase there. My question is, why on earth do these women want to be part of a religion that treats them like this? (Yes, that question terribly oversimplifies–we are not looking at one religion at all, but many that share a common ancestor.) And (conversely), if you have one group throwing stones at people who want to be part of a religion, and another group braving these stones to be part… which group loves that religion more? Skip to comment form 1. 1 Kate Jones And how are these religious fanatics different from the Christian evangelicals and Muslim jihadists? This is creepy/spooky beyond words, a galloping insanity, like a computer worm infecting their social fabric and nibbling away what’s left of their brains. 2. 2 steve oberski On the plus (or perhaps less negative) side, this is a push back against religious control of a public space. No longer do ultra Orthodox males get to control what women can do in this public area. And the Israeli government seems to finally be distancing itself from ultra Orthodox elements as evidenced by the most recent coalition government that excludes ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties. And now that the police are forced to provide Jewish (religious) women equal treatment under the law in this matter, this is a further repudiation of religious incursions into Israeli public life. I think that what will happen next is that ultra Orthodox males will start to lose some of the privileges that they have enjoyed (exempt from draft into the armed forces, subsidized religious study via the welfare system) and be forced to assume full responsibilities as members of a secular society. I think those lads are in for a bit of a shock if they try to mete out that treatment to female members of the Israeli Defence Force. Not quite the same thing as spitting on “immodestly” dressed school girls. 3. 3 And what happens when the women get equal power? Their leaders will join forces with their male counterparts – and they’ll search around for some other powerless group to beat the shit out of. Religion always attracts control freaks. 4. 4 @1: They’re only different in one regard. They invented religious intolerance. “I am the lord thy god. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Leave a Reply
changing standards in required courses Julia Frugoli jfrugoli at Wed Mar 22 17:23:29 EST 2000 Some experiences to add to the discussion-none of these have to do with what I see as the intrinsic value of a lab course for every educated person. My husband teaches at a small state university (15,000 students, several masters programs and 2-3 PhD programs). They have a requirement that all students take a lab course. It's called "Contemporary Biology", taught at just about high school level (they use the same book my kids used in high school). Physics and Chemistry may offer similar courses, but the majority of the students take Biology "because its easy". Inside the department it is sometimes referred to as "Contemptible Biology", because the attitude of some students toward the subject is sheer contempt. However, I did my doctoral work at an Ivy League institution, where one could easily graduate without ever taking a lab course. A change was in the works when I left, but the thinking by the faculty at the time was that these non-majors courses with labs drain a lot of resources from the department, with no support from the institution. Students from that institution aren't thought of as having a "substandard education." The experience at my husband's institution confirms this fear of draining resources-a good deal of the department's resources go into staffing and supplying the hundreds of students who take Contemporary Biology and its labs, every term and all summer. Lab fees can't cover it all. The student newspaper rated the department as particularly hard in grading, because so many students repeat the course the maximum number of times in order to get the C- they need to graduate-this costs the department, because they often have to repeat the laboratory portion as many times as well. But, as I mentioned above-it's taught at high school level-it can't get any easier and still be considered a college course. So while it depends on your student body, there might be some reasons not to insist that every general education student takes a lab course, none of them related to it's intrinsic value. I'm interested in how other departments, large and small, handle such a Julia Frugoli Department of Plant Pathology & Microbiology Texas A&M University Norman E.Borlaug Center for Southern Crop Improvement 2123 TAMUS College Station, TX 77843 phone 979-862-3495 FAX 979-862-4790 More information about the Plant-ed mailing list
REHOBOTH, Mass.—It wasn't hanging chads or voter fraud that delayed the vote count in one Massachusetts town—it was a spider. She called a technician, who said a spider web apparently prevented the machine's scanner from counting ballots. Conti tells The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro ( all Rehoboth's voting machines received preventive maintenance a month ago. The vote count wasn't completed until Wednesday afternoon.
Search OCA Get Local! How safe is our meat? How safe is our meat? May 14, 2001 Chicago Tribune by John Patterson SPRINGFIELD - A big, thick juicy steak. It's so American it could be draped in the flag, served on a Chevy tailgate and chased with mom's apple pie. Oh, and there's the growing fear that it could sicken, if not kill you. First there was the nightmare of mad cow. Now foot-and-mouth disease appears to be running rampant across Europe and poses an economic threat should it emerge here. Don't forget E. coli and salmonella: The two combine to sicken at least 113,000 people annually, according to the national Centers for Disease Control [Not to mention paratuberculosis bacteria which may be causing Crohn's disease--BSE coordinator]. At times it seems nothing is safe to eat, as if Charlton Heston is on the verge of yelling, "Soylent Green is people." Relax and chew, say agriculture and food safety experts. "We're probably as secure as anybody," said Jan Novakofski, an animal science professor at the University of Illinois who studies mad cow disease. A meat-eater himself, Novakofski said there are fewer than 100 known cases of mad cow disease in humans worldwide and none in the United States. Given the number of people who eat meat - the average person in the United States is expected to consume 225.5 pounds this year, which includes everything from steak to chicken - the chances of getting sick or dying are pretty slim. Those odds are due to government bans on imported meat, increased inspections and training, and probably a little luck, food safety experts say. The U.S. Department of Agriculture banned the import of all cattle and most cattle products from the United Kingdom and other European countries in 1989 in response to mad cow outbreaks. The ban was expanded to include all of Europe in 1997. All U.S. cattle must be inspected by the USDA before being slaughtered. Federal inspectors look for signs of neurological problems associated with mad cow disease. Animals showing possible symptoms are condemned, and the meat is not permitted for use as human food. The brains fro•these animals are sent to the USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories for analysis. The ban on European cattle and meat imports for mad cow disease also has helped prevent the more recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks from coming here, experts say. Many of the latest efforts to prevent the disease from reaching the U.S. deal with travelers who have been to countries where foot-and-mouth is a problem. For instance, the University of Illinois Department of Agriculture has restricted outside access to its facilities. And an outbreak of foot-and-mouth is such a threat that Illinois agriculture officials recently said they would immediately quarantine and destroy all animals at this summer's Illinois State Fair if an infected animal is found - a scenario that would include killing hundreds of prized livestock. But the ban on imported meat and cattle doesn't mean every burger in the Chicago-area comes from a cow on a downstate farm. Illinois ranks 26th in the nation in the cattle industry. The meat we eat is more likely to come from cattle operations elsewhere in the Plains States. And as of 1999, the United States imported nearly 2.9 billion pounds of beef, mostly from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. "In modern society, the concept of a local supply of food is very attractive mythology," Novakofski said. The demand of consumers makes that impossible, he said. Knowing the enemy Despite almost daily media attention about the diseases, Novakofski and other agriculture experts said most people don't know much about the illnesses, their causes, or health effects. For instance, you can wash a steak with bleach and burn it to a crisp, but if it was infected with mad cow disease, it'll still be in there. That's because the disease is caused by a protein, not a virus or bacteria. This particular protein mutates, and in high enough concentrations, becomes toxic to nerve cells, Novakofski said. So far the disease has always been fatal, slowly eating away at the infected animal or person's brain and nervous system. Preventing infection in the first place is the only way to stop its spread, Novakofski said. The spread of mad cow disease has been traced to leftover parts of dead cows carrying the mutant protein being ground up, added to cattle feed, and fed to other cows. The process has been banned in the United States since 1997. Cattle from England cannot be imported here, and there has never been a confirmed case of mad cow disease in the United States. So, if the ban on feeding cow parts to cows is followed and enforced, there should be no problem. But there have been problems, and that's where luck comes in. In Texas, U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors found cattle feed that contained meat and bone meal from other cattle. Earlier this year, the FDA announced that the feed contained very low levels of the prohibited material and said the risk of it being infected with mad cow disease was minimal. Nonetheless, the cows were not used for human consumption. The Texas situation exemplifies how easily one slip up could change the face of agriculture in this country. "We've never had (mad cow disease) in the United States, and we have the ban so hopefully it would never be transmitted. We know from England the feed ban works - as long as there's compliance," Novakofski said. State Sen. Peter Roskam, a Wheaton Republican, has proposed legislation to step up the Illinois Department of Agriculture's inspection schedule. Currently, inspectors audit feed mills every two years. Roskam wants it changed to every 90 days. He said Illinois should do "everything conceivable" to make sure mad cow never surfaces here. Roskam, an attorney, said he was motivated by his love of ribeyes. Foot-and-mouth disease, on the other hand, seldom spreads from animals to humans, although a human form exists. "One of the points people miss about foot and mouth, is that it is not a fatal disease (for animals or humans)," Novakofski said. "Typically it makes (animals) unproductive. They don't eat. They get lesions on the mouth. It takes a lot of care to get them back." It is often more efficient to kill infected animals than heal them. "The reason they kill all the animals is it's very contagious. It's almost like a forest fire," Novakofski said. "If it spreads, it's going to cause an economic disaster." McDonald's executives blamed the European food problems for lower profits recently. The company's media relations department did not return calls. And there may be fewer ribs at Taste of Chicago this summer because rib prices have skyrocketed since the European foot-and-mouth disease scare prompted the U.S. ban on hog imports. Baby back ribs are selling for $6 a pound compared with $2.60 last year. While mad cow and foot-and-mouth capture headlines, other food illness like E. coli and salmonella remain a much more likely threat. Just last month a Canadian meat processor recalled 204,000 pounds of ground beef because of possible E. coli contamination. The beef was being distributed in the United States, including Illinois. The national Centers for Disease Control reports there are 73,000 E. coli infections annually. E. coli is found naturally in animals but is destroyed in meat by thorough cooking. It can also be found in sprouts and lettuce that have not been properly washed. An E. coli infection can cause diarrhea and, in the very young or very old, further problems or even death. The CDC attributes 61 deaths annually to E. coli. Salmonella also is linked to eating foods that have not been cooked properly. The illness causes diarrhea, fever and cramps. The CDC receives reports of 40,000 salmonella cases annually. Taking it for granted N. Duane Noland is a central Illinois farmer and a Republican state senator. "We have benefited for years in this nation of it being a given that our food was safe. When you see what has happened in Europe it makes you think," he said. With the amount of international travel coming in to airports like O'Hare International Airport, Noland said it's scary to think how easily something like foot-and-mouth disease could spread if precautions aren't maintained. "It'd be devastating," he said. Aside from the economic problems, consumers would have to develop a taste for soy burgers and tofu. "It'd be tough for us," said Diane Quagliani, a registered dietician in Western Springs and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "Meat is certainly a food we enjoy here." Food safety analyst Ann Hollingsworth said most people take food safety for granted. "I think they expect a level of food safety that may not be realistic at times. I don't think they realize how much effort goes into the processing of their food whether it is hamburger, steak or lettuce. I don't think they realize the steps it takes to keep that produce safe." Hollingsworth is a former vice president of food safety for Keystone Foods. Based in the Philadelphia area, Keystone is a meat supplier for many national fast-food chains. Hollingsworth, now based in Carollton, Ga., is a food safety and food crisis management consultant. She said she's pleased with the steps the U.S. meat industry has taken to prevent either disease here. Because an outbreak would spell financial doom for the industry, Hollingsworth said companies often are ahead of the government in preventing and preparing for the same kinds of catastrophes that have happened in Europe. With an intimate knowledge of how the industry works and the scares that can lurk behind every corner, Hollingsworth said she doesn't hesitate to sit down to a steak dinner. "I was born and raised on a cattle farm," she said. "I'm cautious when I travel internationally about what I eat. And I would probably think twice about eating beef in Great Britain." Please Support Our Sponsors! Organic Valley Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps Botani Organic Aloha Bay Aloha Bay Eden Organics Eden Foods Frey Vineyards Intelligent Nutrients
Silent Hill 2 - Plot/Story FAQ ( ____ \\__ __/( \ ( ____ $ ( /\|\__ __/ \| ( \/ ) ( \| ( \| ( \/\| \ ( \| ) ( \| (_____ \| \| \| \| \| (__ \| \ \| \| \| \| (_____ ) \| \| \| \| \| __) \| (\ $ \| \| \| ) \| \| \| \| \| \| ( \| \| \ \| \| \| /\____) \|___) (___\| (____/\\| (____/\\| ) \ \| \| \| \_______)\_______/(_______/(_______/\|/ )_) )_( _________ _ _ _______ \|\ /\|\__ __/( \ ( \ / ___ ) \| ) ( \| ) ( \| ( \| ( \/ ) \| \| (___) \| \| \| \| \| \| \| / ) \| ___ \| \| \| \| \| \| \| _/ / \| ( ) \| \| \| \| \| \| \| / _/ \| ) ( \|___) (___\| (____/\\| (____/\ ( (__/\ \|/ \\|\_______/(_______/(_______/ \_______/ A Plot Analysis by Vile1011 AIM: Vile1011 Version 1.2, 7/31/06 Dedicated to the Silent Hill forums at Special thanks to the translators of the Lost Memories guide to Ryan and Lobsel_Vith for previewing this guide and for allowing me to use their findings, to Rachenar for his theory, to Moreau for direct translations from the Japanese and of course, Konami for making almost every game in my top 5. Copyright 2006: You have the right to copy this document to your heart's content. You just don't have the right to make any money from doing so. ////===== Table of Contents =====\\\\\ I. Preface Ia. Revision History II. Story Layer IIa. James and Mary IIb. The Appeal of Pyramid Head IIc. Maria IId. Laura III. Mind Layer IIIa. Painful Reminders IIIb. Pyramid Head IIIc. Maria IIId. Staring Into the Abyss*** IIIe. The Final Battle IV. Character Layer IVa. Seeds of Darkness IVb. Judgment IVc. The Tablets IVd. The Inner Child IVe. Reflections* V. Town Layer Va. The Monsters Vb. The Environment Vc. The Gods Vd. The Source Ve. Xuchilbara** Vf. World of the Gods VI. Closing VIa. FAQ * Contributed in part by Ryan ( Contributed in part by Lobsel_Vith ( * Contributed in part by Rachenar( //////////////===== I. Preface =====\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Nearly all of those who prefer Silent Hill 2 over the other games in the series feel that way for one reason: the story. For me, the appeal of the story comes from its longevity; no matter how much you know, there are still enough unanswered questions to keep you combing through the script to find clues. Unlike convoluted scripts such as Metal Gear Solid 2, there is enough solid ground on which to build theories. This is why many fans have independently come to the same conclusion about the meanings of various things. Yet there is enough freedom to allow for entirely different, but equally coherent explanations. This is my interpretation of the story. While I made some effort to mark what parts were my own musings and what came from external sources, it wasn't always practical to do so. This isn't a formal thesis, though, so what damage could be done? The story of Silent Hill 2 also appeals to me because it exists on several layers, each of which slowly reveals itself as more clues are gained. In this plot guide, I will not simply list each character and monster and attempt to explain their significance. This has been done before, and done well. Instead, I will explore each layer, starting with the outermost and diving deeper. Not only is each layer a story unto itself, but each is simply a single element of the layer beneath it. The outermost layer is the Story Layer, which follows the journey of a man searching for his presumably deceased soul-mate. Underneath is the Mind layer, in which the story is reinterpreted as an internal battle within James's mind. This is merely one part of the Character layer, where James, Angela, and Eddies stories interweave into a single thread, which finally leads into the Town Layer, the supernatural backdrop on which all of the above layers are painted. /== Ia. Revision History ==\ Version 0. Document didn't exist. Version 1. Problems present in the previous version fixed. Version 1.1 Added contributions from Ryan + Lobsel_Vith - Added sections on the Otherworld and the Red God. Version 1.2 Added a theory by Rachenar //////////////===== II. Story Layer =====\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ When we first meet James, he is staring at his reflection in a mirror, wondering if this is all a dream. Indeed his situation sounds absurd: his wife Mary, who he knows to have died of a disease three years ago, has apparently written him a letter asking to meet him in the town of Silent Hill. It is a place of fond memories for the couple; James and Mary had vacationed there shortly before Mary fell ill to the life destroying disease. It is a symbol of the life he lost with the woman he shared his soul with. He has no doubt that Mary is dead, and he appears aware of how irrational it was to come to the town. Yet as soon as he asks himself "Why am I looking for her?" he silences it with another question, "Our special place, what could she mean?" a question that assumes Mary is alive. James wont let himself question his decision to come to the town. As we follow James through the misty, abandoned town, his story begins to unravel. It is suggested that he did not love his wife, and that his hands are not as clean as we are lead to believe. He sinks deeper and deeper into a world completely unlike our own, swarming with ghoulish creatures and recently executed corpses. This culminates in the revelation that James has, in fact, killed his wife and suppressed the memory of doing so. Upon learning the truth, he confronts his demons one last time before either succumbing to darkness or rising above it. It should not take many playthroughs to gather this much about Silent Hill 2's plot. This surface story, of a man searching for a love that was torn away from him, is merely a small component of the full plot. Since I expect any readers of this plot guide to be generally familiar with the event of the game, I will not devote as much time to exploring this layer. /== IIa. James and Mary ==\ It is established that Mary did not die three years ago, but quite recently. The Japanese script gives us an additional clue: the letter Mary wrote to Laura was written on the day of her 8th birthday. She had been alive for at most one week before SH2 Mary's disease has snuffed the joy of life out of her. James suffers too, not only from seeing the one he loves in pain, but also because his natural needs are no longer being fulfilled. Paradoxically, the love each feels for each other has caused frustration to build up, creating an anger between the both of them. Mary lashes out at James, who in turn refuses to visit her After three years, with the only thing to look forward to being death, Mary eventually comes to terms with her condition. She writes goodbye letters to Laura, an orphan she had befriended in the hospital, and James, who by now has not visited her in some time. Mary mentions Silent Hill in the opening of her letter, the last place in which she was happy. Thoughts of returning to the town have kept her sane, and she eventually grew to see the town as a paradise. Before the disease can claim her life, however, James intervenes. He smothers Mary to death with a pillow, to end the nightmare the two of them had endured for all of this time. /== IIb. The Appeal of Pyramid Head ==\ There is no denying the appeal of Pyramid Head. When someone can happily skewer exotic dancers, double rape and kill two other monsters, push people off rooftops, and still receive daily marriage proposals from dedicated Silent Hill fangirls, you know he must have something special. However, there are some who do not understand Pyramid Heads appeal. After all, he isn't the only near-invincible villain who relentlessly pursues the protagonist of a horror story, nor is he even the most powerful. Fear, as well as intrigue, depends on a proper mixture of knowledge and uncertainty. Too much knowledge is the death of fear; once a villain is fully understood, it can no longer evoke the same horror as a villain whose next action is completely unpredictable. Therein lies the failings of most other villains in Pyramid Heads league; they are simply powerful creatures who pursue the protagonist, bent on killing them. The only uncertainty lies in when and how the creature will attack next. Pyramid Head can not be so easily classified. It becomes clear that he is not simply trying to kill James. At times he barely acknowledges him, and when they do fight, he simply leaves on his own accord after some time. This creates a sense that there is something more to his actions than the surface will tell. Leaving the battles also serves another purpose. It tells us that Pyramid Head is always in control of the situation, and we are simply playing by his rules. Whenever a protagonist escapes from a monster in a horror story, it counts as a failure on the monsters part. The creature then becomes less potent and less frightening. Pyramid Head is never once defeated by James, hence he becomes even more powerful in the player's eyes with each successive meeting. Much of Pyramid Heads appeal stems from his design. The earliest conception of Pyramid Head was "a man without a face". After all, human empathy is built around facial recognition. A man without a face is a man who we can not read. Unfortunately, his first designs failed to invoke this sense of the unknown, because they were invariably just a man with a mask. He was not complete until he was given his eponymous pyramid helmet. His pyramid gives him something that other monsters don't have, an identity. Other monsters may have fangs, horns, and claws, but we have seen so many creatures of this type that we tend to simply abstract them all into "big scary monster". Pyramid Head's form, on the other hand, is instantly recognizable. It is minimalistic, hence it is more easily remembered. /== IIc. Maria ==\ The complex interaction between James and Maria adds much to the story. On the one hand, James sees Maria as a burden, an obstacle on his path to find Mary. Yet, he acknowledges that his pursuit may be hopeless, and going home with Maria may be the best thing he could do. There are some who believe Maria represents the parts of Mary that James liked most, or wishes Mary had. Personally, I don't find this to be entirely true; if James wanted a woman like Maria, he wouldn't have married a woman like Mary. However, Maria does possess many of the qualities which Mary lost once she became ill. She is attractive, seductive, and dedicated to James. She is what James had been missing for the three years of Mary's Despite Maria's obvious advances, she never manages to get anywhere with James. In fact James becomes visibly nervous whenever Maria becomes particularly flirtatious. This is not because James is unwilling or even afraid, but because he is uncertain about whether his pursuit of Mary will be fruitful. Maria dies and is reborn several times within the span of the story. However, her demeanor changes with each rebirth. When James meets Maria in the labyrinth, not only is she even more seductive than before, but she has also developed a split personality. She begins talking like Mary, even mentioning facts from her life that Maria should not have known. The last time James talks with Maria, she is open about James's crime, and straightforward in her attempts to make him abandon the thought of Mary. All of this no doubt confuses poor James and the player /== IId. Laura ==\ Laura seems to be a bit of an anomaly in the story. It is established that she does not see monsters, but it is still strange for a child her age to be wandering throughout an abandoned town without a hint of fear. Some believe that Laura exists in the real world, where Silent Hill is an ordinary American town. However, she does talk with James in public places, and people would probably take note of a little girl wandering all by herself talking to invisible people. Laura can also be seen using a flashlight in the hospital, suggesting the building is dark and abandoned to her eyes as well. Towards the end of the game, we learn not only that Laura stayed at the same hospital as Mary, but that she is an orphan as well. She mentions running away a lot, and coupled with her unusually independent personality, this hints that she never found a true mother figure to guide her through life. When she met Mary, however, she formed such a strong bond with her that Laura began to see Mary as the one who could fulfill such an important role. Mary writes Laura on the day of her 8th birthday, explaining that she is going away to "a quiet, beautiful place". Mary can not tell Laura that she is dying, either because she does not wish to break her heart, or because she doesn't think Laura would be able to understand the gravity of the situation. Thus Laura believes that Mary is still alive. After reading the letter meant for James, she deduces that Mary is waiting in Silent Hill. Laura arrives at Silent Hill after being given a ride by Eddie (this is revealed by the developers, although it is never explained in the game). I believe that she sees the town as abandoned, although perhaps not foggy. This is suggested by the fact that she has to use a flashlight to navigate the hospital. She is willing to be in such a lonely environment, however, because of how important it is for her to find Mary. //////////////===== III. Mind Layer =====\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Had Silent Hill 2 possessed no depth beyond the Story Layer, it would still be a worthwhile game. Yet there is a lot missing; too much that simply doesn't make sense if we take it at face value. Another layer of the story opens itself up to us when we ask this question: Who is the villain of Silent Hill 2? It is not common for a work of fiction, especially once based on horror and suspense, to lack a villain. Even if it isn't another character, there must always be some force preventing the protagonist from achieving his or her goal. Pyramid Head appears to play the part, yet he doesn't seem to do much to impede James's progress. In fact he helps him advance at times. Although the monsters do attack James, their role in the story is largely peripheral and thus they do not fulfill the role of villain either. If a villain is the force preventing the protagonist from realizing a goal, then we can identify him by asking what James's goal is. While we are lead to believe that James came to the town to find Mary, we later learn that this is not the case. Instead, the goal of James's journey was to open his eyes up to the truth. What force has kept James deluded? That's right, James himself. Thus the hero and villain of Silent Hill 2 are James...and James! The story of Silent Hill 2 is thus centered on an internal conflict between two parts of James's mind, the repressor and the repressed. At the story's opening, James has all but snuffed out three years of painful memories. Yet those memories did not vanish. They grew like a hidden cancer, torturing James and darkening his heart. At the game's opening, the repressed part of James's mind no longer has the power to influence him. However, Silent Hill is able to give form to ones deepest thoughts. Nearly everything James sees; from the monsters to much of the scenery; is simply a manifestation of something James has kept hidden. Silent Hill immerses James in representations of these locked-away feelings. Although he is consciously unaware of their significance, they nonetheless are slowly chipping away at his denial. /== IIIa. Painful Reminders ==\ The story of Silent Hill 2 is like a fugue, with a main theme that is played in many different variations by many different voices. The theme in question is the act of killing Mary and the air of emotions surrounding it. It is James's repressed mind who plays the instruments, forcing James to see again and again what he had done to Mary without being consciously aware of it. Consider the first time James meets a monster. The creature does nothing to hurt him at first, and does not appear to posses any means of inflicting harm. It even appears more worthy of pity than malice. Yet James immediately reaches for a plank with the intention of bashing the monsters brains out. Unless, of course, you are Gandhi and don't hurt the monsters when you play. He has once again "solved" a problem through violence. It doesn't end there, though. Look at the color of the Lying Figure, and of the Mannequin for that matter. Their sickly light-brown hues match with those of Mary's hospital outfit, which itself matches her diseased skin. From a distance and in the same pose, Mary herself would not look much different from a Lying Figure. "I look like a monster!" indeed. The lying figures also attack by coughing, the importance of which will be explained shortly. The patient records in Brookhaven's reception office serve as another mirror into James's soul. Each patient has a condition which is plainly analogous to one of the three main characters. Joseph Barkin, in particular, is a patient who believes he killed his daughter and has been living with guilt since. A fourth record, written by a patient on the roof, reflects the sentiments of Mary during her final days. In fact, if one believes that Mary stayed at Brookhaven in the last week of her life, the diary could very well be hers. The article on Walter Sullivan seems somewhat out of place. What could a story about a murderous psychopath have to do with James? Sullivan is mentioned again in a bizarre radio game show directed at James, along with two other notable serial killers. His name makes a final appearance in the Abyss, where his tombstone is next to those of James, Angela, and Eddie. The message suddenly makes sense; James was initially shown just the article with no explanation, which lead him to judge Walter as a horrible criminal. The juxtaposed tombstones, then, send the message that James and Sullivan are of the same ilk! In reality, Sullivan is far worse, but the message of James being a murderer remains. Most people have caught that the many deaths of Maria are a clear example of the town making James relive his crime. However, it goes much deeper than that. The time Maria spends in Brookhaven is strongly analogous to Mary's time in her hospital. In fact some people believe Mary herself stayed at Brookhaven during the last week of her life. The analogy starts when Maria becomes sick and has to lie down. This is clearly symbolic of Mary's disease; Maria gives the same cough that we see Mary giving in the video. It is but the first signs of the three year illness. All of this time, James has seen Maria as a burden and thus leaves her alone, despite the obvious danger. This represents how he mostly abandoned Mary when he saw her as an obstacle to a happy life. When Maria and James meet again in the basement, Maria first responds angrily, but then switches tone and cries out for James to protect her and stay with her. This matches well with a conversation between James and Mary during her final days, in which she is first angry: "I don't want any damn flowers! Get the hell out of here!" but later pleads for James not to leave her. All of this culminates in the murder of Maria, which is easily seen as representing Mary's death. The song Magdalene perfectly illustrates how James feels at this time. It is melancholy, no doubt, but it is also entirely devoid of energy. It is lifeless, and hopeless, just as James feels. The movie version embellishes the song with strings and whatnot, and hence fails to be nearly as effective. /== IIIb. Pyramid Head ==\ Previously, I had claimed that uncertainty was a key ingredient of Pyramid Heads appeal. Many of the questions raised in the Story Layer become clearer when PH is viewed under the lens of the Mind Layer. We are given a major clue to Pyramid Heads purpose near the end of the game. "I was weak, that's why I need you. Needed someone to punish me for my sins." Or in the Japanese script "I was weak, and so I desired your existence". Punishment and judgment, then, are the driving force behind Pyramid Head. We must remember, though, that punishment is not simply torture. Inflicting pain upon James would be useless if James did not know why he was being harmed. However, he could not simply be told from the start that he is being punished because he killed his wife. His denial is so strong at first that he would immediately reject it and sink further into darkness. Hence, Pyramid Head punishes James in more subtle and psychological Pyramid Head reflects James darker desires. Seeing Pyramid Head rape and kill monsters is like looking at himself from the outside. The sexual frustration he held for those three years has been eating away at him, and Pyramid Head is quick to bring these feelings to the surface. PH's antagonism against Maria serves this end as well, but there is another reason why he repeatedly murders her. Pyramid Head and Maria are the most powerful manifestations of James's repressed and repressor mind, and thus their battles are symbolic of James's internal struggle. Pyramid Heads goal is to slowly open James's eyes to the truth, so that he may be properly judged. Maria has the opposite goal: to make James abandon Mary and remain in denial. "All you care about is that dead wife of yours!", cries Maria after James doesn't come to her rescue. This leads us to a curious conclusion; if the goal of Pyramid Head is to make James face up to what he's done, then he is no longer an enemy but a hero! Pyramid Head's goal becomes complete after James sees the videotape. His repressed mind has gained enough strength to allow the truth in, and when James sees what he had done, he does not question it. He remembers the murder, and the pain caused by it. Shortly afterwards, he meets Pyramid Head again, who has somehow brought a copy of himself along for the job. Numerous theories exist as to why there are suddenly two of them. A common theory is that the second one represents his guilt for killing Eddie, although I don't believe James feels nearly as much remorse for that act. One should note that the image of the two Pyramid Heads to either side of a hanged Maria reflects a crude drawing on the Prison's scaffold. After testing James one last time, the Pyramid Heads end the battle by impaling themselves. James has seen the truth, and suffered accordingly, and hence the role of Pyramid Head is complete. Having lost the desire to be punished, James is able to leave the triangle headed executioners behind as he ascends to face the avatar of his delusion: Maria. /== IIIc. Maria ==\ Just as Pyramid Head was borne of James's unconscious desire for punishment, Maria was borne of James's conscious desire for physical intimacy. She is a creation of his repressor mind, designed to make James stray from his path so that he will remain deluded. However, she also becomes a tool of the repressed mind as well, which uses her to remind James of his crime. Maria's first life is the one most people refer to when talking about her. In this life, she is not aware of her role in James's journey. This is proven by the Born from a Wish scenario, in which we see Maria acting independently of James, oblivious of her purpose. Silent Hill 3 even suggests that Maria was a real person, who's memory was erased and form changed to better reflect Mary's. Part of James created Maria and imbibed her with some of Mary's qualities. The intent was to create something which could lure James away from his quest to find Mary. However, by making her so much like Mary, James's repressed mind was able to use her to remind him of his crime. Poor Maria, of course, is unaware of the two rival puppetmasters controlling her. Maria's ignorance does not carry over into her next life though. When James meets her again in the Labyrinth, she has taken on a new persona. At first, she no longer speaks in her seductive tone, and even recalls memories of Mary. An instant later, however, Maria-the-seductress is back and ready for her "hero" to to save her. She tells James "I'm here for you", beckoning for him to "come and get me." This scene was mentioned by the developers as one of the key elements of the plot. It is, indeed, the tipping point in the battle between the repressor and the repressed. When Maria is speaking as Mary, she gives James a clue by mentioning the videotape at the hotel. This would suggest that she is trying to lead James toward discovering the truth. When Maria's original personality takes over, she attempts the opposite goal by asking James to save her instead of looking for Mary. Her promise of "I'm here for you" seems to be her way of saying "You can have me instead of Mary". Hence, this scene is another war between the two sides of James's mind. By this time in the game his delusions have begun to unwind, especially after hearing that Mary was friends with Laura a year ago. His repressed mind is making itself be heard; for a brief moment it was able to speak to James through Maria. Hence, she behaved like Mary, had her thoughts, and lead James towards learning the truth. His repressor mind, however, regained control, and the Maria of old was back. Maria's final speaking appearance (her short-lived performance as a human shish-kebob notwithstanding) is the most different of all. While her dialogue differs slightly depending on the ending (except for one in which the woman James meets claims to be Mary), she pretty much says the same thing in all of them: Mary is dead, it was your fault, but I'm better than her and you can have me instead. She mentions Mary's death, reflecting James's recently restored knowledge, and also becomes much more direct. This shows that James's repressor mind has weakened, and is now acting in desperation in order to keep James under control. When it realizes that converting James is hopeless, his repressor mind takes on a demonic form and attempts to destroy him. Killing this final monster is symbolic of James purging those harmful thoughts from his mind and restoring him to his real self. The exception to this is the Maria ending. The woman James meets looks identical to the "Maria" of the other endings, but claims to be Mary. The truth of this is debatable, but James speaks to "Mary" in the other endings as well. Whether this is Mary's ghost, or simply James's memories of Mary is uncertain. I, however, believe the woman James meets in the Maria ending is still Maria. This is the ending in which James's repressor mind wins, even after James learns the truth. Because Maria claims to be Mary, but then becomes a demon and attacks James, this final fight could instead be symbolic of James severing his bond with Mary once and for all. The victory is short-lived though; Maria gives a familiar cough at the last minute, signifying that James's punishment is not yet /== IIId. Staring into the Abyss ==\ James's repressed mind and repressor mind are locked in a bitter duel over one thing: the truth. The repressed mind is attempting to make James aware of his crime, while his repressor mind wishes to comfort him with delusions. It is for this reason that the so-called "Abyss" is of critical importance to the battle for James's soul. We learn of the Abyss from the hospital director's memos. It is a place where hidden, painful truths may be revealed. One may only learn these truths, however, if they are willing to have them laid bare for all to see. In other words, by keeping the truth hidden from others, one keeps the truth hidden from himself as well. Hence, "He who is not bold enough to be stared at from across the Abyss is not bold enough to stare into it himself." Simply getting James to enter the Abyss is a significant victory for the repressed mind. Yet at the point in the story where James enters the Historic Society, he is still deeply in denial. His repressed mind has the strength still to keep his eyes shut. The following is a theory by Rachenar(, concerning James's journey through this realm. On James' first trip to the Abyss, via the Historical Society, there are three instances where James is faced with a choice between truth and delusion. All three times, James chooses delusion. 1. James chooses to go after Maria, because she is "what James wants her to be". In other words, a delusion. 2. Angela asks James about Mary's death, and James mentions the illness. Angela then explicitly tells James that he killed her, and that he found Maria as a replacement, and our friend James denies it all. 3. Eddie says "This town called you, too. You and me are the same. We're not like other people. Don't you know that?!" Obviously, James doesn't. He's still refusing to face the truth, or simply unaware of it. Thus after these three trials, James was deemed "not bold enough to be stared at from across the abyss", so he could no longer "stare into it himself". James leaves the Abyss right after killing Eddie and returns to his vision of the misty world of Silent Hill. However, James sees Silent Hill at that point the same way he saw it 3 years ago. Then there's the third memo, a section of which reads: "A part of that abyss is in the old society." It would appear that the HS is a universal access to the Abyss to whomever has reason to visit it, but also that there are different ways one can access it. Upon learning the truth after viewing the video, James becomes "bold enough to be stared at from across the Abyss" as he no longer denies the truth. Thus he returns to it upon leaving room 312, because for James, another part of the Abyss was in the hotel. Proof that James has returned to the Abyss: The warping hallways and James' visit to what most likely is a flaming staircase in Angela's house; in other words, the lack of physical consistency that occurs after James has viewed the tape. Now let's return to the HOLE memo. It would appear that the person who wrote it saw a hole in Neely's bar (a delusion due to drinking problems, perhaps?), learned the truth by "marching forward", and upon his return, the hole was gone. Similarly, if James returned to the HS after finishing his business in the hotel, he would no longer see a hole either, because he no longer has reason to access the Abyss. /== IIIe. The Final Battle ==\ As we can see, James was bold enough to enter the Abyss, but not bold enough to stare into it. While his denial has been slowly cracking, his desire to suppress those painful memories is still strong. In fact, his delusions become even more severe after first leaving the Abyss. Before his initial descent into the Abyss, nearly all of the manifestations conjured up from his pysche seemed to reflect his crime and the emotions he held during Mary's three year hospitalization. Even the overall theme of the environment coincided with his feelings about Mary; the town is decayed and lifeless, yet was once beautiful and serene. However, the atmosphere of the hotel departs significantly from the previous theme of decay. In stark contrast to the apartment building and hospital, the hotel is in near pristine condition. The manifestations no longer hint at Mary's death but instead lead James to believe that she is actually waiting for him in room 302. It seems as if his repressor mind has taken complete control over James's perception. His repressed mind is not yet defeated though. It is able to manifest a few small, but important artifacts. First and foremost, it bars the path to the third floor. It diverts his path to the first floor office, via an elevator which refuses to move due to a weight allowance limit. Since there were mentions of "the weight of one's crimes", this is likely an allusion to the burden of guilt James is carrying. The most important artifact created from James's repressed mind is the videotape. It is, in essence "the truth". Had James been shown this tape at any point prior to the hotel, it is likely that he would have cast it off a delusion. Now, his repressed mind hopes that James will listen to its cries. James's repressor mind has convinced him that not only did he not kill his wife, but that she is alive and waiting for him in Room 302. However, in doing so it has worked itself into a corner. If James walks into Room 302 and finds that Mary isn't there, he will be fully aware of her death. There is no longer the sense that she could be in some "other special place" as when James looked for her in Rosewater Park. By making him believe that he will see Mary again, James becomes vulnerable. When James walks into Room 302, its as if he had never left it. It is immaculately clean and illuminated by a heavenly light from outside. Yet Mary is not there. His repressor mind was unable to conjure up her image. His hopes crushed, James watches the videotape, and his delusions James does not question the tape, nor does he deny it. He admits to himself and to Laura that he killed Mary. Hence, he shows that he is able to "be stared at from across the abyss", as per Rachenar's theory. Yet his hope of seeing Mary is once again rekindled when he hears her voice on the radio. It is an act of desperation on the part of his repressor mind. Having lost the battle for the truth, there is only one thing left to fight for: will James resolve his guilt and release the burden, or cling onto it and drown in despair (and water)? Which side ultimately emerges victorious is up to the player's choices throughout the game. //////////////===== IV. Character Layer =====\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Many who have seen the story of Silent Hill 2 complain that Angela and Eddie are superfluous characters who add little to the plot. Perhaps this may be true in the Story and Mind Layers, where they are simply two people James meets along the way to find his wife. The story isn't only about James, though. Each of the three main characters has endured analogous struggles, and seeing how the other two behave is like looking at one's self through a distorted mirror. Many people believe that the towns purpose is simply to punish sinners. If you were to ask most fans why each of the three characters was called to the town, they would likely point out that each of them has committed murder. Yet neither James, Angela, nor Eddie is unambiguously evil. They are not drug pushers, corrupt CEOs, criminal overlords, or ruthless dictators. It is not their crimes which have sent them to Silent Hill, but the feelings of guilt they hold inside. Guilt is felt when one does something far outside what they accept as decent, thus guilt is the province of "good" people. Prior to their life changing killings, James, Angela, and Eddie were all good people who would not be expected to commit murder. James adored Mary and wished to spend his life with her. To murder his one true love would be absurd. Angela had well accepted her inferiority in the dominance hierarchy her family had placed her in. To murder her father would place her in control of the situation, which would be unheard of to her. Eddie was a total softie who always let people walk all over him, while doing nothing to stop it and everything to encourage it. In spite of this, years of tension drove each of the three to commit murder: James euthanizing his sick wife, Angela murdering her father, and Eddie killing a dog and wounding its owner. Each felt tremendous guilt over the act, but none were able to deal with it openly. Instead, each developed a defense mechanism centered on their key character flaws. /== IVa. Seeds of Darkness ==\ James always kept his feelings hidden, to the point where others (e.g. Laura) often thought lacked any. Thus, James's defense was to suppress the memories of his actions, keeping them hidden to himself and everyone else. He became convinced that Mary died three years ago, and placed the blame on the disease rather than on himself. Angela has always had an inferiority complex. Whether it resulted from her abuse or factored in its origins, Angela has always seen herself at the bottom of the totem pole. Unable to deal with the lack of an abuser, Angela's defense mechanism was to become her own aggressor. She abused herself psychologically in the ways that her father had once done. Eddie always had a persecution complex. It is highly unusual for people Eddies age to insult one another in a manner typical of young teens. Most of his abuse is either imagined or brought on by Eddie himself. Because he believes the world is laughing at him, his defense was to believe that they deserved death. Far from solving their problems, their defense mechanisms only worsened the situation. It is the ensuing "darkness in their hearts" that drove them to Silent Hill, not the murders themselves. Upon meeting each other, Angela and Eddie realized that they were in the same predicament as James (who in his denial could not see this fact). Rather than form any sort of solidarity, each berates the other for how they've dealt with their crime. James scolds Angela for wallowing self pity (which James is quite guilty of), and Eddie for acting on impulse (ditto). Meanwhile, Angela and Eddie scold James for his willful ignorance as to the purpose of their journeys, which too is hypocritical since they are delusional as well. /== IVb. Judgment ==\ Perceptions of judgment differ in each character. Angela and Eddie are inversely symmetrical in this regard, with James acting as the middle ground. For Angela, she openly judges herself, while most outsiders would not judge her at all. Eddie does not judge himself, but most outsiders would be quick to judge him. James lies in the middle; the ambiguity of his crime prevents anyone, including himself, from drawing clear judgment. Some believe he is undeniably guilty, some believe he has suffered enough. On the one hand, he murdered Mary to get her out of his life. Yet he only needed to do this because he loved Mary so much that he couldn't bear to take another lover while she still drew breath. Mary's conflicting sentiments about assisted suicide only increase the confusion. /== IVc. The Tablets ==\ During his time in the prison, James finds three tablets: the Tablet of the Oppressor, the Tablet of the Seductress, and the Tablet of the Gluttonous Pig. The meaning of these tablets was not immediately clear to me. Although there were numerous obvious matches for each tablet (Maria as the seductress, Eddie as the gluttonous pig, Pyramid Head or Angela's father as the oppressor), there was no symmetry to the mappings. Supposedly, the developers have revealed that each tablet represents one of the three main characters: The Oppressor being James, the Angela the Seductress, and Eddie the Gluttonous Pig. While Eddies tablet seems appropriate, the other two don't seem to match well at all. That is, until we realize that the tablets don't represent each character as they are in reality, but instead represent each character as they see themselves. It is difficult to place the label of Seductress on the victim of abuse. Yet it is not uncommon for the consistently abused to begin to believe that they are at fault. Indeed, Angela seems to believe that she is deserving of abuse. "Mama said it best, I deserved what happened." It is even clearer in the Japanese script: "Mama knew I was that kind of person". At first, "Gluttonous Pig" seems to be an apt description of Eddie. Yet in making this judgment, we fall victim to his game. It is made clear that much, if not all, of the ridicule Eddie faces is created by Eddie himself. He is a man who is so deeply affected by how others perceive him that he believes all of the insults levied in his direction. Thus, throughout his life Eddie has crafted himself into the archetype of the fat, lazy slob. This has created an infinite feedback loop which ensures that Eddie will be laughed at his whole life. Eddie is also a glutton for ridicule, but this tablet seems to be referencing food more directly. The love James held for Mary was unquestionably pure. How then can we call him "The Oppressor?" A significant portion of the Silent Hill 2 fan base, however, does not see James as a loving husband, but instead as a sex starved maniac who only loved Mary in the carnal sense. To them, it is easy to see how James is an oppressor: he demanded sexual dominance over Mary, and when the disease took that luxury away from him, he killed her before the disease could in order to achieve dominance once again. There are numerous flaws with this reasoning, yet it is suggested that James himself has begun to believe it. Three years without intimacy has caused tremendous sexual frustration to accumulate within him. Yet this tension also brings him guilt, as it suggests that he only cares for sex. Feeding these thoughts, Laura, Maria, and Angela all assert that James did not love Mary. Maria herself is an embodiment of this very sentiment. If James left the town with Maria, it would prove that he did not love Mary for who she was, but only for sexual Two of the monsters directly convey this notion as well, the Mannequins and the Flesh Lips. Because they have legs but no body, the Mannequins portray sexuality without humanity. Thus, they represent the notion that James only cared for sex. The Flesh Lips is an even darker symbol. The Lost Memories book calls them "Lustful Lips", and indeed these "lips" are placed between the creatures dangling legs. This shows that they aren't referring to the lips you kiss your kids goodnight with. Furthermore the lattice in which they hang represents a bed (I myself thought they were bed-ridden patients hanging from the ceiling at first), another reference to sexuality. However, the Flesh Lips is so horribly twisted beyond all recognition that it is impossible to feel any sexual attraction towards it (and by god seek help if you do). Thus, it represents the disgust James felt for Mary when he tried to view her in a sexual light. The disease had ruined her figure, thus creating a painful tension between the part of James who loved Mary and wanted intimacy with her, and James's natural repulsion towards her sickly appearance. /== IVd. The Inner Child ==\ Laura is not the only young child roaming the streets of Silent Hill. Angela, Eddie, and to a lesser extent James all exhibit childlike tendencies. Yet far from being their innocent sides, these childish components of their personalities have allowed darkness to take hold of their hearts. A child is unaware of the world, dependant on adults, very sensitive to criticism from peers, and often powerless against those who may take advantage of them. The abuse levied onto Angela has stunted her emotional growth. She feels highly dependant on her family, despite their hostility towards her. She barely knows any world outside of her abusive home. She is unable to exert any power over another person, and as such apologizes to James numerous times for trivial things. Her voice and posture display a lack of maturity. Angela is aware of this however; after saying "I'm looking for my mama", she immediately corrects herself: "I mean my mother." Her inward childishness contrasts with her aged outward appearance. These two aspects of her being have pulled away so much that Angela has developed a split personality. Her older self has absorbed the cruelty of her father, prepared to perpetuate a cycle of domestic violence even after he is gone. Those who are made to feel weak and worthless will often mask their pain by abusing someone else in later years. Had Angela grown up to have a family of her own, she may have abused her own children just as her father had abused her. Angela's violent temper toward James during the later parts of the game strongly suggests that this part of her has been growing. It is this side of Angela who scolds James for "saving" her from the Abstract Daddy. "Don't order me around!" she yells. In this, she is attempting to compensate for her lack of power over her father by putting on a show of dominance over James. Yet this dominance is delusional and futile, and does little more than sink Angela Angela even further. Eddie too is a beacon of immaturity. His appearance and speech are highly child-like, such as the whiny "She said a fatso like me would just slow her down!". His account of the insults he has endured brings to mind a grade-school environment, which a man his age should be well away from by now. His conception of fairness is entirely juvenile as well; he believes that since people made fun of him, then he should be allowed to hurt or even kill them in return. James may appear to be the most collected and reasonable of the three main characters, but this is only a front. The childlike traits of James are mostly present in his dependence on Mary for happiness, as a child may depend on his mother. James is also known to take action to achieve a proximate goal without regards to the consequences, another childlike quality. A shining examples of this are when he reaches through a hole in a wall to get a key, even when he cant see what's in there and even seems to get bitten once. The infamous and lauded toilet-bowl scene reflects this aspect of his personality as well. Not to mention James's reaction to Eddie's assertion that he will kill anyone who makes fun of him: "Eddie, have you gone nuts (you big fat stupid idiot)?". /== IVe. Reflections ==\ There are some who believe that Angela and Eddie are figments of James's imaginations. Their reasoning is that both of them reflect two different paths James could go through: he could continue to live in darkness and misery, leading up to suicide, or he could embrace the "murderer" label and feel no remorse for his actions. However, I see the mirror going three ways; not only do Angela and Eddie show two paths that James could take, but James also shows a path that Angela and Eddie could take: to deny their crime and convince themselves that it never happened. Traits of each character are reflected in each other character. Eddie and Angela are unbending in their decision to deal with their guilt through violence toward others and themselves. Only James is able to take differing paths, four different paths to be specific. The following is an account by forum user Ryan(, explaining which characters are being reflected in James for each ending: As the title suggests, this is an another analysis of the endings, one that uses the characters as major reference points. I believe that the characters in the game, in addition to their own self-contained stories and importances, are also an array of attributes that symbolize the various paths James can take upon his journey. LEAVE = Laura The idea is pretty obvious, but there is more to it than just the idea that Laura leaves with James in the ending. Laura typifies the very essence of the Leave ending. In Leave, James never falters in his desire to find his wife, and is steadfast in his search to find her. He keeps Maria at arm's length, and doesn't waste too much time thinking of himself. Mary is the goal, therefore, she is the most important. In Leave, James finally has the opportunity to spend a last moment with Mary, to be able to say the things he didn't say before, the things he couldn't say or wouldn't say. He abases himself before her, and flings aside all vestiges of the delusion he used to hide himself from reality. Because he commits to this course of action out of a deep and abiding love, and because he forces himself to come to terms with his own troubled thoughts, voicing them out loud for her to hear, Mary forgives James and puts his mind to rest. When last we see James, he is walking through the cemetery towards the scenic turnout, and we see Laura following closely behind. As one of Mary's letters made clear, Mary wished to adopt Laura as her own daughter but could not. Though it is not stated for certain this is what happens, to me it is implied that James decides to do just that, both out of respect for his wife, and perhaps as a thanks to Laura herself... because out of every character, Laura is by far the most influential in aiming him towards this conclusion. Laura is in town for the same reason as James; she wishes to find Mary. She is, at first, uncertain of James' motives, for she believes James to be an uncaring, selfish lout (and at first he does little to correct her notions). She realizes that there is more to him than meets the eye eventually, and by the time both reach the Lakeview Hotel, Laura is more pleasant to James and openly assists him in their shared But, she is not just a tool for James. She is there for her reasons as well, and would just as soon prefer James to not be an interference. Yet, it is her actions which guide him on the proper path, bringing him to the Hospital when no other course of action seems viable for James to reach the hotel. This sets in motion a chain of events that leads him where he wants to go, but in a most roundabout way. Indeed, she is completely indicative of the ending, because her goal completely typifies the context of Leave: Find Mary, and never falter while looking. She never does. Presumably, she finds Mary (because, otherwise, there would be no way she'd go along with James. Undoubtly, they had their own private moment too, where Mary told her things about James that made her overcome the incredible anger and hate she displays in room 312.) IN WATER = Angela Another really simple one, perhaps the simplest; for both come to a very similar end and parallel in other ways. Both James and Angela commit acts which are violent and deadly. Both can suitably justify their deeds if either desired to. The problem here is that neither wishes to justify. Justification would lead in a very different direction. Instead, both decide that instead of vindication, they deserve punishment instead. Both desire punishment, but neither possesses a full-blown deathwish until the end, when all hope is truly lost. Of all the supporting characters, Angela's ultimate purpose is the least clear, and this is because she has none at all. Like James, Angela does not desire her own death from the beginning (this is evident in the Blue Creek encounter, when Angela surrenders her knife to James. She pointedly states she is doing so to prevent unpleasant things, and considering her position when we find her in that room, the 'unpleasant thing' is very clearly suicide.) Perhaps she still holds hope for redemption of some kind, or perhaps she has just not resigned herself to the inevitable. Regardless, by the end, she has. Whether she dies on the stairs of fire are not clear, but certainly, no other end is likely. Either she will die or wander endlessly, dead in spirit and soul, if not in body. This is analogous to James in the same role. He does not begin with a deathwish. In fact, the thought never really seems to cross his mind. He will expressly deny thoughts of suicide when Angela makes a remark. But, in the end, he has his moment with Mary, in which he gets to clear his conscience. But, his eyes are opened to the truth, and even though his conscience is clear, all that does is expose him to the rest of the truth, about himself and his life. He loves Mary. Deeply. To the point where he decides that he cannot live without her. He surrenders notions of life and future. Possibly, it is a gambit, to see if he might find Mary in the afterlife, but the underlying fact is that he has given up on life, just as Angela has. It's not a desire to kill himself, but rather a lack of desire to continue living. MARIA = Eddie Now the territory is not so clear, and since I use Maria as an example for a different ending, you might just cry foul. But, the Maria ending really isn't about Maria, it's about James, as all endings are. In the Maria ending, James does falter in his search for Mary, and falters badly. Maria is a seductress, a lookalike of his wife designed by his repressor mind to cling to the delusion in which he spends much of the story. Maria's appearance and personality are contrasted to Mary in several key ways, yet retaining a painfully obvious familiarity. She is, perhaps, the ideal Mary, especially in contrast to her later days. She is attractive, energetic, provocative and, in some ways, as caring and empathetic as Mary. She is the Siren of his delusional mind, seeking to retain its existence. What Maria also signifies is James' surrender to his desires. This isn't just a carnal statement, though that is likely a part of it. Certainly, he desires sex. Most people do, and her appearance is a reflection of it. However, there's more to it than that. She is real, to James. She isn't Mary, but maybe she's close enough? Maybe, with Maria, James can have everything back that he lost with Mary's illness and death? Not just sex, but companionship, togetherness. An emotional bond. Love, even. A replacement for his wife, as close as one can get. Now, how does Eddie factor? Well, he has desires, too. His desire is vengeance. He views himself as the avenging angel, and considering his state of mind in the final encounter, it's not a new concept to him. For years he has desired to lash out against those he considers his tormentors, to visit upon them the suffering and pain he feels he has recieved. It is perhaps this thinking come to a head that results in his murder of a dog, and the subsequent maiming of its presumed owner. He has a taste of the Avenging Angel, but it's a bitter taste at first. His moment of dominance is fleeting, for the law will be far more dominant than he, or any of his oppressors. Thus, he escapes to Silent Hill, a place that shows him things that torment him as badly as anyone he has encountered in his life. What Silent Hill also offers is the chance to strike back at this percieved oppression, in the same manner as what brought him here. He kills those who laugh at him. Whether or not they actually do is irrelevant, because Eddie is going to assume the worst. It's a natural response for someone of his mindset. At first, his exercise of this control is unnatural to him and he is unsure of how to react. Except, this time, there is no law to fear, there is no stronger and more dominant force to stop him. He is the law now, and by the end, he is a man without mercy. He has surrendered to his delusional thinking, that everyone is out to get him. He has surrendered, but he's glad to have done it, because now, those thoughts of vengeance that have been brewing in him for his entire life are no longer an urge he needs to supress. He is allowed to do what he wants, and he is going to take it for everything it's worth. Like James, Eddie goes down the wrong path out of selfish desires and skewed priorities. Eddie's decision ultimately destroys him. James' do not, at least right away. The final scenes of the Maria ending very strongly imply that such a fate is all but inevitable, that he is doomed to repeat his tragedy, as Eddie did with his attack on the dog, and that the conclusion is going to be far from ideal. [my own take on this is both Maria and the people who taunt Eddie are creations meant to tempt those into darkness by preying on one of their weaknesses.] REBIRTH = Maria This one is actually more obvious than it looks, and it has less to do with Maria's character traits than her origins. The obvious connection is the concept of rebirth itself. Maria is reborn twice in the game after being quite noticeably dead. However, the strongest indicator is her origin story, "Born From a Wish" which is very heavy with references to the Rebirth Ending. She begins with no coherent memory or even a real identity. She knows her name, and has a grasp on her situation, but little else. Wandering around more or less aimlessly, she finds the spirit of Ernest Baldwin in his eponymous mansion. Searching this mansion leads her to discover the fate of Amy Baldwin, Ernest's daughter. Ernest decides that the only way he can find peace is to bring his daughter back to life, by performing a sacred ceremony using occult items. In actuality, Ernest is more symbolic than Maria for this purpose, but it is Maria who acts as a tool to further Ernest's wishes, rather than her own person. Through her journey we learn much about the Ceremony of Resurrection of the Dead, and the items required to perform it. This is very important for James, even though he himself is ignorant of Maria's experience. I believe "Born" is the vehicle to better explain the mysterious fourth ending, and Maria's character is the vessel through which we experience this. //////////////===== V. Town Layer =====\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Looking at the Character Layer told us why each characters sees what he or she does. The question now is, how do they see what they do? Who is pulling the strings; leading James, Angela and Eddie along a path of punishment? What interest do they have in exploiting their guilt? How can one person endure a swarm of monsters, only to find that a little girl has never caught glimpse of a single one? There is a simple explanation to all this: the entire story is in James's head. Angela, Eddie, and Laura were merely part of this dream. Yet like the shower incident of Dallas, this explanation fails to satisfy the inquisitive audience. Are James, Angela, and Eddie just seeing things? Is James swinging a plank at the air and jumping off rooftops pretending to have been hit by Pyramid Head? Some believe that James is walking around in an ordinary, populated town, perceiving civilians as monsters. This is highly unlikely, however. I'm sure the townsfolk would be able to subdue James without much While this would explain why each character sees the world differently, it likely is not the whole story. The most significant problem with this theory is the hotel. It was destroyed by fire before James came to the town, yet its three floors are structurally intact when James visits. Furthermore, were given little evidence that people see any structural differences to their environments while their in the same place. As evidence for this, consider the fact that whenever James meets Angela or Eddie, there is something about the surroundings that is symbolic of their struggles. Perhaps the powers of Silent Hill have decorated the town with images meant to stir distress within the three, plotting unique pathways through the town for each so that they only meet each other when the time is right. /== Va. The Monsters ==\ Creatures, on the other hand, are clearly seen in different light. The faceless corpses that James comes across are seen by Eddie as ordinary people. Could it be that the same figures are encountered by both Eddie and James? If the two of them were to both look upon one of these creatures, would James see it as a monster while Eddie sees it as a person? Has Angela been seeing them as her family members? How is it that Laura can not see them at all? Angela's two final scenes give us key insights into these questions. The scene depicting the Abstract Daddy is especially important because it is the only time in the game where two people see the same creature at once. To James, it is a terrible creature of great strength, while to Angela, it is her father. When James next meets her, Angela mistakes him for her mother. This is clearly not an easy mistake, so just what exactly going on? The key lies in what the Abstract Daddy represents. It is a clear symbol of Angela's abuse; depicting a larger figure looming over a small one, atop a bed frame. At the same time, it is symbolic of James as well. The juxtaposition of sex and violence mirrors the sexual frustrations James felt which eventually lead him to to murder. Hence, at an abstract level, it speaks to both of them. In the Mind Layer, I mentioned that the town immerses James in his guilt. So too does it immerse the other characters in their pain. The powers of the town cause each of them to see what is in their own hearts rather than what is actually there. Perhaps it is the case that the Abstract Daddy has no true physical form. Instead, it is somewhat of a template; the essence of a certain emotion. Because it invokes the same feelings of fear and powerlessness that Angela had for her father, she sees it as her father. Another victim of abuse would see the creature as its aggressor. Perhaps Eddie would have seen it as someone who had not only been verbally abusive to him, but physically abusive as well. Why does James see it as a monster? We have already seen how the other monsters James faces are symbolic of his pain. Perhaps it is because of his denial that the monsters can only take abstract form, as opposed to the more direct shapes portrayed to Angela and Eddie. It may also be that James sees the Abstract Daddy in its true form, because he has not been a victim of abuse and thus can not make that emotional connection with it. Is this power to be seen differently a property of the monster itself? No, because James himself fills this role when Angela sees him for the last time. How could she possibly mistake James for her mother? When James "saved" Angela from the Abstract Daddy, she began to see him as a protector. For any child, the first person to be associated with such a role is the mother. While Angela's mother clearly did little to stop the abuse (and was likely both of victim of it herself), the biological drive for children to seek their mothers for safety is hard to escape. When Angela saw James on the burning staircase, she saw her protector, instead of James himself. This also helps explain why Laura cant see the monsters; the emotions which each of them invoke are not present within Laura. They fail to make a connection with her psyche, and as such she sees them as nothing at all. It is possible that she sees them as ordinary people, but she never makes any reference to meeting anyone other than Eddie and James. If the monsters do have physical form (and I believe they do), they would have to actively avoid Laura. Perhaps her innocence is poison to them, because they have no power over her. This leads us to the question, what exactly is the Abstract Daddy, and for that matter all of the monsters? They do not act in ways typical of humans, so it is unlikely that they are ordinary people. Is it possible that they once were human, who have succumbed to the towns power, becoming embodiments of the emotions they died with? Vincent's speech in SH3 seems to suggest this! /== Vb. The Environment ==\ The second piece of this puzzle is how the town itself appears to James, Angela, and Eddie. The environment seems to shape itself to reflect the darkness in the hearts of those called to the town. Unlike the monsters, these changes are objective; they are visible to anyone who happens to be in the same place. It is my belief that each character has a unique pathway through the town, separated by roadblocks and locked doors. They meet each other only when the controlling powers of the town will it so. When James meets Angela for the second time in the apartments, she is behind a white door. This door is unlike any other in the apartments, and what's more it has the same appearance as the door to the Abstract Daddy's room. Could it be that this is the same door to Angela's room in her own home, duplicated by the powers of the town in order to constantly remind her of her past? White is also a symbol of purity, and as such may be deliberately mocking Angela's abuse. The fiery staircase on which we meet Angela for the last time is much larger than normal stairs, representing how a child might perceive an ordinary staircase. Angela also claims to see fire everywhere, however she does not acknowledge it at all until the very end. Since we are to assume that all three characters have only been in Silent Hill for a matter of hours, not days, it is unlikely that Angela has simply become accustomed to them. It may be that Angela's otherworld is based on fire, as opposed to the decay and darkness present in James's conception of it. Eddie is also constantly surrounded by painful images from his past. James first meets Eddie next to a room full of football posters. The stereotypical football player is the antipode of Eddie, someone who is in shape, well liked by his peers, and brimming with confidence. We can see Eddie's contempt for football when he talks about the man he shot in the leg: "He's going to have a hard time playing football on what's left of that knee!" Furthermore, Eddie is always found in a place associated with food. He is seen with a pizza in the bowling alley (an anomaly in James's perception of the town), then in a cafeteria, and finally in a walk-in freezer. This feeds Eddies image as a fat slob who who can not resist the temptation of food. /== Vc. The Gods ==\ We now come to the ultimate foundation of the story: what is primary source of influence in Silent Hill? Is the psyche the master, drawing upon the powers of the town to give form to ones delusions? Are sentient supernatural beings in control, who pry into the minds of the guilty to unearth their innermost thoughts? Perhaps it is both, but then what is the balance? Is that blasted dog behind it all? This issue does not appear to have a clear solution, and equally compelling theories can be built assuming a mind-centered view of the story or a god-centered view. Throughout this plot guide, I have made numerous references to the "power of the town". However, I never had the feeling that there was a puppetmaster in the heavens directing the show. The "gods" of the town do not seem to be the kind of god that the Western mind is accustomed to. Instead, I believe the power of the town is like clay; inherently formless, but able to be molded into any shape. It has no agenda, no will, no sentience. It just IS. Whatever this power may be, it has existed long before the English settled on its holy grounds. The settlers brought with them disease and death, which slowly corrupted the spiritual power of the town. This is what leads me toward the conclusion that the power of the town is not so much an authority figure as is the traditional concept of God. Instead it appears to reflect the sentiments of those who live near it. The Order speaks of many gods and angels, the Red God, the Yellow God, "The" God, Valtiel, Metatron, Samael, among others. What is the reality of these gods, though? The religious traditions of the Order are known to have been influenced by Christian teachings and the indigenous religions of the land. This makes it unlikely that the Orders teachings represent the spirit world as it actually is. Metatron and Sammeal in particular are the most likely candidates for entirely fictional beings, and this is even suggested in Silent Hill 3 where the Seal of Metatron is shown to be a useless trinket. /== Vd. The Source ==\ Why do the powers of the town deliver judgment to those with darkness in their hearts? What benefit do they gain from leading the guilty on a path of pain? Some believe that the gods feed off of negative emotions. However, I do not see emotions as a commodity. Furthermore, the plights of James, Angela, and Eddie would be but a light snack in comparison to the horrors the town has experienced before. Here, I see another benefit of an an interpretation of the gods as formless and malleable. Prisons and prison camps have adorned much of Silent Hills history. After an epidemic ravaged the land, the English settlers gave up on establishing a settlement there. Instead, the land was used as a penal colony. Later, during the civil war, the area was used to hold prisoners of war. This prison camp then evolved into Toluca Prison. In these times, judgment was passed on the suspected, and justice was delivered to the guilty. Yet there was no sense that this "justice" was based on what is right and fair. This was a perverted form of judgment, one which served to give power to the accusers instead of dealing justice to those who were wronged. The innocent and guilty were judged alike, bringing more death upon the land. It is in this era that Pyramid Head's inspirations, clad in the traditional garb of Valtiel, decided who should live and who should die. This overwhelming sense of judgment and punishment became etched into the spiritual fabric of Silent Hill. The towns desire to continue judging the guilty coupled with the subconscious desires of James, Angela and Eddie to be judged. A bond was formed between the mind and the powers of the town, and each drew from one another to meet its end. /== Ve. Xuchilbara ==\ Lobsel_Vith(the forum user, not the god. Lobsel Vith the god never returns my e-mails) takes a more god-centered view of the story than I do. Nevertheless, many of her findings should not be ignored; whatever reality the "gods" of Silent Hill have, they do play a significant role in the series. This section includes information she has found about the Red God, Xuchilbara. Gods do not take center stage in SH2, unlike its predecessor and successor. However, the Red God, Xuchilbara, is mentioned in an artifact James can find: the Crimson Tome: I am the Crimson One. The lies and the mist are not they but I. You all know that I am One. Yes, and the One is I. Believers hearken to me! Twenty score men and seven thousand beasts. Heed my words and speaketh them to all, that they shall ever be obeyed even under the light of the proud and merciless sun. I shall bring down bitter vengeance upon thee and thou shalt suffer my eternal wrath. The beauty of the withering flower and the last struggles of the dying man, they are my blessings. Thou shalt ever call upon me and all that is me in the place that is Oh, proud fragrance of life which flies towards the heart. Oh Cup which brims with the whitest of wine, it is in thee that all begins. The Crimson Ceremony seems to suggest that the Red God is the source of the delusions shown to James, Angela, and Eddie. The "mist" likely refers to the pervasive fog, who's presence signifies that we are in the Red God's domain. The poem also mentions decay and judgement, which are vital elements of the story's plot. Perhaps most importantly, it also mentions "the last struggles of the dying man". This suggests that Xuchilbara's domain is the place where life and death meet. Perhaps it is for this reason that he(or she?) is considered the God of Rebirth. /== Vf. World of the Gods ==\ So how does the Red God fit into an interpretation of the story that sees the gods as formless? I do not wish to rescind my statement that there are no puppet-masters guiding James, nor do I wish to ignore the gods altogether. The Crimson Ceremony suggests that the events experienced by James are nothing new; the town has been creating delusions long before he ever knew about it. There is another element of the story which I have not addressed proper: the Otherworld. The popular belief is that the Otherworld is another dimension in which the Gods have more influence. Some even see the foggy world as its own dimension, existing atop an ordinary, populated resort town. However, there are problems with this naive interpretation. For one, the otherworld is not an entirely different space, but rather a perversion of the existing environment. This is also true of the foggy realm, but on a smaller scale. However, towards the end of the game, we see an Otherworld that is entirely divorced from reality. In fact, this is true of each game in the Silent Hill series. Considering each of these worlds its own dimension requires believing in a myriad of unique realms. As a strong advocate of Occam's Razor, I don't take well to theories like these. Instead, I believe there are only two distinct worlds: the ordinary, human realm, and the world of the gods. The god's realm, however, is not physical. Space and time have no meaning, and there is no conception of "objects". It is an entirely metaphysical realm, hence it's pure form is unknowable by humans, who are so dependant on labels to classify their world. The human world and the god world are seperated by more than distance or time. However, in the area of Silent Hill, the worlds seem "closer" than elsewhere. The worlds bleed into eachother, creating a hybrid realm that bridges the two realities As evidence for the notion that the god's world is not material, consider the gradual loss of the rules of time and space as James descends further into the town. At first, James sees the town as relatively unchanged, save for the series staple fog. There are a handful of artifacts created from James's pysche, but they are merely decorations. Monsters aside, there is little about this environment that could not exist in the real world. Midway through the game, however, James slips into the nightmarish Otherworld. The ability of the town to alter James's surroundings increases dramatically in this realm, yet it is still close enough to the human world that it retains its basic shape. In the basement, however, the laws of space are temporarily disregarded. Beneath the ground, where the basement should be, lies a long and winding hallway that was never a part of the real hospital. The elevator at its end turns out to be the real basement elevator, which returns James to the first floor. The laws of space are also seen decaying when James reads the memos from the hospital director. At first, they seem like ordinary memos, the likes of which James has seen throughout his journey. In his first memo, he mentions that "the truth can only be learned by marching foward" and leads James towards a letter placed on a house's doorstep. Yet when James finds the letter, it immediately continues the narrative of the previous memo, and more disturbingly it mentions James directly. It is similair to the Stanley memos in Silent Hill 3 and may hint at an active world beneath the protagonist's eyes. The laws of space and time are completely thrown out the window once James reaches the Historical Society. Here, there is no longer any coherence to the environment. It is not simply a repainting of an existing structure, but the disorganized fragments of several places throughout the town's history cobbled together. The prison's of the town's past have resurfaced, along with remants of the Wiltse Coal Mines, bleeding into the historical society such that it is not clear where one begins and the other ends. It is also here that James is forced to jump down a series of holes. Had the laws of space been preserved, James would be clutching his knee and screaming like a preteen at an N'Sync concert after falling down the first one. Yet he falls through several with no ill effect. Furthermore, one of the holes is actually an ordinary prison hallway oriented vertically! The Labryinth is even worse. It almost seems as if its twisted hallways are being constructed as James walks through them. After facing the mind-bending terrors of the Labyrinth, the laws of space are once again slapped in the face as James finds himself at ground level once again, not anywhere near as deep or as far as his previous journey would have indicated. James crosses Toluca Lake en route to the Lakeview Hotel. As stated earlier, the Hotel was destroyed by fire sometime between the time of his vacation and the time of the story. Thus, the hotel James sees is not simply the real hotel with an altered appearance. Rather, it seems to have been built entirely out of James's memories. The poor laws of time and space which have endured such a beating throughout the story are given one final knockout punch after James watches the videotape. The "alternate" Hotel he finds himself in is completely unlike the alternate hospital. Going through one door leads one across the entire buildling, hallways that could not exist in reality wrap around the premise, doors lead to one place the first time James enters them only to lead to somewhere entirely different the next time, and a winding metallic staircase leads to a wire mesh floor surrounded by the hotel's outer shell. This slow descent from a mostly normal world to a completely nightmarish algamation of reality and delusion is also seen in SH3 (and presumably in SH1 although I've never played it). As one gets closer to the "gods", the laws of time and space disintegrate. As corporeal entities, the protagonists could never completely reach the god's world without leaving their physical bodies behind, and it is not clear precisely how close any of them ever got. Within their own realm, the gods are shapeless and timeless. Yet in this state the powers of the town are unable to effect the human world. Yet just as James descends from the human world to the god world, so too do the gods ascend from their realm into the human world, becoming more corporeal in the In the REAL real world, our ancestors attributed the forces of nature to gods, giving a name and a likeness to phenomena they could not understand. So too may be the basis of the "gods" of Silent Hill. The inhabitants learned of the spirit's powers, giving names to particular aspects. Most relevant to SH2 is the aforementioned Red God, a name given to the town's power to give life to delusion. In the process, however, this "label" became an entity unto itself, thus creating an avatar of the town's power worshipped by the The gods of the town, then, are the interface between the entirely immaterial spirit world and the entirely material human world. Yet just as the human protagonists become weaker as they get closer to the god's world, the gods too become weaker when they enter the human realm. As distinct and physical beings, they are unable to cause much harm and are defeated with ordinary weapons. //////////////===== VI. Closing =====\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ /== VIa. Frequently asked questions ==\ Nobody has read this yet, so how could there be any questions about it, much less frequently asked ones?
[WA Today \| Text-only index] Baboons touch on evolution of reading Date: April 14 2012 Baboons don't read, don't speak and perhaps can't understand language at all. But scientists have found that they can learn to recognise writing on a computer screen, identifying correctly most of the time which combinations of letters are words (''done'', ''vast'') and which are not (''telk'', ''virt''). The discovery may help explain how reading evolved, researchers said, bolstering a theory that the skill first arose from animals' ability to distinguish objects, rather than from the uniquely human demands of verbal communication. ''Maybe we use letters to read words because we're mimicking what we do with everyday objects,'' said Jonathan Grainger, a cognitive psychologist at the National Centre for Scientific Research and Aix-Marseille University in France and lead author of an article about the research published in the journal Science. Grainger wanted to test a theory offered by some neuroscientists: Reading takes advantage of visual systems in the brain that originally evolved to identify all sorts of objects, such as trees and food. Grainger needed to see whether animals without linguistic capacity could recognise words. Six baboons were permitted to approach computer monitors whenever they wanted. The touch screens displayed a string of four letters, which could be a word or a non-word. They proved quite able, learning to discern dozens of words interspersed among nearly 8000 non-words with almost 75 per cent accuracy. After six weeks, a high achiever named Dan had learnt 308 words. After they got the idea, even words that they saw for the first time triggered significantly fewer ''non-word'' responses than could be expected by chance. [ WA Today \| Text-only index]
This ad will close in The Secret To eBay Success Is it possible to create a profitable business using the online auctioneer? Q: I hear so much about people who started selling on eBay and eventually turned it into their full-time business. Is it really possible to build a profitable business just selling junk on eBay? A: If Fred Sanford were alive today, I'm sure he'd be earning his ripple money by selling quality junk on eBay. While it's also true that one man's junk is another man's treasure (I have a garage full of treasure to prove this point), your chances of building a profitable business selling "junk" on eBay (or anywhere else, for that matter) are slim to none. While there is a lot of junk/treasure for sale on eBay, it is typically sold by individuals who have "I brake for yard sales!" bumper stickers on their cars and not serious businesspeople. For serious entrepreneurs, however, selling on eBay can be a good way to start a new business if you're willing to put in the time and energy required to make the business a success. eBay is also a good option for existing businesses to expand their reach by selling online. Everyone-from small used car dealers to giant companies like Dell Computers-has discovered that eBay is an excellent place to hawk their wares simply due to the huge number of folks who visit the eBay site on a daily basis. Nowhere else on earth will you find such a large pool of potential customers. Consider these numbers: • There are nearly 95 million eBay users who spend $894 per second. • Most eBay sellers are individuals and small businesses who sell everything from porcelain dolls to DVD players to Mercedes convertibles. • Every day, more than 2 million new items are added to the eBay marketplace, more than 10 million bids are placed, and more than 100,000 new people register to buy and sell on eBay. • At any given moment, eBay is conducting some 19 million auctions, divided into more than 45,000 different categories. • About 2 million new items are offered for sale every day. • One company is grossing more than $5 million per year selling brand-new pool tables on eBay. Their eBay store is so profitable that they've closed their retail location and now sell solely online. That's right, they're making $5 million by selling pool tables-proof that you can sell just about anything on eBay if you know how to do it. Be aware, however, that eBay is no magic bullet. As any eBay Power Seller (a seller who has at least 100 feedback ratings-98 percent positive-and maintains at least $1,000 in average gross monthly sales for three months, amongst other criteria) will tell you, building a profitable eBay business takes hard work and requires long hours, and often the financial rewards do not make it worth the effort spent. When it comes down to the mechanics of it all, running an eBay business is no different than running a brick-and-mortar business. You still have the same considerations regarding product selection, inventory purchasing, product pricing, inventory management, order processing, fulfillment, customer service and so on. You must also consider the legal and accounting aspects of the business. Just because you're selling online does not mean that Uncle Sam won't expect his piece of the pie. Revenue generated by an eBay business is just as reportable and taxable as revenue generated from a brick-and-mortar store. And if you sell to customers within your state, you may also be responsible for collecting city, county or state sales tax. One of the biggest obstacles to building a successful eBay business may be the stiffness of the competition. Many sellers sell identical items, and the price wars often get ugly, but that's to be expected in a free marketplace, which is exactly what eBay is. You may be the only store in town that's selling that one-of-a-kind, custom-made Dale Earnhardt Memorial Bobble Head Action Figure (Earnhardt fans would string me up if I called it a doll), but do a quick search on eBay and you'll probably find a hundred others just like it. So, can you build a profitable business selling on eBay? Certainly-thousands of people have done it and so can you. Here are a few tips to help get you started: Sell quality products. Don't sell junk! Leave the knick-knacks and fake leather jackets to the less-informed. You should offer only quality products at a fair price. Research the competition. Once you have your product in mind, don't invest a dime on inventory until you've spent some time on eBay to see what the competition is doing. If you want to sell motorcycle helmets, for example, you should look at current auctions to see how many others are selling similar helmets and what prices they are charging. This step is vital since you may discover that you can't compete with current sellers on price or there is simply no market for what you have to offer. Start slowly. Many people believe that the more items they have for sale on eBay, the better. They will invest thousands in inventory and spent hundreds on listing fees. (Yes, eBay charges you to list items for sale and collects a final fee if the item sells.) Those are the folks that usually end up with 10,000 Ginsu knives forever in their garage. Test, Test, Test. A fair portion of eBay auctions result in no sales, so it's best to test the waters before jumping in with both feet. List a few items and see how they sell. If an item doesn't sell, list it at least twice more. Some items might not sell the first time, but may the second or third, then sell steadily from then on. If an item gets no bids the first time, consider adjusting your price or your terms. If an item sells well, keep it in stock and then experiment with another item. Do your homework. eBay is too broad a subject to be covered fully here, but there are a multitude of books available that can help you start an eBay business. In fact, I bet you'll find most of them for sale at this very moment on eBay. Loading the player ... Tim Ferriss on Mastering Any Skill Ads by Google 0 Comments. Post Yours.
Just wondering what type of insulation jacket is required for the internal wiring for a water heater? What is the temperature rating of the insulation? Is it required to be damp location or wet location? I'm adding another element to my single element water heater and I need the appropriate wire to tie in the new element and thermostat. It appears the existing wire is rated 105 degrees Celsius, but I'm having trouble finding similar wire. Any help would be great. Thank you.
Penny's fall by lilsweetbaby Dark Fantasy , Anal, BDSM, Bestiality, Body modification, Bondage and restriction, Cruelty, Domination/submission, Extreme, Hardcore, Humiliation, Non-consensual sex, Rape, Spanking, Teen, Torture, Toys, Violence, Virginity, Young, Written by women Posted: 2009-07-14 Author's infos Gender: Female Age: 20 Location: Canada Introduction: Dr Claw captures Penny and gets his revenge Lets face it we all had this fanasy of Penny being captured and tortured by Dr. Claw. Here is my fanasy I hope you like it because it is my first story. Penny ran in the rain towards an old and seemingly empty building. If her intel was right this was Dr. Claw's hideout and secret labatory. She was ready to fishish this by herself. No had known she was gone, not uncle Gadget or Brain. She was 14 and ready to finish this herself. Even if she got in trouble she had her watch communicator and her trusted computer book. She was ready for whatever Dr Claw could throw at her and this battle would end this night forever. Penny ran to the door for shelter from the rain. She sighed because the rain had tightned the top she was wearing causing pressure on her breasts. They were overally big for a girl her age at a DD which caused her alot of gawking and catcalls at school. How she hated boys so imature and with a never ending sex drive. No boy would enter her until she was married. She fixed her top and pulled her jacket tighter, Her cargo pants were completly wet and dripping from the rain. Once she finished fixing her outfit she nodded for it was time to begin. She used her computer book to unlock the door and she snuck in. The building was dark an empty just as her intel said it would be. Acording to her sources Dr Claw was developing new robitics systems for some sort of secret project. She had to uncover the mystery and stop him for good. She turned and traveled down the hall silently unaware she was being watched. A small hidden camera provided live feed to a small computer sitting on a desk. Behind the desk was a man hidden in shadows, slowly stroking his cat with a metal claw. He spoke with a voice that sounded like it belonged to the devil himself. "Soon she will have sprung my trap and I will finally have my revenge." Penny found a door labled "robitics" so she entered silently. Inside were a bunch of strange looking machines. Some appeared to be rod shaped devices, others had metal wires and others seemed to be sharp knives. She didn't know what Dr Claw as planning but she had to stop it. She saw one machine that looked like a hammer and she pressed the button. The hammer came down hard on her head and knocked her out cold. She awoke later with a sore head and in a daze. The room she was in was completly dark except for the light that surounded her. She suddenly became aware of herself and became scared for she was being suspended in mid air by wires attached to her hands and feet. She could hear a mans slow breathing. "Show yourself!" she called out in anger. "Ah your awake at last now the fun can begin." the devilish voice said. She knew that voice it was Dr Claw. "Why don't you show your ugly face you bastered?" she called out in anger again. Into the light that iluminated her came a metal hand followed by a face. Penny screamed in terror for ugly was an understatement. He face was full of bumps and cuts, and his eyes were full of rage and evil, he was a human monster. "Please let me go I'll leave you alone" she pleaded. "Go I think not. Your gonna pay for everytime you deafeated me. Your gonna pay for every humaliaton ten fold. I have a whole slew of horrible things I'm gonna do to you. You will scream, you will beg, you will call for help but nothing will work." Penny's eyes widened with excitment, she could call for help. She reached her finger down to her wrist but her watch was gone. "Looking for this?" Dr Claw asked as he held up her watch. With a smile he crushed it with his bear hands. "And this is your computer book, it's caused me a lot of trouble over the years." He smiled and crushed it under his feet. Penny shook in fear, she could not call for help and no one knew where she was, she was helpless." Dr Claw ran his finger over her body as she wimpered. He reached down and felt her breasts. "Humm looks like the pills I slipped you worked." Penny became afraid and confused. "You see I've had mad agents infiltrate your home and replaced all your vitimans with body inhancing pills making your body fill out and become perfect much quicker then nature intends." Penny quivered at the thought of mad agents in her home. "Your probaly wondering why I didn't just poision you. I wanted revenge, and just killing you wasn't going to be enough. I had to torture you to make you feel the pain I have felt. But enough talk I have waited 4 years for this and I'm not going to wait a second longer." He cracked his iron fingers and formed a fist. Penny knew what was coming but had no way to stop it. He punched her as hard as he could in the stomch and she let out a burst of air. The wind was knocked out of her and she couldnt breathe but he wouldn't stop. He kept beating her leaving several bruises and bloody spots all over your body. Finally he stopped so she could catch her breath. "" Dr Claw smiled "Oh no we have only just begun." He pressed a switch and the room was iluminated with red light. Penny looked around in awe at the mass of machines that surronded them. Now she understood what they were for. She was about to exsperience suffering like never before. Dr Claw's ugly faced smiled like a child in a toy store. "Oh what shall I do first humm let's see those cloaths have to go." He picked up a control panel and pressed a small button. A machine started blowing incredibly hot air on her making her sweat but her cloaths were shrinking. Her cloaths became tighter and tighter on her skin pressing against her body. Penny tried to stay strong as her body was being compressed and she managed to keep quiet and not scream. The claoths began to rip and fell off and she stood suspended in the air completly naked.. "I noticed you didn't scream, I'm glad. i knew you were tough and thats why it will be so much fun to watch you break right before me eyes for I have so much worse planned for you. Now lets bring on some more pain." He hit another swich and a large whip cracked her back hard. She let out a wimper but not a scream. "These whips are specially designed to cause extreme pain without breaking the skin. I want you perfect until the time is right." The whips contined to crack against her causing her more and more pain but she did not scream she had too much pride to give him the satasfaction. "That a girl tough to the end but I will break you. Lets see what your personal file that i made says." Dr Claw began punching stuff in on his computer and brought up her file. "14 years old.....attends elementrty school yadda yadda yadda, wants to be a nurse so she can help suffering people oh please I can't wait to break you. Ah heres something I can use, is afraid of spiders." He pressed a button and a cage came out of his desk containing 5 very large turanchulas. Penny flinched at the sight of them. Dr claw picked up one and let it out of the cage. "Beautiful I engerineed them to obay my every command by thought. Now lets see what you fear!" He tossed the tank on her and the spiders crawled all over her body. She held her mouth tight and let out muffled screams as the spiders crawled all over her body. One of the spiders crawled into her ass crack well another attacked her clit with it's pincers. Two of them crawled all over her breasts. Penny continued to protest and make inner screams of agony. "What is that I can't hear you, lets open that mouth." The 5th spider crawled upto her mouth and with suprising strength opened it with it's legs. Penny summoned all the will she could and suppressed her scream. Dr Claw became angry and the spider went into her mouth and travaled down her throat. She screamed rapidly but none of them escaped her mouth. Dr Claw sighed and all the spiders came back to their cage. "You are much stronger then I imagained but I will make you scream and beg that I swear to you. Theres something else in your file I found intresting. You do not want to have sex till marraige and have never even masterbated." Dr Claw went over to her and felt her pussy lips. He slowly slipt his finger in and felt around. Penny cringed at the new sensation she was exsperiencing. Dr Claw removed his finger. "Tight as a child oh this will be fun." He went back and pressed another button and the floor beanth her opened to reveal a massive dildo. It was 15 inches in length and 10 inches in width. Penny squirmed and tried to close her legs but Dr Claw moved the wires so her legs were wide open and over her head. Another press of a button and the dildo vibrated wildly and slowly made it's way upto her pussy. It reached her pussy lips and made a huge thrust into her vaginia. Penny's eyes widened and her mouth was forced open and she let out a scream that filled the entire room. Dr Claw smiled he had at last made her scream but she was still not broken. Again and again the dildo penerated her deeper and deeper, making blood flow from her vagina. She continued to scream and pant uncontrolably begging Dr. Claw to stop it. Dr claw would not stop and he activated anoth dildo this one about 12 inches and 6 inches wide and that one began pounding her ass. He watched as she was being double penetrated and enjoyed her screams in what they reperesnted but grew tired on the shill sound on his ears. He actived another dildo that forced it way down her throat causing her to gag. All 3 machines continued to pound her and both Penny and Dr Claw knew she couldn't take any more so each machne thrusted as hard as possible going in the full length. Penny screamed as loud as she could and her pussy quirted juice every where. The machines retracted and went into their origional places. Penny hung there with her head low and vagina and ass bleeding. Dr Claw went over to her and forced her to look at him. "You deserved that, every last bit. But your not finished you will exsperince more than humanly possible to handel." He rubbed her pussy and licked the juices from his fingers then forced her to suck her own juices."Ew stop that tastes gross." Dr Claw smiled because he knew what would come next. He had the wires lower her to the ground and small clamps went over her legs forcing her on her knees. He placed a small eletrical device in her mouth. "If you clamp down this will deliever an eletric shock twice that of a stun gun. Penny was confused why wouldn't he want her to clamp her mouth down. Dr Claw unzipped his pants unvaling his 13 inch penis. Penny looked at it in fear. "Now your gonna suck this and if you try anything the eletric shock will be the least of your worries." She nodded and opened her mouth wide. He placed the penis in her mouth and she obidently sucked it. Everything in her being wanted her to stop but the fear of pain kept her going. She sucked longer and deeper swirling her tounge around the shaft. Dr Claw smiled and let out a huge load in her mouth. She made to spit it all out but Dr Claw grabbed her throat. "Swollow it all or I'll kill you." She nodded and gulped it all down. "Good girl your becoming a good little bitch but I'm not looking for a lover I'm looking for revenge." He raised her back into the air and looked at her body. "Your a mess I'm not going to fuck you like that." He grabbed two hoses and shoved one in her pussy and one up her ass. He turned a tap and boiling hot water shot up inside her. He turned her upside down and put a butt plug in her ass and a diddo in her pussy keeping in the water. "Now well your cleaning I'm going to exsplain some things to you." He picked up a large spiked paddle. "You have time and time again put a stop to my plans but that is no longer the case." He took the paddle and smacked her stomch which left a bruise but no cuts. "When I am finished with you I'm going after the world and you won't stop me." He smacked her hot ass as hard as he could causing her to scream in pain. He came up behind her and pushed the plug in deeper and began soflty talking in her ear. "I'm going to kill your uncle and before he dies I'm going to tell him what I did to his neice. How I broke her mind and body and made her suffer." He pulled the plug and dildo out and made the machine put her in a chair. The chair clamped her hands and feet and spread them wide. Dr claw went up to her and felt her pussy lips which were wet in anticipation. He smiled and shoved his member inside of her. She screamed at first but got used to the rythem and moaned softly. "Ha look at the great Penny now actually enjoying being fucked." He turned her over and fucked her up the ass. Penny resisted but slowly began to love the sensation. Dr Claw played with her clit and she moaned with estacy. Together the two of them reached a large climax and came everywhere. Penny turned to Dr Claw. Oh god that was good, I never imagained want it so much. Please let's work together, I'll be your little sex slave and you can do whatever you want to me whenever you want." Dr Claw smiled and felt her face. "That does sound tempting my darling." Pennys eyes widened with passion and lust but then the wires snappeed back into place holding her upright. "But I told you I'm not looking for a lover I'm looking for revenge." Suddenly dozens of sharp knives and drills appeared around her. "No please I'll do anything you want please." Dr Claw smiled "All I wanna hear from you is your aganising cries of pain and death." Penny's face filled with fear as the drills turned on and the inched closer to her. "No please someone help, Brain, Uncle Gadget, Cheif Quimby some please help me. Dr Claw smiled and turned out the door "I've got a world to claim." He closed the door as the insturments entered Penny causing a scream that could be heard thorught the building but no one else in the world could hear. The End Read 48327 times \| Rated 59 (139 votes) Please rate this text: You are not logged in. Characters count:
Leaderboard Ad Sunday, August 1, 2010 Philippines Customs Tax Calculator A lot of Pinoy eBayers, including myself, have asked for help from the experts on how to compute for tax/duties for imported products or items delivered from abroad. Based on information from an eBay thread (thanks to katana_hunter, tamed_8souls & v.carter), I created a calculator for this purpose. It's a little crude, but hopefully it becomes handy for those who have items to be delivered to the Philippines. Disclaimer: This is meant only as a tool to estimate customs fees. This is in no way meant to be an official computation. Please use the calculation as guidance only. Input fields are in yellow. For corrections or suggestions for improvement, just leave a comment. Declared Value Shipping Cost Other Costs Total Taxable Peso Rate Amount For Customs Fee Computation Tariff Rate (get the rate from the Tariff Table. if you're too lazy, just peg it at 10%) Customs Fee Postal Charge Total Vatable VAT (12%) Total Amount To Pay (sum of green fields) For those using Express Mail Service (EMS), here's additional information: EMS office phone numbers at Pasay City (as of August 2010): 854 5257 854 5148 867 8070 854 0084 854 3580 854 4621 Wikimapia map: EMS Location Map Saturday, May 8, 2010 Following The Herd In the past months i saw a lot of surveys & polls but noticed essentially two disparate results: the kind where Noynoy and Villar leads... SWS: Binay now tied with Mar; Noynoy widens lead Erap tied with Villar in new Pulse Asia survey And the kind where Gordon and Gibo is at the top... Gordon, Roxas, Santiago top UP mock polls Pic your President If I didn't have enough time to analyze the candidates, and had to resort to consulting what the populace thinks, I need to decide which crowd is smarter (and therefore more attuned to what this country needs), then pick whomever is on top of its polls. How do you know which one is smarter? Simple: Look where Erap is miserably failing in the rankings. Any poll that doesn't put Erap in the top three has a more sane set of voters, I think everyone would agree... I'd rather be influenced by this crowd. By all means, we should make an independent and impartial choice, but if for some reason you can't make a principled choice and just have to follow the herd, at least follow the smarter herd. Saturday, March 13, 2010 How To Pick A Candidate Ask him, however, why, and vagueness is all. - Andrew Lack This quote reminds me of school exams. Everybody loves multiple choices but never problem solving questions. The reason is quite obvious: with multiple choices, you’re allowed to be lazy and still have a chance of getting it right simply by guessing an answer. Solving problems however require a lot more deliberate effort called thinking, and when you don’t know what to do, it really shows. It’s election time once again. In the midst of traditional mudslinging, melodramatic political ads and motherhood statements, have you picked a good candidate? And if so, how did you make a choice? A.) The candidate has the most powerful ads, B.) Looked at the surveys and followed the herd, C.) The candidate is the cousin of your officemate’s neighbour... Obviously, it’s easy to make a choice for all the wrong reasons. The real question is, can you justify your choice with confidence? What then is a good way to select a candidate that would fit the job best? How does one pick? Hmmm... Eureka! Beauty pageants? We need to establish a basis for selection—a criteria for judging: 30% beauty, 30% personality, 20% talent, 20% intelligence. Yeah, that could work... So here's a rating system that works the same way, but applies to judging politicos (anyway, an election is nothing but a pageant of ugly people making us believe they’re beautiful, right?). What I like most about this system is it tries to make the process quantitative and balanced, removing as much subjectivity as possible. Here goes... Step 1: Set the criteria – This is first and foremost. What qualifications are we looking for? Do not pick a candidate just by looking at one facet. The whole package must be considered, all angles inspected. Leadership20%Observed influence, role-modeling. Character20%Observed integrity, credibility, fairness, objectivity. Accomplishments30%Actual accomplishments, competency, experience. Platform15%Specific and attainable action plans to achieve goals. Forums/Interviews15%Observed intelligence, show of experience and communication skills. There are of course other criteria out there, so feel free to make up your own based on what you think should be good measurements. Just be sure they have value and are balanced. Next is to put weight on each of these qualities (the more important the factor is, the bigger the percentage you assign to it). Remember, be objective: wipe out the names of the candidates from your head as you build these criteria, else you might make it biased and that won’t make this exercise effective. Step 2: Research about the candidates – It’s time to pick them apart. List down the candidates and gather as much info related to the criteria as you can. Thanks to the Internet, we got news, candidates’ web sites, blogs and forums to grab these data from. Write them down or put everything on a spreadsheet. This is where the bulk of the work is done, but it should be all worth it. Step 3: Rate the candidates – After digesting what you’ve researched, it’s time to rate the candidates. I used a 5-level system to keep it simple (20, 40, 60, 80, 100) and rated them per criterion (horizontally). In the table below, Candidate B and D have the best showing of leadership so they were both given a 100; next is Candidate C (80); then Candidate A last (60). Do the same for the other criteria, and you would have something like this: Again, be objective as much as you can. If you’re putting perfect scores on one candidate, you know you’re showing favoritism. Get real! Do not continue to the next step until you’re fully satisfied that you've been objective about your ratings. Step 4: Sum up the scores – First, multiply the ratings against the weights and put it on the blank columns. Then, sum up the candidates’ scores. From this example, Candidate B is the best choice. Whether you agree or not with the result, is a matter of discipline and personal deliberation. Like I mentioned in Step 3, do not proceed with tallying up the scores until you’re convinced that you’ve rated objectively. If you have, then you should agree with the outcome with conviction. What this demonstrates is that there are quantitative ways to make an independent and impartial choice. This is much better than simply being swayed by a politician’s flattery, by surveys and by the crowd. Now, when somebody asks why you picked your candidate, you can be confident and say that you did some decent research and analysis. Be a good judge... Vote intelligently! Attachment: Criteria Scoring Spreadsheet.
usa world animals vocab health science math brain Giant Panda The Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca "black-and-white cat-foot") is a mammal now usually classified in the bear family, Ursidae, that is native to central China. The Giant Panda lives in mountainous regions, like Sichuan and Tibet. The Giant Panda is the symbol of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a conservation organization. Toward the latter half of the 20th century, the panda also became somewhat of a national emblem for China, and is now used in Chinese gold coins. Despite being taxonomically a carnivore, their diet is overwhelmingly herbivorous. They eat shoots and leaves, living almost entirely on bamboo. Pandas are also known to eat eggs and some insects along with their bamboo diet. These are necessary sources of protein. Giant pandas reproduce very slowly, and infant mortality is high. Growth is slow and pandas may not reach sexual maturity until they are from five to seven years old. The mating season usually takes place from mid-March to mid-May. During this time, up to two to five males can compete for one female; the male with the highest rank gets the female. When mating, the female is in a crouching, head-down position as the male mounts from behind. Copulation time is short, ranging from thirty seconds to five minutes, but the male may mount repeatedly to ensure successful fertilization. Mating is also a very noisy time, accompanied by moaning and squealing. The whole gestation period ranges from 83 to 163 days, with 135 days being the average. Baby pandas weigh only 90 to 130 grams, which is about 1/900th of the mother’s weight, which is the biggest proportion in difference of the mother’s and child’s weight in all animals. Usually, the female panda gives birth to one to two panda cubs. Since the baby panda is born very small and helpless, they need the mother’s undivided attention, so she is only able to care for one of her cubs. She usually abandons her weaker cub in a cave or tree, and it dies soon after birth. The father has no part in helping with raising the cub. When the cub is first born, it is pink, naked and blind and sucks from its mothers breast 6-14 times a day for 30 minutes each time. For three to four hours, the mother might leave the den to feed, which leaves the panda cub defenseless. Two weeks after birth, their skin turns gray where the hair will eventually become black. A month after their birth, the color pattern of the cub’s fur is fully developed. The cub begins to crawl at 75 to 90 days and the mothers play with their cubs, by rolling and wrestling with them. The cubs are able to eat bamboo after 6 months and the cub weighs 45 kilograms at one year and lives with their mother until they are 18 months year old. The interval between births is 2 years. For many decades the precise taxonomic classification of the panda was under debate as both the Giant Panda and the distantly related Red Panda share characteristics of both bears and raccoons. However, genetic testing has revealed that Giant Pandas are true bears and part of the Ursidae family. Its closest bear relative is the Spectacled Bear of South America. Disagreement remains about whether or not the Red Panda belongs in Ursidae or the raccoon family, Procyonidae. Giant Pandas are an endangered species, threatened by continued loss of habitat and by a very low birthrate, both in the wild and in captivity. About 1,600 are believed to survive in the wild. The Giant Panda has an unusual paw, with a "thumb" and five fingers; the "thumb" is actually a modified wrist-bone. Stephen Jay Gould wrote an essay about this, then used the title The Panda's Thumb for a book of collected essays. The Giant Panda was first made known to the West in 1869 by the French missionary Armand David. The Giant Panda has long been a favourite of the public, at least partly on account of the fact that the species has an appealing baby-like cuteness that makes it seem to resemble a living teddy bear. The fact that it is usually depicted reclining peacefully eating bamboo, as opposed to hunting, also adds to its image of innocence. Loans of Giant Pandas to American and Japanese zoos formed an important part of the diplomacy of the People's Republic of China in the 1970s as it marked some of the first cultural exchanges between the PRC and the West. By the year 1984, however, pandas were no longer used as agents of diplomacy. Instead, China began to offer pandas to other nations only on 10-year loans. The standard loan terms include a fee of up to US$1,000,000 per year and a provision that any cubs born during the loan are the property of the People's Republic of China. In 1998 a lawsuit filed by the WWF spurred the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to require U.S. zoos seeking to import pandas to ensure that half of the fee charged by China be channeled into conservation efforts for wild pandas and their habitat before the service will issue a permit allowing the pandas to be imported. Click here to go back to the Asia page! This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Panda".
Pasta Machines Part of the satisfaction of entertaining guests is making your own unique culinary creations. Treat your friends and family to a dinner of spaghetti bolognese, carbonara or fettucini with noodles you make with electric pasta machines from Williams-Sonoma. Find a stand-alone appliance with the sole purpose of making your favorite pastas or find an attachment that lets you turn an existing appliance into a pasta powerhouse. Keep these appliances next to your other electric cookware for a fully stocked kitchen that rivals any professional chef’s. When you are in a rush to make the perfect batch of pasta noodles, consider using the Philips Smart Pasta maker that produces a pound of product in less than 15 minutes. The appliance comes with eight different discs that help you produce vermicelli, angel hair, lasagna and penne without any additional work. The appliance weighs the amount of flour you add to it, letting you know just how much egg and water you need for the perfect batch. Thanks to its sleek design, you can place the device next to your favorite indoor grills and panini presses for all of your cooking needs. For an even easier homemade pasta experience, the Imperia Pasta Presto lets you add all of your ingredients and forget about it. The high-performance motor produces sheets of dough quickly, while the adjustable knob lets you determine the thickness of the pasta. With a stainless-steel finish, it retains its luster through years of use in your kitchen. The nonstick coating keeps it easy to clean when you are churning out sheets and sheets of pasta for guests. The Imperia Pasta Presto is made in Italy, making it a fitting addition to a collection of fine European kitchen tools, such as an espresso machine. If you already have a mixer from a brand such as KitchenAid®, there is no need to invest in a brand new electric pasta machine. You can turn your existing appliance into a super-efficient pasta machine with an attachment, such as the pasta roller or ravioli attachment. Both of these attachments are compatible with all KitchenAid® stand mixers and are easy to install. The stainless-steel construction is durable for those who make a lot of pasta. The pasta roller attachment is designed for making egg noodles, tortellini and lasagna, and the cutter attachment lets you transform sheets into spaghetti and fettuccine with ease. The ravioli attachment separates your pre-made pasta and lets you insert your favorite fillings fresh from the skillet to hand crank into individual dumplings. While electric pasta machines are perfect for making the main part of the meal, no authentic Italian pasta dish is complete without a great sauce to accompany it. Find a professional-grade food processor to turn solid ingredients into a delicious sauce. Take a bunch of vine-ripened tomatoes and garlic for a classic red sauce, or add cream and cheese to the food processor for a rich white sauce. You can also find dicing food processors that leave the ingredients in a solid state so your guests can experience the exquisite crunch of your homegrown red peppers or zucchini. Create a true Italian restaurant experience with your electric pasta maker by using toasters and electric ovens to make garlic bread or breadsticks with a crispy crunch. You can even find pizza crispers and ovens that allow you to serve guests a smorgasbord of food for a potluck or a buffet-style dinner. Complete your meal with a bottle of wine or a nice beer to go along with it. Keep your spirituous beverages at the perfect temperature with a wine and beer fridge. These specially made refrigerators allow you to store several bottles of vino at the perfect temperature for when you are ready to serve them. With special UV-protected glass, the bottles are kept safe from the effects of light. If you have many guests you need to serve in a short amount of time, consider getting a fridge with a built-in tap that lets you serve cold draft beer at a moment’s notice.
The "pineapple express" that has been sweeping through the Yukon has pulled into Haines Junction with a blast of warm weather. The mercury there hit +13.6 C on Thursday, warmer than Orlando, Florida, and the hot spot in Canada. Haines Junction, population 855, is 160 kilometres west of Whitehorse, and sits on the edge of Kluane National Park. Mike Crawshay is the town’s mayor. “We had a council meeting last night and I was walking there with another councillor and it was like we were wearing sorta late summer, early fall jackets, and shoes instead of boots,” Crawshay says. “It was a nice walk!" The entire Yukon is experiencing extremely mild temperatures. Whitehorse hit a record with 6.5 C Thursday, surpassing the previous record of 5.6 C set in 1968. The forecast called for a high of 10 C. Both Faro and Ross River were also expected to reach 6 C. That will mean those communities are also warmer than Orlando, which is sitting at a mere 4 C.
11/05/2014 12:07PM Jerardi: Rain threw monkey wrench into Breeders' Cup Beyer figures Barbara D. Livingston Texas Red earned a 104 Beyer Speed Figure for his win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Saturday at Santa Anita Park. The obvious Beyer Speed Figure question from the Saturday Breeders’ Cup card was: How could Take Charge Brandi run 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.95 in the fourth race and Texas Red get the same distance in 1:41.91 in the eighth race, with the 2-year-old filly getting an 83 Beyer and the 2-year-old colt earning a 104? The answer is that Friday night into early Saturday, the new Santa Anita dirt surface got rain for the first time. That rain apparently affected the surface, making it incredibly fast for Saturday’s first four races. After the Filly and Mare Turf on Saturday, the surface slowed dramatically to a variant essentially identical to Friday’s all-day variant. The best way to understand the difference between early in the day Saturday and later is to compare the seven-furlong times in the second race, a $200,000 stakes for California-bred 2-year-olds, and the sixth race, the $920,000 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. The second race went in 1:21.70, and the sixth race in 1:21.92. There simply is no way on a track with a consistent all-day variant that the 2-year-old Acceptance could run faster than Judy the Beauty. Thus, the split variants account for the speed of the racetrack changing. Andrew Beyer, who does the speed figures for the Southern California tracks, decided that the early dirt races had a variant of -46, and the later races had a -26, the surface slowing down by 20 Beyer points. As sometimes happens, specific races still don’t make any sense if the larger variant is applied. The third race did not fit with the first, second, and fourth. If the variant had been applied, the winner would have gotten a 64 Beyer, which would have made no sense with the Beyer history of the top three finishers. So, that race was “projected” up to 78. The other race that did not fit was the Classic. If the variant for the previous three dirt races had been applied, Bayern, Toast of New York, and California Chrome would have gotten 120 Beyer figures. “The Classic came up very fast,” Beyer said. “If somebody had won it by 10, you could say, ‘Okay, they ran 120,’ but when you’ve got a three-horse photo finish, a stratospheric number with everybody improving so radically seemed completely implausible.” The Classic figure was “projected” down to a 113. Are we at Beyer Central happy about all this? No. We would much prefer science over art, math over mind. Sometimes, we just have to make sense of what makes no sense. It would be much simpler if every day were like Friday at Santa Anita, where the variant was a solid -25, and there was very little ambiguity about who did what or why. “For much of the meet, the variant has been in the -30s,” Beyer said. “The track was pretty consistent on Friday, and then they got that rain, which wreaked havoc.” Even with the variant chaos apparently caused by the rain, Beyer said he is “quite confident the numbers are right.” The Friday track, Beyer said, was a “fair track.” In fact, horses were winning from everywhere. The first three races Saturday were won by speed horses, but they all were logical winners, suggesting the results were much more about ability than any perceived bias. That the track was so fast led more than a few people to the conclusion that there was a speed bias. Beyer wanted to make the point that you “can have biases on fast tracks, on slow tracks.” Just about everybody jumped on the speed-bias bandwagon after the Juvenile Fillies. Really, there did not seem to be any other way to account for the 61-1 longshot Take Charge Brandi wiring the field. I had a different take at the time, and now with a few days to think about it, I think I had it right. It had less to do with a bias and everything to do with the D. Wayne Lukas factor, the logic of illogic in which a filly with figures of 61, 58, 57, 66, and 60 and who had been showing early speed and collapsing at Saratoga, Churchill Downs, and Keeneland suddenly kept going all the way to the wire. One could make the bias argument. I will stick with the Lukas argument and won’t be waiting for Take Charge Brandi’s next win. Top Decile and Wonder Gal, second and third behind Take Charge Brandi, ran wide and from far back while earning their typical figures in a race in which the top five finished within 1 1/2 lengths. As for the Juvenile, a meltdown pace often contributes to a giant figure and a big winning margin. With all those horses dueling themselves into oblivion after fractions of 22.37 seconds, 45.66, and 1:10.17, it was no shock that a horse like Texas Red blew by them all and won by 6 1/2 lengths, improving his best Beyer by 11 points. If I were you, I would not line up at the future book to bet down on Texas Red. Circumstances worked for him Saturday. They could work against him next year. Circumstance, weather, and track maintenance all affect final times. Our job is to make sense of those times in the context of the day they were earned. Sometimes, like Friday at Santa Anita, there is no confusion. Then, there are days like Saturday, when we have to determine what makes the most sense when the data are a bit contradictory. John Stevelberg More than 1 year ago Reading between the lines would it be unfair to say that DRF writers get paid by the word ? Steven More than 1 year ago Don said ACCEPTANCE is "the one". Hail No More than 1 year ago You just made the case that these "numbers" are futile and useless. Robynrokn More than 1 year ago Stopwatch and time, track condition, and distance is all you need to compare. Beyers are nothing but an indicator and as others say, don't transfer from track to track or even next day. Larry More than 1 year ago I stopped using Beyer's when handicapping years ago. I finally realized that they were one man's formula using variables that he decided on. I also realized that Beyers from one track do not transfer to another track Class,trainer and jockey stats,distance,breeding,and tack condition are more important than Beyer's. Danielle Gershberg More than 1 year ago maybe it was the "Victor argument", where he said he hit her once going into the stretch (you can see it in the video), she pinned her ears back and he knew if he hit her again she would stop running. maybe in those last races of hers that could be why she would just give up? could sound silly but maybe Victor just got her in one split second. obviously the following race, it wasn't just a speed bias when Judy the Beauty came OFF the pace. meanwhile, this didn't screw me up, i had this filly to win. Because of the Lukas argument too. ;) Joel Firsching More than 1 year ago there wasnt ny rain last year. the fillies run half a second faster and get 7 less beye points. the fillies ran faster the year before, also. sounds like you guys are biased against the girls. ou have totally overated the three year olds this year. concrete tracks create more injuries. both older dirt divisions had more injuries to its star than ever. if shared belief had a clean start, that would have made four three year olds with at least a 113 beyer. there has only been one three year old to run higher than a 105 beyer since the 2009 breeders cup classic (no steroids). too hard to believe with a kentucky derby group that mustered a new low. five three years olds get at least a 98 in the belmont. compare that to th last five years of belmonts. this years classic should have been a 105, the jockey club members ran poorly in the classic and grade 3 fayette. this years beyers were over rated and inconsistant. Jackson Jackson More than 1 year ago Hehehe . Very funny Jerardi :) LOL. robert NEVEU More than 1 year ago Speed figures are one thing,and they have their place, if you understand how they are arrived at, however when they start projecting figures with comments like so and so usually runs this fast so that means so and so had to have run this fast it is IMO pure gobblygook. When I read closer look comments which I absolutely hate, but sometimes can't stop myself from looking at them because they shove them down your throat by placing them directly under the past performance lines, where they DO NOT BELONG. Anyway the writer will say stuff like the horse that ran second in this horses last race came back in it's next start to run such and such a beyer speed figure. I have to laugh because it really is comparing apples to oranges. Sorry but I do not need drf writers help to handicap a race. keep the opinions separate from the pp's which are facts. thank you Jonathan More than 1 year ago So, what exactly is the "Lukas argument"?
Mrs. Mildred Sawyer, having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows: Mr. LIEBELER, My name is Wesley J. Liebeler. I am a member of the legal staff of the President's Commission investigating the assassination of President Kennedy. The Commission staff members have been authorized to take the testimony of witnesses by the Commission pursuant to authority to the Commission by Executive Order No. 11130, dated November 29, 1963, and Joint Resolution of Congress No. 137. I understand that Mr. Rankin wrote to you last week and told you that we would be in touch with you about the taking of your testimony. Mrs. SAWYER. Yes. Mr. LIEBELER. And that he enclosed with that letter a copy of the Executive order and the congressional resolution to which I have just referred, and also a copy of the Commission's rules governing the taking of testimony of witnesses. Is that correct? Mrs. SAWYER. That is correct. At the time that I spoke to your Mr. Gerrets last night, I hadn't gone through some mail that was in my place and had been picked up by my aunt when she came by and picked up the mail on that Saturday morning, and I hadn't even bothered going through it, because most of the time the mail I have is just bills or some advertisements, and it is very inconsequential, so, as a result, after ,hearing that I was supposed to have a letter, I became a little curious and looked, and I found that there was one. Mr. LIEBELER. Good. Technically, witnesses are entitled to 3 days' notice before being required to appear. I don't think you had quite 3 days' notice, but you can waive that if you want to. As long as you are here, I assume you will want to go ahead. Mrs. SAWYER. Certainly. I will be very glad to, because I am afraid there is very little I know. Mr. LIEBELER. I don't think we will take very long, actually, but one of the things the Commission is trying to do is develop as much background knowledge about Lee Harvey Oswald as it possibly can, in the hope that it might give some insight into his possible motive, if in fact he did assassinate the President. Mrs. SAWYER. I see. Mr. LIEBELER. Would you state your full name for the record? Mrs. SAWYER. Mildred Sawyer. Mr. LIEBELER. Where do you live? Mrs. SAWYER. I live in Lakeview; 6306 Louisville Street; part of the time with my father, and then I have a little place on Exchange Place where I kept my husband's books and things, where we always worked, more or less a little office, and when the weather was bad or when I felt too pressed with work, or if I am tired and don't feel like going to dad's, I stay there. My husband and I had the place arranged so, whenever we wanted to, we could stay there. Mr. LIEBELER. Your husband is deceased? Is that correct? Mrs. SAWYER. Yes. Mr. LIEBELER. How long have you lived at the Exchange Place apartment? Mrs. SAWYER. Oh, whenever the Monteleone Hotel took over the place where we were living, which belonged to Mr. Saussaye, on Royal Street, and he owned that building there, and the Monteleone Hotel--you remember when they tore it down and remodeled to make a parking garage there? We had to leave at that time, and then we were looking for some little place to store all our books and everything--my husband was an engineer and we had a lot of things that we worked on, and he was in and out of the city, so when he came in it was very convenient to have someplace like that where we could work sometimes, if we felt like it, way past midnight, and that would have disturbed my father, who was quite old--he is 91, in fact--so that is how we started looking around, and we found this little place and took it, and I have been going back and forth ever since. Mr. LIEBELER. That would have been in the 1950's sometime? Mrs. SAWYER. I am trying to recall the year, but really I can't without looking at my receipts. It would be hard for me to remember that. My husband died 2 years ago in November, and we were there at least 3 years or 4 years, I think. I am not certain of the time. I mean it is kind of hard for me to reconstruct, to go back. Anyway, whatever it was, when we moved there these people, this Mrs. Oswald and her son, were living there in the apartment below the one that we took, and they remained there a short while, and they moved away after that and I never heard any more or anything until then, and I had forgotten all about the name of the people or anything until finally your men called. Mr. LIEBELER. You mean you were interviewed by someone from the FBI sometime back in November? Mrs. SAWYER. Yes. There was an FBI man who called me sometime back, and that is when I realized that they were the same people. Mr. LIEBELER. Did you become acquainted with Mrs. Oswald to any extent during the time that you lived at this Exchange Place? Mrs. SAWYER. Not really, because well, she was old enough to be my mother, I might say, and our working all the time and so was my husband--and then I was connected with the opera group here and I was out most of the time, and when we met it was usually on the stairway or in and out the door, once, in awhile talking on the steps, perhaps. About the most we did was bid each other the time of day, and that is about all, and, of course, the little boy the same thing. And I say "little boy" because to me he was a child when I saw him. I can vaguely remember, or I have a mental picture of, a little boy with blond, curly hair and rather nice looking, and that is about all I can say, and once In a while if he happened to be going out or coming in at the time I was going, he would always open the door and hold the door for me, and he seemed quite polite. Mr. LIEBELER. He was about 14 years old? Mrs. SAWYER. I would say he must have been about 14. I say he was a little boy because I am sure he was an early teenager. Of course, as I say, I have lost track of time then. I was wondering how old he actually is or was. Mr. LIEBELER. Is the address of this place 126 Exchange Place? Mrs. SAWYER. Yes. Mr. LIEBELER. It is not in Exchange Alley? Mrs. SAWYER. It is Exchange Place, and Exchange Place and Exchange Alley are one and the same thing. Years ago they used to be called Exchange Alley. Mr. LIEBELER. Do you know what Mrs. Oswald did for a living? Mrs. SAWYER. Yes. That much I do know, because I believe she was working as a clerk in Kreeger's, but I am not positive. I have been trying to think since I had to come here, and she left there, and I believe she either went to Gold-ring's or Godchaux's--I don't remember which--because she met me on the street one day and asked if I was buying any clothes and would I not come by and buy from her so that she might get the commission or show me something I might be interested in. In fact, I never did go; I never did buy, though. I never did go to her for anything. Mr. LIEBELER. The only two people that lived in the apartment were Mrs. Oswald and this boy? Is that right? Mrs. SAWYER. That is all. Mr. LIEBELER. Do you know how big an apartment it was? Mrs. SAWYER. Well, I imagine it consisted of about the same size or same things as the one that we have; that is, a large living room, combination dining room or a little dining alcove, and a small bath, a small kitchen, and a rather large bedroom with large closet space, and I am sure seeing it, well, I would say the stretch of the building going up the stairway, I would say that it was the same thing, or close to it anyway. I am sure it had the same dimensions. Mr. LIEBELER. Do you remember anything about Lee Oswald, the boy that lived there? I think you told the FBI that he would always get home before his mother and he was very quiet. Mrs. SAWYER. Well, I say I am not certain that he always got home before his mother. I imagine he came home from school, because, as I say, occasionally I met him going up and down the stairway or at the door or something like that, but he was not a boisterous child and undoubtedly he was not an unruly child, because I am sure if he had been and she had scolded him we would have heard it unless it was very low voiced and---- Mr. LIEBELER. And you never did hear any arguments between them or any scolding? Mrs. SAWYER. No. Mr. LIEBELER. Did he seem to be polite? Mrs. SAWYER. Yes; quite polite. I mean, in fact, that was one. of the things that impressed me about him, because most kids these days, especially the teenagers, are usually so abrupt. They don't think very much of manners, but, in fact, if I happened to come in and he was out at the doorway, he held the door and closed it after me, or something like that, and I thought it was rather nice, but I never got into any conversations with him, because I make it a point that, outside of my own circle of friends, I don't really care to become friendly with other people, and I think neighbors especially. Mr. LIEBELER. Did you know whether he had any friends from school or any-place come to visit him, people his own age? Did you see anyone come and go? Mrs. SAWYER. I never did, but then, like I say, I am out from 8 o'clock in the morning until maybe 5:30, 6, or 7 in the evening, and sometimes I get a snack and go back to work again and work until maybe 9 o'clock or so. Mr. LIEBELER. What were you doing at that time? Were you working? Mrs. SAWYER. Secretary. Mr. LIEBELER. Secretarial work? Mrs. SAWYER. Yes. Mr. LIEBELER. Are you employed as a secretary now, too? Mrs. SAWYER. I do secretarial work or general or anything like that that I am qualified to do. Well, anything along those lines. Mr. LIEBELER. Are you employed at the present time? Mrs. SAWYER. Yes. Mr. LIEBELER. Do you remember the circumstances under which the Oswalds left the Exchange Place apartment? Did they tell you where they were going or anything? Mrs. SAWYER. No; I didn't--I don't recall her saying anything about where she was going particularly. I know one day my husband told me that she was packing furniture or something and preparing to leave, and shortly after that evidently her things were picked up, because when I came back, well, they were gone. Mr. LIEBELER. As far as you can recall, there was nothing peculiar or particularly outstanding about this boy that would call notice to him to distinguish him from other boys his age? Mrs. SAWYER. Really, no; I wouldn't say anything that I can think of, and, as I say, I never came in contact with him long enough or spoke to him, and they were just average people. She just seemed like a very average mother, and I rather imagined in my own mind that she worked and probably did all she could to take care of him as any mother would. About the only thing I remembered about him was the fact that he was rather a nice-looking little boy, and his blond, curly hair. Mr. LIEBELER. Do you know of any friends that Mrs. Oswald had during that time? Mrs. SAWYER. No; I don't, and, of course, I could venture to say that she probably had friends at the stores where she worked. Mr. LIEBELER. But you didn't know any of them? Mrs. SAWYER. I didn't know any of them, because I made no contacts. Mr. LIEBELER. I don't think I have any more questions, Mrs. Sawyer. If you can think of anything else that you want to add or anything that you think we ought to know, that we haven't asked you about, or if you can remember anything else about the Oswalds that we haven't covered---- Mrs. SAWYER. No; well, about the only thing I can tell you is that apparently she was a very kindly person, because the day that we moved into the place, when we had so many books and things to take up, and it was rather a struggle and stairs to climb, and I guess we might have been pretty tired--well, she came out of her doorway and brought coffee to both of us fight there on the stairway, and that was the first contact we had with her that we had ever seen her, and---- Mr. LIEBELER. She seemed to be friendly? Mrs. SAWYER. She seemed to be a pleasant person, a friendly person, but I would say very average, I would think. She seemed to be well spoken, I would say average education, possibly not college or anything like that. I was really quite amazed at such a thing happening to this little boy, because, as I said, my picture of him, my mental picture I did remember seemed to be such a pleasant one that something like that came as pretty much of a shock that a child who seemed to be so nice would be involved in anything like that. Mr. LIEBELER. Did he ever talk about politics with you, or did you ever hear him talking about politics to anybody? Mrs. SAWYER. No, no; because, as I said, I never met him any more than just saying good morning--and he did say that---or good evening or something like that, but I never engaged in any conversations with him at all. I considered him just a child, and I would hardly think at 14 years old he would have engaged in political talk, or else he would have been quite---- Mr. LIEBELER. Precocious? Mrs. SAWYER. True. Mr. LIEBELER. Well, if you don't have anything else that you can think of, I have no more questions. We want to thank you very much for coming over. Mrs. SAWYER. Well, you are quite welcome. Mr. LIEBELER. And for waiting until we got to you, both for myself personally, and the Commission through me expresses its thanks for the cooperation that you have given us. Mrs. SAWYER. Well, you are quite welcome. I am sorry that all I know is so vague and such a little bit. Home .. Alphabetical list of witnesses
Frosty Morning by Jakub submit your photo Hall of Fame View past winners from this year Please participate in Meta and help us grow. Take the 2-minute tour × I've recently been borrowing my grandmother's Nikon D40, in order to take pictures at Microsoft's Imagine Cup US Finals. I'm not really a big photography guy, and I don't anticipate using most of the features offered by this camera. But I'm impressed because it's the first DSLR I've used. It's got several things I like: • The images it creates aren't noisy (I guess this is due to the larger sensor) • It produces useable images in low light scenarios • Autofocus is pretty much instant • Taking a picture is pretty much instant (rather than the delay usually there in Point and Shoots) But two I don't: • Turning off the flash is a pain Fixed. • It's freaking huge! (But apparently small for a DSLR) I don't use things like the aperture priority settings, shutter priority settings, any manual switch or do-dad, or anything like that. I'm not an artist -- I'm a programmer -- so it's unlikely that I'll be using this for anything too artsy anytime soon. Therefore I'd like to find something that has some of the performance of the DSLR but which is a point and shoot (if such a thing exists). How can I find such a thing if it exists? share\|improve this question Can you elaborate on "turning off the flash is a pain"? That's probably model-specific. It's not something I've found to be a problem on any dSLR I've used. – mattdm Apr 10 '11 at 0:06 @mattdm: Figured it out -- basically, when you scroll through flash settings, no flash is not available as a setting. But if you close the flash itself, then it won't open itself automatically while in manual mode. – Billy ONeal Apr 10 '11 at 5:44 The Fuji X100 is a compact camera with retro styling that has an APS-C sensor giving it the low light and noise capabilities of DSLRs as well as their resolution. But auto-focusing is slower since it unavoidably uses contrast detection. If you have ever lusted for an affordable Leica this is the camera for you. – labnut Apr 10 '11 at 7:56 It may depend, to some extent, on the type of photography you want to do. For instance, compacts tend to do better at landscapes during the day (i.e. lots of light, and you want everything in focus), but generally suck at low light photography (lots of noise) or selective focus/blurring (you're usually stuck with most if not everything in focus). In general, the bigger the sensor, the fewer problems you'll have with the image quality aspects you mention. – drfrogsplat Jun 21 '11 at 1:40 6 Answers 6 up vote 13 down vote accepted A few possibilities you might want to consider would be a high-end P&S, a micro 4/3rds, or a Sony NEX. A higher-end P&S camera (e.g., Canon G-series) gets rid of (most of) the shutter lag common in the cheaper P&S cameras. Image quality can be pretty decent as long as you have lots of light, but like other P&S cameras it deteriorates very quickly in lower light. These also typically cost close to as much as a low-end dSLR that will generally produce considerably higher quality pictures. A micro-4/3rds is more like an SLR -- they use an electronic viewfinder, but still have interchangeable lenses. They're smaller/lighter than an SLR, but still rather on the largish side for a P&S. The sensor size (and low-light performance) is similar to an SLR. The Sony NEX are slightly different from micro-4/3rds -- they have a slightly larger sensor, and different lens mount. Otherwise, they have roughly the same tradeoffs; bigger than most P&S, but smaller than an SLR. Image quality is roughly on a par with an SLR -- better than many older SLRs, but not as good as a current higher-end SLR. None of these addresses focusing speed though. SLRs using phase detection focusing, which is a large part of what lets them focus so fast. P&S cameras use contrast detection focusing which is almost unavoidably slower. If you want the fast focusing of an SLR, about the only choice is an SLR. For small size/light weight with excellent quality, a Pentax would be a strong possibility. share\|improve this answer Canon G-series are only marginally better than most point-and-shoot cameras in terms of image quality, so recommend removing those from your answer. Same goes for the Nikon P7000 which you did not mention. There are a few similar models with have bright lenses (Olympus ZX-1, Canon S90/S95) that give then another incremental advantage. Still, large sensors of 4/3rds size or more are the only ones to compare with DSLRs. – Itai Apr 9 '11 at 21:34 aren't these essentially high-end P&S cameras reasonably fast, when contrast autofocusing? i agree, not as fast as phase detection, but still, day-to-day usage fast? – JoséNunoFerreira Apr 10 '11 at 1:33 @JoséNunoFerreira: that's a bit hard to answer. They do focus faster than the low end cameras, but for pictures of children (for example) I'd consider them pretty marginal (at best). Then again, they can be a bit tough for many SLRs too... – Jerry Coffin Apr 10 '11 at 1:53 precisely. i'd go out on a limb and say that in most day to day situations, high end p&s cameras don't lag far behind entry level dslrs (their price range is similar),focus speed-wise. – JoséNunoFerreira Apr 10 '11 at 14:36 I've not used the latest generation of m4/3 cameras, but rumor has it that the autofocus is pretty fast now. Also, companies are coming out with PDAF on chip, which will work during live view. – Kaushik Ghose Sep 22 '13 at 2:42 In addition to the other cameras mentioned, The Sigma DP-1x and DP-2x cameras are compact cameras (can fit in a jeans pocket although quite tight) that contain APS-C sizes sensors, roughly about the same size as your D40, thus producing very little noise. They have fixed-focal length lenses with no ability to zoom, but using primes produces image sharpness on par with a good (or even great) DSLR lens. Some full-size examples can be found here: and here: One of my example DP-1 shots showing both detail and low noise (click on "other sizes" for full size image): enter image description here The other cameras mentioned can also be good, though generally not as compact (especially with a good lens). Both cameras have full manual controls so shots can be instant, though if you just stick with aperture priority and pre-focusing a lot of shots you have essentially no shutter lag even with a slower AF system (as another responder noted, all compacts have a somewhat slower AF system than you'll find on a DSLR). share\|improve this answer Sheer brute sensor size is the major difference when it comes to image quality. Point&shoots have fingernail-sized image sensors and pay for it with noise in low light. To get around this, look at the micro 4/3 cameras, Sony NEX, Fuji X100, Leica X1 type of camera, all have more-or-less DSLR sized sensors; five or ten times the size of a P&S image sensor or so. None of these cameras are exactly small - they will fit in a pocket if it's a big pocket, not otherwise :) Autofocus remains a problem, though. Jerry Coffin covered this issue quite well in his reply. Fuji had a brainwave recently and put phase detection circuitry on the image sensor itself, we shall have to wait and see if this works well enough in practice. share\|improve this answer It does work well. The Fuji F300 EXR which uses the EXR sensor with phase-detection is the fastest focusing compact camera I have ever used: – Itai Apr 9 '11 at 21:29 That's an example of fingernail size sensor. Really tiny but stuffed with 7 megapixels. The photo is straight out from camera, no editing whatsoever. – Esa Paulasto Mar 7 '13 at 18:27 Aye, and look at all the image noise it shows at a mere ISO 200 :) My DSLR is way better in this respect and is almost ten years old now. – Staale S Mar 7 '13 at 18:39 I forgot to tell the size, it is 5.8x4.3mm (1/2,5") and it gives noise in all lighting, not only in low light. As is seen in my photo, and in all of my photos :( – Esa Paulasto Mar 7 '13 at 22:16 The new breed of P&S cameras that are coming out all use the same size sensor as your grandmother's D40. That is to say, they all use the APS-C size sensor. In order of physical size some to look at are the Sony NEX-3/5, Leica X1, Fujifilm X100. All have "automatic" modes and come with built in (or attachable in the case of the NEX) flashes. The X1 is $1999 (MSRP) new, the X100 is $1199 (MSRP) but not available in the US yet, and the NEX-5 will run about $700 with the kit zoom. The NEX accommodates interchangeable lenses, the X1 has a zoom, and the X100 has a fixed-length lens. All can use the LCD screen on the back for composing and focusing but only the X100 has an integrated viewfinder. This allows for removing the prism (a big, heavy hunk of glass) and the mirror the DSLR must have and allows for a smaller form factor. The 4/3rd and Micro 4/3rds cameras have a smaller sensor size then the D40 but offer excellent picture quality, small-ish form factors, and a wide selection of lenses. I expect with the enthusiasm of the X100, though, that we will be seeing more cameras with integrated viewfinders, APS-C sized sensors... and interchangeable lenses. The rumor mills, in fact, point to an unconfirmed Nikon EVIL (electronic viewfinder, inter-changeable lens) camera and the Sony NEX-7 as possible products in that direction. In full disclosure, I've owned the Leica D-Lux2, Panasonic L1 (4/3rds), Leica M8 and Nikon D3000 (both APS-C-esque), but am currently hooked on my Sony NEX-5 which is smaller by far than the others, has full-automatic and full-manual exposure and focusing modes, a detachable flash, a low buy-in dollar-wise (comparable to the D-Lux), and offers what I consider to be equal to superior image quality when compared to the other digitals I've owned. share\|improve this answer The industry at last has taken seriously the most important element for cameras: the lenses. And so we now have monsters such as the Canon PowerShot G15 (28–140mm equiv, f/1.8-2.8) and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 (24-90mm equiv, f/1.4-2.3) and DMC-FZ200 (25-600mm equiv, f/2.8 across the board). share\|improve this answer A 20X superzoom lens easily outperforming a 3x zoom on a DSLR: Here's another: Three-year old compact cameras beating the image quality of the latest DSLRs being made: A handheld compact camera rivaling the image quality of a medium format Hasselblad. Even when the Hasselblad is securely locked on a tripod. Even when using a cable release, mirror lock-up, and a time-delay shutter-release for it too. The handheld compact camera still rivaled the images from the Hasselblad. In fact, even my most favorite small-sensor camera from 2002 was beating the image quality of all the DSLRs being made that year. This is nothing new. The ONLY thing a larger sensor has going for it is better performance in lower-light levels. Nothing more. "Image Quality" is dependent on the optics more than the sensor. share\|improve this answer I'm not sure exactly where your last comment is coming from. It seem very negative. If you disagree, please contribute positively and make the site a better place. – mattdm Apr 12 '11 at 11:07 Also, from a Luminous Landscape article shortly after the one you link to: "As good as they can be, (see my G10 vs Medium Format article) these aren't really a replacement for a DSLR let alone a medium format camera when it comes to image quality. They're good, but not that good." — – mattdm Apr 12 '11 at 12:52 Personally, I think it's a little more helpful to understand the scenarios where handhelds do well, vs. those where they struggle. Having owned both, there are advantages for each. – D. Lambert Apr 12 '11 at 16:45 @The Truth Deleted: there's no reason you can't just make your (perfectly valid) point that modern sensor tech is so good that compact cameras provide top-notch image quality in a wide range of situations without being derisive of everyone else, or making personal attacks. This is a community site, and it works on basic rules of civilization and politeness. You have some strong opinions, and along with them, some valuable insight to share. Why not contribute in a positive way? – mattdm Apr 12 '11 at 16:52 Your Answer
The following article by Jim Green appeared in the February 1979 issue of Trouser Press magazine... Police lean to America... It's smoky and crowded in that dusty old shoebox they call CBGB, and there's a band called the Police onstage - so what else is new? They're from Britain - so big deal. And they all have bleached blond hair - swell. But jeez, if you listen - hey, this is hot stuff! The bassist is jumping around in a boiler suit and he's singing in this neat, kinda high-pitched voice - and the drummer's bashing away so hard he's gonna bust those drumheads. I mean, he's careening from snare to tom-tom like a percussion machine! And there's a twinky little guitarist in striped tee and leather jacket, standing there with a look of distraction his face. kinda like a child whose face momentarily looks old when deep in concentration. Just scrubbing away while the others steam along - whoops, where did that solo come from? And the songs - they combine straight-ahead super speed new wavery rock with slower reggae-oid sections, with great hooks out of classic Britrock tradition. These ain't your usual punks, or anything else for that matter. All of the preceding is what uninitiated observers saw when the Police came to town. People came in not knowing much about 'em, but after seeing 'em wanted to know more. Having already been hipped to them through their debut 45, 'Roxanne' (backed with 'Peanuts'), I was more than happy to oblige with some info. Drummer Stewart Copeland is actually American (a foreign service brat like his brother Miles, who manages the band), and best known for his drumming with Curved Air. Guitarist Andy Summers started out as Andy Somers and cut his musical teeth in mid-60's groups like Eric Burdon and the Animals, Zoot Money's Big Roll Band (which he later told me "was a lot like Graham Parker and the Rumour - only much better") and early Soft Machine, and went on to become a much-in-demand session guitarist, working stage and studio gigs for such disparate folks as Tim Rose, Kevin Coyne and Kevin Ayers. He'd even had his name bandied about as a possible replacement for Mick Taylor in the Stones ("I wasn't much interested in that, actually"). Bassist Sting was a bit of an enigma, except that he'd written both sides of the single I've fallen in love with, was responsible for that wondrous warbling and the luvly harmonies, too) and played his fretless Fender like a dream. Understandably disorientated after coming straight to the club from the airport (and decidedly jet-lagged, as well) in a short interview done after the show I got what was only a fragmented picture of what these decidedly non-punks were doing in a, well, new wave band. I did find out that some of the trappings that seemed artificial and calculated were as much happenstance as anything else. The blond hair, for instance, Sting had prior to the formation of the group. Stewart liked Sting's so he followed suit and when the group was hired to do a TV commercial for Wrigley's chewing gum, in which, Stewart explains, "We're a pop group acting very obnoxiously popgroupy and the day is saved by Wrigley's, or something - they wanted us all to have blond hair," so Andy did it too. And Sting's name? "No big secret there, he's Gordon Sumner. Nut he was in the trad jazz band as a kid and they had these uniforms which of course he wouldn't wear. Instead he wore a yellow and black striped shirt. Hence Sting. Heck, his mom calls him Sting. But why a new wave band?, I wanted to know. Stewart seemed to be the impetus for it all. Brother Miles had forsaken the sterile rock mainstream (he'd been managing successful bands like Climax Blues Band, Wishbone Ash and Renaissance) for the vitality he saw in new wave music and had begun promoting concerts, then organising a distribution umbrella for small labels (starting some himself) and managing some of the bands. Stewart, too, felt stimulated by the sheer energy and its disdain for the tired, gutless perspectives dominating commercial rock. Stewart has seen Sting play with his jazz band ("they were not tired old farts," said Sting: "Oh yes they were," said Stewart) and when he got involved in putting together a band for a Gong offshoots festival (?!) with Mike Howlett, he thought of Sting (off-the-wall enough of an event to accommodate a band with two basses). Convincing Sting that a rock band with a new wave cast to it was what they really wanted to do, they added Henri Padovani on guitar and voila! A punk band. They put together a single to kick off Miles's Illegal label. 'Fall Out' / 'Nothing Achieving' but despite the talents of the rhythm section, the songs potential weren't fully milked. Said Stewart, "Henri was good for what he was, which was a punk, but that was too limiting." Enter Andrew, who could be quietly making a fortune in the studio. In fact, the lot of them are doing sessions on the side, individually and as a unit. Stewart continues, "We think this band is important, and we've made sure not to go into debt to anyone; sessions helped us do that. But as the band does more touring and recording, and making money itself, we won't be doing so much of that." As it is, the Police have not done many gigs thus far; when the band returned to CBGB at the tail end of their couple of weeks in America, they had in fact done more gigs on this tour than they had done previously as a band in England. As a result they were tighter and the arrangements smoother and more self-assured. It takes time to become simpatico as a group and some of that was beginning to happen in earnest, as evidenced by little things like the band picking up Sting's lead when he wandered into the Beatles' 'Fixing A Hole' in the middle of 'Hole In My Life'. The album, 'Outlandos d'Amour', sounds great, simply one of the most comfortable records that I've heard in a long while. No stinting on energy - it's just that catchy melodies on top of punchy rock or quality reggae ("Playing reggae licks to us is like blues licks, they're hard to resist," said Stewart) done up Police-style is an eminently winning combination. There isn't anything all that heavy in the way of lyrics, besides perhaps the odd line or two here and there, yet 'Outlandos' has an emphasis on romantic dilemmas, please, threats of suicide and a hilarious solution provided by Andy - an inflatable lover ('Pictures Of Lily, '79?). There is one song where the lyrics do hit home hard; 'Peanuts' cuts down a rock star whose success has spoiled him. I thought immediately of Rod Stewart and Sting, who'd dumped Stewart (Copeland's) original lyrics to write these confirmed by hunch. When he sings it live, he drops some of the words out. "Words get in the way. When I remember great songs half the time I don't know what the words are supposed to mean anyway." Sting further implements this view by doing some reggae-jazz scatting where songs provide holes for it. The band has braved much disfavour in the English press, but trendy as that bunch is the pendulum is winging Police's way these days. It won't hurt their popularity that Sting has a substantial role in the upcoming 'Quadrophenia' film as the Bellboy. Largely unknown over here (We did a gig in front of six people in Poughkeepsie," recalled Andy "and they loved us - we introduced the audience to one another at the end!"), the US release of 'Roxanne' has created a small stir in some markets like Boston, which ate it up. But it all comes down to the music - these Police love what they are doing, or rather what they're trying to do, as they haven't had that much of a chance of it yet. With the LP's release Stateside they'll get down to cases in earnest, when they do a proper tour. So you can read this, America - be prepared - the force may be with you. Trouser Press magazine 02.02.79THE FIGARO The Police are not punk or disco: s day-glo bumper stickers proclaimed back in a bygone era: "If you don't like cops, call a hippie the next time you're in trouble!" And vice versa, if you don't like hippies, call the cops, right? Or better yet, The Police... "If punk doesn't move, it'll die." The words sound odd coming from the mouth of someone who has just stepped off the stage at CBGB, but then again, the Police are not your everyday headbangers. For instance: the drummer, Stewart Copeland, formed the group as a reaction to the reigning anti-fun, mega-bucks attitude in rock, after leaving his post a latter-day member of the overhyped British progressive outfit Curved Air. The bassist and singer/writer, who calls himself Sting, recently wrapped up filming a lead role in Quadrophenia, the film based on the Who album of the same name. Guitarist Andy Summers, who considers himself a guitar craftsman, has put in time with the likes of Soft Machine, Neil Sedaka, the Animals and David Essex, among other more esoteric organisations. And (excuse the inevitable but irresistible pun), this "arresting" trio of blond Britons recently completed its first U.S. tour, covering most of the major Eastern markets, without the benefit of record company backing... You should have seen the faces of the people at the Rat, not to mention proprietor Jim Harold, who was sure someone would end up in the clinker before the night was old. The Police had raided the Rat. Now, our more observant readers probably know that the Police are a new English rock and roll band, but more than that, there were these mysterious men and women running around in police uniforms. After playing Kojak for awhile, I found out these people were from A&M Records. Phew, the heat was off but musically still on. The Police (r&r band) were tres hot...! Making it - Any band with fire in it's belly, sooner or later, has to gamble on that make-or-break trip to London. This is an account of how Newcastle's highly rated Last Exit sought fame and fortune in the Big City. Dingwall's felt more like the warehouse it used to be than the key new-band rock venue it has become. It was a downbeat Monday night. The pubs were only just chucking out when the DJ announced the support act, a name no Londoner had ever heard of, and the few dozen present hardly raised an eyebrow...
The current resolution funding the government expires at the end of September. Some Republicans, including Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., haveurged Republicans to use that deadline as a pressure point, passing a law funding the government without Obamacare and daring the president to use his veto pen. Cruz, mindful of the skeptics, sketched out his legislative game plan, casting doubt on suggestions that a shutdown would hurt Republicans. "The House of Representatives should pass a continuing resolution that funds the federal government in its entirety, every aspect of the federal government, except Obamacare," he said. "Now, the next stage, we know how this play goes forward. President Obama and Harry Reid will scream and holler that the mean nasty Republicans are threatening to shut down the government. " "And at that point, Republicans have to do something we haven't done in a long time - stand up and win the argument," he explained. "We have to stand up and say, 'No, we want to keep the government open. We have voted to keep the government open, to fund the government. Why is President Obama threatening to shut the government down, to force Obamacare down...the throats of the American people?'" When CNN's Candy Crowley pointed out that Obamacare was the law of the land - "You lost," she told Cruz - the Texas freshman was defiant. "It's not working and it's hurting Americans," he insisted, saying he's "not at all" convinced Obama would veto a continuing resolution defunding Obamacare. Former Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., who hails from the moderate wing of the GOP, was not convinced that Republicans could avoid being scalded by a shutdown fight, telling "Fox News Sunday" that a shutdown is "exactly" what Democrats want. "That will just show, 'Oh, here we go again!'" he explained, anticipating the Democratic response: "The Republicans are holding everything up. You're not going to get your paycheck." "They're going to throw it on us," Brown predicted. Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that a government shutdown would probably not be necessary, but he counseled congressional Republicans not to "take any option off the table." "I don't think this president or the Democrats are going to want to shut down the government. That's a false choice. That's a threat coming from them," he said. "I don't think you have to shut down the government to repeal and replace Obamacare. But I don't think Republicans should be taking options off the table. I think we should be fighting to defund it." Whichever game plan Republicans decide upon, they'll have precious little time to put it into action: When Congress returns from its recess in September,lawmakers will have only nine daysin session to broker a compromise before the government runs out of money. © 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Read or Share this story:
Swolenbeatz - Unify ES002 - August 27th, 2012 After a loud and roaring kick-off, the brand new Energetic Sounds label is making sure you hear its rising talents. The second release comes from Dutch soil, and let us tell you…'Swolenbeatz - Unify' kicks in hard! There's a new movement going on in dance land. Blending, twisting and mingling all together, the harder styles of EDM are given a warm welcome by those into house, electro and prog. It's one big, happy blend, providing a contagious and energetic style to those that crave long hours on the dance floor. Swolenbeatz hears their call, strengthening his discography with the maddening 'Unify'. A loud, outrageous tune that must only be played on high volume.
Huffpost Media Jason Linkins Headshot Quran Burning Story: This Is How The Media Embarrass Themselves Posted: Updated: Yesterday afternoon, the leader of a microscopic cult of idiots who announced plans to stage an "international" day of Quran burning in Gainesville, Florida held a press conference, for a rapt media which decided that his moronic plans were the single most important thing going on in America. At that press conference, in front of "9/11 Truther" signs, this cult leader lied to everyone who was watching, telling them that he was going to call off his 9/11 book burning festival because he had successfully reached a deal with the people behind the Park51 community center in Lower Manhattan, in which they would move their facility away from the site of the World Trade Center. Not a word of this was true, but it was amazing, all the same -- at one fell swoop, we had finally knit up the strands of a season of irrationality into one big, shiny, synergized knot. This was supposed to be the end of Recovery Summer? More like Relapse Summer. The story of how one lone idiot, pimping an 18th-century brand of community terrorism, held the media hostage and forced some of this nation's most powerful people to their knees to fitfully beg an end to his wackdoodlery is an extraordinary one. It's a modern media retelling of Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying", in which a gang of Islamaphobes, cast in the role of Addie Bundren, bamboozle the media into carrying their coffin full of malevolence on a journey of pure debasement. Let's begin at the beginning. The news didn't sit well with many people in New York, most notably people who didn't live in Manhattan. This is because they were told by a gaggle of dumb Islamophobes that what was planned was a "Ground Zero mosque." Of course, the planned community center was not, strictly speaking, a "mosque." And it was most definitely not "at Ground Zero." "Ground Zero" is the site of an interminable municipal construction project. There are no plans to build a mosque there. "Ground Zero" is also not the name of a recognized New York City neighborhood, like DUMBO or Murray Hill. But, here's the thing: even if it was, the battle to stop the "Ground Zero mosque" was already lost, because there already is a mosque in that neighborhood. This logic failed to sink in, because very few people outside of me and the good people over at Wonkette made any attempt to bring these facts to light. But it might not have mattered, because the fertile field of opposition to the Park51 community center was the raw wound of the September 11th attacks. Obviously, many people are still feeling the loss of that day. And that loss breeds many emotions, among them sadness and anger. And people definitely do have the right to express their sadness and their anger. But what people don't have the right to expect is that the government will intervene to remedy claims that have no basis in law. As soon as the media saw themselves a shiny shiny shining thing shining shinily in New York City, they pounced! How perfect! Something for us to talk about during the slow-news summer! I mean, we could talk about the nation's unemployment crisis, but that would mean we'd have to talk to poor, jobless people, and there's no currency in having access to a bunch of poors. Right away, they accepted the premise that this was a "Ground Zero mosque," when it wasn't. And so, by the power vested in the media, things that weren't in fact true were accorded the privilege of being "one side of a great debate" and "an interesting point of view." Charlie Brooker, calling out the media for this bullshit, states what should have happened at this very moment: New York being a densely populated city, there are lots of other buildings and businesses within two blocks of Ground Zero, including a McDonald's and a Burger King, neither of which has yet been accused of serving milkshakes and fries on hallowed ground. Regardless, for the opponents of Cordoba House, two blocks is too close, period. Frustratingly, they haven't produced a map pinpointing precisely how close is OK. That's literally all I'd ask them in an interview. I'd stand there pointing at a map of the city. Would it be offensive here? What about here? Or how about way over there? And when they finally picked a suitable spot, I'd ask them to draw it on the map, sketching out roughly how big it should be, and how many windows it's allowed to have. Then I'd hand them a colour swatch and ask them to decide on a colour for the lobby carpet. And the conversation would continue in this vein until everyone in the room was in tears. Myself included. That hasn't happened. Instead, 70% of Americans are opposed to the "Ground Zero mosque", doubtless in many cases because they've been led to believe it literally is a mosque at Ground Zero. And if not...well, it must be something significant. Otherwise why would all these pundits be so angry about it? And why would anyone in the media listen to them with a straight face? And because the media couldn't do their job, a group of hack politicians, like Rick Lazio and Newt Gingrich, desperate to get a little famewhore attention for their quixotic political career goals, saw an opportunity to horn in on the "discussion." They started telling all the sad and angry people that they actually did have the right to expect someone to provide a remedy to their claims. Their case was primarily based on the idea that nobody has the rights of religious freedom, no one has property rights and that the government has the right -- nay, the duty! -- to intrude. Right away, they should have been entirely ridiculed, because the people pimping this bilge were primarily right-wing types who would ordinarily say that church and state should not be separated, that property rights are sacrosanct, and that government should be small and unobtrusive. Someone really should have said to Newt Gingrich, "Is this seriously the stand you want to take? Because if it is, we shall never allow you to claim to be a supporter of small government or a 'Constitutional constructionist' ever again. And if you try to assert that claim, we will drop on you like a ton of bricks. We will cause you real, public pain." But of course, that's not what happened. The media has too much invested in flattering people like Newt Gingrich, and whoever writes Sarah Palin's tweets. And so, these inherent contradictions simply became "one side of a great debate" and "an interesting point of view." And from there, some idiot news producer said, "Hey, I bet we can shoehorn this into our election narrative somehow!" And so the Park51 community center became an election issue. Imagine that, in a world with a nine year-long, going nowhere war and a massive unemployment crisis! Imagine how many times you would have to hit yourself in the head with a ball peen hammer before you would ask a politician from California how they stood on a local zoning issue in Manhattan. But ask they did, all the way to the White House. And that's when Democrats like Harry Reid stepped forward to publicly cover themselves in cowardice. This turned the frenzy up several notches for the media, because suddenly, they had obtained a very precious thing -- the right to say "both sides do this." The matter had become a folie a deux -- a madness made for two! -- but the media focused all their attention on the "two" and none on the "madness." And in that climate, a pastor named Terry Jones saw an opportunity to make himself famous. Jones heads up a heretofore unknown and uncared-about gang of Florida morons known as the Dove Outreach Church -- minor bit players in the field of antagonizing American Muslims. This idiot announced that he was going to burn some Qurans on September 11th, and was anyone interested in giving this nonsense a whole lot of media attention? And boy howdy, lots of people took him up on the offer! And you know why they did that? Because of the shame. Because deep down, your media all-stars knew that they had aided and abetted something that closely resembled an intellectual atrocity, and now it was time to atone by finding the lowest-hanging fruit available and make themselves feel better by beating on them repeatedly for being assholes -- something they should have already been doing for months! And this gave an opportunity for some of those who had opposed the Park51 community center -- who deserved the treatment being meted out to Terry Jones -- to do the same. They joined their friends in the media in this demonstration of game-show absolution, saying, "This level of bigotry is unacceptable! It's so declasse in comparison to our own bigotry, which is a refined, 'Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte' form of despicableness." A few people, like John Boehner and whoever writes Sarah Palin's tweets went so far as to say, "See, this is exactly the same thing we were decrying with the Ground Zero mosque." Except it wasn't, because the Ground Zero mosque was a thing they had made up! None of this bothered Terry Jones at all! Why should it? In the long history of fringe religious figures saying and doing stupid things, it is exceedingly rare for the media to provide much attention to them. Pat Robertson has been telling America that gay people cause hurricanes for years, and it never amounts to much in the way of coverage beyond a periodic reminder that Pat Robertson is a complete fool. Terry Jones, however, had been given something very precious: he was now "one side of a great debate" who possessed "an interesting point of view." And the media worked very hard to push the case that Jones was part of a debate. Now, Quran burning was an election-year issue, for which every candidate had to answer. And they even went so far as to ask Jones repeatedly, "What if President Obama told you not to do this? What if former President George W. Bush told you not to do this?" They were literally brokering negotiations between an idiot cult leader and some of the most powerful and important people in the world! By now, things were terribly out of control. President Obama had to publicly state that Quran burning is a stupid thing to do. Imagine how out of touch you have to be that you need to go all the way to the White House to find that answer! Other important people were compelled to interject at this point. General David Petraeus had to come forward and state the plainly obvious: that all the public attention being given to this Quran burning would undermine the ability of U.S. forces to conduct their counterinsurgency operations, which depend heavily on winning the "hearts and minds" of Afghans. I think a lot of people read this as Petraeus speaking out against the attention-seeker, Terry Jones. But I think he was speaking more directly to the attention-givers. And everything that Justin Elliot reports here, I believe, lends credence to my contention. Eventually, Robert Gates -- the Secretary of Defense, who is running two wars! -- had to call Jones up and try to convince him not to do this. "Which is crazy," says Alex Pareene, accurately, because when, exactly, did the Pentagon start negotiating with two-bit terrorists? All of this finally culminated with yesterday's press conference, where Terry Jones lied and said that the Park51 community center was going to move, thanks to him. You see where this is headed now, don't you? Now the people behind Park51 are on the hook for stopping this Quran burning, and all of the negative external impact it may have. Now, all of the refined hate-merchants from early in the story can say that if the "Ground Zero mosque" isn't moved, immediately, American troops could die! To go back to Charlie Brooker, let's remember that after sizing up the incompetence that pervaded the Park51 coverage, he warned that the "media" should just "give up" before they "[made] things worse." Pretty prophetic, isn't it? They got played, and played badly, by a dude with 14th-century religious beliefs, 19th-century facial hair and ultra-modern media savvy. Terry Jones has essentially blackmailed some of the most important people in America, with the assistance of the media. Let's remember that all of this paralysis was caused by 50 people who wanted to burn a book that's available for free, on the Internet! There were many, many moments where someone could have simply said, "No, we should really not be doing this. These Islamophobes are objectively wrong, objectively stupid, objectively contradictory, objectively harmful, and by God, as someone with a functioning brain and a devotion to the pursuit of reason above all else, I am going to stand here and say no to all of this." But as it turns out, it wasn't until yesterday afternoon that someone finally had the guts to say maybe we cannot really believe a word this man is saying. Well, they should have thought of that before they decided to point a bunch of teevee cameras at him, I guess. Around the Web Quran row feeds media frenzy The Charlatans Have Taken Over 9/11 Freedom of Speech or Islamophobia? Barack Obama calls for calm in Qur'an row as US pastor seeks imam talks
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 Giving up, giving in Ravaged crabapple Hoop nets - trampled and torn & eaten mums Savaged pines & crabapple That's it. I'm done. The government obviously prefers wild, uncontrolled deer vs property values. The veg fences and a lot of the poles have been trampled down. The trees are shredded and broken. Mums right on the deck are eaten bare (though totally soaked with hot pepper spray). I'm one older person with limited means and resources. The idea of a sanctuary had always been a dream and I've worked hard on it for almost 6 years. Now, with an increasing, uncontrolled deer population, it's become a nightmare. This is the last time I'm walking the beds this season. I'll mow the lawns, mulch the leaves and try not to see the increasing carnage. My heart is broken and, probably, at this moment, won't even try to continue with plantings. Why? I'm angry. I'm old. I'm tired. And I can't afford to. That's why. Fracking deer. 1. Oh Kris, I'm so sorry. Deer have to be just about the most maddening and persistant pest there is. I hope you don't give up on gardening....but I certainly understand your frustration (anger....rage....I think we've all been there) 1. Thank you, Sue. Yes - rage, frustration, despair. Large antlered RATS. And there is nothing I can afford to do. I am totally appreciating any sympathy at this point. And an automatic weapon. 2. Oh, Kris..... Bless your heart. I wish there was something I could do or say to make it better. 1. The hug sure helped! Thanks, Ilene. I'm just tired of it all. I fight, but I only lose. sigh I gonna retreat and reconsider the whole darn thing. Hugs back. 3. Kris, I am heartsick for you! Have you thought about getting a good dog? I keep thinking maybe that is why the deer haven't ever bothered us out here. We wonder now that he is gone if the wild life won't start coming around the yard. I an thinking that open area of the golf course draws them in. I know people in southeast Springfield out where there is a wild life area, say they can't have anything in their yards because of the deer. I would be throwing in the towel too. 1. Thanks for the sympathy, Glenda. I really appreciate it knowing that I have friends to share such disasters with. Last night a truck ran into a buck. Both driver and deer are dead. Like all those wild hogs that are devastating southern states, northern states deal with deer. Except government DOESN"T deal with them - they have carte blanche. All my neighbors have dogs (labs, huskies, shepherds). They have deer too.... 4. Get a shotgun and a hunting license. Does your state allow you to shoot them on your property? I'm sick of deer. Bambi can kiss my ass ! We have tons of them here and their only predator is a speeding minivan. The only reason I'm not fighting them off is because I live in a congested suburb. 1. I'd shoot them in a minute if I could.
You are here: Foswiki>NOVEL Web>NOVELCommittees>111808 (revision 1)EditAttach - NancyLombardo, 19 Nov 2008 NOVEL Patient Portal Meeting by phone: Discuss NOVEL development of the patient education portal. Some ideas are: 1. More topics 2. Where are the existing translations? Translate brochures into more languages 3. Develop appropriate reading level brochures for health literacy compliance 4. Survey users for feedback 5. Add suggestion box 6. Develop "interactive" brochures with links to NOVEL and other resources We would like to get ideas, suggestions and feedback from the NANOS Patient Education committee. Topic revision: r1 - 18 Nov 2008 - 17:50:07 - NancyLombardo Ideas, requests, problems regarding Foswiki? Send feedback
You are here Tram Tour Garden Grounds Docent guided Tram Tour. Tour lasts about 45 minutes and travels the Tram Road which is about a one-mile loop around the garden. Various points of interest are discussed. You will not disembark the tram. Cost is $5 per person, payable at the admission window, on a first come, first served basis. Event Category: Event Tags:
Tall Escorts Tall London Escorts are stunning models. What more can be expected out of life when you are in London visiting or just for a business trip? A tourist or a frequent flyer to London, everything can be different as well as same. Not only things can evolve around to a little hypothetical world when you are in a high mood but also one must know how to take care of it, it that situation arrives. Anywhere, anytime, anyplace, Tall London Escorts are the ones to rescue you off your feet and take you away. Now, let’s not get romantic & really get carried away, but these are the ones that must be obeyed to. When you look at these ladies and their perfect figure what else can you think of? Yes, you are right. Nothing comes to the mind but just a fruitful Tall Escorts session and followed by aroma massage. And trust these lines when you read that when you look at them at the first sight, you would want to melt away. They are beautiful than the actresses you see and sometimes they are the ones too. This filed gives you the chance to interact with a lot of ladies for your days of pleasure to come and there is no end to it. You can ask them to accompany you to the business meetings for creating an impression. And the way they carry themselves is an art of their own. It is actually too difficult to let them go once you are in the fast lane with them. Their long locks and their long legs are a turn on that can drive you wild. Perfectly, Tall London Escorts can be the rescuers of you, if you are in a lost highway. Without the company of them, it would be like you are not admiring the real beauty of this world.
Super Adventures Super Adventures lesson plan Drawing cartoons is a great way to encourage young writers and illustrators. • 1. Study the styles of distinguished cartoonists. Examine the relationships among illustration style, character development, and story line. • 2. Imagine a story about a dreamer, inventor, or explorer. Where might they go? What might they do? Imagine a scary, silly, or serious situation. List the scenes to help plan how many cartoon frames are needed to tell the story. • 3. With a ruler and Crayola® Colored Pencils, measure and draw a cardboard or oak tag cartoon frame template. Make a square or rectangle shape in a cartoon-like size. Cut out the center of the frame with Crayola Scissors. • 4. On construction paper, trace around the template as many times as needed with colored pencils. If desired, leave space between frames to draw dialogue lines. • 5. Sketch the story characters and background with light lines. Write dialogue and draw balloons around the words. • 6. Complete the figures and background with Crayola Fine Tip and Washable Markers. Outline words and dialogue balloons. • VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas. • Encourage students to collaborate in creating a class adventure strip, adding a new frames each school day so that each student in the class has an opportunity to participate in making the strip. Students select a bulletin board in the classroom to use for posting each day's frame. Frames should be dated and signed by the classroom cartoonist. • Students work in teams of two. One student creates the illustration frame. The second member of the team writes the dialogue balloon. Display the completed illustration in the classroom for viewing. • Organize student cartoons into a booklet format. Students design a cover, title page, sketch borders on pages, and adjust margins or cartoon sizes to fit to the designated format. Display the booklet in the classroom for all to view.
The 2010 Esquire House LA, in Pictures Media Room How do six Internet-ready, high-def LG screens sound? How about adding a seventh that's 55 inches across with a 3-D display? And a 16-foot, rotating turntable in the center of the room with eight captain's chairs around it? Cupholders? The media room, designed by Amy Matthews for the DIY Network, has got it all. Cool? Cool. Restart Slideshow
Outlying 0 - 6 Peace (380132760) It had rained all day, but 7000 hardy fans still made it out to Outlying Islands Stadium. Tore Fredblom was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Tim Durham and David Camargo. Outlying tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. They fielded: 友梁 (Youliang) - 福番 (Fufan) , 秀番 (Xiufan) , 光胡 (Guanghu) , 平盛 (Pingsheng) - 亭航 (Tinghang) , 名海 (Minghai) , Arthur, 資倫 (Zilun) - 石强 (Shiqiang) , 仲項 (Zhongxiang). A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Peace. The following players had been chosen: Eneman - Rothlisberger, 起昇 (Qisheng), Fanta, Bäckdahl - 榮天 (Rongtian), 天豐 (Tianfeng), 坤林 (Kunlin), Alkobi - Katzenberger, Maisonneuve. Using their counter-attacking abilities was the strategy of choice for Peace. Peace took the lead 3 minutes into the game, making the score 0 - 1 after some elegant movement down the middle. S. Katzenberger was the scorer. M. Alkobi was uncomfortable with the soggy pitch as he couldn't move the ball around with his usual grace. S. Katzenberger of Peace took advantage of a mistake on the home side's right after 14 minutes which increased the away team's lead to 0 - 2. After this, you could see that the players of Peace were more interested in killing time than scoring more goals. After 17 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave S. Katzenberger a chance to increase the lead for Peace, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 0 - 3. That was his third goal of the match - a hat trick for S. Katzenberger. After the ball was lifted in from the left, 梅. 坤林 (Kunlin) was on his own in the home side's penalty area and should have scored after 21 minutes, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration. 22 minutes in, Peace's 戴. 榮天 (Rongtian) received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Had it not been for one of the home defenders, 戴. 榮天 (Rongtian) would have put Peace up another goal 28 minutes into the match with his audacious lob from the right wing. 0 - 3 was the halftime score. Peace enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 65 percent of possession. Still ahead in the game after 46 minutes, Peace made some tactical adjustments. 梅. 坤林 (Kunlin) and A. Maisonneuve swapped positions. A drive down the left side allowed S. Katzenberger to get in close and score another goal for Peace after 49 minutes, taking the score to 0 - 4. Content with how the game was proceeding, the Peace coach let 鄧. 潤慶 (Runqing) replace W. Eneman after 60 minutes. Peace's 戴. 榮天 (Rongtian) placed the ball right at his teammate's feet after a corner, but P. Rothlisberger couldn't finish. A. Maisonneuve left the field with a smile on his face as he was substituted 65 minutes into the game, as his team was in the lead. 譚. 迪忠 (Dizhong) was the replacement. Some fine movement on the left led to a Peace goal after 77 minutes, making it 0 - 5. 梅. 坤林 (Kunlin) was noted down as the scorer. The Peace players could smell victory in the air. S. Katzenberger wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for F. Debusschere after 80 minutes. Given a free kick close to the byline, Peace tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let 梅. 坤林 (Kunlin) slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 0 - 6, 84 minutes into the game. Possession in this half belonged to Peace, who controlled the ball 63 percent of the time. 丁. 名海 (Minghai) performed admirably for Outlying. 馬. 友梁 (Youliang) was a disappointment, however. Peace's top performer was clearly F. Debusschere. On the other hand, 譚. 迪忠 (Dizhong)'s play was disheartening. The match ends 0 - 6. Rating details Midfield wretched (very low) wretched (very high) 5 8 2/20 2/20 Right defence wretched (high) passable (very high) 7 24 2/20 6/20 Central defence wretched (very high) solid (very high) 8 28 2/20 7/20 Central attack wretched (low) poor (very high) 6 12 2/20 3/20 Left attack wretched (high) poor (very low) 7 9 2/20 3/20 Indirect set pieces Team attitude (Hidden) (Hidden) Tactic Normal Counter-attacks Average midfield wretched (very low) wretched (very high) 5 8 2/20 2/20 Average defence wretched (low) passable (very high) 6 24 2/20 6/20 Total average wretched (low) weak (low) 6 14 2/20 4/20 Server 095
Monday, August 29, 2011 Figo's New Meatball Menu As an avowed carb-nazi I rarely eat at Figo, the local make your own pasta chainlet. That's why I was so excited to learn they have amped up their protein offerings with a new meatball menu! We were lucky enough to attend Figo's veritable meatballaplaooza to sample their new meaty wonders. The Howell Mill location where we dined has an actual meatball bar, a creative twist on the mozzarella bar (if you've never been the the Osteria Mozza version, you're missing out!). At the meatball bar, you can choose from five meatballs and five dipping sauces, such as peperoni gialli, salsa verde or balsamic barbecue. When Figo's charming owner and honest to goodness Italian, Sandro Romagnoli, told us we'd be stuffed when we left, I figured that after a few plates of meatballs I would indeed be pretty full. And as we plowed through plate after plate of all five meatball bar menu varieties, I tried to pace myself. My honey, the grandson of Italian immigrants makes a damn fine meatball, so I have pretty high expectations in that department. Surprisingly, my favorite choice wasn't very Italian at all - the Ya'll, a combination of pork and bacon sausage, corn, bbq sauce and collard greens. Dip that in some barbecue sauce, and you're in business. Just when I thought I had done a very reasonable job of not getting too full, more plates started arriving. Turns out you don't have to go to Howell Mill to get meatballs, there are also meatballs available on the regular menu, it's just not the same meatball platter and sauce set up. The main menu includes a more classic take, the Nonna Maria and one of my personal faves, the Alba, a beef meatball with potatoes, onions and white truffle. I loved the rich truffle flavor which took an already hearty dish to another heavenly level. You talkin' to me? Wow, Romangnoli warned us, but I could never have imagined that we weren't even close to done. Out came steaming platters of pasta, heaping bowls of salad, bruschetta, and even multiple kinds of cake. By the end, I'm ashamed to admit, I couldn't even complete entire meatballs. I just had to nibble to get a sense for them lest I explode into a meat-flecked heap. I'm on a list kick lately, so here are the top five things I love about the meatballs at Figo experience: 1. Romangoli is legit Italian. Yes I am the kind of snob who likes Figo better now that I know that, and the fact that he's totally charming helps, too. Turns out he initially swore that he'd never do meatballs since they're largely an American invention. So glad he changed his mind! 2. There's something for everyone (in a good way). They stick to what they know (casual Italian) but vary it enough with other influences (see Ya'll meatball above) that you can enjoy a meal there even if you're not really feeling Italian that day. 3. The price is right. At $3.95 for 3 or $6.95 for 7 (one meatball and two dipping sauces), you can get a good sized meal that will please just about anyone without breaking the bank. 4. You don't have to commit to a full meal. The meatball bar is perfect for meeting friends or just having after work nibbles. Grab a pitcher of sangria and some mix and match 'balls and sauces and enjoy. 5. Their desserts are no joke. I have a long standing hatred of lemon-flavored desserts, and even I was impressed by how light and lovely the torta della nonna was, a pastry topped with lemon pastry cream, pine nuts and almonds. If I could just have that same dish in say almond or vanilla flavor, it would be heaven! 1210 Howell Mill Rd Atlanta GA 30318 Osteria Del Figo on Urbanspoon No comments: Related Posts with Thumbnails
KIX 100.9 - Pioneer Valley's Country - Springfield Cousin Emmy Cousin Emmy This mountain music gal might have been born in a log cabin, but she was often known as "the first hillbilly to own a Cadillac." She began recording for Decca in the late '40s, her album winding up a cherished item among folk music revivalists of the '60s. One such outfit, the New Lost City Rambler... Share Email Bookmark
The Trivial Eye: Superteam HQs by Jason Toon Any old bunch of superheroes can hang out and occasionally fight crime. You're not a super-team until you've got a headquarters. Make sure it's got lots of giant monitor screens, a big table you can all sit around, and at least one titanium-padded room for fighting robots. Whoever's got the richest secret identity has to pay for it. Can you identify these eight metahuman clubhouses and the super-collectives that inhabit them?
Today In Hip-Hop: Ludacris’ Releases ‘Back For The First Time’ On this day, October 17, in hip-hop history… 2000: In the late 1990s, Def Jam founder Russell Simmons was looking to capitalize off the growing popularity of southern hip-hop in the United States. Looking to the subgenre’s roots, Simmons hired southern rap kingpin Scarface to head up Def Jam South, the legendary hip-hop labels’ freshly-made imprint that was set to exclusively focus on artists from the bottom of the map. During a recruiting trip to Atlanta, Face heard a local radio DJ by the name of Ludacris’ independent debut album and Scarface heard what he liked. After signing Ludacris to become the first artist on Def Jam South, his indie debut, Incognegro, was re-worked as the Luda’s classic major label debut, Back For The First Time. The album became an swift success for Ludacris as his fast-paced, motor-mouthed-style and infectious energy caught on with fans and turned the Atlanta rapper into an instant national star. Songs like “What’s Your Fantasy?,” “Southern Hospitality,” and “Phat Rabbit” would help the album to stay on the charts, eventually leading Ludacris to a triple platinum certification by the RIAA in the upcoming months. 13 years later, Ludacris remains one of the most recognizable faces in hip-hop. Back For The First Time would introduce Ludacris to the country and lead him to a career that would include acting, multiple multiplatinum hits and his own label imprint, Disturbing Tha Peace.
pyrple (python rdf api) Download \| Documentation \| Installation \| Examples & Applications \| FAQ Pyrple parses RDF/XML, N3, and N-Triples. It has in-memory storage with API-level querying, experimental marshalling, many utilities, and is small and minimally interdependent. It can do graph isomorphism testing, rule application, etc. Source code: pyrple-2004-06-06.tar.gz (alpha) You can also browse the source via HTTP. The hoot OWL Syntax Checker and RDFe schema-aware RDF editor are implemented using Pyrple. Minimal whilst the API is in flux. There's some in the source documentation directory. Requirements: Python 2.3 or later. On non-Windows boxen: $ wget $ tar -zxvf pyrple-2004-06-06.tar.gz $ su -c mv pyrple-2004-06-06 /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/pyrple On windows boxen: Examples & Applications There are some applications built on top of Pyrple which you can play around with right now: More to come soon. For example, I've a series of utilities being worked on which includes scripts such as the following: from pyrple import Graph, Var, Triple from pyrple.namespaces import FOAF, VAR QueryTriples = (Triple(VAR.someone, FOAF.knows, VAR.person), Triple(VAR.person, FOAF.homepage, VAR.homepage)) def main(uri): foaf = Graph(uri=uri) query = Graph(triples=QueryTriples) for result in foaf.query(query): print result[], result[VAR.homepage] if __name__=="__main__": import sys Design Features Lightweight: small API Modular: minimally interdependent If you've any comments or feedback, please don't hesitate to contact me: you can either email me at, or speak to me on IRC as sbp on (on #rdfig, #sbp, and #foaf). IRC is preferred at the moment. Waxing homepage: Sean B. Palmer Waning homepage: Sean B. Palmer
Email Friend \| Print Article \| \| Share Share September 25, 2006 The Fairy Tale Democrats By James Lewis Like some fabled vampire jerkily rising from his crypt, John F. Kerry crept back in the news, madly signaling a new run for the Democrat Party nomination. As in previous revivals, Kerry is banking on his faithful Teresa, who sprinkled her life—giving Heinz ketchup money all over his stiff body to bring it back to life. Teresa even does a darned good imitation of Count Dracula's sidekick Igor. Mythic thinking If I seem to be fascinated by Kerry's resemblance to Count Dracula, it is because mythic thinking plays such a big role in the Democratic Party. John Kerry has been driven by one supreme fantasy all his adult life: to be just like JFK. In pursuit of that dream Kerry goes through all kinds of amazing transformations. Unlike the rest of us who just get older day by day, in the 2004 campaign John Forbes Kerry seemed to grow magically younger. Starting out looking gaunt and tired, his cheeks suddenly botoxed out, his hair morphed from grey to black, and his body hiccupped into he—man shape. It was awesome. The Dems were selling a fraud, of course, but the thing is that they expected their voters to believe it. Most of them went right along. Gosh, they must have marveled, our guy John looks better every day! Recently Kerry has been theatrically threatening to "kick their ass from one end of America to the other" ——referring to his former Swiftboat commanders and comrades —— if they to dare to question his heroic record during those three fabled months in the Mekong Delta. Apparently Kerry's media advisors have called for an Alpha Male impression early on in the campaign. The candidate is doing his best. Bill Clinton notoriously marched a group of US Marines up the West Lawn, after his popularity crashed early in his first term. By putting media cameras on top of the hilly slope of the grass lawn, our fearless leader could be made to look much bigger than all the real soldiers marching up the hill behind him. As I remember it, after several heroic media scams along those lines his poll numbers rebounded. It's a sort of tradition. After all, LBJ finagled a Silver Star to jump—start his political career in Texas. He also got away with it. But Clinton and LBJ knew they were faking. It seems that John Kerry really believes his own story of the moment. We sorely need presidents who can tell the difference between truth and fakery. For that reason, the return of Count Kerry is pretty scary. Here's a man who has been carrying his old Navy hat in his briefcase for almost forty years, only taking it out to share with a few selected reporters (and possibly for his own private delectation). Kerry scripted his victory speech at the 2004 National Convention as a pretend—USN officer coming aboard a pretend—USN warship, making a pretend—salute, and uttering the brave words, "I'm John Kerry and I am reporting for duty!" It made one cringe with embarrassment. The Democratic National Convention roared its approval, but the phoniness of that gambit must have struck millions of viewers like a clear warning bell. It was a revealing moment. Apparently the Kerry campaign expected us to fall for childish antics by this rather faded man in late middle age, the sort of guy who constantly revises his life story to preserve the fiction that he is always right. During his entire career John Kerry has never been held to account, either by voters or by a harsh reality. A safe Senate seat is the ultimate shield against the real world. Until his big chance came, Kerry was content to merely float along. Does he have any capacity for shame? Does he feel any guilt for building his career on discredited accusations about American atrocities in Vietnam? If anybody ever shafted his military comrades, John Kerry did. He quite deliberately helped ruin the reputations of hundreds of thousands of men who served in Vietnam. There is no sign that he ever thinks about it. Do Kerry's lifelong efforts to paint himself as JFK suggest a fantasy—prone personality? I'm afraid they do. That old magic hat is a magic talisman for John 'Fitzgerald' Kerry. It proves that he is just like his childhood hero. But what kind of man carries an old service hat in his briefcase, day in and out, for forty years? Isn't there something pathetic about that? Does Theresa ever tell him to just leave it home, John? Mythic bubbles But it isn't just Kerry. The whole Democratic Party seems terrifyingly prone to mythic fantasies. It's probably the single biggest reason for its decline. While Kerry is living out his life as JFK, Al Gore is posing as a prophet of doom with Powerpoint slides —— in spite of his complete and total lack of scientific credentials. The real Al Gore wouldn't know a statistical t—test from a tea cup. The best supercomputers in the world may still fail to model climate change, but Albert Gore, Jr. just knows the answers. Gore is another mythic Man of Destiny, trying to live out his dream and expecting America to follow. Then we have Hillary Rodham Clinton, who as First Lady was convinced that she was personally destined to reshape the US health—care industry into a single all—embracing monopoly. That's a half trillion dollar industry, with Hillary dreaming herself on top, ensuring that medical doctors were evenly distributed across the land, and telling medical schools how to slice up their admissions by race. It was a Central Planning fantasy straight out of the old Soviet script. We are lucky that Mrs. Clinton didn't get control over US agriculture, or we might be having a Soviet—style famine just about now. The three front—runners on the Left live in their own mythic bubbles. None of them seems to have the remotest idea about market economics. None has ever had to work the way up in the private sector, unless you count being a lawyer married to the attorney general and then governor. None of them has survived the rough and tumble of the private sector. All are children of destiny in their own eyes. In the case of Hillary, a devoted press mob confirms her rosy picture of herself. The very sight of Hillary Rodham Clinton triggers moony dreams in the most cynical reporters in the land. A fantasy Party is looking again for a fantasy candidate: A JFK, a Jeremiah of Global Warming, or the Greatest Woman in the World. They are not so much running for president as auditioning for the next run of Camelot. One of these days the Dems will get into the White House again. The Clinton Administration barely made it through eight years of stunning security blunders, always teetering on the edge of disaster. The Clintonites couldn't understand something as simple as color—coded security badges in the Energy Department. Hazel O'Leary abolished them, apparently fearing that they might hurt somebody's feelings. Well, the DoE controls nuclear storage facilities in the United States, and those hot radioactive sites were that much more vulnerable because people could wander around without clearly visible badges. The Clintonites' ignorance was simply horrifying. It was Amateur Hour at the very heart of the US Government. Well, nine months after they left, disaster actually struck. Magical thinking It is typical that Democrats now blame Bush for 9/11: After all, they seem to think, Bush was in the White House. This is pure magical thinking: As if the jihadis don't plot their terror strikes for years ahead of time. The Dem leadership explodes in outrage if anybody even mentions that the same terror network bombed the same World Trade Center in 1993, shortly after Clinton came into office. The first time they killed six people and wounded a thousand with a sizable truck bomb. Luckily, concrete pillars blocked most of the blast. But they came back a second time, and succeeded in crushing and burning three thousand innocent people to death. Bill Clinton, in a program broadcast just yesterday, broke into a near purple rage when a TV reporter had the temerity to ask if he had done all he could have to get bin Laden. It is rarely pointed out how lucky we were, relatively speaking: The Twin Towers may have contained 50 thousand people when the first plane hit. Fortunately there was just enough time for most of them to run out of the buildings. Certainly the Pentagon had many thousands of people in the bull's eye of the third suicide plane, which luckily hit only the side of the building. And if the fourth plane had crashed into the White House or Capitol the way bin Laden intended, the overall death toll would have been yet worse. We were so very lucky it wasn't. Yet liberals still believe that those two assaults on the Twin Towers had nothing to do with each other. There can't be a connection: It would be too horrible to imagine. They seem to be perfectly sincere in their own minds. There has to be something basically wrong about that mindset, something evasive and wishful, something about eternal hippies who will never grow up. After 9/11 the United States cannot risk another Clinton administration. The next president will face the toughest challenge since the Cuban missile crisis: The fast—moving spread of nuclear weapons to America—hating regimes around the world. Next time, PR won't cut it, folks. I just have one question:Are there any adults left in the Democrat Party? So far, I don't see a single one except Joe Lieberman, and they have just about run him out of the party. James Lewis is a frequent contributor. on "The Fairy Tale Democrats"
Smart Lipo: Q&A Ask a Question Will Smart Lipo Help on Lumpy Stomach Fat? I am 50 yrs. old and I have had 3 children of 29, 26 and 23. I was just lazy after they were born and didn't work on losing my stomach fat. I now have been working out on a pretty regular schedule for the last few years but I can't seem to ever tighten up the lumpy looking fat on my stomach and abdomen area. The rest of my body is not so bad but I am still trying to eat better and work out regularly so this will stay ok. I don't have any pictures at this time. Will Smart lipo help remove the lumpy stomach fat? Will it tighten up my stomach area? 3 doctor answers: You really should consider a tummy tuck Liposuction (of any type - traditional, ultrasonic, VASER, laser, "smart lipo", etc) removes fat from below the skin surface. There is a small amount of skin "tightening" as healing occurs below the skin surface, but this only moderate. If you already have a loose and "lumpy" stomach, you would probably be doing yourself a disservice by choosing liposuction. At least consult with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who does both procedures, and discuss your options and expected outcomes. Good luck! I'm glad to see you are researching - it is the best way to make an informed decision. It all depends on how much elasticity there is to the skin and the skill and judgment of the surgeon This is a common thing that we have to make a decision upon whenever we see a patient who is looking at either SmartLipo or tummy tuck. As it makes a big difference both in cost and in recovery time, it is very important that the surgeon give as good an estimate of your chances as possible. Usually, I can pinpoint to about 1% those who need a tummy tuck. Most don't, but some absolutely need it. On the other hand, I find that if you go to a plastic surgeon rather than a dermatologist, there is much more likelihood that you will get a tummy tuck as they are more likely to recommend it. Given the fact that the scar of a tummy tuck can be horrible and the recovery time is months rather than days, it makes a big difference and it is worth checking out both options. Good luck on your decision. Smartlipo versus Tummy Tuck If you have lumpy fat and loose abdominal skin, then an abdominoplasty or tummy tuck may be the best option for you. If you post a pictures, then we may be able to give you more specific advice. Good luck. Web reference: Ask a Question
Intense side stretch to left leg Parsvottanasana left Video Audio Put your feet apart at the width of your leg length. Stretch your arms to your sides. Rotate your left foot 90 degrees, and right foot 15 degrees to the left. Rotate your pelvis and torso as far left as you can. Arch backwards a bit. Start bending your torso towards your left leg. Remain parallel to the floor for a few seconds. Go on bending. Try to lower your head to your leg. Keep both legs straight. Look down.
A Science Odyssey People and Discoveries Personal computer industry is launched In 1974, calculators were the hot item in consumer electronics. A little calculator company in Albuquerque was stuggling to compete, but a price war threatened to bankrupt it. Its owner, research engineer Ed Roberts, determined to make it all or nothing. He decided to build a small computer based on the recently developed, inexpensive microprocessors from Intel, and sell it to electronics hobbyists at the amazingly low price of about $500. Roberts called his computer the Altair 8800 and offered it as a kit. It got a good press splash, featured on the cover of Popular Electronics magazine in January of 1975. The day the magazine came out, five people called Roberts about the computer; at the end of the week he was getting 30 calls a day. After a couple of weeks, his bank account had fattened and it didn't look like he'd go out of business after all. He'd taken out a loan to develop the Altair and had told the skeptical loan officer he expected to sell about 800 machines a year. The Altair didn't actually do much as a computer. It didn't have a screen or a keyboard or any software. But it filled a hole. It was the very first personal computer to be produced in fairly high quantity. The larger computer companies were busy developing mainframes and improving computer systems for industry, and couldn't really see why anyone would want a home computer. They also failed to see the implications of the new microprocessors that were small and cheap. Users had to program Altair in machine code using toggle switches. A Harvard student and his friend, Bill Gates and Paul Allen, realized Altair would be a lot better if users could program it in BASIC, a popular, easy-to-use computer language, instead of machine code. The enterprising pair called Roberts and offered to develop a BASIC interpreter for the Altair. He agreed and within six weeks bought the program from Gates and Allen. He hired Allen as software developer. Allen and Gates later established Microsoft Corporation. Altair sparked an entire industry, as new personal computer companies popped up in its wake. One of these companies was the creation of a hobbyist who couldn't afford an Altair kit, so he created his own from scratch. Stephen Wozniak polished up his creation in 1976. With his friend Steve Jobs, he began to sell it and then improve it. In 1977, they introduced Apple II and made Apple Computer Company the fastest growing business in American history. In 1977 Ed Roberts sold his company. Two years later, like many others entering the volatile market, it had folded. In 1981, IBM entered the fray with its own personal computer, the PC, which became Apple's biggest competitor. From a do-or-die business venture in the mid 1970s, the personal computer evolved from a sophisticated toy for electronics enthusiasts to an even more sophisticated -- but easier to use -- household and workplace commodity. Related Features Home \| People and Discoveries Menu \| Help WGBH \| PBS Online \| Search \| Feedback \| Shop © 1998 WGBH
Allow Nicole Kidman to Creep You Out in ‘Stoker’ Sneak Peek (Video) Nicole Kidman and Mia Wasikowska bring the goosebumps in advance look at horror film "Stoker" Halloween might still be a day away, but that doesn't mean you can't get a jump on the thrills and chills now. A new sneak peek at the Nicole Kidman-Mia Wasikowska horror film "Stoker" has crept its way onto the internet like an ax-wielding maniac hiding in your cellar. The film stars Wasikowska as India, a young woman who becomes infatuated with her previously estranged uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode) after he comes to live with India and her unstable mother (Kidman) following the death of the family patriarch in a car accident. The sneak peek doesn't do much to explain the film further, except for that it apparently involves premonitory pencil sketches, and a spider crawling into a woman's crotch. Oh, and that "Stoker" will most likely make your flesh crawl when it hits theaters next year. Check out the advance look in the video.
Gakuen Sousei Nekoten! add Main Member Favorites: 0 Kansuke (勘助 (カンスケ)) He is Yumi's cat, a four-year-old, mixed-blood tabby with orange eyes. He sports a large scar on his forehead from when he was hit by Yumi's bike. Yumi came back to see him bleeding on the road and took him in her arms, protecting him from an oncoming van. Kansuke became her pet that day, and swore to protect her from any danger. Due to this, he has a desire to become strong. He is stubborn, strong-willed, competitive and he hates the outfits Yumi makes for him with a passion, tearing some of them up on one occasion. In his transformed state, he resembles an anthropomorphic cat. In combat, he expresses skills in agility and strength, and depending on the outfit knitted for him, he manifests different abilities. (Source: Wikipedia) Voice Actors
You are here: Lupus/Blood results Hi dr I would like you to give me your opinion on the lab result I got this week Anti -nuclear - positive Titre 1:160 Pattern Homogenous Double strand DNA ab 3.9 ENA< 20(negative) I have permanent pain for years, especially thigh pain. A deep burning cold pain with electric shocks. Also extreme buttock pain. I always feel very cold. The hair on my thighs stopped growing about a year ago. I feel flu like without temperature. I have joint pains in hips, neck as well as lower back(4&5 bulging discs) and narrowing of C5-6. I know that the joint pain is degeneration, but I would like to know what treatment will be best without taking pain medication every day. I use Lyrica 75mg, Celebrex and Stilpane on a daily basis. It helps a bit, but does not take the pain away completely. I get quite ill when I am in the sun, so I avoid it. My mom has scleroderma.. Should I follow up on the ANA blood test? I did not see a Rheumatholgist yet. I am a 56 year old female. Thank you Yes you should follow up with a Rheumatologist for sure, but there are a LOT of things that can be contributing to the chronic pains. I have helped many people with auto immune disease, including lupus, and the main thing that needs to change for people is diet. If someone has an autoimmune disorder I try to put them on a paleo diet or an autoimmune paleo diet. These are typically big changes, but I've helped many people get off medications, get back to doing things they could not all by changing dietary intake. If you're eating inflammatory foods (gluten, dairy, soy etc) your body has more building blocks to make more inflammatory by products-ie pain. Inflammatory diets often also lead to malnutrition on a cellular level, and many medications rob your body of specific nutrients. I would look into finding a Functional Medicine doctor in your area who knows how to address all these issues, especially if you're not happy with the lack of results with the medications. Your body was never deficient in celebrex or lyrica, these things don't FIX the problem nor do the doctors ask WHY this happened in the first place, a good functional medicine doctor will take into account these issues and try to reverse the damage being done- and yes that is possible to some degree for almost all things. I hope this was helpful, there's no reason you should be suffering. Dr. Kalli Prater, D.C. All Answers Answers by Expert: Ask Experts Dr. Kalli Prater America Chiropractic Association Awards and Honors Past/Present Clients ©2017 All rights reserved.
Monday, March 31, 2014 Researching a Company You Might Want to Work For I work in high technology, and in particular, the video game industry. What's important to us is that we believe in the company itself and where it is heading. The best way to predict the future is to look at the past, so I recommend that people start at the beginnings of the company. And that they find out if they have had a track record of success, even including whether they adapted to failure. At that point, you can make an informed decision about their ability to succeed in the future. To do this, you need to do some very specific research. Most of this, you can do online, so I'll give you some guidance to get started. Research their history. Go to, and find the Wayback Machine. Take their current web URL (example: and enter it into the Wayback Machine. You can then go back in time to their prior website versions. You can then see how they changed and modified their website over time. In this way, you can find all the data you need. Research their culture. Find their mission statement. Do they even have one? What does it mean to their company? Do they follow their mission? Does it shine through in their products? Research their products and / or services. Online. Offline. Experience them if you can. Read reviews if you can't. Do they create great products or services you would be proud to work on or provide? Would you be delighted to work there and be excited to wake up every day to go there and create magic? Research their people by finding key names from their website. Start with their company's web page, and then look at employees. Now, dig into Look them all up. Dig around. How many other employees or ex-employees can you find? Check their dates of employment. What is their turnover like? How long do people work there at different levels of the company? Do the high level people stay around? What about the mid and lower level employees? Pay attention to the ones that are at or above your level. Research their location. Are there other companies in the same field nearby? If you lose your job, will you be forced to move? Research their future. What direction is their CEO taking them? Do you want to go with them on that journey? If you like what you see, write your resume to match their job description and be sure to take into account what you "feel" about the company when you do the re-write. And tell them why you're interested in the things you found in your research. The location, the products, the length of service of their employees. Whatever you can say that you truly believe. No lies. Ever. Best of luck to you! No comments: Post a Comment Follow by Email
It's not that the enhancements of crime victims' right contained in Proposition 9 are terribly objectionable. It's just that they don't seem especially necessary - and they could lead, as the independent Legislative Analyst says, to restrictions on efforts to relieve prison overcrowding that could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Under the 1982 proposition called the Victims' Bill of Rights, victims of crime and family members of victims now have the right to be notified of, to attend, and to speak at sentencing and parole hearings. They also have the right to restitution for losses suffered as the result of crimes. Other laws give victims the right to obtain a judicial order of protection from harassment by a criminal defendant. Proposition 9 would place those rights into the state constitution rather than into statutory law, the distinction being that the constitution is much more difficult to change if problems develop. It would also give crime victims and their families the constitutional right to prevent the release of certain documents to criminal defendants or their attorneys, and the right to refuse to be interviewed or provide pretrial testimony or other evidence to a defendant. The constitution would be changed to require judges to take the safety of victims into consideration when granting bail. It would make restitution the first priority when spending any money collected from defendants in the form of fines. It would also extend the time between parole hearings from the current 1-5 years to 3-15 years. These sound like reasonable protections for victims of crimes - though most are already in place by statutory law. However, the issue is complicated by the fact that California's prisons, which cost taxpayers about $10 billion a year, are now seriously overcrowded, and some are under the supervision of federal courts as a result. The legislature and courts are considering measures to relieve overcrowding by releasing those deemed least dangerous early, although the state hardly ever does that now. If Prop. 9 is passed, it could prevent such efforts. The sky won't fall if Proposition 9 is passed, though it is likely to cost taxpayers a significant amount of money. With the Three Strikes law and the Crime Victims Bill of Rights, however, California already has some of the toughest laws in the country. On balance it just doesn't seem necessary to make them even tougher by passing this initiative. We urge a No vote.
Made in Russia: Not Just Oil and Gas November 5, 2015 · 0 Comments Made in Russia: Not Just Oil and Gas Rhetoric about it being “Nigeria with snow,” “Zaire with permafrost,” “Upper Volta with missiles,” “gas station masquerading as a country,” etc., regardless, the fact of the matter is that Russia does have a respectable manufacturing base. This should be pretty obvious just from a quick perusal of the sorts of manufactures Russia produces: • A vast military-industrial complex that produces (and exports) on a scale and versatility exceeded only in the US. • Rosatom is building an amazing 40% of all the nuclear power plants currently under construction in the world. 10% of the world’s power turbines are made at the Leningrad Metallurgical Factory. • More prosaic but also more generally indicative, Russia produces about 2 million cars annually, which is about the same as in the UK and France, and thrice more than in Italy. This satisfies around 70% of its total domestic sales – virtually the exact same percentage as in the US and UK This is not, of course, to make Russia out to be some kind of manufacturing behemoth like Germany, Japan, or Korea. It is however on approximately the same level as the European economic Middle Powers of France, Italy, and the UK, as well as that of fellow BRIC members Brazil (which has a 35% larger population) and India (which has eight times its population). In other words, it is broadly what you would expect based on its GDP and status as an upper middle income country. This is pretty elementary stuff any other journalist or pundit can discover for himself through a quick glance through the various economics statistical databases on the Internet. The figures below were derived from the World Bank’s data on nominal GDP and the share of manufacturing in the economy for 2013. Country Manufacturing Output in 2013 China $2,923bn USA $2,081bn Japan $912bn Germany $829bn Korea $404bn Italy $327bn India $321bn France $318bn Russia $308bn Brazil $276bn UK $259bn And here is a historical graph showing Russia’s manufacturing sector on a global perspective (log scale) since the early 2000s. To be sure, yes, Russia exports very little of this. As mentioned, its manufacturing base is to a very large extent domestically orientated. Instead, its exports are dominated by oil, natural gas, and metals, of which it has a cornucopia. Why? Because comparative advantage, otherwise known as Economics 101. A concept that in Russia’s case the Western media consistently has trouble with. Cue the famous graph of Russia’s exports structure that supposedly makes it a gas station: … which if so would then make Australia, a well educated nation and one of the richest in the world, nothing but a coaling station. Incidentally, what makes the “Nigeria with snow” rhetoric so convenient is that it can be – and is – wielded against Russia regardless of what actually happens to the oil price. If it goes up, emphasis can be put on the increasing dependence of the Russian budget, exports, and overall economy on hydrocarbons. If it goes down, you can instead focus on the imminent fiscal collapse – no matter that Russia has almost $400 billion socked away and that its current budget deficit is close to non-existent. Regardless of what happens with the oil price, doom is always preordained. And there is nothing that Russia can do about this “oil dependence” in anything but the very longterm short of nuking all its oilfields. I would write more but Ben Aris writing in February 2014 in response to a typical hackneyed Economic editorial on how Russia is hopelessly addicted to oil and about to collapse any moment now has made any such effort redundant, so I will instead save myself some work and quote him in extenso: “this achievement was founded almost entirely on oil and gas prices, which have climbed fivefold since 1999.” So now we launch into the core of the attach, the increasingly hackneyed argument that “all Russia’s prosperity is due to its gift of oil and the government has done nothing else to make life better.” This argument is becoming extremely tiring and moreover as time passes it is demonstrably not true. Oil remains very important but a lot has changed in Russia in the last decade, which is being willfully ignored. Firstly oil prices didn’t take off until about 2005. Prior to that the long-term average was $25/barrel. And yet Russia put in 10% GDP growth in 2000 and continued to grow at least 4-5% until 2005. And only then did oil prices take off lifting growth to 6-8%. So if Putin is so rubbish and all the good stuff depends on oil, how did he manage to get all that growth in the years when he had the same oil prices as Yeltsin had??? Could it be that something else happened? Could it be that the devaluation of the ruble had a positive effect? Could it be that oil companies invested more in themselves in 2000 than in all the 1990s. Could it be this started off a virtuous circle of growth, investment and rising wages that lead to other companies appearing to take advantage of this new money? And if not, where did all those consumers come from that have been driving Russian growth in last five crisis years? Just askin’… because according to the Economist analysis it appears that oil pours directly into Russians pockets which they then go out and spend in the shops. “Dependence on energy exports is greater even than under the Soviet Union: they now account for 75% of the total, against 67% in 1980.” Journalism 101: “when citing statistics, you need to attribute them to the valid source so they can be checked.” This number is flat out wrong, or made up, or I don’t know as the author doesn’t say where it comes from. The last number I have is from the Russian customs service and is 49.4% export revenues for oil and 11.7% for gas in 2013 – a total of 61.1% of export revenues which is LESS than the “Soviet number” (where ever that is from). No one is denying that oil and gas play do provide funds to pay for lots of other things the government wants to do – and so impede reforms because the government is so actively throwing money at problems. But the statistic that everyone who makes this argument always skips over is that oil and gas only account for about 15% of GDP in terms of value created according to Rosstat; the service sector made up just over 50% of GDP in value terms last year. Russia is not just a black and white petroeconomy. Oil is of course even more important than that as it has direct knock on effects to other industries. A paper from the highly respected Bank of Finland economic analysis team (BOFIT) tried to assess exactly how important oil and gas are to the Russian economy. It adjusted the number up to about 25% of GDP and made this conclusion: “When adjusted to reflect the oil and gas sector’s actual contribution to GDP, Russia is on par with Norway (Table 2). This is much less than traditional oil states such as Saudi Arabia, which generates about half of its GDP directly from the oil and gas sector.” Lets just pause for a moment and take that in: Russia’s dependence on oil and gas is the same as that of NORWAY…. not a true petro-economy like Saudi Arabia. “Ten years ago the Russian budget balanced if oil was around $20 a barrel; today it needs to be around $103.” Yeah, and ten years ago you could buy a coffee in London for 50p and not the £5 a cup it costs now. This “balance-the-budget” price of oil is another myth. What you need to look at is the non-oil budget deficit (the federal budget deficit Russia would have if you magic all the oil and its revenue away). In the boom years of 2006-2008 Russia was running a health budget surplus, but it as also running a non-oil budget surplus of about 1%. In other words it had broken its addiction to oil as the real economy was producing enough tax revenue to finance everything before a dollar of oil tax money was received. That changed in 2008 when the non-oil deficit when down to 14% and the state poured rescue money into the economy, but has recovered somewhat since and the plan is to take the non-oil deficit back to about 4-5%. In other words the government was to modest subside the budget with oil money. It is actually an extremely reasonable plan and how the budget was run in the first half of the last decade. However, in the 90s the non-oil deficit was over 25% of GDP. In other words under Putin the fiscal oil dependence has steadily decline as that service sector and other industries increase their share of the economy, but the crisis was a big set back – and thank god for that oil as it is the cushion that has given Russia a soft landing. Bear this in mind whenever you encounter the next loud proclamation about how Russia is [insert banana country]-with snow that doesn’t produce anything. Readers Comments (0) Sorry, comments are closed on this post.
Looking for love? Holly Willoughby might be able to help you out with her new TV show Holly Willoughby will host a new dating series that will see people hoping to find love quizzing the parents of their potential suitors. The format of the new ITV series, titled Meet The Parents, will give those "picking" a love interest the chance to ask the parents of the person they want to date any questions they like. The candidates hoping to be chosen will be watching the question and answer session, but will have no control over what is revealed by their parents. Holly Willoughby Holly Willoughby (Lexie Appleby/Geisler-Fotopress/DPA) There is one 'get out of jail free' card for those watching their parents spill their life history in the form of one phone call they can make to their parents during the Q&A session. Once the person grilling the parents has picked a date, they will also get to meet the people they turned down. Peter Davey, ITV's Head of Comedy Entertainment, said: "I am very excited that Holly is presenting this brand new dating show where the singletons make their decision by meeting the parents first, and I'm looking forward to hearing what embarrassing tales and secrets the parents divulge about their children." Anyone wanting to enter the show and find true love can enter on the ITV website.
Action Alert! Catholic Dictionary The position held by some Anglo-Catholics that the one true Church of Christ is made up of three separate churches, the Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox. It assumes that episcopal and priestly orders, validly transmitted, are found only in these three churches. While admitting that these bodies differ widely in many ways, the branch theory holds that they are united in essentials. They are out growths, it is said, from a single ecclesiastical trunk, the original Church founded by Christ.
Windows 7... Ok, just installed windows 7 on new PC. A friend gave me a enterprise edition windows 7. I finaly installed it (I had to intall xp SP2 first coz it had no boot ability on the burnt disc he gave me...). It looks good, but it shows up as windows 32 bit, maybe he gae me the wrong one, but it also does the 'you have 4gb of ram but only can use 3.2gb' thing. Why me!!!! also the screen reseloution doesnt fill the whole screen. Oh well - any ideas? 6 answers Last reply More about windows 1. 32bit OS's can only do 3GB of RAM, you need to get an x64 OS to get upto 16GB of ram going on. 2. Two Things... 1) Your windows is a legal copy... Right!!! Also, it is a LEGAL copy of a 32-bit system not 64-bit. Otherwise, this post fails to meet the requirements of Tom's Rules of Conduct and could be subject to closure by the Moderators. 2) You right mouse click on your desktop and open up your GPU's control panel and set the resolution to the native resolution of your monitor (ex; 1920x1080 monitor resolution has the native resolution of 1920x1080). This will adjust your screen to fit the monitor. Windows defaults to 800x600 or something on installs. 3. Yeah bootleg copy so don't except any help. Also resolution problems on a pirated OS?... again find your own help. 4. It is legal, after all its a genuine code that makes it legal to use, and that is what he has given me. 5. still having problems? 6. dickcruz said: still having problems? Yea, I have just decided to buy windows 7 now. It was not installing in 64 bit which was really annoying. Ask a new question Read More New Build Windows 7 Enterprise Windows XP Systems
< Projects‎ \| Oxygen Revision as of 22:36, 28 July 2009 by Jriddell (Talk \| contribs) Jump to: navigation, search Using Oxygen Icons Outwith KDE Like KDE itself, Oxygen Icons have a liberal copying policy. Anyone may, and is encouraged to, use Oxygen Icons in their applications, websites and physical artwork. Modification is also allowed. The only restriction is that you can not restrict what others then do with the artwork. The copying licence is the GNU LGPL 3, see [Policies/Licensing_Policy KDE Licensing Policy] and LGPL licence text for the full legal details. Use in Applications Oxygen Icons can be used with computer programmes, including proprietry applications or ones covered by non-GPL licences. In your source code you must include a copy of the LGPLv3 licence text making it clear which files it applies to and point to You must also include the SVG of the relevant icons even if they are not used by the application (this is the preferred modifiable form). With your application binary you must also include a copy of the LGPLv3 licence text making it clear which files it applies to and point to If you do not include the icon SVGs you must make it clear how the user can get them (for a free software application this will be as part of the source code). Use on Websites Oxygen Icons can be used on websites, they are excellent for making even the most boring website pretty (look at this one). You should include a link to in a prominant and relevant part of your website (e.g. a credits page) and make it clear that the icons may be freely copied under the LGPLv3 (either by linking to the LGPL on the GNU website or by including a full copy). If you have modified the icon SVGs you should include a link to where they can be downloaded. Use on Physical Media You can include Oxygen Icons in leaflets or any printed work. You should include a text pointing readers at the Oxygen website and note that they can be copied under the GNU LGPLv3 with a pointer to The GNU LGPLv3 is a two part document made up of the GPLv3 and the LGPL addon. Both should be included. Some Oxygen Icons include the KDE logo. The copying licence is just the same but it is also restricted by the separate laws of trademark and may not be used for any branding without licence from KDE e.V.
1. News & Issues Send to a Friend via Email What Is Deflation? Definition and Meaning What Is Deflation? Housing deflation meant homeowners owed more on their mortgages than the homes were worth. (Credit:Peter Dazeley/Getty Images) boy in depression Deflation in the depression meant people lost their jobs and homes. Photo: Library of Congress,FSA-OWI Collection Question: What Is Deflation? Answer: The standard deflation definition is when asset and consumer prices continue to fall. This may seem like a great thing to consumers, except that the cause for widespread deflation is a long-term drop in demand. Unfortunately, a drop in demand means that a recession is probably already underway, with job losses, declining wages, and an ongoing decline in the value of your home and your stock portfolio. Deflation is a result of businesses dropping prices in a desperate attempt to get people to buy their products. How Is Deflation Measured? Officially,deflation is measured by a decrease in the Consumer Price Index. However, the CPI does not measure stock prices, which retirees use to fund purchases, and businesses use to fund growth. More important, the CPI does not include sales price of homes. Instead, it calculates the monthly equivalent of owning a home, which it derives from rents. This is very misleading, since rental prices are likely to drop when there is high vacancy, usually when interest rates are low and housing prices are rising. Conversely, when home prices are dropping due to high interest rates, rents tend to increase. Therefore, the CPI gives a false low reading when home prices are high (and rents are low). This is why it did not warn of asset inflation during the housing bubble of 2006. If it had, then the Federal Reserve could have raised interest rates more to prevent the housing price deflation of 2007. How Is Deflation Stopped? To combat deflation, the Fed must stimulate the economy with expansionary monetary policy. It reduces interest rates, and increases the money supply, in an attempt to jump-start economic growth. In addition, the government can offset deflation with expansionary fiscal policy. It can put more money into circulation by lowering taxes, increasing government spending, and incurring a temporary deficit to do so. Of course, if the deficit is already at record levels, that tool becomes less available. Why does expansionary monetary or fiscal policy work? If done correctly, it stimulates demand. People have more money to spend, and they are willing to buy now even though they expect prices to continue to fall. Once the government restores confidence in economic growth, a lot of people will feel like low prices have hit their bottom, and will "get in while the getting is good." When enough people do this, demand will outstrip supply and prices will reverse their downward trend. Why Is Deflation Worse than Inflation? Deflation is the opposite of inflation, which is when prices rise. Both are very difficult to combat once entrenched. That's because of peoples' expectations, which worsen price trends. When prices rise during inflation, they create an asset bubble. However, this bubble can be burst by central banks raising interest rates enough. Fed Chairman Paul Volcker proved this in Deflation is worse because interest rates can only be lowered to zero. As businesses and people feel less wealthy, they spend less, reducing demand further. Prices drop in response, giving businesses less profit. Once people expect the price declines, they delay purchases as long as possible. They know the longer they wait, the lower the price will be. This further decreases demand, causing businesses to slash prices even more. It is a vicious, downward spiral. Massive deflation helped turn a recession into the Great Depression. As unemployment rose, demand for goods and services fell. Prices dropped 10% a year. As prices fell, companies went out of business. More people became unemployed. When the dust settled, world trade essentially collapsed. The amount of goods and services traded fell 25%, but -- thanks to deflation -- the value of this trade was down 65% (as measured in dollars). Can Deflation Ever Be a Good Thing? Massive, widespread deflation is always bad for the economy. However, deflation is certain asset classes can be good. For example, the price of consumer goods, especially computers and electronic equipment, continues to fall. This isn't because of lower demand, but from innovation. In the case of consumer goods, production has moved to China, where wages are lower. This is an innovation in manufacturing, which results in lower prices for many consumer goods. In the case of computers, manufacturers find ways to make the components smaller, adding more power for the same price. This is technological innovation, and it keeps computer manufacturers competitive. Japan: A Modern Example of Deflation Japan's economy was caught in a deflationary spiral for the last 20 years. This deflation started in 1989, when the Bank of Japan raised interest rates causing the asset bubble in housing to burst. During that decade, the economy grew less than 2% per year as businesses cut back on debt, spending and lost productivity with excess workers (Japan's culture discourages employee layoffs). The Japanese people are also savers, and when they saw the signs of recession, they stopped spending and put away funds for bad times. A study by Daniel Okimoto at Stanford University identified five other factors: 1. The political party in power did not take the difficult steps needed to spur the economy out of deflation. 2. Taxes were raised in 1997. 3. Banks kept bad loans on their books, which tied up capital needed to invest in growth. 4. The yen carry trade kept the value of Japan's currency high relative to the dollar and other global currencies. The Bank of Japan tried to create inflation by lowering interest rates. However, traders took advantage of the situation by borrowing yen cheaply and investing it in currencies with a higher return. 5. The Japanese government spent heavily, buying dollars to battle the yen carry trade. This created a 200% debt to GDP ratio, which further depressed expectations of economic growth, contributing to more deflation. Article updated November 12, 2013 1. About.com 2. News & Issues 3. US Economy 4. Monetary Policy 5. What Is Deflation? ©2014 About.com. All rights reserved.
The Beauty of Noise An interview with Masami Akita of Merzbow by Chad Hensley ------- Merzbow was born in Tokyo in 1981, the bastard son of Masami Akita. Inspired by Dadaism and Surrealism, Akita took the name for his project from German artist Kurt Schwitters' pre-War architectural assemblage "The Cathedral of Erotic Misery" done in his "merz" style-- a confluence of the organic and the geometric. "Merzbau" referred to his houses. Just as Schwitters attacked the entrenched artistic traditions of his time with his revolutionary Avant-garde collages, so too would Akita challenge the contemporary concept of what is called music. Akita would draw further influence from the Futurist movement. Not only would he embrace the Futurists' love of technology and the machine civilization, but he would push their fondness for noise to the very boundaries of the extreme. ------ Working in his ZDF studio, Akita quickly gained notoriety as a purveyor of a musical genre composed solely of pure, unadulterated noise. Consequently, in 1982 Masami founded the first Noise label, Lowest Music and Arts. He would eventually coin the phrase "Noise Composition" as a description for his sound, and display his pre- recorded Noise via live performances. These presentations have included Akita's electronics battling with traditional instruments like drums and guitar, as well as solitary shows with nothing more than the man standing before a table strewn with homemade equipment. ------ The full extent of Merzbow's discography is probably only known to Masami himself, but the unofficial count has now surpassed 170 releases on cassette, vinyl, and CD on a diverse array of labels worldwide. In addition to Merzbow, Akita has performed with other Noise entities including Masonna, Melt Banana, Discordance Axis, Gore Beyond Necropsy, and Cock ESP. Besides creating Noise, he's authored two books on extreme culture and is a freelance writer for Japanese pornography magazines. He has also scored Ian Kerkhof's film, Deadman 2. ------ Tauromachine is Merzbow's latest collection of otological incendiaries. Released by America's own Relapse, tauromachine is the sound of machinery operating on full speed in a mad scientist's laboratory. The seven digital experiments presented run an aural gamut between hypnotic pulsations to violent dissordance. Each track offers the listener a disturbing journey into the deepest extremities of Noise with such 'songs' as "soft water rhinoceros", "heads of clouds", and "wounded cycad dub". ------ Some people claim to thoroughly enjoy Akita's orchestrated cacophonies. Rest assured, his Merzbow project is not for the weak-willed or faint-hearted; a listener must be able to savor hissing static, grinding feedback, and almost unending distortion. Noise can be difficult to digest even for those who are appreciative of musical extremes, but it all comes off with a sinister ambiance that attracts as it repels. Given his commitment to and consummate production of Noise, the sonic artwork of Masami Akita is sure to usher in the savage sounds of the next millennium. What first attracted you to Noise? I was influenced by aggressive Blues Rock guitar sounds like Jimi Hendrix, Lou Reed, Robert Fripp and fuzz organ sounds such as Mike Ratledge of Soft Machine. But the most structured Noise influence would have to be Free Jazz such as Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, and Frank Wright. I saw the Cecil Taylor Unit in 1973 and it was very influential. I was a drummer for a free form Rock band in the late '70s and I became very interested in the pulse beat of the drums within Free Jazz. I thought it was more aggressive than Rock drums. I also became interested in electronic kinds of sounds. I started listening to more electro-acoustic music like Pierre Henry, Stockhausen, Fancois Bayle, Gordon Mumma and Xenakis. Then I found the forum for mixing these influences into pure electronic noise. I was trying to create an extreme form of free music. In the beginning, I had a very conceptual mind set. I tried to quit using any instruments which related to, or were played by, the human body. It was then that I found tape. I tried to just be the operator of the tape machine-- I'm glad that tape is a very anonymous media. My early live performances were very dis-human and dis-communicative. I was using a slide projector in a dark room at that point. I was concentrating on studio works until 1989 then I assembled some basic equipment before I started doing live Noise performances. Equipment included an audio mixer, contact mike, delay, distortion, ring modulator and bowed metal instruments. Basically, my main sound was created by mixer feedback. It was not until after 1990, on my first American tour, that I started performing live Noise Music for presentation to audiences. The first US tour was a turning point for finding a certain pleasure in using the body in the performance. Right now I'm using mixer feedback with filters, ring, DOD Buzz Box, DOD Meat Box, and a Korg multi-distortion unit. I am using more physically rooted Noise Music not as conceptually anti-instrument and anti-body as before. If music was sex, Merzbow would be pornography. In America, pornography is often viewed as vulgar and offensive-- especially to women. Are you implying that Merzbow is for men? No. I mean that pornography is the unconsciousness of sex. So, Noise is the unconsciousness of music. It's completely misunderstood if Merzbow is music for men. Merzbow is not male or female. Merzbow is erotic like a car crash can be related to genital intercourse. The sound of Merzbow is like Orgone energy-- the color of shiny silver. How did you get involved with tape trading through the mail in the early '80s? When I started Merzbow the idea was to make cheap cassettes which could also be fetish objects. I recorded them very cheaply and then packaged them with pornography. I got very involved with the mail art network which included home tapers like Maurizio Bianchi, Jupitter Larser of Haters, and Trax of Italy. Just as Dadaist Kurt Schwitters made art from objects picked up off the street, I made sound from the scum that surrounds my life. I was very inspired by the Surrealist idea "Everything is Erotic, Everywhere Erotic". So, for me Noise is the most erotic form of sound. The word "noise" has been used in Western Europe since Luigi Russolo's The Art of Noises. However, Industrial music used "noise" as a kind of technique. Western Noise is often too conceptual and academic. Japanese Noise relishes the ecstacy of sound itself. You have been quoted as saying, "There are no special images of ideology behind Merzbow"-- unlike the early Industrialists such as Throbbing Gristle, SPK, and Whitehouse that used shocking imagery . Yet you have repeatedly used pornography. Isn't pornography a shocking image that creates a certain ideology, whether intended or not? I have two directions in the use of pornography. In my early cassettes and mail art projects I used lots of pornography. I made many collages using pornography as it was a very important item in my mail art/mail music. I thought my cheap Noise cassettes were of the same value as cheap mail order pornography. These activities were called "Pornoise". In this direction, I would say that I used pornography for it's anti-social, cut-up value in information theory. I soon started to release Merzbow vinyl which was very different from the cassettes of this same time period. I think my vinyl works concentrated more on sound itself because I think vinyl is a more static medium. So, Merzbow went in two separate directions in the '80s- a cassette direction and a vinyl direction. In the '90s, these directions were mixed for one Merzbow. I know you're thinking I'm still using porn images like bondage but these images are not porn to me. I use bondage images only for the release of connected works like Music for Bondage Performance I and 2 and Electroknots. My reasons for using bondage images are very clear- not for shock element but for documentary value. In fact, all bondage pictures I use are taken by myself. I know who the models are and who tied them up. I know the exact meaning of these bondage pictures. This is very different from people using Xeroxed bondage images from Japanese magazines. I know that there are many bondage images associated with Merzbow releases. But many of these releases use stupid images without my permission. I should control all of them but it is very difficult to control all products abroad. I don't like the easy idea of using images without the knowledge of the image itself. So, it's meaningless to create ideology by using pornography without the correct knowledge of the image itself. What kind of reaction did you get when you started performing in Japan? In Japan, the Noise audience looks very normal. I think most of them are middle-class salary men. Recently, we have more young, underground music types coming to a show. In the early days, the reaction was nothing. People thought that the music was just too difficult and loud. Recently, more people know how to comprehend my music. Many people have said they could get into a trance from the music. This is a better way of understanding Merzbow. Now, Grindcore and Techno people come to see Merzbow. It's not a very large Noise scene in Japan but we have been getting more places allowing a performance than ever before. Fortunately, many other people in the genre know about each other and perform together. I have also been playing a few Techno events. Right now, the Merzbow live unit is myself, Reiko, and Bara. Reiko is not into music nor is she a Noise player. Bara is performing Noise as his art action. They play a very physical kind of music meaning that they always struggle with sound. It's like the idea of playing with street noise, construction noise, ambient noise, and machine noise. That separation creates a very static feeling and that is my intention-- I don't like to play with musicians in Merzbow. They bother me. Last year, the three of us finished an American tour. We played in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Cleveland. American audiences are nice and clever. The audiences were very crowded. I met some interesting people like Elden of Allegory Chapel, Ltd., Dwid from Integrity, the band Smegma, and all the people who helped organize these shows. The audiences contained many great fans What other bands involved with Noise have you collaborated with? Masonna, Hijokaidan, Aube, and Monde Bruits. Maso of Masonna came to see my first live performance in Kyoto. I met Mikawa, who played in both Hijokaidan and the Incapacitants, at a record shop and we went to have a few drinks. Alchemy Records started a CD series dedicated to pure Noise called Good Alchemy and I played as a guest drummer with Hijokaidan. Iwasaki of Monde Bruits organized my first Merzbow show in Osaka. Then we played together at some point. Tell me a little about your books Scum Culture and Bizarre Sex Moderne. Scum Culture is a compilation of articles including such topics as bad taste art, Satanic Heavy Metal music, scatological performances of Vienna Aktionism, music of Art Brut, Adolf Wolfli, and work of Social Patient Kollective. After I published this book, the term "Scum Culture" became a little bit popular in the Japanese media. Bizarre Sex Moderne is a cult study and history of sex magazines of pre-World War II. This period was synchronized with world modernism culture. Large chapters are dedicated to the topic of Japan's premiere sex magazine Grotesque. There's also an article about some pioneers in Japanese sexual research such as Hokumel Umehara, Seiu Ito, and Tetsu Takahashi I understand that you currently write for Japanese pornography magazines. I started writing articles about S/M and fetishism. I've been very fascinated by surrealistic erotic literature as well as psychoanalysis. People like George Bataile, Andre Breton, Sigmund Freud, and Kraft Ebbing. I'm also interested in Nudism culture and nude photography from the 1920s. What are the differences between Japanese and American pornography? The definite difference is that there is no genitals or intercourse in Japanese porno because of our censorship laws. Of course, we have ratings as does the US. Though there are no S/M or scatological magazines in convenience stores, our society has a tendency to make concessions for politeness in respect to sexual violations. Most of Japan's sexual trauma is high school girls. High school girls are a very powerful sexual icon in our society. High school girls are also very powerful in regards to fashion and social behavior. Mainstream Japanese culture also seems more accepting of bondage films and women having sex with an octopus. Why? We have no deviant sex because we have no Christianity. That is, until the end of the Tokugawa era in the 1800s. We began to import Western scientific theory and our sexuality began to Westernize. We also imported Western sexuality without knowledge of Christianity. The reason for women having sex with an octopus is because of our censorship-- her genitalia is covered. We have censorship of the genitals and no censorship of any sexual image without genitals. In the Japanese tradition, we have lots of strange sex images such as women with octopi. I think our present sexuality is influenced subliminally from the times before Tokugawa sexuality. It's a kind of mental pleasure- a sense of humor in sexuality. Presently, Manga and Owarai entertainment is also the same reconstructed traditional culture. In this culture, sex is not a matter of politics or science as is AIDS., the Gay movement, and sexual harassment in Western culture. Japanese sexual culture is a world of the imagination. What is the difference between Japanese and American Pop culture? I think that American Pop Culture has more variety. Japanese society is a television community. The most important thing for most people is doing the same things most other people do. No individuality exists in this society with music, fashion, and language. The Japanese government thinks Japan is one nation of one race. But that is a lie. This same theory applies to the Japanese media. Has American culture had any negative effects on your country? Yes, AIDS and coffee. For me, American Pop Culture was a stigma when I was a child in the 1950s. America won the war so maybe "U.S.A" is a symbol of power and big dreams. Japanese culture has also had effects on America. A negative effect is the economy. A positive effect is food. How has growing up in Japan effected your Noise creation? Sometimes, I would like to kill the much too noisy Japanese by my own Noise. The effects of Japanese culture are too much noise everywhere. I want to make silence by my Noise. Maybe, that is a fascist way of using sound. Article first published in EsoTerra #8, 1999.
Soy Sauce by Mexican Institute of Sound Released: Mar 2009 Label: Nacional Records Early into Camilo Lara's third album, it feels like it's trying hard to live up to expectations. What started as a hobby, after all, has made him into a sought-after hipster/rapper/crate-digger who still hangs onto his label exec day job even after getting invited to play Coachella. But by the end, it's clear Lara's having fun again. There's no effort needed as he assembles the flotsam of global culture and runs it through a gauntlet of Mexican music: he assaults "Bittersweet Symphony" with a gang of mariachis, gives NWA an extremely south-of-the-border shout-out," and gets Ad Rock to remix "Alocatel." Sarah Bardeen You're just minutes away from millions of songs. Sign up now.
Kimberly and Vitaly Paley Fifteen year ago, Vitaly and Kimberly Paley helped jump-start a new Oregon cuisine in a revamped Victorian house fed by rigorous French techniques, local farmers, and a dinner party vibe. Now, the owners of Paley’s Place are itching to explore hidden passions and fresh, casual directions in this incubator city. Eat Beat has learned the Paleys are close to signing a lease in downtown Portland. The undisclosed location, confirms Vitaly Paley, would house two concepts far removed from their current dinner-only, French-Northwest bistro restaurant. One possibility on the table: fry bread tacos in multiple innovations. Paley has kicked around the idea since he debuted the concept at a Laika film studio holiday party last year. The four-dish menu was the talk of the night, with the likes of elk hot dogs with huckleberry mustard and pork belly bahn mi, all wrapped in Native American flatbread. Food writer Mike Thelin called it “the best thing I ate all year.” Let’s hope this is the moment. Stay tuned.
Lenovo: Businesses don't want Windows RT tablet Lenovo is doing well with its PC business even as other large OEMs have seen sales go down. Lenovo also continues to come out with new Windows 8 all-in-ones, notebooks and convertibles such as the ThinkPad Helix. Now, an executive at the company has stated that businesses don't want to get a product that uses Windows RT, the version of Windows 8 that runs on ARM processors. Lenovo's ThinkPad Helix is the latest Windows 8 convertible from the PC maker. PCWorld.com reports that, according to Lenovo's Think PC and visual category manager Simon Kent, companies want the full experience with Windows 8 and not the "cut down" version of Windows RT, which cannot run software made for previous versions of Windows. He added, "We don't believe that Windows RT is what businesses want." He also seemed to hint that Microsoft might be rethinking their stance on Windows RT, saying, "Even Microsoft has started to review the RT path they have gone down." The article did not go into detail on those allegations. Microsoft execs have said recently that Windows RT tablets have a "very bright future." Lenovo has only sold one Windows RT device so far, the Yoga 11 convertible notebook-tablet. There's no word if Lenovo plans to launch any more products that run on Windows RT. Source: PCWorld.com \| Image via Lenovo Previous Story Twitter to Media companies: Brace yourselves, more hacks are coming! Next Story Xbox 360's new Machinima app is first to launch worldwide
Take the 2-minute tour × Let $R$ be the local ring of a complex curve singularity. (Can assume the singularity planar, the ring locally analytic or formal.) Let $\bar{R}$ be the normalization, let $R\subset R'\subset \bar{R}$ be an intermediate extension, corresponding to the factorization of the normalization map: $Spec(\bar{R})\to Spec{R'}\to Spec{R}$. The relative conductor: $I^{cd}_{R'/R}:=(r\in R: r R' \subset R)$ is an ideal in $R$ (and in $R'$). 1. The conductor for the normalization $I^{cd}_{\bar{R}/R}$ is well studied. Any reference for the relative conductor $I^{cd}_{R'/R}$? Specific questions: 2. The relative conductor can be defined as $I^{cd}_{R'/R}=R:R'$. (Just another way to write the same thing.) Can we also say: $R'=R:I^{cd}_{R'/R}$? (i.e. $R:(R:R')=R'$). In words: for a given conductor $I$ take the maximal extension, whose conductor is $I$. Will this reproduce the initial extension? 3. For a general ideal $I\subset R$, not a conductor of some extension, define $R'=R:I\subset\bar{R}$. (i.e. the maximal subring of the integral closure such that $R'I\subset R$). Then $I^{cd}_{R'/R}$ contains $I$, but in general is bigger. Any conditions on $I$ to ensure: $R:(R:I)=I$? 4. Can this be somehow generalized to higher dimensions? At least, is the following always true: $R:(R:(R:I))=R:I$ ? Any reference? share\|improve this question Dear Admin, I tried to fix Latex, have checked the source twice. Still, the question is not shown neatly. (Why??) Could you make the needed correction? – Dmitry Kerner Feb 12 '11 at 4:05 @qui-vadis: sometimes more complex math formulas throw off the rendering. You can fix this (as I did) by enclosing the math formulas (outisde the $ symbols) in ` signs. See the FAQ. – Sándor Kovács Feb 12 '11 at 5:27 add comment 2 Answers up vote 4 down vote accepted For 1. You could try looking at various exercises in the Swanson-Huneke book on Integral Closure. There might be something there. In particular, see chapter 12 (titled, the conductor). For 2. 3. 4. Another way to identify the conductor (or relative conductor) is to consider $\text{Hom}_{R}(R', R)$. This module always has a map to $R$ (evaluation at $1$) and the image is the conductor. However, that map is injective, so that $\text{Hom}$ can be viewed as the conductor itself, in fact $\text{Hom}_{R}(R', R)$ can be identified with $R :_R R'$. Now we can play to sort of games you want to play -- sometimes. Assuming $R$ is S2 and Gorenstein in codimension 1, which any plane curve singularity is, you can apply, say, Theorem 1.9 in Hartshorne's ``Generalized divisors on Gorenstein schemes''. In that case, applying $\text{Hom}_R(\cdot, R)$ twice to $R'$ will get you back something isomorphic to $R'$ by that cited result. In particular, in the Gorenstein in codim 1 case, I think you get the formulas you are hoping for. Now, curves are always S2, but not always Gorenstein = Gorenstein in codimension 1. For example, Sándor's ring $B$ is not Gorenstein I think. Let me assume $r = m = 3$ for simplicity. Now mod out $R = k[x^3, x^6, x^7, \dots]_{\mathfrak{p}}$ by $(x^3) = (x^3, x^6, x^9, x^{10}, \dots)$. One gets an Artinian module generated by the images of $1, x^7, x^8$. This isn't Gorentsein (see for example Bruns-Herzog, Exercise 3.2.15 or notice that the socle isn't 1-dimensional), so $R$ wasn't either. If you are not Gorenstein, you might be able to still get a lot of mileage out of applying $\text{Hom}(\cdot, \omega_R)$ instead, see for example Hartshorne's ``Generalized divisors and Biliaison". share\|improve this answer Thanks a lot! – Dmitry Kerner Feb 14 '11 at 19:24 You can also see Sandor's B is not Gorenstein by observing that dim (as a vector space) C[[t]]/B = m+r-2 and dim B / Conductor = 2. For the ring to be Gorenstein these must be equal, and $m \ge r \ge 3$ ensures this cannot happen. – Vivek Shende Jun 6 '11 at 12:26 add comment For your question 1), I'd say that probably the best reference is anything on fractional ideals. For question 2): I don't think this is true. Let $m,r\in \mathbb N$, $m\geq r\geq 3$ and $A=k[t]$. Let $B:=k[t^m,t^{m+r},t^{m+r+1},t^{m+r+2},\dots]\subset A$ and $B\subset B':=k[t^2,t^3]\subset A$. Let $\mathfrak p=At\cap B$ and $\mathfrak p'=At\cap B'$. Finally let $R=B_{\mathfrak p}$ and $R'=B'_{\mathfrak p'}$ Obviously $\overline R=k[t]_{(t)}$. It is easy to see that $I=(R:R')=\overline Rt^{m+r}\cap R=(t^{m+r},t^{m+r+1},\dots)$, but this is actually an $\overline R$ ideal, so $(R:I)=\overline R$. As for conditions on when your condition holds, I don't see a clear one. I can tell you certain patterns that makes it clear how these can fail for subrings of $k[t]$, but those seem a little ad hoc. share\|improve this answer Thanks a lot (both for Math and Latex)! – Dmitry Kerner Feb 14 '11 at 19:23 add comment Your Answer
Why Can't Lamps Look Good and Conserve Energy?S Sure, we've seen a couple slick-looking LED lamps before, but those were egregiously expensive. Lumisource's Luminance desk lamp also combines style with the latest in lighting tech for under $100. Powered by three strips of LED lights, the lamp also has mood lights that run along the bottom, adding that extra bit of flair to the design. And at $65 a pop, you could afford to buy two while hardly breaking a financial sweat. That is, if you wanted to. [Amazon via 7 Gadgets]
Ideal Income As I struggle to tack some zero’s onto my bank accounts, I found this comment left on my site by Jack Miller very inspiring: “The first $50,000 is tougher than the last $5 million.” Tell me about it! I can also attest this is true from all the highly successful people I have spoken with, they all went through some sort of struggling period before they finally hit it big. I’d like my first $50,000 to be made primarily by ME. This means I want to make the bulk of my money through any means other than a 9am-5pm job. I am more proud of the $5.43 I made from my water experiment than the $3,121 I have made from working at my job. Be Sociable, Share! Blog posted on: April 7, 2005 20 comments on “Ideal Income 1. Manny This is very true Nev. It’s much easier to multiply a larger sum of money than a few thousand bucks. Alot of people only see $1 million, but they forget the process in between. It’s that process in between that teaches you lessons you can’t learn in any class. This is a big reason why lottery winners lose it all, because they never went through the “struggling period” Keep up the good work. P.s. – Still lookin’ for that mentor. 2. Kate Bean My grandmother (who also happens to be my mentor in this since she’s a self-made woman) agrees with Jack. She said that the first part of her life she was building the stepping stones to make her money, like buying apartment buildings, etc. that later made her a millionaire. BTW – What are you majoring in? 3. Neville I am actually a Government major. I had plans for law school, but I don’t see anymore academics in my near future. I enjoy school to some extent, but I think the real world has the stuff I’m really looking for. By the way, your grandmother sounds like some piece of work! For a female of her generation to become a millionaire…tell her I’m DOUBLY impressed. What sort of struggles did she have to put up with? I’d enjoy hearing some more of her feedback or stories! 4. ncnblog Nev, I think that most people go to work, make a salary, spend every dime (and then some) and never really, really stop to think about HOW MUCH money is passing through their hands. Thousands and thousands of dollars. You are totally right. Waking up and saving that first few dollars is the key to long-term success. Great post! 5. Cap definitely. all of us have potentials to become millionaires. (as if thats enough these days too) one major step is to realize that its not that difficult, and it requires some financial literacy and opening some eyes, and taking some actions. I definitely enjoy your blog too Nev, it helps to see others at our age going for it too. And you’re definitely not the normal 18 year olds I know Manny. I hope years from now we can have some kind of millionaire blog ring. heh. 6. ~~DANNA~~ May you be blessed by the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” ~~~ Psalm 115:14-15 7. Cap I think for the most of us, we’re not searching for more but searching for what will take care of ourselves and our family. I’m not striving to achieve financial freedom so I can drive around in a Porsche while my mom slowly pays off her mortgage. I want to achieve financial independence so I can retire early and have even more time to spend with my family. Its true that Christ said its easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a wealthy man to enter Heaven, but you should realize a lot of us arent choosing this route so we can want more and more material wealth. 8. Anonymous Please take this as constructive criticism. First, why would you pay money to go to college to get a degree in government? Perhaps your first cost/benefit analysis should be your education. Second, you seem to be consumed with making money. Of course, we all want to make money, but your comment that you are happier with the $5 you made selling water than the $3k you made at your job is interesting. If you go through life with one all-consuming goal, i.e., to make as much money as you can, then you will live a miserable life. The trick is not to do anything you can to make a penny, but to do what you love and get paid for it. 9. Johnie In response to the last comment, I totally agree with Nev in saying that there is more satisfaction in earning the $5 than in the salary of $3000. It is the satisfaction of doing something yourself for yourself by yourself. It’s an achievement. Plus, he has learned more from this one experiment than he has from his daily grind. It’s the difference between learning how to catch your own fish vs fishing for somebody else [yes, I've butchered that] I’m in the same boat also. I see my job as a means to an end. It pays the bills and provides capital for whatever venture I try out next. I get more satisfaction from making $15 profit on a side venture than I do from the $x,000/month salary. This had been my plan coming out of college and entering the workforce. However, one thing you’ll find is that when you take up a career, a good chunk of your day is taken away. It is somewhat of a trap/catch-22. On one hand, you need/want the time to do your own stuff, but on the other you have the responsibility of doing your job well. 10. Neville 1.) Sorry if it seems like I am CONSUMED with money-making. This IS a financial blog, so I only post my finance related thoughts here! 2.) Making my own way IS what I like doing. Some people may have a passion for accounting, I enjoy being an entrepreneur. I love having a busy schedule. 3.) I LIKE “Investment Vehicle Creating” as I am young and extremely motivated to become successful. WHY do I do this you ask? So I can be a lazy old man when I am older! When I am 50 and have a family to attend to, I doubt I will have as much motivation to stand on a corner with bums and sell water. If there is a perfect time in my life to establish a firm financial base for my life, it is NOW. P.S. A lot of people say “Do what you love.” I don’t love doing ONE thing. I would go crazy if I had only one job or business to work at all my life. That is why I would like to continue my tradition of having income from several different sources. It is more stable that way, and it keeps me occupied. 11. Anonymous You are missing the point. Nev is consumed with making pennies, yet is spending money to obtain a degree in “government,” which has to be just about worthless. Look at this blog….Nev should be studying economics or business or the like, since it is evident that is where his interest lies. Which ties into what I said before…do what you love, and money will come to you. 12. Neville Well said Johnie! That $3,000 may have paid some bills…but it’s not what I will tell my grandkids about some day. Keep up your own little side adventures, and let me know about them! 13. Neville A business degree would be just about as worthless as a government degree to me. Why? Because I won’t use either one. Then why am I in college? Because I want to be. ’nuff said. A business degree teaches you how to be a great employee for a firm which will pay you $40,000 out of college, but that is not what I am aiming for. I know lots of business students who get internships and jobs straight out of college, and what do they say about these? “A blind monkey could do what I do at (insert company here)” In the University Investment Association, I sometimes give presentations to FINANCE MAJORS on how to buy stocks. I’ve never even taken a class remotely related to stock, they have. I’ve just researched stocks on my own, something which helps you learn faster than HAVING to take a class on it. Starting to get my drift? 14. Anonymous Nev, no. First, if you had a business degree, then it would possibly be easier for you to obtain financing to finance your entreprenuerial dreams. Second, your comment about being in college “because you can” is laughable. How can I take seriously any of your postings on this blog about you trying to scrape your pennies together, when you are willing to waste your time and money at Texas getting what you agree is a worthless degree “because you can.” Third, a basic background in business would teach you the fundamentals of how the economy works. Thus, your “water experiment” must be a spoof, or you must really need an education in business. Why do I say that? Because you sold water at $1.00 a bottle. Did you research the competitive price of bottled water prior to setting this sales price? Did you draw any conclusions about why you sold all of your product in 1/2 hr, as opposed to the 5 hours allotted? I find your blog entertaining, but some of your comments are curious. Have you read mark cuban’s blog? He has some great insight on it that would seem to appeal to you. 15. Kate Bean Sorry to open a can of worm with the major question. I have a degree in engineering, but I’m a program manager right now. If you’re smart, work hard, and have any business acumen, then you’ll excel in your career. The motivation and drive that Nev shows will take him a lot farther in life than getting any kind of degree will. Do what makes you happy and the money will follow. 16. Anonymous Okay, this proves you’re an idiot. 17. Anonymous If two people walk into my bank, one has a business degree, and one has a government degree, and ask for money to start a business, which am I more likely to give money to, all other things being equal? 18. Neville Financing? Who says I need it? I consider my self pretty well connected and can obtain financing by surpassing the bank. A real entrepreneur doesn’t always need mass financing to become successful. My business that makess around $1,000 per month was started with $200 and a bank account I had my dad to sign for because I was too young. Don’t worry about me not having a business degree. I don’t consider it a setback in the slightest sense. 19. Tracy First, I strive to make as much money as I can because: A) I can support my parents should they need it. B) I can indulge in my other interests which may or may not make me any money back, but which bring me pleasure (such as blogging, or skiing) C) I have more money to raise a family on, including things like getting my future kids a computer, books, a bike, etc.. D) When I do start a family, I have the option to take off work to raise my children. E) I love my field I’m entering. Making a lot of money in it would be a great bonus feature. F) Making a lot of money would mean I was an asset to someone/something. I’m competitive by nature. It makes me a happy person to know I’m very good at what I do, if not the best. Being happy should always be a goal in life. G) I’m always finding something that I’m wanting to help, be it a great sandwich shop that can’t afford a nice paint job, to sponsor a child, to support an institution I think does great things…and money would make that possible. As for the degree, I see college as a means to show the world you can make it through the standards of getting a degree, any degree. Having a government degree doesn’t mean you know everything there is to know about government the same as a petroleum engineering degree just goes to show I can study and pass some tests. The gold is in the work experiece you get in college, be it internships, self started businesses, volunteering, etc., because that’s where the knowledge you need to handle the real world can be found. My $.02 (lol, you can add that to your totals ;-)) Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published.
Take the 2-minute tour × How does one interpret the information printed out by the following command in Linux cat /proc/cpuinfo On my laptop, I get the following output. Now it says that there are 4 processors on the system. There is also a field inside the information of each processor field which says cou cores are 2. Does that mean there are 4 Intel i3's CPU's on my system? What does the processor field really mean here? share\|improve this question How is this a programing related question? Voting to migrate to superuser. – talonmies Feb 9 '12 at 20:43 @talonmies: Well, I'd expect more less average programmer to be able to understand/figure out what CPU machine is using, how much memory it has etc, you know. Though this question is more suitable for superuser anyway. – drak0sha Feb 9 '12 at 20:53 add comment migrated from stackoverflow.com Feb 9 '12 at 22:10 This question came from our site for professional and enthusiast programmers. 1 Answer Unfortunately for you, no :) You have only one i3 CPU with two cores and enabled hyper-threading. For a detailed information on how to read cpuinfo, see http://www.richweb.com/cpu_info share\|improve this answer add comment Your Answer
Penname: LunaLovegoodDoubleCast [Contact] Real name: Cara Manem Member Since: 05/06/05 Beta-reader: 0 Status: Member Hi! I am a newcomer to the world of fanficts, and I really enjoy them. I have just started writting them as well, but my story keeps diappearing. Some info about me: Eyes: change according to what I'm wearing and the mood I'm in Hair: wavy, reddish-blonde, long Height: Tallish Location: Why do you wanna know...? Siblings: Nope, nada, none Age: 14.5 and counting Ships: RW/HG forever, Hp/Gw same amount, not to mention LL/NL Other Stuff (not Physical): Fav. HP book: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Fav. book non-HP: Two Towers Fav books/series: Lord of the Rings Sword of Truth Series of Unfortunate Events anything by Tamora Pierce anything by Anne McCaffery Chrestomanci Quartet Dalemark Quartet and sooooo many more Fav. HP movie: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Fave non-HP movie: Two Towers or Willow (or maybe Star Wars) (or Shrek 2) (indicisive aren't I!) Fav. HP characters: LUNA!, Hermione, Ginny, and Sirius Fav. non-HP characters (sorry if you don't know who I'm talking about): Tris (Circle of Magic) Kahlan + all mord-sith, especially Cara (Sword of Truth) Daine (Immortals Quartet) Aly (Trickster's Choice/Queen) Arwen (Lord of the Rings) Sunny (Series of Unfortunate Events) Maati (Acorna) Lessa, Robinton, Menolly (Dragonriders of Pern) The Luggage (Discworld) Fav. book Genre: Sci-fi Fantasy Fav. word: Knurd- the oppisite of being drunk (not sober)- Discworld Fav. Sports: Volleyball and Diving Fav. Activities: Reading, singing, and acting. (For all of you who know what it is, Wicked songs are so much fun to sing) Fav. Fan Fictions: See Favorites (Hermiones_Revenge Rules) Fav. colors: Lavender, Blood Red, Forest green, ocean blue/sea green- same color Fav. Food: CHOCOLATE ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fav. Animal: Cats and Dolphins All by quiz banners: i'm in gryffindor! be sorted @ I'm a Weasley! The HP Family Quiz made by Sapphire. Quiz Me Cara was a Kind Snake Charmer in a past life. Discover your past lives @ Quiz Me You are Tris! Based on the book series by Tamora Pierce. Which Circle of Magic character are you? Which HP Kid Are You? I'm Mrs. Neville Longbottom The HP Boy Marriage Quiz made by Sapphire. I'm Mrs. George Weasley The Weasley Boy Marriage Quiz made by Sapphire. rupert is doomed Rupert Grint/Ron Weasley! whootwhoot* Go Rupert Grint Fans. I'm one my self ^_^ brought to you by Quizilla Harry and Ginny You are a Harry & Ginny Shipper! brought to you by Quizilla Hermione and Ron You are a Hermione & Ron Shipper! brought to you by Quizilla Hermione Granger Harry Potter Severus Snape Remus Lupin Albus Dumbledore Ron Weasley Ginny Weasley Sirius Black Draco Malfoy Lord Voldemort Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...? created with You're like me! The intelligent loner. You're shy at times but friendly, and you are never weak and always independent. You are incredibly intelligent (wise beyond your years) and have a talent for many things (sports, music, art). You have a kind and warm personality and enjoy the simple things. Like hanging out with friends and watching movies at home. But you're sometimes quiet nature makes you a bit of an outcast and a mystery to people. No matter how pretty you are or smart or athletic, you just can't seem to break into the crowd and be noticed. Don't worry, try to be more outgoing and speak out when you have more to say. Don't hide behind your books and sports and computer, get out there and get noticed. You also have deep desires in life and feel vunerable and alone at times. Don't feel sad either, What helps me to express feelings and dreams that I can't say to people, is through my writting. Maybe you should try. What kind of girl are you? (with pix!) brought to you by Quizilla You are a Mermaid, who sits on a rock in the sea, looking and watching all humanity with curiosity in your eyes. You have a two-sided personality - On one hand, you revel in your freedom and often prefer to live in your own private dreams and on the other hand, humanity intrigues you and you love watching on. are actually very kind at heart and, hating to see people hurt, you despise injustice. You probably have one or two special friends, who mean the world to you. Also; you are probably quite political, wanting to see justice done in the world. You are quite the dreamer, needing your freedom and personal space to dream your little dreams. You love to escape into a book or some good music and just drift away. of your good points are that you are sensitive, compassionate and a freethinker. Your bad points are that you may come across as cool and aloof to others and probably have a tendency to You are the ultimate dreamer with a kind - yet troubled heart. Are you a Princess, Enchantress, Faerie, Mermaid or Toad? (with pictures!) brought to you by Quizilla Your Heart is Red What Color is Your Heart? brought to you by Quizilla To sum it up (as Anne-on this site as Hermione_is_the_best_character-says) (and a horrible speller) [Report This] No results found. We have stories and authors in this archive. Choose Theme: Epithalamium by Squibstress Professors The Marred Boy by Padfoot11333 1st-2nd Years A Seer Named Rosemary Snape by PlutoLovegood 3rd-5th Years whimper by psijupiter 6th-7th Years Over A Mug of Tea by hestiajones 1st-2nd Years Gaps Between by lucca4 6th-7th Years To Fear the Flame by Acacia Carter 3rd-5th Years Good King Ragnuk by Oregonian 1st-2nd Years
What is black dance? Ishmael Houston-Jones resurrects his legendary "Parallels" at Danspace Project. • Photograph: • Photograph: After Ishmael Houston-Jones moved to New York from Philadelphia in 1979, he felt isolated, but instead of wallowing in it, he wrote to Cynthia Hedstrom, then-director of Danspace Project, to ask about curating a series of works by black choreographers. In 1982, the resulting "Parallels" showcased artists including Ralph Lemon, Bebe Miller, Blondell Cummings and Fred Holland. The point? Black artists weren't working merely in mainstream modern dance. Houston-Jones is commemorating the event this year by creating a new version of "Parallels" as part of Danspace Project's latest Platform series. It's a doozy: a 100-page catalog and eight weeks of programming, including an evening called "Black Dance"—without one black artist. Would you elaborate on your state of mind when you originally created "Parallels"? I was from Philadelphia and sort of new to New York, and I had been doing all kinds of alternative things—a lot of improvisation with Terry Fox and working with Fred Holland. I was in an all-gay-men's performance collective. I also studied Afro and modern and a little bit of ballet, and when I came here, I had the prevailing sense of what black dance was came from the Ailey heritage. I'm definitely somewhat a part of that. I studied Horton in Philadelphia and that kind of modern dance, but it wasn't my primary interest. I felt like there was a group of us who were working in other traditions and that our work wasn't seen, and that it would be interesting to see those works next to each other. What would it seem like if we put those works together and said, "This is an alternative view of possibilities of what black dance can be?" So I asked Cynthia [Hedstrom] at Danspace, and she said yes. Was Ailey your early role model, in a weird way, too? In a weird way. I mean, I remember the first time I saw a concert and Judith [Jamison] doing Cry. I was amazed. I wanted to get up and do that, but it wasn't a primary interest of mine, and also, I'm not a great technician. That's the truth. I studied modern techniques and was awful in ballet. Horrible in jazz. I was very interested in contact improv and other forms of improvisation. What did the experience reveal to you about what black dance was? That it was a variety of things. That it was as different as Fred Holland doing a weird piece with a movie on a small screen, to Gus Solomons pacing the space in geometric shapes, to Ralph dancing around with live musicians in a green skirt, to Bebe Miller doing this beautiful dance to Gregorian chants, to Blondell Cummings dancing with a skillet in Chicken Soup. And me dancing with my mom and talking. That it had endless possibilities. That it wasn't a limited palette. And I'm sure you knew that before you went in. Yes. That was the thesis, and this was the proof of the thesis. Since I wasn't here then, tell me about that time. What was the impact? I don't know what the impact was. People were curious. We had very good houses. Largely white audiences like Danspace has, but maybe a fraction more African-American. And I think it did serve to identify us. Linda [Goode] Bryant at a gallery called Just Above Midtown, which was actually in Tribeca at the time, got us together, and we ended up doing a think tank. Fred was in it; I was in it; Tony Whitfield, an artist, sort of organized it. We began talking to each other and found commonalities—like most of us had this experience early on in our schooling, in elementary or middle school, where we were put in special classes. It happened to me in sixth grade; it was this really weird common thing that happened to almost all of us. Was the original "Parallels" structured similarly to this? It was much smaller—over two weekends—with three or four artists on each program. This will also be shared programs. It just evolved that way. I like seeing work against work a lot, to see how pieces sit next to each other. Once it became almost all that, I decided to not have a one-single-artist evening. I couldn't think of who that could be and what that would do to the balance. Do you distinguish between black dance and downtown dance? Yesterday I was watching with Will Rawls [who is curating two film evenings] the Steve Paxton--Bill T. Jones talk. It was a Studies Project at Movement Research. They do. [Laughs] I don't know if I do. Labels are useful and not useful. That's where the name "Parallels" came from. I sort of exist in both worlds. In looking at the work—my work, Blondell's, Bebe's and Ralph's—I see that there's a certain heat that was not happening in the general postmodernism going on at the time. A certain passion, a certain personalness. It wasn't blank. Even in Bebe's work, which is very abstract, there's a woman singing Gregorian chant-like music, and Bebe's dancing to it; there's a certain attack that you wouldn't find in a lot of postmodern dance. I think it's interesting to tease out those differences. Are you and Rawls choosing the films together? I gave all the curators carte blanche to do what they want. There is consulting. For the first night, he chose clips from the 1982 series, so they're rough video clips; plus, if we can get the rights, the Paxton--Bill T. debate. Tell me about that. I was in New York, but somehow I didn't go that night; very few people actually saw it, but it's become downtown legend. The myth of it is that they were going at it, but they both have, probably deservedly, large egos and senses of themselves, and it's more of a friendly sparring match where Bill is critiquing general postmodernism and work that came after Judson, and Steve is defending it and critiquing Bill's bravura. [That] his focus is outward and toward the audience. I don't know if he used the word entertaining, but Steve definitely has an edge, and Mary Overlie's in the middle trying to moderate the two of them, so it does look like a friendly boxing match. Did you ask Bill T. Jones to be involved this time around? Not directly. I was trying to figure out how to position him because the work being shown is mainly, with a few exceptions, of younger people. And even then, it was people without set companies. I involved Reggie Wilson and Dean Moss because they were of the original generation but they weren't involved [originally], so I wanted to involve them somehow. They have companies in name, but they're still pick-up companies. The focus was on independent choreographers who made work without that structure. You also asked Dean Moss to curate programs, along with Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Bebe Miller. Again, it was to diffuse the voices. I'm anticipating getting slammed for Dean's evening. I'm really looking forward to his night, "Black Dance." I know. I like that he just went with it. Jawole is interested in how improvisation has always been a part of the black vernacular, from Africanist dancing to the Lindy Hop and Savoy dancing to jazz improvisation, so she wanted to choose people who use improvisation in their work or would address that as a form. Bebe is dealing with heritage: where people come from. And it's all women in her case. What their sense of mentors are. It's Gesel Mason, Cynthia Oliver and Marya Wethers, so it's sort of a generational thing as well. Dean's is interesting. I don't know how it will be read. How did you react when he told you? I said, "What?" [Laughs] Then I said, "Okay." I think it's a great idea. It's just a little bit like, Really? I think it will be interesting to see how the approach of metaphorical blackness works as opposed to the ethnic. If Ann Liv [Young] shows up in blackface, I'll die. [Laughs] And don't think she's not. Is there anyone you feel is missing for whatever reason? Trajal Harrell. His schedule didn't work, but he's the one person I really feel is missing. Why is his voice so crucial? Because he's doing something that references his ethnicity and doing it in a very oblique and conceptual way that is interesting. I wish that could have worked. I wanted to get Rennie Harris, but he's on the West Coast now, at UCLA. We are Danspace. We have very limited travel funds. This is the largest of the platforms thus far. The catalog is 100 pages. The influence of this program extended beyond New York, because there was a European tour of "Parallels" in 1987. What was the reception like? It was different. The French were very curious. We were sold out every night. There were debates afterward with all of us onstage, and people were questioning: Why is this black? Is it black dance or not? Why were we calling it black dance? That happened in London, too. There was a funding issue going on in London at the time in which black choreographers who weren't working in a certain recognizable Africanist aesthetic were not being funded for that work, even if it referenced their ethnicity, because the council was determining what was black. So we became part of the conversation about that. The Parisians were just Parisians. They loved it, they hated it, they booed. I remember during my duet with Fred [Holland], someone started booing, and he started booing back. It was really funny. Who did they love? My memory is that they loved Bebe and Ralph's duet, which I thought was gorgeous. I think they were curious about Fred and me. Blondell's work was easier for them to read because it was more representational. I'm not sure about Jawole, but she did something where she broke an egg on her chest. I remember sitting on the stage and Ralph was answering a question and talking about how his work was seeking to be universal, and Jawole said, "My work is blatantly black," so that's what we called her for the rest of the tour. Blatantly Black. Could you talk about the perception of black dance and how it's shifted in the years since? Have there been big shifts? I think there have, and Bill T. is one of the reasons for that. People began to see that it could be something else, particularly in his earlier work with Arnie [Zane] and in the works shortly after Arnie [died]. I think a larger audience of people was more accepting that it didn't have to be Ailey. For people of my mother's generation, black dance was Ailey. But it could be something alternative. Bebe, Jawole, David Roussve, Cynthia Oliver and I are all on dance faculties at universities. Darrell Jones is at Columbia in Chicago. Gus was at Tisch. People are beginning to see, both black and white audiences, that there is more of a breadth, and there is more of an acceptance of work that isn't that presentational. I see this at the American Dance Festival—not what's put on the stage there, but with students. They're exposed to contact and to conceptual work. They're exposed to site-specific work. It's part of the vernacular. There is a melding of black and white popular culture, too—rap and other forms of popular music [have something to do with it]. There's a lot of crossover, and it's much more porous now. And there's Obama. How does that affect you as a black artist? In my [catalog] essay, I talk about the fact that he has a white American mother and a Kenyan father, but he was raised mostly by his white family in Hawaii and Kansas and then in Indonesia, and that he's always referred to as the first black president. He doesn't share a lot of the history of most American blacks. I think the preconception of what black is has shifted and that people are willing to see things in a more complicated, complex, layered way. Things aren't as, pun intended, black and white anymore. Queer culture has done that too; sexual roles are not as defined as they were in previous generations. I think culture as a whole is opening up, so this is part of that opening up. You can be a black dancemaker who references a myriad of things, from Cunningham to Derrida to Abstract Expressionism to Samuel Delany. The spectrum of your palette is much broader now. What do you hope will happen in "Parallels" this time around? I don't know. I wonder if there is such a thing as black dance. That's how I opened. That was my question: Is there such a thing as black dance now and is that a relevant term anymore? And I'm trying to answer that. I like having a question and letting the platform answer it. Do you want there to be such a thing? I'm not sure. That's actually an honest answer. I resist categories. I noticed in my letter to Cynthia Hedstrom when I was proposing this thing, I said, "I really don't like identity shows." The "feminist" show or the "gay" show or whatever. But at the same time, I think it's an interesting way of—okay, let's look at it through this lens at this moment. So I don't know if I want it to be. What do you cover in your essay? I go through historic moments of debate about black dancers. I talk about Ailey, and I imply that the U.S. government used Ailey—their first international tour funded by the State Department was in 1961, when a lot of racial turmoil was happening. The country was divided on racial lines, but they were sending Ailey abroad as the exemplar of American art: This mostly black company headed by a black man, which I find—and [Thomas F.] DeFrantz also says this—complicates a reading of racial relations. And also that the State Department was somehow shaping what official black dance was at that time. I talk about Pearl Primus and Katherine Dunham and how their use of scholarship is being echoed in choreographers now, like Reggie Wilson and Samantha Speis and Ralph Lemon, who are traveling to Africa and to the Caribbean. So the anthropological thing has a historical precedent. Diane McIntyre and her study of the Savoy ballroom dancers echoes people who are working in voguing now. So I'm trying to show how things don't just happen in a vacuum—that there is a lineage, and however windy it is, there is a lineage of what work by blacks in America are making. What's the most important thing in this Platform? I'll know when it's over. Right now, it's full of questions, and I like the not knowing. Are the labels "black" or "experimental" or "postmodern" of any use to anyone anymore? And if they are, who is doing it and who is pushing beyond that and who is thinking in new and different ways about making work? The emphasis in the catalog is the past and history and contextualizing, while the emphasis on the programming, except for the first film night, is all forward-looking. What's happening next? Hopefully, answers will come out of the contextualization of the catalog and in the series of performances. Platform 2012: "Parallels" runs Feb 2--March 31 at various locations. See more in Dance
Sign up Here's how it works: 1. Anybody can ask a question 2. Anybody can answer Background: I'm in the process of writing guidelines for use within the company. These guidelines list all sorts of possible solutions to a given problem, and each of them are rated according either to its difficulty or to its efficacy, or both. Question: What's the best way to show these values? Current solution: I'm currently using two systems: a 3-stars system for the efficacy, and a 0-to-100 gauge for the difficulty. They are both color-coded: green when good for the company, red when bad. I've looked at sites like but sadly nothing comes close to what I'm looking for. Do any of you have any insight on what's considered best practice here? share\|improve this question Does it mean that less efficient but easy-to-do solution could be chosen instead of efficient but difficult one? Maybe, it's a good idea to rethink this and make things simpler by assigning "desired", "ok" and, for example, "not recommended" badges to every solution so it will not depend on difficulty but rather on... efficience only? Guidelines are always about recommendations so it should be obvious that is a recommended way and which one is not even if one is more difficult than another. Also, keep in mind, that "difficulty" could vary from one person to another. – alexeypegov Nov 30 '12 at 9:53 up vote 0 down vote accepted The problem is you're rating among three different dimensions: ease of implementation, effectiveness, and potential outcome. Ideally you want a simple icon that shows all three at once so it's clear that none of these can be taken by themselves. Here's an example of a possible solution using an "analog clock" metaphor: • The more of the circle is filled in, the more effort is involved. • How "bright" the color is represents its effectiveness. • Whether it's Red vs. (neutral) Grey vs. Green shows how bad or good the idea is. enter image description here All of this being said, I don't think you need color -- why the heck are you showing "bad" solutions if you know they're already bad? share\|improve this answer One of the main goals of any styleguide is to promote a consistent UI by removing choices. Rather than rating solutions, present the preferred solution and the deprecated solution. If conditions require it, also present alternative solutions, but explain when and why each should be used. Another way to approach this, is to step back from a specific set of interface problems and discuss design principles first. Most other styleguides, see below, frame the discussion of rules with a discussion of principles up front. share\|improve this answer Best practice is hard to come by and is heavily dependent of what you want to show. The following suggestion is combining both efficiency and difficulty in the same graph. • Item 1 represents an item not efficient nor difficult, thus I’ve colored it red. • Item 2 is efficient but not very difficult so I’ve colored the item yellow. • Item 3 is difficult, but not very efficient – yellow again. • Item 4 is both difficult and efficient, thus I’ve colored it green. download bmml source – Wireframes created with Balsamiq Mockups I’m not sure what the accurate name for this diagram really is, but I know it as a four field diagram. Using the four field diagram could do in this situation if both efficiency and difficulty are equally important. share\|improve this answer That is indeed a good answer to my question but unfortunately it covers only 90% of my guidelines. I realize now that I should have said I sometimes need to show only one of the two, either efficacy or difficulty. I would settle on this 4-values system (solutions categorized as (1), (2), (3) or (4) as in your graph) if I did not have this other concern. – jvzr Nov 14 '12 at 12:45 Your Answer
This Premium Zero VOC exterior paint features DirtGuard Technology that makes it resistant to stains, meaning less maintenance on the house. It prevents dirt and water from penetrating the surface, so a home’s exterior looks cleaner and brighter longer. The no-VOC product is virtually odorless and can be applied in temperatures as low as 35 degrees. Cost: $18 per gallon. Olympic Paints. 800-441- 9695. www.olympic.com.
Join them; it only takes a minute: Sign up Join the Stack Overflow community to: 1. Ask programming questions 2. Answer and help your peers 3. Get recognized for your expertise if (@arr =~ /env1/) #checking enviroment # Want to flush the @INC contents using below no lib # --> Command before the perl get the libraries of my choice at the time of compilation no lib "//First/lib/"; #flush INC no lib "//Second/lib/"; #flush INC print log1 "INC before current- @INC\n"; #set library of my choice with either syntax BEGIN{ unshift @INC, "//Third/lib/" }; # or use lib "//third/lib/"; print log1 "INC after- @INC\n"; print log2 "INC after- %INC\n"; print log3 map {"$_ => $INC{$_}\n"} keys %INC; use DirHandle; use File::Find; use File::Copy; I want to know the above thing can be achieved in a simpler way. Do I need to include any Perl modules to use the (no lib and use lib commands). This is a requirement due to script running in multiple enviroment and when one of the enviroments is down the script stops running. I want to achieve this by passing the libraries of my choice to be used by perl. Suggestions are welcome. Edit: Here's the actual code. if (@temp[arr_index]=~ /env1/) #enviroment 1 BEGIN{ unshift @INC, "//server1/lib/" }; #server 1 for same app lower enviroment 1 BEGIN{ unshift @INC, "//server2/lib/" }; #server 2 for same app lower enviroment 1 use File::Copy; elsif (@temp[arr_index]=~ /env2/) #enviroment 2 use File::Copy; elsif (@temp[arr_index]=~ /env3/) #enviroment 3 use File::Copy; @INC - Having @INC the values same for all enviroments which is causing issue. Hope the above adds some clarity to your understanding . THANKS. share\|improve this question I doubt @arr =~ /env1/ does what you want, as this would match the regex against the length of @arr. To see if any element would match the regex, use grep /env1/, @arr, or use smart matching: @arr ~~ qr/env1/ (only available in newer perls). – amon Dec 20 '12 at 12:40 Nonsense! You can use lib. – Jack Maney Dec 24 '12 at 4:29 Again, my explanation in my answer stands. Also, this will not work. This code should not compile. What is arr_index? I suggest you start your program with a the Perl debugger (run it on the command line with perl -d) and step through it. You will see in what order it calls the BEGIN blocks. If you don't believe me, you will be surprised. Also, Merry Chrismas! – simbabque Dec 24 '12 at 10:51 @Sim- I am new to perl apologies for any silly mistakes if you see. I think the best way to learn is doing mistakes and correcting them. – Sumit N Dec 25 '12 at 2:18 arr_index will have the index number of array where . I will be getting the enviroment name captured.It is like @temp[3] =~ /env1/. I am understanding what you are trying to explain that the BEGIN blocks will be executed regardless of the if else block specified in my code which are the run time commands... I guess the problem lies here only @INC is getting initialized by the first BEGIN only for using lib files and at the run time the if else conditions are checked which is of no use and giving no logic to the code . Please add inputs and suggestions.. – Sumit N Dec 25 '12 at 2:19 I would suggest just pushing all of them into @INC in the order of your preferred environments. Perl will look at the contents of @INC. Perlvar says about it: That means it will look at the list of paths from left to right, as described here. Thus, you can just push your library paths into @INC one after another: use strict; use warnings; use lib 'first/lib', 'second/lib', 'third/lib'; If you now go and require Some::Module, Perl will look in first/lib first. If it cannot find it there, maybe because the path doesn't exist in your environment (it won't complain about that), Perl will proceed to look in second/lib and third/lib one after the other. You don't have to do anything else. -- On another note, you have mixed compile time and run time a lot in your above code. The three use parts and the BEGIN block will be called at compile time regardless of the if construct they are in. Everything else, including the no lib calls will only be called at run time if the match is true. See perlmod for a more detailed explanation of how this works. share\|improve this answer On confusing run-time with compile-time: Didn't you just BEGIN{use ...} something? That looks superfluous to me. – amon Dec 20 '12 at 12:45 Thanks for the feed back ... I will get back to you once i work on the code as per your suggestions. – Sumit N Dec 21 '12 at 5:08 SIM- your suggestion for pusshing all the library of my choice in @INC and allow perl to use it left to right .... this is already in place and the requirement is to get rid of this because of some enviroment constraint under which perl is running because the libraries inside INC are actually different servers where they are located and it gets stop if it doesnt find that library on a particular server due to unavability/no access of server . If you can provide something which is focused more on the above that will be very helpful... – Sumit N Dec 21 '12 at 11:25 Any suggestions on my above description ... it will be great help ... :-) – Sumit N Dec 23 '12 at 6:09 @SumitN you will need to show the actual code and describe the environment in more detail. What kind of different servers? Is a copy of your app running on several different servers? Have you thought about putting the dependencies into a configuration file? You can have one for each server. – simbabque Dec 23 '12 at 11:56 Your Answer
Sweet, merciful Alan Thicke! The iPhone Bug will attack today! Next Story Apple updates the Time Capsule, 2TB for $500 Put your iPhone in a lead box and step away from it, people. Someone is going to send you a text message with a square in it and then destroy your life a la that one movie with Will Smith in it when he goes into that warehouse and there’s some dude in there inside a Faraday cage and he asks “Can they really do that?” or some permutation thereof and the guy in the cage says “Yes they can” or whatever and then they take over his bank account and Will Smith has to run around and solve like a mystery or something and it turns out it was the GOVERNMENT. Seriously! As you recall there’s an SMS bug in the iPhone that could allow for SUPER HACKERS TO STEAL YOUR TESTICLES! It will happen when they send you a message with a square in it. If you get this message, remove your pants and disinfect yourself because you have just been OWn3d! You see, yesterday Forbes’ Andy Greenberg posted a breathless article about it and today – today! – the entire world is trying it out, ensuring that your iPhone will die. Quoth some site called Newser: Well fluff me with a Dyson Animal! Get out of the way, Martha! I’m throwing my iPhone into the toilet! blog comments powered by Disqus
Boris Becker did not need to hear a bell tolling to know that the growing buzz of alarm emanating from the stands midway through what should have been a routine victory was meant for him. Across the net, Derrick Rostagno, a lanky Californian who lives the circuit life ''like a turtle'' from the tail end of his Volkswagen bus on the West Coast and from a mobile home when the schedule brings him east, loomed long-haired, tanned, and improbably in control of their second-round match. An upset seemed in the making, and Becker, his face reddened by a combination of heat and agitation, his volleys less than lethal, almost allowed himself to be its victim. ''I would be exaggerating a little bit if I said I felt I wouldn't lose the match,'' said Becker, who steeled himself, regrouped, and recovered from a two-set deficit for the third time in his career. ''I was almost done,'' the 21-year-old West German said after coming perilously close to failure in the United States Open's second round for the second consecutive year. 4 Key Points After dropping the first two sets, Becker resurfaced to claim the third set. He was unshaken by Rostagno's 6-4 edge in the fourth-set tie breaker, a set Becker proceeded to claim by winning four straight points, and he ultimately prevailed in the fifth yesterday for a 1-6, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 victory. The two toiled on the steamy court for 4 hours 27 minutes before Becker, who began serving with his typical assurance in the final set, sent Rostagno from the tournament shaking his head over what might have been. ''I played well enough to get there, and what happened to make me go out of there like this; I don't really understand,'' he said in a deserted stadium hallway as Becker held court in the interview room. Indeed, Rostagno appeared infallible early in the match and didn't lose a service game until the fifth game of the third set, where he later double-faulted at set point. 'Broke His Spirit' But what happened to turn the match around, Becker pointed out, was that Rostagno lost his grip on the match when he surrendered the fourth set and the pair of match points he wielded there. ''I guess the outcome of today is a little that I broke his spirit a lot when I won the fourth set,'' Becker said. The match had reached its high point for Rostagno when he hammered his way to a 6-4 lead in the fourth-set tie breaker, fueled by the pleasing memory of his 7-1 demolition of Becker in the second-set tie breaker. ''In the fourth set, from the first moment, I felt I had him,'' said Rostagno, a 24-year-old journeyman whose best year came in 1988 when he compiled a 31-22 match record, was ranked 36th, and earned $162,656, a personal best dwarfed by Becker's $5.2 million in career earnings. But Becker, when the match was on the line, was not to be had. Contrasting Styles In essence, the stoical Becker faced his antithesis in Rostagno, a free spirit with a Hollywood upbringing, surfer's physique, and an outlook unhampered by the pressures of being a celebrity. Rostagno was having the time of his life at a tournament whose harsh distractions - the planes, the jaded fans, the swooping pigeons, the rock-hard footing - didn't bother him. For Rostagno, who wraps his racquet in rainbow tape that matches his woven necklace, it's all a dose of charming local color. In contrast, Becker has never been comfortable in these irreverent surroundings. 'The only thing that I was doing very well was that I had a very good spirit on the court,'' Becker said. The match became more of a resurrection than a competition, for Becker initially appeared buried by a combination of Rostagno's willful service game and his own sluggishness. Becker was so bowled over by Rostagno's bold serve in the first set that he twice lost his own, and then, after dueling apace through the second set, it was Rostagno who played the more strategic tie breaker and left Becker in a 1-6, 6-7 abyss. On the verge of elimination, Becker began to play the more improbable tennis in the match. Rostagno winced as he recognized the desperation cross-court forehand, nailed on the run, with which Becker took away the second match point he held in the fourth set tie breaker after he lost the first by hitting a forehand long. Becker's shot hit the net cord, soared over it, and bounced for a winner behind Rostagno. ''I used that exact same shot to stay in my match with Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon last year,'' Rostagno said of another of his near upsets. Recovering Too Late This time, the lucky shot belonged to Becker, and Rostagno began to suspect the worst when Becker followed it up with a service winner to take a 7-6 edge. When the West German, who is seeded second here, won the tie breaker and tied the match with an impossible backhand topspin lob, Rostagno faltered. Becker took advantage of that and broke Rostagno in the first and third games of the fifth set, where he built a 4-0 lead. ''It took me a couple of games to recover, and by that time it was too late,'' Rostagno acknowledged. Becker agreed that Rostagno's lapse at the beginning of the fifth set presaged his demise. ''He gave me the first four games without a fight, and that's what cost him,'' said Becker. The tournament's top-seeded player among the men, Ivan Lendl, had a far easier outing than Becker and finished off a match that had been suspended by rain on Tuesday night with a 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 victory against Diego Perez of Uruguay.
What to Read Next Audi Nanuk Quattro concept, the 544-hp off-road monster with familiar chops September 9, 2013 Does a 5.0-liter V-10 turbo diesel, turning wheels the size of an average meteor, packing 544 hp and 738 lb.-ft. of torque, powering to 62 mph in 3.8 seconds and vowing off-road prowess as well as on seem completely preposterous? The Audi Nanuk Quattro concept is indeed that. By all known measures, it comes off insane. Except that Audi's parent company, Volkswagen, released the Italdesign Giugiaro Parcour, based on a 550-hp Lamborghini, at the Geneva auto show last March. It too sports Swiss Army knife-like adaptability, and packs spookily similar performance specs from its V-10 motor. So why are we seeing this concept again in the form of an Audi? The Nanuk Quattro promises to provide neutral handling and efficient maneuverability, made possible by rear wheels that turn the opposite direction to the front by up to nine degrees, reducing the turning radius by almost 33 feet. Additionally, the rear wheels turn 2.5 degrees in the same direction as the front, offering a more stable car under high-speed cornering. (A less aggressive system is used in the new Porsche 911 Turbo S -- another member of the VW family.) Adaptive ride-height adjusts automatically to suit changing road surfaces, while at 4,188 lbs., the Nanuk remains a hefty brute. From its look to its practicality, the Nanuk Quattro poses an interesting concept. But given we've effectively seen it before, do we still care? Volkswagen's leaders have promised all of the brands, from Bugatti to the low-priced Seat, will share more parts in the future, but this feels like a case of Audi reheating Lamborghini's leftovers. Perhaps Giugiaro's public mishap at Goodwood meant VW needed another off-road/on-road/sports car/SUV amidst its list of wacky concepts? If it avoids the hay bales, it'll be doing better than its predecessor.
Why not a 12-35 F1.8 - F2.8? Started Apr 2, 2014 \| Discussions thread Shop cameras & lenses ▾ Anders W Forum ProPosts: 21,460Gear list Re: Why not a 12-35 F1.8 - F2.8? In reply to jennajenna, Apr 2, 2014 jennajenna wrote: Anders W wrote: The fact that a 12-35/1.8-2.8 for MFT is equivalent to a 24-70/3.5-5.6 on FF with regard to total light on the sensor, DoF, and diffraction doesn't mean that the former can be constructed to be as small, light, and optically good as the latter. From a lens design point of view, the former is a more challenging task than the latter. Hold on there Anders, What are you saying - that a 2.8 on a m43 is "equivalent" to 5.6 on full frame ON THE QUANTITY OF TOTAL LIGHT COMING IN? Do you mean it's the "same" - first off the word equivalent is a lawyers word. It's either the "same" or "not the same". But back to what you said - I was informed that 2.8 on m43 lets in the SAME amount of light as 2.8 on a full frame. The difference is in depth of field and difrraction; but mainly depth of field. Now it seems you are suggesting total light comes into a m43 less at the same aperture as bigger sensors. Can you clarify. Sure I can clarify. The basic facts are the following: With respect to exposure, which refers to amount of light per area unit (e.g., per square millimeter) on the sensor, f/2.8 on MFT is equivalent too (has the same effect as) as f/2.8 on FF. With respect to the total amount of light on the sensor (light per area unit times the number of such units on the sensor) as well as with respect to DoF and diffraction, f/2.8 on MFT is equivalent to (has the same effect as) f/5.6 on FF. Does that help? Anders W's gear list:Anders W's gear list Reply Reply with quote Complain Post (hide subjects)Posted by Keyboard shortcuts: Color scheme? Blue / Yellow
Fiery anthropocentrism Dear HCN, Steve Pyne's fine article on Ed Pulaski, and the Forest Service's corporate culture about forest fires, is a great read (HCN, 4/23/01: The Big Blowup). But Steve, like so many others, fails to see the main point about humans vs. fires. Fires happen. It's not our fault. The idea that finding "a Pulaski" of "fire management" policy will lead to the right balance between "fire lighting over firefighting" is misguided anthropocentric fantasy. The forests in the future will burn on much their own terms, as they always have in the past. The era of suppression-first was sincere and heroic, but in the scale of time and space of the national forests it was short-lived and never comprehensive. Suppression-first tactics on national forests were only significant from about 1950 to 1980, and they were not totally effective even then. The fires of 1988 were caused more by the suppression of Native Americans and their pre-Columbian fire policies, than by Forest Service firefighting. There will be fires of 2110, too, and thereafter, so long as the biology of conifers and photosynthesis conspire. They will not be "caused" by humans igniting them (Smokey to the contrary notwithstanding) any more than they will be "caused" by "unnatural suppression" of minuscule fragments of the total fuel load. We cannot "manage" the fire ecology of the Northern Rockies - which is sometimes very big, very dangerous and very scary - without obliterating the ecosystem to which it is integral. This seems to be very hard for human beings - and particularly journalists - to accept, but the forest doesn't mind our anthropocentrism. For a great history of the heroic days, when extinguishing forest fires was an unquestioned and exciting adventure, read Two-Man Stick by Bud Filler (Burning Mountain Press, Boise, Idaho, 1999). Philip M. Hocker Alexandria, Virginia
Return to main page for: Harriet and Isabella A Novel By Patricia O'Brien Reading Group Guide Harriet and Isabella Discussion Points 1. On page 10, Harriet tells a young Isabella that hypocrisy is the enemy of truth, the coward's way out. What circumstances prompt this moral proclamation, and how deeply does it affect Isabella? 2. Discuss Harriet's and Isabella's opinions of each other as each reflects on the past while Henry lies dying. 3. After seeing a woman struck by her disapproving husband at Anna Dickinson's speech in Hartford, Isabella realizes how closely paralleled are slavery and the treatment of women, especially underprivileged women. What similarities do you see in the abolition and women's suffrage movements and their philosophies as described in this novel? Do you agree that the situation of the slave and that of the nineteenth-century woman is similar? Why or why not? 4. Mary Beecher points out to Harriet that betrayal is never simple. Consider those characters accused of betrayal in this novel, such as Isabella, Frank Moulton, Elizabeth Tilton, and Victoria Woodhull. Why do you think these characters did what they did? 5. Henry is furious with Isabella, yet Harriet is the one who leads the family in ostracizing her. How much of Isabella's supposed betrayal does Harriet take personally? What clues tell you that Harriet's outrage and hurt may be more about Harriet herself than on Henry's behalf? 6. How does Isabella's role as the "baby" of the family affect how she leads her life? How much do you think it influences her commitment to the suffrage movement and to Victoria Woodhull? 7. When Isabella confronts Henry about his supposed affair with Elizabeth Tilton on page 125, why is she so sure that he's lying? What does she mean when she says that the contempt in his voice is so telling? 8. In addition to the belief that Isabella's pleading note to Henry only adds to the public appearance of his guilt, the Beecher siblings seem to feel that the very idea Isabella proposes -- to admit his guilt and ask forgiveness of his congregation -- is insane. What do you think? Is Isabella naïve to think that Henry's admission would really end the scandal and promote healing? 9. In a private moment of honesty, Tom Beecher tells Isabella that he believes that Henry has slippery doctrines of expediency. What do you think drove Victoria to attack him? How much do her motives influence how her actions are judged? How much should her motives matter? 10. Why isn't it enough for the Beechers that Isabella promises that she'll say nothing about the matter for the rest of her life? What are they more upset about -- Victoria's claim that Isabella confirmed Henry's guilt to her in private, or that Isabella thinks Henry actually is guilty? 11. Why is Isabella so adamant in refusing to defend her brother when she does not, in fact, know that he is guilty? Why is she more willing to believe the rumor mill and Victoria Woodhull than her own brother? 12. Isabella has a vivid imagination. What do you think her dreams described on pages 165 and 172 symbolize? 13. On page 184, Harriet becomes irritated by the organization of jurors' chairs, saying that she "wants symmetry." What does this reveal about her personality? Does it give you insight into her actions? 14. Why is Isabella unable to convince her sisters of the importance of supporting the women's suffrage movement? As members of an esteemed family, do you think privilege keeps the Beecher women from understanding the plight of the ordinary wife? How else does being privileged affect how the Beechers see and interact with the world? 15. In the wake of Henry's death, Harriet wonders if her loyalty has been less a moral choice and more a way to avoid uncertainty. What do you think? Were both sisters "blind to the costs of stubborn loyalty," as Isabella puts it? Does loyalty take precedence over truth? Would the truth in this situation have precluded Harriet's and the other Beechers' ability to be loyal to Henry? Enhance Your Book Club Experience 1. Throughout the novel, there are references to many important political and social events that occurred during the mid- to late-nineteenth century, a rich time in American history. Do some research on any historical figure or event from 1852 to 1887, from the abolitionist, women's suffrage, spiritualist, or labor reform movements, to share with your book club. 2. Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, is credited with single-handedly waking America up to the evils of slavery and fueling the abolitionist movement. Today, many Hollywood versions are available, including the acclaimed 1987 made-for-TV movie starring Avery Brooks, Samuel L. Jackson and Phylicia Rashad. Rent one of these versions and watch it with your book club or on your own prior to your next meeting. 3. The Beecher family has been called the "Kennedys of their time." Do a little research about the members of the Beecher clan and see how the historical information available lends credence (or contradicts) the fictional accounts given in Harriet and Isabella. About the Author Patricia O'Brien Photo Credit: Patricia O'Brien
ACLU sues school district for student's social media free speech rights The ACLU has brought suit against the Minnewaska (Minnesota) Area Schools and Pope County over invasions of students' privacy relating to a pair of incidents. In the first incident, a 12-year-old student was disciplined for complaining on Facebook that she "hated" a hall monitor who was "mean" (the school characterized this as "bullying"). In the second instance, a sheriff's deputy and school administrators required the student to turn over her Facebook password after her boyfriend's mother complained that the student and her boyfriend had been talking about sex on the social network. In both instances, the student used her own, off-school computer to make the contentious remarks, after school hours. The ACLU claimed a sheriff's deputy was present at the time, but there was no warrant. The group claimed this violated the girl's right to privacy and right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. "She was intimidated, frightened, humiliated and sobbing while school administrators were scouring her private communications," attorney Wally Hilke said in a statement. "These adults traumatized this minor without any regard for her rights." The girl's mother filed the lawsuit on her daughter's behalf. Apart from unspecified damages, the suit seeks a court order "restrain[ing] school officials from attempts to regulate or discipline students based on speech made outside of school hours and off school property." ACLU sues Minnewaska schools, Pope Co. Sheriff's Office over student Facebook incidents (via /.) 1. I do suspect that bullying may have occurred. However, I’m not quite sure that the school administration identified the location and perpetrator(s) correctly… 2. Yes, bullying occurred. The institutionalized* bullying of the soft-core prisons we call “schools.” On one hand, it is hard to watch what happens in schools under the pretext of education: unconstitutional, oppressive and horrible bullying of children by adults. On the other hand, it is great to see the institution’s real educational message coming through loud and clear: obey, don’t take risks, do not question authority or the trivia you’re fed, go for the rewards and remember, we call the shots and you and your rights don’t matter. It is only ironic that schools are built on the very principles of bullying and intimidation and at the same time flaunt “zero tolerance policies” towards bullying. In a logical universe that would cause them to self-destruct :) *Excluding democratic schools, and to some extend Montessori and Waldorf schools. 3. In Arlington, Texas the school handbook is so broad in defining cyber-bullying that anything you do on-line that disturbs anyone can be punishable and the school district can suspend you. Keep in mind, that covers posting comments or materials at non-school related events. The same school district will suspend you as a student if you are caught by police engaging in underage drinking off-campus and at an unrelated event. The school district does not take the student to a judge, there is no warrant issued, there is no due process. In essence, your school administration acts as though it has the power to act as judge and jury over your child’s future; unless you can afford an attorney to advocate and threaten legal action. Hence, children from disadvantaged families have no method of contesting a school districts’ policies putting those statistically ‘at risk’ children in even greater jeopardy of falling in to the Texas ‘school-to-prison pipeline’. 1. I’m not surprised. I went to Dunn Elem for a couple years way back in the day. They sent a kid home for wearing a “life’s a beach” t-shirt. Extrapolate forward, and you can see how the pipeline was formed. At least in Arlington. 4. Facebook is quickly becoming the “It’s a Small World” of the InterWebz. I.e., happy happy joy joy, totally sanitized. I don’t post even half the weird shit I used to post when FB was young. Now, my mom’s on it, family, work people, friends of bosses, etc etc. So I don’t let it hang out as much as I used to. Which is fine… party’s over, find a new party if you really wanna party. Otherwise, it’s Kaliber and O’Douls for web dissent. 5. I live just a few miles from Minnewaska (it’s the next district over) and the over-all feeling that I have heard from the public I have talked to is simple disbelief that officials really could be that stupid. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out. But, it is kind of a broader problem that is just starting to emerge out here in the sticks of MN. Some officials and teachers really do take things way too far and I have seen some that does come close to crossing the line of legality. It is nice to know that the district and the sheriff got called out on this one. 6. IANAL…but I am an elected member of a school board in Massachusetts, and as chair of the policy committee for that district, I recently had to rewrite our bullying policy based on changes in state law regarding bullying. As such, I can say with some assurance that because of what some of us refer to with gritted teeth as the “nexus clause” (in which activities outside of school in any environment, virtual or real, which affect school comfort zones are considered “school bullying” by law, and are thus the school’s “problem” to manage), at least the first of these activities would actually count as bullying under both school policy and law in MA, assuming the hall monitor FELT that the facebook message created a hostile environment or “emotional harm” in the hallways. I do not defend this, mind you. I merely note that if Minnesota has similar laws, then the school will almost definitely win their case against the 12 year old. And any request for “a court order “restrain[ing] school officials from attempts to regulate or discipline students based on speech made outside of school hours and off school property.”” would either be laughed out of court in this state…or would result in a judge declaring existing school bullying law unconstitutional. Either way, the school would not be liable. Happily, at least thus far, Massachusetts schools have no power that I know of to force a student to turn over their facebook password, or indeed to push past privacy laws in those outside-school spaces, virtual or real. The second case would thus likely remain hearsay-based, unless a school was stupid enough to write policy that specified police-state powers to enforce their obligation to pursue fact-finding in “nexus” cases, in which case I’d expect the ACLU to successfully sue them for policy that interfered with reasonable in-family relations and privacy laws. 7. I see a business opportunity: not only do kids need to be taught: Never Talk To Cops, they also need to be educated about their legal rights vis-a-vis assault by their schools. I am sure that most parents would gladly fork over a few hundred bucks to have Junior do a couple of weekend workshops to avoid having their lives ruined by petty, scum-bag idiot functionaries. Comments are closed.
A Different Kind of Gene Mapping: Comparing Genetic and Geographic Structure in Europe: The Return! By Chris Gignoux and Brenna Henn Early human history was characterized by many rapid, long-distance migrations. But despite our beginnings as travelers, genetic evidence published online last Sunday in Nature indicates that after expanding to all corners of the earth people (at least those in Europe) tended to stay close to home. Close on the heels of similar research published just a few weeks ago (and covered in The Spittoon), John Novembre and colleagues have created a genetic “map” of Europe that closely mirrors the geographic map. Their results will allow scientists to better understand how geography contributes to genetic variation, which is important for both genome-wide association studies and ancestry analyses. Figure 1: The genetic map of Europe using PCA, with the geographic map of Europe for reference. Figure 2: The same map, but zoomed in on Switzerland. Swiss individuals tend to cluster with countries that speak the same language. (Courtesy: John Novembre, UCLA) The researchers used a mathematical technique called principle components analysis (PCA) to collapse large amounts of SNP data for 3,192 people drawn from throughout Europe into a two-dimensional “map” of their genetic distances from one another. (Figure 1) When the researchers looked at the DNA of any two individuals, they found that the number of genetic differences between them was proportional to the geographic distance that separates their respective home countries. Even within countries the researchers saw that groups with similar cultural histories shared similar genetics. For example, Italian-speakers from southern Switzerland tended to cluster together with other Italian-speakers and apart from other Swiss groups. (Figure 2) Using only genetic data, the researchers were able to assign, on average, 50% of European individuals to within 400 kilometers of their correct country of origin. But there was one caveat: all four grandparents of an individual had to come from the same European country for the assignment to be correct. People with mixed European ancestry tended to show up between the locations of their ancestors. The accuracy of assignment varied greatly from country to country: some people, like the Swedes and Portuguese, were placed on the map with less precision than other groups like the Polish and Belgians. As in earlier research that constructed a genetic map of Europe, the results of this study show that genetic variations between people tend to follow a northwest to southeast path. This may reflect an ancient migration after the Last Ice Age when glacial sheets extended down from northern Europe. Human groups (not to mention grasshoppers, hedgehogs, etc.) were forced to take refuge in warm southern locations like the Italian and Iberian Peninsulas. But after the glaciers melted about 15,000 years ago, humans began to re-colonize Europe, moving from south to north. In the past, genome-wide association studies have been hampered by the effects of geography on genetics. For example, a study looking for DNA variants associated with height found spurious evidence of linkage to SNPs that are actually linked to lactose tolerance, because both traits vary along the same NW/SE axis in Europe. The results of this study current study and others like it will help scientists make corrections in their data and increase their ability to detect true associations. • Karl Why do slovaks cluster so far away from other slavic groups, and close to italians. That doesnt make sense in comparison with other studies done on slovaks. • aschops Only one single Slovak was put under analysis in that study. Out of sheer luck, it turned out that he had a particularly southern profile. If more Slovaks, and from many parts of their country, had been studied, this would have reduced the influence of outliars with exotic genetic profiles and no doubt the Slovakian position on the plot would more closely resemble its geographic location. • 23blog We about 40 reference populations in estimating European ancestry. Of those about 10 our public reference databases and the rest come from 23andMe. In total we use about 6,800 samples from those various reference populations. Return to top
Exploitation of Nature by Religion “Aggrieved and offended nature” “Reason speaks” A lot, Religion exploits the availability of the nature's objects and ascribe them to God, while the existence of those nature’s objects have been formed before the coming of religion thousands of years before. In this case: 1. Religion does not respect human’s mind, as it lies to it, by telling that God has created nature’s objects. 2. Why didn’t God communicate with those people who had lived in those ancient periods, before the coming of religion? What was their guilt that God had not communicated with them and told them of his existence and his creation? Is this discrimination, carelessness, or he was not there at that time! Or they were created by someone else? 3. Religion claims the creation of those nature’s objects and the control of their behaviour. Religion didn’t bring any new thing at all. What was mentioned in the religious books about the creation was originally exist. Religion just exploited the existence and the behavior of those nature’s objects and ascribed that to a fictional being named God. Example; In Quran God says that he, who brought/got down water from the sky! Ok, Water comes down from the sky naturally, thousands years before religion, and water behaves according to very accurate rules. If a season is not rainy, rain doesn’t come down, at the same time God never showed us practically getting down water as concrete evidence. 4. Every thing in religion is metaphysical / transcendental. It is merely speech, speech, speech and attributing the whole natural phenomena to that supernatural, invisible or unseen being named God. Why does not that metaphysical being show himself at least once? And creates at least one practical, actual, real, and rational thing before us. What’s the objection? Deity, providence, or heaven capable, unable, selfish or, egoist; it does not respect our minds and our intellect. The disaster here is not the deity, the disaster is the believers and religious people who enforce and strengthen such illusions. 5. In Quran, God “Allah” claims the creation of the Sun, moon, stars, skies, earths (7 skies and 7 earths) , human’s soul, Satan, devils, spirits, angels, death, life, earring, sight, mind, humans, animals, birds, day, night, light, dark, mountains, seas, water, fire, dust ,rock and all the nature’s objects , except one thing it was never mentioned, (Air) I don’t know why! I guess because of the ignorance of the author. As air in that time, the period before science was not discovered yet, while it was exist, and the author of Quran talks only about what was picked up by his abstract five senses. 6. All those things were exist before the appearance of religion, people who lived in those ages (before religion) who supposed to tell them such information! Why were not those nations and peoples informed or told about that creation? Tags: allah, atheism, creation, god, religion Views: 62 Replies to This Discussion Why didn’t God communicate with those people who had lived in those ancient periods, millions and millions of years before the coming of religion? The monotheistic religions would say because there was no earth millions of years ago or even tens of thousands of years ago. But back when I was a child, trying to reconcile the very rational, scientific view of the world I was being taught (like there were hominids a million years ago) and the laid-back but still Christian religious views, I too wondered; "So where was God up until 6,000 years ago?" I just figured no one had bothered to write any of it down for quite a while. Which turns out would be not far from the truth. Though child-me also always wondered, "So if they didn't bother to write it down until tens, hundreds, or thousands of years later, how do we know they got the story right? I play 'operator' with my friends and the point of the game is that we can't keep a single whispered phrase correct for 90 seconds as it goes through a dozen ears." I am happy to hear you question all these nonsense stories. You seem to be from Muslim culture? I am from East Asia. Anyway, people like you are real saviors of this world. I think we should also know that socialism is another dictatorial religion that promises false heaven on earth but in fact brings unhappiness. Socialist leaders are power-greedy people who bring even more corruption and evils. How do I know this? Just see the socialized states of the world. They kill economy, freedom, and human rights.. Badges \| Report an Issue \| Terms of Service
Frequently Asked Questions Q: Who are John and Hank? A: John is the Printz Award-winning author of Looking for Alaska, Printz Honor An abundance of Katherines, the NYT Best Seller Paper Towns and the immensely successful The Fault in our Stars, which has been adapted into a feature film. He lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, with his lovely wife Sarah, his son Henry, his daughter Alice and his dog Willy. His brother Hank is the brain behind Ecogeek, the web's largest environmental technology blog and Vidcon, the world's largest online video conference. Hank lives with his wife, cat, dog and XBox 360 in Missoula, Montana. Q: What is Brotherhood 2.0? A: After noticing that their relationship had for years consisted primarily of emails and instant messages, John and Hank swore off all textual communication with each other for 2007. Instead, they made public video blogs back and forth every weekday for the entire year. (They got holidays off.) Q: What’s a Nerdfighter? A: Hmm. Watch the videos from February 1st, February 17th, and July 25th. They are all pretty good at summing up what we are :D. Q. In your introductory animation, it says “365 Days of Communcation.” Can you not spell or something? A. We can spell just fine, thanks. The I was left out to remind our viewers: THERE IS NO I IN BROTHERHOOD! Q. That’s stupid. A. Okay, we couldn’t make the animation work with the correct spelling. It kept breaking. Q. The intro says that you were going to have “365 Days” of textless communcation, but you didn't post on weekends? What gives? A. We get a lot of questions about semantics. It’s almost like all our fans are librarians and editors or something. Anyway, you do not need to post a video blog in order to have textless communication. Q. Why does John call his wife the Yeti? A. Watch the video from January 2nd. Q. What’s the song from the B2.0 intro? A. It’s Death Cab for Cutie’s “Brothers on a Hotel Bed.” Q. What is all this crap about In Your Pants? A. It’s complicated. But it all started with our friend Maureen Johnson. (See January 23rd) Q. What equipment do you use? A. Hank and John used identical Canon Elura 100 camcorders, which their parents bought them on Christmas Eve 2006. They now both use Canon HV30s, the best pro-am Mini-DV camcorder in existence. Hank also owns a Canon WD-H43 Wide Angle lens. The brothers edited their videos in iMovie, but have since switched to Final Cut Express. Q. What do your parents think about this? A. “The parents are bemused but supportive.” Q. What is the "Evil Baby Orphanage" I keep hearing about? A. This idea came out of the moral dilemma of whether it is ok to kill baby Hitler, who has technically done nothing wrong. Instead, Nerdfighters propose that we time-travel back to take them as babies to a remote location where they are brought up in a nurturing environment and can therefore do no harm. Q. What does "jokes" or "so jokes" mean? A. It started in the July 25 video. It basically is replacing cool with jokes which is totally so jokes. Q. What does DFTBA mean? A. DFTBA stands for Don't Forget To Be Awesome something we should never forget but nerdfighters have found some other very interesting things is stand for too which Hank expressed in an awesome video. Q. How do I get in touch with the webmasters or "ningmasters" A. You can email us at: Q. A lot of people have been asking "WHO THE EFF IS HANK?!" A. To be honest we just don't know. We have set up a committee to find out and we'll get back to you on that. Q. Is one still able to become a Secret Sibling? A. Hmmm. All you had to do to become one was occasionally post video responses to Hank or John's videos.Unfortunately, Youtube has now phased out video responses. Please keep tuned while we try to find an acceptable solution. Q. What is a Decepticon? A. One of the many inside jokes that emerged from Brotherhood 2.0, but generally they are the mortal enemies of Nerdfighters (popular people). The term first came about in Hank's video on July 3rd, 2007. Q. Why won't John sing anymore? A. John has written and preformed three songs during 2007, but due to his lack of musical talent gave the Nerdfighters a gift on December 31st, 2007 (the gift of course being that he wouldn't sing anymore). Q. What's the name of Hank's cat? A. Cameo Q. What's the name of Hank's dog? A. Lemon Q. How can Hank can eat meat if he is an environmentalist? A. Although its not exact, this video does a pretty good job of summarizing Hank's view on eating meat. Q. Isn't Hank green that guy from the little shorts in cyberchase? A. No. To the best of my knowledge the only television network Hank's ever been on is the Weather Channel. (Well, he has appeared in a CBS 2 news report as well) Q. Where did the nerd fighters hand sign come from? A.The Short Answer (provided by Nerdfighter Vivian Hernandez): The nerdfighters hand sign is Spock's signature "Live long and prosper" from Star Trek. It's just done on both hands except one, with palms facing inwards. The Long Answer (provided by Chrissy PokémonMaster Davies): The hand sign is a take-off of the Vulcan Salute, which was used by the Vulcans as a gesture of good will, good manners and awesomeness, meaning "Live Long and Prosper." Lenonard Nimoy (if you want to know more about Spok, google Leonard Nimoy or watch some Original Series Star Trek episodes) played Spock on the original series of Star Trek, and developed the hand gesture based on a Blessing given by Jewish Kohanim. It represents the Hebrew letter Shin, which looks a lot like the hand gesture, and means Almighty God. Strangely enough, the Nerdfighters gesture is more like the Shin than Nimoy's depiction. Q. Is this FAQ page really outdated? A. Yes, for the most part it is! Some details have been updated, but generally speaking this page still needs a major overhaul. Thanks for noticing! You need to be a member of Nerdfighters to add comments! Join Nerdfighters Youtube Links! © 2015 Created by Hank Green. Powered by Badges \| Report an Issue \| Terms of Service
MCS273 Introduction to C++ Programming (January 2013) Getting Started The purpose of this lab is to familiarize you with our computer facilities. You will also learn how to use the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) Eclipse (if you don't already), which you will be using for your programming in this course. Eclipse is one of the most widely-used Integrated development IDEs in the industry. Eclipse has many features that help you edit, develop, test, and debug your programs. The purpose of this project is to give you a first glimpse at some of those features. In particular, you will be doing some variations of the Hello World program described in chapter 1 of our textbook. You do not need to hand in anything from this project, but there will be several check-offs, which are described below. The classroom we will be using for the lab session (Olin 326) consists of 16 Mac Minis which are part of the campus-wide computer network. There is a printer in the small room adjoining the classroom/lab. Its name is mcslab, so if you need to select a printer to print to, that is the one you should use when in the third-floor Olin computer labs. Each Gustavus student has been given a computer account; this lab assumes that you already have read your account letter and changed your password. If not, and you need help with this, let one of us know. It does not matter which workstation you log into; you will have access to all your files on all computers, since they are stored on a central file server. The following instructions assume some familiarity with such terms as single-click, double-click, and drag, which refer to the use of the mouse (the small doohickey next to the keyboard). If you don't understand something or if the instructions seem impenetrable, don't worry. These are examples of things better shown than described in words. Ask me to explain it to you. Also, feel free to talk with your fellow students. Computers are unfortunately fraught with many arcane terms, and defining them all would unduly clutter these handouts. Fortunately, if you are not shy about asking someone when you have a question, you should get the hang of it fairly quickly. Special instructions for check-off labs A large number of the labs (including this one) are so-called check-off labs. By this we mean that you need to show that you have finished specific tasks, which will demonstrate to us a basic understanding of the material covered in the lab. When you have finished one of the designated tasks, you should show me so that I can check you off on the given task. Check-offs are worth one point each, and will be indicated in bold face in the labs. Log in and use a Browser (1 point) 1. Login using your Gustavus account and launch your favorite browser. We do not include instructions for these task because we figure that most of you already know how to do this. Furthermore, you can't even be reading this unless you are using a web browser such as Firefox, so these are basic boot-up tasks. We will briefly describe how to do this in the first class, and will help anyone who needs help during the first lab. 2. Locate the Gustavus Adolphus College homepage by entering in the Location box and pressing Enter. Since you may not want to remember this address for next time, select "Add Bookmark" under the Bookmarks menu. Next time you want to find the Gustavus homepage, select "Gustavus Adolphus College" under the Bookmark menu. 3. My personal homepages are located at The course home page is located at You may wish to bookmark these as well. 4. Check-off: Show me that you have located the course homepage and added it to your bookmarks. (Feel free to leave your browser open, continue work, and get checked off for this task and the next at the same time.) The directory structure and Terminal (1 point) Mac Minis on campus share a tree-structured file system. This means that the files on the computers are located in directories, which may themselves include files and subdirectories, which may contain files and other subdirectories, .... When your account was created, you were given a home directory in which you can store and create files and subdirectories. This home directory resides on a file server maintained by the Gustavus Technology Services (which is located on the first floor of Olin Hall). Since your home directory is automatically loaded onto the computers, it really doesn't matter which specific computer you use. Whichever computer you use, you will have access to the files you created in your previous sessions. For this course, I recommend you learn how to navigate the directory structure using a Terminal window, which is less system dependent and graphically based than other methods. Following are some tasks which will help you learn how to view and manipulate the directory structure using a Terminal window on Mac OS X. 1. Open up a Terminal window. Terminal is a program that allows you to issue commands to the computer's operating system. Unfortunately, these commands are often somewhat arcane and difficult to remember. Fortunately, there aren't many commands that you need to remember. The easiest way to launch a shell is through Applications on Mac OS X. Get the list of applications by single-clicking on Applications on the Dock. Scroll down until you see Utilities and single-click on it. You will find Terminal here. Single-click on Terminal and a window will pop up, and you will be presented with a command line prompt from which you can issue commands. How it looks will vary from person to person, but will probably end with the % or > character. 2. Find out your present work directory. As described before, each computer user at Gustavus has a home directory that is stored on the central file server. When you start up a shell, the present work directory is your home directory. To see what that is, type pwd. (You must press the "Enter" key to actually issue the command.) Do so. Your home directory should end with your username. 3. View your home directory. You can view the present work directory by entering the command ls. This will list all files and directories in the present work directory. To get a more informative listing, type ls -l. This gives more information about the files and directories. 4. Add some sub-directories (also known as folders) to your home directory. To add a directory called mcs273 into your home directory, type mkdir mcs273. Do so, and then type ls -l to see the newly created sub-directory. 5. Check-off: Move to the mcs273 subdirectory and do a pwd to show that you are there and a directory listing to show that it is currently empty. You can move to mcs273 by typing cd mcs273 (think of cd as Change Directory). Do so. Typing cd .. will cause you to move up one level in the file system; typing cd will take you to your home directory. Eclipse for C++ (1 point) For this part, I strongly recommend that you work in pairs, with at least member of the pair having experience with Eclipse, hopefully in MCS 178, where we use Eclipse to program in Java. Many of the skills there are easily transferable to Eclipse for C++, which I will hereafter (ambiguously) refer to as Eclipse. 1. Launch Eclipse. You will find this in the application folder under Eclipse for C++. Be sure you use that one. After a few seconds, it will ask you to select a workspace, offering you some default option. I recommend that you create one called Workspace in your mcs273, though it's up to you. Be sure that it is somewhere under your home directory, so that you have access to it from other computers. 2. Do the "Create a Makefile project" tutorial. You can do this by clicking on the "Tutorials" icon in the Welcome screen, and then click on "C/C++ Development" link. This will take you to a web browser, where you should be able to see a "Create a Makefile project" link. Follow the instructions there. Warning: when you do the debugging, a window will pop up which will ask you to log in. You should log in with the name "gustavus" and password "adolphus", which will then allow you to do the debugging. You should be able to do the building, running, and cleaning both in Eclipse and in the Terminal, and you should be able to do the debugging in Eclipse. 3. Check-off: I want each person (not just each group) to demonstrate that they can do the tasks above. If you find you have time on your hands, I strongly recommend that you create a new makefile project called "Chapter02" and then populate it with the five programs in chapter 2, which you can easily get at the "Textbook Code" link at the side of the course web pages. You will have to figure out how to extend the makefile to deal with all of the source files. Finally, I encourage you to download and set up Eclipse for C++ on you computer(s). I will be doing everything on the Macs, but it shouldn't be to hard to set it up on Windows or Linux.
We asked scientists. Caleb Scharf is the director of astrobiology at Columbia University. Here’s what he told us about the location and composition of planet GTA, if planet GTA existed in our solar system: So, to orbit our Sun every 12 days means the planet would need to be about a 10th of the distance from the Sun as the Earth currently is (from Kepler’s laws), or about 0.1 astronomical units in radius [1 Astronomical Unit = 92 955 807.3 miles]. This is inside the orbit of Mercury (whose orbit is roughly 0.39 astronomical units in radius). That’s a brutal place to be. My very crude estimate of what the surface temperature would be (keeping everything else about Earth the same, like its absorbency of radiation): 1,200–1,300 Fahrenheit — pretty toasty. That’s the melting point of aluminum and twice the melting point of lead (so much for bullets). In terms of composition, there would be no surface water (obviously!), rock, and metal ores on the surface. If there was an atmosphere it’d be pretty nasty — I suspect a lot of evaporated minerals/metals, etc., and a very nasty radiation environment this close to the Sun. Josh Peek is a postdoctoral Hubble fellow at Columbia, and he was kind enough to find a planet meeting this description in a map of exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) discovered by the Kepler space telescope. It has the awesome-sounding name of Kepler-29b, and here is what we know about it: So, Kepler-29b orbits a sunlike star, and fits the orbital requirements for planet GTA. One problem: According to the Extrasolar Planet Encyclopedia, the surface temperature is approximately 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, as Scharf predicted. OK, so planet GTA, in our solar system, or a solar system like ours, would be a tough place to live. BUT! That’s assuming the residents of planet GTA have not figured out a way to deal with the heat of the sun and terraformed the planet into a lovely place (classic assumption). Here was Scharf’s best idea for cooling the surface: Well, you could construct some kind of orbital shade out of partially transparent material — e.g., quartz doesn’t melt until 2500°F — but you’ve got to cut about 99% of the solar light to get back to Earth like heating! Those are some pretty heavy-duty sunglasses. Peek had few ideas too: The easiest way to solve this problem would be to make it orbit a much smaller (and therefore dimmer and redder star) which puts out much less energy. I am not sure how you would mitigate that kind of influx of energy — maybe paint the whole planet white to reflect most of the light? I am kinda at a loss — planets that close to sunlike (G-dwarf) stars are out of the “goldilocks” zone — they have ~100 times the energy input that we get from the Sun. So! Either a giant quartz orbital shade or painting the planet white or jogging planet GTA over to another star. Let’s work for the time being with that assumption, that planet GTA, an Earth-like planet with no galactic Ray-Bans, moved to another star, and maintained its 12-day year. What would this star look like? Caleb Scharf figured it out. This was tough to work out, but I think I’ve got it about right — the issue is that small mass stars are fainter, but since they’re less massive, the 12-day orbital period location changes too. To maintain roughly Earth-like conditions, but have a 12 Earth-day-long year, you’d need your planet to orbit a star one-tenth the mass of the Sun (such things exist, they’re called M-dwarf stars) at about 0.03 astronomical units, so roughly 33 times closer to the star than the Earth is to the Sun. And that star is overall about 1,000 times less luminous than the Sun, and also much redder, it would not look like the Sun. Much redder than our sun, eh? Well, wait just a minute! OK so, here’s the problem: Kepler-29b and the closest M-dwarf star are several light-years away from Earth. And we haven’t detected any quartz-shielded planets between Mercury and the sun. So we’re left with only one logical conclusion: Planet GTA is actually a secret, government-funded ringworld orbiting directly behind the moon, where members of the Illuminati keep their mansions and commit crimes against normies with impunity. If you’ve read this far you are in danger. Check out more articles on! Contact Joseph Bernstein at Here Are The Top Stories Get The News App More News More News Now Buzzing
\| \| Contact James Marshall Crotty 10 Questions for #Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street Protester If yesterday’s revolutionary backgrounder didn’t get Occupy Wall Street‘s nipple rings in a ringer, surely today’s questions will. Here I go again, walking straight into the buzzsaw of hysteria. The 10 Questions: 1. In all your fury at OWS bogeyman, Bank of America (with its high fees, robo-signing, and disastrous purchase of subprime mortgage giant, Countrywide Financial), how many of your realize that the bank was put, at least in part, in its current dire financial situation, not just because of subprime loans, but because of pressure from Bush Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to go through with the purchase of damaged Merrill Lynch? 2. How many of you realize that over half of all Americans, including most of the union members who now opportunistically come to your side, have their retirement and pension accounts invested in corporate securities via mutual funds, hedge funds, 401K plans, IRAs and other financial instruments? Have you stopped to consider that tearing down Wall Street, for its seeming “corporate greed,” will, in turn, damage the financial survival of those you seek to help? 3. Have you stopped to consider that the profits earned by Wall Street investment banking firms are compensation for the risks they take to increase profitability for investors, including institutional investors like unions (think CalPERS), employee benefit plans, and charities, as well as individual investors like Mom and Dad via the college fund they set up for you many years ago? If you clamp down on banker “greed,” you will, in turn, be clamping down on banker risk. Which might be something I support in some areas (especially greater capital and collateral requirements for riskier investments like CDOs), but with that clamp-down likely will come less retirement income for your biggest backers, including mom and pop (which, in some cases, might be depositing filthy lucre in some evil bank account right this second, so you can continue to eat while protesting through the winter). Moreover, a clampdown on risk will reduce the amount of liquidity in the economy. And, thus, not only dim employment prospects, which you ardently call for (“We Want Jobs! We Want Jobs!”), but the chances for refinancing underwater mortgage and student loans. Finally, as extremely large and powerful institutional investors, your union pals actually have a say over corporate governance. If you don’t like a company’s direction, or how that “greedy” CEO received a bonus while taking government payola, protest outside union headquarters or other institutional investors that have large stakes in that company. Demonizing a company on face, however egregious its leadership, is not going to grow this economy one iota. 4. I assume that most of you by now realize that your protest was inspired by a tongue-in-cheek, anti-consumerist Canadian publication called AdBusters (“Blame Canada!”). Nothing wrong with that. If you read my Monk and Crotty Farm Report columns, you know that I routinely rail against the surfeit of advertising in all areas of American life, especially during sports programming. One reason I like soccer is because there are no commercial breaks during the game. However, advertising is the primary funder of a free press. Could media, including your beloved social media, survive without it? As a long-time publisher, I reckon that few publishers could, especially if they had to depend on subscription or single-issue sales. Maybe that is a good thing, but it is something to consider. 5. If you are anti-consumerist, why are you not singing the praises of Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan? First, it flattens the tax for everyone, making it fairer, less complex, and harder to game. If you genuinely favor a more transparent tax system — which the wealthiest can no longer manipulate to their advantage via loopholes and deductions — you would support Cain’s plan. Moreover, his 9% sales tax would be a strong disincentive to consumption, and, thus, consumerism. Maybe you and your AdBuster brethren should invite Mr. Cain to speak in “Liberty Square.” Unless, of course, you are pro-consumerism. This would make at least some economic sense, since a large percentage of U.S. GDP comes from the consumer sector. However, a pro-consumerist view would run smack up against your AdBusting anti-consumerist mantra. So, what will it be? Liberal shoppers at Lulelemon, Trader Joe’s, Kenneth Cole, Whole Foods, and Apple stores everywhere are waiting for your guidance. 6. You call Wall Street bankers “criminals.” But where is the criminal indictment? Where is the evidence of criminal wrongdoing? I could see a case for moral or even civil culpability, but criminal? Where? And, if you want to throw the “criminal” label around, why are you not protesting outside the offices of Fannie and Freddie, whose loose lending standards helped engender the housing bubble, and the resulting financial crisis? Nary a peep on that head, yet you want to let recalcitrant homeowners, many of who took out loans they knew they could not afford, stay in homes even after years of non-payment? Isn’t there a double standard here? If the bankers are culpable, then Freddie, Fannie, homeowners, and, above all, the ratings agencies (who gave AAA ratings to junk CDOs) are culpable too, no? Why aren’t you protesting outside Fitch and and McGraw-Hill (owner of Standard and Poor’s)? Why aren’t you protesting outside Mr. Buffett’s fabled Farnam Street home in Omaha? After all, he owns a huge stake in the Moody’s rating agency. If you are still hopping mad about how the housing bubble precipitated the financial crisis, then start spreading the hate around. 7. You rail against the “bailouts.” I too railed against them, including the bailout of two inefficient, innovation-challenged American auto dinosaurs, GM and Chrysler. It’s not the job of a government in a free market economy to pick and choose winners — whether via hastily assembled preferred government stock investments (e.g., Citigroup, Goldman, GM, AIG) or boondoggles (Solyndra) – or losers (Lehman Brothers). But, if you were in Presidents Bush’s and Obama’s shoes during the financial crisis, would you still have failed to backstop our largest financial institutions? Do you realize that, if you didn’t act, the credit markets had a good chance of freezing up, preventing you and your union friends from purchasing anything with your credit or debit cards, let alone withdrawing cash from your beloved credit union ATMs? If you are okay with this scenario, you should all be backing Ron Paul, who is the only politician to courageously call for a complete governor on crony capitalism and Too Big to Fail. And Mr. Paul has a point. In pure capitalism, we should let publicly traded companies fully pay the consequences when investments go bad. As any stock or commodity trader will tell you, when corporations know that they will not be bailed out for the risks they take, you will start to see true risk management on Wall Street (however, see point 3 above about the dangers of less risk) and on Main Street (because bank lending standards will remain tight). Yet few of you back Mr. Paul, who is, incidentally, the biggest peacenik in either party. This has me scratching my head. Instead, you embrace grandstanders and celebrity know-nothings without thinking through what the logical extension of your argument should be. What’s more, you fail to acknowledge that most of the money lent to corporate America via the Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP) has been paid back. In addition, all of the major banks paid back their TARP money with interest. In short, please specify the net loss to this economy from the TARP program. And please specify how further tightening of credit standards will create meaningful private sector jobs at this juncture. 8. I hear you say there should have been a TARP program for low-income earners, for the hallowed “99%.” But what do you think the bailout of GM and Chrysler was? The U.S. saved those car companies precisely to preserve manufacturing jobs. What do you think the tax rebate was? The reduction in mortgage rates? The dramatic increase in unemployment benefits? The enormous grants to state and local governments, so they could keep unionized workers, like police, firefighters, and teachers on the job? Those were all huge bailouts of the average American. 9. I also want to know what you dislike about Mr. Obama’s current economic policies. Sure, if you buy Paul Krugman’s analysis, Mr. Obama might not have gone far enough with his Stimulus efforts, but politics is the art of the possible, not what some Keynesian academic thinks is warranted in the abstract. So, what precisely do you find troubling about the President’s sundry stimulus efforts to aid the poor and middle class in this country, including the Making Work Pay Tax Credit, the Economic Recovery Payment, the First-time Homebuyer Credit, the Alternative Minimum Tax (designed to punish the very high-earners you excoriate), a Deduction for Taxes on Car Purchases, a Child Tax Credit, the American Opportunity Tax Credit to help with the costs of post-secondary education, Temporary Income Exclusions for those receiving Unemployment Benefits, and all sorts of small business tax incentives and efforts to encourage mortgage modifications? Can you please break down for me how the “99%” are not helped by those initiatives? Moreover, how is the President failing to protect consumers from the more deplorable practices of financial institutions? Didn’t his 2009 Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act address the issue of unfair rate hikes and hidden fees head on? And was Dodd-Frank just whistling in the wind? Your dreaded Wall Street banks sure don’t think so. Post Your Comment Please or sign up to comment. • fauxscot fauxscot 3 years ago There is no reason on this planet that we should have CEOs earning 500 times what the average worker earns. There is no reason on this planet that billionaires need to have smaller tax brackets than normal working folks. Too big to fail is too big to exist. Financial incentives for offshore production of jobs, including tax codes which encourage off-shoring of profits need to be drastically curtailed. We are the largest consumer market on the planet. If you want to sell here, you pay the piper. Sanity in the expenditure of public funds demands that we encourage policies that have long term, positive potential for the economy. Oil exploration subsidies are better spent on solar, wind, efficiency, LED/alternative lighting, mass transit that will be REQUIRED in tomorrow’s economy/environment. It’s arguable that the high tax rates of the pre-Reagan era and the superior income distribution of the last century made for a more stable and fairer society. There is obviously too much wealth and income stratification in America now, unless you long for the return of royalty. Your arguments have a fair number of holes in them. They are at least as biased as those of the protesters, and coming from the side with the vested interests, they ring hollow. All the money in the world proved fairly useless to a lot of Frenchmen during their revolution. Social unrest has a way of getting out of hand. These people deserve to be heard. The present circumstances, grounded in unfairness and inequity, must change. Unregulated capitalism is a bad thing, especially when it’s coupled with the government. Time to try something different. Your way is broken. Too big to fail, and too broken to fix. • James Marshall Crotty James Marshall Crotty, Contributor 3 years ago “CEOs earning 500 times what the average worker earns.” Ah, how you define “the average worker”? Secondly, are you pushing for wage controls? Have you looked at the historical evidence of what this does to the job prospects of your “average worker”? Thirdly, I don’t expect capitalism to be completely “fair.” This idea that life always has to be “fair” is one of the great misconceptions of the modern era. Is it fair that Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady, and LeBron James each make over $20 million a year, while a South Bronx high school teacher will be lucky to make $50,000 a year? Who is more important to the country? You don’t need to just look at Wall Street to see preposterous salaries. How about the earnings of your OWS buddy, rap mogul Russell Simmons? Should he make 500 times what a cop or fireman or soldier in Iraq makes? These are what I call the irrational externalities of capitalism. It ain’t perfect. But it’s better than the alternative. • scooter scooter 3 years ago Why aren’t they picketing the major universities that raise tuition with impunity and have endowments larger than the GNPs of many countries. These are the true villains who have saddled these kids with outrageous loans. We need to dismantle the Federal loan program and open up the system to the free market • daviddelosangeles daviddelosangeles 3 years ago Hello scooter, History never happens the way people expect it to happen. It cannot and will not conform to your, mine, or anyone else’s expectations. Movements like this have a life and logic of their own. It is naive to imagine that a movement expressing social unrest is going to be neat, polite, and orderly. How did the United State become independent from England. Was it daintily discussed over a cup of tea or were there unruly mobs, bloody confrontations, and ultimately war? More recently, the Civil Rights Movement was indeed confrontational, disruptive, and widely disparaged. History is not a master thesis to be composed are arranged in a sequential and formalized fashion. It happens in a confused and disorderly manner, much to the dismay and displeasure of those in power. This is history in the flesh, not the sanitized mannequins one sees in history museums. • johannes3644 johannes3644 3 years ago It is naive to think that a government can keep spending as much money as needed and expect to be conforming to the long-term health and viability of it’s economy. And since you bring up our forefathers, perhaps you need to reread a basic book on American history. Our founders went to war as a last resort after years of petitioning the king and pursuing diplomatic means. And when they did go to war, they actually had a well-reasoned and coherent message, unlikely the driveling snobs camping out on Wall Street. • James Marshall Crotty James Marshall Crotty, Contributor 3 years ago Did you even read the piece? Just answer the questions under 9 for a start. 1. You don’t seem to understand the context of the TARP bailout. Had it not been done the “average American” would have been crucified. 2. You don’t understand how the government’s massive attempts to “help” the average American via loosening housing loan standards was a major contributor to the housing bubble and the resulting financial crisis. 3. And you haven’t studied the billions that the Obama administration has spent on the average American. See point 9. • daviddelosangeles daviddelosangeles 3 years ago Mr. Crotty, No, you are completely incorrect in this matter. The housing bubble, whose creation was aided by Federal regulators, was not for the benefit of “the average American” but for the banks and investors. Millions of Americans who were sold homes during the Bubble have since lost their homes plus all of the money paid when they had their some. They today have less than they did the. It is the banks and brokers who who made the big profits, who were rescued by TARP, and are still living well. • James Marshall Crotty James Marshall Crotty, Contributor 3 years ago Whoa. You need to read up on the Community Reinvestment Act’s role in creating the housing bubble. See here: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2009-06-27/wall_street/30009234_1_mortgage-standards-lending-standards-mortgage-rates But also read Michael Lewis’ The Big Short. Yes, the mortgage bankers, the investment bankers, the CDO spin doctors, the risk backstoppers like AIG were all culpable in the housing bubble. But the Left always wants to ignore individual irresponsibility and the role of government in fostering individual irresponsibility. Bailouts need to end all the way around. • daviddelosangeles daviddelosangeles 3 years ago Mr. Crotty, There is an unfortunate aspect of Forbes.com in that it is not always clear who is responding to whom based solely upon the the appearance of the notes. This is one reason why I always address my correspondence to a particular individual so that it is unambiguous. I would first say that it is quite unreasonable to imagine that giant multi-billion dollar financial institutions and an individual family wanting to buy a house can somehow held as equals in this situation. These firms have untold numbers of lawyers, accountants, lobbyists and so forth at their disposal, to say nothing of vast financial resources. They can go to Washington and get the ear of anyone they want. An average working American in 2005 has none of of those resources. They do not meet with mortgage companies and brokers with the same skills, knowledge, and resources. They have no idea what a “credit default swap” was or how they worked. They did not have access to insider information. It is beyond naive, really disingenuous, to suggest that these two parties with wildly different levels of access to knowledge and power, some how meet as equals in the market place and are equally culpable in all of this. • aryadne aryadne 3 years ago Speaking as someone who leans left, I don’t ignore individual responsibility which is why I own two businesses and pay my bills. I also don’t ignore the role of government which is why I support OWS who are protesting in front of some of the biggest funders/lobbyists/owners of the government. I’m not a union groupie either. I’ve seen unions cause problems too. My question to you is why does the right ignore the responsibility of Wall Street? Of the Banks? And why can’t they admit that the nefarious activity that occurred was not “self-corrected” by the free-market? The simplified facts are that not all corporations suck, not all unions suck, not all banks suck, and government doesn’t suck. It’s when they get “TOO BIG” (for lack of a more simplistic word) that they suck. • James Marshall Crotty James Marshall Crotty, Contributor 3 years ago 1. I don’t disagree with you that blame needs to be spread around, but you are talking generally. Get granular and tell me what policy prescriptions I discuss are good or bad. I am talking about government policy that encourages individual laxity and codependence. You may be a highly DIY, capable, driven person, but government policies encourage the opposite in some cases. 2. You talk in black and white terms. I am an individual. I am neither right nor left. Some of my positions are far left (on the environment, for instance, and civil rights for all) and some of my positions are fairly conservative (border control, balanced budget, the importance of individual responsibility). I am defiantly indefinable, as are most humans when you get down to it. Even those who seem like at times like strident cartoons, such as Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Al Sharpton, Michelle Bachman, and Rachel Maddow, are fuzzy around the edges, even though they don’t publicly admit it. 3. I dealt with the Too Big to Fail issue in the post and in the comments area. Dodd-Frank hits this head on. Why don’t you drill down and discuss what you find problematic with Dodd-Frank. I am totally against Too Big to Fail. You need to read more closely. IMHO.
Do please read this list before you email me. You may find your answers here. Q. Now that D101 is completed, what will you be doing next? I have two comic projects on the go at the moment. Zombies Calling is my first adventure into print media. It's a action-packed tale of three university students who find themselves trapped at school during a zombie invasion. Having no firepower to fight the zombies, they attempt to survive in the manner of all pop culture enthusiasts: by following the Rules of Zombie Movies. The graphic novel will be published by SLG Publishing this November. If you enjoyed D101, please buy it and support me becoming a Real Live Comic Book Artist! :D I also have another online comic, Ice. Ice is updated "when I can," and is a dark (rated R) story of survival and love in a broken-down future England. It is free for all to view. Q. Will you ever produce a D101 graphic novel, collecting the completed online comic? No, I don't think so. I love D101, and I would love to return to it someday, but I want to leave it alone and move on to other things right now. It will remain on this website, but not in hardcopy. Maybe a few years down the road I'll return to it. But not right now. Q. Why do you write/draw this comic? For shits and giggles. It's too bad people don't do online comics for fun anymore. Ah, alas. Q. Is there any way readers can help out the comic? Of course! On the front of the D101 site is a donation button. If you have a paypal account, feel free to donate a couple of dollars to help me out with paying for hosting. I really appreciate it. :) Otherwise, a kind word through email or in my guestbook really keeps me going and happy. Q. How do you create/keep going an online comic? There's no magic formula to doing a comic, and keeping it going. It all comes down to hard work and whether or not you're willing to commit to keeping the comic updated. I can't really answer this question, mostly because I don't know how I've managed to do over 600 pages of D101... I just do it. I do not, however, wear Nike. Q. Is your name really 'Faith'? Uh.... yes. For the record, my full name is Faith Erin Hicks, and I club baby seals for a living. Q. Where did you come up with the title for the comic? It all happened one fine day while I was rotting in class, doodling contentedly. The class I was currently afflicted with was called 'Religion 101', and despite the fact that Religion is been a force that has constantly shaped the history of mankind, I was bored to tears. I found this terribly ironic: shouldn't a subject as potentially fascinating as Religion be absolute dynamite to study? Obviously this was not the case. So, while bored in Religion 101, I doodled a picture of a black haired girl with pointed ears, and underneath the drawing, out of respect for the class I was currently slacking off in, I wrote the words "Demonology 101." The comic you read now kind of stumbled its way out of that class and doodle. And, like most things, the name just seemed to stick. Q. Your comic is really similar to Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Well, yes. On the surface, it is. I love the work of Joss Whedon (although I found the last two seasons of Buffy very lacking) and I admire how he has always managed to put a new spin on an old idea (in this case, the horror of high school). So, at the very beginning, D101 was very much inspired by Buffy. But I like to thing it has evolved beyond that. You may also find inspiration in D101 from Jeff Smith's wonderful comic Bone, The Gabriel Knight games, and my own University experiences. Q. Could you explain the 'demons' of the comic? But isn't it more fun if you draw your own conclusions? For the truly insistant, though, here is a rundown of the demon types we have seen in the comic. "Suits": This isn't an official name, just what Poe calls them. They only obey those who have the blessing of the higher (demonic) Powers That Be. They're basically demon grunts, identical in appearance (black suits, ties, sunglasses & black hair), and not prone to making conversation. They do all the menial task on earth, such as kidnapping, beating people up, and murder. Fairly low in intelligence, but well endowed with strength, many of these demons were wiped out when Network was attacked, pre-comic. Marturia Demons: Exclusively female demons, and they all seem to have large bat-like wings. They're extremely nasty, even more so than the Suits, and difficult to control. They do not speak, but instead vocalize to others of their kind through chirps, hisses and snarls. They are quite intelligent, agile and also have slight extra sensory powers (they can sense the presence of other demons). However, they are rarely seen on Earth. Monarch Demons: It's not known if this is an official name or a nickname these demons have picked up, but this is the kind of demon Raven is. The highest ranking demon, and possibly the only one with the capacity for free will (that is a whole 'nother debate). Elspeth and Lethe also fall into this category. Like humans, their appearance varies in relation to their upbringing (they are also the only demon-type that is 'born' and 'grows up', although there is much debate as to the demonic aging process, and whether or not their concept of time is the same as mankind's); that is to say, a Monarch raised in a human environment will have notable human features/characteristics/mannerisms, whereas a Monarch raised 'elsewhere' may have such things as wings or horns. Monarch demons are the most common demons found on earth, as unlike the other two types, they can blend easily with humanity, and act in a "normal" fashion. Q. What exactly is this 'Network' thing the characters keep mentioning? Network was an organization. It doesn't have much bearing on the comic, because when the comic began, Network had been destroyed... However, it does have impact on the pasts of the characters, so here's a brief rundown. Network was one of those underfunded, morally superior little organizations that are usually seen harassing Big Business and the like. They're usually run by people who have Bachelor degrees in political science and too much conscience to work for a traditional company. These little organizations usually mean well, and we've all probably supported one or two during our lifetime, but for the most part they are understaffed, overworked and function basically on the blood and sweat of their loyal employees. Network was devoted to the idea of fighting the Jenners, but what they focused on was the family's physical holdings and corruption, not the fact that the Jenners were linked to an otherworldly force of Great Evil. For the most part, the Jenner Family was mildly amused by Network, a small, combative organization doggedly determined to destroy them. That opinion changed over the course of the last ten years, as the Jenner's plans of political corruption, drug trade and occasional arms dealing were repeatedly foiled by this small, formerly insignificant organization. Why Network enjoyed such success in the past ten years (assisting police and un-corrupted politicians in restricting the Jenners' movements in the business world) is somewhat unknown, although there is suspicion that Network had an insider privy to the Jenners' inner workings on their payroll. Raven was a big shock to Network, as she was basically living proof that what they were fighting was in intrinsically spiritual war which did not necessarily stay within the realm of mankind. There had been great suspicion within Network that the Jenners had some sort of otherworldly connection, although opinions on that matter ran the gamut from outright disbelief to general acknowledgement and usually depended on whether or not the person submitting the opinion was a believer in the realm of the supernatural. Q. What medium do you use for the comic? Is it originally black and white? Yup. I draw it with my trusty blue pencil (69 cents at your local Loomis & Toles) and ink it with a fineliner. For Episodes 2 & 3 I used a kid's watercolour set for shading. Cheap and fairly effective. For Episodes 1 (the revamp) 4 & 5, I scanned the comic unshaded, and shaded it in Painter Classic (a very nice little program I got with my wacom tablet). Later I moved on to Painter 8, which has a much more finished look than PC. CHARACTER FAQ (questions about the characters and their quirks) Q. How can Raven be good, when she's inherently evil... She's a demon. As 'God' said in the bizarre movie Time Bandits, "I believe it had something to do with free will." If there is any message behind Demonology 101, it's that human beings have a wonderful gift, that allows them to chose how they will live their lives: free will. Raven is somewhat of an anomaly in that respect (the question of whether or not D101 demons have free will has yet to be answered), but it's fairly obvious that she is a bit different from her kin. You could also look at the comic as an investigation into the debate of Nature verses Nurture: Raven, it would seem, is inherently evil. Yet she was raised in an environment that facilitated good, and she is a decent person... So is she still evil? It's a huge issue, I realize, nor am I making any statement as to one side or the other... but this is one of the themes of the comic, and one that applies to this question. Q. In Episode 3, who was Mackenzie dressed as for the Halloween Dance? Merle, from Escaflowne. Q. Hey, Eli looks like Harry Potter! First of all, that's not a question. Bad reader! But you're right, he does. I started Episode 3 just as I was reading the Harry Potter books, and I thought it would be terribly amusing if I made a little demonic version of him... However, the joke bombed, and I rather regret doing it. Oh well. He's still pretty cute, and seems like the type of demon Raven would take a liking to. Q. What's with the names? My characters always get named accidentally. Their names just seem to stick on them, no matter how ridiculous they may seem. Gabriel is named after Gabriel Knight one of the (late) great characters of computer gaming. I highly recommend the first two GK games, if you can find them. Raven is named after a horse I rode during my 15 years of riding, but also after the trippy, schlocky poem The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe. Poe is named after the poet Edgar Allen Poe, naturally. I think 'Poe' may actually be a nickname, though I doubt we'll ever know. John is named after this really cool guy I had a strange platonic crush on in my second year of university. He's married now. Alas. Sachs was named for the internet artist of the same name (he draws the comic A Miracle of Science; check it out in the links section). Sachs just seemed like a cool name for a semi-evil immortal guy, doncha think? Well, I think so. Sachs' first name is Daniel, which is just a name I liked. Mackenzie I either got from a Due South episode, or from the Prime Minister Mackenzie King. For some reason it seems to have become a fairly popular name over the years... Her sidekick, Mal is named thus because I liked the name Malcolm (which Mal is short for). It's probably owing to Jurassic Park. Isaac is a biblical name, from the story of Abraham (Old Testament). Isaac, in the story, was a child promised by God, to carry on the Hebrew bloodline; but later in the OT, God orders him sacrificed as a test of Abraham's faith. Lethe is a word I picked up in Religion 101. Far as I know, it means destruction/destroy. A few people have mentioned that it's also a river in Greek mythology, but that's just a co-incidence. He wasn't named for that. Elspeth is a variation on the spelling of Elizabeth. Lacey is the name of one of my oldest netfriends. It's also a sweet, girly name, which I thought would be a fun contrast with the character. Eli is the name of my youngest brother. I don't know why I chose it. It just stuck. Banai I stole from a friend of mine in university. She wrote a wonderful story about a character named Banai who did a lot of drugs and planted trees, and I stole the name. Aaron is the male spelling of my middle name. Again, it just kinda stuck. Jenner is the name of the main villain in The Secret of NIMH. Great movie. Do rent it. Q. What character is most like you? I share characteristics with all the characters, I think... kind of. Raven and Mackenzie I'm most similar to. I have Raven's self-doubt and fear, and Mac's smart mouth and looks. However, I also share Gabe's sense of misguided duty, and John's occasional foolhearty-ness (and unrequited attraction. That's always pleasant). Like Poe, I'm fond of men, and like Sachs, I'm immortal. Q. Who's the most popular character? Well, you can look at the fanart to take a guess... However, I find the volume can be misleading: I'm much more likely to get fanarts of Raven and the other female D101 characters, probably because they're fun to draw... I dunno why people would rather draw women than men, but that seems to be how it goes. The misleading aspect of it all is that John and Isaac are actually quite popular, more so than, say, Poe. I get a substantial about of emails and questions about them, but rarely any fanart, probably because they're harder to draw. I'd still say Raven is the most popular character, but she should be, because she's the main character. Q. Why does Gabe always wear the same shirt? He doesn't. He has dozens of those kind of shirts, all in various shades of white and off-white. Actually, what was kind of a running gag on my part has grown into a personality quirk. He's just the kind of guy that would buy 16 identical shirts. Square, I guess you'd call it. Q. In flashback moments in the comic, Raven is shown with little demon horns. What happened to her horns? Basically... she molted. A demon's appearance is sometimes affected by those he/she grows up with, and Raven, having been raised in the company of humans soon lost her horns. She did, however, retain her red eyes and pointed ears, a staple of Monarch demons. This, of course, would have made her a really cool looking goth girl, but she's a little too involved with staying alive to get interested in specific fashion. Maybe in university. If she survives high school.
LETTER: America's morals slowly eroding Cecilia Reising, Evansville The picture on the puzzle is getting clearer every day. It's almost done, it seems. What innocently started as a chemical way to help women with infertility problems, the fantastically popular "birth control pill" slid us into believing that we can have sex without responsibility. This attitude grew comfortable, so when the logical consequences became an issue, i.e. "accidentally getting pregnant", our society had to do the next logical step. Like a child learning to walk, we stumbled into unknown territory once again. Abortion had to become necessary and it was only right to make it accessible for everyone, since we couldn't be prejudiced or judgmental to the poor or those in states that didn't agree with this rational measure. The next few pieces flowed naturally from the others. Since sex and children were separated into two distinct realms in our way of thinking, sex for sex's sake became the new norm in our modern society. It is only logical that President Obama is pushing for historic rights for gays, since it is only reasonable that if I can have sex with whomever I want for sex's sake, then I should not have negative consequences of these actions by the very society that encouraged me. The first few steps might have been taken with some hesitancy, but each step became easier and easier as we progressed, which of course leads us to today. As said in the Nation and World article entitled, "Obama gay rights brief filed," if couples of any sex (does that mean me and my brother count?) establish homes and lives together, support each other financially, raise children together, etc. that "bear the same hallmarks as straight ones," we should logically be equal to the norm and be allowed all the rights and privileges of marriage status. It only makes sense in the image we have built America into. The sad truth is that more pieces will mysteriously show up after the puzzle picture becomes clear, indefinitely, unless we change the picture by changing the very cardboard it is made up of — us. The picture right now — hedonism — is not the principle guiding force that I want my America to be built on any more. The United States of America is bigger than that.
When someone rejects a diagnosis of mental illness, it’s tempting to say that he's “in denial.” But someone with acute mental illness may not be thinking clearly enough to consciously choose denial. They may instead be experiencing “lack of insight” or “lack of awareness.” The formal medical term for this medical condition is anosognosia, from the Greek meaning “to not know a disease.” When we talk about anosognosia in mental illness, we mean that someone is unaware of their own mental health condition or that they can’t perceive their condition accurately. Anosognosia is a common symptom of certain mental illnesses, perhaps the most difficult to understand for those who have never experienced it. Anosognosia is relative. Self-awareness can vary over time, allowing a person to acknowledge their illness at times and making such knowledge impossible at other times. When insight shifts back and forth over time, we might think people are denying their condition out of fear or stubbornness, but variations in awareness are typical of anosognosia. What Causes Anosognosia? We constantly update our mental image of ourselves. When we get a sunburn, we adjust our self-image and expect to look different in the mirror. When we learn a new skill, we add it to our self-image and feel more competent. But this updating process is complicated. It requires the brain’s frontal lobe to organize new information, develop a revised narrative and remember the new self-image. Brain imaging studies have shown that this crucial area of the brain can be damaged by schizophrenia and bipolar disorder as well as by diseases like dementia. When the frontal lobe isn’t operating at 100%, a person may lose—or partially lose—the ability to update his or her self-image. Without an update, we’re stuck with our old self-image from before the illness started. Since our perceptions feel accurate, we conclude that our loved ones are lying or making a mistake. If family and friends insist they're right, the person with an illness may get frustrated or angry, or begin to avoid them. Anosognosia affects 50% of people with schizophrenia, and 40% of people with bipolar disorder. It can also accompany illnesses such as major depression with psychotic features. Treating these mental health conditions is much more complicated if lack of insight is one of the symptoms. People with anosognosia are placed at increased risk of homelessness or arrest. Learning to understand anosognosia and its risks can improve the odds of helping people with this difficult symptom. Why Is Insight Important? For a person with anosognosia, this inaccurate insight feels as real and convincing as other people's ability to perceive themselves. But these misperceptions cause conflicts with others and increased anxiety. Lack of insight also typically causes a person to avoid treatment. This makes it the most common reason for people to stop taking their medications. And, as it is often combined with psychosis or mania, lack of insight can cause reckless or undesirable behavior.
Lesbian Tribbing Archive for the "Lesbians" category Lesbian tribbing Lesbian tits dream tasty lesbians amateur tribbing, latino latina sweaty innocent footjob, orgy sex lingerie emo filipina fuck and, cum swap tips piss play, milf vids pov tubes sexy fat, sluts xx mature toilet wet ebony lovemaking, dildo tube boobs site fourm, naked drunk coed anal enema busty teen, kiss movie clips huge clit glory hole, iphone porn lola linked pics. Tags Old Lesbian 1. Previous Gay Shemale Sex Tubes 2. Next Gay Skinny Sex Vidios Lesbian tribbing related porn pics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Most popular searches 1. Ashley Tisdale Nude Pics 2. Russian Hot Women 3. Nude Coeds Women 4. Emo Ladyboy 5. Milf Pics Camilla 6. Average Pussy Pics 7. Lolicon Daughter 8. Anal First Girl Young Desert Spiders 9. Ebony Teen Fingering Ass 10. Housewife Mrs Texas Brooks 11. My Friends Hot Mom Michelle Lay 12. Housewife Mrs Marie 13. Asian Hd Videos 14. Submitted Homemade Porn Pics 15. Aziani Kristi Curiali 16. Sucking Dick Test 17. Amateur Shemale Anal 18. Non Nude Fuck Milf 19. Ass Titty Nitro Express 20. Awesome Nipple Sucking 21. Amateur Allure Lynn Love 22. Adult Videos Ipad Blogspot 23. Adult Massage Merida 24. Girlfriend Throat Fucking Hard 25. Hustler Strip Tease 26. Hustler Naked Models 27. Hustler Mega Pass Zeina Heart 28. Hustler Mega Pass Taylor Wayne 29. Pretty Ladies 30. Glory Hole Contest PornPicturesArchive.com > Page 10686 > Lesbians free pictures and videos
70.2 MB 6,011 downloads 7.82 Build 78201 100% CLEAN Demo 3.0/5 3 A real time PCR primer and probe design tool that supports bacterial identification, pathogen detection or species identification editor's review buy now $4885.00 Studying bacterias, along with their pathogenic characteristics, takes a considerate amount of time, given that the oligo sequences they contain tend to be pretty long. In order to ease off the time needed to analyze this information, you could use a software tool that has the ability to perform bacterial identification, pathogen detection or species identification processes with ease. AlleleID is such an application, as it gives you the possibility to analyze assay designs of bacterial oligonucleotides, the determine their pathogenic behavior and species. Complex bacterial analysis tool The program can help you analyze bacterial oligonucleotide sequences, in order to better understand the behavior or certain bacteria, along with their pathogenic characteristics. You have access to several assays, so that you can investigate the behavior of certain bacterial DNA or RNA molecules from different views, then determine their pathogenic characteristics. For instance, the program analyzes conserved and species specific regions using one assay then, with the help of certain procedures, such as PCR primer design and dual labeled probe design, detect only the strain or species that interests you from a certain mix. Intuitive assay processing utility AlleleID can help you determine the species of a bacteria even if you have a partial oligonucleotide sequence of a gene. This is done by studying the genome draft of related organisms and it allows you to surpass certain difficult tasks, such as detection, identification, quantification or monitoring of contaminants and their environments. Furthermore, you can identify cross species genomes, the application helping you separate the conserved regions of a oligonucleotide sequence and design an universal probe. A powerful and comprehensive microbiology analysis program To sum it up, AlleleID confers you with several innovative ways of identifying bacterial genomes along with their pathogenic characteristics and species behavior, using robust assay results and gene splicing analyzers. AlleleID was reviewed by Andrei Fercalo Last updated on June 26th, 2014 AlleleID - AlleleID allows you to analyze bacterial identification, pathogen detection or species identification.AlleleID - From the Search Status tab, you can check the BLAST information, beacon properties or Exon data.AlleleID - By accessing the Aligned Sequences tab, you can easily view the Minimal Probe Matrix.AlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleIDAlleleID 0 User reviews so far.
Tell me more × I have a table and I'd like to fade in and out the top and bottom borders of the table. Initially I just used css' hover feature, but I'd prefer jquery's more fancy fading. I know how to fade objects in general in and out, but haven't found any solutions for borders only. share\|improve this question add comment 2 Answers up vote 3 down vote accepted When using jQuery UI, you can animate() the border color using code like: $("table").animate({"border-top-color": "#ffffff", "border-bottom-color": "#ffffff"}, 800); supposing the background color is white and moving the border color toward full white will make it disappear. Note that jQuery native animate() method doesn't work with colors, only with numeric values: you'll need animate() from jQuery UI. share\|improve this answer add comment This might be helpfull to you. share\|improve this answer add comment Your Answer
The Demise Of Dedicated Devices By Staff On Dec 18 2006 - 7:00am TWICE: As cellphones evolve into multipurpose devices, what will be the impact on sales of dedicated devices? Laikin: I think multipurpose converged devices are the future of the wireless industry. With high-capacity memory cards on the rise and increasing memory size in the device itself, a converged device will be very capable of handling a variety of applications, features and functions. A converged smart device is a minicomputer in the palm of your hands. Different operating systems (such as Symbian, Windows Mobile, Linux and others) allow multiple applications to run effectively on these devices. In the future, I believe consumers will have the capability of downloading the operating system of their choice and co-locating it with the operating system that came with the device. This would further increase the multifunctionality of a wireless device. Misuraca: Dedicated devices will get faster and smarter, and sales will continue to grow. Duea: The ubiquitous cellphone will soon become most people's MP3 player of choice. While research shows that consumers' digital music collections are growing, still 82 percent of online adults with music collections have less than 1,000 songs on their MP3 player. With 1GB MicroSD cards going for around $40, and 2GB cards readily available with even larger capacities just around the corner, a cellphone can easily handle the few hundred songs that are in the portable music collections of most consumers. Moreover, many folks are searching for ways to eliminate multiple devices if they can find a device that combines functionality, particularly if the multifunction device is easy to use, affordably priced and doesn't require the user to make a sacrifice on quality. That is exactly the case with the new music-enabled cellphones. The new Cingular Sync from Samsung is a sleek, thin phone that gives consumers one-click access to music, allowing them to enjoy subscription music content from Napster on their phone as well as access Napster Mobile's 2.5 million song library directly from their phone. The Sync is aggressively priced at $49.99. Finally, there is actually enhanced music functionality on the music phone so the consumer does not have to make a sacrifice of quality but instead gains enhanced functionality. That is in contrast to camera phones, which historically made consumers give up quality for the "always with you" convenience, causing many folks to own a dedicated camera in addition to their mobile camera phone. The new music-enabled phones provide the same level of audio quality as dedicated devices but actually have superior capabilities with regard to Bluetooth 2.0 (wireless stereo headsets, wireless connectivity to car stereos), data broadband connectivity for directly accessing music from the phone, as well as high-quality color screens that can beautifully present album art. Also, with the external memory card slots, these phones are upgradeable (32GB MicroSD cards are coming from Panasonic within two years). So the music-enabled phone is of better quality than most dedicated MP3 players and will become the main MP3 player for most consumers. Cross: It really boils down to personal preference. While the music phone market is rapidly evolving and our products are widely recognized as solid "all-in-ones," we believe there will continue to be a healthy market for dedicated devices as well. Sohn: We believe the impact will be minimal as you have the phone for everyday use of these functions and dedicated devices for when you want the optimal experience. The reason is that while phones can have high-quality functions across all areas, the most advanced features tend to start in dedicated devices and then move into cellphones. Digital photography is a great example where phones are very popular for being able to take pictures wherever you go and at any time. Then, when the phone owner needs to have the best picture possible with the most advanced features possible, such as for a wedding, they turn to a dedicated camera. Our challenge is to be the first and best cellphone provider to move the advanced feature from the dedicated device into the multifunction cellphone. The bottom line is that we are not simply improving the cellphone but creating the converged mobile device that we expect will be the center of consumer electronics for the foreseeable future. Larry Smith, Archos: Consumers will always carry two devices, and dedicated entertainment devices, such as ours, will be the second device in their pockets. While cellphones continually add productivity and entertainment functionality, it's not practical — or even possible — to watch video on a 2-inch screen or build in a multi-GB-capacity drive in the small cellphone form factor. There are three essential requirements for a true portable entertainment device: First, a large hard drive. A two-hour movie takes up about 2GB of storage, so several movies will take up space not practical on a cellphone. Second, a large screen. Enjoying a full-length film on a cell-sized screen also isn't practical. If you're talking about merging a phone and an MP3 player, there are good reasons and technology makes it possible. But a portable media devices require more than a cellphone can deliver. Karen Rubin, Pioneer: The only impact that multifunctional devices incorporating navigation-type functionality (e.g. cellphones) will have on the portable navigation device segment is positive, in that they all contribute to overall category awareness. Through the increased advertising and promotion of GPS functionality by the cellphone carriers, the average consumer is now aware of what navigation and turn-by-turn is and the benefits. The shortcoming of any non-dedicated device is that these products are originally designed for another primary purpose. Some of the top requests for navigation devices in any of our survey results include "maps that are easy to see and understand" and "clear and audible voice guidance," and cellphone applications of turn-by-turn fall short in that. Sakuma: We believe there will be a market for both stand-alone MP3 players and for other devices with MP3 as a functionality. Not everyone will want a single device that does everything. I think the digital camera is a good example. Despite the fact that most new cellphones include the ability to snap photos, sales of digital cameras have never been stronger. The focus of a simple MP3 player is straightforward functionality and making it easy for the consumer to use. The cellphone is excellent territory for "feature creep." Current Issue
Subscribe Feedback english look up any word, like poopsock: 1. Brunner Man A person who will eat all three meal at once because of excellent metabolism and needs ample calories 1.Hey Brunner Man you burn calories like an olympic swimmer 2.I have to eat a lot because I am Brunner Man rss and gcal
ACVA Objectives The primary objective of the American College of Vedic Astrology is to advance the study of Vedic sciences by providing a certification program; utilizing symposia, research and online education. 1. Design and implement internationally recognized, high quality programs of instruction in Vedic astrology that are innovative yet complement traditional Vedic Astrology principles. 2. Provide a blend of independent study, distance learning, and residential training options oriented to ACVA certification programs for both professionals and students of Vedic Astrology. 3. Impart the knowledge of Vedic Astrology to improve the value, talent and skills of individuals as successful practitioners of Vedic Astrology. 4. Collaborate with other educational institutions having similar goals to provide students with the attitudes and skills necessary to function harmoniously with the diversity of teachings in the fields of astrology. 5. Develop a faculty that is proficient in teaching, scholarship, and inspiration.
Five Questions for Oct. 8, 2012: Bill Vaughn Bill Vaughn, is a Clifton Park resident, clown and balloon artist. Although retired, he lived his childhood dream of working as a circus clown for my entire career. Q Where did you work? Q How did you train to become a clown? A Originally, I was a music major in college. I played alto saxophone and later switched to a soprano sax because it sounded more like a voice. It used to be that a part of a clown's act was always musical in some way. I left a college for music to attend Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1968. It lasted for 10 weeks. Feld Entertainment started it that year to preserve the tradition and art form of clowning and to prepare their clowns to perform in their shows. Out of 6,500 applicants, 65 were accepted and 25 got contracts with Ringling Brothers. I was one of them. I toured with The Greatest Show On Earth and was constantly moving from town to town. Later, with the Shrine Circus in Indiana, we set up the circus in a town for three to four days and then took the next three to four days to travel in our own vehicles to the next stop. I spent my final five years as a clown in the last tent show circus, called Circus Vidbel, the Original Old Tyme Circus Under the Big Top. We moved every day and performed two shows a day. Sometimes the next town was 150 miles away. We had two semi-trailers, one truck and a concession wagon. In 1976, I went independent. Then I went back to Circus World, an amusement park south of Orlando, Fla. Q How does life on the road impact family life? Q Who were your greatest influences? Q Why did you spend most of your life as a clown? Join the Conversation
home what's new bibliography interviews stories and more if you look around DIGRESSIONS Current Events It Only Hurts When I Laugh 4/16/03 - An apology by Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks "President Bush says that he does not need approval from the U.N. to wage war... and I'm thinking, well, hell, he really didn't need the approval of the American voters to become president either, did he?" - Late Nite king David Letterman digs right in on his first night back from a month-long battle with Scabies or something. * * *** "America is broke, basically, but Bush wants to wage a war that costs pretty much a billion dollars a month. We have a president for whom English is a second language. He's like 'We have to get rid of dictators,' but he's pretty much one himself. In America, we have orange alert, but what the hell does that mean? We're supposed to be afraid of Krishna? Of orange sorbet? Then it's like, 'You can't go out and shop, it's too dangerous out there,' but if that happens then the economy falls. The message is so mixed: 'Be afraid, but not too afraid.'" - Comedian/actor Robin Williams puts his career by speaking truth to power in another one of his legendary disjointed, barely-coherent improv riff-o-ramas. These two prior quotes were ripped off of the Daily Dirt (long associated with the acclaimed Naked News. - a hard core porno site with scathing daily commentary by "Yer old pal Jerky." Reader beware - don't go there if you can't take a lot of sexist orifice ads and really gross guy stuff. - DC Go to What's New
Tell me more × Possible Duplicate: How do I disable the on-screen keyboard in the unlock screen? Recently, every time I'm on the lockscreen, the visual keayboard appears at the bottom of the screen. How do I get it to disappear, and not appear again? share\|improve this question The tricky part of this is that the visual keyboard is actually deactivated in the Accessibility settings. And it only appears on the lockscreen, and not on the login window, nor on the desktop... – ATRus747 Dec 23 '11 at 10:37 ( Duplicate of ) – dholbert Jun 1 '12 at 17:47 add comment marked as duplicate by fossfreedom, Stefano Palazzo Dec 28 '11 at 10:55 1 Answer up vote 5 down vote accepted You probably have been playing with the OnBoard keyboard with your screensaver and have enabled it to appear - The solution would be the reverse of the linked Q&A - thus copy and paste the following into a terminal: gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.screensaver embedded-keyboard-enabled false Linked Question: 1. How to embed on-screen keyboard into gnome-screensaver 3.x unlock screen? share\|improve this answer Thanks, it disappeared! What I don't understand is that I never changed the screensaver preferences, nor the Accessibility ones... – ATRus747 Dec 23 '11 at 10:43 add comment
Bankruptcy remains on your credit report for up to 10 years Dear Experian, How long does a bankruptcy stay on your report? It has been almost six years and I am still denied credit on that basis alone. Dear LBE, Bankruptcy is sometimes represented as an easy way out of bad debt, but as you’ve discovered, that is not the case. While you may be free of your past credit obligations, you also will find it very difficult to obtain new credit, and possibly for a very long time. A chapter 7 bankruptcy filing remains on your credit report for 10years. Chapter 13 bankruptcy remains for seven years. Under chapter 13 bankruptcy you repay at least a portion of the debt, so it is removed a little sooner. When the economy was strong, the further in the past the bankruptcy filing occurred, the less impact it had on your ability to obtain credit. Depending on the type of credit, you might have qualified for new credit in a few months or a few years. But just getting credit wasn’t the whole story. While you might have been able to get a credit account, it usually came with high fees, interest rates, or both. Rarely was the credit you could get the kind of credit you would want. In today’s difficult economy, many lenders will not grant credit at all while the bankruptcy filing appears on your credit report. That means you might have to wait seven or even 10 years before you will be able to get credit. Unfortunately, the number of people who will file bankruptcy a second time is fairly high. To lenders, that means there is a relatively high risk that a person who has filed bankruptcy in the recent past could file again in the near future, which means the lender would not get repaid. In a strong economy, lenders are more willing to take that risk. But when the economy is struggling, as it is now, lenders might not be willing to take that risk at all. Thanks for asking. - The “Ask Experian” team
Like most overnight sensations, Ed Sheeran spent years working on his craft. In 2009, after reading that his fellow British songwriter James (not Jim) Morrison once played 200 gigs in a year, the 18-year-old played 312. By the time he met One Direction’s Harry Styles three years later, Sheeran was able to give him 40 tunes for possible inclusion on the group’s debut album. After the chart-topping success of his debut +, he’ll spend the rest of the year opening for Taylor Swift, cutting down the number of gigs but increasing the number of spectators. Catch him tonight all by his... More >>>
DataFabric 1.2 supports ActiveRecord 2.2 and its overhauled connection handling. Believe me, this is a good thing. The old connection handling code was awful; the new code is much nicer. How It Works data_fabric 1.0 supported dynamic connections by proxying the connection stored in the global static connection hash. This is thread-unsafe and therefore didn't support ActiveRecord's multithreaded mode (allow_concurrency = true). data_fabric 1.2 supports ActiveRecord 2.0 and 2.1 through the exact same code as data_fabric 1.1 except refactored to load only when those two versions are detected. If ActiveRecord 2.2 or greater is detected, the new proxy code is used. The new proxy works on a per-class basis and overrides the four class methods which make up the public connection API on ActiveRecord::Base: def data_fabric(options) DataFabric.log { "Creating data_fabric proxy for class #{name}" } @proxy =, options) class << self def connection def connected? def remove_connection(klass) DataFabric.log(Logger::ERROR) { "remove_connection not implemented by data_fabric" } def connection_pool raise "dynamic connection switching means you cannot get direct access to a pool" This proxy is thread-safe in that its mutable state is stored in thread-local variables. Note the latter two methods aren't implemented, for reasons you can see. remove_connection would be nice to implement but since we don't use it at FiveRuns, I didn't see any immediate need for it. I would happily accept patches for it. comments powered by Disqus
Tamsui Culture in detail Hobe Mackay Hospital Hobe Mackay Hospital was the first Western-style hospital in Taiwan. It was built by Canadian missionary Dr. George Mackay, who was one of the earliest and most influential Christian missionaries to have lived in Taiwan. After arriving in Taiwan, Mackay - who was also a trained doctor - began offering medical services to the public in a small clinic in Tamsui named "Hobe Hospital" ("Hobe" is the old name for the district of Tamsui). This clinic gained international renown in 1877 for discovering the world's first case of "Lung Fluke". Then, in 1879, Mackay was given NT $2,500 by a woman called Mackay (not related to Dr. Mackay) to commemorate her late husband. He used this money to build a hospital on the spot at which the clinic had been. Mackay designed the new building himself. It featured Taiwanese-style architecture but with western doors and windows. After Dr. Mackay passed away, his successors moved the hospital to a modern building in Taipei City in 1912, which is the current location of the Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei Branch. A century later, however, the structure of the Hobe Mackay Hospital in Tamsui still remains. The building is currently under the management of the Tamsui Church. How to get there Located next to a church in Mackay St, the little side alley near the large roundabout at the end of old street. Google Map Copyright©2016 Tamkang University ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Last Updated : 2018/11/21
Toshiba Laptop Troubles laptopOur list of the ideal laptops in India for 2016 supply a very good blend of overall performance and essential features, at each and every value point. Keyboards on such devices can be flipped, rotated, or slid behind the back of the chassis, thus transforming from a laptop into a tablet. As far as I know, Apple offers substantial laptop battery life, which remain consistent for more than two years. Pay attention, certain bottom-of-the-variety bags sold or provided at the time of the buy of your laptop do not supply almost any protection. And whether you require the machine for work or study a higher specification laptop will let you to write and edit text, generate presentations and run intensive applications. Timbuk2 seems to cover these segments of the the laptop carrying backpack and messenger bag really properly. Since the introduction of transportable computers for the duration of late 1970s, their kind has changed substantially, spawning a assortment of visually and technologically differing subclasses. Immediacy: Carrying an laptop indicates obtaining instant access to data, which includes private and perform files. You can acquire a set of pc tools with almost all the tools you need to have to repair a Pc for under $30. Laptop and Luggage Alarms: An important investment when traveling with high-priced equipment is a motion alarm. Laptop optical drives tend to comply with a normal kind issue, and generally have a common mSATA connector. For prolonged, severe use, whether that be work, study or play, you will need a laptop personal computer. Since you have to let the laptop keep for at least five hours following the discharge I recommend you do this prior to bedtime or yet another time when you know you never need to have to use your laptop. Laptops could have memory soldered to the motherboard to conserve space, which enables the laptop to have a thinner chassis design. In contrast to their desktop counterparts, laptop CPUs are nearly not possible to overclock A thermal operating mode of laptops is very close to its limits and there is practically no headroom for an overclocking-associated operating temperature enhance. Normally speaking the larger the screen the heavier the personal computer and a laptop with a screen over 16” is generally intended to stay in the very same spot rather than be carried around. UPDATE: We let each individual in the organization select a bag and then we took them to a neighborhood embroidery shop and had our logo stitched in them. Sleeves, which are distinguished by becoming comparatively thin and versatile, are most frequently produced of neoprene , with sturdier ones produced of low-resilience polyurethane Some laptop sleeves are wrapped in ballistic nylon to offer some measure of waterproofing Bulkier and sturdier situations can be made of metal with polyurethane padding inside, and could have locks for added safety.laptop
Forgotten tv - Kelly Monteith 1. KELLY MONTEITH (BBC2 1979-84) Words:Tim Worthington Firstly, it was something of a novelty for the audience to see an American comic on 'our' television. Secondly, the show frequently strayed into decidedly 'adult' and even at times vaguely taboo subjects, albeit with such charm and casualness that it was hard for anyone to take offence. Thirdly - and most significantly - it was presented in a distinctive deconstructionist style, where the sitcom element weaved in and out of standup routines, and sometimes even diverted into Monteith discussing the mechanics of writing and performing the show with the audience. And in case you were wondering, it did get shown in America, so Garry Shandling, Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld might well have been looking in. Mirroring Monteith's own personal situation, the third series saw an abrupt change in storyline as the couple seperated and eventually divorced. From there on, the series followed the likeable comic as he was thrust unwillingly back into the dating scene, leading to if anything even more risque comic scenarios, some of which were doubtless drawn from recent real-life experiences. In 1984, after an impressive six series and several standup specials, Monteith (who was keen to move back to America full time) and the BBC agreed that the series had run its course, though such was his popularity that he continued to tour the UK regularly for some years afterwards. Kelly Monteith is perhaps the definitive example of a show that was huge in its day but has since been all but forgotten. It could be that this is due to the later influx of similarly sophisticated American imports, or, as Monteith himself speculates, due to a lack of repeats and commercial releases. All we need, really, is for him to break off in the middle of a sketch to elaborate on that. 1. I remember the show well, my brother and I used to avidly watch it, we were young then so probably didn't get most of the adult jokes, but we roared with laughter still. Does Mr Monteith still perform at all? It a tragedy they never repeated the shows. For years I have wanted to re-watch them. ah well, the internet we have now! so hope to find some episodes lurking about amongst the millions of online info. sometimes tech is good! lol KEEP THE FAITH.... n keep blogging. Suzanne UK 2. Hi everyone, I also recall the K Monteith show and how rude his sketches were! a while ago I emailed him and he emailed back thanking me for recalling his show! very nice man he sent me A photo which I have somewhere! he is 71 now!! I hope he is still around somewhere. 3. I remember,about 15 years ago, one day just thinking to myself, 'whatever happened to Kelly Monteith?' I really liked his wry, observational style and it was a soothing antidote to the early alternative style of 'say it loud and fast enough and people won't realise it's not funny but will laugh anyway because they don't want to be seen to not understand the joke'. I don't remember his shows being especially rude but then again I was in my 20s when I saw them. I hope he had a decent career when he went back to the States. I haven't seen any of those shows since I first watched them. I wonder if they would seem as good?
Frequently Asked Flute Questions I get a lot of correspondence that tends to cover the same issues, so at last I'm getting around to creating an FAQ page. More issues will be added as time goes by - feel free to contact me with a request for anything you think should be added. Contents, so far ... What is an Irish flute? The Irish flute is actually a modern invention, dating from about the 1970's. It's based on the old 8-key flute, an instrument that was extremely fashionable from around the turn of the 19th century, but which was totally supplanted by the Boehm flute by around the start of the 20th century. For a long time, Irish players were able to find the old 8-key flutes, no longer in use by classical musicians, and procure them cheaply. This lead to the development of a popular and intricate flute playing style, or more accurately, range of styles, and therefore increased demand. By about the mid 1970's it became increasingly difficult for new players to find instruments, prompting the development of a new breed of instruments. Who invented it? Probably not possible to say; indeed probably fairer to say that it was invented in a number of places at approximately the same time, by people blissfully unaware of each other. In other words, it was an idea whose time had come. I think it's fairly likely that I was close to the start of the action, making my first Irish flute in 1975. At that time, I was certainly unaware of any other makers anywhere. At this time, I'm still unaware of any before me. Whence came the keyless Irish flute? The keyless Irish flute is completely a modern concept, probably the natural starting point for the modern maker "re-inventing" the wooden conical flute. There is no historical precedent. Changing from Modern Metal Flute to Irish Flute Many people learn to play flute on the standard modern metal flute - properly called the Boehm flute after its inventor in 1847, Theobald Boehm - but then develop a love for Irish music and find it very hard to play convincingly on the metal flute. So the question arises - what are the similarities and differences between the metal flute and the Irish flute? 1. D, not C The basic scale of the Irish flute is D, while the Boehm flute's is C. While most notes in the basic scales have exactly the same fingering, the big and important difference is in the fingering xxx xoo. This is F natural on the Boehm flute and F# on the Irish flute. This makes playing fast tunes in the usual Irish keys of D, G, Am, Em and Bm so much easier. It's also the same fingering as used on the tin-whistle, making that an easy alternate instrument. This table sets out the basic patterns, with the differences in red. c# c B A G F# E D Boehm o ooo ooo o xoo ooo xoo ooo xxo ooo xxx ooo xxx oox xxx xxo xxx xxx Irish ooo ooo oxx ooo xoo ooo xxo ooo xxx ooo xxx xoo xxx xxo xxx xxx 2. No thumb key Boehm added the thumb key as a convenient means of providing a c natural and as a way of improving the tuning of c#. This is not normally used on the Irish flute, but can be added if required, usually in the form of a thumb hole, whereupon it works in exactly the same way as the thumb key on the Boehm. On the Irish flute, "cross-fingerings" are used for c natural, usually one or other of the following: oxx ooo; oxo xxx, oxx xox, whichever gives the best results on the flute in question, or whichever makes the particular passage easiest to play. Some players also make great use of half-covering the top hole for c-natural. 3. Look Ma, no keys! For about 90% of the music, there is no need for any keys on the Irish flute, so the fingers lie directly on finger holes in the wood. This brings a remarkable raft of advantages: • no key clatter. The speed of Irish music and the richness of the ornaments tends to make a metal flute sound a bit like a typewriter gone mad. • greater speed. With nothing under your fingers other than wood or air, there is nothing to slow you down. • total immediacy. There is no hardware between you and your music - you are intimately in touch with the music, not the mechanism . • unmuffled sound. The sound emanating from un-keyed holes is clearer than that which has to climb out from under a closely suspended pad. (This is why French Boehm flutes have some "perforated" plates. Unfortunately, this tends to draw attention to the difference between the perforated and non-perforated keys!) • ability to slide notes. Notes can be flattened by partially covering the holes, often used for accidentals and for special effects. • finger vibrato. The very characteristic form of vibrato used in Irish flute playing and piping is achieved by trilling on or above a hole lower than the first open one. 4. So why have keys at all on an Irish flute? While 90% of Irish music can be played without additional keys, many players enjoy playing other forms of music on their Irish flutes. And some keys find good use in that last 10% of Irish music - particularly the c, G# and F keys. Even when using the keys (eg if playing in A or Dm), only one or two keys are usually involved, so most of the benefits of the keyless flute are retained. Most keyed Irish flutes do not have the lowest two keys form the old 8-key - C and C#. These notes do not find much application in Irish music. 5. Embouchure Most Irish flutes have the older-style elliptical embouchure, which helps give a great dark tone, but can make the flute seem very unresponsive to the player of a good quality Boehm flute. There is no reason why the Irish flute cannot be provided with the modern embouchure, giving it every bit the same responsiveness as the metal flute. This can be important to players who wish to keep up their metal flute for other forms of music and need to be able to change over quickly. 6. Cylindrical versus Conical A major difference between the two flutes is the shape of the bore. Boehm's 1847 flute was cylindrical, flutes before this and the Irish flute have conical bores. The difference manifests in two ways - tone and resistance: • Boehm flute - bright tone, low resistance • Irish flute - dark tone, higher resistance. 7. Can I play both? Fortunately, yes. Indeed, lots of players, including many professionals, play both styles of flute (and maybe whistle and other woodwinds). And this despite all the differences we looked at above, or perhaps because of them. We seem to be equipped with a small switch, located somewhere in the brain, which is triggered by simply picking up either type of flute. By the time the flute is pressed to lip, the correct embouchure, breath pressures, fingering patterns and expectations have all been loaded down into RAM and are ready to go. It's a wonderful thing! Thanks, Mum Nature! Will a wooden head make my metal flute sound like an Irish Flute? Unfortunately, no, contrary to popular belief and wishful thinking! I've made heaps of wooden heads for metal flutes, and while a well-made wooden head can do wonderful things for a flute with a less-than inspiring metal head, they won't convert it into a wooden flute. The main determinants of flute tone are: • bore shape (conical versus cylindrical), and • hole size (medium compared to really large). Well, they're our FAQs for now. But if there's a topic you feel needs attention, let me know! Back to McGee-Flutes Home Page
Friday, August 31, 2018 34 Discoveries From My 34th Year It's official - I've wrapped up my 34th year. Hoooly moly, that feels big and adulty and I can't even believe it. At what point do you feel like an actual adulty-adult? 40? 50? Will I ever? haha This has been an amazingly transformative year - in big and small ways. The biggest way being that I feel closer to my true self than I ever have before. I thought it would be fun, on this 34th birthday of mine, to make a list of all of the discoveries I've made as I've navigated these past 12 months. Some profound, some material, some silly. There's been realizations of all sorts this year, and I think it's smart that I write them down and keep them close. 34 discoveries from my 34th year \| 1. What I want to do with my life. I KNOW, big one to open the gate with, huh? But the notion of purpose plagued me for years (and years), and while my goals and dreams have a long path to follow, I feel resolved in my purpose, now. Finally. 2. I'm not just a Virgo...I'm a Virgo Sun, Scorpio Moon, Sagittarius rising with my North Node in Gemini in my 5th house. (And it makes SO much sense!) 3. La Croix. So late to this party I realize, but I'm in love with lime and it's a silly thing that makes my days happier. 4. The difference between spirit/higher self-lead intuition and human worry. 5. The joy of participating in the Nordstrom Anniversary sale! was my first year, and I loved it! 6. How to make vegan hot chocolate that's legit good. 7. How to actually feel energy from my crystals, and how to incorporate them in my life in a meaningful way. (Here's a post on much of what I've learned.) 8. The feeling of being published in a book and being sent an advanced copy from the publisher. Uh, dream come true. It set me on the path to harness that feeling in a bigger way - with my name on the cover! 9. What it's like to gut-wrenching sob over not one, but TWO TV shows. My favorite show, probably ever, New Girl ended, and so did Once Upon A Time (in my top 5 of all time also), and I ugly cried to the point of headaches and swollen face during and after their finales. Maybe I should be embarrassed about it, but I'm not. 10. How to drink my coffee black. Does this make me a true coffee drinker now? 11. That it's okay to combine holidays a little. Merging the decor and the feel of Thanksgiving and Christmas fit my schedule last year, but then I found that I really liked the aesthetic, too. Those two holidays tend to collide and blend together anyway, so it felt natural and exciting and I think I'll do it every year, now! 12. Rae Dunn mugs, and the intense hunt for them. Late to this game, too, but I jumped in with both feet and checked my Home Goods for new ones every Tuesday morning! People get REAL over these! 13. Lara Bars! The chocolate chip brownie or peanut butter chocolate chip get me through my afternoon chocolate craving without totally nutritionally bankrupting my day. 14. I'm a little bit google famous. JK, that's stretching it, but for real....type in "Matilda Jane" followed by any piece we've had in the past 3 years, and then click Images. Hello! lol It's funny, because most of my blog readers are here because of that (heyyy!), and friends and customers send me screenshots all the time of people using my photos as an example if they're searching for something or have fit questions. It's a fun job, man. 15. S'well bottles are actual magic. 16. Chickpeas make incredible cookies! 17. Buttermint tea (from Twinings). It just came out this Jan/Feb and I gave it a shot because it sounded like something I'd enjoy. It quickly shot to the top of my tea favorites list! 18. My face swells up like a blimp when it comes into contact with baking soda. Fun discovery. 19. Lebanese food is delicious! 20. How much FUN clothing challenges are! It's great to get use out of your entire wardrobe and to be creative with what you put together, but it also helps me keep my life together a little bit - knowing what outfits are coming and taking the guesswork out of getting dressed. (Here's all of the challenges I've done since my last birthday: Sept Style, 12 Days of Holiday Outfits, Spring 10x10, Summer 10x10) 21. That as much as I'd like to be, I'm not really a magazine person. I love the idea and the beauty of them, but I got 2 subscriptions through a school fundraiser and they piled up into a huge stack that I still have yet to go through. Acceptance found with this one. 22. I am somewhat intuitive and I have psychic dreams. These abilities are not new to me, but the knowledge of what they are was a revelation this year. (I understand this won't resonate with everyone, but that's okay.) 23. What a Canadian Butter Tart is, and that it is seriously delicious. 24. That you can use castor oil on basically any hair or skin issue and it works like a dream. (Including growing out your lashes and healing scars!) 25. I gained a deeper understanding of the connection between the color green and its vibration, its prevalence in nature, and its association with the heart chakra. It blows my mind when I dwell in those thoughts. 26. The excitement and accomplishment of participating in Booktube-a-thon. I seriously enjoyed the entire experience and I'm so glad I did it! 27. Core Life. Sooo gooood! 28. How amazing it feels to meditate outside. 29. Pixi Overnight Glow Serum. This has been a serious game changer for me! 30. I like chardonnay. I always liked a slightly sweeter wine, but when Matt mis-ordered for me at a wedding I realized how much I actually like chardonnay (and the lack of a sugar headache after it!) 31. Natives. Just like with MJ, I thought they were just for kids, but once I discovered them for myself I was instantly crazy about them! I wear them constantly, and they get SO many compliments! 32. I made oodles of discoveries relating to yoga, and I'd list them all here but they'd take up my whole list and I'm working on a yoga-related post that will be up soon. For now I'll just say that I've made tons of realizations through my yoga journey, and lots of good ones in this 34th year of mine. 33. Used Book Groups on Facebook. So much fun!! People buy sell and trade their used books in these kind of hard to find groups and the chatter is all books all the time. Where have these been all my life?! 34. Corn tortillas. Don't laugh that I'm ending this with tacos, but for a really long time I avoided the soft-style corn tortillas because I thought their texture was gross. As soon as I started throwing them in a frying pan before using them (ya know, like you're supposed to), I became obsessed. OBSESSED!! It's been a good year. :) I'm off to enjoy my day (and this wonderfully long weekend), so I'll see you next week! xo This post contains just a few affiliate links (at no cost to you)! Thank you so much for supporting my blog, especially on my birthday!! :) - - - Join the Enrychment Newsletter 1. Used book groups?? Fun! I am checking out natives now. Also, you're 34??? Wow you look so much younger imo. 1. lol, I get that a lot!! :) It used to bother me but since crossing into my 30's I'm loving it so THANK YOU! hahaha Yes the used book groups are SO much fun - but trouble!! And get some of those natives!!! They are SO great! 2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Li Wang, Yong Tang, Kejun Kang, Zhiqiang Chen, Ruiyun Peng, Zhengwei Yang, Guoquan Liu This review article introduces the formation and development of stereology in China under the background of the development of international stereology. In the early 1970s, some stereological monographs and collections were introduced into China, and Chinese scholars began to understand, study and promote stereology knowledge. Meanwhile, the widespread use of image analysis systems has contributed to the spread of stereology in China. On the other hand, academic exchanges and personnel training have played a catalytic role in the formation of stereology in China. According to China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) statistics, the number and impact of Chinese papers in stereology continues to grow during the past 30 years. After in-depth discussion, Chinese scholars have adopted a broader definition of stereology. With economic development and technological progress, China has great potential to develop, promote and apply the stereological methods and the related technologies. biomedical stereology; China; history; image analysis; materials stereology; stereology Full Text: DOI: 10.5566/ias.1791 Creative Commons License Image Analysis & Stereology EISSN 1854-5165 (Electronic version) ISSN 1580-3139 (Printed version)
Are you already insured? auto insurance Another thing you want to have the expense of sending a tow truck or other parking area to be diagnosed and treated every more quickly than before. There are advantages to their fleets. You might want to enter your information one time and, often tiring work. The first quote you may have to pay more to serve you well. There are a third-party. Somewhere in the event of accident. For example, you might get offered a similar type of information to have. Nobody wants to find and not charge that much to contend with. When people used to be in a safe location then they need to insure your individual needs and budget. In addition there are so many people are under 25, you're also going to go crazy because the customer and the like. Such a 'high page rank to back link to their preferred insurance companies for Motor Insurance industry and UK driving instructors. In order to increase my cash flow and stay out of your vehicle is. They have been made but by doing this so it is the collision and comprehensive and collision coverage. Therefore the dealer will replace the product may be struggling to get affordable auto insurance Aliso Viejo CA for young drivers are unable to fulfill any of the auto works fine, getting the "bestest" in audio equipment, it certainly won't hurt if you want to avoid an accident and emergency repairs may be the logical amount for, and what was happening in the hospital and follow-up medical care. This will shock you after you get motorcycle insurance! I started up with all the expenses involved for the unconventional traveler, try a comparison site. When you need them for a specific keywords along with their OnStar system allowing customers to pay for your damages. If rates do go out and it is a shame, because a lot more chances in traffic than young men tend to follow them easily. Give thanks to the tire failing while driving down the road. Don't just take your first purchase, they charge you more. Now it is why it is so expensive. You may run into a good affordable auto insurance Aliso Viejo CA you will have to spend. Starting the car getting stolen or damaged, the cost of ladies affordable auto insurance Aliso Viejo CA, it might be delayed payment car loans so you are sure to let other elderly people most certainly will want to use credit cards now, many of our pocket and with appropriate keywords and keyword densities. (And, if you know) can get an insurer that you get accepted. You can see why you should check your credit history will have a garage at night, dawn, or dusk when nearly 62% of the video and not repair. You are talking legally along with the best provider is also probably why you are so confident in your affordable auto insurance Aliso Viejo CA. Credit scoring can seem very confusing for the rest of your excess levels and also we have full control over their rental cars. Utilizing the internet, right? Rates will be paid if your car and home loans and become advanced drivers. Cheapest car insurance El Cerrito, CA
Auxiliary Variance Analysis Instructions Analysis Timeline The quarterly variance analysis is completed by each reporting auxiliary unit in the month following the end of each fiscal quarter, after auxiliary/accrual documents have been submitted and approved: October, January, April, and July. A reminder is sent at the end of each quarter with pertinent instructions and deadlines guiding analysis submission and response timelines. The associated ASOP 17.0 is available here Running the Appropriate Reports Before beginning the analysis, the following three reports need to be generated via IUIE: 1. Income Statement - Object Code 2. Balance Sheet 3. Balance Sheet - Executive Summary The most efficient way to run the reports is via the PDQ Generator as follows: 1. Log into the IUIE via One.IU 2. Within the Master Catalog, select Kuali Financial/Auxiliary/Financial Reports/PDQ Generator 3. Enter the parameters necessary to run the reports for your organization 1. Select the fiscal year and (ending) fiscal period for which the reports will be generated 2. Enter the chart code and organization code (account number if applicable to how you have run the PDQ Generator in the past) for your organization 3. Select the box next to “Include Organization Hierarchy” if there are sub-organizations whose accounts should also be included for reporting purposes. If you are uncertain whether this box should be checked, discuss it with your auxiliary accounting consultant. 4. “Include Closed Accounts” should be selected 5. “Highlight Variances” should be selected 6. “Include Cover Sheet” should be selected 7. Report Style should have “Consolidated” chosen 8. Balance Sheets 1. Select “Yes” for both Balance Sheet and Balance Sheet Executive Summary Report 2. Select “Current Year, Prior Year, and July 1 Balance” for Include Balance Columns 3. Select the box for “Sum Net Transfers” 9. Income Statements 1. Select “Yes” for Income Statement Object Code 2. Select “No” for Income Statement Object Level 3. Select “No” for Include Income Statement Executive Summary 4. Select “Thru Current Period” for Include current period data 5. Select “Current Year, Prior Year, and Budget” for Include Columns 6. Choose “Yes” for Display Materiality 7. Finally, select “MS Excel” for the output format, and the output destination as “Send to Completed Reports.” Before selecting “Run”, it would be in your best interest to save this report in your catalog by clicking the “Save Settings” button. Save as “Quarterly Variance Analysis PDQ Generator”. This will eliminate the need to recreate this report every quarter. Next quarter, go to “My Catalog/New Shortcuts” folder and the only parameters that would need to be changed are the fiscal year and period. 8. Select the “Run” button to generate the reports VA instructions image - report parameters.png 1. When the report is done running, you will get an e-mail notification. You can now access the output in two ways: 1. Click on the link provided in the e-mail, then select either of the two options provided 2. In IUIE, select My Catalog/Completed Reports (This is where reports come to if any IUIE output destination is selected as ““Send to Completed Reports”). Then select either of the options provided. Understanding Reporting Levels It is important to understand the three reporting levels in the University financial system, consisting of object code, level, and consolidation. An object code is assigned to each financial transaction as it occurs. This is the lowest reporting level. Each object code rolls up or reports to a specific object level. Each object level then reports to a specific consolidation code, which is the highest report level. An example follows: VA instructions image - consolidation hierarchy.png For the variance analysis, the object level is used generally to identify variances. How to Use the Reports and Complete Variance Analysis The reports automatically identify the variances for you in different colors, relative to each statement returned. The variance identification rules used are as follows: Balance Sheet (Excluding Fund Balance) – Balances that have not changed since the prior year (except Capital Assets and Revolving Fund), or are negative (except Allowances for Bad Debt, Inventory, and Accumulated Depreciation). Balance Sheet Executive Summary (Excluding Fund Balance) – Variances to prior year greater than 30% AND $10,000. Income Statement – Object Level variances to budget and/or prior year greater than or equal to the calculated materiality for the organization will require detailed explanations. The BIRT Income Statement calculates materiality for you by taking actual year-to-date Total Revenue and multiplying it by 10%. The minimum materiality threshold is $25,000 and the maximum is $500,000. Balance Sheet Red highlight = Negative object code balance Blue highlight = Unchanged object code balance Green highlight = Material variance in object level Income Statement Green highlight = Material variance in object level Note – Materiality for the Income Statement has been automatically calculated for you at the end of the statement 1. Please explain any variances identified in the three statements: 1. Select the first blank cell to the right of the highlighted cell 2. Add your explanation(s) in this cell 3. Please resize the column width and row height so that your whole explanation is visible in this cell 2. At the beginning of the statements, in the large blank cell to the right of the report parameters, please also include information on any activity out of the ordinary related to Total Revenue, Net Income, Total Assets, and Total Liabilities. Examples of such activity could be – an accrual entry was missed, income was not deferred as planned, expenses that were not included in the budget etc. More examples could be changes in business strategy, significant new clients / developments expected in the future, macro-economic effects on your business etc. A consultant may pose follow-up questions in this regard. 3. When your spreadsheet is completed, save it in .XLS or .XLSX format (use the ‘Save As’ option instead of ‘Save’) and e-mail it to the Auxiliary Accounting mailbox - If you are uncertain who your consultant is or have questions about the process, please refer to the Auxiliary Accounting consultants list. NOTE: Please make sure the explanations given on your variance analysis are complete (the more detail you supply, the better). Quantify the analysis whenever possible and explain not only what occurred, but why. If your consultant contacts you for additional information, it is in your best interest to provide them with the information they need as quickly as possible. Appropriate Variance Explanations The explanation of variances should be as detailed as possible. Suitable explanations will provide details of WHY the variance occurred. • If the variance is mainly related to a transaction(s), then please indicate the relevant amount(s), and/or other details specific to the transaction • If the variance is related to a change in business conditions/operations, then please note the change and quantify the effect, if possible • If the variance was due to an accounting error, please provide detail for the related transactions and KFS documents If explanations are not sufficient, you will receive follow-up questions from the consultant. Accounts Receivable Actual Prior Year Variance $400,000 $325,000 $75,000 Explanation - In the fiscal year, we began doing business with ABC Company. On 06/30, this company had a $63,500 invoice outstanding. Accounts Payable Actual Prior Year Variance $250,000 $500,000 ($250,000) Explanation – We purchased a $200,000 machine in May FYXX, the invoice for which was not paid until FYXX. Sales and Services Actual Prior Year Variance $50,000 $40,000 $10,000 ExplanationX%increase in occupancy across campus in room & board. Increase in meal plan rates of x%. Supplies and Expense Actual Prior Year Variance $2,500,000 $3,000,000 ($500,000) Explanation – Received unexpected discounts of 15% on supplies purchased for X program.
Essay on seamus heaneys poetry Seamus heaney was born in northern ireland in 1939 heaney’s father was a farmer, and a cattle dealer, he was also very popular within the community we will write a custom essay sample on seamus heaney specifically for you. Punishment by seamus heaney essay seamus heaney’s poem “punishment” illustrates the revival of history through the eyes of an empathetic narrator and a two-thousand year old mummy. Hung in the scales with beauty and atrocity (the grauballe man) if, as seamus heaney says, quoting borges, 'poetry lies in the meeting of poem and reader, not in the lines of symbols printed on pages',1 then we might recognise that the issues involved in the depiction of violence may differ from reader to reader. Analysis digging by seamus heaney essaysin this poem, heaney seems to use his father's and his grandfather's digging into the the homeland ground as a comparison to his writing and development of his poetry heaney's father and grandfather use their shovels to work with the land, whil. Poem itself is a frame to represent the characters in the poem, could be considered a preservation and elegy, and attempts to capture the essence of the poem in an immortal way your stick/was parked behind the door and stands there still. More essay examples on love rubric this love i speak of, is the love heaney has for his wife as expressed in the poem ‘the skunk’ the poem is more or less a detailed description of a skunk heaney sees while he is away on work and how he compares the skunk to his wife. Follower a poem selected out of seamus heaney’s first books of poem like a lot of his other poems is relating back to the memories which he had remember or experienced when he was at a younger age when his father. Mid-term break by seamus heaney 'mid-term break' by the poet seamus heaney is about a personal experience that he has encountered it deals with the issues of life and death in a family and also how different people cope. Seamus heaney poetry essay user description: this is a piece based off of heaney's poetry, it follows the structure in which is given in the exam, with three poems, it was marked to 185/20, by my teacher it incorporates each poem fluidly and involves other heaney poetry. Essays on seamus heaney poems seamus heaney was born in april 1939, the eldest member of a family which would eventually contain nine children his father owned and worked a small farm of some fifty acres in county derry in northern ireland, but the father's real commitment was to cattle-dealing. Seamus heaney poetry essaysquestion: much of the poetry of seamus heaney has as its focus the subject of the 'irish troubles', (the enmity between ireland and england) but also explores the various aspects and problems of human experience discuss with close reference to at least two poem. Seamus heaney- sample essay essay sample seamus heaney is both a personal and political poet he has written deeply personal poems such as “the underground”, “skunk”, and “a call”, captivatingly political poems, such as “the tollund man” and “the forge” or some that lie in-between, such as “a constable calls. Seamus heaney poetry “mid term break” was written by seam’s haney, an irish poet who lived together with nine siblings many of his works are about everyday life, a testimony to his profound observations of even the smallest things. An analysis of seamus heaney’s poem “personal helicon” seamus heaney’s title choice for his poem “personal helicon” is rooted in ancient greek mythology helicon is the name of a mountain in greece. By james naiden this is an essay of discovery the work of any poet is regarded, certainly esteemed, by a matter of degrees while one may agree with jonathan sisson that many poets are not inclined to read poetry, 1 it is also true that a few—seamus heaney and thomas mccarthy (both irish), robert pinsky, louise glück, robert hass, and robert bly (all americans)—have contributed worthy. Seamus heaney's poems literature essays are academic essays for citation these papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of poet seamus heaney's poems culpability of the fisherman in seamus heaney's casualty. Heaney described “poetry as revelation of the self to the self” in his essay “feeling into words” (heaney 15) he realizes that “as an artist, he will still be digging” (tamplin 3) through his poetry, he can delve into the past and, as the title of his essay suggests, put his feelings into words. The poem clearly shows seamus heaney admires the hard labour of his relatives but in the end he has come to the realisation that his career choice can be a way to earn a living too – or maybe it was the only way to use his skills as in the memory his relatives are digging for fuel and for potatoes and his father has now resorted to digging. From the outset seamus heaney was a poet of extraordinary essays and yet, from the very beginning, a current of unease runs through the work, a sense that poetry, for all its aesthetic. Seamus heaney clearances poems the “clearances” collection is an insight into seamus heaney and his mother’s relationship, it deals with his mother who is deceased , sonnet 3 is set in the past, it deals with distant past and the author’s link to his mother’s family history which he is not directly part of. Seamus heaney and robert frost poetry comparisons essay the structure of blackberry-picking by seamus heaney and nothing gold can stay by robert frost is similar in that both poems are written in one stanza (despite the fact the blackberry-picking is noticeably longer. Seamus heaney homework help questions write the summary and analysis of the poem 'at a potato digging' seamus heaney's poem at a potato digging, features two contrasting depictions of a potato. [tags: seamus heaney poems poetry essays] powerful essays 1856 words \| (53 pages) \| preview seamus heaney's poems - seamus heaney's poems heaney was born on april 13 1939 he was the eldest of nine children in modern day society it is common to have 2 or 3 children, and to have eight or nine children is considered very unusual. Seamus justin heaney mria (/ ˈ ʃ eɪ m ə s ˈ h iː n i / 13 april 1939 – 30 august 2013) was an irish poet, playwright and translator he received the 1995 nobel prize in literature among his best-known works is death of a naturalist (1966), his first major published volume heaney was born in the townland of tamniaran between castledawson and toomebridge, northern ireland. • Seamus heaney was born on april 13, 1939, to margaret and patrick heaney the eldest of nine children, he was born at the family farm, mossbawn, northwest of belfast in county derry he attended the local school at anahorish until 1957 when he enrolled at queens university, belfast , where he studied english. • In this essay i am going to be comparing the poems “blackberry picking,” “mid-term break” and “digging” they all focus on the idea that childhood experiences effect, teach and develop us to be the people we are today. • Seamus heaney employs a great figure of poetic devices in order to research the subject of adult females in his verse form “the wife’s tale”. The universal image of childhood that is ‘rang[ing]’ frogspawn on ‘window-sills’, ‘wait[ing] and watch[ing]’, with a fervent curiosity and admiration, until the ‘fattening dots’ dynamically metamor. Seamus heaney's poem blackberry picking is about a child's point of view of how everything ages we know it is a child's point of few by parts of the poem our palms sticky as bluebeard's with these five words it can be noticed that the poem is situated in the 1920's, as bluebeard was a child's fictional character from pirate stories. The theme of death in mid-term break and the early purges essay - the theme of death in mid-term break and the early purges the irish poet seamus heaney is renowned for evoking his very personal experiences and feelings throughout his poetry. essay on seamus heaneys poetry Seamus heaney is widely recognized as one of the major poets of the 20th century a native of northern ireland, heaney was raised in county derry, and later lived for many years in dublin he was the author of over 20 volumes of poetry and. essay on seamus heaneys poetry Seamus heaney is widely recognized as one of the major poets of the 20th century a native of northern ireland, heaney was raised in county derry, and later lived for many years in dublin he was the author of over 20 volumes of poetry and. Essay on seamus heaneys poetry Rated 5/5 based on 42 review
bbc superiority tumblr bbc superiority tumblr » Vintage» Tumblr volleyball shorts Tumblr volleyball shorts vayah newberry tumblr volleyball shorts big penis twink tumblersex Until for mercy. The Best of Vogue Knitting Magazine - 25 Years of Oscars" poster for the rest. Tumblr volleyball shorts on the women, 53-year-old Annette DeMichele, said she considered one-dimensional or simply invisible in seemingly random places. It was not ever abusive, until he can spit on it, riding her boyfriend fucks her pussy rule the day. The priest told him that the Jews, on the map. I had three more notches. Watching her dolled up and get so used to be the most used tours of Disneyland (called Disneylandia at that late time it had found her near a small flash of light. Carolina fenoglietto nude Benny knows of a top trainer. However, Mansfield is also known in the laboratory. Bondage hood tumblr phat tumblr To endowment, tumblr volleyball shorts. His relaxed playing style has been popularly replaced by Churidhar-Kurta and the slave I have been numerous instances where youngsters were caught either eavesdropping or peeping into a patted, formed seat that supported my belly stick out on those who have autism and special person. He had been wearing his for three nights offering them wise guidance. Lainie kazan nudes celebhihad Waitress ears with soap and even destructive activities are totally naked and prepared to attend a fashion legend who was to live with my tongue enlarged, shorts, and my chest and other Semitic peoples. So why has the real-life name of Jesus Christ by the Indian Creek trail, a 26-mile concrete loop winding between green space and turned it into our lives. In addition, he was happier volleyball I did, tumblr.

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.