text:
Q: Improving postgres sub query using coalesce Picture this: Two tables, cases and case_messages. A case can have any number of messages or none. One of these messages can be the final answer in a case. I now want to return a list of cases with a bool column that tells me whether there is a final answer or not. If there are no messages at all for a case the query should return "false". Only if there is at least one related message in case_messages where isfinalanswer = true should the query return true. I managed to get this working with coalesce and a sub query, but it feels super ugly:
SELECT cases.id, cases.title,
COALESCE((SELECT isfinalanswer FROM case_messages WHERE caseid = cases.id ORDER BY isfinalanswer DESC LIMIT 1), false) AS hasfinalanswer,
FROM cases;

How can I improve this?

A: I would recommend using exists:
SELECT c.id, c.title,
       (exists (SELECT 1 FROM case_messages cm WHERE cm.caseid = c.id and isfinalanswer = true)
       ) as hasfinalanswer
FROM cases c;

I don't know if you will think that this is less ugly.
I should add that for performance (which is not mentioned in the question), you would want an index on case_messages(caseid, isfinalanswer).  With such an index, this is likely to be the most performant solution.

A: A correlated subquery (a query on the select list) can be nasty on performance. Do a left join and distinct on
select distinct on (c.id)
    c.id, c.title,
    coalesce(cm.isfinalanswer, false) as hasfinalanswer
from
    cases c
    left join
    case_messages cm on cm.caseid = c.id
order by 1, 3 desc

In this case coalesce can be replaced by is true
    cm.isfinalanswer is true as hasfinalanswer

Edit: To avoid the cost of the order by required by distinct on do a pre aggregation
select id, title, coalesce(isfinalanswer, false) as hasfinalanswer
from
    cases c
    left join (
        select caseid as id, bool_or(isfinalanswer) as isfinalanswer
        from case_messages
        group by 1
    ) cm using (id)


text:
Dominicans and the Challenge of Thomism
In early July some eighty friars gathered at the priory of St Joseph in Warsaw for a four day conference on 'Dominicans and the Challenge of Thomism'. Organised by brothers from Warsaw, Toulouse and Washington it brought together teachers and students who have specialised in various aspects of the thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), the Order's greatest theologian.
The mornings were given to plenary sessions concerned with Aquinas's philosophy, systematic theology, and moral teaching. Some of the Order's most renowned exponents of Thomism spoke including Lawrence Dewan OP of Ottawa, Serge-Thomas Bonino OP of Toulouse, Gilles Emery OP of Fribourg, Romanus Cessario OP of Boston, and Wojciech Giertych OP of Rome. The afternoons were devoted to work in smaller groups where shorter papers were given by scholars from around the world.
Most of the participants came from Europe or North America but there were also brothers from Australia, Vietnam, China and Nigeria. Those who attended from the British Isles were Vivian Boland OP, director of the Aquinas Institute at Oxford, Simon Gaine OP, now of the London community and lecturer at Blackfriars, John Harris OP, regent of studies of the province of Ireland, and Alan O'Sullivan OP, an Irish Dominican who studied at Blackfriars and is currently completing doctoral studies at Fribourg.
For enthusiasts of the thought of Aquinas it was a veritable banquet of rich food and fine wine. Again and again the enduring principles of Aquinas's philosophical and theological approach were shown to have lost none of their relevance in the task of thinking through contemporary challenges in the Church and in the world. The form of life best adapted to the study of Aquinas's writings was recalled, a life of contemplation (for Dominicans this means both study and prayer) in what Thomas's teacher, Albert the Great, called the joy of the society of friends - either a college of professors who also share faith and prayer together, or a Dominican community which is always, as our French brothers put it, une ecole de theologie.
Some of the friars leaving the priory church after one of the offices (note fr Simon Gaine on the left wearing his distinctive sun hat). For more photographs of the event see here. For the conference website see here.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Karnilova, Maria (1920–2001)
American ballet dancer and actress. Born Maria Dovgolenko, Aug 3, 1920, in Hartford, CT; died April 20, 2001, in New York, NY; m. George S. Irving, 1948; children: 2.
Trained with Anton Dolin, Antony Tudor, Mikhail Fokine, Edward Caton, Rosina Galli, and more; performed in children's ballet of Metropolitan Opera in NYC; danced with Victor Dandré's Opera Co. in Caracas; performed in ballet troupes of Mikhail Mordkin and Fokine with American Ballet (1936); was founding member of Ballet Theater and danced there intermittently (1939–59), in works by Tudor, Eugene Loring, Agnes de Mille, and others; performed with Metropolitan Opera (1952–53) and with Jerome Robbins' Ballet USA (1958–61); on Broadway, appeared in Call Me Mister (1946), High Button Shoes (1948), Two's Company (1952), Gypsy (1959) and Bravo Giovanni (1962). Won Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for creating role of Golde in Fiddler on the Roof (1964); nominated for Best Actress Tony for Zorba (1968).
Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages
"Karnilova, Maria (1920–2001) ." Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. . Encyclopedia.com. 19 Jan. 2023 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>.
"Karnilova, Maria (1920–2001) ." Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. . Encyclopedia.com. (January 19, 2023). https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/karnilova-maria-1920-2001
"Karnilova, Maria (1920–2001) ." Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. . Retrieved January 19, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/karnilova-maria-1920-2001
Maria Tallchief , Fairfax, Oklahoma Native American dancer and choreographer Maria Tallchief is a world-renowned ballerina and one of the premiere (first-ranking) Amer… Catherine Malfitano , Opera singer American soprano Catherine Malfitano is one of opera's most daring stars. Indelibly associated with a stirring, vixenish performance in… Astrid Varnay , Astrid Varnay Singer Few opera singers have experienced the longevity and critical acceptance of Astrid Varnay. From her debut in Richard Wagner's Di… Maria Meneghini Callas , Callas, Maria Opera singer Maria Callas, more than most opera singers, had about her an aura that defied explanation—even a decade after her death; s… Maria Callas , Callas, Maria Opera singer Maria Callas, more than most opera singers, had about her an aura that defied explanation—even a decade after her death; s… Judith Blegen , Blegen, Judith Operatic singer As a leading soprano in the New York Metropolitan Opera, Judith Blegen earned a reputation as the singer whose appeara…
Youskevitch, Maria (c. 1946–)
Cebotari, Maria
Maria Golovin
Negri, Maria Rosa
Agnesi, Maria Teresa (1720–1795)
Callas, Maria (1923–1977)
Karnicky, Jeffrey
Karnian
Karni (Volovelski), Yehuda
Karner Blue Butterfly
Karnei Shomron
Karnazes, Dean 1962–
Karnaugh map
Karnaim
Karṇa
Karn, Richard 1956–
Karmon, Israel
Karmiyyah
Karminski, Sir Seymour Edward
Karminski, Hannah
Karmina
Karmiloff-Smith, Annette Dionne
Karmi, Ghada 1939-
Karmi, Dov
Karmi'el
Karmi Family
Karmi
Karmendriya
Karmelkorn
Karmel, Peter Henry
Karniol, Alter Yehiel
Karnkowski, Stanislaw
Karno's army, Fred
Karnow, Stanley
Karo Syrup
Karo, Aaron 1979-
Karo, Yosef
Karodia, Farida
Karodia, Farida (1942–)
Karodia, Farida 1942-
Karolostadt
Karolyi, Bela
Károlyi, Count Julius
Károlyi, Count Michael
Károlyi, Mihály (1875–1955)
Karon, Jan
Karp Report (1984)
Karp, Abraham J.
Karp, David A(llen) 1944-
Karp, David A. 1944–
Karp, Josh
Karp, Larry


text:
Undergraduate Macroeconomics Reading List
Published on June 2016 | Categories: Documents | Downloads: 103 | Comments: 0 | Views: 215
Start Page 1 2 3 4 5 6
An accessible introduction to the professional macroeconomics literature for undergraduate students. Full credit goes to Integral's Domain (https://integdomain.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/a-macroeconomics-reading-list-for-undergraduates/)
A Macroeconomics Reading List for Undergraduates – Version 1.0
1. This is a long list. Where are the Cliffs?
• Deaton, The Great Escape (2013) (economic growth)
• Harford, The Undercover Economist Stikes Back (2014) (business cycles)
• Knoop, Recessions and Depressions, (2010) (slightly more technical, but worthwhile)
2. Measurement
• GDP and beyond
– BEA, "Measuring the Economy: A Primer on GDP," 2014.
– Fleurbaey, "Beyond GDP," JEL 2009.
• The Consumer Price Index and Employment
BLS, "The Consumer Price Index," 2007.
BLS, "How the Government Measures Unemployment," 2014.
Boskin Commission Report
JEP Winter 1998, Winter 2003 (prices and price measurement)
JEP Summer 2006 (employment)
3. Economic Growth and Development: The International Experience
• Japan and East Asia
Bernanke, "Japanese Monetary Policy: A Case of Self-Induced Paralysis?" 1999.
Porter, "Competition in Japan," JEP Winter 2004.
Krugman, "The Myth of Asia's Miracle," HBR 1994.
Young, "The Tyranny of Numbers," QJE 1995. Somewhat more technical.
Yellen, "The Asian Crisis Ten Years Later," FRB SF 2007.
• Russia and the Transition Economies
Oppenheimer, "Russia's Post-Communist Economy."
Shleifer, "A Normal Country: Russia After Communism," JEP Winter 2005.
McMillan, "The Role of Entrepreneurs in Transition Economies," JEP Summer 2002.
Volkov, Violent Entrepreneurs, 2002.
See also: JEP Fall 1991, Spring 1996, Winter 2002, Winter 2005.
• China
Perkins, "China's Recent Economic Performance," 2006. (more technical)
Tisdell, "Economic Reform and Openness in China," 2009.
Huang, "How did China Take Off?" JEP Autumn 2012.
Morrison, "China's Economic Rise," 2014.
See also: JEP Spring 1994, JEP Autumn 2012.
• India
– Ahluwalia, "Economic Reforms in India Since 1991," JEP Summer 2002.
– Roy, "Economic History and Modern India," JEP Summer 2002.
– Rothermund, "An Economic History of India," 1993.
• Africa
– Collier, "Why has Africa Grown so Slowly?" JEP Summer 1999.
– The Economist, "Step change," on Nigeria's GDP recalculation.
– See also: JEP Summer 1999.
• South America
– Edwards, "Latin America's Decline: A Long Historical View," 2009.
– JEP Spring 1994.
• The Middle East
– Goldstein and Davidson, A Concise History of the Middle East, 2012.
– JEP Summer 2004.
– Wynne, "The European System of Central Banks," 1999.
– Friedman, "The Euro: Monetary Unity To Political Disunity?" 1997.
– JEP Autumn 1997, Autumn 2004, Autumn 2006, Summer 2013
4. Economic Growth and Development: Theory and Policy
• Economic Development in General
– Collier, Exodus (2013) and Wars, Guns, and Votes (2010) and The Bottom Billion (2008)
– Sen, Development as Freedom (2000)
– Easterly, The Tyranny of Experts (2013) and The White Man's Burden (2007) and The
Elusive Quest for Growth (2002)
– Sachs, Common Wealth (2009) and The End of Poverty (2006)
– Stiglitz, Making Globalization Work (2007)
– Yunus, Banker to the Poor (2003) and Creating a World Without Poverty (2009)
– Cooter and Schafer, Solomon's Knot (2013)
– Banerjee and Duflo, Poor Economics (2012)
– Karlan and Appel, More than Good Intentions (2012)
• Big History
Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel (1999) and Collapse (2003)
Landes, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations (1999)
De Soto, The Mystery of Capital (2003)
Clark, A Farewell to Alms (2008)
Acemoglu and Robinson, Why Nations Fail (2012)
Deaton, The Great Escape (2013)
• Growth Theory
– JEP Winter 2008 (Productivity)
– JEP Summer 2005 (Institutions)
• Further Reading
Summer 1997 (The distribution of world income)
Winter 2000 (various symposia on longer-term trends)
Spring 2008 (Development)
Summer 2014 (Classic ideas in development)
5. Inequality in the United States
• Poverty
David Simon, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, 2006.
Hamilton Project, Policies to Address Poverty in America, 2014.
Census, "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States," 2013.
Meyer, "Identifying the Disadvantaged," JEP Summer 2012.
Meyer and Sullivan, "Poverty from the Great Society to the Great Recession," 2012.
• The Middle Class
– Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class, 2003.
– Moretti, The New Geography of Jobs, 2013.
• The Rich and income mobility
– Piketty, Capital in the 21st Century, 2014.
– Clark, The Son Also Rises, 2014.
Winter 1998. (Poverty)
Spring 1998. (Cities)
Summer 2002. (Intergenerational mobility)
Summer 2013. (top end of the income distribution)
6. Factor Markets
• Labor Markets
– Rogerson, "The Employment of Nations – A Primer," 2001.
– McGratten and Rogerson, "Changes in Hours Worked, 1950-2000," 2004.
– Prescott, "Why do Americans Work So Much More than Europeans?" 2004.
• Financial Markets
– Malkiel, A Random Walk Down Wall Street, 1973.
– Shiller, Finance and the Good Society, 2013.
7. Economic History of the United States and Stylized Facts
• General books
– Friedman and Schwartz, A Monetary History of the United States, 1963.
– Eichengreen, Globalizing Capital, 2008.
– Knoop, Recessions and Depressions, 2010.
• Specific Periods
Davis, "An Annual Index of US Industrial Production, 1790-1915," 2004.
Romer, "The Nation in Depression," 1993.
DeLong, "America's Only Peacetime Inflation: The 1970s," 1997.
Davis and Kahn, "Interpreting the Great Moderation," 2008.
• General Stylied Facts
– Lucas, "Understanding Business Cycles," 1977.
– Kydland and Prescott, "Real Facts and a Monetary Myth," 1990.
– McCandless and Weber, "Some Monetary Facts," 1995.
8. The Microeconomic Role of Government – An Insurance Company with an Army
• General
– The Economist, "The business of government," 2013.
– Labonte, "The Size and Role of Government," CRS 2010.
– Wallis, "American Government Finance in the Long Run: 1790 to 1990," 2000.
• Pensions (Social Security)
CBO, "Social Security: A Primer." (2001) (though look for more recent versions)
CBO, "Social Security Policy Options," 2010.
Clark, "Social Security Financing," AER PP 2004.
Feldstein, "Rethinking Social Insurance," 2005.
Diamond and Orszag, "Saving Social Security," 2005.
See also: JEP Summer 1996, JEP Spring 2005
Haseltine, Affordable Excellence: The Singapore Healthcare Story, 2013.
Gruber, "Covering the Uninsured in the US," 2008.
Skinner and Fisher, "Reflections on Geographic Variations in U.S. Health Care," 2010.
IMF, "What Should Macroeconomists Know About Health Care Policy?" (2000)
JEP Summer 1994, Spring 2000, Autumn 2008.
• Energy Policy
CBO, "The Economics of Climate Change: A Primer," 2003.
JEP Winter 1998 (Sulfur Dioxide cap-and-trade)
JEP Winter 2012 (Energy challenges)
JEP Winter 2013 (More on pollution trading markets)
• Education Policy
– CBO, "Federal Investment," 2013.
– Taylor, "Government's Role in Primary and Secondary Education," 1999.
• Infrastructure and R&D
– CBO, "Trends in Public Spending on Transportation and Water Infrastructure," 2007.
– Winston, "Efficient Transportation Infrastructure Policy," 1991.
– Munnell, "Infrastructure Investment and Economic Growth," 1992.
• Regulation
– JEP Summer 1997 (two articles on energy and banking regulation)
– JEP Winter 2008 (smorgasboard of articles)
– JEP Winter 2011 (Financial Regulation after the Crisis)
• Tax theory and policy
Mankiw et al, "Optimal Taxation in Theory and Practice," 2009.
Diamond and Saez, "The Case for a Progressive Tax," 2011.
Piketty and Saez, "How Progressive is the US Tax System?" 2007.
CBO, "Effective Marginal Tax Rates for Low- and Moderate-Income Workers," 2012.
CBO, "Historical Effective Tax Rates: 1979-2006," 2009.
Mirrlees et al, Dimensions of Tax Design and Tax by Design, 2010. If there is a science of
tax policy, this is it.
9. The Macroeconomic Role of Government – Fiscal and Monetary Policy
• General Ideas – Books
Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, 1936.
Friedman, A Monetary History of the United States, 1963.
Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom, 1962.
Friedman, Free to Choose, 1980.
Galbraith, The Affluent Society, 1958.
Galbraith, The New Industrial State, 1967.
• General Ideas – Articles
Samuelson and Solow, "Some Analytical Aspects of Anti-Inflation Policy," 1960.
Friedman, "The Role of Monetary Policy," 1968.
Tobin, "Stabilization Policy Ten Years After," BPEA 1980.
Eichenbaum, "Some Thoughts on Practical Stabilization Policy," 1997.
Svensson, "What have we learned about monetary policy over the last 50 years?" 2008.
• Countercyclical Fiscal Policy
Elmendorf and Furman, "If, When, How: A Primer on Fiscal Stimulus," 2008.
Feldstein, "Rethinking the Role of Fiscal Policy," 2009.
Romer and Bernstein, "The Job Impact of ARRA," 2009.
Romer, "What have we learned about fiscal policy since the crisis?" 2011.
• Countercyclical Monetary Policy
Mishkin, "Monetary Policy Strategy: Lessons from the Crisis," 2009.
Svensson, "Some Lessons from Six Years of Practical Inflation Targeting," 2013.
Romer and Romer, "The Most Dangerous Idea in Federal Reserve History," 2013.
JEP Autumn 2007 (Monetary policy; excellent symposium)
JEP Winter 2013 (100 Years of the Federal Reserve)
10. Monetary History and Monetary Theory
Friedman, Money Mischief, 1994.
Friedman, A Monetary History of the United States, 1963. (For the third time!)
Meltzer, A History of the Federal Reserve, 2010.
Reinhart and Rogoff, This Time Is Different, 2009.
Sargent, "The End of Four Big Inflations," 1982.
Temin and Wigmore, "The End of One Big Deflation," 1990.
Romer and Romer, "Does Monetary Policy Matter?" NBER MA 1989. (More technical)
Arnon, Monetary Theory and Policy from Hume and Smith to Wicksell, 2010.
Hume, "Of Money" and "Of Interest," 1752.
Keynes, A Tract on Monetary Reform, 1924.
Radford, "The Economic Organization of a POW Camp," 1945.
Sweeney and Sweeney, "Monetary Theory and the Capitol Hill Baby-Sitting Co-Op," 1977.
Kocherlakota, "Money is Memory," 1990. (More technical)
11. The Financial Crisis
• Summaries/Pointers to Further Reading
Bank for International Settlements, 79th Annual Report (2009)
FOMC transcripts, 2008.
Gorton and Metrick, "Getting up to Speed on the Global Financial Crisis," JEL 2009.
Lo, "Reading About the Financial Crisis: A Twenty-One Book Review," JEL 2009.
• Macroeconomics and the Media
– Buiter, "The unfortunate uselessness of most 'state of the art' academic monetary economics," Financial Times 3 March 2009.
– Lucas, "In defence of the dismal science," The Economist, 6 Aug 2009.
– Krugman, "How Did Economists Get It So Wrong?" NYT Magazine 2 September 2009.
– Cochrane, "How did Paul Krugman Get It So Wrong?" 16 September 2009.
– Athreya, "Macroeconomics is Hard," 2010.
– Kocherlakota, "Some Thoughts on the State of Macro," 2010.
– Morley, "The Emperor Has No Clothes," Macroeconomic Advisors 2010.
• Symposia
– JEP Winter 2009 (The Credit Crunch)
– JEP Winter 2010 (The Financial Crisis)
– JEP Autumn 2010 (Macro after the crisis)
12. History of Thought, Schools of Macroeconomics, and Controversies
• Nobel speeches
Friedman, "Inflation and Unemployment," 1976.
Tobin, "Money and Finance in the Macro-Economic Process," 1981.
Modigliani, "The Life Cycle, Individual Thrift, and the Wealth of Nations," 1985.
Solow, "Growth Theory and After," 1987.
Lucas, "Monetary Neutrality," 1995.
Akerlof, "Behavioral Macroeconomics and Macroeconomic Behavior," 2001.
Phelps, "Macroeconomics for a Modern Economy," 2006.
• Commentaries
Mankiw, "A Quick Refresher Course in Macroeconomics," JEL 1990.
Mankiw, "The Macroeconomist as Scientist and Engineer," 2006.
Woodford, "Revolution and Evolution in 20th-Century Macroeconomics," 1999.
Woodford, "Convergence in Macroeconomics," 2009.
13. Leisure reading
• Warsh, Knowledge and the Wealth of Nations, 2006.
• Colander, The Making of an Economist Redux, 2007.
• Snowdon and Vane, Modern Macroeconomics 2005.
• Schelling, Micromotives and Macrobehavior, 1978.
Yale Undergraduate Reading List
Undergraduate Journals List 2
St. John's College Undergraduate Reading List 13-14
Undergraduate Undergraduate Undergraduate Undergraduate Undergraduate
Young Adult Reading List
Kumon Recommended Reading List
Spanish Ma Reading List
Business_Management READING LIST
W.D. Gann Reading List
Hedge+Fund+Reading+List
IR MASTER READING LIST
Reading List - Creative Writing
Fixed Income reading list


Last week, I decided that I wanted to brew over the weekend.
I feel like it has been a long time since I've brewed anything real hoppy.
I didn't really feel like coming up with a completely new recipe, so I looked through my previous recipes for APA's.
The recipe that jumped out at me was Muggled Pale Ale, and I decided that is what I would brew.
This would be my third time brewing this beer.
Muggled Pale Ale isn't a real complicated recipe.
The grain bill is simply 90% Standard 2-Row malt and 10% Dark Munich.
Then, it has a couple of hops. The first batch used Cascade and Chinook. The second batch moved to 100% Mosaic hops, and was my first time using that hop.
This time, I decided to try out LupuLN2 Cryo-hops.


text:
Presentation Name: Bio Detail - News3 v1 (common)
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Ad Unit ID: KSNV
Ad Zone: station/people
Kim WagnerAnchor
Connect With Kim Wagner
Kim is the co-host of "News 3 Today." Previously, Kim spent six years as the weekend anchor for News 3. She brings several years of reporting experience to News 3. Her experience includes time spent with CBS in Sacramento, ABC in Reno and ABC in Panama City, Florida where she was a weekend anchor. Kim graduated from the University of Florida, Gainesville with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Telecommunications/News.
Kim is also a board Member for Safe Nest, a non-profit that helps women and children in domestic crisis. Kim and her husband, Dana, are the local TV ambassadors for Make-A-Wish of Southern Nevada, which grants wishes for children facing life-threatening diseases.
In 2015, "Wake Up With the Wagners" won best morning newscast, beating out other local morning shows as well as taking top honors over morning newscasts in Phoenix and San Diego. It's the only time in station history that News 3 has taken Emmy honors in this category.
In 2016, Kim Wagner and her husband Dana were voted "Best Anchor Team" in Las Vegas by Las Vegas Review-Journal readers. Kim and Dana are first News 3 anchors to be recognized by the RJ's "Best of Las Vegas" annual awards.
In her free time, Kim loves watching college football (especially Gator Football) and participating in all water sports. Her biggest adventure so far was "Running With the Bulls" in Pamplona, Spain, during the Festival of San Fermin.
The highlight of that European adventure was getting engaged on the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Kim is now happily married to KSNV co-host Dana Wagner. They have a daughter named Kate who was born in June 2005.


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If your a lover of vape pens then SMOK has your back, with the release of their new pen the Prince Stick. Featuring a huge 3000mAh internal battery and built around their hottest Prince Tank this vape pen performs to the highest levels. So there's no wattage control, led screens, temperature control etc, but what you do get is a simple to use a pen that can actually knock the socks off most vape mods too!
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Single Mom Wants Childless Coworker To Cancel Her Time Off So She Can Spend Christmas With Her Son
By Megan Quinn — Written on Dec 11, 2022
Photo: Evgeny Atamanenko / Shutterstock
It's no secret that no employee wants to work on Christmas day. However, should some employees be given priority over others?
One mother sparked debate after she believed that she should be given Christmas day off over her childless colleague.
RELATED: Childless Woman Asks If She's Wrong For Not Giving Up Her Days Off For Co-Worker With 3 Children
The mother asked her childless colleague to withdraw her time-off request so that she could be off instead.
Sharing her story on a thread on the UK-based parenting site, Mumsnet, the mother attempted to explain her reason why she believes she should be given Christmas off over her colleague, admitting that she feels "terrible" over it.
"My colleague and I, who I get on quite well with, normally have both requested off Christmas Day," the mother wrote.
However, their manager informed both employees that only one of them will be granted the day off, and that they must sort it out themselves.
The mother asked her colleague to withdraw her request. She claims that the main reason she believed she should have priority to have off over her colleague since her colleague is childless.
"She and her husband have no kids and normally go to her husband's parents on Christmas day but they also go every week so it's not like they never see them," the mother argued.
RELATED: Man Asks If He's Wrong For Missing Daughter's Birth Because His Dad Wouldn't Give Him Time Off Work
The mother shares that she is a single mother to a four-year-old autistic son and needs to look after him on Christmas morning.
"[I] on the other hand have a four-year-old autistic son, and he normally goes to the nursery but his nursery closes one week before Christmas and doesn't open until next year."
The mother shares that the shift in question is a morning shift on Christmas from 7 am-10 am.
She claims that her colleague could "still make it" to her husband's parent's house for lunch while she is a single mother and since the nurseries are closed, she has no one to look after her son.
"Yes, I could pay someone but it would be extremely expensive and he would most likely be very distressed with having someone he is unfamiliar with in his home," the mother claims.
She adds that her son is non-verbal and it would be difficult for a babysitter to understand.
"I do feel bad asking her to do this but if she won't then I am going to have no choice but to leave my job," the mother wrote.
RELATED: Mom Refuses To Plan Christmas When Husband Says 'Make It Work' With $100 After He Blew Money On A Trip
Users on the thread criticized the mother for not considering her colleague's holiday.
"Oh yeah, I forgot! If you don't have children then Christmas and family mean absolutely nothing to you!" one user commented.
"You having a child doesn't make you more entitled to the day off," another user wrote.
Other users claimed that whoever requested the day off first should be granted it.
"Whoever requested it off first should have it. You can't just say people with children have a right to Christmas over people without," one user pointed out.
"It's not her fault you have childcare issues, sorry. You can ask her nicely but she's not bound to agree."
RELATED: Woman Asks If She's Wrong After She RSVP'd 'No' To Sister's Wedding Because She Needs To Sleep In Until 1PM
However, other users sympathized with the mother's difficult situation.
They did, however, advise her from believing that someone is less deserving of a holiday off simply because they do not have children.
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"I think it is okay to ask because you are in a very difficult situation, however, it is not ok to minimize her Christmas just because she has no child," one user shared.
"I agree your situation seems more in need of the time off, however, you are very wrong to dismiss her request just because she doesn't have children," another user commented.
"I get it, OP [original poster] and I sympathize, but you do realize that people without children have the right to enjoy Christmas day, right? Absolutely ask, but I'd say no," another user added.
Hopefully, both women can work out a compromise so that they can both have a stress-free holiday.
RELATED: Mom Tells Son He 'Ruined Christmas' By Choosing To Spend It With His Dad Instead Of His Stepdad
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.


You are currently browsing the Virtuous cycle weblog archives for tag 'china'.
Wow, I must get out of this country fast, otherwise I will get broke in no time. Today 200$ come and gone.
In the morning I had no money so I changed the first 100$. I wanted to go to the Forbidden city. I was actually going there when I reminded myself that I'm still a bit sick and I needed more coca cola to cleanse the stomach. But in this annoying town you cannot buy coca cola or even water anywhere near the Mao's corpse storage.
While I was walking looking for a drink and more and more pissed with the city, I met two very nice Chinese girls. Only one, Ping, spoke usable English, though. She said that they were going to the tea ceremony so I joined.
The tea ceremony was ok and I learned couple of new things, even though there seems to be a discrepancy of opinions as to what tea exactly should be made using a clay tea pot. Here they use it only for green tea. In Yunnan they told me that the pot is good for anything but green tea, which should be prepared in porcelain cup instead.
After the ceremony I bought the tea pot. 300Y together with a porcelain one, after some bargaining. The girls bought some tea without asking for the price.
In the end we get the bill – 2000Y! Tea ceremony was no exactly for free, it seems. And the tea costed 1000Y.
Suprisingly, the girls are little moved by spending 1000Y on the tea. Ping buys from me another 100$ note just to show off with her friends (she's never seen dollars before). We found bookstore incidentally and I buy lots of textbooks and CDs for learning Chinese. Fortunately, the store accepts credit cards. Then suddenly it gets late and I miss Forbidden City, again.
But I come back to the square in the evening to walk around and make some pictures. Near the big gate with Mao on top of it I am approached by two girls who are art students and have their exhibition next doors. I go with them, after declaring that I'm not going to buy anything.
Inside I buy the lacquer painting of old Chinese master. The master wants 1000Y in the beginning, but it ends on 600.
My new piece of art is very big and I don't know how I will smuggle it to the plane on Sunday.
Update: read unexpected follow-up to this story.


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Engaging Voters
Data Driven Research
Grassroots Funded
Turnout Fellows
Progressive Turnout Project Denounces Mitch McConnell's NO Vote to End the Longest Shutdown in U.S. History
CONTACT: Priyal Amin; [email protected]
Progressive Turnout Project Executive Director Alex Morgan released the following statement regarding McConnell's NO vote on Schumer Amendment to H.R. 268, to reopen the federal government:
"The federal government has been shut down for 34 days and today Mitch McConnell willfully chose to let the shutdown continue and withhold pay from more than 800,000 hardworking Americans," said Alex Morgan, Executive Director of Progressive Turnout Project. "Today, McConnell voted against the Schumer Amendment to H.R. 268, a clean funding bill that already passed the House and would reopen the government, sending hundreds of thousands of federal employees and contractors back to work and restoring federal services to all Americans."
"In the hours before the vote, Progressive Turnout Project sent text messages to voters across the state, encouraging them to pick up the phone, call McConnell's Washington office, and ask him to support the clean funding bill."
"The American people are hurting, our economy is slowly grinding to a halt, and our national security is at risk. It's time for McConnell and Senate Republicans to stop treating the lives and well-being of their constituents as a bargaining chip for an expensive and unnecessary border wall."
"Democrats have been at the table, passing bipartisan budget bills that previously received support from Democratic and Republican leadership during the last Congress."
"The solution is simple—pass a clean funding bill, send hundreds of thousands of Americans back to work, and then negotiate additional border security. The lives of the Americans people are not a bargaining chip."
"As Senator McConnell continues to keep the government shut down over petty partisan politics, there are more than 6,000 Kentuckians who will miss another paycheck this week."
Progressive Turnout Project is a grassroots-funded political action committee with a single mission: get Democrats to the polls. PTP designs, tests, and executes specialized voter-turnout programs targeting inconsistent Democratic voters in the most competitive districts across the country. Since its inception in 2015, the organization has raised more than $26 million with a supporter base of over 3 million and invested in voter-turnout programs in 130 congressional races.
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text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Xml;

namespace AppGeo.Clients.ArcIms.ArcXml
{
  [Serializable]
  public class RasterRenderer : Renderer
  {
    public const string XmlName = "RASTER_RENDERER";

    public static RasterRenderer ReadFrom(ArcXmlReader reader)
    {
      try
      {
        RasterRenderer rasterRenderer = new RasterRenderer();

        if (!reader.IsEmptyElement)
        {
          reader.Read();

          while (!(reader.NodeType == XmlNodeType.EndElement && reader.Name == XmlName))
          {
            if (reader.NodeType == XmlNodeType.Element)
            {
              switch (reader.Name)
              {
                case RasterExact.XmlName: rasterRenderer.Classifications.Add(RasterExact.ReadFrom(reader)); break;
                case RasterRange.XmlName: rasterRenderer.Classifications.Add(RasterRange.ReadFrom(reader)); break;
                case RasterOther.XmlName: rasterRenderer.Classifications.Add(RasterOther.ReadFrom(reader)); break;
              }
            }

            reader.Read();
          }
        }

        return rasterRenderer;
      }
      catch (Exception ex)
      {
        if (ex is ArcXmlException)
        {
          throw ex;
        }
        else
        {
          throw new ArcXmlException(String.Format("Could not read {0} element.", XmlName), ex);
        }
      }
    }

    private List<RasterClassification> _classifications = new List<RasterClassification>();

    public RasterRenderer() { }

    public List<RasterClassification> Classifications
    {
      get
      {
        return _classifications;
      }
    }

    public override object Clone()
    {
      RasterRenderer clone = (RasterRenderer)this.MemberwiseClone();

      foreach (RasterClassification classification in _classifications)
      {
        clone.Classifications.Add((RasterClassification)classification.Clone());
      }

      return clone;
    }

    public override void WriteTo(ArcXmlWriter writer)
    {
    }
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
COVID-19 pet growth has veterinarians backlogged, burned out
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – During the darkest periods of the pandemic, Dr. Diona Krahn organized a puppy festival that was flooded with new four-legged patients.
She usually got three or four new puppies a week, but between shelter adoptions and personal purchases, the 2020 COVID-19 boom brought five to seven new customers to her practice in Raleigh, North Carolina every day. Many are first-time pet owners.
Like many vets around the country, she's seen more sick animals. To meet demand, veterinarians interviewed by The Associated Press have extended hours, hired additional staff and refused to admit new patients, and they still can't keep up. Burnout and fatigue are so worrying that some practices hire counselors to assist their tired employees.
"At this point everyone is working beyond their capacity," said Krahn, who added the evening hours last year.
According to a COVID-19 pulse study by the American Pet Products Association, around 12.6 million U.S. households got a new pet last year after the pandemic was declared in March 2020.
Meanwhile, fewer people were giving up their pets in 2020 so they needed ongoing care, experts said. And as people worked from home and spent more time with their pets, they had more opportunities to notice bumps, limps, and other illnesses that could normally go untreated.
Veterinarians were already struggling to meet pre-pandemic demand, and veterinary schools failed to equip enough doctors and technicians to fill the void.
Krahn left her North Carolina practice three months ago and now oversees nine veterinary and animal clinics in Utah and Idaho as part of the Pathway Vet Alliance.
"All of my practices are booked out several weeks in advance. Customers actually call multiple locations and schedule appointments, "she said.
Banfield Pet Hospital, one of the largest national providers of preventive veterinary medicine, recorded approximately half a million more pet visits in 2020 than in 2019. From March to the end of last year, the volume of its telemedicine service more than doubled.
Another group of primary care veterinarians with 110 facilities in the US, Thrive saw demand rise 20% during the pandemic. Both repeated a common refrain – as people spent more time with their pets, they became more attuned to their ailments – big and small.
"With COVID, many people became powerless over those who were closest to them," said Claire Pickens, senior director at Thrive, "but the only thing they could control was taking care of their pet."
Clinics have been forced to streamline as patients have had to pre-fill forms online or over the phone as hiring additional staff is often not an option.
"The industry is growing at a rate that does not fill all of the roles required to keep pace with the increased demand for services," said Pickens.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, veterinary positions are projected to grow 16% through 2029, nearly four times the average of most other occupations. The number of veterinary technicians is expected to grow by nearly 20% over the next five years.
"Despite the active search for additional staff, we are still understaffed," said Dr. Katarzyna Ferry, Palm Beach Gardens Specialty Veterinary Hospital.
Verg, a 24-hour emergency and specialty hospital in Brooklyn, reported a 40% increase in emergency care since the pandemic began. It also means more pet hospital stays, stressing different specialties like surgery and cardiology.
"Demand continues to grow," said Dr. Brett Levitzke, Verg chief medical officer, who leads to extreme fatigue in a profession known for its generous workers.
"The fear of the unknown with the pandemic leads to more intense emotions among our customers," said Levitzke. He has seen explosive outbreaks and threats from animal owners and also love affections with cards and baked goods. After the strain on the staff was felt, they hired a compassionate fatigue specialist to assist.
"Unfortunately, compassion fatigue, anxiety and depression have already plagued our profession, and the pandemic has certainly taken it to another level," Levitzke said.
Krahn said she sold her North Carolina practice to Pathway and later took on an administrative role at the company to provide practical and emotional support to veterinarians, knowing firsthand about the toll.
"As veterinarians, it's our job to take care of people, but we also take care of people through their animals," said Krahn. "Doctors and support teams struggle to take care of themselves in a way that they can continue to do."
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.
Tags: backlogged, boom, burned, COVID19, pet, veterinarians
Duck Virus Enteritis Vaccine Market share forecast to witness appreciable progress from 2021 to 2026 | Ceva Santé Animale, Chengdu TECBOND Organic, Institute of Veterinary Preventive Drugs – KSU
International Cat Dewormers Market SWOT Evaluation,Key Indicators,Forecast 2027 : Pfizer (Zoetis), Bayer HealthCare Animal Well being – KSU


Believe it or not, I was able to create a new framed art piece to share! I have traveled quite a bit the last month following my older son play spring ball in Florida that my creative time was very limited. Thankfully, I found some time to put together a Painted Seasons Bundle Framed Art to share before the end of Sale-a-bration.
The Painted Seasons Bundle was released on February 15th. It was part of the second release of Sale-a-bration products. On March 1st, the Four Season Framelits were released that coordinated PERFECTLY with the stamp set. Of course with only days left of Sale-a-bration 2019 promotion, it is crunch time to share new creations before the items are gone forever. It is also time to place your orders to receive a Sale-a-bration item before supplies are gone. March 31st is the very last day!
When I first started creating my Spring themed Framed Art, I was choosing between the Happiness Blooms Designers Series Paper and the Painted Seasons Designer Series Paper. Then it dawned on me, it's all about Sale-a-bration products and the creativity unfolded. I knew I wanted a clover on one square as well as a bunny on another. Both images remind me of spring as well as flowers. I showcased each of the patterns in the pack of paper. Each square has small elements and in the end they all balanced creating another fabulous item to display.
There are seven 3″ x 3″ squares and one 6 1/4″ x 3″ rectangle. The designer series paper is cut 2 3/4″ x 2 3/4″ and the Whisper White stamped rectangle piece is 6″ x 2 3/4″. Yes, I took the stamps from the stamp set and stamped on the rectangle piece to tie all the pieces together. I chose to keep the patterns separate and I love how it turned out. I stamped each flower and 4 leaves then cut with the framelits to create two of the squares. Using the Be Mine Framelits, I was able to create my clover and the Bunny Builder Punch for the bunny. I apologize for the picture, not sure why on my phone it is clear but lately once it is posted to a social media site (Instagram or Facebook) the picture isn't as sharp as I would like.
I am often asked how do I line up the squares so perfectly. A friend of mind suggested using spacers in the 4 corners. It works like a charm.
As I mentioned, time is ticking away with Sale-a-bration 2019. March 31st is the very last day to take advantage of the best promotion!
join – wish list long? EASY solution, JOIN my team, Second Street Stampers and receive a 20% off discount on future orders. The start kit is currently $99 or $129 (exclusive tote bag included) BUT worth $175 in product! It is a great time to join Stampin' Up!
Any questions, please contact me at [email protected] I would love to chat with you about Stampin' Up!
What a wonderful sampler design!!! Great work!
thank you!! I loved the paper from Painted Seasons and knew it would work well for a sampler. I appreciate the feedback!


The best author in the world! I'm sooo shocked!
Thoughtful, funny, and brilliantly observed, The One and Only is a luminous novel about finding your passion, following your heart, and, most of all, believing in something bigger than yourself . . . the one and only thing that truly makes life worth living.


text:
Home Disney Pre-Order the next Play Set for Disney Infinity – Marvel Battlegrounds
Pre-Order the next Play Set for Disney Infinity – Marvel Battlegrounds
Marvel Battlegrounds, which will hit stores on March 15th, is a four-player, arcade-style brawler that allows you to battle with up to three friends locally. You get to play in 12 levels across eight all-new arenas, including Knowhere and Wakanda. You'll also be able to battle as any playable Disney Infinity (2.0 Edition): Marvel Super Heroes figure, making Marvel Battlegrounds the Play Set with the largest selection of playable characters.
The Marvel Battlegrounds Play Set Pack will come with the Play Set piece and one figure (Captain America – The First Avenger). Now it's up to you to decide which other Marvel Super Heroes and Super Villains you want to fight with in Marvel Battlegrounds from a selection of 25 characters and with more to join the roster soon!
As well, if fans pre-order the Play Set, they will receive a free Disney Infinity (2.0 Edition): Marvel Super Heroes figure of your choice at participating retailers.
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text:
Q: Excel VBA - Changing formula values I need to make a macro that can change the values in 3 cells, run solver subject to a changing constraint, and then paste the solved value in a column. repeat.
In cells L78,79 and 81 I have references to columns L, R and P respectively.
Here's basically what I'm doing each time I update the values:
L78 = **L4**,
L79 = **R4**,
L81 = **P4**,

Run Solver

Objective: $M$73
By changing variable: $L$80

Constraint: $M$73=**M4**

Solve

Copy $M$73

Paste **N4**

I would then increase all the values in ** by 1 row and repeat.
First time here so I apologize for any poor formatting.
Dan

A: So I managed to come up with some basic VBA that did the trick. Far from perfect as it uses copy and paste (lol) but it worked for my purpose, which was to run a binomial option pricing model and collect implied volatilities for a few hundred options.
Code is:
Sub Macro1()
Worksheets("Filtered Puts").Activate
RowCount = 3
Do While Not IsEmpty(Worksheets("Filtered Puts").Range("H" & RowCount))
    Range("L" & RowCount).Select
    Selection.Copy
    Range("L78").Select
    ActiveSheet.Paste
    Range("R" & RowCount).Select
    Selection.Copy
    Range("L79").Select
    ActiveSheet.Paste
    Range("P" & RowCount).Select
    Selection.Copy
    Range("L81").Select
    ActiveSheet.Paste
    Range("O73").Select
        SolverReset
    SolverOptions precision:=0.001
    SolverOk SetCell:="$M$117", _
        MaxMinVal:=1, _
        ValueOf:=0, _
        ByChange:="$L$80"
    SolverAdd CellRef:=Range("M" & RowCount), _
        Relation:=2, _
        FormulaText:="$M$117"
    SolverSolve userFinish:=True
    SolverFinish keepFinal:=1
        Range("$L$80").Select
    Selection.Copy
    Range("N" & RowCount).Select
    ActiveSheet.Paste
    RowCount = RowCount + 1
    Loop
End Sub

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Today I logged into WoW with my Slizella avatar for the first time in a long while. Slizella is a member of the Peace Corps Guild in World of Warcraft. The Peace Corp advance through the game levels without doing any violence. It takes cunning to navigate the world without killing or being killed. I spent half an hour freeing myself from gankers today as I tried to resurrect in a graveyard. I took this photo when I finally succeeded. Slizella has made it to Level 5 by picking herbs and doing low level gathering quests.
This is a short experimental machinima of an afternoon spent exploring the orphanages of World of Warcraft with artist and Third Faction member Jenene Castle.
Demand Player Sovereignty – a collaborative propaganda machinima created for a Third Faction workshop and screening at ISEA Istanbul in 2011.
Here is another machinima collaboration with Third Faction members – an Instructional Video for the /Hug Project exhibit at the Laguna Art Museum in 2010.


text:
Category: George Lucas
Star Wars: My Declining Interest
August 24, 2008 Jeffrey GraebnerLeave a comment
Last weekend, a new Star Wars movie opened in theaters and I honestly was rather startled when I realized that I don't particularly want to see it. Right now, my thought is that I might get around to watching it once it comes out on DVD, although even then I'm not entirely sure.
The new movie, Star Wars: The Clone Wars is an animated feature that serves as essentially the premiere episode of an upcoming series of the same name that will be airing starting this fall on Cartoon Network. The idea behind the series is to fill in the details of the titular war, which was initially referenced in passing during the original Star Wars way back in 1977. The war became a key story element in the much more recent prequel movies, but most of the actual war mainly took place off-screen between the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
Like a large portion of my generation, I basically grew up with Star Wars, seeing the original film during its first run (although I didn't really take to it until a second viewing during the reissue 2 years later). The release of The Empire Strikes Back and especially Return of the Jedi were then huge events during my childhood. Collecting toys and other memorabilia related to the series was a big thing, with my sister and I even maintaining our "Star Wars wall" in the basement, which was covered in news clippings and other paper goods related to the movies. Growing up, I suspect I would have found it impossible to imagine not going to see a new Star Wars film opening weekend, much less deciding to forgo seeing it at all in the theater.
When I first heard that George Lucas was planning on returning to the Star Wars universe via television projects (both this upcoming animated series as well as a planned live action series that would bridge the gap between the two trilogies), my reaction was cautious interest and an expectation that I would probably at least check them out. The news earlier this year that the animated series would be kicked off with a feature film also left me with the impression that I would probably end up going to see it, even despite the fact that my movie-going has been curtailed quite a bit since the birth of my son.
My enthusiasm quickly started to wane once the first visuals from the movie and series started to come out and then pretty much dropped like a stone once I saw the trailers. Quite simply, I immensely dislike the visual style that is used for the animation. For some reason, they seem to have gone for something vaguely resembling the Japanese-style of animation, which I've never really cared for all that much and which seems hugely wrong for Star Wars. I think one of the things that has always been appealing about the movies was that, despite the otherworldly setting, the whole Star Wars universe had a basically realistic look to it. Even at its most alien, the setting always seemed like it was in places that could really exist. I didn't get that feeling at all from the look of this animation, though, which instead seems exotic and excessively stylized.
Of course, I admit that this is kind of judging the book by its cover and that it is completely possible that the visual style is something that I could adjust to. That brings me to the second problem, which is that I generally have a hard time mustering much enthusiasm for this particular aspect of the Star Wars extended storyline. I'm not one of those that especially disliked the prequel trilogy, but I also wasn't particularly excited by them either. I enjoyed all three films (especially Revenge of the Sith), but have not had much interest in revisiting them. I have seen each of the films of the original trilogy more times than all of my viewing of the prequel films combined. I haven't really taken any interest at all in the related merchandise (other than the soundtrack CDs) or the various novels set during that part of the story. While the films were fun, I just don't find the characterizations or situations all that compelling.
Related to my preference for the parts of the story surrounding the original trilogy, I will say that I haven't completely lost interest in all things Star Wars. While I have little interest in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, I am somewhat interested in the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game, which is set during the time between the two trilogies. Similarly, I am at least somewhat interested in the announced live-action TV series that will also take place during that same time period. On a somewhat broader subject, I do look forward to the time in the next couple years when my son will be old enough to introduce him to the films, although I'm definitely more excited to share the original trilogy with him than the prequels. I do know with some certainty that I'm going to encourage him strongly to watch the movies in the order they were released.
I'm really pretty torn when it comes to my overall feelings about Star Wars at this time. While I still have a definite affection for it and certainly still admire the creativity and overall breadth of George Lucas' creation, I also can't help but feel like something that I once found extremely special has been diluted by an excess of mediocre product. On the other hand, I also can't help but recognize that it might be just as much a reflection of my own aging and changing tastes and priorities too. I was 13-years-old when Return of the Jedi was released and I'm sure my impressions of all the films are inevitably colored by my stage in life when I saw them. Had I been an adult when the original trilogy came out, I'm sure my views on those films would have been somewhat different as well.
Even taking into consideration that my views on the films are filtered through childhood nostalgia, I do still think the films of the original trilogy were simply better movies. The original Star Wars (I've never been able to bring myself to call it A New Hope…) had some pretty bad acting and goofy dialog, but it also had a very tight, self-contained story and the big advantage of being an introduction to something truly new and exciting. With The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, George Lucas wisely brought in much more skilled screenwriters (Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan) to flesh out his stories and also handed the projects off to more technically-skilled directors. I really think Lucas is much more effective when he takes a role of creative oversight while letting others handle the details.
Critics of the recent Star Wars projects often bring up the idea that George Lucas should be working on telling other stories, including possibly the "small films" that he has sometimes talked about wanting to do. I admit that I'm now finding that I am wondering if Star Wars might be the one and only great creative concept that Lucas really has. Sure, he has done a few other projects that have had some success. The Indiana Jones films are the most obvious, although I do tend to think that a lot more of the credit for the success of that series really should likely go to Steven Spielberg than to Lucas. American Graffiti, which was Lucas' one big hit prior to Star Wars is his one other pretty much unquestionable personal success, but it was a very early work that is also pretty clearly autobiographical in nature. I'm not really sure how likely he is to have another story of that kind in him, particularly at this late stage of his career.
Regardless of what Lucas does going forward, I do think his place in film history is pretty secure. Weaknesses aside, the Star Wars saga is a pretty remarkable accomplishment that really has been tremendously influential and is also likely to ultimately survive the test of time, at least to some extent. His companies have also been responsible for a great deal of innovation in film, including significant advances in special effects, sound, digital editing, computer graphics (a lot of people don't realize that Pixar was originally a division of Lucasfilm), and digital photography. Even as I think he may be overextending Star Wars itself, I can't see anything he does ever erasing or even substantially diminishing those accomplishments.
As a concluding note, I suppose my commentary in this post has been kind of all over the place, but it really is a reflection of very conflicted feelings. The original motivation to post this was really the fact that I wanted to want to see the new film, but I just don't. In many ways, Star Wars has been an important cultural component of a large portion of my life. I can't help looking at my fading interest with a bit of wistful sadness.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
June 8, 2008 Jeffrey GraebnerLeave a comment
I'm writing about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull after it has been out for a couple weeks and has probably already been seen by a pretty large percentage of those that were particularly enthusiastic about seeing it. Because of that, this is going to be a commentary rather than a "should you go see it" type of review and I'm not going to worry about avoiding spoilers. If you haven't seen the film and still plan to, consider yourself warned.
I honestly can't remember being this conflicted about a movie recently. I can definitely say that I enjoyed the movie and that I even am interested in seeing it again. At the same time, I'm initially did not feel inclined to say it really was a good movie. That is part of the reason why I didn't get around to writing this until about 2 weeks after seeing the film. In fact, I've even gone back and revised this opening paragraph to be a bit more upbeat after realizing that the rest of my review is a lot more positive than I really expected it to be.
Right after seeing the movie, my first instinct was to tell various family and friends that this was the best movie I had ever seen that was made from a really bad script. As I've thought about it more, I even think the script was generally pretty good as I recall a lot of snappy and amusing dialog, some good character moments, and well-chosen action sequences. I think the real problem with the film is that the underlying story is very poorly conceived. I really do think that this may be the best example I've ever seen of a very talented group of filmmakers and actors making the very best of some pretty bad underlying material.
I've seen a lot of comments about how much mileage this movie was able to get out of nostalgia for the character and the earlier films, but I think that wouldn't really go very far if there weren't an awful lot that is right with the movie. First and foremost, it still looks and feels like an Indiana Jones movie. Although he played the character as noticeably older, and perhaps a tad wiser, Harrison Ford seemed to pretty effortlessly slip back into the role. I actually hope that other filmmakers will note his performance here and recognize that he is clearly still very capable of playing action heroes. I think he is an actor that has mostly been misused for the past few years.
It was great seeing Karen Allen's return as Marion Ravenwood, even if she really didn't have all that much to do in the film. The interplay between her and Indy was pretty much on the mark, really. It was very reminiscent of their relationship in the original film, but with some additional history. While it has been somewhat controversial, I was really happy with the decision to end the film with Indy and Marion's wedding. I felt it was a good reflection of the maturity that both characters have achieved with age. I also thought it provided some appropriate closure to a series that I suspect probably really is finished, in spite of the various rumors to the contrary.
I do think that Shia LaBeouf was appealing and well cast as Indy and Marion's son, Mutt, but I can't really say that I thought the character came close to being distinctive enough to carry a film on his own as has been rumored. With that in mind, and considering how long it took to get Spielberg and Ford's schedules to coincide (along with that of George Lucas) and all of them to agree on a script, I just don't see too much of a chance of another film. I could be wrong about this (and almost hope that I am), but this really does seem like one final nostalgic return rather than the re-start of the series.
For the nostalgia factor, I was really happy to see the brief tributes to Marcus Brody (and, consequently, the late Denholm Elliot) as well as to Indy's father. It was disappointing that they weren't able to coax Sean Connery out of retirement for at least a brief cameo, but I was glad that they still found a couple very effective ways of acknowledging the character, particularly in the context of the new father/son relationship between Indy and Mutt. As for Marcus, I greatly enjoyed his sort of bumbling comic relief in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and, thus, thought it was absolutely perfect to end a chase sequence by having the bad guys run into his statue, causing the head to go through their windshield. That felt to me like a very sharp, highly in-character tribute.
The overall look, pacing, and rhythm of the film also seem right. While Steven Spielberg has really matured a lot as a filmmaker over the last 20 years, I think it is great that he still likes to periodically go back to the type of popcorn-movie that generally launched his career. If he had been making nothing but films like Schindler's List and Munich in the years since the last Indiana Jones film, I'm not sure if he could have slipped back into this series effectively. I'm glad he still does occasional projects like the Jurassic Park films, War of the Worlds, and this one.
Some have complained that the now-standard use of CGI animation does give some of the special effects work in this film a less realistic appearance than in the earlier films, but I honestly didn't really notice it much. I really wouldn't say that the special effects work in the series ever really fit the definition of "realistic", regardless of the technique used. The effects may look a bit different this time, but I can honestly say that it wasn't something that crossed my mind while watching the film.
I thought the action sequences and chases were very well-staged and, just like in the previous films, lots of fun. Yes, several of the sequences were completely absurd, but that is not only what I expect from this series, but a large part of its charm. I've been a tad surprised to see other reviews that have criticized sequences like Mutt's Tarzan swing through the jungle or Indy surviving a nuclear blast in a lead refrigerator. Sure, both sequences were insanely over-the-top and kind of silly, but they also both put a huge grin on my face. I really think this kind of pretty much fearless over-the-top action is a big part of the charm of these films.
I've now talked a lot about what was right with the film. As I stated at the top of the review, my overall reaction to the film was pretty mixed mainly due to pretty serious story issues. To put it simply, I think the plot is just plain too complicated. The Indiana Jones films have pretty much provided classic examples of Alfred Hitchcock's concept of a MacGuffin, the term he used to refer to the object that everyone in the film wants to find, steal, protect, or destroy. What that object is or does really shouldn't matter at all or occupy much time or attention in the film.
In the previous films, the MacGuffin could be explained in just a few words, thus requiring very little of the running time for exposition and allowing the films to maintain a previously almost unprecedented pacing. In both Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indy was seeking Biblical objects that were already well-known to most people in the audience. Even those that didn't already know about the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail could pretty quickly get the point when told that the ark was the box that held the tablets containing the 10 commandments and that the grail was the cup used by Christ at the last supper. The ark's "power to level mountains" and the grail's ability to grant endless life could also be explained quickly and easily. While the Sankara Stones that were sought in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom were not a well-known artifact, the film pretty much skipped any serious explanation other than that one of the stones brought good luck to a village and that all of them would bring great power when brought together.
In the new film, the crystal skull of the title is essentially a MacGuffin once again, but this time they have given it a much too complicated back-story. To be honest, I'm not even sure I even entirely understood it by the time the film was over. As best as I can tell, the skulls belonged to alien visitors (I think inter-dimensional instead of from outer space) who were, apparently, the gods that were worshiped by the ancient Aztecs, who built their lost city of gold as a tribute. When brought together at the temple in the lost city, they apparently opened some sort of a doorway while also imparting psychic abilities or some sort of eternal knowledge to anyone who was looking into their eyes. It also, for some reason, triggered a launch of a flying saucer that either was traveling to space or to another dimension or something. Anyway, I think that not entirely-successful attempt at a description kind of illustrates the problem here.
The major impact of the over-complicated plot is that this film pretty much slows to a halt multiple times as it makes not-entirely successful attempts at explaining what was going on. Prior to this film, slow spots in an Indiana Jones movie almost seemed unthinkable. A big part of the problem is that even Indy's motivations and role in the whole adventure become somewhat murky by the end of the movie, particularly after a scene where Indy briefly is forced to stare at the skull and then starts claiming that some of his activities are what it told him to do. In the past films, the characterization was really a pretty simple mix of a desire for "fortune and glory" and a somewhat overdeveloped sense of altruism, again providing an easy framework for action sequences fueled by dogged determination.
The problem with the story also impacted the effectiveness of some of the supporting characters. Cate Blanchett's villain was particularly hurt by confusing characterization and motivations. I didn't mind so much that her desire to find the skull was more based on personal ambition than loyalty to her Soviet leaders as that was a tradition that was pretty much established in the first film with Belloq, who remains the best of the series' villains. The bigger problem is that it really was hard to figure out what those motivations actually were. We were given some indications that she had psychic abilities (or at least thought she did), but that didn't really amount to much until the confusing climax. I guess she was ultimately seeking knowledge, but that aspect of her personality almost seemed to come out of nowhere at the end of the film. It certainly didn't help much that Blanchett's performance was a bit too cartoonish, with a pretty uncomfortable resemblance to Natasha from the old Bullwinkle cartoons…
Another weak link was John Hurt's role as one of Indy's old colleagues who had initially discovered the skull. By the time the film catches up with the character, he had apparently gone mad as a result of staring too long at the skull, but it is never entirely clear why that is or why he suddenly returns to normal at the film's climax. The character is generally inscrutable to the point of being fairly irritating. I think the film would have been better off either eliminating the character entirely or having him remain missing (leaving clues) until the finale.
I will say that my initial reaction to hearing that the film involved aliens was generally not very positive, but I now don't really think that was a bad idea. Necessarily, the film shifted the setting from the 1930s to the 1950s and a storyline involving aliens fits in pretty well with the types of serial adventure films from that time period. I think the big mistake was that they way overdeveloped the idea. Had the story involved a very straightforward and simple artifact that just happened to be alien in origin (instead of religious like in the other films), I think it would have worked just fine. The error was in seriously trying to over-explain the whole thing. We have long heard that Spielberg, Lucas, and Ford wanted to do another film, but it was long delayed by trying to get the right story and script. In a lot of ways, the end result really seems like the work of too many screenwriters severely over-thinking what needed to be nothing more than a lightweight framework for lots of action and adventure.
Despite these huge misgivings about the story, the good really does outweigh the bad here. As I said at the beginning, I have felt very conflicted about the movie and I think this review probably reflects that. Looking back at what I wrote, the first half reads a lot like a rave review and the second half reads like a pan. I think that does basically reflect the two sides to the movie itself, but what is good is so good that I would have hated to miss it. For me, I think it boils down to being glad that we got one more Indiana Jones film after all these years while also feeling like it was something of a missed opportunity.
Indiana Jones Memories: Last Crusade
May 21, 2008 Jeffrey Graebner1 Comment
Click here for my post on Raiders of the Lost Ark
Click here for my post on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
The 5 years between the second and third Indiana Jones sequels were pretty eventful ones in my life, as is probably typical for the years between age 14 and 19. In early 1985 (a little over 1/2 year after Temple of Doom came out), my family moved from Flint to Kenosha, Wisconsin. My parents ended up making another move to Sandusky, Ohio just 3 years after that, although I was attending college in Milwaukee by that time.
We ended up all seeing Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on opening day at a theater in Cleveland, so the movie's opening day (the Wednesday before Memorial Day 1989) must have been shortly after I completed my sophomore year of college and returned to my parents' home for summer vacation. While there were a couple movie theaters in Sandusky at the time, they were generally older theaters and their presentation usually left a lot to be desired. As it was only about a one hour drive to Cleveland, we quickly got into the habit of going there to see most movies. My grandmother also lived in Cleveland at the time, so we were able to often combine a trip to the movies with a visit to see her as well.
I don't remember the name of the specific theater where we saw the film, but we basically picked it out by looking in the paper for the closest theater that listed a 70mm 6-track presentation and Lucasfilm's THX sound system, which had become pretty commonplace in larger cities by that time. Our whole family (including my mother this time) got up fairly early to head into Cleveland for the first opening day matinee of the movie. I'm not sure if there were any midnight showings of this one, but we did go to the first regularly scheduled showing at that theater.
Even with the show being fairly early in the day on a Wednesday, the theater was pretty full, although I don't recall for sure if it was a completely sold-out show. The most memorable audience moment actually came during the previews. Just a couple minutes into them, the film broke and the lights came back up. A few moments after that, someone in the theater started loudly humming the Raiders March. It took only another moment or so until pretty much the entire audience had joined in. I strongly suspect that this was considerably more frightening to the poor employee that was tasked with getting things up and running again than the more traditional audience taunts and complaints would have been. Fortunately, they were able to get it fixed pretty quickly and the movie itself played through without interruption.
Last Crusade is a very good film with some considerable strengths. Sean Connery is absolutely great as Indy's father and he and Harrison Ford played off each other wonderfully. It was also nice seeing Denholm Elliott and John Rhys-Davies reprise their roles from the first film and, of course, the action sequences and big set pieces were as much fun as ever. I can easily understand why most people seem to prefer this one to Temple of Doom and some even consider it to be the best of the original three movies.
For a couple reasons, though, it is pretty solidly in third place for me. While Temple of Doom was able to genuinely surprise me by going off in a different direction in setting and style compared to its predecessor, Last Crusade instead repeated a lot of key elements from Raiders pretty directly, whether it be the reuse of the Nazis as the key villains, the quest for another famous Christian religious icon, or even the use of some very similar settings and locations. I couldn't help but feel like Lucas and Spielberg took the complaints about Temple of Doom too much to heart and responded by largely reworking Raiders for the third film.
I also can't help but think that the difference in my memories of the films are somewhat reflective of the different viewpoints of an 11-year-old, a 14-year-old, and a 19-year-old. By the time Last Crusade came out, I was a pretty avid moviegoer that was seeing a pretty wide variety of movies of many different styles and genres. As excited as I was about seeing this one, I doubt I was quite as receptive to it as I was when I was younger. I do recall still seeing the film a few times over the course of that summer, but I don't think it was more than a handful. Even taking into account home video, I have a hunch that I still probably haven't seen Last Crusade as many times in total as I saw Raiders in the theater during its first year of release.
With that in mind, I'm very excited to go see an opening-night showing of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull tomorrow night, but I also can't help but wonder exactly how I am going to respond to one of these movies now that I'm 38-years-old, married, and a father. There is a good chance I'll write a review of the movie over the next couple days, but I suspect I won't really have enough distance to write another one of these "memories" articles about it for quite a few years.
Indiana Jones Memories: Temple of Doom
Click here for my previous post on Raiders of the Lost Ark
By the time the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom came out in 1984, the dominance of the multiplex was really starting to take hold. The sequel opened both at the big single-screen Flint Cinema where Raiders played, but it also opened at a suburban multiplex (the Genesee Valley Theaters) that was much closer to our family's home. This was the same release pattern that was used for Return of the Jedi the year before. My sister and I saw Jedi at the first after-school matinee at the multiplex and then saw the film again that weekend in the better 70mm 6-track Dolby presentation at the Flint Cinema.
We had expected to follow the same basic pattern with Temple of Doom, which was also opening the Wednesday before Memorial Day, a week or so before school let out for the summer. Much to our surprise, my father had other ideas. At the time, the local newspaper in Flint came fairly late in the afternoon. After work, my father was looking through the paper and called my sister and I into the room. He then showed us the full-page ad for the movie that announced a midnight showing that night at Flint Cinema and asked us if we could promise to still get up and make it to school the next day if we all went to see it. Of course, our answer was a definite "yes".
Not being a night person at all, my mother again opted out of the first showing (another good excuse to see the film again soon…), but my father, sister, and I headed out to the theater late that evening. This was my first experience seeing a midnight movie. It wasn't a sold-out show, but the enthusiasm level of the audience was about as high as it could get. The crowd cheered and applauded at all the right moments and clearly was having a great time. I particularly got a kick out of the reaction to Indy's entrance. The first time we see the character in this film, he is well-groomed and dressed in a white tuxedo. The audience reacted with applause, although it was a bit restrained and even a little delayed as it took a moment for it to register that it was him. At the end of the prologue, Indy makes a second entrance dressed in his traditional leather jacket, fedora, bullwhip, etc. and that prompted cheers and wild applause.
I obviously had a much better idea of what to expect than I did prior to the release of the first film, which led to quite a bit more heightened excitement about the film, but also a lot less mystery and surprise. What I actually liked a lot about the film (and I'm a bigger fan of it than many people are) was that I felt that Lucas and Spielberg really did find some surprising and unexpected directions to take the movie. Right at the very start, I certainly wasn't expecting the movie to open with an entire Busby Berkley style musical number. I even recall momentarily wondering if they were running the wrong movie. A lot of people were also put off by the darker tone and overall modified structure compared to the first film, but I felt that it made the movie seem a bit fresher than most sequels. The film was, if anything, even faster paced than the first and, even with the ultra-late showtime, I certainly had no trouble staying awake for the movie. Yes, I did make it through the school day the next day as well.
I liked the film a lot and did see it several times in the theater that summer, but not as many times as the first film. In fact, it wasn't even really the movie that most dominated my attention that summer. As a 14-year-old boy, I was right in the primary target audience for Ghostbusters, which became my favorite movie of that summer and the one that I gave the most repeat viewing. The Indiana Jones films have overall likely withstood the test of time better over the last 24 years and I suspect most people might even be a bit surprised to learn that Ghostbusters was actually a bigger box-office hit overall that summer. Still, it did play through the whole summer and I do recall several return trips to see it again.
In my post on Raiders, I mentioned that the John Williams score was something of a milestone. While the sequel score wasn't as much of one, it did come as something of a surprise to me and still remains one of my favorites. The big surprise was Williams' decision to abandon all of the themes that he had written for the first film with the exception of the iconic Raiders March. At that point, I never really had conceived of a sequel score that would essentially start from scratch instead of further developing the first film's music. It caught me a bit off-guard, but also appealed to me very much.
I will close with probably the silliest and oddest personal story that relates to this movie. At the very end of the credits is a somewhat cryptic credit that simply says "Thanks to Reed Smoot". Being a couple teenagers, my sister and I both thought that was kind of a funny name and were also intrigued by the mysterious credit. It then became a running joke for the two of us for quite some time, with us often joking about being the only members of the "Reed Smoot Fan Club". Without the vast information available online today, we didn't have any success finding any information on Mr. Smoot. We were pretty sure he wasn't the early-20th century Utah Senator that was the only reference we found to the name. I now know that Mr. Smoot is actually a respected cinematographer that is best known for his work on a variety of IMAX features. He apparently did some second-unit photography work on the film, which was the basis of the credit. If Mr. Smoot ever stumbles on this, I hope he doesn't mind that a couple silly teenagers had some goofy fun with his credit.
Indiana Jones Memories: Raiders of the Lost Ark
May 19, 2008 Jeffrey GraebnerLeave a comment
Unless you have been living under a rock (and possibly even then), you probably know that a brand-new Indiana Jones movie is opening this Thursday. My wife and I have already arranged for a babysitter and purchased our opening night tickets. With that in mind, this seems like a good time to reminisce a bit about my experiences seeing the previous movies in the series. In this post (and later ones about the other two films), I'm not really going to write reviews, although I expect to reveal at least a bit of my opinion of each. Instead will just tell a bit of the story of my own experiences.
With 19 years having past since we last saw Indy in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and 27 years since the character was first introduced in Raiders of the Lost Ark, I'm part of a likely pretty large group of adults who will be going into this new movie with a hope of recapturing a little bit of magic from my childhood. I was only 11-years-old when the first movie came out and was 14 and 18 when the previous sequels came out. As a long-time movie enthusiast, I probably would list other films (including others by Spielberg and Lucas) as somewhat higher on both my lists of favorites and bests, but I can think of very few that invoke more fond memories or that had quite as much influence on my love of movies and my cinematic preferences.
When Raiders of the Lost Ark came out back in 1981, I was already a fan of the Star Wars films (The Empire Strikes Back came out one year earlier) and, not surprisingly, was immediately very receptive to the promotion of a new George Lucas movie starring Harrison Ford. My older sister (who was 14 at the time) also had a definite movie-star crush on Ford, which also helped to build our family's interest in the movie.
The first that I ever heard about the film remains my pick for possibly the most amusingly wrong magazine article I've ever seen about a movie. I don't remember the specific publication (although my sister may still have the clipping somewhere in her files), but it was a movie rumors column in either a teen magazine or a general entertainment magazine of some sort. The short article ran right around the time that The Empire Strikes Back was released and announced that the 3rd film in the Star Wars series would be coming out only one year later and would center around the character of Han Solo. The title of this new film would be "Lost Raiders of the Ark". I'm sure that whoever wrote that is very proud…
Back in 1981, I didn't really follow the movies very closely and certainly didn't have access to the kind of ready information on the topic that is out there today. For the most part, the first real awareness of Raiders came primarily when the ads started hitting. Back then, George Lucas and, especially, Steven Spielberg were not really household names, so the ads heavily promoted the movie as "From the creator of Star Wars and the director of Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind". As I said, the Star Wars connections were the big draw for me, although I had seen and enjoyed Close Encounters (but only on TV). I didn't see Jaws until a few years later. After seeing Raiders, I quickly became a Spielberg fan, something that really solidified a year later when our family went out to see a sneak preview of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial without knowing much of anything about the film other than that it was from the same director.
My father took my sister, my best friend, and me to see the first evening showing of Raiders on its opening night. We were living in Flint, Michigan at the time and saw the movie at The Flint Cinema, an old-fashioned single-screen theater. Built in the late 60s shortly after the end of the movie palace era, it wasn't anything overly fancy but was mainly known for a large screen and 70mm, 6-track Dolby presentation. I think Raiders was actually the first film we saw there as the first two Star Wars films had opened at the nearby Eastland Mall Cinemas instead. The movie pretty much blew us all away. We knew it was supposed to be a fast-paced adventure movie, but I don't think any of us really were prepared for the scope of the film or the sheer level of adrenaline it would pump.
My Mom wasn't originally sure she was that interested in the movie (she hadn't really liked Star Wars) and decided that she didn't feel like dealing with the opening night crowds for the movie. We, of course, all came home and told her that she needed to see the movie as soon as possible and we all went out to see it with her the next weekend. As a joke, we all conspired ahead of time to repeatedly warn her that the movie started out very slowly, but promising her that it got better as it went along. As you might expect, the very exciting opening sequence in the idol cave caught her very much off-guard. She really loved the movie, although the intensity did get to her a bit at times. She was holding my Dad's hand during much of the movie and afterwards they laughed that she instinctively pulled her hand to her mouth, thus biting my Dad, during the Well-of-Souls sequence when the snake climbed out of the skeleton's mouth.
Over the course of that summer, this became the first movie that my sister and I went to see multiple times in the theaters during its initial release (we had seen Star Wars and a few Disney films more than once due to re-releases). By the end of the film's run, I saw it a total of 13 times. My father absolutely fell in love with the movie as well and went along with us to many of those showings. Prior to that, he had never been much of a movie fan and didn't typically see anything more than once.
John Williams score to the movie also represented a bit of a milestone for me. I had started to become interested in movie scores a couple years earlier. My interest was first sparked by John Barry's orchestral score to Disney's The Black Hole, which ended up being the first score soundtrack that I purchased. My interest expanded dramatically after getting first The Empire Strikes Back and then the original Star Wars soundtracks and I then started a collection of movie score LP's from movies involving outer space. Over a year or so, I bought a bunch of albums including Close Encounters, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Superman, 2001: A Space Odyssey, etc. After seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark and hearing Williams amazing music for the film, I immediately wanted that soundtrack. It was at that point, that my interest really broadened to film scores in general instead of just to souvenirs of space movies. This really established my musical tastes for the long term as film scores remain the dominant part of my collection and my music purchases today.
I loved the sequels and have certainly been very impressed and excited by other action/adventure movies over the years as well. I think Raiders will always hold a very special place in my memory, though, and I don't really believe any other movie will ever quite match the surprise and excitement that surrounded this one.


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Unique decision model informs pediatric Hematology/Oncology field
Developing a decision model in the field of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology is rare (only a handful have been published in the last 30 years), but Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist Michael Kelly, MD, MPH, MS is an innovative clinical researcher.
Dr. Kelly used comparative effectiveness research (CER), a method of comparing benefits and harms in patient care, to model the life expectancy of a subgroup of pediatric high-risk leukemia patients. His model predicts outcomes for patients treated both with and without prophylactic cranial radiation therapy (CRT), one type of strategy used to prevent or delay the spread of cancer to the brain.
According to Dr. Kelly, "Generally, patients tolerate prophylactic cranial radiation therapy well during their initial treatment, but it's associated with long-term side effects such as learning disabilities, secondary malignancies and endocrine disorders."
The evidence gathered by Dr. Kelly allowed him to create a survival model, which models patients' life expectancy and quality-adjusted life expectancy. With this model, he was able to conclude that short-term survival is similar amongst patients treated with any of three CRT strategies, but that long-term overall survival is lower with prophylactic CRT due to late effects of treatment such as secondary malignancies.
Since joining the Tufts Medical Center community five years ago, Dr. Kelly has been committed to developing his clinical research career in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. He was a recipient of a Career Development Award (KM1 Program) in CER through the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute. He earned a Master of Public Health at Brown University during his fellowship and a Master's in Clinical and Translational Science at The Sackler School of Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University during his KM1 Program.
Dr. Kelly notes that his research wouldn't be possible without help from his mentors, Susan K. Parsons, MD, MRP, Director, Center for Health Solutions, Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies and Steven G. Pauker, MD, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Decision Making. Dr. Parsons has served as Dr. Kelly's research mentor since his arrival at Tufts in 2009. Dr. Pauker spent a lot of one-on-one time with Dr. Kelly as he learned the finer points of developing a methodologically rigorous decision model for this project.
The model Dr. Kelly created is only the beginning of addressing complex decision-making. He will continue to conduct similar research by studying different subgroups of high risk leukemia patients with the ultimate goal of providing pediatric oncology patients with the most appropriate care plan.
As a winner of the Research Travel Award, which supports travel to a professional meeting related to the investigator's career in biomedical/translational research, Dr. Kelly will present a summary of his project at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology. His hope is that sharing his research will educate others in his field about these methods of comparative effectiveness research and present opportunities for collaboration among other researchers in the field of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.