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the art of rebellion, part 2, Chiapas
Posted by Udi on Dec 30, 2012 in all posts, Mexico | 0 comments
Zapatista school mural, Oventic, photo by Kelly
The relationship of art and political culture I wrote about in my previous post can be even more clearly seen in Chiapas. The city of San Cristobal de las Casas, capital of the state of Chiapas, does not have the same overt display of the art of rebellion on its walls as Oaxaca. But this outward lack of visible signs and the seeming normality of this picturesque town with indigenous craft sellers and wandering tourists covers an intense uprising and violent conflict which emerged here in 1994. Here the figure of the Indian, the indigenous person, is even more present than in the art we found on the streets of Oaxaca.
Zapatista mural, Oventic, photo by Kelly
The Exercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional (EZLN) were often referred to in many of the conversations we had throughout our time in Mexico. The EZLN uprising in Chiapas in January 1st 1994, the same day as the signing of NAFTA (see Kelly´s posts on Maize for more information on NAFTA), also created an effervescence of visual imagery. Indeed the key figure in this struggle, Subcomandante Marcos, appears very aware of the power of imagery and symbolism for a political movement, using the balaclava, amongst other images and symbolic events, as a devices through which to communicate a new way of sharing power or doing politics. In this case the anonymity of the mask declares that the struggle of the indigenous Maya is also the struggle of peoples across the world. Artists and craftspeople from Chiapas and beyond have tapped into the imagery and stories of this revolutionary struggle and their work can be seen in shops and galleries across San Cristobal and on murals in the autonomous Zapatista towns in the state. Proceeds from the sales of these products, here in Mexico and abroad, often go to support Zapatista communities.
Postcards, posters, t-shirts, wallets, bags, mugs, shot-glasses, Marcos dolls and key rings populate this visual world. This world overlaps with an older iconographic tradition of revolutionary imagery in Latin America with the ubiquitous pictures of Che Guevara and here in Mexico Emiliano Zapata, key figure in the revolution of 1910, and from whom the current day Zapatistas draw inspiration.
zapatista dolls in shop, San Cristobal, photo by Udi
zapatista postcards in shop, San Cristobal, photo by Udi
The present day revolutionary imagery of the Zapatistas also has important innovations which say something about the novelty of their politics and their visions of hope for the future they are trying to build. We already mentioned the mask as a symbol of the dispersed nature of power and leadership amongst the Zapatistas, we also see recurring images that represent the struggle of women for equality in the figures of the 'mujeres dignas e rebeldes' and in the other icon of the revolution Comandante Ramona. In these images we also see the centrality of indigeneity as a key category of the struggle, as well as expressions related to the importance of land and subsistence. The images also serve as pictures of hopeful futures, we see communities living in harmony with each other and with nature. We see the importance of education, of working the land. In some of these images we also see the more subtle spiritual dimension of Mayan culture, the cycles of nature, the stars and moon.
Zapatista clinic mural, Oventic, photo by Kelly
We visited Oventic, a Zapatista autonomous community, or caracol – snail – as they are called, an hour away by car from San Cristobal. The governing principles of the caracol are meant to embody the Zapatista approach to power which is the practice of leading by obeying. This approach to leadership means that no one person holds power. Rather, every person (men and women in the community) learns how to exercise power, what it is to govern their village. The leadership positions frequently rotate (every couple of weeks). Arriving at the gates of the village we were greeted by masked women who were standing guard at the gate to the main street of the community by the side of the main road the coletivo driver had dropped us off at. Two other masked men approached us and asked questions whilst filling in the mandatory form; who we were, where we were from, why we were there. They went inside one of the houses with our answers before returning a short while later, asking us to follow them.
We were assigned a guide to show us around, a local Mayan Tzoztil, one of many Mayan groups and the most widespread in the region. Our guide was quiet (Spanish was not his first language), reserved and naturally wary considering the continuing state (military) oppression and paramilitary violence his community faces, but he beneath his mask he was friendly and provided brief answers, often just a 'yes' to my questions. What we, and most visitors who come here see, and what our guide appeared to have been most keen to show, are the murals which cover every building along the main street of Oventic. These have been painted by various artists over the years, many by outsiders, who have come in support of the Zapatista struggle.
Zapatista mural, Oventic, photo by Udi
The murals are beautiful. Their imagery and colors are intense and heartfelt as is the hopefulness and strength they convey, more so for their being found in this place, a community struggling against the odds and the state to be autonomous, to have their own school and clinic, their own cooperatives for their food production, their crafts and transportation. That the Zapatistas are actually practicing, with the various challenges this brings, this new way of living together in another world that they have created – makes the art we saw here, which promote these values, all the more alive. From all the murals we saw I think my favourite ones were the first one I added to this post, on the walls of a Zapatista primary school, I love the notion of an Escuela Primaria Rebelde, where from an early age children are prepared to be creative and autonomous. The image just above, outside the Oficina del Consejo Autonomo, the village assembly, is also very strong, merging the symbol of the mask with that of corn (see Kelly´s posts on Maize). But I also really enjoyed the image below, a playful use of Matisse´s work to show a group of dancing Zapatistas. This playfulness is often missed when people speak about the Zapatistas – see for instance the last few pages of the 6th Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle. Though engaged in a serious struggle that emerges in a context of 500 hundreds of years of continued oppression against Mayan communities of the region, their statements, comuniques, poetry and art, and the symbolism embodied in their repertoire of contention (see for instance their recent silent march across a number of towns in Chipas) we see a constant subversion of usual ways of understanding and doing politics.
Dancing Zapatistas mural, Oventic, photo by Kelly
So what does all this have to do with our journey into enlivened ways of learning? For me this has been about reconnecting to art as another source we can learn with or from. In Alberta we began to discover how we could learn from place, from the land and from sites which were sacred for the Blackfoot. In British Columbia we began to understand how the art of the Northwest Coast carried within it stories, cultural practice and identities that have been important in processes of cultural rejuvenation. Here in Mexico we also began to see how art reflects and carries forth the political culture in which it is made, the way that relations of power (who is oppressed, by whom and how) is expressed and how images of possible futures are constructed. This has allowed us to enliven our experience of the art we see, hear and touch and suggested ways by which these other ways of expressing (see our post on literacies too) could become incorporated into how we communicate with others.
Zapatista mural, mujeres por la dignidad, Oventic, photo by Kelly
Reflections on Literacies, Part 1 Oaxaca
Posted by Udi on Dec 23, 2012 in all posts, Mexico, Universidad de la Tierra | 2 comments
Painting on the walls of Mcmenamins Kennedy School in Portland, Oregon (no name – but we refer to it as 'Banking Style Education'), photo by Kelly
I am sitting at a kitchen table with my back to the sun and the view below of endless tiled roofs until green mountains rise abruptly behind them. In spite of this captivating view, I am once again absorbed in my computer screen. Every day we feel a constant tug of war to 'catch up' and 'enliven' our 'enlivened learning' blog and write what can often seem as an endless stream of emails to connect with friends, family, colleagues, places to visit, people yet to meet. We are reminded how much computers suck away energy – draining colour from our faces and brightness in our eyes – quite a far cry from an enlivened state of learning! Yet, using these machines is essential as part of our learning and communication – to connect with and relate to so many different people from different parts of the world, building perhaps new communities, new relationships.
Today I am writing up my notes and Kelly's notes that were jotted down previously sitting by another window overlooking a different view. These notes were registers of my memories of our time in Unitierra and in particular our exchanges with Gustavo around the topic of literacy, orality and the screen culture or society that seems to be emerging in all corners of the world.
On the first day visiting Unitierra, we attended the Wednesday weekly afternoon seminar. When we walked into the front room, at least 10 people were busy peering into their computer, typing furiously. Side conversations occurred intermittently without much eye contact.
It was a curious thing to see the wall of computers encircling the large table that is actually 10 tables pushed together. The computer screens nearly blocked the faces and bodies behind them, looking as if it is a meeting of computers rather than of bodies. I wondered how different this scene would have been 10 years ago. Would there have been books and notebooks as the center of focus instead? How does our reliance on computers play a part in community, and in comunalidad (see previous post)? How does it strip away the atmosphere of comunalidad? And, how does it offer another type of comunalidad?
Ivan Illich seminar at Unitierra – Oaxaca (teleconferencing with people from Spain, Colombia and Argentina), photo still from film footage, by Udi
The writer Bennedict Anderson used the term Imagined Communities (title of his 1983 book) to refer to how nationalism emerges as a historical phenomenon in which large groups of people come to envisage themselves as part of a community with shared attributes and a common identity. These communities, acquired a social consciousness as being part of a larger group in parallel to processes of self-organisation around the institutions of a state. For Anderson one of the key catalysts in this is the emergence of what he called 'print-capitalism', that is, the wide availability of printed books published in the vernacular, through a newly established print industry that included literary productions, pamphlets, newspapers and so on. Anderson's influential work then brought together these technologies of communication with new forms of political organisations, imaginations and identities.
Photo taken by Udi of students' morning practice art at the Freda Diesing school
Killer Whale, by Latham Mack
Peering at the screens before us in the front room of Unitierra that afternoon, and reflecting on our own experiences with computers we also wondered about the role and effects of communication and information technologies like computers and the Internet in transforming our societies, forms of organising, our identities and imaginations. But beyond these questions, which Bennedict addressed in his work in relation to the printed press, we wondered how these mediating technologies changed our interactions with the world and each other. How do these technologies alienate us from immediate experience and each other whilst at the sane time bring us together in new ways, allowing for novel forms of organising, creating, communicating? How do these technologies make our lives easier and more enjoyable — and how have they made us more anxious, obsessively needing to 'stay in touch' and consume an overwhelming amount of random information? How have these machines liberated or enslaved us?
We guessed the answers would be obvious and subtle. These technologies have made it possible that we can publish our experiences and ideas, across the world, unmediated by publishers or other gatekeepers of the printed press. But they have also tied us to hours of typing and tinkering in front of screens, as Kelly notes describe above, away from the world unmediated by screens. Much has been written on the transformations at different times and places of mediating technologies, whether the computer or book, on societies and cultural practice. More subtle are the impacts of these technologies on the ways we experience and relate to the world and each other.
This had also been the topic of a long running seminar in Unitierra, using some of Ivan Illich's work on the theme of literacy – he wrote two books on this topic, ABC: The Alphabetization of the Popular Mind (1988, co-written with Barry Sanders), and In the Vineyard of the Text (1993). The seminar met weekly over a period of several months discussing these and other texts and bringing diverse experiences and ideas. A story Gustavo told from this seminar stuck with me. This involved a young man who, excited about these discussions on literacy and orality, returned to his village outside Oaxaca to interview his indigenous grandfather with a recording device over a period of several days. When he explained to his grandfather what he was doing with the machine, recording every statement, the elderly man laughed uncontrollably for a while. He then told his grandson the stories and experiences he was telling him changed depending on what he was feeling, what day it was, what he ate. So all he was recording was his mood.
The story chimed with us and speaks to the working practice of every researcher, how the seeming permanence of registering words, in recording devices or text, solidifies the transient and changing flux of lived experience. How does growing up in a 'society of the book' and increasingly 'of the screen' affect our experiences? What kinds of experiences, relationships and ways of communicating do those forms of literacy foreclose or render more difficult as they replace other ways of being? Is it even possible to remember what is forgotten through the introduction of these new mediating technologies and the practices of relating, reading and writing the world they introduce? Can these deeply ingrained sensibilities be unlearned?
Photo taken by Udi – Petroglyphs inside Writing-On-Stone
Whilst learning with the Blackfoot, from Blackfoot ways of knowing and from the sites that were important to them we had a taste of what it might be like to learn from and listen to place, to plants and animals, to the sky, the mountains, the weather – to gain new forms of literacy with the land – reading and relating to the land. This required a legitimising of these aspects of the natural world as sources of knowledge, as things we can also 'read' and learn from on par with that which we might acquire from books. Cynthia Chambers, Narcisse Blood, Ryan Heavy Head, whom we spent some time with in Alberta, helped us become more sensitive to these ways of being in place. Cynthia has also worked with Inuit Aboriginal communities in the Arctic on mapping their 'embodied memoryscapes' or literacies of the land, stories that developed through centuries about different land formations that guided their migration patterns annually without any printed text.
Photo taken by Udi during our conversation with Ryan and Adrienne at the pond near Lethbridge, Alberta (Canada)
What we consider 'literacy' or legitimize as being 'literate' is completely embedded within relationships of power. What this means is that any definitions and forms of measurement about what 'literacy' or 'being literate' is, is about including some forms of knowing that automatically excludes others. These acts of inclusion and exclusion exercise power, that often many people, primarily those being excluded, have no control over. In the international development and education worlds, UNESCO (United Nations Education Science and Cultural Organization) provides the global definition of what 'being literate' means. This definition has changed significantly over the past 50 years because of being inadequate and hotly debated. Currently, wider definitions and understandings of literacy do exist because of these debates, although the focus on textual literacy (as reading and writing) tends to consistently predominate because of its fundamental importance in the global economy.
Munir Fasheh, the Palestinian activist and scholar, often gives the example of his own mother who was conventionally 'illiterate' but was a gifted seamstress who not just functioned, but excelled at her craft without literacy or numeracy skills as typically ascribed. Kelly met Munir in 2004, when she was living in Karachi and found him deeply inspiring – intellectually and spiritually. His critiques of education and international development were centred first on ourselves – how we need to reflect critically and spiritually on our own practices before changing the world around us. Munir gave a Tedx Talk in Ramallah in April (2012) which is well-worth watching (spoken in Arabic but with English subtitles). Other noted scholars and authors, particularly Brian Street (Kelly's former PhD supervisor whose work has really inspired her thinking), Tim Ingold (see his collection of essays in The Perception of the Environment amongst many others) and David Abram (see Spell of the Sensuous) have also expressed in their work a similar sensibility to considering different interpretations and analyses of what literacy/ies are and in particular, how these relate to learning from our particular environment. That, in different contexts, being 'literate' can and should mean far more than a simplified and abstract definition.
Winter Count, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Alberta, photo by Udi
A further re/un-learning around textual literacies that we both had been experiencing in this journey also came up in our conversation with Gustavo. This has to do with the importance of the conversation as a more embodied, interactive and present way of being together and communicating. In academia there is a fetishising of publications; the article, book, 'publish or perish', number of citations, journal ranking. Texts are the currency of exchange and the way of quantifying people's productive capacity, reach and worth. Unfortunately, rare are the spaces created purposively for good conversations. The formulaic nature of most conferences and seminars do not make fertile ground for this beautiful interpersonal flowering of the good conversation to flourish. Academic departments are often too busy discussing the latest bureaucratic procedures or increasing hardships of academic day to day life for people to really talk about the passions and ideas that drive their work.
Here on this journey, in the open plains of southern Alberta, the forests of northern British Columbia, or in the bustling cities of Vancouver, Mexico City or Oaxaca we are rediscovering the enlivening joy of conversations and its importance for mutual learning. We have spent hundreds of hours over the last three months talking to people, those involved in the initiatives we are visiting, new and old friends we have stayed with or met along the way and others with whom we crossed paths. Conversations are the pulsing beat of our journey.
Kelly reminded me of the conversation we had with Cynthia when she told us how visiting is fundamental to her work and learning with Aboriginal communities and how this is not often appreciated within academic circles. The importance of visiting, of engaging in conversations is primary to the ways in which we are learning with and from the organizations and people that we are encountering on this journey. This 'approach' is in stark contrast to social research methods that we have both been educated about and have followed within our academic work (we will write more about this later). We have loved returning to the spoken word and storytelling as a medium through which to engage with others and share our experiences, questions and hopes. We have also loved the conversation as a present moment, immediate and embodied medium of exchange.
Learning Autonomy, Oaxaca
Posted by Kelly on Dec 21, 2012 in all posts, Mexico, Universidad de la Tierra | 1 comment
For this post and hopefully many others, we want to experiment with different forms and styles of writing – especially as inspired by friends such as Jonathan Wyatt and others who have been practicing more collective and collaborative forms of writing. As this particular post begins to explore ways that we have been learning and thinking about autonomy, particularly as it is linked with a sense of connection (rather than individual independence), we thought to write this post as a form of dialogue.
Udi: One of the deepest learnings for me in Mexico has been around the concept and practice of autonomy. From the example of the Zapatistas and the 2006 teachers' uprising in Oaxaca, to the day to day practices and experiments associated with Unitierra, from the critiques of industrialization, capitalism, colonialism and modernity found in the works of Gustavo Esteva, John Holloway and before them Ivan Illich and Guillermo Bonfil Batalla, autonomia appears as a running theme through the most exciting social, cultural, intellectual and political initiatives happening in the country. Many of us ask ourselves how we reproduce and perpetuate the systems and institutions that govern our lives or to which we feel dependent on. Through many of the practices and ideas we experienced and learned from in Mexico we had a sense of how such questions are being or can be answered in action. What is this idea and practice of autonomy for you Kelly and what did you learn about this in Mexico?
Kelly: From what I am beginning to understand more holistically, being autonomous is not just to feel free to do whatever we each want without any sense of responsibility to the impacts and effects on the rest of the world. Rather, it is to begin by rooting ourselves to where we are – the place – and critically reflecting on all aspects of our lives and the relationships that we impact and depend on, the ways in which we affect others (human and otherwise) around us, as well as the relationships through which we might feel constrained by in some form or another. It is to critically explore what we are dependent on and how these dependencies are realized in our everyday lives – from where (and how) our various dependencies are met. These range from basic necessities of food, water, shelter and sanitation to where and what knowledge I am relying on and from what sources. How am I bound to different institutions and how are they constraining my own creativity and sense of community and culture? It is to consider and explore different ways we might perceive and act on our dependencies – for instance, how might I grow some of my own food or buy food that is produced locally and in accordance to seasonal patterns? How might I harvest and capture water that comes naturally from the sky? How is my waste polluting various sources and how might I and the community I live in do something so that we can be dependent on ourselves and each other and therefore enable a more reciprocal relationship with the land within which we live? These are some of the types of enquiries (and many others) that Unitierra have and continue to explore. With an emphasis on creativity and absorbing yourself in the type of learning that you feel passionate for, these different questions are explored through many inventive, inspiring and unexpected ways. The really important question that Unitierra keeps coming back to is how autonomy or freedom of our 'self' is inseparable from community, including humans and non-humans. How are you making sense of this Udi?
Udi: There is a more habitual understanding we are used to where autonomy is often associated with individual freedom from constraint or freedom to pursue some course of action. I think the practice of autonomy we have been seeing and hearing about here in Mexico in these initiatives goes beyond this sense of individual or 'self' freedom because there is a clear awareness that autonomy happens in a community together with others, human and non-human living beings. Two overlapping key terms and practices that come together with autonomy here are 'comunalidad' and the commons. Comunalidad is the expression of an indigenous 'cosmovision', a way of seeing and being in the world, which Jaime Luna Martinez, a Zapotec activist and anthropologist, explained to us in an interview we did with him. Comunalidad involves developing a relationship with the territory or land you grow in, a relationship to the work you need to do in that place to sustain life, including your own, a relation to others so as to organize that work, and finally a celebration of that work and of life through the fiesta, through celebrations of community and life!
Jaime Luna Martinez, by pond in Guelatao during our interview, still from footage by Udi
In this sense autonomy revolves around the self-reliance and generation of all aspects that sustain the life of a community. So it is clearly not just about individual freedom but instead the creation of a commons that supports life. The commons here is an incompatible notion and practice to capitalism as it is something that cannot be bought or sold or owned by individuals, instead it is that which is cared for by a collective of people and the ties that bind people to the commons are not those of the market but rather often come from shared values or identities. Kelly, do you want to say something about these values or qualities related to autonomy and the commons which we learnt about in Oaxaca?
Kelly: The notion of 'we' and 'commons' came up a lot with Gustavo, as well as this wonderful concept and practice of comunalidad. The meanings of each of these are strongly related to each other as they each remove the central focus being on the individual, the self, or 'me'. I remember being told that in many indigenous languages in Oaxaca (and beyond) there is no word for 'I' or 'me'. Every time a person talks about a need or desire in these indigenous languages, it is articulated through a perspective of 'we'. This to me is profound. I noticed after learning this how often I only refer to myself… 'I this….' and 'I that….'. When referring to myself, if I was to automatically refer simultaneously to 'we' and/or to a much broader commons, I would have to be immediately more thoughtful to the much wider world of which I am a part. This perspective brings with it a completely different sense of responsibility and existence in the world. It does not erase the sense of self – in speaking for, or representing others, rather it is a constant reminder that there is no 'I' without 'we'. Any part of 'me' is a part of a much greater 'we' – nurturing commons is about thinking and doing through this 'we' perspective. The notion of 'commons' in environmentalist sort of discourse is typically related to the 'tragedy of the commons' which is about the over-use and exploitation of resources (until they are depleted) specifically because of this inability to think and do through a 'we' and 'commons' perspective. As you mention, living in accordance to a 'we' or 'commons' perspective is pretty much in complete opposition to beliefs and values inherent within our deeply capitalistic society.
Cezar Añorve leads a 'cacaravan' workshop on dry toilets at Unitierra, still from footage by Udi
At Uniterra, autonomy as part of 'commons' is all-encompassing. There is an ethic of 'we' and a hospitable way of being that permeates the way that everyone interacts with each other. To begin with, anyone can enter the building that houses Unitierra in Oaxaca city, anyone can attend a workshop or seminar, engage in conversation, developing ideas with others. There is no superiority of one person over anyone else – regardless of age, gender, ethnic background, educational background. At Unitierra, we are all just human beings exploring what it is to be in the world in ways that critically engage with currently struggles of all kinds. This way of interacting, or learning together is really rare from my experience. Although this ethic was influenced quite significantly from Gustavo, it comes before this, from Gustavo's relationship with Ivan Illich, and the many thinkers and activists that came together (with Ivan) to explore these different perspectives and ways of being in the world starting in the 1970s in Mexico until Ivan's death in 2002.
Ivan Illich is a major source of inspiration at Unitierra. This is not just because of Gustavo's close friendship with Ivan that he developed over the many years that Ivan lived on and off in Mexico, but it is because of the way that Ivan engaged and built hospitably relationships and ultimately deep friendships. Ivan Illich was a person of many identities – a philosopher, radical social critic, former Roman Catholic priest – but to many who knew him, he was just a beautiful, hospitable and humble soul. Ivan's text, Deschooling Society, is probably his most famous publication – as well as his most mis-understood. The book is not against education per se, but rather the institutionalization of learning as a form of cultural colonization. There are many critical and creative insights and threads woven through the book, Deschooling Society, but two are particularly worth mentioning. The strongest thread is for me to do with institutions – what they are, where they are, how they come to be, how they constrain us, solidifying us into positions that are impose upon us that are often abstracted from what we really want to be in our lives with ourselves, our families and the Earth. All the while, Illich argues, we are made to believe that we need to learn from others, to rely on accepting knowledge as it is passed down from others and then to others, primarily from teachers in schools – and often in pursuit of obtaining a certificate or diploma to verify that our knowledge, or what knowledge we have successfully consumed is sufficient. Illich and others have called this process of following the achievement of diplomas as 'the diploma disease' upon which the system of education not only rests, but legitimizes itself through. This is exactly what Unitierra counters through its openness, hospitality and attention to practice – its focus on self and community-driven learning that is theoretical as much as it is practical.
Photo taken by Kelly – bicycle water pump
Udi: In my limited understanding, Illich's originality was to give a contribution to Marx's critiques of capitalism which focused on labour and production, by addressing not only industry but also services. Illich saw service industries, especially around education and health, as also being part of an alienating and bureaucratic logic of industrializing modernity, something contemporary university workers seem to be increasingly aware of and vocal about. Illich's work and living example explores ways of 'escaping' this logic and instead creating more autonomous spaces of learning or service that are based instead on principles of hospitality, generosity and friendship. In this way his views and practice, his cosmovision you could say, tapped into a deep aspect of human experience and qualities, those of friendship, hospitality and generosity, as orienting values, through which to create new spaces to be and learn together and potentially to organise communities. This is in the opposite direction to much economic and social science thinking around 'human nature' as comprised of selfish and profit-maximising individuals, very much in line with the 'I' – 'we' continuum you describe above. It is interesting to note, as Gustavo mentioned in our conversations, that Illich learnt a great deal from the indigenous communities in Mexico whilst he was here and that his work does show the influence of practices such as that of communalidad.
The Universidad de la Tierra – arriving…
Photo by Udi – Unitierra outdoor sign
We've been in the Universidad de la Tierra, better known as Unitierra, for a couple of hours. It's our first visit. We walked 10 minutes from the homestay we are staying in to arrive there. We waited in the front room for 30 minutes or so before Gustavo arrived for our first face-to-face conversation with him. During these 30 minutes, we explored the books and banners on display in the front room and spoke with one of the learners at Unitierra in the front side room.
Upon entering Unitierra, there is a table with tee-shirts saying 'Todo para Todos' (Everything for Everyone) and a variety of books for sale, mainly in Spanish that engage with topics relevant to the principles and practices of Unitierra. I notice one book that has been published in English and wonder about the connection between Unitierra (especially Gustavo) and the Zapatistas — Beyond Resistance: Everything (An interview with Subcomandante Marcos).
Photo taken by Udi of Unitierra front room
There is also a beautiful hand-woven banner on the wall with the Unitierra logo. I notice a portrait of the famous revolutionary Emiliano Zapato and a Zapatista poster which reads ya se mira el horizonte orto Mexico nace abajo y ala izquierda (You can see the horizon: another Mexico comes down and left).
We wander into the adjoining room, exploring the books housed on a large book shelf against one wall and begin talking to Edi (short for Edgardo), a current learner-collaborator (the term 'student' is not really used in Unitierra) who came to spend time with Unitierra after he accidentally discovered it during his Sociology course at a Oaxacan University when he had to do go out and 'do service work'. His 'service' work became much more reciprocal as he shifted to learn with and from Unitierra rather than providing some sort of 'service' to them. In this room, some book titles stand out that immediately catches my eye: Mexico Profundo: Reclaiming a Civilization; Oaxaca Rebellion; The ABCs of dry compostable toilets; Women Writing Resistance; The complete works of Ivan Illich. I have just come across the term 'Mexico Profundo' a couple of days before in another (quite wonderful) book I found called The New World of Indigenous Resistance in an English bookstore in the center of Oaxaca, very near to the Santo Domingo. I wonder how all of these different books (amongst the hundreds of others) relate to what Unitierra is as a community, who is connected to Unitierra, what Unitierra has done in the past and what is currently occurring in the present.
From both front rooms there is a clear view of the large meeting room that can fit at least 40 people comfortably. The room is warm, with many plants, posters and the walls warmly coloured. Trees are growing literally through the roof in the back of the room. There is sunlight filtering through the bamboo ceiling as well.
Photo taken by Kelly – main meeting room at Unitierra
I am feeing really excited about being in Oaxaca, particularly here in the Unitierra building. I had a similar feeling when visiting Shikshantar the first time, in Udaipur, India and meeting Manish Jain – and also when Udi and I visited Red Crow and met Narcisse Blood and Cynthia Chambers. Before visiting Red Crow, Shikshantar and now Unitierra, I had imagined many times what these places were like. I had read about them, watched films about them (the few that I could find online). I had incorporated these places into talks, discussions and images used in my teaching in Bath – in several of the classes I taught. I had also spoken about them at a major international conference all-the-while feeling a strong awkwardness about my inability to be embedded in these places and speaking about them in an abstracted sense. Yet, I had spoken many times about these places anyway, with passion for their importance in the world. The responses tended to be the same – a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism. Students often were very intrigued and I heard several times comments about their imaginations being inspired. Colleagues at the international conference I spoke at were enthusiastic to learn more, but a few also patronized these places as 'adult literacy projects' or a 'guru cult' (my personal favorite). I've replied to these sorts of patronizing statements with — 'Well okay… maybe we need to pull back and critically consider — 'What is a university – and who says?' 'What should a university be for (and who should it be for) in our current world?' 'What other ways can we imagine and create a university – or any context of so-called higher education?'
Switching back to my presence in these first few minutes at Unitierra, I consider all of the various things I'd like to talk with Gustavo about and I wonder what this initial conversation will be like. I've been inspired by Gustavo Esteva's ideas, his writing and his influence on friends of mine for a long time, well over a decade. From the moment I entered into the 'critical education' and 'post-development' world that strongly critiques ideas and practices of progress, modernity and formal education – thanks to Ana Maria Duque-Artistizabal, a fellow post-graduate student I was blessed to meet at King's College London – I saw Gustavo Esteva's name (the first publication of his I encountered was his chapter 'Development' in The Development Dictionary where he critically deconstructs the term 'development' and outlines historically the moment the 'idea' came into being through Truman's post-WWII speech identifying the majority of the world as 'underdevelopment' and in need of help and progress, modernity). And 12 years later, here I am, a different decade and phase of my life – learning, travelling, visiting – finally able to embed myself in this actual place. What has inspired me the most about Gustavo, is hearing of his commitment to practice –and the way he lives his life that is in complete accordance to his beliefs and values.
Gustavo walks in – slightly flustered – a bit later than planned. We are all apologetic – he for being late – and us for not wanting to be in the way, especially as he is needed in so many places at the same time. He leads us into another room and we all sit down around a large table. There is another wall of books and wall with black/white photos of what I am guessing are indigenous people from Oaxaca.
My inability to speak Spanish (hopefully not a permanent disability!) and Gustavo's fluency in English made English the language of choice. Udi and I spent some time introducing ourselves – who we are, what we've been doing, why we are here, what we want to do whilst in Mexico… Udi did the majority of speaking on behalf of our journey(?) project(?) pilgrimage(?) — I interjected and we both struggled to find an appropriately descriptive word. Gustavo listened intensively, patiently. And then Gustavo began to speak. But as suddenly as he began, he stood and walked us out of the room, through another room (again with walls of books) and then through a door outside.
Photo taken by Kelly – room that leads out to the roof garden
Just outside the door, Gustavo pointed us to the bamboo-walled compostable toilet on the right of the door leading outside – and then a custom-built bicycle that pumps water up to a large water container on top of the roof.
Photo taken by Udi – dry compostable eco-toilet on the way to the roof garden at Unitierra
We headed up some stairs to an urban roof garden. There are plants on either side of the path that leads to the far end of the roof. Along this wall of plants are vegetables, herbs, trees growing fruits, a small greenhouse and a large cactus. I notice that on the left side, there are the ends of trees emerging from the main meeting room on the floor below. Many of the plants are kept in up-cycled plastic containers – water bottles of various sizes, soda bottles, wooden containers.
The far end of this wonderful urban roof garden is covered with another open-roofed area and there is a table with chairs to seat at least 15 people comfortably. There are posters along one of the walls and the opposite wall has another table that houses containers of dirt, tools, smaller plants.
Unitierra began in the late 1990s – a creative response to a 1997 Congress during which there was the first public declaration of the destructive impact of education to indigenous communities – by indigenous people themselves. Gustavo refers to this destruction as 'culture-icide' (I am reminded of Wade Davis's reference to 'ethno-cide' for similar reasons). After this public declaration and with the influence of the teachings of (and Gustavo's friendship with) Ivan Illich, Gustavo thought to create an 'experimental' university-type learning context – Unitierra – as a direct response to these critiques of education. Anyone over the age of 18 was invited to join Unitierra as long as they could read and write. The doors are currently and have always been open to anyone curious to learn within the Unitierra community.
Gustavo explains that the 'campus' of Unitierra has become nomadic –like a spreading web. Although this is the main building for Unitierra, it is no longer the centre of the University, of Unitierra. There is greater emphasis on creating and enacting work with communities (primarily indigenous communities) outside of the centre of Oaxaca city. The campus of Unitierra was originally all in this location – learners came here to stay, to organize what they wanted to learn and how they wanted to learn before going to stay and learn as apprentices with different mentors as people and/or organizations in different parts of Mexico (although primarily Oaxaca). The learning process within the walls of Unitierra involved time spent reading (texts of their choice), discussing but also reflecting on their experiences as apprentices until they felt satisfied with their learning. Some learners would change their focus area after exploring more of what they felt they were most interested in. The key issue, Gustavo explained is that they were doing what they love. Gustavo's eyes brightened and he explained that love is the most important thing — love as a term is purposefully left out of typical academic contexts. This nurturing learning environment is devoid of any formal examinations or structural formalities on attendance or following through on any reading lists, etc. As Unitierra sees it, to nurture learning is to be free, to be autonomous – but within a context that is hospitable and nurturing toward all those involved. The conceptualizations and practices of autonomy alongside the practices and concepts of friendship and hospitality make up the pulsing heart of Unitierra within all of its creative and critical seminars, workshops and activities.
Photo still from our video recorded interview with Gustavo Esteva
Funding has been a constant issue however, and in the early days of Unitierra when learners came to Oaxaca city to learn, discuss and create, many were unable to sustain their day-to-day living. There are no fees for learning at and being a part of the community at Unitierra. This pushed Unitierra to focus more externally, particularly with so much emphasis being on communities outside of Oaxaca city.
On this roof garden, Unitierra holds urban agricultural workshops (we are attending one on tree grafting) on a range of practices to do with food – cultivating, propagating, cooking… Unitierra is also working with many communities outside of Oaxaca city on issues pertaining to food, water, sanitation and construction (architecture). All of these workshops engage with learning how to make, cultivate, shape, design… in other words, how to do things (practice). The theoretical conversations occur routinely once per week (usually Wednesdays) although there are often other seminars on other days as well. And, importantly, there are always further discussions that critically reflect on how these theories can be put into practice.
Photo by Kelly – taken of a board showing different activities that Unitierra is currently involved in
Gustavo explained that the key priority for Unitierra is to resurrect knowledges that have been suppressed through colonialism ('culture-icide') processes and to create new forms of knowledge that are focused on creating autonomy (much more on autonomy in future posts…). Unitierra is linking with people that have technical expertise – but this expertise is about being self and community-reliant, up-cycling used materials and natural resources, capturing and storing water, managing sanitation. Food is an easy way to connect and there is 'profundo' knowledge with food that communities are sharing with Unitierra as well. Thus, there is reciprocity in learning and exchanging – fiesta and eating.
Our initial conversation with Gustavo during this first visit was fragmented, interruptions from other meetings and shortened time. However, Gustavo generously presented us with a variety of events, activities and seminars that are occurring over the next 10 days. The first of which would be later that day – an open seminar to discuss the 19th anniversary of the Zapatista uprising in Chiapas, the adjacent state to Oaxaca – What is Zapatismo today?
Photo by Kelly – of the seminar on Zapatismo advertized in Unitierra


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JBBBS' Next Big Brother Might Be Your Dad: Empty-Nesters Commit to Mentoring
Ralph and Ari were matched formally for over 12 years in the mentoring program.
Top Pick August 11, 2016 Edit 0 0
Mentoring can happen at any age (Photo: PeopleImages/iStock)
Ralph was a recent retiree and several years an empty-nester when he was matched to Little Brother Ari. "I was a much older Big Brother," Ralph only partially jokes. "I could have been his grandfather." He recalls applying to Newton-based Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters and inquiring whether there was an age cutoff. He was pleased to learn there wasn't. "They said, 'Are you at least 21?' I said yes. They said, 'Let's talk!'"
"It was actually really nice to have an older friend, somebody who's been there. He dealt with relationship stuff and family stuff before I did. He was there to support me when I was doing well and there to catch me when I was falling," says Ari, whose parents divorced when he was young. Ari's biological brother struggled with complex medical needs. (His mom was regularly busy transporting his brother to doctor's appointments or keeping vigil at his hospital bedside following surgery. By Ari's own admission, he didn't get much attention at home.) "I love my little brother, and I completely understand my mom's obligation to take care of him—but the whole thing was tough. Through all of that," says Ari, "Ralph was my rock."
Ralph and Ari were matched formally for over 12 years in the mentoring program. Today, as Ari—now a college graduate—works to grow a successful photography business in another part of the country, in-person visits are a rare treat. Still, Ralph and Ari keep in contact via e-mail and the occasional phone call. After so many years, they still find things to talk about—grown-up to (cough) slightly more grown-up.
"One thing we've observed is that those matches involving empty-nester volunteers are often really meaningful and long-lasting. The Big Brothers and Sisters in those mentoring-friendships tend to be stable in their careers or their retirement, settled in their homes and their communities and, for many of them, the time they once spent coaching soccer games or supervising homework they can redirect. One of the ways they choose to do that is volunteering," says Joni Kusminsky, Director of Community Engagement at JBBBS.
Kusminsky adds that there continues to be a particular need for Big Brothers of all ages to serve Little Brothers from over 90 towns in Eastern Massachusetts.
"There are a couple of concrete ways to assist in our efforts to engage Big Brothers and Big Sisters," says Kusminsky. "You can apply to volunteer, of course. Or if you're someone who's unable to commit yourself but you have empty-nester parents or altruistic grandparents, give them a nudge. Let them know you heard we could use their support."
For more information, or to apply, visit jbbbs.org.
Social Justice & Volunteering

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Guaranteed Norwegian renewable-project in Honduras
GIEK has issued a guarantee to Export Credit Norway for loans of up to USD 62 million in connection with the Norwegian company Scatec Solar to build solar power plant Agua Fria in Honduras of 60 megawatts (MW).
- The commitment our renewable energy projects are important for Norwegian exports. It contributes to economic growth both at home and abroad, says the Minister of Trade and Industry, Monica Mæland (H).
The project is part of a larger initiative, where the authorities in Honduras will establish several hundred MW in new renewable power. The plant will make Honduras' electricity production less dependent on imported fossil fuels.
Important for GIEKs renewable energy efforts
This is the first solar project in Central America GIEK in which participates and finances. GIEK has previously issued guarantees in connection with Scatec Solar's power plants in the Czech Republic and South Africa.
- This is an important and exciting project in GIEK's renewable energy portfolio. We are proud to assist the company and to contribute to financing a large renewable projects, says Odd Solheim who is First Vice President in the Renewable Energy Section in GIEK.
Part of a larger initiative for Honduras
Today, the burning of fossil fuels more than half of the electricity produced in Honduras. The Central American nation has set a target that renewable energy should account for 60 percent of consumption by 2020.
The project is implemented under a support scheme for renewable energy in Honduras. Agua Fria is already under construction and will probably produce power as early as Summer of this year.
-We are happy for the support GIEK and Export Credit Norway has given our project in Honduras. GIEK is an important partner for us and secures that Norway contributes to the construction of important renewable power supply in developing countries, says CEO Raymond Carlsen in Scatec Solar.
Scatec Solar – Solar power plant Agua Fria (60 MW)
Scatec Solar ASA is constructing the solar power plant Agua Fria of 60 MW under an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract. Buyer is Producción de Energía Solar y Demás Renovables, S.A. de C.V. (Proderssa), a project company, in Honduras. Proderssa is owned by Scatec Solar, Norfund, and the local partner PEMSA. The project will be completed based on a public funding for renewable energy in the country and a 20 years contract with the national power company, guaranteed for by the state of Honduras, has been signed.


Renovated in 2006, the hotel is spread over a 5-storey building complex. Comprising a total of 103 rooms (including 17 apartments), the hotel's entrance hall includes a 24-hour reception, a lift, a hotel safe, a currency exchange and a lobby bar. Guests may also make use of the conference facilities, free WiFi throughout the hotel, a small business-center with Internet access (fees apply), shops, game room, , a bar and 2 restaurants, one of them a grill restaurant. Room and laundry services round up the offerings at this hotel and those arriving by car may make use of the car parking spaces free of charge.
The hotel has indoor heated pool, sun loungers, Jacuzzi /against payment/, sauna /against payment/, steam room and a diversity of massage options. Sports enthusiasts may enjoy the well-equipped gym and play table tennis and use the pool.
Surrounded by forests, this hotel is quietly situated in the fabulous Bulgarian resort of Pamporovo, around 800 m away from the ski areas. The hotel is ideal for nature lovers as a hiking trail departs from a point directly in front of the hotel. The small resort centre and its many shops and restaurants are just a short walk from the hotel or can alternatively be reached with the hotel shuttle bus /against payment/. A stop for public transport is roughly 1 km from the hotel.
The comfortable and tastefully designed rooms comprise a private bathroom, a balcony, an Internet connection, cable TV, a direct dial telephone and central heating. Three rooms are adapted for wheelchair access.


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10 Years After Lehman Brothers: 1 Foolish Lesson From the Crisis and the Recovery
"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." The fact that Mark Twain didn't say it doesn't make the quote attributed to him any less clever, because investors can see those rhymes and almost-repetitions time and again in the markets, and that's certainly been the case over the past decade or so. As we pass the 10th anniversary of the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers -- an event that woke a lot of people up to just how serious the looming crisis' underlying issues were.
In this episode's "What's Up, Bro" segment, Motley Fool Answers cohosts Robert Brokamp and Alison Southwick reflect on the worst U.S. downturn since the Great Depression, the nature of the recovery, and what "getting back to normal" meant this time around. And with the luxury of hindsight, they offer a key takeaway to remember next time the market and the economy tank.
A full transcript follows the video.
10 stocks we like better than WalmartWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*
David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Walmart wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.
*Stock Advisor returns as of August 6, 2018The author(s) may have a position in any stocks mentioned.
This video was recorded on Sept. 18, 2018.
Alison Southwick: So, Bro, what's up?
Robert Brokamp: Alison, I recently had a bit of a flashback. I was reading The Wall Street Journal, an article by Jason Zweig, and he told the story of a guy named Barry Popik who on September 1st received a check for $35.98, and that's all that's left of the $25,000 he invested in Lehman Brothers preferred stock in February of 2008. Mr. Popik had already owned Lehman Brothers common stock at that time. It's implied that he inherited it from his parents who got it from his grandparents, so it was already in the family. He was familiar with the company. Plus, at that point, the company had just reported record revenues, so he was pretty comfortable with it.
And the reason it brought back memories is because this preferred stock at the time yielded almost 8%. And my mom called me and said, "Hey, Lehman Brothers has this new preferred stock, 8%. Should I get it?" And I said, "I don't really know enough about the company. I'm no big fan of preferred stock, so I wouldn't do it." Fortunately, she took my advice.
Southwick: Oh, good!
Brokamp: Because, as we all know, we're now celebrating the 10-year anniversary of it. Lehman Brothers went bankrupt on September 15th, 2008. And the thing about that story is that I'm sure Mr. Popik was thinking what my mom was telling me, and that was Lehman Brothers is this huge company. It has been around since 1850. It was one of the oldest companies that was still publicly traded. What possibly could go wrong?
But, of course, it did go wrong. And it's not the only one. Bear Stearns, of course. Washington Mutual. And the market, itself, went down more than 50%.
So I was thinking back to those days and one of the things I kept thinking was whether we are ever going to get back to normal, because so many big companies were down significantly. The market was down. It was the worst recession since the Great Depression.
Well, here we are 10 years later, so let's look back. Did things get back to normal?
So, what is normal? One thing that is normal that we always talk about is the stock market historically [the U.S. stock market, at least], has returned 10% a year. What has the S&P 500 returned over the last decade since the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers? 11%. 1%. So it's done even better.
One thing that is also normal is that small stocks, over the long term, outperformed large stocks. Did that happen over the past decade? Yes.
Southwick: Check!
Brokamp: Check. They returned about 11.7%. And the other thing that's normal is that over the long term, stocks beat cash and bonds, and that has definitely happened. Cash basically has returned nothing over the last decade. Just recently have you now been able to earn a little bit on your cash. The bond market returned a little over 3%.
That is actually better than a lot of people thought because with interest rates going up, a lot of people thought there would be just horrible returns for bonds, so they're returning 3%. Not great, but better than cash and it's a pretty safe investment.
All that said, there are some things that either were abnormal or at least of note. The day after Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, there was a big money market fund that basically lost 3%. Money market funds traditionally traded as a dollar a share, and people were treating them as cash. But because this fund owned so much Lehman Brothers debt, it actually dropped in value, which was something that had never happened before. And since then, there have been new rules put in place to prevent that from happening, but that is something that has changed.
Also, not other types of assets have done as well. For example, commodities have actually lost money over the last decade. That is also something that is extremely rare in history, and when it started happening in the first few years after the Great Recession, commodities were covered OK but then started significantly underperforming U.S. stocks, and there were articles coming out like they've underperformed stocks, now, for three years to six years. That's never happened. This is going to turn around at some point. But it still hasn't, so it's another example of where the future turns out a little bit differently than history.
And then finally you look at international stocks. International stocks have done OK, but not as well, so they've returned, on average, a little over 4% a year. So over the last decade, U.S. stocks have outperformed international stocks by 7% a year. That is also a pretty extraordinary run in terms of the difference between the two.
Still noteworthy, but not as unusual, is that over the last 10 years, growth has outperformed value by about 3% a year. That happens all the time, but those switch places. So anyone looking to weight their portfolio one way or another based on what's happened; I would say you might want to tilt your portfolio a little more toward value, because history shows that after a decade of growth outpacing value, generally speaking, the next decade is different.
For me, the bottom line of all this is for those who were really panicked in the throws of the Great Recession and managed to hold on to a diversified portfolio, history has shown that it's the right thing to do. But, there were things that happened that people didn't expect. People didn't expect a company that was formed in 1850 to go out of business. People did not expect commodities to lose money over the next decade. And people didn't expect, necessarily, that international stocks would be trailing U.S. stocks so much.
Southwick: So basically what you're telling me is that some things remain the same and some things will be different.
Brokamp: Exactly! So you have to own all the things...
Southwick: Profound thoughts...
Brokamp: ... so that no matter...
Southwick: Profound thoughts with Robert Brokamp.
Brokamp: ... so no matter what happens, your financial plan will be OK.
Southwick: But seriously, is the advice just to be diversified?
Brokamp: And to account for the fact that really some things that you expect to happen won't happen.
Southwick: That's the resident awfulizer I love to have in this studio.
Brokamp: And it could be good. It could be something that you expect to be not so great turn out very well, but you just don't know when it's going to be.
Alison Southwick has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Robert Brokamp, CFP has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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Taylor Swift's 'evermore' brings 'closure' to 2020
Dessi Gomez | Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Diane Park | The Observer
'Twas the damn season for Taylor Swift to outdo herself yet again.
On Dec. 10, she announced the upcoming release of her ninth studio album "evermore" at midnight, a surprise drop to match the way she delivered sister record "folklore" in July. The metaphor of wandering deeper into the "folklorian woods" which she used when describing why she wrote another album in this newest style fits "evermore" well. It is the darker, deeper and wintry twin to "folklore"'s lighter, gentler summer project.
One of the best parts of "evermore" is its connection to "folklore." In the first few moments of my first listen of lead track "willow," I felt that "evermore" would be just as good as "folklore," but a bit spicier. "willow" bridges the divide between the two albums with a sound similar to "invisible string" off of "folklore." There are so many more connections back to "folklore" in the song's music video, fully detailed in this explainer. As an opening track, I like "willow" better than "folklore"'s "cardigan."
Our Scene Editor Ryan Israel made some fantastic discoveries about "champagne problems," and a good friend of mine pointed out that the key Swift uses in this song is similar to the one used in "Daylight" and that the chord progression is the same as "New Year's Day" and "All Too Well." With that observation, I predict "champagne problems" will age really well.
While I didn't completely understand "gold rush" at first with its upbeat, shimmery sound, I have come to appreciate it more as I interpret it as Swift sticking gold in finding partner Joe Alwyn, and while we all want her to share him with us, she won't because she wants to keep him for herself — which I respect. I like the theme of it, too. Swift seems to take on the mature perspective of serious relationships and marriage in multiple songs on "evermore," "happiness" being one of her most powerful representations of growth.
"'tis the damn season" really draws on holiday hometown nostalgia, which is punctuated by the guitar that echoes throughout, and "tolerate it" has some of the best imagery I've ever experienced in a Swift song.
The spice I referred to earlier can be found in songs that diverge from the airy and whimsical tone Swift set with "folklore." Here, I mainly mean "no body, no crime," a return to Swift's folksy and country roots featuring the HAIM sisters. "cowboy like me" carries on that twang, even if in a softer, more ballad-like form. "closure" might be the sassiest song on the album, and it rings true to its name as the second-to-last song on the project.
"dorothea" with its upbeat piano crooning and single feminine name in the title of the song reminds me a lot of some songs by The Lumineers. "coney island," a song with "folklore" collaborator Aaron Dessner and The National, is a bit sleepy for me, but artistic and beautiful all the same, and "ivy" and "marjorie" are the most delicately detailed songs on "evermore" in lyrics and sound.
"long story short" looks back with wisdom on some of the pre-"reputation" events that Swift went through, calling to mind "Getaway Car." The title track grew on me for sure, but the one hiccup I have with it is that bon iver's voice and pace jolts me out of the reverie Swift provides while wrapping up her second ethereal masterpiece.
It's clear Taylor Swift wasted no time this year. She definitely provided a light at the end of my 2020, which she had already brightened considerably with "folklore."
Here's hoping this isn't the last time I review a T Swizzle album for Scene — prove me wrong Taylor! While I anxiously await Swift's "FolkLovermore" tour to combine her last three albums, "Lover," "folklore" and "evermore," I wish you all a brighter 2021.
Album: "evermore"
Artist: Taylor Swift
Label: Republic Records / Taylor Swift
Favorite Songs: "'tis the damn season," "ivy," "marjorie"
If you like: Lana del Ray, Ed Sheeran
Shamrocks: 4.5 out of 5
Tags: Evermore, folklore, Jack Antonoff, Joe Alwyn, Taylor Swift, The National, William Bowery, willow
About Dessi Gomez
Contact Dessi
Taylor Swift and Notre Dame: The undoubtable truth of 'champagne problems'
This article / comprehensive investigative piece / invaluable entry into the rich canon of...
Taylor Swift doesn't give a damn about her 'reputation'
'Miss Americana' scratches the surface of Taylor Swift's life and legacy
'folklore' turns a 'Cruel Summer' into a 'Fairytale'


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Ledyard Theater
Your independent guide to the best shows in Ledyard
OTHER COMEDY & STAND-UP IN LEDYARD
Steve Martin & Martin Short
Steve Trevino
JR De Guzman
David Spade Event homeBuy ticketsCustomer reviews Trevor NoahNick OffermanGabriel IglesiasSteve Martin & Martin ShortKevin JamesSteve TrevinoJR De Guzman
Bob Marley - Comedian (Feb 4, 2023)
Tom Papa (Feb 18, 2023)
Marlon Wayans (Mar 10, 2023)
Kathleen Madigan (Mar 31, 2023)
Vic DiBitetto (May 20, 2023)
Watch What Crappens (Jun 24, 2023)
Steve Trevino (Sep 29, 2023)
JR De Guzman (Sep 30, 2023)
Fox Theatre Please selectVenue homeLocation and directionsSeating maps Bob Marley - Comedian (Feb 4, 2023)Tom Papa (Feb 18, 2023)Marlon Wayans (Mar 10, 2023)Kathleen Madigan (Mar 31, 2023)Vic DiBitetto (May 20, 2023)Watch What Crappens (Jun 24, 2023)Steve Trevino (Sep 29, 2023)JR De Guzman (Sep 30, 2023)
Foxwoods, 39 Norwich Westerly Rd, Mashantucket, CT 6338
David Spade Used under Creative Commons License
Comic brat extraordinaire.
Why See David Spade?
Comedy & Stand-up
Don't Miss David Spade Live
A natural prankster most of his life, Spade was pushed immediately into stand-up comedy by friends and appeared in nightclubs and college campuses all over the country.
In 1990, the diminutive, flaxen-haired comedian finally hit the big time as a regular cast member and writer on "Saturday Night Live". Slow at first in gaining acceptance on the show, his razor-sharp sarcasm eventually caught on by his second season, when he played a number of smart-aleck characters in a variety of sketches, including a highly disinterested airline steward who bids each passenger adieu with a very sardonic "buh-bye" and an irritating receptionist for Dick Clark Productions who greets each huge celebrity with an unknowing "And you are . . . ?"
A master of the putdown, Spade's "Hollywood Minute" reporter also took cynical advantage of tabloid-worthy stars. Spade impersonated such luminaries as Michael J. Fox, Kurt Cobain and Tom Petty during his tenure.
Television has been more accepting over the years, with Spade earning an Emmy nomination as the droll, skirt-chasing secretary Dennis Finch on "Just Shoot Me!" (1997) and filling in after the untimely death of John Ritter on ABC's "8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter" (2002) as Katey Sagal's unprincipled nephew.
Performance date: 11 March 2023
About Ledyard Theater: We are an independent show guide not a venue or show. We sell primary, discount and resale tickets and prices may be above or below face value.
6 reviews, average rating: (3.3 Stars)
MarkL: "Great show but venue under-staffed"
Davis Spade did not disappoint. His material was fresh but familiar. Hilarious... more
Heidi Browne: ""You Can Tell a man..."
... by the relationship he has with his mother" (as my own mom used to... more
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I recently attended my first one in Cuenca, Ecuador. I met some cool people and learned a lot about writing. A range of advice from get up and shake your booty, thanks for that one Mark Sullivan, to what genres work great for self-publishing through Amazon. But conferences take a lot of energy, especially for the introverts among us, so there are some things you should know and do to get ready.
Are your website and social media accounts current and updated with your latest works? As long as you make a good impression, the people you meet at a conference are going to want to check you out online.
How is your portfolio or CV? Does the work you have listed represent where you currently are in your business and where you want to go? Remember you do not have to include every piece you have ever written. That health article from three years ago may not be a good fit if you are currently writing about blockchain.
Let some things go and highlight your best.
If you do not already have an online portfolio, Clear Voice has a free customizable one that you can create one here by walking through the easy process.
Check your branding across platforms for correct information and consistency before you head to that conference.
Do your business cards need to be updated? Do they contain inaccurate information? Are they out of alignment with your current brand?
Before a conference is a great time to get your business cards on point. You want to make sure you have plenty to hand out to people you meet and connect with. If you are willing to make genuine connections at the conference, people will often ask how they may contact you to stay in touch. Business cards are an easy way to put your info into new hands.
Make sure you have your current and best contact information, website, and relevant work title. And for digital naysayers: Yes, physical business cards are still important.
Along with your business cards, it is a good idea to develop a short statement about what you do and why. Your elevator pitch has the high calling of being precise and persuasive but keep the focus on how you help or the problem you solve rather than just facts about you. Short and sweet, the time it would take you to ride up with someone in an elevator, thus its name.
Make it relatable like you are telling a friend. Cliche-free.
For inspiration, try watching a few episodes of Entrepreneur's Elevator Pitch Series.
You meet people and you think you will remember them. Jane was the one you met who lives in New York and has a terrier mix, right? Or was that Janice?
Making great and lasting connections with people is often in the details. You need a way to keep track of who you meet, what they do, and some details they have shared with you so you can follow up later and keep the relationships going.
While at the conference, you can write their details on the business cards they give you. But, each day after the conference it is a good idea to file away those details while they are still fresh in your memory.
You will also want to keep up with names and details of your contacts for referrals. You can pass on a referral if you have too much work or receive requests that are not a good fit for you. Or you may want to ask for a referral when you are in a slow season.
Now that you have your online presence in top shape, let's take a look at managing the conference itself.
When you have access to the conference agenda, look it over and make note of the sessions you want to attend. Often sessions will overlap and you may have to choose between two that would be valuable. Read the descriptions for each session to decide.
But make sure you do not get stuck just in your field or niche. Attend some sessions that are outside of your genre or comfort zone. If you write non-fiction, attend some sessions on fiction and vice versa. If you are a journalist, attend some poetry or self-publishing sessions. This boosts your creativity and can bring new techniques and ideas to what you are currently writing.
There is so much writers can learn from each other in all different genres. For instance, I attended a scriptwriting session even though I am a business writer. The session was fascinating and inspiring even though I have no intention of writing a television script anytime soon.
You think you will remember the content but you will likely be learning so much and be taking in so many new ideas that you will forget things easily. Take great notes.
You can do this old school with pen and paper, with a note-taking app on your smartphone, or bring your laptop and type there. Whatever you choose, grab the ideas, tips, and resources that stand out to you.
At the end of that day's sessions review the notes and add some color if you can, through highlighting or maybe even some doodles. This will engage your creative brain and help you lock in the material and remember it longer.
Explore the city you are visiting for the conference. Looking at a new place and new people can also reignite your creative flow. Try to implement some of the techniques you are learning in your head as you sightsee and people watch.
Also, be sure to give yourself some downtime to write and recover. You will have lots of new ideas, so do not overpack your schedule or the conference will leave you feeling exhausted.
Plan your action. You are taking some great notes, but don't forget to act. Create action steps while you attend sessions and commit to following through with them when you return home. Otherwise, the enthusiasm may fizzle out and all that great info will just sit in a notebook in your office.
Follow up with your favorite presenters and thank them for what you learned. Also, any participants that you connected with. Remember: Take interest in others, and they will take interest in you. If you have followed the previous steps, this should not be too hard. You have all the information you need tracked.
Check out the resource list you have from the conference and start using the new tools that can make your work easier. Try to write in a different genre with tips you learned even if it is just one page. You may just discover a new love.
Review your handouts and notes to see what you can implement right away and what you may be interested in exploring more later. And schedule in your action steps to make sure you keep the creativity and momentum going. Then go ahead and schedule in your next conference adventure. Here is a list of some amazing conferences to consider. Just be sure to give yourself some recovery and implementation time in between.


Game Notes: American | Boston Univ.
WASHINGTON — The American University men's basketball team gets back on the court Wednesday to conclude the season series with Boston University. American defeated BU 86-74 on Jan. 2.
Sa'eed Nelson had 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals in an overtime loss to Lafayette on Saturday. Nelson is averaging 22.5 points since league play began.
Stacy Beckton Jr. set a new career-high with 18 points in his first start of the season. Beckton also had eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Sam Iorio added 17 points and hit a 3-pointer to send the game to overtime with 33 seconds left to play.
Josh Alexander tied a season-best 12 points in 21 minutes on 4 of 5 from the field. Alexander has scored at least a point in each of the last 10 games.
Max Mahoney continues to lead the Terriers on all sides of the ball. Mahoney is fourth in the league, averaging 17.0 points per game and 6.0 rebounds. Since the first meeting, Mahoney scored 31 points at Loyola Maryland and had a pair of 20-point games against Bucknell and Navy.
An 18-point performance against the Eagles, Tyler Scanlon hit a rough patch in three games with eight points at Army, three against Navy and seven against Loyola. Scanlon is still second on the team in scoring at 12.4 PPG.
Rookie Jonas Harper has stepped up since conference season started. He had a season-best 15 points against Army and then added 14 points against Navy and 12 versus Loyola.


Microarray data is noisy "snapshot" of transcriptional state of cells. Detecting biological correlations among gene expression profiles from multiple laboratories on a large scale remains difficult.
Here, we applied a module (sets of genes working in the same biological pathway)-based correlation analysis in combination with a network analysis to Arabidopsis data and developed a "relation map", which represents relationships among DNA microarray experiments on a large scale. In each experiment, the gene expression responses of modules are closely correlated with the status of specific biological actions. Therefore, one can assume that samples sharing a common response in a module also share a related biological action or response. According to following idea, we chose modules from each experiment and calculated correlations between gene expression profiles by using it.
Table 1 Example of data matrix of microarray data.
**Bold characters indicate genes contained in the module. For a module, induced or repressed genes in each experiment were selected by statistical methods based on the P value of Student's t-test and the fold-change in induction levels between treatment and control samples. The thresholds for selecting modules were set as follows: detection P value for AG was 0.1 (detected in MAS5 method), P value of Student's t-test for AG was 0.05 (significantly induced or repressed), detection P value for ATH1 was 0.01, P value of Student's t-test for ATH1 was 0.01, P value of Student's t-test for Aragene11ST was 0.01. The size of module is always more than 50. If it is less than 50, then AtCAST selects less significant probes. These genes represent the biological status of the samples analyzed in each experiment.
Spearman's rank-order correlation coefficients (SCCs) to estimate relationships in gene expression profiles between experiments based on modules with bold characters.
Combining results based on SCC.


I found myself astonished, claimed Chan right after a few years to Sheryl Sandberg, a Facebooks COO. That which was that? Does a person attack her? Managed to do someone made it simpler for her in any case? And can even I minimize this unpleasant circumstances?
At this time, Priscilla Chan remarked that she needs to style her lot of money with medical treatment and knowledge. She joined UCSF Education of Remedy and just after several years was a coach and pediatrician. She has built her very own institution and hitched Tag Zuckerberg. She actually is a mom of 1-years old little girl (with a different baby to the way) together with an individual that is favorite pet via the internet a sheepdog referred to as Monster.
On the other hand, about eighteen months previously, Priscilla has incorporated a fresh exercise to her job application. Now, she actually is starting by far the most committed and enormous philanthropies truly.
Her hubby and she generated a good investment agency in 2015. Their objective is evolving human being opportunity and selling even business opportunity. That will put it obvious, Zuckerberg and Chan are making an investment in this kind of spheres as felony proper rights process, remedy and education and learning. A selection of their methods are immediate and also have seriously quick consequence. One example is, this holiday season they contributed $3 mil to some process that gives university students with interest assessment and spectacles.
Other desires can sensible even brilliant. For instance, Chan states that she is designed to stop all disorders in their own childs life. She cooperates with health care firms and invests thousands and thousands to really encourage research and mapping every single cellular in individuals organism. She also actually works on maximizing educative products, going through every thing to permit university students everywhere discover in different ways, thinking of their lifestyle and personal demands.
To generate their ideas becoming reality, Chan and Zuckerberg have expended 99Percent of the Twitter salary around their everyday lives. Nowadays, this is often over $60 billion dollars.
Both equally Label and Priscilla are unquestionably active in the corporation. In addition task, those are the most important many people at Twitter corporation, also is an entire-time position.
Chan is 32 now and she actually is the youngest additionally, the most committed philanthropist on the earth.
Most of us are definitely more equipped than we believe or concede we have been, she states that in a single of her interview. The most effective way is to try using this strength now, not watching for from the moment we have been geared up. We have been usually geared up. We have to behave.
Symbol and Priscilla commenced online dating after they ended up being individuals at Harvard. She met up with him at one of the many college or university persons and Zuckerberg in the future thought which this was his past college or university get together. They have resulted in a internet site incredibly hot or maybe not and believed that this journey can get him expelled.
Once I attained her, I expressed: They are sure to strike me in 72 hours, so we will need to visit a day right away, Zuckerberg recalls.
Those two is together with each other at all times. They discussed a event when introducing their $3 billion dollars persistence to battle condition, placed a firm and journeyed 30 You.S. states in america this coming year. They may be centered on their quest as well as have fantastic growth ideas.
Besides the fact that Chan is not really a lively conclusion-producer at Facebook or myspace, most suppliers feel that among the list of largest sized businesses across the world would not what exactly it is without having Chans impact on Level.
She practically is his compass, significant other and also a man or woman he trusts, declares Diane Tavenner, Chief executive officer of Summit General public Educational facilities, a CZI significant other. Priscilla can be an sincere young lady and she could give an tips or possibly a evaluations to various concerns. Indicate listens to her and values her point of view whatever the. This is exactly a little something anyone truly demands.
Matt Cohler, a young Fb staff member and good friend of Chan and Zuckerberg, gives: I guarantee that past 13 many years Signifies everyday life have been remarkable caused by Priscilla, who seems to be around his spouse, but a person, that demonstrates amazing judgement to every one of his judgements and procedures.
In certain perception, Chan and Zuckerberg suit style clichs. Indicate is really a building contractor of a big supplier, an professional and also a difficulty-solver, who were required to coach themself to speak with individuals. Chan is rather sensible, but really community, emotionally charged and empathetic. At a minimum, these include a conclusion produced from the interview, speeches and dialogues along with her close friends, co-staff, partners.
Transforming into a initial girl of Myspace and a property owner of a big philanthropic institution, Chan doesnt get far too much awareness to her style. People today discover her and her behavior generally thanks to Zuckerberg. Her Facebook or myspace website page provides not as much as 15 blog posts manufactured for the duration of four years.
Chans wish to make an effect might be followed to 1978, a suburb of Boston. This coming year her families, Asian dealing with Vietnam, was required to leave behind the continent a result of the combat. Dennis, Chans dad, stumbled on Boston in 1978; Yvonne, Chans mom, came to Ny this coming year. These people were spouse and children pals considering earlier childhood days in Vietnam and reconnected in the united states.
In those days, Chans mother and father been required to do your best with a Asian cafe, so she and her two sisters happen to be increased by grandma and grandpa. Chan states that her initially remembrance is of attempting that may help your grandma to clean the meals, when her mommy is in a healthcare facility, having a baby to her youthful sibling Elaine. Priscilla was two years out of date right then.
At university, Chan would have been a captain associated with a tennis games crew and would be a robotics organization fellow member. In 2003, she inserted Harvard and was the initial particular person in the friends and family in becoming a university student. As being a little girl of Vietnamese refugees without any very high instruction, Chan boasts so it has been a miraculous on her behalf to turn into a Harvard individual.
Together Chan and Zuckerberg claim that they have at this point for their achievements not just given that they previously worked difficult and were being quite committed, but mainly because they were being fortunate.
Young people is unable to pay attention to studying for the reason that there are lots of complications to their mind they happen to be famished, sick and tired or really feel tired. Institution is the worst thing believe that about, Chan claims.
This is the reason Chan and Zuckerberg are prepared to spend their tens of millions and allow small children.
Diane Tavenner reveals, Each of them imagine that these funds doesnt in reality are part of them, they really are just stewards plus they are abundant although these were fortunate enough to gain access to the specific set. In order that they definitely feel they are accountable and obligated from this job on the world.
The truth is, but the opportunity to share money will take many years working hard.


But if you're hoping to start off on the new stuff and head back in to complete the old missions, well… you've been warned. Check out our Destiny 2: Forsaken review-in-progress for details... 22/03/2015 · The Secret is now revealed. Anakin's Thoughts While Being Burned on Mustafar and Turning Into Darth Vader - Star Wars Explained - Duration: 10:07.
A story mission is a type of activity in Destiny and Destiny 2. Story missions progress the plot and unlock in-game content, such as new activities and the ability to summon a Sparrow . They can be played on multiple difficulties and with the Heroic modifier .
Refer-a-Friend is a special promotion for Destiny 2: Forsaken, where Veteran Players can invite friends to purchase Destiny 2: Forsaken and unlock special quests and rewards in-game.


text:
Ticket Alerts
Sleater-Kinney Returns and Neutral Milk Hotel Says Goodbye
Words and guitar / I want it...
By Seth Sommerfeld 12/11/2014 at 9:00am
Sleater-Kinney returns. Long live Sleater-Kinney.
Image: Photo Courtesy Brigitte Sire
Sleater-Kinney is back. Everybody (appropriately) freak out. In January, the Olympia-formed rock trio returns to the scene with its first new album in 10 years, No Cities to Love (Sub Pop). Before disbanding in 2006, the group made wonderfully riotous noise that touched on both indie and punk sensibilities, turning out classic records like Dig Me Out. (To be perfectly honest, I few years ago I got pretty bummed out when I realized more people know guitarist Carrie Brownstein from her starring role on Portlandia than from her time with Sleater-Kinney.) After initially announcing a batch of tour dates that improbably didn't include Seattle, Sleater-Kinney has now booked two nights at the Showbox on May 8 and 9. Don't miss it.
Tickets for Sleater-Kinney's two concerts at the Showbox go on sale this Friday, December 12 at noon via Showboxpresents.com.
UPDATED After the first two concerts sold out almost immediately, Sleater-Kinney has added a third show at the Showbox on May 7. Tickets go on sale this Thursday, December 18 at noon.
May 7–9, The Showbox, $30
After becoming a legendary indie rock act after its initial demise via the seminal album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, Neutral Milk Hotel reunited in 2013 and has been touring its emotionally-charged weird folk roadshow ever since. But all good things must come to an end. Neutral Milk Hotel has announced the final leg of its reunion tour, including a date at the Paramount Theatre on June 4. The band has stated that this will be its "last tour for the foreseeable future." Considering the previous hiatus lasted 15 years, this could potentially be fans' final chance to enjoy the glorious communal experience of Neutral Milk Hotel live.
Tickets for Neutral Milk Hotel at the Paramount Theatre go on sale this Friday, December 12 at noon via STGpresents.org. The floor for the show will be general admission, standing room only.
June 4, Paramount Theatre, $35–$38
Paramount Theatre, Showbox, Ticket Alerts, Concerts, Sleater Kinney


I recently wrote a review of Essential Library of Congress Subject Headings by Vanda Broughton for the CILIP CIG newsletter. The newsletter was published today and current members can read the latest issue here.
For anyone that doesn't have access to the newsletter I just want to recommend this book. It belongs with the two already well known books in the series on cataloguing and classification and is a worthy addition. The book makes the subject interesting when it could have been very dull indeed! I think it's definitely worth borrowing from the library or even buying whether you are new to subject headings or need a quick refresher.
November 2013: Edited to add that anyone can now read the review here.


text:
Q: iPad Pro(3) M1 iOS 15.0, Code=201 "Siri and Dictation are disabled" An Objective-C project of iOS. Used the Apple SpeechKit. The Speech recognition send a error 'Error Domain=kLSRErrorDomain Code=201 "Siri and Dictation are disabled" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Siri and Dictation are disabled}'
An error will be reported in resultHandler: Error Domain=kLSRErrorDomain Code=201 "Siri and Dictation are disabled" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Siri and Dictation are disabled}
- (void)resetRecognitionTask
{
    // Cancel the previous task if it's running.
    if (self.recognitionTask) {
        //[self.recognitionTask cancel]; // Will cause the system error and memory problems.
        [self.recognitionTask finish];
    }
    self.recognitionTask = nil;

    // Configure the audio session for the app.
    NSError *error = nil;
    if (AVAudioSession.sharedInstance.categoryOptions != (AVAudioSessionCategoryOptionMixWithOthers|AVAudioSessionCategoryOptionDefaultToSpeaker|AVAudioSessionCategoryOptionAllowBluetooth)) {
        [AVAudioSession.sharedInstance setCategory:AVAudioSessionCategoryPlayAndRecord mode:AVAudioSessionModeMeasurement options:AVAudioSessionCategoryOptionMixWithOthers|AVAudioSessionCategoryOptionDefaultToSpeaker|AVAudioSessionCategoryOptionAllowBluetooth error:&error];
    }
    //[AVAudioSession.sharedInstance setCategory:AVAudioSessionCategoryPlayAndRecord withOptions:AVAudioSessionCategoryOptionDuckOthers error:&error];
    if (error)
    {
        [self stopWithError:error];
        return;
    }
    [AVAudioSession.sharedInstance setActive:YES withOptions:AVAudioSessionSetActiveOptionNotifyOthersOnDeactivation error:&error];
    if (error)
    {
        [self stopWithError:error];
        return;
    }

    // Create and configure the speech recognition request.
    self.recognitionRequest = [[SFSpeechAudioBufferRecognitionRequest alloc] init];
    self.recognitionRequest.taskHint = SFSpeechRecognitionTaskHintConfirmation;

    // Keep speech recognition data on device
    if (@available(iOS 13, *)) {
        self.recognitionRequest.requiresOnDeviceRecognition = NO;
    }

    // Create a recognition task for the speech recognition session.
    // Keep a reference to the task so that it can be canceled.
    __weak typeof(self)weakSelf = self;
    self.speechRecognizer = nil;
    self.recognitionTask = [self.speechRecognizer recognitionTaskWithRequest:self.recognitionRequest resultHandler:^(SFSpeechRecognitionResult * _Nullable result, NSError * _Nullable error) {
        __strong typeof(self)strongSelf = weakSelf;
        if (result != nil) {
            [strongSelf resultCallback:result];
        }
    }];
}

A: I think this is an oversight of iOS system.
Solution: Settings-> General -> Keyboards -> Enable Dictation
Turn it ON.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
100 years ago, US fought its deadliest battle in France
Sylvie Corbet and Oleg Cetinic, The Associated Press
In this Sept. 26, 1918, file photo, a U.S .Army 37-mm gun crew man their position during the World War I Meuse-Argonne Allied offensive in France. It was America's largest and deadliest battle ever, with 26,000 U.S. soldiers killed and tens of thousands wounded. A hundred years ago, the Meuse-Argonne offensive contributed to bring an end to of World War I. (AP)
ROMAGNE-SOUS-MONTFAUCON, France — It was America's deadliest battle ever, with 26,000 U.S. soldiers killed, tens of thousands wounded and more ammunition fired than in the whole of the Civil War. The Meuse-Argonne offensive of 1918 was also a great American victory that helped bringing an end to World War One.
Officials, descendants of soldiers and visitors have braved strong winds and rain to attend a remembrance ceremony on Sunday afternoon in the Meuse-Argonne cemetery, which is surrounded by green fields and forests in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, a village in northeastern France.
All day, volunteers have read the soldiers' names aloud, to honor those who sacrificed their lives for liberty, freedom and democracy. Covering 52 hectares (130 acres), Meuse-Argonne is the largest American cemetery in Europe.
Men in WWI military uniforms pose in the Meuse-Argonne cemetery, northeastern France, during a remembrance ceremony, Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018. (Thibault Camus/AP)
Organizers were forced to cancel the planned lighting of 14,000 candles because of the bad weather.
Gerald York, grandson of World War I hero Sgt. Alvin York, praised a "beautiful commemoration."
"The weather's a little dreary, but that's the way it was 100 years ago for the battle. So we're kind of getting a view of what they did, what they fought in and the conditions they had to endure," he said.
Legacy of Tennessee's greatest war hero may be education
Until he was old enough to buy and trade his own comic books, Gerald York thought his grandfather was just an ordinary man.
Jake Lowary, The (Nashville) Tennessean via the AP
His grandfather earned the Medal of Honor for his efforts during the Meuse-Argonne battle. Sgt. York led an attack on a German machine gun nest, killing at least 25 enemy soldiers, and capturing 132 Germans.
"It was the first real modern warfare that the U.S. was in. Machine guns, airplanes, tanks, mustard gas that killed many," York said. "In that area was the largest battle and the most casualties because you had men going up against machine guns. And machine guns were just mowing folks down."
Over there, but still here: The WWI innovations that live on
Thursday marks the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War I, and some of the innovations that were developed or came into wide use during the conflict are still with us today.
Chris Carola, The Associated Press
William M. Matz, secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) that maintains the site, told The Associated Press that this piece of history must be retold to younger generations.
"I think it's important for their teachers, their parents to bring them to these beautiful sites, let them walk through the rows of crosses, let them look at the walls of remembrance, let them go into the cemetery chapels and let them learn the history of what these men did 100 years ago," he said.
"It's because of their brave deeds, their acts of valor and courage and commitment ... that these young folks are able to live and enjoy the life that they're living," he added.
Commander of U.S. European Command, Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, delivers a speech during a remembrance ceremony in the Meuse-Argonne cemetery, northeastern France, Sept. 23, 2018. (Thibault Camus/AP)
During seven weeks of combat, 1.2 million American troops led by Gen. John J. Pershing fought to advance on the entrenched positions held by about 450,000 Germans in the Verdun region.
The offensive that started on Sept. 26, 1918, was one of several simultaneous Allied attacks that brought the war, which started in 1914, to an end, leading the Germans to retreat and sign the armistice on Nov. 11.
Pershing said "the success stands out as one of the very great achievements in the history of American arms."
At the cemetery, eight wide grave sections with long regular rows of crosses stretch between the trees on the gentle slopes of a hill. On top is a chapel where the names of 954 missing American soldiers, whose bodies were never found or identified, are engraved.
Sylvie Corbet reported from Paris.


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