I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of one of my faves in October last year. Sarah & Paul. Mr & Mrs Beckett tied the knot (after i persuaded them to change the room) in the Council Chamber at Islington Town Hall in October. After a lovely ceremony and a massive confetti exit Sarah, Paul jumped in a cab to Spa Gardens for a few photographs. We all arrived to the pub in Clerkenwell just before sunset for cocktails, cakes and dancing.
South East London wedding special ! Tracey and Chris married at the Asylum Chapel in Caroline Gardens in Peckham on 9th July and then hopped onto a routemaster to the Hornimans Museum and gardens in Dulwich.
I always love a wedding up North as I get to go home on route and of course drink lots of tea. Nick and Rachel married on 30th April at the Mining Institute and The Friends of Summerhill Bowling Club. The weather , albeit a little chilly was heralded as being glorious considering there was 2 inches on snow on the tipi the day before! As I always say as Heather whatever the weather … and on the day no one cares…especially up North !


text:
Q: Weak*-convergence of probability measures Let $(\Omega,\mathcal F)$ be a measurable space and $X:\Omega\rightarrow\mathbb R^d$ a $\mathcal F$-measurable, bounded map. Let $(\mathbb Q_n)_{n\in\mathbb N}$ be a sequence of probability measures on $(\Omega,\mathcal F)$ and $\{\mathcal F_n\}_{n\in\mathbb N}$ a filtration of $\mathcal F$ such that $\mathcal F=\sigma(\mathcal F_n\mid n\in\mathbb N).$ Assume that $$\mathbb E_{\mathbb Q_n}[X\mid\mathcal F_n]=0$$ for all $n\in\mathbb N$. Does that imply that the sequence $(\mathbb Q_n)_{n\in\mathbb N}$ converges in the weak*-topology to a probability measure $\mathbb Q$ such that $$\mathbb E_{\mathbb Q}[X\mid\mathcal F]=0?$$ I guess that the Banach-Alaoglu Theorem is involved here, but I don't see how this precisely works, since the set of probability measures is in general not weak*-compact, as mentioned in the following link: Is the set of all probability measures weak*-closed?. If my question has a negative answer in general, can we still have a positive answer in the simpler case, where we assume that for every $n\in\mathbb N,$ $\mathcal F_n$ is generated by a countable partition?
After the comments of Michael Greinecker I realized several mistakes/typos...

A: The result doesn't even hold when $(\mathcal{F}_n)$ is a constant sequence. Let $\mathbb{Q}_n$ be the probability measure on $[0,1]$ with density $$d(x)=\max\{2n-2n^2x,0\}$$ and let $X$ be the indicator function of the set $\{0\}$. Let $\mathcal{F_n}$ be the Borel $\sigma$-algebra. Then $\lim_{n\rightarrow\infty}\mathbb E_{\mathbb Q_n}[X\mid\mathcal F_n]=0$, but $E_\mathbb{Q}[X∣\mathcal{F}]=1$. Also, there exists an increasingly fine sequence $P_n$ of countable (or even finite) partitions of $[0,1]$ such that $\sigma(\bigcup_n P_n)$ is the Borel $\sigma$-algebra on $[0,1]$. If one assumes, which is possible wlog, that $\{0\}\in P_n$ for all $n$, one gets a counterexample to the weaker claim.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Ryan Zinke's Misguided Japanese Greeting
Zinke's Japanese-language gaffe shows his true colors when it comes to who can truly be considered American.
By Massoud Hayoun
In California, the Possibility of an Historic Election Could Spike Turnout Among Latino and Asian-American Voters
2018 might be the year the state's voters—and political leadership—reflect just how much its population has changed.
By Anthony York
Pacific Standard Picks
PS Picks: 'Sour Heart,' a Book of Short Stories Exploring Race, Class, and Identity
PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.
By Kristina Kutateli
The Dangerous Weight of Expectations
Why do so many Asian-American students suffer from depression?
By Jennifer Chen
Is This the Tiger Mom's Vindication?
A new report highlights Asian Americans' economic success. What does this tell us about the "tiger mom" style of parenting?
By Gregory Ferenstein
Asian Americans, They're Just Like Us
ABC has toned down Eddie Huang's unfiltered and hilarious memoir for the latest addition to its multicultural line-up, Fresh Off the Boat, but it's still an important step toward putting an end to one-note stereotypes.
By Shalini Shankar

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This page will explain how to set up and run a Beta Branch in Steam.
You will have been sent a Steam key for Abandon Ship. To activate it, log into your Steam account and along the top left of the Steam window is a row of options.
Enter the Abandon Ship Steam Key that you have been sent in "Product Code" field and press the "Next" button.
If you ever see this screen, you are running the incorrect version of the game.
In order to run the correct version, you will need to run a Beta branch.
You will have been sent a Beta Branch Password. Enter this into the field and select "Check Code". A success message should appear.
For the purposes of this document, we are using the "internaltest" branch. This will not be available to you. You will have a special branch with a different name.
Once you have selected the correct branch, return to the Library in Steam.
Once in this format, you will be able to play the correct version of Abandon Ship.
If you experience any technical difficulties, please email gburchell@firebladesoftware.com for assistance.


Fill the RMA form and email to ClearOne Technical Support.
This section defines the replacement policy for factory new ClearOne products that have been determined to be defective on arrival (DOA) by a ClearOne Technical Support Representative. A replacement unit will be sent in advance of receiving the customer's original, defective unit so long as all the terms and conditions of this policy and the ClearOne Warranty have been met. Warranty replacement requests must be administered by ClearOne Technical Support.
DOA replacements will only be issued for factory new product that has been determined to be defective, by ClearOne Technical Support, out of box at the time of installation.
Original copy of the invoice with the serial number corresponding to the defective product may be required to validate warranty status.
A replacement unit will be sent in advance of receiving the original, defective unit. A purchase order or Credit Card number will be required to ensure the return of the defective product.
• The purchase order will be canceled or the credit card will be credited when ClearOne receives the original defective product.
• The original defective product must be returned to ClearOne within thirty (30) days of receiving the replacement unit. Units not returned within 30 days will be invoiced for the total cost (MSRP) of the product.
The replacement unit will be given a new full term product warranty.
ClearOne will pay all outbound freight costs, excluding duties, taxes and other fees. ClearOne will also pay for return freight costs, excluding duties, taxes and other fees. Customer must use a carrier of ClearOne's choice to return replaced product.
Defective product that does not qualify for DOA Replacement as outlined in this document will be processed via the ClearOne Warranty Replacement or Product Repair policy.
This section defines the warranty replacement policy for ClearOne products that have been determined to be defective by a ClearOne Technical Support Representative within the standard warranty period. A like new replacement unit may be sent in advance of receiving the customer's original, defective unit so long as all the terms and conditions of this policy and the ClearOne Warranty have been met. Warranty replacement requests must be administered by ClearOne Technical Support.
Warranty replacements will only be issued for product that has been determined to be defective, by ClearOne Technical Support, within the defined warranty period.
A like new unit will be sent to replace the original, defective unit upon receipt of the defective unit at ClearOne warehouse.
A like new replacement unit may be sent in advance of receiving the original, defective unit. A purchase order or credit card number will be required to ensure the return of the defective product.
• The original defective product must be returned to ClearOne within thirty (30) days of receiving the replacement. Product not returned within 30 days will be invoiced for the total cost (MSRP) of the product.
• The Advance Replacement option is available for all Professional, Premium, StreamNet, MAX and CHAT products within the warranty period.
• The replacement is warranted for either (a) 90 days or (b) the remainder of the original warranty period, whichever is longer.
ClearOne will pay all standard economy outbound freight costs, excluding duties, taxes and other fees via a carrier of ClearOne's choice. Priority freight costs are the responsibility of the customer. The customer is responsible for all return freight costs.
Defective product that does not qualify for Warranty Replacement as outlined in the standard warranty policy and this document may be processed via the ClearOne Product Repair policy.
This section defines ClearOne's policy for both warranty and non-warranty repairs of ClearOne products. Terms, including handling procedures and fees, are defined herein for each type of repair. Those requesting to send product to ClearOne for repair must first contact ClearOne Technical Support.
Warranty repair will only be authorized for product that has been determined to be defective within the warranty period.
ClearOne will repair or replace any product free of charge, including parts and labor, within the terms outlined in the warranty agreement.
ClearOne will pay standard economy outbound freight costs, excluding duties, taxes and other fees via a carrier of ClearOne's choice. Priority freight costs are the responsibility of the customer. The customer is responsible for all return freight costs.
• A Purchase Order, for customers with a ClearOne account.
• Valid credit card number.
Customer is responsible for all freight charges both to and from ClearOne including duties, taxes and any other applicable fees.
All repairs are subject to parts & material availability.
• Repair charges will be set by ClearOne and are subject to change at any time.
• The current repair charge will be communicated to Customer for approval prior to issuing an RMA.
• A customer is responsible for all freight charges both to and from ClearOne including duties, taxes and any other applicable fees.
• Each product sent to ClearOne for non-warranty repair is subject to an evaluation fee of 10% of the repair charge. This fee will be credited towards the repair of the device. If no fault is found the evaluation fee will be retained by ClearOne.
• Subject to parts & material availability, ClearOne will continue non-warranty repair support until it is no longer able to obtain replacement parts or until such time that it is no longer economically feasible to continue repair support.
• Products are repaired on a first come first serve basis. Turn-a-round time of a particular repair is dependent upon circumstances such as product type, the nature of the problem and current repair volumes.
• ClearOne guarantees all of its repair work for 90 days from the time the repaired product is shipped back to the customer.


text:
Looking for our COVID19 Forecast for each Country, State, & US County? Go here.
Liquid Efficiency
Price of Risk
Dashboards US
Corporate Pension
Public Pensions (CA)
Scotia Pensions
Portfolio Simulation
Option Scenarios
Stock Factors
Fund Factors
China's Emerging Peak
Relocating Value
The Property Ladder
Liquid Alternatives
valueinvesting
Pandemic Paths
The way forward is measured by the degree to which we will listen to scientists and consideration for our neighbors. As mitigation measures are reduced in stages, weighing the effect will occur. Benign data would suggest relaxing further rules. Unfavorable data will result in a return to the previous step. In essence, we will live a social experiment in real-time with thousands of lives in the balance.
For the United States, the outcome will emanate from the battle between strident individualism and collective conscience that is unresolved over centuries. History suggests that in a time of turmoil, Americans answer the call for the greater good. We are individuals in peace and a triumphant team when tested. Since the fate of millions hangs in the balance, we hope that this time is not different. E Pluribus Unum.
Racing Down. As States begin to restart their economies, the question arises whether it is too early? One way to answer the question is with the reproduction rate ("RO" or "R-Naught"), which measures how fast the virus reproduces. While not explicitly a time measure, framing it as the rate at which the virus doubles simplifies the exposition. The current rate is about 1.22, which translates into an approximate doubling time of 50 days (exhibit 1). This rate will still deliver over 15,000 new cases a day. The size of this number implies 105 deaths per day and should give people pause in their eagerness to open up the economy. This outcome, however, is not the only measure.
Exhibit 1. United States COVID19 Reproduction Rate
Source: Capital Risk calculations. Reproduction rate is a 7-day moving average.
This reproduction rate was the result of unrivaled action by the government to slow the virus. Whole sections of the economy closed after enacting social distancing measures. Unparalleled unemployment is virulently spreading through the economy. In economic terms, the devastation is extraordinary in its scope. This outcome, however, is not a material measure.
The critical question policymakers must ask is, how much more can we reduce the reproduction rate? Short of a vaccine or a complete shuttering the economy, not much. This conclusion is essential to understand. Absent completely closing the economy through home quarantine, this level of reproduction is an exceptional outcome. Thus, we've achieved a level that is probably as good as it gets until a vaccine arrives.
The implication for mortality is not as reassuring. If the disease were to continue at the current rate, then estimated lives lost by the election would exceed 660,000 (exhibit 2). That number is higher than the total of both world wars for the US and is an unquestionably tragic outcome. Unfortunately, the result may be unavoidable absent the miracle arrival and production of a vaccine. This outcome is our base-case going forward as the current social distancing measures are maintained in some form.
Exhibit 2. United States COVID19 Lives Lost Forecast
Source: Capital Risk calculations. Virus reproduction rate from first week of May.
NOTE: This estimate is based on the current reproduction rate. It uses a standard Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) model for virus spread. As with all models, it is only as good as the underlying assumptions. The model used compares outcomes on a relative basis and is not an absolute forecast.
Past as prelude. The spread of the COVID19 in March spurred policy makers into action. A modest regression gave cause for hope in early March, but the pause was only temporary (exhibit 1). The continually growing virus gave policy makers no choice but to act in mid-March. How necessary was the action? The reproduction rate was estimated at about four. This number implies a doubling of the virus in just over 3 days. It would take only 50 days to reach 245 million people (and herd-level immunity), with an estimated 1.7 million people dead. This scenario does not account for deaths that could occur because of insufficient ICU resources. These numbers highlight that the social distancing action was necessary.
This experience helps frame the effect of the mitigation measures. The current action helped reduce the reproduction rate from north of four to 1.2 in six weeks. This outcome was probably better than expected because the majority of the economy was designated as an essential service and continued to work, commute, and interact (with restrictions). This result suggests that an easing of restrictions is possible in controlled circumstances where social distancing occurs and measures to prevent disease spread are in place. The question is which mitigation measures to maintain and which to relax? Lives lost are the measure for the outcome.
Many Paths. To understand the path forward, we need to frame out the plausible mitigation scenarios. The options to reduce the effect of the virus are not numerous because the disease is already in the community. Typically, isolation of the infected to help slow the disease is viable. The problem is that we do not know everyone who is contagious, so it is impossible to isolate them. There are effectively only four scenarios going forward.
Keep All - Stay the course with current measures.
Remove All - Let the virus run its course.
Social Distancing (Home Quarantine) - Ensuring people keep at least six feet apart and limit gathering in groups.
Case Isolation - The infected are isolated and home quarantine of their household members.
The strategies vary in their containment ability. The first two scenarios are straightforward. Keep all would stay the current course of all measures. Do nothing suggests letting the virus run its course. Social distancing limits contagion at the cost of stopping significant parts of the economy. Case isolation is less effective as case tracking takes time to achieve; however, more of the economy can operate. These scenarios provide border cases where most other actions should fall within. While these estimates lack the precision of the antediluvian economy, they provide a means to frame the analysis.
Future Uncertain. An important distinction is required when forecasting the virus spread. While there are many means to model the rate in the future, two are most frequent. The forecast can use the current rate as a projection going forward. In doing so, the forecaster assumes that there are no further incremental benefits to the mitigation methods, which is a weakness of the method.
In contrast, a declining rate projects the prior rate of change forward. The assumption is that the mitigation methods will continue to have incremental benefits beyond those already realized. This method aligns with the internal dynamics of the model. When new cases remain constant in magnitude, they still become proportionally less of growing number of total cases. The weakness is that as more people are infected, the possibility to spread the disease increases.
Forecasting is a difficult task because some assumptions must be made. The choice delivers two types of errors. False positives indicate the presence of disease when it is not truly present. Alternately, false negatives indicate the absence of a disease when it is present. When lives are the measure for success, prudence dictates false positives as the bias in the model. Thus, this forecasting uses a constant current rate.
Exhibit 3. United States COVID19 Scenario Forecast
Social Experiment. The numbers are sobering for loosening the mitigation strategies (exhibit 3). Releasing everyone would result in upwards of 2.2 million lives lost with peak contagion in early July. Partial removal of the social distancing measures would achieve a similar result. In this scenario, the result would be nearly two million lives lost and a peak contagion at the end of July. Everyone returning to normal with just case isolation would deliver 1.6 million lives lost while delaying the peak until early October. For all intents and purposes, these scenarios are off the table.
This analysis highlights the risk of early opening. The question, however, is how we go forward from here. Closing the economy until a vaccine arrives would result in an economic catastrophe of unimaginable depth. The answer lies with the people. Policymakers know these numbers. The question is whether people will conduct themselves in a manner that prevents the reproduction rate from rapidly increasing.
The way forward is a reduction of the mitigation measures in stages and evaluation of the outcome after each step. As evidence emerges that people are acting responsibly, then proceed to reduce the restrictions further. If the data is poor, then return to the prior stage. In essence, we are living a social experiment in real-time with thousands of lives in the balance.
E Pluribus Unum. The way forward is measured by the degree to which we listen to scientists and our thoughts for our neighbors. In the United States, the battle between strident individualism and collective conscience has waged for centuries. A resolution remains elusive. History suggests that in a time of turmoil. Americans answer the call for the greater good. We are individuals in peace and a triumphant team when tested. Since the fate of millions hangs in the balance, we hope that this time is not different.
"The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins."
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Chief Justice of the United States
This article is part three in a series on the economic impact of the COVID-19 virus. Related articles and the model are found here.
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Tapatjatjaka Art and Craft is located in a small Aboriginal community, about 107 kilometres from Alice Springs.
Inspired by their striking environment, characterised by red sand hills and desert oaks, the artists create colourful paintings and intriguing wire creations that include animal and bird representations. These inventive sculptures of wire, metal and discarded bits and pieces have been exhibited both nationally and Internationally.
A purpose built gallery is an exciting addition to the art centre precinct in 2007. Displays include the painted works of both emerging and well known artists. View ceramics, jewellery, prints and punu (wooded artefacts) handicrafted by the local Arrente, Luritja, Pitjanjatjara and Yunkunyatjara artists.
Visitors are welcome and no permit is required to visit Tapatjatjaka Arts.
Closed public holidays and for the month of January. Open 9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday. Weekends by appointment.


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Dollars And Sense Of Full-Service Truck Leasing
June 1, 2007 CP Staff
Located about 30 miles southeast of San Jose (from where it moved two years ago), Mission Concrete operates a modestly sized, advanced facility in Gilroy,
Located about 30 miles southeast of San Jose (from where it moved two years ago), Mission Concrete operates a modestly sized, advanced facility in Gilroy, Calif. A producer of block, retaining wall units, and pavers, Mission Concrete found that although it did need a handful of flatbed trucks to ship product, the property didn't really have room for the vehicles, spare parts, or a maintenance shop necessary to keep a full fleet on site. We're not a trucking company, but we do need trucks, says company President Patrick Quinn.
For most of its 30-plus years in the business, Mission owned three flatbeds and had a small company with power units come in to pull the trailers when needed. When the vehicles started to have regular breakdowns and require a great deal of maintenance, that was when the guy who owned that business decided to get out, Quinn explains. But before he did, we had loads getting delayed or not arriving at all to customers' stores because of this rundown equipment. We'd sometimes have to wait 10 to 14 days for a replacement vehicle, or we'd have to rent one ourselves.
That was about nine years ago, about the time that Quinn first heard about a full-service truck-leasing program run by PACCAR Leasing (PacLease) aimed at businesses that wanted to run a private fleet without the headaches associated with ownership. PacLease leases Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks through more than 270 locations across North America, including three locations Û San Jose, Salinas and San Leandro (near Oakland) Û close to Mission's plant.
At the time, PacLease had just started a full maintenance lease program, says Quinn. They have a staff of mechanics, and if one truck breaks down, ÎBoomÌ, they have another vehicle there right away, or within 24 hours at the most. Depending on the trouble a vehicle may have, the driver can either bring it back to our yard, take it to a PacLease location, or get it towed. They'll typically have a new vehicle waiting for us by the next day.
Because its primary customers are retailers, Mission Concrete needs its trucks to have a fairly short wheel base for deliveries. We're also a seasonal business. So, for about three or four months out of the year, we sometimes rent an extra vehicle on top of the five trucks we currently lease, adds Quinn.
The primary benefit Mission gets from this program is that its vehicles are always up and running. We also don't have to pay for a mechanic, parts or storage, he says. And, we don't have to worry about emissions issues or which new compliant engines are in the trucks. If a truck goes in for service, they will just give us a new vehicle with the upgraded engine.
Mission staff fill out forms once a week to track mileage, so PacLease can keep track of when a vehicle needs to come in for servicing. Quinn remarks, I've noticed that with the more regular maintenance, we're getting about 7.5 mpg with these trucks versus 4 or 5 mpg with the old company. That's a big fuel-cost savings for us.
According to PacLease, with the full-service lease program, customers only pay for the use of the truck, not the truck itself. That can translate to savings in monthly lease payments of about 25 percent versus the cost of financing to own.
From a tax standpoint, full-service leasing allows each lease payment to be 100 percent tax deductible, and the lease works as off-balance sheet financing to improve key financial ratios. In ownership, the IRS limits depreciation on equipment. Tractors are considered a three-year property class, and trucks are five-year property class. The IRS's modified accelerated cost-recovery system governs how much per year and over how many years the asset is depreciated.
PacLease also has a used truck-disposal network that can sell lease equipment once it has termed. The lease allows the customer to avoid the ups and downs of the used truck market at the time of replacement.
Û www.paclease.com
Titan, Lafarge Veteran Ware To Head Imi Indiana Division
Advanced Concrete Technologies


With the recent release of Dungeon Delve and the strong push to table top combat in D&D 4th Edition, D&D Dungeon Tiles are becoming more and more important in people's games. While the truly insane gamers use the excellent (and expensive) Dwarven Forge 3D terrain, Dungeon Tiles are far more affordable. How do you use these tricky things? Just laying them out on a table doesn't always work, and how do you store the stupid things when you're done? This week we look at three tips to making the most from your D&D Dungeon Tiles.
A big problem with the Dungeon Tiles is that they don't stay together very well when you've built a room. You can try just laying them out but any jostle of the table will send them flying. The best way I've found to keep your rooms together is to use blue sticky tack, the sticky putty used to tack posters to walls without thumb tacks, to fasten the pieces to black sheets of poster board.
There are a lot of advantages to this. First, you can build out all your rooms well before you need to use them at the game. They also store well when stuck together so you can carry them around pretty easily. Second, they won't move around when you're actually playing. The rooms are all very solid. Third, the black poster board doesn't distract the eye away from the dungeon room itself.
One additional tip: don't leave your tiles stuck to the board for very long. If they stick together too long, you may tear the tile when you tear it away from the board.
The poster tack runs about $5 a pack, but that pack should last you a long long time. It's well worth the investment.
The black sheets of poster board can get expensive. I recommend the 11 x 17 sheets for about $4 a sheet. A larger sheet can build out an entire dungeon floor for those huge Gygaxian old-school dungeons. You'll need a lot of tiles for these, however.
The best way I've found to store Dungeon Tiles is in large one-gallon or two-gallon zip lock bags. Store each set of Dungeon Tiles in its own bag to make it easy to find the piece you need. I prefer the bags with the actual plastic zippers on them - they're far easier to close. In a large transparent zip-loc bag, you can quickly look for a particular piece without opening the bag. Once you have a good collection of Dungeon Tiles, stick all of your zip-loc bags into one of your Twyla Tharp Banker Boxes.
3. Buy two copies of each set.
One of the big complaints with the Dungeon Delve was the heavy use of the Hall of the Giant Kings tile set which was out of print before the book's release. I was lucky enough to find two sets of the tiles for $6 a piece on Ebay, but many others weren't so lucky and the price is now as high as $50 a set.
The lesson we can learn from this is to buy two copies of each set when they're still in print. At $10 a set, they're affordable and we can't be sure which sets we'll need for future sourcebooks. The nice thing about Dungeon Tiles is that every set improves the value of your overall collection. You can build bigger and richer dungeons with every set you add.
So there's your Sly Flourish Tip of the Week. When using D&D Dungeon Tiles, use sticky tack, black poster boards, and zip-loc bags to make the most of your collection and buy two copies of every set to ensure you always have what you need.
Like this article? Please consider using this link to purchase dungeon tiles from Amazon.com or use it to purchase anything from Amazon.
If you enjoyed this article, you might enjoy the Lazy Dungeon Master and Sly Flourish's Fantastic Locations. You can also support this site by using these links to purchase the D&D Starter Set, Players Handbook, Monster Manual, or Dungeon Master's Guide.
Need some dice? Check out this pack of 105 dice by Easy Roller Dice!


St. Vincent [sound recording] / St. Vincent.
St. Vincent, 1982-, composer, performer.
Alternative rock music. -- Rock music 2011-2020.
Title from web page. Compact disc. Rattlesnake -- Birth in reverse -- Prince Johnny -- Huey Newton -- Digital witness -- I prefer your love -- Regret -- Bring me your loves -- Psychopath -- Every tear disappears -- Severed crossed fingers. Peformed by St. Vincent.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. (c) 2019 Rovi Corporation.
$a St. Vincent, $d 1982-, $e composer, $e performer.
$a St. Vincent $h [sound recording] / $c St. Vincent.
$a 1 audio disc : $b CD audio, digital ; $c 4 3/4 in.
$a Title from web page.
$t Rattlesnake -- $t Birth in reverse -- $t Prince Johnny -- $t Huey Newton -- $t Digital witness -- $t I prefer your love -- $t Regret -- $t Bring me your loves -- $t Psychopath -- $t Every tear disappears -- $t Severed crossed fingers.
$a Peformed by St. Vincent.
$a Rock music $y 2011-2020.


text:
Q: custom renderer or conditional styling in handsontable Using the official handsontable react wrapper I'm having a hard time figuring out how to register a custom renderer, the goal is to render some rows with a different style. I attempted to write a custom renderer and it was throwing an error saying that the renderer was not registered this could have been because I was trying to register it following the docs https://docs.handsontable.com/0.32.0/demo-conditional-formatting.html where they attach it to Handsontable

A: function groupingRenderer(instance, td, row, col, prop, value,
cellProperties) {
  Handsontable.renderers.TextRenderer.apply(this, arguments);
  td.className = 'group';
}

And then to call that function in the settings object that you pass in as a prop to HotTable
cells(row, col, prop) {
    const cellProperties = {};
    if((tableData.rows[row]).total) {
      cellProperties.renderer = groupingRenderer;
    }

    return cellProperties;
  },

notice im not registering the "renderer" instead I call it directly.


text:
Join the YO! Corps
There those who can do…
and others who can do more.
Join YO! YAC
Applications are now
being accepted…
Those who can, do.
Those who can do more, volunteer.
Follow us on Social Media for the Latest News and Updates!
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Youth Organizing! Disabled & Proud is a program of the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC). YO! Disabled & Proud connects, organizes and educates youth with disabilities.
Youth Organizing (YO!) develops community organizing activities to build a power base among youth with disabilities so that we can effectively work for change. We engage youth to learn about our history, the disability rights movement, disability pride, organizing and advocacy. Youth with disabilities build community with each other, develop a sense of leadership, a positive disability identity and organize and mobilize each other on issues that affect our lives.
We provide opportunities, resources and information for young adults with disabilities. Disabled youth are able to volunteer with local independent living centers, work on advocacy issues and campaigns that are important to them and find mentors within the disability community. YO! works with teens and young adults with disabilities ages 16 to 28.


Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by Yotam, Sep 15, 2013.
since a few months ago i began saving for an editor, i started doing my own edit on my manuscript, to the best that i can.
my question is quite simple, yet because english is not my native tongue and in hebrew we don't have this... i hope you guys can help me.
would it be alright for me to shorten this words?
oh! another thing... after which "..." i need to start with capital letter?
Cogito has a nice blog post about quotes, and he also offers an external link for more info. Check it out.
Edit: Concerning contracting, it all depends on your style and formatting. You would help us immensely if you told us on what type of novel you're working.
I don't see why not especially of it's in dialogue and it's the way you want your characters to speak.
If you are starting a new sentence after the dialogue is finished then yes, a capital I. And all I's wherever they appear, are capital for that matter.
I think his question was regarding to the general capitalization rules applied when using quote marks in dialogue.
I'm certain they know that, perhaps by not using proper capitalization in forum posts they're saving time, like mammamaia.
You could check out some works in your genre (and elsewhere, why not) and see how much the authors have truncated she's and would'ves. I did that when I was unsure and noticed it's pretty common to conjoin the verb to the subject or auxiliary verb even in narration, but my gneres are mainly sci-fi and fantasy.
EDIT: ah, ok, it's YA fantasy. Then I think it's ok for you to shorten them.
It's pretty much a staple if you're using a 1st person narrative, and I've even seen it used in some 3rd person ones as well. Since you're not writing anything formal, you should be in the clear.
it's not about time, but convenience. in hebrew we have two types of written and you either write with one or the other but not both.
to answer your post before the edit, i thought about reading works of authors i attempt to follow, but was not sure if to an agent they send the same format.
Your manuscript is currently 144k. What is the goal you are being asked to approach as regards cutting back?
i was told the publishers don't tend to accept from new writers an ms with above 120k. that they prefer an ms of 80k-120k. my goal is to cut as much as possible without feeling that i'm harming the ms.
Then you're looking to trim something like 20k+ words. That's quite a bit. Your word processor should let you do a simple find/replace to substitute contractions where possible, but I get a feeling this isn't going to amount to anywhere close to what you need to get to your goal. You should instead be focusing on parts of the manuscript that are unnecessary, that do not move the story forward, and dialogue that is overly mundane, filled with all the natter that does happen in real life but should not be present in a novel.
Don't pluck leaves; trim branches.
that is my aim. i haven't check my edit progress yet in terms of word count, but i believe that i passed the 15k already and now, thanks to the comments i got, feel safe shortening words.
what do you mean "word processor"? the ctrl+f function in word?
No. MS Word is a word processor. That is the name in English for that kind of program. There are many word processor applications of which Word is just one.
Start by looking for scenes that neither advance the story nor develop the characters. Then look for redundant description ("He buttoned his coat to keep out the cold of the frigid icy wind."), and description that goes on too long and in too much detail.
If you need to shorten your manuscript more than that, simplify the story. Maybe you're adding unnecessary complications.
Cutting word count by forcing contractions and rephrasing for minimum word count is self-defeating. Drafts, especially by new writers, usually has plenty of substantive flab to carve away first.
A few months ago I began saving for an editor. I started doing my own editing on my manuscript, to the as best that as I could.
My question is quite simple, yet because English is not my native tongue and in Hebrew we don't have this... contractions, I hope you guys can help me.
Part of the process of my editing is cutting as much many words that as I can (I had 144K when I started) without causing any harm. The thing I struggle with are words like, "was not", "he is", "would have" and so on... (don't know how to tag them) that i'm not sure will be proper to shorten in ms to [Your sentence construction is slightly confusing] Is this how one shortens the contractions: "wasn't", "he's", "would've" and so on...?
Would it be alright for me to shorten this these words?
You need a capital letter when starting a new sentence, but contractions and quotation marks can be in the middle of sentences.
I know it's frustrating to write any second language, but your post suggests you have a ways to go and we won't be able to correct everything you post here. First, don't shortcut, this is a writer's forum and it's best to use proper capitalization. You don't do yourself any favors typing in all lower case. Second, invest in a good style guide, or get one from the library. Get in the habit of looking stuff up as it will increase your retention.
Feel free to ask us anything, there's nothing wrong with your questions. But there are many members here whose verbal English is good, but their command of grammar doesn't quite cut it as a writer. It is very time consuming to correct posts with too many grammar errors. Often someone will help, but we don't always have that kind of time.
The best thing to do is just keep writing, and finding people to correct your mistakes, but you need more than that. You need some hard work on your own as well.
You won't find a publisher without a better command of English regardless of word count. I think you need to place a higher priority on your fluency before worrying about word count.
Some people in the forum abbreviate manuscript as 'ms'. But I, like Wrey, thought of MS Word, aka the word processor program, when I saw "ms" in your post. You may not want to shortcut words either, at least for a while.
In my case, eliminating redundant description isn't really worth the time - too much work for too little gain. But I'm fully with Cogito on finding scenes that don't really do anything the story needs. As a pantser, I tend to write a lot of those, and by far the best and most effective way for me to cut excess words is to delete those scenes. Doing that doesn't just bring the word count down to something reasonable, it also streamlines the story, dramatically improving the pace. It sounds like you need to cut a lot (more than 20,000 words is a lot), and you're an inexperienced writer, so my guess is you have unnecessary scenes. Be brutal and cut them. You'll be happier with the results.
Trying to cut down words by using contractions isn't likely to get you very far, I think. Take Cogito's advice and cut out unnecessary scenes first.
When the translator translated the manuscript he used both past simple and past progressive. Is it correct to use them both for the same type of descriptions?
It all depends on the action being described and the context. Both constructions validly exist and have their reason for use. As Maia mentions, we would need to see an example in order to answer that question.
I mainly asked to know if it's acceptable to use both times as one writes. If I'll encounter a paragraph that I won't understand, I'll post it and be glad to hear your opinions.
It is a common construction in English, but the writer must understand the nuances of each verb tense.
Incorrect or poor use of the various tenses often reveals a non-native speakers. In my experience, many English-speaking people from India (for example) tend to overuse progressive tenses. I don't speak any of the Indian languages, but I assume they don't have the same verb tense variations as English, making the thought processes inherently different for someone who thinks in one of those languages and speaks English.
Not only is English a melange of words from Latin, Germanic, and other sources, its grammar rules are regularly violated in idiomatic speech, making it one of the more difficult languages to translate to. Synthesis is always more difficult than extraction.


Known as the Whipple method.
« Chile simply by cardio-thoracic surgeons.
Improved techniques have improved survival significantly, especially at high-volume centers such as Loyola. The post-operative mortality price of Aranha's sufferers is less than two %. At Loyola, the five-year survival price of pancreatic cancer individuals who go through the Whipple is 20 %. This equals the survival price at other best hospitals, including Johns Hopkins, Sloan-Kettering and the Mayo Clinic. 'There is a feeling in this country that pancreatic cancers is a loss of life warrant,' Aranha stated. 'Many patients who could benefit from a Whipple aren't on offer the operation. We need to change that view.' Cipolla and her family are happy that she was offered the procedure.To receive recognition from our community is specially gratifying. The Nebraska-based research corporation asked local customers which hospitals they desired based on quality. The infirmary rated No. 1 in the LA area in several survey categories. Consumers stated it had been the most recommended for all health needs, and that it had the most personalized care, the latest technology and equipment, the highest patient protection, the widest range of services and the best community health applications. Cedars-Sinai also received best ranking in the LA region for several clinical treatment areas, including specialties in orthopedics, cancer, neurology, heart, cosmetic surgery, physical therapy, imaging, transplantation, weight loss surgery, and gynecology and obstetrics.


text:
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John Kim
John Kim is a man of many talents. As president of Symphony Financial Services Inc. in Akron, he's a financial planner and money manager. He's also a husband and a father of three children; a lawyer; an accomplished cellist who attended the Julliard School's prep school; a soldier; and a former bodybuilder. But Mr. Kim says he never has been satisfied to be labeled, categorized or limited. He's always been a man of his own making and unwilling to be held back for any reason. 'I've always been fiercely independent and felt I could do it better on my own,' Mr. Kim said. So it's no surprise to learn that Mr. Kim was willing to leave a stable and high-paying job with a Cleveland financial planning firm to form Symphony in July 2001. The firm currently has five employees and oversees about $35 million in client assets. 'I was making great money where I was, but I didn't feel the energy getting up every morning,' he said. His wife, Shana, was pregnant with their second child at the time, and they had a second mortgage on their home. It wasn't surprising that Mr. Kim got more than a few frowns from family and friends when he announced he was venturing out on his own. 'I lost a lot of sleep over it until one night when I realized that when my mom and dad were my age, they borrowed money to come here from South Korea with no money, not speaking the language, to start a new future here,' he recalled. 'So I said, `Shame on me,' ' for worrying so much. But not long after he had the business up and running, the world changed forever on Sept. 11, 2001, and a new sense of duty overtook him. 'It was already tough enough to start up your own business, but this was surreal,' Mr. Kim said. 'That night, I made my decision to start the process to join the Navy Reserves.' Recruiters told him that he was 'too fat and too old' to join the military. Not willing to be denied, he exercised, persisted with his application and became an intelligence officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve in early 2002. That's always how it's gone for Mr. Kim. He never has allowed anyone to tell him who he is or who he can be. In high school, 'I decided I wanted to dispel the myth of the nerdy Asian playing the cello, so I started bodybuilding,' he said. 'I didn't want people to automatically assume who I was. I wanted to be accepted for being John Kim first.' But as an American who was born in South Korea, he says he's also immensely proud of his heritage and the sacrifices his parents made for him. He's also proud of the degrees that adorn his walls: a bachelor's degree in business from Bowling Green State University; a law degree from the University of Akron; a master's degree in tax planning from Case Western Reserve University. -Ryan Cornell


A commercially driven global insights leader, Anup switches between being a business consultant and a consumer/market expert while working with different stakeholders.
As Insights Lead for India, Anup is responsible to represent the voice of the consumer at General Mills, ensuring that the business places the consumer needs first & at the centre while making business plans and decisions.
Prior to General Mills, Anup worked as a Director at Nielsen India where he led client relationships for major consumer good multinationals across India & South East Asia. At Nielsen, Anup worked in senior leadership roles at BASES (Innovation Consulting) and Retail Audit Service, over an association of 9 years.
Anup is fortunate to be one of the few industry experts who have specialist 'hands-on' experience across the tool kits of consumer insights, qualitative, quantitative and syndicated research.
Anup is based in Mumbai and is passionate about listening to consumer stories.


The UZIN insulating and installation underlays are ideal companions for installing wood flooring and floor coverings. Using underlays can save old ramshackle substrates or even expand their range of use. In this way, by using UZIN insulating and installation underlays that previously could only accommodate certain floor coverings, wood flooring can subsequently be installed on substrates. At the same time, it's possible to improve impact sound absorption and heat insulation properties, thus increasing indoor ambience. The underlays in UZIN's wood flooring product range operate as a stress reliever and thus reduces tension from tensile and shear forces that arise in wood flooring. In this way, the stress-relief from the underlay protects the substrate.


Prime stop end cap to facilitate priming.
The EF 300E macro drip IV set incorporates a precision flow regulator capable of delivering an accurate infusion from 5 to 300 ml/hour. For patient safety the flow controller is positioned distal to the cannulation site.


"From the very beginning and through the history of Christianity, the season of Advent has been a way of remembering (more fully) the mystery of God becoming human," Maher shares. "Long before the Macy's Day Parade, red Starbucks cups and The Elf on a Shelf, Christians marked the passage of time in the four weeks before Christmas by remembering and embracing the sense of anticipation around the arrival of the promised Messiah; to prepare for the coming of Jesus."
Gabriel's Message - This song is about the angel Gabriel's message to Mary, the most highly favored lady (Luke 1;26-38). The song features piano, strings, drums, and backing vocals.
He Shall Reign Forevermore – This song was written with Chris Tomlin and was originally released on Tomlin's 2015 album Adore: Christmas Songs of Worship. The song opens with piano and strings and builds powerfully with drums and backing vocals. It uses Isiah 9:6 and Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" as a reference.
Born On That Day – This triumph song was written by Maher, Brian Elmquist, Mitch Parks, Jesse Reeves and Chris Tomlin. It opens with strings and builds powerfully. The song features some excellent drums and strings.
Christmas was born on that day. Oh, what a day, Oh what a day.
Jingle Bells – The lyrics to this holiday standard were written for a local school choir by James S. Pierpoint in 1857 with the title of "One Horse Open Sleigh". Maher brings a fun, jazzy arrangement to the song, with piano, drums, horns, backing vocals, bass and violin.
The First Noel – This song, which probably goes back to the 18th century, was first published in Some Ancient Christmas Carols in 1823 by Davies Gilbert in London. On this version, to which a new chorus is added, Maher sings over piano, then is joined by bass and drums and backing vocals.
Hope For Everyone – This song features upbeat gospel music with the message of hope that Jesus brings. The song starts with Maher singing backed by acoustic guitar and then builds powerfully with a choir. Hear the angels sing that there is hope for everyone. We are waiting on the promise, Jesus, who bends low to be among us. He is the one who lights the darkness. This is the highlight of the album.
Glory (Let There Be Peace) – A different version of this song was previously released as a single in 2016. This version opens with some gospel organ and finger snaps, and then builds with some powerful drums and backing choir vocals. Do not be afraid, His love is strong enough to save us.
Let there be peace, let it start in me.
O Come Emmanuel – While this song is often linked with the 12th century, the earliest surviving evidence of the hymn's text is in a hymnal published in Cologne in 1710. Maher's beautiful version, which includes a new chorus, features bass, synth and finger snaps. It then builds powerfully.
Always Carry You – This beautiful song features lead vocals by Amy Grant, backed by Maher. In Luke 1:30, the angel tells Mary not to be afraid. She then says in Luke 1:38, "Let it be to me according to your word". This was beyond her understanding, but she won't be afraid, every word is true. What would it be like to never be afraid?
Love Came Down – This beautiful song about the coming of Jesus was written by Maher and Jon Guerra. It begins with acoustic guitar, synth, strings, and builds with a choir.
Hark The Herald Angels Sing – The lyrics to this song were written by Charles Wesley, and the music by Felix Mendelssohn. This joyful version, which features some new lyrics, includes Irish penny whistles.
Merry Little Christmas – This fun, upbeat song is about the joy of the Christmas season. It has a good drum-driven beat. It's the most wonderful time of the year, a wonderful life that we have.
When I Think Of Christmas – This song has Maher sharing his feelings as he thinks of Christmas. There are memories, singing songs, hope, raising a glass, thinking of those not with us. For a moment, the world is at peace. The song features piano and strings.


This week we will be learning more about the Common Needs of People and focusing in on shelter and transportation for our cultural studies. In math we are working on multiplication, division, and fractions. The first graders are working hard on their basic math facts, including multiplication, addition, and subtraction. Second and third grade have been plugging away at multi-digit multiplication, division, and have started working with fractions with like denominators.
Beginning this Monday, Mr.Horning will be taking the kids outside on Monday's from 10:25-11:25 for cross-country skiing. This will take place this week and the two following weeks after conference week. Please make sure that your student has all of their outdoor gear. They should have their snow pants, hats, gloves, boots, and warm winter jacket each day for not only gym but also for recess and in case of emergencies.
If you are interested in having access to Keyboarding Without Tears for your 2nd or 3rd grader, please send me an email. I can send you a direct link in order for them to practice their keyboarding skills at home.
If you are not receiving the mass text messages that I occasionally send out for reminders or check-in's and you would like to be, please send me an email. I can invite you to join our group. This is a free service and allows me to text everyone that has subscribed at once with important information.
With Valentine's Day being this coming weekend, we will be doing a special activity for our families. We will not be having a classroom party but you may send in cards or special treats to share with the other students to exchange at the end of the day on Friday. If you plan on sending in cards, please send cards for all 22 students.
**I will be absent Tuesday, February 17th.
Thank you, please contact me with any questions or concerns.


text:
Q: epsilon delta proof for $\frac{1}{1+x^2} -1$
Show that given $\epsilon>0$ there is a $\delta>0$ such that $\left|\frac{1}{1+x^2}-{1}\right|<0$ whenever $|x|<\delta$.

A: hint: $\left|\dfrac{1}{1+x^2}-1\right| = \dfrac{|x|^2}{1+x^2} < |x|^2$

A: First write
$$\left|\frac{1}{1+x^2}-1\right|=\left|\frac{x^2}{1+x^2}\right|$$
Note that $1+x^2>1$ implies that $\frac{1}{1+x^2}<1$.  Using this inequality reveals
$$\left|\frac{1}{1+x^2}-1\right|=\left|\frac{x^2}{1+x^2}\right|<x^2$$
So, for all $\epsilon>0$,
$$\left|\frac{1}{1+x^2}-1\right|=x^2<\epsilon$$
whenever $|x|<\sqrt{\epsilon}$.
Choose $\delta<\sqrt{\epsilon}$ and you have it!  If you don't like the square root of epsilon, then first choose $\delta <\frac12$.  Then,
$$\left|\frac{1}{1+x^2}-1\right|=x^2<\frac12 |x|<\epsilon$$
whenever $\delta =\min\left(\frac12,2\epsilon\right)$.


text:
News coverage of Royer's Flowers gets to the heart of Valentine's Day preparation
Posted on February 13, 2019 by Neal
Dan Gleiter, photographer with the Patriot-News/Pennlive, shoots video interview with Geoff Royer, vice president of central operations.
Geoff Royer had been on the go for days, including an annual pre-Valentine's Day trip to South America to check up on Royer's rose crop.
But on this day, Geoff's near-constant movement was confined to Royer's corporate complex in Lebanon, specifically the central design department where teams of associates gathered around long tables to hand-craft arrangements for the company's 16 stores in seven counties.
Yet Geoff, vice president of central operations, stopped long enough for a brief interview with Patriot-News/Pennlive photographer Dan Gleiter.
"We'll do about 27,000 arrangements for the holiday," Geoff explained, the room bustling behind him. "Fifteen thousand or so of those will be roses. We'll also do mixed bouquets, rose bunches and loose flowers, as well. We'll do about 10,000 deliveries on Valentine's Day itself."
The interview and a photo gallery can be viewed on Pennlive. Meanwhile, several photos appeared in the Patriot-News print edition on Feb. 12.
Helping the heroes
Meanwhile, PBS39's Berks County reporter Brittany Sweeney visited Royer's Reading store for her look at Valentine's Day. She spoke with Jenni Eberly, Royer's market manager in Berks County.
"With the vases prepped and the flowers pruned," Sweeney began her story, "less than a week out, Valentine's Day hustle is under way."
"This is our Super Bowl," Jenni explained. "We get very excited."
She explained how Geoff and his uncle, CEO Tom Royer, painstakingly review their specific flower crop at farms in South America and then follow the shipment as it makes its way through U.S. customs in Miami and onto tractor-trailers for the ride to Lebanon.
"Because even though we're dealing with this huge volume, we don't ever want to sacrifice quality," Jenni said.
That volume totals a half-million roses and carnations at Valentine's Day. Each one of those roses is "individually touched and cleaned and the thorns stripped, any of the bad petals peeled off so the roses look perfect for their arrival to the customer's home."
Asked what he was purchasing, customer Robert Latshaw said: "Definitely roses because I think that's what everybody wants. Stick with tradition, right?"
Despite the volume, the flowers pass through Royer's in short order.
"It comes in and goes out very quickly, and at the end we're helping a lot of people be heroes to their loved ones," Jenni said. "It's great."
You can view the PBS39 story here.
Posted in News coverage, Valentine's DayLeave a Comment on News coverage of Royer's Flowers gets to the heart of Valentine's Day preparation
Just like Jack: Become a seasonal independent delivery driver for Valentine's Day
Posted on January 22, 2019 by Neal
Jack O'Hara started with Royer's for Valentine's Day in 2015.
It took more than 40 years of playing golf, but Jack O'Hara recorded his first hole-in-one on June 5, 2018.
He was part of a foursome participating in a senior men's league at Spring Creek Golf Course in Hershey. They were on the eighth hole.
"Hit the green about four inches behind the hole, [the ball] curled around, dropped in," he said. "That was really fun. We all just kind of jumped and started screaming."
At 65, O'Hara still brings plenty of youthful enthusiasm to his job as a seasonal independent delivery driver for Royer's. He has been with Royer's since Valentine's Day 2015, having responded to a newspaper help-wanted ad shortly after moving to the area from Richmond, Va., with his wife, Terrie.
"I love doing this," he said one afternoon at the start of his shift. He was wearing boots, jeans, a fleece jacket and a ball cap.
O'Hara spent 40 years in the printing industry, during which he was a customer service manager overseeing 19 customer service representatives in five states. Covering that much territory meant plenty of time behind the wheel, time that he put to good use.
"A lot of windshield time, a lot of time to put your mind together, reflect, and think about how you can make someone's day," he said. "Customer service has always been one of my things that I'm really proud of."
'Instant love affair'
He credited his father, who was a funeral director in Pleasant Mount, Pa., for teaching him customer service and other skills. As a customer service representative himself, O'Hara worked on major accounts from across the country.
"You learn how to treat people," he said. "You treat people well, that will come back on you 100 times. I always taught my CSRs to think positively. If your day starts off bad, it's OK, start it over. It's not the end of the world. There's no issue or error that cannot be fixed. Forty years, I've been able to bring that with me."
From his first Valentine's Day with Royer's, he said, "It was an instant love affair for myself. I wanted to do something. I'd been looking around. Being new the community, this opportunity helped me to learn a lot about the area, the community, and meet a lot of people.
"A lot of people that I deliver to, I deliver to maybe two or three times a year," he said. "And it's always great to go back and see someone, say hi."
That first year, he also worked at Mother's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. More recently, the store has needed him on additional occasions. He typically works three-hour shifts for Royer's. (During the golfing season, he also works in the pro shop at Spring Creek Golf Course.)
He offered this endorsement to anyone interested in becoming a seasonal independent delivery driver for Royer's:
"If you're looking to do something, and if you're the type of person that likes to meet people, talk to people, and help people out, I think it's a great opportunity," he said. "I think it's something people should at least check out. I really find it very fulfilling. If you can bring some joy into someone's life, I think that means a lot."
If you or someone you know would like additional information about seasonal independent delivery driver opportunities, please call or stop by your nearest Royer's store and ask for the delivery room manager.
Posted in Employment opportunities, Valentine's DayLeave a Comment on Just like Jack: Become a seasonal independent delivery driver for Valentine's Day
Be like Liz: Join Royer's as a holiday helper for Valentine's Day
Posted on January 21, 2019 January 21, 2019 by Neal
Liz Bazewicz has been a holiday helper in Hershey for some 15 years.
Liz Bazewicz still marvels at what she saw that first winter some 15 years ago when she first joined Royer's Flowers as a holiday helper.
"The volume," she said. "I had no idea what was involved in putting together Valentine's Day."
As Cupid comes calling once again, Royer's is counting on seasonal mainstays such as Bazewicz to augment its regular staff during what amounts to the floral industry's version of the Super Bowl.
Royer's has a range of holiday helper openings with flexible hours available at royers.com/careers.
Bazewicz initially was drawn to Royer's at a point when her three children were sufficiently grown and she wasn't needed at home all day.
"I was bored, and the opportunity arose [with Royer's]," she said. "I saw an advertisement in the newspaper for Valentine's Day, and I knew I loved being around flowers, so I thought I'd give it a try."
'Real camaraderie'
Bazewicz has always worked at the Hershey store. She's a fixture at major holidays and during homecoming season, primarily to wrap orders but also to help with any number of other behind-the-scenes tasks.
"I am still amazed at the planning and the organization that it takes to pull off these holidays," she said, "and how successfully they do it. Speaking more than three weeks before Valentine's Day, she noted that Royer's already was in production for the holiday.
"It's such an incredible well-oiled machine in terms of timing and personnel and getting everything done in a timely fashion so that there are no crises," she said.
Asked what she likes most about her job, Bazewicz cited teamwork.
"Anybody that's coming in new is going to be trained properly on what needs to be done," she said. "They don't have to feel like they're going to be left alone to figure it out on their own. It's well orchestrated.
"And we have fun. We really, honestly do. We joke around. And because people are so helpful toward me, I try to be so helpful toward them. So there's a real camaraderie that I feel is really important. I literally wouldn't come back if I didn't feel cared about."
Bazewicz, 61, noted that floral work is fast-paced and physically challenging.
"Number one, you are on your legs all day long, period, amen, end of story," she said. "And there is lifting, there's no question about that. And if you're not comfortable or able to do that amount of lifting, then certainly you ask for help."
It's good, hard work for someone who wants to be physically active, Bazewicz said, that brings with it a deep sense of satisfaction.
"To be a part of this process where you can pull this off is almost an amazing accomplishment," she said. "You need to be prepared to work hard. But I think it's very rewarding. A job well done."
Posted in Employment opportunities, Valentine's DayLeave a Comment on Be like Liz: Join Royer's as a holiday helper for Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day: from field to front door
Posted on February 1, 2018 October 23, 2018 by Neal
Making a rose arrangement in central design department in Lebanon.
Whether you're a planner or procrastinator, online or in-store shopper, you can expect the same high-quality product and customer service from Royer's.
We really shine at Valentine's Day. It's our busiest time, and we enjoy the challenge of rising to the occasion. If a customer buys flowers once per year, it's probably for Feb. 14. And with matters of the heart, the pressure really ramps up to deliver in a special way, for lovers and florists alike.
We handle a similar volume of orders during the Christmas season, but that's over a month or longer. By comparison, the Valentine's Day "season" squeezes a similar volume into several days.
From South America, with love
But behind the scenes, Valentine's Day is months in the making, and it takes us thousands of miles from our stores.
You see, we don't just place a phone call and wait for roses to come to us. We go directly to the flower farms in South America, where we can see firsthand the crop that's being grown just for our customers. This way we can make sure everything is to our satisfaction. If there are problems, then we have more time to correct them.
Once the Valentine's Day crop is harvested, it is flown to Miami, where it is inspected by U.S. customs officials. From there, we move the flowers to a refrigerated tractor-trailer for their journey to Royer's corporate complex in Lebanon.
The truck is unloaded at our distribution center. The flowers are either picked up by drivers from our stores or, more likely, headed to the back of the building and our central design department.
Central Design: heart of the operation
The demand is so great at Valentine's Day that our stores simply can't accommodate all the work. They get a big assist from central design, where teams of workers gather around long tables to package roses in boxes or turn them and other flowers into beautiful arrangements.
Whether you give or receive Valentine's Day roses, or both, we want to make sure you get the most out of them. In fact, with the right amount of care, you should be able to keep your roses looking just rosy for a week.
Click here for specific care instructions, which differ depending on whether your roses arrived in a vase or loose in a box. Either way, it's best to keep them cool and, of course, sufficiently watered.
From the farm to your front door, we love making Valentine's Day special for our customers.
Thanks for letting us show you how.
Posted in Shop Local, Valentine's DayLeave a Comment on Valentine's Day: from field to front door
Back in Bogota for the big Proflora trade show
Posted on October 17, 2017 by Neal
The last time we joined Geoff Royer in South America, it was in the run-up to Valentine's Day. Geoff, area manager, and his uncle Tom Royer, senior vice president and chief operating officer, were checking on the quality of roses being grown just for Royer's customers for the holiday.
Early October found Geoff and Tom back in South America, half of their time spent at farms and the rest at the big Proflora floral trade show in Bogota, Colombia.
Unlike most florists, Royer's acts as its own wholesaler, distributing fresh flowers to its 16 stores in seven counties. Dealing directly with growers gives Royer's more control over costs and quality but warrants a continual presence in South America.
"It's important to us to look at the farms because that is where we can see if problems are starting to develop," Geoff said. "It's also the last place our flowers are before they are boxed up and sent to the U.S."
Meanwhile, that same desire to stay ahead of events is why Geoff and Tom attended Proflora. As a preview of what's coming, the show allows Royer's to be on the forefront of procuring the best products for its customers.
It is held every two years so that floral buyers and growers alike can see what's new and what's coming in the floral industry. The show exhibitors range from flower food makers and logistics companies to, of course, breeders and growers.
"It is start to finish what a wholesaler needs to complete their job," Geoff said.
Specific goals
It's typical for Royer's to approach the show with specific goals in mind. This year, the focus was on finding additional growers to meet Royer's needs for poms and limonium.
Specifically, Geoff said, poms (as is true for other types of flowers) used in arrangements should have long laterals, which is the distance from a flower to its main stem. The longer, the better, in terms of appearance in an arrangement.
"We have a pom grower now that does very well with this, but we are continually looking for who else is growing what we are looking for," Geoff said.
"With the limonium (also known as caspia), we use a specific variety and are searching for another grower of it. It helps us at holidays to ensure we can get the supply that we need."
Among the other Proflora highlights:
In the show's variety competition, one of Royer's carnation growers, Geoflora, and its breeder, S.B. Talee, won two awards for carnations and one for ranunculus.
Geoff and Tom saw new spray rose varieties. Spray roses typically used to be smaller, Geoff said, with a lower petal count. They didn't last as long and tended to open very quickly. The new varieties not only have higher petal counts but are much larger. Royer's potentially can use them in corsage and wedding work or even in vases.
Geoff and Tom also saw several new varieties of red roses. Currently, Royer's most-used variety is called Freedom. It has a high petal count, and when it opens is just beautiful. Everyone is looking for the next Freedom, Geoff said.
Garden roses also are becoming more popular, mostly for weddings and event work. Alexandra Farms, a group Royer's is just starting to work with, grows multiple varieties of garden roses. These include David Austin varieties, named for the renowned English breeder whose roses are regaled for their beauty and scent.
"The most exciting things about the garden roses is the smell," Geoff said. "In many cases the scent of flowers has been bred out of them. Scent and vase life are typically linked. Garden roses still have the scents and they are typically larger bloom sizes."
Geoff and Tom will head back to South America early in the new year, ahead of Valentine's Day, as the cycle repeats itself.
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The making of our 'Thoughts of You' arrangement
Posted on February 8, 2017 February 9, 2017 by Neal
Among the thousands of Valentine's Day arrangements we'll be making this year is one called Thoughts of You, which this team was handcrafting in our central design department in Lebanon.
This arrangement features shades of pink comprising a rose, alstroemeria, carnations and mini carnations, as well as lavender button poms and stems of bupleurum, all contained in a 5.5-inch pink mason jar.
To send one to someone you love, click here.
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Postcard from South America: Day 3
Posted on February 3, 2017 by Neal
Tom Royer shining a light into boxes of roses to look at cut points.
Sorting slides for grading roses.
Roses for Valentine's Day arrangements.
Day 3 found Tom Royer and Geoff Royer again in Bogota, again inspecting Valentine's Day roses, this time at the Multiflora farm.
"The quality was very good from what we saw," Geoff said. "It's impossible to look at every bunch we get, but we make sure we go through the process with them about the cut point, again."
As noted in our Day 2 entry, cut point is crucial. It's the stage in a flower's life when it is cut from the plant. The cut point has to be just right to ensure that our customers get the best quality and most value from their flowers.
Multiflora has invested in its processes to make them more accurate and efficient. Workers used to grade flowers in the field, so it was not as accurate as it could be, Geoff said.
Now the only thing they do in the field is sort the roses, long-stem vs. short stem. Now there's a post-harvest building where the roses are graded more accurately, prepped and packed in boxes for shipping to customers such as Royer's.
Multiflora now cools its loading dock, so there is no break in the "cold chain" between the post-harvest building, the loading dock, and the refrigerated trucks that will transport the roses to the airport.
"The better that flowers can be kept cold, the longer they will last throughout the process and for our customers," Geoff said.
Multiflora is switching to a hydroponic growing system, so the plants are growing in raised beds rather than directly in the ground. This gives the farm more control over the nutrients the plants receive — and increases the yield by 50 percent.
Headed for home
Tom and Geoff also visited the Hossa farm, which provides us with spray roses (multiple small blooms per stem). But the focus of this stop was Hossa's lilies.
Hossa has developed new varieties that produce more blooms per stem. And like Multiflora, Hossa has improved its processes, namely packing.
"They tightened the lilies into the boxes better so during transport they don't shift," Geoff said. "If the lilies shift in the boxes, it damages the buds and leaves bruising and creasing once the flowers open up."
Their farm tours completed, Tom and Geoff are going their separate ways. Tom will fly to Miami for another inspection of the Valentine's Day shipments, ensuring the highest quality before the flowers are packed on our truck for delivery to our Lebanon distribution center.
Geoff is headed back to Pennsylvania, arriving in Lebanon in time for the start of Valentine's Day production Saturday in our central design department.
There, teams of Royer's employees will handcraft thousands of holiday arrangements using the roses, carnations and other Colombian-grown flowers that Geoff and Tom saw firsthand only days earlier.
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Cherry Nobio carnation
Bunching machine
Bunching room
We started Tom Royer and nephew Geoff Royer's trip to Colombia, South America, in the city of Medellin. Day 2 found them some 335 miles southwest in Bogota, the nation's capital.
Bogota sits in the center of Colombia, on a high-altitude plateau that provides year-round steady temperatures that help make it one of the world's great flower-growing regions.
Tom and Geoff visited two more farms. The first was Elite, one of the largest growers in Bogota and our source mainly for roses and alstroemeria (lilies).
"Today was an inspection day," Geoff said. "We examined some of our roses and discussed the cut point of the flowers."
The cut point is, as the term suggests, the stage in the flower's life cycle at which it is cut from the plant. There is an art to this, as we have to factor in the amount of time from farm, through customs in Miami, to our distribution center, to our stores and, finally, to our customers.
"Roses cut too open will blow open more quickly and not last as long," Geoff said. "Roses cut too tight may not open at all. We are very critical of this part of the process and work with the growers to ensure that they have our cut points correct so we can provide the best possible product to our customers."
While Elite has machines to help newer employees with grading the roses for head size and length, all of Royer's roses are hand-graded by Elite's experienced crews to ensure the best quality.
From Elite, Tom and Geoff visited the Geoflora farm, a carnation grower whose quality, Geoff said, is second to none. Besides inspecting the mini-carnations and carnations that Geoflora is growing for us for Valentine's Day, they got a glimpse at some of the new products the farm is developing with its breeder.
"They have developed a carnation head size that is almost in a class of its own," Geoff said.
Drivers wanted: earn up up to $100 per day making Valentine's Day deliveries
You could be Cupid's wingman for a day or two.
Royer's is seeking independent drivers to help with Valentine's Day deliveries on Feb. 13 and 14, with the potential to earn as much as $100 per day.
Candidates must have:
Your own appropriate vehicle, such as a van, station wagon or hatchback
A valid driver license
Proof of car insurance
Familiarity with the local area
For more information, call or stop by your nearest Royer's store and ask for the delivery room manager.
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Postcard from South America: Medellin flower farms
Posted on January 31, 2017 February 1, 2017 by Neal
A new flower variety called papaya, still in testing.
Tom Royer (background) discusses production with farm officials.
A tag identifies daisies destined for Royer's.
While they're getting ready to play a big football game in Houston, Royer's is gearing up for its version of the Super Bowl with our annual pre-Valentine's Day trip to South America.
Tom Royer, our senior vice president and chief operating officer, has been making the trip for decades. In recent years, he has been joined by his nephew, Geoffrey Royer, who is a Royer's area manager.
Their trek allows them to ensure that the roses and other Valentine's Day flowers growing specifically for our customers are of the highest quality.
Day 1 found Tom and Geoff at the Liberty and Mira Monte farms in Medellin, Colombia, from which Royer's mainly purchases daisies and cushion poms.
"The thing I took from today was how very technical it all is and the precision and detail needed to make it all work correctly," Geoff said.
Conversation at both farms turned to propagation, or the process from seed to mother plants from which cuttings are taken. The cuttings beget plugs that are planted into vast beds and become the flowers we buy.
Planting for Mother's Day
Geoff noted that while we're focused on Valentine's Day, the farms are planting for Mother's Day.
"Planting any later than the next week or so could cause the crop to be too late for Mother's Day," Geoff said.
He noted the multiple variables that play roles in how flowers develop, from minerals such as phosphorus and potassium to sunlight and temperature.
Whatever their current products, the farms aren't resting on their laurels. They work with breeders to create the varieties of flowers that Royer's and other florists purchase.
"It's not a simple process," Geoff said. "Hundreds of thousands of seeds are gone through and test to see which ones produce plants and products that could be valued in the marketplace.
"They are then propagated and tested over time to see if they have issues with disease or how well they produce. If they have a winner, it takes time to then create enough cuttings to have a large enough production to make an impact."
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Home / cost of war / Reflection on guns and security
Reflection on guns and security
This post is part of Mennonite Church USA's Cost of War: Learn, Pray, Join initiative.
Doug Hostetter is the peace pastor at Evanston Mennonite Church (which he attends digitally), and is the associate representative of Pax Christi International to the United Nations in New York City. Doug graduated from Hesston College and Eastern Mennonite University and did his alternative service with the Mennonite Central Committee in Tam Ky, Vietnam, from 1966 – 1969, during which he organized Vietnamese high school students to teach literacy to Vietnamese children whose schools had been destroyed by the U.S. Air Force. Doug has done peacebuilding in war zones and conflict areas in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the U.S., with a variety of faith-based organizations. For several years, Doug was the visiting scholar in sociology at Northwestern University, and an adjunct professor in the department of peace, justice and conflict resolution at Goshen College. Doug was the director of the Mennonite Central Committee United Nations office from 2006-2018. Doug has written and published broadly in the areas of international peace and conflict resolution.
105 Howitzer, Tam Ky, Vietnam, 1968. Photo by Doug Hostetter.
Many Mennonite homes in Harrisonburg, Virginia, had guns in the 1950's. No, we were not worried about "personal protection" — most of our neighbors never even bothered to lock their doors — but we lived on the edge of farmland, surrounded by wonderful state parks. Like most of my male friends, I grew up owning guns and looked forward to hunting season in the fall. I was totally comfortable around guns. I had been taught gun safety by an older Mennonite neighbor before I was allowed to buy my first rifle. The first and most important lesson always was: Never point a gun, loaded or unloaded, at another person. Guns were to be used for target practice, until one learned to use them accurately, and then, for hunting, carefully following safety precautions so that one didn't accidently kill a protected animal or injure another hunter. Our Mennonite faith taught us that personal safety comes not from guns and locked doors but from personal relationships that can be built, even with one's enemy, through integrity, trust and vulnerability.
After graduating from Eastern Mennonite College (now University) in 1966, I filed for and received conscientious objector status. As this was the middle of the Vietnam War and men of my generation were being drafted and sent to Vietnam against their will, I felt it was only just that I volunteer to do my alternative service in Vietnam as well, but I served with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). MCC at that time was the director of Vietnam Christian Service (VNCS), which also included volunteers from Church World Service and Lutheran World Relief. I was assigned to start a VNCS unit in Tam Ky, Quang Nam, in central Vietnam, where the heaviest U.S. military activity was taking place at that time. Our primary project was a literacy program that utilized 90 Vietnamese high school students to teach 4,000 refugee children how to read and write their own language, after the schools in their home villages had been destroyed by the American Air Force.
Experiencing life in Vietnam during the war was a total shock to my system.
Wall around the VNCS house. Photo by MCC.
I had grown up feeling very comfortable and safe around guns, which were being used responsibly by neighbors for hunting. Now, I was in a country at war, with nearly a half-million American soldiers bristling with guns that were designed for killing other human beings.
I learned a lot about protection and guns during my three years in a war zone. When I visited Tam Ky to explore whether VNCS should start a unit there, I had been informed by the American officials that the only safe place for me to stay in Tam Ky would be in one of the U.S. government compounds. There were three options: the Military Advisory Command, Vietnam (MACV); the CIA compound; or the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) compound. All three compounds were heavily walled and guarded with land mines and machine gun posts.
Wall around the USAID compound. Photo by Doug Hostetter.
I stayed in the USAID compound, but I soon realized that I could not remain there. Vietnamese people were allowed to come into and leave the USAID compound during the day, but at night, all Vietnamese people — except prostitutes — were expelled, and Americans were not allowed to leave the compound in the evening. I realized that, if I was there as a Christian peace witness to the Vietnamese people, I could not live in a U.S. Government compound, where I could not interact freely with Vietnamese people. When I returned to start the VNCS unit in Tam KY, I and one other VNCS volunteer moved into one of the dorm rooms of the local Catholic high school that the priest had built for students whose homes were far from the school.
Eventually VNCS was able to rent a small bungalow across the street from the Catholic high school for our unit house. I will never forget the advice we received from the woman who rented us the bungalow. Mrs. An explained that, occasionally, the National Liberation Front (NLF, which the Americans called the VC) would briefly take over Tam Ky. She pointed out that, since the house was fenced in by only a small four-foot wall, we could add a steel gate, a few rolls of concertina barbed wire for the front and top of the wall, and a 50-caliber machine gun for the front yard. That, she thought, would be adequate protection, so that when the NLF guerrillas came into town, we could hold them off with the 50-caliber until the U.S. Marines arrived to rescue us. No, I explained, that was not how we wanted to live. We never put a gate in that four-foot wall, and everyone in the village knew that we had no weapons. Our only protection was a small sign "Vietnam Christian Service" (in Vietnamese), with a peace dove and a cross. The VNCS house was the only place in Tam Ky where Americans lived outside of walled and guarded compound. I lived in Tam Ky for three years. The National Liberation Front took over the village — often for only a few hours in the middle of the night — about a dozen times. Each time that the NLF entered Tam Ky, they attacked the heavily guarded MACV, the CIA and the USAID compounds, but the VNCS bungalow, the one unprotected place where Americans lived, was never attacked.
I came to realize that most people in a war kill to keep the enemy from killing them first.
When it was clear to everyone that we had no weapons, and in fact could not even protect ourselves, we were no longer a threat; we were not feared and many Vietnamese people, on both sides of that war, became our friends.
My attitude towards guns has changed drastically since Vietnam. I have seen, up close and personal, the way military weapons destroy the human body. It astounds me that my country, or any nation, would allow civilians to purchase military style automatic rifles, like the AR-15 or the AK-47. These automatic rifles were specifically designed for war — to kill and or seriously maim people.
Why would any government allow the sale of automatic rifles to the civilian population, and why would any decent person want to own such a weapon?
I am not philosophically opposed to hunting, and some of my brothers still do, but since returning from Vietnam, I have not been able to bring myself to reassemble my boyhood .22 caliber rifle, which I had carefully disassembled and stored before I left for Vietnam, over 50 years ago. I do know, both from the Sermon on the Mount and personal experience, that true safety comes not from higher walls or bigger guns but from the refusal of weapons and hostility, which can enable trust and friendship whether with neighbors at home or enemies abroad.
Mennonite Church USA invites you and your congregation to get involved in the Cost of War: Learn, Pray, Join initiative as one way to reinvigorate our collective voices against the destructive powers of militarism.
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It is still an unusual endeavour to read Dante's Commedia in a systematically vertical manner, linking three single canti from Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso on the basis of numerical positioning, rather than following the extraordinarily well-determined linear pathway that Dante delineates for his narrative journey from Hell to Heaven. On first encounter with the Commedia, readers often feel directed towards horizontal rather than vertical approaches to a poem in which the exercise both of its writing and its reading are figured as linear progressions along tracks, pathways,or sea-routes. But the value of comparison and retrospection, to identify connections between episodes in different canti or cantiche, soon emerges. The narrative of the entire poem is, after all, cast as a recollection of lived experience in the protagonist-author's first-person voice, hence structurally retrospective from the outset. Its one hundred-canto, triple-cantica structure is clearly the product of complex planning, in which the unfolding assembly of parts and whole facilitates the establishment of parallels and echoes between its multiple elements.
The exercise of vertical reading proposed in this series advances further questions about how patterns and intersections occur within Dante's poem. The alignment of canti on the single, strict criterion of number order creates its own discipline. This essay seeks to demonstrate that the spatial implications of the metaphor of vertical reading are, indeed, very apt to the Fourteens, where connecting all three of what initially appear to be somewhat disparate canti permits a new set of meanings to emerge, based around coordinates supplied individually within the three parts. Successively, Inferno xiv,Purgatorio xiv, and Paradiso xiv each open an atlas page on which northsouth and east-west axes are laid out with topographical precision, matched morally and rhetorically by the coordinated temporal references that Dante plots to both secular and sacred history between the three same-numbered canti. Each canto of course offers its own mapping of moral concerns, consistent with its place within the horizontal narrative of the Commedia. But their vertical juxtaposition does more.
The grandiose epic and scriptural dimensions evident in the poetry of Inferno and Paradiso xiv are at first sight out of scale with what look like rather parochial regional and genealogical surveys in Purgatorio xiv. Yet as this essay will show, this middle canto pays a form of attention to the minutiae of individual place, time, and personal biography that is central to Dante's understanding of how universal history links all humanity into the salvation narrative invoked more explicitly in the imagery of the Old and the New Adam in the infernal and paradisal canti. In the reading that follows, both direct and oblique instances of vertical connection between Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso xiv will be examined.The essay begins by examining some linguistic and aesthetic common points between the Fourteens, in their shared and contrasting uses of imagery of water and of light. It then presents a series of thematic reflections on the three canti's readings of both secular and providential history, and of moralized terrestrial topography. Examining in turn the historical, rhetorical, and eschatological range of Dante's concerns within and between the three canti, it is my hope that the vertically ordered reading opens new vistas onto the real complementarity that can be discovered between the Fourteens.
Besides their lexical and structural symmetries, equally notable is the way that each river episode begins by describing an apparently harmless fiumicello, but develops into unsettling, monstrous imagery as it follows the river from source to end. In Purgatorio xiv, the Arno flows down through a series of communities metamorphosed from the human to the bestial, as if through Circe's black magic (l. 42).2 The Arno's known course clearly identifies these unnamed locales, each symbolized by a more unpleasant animal, from uncouth swine in the Casentino, to whining dogs in Arezzo, wolves in Florence, and in Pisa cheating foxes (ll. 43–54). Confirming the explicit moral allegory of the bestial imagery, it has been noted since the early commentaries that the Arno's 'maladetta e sventurata fossa' (l. 51) follows a scale of descending vices that matches the stratification of sin in Inferno, as it passes from swinish incontinence, through lupine force, to vulpine fraud.
As for the rivers of Hell itself, in Inferno xiv they too follow a downward flow that is figured as both physically and morally degenerative. The Phlegethon has a sufficiently sinister appearance, with its sulphurous, boiling similarity to the Bulicame, and waters red with blood. As Virgil explains, it forms part of a continuous system of four rivers flowing through Hell (ll. 115–20): the Styx, Acheron, Phlegethon, and Cocytus, all names borrowed from classical poetry, including Virgil's own Aeneid. As noted above, before the rivers are named, a long circumlocution explains their origin in the familiar earthly world, on Crete's Mount Ida (ll. 94–114). Yet although the locale and mechanics of the river system's source are earthly, they are also uncanny. The bloody waters of the Phlegethon have their source in another bodily fluid: the tears weeping from the statue of an Old Man, hidden in a cave on the island of Crete.
The tears flow not from the statue's eyes, but from wounds perforating its body, in a parody of the redemptive flow of blood from the wounds of Christ at the Crucifixion: 'Ciascuna parte, fuor che l'oro, è rotta / d'una fessura che lagrime goccia' (ll. 112–13).4 The image carries a reminder that all the pain of souls in Hell has its origins in their sinful actions on earth. Within a vertical reading, there is also a parallel between the weeping wounds of Inferno xiv's Cretan statue, producing the rivers of Hell, and the weeping, wounded eyes of Guido del Duca, who produces the polluted, infernal image of the Arno in Purgatorio xiv.
If the mountain island of Crete is the well-spring for Hell's rivers of pain, Dante will also provide a counter-balancing image in Purgatory of a mountain island where the Lethe rises with pristine Edenic origins, and produces consolation.
The continuous shifting movement of the flakes of fire, and of those sinners capable of motion, contrasts starkly with the immobility of this canto's only named sinner, Capaneus. Like the statue of the Old Man, Capaneus is gigantic in size;7 there is a compelling symmetry to the physical inertia of the two huge bodies that dominate the two halves of the canto. Capaneus retains violent energy in voice and thought, in spite of physical immobility. He shouts out defiantly persistent blasphemy, addressing the God of Dante's Christian universe with the pagan name of 'Giove' (l. 52).
Morally speaking, however, this vehemence is itself paralysed. There is a rigid continuity of rejection in the perfect rhetorical antithesis of his selfcondemnation: 'Qual io fui vivo, tal son morto' (l. 51). His physical immobility matches his internal, frozen determination to maintain rejection and contempt for God, never shifting from his stifling pride and rage.8 Both Capaneus's speech of defiance, and Virgil's forceful denunciation of his crimes, fill their dialogue with a vocabulary of sin and anger that closes the episode with expressions rhetorically opposite to the lyrical opening lines on snow and fire.
The fire imagery of Inferno xiv, like that of its rivers, can be matched with elements in a vertical partner canto, this time in Paradiso. Paradiso xiv offers exceptionally frequent references to light and fire: there are at least forty separate uses of the vocabulary of light in the canto, with words such as 'luce' used three times, 'raggio' four times, and 'lume' five times.10 Each of the canto's two planetary heavens is identified by a single atmospheric colour: intense brightness in the Sun, and flaming red in Mars. Against these light-filled backgrounds, the souls are perceived individually as single, more intensely glowing, sparks of light. Solomon tells how the lightning-bright intensity of the souls in their current state ('questo folgór che già ne cerchia', l. 55) will be kindled to greater intensity, like flame from coal, after the Last Judgement ('sì come carbon che fiamma rende', l. 52).11 Collectively, the flame-like spirits cluster into fixed forms that symbolically reveal something of each group's special virtues. In the Sun, the souls of the wise draw together around Dantepilgrim and Beatrice in circles. From one circle in canto x, to two in xii, and finally here in xiv a Trinitarian third, the souls flow into fixed geometrical forms that nonetheless leaves each of them a joyful freedom of movement, in a wheeling dance.
The triple repetition of Christ's name in self-rhyming sequence stresses the separateness of this momentary vision against the more continuous and meditative contemplation of the cross and its individual flame-like souls.