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Nite School Klik Are DJ Shadow and G Jones
Surprise! Bet you didn't see that one coming. Yes, the new Liquid Amber duo is comprised of label head and legendary turntablist DJ Shadow and up and coming bass music producer G Jones. The story of this union began once DJ Shadow began incorporating tracks from Saturate!, the label of Liquid Amber signee Bleep Bloop and G Jones, during his All Basses Covered Tour in 2012. During Shadow's performance at Emissions Festival in 2013, Shadow played out tracks by both Bleep Bloop and G Jones. After his set, a young man called to him saying "Hey man, you just played some of my music," and he introduced himself as Aaron Triggs, aka Bleep Bloop.
Triggs, who is good friends with G Jones, would be his and Shadow's connection. After Shadow sought out G Jones to open for him in 2013, Shadow became impressed with his Ableton skills, and decided to make their musical relationship more permanent with the formation of Nite School Klik. "Jones' real strong suit, in addition to putting beats together, is as an engineer," says Shadow. "It's one thing to understand music engineering, but it's another thing to execute it well."
G Jones talks about their musical direction, saying "We're trying to make something that sounds like cool, contemporary and heavy hitting bass music that's between genres. Something a bit more experimental — songs as opposed to DJ tracks." The avant-garde approach to their music can certainly be heard in the track that introduced the duo, "Posse." This is even more so in their newest work, "Nice Nightmares," which you can now stream and download via Stereoload. Check out the track, and watch for the official release of the full EP coming in June.
Filed Under: DJ Shadow, g jones, nite school klik
Categories: EDM News, Music

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Within the framework of the annual Malta International Music Festival and the Armenian Cultural Days in Malta, the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Serg Smbatyan pleased the Maltese audiences and guests with unforgettable musical compositions of world famous composers for 15 days in a row. The Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, which was the orchestra-resident of the festival, performed the symphonic cycle "Images from the Great Siege" by the composer-resident of the Malta International Music Festival Alexey Shor together with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor Sergey Smbatyan shared his impressions.
The VI Malta International Music Festival and the Armenian Cultural Days in Malta are assessed immensely positively, as the understanding of cultural ties seems to me a proof that we are able to represent our rich culture to the world.
Valletta, which is a cultural capital of Europe, is a very important platform for Armenia's self-expression in cultural terms. The culture of Armenia with such people as Peleshyan, Mansurian, Khachaturian Trio, Narek Hakhnazaryan has the right to be ambitious. It is very important that the Armenian Cultural Days were held in conjunction with the Malta International Music Festival, which is the largest in Europe in terms of the participation of super talented people.
The performances of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra in Malta were a success, which was highly appreciated by the listener, and most importantly, I know a few orchestras who could work at such a pace, not because they are not capable of it, but because there is no willingness to do so. I am proud that we have people in Armenia who are ready for such complicated tasks. This is not an end in itself, or a desire to prove something to someone, it is just about our interest. Each concert was held together with a talented musician who is insanely talented and communicating with him is a real pleasure.
Two orchestras on one stage during the performance of the symphonic cycle "Images from the Great Siege" sounds synthetically scary, but in reality, it is one big orchestra where musicians of two orchestras play. It is not easy to work with the two orchestras, and something done with enormous efforts is perceived with absolutely different emotions.


Today's newspapers were headlining traffic woes in Melbourne. CityLink has slowed to 20km/hour and so on, so on etc etc. Aside from the usual lament about freeways, I think the article raised some interesting statistics about transport in Melbourne, and how it's changed over time.
The data shows that public transport use increased by 4.5% in 2011-2012 compared to the previous year, and the increases have particularly come from increased bus use (up by 16%, whereas trams were up 4.5% and train use actually declined by 3.3%).
It's also great to see that bike use has increased by 33% since 2007 (6% per year on average). This is especially interesting in light of a recent piece by futurist Syd Mead, who reckons that bikes should not actually be taken seriously as a mode of transport for commutes.
"Today there is an almost messianic insistence that bicycles should be a part of the urban transit mix", which he describes as 'specious folly' (really misleading).
However, Bicycle Network Victoria's Jason den Hollander stated that ''Bikes compete well for commuting in terms of time, parking and cost".
Why are we so concerned with making it easier for cars? I went through the Plantastic archives and dug up Rupe's post 'Irritate Drivers - Create Great Cities?'.
Irritating motorists is clearly something our politicians are not game enough to do.
For more the bike-dissing futurist, check out the Urbanist Post, or straight to Mead's article.
Also, this link provides a useful comparison of modal share for Australian and international cities.


In 2003, 1,500 runners lined up to take on the first edition of the Cardiff Half Marathon. In 2018, the race has sold out in record time and will be hosting the inaugural Commonwealth Half Marathon Championships. 25,000 runners will flock to the streets of the Welsh capital for what has become Wales' largest mass participation event and the UK's 2nd largest half marathon.
So, what's changed over those 15 years? Cardiff and Wales in general has become a hub of sporting excellence in those years, hosting major sporting competitions not only including the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 2016, but the UEFA Champions League Final, Ryder Cup, an Ashes Test Match, Rugby World Cup games, stages of the Tour of Britain, Anthony Joshua bouts and much more. Cardiff is no longer a stranger to mass-participation and box office events, so it's no wonder the race has seen such rapid growth since 2003.
What about some of the best athletes to grace Cardiff? The UK's most successful distance runner, Mo Farah, who took on the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff in 2016, was just 20 years old in 2003 and yet to make any significant inroads into his senior career. In 15 years, he's won a huge 10 World and Olympic gold medals. Dewi Griffiths, who has enjoyed plenty of success at the Cardiff Half, was at U13 level in 2003! Cardiff legend and Tour De France victor Geraint Thomas was just 17 and would go on to win his first European track medal a year later. Fellow Whitchurch High pupils Gareth Bale and Sam Warburton were still in their early teens in 2003, before forging careers as two of the best in their business, earning Champions League and British Lions glory respectively!
Dewi Griffiths finishes Cardiff Half Marathon in 2017.
People are running more than in 2003, too! It's safe to say the running bug has bitten and that success likely falls at the feet of parkrun. Founded in 2004 when just 13 runners took on 5K in Bushy Park, Teddington, the weekly event has grown globally. It came to Wales and Cardiff in 2008 and celebrated its 10th anniversary in style last February with a record of nearly 1,200 runners taking part – making it the second largest parkrun in the UK.
Run 4 Wales, the event organisers behind the Cardiff Half Marathon, formed in 2012, taking over the race from founder Barnardo's before growing the event to exciting new heights including the staging of the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 2016.
Not only do 25,000 sign-up to run, but the number of people who line the streets of Cardiff to spectate is almost double that figure! In just 15 years, running has grown from a hobby for the few to an integral part of so many people's lifestyles – with the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic Games in part helping to drive people to get fit and maintain healthy lifestyles. We predict those numbers will just keep rising!
The social side of running has and is continuing to grow as running fever shows no sign of slowing up. You need not look further than the advances in technology and how they're influencing the behaviour and habits of the everyday runner. Since the first Cardiff Half Marathon in 2003 we've seen the introduction of the likes of Strava and Nike+ apps which equip runners with the ability to track their progress and interact with friends. As social media grows, so does the sport. We just love to let others know how we're getting on – and others love to see how we're getting on! There's trainer 'technology', too. Gone are the days of flat shoes and glove-fit trainers. Since 2003 and the dawn of the Cardiff Half Marathon, trainers have come on leaps and bounds – with a current preference for light, 'minimalist' shoes which mimic the real motion of the foot. There's GPS watches that can monitor our steps per day, detailed gait analysis, scientifically proven training supplements and a world of apps for basically anything you want – all things that just weren't around back in 2003. The world of running is bigger than anyone could imagine.
And then there's the devoted Cardiff Half runners, without whom we'd be nowhere. Andrew Roach, who has run the Cardiff Half Marathon every year since 2003, said: 'Having seen the event grow from a few thousand people to 25,000 has been amazing. I have always found the race to be very friendly and everyone seems to be willing to help each other get over the finish line.
Stuart Duff, another to have taken on almost every Cardiff Half since its humble beginnings, realised what an impact running had on managing his stress and keeping himself healthy. He said: 'I trained hard along the Taff and through the parks and set myself the goal of running it in under two hours.
It turns out a lot has happened in 15 years, but the Cardiff Half Marathon has remained a constant. Thank you to all our runners who have taken part and here's to the next 15 years!


Cells use unique spaces to organise the messaging that modifies their behaviour and respond to their environment. Our research looks at how one such space - the primary cilium - affects the way cells respond to inflammation.
Cells use unique spaces and machinery to organise the messaging that modifies their behaviour and their responses to their environment. Our research looks at how one such space, the primary cilium, and its associated machinery, coined the ciliome, affects the way cells behave in disease. Particularly we are interested in the context of pathological signalling downstream to 'inflammatory' stimuli.
The primary cilium is a singular organelle within cells. The cilium is about 1/5000th of a mm in width and has specialised trafficking. Despite being largely ignored for over a century we now know faulty ciliary function is behind a collection of human diseases. This research group investigates the wider context to the finding that ciliary trafficking regulates how some cells respond to inflammatory stimuli. We aim to understand how this happens; whether this is important in diseases and whether we can exploit cilia regulation of cell biology.
The primary cilium is a nanoscale cellular compartment assembled by the vast majority of cell types upon exit from the cell cycle. This compartment is as little as 1/10,000th of the total cell volume. Each cell usually elaborates a single primary cilium from the template of the mature centriole modified to become the basal body. The cilium therefore has an axonemal skeleton of 9+0 tubulin dimers. We now know cilia are associated with a collection of proteins including axonemal kinesin and dynein motors, intraflagellar transport proteins or IFTs and a collection of supporting proteins. In different cells different proteins are recruited to or accumulate in the cilium. These cilia-associated proteins have been coined the ciliome.
Although first discovered in the late 19th century, the cilium was largely ignored until an explosion of interest around the turn into the 21st century, when it was discovered that a number of human disorders, the ciliopathies, stem from mutations and dysfunction of proteins associated with the cilium or its activity. Cilia and the ciliome are now the subject of research investigating their roles in many cell and tissue types. Potentially ciliary dysfunction may be involved in the genesis and development of diseases beyond the ciliopathies. It is now established to regulate many signalling pathways and therefore is a nexus for tuning much cell biology.
One focus is a novel role for the primary cilium in transducing the response of cells to 'inflammatory' stimuli such as cytokines. Previous work has illuminated a relationship between the cytosolic signalling activated downstream to cytokines, ciliary architecture and the proteins that orchestrate ciliary trafficking. Primary cilia architecture and trafficking are altered by cytokines and the response of cells to cytokines is modified when ciliary trafficking is interfered with. This led to the hypothesis that the primary cilium plays a key role in the regulation of the cell response to cytokines and may be a potential point of exploitable regulation over pathogenic signalling. We now know that the ciliome fine tunes NFκκB signal dynamics and in doing so encodes signal complexity and context-dependent regulation.
The work seeks to establish the mechanism for ciliary influence over such signalling with a view to understanding this role in disease and/or exploiting this to modulate cell behaviour in a variety of contexts. Another related focus is studying the cilium in the neurons that innervate limbs investigating how cytokines change their sensitivity in the context of pain and non-canonical roles for ciliary proteins.
We are also investigating a novel link between the ciliome and the regulation of matrix homeostasis through influence over endocytosis dynamics. This work is identifying a putative axis between the cilium and matrix remodelling through receptor mediated endocytosis that is similarly disturbed in both disease and when ciliary proteins are perturbed. This is the focus of an Arthritis Research UK studentship.
The major current translational focus of this is towards osteoarthritis, a disease with an established inflammatory signalling component. Using a range of techniques from molecular biology through high and super-resolution microscopy through to pathogenesis models we aim also to fundamentally understand ciliary function in the context of the organisation of the cellular and tissue level response to pathological challenge. We are developing pre-clinical models to investigate the role of the ciliome in adult physiology, ageing and disease.
What is the post-natal and disease-relevant influence of the ciliome?
What is the molecular nature of the interaction between the ciliome and inflammatory signalling?
Are the cilium and associated proteins (ciliome) altered in diseases where inflammatory signalling is aberrant?
What is the role of the cilium in adult tissues of the joint and in osteoarthritis?
Can we exploit ciliary regulation of signalling?
How does ciliary traffic modulate broader cell signalling and biology?


text:
Chrissy Teigen Makes A Perfectly Timed Joke About Sleeping Through The Oscars
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Good morning! Are you also waking up this fine Monday and immediately trying to figure out everything you can about what is now (of course) being called #Envelopegate? If so, there's a good chance you're coming across quite a few jokes in addition to more serious news about just how that envelope made it into Warren Beatty's hands. One person getting in on the joking is Chrissy Teigen, whose tweet about missing the Oscars controversy is pretty much perfect.
Obviously, Teigen actually knows what's going on — how could you not? — but she's at once poking fun at the entire Best Picture situation and the photos of her dozing off during the ceremony. If you haven't seen, Teigen apparently took a quick nap on husband John Legend's shoulder at some point towards the end of the show and there is plenty of photo — and gif! — evidence.
The fact that she was uncharacteristically quiet on social media during the show paired with it being ~a thing~ that she was napping paired with everyone waking up this morning to talk about the Oscars and the infamous envelopes once more makes this a really excellently timed joke. Well done, Chrissy!
And here's some evidence of the napping:
Now, I do have to keep things in perspective. When it comes to Chrissy tweets, "John when you tell him he looks like Arthur" is still in the number one spot.


AILA holds a regular meeting with the Department of State's Charlie Oppenheim, who is the DOS' chief for producing the Visa Bulletin. MU Law has spoken with Mr. Oppenheim several times in the past and have always found that his projections are well thought out and very accurate.
India EB-2. Mr. Oppenheim suggests that India EB-2 may slightly progress in the first-half of 2015. Historically the Visa Office has waited until the summer to advance the India EB-2 date.
China EB-3. China EB-3 is expected to continue to advance since demand has not yet been exceptional. However, as more and more China EB-2 applicants "downgrade" their Application to EB-2, advancement will slow.
President Obama's Recent Executive Action. The Visa Office reminds users that the President's Executive Action is not expected to have any impact on the Visa Bulletin. While the Executive Action suggests that Adjustment of Status applications will be able to be filed much earlier in the green card process, these "pre-filings" will not impact the priority dates.
When people here in USA with approved I-140 can file for I-485 and EAD?
Hi Sanj- No news at this time. I do not expect to announce anything until mid-2015.
Did Mr.Oppenheim mention China EB-2 as well?
Hi Mao - Only in the context of the EB3 dates. He did not offer a projection on China EB-2 itself, other than he expects it to continue to lag behind EB-3 for the foreseeable future.


It's when we embrace our fears that we can let them go. These three meditations will help you walk right up to your fear and look it in the eyes. They will support you as you learn about your fear and wrap you in peace as you fill yourself with pure powerful thoughts that simply replace fearful ones. Take the journey and free yourself.


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La peste americana (Histolysis infectiosa perniciosa larvae apium, Pestis americana larvae apium) è una malattia della covata delle api causata dal bacillo Paenibacillus larvae. È una delle malattie più gravi in apicoltura tanto che l'unica pratica di cura considerata sicura è l'incenerimento delle api con tutto il materiale che conteneva la famiglia. Si deve ritenere che la malattia non costituisca pericolo per la salute umana.

In Italia è una delle cinque malattie che colpiscono le api soggette all'obbligo di denuncia all'autorità sanitaria locale competente, secondo quanto disposto dalle vigenti normative di polizia veterinaria.

Eziologia
La peste americana è una malattia batterica causata da Paenibacillus larvae (White, 1906), un bacillo di forma simile a un fagiolo, lungo 2,5-5 micron e largo 0,4-0,8 micron, e munito di flagelli che utilizza come organo di locomozione. Possiede la caratteristica peculiare di produrre endospore estremamente resistenti al calore (si distruggono dopo 30 minuti a 100 °C e dopo 15 minuti a 120 °C), ai disinfettanti chimici, cloro, radiazioni UV (20 minuti), iodati e acqua calda con qualunque additivo.
Le spore, molto resistenti, sono di forma ovoidale, brillanti, si colorano solo nella parte periferica e sopravvivono fino a 40 anni in condizioni normali, anche se la vitalità tende a diminuire nel tempo.

La malattia colpisce la covata allo stato larvale e non causa alcun danno all'ape adulta. La larva si infetta ingerendo le spore di Paenibacillus larvae per mezzo delle api nutrici. Queste ultime infatti, nel liberare l'alveare dalle larve morte, contaminano le loro appendici boccali con le spore contribuendo a distribuirle per tutta la colonia e svolgendo, quindi, un ruolo determinante nella diffusione della malattia.

La germinazione delle spore e la loro trasformazione in bacilli si ha tra le 24 e le 48 ore dal momento in cui sono penetrate nell'intestino delle larve.

I batteri non possono attraversare la parete intestinale fino a che la larva si converte in propupa.
Quando ciò avviene, i batteri si legano all'emolinfa e proliferano moltiplicandosi in modo rapidissimo fino a uccidere l'ospite.
La larva si secca all'interno della cella, generando una sacca dalla quale possono uscire fino a 2,5 miliardi di spore.
Le larve di meno di 24 ore necessitano di sole 6 spore per venire infettate mentre quelle di tre giorni devono ingerire milioni di spore per contrarre la malattia, trascorso tale periodo ne restano difficilmente infette.

Le larve di ape regina sono più soggette all'infezione rispetto a quelle di ape operaia, e queste ultime più di quelle dei fuchi.

Sintomatologia

Quando la malattia si presenta, le celle degli alveari dove si trova la prole si inumidiscono e diventano più scuri, per poi infossarsi. È a questo punto che le api cominciano a sforacchiare le celle, nel tentativo di eliminare i resti larvali (tentativo che avrà luogo solo a quasi completa essiccazione della larva). Le larve morte acquisiscono un colore castano-bruno, consistenza gommosa ed emanano un odore sgradevolmente acre (putrefazione). Questo odore è caratteristico, e l'apicoltore esperto lo riconosce.

Se si introduce un bastoncino nella cella, vi rimane un residuo marroncino come di fibra viscosa, che si stira fino a 4 cm (prova del "filante"). Queste sono le larve morte da alcuni giorni, e sono spesso uno dei segni inconfutabili della presenza dell'infezione.
Dopo un po' di tempo la larva si secca, formando una scaglia che aderisce fortemente alla parete della cella.

Diffusione

La malattia si propaga agli alveari dell'apiario tramite la deriva, il saccheggio o pratiche errate dell'apicoltore, in particolare:

 Alimentazione con miele e polline.  Se il miele o il polline sono contaminati da spore di  Paenibacillus larvae la covata può contrarre l'infezione, per questo è fortemente sconsigliato l'utilizzo di alimenti di origine ignota o dubbia (se il favo da cui hanno origine miele e polline non ha mai ospitato covata, pur trovandosi in un alveare infetto, il rischio è nullo. Molto spesso tali dicerie vengono diffuse dai rivenditori di materiale apistico, specie riguardo alle linee di smielatura, per incentivare l'acquisto individuale anziché lo sviluppo di cooperative).
 Sostituzione dei telaini da una famiglia all'altra. È necessario ispezionare bene i telaini prima di formare nuovi nuclei o riunire due famiglie.
 Profilassi dell'apicoltore. Se l'apicoltore è venuto a contatto con alveari infetti di peste americana è necessario disinfettare accuratamente tutti gli strumenti contaminati: leve, guanti, tuta, affumicatore.

Diagnosi

Metodo rapido o da campo. Detto test di Holst viene effettuato ponendo un residuo di larva sospetta in una fiala in cui si introducono alcune gocce di una soluzione di latte scremato in polvere all'1% (circa 4 ml). Posta ad una temperatura costante di 37 °C il test è positivo se la soluzione chiarifica in 10-20 minuti.

Metodo immunoezimatico: è disponibile un kit commerciale per la diagnosi rapida di peste americana (1-3 minuti) validato dal National Bee Unit of the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA), York e altri istituti internazionali.

Altri sintomi caratteristici
Larve morte di colore marrone e consistenza gommosa: inserendo uno stecchino all'interno della cella, se colpite da peste americana, le larve fileranno come chewing-gum.
Quando le larve morte iniziano a decomporsi emanano un forte odore caratteristico, definito da alcuni come odore di colla da falegname o colla di pesce.
La covata non è distribuita uniformemente in modo compatto; alcune celle si presentano infossate, con gli opercoli bucati dalle operaie nel tentativo di estrarre le larve morte. Solo dopo la quasi completa essiccazione le api operaie procedono con la pulizia delle celle.

Trattamento

L'efficacia del trattamento con chemioterapici è molto variabile: i risultati dipendono dal grado di infezione della famiglia, dall'abilità dell'apicoltore, da numerosi fattori naturali e dalla forza della famiglia. Occorre sottolineare che gli antibiotici hanno effetto sulla sola forma vegetativa di Paenibacillus larvae e non sulle spore, rendendo solo apparente la guarigione.

L'uso scorretto degli antibiotici ha messo in evidenza il grave problema dell'antibiotico-resistenza, che ha reso necessario l'utilizzo di chemioterapici sempre più potenti e specifici. Inoltre tali farmaci eliminano, di fatto, solo i sintomi della malattia tenendola latente. Questo costringe a non interrompere mai la profilassi la cui sospensione permetterebbe la recrudescenza della peste.

Ricordando che l'uso degli antibiotici per la cura delle api è severamente vietato in tutta l'Unione Europea, si segnalano gli antibiotici maggiormente usati nel resto del mondo:
 Ossitetraciclina è efficace contro Paenibacillus larvae: si utilizzano circa 1,20 grammi per 5 litri di sciroppo per colonia infetta. Dosi superiori sono tossiche per le api.
 Sulfatiazolo Può lasciare residui nel miele anche dopo lungo tempo di sospensione.  Si sono riscontrati numerosi ceppi di Paenibacillus larvae resistente al sulfatiazolo in Argentina.
 Tilosina è un antibiotico di uso comune in apicoltura, ha eccellenti risultati in dosi di 1,5 g di principio attivo per colonia, somministrato tramite candito

Unico metodo di lotta naturale conosciuto è la messa a sciame o cura famis. Consiste nel trasferimento di tutte le api in una nuova arnia con abbandono di tutta la covata che andrà invece bruciata (Lo stesso vale per i telaini che hanno in passato ospitato covata anche una volta soltanto). L'arnia potrà essere recuperata previa sterilizzazione. Le api, senza nutrimento artificiale per almeno cinque giorni, saranno costrette a consumare tutte le scorte contaminate immagazzinate nella borsa melaria. Per migliorare le probabilità di successo è possibile togliere la regina (che potrà essere riutilizzata in un'altra famiglia) prima di effettuare la pratica; ciò stimola le api operaie ad allevare una regina con caratteristiche sanitarie migliori rispetto a quella precedente, trovandosi in una situazione avversa. 25-30 giorni dopo, una volta che le api avranno allevato la loro regina naturale, si potrà procedere con la messa a sciame. Considerando però la non eccezionale probabilità di successo, il costo elevato del materiale da sacrificare, il valore dello sciame nudo oltre al rischio di diffusione della malattia in caso di reinfestazione la distruzione col fuoco rimane ancora la pratica da consigliare.

Profilassi

 Distruzione con fuoco della colonia contaminata.
 Sterilizzazione del materiale contaminato
 Sterilizzazione con fiamma fino all'annerimento delle pareti.
 Sterilizzazione per immersione dell'arnia in paraffina bollente a 130 - 160 °C.
 Sterilizzazione in autoclave a 121 °C e 2 atmosfere di pressione per 30 minuti.
Sterilizzazione per immersione dell'arnia in una soluzione di soda caustica bollente al 10 % per 10 minuti. Un'altra soluzione, ma meno efficace, è l'immersione dell'arnia in una soluzione di ipoclorito di sodio (candeggina) all'1% per almeno 15 minuti.
 Sterilizzazione tramite radiazioni.

Voci correlate
 Apicoltura
 Apis mellifera

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

Avversità delle api

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


James Cameron left an indelible mark on the summer of 1991. Terminator 2: Judgment Day effectively transitioned his skillset to the realm of mega-budget blockbusters. As it set up a benevolent dictatorship at American multiplexes, Cameron offered moviegoers another, even more potent shot of adrenaline. This time he merely served as producer while someone else administered the injection. He vacated the director's chair for his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow, who proceeded to make a "guy movie" better than any guy could have made it. Though her genius would be roundly dismissed at the time, it would be recognized 18 years later when filtered through the conventions of the modern war film. Its 1991 incarnation was fittingly titled Point Break.
After a knee injury prematurely ends his college football career, Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) finds solace within the F.B.I's bank robbery division as a special agent. He is stationed in Southern California and partnered up with Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey) a grizzled vet whose slovenly appearance hides a wealth of razor sharp instincts and valuable experience. The two are put on the trail of the Ex-Presidents, a crew of bank robbers who are the very model of brazenness and precision. They also happen to be surfers. Utah goes undercover into the world of surfing in hopes of seeking out and capturing his prey. In the process he finds an unlikely mentor and kindred spirit in the Ex-President's leader, Bodhi (Patrick Swayze).
Kathryn Bigelow made a couple of distinct genre pictures in the 1980's. Near Dark was a western in vampire clothing, while Blue Steel allowed scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis to don a badge and gun. Bigelow specialized in action flicks that had a bit more going on beneath the surface than one would suspect. For the most part, they came and went at the Box Office, only to find a new life on home video and cable. Point Break would fare a bit better, since stars Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze both carried a considerable cache with the youth demographic of the time.
Just as in Near Dark, Bigelow again zeroed in on a nomadic outlaw culture. This time, her subjects were bank robbing surfers. The protagonist, Johnny Utah, was fearless and instinctual. Both traits severed him well, but they were short circuited by youthful ignorance and shortsightedness. Bodhi possesses that same fearlessness, as well as an arrogant disdain for polite society. He and his gaggle of surfer dudes function more like a biker gang, sans the mean-spiritedness and modern day cowboy swagger.
Point Break is rife with pseudo-spiritual subtext. Bodhi's name is derived from the term Bodhisattva, which is an enlightened being who walks among mere mortals in order to help them achieve that same enlightenment. Bodhi is actually a functional 'adrenaline junkie.' His Buddhist pretensions allow him and his running buddies to indulge in all manner of extreme extracurricular activities. He senses those same tendencies in Utah, and begins reeling him in.
The spiritual subtext and the films dialogue have been the subject of much derision and "ironic love" at the hands of fans. Much of that is due to the ludicrously staged yet undeniably thrilling set pieces which involve skydiving, shootouts, and an extended foot chase. Like the films characters, Bigelow dives in head first. The action is in the Peckinpah/Hill tradition, with squibs bursting into liquid burgundy fireworks. The spiritualism is played completely straight, which invited snickers from the pseudo intellectuals in the audience. I'd like to think that the peanut gallery merely mistook the films sincerity for stupidity.
Point Break endured both mixed reviews and the onslaught of Terminator 2: Judgment Day to eke out a solid box office gross of 83 million dollars worldwide. Though The Hurt Locker would provide a much more disciplined and sobering look at adrenaline addiction, Kathryn Bigelow's fascination with that particular ailment begins here. Action movies are all about appeasing the jones that Point Break examines, but comes to no real conclusion about. Though it doesn't quite achieve the nirvana it seeks, it's still an example of the kind of film Michael Bay might do if he actually had a brain or a heart. Rest in peace Bodhi, and Happy Birthday Johnny Utah.


text:
#include "webrtc/modules/video_capture/video_capture_factory.h"

#include "webrtc/modules/video_capture/video_capture_impl.h"

namespace webrtc
{

VideoCaptureModule* VideoCaptureFactory::Create(const int32_t id,
    const char* deviceUniqueIdUTF8) {
#if defined(ANDROID)
  return nullptr;
#else
  return videocapturemodule::VideoCaptureImpl::Create(id, deviceUniqueIdUTF8);
#endif
}

VideoCaptureModule* VideoCaptureFactory::Create(const int32_t id,
    VideoCaptureExternal*& externalCapture) {
  return videocapturemodule::VideoCaptureImpl::Create(id, externalCapture);
}

VideoCaptureModule::DeviceInfo* VideoCaptureFactory::CreateDeviceInfo(
    const int32_t id) {
#if defined(ANDROID)
  return nullptr;
#else
  return videocapturemodule::VideoCaptureImpl::CreateDeviceInfo(id);
#endif
}

}  // namespace webrtc

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Halston Sleets
A native of Saint Paul, Halston attended Tuskegee University, a Historically Black College and University in Tuskegee, Alabama where she received a B.S in Environmental Science, Plant and Soil Science with a concentration in Natural Resource Management.
Upon graduating from Tuskegee, Halston served as a Contract Management Specialist for the National Park Service in Denali National Park and Preserve, in Denali, Alaska. While in Denali, she worked on subsistence hunting policy reform with indigenous communities surrounding the Park.
Halston returned to Minnesota in early 2013 and began to work as a Planning Analyst for Hennepin County in the department of Environment and Energy. Most recently, Halston has begun a new role as the Senior Policy Aide for Environmental Justice and Sustainability to the Mayor of Minneapolis: Mayor Betsy Hodges.
Her new role includes advancing the Mayor's sustainability messaging and initiatives for city and continuing to build community around environmental justice issues in Minneapolis. Halston also serves on the MPCA's Environmental Justice Advisory Board, The environmental review advisory panel for the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board, and Rep. Keith Ellison's Environmental Justice Roundtable. Lastly, she has recently completed her Master's in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy from the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs.