text:
Arlene Goldbard
The Path of Questions: Art, Identity, and Inquiry
This is the text of a talk I gave on 24 October 2022 for the Alliance for Jewish Theatre 2022 Annual Conference. While it contains a number of specifically Jewish references, I hope it will be useful to anyone who has every been challenged about being enough in terms of identity or legitimacy. You can download a PDF here.
My husband's family is from Okinawa. Rick was brought up in Hawaii with Shinto heritage, and sent — much to his distress — to Catholic schools. He isn't Jewish, but he loves to take part with me in holiday celebrations, Shabbos gatherings, and Torah study.
We first met a decade ago. Not long after, he traveled with me to Philadelphia. I was then president of The Shalom Center, a multifaith peace and justice organization founded by Rabbi Arthur Waskow. The occasion was a benefit event celebrating two eightieth birthdays: Reb Arthur's and Gloria Steinem's. The night before, there was a gathering of friends at Arthur's house to celebrate his birthday and offer blessings.
Afterwards, I asked Rick how it felt to be there. "Great," he said. "Jews are so warm and welcoming!" I silently congratulated myself on my choice of friends. "They love to sing," he added, "and they don't care how it sounds!" Well, obviously, many of us do care, but I was glad that night for his generosity in the face of my own difficulty in carrying a tune.
As Rick has become more familiar with Jewish texts, practices, and ideas, people have asked him what draws him, what he likes about it. His answer is always the same. He came up in world of dogma where there's a right response to every query. "Questions," is what he always says. "Every question leads to another, and every answer to yet another." I feel the same. When people ask me why I practice, I usually respond with a question: How could I not love a tradition in which disputation is a form of worship?"
It's not just me. It's who we are. People of the book, to be sure, but not one book. We are just as much people of the inquiry, of the dialogue, of the passionate argument, of more than one way to look at anything. Probably my favorite passage from Pirke Avot (a tractate from the Mishnah containing rabbinic maxims and ethics) is 2:16: "It is not given you to complete the task, but neither may you desist from it." For me, that about sums it up.
That applies equally well to the practice of art as to spiritual inquiry. Many worthy aims are expressed through artmaking, but today, in this country, on this planet, the one that leads my list is to cultivate open, curious, and generous hearts and minds. I worry that too many of us are being lulled to sleep by what seem to be settled answers to questions that can never truly be settled. Waking up and staying awake is my personal aim, and I'm happy to prescribe it to anyone who asks.
I learned something about one way to do that years ago, when there was a tremendous controversy in schools about whether evolution ought to be taught as scientific fact or just one theory. Quite a few people wanted equal time for the idea that life on earth is only a few thousand years old, without humans descending from animal ancestors. Nowadays, of course, everything that can possibly be contested is wide-open for dispute. A little controversy over evolution may almost seem cute. But it wasn't.
I took to heart the advice some very smart people offered to teachers. If there are seemingly insoluble contradictions in what is being asserted, they said, if we are faced with two things that can't be true at the same time, the task is to teach the contradictions, something artists can also do by portraying questions and contradictions of great moment in these times, and inviting others to inquire deeply with you.
Jews have had excellent training in teaching the contradictions via that massive and ancient compilation of disputation, the Talmud, in which points are posited, analyzed, debated, and discussed by many commentators, after which still other commentators analyze the debate. It's a practice I'm guessing will go on as long as there are Jews. I'm no Talmudic scholar, but I really like the process, creating a patchwork quilt of questions and observations, shining light on both the hidden and revealed.
When I spoke to Willow Jade Norton about talking with you today, I asked her to give me an idea of the questions on people's minds. Now, I'd like to explore a couple of them.
Can you guess the first question Willow shared with me? She was fresh from an online gathering where it had been offered: Am I Jewish enough? Whether that pertains to an individual or to the work you are making, that question opens the door to many others. Three stand out for me:
Why is it being asked? What does the inquiry serve?
Who's judging?
How might the verdict affect you?
It's also a question with variations that travel far beyond the boundaries of Judaism. Am I Black enough? Am I Asian enough? Today we are hearing from Jews of color whose Jewishness has been questioned in predominately white spaces by folks whose opening gambit is "Were you born Jewish?" a question our tradition says never to ask. People of nearly every identity are presented with parallel questions.
Walk with me to another intersection in the busy traffic circle of identity: Can I call myself an artist? I often speak to groups of students in arts schools. Many of them have internalized the idea that rather than being a flatly descriptive term, like plumber or lawyer or counselor or cook, the word "artist" is aspirational. They've been convinced that you have to live up to it or earn it, and they doubt their own ability to succeed. I'm sure some people here today have felt that double whammy of their identity being questioned, both Jew and artist. For some, it's been triple or quadruple.
Consider how the question of being something enough can be turned to political ends. How often have we heard it said, mostly by white supremacists, that someone is not "a real American" on account of political positions, immigration status, race, religion, and so on?
So why are these questions asked? What is being served?
The simplest answer is that people sometimes want to exclude or degrade others, for reasons that often fortify their own sense of entitlement to judge. If I'm just fine with questioning your legitimacy as a Jew, surely no one can question mine. I am right where I belong, in the gatekeeper's seat.
Gatekeepers thrive in a world of scarcity. It's easy to see this functioning in artworlds. When everyone knows there aren't enough grants, awards, honors, fame, or accolades to go around, gatekeepers' power comes from being the ones authorized to say who's in and who's out. The systems they operate are conditioned on this truth although it is seldom stated outright. Most foundations, for instance, reject ten or more applicants for every grant they make. Don't get me started on the structures that sustain this system: I'll just say that the rules require them to spend a mere five percent of the market value of their assets each year on grantmaking and very few do more than that. Self-perpetuation and the glory that clothes it is more of a priority than supporting work, but you would not know that from these institutions' own words.
When the question is whether you or I are something enough, there is always the implication that others, the ones who are not being questioned, indisputably measure up. The act of separating the good enough from the not elevates the power and privilege of the questioner. No matter what is said about gatekeepers' reasons — to uphold the purity of the community, to set standards that prevent chaos, and on and on — Cui bono?/Who benefits? the question that the Roman statesman Cicero put forward more than two thousand years ago, still matters.
Who is judging?
Who feels authorized to question other Jews' (or other artists' or other people's) authenticity? In my experience, they are not seekers of multiple truths; they are the folks for whom the stability of the world rests on settled answers that put an end to inquiry, and they're often embraced by a community that shares that consensus. Sometimes they are also embedded in an official structure, as in communities where a senior rabbi adjudicates disputes and rules on what is permissible; or in an artworld in which obsequious deference is paid to a critic, curator, or artistic director.
A river of questions flows from these external sources of legitimacy, inviting you to explore your own conception of true authority. Does it come from position? From reputation? From accomplishment or expertise? In your own opinion, who is authorized to pronounce on your legitimacy? If you find yourself plagued by doubt about whether you are enough, I recommend listing your answers to these questions and taking time to interrogate how and why you have granted those you list this access to your autonomy.
Full disclosure here, I'm a big proponent of self-authorization. I believe all should have the right to consider questions that affect us, to offer criticism or praise, and to have a voice in democratic decisions. So if you ask who can judge me, I won't be naming names. But that's me. There are countless circumstances in which people willingly submit to an authority they truly respect. Another person might find my operating principle willful or self-regarding. What is your operating principle?
External authorities present the easiest challenge: you have the power to consider who feels entitled to judge you and decide for yourself whether you agree. But very often, the source is not literally external. The great Brazilian educator Paulo Freire introduced the concept of "internalization of the oppressor," whereby messages that make us smaller and weaker than we really are have been broadcast long and insistently enough that we come to mistake them for our own inner voices. Freire prescribed the antidote: cultivating critical consciousness, where a process of exploration and dialogue helps us learn to free ourselves from those messages, becoming active subjects in history rather than remaining the objects of those who benefit from keeping us pliant and passive.
Freire wrote in the twentieth century, but my favorite story illustrating this is from a much older source, Parshat Shelach (Numbers 13:1–15:41), in which spies are sent to scout the promised land. Instead of returning excited at the abundance they find, most are full of fear, speaking of giants. "We looked like grasshoppers to ourselves," they say, "and so we must have looked to them." Internalization of the oppressor.
It can be very hard to face challenges to your identity or to endure rejection and not wonder if these things actually do call the question of your legitimacy. To unmask internalization of the oppressor, inquire into the sources of your beliefs. Is there the image of a figure — a strictly observant Jew, say, or a writer, actor, or director you greatly admire — residing in your head, commenting on the sufficiency of your beliefs or behaviors, your skill, learning, or commitment? When did that gatekeeper show up? Where did you encounter the ideas that animate your resident gatekeeper? In light of what you now know, are those ideas true?
Despite what both internal and external gatekeepers may expect you to believe, whether or not you are an artist isn't a performance evaluation. It's a choice of work and identity that is yours to make. Others are free to criticize the results — you might conclude I'm a bad artist or a good one — but they cannot take away your right to choose unless you let them. Whether or not you are Jewish enough is a question between you and yourself. Perhaps after you let it swim around awhile in your mind, a new question will arise. What if you asked instead how you can best embody and express your Jewishness in your life and work? Might that suggest more possibilities? The best antidote to a self-flagellating question is a self-summoning one.
The second question Willow and I talked about may be familiar too: Is art enough to make a better world? Let's explore the same three inquiries:
So what does the inquiry serve?
The students I meet in arts majors are mostly desperate to matter. This desire often has two roots. The first is a beautiful thing, the durable impression made on young people by the experiences that set them on their course.
Can you remember the first time you sat in a theater seat and your whole being came into focus when the lights went down? Do you remember the aha! moment of understanding something new about who you are and what you want? If we don't forget it or allow it to be overshadowed by other concerns, the thrill of that galvanizing moment can last a lifetime. When they dream of their lives after graduation, these students imagine their own roles in opening the mysteries of story, empathy, mastery, beauty, and meaning to others.
The other root of their desire is pain. They may have had to fight hard to enroll in drama school, pushing against parents, counselors, and a general social attitude that trivializes art as mere decoration or entertainment, fine for those who like that sort of thing but not a grown-up way to make a living. How will you make a living, anyway? can be a constant refrain, and answers don't come easy. Like most of their friends, they are probably plugged into online news 24/7, where what the cognitive scientists call an "availability cascade" amplifies every blood-soaked or demoralizing story until the rest of reality is blotted out.
In the face of this pain, the students I meet want their art to enter people's lives, winding itself around their deepest questions, offering them reasons not to go to sleep, to keep the inquiry going.
What is being served by the legions of gatekeepers who scoff at the idea that art can fulfill these desires? They are serving a social order that treats life like a commodity instead of the ground of what Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel called "radical amazement," instead of a gift beyond price. Like the Borg on Star Trek, they want everyone to be assimilated into the system they've created. Questions just get in the way.
A decade ago, in my book The Culture of Possibility: Art, Artists & the Future, I dubbed this social order "Datastan," a place where value could only be counted, weighed, and measured, as if human lives were simply matter, like rocks and gasses. I wanted to live instead in "Storyland," where we all have our stories, where feelings, metaphors, and images add up to a larger and truer picture of lived reality. I encouraged everyone to ask what it would be like to give art and culture their real worth as the crucible in which our shared values and visions are forged. I invited them to consider how much poorer we are as a people when we dismiss them as frills, luxuries, and irrelevancies.
Sadly, the world wasn't transformed. We are embedded today in a society held hostage by people who put their own profits ahead of everything else, who have no trouble dismissing the harm they do to the rest of us as necessary collateral damage. They fear the impact too many questions may have on their dominance, calling out the emperor's nakedness. They represent polluting industries, corporations whose skyrocketing profits are achieved by exploiting workers and consumers, politicians for whom democracy is merely an impediment to their dominance, and every other species of self-regarding power.
What's so funny about this state of affairs is that it is grounded in an entirely untested assumption that is treated like fact: that any form of endeavor in and of itself is enough to make a better world. I'm amazed at the persistence of the default settings that treat certain policies and practices as successful simply because they are persistent and familiar. Consider the kind of teaching to the tests that has taken hold in many of our elementary and secondary schools. Datastan adores test scores because they are a closed loop: they measure what can be measured and pretend that says something ultimate about value. I love the way Einstein demolished that assertion: "Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts."
When people who have internalized Datastan's assumptions ask me for proof that art is enough to make a better world, I first answer with a question: where is the proof that any enterprise is enough to make a better world?
No single activity can transform collective behavior or reverse collective harm. To redirect a society — or even a single institution or policy — requires engaging people in all four worlds, physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. How we feel about climate moves the needle just as much as seeing the data that backs up scientists' observations. I could argue it matters more. How we hold the dignity of human life, our capacity for listening to and feeling with others, has just as much power to move us toward racial and gender justice as do statistics illustrating how social and economic structures promulgate inequality and injustice. So here's one tip: when people challenge you to prove the worthiness of your work, make sure they are applying the same criteria to their own, not simply skating on assumptions that have been in place so long they seem like truths.
How might the verdicts of these self-appointed judges affect you?
Making art in this society can feel like pushing a big rock uphill. Or maybe whiplash is a better metaphor. The labor, excitement, and satisfaction of realizing a vision onstage can be applauded and rewarded today, but tomorrow you may have to go back to the perpetual game of defense against those who don't respect or comprehend the power of art, or who just like using it for target practice. Fatigue, demoralization, depression — we've all seen them take their toll.
When a question cancels itself, my advice is to pick a new one. Who says art by itself has to be enough to make a better world? Is that really the criterion? Instead, try asking what can strengthen your art's role in the collaborative enterprise of repairing the world — or any other question grounded enough in reality to recognize your agency not as a solo world-saver, but as part of a larger reality.
Progressive activist C. Wright Mills wrote about the tendency to treat public issues as private troubles. When someone loses a job, instead of looking at structural changes in the field or policies that shape overall employment prospects, a typical response is to wonder what that person did to deserve being let go. This personalization of social issues is epidemic, and it speaks directly to the questions I've focused on this morning.
The dynamics at play in the smaller worlds of our communities, families, and individual lives are also always present in the big world of shared experience. If something in the spirit of the times is pressing you to question your legitimacy as a Jew or an artist, you can be sure others, even those with very different identities, are also feeling the pinch of self-doubt. If skeptical voices question the sufficiency of your effort in relation to the challenges you address, you can be sure others are hearing them too.
So here's a question truly worth pondering: what does it mean for our culture that so many people dedicated to making beauty and meaning, rooted in their own identities and histories, are agonizing over their right to do so? I'm not suggesting the goal is to be free of doubt. We've had a close-up nightmare in this country — and not only this country, as authoritarian regimes multiply — of the price we pay when unmoored certainty is in charge. So, yes, a little self-questioning can be a salubrious thing. I like the story told about Rabbi Simcha Bunim, who taught that every person should have two pockets. In one pocket should be a piece of paper saying: "I am but dust and ashes," words spoken by Abraham in Genesis. In the other pocket should be a piece of paper saying: "For my sake was the world created," which comes from the Babylonian Talmud. You titrate the dosage, reading one text when your ego swells, the other when life has you down. Neither truth cancels the other.
I have a new book coming out in January. Willow tells me she'll be sure to let you know about it. It's called In the Camp of Angels of Freedom: What Does It Mean to Be Educated? and it's something of a departure for me, given that my prior books have mostly been about cultural politics. This one is much more personal, with paintings, memoir, and essays animated by the heartbreak and anger I feel about the way social goods such as education are being converted to profit centers, at the disrespect meted out to those whose wisdom emanates from lived knowledge instead of credentialed expertise. My heart is fully in it, but it also feels risky.
Before my publisher sent the book to the printer, it was my job to collect blurbs for the cover and inside pages. I had to summon every ounce of chutzpah to send off my requests, hoping that people would like what they read. As the results came in, my husband remarked at the intensity of my surprise. It turned out that people not only liked it, they loved it! Rick asked me to explain my astonishment. I said that the process had made me understand something I hadn't fully realized before: that I had a lifelong habit of preparing myself for disappointment, to be misunderstood, dismissed, rebuffed. That bad habit is adopted as a defense against feeling so much pain if the worst happens, but all it actually does is make you pre-disappointed. It's like moaning about never winning the lottery while refusing to buy a ticket.
So I understand that it's human to feel daunted. But it's also possible to hear doubt as a summons to walk the path of questions in your own heart and mind, and to see your artmaking as an invitation to others to join you there. Just now, humanity is suffering greatly from excess credulousness. People believe all sorts of wild and wicked lies, and loud voices are exhorting us to join the club. Questions can disrupt the temptation to go along, to stop our ears with settled answers to questions that can never be settled. Questions can wake us up and keep us aware. Historically — perhaps even at a cellular level — Jews have always been training ourselves to walk the path of questions. Now our challenge is to choose questions that can awaken us to full radical amazement, lifting us from doubt to possibility.
"I Shall Be Released," Bob Dylan, The Band, and just about everyone else.
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Writer, painter, speaker, consultant activist. Learn more about arlenegoldbard.com.
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The 2018 USA Senior Cup Teams have been announced. This page will have links to Cup draws, links to daily blog posts, links to the individual draws once posted, links to photos and more. The Cups take place in Ulm-Neu Ulm Germany August 12-17 and the individual world seniors championships will take place the following week August 18-25 at the same location.


Here are some snazzy birthday facts about 30th of March 1980 that no one tells you about. Don't wait a minute longer and jump in using the content links below. Average read time of 10 minutes. Enjoy!
What day was my birthday Mar 30, 1980?
March 30, 1980 was a Sunday and it was the 90th day of the year 1980. It was the 13th Sunday of that year. The next time you can reuse your old 1980 calendar will be in 2036. Both calendars will be exactly the same! This is assuming you are not interested in the dates for Easter and other irregular holidays that are based on a lunisolar calendar.
There are 342 days left before your next birthday. You will be 40 years old when that day comes. There have been 14,268 days from the day you were born up to today. If you've been sleeping 8 hours daily since birth, then you have slept a total of 4,756 days or 13.02 years. You spent 33% of your life sleeping. Since night and day always follow each other, there were precisely 484 full moons after you were born up to this day. How many of them did you see? The next full moon that you can see will be on May 18 at 21:13:00 GMT – Saturday.
Fun stat: Your first one billion seconds (1,000,000,000) happened sometime on December 7, 2011.
If a dog named Tamara - a Yorkipoo breed, was born on the same date as you then it will be 176 dog years old today. A dog's first human year is equal to 15 dog years. Dogs age differently depending on breed and size. When you reach the age of 6 Tamara will be 40 dog years old. From that point forward a small-sized dog like Tamara will age 4 dog years for every human year.
One of the most important battles of the Dominican War of Independence from Haiti takes place near the city of Santiago de los Caballeros.
German Society of Chemistry issues an invitation to other national scientific organizations to appoint delegates to the International Committee on Atomic Weights.
Sultan Abd al-Hafid signs the Treaty of Fes, making Morocco a French protectorate.
A riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joins NATO.
The Yonge Street subway line opens in Toronto. It is the first subway in Canada.
The first Land Day protests are held in Israel/Palestine.
What does my birthday March 30, 1980 mean?
Your birthday numbers 3, 30, and 1980 reveal that your Life Path number is 6. It represents justice, nurturing and responsibility. You possess great compassion and seek to be of service to others.
The following celebrities also have the same life path number: Brian Bovell, Willie Dixon, Nastassja Kinski, J. D. Cannon, Rodney Jerkins, Shawn Christian, Amanda Peterson, Loretta Lynn, Gong Seung-yeon, Yumi Adachi.
What is the birthday horoscope for Mar 30, 1980?
The Western zodiac or sun sign of a person born on March 30 is Aries ♈ (The Ram) – a cardinal sign with Fire as Western element. The ruling planet is Mars – the planet of war and ambition. According to the ancient art of Chinese astrology (or Eastern zodiac), Monkey is the mythical animal and Metal is the Eastern element of a person born on March 30, 1980.
Fun fact: The birth flower for 30th March 1980 is Jonquil for affection.
What is the Love Match for Mar 30, 1980?
When it comes to love and relationship, you are most compatible with a person born on January 13, 1984. You have a Love Match compatibility score of +149. Imagine being in love with your soul mate. On the negative side, you are most incompatible with a person born on February 13, 1964. Your incompatibility score is -140. You'll be like a cat and a dog on a love-hate relationship. Arf-arf, I want to bite you. Meow-meow, stay away from me!
The number-one hit song in the U.S. at the day of your birth was Another Brick in the Wall, Part II by Pink Floyd as compiled by Billboard Hot 100 (April 5, 1980). Ask your parents if they know this popular song.
I do not know how you feel about this, but you were a female ♀ in your last earthly incarnation. You were born somewhere around the territory of Newfoundland approximately on 1200. Your profession was dancer, singer, actor.
How many babies were born on March 30, 1980?
Base on the data published by the United Nations Population Division, an estimated 125,148,676 babies were born throughout the world in the year 1980. The estimated number of babies born on 30th March 1980 is 341,936. That's equivalent to 237 babies every minute. Try to imagine if all of them are crying at the same time.
What is the popular baby name on 30 Mar 1980?
Here's a quick list of all the fun birthday facts about March 30, 1980. Celebrities, famous birthdays, historical events, and past life were excluded.
Try another birth date of someone you know or try the birthday of these celebrities: March 14, 1933 – Michael Caine, English actor and author; June 10, 1918 – Barry Morse, English-Canadian actor and director (d. 2008); March 4, 1946 – Haile Gerima, Ethiopian-American director and producer.


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The Sword in the Stone at Montesiepi
Barry Lillie |
We've all heard the story of King Arthur, his mythical kingdom of Camelot and the legendary sword in the stone, but in a Tuscan abbey, fact is stranger than fiction. For plunged into stone is a sword that could prove that the Arthurian myth originated in Italy.
The sword, of which only the hilt and an inch or two of blade is visible, is preserved at the Gothic abbey of San Galgano in the town of Montesiepi, 30 km (19 miles) from Siena. The ruined Cistercian abbey was originally built to honour Galgano Guidotti, a 12th-century Tuscan nobleman who, after seeing a vision of the Archangel, renounced a life of arrogance and lust and was later made a saint.
It is said that in recognition of his rejection of violence and war, he plunged his sword into the rock leaving only the hilt exposed, thus forming the shape of the Cross.
Born in Chiusdino in 1148, history tells us that Galgano Guidotti led an immoral life, until, at the age of 32, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to him. Galgano said he received an order from the 12 apostles to build a round chapel at Montesiepi and to retire there to live. His family were in the process of persuading him against the act when his horse took fright and bolted taking him the 9 km to Montesiepi, where the abbey was built.
Following his death in 1181, many pilgrims prayed for miracles and there were 19 such miracles attributed to him which resulted in the Church proclaiming him a Saint just four years later; the hastily undertaken canonisation process was presided over by Pope Lucius III.
There are many coincidences with this story and the legend of King Arthur and when you delve deeper, comparisons are easily made. For example, the novels dedicated to the legend name the first Knight as Galvano, who plays an important part in the decision to construct 'the round table'. The name closely resembles Galgano and, in the tales, the sword Excalibur often appears in the hands of Galvano.
The abbey has a round chapel that many scholars believe mirrors the table of Arthurian legend but more intriguing is the notion that the chapel is shaped like an upside down chalice, and testimonies tell of the existence of a book in stone that when interpreted will lead to an underground cavity at the chapel where the Holy Grail is hidden.
Whatever your belief, you cannot dispute that a connection exists between Galgano and King Arthur, perhaps one day we may discover that they are in fact the same person.
Getting there: San Galgano lies in the Val di Merse area, from Siena take the SS73, towards Massa Marittima and then follow the road signs. The abbey is open from 9:30 am - 5:30pm daily with the round chapel opening only in the mornings and evenings for devotion.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
HomeHealthIndia registers 72,330 new Covid cases, 459 deaths in last 24 hours
India registers 72,330 new Covid cases, 459 deaths in last 24 hours
The single-day rise in cases is the highest recorded since 11 October 2020, while the death toll increased to 1,62,927 with 459 new fatalities, the highest in around 116 days.
A healthcare worker checks test strips at a rapid-antigen methodology Covid-19 test site set-up on a platform at Dadar railway station in Mumbai on 31 March 31, 2021| Dhiraj Singh | Bloomberg
New Delhi: India saw 72,330 new coronavirus infections being reported in a span of 24 hours, the highest single day rise so far this year, taking the COVID-19 tally of cases to 1,22,21,665, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
The single-day rise in cases is the highest recorded since October 11, 2020, while the death toll increased to 1,62,927 with 459 daily new fatalities, the highest in around 116 days, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Registering a steady increase for the 22nd day in row, the active cases have increased to 5,84,055 comprising 4.78 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 93.89 per cent, the data stated.
As many as 74,383 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on October 11.
The active caseload was at its lowest at 1, 35,926 on February 12 comprising 1.25 per cent of the total infections.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,14,74,683. The case fatality rate has further has dropped to 1.33 per cent, the data stated.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
According to the ICMR, 24,47,98,621 samples have been tested up to March 31 with 11,25,681 samples being tested on Wednesday.


text:
require File.dirname(__FILE__) + "/../../spec_helper.rb"
require 'stringio'

describe "The RSpec reporter" do
  before(:each) do
    @error = mock("error")
    @error.stub!(:expectation_not_met?).and_return(false)
    @error.stub!(:pending_fixed?).and_return(false)
    @report_mgr = mock("report manager")
    @options = mock("options")
    @args = [@options, StringIO.new("")]
    @args.shift if Spec::VERSION::MAJOR == 1 && Spec::VERSION::MINOR < 1
    @fmt = CI::Reporter::RSpec.new *@args
    @fmt.report_manager = @report_mgr
    @formatter = mock("formatter")
    @fmt.formatter = @formatter
  end

  it "should use a progress bar formatter by default" do
    fmt = CI::Reporter::RSpec.new *@args
    fmt.formatter.should be_instance_of(Spec::Runner::Formatter::ProgressBarFormatter)
  end

  it "should use a specdoc formatter for RSpecDoc" do
    fmt = CI::Reporter::RSpecDoc.new *@args
    fmt.formatter.should be_instance_of(Spec::Runner::Formatter::SpecdocFormatter)
  end

  it "should create a test suite with one success, one failure, and one pending" do
    @report_mgr.should_receive(:write_report).and_return do |suite|
      suite.testcases.length.should == 3
      suite.testcases[0].should_not be_failure
      suite.testcases[0].should_not be_error
      suite.testcases[1].should be_error
      suite.testcases[2].name.should =~ /\(PENDING\)/
    end

    example_group = mock "example group"
    example_group.stub!(:description).and_return "A context"

    @formatter.should_receive(:start).with(3)
    @formatter.should_receive(:example_group_started).with(example_group)
    @formatter.should_receive(:example_started).exactly(3).times
    @formatter.should_receive(:example_passed).once
    @formatter.should_receive(:example_failed).once
    @formatter.should_receive(:example_pending).once
    @formatter.should_receive(:start_dump).once
    @formatter.should_receive(:dump_failure).once
    @formatter.should_receive(:dump_summary).once
    @formatter.should_receive(:dump_pending).once
    @formatter.should_receive(:close).once

    @fmt.start(3)
    @fmt.example_group_started(example_group)
    @fmt.example_started("should pass")
    @fmt.example_passed("should pass")
    @fmt.example_started("should fail")
    @fmt.example_failed("should fail", 1, @error)
    @fmt.example_started("should be pending")
    @fmt.example_pending("A context", "should be pending", "Not Yet Implemented")
    @fmt.start_dump
    @fmt.dump_failure(1, mock("failure"))
    @fmt.dump_summary(0.1, 3, 1, 1)
    @fmt.dump_pending
    @fmt.close
  end

  it "should support RSpec 1.0.8 #add_behavior" do
    @formatter.should_receive(:start)
    @formatter.should_receive(:add_behaviour).with("A context")
    @formatter.should_receive(:example_started).once
    @formatter.should_receive(:example_passed).once
    @formatter.should_receive(:dump_summary)
    @report_mgr.should_receive(:write_report)

    @fmt.start(2)
    @fmt.add_behaviour("A context")
    @fmt.example_started("should pass")
    @fmt.example_passed("should pass")
    @fmt.dump_summary(0.1, 1, 0, 0)
  end

  it "should use the example #description method when available" do
    group = mock "example group"
    group.stub!(:description).and_return "group description"
    example = mock "example"
    example.stub!(:description).and_return "should do something"

    @formatter.should_receive(:start)
    @formatter.should_receive(:example_group_started).with(group)
    @formatter.should_receive(:example_started).with(example).once
    @formatter.should_receive(:example_passed).once
    @formatter.should_receive(:dump_summary)
    @report_mgr.should_receive(:write_report).and_return do |suite|
      suite.testcases.last.name.should == "should do something"
    end

    @fmt.start(2)
    @fmt.example_group_started(group)
    @fmt.example_started(example)
    @fmt.example_passed(example)
    @fmt.dump_summary(0.1, 1, 0, 0)
  end

  it "should create a test suite with failure in before(:all)" do
    example_group = mock "example group"
    example_group.stub!(:description).and_return "A context"

    @formatter.should_receive(:start)
    @formatter.should_receive(:example_group_started).with(example_group)
    @formatter.should_receive(:example_started).once
    @formatter.should_receive(:example_failed).once
    @formatter.should_receive(:dump_summary)
    @report_mgr.should_receive(:write_report)

    @fmt.start(2)
    @fmt.example_group_started(example_group)
    @fmt.example_failed("should fail", 1, @error)
    @fmt.dump_summary(0.1, 1, 0, 0)
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


For companies in a variety of industries to reach their full potential, advanced technology needs to come into play. While implementing the latest solutions may once have been an option, this is no longer the case. In fact, enterprises that engage in IT planning to discover how to best utilize IT are likely to see major improvements, both internally and in terms of how well they compete in the market.
One of the most important tools for organizations today is cloud computing. Because it is cost-effective and offers many advantages in terms of productivity, leaders worldwide are migrating many of their IT systems to the cloud. But while it may have been apparent for some time that these technologies can be beneficial, it has not always been clear by what degree.
According to a recent study by Luth Research and Vanson Bourne for CA Technologies, enterprises that have deployed cloud solutions are achieving higher-quality results than they had originally anticipated. The report noted that most users feel their cloud solutions have "met or exceeded expectations" across models such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). Additionally, nearly all respondents – 98 percent – said these models met or surpassed their expectations in terms of security.
"Going in, we expected the results to be much more balanced between successes and challenges across a variety of deployments and service models," said John Michelsen, chief technology officer at CA Technologies. "Surprisingly, survey respondents were pleased with their cloud computing initiatives, which validates that the cloud is not just a fad, and instead they are focusing on making the most of it to drive innovation, speed and performance."
But this isn't the only example of the cloud proving its worth as an enterprise tool. The March 2013 MYOB Business Monitor discovered that among more than 1,000 small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), those that were using cloud computing solutions were 106 percent more likely to experience revenue boosts in 2012 than those that did not.
The study also suggested that companies may be funneling their stronger bottom lines into other useful initiatives. Fifty-two percent of respondents using the cloud asserted that they would place an increased focus on customer retention and acquisition strategies in the coming year, compared to only 34 percent of those that are not yet using the cloud. Additionally, 36 percent of cloud users said they would make more efforts toward adjusting prices and margins on products and services, while 33 percent would attempt to increase the number of products and services offered.
For firms that still may be apprehensive about how they can use more advanced solutions such as the cloud to gain a competitive edge, there are a wealth of options. For instance, with the help of virtualization consulting from IT experts, business leaders can develop greater insight into how they can make the cloud work for them.


Fifteen years ago, Sir Knight and I, and our (then) three children began an adventure. What we had intended to become a homesteading and farming adventure quickly became an off-grid, survival adventure instead. But what an adventure is has been!
While we were having tea the other morning, it occurred to me that our 15 year off-grid anniversary was upon us. As Sir Knight and I talked about all of the improvements we had made and the upgrades that were never to be, I mentioned to him that "normal" people don't live off-grid for 15 years. And then I realized that we didn't know anyone who had lived off-grid for 15 years! Over the years we have met many people who had lived off-grid, some, temporarily, while they were finishing their homes, and others who sought the independence of an off-grid life, only to tire of the hardship and choose grid power. Please don't get me wrong - in no way do I think we are superior for staying off the grid! No - there have been times I would have hooked up to the power grid in a heartbeat and never looked back! However, we have stayed the course and soldiered on. Our decision to remain off-grid has boiled down to sheer stubbornness mingled with a lack of better options. But really - 15 years is a long time to live off the grid!
In truth, we've had a 15 year education. We have learned what is necessary (a wood cook stove) and what isn't (a clothes dryer). We have learned what makes life easier (a washing machine) and what makes life more complicated (a television). We have learned to love the soft hissing sound of Coleman lanterns and appreciate the energy savings of LED light bulbs. We learned that electric refrigerators are REALLY noisy (which you can hear when there is no other electrically generated noise in your home) and electric ranges are almost IMMPOSSIBLE to cook on!
We truly have lived an off-grid adventure. Our children, with the exception of Maid Elizabeth, remember nothing but off-grid living. Miss Serenity doesn't remember a time when she didn't know how to change the oil in the generator. Princess Dragon Snack and Master Calvin have never lived in a house where you flush the toilet every time you use it. Master Hand Grenade has helped his dad move numerous 1300 pound batteries, install a wind turbine and troubleshoot the electrical system on an ancient 10KW military generator . The very first pie Maid Elizabeth created landed upside down in the wood cook stove oven. Miss Serenity learned to wash laundry in a tub on the same cook stove. Master Hand Grenade has hauled water, filled lamps and broken ice in stock tanks. Princess Dragon Snack asked (after we had batteries to run electric lights) if we could turn the "power" off and pretend to be off-grid. Master Calvin thinks everyone should have an outhouse.
From time to time, I think we must be nuts to live off-grid after all these years. It would be so much easier to run a freezer rather than can all of our meat. It would be wonderful to take a shower or bath or even flush the toilet without having to start the generator. It would be nice not to have to worry about our pipes freezing in the bathroom (the farthest room from the wood cook stove) or coming up with creative ways to thaw them when they do freeze. There are a lot of things that would be nice, if we had grid power.
But with the all convenience to be found in the power grid, I am grateful we have chosen to remain off-the-grid. Our lives have been enriched by the challenges and hardships presented by our lifestyle. We have learned how to live a simple yet rich life. We have become masters of invention and purveyors of ingenuity. We are intimately connected with life. And that has made every minute of our off-grid years worth their weight in gold.
You and your family are great mentors to many people learning the process of homesteading and living off the grid. Thank you for sharing your experiences and learning to all of your blogger friends.
thank you so much for all your postings!
I have a great deal of respect for you.
Congratulations on sticking with it; many people have tried off-grid and given up, or not even tried because of the challenges. Do you have plans you can share with us as to where you see your family going int he future?
I applaud you for instilling in your children the ability to know more than video games and TV. They will make the kind of adults who can handle themselves, no matter what comes down the pike. If society would only look into your world, and learn to appreciate what you have, they would be much better off.
Wow, that is truly amazing!!! Props for pushing through! I'm not familiar with what it takes to live off-grid but I do know what it is like to live without electricity for days/weeks. Dealing with no hot water, no running water, using a kerosene cooker, using candles and kerosene lanterns when its dark, no vacuum cleaner, using a broom similar to a broomstick to clean, no television, no trash collector, etc. Not fun but you manage.
Beautiful post. I loved you saying that TV complicates things. In more ways than one. I admire you and your family so much.
Grand post. Your children are blest to have such brilliant parents. May I ask what kind of refrigerator you use. We would like to get one that is off grid. Thank you.
Once you get used to it, it's normal. You have power, heat,and light during storms, and you're not dependent on the flow of electrons from somewhere else..and the intricate infrastructure that delivers it. People got along without the idiot box and video games for millenia-and it can still be done. Books are wonderful things. LED bulbs are great-life measured in thousands of hours, and I now light my entire house and garage on fewer watts than originally lit the kitchen. Buy LED replacement bulbs for your flashlights-battery life will be measured in days..
I lived off grid for nearly a year. I found it to be peaceful. The part of the grid I missed most was running water. I moved to the mountains in another state and it was already on grid. I think 840 square feet are too much for me alone. I liked my 660 sf open cabin. Still, the eternal mountains are wonderful and I love my Food Forest.
Congratulations and well said! I half expected you to say that for your 15th anniversary off-grid you were getting electricity hooked up! LOL.
Wow, what an accomplishment. Not sure we could pull that off with out it being forced on us by circumstances. In reading your post, I commented to my wife how much I love the nicknames you have for each of your family members. Sometime would you take a post to tell us all the stories of how each earned their moniker. Thanks again for your blog, I look forward to reading it each time.
Your family is living, really, "the good life!"
Even though some (most) of us are still "on-grid" I find its good practice to have as little to do with being "on-grid" as possible. By cutting down as much as possible on electricity, technology, etc. it's just a good practice when we have to do without altogether. Your family is already there.
NOT using the dryer but hanging clothes outdoors in the warm sunlight (when there are no chem-trails streaking across the once blue skies) is a real blessing. And the sheets and clothes smell fresher. The electric bill goes way down. Turning off unneeded lights when not in the room, is also a cost saver. There are many ways to live a simpler and better life.
Spending nights using candles we've made ourselves warms the room with its glowing ambiance. Even the fire-starters we've made with empty toilet paper rolls stuffed with their own packaging paper and waxed, or the waxed pine cones from our trees really gets the fire off to a good start to heat the house in the fireplace or wood-burner stove. And NOT have to turn on the heater, (which when its 15 degrees outdoors can never comfortably warm the inside) Burning junk mail instead of putting it in the land fill helps when its time to fertilize the garden with the ashes.
However, some things we can't seem to e able to get away from that are truly hazardous to our health.
All the "modern conveniences" which pollute the air, the skies and cause severe human, animal and plant health issues with higher and higher electro-magnetic frequencies from the many nearby cell towers and huge 200 feet tall electric masts are hard to escape from.
When family members come over, I have them turn off their "smart" phones and put them in a basket, or leave them in their cars. They are such a distraction, especially at family time. I am rebelling against such addictive distractions that take time away from family and from God.
Enola your family is very, very blessed to be living such a wonderful life. You are leaving you children a wondrous legacy for generations to come.
I have a dear, long time friend who is a former elementary school teacher and in her nearby cities, the schools cannot even get substitute teachers to fill in because the kids are totally UN-manageable, A very sad commentary on a nation that has so much but is very UN-grateful. And UN-Godly.


If you are anything like me, you don't really know exactly what to get for your dad on Father's Day, so you usually do 1 of 2 things. The first and usually most simple is to buy him a gift card to his favorite hardware store because everyone needs something from time to time for there home right? The second is you think about what you might like, and since you are a guy also, you go ahead and get that for him, hoping he likes it as much as you would have.
If you are a woman, the scenario is likely the same, except you probably ask your husband, boyfriend, brother, or a close guy friend you have and get him that.
Booze are Almost Always a Safe Bet!
My Favorite Bourbon – I like bourbon and scotch and have tried dozens of each. As far as bourbon goes I think the Bulleit is one of the best, it is certainly my favorite. Awarded a Double Gold Medal and named the Best Straight Bourbon in the 2018 San Francisco Spirits Awards, Bulleit Barrel Strength is a whiskey un-cut and unfiltered.
A Gift Box For any Man – There is a new gift box company out there called The Bro Basket and they have just about any kind of gift box that a man might want. As a whiskey guy I particularly liked The Ultimate Whiskey Sampler. It has some of my favorite whiskeys and I do like to mix it up, so this is one was perfect. Remember, there is much more than just whiskey in these baskets, so check it out.
Watershed: the nose opens with strong vanilla and sweet fruit notes followed by hints of grain. Black pepper rises on the pallet, overtaken by vanilla fudge and just a trace of raisins. The smooth finish of Watershed is warm and comforting, just like honey on warm buttered toast.
Knockmealdowns: The nose opens with fresh oak, and develops into hot caramel sauce with notes of chocolate and vanilla. The pallet is light and smooth – sweet honey cut through with citrus notes, then becomes savory and peppery. The finish lingers, oaky with drying tannins and just a touch of ginger spice.
A Great Wine Is Always Appropriate – I am particularly fond of red wines, so of course my recommendation would be for a great red with some spicy notes and ripe dark grapes consisting of Tempranillo/ Graciano/ Mazuelo. This is the first I have come across this particular wine and grape blend and I am very excited about it. At the end of the day, the Marques De Riscal Reserva is a perfect gift.
It seems Rum is underrated – With everything I see on TV about whiskey or vodka, it seems like Rum is the stepchild of the alcohol world, with the exception of Captain Morgan of course. But there are a lot of other Rums out there and the Dos Ron 8 year Rum is a great one that would be a welcomed surprise.
I Love my Cold Beer – I have been wanting to get my hands on the Growler Werks uKeg for some time now and finally did. Cold beer is a must in the dead heat of the summer, so why not make it convenient and fun with the uKeg.
Is He into Sports or an Outdoorsman?
Electric Football – What guy does not love a little bit of nostalgia? I know I like to see the old Pacman arcade game or the old Tecmo Bowl video game in a restaurant. Why not give home the old Electric Football game he used to play 30 years ago?
Lucky Tackle Box – I recently came across a new idea, or maybe I just have not seen it yet, either way, there is a company called Lucky Tackle Box that sends out a monthly box of fishing bait and lures. They are supposed to be 40% cheaper than buying them in normal retail.
You can select the type of fishing he prefers so that the contents are actually something he would want, and then on top of that, you can buy a 1-time multi-month gift so you don't have to worry about canceling. This is a no-brainer for the fisherman fathers out there.
Thermacell Radius – I love to just be outside. I can sit in the patio chair for hours reading, working, watching the kids, or having a great cigar and scotch, but I cannot stand the mosquitos. Truth is, they like my wife better so it is not a big deal for me:) But, since they are annoying pests and prevent us from spending as much time outdoors as we sometimes would like, Thermacell has come up with the fancy little rechargeable mosquito repellant that is good for up to 110 square feet, which is more than enough for a few people hanging out together on the patio or around the campfire.
Mynt Cordless Portable 3D Neck & Shoulder Massager with Heat – The days of stopping at my local mall's Sharper Image store to shamelessly hog the full body massage chairs are over with plenty of portable massagers available for reasonable prices. One of which comes from Mynt and can also be bought on Amazon.
I have been taking advantage of the 8 shiatsu node neck and shoulder massager after waking up, after workouts, and before bed for around fifteen minutes each session. The Mynt massager is convenient to use whether in bed, on the couch, or sitting at my desk primarily because of the 'lift' design that gives me extra support. After a few days of using it I was able to adjust the heat, rotation and speed to my personal preference.
Most Men I Know Love Unique Socks – The only thing better than great socks is great socks that are made in America. The best part is, these socks do not even carry a premium compared to other socks that are made in God knows where and preserved with God knows what chemicals.
My Dad Never has Enough T-shirts – I love a good t-shirt, especially one that says exactly what I am thinking as winter is finally coming to an end. Tipsy Elves has a lot of great products, but the perfect one for a Father's Day gift is the Make America Grill Again shirt.
A Jacket for Any Occasion – While the summer time is not the ideal time to purchase a jacket because of the weather, it is a great time to get good deals on jackets. I happen to think the Linen Safari Jacket is a great jacket that can be used for casual situations as well as a nice dinner.
A Shirt if You Decided to Order all of the Drinks Above – If you are like me, sometimes your dad has one too many drinks, and sometimes that results in one too many spills of red wine or whiskey on the new shirt, or white, it always happens when wearing white. The Lotushirt is designed for him then and there is no longer any worry about a little spill since everything just rolls right on off and it still looks as good as new.


text:
PakistanTop News
RAW splashed $500 million to sabotage CPEC, reveals Pakistan's top general
Haider Ali 02:17 PM | 14 Nov, 2017
ISLAMABAD - Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Zubair Mehmood Hayat has revealed on Tuesday that the Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) established a special cell at a cost of $500 million to sabotage the China Pakistan Economic Corridor project.
Addressing a conference organsied by Islamabad Policy Research Institute, the top general said that India was stoking chaos and anarchy in the region.
Claiming that Islamabad will maintain a minimum nuclear deterrence in the context of current regional situation, General Zubair said New Delhi was also fanning terrorism in Balochistan.
The official stressed the need to resolve the longstanding Kashmir dispute which, he said, was vital for durable peace in the region.
'Kashmir issue is the harbinger of a nuclear war in the region,' he declared and added better relations with India passes through Kashmir and there is no bypass.
The general said so far, India martyred 1,000 Pakistani citizens and 300 soldiers and violated the ceasefire for more than 1,200 times.
'These moves of India can result in a major war at any time,' General Zubair said.
Commenting on the issue of Afghanistan, General Zubair said the country is a gateway to Asia, which is why instability there is perilous for the entire region.
He cited factors such as weak governance and a flawed reconciliation process as some of the causes of instability in Afghanistan.
"It is Pakistan that is paying a high price for instability in Afghanistan," he noted.
Top Army generals vow to bring perpetrators of Peshawar blast to 'exemplary justice'
Mother of Daily Pakistan anchorperson Yasir Shami passes away in Lahore
Rupee ends losing streak, recovers by Rs4.43 against dollar as IMF mission lands in Pakistan


text:
Q: How can I change or remove DataGridColumnHeader vertical line color wpf? How can I change DataGridColumnHeader vertical line color?
I used SeparatorBrush transparent, and SeparatorVisibility hidden, but there were not work.
I can draw border , but basic separator show continued.
How can I fix it...?
          ↓

  <Style x:Key="DataGridHeaderStyle" BasedOn="{StaticResource MetroDataGridColumnHeader}" TargetType="{x:Type DataGridColumnHeader}">
            <Setter Property="HorizontalContentAlignment" Value="Center"/>
            <Setter Property="Background" Value="{StaticResource DataGridRow_2}"/>
            <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="White"/>
            <Setter Property="BorderBrush" Value="{StaticResource DataGrid_HeaderUnderLine}"/>
            <Setter Property="BorderThickness" Value="0,0,1,2"/>
            <Setter Property="SeparatorVisibility" Value="Collapsed"/>
        </Style>

A: You can set the separator visibility to collapsed and it works.
<DataGrid.ColumnHeaderStyle>
    <Style TargetType="{x:Type DataGridColumnHeader}">
        <Setter Property="SeparatorVisibility" Value="Collapsed"/>
    </Style>
</DataGrid.ColumnHeaderStyle>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
DTU Mechanical Engineering News Closing the plastic recycle loop
Closing the plastic recycle loop
Catalysis CO2 separation and CO2 storage Waste management Chemical engineering Energy production
Tuesday 01 Dec 20
by Vibeke Lykke Stenstrop
Anker Degn Jensen
aj@kt.dtu.dk
Martin Høj
mh@kt.dtu.dk
What is plastic?
Plastics are made from hydrocarbon molecules called monomers, primarily ethene and propylene (called olefins) as well as aromatics, which are organic molecules based on the basic chemical structure benzene (C6H6). During a chemical process called polymerization, the monomers form long chains of molecules, called polymers, which are plastics.
What is a catalyst?
The catalyst is a material that increases the rate of reaction. In practice, good catalysts are essential for making chemical reactions happen. The better the catalyst, the easier (under milder conditions) the reaction takes place.
Only 16 per cent of the more than 250 million tons of plastic we use every year globally is recycled. If, however, we could recycle more plastic and at the same time get something useful out of the CO2 emitted by incineration of residual plastic waste, we would optimally be able to achieve full recycling of all plastic. This is the goal for two new research projects at DTU Chemical Engineering.
From plastic to new plastic or gasoline
Plastics are made from chemicals made from crude oil, primarily molecules found in or made from gasoline.
"If we could transform plastic into gasoline, which can then be processed into new plastic, we could achieve what is called chemical recycling of the plastic that cannot be recycled by simply melting it. This can be because the quality of the plastics is low due to previous recycling, it is commingled with other types of plastics or simply is not sorted, says Anker Degn Jensen, who is a professor and researcher at the Center for Combustion and Harmful Emission Control (CHEC) at DTU Chemical Engineering.
It is precisely the most commonly used types of plastic that are the focal point of his project.
"In my project, we develop and investigate a process in which the most commonly used types of plastic are flash heated together with hydrogen and a catalyst under pressure to convert it into high-yield gasoline, which can subsequently be turned into new plastic or used as fuel. We investigate the effect of catalyst, pressure and temperature and the effect of different types of plastic in pure form as well as in mixtures," says Anker Degn Jensen.
The most commonly used types of plastic are polyethylene and polypropylene, which we all know from our households in the form of e.g. freezer or waste bags. Therefore, there is really something to be gained in terms of sustainability if we can turn up the recycling of the plastic we use the most.
Chemical recycling of CO2 from incinerators
Even if we wanted to, it is not possible to recycle all plastic. There will always be a residual fraction left which ends up in incinerators. It is the CO2 from here that is the focus of the second research project.
"When a residual product of plastic ends up in the waste incineration, it is either because it is mixed with other materials, is dirty or perhaps even potentially contaminated, e.g. face masks. Crisps bags, which have aluminum foil on one side and plastic on the other, also end up in the incineration, because the layers in these bags cannot be separated", says Martin Høj, who is associate professor and researcher at CHEC.
The energy from the combustion of the residual product is recovered as electricity and district heating, but at the same time, fossil greenhouse gases, primarily CO2, are emitted from the process. So, what if you could collect and convert this CO2 into new plastic?
"In my project we look at the chemical recycling of CO2. It is already possible to produce methanol, which can subsequently be converted to olefins and aromatics if you combine CO2 with hydrogen from electrolysis of water. However, it will be much more efficient, both in terms of energy and economy, to convert CO2 and H2 directly into olefins and aromatics which is why we develop and investigate special catalyst mixtures for this very purpose ", says Martin Høj.
The goal is to develop a simple and efficient process for the production of new plastic building blocks from CO2 to increase the overall recycling of plastic.
Circular plastic use as a joint goal
Common to Anker Degn Jensen's and Martin Høj's projects is that they have catalysts as a focal point when it comes to recycling plastic, but with their own research approach.
They also contribute to the same goal, namely to ensure that the plastic we all use in our everyday lives is eventually recycled to the highest possible extent, thereby closing the plastic recycle loop.
Read more about the projects
Recycling plastics waste to new plastics and fuels
Chemical recycling of plastics through direct synthesis of monomers from CO2
18 January 2021 DHRTC Receives Grant from EUDP...
13 January 2021 New projects added to two research...
06 January 2021 Recent progress in carbon capture
01 December 2020 Young Researchers Award to DHRTC...
25 November 2020 First DHRTC Webinar Week was a...
08 November 2020 Newly discovered enzyme increases...
04 November 2020 DHRTC Researchers Publish Book...
12 October 2020 Start-up behind new plastic sorting...
06 October 2020 Newly discovered enzyme increases...
05 October 2020 Can you store solar and wind?
https://www.mek.dtu.dk/english/nyheder/Nyhed?id=%7BA80CD7C8-DCF4-4B38-B9C3-E38EBDDF2338%7D


text:
15 Crazy Things You Never Knew About The Sims
by Angie Harvey
It has been 17 years since The Sims first launched what would later become a world famous franchise that would have sold over 200 million copies worldwide. However, The Sims wasn't always destined for success as the series initially underwent multiple prototypes. At one point even the series' creator, Will Wright, wasn't happy with the game's final version.
After another round of changes, Wright had finally hit the nail on its head, and his team quickly began development on what would later be known as The Sims. Who would have thought that after all of those changes, Will and his team were well on their way to creating one of the biggest and best-selling video game franchises of all time – it just goes to show that you should never give up on your ideas.
Although the series may rank in at number eight on the list for bestselling franchises, The Sims series still holds many facts that most of its player base don't even know about. From bringing The Sims to real-life, to the secrets behind the game's voice acting — here are fifteen crazy things you may have never known about the series. If you believe we have missed any facts about the series, be sure to share your own interesting facts in the comments section!
15 Simlish Was Inspired By Real Languages
via ohmysims404.tumblr.com
Will Wright – the game's developer – feared that certain phrases of English dialog would become very robotic and present a rather challenging task to market and translate into several different languages when disrupted worldwide. In an attempt to avoid these issues, Wright decided that a unique language that would only be suited to The Sims would be the best idea.
Simlish – the official language of The Sims – draws from fractured Ukrainian, French, Latin, Finnish, English, Fijian, Cebuano, and Tagalog.
If you've turned on the radio when playing The Sims you would have heard some songs that sound very familiar, well that's because they actually are! The developers even went to the extent of sourcing the real artists to replica their songs in the Simlish language – that's some true dedication on the developer's part.
14 The Sims Is Inspired By Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs
via platinumsimmers.com
If you've played The Sims, you will have noticed just how closely they resemble real life people – from needs, emotions and even aspirations. This is because Will Wright had taken close inspiration from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, which showcases how people are motivated by needs. However, once the basic needs have been satisfied, a person will then become motivated by less urgent requirements. Maslow's Hierarchy includes the likes of Self-Actualization, Esteem, Love/Belonging, Safety, and Physiological.
The next time that someone tries to argue with you that The Sims is just another pointless, unrealistic video game, simply let them know that the series is actually based off of real research of human emotions and needs - watch their expression drop as they realize just how wrong they are.
13 Real EA Videogames Make An Appearance In Game
via ablueskyblog.com
It is not uncommon for a video game to hide hidden Easter Eggs throughout their game for players to find and The Sims is no exception as EA has hidden a number of hidden references to their previous video games throughout the series. These video games references have been hidden throughout the series in the television, gaming consoles, and even the PC. The most notable game in the series featuring these Easter Eggs is The Sims 4. It features at least eight different references to other video games – in which most are usually developed by EA.
Throughout The Sims 4 players will find references to Tetris, The Sims (which also features gameplay of numerous expansion packs), The Elder Scrolls, SimCity, Spore, and even Mass Effect.
There's nothing quite like making your Sim play The Sims while playing The Sims 4 – inception much.
12 A Server Fire Caused Features To Be Removed The Sims 2
via sims.wikia.com
We have all lost important files before – whether it was from a program crashing, or simply not saving something that you were told to save multiple times before. Whatever the case may be, we all know the feeling that occurs when it happens – simply put, it sucks.
However, could you imagine what it would be like to lose a significantly large chunk of your company's project that took not only took years to create, but also a significantly large team that dedicated their time and effort? Well, this is exactly what happened to Maxis when they worked on The Sims 2 as a small server room fire destroyed a very large amount of work. This required a large portion of The Sims 2 to be recreated from the ground up which not only set them back, but also resulted in a downgrade for their E3 trailer. Many ideas were even cut from the base game – such as weather.
11 The Sims Originally Had Several Different Names
via reviewanygame.com
Let's be honest, as much as we want to deny it, we always judge a book by its cover - and unfortunately, games are no different. As you search the aisles of your local GameStop, you search for the covers and titles that grab your attention. But judging from the previous titles that The Sims had in mind, it would be safe to say the series wouldn't be jumping out at you anytime soon.
Will Wright – the Game Designer of The Sims – had originally had plans to name The Sims, Dollhouse as he believed the game was essentially a high-tech animated doll house that featured AI. However – as expected – the game was knocked back as the marketers found that the game did not appeal to young male gamers.
10 The Sims Featured A Mysterious Virus
via forums.thesims.com
The mysterious virus was one of the most interesting things to have ever been added to The Sims series. This mysterious virus was introduced into the game by its creator – Will Wright – which saw many of the players Sims fall mysteriously ill for no reason at all. As expected, this mysterious illness quickly became a talking point among many of the players in the community.
As the virus began to spread, it sparked many debates within the community boards and forums where many argued what the true cause of the illness may be. In true internet fashion, people were quick to band together and narrow down what the cause of the illness was. After countless days of searching, people were able to narrow down and relate the illness to the guinea pigs that players were able to purchase.
9 The Series Has Sold Enough Copies To Fill An Entire Country
Being successful in today's gaming industry is no easy feat as games are constantly being developed and are fighting for the consumer's attention. Fortunately, that's not the case for The Sims, as the series has continued to thrive over the years as Maxis provides new content in the form of Expansion Packs and Stuff Packs on a very regular basis.
Since The Sims first launched in the year 2000, the series has skyrocketed in popularity and currently sits at number eight on the list of highest-selling videogame franchises of all time with just over 200,000,000 copies sold.
That would be almost the equivalent of having every single person in the country of Pakistan or Brazil purchase just one game in The Sims series. It's crazy to think that 200 million people have purchased a game that had previously been rejected and almost canceled.
8 The Sims Was Initially A Building Game
via modthesims.info
Little do people know that The Sims was originally intended to be completely different. Originally, The Sims —according to its creator, Will Wright— was going to be an architecture simulator that allowed players the ability to build houses. The 'Sims' were later added into the game so they could interact and respond to the objects that were created for the game – such as toilets, kitchens, and bedrooms.
However, shortly after developing prototypes, it became very clear to Wright that the 'Sims' themselves were a far more interesting aspect of the game, rather than the building itself. After pitching the games new changes to EA, Wright and his team quickly began work on the simulator that everyone now knows as The Sims.
7 The First Object Ever Implemented Was A Toilet
You would be surprised to know that the first object ever implemented into The Sims was a toilet. When developing the first prototype in 1993, the game's creator – Will Wright – only included one single object for his Sim to interact with. The toilet was programmed in such a way that it could be cleaned, used, and even given the option to leave the seat up or down.
Wright decided that the toilet was the best option to create first as it was the single item of furniture that offered many different potential interactions and possible variables. It does make sense that the toilet was the first item implemented, as every house you furnish needs a bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom first.
Thankfully though, Wright decided to add more than just a toilet into the final version of the game.
6 The Sims 2 Was Supposed To Feature Rain In The Base Game
via beyondsims.com
The Sims 2 made its first appearance at 2003's E3 conference, where they showcased that weather would debut in the base game. However, after several issues with games code – rain would frequently appear indoors – it was decided that the weather feature would be pushed back to later date – three years to be exact.
This was the beginning of what seems like a never-ending cycle of expansion packs. EA finally realized that only the bare essentials were required for the initial launch of the Sims series as everything else can be saved for later expansion packs. The Sims 3 is a prime example of this decision as the game featured eleven Expansion Packs and nine Stuff Packs – which only feature new items like furniture, clothing, and hairstyles.
5 There Was A Sims Spin-off Game In The Works
via youtube.com (Dr. Ether)
The spin-off series – SimsVille – was canceled in 2001 and was based very heavily around The Sims. The gameplay allowed the user to control a multitude of different houses in a neighborhood, which was very similar to the gameplay of the original Sims. The reason behind why Maxis decided to cancel the project was simply due to the fact that they wanted to apply more staff to the development of The Sims series as its success was not expected.
Thankfully, Maxis didn't completely scrap everything they had developed for SimsVille, as the communal Downtown area was incorporated into the third Expansion Pack for The Sims – Hot Date. Among the list of reused features is a feedback system that was later utilized in SimCity 4 and they also reused their feature of a 3D neighborhood in The Sims 2.
The trailer for SimsVille can be found on both the SimCity 3000 and The Sims: Livin' Large installation CD.
4 EA Brought The Sims To Life
via sims4houses.com
This crazy fact may very well be one of the weirdest things that EA has ever done! After the very successful launch of The Sims franchise in the year of 2000, the publisher, just like any other company saw the possibilities – or as some like to call it, the money – that the franchise could generate.
Although the series was a mega hit, the studio went to some rather extreme levels in order to market their latest sequel to the series, The Sims 2. However, things got a little weird when EA's European Division, EA Benelux decided to market the sequel by creating a real 'Sim' family. The marketing team created a glass house where people could live in typical Sims fashion. Ordinary everyday people were able to visit this house and watch the family as they conducted their day-to-day life over the course of four days – weird, we know!
3 The Sims Got Its Own Postage Stamp
via businesswire.com
It isn't every day that a video game gets the honor of receiving their very own postage stamp.
In 2005, the French postal service – La Poste – printed three million postage stamps for a limited edition collection that was dubbed the "Heroes of Videogames." The collection featured ten different available stamps, with The Sims claiming a spot in the collection among some of the most popular series ever created such as Mario and Link. The Sims was portrayed on the stamp by two Sims fighting over the game's iconic green plum bob.
At the time of the stamps being released, The Sims had sold over 58 million copies and ranked number 8 in the list of top entertainment products in France. That's quite the achievement for a game that could have possibly been something very different.
2 Pets Are Voiced By Humans
If you've ever played The Sims and thought the animal noises sounded a little odd, it may be because they are actually voiced by real people - instead of the animals themselves. While only very few picked up that the animal's voices were a little off, many had initially thought that their voices were actually created by its real life counterpart or simply mixed and created in a sound studio.
In The Sims Unleashed and The Sims 2 Pets, the developers used only humans to voice the animals. However, in The Sims 3 Pets many of the animals voices were created in a sound studio by mixing both the sounds of the real animals and humans together to help better convey the animal's emotions to the player. This method of better conveying the animal's emotions was firstly used in the SimAnimals Africa.
1 Bella Goth Is The Sims Biggest Mystery
via reddit.com
If you are just the average Sims player, you will most likely not know that The Sims series is actually full of hidden mysteries. But out of all of the mysteries throughout the series, nothing quite stands out like the disappearance of Bella Goth.
If you have played the original Sims game, you will be quite familiar with the name of Bella Goth as she was one of the few playable characters with the original game -The Sims. Bella's disappearance occurred sometime during the 25 years between The Sims and The Sims 2 – where she was last seen at Don Lothario's home.
While her disappearance has never been truly solved, many believe that – after reading several books that reference Bella's disappearance in The Sims 3 – that she may have been murder or even kidnapped. Some even believe that she may have been abducted but aliens and taken to Strangetown.
Tags: The Sims
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Home / Gardenscapes / io Mods / Which is Better, Gardenscapes or Homescapes?
Which is Better, Gardenscapes or Homescapes?
Playrix has definitely made a great impact in the gaming world with two great creations, Homescapes and Gardenscapes! These two games look quite similar in terms of the mechanics and other features but are entirely different. Let's look deeper into this matter, and finally settle down which is which.
In Homescapes, you help Austin, the butler renovate his childhood home so that his parents will no longer sell it. You play match-3 puzzles to earn stars that you will use to complete tasks. These tasks can range from adding a rug to repairing the staircase — everything that has to be done to redecorate the mansion and change his parents' minds! The number of stars per task varies depending on the difficulty. So match-3 puzzles are needed to be taken seriously to move on to the next task. After certain numbers of levels are completed, you can unlock different parts of the mansion. You also get gifts like cats and money from the different people you meet in the game. As you follow the storyline, you don't just play puzzle games, you also get to interact!
Similarly, Gardenscapes also works that way in terms of redecorating the garden and playing puzzle games to earn the stars. With every star that you earn, you get to finish a task. The only difference is that for Gardenscapes, there are more rewards compared to Homescapes. You can grow plants and spin a game wheel to receive a variety of power-ups and a few hours of endless lives. Read and discover all the things that you can do in the game, including making butterflies appear in Gardenscapes!
Why not Play Both Gardenscapes and Homescapes?
While both of these games are super fun and exciting, they are actually pretty addicting as well! One would notice that Gardenscapes is more tilted towards a hidden object game with the presence of the gnomes while Homescapes is a story-based puzzle game that also works very differently when it comes to match-3 games. Either way, there is one sure thing that you can do, download Gardenscapes and Homescapes on your PC and let us know what you think!
Gardenscapes io Mods
io Mods


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Q: Completely Remove Developer Certificate from Xcode I created a developer certificate in Xcode by going to Preferences -> Accounts -> selecting my Apple ID (connected to my Apple developer account) -> Manage Certificates -> here the list was empty so I clicked the + and selected Apple Development. This created a certificate called MyMac (the name of the Mac machine) with creator being my Apple ID email address.
This certificate does not appear in my developer account, so I decided to delete it but instead of deleting it from Xcode, I deleted it from Keychain.
Now when I go to the signing certificates window (same steps as above), I still see the certificate but it is grayed out and the status says "Not in Keychain". The problem is I cannot delete it here in Xcode now (right click shows disabled Delete Certificate option). I cannot create a new development certificate either as it says I already have one.
I found some people saying I should revoke the certificate from my developer account but as mentioned it does not appear there.
How can I remove the certificate from the signing certificates?

A: You have already deleted your copy of the certificate. If your goal is to delete Apple's copy, go to the portal at developer.apple.com and delete it from "Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles" by clicking the Revoke button.
You cannot remove the certificate from any profiles you may have made using it.


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Latest NewsNewsPress release
Firstbank Enhances Palliative Measures, Promotes E-Learning For Nigerians
Nigeria's leading financial inclusion services provider, FirstBank, has unveiled enhanced palliative measures to help its customers and Nigerians through these times of the extended COVID 19 lockdown in some states.
Amongst these measures are; the introduction of special waivers on repayment fees on the Bank's credit cards as well as up to 90-days moratorium on SME loans. The aim of these is to cushion the impact of the toll on employment and livelihoods.
It was announced in the course of the week that the Lagos State Government & Roducate e-learning initiative – sponsored by FirstBank – had kicked off. The initiative includes the government accredited curriculum for primary, secondary and tertiary schools designed to ensure children are adequately guided and engaged through their learning experience.
Upon the lockdown in March, the Bank had announced to move One Million children to e-learning which is implemented with a number of renowned organisations that have come on board from within and outside the continent. These partners include IBM, which is providing opportunities for the acquisition of digital skills including Coding, Artificial Intelligence and Data Science & Analytics which would promote opportunities to learn skills of the future. These measures are taken in identifying with the roles of children at securing the future of any country.
Reflecting on the words by Benjamin Franklin, thus 'an investment in knowledge pays the best interest' Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, FirstBank said "in keeping with who we are at FirstBank, our commitment to self-development and continuous improvement is never far from our thinking. As such we are encouraging all to consider and register for any of the excellent programmes being offered free by Ivy League schools and have curated a list of them covering topics such as management, personal development, and entrepreneurship which can be found on our website.
In addition, Dr. Adeduntan stated that "with these measures, we are delighted to support our customers because you all have empowered us to do so by choosing to Bank with us. This is indeed a time to double down efforts and explore opportunities to ease the impact of the extension on you.
Once again, we appreciate our customers for the giant strides achieved on our alternative channels, as we assure you of our commitment to continue to work tirelessly to provide essential banking services across these channels. The transaction volumes is a positive testimony to the resilience of our staff and your Bank to keep things going as COVID 19 will neither defeat nor slow us down. We remain fully persuaded that together we will overcome this too."
"Our experience over 126 years tells us the solutions lie within us, more than ever as we uphold our promise to you to be here for you and put You First always," he concluded.
About FirstBank
First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in West Africa and the leading financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria for over 125 years.
With over 750 business locations and 44,000 Banking Agents spread across 99% of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, FirstBank provides a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services to serve its over 15 million customers. The Bank has international presence through its subsidiaries, FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal, as well as a Representative Office in Beijing.
The Bank has been nimble at promoting digital payment in the country and has issued over 10million cards, the first bank to achieve such milestone in the country. FirstBank's cashless transaction drive extends to having more than 8.5million people on its USSD banking service through the nationally renowned *894# banking service and over 3 million people on Firstmobile platform.
Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk management and leadership. Over the years, the Bank has led the financing of private investment in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the Federal Government's privatisation and commercialisation schemes. With its global reach, FirstBank provides prospective investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities that are available in Nigeria, an internationally competitive world-class brand and a credible financial partner.
FirstBank has been named "Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria" six times in a row (2011 – 2016) by the globally renowned "The Banker Magazine" of the Financial Times Group; "Best Retail Bank in Nigeria" for seven consecutive years (2011 – 2017) by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards and "Best Bank in Nigeria" by Global Finance for 15 years. Our brand purpose is to always put customers, partners and stakeholders at the heart of our business, even as we standardise customer experience and excellence in financial solutions across sub-Saharan Africa, in consonance with our brand vision "To be the partner of first choice in building your future". Our brand promise is to always deliver the ultimate "gold standard" of value and excellence. This commitment is anchored on our inherent values of passion, partnership and people, to position You First in every respect.
Folake Ani-Mumuney
Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications
www.firstbanknigeria.com
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Map Calabar Download
Calabar-Facts
Our city map of Calabar (Nigéria) shows 196 km of streets and paths. If you wanted to walk them all, assuming you walked four kilometers an hour, eight hours a day, it would take you 6 days. And, when you need to get home there are 0 bus and tram stops, and subway and railway stations in Calabar.
With a total area of 0 square kilometers, public green spaces and parks make up 0% of Calabar's total area, 142 square kilometers. That means each of Calabar's 371,022 residents has an average of 0.0001% square meters.
When people in Calabar want to go out, they are spoilt for choice; our map shows more than 0 cafés, restaurants, bars, ice-cream parlors, beer gardens, cinemas, nightclubs and theatres. The city also boasts more than 0 sights and monuments, and far more than 0 retailers. Feeling tired? Our map shows more than 0 hotels and guest houses, where you can rest.


Need more information about booking Home 9636894 ?
This former workshop has been refurbished to become a charming south-facing studio, which enjoys a beautiful view of the Seine from the slopes. Our garden - a planted and wooded land - offers a very pleasant and calm environment. Ideal for a professional stay (Cergy, Poissy, Verneuil / Seine) or tourist, to enjoy the Vexin. Access in 45 minutes to Paris, in 30 minutes to Versailles. Shops nearby in the village.


Sensibility and practicality define the 2016 GMC Sierra 2500HD. This 4 door, 5 passenger truck is still under 75,000 miles! Smooth gearshifts are achieved thanks to the powerful 8 cylinder engine, providing a spirited, yet composed ride and drive. Four wheel drive allows you to go places you've only imagined. A wealth of standard features means that you no longer have to sacrifice. Like power windows, mirrors, and seats, front and rear reading lights, a tachometer, variably intermittent wipers, tilt and telescoping steering wheel, heated door mirrors, a trailer hitch, and much more. Features such as automatic climate control and leather upholstery prove that economical transportation does not need to be sparsely equipped. Power adjustable pedals allow the driver to optimize his or her driving position, enhancing visibility, comfort and safety. With high intensity discharge headlights illuminating your path, you'll always appreciate maximum visibility. Enjoy your favorite music via the stereo system, which includes a CD player with MP3 capability, and 7 speakers, providing excellent sound throughout the cabin. Passengers are protected by various safety and security features, including: dual front impact airbags, front side impact airbags, traction control, brake assist, a security system, onStar, and 4 wheel disc brakes with ABS. Electronic stability control ensures solid grip atop the road surface, no matter how challenging the driving conditions. It also arrives with a Carfax history report, providing you peace of mind with detailed information. We know that you have high expectations, and we enjoy the challenge of meeting and exceeding them! Stop by our dealership or give us a call for more information.


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Bruno Behaving Badly
I'm not usually a fan of individuals who set up front companies and phony websites with the express intention of misleading people. It's how the oil industry manages to convince people its "thinktanks" are in fact sources of objective research on energy and global warming. It's how Washington uber-lobbyist Richard Berman — the model for […]
Andrew Gumbel | March 26, 2009 @ 4:20 PM	Last Updated: March 26, 2009 @ 6:47 PM
I'm not usually a fan of individuals who set up front companies and phony websites with the express intention of misleading people. It's how the oil industry manages to convince people its "thinktanks" are in fact sources of objective research on energy and global warming. It's how Washington uber-lobbyist Richard Berman — the model for Aaron Eckhart's character in "Thank You for Smoking" — has operated for years.
At least in theory, then, I feel I should be at least a little scandalized that Sacha Baron Cohen has done exactly the same thing for his new movie, "Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt."
As reported and extensively documented by The Smoking Gun, Cohen's production company set up at least 29 phony firms — among them Amesbury Chase Productions, Chromium Films, Cold Stream Productions and Coral Blue Productions, all with remarkably similar websites linking back to the same Sunset Boulevard mailbox company — so his victims would not connect requests from a "German documentary crew" for on-camera interviews with the creator of Ali G and Borat.
Is this strictly legal? It's a fair bet, once the movie comes out, that that proposition will be thoroughly tested in the courts. "Borat," after all, led to a large flurry of lawsuits, many of them alleging gross misrepresentation by Baron Cohen and his production assistants.
And is it defensible? I would have expressed some doubts, but that was before I saw the web postings of a Missouri neo-Nazi called Glenn Miller, who allowed himself not only to be taken in by Baron Cohen this time last year but was actually dumb enough to boast about the great interview he expected to give to a German documentary crew.
On a right-wing chat site called the Vanguard News Network, Miller salivates over the "two gorgeous young chicks" who made the first approach and positively swoons over the idea that he would be included in a two-hour documentary to be broadcast around the globe by German TV One ("whatever TV station that is," he wonders, all too briefly).
"And get this," he adds. "They're paying your's [sic] truly $500 bucks as payment for my time, use of … photos, and for my signed permission for them to air my racist and anti-semitic 'ravings' far and wide. (Shit, life jus don't git no bettern nat)."
When a sympathizer worries on the chat site that the interview might make him look "retarded," he dismisses the idea out of hand. "No journalist in 35 years has managed to do that," he says, "and since I readily admit I'm a racist, hater and anti-semite with good reason, their name-callings are truth-tellings."
We shall see just how well the Miller interview worked out for him. And much as I'd like to say I disapprove, the deeper truth is, I can't wait.