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Tag Archives: racism
Miss Pittman
I read twenty-five books in 2017, another twenty-five in 2018, and another twenty-five in 2019. I share that with the pride that comes from the rarity of setting a long-term goal and sticking to it. My goal was another twenty-five in 2020 to make it an even hundred in four years, but much to my surprise I am already through twenty in just half a year, so the odds are in my favor.
It isn't that work has even hinted at letting up. Instead, this sudden reading feast appears to be a combination of no evening events to attend, no sports to follow on television, and a persistent need to escape the present circumstances. I am reading constantly.
Book number twenty was The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Years ago, while living in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, my friend, Bruno, gave me a copy of A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, one of those novels that crawls into your heart and builds a nest. Last Christmas, while stocking up on used books at McKays with my family, I couldn't pass up a copy of Gaines's Miss Pittman. However, it sat in a stack for the first several months of 2020, but as enduring racism claimed global attention alongside the raging pandemic, it seemed like the time to read this particular story.
The stunning plotline of the novel is the reflection of a 100+ year old woman whose life stretched from the 1860s to the 1960s, from birth into slavery through a life of unrelenting white supremacy and into the pain of the Civil Rights era. Alice Walker described it as "grand, robust, a rich and very big novel," to which I add a humble Amen.
As I read the frustrating, humiliating, yet strong and courageous journey of the novel's heroine, given the time in which I was reading I thought of decade after decade of so many thinking that the American Civil War ended something that it did not. And one does not even have to try very hard to connect the dots and recognize that the American Civil Rights Movement was not a finish line either.
It is shameful that we had to argue over such an innocuous phrase, Black Lives Matter. I guess that shows how deep-seated racism actually is.
Miss Jane Pittman is technically a fictional character, but of course she was oh so real. It occurred to me that many more Miss Pittmans were born in the 1960s and are now over halfway through another century's journey. I wish their story was less painful than it is, but I have seen them on the television mourning the loss of their children, too.
I am thankful to Mr. Gaines for introducing me to Miss Pittman and teaching me that even being shown and told that one does not fully matter for over a hundred years is impotent compared to the capacity of the human spirit. May such extraordinary fortitude be rewarded in the lives of real people.
Tagged a lesson before dying, black lives matter, books, civil rights movement, civil war, ernest gaines, novels, racism, reading, the autobiography of miss jane pittman
Livin' on the Edge
There's somethin' wrong with the world today
I don't know what it is
Something's wrong with our eyes…
If you can judge a wise man
By the color of his skin
Then mister you're a better man than I…
– Aerosmith (1993, inspired by the L.A. Riots)
Jerry Mitchell visited Nashville to promote his new book shortly before the pandemic swept across the United States, and I dropped by his book signing at Parnassus to pick up an autographed copy. Race Against Time chronicles Mitchell's work as an investigative journalist to reopen unsolved murder cases from the Civil Rights Era, ultimately resulting in convictions of multiple people decades after their terrible racist crimes. It was later during the global quarantine that I took the time to read the book, and although I am aware of the history and reality of racism, I am somehow still stunned by many of its true stories.
With the book still fresh in mind news emerged from Georgia of the unconscionable killing of Ahmaud Arbery, and I had to wonder if anyone is truly winning this "race against time." As a runner, I was shaken in a new way, forced to recognize that mindlessly enjoying such a simple hobby is yet another unearned advantage that I possess. Even during an unprecedented era of cultural transformation due to a rampant virus, there is unfortunately one thing that remains—the ubiquitous influence of a centuries-long assumption of white superiority.
More recently, I read another book titled, Nashville 1864, this time a work of historical fiction that recounted the Battle of Nashville in the American Civil War. The novel was frustrating in its romantic approach to the Antebellum South while helpfully portraying the terrible specter of war, and it simply reinforced in my mind the terribly complicated history of this nation. The novel describes the decisive encounter of the battle that occurred at Shy's Hill, which happens to be one mile from my house. I finished the book on Memorial Day weekend, and early on Memorial Day itself jogged over to and up on Shy's Hill to consider all the lives lost. It seemed random to see a marker for Minnesota on Shy's Hill in Nashville, Tennessee—random until I learned that more Union soldiers from Minnesota died in that battle than from any other state.
And then the despicable murder of George Floyd in Minnesota was televised on the evening news.
Friends, it has been 156 years since a significant number of Minnesotans died in my neighborhood fighting a war that presumably put an end to the notion that Black Americans were less than White Americans. But it is all too clear that all the lives lost and all the efforts made and all the progress achieved has not ultimately prevailed.
For multiple reasons I chose years ago to post less about issues on social media instead of more. Among those reasons was a desire to read and listen more (and talk less), and to focus on things that carry the possibility of creating actual structural changes so that the reality 156 years from now is different—things like using my advantages to instigate conversations that lead to changes in education systems, hiring practices, and ultimately, changes in hearts.
But in times like this I question whether I am doing the right things, or things that really matter, or, maybe most of all, whether I am doing enough.
So today, for what it is worth, I say aloud that I recognize the deep wrongs screaming at us on the evening news—wrongs that exist in a nation where the two people competing to be its CEO are both White men who have independently and recently managed to offend millions of Black Americans. In such a time and place, I simply say that I stand alongside Black Americans and declare their full beauty and worth as human beings. It matters more whether I live it than whether I say it, but in case it helps or matters, I say it.
Tagged 1864, aerosmith, ahmaud arbery, american civil war, american south, black, civil rights era, george floyd, georgia, jerry mitchell, mason jones, minnesota, nashville, race, race against time, racism, running, shy's hill, united states, white, white supremacy
Remembering Josh Gibson
I arrived early at Nationals Park for Game 4 of the NLCS and did a lap around the stadium to see the sights. I discovered three statues near the home plate entrance, and as a student of baseball history anticipated two of the honorees—Frank Howard and Walter Johnson. But I confess that the Josh Gibson statue was a most pleasant surprise.
Not that Gibson, the greatest home run hitter in baseball history, does not deserve a statue. Quite the opposite. Gibson hit more home runs than anyone, including the longest home run in the history of Yankee Stadium. Some called him "the black Babe Ruth," while others preferred to refer to Ruth as "the white Josh Gibson." No, I was surprised to see the statue since Gibson, simply because of the color of his skin, was never allowed to play a Major League Baseball game.
Sadly, Gibson died of a stroke at age thirty-five. Three months later Jackie Robinson integrated Major League Baseball.
In certain ways there has been undeniable progress in race relations in this country, thanks in part to baseball and the heroism of players like Jackie Robinson. When the team from our nation's capital takes the field tomorrow night in their first ever trip to the World Series, their roster will feature players from Brazil, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Venezuela—and the United States. And from the United States, alongside white, European-Americans you will find African-Americans, a Japanese-American, and a Mexican-American. It is a beautiful thing to witness.
But do not be deceived. Progress is simply signage on the road to somewhere, and the destination most assuredly remains on the farthest horizon.
Josh Gibson's statue outside a Major League Baseball stadium in our nation's capital honors one of the greatest baseball players of all time. At the same time, it reminds us that he was never allowed on the team. Both deserve remembering.
Tagged babe ruth, baseball, frank howard, jackie robinson, josh gibson, nationals park, negro leagues, playoffs, race relations, racism, remember, statue, walter johnson, washington nationals, world series
Courage & Conviction
"Nashville sure loves its breakfast places." – Jody Sturgeon
Before arriving in Nashville my wife suggested that Saturday morning brunch serve as our weekly date, and so far we are two-for-two. We opened with Holler & Dash Biscuit House where I sampled/devoured the biscuits & gravy and a unique approach to beignets, and then on Saturday number two we drove past the long lines at two iconic brunch spots, The Pancake Pantry and Biscuit Love, and ended up at Frothy Monkey where I enjoyed bacon, eggs, and pancakes as well as a decent portion of my wife's meal, too. I like this new tradition a lot. And as Jody observed, we are in no danger of running out of new places to try out anytime soon.
As we walked down Fifth Avenue toward our latest brunch adventure, we noticed the historical marker for the 1960 Nashville sit-ins across the street from the Walgreen's. I confess to knowing little about the Nashville sit-ins prior to our decision to move, but when I discovered that David Halberstam was a reporter for The Tennessean during this critical time in history and had written a massive book about it titled, The Children, I bought the 783-page monster and am eager to dive in.
Our national sin of white supremacy and the Civil Rights Movement that literally placed it on public display have captivated me on multiple levels, not the least of which being the Movement's proximity to my world both in location and time in history. It is mind-boggling to remember that not so long ago fellow citizens with black or brown skin could not have sat at the same table with me for brunch in Nashville—and that when a group tried and white citizens assaulted and degraded them, only the former were arrested.
I am both impressed and proud that Nashville marked the spot, but do not be mistaken: There is much more work to do. However, what struck me last Saturday was that the world did change, and it changed due to the courage and conviction of college students. That makes me want to go to work today even more.
Today is April Fool's Day, so consider yourself warned about some good, clean fun out there today. But let's remember the lessons from our yesterdays that the students taught us and look toward a tomorrow with the courage and conviction that eschews foolishness and embraces wisdom.
Tagged biscuit love, brunch, civil rights movement, david halberstam, frothy monkey, holler & dash, nashville, pancake pantry, racism, sit-ins, the children, the south, the tennessean, walgreen's
We were simply looking for a movie to watch on Netflix and Mudbound had rave reviews. Watch it. But fair warning: It is difficult to watch. It is difficult to watch because the storytellers do a masterful job of portraying the sort of lives that were difficult to live. The movie is a disturbing, compelling, haunting, yet beautiful work of art.
Mudbound features the intertwined stories of two rural Mississippi families, one black and one white, when one member from each family returned home following World War II. I will spare you the full movie review (especially preserving the memorable ending) and just state that systemic poverty, racism, and PTSD are terrible things and that all sorts of people—the beautiful, the complicated, and the perverse—are all mixed up in it.
I learned that the movie came from a novel of the same name by Hillary Jordan, and since we all know that books are better than their movies, I can only imagine how good it must be. The novel reportedly contains the line, "Death may be inevitable, but love is not. Love, you have to choose."
This seems particularly important to consider on this special holiday that remembers Dr. King. On this day and every day, like Dr. King, may we choose love. "Hate is too great a burden to bear."
Posted in Original Essays, Stories
Tagged hate, hillary jordan, love, mississippi, mlk, mudbound, netflix, poverty, ptsd, racism, world war ii
Unarmed Truth & Unconditional Love
Ralph Abernathy and Will Campbell grieve the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Lorraine Motel (April 1968)
"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word." – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I was deep in the heart of rural Texas when the chaos in Charlottesville unfolded last weekend and found myself in a conversation with a couple of local police officers about other matters. I mentioned that they should visit us in California sometime and one offered a kind smile and said, "Nah, Californians don't like Southern Republicans." We laughed, but there is some measure of truth to his statement. And vice-versa, of course. There is plenty of not liking to go around these days.
I am a Christian, which unfortunately means many things to many people, but for me it means that I must love everyone. No exceptions. So I stand in opposition to hate in any form, which most assuredly includes all versions of white supremacy. And because I must love everyone then I am necessarily opposed to acts of violence. It is a package deal. Violence toward a loved one is unfathomable, so when you choose to love everyone it kind of takes the wind out of Violence's sails.
"'Don't the Bible say we must love everybody?' / 'O, the Bible! To be sure, it says a great many such things; but, then, nobody ever thinks of doing them . . .'" – In Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Will D. Campbell is a personal hero of mine who was an important leader in the Civil Rights Movement and a fierce advocate for the victims of deep racism. However, Campbell started to notice that many of his fellow activists used the same dehumanizing language and tone toward the "segregationists" that segregationists used toward African-Americans. Since Campbell was a Christian, he took a stand against that, too.
"With the same love that is commanded to shower upon the innocent victim of his frustration and hostility, the church must love the racist. Moreover, the church is called to love those who use and exploit both the racists and their victims for personal wealth and political gain. The church must stand in love and judgment upon the victim, the victimized, and those, both black and white, who exploit both, for they are all the children of God." – Will D. Campbell, in Race and Renewal of the Church (1962)
Some things in this country have improved in the half century since the milestone moments of the Civil Rights Movement while many others have quite obviously not. And the version of Christianity touted by "Brother Will" and Dr. King often appears unopened in the shrink-wrapped box.
But I remain hopeful. For I, too, believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will someday have the final word.
Tagged bible, christianity, civil rights movement, harriet beecher stowe, love, martin luther king jr., nonviolence, racism, truth, uncle tom's cabin, violence, will d. campbell
A Dream On My Mind
"Blues was my first love. It was the first thing where I said, 'Oh man, this is the stuff.' It just sounded so raw and honest, gut-bucket honest." – Carlos Santana
As American society is forced to observe its ongoing failure to achieve racial equality, and as the nation chugs Pepto Bismol straight from the bottle in anticipation of tonight's first presidential debate, I find myself listening to the blues. Part depression, but admittedly, part I like listening to the blues.
The names of the blues artists are the best: Muddy Waters; Howlin' Wolf; T-Bone Walker; Blind Lemon Jefferson; and Big Mama Thornton. (I read a great suggestion for how to create your own blues name using Blind Lemon Jefferson as exemplar. Start with a physical infirmity, add a fruit, and finish with the last name of a president. I'm going with One-Eyed Apple Carter.)
And the titles/lyrics of the songs themselves are fantastic: My Starter Won't Start This Morning. Call Me Anything, But Call Me. Cornbread Peas and Black Molasses. My favorite line from B.B. King: "Nobody loves me but my mother. And she could be jivin' too." Or, this great section from Lonnie Mack's Oreo Cookie Blues:
I hide 'em in a cabinet, I keep 'em in a jar
For emergencies you know I keep 'em in the
Glove compartment of my car.
And I can't live without 'em
They git' me higher than I can get on booze
I got them Oreo creme sandwich
Chocolate-covered crème-filled cookie blues.
But seriously, despite this troubled world of ours, what business does a pasty-white bozo living in Malibu with a blog about optimistic attitudes like me have listening to the blues? Well, it could be that someone who feels the need to create a blog about optimistic attitudes may have an underlying issue or two. And it could be that Santana was on to something and that I'm drawn to something raw and honest, which may be better stated by Wynton Marsalis who said, "Everything comes out in blues music: joy, pain, struggle. Blues is affirmation with absolute elegance."
That works for me. The blues confronts the brutal facts of life elegantly. On some level, personal, or societal, or whatever, we all have some brutal facts that need confronting, and I would like to do so with elegance, rhythm, and style.
Back in 1939, Big Bill Broonzy sang about dreams he had on his mind that just weren't true when he woke up in the morning. Dr. King spoke of such unrealized dreams a few decades later, too. Today, as we continue to sing the blues, may we not stop dreaming.
"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream." — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tagged america, b.b. king, big bill broonzy, big mama thornton, blind lemon jefferson, blues, dreams, howlin wolf, lonnie mack, malibu, martin luther king jr., muddy waters, music, oreo cookie blues, oreo cookies, racism, santana, t-bone walker, wynton marsalis
The Problem with Judgment
Norman Rockwell's historic 1964 painting, The Problem We All Live With, serves as an important-yet-disturbing reminder of the enduring legacy of Ruby Bridges. At age six, Ruby integrated an elementary school in New Orleans, although calling it integration is a little misleading since white parents pulled their children from class and white teachers refused to teach little Ruby. Thankfully, one brave teacher from Boston agreed to step up, and for a full year Ruby experienced the ultimate in student-teacher ratio.
She also experienced pure hatred. Rockwell captures the hatred in his painting, but Ruby experienced it firsthand. The screams, threats, and nastiness came hot and heavy, directed at a sweet little girl simply trying to go to school.
At her mother's suggestion, Ruby did something special as federal marshals escorted her to and from school each day: little Ruby prayed for forgiveness for the people screaming at her.
Remind me, what is it that I have to be upset about today?
I can think of two things that I have in common with Ruby Bridges: first, both she and I lost our homes in Hurricane Katrina; and second, we were both at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures on Wednesday evening this week, although I was a bald head in a vast crowd while she shared her captivating story from center stage.
Ms. Bridges said that she loved the first grade because of her wonderful teacher. She said that her teacher looked like the screaming crowd—but she was different—and that the lesson she learned that historic first-grade year is that you cannot simply look at a person and make a right judgment.
Embracing that lesson is the third thing I want to have in common with Ruby Bridges.
Posted in Original Essays, Uncategorized
Tagged forgiveness, judgment, new orleans, norman rockwell, pbl16, pepperdine, pepperdine bible lectures, prayer, racism
"Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty." – Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail (April 16, 1963)
Three years ago, I wrote an essay for the Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal titled, "From Integration to Multiculturalism: Dr. King's Dream Fifty Years Later." The essay questioned whether the changes in race relations in the United States in half a century signified actual progress toward Dr. King's dream. The skepticism I expressed in the essay has not improved while watching the news over the ensuing three years.
And what exactly was the Dream? Although the terms equality and freedom and justice, words with a legal flavor, were prominently featured in Dr. King's speeches, it is the family metaphor of brotherhood (with apologies for the non-gender inclusive language of the time) that stands out in the speeches as a better characterization of the Dream. As King famously stated, "I want to be the white man's brother, not his brother-in-law."
Check out the epigraph to this essay that closed out the Letter from a Birmingham Jail to see what I mean. Check it out again and tell me that we are in shouting distance of such a dream. I think not.
So has this all been a waste of time? Are we simply left with a new holiday? Of course not, but although there has been much good, it is naïve to think that we are anywhere near a world where we see one another as brothers and sisters across the various social lines that divide us. Watch the news. Heck, join me in taking a good look at our own hearts.
So what now? Well, I say that we keep dreaming. And keep hoping. And keep working. For equality and freedom and justice, sure, but climb up on the mountaintop and see beyond those lofty words to an even loftier ideal where we all live together as brothers and sisters.
That is some dream, and it is worth remembering today.
Tagged brotherhood, brothers, dr. king, dream, equality, freedom, justice, mlk, mlk day, pepperdine, racism, sisters
Examine the End
French sociologist, Jacques Ellul, published "The Technological Society" in 1954, a book that predicted that although technology will be presented as a servant of humanity, it will overrun the world and become its master. My iPhone constantly reminds me that he was on to something (in the 1950s!). In the foreword to Ellul's book, famed American sociologist, Robert K. Merton, wrote: "Ours is . . . a civilization committed to the quest for continually improved means to carelessly examined ends."
I read that phrase years ago and cannot get it out of my mind. We are obsessed with bigger and faster and more—but for what purpose?
NBC News presidential historian, Michael Beschloss, spoke in March at the national meeting of the American Council on Education about the increased pressure on the president to respond quickly to national issues due to the social media phenomenon. As a stark example, he referred to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis and said that if President Kennedy had been forced to respond in the same timeframe that current presidents are expected to respond, he would have chosen to unleash heavy military action. It is estimated that forty million lives would have been lost. Forty million. Thankfully, there was time to reflect, and a different decision.
Charleston has dominated the news of late and rightfully so. It is an unspeakable tragedy—although there has been a lot of speaking anyway. I get it. Today, you have to speak quickly on important issues or you will miss the chance when the next story arrives.
I, too, have very strong feelings about the recognition of persistent racism in America and access to guns and gun control and the Confederate battle flag and am "committed to the quest for continually improved means" such as these (and more), but I would like some time and space for a deep and difficult examination of the true "ends" so that we might have shockingly productive conversations on how to get there.
My premise today is simple. For things to look up—and things can always look up—we need deep, measured, thoughtful conversations until we agree on where we are going, but it has grown more difficult to have such conversations because of our obsession with immediate actions.
* Click HERE if you are interested in an essay published in Pepperdine's Dispute Resolution Law Journal a couple of years ago where I reflected on the fiftieth anniversary of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. It concludes with an attempt to identify Dr. King's "end" given his language.
Tagged charleston, cuban missile crisis, ends, i have a dream, jacques ellul, jfk, means, michael beschloss, mlk, nbc news, racism, robert k. merton, technology


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José José, legendary Mexican crooner, dies of cancer
Singer José José at the Billboard Mexican Music Awards in Los Angeles on Oct. 18, 2012.
(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
MEXICO CITY —
Mexican crooner José José, the elegant dresser who moved audiences to tears with melancholic love ballads and was known as the "Prince of Song," has died at the age of 71.
Mexican artists' association ANDI confirmed the death in a Twitter post on Saturday. Multiple media outlets said the singer had died of pancreatic cancer at a hospital in south Florida.
José José, whose real name is José Rómulo Sosa Ortiz, climbed to the top of the Latin charts in the 1970s with slow songs such as "El Triste" ("The Sad Man") and "Amar y Querer" ("Love and Want"). The power of his voice and ability to sing technically difficult tunes in a wide register made him a treasured cultural icon in Latin America.
José José's music also became popular in countries including Japan and Russia.
The artist's voice, a combination of baritone and lyric tenor, captivated audiences while his dress style of suits accented with bow ties, pocket handkerchiefs and silk scarves was copied at nightclubs across Latin America.
En español: Los famosos reaccionan ante la muerte de José José »
"He squeezed our hearts with his unmistakable voice and left an indelible mark on the world of music," Latin music star Gloria Estefan said on Twitter.
José José was born to a family of musicians on Feb. 17, 1948, in Mexico City. His mother, Margarita Ortiz Pensado, was a concert pianist, and his father was a tenor in the National Opera of Mexico.
The singer added a second José to his artist's name in honor of his father, who died when José José was 17. The father had abandoned the family when José José was young.
"I wanted to honor the memory of my father, who was a great opera singer and died very young, without knowledge of my success," José José told The Associated Press in a 2005 interview. "Since I inherited his voice, this is recognition of that inheritance."
José José got started in music singing in cafes before founding a rock group called the Heart Breakers, which released an unsuccessful album in the mid-'60s. His solo career took off with a single called "La Nave del Olvido" ("The Ship of the Forgotten") and peaked in the 1980s with albums like "Secrets," his best-selling collaboration with Spanish love song composer and producer Manuel Alejandro.
Mexican singer José José has died. Watch five of his best performances
Though the "Prince of Song" has left us, his music remains the clearest and most evident legacy of his brilliant career. Here are five of his best songs.
He struggled with Lyme disease, facial paralysis, substance abuse and depression. His problems with alcohol and drugs led to the 1993 dissolution of his 18-year marriage with model Anel Noreña, with whom he had two children: José Joel and Marisol.
He hit bottom after the separation and began sleeping in a taxi on the outskirts of the Mexican capital. Friends intervened and took him to an addiction treatment center in the U.S.
The artist married again in 1995, to a Cuban American named Sarita Salazar, whom he met while in rehab. The couple had a daughter, Sara, the following year.
José José was nominated on multiple occasions for a Grammy, but never obtained the prize. The Latin Recording Academy recognized the singer with a Musical Excellence Prize at the 2004 Latin Grammy Awards. That same year, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
His voice troubles made it very difficult for him to sing in his later years. For a 2008 concert with Greek composer and pianist Yanni, it took the Mexican singer, whose voice had become scratchy, seven days to prepare "just to attempt to sing," Yanni recounted in a video posted to Twitter. "That was an act of bravery on his part," he added.
"He fought really hard for every word, for every sound," Yanni said.
The icon had confirmed via a video message to fans in March 2017 that he was battling pancreatic cancer.
"I'm ready to face this new adventure in my life hand-in-hand with God and hand-in-hand with you all," he told followers.
The death of José José hit hard in Mexico, which endured the 2016 death of another cherished crooner from the same era: Juan Gabriel.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he was sad to hear of José José's death.
"He was an extraordinary singer from an era that, with his songs and his romanticism, made a lot of people from my generation cry and be happy," he told reporters.
José José counted on the unrelenting adoration of fans who turned out to see him as recently as 2017 for concerts in Puerto Rico and the U.S., despite his failing vocals.
MusicObituaries
Sylvain Sylvain, guitarist for glam-punk icons New York Dolls, dies at 69
Sylvain was described as the 'heart and soul' of the New York Dolls, as both guitarist and as mastermind of their vanguard style.
Thar she blows up! How sea shanty TikTok took over the internet
A leading maritime music scholar marvels at the virality of #ShantyTok, as a nation of teens and 20-somethings howl about sugar and tea and rum.
Justice Department leaves decades-old music industry decrees unchanged
After a review, the Justice Department decided against undoing decades-old consent decrees that govern music industry licensing.
MAGA musician Ariel Pink, spurned by fans, complains to Tucker Carlson: 'People are so mean'
Musician Ariel Pink, dropped by his label after he attended the Jan. 6 Trump rally in D.C., told Tucker Carlson that the blowback had left him "destitute."
Who is Olivia Rodrigo? 5 things to know about the viral 'Drivers License' star
"I guess you didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me," Olivia Rodrigo sings in "Drivers License," which is breaking streaming records left and right.
The mystery is over: Ariana Grande taps Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat for new remix
Ariana Grande revealed Thursday her "34+35" remix will feature "WAP" rapper Megan Thee Stallion and "Like That" singer Doja Cat.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day events lead this weekend's 21 culture picks
L.A.'s California African American Museum holds a remembrance with music and a study group, and a Santa Monica concert centers on Black composers.
Lose the earbuds. Ditch the phone. How to get the most out of your music
While homebound during quarantine, making a few budget-friendly tweaks to your listening setup can add depth and dimension to the experience.
The lost art of deep listening: Choose an album. Lose the phone. Close your eyes.
The best music to help you fall asleep and combat coronavirus anxiety

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Radar Innovations Lab 3190 Monitor Ave.
Stephenson Life Sciences Center 101 David L. Boren Blvd.
Stephenson Research and Tech Center 101 Stephenson Pkwy.
National Weather Service 120 David L. Boren Blvd.


If average speed of your car will be standard for this route between Paris Gare de Lyon, Place Louis Armand, 75571 Paris, France and 44 Rue de l'Amiral Hamelin, 75116 Paris, Fr and road conditions will be as usual, time that you will need to arrive to 44 Rue de l'Amiral Hamelin, 75116 Paris, Fr will be 1 hour.
Driving distance between Paris Gare de Lyon, Place Louis Armand, 75571 Paris, France and 44 Rue de l'Amiral Hamelin, 75116 Paris, Fr is calculated by google maps and it is 99 mi.
You need 2 hour to reach 44 Rue de l'Amiral Hamelin, 75116 Paris, Fr from Paris Gare de Lyon, Place Louis Armand, 75571 Paris, France , if you are travelling by car.
Average amount of gas with an average car when travelling from Paris Gare de Lyon, Place Louis Armand, 75571 Paris, France to 44 Rue de l'Amiral Hamelin, 75116 Paris, Fr will be 7 gallons gallons which costs 10 $.


You have probably heard, that Google will include page access time into page ranking calculation. Basically – faster your page loads – better rank you can get. That is quite fair, since Internet speed is growing and people, who care about their content – should also care about speed. Here is list of several online tools, that can help you get overview of your page response time and receive useful recommendations.
Page Speed – provided by Google itself, offers nice Firefox/Firebug addon for webpage access time analysis.
YSlow – nice tool from Yahoo!, gives many useful tips on how to improve page access time.
WebPagetest – this nice tool gives you very deep detailed overview for each file, that is used on your page. You will get nice recommendations as well.
code.google.com/speed/ – several additional tools for speed improvement.


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NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE NEFARIUM MARCH 9 2017
March 9, 2017 / Joseph P. Farrell / 19 Comments
Fallout (and I mean that literally) from the BREXIT: a common nuclear deterrent for the European Union?
Fearing U.S. Withdrawal, Europe Considers Its Own Nuclear Deterrent
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Vomito Blanco on March 10, 2017 at 10:41 am
It could be a failsafe to ensure that one batch of satanic pedophiles always has access to nukes in case another batch gets routed out. The pedophile cult might be worried that they could loose control of the US's nuclear arsenal soon and want to ensure that they always have their fingers on the launch codes somewhere else in case they need to threaten a doomsday scenario against their opponents.
marcos toledo on March 10, 2017 at 12:44 am
A nuclear armed EU Earth worst nightmare these these tribal savages should be the last who should have access to these weapons.
Robert Barricklow on March 9, 2017 at 6:34 pm
They won't let and democracy or sovereign wannabe get in their way of European total control. Blackmail, pedophile, murder, mass murder, assassinations, suicideds, you name it-the bag the of tricks-they won't accept defeat. Nuclear is an option of many others
Neru on March 9, 2017 at 5:09 pm
Eurocrats can't be trusted with a hydrogen bomb. Those people are so far gone they might actually detonate one!
Milton Zentmyer on March 9, 2017 at 5:06 pm
Dr Farrell and GDS members: does anyone else find another disturbing element to nuclear capabilities eventually morphing into the hands of radical Islam by way of cultural Jihad in the next 20 years or so? Can anyone think of a worse cult of conquest and death than that of Islam in control of these weapons? The EU and Germany in particular seem to be on this death march into the future regarding Islam and it's 7th century populations…..have they lost their collective minds?
iZeta on March 9, 2017 at 6:10 pm
you bet! especially if Soros continues taking his longevity pills to see his madness come true. Didn't the new nazis say that they wanted to ultimately break up Europe and the easiest way was to distabilise it through a diaspora, and if that didn't work they would bring about WWIII? It seems to me that the islamic infestation of Europe PLUS Europe becoming a nuclear power is not a good mix.
goshawks on March 9, 2017 at 10:06 pm
I recommend re-reading Frank Herbert's "Dune" with attention to the use of 'family atomics' for conquest…
goshawks on March 9, 2017 at 4:09 pm
1st thought: Does France hand-count its ballots, or does it use some version of electronic-voting machine? This would determine whether Ms. le Pen really has a chance of winning. (For that matter, what do the rest of the major European powers use?)
2nd thought: I can't remember exactly where I read it, but Germany was a major sub-contractor for much of the French warhead-making program. In other words, much of the 'sophisticated' bomb-enabling technology may already exist in Germany.
3rd thought: I suspect that a major part of this 'movement' is not part of anti-NATO or anti-Trump fervor, but the reaction to UK not being a substantial part of the European deterrence force. Brexit may result in the Brits becoming insular, and not launching on the dreaded Ruskies at first contact. This leaves the eastern side of Europe where? Hence, a form of WWI 'trigger' where it's all or nothing…
Final thought: This EU program would convert France from being a "we'll get them if we have enough extra warheads" priority for Russia, to a "get them first, before they can launch" priority. I'm not sure that the average French citizen would welcome this change in status…
Kahlypso on March 9, 2017 at 4:51 pm
HI Goshawks, France uses a paper ballot system. You get a bunch of leaflets, one with each candidate, that you put in an envelope (in a box cabinet for privacy) you throw away the unused ones and post the envelope in a clear plastic box, signing the register with photo id, france has id cards. Being english I dont vote. 🙂 However with Brexit coming up I need to think about getting papers again… that didnt used to be a problem. Going to be a big problem if Mme Le Pen is voted in.. Yeh.. Or maybe not.. who knows.
Kahlypso, thanks for the 'complete' response. It sounds like the French are less gullible/controlled than Amerikuns.
Good luck with the Brexit shenanigans. It will be interesting to see if the (top-dawg) PTB really want UK separate from EU (and will thus 'mandate' a gentle treatment from EU), or whether UK will be hung out to dry as an example to the rest of EU. Interesting times…
basta on March 9, 2017 at 1:56 pm
Considering France already has its own Force de frappe, I guess this just leaves…. who? Of course! Luxembourg wants nukes!
Seriously though, Germany should be on suicide watch, and I wouldn't give the country sharp objects, let alone nukes.
As for the caviar gauche clown show in Brussels, well, would you even trust them with your credit cards, let alone a hydrogen bomb?
Oh and I highly doubt that Poland, Hungary or even the Netherlands would be at all comfortable with a German bomb, and they'd probably run screaming from the room (or the EU) instead. Poland in particular would cut any deal possible with the US/NATO rather than seeing Germany with nukes.
LGL on March 9, 2017 at 1:03 pm
Another Post for convenience of location:
Link from wikileaks:
"As part of the release, the organization posted to Twitter a password for "Vault 7" that read as follows: "SplinterItIntoAThousandPiecesAndScatterItIntoTheWinds."
That password was a subset of words spoken by President John F. Kennedy 54 years ago, only a month before he was assassinated:
"I will splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it into the wind," were his exact words, according to a Kennedy administration official who spoke with The New York Times for a report published three years after JFK's death.
Speaking in a History Channel program several years ago, Samuel Halpern, author of "The Assassination of JFK," claimed that the threat stemmed from Kennedy's frustration with the CIA, which he believed was becoming a "state within a state."
http://conservativetribune.com/meaning-behind-wikileaks-password/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=conserv_tribune
Yes I thought that was quite amazing when Wikileaks released the key, and wondered why no one had reported on the underlying meaning re: JFK.
But you can be sure it certainly did not go unnoticed at Langley, and lots of other places as well. Seems the CIA is in a covert war that just went hot and lots of players are lined up to try and take it down — if not entirely, then at least a few notches.
It has no place in a democracy. Its a horrible club of privilege and morel less social elite, so … no limits imposed as children, getting their hands on the dirty bedroom secrets of the people they were supposed to be protecting.
Maybe they inherited problems that they got from the FBI and they saw how effective bedroom blackmailing worked thanks to J Edgar Hoovy, who saw how well it worked on him.. No such thing as the Mafia eh?
I'd liken the CIA to the Gestapo.. but at least the Gestapo were working to AN ethical code. Brutal racism and genocide, certainly.. but at least its AN ethical code.
When you see them dippling into telepathy as a real thing, to remote view people and places. And then you hear about mind control programs.. and people turning into killers because their phone app told them to do it..
(seriously…..If I suddenly start hearing my cat telling me to kill someone, I'm going to start asking him what does cat litter taste like.. Does he like it? How can he sleep for so long.. during the day.
Just because he says go kill some dude over there doesnt mean I'm suddenly going to do it… Where did the 'I decide' go…? Is that telepathy?)
Would make the Ultimate Hidden Killer… Like some turkish police officer suddenly killing russians in museums or art gallerys.
Maybe.. The High Octane Speculation(tm Dr F) wasnt going high enough. .Maybe these CIA people have been going interdimensional to find new finds to kill at distance and find a way to control you.
Even the guy who made them said he regretted it.
The first error was Yale. THey shouldnt have enlisted from Yale.
Break it up into a ten to the power of. Then, put them all in prison. Even if we don't know why they are in jail, they'll know.
Awesome comment Kahlypso! But let us not forget that every country has it's own secret intelligence agency and one country will never get rid of its own agency if the other country has one. What we (humanity) need is a moral compass. We had it, and it came by way of the teachings of Christ, but we threw it away.
Now we're hearing that these secret services are dabbling with unseen forces that seem very keen to see humanity fail, and since humanity has been slowly indoctrinated to turn away from high spiritual teachings, humanity is unable to differentiate a good act from a bad one.
I don't think the first error was Yale. I think the first error was Medici resurrecting the Hermetica .
Kahlypso on March 10, 2017 at 5:19 am
@iZeta. Jesus didnt teach anything, we dont even know he existed. It seems his name was warped from Io Zeus, to bring the pagan greeks into the fold, as Shamash… or Invictus if you want.. was used as an advertisement image for Byzantine paintings with golden auras round everyone's head… The catholic church systematically destroyed pagan religious sites to build their own temple on top and lets not even start on the Virgin Mary hijacking Isis..
Quetzecoatl however… Plenty of 'eyewitness accounts' and his teachings seem very Jesus-esque. (except from when he starts raining down death and molten destruction from above, when some village wanted to egorge him…… With actual success in changing and maintaining social order.. Even the Spaniards were amazed at the lack of cupidity and crime in the Aztec society as they wzere hacking them to pieces and stealing their gold and destroying their cultural heritage in the name of god..
Kahlypso, I suspect that the various Psi programs have a far-higher classification rating than the Manhattan Project did. They are the keys to the kingdom, so to speak. Their only limitation is that they can only be used 'sparingly' for public use without someone convincingly connecting-the-dots.
What I am curious about is whether being a Psi 'agent' is massively hazardous to your health. There is the case of the Star Gate program's possibly-best Remote Viewer, Pat Price, dying of a sudden heart attack. Was he 'sniped' from the other side? Soviet tests during that period used rabbits in a submarine as test objects. Reportedly, their Psi agents succeeded in stopping rabbit hearts while the sub was submerged. (And that only includes Human 'sniping'…)
Darwinian biologists often build a case around why a particular trait is reinforced or selected-out. I could make a case that Psi talents are in the 'selected-out' category. They are the big wild-card. They would be hunted-down by anyone knowledgeable of their abilities. No kids, no passed-on genetic predisposition. Kind of sounds like all the killings of 'wise women'/soothsayers/witches/druids/etc over the centuries, doesn't it?
(I hate to go B5 on you, but there was a clear reference to the Shadow side going after native Narn psychics – to the point where that strain of DNA literally vanished from their species…)
Oh definately – its up there with time travel and anti gravity..and aliens (the real ones)
What better way of maintaining complete control than telepathy.. thanks for the name of Pat Price. didnt know about him..
All this 'telepathy is actually a thing apparently..' puts Dr Griers disclosure projet ina different light… Ive seen videos of him orghanising 'contact sessions' where hes showing people trying to connect telepathically with aliens… eep..


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Q: 'Develop on Kubernetes stopped working since Intellij Update' This has been happening ever since I have updated Intellij (IDEA CE 2020.3) to a newer version (today). I am getting this exception from the plugin when running the Develop on Kubernetes Run Configuration that I usually use with my local Minikube instance to get all of the services in the cluster up and running, and able to Debug in debug mode.
My local Minikube instance is fine shown by the following:
(Dev) $ minikube status

minikube
type: Control Plane
host: Running
kubelet: Running
apiserver: Running
kubeconfig: Configured

I've tried checking for updates, restarting Intellij, and I am still getting the same thing. It must be something in relation to my Intellij Update but we'll have to see...
The full stack trace is:
java.util.ServiceConfigurationError: io.grpc.ManagedChannelProvider: io.grpc.netty.shaded.io.grpc.netty.NettyChannelProvider not a subtype
    at java.base/java.util.ServiceLoader.fail(ServiceLoader.java:588)
    at java.base/java.util.ServiceLoader$LazyClassPathLookupIterator.hasNextService(ServiceLoader.java:1236)
    at java.base/java.util.ServiceLoader$LazyClassPathLookupIterator.hasNext(ServiceLoader.java:1264)
    at java.base/java.util.ServiceLoader$2.hasNext(ServiceLoader.java:1299)
    at java.base/java.util.ServiceLoader$3.hasNext(ServiceLoader.java:1384)
    at io.grpc.ServiceProviders.loadAll(ServiceProviders.java:67)
    at io.grpc.ServiceProviders.load(ServiceProviders.java:42)
    at io.grpc.ManagedChannelProvider.<clinit>(ManagedChannelProvider.java:37)
    at io.grpc.ManagedChannelBuilder.forAddress(ManagedChannelBuilder.java:37)
    at com.google.cloud.tools.intellij.kubernetes.skaffold.events.SkaffoldEventHandler.newManagedChannel(SkaffoldEventHandler.kt:319)
    at com.google.cloud.tools.intellij.kubernetes.skaffold.events.SkaffoldEventHandler.listenEvents(SkaffoldEventHandler.kt:75)
    at com.google.cloud.tools.intellij.kubernetes.skaffold.run.SkaffoldCommandLineState$startProcess$1.invokeSuspend(SkaffoldCommandLineState.kt:189)
    at kotlin.coroutines.jvm.internal.BaseContinuationImpl.resumeWith(ContinuationImpl.kt:33)
    at kotlinx.coroutines.DispatchedTask.run(Dispatched.kt:241)
    at kotlinx.coroutines.scheduling.CoroutineScheduler.runSafely(CoroutineScheduler.kt:594)
    at kotlinx.coroutines.scheduling.CoroutineScheduler.access$runSafely(CoroutineScheduler.kt:60)
    at kotlinx.coroutines.scheduling.CoroutineScheduler$Worker.run(CoroutineScheduler.kt:740)

I am getting the same behaviour in both DEBUG mode and RUN mode.
Environment Info

*

*IDE type: IntelliJ

*IDE version: Community Edition 2020.3

*Cloud Code version:  20.10.1-202

*Skaffold version: v1.14.0

*Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

Any help, suggestions or resolutions would be really appreciated so thank you in advance! Thanks

A: This issue was fixed with patch release 20.12.1 that was put out shortly after the EAP release. Please try it out and if you run into any other issues feel free to post on our GitHub. – eshaul

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


New Arrival Festival is an open-to-the-public celebration of the individuals and families resettling right here in the City of Angels. Guests will learn what it's like to resettle here in LA and connect with their new neighbors in an atmosphere of music, food, art and storytelling.
Opening Remarks with Miry Whitehill, Founder, Miry's List and a Los Angeles city elected official who has been instrumental in making Los Angeles a more welcoming place for all.


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CTVA presents LatinAuteur – Cinema from Spain to Latin America
A collage featuring movies which are a part of the LatinAuteur screening this Spring semester. Photo credit: Clare Calzada
Melissa Rojas
CSUN's Cinema & Television Arts department has decided to host a LatinAuteur screening of various cinema from Latin America and Spain throughout the spring semester. The screenings will take place every Wednesday at 7 p.m., starting Feb. 6 at The Elaine and Alan Armer Screening Room which is located in Manzanita Hall, Auditorium Room 100.
The theme was suggested by Media Theory & Criticism Professor Dianah Wynter, who believes that the most powerful tool, when it comes to filmmaking, is language. She offered the idea of programming Spanish themed and Spanish language films to "use as a lens through which to examine the cultural expression of several filmmakers that share a certain commonality."
The movies were selected for several reasons, the most important being language.
"The language is what will hold this collection of films together," said Wynter. "We wanted to bring in people from different cultural expressions."
One filmmaker that will be seen in the program is Pedro Almodóvar, who is from Spain. Almodóvar found success in filmmaking despite living during a dictatorship where the state had authority over what kinds of movies were being made. His movies were mostly about women and the hardships they faced like in his 1988 film, "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown."
Another featured filmmaker is Luis Buñuel, who was exiled from his homeland in Spain because of his conflicting views in politics. He fled to Mexico where he directed the movie "The Exterminating Angel" in 1962.
Both Almodóvar and Buñuel were from different times but they shared experience in oppression and denied giving into the exploitation of their art.
The films were selected because of the rarity in being able to find them. "Carmen" by Carlos Saura, in particular, "Was very difficult to find the rights to show," explained Wynter. This movie was made in 1983 which means the technology to keep this film was not long-lasting. Finding films from even before the '80s are considered rare finds.
Lastly, the film selection came down to their award-winning titles, ranging from Golden Globes to Oscar winners. The films are the best of the best in Latin America and Spain. Among them are films from The Three Amigos, who are Mexican directors that became very successful Hollywood directors: Guillermo del Toro, who directed "Pan's Labyrinth," Alfonso Cuarón, who directed "Y Tu Mama Tambien," and Alejandro Iñarritu, who directed "Amores Perros."
This screening event also hosts movies that celebrate Black History Month such as "City of God" by Fernando Meirelles, which "explores the diversity of Hispanic culture in South America, in Brazil."
Wynter expressed her belief that because of the majority of the campus's population being of Latino or Hispanic descent, it is very important for those individuals of the CSUN community to be exposed to films representing their own culture.
"It's really incumbent on us to make sure that some of the best films of their heritage are shown so that they have the opportunity to see them on a big screen," Wynter explained.
This event is not just for students or the CSUN community. It is open to the public, and anyone can invite their family or friends to the weekly screenings at no cost. The screenings are being shown until May 15. However, the week of spring break will be excluded.
"You don't have to be Spanish to love these films or to be exposed to these films," Wynter explained. The event is for everyone, film enthusiasts, Spanish film enthusiasts, anyone who is curious about the art of film — even the students who are just trying to entertain themselves before their night class.
All Wynter asks of event goers is to "seize this opportunity to use language as a lens to explore culture and art in this way."
Melissa Rojas, Author
Soraya performance preview: Melissa Aldana Quartet
A first-generation student-parent overcomes family trauma
The dream of a CSUN alum
Big Lecture speaker Lauren Ridloff returns to campus
Margaret June Brown: The soul of CSUN
Directorial debut for CSUN theater student
Theater department ends semester with 'Once on This Island'
'37th Annual CSUN Powwow' celebrates Native American culture
Pride Center holds 'Trans-Gression Punk Show'
Black Scholars Matter strives to increase Black enrollment


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Country Focus - Romania: Latest political developments. Possible scenarios and implications
Emerging Markets Special Focus Reports
Domestic politics take centre stage once again Romania's ruling coalition collapsed on October 1, after the Social Democratic Party (PSD) quit. The latest dispute between the two coalition allies, the PSD and the PD-L, erupted after Prime Minister Emil Boc dismissed and replaced by a member of his party (the PD-L), the cabinet's interior minister and Social Democrat Dan Nica. The dismissal was based on the grounds that Nica failed to control crime and made unfounded accusations of fraud aimed at attracting votes ahead of the November 22 presidential election. The PSD had warned that should President Basescu endorse Nica's removal from office - which he did - all party members would resign. And as such, the centrist Democrat Liberals were left to rule alone in a minority government. A few days later, a no-confidence motion was initiated by two opposition parties, the PNL and the UDMR, and was passed in parliament on October 13 by a comfortable majority.


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CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST) NOCONA, TEXAS
The beginning…It is from the Disciples of Christ Movement that the Christian Church of Nocona was founded in 1888 when the town was one year old. The community, thriving on the railroad, agriculture, and the leather industry, had among it's early settlers a saddle maker named Marmaduke F. Smith, who moved his family from Savoy, Texas, where he ran a saddle shop and was Postmaster. He moved his family to Nocona in 1888 and set up his saddle business, also serving as Postmaster.
Probably Smith's move to Nocona was motivated more by his desire to establish a Church than by his desire to make saddles or serve as Postmaster. It was under his leadership that the First Christian Church of Nocona (later changed to Central Christian Church) was founded in February of 1888 in the J.M. Odom Building on Clay Street, with Smith serving as the Church's first Minister.
Brother Smith served as the Church's Minister until 1892. He remained in the Church as an Elder until his death in 1895. Brother Smith is buried in the Nocona Cemetery.
Historical timeline…Marmaduke F. Smith, who served as the church's first minister, founded the church in February 1888 when Nocona was only a year old. Services were originally held in the J.M. Odom Building on Clay Street.
The first church building was erected on the present location in 1890. The back walls of the "box-like" church building had to be knocked out in order to accommodate the large crowds of a revival held in 1892.
Additional lots were purchased in 1893. Construction of a new building was started in 1894 by Rogers Brothers and R. Chenowith. In order to complete the building in 1895, $5,000 was borrowed from the General Christian Missionary Convention. The loan was paid in full in 1907.
A great revival was held in 1912. The church clerk reported the "largest audiences ever assembled in Nocona were seen at this meeting." A total of 71 people joined the church with 100 present in Sunday school the last day of the meeting.
A parsonage was built around 1911 on the present site of Harper Hall. This house was sold and moved in 1970, when the new parsonage was built. A lot was purchased that year for $1,000 and construction began at a cost of $15,933.00.
The Rotary Hall was constructed in 1925. The facility was to be used for Rotary meetings and church activities. It served the church for 58 years until Harper Hall was constructed in 1983
A historical medallion was presented to the church by the State Historical Survey Committee in a dedication service on December 2nd, 1962.
On June 6, 1982, ground was broken for a fellowship hall north of the sanctuary. Plans were developed by Harper-Perkins Architectural firm of Wichita Falls at a total cost of $98,299.00 and was paid in full in 1983. The building was dedicated in honor of O.C., Marie, and Bob Harper on June 26, 1983.
The church was honored in 1987 as one of the outstanding congregations in North America.
The church began restoring the sanctuary to its original beauty and spaciousness in 1987. Dedication was held on October 2, 1988.
Construction of a foyer linking the original sanctuary to Harper Hall was completed in 2002.
In 2019 the church will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the building of the sanctuary.
Excerpts from The First 100 Years
by Jim O. Rogers, Ed.D
Typed/Edited by Ray Shields


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EHRs Represent the 'Widgetization' of Medicine
April 01, 2011 04:30 pm Pepi Granat, M.D. –
Editor's Note: AAFP members are all over the map in terms of how they feel about the federal government's plan for health information technology; electronic health records, or EHRs; and the meaningful use incentive program. Here is the opinion of one AAFP member.
Pepi Granat, M.D.
I've been on an EHR for six years and totally paperless for at least three. I think the primary target of the meaningful use money isn't doctors like me, who already have EHRs, but doctors who don't, to induce them to start.
Also, my idea of "meaningful use" and that of the government/medical committees may not coincide, because they're all very keen on counting what's easy to count by computer and calling that "quality." Some of us think that's misguided. The real aim then is to pay or withhold payment accordingly, once we're all trapped in whatever large "system" is evolving.
My concept of quality of medical practice (and that of many family physicians, I think) is much more individualistic and personal and differs in many ways from the government's whole approach. Quality really cannot be measured their way, if at all. A truly "meaningful," in-depth dialogue on this point would be welcomed by those of us who disagree.
The practical side of these comments is that I may use my computer to serve myself and my patients better, according to my own definition of quality (which is not rogue and is equally based on science and good medicine). But if my way isn't set up to count the beans in the way the government wants them counted, I will at first be disincentivized and later, actually penalized.
This is the sad road that medicine is traveling. It is unsafe for diversity. I call it the "widgetization" of medicine: The ascendant powers conceive the round holes, then we become the interchangeable widgets that fit into them. Can that be healthy for our patients or ourselves?
To make matters worse, the round holes of government programs don't always match. We now have two Medicare programs at odds with one other(www.ama-assn.org). The government's own watchdog agency, the Government Accountability Office, has accused CMS of having conflicting incentives and penalties for its electronic prescribing and EHR meaningful use programs. A sad road, indeed.
In closing, I'd like to say that I also don't believe in taking government money. I think the government should keep the meaningful use incentive funds and pay down the deficit.
That might shock you, but that's the way I feel. I'm probably less "successful" monetarily from medicine than many other family physicians, having often practiced -- note I don't say worked -- fewer hours than others do, but I'm still likely as happy as they are. And I'm pleased that the AAFP is willing to publish my heretical ideas!
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Despite TikTok, PUBG ban, India uses Chinese surveillance cameras —
December 19, 2020 - by Jacob - Leave a Comment
The Indian government has banned 267 Chinese apps, including the wildly popular TikTok and PUBG, fearing a threat to national security. But the country remains one of the largest users of Chinese surveillance cameras in the world.
India ranks sixth in the list of countries with the most number of Hikvision and Dahua surveillance camera networks, according to a Dec. 4 analysis by Top10VPN, a publication focused on internet privacy.
The two companies "have enjoyed stratospheric growth to become the world's biggest video surveillance companies despite repeated allegations of enabling systematic human rights abuses in China, Top10VPN said. "Both companies have also been accused of posing significant privacy and security risks to citizens around the world due to their links with the Chinese Communist Party."
In this context, the use of these surveillance cameras highlights a jarring inconsistency in the Narendra Modi government's strong stance against Chinese apps and China-made products, which it believes are "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order."
In all, Top10VPN estimates nearly 2 million cameras from these two Chinese manufacturers are in use outside China.
Both Hikvision and Dahua, leading Chinese manufacturers of video surveillance equipment, have been accused of abetting the repression of the Uyghur ethnic minority in China.
For this reason, and for fears of Chinese espionage, the US Congress banned and blacklisted both companies in the US in 2018. This was a result of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission report, which warned, "Through IoT products and services, Chinese firms may be transferring data from their US consumers to China, where the government retains expansive powers to collect and exploit data with little regard for privacy or ownership concerns."
Yet, the US has the highest number of Dahua and Hikvision cameras in the world.
Both Hikvision and Dahua have claimed that they strictly adhere to international rules and company standards, without specifying what those standards are. Besides the US, concerns over Hikvision's and Dahua's role in suppressing ethnic minorities has been called into question in Norway and the UK.
Top10VPN's analysis is based on a network of cameras that use the same IP address. "As networks tend to comprise multiple devices, the total number of individual Hikvision and Dahua surveillance cameras covered by this report will likely be many times higher than 2 million," it said in the report.
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Q: Equation solver for the shell? Is there an equation solver for the shell? For example, I enter input 1000=x^(1.02) and the shell solves for x.

A: I personally use the qalc package, it's just perfect for day to day usage:
$ qalc -t "1000=x^(1.02)"
x = 873.32616

The -t is just to reduce the verbosity of the result.

A: Mathematica is expensive, but there are several free alternatives.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_computer_algebra_systems - many of these are Free Software with BSD or GPL licenses.
If you use Linux, Axiom (or one of its major forks, OpenAxiom), Maxima, and/or Scilab are probably already packaged for whatever Linux distro you use.
BTW, questions like this have come up several times before on various SE sites, so it's worth searching for other answers.  For example, see https://askubuntu.com/questions/110913/which-softwares-can-serve-as-mathematica-and-matlab-equivalents
Since that mentions Matlab, it's also necessary to mention GNU Octave.  And, of course, R for stats.

A: Wolfram Mathematica has a command line interface, so you can use it in shell, but it is expensive.


text:
Coalición por Europa (CEU) fue el nombre que adoptaron varias coaliciones electorales formadas en España para presentarse a sucesivas elecciones al Parlamento Europeo. Creada para las elecciones de 2009 y reeditada para los comicios de 2014, en ambos casos estuvo integrada por Convergencia Democrática de Cataluña (CDC), Unión Democrática de Cataluña (UDC), el Partido Nacionalista Vasco (PNV) y Coalición Canaria (CC), mientras que el resto de miembros cambió entre ambas ocasiones.

Historia

Antecedentes
Coalición por Europa tuvo como base fundamental la candidatura que, bajo el nombre de Galeusca-Pueblos de Europa, se había presentado a las anteriores elecciones europeas. Adoptaron este nombre tras la negativa del Bloque Nacionalista Galego a renovar la candidatura y la integración de los partidos más significativos que habían formado la Coalición Europea de 2004.

Formación de la candidatura (2009)
Tras tres meses de negociaciones, Coalición por Europa la formaron Convergència (CDC) y Unió Democràtica de Catalunya (UDC), el Partido Nacionalista Vasco (PNV), Bloc Nacionalista Valencià (BLOC), que habían formado parte de Galeusca; Unió Mallorquina, la recientemente creada Unió Menorquina (los tres últimos con relaciones preferenciales con CDC), Coalición Canaria y Partido Andalucista (estos dos pertenecientes a la Coalición Europea de 2004).

La proposición de candidatos se hizo de forma escalonada. Los primeros fueron los integrantes de Convergència i Unió: el candidato de Convergencia Democrática de Cataluña, que será el número uno de la coalición, en detrimento de Ignasi Guardans, el anterior cabeza de lista, será el economista Ramon Tremosa; por su parte Unión Democrática de Cataluña eligió a Salvador Sedó (Sedó será el número tres de la candidatura; posiblemente el cuatro si el BNG hubiese repetido). CDC también negoció la inclusión del Bloc Nacionalista Valencià. Tras las elecciones autonómicas vascas y el anuncio de que el BNG planeaba acudir a las elecciones con Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, Aralar, Chunta Aragonesista y Eusko Alkartasuna, se hizo público que el Partido Nacionalista Vasco (PNV) sí reeditaría la coalición, barajando a Izaskun Bilbao (que dejaría de ser presidenta del Parlamento Vasco, al haberse producido un pacto entre PSE y PP) como candidata propia. Entre las razones para la ausencia del BNG se han citado las reticencias por parte de UDC, que no quería verse relegada al cuarto puesto de la lista, y los malos resultados del BNG en las elecciones gallegas, en las que perdió un escaño y el gobierno de Galicia.

De forma simultánea al anuncio del mantenimiento del PNV en la candidatura, se anunció que comprendería a CiU, PNV, Bloc Nacionalista Valencià y Unió Mallorquina, al tiempo que se citaban conversaciones con Coalición Canaria y Partido Andalucista.

Paralelamente, los miembros de la antigua candidatura de Coalición Europea habían ido haciendo intentos de preparar una candidatura. Coalición Canaria barajó diferentes posibilidades, incluso la alianza con Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, que no se concretó. También reclamó al resto de partidos nacionalistas e insularistas canarios (Nueva Canarias, Centro Canario Nacionalista) su alianza, sin éxito. Por su parte, el Partido Andalucista eligió a Carlos Bautista como su candidato.

Hubo también rumores periodísticos que apuntaban a que Tierra Comunera (en pleno proceso de refundación en el Partido Castellano) se uniera a una posible coalición con Coalición Canaria, el Partido Andalucista, el Partido Aragonés y otras formaciones de la Comunidad Valenciana y Baleares, que finalmente no se confirmaron.

Finalmente, el 13 de abril de 2009 se hizo pública la presencia de Coalición Canaria en la candidatura liderada por los partidos de CiU y PNV, así como el nombre de la candidatura, incluyendo también al Partido Andalucista.

Reedición de la candidatura (2014)
En 2014, y respecto a la candidatura de 2009, se incorporaron el Partido Nacionalista Canario (PNC) —como consecuencia de su pacto con CC—, Reagrupament —escisión de Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, en virtud de un acuerdo con CDC— y Compromiso por Galicia (CxG) —partido galleguista autodefinido como de centro progresista y socialdemócrata—. Por su parte, la abandonaron el Partido Andalucista (PA) —que se presentó en solitario—, Unió Mallorquina (UM) —se disolvió tras estar implicada en múltiples casos de corrupción-, Unió Menorquina (UMe) —estuvo integrada en Proposta per les Illes, que decidió no concurrir— y el Bloc Nacionalista Valencià (BNV) —integrado en Compromís, que se presentó encabezando, junto con Equo, la coalición Primavera Europea—.

Lista electoral

Candidatos
En 2009, los siete primeros puestos de la candidatura fueron:
 Ramon Tremosa (Convergencia Democrática de Cataluña)
 Izaskun Bilbao (Partido Nacionalista Vasco)
 Salvador Sedó (Unión Democrática de Cataluña)
 Claudina Morales (Coalición Canaria)
 Enric Nomdedéu (Bloc Nacionalista Valencià)
 Joan Carles Verd (Unió Mallorquina)
 Carlos Bautista (Partido Andalucista)

En 2014, su cabeza de lista fue Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, miembro de CDC; los candidatos de los partidos integrantes de la coalición fueron Izaskun Bilbao por el PNV, Francesc Gambús por UDC, Javier Morales por CC, y Paulo Carlos López por CxG.

Los ocho primeros puestos de la lista fueron:

 Ramon Tremosa i Balcells (CiU/CDC) - Electo
 Izaskun Bilbao (PNV) - Electa
 Francesc de Paula Gambús i Millet (CiU/UDC) - Electo
 José Javier Morales Febles (CC-PNC)
 Mireia Canals i Botines (CiU - CDC)
 Paulo Carlos López López (CxG)
 Izaskun Goñi Razquin (PNV)
 Montserrat Aymamí i Viade (CiU-CDC (Reagrupament))

Denominación y candidatos por territorio
Aunque la candidatura tuvo como denominación Coalición por Europa, en determinadas comunidades autónomas —como permite el artículo 222 de la Ley Orgánica de 5/1985— se presentó con los siguientes nombres y cabezas de lista:

Adscripción europea de los miembros de la candidatura

Resultados
En 2009, la coalición obtuvo 808.246 votos (5,21% de los votos a candidaturas) en toda España, lo que se tradujo en dos escaños, ocupados por Ramon Tremosa (CDC) e Izaskun Bilbao (PNV). Coalición por Europa cosechó 805.063 votos (un 99,60% de sus votos totales) en las comunidades en la que desarrollan su labor los partidos miembros: 441.810 votos en Cataluña, 208.432 en el País Vasco, 96.297 en Canarias, 26.556 en Andalucía, 18.458 en la Comunidad Valenciana, 9.819 en Baleares y 3.691 en Navarra. Estos votos se suman a los 3.183 obtenidos en el resto de España.

Coalición por Europa fue la lista más votada en las provincias de Gerona, Lérida y Vizcaya. Fue la segunda en Barcelona, Guipúzcoa y provincia de Tarragona, y la tercera en Álava, Islas Baleares, Las Palmas y Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Por comunidades autónomas, fue la lista más votada en el País Vasco, segunda en Cataluña y tercera en Canarias y Baleares. En Andalucía y la Comunidad Valenciana fue quinta y en Navarra séptima.

En 2014, Coalición por Europa fue la sexta candidatura por número de votos, obteniendo  votos (5,42 %) y tres escaños.

Referencias

Coaliciones electorales de España formadas para concurrir a las elecciones al Parlamento Europeo de 2009
Coaliciones electorales de España formadas para concurrir a las elecciones al Parlamento Europeo de 2014

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
One-Year Arrest Update on Prakashanand — He Must Be Praying for a Miracle
File under: Gurus Doin' Time, Hands Where They Don't Belong and The Siddhi of PR
By a former resident of Barsana Dham
[Ed.note: This is the first of what we hope will be many stories written by the readers of this blog. This first piece about Prakashaka BOOM, longtime Gp target Kreepalu's agent in America, is excellent and sets the bar quite high at the onset. If you'd like to have your say about your ex-guru, drop us a line at tips@guruphiliac.org].
25 April 2009 — Last year on this day, Swami Prakashanand Saraswati was cooling his heels in a prison in Alexandria, Virginia. Today he is obsessively compulsively flying back and forth from India to Austin; perhaps trying to shore up his life before he returns to jail — permanently.
Last year, on Thursday, April 24, 2008, after exiting an international flight at Washington Dulles International Airport, Prakashanand was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals from the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force and arrested on 20 counts of indecency with a child. From that afternoon until Saturday afternoon, he was in the custody of law enforcement officers. If justice is served, he will spend the rest of his life in their company.
However, for the past year he has been free on one million dollars bail for the case involving two female minors. He also has a $10 million bond posted by one of his wealthy followers to ensure that he shows up for pre-trial hearings and the trial. The bond was posted so that he could receive his passport back. One stipulation of his bond is that he cannot step one foot back into the multi-million dollar ashram he built southwest of Austin with followers' money. When in Austin, he stays two miles down the road at a home owned by one of his followers.
He has spent a considerable amount of time and money trying to move heaven and earth to get back into his "magical kingdom." But so far Hays Judge Charles R. Ramsay has said no way two times. Now Prakashanand is trying his luck with the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals.
He also appears to be fighting like hell to postpone the actual trial for as long as humanly possible. In fact, for the past year he has not had one single pre-trial hearing. In the past year, Prakashanand's case has been set and reset eight times, according to an article published Friday by Eric Dexheimer, an Austin American-Statesman journalist following the case. He wrote: "Prakashanand's case has been winding through the court system at an unusually slow pace." The Hays DA said in an email to him: "It is true that cases typically are not reset or canceled this many times in my experience."
Although the Hays County DA has not revealed why the hearings have been delayed, rumors indicate that the excuses include Prakashanand claiming illness and hiring new lawyers (who then need time to get up to speed on the case).
The main reason is likely that he is praying for miracle: Hoping that his bad karma will all just go away.
You can be sure that Prakashanand is sparing no expense (of his followers' donations) for the most aggressive legal defense. On one recent document submitted to the 3rd Court for his appeal there were seven lawyers cited. One of his lawyers brags on his firm's website about his history of keeping accused murders and child molesters out of jail.
Since Prakashanand's arrest, Barsana Dham has propagated much misinformation. Most notably, they have been telling followers and new parishioners that the women in the indictment are claiming sexual abuse by Prakashanand, because "they are angry at their parents" and "mad that they had to grow up in Barsana Dham." Nothing could be further from the truth.
The two women are, in fact, among the bravest people on the planet. They stood up to this man and his criminal behavior when so many others have left the organization quietly or turned a blind eye to the truth.
But Barsana Dham's preachers and other higher-ups have not only committed lies of commission regarding this case. They have also omitted sharing several salient points including:
The Hays County Sheriff's office conducted a criminal investigation before they arrested Prakashanand.
The Hays DA presented the case to a 12-member Grand Jury. This means that 12 citizens of Hays County heard the state's case and agreed that there was enough evidence to indict Prakashanand of 20 counts of indecency with a child.
Four branches of the law were involved in Prakashanand's arrest — which could have occurred in Austin, Texas: But didn't.
Barsana Dham's leadership calls former members "demons," because they are speaking out about Prakashanand's (and Barsana Dham's other guru, Kripalu Maharaj's) criminal behavior. The organization forbids current members to have any contact with them. Barsana Dham prefers its ex-members to just go away quietly — and, of course, has profited from people doing just that for decades.
Prakashanand's lawyers are bending the truth on his filings, including the brief to the 3rd Court of Appeals.
The irony is that Prakashanand's followers treat him as if he is God. So, why aren't they asking themselves: How could God get himself into such a mess — and, even more telling, why can't he gracefully get himself out?
Labels: Gurus Doin' Time, Hands Where They Don't Belong, The Siddhi of PR
posted by guruphiliac @ 4:38 PM 28 comments
A Childhood Hell In Chinmoyland
File under: The Siddhi of PR
This is much like what you'd expect from a guru whose primary claim to fame was performing elaborately-staged demonstrations of the fact he was a musclehead:
Tamm... depicts a charlatan who masqueraded as a god and convinced hundreds of thousands to worship him. Her parents were among the first disciples. Chinmoy arranged a "divine marriage" between a Yale-educated hippie and a single mother, then told them to practice abstinence. (Most disciples, however, were directed to remain single.) When Tamm's parents disobeyed and conceived her, Chinmoy invented a myth to explain her birth. He declared her the "Chosen One," a miracle child he'd selected to be his most devoted follower...
She also says the guru controlled his pupils by pitting them against one another. He created a caste system that allowed him to demote or promote members at will. He encouraged members to keep tabs on one another and turn in rule-breakers. Tamm says he once held a fundraiser where disciples paid $25 apiece to hear him describe their worst qualities. At one meditation session, he held a contest for the ugliest girl--a young member with a boil on her face won the distinction.
That's some crazy kind of karma, your "Chosen One" being the instrument of your life's true rendering. Sri Chinmoy clearly made the right choice in Jayanti Tamm.
Labels: The Siddhi of PR
posted by guruphiliac @ 11:05 PM 15 comments
Lynch Takes Assault On 1st Amendment to Kentucky
David Lynch's plan to get his religion into your kids' schools has moved into its post-concert phase. Money made at the concert will now flow to the various regional "peace palaces" of the TM™ org so that efforts to indoctrinate your children can be made on a local basis, including in the state of Kentucky:
Part of the initiative includes funding from the David Lynch Foundation for 1,000 kids in the Central Kentucky area...
In Lexington, anyone can learn the TM technique at the Maharishi Peace Palace, which offers free introductory lectures as well as further instruction to learn a seven-step program.
And a whole lot of "encouragement" to open your wallets to pay for it all.
And that's the whole plan. Raise money to introduce TM™ to children to develop paying customers and adherents to what is CLEARLY a religion.
If TM™ meditation can be in schools, why not Zen, or Vipassana, which is clearly more well-suited to the task of being secular. TM™'s tireless efforts to secularize their ideology is only a few microns thick, folks, covering up what is essentially one grandiose man's grandiose vision of a world ruled by kings (rajas) who will mete out Vedic law, but only as it was interpreted by him. In this world, we will all literally be bowing to pictures of the Maharishi!
Yeah, we know, it's effing crazy, but there are thousands of people who believe it, and those are the people who are trying to get TM™ into the head of as many children as they can.
Gp pal John Knapp has put out a call to the citizens of central Kentucky for any information they might be able to provide. Recently, he attempted to organize a web-meeting about TM™ in schools that was quashed by lawyers from the David Lynch Foundation. We encourage everyone to call their schools and raise a ruckus about this absolute assault on the First Amendment, and not just in Kentucky. TM™ is trying to get in schools from San Francisco to Rhode Island. It's likely that wherever there's a "Maharishi's Peace Palace," there's an effort to trojan their religion into your schools.
Update: For those who want to decide for themselves whether TM™ is a religion, check this out:
Maharishi is expressing this because He has felt a great opening in world consciousness. He now feels that He is ready and able to train as many governors as come forward to be real channels for the decent of Heaven on Earth, Sat Yuga. He wants to bring all the old time people to a mature state of knowledge and experience. He wants to train us to create for ourselves and for the world from within ourselves, and to know by Being, and to create from Being, so that we are masters of our own destiny and the destiny of the world.
This is sacred business for TM™. In other words, their religion.
HuffPo And RusSim Love TM™ In Schools
Arianna Huffington, Russell Simmons, the surviving Beatles and wackjob film director David Lynch all want religion in your childrens' schools.
While we agree that a secularized form of meditation could benefit many kids around the country, TM™ meditation is a religion that arrives with a whole float of ideological assumptions about the world and the TM™ founder, the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Do whatever you can to resist these dilettantes from determining what religion your children are exposed to in the context of their public education (hint: it's supposed to be none.)
posted by guruphiliac @ 1:13 PM 6 comments
Illin' Lama Getting Served
File under: Gurus Doin' Time and The Siddhi of PR
When we last had a visit from the "Lama," Michael Lyons, aka Mohan Singh, he was just put under a warrant for his arrest on sexual assault charges in the U.K. Two years and some change later, he's getting it like he gave it from the press and the prosecutor:
Michael Lyons, 51, styled himself as spiritualist Mohan Singh and victims were convinced he was linked to the Dalai Lama, it is alleged.
But in fact he is a 'sexual predator' who raped and assaulted new or potentially new followers that he found attractive, a jury was told.
Prosecutor Philip Katz QC said: "We say the defendant, calling himself Mohan Singh, is a sexual predator masquerading as a Guru and healer.
"We say he has been systematically raping and sexually assaulting those new recruits into his group who he found attractive."
For any readers who've been closer to Mohan than they wanted to be, a reporter from London's Daily Mail is asking for help:
By way of introduction, I'm a journalist with the Daily Mail newspaper in London.
I have read with interest the many posts on your website.
Could you pass on my details to any of Mohan's victims who have contacted you.
I would like to speak to them for a newspaper investigation into him. I have been covering the court case which is currently running at Wood Green Crown Court in London.
Any other leads for investigating Lyons would be welcome. I would be particularly keen to try and track down his former wife.
colin.fernandez@dailymail.co.uk
We can imagine that woman has better things to do than get involved with her psychopathic ex-husband again, but all the best to anyone who wants to tell their story to Colin and the Daily Mail.
Labels: Gurus Doin' Time, The Siddhi of PR
•Kalki Bhagavan's Very Tangled Web of Cult Ownership
•Bumper Stickers Available Now - Free Mailing
•When a Goddess Falls Back to Earth: Ammachi and th...
•Busted Again, Amma!
•The Queen of the Holy Hell
•Update: 85-Year-Old Swami Up On Rape Charges
•Sex-Crazed Swami Tries Gets To Skate
•Two More Old Scammijis In the News: Kreepalu and P...
•Kreepalu's Protegé Busted!
•Seeking The Old TM™ Master Raghvendra


Tina & Märce's Wedding had place in a beautiful location, in the countryside of Switzerland, up the hill, beside a vineyard. This beautiful couple is not shy when it comes to show their emotions. Their day was an expression of love, friendship, fun and lots of personality, right as they are.


Google may have only just pushed the Android 4.0.3 source code, but don't underestimate the hackers of XDA Developers. The new base version of Ice Cream Sandwich includes immediate support for three devices: the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the Nexus S, and the Motorola Xoom. We already know how ICS looks and feels on a phone, so how about a tablet?
Forum member razorbladex401 seeks to answer our question, providing a build of 4.0.3 that can be flashed to your Motorola Xoom, if you're brave enough. It's an extremely early build, with some functions not working and a few bugs, so you should really only consider doing this if you know exactly what you're doing and you tend to live life to the extreme. Just from what we can see though, general performance seems much improved over Honeycomb.
For us mere mortals, there's a video showing off exactly what Ice Cream Sandwich looks like on the flagship Google tablet of old. Since support for the Xoom has been worked into 4.0.3, it can't be too long before we see an official update from Motorola. Feast your eyes on the video below in the meantime.


text:
Trailer: Miles Morales Will Make Animated 'Spider-Man' An Event
Scott Mendelson Senior Contributor
I cover the film industry.
'Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse'
Despite or because of how frequently we get superhero offerings on television, the notion of a theatrical animated comic book and/or superhero movie is exceptionally rare. In somewhat recent times, we had Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (a whopping $5.3 million in 1993), The Powerpuff Girls Movie ($16m worldwide in 2002), The Incredibles ($620m in 2004), Megamind ($346m in 2010) and The LEGO Batman Movie ($310m in 2017). So it is interesting that we're essentially getting three of these things in 2018, with Walt Disney's The Incredibles 2, Warner Bros./Time Warner Inc.'s Teen Titans Go to the Movies! and Sony's animated Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. Okay, I have to hope that won't be the final title.
If this Bob Persichetti/Peter Ramsey-directed and Phil Lord/Chris Miller-produced animated adventure works, then Sony could be in a position to essentially offer a new Spider-Man movie every year, with a live-action MCU offering and then an animated adventure in alternating years. And that's not even counting the various spin-offs like Venom and Black and Silver. And the biggest trump card concerns the man behind the mask, not Peter Parker but Miles Morales.
As you may know, and as I noted when the Morales announcement was made back in January, Miles Morales was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli as a would-be replacement for Peter Parker in the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book series. The "Ultimate" line was created in 2000 as a way for Marvel to reinvent their flagship characters for modern times and modern readers without ditching the ongoing continuity of the "regular" books. That version of Peter Parker was killed off in 2011 and Miles, a young man who had recently suffered a similar "bitten by an enhanced spider" accident, eventually became Spider-Man to honor the fallen hero.
After the "Ultimate" comic continuity ended in 2015, the character joined the official 616 Marvel universe with Miles being New York's official Spider-Man and Peter Parker fighting crime around the world. And the character has made several appearances in the ongoing Ultimate Spider-Man Disney XD animated series. His first such appearance was voiced by Donald Glover, fitting since the character was partially inspired by Glover's unsuccessful attempts to audition for The Amazing Spider-Man back in 2010, which was something of a flashpoint moment in raising awareness of onscreen diversity problems for blockbuster casting (he played Aaron Davis in Spider-Man: Homecoming).
Yes, for the record, one of the things that made Miles Morales stand out back in 2011 was the fact that he was half-black/half-Hispanic. And thus one of the things that will make this animated Spider-Man movie stand out is that it will star a young hero who is half-black and half-Hispanic. You don't need me to explain the whole "representation matters" thing. Using Miles Morales for the animated offshoot is a terrific and easy way to make it matter alongside the live-action counterpart. It is also a great/easy way to differentiate this new movie from the previous live-action movies and from the many previous Spider-Man animated television shows.
Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) falls through an alternate-universe New York City in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
The teaser offered this morning is a surreal and highly stylized offering that looks like a cross between an Alex Ross image and a psychedelic cover image. Most importantly, this means that 2018 will offer another comic book superhero movie featuring a hero of color, during the same year as Marvel's Black Panther and Jason Moma's Aquaman. A Miles Morales animated Spider-Man movie means that there is a darn good reason, artistically and culturally, for Sony to be making an animated Spider-Man movie in the first place.
Yes, it'll be neat seeing a stylized Spider-Man cartoon over the Christmas season in 2018. And it'll be even cooler to see folks who look like Morales thrill to a superhero who looks like them under the mask. For said demographics, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, starring Shameik Moore (as Miles Morales), Mahershala Ali and Liev Schreiber will be an event movie when it opens Dec. 14, 2018.
I've studied the film industry, both academically and informally, and with an emphasis in box office analysis, for nearly 30 years. I have extensively written about all


A romp through the woods with the Puccini fam.
This video positions the viewer in constant fluctuation between the serenity and over-stimulation that comes with contemplating pockets of natural beauty hidden in the suburbs while spending time with one's family.
A portrait of a family channeled through a misguided wedding video.
A birthday reflection on the three decades of my life while Billy Joel sings about the three decades before that.
A travelogue through Upstate New York, guided by the Puccini family.


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