The guided meditation CD, Breathe Fully Live Free: Meditations to Release Anxiety and Fear, is ready at last and available on www.cdbaby.com/cd/meenamodi2. It is a recorded adaptation, in response to all the feedback, of the BVMI fundraiser "Yoga for Fear and Anxiety" we did last July. Amazon, Google Play, iTunes will have it in a week or two–will post links. New Jersey Whole Foods stores will carry it but this is a longer process and will take more time.
The 80-minute audio guided meditation CD combines wisdom from the East and West, science and contemplative traditions, clinical research and psychotherapy, talk and practice. For 2014, the profits will be given to charities that fight human trafficking and care for the victims.
Mindfulness App To Quit Smoking?


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Artists, Exhibits, Reviews, Wellness July 12, 2014
I'll never forget the feeling when I first saw images of Jason deCaires Taylor's haunting work. After going to his website, I could not stop looking at the images of his underwater sculptures. Part of me was repelled, part of me fascinated, as I am with the ruins of Pompei, or the wreck of the Titanic. His work brought to mind for me concepts such as the passing of time and the concept of freezing time, individuality, community, natural disasters, humanity, death, life, dreaming and sleeping, community, eternity, the preciousness of details, and the mysteries of the lives of others. When you encounter these images, it is almost like you are discovering sleepwalking people that you want to awaken, or ghosts of lives not finished, or people turned to stone by the White Witch of Narnia and doomed to spend all eternity in the depths of the blue sea. One almost can hear the silence, and one fights the urge to hold your breath as you look on these sculptures. There's something about the figure used realistically in an artist's work that draws you in emotionally.
Quite honestly, I haven't been truly moved by art in so long..perhaps because I have seen so much of it… but these sculptures are powerful enough to deliver emotion, whether one likes it or not. One strong emotion it aroused in me was the desire to rescue. Don't you want to wake these immobile stone sleepers, and bring them to the surface? It makes me want to bring them to shore to lead a full life of laughter and color and movement. Perhaps that is the strength of the art, to bring the viewer to action in life, to change thier view a little.
In reality, Taylor's sculptures serve as more than objects of beauty and thought, they are also gardens that help spread natural coral reefs–the sculptures change as they grow underwater, and marine life take up residence among the statues. Some are decorated with coral growths of many colors and kinds, so they resemble a finely made haute couture dress on the figure.
My favorite sculptures are the two women who appear to be swimming in a long pool, luxuriously enjoying the sunshine and the water, looking like nymphs of the lilies. They seem completely at ease and rest.
This Biography was taken directly from the artist's website, which you can see by visiting here.
The Artist and his work.
"Jason deCaires Taylor is a man of many identities whose work resonates with the influences of his eclectic life. Growing up in Europe and Asia with his English father and Guyanese mother nurtured his passion for exploration and discovery. Much of his childhood was spent on the coral reefs of Malaysia where he developed a profound love of the sea and a fascination with the natural world. This would later lead him to spend several years working as a scuba diving instructor in various parts of the globe, developing a strong interest in conservation, underwater naturalism and photography. His bond with the sea remains a constant throughout Taylor's life though other key influences are found far from the oceans. During his teenage years, work as a graffiti artist fired his interest in the relationship between art and the environment, fostering an ambition to produce art in public spaces and directing the focus of his formal art training. He graduated in 1998 from the London Institute of Arts, with a B.A. Honours in Sculpture and Ceramics. Later, experience in Canterbury Cathedral taught him traditional stone carving techniques whilst five years working in set design and concert installations exposed him to cranes, lifting, logistics and completing projects on a grand scale.
With this range of experiences he was equipping himself with the skills required to execute the ambitious underwater projects that have made his name. Carving cement instead of stone and supervising cranes while in full scuba gear to create artificial reefs submerged below the surface of the Caribbean Sea, the various strands of his diverse life resolve themselves convincingly in the development of his underwater sculptures. These ambitious, public works have a practical, functional aspect, facilitating positive interactions between people and fragile underwater habitats."
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Author: Jessica Libor
Artist Interview: Cait Clements
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The Fourth Wall: a public art critique
On Tuesday, March 11, 2014, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts presented its sixth annual Fourth Wall Panel Review. The literature accompanying the…

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Predicting The 89th Academy Awards: Best Original & Adapted Screenplay
By Matt Neglia
With the tech awards officially out of the way, we now turn our eyes to the above the line categories. This year's screenplay categories feel like a done deal in one category while the other is practically a coin flip.
Click below to see my in-depth analysis.
The nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay are:
"Arrival"
"Fences"
"Hidden Figures"
"Lion"
"Moonlight"
We have more information than most to work with here in helping us to determine what will happen in this category. Let's look to the Critics Choice Award, Golden Globe awards for Best Screenplay, the WGA, USC Scripter and BAFTA for Best Adapted and how they all matched with the Oscar.
1995: Sense & Sensibility
1996: The English Patient
1997: LA Confidential
1998: A Simple Plan
1999: The Green Mile
2000: Traffic
2001: Memento
2002: Adaptation & Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind
2003: In America
2004: Sideways
2005: Crash
2006: Little Miss Sunshine
2007: Juno
2008: Slumdog Millionaire
2009: Up In The Air
2010: The Social Network
2011: Moneyball
2012: Lincoln
2013: 12 Years A Slave
2014: Gone Girl
2015: The Big Short
2016: Arrival
1983: Terms Of Endearment
1984: Amadeus
1985: The Purple Rose Of Cairo
1986: The Mission
1987: The Last Emperor
1988: Running On Empty
1989: Born On The Fourth Of July
1990: Dances With Wolves
1991: Thelma & Louise
1992: Scent Of A Woman
1993: Schindler's List
1994: Pulp Fiction
1996: The People vs. Larry Flynt
1997: Good Will Hunting
1998: Shakespeare In Love
1999: American Beauty
2001: A Beautiful Mind
2002: About Schmidt
2003: Lost In Translation
2005: Brokeback Mountain
2006: The Queen
2007: No Country For Old Men
2011: Midnight In Paris
2012: Django Unchained
2013: Her
2015: Steve Jobs
2016: La La Land
WGA
1984: The Killing Fields
1985: Prizzi's Honor
1986: A Room With A View
1987: Roxanne
1988: Dangerous Liaisons
1989: Driving Miss Daisy
1991: The Silence Of The Lambs
1992: The Player
1994: Forrest Gump
1996: Sling Blade
1998: Out Of Sight
1999: Election
2002: The Hours
2003: American Splendor
2006: The Departed
2011: The Descendants
2012: Argo
2013: Captain Phillips
2014: The Imitation Game
2015: The Big Short
2016: Arival
1988: 84 Charing Cross Road
1989: The Accidental Tourist
1990: Awakenings
1991: Fried Green Tomatoes
1992: A River Runs Through It
1994: The Shawshank Redemption
1998: A Civil Action
1999: The Hurricane
2000: Wonder Boys
2003: Mystic River
2004: Million Dollar Baby
2005: Capote
2006: Children Of Men
2016: Moonlight
1983: Heat & Dust
1986: Out Of Africa
1987: Jean de Florette
1988: The Unbearable Lightness Of Being
1990: Goodfellas
1991: The Commitments
1994: Quiz Show
1995: Trainspotting
1997: Romeo + Juliet
1998: Primary Colors
1999: The End Of The Affair
2001: Shrek
2002: Adaptation
2003: The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
2006: The Last King Of Scotland
2007: The Diving Bell & The Butterfly
2011: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
2012: Silver Linings Playbook
2013: Philomena
2014: The Theory Of Everything
2016: Lion
1992: Howards End
1998: Gods & Monsters
1999: The Cider House Rules
2002: The Pianist
2009: Precious
2016: ?
It's pretty incredible when you take a look at the stats for screenplay and you see how many different avenues there are to predict the winner. The wild card all season long has been "Moonlight." Nominated for Original Screenplay at the Critics Choice, BAFTA and even WGA (Where it won!), "Moonlight" has only had one opportunity to compete in an exclusively Adapted field and that was at the USC Scripter where it won. Here are the list of winners for the USC over the last 10 years.
With the exception of "Up In The Air" the USC Scripter has correctly helped us predict the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar winner over the last decade. And let's be honest, we all expected "Up In The Air" was going to win that year. Every stat said it should and it simply ended up being one of those surprise wins for "Precious" that one could not simply predict. "Arrival" seems like the most likely to upset "Moonlight" here as it won at the two award shows where it did not have to go directly up against "Moonlight," the Critics Choice & the WGA. A film that has won those two awards has never gone on to lose the Oscar which will make "Arrival" the first to do so. You can thank "Moonlight's" category placement at the Oscars in Adapted for that one. While no one will be upset to see Barry Jenkins take home an Oscar, it's a shame for all of the "Arrival" fans out there.
Oh, and regarding a surprise "Hidden Figures" win due to its recent surge in popularity or "Lion" trying to repeat its win at BAFTA...not going to happen in my opinion. "Hidden Figures" winning would be the previous scenario all over again and no BAFTA only winner for Adapted Screenplay has gone on to win the Oscar since "The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King" which was the Best Picture winner in a true sweep year. That is not "Lion."
PREDICTED WINNER: "Moonlight"
RUNNER UP: "Arrival"
Here we go. One of the toughest awards of the evening are between two films. One heavily favored to win Best Picture. The other, a Best Picture nominee with a respected writer at the helm whose screenplay is arguably the most celebrated aspect of the movie.
The nominees this year for Best Original Screenplay are:
"20th Century Women"
"Hell Or High Water"
"La La Land"
"The Lobster"
"Manchester By The Sea"
With all due respect to the nominees, this is a two-horse race. "La La Land" has won the Critics Choice and the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay. "Manchester By The Sea" has won the Critics Choice (Tying "La La Land") and won the BAFTA. Neither film won the WGA, failing to give us an idea of which way AMPAS will go. Let's dive in and see where all of this may end up...
2000: Almost Famous
2009: Inglorious Basterds
2010: The King's Speech
2015: Spotlight
2016: La La Land & Manchester By The Sea
1984: Broadway Danny Rose
1985: Witness
1986: Hannah & Her Sisters
1987: Moonstruck
1988: Bull Durham
1989: Crimes & Misdemeanors
1990: Avalon
1992: The Crying Game
1993: The Piano
1994: Four Weddings & A Funeral
1995: Braveheart
1996: Fargo
1997: As Good As It Gets
2000: You Can Count On Me
2001: Gosford Park
2002: Bowling For Columbine
2004: Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
2008: Milk
2009: The Hurt Locker
2010: Inception
2012: Zero Dark Thirty
2014: The Grand Budapest Hotel
1983: The King Of Comedy
1985: The Purple Rose Of Cairo
1987: Wish You Were Here
1988: A World Apart
1989: When Harry Met Sally...
1990: Cinema Paradiso
1991: Truly, Madly, Deeply
1992: Husbands & Wives
1993: Groundhog Day
1995: The Usual Suspects
1996: Secrets & Lies
1997: Nil By Mouth
1998: The Truman Show
1999: Being John Malkovich
2001: Amelie
2002: Talk To Her
2003: The Station Agent
2008: In Bruges
2011: The Artist
2013: American Hustle
2016: Manchester By The Sea
1983: Tender Mercies
1984: Places In The Heart
1985: Witness
1988: Rain Man
1989: Dead Poets Society
1990: Ghost
"Django Unchained" is the only Oscar winner for Original Screenplay since the Critics Choice have been around that has won the Critics Choice, BAFTA and Golden Globe.
However, because Golden Globe is a combination of both Original & Adapted screenplays, here are the films which have won the Critics Choice & BAFTA and went on to win the Oscar:
2005: Crash (Won WGA)
2006: Little Miss Sunshine (Won WGA)
2007: Juno (Won WGA)
2015: Spotlight (Won WGA)
Unfortunately we have to take WGA out of it because both "La La Land" and "Manchester By The Sea" each lost there to "Moonlight" leaving only two times since the Critics Choice have been around that a film won there and the BAFTA and then went on to win the Oscar. BAFTA has predicted this category right 13 times in 33 years (39%). Those are "Manchester By The Sea's" chances.
"La La Land" however has different chances at its side. Here are the films that won the Critics Choice Award & Golden Globe for Screenplay but went on to lose BAFTA and still win the Oscar:
1997: Good Will Hunting
1998: Shakespeare In Love (Won WGA)
1999: American Beauty (Won WGA)
2011: Midnight In Paris (Won WGA)
2013: Her (Won WGA)
That's right. An equal number of times has the Critics Choice/Globe winner gone on to win the Oscar as the Critics Choice/BAFTA winner. The Golden Globe has gotten the Original Screenplay category right within this sample size of 1983-2015, 10 times (30%), which is slightly less than the BAFTA's 39% success rate.
Now, you may think this gives the edge to "Manchester By The Sea" by a slim chance but we have to remember that the Golden Globe celebrates both Original & Adapted scripts in their category. The Golden Globes also have a crazy stat which shows that no winner for for Golden Globe for Best Screenplay EVER went on to lose that award at the Oscars if it also won the Best Picture Oscar. That may be a circumstantial accident but there is no denying that Screenplay typically tends to go towards the Best Picture winner. However, working in "Manchester By The Sea's" favor is the fact that BAFTA has crossover with the Academy where the Critics Choice & Golden Globes do not. Also, no musical has won the Screenplay Oscar since "Gigi" did back in 1958. Even "West Side Story," which won 10 Oscars, only lost screenplay. So what do we do? Unfortunately, we must go with our gut here.
Most will argue that Original Screenplay is the only place to honor "Manchester By The Sea" as many have voiced that they will not be voting for Casey Affleck for Best Actor (That post is coming soon...) and many don't expect nor want to see "Manchester By The Sea," one of the most acclaimed and beloved films of the year, to walk away empty handed. Many also feel that a win here for Kenneth Lonergan, a well respected writer who has had to pay his dues in this business pretty hard (Never forget "Margaret"), would be well deserved and is objectively the better written screenplay compared to "La La Land." However, "La La Land" has universal love and a strong passion for it which will compel many voters to check it off down the line on their Oscar ballots. I honestly don't know what to do here. It would be pretty incredible is a split happened here and another film won such as "Hell Or High Water" but I must make a choice so, I'm going to go against my brain here and vote with my heart and my heart says Lonergan.
PREDICTED WINNER: "Manchester By The Sea"
RUNNER UP: "La La Land"
What are your thoughts on these two categories? Are you picking the same films to win the Screenplay Oscars? Let me know in the comments below.
You can follow Matt and hear more of his thoughts on the Oscars and Film on Twitter at @NextBestPicture


LA Rams Desk Pal no. 30 wants to come running back into your home.
This fun art collectible is a handmade one of a kind scrabble tile football art piece. A running back who is ready to join your team if you adopt him.


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Cover version of the month #60
The Associates cover Blondie
There is a Scottish indie club night called Simply Thrilled that has quite an active Facebook Group page. I love the chat and passion for music that is regularly displayed on the page and recently started a conversation about cover versions and someone commented on The Associates cover version of Blondie's Heart of Glass.
The Associates are a Scottish band that I have yet to fully explore. Plenty of other people have explored and fallen for them, largely thanks to singer Billy MacKenzie who had a voice and style that many admired.
However I instantly fell for their cover version of Heart of Glass. But lets start with the original.
Written by Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, Heart of Glass appears on their seminal Parallel Lines album in 1978, eventually released as the third single from the album, reaching number 1 in the UK and USA.
The song was actually written as far back as 1975 with the working title Once I Had A Love/The Disco Song. They had tried it in various guises before Parallel Lines producer Mike Chapman asked them to play everything they had, they then teased the pop out of it.
Parallel Lines was the bands breakthrough album, spawning classic singles Hanging On The Telephone (a cover of The Nerves song), Heart Of Glass, One Way Or Another and Sunday Girl.
Heart of Glass has disco at its heart and the punk pop band experimented with new drum machines and synths to get their sound. It grooves, it shimmers and it inspires. The extended outro on the album version just brings a smile to my face and makes me want to dance.
Debbie Harry smoulders in the video, her falsetto is glorious, she looks incredible and just seems in complete control. The band look like they are having fun, making exceptional music with a super cool singer. Blondie were on absolute fire.
The Associates, who formed in 1979, released their version 10-years after Parallel Lines. I absolutely adore it. The music is pretty true to the original, but MacKenzie's voice just changes the song completely.
On the Blondie version it is Harry's falsetto that introduces the song, with The Associates it feels more like MacKenzie is talking to the listener personally. The vocal is more controlled and assured, but come 1 minute 23 seconds in and for the second verse, MacKenzie moves things up a little notch.
The synths bubble throughout and if Blondie looked and sounded like they were having fun with the original then that is echoed throughout The Associates version.
The post solo yeeeeaaaaahhh, ooooohhh, lost inside, adorable illusion and I cannot hide, we coulda made it cruising section is absolutely euphoric.
When the Simply Thrilled boys throw their first post COVID club night then I sincerely hope that this is blasted out of the speakers in The Admiral bar in Central Glasgow.
Search for Everything Flows cool cover versions on Spotify for a playlist of the covers I have blogged about and read on for a full list and links to previous cover of the month blogs.
Previous covers of the month
1. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
2. Going Back To My Roots
3. Nirvana play The Vaselines
4. Slip Inside This House
5. Top 10 covers by Teenage Fanclub
6. Only Love Can Break Your Heart
7. Time For Livin'
8. Sound and Vision
9. All Along The Watchtower
10. I Am The Walrus
11. Guiding Star
13. Hurt
14. This Guy's In Love With You
15. I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine
16. California Soul
18. Wonder wall
19. Dancing In The Dark
20. Always On My Mind
21. Ceremony
22. Heroes
23. Different Drum
24. Wild Horses
25. Respect
26. Mr Tambourine Man
27. I Heard It Through The Grapevine
29. Twist and Shout
30. Purple Rain
31. Baker Street
32. Not Fade Away
33. Stop Your Sobbing
34. I Don't Want To Grow Up
35. Serious Drugs
36. Dancing With Myself
37. How Does It Feel To Feel?
38. Love Buzz
39. ABBA-esque
40. Jumpin' Jack Flash
41. Discoland
42. Varshons 2 by The Lemonheads
43. The Langley Schools Music Project
44. Witchi Tai To
45. Our Lips Are Sealed
46. Sunshine Of Your Love
47. Here Comes The Sun
48. I Think We're Alone Now
49. Don't Let Me Down
50. It's Oh So Quiet
51. Alcoholiday
52. Summer Holiday
53. Who Do You Think You Are?
54. Head On
55. Nothing Compares 2 U
57. Seven Days Too Long
58. L.O.V.E Love
59. Into Your Arms
Labels: Billy MacKenzie, Blondie, Christ Stein, Debbie Harry, Glasgow, Heart of Glass, indie club night, Simply Thrilled, The Admiral, the associates
SAY Award 2020 - the shortlist
McCartney
Desert Island Disco
A Real Hero
10 from New Order


text:
Morphological affinities of the Australopithecus afarensis hand on the basis of manual proportions and relative thumb length.
@article{Alba2003MorphologicalAO,
title={Morphological affinities of the Australopithecus afarensis hand on the basis of manual proportions and relative thumb length.},
author={David M. Alba and Salvador Moy{\`a}-Sol{\`a} and Meike K{\"o}hler},
journal={Journal of human evolution},
volume={44 2},
pages={
D. Alba, S. Moyà-Solà, M. Köhler
Journal of human evolution
View on PubMed
whereareyouquetzalcoatl.com
View All 15 Figures & Tables
Reassessing manual proportions in Australopithecus afarensis.
C. Rolian, A. Gordon
American journal of physical anthropology
A resampling approach that includes the entire assemblage of complete hand elements at Hadar, and takes into account uncertainties in identifying phalanges by individual, side and digit number provides the most conservative estimates of manual proportions in Au.
On manual proportions and pad-to-pad precision grasping in Australopithecus afarensis.
S. Almécija, D. Alba
View 18 excerpts, cites background and results
Australopithecus sediba The Hand of Australopithecus sediba
S. Churchill
Environmental Science, Geography
Here we describe the functional morphology of the Australopithecus sediba hand, including the almost complete hand of the presumed female Malapa Hominin (MH) 2 skeleton and a single, juvenile…
Human-like hand use in Australopithecus africanus
M. Skinner, Nicholas B. Stephens,
T. Kivell
Australopithecus africanus and several Pleistocene hominins have a human-like trabecular bone pattern in the metacarpals consistent with forceful opposition of the thumb and fingers typically adopted during tool use, and these results support archaeological evidence for stone tool use in australopiths and provide morphological evidence that Pliocenehominins achieved human- like hand postures much earlier and more frequently than previously considered.
New postcranial fossils of Australopithecus afarensis from Hadar, Ethiopia (1990-2007).
C. Ward, W. Kimbel, Elizabeth H. Harmon, D. Johanson
Biology, Geography
Metacarpal proportions in Australopithecus africanus.
D. Green, A. Gordon
View 18 excerpts, cites background, results and methods
Forelimb segment length proportions in extant hominoids and Australopithecus afarensis.
M. Drapeau, C. Ward
Pan species are unique in having long metacarpals relative to ulnar length, demonstrating that they probably differ from the common chimp-human ancestor, and also that developmental mechanisms can be altered to results in differential growth of individual forelimb segments.
Characterizing the body morphology of the first metacarpal in the Homininae using 3D geometric morphometrics
John H. Morley, Ana Bucchi, C. Lorenzo, T. Püschel
Geography, Biology
bioRxiv
The modern human MC1 is characterized by a distinct suite of traits, not present to the same extent in the great apes, that are consistent with an ability to use forceful precision grip.
Associated cranial and forelimb remains attributed to Australopithecus afarensis from Hadar, Ethiopia.
M. Drapeau, C. Ward, W. Kimbel, D. Johanson, Y. Rak
The expression of bilateral asymmetry in the hands and humeri : a methodological comparison
L. Cashmore
The results of this study recommend the adoption of a more inclusive approach to the study of upper limb bilateral asymmetry, particular when inferences are to be made regarding handedness.
SHOWING 1-10 OF 125 REFERENCES
The locomotor anatomy of Australopithecus afarensis.
J. T. Stern, R. L. Susman
It is demonstrated that A. afarensis possessed anatomic characteristics that indicate a significant adaptation for movement in the trees, and it is speculated that earlier representatives of the A.Afarensis lineage will present not a combination of arboreal and bipedal traits, but rather the anatomy of a generalized ape.
Functional and morphological affinities of the subadult hand (O.H. 7) from Olduvai Gorge.
R. L. Susman, N. Creel
A number of features of the thumb and the distal phalanges suggest that the O.H. 7 individual was capable of more precise manipulation that extant apes.
Joint functions and grips of the Australopithecus afarensis hand, with special reference to the region of the capitate
M. Marzke
Fossil Hand Bones from Olduvai Gorge
J. Napier
IN Nature of December 17, 1960, Dr. L. S. B. Leakey reported on the discovery of a number of fossil bones of the hand and the foot on a living floor some 20 ft. below the uppermost limit of Bed I,…
View 3 excerpts, references background
Talocrural joint in African hominoids: implications for Australopithecus afarensis.
B. Latimer, J. C. Ohman, C. Lovejoy
Comparisons between the hominids and African pongids clearly illustrate the anatomical and mechanical changes that occurred in this joint as a consequence of the evolutionary transition to habitual bipedality.
Body size and proportions in early hominids.
H. Mchenry
These values appear to be consistent with the range of size variation seen in the entire postcranial samples that can be assigned to species, and probably those equations based on the human samples are better than those based on all Hominoidea.
Hand function and tool behavior in early hominids.
R. L. Susman
This work supports the model of Napier that identified morphological correlates of precision and power grasping in the hands of extant primates and in early hominid hand bones, and questions both the underlying rationale and attempts to identify more subtle aspects of precision grasping, based on present evidence.
A new study of the scapula of Australopithecus africanus from Sterkfontein
E. Vrba
Several hypotheses, based mainly on features of the coracoid process, are presented for testing: the gracile australopithecine thoracic shape, scapular placement and angulation of the clavicle to the scapula more closely resembled the condition in extant Pongidae than that in modern man.
Comparative and functional morphology of hominoid fingers.
Comparisons of hominoid metacarpals and phalanges reveal differences, many of which are closely linked to locomotor hand postures, from hylobatid apes to male gorillas.
Biometrical characteristics of primate hands
F. Jouffroy, M. Godinot, Y. Nakano
The lenght proportions of the primate hands and their elements are analyzed in 43 extant genera and 6 fossil genera, finding that paraxony is the most frequent pattern of the simiiform hand, whereas hypermesaxony characterizes humans, hylobatids, and tarsiers.
125 References


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text:
Dozens of wildfires rage in Sweden amid Nordic heat wave
Dozens of wildfires rage in Sweden amid Nordic heat wave /node/1341446/world
Fire burns in Karbole, Sweden, on July 15, 2018. (AFP)
Smoke rises after a wildfire swept through the large forest area in Pyh'ranta, Finland, Wednesday July 18, 2018. (AP)
An aircraft helps to stop the advancing wildfire near to homes, outside Ljusdal, Sweden, Tuesday July 17, 2018. (AP)
An aerial view of the wildfire outside Ljusdal, Sweden, July 18, 2018. (REUTERS)
Updated 19 July 2018
Thousands of people have been warned to remain inside with the windows shut to avoid breathing smoky air
HELSINKI: Sweden says it has mobilized all available resources to put out dozens of wildfires raging across the country.
The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency said Wednesday that two Canadair CL-415 water-bombing planes on loan from Italy joined the firefighting efforts that included helicopters from Norway.
Swedish public broadcaster SVT says an estimated 40 wildfires are burning mostly in Sweden, mostly in the central and western parts of the country, but also in the Arctic north.
Thousands of people have been warned to remain inside with the windows shut to avoid breathing smoky air.
The Nordic region of Europe has experienced an intense heat wave in the past week. Temperatures reached over 32 degrees Celsius (90 F) throughout Finland, Norway and Sweden. The weather also has been dry.
California wildfire moves toward Yosemite, small mountain towns
Deadly fire shuts down key route to Yosemite National Park


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text:
Record illegal cigarette stash found
Trading standards officers in Salford seized a record haul of illegal cigarettes as part of a recent operation.
By JTS Staff
Journal of Trading Standards' in-house team
cigarettes & tobacco
This trade is linked to organised crime gangs who also deal in human trafficking, loan sharking and the drugs trade
Salford City Council trading standards officers have seized more than 91,000 cigarettes in raids carried out with sniffer dogs over the past three weeks.
In one home, which was raided together with Greater Manchester Police, council officers found 67,950 counterfeit cigarettes and more than 150 50g pouches of rolling tobacco. The haul, which has an estimated street value of £40,000, is the single biggest stash of illicit tobacco ever recovered in Salford.
In addition to the residential address, officers visited 25 businesses as part of this year's Keep It Out campaign against illegal and counterfeit tobacco.
One shop visit uncovered dozens of packets of counterfeit cigarettes concealed in a secret compartment behind a shelf full of soft drinks.
In total officers seized 4,567 packets containing 91,340 cigarettes, as well as 256 50g pouches of hand rolling tobacco. All of the goods seized were counterfeit or non-duty paid, and had a combined estimated street value of £45,967. Officers also seized £4,967 under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Councillor David Lancaster said he was pleased to see the majority of shopkeepers were doing the right thing and not selling illegal tobacco, but those who were would face further investigation. "There are no bargains to be had when it comes to illegal tobacco," he said. "This trade is linked to organised crime gangs who also deal in human trafficking, loan sharking and the drugs trade.
"Illegal tobacco is also robbing the public purse of much-needed revenue for vital services including the NHS, and these products are often targeted at young people getting them hooked on smoking and damaging their health.
The raids took place in Swinton, Eccles and Little Hulton. No further details are being released due to ongoing investigations.


Usually in our blog we have some cool new things to talk about regarding the Xbox gaming systems. From new controllers, to Xbox360 vs. XboxOne we have the dish on everything. However we have decided to go a different route today and share with you a guest post from the mother of an extreme gamer. A middle school 12 year old who loves his Xbox and Xbox live. What is the gaming world like from the parents point of view? Welcome Sophia…..
My 12 year old son is addicted to his Xbox..but I don't necessarily think it's a completely bad thing! Let me explain… It's started as a reward for doing well in school and keeping his grades up. My husband and I decided after struggling with our son to get his homework done we needed another avenue then just getting upset and taking privileges away. We needed something exciting and positive for him to look forward to. Introduce our offer of buying him the Xbox 360 that all the kids were talking about. In order for him to get it he had to keep his grades to a's and B's. he had to do his homework every night and have no excuses of I forgot it at school. If he could keep this up for the entire quarter he would get his new Xbox. He was ecstatic and tried his hardest and succeeded. He had a Wii and a Playstation, but the Xbox was different. It was the coveted of all gaming systems. After getting the Xbox 360 he continued to do well in school otherwise risk losing valuable playing time with his friends. Next though he needed to stay caught up on his chores. He is a lazy one if you don't get him up and moving when it comes to helping with the pets and around the house. Next deal was do your chores every week throughout the month and you can have a monthly subscription to Xbox Live. This was even better in our sons eyes. Now he could consistently play with his friends and chat with them too! Slowly after the Xbox One came out his friends started to upgrade to this new gaming system. In order to play on Xbox live you need to have the same gaming system to interact. This was his new coveted need to have gaming system. Again in order to be able to get it he needed to work towards it. And being the determined child he his he once again succeeded.
While I agree that too much time on gaming equipment or technology in general is not good for kids or any of us for that matter, I do think it opens up a window of communication especially when kids can't go over to their friends house or bored at home. When the game MineCraft came out I was especially happy because it encourages kids to use their imaginations and build things they are proud of. My son and his friends built towns and designed their own houses and farms. They made a treasure map hunt and aspired with their friends to build cool things. I do agree that some of the games out there such as Grand Theft Auto are bothersome and I myself wanted to shield my child from the profanity and crudeness of the game, but there are games out there that are some what educational like Minecraft. All in all the world is continuing to grow with technology, when once few had cell phones to now kids carrying around iphones of their own, it is inevitable that kids are going to be attracted to gaming. However if you have them work towards getting these expensive systems it also teaches them to work for and appreciate things. Just my thoughts!
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Q: Companion Matrix of first degree monomial $x$ What is the Companion matrix of $x$? Is it $[0]$ or $[1]$?

A: Using the definition that the characteristic polynomial of the companion matrix is equal to the original polynomial, you have $C(p) = [0]$ if $p(x)=x$.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Ellie Spence and Tom Clare Wiki, Biography, Age, Family, Height, Net Worth, Fast Facts
Ellie Spence and Tom Clare Wiki, Biography
The new season of Love Island returns this winter on ITV with a big change to the format. Previously, the UK-based dating show used to feature bombshells (newcomers/singles) in the second or third episode. But ITV has now decided to welcome a bombshell in the premiere episode of Love Island 2023.
On January 12-13, the network ran a voting poll asking viewers to choose a new entrant between two bombshells: Ellie Spence and Tom Clare.
The official synopsis for the reality television show reads: "A group of men and women participate in a series of tasks with a couple who exchange until they find the love of their life."
The results will be shown on Love Island Season 9 Episode 1 which will air on Monday 16th January 2023 on ITV2 at 9pm. m. GMT (4:00 PM ET).
Bombshells of Love Island 2023: Ellie Spence works in a law firm while Tom Clare is a footballer
One of the bombs will enter the village of Love Island, located in South Africa, in episode 1, while the other will be sent a day or two later.
Who is Ellie Spence?
Ellie Spence is one of the first Love Island 2023 bombshells who can enter the villa in Episode 1. The 25-year-old Norwich native is a business development executive at a law firm.
In the introductory video of her, she stated:
"I think people are very surprised when they find out that I work in a law firm. I feel like I try to put my professional face on everything I can, but to be honest, I'm just as wild at work as I am outside of work. So you know I'm going wild, like, Monday through Friday. I have no filter, like, I'm a big sharer."
The bio of her on the ITV site indicates that she has been single for three years and she is the type of person who can fall in and out of love rather quickly. She described herself as "a party girl" who refuses to go home from a party.
Explaining what kind of man she's not looking for in her ITV biography of her, she said:
"Overconfident guys and guys who think they can get any girl when they think they're in shape and a 10/10 when really they're none of the above. I like confidence but not arrogance."
In the Love Island Instagram post, Ellie mentioned:
"I will bring drama, fun, and a bit of unpredictability."
Fans can follow her on Instagram at @elliespennie.
Who is Tom Clare?
Tom Clare is the other Love Island 2023 bombshell who can enter the villa in the premiere episode. The results of the viewer voting will be announced in Episode 1, which will show if Tom is the first to join the original lineup of contestants in Episode 1.
Tom, 23, is a native of Barnsley and a semi-professional footballer. He shares a good mentor-student relationship with former Welsh professional footballer Robbie Savage. The latter is the manager of Tom's football club, Macclesfield.
In an interview, Robbie reacted to Tom's involvement in Love Island. He said:
"I'm really excited for the guy who will get on the plane to South Africa, where the show is filmed, as a non-league 6'5″ unknown center forward and get to come home a TV star. How can he? deny that opportunity?
Meanwhile, Tom claims in the ITV biography of him that he "isn't a snake" as he believes in solving problems by talking to someone face to face. He describes himself as "loyal, trustworthy, family oriented" and "protective".
Tom has mentioned in the ITV biography of him that he wants a loyal partner and that he is ready to get married. He said:
"My family knows how loyal and genuine I am. I would do anything for anyone and I always treat someone the way they treat me."
"Since my ex-girlfriend, no one has really come to me and I've been like, 'Wow.' Until I have that, I'm really not going to settle for less. Not in a bad way, but the next person I take, I want to get married ".
Fans can follow Tom on Instagram at @tomclare__.


The North of the Netherlands is a stronghold in various sectors of the Dutch economy. These include agrifood and biobased economy, chemical industries, data centers, life sciences, offshore wind technology, and water technology.
The Northern Netherlands has already made significant investments in the biobased economy. The region recognizes the urgency of industrial cooperation in the development of this sector, as well as implementation from joint knowledge development and technology use to obtain more value from biomass.
The region is a major producer of raw products for the food industry and aquaculture, including sugar beets, potatoes, milk (and all of its derivative products) and grains, which makes the Northern Netherlands exceptionally attractive to companies with activities based on the ingredients produced by agro-processors. It also has a strong paper and cardboard sector, which process a substantial amount of biomass.
The Dutch Biorefinery Cluster (DBC) is an alliance between agricultural cooperatives (Cosun, FrieslandCampina and AVEBE), Productschap Akkerbouw (Arable Farming Product Board), Courage, the Koninklijke Vereniging van Nederlandse Papierfabrieken (Royal Netherlands Association of Paper Factories) and NOM. This project is aimed at developing new technologies that turn residual products into raw materials for other products.
The Carbohydrate Competence Center is a consortium of knowledge institutions and businesses setting out to generate, develop and share knowledge in the carbohydrates area. The purpose of this is to promote innovation and to contribute to a healthy and sustainable society.
Examples of AgriFood and Biobased economy related companies in the Northern Netherlands include Cosun, FrieslandCampina, AVEBE, Lypack, Hellema, Van der Meulen Meesterbakkers, Steensma Food Ingredients, DOC Kaas, Agrifirm, Royal Smilde foods, Frysian Egg, and Koopmans Meelfabrieken. Knowledge institutes and other relevant institutes include the University of Groningen, Hanzehogeschool Groningen University of Applied Sciences, UMCG, Van Hall Larenstein (division of Wageningen University), Dairy Campus, Dutch Drying Institute, and Wetsus.
The chemical industry in the Northern Netherlands comprises two clusters. The Delfzijl cluster is currently based on salt, specialty chemicals, and gas, but in future will focus on green energy and CO2 chemistry. Delfzijl is also one of the two Dutch clusters producing chlorine. The Emmen cluster is based on plastics and polymers. The main focus is cost sharing and greening raw materials.
Both clusters have space for co-siting or green field investments. Both Delfzijl and Emmen are connected to the Dutch and German markets by road, rail and waterways. Examples of chemical companies established in the Northern Netherlands include AKZO Nobel (Salt, MCA), PPG Industries Chemicals, PPG Industries Fiber Glass, DOW (MDI purification), Teijin Aramid (Twaron fiber), Lubrizol (cPVC), ChemCom Industries (formaldehyde), DSM (engineering plastics), Delamine (amines), and Zeolyst (zeolites).
The Northern Netherlands has a mild climate, which is ideal for free cooling of data centers. It uses a green energy mix of biomass, wind turbines and hydropower. In fact, the region has the largest onshore Dutch wind farm, generating 600+ MW. The power supply in general is secure and is able to produce > 8,000 MW at close range with reliable connectivity and low latency.
Examples of Data Centers in the Northern Netherlands include Google, ATOS, KPN, Data Center Friesland, CJIB, Netwizard, and DUO. Knowledge institutions and related companies include Tata Communications, University of Groningen Center for High Performance Computing and Visualization, TNO Information and Communication Technology, Sensor Universe and Energy Valley.
This region of the Netherlands has focused on life sciences & health with an emphasis on healthy ageing. There are eight health-related universities within a 120 miles radius, including the largest university medical center in the Netherlands (Groningen) as the center of the Healthy Ageing Campus. ERIBA, the European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, is also based here and performs fundamental research in the field.
The Biobank LifeLines is currently following 165,000 people from 3 generations for a 30-year period, yielding enormous amounts of information for the development of new (and personalized) pharmaceutical and food products and biomarkers.
Examples of Life Science companies in the Northern Netherlands include PendraCare, IMDS, Abbott Medical Optics, Ophtec, Menicon, PRA International Early Development Services, QPS Netherlands, Syncom, BD Kiestra, PerkinElmer, Alvimedica, DSM Biologics, and Astellas Pharma Europe. Knowledge institutes and related institutes include UMCG, the University of Groningen, Hanzehogeschool Groningen University of Applied Sciences, Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden, LIMIS, Healthy Ageing Network Northern Netherlands (HANNN), European Research Institute on the Biology of Ageing (ERIBA), and Healthy Ageing Campus Netherlands (HACN).
The Northern Netherlands is well suited for offshore wind activities, because of its central location in relation to the offshore wind farm sites in the North Sea (2500 turbines in a radius of 70 nautical miles). It has port facilities specifically aimed at the offshore wind industry (cranes, vessels, quay facilities, heliport, open sea connection), the full support of regional public authorities (including test sites), and the presence of specific education and training facilities for the offshore wind industry.
In addition, there is a growing network of offshore wind related companies, called Northern Netherlands Offshore Wind (NNOW). Besides networking, knowledge exchange and the joint implementation of promotion and acquisition activities, the cluster also pays ample attention to R&D, business development, and training adequately qualified personnel. NNOW will enter into alliances with other parties to accelerate this development. At the moment, approximately 40 companies are involved with NNOW, which has created a powerful impulse for more activity in relation to offshore wind in the Northern Netherlands.
The Northern Netherlands is a European Water Technology hub because it is dedicated to water technology and innovation, with support from the central Government, Provinces, municipalities, knowledge institutes and companies. It is home to the Top Technology Institute Wetsus, which is a collaboration of 17 European universities on sustainable water technology. The inspiring and multidisciplinary collaboration between companies and research institutes in Wetsus results in innovations that contribute significantly to the solution of global water problems.
The region has highly skilled workers, office facilities, and shared lab, test and demo facilities, as well as available subsidies, collaboration opportunities and easy access to the European market.
Examples of Water Technology companies in the Northern Netherlands include Paques, Spaans Babcock, Landustrie, Hubert, Capilix, Aquana, Biotrack, and LSF. Knowledge institutions include WETSUS, Centre of Excellence for sustainable water technology, Van Hall Institute, NHL, and Technology Centre Northern Netherlands.


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Dramatic rise in spam, scam calls in SA - report
Portrait anxious scared girl looking at phone seeing bad message isolated on gray wall background. Human emotions
Financial industry takes aim at loan sharks, scams
7 tips to protect yourself from malicious software, spyware
Banking scams: Two-step verification isn't as safe as you think
Cybercrime: Is that email really from your boss?
Banking scams: You've heard of phishing, but what about vishing and smishing?
Cybercrime now 55% of gross losses in SA banking industry - report
South Africans are among the most affected by spam calls in the world, according to the 2018 Truecaller Insights report by mobile app company Truecaller.
Spam refers to unsolicited phone calls or messages, particularly advertising and scams.
According to the Truecaller report, almost half (49%) of all top spam calls in SA are scam-related, with a dramatic rise in the number of scam calls over the past year.
The report, which looked at the top-20 countries affected by spam calls in 2018, found that "nuisance and unsolicited calls" are on the rise across the world.
It ranks South Africa as the fourth-most spammed country in the world. In SA, the number of spam calls per month has increased from 15 in the 2017 study to 21 in 2018.
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In Brazil and India - the two countries found to be the most affected by spam calls - the average Truecaller user receives more than 22 spam calls each month.
In comparison to last year's data, fewer African markets are now sitting in the Top 20 list. South Africa is the only country that topped the list again, with an increase in overall spam related calls.
Analysis of the data revealed that operators - Telecom companies upselling things like data plans or promotions - across the world were the biggest spammers.
Telemarketing calls from financial services, debt collectors and insurers were also affecting Truecaller users globally.
Truecaller has identified and blocked 297 million spam calls in South Africa to date and has identified 12.4% of all calls received in the market as spam.
READ: Banking scams: You've heard of phishing, but what about vishing and smishing?
Dramatic rise in scams
According to the latest report, last year's study revealed that only 1% of calls were marked as scam-related. This year almost half (49%) of all top spam calls were scam-related.
Scams include tech support fraud, where someone pretends to call from your bank or company informing you that your account has been hijacked and needs your help to take control of it.
There is also "the one ring scam" where an unknown number - usually an international number - gives you a missed call and when you call them back you get charged a hefty fee for calling back.
Then there is the job offer scam, where someone pretending to be a head hunter calls you to offer you a job, but you need to pay a fee to be hired.
The report further found that telemarketing is still "a persistent problem" in SA that accounts for 38% of all top spam calls in the country. These types of calls usually come from various companies, insurance agencies and financial services trying to offer something.
* Are you, or have you been a telemarketer? Do you have a story to tell us about your experience doing your job? We'd love to hear from you (and we'll respect your anonymity, if you wish). Email us at editor@fin24.com
Read more about: south africa | ict | tech | scams | spam
State approves Tormin's massive West Coast mining expansion


Secure billing through PayPal will appear as Knight Clubs. A 15% concierge fee will be added to the face amount.
Leave it up to you KCs professional Concierge to make all of your arrangements. A free service for KCs members.


I am Risper mutegi but you can call me Ray. I am the face behind this blog,a girl that is quite passionate about adventure and traveling which leaves most of the people i meet and even my friends wondering how i ended up in the accounting profession and not somewhere in the tourism industry.I also happen to love nature and in appreciation of the complexity of our rich diverse land i take photos.I love being taken away by a great view;from sunsets to sunrises to landscapes.Did i mention that the elephant is my favorite wild animal? I even have a name for them,i call them my long nosed friends.Sorry, what i actually meant to say there was that i love wildlife but thing is,every time i think of wildlife the first name that pops in my mind is the elephant,i had no idea the same applied to my fingers until now.Lets say packing a bag and heading to a place where i will enjoy great views or mingle with the wild is what i love most but being able to share the experience here feels amazing,who knows how many of my kind are out there that i'll get to inspire at the end of the day.Welcome to my world.


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The ethics of content theft in a digital world
Here's a simultaneously wry and astute post from novelist Philip Palmer about the publishing industry's new here-to-stay bugbear, digital piracy. What I like most about it is the blend of idealism and honesty; rather than simply stating that Piracy Is Wrong And Evil And Makes Jeebus Cry, he's willing to objectively assess his own moral code as applied to evading cost on the media he wishes to consume.
Before we get to the meat, though, I'm going to call out one item for criticism, because it's such a well-used semantic straw man that by this point that it gets repeated as a matter of fact:
… there are many thoughtful individuals out there, possessed of shitstorm-generating superpowers, who do believe that EVERYTHING SHOULD BE FREE ON THE WEB.
I tend to think of this as The Doctorow Rejoinder, because it's usually Cory that's the target (implied or otherwise) of that complaint. But here's the thing: it's bollocks.
Sure, there are people out there who believe everything should be free on the web… and sure, those people are pretty stupid (or extremely idealistic and ignorant of the most basic tenets of economics). However, the "shitstorm-generators" that Palmer refers to – the ones with any real influence at all, rather than the lip-flapping skriptkiddiez who requote them out of context on their warez blogs – do not believe (or at least do not publicly claim) that "everything should be free on the web".
People are always reminding me about how Cory Doctorow believes and preaches that; however, not one of them has yet been able to show me a citation where he does so. Doctorow happily and truthfully claims that free content has worked for him, and explained the potential benefits of such a business model to people in similar positions, but he's never (to my knowledge) claimed free content as a) a panacea to the struggles of the obscure artist/creator or b) the road to an inevitable digital syndicalist utopia where everything necessarily costs nothing. (I'm quite willing to be proved wrong on this point, but I want citations from original source material, not flimsy op-eds from folk with axes to grind or political capital to reap.)
So, let's be clear: no one worth arguing with has ever claimed that "everything should be free on the web"; until we get past this particularly tenacious straw man, we're going to struggle to deal with the real issues. And so, it's back to Philip Palmer's otherwise sound essay. A few quotey bits:
I think it's worth pointing out that there's nothing new under the sun. The digital age didn't invent plagiarism; nor did it invent piracy. The web changes many things; but not basic questions about right or wrong; it merely AMPLIFIES the problems that always existed
Book piracy, for instance, was pioneered by the public library service. For many years, until the advent of PLR, it was considered moral and normal to give away books for zero money on a rental basis to members of the public. This is a great way to impoverish authors. Because a book that's been borrowed a hundred times has only been bought once!
Second hand bookshops! They are the buccaneers of the book trade. A second hand book may be sold a dozen different times but again, the author only gets paid once. We authors notice these things.
So illegally downloading books is no different, in principle, than going to Hay-on-Wye. Fact!
Yes, that's a sophistic argument; that's Palmer's point, I think. Now, here's where it gets interesting:
When I started getting published I stopped buying second hand science fiction novels from authors still alive or not-rich. So I'll buy second-hand Stephen King, though only occasionally, but I'd never buy Al Reynolds' latest in a second hand bookshop, because he's a real writer earning a living. I do though buy all my Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom novels (my current passion) second hand via Amazon, mainly because the old Del Rey editions are so stunning, and I'm pretty sure they're out of print.
So that's my moral code, based on the opinion that borrowing books from a pal and illegally downloading books are pretty much the same thing, ethically speaking. In other words, it's okay to get stuff free sometimes, as long as you OFTEN pay.
Palmer's point is that (with very few exceptions) we don't have unlimited funds for buying entertainment, but we have a close-to-unlimited hunger for the stuff, and so we all come to our own ethical compromise with the world; Palmer puts money in the pockets of living authors who he feels deserve it, but he doesn't want to contribute to Stephen King's retirement nest-egg, nor send money to middle-men reprinting the works of the long-dead if he has a cheaper option available to him. He's obeying the spirit of the piracy laws, though not necessarily the letter of them.
I take a similar approach to music, as do many people I know; I'm – by my own admission – a somewhat skewed data-point (because as a reviewer I get sent a lot of legitimate freebies) but I download hard-to-find and/or costly albums without too many qualms because I attend dozens of live shows every year, buy merchandise, patronise live music venues, buy music equipment and use rehearsal spaces. I'm paying my way within that economic sphere, and doing so with a fairly significant portion of my disposable income.
There are those who don't pay their way, certainly, but I suspect they're a minority; digital music recordings are valueless unless you want to listen to them. I can't imagine many folk bother downloading albums just to consume hard drive space and have a longer list in their media player library; you collect music because you're passionate about it, and if you're passionate about music you probably go and see it played live if you have the opportunity to do so.
Digital media is a non-rival good; to take it for free is not theft but evasion of cost, and evasion of cost is a fundamental tenet of economic behaviour (with the possible exception of those with more money than sense); economic behaviour is not rational but emotional, and basing your response to a change in the underpinnings of an industry's economy on the hope that you can stop human beings behaving in the ways they always have done is to doom yourself to failure. Successful businesses work out ways to monetise desire, but business models do not last forever; if they did, there wouldn't be an internet (or cars, or electricity, or, or, or). QED.
This is a point borne out in the music industry, where – in spite of the withering of the recording companies – overall profits are actually growing consistently: live show tickets, merchandise, new instruments and recording technology, all selling better than they ever have before. There are studies based on the industry's own figures that show heavy downloaders of music torrents spend more on legitimate content purchases than those who buy a few albums every year. Illegal downloading is not "killing music" (just as home-taping didn't "kill music"); it's killing a business model, and the record labels really don't have anyone other than themselves for failing to adapt to a changing landscape.
As I've mentioned before, the publishing industry appears to have wised up faster than the record labels did, but it's interesting to note that – as with the music industry – the smaller more artist-centric outfits are the ones who seem to be most willing to try new options. The more profitable the old model was, the greater the inertia of those who profited from it. Evolve or die.
This is the point where I usually get accused of celebrating the fact that it's getting harder and harder for artists of all stripes to make money from their work. To which I respond: pointing out the realities of the situation, and the fact that all the idealistic thinking in the world won't stop consumers behaving as they do (namely getting something they want as cheaply and conveniently as possible), is not celebratory; it is a matter of pragmatism.
The genie will not go back in the bottle; it is more productive to work out ways to cope with the genie's freedom than it is to build elaborate doomed-to-fail genie entrapment devices, or to repeat idealistic platitudes about how the bottle shouldn't have been opened in the first place and look for someone to blame for it. Yes, it sucks that the business models of many creators whose work I adore and wish to support are under economic pressure; however, no amount of me (or anyone else) saying how much it sucks will make a damned bit of difference. Play the hand you're dealt, or fold and get out of the game.
A harsh thing to say, perhaps, given I'm a friend of (and contractor to) a number of authors… but would you want your doctor to lie about a life-threatening illness? If you want to survive, you have to accept the reality of the situation, take the pills, endure the surgery; I can't help but think that content creators as a demographic are moving slowly through the five stages of grief psychology with respect to the economics of infinite goods. It's a painful and necessary process, but acceptance is the only end-point from which you can move on.
In an ideal world, we'd all be paid enough in return for doing something we loved to have everything we wanted. If anyone has directions on how to get to that ideal world, by all means please let me and everyone else know how to join you there; in the meantime, I think we're best off concentrating on finding a way to make a living here in reality.
Tags: abundance, books, digital content, ebooks, economics, infinite goods, internet, media, piracy, publishing
The trouble with drones
When military hardware and software IP disputes meet: via Slashdot we hear of a pending lawsuit that may ground the CIA's favourite toys, the Predator drones. In a nutshell, a small software firm called IISi alleges that some of their proprietary software was pirated by another firm, Netezza, who then sold it on to a government client which was revealed by further presentations of evidence to be none other than the Central Intelligence Agency. Plenty of grim irony in there, even before you factor in the allegations from IISi that the hacked software may render the drone targeting systems inaccurate to the tune of plus-or-minus forty feet. So it's not all bad news for the CIA: at least they can start blaming collateral damage on shoddy outsourcing.
In other drone news, Chairman Bruce draws our attention to Taiwan, whose ministry of defense confirms that it is developing UAV designs of its own. We can assume that, in the grand tradition of Taiwanese electronics products, these will be cheap-and-cheerful alternatives to the more respectable brands of the Western military-industrial complex, ideal for tin-pot totalitarians and networked non-geographical political entities working to tight budgets. Hell only knows where they'll get the software from, though.
Tags: drones, IP, military, piracy, proliferation, software, technology, UAV
Piracy cutting into the comics industry, too
It's not just regular book publishers who're suffering from an increased demand for downloadable content; the comics industry is suffering too. I noticed some justifiably embittered tweets from UK comics writer Paul Cornell this Friday just gone:
Just saw download site with 2356 illegal downloads of Knight and Squire. You have no idea how angry that makes me. Bloody thieves. #
Just heard: average number of illegal [comics] downloads = *four times* legal sales. That's why your favourite title got cancelled. No margin left. #
I'd be interested to know if the piracy of novels is happening on a similar scale to that – if anyone has a source of reliable stats and numbers, please pipe up! But I rather suspect comics is getting it far worse when considered as a percentage of total sales, and a number of possible reasons present themselves: the comics demographic is younger and more tech-savvy (and hence more used to the idea of there being a free version lurking somewhere in the pipework); scanning a comic is an easier and shorter process than OCRing a novel (and less susceptible to transcription issues); and comics (the print versions, at least) are ridiculously expensive, with limited availability of legit digital versions.
The latter issue is probably the big driver here; I don't know much about comics industry pricing (and, again, would welcome input from anyone who does), but I sure know what stopped me from buying a few issues every month*. Whether the pricing is justified or not is an open question, but regardless of the reasons, it's a lot of money for such a small (though beautifully-formed) nugget of art; however, I'm not sure that comics prices could be lowered radically enough to enable the big houses to carry on as they are. It's a more plausible solution for the music industry (and is finally starting to be seen as such by people on the inside of the machine [via]), but comics aren't so easily reproduced as infinite goods.
Or are they? Via MetaFilter, here's an interview with Neil Gaiman where he discusses the experience of reading comics on ereaders, and the phase-change occurring in the comics landscape:
Perhaps I don't have the allegiance to paper that I ought to because anybody who invests in The Absolute Sandman, all four volumes, is now carrying 40 pounds of paper and cardboard around with them. And they hurt and they complain, "Oh, I feel guilty." And I look at it and go, you're not getting anything that is quantitatively or qualitatively better than the experience you'd be getting on an iPad, where you can enlarge the pages, you can move it around, it's following the eye, and you can flip the pages.
Everything about the web has been about leveling the playing field. Yeah, it's why Scott [McCloud] was right in Reinventing Comics, and why it's a terrible book. Because it's a manifesto. It's not a book. It's a manifesto to something that doesn't exist yet, and, furthermore, his solution is wrong, which is you can micro-monetize this stuff. But the basic gist of the manifesto is simply: The moment you're on the web, you don't have to publish the book, you don't have to get the book into Barnes & Noble, you don't have to pay for ink and paper and the office costs of somebody to promote it. And all of that is true. You are absolutely playing on a flat field with somebody who has millions of dollars of marketing behind them.
In other words, comics (and books, to a similar extent) are just hitting their iPods-and-Napster moment, where available technology is not only good enough to significantly enhance the reading experience over dead-tree, but also sufficiently ubiquitous to make controlling distribution very difficult. That level playing field isn't here yet, but it's coming… and the first phase is the erosion of the comparatively easy profits the publishing outfits were able to make beforehand, where a lack of knowledge (or perhaps just a resistance to trying new ideas?) means that those huge marketing budgets just don't provide the leverage they used to.
Music is a little further ahead on this particular developmental curve, in that we can see new business models emerging at both the individual artist level and the record label level… though it's interesting to note that organisational size seems to be inversely proportional to innovative agility and the willingness to embrace (or even just grudgingly accept) the fundamental change in the rules of engagement.
All of which isn't to say that I'm sat here with a wry smirk and a hint of I-told-you-so in you eyes; I have many writer and artist friends (Cornell very much among them), and have no wish to see them unable to make a living from their art due to technological shifts. But all the best wishes in the world won't change the observable fact that the economics of abundance are ripping their way into almost all of the arts… and economics isn't noted as a phenomenon that cares about individuals. Perhaps even more so than prose fiction publishers, the comics industry needs to get to grips with digital content channels real fast if it wants to survive; you only need look at the current travails of Guy Hands and EMI to see what happens if you stand stoically on a slanting deck, stuffing wads of money and lawsuit paperwork into the hull breach while the band keeps playing "Nearer My God To Thee".
[ * That said, I haven't moved to downloading comics as an alternative to buying them, though I certainly have done with music; I rather suspect that if I'd been a comics freak from as early an age as I was a music freak, however, I'd be telling a different story. The underlying point: the people downloading your work don't see it as stealing; they just see it as a way of getting more of the media they love for less financial outlay. And while there's a logical case to be made that they are stealing, time and money spent chasing and enforcing that judgement is time and money that would be more effectively spent on looking for new ways to meet that demand. All King Canute got for his troubles were wet feet. ]
Tags: comics, content, economics, ereaders, media, piracy, print
Ebooks: with popularity comes piracy
Plenty of stories recently about the massive uptick in ebook sales (though many of them are playing a little fast and loose with the figures), but with an uptick of interest in an infinitely reproducible good comes a proportional uptick in people interested in getting it for free.
eBookNewser points to an Attributor study that seems to suggest the arrival of the jeebusPad – which has made some publishers very excited, perhaps by dint of being arguably the first piece of ereader-functional hardware with a bit of sexiness to it – has brought with it a 20% increase in search queries for pirated versions of ebooks.
Attributor began the project by investigating the relative importance of the cyberlocker sites (sites that store personal digital files) in the book space, including Rapidshare, Hotfile and Megaupload. Google Trends allowed Attributor to extract data and compare the relative importance of terms searched for pirated content.
The study showed that the popularity of Rapidshare as a host for pirated content has steadily declined since Attributor first raised awareness about the site in August 2009. However, other, smaller cyberlockers, have increased their position in the piracy market, with a 54 percent increase in overall demand for pirated material since August 2009.
Further, recent innovations and availability of new technologies has catalyzed e-book syndication opportunities. The chart below shows a spike in the demand for pirated e-books around May 2010, only one month after the release of the Apple iPad. More than 250 iPhone, iPad and iPod platform users searched for pirated copies throughout the study, pointing to the immediate need to raise awareness and education about syndication proliferation in the age of digital and mobile media.
[image ganked from Attributor article; contact for immediate take-down if required]
Now, I'm no stats boffin, but it looks to me that the green curve there is actually just continuing much as it was before the iPad's arrival; the downtick around its launch date could be down to any number of factors, but I remain to be convinced (or have more thoroughly explained to me, perhaps) how the increase since then is out of character with the curve as it was before.
(Try holding a ruler up against the screen; the downtick from June 2009 to June 2010 looks to me more like a momentary anomaly than a trend that supplanted a previous trend only to be supplanted again.)
A generous helping of cynicism salt is required to season Attributor's interpretations, of course, because they're in the business of selling 'solutions' to the piracy problem (good luck with finding one that can't be circumvented by a handful of bored teenagers with a crate of Mountain Dew, folks); their implicit demonisation of "content lockers" will be a familiar meme to those who follow the digital end of UK politics, also (content lockers enable piracy, therefore they should be banned or policed; no suggestion of banning cars for enabling people to be knocked over yet, though).
What's fairly obvious and believable, though, is that demand for pirated ebooks is climbing steadily, and has been doing so consistently. And that spells trouble for anyone looking to make ebooks a part of their business model… indeed, I wouldn't be surprised to see similar growth curves for interest in pirated music files from around the time when the first affordable mp3 players began to appear.
The publishing industry appears to have woken up and smelled the coffee much more quickly than the record labels did, but whether they can successfully cut the Gordian knot of abundance economics remains to be seen… and while it'll doubtless mark me as a Doctorow 5th-columnist*, I feel pretty safe in saying that DRM and closed hardware isn't the sword for the job.
[ * Content crypto-Marxist? Or, y'know, just a pragmatic realist? Depends on which angle you're looking from, I guess. 😉 ]
Tags: Attributor, content lockers, DRM, ebooks, economics, iPad, piracy, publishing
DRM may suck, but avoiding it is no panacea to piracy
As a fellow-traveller of the copyleftists, this is the sort of story I'd rather not be reading. But it's an important one, because it underlines the problem that all the optimistic rhetoric in the world can't sweep under the carpet: the point-and-click adventure game Machinarium was released without DRM, and despite (or perhaps because of) great reviews, suffered from an estimated 90% piracy rate. The developers are now having a "pirate amnesty" where they invite people with pirated copies to cough up $5 – a quarter of the original asking price – to legitimise their installation.
So much for the myth (albeit rarely stated directly) that DRM-free games are less likely to be pirated because they give the players their oft-demanded flexibilities of installation and migration; disappointing, perhaps, but hardly surprising.
However, it's worth bearing in mind that the piracy rate would probably have been similar even if DRM had been baked in to Machinarium. So what's the way out of this bind? My guess (and it is a guess) would be a lower price point – maybe if the asking price had been $5 from the outset, more people would have coughed up in the first place. The counterargument to that usually goes along the lines of "but that won't cover the overheads of making the game!"; the counter-counter-response is "well, charging $20 obviously hasn't achieved that either". Quod erat demonstrandum.
Then there's the MMO/metaverse model: charge very little or nothing for software and access, and make your rake-off through in-game items. We know this one works, because if it didn't there'd be no goldfarming outfits in developing nations… but how to adapt it to single-player gaming experiences? Or maybe you have to look at sponsorships, in-game advertising and product placements… none of which sound particularly appealing, but would probably become accepted by players pretty quickly once there were no other options…
… and given the way things are going, that might not be too distant a day. What this story makes clear is that DRM is a blind alleyway: whether you include it or not, you'll still have your work pirated. The web burgeons with suggested alternative business models for computer games, but to my knowledge no one has yet made one of them really stick.
Tags: business model, computer games, DRM, economics, games, piracy


The Ely Hotel Yateley near Camberley sits in the Hampshire countryside only a short distance from Bagshot, Frimley, Blackwater, Ascot and Windsor. With easy access from M3 junction 4a, The Ely Hotel is a traditional English country hotel and pub with beamed ceilings, red-brick walls covered in ivy, pan-tiled roof and a friendly home-from-home atmosphere.
Ideally located for travellers to Heathrow or Gatwick with tourist attractions such as The Royal Ascot, Legoland and Thorpe Park. We are only 15 minutes away from Farnborough, a great base to attend the Air Show from.
We are also ideally located for visiting friends and family at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst or Aldershot, as well as the Aldershot Military Museum. For a relaxing break, we are also conveniently situated next to Yateley Common for those who wish to take relaxing walks, while taking in Hampshire's beautiful countryside. There is also a large car park facility.
This large room can accommodate up to 150 people depending on the layout selected.


Technische Universität Wien, Institute of Chemical Engineering.
Utilization of biomass as feedstock in dual fluidized bed steam gasification is a promising technology for the substitution of fossil energy carriers. Experience from industrial-scale power plants showed an alteration of the olivine bed material due to interaction with biomass ash components. This change results mainly in the formation of Ca-rich layers on the bed particles. In this paper, a mechanism for layer formation is proposed and compared to the better understood mechanism for layer formation on quartz bed particles. Olivine bed material was sampled at an industrial-scale power plant before the start of operation and at predefined times after the operation had commenced. Therefore, time-dependent layer formation under industrial-scale conditions could be investigated. The proposed mechanism suggests that the interaction between wood biomass ash and olivine bed particles is based on a solid–solid substitution reaction, where Ca2+ is incorporated into the crystal structure. As a consequence, Fe2+/3+ and Mg2+ ions are expelled as oxides. This substitution results in the formation of cracks in the particle layer due to a volume expansion in the crystal structure once Ca2+ is incorporated. The results of this work are compared to relevant published results, including those related to quartz bed particles.


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Sun, 21 Mar 2021 17:11:40 GMT
8.4: Spectroscopic Characterization of Nanoparticles
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https://chem.libretexts.org/@app/auth/3/login?returnto=https%3A%2F%2Fchem.libretexts.org%2FBookshelves%2FAnalytical_Chemistry%2FPhysical_Methods_in_Chemistry_and_Nano_Science_(Barron)%2F08%253A_Structure_at_the_Nano_Scale%2F8.04%253A_Spectroscopic_Characterization_of_Nanoparticles
Physical Methods in Chemistry and Nano Science (Barron)
8: Structure at the Nano Scale
Contributed by Pavan M. V. Raja & Andrew R. Barron
Professor (Chemistry) at Rice University
Sourced from OpenStax CNX
Types of MFM Tips
Data Output and Applications
MFM for Characterization of Magnetic Storage Devices
Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) is a natural extension of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), whereby both the physical topology of a sample surface and the magnetic topology may be seen. Scanning tunneling microscopy was developed in 1982 by Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, and the two shared the 1986 Nobel prize for their innovation. Binnig later went on to develop the first atomic force microscope (AFM) along with Calvin Quate and Christoph Gerber (Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)). Magnetic force microscopy was not far behind, with the first report of its use in 1987 by Yves Martin and H. Kumar Wickramasinge (Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\)). An AFM with a magnetic tip was used to perform these early experiments, which proved to be useful in imaging both static and dynamic magnetic fields.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\) Photograph of German physicist Gerd Binnig (left) and Swiss physicist Heinrich Rohrer (right). Reproduced with permission from "The Scanning Tunneling Microscope." Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB, 2017. Copyright Nobel Media AB 2017.
Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\) H. Kumar Wickramasinge, now a professor at the University of California, Irvine. Reproduced from "H. Kumar Wickramasinge." UCI Samueli, University of California, Irvine. Copyright The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, 2017. Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB, 2017. Copyright Nobel Media AB 2017.
MFM, AFM, and STM all have similar instrumental setups, all of which are based on the early scanning tunneling microscopes. In essence, STM uses a very small conductive tip attached to a piezoelectric cylinder to carefully scan across a small sample space. The electrostatic forces between the conducting sample and tip are measured, and the output is a picture that shows the surface of the sample. AFM and MFM are essentially derivative types of STM, which explains why a typical MFM device is very similar to an STM, with a piezoelectric driver and magnetized tip as seen in Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\) and Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\).
Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\) This image shows a typical MFM setup. Reproduced with permission from A. Méndez-Vilas, Modern research and educational topics in microscopy. Vol. 2: Applications in physical/chemical sciences, techniques. Formatex, Badajoz (2007).. Copyright: FORMATEX 2007.
Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\) Illustration of an MFM tip on the instrument cantilever.
One may notice that this MFM instrument very closely resembles an atomic force microscope, and this is for good reason. The simplest MFM instruments are no more than AFM instruments with a magnetic tip. The differences between AFM and MFM lie in the data collected and its processing. Where AFM gives topological data through tapping, noncontact, or contact mode, MFM gives both topological (tapping) and magnetic topological (non-contact) data through a two-scan process known as interleave scanning. The relationships between basic STM, AFM, and MFM are summarized in Table \(\PageIndex{1}\).
Techniques Samples Qualities Observed Modes Benefits Limitations
MFM Any film or powder surface; magnetic Electrostatic interactions; magnetic forces/domains; van der Waals' interactions; topology; morphology Tapping; non-contact Magnetic and physical properties; high resolution Resolution depends on tip size; different tips for various applications; complicated data processing and analysis
STM Only conductive surfaces Topology; morphology Constant height; constant current Simplest instrumental setup; many variations Resolution depends on tip size; tips wear out easily; rare technique
AFM Any film or powder surface Particle size; topology; morphology Tapping;contact; non-contact Common, standardized; often do not need special tip; ease of data analysis Resolution depends on tip size; easy to break tips; slow process
Table \(\PageIndex{1}\) A summary of the capabilities of MFM, SPM, and AFM instrumentation.
Interleave scanning, also known as two-pass scanning, is a process typically used in an MFM experiment. The magnetized tip is first passed across the sample in tapping mode, similar to an AFM experiment, and this gives the surface topology of the sample. Then, a second scan is taken in non-contact mode, where the magnetic force exerted on the tip by the sample is measured. These two types of scans are shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\).
Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\) Interleave (two-pass) scanning across a sample surface
In non-contact mode (also called dynamic or AC mode), the magnetic force gradient from the sample affects the resonance frequency of the MFM cantilever, and can be measured in three different ways.
Phase detection: the phase difference between the oscillation of the cantilever and piezoelectric source is measured
Amplitude detection: the changes in the cantilever's oscillations are measured
Frequency modulation: the piezoelectric source's oscillation frequency is changed to maintain a 90° phase lag between the cantilever and the piezoelectric actuator. The frequency change needed for the lag is measured.
Regardless of the method used in determining the magnetic force gradient from the sample, a MFM interleave scan will always give the user information about both the surface and magnetic topology of the sample. A typical sample size is 100x100 μm, and the entire sample is scanned by rastering from one line to another. In this way, the MFM data processor can compose an image of the surface by combining lines of data from either the surface or magnetic scan. The output of an MFM scan is two images, one showing the surface and the other showing magnetic qualities of the sample. An idealized example is shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\).
Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\) Idealized images of a mixture of ferromagnetic and non-ferromagnetic nanoparticles from MFM.
Any suitable magnetic material or coating can be used to make an MFM tip. Some of the most commonly used standard tips are coated with FeNi, CoCr, and NiP, while many research applications call for individualized tips such as carbon nanotubes. The resolution of the end image in MFM is dependent directly on the size of the tip, therefore MFM tips must come to a sharp point on the angstrom scale in order to function at high resolution. This leads to tips being costly, an issue exacerbated by the fact that coatings are often soft or brittle, leading to wear and tear. The best materials for MFM tips, therefore, depend on the desired resolution and application. For example, a high coercivity coating such as CoCr may be favored for analyzing bulk or strongly magnetic samples, whereas a low coercivity material such as FeNi might be preferred for more fine and sensitive applications.
From an MFM scan, the product is a 2D scan of the sample surface, whether this be the physical or magnetic topographical image. Importantly, the resolution depends on the size of the tip of the probe; the smaller the probe, the higher the number of data points per square micrometer and therefore the resolution of the resulting image. MFM can be extremely useful in determining the properties of new materials, as in Figure \(\PageIndex{7}\), or in analyzing already known materials' magnetic landscapes. This makes MFM particularly useful for the analysis of hard drives. As people store more and more information on magnetic storage devices, higher storage capacities need to be developed and emergency backup procedures for this data must be developed. MFM is an ideal procedure for characterizing the fine magnetic surfaces of hard drives for use in research and development, and also can show the magnetic surfaces of already-used hard drives for data recovery in the event of a hard drive malfunction. This is useful both in forensics and in researching new magnetic storage materials.
Figure \(\PageIndex{7}\) Images of Fe40Ni38Mo4B18 ribbons from MFM. Left images: surface topography. Right images: magnetic topography. Reproduced with permission from I. García, N. Iturriza, J. José del Val, H. Grande, J. A. Pomposo, and J. González, J. Magn. Magn. Mater., 2010, 13, 1822. Copyright: Elsevier (2010).
MFM has also found applications on the frontiers of research, most notably in the field of Spintronics. In general, Spintronics is the study of the spin and magnetic moment of solid-state materials, and the manipulation of these properties to create novel electronic devices. One example of this is quantum computing, which is promising as a fast and efficient alternative to traditional transistor-based computing. With regards to Spintronics, MFM can be used to characterize non-homogenous magnetic materials and unique samples such as dilute magnetic semiconductors (DMS). This is useful for research in magnetic storage such as MRAM, semiconductors , and magnetoresistive materials.
In device manufacturing, the smoothness and/or roughness of the magnetic coatings of hard drive disks is significant in their ability to operate. Smoother coatings provide a low magnetic noise level, but stick to read/write heads, whereas rough surfaces have the opposite qualities. Therefore, fine tuning not only of the magnetic properties but the surface qualities of a given magnetic film is extremely important in the development of new hard drive technology. Magnetic force microscopy allows the manufacturers of hard drives to analyze disks for magnetic and surface topology, making it easier to control the quality of drives and determine which materials are suitable for further research. Industrial competition for higher bit density (bits per square millimeter), which means faster processing and increased storage capability, means that MFM is very important for characterizing films to very high resolution.
Magnetic force microscopy is a powerful surface technique used to deduce both the magnetic and surface topology of a given sample. In general, MFM offers high resolution, which depends on the size of the tip, and straightforward data once processed. The images outputted by the MFM raster scan are clear and show structural and magnetic features of a 100x100 μm square of the given sample. This information can be used not only to examine surface properties, morphology, and particle size, but also to determine the bit density of hard drives, features of magnetic computing materials, and identify exotic magnetic phenomena at the atomic level. As MFM evolves, thinner and thinner magnetic tips are being fabricated to finer applications, such as in the use of carbon nanotubes as tips to give high atomic resolution in MFM images. The customizability of magnetic coatings and tips, as well as the use of AFM equipment for MFM, make MFM an important technique in the electronics industry, making it possible to see magnetic domains and structures that otherwise would remain hidden.
8.3: Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
8.5: Using UV-Vis for the detection and characterization of silicon quantum dots
Pavan M. V. Raja & Andrew R. Barron
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NYC! NYC! N! Y! C!
I had vague plans to go to NYC sometime later this fall, but when a last-minute work trip cropped up for Jon I couldn't pass up the opportunity to tag along. Jon's flight, taxis to and from airports, and our hotel were covered, plus he received a per diem allowance for food - almost too good to be true. Plus we found a killer deal on my flight (a perk of booking one week in advance) so the trip was practically free!
Flight there: I already had plans to tweet about our 50 year old hellhole of an airplane, and that was BEFORE Jon sat down and fell through his seat. Nearly broke his coccyx. They had to bring a maintenance worker on board to investigate, and she discovered that an entire support beam underneath his seat was somehow completely missing. Luckily there was ONE spare seat on the entire plane, which happened to be in First Class(!!!) They didn't give Jon that seat, though. They upgraded another guy, and put Jon in his seat. Which.................okay.
Anyway, the ordeal delayed us (and probably many other planes behind us). At one point the captain came over the intercom and informed everyone that "a passenger had an issue with his seat" and they were currently filling out incident paperwork. Jon tried his hardest to turn invisible.
Information that would have been useful THIRTY MINUTES AGO.
We stayed at Corinne and Kyle's place our first night. Kyle and Jon went for pizza shortly after we arrived (about one in the morning - yikes). NOM.
Day One:
Brunch at the Smith
Whitney Museum
View from the top floor
View from the ?th floor
Jon and Corinne looking couple-ish on the ?th floor.
The B****y Resting Face is strong with these two.
Watermelon cucumber popsicles from People's Pops on the Highline
Where we got tacos and the most delicious slice of chocolate cake
Crane City
Jon's gift was a hit
We ate po' boys at a place called Clawdaddy for dinner then it was off to...
...The Slipper Room!! I've been wanting to go for ten years. It was everything I hoped and dreamed it would be. I think I was a burlesque dancer in a past life.
Day two:
We tried to score tickets to Les Mis (didn't happen). But there was a street festival happening en route to the tickets booth in Times Square, and this crepe was worth the failed effort. I do have feet in real life.
We got waffles in Central Park (my favorite thing I ate the entire trip) then walked through Shakespeare Garden.
This squirrel was after my Shake Shack. I cannot disclose how many outtakes (and french fries) this photo took me. But I prevailed! Christa captioned the result a "squelfie."
View from the Met rooftop. There was a beautiful Sargent exhibit there. This was my favorite piece. Simply lovely.
That night we went to a hilarious comedy show. This is how we discovered it:
Lady at church (overheard by Corinne): "So, my husband was in charge of date night last night and he took me to the WEIRDEST thing. It was totally just for him; he wasn't thinking of me at all when he planned it. It was this dumb, low-budget comedy show that was a scene-by-scene reenactment of Jurassic Park. Everyone was laughing hysterically, but I didn't get it. I don't even like Jurassic Park!"
Corinne [sidling into the conversation]: .......um..............where was this.
Unpictured from day two: Indian food for dinner, Eatily for after-the-show dessert.
Day three:
We rode the train into Brooklyn, got pepperoni pizza at a delicious place called Juliana's, and picnicked between the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. Not a bad view.
Joseph "winking." I DIE.
We rode the ferry back, which dropped us downtown. Jon and I set off exploring by ourselves for a couple of hours. Trinity Church and cemetary was our first stop, where we observed this tour guide reenacting Alexander Hamilton's death, on Alexander Hamilton's grave.
I wanted to hide behind a bush and make a supercut of people craning their necks to view One World from the sidewalk directly below it. Fourth tallest building on earth.
I guess I didn't get a picture of the 9/11 monuments? They were so, so, beautiful.
That night we (and Corinne and Kyle) karaoked in a private room (just the four of us) in Koreatown, which, as it turns out, is my happy place.
Jon delighted us all with a perfectly executed version of "Gin and Juice." The scrolling lyrics tried to clean up the language, but Jon would not be censored. Don't watch the following video if the phrase "I got bitches in the living room gettin' it on" offends you.
Gin and Juice from Jessie Jensen on Vimeo.
One of my favorite pictures of myself ever taken. (Snapped by Corinne during "Toxic")
Other crowd favorites: Zombie (Jon), Grace Kelly (me), Break Stuff (Kyle), Alone (duet with me and Kyle - Kyle on the high parts), Chop Suey (Jon), and a heartfelt rendition of Foolish Games (me). Before one of his songs, Kyle said in a deep, cheesy DJ voice: "This one's going out to the Sweet sisters...you know who you are" and I laughed until I wept.
Unpictured stuff from that day: Skipping rocks between bridges, visiting Kyle's office, Pinkberry, Silver Moon Bakery, and dinner at a Greek place called Kefi (note to self, must go back for fingerling potato appetizer and whatever rabbit/pasta dish Jon got).
Day four:
Jon had to work this day :( I met Corinne at her place and we explored her neighborhood for a couple of hours while Joseph was at preschool.
Inside the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine.
A few months ago I read about this statue. I was moved and the images stayed with me, but I had no idea where the sculpture was installed. As we exited the cathedral into the garden, suddenly there she was. The surprise of stumbling into something so beautiful so unexpectedly literally took my breath away. I snapped some photos but they do her no justice. Click the link above for pictures and for an interview with the artist.
That night after he finished working Jon and I went down to Washington Square for fondue. My sisters, mom, and I ate at this place (Bourgeois Pig) the first time I went to NYC, and Jon went with Corinne and Kyle during one of his work trips yeeeeears ago. That was the day I was in a car crash back in Tucson, and I called to tell him what had happened precisely when the food was placed on the table, so he didn't really eat any of it. This was our first time going together. It was as delicious as I remembered, and Jon was just glad to taste it at all.
Dessert at Big Gay Ice Cream Shop. A "Bea Arthur" for me, a "Salty Pimp" for Jon.
Day four was our last full day there. I'd been secretly hoping I'd be able to duck back into Central Park sometime for more waffles, but it just didn't work out. But when we got back to our hotel, Jon surprised me with one!!! He had walked into the park and bought a couple after he wrapped up at work and stashed them in the hotel as a nighttime snack. I could have cried tears of joy.
I was so exhausted that I ate it laying down, with the box scooted up against my neck to catch crumbs and Nutella drips. I was asleep by 9. According to Jon's phone, we walked FIFTY-FIVE MILES in our four days there!!!
Unpictured from day four: Brunch at Community, the most unbelievable tantrum by Joseph (I now fully understand the meaning of the term "ape-s***" -- it was so bad that we had to take a cab back to Corinne's apartment from Pinkberry because he could not be reasonably or safely moved by foot), and Riverside Park.
Leaving day: We only had time for breakfast before we had to head to the airport. Corinne and Joseph (Ada started school that day) met us at a Le Pain Quotidien near our hotel. Joseph's admiration for Jon continued to wax strong.
Killing fifteen minutes in the park, looking at shapes in clouds.
Jon got upgraded to First Class on the flight back and gave me his ticket. Thanks, Jon! It ended up being only marginally better than coach, though.
First class is okay I guess, but your seatmates still don't share their Starburst with you, so it's not, like, MAGICAL or anything.
— Jessie (@jessiejensen) September 9, 2015
The guy next to me is listening to mariachi music with his earbuds like this. pic.twitter.com/HDDhk01Pv2
I eventually startled him awake when I couldn't stand it anymore.
It's over :(