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Effect of Spiny Water Flea on Lake George
Lake George Association (New York).
Environment and Natural Resources State Bill Tracking Database
National Conference of State Legislatures.
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) tracks environment and natural resources legislation to bring you up-to-date, real-time information on bills (from 2015) that have been introduced in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Database provides search options by state (or territory), topic, keyword, year, status or primary sponsor. Topics include: Wildlife-Invasive Species and Wildlife-Pollinators.
Fish Dangerous to Indigenous Fish Populations - 6 CRR-NY 180.9
New York Codes, Rules, and Regulations.
General Invasive Species List - Round Goby
St. Lawrence - Eastern Lake Ontario Partnership For Regional Invasive Species Management (New York).
General Invasive Species List - Sirex Woodwasp
Governor Cuomo Announces $2.8 Million In Grant Awards To Combat Spread Of Invasive Species (Jun 14, 2019)
New York State. Governor Andew Cuomo.
Funding Supports Invasive Species Rapid Response and Control, Research, Lake Management Planning, and Aquatic Invasive Species Spread Prevention Programs. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced more than $2.8 million in grants have been awarded to 42 projects that will reduce the negative impacts of invasive species through control or removal activities, research, and spread prevention. These grants are part of the State Department of Environmental Conservation's Invasive Species Grant Program and are funded by the State's Environmental Protection Fund.
Guam Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Project
University of Guam. College of Natural and Applied Sciences. Research and Extension.
Health Topics - West Nile Virus
New York City Department of Health.
HealthFinder.gov - State Health Departments
DHHS. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
Provides links and resources for State Health Departments, many of which have information about Zika virus and West Nile virus with specific state information.
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (PDF | 437 KB)
See also: Tree and Shrub Insect Pests for more fact sheets.
Home Grown Facts - Greater and Lesser Celandine (PDF | 1.0 MB)
Cornell University Cooperative Extension. Oneida County.
See also: Home and Garden - Weeds for more fact sheets
Insects & Other Species - Spotted Lanternfly
Interior Provides $409,885 to Guam to Mitigate Infestations of the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle and Little Fire Ant; Protect Natural Resources (Jul 2017)
United States Department of the Interior.
Interior Acting Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas Nikolao Pula made available $409,885 to preserve natural and cultural resources and protect against invasive species on Guam. "We are especially pleased that Congress was able to provide some extra funding in FY 2017 to mitigate and control the coconut rhinoceros beetle and little fire ant on Guam," said Pula. "All funding supports Governor Eddie Calvo's efforts in protecting Guam's natural resources now and for the future."
Introduced Species Summary Project - Africanized Honey Bee
Introduced Species Summary Project - Alewife
Introduced Species Summary Project - Apple Snail

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


mini session fee is due upon booking. checks may be payable to cbh photography. credit cards accepted via pay online option. additional fees apply. $50 rescheduling fee.
session includes: time and talent of photographer, digital edited images in online gallery. printing rights sold separately.


text:
Q: Linq to SQL Join Allowing Nulls When I don't want that I've written the below query to join a couple of tables. The la.UserProfileId is nullable for some ungodly reason.
When I write the equivalent SQL statement, I get 0 records as I should at this point.
var result = (from e in _ctx.Employees
                     join la in _ctx.LoginAudits on e.UserProfile.Id equals la.UserProfileId.Value
                     where la.LoginDate >= fromDate
                     && e.Client.Id == clientID
                     select new
                     {
                         la.Id,
                         employeeID = e.Id,
                         e.Client.DisplayName,
                         la.UserProfileId
                     }).ToList();

The above LINQ code generates the below SQL.
exec sp_executesql N'SELECT
1 AS [C1],
[Extent2].[Id] AS [Id],
[Extent1].[Id] AS [Id1],
[Extent3].[DisplayName] AS [DisplayName],
[Extent2].[UserProfileId] AS [UserProfileId]
FROM   [dbo].[Employees] AS [Extent1]
INNER JOIN [dbo].[LoginAudits] AS [Extent2] ON ([Extent1].[UserProfile_Id] = [Extent2].[UserProfileId]) OR (([Extent1].[UserProfile_Id] IS NULL) AND ([Extent2].[UserProfileId] IS NULL))
INNER JOIN [dbo].[Clients] AS [Extent3] ON [Extent1].[Client_Id] = [Extent3].[Id]
WHERE ([Extent2].[LoginDate] >= @p__linq__0) AND ([Extent1].[Client_Id] = @p__linq__1)',N'@p__linq__0 datetime2(7),@p__linq__1 bigint',@p__linq__0='2018-02-09 11:11:29.1047249',@p__linq__1=37

As you can see, it includes "OR (([Extent1].[UserProfile_Id] IS NULL) AND ([Extent2].[UserProfileId] IS NULL))"
That is the exact opposite of what I want. How do I make it do a normal inner join and not try to allow for null values?
I was able to work around this by adding && la.UserProfileId != null in my WHERE clause, but ideally I'd rather make the JOIN behave like normal INNER JOIN and not try to anticipate stuff I don't ask for.

A:
That is the exact opposite of what I want. How do I make it do a normal inner join and not try to allow for null values?

The reasoning behind is that in C# null == null evaluates to true, while in SQL it evaluates to NULL (and basically is handled like FALSE). So EF is trying to emulate the C# behavior in order to get the same result as if you were running the same query in LINQ to Objects.
This is the default EF6 behavior. It is controlled by the UseDatabaseNullSemantics property, so if you want to use the SQL behavior, you should set it to true in your DbContext derived class constructor or from outside:
[dbContext.]Configuration.UseDatabaseNullSemantics = true;

But that's not enough though. It affects all the comparison operators, but they forgot to apply it to joins. The solution is to not use LINQ join operator, but correlated where (EF is smart enough to turn it into SQL JOIN).
So additionally to setting UseDatabaseNullSemantics to true, replace
join la in _ctx.LoginAudits on e.UserProfile.Id equals la.UserProfileId

with
from la in _ctx.LoginAudits where e.UserProfile.Id == la.UserProfileId

and you'll get the desired INNER JOIN.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Todd to Trump: You Holding Migrant Kids 'Hostage'? 'Prepared to Lose?'
By Nicholas Fondacaro | June 23, 2019 12:46 PM EDT
It was President Trump's first interview with NBC's Meet the Press since taking office, and political director and moderator Chuck Todd was not going to waste his opportunity to confront the President from the left.
In contrast with his softball interviews with some of the 2020 Democratic candidates, Todd wasn't afraid to get in the President's face about topics like immigration. Todd demanded to know if Trump was holding migrant kids "hostage" at the border and whether or not he was "prepared to lose" in 2020.
"Let's talk about what's happening now. Your administration, you're not doing the recreation, not even schooling these kids anymore. You've gotten rid of all that stuff," Todd raised his voice. "It looks like these kids are being used as some sort of -- is it hostage? It's like they're being held hostage."
Trump reminded Todd that the kids were put in a terrible situation because human traffickers were exploiting them for asylum claims. "But now they're politically being used," Todd asserted. "But why let the political debate hurt these children? They could be impacted for years!"
Todd was schooled when the President explained that Congressional Democrats refused to change the asylum laws and allocate the proper funds to Homeland Security. "[W]hich they refuse to do because they think it's good politics, everything would be solved immediately [if they gave the funds to DHS]," the President added.
On the topic of immigration, Todd strangely pressed Trump on how frustrated he was that his "border numbers are worse than Obama's?" What kind of question was that? Obama and Trump didn't control how many attempted to cross the border illegally. The more people tried to cross the higher the capture rate went.
Trump responded by crediting how good the economy had gotten under his administration. Todd tried to counter the economic argument by sticking a chart in the President's face and giving the credit to Obama (Click "expand"):
TODD: Let me show you this chart. You see that chart?
TRUMP: No.
TODD: It's the unemployment rate from the peak of the recession.
TRUMP: Right.
TODD: Your economy is great. I'm not saying it's not great. But this recovery started and in the 28 months you've been president and the last 28 months of Obama's presidency, he averaged more new jobs than your first 28.
Of course, Todd failed to mention that Obama's administration (with the help of the liberal media) tried to get people to buy into their suggestion that we should never expect to have low unemployment ever again.
Speaking of ridiculous questions, one of Todd's first questions was about what candidate-Trump would have to say about his failures as president:
TODD: What would candidate-Trump have said about a president who on his watch had Iran shooting down a drone, a Venezuela dictator thumbing his nose at you, ObamaCare still on the books, and no results yet on the border?
Towards the end of the interview, Todd rudely grilled Trump on the 2020 election. Asking: "Are you prepared to lose?"
Keeping to that topic, Todd wanted to get Trump on the record regarding one of the greatest fears of those suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome: the unconstitutional third term and beyond (Click "expand"):
TODD: You have joked about a third. You've joked about these things.
TRUMP: I only joke. I joke and I say, watch, I will drive Chuck Todd crazy.
TODD: Okay. You will accept—[Laughter]
TRUMP: Yes --
TODD: You will accept the result, you will accept whatever happens in 2020?
TRUMP: Sure. Sure.
TODD: You're going to be, you may not like it and walk out.
"In fact, I said at a speech recently. I said, 'watch, we'll drive the media crazy. Let's go for a third term and then a fourth.' And some of the media said, 'he is going to do it,'" Trump mocked.
Meanwhile, Todd had asked failed Texas Senate candidate turned 2020 hopeful, Beto O'Rourke about what "three of four books" defined him.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
NBC's Meet the Press
10:38:00 a.m. Eastern
CHUCK TODD: What would candidate Trump have said about a president who on his watch had Iran shooting down a drone, a Venezuela dictator thumbing his nose at you, ObamaCare still on the books, and no results yet on the border?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, let's take a look. Let's take a look.
TODD: What would candidate Trump say about that?
TODD: Does it frustrate you that your border numbers are worse than Obama's?
TRUMP: No, people are coming up because the economy is good. They're pouring up because the economy is so good. Obama had a lousy economy it was a dead economy.
TODD: Can I ask you about that?
TRUMP: Our economy—
TRUMP: That's because he started off with such a bad base.
TODD: Okay, but is it not a continuous--
TODD: He had readymade foils. His FED chair can slow down the economy. Democrats are the ones hurting him on the border. Jeff Sessions, worse mistake he made. Those are – Those are people to blame if things aren't going right.
TODD: I'll tell you, I don't believe he ever would have ordered the strike. I'll just be honest with you. The person that I've interviewed and known for a long time and his positions on this, but he -- he was reveling in the fact he had everybody confused.
TODD: Let's talk about what's happening now. Your administration, you're not doing the recreation, not even schooling these kids anymore. You've gotten rid of all that stuff.
TRUMP: We're doing a fantastic job under the circumstances. The Democrats aren't even approving giving us money. Where's the money? You know what, the Democrats are holding up the humanitarian aid.
TODD: It looks like these kids are being used as some sort of -- is it hostage? It's like they're being held hostage.
TRUMP: Well, they are being used. They are being used by very bad people on the other side.
TODD: But now they're politically being used.
TRUMP: They are getting paid. Money is being made using them because our laws are so bad. Because if you have a child, you have an advantage. You know that better than anybody.
TODD: But why let the political debate hurt these children? They could be impacted for years.
TRUMP: If the Democrats would change the asylum laws and the loopholes, which they refuse to do because they think it's good politics, everything would be solved immediately.
TODD: Are you prepared to lose?
TRUMP: No, probably not.
TODD: [Laughter] Very—
TRUMP: Probably not.
TODD: You cho --
TRUMP: It would be much better if I said, "yeah". It will be much easier for me to say, "well, yes." No, I'm probably not too prepared to lose. I don't like to lose. I haven't lost very much.
TODD: You didn't like the fact you lost the popular vote. That bothered you, didn't it?
TRUMP: In fact, I said at a speech recently. I said, "watch, we'll drive the media crazy. Let's go for a third term and then a fourth." And some of the media said, "he is going to do it."
NBDaily Campaigns & Elections 2020 Presidential Immigration Bias by Omission Conspiracy Theories Double Standards Labeling Political Groups Liberals & Democrats Broadcast Television NBC Meet the Press Video Chuck Todd Donald Trump
Nicholas Fondacaro
Nicholas C. Fondacaro is a News Analyst for the Media Research Center


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text:
Location-based Entertainment Market Size, Share | Report 2028
Electronics and Semiconductor Location-based Entertainment Market
Location-based Entertainment Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Component (Hardware and Software), Technology (2-Dimensional and 3-Dimensional), and End-use (Amusement Parks, Arcade Studios, and Film Studios)
Publication Month: Sep 2022 | Report Code: TIPRE00013875 | No. of Pages: 155 | Category: Electronics and Semiconductor | Status: Published
The location-based entertainment market is valued US$ 1,444.92 million in 2022; It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 12.4% from 2022 to 2028.
Location-based entertainment (LBE) occurs in a particular setting, such as family entertainment centers, swimming pools, waterparks, and theme parks. Creating a physical environment with the necessary equipment, props, and other elements is typically a part of the location-based entertainment process. Location-based entertainment is called "out-of-home entertainment" or "interactive multiplayer entertainment." In any case, LBE is held to imply any entertainment tied to a specific place outside one's home. Offline shopping malls are trying to attract more consumers through location-based entertainment.
In China, LBE points in shopping centers are opening fast. It happens because online shopping is highly cultured, and people do not go to shopping malls just for shopping. Due to this, people are not able to explore the LBE points. As LBEs are mostly found in shopping malls or amusement parks, if people are focusing on online shopping and are not coming out of their houses, this will lead to a downward trend for the location-based entertainment market, as this can be experienced in such LBE places only.
The type of setup used in location-based VR entertainment is for numerous participants, not just one. A virtual reality (VR) experience lets a group of people experience identical sounds, sights, and feelings together. Virtual reality arcade (VRcade) is a VR genre of entertainment characterized by a short time but intensive gameplay. A VRcade experience requires minimum conditions: a playground of several square meters, an HMD (Head-mounted display), and controllers. VR theme parks and attractions use virtual reality technology to provide tourists with a unique and thrilling experience that is different from previous iterations of theme park attractions. In addition to LBE, Arcade is another end user. Arcades studios are the creative studio of designers, who share their feelings through some storytelling through illustration. Arcades are the end user for massive content distribution and attracting a wide audience, providing a 2D and 3D experience. However, arcades must provide a unique experience that cannot be tried at home. The keys to success in this business are quality and unique content, multiplayer interaction, and sensible narrative.
Location-based Entertainment Market - Strategic Insights
Report Coverage - Location-based Entertainment Market
Market Size Value in US$ 1,444.92 Million in 2022
Market Size Value by US$ 2,918.91 Million by 2028
Growth rate CAGR of 12.4% from 2022 to 2028
No. of Tables 83
No. of Charts & Figures 82
Historical data available Yes
Segments covered Component, Technology, End-use
Regional scope North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, South & Central America
Country scope US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina
Report coverage Revenue forecast, company ranking, competitive landscape, growth factors, and trends
Free Sample Copy Available
Numerous location-based entertainment manufacturers, TESLASUIT (Europe), Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (South Korea), and many more, are helping various arcade studios, amusement parks, and film studios with VR gadgets to create more immersive and interactive VR experiences. The end users' industries of the market are amusement parks, arcade studios, and film studios. Increasing demand from mentioned industries is creating positive impact in the location-based entertainment market growth.
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on North America Location-based Entertainment Market Growth
North America is one of the most important regions in terms of the development and acceptance of innovative technologies due to favorable government policies to boost innovation, a massive industrial base, and high purchasing power, especially in developed countries, such as the US and Canada. Hence, any impact on the development of industries is expected to affect the region's economic growth. The US is the world's worst affected country due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The US is a prominent market for location-based entertainment. For instance, Zero Latency, a company that offers immersive LBE experiences in virtual reality (VR), recently announced the expansion of its technology in the US, starting with Las Vegas and moving toward Seattle, Houston, Dallas, Cincinnati, and Orlando.
Lucrative Regions for Location-based Entertainment Market
Market Insights – Location-based Entertainment Market
Based on geography, the location-based entertainment market is primarily segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America (SAM). North America held the largest market share in 2021 and would retain its dominance during the forecast period. Whereas APAC is expected to register the highest CAGR in the global location-based entertainment market during the forecast period.
Market players, such as IMAX CORPORATION; VRstudio, Inc.; SpringboardVR, have their footprints in North America. These companies are addressing the consumer requirements of amusement parks, arcade studios, and film studios. For the "Tribeca Drive-In," a Tribeca Film Festival, in March 2020, IMAX Corporation worked with Tribeca Enterprises LLC. This festival featured 30 iconic American films to unite people for storytelling and support the manifestation of their creativity by choosing the immersive experiences offered by IMAX Corporation. Therefore, these corporate strategy plans may help to meet the global market's desire for location-based entertainment. Further, the presence of many amusements park, arcade studios, and film studios in the region, especially in the US, is another dominant factor boosting the demand for location-based entertainment.
Technology-Based Insights – Location-based Entertainment Market
Based on technology, the location-based entertainment market is segmented into 2D and 3D. The 3D segment accounted for the largest share of the market in 2021. 3D technology can be more realistic and immersive, allowing improved eye-hand coordination compared to the 2D technology experience that lacks depth perception.
3D environments are produced using computer software and artificial intelligence that replicate the real world or give rise to entirely new environments, which users can deeply explore, just like a game. They can interact with the environment, avatars, and items.
The location-based entertainment market analysis has been segmented by component, technology, end-use, and geography. Based on component, the location-based entertainment market size is segmented into hardware and software. Based on technology, the location-based entertainment market size is bifurcated into 2D and 3D. Based on end-use, the location-based entertainment market analysis is categorized into amusement parks, arcade studios, and film studios. Based on geography, the location-based entertainment market is primarily segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), the Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America.
BidOn Games Studio; Dimension; HQSoftware; IMAX CORPORATION; Neurogaming LTD; TESLASUIT; SpringboardVR; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Vicon Motion Systems Ltd.; and VRstudios Inc. are a few key location-based entertainment market players. The market is highly fragmented, with several players localized in a specific region, focusing on catering to domestic demand.
The location-based entertainment market players focus on developing advanced and efficient systems. For instance:
In April 2022, Glytch, the professional esports stadium company, announced a strategic partnership with Legends, the global experiences company, and premier sports and entertainment venue and attractions operator.
In March 2022, HTC VIVE, the premier virtual reality (VR) platform and ecosystem, unveiled several innovations at Mobile World Congress 2022, including advancements in 5G technology, in-car VR experiences, Location-based Entertainment (LBE), and the latest updates to the Viverse, HTC VIVE's place in the metaverse.
What is the estimated global market size for the location-based entertainment market in 2022?
The global location-based entertainment market is expected to be valued at US$ 1,444.92 million in 2022.
What are the driving factors impacting the location-based entertainment market?
Increase The development of 360-degree virtual reality (VR) technology-based games and the mix of AR and VR technology with 3D projection mapping is anticipated to significantly contribute to the expansion of the location-based entertainment market.
What is the future trend in the location-based entertainment market?
The advent of next-generation laser tags is one of the major trends anticipated to propel the market growth during the forecast period.
Which are the key players holding the major market share of location-based entertainment market?
Bidon Games Studio; TESLASUIT, VR Electronics Ltd; SpringboardVR; Vicon Motion Systems Ltd; and VRStudios are the five key market players operating in the global location-based entertainment market.
Which country is holding the major market share of APAC location-based entertainment market?
China holds the major market share of location-based entertainment market in 2021. The presence of film & TV studio and VR star theme park is contributing in the market growth in China.
Which end user held the largest share in location-based entertainment market in 2021?
Amusement Park segment held the largest share location-based entertainment market. Many amusement parks use VR for transporting users into the virtual world with the integration of motion capture technology, allowing them to physically move around a virtual space and interact with 3D content and natural objects simultaneously.
Which countries are registering a high growth rate during the forecast period?
US, Italy, India, UAE and Brazil are registering a high growth rate during the forecast period.
What will be the global market size for location-based entertainment market by 2028?
By 2028, the global market size of location-based entertainment market will be US$ 2,918.91 million.
The List of Companies - Location-based Enetrtainment Market
BidOn Games Studio
HQSoftware
IMAX CORPORATION
Neurogaming LTD.
TESLASUIT
SpringboardVR
Vicon Motion Systems Ltd.
VRstudios, Inc.
Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players, and segments in the global location-based entertainment market.
Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies
The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the global location-based entertainment market, thereby allowing players across the value chain to develop effective long-term strategies
Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets
Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it
Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to client products, segmentation, pricing, and distribution
Evaporative Cooler Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Type (Direct Evaporative Cooling, Indirect Evaporative Cooling, and Two-Stage Evaporative Cooling) and Application (Residential, Commercial, Industrial, and Confinement Farming) Publication Month: Jan 2023 $4550 Get Sample PDF
Industrial Fans Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Technology (Centrifugal and Axial) and Industry (Chemical & Petrochemicals, Healthcare, Automotive Manufacturing, Food & Beverage, Oil & Gas, Mining, and Others) Publication Month: Jan 2023 $4550 Get Sample PDF
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Collision Avoidance and Object Detection Maritime Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Technology (LiDAR, Computer Vision, Radar, and Others), Application (Blind Spot Detection, Night Vision, and Others), and End User (Unmanned Surface Vehicle, Ships, and Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) Publication Month: Nov 2022 $4550 Get Sample PDF


text:
"""This script runs unit tests of the code in the gpu_tests/ directory.

This script DOES NOT run tests. run_gpu_test does that.
"""

from __future__ import print_function

import sys

from gpu_tests import path_util

path_util.SetupTelemetryPaths()

import gpu_project_config

from telemetry.testing import unittest_runner

def main():
  args = sys.argv[1:]
  return unittest_runner.Run(gpu_project_config.CONFIG,
                             no_browser=True,
                             passed_args=args)

if __name__ == '__main__':
  sys.exit(main())

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Beethoven's Five
From the Classical Vault Dept.: I remember this concert well. The aged audience at Memorial Chapel was usually given to odd coughs and eructations, but at some point during the first sonata, the geezer two rows back sneezed with enough velocity that I felt it on the back of my neck. Followed by more sneezes. Too self-conscious to change seats mid-piece, I waited it out but – too late! – came down with the flu a few days later. Is it any wonder I trust no-one in the age of Covid?
AS PIANIST WU HAN pointed out during last Sunday's Union College concert, we're fortunate to have a wide chronological spread of Beethoven's five cello sonatas. The first two, written when the composer was 25, show the first stirrings of rebellion in the context of fairly well-behaved classical pieces.
David Finckel and Wu Han
The third, which is the most famous of the three, dates from the time of the fifth symphony, fourth piano concerto and the "Ghost" Trio. The last two are the work of a 45-year-old who had lost his hearing and was about to begin work on his ninth symphony.
Which meant that we were able to enjoy a program that was at once a panorama of Beethoven's styles and an intimate exploration of the sound of cello and piano, in the able hands of David Finckel and Wu Han, whose many visits to the Union College Concert Series have made them audience favorites.
They have long ago demonstrated the degree of technical mastery that makes all effort transparent. Add to this that Finckel played the cello parts from memory, and you can understand that the music itself would not be an issue. What we were there to witness was their unique interpretive stamp.
Boot Camp Blues
From the Theater Vault Dept.: Here's a memory-lane piece that reminds me of folks in the area theater community who became friends, and one – the immensely talented Doug de Lisle – who died far too young. As productions reawaken, here's a reminder of who was doing what 34 years ago.
COMMUNITY THEATER is often more of a collaboration between audience and actors than professional productions: you find yourself rooting for your neighbors to pull off the difficult masquerade onstage without too many flubs or departures from character. In Doug de Lisle's production of "Biloxi Blues," which opened Friday evening at the Albany Civic Theatre, there are uncommonly long stretches where no such silent cheering is needed: the worthy cast acts with bravura assurance, and the only intrusions upon your suspended disbelief come from the author.
Doug de Lisle
Neil Simon wrote the play as the middle of an autobiographical trilogy; following its successful Broadway run it has burst upon the local scene. ACT's is but one of many that have played or play in the area; if you plan to see just one, see this one.
We have a collection of characters in boot camp, including our simple Simon hero, Eugene Jerome, played by Robert Weidert with a very authentic Brighton Beach dialect and just the right kind of Harold Lloyd-ish innocence.
The cheerful problems of Sergeant Bilko's day, when TV-writer Simon trained for this kind of sit-com, have been replaced with the more explicit stuff we now expect from the barracks. And it's funnier.
Gregory Bradley, as the pushups-happy drill sergeant, is rather more youthful than we'd expect this career man to be, but he otherwise gives a splendid performance as he goes up against the half-dozen recruits bunking with Eugene.
From the Food Vault Dept.: I'm delighted to see that the Rose and Kettle is still holding strong, having weathered the pandemic (so far) in its off-the-beaten path location. Ownership has long since changed since I wrote the below review: it's now under the aegis of chef-owner Matt Begley, who has cooked there since 2010 and bought the place two years later. Dana Spiotta and Clement Coleman now inhabit the Syracuse, NY, area; Spiotta's novel Wayward was just published to the usual great acclaim, and Coleman, when he isn't working as chef at that city's Otro Cinco, creates thoughtful, original music.
EVEN THE TOWN'S NAME strains credulity. Cherry Valley sounds absurdly nice or ironically Bates Motel-ish – but it's a charming village with a Revolutionary War-era history that has welcomed the likes of Willa Cather and Allen Ginsburg. "The rumor is that there's lithium in the water," says Dana Spiotta, so maybe the name is appropriate.
Photo by B.A. Nilsson
Spiotta and her husband, Clement Coleman, own and operate The Rose & Kettle, maintaining a moniker used by a former owner but adding a fine-dining philosophy that centers around fresh, locally obtained ingredients.
Which is a recurring theme in these reviews of late. As it should be. As the mighty maw of Monsanto threatens to envelop all mega-farm fields, replacing heritage produce with frankenfood (even as it populated groups like the FDA with its own former employees), we have to depend on small-farm foodstuffs for purity.
Boulanger at Bard
YOU CAN ARGUE that Stravinsky or Schoenberg was the most influential classical-music figure of the 20th century, but they vie for the limelight only because they're men. It was a woman who cast the longest shadow, and the Bard Summerscape celebration of Nadia Boulanger paid a long-overdue tribute even as it only scratched the surface of her profound effect on the music world.
Nadia and her sister, Lili, were musical prodigies, born to a composer who won the Prix de Rome in 1836 and fathered the girls when he was in his seventies. Feeling a burden of family responsibility, Nadia entered the Paris Conservatoire when she was ten and won many prizes there by the time she was 17 – although the Prix de Rome eluded her. She soon decided to forego composition and devote herself to performing and teaching.
The younger Lili went on to win that prize at the age of 19 – the first female to do so – but intestinal tuberculosis would end her life when she was 24. Nadia then became the caretaker of her sister's legacy even as she became the incredibly important musical pedagogue that we remember today.
The Bard Music Festival planned a Boulanger celebration for 2020, but it suffered the fate of all such events that year. The 2021 version recaptured the glory of the past such festivals, but with a slightly muted feel as we remained masked and, when possible, distanced, vaccination certificates in hand. But, as director Leon Botstein would note in a passionate speech he made towards the end of the Festival, gathering in person to share the experience of live music is a vital act of community, bridging those gaps imposed by politics and media.
From the Computer Vault Dept.: Not only was the piece below written 26 years ago, I also have practically no memory of writing it, so assembly-line was my process of cranking out technology pieces back then. The technology herein described is laughably ancient, but I still have the "Hands Off" coffee mug described – and its label remains firmly intact.
THE PROBLEM: You run a small retail business, you want to post the store hours on the door, and you don't want to hang some cheesy paper sign that will get yellow and dog-eared in a week. What do other retailers do? They hire a sign painter. Or post a supplier-sponsored sign with a garish ad. Or, worst of all, put up one of those boards whose letters are all but guaranteed to fall out over time.
You and I know better. We harness the computer, which already has better typesetting ability than any sign painter. And when you use Roland Digital Group's Stika—a compact hybrid plotter and stencil cutter—and SignMate, the included software, those signs are made from sturdy, colorful vinyl.
The uses go way beyond "Open Daily" signs. If you already have a printing or sign-making business, this technology puts words and pictures in unusual places. Think of any situation where you can't easily print directly onto a surface: a car door, a filing cabinet, your computer case.
Paper labels aren't visible enough or won't withstand the weather. Vinyl is colorful. And this gadget cuts letters up to 2 inches high.
The stuff adheres tightly. I made up some lettering for a coffee mug, and it's been through the dishwasher a couple of times already with my "Hands Off" label intact. SignMate lets you reverse the image for use inside a window, and by using a special transfer tape, you can iron a label onto a T-shirt.
With a Songbird in My Heart
OFFENBACH'S "LA PÉRICHOLE" offers a terrific mezzo-soprano role, if you don't mind appearing drunk and morally dubious, and Isabel Leonard shines as the title character in the pared-down version presented as part of the Glimmerglass Festival's on-the-lawn season this summer.
William Burden and Isabel Leonard
Photo: Karli Cadel/The Glimmerglass Festival
Reworked here into a much shorter piece, it's moved from Peru to an equally exotic setting: New Orleans. But this is operetta, and this is from the composer who practically created the genre that starred Gilbert & Sullivan and birthed an American musical comedy cousin. So what's most important is to have fun, and take nothing too seriously.
There's trouble from the start (there has to be), with a penniless performing couple realizing that they're probably not going to earn enough to eat on this particular day – even though their opening duet is marvelous. But who ever recognizes such talent in a seedy bar, even one with the improbable moniker "The Muses."
Vest-Pocket Verdi
THE GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL continues its pandemic-wary season with another 90-minute version of a popular opera, in this case Verdi's "Il Trovatore." It usually has a running time of about two and a half hours, if you don't count intermission, so this means lopping about an hour off the piece.
Michael Mayes, Kameron Lopreore,
Gregory Kunde, Ron Dukes, & Latonia Moore
And it's also a kind of hybrid performance, with the orchestra playing in the theater and the performance itself on an outdoor stage. So there's no conductor's entrance and no chance for an opening round of applause. And, in this opera, there's not even an overture, so we're launched right into the opening number, which in this case is the top of Act Two, the mighty "Anvil Chorus," rendered without apparent onstage metalworking.
But you can't get too fancy what with the lean casting. We have only a handful of Romani in the encampment, and those singers do double- and triple-duty as soldiers and nuns. This production focuses more on the principals than the ensemble numbers, so, staying in the second act, we start right off with Azucena's story.
Listen to the Women
From the Classical Vault Dept.: There's been a struggle for recognition that women in the arts have been waging for far longer than current events might suggest, and the Albany-area chamber ensemble L'Ensemble was fighting the good fight at least 35 years ago, when my review that follows was written. (And here's another Beach-centric review.)
IS IT STILL NECESSARY to highlight the work of female composers with all-women's-work concert programming? L'Ensemble artistic director Ida Faiella still finds it difficult to secure the sheet music of some of the stuff she likes to sing and play - so, yes it is.
Enlightenment usually requires something of a revolution, but the exploration of music by women requires that no shots be fired - this one can be fought with bows.
"Women's Work" was the title of a program that opened L'Ensemble's eighth summer season at a converted barn in Washington County. The concert yesterday afternoon had fine weather (a novelty worth reporting this week) as the artists presented the music of four significant composers.
Amy Beach, condescendingly known for years as Mrs. H. H. A., already has a reputation among the cognoscenti, and a recent recording of her Violin Sonata in A Minor has brought some deserved attention to that piece. There is no reason why this sonata should not appear on any recital as a substitute for the overplayed ones of Brahms and Franck: it is easily the match of the better-known works.
The performers, violinist Barry Finclair and pianist Sean Gallagher, achieved the partnership this piece requires. Not only is the music skillfully crafted, it also boasts a keen sense of the sound of the individual instruments.
Brunch with Bubbly
From the Food Vault Dept: Here's one of my earliest restaurant reviews, from the days when Metroland had no budget for meals, so we asked for a freebie in exchange for the article I'd write. Fortunately, we got away from this fairly quickly. My companion on these excursions was photographer Drew Kinum, whose work unfortunately survives in my archives only as crappy photocopies of newsprint.
MY HEART GOES OUT to all who work a Sunday-brunch shift. In my salad days as a waiter, I suffered through the Saturday night to Sunday morning turnaround, when it seems there's barely enough time to brush your teeth before you have to go on the floor again.
Photo by Drew Kinum
And, oh, how I coveted the eye-openers the patrons downed by the bucket – libations I needed much more than the wide-awake customers.
Not that, as a customer myself, I fail to seize the hair of the dog that's traditionally offered with
brunches: When a chilly bottle of Cordorniu was brought to our table at the Parc V Café last Sunday, I was first in line for the bubbly.
Lensman Drew ("The Ballad of Lensman Drew" – sounds like a Robert W. Service poem) is very familiar with the place, having done some previous photo work for the Parc V, and had already been through much of the menu on previous visits. I haven't seen the place since the remodeling two years ago.


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HOME >> BLUE SUN ROOM >> EVEN ROSES HAVE THORNS, CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT **REVISED**
Even Roses Have Thorns, Chapter Thirty-Eight **REVISED**
Mal plans a rescue, Inara hatches a plan to help Simon, and Simon wakes up. NC17 (not sex). Canon pairings +1 (River/ofc). (Revision expands ending by 1.5K words). Total word count now 4.5K.
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Culpam poena premit comes (Punishment closely follows crime as its companion.) Part III
*** *** *** Chapters 1-10, Chapters 11-20, Chapters 21-30, Chapter 31, Chapter 32, Chapter 33, Chapter 34, Chapter 35, Chapter 36, Chapter 37 *** *** ***
As Mal wandered past the infirmary again, he saw Inara watching Zoë watching the sleeping pair of doctors. He sighed, but knew that it was past time to start coming up with a new plan. He stopped and stood next to Inara, and tapped on the glass. Zoë's gaze turned toward him, and he gestured for her to step out. He watched as his first mate sweep her eyes back over the monitors before complying; when she stepped out, she left the door open a crack to listen for any changes in the sound from the machines.
"You heard what went down dirt side?" Mal asked Zoë, abruptly.
"I did." Zoë was resting at her default impassive; Mal considered that she was probably conserving energy for another long night.
"How?" Inara asked.
"Jayne filled me in when he brought in some supper."
At Zoë's words, Inara nodded. "I just can't believe that after everything – what must River think? – that kewu bu huihen de pofu! She actually betrayed us." Inara was clearly only ramping up to her larger rant. Neither Mal nor Zoë had ever seen her so angry. "Not, I suppose, that it makes her any different from nearly anyone else we've taken pity on or tried to help."
Zoë broke in gently. "I don't think she betrayed us, Inara. Not from what Jayne said."
Inara's tone carried marked disbelief. "Jayne doesn't think she betrayed us?"
"No, Jayne thinks she did, but it doesn't seem to fit with the situation on the ground as he described it."
"Zoë, I know you wanted to give the girl a chance – as did I – but you weren't there. You didn't hear her. She stepped out into the firing line, and instead of laying down fire, she just, she – she dropped her weapon and surrendered. Gave them her name, her serial number, nominal rank."
Mal's voice, hard and short, interrupted. "That what that code was?"
"Yes, Mal." Inara sounded more exasperated than anything else. "It was in her file. BSRNDESE1; Blue Sun Research and Development Experimental Subject Espionage, One."
Mal's personal disgust combined with his sense of a soldier's dignity. "That's not a serial number, 'Nara. That's some product code – like that damn brand they put on her and Simon." He bit the words out angrily.
"So you don't think she betrayed us, either?" Inara's voice went from exasperated disbelief to full on incredulous mystification.
"Oh, I'll admit, it went through my mind right enough at the time. But it was a toss up, even then – coulda been that, coulda been a distraction." Mal paused, and Zoë took the opportunity to jump in.
"River and Ceres were on one side of that Fed Squad, and musta known the rest of you were comin' up behind – but you had no way of knowing where they where, or that they were there at all. From what Jayne said, gave you all a chance to get Simon away clean."
Inara looked at the two soldiers in disbelief. "Shooting at them would have been just as effective for creating a distraction. Maybe more."
Zoë's voice remained gentle. "They were wearing her uniform, Inara. Shooting at them if she didn't have to? Wouldn't expect it of her."
Inara digested this. "I – I just don't know, Zoë."
Mal spoke up. "Well, I do." The other two looked at him, noting his tone of finality. He continued. "Heard her, in my brain, after they grabbed her. I'd told her when I let her out that first morning, that if she got caught I'd put her down. And as I readied my gun, I heard her. Thought, at first, she was pleading with me not to shoot – and honestly, I already knew I couldn't – but she wasn't. She was pleading with me to shoot." Inara looked toward Zoë, frightened. She wasn't sure if it was Mal's flat tone or the words, or the almost empty look in his eyes – but she was frightened, and thoroughly unsure of what to do. But Zoë's face registered nothing but the faintest trace of compassion as she looked her friend full into his hallow eyes. "And then – it wasn't a plea anymore. It was an order." The expression in Mal's eyes never changed, but Inara saw that the suggestion of smile at the irony and her audacity played across his lips. "And I didn't shoot, and then she was gone."
Understanding the problem immediately, Inara pushed everything else aside. "Mal, you can't blame yourself for showing her mercy."
Mal finally met his fiancées eyes. "Had no right to. She gave me her parole, Inara, and I accepted it. Those were the terms. Binding on me as much as her." He started to walk away. "Which means, we gotta go find her. End it, one way or the other."
Inara tried again, gently. "Mal, you really can't…"
Mal stopped in his tracks, but didn't look back. "It was a promise, 'Nara. And I don't like breakin' 'em, not even to prisoners." His voice went very soft, but Inara still heard it, and Zoë didn't need to. "Maybe especially not to prisoners."
As Mal walked away, Inara turned wordlessly back to Zoë. "It's all a prisoner's got," the first mate added with a sad, tight smile and a half-shrug, before going back into the infirmary.
Inara followed her. "Zoë, he can't blame himself for this."
Zoë's voice was very soft. "You see here?" She asked, nodding toward Simon. Inara nodded, confused. "When he wakes up, you can ask him if he had the choice between going through everything Blue Sun did to him, and a bullet to the brainpan – and you can watch the fear flash through his eyes at the memory, and then you'll understand when he tells you that he'd rather you killed him."
"But we're going back for her, Zoë."
"She doesn't know that. And, in a way, it doesn't much matter, not to either of them."
Inara's soft voice was honest. "I don't understand."
"That scenario I painted?" Inara nodded. "Take it a step further. Feds snatch him, and you have a clean shot – both of you know it, can see it. And you had promised him, that if he were ever in the situation again, you'd end it for him. But you don't take it, and they whisk him away…"
Inara finished Zoë's train of thought. "It would feel like a betrayal. To both of us."
Zoë nodded. "We get her back, and enough time passes, whatever she's going through now might seem worth it, for the livin', but it'll be a while before that happens."
"And Mal won't be able to forgive himself until it does." Inara added in a whisper. She watched as Zoë brushed some hair back from Simon's face. "How's he doing?"
Zoë glanced at the monitors again. "Just fine. He should start coming out from under the anaesthetic, soon."
At a loss for anything else to say, Inara just said, "Well, that's good." Of course, Zoë couldn't contradict her, but Inara saw that the first mate turned that small sad smile back on her before speaking.
"I'd kind of like to have Aren moved to your shuttle before that happens."
Inara was mildly surprised. "Is she ready for that?"
Zoë nodded. "I could wake her now. She's more woozy from battle nerves and some blood loss than drugs. She'll need more sleep, but she can do that in the shuttle. Or one of the dorms, as they're closer."
"Will she make it to the shuttle?"
"She should. Might not want to. I expect she'll be groggy."
"I'll walk her there." Inara would have asked Zoë why she wanted Aren moved before Simon woke, but it was a question that, once thought of, immediately supplied its own answer. Zoë wanted privacy for Simon, and probably herself, when he awoke to find that his ordeal was not, in fact, over – and that in the process, his beloved sister's lover had been snatched. Inara understood. Zoë knew, as did she, that Simon – like Mal – would blame himself. "Should we be considering putting Simon on some kind of watch?" Even if he were deeply unconscious, it felt profoundly wrong to say the word 'suicide' in his presence.
"I don't know. Expect that might depend a lot on River's reaction."
"She doesn't seem to have had much of one, yet. But, I suppose she wouldn't, not being able to hear Ceres." But there was no real response possible to that. River's silence was eerie, and they all felt it. As if, already, they had moved on, as if the girl they remembered really had only been a ghost – the very first word Inara had heard River use to describe her.
As Mal walked onto the bridge, he heard River's voice softly singing.
"And the playing's stopped in the playground now, she wants to play with her toys awhile and school's out early and soon we'll be learning, the lesson today is how to die…"
Thinking that she was having a bad moment, Mal interrupted gently. "Hey, lil'Albatross, you up to runnin' a Cortex search for me?"
But her voice was clear and lucid when she replied to him. "Already am, Captain." At Mal's quizzical look, she pointed to the screen – it looked to him as if it had been running since River had gotten back to the boat. "Anticipating orders, Sir."
It took him a moment to find a response. "Well, then. Carry on lil'Albatross, and let me know when you know something." As he walked away, he heard her take up her morbid song where she'd left it off.
"And then the bull horn cackles and the Captain tackles with the problems and the hows and whys – and he can see no reason cause there are no reasons – what reason do you need to die?"
It wasn't until after the Captain had gone that she whispered the song's next line.
"Tell me why."
After Inara settled her friend back into her own bed, she checked her computer for messages. Seeing one that she'd been waiting for, she turned down the volume and selected it.
Durran Haymer's message began. "Miss Serra, I am pleased to report that I can make the arrangements you asked about earlier."
Mal was sitting in the galley when Inara found him. "Mal, I've found another option for Simon." His head snapped up, face closed and wary, to meet her gaze.
"Risky."
If he wanted to dance, well – Inara knew the steps as well as he did. "Yes."
"Possibly."
"Ain't got the money for it."
"We've more than half, and they're willing to trade for the rest." Inara saw that Mal's eyebrow shot up at that.
"Could be a trap, 'Nara."
"That's what you said the last time too, but it wasn't."
"Ain't following."
"It's Durran Haymer. He has the resources, and we'll dealt with him before." Before Mal's shock could turn into objection, Inara finished quickly. "And he understands the extents to which one might go for a loved one."
"Even were this all to go well, we'd be in his debt. Quite literally. And t'would be a heavy debt at that, 'Nara. Plenty hard to clear."
"Could take years."
The debt, again. "Yes."
Mal took a moment and rubbed his face with his hands. "Boy's worth it, though. More than."
"More than," Inara agreed. "Will I go make the arrangements with Haymer, then?"
Mal raised an eyebrow at her. "Half-thought with all this dancin' about you'd already done just that."
Inara bit her tongue to stop herself from reminding him that it was he who'd initiated the dancing. She suddenly understood every argument Kaylee and Simon had ever had. "I'm Serenity's Quartermaster, Mal. You're her Captain." She lowered her gaze. "I respect that. And I respect you. And I understand that I serve at your pleasure."
It was a perfectly valid statement, and something similar from Zoë it would have seemed natural. But from Inara's lips, it seemed almost… kinky in it's obedient submissiveness. Mal's lips turned up slightly at the thought, despite his mood. He let his voice go all Captain-y as he addressed his fiancée. "Well said. Carry on then, Miss Serra. I trust you to make the arrangements."
Kaylee walked with Simon back to his dorm, just to make sure he'd be all right. As he pulled the door back, a soft waft of incense greeting him, Kaylee spoke. "I just wanted to make the room a bit more relaxing for you, sweetie. There's some green tea there on the side table if you want some." She watched him as he settled himself on the bed, and she continued. "Zoë did some pretty fancy flyin' to get us out of there fast, and were hard on Serenity. Got most of it done now, but ain't something can wait long. 'Spect I'll be another hour or so. Ya gonna be alright?" Simon nodded. "I can get River for ya."
Simon shook his head. "I'll be fine, bao bei. Thank you. I just – I need some sleep."
"Sure, sweetie." Kaylee kissed the top of his head gently before making her way out of the room.
Simon rested his right ankle on his left thigh, as he pulled off his shoe and sock. Automatically, then, he switched feet – left ankle to right thigh, continuing to disrobe as he gazed at the breath of pale smoke coming from the incense cone. He wondered which scent it was. He focused on the tip, the soft glow of orange, and imagined it burning away all his feelings – of guilt, at what had happened to Aren, to Ceres, to Serenity itself, and what this was doing to the rest of the crew. Of frustration at having his life and plans once again turned about. Of shame, that an old teacher, trusted, wise, could betray him. Of terror, at Mal's plan to attempt the surgery again. Of horror, at what his sister's lover was no doubt experiencing because she had sought to aid him. Of loathing at himself, and his responsibility for all this misery; everything golden turning to lead at his touch. With a profoundly heavy heart, Simon lifted the cone gently by its base and drew it close. The name of the incense eluded him, but its scent was pleasing. With a deft move from his healed right hand, Simon inverted the cone and brought it to strike at the tender spot just behind his ankle bone.
A clench of teeth and a single sharp breath, and it was done. He considered the mark. One was sadly never quite enough for Simon. He knew his weaknesses. Twice more, he brought the cone in contact with his skin, solidly, despite the pain, so that he wouldn't have to redo them. Three perfect dots formed on a diagonal line – he normally would have gained a measure of peace from the aesthetic of such a perfect line, but now he felt mere relief that it was enough to make the urge subside.
On the bridge, River shouted at the pain, and grabbed her ankle.
Mal looked over from the co-pilot's seat, puzzled. "Ya all right there, Albatross?"
River's eyes were filled with tears, but she just nodded and massaged her bare foot, whispering, "Just a cramp." Dismayed, Zoë and Mal watched as she winced twice more, and swore, hand tightening around her foot. "Dancer's life," she managed as the first sharpness of the pain eased.
Mal wasn't certain, and he could tell from Zoë's guarded expression that she wasn't either. "Albatross, this got something to do with what's happening to Ceres?"
But River shook her head. "Can't hear her."
Mal ventured an opinion. "Thought maybe she would come through more under stress." Most of the crew had at least a vague mental picture of how reading did – and didn't – work now.
River nodded. "I haven't heard anything." Her eyes glanced over the ongoing search on the Cortex. "I think she may be dead."
Well, trim wasn't available, what, Jayne smirked to himself, with all the lesbians on board, and he had already worked out past the point were he could go it safely without a spotter. It wasn't that he didn't like a quiet ship – he did. Just not this eerie-assed graveside quiet. Made the feeling of naked mortality seem more obvious, and made his reactions to it seem even less appropriate to everyone else on board.
Figured he'd better go hide in his bunk for a bit, before he went upsetting anyone's sensibilities, and Mal threatened to keel haul him, whatever that was.
"Now River, I don't think that's the case," Mal began, and frankly, it was true. "I know it must be down right disconcertin' to you not to be able to hear her like you want to, but maybe they've found some way a keepin' you out. Managed to hide all them troops from both a ya, didn't they?"
"They weren't there. The people giving the orders." River stared out at the black as she – not as absentmindedly as it seemed – continued to rubbed her foot. "The soldiers didn't know moment by moment what the next order would be or which of them would get it. Couldn't read what wasn't there. Couldn't read it until it was there. Took us ages to figure out. But there was no shielding."
River looked up from the breakfast she was preparing as Simon came to stand beside her and help. She gave him a sad smile before turning her attention back to her work.
River spoke, quietly, though she knew that no-one else was anywhere near the galley. "It's a question of discipline. You don't let yourself limp. Don't let anybody else know. Don't put them in a position to ask questions." River tilted her head to the side and continued. "Second degree burn. Most people don't know, but because of the nerve damage associated with third degree burns, they are actually less painful, making second degree burns the most painful. Blisters. Deliberate choice of placement. Tender spot, worse injury. And right where your shoes would rub, so you can't ignore it. Can't forget. Get to be all stoical. Disciplined. Hiding it in plain sight. No one sees your pain. Focus on small pain, forget the bigger one. Focus on the small problem. Stiff upper lip. Be a good boy."
Simon looked in horror at his sister, her face shrouded by her veil of hair, realisation dawning. "Tell me you didn't feel it."
River's voice was more than a passable imitation of her mother's. "A liar is the worst sort of person. A liar can't ever be trusted. A thief can make amends for what he took, but a liar never can."
"Tell me it wasn't the same." His voice was hoarse.
"The same as what you felt? Oh, but it was, Simon. Felt you feeling it, here." She touched her temple. "Felt me feeling it, here." With a ballet dancer's dance she brought her left foot up to be level with her hand. Her right hand mimicked his own movements from the night before. "Dot, dot, dot. Three little blisters, right in a neat, tidy, perfect row."
Simon was relieved to see that at least her skin wasn't marked – but it was a pitifully small comfort; and as she turned her face to look at him, he could see that her sad eyes had taken on the wet-glassy effect he hated. He'd actually hurt her. Hurt his sister.
As if she were responding to his thought – and for all he knew, she may have been – she spoke again. "Not everyone can be a hero Simon. A steely will and a sharp breath doesn't work for everyone. Some of us have to live with screaming out our terror where others can hear."
Somehow, what she said – he suddenly knew precisely why Jayne had given her that damn sock. "So when Blue Sun had me…" his voice trailed off, seeing the confirmation of his suspicions in her damp eyes. "I didn't protect you from a damn thing, did I?"
He didn't wait for her answer. He just turned, and without looking back, headed straight for the passenger dorms.
He stepped into Ceres' room and walked straight to her dresser. Everything was sitting there, clean and neat and ready for use. He stared at the tableau, a ritual altar. He flipped open the craft box. Inara had, of course – and completely unintentionally – chosen well. He ran his fingers over the blades, but didn't touch them, yet. He couldn't, could he? Knowing what he knew now?
After a moment, barely lifting his eyes from the clean metal, Simon reached for a cotton ball. He considered his options. Body scent would have a higher alcohol content, but the smell would give it away. With one hand he opened the bottle of witch hazel and started to swab the skin of his wrist down. He picked up the craft box and set it on the bed, sitting next to it, and staring at its contents.
He startled, a little, at Zoë's soft voice. "Thought I might find you here." She was standing in the doorway. When he looked over at his shoulder to her, and stepped in, closing the door behind her.
"I'm thinking of inscribing the motto, 'Hero: someone who gets other people killed' on my skin."
Zoë tilted her head at him, ignoring his tone – whatever it was. "It's a good motto." Zoë's voice was gentle. "She's not dead, you know."
"Well, I'm sure that's a comfort to her, right now. I'm curious," he began, and Zoë still couldn't quite place the tone. Distain? Snark? Detachment? "How did you know? I mean, if River'd told you, you wouldn't have said 'thought', but you did. You guessed on your own." Simon turned his face back; he could no longer see her face.
"That I did." Zoë took a measured breath. "You said you'd managed to stop cutting in med school, and that you'd started again after you worked out River's code. Then you stopped again, just before you got her out of the academy. Not after. Just before. You had a purpose, and life had meaning, and you were no longer helpless, or without hope. And now you are both, again. Many a man'd be suicidal in your place, wouldn't be surprised if you were too. I've heard it said that this can be a way of staving off that." Despite his back being turned to her, Zoë could see that he nodded.
When he spoke again, all she could hear in his voice was naked pain, and her heart ached for him. "Zoë, I'm sitting here, and all I want to do is to cut. Even knowing that River will feel it. Because it will, while I'm doing it, for as long as I'm doing it, it will be the only thing that matters. Of course, I know that when I'm done, there will be the guilt at having simultaneously done this to my sister. You understand the concept of a dyad in torture?"
It took Zoë a second, but she placed it. "I do." She took a breath and let it out. "It's when the torturer and the tortured collaborate in the rituals and acts of torture, such as where the victim is coerced into selecting the torture implements and the types of torment to be inflicted." She could see where he was going with this, but knew that he must desperately need the validation of being heard.
"Yes. Only I'm both parts of the dyad. Torturer and tortured. And no choice that isn't, in some way – torment." Part of her wished the boy would just crack and cry so that she could comfort him, but he gathered himself and continued his painful confession. "And the only compromise that I can think of is to beg my sister to take a sedative, which she hates, so that she can't feel me hurting myself, which she also hates. But it offers her a tiny haven from the actual moment of pain, if even," she could see him struggle to go on, "even as it means that I give up any illusions of privacy or personal dignity. But what wouldn't I do for River?"
"'Torture is an obscenity in that it joins what is most private with what is most public. Torture entails all the isolation and extreme solitude of privacy with none of the usual security embodied therein... Torture entails at the same time all the self-exposure of the utterly public with none of its possibilities for camaraderie or shared experience.'" It was a definition she'd learned in the time after her experience in the camps, trying to understand what had been done to her.
Simon nodded, but didn't voice his final thought: 'Or, no compromise: just cut a little bit deeper, and there will be no guilt afterwards, end the torment, end the tormentor, end the tormented.' And no one could ever use him to get to River, again.
Both heard the gentle knock that came to the door. Simon flipped the lid of the craft box closed, but didn't bother to turn around. Zoë turned fully, and slid the door open a crack, blocking the view of Simon with her body. It was River. She had two hypos in her hand. Zoë wanted to send the girl away, pretty clearly Simon had come in here, at least in part, to avoid River. But as he'd said, what wouldn't the boy do for his sister? She let the girl step through, and Zoë closed the door.
River rushed to her brother's side. "I'm sorry, Simon, never make you beg." She showed him the hypos curled in her hand. She looked up at Zoë, for permission.
Zoë nodded. "I'll take the helm, little one." Zoë left the room, and stood guard outside of it.
Inside, River carefully removed the craft box from the bed and placed it on the side table. As she went to pull the covers down, Simon wordlessly stood. River slipped under the covers on the far side of the wall. She picked up one of the hypos. "Not my tormentor. Only your own." She closed her eyes tight, and, with a small scared mew, injected its contents into her neck. He took the needle from her hand and placed on the side table.
Now, for himself: blade or needle? With River lying there, there hardly seemed a choice, anymore. With a deep breath, he kicked off his shoes and joined her on the narrow bed, needle in hand. With one arm he curled around her, and with the other, he injected himself.
After a few minutes of total silence, Zoë ventured a peek in. They looked so peaceful, so young, curled together like that. She rubbed her stomach watching the pale siblings, so still, so loving, and hoped that Simon was right. One of each would be perfect. She flipped the light off and closed the door, before turning in the direction of the bridge.
Sunday, February 4, 2007 10:27 AM
Thank you to everyone who has read and commented; your thoughts and support are appreciated.
Just a reminder: Comments are shiny!
Oh, next chapter:
Simon's reservations, exposed.
FROMTHEDARK
Cant wait for the next one! Keep up with this fantastic story line, love it
PLATONIST
Good storyline with subtle pairings. I
think this is the first fic I've read that while M/I are engaged she has a function on the ship besides being Mal's lover. How original... and the more I think on it it makes sense that she would need some kind of legal commitment before leaving the Guild because that's something they would understand...contracts and all.
Love Jayne's comment about there not being any trim available.
Monday, February 5, 2007 12:40 AM
Damn you Simon! You silly, silly martyr and being all (as River so poetically put it) stoical. Not that I hate it, I don't, it totally makes sense, and it services the story perfectly, so I loves it!
The scene between River and Mal on the bridge, and the song and eveything was so sad...and me being the sadist I am, I loved that too.
Gotta totally agree with Platonist about Jayne's comment and Inara having a position on the crew.
As usual girlfan, an excellent chapter in an excellent series.
Monday, February 5, 2007 2:49 AM
COMMENT POST REVISION:
The expanded ending was originally intended to be the start of chapter 39, but in writing chapter 39, I was forced to the conclusion that I'd made a mistake, and that fixing that mistake would improve both chapters, while not doing would seriously compromise the quality of 39.
I hope it's not too great an annoyance, and you have my apologies if it is.
Oh, and if you've commented already, feel free to comment again. My muse has a ravenous appetite. :)
Originally, I felt sorry for River, having to know what's going on in Simn's life even when she didn't. But after seeing his reaction in the expanded ending, I have to wonder why the hell she bothered to tell him. He can't necessarily stop: if it was that easy, he'd have done it by now; and God knows he needs a release SOMEWHERE, especially since his recovery seems to have stalled on account of Feds. Yes, she did managed to convince him to drug himself instead, but was adding to his already massive guilt complex really the way to go? She only managed to forestall the inevitable explosion, and now it'll be worse for the waiting.
I do like the continued similarity between Simon and Zoe. Of anyone on the ship, I think she understands Simon the best. Not that I'm advocating he drop Kaylee like a hot potato and shack up with Zoe - it's probably better that the two people who understand each other the best stay separate for support when it's needed.
Speaking of Kaylee: where the hell is she? Simon is certainly acting weird - running off in the middle of breakfast, for example. She knows about his behavior already, and she's not suspicious?
I think it's BECAUSE of her knowledge about Simon's issues and mental state that she is staying away, ManicGiraffe. Gotta remember that Kaylee is pure and unadulterated sunshine...seeing Simon suffer like this, especially after all the guilt she expounding while he was being tortured? Don't think she can handle it too well. Which is the rub: Simon needs her light and love to draw him out of this spiral of self-destruction but said spiral is dampening that light:(
girlfan....this chapater just blew me away! Every scene was utterly brilliant, especially the Simon-River moment in the gallery where Simon learns that River can sense every pain he suffers with utter clarity. To me, this scene just drips with angst because as an older sibling, the knowledge that my actions were causing my brother the same kind of pain? Would pretty much lead me to where Simon is right now. And THAT is the mark of a brilliant writer!
TKID
I'm also wondering why Kaylee, who knows of Simon's scars and habits of cutting himself, isn't keeping close tabs on him. Or talking to Zoe about keeping close tabs on Simon while Kaylee's in the engine room. Or getting Inara to keep an eye out on Simon. Kaylee says she loves the guy, but she's not acting like it - methinks she's not really into being anything but the baby of the Serenity family. I wonder how she'll react if she realizes both of the Tams have been drugged unconscious.
Can't see Simon agreeing to any more surgery on his behalf, and certainly not to surgery that puts the ship in debt for years to come. Mal and Inara have a fight on their hands there.
Poor Jayne; he needs a moment of stunning heroics and then some trim.
>Poor Jayne; he needs a moment of stunning heroics and then some trim.
Too true! I'll get right on that.
JUST CURIOUS:
Why does everyone think River and Simon are drugged unconscious?
Monday, February 5, 2007 12:13 PM
> Why does everyone think River and Simon are drugged unconscious?
Because I really, REALLY don't believe that Zoe would allow suicide without a serious fight, even if River would. At least not without some SERIOUS discussion between the three of them, and a solid shot at counseling for the Tams (suggested by Aren but never implemented, BTW). I understood it as a pact between the two siblings, but I can't see Zoe willingly going along with it without raising quite a few objections.
>Because I really, REALLY don't believe that Zoe would allow suicide without a serious fight
No, absolutely correct there, and I certainly wasn't (meaning to) implying that. But unlike the rest of us, Zoe wasn't there for the convo in chap 27 (River's offer).
Monday, February 5, 2007 1:52 PM
> No, absolutely correct there
Well, then, if River didn't just off herself and her brother...River appears with two needles, they inject themselves, and fall asleep (or dead?). Seems rather straight-forward to me.
Aha, I get it. ZOE thinks it's to knock them out. RIVER and SIMON know better.
How utterly screwed up.
Wowza! Methinks you're right about the expanded revision making everything better for the story! That improved things waaaaay past where they were (which is saying something!).
The added moments were so heartbreaking and raw...it was damn, damn fine writing.
River had better not have made good on her Ch. 27 offer. That'll definetly put a spin on things.
Even more praise than my last comment.
Your very right it was worth reading the extra bit!!
Tuesday, February 6, 2007 2:55 AM
Because Zoe isn't making a fuss, my assumption is they are both asleep; she peeked at them and what she saw didn't alarm her.
If both are dead and she missed it, or she'd understood this option was their choice or sommat like that, then that'd make for a really interesting chapter 39. I'd reaaaally like to see Kaylee's face in that instance.


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Kaurna Cronin east coast tour, new single
Multi award-winning folk troubadour Kaurna Croninhas today announced his emotive new single and video Gotta Get Outta This Place, a song about longing for the road, and a desire to be flung outside of ones' comfort zone, out Friday 31st May.
In fact, Kaurna is no stranger to the road, having performed over 400 shows across the U.K, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, America, Denmark, Russia, India and Sweden. Kaurna will be returning to Australia in June to perform a run of exclusive shows to celebrate Gotta Get Outta This Place, kicking off at The Toff in Town in Melbourne, moving through Sydney, and wrapping up at Chateau Apollo in Adelaide on the 14th June.
Gotta Get Outta This Place is a familiar title for a familiar feeling - and this song captures that feeling with true understanding, grace and lyrical intricacy. Evocative of Australian greats Paul Kelly and The Go-Betweens, the track arcs beautifully from a stark opening, showcasing Kaurna's unique, quietly commanding vocal, to a percussive jam buoyed by laid back guitar and gentle vocal harmonies.
Speaking on the inspiration behind the song, Kaurna reflects, "This song is one I've been wanting to write for a long time but had never really managed to get the tone quite right. It's a song about internal battles of a sense of belonging and love for the idea of 'one's home' and the ongoing feeling of needing to get away from home to experience the unknown to be inspired by different places, people and ideas. It was important for me to try and capture the sense of passion and inspiration in one's home and not dismiss that - it's about the conflict of urges that one can associate with not wanting to feel 'comfort' anymore."
After spending many years travelling the globe and performing his music to countless people around the world, Kaurna is thrilled to return to Australia to play a run of shows celebrating Gotta Get Outta This Place, as he gives an insight into his life on the road, "My first years in Europe I was based in Germany, I spent a while busking in the streets of Berlin in 2011 developing songs which I would later create my first LP with partly in a Berlin studio and at my home studio in Australia. Every year I have been travelling back to Europe, playing in new countries every year including Germany, Sweden, Italy, Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Belgium, France, Denmark, Lithuania, Czech Republic and Austria. It has been a gradual and constant evolution of building audiences from performing on the streets, to cafes, to venues, to festivals in most countries throughout Europe. There is no "shooting to success" story by any means, but performing live to audiences all over the world has become my life."
Thu 6th June - Melbourne, The Toff In Town - tickets from Moshtix
Sat 8th June - Sydney, Low 302 - tickets from Ticketek
Sat 14th June - Adelaide, Chateau Apollo - tickets from Eventbrite


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Death of young gay couple refocuses attention on homophobia in Armenia
Article Published: 22 Oct, 2022 01:10
Comments Off on Death of young gay couple refocuses attention on homophobia in Armenia
By Mark Dovich
The death of a young gay couple by suicide in Yerevan on Thursday has shocked Armenia and Armenian diaspora communities around the world, refocusing attention on Armenia's deeply entrenched homophobia and the stigma of seeking mental health services in the country.
The young couple, named on social media as Arsen and Tigran, made a short post on Instagram before dying. It is believed one of them was a minor.
Pink Armenia, a prominent LGBTQ rights group based in Yerevan, said in a statement that the young couple's death "proves once again that LGBT people in Armenia are not safe and not protected by society or the state."
"We call on the public to refrain from insults, humiliating expressions, distorting the details of the incident in the form of hateful messages and comments, and spreading hatred," Pink Armenia added.
Homophobia remains widespread in Armenia, and members of the LGBTQ community in the country regularly face discrimination, harassment, and violence.
Seeking mental health services remains taboo in Armenian society.
Hard to imagine Karabakh's future without Russia, says Karabakh president
Boo Mountain Park: The First Mountain Bike Park in Armenia
REPORTS IN ENGLISH
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EU observers in Armenia will 'bring geopolitical confrontation,' says Russia
Russia's Foreign Ministry released a statement yesterday evening lambasting the…
Azerbaijan attempting to incite new war in region, warns Pashinyan
The gas supply to Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been restored.…
Is it time for Azerbaijan to face international sanctions?
Welcome back to Insights with Eric Hacopian. In the latest episode, Eric discusses…
Russia's Foreign Ministry released a statement yesterday evening lambasting the European Union's decision to deploy a civilian monitoring mission to Armenia. Kristina Kvien has been sworn in as the new U.S. ambassador to Armenia. 350 tons of humanitarian aid remains unable to reach Nagorno-Karabakh due to Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin corridor.
The gas supply to Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been restored. However, the gas supply to other regions of the territory remains disrupted. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with Josep Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, in Brussels. Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air has launched four new flight routes to Armenia.
Welcome back to Insights with Eric Hacopian. In the latest episode, Eric discusses last week's fire at a military barracks in eastern Armenia, which left 15 Armenian servicemen dead, and the fundamental reforms the army needs to undertake to ensure that such a disaster does not occur again. Turning to Azerbaijan's ongoing blockade of Artsakh, Eric gives his take on what further moves the international community could make to pressure Baku to lift the blockade.
Azerbaijan spreads 'fake news' about Karabakh evacuation
Azerbaijani special services have been spreading false information online about evacuating Stepanakert residents, according to Karabakh's National Security Service. The U.S. State Department has once again called for freedom of movement along the Lachin corridor to be restored. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is set to become the first Egyptian leader to visit Armenia.
How to make 2023 a record-breaking year for tourism in
Sisian Boghossian has been the head of Armenia's Tourism Committee for almost exactly one year. Boghossian sat down with CivilNet to break down how Armenia's tourism sector fared in 2022 and discussed what plans she and her team have for 2023. Boghossian also talked about the importance of effective social media use, the need to increase brand awareness, and other strategies the Tourism Committee is working out.
Egyptian president to make first-ever visit to Armenia
By Mark Dovich Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is set to become the first Egyptian leader to visit Armenia, a senior official at Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan's office confirmed to CivilNet by phone Wednesday, without specifying a date. "(El-Sisi's) visit is scheduled, but at the moment, I will refrain from giving a specific date. Once that is clear, we will publish an official message. Preparatory work is now underway," said Aghasi Margaryan, the head of Khachaturyan's communications department. Margaryan added that el-Sisi will also visit Azerbaijan as part of a regional trip. As of early afternoon Wednesday, Baku has not commented publicly […]
AND IN OTHER NEWS: World Reacts to Lachin Corridor Blockade
Since our last round-up, the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh has gotten more precarious, as has the efficacy of Azerbaijani propaganda trying to prove that there isn't an ongoing blockade. Whereas last time the story was of how Armenians were mostly screaming for help while the world was looking elsewhere, now social media is flooded with articles exposing the situation and a long list of concerned people tweeting about what's going on. An important sign that the world was finally waking up to what is happening in Nagorno-Karabakh was when the "paper of record", the New York Times, printed an article about […]
Blinken urges Aliyev to lift Karabakh blockade
Azerbaijan's blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh has entered its 44th day. Yesterday evening, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, urging Baku to lift the blockade. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters today that Russia continues "thorough and complex work" with regard to dialogue with Armenia and Azerbaijan. Credits: Ruptly


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The Healer: Paul McHugh at 90
by George Weigel 5 . 26 . 21
One of the adornments of American Catholicism turned 90 on May 21: Dr. Paul R. McHugh, longtime head of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins and a healer after the heart of the Divine Physician. Few scientists have made greater contributions to unraveling the mysteries of our complex inner lives than Paul McHugh; few men of such eminence have suffered such calumnies from critics who haven't one-fifth of his intellectual wattage or one-tenth of his moral courage. He has been a sign of contradiction for much of his professional life, not because he sought controversy but because he sought truth. And he did that because Paul McHugh, consummate scientist and serious Catholic, understands that knowing and living by the truths embedded in us and in the world helps satisfy our innate desire for happiness, while ignoring or denying those truths adds to the burdens of human suffering.
Who is Paul McHugh? The late, great Tom Wolfe, author of The Right Stuff, The Bonfire of the Vanities, Radical Chic and Mau-Mauing the Flak-Catchers, and many other fictional and non-fictional gems of American cultural analysis, had this to say about him:
Paul McHugh of Johns Hopkins is the man who rescued modern psychiatry from a coven of flaming nut cases with medical degrees who actually believed in such lunatic notions as "recovered memory," "sexual reassignment," "multiple personality disorder," "physician-assisted suicide," "Vietnam-specific post-traumatic stress syndrome," and destroyed innumerable lives as long as they held sway.
Strong words, to be sure. But beneath Wolfe's inimitable style lies the truth about Paul McHugh, psychiatrist and healer: He has challenged the conventional wisdom (about Freudianism, at the beginning of his career) and the latest fads (see Wolfe's encomium for examples) because of his commitment to helping deeply troubled human beings. He has long worked to put the practice of psychiatry on a rigorous scientific basis, insisting on following the empirical evidence about what actually makes for healing and human flourishing—and about what makes for more mental distress and more suffering, such as "transgendering." His patients, he believes, deserve no less. And so does any self-respecting medical discipline. Substituting ideology and woke faddishness for evidence-based healing strikes Paul McHugh as a betrayal of those whom physicians are sworn to serve and a degradation of the healer's unique vocation. Thus he has been a vigorous opponent of euthanasia and "physician-assisted suicide" as a practice that ill-serves patients, corrupts medical practice, and does grave damage to society.
Paul McHugh is also a writer of wit and polish, who taught creative writing to Hopkins undergraduates while shaping generations of psychiatrists at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital. His literary skills are beautifully displayed in his 2006 book, The Mind Has Mountains: Reflections on Society and Psychiatry, in which he discusses everything from the battles he's fought against various forms of witchcraft in his profession and the relevance of Shakespeare for psychiatrists (and the rest of us) today. In that old-fashioned term, Paul McHugh is a "man of letters," who ranges widely over the humanities and sciences because of an unquenchable thirst to get at the truth of things, see how those truths fit together, and put them to use in service to others and the common good.
If American culture ever recovers its senses, Paul McHugh will be recognized as one of the great figures of our time. That he'd laugh at the idea is due to an estimable (and deeply Christian) humility. In witness thereof, consider these remarks he made at a Phi Beta Kappa induction ceremony some years ago:
I presume I was invited because I am a psychiatrist who studies severe mental illnesses. Thus before I start on my main theme, let me disabuse any of you who think that as a psychiatrist I know the secrets of life and have brought them with me. . . .
Psychiatrists are physicians. We work in clinics with the handicapped. We do good work and help many people recover. But we don't explain courage, endurance, commitment, creativity or any of the other vigorous virtues . . . One should no more expect a psychiatrist. . . . to explain, say, the remarkable achievements of Ignatius Loyola than expect an orthopedist who works on broken joints and bones to explain the grace, fortitude, and athleticism of Cal Ripken or Kristi Yamaguchi. We fix them when they're hurt but they do their thing on their own.
Such modesty, combined with such unfeigned admiration for the gifts of others, is a rarity at the highest altitudes of academic life, where Paul McHugh has labored for over a half-century. Thank God for his example. It's more essential today than ever.
George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of Washington, D.C.'s Ethics and Public Policy Center, where he holds the William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies.
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Guests Enter at their Own Risk!
Personal Injury | 12th May 2016
Perhaps the traditional "welcome mat" at your front door should be replaced with a mat stating "guests enter at their own risk".
Why you may ask?
In 2015 the High Court ruled in favour of the claimant Mr Mark Pollock, who fell 25ft out of an open window at his friends' house leaving him paralysed. £2million in damages was awarded.
On the 10 May 2016 the defendants Edna and Madeleine Cahill unsuccessfully sought via the Court of Appeal permission to appeal the earlier 2015 decision. Lord Justice Moore-Blick, the Court of Appeal Judge, who considered the application for permission to appeal, appears to have taken the view that the Judge in 2015 had been justified in reaching his decision in favour of Mr Pollock.
The defendants were insured up to a maximum of £2million and the claimant had agreed to limit his claim to that amount, although his injuries were so severe that the case was probably worth more.
This case may create a chill amongst house owners who regularly invite guests to their property. Should hospitable people feel at risk and should we all get guests to sign waivers against liability?
A little detail on the above case will perhaps help explain the decision of the judge and the recent decision of the Court of Appeal. Mr Pollock was blind and had been given a second floor bedroom with a double casement window, where the window sill was at a height which would have reached his mid thigh. One of the owners had left the window open. I appreciate hindsight is a wonderful thing, but was this not an accident waiting to happen?
The blind guest was unaware of the open window and the risk it posed for him. The owners should have considered that risk for their blind guest.
The Judge in 2015 concluded that the claimant fell through the open window as he was trying to make his way to the bathroom having just woken up. The Judge found that the defendants had been in breach of their duty of care as occupiers pursuant to section 2 of the Occupiers Liability Act 1957 which includes a duty to have regard to any known vulnerabilities of a guest – in this case Mr Pollock's blindness. The sill which was lower than many window sills was in the Judge's view an "obvious risk for a blind person".
This is the season of garden parties and the like. Hospitality is a good thing, but looking after your guests does not just mean ensuring that their glasses are refilled. It also means taking care that your guests do not face risks which could be easily avoided.
So keep the welcome mat, but be risk aware and keep your guests from harm.
Emily Phelan
Paralegal, Dispute Resolution
Prior to joining Hart Brown in 2015 Emily worked for a niche personal injury and clinical negligence firm based in Hampshire. Before that she spent...
Emily Phelan's Blog Posts
Prior to joining Hart Brown in 2015 Emily worked for a niche personal injury and clinical negligence firm based in Hampshire. Before that she spent two and a half years working in London with a national firm. In a previous life she was a senior property negotiator with a nationwide firm of estate agents.
She is currently studying for her ILEX level 3 professional diploma in law and practice.
And outside work …
What are your interests outside work?
Cooking & home baking (especially cakes and deserts), musical theatre and travel.
What is your favourite travel destination?
The Far East. I recently went to Malaysia and it was the best experience!
If you had not become a lawyer what would you have done?
I'm quite creative and so quite possibly something involving arts and crafts.
How companies get caught in the slave trade