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CTO/Co-Founder/Director
Marwan Haddad has over 25 years of software development experience and over 10 years of leading and building high performance engineering and product development teams.
Marwan spent 8 years as the Chief Technology Officer & VP Engineering for RESAAS, a global award winning real estate cloud platform.
Prior to joining RESAAS, Marwan worked as a software consultant/solution provider with many local and international companies. He has experience setting up teams and building applications/platforms on time and on budget. Marwan successfully led the development efforts/teams and launched several platforms for Fortune 500 Companies including Microsoft and Starbucks.
Marwan holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and has completed several advanced MIS courses, and is actively involved with UBC computer science/engineering mentorship programs.
Cory Brandolini
CEO/Co-Founder/Director
Mr. Brandolini has over 3 decades of experience in capital markets and as an advisor to disruptive, high growth software companies across many verticals in the technology sector.
Over the course of his career, he has helped raise over $150 million for public companies specifically in the technology sector. Mr. Brandolini's background includes two decades spent in the investment industry with Octagon Capital (Partner) and Wolverton Securities.
Most recently, Mr. Brandolini was the Founder, CEO and Chairman of RESAAS Services Inc, an award winning global real estate cloud platform. Under his direction, RESAAS saw its largest growth phase from a raw start up to over 400,000 subscribing realtors worldwide including the biggest brands in real estate.
Mr. Brandolini has continued to provide Capital Markets and M&A advisory for technology companies, including Teleo (VoIP platform acquired by Microsoft), Think Technologies (Artificial Intelligence Incubator).
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AI Data Scientist /Co-Founder
Dr. Elliot Holtham is a results driven leader with a diverse range of experience in natural sciences, engineering, and technology. His passion is developing innovative technology. His strong work ethic and competitive drive allows him to advise and lead groups to success.
Elliot Holtham was the co-founder, CEO and COO of Xtract AI, a Machine Learning company recently acquired by Patriot One Technologies (TSX:PAT).
Elliot has a Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and was awarded Canada's most prestigious graduate scholarship, the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. He has co-authored over a dozen published scientific articles and has been an invited speaker at technical conferences around the world. Elliot also holds an MBA from IE Business School in Madrid where he graduated on the Dean's List and graduated with Distinction in Engineering Physics from UBC.
Kevin O'Neill
Co-Founder/Advisory Chair
As a former Investment Banker with Merrill Lynch Mr. O'Neil has spent his 35 year career working in technology investing, advisory and leadership. As a visionary who gages trends and market opportunities Mr. O'Neil was both co-founder and CEO of 5 disruptive technology companies that were successfully acquired by major tech companies.
These companies included: Co-Founder – Digital Auction company (acquired by OpenLane), Co-Founder - Unified Messaging company (acquired by AOL), CEO – Teleo (Voip company acquired by Microsoft), CEO - Network Performance company (acquired by Packeteer), and CEO – Artificial Intelligence company (acquired by Patriot One)
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CFO/Director
Mr. Woodward is a former investment banker with over 30 years of experience in capital markets and corporate finance. Mr. Woodward is the President of Conation Capital Corp., an investor in early stage technology companies.
He is a director, CEO, and President, of Advanced Proteome Therapeutics Corp. (APC-TSXV), a biotech company focused on simplifying and standardizing the production of antibody drug conjugates to treat cancer, using proprietary site-selective chemistries as protein modification technologies.
He is also the President, CEO and a director of Aether Catalyst Solutions, Inc. (ATHR-CSE), a developer of unique, low-cost catalysts for the abatement of automotive emissions.
Mr. Woodward is also a director of numerous private companies in which Conation has invested. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Econ) from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Rob Goehring
Mr. Goehring is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience founding and running private and public software and hardware companies in telecom, marketing tech, SaaS and financial services. He is currently the CEO of Think Technologies Corp., a developer of artificial intelligence software solutions.
Previously, Mr. Goehring was the CEO of RewardStream Solutions Inc. (now, Balsam Technologies Corp.), a leader in referral and loyalty marketing (acquired by Buyapowa Ltd.) He was also the Chief Marketing Officer of TIO Networks (TNC.V acquired by PayPal) and the co-founder of Contigo Systems, an award-winning telematics company (acquired by Vecima Networks).
Mr. Goehring has an MBA from Simon Fraser University in Marketing and MIS, is an advisor to technology growth companies, and speaks on marketing technology trends. Rob is also the founding director of the AI Chief Executive Council for the BC Technology Industry Association.
Anna-Maria Parente
As VP of Human Resources for SureWerx Global Ms. Parente leads the Human Resources function for SureWerx and related companies strategically located across Canada, United States and Europe. The companies are very diverse in nature and require a strong ability to be flexible and manage multiple projects concurrently. The company was originally owned by the Diamond family, sold to Penfund Canadian Private Equity in 2011, and recently sold to the Riverside Company, US Private Equity in 2018.
SureWerx has been voted one of the Best Managed Companies in Canada for six years straight, from 2015-2020; as VP of Human Resources Anna is a key contributor to SureWerx' culture and management. Anna also brings deep experience in Mergers and Acquisitions specializing in cross border transactions. Previously Ms. Parente held the position of Senior Manager of Human Resources at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Rebecca Kerswell
Miss Kerswell is an investor relations and marketing specialist with 10 years experience consulting with going public and public companies on both the Canadian and United States Stock Exchanges.
Over the past decade, Miss Kerswell launched an investor social media marketing agency specializing in corporate social awareness campaigns for publicly traded companies called WHOA !S MEDIA Inc. which is still thriving and active today.
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text:
[Decision Number]
United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Kansas City, Missouri (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 66 (Union)
71 FLRA No. 197
(Agency)
EMPLOYEES UNION
(Union)
0‑AR‑5586
Before the Authority: Colleen Duffy Kiko, Chairman, and Ernest DuBester and James T. Abbott, Members
(Member DuBester dissenting in part)
Decision by Member Abbott for the Authority
I. Statement of the Case
In this case, we reiterate the distinction between an arbitrator's award that interprets the terms of a negotiated collective‑bargaining agreement (CBA) and one that modifies its terms. The role of the arbitrator is to interpret not to modify.
Arbitrator Michael D. Gordon found that the Agency violated the parties' agreement and applicable federal regulations by denying the grievants' requests for administrative leave. As remedies, he ordered the Agency to grant administrative leave to the grievants for any leave that was taken on August 4, 2017 following a hazardous incident and to comply with the parties' agreement in the future.
The Agency argues that the award is contrary to 29 C.F.R. § 1960.46(a) and that it fails to draw its essence from Article 27, Section 2 of the parties' agreement. We deny these exceptions because they fail to raise any deficiencies in the Arbitrator's application of either § 1960.46(a) or Section 2. The Agency also argues that the Arbitrator exceeded his authority by awarding remedies other than administrative leave. We deny these exceptions because the award is directly responsive to the issues as he framed them.
The Agency also argues that the award fails to draw its essence from the parties' agreement. We grant this exception, in part, because the Arbitrator modified the parties' agreement by imposing an additional term that was not specifically provided for in the agreement. Consequently, we deny the Agency's exceptions in part.
II. Background and Arbitrator's Award
On August 4, 2017, the grievants, who opened and initially sorted incoming mail, were working in a mail extraction area (Extraction 1) at the Agency's facilities. Around 8:30 a.m. an envelope was opened and one of the grievants nearly fainted. The remainder of the grievants experienced disorientation, nausea, burning eyes, and dizziness. Several of the grievants were then transported to the hospital by stretchers and/or wheelchairs. Eventually, the supervisor on duty initiated lockdown procedures in Extraction 1 and the local fire department hazmat team arrived on the premises to investigate.[1] After nearly two hours, the local fire department declared "all clear."[2] Agency management told those grievants who had not been removed for medical treatment that the Agency would authorize liberal sick, annual, and leave without pay. Approximately eighteen of those employees chose to take sick, annual, or leave without pay. In contrast, the Agency gave the four grievants who were sent to the hospital administrative leave for the remainder of their shift after the incident on August 4, 2017.
Thereafter, the Union filed a grievance alleging that the Agency violated Article 27, Section 1(A)[3] and Section 2[4] of the parties' agreement by failing to maintain a safe and healthful working environment. The Union also alleged that the Agency violated the parties' agreement by improperly denying administrative leave, by failing to advise the grievants of their Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) rights regarding the incident, and by refusing to provide copies of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) report to the Union. The Agency denied the grievance and arbitration ensued.
The Arbitrator framed the issue as whether "the Agency violate[d] the Agreement and/or applicable rules and regulations regarding an incident in Extraction 1 on August 4, 2017 . . . ."[5] In particular, he determined that the grievants had a reasonable "fear that continuation of their shift posed a threat to health and safety that could not be effectively redressed through normal procedures."[6] Furthermore, the Arbitrator found that some of the grievants had experienced symptoms from the incident, that all of the grievants were aware that work was halted after the incident, and that a hazmat team was called to investigate the incident. Therefore, the Arbitrator found that the Agency violated Section 2 of the parties' agreement by denying the grievants' requests for administrative leave. The Arbitrator also determined that administrative leave is a proper remedy for an agency's "failure to provide a safe and healthful workplace under Article 27."[7] Accordingly, he ordered the Agency to convert the leave the grievants originally took on August 4, 2017 to paid administrative leave.
Pursuant to the parties' agreement, the Arbitrator also determined that the grievants were entitled to "be informed of, and assisted with, their FECA rights."[8] The Arbitrator also found that "the Union is owed all health and safety accident reports that result in loss of work time," and that such "[d]isclosure should be prompt."[9] Due to the varied nature of the remedies requested by the Union, he directed the parties to refer any unresolved matters to a safety advisory committee composed of representatives from both parties.[10]
The Agency filed exceptions to the award on January 21, 2020. The Union filed an opposition to the Agency's exceptions on January 31, 2020.
III. Analysis and Conclusions
The Agency fails to demonstrate that the Arbitrator erred by awarding the grievants administrative leave.
The Agency argues that the award fails to draw its essence from Section 2 of the parties' agreement,[11] and that it is contrary to 29 C.F.R. § 1960.46(a).[12] The Agency notes that "Article 27, Section 2, grants [bargaining‑unit] employees no additional right that they did not already have under 29 C.F.R. § 1960.46(a),"[13] and that both require the grievants to reasonably believe that there is "an imminent risk of death or serious bodily harm" such that they are entitled to administrative leave for the remainder of August 4, 2017.[14] Because the Arbitrator did not find that the grievants were exposed to hazards that may cause "imminent. . . serious bodily harm," the Agency asserts that the Arbitrator's findings do not satisfy the legal standards in either Section 2 or § 1960.46(a).[15]
Here, the Arbitrator's award is not contrary to § 1960.46(a). While the Agency parses the language of the award in its exceptions, the Arbitrator applied the proper standard by finding that the grievants reasonably believed they were exposed to "serious health risks" such that they had "reason to fear that continuation of their shift posed a threat to health and safety that could not be effectively redressed through normal procedures."[16] The Arbitrator also found that the grievants reasonably believed the health risks were "imminent" and "immediate and pressing rather than merely likely" because the grievants were aware that work was halted for over two hours after the incident, that other grievants, all co‑workers, had been brought to the hospital on wheelchairs and stretchers, and that a hazmat team was called to investigate the incident.[17] Moreover, because the Agency does not challenge any of the Arbitrator's findings as nonfacts, it has failed to demonstrate that any of the Arbitrator's findings and legal conclusions are contrary to law.[18] Therefore, we deny this exception.[19]
The Agency also fails to demonstrate that the Arbitrator's application of Section 2 constitutes a manifest disregard for the parties' agreement.[20] As stated above, the Arbitrator applied the proper legal standard when he found that the grievants reasonably believed they were exposed to an "imminent" risk of serious bodily harm.[21] Therefore, because the Agency fails to highlight any deficiencies in the Arbitrator's application of Section 2, all of the Agency's arguments to the contrary constitute mere disagreement with the Arbitrator's application of the parties' agreement and provide no basis for finding the award deficient.[22] Therefore, the Agency fails to demonstrate that the Arbitrator erred in applying Section 2 of the parties' agreement and we also deny this exception.
The Arbitrator did not exceed his authority.
The Agency argues that the Arbitrator exceeded his authority by addressing issues that were not submitted to arbitration.[23] Specifically, the Agency argues that the Arbitrator erred by ordering the Agency to provide any relevant health and safety accident reports to the Union and to assist the grievants with pursuing their FECA rights.[24]
Here, the parties did not stipulate to the issues and the Arbitrator framed the pertinent issue as whether "the Agency violate[d] the Agreement and/or applicable rules and regulations regarding an incident in Extraction 1 on August 4, 2017 . . . ."[25] In resolving this issue, the Arbitrator cited several relevant sections of the parties' agreement,[26] and found that the Agency violated the parties' agreement by failing to promptly disclose an OSHA report and by failing to assist some of the grievants in filing FECA claims related to the incident.[27] Consequently, the award is directly responsive to the issues the Arbitrator framed and the Agency fails to demonstrate that the Arbitrator exceeded his authority in this regard.[28]
The Arbitrator improperly modified the parties' agreement in part.
The Agency argues that the award fails to draw its essence from the parties' agreement because the Arbitrator modified the parties' agreement and imposed an additional term that is not specified in the parties' agreement,[29] by ordering the Agency to "promptly" provide the Union with any relevant health and safety accident reports and to "assist" the grievants in potentially filing a FECA claim.[30]
Where the parties' agreement provides for prospective relief or such relief is necessary to remedy a contractual violation, arbitrators may direct limited prospective relief by ordering an agency to comply with a violated contract provision in conducting future actions.[31] Here, the Arbitrator did not modify the parties' agreement or impose an additional term when he simply ordered the Agency to comply with the specific requirements of the parties' agreement when it assists bargaining‑unit employees with their FECA claims.[32] Additionally, the Arbitrator interpreted relevant provisions of the agreement when he determined that the Agency violated the agreement when it failed to disclose an OSHA report to the Union until after arbitration had been invoked.[33] Therefore, the Agency has failed to demonstrate that the Arbitrator's interpretation of the parties' agreement is implausible in this regard.
However, the Arbitrator improperly imposed an additional term not agreed to by the parties when he required the Agency to "promptly" disclose all future relevant health and safety accident reports to the Union.[34] The Authority has held that an award does not draw its essence from the parties' agreement when an arbitrator modifies, rather than interprets, a CBA by imposing additional terms to the plain wording of a bargained contract provision.[35]
Therefore, although we uphold the Arbitrator's finding that, in order to comply with the parties' agreement in the future, the Agency must "provide the Union copies of reports of all health and safety accidents that result in loss of time from the job,"[36] we modify the award and strike the requirement to do so "promptly."[37]
IV. Decision
We deny the Agency's exceptions in part.
Member DuBester, dissenting in part:
I agree that the Agency has failed to demonstrate that the Arbitrator erred by awarding the grievants administrative leave or that he exceeded his authority by addressing issues that were not submitted to arbitration. However, I disagree with the majority's conclusion that the Arbitrator improperly modified the parties' agreement by ordering the Agency to "promptly" provide the Union with any relevant health and safety accident reports.1
As I have previously noted, the Authority and federal courts have recognized that arbitrators have "broad discretion . . . to fashion remedies under the essence standard."2 Applying this standard, the Authority has found that a remedy fails to draw its essence from an agreement when an arbitrator's interpretation of that agreement conflicts with its express provisions.3 But the Authority has also held that "when an arbitrator interprets an agreement as imposing a particular requirement, and the parties' agreement is silent with respect to that requirement, that does not, by itself, demonstrate that the award fails to draw its essence from the parties' agreement."4
Article 27, Section 12 of the parties' agreement (Section 12) provides that "[t]he Employer will provide the Union with a copy of reports of all health and safety accidents that result in loss of time from the job."5 The Arbitrator found that under this provision, "the Union is owed all health and safety accident reports that result in loss of work time."6 He further found that, "[g]iven the nature of hazard related emergencies and the mutual benefit of this knowledge to future safety conditions . . . bio-hazard information" was included "within the meaning of 'accident.'"7 Noting the Union's evidence that the Agency had extensively delayed or outright failed to provide the Union with the relevant health and safety accident reports in the past,8 and that timely disclosure was necessary for the Union to enforce the health and safety provisions in the parties' agreement,9 he concluded that the Agency's disclosure of such reports should be "prompt."10
Especially given the particulars of this case, the Arbitrator's order requiring prompt disclosure of the reports falls well within his remedial discretion. Accordingly, I would deny the Agency's essence exception.
[1] A hazmat chemist tested the envelope and found no unusual substances. Award at 14. However, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigated and "determined [that] employees could be exposed to all sorts of chemical and biological agents at any time." Opp'n, Union Ex. 6 at 1. OSHA also found that "[a]lthough the mail goes through a very thorough process and [is] swept by dogs, some items still get through to the employees." Id.
[2] Award at 14-15.
[3] Article 27, Section 1(A) of the parties' agreement states the following:
The Employer will, to the extent of its authority and consistent with the applicable requirements of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as well as other applicable health and safety codes and standards, i.e., General Services Administration (GSA), provide and maintain safe and healthful working conditions for all employees and will provide places of employment that are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm. The Union will cooperate to that end and will encourage all employees to work in a safe manner.
Award at 3.
[4] Article 27, Section 2 states that
[t]he Employer recognizes the existence of certain employee rights in accordance with 29 C.F.R. § 1960, among them the right to be free from reprisal, including charge to leave, when employees decline to perform their assigned tasks because of reasonable beliefs that, under the circumstances, the tasks pose an imminent risk of death or serious bodily harm, coupled with a reasonable belief that there is insufficient time to seek effective redress through normal hazard reporting and abatement procedures established by the Employer.
[5] Id. at 2.
[6] Id. at 31.
[8] Id. at 34 (citing Article 27, § 10 of the parties' agreement); see also id. at 17 n.9 (finding that the Agency did not provide the OSHA report to the Union until after the Union had invoked arbitration).
[9] Id. at 34; see also id. at 37 ("In the future, the Agency shall promptly provide the Union copies of all health and safety accidents (including hazard related emergencies) that result in loss of work time.").
[10] Id. at 37 (citing Article 27, § 3 of the parties' agreement).
[11] Exceptions Br. at 11‑16. The Authority will find an arbitration award is deficient as failing to draw its essence from a collective‑bargaining agreement when the excepting party establishes that the award: (1) cannot in any rational way be derived from the agreement; (2) is so unfounded in reason and fact and so unconnected with the wording and purposes of the agreement as to manifest an infidelity to the obligation of the arbitrator; (3) does not represent a plausible interpretation of the agreement; or (4) evidences a manifest disregard of the agreement. SSA, 71 FLRA 580, 581 n.9 (2020) (Member DuBester concurring).
[12] The Authority reviews questions of law de novo. NTEU, Chapter 24, 50 FLRA 330, 332 (1995) (citing U.S. Customs Serv. v. FLRA, 43 F.3d 682, 686‑87 (D.C. Cir. 1994)). In conducting a de novo review, the Authority determines whether the arbitrator's legal conclusions are consistent with the applicable standard of law. NFFE, Local 1437, 53 FLRA 1703, 1710 (1998).
[13] Exceptions Br. at 16.
[14] Id. at 11‑16.
[15] Id.
[16] Award at 31‑32 (emphasis added); see also 29 C.F.R. § 1960.46(a) ("These rights include, among other, the right of an employee to decline to perform his or her assigned task because of a reasonable belief that, under the circumstances the task poses an imminent risk of death or serious bodily harm coupled with a reasonable belief that there is insufficient time to seek effective redress through normal hazard reporting. . . .").
[17] Exceptions Br. at 11; see Award at 31‑32; NFFE, Local 29, 29 FLRA 726, 732 (1987) (finding that the "imminent" risk under 29 C.F.R. § 1960.46(a) "must also be immediate and pressing rather than merely likely").
[18] See U.S. Dep't of HUD, 71 FLRA 616, 619 n.28 (2020) (Member DuBester concurring) (finding that the agency's plain disagreement with the arbitrator's application of a legal standard lacked merit); AFGE, Local 2338, 71 FLRA 343, 344 (2019) ("Under [de novo review], the Authority defers to the arbitrator's underlying factual findings unless the excepting party establishes that they are nonfacts.); see also AFGE, Local 3310, 71 FLRA 395, 397 (2019) (Member DuBester dissenting) ("Because the Union fails to challenge the Arbitrator's findings as nonfacts, we defer to the Arbitrator's factual findings.").
[19] NTEU, NTEU Chapter 51, 40 FLRA 614, 628 (1991) ("Contrary to the Agency's assertion, restoration of leave is an appropriate remedy under the Back Pay Act, 5 U.S.C. § 5596, when an employee has incurred the use of leave as the result of an unjustified or unwarranted personnel action.").
[20] The Agency argues that the Arbitrator did not have the authority to award any remedies because he did not find the Agency violated Section 1(A) of the parties' agreement by failing to "maintain safe and healthful working conditions." Exceptions Br. at 21‑22. The Agency also argues that the arbitrator erred in referring outstanding remedial issues to the safety advisory committee because he did not find a violation of Section 1(A). Id. at 25. However, in determining whether the Agency violated the parties' agreement, the Arbitrator referenced the Agency's obligations under Sections 1(A) and 2. Award at 30. Additionally, the Arbitrator found that the Agency violated Section 1(A) by stating that administrative leave is a proper remedy for an agency's "failure to provide a safe and healthful workplace under Article 27." Id. at 33. Because the Arbitrator found violations of Sections 1(A) and (2), we dismiss these exceptions.
[21] See supra note 13.
[22] SSA, 71 FLRA 352, 353 (2019) (Member DuBester concurring) (denying the agency's exceptions because they merely disagreed "with the arbitrator's interpretation and application of a
collective[‑]bargaining agreement").
[23] Exceptions Br. at 22‑24, 26‑28. Arbitrators exceed their authority when they fail to resolve an issue submitted to arbitration, resolve an issue not submitted to arbitration, disregard specific limitations on their authority, or award relief to those not encompassed within the grievance. AFGE, Local 1633, 64 FLRA 732, 733 (2010). Although there are limits to the deference accorded arbitrators in federal‑sector arbitrations, see U.S. DOJ, Fed. BOP, Fed. Corr. Inst., Miami, Fla., 71 FLRA 660, 663‑64 (2020) (Member Abbott concurring; Member DuBester dissenting), absent a stipulation of the issues by the parties, arbitrators generally will be accorded substantial deference in the formulation of issues to be resolved in a grievance. U.S. Dep't of VA, James A. Haley Veterans Hosp., 71 FLRA 699, 700 (2020) (Haley Hosp.) (Member DuBester dissenting).
[24] Exceptions Br. at 22‑24, 26‑28.
[25] Award at 2.
[26] Id. at 3-4 (reciting Agency's obligation to disclose OSHA violations to the Union under Article 27, Section 1; Agency's obligation to provide employees information about filing FECA claims under Article 27, Section 10; and Agency's obligation to provide the Union with health and safety accident reports under Article 27, Section 12).
[27] Id. at 16 n.8, 34.
[28] Haley Hosp., 71 FLRA at 700 ("Consequently, the award is directly responsive to the issues the Arbitrator framed and she was not required to address the detail requirement issue."). The Agency also argues that the Arbitrator exceeded his authority because "he ordered this conversion of approved leave to administrative leave regardless of whether that employee actually feared for his/her safety . . . ." Exceptions Br. at 19. However, the Arbitrator expressly excluded certain grievants from receiving administrative leave because they were not present in Extraction 1 when the incident occurred. Award at 36 n.15. Moreover, the Arbitrator found that most of the grievants reasonably believed there was a serious health risk and the Authority will not find an award deficient because a party disagrees with the weight and credibility that an arbitrator ascribed to evidence and testimony. AFGE, Local 3310, 71 FLRA 395, 397 (2019) (Member DuBester dissenting). Therefore, there is no merit to the Agency's exception and it is denied.
[29] The parties' agreement states that "[t]he arbitrator will have no authority to add to, subtract from, alter, amend, or modify any provision of this Agreement, or impose on either the Employer or the Union any limitation or obligation not specifically provided for under the terms of this Agreement." Exceptions, Ex. 1, Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) at 141.
[30] Exceptions Br. at 22‑24, 26‑28. The Authority will find an arbitration award is deficient as failing to draw its essence from a collective‑bargaining agreement when the excepting party establishes that the award: (1) cannot in any rational way be derived from the agreement; (2) is so unfounded in reason and fact and so unconnected with the wording and purposes of the agreement as to manifest an infidelity to the obligation of the arbitrator; (3) does not represent a plausible interpretation of the agreement; or (4) evidences a manifest disregard of the agreement. SSA, 71 FLRA 580, 581 n.9 (2020) (Member DuBester concurring).
[31] U.S. Dep't of the Air Force, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, 69 FLRA 541, 547 (2016) (Member Pizzella dissenting). But see U.S. Dep't of the Treasury, IRS, Wash., D.C., 66 FLRA 712, 718 (2012) (Dissenting Opinion of Member Beck) (arbitrator exceeds his authority when he awards a "sweeping, prospective remedy [that] is neither necessary nor appropriate due to the limited nature" of the issue).
[32] See Award at 37.
[33] See id. at 34 ("Disclosure should be prompt and, unlike here, if prejudice can be shown from tardy performance, tangible remedies may be available to the Union and/or its bargaining unit."); U.S. Dep't of Transp., FAA, Airways Facility Serv., Nat'l Airway Sys. Eng'g Div., Okla. City, Okla., 60 FLRA 565, 569 (2005).
[34] Award at 34; see CBA at 98.
[35] U.S. DHS, U.S. CBP, 71 FLRA 744, 745 (2020) (Member Abbott concurring; Member DuBester dissenting) (finding that the arbitrator "impermissibly created a new contract term"); U.S Dep't of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maint. Facility, Bremerton, Wash., 70 FLRA 754, 755‑56 (2018) (Member DuBester dissenting) (holding that an agreement's silence on a matter does not authorize an arbitrator to modify, rather than interpret, the parties' agreement to create "a brand new contract provision"); see also Keebler Co. v. Milk Drivers & Dairy Empls. Union, Local No. 471, 80 F.3d 284, 288 (8th Cir. 1996) (award failed to draw its essence from the parties' agreement where "the arbitrator was not construing an ambiguous contract term, but rather was imposing a new obligation upon [the employer] thereby amending the collective[-]bargaining agreement").
[36] See CBA at 98; U.S. Dep't of HHS, Substance Abuse & Mental Health Servs. Admin., 65 FLRA 568, 571-72 (2011) (finding that a different interpretation of a particular article does not automatically render the arbitrator's interpretation implausible).
1 Majority at 7 (citing Award at 37).
2 AFGE, Local 1738, 71 FLRA 505, 508 (2019) (Dissenting Opinion of Member DuBester) (citing U.S. Dep't of the Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 71 FLRA 387, 393 (2019) (Separate Opinion of Member DuBester); United Steelworkers of Am. v. Enter. Wheel & Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 597 (1960) (arbitrators bring their "informed judgment to bear in order to reach a fair solution to a problem [which] . . . is especially true when it comes to formulating remedies [where] . . . the need is for flexibility in meeting a wide variety of situations")).
3 U.S. Dep't of the Treasury, IRS, 60 FLRA 506, 508 (2004) (IRS) (finding that first remedy conflicted with the express wording of the parties' collective‑bargaining agreement). But see NTEU, Chapter 83, 68 FLRA 945, 948 (2015) (Member Pizzella dissenting) (denying essence exception where remedy did not conflict with wording of the parties' collective-bargaining agreement).
4 Bremerton Metal Trades Council, 68 FLRA 154, 155 (2014) (emphasis added) (citing U.S. Dep't of VA, Ralph H. Johnson Med. Ctr., Charleston, S.C., 58 FLRA 413, 414 (2003) (Johnson)); U.S. DOD, Def. Contract Mgmt. Agency, 66 FLRA 53, 57 (2011) (citing Johnson, 58 FLRA at 414); see also AFGE, Local 2923, 61 FLRA 725, 727-28 (2006) (remedy requiring union to include certain details in reports where agreement did not specify the content of the reports did not fail to draw its essence from the agreement); IRS, 60 FLRA at 508 (finding that second remedy was not prohibited by parties' agreement and award was not deficient under essence grounds based on that remedy); U.S. DOL (OSHA), 34 FLRA 573, 576 (1990).
5 Award at 4.
6 Id. at 34.
8 Id. at 17 & n.9 (noting that the Agency failed to provide OSHA reports from the incident until the arbitration), 19, 24 (noting the Union's arguments that it needs the information in such reports to "help the Union, as necessary, enforce existing promises and negotiate new ones" and that the Agency attempted to "mislead the Union about OSHA documents"); see also Opp'n at 32‑33 (noting that interpreting Section 12 as imposing no timeframe would mean that "the Agency could wait months or even years before providing the Union copies of accident reports resulting in time off the job and still be in compliance with the [agreement]" and that "[s]uch an interpretation would render meaningless the contractual requirement to provide the Union copies of accident reports, in light of the shared interest in maintaining a safe and healthy workplace as noted in Article 27.").
9 Award at 24.
10 Id. at 34.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


sunnyvale's mommy and me photo session sneak peek: i photographed this little six month baby girl just one month ago and i can't believe how much she has grown! one of the things that i love the most about photographing babies is watching how beautifully (and quickly!) they grow.
sneak peek from sunnyvale's mommy and me photo: both of their smiles truly lit up the room!


text:
Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) - 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital
Please note that all framegrabs are from the 1080p version
***/**** Image A- Sound A Extras A-
starring Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin
written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie
by Walter Chaw As the title flatly states, Mission: Impossible: Fallout (hereafter Fallout), the sixth instalment in our very own Jackie Chan's signature series, will be about Ethan Hunt's (Tom Cruise) emotional baggage, earned over twenty-plus years of saving the world from threats foreign, domestic, and auteur. The main personal casualty for Hunt is the disintegration of his marriage to Julia (Michelle Monaghan), who must remain a "ghost" so that she doesn't suffer the, yes, fallout from Ethan's hero work. She checks in every once in a while, Hunt's teammate Luther (Ving Rhames) tells Ethan's new flame, former MI6 agent Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson). It's what keeps Ethan going. Accordingly, Fallout starts with an apocalyptic dream of Julia in the hands of maddog terrorist Solomon Lane (Sean Harris)--the type of dream James Cameron used so effectively in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, where everyone turns to charcoal and flies apart. It's important to focus in on all of this because Fallout is about a very specific element of the myth of masculinity, this romanticizing of sacrifice and suffering that men must go through in order to protect the women in their lives. The best part of Martin Campbell's extremely good Casino Royale is when fatale Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) brings Bond (Daniel Craig) back from the dead and his first sentence is spent asking if she's okay. There's a scene like that at the end of Fallout as well when Hunt, back from the dead, apologizes to Julia for everything. It's the sentiment and the situation that makes men in the audience spring a manly leak. Hunt--even his name is a primordial gender assignation--is the avatar for male expectation, which casts his heroics in an odd light, I think: fantasies of male heroism played against grandiose, extravagant, paranoid delusions. I don't know now if I'm talking about Cruise or Hunt. Same, same.
Continue reading "Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) - 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital" »
Posted in 2018, 4K Ultra HD, Action, Adventure, Authors: Bill Chambers, Authors: Walter Chaw, Blu-ray Disc, Thriller, Tom Cruise | Permalink
Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
***/****
Continue reading "Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)" »
Posted in 2018, Action, Adventure, Authors: Walter Chaw, Theatrical, Thriller, Tom Cruise | Permalink
starring Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Russell Crowe
screenplay by David Koepp and Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman
directed by Alex Kurtzman
by Walter Chaw It took me a while but it finally clicked about an hour into Alex Kurtzman's hilarible The Mummy that the whole thing wasn't a really bad movie, but a really bad videogame in bad-movie form. It has the same alternating cadence of leaden exposition drop, interminable and hideously- animated/performed cut-scene, and standard FPS-strictured gameplay culminating in a boss fight. Envisioned as the launch for Universal's "Dark Universe" franchise (in which the pantheon of classic Universal Monsters are given gritty action reboots, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen-style), it finally functions as a first-generation "Resident Evil" port in which the dialogue, for what it's worth, was written in Japanese, translated into English, and performed by 64 pixels stacked on top of each other. Awkward doesn't begin to describe the desperation with which all involved try to seductively reveal/hide their Dark Universe™ Easter eggs while hobbling from one big, button-geeking, CGI-hobbled moment to the next. Look, behind those dust zombies: it's Dr. Frankenstein's lab!
Continue reading "The Mummy (2017)" »
Posted in 2017, Action, Adventure, Authors: Walter Chaw, Fantasy, Horror, Theatrical, Tom Cruise, Zombie | Permalink
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015) - Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD
***½/**** Image A Sound A+ Extras B+
starring Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Alec Baldwin
screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie
directed by Christopher McQuarrie
by Walter Chaw At some point, sneakily, wonderfully, Tom Cruise became our Jackie Chan. It happened when the storyline shifted away from his essential ickiness--the Scientology thing, the Katie Holmes thing, and all the attendant nightmare gossip--and onto his fearlessness and absolute willingness to perform his own stunts wherever possible. (I realize of course that said storyline may never shift for some.) There were murmurs when he did the rock-climbing in the second Mission: Impossible flick--the one where he recruited John Woo, who was at the time the best action director on the planet. Those murmurs turned to grudging admiration once it was revealed that Cruise let himself be suspended for real outside the Burj Khalifa in Brad Bird's superior Ghost Protocol; and now, with Christopher McQuarrie's fleet, intelligent, immanently professional Rogue Nation, for which Cruise hung from an airplane in flight and held his breath for six minutes, Cruise's bravado is a big part of the draw.
Continue reading "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015) - Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD" »
Posted in 2015, Action, Adventure, Authors: Bill Chambers, Authors: Walter Chaw, Blu-ray Disc, Espionage, Thriller, Tom Cruise | Permalink | Comments (0)
Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) [infinifilm] - DVD
*½/**** Image A Sound A+ Extras B
starring Mike Myers, Beyoncé Knowles, Michael York, Michael Caine
screenplay by Mike Myers & Michael McCullers
directed by Jay Roach
by Walter Chaw In the grand tradition of Final Chapter - Walking Tall, the third film in the Austin Powers franchise, Austin Powers in Goldmember, begins and ends with our hero watching himself being portrayed by someone else in a movie of his life--a level of post-modern reflexivity that is taken to such grotesque heights by the film that what emerges is actually fascinating in a detached, unpleasant, deeply unfunny sort of way. Mike Myers's obsession with body distortion and cannibalistic consumption and auto-consumption likewise reaches a macabre pinnacle in the picture's best running gag--the preoccupation with Fred Savage's mole with a mole--and with a new circus geek for the Myers pantheon (joining blue-eyed bald albino Dr. Evil and Shrekian Scot Fat Bastard), the Dutch villain Goldmember, who makes it a habit to eat giant flakes of his own skin. We meet Goldmember (so named for his prosthetic bullion bar and ingots) in another bit of multi-layered absurdity during a time-travel journey to New York circa 1975 and the fictional Studio 69, with Myers referencing his own most critically praised performance as Studio 54's perverse Steve Rubell. A study of Myers's Dick Tracy-like mania with latex appliances would no doubt fill volumes.
Continue reading "Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) [infinifilm] - DVD" »
Posted in 2000s, Action, Authors: Bill Chambers, Authors: Walter Chaw, Comedy, DVD, Espionage, Sci-Fi, Tom Cruise | Permalink | Comments (0)
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
Continue reading "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)" »
Posted in 2015, Action, Adventure, Authors: Walter Chaw, Espionage, Theatrical, Thriller, Tom Cruise | Permalink | Comments (0)
Valkyrie (2008) - DVD
***/**** Image N/A Sound B Extras A
starring Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Terence Stamp
screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie & Nathan Alexander
directed by Bryan Singer
by Walter Chaw Tight as a drum, deadly serious, and a mild corrective to not the enduring misconception that there were no men of conscience in Hitler's Germany, but rather to sickly, condescending awards-season bullshit like Defiance, The Reader, and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Bryan Singer's Valkyrie swoops down like its titular winged avatar to deliver the Holocaust melodrama to a minor kind of Valhalla. It's sober-minded and fact-based, with another handsome-destroying performance by Tom Cruise (though he only loses one eye here after losing both in Minority Report) that places him in uneasy orbit alongside Warren Beatty as another pretty boy aspiring for seriousness through mutilation of the self. It's a sober thriller, and because the outcome is never in doubt in a historically-based plot to assassinate Hitler, it lives and dies by its ability to sound smart and cast well.
Continue reading "Valkyrie (2008) - DVD" »
Posted in 2000s, Authors: Walter Chaw, Drama, DVD, Thriller, Tom Cruise, War | Permalink | Comments (0)
Vanilla Sky (2001) - DVD
*/**** Image A+ Sound A+ Extras B-
starring Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Kurt Russell, Cameron Diaz
screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on the screenplay for Abre Los Ojos by Alejandro Amenábar and Mateo Gil
directed by Cameron Crowe
by Walter Chaw Vanilla Sky is an unpleasant, incompetent, and laborious amalgam of Jacob's Ladder and The Game, Joe Eszterhas doing Frank Herbert, if you will. It is profane to no good end, forcing Cameron Diaz to define her sexuality through roughly a dozen variations on "I swallowed your come," and is otherwise so sloppily assembled that even the generally arresting Jason Lee is made irritating and superfluous. Cameron Crowe is rapidly becoming a self-indulgent, disingenuous disaster--his films grow more pretentious as his subjects shrink in consequence. After tackling a rose-coloured breed of aggrandizing nostalgia in the overlong Almost Famous, he's decided to remake the mediocre Spanish film Open Your Eyes ("Abre Los Ojos")by flavour of the month Alejandro Amenábar, paying alleged "homage" to about a dozen other directors, movies, and album covers while displaying exactly the same breed of star-deifying that he ostensibly deflated in Almost Famous. Crowe fans should prepare to be disheartened by the realization that the crown prince of weakling uplift has actually fallen down on the altar of the ultimate Kafkaesque Hollywood godhead: Tom Cruise.
Continue reading "Vanilla Sky (2001) - DVD" »
Posted in 2000s, Authors: Bill Chambers, Authors: Walter Chaw, DVD, Esoterica, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Tom Cruise | Permalink | Comments (0)
Edge of Tomorrow (2014) - Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD
***/**** Image A Sound A+ Extras B+
starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson
screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie and Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth, based on the graphic novel All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka
directed by Doug Liman
by Angelo Muredda Whatever one thinks of his weaselly insouciance as a performer, it's hard to argue against Tom Cruise's record of choosing solid collaborators to bring a certain kind of high-concept amuse-bouche to life. From Joseph Kosinski's Oblivion, a derivative film about derivatives, to the more or less solid auteurist permutations of the Mission: Impossible franchise, the results have varied, but Cruise's reputation as the sort of star who can get moderately interesting pulp bankrolled and realized by moderately interesting talents has deservedly persisted. So we arrive at Edge of Tomorrow, Doug Liman's first kick at the Cruise can--a clever, fleetly-paced sci-fi riff on Groundhog Day with all the paradoxes of Duncan Jones's structurally similar Source Code but a more playful demeanour.
Continue reading "Edge of Tomorrow (2014) - Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD" »
Posted in 2014, Action, Adventure, Authors: Angelo Muredda, Authors: Bill Chambers, Blu-ray Disc, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Time Travel, Tom Cruise | Permalink | Comments (0)
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Continue reading "Edge of Tomorrow (2014)" »
Posted in 2014, Action, Adventure, Authors: Angelo Muredda, Sci-Fi, Theatrical, Tom Cruise | Permalink | Comments (0)
Oblivion (2013) - Blu-ray + DVD + Digital
*/**** Image A+ Sound A- Extras B
starring Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurlylenko, Melissa Leo
screenplay by Joseph Kosinski and Karl Gajdusek and Michael Arndt
directed by Joseph Kosinski
by Walter Chaw If you're going to see Joseph Kosinski's Oblivion, you should see it in IMAX. Oh, who'm I kidding? There's no good way to see Kosinski's sci-fi-lite follow-up to Tron: Legacy, starring Emperor Thetan Tom Cruise as a future-Jiffy Lube mechanic jetting around post-bellum Earth circa 2077, fixing automated drones programmed to kill alien "Scavs" that have taken over the empty planet. Following? It doesn't matter. Via soulful voiceover, Cruise's Jack Harper informs us that a war has decimated Earth and that all the surviving humans have fled to Titan (that's a moon around Saturn, Jack explains), leaving behind only Jack and his lady-pal Vika (Andrea Riseborough) to tend to giant sea-water fusion engines that provide energy to our ragtag, fugitive fleet. No, it already doesn't make much sense, except that it's sort of like something L. Ron Hubbard would have written--but that's gotta be a coincidence, right? Anyway, seems that Jack has built a special cabin in the woods despite Earth being uninhabitable due to the nuclear holocaust we unleashed to free ourselves of alien enslavement...or is it? Irradiated, that is. Earth, I mean. And what of these strange memories of the Empire State Building that memory-wiped Jack keeps having, where he and supermodel Bond Girl Olga Kurylenko exchange doe-eyes and sweet nothings? If you've seen any science-fiction film worth a crap in the last twenty years, you've already seen a better version of Oblivion, I promise you.
Continue reading "Oblivion (2013) - Blu-ray + DVD + Digital" »
Posted in 2013, Action, Adventure, Authors: Bill Chambers, Authors: Walter Chaw, Blu-ray Disc, Romance, Sci-Fi, Tom Cruise | Permalink | Comments (13)
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
starring Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup
screenplay by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & J.J. Abrams
directed by J.J. Abrams
by Walter Chaw SPOILER WARNING IN EFFECT. That classic combination of a film that doesn't make any sense with one that doesn't inspire anyone to invest an iota of emotion in giving a crap, J.J. Abrams's Mission: Impossible III (hereafter M:i:III) isn't convoluted like the first two instalments so much as it's just incoherent and loud. It's the camera-in-a blender-school of action filmmaking: There's so little understanding of spatial relationships that the whole thing plays like that Naked Gun gag where the gunfight is taking place between two people within arm's reach of one another. An extended heist sequence set in Vatican City, for instance, features the four members of IMF ("Impossible Mission Force") hotshot Ethan Hunt's (Tom Cruise) team (Ving Rhames, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and the requisite hot Asian chick (Maggie Q)) running around in completely anonymous locations, sticking doodads to walls, and confirming to one another that they're "ready" and "in place." But without knowledge of their plan, their location (respective to one another and their goal, whatever that might be), their peril, or the stakes, you're left with four people doing something for some reason, necessitating our willingness to play along with the charade that we know who these people are, what their goal is, and why we should care. Consider a helicopter chase through a wind farm, too, and the many lovely visuals that such an enticing premise suggests--then look to the end-product, which is a lot of tight shots of helicopters in the middle of the night, parts of giant windmills, a bad soundtrack, and multiple decibel screaming about "incoming" and "they've got a lock on us." Who does? And where are they going on that wind farm? And why does the promise of an instrument-factory explosion induce yawns?
Continue reading "Mission: Impossible III (2006)" »
Posted in 2000s, Action, Adventure, Authors: Walter Chaw, Espionage, Theatrical, Tom Cruise | Permalink | Comments (0)
Once Upon a Zeitgeist: Blue City (1986); Top Gun (1986); The Lost Boys (1987); Bull Durham (1988)
BLUE CITY - DVD
ZERO STARS/**** Image C- Sound C-
starring Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Paul Winfield, Scott Wilson
screenplay by Lukas Heller and Walter Hill, based on the novel by Ross MacDonald
directed by Michelle Manning
TOP GUN [Widescreen Special Collector's Edition] - DVD + [Special Collector's Edition] Blu-ray Disc
DVD - Image B Sound B+ Extras B
BD - Image B+ Sound A+ (DTS) A- (DD) Extras B
starring Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards
screenplay by Jim Cash & Jack Epps, Jr.
THE LOST BOYS [Two-Disc Special Edition] - DVD
***/**** Image B+ Sound B Extras C+
starring Corey Feldman, Jami Gertz, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest
screenplay by Janice Fischer & James Jeremias and Jeffrey Boam
directed by Joel Schumacher
BULL DURHAM [Collector's Edition] - DVD
**/**** Image B+ Sound B+ Extras B+
starring Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Trey Wilson
written and directed by Ron Shelton
by Walter Chaw Released in 1986 and tonally identical to contemporary suck classics The Wraith and Wisdom, the Brat Pack travesty Blue City represents the nadir of a year that produced Blue Velvet, Down By Law, The Mosquito Coast, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Sid and Nancy, Aliens, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Fly, Big Trouble in Little China, Something Wild, Mona Lisa, and Night of the Creeps, for starters. It's the quintessence of why people remember the 1980s as a terrible decade for film, poor in every single objective measure of quality. Consider a central set-piece where our hero Billy (Judd Nelson) and his buck-toothed cohort Joey (David Caruso) stage a weird re-enactment of the heist from The Killing at a dog track that includes not only such bon mots as "I'm new at this! Give me a break!" but also the dumbest diversionary tactic in the history of these things as Joey tosses a prime cut on the track in front of a frankly startled/quickly delighted pack of muzzled greyhounds. Then again, it's not a bad metaphor for the Me Generation and its blockbuster mentality. After cracking wise a few times in a way that makes one wonder if Down Syndrome is ever late-occurring, Billy blows on the barrel of his gun in his best John Ireland-meets-Montgomery Clift and professional bad editor Ross Albert (the whiz kid behind Bushwhacked, The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Pest) cracks a little wise himself by cutting to a rack of hot dogs. Unfortunately, suggesting that Judd Nelson is gay as a French holiday is only mildly wittier than suggesting the same of clearly gay Tom Cruise. More on that when we get to Top Gun.
Continue reading "Once Upon a Zeitgeist: Blue City (1986); Top Gun (1986); The Lost Boys (1987); Bull Durham (1988)" »
Posted in 1980s, Action, Authors: Bill Chambers, Authors: Walter Chaw, Blu-ray Disc, Comedy, Crime, Directors: Tony Scott, Drama, DVD, Sports, Teen, Thriller, Tom Cruise, Vampire | Permalink | Comments (0)
Minority Report (2002) - Blu-ray Disc
**/**** Image A+ Sound A+ Extras B+
starring Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max Von Sydow
screenplay by Scott Frank and Jon Cohen, based on the short story by Philip K. Dick
directed by Steven Spielberg
by Walter Chaw SPOILER WARNING IN EFFECT. Despite a remarkable first hour, Steven Spielberg's Minority Report washes out as an overlong retread of tired thriller/mystery elements capped by the director's trademark propensity for moralizing epilogues. It suffers from mainstream cinema's squeamishness in regards to true ambiguity of character and character motivation, and for all its claims to a faithful reproduction of Philip K. Dick's dark dystopian future, the picture is ultimately about Spielberg's itch for restoration of order rather than Dick's entropic dissolution of it. Distracting and unforgivable plot holes yaw beneath the narrative, making it clear that Minority Report is just another failed attempt by Spielberg to tell an adult tale. Here is an attractively packaged summer bonbon with an essentially hollow, nutritionally empty centre.
Continue reading "Minority Report (2002) - Blu-ray Disc" »
Posted in 2000s, Action, Adventure, Authors: Bill Chambers, Authors: Walter Chaw, Blu-ray Disc, Directors: Steven Spielberg, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Tom Cruise | Permalink | Comments (0)
War of the Worlds (2005) - Blu-ray Disc
**/**** Image A Sound A Extras A-
starring Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Tim Robbins
screenplay by Josh Friedman and David Koepp, based on the novel by H.G. Wells
by Walter Chaw SPOILER WARNING IN EFFECT. A lot like Minority Report, the first 90% of War of the Worlds is among the best movies of the year and the last 10% is among the worst. Spielberg is the only one who can ruin his films and he does it over and over again because he's Peter Pan in a Captain Hook world. There has never been a more gifted visual storyteller than Steven Spielberg; in the five minutes of shorthand that opens his War of the Worlds, he creates three characters we care about, a world that we recognize, and a real hope that this time, this one time, he'll be courageous enough to follow a narrative through to its logical end instead of the one he thinks will least disturb his audience. His audience being one that he underestimates with such stunning regularity that it can be said with confidence at this point that he's not really underestimating anybody--that he knows for whom he's making movies, posterity be damned. War of the Worlds is a work of obvious genius that is about nothing, which is an amazing and disheartening thing to say because so much of the picture is composed of jaw-dropping--I mean it, it's astonishing--Holocaust tableaux mixed with 9/11 imagery.
Continue reading "War of the Worlds (2005) - Blu-ray Disc" »
Posted in 2000s, Action, Adventure, Authors: Bill Chambers, Authors: Walter Chaw, Blu-ray Disc, Directors: Steven Spielberg, Sci-Fi, Tom Cruise | Permalink | Comments (0)


text:
package org.zmpp.swingui;

import java.awt.Font;

/**
 * ScreenFont encapsulates all aspects of a font in the Z-machine, namely the
 * number, the style and the concrete font. This takes further load off the
 * central screen model classes.
 *
 * @author Wei-ju Wu
 * @version 1.0
 */
public class ScreenFont {

    private int number;
    private int style;
    private Font font;
    private boolean reverseVideo;

    /**
     * Constructor.
     *
     * @param font the font
     * @param number the font number
     * @param style the font style
     */
    public ScreenFont(Font font, int number, int style) {
        this(font, number, style, false);
    }

    /**
     * Constructor.
     *
     * @param font the font
     * @param number the font number
     * @param style the font style
     * @param reverseVideo the reverse video flag
     */
    public ScreenFont(Font font, int number, int style, boolean reverseVideo) {
        this.font = font;
        this.number = number;
        this.style = style;
        this.reverseVideo = reverseVideo;
    }

    /**
     * Returns the font.
     *
     * @return the font
     */
    public Font getFont() {
        return font;
    }

    /**
     * Returns the font number.
     *
     * @return the font number
     */
    public int getNumber() {
        return number;
    }

    /**
     * Returns the font style the font style.
     *
     * @return the font style
     */
    public int getStyle() {
        return style;
    }

    /**
     * Returns the reverse video flag.
     *
     * @return the reverse video flag
     */
    public boolean isReverseVideo() {
        return reverseVideo;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Discussion in 'Olympus Cameras' started by m0n_D, Nov 3, 2010.
just got my Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 for use with an E-PL1. tried playing around with the focus ring in manual mode and i can't seem to bring things into focus. also, it just keeps turning. am i missing something here?
i've been turning and turning and i see no difference whatsoever. and what is this magnify view that you speak of. that doesn't pop up either.
did i get a faulty lens?
The camera has to be set to MF or S-AF+MF for the focus ring to work.
When set to one of the AF modes (without +MF) the focus ring is inactive.
You can set the E-PL1 up to automatically magnify the view when you touch the focus ring. That makes manual focusing easier.
thanks very much! that certainly did the trick! now i even understand what Kevin is talking about!


This is the second in a series of comparing the bike share programs in Columbus, Ohio, and Carmel, Ind.
The bike share program in Carmel, Ind., is operated by Zagster, a company which offers more than 200 programs in 35 states. The setup is much different than other bike shares I've used over the years so I was very interested in trying out this program. Instead of a kiosk and a bike docking station used by programs in many major metropolitan cities, the Zagster setup consists of a set of locked bikes at a station with an information board explaining the program. Payments and locking mechanisms are controlled through a smartphone app.
To use this type of bike share program, you need to install the Zagster app on your mobile device. If you don't have the ability to download apps, you can arrange for payments and unlock bikes using text messages.
Annual membership at $30 a year which includes free trips which are under an hour. After the first hour, users are charged $3 per hour up to $24 per ride.
Monthly membership at $15 per month which includes free trips which are under an hour. After the first hour, users are charged $3 per hour up to $24 per ride.
Pay-as-you-go which costs $1.50 every 30 minutes up to $24 per ride.
In all cases, if a bike is kept for more than 24 hours, users will be charged an over time fee of $24.
To use a specific bike, you find the bike's number from the bike and enter it into the app. If the bike is available, you will be given an unlock code. This code is entered into the key pad on the bike. Once the bike is unlocked, you can remove it from the docking station. To return the bike to a station, you just park it and press and hold the lock button on the keypad until the light flashes. Then you find the orange tab on the lock and slide it down and place the docking cable into the port on the lock. Finally you tap "End Ride" in the Zagster app.
At the station in Carmel, there were two different types of bikes available: a "cruiser" and a "trike." Both bikes had baskets.
Having only used the more traditional type of bike share program, I was a little hesitant in trying this one out. Fortunately this time, I was able to do so with my partner which was a great help and expanded our experience. For example, I had no problem downloading and using the app. But while my partner was able to download it, he could not get the app to give him the code to unlock the bike. So he used the text option to get the code which worked great. If he had not been with me, I probably would not have been able to see how the text function worked.
So we installed the app and went to a bike share station in the Carmel Arts & Design District. This is an example of how the map on the app looked for that area. You can see it is showing eight available bikes and no open spaces at the station colored orange which was on Main street and to the east of us. We also checked the one closer to us, and it showed seven available bikes with five open spaces.
Screenshot of Zagster app on iPhone.
One thing we discovered right away was even though there were several bikes shown as available and several bikes locked into the dock, once we went to the screen to choose the bike and get the code, fewer bikes were actually available. I was wondering if this is because some of the bikes were still "checked out" on rides and only temporarily locked there by the users.
We eventually found two bikes, each of us bought a ride, and received an unlock code. The locking and unlocking process wasn't obvious to us, but we did manage to eventually figure it out. Below is a photo showing how the bike is connected to the station.
So there was no way I could stand listening to that for two hours. Fortunately there was another station a little way down the path so we stopped there for me to return the bike, pay the $1.50, and pick another bike that I hoped would offer a more silent ride. After getting it unlocked and starting off again down the trail, I was happy to find out this one made no noises. After our ride we went back to the Arts & Design District and returned the bikes.
The best aspect of this system for me is that bikes do not have to be returned to a dock within a specific amount of time. This offers a lot more flexibility for users in choosing their routes.
Bikes can be locked anywhere so users can stop along their ride to eat, shop, or explore. We saw users along the trail who had done this and were eating at restaurants along the trail.
Once I got a bike that worked, it was easy to ride.
The main issue for me was that twice we had problems with the bikes. While the cost to pay for another ride wasn't much, it was annoying having to return the bike to a station and hope out of the few available bikes there, I would get one that would not make a noise.
The actual number of available bikes seems to be less than what appears in the docking station and on the app.
The setup and process to getting a bike takes some time to figure out.
A person cannot check out multiple bikes. So if you are riding with someone they need to get a bike on their own.
In comparing the two systems, I definitely prefer the Zagster bike share program. Yes there were some maintenance issues with the bikes and figuring out the process took some time. But not having to worry about getting a bike back to a station in 30 minutes made it definitely worth putting up with those other things. Also, the cost was very reasonable.
Last month, Austroads, the association of Australasian road transport and traffic agencies, released a Pedestrian Facility Selection Tool. According to their website, "the Pedestrian Facility Selection Tool is designed to help Australian and New Zealand practitioners select the most appropriate type of pedestrian crossing based on walkability, safety and economic outcomes." They have produced a User Guide and will be offering more information about the tool at a webinar scheduled for Tuesday, March 10, 2015. The webinar has already filled up, but the site indicates it will be recorded and offered on the website at a later date for viewing.
or combinations of these facilities.
Wombat crossing (Australia): treat as Zebra with platform and adjust posted/approach speed if required"
You can try out the tool by clicking this link: Pedestrian Facility Selection Tool Link, then reading the necessary guidance and inputs on the page, reading the disclaimer, and clicking the link at the bottom of the page to indicate your acceptance of their terms and to access the tool. Below are screenshots showing the top and bottom sections of the tool.
For each option, "the tool then evaluates pedestrian and vehicle delay, safe sight distances, pedestrian level of service and, using default economic parameters developed for each Australian jurisdiction and New Zealand, calculates a benefit cost ratio." And if you are interested in learning more about the research undertaken to support and develop this tool, you can check out this report: Development of the Australasian Pedestrian Selection Tool.
As I ride my bike through some of the grades, curves, and alignments along the bike paths in my area, I often wonder if the person who designed them rides a bike. Because I can't imagine anyone who rides regularly making some of the design choices I encounter. This got me wondering if the designer would have still made those same choices if they had to first ride their design before building it. Of course, up until recently this really would not have been possible. But thanks to newer technologies, this type of design tool could probably be implemented today, and here's how I'm thinking it could be done.
Let's say I am given a project with the goal of designing a bike facility. This route could consist of a shared use path or an on-road facility or a combination of both. I would begin with a fairly traditional approach of analyzing potential alignments. Then after choosing one or more proposed routes, I would arrange to have these alignments surveyed, bring them into a CADD program like Autodesk Civil 3D, and start developing my design for each alternative. At this point, the final alternative would be chosen by analyzing the route for impacts, costs, public opinion, access to specific destinations, property acquisition issues, and other typical factors we usually consider when finalizing a design. The downside of this approach is that the actual performance of the facility can never be assessed. It is just assumed that if the engineer followed the same design criteria for each alternative, they would all perform in a similar manner. However, based on specific environmental conditions or design choices, this might not necessarily be true. Then it is not until the route is built and the money is spent that the users realize there are some issues with the design. So how can we use newer technologies to overcome this inability to assess our design before actually building it?
During the stage in which we analyze the alternatives, we could export a 3D model of our design. Then we could upload it to a stationary bicycle that has a screen display of our route. The computer on the bike would then pick up the design parameters such as slopes, lengths of segments, curves, etc., and then program the bike to react to those parameters. So if I have designed too steep of a slope for too long of a distance, it will become very obvious as I actually bike that route. And while this could be done simply to analyze only the design of the path, other models such as terrain, trees, intersections, and buildings along with environmental conditions such as wind, sunlight, and perhaps even traffic flow could also be added to allow for a more detailed analysis of how the environment impacts the path. In addition to having the engineer bike their own design, potential users of the path who span a whole range of abilities could also bike the design and offer input and comments.
So how close are we to being able to do this? I suppose that is a question for the companies manufacturing stationary bicycles. I know they can take a route and project it on the screen as you can see in the photo at the beginning of this post. And I know they can adjust the bike for grade/resistance. But can they read essentially what would be metadata about the images being displayed and use that to control the grade? I don't know with the current bikes, but I am sure if it's not possible now, it could definitely be programmed to function in this manner. As for exporting a file from Civil 3D that could integrate with a stationary bike in this manner, I would think based on how innovative Autodesk has always been that company would have no problem figuring this out.
And even though my main thought in all this was to help us design better bike facilities, it also made me wonder if something like this could lead to a whole new industry for civil engineers in which we design virtual bike experiences for stationary bikes too!
A lot of off-road paths are lined by trees. This can create a few issues that could cause a cyclist to fall and possibly be injured. This can occur in the colder climates because trees drop leaves that can pile up and become slippery if not cleared. Trees also drop seeds such as acorns or walnuts. Hitting these the wrong way could cause a cyclist to lose balance and fall. I know of at least one agency that regularly sends out a small sweeper about once a week to clear debris, particularly in the fall and that maintenance activity appears to keep the path in that area fairly clear.
Trees can also cause damage to the path from roots. As you can see in the photo here, someone has marked areas of the path where trees have caused the path to heave. If a cyclist did not see these bumps, they could lose balance and fall.
The tree's proximity to the path can also cause a potential for problems. As shown in the photo, trees are often located very close to the pavement. If too close, the trunks of the trees can also grow into the pavement. One day when we were riding in another area of this trail, we saw a cyclist miss navigating a curve and hit a tree that was very close to the path. He fell and fortunately was not hurt. But it made us wonder if there should be a clear zone for bike paths similar to the concept used for roadway design. The Washington State Shared-Use Path Design Manual does call for a horizontal clearance of two feet (page 1515-5).
A lot of the trails we ride follow a river so quite often we end up having to navigate steep slopes when the path changes course away from the river. There have been a few instances where it seemed the designer could have mitigated the slope by lengthening out the transition, but instead took the shorter route which resulted in a slope almost steep enough to require us to dismount and walk our bikes. We've also wondered why when a bike route we follow is moved onto streets, the steepest street in the area is chosen for the route. One of the roads we ride along is so steep we definitely have to get off our bikes and walk them a block or two until the route turns down another, flatter street. I realize the calculation for bike level of service does not take into account grade – probably because it was developed in Florida along flat routes – but if I have to get off my bike, I am no longer able to use it as a bike route which would seem to mean a complete failure of that bike facility. So I definitely believe grade should be incorporated into the Bike LOS calculation.
The other problem with steep slopes is that they require a lot of energy and momentum to ride up. And because many paths we bike along seem to have been designed with a steep slope immediately adjacent to an intersection with a road, we end up going up the slope approaching the road at a high rate of speed and with a lot of momentum then have to slam on the brakes immediately as we hit the road. I always wonder how we appear to the cars that are approaching the crossing. I would think it looks like we are not going to stop. The other problem with this design is there is usually no flat area at the top of slope at the road intersection. So as you wait for the cars to go by, you are sitting on that steep slope which makes it even more difficult to start moving again and quickly pedal across the road. A better design would seem to be to pull back the slope slightly and allow for a flatter area at the top where the path intersects the road. The question would be what distance would work best here? Another consideration would perhaps be to give a widened area at these intersections to allow for several users to queue while they wait to cross.
The other area where slopes seem to cause problems is at stream crossings. On the paths where we ride, there are many of these crossings and usually the downgrade is very steep on both sides of the bridge. So the ideal approach would be to ride fast down the hill and across the bridge so we have enough momentum to assist in making it up the hill on the other side. Unfortunately most of the designs have brought the slope down almost to a "V" at the edge of the bridge instead of designing in a gradual vertical curve. And because the joint where the asphalt path meets the bridge is not always smooth, we end up having to reduce our speed to make it over this severe change in grade that might also have a bump. So the only distance we have to build up speed again is across the short bridge which usually isn't enough.
It seems that there is some guidance out there for sight distance, but that doesn't help riders on paths that were built with no thought to this design consideration. Perhaps on older facilities, agencies responsible for the paths could go back and assess their facility and add in striping or signs to let cyclists know there are potential sight distance problems in a specific area.
Surface material of areas adjacent to bike paths can cause damage to the path or unsafe conditions for users of the path. For example, one trail we ride is located next to a gravel parking lot near a school. After riding through here a few times, we've gotten to the point where we now remain in the road through this section because there is always a lot of gravel on the path. This appears to be due to the drainage design and grades of the road, lot, and path in this location. As water flows from the road and across the lot, it picks up gravel from the parking lot. Then as the water flows across the path, the gravel drops out onto the asphalt, possibly because the path looks like it could be a localized low area. The gravel on the path is difficult to ride over and can cause instability to a cyclist which can result in them falling and possibly getting injured.
Path material is definitely an important component of a bike path. There is a path we ride along, or I should say used to ride along, where the agency decided to place asphalt grindings over the crushed gravel that was initially placed as the surface. Grindings are definitely a material that should never be used for a shared used path or even a dedicated bike path. There are usually few fines in it unless it has been processed to have fines added which usually isn't the case. So riding along a path made with grindings ends up somewhat similar to the experience of riding on marbles. We also came across another path where an agency had placed sand. Riding in sand is also not very easy. So as you can see in the photo below, people appear to avoid it by walking their bikes through the grass which is exactly what we did. The FHWA provides some guidance on surface materials for shared-use paths as part of their Designing Sidewalks and Trails for Access Part II of II: Best Practices Design Guide.
Another issue we noticed along many bike paths is a lack of directional signage. One day last year, I decided to go on a 30+ mile bike ride that took me along many routes with which I was not familiar. One particular route required me to transition between trail and roadway several times. Unfortunately it was difficult to navigate using my phone since it was having battery issues and didn't make it through most of the trip leaving me stranded with no map. Fortunately there was another cyclist who knew exactly where to go to get off one trail, make our way through a maze of streets and connecting trails and manage to end up where two main trails picked up again. And he was nice enough to realize I was lost and needed his guidance. Just a few well placed signs would have really helped me find my way because I really can't go biking on a regular basis hoping there will be a nice person there who knows the way and will help.
This month's infographic is courtesy of H&R Block and is in honor of Bike Month!


The inclusion of each cut of The New World marks this as the definitive home-video edition of Terrence Malick's greatest film.
Director Terrence Malick's debut feature, Badlands, saw its main characters gaze out on the endless expanse of a long-conquered America and chafe at the limitations embedded in the open space, driven by uncontrollable impulses to lash out at these boundaries. The New World, arguably the dividing line between the filmmaker's early career and the increasingly abstract esoterica of his 21st-century prolificacy, inverts that dynamic. The film arrives on the shores of Virginia at the dawn of England's colonial interest in the country, and the thick, untamed forests and fields of knee-high grass overwhelm its own lovebirds with endless possibility.
Appropriately, the film approaches the legendary romance between explorer John Smith (Colin Farrell) and the Native American Pocahontas (Q'orianka Kilcher) in mythic terms, employing Malick's elliptical style to isolate the pair into tableaux of intimacy. Like the couple at the heart of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, Smith and Pocahontas are endlessly mutable, and they come to stand in not only for their own legend, but famous couples across folklore and history. An early interaction of the two teaching each other words in their languages with mime is so elemental a display of man and woman meeting that the two recall Adam and Eve. Elsewhere, they also resemble Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers on either side of a deep schism that results in mistrust and violence as a matter of course. Smith first meets Pocahontas when she intercedes to stop his execution on the orders of her chieftain father (August Schellenberg), and his own comrades glibly break the tenuous peace with the natives at every turn. Later, they even regard Smith as a race traitor, subjecting him to hostility for his affection for the Powhatan.
The subtle build-up of these conflicts doesn't ground The New World's lofty romanticism, but it does complicate Smith and Pocahontas's strange union. It's telling that the first thing we see the British erect upon landing isn't shelter, but a noose, and for all the paranoia the British feel toward the Powhatan, it's the Westerners who resort to barbarism, torture, and cannibalism as starvation and fear of the unknown overtake them. By the same token, the natives aren't so simple and saintly as they seem. The film's first half, positioned primarily from Smith's perspective, overflows not only with brilliantly lit images and boosted colors, but the purple prose of Smith's narration, which contains observations about the Powhatan, such as their lack of possessions. Yet he says this after the audience has already seen meetings where the tribe discusses how best to repel the invaders to protect their territory, exposing his reveries as self-invented.
If the couple's relationship is a figurative illustration of the potential cooperation between the indigenous people and the English explorers, the brutal warfare that firmly divides the two camps naturally affects the romance as well. As rapturous as the film's imagery is, it slowly curdles as the English starve and the Powhatan pick off stragglers. The verdant imagery of untrampled grass becomes the barren mud of Jamestown, and Pocahontas herself, aligned through editing with the world around her, is gradually cocooned in stark close-ups as the English exploit and eventually claim her. The story shifts from Smith to Pocahontas when the latter begins to distance himself physically and emotionally from her; Smith leaves the colony half-convinced that he merely lived a dream while in America, while Pocahontas is left to the budding nightmare of her effective captivity.
The incremental death of the princess's soul marks the greatest sustained act of tragedy in Malick's filmography. The loose approach to narrative cohesion results in major plot points that pass by in flashes, like Pocahontas's marriage to tobacco farmer John Rolfe (Christian Bale) and news of Smith's death—indicative of how far her life has spun out of her control. Corsets and textbooks become weapons as much as cannons and muskets, and by the time Pocahontas arrives in London as a curio to raise interest in the colony, the once unbound young woman seems no different than a caged animal. The only liberation from this life is death, which Malick films with brio, charting the transmigration of the woman's soul back to her home with the aid of Wagner and a barrage of ecstatic imagery. It remains the single greatest sequence of Malick's career, and the apotheosis of the film's seamless fusion of history, myth, and individual expression.
Released once before on Blu-ray, the extended cut of The New World nonetheless looks significantly improved thanks to Criterion's 4K restoration. Infamously shot around the whims of its maker's minutely obsessed eye, the film derives much of its power from nearly imperceptible fluctuations of light and color, and never before has a home-video release so thoroughly captured the way that sunlight reflects off of John Smith's boiled leather jacket, or how multivalent the greens of swamp reeds and coniferous trees can be. Textures are flawlessly rendered, maximizing the film's tactile sensory overload, and some shots look, in motion, as if the camera were completely stripped away and you were simply standing there with the characters. Both the original cut and its subsequent 130-minute wide-release version are also included, albeit with less impressive high-definition transfers that only call further attention to the subtle delights of the extended cut's restoration.
Sound is equally resplendent, plotting the film's rich soundtrack of geographically and temporally appropriate birdsong in an enveloping field. Dialogue and narration is soft, but crystal clear in front channels, while the occasional outbreak of music or gunfire is suitably deafening. Sound quality is the same across the three cuts, and as is ever the case with Criterion's Terrence Malick releases, one is advised to play the film loudly.
A feature-length making-of documentary, produced during the film's making and released shortly thereafter, is the most fascinating extra in Criterion's set, affording a glimpse into Malick's unorthodox shooting style that sees crew and cast alike constantly scrambling around without cues. To see action sequences filmed not according to storyboard or planning, but simple intuition, is every bit as enthralling as the completed scenes. The three-disc set also comes with newly recorded interviews with various members of the crew, from the two lead actors reminiscing about the strange shoot to old Malick stalwarts like producer Sarah Green and production designer Jack Fisk contextualizing the production within the director's larger body of work.
Of particular note are a pair of extras devoted to the film's editing. One of them, a collection of interviews with Saar Klein, Hank Corwin, and Mark Yoshikawa, delves into the immense difficulty of shaping a film for Malick. Each editor mentions shots they loved that fell to the wayside, as well as how the overall process started like a normal job before they began cutting to Malick's mood and ideas over narrative and continuity. When they mention the sheer amount of 35mm film they had to comb through, their chuckles still carry residual weariness at the work. Yoshikawa heads the other editing feature, this one a delineation of the three cuts included in this release. The extended cut is Malick and D.P. Emmanuel Lubezki's preferred version, but this extra is incredibly useful for exploring the way that the material has been reshaped for each cut. Finally, there are theatrical trailers, as well as a booklet with a critical essay by Tom Gunning, an interview with Lubezki from a 2006 issue of American Cinematography, as well as production notes and reproductions of paintings that inspired the film's tone and aesthetic.
The inclusion of each cut of The New World, along with a stunning 4K restoration of the preferred extended cut and copious extras, marks this as the definitive home-video release of Terrence Malick's greatest film.


Why this now? I've borne witness to so many people's flavors of grief this last week. I've also seen people who are not grieving, and are confounded by what they're seeing in their community. I hope this refresher in the stages of grief helps us to understand each other, and ourselves.
Guess what? People don't grieve from number one to five. Forget neat and orderly when it comes to grief. People bounce around between stages. Sometimes people revisit one or two several times. Each stage takes its own course and time.
When people grieve, NOT being in the stage they're in can feel intolerable. Being asked to take action when they are still in shock can feel like a betrayal. Talking about depression to someone who is in the denial stage might not go well, either. And being criticized for being angry, or being depressed and inactive, or optimistic, can feel infuriating. Even being around someone else's different stage can feel like an affront. In essence, it's best to just accept where you are, and where other people are, even if it is different or seem wrong.
Some of the thoughts and responses I've described here are normal, non-grieving, productive responses. And yet, sometimes, they are straight out of the grief.
Bargaining "If I devote x amount of time to x cause, maybe we can still turn this around." "If only I had campaigned that weekend." "What if I had voted differently in the primary?" "What if I had really understood the WWC?" Guilt hangs out with bargaining.
Anger In the streets, on social media. Lots of places. I bet you recognize this when you see it. It can take the form of anger at the election itself, at the Democratic Party, at third parties, at Trump voters, at the campaign, at the future, at your former allies who have inexplicably started arguments with you on Facebook, etc.
Depression I see this in the form of despair. Thoughts about Hitler. WWII, apocalypse, and many other scary and worse-case scenarios. I see people crying. Obsessing on how bad it could get. I also see them doing numbing behaviors when the despair takes over and they shut down.
Acceptance Though more settled, it can feel difficult, too. Typically this is where people engage action, after they've accepted the current situation and assessed their place in it, and what they can do.
I can't remember a time where I've been immersed in so much grief all around. (Maybe 911?) This time, so many have so much to grieve. Every grief is different and individual. Maybe one person's grief is centered around the potential direct impact on a friend or family member, while another's has to do with who or what Trump represents to them. Everyone who is grieving feels like something or someone they thought they knew, and trusted, or hoped for, is now dead. That feeling is very real, even if the death itself is a metaphor.
Grief is not static. One can never step in the same River Grief twice. It is guaranteed to change, transform, and eventually, resolve. Meanwhile, one of the most powerful acts we can engage in is to allow for our own, and others' grief. It's that grief that will transform us. In many ways, it already has.
Thanks you, Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, for creating this useful model, which has so many more adaptations than you originally planned!


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National Geographic Magazine May 2019
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