"Far Better Than A Quote Whore Spelling Out How Wonderful This Film Is"
It�s equally condescending (and unfortunately true) that there are very few positively-reinforced films out there for the black community. After all, there�s a certain reality that the gangsta/get rich or die tryin� hood culture does reflect a portion of African-American society just as the hillbilly/country music lovin� regrettably presents a constituency of white America. The recurrent problem of any inspirational film is the hokum factor which comes with trying too hard; swaying the music to a decibel level that produces tears or delivering its message with the thunderous hammer of Thor. All signs for Akeelah and the Bee pointed to little more than an after-school special blown up for the big screen. But it�s the kind of warm-hearted surprise that transcends its trappings and winds up being more Bobby Fischer than Tyler Perry.
11 year-old Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) goes to a less-than-stellar California grade school. Her father was killed five years ago, but she has a family that does their best to rise above the neighborhood�s faults. Mom (Angela Bassett) works hard as a nurse, her sister is a single mom who appears to have everything under control except her baby�s crying, her oldest brother is in the air force but the younger one has the street attitude which has him roaming with the wrong crowd. Akeelah tries staying under the radar at school, skipping classes at times, but has a talent that her teachers and principal recognize great potential for. She�s one helluva speller.
Mr. Welch (Curtis Armstrong), looking out for Akeelah as well as a school only looked upon by the legislature if their aptitude impresses, recommends her to old college friend, Dr. Joshua Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) a teacher and language expert who in the day once won the national spelling bee himself. He agrees to take on Akeelah if she will adapt from her �ghetto talk� and speak properly. In her rise through the rounds of the state finals, Akeelah will meet Javier (J.R. Villarreal), a jovial Woodland Hills student who becomes a fast friend introducing her to the casual luxuries of going to a good school in a good neighborhood and Dylan (Sean Michael), the nefarious rival speller living under the strict study habits of his father (Tzi Ma).
So, you�ve heard the one about the black kid, the Mexican and the Asian who went to the spelling bee? Well, neither has this film which doesn�t concentrate on racial stereotypes and Lord knows it could have noting those who have been emblematic of reaching the Scripps finals on ESPN. (In fact, one of the few missteps the film makes is having Dylan�s father chastise him for being challenged by a �little black girl.�) Where the contestants though are allowed to start over without correcting what they�ve already spelled, writer/director Doug Atchison (whose last film The Pornographer was about a very different kind of home schooling) gets a reprieve by reconciling clich�s such as the parent who won�t let the child realize their dream and the evil competitor who should just walk around with a jerk tattoo on his forehead with scenes of remarkable clarity and warmth.
[i]Akeelah and the Bee[/i] addresses several issues with subtlety and never gets bogged down in the subplots which help define each of its characters beyond synthetic labels of race or mere teacher, student or parent. Akeelah shares multiple relationships in the film and each have their own bond, importance and pureness. There�s a marvelously funny and touching moment when Javier must act quickly (or slowly) to save Akeelah�s place in one of the tournaments. Searching for Bobby Fischer is in its own master class when it comes to films about C-level �sports� and Spellbound will remain the definitive film about the national Scripps competition, but Akeelah and the Bee is nearly its narrative equal. As an avid watcher of the yearly event, my dark side relentlessly has me rooting against the home schooled robots and it was great to find the same tension while finding something to root for in both the film�s protagonists and their rivals. The crime is that Akeelah and the Bee may struggle to make a quarter of what was achieved at the box office by Tyler Perry�s atrociously ill-conceived Madea films (released by the same studio, Lions Gate, distributing this, so here�s hoping they will give this fine film the proper push with audiences.) Doug Atchison doesn�t play down to the black community like Perry�s Z-level chitlin theater, but rises up with the positivity of friendship, family and learning. I for one don�t see anything condescending in that.


The Zogling SG-35 glider plan is designed as a 1/3-scale size model. It is designed after a single-place full-scale trainer glider that was built in the late 1930s. The model has a wingspan of 138 inches when finished. It is a built-up balsa, plywood and spruce model, with miscellaneous hardware required, with the wings and tail surfaces being covered in simulated fabric type material.


The evening bat is an abundant bat throughout the southeastern United States, northward to the upper Midwest and Ontario. It ranges along the Atlantic seaboard south throughout Florida to Veracruz, Mexico. A true forest bat, the evening bat is almost never encountered in caves. It forms nursery colonies in hollow trees, behind loose bark, and sometimes in buildings and attics. Some of these maternity colonies are quite large, containing several hundred individuals. Evening bats emerge soon after dusk and forage on a large array of small nocturnal insects including flying ants, spittle bugs, June beetles, Japanese beetles and moths.
In the fall, evening bats store large amounts of fat indicating a lengthy migration to southern parts of its range. In a banded bat recovery study, bats were found as far as 547 kilometers south of their banding sites. Yet, little research has been done to learn exact migration movements of this species. They have not ever been found hibernating in local caves and appear to simply disappear from their summer habitat. Once these bats have arrived at their over-wintering sites, they are thought to remain active throughout the winter.


and preserve our land for generations to come."
Just imagine the celebration firework only.
is part of the recipe for happiness!
The mission of the Southeast Nature Society is to educate people and help them to discover the true value of nature for physical and spiritual well-being and happiness, to help people safely interact with nature, and to make the nature of the Southeast more readily available to everyone, regardless of their physical abilities.
Nowadays, a vast amount of people are disconnected from nature, not realizing the role of nature in human life. They spend much of their time indoors with electronic devices, surrounded by EMFs and blue light, lacking vital sunlight and fresh air.
Connection to nature and its regenerative power is essential to people's lives.
The Southeast Nature Society provides opportunities for you to get involved in nature, and for people to share their outdoor experiences with others.
The Southeast Nature Society educating people and inspiring to explore nature's beauty and wonder, reveal underappreciated locations of great natural beauty on public land in our area, and help conserve the environment of the Southeast.
The Southeast Nature Society offers educational nature-oriented talks for the community, as well as free professional-grade nature pictures to area publications and the US Forest Service.
The Southeast Nature Society will provide opportunities for people to connect to each other and make friends through its social media nature groups, meetings, and hikes.
On May 26th, co-chairs of the Southeast Nature Society met on a hike along the Thompson River in southwest North Carolina to discuss plans and ideas for the society. We devised a new idea for meetings: to hold meetings during hikes out in nature. We also came up with the idea to designate June 1st as Nature Gratitude Day. Summer is the season when people spend the most time immersed in nature, so given that June 1st is the first day of the summer months, we deemed it to be an appropriate date to be known as Nature Gratitude Day, so that we can thank Mother Nature for all of its gifts to us!
Join the Southeast Nature Society by subscribing to our monthly newsletter!
Subscribe to Newsletter and Become a Member!
Have you ever thought that we are a microcosm of the infinite universe? Have you ever realized that we are part of nature, and that this is why nature affects us so significantly in all aspects of life?
Our country has all kinds of fascinating ecosystems and gorgeous landscapes, spread out from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast across three major mountain chains. We're so lucky to have one of the mountain chains, the Appalachian Mountains, right in our own backyard in the Southeast.
The Southern Appalachian Mountains are home to many terrific natural sights. Millions of acres of pristine forest in the Southern Appalachian Mountains include everything from far-stretching vistas atop Blue Ridge Mountain cliffs to tumbling moss-lined waterfalls to endangered wildflowers like the Gray's Lily.Folks who get out and explore the Southern Appalachians will find that there is a lot to see. Not only does immersing oneself in the natural wonders of the Southeast enrich the spirit, but the mountain hikes involved aid physical well-being.
Any waterfall experience will enrich your body and soul. Did you know that the power of the crashing water at waterfalls leads to the emission of negative ions? The many health benefits of the negatively-charged ions have been proven scientifically. Most people don't realize that negatively-charged ions aren't only produced by ocean surge. Thus, you don't have to travel to the beach – you can just head to the nearest waterfall! In addition, the soothing sound of falling water and dynamic cascades is beneficial for mental health, inner peace, and regeneration.
Many wildflowers can be found across the Southern Appalachians in spring and summer, such as the trout lily above and rare pink shell azalea on the right.
The loggerhead sea turtle is an endangered species. These turtles typically lay eggs on the beaches at night. The two videos on the right demonstrates a unique event: a sea turtle coming in the daytime to make a nest for its eggs on the St. Joseph Peninsula beach in Florida. The second video is of the same sea turtle after it has laid its eggs and is heading for the ocean, eventually entering the water under the vivid colors of the setting sun.
The Southern Appalachians are home to numerous wild animal species such as black bears, bobcats, and even armadillos (left).
Meetings will be held at 5187 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, Georgia, as well as in nature.
According to popular feedback, here's a list of other helpful groups where nature enthusiasts can connect.


"Game of Thrones" is "Not Just for Nerds Anymore." Well, Why Not? Stop Taking Things Away from Us!
The good news: "Game of Thrones" is on the cover of "Entertainment Weekly" this week.
Sexier, bloodier, and more epic! That's great. It always is. But why does everything the nerds love have to be mainstreamed? Were they not happy enough with their nerd base? What does that even mean? Is Kelly Cuoca making an appearance this season? The nerdiness is what attracts the nerds to it. Don't take that away for us. Don't broaden it, don't make it appealing to the meatheads. Leave it for us, damnit. DON'T TAKE AWAY OUR TOYS.
← Statistics Claims Chicks Don't Dig Beards. Lies. Damn Lies.


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African American Celebration Month focused on family, community
Marketing mogul Daymond John
The Oakland University community will pay tribute to diversity with the 2013 African American Celebration Month: My Family, My Community, Ujima. This year's theme will spotlight black history and cultural achievements with a series of events kicked off with the 21st annual Keeper of the Dream Scholarship Awards on Monday, Jan. 21.
Featuring a keynote address from marketing mogul Daymond John – joined by special guest speaker Gov. Rick Snyder – the ceremony will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Oakland Center Banquet Rooms. Following the event, a special kick-off party with food, African dancing and singing performances will be held from 1-3 p.m. in the Oakland Center Pioneer Food Court.
The celebration offers many opportunities to reflect on the historic achievements of African Americans, according to Omar Brown-El, director of the Center for Multicultural Initiatives.
"The month provides a look into the artistic, economic and cultural impact that African Americans have made on modern society." Brown-El said. "Each year, we come together as a community to recognize and celebrate those contributions."
The Butterfly Effect: Lupus in Our Community will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 29, in Oakland Center Banquet Room A. Sponsored by the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, this event will shed light on a disease that affects about 1.5 million Americans, with women representing almost 90 percent of those diagnosed.
The headline event – My family, My Community, Ujima – will examine Michigan's progress in the realm of social justice. Sponsored by Kresge Library, this panel discussion will be held from noon-1 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31, on the library's fourth floor.
Saturday, Feb. 2, will feature a trip to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Buses will depart from OU at 9:30 a.m. and return at approximately 5 p.m. This event is for OU students only and each student is allowed to bring one guest. Tickets are $5 per person and can be purchased at the CSA Service Window, located on the lower level of the Oakland Center.
A screening of the movie "Red Tails" will take place from 8-10 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 6, in Oakland Center Gold Rooms B and C. The 2012 release – starring actors Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrance Howard – is a fictionalized account of the Tuskegee Airmen, the pioneering group of African American military aviators who fought during World War II.
The signature Taste of Africa Gala will take place from 4-7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 13, in the Oakland Center Banquet Rooms. A full evening of entertainment is planned as attendees are invited to sample a diverse selection of culinary creations and enjoy the sights and sounds of African music, dance and spoken word performances.
For a complete listing of events, view the website at oakland.edu/aacm.
The 2013 African American Celebration Month at Oakland University is supported by the Center for Multicultural Initiatives, African Student Association, College of Arts and Sciences, Fashion House of Oakland Univiersity, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Gender and Sexuality Center, Kresge Library, School of Business Administration, School of Nursing, Black Nurses Association and Student Program Board.
For more information about African American Celebration Month at OU, call (248) 370-4404. Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public.
Summary The OU community will pay tribute to diversity with the 2013 African American Celebration Month: My Family, My Community, Ujima, set for Jan. 21-Feb. 14.
Created by Katherine Land - Deleted (land@oakland.edu) on Thursday, January 17, 2013
Modified by Katherine Land - Deleted (land@oakland.edu) on Thursday, January 17, 2013
Article Start Date: Thursday, January 17, 2013

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Congratulations to Broadstreet Properties Ltd. who launched their new website on Feb 28, 2017. Broadstreet Properties manages a variety of new low-rise apartment buildings and townhome rentals in cities across Western Canada, including Penticton, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and more.
Along with our rental listings module to help Broadstreet Properties show their availabilities, their new website is complete with careers listings, custom highlighted amenity icons, a news page and secure rental application, which are conveniently managed through The LIFT System and the Secured Forms platform.
Explore all the exciting new features at www.broadstreet.ca.


text:
was a Japanese historian and politician, member of the Diet and Privy councillor. He was a graduate of Keiō Gijuku.

Takekoshi was a committed advocate of Japanese expansion into the South Seas, rather than China.

Among his works published in English are Japanese Rule in Formosa and a monumental Economic Aspects of the Civilization of Japan, which includes a wealth of quantitative data from pre-modern sources.

References

20th-century Japanese historians
1865 births
1950 deaths
Keio University alumni

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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The alternative choices like boys fashion suits, husky boys suits and boys church suits are all available in mensusa brand.


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SWAG: Software
Architecture Group
SWAG >> Tools
Your browser does not support iframes. See the sidebar here.
CPPX - a GCC-based fact extractor for C and C++
LDX/BFX - a fact extractor for C, C++, Fortran and Pascal
ASX - a fact extractor for Assembler/Disassembler
Grok - a relational calculator
jGrok - a multi-platform relational calculator
LSEdit - a multi-platform, multi-purpose graph visualizers
CLICS - a Clone Interpretation and Classification System
Beagle - an evolution exploration tool
Evolution spectrograph - a graphical evolution exploration tool
Javap2 Java class file dissassembler
Javex Java class file fact extractor
JCD Java clone detector
ACD C/C++/Assembler clone detector
SWAG Kit - an architecture analysis toolkit, based on CPPX
LDX/BFX pipeline - an architecture analysis toolkit, based on LDX/BFX
Portable Bookshelf (PBS) (retired) - a web-based architecture analysis toolkit
Over the years, members of SWAG have produced a considerable amount of tools to aid them in their research. The tools are varied in nature, but fall into several broad categories:
fact extractors, which are usually compiler-based programs that process source code in a particular language to extract information about it;
fact manipulators, which are designed to operate on factbases, and are meant to manipulate and analyze the data these fact bases contain. Facts produced by fact extractors are by far the most common input for these tools;
visualizers, which are used to display the results of the analysis performed by the above tools;
analyzers, which perform further analysis on, and reasoning about, data produced by other tools.
Most of these tools are freely available for download, and you will find links to the downloads on this page.
Pipelines. While all SWAG tools are extremely useful on their own, they truly shine when combined together into "pipelines". A pipeline, as the name suggests, is a collection of tools designed to work together to achieve a final result, with some extra code to achieve tool integration. As per pipeline philosophy, the output of one tool in the pipeline becomes the input of the other, with each tool in the procession performing a certain task. The two pipelines currently available both aim at making the extraction and analysis of software easier for the beginning researcher. They provide a way to perform a complete extraction, analysis and visualization of a piece of software with as few user input as possible.
Just like individual tools, the pipelines are freely available for download. Installing a pipeline is usually easier than installing all the individual tools that make up that pipeline, and lets you use all the included tools both individually and in the pipeline. Below you will find the listing of the tools currently available, with links to their short descriptions.
CPPX (C++ Fact Extraction Tool)
CPPX is a free C++ compiler which produces a fact base instead of producing executable code. For design-recovery tool interoperability to become a reality, we need common software to extract facts from code bases, in a common format, and according to a common schema. CPPX extracts facts from C++ source from the highest semantic level (classes and global data and functions) down to the lowest code level of individual statements and expressions. The output format is based on that of Bell Canada's Datrix project. CPPX is available as free software (and in fact depends on GCC for semantic analysis).
LDX and BFX Fact Extraction Tools
BFX and LDX are two complementary binary code extractors targeted at object modules, executables, and dynamic libraries. Normally, they are integrated with the actual software build process to carry out fact extraction. They together produce information on function calls, variable access, and build dependencies between object modules. Their less detailed output is an order of magnitude smaller than the CPPX output. The two extractors offer an extremely simple and supremely reliable way to derive a system model.
ASX is a fact extraction tool that extracts source information from C, C++, assembler, object, libraries, dynamic libraries and executables, in a format that may then immediately be visualised using lsedit.
The CLone Interpretation and Classification System (CLICS) is a tool that extends the work of CCFinder/Gemini by trying to improve the scalability of the clone visualization problem. It automatically filters common types of false matches and classifies clones based on a taxonomy of clones. Users can navigate clones based on this taxonomy, remove clones from the result set, edit the list of files to be included in the analysis without changing the detection results, and visualize the cloning relationships in the software system using LSEdit.
Grok is a programming language for manipulating binary relations. Grok has an interpreter, which can be considered to be a relational calculator. This interpreter has been used extensively for analyzing factbases produced by parsers that extract information from source programs.
The initial version of Grok was created by the author in 1995. It has evolved to become a language for manipulating factbases. Grok operates at the level of a relational database, in that operators generally apply across entire relations, and not just to single entities. The Grok interpreter has been optimized to handle large factbases (up to several hundred thousands of facts). It keeps all of its data structures in memory. It is written in the Turing language.
jGrok
jGrok (download here) is a re-implementation and extension of the original Grok, written in Java, completed and maintained by Jingwei Wu. jGrok adds many new features and commands to the set that original Grok provides. While sacrificing some speed, jGrok gains portability: being a Java program, it is executable on any platform that has a Java Virtual Machine available. Like Grok, jGrok is optimized for operating on large fact bases, and has been used to operate on collections of up to a million facts.
LSEdit
LSEdit (the name stands for Landscape Editor) is a nested-box-and-arrow graph visualizer. While it is primarily used to display graphs representing software architectures ("landscapes"), it is not limited to visualizing software, and is general enough to display any graph that can be visualized as a collection of nested boxes connected by arrows. LSEdit possesses advanced graph layout and editing capabilities, advanced query, elision and search functions, and support for graphs in excess of 300,000 nodes. LSEdit is written in Java and runs equally well on Windows, Unix, MAC OS and any other platform that has a Java virtual machine.
Named after the ship upon which Charles Darwin served as a naturalist, Beagle is a tool that aims to help developers gain a better understanding of the software evolution process. It provides a framework that allows users to query, visualize, and navigate through a system's history, and allows users to build a persistent, annotated models of how structural changes have impacted the design of the system.
Evolution Spectrograph
Spectrograph provides a metrics-based method to characterize the evolution of a spectrum of closely related components. There are five terms that need to be clarified in the spectrograph modelling of software evolution: time, spectrum, measurement, snapshot, and thread.
The time dimension denotes the whole or partial lifetime of a software system. Time can be measured in two ways. First, we can measure time in units of evolution events such as software versions and repository commits. Second, we can adopt fixed-length periods as time units such as months and years.
The spectrum dimension denotes a specific decomposition of the software system. A spectrum may appear in different forms. For example, a spectrum may contain a group of source files or subsystems based on the system structure or contain a group of program developers based on team organization.
The measurement dimension denotes a set of measured values for each component in the spectrum over each time unit. A variety of software metrics, such as Lines of Code (LOC), Fan In/Out of dependencies, and defect density can be used to measure software properties of interest.
A snapshot captures the evolution states of all the components in the spectrum at a particular time or during a particular period. An aggregation of all the measured values related to a snapshot can produce a single-valued measurement of the whole snapshot. For example, summing the number of lines of code of each source file yields a number for the whole system.
A thread characterizes the whole or partial evolution history of a specific component in the spectrum. An aggregation of all the measured values related to a thread can yield an overall characterization of the evolution of the corresponding component. For example, an aggregated value can be used to describe the most recency or the least recency by means of summing up measured values using a weighting function.
SWAG Kit
Swagkit is an architecture extraction and analysis toolkit developed by the Software Architecture Group at the University of Waterloo, comprised of the CPPX fact extractor, Grok fact manipulation engine and several fact manipulation scripts, and the LSEdit graph visualization software.
SWAGKit can be used to extract, abstract and present Software Architectures. Currently Swagkit supports the extraction of C/C++ code, the abstraction to the architectural level and the presentation in a Landscape form. Swagkit has been used to analyze and visualize many complex software systems, including the Linux operating system kernel and the VIM editor.
LDX/BFX Pipeline
The LDX/BFX family of pipelines has been developed by Jingwei Wu while working at SWAG. The two related pipelines are made up of the LDX/BFX fact extraction utilities (from which they get their names), the jGrok fact manipulation and query engine, and the LSEdit graph visualization software. These pipelines are interesting because unlike other fact extractors, they work besides the compiler and linker, not instead of them. This means that the facts are extracted as the software system is built. The build process produces both the executable program and the information about that program.
LDX/BFX pipelines have been used to analyze many large software systems, such as Gnumeric (a free spreadsheet program) and Mozilla (the free Internet browser).
Portable Bookshelf (PBS)
The Software Bookshelf is a web-based paradigm for the presentation and navigation of information representing large software systems. The Portable Bookshelf (PBS) is one implementation of this concept. The PBS Toolkit is our set of tools for the generation of a PBS Bookshelf.
The PBS toolkit is now retired; it, and the CFX extractor it is based on are no longer supported; please use SWAG Kit or the LDX/BFX pipeline instead.


While it is legal to build this building on this lot under current zoning (R2.5) it's worth noting that this is a double lot. The four-plex fits entirely on one half (a 50x100 lot) and only it's garage and backyard occupy the second lot. However, on a 5000sf lot, it would definitely be illegal to build this, since it would be twice the allowed density.
If zoning permitted, a second small building or a couple ADUs could potentially fit on the west half of the site, including converting the existing garage.
Note the corner condition. This works because the long side of the building faces the street, along the long side of the lot. This can only happen when the long side of a lot faces a street. It wouldn't work as well on a single lot mid-block.
Oddly enough, the building straddles a lot line rather than sitting on one half of the site. Imagine it rotated 90 degrees and sitting on the northern half. That's what I would do if I were building this, but somebody did it this way, for… reasons.


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Home London Life	Best Fictional Statues in The World
Best Fictional Statues in The World
by luxirare August 17, 2016
Traditionally statues were erected as a sign of royalty, wealth and power. Most cities around the world have at least one statue of an iconic citizen such as the Churchill figure in Parliament Square London.
All around the world you can see statues that are in honour or events such as the Statue of Liberty in New York. It is not just royalty, politicians and gods that get immortalised in stone. In fact in the last 50 years more and more artists are being commissioned to create more fictional characters into works of art to display on the streets of the world's biggest cities. Here are just a few of my favourites;
Alice in Wonderland – New York
Alice made her into way to Central Park in 1959. Sculpted by the hands of artist Jose de Creeft, philanthropist George Delacorte commissioned this bronze statue as a gift to the children of New York City. Inspired Lewis Carroll's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the sculpture was also intended as a tribute to his late wife, Margarita, who read the books to their children. Engraved around the statue are lines from his nonsensical albeit famous poem, The Jabberwocky.
Pikachu – New Orleans
In July, amidst the online gaming phenomenon that is "Pokemon:GO", an illegal statue of Pikachu was erected on a defunct fountain in the Garden District in New Orleans. Crafted from Fibreglass and painted to look like weathered bronze, Pikachu stands defiantly, a sign of the modern day times.
Superman – Metropolis
Sharing its namesake with the Man Of Steel's home city, Metropolis Illinois has been declared by DC Comics as the "official home of Superman". The world's hero stands proudly outside the town courthouse in his trademark red and blue. The local newspaper is also called "The Metropolis Planet" inspired by "The Daily Planet", the paper at which Clark Kent hides his secret identity.
Sherlock Holmes – Baker Street
The world's most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes fictional address was 221b Baker Street, London. Standing proudly outside Baker Street tube station, at over 9 feet tall, it's one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city.
Rocky Balboa – Philadelphia
At the bottom of the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of art, stands a monument to one of the most famous scenes in Hollywood history. Rocky Balboa's infamous climb to the very top of the staircase has gone down in history as the defining moment of the "Rocky" franchise. Having been moved to several nearby locations around the museum steps, including at the top for the filming of "Rocky III", it now stands proudly at the bottom, a constant reminder of the city's favourite adopted son.
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A Constant Visual Feast
"Andrew At The CInema"
Andy's Top 10
Beer Works
Review: Drive, 2011, dir. Nicolas Winding Refn
This entry was posted on September 24, 2011, in 2011 films, Movie Reviews, Reviews and tagged 2011 films, albert brooks, bryan cranston, car films, carey mulligan, christina hendricks, crime films, drive, nicolas winding refn, noir films, oscar isaac, ron perlman, ryan gosling, thriller films. Bookmark the permalink.	80 Comments
Drive is cool; there's no way around it. In point of fact I don't know if there's a better way to describe Nicolas Winding Refn's latest film other than in terms of its inherent, blatant coolness, or more accurately a more appropriate way. "Cool" is what Drive embodies in every single detail, minute or otherwise; it's art which concerns itself utterly with a veneer of detached stylishness, and indisputably that coolness flows through the film's veins and embeds itself at the base level of its cinematic DNA. But to treat Drive as a textbook case of style over substance is a blunder– an understandable blunder, maybe, but a blunder nonetheless.
"Cool" can be a somewhat nebulous term, of course, but used here it refers to not simply the film's slick exterior but also to the thematic stuff simmering beneath the hood (if you'll permit me to employ a car metaphor). Drive, with its car chases and jolting spurts violence, is all about what its characters keep locked away behind the images they project; maybe put more succinctly, it's about these people all losing their personal cool demeanor. Drive's proclivities toward surface coolness belie the film's very real interest on the substantive; for all of its emphasis on attitude and aesthetic, Drive's foremost concern is in its examination of its characters and its depiction of how they all eventually begin to unravel and relinquish their coolness.
Primarily, that study is made upon the Driver (Ryan Gosling), the epitome of cool in a film which itself epitomizes cool. He's a man of few words (in fact he barely speaks more than a couple dozen lines throughout the entire film), a hip-dressing mechanic with a stolid, collected manner who splits his time during the day working at a garage for Shannon (Bryan Cranston) and performing stunts on movie sets; by night, he serves as a getaway driver for crooks. The Driver runs a tight, regimented ship that's comprised of rigid provisions, but his discipline makes him the best at what he does, and it's a modus operandi that seems to translate to all other spheres of his life.
But of course this is a crime noir, and no matter how hard a noir hero tries he can't help but fall in love with a pretty face. Case in point, the Driver meets Irene (Carey Mulligan) and quickly breaks his habit of denying himself the pleasure of meaningful interaction; we're already aware of the sort of movie we're watching, so it's only natural that his connection to Irene ultimately lands him in a lot of hot water with a couple of mobsters, Bernie (Albert Brooks) and Nino (Ron Perlman), when he offers to help her ex-con husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac) pay off some prison debts by driving him to a job.
Drive is filled with mirrors– no smoke, just reflective surfaces, or more specifically reflective characters– and strives to shatter the projected personae of each of its characters. Considering how assertively the film is defined by its stylishness, Refn never rides on that characteristic to a cool-but-hollow finale; he instead takes a group of characters who can each be defined as categorical archetypes within crime and noir canon and subsequently breaks them down. Bernie and the Driver, for example, are both two sides of the same coin– smooth, composed, adept at playing with their cards close to their chests, but by the end of the film Refn has had them both tear down their images and visit brutal vengeance upon their various enemies. Put simply they give up on playing it cool. By the third act, there's no room for either of them to do so– they have no other options left.
I think to other directors, "cool" is important because it helps sell and carve out a niche for their movie. For Refn, "cool" matters because in his view anything that's so indescribably cool as Drive, or Drive's characters, is hiding part of itself away from the peering eyes of the world. Clearly Refn sought to mine each of his characters and unveil what each of them has tucked away inside themselves, and it's that synthesis of compelling stylization and outstanding character work that makes Drive so great. You will not see a film that so meticulously develops its principle and supporting players or is so hypnotically stylish in 2011 as this; it's the rare sort of picture that's having its cake and eating it without conveying airs of pretension or a more general contumeliousness in the process.
Refn pours all of that great character work into one of the year's most sterling casts, with a reinvented Ryan Gosling running at the head of the pack. Gosling oozes cool, but then the entire cast does too– even Albert Brooks. Brooks' Bernie Rose might even be cooler than Gosling's Driver in some ways, but that Refn managed to take a comedy writer and a former Mouseketeer and make them both so magnetically cool is a truly impressive feat. Even those who aren't fond of Gosling (such as myself) won't be able to deny him here; he's crafted a timeless character out of visceral, physical expression in the absence of bountiful dialogue, and every raised eyebrow, every smile, every movement serves a purpose. Brooks, by contrast, talks up something of a storm and gives his calculatingly ruthless heavy a warmth that makes his barbarism all the more shocking– especially since he almost never ceases to be congenial, even when he's fatally slashing someone with a hidden razor.
Meanwhile, Cranston continues the impressive streak he's been on since Breaking Bad first aired and Perlman digs his teeth into the scenery hamming things up as a wannabe made man. Interestingly, they both want the same thing– respect, or maybe something in life they can call their own– but being two totally different men they take drastically different measures to get what they're after. Nino's bid for legitimacy ends up spelling doom for everyone else, Shannon's doesn't actually involve hurting anyone. And of course there's Mulligan, the dame, a more loquacious character than the Driver but still not one for great speeches. Mulligan's an innocent bystander here, but she and Gosling have an undeniably smoldering, if subtle, chemistry with one another; she plays vulnerable well, but she's committed to her family and it's clear that she's torn between her unspoken attraction to the Driver and her devotion to Standard and their son. Her narrative with Gosling is a beautifully nuanced, impossible sort of love.
It also encapsulates the movie's most essential moment– a passionate kiss in a dimly lit elevator containing one of Nino's thugs. In a film where the characters stand behind the walls they've built up, the Driver's willingness to make himself vulnerable quietly speaks volumes. For all of its cinematic heritage and cool action and stylization, Drive most of all is about people stepping out from behind their emotional edifices and presenting themselves bluntly to others. It's an honest film, it's a harsh film, it's a lush and gorgeous film, and maybe it's Refn's best film to date.
80 thoughts on "Review: Drive, 2011, dir. Nicolas Winding Refn"
beckyzoom says:
Great review! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Glad you liked it Becky! Thanks for stopping by!
Brendon Najarian says:
Only wanna comment that you have a very nice internet site , I enjoy the style and design it actually stands out.
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mrrumsey says:
A very interesting review, I only got around to seeing Drive last night so I'm still chewing it over but it's nice to read some other people's thoughts on it.
Thanks, Rumsey. When you're done chewing, let me know what you thought of it. It's still Refn's best in my estimation.
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Burning Table Mountain: An Environmental History of Fire on the Cape Peninsula
In Burning Table Mountain the author tackles the environmental and social challenges of fire management on the wildland-urban interface of South Africa's Cape Peninsula, where a UNESCO World Heritage Site for Nature protects the unique fynbos vegetation and incorporates the iconic Table Mountain, and abuts the suburbs, townships and informal settlements of South Africa's parliamentary capital.
Category: Contemporary Africana
Title: Burning Table Mountain: An Environmental History of Fire on the Cape Peninsula
Author: Simon Pooley
Publisher: MacMillan, SA
Country of Origin: South Africa
Publication Year: 2015 (1st Edition)
In January 2000, two wildfires torched more than 8 000 ha of the Cape Peninsula, swept through the Table Mountain National Park, and burned houses and property. There were more than 120 fires in the region on that one 'fire-storm Sunday'.
The challenges faced in the Cape are shared by major cities and nature reserves in similar Mediterranean-type ecosystems in the USA, Australia and Mediterranean Europe. Wildfire has destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares and killed people in Greece, Australia and the United States. It has become a global, and a local, research and management challenge.
In Burning Table Mountain the author tackles the environmental and social challenges of fire management on the wildland-urban interface of South Africa's Cape Peninsula, where a UNESCO World Heritage Site for Nature protects the unique fynbos vegetation and incorporates the iconic Table Mountain, and abuts the suburbs, townships and informal settlements of South Africa's parliamentary capital. He combines narrative, the history of ecological science in the region and the role of fire in fynbos ecology, to provide the first integrated history of wildfire and its management on the Cape Peninsula. He reflects on the need to use a holistic approach to understanding the range and conjunctions of causes that conspire to cause large fires and increase fire incidence over time.
This book will demonstrate the contribution environmental history can make, through combining scientific and social approaches, to understanding past environments and managing the environment today. It is a seminal contribution to a neglected area of South African history, but also offers an important contribution to global histories of fire.
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Learn tips for creating your most beautiful home and garden ever.
Gardening Landscaping Lawn Care
Why and When You Should Aerate Your Lawn
Kelly Burke
Kelly Burke is a professional turf manager who is accredited in organic land care and a licensed pesticide applicator.
Reviewed by Kathleen Miller
Kathleen Miller is a highly-regarded Master Gardener and Horticulturist who shares her knowledge of sustainable living, organic gardening, farming, and landscape design. She founded Gaia's Farm and Gardens, a working sustainable permaculture farm, and writes for Gaia Grows, a local newspaper column. She has over 30 years of experience in gardening and sustainable farming.
Rachel Husband/Stockbyte/Getty Images
Aeration is a lawn care practice designed to create openings in lawn turf and the underlying soil structure in order to penetrate the root and thatch layer and allow essential water and air down into the soil where it can better reach the grassroots. The process is usually called "core aeration" after the practice of punching small plugs, or cores, into the lawn. Usually, the practice is done with a motorized machine that can be rented, though there are also hand tools that can be used and which may be practical on very small lawns. Lawn care companies also offer aeration among their repertoire of services.
The 8 Best Lawn Aerators of 2023
Why You Should Aerate
Aeration is the antidote to the heavily compacted soil, which may be present on a lawn that gets very heavy foot traffic, or which is planted on a soil base that is heavy in clay content. It rarely is necessary where soils are on the sandy side. Core aeration is sometimes advertised as a solution to problems with thatch; however, it does not do much to relieve that problem if thatch is already present. Where thatch is a genuine problem, a true dethatching operation is a better solution. However, dethatching is a fairly violent action to a lawn, and an annual core aeration may well prevent thatch problems in the first place.
If you have the type of soil and conditions that require lawn aeration, you can do it once each year. It does not hurt your lawn, and in fact, will make it healthier and more attractive. Some people dislike the look of the small plugs of soil and turf that are pulled up and scattered over the lawn, and if so, you can rake them up. Left on the lawn, though, they will quickly break up and decompose.
When to Aerate Your Lawn
Spring is not the ideal time to aerate the lawn, but circumstances may require it. If the soil is so compacted that existing grass can't grow, it may be necessary to aerate in the spring. Generally, though, spring aerating is discouraged because the aeration holes provide a perfect spot for weed seeds to germinate. Weeds seeds (especially crabgrass) are the first seeds to germinate in the spring, and aerating the lawn just stirs them up and gives them an ideal home.
If spring overseeding is the goal, slice seeding can be done, or seed can be sown and topdressed to provide adequate germination conditions.
Late spring aerating may be beneficial, however, if the ground is extremely compacted, or if there is excessively thin turf. Later in the spring is best, when weeds have established but before they flower and go to seed. This occurs around Memorial Day in many climates.
But the very best time to aerate is in the fall when the temperatures have cooled off, when the weed pressure is minimal, and when grass is actively growing.
Aerating Lawns. Clemson University Extension
When and How Do You Aerate Your Lawn?
How to Dethatch a Lawn and Why You Need To
How to Winterize Your Lawn to Keep It Healthy
8 Steps for Simple Spring Lawn Care
How to Get Rid of Brown Patch Grass Fungus
Tips for Growing a Lawn in Dry Conditions
All About Using Compost for the Lawn
The Benefits of Topdressing Your Lawn
How to Fix Patchy Grass and Bare Spots in Your Lawn
How to Rid Your Lawn of Crabgrass
Lawn Care Terms: Lawn Thatch
Core Aeration: What It Is and Why Do It
How to Care for the Lawn in Winter
Tips for Growing a Green Lawn
When to Reseed Your Lawn


The speed and endurance required in Quickstep dancing, make it arguably the most athletically demanding ballroom dance. For people with strong athletic endurance who want to dance to Big-Band Swing Jazz music, they should definitely check out the Quickstep.
Quickstep dancers maintain a close position embrace for the entirety of the dance and sprint across the dance floor in enthusiastic "chassés," syncopated runs, leaps and hops, occasionally spinning together and pausing in particular spots to perform Charleston-like kicking movements, before shooting off in a new direction.
The Quickstep is part of the International Standard group of ballroom dances. If you wish to learn it, seek out your local ballroom dance studios. Experiencing the Quickstep socially (away from your local ballroom dance studios) on a regular basis will likely be a challenge.


The UK's electronic spying agency has been using a spoof version of LinkedIn professional social network's website to target global roaming data exchange companies as well as senior management in the OPEC oil cartel, according to a Der Spiegel report.
The Government Communications Headquarters has implemented a technique known as Quantum Insert, placing its servers in strategic spots where they could intercept and redirect target traffic to a fake website faster than the legitimate service could respond.
A similar technique was used earlier this year to inject malware into the systems of BICS, a subsidiary of Belgian state-owned telecommunications company Belgacom, which is another major GRX provider.
In the Belgacom scandal first it was unclear where the attacks were coming from. Then documents from Snowden's collection revealed that the surveillance attack probably emanated from the British GCHQ – and that British intelligence had palmed off spyware on several Belgacom employees.
The Global Roaming Exchange (GRX) is a service which allows mobile data providers to exchange roaming traffic of their user with other providers. There are only a few dozen companies providing such services globally.
Now it turns out the GCHQ was also targeting networking, maintenance and security personnel of another two companies, Comfone and Mach, according to new leaks published in the German magazine by Laura Poitras, one of few journalists believed to have access to all documents stolen by Snowden from the NSA.
Through the Quantum Insert method, GCHQ has managed to infiltrate the systems of targeted Mach employees and successfully procured detailed knowledge of the company's communications infrastructure, business, and personal information of several important figures.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was yet another target of the Quantum Insert attack, according to the report. According to a leaked document, it was in 2010 that GCHQ managed to infiltrate the computers of nine OPEC employees. The spying agency reportedly succeeded in penetrating the operating space of the OPEC Secretary-General and also managed to spy the on Saudi Arabian OPEC governor, the report suggests.
The latest details of GCHQ's partnership with the NSA were revealed just last week, after the reports emerged that GCHQ was feeding the NSA with the internal information intercepted from Google and Yahoo's private networks.
The UK intelligence leaders have recently been questioned by British lawmakers about their agencies' close ties and cooperation with the NSA.
The head of GCHQ, Sir Ian Lobban, lashed out at the global media for the coverage of Edward Snowden's leaks, claiming it has made it "far harder" for years to come to search for "needles and fragments of needles" in "an enormous hay field" of the Internet.
However, the intelligence chiefs failed to address public fears that Britain's intelligence agencies are unaccountable and are operating outside the law.


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Lee Moyer
Illustration & Design – Ridiculous to Sublime
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2018 Year End Summary
Posted on December 31, 2018 by leemoyer
It was a pleasure to spend time with those of you we saw this year, and if we didn't have that opportunity, let's try again in the new year! As Lee is off social media and Venetia is limiting her time there, we are trying harder to connect in person, or via old-fashioned telephone calls.
As usual, we've compiled a variable but heartfelt summary of our entire year.
It moves in fits and starts. Some sections will be overlong, and others condensed to bullet points. And there will be links – because that's one of the the unique beauties of internet communication.
Please do not feel as though you must soak in it. Scan it, ignore it, or pore over it as suits. There will not be a quiz later.
We'd love to hear your thoughts, lists of your favorite films, TV shows, podcasts, et alia. But we like you no matter your approach to our strange annual catalogue of events!
Cheers to you!
Lee and Venetia
NOTE: Lee is writing a first-person noir detective novel set in 1915 San Francisco. While his book will be set in and around the Panama Pacific International Exposition, events as disparate as the onset of the War to End All Wars, the Japanese conquest of China, the US Invasion of Veracruz, the life of aviator Lincoln Beachey, the rise of the KKK, the Suffrage Movement, the move to Prohibition, the end of the Barbary Coast, and even US monetary Policy are all things he needs to know a great deal more about before he's done.
If any of you lovely people have expertise in any of these arenas, Lee would love to hear from you.
2018 Art Year in Review
• In January things were pretty calm. And cold.
Lee has been working with Andrew Kafoury for more than a year on Andrew's graphic novel No'Madd. In that time, significant progress has been made. Lee gives some details about the process here: Storytelling In Comics
• In February things picked up as they always do – thanks to the blessed arrival of Theatre Poster Season and Month of Love. This year's Month of Love challenges were color-coded, and Lee applied himself to the strange spectacle that came to the US as "The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers", because in a year so filled with hate, abuse, intolerance, and racism, sometimes one just needs something ridiculous….
• In March, at Emerald City Comic Con and Wondercon, Venetia had her first shows with the ladies of Badali Jewelry – proudly displaying the new rainbow NC (for Non-Compliant) necklace that Hillarie made her.
Lee has been trying to branch out from merely speaking on panels about art and Norwescon in Seattle kindly obliged. There, Lee spoke about Sherlock Holmes (amd recommended Kim Newman's audacious Angels of Music) to a room absolutely packed with fans of ratiocination and shipping*, and interviewed old friend (and this year's Artist Guest of Honor) Galen Dara.
Happily, we also brought home our favorite piece of hers from the art show!
Claire and Sam invited us to participate in their PowerPoint Party.
The rules were simple – you must speak about something you're passionate about and you must not go longer than three minutes.
If you do go longer (really when you go longer), you must drink a shot at minute 3, and another for each minute past 3.
Sam's presentation began with the creation of the earth and ended with the recycling of plastics! It started things off with a bang (and a lot of drinking as his presentation ran to 16 minutes) and gave us so much information in a short time. Astonishing!
Lee adapted his popular "Elements of Illustration" essay to this format, making sure that each element only got 1 slide, and trying to keep it as straightforward as possible.
But even then, his essay ran to almost 5 minutes and he had to throw back 2 drinks. Since he's never drunk liquor or taken a shot in his life, and even though the hosts allowed water to be substituted for hooch, this proved a challenge. But both the presentation and Lee's attendant drinking problems were positively received.
The other presentations were delightful – especially the one about the right and wrong ways of creating Miso.
• In April Lee left Facebook forever, and wrote a long (and admittedly profane essay) about its inexcusable evils. He hopes that those of you who don't know the extent of Facebook's abuses may learn more about them here.
Lee had a show of his Pin-Ups at As You Like It in Eugene, Oregon. This proved a wonderful chance to see those who came out to the show and to play a Murder Mystery game as an unscrupulous British Music Company rep trapped in Woodstock at the height of its folk-rock charm.
John and Emily Wenderoth's Wedding reception in Garibaldi was glorious – so many lovely people gathered at the finest house in town to celebrate their union with incredible food.
• In May we left Portland on a spring day so glorious that we questioned our long-planned journey just a little. In a kind act of nature, four irises (the maroon/gold ones and the purple/violet ones) bloomed just in time for our viewing pleasure the morning we left.
The drive was pleasant, though Venetia slept through most of it. The path through Eastern Oregon is always more surprising and varied than we remember: canyons and rivers and mysterious mountains appearing and then vanishing as we traveled East. Our impression of Boise was markedly different than it's been in the past. We got off the freeway (Venetia driving at this point to enjoy the 80 mph speed limit) and found ourselves immediately in a historic area where the streets were lined with leafy trees and grand houses. We continued up to our hosts house nestled in the northern hills. Sarah was Lee's first yoga teacher and one of the amazing people we are honored to have in our lives. She and her husband and German Shepherds Lux and Nora have a beautiful home and grilled us fresh veggies outside on their patio. It was absolutely lovely.
We got up early in the morning because even though Salt Lake City is only 4 hours from Boise by the freeway, Lee wanted to take a more interesting route. So at Mountain Home we took a decisive turn south to head straight down into Nevada (and strangely, back briefly into the Pacific timezone) crossing over the high mountains and into Owyhee and the Duck Valley Reservation.
The road south from there – over the pinnacles of the unfrequented pass – was breathtaking, some of the most beautiful land in the west. The whole trip we were utterly enthralled at how verdant and lush all of the land was. After a surf-themed lunch in Elko we turned east again and drove through the salt flats. The "graffiti" there was some of the best we've seen: words spelled out in rocks being both charming and a lot less environmentally damaging.
Eventually we rounded a bend and there was Salt Lake City. When we arrived at Hillarie's house there was much squeeing and hugging. We got a tour and then Venetia appropriated Hillarie's phone and we went out in search of food and Pokémon. We found both and delicious gelato to top it all off.
It seems we may have a new bucket list of visiting all the IKEA's in and out of the states. (Having also made it to an Ikea in Winnipeg, Canada and Brighton, England not to mention various ones in the states.) This particular expedition was in search of furniture for Hillarie's room and we drove home in triumph through a glorious lightning storm.
We spent another five days in Salt Lake City – finishing up Hillarie's room and getting the grand tour of the Badali workshop.
Sadly, Venetia proved highly allergic to pretty much every process involved in the making of jewelry, and her dreams of becoming a jeweler were crushed. We moved in with Janelle for another few days and helped her with her home renovations and the cleaning out of her remarkable closet (Fibber McGee had nothing on Janelle).
We bought The Good Place Season 2 so we could watch it with Janelle.
On a lovely windy day (the wind is important, we'll come back to that in a moment) we drove out to Antelope Island Park to see the sights. At the front gate we were confronted with a scary sign warning us that 1) it was "no-see-ums" seasons and 2) they were all out of face nets. Thankfully the day was windy enough that we never saw or felt any tiny biting bugs and instead got to hike up and around the island seeing birds and bison and fully enjoying ourselves.
We had an amazing barbecue lunch with Janelle in Ogden and then moseyed on to Lava Hot Springs. We took all the tiny country roads, enjoying the scenery and driving near but never quite under a huge thunderstorm that kept the day cool and breezy. The hot springs were just as good as we had remembered. Venetia tried all the different temperatures and finally found her place on the steps next to the 112 degree pool, going and in and out until she was in danger of passing out. Lee succeeded in securing greasy Thai food just as the nearby restaurant was closing. It proved to be exactly what the doctor ordered.
The first time Lee came through town, he was ten, and it was the lovely Sunken Gardens he remembers walking through. They are still there, but having been cleaved off from the pool complex, they are a little the worse for wear.
It was lunch time when we reached Idaho Falls. Unfortunately we were still in Mormon country and, on a Sunday, only national fast food establishments were open. We drove around downtown looking for somethign real and local when we spotted the beacon of an 'OPEN' sign at Diablas Kitchen. There were people inside and out and their food looked really good. We contemplated heading upstairs to sit down but the greeter suggested we sit at the bar where we could watch the food being made. And boy was that the best suggestion ever! Over the stove range was written "Tell us your food allergies." We did and they designed most amazing lunch for Lee – A bed of arugula with a raspberry compote, steak cooked rare with soft blueberry goat cheese on top. Venetia oredered the baked caramel waffles and stole many bites of Lee's lunch. We cannot recommend this place highly enough if you find yourself in Idaho Falls.
The next section of our journey was heading up to Yellowstone National Park through the West entrance. We arrived at the Old Faithful Lodge, checked in, and devoured a dinner of gluten-free bison spaghetti which we finished just in time to go outside and see Old Faithful erupt. We retired to our cabin pretty early, unexpectedly tired after such an idyllic day. The next morning we (as crossed the continental divide twice), we realized that even though the park is the crater of an ancient super-volcano, the overall elevation still really high.
Leaving Yellowstone we took the road we'd never driven before. This turned out to be the road-construction route. It was still fun and each full stop on the single-lane gravel road gave us the chance to roll down the windows and enjoy the new summer scenery. We exited through the North Entrance and drove on to Venetia's mom's house. There we found a collection of Hamilton's letters and writings which Lee read to Venetia and her mom (who knew nothing of this Hamilton musical we both so appreciate.) Hopefully she enjoyed the naughty innuendos in Hamilton's letters to John Laurens as much as we did.
The rest of the day was spent at Chico Hot Springs. We soaked and met people and went inside for sweet potato fries then back outside for more soaking. Venetia's friend Immanuela came out to have dinner with us and we invited her back to Portland (spoiler: she came a month later and had a great time!)
There are definitely ups and downs to Montana. On the plus side, Venetia's purse was returned, phone and cash intact, after she misplaced it while we had lunch with her friend Patrick. On the downside, we ran head-first into Bozeman barbarous culture of barbering. Lee got the worst haircut Venetia has ever seen and while Venetia did eventually get a hot towel shave, it was stupidly frustrating. Really Bozeman? Barbering is not rocket science!
We stayed in Bozeman with Joanne and Trevor and their adorable baby. As always, Lee immediately found some home-work he could do – in this case, pulling down unwanted trim. Venetia went out for an interview and then spent time with her sister Tara shopping for graphic novels. Monstress is Venetia's favorite graphic novel in case you were curious and you should definitely read it. We also met up with the owner of the charming local Country Bookshelf.
It turns out purchasing The Good Place Season 2 was a solid decision as we got to share it again, this time with Trevor and Joanne.
Then, as our hosts set off for Italy, we were off to the final leg of our trip: Missoula and Miscon! We've been hearing good things about Miscon for years from our friends, how friendly and comfortable and fun it is. We are pleased to report all of these things are true. One of the really delightful things is that because of the location and time of year, a portion of the convention is held outside. The hotel backs onto a park bordering the river and huge tents were set up and a roped off section allowed people to boff one another with foam swords and there was an aerial rig with performers and a VR trailer.
The convention kept Lee busy but we still had plenty of time to go out into the town, and on Saturday we enjoyed the outdoor market that was literally right next door along the river walk. We tried vegan cheese and gluten-free donuts and sampled lots of honeys. In honor of Lee's birthday, the convention made a delicious gluten-free chocolate cake.
Venetia's sister came up on Sunday and got a signed poster and comic by Rikki Simons, who is not just the the voice of Invader Zim's Gir, but happily for Lee, a huge fan of Starstruck. She also got to see Lee's Infamous Bad Book Cover Show, always worthwhile. Monday was the last day of the convention and after it was all over, Venetia found a matcha latte and sat by the river and wrote, while Lee hung out in the Green Room teaching his hosts how to play Cursed Court.
The next day we drove all day to get home and rewarded ourselves with cheap and delicious conveyer-belt sushi as a welcome contrast to that one time we ate ridiculously-expensive sushi in Montana.
• In June, the Laurelhurst Yard Sale provided more than its usual share of bounty (for us and for friends who'd shared their shopping lists with beforehand)- a solid oak desk, a Stickley chair, a metal bench, patio furniture, and – best (and least likely) of all – a new screen door. Probably really a very old screen door, but one that fit our front door perfectly (happily, Dan was visiting, napping at home, and amendable to being woken to measure our doorway. Thanks Dan! And thanks to Mary for loaning us her van – because almost nothing we bought fit well into our wee Honda).
Kevin came to attach the screen door properly and, much to our pleasure, also installed a proper stair rail to the attic after Venetia lovingly sanded down the cheese-grater texture of the stair walls. From there, the back steps got fixed, front steps and wide porch-beam replaced, the paint and the downspouts repaired, and the yard sorted out in wonderful ways. Elise and Jackie took the sad old plum tree in the back yard down, and planted a Pear and a Persimmon instead. And since there was so much to-ing and fro-ing in the basement, we decided to add finishing touches there as well – with 8 new overhead lights, trim, a new cabinet, new knobs and the removal of crumbling masonry. Paint is forthcoming, but we think it's safe to say his house hasn't been this safe or this well-appointed in decades. Nothing like kind and clever landlords (Thanks Aaron and Elise!) – we are so grateful and lucky to be here!
We visited with Rob and Lisa and their adorable new hound, Sammi Jo. Roo is missed, but Sammi Jo is a wonderful beast and we adore her.
From there we traveled to Jaym and Dylan's where we consulted and helped improve the living room, kitchen and main bathroom.
The next day we went to (and below) Snoqualmie Falls (site of Twin Peaks). Then on to Sultan Washington to visit client and friend Jim Tinney and his remarkable Kiss the Sky Books.
From there it was a short hop to visit Tynley, Sean, and the lovely Bean girls. Delicious food was shared, and games were played.
Venetia saw (and ordered) these lovely silver feather earrings from Dawn Wilson's Desert Talismans:
• In July, Lee got braces applied to his teeth. As he'd avoided them in youth, this was quite a novel notion for him. The novelty has since, of course, worn off, even as the braces seem ever more fixed. He hopes that another year should see them gone….
After years of anticipation, Lee had the great good fortune to re-team with Keith Baker on the new Eberron book. Given all the still-unrealized notions for Keith's remarkable world, he hopes that still more will be forthcoming in 2019.
• In August, we traveled (separately) to Indianapolis. Lee's visit started slowly, with a too-long incarceration at Kansas City's troubled airport.
Venetia worked the floor at Gencon, and Lee popped in from time to time in support of Atlas Games' Cursed Court. Lee stayed with his dear friend Katherine northeast of town – enjoying her hospitality, pinball, offspring, and food (especially the Ethiopian repast that ended their visit). He became with well acquainted with Katherine's local barbecue joint and ferried foodstuffs every day to Badali's crack troops pinned down on the front lines.
The day after GenCon, Lee joined the Badali crew on a trip to The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art. Given that we both grew up in actual western states, we would have called this a "midwestern" art museum, but myths of "The West" run deep….
A few days after we returned from the Midwest, we hosted Venetia's lovely sister Tara. We showed her about and the sisters spent some quality time together, as clearly shown here at PDX, Portland's superior airport:
The following day we travelled south to San Jose for the World Science Fiction Convention.
Months ago, when we were still planning this trip, Venetia made some calculations on money vs. pain. How much is it worth to alleviate a certain amount of pain? In this case, we decided that if we arrived early, the cost of a hotel room was worth more than the pain of avoiding a 5am flight the following day. We arrived in San Jose Thursday morning but by the time we checked in, and lugged a suitcase full of art through the midday heat, and then changed hotels the next day… we decided that for future similar endeavors, it's worth the money to avoid the pain.
The fulcrum of the convention for us was Lee's set of 4 panels on Creating a Book Cover. In front of a live audience, over the course of 4 days, he and author Elliott Kay, guest editor Heather McDougal, and photographer Richard Mann walked through the basic steps of creating a book cover from initial consultation to reference photoshoot to painting in front of a live audience to the final critique and line design. Elliott's book is called Wandering Monsters, and you can find the cover here.
Venetia by contrast had no specific schedule and spent much of the convention meeting amazing people and going to parties and re-reading all of In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan again. We were surprised and delighted by talented artists who came north (and in a couple cases, west) from The Mexicanx Initiative: Tehani Farr, Dianita Ceron, and Lauren Raye Snow.
After the convention, we visited the Body Worlds exhibit and Lee test drove an exciting new program from Adobe that mimics oil paints. While they have no plans to release it to the public anytime soon, Lee will buy it the moment they do. We then headed north to see (and stay with) our friends Tanya and Chadwick, whereupon we promptly collapsed on their couch for a few days, binge watching The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and entertaining their new kitten Alexia.
Even though she was small enough to smuggle away in Venetia's purse, Lee kept a stern eye out and the terrible crime of kitten-napping was forestalled (though, through our efforts, there was much actual kitten napping.)
Our dear friend Rina Wiseman took us on an intensive and magical tour of San Francisco, starting at the remarkable vegan restaurant Gracias Madre. There we had the best strawberry cheesecake ever, gluten and dairy free and tasting like some kind of heavenly ice cream. Our trip included Mission Dolores, the oldest cemetery still in San Francisco, and the Columbarium another palace of the dead. But it wasn't all about dead people, there were the picturesque remains of the Sutro Baths and the tunnels thereby.
Then we continued on to the Palace of Fine Arts and finally, near to the old Anchor steam Brewery, the magnificent bookshelves of Tachyon Press. The tour was amazing!
The next day we had a delightful lunch with the lovely people at the Stoller Design Group in Oakland, then flew off to Albuquerque, New Mexico and our second Bubonicon in three years. Venetia was reminded at the pre-convention party how much she enjoys New Mexico's green chilies and we got a tour of Patricia Roger's amazing home and talked about the new additions to her collection since last we'd visited.
Lee was the Toastmaster at Bubonicon 50 and enjoyed his duties thoroughly – from providing the back cover of the program, touring people through the art show, sharing panels, and speaking. Beloved author Victor Milan had hosted the costume call for years, but after his too-early death, the convention organizers asked Lee to emcee in his place – an honor, but a sad one. He shared terrific conversations with authors Walter Jon Williams, Ian Tregillis and TED organizer Gordon Garb. He also had the great good fortune to handle the amazing original pulp artwork that Patricia brought in on the last day of the show – an Edd Cartier piece featuring an enormous black cat, and a heretofore unrecognized Virgil Finlay (an illustration for the first printing of Curt Siodmak's classic 'Donovan's Brain') and other pieces pulled unloved and ignored from a collector's attic.
Venetia moderated her first panel on books for young readers. The art show was as every absolutely amazing and full of beautiful art. Peri Charlifu's gorgeous celadon glaze was again a highlight and we were tempted by all of his things. The delightful Eric Velhagen
was this year's artist guest and given his work's popularity, we were especially glad we had secured a piece of his last time we were in town.
Highlights of Bubonicon include late night auctions which Lee helped auctioneer. As usual, we kept a sharp eye out for values – including ARCs** of a couple Zelazny books with notes from author Fred Saberhagen. Lee enjoyed selling L. Ron Hubbard's first Science Fiction story about "Scientology" to fellow-auctioneer Gordon Garb, and Venetia especially enjoyed bidding up personal Tuckerization*** in Mary Robinette Kowal's newest novel. Quite a lot of fun for, and all for charity!
• In September, after an emergency photoshoot to get Venetia some new branding via Roger Circle23 and Amy of BeeGirlMetal, we were bound for Dallas, Texas.
Once we arrived, we rented a car and drove through miles of mini-mansions proudly displaying their belief in the loathsome Ted Cruz to the oasis of sanity that is Chez Dutton. After a tour of their new (to us at least) house, we headed out for good Mexican food, did a little grocery shopping, and watched movies – Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and The Assassination Bureau– before getting into Art Directing their living room. It's an amazing house, and Grey's colossal French Lost Boys poster finally has the display it so richly deserves.
From there – seeking adventure – we drove to Austin in truly terrible weather on the truly terrible road through Waco (thinking of the Indelicates as we drove). After a day of sight-seeing, we met up with the talented Lauren Brown for dinner. The sushi was delicious and the conversation better. Though the roads were still dreadful, the sky on trip back to Dallas was clearer, and we could see the light pollution of Ft. Worth and Dallas from dozens of miles off….
After a lovely breakfast Dianita and a short goodbye to Grey, we again hit the trail – this time to Heather and Eric's in Houston. There we at last met Beaker – their Bengal Cat. Lee was surprised to find this unusual cat so delightful, and eventually came to the conclusion that (maybe due to his less-domesticated genes), Beaker was more like a dog than a cat. We played with him endlessly and he seemed to enjoy it as much (or more) than we did. Their gorgeous downtown condo is filled with art (which Lee of course helped curate a bit). And Heather introduced Venetia to Mr. Sunshine – an amazing Korean drama about a crucial period in that country's fascinating colonialist history.
The next day we headed to the hotel and met up with our fellow writers as anticipation built for the Writing Excuses Cruise which would set sail the following day.
Last year we had enjoyed the cruise of the Baltic, but mostly as a convenient taxi service, taking us to almost all the spots we wanted to gather knowledge and reference – from Copenhagen to Tallinn – and if some education about writing took hold, so much the better. But this year, Lee is writing a novel and Venetia short stories, so the cruise was far more about the writing. Lee boarded the ship with 11,000 words written. The excellent critique group that Mary Robinette Kowal led buried his prologue justly (if unceremoniously) at sea. Even so, he left the cruise with some 24,000 words written (among the top 10 wordcounts of his fellows).
Venetia's group was led by the amazing Amal ElMohtar. Sadly, the xenophobic nonsense perpetrated by today's racist GOP caused her (and her lovely mother) serious grief. But happily for Venetia, she led an amazing session that included the remarkable Erin Roberts. Their incisive critique left Venetia hopeful.
After three days at sea, the ship stopped at Roatan, an island off the northern coast of Honduras. From there we traveled a short distance via smaller boat to a private reserve where Venetia swam on a pristine beach, and was joyfully clambered over by tiny monkeys. Lee took a brief tour of the reserve before returning to the ship to write.
The next stop was Belize City, where we journeyed by tender, by bus, and then by speedboat up the mighty Belize River to the ruins at Lamani "Sunken Crocodile". We saw no crocodiles, but there were mosquitos, giant grasshoppers, and howler monkeys. In the middle of a giant meadow, Venetia held out her hand like a falconer and a giant grasshopper landed as though it had been trained to do so. Lee climbed the tall pyramid in the rain – falling once in the silica-rich mud (so slippery!)
The ruins were amazing, and the history of Belize, (formerly British Honduras) devastating. The idea that the British took possession of it for its wood and left none… well, that's colonialism. We were glad we could share some of our tourist dollars with them.
The last stop at sea was Cozumel – a lovely island off the eastern coast of Mexico south of Cancun. Venetia got a little sun while she snorkeled. Lee got less sun because after a brief spin (the reason he is clean-shaven is that he learned years ago on the Great Barrier Reef that mustaches and snorkeling are a poor combination) he stayed on the boat above the Starfish sanctuary and wrote.
• In October, the HP Lovecraft Film Festival saw Lee win the Pickman's Apprentice contest amid fierce competition. Historically, this live-drawing event can be…. ghoulish, but this year was unusually fuzzy as it involved a kitten and a zoog meeting in a Tiki Bar. It was created in front of an audience in 90 minutes and auctioned for charity.
The Month of Fear gave Lee a reason to create a rare animation, to paint homages to Metropolis and Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show; and to express his dismay at Russia's ongoing cyberwar on Democracy and the GOP's ongoing exploitation of this country's grotesque racism and exceptionalism.
• In November, Laura (just one of our talented belly-dancer friends from Winnipeg) made her return appearance for Rachel Brice's master class. She graduated with compliments and flying colors and it was delightful to host her. We look forward to seeing her (and the rest of our friends in Winnipeg) when Lee guests at Keycon over his birthday weekend next year.
Ambercon was delightful as ever, and this year's shirt design went over very well indeed. And while Lee stayed for all seven games, Venetia and Hillarie headed north to meet up with old pals and go to a party.
After the unseemly (and unsafe) demise of our microwave, we got something the kitchen has long needed: A Good Stove!! (And a far better microwave.) This allowed us not to just to rearrange, clean, and polish the kitchen, but it ensured the ability for Jaym to work her Thanksgiving cooking magic.
• In December, Venetia started working full time at Powell's City of Books in the fast-paced Rose Room i.e. where all the tiny children run around and all the parents need to know what book to buy a 12 year old who hates reading. Thanks to Lee's amazing client Drew, we visited the Allison Spa and spent a delightful weekend soaking in hot tubs and reading by the fire.
While Venetia toiled at Powell's on Christmas Day (more fun than you'd think), Lee and his mom traveled west to his brother and sister-in-law's riverside home. It was gorgeous and well-stocked with wonderful food, pets and presents as one could ever hope. Few things could have surprised Lee more than finding himself on the floor of the kitchen having been ambushed by an open cabinet door as he sought tupperware to Venetia her Christmas meal. Happily, he has recovered swiftly and looks forward to showing off his scar.
Game Nights with Jonathan Liu, Puzzle-construction with Mary, Game Days with Lee and Melissa, Dinners with Anneke, brunch with Alberto, Writing with Gregory, sharing Mystery Box shows with the lovely Stella, and Venetia securing a signature and original drawing for Lee from the amazing Claire Wendling, who was signing books near her at Wondercon in Anaheim.
Lee was delighted to create portraits of Penda and Aethelflaed for The British History Podcast.
One of the greatest things about this sort of work is getting to study (in this case, listen to) the subject. Lee recommends this podcast about the distant past as a window into the present – because exploitation, tribalism, and the challenges of progress are sadly eternal. Indeed the best podcasts of the year told us new things and allowed us to understand things that our own limited vantage points would otherwise never allow us to see; we recommend them very highly indeed.
Code Switch is possibly the best, most important podcast we've yet encountered. But just because its about the constructs of race and identity doesn't mean it's not also delightful. Some episodes can be hard to listen to (the trickle-down and hurricane abuses of Puerto Rico leap to mind), but there are amazing people doing good work (even in the same episode about Puerto Rico), and we think it's important to understand this multifaceted and sometimes-thorny subject.
Invisibilia is pretty breathtaking – it fuses narrative storytelling with science, and it may allow you to view your own life differently.
The Memory Palace is a storytelling podcast about the past, conjuring forgotten moments. The episodes are small, but their impact isn't. The show can make your morning walk, your coffee break, or your commute break your heart and blow your mind.
This Movie Changed Me offers an unexpected take on pop culture, transporting listeners inside the world of movies by celebrating our intimate relationships with them. It's not a movie review podcast; it's a conversation.
99% Invisible is about all the thought that goes into the things we don't think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world.
But Podcasts aren't all learning and personal growth. Some are just good fun. In Lee's case that most often means:
The Allusionist is a podcast about language.
Imaginary Worlds is a podcast about genre narratives and our attachment to them.
Pop Culture Happy Hour is a delightful tour of the latest movies, television, books, comics and music which we might not encounter otherwise. Glen Weldon's taxonomies are a particular favorite.
You Must Remember This revels in the secret and forgotten histories of Hollywood's first century. Learning about the business of show, and the extreme levels of abuse the puritanism, has been astonishing.
Filmspotting is a recent discovery for Lee. It is sometimes informative, but often hilarious to hear critics talk about the art of filmmaking.
Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men, because it's about time someone did.
Lee enjoyed two Movie Nights with Molly – the first Paul Thomas Anderson's adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's unhinged Inherent Vice. The second, Sarah Polley's remarkable documentary The Stories We Tell.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is an anthology of seemingly unrelated tales. It seems like the perfect venue for the Coen Brothers. Where something like The Big Lebowski seems inscrutable and untenable on first viewing, it's partly the format – as we know that the proceedings will take a certain amount of time. And if it's hard to get on board immediately…. well, it can be a challenge. We find second viewings to be almost always be better than the first. But an anthology can present a sentence ("Near Algodones"), a tale ("The Gal Who Got Rattled"), and a story ("The Mortal Remains") side by side, and the fact that they've labelled each of these with the word I've just applied suggests full intent. Even if the current tale vexes you, a little patience will serve you well, and it goes from the ridiculous to the sublime, with a spot in the middle of the six tales ("Meal Ticket") so dark that, had it ended there, I'd scarcely be able to think of it with anything but a shudder (despite it's obvious satire and nod to the Warner Brothers' classic "One Froggy Evening".) Until now, Big Trouble in Little China's Jack Burton seemed the ultimate expression of American "heroism", but Buster Scruggs takes that title walking (or flying) away.
Beyond to the aforementioned The Good Place, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, and Mr. Sunshine (each of which features surprising and engulfing world-building), Steven Universe is the strangest little cartoon we know. And after more than 150 short episodes, possibly the richest.
Dramaworld, which loves the cinema of Master's Sun and Mr. Sunshine even as it sends it up.
Homecoming King by Hasan Minhaj was a delight. And this video lead in to his Netflix show Patriot Act made us laugh.
Nanette by Hannah Gadsby has been written about so often there's a guide to the essays in the NY Times.
We enjoyed John Mulaney in everything we saw this year: Kid Gorgeous, The Comeback Kid, Big Mouth, and even that bizarre Les Miz parody set in a NY diner
We both enjoyed Black Panther and Spiderman: Homecoming but only Lee went with Tempest's posse to see Avengers: Infinity War. Venetia may consider it when it's sequel undoes some of the carnage. For now, she is happy living in the world that Black Panther promises.
Jason Webley & Amanda Palmer
Venetia's Favorite Novel of 2018:The Poppy Warby R.F. Kuang
Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart
Nightbooks by J.A. White
The Pros of Cons by Alison Cherry, Lindsay Ribar, and Michelle Schusterman
Like Never and Always by our friend Ann Aguirre (who we got to see briefly on her trip to Portland this year with her daughter!).
Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons (comes out in 2019)
Houseguests included: Tara, Jonathan, Dan, Immanuela, Jaym, Dylan, Carrie, Dan, William, Kasey, Sienna, Gabriel, Michael, Katie, PJ, Laura, Hillarie, and Brittany
Where to Find Us in 2019
Venetia's Badali Convention Schedule:
ECCC in Seattle March 14-17
Wondercon in Anaheim March 29-31
SDCC in San Diego July 17-21
GenCon in Indianapolis August 1-4
Norwescon in Seattle April 18-21
Guest of Honor at KeyCon in Winnipeg, Canada May 17-19
Lee & Venetia:
WorldCon in Dublin, Ireland August 15-18
* Shipping is a term used to describe the action of wishing for two people to enter a relationship (whether romantic, sexual or, very occasionally, platonic) in books, movies, tv shows or real life. There are some very popular ships, some unpopular, as well as often lots of controversy between ships from the same fandom.
**ARCs began as an acronym for "Advance Review Copy" – these ARCs were given to people in the media industry so they would have time to review, reference, promote, and/or provide blurbs for the book ahead of its public release and are the intermediary version between the author's manuscript and the final, finished book. But as time has gone on (and social media has become ever more important to the selling of books) the second type of ARC – the "Advance Readers Copy" has arisen. Sometimes it is all-but-final, with finished cover and blurbs in place. At other times, ARCs are clearly still works in progress – replete with typos, missing illustrations and truly boring covers. That said, we love both kinds of ARCs, and several of our friends collect them avidly.
*** Tuckerization (or Tuckerism) is the act of using a person's name (and sometimes other characteristics) in an original story as an in-joke. The term is derived from Wilson Tucker, a pioneering American science fiction writer, fan and fanzine editor, who made a practice of using his friends' names for minor characters in his stories. For example, Tucker named a character after Lee Hoffman in his novel The Long Loud Silence, and after Walt Willis in Wild Talent.
This entry was posted in Year End Recap and tagged Badali Jewelry, British History Podcast, Bubonicon, Cursed Court, Desert Talismans, Eberron, Elements of Illustration, Galen Dara, Gencon, Kiss the Sky, Miscon, Pinups, Powell's City of Books, Tachyon Publication, The Good Place, The Poppy War, Writing Excuses Cruise by leemoyer. Bookmark the permalink.
About leemoyer
Lee Moyer creates original artwork, branding and design. His clientele includes: Film: 6 Laurel & Hardy classics, The Call of Cthulhu and Spiderman 2 Theater: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen King and Stephen Sondheim Music: Andre 3000, Tori Amos and John Mellencamp Book: Raymond Chandler, Iain Banks, and HP Lovecraft Web: BET, CareerBuilder and Paramount Pictures Game: Electronic Arts, Hasbro and Sony Education: McGraw-Hill, The National Zoo, and the Smithsonian Institution His work has been featured in Communication Arts, The Society of Illustrators, and the New York Times. www.leemoyer.com
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When you need professional logo design tips, you often turn to design-savvy companies waiting to rip you off your hard-earned money. They tend to manipulate your desire to be a professional in the corporate world and exploit your weaknesses. This is how they are able to make a good fortune out of you. Luckily, for you, this blog will help identify the Custom logo design tips that will ease your troubles and give you a better understanding about designing your professional logos.
Keep your design and pattern understandable as well as visible from a distance. This can be achieved by keeping your logo simplified with a lot of white space. To test it out, print your design on different backgrounds and see them from a distance. If they are visible enough then good, otherwise make changes.
If you want your logo to be effective, always try to align it with your line of business. It makes a greater impact on the audience and portrays your industry as well. For example, if you are into food business such as a fast food restaurant, having a burger on your logo would be an effective method to display your industry. It might even help spark hunger in some of the audience and increase your business.
Many successful companies like Coca-Cola, HP, Hyundai, and KIA use either their name or the initials in their logos. This helps in reaching out to their customers and making a dominant presence in the market. Try to incorporate some part of your business name as well to increase effectiveness of brand image.


Today, the Nevada State Democratic Party released its proposed 2020 Delegate Selection Plan outlining changes to Nevada's caucus process. The State Party is dedicated to creating a Delegate Selection Plan tailored to Nevada that represents our Democratic Community. By creating an in-person early voting period and offering a method for absentee voters to participate, the 2020 caucus process will be more accessible and open.
The plan is now available online for public comment. It will be submitted to the Democratic National Committee on May 3, 2019.


text:
AKA the "10 Commandments of Detective Fiction"
By Monsignor Ronald A. Knox
preface to Best Detective Stories of 1928-29
The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow.
All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.
Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.
No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.
No Chinaman must figure in the story.
No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.
The detective must not himself commit the crime.
The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced for the inspection of the reader.
The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind; his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.
Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.
Ronald A. Knox
Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (17 February 1888 – 24 August 1957) was an English Catholic priest, theologian and author of detective stories. He was also a writer and a regular broadcaster for BBC Radio.
Knox belonged to the Detection Club, a society peopled by such legendary mystery writers as Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, G. K. Chesterson, and E. C. Bentley. Among his novels: The Viaduct Murder, Double Cross Purposes, Still Dead.