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The pleasures of transgression
Posted on June 8, 2016 November 18, 2020 by Kenneth George Godwin
Ewa Aulin on display in coy good taste in Christian Marquand's Candy (1968)
Roughly speaking, the chief difference between experimental film and underground film is a matter of technique in the first and content in the second. Of course, there are countless possibilities for combining the two, but experimental film is most often concerned with exploring the ways in which film as a medium can be manipulated, using the qualities of light and colour, the juxtaposition of visual and aural elements. At its purist, experimental film comes closer to visual rather than dramatic or narrative art.
Underground film, although it may explore the plastic qualities of the medium, tends towards the use – and frequently the subversion – of film's narrative qualities, offering to show an audience what is generally forbidden by the mainstream. But more than the subversion of narrative form, underground film attacks social norms in ways which the commercial industry is usually too timid to attempt. Hence the polymorphously perverse assaults on good taste perpetrated by John Waters and his star Divine.
During the '60s and '70s, as the long-standing controls of industry censorship were weakened by the decline of the studios, the mainstream flirted with underground sensibilities. The Oscar-winning Midnight Cowboy (1969), for instance, brought to commercial screens the kind of gender and sexuality issues Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey had been exploring in their work. Based on James Leo Herlihy's novel about a naive small town boy who arrives in New York City and ends up a hustler, John Schlesinger's film combines an extremely grimy image of the big city with some flashy camera and editing techniques which occasionally get in the way of the deep emotional resonance established between Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman; but perhaps those techniques were deemed necessary to make palatable to a mainstream audience what was essentially a potent love story between two damaged men.
Just the year before, with more traditional polish but less conceptual and dramatic success, a French actor directed an adaptation of an openly pornographic satirical novel which featured a surprisingly high profile cast.
Richard Burton as improbable poet superstar MacPhisto
Candy (Christian Marquand, 1969)
The novel Candy, written by Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg in the late '50s, is a loose modern variation on Candide, describing the adventures of a naive high school girl named Candy Christian (Ewa Aulin, pretty but vacuous) who inadvertently provokes lust in every man she meets, while paradoxically retaining her own wide-eyed innocence. As adapted by Buck Henry, the story retains its episodic nature built around satirical depictions of various institutions – education, medicine, religion and so on – all of which are reduced to absurdity by their male representatives' inability not to be reduced to rutting animals by Candy's presence.
The cast is impressive: Richard Burton as the pretentious poet MacPhisto, Marlon Brando as the guru Grindl, James Coburn and John Huston as doctors, Walter Matthau as a demented general, John Astin in a dual role as Candy's father and uncle, Charles Aznavour as a hunchback, Ringo Starr rather embarrassingly as a Mexican gardener, with Elsa Martinelli, Anita Pallenberg and Sugar Ray Robinson in minor roles. This cast gives the film something of the chaotic, shapeless feel of multi-star extravaganzas like Casino Royale (1967), but the photography of Giuseppe Rotunno gives it an impressive visual sheen which is continuously at odds with the supposedly transgressive content.
Marlon Brando as phony guru Grindl
The main problem with the film, despite some effective sequences, is its reluctance to give in to the novel's essentially pornographic purposes. Although the central theme is the ways in which all these patriarchal authorities use and abuse the innocent Candy, it remains stubbornly coy about the sex, falling back continuously on what are largely unfunny comedic elements. The film is visually quite elegant, but completely unerotic. In fact, that elegance is part of the problem; it needs to be grimier and more offensive for the satire to work at all.
The Kino Blu-ray looks gorgeous and features an engaging interview with scriptwriter Buck Henry, who is quite open about his intentions and the failure of Marquand to breathe much life into the material. A brief interview with critic Kim Morgan is less convincing in its attempt to establish Candy as a "timeless" classic.
Marion Eaton as sexually frustrated widow Gert Hammond in Curt McDowell's Thundercrack! (1975)
Thundercrack! (Curt McDowell, 1975)
The charge of being insufficiently grimy and offensive certainly can't be laid against Curt McDowell's Thundercrack! Made on virtually no budget yet on an almost epic scale, scripted by George Kuchar and shot by McDowell himself in atmospheric black-and-white, this 160-minute movie grafts unapologetically pornographic activity onto a lively pastiche of old-dark-house horror movies. On a stormy night, various travelers find themselves in the remote, labyrinthine house of widow Gert Hammond (Marion Eaton, an actress who ended her career with small roles in three of Dan Ireland's features). This disparate group proceed to spend the night engaging in various sexual combinations, hetero-, homo-, lesbian – and finally bestial, as Bing (writer Kuchar) gives in to his passionate feelings for a gorilla.
Interestingly, Kuchar wrote the script to express his feelings about just how awful it is to be enslaved to sexual desire, while McDowell directed the film as an expression of polymorphous sexuality as a kind of liberation. Despite the film's length, it never feels long and surprisingly the graphic sex doesn't have the emotional numbness of so much blatant pornography, but rather has a tone of affectionate sweetness.
One of George Kuchar's optical effects
Synapse Films' 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition comes not only with an impressive transfer made from the one existing uncut 16mm print, but is loaded with a rich selection of special features which not only situate it in the context of its underground moment but also conveys an engaging portrait of McDowell as a pioneering gay filmmaker. (Apparently only five prints were ever made, with three of them being chopped up by the producers and others, while the fifth was seized by Canadian customs.)
On the main disk, there's an 85-minute conversation (audio only) with McDowell recorded in 1972, before the production of Thundercrack!, while he was still at film school. He comes across as very self-aware about both his intentions and his limitations as a filmmaker, particularly as they relate to an exploration of his own sexuality through film.
The Blu-ray also contains the full-length documentary It Came From Kuchar (1:26:25, 2009) directed by Jennifer M. Kroot. This covers the underground film careers of the Kuchar twins, George and Mike, their own productions and collaborations with others, as well George's work as a film teacher. Packed with admiring interviews with a wide range filmmakers who cover the spectrum from outrageous to mainstream, the documentary places the brothers at the centre of a transgressive movement which ransacked established genres and commercial tropes for subversive and satirical purposes.
George Kuchar as Bing, seemingly sad at the orgy
There is also a second disk, on DVD, which contains five of McDowell's short films, again combining sex with provocative humour – one is even a colour musical. There's a brief piece with star Marion Eaton recalling the experience of working on the film; she also appears with McDowell on a cable access talk show from 1976, with the pair promoting Thundercrack! McDowell is as engaging here as in the audio interview, displaying a very clear sense of the difference between what he was doing and more "mainstream" pornography; Eaton is unselfconscious about the demands of playing explicitly erotic scenes.
There's also an interview with composer/sound effects editor Mark Ellinger about his creative role in the production; some behind-the-scenes footage and outtakes from the sex scenes; and an extensive selection of audition footage in which each performer is asked to strip for the camera, some being obviously uncomfortable, while others take it in stride.
Considering that before this release I had never even heard of McDowell and his underground epic, this Synapse release has provided a crash course in yet another obscure facet of movie history. While I admit to feeling a bit self-consciously disreputable for owning up to watching Thundercrack!, I'm also pleased to have it in my collection. This is what I appreciate about genuine underground films: being made aware of areas of experience not generally accessible in day-to-day life, but with a kind of pleasurable frisson at violating boundaries that comes with that exposure.
Kuchar Footnote
George Kuchar as Martin, caretaker of the Welcome Apartments in Rufus Butler Seder's Screamplay (1985)
After watching Thundercrack! and the accompanying documentary about the Kuchar twins, I went looking for some of their other work. The out-of-print DVD of Sins of the Fleshapoids proved prohibitively expensive from various on-line sellers, but I did come across a previously unheard of title which was reasonably priced, so I took a chance.
Rufus Butler Seder's Screamplay (1985) pretty much defines the term "independent", though its good-natured play with familiar genre tropes perhaps disqualifies it from being "underground". Rather, it's a lovingly hand-crafted homage/parody of Hollywood B-grade "murder movies". The closest thing I can think of that it resembles is John Paizs' Crime Wave, also made in 1985 and also centred on a struggling screenwriter whose attempts to complete a crime movie script unwittingly draw him into a series of real crimes.
Screenwriter Edgar Allen (Rufus B. Seder), overshadowed by his own imagination
While both films' have various structural problems, their affectionately crafted old-school effects – matte-paintings, in camera compositing, and so on – display a genuine love of film's visual possibilities. In Seder's film, this involves some wonderful image-making using a combination of home-made front projection (the system was built by Seder's father), which at times produces an almost Lynchian sense of unreality, and very effective in-camera compositing which allows Seder to expand his threadbare sets in witty ways. The multilevel apartment courtyard was created by running the black-and-white reversal film through the camera multiple times, adding the balcony levels progressively with each pass.
As in Thundercrack!, while the performances may not seem like traditional "good acting", they have an interesting naturalness which is entirely in keeping with the film's overall tone – again, somewhat similar to the stylized performances which fit so perfectly into David Lynch's imaginative world. Seder himself plays protagonist Edgar Allen, who arrives in Hollywood with little more than his typewriter, takes up residence in the Welcome Apartments as a part-time handyman, and finds that "real life" begins to echo scenes from his serial killer script (or is the script provoking events in reality?). Seder's performance emulates a certain kind of wide-eyed silent-film exaggeration, while others in the cast play it straighter, more like the inhabitants of an old noir B-movie – these include ageing starlet Nina Ray (M. Lynda Robinson), ingenue Holly (Katy Bolger), police sergeant Joe Blatz (George Cordeiro), hustling failed agent Al Weiner (Seder's father Eugene), and (the reason for bringing this up at all) George Kuchar as the somewhat obnoxious, frustrated romantic caretaker Martin.
Katy Bolger as Holly, hopeful actress and romantic lead
Seder's enthusiasm as director and star render the weaknesses of the script he co-wrote with Ed Greenberg relatively unimportant. Screamplay succeeds very well in establishing its own little world, packed with visual, and at times verbal, wit. In fact, despite having no idea what I would be in for (and with expectations somewhat lowered because the DVD was released by Troma, a company whose output is generally amateurish, incompetent and unwatchable), I was pleasantly surprised to find it one of the most entertaining movies I've seen in some time.
The disk contains the usual Troma extras which allow Lloyd Kaufman to mug and boast, and an extraneous brief interview with old Hollywood hand Vincent Sherman (whose 1941 anti-Nazi movie Underground was strangely also released on disk by Troma). But the most pertinent extra is a commentary by Seder, in which he alternates between interesting observations about the techniques he used to create the film and honest evaluations of its shortcomings, at least by conventional industry standards. This track is a bit spotty, with long silences, and would have benefited from a moderator who could have prodded the director to elaborate on some of the more interesting points he just skims over.
The transfer itself looks surprisingly good for something shot on 16mm reversal stock.
This entry was posted in Commentary, Review and tagged Actors, Adaptation, Blu-Ray, Comedy, Directors, Satire, Sexuality, Underground Film. Bookmark the permalink.
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Low speed transportation is more energy efficient than high speed transportation in general. Ships with lower design speeds provide possibilities for using auxiliary wind propulsion devices to further reduce energy consumption. The kite is one type of auxiliary wind propulsion device that can be used for this purpose. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of auxiliary kite propulsion on the performance of a panamax tanker, specifically on engine power reduction, course-keeping ability in different headings and on pitch and roll motion of the ship. The study is carried out by computer based simulations. Scenario combinations are established for various ship speeds, headings and weather conditions. For the purpose of simulation, a simplified auxiliary kite propulsion model is built and verified against full scale data. The SSPA in-house time domain maneuvering and seakeeping software – SEAMAN II is used for the study. The kite model is created as a subroutine to the SEAMAN software. The kite flies on the spherical surface along a predefined track. It performs span-wise rotation to achieve an optimum angle of attack. A NACA 4415 wing profile is adopted as the cross section of the kite. Aerodynamic forces are calculated based on the effective relative wind velocity and the optimum angle of attack. The radial component of the aerodynamic forces provides a traction force in the connection line. The traction force contributes to forces and moments acting on the simulated tanker. The numerical kite model was verified against full scale data. The deviations of traction force and thrust force between simulation and full scale could be controlled within 7%. Throughout the simulations, forces, moments, and motions of the tanker are recorded, as well as rudder angle and propeller efficiency. These output variables are plotted and analyzed to describe the influence of the auxiliary kite propulsion to ship performance. The result shows that auxiliary kite propulsion plays a significant role in reducing engine power in beam and following sea conditions. According to the SEAMAN simulations, a reduction of at least 40% could be obtained in many cases. The course keeping ability of the simulated panamax tanker is not affected by using the kite. The present study is a first step towards a fully dynamic kite model, where a control mechanism will be introduced to find the most favorable flying trajectory.


This is a place for me to post what I'm working on, thinking about, inspired by.
Wanted to say thanks to all that viewed, commented on, purchased and posted my works last month. It was definitely an exciting month for me. Lots more to come, keep an eye out!


Newswise — ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers have reported a causal link between senescent cells – the cells associated with aging and age-related disease – and bone loss in mice. Targeting these cells led to an increase in bone mass and strength. The findings appear online in Nature Medicine.
Low bone mass and osteoporosis are estimated to be a major public health threat for almost 44 million U.S. women and men 50 and older, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Bone is a living tissue that is constantly being broken down and replaced. Osteoporosis occurs when the creation of new bone doesn't keep up with the removal of old bone.
The benefits on bone found in elderly mice were not evident in younger mice. That, coupled with the finding that the senolytic drugs were effective when given only intermittently, supports the link between senescent cells and age-related bone loss. Researchers administered a senolytic drug combination (dasatinib and quercetin) once per month to eliminate senescent cells.
Drs. Kirkland and Khosla say that being able to administer the drugs intermittently poses less risk for side effects than with drugs that must be taken daily. Also, current therapeutics in the bone field that treat bone loss "work against themselves," meaning that, if they decrease resorption, they also decrease formation. In this study, the senolytic drugs decreased bone resorption, while maintaining or increasing bone formation.
The research was supported by the National Institute on Aging, The Connor Group, the Noaber Foundation, the Ted Nash Long Life Foundation, the Glenn Foundation, Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging, Mayo Clinic, and the American Federation for Aging Research.
Mayo Clinic and Drs. Kirkland, Pirtskhalava and Tchkonia have a financial interest related to this research.


First, I would like to thank everyone who nominated me for this award! You guys keep me blushing like everyday (^_^)! In tag tradition, I feel like it is a must I share 7 random facts and nominate 15 people as well! Here we go!
2. I collect almost all things Hello Kitty! I just LOVE her!
4. I love to polish my nails! Sometimes I do it when I'm bored!
5. Applying makeup is soo relaxing to me! Best part of getting dressed!
7. I adore super big purses!
Don't forget to pass it along if you haven't already ladies!
Nominate 15 fellow bloggers who are relatively new to blogging (or whose blogs you enjoy most).
So did you! You're welcome!
Thanks for nominating back! So sweet!
I'm sure u've been nominated a million times, so heres another!!! U've been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award!!! Congrats! Love ur blog!


"There are some very serious flaws in most commonly-used methods for choosing suppliers," Peter Marshall of Commerce Decisions told a break-out session at the CIPS Annual Conference last week.
Marshall said he was not sure the right suppliers were being chosen. "I see criteria set out in the industry that all suppliers can comply with, but can they actually deliver?" he asked. He explained he was referring to suppliers for major programmes such as IT systems or military hardware, that had to be designed, tested and run on a service contract.
Marshall said criteria must be defined so buyers can feel confident. "Use the contract to ensure low risk requirements are met. Focus your evaluation criteria on things that give you confidence the bidder will be able to deliver the higher risk requirements," he said. "What is the best bidder offering? Are you confident they can deliver? We must be clear about what measures we are evaluating. The poorest use of criteria involves compliance… apply them first and then apply other further criteria.
"What is the minimal solution that would be acceptable?" he asked.
Marshall said there were flaws in the way buyers "run the maths" by uniting technical requirements and price factors and said it was important to understand the weighting of whatever formula they are using. "We use techniques that mean our rankings of tenders change arbitrarily and we score bidders' prices in ways that mean we pay arbitrary amounts for extra functionality or confidence.
"We use methods that have effects we don't understand; the good news is that bidders don't understand it either and they can't challenge the process. But how long will this situation last?" he said.
"The bad news is that the bids you get back are usually their best guess about what you can afford, therefore you are choosing preferred suppliers in a way that may not deliver best value for your company," he said.
Marshall suggested companies needed to use different techniques to combine price and technical factors such as Commerce Decision's Relative Value For Money (RVfM) method, which starts from a statement of how you value technical scores.
"Tell suppliers what you would pay for particular factors upfront. The bidders know what you will pay for technical points for instance and will see you as transparent and dependable," he said.
Marshall said the mechanics of the RVfM method then implement your intent. He said bidders need much more clarity about how you value what you are asking for. "Make sure you are clear about what criteria you are measuring and that the method you will use to evaluate scores is transparent and defensible," he said.


If we are able to achieve our 2018 goals it will be a very exciting year for the Financial Pilgrimage household. Our goals range from personal to professional, with an emphasis on getting the remaining balance on our mortgage paid down ($31,000 remaining as of December 31, 2017).
I'll save the lecture on the importance of goal setting for another day. If you're interested in my thoughts, you can read the recap of our 2017 goals. Now let's jump right into our list of goals.
This is the big one. We've been paying down debt since 2011 and it's surreal to think that we should be able to pay off our mortgage in the next few months. All of our extra money is going towards the mortgage at this point. By minimizing lifestyle inflation and paying down all other debt, we have been able to make a huge dent in our mortgage that started out at $123,000.
We moved into our personal residence back in 2008. Since moving in we have replaced the roof, HVAC, gutted and refinished two bathrooms, updated three bedrooms, replaced the hot water heater, partially updated the basement, and more. What we haven't done is update the kitchen. I'm not going to lie, our kitchen is ugly and still has cabinets and counter-tops from the 70s. Our first large purchase after paying off the mortgage will including making much needed improvements to our kitchen.
Each of the past three years we have slowly increased our charitable contributions. Our goal for this year is to give 10 percent of take home pay away once the mortgage is paid. I am excited about being able to give more and hope that our contributions continue to increase each year going forward.
This is another "after we pay off the mortgage" goal. I currently contribute to my 401(k) up to my company match (6 percent). Once the mortgage payment is gone the goal will be to max 401(k) contributions.
Through mid-February I am on book number four. Something I need to get better at this year is moving on from books that I'm not really in to. Some months I'll read four or five books, and then others I don't read any. I will occasionally get started on a book and lose interest and will be too stubborn to move onto something else. I mostly read non-fiction books on personal finance, business, and real estate. However, I will drop everything if George RR Martin finally gets around to releasing Winds of Winter!
Blogging about personal finance has been really enjoyable. My commitment from the onset was to blog for one year, then re-evaluate if I still would like to continue. Life is too busy to write several blog posts per week, and I have found that producing one post every 10 days is about the right pace for me. I would rather publish posts that I believe are quality instead of pushing out sub-optimal content.
This one will be challenging. I started a new job this year that came with a promotion. The new role is challenging, which is a good thing. However, I wonder if I'll be at work enough to be able to get really good at it. I work for a rare organization that provides six weeks of parental leave, so I will be out of office for a good portion of the year. Not that this should factor into my review, though if I'm not around to really learn the new job it may not be easy to get strong marks at year end.
The reason for starting this blog was to share my story and influence others to think differently about money. I would like to have a similar impact in my community. My wife and I are currently taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. In the future I hope to either lead a class myself or get involved in related opportunities such as financial counseling.
For the past 15 years I have played on an amateur men's baseball team. The team primarily consists of current and ex-college baseball players. I started managing the team last year and still play occasionally even though I'm the old guy on the team. I find that sports are a great counterbalance to having an office job. Having a competitive outlet is important. Anyone who has ever run a sports team knows the amount of time and effort that goes into it. If I'm going to put the time into it, I want to win!
This is by far the biggest stretch goal on the list. The reality is after paying off the mortgage, maxing out the 401(k), increasing charitable donations, and fixing up the house, there probably won't be enough money to go around for this goal. However, I like setting lofty goals and wanted to add it to the list. This will probably be at the top of the list of goals again in 2019.
A couple years ago I was at my parent's house and stumbled upon an electric guitar in their basement that belonged to my little brother. I grabbed the guitar and ended up picking up a copy of Rocksmith for PlayStation 4. Rocksmith is like Guitar Hero, except you play with a real guitar. Apparently many people have learned to play guitar this way. While I would like to learn to play the guitar, I'm just not sure the time will be there to put in the hours of practice to get good. Maybe this will make the list once I retire from managing the baseball team!
Many of these goals hinge on getting our mortgage paid off this year. If we are able to get the mortgage paid off by the summer, I'm really hoping we can jump right into getting our house fixed up. Then, who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and find a real estate deal either as a live-in flip or rental property. On top of this all, 2018 should be life changing as we expect to welcome baby number two into our family mid-March. Cheers to a great 2018!
Previous Who Are You to Give Personal Finance Advice?
You are so close to that mortgage payoff!! That is seriously exciting news. And I love that the goal that follows is about ALSO making sure to share that money and up your charitable donations to go with it. I'm not at 10% yet either, but that number grows each year.
Thank you! We've been paying down the mortgage so long I don't know what we're going to do when it actually happens.
On giving, one thing we're going to do is put a percentage or two aside each month for fun giving. Leaving a big restaurant tip, paying for someone's groceries, donating to a go gofundme page, etc. It should be fun!
I agree. It is one of several motivators for wanting my family to stay out of debt until we buy a house. Even then we want to pay it off in less than 15-years. We don't do 10% either but like you guys inch it up every year. These are all wonderful goals. I am enjoying hearing about your family's progress and values. You guys are great.
I liked your list. I should make one of my own as well.
$31,000 – can't wait for me to get to that number on our mortgage!
Thanks! It has been a long journey to get to $31,000. We're so close yet so far away.
I definitely recommend getting goals down on paper. It's has been a game changer for us.
What an awesome list of goals. I should take a lead out of your book and target debt repayment like you do. I like that you've also thrown in a couple of stretch goals.
Like you, I've got a (bass) guitar that I want to learn to play. Do you know if Rocksmith has a bass option? It would be awesome to gamify my learning.
Thank you! I do believe that bass guitar is an option in Rocksmith. Now it's probably debatable if Rocksmith is the best way to learn guitar. However, it is fun!
I like these goals a lot. They are very well balanced and if achieved, or even half achieved, you will leave 2018 on much better footing than you entered. Best of luck on your baseball championship goal. By the way, do you have a link to an article where you describe your mortgage payback strategy?
Our strategy has been relatively straight forward. The one thing we've done really well is minimize lifestyle inflation. By doing so, we've been able to snowball more money towards the mortgage after paying off student loans, cars, and other debt. When we've been fortunate to receive raises at work, we have put the majority of it towards debt instead of increasing our lifestyle or buying more stuff.


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Astate Rpg Second Edition Is Coming Next Week Watch The Exclusive Tr
a|state RPG Second Edition is Coming Next Week – Watch the Exclusive Trailer here!
Step inside a baroque urban nightmare, invites Handiwork Games in their newest Kickstarter.
Back in 2004, a|state was released, as part of a new wave scene of cult British Indie RPGs, regarded for being complex, rich and legitimately scary. An RPG for adults, it reared its head once more in an exciting teaser trailer released by Handiwork Games back in December 2019, where the first confirmation came of a new realigned, and updated a|state. The studio is known for BEOWULF: Age of Heroes, as well as having an impressive set of credentials in the history of its designers.
That excitement is back, with an exclusive to Tabletop Gaming brand new trailer released, ahead of its Kickstarter campaign:
"Under gas lamps and flickering electrics, the Provosts pull a body from a canal, a ceramic blade jammed in its chest. You know the truth: this wasn't a robbery gone wrong. In a distant office, a red line was drawn across a map, and now your home is in danger.
This is the story of how you fight back."
For those unfamiliar with a|state, it's a dystopian corner of The City that you're calling home, in a hopeless environment. Based on the Forged in the Dark system, you'll fight off threats to your canalside home, trying to make it safer and better.
Descriptions show that you'll be creating Troublemakers – will you be the deft and deadly Ghostfighter? Will you be the caring and curious Lostfinder? A persuasive and passionate Activist? The striking and stealthy sneakthief? Or something else? Use these to defend yourself from authorities, gangs, industries, and the spiralling consequences of your own actions...
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP TO THE KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN
It will launch on Tuesday 27th July 2021, at 5pm.
Forged in the Dark... such a brilliant system. Very much looking forwards to any and everything in this system at the moment.
Posted by Peter Holland on Wed 21 Jul 06:19:59

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Launching Atypical Advantage, the talent platform for people with disabilities
Employment December 10, 2020
Are you looking for a singer, a photographer, or a voice over artist? You will find the talent you are looking for at Atypical Advantage. Launching on 11 December, is India's first platform for persons with disabilities.
People with disabilities have an incredible range of talent to offer. Now, they finally have a platform to show that to the world.
Launching 11 December is Atypical Advantage, India's first platform for people with disabilities that brings together people from across the country.
Singers, dancers, voice over artists, painters, and photographers are among the 16 categories that Atypical Advantage is currently offering. Over 200 people with disabilities have already signed up including Pranav Bakhshi, India's first male model with autism, and models Virali Modi and Simran Chawla.
Atypical Advantage is the brainchild of Vineet Saraiwala, who leads inclusion for Big Bazaar. 'While trying to hire artists and models for Big Bazaar campaigns I found no talent platform for people with disabilities that worked in a transparent way", says Vineet, who is visually impaired.
That was the trigger for Atypical Advantage.
Atypical Advantage is that collective talent platform which lists people with disabilities and gives an opportunity to earn a livelihood. The platform will be free and open for all persons with disabilities and there will be no charge levied – the talent or the person/company hiring them. – Vineet Saraiwala, Founder, Atypical Advantage
From massage therapists to sign language interpreters, Atypical Advantage will aggregate talent in any sphere.
"The main focus of the website is talent", says Vineet. The site will also host paintings by disabled artists. "So, you can buy paintings off the site or commission specific paintings. Like there's a young painter with autism who paints only Lord Ganesh", says Vineet. Apart from paintings, you will find products made by people with disabilities like handmade soaps and yoga mats.
Ideally those wishing to post their talent must submit a disability certificate. Given that many people may not have one, Vineet says some system of verification will come into place. He hopes to see Atypical Advantage evolve into a platform where the entire disabled community gets involved.
"This is a platform that aims to empower these individual artists so they can empower people across the country", he says. "A lot of volunteers have come together to make this happen. Our message is simple – Help persons with disability create their own buyers".
Come together and make this happen. Check out the site here.
Watch in Sign Language
Anshuman Kar, a non-verbal painter with autism, reveals hidden depths of feeling in his art
Understanding Dyslexia
#TechThursdays - EMx turns the spotlight on early intervention & inclusive education in the 3rd edition
Former Indian soldiers on a mission to enable disabled people to conquer land, sea & water


Eric Sorenson is a regular contributor to CSTV.com, covering football, basketball & baseball. E-mail here!
A friend of mine asked me the other day what my favorite college baseball stadium was. That got me thinking. Hmmm, tough but fair question.
What would be your favorite place to watch a ballgame? I've been to a good number of college ballparks over the years, and after getting kick-started by my friends' question, I thought I'd list here my favorite places to take in a game.
5. (Tie) UNCG Ballpark, UNC-Greensboro and McKie Field, Miami Univ.
These two stadiums are separated by 500 miles, but were built remarkably similar. Both are recent additions to their respective campus and include ultra-nice, close-to-the-field press boxes, a small but comfortable gathering of seats behind the backstop and long, rich green grass berms all the way down each foul line. And both stadiums also have very well-manicured fields. No bad hops. No bad seats. No bad nothing.
Drawback: Great venues, but could never host in the post-season.
Nearly 10,000 fans, the famous left field lounge, the cowbells, the saturation of maroon and the history of the program; this is the best place for a big game atmosphere. Hands down. And the history of it being one of the first big-time college ballparks is also an added point of interest.
Drawback: With all those fans behind the fences, don't be an opposing outfielder that commits an error. Shoot, don't be a Bulldog outfielder that commits an error either.
It says something when a school's stadium almost seats more than its enrollment. Nice, new digs with great seating and a fairly good amount of shade for those scorching June afternoons. But maybe part of why I'm putting Rice here is because of the nice drunken frat boys on the grass berm in the outfield that insisted I take a hit off their beer bong.
Drawback: That infamous sun reflection off the Hilton Hotel beyond center field that is so blinding it delays late afternoon games for 10-15 minutes.
I visited this park in 2001 for a few games when the bowels of the stadium were still being constructed. But what a shrine for college baseball! It has 2,500 stadium seats, very little netting behind home plate and a big league feel. And that wicked-huge white tensile roof that resembles the "peaks" of the nearby mountains (similar to the Denver airport) is just too cool. It also has a nice plaza area that is shared with the softball complex behind it. First class.
Drawback: Too bad the season doesn't extend further into summer. Some of the March and April night games can be a bit on the chilly side.
There's a large combination of things makes this the perfect place to take in a game: Great setting, as the stadium is nestled into the cliff-side campus. Views of Catalina Island out in the Pacific beyond left field. The surrounding palms trees. The always well-manicured field. The screen-free sightlines above each dugout. The comfortable new stadium seats. And of course, the best collection of female co-eds I have ever seen. Bonus points for an always intriguing schedule of visiting teams, especially in non-conference.
Drawback: Up until a few years ago, games were free of charge. Now they're eight bucks. And, sadly, they now have a "no pets" policy. Damn.
Since USC and Cal State Fullerton quit allowing beer sales recently, this is the only place I can think of that still allows the suds to flow. That's what going to the ball game is all about people. Anybody out there know of any more beer stadiums in the college game? Let me know.
Maybe it's the relatively high I.Q. of the institution itself, but it's rare when you see any bad fans here. No cursing. No trash-talking the other teams. To paraphrase the great Jerry Kindall, they're always respectful and are baseball savvy. I've actually seen large numbers of Cardinal fans cheer good defensive plays by the opposing team, even in the post-season.
Nestled neatly among a series of strikingly lush green peaks that seem more reminiscent of Northern Ireland, there's little wonder that the Mustangs wear green to match the mountainous surroundings of California's Coastal Range. Baggett Stadium was opened in 2001 and is part of a complex that includes an ultra-new softball stadium as well. But believe me, places like BYU, Pepperdine, Southern Utah and Washington are very close on this one.
Went to a Sunday night game against Creighton in February a few years ago and the upper deck above the visitor's dugout was packed with students who cheered, chanted and generally raised hell for the entire nine innings. My first thought? "My God! What must this place be like when Texas comes to play in May?"
I had no idea that OSU had such a nice facility when I was in Columbus for college hockey's Frozen Four last year. A Saturday afternoon game with Purdue that weekend attracted over 3,000 fans. They also have the largest on-campus press box I've seen this side of Reckling Park. Now I see why they've hosted two Super Regionals. There is hope for Big Ten baseball.
I'm sure the Cornhusker fans appreciate the large amount of room that is both covered by the upper deck and in the plaza area. It also makes for plenty of room for when you're waiting in line for concessions. Good thinking.
Since I was there in 2002, they've added nearly 1,000 stadium-style seats and doubled the size of the press box. Still, it's just kind of cool having a (relatively) nice facility tucked way up in the far Northeast. It'd be cool if they were able to host a regional there again someday soon, as they did in 1991 (which included over 4,000 fans there for the title game).
I think he does football games at the Orange Bowl as well. I just love his voice and delivery. Haven't heard any better, anywhere, any sport. Well, except for Monster Truck rallies.
Baseball stadiums, particularly on the college level, are notorious for bad aesthetics (Texas A&M, Hawai'i, Richmond, yawn, cookie-cutter-like). But the Bosh's stately columns resemble the famous Old Well that sits in the middle of campus (and is also used in the logo for the NCAA's Officially Licensed NCAA merchandise). Can't wait to see how the improved Boshamer Stadium will turn out.
A 1993 article in Baseball Weekly hung a similar moniker on CSUN's home field, and the Matadors claimed they were "proud of it." But since then, they have made some good improvements. No more four-seat open press box made out of wood, no more concrete outfield wall, no more bench/bleacher seating. But there are two things they didn't get rid of, the "this is just temporary" look to the stands and the always-present howling winds.


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This article is part of a series examining the anti-Milo Yiannopoulos protests and their aftermath — a campus event that has since pierced and provoked people nationwide — from various different perspectives. Several of these pieces include first person testimonies and narratives that illuminate facts of the protests not necessarily highlighted in mainstream media coverage. It is important to note that nearly all of the articles in the series were written before the events that led to Yiannopoulos's resignation from Breitbart News. The Review's ultimate goal is to give our writers a platform to analyze and argue a range of viewpoints on the protests while providing our readers access to a multifaceted truth. We hope you enjoy and engage with the following series.
Faces in the Crowd, All Valuable Lenses into February 1st
On February 1st, Cal returned to the forefront of the American public consciousness in the visage of a trashcan fire and shattered glass. It's been quite a year for UC Berkeley; our school has reliably generated pageviews with our community-wide revolt against conservative politics. The representation of these protests by mass-market media has been pejorative, buzz-word laden: demonstrators for QARC in October were framed as "anti-white." Protesters following the election bore the title "sore losers." Following February 1st, we've been described in more problematic adjectives: we're now anti-speech-anarchists. This billing of Cal as a heel for free-speech garners high ratings because of its entertaining hero/villain binary simplicity, but loses swathes of nuance through the reduction of Cal into sweeping descriptors.
One of the many fires on February 1st, surrounded by photographers. Photo by Author.
On February 2nd, headlines painted narratives of Cal students desecrating the university's Free Speech Movement history. Pundits declared that our university "should be ashamed of itself" for the riots- never mind the campus' public condemnations thereof. Fox published an op-ed lamenting the, "Homophobic, Racist Xenophobes at Berkeley." The image these sources paint through selective representation is one of riotous, angry students clamoring for echo-chamber safe spaces. The narrative the media pushes is that of a temper tantrum.
The aforementioned public condemnation of the riots by Berkeley administration, emailed out to all students and faculty on February 2nd.
One of many signs capturing many students' and non-students' impetus for rioting. Photo by Author.
Whoever shouts loudest about an event in today's media climate determines the prevailing truth of what happened. Truth, then, emerges from whoever's megaphone holds greatest reach. This becomes problematic when the most expansive voices profit from sensationalist narratives: facticity loses importance and dramatic adjectives supersede fair representation. These narratives are penned by absentee third parties hundreds of miles away; what truths are lost over this distance?
Rioter equipped with megaphone, directing masses. Photo by Author.
Enter the primary source. Primary sources are biased by limited scope; they're imperfect, but they're undeniably valuable. Primary Sources were there: for all their flaws their presence grants them primacy far above desk-jockey television pundits. A composite of eyes on the ground paints a far more vivid picture than can a singular helicopter. What do primary sources tell us happened February 1st?
Kalid Yacoub, a non-marcher-participant, embodies one such primary source. He, "dressed in a suit," was accused of "(looking) like a Nazi" before being "pepper sprayed" and "beat… to the ground with a… baton." This at first affirms the violent student narrative, but Yacoub goes on further to clarify: "I do not believe that (the man who assaulted me) was a student." Yacoub asserts that "(the man) belonged to a group of anarchists that came to the protest to incite violence and crime."
"I just want everyone to know that this wasn't a student," Yacoub cautions, "the students were peacefully protesting. It's these groups of anarchists who started the violence"
An AntiFA banner waved high by a black-clad, masked rioter, one of Yacoub's "anarchists". Photo by Author.
Yacoub's is just one narrative, but already it grants more depth to what happened February 1st. Differentiation is made between Berkeley students and violent rioters, whereas before the two were homogenous.
Like Yacoub, every face in the crowd has its own truth for February 1st. Some were high, some were gleeful, some were scared, some committed crimes, and some had crimes committed against them. All of them are important. All of them can contribute to a more factual narrative. To reduce the events of February 1st to singular adjectives written on February 2nd by third parties is to forever silence primary source stories. It muddles and obfuscates truth.
The truth of an instance does not emerge in its moment, but emerges as a product of its representation thereafter. As important as the night of February 1st is, the morning of February 2nd is infinitely more so. What is the singular truth of what happened? There is none: all representations interject bias.
Inform yourself with the voices of those who were there, not profiteer speculators in a far-off news studio. The primary source should be just that: your source, primarily, in determining your truth.
Featured Image Source: John Rider. Intersection of Telegraph Ave. and Durant Ave. February 1st 2017
Published in The Review
uc berkeley protests
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Gregory H. Shill is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Iowa College of Law. Our community has undergone a difficult period of discussion and introspection concerning race and diversity at Harvard Law. And let's have a real discussion about our country's future and the economic impact of the debt and Obama's policies on our children and grandchildren so they can have the same life choices we had.
However, there are three Social Security numbers connected to these addresses, 537 and two others, each beginning with 999. It is especially not enough for students who do not have a safety net to fall back on or who have families to support. With sincere gratitude, I extend thanks to the people here who were called on to work through the storm to keep our facilities, operations, dorms, student services and communications at HLS running smoothly, even as the school was closed on Monday.
Needless to say, there are also a slew of address and social security numbers connected to addresses in states that Obama has no known connection to. Previously, he served as a fellow at Harvard Law School in the Program on Corporate Governance and practiced at leading law firms in New York and London as a litigator and transactional lawyer.
Federal Disability Retirement Attorney The right approach to filing Federal Disability Retirement claims. My take on this is that member states are wrong not to acknowledge that EU-Nationals and their family members who have resided in any member state legally for five years have acquired a right of permanent residence as long as they have not resided outside that state for more than two years Article 16(4).
The legal system of a country is significantly important to international businesses. When cases came before the courts, the courts could make decisions based on the new controlling law of bankruptcy. Considering impact of various aspects of legal system in international business, it is very important for business people to have good understanding of legal systems of countries they do business with.
The way they implemented the entire citizens Directive is incorrect and that includes the right of permanent residence for EU nationals and their family members. First, the court declares that no true complaint" can be dismissed IF that complaint is supported by a valid CLAIM" (to equitable or legal right?).
One of the most complete surviving collections of Civil War artifacts belonging to an individual Mississippi soldier is the T. Otis Baker Collection at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. If the member states are willing to granted right of permanent residence to EU-Nationals and their Family members based on any right of residence which pre-dated the implementation period of the directive, then to argue that because the Directive was implemented on the 29th April, 2006 as a result, does not recognize right of residence which pre-dated its implementation is a legal wrong.
I am dissatisfied in circumstances where an EU-National who have resided in a member state legally for five years, return to his country of origin and spent 10 months from February, 2005 to December 2005 and then returned to the host member state and applied for Income support in June 2006 but was told that because he has not acquired a right of permanent residence, he is not entitled to support.
With the support and guidance of a longstanding coalition of anti-ICWA activists, the plantiffs in Brackeen want to remove ICWA's provisions that protect against removing Native children from their parents and culture, leaving unfettered access to Native children.


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Assassin's Creed Odyssey has continued to get masses of content post-release, with the next three part expansion's (Fate of Atlantis) first episode coming April 23rd, being a de facto replacement for a mainstream title release in 2019 (with rumors swirling that next year we'll get a Viking-inspired entry in the series). Looks like there's even more coming potentially, with a deleted post coming from Community Manager Dominik Voigt that Reddit posters managed to spot, stating the game would get a Story Creator Mode.
The post didn't have much details about what it entails, just that it would be a community-generated content feature that will be available to all owners of the game at a later date. Odyssey has taken the series in a much more RPG direction with the inclusion of choices, the biggest being whether you want to play as a female or male protagonist, so the move is pretty in line with Ubisoft Quebec's handling of the game.
For now there's no official announcement, so take this report with a grain of salt. Assassin's Creed Odyssey is out now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.


Paid for 530 gems and did not get them. Bought twice in the same day and only one went through.
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Firstly (is that actually a word? No underline, it must be. I am apparently now British or something), ahem, beginning again…firstly, I felt it important that I share a picture of the fearless founder's recent near death experience. No, I'm not joking. You didn't hear about it?
I woke up one morning last week at a far-too-early time of 5:40 a.m. (that a.m. stands for in "advance of the madness") to take Mister Cutie to an orthodontist appointment. We arrive at the office of the brilliant people to whom we paid thousands of dollars in the name of straight teeth. The assistant takes Mister G back to work on his fabulous junior braces, at which point I decide to visit the ladies room; that special place for people who are not yet fully awake. Oh hell, make that "not awake at all." I was not awake in the slightest. Ahem. Carrying on…I was sitting on "the throne," you know, the one for those ultra special blogger types, when suddenly and without warning, I nearly died. Yep. I. Nearly. Died. The fearless founder darn near suffered a stroke. I'm pretty sure I had no pulse for at least a sliver in time. Okay, not really. But I did feel inclined to share a picture with my favorite paralegal peeps to depict this rather catastrophic event.
I know what you're thinking, "WTH is she talking about—it's a bottle of tea sitting on a little ledge." True. But what you may fail to realize is that the little friggin' ledge is slanted forward ever so slightly (but just slightly enough), so whilst the Queen was tending to her royal duties and trying to wake the hell up, that bottle of tea (my life's nectar) slid off of that damn ledge, and dashed across my line of vision, crashing to the ground of the stall in which I was seated (thankfully, with the lid still on the bottle), scaring me half to damn death. I only felt it right to alert my favorite paralegal peeps and warn of this inherently treacherous threat that may be lurking in a nearby bathroom stall. Beware, y'all. Be very aware. And yes, it did wake me the hell up. A near death experience will do that for a person.
Fear of death by elevator.
As if my fear of elevators wasn't already at an epic level. I am now seeking counseling. (Okay, I'm kidding. But I fear we are not too far off…) Nothing says reassurance like the "help me hand smears" all across the elevator door of the elevator a person is currently riding on. I shall depict my second near death experience when it unfolds before my eyes (and Siri's) via iPhone 6S. You better believe it. (Oh Lawd, help us all.) I do pray the coworkers do not forget that very important tidbit about getting the hell up to rescue people. Caw, caw!!!
Paralegals as problem solvers. Namely, me.
Most of you know I recently purchased a new home. (One of the greatest moments of my adult life, I do admit.) I cannot even begin to tell you how absolutely exciting that was. But it also involved a whole hell of a lot of packing and moving. (Let's never do that again, okay? Don't answer that. We're staying put for life or selling every item we own in the event of a future move.) Anyway, when it came to the packing of a certain someone's ultra-fabulous high heel collection, she feared that the aforementioned fabulous high heels would somehow become casualties of "the move," resulting in utterly crumpled, wrinkled up, straight-up-ruined shoes. So she did what any good paralegal would do, she improvised. Because that's how we roll, people. Problem? What problem? I solved the problem!
However, I am happy to report zero casualties. Zero.
It's a real win for the paralegal moving team.
I warn you in advance, this will be a bit of a trick question for most of you. No cheating or scrolling ahead. BUT THE BIG QUESTION IS: What is this a picture of?
Let me guess—Did you say fruit?
(No, seriously– you lose.) Sadly, it appears you have spent far too much time spinning paper, dancing across deadlines, and saving esquires in the legal mines to identify this rather simple staple item for hard working paralegals who have very little left by way of sanity or the ability to deal with other human beings (especially the stupid ones) on this planet. I do fear that your level for dealing with such things may be too far gone for you to even recognize this item for what it truly is.
A gift from God. (Well, it is fruit, isn't it?) What is otherwise known as "sangria." Served promptly after 6:30 p.m. on a day from hell. If anyone got this one right, please do disclose your identity to me immediately. You just gained extra "cool points" in my book. Should we ever meet up, we should undoubtedly slice fruit together. This may or may not involve glasses filled with ice and a lot of giggling. Cheers to that.
Halloween ain't what it use to be.
Fast forward to Halloween with a 9-year-old boy and the criteria for the costume selection becomes "what is the scariest, creepiest, grossest thing possible?" (sigh).
I join him at the costume store, with self-proclaimed veto rights, only to pass forth the debit card and pay my $40 for a costume called (not so fondly), "Rotten to The Core." (I do believe the thing was either a zombie…or perhaps, a paralegal after one too many days spent working for utterly crazy people in the legal trenches; the jury is still out at the present time.) While I do still very much enjoy spending this quality time with the person—as the trusty, faithful guardian of the debit card—I do miss those cute little costumes.
What you need to know is this: I shall stifle my sorrow with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. A hell of a lot of them. (Believe. It.) I wonder if a person can actually eat her weight in Reese's Cups? (That sounds like a personal challenge.) Does anyone else have this problem? Well, either one—the super scary costumes, or the affinity Reese's Cups??? I've earned them, people. It's called the "mommy tax." I'm no dummy. That's how it's done. Orange and brown circles of happiness. No judgment. They shall help to soothe my soul, or at least to shut me up long enough to move on to the next topic…here goes.
A critical poll regarding the incredibly enthralling topic of…(drum roll, please)…Green beans.
(Insert utterly annoyed sigh of said salter/butterer/preparer person here.) I think this is the stupidest thing I've ever heard, unless, of course, you buy "cut" green beans from a can or the generic, frozen, cut green beans in lieu of real green beans that you steam like a friggin' normal, green bean loving person. The long ones, served long, because they're fresh, that's why! God grows fresh green beans just like this, so I'll cut the twig off and eat 'em just like that—I'm pretty darn sure of it. Please, please, pleeeeeeease tell me you agree with me on this topic of grave importance.
Happy High Heel Friday (or darn near it), everyone! Now get to hustlin'…right on out of those law firm doors! TGIF, y'all.
Please feel free to share this laugh with your paralegal friends. Leave a comment. Vote on those pesky green beans. Earn those extra "cool points" by disclosing your vast knowledge of sangria preparation. Tell me I'm funny. Say I'm crazy. Whatever. We're totally listening.
You are fabulous!! I just had an absolutely crazy day, was super brain fried, zipping through messages to catch up and yours popped up with laugh out loud truths! You rock sister!
Thank you kindly, Tracey. TGIF. Kick off those heels and R-U-N!
Friend, I agree with you on the green beans!!! And everything else, of course. Although I roast my green beans…YUM. TGIF…one more day in the trenches!
Giggles… However, IF a person MUST eat GREEN BEANS… then BOTH ends NEED TO BE SEVERED!!! Namely, so that there is LESS said BEAN to be GAGGED down. The ONLY way a green bean is even SLIGHTLY TOLERABLE is IF they are sauteed in butter, onions and OODLES and OODLES and OODLES of fried BACON BACON BACON!!! SLIVERS of Beans! In a mound of onions and BACON! AND hopefully TOASTED ALMOND SLIVERS too. ANYTHING to DISGUISE the DISTASTEFUL flavor of GREEN BEANS! THEY are MY near-death vegetable!
I don't know how u come up with all of that! It was cute! I did know the fruit was for drinks-thus demonstrating mama's coolness. But I could NOT believe that u eat those tails on your beans. 😝 They must not "snap" beans in WI!!! Love u!!
Um, you do realize that if you gave birth to the person who eats the green beans wrong, you clearly made him this way, and your vote must be nullified, right? Vote? What vote? hee hee. 😷. Too funny. Love you, too!
Great article and I agree with your green bean preparation. Unless there appears to be a bad spot on a fresh bean, I only snap off the twig ends, not the tips of the beans. I like to grill mine as well as steam them. Have a great TGIF!
Thanks for casting a vote, Susan! Happy High Heel (or flat boot) Friday!!!
It makes me soooo happy when I see that email in my inbox that you have something for me to read. I must admit that when I saw that plate of cut fruit, my first thought was that it looked like the beginnings of a Hamilton. THE Hamilton is a drink my husband came up with when we vacationed in a little cottage by the ocean (a million years ago) in Virginia Beach that was named…Hamilton. It's a nice little cranberry, orange juice, splash of pineapple with limes, oranges and lemons thrown in. And the Halloween costume! Oh my gosh, I told my 15 year old (as he placed his order on Amazon for the most hideous, ugly and scary costume mask) that I wanted to go back to dressing him up like a cute little lion or mickey mouse or superman with the built-in muscles. He wouldn't hear it though. Keep on keeping on friend…have a wonderful weekend!
Bob here, lol, long time I know. Well Oz it is definitely 5:00 pm somewhere let the fruit roll out the knives be sharp and the sangria flow. I'm game. Sangria and Reese's cups life is good up there.
Long time is right, Bob – er, I mean Debbie. I shall add your name(s) to the list of cool, sangria drinking people. I hope all is well. Shoot me an e-mail. Let's catch up!
Although I am not a sangria drinker (I would never insult Le Vin Rouge by introducing it to fruit), I am fond of other cocktails containing the above-pictured fruit, particularly the humble lime. Whilst exploring vintage cocktails, I came upon a recipe (aka receipt) for a Gin Gimlet that contains nothing but judicious amounts of lime, sugar syrup and gin. This became my favorite post-paralegal-hell libation during these past summer months. Oh, and re: the green beans – I must agree with Mr. Collins on this one. Both ends of the bean must be snapped and my favorite way of preparing beans is to brown bacon and onions, add properly-snapped green beans and plenty of chopped tomatoes with additional liquid (water or chicken broth) and S&P as needed.
On the green bean issue, and this may be opening another can of worms (or green beans?), I DO cut off the tails but mostly because I eat them raw and the tails feel funny in my mouth. Chop them into bite sized, toss with some salt, Italian dressing (Penzeys, of course, I'm a good Wisconsin girl), ideally some sliced leek but onion will do, and maybe some tomato for color if you're feeling fancy.
Oh, and those weren't "help me hand smears" – at least not from your side of the void. They were those of the poor soul swallowed up by the great and powerful Otis (or Schindler, or ThyssenKrupp); a tithing taken in payment for the continued safety of your own. Give thanks, and maybe make a little shrine in there to appease the elevator – you just might be safe the next time it needs to feed.
Thank you Jamie! It's just what I needed. I could use that beautiful Sangria too. Enjoy your weekend!
Your restroom distress sounds like vasovagal syncope. Less serious than a stroke but still scary. Hope your doctor is on top of this.
Jamie you are a life saver! I have been trying to figure out how to pack and move my high heels without them getting mangled… I won't admit to how many clothes baskets I will have to find either. I thank you, my high heel collection thanks you, the fiance….well 2 out of 3 thank yous, not bad.
Why did you assume that the 'help me' hand smears weren't from someone having a fun quickie in the elevator ? I guess since I work in Miami, I would just assume that's what they were….


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school killings in connecticut
Posted on December 16, 2012 by Joey Ciaramitaro
joey –
on december 14, 1992, one of our own, a bright sweet high school kid from lanesville, galen gibson, was murdered by a classmate at simon's rock in new york state. the murderer also took down one of their teachers, using a mail order rifle. exactly 20 years later, galen's parents, greg gibson and anne-marie crotty, were driving home from visiting his grave in seaside cemetery, when they heard the news on the radio of the horror in connecticut.
you can read what greg writes about that at:
The New York Times-
Why America Lets the Killings Continue
in mourning, as are we all
fred buck
Tagged Fred Buck, Galen Gibson, Greg Gibson, Newtown
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6 thoughts on "school killings in connecticut"
Kim Smith says:
So very heartbreaking to learn of the circumstances of Galen Gibson's death. Thank you for sharing the NYTimes link. I pray this is the catalyst for meaningful legislation for gun control.
candide2588 says:
Read Greg's book, Gone Boy, about his search for closure after his son was killed.
Cynthia Hill says:
So very sad….can anyone enlighten me as to why we don't have to register guns in MA? You, yourself must be registered, but not your weapons. This isn't the time to discuss it, but it needs to be soon.
Judy B. says:
It is way past time for our country to get realistic, strong gun control laws in place; to stop playing political football with the issue; & to wake up to the fact that these laws are desperately needed. What will it take?! Enough is enough. Do people really need assualt rifles?! To what end?!
The USA leads the world in deaths by shooting. Is that a statistic to be proud of? I, for one, think not. Countries, with gun control laws or no guns allowed, have none of the same problems.
Our forefathers lived in a dfiferent time & place when "the right to bear arms" was written into the Constitution. Times have changed, to put it mildly.
I realize the NRA will shut down any & all arguments very quickly; as will others who will say "If someone wants a gun, they'll get one." Yes, they may.
But, if our society can be brave enough to enact gun control laws, & commit to making them work — perhaps we can become a better nation — & not ever again lose 20 1st graders for no good reason, or shoppers at a mall, or moviegoers …….
Think about it……..
The time has come. Will we fail again?!
Amy Shapiro says:
So good to read Greg's piece in the NY Times. I can picture Galen's beautiful face and smile as vividly as when I would see him in a local Youth Group, full of the promise of a bright future. He came to mind as soon as I heard of the CT nightmare, with familiar waves of loss. Every senseless killing rubs salt in our collective psychic wounds. Given that so many gun murders are unintended consequences of legal gun ownership, why does anyone one who owns a gun feel safe?
A. says:
Hello – I just stumbled across your blog via a Google search. I started at Simon's Rock 8 months after the shooting. I just wanted to correct a few things that Fred got wrong:
* Simon's Rock is located in Great Barrington, MA, not New York
* The shooter killed a professor, but he was not his teacher. All of the victims appeared to have been picked at random.
* The weapon was not mail ordered – he mail ordered the ammo then drove to nearby Pittsfield, MA and bought a semiautomatic assault rifle.
More details in this Hartford Courant article:
http://articles.courant.com/1992-12-20/news/0000107037_1_simon-s-rock-college-wayne-lo-semiautomatic-rifle
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It's important to have an error free CV for your job applications so they aren't immediately disregarded by prospective employers.
Armstrong Appointments has produced a useful infographic which summarises the main mistakes to avoid. In particular pay attention to the small details, try to review your CV as if you were the recruiter – what would you expect to see? What would you be disappointed with?
– have accurate spelling and grammar, and ask a trusted friend to help you to check.
– avoid too many clichés as the readers simply 'switch off' and don't understand the skills you are trying to communicate.


text:
New York State launches its fifth large-scale renewable solicitation
Twenty large-scale renewable energy infrastructure projects are under construction in the state, paving the way for the state to meet its goal of having 70% of electricity come from renewable sources by 2030.
April 23, 2021 Tim Sylvia
Image: Wikimedia Commons/Pi.1415926535
New York State has launched its fifth annual solicitation for large scale renewable projects to accelerate the rapid pace of clean energy development and combat climate change, the state's largest land-based procurement to date.
The solicitation calls for approximately 4.5 million MWh of renewable electricity per year. Eligible projects include any project that can be certified as a Tier 1 renewable technology and that has commenced operation after Jan. 1, 2015, or that commences commercial operation by Nov. 30, 2023, with the option to extend to Nov. 30, 2026. NYSERDA expects to notify the awarded developers in late 2021.
Along with the solicitation came word that more than 20 large-scale renewable energy infrastructure projects will be under construction across the state this year, including the first utility-scale solar project in Upstate New York.
Located in Easton, just north of Albany, the 20 MW Branscomb Solar project, developed and constructed by CS Energy and owned by Goldman Sachs Renewable Power, will generate over $20 million in private investment and create nearly 100 jobs to support its construction and future operations and maintenance in the Capital Region.
Both announcements advance progress toward New York's goal of having 70% of the state's electricity come from renewable sources by 2030, as outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
Across the previous four renewable energy solicitations, New York has contracted with more than 90 new large-scale renewable energy facilities, including solar farms, onshore wind farms, and hydroelectric facilities, some of which have been paired with energy storage. These installations have brought significant private investment, new jobs, and economic development to communities in more than 30 counties.
NYSERDA's competitive program has leveraged the declining cost of renewable energy, with the latest round of awarded projects priced over 40& lower than those awarded just a year previously, maintaining the cost-effective ramp-up of renewable energy across the state.
New York's pipeline of large-scale renewable energy projects, will add nearly 11 GW of clean power to the grid when completed. Supported by 250 miles of new major transmission upgrades, the pipeline of will enable the state to power over 50% of its electricity from renewable sources.
Tim Sylvia
Tim Sylvia is an associate editor at pv magazine USA. A recent graduate of Hood College, Tim has been with pv magazine since May 2018.
More articles from Tim Sylvia
Semper Solaris says:
Loving seeing the clean energy movement making ways from the west coast to east coast. California has been making big impacts on the solar industry and it's even more amazing to see the opposite side of the nation making big improvements on the same forefront.
Very excited to see what the future holds for the solar panel industry especially in California.


text:
Emperor Antoku
Emperor of Japan
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Please help improve this article by adding reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged or removed.
Find sources: "Emperor Antoku" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Emperor Antoku (安徳天皇, Antoku-tennō, 22 December 1178–25 April 1185) was the 81st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.[1] His reign started in 1180 and ended in 1185.[2]
Antoku
Takakura
Successor
Go-Toba
25 April 1185 (aged 6)
Amida-ji no Misasagi (Shimonoseki)
1 Traditional history
2 Events of Antoku's life
2.1 Account of the Battle of Dan-no-ura, 1185 AD
3 After his death
4 Eras of Antoku's reign
5 Related pages
Traditional historyEdit
Before he became the monarch, his personal name (imina) was Tokohito-shinnō (言仁親王).[3] or Kotohito-shinnō.[4] He was the son of Emperor Takakura.
Events of Antoku's lifeEdit
Antoku was named Crown Prince at around one month of age. He became emperor at one year of age.
1180 (Jishō 4, 21st day of the 4th month): In the 12th year of Takakura-tennō 's reign, he abdicated. The succession (the senso) was received by his infant son.[5] Soon after, Emperor Antoku is said to have accepted the monarch's role and duties and powers (sokui).[6]
1183 (Juei 2, 20th day of the 8th month): Emperor Go-Toba was named emperor by former-Emperor Go-Shirakawa. This meant that there were two emperors at the same time. Go-Toba was in Kyoto and Antoko was fleeing towards the south.[7]
1185 (Genryaku 2, 24th day of the 3rd month): The Taira clan[8] and the Minamoto clan[9] clashed in the naval Battle of Dan-no-ura in the Shimonoseki Strait at the southern tip of the island of Honshu.[10]
The Taira were defeated; and Antoku died in the sea after the naval battle was lost.[11] Antoku's grandmother drowned herself by jumping into the sea with the young emperor in her arms.[12]
Account of the Battle of Dan-no-ura, 1185 ADEdit
There was a battle by an inland sea (Dan No Ura) on April 24th 1185, between two powerful Japanese clans .( The ruling Hekei and another clan called Genji) Each asserted a superior claim to the throne . The Hekei were badly outnumbered and out manoeuvered. Antoku`s guardian was his grandmother,( lady Ni) When it became clear the Hekei had lost the battle, the boy emperor`s grandmother resolved not to be caught by the enemy alive. " Where are you to take me?" asked the boy emperor. Blinded by tears, the child emperor recited a Buddah prayer, then prayed to the east, then to the west to say farewell to the Buddah. Lady Ni took him in her arms, and with the words: " In the depths of the ocean is our capital." They jumped together into the sea and drowned. Then followed a frenzied mass suicide by the remaining Hekei forces. Only 43 Hekei survived, all women in waiting. They were reduced to selling flowers and other favours to the local fisher folk. Each year on April 24th a ceremony is held, at a shrine near the scene of the battle, to commemorate the child emperor`s short life.
After his deathEdit
The story of Emperor Antoku and his mother's family is told in The Tale of the Heike.[8]
Amida-ji no misasagi near Akama Shrine at Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture is considered to be Antoku's symbolic tomb.[13]
Eras of Antoku's reignEdit
The years of Antoku's reign reign include more than one era name.[14]
Jishō (1177–1181)
Yōwa (1181–1182)
Juei (1182–1184)
Genryaku (1184–1185)
Bunji (1185–1190)
Related pagesEdit
List of emperors of Japan
Japanese imperial family tree
Insei
Notes and referencesEdit
The chrysanthemum symbol of the Japanese emperor and his family.
↑ Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), 安徳天皇 (81). Retrieved 2012-10-7.
↑ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 200–207; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 333–334; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki. pp. 214–215.
↑ Brown, p. 333; Varley, p. 214.
↑ Titsingh, p. 200.
↑ Titsingh, p. 200; Varley, p. 44; a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami.
↑ Titsingh, p. 200; compare Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), Ceremony of Accession (Sokui-no-Rei). Retrieved 2012-10-7.
↑ 8.0 8.1 Heike is another name for "House of the Taira".
↑ Genji is another name for "House of the Minamoto".
↑ Kitagawa, Hiroshi et al. (1975). The Tale of the Heike, p. 787; Titsingh, pp. 211–212.
↑ "Antoku," Encylopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2012-10-7.
↑ Kitagawa, pp. 676-677.
↑ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 422.
↑ Titsingh, pp. 200–207; Brown, pp. 333–334.
Media related to Emperor Antoku at Wikimedia Commons
Emperor Takakura Emperor or Tennō:
Emperor Go-Toba
Name Antoku
Short description Emperor of Japan
Date of birth December 22, 1178
Date of death April 24, 1185
Retrieved from "https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emperor_Antoku&oldid=7800529"
This page was last changed on 29 September 2021, at 11:56.


text:
Q: return to specific page in Django I would like to return to a specific page after I edit a record using Django "UpdateView", however this page url needs an argument passed to it as well (see urls.py below). I am pretty sure I need to use "get_absolute_url", which works when I am just redirecting to an unfiltered page, but can't seem to get the syntax to redirect to a filtered page.
Models.py
class DefaultDMLSProcessParams(models.Model):
    device = models.ForeignKey(get_user_model(),on_delete=models.CASCADE,)
    customerTag = models.CharField(max_length=50,)
    processNotes = models.TextField(max_length=300,blank=True,default = "")

    def __str__(self):

        return str(self.defaultParamDescrip)

    def get_absolute_url(self):
        #self.object.pk? pass this below somehow?
        return reverse('Default_Listview',)

views.py
class defaultUpdateView(LoginRequiredMixin,UpdateView):
    model = models.DefaultDMLSProcessParams
    fields = ['processNotes','customerTag']
    template_name = 'default_edit.html'
    login_url = 'login'

urls.py
path('<int:device>', DefaultsListView.as_view(), name='Default_Listview'),

A: Specify the parameter by args argument of reverse() function
def get_absolute_url(self):
    # self.object.pk? pass this below somehow?
    return reverse('Default_Listview', args=[self.id, ])
You could find more example in the Official Django doc .

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
Social Media Response to Super Bowl Trailers: 'Jurassic World' The Big Winner
This year Super Bowl ad time went for a cool $4.5 million for 30 seconds. Despite that crazy high number eight films chose to show trailers during the big game: Jurassic World (which actually bought two slots - so a cool $9 million there), Furious 7, Tomorrowland, Minions, Fifty Shades Of Grey, Ted 2, Terminator: Genisys, Pitch Perfect 2. That is over $40 million dollars into the network's pockets from Hollywood, not a bad payday from one sector of the economy at all.
It didn't stop there though, a number of films also chose to air pregame trailers including: Avengers: Age Of Ultron, The Divergent Series: Insurgent, Hot Tub Time Machine, Seventh Son, Kingsman: The Secret Service, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water, Inside Out to name a few. I won't spend much time on them in this column as I can only cover so much but its clear that it was a massive day for the box office prospects of 2015 in general.
Its difficult to guage just how much extra (or potentially less) dollars a title will make because of its spot but what is clear is that the Super Bowl has an audience of over 130 million worldwide, and with studios focusing more and more on International revenue its no wonder they were all clamoring to buy up available airtime during the game. In fact, certain pundits have pointed out that the Super Bowl airtime is actually a bargain even at $4.5 million for 30 seconds. How you might ask? Well given the level of viewers that works out to roughly $0.04 cents a viewer, which is about half the price of YouTube or Facebook.
This year I decided to look at three factors to figure out just how effective these ads were: Twitter Tweets, Facebook like increase from Saturday to Sunday and lastly the 2015 USA Today Ad Meter poll (basically a huge focus group who votes on which ad they liked best). I then took an average of their rank for all three to come up with my overall grade.
1. Jurassic World - Average Rank: 2.62
Probably to few people's surprise Jurassic World came in at number 1 for all eight films, leading both the number of tweets and USA Today's Ad Meter poll amongst the other films. Its Facebook number was a little soft (it ranked 6th), but considering that its reusing the old Jurassic Park page which already has over 5.6 million likes this isn't a huge concern. I've said it before but the Jurassic Park franchise has held the opening weekend record for over 6 years between the first and second film and has spawned billions in spin off revenue. Its a winner, and yes the third film was a relative dud but by bringing in Chris Pratt (aka Hollywood's hottest star right now) and going all out with its marketing spend this is a box office dollar atom bomb waiting to explode.
2. Furious 7 / Ted 2 - Average Rank: 3.33
Everyone's favourite inappropriate stuffed animal tied with the speedy Furious 7 in my rankings at 3.33. I'd give the nod to Furious 7 simply because it was more consistent across all three measured metrics (3rd, 3rd, and a 4th), while Ted 2 just rocked Facebook the hardest (it was 1st overall there) which brought its number up greatly. Tom Brady's appearance in the Ted commercial also particularly helped it on Facebook it seems. Regardless, these both have performed exceedingly well on social media, especially on Facebook where both are among the most liked active film franchises ever. Furious 7 should be the biggest of the entire franchise given the trajectory of recent films and also, unfortunately, as fans will likely come out in droves to say goodbye to one of the franchise's mainstay Paul Walker who sadly died in a car crash while the film was still in production. Ted 2 has a few more questions surrounding it and if it can match the huge opening and total of the first film which was one of 2012's top 10 box office earners at $218 million. Based on these numbers its hard to argue that its going to not open to $50 million plus like the first one, though its legs and overall total might suffer depending on how well received it is by critics and fans.
4. Fifty Shades Of Grey - Average Rating: 4.00
Fifty Shades was also a notable hit, coming in #2 for both Twitter and Facebook tweets/likes on the day. Perhaps surprisingly it was the worst reviewed film on USA Today's Ad Meter with just a 3.95 average rating, clearly not connecting with their users as it did with other social media sources. Ad Meter is a statistically significant and representative sample of the entire population supposedly (whereas Facebook and Twitter skew younger and female) so perhaps this is an early sign that this is not going to be as big as some speculate? A bad Ad Meter score is definitely not a kiss of death (just look at last year when Transformers: Age Of Extinction was second last and still made $250 million), but it does raise some questions about how wide of an appeal it will have or its staying power after opening.
5. Minions - Average Rating: 4.33
Middle of the road here for the Minions with its Ad Meter score being the best of its three metrics, coming in second overall. It has been slaying it on Facebook in recent months so I was a little surprised it didn't do better there, but with over 27 million likes in total its not like its hurting by any means. Add to all this the fact that a huge part of its audience are kids who are outside of all three of these measures.
6. Pitch Perfect 2 - Average Rating: 5.33
Struggled to really break out, doing its best on Ad Meter surprisingly, the same source which panned Fifty Shades which is what makes me believe that it wasn't just that Ad Meter had a bunch of men voting that Fifty Shades performed poorly. I was a little surprised to see this having a Super Bowl ad to be honest considering the first film cost under $20 million, even if the budget here is double it means they blew 10% of their entire production cost on 30 seconds of ad time. The first film was such a cash cow though I think they are willing to roll the dice here to help ensure similar returns.
7. Terminator: Genisys - Average Rating: 6.00
No two ways about it, this struggled badly. Facebook was its best performance where it ranked third, but it was dead last on Twitter and second last on Ad Meter. The Terminator franchise has spawned some big hits but also some relative duds and it would appear as though this is on its way to being classified with the latter.
8. Tomorrowland - Average Rating: 7.00
Whereas Terminator: Genisys struggled this flat out bombed in terms of its reception yesterday. Its average rank of 7 out of 8 about says it all all with some pretty alarming stats for Facebook where it rose just 2,382 likes despite having under 25,000 total likes. Interest here was very very low and they really need to pull back the curtains a bit to reveal more of the plot because people aren't biting on what little is being fed to them.
Film Movie Name Tweets Likes+ Ad Meter Average
1 Jurassic World 59,327 9,015 5.62 2.67
2 Furious 7 22,837 34,283 5.07 3.33
3 Ted 2 16,408 85,985 4.95 3.33
4 Fifty Shades of Grey 33,433 53,585 3.95 4.00
5 Minions 8,239 27,080 5.54 4.33
6 Pitch Perfect 2 11,369 7,541 5.06 5.33
7 Terminator Genisys 5,691 41,145 4.55 6.00
8 Tomorrowland 6,028 2,382 4.84 7.00
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Tags: social-media-trends
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Trailer: Disney & Lucasfilm Release First 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' Teaser