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text:
"""Utility for ROCm backend"""
import subprocess
from os.path import join, exists

import tvm._ffi
from tvm._ffi.base import py_str
import tvm.runtime
import tvm.target

from . import utils

def find_lld(required=True):
    """Find ld.lld in system.

    Parameters
    ----------
    required : bool
        Whether it is required,
        runtime error will be raised if the compiler is required.

    Returns
    -------
    valid_list : list of str
        List of possible paths.

    Note
    ----
    This function will first search ld.lld that
    matches the major llvm version that built with tvm
    """
    lld_list = []
    major = tvm.target.codegen.llvm_version_major(allow_none=True)
    if major is not None:
        lld_list += ["ld.lld-%d.0" % major]
        lld_list += ["ld.lld-%d" % major]
    lld_list += ["ld.lld"]
    valid_list = [utils.which(x) for x in lld_list]
    valid_list = [x for x in valid_list if x]
    if not valid_list and required:
        raise RuntimeError("cannot find ld.lld, candidates are: " + str(lld_list))
    return valid_list

def rocm_link(in_file, out_file, lld=None):
    """Link relocatable ELF object to shared ELF object using lld

    Parameters
    ----------
    in_file : str
        Input file name (relocatable ELF object file)

    out_file : str
        Output file name (shared ELF object file)

    lld : str, optional
        The lld linker, if not specified,
        we will try to guess the matched clang version.
    """

    # if our result has undefined symbols, it will fail to load
    # (hipModuleLoad/hipModuleLoadData), but with a somewhat opaque message
    # so we have ld.lld check this here.
    # If you get a complaint about missing symbols you might want to check the
    # list of bitcode files below.
    args = [
        lld if lld is not None else find_lld()[0],
        "--no-undefined",
        "-shared",
        in_file,
        "-o",
        out_file,
    ]
    proc = subprocess.Popen(args, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT)
    (out, _) = proc.communicate()

    if proc.returncode != 0:
        msg = "Linking error using ld.lld:\n"
        msg += py_str(out)
        raise RuntimeError(msg)

@tvm._ffi.register_func("tvm_callback_rocm_link")
def callback_rocm_link(obj_bin):
    """Links object file generated from LLVM to HSA Code Object

    Parameters
    ----------
    obj_bin : bytearray
        The object file

    Return
    ------
    cobj_bin : bytearray
        The HSA Code Object
    """
    tmp_dir = utils.tempdir()
    tmp_obj = tmp_dir.relpath("rocm_kernel.o")
    tmp_cobj = tmp_dir.relpath("rocm_kernel.co")
    with open(tmp_obj, "wb") as out_file:
        out_file.write(bytes(obj_bin))
    rocm_link(tmp_obj, tmp_cobj)
    cobj_bin = bytearray(open(tmp_cobj, "rb").read())
    return cobj_bin

@tvm._ffi.register_func("tvm_callback_rocm_bitcode_path")
def callback_rocm_bitcode_path(rocdl_dir=None):
    """Utility function to find ROCm device library bitcodes

    Parameters
    ----------
    rocdl_dir : str
        The path to rocm library directory
        The default value is the standard location
    """
    # seems link order matters.

    if rocdl_dir is None:
        if exists("/opt/rocm/amdgcn/bitcode/"):
            rocdl_dir = "/opt/rocm/amdgcn/bitcode/"  # starting with rocm 3.9
        else:
            rocdl_dir = "/opt/rocm/lib/"  # until rocm 3.8

    bitcode_names = [
        "oclc_daz_opt_on",
        "ocml",
        "hc",
        "irif",  # this does not exist in rocm 3.9, drop eventually
        "ockl",
        "oclc_correctly_rounded_sqrt_off",
        "oclc_correctly_rounded_sqrt_on",
        "oclc_daz_opt_off",
        "oclc_finite_only_off",
        "oclc_finite_only_on",
        "oclc_isa_version_803",  # todo (t-vi): an alternative might be to scan for the
        "oclc_isa_version_900",  #              isa version files (if the linker throws out
        "oclc_isa_version_906",  #              the unneeded ones or we filter for the arch we need)
        "oclc_unsafe_math_off",
        "oclc_unsafe_math_on",
        "oclc_wavefrontsize64_on",
    ]

    bitcode_files = []
    for n in bitcode_names:
        p = join(rocdl_dir, n + ".bc")  # rocm >= 3.9
        if not exists(p):  # rocm <= 3.8
            p = join(rocdl_dir, n + ".amdgcn.bc")
        if exists(p):
            bitcode_files.append(p)
        elif "isa_version" not in n and n not in {"irif"}:
            raise RuntimeError("could not find bitcode " + n)

    return tvm.runtime.convert(bitcode_files)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Bachelor's of Social Work (BSW) from Madonna University (1996) Honors Designation.
Therapy is a collaborative process and my goal is to build a trusting and supportive relationship with my clients so together we can work to make positive and lasting life changes. You are the expert on your own life and I want to help guide you to reach your goals.
You have taken the first brave step in your journey to reaching your full potential and addressing the issues that are impacting your life. Together we will work to develop individualized goals and explore the steps necessary to reach those goals. I will use various therapeutic methods that are tailored to your individual needs and situation. By examining how our thoughts and emotions can impact our actions we can adjust our reactions to life situations, and create lasting change. I am empathetic and honest and want to build a genuine rapport with you so you feel safe and comfortable during our sessions. I look forward to meeting you!
What is the self care strategy you use most often?
Describe your ideal vacation. Has it happened yet?
A cruise to various countries in Europe. Not yet!
Mexican food for sure! Guacamole, salsa, and tortilla chips to start. Then chicken enchiladas, rice, and beans. End the meal with sopapillas with chocolate sauce.


Every neighborhood needs a local hardware store – or two. My go to local hardware stores are East Sacramento Hardware on Folsom Boulevard at 48th Street and Capitol Ace Hardware on I Street near 18th Street in Midtown.
Living in an older home, I have found that the small locally owned hardware stores are my best bet when I need a question answered and/or help in finding a part I need.
Over the years I have found the staff at both stores to be both helpful and friendly. More than once I have been steered in the right direction enabling me to successfully complete my home improvement project. This help has included (nicely) discouraging me from what I perceived in my inexperience to be the correct course of action.
East Sacramento Hardware and Capitol Ace Hardware are similar in many ways. Both stores look smaller on the outside then they are in reality once you are inside the door. Both stores also carry a wide array of merchandize in addition to what you would expect a hardware store to carry.
Because of the variety of items carried, including unique items and gifts, I often find myself wandering up and down the aisles even though I have already found what I went into the store for. You just never know what you may find.
In my experience, it is often hard to find a very specific gift item when you want it. In response to a "hint" from my daughter when I asked her for gift suggestions, I turned to Amazon as opposed to checking out various brick and mortar stores in town in what I thought likely to be a frustrating and unsuccessful quest. Lo and behold, after I received my purchase in the mail I spotted just what I had wanted as I walked down an aisle at Ace Capitol Hardware – and the price was less than I had paid.
Both stores carry paint and match colors, and each has a small garden center. I have found the plant quality to be excellent at both stores. My purchases have been limited to tomatoes, peppers, etc. for my vegetable garden. Other similarities between the two stores include blade sharpening, key cutting, glass cutting and screen repair.
Parking at East Sacramento Hardware is limited and sometimes a challenge – to say the least. Capitol Ace Hardware has parking in front and also in back of the store making it the "winner" in that regard.
I very much like to support small, local businesses – but this is not to say that I don't make a trip or two each year to one of the big box stores. They are just not my first choice when I can find what I need much closer to home in Sacramento.
Comments on your favorite local neighborhood hardware store?
What is your favorite local neighborhood hardware store? What makes it special?
My favorite local hardware store is Hollywood Hardware on Freeport Blvd. They have top notch customer service and always seem to have whatever I need, from garden hoses to just the right size screw or washer. It is convenient to my neighborhood (Curtis Park) and there is a parking lot in front. Also, a trip there is always a good excuse to peruse the great used bookstore next door (Crawford's) and stop in for a Boba Tea at Boba Cafe: a shop local trifecta!
Thanks Melissa! I have heard good things about Hollywood Hardware before – so I think that I will make a point to check it out next time I am in that neighborhood.
I go out of my way to go to Emigh Hardware on El Camino Ave. The store is so full of interesting items – kitchen, bath, paint, garden, bbq, furniture – and the staff is over-the-top helpful and informed. Not like East Sac Hardware, where both my husband and I and a few of our East Sac friendshave been mistreated by staff. Will NEVER give them a dime more of our business!
Thanks for commenting Ellen. I have never been to that store – I will have to check it out!
My favorite hardware store is Cook's Hardware on Del Paso Blvd. the owners and staff are all so pleasant and helpful. The store is always well stocked and clean and the variety of items available is amazing. They even provide bill payment services to neighbors who need those services.
Parking is never a problem at Cook's Hardware.
Sorry about the capitalization error. No way to edit once posted.
Thanks Cathe. I have never been to that particular store. I will have to check it out!
Second cooks hardware, it's been there forever (1936), and is a great family run store.
It's the place to go when you don't think anyone carries that one thing you needed!


text:
Зоосемио́тика — научная дисциплина, описывающая биокоммуникацию животных (передачу информации от одной особи к другой) с позиции содержания их коммуникативных действий (см. также Семиотика).

Информативное содержание коммуникативных действий может относиться:

 к сферам опознания — опознание принадлежности особи к определённому виду, сообществу, полу, опознание индивида среди сородичей и пр.;
 к мотивации поведения — информация о физиологическом состоянии животного, например, о состоянии голода, полового возбуждения, эмоциональное состояние и пр.;
 к отношениям со средой — оповещение об опасности, нахождении корма, места для отдыха и пр.

По происхождению и механизму действия формы общения различаются каналами передачи информации (оптические, акустические, химические, тактильные и др.)

Социальные животные (дельфины, приматы, собаки, пчелы, муравьи) имеют особо сложные формы общения, что выражается в согласованных совместных действиях для эффективного функционирования своего сообщества как единого целого.

Отличие от человеческого общения
Коммуникация животных существенно отличается от человеческого общения. Это генетически фиксированная, врожденная система сигналов, и она складывается из определённого числа видотипичных сигналов, посылаемых «животным-экспедиентом» и адекватно воспринимаемых «животным-перцепиентом» в зависимости от конкретной ситуации.

Важнейшее отличие языка животных от языка человека — отсутствие семантической функции: его элементы не обозначают внешние предметы сами по себе, их абстрактные свойства и отношения, — они всегда связаны с конкретной ситуацией и служат конкретным целям.

Однако в свете новейших научных данных, прежде всего когнитивной этологии, есть основания принимать эти взгляды на язык животных (как на генетически фиксированную систему сигналов) с известной долей настороженности.

Стоит вспомнить о домашних животных — собаках и кошках, как они учатся понимать язык людей, пусть в небольшой его части, — но зато в её рамках умеют понять смысл довольно сложных языковых выражений, даже слыша их впервые. И как в общении с людьми они вырабатывают своеобразные языковые сигналы, мало похожие на «естественные» для них. Конечно, здесь можно говорить лишь о частичном и скорее пассивном усвоении языка — но все же более сложного уровня общения в сравнении с «природным языком животных».

Наиболее существенных результатов в освоении языка на «человеческом» уровне достигают специально обученные приматы, которые осознанно общаются с человеком посредством различных языковых систем, используя также компьютеры.

См. также
 Когнитивная этология
 Биокоммуникация
 Язык животных
 Сигналы примирения
 Биосемиотика
 Шебёк, Томас

Примечания

Литература

 Maran, Timo; Martinelli, Dario; Turovski, Aleksei (eds.) 2011. Readings in Zoosemiotics. (Semiotics, Communication and Cognition 8.). Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.

Семиотика
Поведение животных
Общение животных
Знаковые системы

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
A collection of Web Audio components built with d3.js
D3.js is a framework for building "data driven documents". Prong is a collection of libraries that combine D3 with Web Audio to allow things like visualisation of waveforms, note onset detection, and multi-channel editing. A great starting point for building more sophisticated applications.
http://forkaudio.org/prong/
Exploring the JP-8000 Supersaw
I loved this forensic deconstruction of the "Supersaw" synths sound. The classic Roland sound is analysed in the frequency domain, with sound clips, and then reconstructed using a series of PureData patches. Plenty of inspiration for recreating the sound yourself using the Web Audio API's OscillatorNode.
http://www.ghostfact.com/jp-8000-supersaw/
Recreation of Commodore 64 sounds
The Commodore 64 computer had a built-in sound chip, the MOS Technology 6581/8580 SID (Sound Interface Device). The chip was pretty powerful for its day, having three independent oscillators and a filter. Igor Zinken has had a go emulating the chip, and the sounds of the C64 using the Web Audio API, and has added a keyboard to make it easy to create some sounds. It's not entirely faithful, but is very capable of creating some out-there 8-bit sounds.
Commodore 64 Synthesizer (/via @sarahbadr)
Paul Adenot talks about Web Audio at FOSDEM
Paul Adenot, the recently appointed co-author of the Web Audio API specification, and developer at Mozilla, gave an overview of the Web Audio API at this year's FOSDEM conference. As well as some use cases, code snippets and demos, he also talks about some of the work that's still to be done in the implementations and the specification.
Touch enabled Web Audio theremin
A really nicely implemented "theremin" using Web Audio by Luke Phillips of Femur Design. It supports touch events too, so is a lot of fun to play with on a touch enabled device (try Safari on recent iOS, or Chrome on Android devices).
http://www.femurdesign.com/theremin/ (/via @maboa)
Synth Britannia - the history of the synthesiser
An hour-and-a-half of crazy synth noises and lingering footage of old hardware, you say? Go on then, you've earnt it.
Synth Britannia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Tell me something about you and what you're looking for! I'll send you a detailed guide regarding pricing, my approach and what to expect.
What drew you to my photography?
Interested in an engagement session? select an option... Heck yes! It's important to us! Nope MAYBE... If we can swing it!
Can I follow you on Instagram? What's your handle?
How did you find me? Instagram rabbit hole google / search engine pinterest word of mouth (who's mouth? let me know in your message so I can thank them) facebook you said something weird on some social media caption and I was like "who da heck is this weirdo OMG MAYBE WE COULD BE FRIENDS!" a website (which one? let me know in your message, pretty please!) I have no clue how I got here!


text:
hello@muddykneesmedia.com.
Senior Presenter
HomeOur Podcasts
We launched Muddy Knees Media in 2017 with our flagship, The Totally Football Show with James Richardson. Thanks to its success, we've been able to expand quickly, adding more and more specialist football shows to our network.
Now we're looking to expand again, launching shows in the non-sporting sectors. We've got some really exciting offerings in development and we can't wait to share them with you.
The Totally Football Show
The Totally Football Show with James Richardson is published every Monday and Thursday. James and his guests put the football world to rights. It's totally football and its totally free.
Whatever happens, it is comforting to know that Richardson will be there at the final whistle with his quips and puns to put the whole harrying joy of soccer fandom into perspective and ease the arrival of the footballing winter to come.
The Totally Football League Show
The Totally Football League Show is published every Tuesday. Caroline Barker and her special guests, former footballers Adrian Clarke and Sam Parkin, review the weekend's Football League games, chat to the players and managers making the headlines and look ahead to the coming fixtures.
The review pod for EFL fans – that's the Championship, League One and League Two for all you glory supporters – underwent a revamp for the 2018/19 season with the informed and affable Caroline Barker of Radio 5 Live taking the chair. The weekly review of all 72 teams is more boffins in the boardroom than Bovril on the terraces, scoring with up-to-date news and views as well as game reviews. Fairweather fans need not apply.
Golazzo
The Totally Italian Football Show is published every Wednesday. James Richardson, James Horncastle and Gabriele Marcotti provide the ultimate lowdown on the Italian game, occasionally pausing to look back at the golden years of Serie A.
If you miss the days of Channel 4's brilliant 90s Football Italia coverage, Golazzo: The Totally Italian Football Show is the podcast for all your nostalgic needs. Presented by that cult show's original host James Richardson, the new weekly podcast will keep listeners up to date on the Serie A title race, and examines the Italian sides' progress in the Champions League. There are also interviews with former calcio greats, as well as retro features taking a look at some of the best moments from the league's glory days.
The i Newspaper
The Totally Scottish Football Show
The Totally Scottish Football Show is published every Monday. Host Andrew Slaven and his regular guests JJ Bull and Laura Brannan are here to give Scottish football the coverage it deserves. A new show for the 2018/19 season, this has all the potential to be one of the sleeper hits of the year
Glad to add this podcast to my library. I enjoy thoughtful, balanced comments, which are in short supply in the Scottish game.
Dr D, iTunes
Like what you see & want to talk?
Copyright © 2017-2018 Muddy Knees Media. All rights reserved


text:
SEC Presses Berkshire for More Data On Insurance Cat Losses
June 13, 2013 by Zachary Tracer
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is providing more data about claims costs at insurance units after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pressed the company for the information.
We "agree to provide disclosures in future filings of the significant catastrophe losses for our insurance group as a whole and for each of our underwriting units to the extent that such losses are significant," Marc Hamburg, chief financial officer of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire, said in a letter to the SEC dated April 25 and released today.
The SEC has pressed Berkshire for information on its derivatives holdings and writedowns of stock and bond investments. Buffett's firm has a dozen insurance businesses including Geico, which sells auto coverage, and reinsurers General Re and Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group.
Superstorm Sandy, which struck the U.S. northeast at the end of October, cost Berkshire about $1.1 billion before tax, including losses of $490 million at Geico, according to the letter released today. The company also disclosed losses tied to 2011 earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan and the 2010 oil-rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.
Insurers have been expanding disclosures to help investors. Allstate Corp., the largest publicly traded car and home insurer, in 2011 began announcing catastrophe losses on a monthly basis when they exceed $150 million. MetLife Inc., the largest U.S. life insurer, explained in a presentation last month how annuities it sold would fare in a market downturn.
The SEC said it finished its inquiry in a May 14 letter to Hamburg. The correspondence is typically released after the regulator concludes its analysis.
With assistance from Noah Buhayar in New York and Andrew Frye in Rome. Editors: Dan Kraut, Rick Green
Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.
CEO / Chief ExecutiveClaims / LegalClaims & ReservingGovernmentIndustry NewsRegulation & ComplianceSecurities RegulationU.S.
American Family Acquiring InsurTech Bold Penguin
No Insurance: Taxpayers on Hook for U.S. Capital Mob Attack Damage


text:
Eric Preciado-Nunez is Working Hard to Help Brands Build a Strong Visibility in the Digital Business World
by Sherlyn Joseph November 3, 2020 November 3, 2020 08313
Entrepreneur and advertising consultant, Eric Preciado-Nunez, has left a strong impression with his works in the advertising world. He has established a strong name for himself for helping influential personal and corporate brands build their strong presence in the digital business world.
Born on 14 November 1996 in San Diego, CA, Eric Preciado-Nunez has made his name as an entrepreneur and private advertising consultant to establish personalities, professional athletes, and celebrities. In his career, he has overcome every challenge and difficulty to establish himself as a successful entrepreneur and advertising consultant.
He is working with his partner Bj Klock, CEO of Advisight, an award-winning marketing research firm. Eric Preciado-Nunez always considers every challenge as a means to overcome fear and build confidence in accomplishing new things.
In partnership with Bj Klock, he is currently focusing to build back-end advertising systems to offer exceptional advertising services to Advisight's VIP members. Before partnering with Bj Klock in Advisight in 2019, Eric Preciado-Nunez was serving as a private advertising consultant to many influential brands in the personal as well as the corporate world.
Eric has traveled through a very fascinating journey in his career and he has tried many things in his life without fearing the outcome. In 2017, he was working as a surgical technologist to help in surgical procedures namely, Neurosurgery, Vascular Surgery, and Orthopedic surgery.
Eric Preciado-Nunez has transformed himself by taking inspiration from other influential personalities such as Jim Rohn, T Harv Eker, Deepak Chopra, Napoleon Hill, and CEO of Advisight, Bj Klock. He is utilizing all his knowledge and experiences to help many influential and corporate brands in attaining a strong presence in the digital world.
The entrepreneur and advertising consultant always maintain a strong and positive mindset to conquer everything that comes on his way. Know more about him from the links mentioned below.
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/7ikUzYzLEufgQWcw5Tqq4h
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIsx5xC50ts7-sVGE8ssvDw
Twitter – https://twitter.com/eapnunez
Instagram – https://instagram.com/ericpreciadonunez
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Q: Grant temporary access to Ubuntu 14.04 EC2 machines My company intends to hire an external contractor for some dev-ops jobs on our EC2 servers. We use Ubuntu accessed using a .pem certificate file.
For obvious reasons, I do not want to share my .pem key with an outsider - if the key is lost, anyone on the internet can access my machines.
I can add the contractor's ssh key to the .ssh/authorized_keys on all the servers, but that would be tedious and new servers won't be accessible by him unless I change the template server image.
Is there an easier way to grant temporary, revokable access to EC2 machines?

A: If there is a centralized authentication system in place:
Yes, this can be done quite easily, for obvious reasons. Simply enable/disable the contractor's account in your centralized authentication system (LDAP, Kerberos, AD, ...). You can have a personal account for this specific contractor, or decide to use a generic third-party-people account. The former can retain auditability, if that matters.
If there is not a centralized authentication system in place:
Create a key pair for the contractor and place it in your machines using your configuration management of choice. If you don't have one, you can use ansible's shell module, which requires nothing at the client side, or, as a last resort, you can still use mussh or script yourself something around ssh-copy-id(1). Remove the key, revoke access in sshd_config, or both, once she/he has finished her/his job.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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The shoelaces are produced from quality threads. The colors used in the shoelaces are original, and combined with the threading create a perfect depth and brightness. We believe that the quality is the most important thing, as it is this factor, which is the main reason that people return to our webshop, to buy more shoelaces.


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Briefs: Free Cedar Fair tickets for blood donors
Birth, death records unavailable Monday
MARION - Due to a statewide server migration, Marion Public Health has announced that at 3 p.m. July 1 obtaining copies of birth and death records will not be available throughout the State. MPH expects service to be restored at 8 a.m. July 2.
2018 financial report available for public review
MARION - The comprehensive annual financial report for 2018 and the related supporting documents are available for public inspections at the Marion County Auditor's office, Joan M. Kasotis, 222 W. Center St., Ste. 1031. The public may view the documents during hours of operation, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
Free Cedar Fair tickets offered at select blood drives
MARION - The American Red Cross and Cedar Fair theme parks are partnering to offer a free Cedar Fair park ticket to blood donors at select blood drives in Central Ohio.
The tickets are valid for entry to participating U.S. Cedar Fair parks, including Cedar Point and Kings Island, while supplies last.
Local select blood drives include:
• Noon to 7 p.m. July 9 at Knights of Columbus, 1232 E. Center St., Marion.
• 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 31 at Richland Mall, Ontario.
For a full list of blood donation opportunities with free Cedar Fair tickets, visit RedCrossBlood.org.
• The Claridon Township Zoning Commission will meet at 7 p.m. July 8 at 2272 Caledonia Climax Road, Caledonia.Current zoning code will be reviewed at the meeting.
• The Waldo Village (Zoning) Planning Commission will meet at 7 p.m. July 8 at the Fort Morrow Fire Station, 306 N. Marion St., Waldo.
• Bowling Green Township Board of Trustees will have a public hearing about the 2020 Township Budget during a regular session meeting at 9 a.m. July 10 at the Township Building, at Ohio 37 and Guthery Road.
• The Waldo Board of Public Affairs (Sewer Board) will meet at 7 p.m. July 11 at the Fort Morrow Fire Station, 306 N. Marion St., Waldo.
• Marion City Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals meetings scheduled for July have been canceled due to lack of business.
Ohio 4 lane closures to end in September
MARION - ODOT began lane restrictions for paving operations June 19 on Ohio 4, between the City of Marion and the Crawford County Line.
Ohio 4 is reduced to one lane daily for paving operations. Traffic is maintained with flaggers. According to ODOT, all lanes will reopen by 4 p.m. Sept. 30. Work is weather dependent and may be postponed or canceled without notice.
WOSU to conduct interviews in Columbus for history project
COLUMBUS - WOSU Public Media will host the StoryCorps Mobile Tour when it rolls into Columbus as part of a cross-country mobile storytelling journey. StoryCorps, a nonprofit organization celebrating the stories of everyday Americans, will record interviews with local participants from July 2-31.
The StoryCorps MobileBooth — an Airstream trailer outfitted with a recording studio — will be located in the Short North Arts District at 815 N. High St., Columbus.
Appointments are free, made on a first-come, first-served basis and open at 10 a.m. on July 3. For reservations, call 1-800-850-4406 or visit wosu.org/storycorps.
WOSU Public Media will collaborate with the Mobile Tour to curate and broadcast a selection of the local stories captured for StoryCorps Columbus. StoryCorps may also share excerpts of select stories through the project's weekly NPR broadcasts, animated shorts, digital platforms and best-selling books.
StoryCorps is on 89.7 NPR News between 6:20 and 6:30 a.m. and 8:20 and 8:30 a.m. Fridays.
Leadership Marion! accepting applications
MARION - Leadership Marion! is accepting applications for its 2019-2020 class. The comprehensive program is designed to prepare the community's next generation of leaders.
"Each year Leadership Marion! invites high-potential candidates from throughout Marion County and the surrounding area to join in a journey to understand Marion's history, its current challenges and its future," said Matt Carbary, interim president at Marion Area Chamber of Commerce.
Carbary said the class, which meets one day a month from September through May, explores essential building blocks of the Marion community, from education, business and government to health care and social services. Returning as program facilitator this year is John Shank.
"We learn about Marion's past from visits with local historians," Carbary said, "and we see Marion's current challenges through the eyes of the community, business and government leaders who are facing those issues every day."
Tuition for the nine-month program is $850 for Chamber members and $1,150 for non-members.
Application deadline is Aug. 23. For details, email chamberstaff@marionareachamber.org, call 740-382-2181 or visit www.marionareachamber.org/leadership.


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int add_file_to_cache (struct file* vm_file, dev_t* pdev, unsigned long* pino, struct timespec* pmtime);

// Returns the path of a cache file corresponding to the given parameters.  The caller must allocate cname
// to be a buffer of size CACHE_FILENAME_SIZE
// The recgroup lock must be held when calling this function
int get_cache_file_name (char* cname, dev_t dev, u_long ino, struct timespec mtime);

// Opens a cache file corresponding to the given parameters.  The caller must close the file.
// The recgroup lock must be held when calling this function
int open_cache_file (dev_t dev, u_long ino, struct timespec mtime, int flags);

// Opens a cache file corresponding to the given parameters for an mmap.  The caller must close the file.
// The recgroup lock must be held when calling this function
int open_mmap_cache_file (dev_t dev, u_long ino, struct timespec mtime, int is_write);

//get the next counter for the tmp writable mapped files
int get_next_mmap_file(void);
#endif


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Revisiting Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Last Show
Jeff Giles Published: December 9, 2016
When Emerson, Lake & Palmer reunited for a 40th anniversary concert at the High Voltage Festival in 2010, it sparked long-dormant hopes that the trio might find their way back together on a more permanent basis. Sadly for fans, that show turned out to be ELP's last.
As drummer Carl Palmer explained in 2013, the band seemed to lose something in the long layoff that followed their previous round of activity in 1998. "We rehearsed for five weeks, which I could never understand why we needed to rehearse that long," he pointed out — and quickly admitted that while he didn't agree with the long rehearsal schedule, they might have actually needed more practice.
"Upon hearing the recordings, maybe five weeks was not long enough," Palmer added. "It wasn't to the standard that I liked, and I didn't think it sounded that good."
Bassist and singer Greg Lake, who died on Dec. 7, echoed Palmer's sentiments in his own reflections on the show. "Working with the band was a little difficult because everybody's a bit old in the tooth now," he told Billboard in 2012. "In a way, I feel a sense of duty to play or perform that music for those people. That is my personal view. I don't think Keith [Emerson] and Carl feel the same way, and I don't think they are particularly keen on touring with ELP again."
All that being said, Lake admitted he'd never say never when it came to another ELP reunion — and Palmer seemed to share fans' sense of unfinished business where the band was concerned. "I don't think we'll be together again in any shape or format," he told Vintage Rock. "On the other hand, I'll tell you right now, I doubt that we've made our best album."
With Emerson's passing earlier this year, hopes of one more ELP reunion were permanently dashed – although Palmer remains on the road with a combo dubbed Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy during downtime between commitments to Asia. Check out the set list for Emerson, Lake & Palmer's farewell show at the 2010 High Voltage Festival below, and watch the whole concert via the video embed above.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer: High Voltage 2010
"Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Part 2"
"The Barbarian"
"Bitches Crystal"
"Knife-Edge"
"From the Beginning"
"Touch and Go"
"Take a Pebble"
"Tarkus"
"Farewell to Arms"
"Lucky Man"
"Pictures at an Exhibition"
"Fanfare for the Common Man"
Drum Solo
"Blue Rondo à la Turk"
Top 100 '70s Rock Albums
Next: Top 10 Greg Lake Songs
Source: Revisiting Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Last Show
Filed Under: Emerson Lake & Palmer
Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake and Palmer Dies
Top 10 Keith Emerson Songs


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Psychiatrist Dan Nicolau "medical license was placed on probation"
Psychiatrist Dan Nicolau
Johnson City Press
3 local doctors disciplined after overprescribing, stalking and other offenses, state says
Oct 15, 2017 Updated Jun 24, 2020
Dan Nicolau, Johnson City. After entering into a romantic relationship with an acquaintance to whom he prescribed drugs and later stalked, Nicolau's medical license was placed on probation for two years…
Nicolau was ordered by the court to pay costs, complete a treatment plan established by the TBME and have no contact with "C.B." After a multidisciplinary assessment, it was recommended Nicolau refrain from consuming alcohol for one year, participate in a Tennessee Medical Foundation boundary course for six months, participate in a continuing medical education prescription boundaries course within six months, utilize a chaperon when seeing females in addiction treatment and engage in weekly therapy. Nicolau has been ordered to pay a civil penalty of $2,000 and other fees up to $3,000…
— End Excerpt
Public records:
Johnson City Police – Report
Washington County, Tennessee – Court Record
Tennessee Department of Health – Grounds for Discipline
Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners – Violation
Virginia Board of Medicine – Reprimanded
Johnson City Press – license placed on probation for two years
The Recover "sentenced to probation for 24 months for criminal trespassing and stalking"
Lubbock County, Texas, District Court – Nicolau vs. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine
Brazos County, Texas Court Nicolau vs. Texas Hall of Fame, Inc.


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AreaSanriku Coast
石巻市 復興まちづくり情報交流館 | Ishinomaki Community & Info Center
A glimpse of the realities of local life before and after the 2011 tsunami
The Ishinomaki Community and Info Center was established in 2015 to document the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 and the progress of the reconstruction. The center is directed by Richard Halberstadt, a native of Reading, England. Halberstadt has called Ishinomaki home for more than two decades now. While many foreign residents evacuated Japan in the wake of the 2011 disasters, Halberstadt was one of the few who resolved to stay for the long haul. He and the Center's other staff are an excellent source of information on the city's history and current state of affairs as well as the challenges it faces going forward.
"The city basically owes its prosperity to the water that surrounds it, including the ocean, river and canal. But of course the flip side is the dangers that such bodies of water pose," observes Halberstadt. Indeed, the water and its role in life here has brought both abundance as well as destruction. On March 11, 2011, one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded struck off Japan's northeastern coast, triggering a massive tsunami that took the lives of over 20,000 people. Eighty miles (130 km) from the epicenter of the earthquake, the sea roared up the mouth of the Kitakami River, causing the river to flow backward and engulf the city. At one point nearly half of the city was underwater. Throughout the city center, electric poles bear small blue and white signs documenting the tsunami's depth in that location, a reminder every day of what happened here.
The Center contains maps, photos and other media detailing how this urban flood took place and the steps the city is taking to protect against future disasters while still embracing its natural surroundings. More spacious and inviting than its modest exterior suggests, the Center houses an impressive collection of exhibits and literature in Japanese and English, as well as a 3D model of the city—all very helpful in conveying the scope of the disaster and the overall direction in which the recovery is heading. Visitors who wish to have in-person English guidance should phone ahead for Halberstadt's availability, as he does his best to accommodate such requests. The Center offers a unique opportunity for visitors to learn about the multifaceted nature of the city's ongoing recovery.
Visit the Center and shop local to contribute to Ishinomaki's ongoing recovery. The nearby Genki Ichiba is a one-stop shop for food and gifts sourced from the surrounding land and sea. To get a broader perspective—literally—on the state of the recovery, head up the hill to the Hiyoriyama Park overlook, where you can compare the current view to photographs pre-2011 posted at the observation deck.
WEBSITEhttp://www.city.ishinomaki.lg.jp/cont/10151000/9200/20150302212702.html
Do & See Gallery/Museum History Recovery & Beyond Sanriku Coast
2 Chome-8-11 Chūō, Ishinomaki-shi, Miyagi-ken 986-0822
ACCESS BY PUBLIC TRANSIT
10 min. walk from Ishinomaki Station (Senseki Line and Ishinomaki Line)
Not necessary, but phone ahead for tours with Richard Halberstadt
Tuesdays*
New Year's holiday period (Dec 30–Jan 2)
*If Tuesday falls on a national holiday, the center will close the following day instead.
AccommodationCafeFamily FriendlyGallery/MuseumGarden/ParkHalalHands-on ExperiencesItinerariesNightlifeSakeSamuraiSeafood/SushiSports/Outdoor ActivitiesTemples & ShrinesTojiVegetarian/Vegan
Matsushima BayMt. ZaoNear MiyagiNorthern MiyagiSanriku CoastSendai
AnimalsArt & CultureAutumnDo & SeeEvents & FestivalsFood & DrinkHistoryNatureOnsen Hot SpringsRecovery & BeyondSpringSummerWinter
Home› Ishinomaki Community & Info Center


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Will Bradley Wiggins be victorious at the world road time trials?
A gold medal would be a massive turnaround, says William Fotheringham
Tuesday, 24th September 2013 at 3:29 pm
If a week is a long time in politics, 12 months can prove an eternity in sport. A year ago Sir Bradley Wiggins travelled to the world road race championships to bookend a season in which almost everything he touched had turned to gold. Victories in the Tour de France and three other major stage races, plus an unforgettable Olympic gold medal in the time trial had turned the Kid from Kilburn into a national celebrity, BBC Sports Personality and an instantly recognizable figure.
For Wiggins, the contrast between September 2012 and 2013 could hardly be more marked, and not solely because he has shaved off what were, briefly, the most famous sideburns in British sport since the days of Gareth Edwards and George Best. Despite winning the Tour of Britain on Sunday, tomorrow's world time trial championship marks his final chance to salvage a major title from his leanest season since 2007. A gold medal would be a massive turnaround.
It would have been unimaginable a year ago, but Wiggins did not even defend his title in the Tour de France this July, in part due to a knee injury which had disrupted his preparation, but mainly because of his difficult relationship with the 2012 runner-up, his team mate Chris Froome. That led to a struggle for leadership of Team Sky. The question of which of the pair should have No1 status in the British squad in the Tour had been live since the 2012 race ended, and rumbled on through the spring.
Before his main goal of the season, the Giro d'Italia, which is comparable with the Tour in duration and difficulty, Wiggins increased the pressure on himself by stating he felt capable of winning both that event and the Tour – but that backfired when the Italian race went wrong. The sight of the Tour de France winner struggling to hang on on rainsoaked descents in Tuscany, and being shot out of the peloton on the Veneto plains amid coughing fits was as unexpected as it was humiliating. Amidst all this, Froome was winning race after race.
The Tour leadership question turned out to be a no-brainer. Froome it had to be, a decision vindicated when he went on to win by a street. And after Wiggins was ruled out of the Tour, that in turn prompted him to rethink and – perhaps a little hastily – declare an end to his days of going for victories in the Tour de France, the Giro, and the Vuelta a Espana. The demands were too extreme, the pressure on him and his family too much to bear. It was an incredible about-turn: in 11 months he had gone from winning the Tour to writing off his chances of ever doing so again.
Trying to win the Tour is not for those who wish to enjoy normal human stuff like the odd glass of wine or a day out with the family. The focus on diet and rest is relentless, 365-days a year. And Wiggins has a long history of struggling mentally after attaining a major goal. He has always shone when making the big push; sustaining the effort year-in, year-out has always seemed a struggle for him. Put those together, and you understand why 2013 has turned out to be an annus horribilis.
Which brings us back to the world championship. Gold returns Wiggins to the top, while a medal of any colour means he regains some of the stature he enjoyed last season. That in turn could influence whether he tries to win the Tour again, switches to other goals, or even – as some have been led to speculate – opts to retire. That is what is at stake on Wednesday 25 September over 57km between Montecatini Terme and Florence. It is all or nothing.
Find William Fotheringham on Twitter @willforth and on his website www.williamfotheringham.com
See the live cycling: world road time trials Wednesday 25 September, 1:40pm, BBC2
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The 30-Day E-mail Detox
By Katie Goodman
Halfway through the day, my cell phone battery dies from overuse.
By noon, I have four outraged voice mails from my best friend: "If you're going to do this, leave your cell on! And in your pocket!" I've had a cell for only four years. We've been friends for 12. How did our friendship survive?
I call my mother. "Thank God you're somewhere!" she jokes. In fact, the Internet is the most not-somewhere you can be. But I see what she means.
I had pictured having some mongoose-like vigor that would send me into a fury of creativity, but it's not happening. I made the horrible, horrible mistake of clearing out the day for this. And now I sit here while everyone else in the theater office is reading e-mail. The desire to cheat is ravenous.
Still Day One
There's a Bermuda Triangle in my life of to-do items that get lost until a significant space of rediscovered time is created, at which point these items reappear like lost pilots who walk toward their loved ones through a mist, wearing 1940s clothes. The pilots are now reappearing.
I need to contact my whole cast to change tomorrow's rehearsal time. Six actors times two minutes per call equals 12 minutes. Upside: One actor never checks e-mail, another's is down; phone calls assure rehearsal change works. Might hang on to this system after my 30 days are up.
I wish I had someone looking at my in-box for me, to make sure nothing disastrous is happening. Although, really, what could be disastrous in an office setting if you're not, say, a terrorist watch organization? My inflated sense of self-importance is becoming clearer. My Zen teacher would be so proud. Screw her.
On vacation. At Disney World, with my mother and 4-year-old son. For a person who has not been on vacation without a laptop or within walking distance of an Internet café in eight years, yesterday was a cruel beginning. I was in old-school mode: rushing to get in as many rides as possible, dashing back to the Fastpass area when what we needed was a break and a snack. So, no surprise to anyone (but me) that by 3 P.M. we were in full 4-year-old meltdown mode.
But today I am here. Finally. Disconnected from everything but my son's energy level and my bladder. And if you can believe it, it is a sweet, slow Disney day.
Day Six
Back from vacation. Virtually no voice mails at work. Panic. Did I write the wrong number on that final e-mail? Or are they not calling because (a) it's too annoying, (b) it's too time-consuming, (c) they're lazy, or (d) they've forgotten me? Oy. There goes my career.
From the March 2008 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine
As a reminder, always consult your doctor for medical advice and treatment before starting any program.
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text:
Are Junk Food Habits Driving Obesity? A Tale Of Two Studies
By Maria Godoy
Published November 12, 2015 at 12:22 PM EST
More than 36 percent of American adults and 17 percent of youth under 19 are obese, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Scientists still don't fully understand what got us here. And sometimes, the answers they've come up with turn out to be wrong. Consider the changing advice on fat, which has been amended of late from its days as a dietary demon.
By now, it would seem that the link between the obesity epidemic and the consumption of high-calorie, low-nutrition foods like sodas, cookies and fries is well-established. But as two recent studies show, researchers are still probing the mechanics of that connection.
Broadly speaking, both studies explore the connection between junk food and weight — though they do so using different data sets from two different populations (adults and kids).
Let's start with the finding that seems most counterintuitive: For most of us, junk foods may not be what's driving weight gain. That's what behavioral economist David Just and his colleagues at the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab concluded in a paper in the journal Obesity Science & Practice.
The researchers looked at data collected in 2007-2008 from a nationally representative sample of roughly 5,000 U.S. adults as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), including information on weight, height and eating habits. Junk food was defined as fast food, soda and sweets.
Some of that data set had been used in a 2013 CDC study that found that heavier Americans were indeed getting more of their daily calories from fast food. But the Cornell researchers wondered what would happen if they excluded the people on the extreme ends of the weight spectrum — those who are clinically underweight and the very morbidly obese.
And they found that once those groups were eliminated, there was no association between body mass index and how much fast food, sugary sodas and sweets people consume.
The finding, which applies to 95 percent of the population, "was really counterintuitive — not what we expected at all," Just tells The Salt.
But if fast food isn't driving the obesity epidemic, what is? "I suspect we're eating too many calories from all foods," Just says. He points to data from the USDA's Economic Research Service showing that Americans, on average, now eat 500 calories more daily than they did around 1970, before the obesity epidemic took off.
To be clear, Just isn't saying that you can eat all the junk food you want with no consequence. "You increase your consumption of these things, yeah, you're going to put on weight," he says. "But that's not to say that is the differentiator between those who are overweight and those who aren't." And if that's the case, Just says, instead of targeting junk foods in the war against obesity, maybe we should be preaching the gospel of moderation and portion control with all foods.
Sure, that's good advice in general — but it may not mean we can let junk foods off the hook.
Eric Finkelstein, an associate professor at the Duke Global Health Institute at Duke University, notes that the data the Cornell researchers used is only a snapshot of what a cross-section of Americans were eating at a single moment in time. So it's possible, for example, that the overweight and obese people included in the study reported eating less junk foods because they were trying to lose weight.
"I'd lend a lot more credence to studies that follow change [in eating habits and weight] over time," Finkelstein tells The Salt.
And, over time, he says, the evidence suggests strongly that even modest increases in the consumption of certain foods will result in long-term weight gain. He points to a 2011 study in the New England Journal of Medicine that looked at data gathered over decades on 120,000 U.S. adults. Over a four-year period, an extra daily serving of potato chips was associated with weight gain of 1.69 pounds, the study found. That may not sound like much, but for most adults, that's how the pounds add up — gradually, over time, at an average rate of about a pound a year.
/ Morgan McCloy/NPR
And problem foods will pack on the pounds for kids, too. Last week, Finkelstein and his colleagues published a similarly detailed breakdown of the links between weight gain and certain foods in children. The researchers turned to data on more than 4,600 kids from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, an ongoing study in the U.K. that has tracked the same set of children — with records on their height, weight and food intake — since their birth in the early 1990s.
Once again, potato chips raised red flags.
As the researchers reported in the journal Health Affairs, over a three-year period, every 25-gram serving of potato chips (a little under an ounce) that kids ate daily was linked to about a half-pound of excess weight gain. (Basically, that's defined as weight beyond what a child should weigh for his or her height and age.)
Again, half a pound doesn't sound alarming, "but if you're also getting an extra half a pound from burgers, and half a pound from french fries, these things add up. And some kids are eating more than a serving" daily, Finkelstein says.
Other foods the study linked to excessive weight gain included "kid food" staples — like breaded and coated fish and poultry (think fish sticks and chicken nuggets) and french fries — and processed meats, butter and margarine, desserts and sweets.
That's important, because some 31 percent of American and 38 percent of European kids are now overweight or obese — and the pounds we gain as kids often stay with us through adulthood.
Maria Godoy
Maria Godoy is a senior science and health editor and correspondent with NPR News. Her reporting can be heard across NPR's news shows and podcasts. She is also one of the hosts of NPR's Life Kit.
See stories by Maria Godoy


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the odd employment
Additional employment
Reminiscences of 2014
January 28, 2015 § Leave a comment
Lauded for his eye for landscapes and an acute sense of character psychology, Nuri Bilge Ceylan's wordsmanship has always been as striking as his seeming eerie ability to order the very clouds in the sky into position and photograph them with an ominous sense of texture and omniscience. An artist who has never shied from acknowledging his major influences (something that critics have seized upon all too lazily), Ceylan seems to have over the years drifted from an Antonioni-like taciturnity and visual austerity towards a more 'talky' dialogue-driven narrative form that resides somewhere between the proverbialistic tenderness of Ozu and Ingmar Bergman's Nordic brand of navel-gazing psychoanalysis. Ceylan's penchant for philosophising became startlingly apparent with his masterful "Once upon a time in Anatolia," especially when paired with his still boldly melancholic imagery. With "Winter Sleep," the Turkish filmmaker, working as always with his wife Ebru during the scripting process, has finally overindulged his apparent love for verbosity…or so some would say. Well, for those who are drawn to Ceylan's work primarily on the strength of his brooding photographic sense, the 2014 Palme d'Or winner may indeed be something of a departure, or rather, a touch understated. But the brilliance of this writing team is startlingly apparent. Unlike writer-director Olivier Assayas who, on the basis of "The Clouds of Sils Maria" and the labourious words of its fictional playwright Wilhelm Melchior, wouldn't make the greatest dramaturge, Ceylan and his co-scripters would excel on stage, and while not linguistically dextrous like Tom Stoppard at his absurdist best, their ability to propel a narrative on the back of unapologetically analytical and often caustic intellectualised exchanges is essentially unmatched in current semi-mainstream world cinema. It does not bear the hipster swagger of Tarantino or the archly ironic bite of the Coens, but much like some of Ceylan's Romanian contemporaries, the spoken content of "Winter Sleep" possesses deep, socially-engaged intelligence without affected art-house banality. But this does not in any way imply that Ceylan's use of cinema is 'uncinematic.' On the contrary, the skill and minute attention with which he and DP Gokhan Tiryaki capture faces in close-up could not be further removed from the theatre. Quite simply the tale of a middle-aged ex-actor turned Cappadocian hotelier cum newspaper columnist trying to figure out life in the wake of a dying marriage and an engulfing sense of loneliness and disillusionment, "Winter Sleep" represents an exciting development in the careers of an absolutely vital collective of artists spearheaded by a filmmaker of refreshing integrity.
Bong Joon-Ho is an unquestionable master of tone. Over the course of four feature films (well…five), the Korean wunderkind has displayed an illusionist's slippery ability, mixing pitch blackness with a giddy, nearly slapstick brand of farcical humour. Like the interrogation scenes in "Memories of Murder" which oscillate nauseatingly between moments of borderline torture to instances of surprising hilarity that spring directly from the preceding horror, 2014's "Snowpiercer" constantly has one foot in the possibility – and frequent eventuation – of violence, and the other sunk deep in sickly sweet satire. It's a testament to the strength of Bong's vision that he can achieve the same tonal tightrope with a multinational, multilingual cast (featuring the likes of Tilda Swinton, Ed Harris and Kang-ho Song), especially considering that the intended audience would have been far broader than what the director might be used to when working as an exclusively South Korean filmmaker, the risk being the possible dilution of whatever cultural specificities allow his earlier pictures to live and breathe as they do. In truth, "Snowpiercer" feels more unwieldy than Bong's previous three films, less restrained, less 'perfect', more of a compromise. But it's not so much meandering or aimless as it is indulgent and bloated at times, and this almost certainly has to do with a degree of excess and 'blockbuster' hubris that seems to run in the film's veins which – one is tempted to say – is a due to the expectations of a globalised market dominated by far more excessive and gluttonous US tent pole releases. That this might be Bong's least perfect picture is astounding, considering what an achievement of imagination the film truly is. Set in a future version of earth that is at the mercy of a mankind-induced ice age, staged on a globe-circling class-based train wherein the disenfranchised and disadvantaged masses occupy the rusted rear cars and so on and so forth, and featuring a very 'pitchable' high-concept plot, "Snowpiercer" is an openly symbolic, very topical fable for our current time, referencing everything from climate change to class disparity to the aforementioned globalisation. The film has been met with a curious degree of scepticism by the critical community, probably because of its tonal tenuousness and almost undisciplined grandiosity. Or maybe it's to do with the gradual revelation – as was also the case with Park Chan-Wook's "Stoker" (itself a fairly good film) – that the rhythms of mainstream English-language high-concept filmmaking may be relatively incompatible with the dizzying heights of Korean genre (bending) cinema. It's funny to think that "Snowpiercer" somehow defies its status as a multinational, crossover production by ultimately highlighting the importance of cultural specificity. While Lars von Trier may thrive on casting his films with somewhat of an international reach, and though Paul Verhoeven's approach and aesthetic may be as successful in the mainstream English mode as it is in the Dutch (though, who's to say definitively?) , this might simply not apply to Bong Joon-Ho, which is not at all a bad thing.
No other major English-language film this year – none perhaps from the last few years – has managed, as has "Under the Skin," to be so weirdly esoteric, so off-handedly oblique in its tone and mood all the while conveying a supreme sense of certainty of purpose and intellectual security. Every so often a film with a wide enough release or at least with a certain amount of festival buzz will dare to perplex audiences at the risk of alienating and infuriating them. Many if not most, even those as accomplished as Leos Carax's "Holy Motors" a few years ago (or maybe even "Enter the Void"), can leave even the most astute and analytical of viewers with the nagging suspicion that they've been somehow played; that the strange concoction of images, sounds and ideas they have just beheld is in fact a stark nude emperor prancing the world stage or the ramblings of a great poet gone suddenly mad. But despite the fact that it is cryptic as hell and does not easily lend itself to wild interpretations – at least for this particular writer – Jonathan Glazer's third feature as director somehow fails to simply feel like a menagerie of bizarre scenes loosely tied together with slick artisanship and a selection of broad, bordering-on-vague themes. It seems that the picture's quiet, creeping aloofness and the wintry greyness of its Scottish setting, which ends up informing the relatively muted visual palette, creates the sense that Glazer and his collaborators have no interest in seducing viewers by simply dazzling them. This relative austerity – for want of a better term – is what counterbalances the film's more outré elements and creates the impression that there is some purpose to the weirdness. As the narrative drifts along to the atonal whining, wailing, echoing and gurgling of Mika Levi's appropriately extra-terrestrial score, it complements the clinical manner in which Scarlett Johansson's apparently alien, certainly nameless entity drives a white van through the streets of urban and rural Scotland, harvesting human males. But there is one aspect to this film by British filmmaker and supreme cinematic technician Jonathan Glazer (check out his music videography for evidence of this) that stands out in greatest relief. "Under the Skin" is like the tragic younger sister of Wim Winders' "Wings of Desire": an alien entity is seduced into becoming human after spending a wealth of time drifting amongst them, observing them, the crucial difference being that the only real enlightenment that Johansson's character achieves is the fatal realisation that human femininity is burdened with the yoke of warped power dynamics. Having assumed the body of a very fetching human lass and utilised her newfound sexual authority to lure men into her tarry lair, ScarJo's alien is shocked to find that this very sexuality, while powerful in one instance, is the basis of immense susceptibility whether it be to exploitation or outright violence. It's as if to imply that being a woman in our generally androcentric societies necessitates being a player in the game of sexual power one way or another, dominating or being dominating, preying on or being preyed upon; as if to imply that utilising and reappropriating objectification and the male gaze is the only alternative to exploitation and violence. Yet, within the same breath, "Under the Skin" appears to celebrate the human experience in all its frailty and quiet desperation. In some ways it is a back-handed celebration; in some ways it isn't.
So another Coppola has taken their place in the director's chair, extending the legacy of the once towering Francis Ford to a new generation in the form of granddaughter Gia Coppola. Funnily, when "Palo Alto" first slouched onto the scene in late 2013, premiering in Venice film festival's Orrizonti section, it seemed that aunt Sofia Coppola was cited almost as often – if not more – than her father Francis when mention was being made of this Hollywood dynasty's apparently hereditary penchant for making movies and how this may or may not have influenced Gia's desire and logistical ability to take up the art form in a directorial capacity. Undeniably, the fact that Gia and Sofia are both women is a major reason for the comparisons and references (if not only for the fact that a supreme alpha male of American cinema is most vigorously survived not by his son, Roman, but by his daughter and grand-daughter), but it's also very easy to draw lines of influences between the films of Sofia Coppola and Gia's debut. The potent mix of languid sensuality and hip detachment that characterises much of Sofia's work can be found in "Palo Alto" which, with its focus on the lives of a group of teenagers in suburban USA and its being based on a literary work (the James Franco's collection of short stories from which the film takes its name) somehow recalls "The Virgin Suicides." But it's difficult to know whether Gia's film actually looks, moves and feels like those of her aunt, or whether it is simply reminiscent of a certain type of film made in the wake of Sofia Coppola's rapid rise to auteur status because, were a Coppola name not attached to it, would it strike anyone as being the work of someone familiar with Sofia? In some ways, whatever cynicism or scepticism rises to meet "Palo Alto" and however erroneous and presumptuous the comparisons to the history and heritage of the Coppola clan, "Palo Alto" is a work of great promise. Set in the eponymous city and centred on what some may call entitled white kids – in particular, a pair caught up in a tentative and cute courtship, this picture displays an acute sense of understanding and an affinity for the psychosocial maelstrom that is their hypersexed and drug-fuelled adolescence. At risk of endorsing the self-obsession of this particular breed of American teenager, "Palo Alto" manages to celebrate their irreverence while at the same time mourning the ennui and apathy that can result when one realises the limits of entitlement. The film also reveals young Jack Kilmer (son of Val) to be a fine performer with a disarming sense of naivety both on-screen and – presumably – in front of the camera.
It would be nice for an African film to one day – whenever that day comes – garner international attention on the back of a low key premise that focuses primarily on the lives of individuals in their own little worlds (like most US indies tend to be) as opposed to their being capital I 'issue' movies about civil war ("Darratt"), female circumcision ("Moolaade"), illegal trans-Atlantic migration ("La pirogue") and, in the case of Aberahmanne Sissako's "Timbuktu," religious fundamentalism. But even with the Berlinale's Golden Bear in its grasp and the fervent patronage of someone with as prominent a critical and cultural voice as Roger Ebert, the South African Xhosa language film based on a famous European opera, "U Carmen Ekhayalitsha," failed to inspire much interest, not even in the form of derisive or dismissive negativity. Now, it could be quite successfully argued that a film like Mahmet Saleh Haroun's "A Screaming Man" is in fact a modest tale of personal integrity and family that simply uses the Chadian civil war as a backdrop, though the spectre of conflict is present enough in that picture to justify it's being classified as one about civil war. Haroun's most recent picture "GriGris" about a wannabe dancer whose aspirations lead him to flirt with black market petrol (topical once again?) does not and did not possess any of the buzzwords that may have otherwise raised its profile as an African film worthy of attention. So, until that day comes, when there will be an African version of Hong Sang-Soo's narratively inventive and structurally reflexive small scale relationship dramedies, we'll have to 'make do' with exquisitely staged and soulfully photographed issue pictures like "Timbuktu." This picture feels like one of those peaceful protests whose civility (here, gentle beauty) is all the more remarkable because of the underlying anger and outrage directed at those (presumably Ansar Dine and other Islamist groups) whose fundamentalism doesn't necessarily extend inwards and is conveniently flexible, as required. What keeps the film from being one protracted cry against the scourge of unmitigated Sharia Law and other similar practices is the fact that Sissako & company seem to be more curious about the effect that the sudden imposition of one stringent value system may have a on a complex, non-perfect society, but at a decidedly grass roots level that focuses on what one may quite reasonably assume to be 'average' residents of Timbuktu. Like "A Screaming Man," the political is very much filtered through the personal. So until the advent of moderately high profile talky Mauritanian romantic dramedies, "Timbuktu" will very much do.
For someone whose directorial talents have never been considered to extend to his various actorly turns, Joe Swanberg, like each member of this his tiny film's tiny cast, brings a sublimely droll and somewhat disciplined naturalism to this tale of a young woman who calls in on her brother, his wife and their infant son in Chicago over Christmas. Quite possibly, the fact that Swanberg shares the stage with his actual two-year-old son, Jude, might account for the verisimilitude and sheer heart of his performance. And as for young Jude Swanberg, when last was a baby such a forceful and arresting screen presence to the point of seeming like a crucial narrative player despite his being generally unintelligible and wrapped up in his own little world? On another note, aquiline-faced Anna Kendrick seems to possess an uncanny (or maybe not so uncanny) understanding of what it is to be emotionally wrecked post-breakup so much so that one becomes socially oblivious and recklessly so, getting wantonly wasted, borderline loose and almost drunkenly burning down a house by reheating a pizza. But what propels "Happy Christmas" beyond being a modestly shot character study of a twenty-something acopic mess is that Kendrick's Jenny is not a straight-up destabilising force like – say – Juno Temple's character McKenna in Jill Soloway's quite good "Afternoon Delight." In fact, her effect on the central couple (Swanberg senior's Jeff and Melanie Lynskey's obliging but initially uptight Kelly) is surprising despite her continued psychological fragility and abandonment issues. And despite the fact that the loss of one man's love has very nearly ruined her, Kelly proves to be an unexpected source of empowerment for a certain individual whose promising career as a literary novelist plays second fiddle to their role as full-time nurturer and wife. If, with "Happy Christmas" Joe Swanberg is still seen as merely a mumblecore director (if that term is still in use), then the 'movement' has certainly moved beyond awkward improvisations and slice-of-life uneventfulness while retaining considerable grit (of the sort found in the suburban garden not the urban gutter) and a great deal of soul.
Maybe it's the lazy cinephile tendency to see everything through the lens of something previously seen, but a great deal of the rough-hewn charm of this Italian language (with swathes of German) picture seems to owe a little – if not a lot – to Fellini's brand of fabulist cinema in whose wake magic and fantasy always lurks. Plus, the fact that the chief protagonist in this film, "The Wonders," is the namesake of Giulietta Masina's character in Fellini's "La Strada," only strengthens the link. Two bees crawl out of a girl's mouth accompanied by the slightly eerie whistling of an apparently mute boy. As two children sleep in a cave, their spirits seem to come alive in the form of shadows cast against the rock walls by the light of a flame. A television show called 'The land of wonders' champions the primary industries of provincial central Italy as a way of celebrating the culinary traditions and general ethereal, spiritual earthiness of the region's ancient Etruscan civilisation, complete with lyre and flute music and Monica Belluci looking resplendent as some kind of white-haired sprite-goddess TV host. These touches of mysticism/magical realism, paired with the very 'indie', very now approach to cinema (one which favours a drifty and physically intimate camera, inconsequential dialogue that aims for naturalism, and elliptical storytelling) gives the film a subtle atmosphere which at times feels exquisitely unique but can also come across as rote subscription to a very widespread mode of independent filmmaking. Written and directed by Alice Rohrwacher and featuring her soulfully aquiline sister Alba, "La Meraviglie" is most easily summarised as a coming-of-age tale though this is only truly accurate on a surface level. The key protagonist, Gelsomina, is a twelve year old girl, the honorary first-born son of her bee-keeping, honey-farming, petulantly patriarchal father whose tendency for girls (having borne a quartet) is commented on several times. Initially a bastion of prodigious responsibility and reliability and heir apparent to her father's vocation, Gelsomina's interest in partaking in 'the land of wonders' as well as the introduction of the aforementioned mute (and cute) boy creates a rift in the central father-daughter relationship, or at least highlights the fundamental disparities which clearly exist from the outset. Interestingly, "La Meraviglie" can be viewed from a primarily familial standpoint, but the film – and director Rohrwacher, presumably – has a clear interest in the concurrent romance and non-progressive isolationism inherent in ideas of pastoral self-sufficiency and traditionalism while also seeming intent on questioning or at least exploring the extent to which such isolationism is or isn't sustainable in the face of 'modernising', globalist influences. For all these possible subtexts, it must be said that this picture is so unassuming and understated that it deserves praise for its patience but also gentle chiding for too often epitomising an all too common mode of 'serious cinema.'
Mr Turner
Lightly joking about the grunts and grumbles with which proto-impressionist painter Joseph Mallord William (J.M.W.) Turner tends to express his thoughts and feelings (as per Timothy Spall's spiritedly roughhewn interpretation) was something of a meme in 2014, at least amongst the critical community. Having seen the film, it turns out (pun unintended but nonetheless enjoyed) that the character of Mr Turner does in fact utilise guttural sounds as much as he does intelligible words (oftentimes mispronounced). Whatever the accuracy of Mr Spall's portrayal, it is one which rings if not true then intuitively appropriate and fitting, painting the artist as a man whose astounding sensitivity to beauty and the subtlest behaviours of light is offset by a startlingly crude and brutish manner, a dichotomy which composer George Yerosh underscores (another pun) with pieces that range from soothingly traditional to borderline atonal, reflecting both Turner's roots in the classical and his Avant-garde leanings. But it may also be that such an obsessive appreciation of aesthetics leaves no room in Turner's persona for any sort of foppish or flattering social refinement, though there is also a strong sense that he is – was – a man consumed by pain of which he was never eager to confront yet never willing to let go of and which as a result expressed itself in his very physicality and in the disciplined squall of colour that characterises his art. In addition, the man was a visionary – a stance Leigh and his colleagues do not seem in the least bit shy about expressing – and it may very well be this moderate disregard for etiquette that enables his defiant and distinctly modern approach to landscape art whilst remaining a respected (perhaps feared) member of a very exclusive and conservative institution. This is not to say in the least that J.M.W. is not in fact a gentleman, for this he is in his own crusty way, not only in his being an esteemed and apparently popular fellow of the aforementioned Royal Academy and seemingly well off to boot money-wise , but that he also possesses a capacity for gentleness which he extends to some only to withhold from others, particularly – it seems – the women closest to him (his wife and daughters, and his heartbreakingly doting and exploited house help, Hannah Danby). But for all of this rich nuance (for which Timothy Spall is rightfully being heaped with plaudits), what makes this Mike Leigh film – 'written' (in quotes on account of the writer's methods) and directed by a man who is by this point in time a bona fide cinematic master – a unique iteration of the 'biopic' is that it makes a notable effort to explore Turner not just as an emotional being but as a technician and an artisan, a deeply curious creature who stands apart from his peers by way of his almost scientific sense of procedure, technique and technology, but also – ironically – his unorthodox and sometimes aggressive methods which involve spitting on canvases and employing violent brushwork that seem to pre-empt, almost by a century, the action painting of Jackson Pollock. As for its being a period picture, "Mr Turner" finds Mike Leigh achieving a deeply refreshing balance between the stately rigidity that paintings from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries suggest of upper middle class British society at that time (emphasised by the appropriately stately cinematography), and a very Leighsian naturalism of performance which is in some ways the very antithesis of "Barry Lyndon" but which ironically makes it that picture's rightful peer. All this is captured for the screen by Leigh's visual right-hand man, DP Dick Pope, whose normally modest approach is afforded the chance to reach moments of splendour that recall the aforementioned Kubrick film in their painterly quality: landscapes that echo the light-obsessed work of Turner himself, but which also highlight the fact that Pope, like his cinematographic forbears and his greatest contemporaries i.e. Lubezki and Deakins, are truly painters in a new medium, one which Mr Turner in one particularly poignant scene fears will eventually replace him and his peers (though, in all fairness, Turner was not simply a recordist but an interpreter). If this picture does not win J.M.W. Turner a resurgence of interest (if not a new slew of admirers), it would be deeply sad if it does not immortalise in cement the genius of Mike Leigh and the company of immense artists of whom he is but one. Surely one of the most exquisite films released by anyone anywhere this year.
If, by hailing the script penned by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller as the best piece of original screenwriting of 2014, the National Board of Review is applauding the Hollywood golden duo's ability to capture the narrative hyperactivity and sheer chaos of child's play, then the award is deserved. However, if this madcap story of an ordinary LEGO construction worker who finds himself amongst a merry band of rebels intent on foiling the diabolical plans of a tyrant is considered to be sharper, funnier or more elegantly structured than – say – "Winter Sleep" or "Listen Up Philip" (amongst others), then the NBR's decision may warrant serious review. Towards the end of "The LEGO Movie," an unseen character known only as "The Man Upstairs" is revealed to be someone quite unexpected, giving the movie's heartfelt plea for unfettered creativity a disarmingly obvious but sweet new meaning, one that will be very pertinent to a hefty chunk of its viewership. In addition, this sudden inclusion of live action not only references the seminal "Toy Story" series but also contributes to the illusion that the animation in this film is achieved practically (as opposed to virtually) though it is more than reasonable to assume that CG has a major hand to play in the creation of the vibrant images on screen. Whatever the means of animation, it is safe to heap praise on the efforts made to maintain utmost fidelity to the nature of LEGO, most evident in the way fluid entities such as water, smoke and fire are rendered. The most impressive technical feat might be the depiction of the sea with its undulating blockiness which is nonetheless startling in its detail. But on a more thematic and narrative front, the film is either a haplessly or a wilfully transparent satire lampooning ubiquitous commerce and the effect it has on the creative spirit, one which maybe be chewing on the LEGO hand that feeds, to the point of being cringingly ironic, even oblivious. It features a Will Ferrell-voiced villain called Lord/President Business for the love of Christ. Plus, the fact that the cast of characters includes LEGO iterations of lucrative properties like Batman and Superman and not so lucrative ones like the Green Lantern only positions this film as a work of not so subtle brand publicity, but one which believes that openly highlighting its profiteering tendencies and relative creative bankruptcy gives it license to completely indulge and wallow in them. Like Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's "Jump Street" films, the significant kernels of imaginativeness evident in "The LEGO Movie" are unfortunately consumed by the trademark sensory assault that US studio cinema all too often confuses with 'fun' and 'entertainment.'
Seeing as it cannot, for some reason (probably rights related), be named after the novel upon which it is based (Hiroshi Sakurazaka's "All you Need is Kill"), this financially 'underperforming' sci-fi action thriller whose lack of box-office punch has been attributed to everything from Tom Cruise's apparent toxicity as a headliner to the film's apparently vague and generic title, should probably stick with said title, vague and generic as it may be/appear. "Edge of Tomorrow" (the phrase, that is) has a certain wistful quality about it and a weird throw-back kind of innocence which is entirely in keeping with the movie itself, a Doug Liman directed effort set in a future where earth is under attack from a race of beastly extra-terrestrials called Mimics some of whom possess the ability to manipulate time and some of whom unwittingly transmit this power to human opponents, namely Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) and Sergeant Rita Vrataski (a brilliantly strapping Emily Blunt). "Live Die Repeat," the name by which the film is now known post-theatrically, may be muscular and 'cool' from a 'Halo'-playing kidult point of view, but it will only hurt the film by giving potential new viewers the impression that it is just a hectically violent, silver screen version of…well, 'Halo.' Now, to be fair, "Edge of Tomorrow" is as blue-green hued, CG clogged and plot-obsessed as one would expect from such a picture, but it is the slight but noticeable deviations that render it a standout example of modern high-concept Hollywood entertainment, these deviations being (a) the trust and patience Liman invests in his visuals such that he avoids chopping the film up into a string of shaky millisecond shots; (b) the absence of the one-note super-seriousness that too many action thriller adopt despite their mindlessness, replaced here with a steady pulse of humour and genuine tenderness; (c) the thankful lack of an overbearingly percussive 'action movie' score ; (d) the captivating, lived-in lead performances, especially that given by Tom Cruise who, despite his off-screen antics and what-have-you , has always been a most dependable and committed actor. A masterpiece it may not quite be, but for the type of film that it is (one which the US studio system is obsessed with churning out endlessly) "Edge of Tomorrow" should be the standard bearer. Sadly, its 'measly' $360000+ worldwide gross will ensure that the billion dollar "Transformers" series remains the template for a while longer yet.
Tagged: 2014, 21 jump street, a screaming man, african cinema, alice rohrwacher, all you need is kill, bong joon-ho, brief impressions, Cannes, cappadocia, chekhov, chris evans, cinema, clouds of sils maria, dialogue, dick pope, edge of tomorrow, emily blunt, fellini, fundamentalism, gelsomina, happy christmas, international, JMW Turner, joe swanberg, jonathan glazer, la meraviglie, Mike Leigh, monica belluci, mr turner, mumblecore, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Olivier Assayas, ozu, palme d'or, palo alto, phil lord and christoper miller, political, reminiscences, scarlet johansson, science fiction, sexism, sexual power, sharia, sissako, snowpiercer, the lego movie, the wonders, tilda swinton, timbuktu, timothy spall, tom cruise, tony gilroy, turkey, under the skin, winter sleep
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Author: tcogundare
Categories: brief impressions