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Tag Archives: Rants
The Worship of America
Disclaimer: Controversial Opinions is a series in which I'm essentially thinking out loud. I don't think every one of my opinions is right, and I'm open to changing my mind when shown a new perspective. If any of this starts feeling like a manifesto, I assure you my intention is just to get my thoughts out and off my chest. You're welcome to agree or disagree, I'm doing this for myself as much as anything, but I do hope you get something out of reading this.
Even though I think religion itself, particularly Christianity, is to blame for the majority of the world's problems throughout history, it seems to me that there is a religioun in America that often goes unnoticed: the worship of America itself. Nationalism has become an American religion. Growing up in America, I have always been very disturbed by the way Americans treat this particular country and especially it's symbols.
As a child I was taught to stand at my desk every morning before school, place my hand over my heart, and recite a cult-like chant in which I pledge allegiance to, of all things, the American flag. Even as a child, I was struck by the Orwellian nature of this, though I didn't know how to express it at the time. The flag is a symbol of America, but it is so revered that it is treated as a religious object, the same way certain icons are in temples and churches. If you didn't know, there are a set of rules about what you should and should not do with a flag, which are often taught in places like the Boy Scouts. I don't know all of them, but I have absorbed a few of them from cultural osmosis, and I do know you are never supposed to let it touch the ground and you are not supposed to wear a flag as clothing, or hang it upside down.
What's even creepier than the fact that children are expected to essentially recite a prayer each morning to the religious icon of the American flag is the droning uninterested monotone with which an entire school does so. As I stood in class reciting the pledge of allegiance, hundreds of other students did it at the same time within my school, and within my state and country there were millions of children, all droning out the monotonous prayer at once, not really concerned with the meaning of the words. Most first graders don't really know what the word "indivisible" means, but because we have this chant drilled into our heads from our youngest age, we are psychologically prepared to accept the words of the pledge as gospel truth when we are old enough to understand them. It doesn't occur to use to question it because we were indoctrinated, just like we were with religion.
Indoctrination occurs everywhere. The most popular video games in America are almost entirely shooting games, specifically war games, and even more specifically a lot of those war games are set directly in the middle east, priming young people, mostly boys, to view killing middle eastern people as sport, not to regard them as human. Is it any wonder then, that non-white people and particularly middle eastern people are treated with such racism in America, or automatically assumed to be terrorists?
The national anthem is equally creepy to me. I know that every country has a national anthem, but the way you are instantly ostracized for refusing to stand for the anthem or refusing to say the pledge is terrifying. I tried on a couple of occasions as a child to abstain from saying the pledge of allegiance (think about that, for a moment, the weight of that: CHILDREN RECITE A PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. That is third world dictator type shit), and I was reprimanded by teachers and given looks of confusion by other students.
There's also an attitude in America that we are the best country in the world. And I mean that literally. I couldn't tell you how many times I've heard people say "America is the greatest country in the world." But WHY is it great? If you ask most people they'll give you some platitude about "freedom," as though we're the only country in the world with a bill of human rights in our constitution. The vast majority of industrialized countries in the world have the same personal freedoms Americans do, but Americans don't consider that. As a child, I was told by my mother that in China, no one is allowed to have their own personal property, and people have to stand in line in bathrooms to receive their share of toilet paper. I was told that America is essentially a utopia where people from all over the world come to to escape persecution and share in our freedoms.
That is, of course, bullshit. America ranks incredibly low on a lot of factors that we consider to be marks of a great place to live. We have terrible education scores, we are almost single-handedly destroying the planet, we contain an incredibly small amount of the world's population and use a larger share of it's resources than any other country.
The thing that has always confused me about America's place in the world is HOW it's allowed to get away with all the things it does. With contributing to climate change, with affecting the environment, with not allowing people to have the same personal freedoms (such as marriage equality or voting equality) that other countries enjoy.
I think about it like this: imagine a house full of people, and this house represents the world, and the people represent countries. If one person in the house is sitting in the corner starting a fire that's going to spread and burn down the rest of the house, isn't it the responsibility of all the other people to step in and stop the fire, or stop that person from lighting a fire? Sure, he could say "this is my corner of the house, I'm allowed to do what I like here," but he shouldn't have the ability to do something that can endanger the safety of everyone else in the house. So why is America allowed to run rampant and unchecked like a bull in a China shop? Why do all the other countries in the world not sit down and say "Look, America, we can't let you destroy our planet. Destroy your own country if you want to, but once you're affecting the rest of us, we have to put a stop to it." How is America allowed to do what it does?
I know that there is more nuance to all of these things, I do. What I'm doing here is essentially thinking out loud, I'm shouting questions into the void and hoping someone will hear them and consider them. I've wanted to do a series about some of my controversial opinions for a while now, and I hope to continue doing these. I know it's essentially just me ranting, but I like ranting, and I think ranting is useful. My opinions are not set in stone, they're open to change when new information is presented to me, and I'm open to admitting I'm wrong, but I hope that someone will see the sense in some of what I'm saying.
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Operation Organize Everything: Part 1
I've embarked on something I like to call Operation Organize Everything. Basically this is my attempt to pull the MANY scattered notepad documents, sticky note documents, photos, poems, music, and just about everything else together in some organized fashion. I've already mostly finished the poetry organization (fun fact: there are currently 102 poems with my name on them, about five of which are small collections of one-liners or just ideas that haven't yet become full poems), and though I've gotten most of my old notes gathered in one place, it's still going to be a monumental task to go through the several notepads I've kept on various phones and devices. My current cell phone has a notes feature with over 300 notes, with everything from song ideas, novel ideas, character ideas, and outright clips of speeches given by characters or outlines for stories, to lyrics, poetry, and journal entries.
Part of what I love about having this blog is that it's a nice place to keep everything together, all in one spot. I like knowing that if something happened to me tomorrow, there would be some kind of faithful record of my thoughts, actions and ideas. So in that vein, I'm probably going to be posting a few things that are collections of writings I've uncovered. Some of them are recent, some of them are a year or more old, I honestly don't know what everything will be yet. However, I'm going to kick off with this. I can't say that these posts as part of Operation Organize Everything will be particularly structured or well thought-out, because they're mostly comprised of snippets from word pad documents and some of them seem to have been pulled from my Facebook feed at one point or another.
Still, it's nice to have them collected here, so that one day I can look back and know what I was thinking and writing about. It's important to always question, and if you want to be a writer, it's important to always write.
On The Premiere of American Horror Story: Hotel
I was very excited for American Horror Story: Hotel. I made it through 40 minutes and I turned the fucking thing off. What a complete disappointment. No substance, no story, no character building, just shit. It was literally just jump scares and shock shock shock. From a man being crucified to a bed along with his dead lover, being fed Viagra so that he'd stay hard inside of her corpse while his eyes and tongue were gouged out, to the fleshy zombie hidden inside a mattress, the gay heroine addict being ass-raped while Sarah Paulson gently whispered for his confession of love, and Lady Gaga having a cocaine-fueled four-way vampire knife slashing blood orgy…. it's just appalling. This was not only disgusting because of it's complete lack of anything lacking depth (and the fact that the show is now clearly just a Lady Gaga vehicle, devoting several minutes to showing her from every angle), but the fact that this contained literally ever kind of physical, mental, and emotional RAPE I can imagine, all within the span of an hour, and I didn't even finish it.
I'm like, literally shaking from the panic attack I had watching this total shit. Not planning on coming back for more. I genuinely loved Asylum and Coven, the characters were portrayed with grace and finesse, but this… this is just a goddamn bloodbath for the sake of being a bloodbath. It's Ryan Murphy's talentless, crass stereotype-fueled jump scare fodder all the way.
My Fake Tracklist For A Kylie Minogue Christmas Album
What the tracklist for the Kylie Christmas album SHOULD have been:
1 Can't Get Jew Outta My Head
2 Better the Jesus You Know
3 Give Me Just A Little More Presents
4 Christmas Light Years
5 Red Hooded Woman (Mrs. Clause)
6 Spinning (The Dradle) Around
7 'Twas The Night Before A Night Like This
8 Looking For An Angel (On Top of the Tree)
9 Kiss Me Once (Under the Mistletoe)
10 More More More Chocolate
On The State of American Affairs
Call me a misanthrope, but this country has just completely gone to hell. It's unsafe to go to school because statistically there's a pretty good chance you'll get shot to death, you can't be in a relationship because if someone gets pregnant or if you WANT to plan a family, all of your options are taken away, if you want to get married the clerks might just refuse to give you service, if you want to buy a goddamn cake you can be turned away at the door. Everywhere you go there are religious people holding signs telling you to go burn in hell, walk into a hospital and there's an ethical debate about whether or not to treat you, walk outside with skin that isn't the right color and you're likely to get shot dead just for EXISTING, and the people who shot you will be portrayed as heroes.
I'm just so done and over it.
On The Pope
I swear to god if I see one more Pope story in my news feed… the man is absolutely NO different than any other hate-mongering, homophobic, xenophobic, misogynist before him, he just smiles a lot and has a well-oiled PR machine that puts a spin on him to make him SEEM progressive, but not one OUNCE of change has been made in the Catholic church, and considering he is the one all-knowing vicar of Christ on Earth, he actually has the POWER to, with one word, change the doctrine, stop the violence, hatred, disease, sexual abuse, child rape, and ignorance the Catholic church is spreading throughout the world, but he isn't BECAUSE HE ISN'T ANY DIFFERENT THAN HIS PREDECESSORS.
When the Vatican returns the treasures they stole, when he truly does something Christians and "sells all he has and gives it to the poor" (someone important in Christianity said that, can't remember who, mighta been Jesus), and goes out and helps the poor rather than sitting on a golden throne (not an exaggeration by the way), then talk to me about how fucking progressive he is.
Charlatans Battling Other Charlatans
"The medical establishment and big pharma wants to steal your money! They know the cures but they don't tell you so they can keep you sick! Here, instead of letting them steal your money, buy my three $25 hardback books about the secrets to health, this $60 bottle of essential oils, and all of these supplements for $14 each!"
On Cell Phones
I really hate cell phones. Put them down, people.
I don't actually care about people having electronic devices. But there's a difference between being uninterested in what's happening around you and looking down at a Kindle to read or a video game to play, and holding a phone in front of your face AT ALL TIMES. People go to concerts and spend the entire time RECORDING the concert that they're MISSING. They go to amusement parks and plays and movies and spend the whole time taking pictures of themselves there instead of experiencing it. No one poses for a picture while a nice stranger or the uncle holds the camera and says "Say cheese everyone!" Now it's possible to document your every moment, to such a degree that you no longer need to EXPERIENCE those moments.
I never thought I'd be the one to say this, having been raised by television, Gameboy, and Playstation screens, but people need to look up at the world around them. These devices need to be used to ENHANCE the experience of life, not replace it.
An Orientation-Flipped Version of Anti-Gay Arguments
I know, it isn't politically correct,but I'm just going to speak my mind.
Heterosexuals.
Now, I'm personally not heterophobic, but I just wish they'd keep their lifestyle to themselves. I don't want to have that straight lifestyle flaunted at me when I'm out just minding my business, trying to shop for groceries or eat a meal. I mean, what if my KIDS see that? What are they going to think? What are me and my husband supposed to say when our daughter comes home and says that there's a boy in her class who likes GIRLS? No parent should have to have that kind of conversation with their children.
What a straight person chooses to do in the privacy of their own bedroom, behind a closed door, with the lights out and a flashing caution sign hung on the front door, is their business. Well, mostly. For some reason I really can't seem to stop thinking about it, and talking about it, but like I said it's their business. How am I supposed to continue being who I am, and married to my beautiful husband, knowing that there are men out there who just think it's okay to marry women??
Personally, I don't think the framers of our constitution ever intended for heterosexual marriage to be an issue that would ever be discussed. Our nation's founders would be apalled to see the straight "pride" parades taking place across our nation, to see men and women kissing one another on television, or to hear music on the radio about "acceptance" of that lifestyle. It's sick, it's wrong, and I don't care if it offends someone, I have the right to speak my mind. If straight people would just try hard enough, they could turn away from their lifestyle and be normal, homosexual men and women, like everyone else. But no, we're supposed to be "tolerant," well I won't be.
And I don't care if anyone likes it.
On Roadkill
So guys, tell me if you think this makes me weird. I live in the South, and I know that there's roadkill everywhere you go but I feel like there's gotta be a significantly higher amount in rural/forested areas like the one I live in. Whenever I see a dead possum, squirell, or other animal laying in the road or on the side of the road, I really, really seriously think about bringing along some gloves, trash bags, and a shovel, pulling my truck over, and finding a place in the woods to bury them.
A long time ago back in Georgia there was a dead cat in the road, and this thought occurred to me that someone should bury that animal, give it some dignity. The fact that it's a CAT means that ultimately someone probably will, but a possum? No, they're just left to die on the side of the road because they aren't one of our domesticated animals. But when I DIDN'T bury that cat, I drove by every day and watched it's little body get smashed further into the pavement by cars running it over, and ever since then, I can't help but think, if I were a possum and I died tragically because some stupid humans decided to pave over my natural habitat and hit me with one of their gassed-up death machines, I would want someone to return my body to the earth, or at least to a place where scavengers can come and feed on me, not lay there in the middle of the road to be run over again and again.
I'm totally willing to be the creepy guy in the neighborhood who buries dead roadkill. Does this make me weird or what?
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The Yazidis – An Ancient Indigenous People
Jun 6, 2017 | Issue 83, Summer 2017
by K.R. Evans
This is the second article that looks at Indigenous people from other parts of the world. In the last magazine we talked about the Berbers of Morocco. This time we are talking about the Yazidis, and ancient Indigenous community of Mesopotamia of which 200 members now live in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Winnipeg is a centre for the Yazidis as there are only 500 community members in all of Canada of which forty percent are in Winnipeg.
I am sure most of you have heard of the Yazidis as the sad plight of this community has been central to world news. The community has been a constant target of persecution and displacement and as a result many of the remaining community members live in refugee camps throughout the middle East. Many Yazidi girls have been forced to become sex slaves and prostitutes or into marriage with much older men. Despite all of these horrific conditions that Yazidi community continues to survive, and although dispersed across the globe remains strong and vibrant, and like many Indigenous peoples maintains its culture and identity.
Who are the Yazidis?
The Yazidis are an ancient Indigenous ethnographic religious community originating in Northern Iraq. While they speak the Kurdish language they are distinctly different from the Kurds who are also an Indigenous people of Mesopotamia. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazidis | Mesopotamia is one of the oldest civilizations in the world – the word meaning between the rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates within the borders of modern day Iraq. Seven hundred years ago the Yazidi community was 23 million strong, but wars, persecution and displacement has reduced the numbers to under one million in 2017 – many who are living outside of their homelands. It is estimated that approximately 2000 Yazidis live in the US and 500 in Canada. Within Europe the largest diaspora population is located in Germany with approximately 120,000 Yazidis living there.
The traditional homeland of the Yazidis is Ninevah, now a province in Northern Iraq, with many villages at the foot of Mount Sinjar. The Lalish Valley, in Northern Iraq, is home to the holiest temple of the Yazidis, a place where the Yazidi spiritual leaders dwell and the centre of the faith's spiritual practices. The Yazidi have both a spiritual leader (who is chosen by the community) and a prince whose title is hereditary. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lalish
Nafiya Naso, a Yazidi who came to Winnipeg in 2000, said Yazidis practice one of the oldest religions in the world, and in April 2017 celebrated their 6767 New Year, a culture and religion of over 6000 years. Nafiya works with an organization that brings and supports Yazidi people to come to Winnipeg. She speaks of the importance for Yazidi people to be within a community, which includes living in close proximity of each other. Yazidis in Winnipeg gather in each other's homes for religious events.
The Yazidi faith, like many Indigenous faiths, is an oral faith passed down from generation to generation. Yazidis believe in the Creator and believe that Tawus Melek, the "Peacock Angel" is the representative of Creator on the face of the Earth. Each year on Yazidi New Year the Peacock Angel visits the earth | http://peacock-angel.org/sere.sal.htm
Central to their faith is the relationship between heaven and earth and a respect and reverence for the earth for its fertility and life giving resources.
Yazidi New Year
The Yazidi New Year Festival is central to their faith and culture. It is Sere Sal (head of the year) and it is celebrated each year on Chashema Sor (Red Wednesday in English), which is the first Wednesday after April 14. This year Sere Sale was celebrated on April 19, 2017.
Sere Sal is the oldest surviving feast in Mesopotamia. On Sere Sal Yazidis remember a time long ago when the Peacock Angel, Tawuse Melek, came down to bless the earth with peace and fertility.
The celebration for Yazidi New Year, a day for rest, reflection and prayers, begins Tuesday night when candles and lamps are lit to welcome spring, and a new cycle of life and rebirth. On New Year's Day new colourful clothes are worn, and beautiful painted eggs are at the centre of every home, again to symbolize new life with the coming of spring, and traditional music and dancing takes place throughout Yazidi villages. Sere Sal also involves a Procession of the Peacocks and Minstrels called qawals travel from village to village offering sacred songs of praise and thanksgiving. Clearly it is a time of joyful celebration and thanks. For the Yazidi both in the traditional homeland and around the world Sere Sale 6767 was just that and they celebrated with lanterns, new clothes, a feast, music and dance.
Take a few minutes to watch a Yazidi New Year celebration taking place in Iraq. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izoFBrCN9SY
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With the news that Kutaragi has been promoted, moving away from video games comes the speculation that there won't be a PlayStation 4 released.
This isn't game related news as such, but it would make the gaming landscape very different if the PS$ were never to be developed. The dominance of the PS3 was clearly a factor in Nintendo developing the Wii – a console which is becoming more and more popular every day.
Sony have already come back and said that they fully intend to release a PS4, but it's still an interesting line of thought.


Several ACT State Emergency Service (ACTSES) teams and ACT Fire & Rescue will work overnight to clear roads and make homes safe with significant damage reported across the capital.
A total of 749 requests for assistance have been received following this afternoon's storm and more than 200 jobs completed. Most calls have been for large trees down on roads and houses.
More ACTSES units along with ACT Rural Fire Service and Transport Canberra and City Services crews will respond to jobs from 7am tomorrow. The Incident Management Team will remain activated at ESA HQ.
For emergency storm help ring the ACTSES on 132 500. For life threatening situations call Emergency Triple Zero (000).


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On behalf of the Chevron workforce, it's great to be back in Perth to talk about the late Dr Harry Butler's special relationship with Chevron.
And importantly, I think it's how we're ensuring his passion and dedication to environmental protection will be continued for generations to come.
There is no replacing Harry Butler, but what we can do to honour him is to replicate the passion, the dedication, the values that he taught so many of us as we move into the future.
I had the pleasure of working with Harry during my tenure as Managing Director for Chevron Australia from 2003 to 2008.
Harry's history goes right back to the start, accompanying a team searching for oil onto Barrow Island in the early 1960s.
That was the start of a remarkable partnership between Harry and Chevron.
For the next five decades Harry helped shape and maintain environmental management practices to help protect Barrow Island.
Harry's work laid the foundation for the systems we have in place today – such as our strict quarantine management system – recognised as a best practice both locally and globally.
But I think Harry's influence on Chevron was far greater than excellent systems and processes.
Because it was Harry's passion for the environment that was infectious.
Given the number of people on Barrow Island, how do you get so many people to care because you can't manage this just through compliance. People have to want to participate and take an active role in the protection.
When I arrived, Harry had been an advisor to Chevron for a long time, and he quickly became a trusted – and forthright – advisor and mentor to me.
We spent a lot of time together in the office, but more importantly, in the field at Barrow Island and walking in the Tuart Forrest, near his place down south. When you get an opportunity to see the environment through Harry's eyes, you see a richer world around you.
The one you saw when you went there with Harry, and the one you saw when you go up there and look through your own eyes.
Our time together established a relationship that turned into a life-long friendship. What I learned from Harry will stay with me forever.
Harry believed that ecosystems include humans and he believed in educating people on their role in protecting that ecosystem. You can't just exclude humans from the environment – we're a part of it. As a result, he unlocked the power of working with businesses to protect biodiversity – and found a dedicated partner in Chevron and its employees.
Harry had a great ability to inspire, encourage and challenge people – no matter what their role, age, ability or background.
Harry became a household name in Australia, with his "In the Wild with Harry Butler" TV series bringing the Australian outback into millions of living rooms – including segments shot on Barrow Island itself.
On Barrow Island, Harry instilled a sense of ownership and responsibility for the environment with everyone he worked with – making them custodians of the Island.
Stewarding and providing care to the sites where we operate.
When Harry passed in December 2015, he left a true legacy – one which we're committed to upholding for future generations.
In his honour, Chevron has developed the "Harry Butler Legacy Project" encompassing existing programs and a suite of new initiatives to advance environmental stewardship.
And I am very pleased to be here today to help announce a new initiative – the official launch of the Harry Butler Institute at Murdoch University.
Murdoch University, we believe, is the ideal partner because we have long worked with the university on a variety of projects aimed at harnessing new technology to conserve Barrow Island's conservation values.
As a founding partner of the Harry Butler Institute, we look forward to working with Murdoch to promote high-quality teaching and research in the co-existence of business and biodiversity.
Our partnership will see the establishment of the Chevron Harry Butler Chair in Environmental Management and Biosecurity.
The Chair will lead and coordinate education, research and technical advice, enhancing Chevron Australia's research activities and the quality of environmental management in our operations.
Even more importantly, the Harry Butler Institute will build on the great work that Harry did with Chevron, and the industry at large, by providing new generations of students with opportunities to undertake high quality research in Biosecurity Science and Environmental Science.
Whenever Harry spoke to Chevron staff, whether they were out in the field, in the Perth office or at our headquarters in California – Harry would always remind us of our personal responsibility to protect the environment.
Now more than ever, it is up to us. All of us.
We've accepted Harry's challenge and will be working hard to uphold his legacy for generations to come.
We're pleased and proud to be a supporter of this important initiative.


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New Book Taking Shape
In collaboration with historian Warner Blake, our book project on 19th century builder/architect J.S. White is finally coming to fruition. The publish date is July 2017. Pre-order your copy today (with a discount), and meet the team behind the book by visiting http://www.snohomishstories.org. Thanks so very much to Warner, his wife Karen, and all the Angels and Friends in Snohomish who helped make this book possible.
Looking over the first round of proofs with Leah Finger, Production Manager at Lucia | Marquand books in Seattle.
Photo: Warner Blake
Farewell To The Old Spaghetti Factory
A fond farewell to the Old Spaghetti Factory on its final day of operation. The restaurant has operated out of the Ainsworth & Dunn Warehouse building, a Seattle Landmark, since 1970. The venerable brick and timber building was designed by architect Stephen Alston Jennings in 1902 for Ainsworth & Dunn, a salmon-packing company.
Proposed redevelopment to the site may include a six story mixed-use building situated in the south parking lot, and an additional story atop the existing warehouse building.
Note the arched entry on the south elevation is not original, it was added in the 1970's. The large doors on the west elevation originally served as loading docks, in convenient proximity to the railroad and Pier 14 (now Pier 70).
Artist Pat De Caro's Foreign Shores Exhibition at Gallery4Culture.
Artist Pat De Caro shares insights into her recent show, Foreign Shores, which included over 80 charcoal drawings and was exhibited at Gallery4Culture in Seattle, Washington.
RevitalizeWA Preservation and Main Street Conference, Chelan, Washington.
Chelan architect Larry Hibbard (far left) leads the "Keeping Buildings Alive" tour past Riverwalk Park with Chelan Butte in the distance. The recovering hills were blackened by the Reach fire less than a year ago.
I recently attended and photographed the RevitalizeWA Preservation and Main Street Conference, sponsored by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation. This year's conference was held in Chelan, and included a visit to Waterville. Highlights of the downtown Chelan tour included the oldest permanent structure in town, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, the Chelan library (a converted Masonic Temple), and the Ruby Theatre, owned and operated by Larry Hibbard and his wife Mary Murphy.
Touring the historic Ruby Theatre, Chelan, WA.
Although the Ruby is over 100 years old, it is remarkably intact due to a lack of major structural renovations over the years, which lent it to being placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. It was not Chelan's first movie theatre however. That distinction belongs to the defunct Gem Theatre, which, as a predecessor to modern theater design had only benches for seats and a flat floor. When built in 1914, the Ruby introduced such modern innovations as sloped seating, a projection room, and central heating.
Caryn Hansen Georgen (L) Ruby Theatre supervisor, serves up some delicious popcorn.
We take for granted a visit to the concession stand when we go to the movies today, but they were not always part of the show. The nickelodeons that were popular between 1905 and 1915 did not have concessions, but one could purchase popcorn from a vendor working the aisles, or from a snack shop outside the theater. Neither did the more lavish movie palaces that replaced the nickelodeons feature concessions, snacks being considered antithetical to the posh vibe of the movie-going experience. It wasn't until the 1930's, with the advent of more modestly built movie houses that the concession stand as we know it today became an integral design element of the movie theater.
Architect Larry Hibbard in the projection room of the Ruby Theatre.
Post nickelodeon era projection rooms were necessitated out of concern for fire safety due to the combustible combination of nitrate motion picture film (celluloid) passing through the projector in close proximity to carbon arc lamps that could burn at extremely high temperatures. Fires, such as that depicted in the 1988 film Cinema Paradiso, were not uncommon. Due to its flammability and tendency to degrade over time, celluloid based film stocks were gradually phased out and eventually replaced with acetate (safety film) by 1952.
Rory Turner, receives the 2016 Excellence on Main Award from Breanne Durham and Jennifer Mortensen for his preservation and restoration work of the Elks Lodge in Ellensburg, WA.
South elevation detail of the Nifty Theatre (1919) in Waterville, WA.
The Nifty Theatre is adorned with a barn quilt as part of a countywide all-volunteer project coordinated by Barn Quilts of Douglas County. Each unique quilt pattern, painted on signboards and affixed to barns and houses, reflects a personalized family design. The project aims to honor Douglas County heritage, beautify the landscape, and help boost tourism.
Looking south on E Woodin Ave toward Chelan Butte.
During my stay in Chelan, it became apparent that there existed among the townspeople a laudable, yet indefinable "calmness of spirit" which beckoned my contemplation. Upon reflection, my belief is that the mettle vitally called forth to confront the Reach Fire, which had burned its way down Chelan Butte to the town's edge only last August and left this rural community without power or communications for a week, had also left these townsfolk with a trade-off, which I would admirably call: "perspective".
Tags: Chelan, Ruby Theatre, Nifty Theatre, nickelodeons, National Register of Historic Places, RevitalizeWA Preservation and Main Street Conference, Barn Quilts, Reach Fire, Chelan Butte, Waterville, nitrate film, movie theatres, concessions, projection room, Riverwalk Park, perspective
Nuclear Reactor Building, University of Washington
This view shows the west and south elevations of the Nuclear Reactor Building (More Hall Annex), at the University of Washington, 4/17/16. How the UW cannot be considered the "owner" of this historically significant building is baffling. But that's what King County Superior Court Judge Suzanne Parisien ruled last Thursday in her Memorandum of Opinion order in the lawsuit between the University against the City of Seattle and Docomomo WEWA. For more information, visit http://www.savethereactor.org/news/
I shot both of these views with the sun about two degrees below the horizon at sunset, creating a relatively even exposure balance between the sky and building exterior. The black and white version was shot on 5x7 inch film using a Schneider Super-Symmar 110mmXL lens. I pulled the development to minus one stop to reduce the sky value. Factoring in reciprocity, the exposure was 30 seconds at ƒ22. For the color version, I used a Horseman SuperwidePro with a Rodenstock Apo-Sironar 35mm lens. The capture device was a PhaseOne P25+ back shot at iso 50.
Tags: Nuclear Reactor Building, University of Washington, Historic Preservation, Brutalism, More Hall Annex


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The northern B.C. municipality of Fort St. James and the Nak'azdli Whut'en First Nation are celebrating the revitalization of an outdoor rink with what they hope will be a new hockey tradition – a B.C. Major Midget League game. CLICK PHOTO BELOW for video.
BC Hockey is a not-for-profit organization and member of Hockey Canada in charge of governing amateur hockey at all levels in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory.


We are a family run business based in Middleton, Manchester. We pride ourselves in serving good food, offering our customers a range of mouthwatering sandwiches, salads and deli items. We also offer outside catering to suit any occasion and budget. Our buffets are competitively priced with a wide selection of savoury and sweets to choose from. We serve : Sanwiches. Salads. Wraps. Breakfast. Coffee and Tea.
Sandwich Bar offering free delivery on orders over �10.00 within the Harlow area.
We are a sandwich bar with a difference! We use fresh locally produced ingredients to make breakfasts, lunches and outside catering to order along with daily specials, tray bakes, cakes and treats and also design and make bespoke celebration cakes to order. Orders for take away food can be made by telephone in advance of when you want to collect or come to the shop in person to have your desired sandwich, baguette, toastie or panini made fresh before you eyes! Outside catering can be provided for all occasions from business breakfasts and school lunch boxesr, children''s parties and anniversaries to weddings for 500! We can also design and make cakes to help your events have the wow factor! We can make personalised, corporate or character cakes in all sizes to suit all budgets and tastes.
Serving freshly baked baguettes with a choice of 60 different fillings freshly prepared to order. Also available homemade soup, cakes, cupcakes, hot and cold drinks and salad bowls with your choice of ingredients. Packed lunches and sandwich/baguette platters for parties, meetings, etc; to order please contact us. Hope to see you soon at Manny�s, 63a High Street.
Chives supply business lunches and buffet services to corporate clients in the Bourne End, High Wycombe, Beaconsfield, Marlow, and Maidenhead areas as well as running a sandwich takeaway & breakfast bar located in Bourne End.
A fantastic Sandwich bar with a vast array of fresh fillings available from the deli counter. A massive "ready to go" section with freshly baked french baguettes and sandwiches, great coffee, a freshly baked cake counter, organic soups, smoothies, fresh fruit shakes, a plenty more besides.


Bridesmaids (Universal) - Kristen Wiig's surprise hit arrives on DVD and Blu-ray in the now-expected manner of all R-rated comedies, including an unrated extended version.
Spooky Buddies (Disney) - Unless you work for Disney or have small children, you probably weren't even aware of this talking puppy franchise. Anyway, it's back with a Halloween-themed installment. Hey, I said it was a slow week.
Breakfast At Tiffany's (Paramount) - Audrey Hepburn's most iconic film celebrates its 50th anniversary with a high-def upgrade.
Dumbo (Disney) - Speaking of anniversaries, Disney's flying elephant turns 70 (!). The Blu-ray is probably worth picking up for the "Pink Elephants On Parade" sequence alone.
Le Beau Serge and Les Cousins (Criterion) - The first two films of French filmmaker Claude Chabrol finally arrive on DVD and Blu-ray.
The Others (Miramax/Lionsgate) - Nicole Kidman stars in Alejandro Amenabar's spooky, underrated thriller.
Modern Family: The Complete Second Season (20th Century Fox) - The Emmy-winning comedy returns on both DVD and Blu-ray.
Castle: The Complete Third Season (Buena Vista/ABC) - Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic are back for another year of light-hearted mystery.
The Mentalist: The Complete Third Season (Warner Home Video) - Simon Baker and the California Bureau of Investigation hunt serial killer Red John.
Hawaii Five-O: The First Season and Hawaii Five-O: The Eleventh Season (Paramount) - Catch up with both the debut season of the reboot and the penultimate season of the 70s original.
Raising Hope: The Complete First Season (20th Century Fox), Mike & Molly: The Complete First Season (Warner Home Video) and Body Of Proof: The Complete First Season (Buena Vista/ABC) - Three more freshman series from the class of 2010.
Law & Order: Los Angeles - The Complete Series (Universal) - One of the rare series with the L&O brand that didn't strike a chord with audiences.
The Kennedys: The Complete Miniseries (New Video) - Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes star in this momentarily controversial series.
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer: The Complete Series (A&E) - This sounds interesting. Darren McGavin plays Spillane's tough-talking private eye in this 1958 series. I had no idea this show even existed until A&E put it on their schedule.
Set Up (Lionsgate) - I had no idea that Bruce Willis and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson were poker buddies. At least, I assume they are and that Willis lost big one night. Otherwise, I'm at a loss to explain his appearance in this direct-to-video heist flick. Ryan Phillippe also got roped into this somehow.


We are not an education technology company. We are an educational improvement and enhancement company that believes we can radically change the way educators do business in the classroom.
Silverback Learning Solutions is a company founded by a former superintendent and a team of lifelong educators. We have one purpose – to deliver solutions focused on increasing individual student achievement. Silverback's flagship product, Mileposts, helps users create and connect individualized learning plans and interventions to all of the instructional and assessment resources already available in schools, and to the millions of Open Educational Resources available on the web.
Silverback has been earning awards since 2011!


First I thought there was mold all over the ceiling.
Then I just feared for my life.
Ok, I don't get why someone needs a tv in the bathroom. Speaking of bathrooms, why do these really big houses have more full ones than they have bedrooms? I understand half baths here and there. You would hate for someone to have an embarrassing incident because they couldn't sprint fast enough across your enormous house. But if all the bedrooms have en suite baths, then there should be the same number.
Just another grotto. Nothing to fear.
That's a quasi celebrities house. Owner played 17 years in the NFL.
Well, this is kind of over the top. I wonder why with all this tech in this house the kids room still has a 12-year-old white one-piece eMac?
What's up with the square footage "Building Sqft: 12,000/Seller" followed by "Measure room dimensions/square footage if critical." Can the realtor not just get the estimated size from the tax roll, or are they trying to hide something here? And who the hell has time to go measure each room in a house this size?
I would guess that the extra full bath is out by the pool so people can shower. Or in one of the six garage bays.
Just another Ex NFLer downsizing….


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The Crossword Game Reimagined!
PlayScreen, LLC
Bass Pro Shops Group | Outdoor Partners, LLC | Uber Facts
Harry Balls
SocalTech
Games.com
"Crickler is a good quality game that is simple but well-implemented."
-Pete Davison (InsideMobileApps)
Bass Pro Shop Announcement
UberFacts Announcement
Crickler Bowl Announcement
PlayScreen and Bass Pro Shops Sign Exclusive Content Deal for Crickler 2
BALTIMORE–Social/mobile game developer PlayScreen, LLC has partnered with Bass Pro Shops and Outdoor Partners Entertainment to teach Crickler users about fishing, hunting, camping, and everything else about the Great Outdoors. The second major partnership between PlayScreen and content providers, this announcement cements Crickler 2 as the ideal destination for the biggest brands on the planet.
Starting November 25, five puzzles based on Bass Pro Shops content will be added toCrickler 2. Those who successfully solve any of the five puzzles will be entered in a contest worth $50 in Bass Pro Shops gift cards. However, players who are not one of the five lucky winners still have a chance to win: they will be entered in a "second chance" round also worth a $50 Bass Pro Shops gift card. The contest will run through December 2 and participants must brag on Twitter after successfully solving a puzzle to be eligible to win.
"We are incredibly excited to share our extensive knowledge of the outdoors with Cricklerusers," says Chip Pedersen, President and Creative Director, Outdoor Partners Entertainment. "Mobile is here to stay, and smart brands are paying attention. We're confident that this partnership with PlayScreen will drive sales, increase brand loyalty, and maybe even convince some players that hiking can be as fun as Minecraft."
In Crickler 2, clues and words sit side by side—and the challenge is "just right," thanks to adaptive difficulty based on real-time player performance. The game not only keeps players entertained with fresh daily puzzles, but it allows them to keep up with current events through puzzles focusing on the news of the day. Crickler 2 puzzles teach effortlessly thanks to the straightforward gameplay and "knowledge-based" format of each puzzle. Competing games have also tried partnerships with major brands, but superficial gameplay and limited engagement opportunities can only go so far.
"Creating an app or game from scratch is difficult. Companies shouldn't have to dive into development if they need to reach mobile users," says William Volk, Chief Creative Officer, PlayScreen. "I strongly believe we have the silver bullet for brands looking to expand to mobile.Crickler 2 makes it easy for players to learn from your brand's exclusive content, then share it with the world via social media."
Prolific users began submitting puzzles soon after Crickler 2 was launched. Twitter favorite UberFacts has successfully done the same with funny factoids. The arrival of a major brand such as Bass Pro Shops demonstrates the viability of Crickler as the mobile platform of choice for companies looking to reach mobile users.
Crickler 2 can be downloaded for free from the App Store.
About PlayScreen, LLC
From the very first iPhone game, even before the App Store was an app store, PlayScreen, LLC has been committed to creating the best in mobile, casual, and social games. PlayScreen strives to stay ahead of the curve with a single focus: the players. The company consists of gamers and veteran developers who combine strong design and gameplay with the elusive "fun factor." To learn more about PlayScreen, please visit http://playscreen.com
About Bass Pro Shops Group
Bass Pro Shops® currently operates 77 retail stores and Tracker Marine Centers across America and Canada visited by over 120 million people annually. Bass Pro Shops® also conducts an international catalog and Internet retailing operation—the American Rod & Gun® wholesale division—which sells to more than 7,000 independently, owned retail stores worldwide. Outdoor World® Incentives also sells Bass Pro Shops® gift cards through over 132,000 retail outlets across America. The Bass Pro Shops® restaurant division has 28 locations. The company's Tracker Marine Group® (www.trackerboats.com) manufactures and sells Tracker®, Nitro®, SunTracker®, Tahoe®, Grizzly® and Mako® boats through Bass Pro Shops® retail stores and over 400 dealers worldwide. The Resort Group (www.bigcedar.com) includes Big Cedar Lodge® and other resort properties including restaurants and golf courses. For more information regarding Bass Pro Shops® store locations, products or special events, please visit www.basspro.com. To request a free catalog, call 1-800-BASS PRO. Follow Bass ProShops® on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/bassproshops.
About Outdoor Partners, LLC
Based in Chaska, MN Outdoor Partners LLC is a leading developer of interactive entertainment software for the outdoor enthusiast and video game player. The company develops its games for the leading console systems and PC, as well as fast-growing, emerging platforms such as iOS, Android and Facebook. Backed by a best-selling portfolio of licensed hunting and fishing games, the company's next offerings includeBass Pro Shops® The Hunt: King of Bucks, Bass Pro Shops® MyGuide: Hunt and Bass Pro Shops® The Strike: Pro Angler. More information can be found online at www.outdoorpartners.net.
UberFacts' Tweets Become Puzzles on PlayScreen's Crickler 2 for iPhone
BALTIMORE–Social/mobile game developer PlayScreen, LLC has partnered with UberFacts to feature its content on Crickler 2: Daily Word Puzzle. More than 30 UberFacts-powered puzzles can already be found on the hit iPhone game, and new puzzles are being added daily.
Starting in 2009, Kris Sanchez' UberFacts quickly gained followers on Twitter thanks to its funny, unexpected and out-of-the-ordinary factoids. It now sits at almost 3 million followers.Crickler 2: Daily Word Puzzle has hit #1 in both Free Puzzle Game and Free Educational Game categories in the App Store. The original Crickler, a web game carried by 40 newspapers worldwide, was created by Michael Crick—a veteran game designer and son of Nobel Prize winner Sir Francis Crick. The mobile version of Crickler was created by PlayScreen.
"It's great to bring UberFacts to the best crossword game on the iPhone," says Kris Sanchez, founder, UberFacts. "Now iPhone players can enjoy UberFacts and have fun solving these puzzles!"
The UberFacts agreement illustrates how Crickler serves as an innovative channel for those interested in being featured in a top-rated iPhone app. Case in point: PlayScreen has already started to run special contests that reward players who have solved UberFacts-powered puzzles with $50 iTunes gift cards. To win, players need to share their achievements on Twitter and follow UberFacts' account – "closing the loop" and ensuring a high level of user engagement for all parties.
"UberFacts provides some of the most amazing content out there, leading to some impressive Crickler puzzles. Trivia aficionados will find these puzzles challenging and totally addictive," says William Volk, CCO, PlayScreen. "More so, this deal opens the door to a future where TV shows rely on Crickler to deepen the connection with their audience—and where charities use Crickler puzzles to raise awareness around important social and health issues. The possibilities are endless."
Crickler 2: Daily Word Puzzle can be downloaded for free from the App Store. Players start with 30 credits, which are used every time a new puzzle is chosen. More credits can be purchased in-game—or earned by watching Tapjoy ads or bragging about their Crickler victories on Twitter and Facebook.
From the very first iPhone game, even before the App Store was an app store, PlayScreen, LLC has been committed to creating the best in mobile, casual, and social games. The company strives to stay ahead of the curve with a single focus: its users. The PlayScreen team consists of gamers and veteran developers who combine strong design and gameplay with the elusive "fun factor." To learn more about PlayScreen, please visit http://playscreen.com.
About UberFacts
Created in December 2009, UberFacts has brought "the most unimportant things that you'll never need to know" to the web! With more than 2,912,862 Twitter followers, UberFacts provides some of the best and most useless information to the masses several times a day. Learn new and surprising facts daily at http://twitter.com/UberFacts.
PlayScreen launches Crickler Bowl Contest
BALTIMORE– January 29, 2013 — Social/mobile game developer PlayScreen, LLC is launching"Crickler Bowl", a contest in their popular crossword-like iOS game, Crickler 2:Daily Word Puzzles.? Players can win prizes by solving Super Bowl related puzzles and using the game's"baked in" brag system to'tweet' their support for their favorite team.
Players can solve puzzles based on the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49'ers or the Super Bowl itself.? Five players will be randomly picked to win $20 Amazon Gift Cards, when they solve any of the three Super Bowl Puzzles and use the Crickler Twitter brag system.? The contest runs from Tuesday January 29th, through Sunday February 3rd.
PlayScreen will also be running a tally of the two teams popularity, a count of how many times players have played each team's puzzle.? Crickler and football fans can follow the daily action at PlayScreen's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/playscreen .
In Crickler 2, clues and words sit side by side—and the challenge is"just right," thanks to adaptive difficulty based on real-time player performance. The game not only keeps players entertained with fresh daily puzzles, but it allows them to keep up with current events through puzzles focusing on the news of the day. Crickler 2 puzzles teach effortlessly thanks to the straightforward gameplay and"knowledge-based" format of each puzzle.? With over 1 million puzzles played, Crickler is one of the most popular crossword style games on the iPhone.
"Crickler is a great way of learning about any subject, while having fun" says William Volk, Chief Creative Officer, PlayScreen."The Crickler Bowl Contest not only gives players a chance to win prizes, it also allows football fans to vote for their Super Bowl pick."
Crickler 2:Daily Word Puzzles can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store.
Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/crickler-2-daily-word-puzzle/id427784181?mt=8
Crickler Game Trailer
Web http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEXDuiAd_vU
From the very first iPhone game, even before the App Store was an app store, PlayScreen, LLC has been committed to creating the best in mobile, casual, and social games. PlayScreen strives to stay ahead of the curve with a single focus: the players. The company consists of gamers and veteran developers who combine strong design and gameplay with the elusive"fun factor." To learn more about PlayScreen, please visit http://playscreen.com


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Home › Football › Carolina Panthers
Eric Edholm: Kenny Pickett Makes Sense for the Panthers
Source: Logan Whitton / Getty
There are still 3 weeks left in the NFL regular season, but it is never too early to start about the 2022 NFL Draft, especially with the Panthers sitting at 5-9, with a lot of questions both on and off the field. NFL Draft writer for Yahoo Sports Eric Edholm released his latest mock draft yesterday, and he has the Panthers selecting Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett with the number seven pick. Pickett is coming off a career year, leading Pittsburgh to an ACC title, and an appearance in the Peach Bowl. Edholm joined Wilson & Norfleet earlier today, and when asked why he has the Panthers taking Pickett he replied:
"He really did put it all together this year and did play at a much higher level. I feel like it was a perfect storm with his experience paying off. Being in that system in another year. There was just so much to like"
It doesn't a rocket scientist to see after this season where the Panthers have started three different quarterbacks, that they need to find a franchise quarterback if Matt Rhule wants this thing to last in the NFL. There is still a long way to go before the NFL Draft commences, but Pickett is going to be a prospect to monitor closely leading up to the draft.
Carolina Panthers NFL Draft


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Kung Hei Fat Choy! Happy Chinese New Year
For many years here in the Small City of Perth we lagged behind our larger counterparts when it came to boasting a multi-cultural community. Perth just wasn't the melting pot we all wanted it to be! Thankfully, the exception to that rule has been our strong, active Chinese Community and over the years second and third generation Scottish-Chinese locals have woven our two cultures even closer together.
Many of you will have read Linda Chan-Malcolm's Big Personality story and will know her Mum and Dad played their part in making sure we all fell in love with Chinese food, traditions and influences.
Since its inception in the sixties, Perth's Chinese Community has grown and flourished and in more recent years has worked closely with organisations such as MEAD, to help other minority communities find a safe and happy voice within Perthshire.
Last year, for the first time they brought the amazing spectacle of Chinese New Year to the streets of Perth and with the help of other members of MEAD entertained us all dragons, lions, food, lanterns and so much more.
This year we were given more of the same as we came out to celebrate Chinese New Year 2016. The festival brought a whole new flavour to Perth Farmer's Market, as it joined them for a day of Far Eastern influence. Big, bright and brilliantly noisy anyone hitting Perth City Centre on Saturday 6th February was treated to a breathtaking display of talent.
From the traditional Chinese Lion that we've all now come to consider a big part of our Perth culture, to the delicate dancing, impressive martial arts skills and stunning displays of traditional Chinese Dress, this was a festival that opened up its beautifully coloured kimono clad arms and embraced all of us.
For me, festivals like this one are a hugely important part of who we all are, especially in the current climate where the narrative of multi-cultural communities is being used as a political point scoring tool. Parties like the one our own Chinese Community has just thrown us are a reminder that we are a richer, more diverse and happier city because of our first, second and third generations of Scottish-Global citizens.
Also known as the Spring Festival, Chinese New Year is marked by the lunisolar Chinese calendar which is why the date changes from year to year.
Across the world, Chinese Communities started their festivities to welcome in The Year Of The Monkey on Sunday 7th February and many will continue until the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the new year.
You will all know, I'm sure that each Chinese New Year is characterised by one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac but did you know that in addition to this, each year is also associated with one of the five vital elements: Gold, Water, Wood, Fire or Earth. 2016 is the 4713th Chinese Year and brings us the year of the Fire Monkey, or Red Monkey.
The monkey is considered to be intelligent, smart, wise, curious, energetic, impulsive, inventive, hyperactive, cheeky, strong-minded and vigilant. Red monkeys are problem solvers and work well within group environments, while retaining their individuality. In addition, their gentleness and honesty bring them an everlasting love life.
Lucky Signs for the Monkey
Lucky numbers: 1, 7, 8
Lucky colours: white, gold, blue
Lucky flowers: chrysanthemum, alliums
Lucky directions: north, northwest, west
The New Year, according to the Chinese calendar, begins on 8 February and ends 27 January 2017. Here's to a prosperous and happy one for each and every person.
恭喜發財
Gallery Photographer: Ian Potter is one half of PK Perspective, two Perthshire based photographers who like to get out and about looking for the next great shot. Check out their website and shop here>>>


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Iranian bank sues U.K. for $4 Billion over business lost to sanctions
LONDON—Iran's largest private bank, Bank Mellat, is suing the U.K. Treasury for some $4 billion in compensation for what it alleges was lost business due to British sanctions against Iran.
A spokesman for the U.K. Treasury said he couldn't comment on ongoing legal proceedings.
In a filing on Friday with London's Commercial Court, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Bank Mellat's lawyers, Zaiwalla & Co., said the bank is seeking $3.98 billion in reparations for lost international businesses due to sanctions.
The claim follows a June 2013 ruling by Britain's highest court that found sanctions imposed on the bank by the U.K. government in 2009 were illegal because Bank Mellat isn't a state-owned financial institution, and there wasn't evidence it aided Iran's nuclear program.
The Treasury had expressed disappointment with the U.K. Supreme Court's ruling at the time. It also had said the judgment had been superseded, in any case, by a European Union asset freeze, which remains in place, on the bank.
As part of a series of actions by Western governments, Britain has imposed sanctions on a growing number of Iranian businesses in an effort to curtail Tehran's nuclear efforts.
This latest claim against the U.K. government also comes after a string of shipping companies and banks, including Mellat, won legal challenges contesting sanctions in a European court last year. The European Union has either appealed or placed the entities affected by the court action under new sanctions.
By The Wall Street Journal
The Iran Project is not responsible for the content of quoted articles.
Iran'a bank mellat lawsuit against UK sanctions, Iran's Bank Mellat, Quoted, sanctions against Iran, UK sanction on Bank Mellat February 16, 2014
Iran, Ivory Coast vow to consolidate ties
Iran exports over 15mln Tons of cement, clinker in 10 months


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Where Did All the Workers Go? 60 Years of Economic Change in 1 Graph
President Obama's State of the Union speech was surprisingly bullish on reviving manufacturing, prompting one very clever person on Twitter to say something along the lines of: "Democrats want the economy of the 1950s, while Republicans just want to live there."
It got me thinking: What did the economy look like in the 1950s? If you could organize all the jobs into buckets and compare the paper-shuffling professional services bucket to the manufacturing bucket, what would they look like around 1950, and how has the picture changed in the last 60 years?
National Journal addressed just this topic in its special report on the rise and fall and rise of manufacturing. The spectacular graphic compares employment by sector in 1947 and 2007 and its most important lesson is a whopper. Manufacturing and agriculture employed one in three workers just after World War II. Today, those sectors employ only one in eight.
Where did all the making-stuff and growing-stuff jobs go? They went into services.
The champion in the last six decades was finance, insurance and real estate, which doubled its share of employment from 10.5% to 21.4%. But the broader service industry -- including professional and business services (a broad catch-all with marketing, managing, consulting, computer services) and health and education services -- also grew from about 13% to about 30%. Everything else has stayed pretty much the same. Government, wholesale/retail, information, and construction account for a little more than a third of the economy today, and they accounted for a little more than a third of the economy 60 years ago.
The big story about American jobs in the post-war period is this: The manufacturing/agriculture economy shrunk from 33% to 12%, and the services economy grew from 24% to 50%. I don't want to leave you with a facile explanation, but for the purposes of space, I think it's acceptable to say that as manufacturing and agriculture got more efficient, they required fewer American workers, while the services industry (which had slower efficiency gains since it has more person-to-person work) required more employees to keep up with the rising demand for consulting, nurses, teachers, computer technicians, and so on. This isn't a sad story, or a happy story. It's just what's happening, and it's not accurate to think we can change it very much by, say, creating a panel to badger China's trade practices, as the president has proposed.
Closing thought: Why isn't anybody talking about the tragic decline of agriculture? The industry's share of workers has fallen by 80 percent in the last 60 years. Nobody seems to think that's much of a tragedy, but we do consider it tragic that manufacturing has lost 60 percent of its share over the same period. Are we being hyperbolic about the decline of manufacturing, in particular, or are we being way too stoic about the greater loss in agriculture employment? Open question.
Update: I should have made this point more clearly: Manufacturing jobs have declined as a share of the economy. But manufacturing hasn't declined as an industry. It's grown. By a lot. Here's total industrial production (manufacturing, utilities, and mining output) indexed to 1945. Output has sextupled.
Derek Thompson is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he writes about economics, technology, and the media. He is the author of Hit Makers and the host of the podcast Crazy/Genius.


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Spero Therapeutics Appoints David Melnick, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Melnick to lead clinical team as Spero prepares to enter late-stage clinical trials
January 04, 2018 07:30 ET | Source: Spero Therapeutics, Inc.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 04, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Spero Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPRO), a multi-asset clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing and commercializing novel treatments for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections, today announced the appointment of David Melnick, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer to oversee Spero's clinical development and regulatory strategy. Dr. Melnick brings significant clinical experience to Spero with 18 years in anti-infective drug development including seven successful anti-infective drug approvals.
"I am excited to welcome David to Spero, and look forward to leveraging his clinical expertise and leadership to successfully expand and advance our diverse pipeline of anti-infectives through clinical development," said Ankit Mahadevia, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Spero Therapeutics. "David's experience advancing multiple therapies to approval is a tremendous addition to our highly experienced team and will be instrumental in our mission to combat the growing threat of multidrug-resistant bacteria."
Prior to joining Spero Therapeutics, Dr. Melnick served as Vice President of Clinical Development for Anti-Infectives at Allergan since 2015. In that capacity, he oversaw the development and regulatory approval of Teflaro®, Avycaz®, and Dalvance® in the United States. Prior to Allergan, Dr. Melnick served fifteen years at AstraZeneca in various levels of increasing responsibility, most recently as Vice President of Clinical Development for Anti-Infectives. In that capacity, he oversaw the late stage clinical development of Merrem®, Teflaro®, and Avycaz®. In addition, he served as the acting Vice President for early development at AstraZeneca. He received his medical training at Columbia University, followed by a Residency in Internal Medicine at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. Following a Fellowship in Infectious Disease at Yale University, he held faculty positions at the Boston University School of Medicine and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He subsequently joined Kaiser-Permanente as a practicing Infectious Diseases specialist and as the Director of HIV Clinical Research at Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic, with a faculty appointment at Georgetown University.
About Spero
Spero Therapeutics is a multi-asset, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing and commercializing novel treatments for multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections.
Spero is advancing SPR994, which is designed to be the first broad-spectrum oral antibiotic for use in adults to treat MDR Gram-negative infections.
Spero is also advancing its Potentiator Platform, which it believes will enable it to develop drugs that will expand the spectrum and potency of existing antibiotics, including formerly inactive antibiotics, against Gram-negative bacteria. The product candidates are two IV-administered agents, SPR741 and SPR206, designed to treat MDR Gram-negative infections in the hospital setting.
Spero is also developing SPR720, its novel oral therapy product candidate designed for the treatment of pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections.
For more information, visit https://sperotherapeutics.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the initiation, timing, progress and results of the Company's preclinical studies and clinical trials and the Company's research and development programs, the timing of clinical data, the Company's cash forecast and anticipated expenses and the sufficiency of the Company's cash resources. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "plan," "aim," "anticipate," "could," "intent," "target," "project," "contemplate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including whether results obtained in preclinical studies and clinical trials will be indicative of results obtained in future clinical trials; whether the Company's product candidates will advance through the preclinical development and clinical trial process on a timely basis, or at all; whether the results of such trials will warrant submission for approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies; whether the Company's cash resources will be sufficient to fund its continuing operations for the periods and/or trials anticipated; and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 14, 2017, and risks described in other filings the Company may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the future. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
Spero Investor Contact:
Sharon Klahre
IR@sperotherapeutics.com
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Lisa and Tim have been junkin' and selling for years and love everything about it. They have had many businesses through the decades, but have always loved collecting, selling and creating. Together they started this great vintage and DIY store in the older part of O'Fallon, MO. When it was time to grow to a bigger store, good friends Valerie and Scott became part of the business.
Valerie and Scott caught the junkin' bug from their parents, and have filled their home with lots of timeless treasures. They love to visit flea markets, auctions and roadside sales with the hope of finding rusty gems.
Why the name Elderberry Place? Lisa was searching for a nostalgic name and something different. Tim loves to garden, pick berries, and cook with them, including 250 jars of jelly for their son's wedding! Their family enjoys lots of jelly, crepes, and anything else that can be done with berries, so the name was fitting, as well as nostalgic.


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text:
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<head>
<script type="text/javascript">var codeBase= "../../../";</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="../../../src/editor.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="../testfw.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
function getHeading(songView)
{
   var page = songView.fFirstPart;
   var r = null;
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       r = page.fFirstPart;
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	       break;
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	   r = r.next;
       }
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   if( !r || r.partType() != PAGEVIEWPART_HEADING ) return null;
   return r;
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function sendTextToSwaraLabelBox(lblBox, txt)
{
    lblBox.getTextBox().value = "";

    var l = txt.length;
    for( var i = 0; i < l; i++ ) {
	var c = txt.charAt(i);
	var kc = txt.charCodeAt(i);
	if( c == '+' ) kc = 187;
	else if( c == ',' ) kc = 188;
	else if( c == '-' ) kc = 189;
	else if( c == '.' ) kc = 190;
	else if( c == '`' ) kc = 192;
	else if( c == '\'' ) kc = 222;

	var evt = new Object();
	evt.keyCode = kc;
	evt.shiftKey = false;
	evt.altKey   = false;
	evt.metaKey  = false;
	var handled = !lblBox.keydown(evt);
	if( !handled ) {
	   var ltxt = lblBox.getTextBox().value;
	   ltxt += c;
	   lblBox.getTextBox().value = ltxt;
	}
        lblBox.keyup(evt);
    }
}

function testSteps()
{
   var songView = loadEditor( 'songdata' );

   var h = getHeading(songView);
   if( !h )
       return "test error: cannot locate heading";
   songView.selectObject(h);
   var defaultSpeed = songView.getSong().getDefaultSpeed();

   var stb = toolBarsManager.getSwaraToolBarManager();

   mainMenu.doAction(mainMenu, mainMenu.ACTION_INSERT_NOTATIONS_AFTER);
   sendTextToSwaraLabelBox(stb.getLabelBox(), "g'");

   err = validateSwaraView(songView.getSelected(), 1, 0, "g",true,true);
   if( err != null ) return err;

   sendTextToSwaraLabelBox(stb.getLabelBox(), "g`");
   err = validateSwaraView(songView.getSelected(), -1, 0, "g",true,true);
   if( err != null ) return err;

   return null;	// all steps ran
}

function runTestEx()
{
    var err = null;
    var checkMsg = "check if heading is changed to ninnuKori varnam, and is selected"
    try
    {
	err = testSteps();
    }
    catch(e)
    {
	err = "got exception trying to run test: " + e;
    }
    //if( err )
	//top.testDriver.document.eyeballTestFailed(checkMsg, err);
    //else
    	//top.testDriver.document.eyeballTestComplete(checkMsg);
    alert(err);
}

function runTest()
{
    window.setTimeout( "runTestEx();", 1000 );
}

function cleanup()
{
    window.setTimeout = null;
    unloadEditor();
}
</script>
</head>
<body id="mybody" style="padding:0 0 0 0;" onload="runTest();" onunload="cleanup();">
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<XML id="songdata">
<SONG speed="2">
<TALA predefined="Adi-2"></TALA>
<PARTS>
<TALA predefined="Adi-2"></TALA>
<HEADING font="" fontsize="18" bold="true" italic="true" text="ninnukOri varnam" align="center"></HEADING>
</PARTS>
</SONG>
</XML>
<div id="testresult" style="display:none">
</div>
</body>
</html>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
"Britain Not Part of Any Greek Tragedy"
By Marshall Auerback*
They certainly know what "schadenfreude" means in Germany. But the attempt by the German paper, Der Spiegel, to link the UK to the travails of Greece, takes the concept to a malicious and irrational extreme:
The British pound is tottering. The economy finds itself in its worst crisis since 1931, and the country came within a hair's breadth of a deep recession. Speculators are betting against an upturn. Instability in the banking sector has had a more severe impact on government finances in Great Britain than in other industrialized countries. London's budget deficit will amount to £186 billion (€205 billion, or $280 billion) this year — fully 12.9 percent of gross domestic product.
Sounds pretty, grim, especially given that Britain's budget deficit is even higher than that of the "corrupt" Greeks, whom the Germans also seem so intent on abusing in print and punishing for their alleged fiscal profligacy.
But the article itself is rife with intellectual dishonesty. You cannot mindlessly conflate EMU states — Germany included — which operate with no real fiscal authority as sovereign states in the full sense — with countries, such as the United Kingdom, which fortunately has a government with currency issuing monopolies operating under flexible exchange rates (even though the British haven't quite figured it out). And, as strange as it may sound, public sector profligacy at this time is preferable to Germanic style prudence, because as the private sector's spending and borrowing go into hibernation, government borrowing must expand significantly to compensate. Even the French Finance Minister, Christine Lagarde, seems to understand that fact (and is taking heat from her German "allies" as a result). Her sin? She had the temerity to suggest that Berlin should consider boosting domestic demand to help deficit countries regain competitiveness and sort out their public finances. Noting that "it takes two to tango", Lagarde suggested that an expansionary fiscal policy had a role to play here, not simply "enforcing deficit principles".
Of course, that's harder to do in the euro zone, given the insane constraints put forward as a condition of euro entry. As a consequence of these rules, the EMU nations cannot even run their own region properly. They have established a system which has consistently drained aggregate demand and brought increasingly high levels of unemployment to bear on their respective populations. In the words of Bill Mitchell:
The rules that the EU made up and then imposed on the EMU via the Maastricht Treaty's Stability and Growth Pact were not based on any coherent models of fiscal sustainability or variations that might be encountered in these aggregates during a swing in the business cycle. The rules are biased towards high unemployment and stagnant growth of the sort that has bedeviled Europe for years.
Having conspicuously failed to deliver prosperity to their own countrymen, the Germans now see fit to lecture the UK (after taking out the Greeks, of course) on the grounds of Britain's "crass Keynesianism" (in the words of Axel Weber, the President of the German Bundesbank).
There is no question that the UK has some unique features which make it more than just another casualty of the global credit crunch. It foolishly leveraged its growth strategy to the growth in financial services and is now paying the price for that misconceived policy, as the industry inevitably contracts and restructures as a percentage of GDP. This structural headwind will no doubt force the UK authorities to adopt an even more aggressive fiscal posture than would normally be the case. This is politically problematic, given that the vast majority of the UK's policy makers (and the chattering classes in the media) still cling to the prevailing deficit hysteria now taking hold all over the world. But the reality is that the UK has considerably greater fiscal latitude of action than any of the euro zone countries, including Germany.
Let's go back to first principles: In a country with a currency that is not convertible upon demand into anything other than itself (no gold "backing", no fixed exchange rate), the government can never run out of money to spend, nor does it need to acquire money from the private sector in order to spend. This does not mean the government doesn't face the risk of inflation, currency depreciation, or capital flight as a result of shifting private sector portfolio preferences. But the budget constraint on the government, the monopoly supplier of currency, is different than what most have been taught from classical economics, which is largely predicated on the notion of a now non-existent gold standard. The UK Treasury cuts you a benefits check, your check account gets credited, and then some reserves get moved around on the Bank of England's balance sheet and on bank balance sheets to enable the central bank (in this case, the Bank of England) to hit its interest rate target. If anything, some inflation would probably be a good thing right now, given the prevailing high levels of private sector debt and the deflationary risk that PRIVATE debt represents because of the natural constraints against income and assets which operate in the absence of the ability to tax and create currency.
Unlike Germany, or any other EMU nation, there is no notion of "national solvency" that applies here, so the idea that the UK should follow Greece down the road to national suicide reflects nothing more than the traditional German predisposition to sado-monetarism and deficit reduction fetishism. A commitment to close the deficit is also what doomed Japan throughout most of the 1990s and 2000s, when foolish premature attempts at "fiscal consolidation" actually increased budget deficits by deflating incipient economic activity. Why would you tighten fiscal policy when there is anemic private demand and unemployment is still high?
Remember Accounting 101. It is the reversal of trade deficits and the increase in fiscal deficits, which gets a country to an increase in net private saving, ASSUMING NO STUPID SELF IMPOSED CONSTRAINTS along the lines proposed by Germany under the Stability and Growth Pact (which should be re-christened the "Instability and Non-Growth Pact"). Ideally, we want the deficits to be achieved in a good way: not with automatic stabilizers driving the budget into deficit because unemployment is rising and tax revenue is falling as private demand falters, but one in which a government uses discretionary fiscal policy to ensure that demand is sufficient to support high levels of employment and private saving. That in turn will stabilize growth and improve the deficit picture. Once this is achieved, any notions of national insolvency (or more "Greek tragedies") should go out the window.
The UK can do this, even if its policy makers fail to recognize this. But not in the eyes of Der Spiegel, which warns that "tough times are ahead for the United Kingdom, so tough, in fact, that none of the parties has dared to say out loud what many in their ranks already know. At a minimum, Britons can look forward to higher taxes and fees." And much lower growth if that prescription is followed.
We suspect that many in Germany and the rest of Europe understand this. So what other motivations are at work here? Clearly, calling attention to the state of Britain's public finances and drawing specious comparisons to Greece in effect invites speculative capital to take its collective eye off the euro zone and focus it on the UK. Given that the alleged "Greek solution" proposed recently by the European Commission does nothing to resolve the country's underlying problems, it behooves the euro zone countries to draw attention elsewhere before their collective resolve to defend their currency union comes under attack again.
And heaven forbid that the UK was actually successful (admittedly unlikely today, given the paucity of British political leaders who truly understand how modern money actually works). If Her Majesty's Government spending actually managed to conduct fiscal policy in a manner which supported higher levels of employment and a more equitable transfers of national income (via, for example, a government Job Guarantee program) then what would be the response in the euro zone? Wouldn't this cause its citizens to query what sort of bogus economic "expertise" that has been fed to them from their technocratic elites over the past two decades? The same sort of neo-liberal pap fed to the US courtesy of groups such as the Concord Coalition.
No question that public spending should be carefully mobilized to ensure that it is consonant with national purpose (not corporate cronyism). But the idea perpetuated by Der Spiegel that the government is somehow constrained by some self imposed rules with no reference to the underlying economy is comedy worthy of a Brechtian farce. Unfortunately, this particular German joke is no laughing matter.
*This post originally appeared on new deal 2.0
Posted in Marshall Auerback, Uncategorized
Tagged International Finance, Marshall Auerback
Greece Cannot Reduce Its Budget Deficit So Long As Its Neighbors Pursue Mercantilist Policy
By Yeva Nersisyan
When the 12 European Nations raced to embrace the single currency, euro, it was supposed to be a forward step in the process of European Integration, towards the United States of Europe. In retrospect, the euro has not only not contributed to deeper integration but is certainly close to undermining its foundations. The economic and debt crises have forced countries to resort back to their bitter past relations up to the point where Greeks are demanding that Germany pay WWII reparations.
Much has been said about Greece's debt crisis with a few proposals on how it should deal with it. All of these eventually turn into proposals of how the Greeks should manage their own country. A recent article in the New York Times critically examines Greece's pension system which has 580 occupations that qualify for early retirement at the age 50. Greece has promised early retirement to about 700,000 workers and its average retirement age is one of the lowest in Europe, 61. While the effectiveness or the reasonableness of the Greek pension system is beyond the scope of this blog, what is incomprehensible is how does a developed and politically sovereign nation such as Greece completely give up its domestic policy space, up to the point where it is told what to do about its pensioners, how to behave with the unions, what to do about public sector wages, etc? Politicians, rating agencies and media commentators somehow feel that they all have the right to give some advice on how the Greek government should manage their country. As long as we know, Greece is a representative democracy where the people elect their government and can demand that it do whatever it has promised to its population. It is up to the people of Greece, through the Greek government to decide what to do with their country, not to us, to you and especially not to the fraudulent and corrupt rating agencies and media commentators looking to make a career. Moreover, it sounds like Greece is simply trying to solve its unemployment problems by making people retire earlier. Prolonging the retirement age won't do much to solve the problem, as the government will still need to spend to boost aggregate spending to create jobs for all those people.
Most commentators of course overlook the main issue which is that by entering the monetary union and divorcing fiscal and monetary authorities individual nations have given up their currency issuing capacity. So unlike the Untied States government that spends by simply crediting bank accounts, i.e. changing numbers on spreadsheets (see here), the Greek and even German governments need to have tax and bond revenues prior to spending. But euronations differ vastly in their ability to collect taxes and raise revenue through bond sales. The convergence in debt levels, interest rates and number of other economic variables among individual countries that was being predicted by mainstream economists never really materialized. Germany and to some degree France have remained the important players in the euro landscape reserving the right to dictate policy prescriptions to their less powerful southern neighbors. At this point, Greece largely depends on Germany to determine its fate. It is now similar to a developing country being told what policy to implement by the IMF, only in this case it's Germany that has assumed the role of the IMF.
It is useful to recall the financial balance identity for analyzing what policy options Greece has (see here). The balance of the private sector (surplus/deficit) equals the balance of the government (deficit/surplus) plus the current account balance (surplus/deficit). In plain English this means that private sector savings (surplus) is financed by government deficit (an injection into private incomes and hence saving) and by the current account surplus (net exports are an injection into nominal income and hence saving). By entering the monetary union the euronations have voluntarily agreed to the debt and deficit constraints imposed by the Maastricht treaty. So what are the policy options for these countries under these self-imposed constraints? We know that the private sector cannot be perpetually in deficit; in fact the normal situation is for the private sector to try to save some of its income. The current account balance of Greece was -9.98% in 2009. If Greece only had a budget deficit of 3% (the Maastricht limit) then its private sector would need to run a deficit of 6.98%. If we want the Greeks to have a positive saving (>0) what needs to be true about the government deficit? Simple math will show that it has to be greater than 9.98% of GDP. So to balance its budget, either the private sector needs to go in debt (making bankers richer) or Greece needs to balance its current account and even try to achieve a small surplus which is neither desirable nor achievable.
But what happens when all euronations try to export their way out of their economic problems? Basically, they will have to revert to mercantilist-type beggar-thy-neighbor policies where each country tries to solve its growth and unemployment problems by exporting them to their trading partners. Germany has already taken this route which has allowed it to be a "role model" for "fiscal responsibility" and given it the "right" to criticize other countries which don't follow it. But all the countries cannot be net exporters; some have to be net importers. Germany can only be a net exporter to Euroland if some other euro nations are willing to be on the other end of the transaction. France, Italy, Belgium and Spain are among the 11 largest export partners of Germany with each of these countries having a net deficit with it. It is the government or private deficit in these countries that's financing Germany's exports.
So what options do net importer countries such as Greece or Spain have to maintain their aggregate demand at a reasonable level? If sovereign indebtedness is not acceptable, the only thing left is private sector indebtedness which will eventually lead to a financial collapse as we have witnessed in the US, UK and elsewhere. And some countries such as Spain don't even have that option as their private sector is already highly indebted.
To summarize, the problem is not Greece's profligate spending, but rather the design of the European monetary system. It has been specifically created to divorce the monetary and fiscal authorities to make the monetary authority super independent from "political pressures". It has tied the hands of governments restricting them in using their fiscal capacity to employ their labor resources and has forced the countries into sluggish growth, high unemployment rates, stagnating wages, cuts in social services, etc. They have been able to achieve low inflation rates though. What a fair trade-off! Moreover, as countries on the periphery approach the Maastricht debt limits, the markets start betting against the country's debt forcing it to pay higher interest rates. And of course no mess is complete without the rating agencies which are "diligently" monitoring the debt and deficit situations threatening to cut countries' ratings further exacerbating the problem.
If Germany wants to increase its retirement age and cut social benefits it should be up to the German public to accept it or protest against it. But foreigners shouldn't be allowed to dictate this to Greece and other nations. If they are doing that, and successfully so, it means that something is wrong with the way the system is set up. It is time for Greece and other nations in the outskirts of Europe to push for a change in the institutional structure which is obviously dysfunctional.
Tagged International Finance


Involving the youth of our congregation in worship activities is very important to us. Youth are invited to participate by bringing their talents before the Lord to enhance worship. Participating in the reading of Scripture, solo presentations in song and participation in a contemporary praise band are several ways this occurs.


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text:
Q: A tricky question 3 There are 100 employees in a company XYZ, out of that 99% are managers. How many managers should resign, so that company have only 98% managers?

A: Today, you have hundred persons; among them 99 are managers. Let us fire X managers and not recruite anybody. Then the staff becomes (100 - X) and among them (99 - X) are managers. So, now you want that (99 - X) represent 98% of (100 - X). This gives you the equation (99 - X) = 0.98 (100 - X) the solution of which being X=50. Let us check the result : since 50 managers left, the staff is now 50 and 49 managers stay. You have your ratio.

A: Of course 50 managers: then we have 49 managers out of 50 employees that is 98 percent.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange