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Home › Blog › Tomas Lemoine takes King of Crankworx lead at season opener in Rotorua
Tomas Lemoine takes King of Crankworx lead at season opener in Rotorua
Crankworx' first of three stops saw the world's best mountain bikers descend on Kelly McGazza's home turf of Rotorua, New Zealand for an explosive season opener.
"The ultimate experience in mountain biking" is what the event describes itself as, and we couldn't agree more. Spanning across the majority of the MTB spectrum, Crankworx provides maximum entertainment whether you're into endurance, style, speed or all of the above.
We're lucky to count some of the world's best in our team, and it was epic to see the Muc-Off contingency put up a solid appearance throughout the weekend.
Our highlight story was obviously Tomas Lemoine, who after an unfortunate tyre disfunction in the Speed & Style semis came back absolutely firing, taking the win in the Pump Track Challenge and snatching his best result (yet) with a 2nd in the Maxxis Slopestyle in Memory of McGazza.
Lemoine was labelled as 'your new favourite rider' by the event commentators and with good reason, his consistency across disciplines and steeze displayed was second-to-none, so much so that his performances put him at the top of the 'King of Crankworx' leaderboard with two events to go. Yeah Tomas 🤘🤘
On the women's side, we had no other than Tahnee Seagrave flying the Muc-Off flag across Dual Slalom, Pump Track Challenge and Downhill events. She was even set to compete in the Air DH but a slip & crash in the Dual Slalom Elite semis' not only cost her a much-deserved place in the final but also meant she needed a rest day ahead of her Downhill effort.
Nothing phases Tahnee and she was back ready to fight on the Friday, where she had both DH and Pump Track events to compete in all in one day. A slight collision with a tree cost her the few seconds and momentum she needed for the top spot in DH, taking home a 3rd behind Kate Weatherly and veteran Tracey Hannah.
Later on that day, she jumped on her hardtail and snagged another 3rd in Pump Track. She comes home sitting 4th on the 'Queen of Crankworx' leaderboard with three podium finishes across multiple disciplines and only six points away from NZ local Shania Rawson in 3rd, a pretty solid appearance in our eyes.
For brother Kaos Seagrave, a pre-event injury meant his Crankworx experience was all about being fit enough to ride the Whip-Off Championships, where he came 2nd in 2018. Word on the street was that Kaos was one of the most steezy whippers out there, and judging by this picture, he'd sure get our vote. He misses out on a podium finish but will look to get himself back to racing form ahead of Stage 1 of the UCI Downhill World Cup series in Maribor, Slovenia.
With such a strong team of Muc-Off athletes on location, it was only fair we roped a couple of these guys in for some Instagram Takeover action. Ben Deakin, aka The Deakinator, took us behind the scenes at Air DH then got redemption on his 2016 Whip Off crash on the Thursday evening. On Saturday, it was Reed Boggs who gave us a glimpse of what it's like to hang out with all the Slopestyle superstars. If you've missed out on the action, you can catch up on our Instagram Story Highlights.
Sunday saw Stage 1 of the Enduro World Series take place in Rotorua with five stages to complete in one day. A true test of endurance for Muc-Off sponsored Team Chain Reaction Cycles and Canyon Factory Team.
Unfortunately for Team CRC, Sam Hill was ill the day prior and didn't have the energy to power through a couple of stumbles, finishing at an overall 9th. Elliott Heap hit a snag on Stage 1 with a crash on the first turn and whilst he did well to crawl back on the leaderboard, he couldn't get past the top 30 and finished with an overall 33rd place. Kelan Grant was looking good too. He had three successful stage results around the top 30, but crashes in two later stages dropped him down to 50th overall.
It was a more successful story for the Canyon Factory Team with Frenchmen Florian Nicolai and Dimitri Tordo taking 3rd and 9th respectively, pushing the team up to 3rd place overall.
The man of the day was GT Factory Racing's Martin Maes who became the second-ever rider to take a clean sweep of all stages during an EWS event.
While we'll have to wait until June for the next stage of Crankworx, we can already start getting excited about Stage 2 of the Enduro World Series taking place this weekend (30-31 March) in Tasmania.
Bring it on guys! Photos by @maddogboris and @kikeabelleira
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Great Places to Stay in Murphys!
Calaveras County Fair 2017 - BRONZE Award Winner!
Port-style wines come in many forms and flavors. Those of you who have enjoyed our Tawny know how complex and sophisticated the genre can be. With the addition of Ruby to our line-up of dessert wines, we offer to you a fresh and fruity alternative to the Tawny. Made from Zinfandel, Barbera and Merlot, Ruby shows ripe cherry and blackberry fruit, with a complex and spicy palate. Sweet and tasty, this wine will stand up to the richest of chocolate desserts, or the most precious of Cubans in your humidor.
By entering Indian Rock Vineyards' Wine Store, you affirm that you are of legal drinking age in the country where this site is accessed.


My bologna has a first name… it's Mechanically Separated Turkey. My bologna has a second name, it's water.
Oh wait, that's the ingredient list.
But I'm intrigued. Mechanically separated turkey? That sounds deliciously… gruesome. Do they mechanically separate the turkey while it's still alive? Because that would be so cool. Kind of like a horcrux in Harry Potter. You could only make one by killing a person. This is the same thing. Except substitute turkey for a person, and instead of a magical object that contains part of your soul, you have a meat product that we feed to children. Otherwise, same thing.
I wonder… maybe bologna does have magical powers… I'll have to check that out.
This entry was posted in ponderance and tagged baloney, bologna, lift and separate, ponderance, turkey by Steven Byrnes. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
Hi. I'm Laura Bulandr, Corporate Controller here at Specialdocs. Send me an email anytime.
Laura Bulandr joined Specialdocs Consultants in August 2021 as Corporate Controller. Laura has over 35 years of financial and accounting experience, with more than half of her career spent in the healthcare space. A graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago with a BS in Accounting, Laura began her career in public accounting and moved on to private industry where she advanced and held various management positions at both Caremark and CDW. Throughout her career, Laura has participated in several merger and acquisition transactions where she was able to improve efficiencies, implement systems and tighten financial controls. Most recently, she was Assistant Controller at Familia Dental.
Laura is excited to support the mission of Specialdocs, which is to transform the physicians' professional lives and empower them to deliver personalized patient care. Her commitment to support the operational and financial reporting of the organization allows the Specialdocs Team to focus on the unique and personalized one-on-one service with physicians.
Laura is a certified public accountant and is an active fundraiser for and supporter of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.
Contact directly by using the form below. We promise to be respectful of your time and information (privacy policy)
I am fortunate to work with some amazing people. People such as:
Matt Minton
Jamie Kirsch
Leslie Mitchell
Andrew Bonner
Michael Friedlander
Shirin Zarinkia
Meet the rest of our team


Price includes $3.50 for shipping and handling.
Is it one-size-fits-all, or all sizes fit? A novel about friendships, faith, and fertility.
As the lives of these LDS women intertwine, can friendship and faith help these women hurdle expectations of an ideal family size?


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New Research Links Red Meat Consumption to a 22% Higher Risk of Heart Disease
The study also found that consuming fish, poultry, and eggs was not associated with heart disease.
Blood sugar, general inflammation, and microbiome-related metabolites like TMAO seem to be more crucial in regulating heart disease risk than blood pressure or cholesterol levels.
Is there a link between consuming more meat, particularly red and processed meat, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease? If so, why? The effects of foods derived from animals on atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) are hotly contested despite extensive research, and the mechanisms behind any possible impacts of animal proteins are still unknown. Understanding the effects of meat consumption is crucial for older adults since they are most at risk for heart disease and may benefit from consuming protein to counteract the deterioration of muscle mass and strength that comes with aging.
The link between heart disease and saturated fat, dietary cholesterol, sodium, nitrites, and even high-temperature cooking has been studied by scientists over the years, but the evidence for many of these mechanisms has not been strong. Recent data points to specific metabolites produced by our gut bacteria when we consume meat as the potential underlying culprits.
A recent study headed by scientists at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University quantifies the risk of ASCVD associated with meat consumption and identifies underlying biologic pathways that may explain this risk. The study of over 4,000 men and women over the age of 65 in the United States found that greater meat intake is associated with an increased risk of ASCVD—22 percent higher risk for every 1.1 serving per day—and that increased levels of three metabolites generated by gut bacteria from nutrients prevalent in meat explain roughly 10% of this increased risk. Red meat was associated with a higher risk and interconnections with gut bacterial metabolites, however, this was not found for poultry, eggs, or fish.
The research, which was recently published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, is the first to examine the connections between animal source foods and the risk of ASCVD events, and the mediation of this risk by gut microbiota-generated compounds as well as by traditional ASCVD risk pathways such as blood cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar.
The research drew on years of data from the National Institutes of Health's (NIH's) Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), a long-term observational study of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in Americans aged 65 and older. Several blood biomarkers were measured at baseline and again during follow-up, including levels of the gut-microbiome generated trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and two of its key intermediates, gamma-butyrobetaine, and crotonobetaine, derived from L-carnitine, abundant in red meat.
In this community-based cohort of older U.S. men and women, higher intakes of unprocessed red meat, total meat (unprocessed red meat plus processed meat), and total animal source foods were prospectively associated with a higher incidence of ASCVD during a median follow-up of 12.5 years.
The positive associations with ASCVD were partly mediated (8-11 percent of excess risk) by plasma levels of TMAO, gamma-butyrobetaine, and crotonobetaine.
The higher risk of ASCVD associated with meat intake was also partially mediated by levels of blood glucose and insulin and, for processed meats, by systematic inflammation but not by blood pressure or blood cholesterol levels.
Intakes of fish, poultry, and eggs were not significantly associated with ASCVD.
These findings help answer long-standing questions on mechanisms linking meats to the risk of cardiovascular diseases," said the paper's co-first author Meng Wang, a post-doctoral fellow at the Friedman School. "The interactions between red meat, our gut microbiome, and the bioactive metabolites they generate seem to be an important pathway for risk, which creates a new target for possible interventions to reduce heart disease."
The 3,931 study subjects were followed for a median of 12.5 years, and their average age at baseline was 73. The study adjusted for established risk factors such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, smoking, physical activity, other dietary habits, and many additional risk factors.
"Interestingly, we identified three major pathways that help explain the links between red and processed meat and cardiovascular disease—microbiome-related metabolites like TMAO, blood glucose levels, and general inflammation—and each of these appeared more important than pathways related to blood cholesterol or blood pressure," said co-senior author, Dariush Mozaffarian, dean for policy at the Friedman School. "This suggests that, when choosing animal-source foods, it's less important to focus on differences in total fat, saturated fat, or cholesterol, and more important to better understand the health effects of other components in these foods, like L-carnitine and heme iron."
By leveraging extensive clinical and dietary data among a large elderly community, the research "links the gut microbial TMAO pathway to animal source foods and heightened atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risks," said co-senior author Stanley L. Hazen, section head of preventive cardiology and rehabilitation at Cleveland Clinic. "The study also argues for dietary efforts as a means of reducing that risk, since dietary interventions can significantly lower TMAO."
More study is needed to determine if the findings are generalizable across ages and nationalities. The authors also noted that while microbiome biomarkers were directly measured in the blood, study participants' dietary habits were self-reported, and study findings are observational and cannot prove cause-and-effect.
Ahmed Hasan, a medical officer and program director in the Atherothrombosis & Coronary Artery Disease Branch at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the NIH, agrees. "While more studies are needed, the current reports provide a potential new target for preventing or treating heart disease in a subgroup of people who consume excessive amounts of red meat," said Hasan, who was not a part of the study.
For now, consumers are encouraged to follow current recommendations for a heart-healthy lifestyle, including adopting a healthy diet that is rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and other heart-healthy foods, NHLBI's Hasan said. Other heart-healthy lifestyle changes also include aiming for a healthy weight, managing stress, managing blood pressure, getting more exercise, getting adequate sleep, and quitting smoking, he added.
Higher Levels of TMAO, Related Metabolites Linked to Higher Risk of Death
The ATVB study is part of an ongoing collaboration among scientists at the Friedman School and Cleveland Clinic to uncover the role that the gut microbiome plays in human health, especially cardiovascular health. In a paper in JAMA Network Open in May, many of the same researchers reported that TMAO and related metabolites in older adults are positively associated with a higher risk of death whether deaths were related to cardiovascular disease or another disease. Participants with the highest levels of plasma TMAO and its biomarkers had a 20 to 30 percent higher risk of death than those with the lowest levels.
This study included more than 5,000 participants from the CHS. Findings were notable because there have been few studies on TMAO and the risk of death in the general population; previous research typically looked at clinical patients with underlying conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, and heart disease. While identified risk factors are concerning, the good news is that TMAO levels are potentially modifiable. "Now that we know more about the severity of risks associated with TMAO, we can explore effective approaches to change these levels in the body," said the paper's co-first author, Amanda Fretts of the University of Washington Department of Epidemiology.
References: "Dietary Meat, Trimethylamine N-Oxide-Related Metabolites, and Incident Cardiovascular Disease Among Older Adults: The Cardiovascular Health Study" by Meng Wang, Zeneng Wang, Yujin Lee, Heidi T.M. Lai, Marcia C. de Oliveira Otto, Rozenn N. Lemaitre, Amanda Fretts, Nona Sotoodehnia, Matthew Budoff, Joseph A. DiDonato, Barbara McKnight, W.H. Wilson Tang, Bruce M. Psaty, David S. Siscovick, Stanley L. Hazen and Dariush Mozaffarian, 1 August 2022, Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.
DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.121.316533
"Association of Trimethylamine N-Oxide and Metabolites With Mortality in Older Adults" by Amanda M. Fretts, Ph.D., MPH, Stanley L. Hazen, MD, Ph.D., Paul Jensen, Ph.D., MPH, Matthew Budoff, MD, Colleen M. Sitlani, Ph.D., Meng Wang, Ph.D., Marcia C. de Oliveira Otto, Ph.D., Joseph A. DiDonato, Ph.D., Yujin Lee, Ph.D., Bruce M. Psaty, MD, Ph.D., David S. Siscovick, MD, MPH, Nona Sotoodehnia, MD, MPH, W. H. Wilson Tang, MD, Heidi Lai, Ph.D., Rozenn N. Lemaitre, Ph.D., MPH and Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, Ph.D., 20 May 2022, JAMA Network Open.
DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.13242
The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Both the ATVB and JAMA Network Open studies support the importance of the microbiome and specific metabolites to human health, with the ATVB paper specifically linking the gut microbiome with meat intake, and impacts on heart health.
New Technology Could Reduce the Side Effects of Common Medicines
NASA Delays SpaceX Crew-5 Launch Due to Hurricane Ian
Ingenuity Back in Action on Mars on its 14th Flight
Life Could Make Habitable Pockets in Venus' Atmosphere
Private Axiom Space-1 Astronauts Near Launch as Crew Works Science, Spacewalks on Station
US set to ban potent class of greenhouse gases


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text:
Buzzing The Net
Plymouth's Stefan Noesen misses chance to impress Senators brass, but injury isn't serious
Neate Sager
November 19, 2012, 2:15 p.m.
On the bright side, Stefan Noesen is not expected to miss more than a handful of games with the reported high ankle sprain that cost him a chance to play in his NHL organization's home rink Sunday.
As an Ottawa Senators first-rounder who stars for the Plymouth Whalers, the 19-year-old centre only makes one visit per season to Canada's capital. Senators brass, including club president Cyril Leeder, turned out Sunday to see two of their prized prospects, Noesen and the 67's Cody Ceci, go head-to-head. That was scuppered after Noesen tweaked an ankle Saturday in Belleville in a scrum with Brendan Gaunce.
"It's a tough thing but it's the nature of the beast," Noesen, who got tangled up in the said of ending up watching the game with Senators executives from a suite at Scotiabank Place. "I just kept pushing and it [his leg] came up as I got pushed down. It was just one of those awkward moments. Tough break. It was one of those things — taking precautionary steps, maybe a couple games, hopefully be back by Friday."
The Whalers definitely exhaled in relief that Noesen was not hurt more seriously. He has a team-high 22 points for a club which has had some dry periods offensively. Plymouth (11-7-3-1, .591) is currently leading the OHL's congested West Division, but it's a very slim margin between being in the No. 2 playoff seed and the sixth or seventh. Four Midwest clubs are playing .600 or better hockey.
"It's little ankle sprain, he should be all right," coach-GM Mike Vellucci said. "Hopefully next week. He could have played [Sunday] and we just wanted to make sure it wasn't re-aggravated."
Noesen should merit consideration for Team USA for next month's world junior championship in Ufa, Russia. The Plano, Texas, native had a strong summer evaluation camp. Vellucci, who will also likely see Rickard Rakell off to Team Sweden in a few weeks, notes Noesen has sharpened up his two-way game, which could be a boon to his Team USA chances.
"He struggled early on, actually, but defensively he has got a lot better. He sees the ice better than anyone I've had. He's a very smart hockey player."
Noesen noted he's just trying to block out the world junior talk.
"It's always in my mind but it's not in my hands. I play my game. If they like me they take me."
Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.


text:
Pan y Eco (Pan och Echo), Op. 53a, es un intermezzo de danza por Jean Sibelius. La terminó en 1906 y dirigió su estreno en Helsinki el 24 de marzo de 1906, con la Sociedad de la Orquesta Filarmónica de Helsinki. Hizo una versión para piano en 1907. Su nombre alternativo es Tanz-Intermezzo n.º 3.

Literatura

Referencias

Enlaces externos

Composiciones de Jean Sibelius
Composiciones de 1906
Composiciones para orquesta

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I sent you an email. Sounds like fun.
Michael, Chris we also have separate "Marina Cup and Mosier Cup Racing" category for you to check out. Thank you for using Message board!
Oasis will be racing in the 2018 Sunset Series in Marina Del Rey. We are looking for experienced crew to join us for lots of laughs and a good time on the water as we compete in the cruising class. Oasis is a beautiful Beneteau 423. This is your opportunity to get some quality time on the water sailing on one of Marina Sailing's finest 43' sloops. To be considered for one of our open crew spots, send me an email at fred@oasissailingcharters.com with your sailing resume. Racing begins in March 2018 and continues to September. There is no fee for crew participation, but a commitment to sail most weeks is strongly desired.
Do you have big boat sailing experience? Do you typically sail on 30' boats and looking to bring your skills to a bigger boat? Oasis will be racing in the 2019 Sunset Series in Marina Del Rey. We are looking for experienced crew to join us for lots of laughs and a good time on the water as we compete in the cruising class. Oasis is a beautiful Beneteau 423, you can see her photos on the MDR fleet page. This is your opportunity to get some quality time on the water sailing on one of Marina Sailing's finest 43' sloops. To be considered for one of our open crew spots, send me an email at fred@oasissailingcharters.com with your sailing resume. Weekly racing begins Wednesday April 17th, (with practice sessions starting March 20th) and continues to September 11th. There is no fee for crew participation, but a commitment to sail most weeks is strongly desired.


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Diese Diskografie ist eine Übersicht über die musikalischen Werke der US-amerikanischen Soulband The Miracles, die in den späten 1960er und den frühen 1970er Jahren auch als Smokey Robinson & the Miracles bekannt war. Den Quellenangaben und Schallplattenauszeichnungen zufolge hat sie bisher mehr als 790.000 Tonträger verkauft, davon alleine in ihrer Heimat über 50.000. Ihre erfolgreichste Veröffentlichung ist die Single Love Machine (Part 1) mit über 250.000 verkauften Einheiten.

Alben

Studioalben
Weitere Alben
 1961: Hi, We're the Miracles
 1961: Cookin' with the Miracles
 1962: I'll Try Something New
 1964: Christmas with the Miracles (Weihnachtsalbum)
 1965: I Like It Like That
 1970: The Season for Miracles (Weihnachtsalbum)
 1978: Miracles

Kompilationen

Weitere Kompilationen

Singles

Weitere Singles

Videoalben
 2006: Definitive Performances 1963–1987 (US: )

Statistik

Chartauswertung

Auszeichnungen für Musikverkäufe

Quellen

Weblinks

Miracles #The


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text:
Q: How can I create a better cryptogram environment? I put together a  macro that takes two arguments.  The first argument is a string of letters which defines a cipher.  The second argument is a message to be encrypted using this cipher.
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{geometry}
\setlength{\parindent}{0pt}
\setlength{\parskip}{2ex}
\makeatletter

%%---------------------------------------------------------------------
%% #1=replacement cipher
%% #2=text to be enciphered
%% starred version will group letters into collections
%% of five letters (stripping out previous space and punctuation)
\newif\if@regroup@letters@by@fives@
\def\makecryptogram{%%
  \@ifstar{\@regroup@letters@by@fives@true\@makecryptogram}
          {\@regroup@letters@by@fives@false\@makecryptogram}}
\def\@makecryptogram#1#2{%%
  \bgroup
    \@build@cipher{#1}%%
    \if@regroup@letters@by@fives@
      \expandafter\@build@groups@of@five\expandafter{#2}%%
    \else
      \edef\ae@encrypted@message{#2}%%
    \fi
    \ttfamily
    \raggedright
    \uppercase\expandafter{\ae@encrypted@message}%%
    \par
  \egroup}

%%---------------------------------------------------------------------
%% counter to assist in tracking and encoding letters of the
%% alphabet.
\newcounter{@letter@code}
%% #1=replacement cipher
\def\@build@cipher#1{%%
  \setcounter{@letter@code}{64}%%
  \@@build@cipher#1\relax}
%% #1=current letter representing encryption of nth letter
%% #2=placeholder to test end of content
%%
%% No error should be raised if the cipher has fewer than 26 letters.
%% In that case, only the initial portion of the alphabet will be
%% encrypted.  If there are more than 26 letters for the cipher, do
%% nothing with the extras.
%%
%% Ignore the difference between upper and lower case letters of input
%% characters.  Regardless of input, output is all upper case.
%%
\def\@@build@cipher#1#2{%%
  \stepcounter{@letter@code}%%
  \ifnum\value{@letter@code}<91\relax
    \ifnum`#1>\number\numexpr`a-1\relax
      \uccode\value{@letter@code}=\number\numexpr`#1-32\relax
      \uccode\number\numexpr\value{@letter@code}+32\relax=\number\numexpr`#1-32\relax
    \else
      \uccode\value{@letter@code}=\number\numexpr`#1\relax
      \uccode\number\numexpr\value{@letter@code}+32\relax=\number\numexpr`#1\relax
    \fi
    \ifx\relax#2\relax
      \let\ae@continue@building@cipher\relax
    \else
      \let\ae@continue@building@cipher\@@build@cipher
    \fi
  \else
    \let\ae@continue@building@cipher\relax
  \fi
  \ae@continue@building@cipher#2%%
}

%%---------------------------------------------------------------
\newcounter{@ae@letter@counter}
\newif\if@spaceOrPunctuation@
\def\@build@groups@of@five#1{%%
  \def\ae@encrypted@message{}%%
  \setcounter{@ae@letter@counter}{0}%%
  \@@build@groups@of@five#1\relax}
%% <space>s are ignored merely by the manner in which TeX
%% grabs the next token for the arguments of a macro.
%% When gathering into groups of five letters, all punctuation
%% should be suppressed and dropped.
\def\@@build@groups@of@five#1#2{%%
  \@spaceOrPunctuation@false
  \if-#1\relax\@spaceOrPunctuation@true\fi
  \if,#1\relax\@spaceOrPunctuation@true\fi
  \if;#1\relax\@spaceOrPunctuation@true\fi
  \if:#1\relax\@spaceOrPunctuation@true\fi
  \if.#1\relax\@spaceOrPunctuation@true\fi
  \if?#1\relax\@spaceOrPunctuation@true\fi
  \if!#1\relax\@spaceOrPunctuation@true\fi
  \if@spaceOrPunctuation@
  \else
    \stepcounter{@ae@letter@counter}%%
    \xdef\ae@encrypted@message{\ae@encrypted@message#1}%%
    \ifnum\value{@ae@letter@counter}=5\relax
      \setcounter{@ae@letter@counter}{0}%%
      \xdef\ae@encrypted@message{\ae@encrypted@message\space}%%
    \fi
  \fi
  \ifx\relax#2\relax
    \let\ae@continue@building@blocks@of@five\relax
  \else
    \let\ae@continue@building@blocks@of@five\@@build@groups@of@five
  \fi
  \ae@continue@building@blocks@of@five#2%%
}

\makeatother

\usepackage{environ}
\makeatletter
\NewEnviron{cryptopgram}[1]
  {\@build@cipher{#1}%%
   \expandafter\@build@groups@of@five\expandafter{\BODY}%%
   \ttfamily
   \raggedright
   \uppercase\expandafter{\ae@encrypted@message}%%
   \par
  }

\makeatother

\begin{document}

From Bertrand Russell's \emph{Problems of Philosophy}.

\def\mypassage{%%'
  Is there any knowledge in the world which is so certain that no
  reasonable man could doubt it? This question, which at first sight
  might not seem difficult, is really one of the most difficult that
  can be asked. When we have realized the obstacles in the way of a
  straightforward and confident answer, we shall be well launched on
  the study of philosophy--for philosophy is merely the attempt to
  answer such ultimate questions, not carelessly and dogmatically, as
  we do in ordinary life and even in the sciences, but critically,
  after exploring all that makes such questions puzzling, and after
  realizing all the vagueness and confusion that underlie our ordinary
  ideas.}

Without changing word boundaries:\par
%%            --ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ--
\makecryptogram{BCDNXGHELOPUQASRVFWTYZIJKM}{\mypassage}

Collect letters into groups of five:\par
\makecryptogram*{BCDNXGHELOPUQASRVFWTYZIJKM}{\mypassage}

Pseudo-environment:\par
\begin{cryptopgram}{BCDNXGHELOPUQASRVFWTYZIJKM}
  Is there any knowledge in the world which is so certain that no
  reasonable man could doubt it? This question, which at first sight
  might not seem difficult, is really one of the most difficult that
  can be asked. When we have realized the obstacles in the way of a
  straightforward and confident answer, we shall be well launched on
  the study of philosophy--for philosophy is merely the attempt to
  answer such ultimate questions, not carelessly and dogmatically, as
  we do in ordinary life and even in the sciences, but critically,
  after exploring all that makes such questions puzzling, and after
  realizing all the vagueness and confusion that underlie our ordinary
  ideas.
\end{cryptopgram}

\end{document}

There are a couple of things I would like to know how to do (if they're even feasible) which I'll raise as separately posted questions.
Here's the context for the first question:
My code works by taking the cipher, remapping the \uccodes for each the letters of the alphabet, then calling \uppercase with these new \uccode values on the message.   (The material to be encrypted should just be plain text without any mark up except for possible punctuation.)
I would like to consider a different approach that will not rely on using \uppercase.  I would like to be able to temporarily remap character codes within the confines of an environment.   Of course, once the environment is over, the old character codes should be restored.   So for example, instead of changing \uccodes, I would like to remap character code of C to that of N, D to O, etc. as in the above cryptograms.  In other words, when TeX sees the token C with catcode=11, it behaves as though this were N with catcode=11, and so on for all the text tokens with catcode=11.
However, I can't find any such mechanism for remapping character codes.
In other words, is there a way of encrypting a cipher that can avoid changing the upper case codes?

A: Not sure if any of these are an improvement, but three alternatives none of which grabs the environment body.
The first two discard spaces.
foo uses \uppercase but one at a time.
fooo uses \mathcode
foooo uses active characters (so you could not embed this macro in another macro argument)
\documentclass{article}

\newenvironment{foo}[1]{\let\remap\remapxx\par#1\zz}{\par}
\def\zz#1{\ifx\end#1\expandafter\end\else\uppercase{#1}\expandafter\zz\fi}
\def\remapxx#1#2{\uccode`#1=`#2 }

\newenvironment{fooo}[1]{\let\remap\remapxxx\par#1\zzz}{\par}
\def\zzz#1{\ifx\end#1\expandafter\end\else$\mathrm{#1}$\expandafter\zzz\fi}
\def\remapxxx#1#2{\mathcode`#1=`#2 }

\newenvironment{foooo}[1]{\let\remap\remapxxxx\let\e\exxxx\begingroup\par#1}{\par}
\def\remapxxxx#1#2{\catcode`#1\active\begingroup\uccode`\~`#1\uppercase{\endgroup\edef~}{\string#2}}
\def\exxxx#1#2{\endgroup\end}

\begin{document}

\begin{foo}{
\remap a x
\remap b y
\remap c z
\remap d r
\remap e s
\remap n 1
\remap o 2
\remap x a
\remap y b
\remap z c}
one abc and xyz
\end{foo}

\begin{fooo}{
\remap a x
\remap b y
\remap c z
\remap d r
\remap e s
\remap n 1
\remap o 2
\remap x a
\remap y b
\remap z c}
one abc and xyz
\end{fooo}

\begin{foooo}{
\remap a x
\remap b y
\remap c z
\remap d r
\remap e s
\remap n 1
\remap o 2
\remap x a
\remap y b
\remap z c
}
one abc and xyz
\end{foooo}

\end{document}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Walden Yacht Club's Happy Hour last Friday was particularly lively as patrons joined BOBBY MARSHALL in celebrating her 96th birthday. Bobby is a long time and has been a very active resident of Walden over the past 30 or so years. She was an avid golfer and served as President of Walden Ladies Golf Association 1991. If you play golf at Walden, be sure to wave at the house on the left at as you pass the men's gold tee box. You may not see Bobbi, but most likely she will see you.
Congratulations to JIM LEE on his hole-in-one a couple of weeks ago. Jim score his ace on hole 14 using seven iron for the 156 yard shot. Jim and Jan Lee are active members of the Walden Golf Club and reside in Grand Harbor. The Lees recently hosted the Sunday Fun Bunch Couples after party. Playing a scramble, Jim and Jan along with CONNIE WINN and BOB GINANDT took home first place honors.
Walden has a television star in our midst. As the camera panned the fan audience at the University of Cincinnati and SMU game, it landed on our own CAROLYN GINANDT. CAROLYN and BOB GINANDT were at the game cheering on Cincinnati. Bob is a UC grad. Carolyn said it was one of the most exciting games they have ever attended as the game was in overtime tied at 20 all when Cincinnati's James Wiggins returned an interception 86 yards for a touchdown giving Cincinnati the 26-20 win.
If you haven't already cast your ballot via early voting or by mail, please take time to vote for the candidate of your choice this Tuesday. It is particularly important for Walden MUD 9 residents to cast ballots in the $25 million bond authorization portion of the ballot. The authorization election calls for voters to allow the MUD to sell bonds to be paid from property taxes. Examples of potential near term projects include major upgrades to the storm drainage system, repair of sewer manhole repairs and rehab of both fresh water and storm water piping systems. As much of Walden's sewer and water infrastructure reaches its life expectancy, needed repairs and upgrades are necessary. A positive vote will allow the MUD to do just that.
I'm back in Walden now, although it's taking me awhile to get back in the "groove." Apologies for missing last week's column. Let me know what's going on with you in the neighborhood.


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text:
Q: Display My Account navigation on all pages of Customer I want to display My Account navigation on all pages of customer i.e when customer edit his account or view his orders etc. but presently i am getting the navigation only on Customer account page.How can i do this in magento.

A: Please try as follows :
locate customer.xml in your theme i.e app/design/frontend/YOURTHEME/YOURTHEME/layout/customer.xml
find<customer_account translate="label"> with label <label>Customer My Account (All Pages)</label> in this file.
you can view <reference name="left"> below these search.
Add whatever links you need to display in the block
<block type="customer/account_navigation" name="customer_account_navigation" before="-" template="customer/account/navigation.phtml">

Please message for futher queries.
Regards


text:
Archive for the category "Saturday Matinees"
The Power Pirate
Hey kids (of all ages), it's Saturday Morning Cartoon time again!
Filmation studios got its start making TV cartoons featuring DC comic book superheroes, as covered here last week. But it was the '60s, and the damned hippies were winning the Culture War, so the face-punching, hero vs villain cartoons were being pushed off TV. Filmation would continue to thrive with ARCHIE, SABRINA, FAT ALBERT, STAR TREK and other licensed characters. (Previously featured on this channel.) But it was Hanna-Barbera who would pick-up the JUSTICE LEAGUE license and run with it.
Their secret? Cut the superhero element to roughly half-strength by pouring in a big dose of SCOOBY-DOO, including Meddling Kids and semi-anthropomorphic dog.
Many call Shaggy, Velma, and Scoo… er… I mean Marvin, Wendy, and Wonder Dog "useless", since they lack superpowers, tech, or special skills. But they're the ones who tended to solve the cases, while the spandex grownups were running around reacting to events. Often, they stop the (not particularly villainous) antagonists by explaining the error of their ways.
A common complaint about superhero teams is that top heroes have to be "nerfed"… When you have a godlike being like Superman, who routinely saves the world in solo adventures, why would he need a team? They hadn't quite figured out how to nerf the characters effectively in this first episode, though. We're repeatedly reminded that the Batmobile is about the slowest means of transport on the show. And with ersatz Mystery Inc. solving the cases, Bats comes off even more useless than Aquaman… Who, for his part, gets caught by giant sea anemone as soon as he tries to swim in the ocean. (Dammit, Arthur! You had one job!!!)
From September 1973. The first episode of the first iteration of SUPER FRIENDS. More from the OldHorseman.
Posted in Saturday Matinees and tagged Aquaman, Batman, Batmobile, Hanna-Barbera, Justice league, Marvin, Old Horseman, Saturday morning cartoons, Super Friends, Wendy, Wonder Dog | Leave a comment
Razör breaks down the oft-ignored Comic Book origins of the Heroes in a Half-Shell! More from RazorFist.
Posted in Saturday Matinees and tagged comic books, RazorFist, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT | Leave a comment
Peril In The Surface World
Three of the five characters starring in the MARVEL SUPER-HEROES wheel show were shiny, new, Silver-Age adventurers who'd just debuted in print a few years before. Saturday before last, we covered one of the Golden Age players in the rotation with CAPTAIN AMERICA. Today we'll look at an even older superguy. NAMOR THE SUB-MARINER, who dates back to 1939, around the same time as BATMAN.
Namor, predates rival DC Comics' AQUAMAN by over a year, but each character seems to have influenced the other over the decades of publication. Namor, however, has been more consistently depicted as a borderline antihero, while Aquaman has been everything from that through a generic good-guy nerfed for '70s network kid shows.
Apologies for the eccentricities of this 'print'. It was surprisingly difficult to dig-up a copy of this particular segment. But I didn't want to stop short of finishing the set. From 1966. More from the OldHorseman.
Posted in Saturday Matinees and tagged Aquaman, Captain America, Marvel Super Heroes, Namor the Sub-Mariner, OldHorseman | Leave a comment
The week before last, we covered IRON MAN. Third in our series on the MARVEL SUPER HEROES wheel show that hit TV in the wake of the company's super-guy renaissance after HULK and THOR. But not all the featured stars were newbies. Some dated back to the pre-Marvel "Timely" era.
Well before the US entered WWII, comic books were literally draping heroes in the Stars 'n' Stripes to fight the Nips and Krauts. CAPTAIN AMERICA wasn't the first of these, but he became the best-known. A 4-F, 90-pound weakling who got 'roided-up with an experimental Super Soldier Serum, put on a costume, and wielded an invulnerable shield that thought it was some kind of boomerang.
In keeping with the established norms of 1940s masked adventurers, Cap had a teen sidekick (rather lazily named "Bucky" in and out of costume) and a secret identity to preserve. The latter seemed particularly pointless, as Steve Rogers served only to annoy his sergeant as a clumsy Army private.
Cap was featured in a 1944 Republic serial… Sort of. It appears the script was written for an entirely different character (some speculation as to which) and they just stuck the Captain America name and costume on the lead at the last minute.
Like SPIDER-MAN, Hulk, and DR. STRANGE, there was an attempt to bring an updated version of Cap to live-action TV in the '70s. This resulted in two TV movies, but no series.
He got a notoriously bad live-action feature film in the early '90s, which was mercifully forgotten when he was introduced into the blockbuster MCU AVENGERS franchise ten years ago.
Like all the Marvel Super Heroes 'toons, Captain America is pretty much lifted directly from the comics. This episode from 1941's CAPTAIN AMERICA #1, which introduced Cap, Bucky, and archenemy Red Skull. More from the OldHorseman.
Posted in Saturday Matinees and tagged Bucky, Captain America, Marvel, Marvel Super Heroes, OldHorseman, Red Skull | Leave a comment
Trapped By Loki
A couple weeks ago we covered the not-so-jolly green giant's animated debut. But he wasn't alone. Marvel's other popular superguys were part of the wheel show. Including fellow Avenger, Thor.
I suppose you can only have just so many comic book heroes get their powers by alien origin, Mystical Eastern training, science accidents, or super-tech before it dawns on writers to say "Screw it! Let's just recruit mythical gods!"
The Norse god of thunder was well suited for the gig, and had already been used in DC comics back in the '50s. Marvel's version traded in the traditional red beard for a clean-shaven fellow with blonde locks, but kept the mythical backstory for the most part.
Still, superheroes of the era had to have a wimpy alter ego and some sort of weakness. In this case, the awesome immortal's other self was a lame (literally) Dr. Donald Blake. Not only did Thor have to live as Blake when not saving the day, but he would involuntarily revert into that mortal form whenever Thor was separated from his signature war hammer for over sixty seconds!
Of course, he also got an ersatz Lois Lame (figuratively). We'll not go into what has happened with her in our current, godforsaken, woke era!
Several attempts at live-action TV series starring Marvel characters were made in the 1970s. But Thor didn't get a shot then. The only one of the bunch who really made it was the HULK. TV movie follow-ups to his series beginning in the late 1980s were used as tryouts for other Marvel characters, starting with Thor. Like the Hulk, he was considerably different from his four-color print incarnation. Unlike Ol' Greenskin, his TV version didn't succeed and was never heard from again.
He has, however, been a smashing success in the current MCU live-action blockbuster movies. But his on-screen career started with these humble, barely animated adventures. Lifted pretty much directly from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY comics, and produced by what was left of the old Paramount unit that did the theatrical POPEYE shorts, as well as some of the King Features TV output.
From 1966. More from The OldHorseman.
Posted in Saturday Matinees and tagged Hulk, Marvel Super Heroes, OldHorseman, Paramount Pictures, Saturday Matinees, Thor | Leave a comment
Everything's Ducky
Our last Saturday Morning entry featured the work of Howard Morris. Most recognizable as Ernest T. Bass from the live-action ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW (previously seen on this channel), but also the voice of many cartoon characters including Jughead from the ARCHIES (also on this channel) and ATOM ANT.
Another recurring troublemaker for Andy and Barney was Allan Melvin, best known as Sam the Butcher from the live-action BRADY BUNCH (animated spin-off previously featured on this channel). He was also seen on damned-near every TV show from the '50s through the '80s, as well as doing a boat-load of cartoon character voices.
These two Mayberry misfits were bound to cross paths in the world of animation voice-overs. They did so most famously on MAGILLA GORILLA for Hanna-Barbera. But first they did our entry for today!
As covered here previously, POPEYE THE SAILOR was a long-running, highly popular series of theatrical shorts for Paramount Studios in the '30s, '40s, and '50s. But they didn't own the character. King Features Syndicate, who published the THIMBLE THEATRE newspaper comic strip where he first appeared, did. When his pictures were syndicated to television and became a hit all over again, King Features wanted a piece of that action. Paramount had relinquished its license, so KFS was able to produce (through an assortment of sub-contractors) a couple hundred shorts specifically for TV between 1960 and '63. While inferior to the theatricals, these went over well-enough for KFS to try making more 'toons based on their comic strip properties.
BEETLE BAILEY's newspaper comic started out with him as a college kid in 1950, but he got the bright idea to drop-out and join the Army in 1951, where he's been a perpetually loafing, humorously incompetent Private ever since. Somehow he never got sent to Korea or Vietnam, but Camp Swampy was dangerous enough, between his own ineptitude and the savage beatings inflicted upon him by Sgt Snorkel.
Beetle was one of three print properties developed for the animated KING FEATURES TRILOGY for TV distribution starting in 1963. More from the OldHorseman.
Posted in Saturday Matinees and tagged Allan Melvin, Beetle Bailey, Camp Swampy, King Features Syndicate, Popeye The Sailor, Thimble Theatre | Leave a comment
Judge Dredd Gets SJW'ed
Having already ruined GI Joe, now the social justice warriors at the inept IDW Publishing are putting the screws to the Judge Dredd comics. IDW stands for Idea and Design Works. We'll give you an idea, bubbs! Jump into a bucket of ice! More from our commentator, Smile Titans.
Posted in Saturday Matinees and tagged Idea and Design Works, Judge Dredd, social justice warriors | Leave a comment
Fatal Transformation
Welcome to the Chapter Fifteen, the concluding chapter from Manhunt of Mystery Island, our current Saturday Matinee serial. Claire Forrest plane continues to rise, leaving Lance Reardon desperate to locate the power transmitter controlling its flight.
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Posted in Saturday Matinees and tagged B-movies, Chapter 15, Fatal Transformation, Manhunt of Mystery Island | Leave a comment
Power Dive to Doom
Welcome to Chapter Fourteen from Manhunt of Mystery Island, our current Saturday Matinee serial. In this chapter, our hero Lance Reardon rescues Claire Forrest from a mountain cabin and they pool their forces in an attempt to capture Captain Mephisto. Enjoy and return next Saturday for the Fifteen, and concluding chapter in this serial: Fatal Transformation.
Posted in Saturday Matinees and tagged B-movies, Chapter 14, Manhunt of Mystery Island, Power Dive To Doom | Leave a comment
Bridge to Eternity
Welcome to Chapter Thirteen from Manhunt of Mystery Island, our current Saturday Matinee serial. In this chapter, Lance Reardon battles desperately with Captain Mephisto's men, who have lured him into a volcanic cave. Enjoy and return next Saturday for Chapter Fourteen: Power Dive to Doom.
Posted in Saturday Matinees and tagged B-movies, Bridge To Eternity, Chapter 13, Manhunt of Mystery Island | Leave a comment


text:
Collaborative 70x7 Life Recovery Provides Mentoring and More to Those with Criminal Records
Written by Paul R. Kopenkoskey on 27 July 2020 . Posted in Local
Sought after and received forgiveness. From left: Benjamin Rosa, Marybeth Sims and Beniam Johnson.Beniam Johnson defies the ex-convict typecast.
The city of Wyoming resident is articulate, focused and determined to make something of his life following his release from prison for a sex offense.
Johnson credits his new outlook on life to an enduring relationship he's gained with Jesus Christ and the mentoring and support services he received from 70x7 Life Recovery, a local Christian nonprofit that imparts guidance and employment opportunities to men and women released from jail or prison.
Inspired back to life
"This is what helped inspired me back to life," says Johnson, 45. "I know God has given me the ability to use my circumstances to help other people. My attitude has changed."
70x7 has enabled many others to gain a new lease on life.
The faith-based organization started at a Holland church in 1996 as a 12-step program for addiction recovery.
Then 70x7 morphed in 2005 as a nonprofit that helps people re-enter the community after serving time in jail or prison with support services and programs that enable them to get a firm footing in life.
Those who enroll in 70x7's programs are called participants, with the goal of becoming graduates. It has two locations where it holds meetings: Moran Park Church in Holland and Kentwood Community Church's Wyoming campus.
No one-size-fits all
There is no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits all mentality to 70x7's programs. They include its reentry program that provides training and coaching in life skills; church partnerships that minister to inmates while serving time in jail or prison and their families outside of incarceration; life skills for women; and collaboration with about 50 agencies that adroitly solve former inmates' challenges such as addictions, mental health and housing.
Support services following a needs assessment include the use of donated bicycles; bus passes; clothing; hygiene kits; 12-week Take Charge Group for women who need help with basic life skills; Reentry Networking Lunch that connects 70x7 participants, volunteers and staff connect with community resource agencies; and Stronger Together Family Support Services.
Get to root causes
"Part of what we want to do is serve the hardest to serve," says Benjamin Rosa, executive director for 70x7's Grand Rapids-Wyoming campus. "It's a tough population to work with but ... we've chosen to work with anybody who walks through that door.
"For us here we get into the root causes so we can get into the issues," continues Rosa. "It's important to formulate a plan but we don't delve into the nitty gritty details because it's hard for them to talk about it. We just want to know basics: was it substance abuse, poor choices?"
A clog of news reports tout the number of ex-cons who re-commit crimes and are returned to prison. 70x7 up ends that trend with a recidivism rate of 3.93% compared to 29.8% for the state of Michigan and 50% nationally.
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Key to 70x7's success rate is its "process," which includes relationship managers who assess participants' needs and challenges, with an eye on gaining full-time employment; job readiness life skills training, its Serving Together program where works of service are performed at local churches; community resource network that partners with agencies in Kent County to meet physical and emotional needs; and working with its in-house staffing company, New Day Staffing.
Last year, 280 people participated in 70x7's programs or related services, and of that number, 179 graduated from its jobs readiness course.
Help also is available for family members of the incarcerated.
"There's a lot of shame and guilt especially if it's a sex offense," says Rosa. "They need to get that off their chest. If they get around other people who have gone through it, they support each other."
Finding a job and staying employed
There's a difference between landing a job and staying employed once former inmates are hired. 70x7 staff and volunteers are fully aware of this hitch.
"A lot of guys can get jobs, they just can't keep them for different reasons," says Rosa. "Our programming is designed for retention. It's soft skills and conflict resolution — all those things that help them from not getting fired. There's also Serving Together (program), and what they do is work for a church for two to three hours and the church feeds them and the mentors works with them to see if they're on time because if they can't get there on time, they'll mess up at a job. It's a time to coach their behavior."
That's a key reason why partnerships with churches and area agencies are vital to 70x7's mission, say Rosa, and as a result, the nonprofit does not try to be all things to its participants.
"Our folks don't come with one issue," says Rosa. "Mental health, trauma, we partner with folks who handle it better."
Despite the fact 70x7 is rooted in Christ, no one is strong-armed to convert and no judgment is cast on them.
"We don't ask people what they believe in," says Rosa. "We have atheists, we have Muslims, you name it. They know we're going to plant seeds. Our faith walk is 100%. Our staff, though not perfect, walks it out every day as broken vessels. As an organization, we just love them and plant seeds. That's our goal: To have that faith-walk, planting seeds, mentorship and employment."
Forgiveness is everything
The faith-based nonprofit's name alludes to Matthew 18:21:22, where Jesus' reply to Peter's question about how many times should he forgive someone who's sinned against him was 70x7.
"Forgiveness is everything," says Marybeth Sims, 70x7's donor relations manager. "The participates have to forgive themselves. They need to seek the forgiveness. We help them look forward, to deal with the guilt and shame."
A new outlook on life forges freedom, adds Sims.
"Freed for life is our new tagline," says Sims. "Free to do whatever God wants them to do. Not what they want to do, what God wants them to do."
One element of 70x7 that has helped to ease suspicion and build a bridge of understanding is when police officers interact with participants for a heart-to-heart dialogue.
"We have two rules: No questions are off the table and you have to be respectful to each other," says Rosa. "You don't have to agree but you have to respectful."
And that is one more example of making choices, which is what 70x7 is about.
"I always tell them the short answer is Jesus but then put on top of that, life choices," says Rosa. "Every one of us who did something, we made choices. A mistake to me is when you trip but a lot of us made choices. I like choices better than mistakes. The answer for us is Jesus.
Johnson wholeheartedly agrees with Rosa.
"I've finally developed a personal relationship with God through Christ," says Johnson. "The shame and the guilt of the things that I did have lifted. My conversation with God has changed. All the cravings and misery started lifting.
"I was able to get through it."
https://www.70x7liferecovery.org/
Manna Media is dedicated to telling stories of how God is working right in our own area. The story you just read is just one of the many amazing stories that we want to tell.
In addition to these stories, we also create high quality short films, Relevant Docs and Godmercials , that reach people around the world. We strive to engage people with the Gospel with our What If God website along with our billboards. But it takes a lot of hard work, time, and money to do what we do.
Would you consider partnering with us by supporting our ministry with a donation? Donate safely here!
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This 1300-HP Twin Turbo Trans Am Is the Ultimate Resto-Mod
The 1981 Trans Am Turbo wasn't our favorite Firebird when it was stock. This changes our opinion drastically.
By Brian Silvestro
The second-generation Pontiac Trans Am is one of the coolest-looking American performance cars of its era, but its drivetrain is a bit dated. This no-expenses-spared pro-touring restomod solves that problem with a twin-turbo LS9 V8 and plenty of other upgrades. The best part? It's for sale right now on eBay Motors. You should buy it.
Welcome to You Must Buy, our daily look at the cars you really should be buying instead of that boring commuter sedan.
According to the seller, this 1981 Trans Am Turbo was built by Schwartz Performance of Woodstock, Illinois at a cost of over $300,000. It took 2200 hours of build time, and sports an extensive list of upgrades, including a new underbody frame, an adjustable coil-over suspension, a roll cage, and of course, that engine. It's a 6.9-liter LS9 iron block with forged internals that the seller claims puts 1040 horsepower to the wheels, or 1300 horsepower at the crank. It gets power to the ground via a Bowler 4L85E automatic transmission. It was featured on the cover of Car Craft, and according to the listing, is capable of 200-plus mph. Here it is getting dyno-tested back in 2013 when the build was first completed. We recommend headphones.
The outside has been customized with a sweet red "6.9" Firebird hood decal and color-matched Forgeline wheels, as well as a lowered stance and a custom exhaust. It looks wonderful from pretty much every angle, though I'm not sure how much I like the LED headlights. The inside gets a set of comfy-looking seats, four-point harnesses, and a nicely restored metal dashboard.
The car is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now Price of $160,000 or best offer. That's a whole lot for a Trans Am, we know, but considering the cost of the build and the amount of performance you're getting, we'd say that's not too crazy.
More From You Must Buy
Here's Your Chance to Own the First Ferrari F50
The Most Used Fun Cars You Can Buy for Under $5000
You Can Own One of the Jaguar C-X75s from Spectre
21-Mile Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution for Sale in CA
Rod Emory Porsche 356 Outlaw for Sale on BaT
This Bronco Is Actually a Pre-Runner Underneath
This Wacky Airplane-Shaped Car Could Be Yours
You Can Own the Same Car As the First Man in Space
This 1967 Camaro Trans Am Car Is Vintage Muscle
Someone Please Take This 944 Turbo Cup Car Racing


Marketing has gotten more vigorous over the years. More businesses are going global thanks to the internet. It is easy to reach an audience that is in a different country if you customize your campaigns to suit their needs. The strategies that are used for marketing are very different, depending on the type of business one is dealing with. A lot of marketing agencies have come up.
Affordability is among the first things you should consider. The main objective of a business is to maximize the profits. Increasing the expenditure by a huge margin will not help the business. Instead, reduce the allocation of resources resulting in nothing but stagnation. An agency like seoindexer.com is renowned for its affordable rates. It also deals with SEO, which is a common marketing tool that gets a business the organic traffic it requires. It is also necessary to be flexible, negotiate with the agency and come to an agreement.
Depending on the form of business you run, you should narrow down your needs and understand what works for you. It is very easy to get confused, especially with the current digital marketing taking over. You should also narrow down a target audience once you understand who your potential clients are. For instance, if your business is targeting individuals between the age 18 and 49, social media and SEO would be a good strategy. The agency should focus on on-page SEO techniques along with off-page SEO also. People within this range are the most active on Google and social media applications on a daily basis. Running campaign ads will help grow your business. After narrowing your needs, you can find an agency that thrives in that particular field.
It is good to know the agency beforehand. You can simply go online and find out about the previous engagements, look up reviews, and also find out their current work. A company with a good reputation and has some businesses that it has successfully helped grow is the one that you should choose. They are more likely to have enough experience to help you with anything that your business requires. They are also likely to give you good advice, even if it is just on a consultation basis.
Sometimes, it is good to choose a company that has specialized in your niche. There are agencies out there that are not as big but have decided to specialize in a niche like sports and are excelling in it. A great thing about these companies is that they have narrowed down their work. Therefore, they have dealt with on one thing immensely to the point of perfecting the craft. This also applies to a company that only deals with one type of marketing, either SEO, social media, trend-setting and so forth. Knowing an agency's strength is a good path to settling for an effective one.


text:
Farewell 2019
May the year to come bless us with patience, tolerance, and a sense of humour to deal with the passionately misinformed and with haters, with incorrigible racists, short-sighted ageists, ignorant ableists, inveterate sexists, narrow-minded homophobes, and islamophobes. Live long and prosper, dear subscribers, I wish you all the best for 2020!
Labels: New Year, Thank you
Photographing Freaks: Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus (1923-1971) was a US-American photographer known for capturing "the grand mélange of humanity" (via), for photographing "people on the fringes of society" (via). Since she became famous, her gaze has been celebrated and criticised: sideshow performers, nudists, dwarfs, transgender sex workers were the subjects she felt drawn to.
"But Arbus's images in "Untitled" are, at first glance, unsettling. Why did she choose to train her lens repeatedly on people who were so vulnerable? There's baggage to the work, knowing that she often proclaimed her love for photographing "freaks"—a caustic word to use today, though Arbus seemed to do so with affection. Critic Susan Sontag famously railed against Arbus's practice in her 1977 collection of essays, On Photography, saying her work was "based on distance, on privilege, on a feeling that what the viewer is asked to look at is really other."
"Othering" is a term we are especially cautious about today. Arbus did come from privilege—she was the middle child in a well-to-do Manhattan family that earned its wealth from her grandfather's luxury department store. "One of the things I felt I suffered from as a kid was I never felt adversity," Arbus herself once said. She sought out people with unusual stories, and titled them as such: Mexican Dwarf in his Hotel Room, N.Y.C 1970, and A Jewish Giant at Home with his Parents, in the Bronx, N.Y., 1970. Even in her portraits of people who were not marginalized, such as her widely known picture of twin girls, Identical twins, Roselle, N.J. (1966), she emphasized their strangeness. (...)
It wasn't until a 2003 retrospective of Arbus's work that many of her images, letters, and journal entries were made public. They clarified that she was empathetic, not voyeuristic, a word that continues to trail her legacy. (...)
Though there is always a power hierarchy between photographer and subject—a photographer is seeking honesty and vulnerability when the camera is raised—there is a difference between a photographer who takes the shot and leaves, and one who stays. Arbus was one to stay, giving her time and respect, and building a rapport with the people she photographed. She met Eddie Carmel, the Jewish giant, a decade before she snapped the now-famous image of him and his parents; she was invited to celebrate the birthday of a prostitute whom she photographed in bed, in front of a cake. And, late in her life, she returned to the residences of "Untitled" again and again, taking portraits that suggested friendship and closeness between her and her subjects."
Jacqui Palumbo
photograph by Diane Arbus via
Labels: Diane Arbus, minority status, photography
Quoting Joker
"The worst part about having a mental illness is people expect you to behave as if you don't."
- image (Joaquin Phoenix, Joker, 2019) via
(partly) interesting read:
- Joker's depiction of mental illness, The Guardian, link
- Impressive dramatic performances aside, Independent, link
- 'Joker' makes an explicit connection, Business Insider, link
- Trying to diagnose the 'Joker', Insider, link
Labels: disability, film, Joker, mental health, quote
Prejudice and Self-Perceived vs Psychometric Intelligence
Results of a study carried out in Belgium (n=183, adults from the general community) revealed that the link between ethnic prejudice and intelligence differs depending on whether intelligence is self-assessed (participants were asked to estimate their intelligence on a scale ranging from 0 to 100) or actual, i.e. psychometrically assessed. In fact, being intelligent (which undermines prejudice) vs believing to be intelligent (and probably perceiving the world in terms of superiority and inferiority) had opposite correlations with subtle racism.
Our results revealed opposite relationships: whereas individuals who scored higher (vs. lower) on an intelligence test showed lower levels of racial prejudice, individuals who perceived themselves as being more intelligent compared to others showed higher levels of racial prejudice. (...) The present results indicate that being more intelligent is related with less racial prejudice, but judging that one is more intelligent than others is related with more racial prejudice. (De Keersmaecker et al., 2017)
- De Keersmaecker, J., Onraet, E., Lepouttre, N. & Roets, A. (2017). The opposite effects of actual and self-perceived intelligence on racial prejudice. Personality and Individual Differences, 112, 136-138.
- photograph by Magnum photographer Erich Lessing (1923-2018) (Cesenatico, 1960) via
Labels: Erich Lessing, ethnicity, intelligence, prejudice
White vs Black Offender + Length of Prison Sentence
According to an analysis of cases in which offenders were sentenced in the U.S. between 2011 and 2016, 1) black male offenders received sentences that were on average 19.1% longer than White male offenders sentenced for similar reasons, 2) black male offenders were 21.2% less likely to receive a non-government sponsored downward departure or variance and in case they did, their sentences were 16.8% longer than white male offenders' departure or variance, 3) in case of violence in an offender's criminal history black male offenders received sentences which were on average 20.4% longer than those of similar white male offenders, 4) female offenders received shorter sentences than white male offenders no matter what ethnicity (United State Sentencing Commission, 2017).
photograph by Vivian Maier via
Labels: discrimination, ethnicity, prison, Vivian Maier
Bank Robber Man (Lenny Kravitz, 2001)
"While on a break from the recording studio on Friday, Lenny Kravitz found himself handcuffed and questioned by Miami police searching for a bank robber.
Kravitz (...) was walking to the gym with his trainer when the two were surrounded by police cars and a canine unit. The rocker matched the description of a man who had just robbed a nearby bank -- black, unshaven, with an afro and wearing green pants and a T-shirt. Kravitz was unshaven, wearing olive khakis and was not carrying ID."
"(...) The singer said that since some of the officers who detained him were Latino, he is unsure whether he was a victim of racial profiling. "You think that [there was racial profiling] on one hand, and on the other hand you say, 'Well, I did fit the description somewhat,' " Kravitz said. "I'm kind of torn between [the two]. But what I need to find out is why I was cuffed first."
MTV, 2000
Bank Robber Man
I was walking down the street today
Just as somebody blew the doors off of the B of A
Just then I head them call my name
As I was thrown against the car
I was being framed
All units we've got our man
We've got the bank robber man
We don't need no reason
You're going in the can
You look like the bank robber man
I think you misunderstand
Do you think that I am the one that did it
Just because I'm tan?
Just then the officer at hand said
I don't give a damn that you are in a rock and roll band
Just tell me what's going on ?
Can you tell me what I did wrong ?
Does busting me make you feel strong ?
Make you feel strong
Lenny Kravitz on YouTube:
::: Low: LISTEN/WATCH
::: It Ain't Over Til It's Over: LISTEN/WATCH
::: Fly Away: LISTEN/WATCH
::: Fields of Joy: LISTEN/WATCH
::: Are You Gonna Go My Way: LISTEN/WATCH
::: I Belong to You: LISTEN/WATCH
::: Circus: LISTEN/WATCH
::: I'll Be Waiting: LISTEN/WATCH
::: Can't Get You Off My Mind: LISTEN/WATCH
::: Be: LISTEN/WATCH
::: I Build This Garden for Us: LISTEN/WATCH
::: Stand by My Woman: LISTEN/WATCH
Related posting:
::: Mr Cab Driver & Black And White America: LINK
photograph via, lyrics via
Labels: music, racism
Girl + Black: Adultification Bias
According to research findings, adults view Black girls as less innocent and more adult-like than their white peers - as young as five to nine years old. The results align with lived experiences (Blake & Epstein, 2019).
The main findings:
Black girls routinely experience adultification bias.
Adultification is linked to harsher treatment and higher standards for black girls in school.
Adults have less empathy for black girls than their white peers, who are viewed as more innocent and in need of protection and comforting.
Negative stereotypes of black women are mapped onto black girls, which can lay the foundation for adultification bias.
Adults attempt to enforce traditional white norms of femininity on black girls.
Adultification bias can lead educators to treat black girls in developmentally inappropriate ways.
Socialised adultification contributes to adultification bias.
- Blake, J. J. & Epstein, R. (2019). Listening to Black Women and Girls: Lived Experiences of Adultification Bias. Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, link
Labels: ethnicity, gender, intersection, Vivian Maier
Politeness. A Reflection of Cultural Norms.
Language is a reflection of culture and accepted cultural norms, polite conducted and interaction is inseparable to culture. Polite interaction takes on many forms in the way people interact, not only by the spoken word but also by the unspoken messages portrayed by behaviour, body language, eye contact and facial expressions. People from the same country speaking the same language and same cultural background have a basic common shared ideology and value system defining general accepted norms and rules of conduct to be followed. Accepted norms of behaviour and linguistic appropriateness in one culture are not necessarily acceptable in another culture. What is considered polite in one cultural society may be considered impolite in another. (...)
Politeness in any given society is conducted within a system of acceptable social behaviour and social linguistic cultural norms that govern the way in which citizens interact. (...) Accepted behaviour and politeness within a society and sharing the same value system and cultural understanding is part of the fibre of society. Rules within a language community guide behaviour and communication within the society; (not only guiding what people do or say but, equally important what people do not do or say). (...)
Politeness is a fundamental part of culture which shapes human behaviour within a society. Goode et al. (2000) explains this politeness and behaviour as an 'integrated pattern of human behaviour that includes thoughts, communications, languages, practices, beliefs, values, customs, courtesies, rituals, manners of interacting and roles, relationships and expected behaviours of a racial, ethnic, religious or social group; and the ability to transmit the above to succeeding generations.' This view illustrates the importance of politeness in language teaching, culture and politeness is mirrored and represented in all the above human interactions, as a result politeness can not be considered a separate isolated component of language learning. The spectrum of politeness affects all human behaviour and interactions, therefore 'linguistic competence alone is not enough for learners of a language to be competent in that language' (Krasner, 1999). Language learners need to understand culture, context and politeness to be able to function and communicate appropriately in the target language. (...)
excerpts taken from O'Sullivan (2007)
- O'Sullivan, W. (2007). A study on politeness teaching to English learners in China. The International Journal of Language Society and Culture, 23, 47-52.
- photograph (Elswick Kids, 1978) by Tish Murtha via
Labels: cross-cultural study, cultural differences, culture, ethnicity
Women Wearing Swimsuits and Performing in Math
Fredrickson et al. (1998) tested the hypothesis that self-objectification diminishes math performance (n = 82 undergraduate students at the University of Michigan, 42 women and 40 men). Students completed the Self-Objectification Questionnaire, their tendency to body shame was measured, as well as their feelings associated with trying on swimwear; they were given a challenging math test, as well as sweets.
Female participants were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions: trying on a one-piece swimsuit or a V-neck jumper, male participants either wore a swim trunk or a crew neck jumper. In all cases, they did so alone in a dressing rom where they were asked to look at themselves in the full-length mirror and afterwards complete all questionnaires mentioned before. Then, they were given sweets and told to eat as much as they wanted and fill out another questionnaire.
Results show that only in the case of women trying on a swimsuit (i.e. manipulating the state of self-objectification) produced more body shame than trying on a jumper. Self-objectification, again, led to body shame in women. And most interestingly, women performed worse on the math test when wearing a swimsuit than when wearing a jumper (Fredrickson et al., 1998).
In 2004, Hebl, King and Lin replicated the study with 400 undergraduate students (with a focus on gender and ethnicity) and supported the findings that "sellf-objectification serves as a mechanism through which the experience of wearing a swimsuit affected psychological and behavioral outcomes", that women had lower self-esteem and body image than men. However, they added: "All individuals can be vulnerable to the consequences of self-objectification."
- Fredrickson, B. L., Noll, S. M., Roberts, T.-A., Quinn, D. M. & Twenge, J. M. (1998). That Swimsuit Becomes You: Sex Differences in Self-Objectification, Restrained Eating, and Math Performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(1), 269-284.
- Hebl, M., King, E. B. & Lin, J. (2004). The Swimsuit Becomes Us All: Ethnicity, Gender and Vulnerability to Self-Objetcification. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30(10), link
- images of Alain Delon and Romy Schneider (La Piscine, 1969) via and via and via
Labels: gender, mathematics, STEM
The -ism Series (35): Environmental Racism
"Environmental racism is racial discrimination in environmental policy-making and enforcement of regulations of laws, the deliberate targeting of communities of color for toxic waste facilities, the official sanctioning of the presence of life threatening poisons and pollutants for communities of color, and the history of excluding people of color from leadership of the environmental movement."
Chavis cited in Holifield (2001)
We strongly believe that the actions that led to the poisoning of Flint's water and the slow response resulted in the abridgement of civil rights for the people of Flint. We are not suggesting that those making decisions related to this crisis were racists, or meant to treat Flint any differently because it is a community of color. Rather, the response is the result of implicit bias and the history of systemic racism that was built into the foundation of Flint.
Arthur Horwitz
Environmental racism means that ethnic minority groups are burdened disproportionally by both decision-making processes and distributive patterns (Holifield, 2001). Examples are locating polluting facilities mainly in communities of colour and introducing environmental laws that are racist in their implementation and application (Lazarus, 2000).
A report published back in 1987 found that ethnicity was "the predominant factor related to the presence of hazardous wastes in residential communities throughout the United States", even "the most significant determinant of the location of hazardous waste facilities" (Godsil, 1991). Things do not seem to have changed as study after study indicate the disproportionate risks from pollution ethnic minorities face. According to a report published in 2018, "people of colour" and people in poverty "are exposed to more fine particulate matter", a carcinogen and contributor to lung conditions, heart attacks, asthma, low birth weights, high blood pressure, and premature deaths. The more an area is segregated, the higher the levels of exposure (via).
Reasons discussed are, for instance, economic ones like locating facilities where it is the least costly to build and maintain - which happens to be in so-called communities in colour - to the residents' economic powerlessness and their limited economic ability to move to other residential areas. Minority groups are, in addition, usually politically weak and cannot conduct campaigns against the companies' decisions successfully. Neither are they sufficiently represented in governement (Fisher, 1994).
- Fisher, M. R. (1994). On the Road from Environmental Racism to Environmental Justice. Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law Digital Repository, 5(2), 449-478, link
- Godsil, R. D. (1991). Remedying Environmental Racism. Michigan Law Review, 90(2), link
- Holifield, R. (2001). Defining Environmental Justice and Environmental Racism. Urban Geography, 22(1), 78-90.
- Lazarus, R. J. (2000). "Environmental Racism! That's What It Is." Georgetown University Law Center, link
- photograph of siblings Julie, Antonio, and India Abron collecting their daily allowance of bottled water from Fire Station 3, Flint, Michigan (by Wayne Lawrence, National Geographic) via
Labels: -ism, ethnicity, racism
Evil, Sophisticated, British: The British Accent in Animated Films
"So a disturbing pattern begins to emerge. In the casting of big budget Hollywood movies the rule is clear: bad guys British, good guys anything but. (...) British actors have turned up regularly, predictably, even inevitably, as sophisticated bad guys in Hollywood movies" (Barry Norman), symbolising an "evil genius that can charm your mother over dinner then blow up the world after dessert" (Arwa Mahdawi).
It is a depiction or representation of language, not a sample of it. It is a depiction of what the director/write/producer 'thinks' about language use in the real world, Hollywood view of the linguistic world.
Schiffman (1998)
Accents establish settings and convey elements of characterisation. They are, in fact, a tool for constructing characters (Azad, 2009), stereotypical characters:
Accent is a potent cue to social categorization and stereotyping. An important agent of accent-based stereotype socialization is the media. (...) Results provide clear evidence that American media's portrayals of different accents are biased, reflecting pervasive societal stereotypes.
Dragojevic, Giles & Sink (2016)
According to Lippi-Green, "animated features teach children to ethnocentrically discriminate by portraying bad characters with foreign accents" (Wenke, 1998). More than in live-action, animated films show the tendency to use language "as a quick way to build character and reaffirm stereotype" (Lippi-Green, 1997). In children's animated television, villains consistently use non-American accents (Dobrow & Gidney, 1998); there has been an "explosion" in the use of British accents in a stereotypcial way (Wenke, 1998).
It is first observably true that somehow, children learn not only how to use variation in their own language, but also how to interpret social variation in their own language, but also how to interpret social variation in the language of others. They do this with or without exposure to television and film, but in the current day, few children grow up without this exposure.
Lippi-Green (1997)
A specific example of a Disney character who portrays an accent obvious to the viewing public through the use of markers and stereotypes is Scar in the movie The Lion King. Scar is the brother to Mufasa, the strong and noble Lion King. Scar's character stands in direct contrast to that of Mufasa's noble character as he is an envious, scheming lion who plans the murder of his brother and exile of his nephew Simba, the heir to the throne. Scar is drawn to be skinnier and darker than his brother. Differences in animation are thus our first clue into the nature of the two characters. The story takes place in Africa, and the lions are brothers. It would appear then that both brothers should speak with the same accent, and that it should be derived from some African dialect, but this is distinctly not the case. The voice over for Mufasa is provided by James Earl Jones, who speaks with what Lippi-Green calls a mainstream US English (MUSE) accent. In contrast, Jeremy Irons voice over for Scar character speaks with a distinctly British accent. This British accent is very different from the standard English accents of the other characters in the movies, and helps children to distinguish his character.
Wenke (1998)
Based on Lippi-Green's analysis of 24 animated Disney films (i.e. all availabe full-length films available at the time) and their 371 characters, general/standardised American has increased at the expense of British accents, and Received Pronunciation has decreased clearly (from 22% to 14.2%), so has regional British accent (from 11% to 3.5%). In other words, "General American has gained a significantly (sic) amount of ground, whereas the other accent groups have decreased accordingly" leading to a reduction of diversity of accents and enhancing US-American standardisation. Correlations between the traits of the characters and the accents they speak can be observed. Heroes speak general American (even Robin Hood spoke American English in Disney's animated film), Received Pronunciation - which as "a long history of being used with sinister characters" - is used by characters playing a peripheral role, a villain, an aide to a villain or an unsympathetic character. The very reason may be that Received Pronunciation is associated with posh, cold, distant persons and hence seen as "suitable to sophisticated villainous characters". Interestingly, Americans at the same time see British English positively (Sønnesyn, 2011).
Since early as 1959, sociolinguists have tended to regard as almost a truism the notion that speaker of a perceived prestige dialect such as Received Pronunciation in Great Britain are judged by nonprestige dialect speakers to be on the one hand educated, intelligent, competent, industrious, and of a higher class socioeconomically yet on the other hand less trustworthy and kind, as well as less socially attractive, sincere, and good-humored.
Davis & Houck (1992)
Scar using a British accent, for instance, highlights "his snobbish mannerism and his feelings of intellectual superiority", representing intelligence, breeding and refinement, but also class-envy on the part of US-Americans towards the British or English. Similarly, Jaffar (in Aladdin) speaks with a British accent (Wenke, 1998).
"speakers of British English are portrayed dichotomously as either the epitome of refinement and elegance or as the embodiment of effete evil." This crystallizes the love-hate part of the two nations' special relationship. Considering other studies have shown that American speakers might have a mild inferiority complex about their own dialects compared to British English, this is telling. (via)
- Azad, S. B. (2009). Lights, Camera, Accent. Examining Dialect Performance in Recent Children's Animated Films. Washington: Thesis, link
- Davis, L. M. & Houch, C. (1992). Can She Be Prestigious and Nice at the Same Time? Perceptions of Female Speech in Hoosierdom. American Speech, 67(2), 115-122.
- Dobrow, J. R. & Gidney, C. L. (1998). The Good, the Bad, and the Foreign: The Use of Dialect in Children's Animated Television. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 557, Children and Television, 105-119.
- Dragojevic, M., Mastro, D., Giles, H. & Sink, A. (2016). Silencing nonstandard speakers: A content analysis of accent portrayals on American primetime television. Language in Society, 45, 59-85.
- Lippi-Green, R. (1997). English with an Accent: Language, Ideology, and Discrimination in the United States. London & New York: Routledge, link
- Reinacher, L. (2016). Discrimination in a Land Far, Far Away - Stereotyped Dialects in Animated Children's Films. Kiel: Thesis, link
- Sønnesyn, J. (2011). The use of accents in Disney's animated feature films 1995-2009: a sociolinguistic study of the good, the bad and the foreign. Thesis: University of Bergen, link
- Wenke, E. (1998). Accents in children's animated featiures (sic) as a device for teaching children to ethnocentrically discriminate. Language and Popular Culture, link
- photographs of Jeremy Irons by Michel Comte, 1990 via and via
Labels: British English, comics, Disney, language, stereotypes
Quoting Pam Grier
"Well who's black and what is a black person?"
"Does a black person make them an African American? No. There are Hispanics that are very, very dark skinned so the word has lost its meaning, it's not a very concise or proper word to use even today and it wasn't then."
"There are things we have to do to protect ourselves in a climate where people are facilitating hatred and discrimination. This support of white supremacists reminded me of the '60s and Jim Crow and all we left behind. Within Los Angeles and the industry, people don't see it, but I live in the Heartland and I see it. I'm very community minded. I'm an activist. And then I hurt more and I cry more when I hear people calling me a nigger to my face. What did I do to deserve you to say that to me? When I'm helping probably more white people than black people right now.
Well, I won't let it hurt me. It's gonna take a whole lot more than that to hurt me, after all I've been through."
"When Roger Corman was looking for women to do his biker and nurse movies, he looked for women who were rebels, outsiders, who could hold their own. They hadn't used a woman of color yet, but Roger being a filmmaker with a foothold in European culture, where women had a bit more equality and freedom in society, he brought that element to his movie making."
Interview excerpts:
Coffy, Foxy Brown and their ilk were exploitative, but arguably also progressive. As a heroine enacting revenge fantasies, your influence on modern films like Kill Bill is now obvious, yet in the early ' 70s these movies were labeled as racist blaxploitation by black activist groups. There was a political backlash.
"The only political backlash was that white producers were making films about black life. Well, then why don't the black producers get together and produce them? There were very few. So maybe they felt disenfranchised. But I would go to them and say, "What can we do? How can we leverage?" They didn't have the projects; they didn't really know what to do. And so I said, "I'm trying to build enough leverage and find an audience." With these exploitation films, they were about the worst life in the community, good versus evil — these were just regular things that go on. I said, "We can't solve our community problems until we show them. And if we show them and you get embarrassed enough, maybe you'll change and do something about it." And that's when they'd sit there and look at me. I said, "Stop having communities eat their own, and maybe we can write about great things. I'm trying to get the Dorothy Dandridge story done, but I can't get it done. We don't have the studios. If you want to build black studios where we can make films about black life, build them."
Hollywood's version of black life is still mostly rooted in stereotyped characters and white savior movies like The Blind Side. Forty years later there are still few black studio movies.
"It is a business, and mainstream movies are made for the audience that supports the business. That's all it is. Theater is theater; they're two totally different dynamics. When it comes to filmmaking, you have to understand it's a business. They don't have to put black people in the movies."
Labels: blaxploitation, ethnicity, quote, racism
The -ism Series (35): Femonationalism
The term "femonationalism" was coined by Sara Farris and refers to the phenomenon of European nationalist, right-wing parties advancing "their anti-Islam agendas in the name of women's rights" despite their traditionally antifeminist politics and "their lack of concern with elaborating concrete policies of gender equality (and occasionally LGBT rights) within an otherwise xenophobic rhetoric". The message is that Muslim males are a danger for Europe because of their oppressive treatment of women and that Muslim women are victims of non-western patriarchy. In fact, Muslim men are instrumentalised "in order to advance their own political objectives" (Farris, 2017).
(...) by encouraging a rhetoric of division, or a Manichean splitting of the political and ideological debate into one counterposing "US" (white, European, western, Christian, civilized, "women-friendly") to "Them" (nonwhite, non-European, non-western, Muslim, uncivilized, misogynist Others), right-wing nationalist parties have everything to gain.
Farris (2017)
This is a classical dilemma, when anti-sexism is played out against anti-racism. It's something Black feminists in the US wrote a lot about in the 1960s and 1970s and continue to debate: how can we denounce sexism in our communities, when we know that could then be used to attack Black men? There is no easy answer. We need to support in every way the possibility for women of any community to denounce sexism wherever it presents itself. The question we should ask is: are we really enabling this? How can we support the struggle of these women, in this context of incredibly harsh and rising Islamophobia? The struggle against racism and sexism must go hand in hand.
Sara Farris
- Farris, S. R. (2017). In the Name of Women's Rights. The Rise of Femonationalism. Durham: Duke University Press.
- photograph (Afghan women walking along a street in Kabul, 1962) via
Labels: ethnicity, gender, nationalism, populism, religion
Ageism and Health
Adults aged 50 plus (n=7731) living in England were interviewed and asked to complete questionnaires in order to analyse cross-sectional associations between ageism and health. Compared to persons who did not perceive age discrimination, those who did were more like to report poor health, to have coronary heart disease, chronic lung disease, arthritis, long-standing illness, and depressive symptoms (Jackson et al, 2019).
- Jackson, S. E., Hackett, R. A. & Steptoe, A. (2019). Associations between age discrimination and health and wellbeing: cross-sectional and prospective analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. The Lancet, link
- photograph by Vivian Maier (Miami Beach, 1963) via
Labels: age, ageism, discrimination, health, Vivian Maier
Prejudice and Self-Perceived vs Psychometric Intel...
Evil, Sophisticated, British: The British Accent i...


A complete guide and source-book brimming with advice on collecting and preparing gems and minerals.
Hiking the Southwest's Geology: Four Corners Region takes curious hikers on a journey through time that explores the Colorado Plateau -- an immense land of canyons, mesas, and isolated mountain ranges in the American Southwest. Divided into representative geologic provinces/areas, author Ralph Hopkins specifies distinct geologic or scenic features and provides information about what makes each province unique. He describes each hike from the perspective of the geologic evolution of the landscape while exploring basic geologic concepts and providing a framework for understanding the major forces that have shaped the land. Hopkins' stunning color photography brings the Four Corners Region to life in dazzling detail.
Author Cathy Connor discusses the latest findings as she guides readers along the roads of Alaska and adjacent parts of British Columbia and the Yukon.
This title includes guides for field trips held in conjunction with the 2003 GSA Annual Meeting in Seattle. Topics covered include Glacial Lake Missoula and the Clark Fork Ice Dam; the Sauk Sequence in Utah; the geology of wine in Washington state; the Columbia River basalt and Yakima Fold Belt; Alpine glaciation of the North Cascades; and recent geoarchaeological discoveries in central Washington. Quaternary geology of Seattle, engineering geology in the central Columbia Valley, and the tephrostratigraphy and paleogeography of southern Puget Sound are also covered.
For centuries, the spectacular landscapes now protected in Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park have amazed and inspired us. Historian-naturalist Paul Schullery and artist-illustrator Marsha Karle bring us a new and richly textured portrait of this magnificent region and reveal why Waterton-Glacier is a world treasure. Through Schullery's text and Karle's watercolors and drawings, we crisscross the roads and trails of this magnificent wilderness. We learn its deep geological history and encounter its wild residents. And we discover its ever-increasing value as a barometer of planetary health in today's rapidly changing world. Schullery, who has been described as the foremost citizen of the American national parks, and Karle, whose art is informed by a National Park Service career in some of North America's most beautiful landscapes, combine their talents to create a memorable tale of the beauty, power, and peril of this high, wild country.
Remarkable stories from Montana's historical highway markers combine with easy-to-follow maps, historical photos and sketches, and geological information to illuminate the paths of Montana's past and present. This guidebook alerts travelers about places that merit a stop and allows them to read about the site at their leisure. But even if time is short, travelers can refer to descriptions and historical photographs to learn about Montana's past as they journey across the state.


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text:
Q: Recursively get a list of users [Firebase + Saga] As Firebase's Firestore only allows 10 items at each query. I need to recursively query users in batches of 10 users.
This is what I've done referencing from Composing Sagas
, but users returns a list of undefined. What have I done wrong? Or is there a better (more efficient) way to query a list of users from Firestore? Note: I have to use Redux-Saga.
export function* watchGetListUsersByUids() {
  yield takeEvery(USERS_GET_USERS_BY_UIDS, getListUsersByUids);
}

const getListUsersByUidsAsync = async (list_uid, set) => {
  var get_uids = list_uid.slice(set * 10, (set + 1) * 10);
  console.log("get_uids", get_uids);
  await firestore
    .collection("users")
    .where("uid", "in", get_uids)
    .get()
    .then((data) => data.docs.map((doc) => doc.data()))
    .catch((error) => error);
};

function* getListUsersByUids({ payload }) {
  const { uids } = payload;

  var numSet = parseInt(uids.length / 10);

  var apiCalls = [];
  for (var i = 0; i <= numSet; i++) {
    apiCalls.push(call(getListUsersByUidsAsync, uids, i));
  }

  if (apiCalls.length) {
    try {
      const users = yield all(apiCalls);
      console.log(users); // <-- [undefined, undefined, ...]
    } catch (error) {
      console.log(error);
    }
  }
}


Home Latest News WHERE IS LAMIN SARJO?
Lamin Sarjo is an apprentice driver who is said to be 18 years old. He is not charged. The driver and transport have been released while he, the apprentice to the driver who was transporting people to the court proceedings involving the UDP leadership and members, is still in detention without trial.
Such a person should not be under detention, because of the fact that he is not charged with any crime. The authorities should quickly look into this case and release him accordingly. A young man like him should have been in high school, but instead he is struggling to learn a skill in order to become productive. Any day he spends in detention affects his development. It is unjust to expose him to detention at this age without any justification that he has been charged with an offence.